53 Everything Stays Changing

Micu looked around the group, "Where is he?" Jenira and Ralnas shrugged. "He wasn't waiting for you two when you got eliminated?" Both shook their heads no. Micu glanced over to Isabel. "How did you know where Jayce was so quickly?" Isabel had a confused expression on her face. "What are you talking about?" Micu sighed, "You don't have to lie Isabel. We'll have to replay the round anyway." He stared her dead in the eyes. "How did you eliminate Jayce so fast?"

Isabel was obviously confused by Micu's questions. "I have no idea what you are talking about Micu. I thought Jayce got killed with your friend in the house." Ralnas spun to face her, "You don't remember my name? We went to school for ten years together!" Isabel smiled at him, "I just like to see you get upset when I pretend to." Ralnas stomped his foot on the ground and glared at the still smiling Isabel. Micu waved him away. "You mean you didn't shoot through the wall we were hiding behind?" Isabel nodded, "I was anticipating you were going to try and trap us in a pincher attack us so I was going to pincher your pincher." Micu sighed deeply. "Then who shot Jayce?"

Isabel shrugged, "I was wondering why you would choose such a direct line of attack. It definitely was surprising." Micu was rubbing his temples when a thought struck him. Quickly calling his dad he waited impatiently for him to answer. "Micu?" A surprised Ionas answered his call. "Aren't you supposed to be competing right now?" "Dad listen, where is Jayce?" Ionas paused and quickly hit some buttons on the workstation he was sitting at. "Are you sure you put the tracker on correctly?"

Micu nodded, "I put it on his watch just like you recommended. Why?" Ionas was quickly typing things and his face was a mix of worry and confusion. "It says he's floating just outside of hub one." Micu felt the color drain from his face. "Dad someone planned this! We've got to get to him as soon as we can!" Ionas features became rock hard and nodded. "I'll send the car. It'll be outside in two minutes." Micu hung up and started sprinting towards the exit to the competitor area. Ralnas and Jenira watched him take off for a second before dashing after him. Isabel got caught up in the excitement figured something big was happening and followed after them.

Micu burst through the doors and his steps slowed to a dead stop. His mouth gaped open as the sky was a riot of colors that seemed to be warring with each other. Purples, greens, golds, reds, and blues flashed and rolled through the sky. Ralnas and Jenira slowed to a stop behind him and looked at the sky with trepidation. "What is happening..." Ralnas said quietly. Isabel coasted to a stop and stared up at the sky. "Micu?" Ralnas whispered. Micu just shook his head. Jenira bit her lip as she watched waves of color bounce around the sky.

...

Anna and Johny had noticed something was weird just after Jayce had been eliminated from the exam. Him being killed off so soon had caused quite a few groans to echo throughout the fan area set up outside the Coliseum. A few minutes later the sky had begun to roll and thunder. The previously beautiful day had evaporated into stormy clouds. Shortly after that colors had begun to leak through the clouds and color the sky like some kind of drug-induced vision.

The colors clashed and bounced against each other. Sometimes the blues and purples would overtake large swathes of the sky before being beaten back by golds, greens, and reds. Anna watched with a nervous energy. Johny had pulled her underneath a nearby tree and the two of them watched among a mass of people who were all staring silently at the sky.

Anna prayed to whatever Overwatcher was listening, "Please don't kill us all." Johny glanced at her as she repeated this prayer but said nothing. A tremor then shook the entire hub and the crowd screamed as many lost their footing. The enormous skyscrapers shuddered and the sky was instantly filled with swarms hover vehicles that were wrapping buildings in steel cables to try and prevent them from swaying. Sirens blared to life and panic struck the hub as the crowd scattered into groups sprinting for any form of protection.

Anna grabbed Johny's arm and squeezed. He continued to stare up at the sky. "They're arguing..." Anna followed his line of sight but saw only the five colors washing over the sky. "Who is?" Johny never took his gaze off the sky as he pulled the two of them closer to the large tree. "The Overwatchers."

...

The roundtable was shaking under the tremors happening throughout major hub one. Only eight of the seats were filled but none were waiting for the last member to show up. King of team Templar slammed his fist into the table. "This is the end times my friends! We must prepare to fight off whatever comes for us! The Overwatchers have wanted us dead since the first time someone won the grand prize!" Numerous cries of agreement rang out at his declaration. Little Blue hopped onto the table and looked at each member gathered. "And how do we fight earthquakes? They could wipe us out with a snap of their fingers." The raucous atmosphere died due to his logical analysis. The leaders sat in silence as they watched the three major hub's skies blare with color. "Is there anything we can do?" A far more composed King asked finally.

...

Micu raced towards the edge of major hub one. "Where are we going!" Isabel shouted behind him. Jenira and Ralnas also wondered this but decided to follow first and ask questions later. Micu continued to run through tents, jump over booths, and dodge panicked civilians. He only had a feeling but trusted that what he had seen on his dad's screen was pointing to this edge of the hub. He finally reached the outer edge of the hub and a large metal fence prevented him from falling off into the black space beneath the floating hub. He searched the sky for any sign of his friend. The colors in the sky seemed to be pouring forth from an area just beyond the hub. The green and gold were coming from the same area but the other colors seemed much brighter than those two combined.

Micu whirled around to look at Jenira. "What color is associated with Neith and Tohil? Jenira was stunned by his sudden question and took a second to answer. "Neith is green. I'm not sure about Tohil." Micu nodded, "I'm pretty sure he's the gold in the sky." Jenira gasped as it suddenly made sense to her. "Then the other three colors are the other Overwatchers." Micu nodded as he watched the swirling origin of color spit forth rivers of hues to tint the sky. Ralnas was a step behind putting everything together when Isabel burst into their collective silence. "You mean to tell me that Jayce is up there with the other Overwatchers?"

Micu nodded without looking away from the whirlpool in the sky. Isabel stammered out her words. "But...but that means...Jayce is...a god?" Ralnas violently shook his head, "That's impossible! Tell her Jenira! Micu? Guys please, he's still the Jayce we know from school right?" Micu sighed, "If we go off the evidence that is right before us then the only logical conclusion is that Jayce is indeed some kind of god. Or at least has the abilities that allow him to stand in the same room as them." Ralnas dropped to his knees and stared at the sky. "How?" He whispered mournfully as they watched the sky roll and boil.

The ground beneath them shook violently and Micu stepped back from the fence as it jostled against the tremor. The four of them grasped each other as the ground below them rocked them back and forth. For two long minutes, everything shook and crumbled. Then everything stopped moving and the sky itself seemed frozen. Ralnas let go of his friends and peaked an eye open. "Impossible..." he said as he looked to his right. Jenira opened her eyes and looked to where he brother's face was pointed. "Is that major hub two?" She shouted with shock. Micu was looking the opposite way. "Major hub three is right there." He said breathlessly. Isabel put her hands to her head and screamed, "What is going on!"

Micu took a cautious step forward to look past the fence. He quickly jumped forward to grab the fence and his eyes roamed the space below them with astonishment. "This is too crazy...." Ralnas dashed next to him and gasped. "Is that a fucking ocean!" Jenira was next to them in a flash and sucked her breath in as an endless ocean spread forth from where before there had simply been open space. "Was there always an ocean here?" Isabel asked slowly. All four of them knew that there had not been anything between the hubs but open air. Still, something within them wanted to make some sense of the unbelievable things that they were witnessing first hand.

Micu pointed to the ground as it reformed itself into a gently sloping hill at the tip of major hub one. A sandy beach extended out into the horizon until the very faintest glimpse of green grass could be seen. The metal fence that had prevented people from falling to the death dissolved into an open area that led down to the beach. Ralnas felt his legs go wobbly and he sat with a thud on the ground. He looked to his right and left and then closed his eyes. "This is one hell of a nightmare but I would like to wake up now please."

Micu opened his watch and dialed his dad again. No one answered and the watch indicated his call could not be completed. Micu sighed and then turned to look behind them. The three major hubs were now smashed into each other to form one extra large hub. The hubs slowly bobbed up and down on the newly formed ocean that it floated on. He heard sirens in the background and people still screaming. Micu sighed again as he looked out again over the beach that led to some unknown landmass. "I think a grand competition is about to begin."

Isabel nodded and bent down to pick up a dazed Ralnas. "It certainly matches the descriptions of previous competition beginnings. Though the hubs slamming into each other is a new one." Jenira returned her gaze to the swirling ball of color. It had seemed to collapse on itself and the colors spun far lazier now than they had before. She clenched her fists together as she thought of Jayce up there with those monsters.

The sky then disappeared leaving only blackness before them. Four heads appeared that were each easily the size of a small building. Every single screen displayed the four heads and the ocean itself paused in it's rolling. The four of them gasped in unison as one of the heads was unmistakably Jayce's.