Always Second Place - An Earthshattering Duel

When Celsius stepped toward the center stage, his opponent did the same. Appearance-wise, they were complete opposites. Where Celsius wore more formal attire and a mask to conceal his identity, his opponent was going for the bad-boy aesthetic; wearing pants and a jacket made of leather. His hair was short, blonde with dyed tips and the grin on his face was somewhat animalistic.

"Ladies and gentlemen! This is going to be a good one! If their names are anything to go off of, it looks like our third matchup of the day will be between two elemental duelists!'

'Elemental?' Celsius repeated in his mind, having no clue that the man in front of him was so similar, yet opposites at the same time.

"From New York, we have Celsius! And from Los Angeles we have Blaze!"

Blaze, staying true to his name, formed small flames in the palms of his hands. They could be heard crackling and raging as Blaze continued to smile, bearing his fangs at his pale-skinned opponent.

Water vapor began to swirl around Celsius's hands as it began cooling down, forming gauntlets of ice around his hands and forearms. Blaze smiled, 'What are the odds.' he thought. He could have found himself fighting against any of the other nine members of Team New York, yet he found himself face-to-face with his opposite. 

"Begin!"

As if he were a missile, Blaze used his flames to propel himself forward. Celsius reacted by doing the same, using his ice to glide toward the center stage. Flames and ice clashed, creating steam that gently emanated backward toward the crowd like a satisfying shower or relaxing sauna. As Blaze's flaming palm met Celsius's frozen fist, the two exchanged words at the center of the stage. 

"You and I were practically made to fight each other! What are the odds that we of all people were paired up with one another in this tournament!" Blaze looked down at Celsius's arm which was covered in ice, though the ice was becoming moist, melting due to Blaze's flames. "Oh... Well, that's disappointing. I guess we all knew that ice can melt, but flames can never freeze! Face it, Celsius, you're the second best here!"

Hearing those words, 'second best', triggered Celsius. "You are not my superior! If anyone is second best, it's you!" Tempers flared and the two began gathering energy around their hands once more. Both fighters were putting everything into this next attack, prepared to end this fight before it would have even truly begun.

There was a blinding flash of light as Blaze's palm expelled a hellish blast and yet another wave of steam expelled toward the crowd as Celsius too released energy from his hands. Sensing danger, Celsius's body immediately covered itself in ice to protect him. However, Blaze's flames were too hot, melting the layer of ice that covered Celsius's body in an instant, and sending him barrelling backward off the stage and onto the grass.; the attack stung both physically and mentally.

As the announcer and crowd began to count down from ten, Celsius found himself lying on the ground without an ounce of motivation as he fell deep into his own thoughts. 'Second place… I'm always second place.'

Celsius thought back to his past before the name Celsius was ever uttered and he was only known as Nate, the lesser twin brother. Nick, the twin who was born first, was always ahead of Nate. In school, he would get straight A's. In sports, he was the star of the team. When it came to girls, he could get any girl he wanted with ease. Meanwhile, Nate had average grades which began falling as he got older, rather than playing sports, he locked himself inside and gamed all day, and despite sharing his brother's looks, he struggled with obtaining romance.

'Always second place.' he thought once more, as his memories shifted to the time he became Celsius. It was a memory so clear, it was as if it'd happened the day prior. Like every other beta tester, the clock struck noon and Celsius found out he was chosen and before long, he discovered his powers. 

The first thing he did was challenge his own brother to a one-sided fight in a jealous rage, no longer feeling like the second-place twin. He then took it to the streets, terrorizing those around him with his ice manipulation abilities, leveling up and unlocking skills. 

Feeling so much power in the palm of his hands, knowing he was unstoppable, was a feeling more addicting than anything he'd ever experienced. With each person he'd harmed, with each level-up prompt that appeared on his screen, he felt himself bathed in euphoria. He wanted more, he wanted to continue his rampage.

That was when he met Tempo.

He remembered seeing Tempo for the first time, viewing himself as far beyond the beta tester. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground barely clinging to consciousness, once again finding himself beneath someone else.

Once again, he was in second place.

From that day on, he'd become obsessed with Tempo, wanting to become stronger so he could have his rematch and prove that he was the number one strongest man in Queens. Upon discovering the Queens Domain, and seeing that Tempo was already inside, he knew his chance had finally come to retake this metaphorical throne. When Tempo didn't recognize him, Celsius played it off well, acting as if he was just pretending not to know him. However, deep inside, he was hurting.

The person he idolized and wanted to surpass barely knew he existed. When the two faced off, Celsius found himself on the ground beneath Tempo's feet once again. 

'Always second place.'

When he received the invitation to the tournament, he saw his name was ranked twelfth, but due to circumstances, he was temporarily moved to tenth place and accepted into the tournament. 'Finally, some recognition.' he thought, but at the same time, he was ranked twelfth and didn't truly earn his spot in the top ten. To top it all off, a certain someone was ranked just one place higher than him: Tempo.

'Always. Second. Place.'

He watched as Tempo and Spectre faced off against each other, his rival whom he couldn't touch, was practically being humiliated at center stage. He realized then that he wasn't even Tempo's strongest rival. He wasn't even Tempo's rival at all.

'Always–'

Celsius could hear the announcer and the crowd still counting down. "Seven! Six!" His eyes opened, though the light within them had completely vanished. There was no point in fighting anymore. No matter what, he would always be in second place; to Tempo, to his brother, to his opponents. 

However, upon hearing a certain voice, Celsius's eyes gleamed once more. "Celsius! Get off your ass and beat this guy already! You're not gonna let me get ahead of you again are you!?" Hearing Tempo's voice, Celsius exhaled humorously as he lay on the ground. Celsius began pushing himself off of the ground with his hands. 'As if I'd let you stay ahead of me.' Celsius placed a single foot on the grass and looked up at Tempo before looking back at the stage. 'I can't keep being in second place. I can't stay ranked twelfth. I need to become number one, even stronger than Infinite.'

"Five! Four!"

As the announcer continued to count, Celsius rose to both feet. "Celsius is back on his feet! Three! Two!" Using his ice to propel himself, Celsius glided back on stage, his feet touching the ground the moment before the countdown hit its final number.

Blaze saw his resolve, in fact, he even respected it somewhat. However, he still knew that Celsius was a joke compared to him. "So the popsicle didn't melt after all, huh?" Blaze said. "But sadly, you're a bore. I'd hoped you and I were more similar in terms of strength, but I guess you can't take the heat. It's GGs for you, buddy." Suddenly, Blaze's body was enveloped in flames; compelling the crowd to roar in amazement. It was the first time anyone had seen him perform this technique. He was saving it to show off on the grand stage.

His outfit was seemingly fireproof as it remained unscathed from his flames. Beneath the flurry of fire, Blaze's face was still visible, he had a smile on his face as if he were challenging his opposite, his brother in controlling the elements. Part of him had hoped that Celsius would accept the challenge, perhaps having some sort of transformation of his own.

Challenge accepted.

'I was saving this for when I fight Tempo, but I have to use it now if I want to win. Sorry to ruin the surprise.' Slowly, from the feet upward, Celsius began encasing his entire body in a layer of ice, no his body was becoming ice as it'd appeared completely translucent. The crowd released a series of oohs and ahhs, accompanied by the crackling of Celsius's new body that bent sharply like diamonds, having a fog emanating from his frozen body like dry ice.

"You know what can put out fires, Blaze? Dry ice!" Celsius proclaimed in a voice that sounded as if he were speaking inside of a deep chasm.

Tempo was surprised. 'So he wasn't lying.' he thought, smiling beneath his mask.

The last time they fought, Celsius could only form an icy layer of skin to protect himself at the very last second before an attack would strike him. However, it would seem that this new technique was more permanent and turned his entire body into ice. "Looks like your buddy just went super." Infinite elbowed Tempo in jest. 

"Yeah, dude, it's like a shonen transformation. Super Celsius." the Blur added, his eyes shaking with excitement as if he were transported back in time watching a certain anime transformation for the first time all over again.

Ky marveled at his archnemesis, feeling a jolt of electricity coursing through his body as he imagined how a fight between the two of them would possibly go now that he'd achieved such a state. In all honesty, Tempo hadn't a single clue how he'd even begin damaging Celsius.

Both transformations were completed; on one end, the flaming bad boy levitated a few feet off the ground, the heat emanating off of his body was burning the ground beneath him and the crowd could feel his warmth even from the stands. On the opposite end, Celsius stood unmoving; his icy eyes staring down his opponent. 'Watch closely Tempo. No, everyone! Watch New York's future number-one hero fight!'

Blaze's body began to tremble as energy was beginning to build up in the palms of his hands; meanwhile, Celsius, reading the challenge perfectly, did the same thing in response. "Ladies and gentlemen, I think we're about to see a collision!" the announcer sounded scared for once, showing even more fear than when Tigress tore herself apart. He was so afraid of what was to come, he walked as far away from the stage as he could.

Everyone knew what was to come, the spectators, the teams, the announcer, and of course, the duelists. Eventually, Blaze had become as bright as a star, and a cool tornado of air was swirling around Celsius. It was as if the sun had crashed onto Earth during the middle of a winter storm. Just the two of them standing there were emitting so much pressure, that everyone's clothes and hair were blowing backward.

"Everyone, get behind me." Professor Anarchy stood in front of his peers with his palm pointed toward the stage. The oncoming attack was going to be huge, and they were directly in the crossfire. Everyone gathered behind him, and the mage formed a shield around them, hoping it would be strong enough to protect them.

As if they'd rehearsed this simultaneous attack, the two elementals shouted, "HA!" and released two gargantuan blasts of energy toward each other at the exact same moment.

As fire and ice barreled toward each other, there was this stinging tension in the air felt by everyone watching. It was as if the flames were pricking at their skin and the ice had frozen their hearts cold. Not a single breath was generated by a soul until the two elements clashed at the center of the ring; generating an explosion which sent hot air dispersing outward toward the stands. Those watching became overwhelmed by the scathingly hot steam; which felt as if they were standing mere feet from an erupting volcano. 

Luckily for them, the stadium had precautions for such an event, and a barrier appeared before things could get too hot. Team Los Angeles luckily had an intangible hero on their team, sharing his intangibility with them as the steam passed through their bodies. Team New York all gathered behind Professor Anarchy, who could be heard struggling to keep his barrier up due to the immense pressure.

Everyone's eyes were lighting up as the blast continued, generating so much steam that the stage was no longer visible, just the shadows of the two element manipulators and their blasts clashing at the center. 

Their attack continued for what seemed like an eternity, though no one had a clue what was happening in the middle of the colossal globe of steam in the middle of the arena, none could see both of the elementals struggling to out-damage the other's blast. 

Celsius's dry ice was completely extinguishing Blaze's flames, but at the same time, the flames were melting Celsius's ice. Meanwhile, Celius's body was evaporating, yet it appeared as if his body was using the moisture in the air to restore itself constantly. On the other side of the stage, the flames around Blaze's body were being blown away while simultaneously using the oxygen in the air to continue generating more flames.

Both duelists practically were using their chemical reaction as a battery, having an infinite source of energy. However, the two of them were both starting to find it hard to breathe. Though there was still oxygen around them, the steam and CO2 being generated were going straight into their lungs. It was only a matter of time before one of them, or both would completely collapse under the pressure.

"I won't lose to this ice sculpture!" Blaze screamed aloud, his pride being too strong to allow himself to give up. 

"I will not be second place!" For Celsius, he would rather die than allow himself to be second best against the fire user, not after everything that was said, not after revealing his strongest self in front of Tempo. 

For both fighters, they were willing to die for this, somehow sending even more energy out from the palms of their hands. "They're going to kill each other!" Infinite uttered. "They're going to kill everyone in the stadium! We have to do something!" Tempo added.

However, by the time they realized what was about to happen, the entire stadium exploded in a blast of hellish flames and chilling ice. The last thing Tempo remembered was feeling an intense heat before a chilling coldness rushed over him.

[Second Chance]

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think we're about to see a collision!" The announcer said an all too familiar line, telling Tempo everything he needed to know.

Tempo looked around, seeing the moment when Celisus first entered his frozen state once again. He realized then that his Second Chance ability had gone off, sending him back to the start of the hour. Sadly, the clock had just turned, though it did by Ky enough time to do something. "Celsius wait!"