Logan
"I don't like this…" I muttered to Ziana in English.
We were seated inside a sort of waiting room for Chase's stupid tournament. It was a medium sized room with four walls, no windows or anything that could show a view outside. However it was furnished with quality furniture and even had a snack table.
"You don't get along with your half-brother. So it makes sense you're not trusting." Ziana said. I shook my head.
"No, I mean this entire tournament of Chase's. Why were so many people jumping to try and join it earlier? It's not like it was one sponsored by the Tech9 committee?"
"It's because of the prizes for winning." Ziana replied. I frowned and crossed my arms.
"Are they that good?"
"They're priceless…at least the spell sigil card is." Ziana replied. My frown deepened into a scowl and Ziana expanded on her explanation. "Spell sigil cards, whether rare or common are expansive and most are held either in splicer colleges or in the private collections of nobility and royalty. To receive one as a reward for a tournament is unheard of. Depending on the spell on the card whoever wins it could possibly sell it for hundreds of billions."
"That much?!" I hissed. I rested my head on my fist and my elbow on my knee while I processed that information. Honestly I was still processing the fact that it was common for rich families in Splicer controlled countries to have billions of dollars. Simply having a few million in America meant you were in the top one percent.
"More contestants…" Ziana said softly. I glanced over in her direction and saw her staring at the 'door' to the waiting room. I turned in the same direction and saw eight more splicers walk into the waiting room, bringing the total to twenty-nine with Ziana included. "More passed than I thought."
I casually glanced around the room. Of the twenty-eight splicers that passed twenty of them were women, not only that but all of them were high ranking soldiers in various armies and military branches. Lieutenant and above. The few men that passed were all dressed in unique military uniforms that were different from other uniforms of their country. The way they carried themselves in a way that seemed confident but not cocky.
"So many women…" I muttered then shook my head. "…why the hell are all these countries letting women in their militaries?"
"Women typically have more mana than men, more mana means they can cast more spells or make stronger evos. Though men usually have more of a broader range of talent than women." Ziana turned to look at me and frowned. "Why shouldn't there be women in the military anyway?"
"Women are weaker than men physically. They're a liability in battle." I said with a huff. Ziana's frown deepened.
"That might be true for normie women like me but splicers are different. The strength difference means nothing when you can fire lightning bolts from your fingers." Ziana huffed.
I started to refute Ziana's statement but then realized I couldn't. This splicer magic bullshit threw a lot of the rules of combat that were drilled into our heads during basic training out the window. We Americans like to boast that our military has the largest number of soldiers in the world. A boast that seems useless in the face of Chase's absurd existence.
"ATTENTION ALL TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS! CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!"
Ziana and I as well as a the others inside the waiting room turned towards the source of the screaming and saw that freakishly huge Egyptian employee of Chase's standing in front of the 'door' with an rhino-elephant evo that looked like one of Chase's evos was standing right behind him woth a box tucked under his arm. Once everyone had turned to face him he nodded, satisfied.
"We are going to be starting the tournament soon so I have been tasked with going over the rules. First and foremost, this is a no-kill tournament. The evos being supplied to you are still the property of Sho'lajah Artifact Company so ordering your evo to kill an opponents evo is grounds for immediate disqualification as well as a one million dollar fine. Second, the contestants are not combatants. Meaning that you cannot order your evo to attack another contestant, nor can you attack another contestant, either physically or with magic. Third, contestants are only allowed to give orders to their evo, any help offered by the contestant to their evo will be seen as interference. This will result in disqualification. Fourth, evos are to fight until one is rendered unconscious or unable to move. Fifth and finally, the decrees of the referee are final and binding."
'Pretty simple rules…' I thought then glanced down at my wife. She had a look of relief on her face. It took me a second to realize that the rules protected Ziana from getting attacked by evos and splicers during the battles.
"Now, despite our best efforts we have only been able to get twenty-nine participants for the tournament. As things stand there will be an odd number of participants so to keep the brackets fair and even, one participant will immediately advance to the semi-final round." The employee announced.
This bit of news caused murmurs and suspicious glances among the other participants. Ziana and I shared a sideways glance as discontent began to grow among those in the room. Chase's employee quickly took control of the room by clearing his throat loudly and crossing his arms.
"In order to determine who the participant that will advance will be…" The man continued, locking eyes with every man and woman in the room as he spoke. "…we will be drawing lots."
The evo behind the man then stepped forward and pulled the box that it had tucked under its arm out and held it out at waist level.
"Draw lots. Winner is lot most chunky." The evo said. I arched a brow and gave Ziana a confused look which she mirrored back at me. Everyone in the room had the same look.
"He means the person with the largest number wins." The employee clarified.
"Then why didn't he say that?" One of the male contestants asked. The evo puffed his chest out and trumpeted in response.
"Chunky wins! Chunky is all!" The evo exclaimed.
"Because Ogrest and Ogarai attribute chunkiness to greatness." The employee clarified then motioned to the box. "Now will everyone come up and draw a lot from the box?"
One by one every one of contestants walked up to the evo and drew a card from the box. I kept an eye on Ziana as she walked up and drew her lot, her face fell almost immediately when she looked at it. When she walked back over to me she showed me the card and I understood why. Her number was two, definitely wasn't going to be the largest. After the last person drew their lot the employee announced the result.
"Participant number 21: Enji Denakabi of the Japanese defense force, armed forces branch. You drew twenty-nine and thus will be advancing to the semi-final round."
"Of course the noble from Denakabi clan just advances to the semi-finals." Someone said. The employee frowned and narrowed his eyes at the splicer.
"If you are insinuating that we showed any favoritism because of nationality or to curry favor with a certain nation then drop it!" The employee snapped then grabbed the box from his evo and yanked off the top. He showed the contents of the box to everyone which turned out to be completely empty. "No tricks were used and honestly do you think that my boss needs to resort to bullshit like that to form connections? Either he likes you and wants to work with you or he doesn't."
Hearing this the splicer looked blusher and looked away like he was ashamed or embarrassed. Nobody else said anything and after several moments of silence the employee nodded.
"I will be back in a few moments after we draw up the brackets…Relax until then…"
Jane
"What's going on?! Why were there dead bodies in that last car?" Madilyn exclaimed as we ran down corridors of the King's glaive. I was leading the way as we ran, the result of us hearing the King's Glaive's alert a few moments earlier.
"Like I would know! I was with you!" I snapped over my shoulder. Nate had also been with us, though the moment the alarms started going off he rushed out of the car and headed towards the Gents personal car.
I rushed through another door and immediately came to a screeching halt. Angie was laying against the wall, Iris and Louie crouched on either side of her. Iris was using a enchanted item to cast a spell to heal Angie. Madilyn crashed in me and nearly knocked me over.
"Iris what happened?" I demanded.
"One of the prisoners got free…he killed Gargesh and took KC." Iris replied. I gasped and rushed into the Gents car, seeing a large blood stain in the center of the floor. I looked back to Louie and saw a decent amount soaking his collar.
"Where did they go?!" I asked.
"He ran further up the train with KC. Indy and Bo ran after him." Iris replied.
"Wait…did you see Nate? He was ahead of us." Madilyn asked. Louie pointed down the hallway without taking his eyes off his wife.
"He ran after Bo and Indy once we told him they ran after KC. Jade was with him." Louie replied.
"Fuck!" I growled then start rushed out of the car and towards the front of the train.
"Jane wait!" Iris exclaimed.
"We can't wait! The longer we do the further away the captive is getting with KC!" I yelled over my shoulder as I ran.
"At least wait until I finish healing Angie!" Iris called after me. But I didn't wait. I kept running until I reached the control car where I saw the door open with Nate and Angie poking their heads outside the door frantically searching.
"Nate! Angie!" I exclaimed. They both turned and spared me a single glance before looking back outside.
"The captive is outside! He ran into the forest with KC. Bo and Indy ran after him on Indy's evo." Nate summarized quickly then jumped down from the control car and headed towards the treeline.
"Indy has a evo?" I muttered.
"The strange meow prototype that Chase made. That doesn't matter though. They're out there chasing a armed and dangerous soldier! They're kids!" Nate snapped.
"And we don't know which way they went! Hold on a minute!" I called after the two parents. Nate and Jade both paused then sighed and turned to look at Iris and I.
"What do you suggest we do then?" Jade asked. I started to reply when I heard the door to the control car open behind me. I looked back and saw Louie, Angie, Anders and Madilyn rush into the car.
"Iris and I will track them, you all stay here." I said firmly.
"Not happening!" Nate and Louie both exclaimed.
"Our boys are out there. Mine is being held hostage again! I'm not going to sit here and wait for someone else to save him again!" Louie exclaimed.
"Guys be sensible here. What can you two do to help?" Iris asked.
"Crush bone with my bare hands." Nate said mater of factually. The guttural drawl in his voice put me even further on edge.
"The longer we sit around and debate about what we do, the further the boys get away from us." Angie said. I sucked my teeth and nodded begrudgingly.
"Let not forget about Reagan. I don't like him getting further into enemy plans without any back up." Anders said.
"Reagan hasn't been kidnapped!" Louie snapped.
"I know. I'm just saying! The kids take priority, I know!" Anders said.
"Louie, Nate, you two will head with Iris and I to get the boys. Anders, you head after Reagan. Make sure the soldiers with him don't kill him." I ordered.
"Fine! Let's just hurry up and get going!" Nate snapped.
"Rainbow Sparkles!" Iris called out. Her Argonewt simmered into visibility a few feet away from Nate and Jade, probably ordered there by Iris to keep the two from running off if they tried. Do you know which way the boys went?"
"Towardssss the hillssss!" Rainbow Sparkles replied then pointed a claw towards the south.
"Come on!" Nate yelled then ran in the indicated direction. Louie followed after Nate and the two disappeared into the woods.
"Oh for the love of Isis!" I growled then ran after the two hot headed father's. Iris and Rainbow Sparkles followed close behind.
"Are we going to tell Chase what happened?" Iris asked. I looked back at her incredulously.
"Are you insane? He's one step away from causing World War five over small petty insults and stuff! He'll utterly raze the island to the ground if he finds out KC's been taken!" I yelled.
"You know I'm starting to miss the days when I could take statements about Chase like that as people being sarcastic instead of fact." Iris groaned.
"I miss the days before we had to run so much!" I groaned. "Everywhere we go with him, there is always running!"