The Next Day
Throughout the previous night, X had hoped to be excited about the fact that he was already a student of the Academy. Just like the day in which he got third in the first round, the inn owner had thrown another party to celebrate X's victory, although this time X was not present in it, not even in the corner. Maybe it was because he was closer to fighting Brik, but X did not feel happy about the tournament. Uncle Ken's final words, something both he and Brik had heard him say before he died, resonated in his ear. How did Brik manage to forget what he had said?
X headed to the second arena where his match would take place. It was an identical copy of the one where he had won his quarter-finals, down to every last feature. There were barely anyone else who were going there, most of them with a dejected face. As expected, most of the people were flocking to the other arena, since the battle between Brik and Rose would be much more entertaining than his battle with Goofy. X walked alongside the audience, hiding his face with his robe.
The people were so busy conversing about the matches to be held that day that they did not pay him any heed. When he accidentally crashed into a knight, the knight just asked him if he didn't have eyes and let him go. X was pleased with the reactions of the people since he did not have to talk to anyone. Nobody cared enough to stop him and converse.
As he walked through the side entrance which was reserved for the contestants and entered the armory, X began to wonder if he could really defeat Goofy. Unlike Darren, whom he beat by luck, Goofy had actual abilities. His stretchy rubber-like skin made it almost impossible for him to lose since the Tower Master's life shield ability provided an extra shield that could handle half the attacks it would take to kill the wielder. To defeat him, X had to make a plan. Unfortunately, he was terrible at making plans.
Maybe he could melt his shield if it truly behaved just like rubber. The only problem was that if his skin did not completely behave like rubber, it would burn and leave him permanently damaged, maybe even dead. Suppose X could use Fire Escape to push him away, out of the ring, he would be able to win. But that would require more speed. He had a thought, and at that exact same time, a female voice in his head repeated it, confirming that this plan would work.
X almost missed the announcement. The Tower Master had commanded the contestants to enter the arena in his loud booming voice, a sentence he had heard multiple times over the past two days. X once again felt nervous, but the fact that he had managed to do something in the presence of more people in the quarter-finals proved to him that it was not as bad as it seemed
Startled, X walked out with a quick pace, moving his legs stiffly. As he crawled closer to the arena, he looked around and saw that there were barely any people sitting there, all of whom were dismayed by the fact that they missed the good match. Maybe the other arena ran out of seats, although X could not believe that it was possible. He just walked forward, lowering his head to the floor. He climbed the flight of stairs and entered the raised platform. Goofy was standing in front of him, looking abysmally bored. Dusan Sinclair Rubeus floated above the arena, looking at the unenthusiastic audience, and yelled
'Let the second match of the semifinals begin.'
X immediately got into position, knees bent, and his body pushed forward. Taking a deep breath, he waited for the perfect opportunity, where Goofy would try to attack him. But his opponent just stood there. Being heavy and bouncy meant that he was good at soaking in all the damage, which allowed him to not care about enemy attacks. If X had his weapon, he could push him outside with ease, similar to how Javier tried to win the previous battle. But without a non-combustible hatchet, X was doomed to lose. And even if he won, he would probably have to fight Brik, so wouldn't it be better to just jump out of the arena intentionally? But X had not come here to give up, even if he did not want to fight his angry friend. So, taking another deep breath, he muttered
'Fire Escape'
The temperature rose throughout the arena. The audience raised their heads and looked at the match, finally showing enthusiasm since one of the contestants was literally on fire. X blazed forward, blackening the stone below him. Rushing faster than the wind, the jet of fire collided with Goofy, transforming into a 15-year-old blond kid with a blast of heat that would have burnt most people. A cloud of dust and steam rose after the collision, and once it settled, X was on the floor, near the edge of the arena, lying down in an awkward position. In the middle of the arena, stood Goofy. There wasn't even a scratch on him.
X got up quickly, ready for a counterattack, but Goofy just stood there. He had been pushed back by a few centimeters, but aside from that, he was absolutely not hurt. X realized that since the shield had similar properties to his skin, the shield would not even have been damaged by his attack. Unless he manages to push Goofy out, there would be no way he could win.
'Could you turn off the fire, please? I don't like heat when I am sleeping.'
Goofy spoke, completely oblivious to the mental workout his opponent was doing. He did not mean to insult his opponent or call him weak, he only used to do that when someone else annoyed him first. He really meant it when he said he was about to sleep because he was feeling sleepy.
X stood still, and as he did, something clicked. When he hit Goofy, he came bouncing back. The only reason he could not push Goofy back was because of his lack of speed since Goofy weighed too much for Fire Escape to be enough, but if he implemented the plan the icy voice had told him, he might actually be able to do it. And now that he had seen it work, he knew that whatever he was thinking of would definitely work.
X bent forward while whispering "Fire Escape". A stream of golden flames erupted from the place where he was standing, zooming towards the opponent. He collided with even more force than before, and when the collision happened, X transformed back into a human, trying to control his body. He hit Goofy, and after a moment, bounced right back, much faster than before. Speeding back in his human form, he could feel the pressure of the air on his skin, cutting through the shield. But he couldn't turn back. Landing on his toes right next to the edge of the arena, he spun like a top, performing a perfect pirouette while carrying the force forward.
'Fire Escape'
X returned as a jet of flame much faster than before, whizzing through the air. He was less brighter than before, and not as hot, but the speed more than made up for it. When X was about to collide with Goofy again, he turned back into a human, crashing right into him with a force high enough to damage the coliseum. He had managed to make his opponent take a couple of steps back, and now Goofy was spamming punches in the spot where he thought X was, wishing to finish this fight and return to sleep.
X bounced back, even faster, his hair getting ripped out of his skull by the force of the wind. If X did not manage to defeat Goofy by the next collision, his shield would be broken. So he performed the pirouette again, his toe bones cracking, the muscles of his feet turning into clay. X returned for a third time, a flame moving through the air so fast that most of the audience could not even see it, spluttering from the force of the wind. Too late, Goofy understood his mistake, and threw a punch at X, his arms stretching farther than both his hands should have been able to, screaming something that X could not hear due to his speed.
'Rubber-Rubber pistol'
The punch blasted through the air extremely quickly, abusing the elastic properties of his skin. But X moved much faster. The punch hit a spot where X had long ago, and a moment later, X was in front of Goofy, transforming back into a human, and hitting Goofy with his shoulder so hard that he lost his grip on the floor. Both the contestants were bouncing out of the arena. In that one moment in which X turned from flame to human, and collided with Goofy, in that one moment, his almost completely intact shield nearly broke from the force of the wind. But Goofy's shield was broken, and his body was partially injured.
As medics arrived to carry away the unconscious contestant, Dusan Sinclair Rubeus announced that the victor was X, who had won by a slight margin. But X felt odd. Something was off. He got up, struggling to support himself while the bones on his foot were broken, and glanced around. Not a single person was in the audience. No one.
X limped towards the Headmaster, who glanced at him for a while, and pitying his condition, carried him through the air, using magic to let him float right towards himself. X thought that flight wasn't as cool as he thought it was when Aqua and Dusan Siclair Rubeus did it. It felt oddly familiar, like something he could also do.
'Everyone left when they realized that the arena guards were not paying attention, sneaking into the other arena. I must say, it was quite an impressive strategy you displayed today, which sadly was overshadowed by the spectacle that was shown in the other arena. '
'Over?'
X asked, hoping that his future professor would be able to decipher his hidden meaning. He had managed to say the word completely, after all. On hearing him, the Headmaster snickered while nodding, and lowered X to the ground, before teleporting away. X braced for the impact, but on hitting the ground, he did not feel much pain. The descent was slow, and Dusan Sinclair Rubeus had probably done something.
X limped out of the Coliseum, musing over what just happened. He had won! He was now in the finals. X did not know whether he should feel overjoyed or upset, since he might have to face Brik. But then he recalled how Dusan Sinclair Rubeus had snickered when he understood that X thought that Brik and Rose were nearly equal in power. Maybe, Rose one-punched Brik, and finished the battle. Hopefully, that happened.
As he walked out, he saw a singular entity standing under the shadow. Her short-cropped brown hair was covered in sweat and blood, and her body was covered in bruises, both small and big. X gulped, took a deep breath, and approached Rose, hoping to ask her about the details of her match. Before he could ask it, however, she answered his question with a shrug.
'I lost.'
She spoke with happiness, rather than disappointment. She was like a child, saying proudly that she lost to her parents in a sport. She acted like it was a test between a trainer and a student, not a competition between equals. Like Brik was too strong for her to even dream of defeating.
'You...lost.'
'Well, you could say that it was close, although I know it was not. He praised me, and it always felt like an equal fight, until his claws tur...'
She shuddered and lifted the sleeve of the long tunic she wore. A long, fresh scar ran down the length of her forearm, evidently made by Brik's claws. They managed to break through her shield, and actually damage her. X remembered Dusan Sinclair Rubeus' snicker. Just how strong was Brik? And since Brik won, did that mean... X had to fight Brik, who wanted to kill him more than anything else. Tomorrow. In front of a crowd of adoring fans.
X decided to be very upset about his victory. Then pushed away all thoughts of the fight to tomorrow.