*In the forest, the members of Shadow Eye were running and panting*
(Morgan): Arrows incoming! Find cover!
*All of a sudden a volley of arrows came raining from the sky. Dust, Amarti, Jade, Sanada, Raika and Morgan were able to find cover behind trees, but Jin and Gael were too slow and left in the open. Jin pulled out his large shield to protect himself from the barrage of arrows and Gael got behind him for safety. While the shield protected them from the arrows it couldn’t protect them from what was going on beneath them. The ground beneath began to get hotter and turn bright red. Before Jin and Gael could react, an explosion went off and sent the two flying in the air before they landed hard on the ground. Up in the trees Violet and Indigo looked down to survey the damage they caused*
(Dust): Damn it!
*Amarti and Raika came from behind the tree to launch a counterattack on the sisters. Amarti fired off his blade discs while Raika fired off lightning bullets from her assault rifle. All of a sudden, Pennie came out from the bushes beneath the tree and fired off her silver handguns which shot wind bullets. The wind bullets destroyed Amarti’s blade discs and caused Raika’s lightning bullets to explode*
(Pennie): Brodie! Now!
*Brodie then came rushing out behind Pennie with a large stone shield. He bull rushed Amarti and sent him flying in the air where he was caught in a headscissors by Lola who smiled and executed a midair hurricanrana to send Amarti flying through a number of trees before making a hard landing on the ground. Lola managed to land on her feet safely. Brodie then split his shield in half to use them as bucklers for his arms. He then focused his attention on Raika where he delivered a discus lariat to her. Despite having her guard up, Raika was sent flying back first into a large tree before Brodie ran up to her and delivered a judo toss to slam her on the ground. Violet and Indigo then focused their attacks on the trees where the others were hiding. Dust ran in the opposite direction of Morgan, Jade, and Sanada where the three were taken out swiftly by Wato and Lukas. Wato slashed through Sanada and Jade with a sword slash. Sanada and Jade fell to the ground as Wato sheathed his sword. Lukas attacked Morgan from above and delivered a devasting blow to his head with a lightning hammer. With blood slightly pouring from his head, Morgan fell face first to the ground. This just left Dust as the sole member of Shadow Eye where he soon found himself surrounded by members of Javan. Rather than attack him they just surrounded him as he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. He smiled and turned around to see Saber holding a sword whip in her hands*
(Dust): Why am I not surprised?
(Saber): As if I’d let an opportunity like this slip away from me. It’s time to shut that mouth of yours once and for all.
*Saber charged at Dust who fired off his wires hoping to trap her, but she sliced through them with her weapon. Dust jumped into the air to avoid getting struck by Saber and prepared to launch an attack from above but Saber was one step ahead of him*
(Saber): Chivalrous claw!
*Saber lifts the sword whip up where it extended out. The whip slashes across Dust’s chest and continues to slash him as it flies in the air around him. Once Saber jumps in the air the slashes stop and the whip retracts back into a sword for Saber who delivers a blow to the back of Dust’s head with the hilt of her weapon. Dust goes falling to the ground hard and creates a small crater. He tries to get back up but doesn’t have the strength and collapses on the ground. To add insult to injury, Saber stomps on the back of Dust’s head with her boot as she raises her sword whip above her head in victory*
(Lukas): Alright, stimulation stop.
*All of a sudden the forest disappears to reveal a grey room and the bodies of Shadow Eye disappear*
(Lukas): How was that, captain?
(Saber): Excellent. Good work everyone. That was perfect. We’re ready for tomorrow.
(Brodie): *Sigh* Thank the gods. We’ve been running stimulations all week. We’ve been doing them so much I almost don’t want to see them tomorrow. Was all this stuff really necessary?
(Saber): Yes. Aside from the young demihuman and Hephaestus boy they are very talented fighters who are more than a match for us as much as I hate to admit it. There’s no room for error against this group.
(Wato): I agree. They are very strong individuals and I’m positive that they’ve used this week to prepare for us.
(Lola): That’s fine with me. If they went down too easily I’d be disappointed.
(Indigo): Hey Violet, once we win do you think the captain can make Dust go on a date with me if I ask her hard enough?
(Violet): Indigo~.
(Indigo): What, I think he’s cool. He’s got that I don’t care bad boy attitude that I like. He’s a breath of fresh air from my fan club who shower me with gifts and the other guys here.
(Saber): You know I can hear you Indigo. I’m not making him my squire for you to have as your pretend boyfriend.
(Indigo): Boo~.
*Indigo gives a pouty face*
(Saber): However, depending on how well you perform tomorrow, I might consider it.
(Indigo): YAY! You’re the best Saber! I mean captain.
*Saber chuckles*
(Lukas): Whatever the case. We’ve done all we can to prepare for tomorrow and I’m confident we’ll be victorious.
(Indigo): I’ve done a reading for tomorrow as well, our chances look good.
(Saber): I’m happy everyone is still in good spirits despite this long week. We are stronger, faster, and a better team than Shadow Eye. I know that tomorrow we will be victorious.
*All of sudden an elderly man with long brown hair, glasses, green eyes, and wearing a black butler suit comes in with a cart of freshly brewed tea*
(Saber): Anthony. Perfect timing as always.
(Anthony): Of course madam. I’ve been monitoring your training from outside. Amazing work as always everyone.
(Lola): Oh~, Anthony’s famous home brewed tea. The perfect way to end the night.
*Everyone takes a cup of tea*
(Saber): Everyone! A toast, to Javan’s victory.
*Everyone cheers and drinks their delicious tea as Anthony watches happily*
***
*The day of the Kragnarok came. The members of Shadow Eye were outside the knight’s training grounds near the Brister Woods wearing all black attire. As everyone stood around, Dust was lying by a tree with his eyes closed listening to music until he could sense a car approaching and got up*
(Dust): They’re here.
*A white assault van pulled up to the forest and out came Javan dressed in all white attire*
(Dust): Hey~, you finally made it and you brought the little cub pretending to be a tiger. So, did you sleep well thinking about me?
(Saber): As a matter of fact, yes. I dreamt about you as a court jester singing and dancing in the street while everyone laughed at you. It was lovely.
(Dust): Nice. I dreamt about you too. Only difference is there you were two of you, there was a bath, and I’ll stop right there.
*Saber’s right eye was twitching but stopped when she exhaled*
(Saber): Keep up your jokes. It’ll make it all the sweeter when we win.
(Dust): You looked sexy in nothing but a towel.
*Saber heard enough and pulled out her sword*
(Saber): Death!
*Before Saber could charge at Dust she got held back by the other members of Javan*
(Brodie): Dust I’m begging ya, it’s been a long week. Don’t add more fuel to the fire.
(Korone): Yes! Save it for the field.
*Saber stopped trying to break free and regained her composure as soon as she heard Korone’s voice. She turned around to see Korone in her uniform smiling*
(Korone): Hey guys~!
(Saber): Commander? What are you doing here? I asked Leon to be our witness for today.
(Korone): I gave Leon another assignment.
***
*Leon was at a conference meeting speaking with precinct captains about implementing new guidelines for knights to follow while out on patrol. It was one of the things Leon was very passionate about. He wanted the White Tiger Knights to be seen as trusted knights who the people could depend on. There were multiple areas that they could improve on such as quicker response time and proper etiquette when addressing demihumans, elves and merfolks. Sadly, he never got a chance to properly address all the precinct captains in one room. Due to their busy schedules it was almost impossible to get them all in one room. However, there were two instances when they would all be together. The first was the Tiger Ball. A charity/celebration event for the founding of the White Tiger Knights. The second, was the Meeting of the Tigers. A conference where all the precinct captains would gather to review and discuss important topics. Usually, Korone leads it and is always bored. In fact, she actually slept one time during the opening ceremonies. Leon however was very attentive at these meetings and always wanted to lead one*
(Leon): So as you can see it’s important for us knights to be more out and about. Don’t just laze around in your patrol cars. Walk around more, switch to bikes to give yourselves more exercise. When the people see us out and about they’ll feel more safe and if there’s the risk of theft in the area you’ll be able to respond a lot quicker. Now, let’s move on to different species etiquette.
***
(Saber): You’re having him lead the meeting?
(Korone): Why not? Leon’s way better at the speech stuff. Not to mention he had great ideas I think all the captains need to hear. It’s a perfect opportunity for him and for me to get out of the meeting. Everybody wins! Yay~!
*Saber and the rest of Javan stood there speechless at what their commander pulled to get out of the conference while the members of Shadow Eye couldn’t help but chuckle at the whole thing*
(Korone): Now then, let’s get this Kragnarok started! Who’s the representative for the Black Tortoise Knights?
(Ryuuji): That would be me commander.
(Korone): Great! Let’s head to the field of battle.
*Everyone follows Korone into the forest towards the training ground*
(Korone): Okay, here are the rules for this Kragnarok. It will be an 8-on-8 battle between Amarti’s Team and Saber’s Team. The only way to win is if one side is completely eliminated or the captain is eliminated or surrenders. The battlefield is the Brister Forest only. Anyone who leaves the forest will be automatically eliminated. You’re free to fight however you wish. However, no illegal moves or trying to kill one another. Those who can no longer fight will be eliminated and escorted off the field by our medical droids. The members of each team will be teleported to a random location in the forest to start the battle. You now have five minutes to discuss strategies and make any last-minute preparations. Those who are not participating in Kragnarok can watch from the observation deck over there.
*Korone points to a metal tower overlooking the forest*
(Korone): Best of luck to both teams. May the best team win.
(Ryuuji): Well guys, this is where we depart. Best of luck to you guys.
(Hibana): Bring home the gold and nothing less.
(Zia): Master Amarti, I wish you luck. Also, Jin. Gael.
*Jin and Gael look at Zia who takes out her kukari and slashes through a sturdy tree like butter. The tree falls making a loud thud and scaring away the birds. Zia turned around with a kind smile hiding the malice she wanted to show. Jin and Gael were frozen with fear*
(Zia): No embarrassments, alright?
*Jin and Gael quickly covered their groin areas and forced a smile*
(Jin and Gael): . . .Yes.
*Zia walked away to join Hibana, Ryuuji, and Korone at the observation deck*
(Dust): Come on guys, let’s go over the plan one last time.
*Dust’s call managed to bring them back to reality and they hurried to the group*
***
*Once Ryuuji, Hibana, Zia and Korone made it to the observation deck they were surprised to see Bradley in the room sitting in one of the chairs with two Blue Dragon orders standing behind him*
(Bradley): Nice of you to join me.
(Ryuuji): Bradley? What are you doing here?
(Bradley): Same as you. I’m here to observe. Observe the mutt that is.
(Ryuuji): You really think he’s going to try and make a break for it after everything he’s done?
(Bradley): You guys may be fooled by his act, but I’m not. If the mutt even looks like he’s about to make a break for it my men will take that mutt down in a second. As far as I’m concerned this whole situation is ridiculous. I don’t know how you guys managed to get special permission from the commander and judge to temporarily lift the mutt’s probation for today, but it makes me sick. Hopefully, watching Javan put Shadow Eye in their place will put a smile on my face*
*Bradley let out a hearty laugh as Ryuuji, Hibana, Zia, and Korone took their seats far away from Bradley*
***
*After five minutes a portal opened before both teams and everyone entered it. Within seconds, everyone found themselves within the forest separated from each other despite entering the portal at the same time. A siren soon went off alerting everyone that Kragnarok had begun. Violet was teleported to the top of a tree branch*
(Violet): Alright, first thing I have to do is find the others before-
*As Violet prepared to start looking for the others she was captured from behind by Dust who jumped off the tree branch all while applying a rear-naked choke hold on her as they spun around the tree to the ground at a fast pace. Violet was completely caught off guard. Along with the choke hold and rapid spinning she had no chance to counterattack and was fading. By the time the two reached the ground, Dust released the hold and gently lowered Violet to the ground completely unconscious*
(PA System): Violet Lotus has been eliminated!
*The announcement of Violet being eliminated went out for everyone to hear. Everyone was shocked but none more than the members of Javan. A hologram projection of how Violet was eliminated was shown for everyone to see. Once Saber saw this she gritted her teeth and banged a tree with her fist*
(Saber): Shit! They must have teleported right by each other. This was the worst match-up we could have gotten. He knew about Violet’s motion sickness and used that to eliminate her with ease. Damn you Dust. I’ll make you pay for this. I swear it.
Author’s Notes: And it begins. How many people did I get at the start of the chapter? Admit it, I got a few of you. This chapter was pretty much a setup for things to come. I’m sure some of you are upset with Violet’s quick elimination but don’t worry, the next fights are going to be long, hard-hitting, and offer a variety of match-ups that I know you’ll like so look forward to the next chapters. Also, due to my schedule, I’m changing the day I upload the chapters. Starting next week chapters of Shadow Eye will be uploaded on Monday.