The Preparations.

The four of them headed back to their room, escorted by four guards. Everyone starred as they walked down the street. It was quiet, but every now and again a firework would go off. Chris looked around and saw a giant dome a ways from their hotel. Chris tried to look at it more, but was cut off by the open door to the hotel. When they entered, the conversations stopped and the eyes starred; everyone in the lobby was staring at them. They entered the elevator. It stopped, but then continued on. The door opened, and they all walked out. When the eight of them got to the room, one of the guards spoke, a deep demanding tone, "You have five minutes, grab your stuff." The four boys moved into the room, the guards stayed in front of the doors.

"Do you think we did something wrong?" Dean asked Evan. "Yeah, we signed up for these blasted games. We should've gone with plan A. Just kill everyone. So much easier." Evan whined "I'm starting to think that too." Dakota said in agreement. "Are you two delusional? We're not killing everyone in this city!" Chris protested. Evan and Dakota didn't say anything, they just glared at Chris. "Are we all good?" Evan asked. "Yeah, I'm set." Chris responded. "Me too." Dean said. "Yeah, same." Dakota responded. "Alright, let's get out of here." Evan told them as he walked out of the room. 

The guards walked them out of the room, people weren't staring as much but some still were. They got out of the hotel and were greeted with a white floating car surrounded by more guards. A man in a black suit stepped out of the car, "Hello young ones. I'm here to escort you to your living quarters for the Games. It will be a quick, safe and secure ride all the way to your quarters. Step in the vehicle when you're ready." He finished and stepped in the passenger side of the car. The car itself had 3 doors on the side. The passenger and two for what Chirs was guessing the riders. Chris looked at Evan, then glanced over to the dome. It was on top of a hill. The road from where the four of them were staying led all the way up to the dome. Chris stepped inside the vehicle followed by Dakota. Dean was already in the car, but he and Evan were behind them. "Enjoy the ride!" The man hollered from the front. Chris looked out the window to see that the guards were on floating bikes next to them. Chris looked ahead, and saw that they were going into the dome.

The car stopped as they approached the entrance to the dome. "What's your business?" Man at the gate asked. "We have the competitors." The driver told the man. The gate opened and the car began to move again. There was a small tunnel but then they were greeted by fancy modernist style skyscrapers. All the buildings seemed to be a different shade of white. The car didn't stop as the cheering started. Chris looked out the window as people started to launch colorful powder.  People launched fireworks in the streets, they threw them flowers and tried to give them food. The street was crowded and the car had to slow down in order to not hit anyone. Chris watched in awe as people threw out hundreds of dollars of items. Chris changed his gaze and saw that right in front of them was a massive building. "This will be your living quarters." The man in the passenger seat said as he got out and opened Dakotas door. The driver did the same on Chris' side. Then moved to Evans. The man opened Dean's door, and the four of them met in front of the car. The guards that were following them were now behind the car, holding off the massive crowds. The four of them started to walk into the building, led by the man in the black suit, the guard followed behind them. When they entered the building all the floors were made out of marble, the walls were a dark material that Chirs didn't recognize. There were five desks on the left side of the room with waist high glass railings, with a round metal top that fits the hand. There was a long and tall waterfall in the middle of the room. The room itself was huge, it could comfortably fit over sixty people, Chris read on a sign. When they reached the waterfall, they were greeted by a man in a white suit. The men in the suits said something to each other, then the man in the white suit led them to some elevators. "Are you guys excited? This might be our toughest year yet!" The man announced happily. He glanced over at Chris who gave a pitiful chuckle and smile. The man smiled even more, then looked at the elevators. A few seconds went by when the doors finally opened. They walked inside and Chirs noticed that the guard that had driven the car, was now standing with the man in black. The doors closed and the elevator started to move. The elevator moved quickly because in seconds they were already in their room. "This is your room." The man told them. The four walked out and heard as the doors closed, "Enjoy yourselves!" The four stood infront of the door. "What should we do?" Dean asked the group. "Well, lets go inside." Dakota told him as he opened the door. 

The inside seemed to be color coded. White and purple. "Why white and purple?" Chris wondered. The four walked inside the room and found themselves in what looked to be the living room. The room was square and had four triple seated couches at each wall. In the middle was a small pit with a fire in it. The floor was made out of a purple velvet carpet along with the couches. Chris couldn't tell what the walls were made of, but it was the same materials from the lobby. Behind the couch at the furthest hallway was a door. The four of them all had the same idea and started towards the door. "What a terrible place to put both a couch and a door." Dakota said as he moved the couch. Dean opened the door and searched for the lights. He found them and flicked them on. It was the bedroom. It was much bigger than the living room. It had four queen sized beds and a couch facing a fireplace with a massive T.V. Dean jumped onto one of the beds and sighed. Chris walked around to see if there was another door, there wasn't. The pattern from the living room followed into the bedroom. All of a sudden the T.V turned on. And a man with a long white beard was on the screen. "Hello competitors, as you know you will be battling it out in a two round tournament for the grand price, the red crystal. All teams have been sorted out and we are ready to go. But first we must make sure you are actually capable of fighting, so it isn't a one way battle. Be up by five o' clock tomorrow morning for the capability assessment." The man smiled into the T.V and it turned off. "Five in the morning, that sucks." Evan said abruptly. "It does." Chris agreed. "What should we do?" Dean asked. "Kill them all." Evan responded. "What is up with you and killing everyone?" Chris opposed. 

Chris woke up to the annoying sound of his alarm going off. He hit the button then sat up with his eyes still closed. He opened them and saw that the door to the living room was already open, and Dean and Evan weren't in their beds anymore. He walked out and saw that Evan was using his wand to project some cartoons. The two were on couches on the opposite side of the room. When Chris walked in, he noticed that as he moved around, the projection followed him. He sat down on the couch that used to be by the door, and watched the show with them. "Evan." "What?" "What time is it?" Chris asked. "It's like…" Evan paused, "I don't know, four thirty ish." Evan halfheartedly responded while rubbing his eyes. Chris looked back at the projection and Dakota walked in. "Oh hey Dakota." Dean tiredly said. Dakota didn't respond, instead he sat down on the couch across from Chris and fell back asleep. "Either of you want coffee?" Evan asked Dakota and Chris. "I'm alright." Chirs responded. Dakota didn't answer. Thirty minutes went by and the four of them got up and started to get their stuff together. They got what they needed and stood in front of the door. Evan sniffed the air, "Ugh we all smell like trash." He pulled out his staff and pointed it up and down the three of them, then himself. A few seconds later they all smelled like mints and roses. A few more seconds went by and the door opened and there stood four guards. "We will escort you to the training grounds." One of the guards announced. They started to move and the four boys followed close behind. They entered the elevator once again, one of the guards pressed a bottom at the very bottom. The elevator started to move down and as usual it was a very quick ride down. The doors opened and they entered a huge room made completely out of concrete. The guards moved the four boys out of the elevator and went back into it.  "Follow me boys." Evan quietly told them. The four walked into the room where they saw eight others. "Welcome to The Games. You may just be our youngest competitors yet." A man from above announced to them. The other people looked at them. None of them smiled, they all glared at them. The four stood there exchanging the looks. The others turned around and started to talk among themselves. The four walked to a corner of the room away from everyone else when the elevator doors opened, a new group of people walked out, and the doors shut again. A second later the man from the top area announced, "This is a place to show your skills, practice your skills, and hone your skills. You may practice against others in your team. The brackets have been shown to the public, so you may now see who you shall be against. Any questions?" No one said anything, "Alright, you may get started." The four boys looked at one another. "What should we do?" Chris asked. "Stay low, and don't talk to anyone, we're foreigners, we don't belong here." Evan answered then looked up. Chris wondered what he was looking at, he turned around and saw that a team was walking towards them. He moved behind Evan, as did Dean and Dakota. "Hey, we heard that you guys signed up. What are you, a bunch of idiots?" The male from the group yelled, even though he was two feet away. None of them said anything. "Hey, answer me when i'm talking to you!" He shouted again. Evan smiled, "No." Then he turned around to face the other three. "Oh you've got it coming for you boy!" The man shouted. "I bet you can barely pick up a stone!" He mocked. Chris could tell that Evan didn't care a bit. "Why don't you turn around and stop hiding with your little group!" Evan didn't flinch. Chris peaked over Evans shoulder and saw that the man was with his group, he had no weapon, there was a woman behind him who looked to have knives or daggers on her hip, next to her was another man with a bow around his shoulder and on the other side of the woman was another man with a spear. Chris looked back at Evan. The man and his group chuckled, then Chris heard, "I could eliminate them all, sir." Chris looked around, "Don't worry, it's just me, your sword." Chris never got a chance to really listen to how the voice sounded, but now that he heard it, it sounded very elegant. Like it was from the old ages. Chris shook his head back and forth. "As you wish, sir." It went quiet, and Chris heard their footsteps walking away. "So much for a low profile." Dakota said.

"Who are we up against?" Dakota asked the group. Dean and Chris shrugged, then looked at Evan. "Do you see that group over there? Two girls, two guys." Chris looked over, "Thats who were up against." The other three turned back around and nodded. They stood in silence until the man spoke again, "Contestants please make an orderly fashion to the line in which you arrived." The first group to arrive was the group that the four had already met. The group they were up against. And finally another group of two guys and two girls. The line moved slowly as everyone showed their skills. Evan was the first of their group to go up. He stepped up to the line. Holographic human targets started to fly towards him. He blasted them with his staff, making it look like it was taking effort, but Chris could tell he wasn't.  The holograms retreated, Evan stepped off and Chris stepped up to the line. A small screen appeared in front of his face 'What weapons do you use?' Chris looked through the list, and found 'Sword.' He looked at it, and the screen disappeared. "Sir, I may be of assistance." His glasses/sword spoke. Chris nodded. He pulled his sword out and stood ready. "This may feel strange, but you will still have full control. I will just be telling your body what to do." The voice told him. "You heart rate is spiking sir, calm down, it will all be fine." The ground started to move. Chris was now in the middle of the room. The holograms suddenly appeared and started to rush towards Chris. He clutched his sword. He didn't know what came over his, but he swung and hit the hologram directly in the neck pulling through. He spun around and stabbed another right through the chest. He was crouched down, then turned while standing up and stabbed another through the chest. He spun and hit another, then another. And finally it was over. The ground started to move again, and a screen popped up. 'You are able to regroup.' Chris stepped from the line and met up with Evan. "Good job sir. I hope that wasn't too much." Chris shook his head slightly back and forth. "I'm glad to hear that, sir." Chris and Evan stood for a moment. "That sword seems to really know what it's doing." "Yeah, it does, doesn't it." "Does it talk to you much?" "Not much, just when things start to get out of my hands. It always seems to know when to take control. But it's not me blacking out anymore, I can stop at any point." Chris told Evan. "Good, good. I'm glad that you're happy with it." Evan responded. Chris smiled. They waited in silence when Dean walked over, panting. "Hey guys. These gloves are powerful. Whatever you did to em' Evan, it really worked." He was smiling and looking at his gloves. "It was nothing, just a few simple spells here and there." Evan was now sitting against the wall connected to the elevator. "Evan, do you have any plans for when we go into the arena?" Evan thought for a second, "No, but something feels off for some reason." "What do you mean?" Chris asked. "I don't know, it's just, something feels off." Evan told as Dakota walked over. "This bow is really something." Evan looked up and gave him a smile then looked straight again. An hour went by and everyone was finished. "Everyone here has finished their course. In two days time, you will be headed off to The Games. Best of luck to you." The man told them. "You may now head off to your rooms." The room was quiet for a second, but quickly everyone started to talk among themselves and move toward the elevator.

When the four got back to their room they sat down and watched cartoons off of Evans staff. "Should we be practicing or something?" Chris asked. "No, I don't see why we would." Dakota responded and continued to watch the cartoons. Day became night to day again. They slept, got up, ate and wandered for a bit but always ended up watching cartoons. On the second day, some guards came into the room while they were watching cartoons. "You are needed for the games. Make your way to the elevator." One of them said and walked out. The boys looked at each other, grabbed their stuff Evan freshened them all up, and they went to the elevator. 

When the four got into the elevator, it automatically started to go down. It stopped, the doors opened and they got out. When the four stepped out of the elevator, they noticed that they weren't in a room, it was a hallway with many doors along it. Evan opened the door in front of them and they were greeted with a pleasantly colorful room. "Welcome, welcome." A voice said from inside. "I see I got the visitors this time around." They stepped inside the room. "I know you don't know me, but I know four." The man said. Chris looked at him. He was in a baggy shirt with cargo shorts on. The shirt was a light gray and the shorts were beige. "You probably know that no one expects you four to win." They all nodded. "Well, lets have them change their mind. I'm going to dress you four in something spectacular." He went to a room behind him. A few seconds later he came back out, "Which one of you is the leader in your group?" "I think I am." Evan said, looking at the others who nodded. "Ok, perfect. No one would think that the youngest would be the leader, I like that. Give me a moment." He told Evan then disappeared into the backroom once again. All of them were staring at the door, it opened again, and he was holding a long sleeve shirt, and a blue leather tunic. He put it on a table, "Listen, I don't think you actually need anything. You all already look fine enough. But, this tunic, if you press this button will make it turn into water, and cover your arms, if you touch any of them, it will do the same thing." Evan nodded. "Today is the day of the battle, but I got word that today isnt going to be like any other times of The Games. So be careful, this time is going to be different. And I'm supposed to give you the rundown, but I think you know how this works already. First you will go up, and they will put you into a high end car, it's different every year, then you will go down, they will cheat and you will go into a room at the end of the road. Once in there you will change into your battle gear, or whatever you call it, but for you guys, you will just stay in what you have on. Then the doors open, they set you into place, and The Games start." The five looked at each other, "Do you guys have any questions?" None of them said anything. "Alright, let me put on some finishing touches and you will be good to go."