Chapter 146 - Momentary Sadness

Remy was wheeled into the Virtus Imperium's infirmary, everyone circling around Remy's bloody and bruised body. He seemed hardly recognizable due to all the swelling that had occurred across him. His breathing was faint as Carrie stood by his side, holding his hand tightly. Theodore picked up Remy's body, moving it over to his bed as Eve ran to his side and began to hook him up. She placed an oxygen mask over his mouth, a mist forming from his soft breaths. Angel and Carrie couldn't bear to look at his body. Theresa, Ziyad, and Theodore all stood and watched as Eve began to work on him. The other paramedics walked over to Thong and Daniel, keeping an eye on them. Hugo and Li looked at one another.

Hugo: That kid… He's going to make it, right?

Li: I don't know… He looks like he's in awful shape…

Mike: He'll make it.

Hugo and Li turned to Mike, who wore a stoic expression in the corner of the room. From where he stood, he could see the condition of all three people in the room. Thong's heavily wounded face, Daniel's several cuts, and Remy's brutalized body. Each of their conditions had him grit his teeth as he slammed the side of his fist into the wall. 

Li: Mikey…

Mike: These guys are my friends… And I can do nothing but watch as they fight with their lives on the line… If I just didn't hold back, Thong wouldn't be in that condition… I could've taught Remy better ways to fight… I could've…

Theodore placed a hand on Mike's shoulder, the gentle firmness of the grab brought Mike back to his senses. Mike looked up, noticing that everyone had turned to face him.

Mike: Sorry… I didn't mean to make it about myself.

Hugo: But you have a point, rude guy. There's more all of us could have done to have prevented this. 

Carrie: I wish… I didn't disrupt his training…

Ziyad: Nothing will get accomplished if we just sit around here moping. We get it, you all feel guilty because your friends got hurt. But you realize how little that matters now, correct?

Theodore turned to Ziyad, both men exchanging glances. Ziyad lit up his pipe, letting out a huff of smoke.

Ziyad: I've worked within the military all my life. I've helped raise Theodore as if he was my own. I've seen men hit their lowest. I've seen men watch their friends come mere inches from death. And there's always one thing that doesn't help those men heal, and that's blaming yourselves.

Carrie: But it's true! We held them back in several ways!

Theresa: Even if we did, we can't just blame ourselves and expect that to make things better. We can just hope for their speedy recovery and support them when they wake up.

Ziyad walked over to Theodore, placing a hand on his back.

Ziyad: Sit down, lad. You may put on your usual strong bravado, but your injuries to the back are nothing to simply laugh at. 

Theodore: I appreciate the concern, Ziyad. This tournament just continues to pain me in a way that no blade or punch could. Seeing Abraham and Remy in the conditions they're in is upsetting.

Hugo: Then do this, big guy. For those that are still fighting, try to help train them before their next matches.

Li: Hugo! You can't just demand that of a king!

Hugo: I understand, dear Lantern. I am truly the best trainer one could ask for, but if he feels so guilty, he should prepare my student and his men to not nearly die in their matches.

Angel: Do you have no respect for royalty?

Theodore: No. This man has a point. If I wish to prevent these men from facing any more pain, I should support them in a way that will help them most. When these men are capable of standing and I am in a stable enough condition, I will train them the best I can.

Li: How the hell did that work…

Mike: King Oneiroi, are you sure that's okay?

Theodore: Most definitely. Despiting having been taken out, it does not mean I should leave you all to fend for yourselves. I will support my men to the best of my ability.

Hugo: Spoken like a real king. Now tell me, what are you a king of exactly? Some prom? Is it a backstory this place told you to make up to excite the masses?

Theresa: Oh, he's quite the playful one, isn't he?

Li: I wish I could say he was joking, your highness…

Eve: There we go, he should be stable now.

Everyone turned to Remy, who had several tubes and wires attached to him. The blood that covered his body had been wiped down, leaving only his heavily bruised body left for all to see.

Li: This round is so relentless… Each match just seems much more brutal than the last…

Mike: With competition becoming steeper, everyone is trying harder to ensure they make it to the next round. So each match will basically be to the death.

Ziyad: This organization never ceases to amaze me. From the previous head casually walking into heavily armed facilities unscathed to the behemoths of fighters that fight in this ring. 

Theresa: Are you sure we should continue doing business here, darling? We could join our men that participate in Pulsar and Titanomachy.

Theodore: I am certain this is the place we should remain. Despite the hardships, this simply proves we have much more to overcome. But treating this place lightly any longer would be our gravest mistake.

Li's thoughts: Maaaan… I wish she would call me darling like that…

…

Avi rubbed Cero's neck, his large hands being far more gentle than his rough expression would lead one to believe. He walked over to the table nearby, picking up a cast and placing it around Cero's neck.

Avi: While your spine has no serious injury to it, the windpipe has been bruised. You may experience difficulty breathing smoothly for the next few days. Nothing life-threatening, however, that I can assure you.

Kammy and Bruna fell on all fours, letting out sighs of relief. 

Kammy: Thank god…

Bruna: H-He's still in the game…

Mason: What did you expect? He's our boss after all.

Ryan: But you weren't lying, Cero. That Remy boy is exceptionally lucky.

Cero: The strike to my neck was not something he had planned, but rather something that had occurred through pure chance. His one chance at victory came through pure luck.

Vector: But still, to get so lucky that he was able to hurt someone like you? He should've gone to the lottery in that case.

Avi: Please, don't make my infirmary a gettogether.

Mason: Aw, c'mon Avi. Don't be such a buzzkill! We're just enjoying the fact that our leader is still in fighting condition.

Avi: Yes, despite the fact he finds new ways to hurt himself with each coming round.

Kammy: Out of pure luck! No offense to you, Ryan.

Ryan: My punches aren't pure luck, you know.

Vector: Yeah, he'd probably knock your head off with just one of those. Can I get your number, Ryan? I'd really like you to pick my car up from ditches if I ever get stuck.

Ryan: Just because I can lift a few doesn't mean you can just treat me as your personal tow truck. But sure, here's my number.

Ryan and Vector pulled out their phones, exchanging numbers as everyone turned to Cero.

Tico: Boss… What was Remy like?

Cero sat in silence before turning to Tico.

Cero: He was someone that relied on luck heavily. He's no master and he is far from being a match for anyone like myself or Ryan. But he is no amateur either. He has spirit and determination. I would enjoy seeing him grow.

Bruna and Kammy looked at each other in shock, noticing the slight smile Cero wore as he spoke about his opponent.

Tico: Luck, that really is the only way I can describe him…

Mason: Yeah, luck is definitely his best feature.

Cero: But that is beyond the point. I can no longer look into that. I must prepare myself for the fighter that comes next.

Kammy: Yes, the animalistic fighter with constant new surprises: Daniel Oneiroi.

Bruna: A-A-Are you sure he's actually a replicator?

Cero: That is something I will assure myself when I come to fight him. He was able to flawlessly use techniques that no other Imperium fighter had ever shown the capability of using. 

Ryan: That is true. Remy, Mike, Abraham, and Gonzalez have not shown the slightest capability of using a single technique of Theodore's. Abraham would have the most reason to use his techniques, but he used swordsmanship and MMA.

Vector: That is pretty weird. What exactly is a "Replicator" anyway? They actors or something?

Cero: No. Replicators are the bane of all martial artists. Assume that you have trained all your life to perfect a technique. You honed this technique for years so that only you are capable of using it in combat. Yet one day, you fight a stranger who had not trained in your style for a single moment in his life. The next time you come to fight him, he uses the technique that should be yours and yours alone.

Vector: Like my Mercury Style?

Tico: Or my Aikido and Silat combination. 

Cero: Or my KenShinka Style. Replicators would be capable of using all of these techniques after experiencing them once. You likely remember this when Daymond fought against Theodore.

Ryan: So the head of this organization is also one of these "Replicators"?

Cero: Indeed. He was a target that Deacon and I had tried to take out. But he used his own teammates to weaken our group. He removed our numbers and through the mimicry of other fighters and his metallic bones, he came out victorious.

Ryan: I see why you feel such a strong desire to eliminate him.

Vector: Honestly, wouldn't it have been smarter to have fought him in the first round? Prevent him from mimicking others and ensuring that he cannot make it to the finals?

Kammy: I wish it was as easy as that. Even if Cero were to beat Daymond in the first round, Daymond is not weak by any means. Those two fighting from the beginning would ensure that the other would be unable to reach the finals. And the other reason is…

Bruna: I-It's what Deacon would have wanted.

Ryan: That's right… Deacon fought Daymond at the end of the previous tournament… That was on purpose?

Cero: Exactly. It's what he wanted, to kill the threat on the grandest stage. But his own paranoia and Daymond's own quick evolution assured his demise.

Cero's thoughts: But I will not make the same foolish mistake. I will kill Daymond and bring back the greatest era in the Eclipse's history. Our battle has only begun.