DOME OF FATE

"We all have problems; the way we solve them is what makes us different."

Five didn't know how long he was lying there exhausted before he heard a sound as if something was coming out of the waters. He strained himself to look up and indeed something was coming out of the water.

A submersible soon popped out its head and two individuals in black combat uniform came out, finding their way to him. Five just stared at them, too weak to say or do anything. The two also seem not to be the chatty type as they simply supported him on both sides and basically dragged him to the waters and inside the submersible and soon enough they dived back into the waters.

Five at one of the seats now was alternating between consciousness and unconsciousness, but at least he was lucid enough to see they were approaching a huge submarine before he finally blacked out for the last time.

***

With a start Five woke up, to find himself in the quarters reserved for expendables and on his bed too. He stood up, but suddenly felt something was wrong, ("what was wrong"). That's when it dawned on him that it was him that was off, his body to be precise. He couldn't feel any pain whatsoever and his body seemed to be in tip-top shape with no sign of any broken bones. ("Was I out for a whole year"), he chuckled to himself.

He looked at the little desk attached to his bed and found a fresh black combat uniform on it with his number at the right side of one of the front pockets of the shirt like a badge. He looked around and found almost everyone occupying their beds as well with similar uniforms on their desk, he said almost cause there seemed to be some empty bed spaces now, with no one occupying them which is odd, cause they clearly had occupants before, a similar situation also happened in the Neo's quarter.

Suddenly a crackle and a static sound were heard from the speaker in the room before the same monotonous robotic voice from before spoke.

"Congratulations Five, for being the sore survivor in the first task"

Immediately, surprised looks and murmurs were directed towards Five, who kept a poker face, the voice didn't care as it continued.

"In an hour, everyone kindly move to the restricted area immediately for your next task."

After that, a crackle and static voice followed before everything became silent, but not for long as murmurs again ensured in the room, some about Five, but mostly it was about the next task and what exactly is in the restricted area, since ever since they were here like the name suggests they weren't permitted to enter the place, which was really intriguing as the place or building seems to be the largest in the whole island and was shaped like a dome.

Soon after they all slowly started making their way to the restricted area after they had donned the black uniforms. It didn't take long before they got there where they met the Neos in their crisp blue uniform standing at the huge entrance door to the dome.

Once again the murmurs started, this time it was mostly coming from the Neos as they all looked at Five, among the expendables. The look in their eyes differed from one another, some appeared surprised, some angry, some jealous. Even if Five could see this and could also hear what most of them were saying due to his sensitive ears, he chose to ignore and kept a poker face, but not for long as someone from among the Neos suddenly approached him and dabbed him up, which unsurprisingly Five reciprocated as this person was no other than Forty Four.

"How did you do it, man?"

"If you stuck around you would have known" Five smirked.

"Hey, don't kick a down brother, is not funny"

"You should be more observant, try not to let anyone get the better of you next time."

"Alright Dad"

"You are welcome son"

Before Forty-Four could say anything, a deep metal sound came from the front, as the huge entrance door started separating from the middle as it opened up to the restricted dome. They didn't wait for anyone to ask them to move inside before they all made their way in.

They had their minds blown as they entered the dome building which is a massive, sleek structure, as large as a stadium, with its curved walls made of shimmering, translucent material that reflects the changing lights of the environment. The dome arches high above, its surface smooth and metallic, with thin lines of neon light running along its edges, pulsing rhythmically.

In the center of the dome, instead of a traditional field, a colossal fighting stage rises. The stage is elevated, constructed from a dark, reinforced metal with glowing symbols etched across its surface. It exudes a menacing aura, and from its edges, beams of light shoot up to form an invisible barrier, preventing any unauthorized entry onto the stage. The fighting arena is surrounded by a wide, empty gap—a buffer zone between the fighters and the audience.

The seating area begins a safe distance away from the stage, rows upon rows of seats rising in tiers around the dome's interior, allowing spectators a clear view of the action. The seats are sleek and minimalist, and their materials are dark and matte to avoid any distractions.

Near the stage, scattered in strategic positions, are figures in black camouflage, their outfits blending seamlessly with the environment. Their presence is almost eerie, as they are so well-concealed that they blend into the shadows cast by the dome's dim lighting.

At one end of the dome, there’s an opaque, glass-like structure that spans an entire section of the building. This area is mysterious—impossible to see through from the outside.

Inside the glass-like structure were people in black uniforms facing large computers, but the most eye-catching figures were two imposing figures Standing side by side. These figures were no other than blue zero and black zero, with the former in his signature dark shades.

Black Zero looked at one of the individuals in front of the screen, who was also looking at him and he gave a nod gesture. The person quickly turned around and pressed a button which immediately turned green and he said to a little standing microphone in front of him;

"Take a seat, everyone"

The clearly female voice vibrated through the whole stadium with the help of powerful speakers which couldn't be seen, both expendables and Neos looked around to identify where the voice was coming from, but seeing no particular place they went ahead and took their seats.

The seating arrangements they chose, were predictable as the Neos chose to sit far apart from the expendables, while the expendables did the same. But there was an awkward situation among the expendables.

As a single blue combat uniform can be seen among them, this person was no other person than forty-four, who was currently oblivious to the stares he was getting and was saying something to Five, whose expression appeared bored.

"Congratulations to 109 of you who managed to remain alive from the first task" the voice once again spoke finally breaking their attention away from Forty-Four.

"The second task is as basic as anything can be. Two random combatants will be chosen to fight on the stage in front of you. The rules are pretty simple as well, to win you just have to kill or knock out your opponent, if you decide not to fight you too will be killed"

".........."

Except for the almost non palpable sounds of breathing and beating hearts everywhere was silent.

All of a sudden the whole lights focused on became brighter and the ones for the audience dimmed, almost making it non-existent. The symbols on the reinforced metallic stage shimmered and out one end a holographic number 16 appeared, on the other end another holographic number 45 appeared.

It didn't take long for the voice sounding out their fate to begin to speak again.

"Number 16 and 45 move to the fighting stage."