P79 - Gears in Motion

Inside the NTG Lounge, tension was beginning to fade into conversation. The dark room was lit softly by neon overhead lights and the flickering images on the massive TV screen that hung above the some lockers in the back.

Rikushi leaned back on the couch, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. The others sat around in various states of relaxation or repair. Valentine lounged on a recliner, nursing a wrapped hand. Blaidd paced slowly in front of the windows. Rumoto chugged down a soda can in seconds. Loth stretched his shoulders. Glonk leaned against the wall with a focused look. Kaide stood near the back, hand resting on the hilt of his blade. Hoshina twirled her hair, watching the screen with one eye. Jin lounged upside down on the armrest of a chair next to TLK, who had his halo gently rotating in front of him. Rez sat with legs crossed, his crystals orbiting around him like tiny moons.

Vera and Vee chatted quietly with each other by the bar, arms resting on the counter, until a flicker of static cut across the screen.

A news ticker appeared on the bottom of the screen:

NTG4 vs ASTRAL -- Match Underway

Toku, Yunoi, Kai, and Kuro watched from the secondary lounge. Kai sat up slightly, "Think they gonna win?"

Kuro didn't respond. Yunoi kicked her legs over the edge of the table and grinned, "I think so"

Toku adjusted his spear's blade. "Mek's and Davie got this, don't worry."

Back in the main lounge, Valentine raised his hand lazily, "So what are we doing? Letting one team skip or we gonna actually when we both enter?"

Jin chimed in, "I kinda wanna fight. I feel like it'll be fun, I mean, come on, most of the powerful opponents are gone, so most of the heavy hitters are just us now."

Rikushi turned and chuckled, "Except FLAMMA... They're still a problem."

Kaide cracked his neck and grinned. "Good. I'm gonna take them down. I've been wanting to fight some sword users for a while now."

At that moment, the room shook slightly as the crowd's cheer echoed through the speakers.

Everyone turned to look at the TV.

There they were.

Mek and Davie, standing in the middle of the ruined arena.

Defeated. But so were the enemies. It was like NTG3 vs GD4 all over again. A Pure Tie.

The screen cut to black just as the announcer's voice echoed:

"And UNDA moves up by Default!"

No replays. No highlights.

Just the final result.

Zamy, Kuddle, and Kayma were nowhere in frame--likely being carried out on stretchers or assisted by medics offscreen.

"Well damn," Rez muttered.

"They won?" Vee asked, tilting her head.

"I think ASTRAL won..." TLK added.

Glonk shook his head slowly. "They both lost."

Beau and Tyrant entered from the hallway, followed by Casa, LuLu, and Ina. All of them had bandages, some limping, some still covered in dust from their previous matches. Beau immediately grabbed his tools across the room to check on Mek and Davie which were lofted to their Lounge for repairs, circuits sparking and motors not turning.

Mek's eyes' lights came back online but were dim. Davie's joints sparked slightly before Beau tapped a tool to them, stopping the flickers.

"Still... Working" Davie said with a mechanical grin.

"Just barely," Mek added with a nod.

"Any pain?" Beau asked, opening a hatch on Mek's back.

"Only if I move." Mek says laughingly, "Thankfully, my pain receptors were damaged"

Jin turned to Casa. "We were thinking of recruiting some from the cities."

"Lysa seemed good with long-range but quick adaptions." Blaidd added.

"That Brant guy," Rikushi added, finally speaking. "He's got real power. We should keep an eye on him."

Ina smiled softly. "Veltra might be good too. She's a fast learner and seems very agile."

Valentine nodded. "And their tank, Orin. He's pretty damn solid for holding out like that without any ascension."

"Some of AURA might work too," Blaidd mentioned aloud. "Even though I destroyed them, they had fire."

The screen changed again.

GD7 vs DIMENSIONAL -- Match Complete

The crowd screamed louder now.

Winner: GD7

Toku's head dropped slightly.

Rez looked at the floor and clenched his fists.

Kai shook his head. "Another loss. We're thinning out man, just y'all two now."

"They weren't ready," said Hoshina, arms crossed, eyes dim.

"They were good," said Para. "Just not strong enough yet. We can train them one day maybe."

Valentine leaned forward in his recliner, staring at the screen.

"That's it, huh? All of Round 2 finished?"

Jin nodded.

Rikushi stood. "Then it's time to prepare. Round 3 begins soon, so the next time we'll see each other is when we're clashing against one another."

Kaide picked up his sword and pointed it in the direction of Blaidd and Glonk.

"This is going to be fun."

((Writer's Note: The Series will take a small break until Round 3, so we'll be back on the 27th of July!))