Everyone is Here

The infirmary was almost too quiet, void of the sound of liquid filling tubes and the pacing of nearby medics. Jenn and Numarei lay alone, their bodies still unconscious from the efforts which had come to pass. There were none to keep them company. Not a soul, or a pair of eyes upon which to verify their health and well-being.

And that was how the intruder liked it. They wore the clothes of an Indarian footsoldier, white mail over a coat of blue, shoulder straps… and a sabre held tight in one hand. He stopped at a far corner of the room, where two beds were next to each other. Jenn and Numarei’s.

There was a moment of hesitation. Some Prince had given him the directive. To kill these two before they could do any harm unto the King. That wasn’t too bad, all things considered. Killing someone to save another… isn’t that an ultimately moral act?

He raised the sabre above their bodies, preparing to deal the finishing blow.

“Fufufu~ Just what do you think you’re doing, hm?”

The soldier looked up, and a pair of chainsaws came upon him like teeth from the depths of hell. A scream came from the depths of his lungs. His body was carved down the middle, a line of dancing entails and offal spilling as it did.

“Who sent you here?” asked Cerica. “Oh, oops~” She plucked her chainsaw arm from his corpse. “You're already dead. I forgot not everyone has supernatural pain tolerance, hehe.”

Cerica grinned, as if pleased to discover that human beings died when killed. Slowly, surely, the chainsaws retracted into her arms, sliding in with the sound of wet flesh and dry metal.

“Now let's see…” Cerica looked around.

She found several woollen blankets and stacked them over the two present. With a great deal of ease, she then propped both Jenn and Numarei over her shoulder. Cerica left the infirmary then, ascending the quiet, stone steps.

Voices could be heard from above.

“Come on, I know he's sensitive but was that the scream of someone killing, or someone being killed?”

“I don't know. Don't judge until you try it.”

“What's that?”

“I've never died so I don't know what dying sounds like.”

“Okay, riddle me this: What does a guy who’s been dropped at birth sound like? You should know.”

Cerica paused at the final step, body drawing in one last breath. She did not stop to consider the guards. Nor why they had AK-47s. She just ran out the hall, ran and ran and ran, ran until she would reach the audience hall where they gathered, and reach the others.

“Help!” She cried. “There's someone after me!”

Cerica was nearly there when she bumped into Hornet-BallHealing-Man.

“Whoa, hold on there little big lady! You alright? You're kinda covered in a lot of blood—you're not carrying corpses, are you?”

Several soldiers rounded a corner, looking at her with calm gazes.

How did they catch on so quickly? Cerica must've thought, only to notice the walkie-talkies on their hip.

A soldier came closer. “Please put the objects on the ground. Those are dangerous materials you're carrying, lady.”

“Dangerous materials?” said Hornet-BallHealing-Man.

“He's lying, look! Peel the blanket away and see!”

The spandex superhero did just that, revealing the heads of Jenn and Numarei.

“I don't know why, but one of these soldiers went into the infirmary to kill them!”

“...I'm guessing that's the part where you got a blood-dye job, huh?”

More and more soldiers continued to pour in, amounting to over three dozen strong. They surrounded the duo with firearms and sabres, and seemed rather intent on solving this with violence.

“Gonna be honest, you soldier dudes are giving bad guy vibes. So I'll have to stick with the dubiously old girl for this one!”

Hornet-BallHealing-Man readied into a stance, prepared to defend Cerica at the drop of a hat.

“Sorry about this,” whispered the loli with a nervous smile.

“Nah, this is right about my alley. Ever been to New York?”

The soldiers pointed their guns. “If you do not release them, we will open fire.”

“CLOUD.”

A yellow gas giant soared through the air; the size of a ball at best. It exploded into a cloud of white, and the soldiers burned and cried from the pain. At the same time, several dozen blood-coloured balls slammed into the remaining soldiers, hitting them where it hurt, and slamming them into walls and corners.

Mr. Planet walked in, alongside Anselm Alpenheim, the random shounen protagonist who had lost in the battle royale, the mech, the Spaniard, the high-school beefcake, the axolotl-warrior who had lost in the coin toss, and many more.

Was it perhaps a bit strange, that all these people, having heard a single call, came at once?

Perhaps. All the time, pleads of help go unheard, unattended and unanswered. All the time, people think another would rise to the occasion, and choose to idle by.

But then again, these weren’t your ordinary people. They were the Protagonists of their respective worlds. Largely heroes, who rose to the occasion, and poked their noses where they didn’t belong. For that was how they made their name, and that was how they came to be.

The soldiers had to give. They lowered their guns and looked to each other with approving nods. Soon after, they dispersed, going who knows where, to gather for who knows what purpose.

When Jenn woke up, it was an unfamiliar location. This wasn’t the infirmary. This was somewhere far more public, far more spacious, and far more filled with folks of a great variety. It was the audience hall, and each and every contestant in the tournament was there around her. She was in the corner of a room, and Cerica was with her, seated on a chair nearby.

“Jenn!” The loli-baba hugged her companion.

She looked over the table. “Am I being set up for dinner?” Jenn sniffed herself. “Where’s the sauce? I hope you’re not eating me raw. I’ve probably got parasites.”

“Hehe,” chuckled Cerica. “I’m glad you’re still as funny as ever.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you totally got uppercut in the chin and your brain went goro goro?”

Jenn had a reflective look. “Well, to be honest, I don’t feel amazing.” She blinked long, almost groggily, and started to do stretches, arms reaching high, legs reaching high, and popping the occasional bone and joint.

Cerica had an oddly concerned look. “Can your remaining braincells… add one to one?”

“Two?”

“Hm, that does seem right.”

“What’s the problem? You’re acting like I just woke up from a coma.”

Cerica pulled back and clicked her feet together. “I don’t know how to break the ice, but I think there’s some kinda revolution happening. Or terrorists, I dunno.”

“Who? What? Why?”

“Dunno. Dunno. Possibly know. I think it’s the army or something? They sent someone to kill you when you were sleeping.”

Abruptly, with a jolt, Jenn said, “Kill me? Who?”

“Some random soldier. Not the White Guards, though.”

“Did I punch the soldier in my sleep or something?”

“Nah, I killed him for you.”

“Huh.” She just noticed the blood on Cerica’s dress and the faint smell of iron. “Thanks, I appreciate that. Dying in my sleep would’ve been…” Jenn stopped, fighting down the chance to use her favourite word. “Thanks.”

“No biggie. You can give your Filly your appreciation later. He had a bad feeling about leaving you in there.”

“Sure.” Jenn got off the table. “Where is he?”

“Missing,” Cerica replied. “Alongside Mo Xixi.”

“Missing? What—they vanish in a puff of smoke?”

“Is… Is Numa fine at least?”

“She got hurt way worse than you, so she’s still sleeping. But since you two were in the infirmary together, I managed to get both of you.”

The lolibaba pointed across the hall, and Jenn went to see her at once. She took a short while studying her and nodded in a gesture of respect. The wounds had closed, but the scars were still there. Upon verifying her health, she took a look around and immersed herself in the atmosphere of the room. Jenn smelled. Jenn looked. Jenn pressed her ear into the air, and Jenn mimed goggles on her eyes. There was no particularly bad air; there was nothing to show that something had gone wrong, or that something would go very wrong anytime soon. Jenn was feeling a little more safe by then, but no less curious.

“Hey, Jenn!” Hornet-BallHealed-Man said, stuffing food into his exposed lower jaw. “You feeling alright? Last I saw you were kinda… well, unconscious, and about to get taken by some totally-bad-guys.”

“I’m good. I’m good…”

“Well, if you need any help don’t be afraid to call for your friendly neighbourhood Hornet Man. Or anyone here really—I think we’re all good guys—well maybe except for a few, like that totally evil witch which summons skeletons. But she seems nice too, in a fairy-tale, will only turn you into a squirrel sort of way.”

Jenn had a smile on her face. She seemed to relax the longer he spoke. “If I need a sidekick, I’ll hit you up.” Pause. “You’re a New Yorker, aren’t you?”

“Wait, wait, wait, you’re American too?”

“Florida born and raised.”

“Sweet. Do you have evil guys in spandex, aliens, and all sorts of lab experiments gone wrong there, too?”

“Nah. But there are snakes and hogs. Hogs in particular. Very scary, and fast for a thing of that size.”

Their little discussion grew into something bigger, and the two ended up sharing stories and all sorts of life-changing events.

“So… do you think they’ll like, try to stop the tournament from going?” said Hornet Man.

“I doubt it,” Jenn said. “I’m pretty sure most of us here are some combination of bulletproof, knifeproof, and punchproof.”

“Yeah, unless it’s another one of us shooting, stabbing, or punching. Funny how that works, huh?”

Jenn laughed. “Well, we are here for a reason.”

“Right,” agreed Hornet Man. “Oh—speak of the unspoken devils.”

The tall doors of the audience hall opened. White Hat guards came in, alongside the Lord Regent’s sad-looking attendants. They stopped in the centre of the room. Anera Lockfort took a few paces forward and bowed her head in a display of sympathy.

“We apologise for the travesty that had come to pass earlier. We believe that a splinter-faction of traitors, who have infiltrated the army, had managed to come into this very palace and endanger its inhabitants.” She bowed. “Nevertheless. The military parade will be proceeding as usual. Please come with us to the final stage of the tournament.”