Chapter 6:

School Entrance Qualifiers (1 of 2)

Chaos Hiro


Hiro vs. Sloth

Students and teachers are in the stands of a vast metallic egg-shaped domed stadium, viewing large monitors, cheering participants on.

Young, energetic, female announcer: "Welcome one and all to the Path of the Shield battle challenge. It's Sloth from the Quantum Alliance vs. transfer student Hiro of no Alliance affiliation in this installment of the battle challenge, where each contestant will showcase their abilities. This course is comprised of three segments. At the end of the first two segments, a gateway awaits which will transport the contestants on to the next phase."

Hiro is at the starting line of the course featuring a maze of swinging, razor-sharp sickles.

Hiro, looking around, tapping his foot impatiently: "ok, where is my opponent?"

Announcer: "Could it be that Sloth is a no-show? We can't delay anymore. Hiro is awarded the ..."

Hiro: "No, wait. I don't want to win like that."

Announcer: "Oh, wait. What's that up above? This guy likes to travel in style folks."

Four drones can be seen lowering down from a height, carrying a four-poster bed beneath them.

Hiro, jumping up and down in excitement, sees Sloth approaching: "Yeah, yeah I'm pumped. I'm going to give it my all." 

As the bed touches down, Sloth sits up, head down and shoulders slumped, yawns, mumbles "You're such a pain. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have to be here right now", then lies back down snoring loudly. Sloth is a 15 year old, 6' 2" tall, 170 lb., lanky male. His unkempt purple hair and purple eyes mark him as a member of the Quantum Alliance. He's wearing a bath robe over his track suit, with slippers on his feet.

Hiro: "Hey come on Sloth, wake up. Let's compete!"

Sloth, mumbles: "Sharp sickles, too dangerous", sighs as a snot bubble emerges from his nose.

Announcer: "Well of course it's dangerous folks, but it's all part of the challenge, and also very entertaining for the rest of us. In all likelihood the school would intercede on your behalf to avert your imminent demise, but there's always the possibility of an accident. Furthermore, if you demonstrate that you're unfit to compete in the challenges, then you will be deemed unworthy of attending this school. During this race you need to be aware of your surroundings, and use your Alliance abilities to progress. Prepare yourselves, the countdown starts now."

Giant color lit auto race style poles on either side of them start to count down from 3, 2, 1. As the start horn sounds, Hiro is off. He takes several steps and looks back to see Sloth still snoring in bed.

Hiro, stopping: "Acck! Come on, wake up! It's no fun to complete this by myself!"

Sloth rolls out of bed, hits the ground, and continues rolling towards and through the starting line. 

Hiro, incredulous, watches as Sloth rolls by: "Hey, wait for me!"

Even though asleep, Sloth is able to anticipate both the swinging scythes and the flame geysers –  stopping at times, sitting up, curling into a fetal position, changing angle, breathing in, stretching his arms and shoulders at other times, or stopping to yawn to avoid them. 

Hiro weaves his way through the swinging scythes – stumbling, doing cartwheels, dives and other acrobatics to avoid certain death. Sloth sees Hiro racing out in front of him within his dream vision. A small smirk crosses Sloth's lips, a purple aura enveloping him as he visualizes a clock's pendulum slowing down, superimposed over Hiro's left leg. Hiro's leg slows, causing him to lose balance, flying headfirst at one of the swinging pendulums. Within Hiro's eyes there is the image of playing cards being dealt – as the second card turns over, Hiro gets black jack, and the pendulum in front of him stops swinging. Unfortunately for Hiro, his momentum carries him head first into the side of the now motionless scythe, knocking him down. 

Hiro: "Ow ow ow. No fair, I know you did that somehow Sloth." 

Just then, red hot flames start to jet out from the ground causing Hiro to do a series of back flips to evade them. Before he knows it, he is back at the start of the obstacle course, while Sloth is nearing its end. 

Announcer: "Hiro just runs headfirst into danger. Could it be he doesn't have any Alliance abilities ... or common sense?"

Hiro: "Alright then, I'll try the quantum skills Master Chao taught me". 

Hiro gathers himself up, closes his eyes, takes a breath, puts palms together on his chest, visualizes the quantum insignia, and then the course (in monochromatic purple) including the unseen mechanisms driving the obstacles. Almost imperceptibly, his cap seems to glow, emitting static electricity. 

Hiro, opens his eyes and starts off: "ok, here I go!" 

This time Hiro's approach is more refined, sensing obstacles before encountering them. 

Hiro, as he progresses: "I'm too far behind, it won't be enough. Well, two can play at that game." 

He reaches out and brushes one of the scythes as he passes by it. An energy pulse is transmitted through the mechanisms, and the last scythe blocking Sloth's path starts to swing at high frequency. Sloth raises his head and coughs, the air waves approaching the now impossible to see, blur of air that is the swinging scythe in front of him. As the cough impacts with the scythe, there is a screeching sound of crashing metal gears, as all the scythes tumble to the ground, with puffs of smoke gasping from the flame throwers. Sloth crosses the grey, haziness of the first gate just ahead of Hiro.

Hiro: "Darn!"

Announcer: "And there you have it. Sloth leads after the first leg of this exciting battle!"

As they pass through the gate, first Sloth, and then Hiro appear above and then plop into the midst of two separate gaggles of beautiful, green haired, bikini clad gals who are lounging on ornate, plushy pillows atop Arabian blankets. Sloth just melts into the pillows and starts snoring, oblivious to the cooing and touching of the girls. Hiro's face goes bright red and he gets a nosebleed, passing out. Suddenly, the girls start transforming.

Announcer: "Oh no, who could have predicted these lovely ladies are actually soul sucking sirens? Looks like our contestants are out cold and unable to defend themselves. This could be curtains for them."

The sirens begin chanting their high pitched, drowsy sea song, baring fangs and claws at their prey. Within Sloth's dream, a giant tuning fork appears, emitting a low bass rumble, which gets louder and louder. The sound peaks with an earthquake like rumbling escaping from Sloth's nostrils in the form of a snore. The sirens cover their ears, and are blown upwards and outwards into the sky.

Sloth awakens, looking around: "Huh, well that was a nice nap, this blanket's contours and cushions are exceptional, wrapping me in a pocket of comfort" – he sighs contentedly.

Meanwhile, Hiro's tummy is growling, and within his dream he's reliving his meal prior to this contest. Plate after plate of food is devoured as Hiro keeps smiling on. 

Hiro: "Infinite tummy technique" as he visualizes the quantum infinity sign which separates, transforming into two heaping plates of food. 

While Hiro is dreaming, the sirens are closing in. A momentary scowl crosses his face, with his tummy gurgling even louder. Without warning, an explosive, prolonged fart erupts, relaxing the tension in Hiro's face. The siren's shocked faces turn a sickly green, and their cheeks inflate. Tears form in their eyes, followed by projectile vomit blasting them into the sky. 

Announcer: "Did we really need to see that, ladies and gentlemen?" 

As Hiro startles awake: "awwww, gross." 

He shakes off the siren vomit, looking up to see Sloth crossing into the next gate. 

Hiro: "hey, wait for me!"

Hiro steps out of the second gate just after Sloth, again. Both are clothed in swim suits, Hiro's being colorfully boisterous and Sloth's is purple with quarter moons across.

Announcer: "Well, someone clearly needs a bath, and we've got just the thing for you. Our final leg of this course is a water challenge. You'll need to swim across the water to the final gate on the other side."

Sloth falls backward into the water and starts to float, apparently asleep again.

Hiro: "No problem, swimming across that distance is easy", as he cannonballs in. 

Hiro starts swimming speedily toward the finish line, while Sloth can be seen flexing his toes to adjust to the current and is somehow managing to keep pace with Hiro.

Hiro: "Aaahhh, no fair, I'm doing all the work, how are you keeping up with me!?"

Announcer: "Looks like it's neck and neck so far, but it can't be that easy – I hope you like calamari!"

Suddenly a giant Kraken rears up out of the water in front of them, its tentacles flailing about above the water, it opens its beak letting out an earth-shattering roar. Both contestants stop in their tracks.

Hiro: "We're gonna have to pull out all the stops to get past that monster."

Sloth: "What a drag, expending energy is so tiresome". 

Sloth's skin starts glowing with a purple haze as he visualizes a hot-rod with a full tank of gas revving up at the start line of a drag race. Hiro's cap emits a few sparks as he visualizes the quantum symbol on a glowing reactor labeled matter/anti-matter. One of the Kraken's tentacle's sweeps toward the duo, just as they leap from the water. Both start running across the water dodging tentacle strikes. The Kraken adjusts strategy and starts spinning super-fast, creating a tsunami that moves toward the pair. Hiro leaps out of the water with a horrified expression trying to run away in mid-air, but the wave strikes the duo sending them backwards.

Hiro: "Looks like we can't get around it."

Sloth: "I was afraid of this."

Hiro: "No choice, we'll have to take it out."

Hiro and Sloth change tactics, heading straight for it, each bounding up onto its tentacles, until finally delivering a series of coordinated, simultaneous kicks to its single eye. In a visual metaphor, the two of them are dancing a waltz together, wearing tuxedos, with perfect footwork, and Hiro blushing. The kinetic energy of their combined kicks builds up, culminating with the Kraken exploding into cooked calamari rings, which start raining down from the sky.

Announcer: "Well, that fish is fried" – spectators groan.

Sloth and Hiro perform air acrobatics as they land together, and sprint toward the finish line. Hiro grabs calamari out of the air, gobbling them up as he runs. Hiro is a step behind as Sloth breaks through the finish line, materializing back in the stadium to the raucous cheers of the audience. Sloth immediately falls, first to his knees, then face down as he begins to snore.

Announcer: "Looks like our winner is out cold."

Hiro, stamping his foot: "Darn, darn, darn. I wanted to win!"

Commander appears: "Well done both of you. Quantum is Sloth's Alliance, so finishing so close behind him is respectable."

Hiro: "Next time, next time Sloth, I'm gonna win!"

Sloth smiles, while in his dream he thinks "He didn't have to wait for me at the starting line – that kid might be alright."

Hiro vs. Terridus

Teachers and students are back in the stadium to view the next battle challenge on giant monitors.

Announcer: "Welcome one and all to the Path of the Shield battle challenge. It's Terridus from the Magic Alliance vs. transfer student Hiro of no Alliance affiliation in this installment of the battle challenge, where each contestant will showcase their abilities. This course is comprised of three segments. At the end of the first two segments, a gateway awaits which will transport the contestants on to the next phase."

Terridus is at the competition's start gate within a forest, surrounded by squirrels and rabbits. Age 14, with light complexion, she is 5' 6", and weighs 95 lbs. Wearing an over-sized t-shirt emblazoned with an anime logo, torn jeans, and sneakers, her pink hair and eyes peak out from under a wide brimmed hat, marking her as a member of the Magic Alliance. She'd be described as cute, although she projects a desire to be inconspicuous by making herself as small as possible to avoid being noticed.

Terridus: "hey you cuties, will you be rooting for me?"

Hiro walks up: "Hi, I'm Hiro, nice to meet you. I like your furry friends." 

Terridus squats down forming a ball, and buries her head in her lap, quivering. 

Terridus, mumbles: "H H H Hello."

Hiro: "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Looks like we'll be competing against each other. What's your name?"

Terridus: "I'm T T T Terridus, from the Magic Alliance." 

She peaks up at Hiro, and then ducks her head down again quickly.

Announcer: "Contestants, for the first segment of this competition, you'll make your way through the marked path within the forest."

Hiro, shouts suspiciously at the announcer: "That sounds too easy."

Announcer: "Well of course it's not that easy. During this competition you need to be aware of your surroundings and use your Alliance abilities to move forward, that is if you have any. Prepare yourselves. And the countdown starts now."

Giant color lit auto race style poles on either side of them start to count down from 3, 2, 1.

As the start horn sounds, Terridus is still trying to make herself into a tight ball so she won't be noticed. Hiro leaps forward, but stops when he sees Terridus hasn't started.

Hiro: "Hey, come on. Let's go, the race has started."

Terridus: "N N N No, that's ok, you go on without me. This forest is scary."

Announcer: "Perhaps a little incentive is in order."  

The rabbits and squirrels start to grow in size, their eyes turn red, their teeth and claws lengthen and sharpen, as a dark miasma clings to them. 

Announcer: "You'll be interested to know their claws and teeth are poisonous."

Hiro shouts: "Terridus, look up. Hurry, they'll surround you!"

Terridus looks up to see the creatures surrounding her. As she shrieks, her hair spikes up, she jumps straight into the air, her legs spin in mid-air and she speeds past Hiro, through the starting post, and into the forest.

Hiro: "Hey, wait for me. Why am I always saying that?" 

Hiro kicks it into high gear on the twisting dirt path through the forest, with the rabid creatures nipping at his heels. Hiro's eyes reflect a pair of rolling dice that come up as 4-3 for a winning seven. A shearing sound is heard as a tree starts falling in his path. Hiro leaps onto the falling trunk while it is still in mid-air, bounding over it. The ferocious furries aren't as fortunate, with a crash and squishing, splattering sounds behind him. Hiro's athleticism allows him to catch up to Terridus, who is still screeching at the top of her lungs.

Hiro: "Hey, I think we have some breathing room, they're not behind us anymore." 

Terridus' head pivots left and right, she stops screaming, bends over and starts panting heavily trying to catch her breath.

Hiro: "Why didn't you use your magic?"

Terridus: "Why didn't you use yours?"

Hiro: "I'm not a member of the Magic Alliance, so magic is harder for me. Plus, there wasn't much time."

Terridus: "You seemed to shake them off somehow."

Hiro: "That's just my bad luck, a tree fell down and nearly crushed me. Stuff like that just happens to me."

A rustle is heard back in the forest, and both of them gaze that way.

Hiro: "Looks like they're back."

Terridus tries to rise but when she puts pressure on her left ankle she staggers.

Terridus: "Owww, my ankle."

Hiro looks to see the critters emerging behind them.

Hiro, as he bends down and points to his back: "Quick, get on". 

She stares back at him and then at the approaching critters. 

Hiro: "Hurry!" 

Terridus is hyperventilating as she climbs onto him, piggy back style. Hiro races off kicking up a cloud of dust. 

Hiro: "The gate is just ahead", and they both go through it together.

Announcer: "That's something you don't see every day, looks like it's a tie? (questioningly) going through the first gate."

As they pass through the gate, they emerge in midair at a dizzying height, falling through a purple sky with 3 moons. Hiro and Terridus are in close proximity, with parachutes strapped to their backs.

Announcer: "A piece of advice, you may want to pull your parachute rip chords before you get too close to the ground."

Close up of Terridus shows her eyes are tightly closed. 

Hiro, maneuvers closer to her yelling: "Pull your rip-chord!"

Terridus opens her eyes, looks at Hiro, and nods in assent. They pull their rip chords simultaneously, but their chutes just separate from their bodies and fly off. Hiro's eyes go wide and his mouth opens in shock, while Terridus' lips begin to quiver and she starts crying.

Announcer: "Oopsie, that wasn't supposed to happen. On to plan B, there's an inflated target pad down below, if you can maneuver to land on it, it may break your fall. Ummm, maybe."

Hiro: "Here, hold my hand, I'll try to guide us to the target", he extends his hand and Terridus reaches out to him as she stops crying and blushes.

Hiro envisions the magic pentagram in his head as his cap seems to glow pink and spark: "Wings"

Pink wings sprout out from Hiro's back slowing their descent, although maybe not enough.

Terridus: "Why are you helping me instead of trying to win?"

Hiro, smiling: "Being a good friend is more important than winning."

Terridus: "Are we friends?"

Hiro: "I hope so. Look, we're almost there, we're going to make it."

Announcer: "Even with those wings they're still moving way too quickly, let's hope they don't bounce too hard." 

Crowd in stadium cheers, watching the giant monitors depict the action.

Hiro and Terridus speed toward the target pad, and then ... pass right through it.

Announcer: "Ohh, turns out that target pad was actually the second gate. Congratulations, you've made it this far. These are the rules of the final challenge — each of you is in a sound proof, unbreakable glass chamber containing a time bomb. You will have 30 seconds to answer 3 questions correctly to complete this challenge, and be safely on your way. If you're stuck, just say "pass" to move on to the next question. Let's see what you're made of —hopefully figuratively, not literally. Time starts ... now." 

There is a large LED timer above each of them counting down.

Hiro, thinking: "I hope Terridus will be ok. Heck, I hope I'll be ok."

Terridus, thinking: "I don't need magic for this, so I should be ok."

Within each chamber, the first question rings out: "What has many keys, but can't even open a single door?"

Hiro and Terridus, both their faces light up: "Easy. A piano!"

"Correct" is heard in each chamber, with timers at 25 seconds.

Announcer: "One down, two to go, and plenty of time left on the clock."

Next question: "I have two hands, but I cannot scratch myself. What am I?"

Hiro thinking: "I need to calm down and center myself." 

Hiro closes his eyes, his thoughts drifting to his quantum lessons with Master Chao. 

Hiro thinking: "Be aware of your yourself and your surroundings, time, space, and other dimensions ... time time", as he visualizes a clock. 

Hiro: "That's it, a clock!" 

"Correct" is heard in Hiro's Chamber, his timer is at 15 seconds.

Shift to Terridus, with an anxious look on her face, thinking "itchy itchy" as she starts to scratch herself front and back. Her eyes catch the clock ticking down overhead and she shouts: "Pass", with 15 seconds left on her clock.

Next question: "I am as light as a feather, yet no one can hold me for long. What am I?"

Shift to Hiro: "arrgh (strained look on his face), how can it be so light and no one can hold it? Wait, maybe it's ... fire!"

"Incorrect" is heard in Hiro's chamber, 7 seconds left on the clock.

Shift to Terridus thinking to herself, "ok, calm down Terridus, breathe, breathe". Her eyes light up: "That's it, breath!"

"Correct" is heard in Terridus' chamber, 7 seconds left on the clock.

Next Question:" What has six faces, but does not wear makeup, has twenty-one eyes, but cannot see? What is it?"

Hiro: "Ack, I don't know, there isn't enough time left."

Terridus: "Huh, what?" looks up at the clock as the last few seconds are running out

Announcer: "This could get messy ladies and gentlemen."

Dice are seen rolling in Hiro's eyes, landing on 5 and 2. The bomb mechanism starts to make whirring, screeching sounds. Terridus starts to shake uncontrollably and then freezes up completely. Her eyes close, then open gazing upwards as she murmurs an incantation, emitting a pink aura. Meanwhile, the mechanism in Hiro's chamber starts to smoke and fizzle, with the timer blanking out. 

The bomb within Terridus' chamber materializes high in the air above the stadium crowd, detonating with a violent explosion. Terridus passes out, slumping to the floor.

Announcer, with blackened face, singed eyelashes and eyebrows from the explosion: "and the answer is a die, as in dice. Uh, what just happened?"

As the chambers around the contestants are lifted away, Hiro runs to Terridus. Hiro takes one of her hands in his with a concerned look.

Hiro: "Terridus, wake up. Are you alright?" Terridus starts to stir, then opens her eyes looking at Hiro.

Terridus: "Hiro, I knew you'd save me."

Hiro: "But I didn't, my timer went haywire, and then there was an explosion above the stadium."

Terridus: "I'm going to take a nap now, nighty night," as her eyes close.

Announcer: "We have a ruling by the judges. Since Terridus overcame her time bomb using magic, whereas Hiro's bomb mechanism malfunctioned, he is disqualified from the competition. Terridus is the victor." 

Crowd cheers.

Hiro: "I lost again. I have to try harder next time!"

Hiro vs. Parvul

Teachers and students are back in the stadium to view the next battle challenge on giant monitors.

Announcer: "Welcome one and all to the Path of the Shield battle challenge. It's Parvul from the Technology Alliance vs. transfer student Hiro of no alliance affiliation in this installment of the battle challenge, where each contestant will showcase their abilities. This course is comprised of three segments. At the end of the first two segments, a gateway awaits which will transport the contestants on to the next phase."

At 5'2", weighing 80 lbs., Parvul, lollipop in mouth, looks younger than her 12 years of age. Her cute, big eyes are silver metallic, just like her ponytailed hair, marking her as a member of the Technology Alliance. Her advanced tech body suit envelops her from the neck down, sinuously flowing with her every movement.

Parvul and Hiro are both at the starting gate within the spectator dome.

Parvul, taking lollipop out of mouth: "Probability of Hiro's defeat, 100%" as she sticks out her tongue at him and pulls one lower eye lid down with her finger, "nyaahh."

Hiro: "Hi, I'm Hiro little girl, nice to meet you. Do you know where Parvul is?"

Parvul, face getting red: "I'm Parvul, and I'm not a little girl, I just look young. Now apologize. You made me sad, you poopoo head!"

Hiro, bowing: "Sorry, sorry, sorry. I sometimes open my mouth, and say dumb stuff before I think. Please forgive me."

Parvul: "Hmmmpffff. Well ok, just this one time." Looking away from him. "Just so you know, I'm a lot smarter than you."

Hiro's jaw drops open.

Announcer (before Hiro can respond): "This chit chat is great and all, but let's get started. During this race you need to be aware of your surroundings and use your Alliance abilities to move forward, except for Hiro since he doesn't have an Alliance. And the countdown starts now."

Giant color lit auto race style pole on either side of them start to count down from 3, 2, 1.

As the start horn sounds, both contestants vault toward the start gate. Parvul emits a silver metallic aura with her tech suit providing a significant boost as it transforms around her legs giving her additional power. As she passes through the gate, she reappears inside of a jet wing which is racing through a steep, orange rock canyon. Hiro appears behind her as they both zig zag through the course. 

Hiro: "Amazing. Woohoo!" 

Parvul, looking back: "So, he's keeping pace with me, huh? Time to upgrade this jalopy". 

Her suit extends metallic tentacles piercing into the jet pack, upgrading the engine. 

Parvul, looking back: "nyahh, nyahh, nyahh, nyahh, nyahh", as she starts pulling ahead.

Hiro: "Hey, is that even fair?"

Announcer: "She is allowed to use her Alliance ability. And we're allowed to turn up the pressure."

Multiple machine gun mounted jet wings drop down from above to pursue them. Hiro and Parvul perform evasive maneuvers as bullet rounds whiz by them.

Parvul: "Probability they I take you flies out, 100%." 

Her jet wing sprouts laser canons on each wing, and then she performs a 360-degree loop, circling back behind her pursuers. 

Parvul: "Laser cannons fire!" 

2 of the 4 pursuers explode, although the other two break away.

Hiro: "I don't have any weapons to fight back!" 

Hiro, thinking: "We're in the air, so I can try the wind magic that Master Laetus taught me." 

Hiro visualizes the magic emblem as he murmurs an incantation. In response, a gust of wind sends one of his pursuers careening into another, with a satisfying 'Boom.'

Hiro: "Woah, that really came in handy, but there are still two of them left."

Hiro: "Console, patch me in to Parvul. Parvul, it's Hiro, are you there?"

Parvul: "Where else would I be, silly?"

Hiro: "Do you trust me?"

Parvul: "Why should I trust you? We're competing and besides, we just met."

Hiro: "Well, I have an idea. If we work together, we can take out the remaining enemies."

Parvul, rolling her eyes: "Go ahead, I'm listening."

Hiro: "Turn back around and head straight for me."

Parvul: "What!?"

Hiro: "At the last second, I'll nose up and you nose down."

Parvul: "I see, like a game of chicken." 

Jet wings around her are closing in again, and her jet wing is being rattled. 

Parvul, thinking: "It looks like the remaining two jet wings have adapted, so this just got harder."

Parvul: "I can do the precise calculations to maximize our chance of success, so I will tell you when to break away. You better not get me killed, you dumdum."

Parvul rolls back in Hiro's direction.

Hiro: "Thanks for trusting me"

Parvul: "I don't trust you, I just did the math."

Tension can be seen on both their faces, as they race towards each other with the jet wings in close pursuit. 

Parvul: "Now!"

Hiro pulls up as Parvul noses down, and the enemy jet wings collide into each other – Blam!

Hiro: "Woohoo! That was awesome Parvul ... Parvul?"

Hiro looks around, and then sees Parvul's jet wing trailing smoke leading to its impact and explosion with the ground.

Hiro, distraught: "Parvul! Nooooo!" 

Announcer: "That was a spectacular crash. It looks like we're down to one contestant. Well, that's how the cookie crumbles."

Hiro continues on toward the gate, tears streaming down his cheek, although he is expressionless and numb.

Suddenly, something streaks up to his side. When Hiro looks over, he's shocked and elated to see Parvul flying next to him, without a jet wing.

Parvul, smirking: "I didn't know you cared Hiro."

Hiro: "But how?"

Parvul: "Easy, my body tech just adapted itself for flight. Come on slow poke, see if you can keep up."

Announcer: "Gotta admit, I didn't see that coming. The race is on."

Hiro smiles, trailing after Parvul as she passes through the gate.

Announcer: "The second leg of this competition is a motocross race on this off-road, wilderness track. Follow the markers to stay on course."

Parvul and Hiro are now dressed in black leather and helmet, riding motocross bikes. Parvul maintains a slight lead over Hiro, bounding up and down hills, through sharp turns with jungle surrounding them.

Hiro: "I'm surprised you can ride a motorcycle."

Parvul: "Why, because I'm a girl?"

Hiro: "No, because you're ..."

Parvul, angry: "Grrrrr, because what, I'm so young?"

Hiro, drawing it out: "Well ..."

Parvul: "How about you, how do you know how to ride a motorcycle or a jet wing for that matter?"

Hiro, proud: "I've had some terrific personal tutors, we covered a lot of ground."

Announcer: "Before you two get too cozy, we've invited some other guests to join you."

Velociraptors emerge from the jungle onto the course.

Parvul, looking back: "Trying to eat me? Bad dinosaurs."

Hiro: "They're trying to eat me too you know."

Parvul: "Why would they eat a tough piece of meat like you, when they can have an exquisite, tasty morsel like me instead?"

Velociraptors are nipping at Hiro, as he tries to kick them away. Some shoot past him to pursue Parvul.

Hiro: "Tell that to them." 

Hiro, thinking: "They're living creatures, so maybe I can try one of Master Dulcia's techniques on them."

Hiro swings his bike toward an attacking velociraptor, envisions the Psychic emblem and brushes its head with his gloved hand. As the velociraptor looks across at him, it suddenly sees a T-Rex in Hiro's place. Getting spooked, the velociraptor twists around, crashing into the other velociraptors around it, creating a dinosaur pile up.

Announcer: "What just happened? Our poor little Dinos got themselves all tangled up."

Meanwhile, Parvul's modified her motocross bike with rear flamethrowers, cooking one of her pursuers. 

Announcer: "Flamethrower vs. Velociraptor. Flamethrower 1, Velociraptor 0"

As Hiro passes by, he somehow has a fork in his hand and grabs a chunk of cooked meat, stuffing it into his mouth.

Hiro, smiling: "Yummy" 

Looking back, Parvul looks grossed out.

The two remaining velociraptors turn their attention to Hiro and are now on either side of him. As they converge on him, a roulette wheel is reflected in Hiro's eyes, coming up double zero. Hiro's front tire gets caught on a branch in the road and sends him flying into the air, and onto the back of Parvul's bike with a thud. Hiro reflexively puts his arms around Parvul, who slowly turns her head to see Hiro behind her, turning her face a bright red.

Parvul: "Get off me you pervert!"

Hiro: "Sorry, it was an accident, the gate is just ahead."

Announcer: "Hiro's literally fallen for the girl."

Their bike races through the next gate.

Hiro and Parvul are on opposite sides of an arena, with three 8-foot tall humanoid robots facing each of them. All robots have a shield for defense. On offense, one robot has a sword, one has a mace, and the other has a battle axe.

Announcer: "Congratulations, you've both survived — so far anyway (hushed voice) — to face the final challenge. Now all you have to do is make it past these bloodthirsty war robots to reach the final gate at the center of the stadium."

There is a stand of weapons near the contestants. Hiro chooses a shield and broad sword, while Parvul selects a mace.

Hiro, thinking: "Time to put some of Uncle's training to use."

Hiro runs at the nearest robot, ducking below its sword as it swings it at him, rolls underneath its legs, and strikes the back of the robot's right knee, sending it down on that knee.

Robot, in a metallic voice: "Insubordination"

Hiro starts hacking at it in a quick flurry from behind, but his sword is harmlessly bouncing off. Hiro closes his eyes, envisions the militant faith symbol, and breaths in saying "Strengthen" — his body pumps up and his cap seems to send out red sparks. Unlike before, Hiro's sword impacts are now booming and cutting into the robot as it emits sparks, flailing its arms, until its lights go out. Hiro's physique returns to normal.

Meanwhile, Parvul's facing off against the robot with the mace.

Robot: "Ha, you are too little, my mace is bigger. I will squash you like a bug."

Parvul: "No, mine is bigger." 

Parvul emits a silver metallic aura as she integrates with her mace, increasing it to a ridiculously massive size. She then jumps into the air, swinging her mace overhead to bring it crashing down on top of the robot's head, shattering it into pieces.

Announcer: "Our contestants make quick work of the first robot they've faced, but there's still more to come."

Remaining robots converge on their opponents.

Robots: "Combo attack."

Robots start simultaneously striking at Hiro, beating him back as he tries to parry with his sword and shield.

Hiro, thinking to himself: "Time to try one of Master Ali's techniques. I won't have much time, and my tech ability is limited, so I have to keep it simple."

As the two robot's weapons make contact with Hiro's sword and shield, Hiro visualizes the tech emblem and sends out a command through the metal. 

Hiro: "Release."

An electrical pulse runs through Hiro's weapons into the robots, who freeze up, dropping their shields and weapons. Unfortunately, they immediately recover, side stepping to grab Hiro's wrists, twisting them until he drops his weapons.

Hiro, grimacing in pain as the robots twist his wrists: "Aaaaah!" 

Pulling in opposite directions on each of Hiro's arms, the robots lift him off the ground. 

Announcer, causing the audience to groan: "That's stretching things a bit."

Meanwhile, Parvul is spinning her mace above her head keeping her attackers at bay.

Parvul, thinking: "If I swing at one, the other will attack."

Robots: "Adapting tactics."

The robots toss their weapons at Parvul, who jumps back to evade. They then do a combined pose, bending inward toward each other with fingertips and tops of their heads touching, and their outside legs lifted up. A blue energy pulse emanates out of this configuration toward Parvul. Upon impact, her body suit transforms from its metallic silver luster to a dull grey. Her mace returns to its normal size,  falling to the ground, since she no longer has the strength to lift it. 

Parvul, thinking: "Must be some type of EM pulse. I don't have time to reboot," as the robots begin converging on her she backs away.

Parvul, crying out: "I want my mommy."

Announcer: "Things are not looking good for our dynamic duo."

Hiro looks over and sees Parvul backed into a corner. As he's being stretched in opposite directions by his 2 robot opponents, Hiro screams in pain. 

Hiro: "Noooooo!"

Hiro's chaos ability kicks in, his eyes reflecting a multitude of flipped coins all of which land on heads. Suddenly, the robots' heads snap back and their eyes start flashing.

Robots: "Error, error. System crash."

As their grip on Hiro loosens, he drops to the ground, reclaiming his sword and shield as he rolls toward Parvul. Hiro ambushes Parvul's enemy robots from behind, drawing their attention away from her.

Hiro: "I won't be able to hold out for much longer", as he parries and dodges their blows.

Parvul: "I've managed to get some of my systems back online. I will try to help." A silvery liquid tendril extends from Parvul's suit and makes its way to Hiro's sword, fusing with it. Hiro envisions the Technology emblem, transforming his sword to a glowing silver. Swinging his sword, he makes contact with the first robot's sword, cleaving it in two, then continues on to cleave the robot in two as well.

Second Robot: "mmmm, perhaps this was all a misunderstanding, can't we all try to get along"?

Parvul: "Trying to kill people isn't nice, you're a bad robot. Get him Hiro." 

The robot raises his shield up, but Hiro's sword cuts right through it, and the robot as well.

Parvul's body suit comes back online, and she races ahead toward the final gate. 

Parvul, smiling: "Good work Hiro, way to show those naughty robots who's the boss."

Hiro: "Hey, wait for me."

Parvul and then Hiro pass through the gate and reappear in the stadium to the cheers of the audience.

Announcer: "And the winner is Parvul!"

Parvul is beaming as Hiro tilts his head upward saying: "I lost again."

Parvul, thinking: "He's not too bad for a big lunkhead."  

-june-
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