Trials - Chapter 13

“Ah, the battle between cross starred lovers,” Darnel dramatically said, posing like he was in a Shakespeare play. “How tragic it is, how very tragic indeed.”

“Huh? Those two are going out?” Alexa repeated.

“Not yet.”

“Meaning?”

“They both like each other and haven’t told the other how they feel…yet.”

The two of them grinned at each other and slyly looked at Eric, embarrassing him and he slowly turned away from them.

“S-So, who did you guys pick to win?” Eric asked.

“Alexis, no doubt about it,” Darnel said.

“Same,” Kaida said.

“Likewise,” Laila added.

“I chose her as well,” Alexa said. “What about you, Eric?”

“I did, too,” Eric admitted.

“So, none of us have any faith in Ace then?” Darnel questioned.

“I wish you wouldn’t phrase it like that.”

“I chose her because she seemed really cool in the Elimination fight. Why did you guys pick her?” Alexa inquired.

“Their track record,” Kaida replied. “Alexis absolutely dominated Ace the first time they fought and she’s been teaching him how to fight for the last few months, so it seemed like the logical choice.”

“Still, Ace gave you guys a hard time in your fight with him, didn’t he?”

“He did, and he is good, but he isn’t good against people who can get right up close to him in a fight. Alexis’s speed means that she can always attack and retreat in a constant loop which Ace doesn’t really have a defence against.”

“So, how can he win against her?” Alexa asked them, but no one seemed to have an answer.

“Maybe…” Eric began, but he trailed off. He shook his head and then said, “I mean, we don’t know what all of his Tarot cards can do, so maybe he’s got one that can-”

“If he had one like that, why didn’t he use it before against her?” Laila asked, shutting down Eric’s idea.

“Still, he might’ve trained with her long enough to actually beat her,” Darnel said. “Well, regardless, it should still be interesting to see what happens.”

***

Fiddah Darpa, please now enter into the arena, A voice said through the intercom in Ace’s waiting room.

With a heavy sigh, Ace steeled himself, his eyes fixed on his hands, and he curled them into fists.

“I know I can win this,” He mumbled. “I have to win this.”

Ace got up and quickly made his way into the arena, his pace much faster than normal and his hands, now uncurled, were shaking from his nerves.

It’s okay, Ace, you can do this, He told himself again in his head. You have to win this. Not just to prove to yourself your own strength, not just because losing to Alexis again would be humiliating, but also because of the stupid bet you agreed to!

Ace refused to let Alexis make a fool out of him twice in a row; once for losing to her in a fight yet again, twice if he lost the bet.

His pride couldn’t take another great wound like that, not after he lost to Eric and his team.

He and Alexis entered into the arena at the same time, the crowd roaring and cheering for them, and they both smiled wryly at one another.

On the East Side, we have one of the fastest and most agile students in the year whose combined speed and battle prowess have led her to best many opponents; Alexis Amory! On the West Side, we have one of the most unique power users on the planet who uses Tarot cards to unleash amazing and devastating attacks; Fiddah ‘Ace’ Darpa!

Contestants, on my mark, begin!

3.

2.

1.

Begin!

Ace threw up a mixed deck of Death and Devil cards, unleashing a volley of fireballs and black bolts at Alexis. She ran towards Ace, sliding on her knees beneath the bolts, and then leaping out of the way of each individual fireball. Once she was clear of them and could focus on Ace, she began to fire her machineguns at him. Ace raised his Moon, threw a Tower card beneath his feet and climbed up fifty metres into the air on a dirt column. Alexis threw herself at it, feet first, and made a massive dent in the rock, destroying its balance and causing it to fall forwards.

Ace threw two chariot cards at Alexis but she quickly gunned them down and then continued to fire at Ace. He raised his Moon before him, planted the soles of his feet on it as he fell out of the air, and deployed another Tower card on it, launching him backwards. Alexis shot at him in the air and ran towards where he was going to land, but Ace landed on the ground with his Moon first, preventing him from taking any harm, and then threw three knight cards before him, absorbing the bullets.

The knights then turned and galloped towards Alexis, lances aimed at her chest, and she jumped over them, firing again at Ace. Ace raised his Moon to intercept the bullets and Alexis landed on the shield, before pushing off it and landing a few metres away. She fired at his feet, but Ace was quick enough to lower his shield and prevent the attack from landing; however, he had crouched down to hide his entire body behind the Moon and that meant he would take longer getting back up, leaving him vulnerable.

Alexis ran around his left side, the knights from before hot on her tail, and she ran at Ace, still firing her guns. Ace blocked them with his shield and threw a dozen death cards into the air; she skilfully wove between them and then kept running towards him. Once she was right in front of him, still firing at Ace, she leapt over the top of his head and stopped firing, hoping that Ace would lower his shield to see where she was.

However, Ace didn’t take the bait.

He instead threw a knight card over his head and a fourth one spawned, thrusting its lance at her mid-air. Alexis twisted her body around the knight and then cut off its head, before running at Ace, her blades drawn back, and she sliced at him. Ace blocked the attacks with his shield but, because she wasn’t letting up, he couldn’t reach into his pockets and pull out more Tarot cards, meaning that he would be trapped on the defence and unable to turn the situation around.

The three knights charged at Alexis, forcing her to leap away from Ace, and she then hurriedly gunned them down within seconds. She ran around Ace, always shooting at him and increasing her momentum greatly and at a steady rate, before skidding to a stop and leaping at him, ready to thrust her blades into him.

Ace raised his shield to block the blades, but Alexis pulled her arms back at the last second, instead planting her feet hard into the shield. The force of the impact knocked Ace backwards several metres and caused him to lose his footing. Alexis continued to strike at him, firing at him, and ran at him once more, regaining her momentum.

She ran around him in circles, keeping him suppressed close to the ground, and then, when it seemed like Ace wouldn’t be able to counter her speed, Alexis struck. She soared through the air, still firing at him and Ace still blocking with his shield, landed the soles of her feet on the Moon, and went to leap over him and stab him as she flew through the air.

However, Alexis felt extremely sharp objects pierce through her feet.

Startled, Alexis jumped away from Ace, landing on her bleeding and pierced feet, screaming at the pain, and glared at Ace.

“What the hell was that?” She demanded.

Ace grinned, slowly standing back up and he threw six cards above his head, spawning six enchanted swords.

“Most people tend to forget that there’s both a set of Major and Minor Arcana in Tarot Decks,” Ace said smugly. “Staves, Cups, Rings, and Swords. I don’t like using them too much because they aren’t as flashy as the Major Arcana but, when combined with them, I can do some serious damage.”

“A trap on the Moon then?”

“Correct.” Ace reached behind his Moon and pulled out two used Sword tarot cards. “I set them there while you were peppering me just now and waited for you to attack me again to activate them. Now, Alexis.” He grinned and the swords stood at attention behind him. “How will you beat me without your speed?”

She smiled slyly back at him, fighting through the intense pain in her feet. “If you think that this is enough to stop me, then it really means you haven’t paid proper attention to me!”

Alexis kicked off the ground and charged at him, unleashing more bullets into him. Ace hid behind his shield and then cautiously stuck his eyes over the top of it. He focused his gaze on her and the blades behind him shot at her like bullets. Alexis grinded to a halt, spun out of the way of them and went to charge Ace again, but the Swords kept following close behind her.

“Persistent, aren’t they?” She yelled, a grin forming on her face.

Alexis ran back towards Ace, still shooting at him, and then leapt onto his shield, holding on to the top of it tightly as Ace ducked back down behind it. She had planned for the swords to follow her and then, at the last second, jump out of the way of them, thus piercing Ace’s shield with his own attack.

However, the swords dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Before she could process what had just happened, Ace threw two chariot cards above his head and they smashed into Alexis, sending her sprawling across the floor as they trampled her again and again. She slipped free of them, covered in cuts and bruises, with several of her bones broken, including her left arm, but she still didn’t stop.

Awkwardly, Alexis got back up onto her heavily damaged feet and tried to run at Ace again, but three swords flew at her, stabbing deep into her legs and stomach. Alexis screeched madly in pain and fell onto her knees, further driving in the swords in her shins, and she couldn’t muster enough strength to get back up.

Another sword soared across the arena and stabbed her in the heart, killing her.

Winner, Fiddah ‘Ace’ Darpa!

***

While the rest of the crowd were cheering and clapping for Ace, Eric and the others in the booth were dumbstruck, their jaws dropped wide open.

“…He just won,” Darnel whispered.

“Yeah…seems that way,” Kaida said.

“…Wow. He was so cool!” Alexa cheered, almost leaping out of her seat. “He managed to trick her into attacking him and then completely turned the situation around and won. That was badass!”

“While I agree, when you meet him, you might not want to tell him all of that,” Eric advised her.

“Why?”

“It’ll only go to his head,” Laila interjected.

***

“Ah man, I can’t believe I lost!” Alexis cried, leaning back against the wall.

“For what it’s worth, neither can I,” Ace admitted with a slight laugh. “Which one do you want?”

He held a cola and orange fizzy drink can in his hands.

“Cola,” She said and he threw it to her. “Thanks.”

They both leant back against the stadium wall and took a drink from their cans.

“When did you figure out that you could use your swords to pierce through the Moon?” Alexis asked.

“I’ve known for a few months now,” Ace confessed.

“Seriously?” He nodded. “Why didn’t you ever use that tactic during our practice sessions together? Was it literally just so you could bait me in the Tournament?”

“A little bit.”

“Seriously?”

He nodded. “After you made that bet, I decided that it would be best to keep some information from you.”

“But we only made that bet a few weeks ago, so why didn’t you use it before now?”

“Because I was practicing with those cards on my own at my house outside of lessons and our sessions. I’ve still got a long way to go before I even begin to close the gap between myself and everyone else, right? So, I started trying out a few different tactics by myself using my Minor Arcana which I’d always tried not to use.”

“Why? Are they not as powerful as the Major?” Alexis asked.

“Um, it’s not that. It’s…” Ace trailed off and looked away from her, then mumbled something under his breath.

“What?”

He let out a small sigh and asked, “Promise you won’t laugh?”

“Promise.”

“…It’s because they’re not as cool looking as the Major ones.”

A moment passed before Alexis burst out into laughter.

“You said you wouldn’t laugh!” He yelled.

“But…I mean,” She said through her laughter. “It’s such a dumb reason not to use your full strength and…”

She continued to laugh and Ace felt his face turn red.

“It’s not a dumb reason,” He mumbled.

“Still.” Alexis collected herself and smiled. “It was impressive how you used them, Ace. You even used my usual attack pattern against me and sprung a really good trap. I think you’ve really become a lot stronger than since we first met, and, more importantly.” She stepped away from the wall and looked into his eyes. “You won our bet.”

“Yeah, I guess I did,” He replied, smiling softly back.

“So? Any idea on what you want to use your demand on?”

Ace hummed quietly to himself, thinking carefully for a few moments, and then his cheeks turned slightly red. “Um…would you…go on a date with me…at some point?”

Alexis’s cheeks also turned red, a bright and beautiful smile forming across her lips, and she nodded.

“Of course!”