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Chapter 12:  Breather Before and After

As they got closer and closer to each other, Laura and Charles both thrust out towards each other, prepared to finish the fight.
Laura swung her aura-covered fin at Charles, who kicked forward with his hooves, already covered in stone.
Clang!
Both clashed in midair, briefly, before landing on the ground a far distance away from each other.
No one dared to make a move.  You could cut the tension in the air with knife.   Both opponents were perfectly still, neither moving an inch.
Then, Laura flinched, and leaned slightly to the left.  Charles upon seeing this, smirked, as did Wickerson, believing that they had won.
That is until a gapping cut opened up on Charles side, from top rib to near the lowest one, spilling a generous amount of blood on the ground. Charles, stiffening just before the gash opened, rolled his eyes to the back of his head and collapsed, starting to glow just before he hit the ground.  Laura, still leaning to one side, took deep breaths, and then grinned.
“We win.”
Also grinning ear to ear, Alice exclaimed “How do you like that, gramps!”
Mouth agape, Wickerosn dropped to one knee in shock.
“That bloody tart… she actually won!”
As Wickerson went over to help Charles, Laura turned back to her regular form, the many bruises on her now one very small bruise.
“So, who’s next in line?” asked Lance, eager to fight.
Sighing, Ken said, “No one, actually.  Check your watch.”
“Okay…it’s about 6, maybe 7 o’clock.  Why did you want me to check my watch?”
Interjecting, Katie stated, “Because, genius, if another battle starts now, most likely by the time it ends, everyone will be exhausted from the lack of sleep!  How fair do you think it would be if either one dropped to the ground from lack of sleep in the middle of the battle?”
“…Point taken.”
Waving to the Britain team, Ken said, “Well, goodnight!”
Seeing the leader nod and signal to his team to their base, the gang turned around and headed back towards the RV.
“Oi, Beanie-boy!~<3”
Turning around, Lance saw one of the opponents, Carol Swerp, waving at him as she left, winking at him and blowing a small kiss.
“Let’s get together for a bite after this bloody thing is over with, `kay love?~<3”
As Lance dawned a confused face, not having a clue what she meant, Katie, who had turned around the second she heard that, sent Carol an anime death glare, shaking her fist at her and flames surrounding herself.  (I told you there would be some romance, didn’t I?)
Chuckling, Ken said, “A little jealous, are we sis?”
“J-jealous??  Me?  I-I’m not jealous, I’m just…ticked that she would even say that in the middle of the tournament, that’s all!  I mean, she might distract Lance with that flirting!  I-I’m just looking out for his well being for his match!”  Katie stated, flustered and stammering.
“Suuuuure, sis, suuuuuure you are.” Ken replied chuckling.
Blushing slightly, Katie headed towards the RV in a huff.
Still confused, Lance asked, “Am I missing something here??”
(2 hours later)
“Wow!  So THIS is what England looks like!”
Soon after driving away in the RV, the gang had entered the streets of England and had begun taking in the sights.  They were currently driving towards their hotel, and Lance was fairly excited.
Chuckling at Lances excitement, Ken turned his attention back to the laptop, obviously in conversation with the leader of the opposing team.  Toshiro and Niko were in the middle of a game of double chess with Warren and Roy, and neither pair was losing.  Katie was reading a book, with Ariel perched on her shoulder.  Henry was, well, driving, his partner sleeping on his shoulder, as always.  Alice was taking care of Laura’s injuries from the battle.
Yes, things certainly seemed to be going peacefully for the team.
“So, what’s there to do around here?  I’m kinda bored.”  Stated Lance to Katie, after 5 seconds of silence had passed.
A small twitch-mark appearing on her head, Katie said, “Can you please not talk right now?  I’m trying to read here.”
Frustrated, Lance sat down at the table.
“…I don’t suppose ‘TV’s an option here, is it?”
Getting up, Ken said, “That reminds me.”
Reaching under the shotgun seat, Ken shifted around a little until he pulled out a slim, black remote control.
“Exactly where I left it last year!” (Frankly, I think putting it someplace like this would actually reduce the chances of it being lost, considering that remotes usually wind up under couches)
Grinning, Ken turned towards everyone.
“Anyone up for some TV?”
(2 minutes later)
“Next.”  Stated Lance.
Click!
(on the TV) “And in other news today-“
“Borin`!” Exclaimed Roy
Click!
“…And it’s bottom on the ninth, the bases loaded with the A’s ahead” by-
“Ugh!  Next!”
Click!
“Pero padre!  Me encanta Pedro-!”
“…Huh?”
“It’s a Spanish drama, Lance.”
“Whatever!  Change it, Ken!”
“Sure, I hate foreign stuff that doesn’t have subtitles anyway.”
Click!
“OH, MICHAEL!!”
Everyone, except Ken and Alice, shielded their eyes from the dirty program.
“MY VIRGIN EYES!!” exclaimed Toshiro.
Lance, whose eyes were being covered by Toshiro’s hand, said, “I don’t get it.  What’s everyone so worked up about?  And what were those two people on the TV doing?” (Yup, he didn’t even know what was happening on the channel)
Ken, sweat-dropping at Lances obliviousness, said “It’s probably better that you DON’T know, Lance.”  Addressing all of them, except Alice, who was watching the program with an amused smile, eyebrow raised.  “Don’t worry, I’ll change-“
“Wait!”  Exclaimed Henry (it’s too much trouble to call him ‘great uncle Henry’).  “Save the program!  I might watch it later!”
Toshiro, Katie, Roy and Lance sent Henry a look of horror and disgust.  (Although Lances was really more of a look of confusion)
“G-great uncle Henry!” exclaimed Toshiro, disgust and horror in his voice.
“Hey, don’t get so angry, sport!  Even an ancient rhinoceros still needs to fight for a mate!  …And at least I don’t smoke!”
Changing the channel regardless, Ken sent Toshiro and Lance a confused look, obviously hoping they knew what Henry had said.
Tapping his chin with his tail, Niko said “…I THINK he said that everyone, regardless of age, can have at least one vice.  …At least that’s what I think it might be.  Hard to tell with him.”  Shrugging Lance grabbed the remote from Ken’s hands a basically skimmed through the channels at an incredibly fast pace, his finger little more than a blur as it pushed the channel up button. (Somewhat of a nod to Toystory 2, where the piggy bank reveals his excellent channel flipping prowess)
“Wait!”  Exclaimed Roy.  “There’s a new TallTaleCrush-“
“Too late, already skipped it.”, said Lance, his concentration focused on the screen.
Sweat dropping, Katie sighed and mentally said ‘This is gonna take a while.’
(2 hours later)
The gang had finally arrived at a British hotel and had checked in.  Now it was merely a matter of who went where
“Alright then, everyone, listen up.”  Stated Ken.  “We’ve rented 3 rooms, and each room has two beds, so we’re all going in pairs.  Now, obviously, Alice and Katie will be sharing a room-“
“Oh, you and I won’t?  And I was looking forward to tonight.”, said Alice, sending Ken a playful and teasing look. Blushing and flustered, Ken turned around, not wanting to embarrass himself even further.
After a minute or two, Ken turned around and, stammering a little, said “Y-yes, well, as I w-was saying, Alice, Laura, Katie and Ariel will take one room, Roy, Warren, me and Jack the next, and Lance, Toshiro, Silver and Niko the last.”
“Sweet!  Man, T-man, This is gonna be a blast!”, exclaimed Lance, images of them playing a video games, laughing at a funny movie, and eating pizza appearing in his head.
(15 minutes later)
“This (Smack!) is (Smack!) so (Smack!)  BORING! (Smack!)”
Upon arriving at their room, Lance, Toshiro, Silver and Niko had realized a few things, very, very quickly:  The video games were lame and outdated, the food was over priced and finally, there was nothing good on TV.
“If it’s so ‘boring’ as you call it, then why don’t you- Oh, I don’t know- try doing something BESIDES throwing Silver’s ball against the wall?  Repeatedly?  It’s driving me NUTS!”  Exclaimed Niko, ready to ensure Lance a very painful and slow death out of sheer annoyance.
Choosing to ignore Niko, Lance turned to Toshiro.
“Say, T-man?”
“Yes, Lance?”
“Any bright ideas about what to do?”
Before Toshiro could reply, the rest of the gang stepped in (Alice kicked open the door and let herself and the others in)
“Sup, Schimmer’s?”
Twitching at Alice’s bluntness, Niko sent her a scathing look.
“You DO realize the manager of this hotel is going to be pissed when he finds the door in pieces?”
“Ahhh, people probably get pissed and break um’ down anyway.  It probably happens at least twice a day!”
Sweat dropping, Toshiro remained silent, choosing not to comment.
(Toshiro’s thoughts)’…She’s like a female version of Lance!  Except she’s a lot more blunt and sadistic.’
“What are you guy’s doing here anyway?  Another explanation of something you might have ‘forgotten’ to mention to us?”
“Yeah, but Katie’s gonna be the one to explain it too ya!
“Then why are you all here?”
Grinning, Alice said “I Just felt like breaking down a door.  Besides, I wanted to see your reactions!”
“And everyone else?”
“They said something about ‘wanting to make sure I didn’t do anything too reckless.  And something about helping to explain the last thing to you guy’s
That said, they all entered, making room for Katie to explain whatever it was to Silver, Lance, Toshiro and Niko.
Sighing at Alice’s bluntness, Katie went over and stood in front of the TV.
“(Ahem)  As Alice said, there’s one last thing you guy’s have got to know.”
“And that is?”
“Well, as you four know, each team is comprised of 4-7 pairs. Each team, individually, is called a unit.  Now, each pair plays a role on the unit, serving to aid the unit as a specific part of it.  There are many kinds of roles for each pair, but each pair is specified for on purpose on the unit only, so, usually, the teams work with what they’ve got. For example, Roy (Roy gave a thumbs up) is the ‘brainpower’ of the group, meaning he is the one that’s responsible for providing the unit with information and coming up with ways to exploit enemies weaknesses.  Without him, we’re screwed.  Now, Laura and Alice (Alice stuck out her tongue while smiling with her eyes closed) are the ‘ Veils, attacking without the opponent knowing where they are.  Ken and Jack have two roles, one is the leader, giving us help and guiding us.  Their other role is (I feel I can give this much away)  ‘Blocker’, providing us with defense.”
“What about your role?”  Asked Silver.
Before Katie could say anything, Alice turned towards them and said “Sorry, boy’s, but you’re gonna have to wait and see for that one.  You have to see her in action to know what her role is on the team.”
Slightly annoyed at the interruption, Katie paused, waiting for any questions the four might have
“What about me, Lance, Niko and Silver?”  Asked Toshiro
“Well, giving the fact that you two are new to this thing, it’s hard to say what your roles are.  But it might be something like this:  Toshiro and Niko might be the ‘clash attack’ role, seeing as how your strike revolves around having to be in direct contact with the opponent.  Now, Lance and Silver might be in the ‘Abroad attack’ role, seeing as how their strike seems to be a matter of distance.  Now, each pair plays a key in the unit, making up for another’s weaknesses.  Any questions?”
Toshiro shook his head.
“No.  Thank you for the information.”
“Alright, level two!”
Everyone turned his or her heads towards Lance, who was plopped on the ground, playing a handheld video game.
‘..Baka.’  Thought Niko
‘ Was he even paying attention to half of what I said?’ , though Katie, left eyebrow twitching.
Suddenly aware that everyone’s attention was on him, Lance turned around.
“(Blink!) …What?  Do I have something stuck in my hair again?”
Everyone face faulted at this.
Shrugging, Lance turned his attention back to his game, but not before he turned to Ken.
“So, is there anything FUN to do around here?”
“Until the next match?  Lance, it’s (checks watch)…9 pm.  We need to rest up and prepare for the matches tomorrow.”
“Speaking of matches,’ asked Lance “Who’s next?”
“One sec`!” stated Roy, his laptop already out.
“Let’s see… Next up is Katie’s match.”
“Aw, man!”, exclaimed Lance, disappointment in his voice.
“Who’s her opponent, anyway?” asked Toshiro
Turning towards everyone, Roy said “Katie’s opponent?”  After looking at the laptop briefly, Roy continued.  “The guys name is Lawrence ‘Larry’ Divonte.  His partner is Jacque, a hermit crab.  According to the records, this guy is the ‘Tank’ specialist.  They specialize in being very quick and deadly attacker, as well as being hard to crack, due to the tough exoskeleton, but they often lack quite a lot in speed, so you might be able to dodge some of his attacks and get behind him if needed.”
Larry’s shirt was that of the British navy, with several key differences.  For one, the sleeves were ripped off, and he wore the traditional naval cap backwards.   He wore only sandals, with a good amount of sand seeming to be between the toes.  He wore jeans that seemed to have a dark blue color at the top, which got lighter and lighter as it went down to the feet.  His hair was an almost perfect black, with a tinge of indigo.  The same applied with his eyes.  The hermit crab on his shoulder had an orange red shell, while the top of it being almost completely white; a tinge of red was visible.  The crab itself was nothing special, the typical color of a hermit crab.
“Does it say what kind of strikes he has?” asked Alice
“There’s nothing much on the strikes themselves, but the strike type IS stated…somewhat.  According to this, it revolves around the one of the physical factors in water.”
“…Factors in water…” muttered Katie, a calculating look on her face.
Soon after, everyone went to their separate rooms and went to sleep.  Everyone expect Katie, that is.
‘A factor in water… what could that mean?’ Katie thought, as she lay awake in her bed. Alice was sleeping in the bed next to her, muttering in her sleep, the covers not even on her, sleeping in her shirt and baggy pants.  Turning her head, Katie laid her eye on Ariel, who was sleeping next to her.  Reaching with her finger, Katie gently stroked Ariel’s head.
‘Whatever factor it’s talking about, I doubt it’ll be a walk in the park.  There are so many factors in water, like propulsion, pressure…If only…’ Sighing, Katie closed her eyes and fell asleep, pondering what it meant in her dreams.
(The next day)
“So, you’re my opponent, eh?”  The gang had arrived at the next battles location, alongside a rocky terrain, a long river to the side of them.  Katie, Ariel, Larry and Jacque had immediately turned to face each other.
“Pity, I had been hoping for somethin` a trife more challenging.”
Not missing a beat, Katie exclaimed, “By ‘Challenging’, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Smirking, Larry said “I mean, this match is gonna be shorter than I thought it might, love.  Just pick up your dollies and let the true fighters duke it out.”
A giant vein appearing on her head, Alice shouted “KICK HIS SEXIST @## !!!”
Katie gave Alice a thumbs-up, equally as ticked and ready to kick the guys butt.
“I hope your ready to lose, love!” stated Larry, already holding out his hand.
Simply glaring back, Katie exclaimed, “Just bring it!”
They both shouted “Sprit Cycle!!”, and the familiar bright light enveloped them all four of them, just as Ariel took to the sky and Jacque jumped off Larry’s shoulder.
As the light cleared, Ariel became visible in the sky, no longer a dove.  Instead, she was a giant crane, easily a size between that of a horse and that of an elephant.   Her feathers were a mix of white and brownish-gold.   Jacque had become a gargantuan sized King Crab, roughly the one quarter the size of a professional football field, his exoskeleton gleaming red and his claws menacing and foreboding.
Looking down on her opponent from the great sky, Ariel dove toward her opponent, like a hawk seeking it’s prey.

End of chapter

...Next time, on Soul Arena!  Ariel and Katie finally show their stuff against sea-worthy opponents, Lawrence and Jacque!  Stars will fly in a classic battle of water against air! What will Ariel and Katie's strike type turn out to be?  How long will the battle last?!  And what ridiculous side conversations will occur between the observers?  All this and more, next chapter/episode:  Star Bright, Star Fight!