“The final battle will be played in strikes instead of points. Three strikes and the animal is eliminated. If the animal is slain, it’s eliminated. Last animal standing WINS!”
“Three beasts on one stage,” Allea said, deep in thought. “We need a better strategy.”
“Exactly,” Geon said. “Let’s analyze this. We know the lion has a similar set of strengths and tactics as our leopon. So that will be tricky. It’s a little bit stronger than our leopon. But the leopon is also longer than the lion and can jump much higher because of the leopard’s genes, so we should use that to our advantage.”
“Right,” Sabien added. “And the utahraptor is larger than both the leopon and the lion, with massive rows of teeth in that enormous mouth, but it also has some weaknesses. For one, it relies on only two legs and its tail to hold it up, and its front two arms aren’t really that useful.”
Allea nodded and made some changes to her schematics. “I think we can do this,” she said.
The voice above announced the commencement of the next battle.
“Final battle. Lion 17 versus Leopon 1 versus Utahraptor 6!”
Kumuki yelled incoherently at the top of his lungs as the rest of the room cheered for the final contestants.
“Ally,” Geon said with a smile as she stepped up to the clearboard. “We can do this.”
The platform lit up and all three animals appeared in a triangle at the edges of the stage. The golden lion stood proudly on its four powerful legs. It was shorter than the leopon, but stockier and more muscular as well. Its mane was also longer and its fur was more yellow than the orange-brown hue of the leopon. The utahraptor stood across from it, standing nearly eight feet tall on its enormous, gnarled back legs with giant claws extending from its feet. Its dark green skin was dotted with splotches of red and black. Its front two arms were shorter and smaller, and bent inward toward its body and also had claws extending from them. Its massive mouth had hundreds of pointed teeth and its small beady eyes darted back and forth between the lion and the leopon. The lights in the rest of the room dimmed. Geon could feel his heartbeat racing as he held his breath, waiting for the battle to begin.
“Three… two… one… FIGHT!”
The utahraptor shrieked and charged straight for the leopon. The leopon crouched, trying to jump away, but the utahraptor came at it so fast and was so large that the leopon couldn’t avoid it. Just before the utahraptor reached it, it jumped slightly and raised its legs in the air, extending its large claws right at the leopon.
“Noooooooooooo!” Kumuki screamed out.
It was too late. The claws connected and thrust the leopon off the platform. Geon put his hands on his head in shock and disappointment, and could see that Allea was also taken by surprise.
“Leopon 1. One strike!”
“Oh my God,” Sabien said. “That was only three seconds into the battle.”
“Guys,” Geon said. “It’s just one point. Let’s go, we can do this.” Geon felt shocked and worried but didn’t want the others to know it.
The utahraptor and the lion continued to fight as the leopon appeared back on its own side of the platform. The lion was pacing back and forth, looking for a moment to attack, and the utahraptor was doing the same. Suddenly, the two animals lunged at each other at exactly the same time. There was a tangle of bodies and screeches and roars, when finally the lion was able to grab the hind leg of the larger beast and pull it down to the ground. It tried to go for the utahraptor’s throat, but the animal’s large claws slashed at the lion’s face, making it difficult. The lion changed tactics and grabbed a hold of the utahraptor’s leg again and began dragging it across the platform toward the edge.
“Wow,” Geon said. “Look at its strength.”
The utahraptor fought and struggled to stand up and move in the opposite direction, but it was too late. The lion jerked the utahraptor’s large body as hard as it could off the edge and watched the large animal claw and scrape its way right off the platform.
“Utahraptor 6. One strike!”
“GO FOR IT, ALLY!” Geon screamed. “Now!”
As the lion’s attention was still on the falling utahraptor, the leopon came flying toward it from above, hitting it straight on with its chest, its strong legs and paws extended outward. The lion did not have enough time to react and was thrown over the edge of the platform, only inches from where the utahraptor just fell.
Geon and the others screamed in delight.
“Lion 17. One strike!”
“Okay, we’re all even now,” Sabien said, looking at Kumuki, who seemed to be caught in a flurry of confusion, excitement, and anxiety all at once.
Geon looked at Allea and said, “Be patient. Let them hurt each other. The leopon is good at dodging, so let’s use that.”
For the next minute Allea did just that. The leopon jumped around the platform avoiding slashes, charges, and blows by both the lion and the utahraptor. All three animals were already covered in blood, the utahraptor the most injured of the three. When neither the utahraptor nor the lion could get a solid hold on the leopon, they focused their attention once again on each other. The utahraptor charged the lion again and after a few attempts, finally made one solid contact, knocking the lion off its feet and onto its back. The utahraptor turned and with a sweep of its large tail, pushed the lion just enough that it fell off the edge of the platform.
“Lion 17. Two strikes!”
“Ally! Go for its tail,” Geon yelled over the commotion of the room.
Allea nodded and tapped the clearboard, sending the leopon directly for the utahraptor’s tail. It pounced on it as the utahraptor tried to pull it away, and dug its sharp teeth into the utahraptor’s dark skin. The utahraptor threw its head into the air and screeched as blood came gushing out of it. Finally it was able to pull away from the leopon, but the damage was already done. Geon could see that the tail had been severed nearly halfway through, and the utahraptor was now having difficulty standing and balancing itself.
“Attack!”
Suddenly the lion and leopon both charged at the utahraptor at the same time, knocking it back off its legs and headfirst off the platform.
“Utahraptor 6. Two strikes!”
As soon as the utahraptor fell, the two felines turned to each other, pouncing and getting caught in a ball of claws and fury. The two animals rolled around on the platform, slashing and biting at each other and roaring in anger. They came precariously close to the edge of the platform multiple times as Geon and the others screamed and winced. It was only when the utahraptor appeared back on the platform when the two large cats untangled themselves and separated.
Be patient
.
Be patient. We can do this.
Geon looked down at his LifeCuff, seeing the few remaining credits that he had left.
Don’t worry about the credits
.
Focus on the battle.
The leopon stood back and waited as the other two animals collided with each other again. The lion was taking advantage of the utahraptor’s injured tail by trying to knock it off balance, but the ferocious utahraptor was trying to bite the lion any place that it could clamp its jaws on. The leopon attacked the utahraptor but it was thrown violently back across the platform by the utahraptor’s powerful hind legs. Geon saw that the utahraptor had severely hurt the leopon, as its rear left leg was bleeding profusely and it could barely walk.
“Oh my god,” Sabien said. “It’s doomed.”
The lion and the utahraptor were battling just on the edge of the platform as the leopon waited and limped on the other side.
Now what
.
“The score is two to two to one!” Kumuki screeched.
Sabien nodded and replied, “We just need to knock off each of the other two animals one more time.”
“Or both at the same time.” Allea added.
An epiphany hit Geon. His eyes became wide and he screamed out to Allea.
“OR ALL THREE OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME!”
The other three looked at Geon in confusion and then suddenly Allea smiled, understanding what he meant.
“Wait, what?” Sabien said.
Allea quickly tapped her clearboard and put the leopon in full attack mode.
“THIS IS IT!” she yelled.
The leopon crouched down, using all of its remaining strength and energy and sprinted across the platform at top speed. Its bloodied and muscular body flexed and stretched with each bound as it gained speed, heading straight for the other two beasts. As it approached them, the leopon crouched down and pounced with all its might, growling with its claws extended and its mouth open. It hit both the utahraptor and the lion at the same time, impacting with such force that all three animals went hurtling in a conjoined cluster off the edge of the platform simultaneously. The room erupted with screams as the lights in the room suddenly brightened.
“Lion 17. Three strikes. Utahraptor 6. Three strikes. Leopon 1. Two strikes. Winner… Leopon 1!”
A rush of joy and excitement hit Geon so hard he couldn’t contain it. It was as if there was a massive flood of water inside of him that was bursting to get out. The room became distant and the sounds became blurred as he looked at the other three and exploded in a cacophony of laughter and screams.
“WE DID IT! ALLEA, YOU DID IT! OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!”
Sabien, Kumuki and Allea all joined in the celebration, hugging one another and shouting with joy.
“That was incredible,” Sabien shouted. “Geon, that was genius. GENIUS!”
“Oh my God,” Geon shouted. “It wasn’t me. It was all Allea! Ally, that was amazing!”
“Amazing!” Kumuki yelled. “We did it!”
The organizer of the event made his way over to the foursome as other spectators in the room congratulated them with smiles and pats on the back.
“All right, Team Leopon. Congratulations! That was an impressive battle. I will now transfer your winning credits back to your LifeCuff.”
Geon held out his LifeCuff toward the man as he tapped some buttons on his own cuff. Geon’s cuff began beeping and the credit amount started rapidly increasing.
“Oh my God,” Sabien whispered, looking down at Geon’s LifeCuff. “That’s more credits than we’ve ever seen.”
Geon smiled as the transfer finished and looked over to Allea, who had tears in her eyes. He could tell that she knew it was all for her. They thanked the organizer and headed for the exit.
“Oh, and Team Leopon?” he said. “Will we be seeing you again for our next battle?”
The four of them smiled and Sabien said, “Unlikely, friend,” as they walked out of the room and back to the streets above.
“So here’s the plan,” Sabien said. “After we come back from Firewater, Geon and I’ll plan out the purchase of the water filter and meet the Dissenters in the next couple nights to exchange for the parabolic antenna. There’s no sense in all of us taking the risk for that.”
Geon nodded and added “Ally, this should still give you enough time to work it into your device for the tech competition. Until then, no one say anything about this and don’t let Mama V see my cuff.”
“Do we have enough credits for sushi?” Kumuki shyly asked as the others laughed in unison.
“Today, Kumuki, you can have all the SFISH sushi you can possibly eat,” Geon replied with a hearty laugh.
After eating, they met Mama V at the Glidewing station. She was already there, waiting with Vaya, Vilu, and Bonsi.
“Okay, my lovely children, let’s stay together and get moving okay? And vat are you all smiling about hah? Geon, baby, why you so happy all of a sudden? Mama V never seen you smile so much.”
Mama V leaned forward and grabbed Geon’s cheek in a pinch so tight that his face turned red. Everyone laughed at him as he shrugged and rubbed his cheek until it returned to the normal color. They boarded the Glidewing and headed away from the city and toward the new wonder.
On the trip, they all talked about Firewater and some of the other new wonders of the new world. Kumuki declared that he would one day see them all, and Geon wondered if he would ever see any of the other ones in his life. After a few transfers and just over an hour of travel, they arrived at their stop. Geon could see that they were far away from the heart of the city now, and near the coastline.
“Come, children, dis vay. Follow Mama V.”
They walked for a while toward the coast as the sun slowly disappeared below the horizon. Geon noticed that Vaya was shivering and offered his jacket to her.
As they approached the coast, Geon noticed a strange and noxious smell in the air.
“What’s that…
smell
?” he said, wrinkling his nose.
Kumuki turned his nose into the air but didn’t seem able to detect the odor.
Sabien laughed and replied, “
That
, brother, is the smell of fire. Pure liquid fire, flowing from the depths of this planet we live on.”
“Liquid fire?” Geon said in confusion.
“Right there,” Sabien said, pointing down along the coast as they approached the edge of a small angled cliff. “Behold… Firewater.”
They all stopped walking and Geon looked down along the water and gasped at what he saw, forgetting all about the harsh smell. The sloped, hard, rocky land between them and the ocean water was completely black and looked like it was flowing, but it wasn’t moving at all. Scattered along the edges of the smooth black rock were smoking, bubbling, pools of bright fiery magma. The pools sputtered and gushed luminescent, thick, yellow, orange, and red liquid out that slowly flowed toward the dark blue waters of the ocean. As the bright, hot magma hit the cold, blue water, it created the most stunning and beautiful interplays of light and color that Geon had ever seen. The vivid light of the red magma was balanced by the cold darkness of the blue water. Smoke puffed up where the two liquids collided and the hot magma instantly hardened, turning black as it cooled. Geon stood motionless, staring at the fire and water, tears well up in his eyes. Vaya’s small hand slid into his own.
Moment like this is what makes life wonderful.
“It’s beautiful,” he said. “It’s just…
beautiful
.”
The eight of them stood quietly next to each other for a long time, mesmerized by the tranquility and beauty of the scene, each of them lost in their own thoughts.