A Sequel to the Quillan Games

Chapter 14 Part 1: Round One of the Great Four

This was it. 

Everything they'd ever believed, everything they'd ever fought for, trained for, prepared for was now going to be put to the ultimate test. Today was the day of the Great Four and teammates Bobby and Layra, Challengers Red and Black were going up against two of the greatest champions of Quillan History, Challenger Gray and Challenger Brown.

In these games, there were no second chances or "Oh, can I try that again?" In these games, you either won or lost. Winning was beyond crucial. If you won, you were spared and you moved on and above all, you were treated like a King, just like all the previous winners of the Quillan Games had been. That was that. If you lost, on the other hand, there was a price to pay and it wasn't just a few bucks lost or a slap in the face or whatnot. The results were brutal, deadly and unforgiving. Losing meant death. In the Quillan Games and in the Great Four, it was for all or nothing at all.

That morning, Layra woke to find herself in bed, alone. LaBerge was nowhere to be seen which meant he'd already left. Question was…where'd he go? She guessed he'd gone down with Veego to prepare for the upcoming games and finish up any last little bits. The two were the game hosts after all and it only made sense for both to host the games. It was either Veego and LaBerge or nobody at all. Those two did everything together and it was pretty rare you'd see one without the other. They'd been game masters for countless years. They hosted each and every game and whether it was big or small…they worked together.

Waking up without him there gave her that natural "lonely" feeling inside, but she knew she'd see him again sometime during the Great Four where she'd be fighting bloody hard for both hers and Bobby's lives. As much as she wanted to see him again, she couldn't accept that she'd possibly be at death's door or worse, already gone.

She sat in bed for a long moment, letting her mind drift, wondering if she really did stand even a chance against two tall, beefy, husky champions? Was she way over her head by thinking they even stood a chance? What troubled her most wondering if she'd just made the biggest mistake of her life by promising the people of Rune that by wagering on them, not only would their lives be saved…but they'd be one step closer to overthrowing Blok by joining the Blok rebellion.

After thinking long and hard, over and over about what she'd done, her head began to hurt. But she shook that thought out of her head and gave her arms a quick stretch. She changed into her black Challenger shirt with the diagonal yellow stripes. She stared at the shirt, trying to get over the fact that in just a few hours, she'd be fighting for her life. In a few hours, she could be dead, along with Bobby and possibly thousands. The games were about to begin. It was now officially what she referred to it as. Doomsday. And it was going to be an ugly, frightening ride.

Just then, there came a knock at the door. She turned round to see her robotic servant, Thirteen, standing formally in the doorway with his hands by his side.

"Good morning, Challenger Black," said the dado. "Sleep well?"

Layra shook her head and frowned.

"Not really."

"Are you ready for the games?" Thirteen asked her.

Layra sighed and said tiredly, "Look, if I said I was, I'd be lying. I'm just scared. I don't even know what I've gotten myself into. I'm kidding myself. There's no way I'll take down two undefeated champions and live to tell the tale and blah, blah, blah. I'm dead! I'm in way over my head and-" she sighed and added, "And I've told of thousands of people to vote for Bobby and I! They're all counting on me and if I fail them, we're all dead."

Thirteen said nothing to this.

After a long silence, he then asked her in that monotone voice, "Would you like some breakfast? I believe your teammate Challenger Red will be joining you."