Searching For A Guardian

The city was quiet at night, most people were sleeping, leaving the nocturnal creatures to tweet and squeak in the deserted streets. Kirsten walked along the river with her parents and younger twin sisters, Avril and Alice. They were four years younger than her. They walked ten paces in front giggling about boys and their second year at the school. Her parents talked about the war and their son, (Kirsten's older brother) coming home, returning from eight months of duty.

Kirsten watched the fish swim carefree through the calm depths. She listened to the faint noise of the waterfall in the distance, and the owls hooting in the trees. She paid little attention to what her family were talking about. She thought of Chad and the warmth he always gave around her, she could see that look he always had when smiling at the misfortunes of others, and the look he gave when thinking of power. If a dark lord was someone good, Kirsten could swear it would be Chad Wizardman.

A short scream from Avril made Kirsten jump, she looked up to see what had happened. The twins had froze, they were pointing to the trees across the river. Fire burst from the branches and Chad fell out of the tallest tree into the river. Before Kirsten could react, Mr Britton had already dived into the cold water and swam to the drowning mage.

Everyone panicked; Kirsten ran to her sisters and clutched them like they were five again. Mrs Britton, who never held much of a fondness for Chad, held her hands up and chanted a levitation spell, trying to keep his head out of the water.

Mr Britton reached Chad; he put an arm round his chest, and pulled back just as quick. Despite the cold, Chad was still boiling hot, steam evaporated from his body. Mr Britton gritted his teeth, grabbed Chad again and pulled him back to shore as fast as he could.

Chad coughed and choked as he pulled himself on to the bank, ignoring the hand offered by Kirsten's mother.

"Are you alright, young man?" She asked pulling her hand away.

"I'm fine... Thank you," muttered Chad to Mr Britton as he was being helped out of the water by Kirsten.

"Are you ok, Chad? What are you doing here? You could have drowned!" Panicked Kirsten, grabbing him into a tight hug.

"I'm ok, really," Chad cleared his throat. His clothes were beginning to dry already, "Listen, Kirsten, I need to talk to you. It's important."

"What is it, Chad?" Asked Kirsten curiously, "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Let's get you home at once, Mr Wizardman. You can talk on the way," said Mr Britton quickly.

Chad gave Kirsten's father a weary look and spoke to her as if no one else was around, "It's that Bolgama bloke that I told you about yesterday. He's been released!"

"Released? What? How do you know?" Asked Kirsten.

"Just an hour ago. There was no reason to keep him if he had not committed a crime. He's staying at the Summer's River inn now."

"I see you kids have been following that story as well," interrupted Mr Britton, "I would like to meet this Jerusulcra person. He may know something about Darren."

"Who would've thought they would have let him go without knowing who he was," contributed Mrs Britton.

"I expect they'll be keeping a close eye on him though, at least until they find out what he wants," said Mr Britton.

Chad grabbed Kirsten's arm and pulled her away from her parents. The twins naturally kept their distance from him anyway. He checked to make sure they weren't in hearing distance, "I was there, Kirsten," he said quietly, "At the cell when they let him go."

"What the bloody hell were you doing there? That's dangerous. Are you trying to get arrested?" Kirsten's voice was sharp.

"Don't worry, I don't think they knew it was me."

"What do you mean? Were you being chased?" Asked Kirsten worriedly.

"For a while, but I lost them pretty easily," smiled Chad, his clothes were just damp now.

"You shouldn't have been there... Why were you there?"

"Orders from Greg," laughed Chad.

"Like you follow orders, Chad Wizardman," replied Kirsten.

"He did ask me to," said Chad still smiling, "He's pretty serious about the Guardian thing now, it's only been a day."

"Then why couldn't he go?" Asked Kirsten.

"Too busy studying for his training ain't he. He takes this new thing seriously but he won't let it get in the way of school or the ESS."

"So he sent you?"

"He asked," corrected Chad, "I had nothing better to do, besides I found out some pretty useful stuff."

"Like what?" Asked Kirsten.

"For a start he is staying in a very light guarded inn. Anyone will be allowed to just walk in and ask him questions."

"Sounds interesting," said Kirsten trying to sound interested. Kirsten was not too keen on the idea of a Guardian in the school.

A loud splash made them look back. Mr Britton had thrown a rock into the river, he was finally moaning about how cold and wet he was.

"He's after a girl, Kirsten."

"Aren't all boys?" Snorted Kirsten.

"I'm being serious! He hasn't given a name but he's after a girl in the school who he thinks is somehow linked to the Guardian."

"Do you have any idea who this girl is?" Asked Kirsten more curiously.

"No idea, no one does. That's why they are still watching him I think."

"Are you going to speak to him then?" Asked Kirsten.

"I'll let Greg know. He can do it," Chad made to leave.

"Ok, just one more thing, Chad..." Kirsten stopped him.

"What's that?"

"How did you know where to find me?"

"The river is your favourite part of the city, I know you and your family always go out late on a Friday," Chad smiled, "See you bright and early for the tournament, Kirsten," Chad pointed a finger at Mr Britton, his clothes warmed up instantly. Chad blew Kirsten a warm kiss and darted off before Kirsten's father could thank him.

Kirsten blushed and waved as he disappeared down the road.

* * *

Luci Thornton snuck into her brother's room and picked up the sword that had come close to scratching the Garlos pillar. Greg was downstairs studying his books on orcs and goblenites. Luci took the sword and brought it back into her own room and laid it gently down onto the bed. She pulled out a pad and pen from a bag hanging on the bedpost and began sketching the sword. A black ring circled the sword, Greg stood behind Luci watching her draw.

"I wish you would ask before I say no, Luci."

She jumped and span around to face him, "I... Err..."

Greg raised an eyebrow.

"I was gonna put it back, I need it for my school project."

"What school project?"

"For the fifth year exam, I'm studying weapons."

"Really? That still doesn't give you permission to take what's mine."

"Your sword is famous though. A foreign sword on Souvana soil. Everyone is talking about your new trick. I'll get full marks just for touching the thing."

Greg thought for a minute then nodded, "Finish your picture then put it back. Too much contact could disrupt its power," Greg marched out of the room. Having a sister irritated him, although he could not think why. Greg sometimes wished he were an only-child like Rogue or Chad. Sisters just seemed to get in the way of studying and training.

Around two hours later, Greg was lying in bed. He heard Luci creep across the hall and try to open his door. After eventually realising she could not disarm his locks she put the sword forcefully against the door and stormed off back down the hall. Greg knew she deliberately made as much noise as possible to show her frustration in failing to unlock his magic. All that was left to do now was sleep and wake up early for the tournament. He was looking forward to showing off his skills and partly looking forward to finding any clues as to who the Guardian might be.

* * *

Students of all ages packed into the little courtyard in the centre of the school. Rogue counted sixty-four in total before Greg got to ten, he had little idea on how much influence Mr Petra had on his tournaments. Chad stood at the back juggling balls of fire. Everyone around him gave him plenty of space, too frightened to get close.

Mark Brason stood next to Derik Langston, a tall boy with slick hair who seemed more interested in watching the girls than the tournament.

"Are all the security spells set?" Rogue asked Greg.

"Yes they should be. Anyone except students wishing to take part will just see an empty courtyard as they pass through."

"What about safety spells? I can still remember when Danielle left with all those cuts and scratches, I thought she was going to bleed to death," said Kirsten from behind them.

"It's all taken care of. It's all completely holographical. No one will get hurt."

Kirsten wore her favourite purple dress with a black skirt underneath; she called it her battle dress. She carried a brown bag that hung over her shoulder; five glass bottles full of mixed brightly coloured potions were hanging by separate pieces of string attached to the bag. She held one of her half moon daggers. The blade was blue and curved right round to make a C shape, which she liked to call 'half moon.' A pink jewel stuck out for decoration in the centre of each blade.

Greg came in all black. His sword stood up against the wall next to Kirsten's other half moon dagger and Rogue's staff.

Rogue wore a rich dark blue dress with a golden collar and hem. While Chad wore his plain white shirt, orange vest jacket and dark grey trousers that he seemed to wear everyday.

"Can I have everyone's attention please!" Called Greg making Kirsten jump.

Everyone stopped and stared.

"We have a good number tonight, so we are going to go straight into the knock-out stages," Greg looked at the mixed faces. Some were keen on the idea, others looked disappointed, Any potentials will surely make it othe last eight, thought Greg as he pointed to four students at the front, "You four, find fourteen warriors each and stand in opposite corners."

Lilly Reeve, Tyler Balt, and Kirsten's twin sisters, Avril and Alice started grabbing students by the arms and pulled them away to their corners.

"How do you intend to do this, Greg?" Asked Rogue politely, she knew what was coming.

"We'll each join a separate group, two groups will form together to make one side of the knock-out table. The other two will make the other side. The last one standing from both sets of groups will play in the final for the championship. That way we will be able to keep a better eye out for our Miss Guardian."

Rogue rolled her eyes, "What if one side has more stronger people than the other?"

"Then that will make it more interesting. There are no teams this time, just groups until we get our finalist."

"I'll go with Avril then. She seems to have more female friends over there," said Rogue walking off.

"Kirsten can you go with Tyler? My sister is with him, you seem to talk to her better than I do," asked Greg as nicely as possible.

"You really should learn to speak to her properly sometime, Greg," said Kirsten while picking up her other dagger and walking into the crowd.

Chad, who looked like he was not paying any attention at all, had already joined Lilly's group.

Greg noticed that Chad and Brason from Tyler's group, were watching each other closely, Thanks for helping me set this up, Chad, thought Greg dryly before facing everyone else, "Please remember, everyone!" Greg stopped to make sure they were all paying attention, "This is a one on one championship. There's only enough room for two arenas. So please, no more than four in the centre at a time."

The brick wall behind Greg lit up and all their pictures appeared at the bottom and top of the wall, set in a table of who was playing whom. Greg made eye contact with Rogue; she gave an appreciative smile to show it had been decided fairly.

"As hosts me and Chad will start the first games as usual. So can we get into positions please?"

"So much for the heats," mumbled Chad as he walked over to Greg.

"That won't be necessary today," replied Greg, "We have five rounds plus a final to get through. Besides, the others have a better chance of beating your title run this way."

Chad laughed, "Going to be a straight ten today. It's a shame I won't be playing Rogue until the final," Chad checked the board twice over again, "Come on, Timoth, you're up first, get over here!" He shouted into the crowd.

A small boy clambered through Tyler's crowd and fell on his knees as he squeezed through.

Chad looked down at the skinny frame huddled on the floor, "How old are you kid?"

"E-eleven," the boy whimpered.

"Eleven? This your first time here?"

Timoth nodded unsteadily as he climbed back up on to his feet.

"You're lucky then. You get to experience real life battling without the painful effects afterwards," Chad slapped his back harshly.

"Ouch!" Screamed Timoth, then he blinked.

"How does that feel?" Asked Chad.

"I can't feel anything. The pain vanished quickly," said Timoth.

Chad smiled, "Outside this courtyard you would have felt that burning all night. You ready then?"

Timoth nodded again and moved to the large area cleared in the centre. Greg was joined by Isabella Crafton, a thirteen-year-old Yatzili student.

"What house you in, Timoth?" Asked Chad as politely as possible.

"Sc-Scenrio."

"Bad answer," laughed Chad and the fire began pumping through his veins.

Ten seconds later, Timoth stood up holding his head, "Wh-what happened?" He asked.

Kirsten stood by him supporting his arm, "You got fried. Chad finished you off in one strike. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I-I'm fine. I th-think," Timoth was shaking, "Th-the last thing I remember was a big wall of f-fire coming st-straight at m-me."

"You'll be fine," reassured Kirsten.

"At least Isabella is doing a bit better," said Brason, stood on Timoth's other side.

Greg swung his sword at the floating white plates coming from the tips of Isabella's finger. Some shot towards him at lightning speeds, missing him narrowly as he weaved in and out of the closing plates. Greg found a space and weaved a black magical rope around Isabella. He sliced off her magic arm, then spun and cut her head clean off. Isabella fell to the ground, she got up instantly as soon as she realised she was not dead. Isabella rubbed her neck and stormed off, disappointed at being knocked out on the first round so soon.

"A bit better," repeated Brason.

Greg watched as four more students began. Rogue knew what he was after and she became determined not to let it all get to him.

"Greg," she said sweetly, "Tell me more about your training. Are you nearly complete?"

Greg took his eyes off the battle and faced Rogue. He missed Summer Richards puncture a hole in Ted Ringra's heart.

"Not far from it, I'm getting closer everyday. But I still got a lot to learn before it's done. Why do you ask?"

"Well we've only got one more term of school left. It's the real world after that. I just wanted to know how well everyone was progressing."

Result, Greg did not notice Avril Britton shoot Freddy King down with a shower of silver arrows.

"I think it's Chad you should be concerned about. After school's finished he won't have much secure protection from his abilities," Greg turned back to the battles. Darcy Lewis was up against Phillip Minoghue, both were fourteen and from Scenrio. Greg remembered them from the last tournament, both proved to be decent fighters then. Could he have a possible candidate already?

Darcy wore her beaded gem as a hair braid; it took some time to convince tutors that it would still be an acceptable way to control the flow of magic. She placed her hands together then slowly pulled them apart, a bright shining light glimmered through her fingers. Phillip readied his sword for an attack. Before anyone could tell what had happened, a beam of white light shot from Darcy's open hands and destroyed a vase of tropical flowers directly behind where Phillip was standing. He was now crouched on the floor to the left of the vase that was now standing firmly fixed again.

They always get better with experience, thought Greg smiling. He was disappointed to see that Chad had disappeared, he was supposed to be helping after all.

Darcy shot white orbs at Phillip, he dodged them one by one at tremendous speed; he finally reached her, raised his sword and struck. However, Darcy was still standing, she protected herself with a white glimmering shield that she created with her left arm. A white light struck through Phillip's chest like a sword from her free hand.

He fell to the ground like a rock, "That was bloody painful," he cursed as he stood back up and walked off in a different direction to Darcy.

Kirsten was up next against Lilly. Rogue knew she would not get much more out of Greg for a while. Lilly sported a staff made of light oak wood. She had grey eyes and hazelnut hair. Anyone would guess she was Rogue's sister, although it would be a big mistake to say the connection out loud.

Black clouds formed overhead, Lilly was casting her first spell. She had always been keen on thunder.

Kirsten thumbed her potion bottles and chose a bright green liquid. She opened the container calmly, ignoring the darkening sky. She rubbed some of the potion into her hands and threw some more onto the ground in between her and Lilly. Kirsten stood on the liquid soaking into the ground and smiled at her opponent.

"Strike!" Shouted Lilly. She raised her left hand into the air and threw it back down again as hard as she could. Lightning struck from the clouds, the solid bolt struck Kirsten's palms; she grabbed it and threw it at Lilly, striking her in the stomach. She hit the floor hard. Lilly was dazed at what just happened. Kirsten helped her to her feet and guided her away from the centre that was quickly taken up by Derick Langston and Perry Kovefe.

"It's about time!" Remarked Derick as he brushed his fingers through his hair, watching the girls closely as they walked away.

Perry was another first year and stood no match against Derick as he was forced to limp away after a single blow of Derick's sword.

The battles passed quickly as the weaker and inexperienced were defeated before they realised what was happening. Rogue's finishes were quicker than most throughout the first three rounds, followed by Chad, Greg and Brason. Greg was disappointed to see Darcy Lewis go out in the third round against Lee Brown, another experienced fighter. The Britton twins both lost equally in the third round too.

The courtyard was emptying now as some of the losers did not feel like watching the eight remaining participants battle it out.

"Ok, so we're at the quarter-finals," said Greg coolly.

"Whose left?" Asked Kirsten examining her last two bottles of potions.

"Me, you, Greg, Chad, Mark, Derick, Lee and Luci I think," answered Rogue as Luci Thornton's arrows finished off her worthy opponent Eissen Vella, a Yatzili second year who had recently moved to the school from Beiger, a town from somewhere south.

"Rogue, you're up first... And against Derick. Try to make it last long enough to look interesting please," said Greg desperately.

"Two blows instead of one," said Chad from behind Kirsten, making her jump.

"Oh... I didn't know you were there. Where have you been since your last match?" Asked Kirsten curiously, "You keep disappearing."

"Business," smiled Chad.

"Let's get on with it," said Greg annoyed.

"Hey there, beautiful," said Derick walking up to Rogue, "Looks like it's me and you. I promise to go easy on ya," smiled Derick then turned to Kirsten. He picked up her hand and kissed it, "Miss Britton, always a pleasure."

Kirsten blushed. Chad grumbled angrily, low enough for no one to hear.

"Thank you, Derick, it is my first time here after all," smirked Rogue.

"No problem, honey. Ill show you the layout of this degraded tournament," Derick walked off to stand in the centre, ready for the next match. Even Greg glared at him with anger now.

"Careful you guys. Two blows not one," said Rogue sarcastically as she left to meet Derick. Chad and Greg both realised they had been having a staring contest with Derick and turned away quickly.

"Let's do one at a time from here," said Greg looking at a disappointed Chad.

"Oh, fine. But hurry up. I'm last with Brason," said Chad smiling at Brason, "Looks like you got Lee then me next, Greg," laughed Chad who then took a comfortable position against the wall.

Rogue got into an attacking position, holding her staff forward ready for the first strike.

Derick responded by also getting into an attack position, "I'll go easy on you, sweet," he said as he made the first move, swinging his sword in low.

"That's enough of your stupidity, Langston!" Shouted Rogue blocking his attack. She twisted her body and hooked her staff between his legs, tripping him up.

"Ouch!" Yelped Derick.

"That's the first blow," whispered Rogue.

A chorus of cheers echoed from the remaining crowd. Derick jumped to his feet and swung his sword again. Rogue dodged and shot a beam of white light into his chest. Derick slumped to the floor. Rogue turned to the spectators and curtsied.

"That's not very lady-like," said Derick climbing back to his feet, "You won't get a date acting like that," Derick ran off before anyone could reply.

"Good job, Rogue. My turn next, are you ready, Lee?" Shouted Greg running to the centre.

Lee Brown followed closely, "I'm not going down so easily like last time, Greg," the Yatzili fourth year student pulled out a wand from under his cloak.

"I still can't believe some people use them old things," sniggered Chad. Kirsten laughed, but Rogue gave him a stern look.

"What?" Chad looked startled, "Those things were old fashioned before even our parents were born."

"Then I'll assume you're saying Greg has nothing to worry about then. Despite Lee's last three very good matches," said Rogue sharply.

"Geez, sorry," replied Chad sarcastically, Why does she have to defend everybody?

"Just let them get on with it," said Rogue turning away.

Lee and Greg stared at each other, they stood ten feet apart. Weapons pointing directly at each other's chest.

"I'll tell you what, Lee, I won't use my sword in this match. We'll fight fire with fire," Greg looked towards Chad who returned it with an evil glare. Greg laughed to himself, he knew Chad did not like people other than himself saying that.

"Suit yourself, Greg. Let's see what you're capable of without hiding behind that famous sword," smiled Lee. The tip of his wand lit up, he raised it towards Greg's face and shot a beam of red light. Greg put the sword down and stood motionless while the beam shot at him with great speed. At the last breath Greg straightened his back and the beam bounced off an invisible shield that briefly showed black where the beam struck.

"Very clever, but anyone can do a shield," said Lee readying his wand again.

"What else can you do then?" Replied Greg.

Greg shot a beam of black light back. Lee defended himself by hitting the beam with another red beam. Greg distracted Lee with more beams with the same sequence happening over and over. Lee did not notice five black circles appear above his head that fused into a larger circle that Greg controlled with his free hand by his side. Greg stopped shooting the beams and Lee quickly retaliated by firing more red beams of light back that bounced off Greg's shield just as quick.

"You might want to look up," smiled Chad from the side.

Lee did as he was told; the black circle grew larger and began to surround him. Before he could raise his wand the circles enclosed him. Lee fell to the ground, wrapped in a black cocoon. It evaporated as Greg was announced the winner.

Kirsten's match against Luci ended quickly with Luci gracefully slicing through Kirsten's solidified walls of liquid and delicately finished with a beheading. Kirsten was clearly annoyed at losing to the younger Thornton but she was never one to hold a grudge and applauded Luci's strength.

Greg was impressed by his sister's skill with a sword, but felt it was inappropriate to show his feelings towards his young sister.

Chad Wizardman was looking forward to the next match. It was Mark Brason's turn to lose to him once again. Both mages more than eagerly jumped onto the stage as they moved in behind Kirsten holding her neck. Luci ran straight to Greg only to receive a nod and a "Well done."

"Let's see what made you so anxious with this match," smirked Chad. His hands were already burning, waiting for Brason's first move.

"You're not going to like it Chad," Brason pulled out his sword and directed it at Chad's chest.

"Oh please, you think you can win with that weapon," laughed Chad, "Tell you what, I'll give you a free shot. Right here through my heart," Chad laughed harder. He pointed to his chest and locked Brason in a stare. Brason took his chance and penetrated Chad's heart, or he thought he did.

Chad could not stop laughing. It became more malicious as he glared at Brason, "You fool, I don't have a heart remember!" Fire burst from his chest. Brason jumped back, cursing loudly as he whacked his head on the concrete floor. He jumped back to his feet and immediately shot beams of white light at his opponent. The fire wizard blocked his attacks and responded with fiery magic. Brason dodged and tried to grab at his weapon but slipped and fell to the floor. Chad pulled the sword out of his chest and brought it down on his helpless victim. Chad glorified in the beating of his opponent.

Rogue and Kirsten watched horrified, "What's got into Chad? That's not like him," said Rogue.

"That was scary," replied Kirsten.

"I need to have a word with him later," said Greg watching with disgust.

"Train harder next time," hissed Chad throwing the sword down beside Brason and marching off.

Rogue and Luci replaced Chad and Brason. Luci was chuffed at being in the semi-finals, however, gutted at facing an indestructible Rogue.

"You've been training hard since last time we met," said Rogue calmly.

"I've had a few tips from my brother," replied Luci. She swung her sword, Rogue blocked the attack confidently with her staff.

"You should be proud to have a brother like Greg."

"Proud? Me and Greg don't get on as well as you do with him," said Luci angrily.

"What do you mean?" Asked Rogue.

Luci lowered her voice so only Rogue could hear, "He likes you, I know he does," Luci threw her sword in again.

Rogue lost her footing and nearly stumbled, "Wha-what? How do you know that?"

"He's talked about you," whispered Luci.

Rogue managed to block Luci's attack again and caught her on the wrist. Luci dropped her sword and fell backwards. Rogue held her staff to Luci's throat, "There, you are defeated. You are a good fighter, don't let these things get to you," Rogue helped Luci to her feet, If I'm in the final with Chad, I better end it quick, she thought watching the last two contestants stepping into the centre. Rogue had barely put her staff down before the fight had started with both Chad and Greg using magic spells on each other. Chad's fire was absorbed by Greg's black clouds, which he tried to burst open near the fire wizard.

"What's got into you today, Chad?" Shouted Greg.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine," responded Chad, throwing fireball after fireball.

"You don't seem yourself!" Shouted Greg as he managed to wrap a cloak of blackness around Chad, constricting him.

"I said I'm fine, Greg!" shouted Chad. His hair caught on fire and he tensed his face. He looked ready to explode, "It's just a game, Greg, you should enjoy it," said Chad and the black cloud constricting him burst into black flames, knocking Greg back into the wall, "I guess that puts me in the final again," he laughed.

"Yes it is a game, but it is also more than just a game, Chad," said Greg climbing to his feet, "It's not a joke. This is about preparing students for what's out there! Something most of the tutors won't allow us to do in the classrooms."

"Yes I know, and I'm having fun while doing it."

Greg limped away to talk to Rogue, "End this quickly," he whispered to her and she ran into the centre to meet Chad.

"I've been looking forwa..." Chad started before receiving a blow to the stomach by Rogue's staff, "...Hey! I was caught off guard!" He shouted angrily. He furiously threw fireballs back at her. Rogue knocked them away with ease.

"Relax Chad, it's only a game," said Rogue as she caught him across the side of the skull.

Chad crashed sideways and Rogue shot a ray of light, covering him completely. He walked forward slowly out of the light. His hands and hair were on fire. He put his hands together and a flamethrower shot from his palms. Rogue blocked it with a transparent shield and struck him in the chest with her staff. Chad stepped backwards and put his hands together again, he forced all of his energy into his palms and created a larger flamethrower. Rogue raised her arm to cover her face and threw her staff at him. A blinding flash forced Chad to stop and Rogue ran forward. She grabbed her staff and struck Chad in the chest again. There was a long silent pause, as he stood motionless in front of Rogue. The flames died out and Chad fell to the floor.

"Rogue's the winner!" Greg shouted suddenly, he passed her a small brass medal that he had made himself. The remaining crowd cheered ecstatically and they called her name in triumph of a champion.

Chad stood up shaking is head. He felt he like he had just woken up from a bad dream, "What did I do?" He asked himself. He walked over to Rogue, "Congratulations I guess," he smiled.

"Thank you, Chad," replied Rogue.

Chad turned to Greg, "I owe you an apology I think," he said uneasily.

"We'll talk about that later. Come on, I need your help with something," said Greg and he ushered everyone out of the courtyard, "I'll get you next time," he joked grabbing Chad in a headlock. Greg was pleased with the turnout of the tournament, even though Chad did act very strange throughout the games. He thought nothing of it for now as he watched Rogue surrounded by applause. They left the courtyard knowing exactly where their next destination was.

* * *