The Duelists of Solstice

Chapter 2: Morning Train Rides and Nighttime Infernos

Ocha screeched a little bit as their alarm went off the next morning. It was 6:30 am, the sun was beginning to rise and Ocha was all packed! Boba, as usual, rolled over and went back to sleep after Ocha hit the alarm, so Ocha scooped them up and into the usual backpack, which typically contained very little since Boba liked to hide in it all the time. An electric yellow suitcase in their hand, Ocha ran downstairs, and over to the Restoration main building, where Amy Rose would be waiting for them.

"Good morning! Punctual as always, Ocha!"

"Good morning! Thank you! Are you ready to go?"

"As ready as I am to win!" Amy enthusiastically punched the air.

As the two stood, waiting for the 7:00 am train to arrive, a question came to Ocha's mind.

"Oh, um, Amy, I wanted to ask..."

"What is it?"

"Do you know if Blaze will be at this tournament?"

Amy thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I've seen her. You must miss her and Silver after going through so much together, right?"

"You're right. I know that Silver isn't going to want to leave Future Mirror again for a while, but I thought that maybe I'd get to at least see Blaze. Although, she's probably pretty upset at me now."

"Oh, because of the Phantom Heart incident? I doubt she hates you. You went on that whole adventure together, and you helped her embrace her phantom thieving passion, even if I still don't completely get it."

Ocha smiled.

"...But I guess the members of our crew who she's friends with are mostly Cream and Sonic, so I may not be the most accurate judge of character. But she probably doesn't hate you!"

"Thank you..." Ocha replied awkwardly.

Finally, the train arrived.

It took a few hours to get there. It would have been nice to warp, but the Restoration base only had panels to select locations where there were side bases, so it only came in handy sometimes.

The train ride was nice. Ocha and Amy Rose had both brought snacks, so they set them out between them, which even lured Boba out of the backpack sitting beside Ocha. They laughed and talked excitedly about the tournament. Ocha was almost as excited about getting to eat tasty food at the festival as they were about the tournament.

"It's really rare that we get to talk like this, isn't it?" Amy asked.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Well, you're my intern. Our relationship is usually pretty business oriented. It's nice to just... get to know you as a person instead of just my practically unpaid intern."

"Yeah, you're right!" That was true. Now that she mentioned it, this had never really happened before. And Amy was someone Ocha had always really looked up to, so that made it especially neat.

"It's good to have a friend to hang out with on a trip like this!" Amy added, taking a chip from one of the bags they'd brought.

It was late in the day when they arrived. The opening ceremonies weren't until the following morning, but several competitors had already arrived to check into the inns that the surprisingly-small, elevated, forest-dappled town had to offer.

"I'm so excited for everything, even the inn, since it's supposed to have an onsen! It's a good thing that this village is so elevated that it's cold even at this time of year!" Ocha hopped up and down as they walked out of the train station with Amy.

"It's too bad I'm not going to have time to relax until after the tournament ends on the night of the Solstice..." Amy sighed. "But in the meantime, you enjoy it for me, okay?"

Ocha nodded, as the two passed a small sign that read "Welcome to Cirrus Village!" Several stars and clouds were painted around it. It looked like they were in the center of town, but there were still trees growing everywhere. There was a fountain around it with four paths leading from it to different parts of the village, as well as several stalls that were almost ready for the festival, which would begin the following night after a day full of magical dueling.

Once Amy and Ocha had checked in and placed their bags in their rooms, Ocha turned around and began to leave.

"Where are you going?" Amy asked as she began unpacking. (She had brought significantly more luggage than Ocha had.)

"It looked like there was a beautiful view of the night sky from in front of the inn! I'll be back in just a few minutes—keep an eye on Boba, please!" Ocha excitedly made their way to the front of the hotel, which was built on a hillside, and had a spectacular view of the night sky.

"Wow..." They stared up at the sky in wonder, and didn't even notice the giant fireball that was hurtling towards them until it was too late.