Soulbreak - A MCYT 3rd/Last/Double Life FanFiction

Chapter 4 - Fight of The Century

"Alright! Ladies and Gentlemen... we give you are final 30 contestants!" The loudspeaker boomed. 30 faces flashed across the screen, and all the contestants below the arena held their breath. Everyone was hoping that they would catch a glimpse of their own face on the screen.

After three or four tense minutes, twenty contestants including Katherine left the hub sadly. Pearl felt bad for them, but she was too excited with her own placing to be truly sympathetic.

"Pearl, you placed first on the leaderboard!" Scott cried in excitement.

"I did, didn't I?" Pearl admired her own face, which was stationed on the screen along with the remaining top five figures. False, Scott, Martyn, and Etho were among those on the top leaderboard alongside Pearl.

"So this means that if we win our next match - and win well we're in!" Gem cried in excitement.

"You bet I'm gonna be first on that leaderboard tonight." Pearl flashed a cocky grin.

"You are already pretty much guaranteed a spot in the top twenty after round one. Unless you lose your next match in less than two minutes, it's statistically impossible. And even then your first match was still so good they might squeeze you in." Gem assured Pearl.

"What did you place?" Pearl turned to Gem and the others.

"Ninth." Gem grinned.

"Sixth." Scott also looked proud.

"Twenty-seventh." Lizzie sighed.

"Well, I'm thirtieth!" Mumbo Jumbo called from the back, trying to cheer Lizzie up.

"Aw, Mumbo." Grian facepalmed. He too stood in the back, next to Mumbo.

"Ooh, look at our listings! Pearl, you're in the first fight since you placed first. You're against... second place. False." Scott read off the screen.

"Oh no..." Pearl's face fell and both she and False studied the ground. "Hey! We'll both still make it through!" Pearl was optimistic.

"You bet." False gave Pearl a thumbs up. Pearl might have placed first, but False should have really been first. She was a whole other tier of PvP rockstar.

"Tips?" Pearl suggested to False.

"You want me to give you tips? I mean, why not give your competition tips on how to defeat you in a potentially life-changing match? Yep, let me just pull out the comprehensive list." False rolled her eyes and snickered. "Go for the feet," She added with a whisper and smirked.

"Mhm. Got it!" Pearl gave an exaggerated nod.

"Let's go!" False stifled a burst of laughter.

"You can beat her - just think happy thoughts," Scott whispered in Pearl's ear as she began to exit the room. Pearl smiled a burst of warmth exploded in her chest.

"Thanks, Scott. I'll try." Pearl squeezed his hand and raced to catch up with False. The two walked towards the launch room in unusually awkward silence.

"So um... is there something going on between you and Scott?" False broke the invisible wall between the competitors. Pearl couldn't fully comprehend False's words for a second. Then she flushed pink and laughed aloud, bending over as she trembled uncontrollably.

"Uh..." False was speechless, unsure of what was going on.

"Me - me and Scott." Pearl laughed, her eyes leaking with tears of laughter.

"Yah... you guys seem pretty close. Are you still... you know... friends?" False emphasized the last words, her sentence dripping with hidden meaning. Pearl tried to compose herself in desperation, but she couldn't stop laughing.

"Trust me." Pearl finally managed to inhale oxygen. "We're just good friends."

"Really?" False looked surprised and confused.

"Uh... I mean, I'm pretty sure I would know." Pearl snickered. "What would give you that idea?"

"I mean... you're kind of always holding hands. And whispering stuff to each other. And you are entirely inseparable. To a crazy degree. Also..." False hesitated.

"What?" Pearl raised her eyebrows.

"Nevermind." False shook her head, but she looked almost accusing when she turned to Pearl. "Anyway, you ready to get beaten?" The pair had reached the launch room already.

"You wish. And believe me, Scott and I are just friends." Pearl assured False. To be honest, sure, she and Scott were inseparable. And yes, they were probably as close as a lot of couples... but that didn't mean the nature of their relationship was romantic.

Pearl sighed in exasperation as she stepped into her glass tube and waited for it to rise above the ground. She pictured Scott telling her to think happy thoughts and smiled as the platform she was standing in began to rise.

I can beat her. I can beat False. Pearl took a deep gulp of air. She fingered her sword, her nerves wracking. She could barely hear the announcer calling her name out to the crowd. Calling it 'The fight of the century."

The applause that met Pearl was louder than before. Not that Pearl noticed, she was trying to focus and slow her hyperventilating. 

"3..." The loudspeakers boomed. Pearl breathed out slowly. "2..." Pearl gulped in a long, steady stream of air. Happy thoughts... "1..." Pearl smiled. I can do this! "Fight!" False swooped in immediately, sliding to the floor and swiping the legs.

Clang! Pearl whisked her sword through the air, meeting False's mere millimeters from her left ankle. False looked stunned. Pearl's reflexes were hypo-charged.

Swoosh, Clang! Clash! Pearl and False's swords met midair, moving so fast they were merely a blur of silver. False swiped the head. Pearl swayed backward, ducking under the blow.

Pearl tucked and rolled to the ground, swiping the shins. False jumped and the sword sliced through the air beneath her. Pearl leaped to her feet just in time to counter a combination of five swift blows.

Perspiration dripped down both their foreheads, but they merely attacked with more force. Seconds blurred into minutes... then tens of minutes. Yet neither of their blows slowed.

Pearl spun. False leaped. Both rolled. Each dropped to their knees and exchanged blows while rolling around the stage. False was insanely skilled. And Pearl... Pearl was filled with more determination than she had ever felt before.

False gritted her teeth and launched herself over Pearl, throwing her sword below her and flipping midair as she thrust her sword towards Pearl's head.

Pearl tucked herself into a ball and rolled under False as she soared through the air. False landed on her feet and stumbled forward, but Pearl was already up. False managed to swing around and block the blow just in time.

Both swords met with a resounding clang, and each willed their swords to overpower the other. They were locked mid-strike. Sweat poured down both, but neither was giving up.

"Just... accept... defeat..." False huffed. "You... can't... beat... me." False trailed off, shoving her sword forward. But Pearl's sword held against the other and she... smiled. False gawked, and in her moment of surprise Pearl's sword overpowered the other, and False was flung back.

"Sorry, False... but I think I just beat you." Pearl slashed False's sword from the other's hand. The sword spiraled through the air and Pearl caught it in her right hand. She now wielded two swords. False was silent for a moment, and then...

False leaped forward and threw a punch, startling Pearl. Pearl barely managed to dodge in time. Pearl made quick work of the situation. She twisted both swords and wove them through the air so False was held at swordpoint.

Pearl's left sword crossed the right, and one blade cut into the right side of False's neck while the other drew blood from the left side of False's neck. "False... please..." Pearl didn't want to kill the other girl, even if they were competitors.

"It's okay, I surrender!" False raised both hands and Pearl was declared the winner.

All Pearl could think was... I beat... I beat FalseSymmetry... I did the impossible. I won!