Supernova

Chapter Fifty - We Are The Champions

I had been able to get it together, more or less, by the time I'd returned to The Academy and Elias. At the very least, I didn't cry or puke the entire plane ride, helicopter ride, or walk back to the room, and I was happy to see him. He had spent a lot of time in the library, which I knew to be the truth because the piles of books and accompanying tabbed notes in our room were even taller than they normally were. He told me that he'd also been spending a decent amount of time skiing, so he wouldn't get slow during my absence, of course. I didn't know whether that was a lie, but I didn't see any obvious reason not to believe him, so I decided that I did. Eli and Nova got dressed in their costumes and did a couple retrievals before the month came to a close, Demon and Needles returned, and we continued making a beeline towards the Deathmatch Champion title.

At our current rate, the match would take place that month. It had me feeling absolutely giddy. I daydreamed about it. I pictured Leo Claeson's proud disposition from the photo falling into shame and defeat, and I pictured Iliana on her knees, bowing to me. I pictured what that would mean to Elias, and I stroked my own ego with the pride of being able to wrap that experience up in a pretty little ribbon and hand it to him. I became bored and annoyed with every single match leading up to it, not even bothering to give the spectators a good show. I just wanted them over as quickly as possible. Every single thing in my life standing between me and that match, including eating and sleeping, became a chore, something to rip through with my knifelike fingernails.

Until it happened. We won our one hundred and fifty ninth match. You should have seen me. It was fucking ridiculous. After both members of the opposing team were taken out of commission, I started screaming, and I slammed dense fists into the floor of the Deathmatch gym, shattering it, making the surrounding bleachers shake, scaring the shit out of the other students and observing staff members even more than I usually did. I took a finger and pointed directly at the large camera that filmed the matches for the club archives, and I directed a message right at Leo and Iliana, telling them to mark my words, we were coming for their title, and I was going to make them fucking bow to us. I didn't think it sounded too out of character for me, but when I caught sight of Elias, he was laughing at me from behind a hand, and his eyes were flaring loudly with a strong, passionate emotion that we no longer gave life to out loud.

The match was scheduled for a week later, to ensure enough time for Leo and Iliana to fly in and appropriate hype and preparation. I was informed by the Deathmatch club president that they weren't planning on telling Leo and Iliana who their opponents were, for added dramatic effect, which annoyed me. I was hoping to meet them, speak with them for a little, and figure out exactly how to get into their heads and what I should probe at. I tried to ask Elias, but he told me that there was little need for that, the entire match was going to be one big head game.

It didn't settle my curiosity. However, it was hard to find out anything about them. I didn't know how these alumni matches went or if they really differed in any way. I must admit, I'd never attended a single Deathmatch fight outside of my own. If it didn't actively add to my statistics and stroke my massive ego, it didn't entertain or interest me. That was backfiring as I tried to tiptoe around Elias' back, because I had no idea where they were staying, when they would arrive, or where I should look. All I knew was that nobody that I knew knew, and I didn't see them in any of the hallways, training gyms, or the other rooms of the collection of cathedrals that made up The Academy.

However, I did end up running into Leo on a fluke, right before the match. Like, right before. Half an hour before. He was in the Deathmatch hallway with all the photos of pairs, looking up at his own. I thought perhaps he was looking at his wife, in awe of her, of them, or their accomplishments, but the second I saw the expression on his pale face, the image playing inside his head shot into my brain as naturally as if it was my own thought. He was staring up at himself. I couldn't believe my luck.