Of Love and Death.

The Future Chapter 15: QUADSTRIKE IS COMING Pt. 4

Jamie collapsed to the floor, panting. Completely out of breath, and surprised by it. But she felt the Raging Bulls eyes on her. Virginia's gaze held a coolness. She was completely unsurprised, and didn't seem too worried about Minerva, either. Which was different from Pax and Quadra. The two of them weren't exactly hostile. But they were wary. And Swing was studying the stadium. It almost looked like he was judging the grooves that Minerva and Pandora had left.

With a motion of her hand, Virginia declared the winner. "And, with a survivor finish, Quadra Glass is the winner," the ref said. With that the gray-haired girl stepped back and went to discuss something with Swing. What it was, Minerva didn't know.

Still panting, Jamie forced herself to her feet. Only managing to do so by using her arms to propel herself. It took her a good second to get up, but she did manage to do so. Bending over, the Masked Blader reached into the stadium and picked up Minerva. As soon as her hands clamped around the top, however, strength surged back into her. Bone numbing tiredness to the point that she could barely move no longer affected her. Interesting. So I am only tired for as long as I'm still in the stadium. Then I'm normal, she noted. That was certainly something to keep in mind.

Looking up at Pax and Quadra. something strange swept over Jamie. An emotion that she wasn't immediately able to name. Sad and upsetting. Lonely. Afraid? Ashamed? A mix of all those. What were they thinking about her? It was certainly something. The blader could tell from how the opposing team angled their bodies. Slightly away from her, tense, pointed a bit towards the door. Like they were afraid, ready to bolt if they needed to.

It was that posture which made Jamie feel odd. How they looked at her like she was a wild card. About to snap. Isolated. That was what it was. Minerva felt isolated. Like she'd done something wrong, something that made her a monster. And now everyone was giving her the cold shoulder because of it. Maybe the Masked Blader had made a mistake, but, at the same time...The words of Jamie's father came back to her. It's okay that you're you, she remembered, making herself believe it.

Licking her lips, Minerva tried to decide what to say. Or if she should say anything at all. There was a part of her that was considering just leaving, but that seemed rude. Probably because it was. Thankfully, she didn't have to figure out what to say because Pax spoke first. "Well. That was quite the battle."

Yes. That was a correct statement. "Yeah, first time I've lost in a while," Jamie said politely. "You did good Quadra." I was in my own head, she silently added. She hadn't been playing her best. She'd been distracted and confused. Seeing both sides of the battle, and being aware that that was different had caught the Masked Blader off guard. That being said, even if she hadn't been off, Quadra may have still taken her.

A bit to Jamie's surprise, Quadra didn't really say anything back. Instead the Raging Bulls captain just gave her a curt nod. At least it was an acknowledgement of some kind. But then the other blader knelt down to pick up her bey. Man, had Pandora put up a fight. Jamie fully understood how the Bulls had swept through the Roar Tournament. They had a cunning captain and powerful beys to boot.

"Why did you come here, Jamie?" Quadra asked quietly.

For a second the Masked Blader was taken aback. Her opponent had really figured out her identity that quickly? Was she going to tell Bel, oh, Jamie was going to be in so much trouble. Wait. My parents and Bel already know, the Masked Blader remembered. Wow, did she want to smack herself right now.

Still though, that was impressive. "Good job," Jamie said politely, "Bel didn't figure it out until I told him." Praise was due where praise was due. Then she remembered the other half of Quadra's question. She studied the turquoise haired blader.