(Outdated) The King of Elements

The Amian Pup

"This is what Mr. Gladestone wants us to do tomorrow?" Kim questioned as she stared wide-eyed at the screen. Replays began showing, recalling the many highlights of the first round. Dre could tell that she thought that the Emblem of Valor tournament was barbaric.

"I know, isn't it amazing? We're actually going inside of a video game. That's been a dream of mine since, like, ever," Megumi said, looking awestruck as the second round was being prepared.

"Amazing? How is this even legal?"

"Well, daddy said that Uncle Ichi created it to be a simulation so Elemancers could experience war without being in danger. He actually didn't want it to be as public as it is now, but daddy kept insisting that he did it before he made it public himself after the last war ended. Uncle was so pissed."

"Dre, is that you?" Dre heard someone ask him towards the stairs. A young man stood beside him, looking just as surprised as he was, his head covered with curly, black hair.

Dre gasped as he stood. "Lucius?"

"That is you," Lucius said with a grin. "What's up, dude?"

"I'm kind of blown away by all of this." He gestured to the large monolith in the middle of the field. "Oh, this is Megumi and Kim. They're a part of my team. Guys, this is Lucius, McManus's son."

"McManus has a son?" Kim and Megumi asked simultaneously.

"Yep. Though my handsomeness far surpasses that of my dad," Lucius grinned.

"Oh, yeah. You're definitely a McManus," Megumi stated. "So, how old are you, kid?"

"Kid? I'm thirteen. A.K.A, a grown man."

Megumi, Dre, and Kim shot Lucius a dull look. "Uh huh," Megumi said. She turned her attention to Dre. "You mind going to the concession stand? I'm getting hungry."

"When are you not hungry?" he asked under his breath.

"Pardon?"

"Er, I said I, too, am also hungry," he said hesitantly. "What do you want?"

"A hamburger with mayo and pickles?"

"Ooh, can I have a hot dog, too?" Kimmy added in.

"I'll take a soda and a slice of pizza," Lucius put in.

Dre sighed. "When did I become you guys' servant?"

"Just now. Chop, chop," Megumi said, clapping her hands twice as Kimmy snickered.

Dre frowned. "You coming, too?" he asked Lucius.

"Nah. I'm gonna chill here with the ladies, if you don't mind."

Defeated, Dre sidestepped past the sitting audience members. Even with the knowledge of being the King of Elements, the champion and hero of the Amians, he still didn't get the respect that he felt like he deserved. Sure, Megumi, Kimmy, and Lucius would just joke around with him, but everything else just felt... normal. He was expecting people to bow to him once he passed them, or beg for his autograph. Instead, his dull life remained the same. It was as if he hadn't learned that he was even an Amian, let alone the hero of the race. He sighed as he walked down the steps exiting the bleachers. He remembered seeing the stand beside the steps on his way to his seat. Dre walked to his left, down the hallway lit brightly by the sun. He shrugged. It was nice seeing Lucius again. It's been about five years since Dre had seen him.

Dre's mouth opened as he closed in on the concession stand. There was a large group of Amians at the stand. Some were waiting patiently, holding their children on their shoulders, while others were complaining about how slow the workers were taking. He sighed as he patted his pockets, looking for his money. He suddenly realized that neither Megumi, Kimmy, nor Lucius gave him any money to pay for their food. Those jerks.

The audience began counting down to the beginning of the second round. "That's just swell," he said to himself as he made his way to the back of the line. The long, loud, angry line. What did I do to deserve this?

The line was almost long enough to reach the other end of the wide hallway. He figured that if he told them that he was the King of Elements, they would permit him to the front with no questions asked. Granted, they probably wouldn't believe him, or even worse try to arrest him or something for degrading the prestigious name. It didn't help that it was the truth.

He decided not to take any chances and stood at the end of the line. Fortunately for him, there were two large television screens on both sides of the concession stand; one screen was for Team Blade, the other was for Team Archambeau. The only downside was that he couldn't hear a thing from them over the crowd. What he wouldn't do to be back at his seat.

He felt something urging him to turn around, as if a disembodied voice was warning him of impending doom behind him. He obeyed, seeing nothing but the city behind the glass. Weird. He looked down and saw a small puppy. Its snow-white fur had splotches of mud on it and it looked to be shaking violently of hunger. "Poor pup," he said to himself. He glanced back over his shoulder. The line didn't seem to move up any, and the wandering customers turned back around once they saw just how long the line was.

He turned back to the puppy as reached in his pocket hoping that there was something to feed it until he was able to buy something to give to it. He felt relieved to pull out a small and unopened package of beef jerky. With the beef jerky leading him, he slowly walked to the puppy; it crouched low, growling as it was preparing to defend itself. "Whoa, whoa. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help you." He held the jerky out to the dog. "It's beef jerky. Here, sniff it."

The puppy's growling lowered as Dre closed in on it. It sniffed at the jerky before taking a bite of it. Dre let it go, allowing the pup to freely eat it. "Here, take the other one too. You need it more than I do." He dropped the other piece, but the dog was too focused on the first piece to notice. He grinned as he turned back toward the long line. There were some unfamiliar people in front of him. Noticing this, Dre groaned. "I'm gonna be here forever."

He felt two small, clawed things at his leg. He looked down to see the puppy looking up at him, panting happily as its bushy tail wagged. "Feeling better?" he asked as he kneeled down and scratched the puppy's head. It yipped happily as electricity sparked at its paws. Dre jumped back in fear, causing the closest people in front of him to look at him awkwardly. Remember, Dre. It's an Amian dog. That's normal here. "My shoestrings were untied," he said, bending down to tie his non-existing shoestrings. The people turned back to the front.

I can't wait to tell them about this.

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