Team Deathmatch

Round 3: Finals

I'm a firm believer in the whole underdog story trope. Anyone with enough will and hope can overcome even the toughest of odds.

-James Woodrow, People, 2031

Me and Yumi logged back into the chat room, and we saw that everyone was already crowded around the TV, staring at something. "What's going on?" Yumi asked, and Jasper turned up the volume so that we could all hear. The TV showed a news reporter with a peppy expression on her face, and a small picture behind her showing the logo of the Contest.

"And as the Contest of Calibers enters it's 3rd and almost final day, people around the world have been tuning in to watch live as these players selected from around the world to compete for a grand prize of 10 million dollars each. Tomorrow's match will be against the two final teams, Team Atmos, and Team Price$Tag. Many people will be watching Price$Tag however, due to the fact that famous Team Deathmatch player Jacqui Shelton, runner-up in the US nationals for Team Deathmatch, is on the team. However, Team Atmos has a bit of star power themselves, as they will be joined by the top player on the Japanese leaderboards for a full year, Yumi Haeko."

As soon as the reporter said her name, everyone turned around to look at Yumi. She looked surprised at the reaction, then turned red from embarrassment. Jasper snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "I knew you looked familiar! Why didn't you tell us?" Yumi rubbed her arm, and I gave Jasper a look that told him to discuss it later. He saw my eyes, then nodded slowly. We all turned back to the TV.

The reporter was still talking. "While several people are wondering why exactly Horizon would start a tournament now, so shortly after Team Deathmatch's release, James Woodrow, the CEO of Horizon and world-famous entrepreneur has not been made available for comment. However, Leland Powell, one of Woodrow's original partners and Director of the Canadian division of Horizon had this to say yesterday."

The camera cut to a video of Leland, which must have been taken early in the morning before I had arrived. He was standing on a podium in front of several people holding microphones and cameras. He looked much calmer and more professional than he was on the video message that was on the USB. "We here at Horizon believe that every player in the world deserves an equal chance at achieving their goals. And this contest will help them with that."

Maya swore in Spanish, then reached forwards and turned the TV off. "They don't even know! The media has absolutely no idea what Woodrow's really doing. And now this guy's lying through his teeth to the press while Woodrow cowers in whatever corner of the world he's in right now."

I remembered the USB, then sat down next to Jasper, and Yumi followed suit. "Maybe not..." Everyone looked at me in confusion, then Yumi and I quickly recapped everything we had done after we had gotten back from the semi-finals, including the sim, the video message and the strange ghost of code. 

Jasper looked at the both of us, his mouth hanging open. "And when exactly when were you planning to tell us any of this? Or that you were a celebrity?" Maya looked at him, rolling her eyes, then at us. "As much as I hate to agree with him, he's right. If Leland did give you this information, why didn't you tell us about it? We're a team, remember? We're supposed to work together, and not just in the game."

I sighed, guilt building up in my chest. "I'm sorry guys...but I didn't want to risk your safety. If Woodrow ever found out that Leland went behind his back, he could trace this back to all of us too. And your families...I couldn't live with that responsibility." Jasper still didn't look convinced, then pointed at Yumi. "Then how come you trusted her more than us, huh?" I was about to try and defend Yumi, until she stepped forwards and stared at Jasper. "I decided to get involved. Because like you said, Maya, we're a team. And I don't leave my teammates, or anyone, to deal with problems on their own. Ever." She looked over at me, and I blushed a bit at her sincerity and want to defend me.