Shadows of Atlas

6- Magic Contests?

It was an uneventful day and there were no attacks from StriveCo. Zai made her way towards the common area of the base only to discover 5 guys shouting at each other. "Don't fuck this up Christian!," Eto yelled as he furiously tapped on the controller. "Abner, Andrew, do the double A combo!," Ernie yelled with all his passion. "Waaaaaaaauuuuuuuuugghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!," all 5 of them yelled and screamed in unison.

The TV screen went all black and when it came back on, the word TIE was written on the screen. "What the fuck!?!?!?!," Eto screamed in comedic anger. "We totally won," Andrew complained. "I can't believe we tied with a kid and a mutant," Abner said in defeat and frustration. "Hey!," Both Eto and Christian yelled at Abner. "Whatever, this game is rigged, it's impossible for us to lose this game and especially against you two," Ernie said in denial. "Oh really? You're just saying that cause you're afraid!," Eto taunted. "Why don't we do this in real life then," Abner said as he summoned his weapon with a smile. "I see no reason to not do so," Eto did the same. "OMG, shut up!!!," Zai yelled, startling everyone. "Geez, you are supposed to be taking on an evil corporation, not killing each other over a stupid video game," Zai scolded. "Relax Zai, Veronica is taking care of the computer system and we have this day off. I was thinking we could all go and watch today's exhibition magic contest," Andrew suggested.

"Magic contest?," Eto asked. "Yeah! It's a kind of competition in where a team of 3 mages battle to win. But first, the captain of the team must make a performance to show the teams power, and the teams with the best score pass on to the battle round," Abner explained. "Wait, where did you get the tickets, and ringside? These are literally the best seats in the stadium!," Ernie asked Andrew. "Oh, I got a friend who works at the admissions area of the stadium," he replied. "What are we waiting for? Let's go! I'm dying to check out the cool performances!," Eto yelled in excitement. "Are you usually this loud?," Abner asked. "How do I know? Remember, no memories?," Eto reminded and earning an "ah" from Abner.

They all traveled to the Atlas Stadium with a hooded Andrew quietly at the back in tow. "Must be hard to be the face of a hated organization," Eto mentions almost whispering. "He knew it meant leaving his whole life behind but he also knew it was necessary," states Ernie. "It certainly is worthy of recognition, something you could never manage, kiddo," teased Abner with a slight seriousness. "Ha, like you could do-" Eto was saying as he was caught in pure awe. "Woah! This place is huge! Truly a place worthy of my performances," he said impressed by the stadium's sheer size. 'Such an ego,' the rest of the Corans thought in unison. "Your highness?!," a guy asked in confusion. "Eh?," Eto asked before he was tackled to the ground.

"You little piece of shit! Where have you been? I can recognize that gigantic ego anywhere! Why have you disappeared and why are you with these guys??," The guy asked while smacking him repeatedly. "Hey! Stop that! Why are you attacking Eto?," Zai asked before she lifted the guy and slammed him to the ground. "Ouch... Wait, Eto? He's not prince Elvin?," the guy asked. "No, you dumbass! Does this childish, egotistical, self-absorbed little kid look like the prince," Abner scolded the guy. "Hey!!!!! Only two of those things are true and I think we all know that 18 years of age is not childish," Eto argued. "Im joking," Abner said. "Okay then," Eto said suspiciously.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You see, the prince loved magic contests. So I thought he would be here. Ever since the meeting between the royal family and the president of StriveCo.'s family, the prince disappeared and well... I think it's Braxstone's fault!," he exclaimed as he held back tears. "What?!? You believe the president has something to do with the disappearance of prince Elvin?," Zai asked in disbelief. "Who's this prince Elvin?," Eto asked thus shocking everyone. "I know you have no memories, but even you should know who prince Elvin is," Ernie said as Eto moved his head to indicate a no. "He- he was a great prince. He always made it his business to make everyone happy no matter what, he was kind to all, and even studied medicine in order to help the citizens until he could ascend to the throne," Andrew explained as he walked over to them after seeing the commotion. "Sounds like a great guy, I hope I get to meet him someday," Eto said.