~ ~ ~ ~
"Welcome to the annual Talenters Open! Good luck to all the teams participating!" the announcer shouts through the loud speaker.

​We are all standing around in the waiting area of the main competition building. The inside looks gorgeous. Grand stairs lead to a place off limits. It looks like the inside of a palace to me. The yellow illumination reaches everywhere and everything is mostly gold, yellow and black. I look down at the yellow marbled floor, polished almost perfectly. There are black and gold pillars near the entrance and two gold spiky figures on either side of the stairs.

​"Aren't you all nervous? 'Cause I am. We'll be going against the strongest Year 10 students across the ELG," I say nervously, looking around the grand room at all the other teams spread across. My friends all agree with me.

​"Hi! What game are you guys from?" A sudden voice interrupts. "Oopsies! Forgot to introduce myself! I'm Jezebel, call me Jez or Belle, and me and my team are from the tenth game," a girl communicates, a little bit too cheerfully extending her hand.

​"O-oh! Nice to meet you too Jezebel! My name is Emily, and my teammates and I are from the seventh game!" I add, shaking her hand. I'm both startled and glad to have met a friend already.

​"Let's both do our best in this year's competition! Best of luck to you my friends! Toodles!" she giggles and starts to walk away confidently.

​"She seemed like a nice person," I comment, looking after her.

​"I guess so," Lilly says. "A little too cheerful for me though."

​"Everything is too cheerful for you, Lillianna," Nolan says chuckling.

​"Yeah, even though you can sometimes be very cheerful yourself, too," Hunter remarks.

​Lilly smacks him on the arm. "Are you implying that I'm not? I'm always a cheerful and nice person to be around!" she says, pouting. We all laugh, she has just started warming up to the boys.

​"Ok, ok, if you say so Lillianna," Hunter laughs.

​"You can call me Lilly...." she says quietly, shyly looking to the side. I can see her slightly embarrassed blush.

​"Everyone participating please check in and get ready for the first round. The first round will begin later today at 1:00 pm. That is in four hours, so please be checked in and prepared," the announcer says loudly, once again interrupting our conversation.

​"I guess that's our cue to check in," Nolan declares, starting toward the check in area. We all follow him.

~ ~ ~ ~
​"Hello again, all participants. The Talenters Open is now beginning! Please gather up with your teams for round one! This round you do not have to go head to head with any other teams, but you will be having a race. Only the eight fastest teams move onto the second round. Watch out, there are many obstacles. You can't interfere with any other teams or you'll be disqualified. This is the race of your team, the obstacles, and time. Good luck!" Now that we are officially starting, it is even more nerve wracking for me.

​I know we are all strong enough to fight so that is not a problem, but we literally just met each other a week ago. Over the past week, we have gotten to know each other better, but I can tell we don't fully trust each other yet.

​As we're all waiting for the starting point for all the teams to be announced, we run into Jez and her team again. We say our greetings and line up in our lines.

​"Psst," I hear someone whisper next to me. "Excuse me."

​"Hm? What is it?" I question, whispering back.

​"Um, is by any chance the other girl on your team related to Tatum McColm?" the girl asks me.

​"Uh yeah, she's her granddaughter," I answer, a little bit confused.

​"Ohhh, really? Ok. Sorry, it's just that I heard about her team once when I visited the seventh game, and I heard you guys were from there too. I asked someone and they said she had the same surname so I was a little curious. Anyways, thanks. My name's Angel, by the way. I wish you good luck for your race!" she smiles nicely and I smile back.

​"Nice to meet you Angel, I'm Emily."

​"I've got to go now, but hope to see you close to the finals!" she says and walks back to her line.

​"Who was that?" Lilly asks me when I turn back.

​"A girl named Angel. She just came to ask me a question," I answer simply.

~ ~ ~ ~
​"Ready, set, transform!" Everyone transforms. My long brown hair transforms into a neat ponytail and my normally light brown eyes turn to a piercing red. I am dressed in a sleek black jacket, ready for battle as always.
​Lilly's normally short jet black hair extends into long waves, changing her appearance dramatically. She is also dressed ready for battle.

​Nolan's right. He looks exactly the same from behind after his transformation, but if you look at him closely, his normally pale and vivid blue eyes turn into a curious sea green.

​Hunters' short chocolate brown hair turns into a rare silver color and his warm brown eyes into a striking clear blue.

​"On your marks, get set, begin!" The gunshot fire can be heard throughout the forest and everyone rushes off. The ending point is on the opposite side of the forest, and to signify you made it you have to hit a buzzer. As soon as you hit the buzzer, you are taken into a room where only eight teams will be allowed.

​The four of us begin to run, staying cautious. Almost immediately we are hit with an obstacle.

​"Watch out!" Hunter yells as fast arrows fly past us. I can see how it will be hard to go as fast as you can with all this danger surrounding us.

​"Lilly? Can you change the direction of the arrows?" I yell to her, hunching over.
​"I can try!" she yells back to me extending her arms. "It'll only last a few seconds though, so you have to be quick!"

​She pushes her arms forward, palms facing in front of her, and suddenly a gush of wind comes through. The direction of the arrows change for a few seconds, giving us enough time to go through.

​"What about you?" I yell to her in concern.

​"Keep going! I'll catch up in no time," she yells back standing on the other side of the arrows.

​"Ok!" I wave and start heading forward with the boys.

​The next obstacle is an area filled with fog. I can barely see a foot in front of me.

​"Where is everyone? Can you hear me?" I shout.

​"Yes, we can. We're right behind you," Nolan says appearing directly next to me with Hunter.

​"So, how are we supposed to get outta here? The only thing I can think of is pushing the fog away with wind but Lilly isn't here," I say.

​"Oh Emily, did you forget who we have on our team? Me! Give me a second," Hunter says and extends his hands in the same motion as Lilly just did.

​The fog clears and I look around. Why do I feel like only Lilly's power is being used? Well, Hunter's too but it feels weird.

​We run as fast as we can and eventually Lilly catches up to us. The next obstacle hits us quickly .We finally make it to the checkpoint and we hit the buzzer. We make it to the second round being the sixth fastest team. Not too bad.

~ ~ ~ ~
​The second round is quite a surprise. We make it past the first battle. Our second battle is a little more difficult.
I charge towards my opponent, the weapon type from the opposing team. He is a grenade type and is constantly dodging my attacks, aiming around me. The explosions are blocking my view and constantly running is making me a little tired (even though I trained for this). Lilly, Nolan, and Hunter are equally matched with the others.

​Lilly surrounds two of the opposing team members in a tornado with the help of Hunter using a speed up spell from the previous battle. Nolan is constantly jumping back and forth turning invisible and reappearing again, dodging and confusing his opponent.

​"Keep it spinning Hunter!' Lilly yells and runs to assist me. "When you dodge, jump as high as you can and be ready to attack!" she tells me and I follow her command.

​I immediately catch on when I'm attacked again. I jump, and stable myself. Lilly pushes a canopy of air under me and it appears like I'm levitating. I get my sword in position and dive into an attack.
~ ~ ~ ~
​

Part 3! Another fairly long one! Hope you enjoyed!

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