Codi dug her heels into the floor plating as hard as she could, straining with her teeth clamped tightly together as she swung Gareth in an arc. He flowed with the motion, lashing out one foot and cracking their intended target hard across the jaw with a ferocious kick. The unfortunate boy on the receiving end went bowling backwards, stopped only by the violent yank on his tether by his team-mate.

Then it was her turn. As Gareth landed they switched their exoskeleton gravity fields around with precision timing and Codi let herself be dragged forward like a ball and chain. She arrived like one too. Her fist hammered into the other fighter's jaw with such force and momentum that he spun in a full three-sixty before he hit the ground. He scrambled desperately away from her, trying to link back up with his team mate before the assault could continue.

He didn't have long to wait.

Coming back together with her partner, Codi led him in a wild charge as the two orange-clad fighters readied themselves again. She accelerated, legs pumping at an unnatural speed with the assistance of the exoskeleton's servos. The bulkier of the two competitors from Kar-Matala Academy stepped to meet her, sitting low and heavy in his stance.

Just before they crashed together, however, Codi changed her angle.

"Switch!" she hissed, suddenly jinking to the left and hurling herself into a sliding tackle towards the other boy. Gareth crossed behind her and lowered his shoulder. While the boy might have withstood a charge from her, Gareth was bigger and heavier, and he slammed into the first fighter in line with stunning force. The boy from Kar-Matala was fired backwards as though he'd been shot out of a cannon, and as he went, Codi's sliding tackle hacked the legs out from under his team-mate.

For a brief instant he seemed to hang in the air, then the gravity tether snapped taut and the fighter was hauled bodily through the air by his companion's inertia. Completely out of control they both went flying in a long, low arc before smashing into the arena wall and tumbling to the ground in a heap.

When the klaxon sounded Codi barely felt winded. She turned to Gareth, a thin smile on her face as they cracked their vambraces together in the Gauntlet equivalent of a high-five. He gave her a nod but neither of them overdid the celebration. Against an un-seeded pairing from a minnow academy like Kar-Matala, no one expected them to lose. She hadn't entered the bout expecting a walk-over – Codi knew how dangerous that thinking could become – but the dominant display they'd just put on served to underline that sometimes the Gauntlet analysts knew what they were talking about.

As the other fighters picked themselves up and the announcer confirmed their victory, she turned to the crowd, waving as the Battlecast roar swelled around them. One round down. Only five more to go to.

Unlike the individual and flag disciplines, there was no group stage for the pairs, just two enormous brackets of thirty-two duos each – one hundred and twenty-eight fighters competing in a straight knockout contest. That meant no second chances; no room for mistakes.

The opening brackets of the paired bouts followed the Mayhems less than twenty-four hours after the final melee concluded. Ripple had breezed through her opening heat, sending five other fighters out of the contest as she went. With her more than half of Battlecast's competitors had made it into the next round of the competition, impressive by anyone's standards, but Bronagh Llewellyn had been quick to remind them that they still had a gruelling task ahead of them. Now all the months of brutal training would be put fully to the test as Battlecast Academy attempted a clean sweep of every single podium – a feat that had only happened twice before in the entire history of the contest.

Codi aimed to make it three.

She strode from the arena with Gareth close on her heels, hearing a fresh thundering of cheers as the competitors for the next fight made their entry into the arena. No gaps: they kept the fights back to back to ensure spectators didn't move from their seats, whether those seats were in the stands or a million miles away in front of a tele-screen. The pairs would fill the next two days while the analysts compiled the group stages for the individual contest, ensuring there was no lull in Gauntlet combat for the battle-hungry crowds.

"Nice work," Thradd grated, lurking in the corridor for them. "Quick and clean."

"Wouldn't want to keep you waiting," Gareth replied, grinning.

The grizzled old coach let out a hoarse chuckle at that and motioned them to follow. "C'mon, let's getcha out of those rigs. We'll have a wind-down."

Codi pulled a face at their instructor's heavily muscled back as he stumped off down the corridor. She saw Gareth stifle a laugh and he gave her a light shove in the direction Thradd had taken. They fell into step behind him, making their way through the bustling throng of Gauntlet personnel and fighters until they reached the Lock-Tech station on the Arena level.

She stepped into the exoskeleton cradle, letting the machine peel the powerful fighting suit from her body, leaving her clad in her cyan tank-top and dark blue leggings. Fresh air rushed eagerly over her body and she inhaled deeply as the tungsten lattice receded from over her face. She hopped out of the machine, slipping her feet into the soft-lined pair of blue and cyan trainers beside the cradle. Behind her the whole machine tipped backwards, its glass casing sliding shut to protect the precious cargo within.

Digging into her kit bag, Codi sprayed the sweat of exertion from her body with a jet canister, shuddering as the icy coolant rippled across her skin. Then she pulled a clean tank-top out and changed gratefully into the fresh garment. Alongside her Gareth followed suit, quickly replacing his sodden t-shirt. She caught a glimpse of his lean, heavily muscled torso before the new top slid down over it, and then he bundled his thick mane of hair back into its ragged ponytail.

Once they'd both made themselves a touch more presentable Thradd beckoned them over. He started leading them through the Battlecast 'wind-down' – a series of slow, gentle stretches that eased the body back into its normal gear after spending a prolonged period of time encased in the powerful exoskeletons

"It's a good start," he told them, as they moved. "You made things look easy out there. Against unranked, that's how it should be."

"Nothing to it," Gareth replied, though his easy smile faded under their coach's unimpressed glower.

"I'm trying to give you a compliment, but don't let it go to your head, kid. You did what you needed to do. It's only gonna be an uphill climb from here."

Codi followed Thradd's action, stretching her right arm across her body. "How's the bracket looking?"

"You're in the softer half," he grated. "But that doesn't mean there aren't some folk to watch out for. You've got those bucket-head twins from Ursa Major for a start. You'll have to clear a few round before you see them, but that's where my money is for your semi final."

She nodded. Lucas and Lazlo: it turned out the twins from her old academy hadn't been exaggerating their prowess in the paired bouts. The seedings had the Carden brothers listed in fourth place from an academy that in all other areas was consistently, reliably average. They were a genuine threat and Thradd knew it.

"After them you've got Rokkie Thakkar and Targon Fenz – Firequake's top pair," Thradd continued. "There are two groups from Nebula and one from Galactic Force that all seeded top ten. Keep your eyes open and don't underestimate any of them. The more people in an Arena the more possibilities."

Then his cragged face broke into a smile. "But that's for another day. Right now you might wanna beat down to the fighters' den and catch some of the action. Drills in the gym from eight sharp. Till then you're off the clock."

Gareth looked at her and shrugged. "I'm game."

"Then let's go." She motioned with her head for him to follow and, much to her amazement, managed to extract a high-five from Thradd on her way out of the room.

With Gareth by her side she made her way down through the spiralling ramps of the Gauntlet Arena. Used instead of stairs, they were constructed of a hard, transparent plastic that meant she could see people above and below; a very strange experience. Getting off the architectural mind game a few floors lower down, the pair emerged into another white-washed corridor that trickled with people – fighters, coaches and Arena staff. They stepped through one of the connecting doors and immediately the rumble of conversation rolled over them.

Here the Gauntlet competitors had their own private place to view the combat. The fighter's lobby was an enormous, cube-shaped room with filled with loungers and tables, all of them angled to face ten colossal screens embedded in the far wall. Right now dozens of young men and women littered the space like human confetti, some standing, some sitting, some enrapt watching the screens, others conversing animatedly about the outcome of the Mayhems and the match-ups that waited for them in the group stages. The whole place hummed with a barely contained energy that was infectious.

Codi had to dodge and weave through the bustle as fighters came and went in a blaze of coloured tracksuits. She remembered arriving with the Brax-Delta squad only a year ago – an academy that couldn't even afford a uniform – and allowed herself a faint smile of satisfaction. How times changed.

They made their way through the crush, occasionally stopping and exchanging a greeting or a barb with other fighters they passed. While the far wall displayed the tournament combat, the smaller array of tele-screens fixed to the left-hand wall were dedicated to information. On them the full brackets for the pairs shone, for now showing a tree of empty spaces with few matches having been concluded. Codi noticed, however, that she and Gareth had been advanced already by the efficient administrators, their names glowing with a victorious blue sheen.

She stopped at those screens. Codi narrowed her eyes, scanning for one name.

She found that four of the five Black Horizon competitors were taking part in the paired bouts, neither pair seeded by the analysts. A pang of frustration struck her when she read the brackets and found that Keefer Darkwood was the only one not involved. It seemed their coach wanted his most dangerous asset to focus on only the most prestigious prize of them all.

Coward, she thought bitterly. She knew that competing in every event would be a strain, but she relished that challenge. It was a matter of pride more than anything – if she could battle her way through the individual bouts and bring home the trophies in other disciplines, it would cement her status as one of the ultimate competitors. She knew that every single person at Battlecast felt the same way. Something about the calculated, safe approach that the Black Horizon competitors had taken filled her with loathing.

"No sign of Darkwood?" Gareth asked.

Codi shook her head, resentment bubbling beneath her skin.

"He's saving himself."

"Who's up now?" she asked, trying to turn her thoughts away from the black-clad giant who cast a solitary shadow over an otherwise perfect day.

"Looks like...Zulu Forge and Eilbarder," Gareth told her, pointing to the relevant match up. "Not exactly a clash of the titans."

She frowned disapprovingly at him but didn't reply. He wasn't wrong strictly speaking, but dismissing the small academies had cost Battlecast dearly in last year's contest. She wasn't about to make the same mistake.

A chorus of whoops, jeers and yells pulled her attention from the brackets and onto the main screens, where the next match was about to begin. The cameras swooped and circled, taking in wide views of the fighters and the construct they stood in.

Examining the broadcast, Codi instantly recognised the black and white armour of the two girls fighting for Zulu Forge. A glance back to the info-graphic on the left gave her a little more information. The duo from Earth's minnow academy had actually managed to get themselves seeded at twenty-fourth, no mean feat for an institution like theirs. The opposing team in the gold livery of Eilbarder Academy hadn't made it into the twenty-five ranked slots.

The screens showed something else too and suddenly she found herself taking a definite interest in the outcome. Giving her companion a light tug on the arm she moved towards the screens for a better vantage point.

"You're that keen to see this?" he grumbled. "It's a numbers match."

"Whoever comes out the other side will be our next opponents," she told him sharply. "Better safe than sorry."

He shrugged. "If you say so."

They found a piece of floor space near the front of the assembled fighters with a front row view of the combat. Some saw the blue and cyan of Battlecast and gave the pair a wide berth. Codi ignored them, focusing on the unfolding fight in front of her.

At a glance the pairs seemed to be mismatched – the two boys from Eilbarder had bulk on their side – the girls from Zulu Forge had the speed. The majority of the pairs were mixed gender to provide one unit with both attributes. Codi found her curiosity piqued to see which would come out on top in this clash.

Brute strength struck first as one of the Eilbarder fighters clobbered his counterpart with a stinging backhanded swipe as she tried to outflank him. A concerted oooohhhh! rolled from the onlookers as she hit the ground. However, before the other team could capitalize the girl's partner wound in the gravity tether, hauling her companion out of harm's way like reeling in a fish.

The duos reset and Codi's brow creased into a frown as she scrutinized both pairs for weakness. The Zulu Forge team hit back next, hard, and she felt a surge of satisfaction when one of the bulky competitors from Eilbarder slammed to the ground. She couldn't help supporting the hammer and anvil. The pair started utilising their speed extending their gravity tether to its maximum, diving in for lightning strikes on their less manoeuvrable opponents.

"Like what you see so far?" a familiar voice from behind her said.

Codi let out a low chuckle and turned, unsurprised to find Kye standing there. The mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes filled her with a sense of familiarity, of being just that bit more at home in the Gauntlet – where they'd met a whole year past. She checked the urge to kiss him and instead contented herself with a nod of acknowledgement.

"Fancy seeing you here." She flashed him a grin and beckoned for him to come stand beside her. He joined them and it didn't take long for him to spot the black look the other Battlecast fighter threw his way. The mischief extended down to his smile as he met Gareth's stare.

"Gareth...Hosk, right?" Kye extended an innocent hand. "Kye Recktor. I coach at Zulu Forge."

"I know who you are," Gareth replied flatly, declining to shake.

Codi glared at him. "Oh, unplug for once in your life."

"He's the coach for another academy, Codi. We're supposed to be fighting them, not making friends with them."

Rolling her eyes, and feeling an unwelcome surge of déjà vu, she turned back to Kye. "Sorry, he's naturally suspicious. And stubborn."

"Glass houses, Codi," Kye laughed. "And I'm not expecting us all to be friends."

"Good. Then beat it."

"Easy there, tough guy. I've got every right to be here and to talk to whoever I want. Those are my people in the Arena right now."

Gareth bristled at that, but Codi shot him a warning look. "Leave it," she hissed. "We came here to watch a fight, not start one." Finding herself as peacemaker felt singularly odd. It wasn't all that long ago people had been tearing her and Gareth apart before they could kill each other.

Further barbs were thankfully avoided as the fighting on the screen started to intensify, grabbing the attention of the onlookers. The Eilbarder pairing had managed to get back into the fight, delivering a handful of punishing retaliations as their opponents tried to press home their advantage.

Like two hornets the girls from Zulu Forge started striking harder, faster and quicker. Codi could see the strategy that Kye had given them. Don't get bogged down, don't get into a slugging match; stay light, fast, and sharp. So far it looked like the tactic was working. In a blurring motion they both zeroed in on the same target, one taking his legs and the other smashing into his body. The boy flipped head over heels before hitting the ground, to another chorus of jeering from the watchers in the lobby.

The Zulu Forge team were like sharks sensing blood. Before their opponents could reset more attacks came flying in thick and fast, battering a desperate, ad hoc defence. Twice more both the Eilbarder contestants went down; the few of their competitors present in the fighters' lobby kept their thoughts to themselves. Grudgingly, Codi had to admit she was impressed. The outcome of the fight now was a foregone conclusion.

It took a few more minutes before the final hammer-blow landed. With one boy down the Zulu Forge fighters keyed on his companion. Feet and fists swept in, landing vicious hits from all angles until eventually the exhausted Eilbarder fighter went crumbing to the ground under a final, devastating flurry.

Cheers and boos rolled through the assembled fighters – friendly wagers won and lost on the opening matches. Codi exhaled a long breath, staring at the two whip-thin girls that she and Gareth would be facing in the next round.

As the klaxon sounded to herald the victory of Zulu Forge, Kye looked at them. His brown eyes twinkled triumphantly and a dangerous smile slipped across his face.

He nodded to the screen. "Not bad, eh?"

Codi nodded, but she didn't miss the challenge in his voice.