The next day brought another round of flag matches, but Codi's mind kept dragging her back to the grim end to yesterday's elation. While most of the Battlecast competitors had reason to be happy about the draw, all she could think about was Leela going head to head with Keefer Darkwood. The image made her stomach turn.

If the events had affected her, however, Leela was doing her best to conceal it. The Battlecast team swept past their next opponents, executing their game plan perfectly. Codi watched with satisfaction as her friend ran rings around the team from Thor's Wake, weaving between two helpless defenders and exploding across the last hundred yards of empty space to deliver the flag home.

Cheers rose; Codi's eyes wandered up and around to the smears of blue and cyan that marked out the large pockets of Battlecast supporters in the stands. A breathless smile flashed over her face and she jogged over to join her celebrating team mates.

They gathered around their flag, clapping shoulders and exchanging high-fives. She gathered Leela into a playful headlock, ruffling her hair good naturedly. When the other girl extracted herself, Codi saw through the forced smile – just for an instant caught a glimpse of the worry behind those big young eyes. Keefer Darkwood was there, waiting.

She trooped out of the Arena at the back of her group, her mind turning somersaults even as the coaches met them in the corridor. Through the baying reporters and snarling cameras her thoughts wandered elsewhere. One question overtook everything else.

How the hell is she going to beat him?

On paper it was impossible. While Leela had improved a lot in their run to the main competition Keefer Darkwood still looked to be out of her league. That wasn't much of a starting point.

But Codi reminded herself that underestimating anyone was dangerous. She'd seen the fire that lurked deep in her friend's unassertive shell, seen what could happen if they could just get her to show it. That might not even the odds, but at the very least it could help Leela not to embarrass herself.

They made their way through the Arena, past the reporters and down to the lock-tech where they shed their exoskeletons. The mood generally remained buoyant. After all, they had just stormed through their second flag match without a hitch. But Codi could see that Leela's mind had already skipped ahead, probably playing her worst nightmare over and over and over.

When the other girl tried to peel off inconspicuously down one of the corridors, Codi followed, leaving the others to their celebrations. She caught up to her friend, nudging her with an elbow.

"You alright?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.

Leela shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess."

"Only okay? We're tearing up the flags and you and Mica got through to the next round of the pairs."

"I know."

"So what is it?"

"You know what." Leela gave her a frustrated glance. "Made it through the Mayhem and all I've got to look forward to is getting destroyed in front of half the galaxy."

Codi sighed. "It doesn't have to be that way."

"Oh yeah? Last I checked he was number one. I didn't even make the rankings."

"Those are just numbers, Leela. I didn't make the rankings last year, and look how that turned out."

"That's different."

"Is it?" Codi caught Leela's arm, forcing the girl to stop and face her. "You watched the Gauntlet last year, didn't you?" she asked.

Leela nodded.

"And what did you see?"

"Err...well, I saw you."

"And what happened to me in the group stage?"

"You had to fight...oh."

"Uh-huh." Codi spread her arms wide. "I got Bruno Varlin in the groups. He was the top seed and he clobbered me. It didn't matter. I got back up, I kept going, and I made it to the final for round two. There's no difference."

"But even then you were better than me!" Leela exclaimed. "You keep making out like I'm just like you, but I'm not. I feel like every day I have to prove I'm even supposed to be here. I'm treading water every time I step out there. You, you were born to do this!"

"Nobody is born to be in the Gauntlet. Hitting people is just the only thing I've ever been any good at."

"You know what I mean! You're a natural at this. I'm just another fighter."

Codi turned her eyes skyward fighting down her frustration. "Stop accepting that you have to lose. There's still time for us to get the best out of you."

"I'm already doing my best!"

"No, Leela, you're not!" She stepped closer, narrowing her eyes. "I know you've got a hell of a lot more in you; a whole other level that for some reason you just won't go to."

"What...?"

"I've seen – hell, I've felt what you can do when somebody really pushes you to the brink. You just need to be able to find that level on your own. Then you'll have a fighting chance."

Leela's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. She shook her head uncertainly and shrugged.

"I just...I just don't see a way to win this."

"If you don't have the will to beat him you won't find a way," Codi snapped, pointing back towards the Arena. "If you go in there expecting to get demolished, I guarantee you that's what will happen."

A hurt expression flashed across her friend's face, but she refused to let it divert her from the task at hand.

"I'm not going to stand here and lie – nobody is giving you a chance against him, but you don't need anyone else. All you need is you!" She accented the final word by prodding the other girl hard in her chest. "That hatched-faced scud thinks he's just going to walk into the knockout stages. You're the first one who can prove to him that Battlecast fighters don't back down from anybody! What do you say?"

Leela swallowed hard, but eventually a nervous smile crossed her face and she nodded. "I suppose I can try."

"Then come on. We've got a lot of work to do."

*

A general hum of activity filled the gymnasium, with several dozen fighters from various academies taking the time to get in some last minute practice before the group stages began. Coaches bellowed orders; bodies thumped against mats and the air shuddered with impacts.

Right in amongst them, Codi stood opposite Leela, and she'd discovered that she wasn't the only one who wanted to help. Bronagh Llewellyn herself accompanied the pair as they worked through their drills, savagely pointing out the flaws in every aspect of Leela's fighting style.

They reset again. Leela darted left, then right, and then dove in with a vicious swipe. Codi read the move and stepped with it, catching her team mate's arm as it swung toward her and hauling her off balance. In the same motion she kicked out hard, scooping Leela's legs out from under her. The other girl hit the mat with a gasp of surprise.

"Predictable," Llewellyn declared flatly. "He won't fall for one feint, Leela. You need to be more creative."

The young fighter picked herself up, cheeks reddening. Nevertheless she reset again and the sparring continued. At first when Leela started moving it looked like she was about to just repeat the same mistake. However, at the last second she threw in a third jink, feinted with a swing from her left hand before pulling the blow and snapping out a rocket-like jab from her right.

Codi reacted just in time to jerk back and deflect the strike. Reflexively she retaliated, throwing a short, sharp punch of her own, but Leela was already skipping back out of reach. She followed. The other fighter ducked away from her swinging right and rose, lashing a kick at her torso. Codi turned with it, already prepared for the combo. She caught Leela's leg, trapping it against her, then stooped, planting a shoulder into her friend's stomach, wrapping an arm around her and lifting her. With a grunt of exertion she dumped Leela unceremoniously onto the mat.

"Better!" Llewellyn declared as they picked themselves up. "But stop pulling your hits. If an opponent is going to catch a blow like that you have to make them pay for it. Darkwood isn't going to go down with a love-tap."

Codi grinned at that, but her smile faded when she caught sight of Gareth behind the head instructor. Taking a breather from his own sparring he had been watching them and a strange expression filled his features. She was familiar with his look of thinly veiled disdain, but this wasn't that. He looked kind of...sad. He took a gulp of water and turned away.

Trying to ignore him, she stepped back into place again. Looking across at Leela she saw her friend's cheeks flushed, her jaw locked tight. The frustration was building. Codi couldn't tell if that would be good or bad.

Twice more she got the better of the exchange, either throwing or tripping her wayward opponent down to the mats. Bronagh Llewellyn watched on grimly, making clipped remarks about Leela's stance or her attacking technique. Occasionally she stepped forward, physically moving the young fighter into position herself.

When they set again, Leela came barrelling in with surprising speed and Codi only just rode the flurry of attacks. Twisting and writhing out of the way she blocked a kick that had been aimed at her head then lunged forward, hooking an arm through Leela's and wrenching her off balance. This time, however, her opponent rolled with the motion and very nearly dragged Codi with her.

She had to let go, pivoting back into a fighting stance as Leela leapt to her feet, poised to strike. Again her normally timid team mate came flying in like a wildcat, darting and dancing from side to side, utilising her speed. Three blows came in quick succession. Codi blocked two; ducked the third. Then bending back away from vicious uppercut she kicked out, catching Leela by surprise. Her foot connected with the other girl's stomach knocking her off balance.

Codi pounced, dragging her opponent forward into a headlock and pulling her to the ground. Leela struggled wildly for a moment before Bronagh Llewellyn called a halt.

They disentangled themselves and Leela rolled away breathing heavily, her cheeks crimson from exertion. Codi clambered upright and glanced at their coach. The woman gave her a small nod of encouragement. They'd just made a big step in the right direction. She turned back to her friend.

"So where did that come from?" Codi demanded, hauling Leela back to her feet again.

She stuttered. "I don't...I was just trying harder. I'm not sure what-"

"Well you'd better figure it out. That fire – that energy? You're gonna need a lot more of it." Codi stalked back over to her side of the mats and turned, staring hard at the younger fighter. "Think about where your mind was when you started that attack. Every single time you step into a Gauntlet fight you need to go to that place!"

"I was...annoyed." Leela squared her shoulders awkwardly and took up her position. "Tired of being the only one hitting the mats."

"Then that's where you start," Codi replied and she tapped her temple with one finger. "Every spar, every fight, lock that feeling in your mind. If being angry is what helps you fight harder then just let it happen. I know it helps me."

Leela nodded, although she still looked a bit uncertain.

"Now that we've got something to build on," Llewellyn interjected. "Miss Crockett, you're not leaving this gym until you've knocked Codi to the ground. Understand?"

Thanks a bunch, Codi thought.

A horrified expression flashed across Leela's face for an instant before her eyes hardened and she nodded again. She turned, bending her knees and raising her fists. Codi followed suit and readied herself for a long, long session.

Half a dozen rounds went by and still Codi stood, and she could feel the anger and frustration beating from Leela's slender frame. Despite that, she knew they were making leaps of progress because now she really was having to try. She wasn't coaching any more. Now she just focused on staying upright, defending herself and trying to win each spar one at a time. The other Battlecast fighters stopped their own drills and a small crowd gathered, watching them intently.

Eventually the break through came.

After a blistering exchange that had the onlookers bubbling with excitement Leela landed a kick that knocked Codi forward a step. While not particularly damaging Codi knew she was out of position and with a growl of exertion she went for a spinning kick with her left leg to bring herself back into contention. She rotated perhaps thirty degrees before her thigh hit something solid and unyielding.

Glancing down she saw that Leela had guessed the move. She'd crouched down into the path of the swing, catching Codi's leg in the juncture where shoulder meets neck. She clamped her arms around the limb and Codi realised with a horrible inevitability that this time she was going to hit the mat.

Planted low, and with all the leverage in the world, Leela stood and pushed with a scream of desperation. The force actually lifted Codi off the ground for an instant before she tipped backwards. Closing her eyes she braced herself, and slammed into the mat to a chorus of whoops and claps from the watching fighters.

Codi opened her eyes, blowing out her cheeks in a sigh. Propping herself onto her elbows she looked up to see Leela standing with a look of disbelief on her face, surrounded by congratulating team mates. Bronagh Llewellyn smiled thinly, stepping out onto the mat. She extended a hand to Codi and helped her up.

"Alright everyone," she called above the noise. "I think that's enough for today. To your quarters, now please." Then she looked at Codi. "You know, you'd make a fair coach."

Codi laughed. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm quite happy being in the Arena."

The Battlecast fighters trooped out of the gymnasium at last with Bronagh Llewellyn at their head, the hum of chatter filling the otherwise empty corridors. Codi trudged along at the back of the group, tired and satisfied that, today at least, she'd accomplished everything possible.

One by one the fighters peeled away until only three remained. Just before they split to go to their separate rooms Leela stopped, turned and grabbed Codi, yanking her forward into a fierce hug.

"I don't know what to say," she said hoarsely. "Without you I don't...I don't know what..."

"Take it easy," Codi replied, returning the embrace. "You did good today. Now go and get some sleep, okay? You're going to need it."

"Thank you," Leela whispered in her ear, her grip tightening for an instant before she released her hold and scampered off down the passage.

Once Leela was out of earshot Codi heard someone behind her exhale long and hard. She closed her eyes for a moment, knowing full well who it was. Taking a breath, she braced herself for whatever he was about to say. She could feel the negativity rolling off her team mate before he even opened his mouth. In a slow deliberate motion she turned and found Gareth lounging against the corridor wall, that same sad expression stamped on his features.

"What?"

"Codi," he said quietly. "She's never going to beat him."

"Don't you think I know that?!" she hissed, stepping toward him. "But what the hell do you want me to say to her?"

Gareth shrugged. "Tell her the truth."

"I'm glad you're not a coach." Codi pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out an exasperated sigh. "The last thing I want to do is make her more afraid than she already is. We need her to at least come out of the other end in one piece, physically and mentally."

"Come on, Codi," he said, exasperation thick in his voice. "I'm not denying she's been getting better, but this is another level. Be realistic."

"Realistically, as far as you're concerned, she never would have made it here." She shook her head angrily. "I'm not going to let her face that guy without at least trying to help."

"I'm not sure how lying to her is helpful. If you manage to make her think she's got a chance, even a small one, he's going to stamp that out. And that will stick with her for the rest of the tournament."

"Damn it, for once in your life have some faith!"

"I've got plenty," Gareth returned, turning and stalking off down the corridor. "Just not in her."