♞

"MY TURN," CJ SAYS as he puts two fingers in his mouth and whistles, signaling his underlings, the Ashes.

     The Ashes run towards them with sacks of sand, and two of the Ashes threw the sacks towards the grounds with all their might.

     The members of Cigarettes grab the heavy sacks of sand and immediately start throwing them towards the other team's direction, instantly making the stage tilt. A member then attaches a rope on the belt of one of their members, including Cj. The rope was the same material as the ones used for bungee jumping, making them have the ability to bounce back.

     The other two members held onto the said ropes before stepping on what seems to be rocks used for mountain climbing that's strategically placed near Cigarettes' base. Cigarettes designed them so that it can act as stoppers.

     "Let's go!" Cj shouts before jumping towards Hans while the other members jump towards Team Protector's base.

     While Master Joker and the others leveled up their defense, Hans pulls out his gun as Cj practically flies towards him. With his hand still touching the ground so he wouldn't slide backward, he points his gun at Cj and aims for his arm. But just before Cj could get shot, the member holding onto Cj's rope pulls him upward, making Cj bounce back up.

     Hans curses and looks back at his team. "We gotta take out those three bungee jumping bitches first!" He shouts while pointing his gun at the two members of Cigarettes who were holding onto the elastic rope.

     "I have an idea!" Brave shouts back, immediately attaching wheels on his boots and grabbing Marcus, "We gotta tilt the grounds."

     Marcus doesn't say anything but nods his head and attaches the wheels on his boots as well, zooming his way towards the sack of sand so he could throw it towards Cigarettes' base to tilt it to a different direction. 

    As they got closer, a member of Cigarettes suddenly points a gun at them. Marcus was fast enough to notice it so he pushes Brave away, making the attacker shoot his hand instead.

     "Shit..."

     Marcus looks at his hand as the blood drips on the floor. He looks back at the Cigarette member who was about to shoot him again, but he immediately pulls out a knife from his boot and directly throws the knife towards his thighs, instantly making the count let go of his gun and lose balance.

     Thanks to the bomb that Hans threw at them, he starts sliding towards him while he tries to remove the knife that got stuck on his thighs.

     Marcus waits for him. And as he slides towards his direction, Marcus kicks him off the stage with all his strength, automatically removing him from the battle.

     "Cigarettes' Orson Bloom is out of the grounds, leaving Cigarettes' with six members remaining," Alisa announces, and Cj who heard of the news angrily curses.

     While everyone was occupied, Marcus finally pushes the sack of sand out of the stage while Brave skates his way towards Cigarettes' base, making the grounds tilt again.

     Cj and the other member who was being supported by the rope automatically slides back to their base while the two members who were holding the rope stumble back as well.

     "Arjun! You handle this guy! I'm heading to their base!" Krist shouts, dodging the Cigarette who was about to throw a punch at him. He then pushes him toward Arjun whose fist was waiting for him.

     While Arjun handled the Cigarette member who was already on their side of the base, Krist looks back at Toni and Dhanin before saying, "Slingshot me!"

     "Right away Master Joker!"

     Krist attaches the wheel on his boots as Toni grabbed his arm so he can move him around in a circular motion. A couple more turns and he finally lets go of Krist, making Krist roll towards Cigarettes' base in full speed.

     As Master Joker was getting closer to the base, he slowly bends his knee and touches the floor with his spiked glove. Unfortunately, Krist didn't anticipate how fast he was going because when he touched the floor, his glove wasn't sticking enough to make him stop, so he continues to slide downwards.

     "Oh no!" Krist shouts, afraid that he'd roll straight out of the grounds that would automatically disqualify him and his entire team.

     As the master joker was panicking, Hans suddenly spots him and shouts, "Krist!"

     Hans immediately starts skating down to the base to catch Krist. Cj spots him and starts shooting him, but as BND's leader is known for his amazing defense, Hans dodges the shots, anticipating where Cj was going to shoot him.

     "Here he comes!" One of the Cigarettes shouted.

     Cj and his members thought that Hans was going straight to Krist so he could save him, but to their surprise, Hans heads in their direction instead. Hans then grabs Cj by the arm, pulling him down with him.

    The members of Cigarettes were surprised, but their instincts took over as they grab Cj's rope so he wouldn't fall off the grounds. And as Hans continues to slide downwards with Cj, he skates towards Krist and reaches out to him before shouting, "Grab my hand!"

    Krist was surprised to see Cj and Hans zooming towards his direction, but his instincts kicked in as well as he grabs hold of Hans' hand just in time.

    The three leaders were literally inches away from falling off the grounds when two members of Cigarettes held onto the elastic rope that's attached to Cj. As expected, the three bounce upward. Krist and Hans honestly thought that they were saved, but to their surprise, Cj looks back at his members and shouts, "Let go of the rope!"

     "What?! Are you fucking crazy?!" Krist shouts in shock.

     "If they let go, the three of us will be eliminated!" Hans shouts next.

     Cj, who knew exactly what he's doing, laughs sadistically as he answers back, "I'm counting on it!"

     The Cigarettes who were holding onto the rope were as crazy as Cj because they didn't even hesitate to let go of the rope, making the three leaders fall off the grounds.

     The entire stadium falls silent as everyone stares at Cj, Hans, and Krist, who was lying on the floor. Since the three leaders fell, it automatically means that all of them will lose. The only way to announce the winner now is by checking who fell to the ground first. Because if it's Cj, BND and Jokers will automatically win, but if it's Krist or Hans, Cigarettes will win.

     "Holy shit, what just happened?" Krist says as he massages his head. And as soon as he opens his eyes, he realizes that Hans was actually on top of him while Cj lied beside him, also massaging his aching arm.

     "That went well now did it?" Krist sarcastically says, making Hans chuckle.

     "A your welcome would have been nice," Hans answers, standing off of Krist and then reaching his hand to help him stand as well.

     "The Alpha Society will be reviewing the footage to check who fell off the grounds first," a voice announces, and the white uniforms in the stadium, even the brotherhoods, started talking to each other. Everything happened way too fast that they didn't see who fell first.

     As the two leaders got on their feet, they looked down on Cj who's back was hurting.

     Hans takes a deep breath and looks at Krist. Krist doesn't say anything, but then he nods his head like he was signaling Hans. Hans perfectly understood what it meant, so without any hesitation, he raises his hand and shouts, "We forfeit!"

     The noise from the stadium slowly dies down until the stadium was once again filled with complete silence.

     Cj couldn't hide the shock on his face as he continues to look at Hans, while the rest of the members of Cigarettes who were still on the battle grounds were left speechless.

     Krist grabs hold of Hans's shoulder as Hans repeats himself, "We forfeit the battle."

     "What?!" Ari practically shouts, and Felix, who didn't look as surprised as the others, sighs and leans back on his seat.

     "I knew it..." he says, making Ervin and Ari look at him.

     "What do you mean you knew?" Ervin then asks.

     Felix, who continues to stare at Hans and Krist, doesn't even look back at his friends as he says, "Their intention was never to win. They challenged Cigarettes so Cj could make a deal with Max."

     "And why would they want Cj to..." Ari pauses like he finally realized what Felix was talking about.

     "The article!"

     As the Alpha Society was about to check on the footage, Hans's sudden announcement instantly made them stop doing whatever they were about to do. It wouldn't matter who fell first now since Hans already forfeited the battle.

     "BND and Jokers have forfeited the battle," a voice announces, and the stadium was now even noisier than ever.

     "The winner for this year's third brotherhood battle is..." as the voice was about to announce the winner, siren sounds were heard throughout the campus, and BND and Jokers' banner falls from the ceiling, instantly making the Lighters and the Ashes jump from their seats to celebrate their brotherhood's victory.

     "The counts...Cigarettes!"

     The students shout, mostly because of shock.

     The seesaw battle ground finally goes down. And as soon as it stops, the members of each brotherhood ran to their respective leaders as medics arrived to check on the injured members, especially Cigarettes' leader, Cj, whose back was aching because of the sudden fall.

     "I hope we made the right decision," Brave says as he and the others approached Krist and Hans. 

     Marcus, whose hand was injured, looked at his hand and says, "It's my brother's turn now. If he doesn't make the right decisions, then all this would have been in complete vain."

... 

As soon as Max heard the siren sounds, Max immediately stood up from the bed that he's in and faces the vice president again.

    "It's over. I'm allowed to head out now, don't you think?" Max asks, anxious since he doesn't know anything about what could have happened during the battle.

     Gavriil, who's still guarding the door with his dear life, crosses his arms and looks directly at Max with a serious expression. "Your protectors have given you the opportunity you need to be able to conquer Cigarettes. You have to use it wisely," he suddenly tells him

     "What? What do you mean by that?" Max asks in confusion, but Gavriil doesn't answer him anymore. Instead, he takes a step towards Max, making Max flinch.

     Gavriil walks closer to him, and Max wanted to move away but his body wasn't allowing him to. Gavriil finally stops just a couple of inches from Max, making him tower the heir because of how tall he was. He then leans close to Max and whispers in his ear, "Leigh...Take everything back with an iron fist. Whatever happens, do not waver."

     Max didn't know what that meant, but before he could even ask Gavriil about it, Gavriil immediately steps away from Max and finally leaves the room.

     Max was dumbfounded on what happened, and he couldn't really wrap everything that the vice president just told him. But even after all that, something else bugged him more than anything that he said to him so far.

     "Leigh...he called me Leigh," Max says with furrowed brows.

    He wanted to know why Gavriil would just casually call him by his middle name, and he wanted to know why it sounded so strange yet so familiar. He needed answers, but then the door suddenly swings open, halting him from his clouded thoughts.

     Max was expecting it to be one of his protectors, but to his surprise, the person who entered the room was-

     "C-Cj?" Max asks with his eyes wide open.

     Max immediately takes a step back as he watches the leader look back at him with such an angry expression.

    "You..." Cj tells him before slamming the door shut behind him. "You planned all this didn't you..." he says, making Max gulp.

     "You sly son of a bitch."

     Max wasn't even able to say anything back when Cj suddenly grabs him by the cheeks, making Max unable to move any further.

     "I fell first...when the three of us fell, I touched the ground first," Cj says in irritation, but Max didn't understand a single word that he was saying since he wasn't there during the battle.

     Max tries to push Cj's hand from his now aching cheeks, but the count's hold on him was too strong that it was impossible to push him away.

     "I should have lost the battle, but that damn duke forfeited. They're all making a fool out of me," Cj says next, surprising Max.

    Cj looks straight at Max and suddenly pushes him, making Max fall on the bed.

     Max was panting heavily as he touches his aching cheeks. As much as he wanted to say something, words just couldn't come out, and his body was completely frozen. He remembered the time Cj mercilessly beat him up. He was scared, and he finally understood why Cigarettes' victims never ratted him out even after everything that he's done to them.

     Cj was definitely a terrifying man.

     "I'm so pissed off that I could kill someone right now," Cj adds, making Max gulp again. But as he watches the count with terror in his eyes, he suddenly remembers what Gavriil said to him before he left.

    "Whatever happens, do not waver." Those were his exact words.

    So Max takes a deep breath and gathered all of his courage as he says, "That's right...I planned it all," Max reveals even though he didn't know exactly what Cj meant. But based on what he has said so far, Max could tell what happened during the battle. He wasn't stupid.

     "You sent that white uniform to the Omega Society because you wanted to show me how powerful and capable you were, right?" Max says, and Cj's expression was slowly turning into a terrifying grin. His emotions changed so fast that Max almost stuttered.

     "You wanted to scare me; to tell me that what happened to James Hudson could happen to me too, but I'm not afraid of you. And your false victory today is proof of that," Max says, slowly standing from the bed to face Cj heads on. For some reason, the more he stood up to him, his courage started to come back.

    He realizes that he wasn't alone in this fight anymore. He has his protectors who always have his back, his friends who will support him no matter what, and even Viktor and Gavriil who - despite their strange encounters - are there to give him the right advice that he needs.

    "Do not challenge me...Charles Justin Mills. I have more bullets than you can shoot."

     The room falls silent, but then the silence was suddenly filled with Cj's taunting laughter. He couldn't believe that Max was able to tell him all that.

     "They were right. It is hard to break you," Cj says as he looks at Max with a grin. He then pulls something out of his pockets. It was a cigarette on a black and gold cigarette holder, and then a gold lighter.

    Max furrows his brows as he watches Cj light the cigarette. Cj then looks back at Max, and without removing his eyes on his, Cj inhales the smoke and says, "You impress me Sinclaire. I like your determination, it's almost admirable. But let's see how long it would take for me to actually break you into pieces."

    As the smoke escapes from his mouth, Cj approaches Max and suddenly pushes him towards the bed again. Max tries to stand, but then the count goes on top of him, making Max unable to escape.

     "Alright Maxy...let's make a deal," he tells him with a low voice. And as soon as Max heard him say those words, his eyes instantly widens from shock and realization. At that moment, Max finally understood something. This was the opportunity that Gavriil was talking about. This was the exact same reason why BND and Jokers purposely lost against Cigarettes. They wanted Cj to make a deal with him because Cj's confident that he'll be able to fulfill it so he can make Max his homeboy and make him suffer.

    But instead of feeling frightened, Max's entire body suddenly becomes filled with adrenaline. The storm that was inside him grows stronger, but this time he wasn't running away from it; this time, he was controlling it.

     "Listen closely you sly little fox..." Cj tells him as he looks down at Max before licking his lips.

     With his left hand supporting his weight, Cj places the Cigarette stick in front of his mouth and inhales the smoke. He then slowly exhales it in front of Max and says, "As the leader of the counts, I present to you a Tobacco Deal: Before midnight strikes, news about you will all disappear, including that article. Everyone will forget about you, just like how you wanted."

     "How long will I be a homeboy if you successfully accomplish the end of the deal?" Max asks.

     Cj thinks about it for a couple of seconds before saying, "Three days. Not bad, right? So, is it a deal?"

     Without waiting for Max's response, Cj places the cigarette in front of Max's mouth. He didn't really explain what that meant, but Max already knew exactly what to do next.

     Max leans close and inhales the smoke from the cigarette. The count looks down at him as Max moves even closer until their lips were only inches away from each other. He then slowly exhales the smoke directly inside Cj's mouth. With an equally sadistic grin on his face, Max whispers, "deal."

- END -