Eary and the boys all glanced towards each other. Calvin was practically skipping as they made their way into the large arena.

Its grand lights blinded Eary as the grandeur gave way to the empty arena. Sitting in the sparsely filled bleachers were the girls. They waived smugly as the boys all fronted for their friends.

In the opposite corner. A group of multicolored teddy bears also waived to the bleak crowd.

Luke snickered. "Are those Compassion Bears?" He asked the group.

Eary nodded. "I think so."  He said, confused.

The overhead speaker loudly announced, "Participants to your side of the arena." Eary and his friends moved unto formation, as did the care bears. "Alright, today's first match will be between the Compassion Bears versus the, uh, Super Duper Team. Begin."

Calvin turned his head. "Eary, really?" He said, annoyed.

Eary shrugged. I couldn't think of anything clever on the spot." He replied coyly.

A great blast of energy came from the direction of a light pink bear. It nearly collided with Luke, but he burst away in orange light.

He called back to his brother. "Eary, shields."

Eary exhaled deeply. He quickly erected a field of blue. A unified blast from the colorful furries was quickly redirected. In an explosion of rainbow light and dirt, the bears seemed finished.

"Hehehe, that tickled." A sweet sounding voice rang out from the cloud of debris.

Eary clenched his teeth as the dust settled to reveal the bears. Now, however, they were floating in mid-air, with long, golden, spikey hair pointing straight up.

Calvin flatly exclaimed, "Uh-oh."

The rainbow colored stuffies circled the group. Shooting beams of moons, hearts, and charms of all kinds. Calvin and Eary took to the skies but were quickly slammed to the ground by the bears. Denby and Decan fought swinging as the super plushie menaces overwhelmed the boys. Sakile created three copies of himself, only for one to trip and break their ankle in the copied stilettos.

Luke agitatedly swung his daggers at the dive bombing threat. As three of the bears swooped in for the kill, he burst in an orange flash. A moment later, the stuffed animal costumes lay discarded on the ground. While three heavy set nerds stood in their place.

"Got ya!" Luke hollard as he dispatched one of his attackers. In a flash of silver light, the man was gone.

Sakile clumsily ran up behind one of the men. With his glowing baton he cried out, "Mother fucker!" Before the mam dispersed.

As the remaining bears circled back to the others, Luke called out, "Rip their costumes off!"

Denby caught one in his bare hands. Ripping the suit off in one clean motion, Denby smiled smugly at the skinny nerd inside. He swiftly slammed him into the ground, and again, he disappeared in silver light.

Decan absorbed the light of an energy hand blast. Then, he proceeded to impale a light blue bear in its belly charm.

Eary slashed at two of the bears, dispatching them. While Calvin skewered the remaining two with his spear.

'The match is over! The winners are the Super Duper Team.'

The team was guided quickly off the battleground and back into the pits. They all sat and stared blankly as the shock of the last fight began to sink in.

"I think this is gonna be pretty fucked up." Sakile stated calmly as his silver wig danced across his cheeks.

Denby whined, "I think this is a bloody nightmare, is what it is."

Calvin began to giggle intensely. A fact the sent shivers down his spine. The whole group looked at the giggling boy with great concern.

Mote flew up and waived his hand in front of Calvin's face. "Yep! The boy's lost it." He said bluntly.

"I have not." Calvin gruffed as he shoed Mote from his face. "It's just that." He paused and shyly glanced around the room. "This is awesome!" He exclaimed in a burst of energy. "How are you guys not having a great time? It's the ultimate geek out!"

Eary's brow raised. "Holy cow, Cal. I didn't know you were so into all this stuff." He said.

Calvin nodded. "I don't talk a lot about it. Mei knows. It's one of our things we love together. We watch a lot of anime and play a lot of video games together." He said, smiling in reminisce.

Luke patted Calvin on the back. "Hell yeah, buddy. That's the good stuff right there." He stated exuberantly.

Sakile nodded proudly. "Yeah, you know I like that Mei. Don't fuck that one up." He said as he adjusted his lopsided breasts.

Denby chuckled, "I'm pretty jealous, mate. I've been lookin' for a good girl, meself. No such luck." He stated, with a hint of sorrow to his voice.

Luke inquired, "What about you and Alice?"

Denby replied, "I tried." He quickly glanced at Eary than back at Luke.

Luke lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry man." He said somberly.

'Attention, your next match is ready. Please proceed to the battlegrounds.'

Luke sighed, "Here we go."

Calvin beamed in excitement as the rest of the group nervously headed down the hall and upthe steps, into the light.

Eary spotted the girls still sitting in the same place. Alice smiled smugly and waived.

Standing in the arena across from them was a party that looked like they were from the past. Eary spotted a knight and wizard. A man with a long braid stretched while a girl stood stoic in a long white cloak.

"It's a classic party!" Calvin exclaimed in excitement. "They got a priest, a mage, a knight and a monk from the looks of it." He stated searching the battle ground. "Be careful of any tricks, target the priest first and protect Eary." He said bluntly.

Luke walked next to the boy and inquired, "Why?"

Calvin replied without hesitation, "They have a similar set up. And once they figure out Eary's our healer, they'll try to kill him first."

Luke nodded. "Got it." He quickly pulled Eary to Denby's side. "Keep him safe." He instructed quickly.

Decan protested, "Hey man." He quickly moved to Eary's side. "I do fine keeping Eary safe on my own." He stated as he flashed Denby the stink eye.

Denby folded his arms. "Nothin' wrong with it, mate." He said harshly. "I'm just the best man for the job, that's all." He smugly stated, fighting back a grin.

The two young men began to bicker about their prowess, while Eary stood, shocked, in the middle.

"Drink it up, kid." Mote whispered from the Aether.

Eary's expression shifted from shock, to flattery. "Oh my gosh, is this actually happening?" He whispered back to the moteling.

"You bet. I think ol' captain s.t.d. still has the hots for you." Mote whispered back into Eary's ear.

Eary stated abruptly, "He's fine, okay?"

The two stopped bickering long enough for Eary to spot Decan's expression. His face also bore the expression of shock. But betrayal lingered behind his eyes. Eary was about to correct himself when suddenly."

'Alright, folks. In our second match we have our returning champions. The Adventures Guild.'

The small crowd erupted into applause as Luke bluntly stated, "Returning champions?"

'In the other corner, the challengers, the Super Duper Team.'

Mote snarked, "God dammit, Eary!"

Eary whined, "I'm sorry, okay?"

'Begin'

A bolt of light from the wizard's staff erupted in an aurora above the team. Eary looked up to see a swirl of greens and pinks that quickly formed into a large glacier.

As it began to fall Eary and the team ran as fast as they could, in a desperate flee from the impending crash.

A quick blur or orange had Eary looking at the remaining group members running towards hin to safety. One by one a bput of orange scooped up each member until only Sakile remained.

Eary called out, "Hurry, Sakile!"

Sakile yelled back, "I'm tryin' little man." A second later, Sakile hit the dirt. "My heel!" He shouted as the glacier completed its decent, crushing thean beneath.

Eary's heart sank until he recalled the silver light and how they would all be teleported back to the waiting room upon death. He sighed and, with a faint smile, turned to face their opponents.

And not a moment too soon. As he turned, he saw the blade of the knight come slashing down at him. He closed his eyes. A loud crash of metal caused them to fly open. There, he saw Decan, weilding Vale, deflecting the blade. Before he could blink, Denby came and punched the knight clear across the arena.

"You okay, love?" Denby asked, his voice filled with concern.

Decan quickly interjected, "He's fine, I've got it!"

"You gotta be less insecure, mate. Nobody likes a weak guy." Denby snarked.

Decan fired back, "Just back off! Nobody's interested."

A great blast of light revealed a large storm cloud over head. The spot where Decan and Denby stood, now lay empty, save for a few scattered silver lights.

Eary looked up in anger. The mage was releasing a bolt of fire as Eary erected a blue force field. The redirected blast sent the mage hurrdeling into the wall.

Luke flashed over to Eary. "Why aren't they disappearing like the others?" He asked cautiously.

The two brothers turned to see Calvin engulfing the priest and monk in a tornado. They were also thrown into the nearby walls, yet none dissipated.

Eary took a step back. "I don't got a good feeling about this." He whined anxiously.

Calvin regrouped with the others. "What gives?" He stated bluntly.

The fallen adventurers guild began to twitch. Soon, cables extended from their bodies and pulled them close. One by one, they began to stack, break open, and link back together.

"They're robots." Luke stated in awe as he watched the giant Mech assemble.

It lifted off of the ground. Held up by two jet packs upon its back. It raised its arm with the images staff firmly attached.

A barrage of fire balls came launching at the remaining three. Luke grabbed Eary and dashed out of the way. Calvin took to the air and unsuccessfully tried to blow the mech into the wall.

Luke stared at the bot. Eary watched as his brother contemplated something before flashing away to join the defending Calvin.

Eary watched as the two exchanged words. Seconds later, Luke was blown onto the mech by a great gust.

He made his way down the contraptions right arm. In a display of bravery, he deactivated the mage's staff.

He looked up and smiled at Eary. A large metal hand ce and stated Luke away like a bug. In a flash of silver light, his brother was gone.

Eary angrily began to swing his scythe. Blades of light bombarded the hovering mech.

The robot fixed its attention on Eary. With its whole body, it rammed the spot that Eary stood. He was thrown in the debris to the battlefield ground, unconscious.

As the mech stood it raised it leg to crush the knocked out boy.

A great tornado, guided by shimmering green light, slammed into the back of the mech.

The bot was pinned by the tornado as Calvin landed next to his friend. Eary began to wake as Calvin took his hand and ran him to the center of the arena.

"Hold on tight!" He exclaimed.

Eary nodded and wrapped his arms firmly around his friend. Calvin proceeded to shove his spear into the ground. Holding it, a great vortex began to swirl around the two.

The mech regained it's footing and began to close the gap on the two boys. However, the winds were picking up, and proved too much for the mech.

As the vortex pulled Eary and Mote higher and higher. Eary's grip began to slip. As it did he quickly caught the collar of Calvin's shirt while Mote was flung from Eary's shoulder and barely caught his pant leg.

Eary felt the intensity of the moment. As he and Mote screamed, Calvin's attention remained fixed. He took a deep gulp and extended his free hand. A massive dance of lightning joined the swirling vortex as the mech was mercilessly ripped to pieces.

As it hit the ground, it erupted in silver light.

Eary, Mote and Calvin hit the ground in exhaustion.

'There ya have it folks. The winner's are the Super Duper Team.'

With a large amount of boo's the two boys quickly returned to the pits.

There they encountered Luke and Sakile sitting by annoyed as Denby and Decan verbally spared.

Eary gruffed, "Enough, okay. It was cute at first, but I don't want to be fought over." He stated looking at Decan.

Decan rolled his eyes and returned to his seat.

"Thanks, love." Denby said beaming

"Knock it off Denby. Decan's my boyfriend. And we have more important things to worry about right now." Eary said bluntly.

Calvin nodded, "Agreed." He moved across the room and sat next to his brother. "Why didn't you turn into light, Eary?" He asked.

Eary raised a brow. "What do you mean?" He asked nonchalantly.

Calvin continued, "You were knocked out. You should have come back here. So why didn't you?"

Eary smiled and shook his head. As he reassuringly gazed back to his friends a small streak of blood came trickling down from his hair line

Mote gasped, "Kid, you you're bleedin'!"

Eary reached up to wipe away the blood from his face. "Oh, I guess I am." He dismissively stated.

Mote shook his head. "That ain't good, sport. You ain't supposed to be able to be harmed." He said bluntly.

Eary tuned to the moteling. "What does that mean?" He asked hesitantly.

Mote sqweemed, "It means the invincibility field ain't workin' on ya. And you's could die here, that's all."

The whole group stared on in shock as the monitor announced.

'You're final match is read. Please head to the battlegrounds.'

Eary tuned to his brother in a panic. "Luke, Luke. Get me outta this." He said nervously.

Luke arose from his chair. "Okay. Mote, go tell the judges we forfeit." He said.

Mote shook his head. "They don't take forfeits here, boys. I'm afraid we's just gonna have to win this one." He said with a twinkle in his eye.

Luke shook his head firmly in protest. "The fuck we are! C'mon Eary, let's go." He said firmly as he grabbed his brother's wrist. Turning towards the exist the two proceeded down the hall until an invisible barrier prevented Eary from proceeding further.

"Luke!" He exclaimed as some unseen force lifted him up and pulled him and Calvin into the arena's battle ground.

Luke burst in orange. "Eary!" He cried out. But the invisible force would bot allow the brothers hands to touch. Eary watched as his distraught brother disappeared out of sight. He rounded a few corners, then up a flight of steps. There he was callously tossed to the ground next to Calvin.

Calvin placed his hand on Eary's shoulder. "It's gonna be okay." He said earnestly.

Although little repreave, his reassurance did comfort Eary a bit.

'Today we have a special match. Deep from the bowels of the abyss. Demon lord Flumenel!'

The crowd booed as a great vortex of darkness formed before the boys. From the darkness, a great serpent emerged. Its grey skin, yellow eyes, and maw containing thousands of razor-sharp teeth made Eary's legs go weak.

"Fuck that!" Eary exclaimed in a gruff as he turned to find an exit.

'In the other corner, the Super Duper Team. Or what's left of them, anyways.'

Eary and Calvin frantically pushed on the invisible barrier.

'This should be a legendary match. Begin!'

The battleground began to flood as Eary's eyes grew wide with fear. He turned to look at Calvin. The young man pointed up as he lifted himself into the sky. Eary followed suit.

The two quickly dodged the maw of the great demon. Eary released a storm of lightning into the waters below. Flumenel writhed in discomfort.

Calvin yelled, "Nice, keep it up."

He swiftly slammed into the demons forhead, lodging his spear into the center of the monster's head. He flew off, pointing at his spear to Eary.

He nodded. Instinctively, he let loose a flurry of bolts directly into Calvin's spear.

The beast shrieked in pain. But before the boys could celebrate, they were submerged by a great wave from the beast.

Eary held his breath. The darkness of the water had him fling a ball of white light. It quickly revealed the presence of encroaching teeth. The teens feet erupted blue as he narrowly dodged the demon's bite.

He was growing desperate. The air his lungs turned toxic and painful as he longed to gasp for air.

Another lunge from the monster had Eary dodge once again. This time, he was growing weak. His vision was cloudy, and the darkness began to swallow his light.

He felt a hand extend over his mouth. A fresh breath of air filled his lungs as Eary looked back to see Calvin floating alongside him.

He held onto Eary tightly as he released a torrent of winds from himself. The waters parted as the two levitated inside a pocket of air.

Calvin extended his hands. Green in one hand, with red in the other. He created a large whirl pool with one while the other channeled Eary's lightning, shocking the demon.

As it spun, it long body swirled helplessly in the swirling water and jolts of electricity.

Eary took a deep breath. Taking his scythe, he shot an enormous beam of white light at the demon. A second later, a large horn broke the tension of the fight.

'The illegal use of divine powers has disqualified the Super Duper Team.'

Calvin and Eary both, "What?"

'The winner is demon lord Flumenel.'

The crowd booed as the great serpent gloated to the enraged spectators.

"So we don't even get anything?" Eary gruffed.

Calvin nodded, "Looks like it." He turned to his friend and gave a soft smile. "C'mon, let's go meet up with everyone else." He said with a hint of optimism.

Eary smiled back. The two made their way back to the stairs to the fighting pits, when a visitor descended from above.

A man with four heads, one of an eagle, a lion and an ox, and a man stood before them.

"Halt! You have violated the rules of pur sacred contest and must face divine judgment." The strange creature announced.

"How ya doin' there, Gabe?" Mote said.

'Gabe' turned its head towards the moteling. "Mote, it's you." The creature groaned. "I see your penchant for trouble has left you naught." He said condescendingly.

Mote chuckled, "Ya know it!" He said as the two then had an awkward stare off. "So listen, Gabe. I gotta get back to the Earth now and all that. Tell the boss I said hi, will ya?" Mote stated nervously.

"Enough, moteling! You will and your guests will accompany me to the throne room." He said firmly.

Mote shrugged. He whispered to Eary, "Looks like we're goin' to see Claris. Just let me do the talkin'."

Eary's eyes widened. He tingled all over his body. As he and the others followed Gabe, he could hardly contain his excitement. He was going to meet God.