Soon after, the fighting seemed to be put on hold. A tense silence resounded from the field, and the spectators waited in restless anticipation. Minutes felt like hours with nothing to watch but the slowly churning mist. Even Camilla wasn't saying anything to her teammates, but her focused expression hinted that she too was waiting for England to make their move.

Since Elsie was watching Camilla, she had a few seconds of warning when she saw the woman suddenly communicate with her team again. Right on cue, an enormous gray cloud began to materialize above the field, releasing a downpour soon after. Weighed down by the rain from England's liquids and air meta, the fog slowly disappeared, revealing a sudden change to the battlefield.

The middle of the mountain seemed to have significantly chipped away from the fighting, and the England team had backed off to a quarter of the distance from their own base. Their offensive team looked a bit worn down, but both were steadily recovering thanks to their healer leader.

On the opposite side, the US had returned to the halfway point, looking a little roughed up but not significantly. They too had been taking the time to power up again; Pala was healing their surface wounds while Perez transferred energy to them. Around Perez, the sparse amounts of greenery had shriveled and browned.

When visibility had mostly returned, and all that left was the pouring rain, both teams readied themselves for battle again. On England's side, it seemed like their liquids and air meta was about to step into the fray, but as soon as her rain began to subside, Juneau countered with another wave of fog, pulling from a stash he had formed at some point at the base of the mountain. With one member preoccupied with maintaining visibility on the field, their super strength meta left her defensive post to switch to offense.

But it was a risky move, leaving their Class 2 as the sole defender. He could only manipulate non-living solids and liquids, and that was only if he was touching at least one of them, so there was little he could do against the US offense's increased strength if they got past England's offense.

In fact, if Perez or Lee ended up getting too close and were given enough time, they could inflict some serious damage on the Brit such as skin decay or even cellular deformations. When the former actually did happen in the last Games, it made Elsie want to throw up, and several other spectators actually did.

Thankfully, after a few minutes of fighting, it didn't seem like anyone from England was going to lose any appendages because they actually began to push the US back. It was both surprising and expected at the same time; while the US's offense was stacked in terms of endurance and each of the three guardians possessed super strength to some degree, it didn't matter if none of their attacks could land. And with England's offense relying primarily on the super speed of two of their guardians, the US struggled to land a hit on their opponents.

Even though the third member of England's offense specialized in strength instead of speed, their flawless teamwork ended up working in their favor, and the three of them combined began to chip away at the US's fighting power. At one point, England's super strength Class 4 even managed to grab onto Perez for long enough to leave a dark patch of skin on his forearm in the shape of her hand.

"Wyatt!" Perez yelled angrily at Camilla as he yanked his arm away, then threw a punch with the other that missed its mark by a mile.

At the US base, Camilla ignored the exchange happening in the middle of the field and continued to hold her arms extended in front of her. Her lack of concern was eerily familiar for Elsie to how she acted when she didn't have to put on a show for the public. To everyone else though, it was a strange reaction for someone who was usually eager to jump into the fray.

It was true that even Camilla would have some difficulties against their opponents' speed. It was also true that there was a small chance that England had a plan in place to slip past her if she went on the offense. But there was an even higher probability that even if those very unlikely scenarios were to occur, Camilla could easily destroy England's base first. But instead, she, or her team, was willing to endure a drawn out battle... for what purpose? Was this all part of their plan? Or had Camilla finally decided to show her true colors to the world?

Elsie hadn't realized how intently she had been staring at the motionless Camilla, instead of the action in the middle of the field, until she saw Camilla's mouth move ever so slightly. Juneau, who had been crouching on the ground just behind her and generating a constant supply of fog, looked to Camilla, slightly surprised. A second later, he gave her a small nod, then took off flying towards their teammates. Camilla, on the other hand, didn't move. Once Juneau neared his teammates, he extended his arms in front of him, and the rest of the US team immediately joined him in the air, lifted off the ground by gusts of wind.

For a moment, England paused. Then, their super strength meta yelled at their Class 3 rain maker to drag their opponents back down to the ground. At the same time, their healer leader grabbed their speedster and the two sprinted for Camilla.

"Ignore them, hold the base!" their leader ordered as they charged for Camilla. "She's going for the base!"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. It was a low rumble at first, barely noticeable if not for the sounds of the platform vibrating, but it quickly escalated to a continuous rolling thunder. Their rain maker immediately flew into the air, and their solids meta was able to brace himself to the mountain, but the other three had fallen to the ground and were struggling to find their footing again.

The rain maker started to fly over to help them, but their leader yelled something in response, his words inaudible to the spectators over the rumbling of Camilla's earthquake. But their comms must have been able to transmit the order because the flying guardian immediately turned back towards their base and joined their solids meta in an attempt to keep the structure intact.

But neither of them could hold back the earthquake, nor could they fortify the structure to withstand it. In seconds, one crack in the base turned to a dozen, which turned to thousands as the base burst into pieces and tumbled to the bottom of the mountain.

The US had won, and they had done so without letting England anywhere near their territory.

Maybe that was their plan, Elsie thought as the buzzer rang out through the stadium, ringing out over the subsiding sounds of the earthquake. Maybe they decided to prolong the match just to show that England couldn't even touch what they were truly protecting. That no matter how much of a beating their offense got, they weren't going to even give their opponents the slightest notion that they could win. They wanted to completely shut their opponents out and show the world just how strong they were.

Elsie wasn't sure if she completely agreed with this approach, especially factoring in the unnecessary injuries it caused, but it didn't matter as the stands erupted in a cheer that shook the stadium as much as the earthquake shook the mountain. She forgot all about her qualms as Jordan pulled her to her feet and wrapped her in a tight hug, screaming unintelligibly along with everyone else, or maybe he wasn't even speaking English and was just too ecstatic to translate his joy from Korean. Either way, the celebration was one long, exhilarating rush, and Elsie couldn't resist adding her own voice to the hundreds of thousands that were already echoing through the air.

At some point, Elsie spared a glance back at the field. The US members that had been airborne were back on the mountain and helping their opponents to their feet, exchanging handshakes and hugs in the process. Around them, medics rushed to and fro, tending to the worst of injuries.

One ran off to check on Camilla, who hadn't moved from where she stood for the last half hour. Exhausted, she waved them off wordlessly, not even bothering to show off her customary smile. How much energy had she expended to shake an entire, albeit small, mountain? Elsie wasn't sure, but she didn't have a chance to think about it for long as Jordan pulled her into another cheer, where a large group of Americans were gathered to proudly and obnoxiously sing their national anthem.

When the cheers finally died down and the platform had returned to its original clean white slate, with only minor structural damage, it was time for the awards ceremony. Unlike most other sporting events, the Games only rewarded the first place winners. The official reasoning was that the Unity Games was about fostering peace instead of winning awards, but the popular theory was that the budget was always blown on the extravagant stadium. As if to support these rumors, the Games staff produced another stage: a small, simple podium solely for the team match winners.

First on the stage were the semi-finalist teams, Japan and South Korea, who positioned themselves to the sides and slightly behind the empty podium. Both teams were greeted with thunderous applause, with much support from Jordan. Next, they were joined by England who, although slightly battered, looked significantly better than they did twenty minutes ago when they were hustled off the field to get treated. They seemed disappointed, but proud nonetheless, as they took their spots in front of the podium.

Finally, it was time for the winners. The spectators obviously hadn't lost their voices yet as they cheered the reappearance of the US team. Like England, they each looked exhausted, but their injuries were practically nonexistent as they took to the podium and waved to the crowds. The worst injury was Perez's wrist, and the previously blackened skin had since turned a raw pink, thanks to the team's healers.

As Elsie joined the rest of the spectators to applaud all the guardians' hard work, she felt her phone buzz from her purse on her lap. She spared a few seconds to check it, but tossed it back into her bag when it showed "Unknown Number." After a brief respite, it buzzed again, this time as the US team was awarded their medals (made out of titanium "to represent their strength," or because it was cheaper than gold). Again, it was an "Unknown Number," and Elsie ignored it.

When it rang a third time as the stands stood up to applaud the winners and their competitors, Elsie began to worry. Maybe it was her family, or even her manager, and they were in trouble. She had been in trouble mere weeks ago without a phone, and she would've easily borrowed someone else's if she could've communicated that need. Besides, if she did answer it, it's not like she was going to say who she was. The worst that could happen was some prank caller would have her number. But if she didn't answer it, someone she knew could be in serious trouble.

"Hello?" she answered the call, plugging one ear to hear over the cheers around her. Unfortunately, she still couldn't hear anything; she could barely hear herself talk. "Hang on."

Elsie waved at Jordan to get his attention, then gestured to her phone and the empty walkway above them. Jordan nodded in understanding and turned back to face the field.

There were way too many stairs for Elsie's liking, but she took them as quickly as she could just in case time was of the essence. By the time she reached the top, it was much quieter, but she was winded, and she silently vowed to focus a little more on her cardio.

"Sorry. Hello?" she repeated into the phone.

Silence.

Elsie moved the phone from her ear to check the screen, but it showed that the call was still connected. There was a chance that it was just a prank call, but there was also the chance that it was simply a bad connection.

"Hello?" she tried again.

Suddenly, from her peripherals, Elsie saw a small, piercing light from the direction of one of the short ends of the stadium. Less than a second later, it had grown significantly larger, and it wasn't until she heard someone shouting her name that she realized the light, whatever it was, was coming straight for her.

"Get down!"

Elsie fell to the floor immediately, but only because a harsh gust of wind knocked her onto her back. The wind had been warm, almost like if a tornado burst out of a burning oven, and Elsie could see waves of heat emanating from it as it collided with the beam of light, which was actually... yeah, it was definitely a fireball.

The force of the wind was surprisingly strong enough to knock the fireball off track, sending it veering upwards and into the stadium above Elsie, right where the wall and ceiling met. When the fireball collided with the stadium structure, the sound of an explosion and crunching metal echoed throughout the arena. The panicked screams of the crowd that followed were a drastic shift in tone from their earlier cheers, but Elsie could hardly hear them. Instead, she was more concerned about the second fireball that was flying at her.

Her vision of it was blocked by someone jumping in front of her, and it took five seconds for her mind to catch up with the fact that Camilla Wyatt was about to save her life once more. At least, that's what she hoped, because even Camilla seemed to struggle when the fireball hit her defenses. It was understandable, since Camilla was probably exhausted, until Elsie saw that she was only blocking the attack with one hand; the other was holding up part of the stadium wall that threatened to fall on top of them.

And that wasn't the only structural damage. In the entire section, slabs of metal were crashing towards the stands, but the other guardians had already jumped into action to redirect the pieces safely to the now empty platform. Other guardians were assisting with evacuations, focusing their attention on those with mobility issues and ensuring everyone was clear of the destruction.

"Elsie, go!" Camilla yelled, sparing a chance to look back at her.

Elsie couldn't agree more. But as she was getting to her feet, she looked towards Camilla and saw another half dozen fireballs headed towards them.

Her shocked expression must have been clear enough, because Camilla spun around and brought the metal slab from the ceiling in front of them at the last second. But even with Camilla taking the brunt of the attack, Elsie could still feel the force from it, and its intensity swept her off her feet once more. One look at Camilla showed that she wasn't faring too well either, and the joint attack almost brought her to her knees. Elsie spotted other guardians trying to get close enough to support her, but those that got too close ended up getting thrown backwards from the sheer force of the clashing powers.

Just when Elsie thought she couldn't take the strain anymore, Camilla let out a fierce roar that was so out of character, Elsie thought she was hallucinating. She may as well have been, because as she managed to lift her head high enough, she saw Camilla draw back one hand for a brief moment, before pushing it forward and upward, flinging all of the fireballs through the stadium's new sunroof and into the clear, dusk sky. It was oddly beautiful, like a bunch of messed up fireworks.

Until a deep crunch followed, and suddenly, Elsie was falling.

Elsie watched the pink and purple sky drift further and further away, and no matter how hard she reached for it, she couldn't grab on. All around her, parts of the stands fell with her, mostly chunks of concrete with rebars jutting out, sprinkled with the plastic cushioned seats. It was an odd sight, seeing these things suspended in midair and surrounded by darkness. Except they weren't suspended and neither was she; no, she was falling, and she hated it.

She hated this feeling, this feeling of being trapped in a free fall and too helpless to change her fate. She already had enough of this feeling to last a lifetime, yet it somehow managed to find her yet again.

"Elsie!"

Whatever remaining light from the sunset outside was eclipsed by another falling object. But it wasn't an object, and it wasn't falling. It was Camilla Wyatt, and she was flying. She was flying towards Elsie with one hand reaching out to her, and her concerned face shouting her name. Elsie tried to move her hand, tried to reach her, but she couldn't move. All she could do was think about falling, even as the darkness spread from the edges of her eyes and engulfed her with its cold embrace of fear and helplessness.

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NOTES

:O

Coming up: a flashback.

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