Chapter 3: Know The Ledge

This is where the middle of the tournament happens, and some of the main characters reveal their beliefs and ideals.

Author's note: This is where it gets really violent, viewer discretion is advised.

For if you want pictures, click here: 

Episode Start.

When we first left off, the first round of the Anima Battle came to a screeching halt with Miguel surrendering, and Daniel declared the victor; Adam volunteers to be the next combatant.

Before the half-Chinese academy student goes off to fight, he removes his glasses and asks Andromeda to hold them.

In this moment, Justin decides to choose his Rook to do his bidding. Now let's proceed towards the second round.

The chosen fighters enter the battleground and meet eye-to-eye, silence fills the arena.

Round 2:

Name: Adam Chang

Anima: Arachnid Form - Spider

Type: Transmutation

Vs.

Name: Reginald Hennessy

Anima: Prime Condition

Type: Enhancement

Interestingly, Father Collins appoints himself as a referee for the duration of the tournament; the elderly priest stands in the middle of the battlefield.

"Okay, very good," he approved, "Are you two ready?"

Adam and Reginald nod their heads.

Collins smiled, "Perfect," he remains momentarily silent while backing away, "Begin!" he yelled setting off the match.

They make a mad dash for each other, fists colliding. In an extremely short period of time, they exchange blows with each other dodging, blocking, and briskly maneuvering. Amidst the fighting, Tobias wonders if the scorn Daniel gave to his opponent was wholly justified.

"Hey, Daniel?" the chubby child asked.

"Yeah, Toby?" the auburn-eyed Anima-User replied.

"Don't you think you were a little harsh on that Miguel dude?"

Daniel sighed, "A little bit, but I don't regret it," he bluntly answered. "You see, the route that the world is going, you can't afford to be a wimp; especially when you're an Anima-User,"

The red-haired boy continued, "Bottom line, grow a pair or get crushed."

"You're correct, but here's the thing," Andromeda interjected, "When there's no other option and/or the thing you're facing is way above your capabilities, it's okay to give up once in a while and learn from it." she philosophized.

"Could've said it better myself." Carter commented.

Suddenly, they hear a loud thud; like that of a body smacking against the ground. The students of St. Eric Academy went up to the guard rails to find out; they're absolutely shocked on what happened to their Main Bishop.

The opponent Adam was fighting only sustained minor damage. On the other hand, Adam himself suffered severe injuries, like multiple cuts, huge bruises on his face, body, legs, and two black eyes.

Miraculously, an angel doctor and nurse flies into the combat zone to examine his injuries; the half-Chinese boy groans in pain.

The angel doctor picks Adam up, "Let's get this child to the infirmary with a healer ready, stat!" he commanded.

"Right." the celestial nurse agreed as they both dash out of the battlefield.

"Good work Reginald." Justin congratulated.

"Thanks." replied the brunette Australian. He then proceeds to head back to the viewing platform.

Round 3:

Name: Tobias McCormick

Anima: Weight Control

Type: Manipulation 

Vs.

Name: Edward Dublin

Anima: Combat Intuition

Type: Enhancement

The blonde-haired British gives off a smirk towards his pudgy opponent.

"What's so funny?" Toby asked in an irritated manner.

"Child, the outcome is already determined." Edward stated. "Your only intelligent option is to surrender and walk away; there's no way to defeat me, even with a strong Anima you so possess."

Toby is blown away by how analytical his foe is, to the point that he can instantly predict the outcome of the fight. He wonders if Edward is right and should just back out, not taking any chances.

But then, a voice from a certain friend resurfaces in his head, "Bottom line, grow a pair or get crushed."

Despite the predictions that Edward announced to him, Toby is having none of it. Who has the right to determine the result of a fight even when it's not attempted?

The answer? Nobody.

By looking at the mood of Toby, Father Collins is aware that the light-brown eyed child refuses to surrender, despite the odds stacked against him.

"Let the battle begin... fight!" he shouted.

With an injection of determination and courage applied towards his mind and soul, Tobias briskly rushes at his opponent by making himself light as a feather via his Anima. There, he delivers a flurry of punches and kicks at the blue-eyed mercenary.

Despite all efforts, Edward gracefully dodges every single strike while smiling arrogantly.

"Mediocre." the handsome British condescendingly commented. He then delivers a spin-kick to Toby's cranium with pinpoint accuracy, causing the 11-year-old to crash on the ground. A small amount of blood trickles down his forehead.

He nonetheless recovers and dashes at him ready to attack again. Not willing to stretch out the battle any longer, he dodges once again and gives Toby a hard karate-chop on his nape, knocking him out cold.

Most of the team gasped; Carter maintains his composure, but his eyes widen in horror.

Edward takes notice of the shock, "Don't worry, he'll regain consciousness within ten to fifteen minutes." he notified.

That message was slightly reliving, but they're still horrified by how their Rook is instantly knocked out.

Just like Adam, Toby gets carried out of the arena and into the cathedral infirmary by two angel nurses; they have no problem hauling him up despite being heavier than your average tween.

Having enough of his friends getting beaten up and losing, Daniel demands to fight in the next round; Evan, knowing the Main Knight's feelings, grants his request.

Meanwhile at Justin's squad, Justin is ecstatic that they're in the lead and feels that they're close to getting that smartphone; the snow-haired teen asked Shiva if she wants to the next combatant.

The Ethiopian scorpion-girl is hesitant at first, but nonetheless takes up his offer.

"It's good to brawl once in a while, excellent exercise." Shiva remarked as she walks down to the combat zone.

Round 4:

Name: Daniel Akamura

Anima: Ignikinesis

Type: Emission

Vs.

Name: Shiva Olatunji

Anima: Arachnid Form - Scorpion

Type: Transmutation

"Fight!" Father Collins shouted.

Like a jet, Daniel propels himself towards his adversary by emitting a powerful stream of fire from his hands, making him a rapidly speeding object. Normally, a regular person would get overwhelmed due to a lack of reaction time.

However, it's different for Shiva as she simply steps out of the way, not giving the slightest amount of concern. Using Daniel's levitation as an opening for a counter-attack, she stabs her crimson-haired opponent in the leg with her stinger, using incredible speed and accuracy.

Daniel shrieks in pain, as he crashes towards the ground. Immediately taking notice of his injury, he applies a strong burst of fire to the gash on his lower limb, sealing off the wound.

As the auburn-eyed Anima-User attempts to get back on his feet, Daniel notices that he feels stiff and physically awkward.

He quickly realizes he's been injected with a venom that possesses the same properties of a neurotoxin, except it's slow to take effect. Only one conclusion can be made...

Daniel must defeat his adversary before the poison consumes him!

The red-haired Emitter uses the same strategy from earlier when he was fighting Miguel: back-up a good distance, and rush down the opponent with fire attacks. Unfortunately, it didn't work as Shiva keeps darting around the arena in a zig-zag manner, effectively evading all of his offensive moves.

Feeling that she has completed her workout regiment, Shiva decidedly ends the round by rushing-up to Daniel and spearing him multiple times with her stinger in rapid succession.

She then leg-sweeps the red-haired tween, causing him to fall flat on his back; Daniel lies defeated, and his body completely immobilized.

Shiva bends down to the Emitter Anima-User, "No need to worry, the venom's effect will wear off within five to ten minutes." she reassured, smiling in a patronizing manner and then exits the combat zone.

"God...damn...you!" Daniel sputtered in anger before fainting, he is quickly taken to the infirmary. This leaving Carter, Mini, Andra, and Evan as the only active members.

Evan feels the ring of his smartphone vibrating in his pocket.

He takes it out and answers, "Hello?"

"Hey there, frost-boy!" Justin greeted, waving his hand from the other side of the spectator platform.

Evan discerns the gesture and reacts with irritation, "What the hell do you want?!"

"I'll make it quick little bro, My rook over here is itching to fight again," Justin stated, "For this match, he wants to fight two members from your team; do you accept or not?"

With no other options, he reluctantly accepts. The white-hair teen approves of his decision and hangs up.

The blue-eyed tween sighs, "Carter?"

"Yes, Evan?" Carter answered.

"I'm going to need you to fight this round," Evan stated, "And you're going to have to team up with Minerva."

"Awesome!" Mini cheered.

The peach-eyed girl takes off her blazer, leaving behind a short-sleeve button-up shirt and tie, "Evan, can you hold this?"

Evan takes her blazer, "Good luck, you two."

"Thanks!" Mini positively replied, as she and Carter went down to the battlefield.

Round 5:

Name: Carter Weston

Anima: Anemokinesis

Type: Manipulation

And

Name: Minerva Hernandez

Anima: Fulminokinesis

Type: Manipulation

Vs.

Name: Reginald Hennessy

Anima: Prime Condition

Type: Enhancement

The Australian Enhancer pops his knuckles and fingers, "I'm all rested and ready for seconds," he pridefully said. He then slams his fists together so hard, that it gives off a loud echo throughout the arena, "Prepare for a world of pain!"

Unfazed, Carter casually rolls his sleeves up.

"Bring it on." he calmly challenged.

"The time of quarrel has begun... brawl!" Father Collins shouted.

Reginald charges at the two Anima-Users, ready to pummel them. At the drop of a hat, Carter creates a dome-shaped barrier made of air surrounding him and Mini.

The brunette mercenary's fist collides with the barrier; a rather nasty effect kicks in upon contact with the shield. A multitude lacerations appears on his arms, causing Reginald to grunt as he back-steps away.

The gray-eyed boy dispels the barrier, "I hope that you know what you signed up for; going after stuff like blueprints of dangerous weapons is not really an appropriate job, let alone a safe one." Carter opined.

Reginald gritted his teeth in exasperation, "Shut up, you little twat!"

He attempts to punch Carter using his other unaffected arm; Minerva shoots a bolt of pink lighting from her fingertips, stunning the Australian mercenary. The two of them take turns beating down Reginald with their Anima-enhanced strength.

The teen Enhancer regains his motor functions, only to get taken away again by rose-colored electricity, emitted by Carter's side kick.

The duo repeats the same strategy until Justin's Rook crashes on the ground, rendered unconscious. Thus, the foothold Justin's squad have in this Anima-Battle came crashing down, making way for a potential turn around for Evan's team.

This time, Justin notices his cellphone buzzing in his trousers.

He takes it out and is mystified that the caller I.D. is unknown, The team's King answers it.

"Hello?"

"Meet me at the rooftop, boy." said a strange yet familiar voice before abruptly cutting off.

End of Episode.

Author's Note: To be honest, I felt bored writing the last fight scene of this chapter. Anyways, the fourth episode will be under production soon after I post this.

Author's Note

Don't mind too much of the tenses. Instead, tell me what do you think how well I handled the overall execution of this chapter.