CHAPTER 2: Idol

Gren's yellow outline flashes red as the heavy metal crushes him against the road. His limp arms and legs hug the hammer, then collapse beside him. Granknight lifts the weapon again and shakes his head at his defeated opponent. The device on Gren's wrist makes a buzzer sound three times, and the red outline blinks the same. He just laid there, crushed. Not only in the Symulation, but in his heart, mind, and soul. A tear began to form in his eye as he looked towards the clouds. Was this some kind of punishment? Did I not help enough people? What did I do wrong?

"Ouch, kid," said another man's voice. "Better be glad that was only 10% of the pain you'd actually feel, otherwise, you'd be dead." That voice...it can't be! Gren leaned up from the ground with eyes open wide and jaw to the concrete. IT'S HIM!! The man standing before him was lean and average in height. Sharp, green shoulder pads rested on both shoulders with forearm guards matching in color. His curly, brown hair hung over his right ear, and the blowing wind caused it to partially cover his face. He brushed it aside and said, "Hey, Granknight."

The previously jovial giant now stood upright with his hammer parallel at his side. "Percy! The gate closed ten minutes ago, sir!" "Yeah I know. I'm late. Penelope didn't want to get dressed for preschool today. So, you gonna let me in?" Granknight cleared his throat. "Yes! Right this way, sir!" With a push of a button, the iron bars swung open, and Percy stepped forward. However, his pace was halted by something in his way, a starry eyed Gren on his knees. "Y-You're THE Percy. The Forest Dragon Symbiolic!" "Umm, yeah. That's me. Who are you?"

Gren spins in place crying tears of joy in front of the celebrity. "I'm your biggest fan! Have been since I was four years old! Your swordsmanship is AMAZING!!" The geeking boy recovers some composure and raises his hand to shake Percy's. "My name's Gren! And I'm gonna be the next best Symbiolic in the state!"  "Heh, alright. So why aren't you in the arena? Scouting Program's about to start." Granknight speaks up from his post. "This young man failed to meet the deadline, sir! He's not allowed..." When he next turns his head, the both of them are nowhere to be found. "...entry..."

The doors to the arena's main hall open, and Gren is taken back by all the contenders. Nearly every teen stands taller than him with unique outfits and weapons. Percy places his hand on the boy's head and messes up his already messy hair. "Good luck, kid." Unable to move, the starstruck Gren watches his idol disappear into the crowd, unaware of the voice calling his name.

"Gren!" A ruby haired girl in a witch hat and robe runs over. An upset look rests on her soft face as she grabs Gren by the shoulders and shakes him. "Where WERE you!? I thought you weren't gonna make it!" The boy's noodle-like body returns to form. "DELLE!! You won't believe it! I met Percy! THE Percy! He shook my hand!" As Gren continues to freak out, Delle drags him by the wrist towards the rest of the contenders.

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The sound of fifty teens talking at once surrounded the two, who had to stay close to hear each other. "I've studied this arena," said Gren with a home-made map, "They might have made a few changes to the layout, but I promise you that if we both run towards this tower, we'll meet up." Delle seemed a bit unsure. "But there's multiple towers, right? How do I know which one is the right one?" "Easy! The west tower's flag pole is always bent at a forty-five degree angle. Has been for the last five years." Suddenly a girl with short, white hair sticks her head in between the two and says, "Wow! You really know your stuff."

The surprised Gren and Delle flail their arms in the air, dropping the map on the floor. "How long were you eavesdropping!?" Gren yelled. To his surprise the sneaky girl wasn't actually standing behind him, but floating with two pairs of insect-like wings. "Eh, about a minute. It's a pretty nice plan." The pixie laid on sideways on thin air, holding her head up with her hand. "It'd be a shame if someone told the other applicants about it." Now Delle became upset, the tip of her pointed hat catching fire. "Hey! You can't do that!" "Yeah I can, but I won't...as long as you look the other way if you see me in there."

Gren crossed his arms, annoyed by the flying pest. "Fine, just stay out of the west side." The pixie girl winked and flew above the two. "Oh, and the name's Ellia. Good luck." The small fire on Delle's hat smoldered out, and Gren realized he no longer held his map. "Wait! Where'd my map go!?" Looking ahead he saw a group of three boys holding and staring at it. "Hey! That's our m-" Gren hadn't looked both ways before crossing, and slammed right into another teen. She didn't budge, causing the boy to fall on his back.

Despite being a similar age, the girl was much taller, bulkier, and scarier than Gren. Her shield was a perfect circle, crimson on the outer rim with silver in the middle. The look in her eyes froze him in place, until Delle stooped down to help him back up. "He didn't mean that, sorry." She didn't say anything back, just growled and walked away. Was that another contender? Gren thought. Returning to the map, the teens approached the group of three that had taken it. A tall, slim boy wearing crystal shoulder pads and a long coat smirked. "Hey, Gren. Saw you fall down. You still gonna be able to fight today?" The other boys laughed, causing Gren to be embarrassed and reach for the map. "Give it back, Victor!"

The smug Victor held the map up high, so the much shorter Gren couldn't swipe it. "Whoa! Hold on now! I gotta look at it some more first." The upset boy jumped up and down, shouting, "I spent months on that map!" "Aw, are you gonna cry about it?" Gren was close to crying, but Delle had endured enough. She pointed her magic stick at the map, launching a small, pink fireball and setting the paper ablaze.

Victor panics and drops it to the floor, then stomps on it until the flames disappear. "Hey! No Symbol usage in the halls! I could get you kicked out of here for that!" "And I could kick you in the nuts," Delle threatens in return. "Pfft, whatever. See you in the arena, losers." The trio of bullies laugh as they walk away, and the bulky girl from earlier watches them pass by. The map that Gren had worked so hard on was now reduced to a black scorch mark on the floor. "I'm sorry, Gren. But they weren't gonna give it back." "I know. Better no one has it than those jerks."

[ATTENTION ALL APPLICANTS! PLEASE LOCATE THE NEAREST STAIRWAY AND FIND YOUR ASSIGNED GATE NUMBER!]

The announcement rung through the circular hall, and the crowd of teens started walking towards the lower level. Once at the bottom, Gren and Delle hugged and wished each other good luck. "See you at the west tower?" asked the somewhat nervous boy. "Count on it!" The two went their separate ways, finding their numbered gates. Gren let out a shaky breath, then began to stretch his limbs. You got this, Gren. You've been dreaming of this your whole life. Your Symbol matched with you for a reason. This is the reason.

[ATTENTION ALL APPLICANTS! GATES WILL NOW OPEN IN 5...]

Make a good impression...

[4]

No pressure at all...

[3]

Just your biggest hero watching you...

[2]

Meet Delle at the tower...

[1]

Then work together till the very end!

[ATTENTION ALL APPLICANTS! THE SYMBIOLIC SCOUTING PROGRAM HAS BEGUN!]