Stormingraven [vs.] Ryan Apollos

APOLLOS FOR WORLD CHAMP!!!!!

ONE YEAR LATER

Sao and Alysia parted lips. He was dressed in a sharp, clean jacket, black, white, and red to match the crimson gem in his silver ring. She wore a simple dress, of white and aquatic blue, to match the sapphire jewel on her golden ring.

"You'd better go dear. The world's waiting out there."

Sao stepped back. Down the sparkling new hallway, out the bright door, the roar of a crowd, an actual assembled crowd, rang through the air. Their faces couldn't be discerned in the light, but their voices sang with passion, excitement, thrill.

"The world can wait another minute." Sao said, turning back to Alysia for another kiss.

"Sao?" Ryan's voice came over the local communicator, "Are you making out with your wife again?" The couple broke. "Save it for tonight! We're getting started over here!"

"Be right there." Sao replied, and began walking down the hall. His wife watched him down the whole way, until his silhouette disappeared into the light of the stadium. Eura's voice announced his arrival.

"…all been waiting for, your host and organizer, fierce Warrior, and soon to be fiercer-Judge, the man of a thousand battle modes, Sao Ensiné!"

Sao ascended into one of three glass and steel podiums, each stationed at a corner of the arcing crowd stands surrounding the vast expanse of field below. Metal tiling lined the battle area, retractable, to facilitate the deployment of materials for the appropriate battle modes. Compact, yet bright lights lined the rim of the battle area, and dimmer, blue ones lined the top of the stadium itself – matches would not be limited by the time of day. But today, midday, the bright blue sky shown overhead.

The crowd roared.

"Welcome warriors and spectators, here today, and watching around the world, to the first battle held at the Nova Zoid Battle Stadium!" Sao began. The cheers were so loud, he figured the day would end before he could introduce the mode. He took the opportunity to get the less exciting elements out of the way. "We'd like to thank our sponsors. To the Ensiné Corporation, which generously volunteered to assist us in acquiring the land on which to build this Stadium. I assure you my name factored little into their decision." He chuckled to himself, though the audience was still cheering too much to hear, much less care, "To Café 0944, whose enthusiastic staff and delicious comestibles have supported us from the beginning and whose vendors are walking down the aisles now! I urge everyone to try their new Curry Cake – it is delectable. And finally to the Zoids Battle Commission, for their tremendous support and generous monetary grants which have allowed us to come before you today!" The cheering died down just enough to understand that the sponsors weren't that important, and then revved up again.

"Today's battle mode," The stadium went silent, "Is one that has not seen sanctioned use in over a century! You shall bear witness to its return to the Zoid Battle world!" The Stadium gave a raucous applause. "In the spirit of the old battle modes, we will be reviving an ancient tradition. You may have been wondering why there are three podiums scattered around the Stadium today, why there is no robotic judge present. Ladies and gentlemen, today and for almost every match at this stadium, humans will serve as your judges, as was custom in the oldest of Zoid matches." Polite clapping, as these facts had already been divulged elsewhere.

"Your judges today, to the left, Mr. Ryan Apollos!" A certain group of female fans shouted with glee. "At right, Ms. Eura Curae!" A separate group of male fans coo'd joyously at this. "And finally myself, Sao Ensiné. Decisions by us will require a majority rule. Our judgment may at times seem to lack mechanical precision, but it will incorporate a human's reason!" Sao smiled, knowing this was an innovation he found more interesting than most would, wondered how long it might stay practical, even within his own stadium, but didn't wonder too long; he wanted to savor the now, this moment he had only imagined for so many years prior.

At last he spoke. "Your competitors today," At this, Ryan activated a lift, which split a part of the stadium and lifted up an assembly of 3 highly customized Cannon Spiders. "The Arachno Team, and…" Another level pulled and across from the Arachno Team, a certain Elephander unit, a Storm Sworder, and a Madthunder. "
The Neophander Team!" Roars of approval for both.

"Those of you at home will soon be seeing the rules of this battle mode displayed on your screens. Those here will see them projected onto the glass displays build into each row." Excited muttering as rows of monitors build into the stands began lighting up. "Without further ado, we begin the first match of a new age!" Sao bowed, and Ryan and Eura followed. The crowd lost its sanity and must have spent a half-minute in impossibly loud applause.

At length Ryan put his hands up to signal the beginning and the crowd managed to contain itself.

Eura declared: "Area is scanned. Battlefield set. The Arachno Team vs the Neophander Team."

Ryan continued. "Battle Mode 0-7-2-5, code name, 'Paradigm Shift.'"

Sao looked to all sides, to the combatants below, to his friends beside him, to his wife, who waited behind him, and took a breath of the image he'd realized.

"Readyyyyy?" The crowd surged. The combatants wound up. The world held its breath.

"FIGHT!"

[b]=The Match=

A light swings back and forth making Ryan Apollos visible for a few seconds at a time.

Why the fuck do I have to face this guy again? 2 weeks ago he lasted all of 5 seconds. Why does he even think he believes he deserves to be in the same ring as me after all I had to do to beat him was one move? Why should I care about how to make it rain, how you used my name to describe how screwed up your brain is right now?

Apollos looks up at the camera and holds up a necklace with a rose and moon pendant on it.

You really think you have it bad that "she" isn't with you? It's been almost 3 years since I've lost Alexis and I'm still, in your words, lost. But it's more than that, every year, around her birthday, around the day I lost her, I have random memories bombard my mind and I lose sense of what is fact and what is fiction. You don't know what it's like to have someone you love out of your life. Your love is still on planet Earth, my love is no longer among us, she's in heaven and I'd give anything to have her back to make these torturous memories go away, to end my pain. But it isn't my time, it won't be, I have my path to heaven to fulfill and I am still only in the beginning of my path.

Apollos closes his eyes and sighs before grinning.

However I understand your pain, the fact that someone's gotten into your head by threatening those you care about. You're not 100% invested in our match and if you think you'd be able to "set the sun" without being 150% invested in this match, then the sun will go supernova on your ass and you'll be burned big time.

Apollos starts to laugh as the screen turns to static before fading to black.