Felix squeezed through the crowds to watch from the front row, where he saw a familiar face sitting at the front, enjoying the show.
"So this is where you were." He greeted his partner.
"Hm, what's in the bag?" Maria asked, taking notice of the brown paper bag in his hand.
"Coffee."
"why do you have coffee in the training room?"
"It's a gift from Carol."
"Ah… the woman from Cygnus, right? I'm surprised she wanted to pay you back, I expected her agency to do that."
"It's not uncommon. People tend to repay you in different ways." Felix answered as he scratched his cheek, his face slightly red. He then asked, "So, how are things looking?"
"Well, the one who broke my door is currently having his ass handed to him on a silver, err, golden platter."
"I see that. It's oddly enjoyable." He responded with a satisfied sense of vindication.
"Right!?" She beamed excitedly, the two of them reveling in the blond man's suffering, "It feels like punishment for breaking my door."
Felix gazed up at the three individuals in combat, watching their battle reminded him of the battle against Harbinger. A two-against-one fight that was somehow on the one's favor.
"I've read up about her. Project CHIMERA's number one human weapon. Loss of all ethics, there." Maria stated.
"Rich, coming from an enhanced human." He responded in a disinterested voice, still watching.
"Don't shoot the messenger, poster boy." She folded her arms, "Not when you were also involved in CHIMERA."
Felix turned his head to her and blurted out, "Huh?"
"Nothing." She nudged his stomach, "So, looking to take her on?"
"Not really up for it…"
"Didn't you say you wanted to be number one?" She teased and poked his cheek.
"Rankings are determined on the number of missions finished efficiently, not your ability to fight."
"Isn't it a way to gauge how strong you are, then? You're the strongest, right?"
Felix pursed his lips, conceding without saying a word, "Maybe after their fight."
As the three battled, their styles were clear and distinct from one another. Nero's attacks were fast but direct, swiftly swinging his wooden sword, while behind him, Isabelle kept her distance and assisted in-between their clashes by throwing the rubber knives at their opponent.
While their weapons danced and swayed, the Golden Lion's preferred weapons were her own arms and legs, countering each of their blows.
She slid beneath Nero's staff, snatched Isabelle's arm, knocking her off balance, before hurling her against one of the four golden brown pillars that formed their arena.
"Ahk!" Isabelle yelped as her small frame smashed against the pillar, saliva bursting out of her.
"Isa!" Nero shouted.
Realizing he was distracted, he spun back to face his opponent. But as he threw the staff forward, she grabbed it by the hand, yanked it back, then struck his forehead with the other end. His grip loosened, and she then took hold of the staff and swung. As it struck the side of his head, it shattered into splinters.
Felix gave a pained, yet smirking expression, clearly enjoying the view. Only for Maria's eyes to narrow beside him with a sly smirk.
The Golden Lion was about to land her knee against Nero's throat. But before she could drop the finishing blow, her emerald eyes were suddenly drawn to Felix, who had been pushed into the arena.
"Aye, it's your turn~!" Maria happily shoved him with a wide smile.
Catching his breath for a split second, Nero took advantage of the situation, and a faint red enveloped him, bursting from his body and sending Allison back.
That red energy again.
Felix thought to himself, watching Allison gracefully fall like a cat.
"Isa!" The blond shouted.
Isabelle groaned, following his lead.
The two red-eyed guests then took advantage of the distracted Felix, grabbing his arms.
"Your turn." Nero slyly grinned, holding his left arm.
"Good luck!" Isabelle added, holding his right arm.
Both of them pulled him into the ring and made their way into the crowds.
"H-hey!" Felix yelled as his feet landed on the floor mats.
"Just now… that power was…" He blurted out as he looked for the two, but they already hid among the audience.
Felix suddenly felt an intense stare from behind. As he turned to look at it, he saw a vision of a pack of wild lions surrounding him.
"That's some intense bloodluuuuu—"
Before he could finish, a sharp haymaker came crashing towards his face. He closed his eyes—but the blow never landed. Allison's fist stopped two inches from his nose.
"You're not the one I was fighting," she said, standing straight, wearing a dull expression. Her arms glistened with sweat, muscles taut and defined.
Thoroughly unnerved, he swallowed, "I'm glad you noticed, Allison…"
"Huh, and you are…?" Her eyebrows curled, changing her blank expression slightly, yet her tone stayed consistently hollow.
"I'm… Felix. Felix Aster."
"Oooh… That's a pretty name."
"…We've met before."
"Oh, we have? I see."
"Yeah…" He awkwardly responded, "You know, I'm actually ranked eleventh now."
"Oh, um… should I congratulate you? Ranked eleventh on what?"
"Of the board? You know… the Elite Agent's board?"
"Elite Agents? Oh, right. I'm a part of that." She lowered her head in response.
"Yes… you're ranked two."
"I am? Oh, right…" She turned her head left to right, looking at the crowds, "So, do you want to fight too?"
"Actually, I was just dragged into this, but…" He stopped as he heard his partner's voice call out his name.
"Felix, Felix, Felix!" Maria chanted his name and raised her fist in the air. Kaitlin added her voice to the chant, cheering his name enthusiastically, and the rest of the crowd followed suit.
From the other side of the crowd, a red-haired woman with red rabbit ears started to cheer, "Allison! Allison! Allison!" Followed by Rico's voice.
Kaitlin glanced at the lanky man with a curious smile, "Aren't you supposed to be cheering Felix on?"
"Blonde muscle mommy." Rico shrugged.
The crowds began chanting the names of the two combatants in repetition, roaring their excitement.
Felix looked over to the golden lion staring down at him. A vision of Luna facing off against Allison flashed in his mind.
"You know what? Yes. I do."
"Alright then." Her soft demeanor sharpened.
He raised his finger, "One sec."
"Hm?"
"Just give me a bit to get rid of the shards." He said, sweeping the broken wooden staff with his feet.
"Alright." She nodded.
I hate to admit, but the woman standing in front of me right now… makes me feel intimidated. No, scared. But I don't wanna back down from this. I want to beat the top dog. I will be the top dog.
The cheering from the audience died down as Felix took his own stance.
I guess now is as good a time as ever to see how far I've come.
After all…
Not even Luna could beat her.
From under the audience, the two red-eyed guests sat on the floor, catching their breath.
"Oh god, I'm bleeding from my nose, everything hurts." Isabelle sniffled and whined, "Hard to believe she's not an esper."
"Either way she's a monster." Nero remarked as a small stream of electricity crackled on his head. He then turned his head towards the arena and sneered, "How much you wanna bet one of them dies?"
"You're joking, I just hope none of us get killed just by watching." She responded.
"We'll get to see what the strongest esper is really made of." The blond man grinned with high expectations.
As the two watched intently, their hearts skipped a beat as a cold voice spoke from behind them, "Is it that hard to tell which one is gonna win?" Maria asked from behind the both of them.
A bead of sweat slid down Nero's face as an immediate thought crossed his mind, 'This girl, how did I not notice her come up to us?'
"She may not be an esper, but she's CHIMERA's number one." The dark-haired woman smiled confidently, "But Felix kills criminals and doesn't afraid of anything."
"When did you—?" Isabelle turned around, only to see that Maria was already in front of them, walking closer towards the combatants.
"A fight between the Black Cat and the Golden Lion." The chief adjusted her glasses with an amused expression, marching closer to the front, "It'll be fun seeing my two headaches beat the shit out of each other."
Kaitlin turned to her and responded in a small voice, "Ah, Chief… that's not a nice thing to say."
~