"Planning on spending the weekend watching that dinosaur again?" Delis said as he kicked the door to Ulim's room wide open.
"Well, not on my watch."
"Watch it, demolition man. I'm not planning on getting a new door anytime soon," Ulim replied, shifting his gaze from the TV.
It was the weekend, and Ulim was doing his usual routine—watching a Bumbo the Dinosaur marathon. But this weekend was going to be different. Delis stood in the doorway with a determined look.
"We're going out today," Delis said with a grin.
"Nah, I'm good," Ulim replied.
"Yeah, that's not going to cut it this time, buddy. I got permission from your parents. I'll drag you if I have to," Delis said, smirking.
Ulim knew Delis well. If his parents were in on it, there was no point in resisting.
"Okay," Ulim conceded.
"Good! Plus, this is our last week as students at the Learning Academy," Delis added.
Ulim changed out of his Bumbo the Dinosaur pajamas into something more suitable.
"Much better," Delis exclaimed. "Now let's go explore the world—and maybe snag some girls!"
The duo walked out of the house and caught the 12 a.m. bus.
"So, where are we headed?" Ulim asked.
Delis smiled. "Don't worry your pretty little head—you'll see when we get there."
The bus traveled from the peripheral sections of Eclipse City deeper and deeper into the concrete jungle. Ulim had never been this far from home. He felt a mix of excitement and caution.
Looking out the window, Ulim saw a huge building covering his view—a stadium. Loud cheering could be heard from inside.
"You brought me to a hover ball match? I could've just watched this from home," Ulim hissed.
"Be patient. You'll see," Delis said with a cheeky grin as they got off the bus.
Inside, people were jumping and shouting from the stands. But it wasn't a game they were watching—it was a fight.
"What is this?" Ulim asked, eyes wide.
"It's a Battle Arena. They don't show it on TV—it gets too violent," Delis shrugged. "Cool, right?"
The two found seats. In the ring, one man had white, short hair and wore a tank top. Opposite him stood a man in a mechanical suit.
"Why does that guy get a super suit?" Ulim asked.
"My guess? His boost is weak—or he doesn't know how to use it properly. So they use suits to equalize the playing field," Delis explained.
The fight began. The mech released a volley of rockets.
"Wait—he's trying to kill him?! What if one of those hits the audience?" Ulim shouted.
"Relax. The stadium has a force field. It can even take a full-power bull rush from Valiant without faltering," Delis reassured him.
The man in the tank top smiled. His eyes glowed blue, and sparks flew from his hands. He stepped—and vanished. The rockets missed, but BOOM! A shimmering force field stopped them.
The crowd cheered.
The man reappeared behind the mech. Clenching his glowing fist, he slammed it into the back of the suit. The mech crashed to the ground, short-circuited. The crowd erupted in excitement—and disappointment.
The man stood before his fallen foe in victory.
Then the mech stirred. It jumped up.
"I've calibrated my mech since our last fight! That cheap trick won't work again. And thanks for the extra power!" said the man inside as he lunged forward and SPLAT!—his opponent slammed into the force field.
The announcer's voice echoed:
"Well folks, looks like we're in for an exciting match after all!"
The man in the tank top, now clearly in pain, picked himself up, his shoulder dislocated.
The mech lit its boosters.
"I know how your boost works, Jack. Without nearby metal, you're just an ordinary human. My mech is mostly carbon fiber. You're in trouble now!" the pilot taunted.
Jack calmly tossed metal pieces across the arena, dodging the mech's punch.
"Smart, Jack. Giving yourself anchors. But I planned for that too," the mech pilot said, activating his boost. The scattered metal rose into the air toward him.
Jack smiled, eyes flashing blue again. He vanished—and reappeared on top of the mech.
"And I planned for you to be this stupid," Jack said, his body glowing with electrical energy.
The mech thrashed, but the heat from Jack's power began to warp its interior.
"Hope you've got air conditioning in there, Charles," Jack said.
"Is he going to concede? He's going to get cooked alive," Ulim asked, concerned.
"There are no rules in the Battle Dome," Delis said, eyes glued to the fight.
Plastic began to melt. Charles refused to surrender. Then—PSSSH!—an emergency seat ejected him. The mech collapsed.
Jack landed smoothly and approached Charles, who, still strapped in, flung metal at Jack using his boost. Jack dodged with ease, glowing fist ready for a finishing blow.
"I concede… I… I concede!" Charles cried out.
"Ladies and gentlemen—we have a winner!" the announcer shouted.
"Exciting, right?" Delis asked.
Ulim was hooked. "Yeah… I guess it was."
A giant robot came out to clean the battlefield.
Suddenly—BOOM!—an explosion from backstage shook the stadium. The announcer touched his earpiece.
"Uh… folks, we've had a backstage malfunction. Today's matches are over," he said with the biggest fake smile.
The crowd groaned and began filing out. Ulim and Delis followed.
"Guess that's all the fights for today," Delis said. "Want to come back next time?"
"I see no reason not to," Ulim replied, trying to mask his excitement.
Back home, Ulim opened the door. His parents were watching TV.
"Back so soon?" his father asked.
"There was an accident… the Battle Dome shut down early," Ulim replied.
"Battle Dome? Haven't been there in ages," said Jerold.
"Wait—you know about the Battle—"
"You shouldn't be hanging around that place, Ulim. It's not safe," Diana cut in.
"It's appalling that in a technological age like ours, people still indulge in such barbaric things and call it sport."
Ulim quietly slipped away before the rant could escalate. He shut his bedroom door, locked it, and grabbed his tablet.
He searched: Battle Dome.
Surprisingly, there wasn't much—just a few fighter bios and match highlights.
" It says here that all the fights are scripted. I guess that's true, I mean no one would let themselves go through all that Gamage for entertainment. Does that mean jack faked the shoulder thing . That's some good acting " Ulim thought as he browsed through the information.
Back at the Battle dome-
"So Charles killed himself ? "
" Yes sir it seems he overloaded the mechs power supply" one of the Technicians said.
The announcer slowly walked to the wreckage that was left
" It's hard to find good fighters these days " he smirked.
" Call his owner's and tell them they will need a new fighter if they want to continue.
" Yes sir " the technician quickly walked away.
" Clean this up I need this place ready for tomorrow " he said to one of the robots as he walked away.