Queen Bee looked at the young man's pointing finger as her eyes swirled with indifference.
She gave a short nod.
'What about ?'
Helios seed to take offense at the sudden gesture as did the two other participants who had just returned from their respective rings.
The golden cat took a step forward to protect the duelist from the man's accusation.
Seeing the sharp teeth of the echo, Gaspda lowered his hand.
"Easy, now."
His eyes shifted back to the black and gold warrior.
"What I an is, y-you're Queen Bee! I saw you fall through the gate on TV and disappear from the Dreamscape. You're back!"
The other two duelists relaxed and also turned their attention to the floating woman. They had not paid attention to the announcent of her entry while in their own duels, but now they wished they had. They were witnessing the reentry of the Queen after weeks of being missing!
And in an arena with an Echo.
This was history in the making!
Gaspda realized the implication a mont before the other two. He nodded at his sand monster and they both raised their hands.
"Gaspda and Sandslayer have Challenged Queen Bee and Helios."
The Queen dipped her head in recognition. She had felt his emotions spike just before the challenge was issued.
A line of flowers cut off the two teams from the others. Queen Bee floated with Helios by her side as a path of grass opened up before them. A few monts later they were in a circle far from the main arena.
Noble glanced over her shoulder to see that the other two challengers had not paired off to form their own duel. They were still staring, seemingly frozen in place with their Echoes.
'It seems like we will be having a live audience after all, Helios.'
The Symncus snorted. Let them watch.
The sandy monster silently slunk along the ground next to Gaspda. The young Awakened smiled confidently.
Queen Bee could guess his thoughts. She had managed to conquer both the individual and group tournants in her extensive career. But she had never entered this part of the Dreamscape.
Today Bee would not be the one fighting.
And Gaspda would teach her that not every place in this semblance of reality was so easy to conquer.
Planting his feet firmly, Gaspda signaled he was ready. At least he was enough of a gentleman not to try a surprise attack.
'Don't worry, Helios. You've got this. It's ti to take down the sandy nace. And fast. You saw what he can do, so I think you need to keep moving or you will end up impaled. I could be wrong, but I do not think your skin is quite as tough as that armor. ' Bee mused.
There was no way of knowing the rank and class of the beetle they had seen, so it was best to remain cautious at least at first.
Helios grunted.
The Queen nodded to her opponent. She was as ready as she would ever be.
Inside her heart raced. This kind of adrenaline rush was why she had co back to the Dreamscape on nights while her family slept.
The uncertainty, the excitent, and the ever-changing terms of the battlefields were all intoxicating for the mighty Queen. She loved to strategize and see her plans co to fruition.
When Sandslayer rushed forward, Bee only had a mont to communicate with Helios before impact.
'Dodge the first attack and then…'
Helios leapt forward and roared. The pulse from his voice was enough to dissipate part of the sandy monster into particles.
But the Symncus was not done. As soon as he had finished breathing out, he took a massive breath pulling all the air around him into his lungs. Even Gaspda had trouble staying on his feet many ters away.
At first, the dispersed particles of sand resisted the mighty rush of wind, but it could not last.
Gritty air passed into Helio's mouth, sand coating his pink tongue. Soon a small mountain of dirty sand filled his mouth.
Then Helios shut his jaw…
…and swallowed.
Bee could almost swear she heard the satisfied smack of the Symncus's lips before he licked his mouth triumphantly.
The sand monster was no more.
"Gaspda and Sandslayer have been eliminated. Queen Bee and Helios have won!"
"What!" Gaspda watched in horror. "He ATE my..."
The duelist disappeared in a rain of sparks.
Helios burped. Bits of sparks left his mouth as well.
Queen Bee blinked. She had never seen anything like that before.
'What in two worlds?!'
She had said to take him down, not breathe him in! But the thod had been effective, and Helios had gained his first victory.
Yet, Queen Bee made a face behind her mask.
'That couldn't have tasted good.'
The Symncus burped again. He didn't seem bothered by his sandy al. On the contrary, he looked quite pleased with himself.
He walked over and nuzzled Noble's side with a deep purr. She reached up and patted his head.
'Good work. Proud of you.'
Hidden by the Fraudulent Facade, Bee's smile weakened.
'That was it?'
Helios hadn't moved anything but his mouth to get the victory. The Queen had expected the battle would take more than ten seconds.
While she was overwheld with excitent for Helios's power, she felt a little let down that he hadn't put on more of a show for her kids.
'No, this is good. It ans I can get back to my family sooner. That was my goal after all." Bee reminded herself.
Just as she was about to dismiss her golden Echo and leave the arena, the flowers started to shift. A grassy path opened before them to take them back toward the other two spectators and their echoes. Soon, the crimson tide would force the pair back into the main arena.
'Oh!' Bee had almost forgotten about the sleeping poppies. 'I need to get out of here!'
But Helios bounded forward along the grassy path like a puppy on a mission. He reached the main arena leaving Queen Bee in the dust.
'Helios!' It was no use.
"My turn!" One of the onlookers smiled faintly. In his brown leather armor, he stepped forward and ran his hand through his neatly trimd hair.
"Savage Senki and Darkscale have challenged Queen Bee and Helios."
Bee resisted the urge to slap her forehead. She hadn't been fast enough and now leaving would an forfeiting!
The flowers paused their forward push and reford the ring. The new combatant smiled broadly and strode forward with his echo.
This creature looked strikingly similar to Helios except she was jet-black and larger. Whereas Helios stood above Bee's shoulder, the black cat's shoulder was above her head. Her tail was not prehensile like the Symncus's either.
Bee marveled at the magnificent beast.
'Seriously, what falls into the upper weight category? That monster is huge!'
A few monts later, Savage Senki and Darkscale took their places opposite of her. The black cat crouched, ready to pounce on her master's command.
Faced with a decision, Bee needed to think fast.
Leave or fight.
The last battle had taken barely seven seconds. Didn't her family deserve more than that? This creature was clearly a better match than the last one for Helio's skill. It would be a sha to waste this opportunity.
'Just one more.'
A smile curled onto her lips.
'Alright Helios, obliterate her.'
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