Notice: Time to get serious with the character development. These guys seem so plain.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own MapleStory or its characters (owned by Nexon) except my own OC's.

CHAPTER 17: The Tournament Begins!

"Come on Mad! We're going to be late for the tournament. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can't be that good."

"How many times during training have I asked you to stop calling me that? It's Jake."

"Sorry. Just seems strange that you don't like your nickname you've had for so long."

"No worries." he said, shutting off the TV with the remote, looking at Sabrina. "Let's find Kero and get to the arena."

Five minutes later, the trio stood in front of the colossal arena. They each had new looks. Kero wore some silver 'Master Sergeant' armour, complete with kilt and a golden crown-like symbol on the chestplate. He had a much better sword, the Gladius. It was a thick silver blade that was light yet hard to use because of its awkwardness. He hadn't replaced or upgraded his shield, just repaired it. The only thing new was a more aerodynamic structure. He had the feeling that he would have to use its snowboard-like capacities again some time. Mad...Jake had a black 'Master Sergeant' with a red symbol. He had a Gladius like Kero and his shield had been slightly reinforced with more steel. Sabrina had an amethyst 'Master Sergeant', complete with a golden symbol and a two-handed sword, the Scimitar. It had a small, adorned hilt made of red wood and gold. The rest of the blade was long, wide and curved, widest at the middle of the curve. They all looked up at the stairway leading up to the huge coliseum. Unexpected challenges lied in wait. They looked at each other. The three of them high fived.

"Let's do this!"

Several people were in the locker room. One was a warrior training with dumbbells. Another was a thief polishing his dagger. Another was an archer counting his arrows. And many more. Another one came out of the shower with a towel round his neck. Two warriors walked into the room, got a key and put their unnecessary armour in the locker. The atmosphere was tense but calming to know you weren't the only one. Kero Mizrak looked at his watch. They had 20 minutes before the opening announcements were made.

"I need a shower..." he muttered walking towards the shower, but the dumbbell warrior stopped him.

"Well if it isn't little Mizzie? You sure got guts coming here."

"Well if it isn't retarded Victor. You sure got...or don't got brains coming here."

Victor's eyes narrowed, but he managed to calm himself down. "What have you been doing in the past month anyways? I've been training to no end! You've probably been picking your nose."

A third voice emerged. "Can it, this guy's been training with me!"

Everybody turned to SourPunch who was at the doorway.

"Of course, he is no way as good as me. So far it's Kero 35, me 267."

"Shut up snowman!" replied Kero.

"Oh god, not the snowman episode again."

"It's hot here. Don't melt, Frosty."

Sour grumbled and went to a locker. Kero walked towards the shower, but was stopped again by Victor.

"Listen Mizzie, it ain't over till the fat lady sings."

"Please don't involve your mother in this."

Victor's face looked like it had exploded. Everyone else in the room laughed. He snarled and walked away. They then heard a voice coming from outside. Jake laughed and made a smug remark.

"Oh goodie, Kero. It's already over. The pre-tournament opera started. The fat lady sung. Vic, go outside and say hi to mama."

"Faggot."

"Oh do shut up you bumbling moron-like alien."

Victor walked out of the room, not before smashing the wall tiles with his dumbbell.

After a short but refreshing shower, Kero walked out and got his clothes back on. His clothing was very plain. A pastel yellow T-shirt and basic blue jeans. Jake had a black blazer and shorts, exposing his muscular chest and legs. The two walked out into the hall accompanied with SourPunch in his regular clothing.

"Who's up for a snack?" asked Sour.

"Me!" both warriors yelled.

The hall was made of the brown rock that formed the mountainside. The building walls were smooth, as if they had been carved straight out of a mountain. The trio walked up some large stone stairs before Jake was attacked...or hugged. Hard to tell the difference. By a very annoying girl: Sarah, who had pushed him off that ledge at Ellinia.

"Stop...hugging...me."

"Not a chance!"

Three more girls arrived. Natasha, Paula and Sabrina.

"What is this, the lesbian club?" asked Sour.

"Shut your wordhole, Sour." said Sabrina. "And Sarah, quit hugging. You look retarded."

Kero then changed the subject. "Is anyone hungry? We have fifteen minutes."

The six of them walked up the stairs into a modern cafeteria. Kero then walked up to the counter.

"Hi. I would like...erm. Hmmm. Something light."

"Burger and chips?" asked the chef.

"Chips would be nice, but not in the mood for a burger..."

"I am." said Jake.

"Ok then, burger and chips."

The two sat down at a table with Sabrina, SourPunch, Natasha and Paula. Kero saw an empty salad bowl in the middle and a half-finished plate of Unagi. The waiter came with Kero and Jake's meal. Kero reached for a chip. Paula then took one and popped in her mouth.

"Don't mind if I do." she said, with her mouth full. Kero simply frowned.

"What?" she asked, flipping her crimson hair.

"You're annoying." he replied, taking three chips and eating them.

"You eat like a pig."

"Tell that to Jake or Morton."

Jake was not happy at this comment.

"What?" he asked as he finished his burger.

Kero facepalmed. Natasha giggled. Sabrina hid her face in her hands. Sour facedesked.

Five minutes of chip-eating (Kero), for hiding in embarrassment (Jake/Mad) and talking (Everyone else) later, they all decided to get ready for the opening call. The three girls went towards the girls' lockers, Kero and Mad went to the boys' lockers and SourPunch went to spy on the girls' lockers.

One thousand and twenty eight people were in the massive room. It was a hi-tech room, covered in a shiny black metal with neon green lights on the walls. There, an assortment of warriors, magicians, archers, thieves and pirates stood. Five more people were at the front. They were the five job instructors. Dances with Balrog walked out to a podium.

"Silence!"

Everyone shut up.

"Welcome everyone to the first semestral second job graduation tournament! I am already proud of all of all one thousand and twenty eight of you. The graduation exam will begin after the eliminatory rounds."

A lot of 'What?' and 'Awww' were heard.

"These rounds will take place in the 32 arenas you are standing on. There will be three of these battles. The referees will take notes of everything and then score you, mainly based on your win/loss/draw ratio. Then you will all be matched up for the actual tournament. Each minor battle here has a time limit of 2 minutes. Everybody here has been given a number upon entering this room. Every number will be shown on this screen" he said, pointing to the projector screen behind him. "The arenas are also numbered. The number next to your number indicates the arena. If it is green, it is ready for your battle. If it is red, then you must wait. Stay near your arena to minimize wasted time. Arenas may be subject to change so be aware. This may take anywhere between one and two hours."

He briefly changed the projector to show the arena positioning, and then the arenas rose off the floor, indicated by neon green lights. He changed the screen back and now one sixteenth of the arena numbers were in green.

"Let the battles begin!"

Kero was lucky. His light was green off the bat. He climbed up onto his five times ten metre arena and saw an archer at the other end. He had glasses that prevented you from seeing his eyes, grey and black 'hunter' armour, pale skin and black hair that went down the sides of his face.

"No time for formalities, warrior. Let us duel!"

"Agreed."

Kero and the archer jumped into the air. Kero sent a fast swipe of his blade, which the archer just dodged. He sent a volley of arrows towards Kero, who blocked with his shield. Kero landed on top of his shield which slided on the floor. The metal was slippery.

"Looks like its surfing time already." he said. The archer fired a double shot, which was blocked by an aerial done with Kero's shield. Kero crashed into the archer and held his sword aimed at the archer's neck. The referee blew a whistle and the two got off the arena. Kero looked at the screen. He saw three more numbers next to his arena number, now in red. They changed from 0-0-0 to 1-0-0.

"One win, zero loses and zero draws. Good start."

He then saw someone. Someone he hadn't seen in a long time. He had brown armour that gave off an ancient and mystic vibe with matching black iron trousers. He had pale skin and ruffled purple hair. His eyes were a deep blue, menacing as well. The person looked back at him. And he scowled, but you could see a hint of joy on his face. Kero looked back at the leaderboard. His arena had been changed. Darn. He walked towards the next arena, hoping his battle would come soon.

The magician fired at the pirate, who responded with two bursts from his pistol. The magician recoiled and prepared to launch a barrage of spells. However, one powerful kick ended the battle. The pirate looked at the next arena. His twin had also managed a KO. They blew the smoke off their guns and grinned.

"Bonanza Bros for the win!"

A thief and an archer circled each other. The thief launched 'Shuriken', more commonly known as ninja stars as the archer fired mighty shots with his crossbow. Every shot missed by an inch. They then rushed towards the centre and the thief disappeared. The archer, stunned, looked around, only to be chocked from behind. The thief revealed himself and smiled.

"Victory."

The referee blew his whistle and the two got off the arena.

Kero was impatient. He had changed arenas three times and not a single battle. He was then surprised as his number changed from 5 to 4 and it was now green. He walked to the next arena, climbed on and saw his opponent. It was the same person from earlier.

"Kero Mizrak...we meet again."

"Daniel Indigo...why am I not surprised?"

"Last time you got the better of me. You made shame of my family name and honour. This time, it will be the last time you see the light of day. This time, I shall prevail!"

"I'll send you away in tears like last time Prepare to lose!"

"One shall stand, one shall fall."

Exclamation mark! Daniel Indigo is back, stronger than ever. Two old rivals are to duke it out in the arena. Jake, Sabrina and Sour have some tough battles ahead. But what chaos will arrive with Cyrus watching from the backgrounds. Or is he? Who knows, but there is one thing certain: One shall stand, one shall fall.

On a side note, I think I got back some lost inspiration. The story seemed to go downhill because I wasn't interested. Now it's action time with the tournament.