"Whoa..." the team said as they descended over the large, bowl-shaped stadium. There were large flocks of people slowly being let in at the four sides of the stadium. The group had landed softly on the concrete path behind the Amians. Hovering over the entrance was a sign that read, "Welcome to the Sylvia Arena," in both English and French.

"This is Sylvia, a city heavily influenced by the French culture back on Earth," Tiffany said.

"Reiax Academy also has a very strong rivalry with their school, Nightingale Academy, so I'd be cautious about mentioning where you go to school," Abigail added in as she pulled out her ticket. "Everyone's got a ticket, right?"

Both Megumi and Kim displayed theirs, except Dre, who was frantically digging into his pockets. "Uh... I think I might have left mine at home."

Abigail handed her ticket to him. "The bathroom floor isn't a good place to put this, son."

The ladies laughed as he plucked the ticket from his mom's hand. "This is no way to treat the King," he said under his breath. "Wait, you need one too, right?"

"Wrong. Me and Tiffany are both in it. We're just making sure that you all safely get in."

"Speaking of, this line is moving too slow!" Megumi groaned.

Tiffany patted her daughter on the shoulder. "Relax, Gumi. The good matches won't happen until the end, anyway. That's when our match begins." She looked over her shoulder to Abigail, who gave a determined grin.

"What kind of match will you have?" Kim asked.

"We don't know yet," Abigail began. "Before each match, the rules, competitors, and the number of competitors gets chosen by random. It could be a one-on-one fight, or it could be a team battle. We won't really know until it's their time to fight."

The group finally reached the doorway, where the roaring crowd could be heard even from outside of the arena. Dre was caught by surprise when Megumi didn't try to demand the line to let her in. Instead she seemed a bit distant.

"Hey, mom. Doesn't that ticket keeper person look familiar?" she finally asked Tiffany, pointing at the entrance.

They looked towards where she was pointing. "She looks kind of like Amy," Tiffany said.

"Amy?" Dre asked, puzzled.

"She's my big sister. See the woman with the blonde ponytail?" Megumi questioned.

Dre scanned the area, but there were too many people there to single out anyone. Surprisingly, seeing anyone with a blonde ponytail was pretty difficult. "Ye-yeah... no."

"Keep looking. Amy!" She called out. Multiple people in the crowd simultaneously turned around but there was only one woman, Dre noticed, that had a blonde ponytail.

That couldn't be her sister. She didn't look anything like anyone from the family. She looked about the same height as Dre, maybe a little taller. Her blonde hair was tied up in a short ponytail that draped over the curve of her head. Her emerald-green eyes scanned the crowd for a few more seconds before she returned to her job.

"I think I saw her," he said as the line inched up closer.

"My God, I haven't seen her in years," Megumi said, beaming. "I wonder if she'll be able to recognize me. Did I have red hair the last time she saw me?" she asked Tiffany.

"Mmm... I don't think so," Tiffany pondered.

"You mean you aren't a natural redhead?" Kim asked.

"Oh, I am, but Joel has a little tradition going on where he dyes my hair whenever we have a celebration going on. He started doing it back when I didn't know any better and now it's too late to stop." She smiled. "Hey, that is Amy."

The ticket girl looked wide-eyed for a second before she gasped and smiled a toothy grin. "8-Bit! Wow, I hardly recognize you!" she said in a Southern Welsh accent as she hugged her little sister. "It's been way too long since we last saw each other! Oi! What happened to you hair? Did Joel get ahold of it again?"

"Yeah, whenever we were celebrating daddy's induction into the Emblem of Valor's Hall of Legends. That was when I was about fourteen though. Luckily enough, he found the right hair color this time."

Dre imagined how bizarre Megumi would look without red hair. It was kind of spooky.

"Do you mind telling me why you weren't at the entrance exams, Amy?" Tiffany asked, making Amy's smile falter.

"Er... about that. Whenever I left for my training in Brazil, I was kind of running low on money. So, I went to work as a DJ for a club in Rio de Jinero. Luckily the club owner was Amian, otherwise I would be thoroughly screwed."

Tiffany looked at her with a stony face before she exhaled. "At any rate, I'm glad to see you again, Amy." They hugged over the short table as a single tear streaked from Amy's closed eyes.

"What's the hold up there?!" a man's voice called behind the crowd behind Dre.

"Hold your blooming horses!" Amy called back, releasing her mother. She definitely had the Gladestone charm.

It's weird though, Dre thought. Amy looks nothing like the Gladestone's. Her skin was fairer than anyone else in the family. She even has an accent that no one in the family has. And those eyes. Those glowing eyes.

"You two know where to go, then?"

"Of course. We're veterans, remember?" Abigail asked as she and Tiffany went inside. "Oh, and be on your best behavior, Dre."

"Yes, ma'am," he groaned, feeling his face heat up.

"So, who is this little cutie?" Amy asked as she leaned slightly toward Dre, proudly displaying her cleavage from her low cut uniform. That was definitely something that she had that the other Gladestone women didn't have.

Keep eye contact Dre. For God's sake, keep eye contact. "I'm not a 'little cutie', Miss Amy. I am a handsome young man," he said as he looked into her seductive eyes.

"He also happens to be the King of Elements," Kim stated, looking flustered.

"Oh, blimey." Amy looked completely abashed as she fixed her shirt back. "I'm so sorry for the disrespect, my King."

Believe me, hiding those is the disrespectful thing.

"What part of 'keep the identity of the King of Elements secret' did you not get, Kim?" Megumi sighed.

Kim covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes darted across the ticket booth. "Sorry. It just slipped out."

"It's cool. Don't worry about it." Megumi handed Amy her ticket. "And you're twenty-three. You should act your age," she told her sister.

"Yeah, yeah." She stamped Megumi's ticket. "So, they actually let you in the academy? I figured there was a height requirement, or something."

"One of these days, Amy. One of these days, you'll feel the fury of this bite-sized bad-ass."

Amy laughed as she took Dre's ticket. "Sorry about the whole flirting with you thing. It's a force of habit, you know?"

"Oh? So you flirt with every handsome beast that you see?"

"No. Just the mousy, scrawny type of boys. It's funny to see their reactions."

"Ah. I see. Critical hit to my self-esteem."

After stamping Kim's ticket, she said, "Your seats are on the tickets. Look for the platform number over the entrances to the bleachers. After that, look on the arm of the seats for the row numbers and follow the seats to your number. I hope you all have fun in there."

As they filed inside of the large hallway circling the arena, Dre felt a tug on his sleeve. "Can I talk to you in private for a second?" Kimmy whispered. He looked back at Megumi, who didn't seem to pay attention.

"Sure, what's up?" He pulled her beside the entrance.

Kimmy fiddled with her thumbs as she studied her sandals and the ruffles of her cream-colored dress. "I never got to thank you for what you did at Megumi's house. I mean, I know we weren't able to talk to each other for a long time, but it really means a lot for you to say that." She wrapped her soft arms around Dre's neck, pulling him into a warm embrace. "Thank you, Ke'Undre."

"Yeah. D-don't mention it." Of all the things to happen to him, this was the one thing he had not expected.

She slowly released him. Kim grinned as she looked into Dre's maroon eyes. "Well, we should probably head back to Megumi. She's probably already found the seats."

"Probably," he said, allowing her to take the lead. As they walked past a concession stand, Dre couldn't help but think about the embrace. Not because of the hug itself, but because of something that Dre had noticed during it.

Was Kimmy purring?