#katrinapierce

Katie had spent most of the day, among other things, preparing for her match. The next day was the set date for her and Nima, and she didn't want anything getting in the way of that. Katie knew nothing of her opponent, so as usual, she opened up his player card and did her research. "Cosmic manipulation?" Katie questioned aloud, "What the hell does that even mean?" To say she was unprepared was an understatement--Katie was always prepared. The only thing she didn't have in her map of plans was his retaliations. She had no idea who he was, how he'd react, what he could do to react, or what his name even was. Checking the card again, she picked it out, Steven Ray. "Cosmic manipulation...Space brain..." Katie could connect the two, but couldn't exactly put a finger on his exact ability. He was new and she had no idea what made him tick. This took her back to the days when she first started battling. Going in with no knowledge or prerequisite, and thinking on her feet to win. That would have to do for this battle. If the boy was new, Katie supposed it would be simple enough to confuse him into losing. If not, the glacier would take them both down.

Katie, feeling whimsical, decided to partake in the Game Maker's festive event. Choosing the perfectly wrapped White Gift, white being a symbol of purity, the Game Maker presented her with one of the darkest, mythical beings to ever exist: Cerberus. Katie was familiar with the three headed dog-like figure. It had been said that the beast guarded the gates to the world below. A mere pet, or even zoo animal, to the one known as Hades. Some would see this as a huge set back, but Katie only saw it as a minor challenge, and Katie loved challenges.

Soon Katie found herself teleported into the battle field. Blue fire surrounded them but it was only an illusion. She couldn't feel any warmth and touching the flames did not burn or leave scars. Katie noted this as she entered cautiously. "Okay," she uttered to herself, "where are you?" Katie did a 360 turn and saw nothing, but she could hear the growls from a distance. A gate opened behind her and by the time she turned to look, Cerberus was already on the field. There was no countdown, there was no "go," the beast walked out and immediately begun its attack.

Katie almost smiled to herself. Cerberus did have three heads, but Katie could have three gangers. Her smile instantly faded when she realized she had no weapons worth a damn. It would've been simple with a sword or even a basic stick, but Katie was fighting with her bare hands. Not to mention Cerberus was at least 14 feet high. 

Cerberus growled and Katie stood still. She waited. The beast lifted his paw and slammed it on the ground, causing the floor to shake beneath her and sent her flying off, hitting the ground with her back. She stood up quickly and ran towards the beast. She flipped forward and pushed off the ground with her hands, aiming for one of the heads. Her foot hit one of the heads' nose, causing a loud whimper to escape from it. She almost felt bad for it, until Cerberus slammed her down to the ground again. Standing up quickly, Katie duplicated herself before it was too late or lost too much energy, making two copies and giving each ganger an order. Ganger one ran straight underneath the beast, hidden from its sight. Ganger two, pulled the same move the original Katie did not too long before, hitting another head's snout with her foot.

Katie drew its attention by walking straight in front of it. Cereberus's paw came up again and slammed down, but Katie jumped before the ground beneath shook her down. She saw one of the claws on his paw bend slightly when it came down, but the claw itself pierced through the ground. This gave her an idea. Katie drew the beast's attention once more, and just before the paw was raised, ganger one jumped onto the paw and slammed down on the claw, snapping it off. This didn't seem to injure the beast. The claw slid across the floor and Katie picked it up quickly. The claw was heavier than she thought, so ganger two came up and helped Katie carry it.

Ganger one distracted the heads as the other two ran the claw underneath the belly of the beast. Pointing the claw up, Katie and ganger two jabbed the beast. One of the heads tried to take a look under as another head whimpered in pain. The third head continued with ganger one, who was still fighting her way around. Learning from its own mistakes, Cerberus didn't try to lift its paw again, instead it began biting its way through them. The first head tried its best to reach under itself to catch Katie and her ganger with the claw, but it only ended up biting the second head in the neck. The second neck's head growled at the first and Katie jabbed the claw into its stomach once again.

"Jeeze, how long until it's over?" Katie complained. The two heads continued to fight with each other. They jabbed again and finally, the third head tore itself away from her ganger and went towards the two below its body. The second head chomped at the first's neck, injuring itself. The the third head dove underneath itself and toppled the entire beast over on its back, crushing one of Katie's gangers. The ganger disappeared and it was only the two of them left. Cerberus whimpered as it tried to set itself straight. Katie and her ganger ran before it could crush them both as well.

The beast was on its feet again and Katie and her ganger ran towards it with the giant claw. The heads, finally stopped fighting with each other, which meant each head was focused on Katie. Head number three picked up the claw with its teeth. Katie and her ganger hung on with their life and the monster whipped them across the arena. "We have to finish this," Katie nodded to her doppelganger, who nodded back at her. Taking the claw once again, they ran straight towards it, dodging any attacks the beast made at them. Cerberus chomped and stomped, but Katie kept going. Finally they were underneath the beast once more. "Wait, listen," Katie said, pausing for a moment. From underneath the beast, she could hear the heartbeat. "Right there," her ganger pointed out and they stabbed right at it, pushing the claw as deep as they could. Two of the heads cried out in pain and instantly went limp, but one head remained.

"I don't understand..." Katie gasped. Her ganger interrupted her deep thought, "If we stabbed him in the heart and its heart died, then what's that noise?" It was the sound of a heart beat. "Of course! Two heads were connected to one heart and this one is connected to a second. Like a back up!" Katie replied. Listening closely, the two aimed for its second heart, stabbing up at it as hard as they could. The beast fell over, but it wasn't deep enough. Katie duplicated herself once more. Taking the claw that had been ripped from its own foot, the three Katies climbed over the beast and aimed the claw straight for Cerberus's second heart. They stabbed down with all they had and that was enough.

It was a Sunday morning when the Fight Schedule was posted. Katie knew that from that moment Level One was back into play. It had been a while since the Game Maker had planned anything, and the small break gave everybody a chance to breathe, but Katie could tell that the break wasn't out of generosity. Katie knew that the Game Maker was coming back with something bigger and better than before--or worse, depending on how he was perceived.

Katie was up to her usual pregame rituals. She took a warm shower, flipped through her book of plays, and of course had a few snacks in between to give her an energy boost. She was ready to face the Mirror. She'd remembered his face from the player stats. He was a level above hers, but she didn't let that bring her down. If anything, it gave her a drive to train harder than before. She pulled her book from under her mattress and began working out her plays, planning almost every move and turn she could think of. The only thing she couldn't be 100% sure of was her opponent. In the past, Katie thought she could try and predict what her opponents would do, but it just wasn't a power she possessed. Every time, her opponents surprised her with new moves and more of everything she could ever imagine. Eventually, Katie learned to expect the unexpected.

The sun was going down for Katie, and like a sixth sense, she knew it was almost time. She took a huge glass of ice cold water and drowned it down. Clenching the sheets on her bed, she got her scheduled pregame jitters. Katie closed her eyes and took deep breaths, her ipod's music soothing her. Over the year, she comprised two playlists; one to get her pumped to fights and another to calm her down before. Usually she listened to the calmer of the two then the other, but  right now she was nervous. It was exactly how she felt right before she went on stage when she used to take dance lessons, or before she'd do a floor show in gymnastics. Thinking back to those times, she found the right mindset again. She found ways to incorporate what she learned into her fighting, and that was the reason she didn't lose her first time fighting.

As her playlist switched to lift her spirits, she stood up and began dancing around her room, letting her energy and blood pump through her. And as if she had perfect timing, she reached for her game and it pulled her in. Once again she found herself in Level One. The area was grassy and open, but there was no wind like there would be in real life, just the vision of what it would look like if there were. She looked around then straight ahead and the avatar of her opponent came into view with Naana standing off to the side on a raised platform. The battle hadn't started yet, so Katie took the time to adjust herself. She checked her mobility and flexibility in this place. It was like riding a bike for her, she never really forgot how it worked.