The Final Showdown

Four robots; Red, Blue, Silver and Gold charged towards them. Their glowing eyes intimidated Yuzuko, who felt like a nervous wreck compared to the others. Maybe they were hiding their fears. It was a war.

In an ideal situation, each pair would target one robot. "Once one is down, we should gang up on the others," Todd said as if he knew what he was talking about. Like buying a lottery ticket, there was no promise it would work.

Yuzuko needed a plan of her own. For a split second all that was on her mind was her little boy. Fingers trembled as she reflected on how he had been neglected in her thoughts during the game. If she was doing it for anybody s The first one that came to Yuzuko's head. Anything would do. Biting her lip, she knew she had told her friends, teammates and the world a lie. The gun in her pocket would be her surprise weapon.

"I remember the old anime shows we used to watch," Sakura said with a smile on her face. "They trained their body to become the ultimate weapon."

"But we're not the ultimate weapon," Yuzuko said, holding her sword above her face.

"Have some hope!" Sakura screamed. "Love conquers everything in the end."

As optimistic as her words were, Yuzuko knew the truth. There was only ever one winner in Game of Mass Destruction and that was Sia Bucks.

"Yuzuko!" Sakura got in front of her. "Remember why your mother brought you here. Maybe she wants us to win, so she and your grandfather can be at peace again."

"I'm not gonna be some poster girl for their political vendettas."

The other survivors had always started their attacks. Yanyu and Chang-Hoon were battering Red. Todd and Sook-Jo struggled against Gold. Aron and Rós defended them against Blue and Silver.

"Who will you fight for?" Sakura asked.

"I'm gonna fight for me, for us!"

"Let's go then!"

Sook-Jo and Chang-Hoon were communicating with sign language. Todd and Yanyu appeared to have understood as they nodded away.

Yuzuko wondered why no one spoke. The last four robots were famous for their devotion to gore. She relieved Rós of Blue and whacked her sword against Blue's chest. The blade bounced back, straining Yuzuko's arms.

Sakura too was hacking away at Blue's back. Fists clenched up she persevered with her sword, but Blue's counter-attacks threw her on the ground every time. The last attack sent Yuzuko flying against a tree. The impact left pain racing through her body. She got her gun out and fired at the robots.

Bang!

Blue fell on its knees. Dents and wires all over its neck made its beheading a single stroke of Sakura's claymore.

Bang!

Red hit the ground. Yanyu and Chang-Hoon trembled on it for good measure.

Bang!

Silver fainted on Aron's foot.

There were no bullets left for Gold.

"Agh!" Soon-Jo jump defied gravity. In four days she had grown. The cowardly girl had died, reborn as a brave woman. It took two swift blows from her scimitar to take Gold down. One to dent the inside, send the currents all over the place and the second to cut the wires.

Gold fell to the ground.

An orchestra played in the distance. Sia Bucks appeared on the screen with tears of happiness. Clutching onto her mink coat, she waved at them like little babies.

"Well done my precious babies. You completed the game in 4 days, three hours, eighteen minutes and fifty-seconds."

Yuzuko felt sick hearing Sia giggle. Heat penetrated her throat. Coughing, she passed out on the ground, hearing Sia's announcement in full before she closed her eyes.

"Time for you all to get back to the studio for the closing ceremony. And then you can win some epic prizes. Two billionaires and many stars will be born tonight!"

Sakura & Yuzuko - 150 points

Todd & Sook-Jo - 50 points

Game over