You know. Before this team even achieved its status among our state. No one could ever expect no names like us to take the cake and run with it. Though, if I had to take a gander, this nobody has long since ran for such sweets.

Oh! Who is this nobody?

Heidi Graham!

And I’ll have you know I’m a bright ray of sunshi-

Heidi came to her senses, having been smacked by Pearl. Laying down upon the ground in a simulated field of Yellowstone Park. Pearl gently lifted her parasol to cover Heidi from the harsh sunlight.

“The ashes of doubt whisk across mein lands. Is this all the energy the glittering sunflower has? Caste thyself among the smoking lands and stand atest.” Pearl moved their parasol back to cover them, wiping sweat from their forehead. Around the two, geothermal geysers spewed forth steam; Heidi wouldn’t move an inch, simply allowing the heat to beat down onto them.

“...Bear is me when the heat hath bloomed the sunken flower. O’ Is thy lord of flames should arise.” Even more cryptid speech from Pearl, Somethings never change. Heidi finally sat up, watching the steam rise into the sky. The ground slightly vibrates as Pearl takes a step closer to her.

“Here.” Pearl graced Heidi with the most unique item on the field! A simple stick.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Thou hast to utilize this constant heat somehow. So tell me, O’ Sunshine. How far can you bring this scorching blaze.”

Heidi took the simple stick then proceeded to concentrate. A few seconds went by, and the stick ignited into a blaze disintegrating in her hand — Pearl took note of the girl’s remarkable resistance to heat itself.

“...Has thy ever thought instead of running away to simply convert that heat into your frontal attacks? Also, any weaknesses or effects after you use your powers?”

“Truthfully, No. I haven’t thought one bit since I don’t know how far I can push it. Ya’ know I might go missing my hands!” Quickly showing her hands burning red from the disintegrated stick. “As for any weaknesses...I guess nighttime fights are a no-go. Fighting in any type of shade makes me drowsy.”

Pearl then hovered her parasol above Heidi shielding the girl from the sun's light. “How does thou feel now?”

“Fine? Like...Big shade.” Heidi pointed out to a group of trees huddled up together — Vibrations shook the ground beneath them once more — Pearl took hold of the girl’s shirt and flung them towards the large shade. Tumbling into the thick shade, Heidi’s temperature started to decrease as the girl squint their eyes at Pearl.

“How does thou feel?” Repeating once more, Pearl gently tapped their feet against the soil.

“F-Fine.”

Pearl figured it was a lie; the heat in the general area decreased noticeably. More vibrations rang out around the field, causing more steam to emit from the ground. Heidi knew what was approaching.

“So uh… You never told us your singularity, Madam Pearl. Though, I have a guess at this point.”

“Heh… Thou should know, but I simply call my singularity ‘Seismic’ now. Pretty fitting since it can alternate. Though Heat won't get you far against such activity, now will it? But, perhaps I can aid you in evolving just a wee bit further.”

Pearl gently let out a breath of air before speaking again. A majestic hue of purple overtook the woman's body.

“So tell me, Sunshine. When there is heat, there is passion. What is this flower's passion that casts itself into the scars of ambition?”

Yet another cryptic message by Pearl — Heidi stood up straight, giving the woman a bright smile — heat once more concentrating down on the area. Vibrations started to pick up as nearby geysers spewed forth lava; Yellowstone was about to erupt.

“My passion? … My pass... ion… is …” Her vision became hazy as the distant sound of chanting and cheers roared back into place. Her eyes closed; by the time they opened again, she was standing on top of the singularity machine in front of a knocked-out Kalena of which medics were taking care of.

Hands visibly shaking, vision still hazy, Heidi felt weaker than usual after that fight, exhausted was putting it lightly. It seemed her fervent heat still lingered in the waning hours of the day, the passion to aid her team as best as she could.

“AND JUST LIKE THAT, STARLIGHT MOVES ON TO THE QUARTER-FINALS!” The announcer Livia witnessed yet another spectacular match! One that looked to be going in the opposite direction from the get-go. Starlight is still shining on this side of the tournament.

“Pearl...What did you teach her…” Cheveyo let out a sigh of relief before leaning back, the sun was starting to set on the day, but there was still one more match to close out on the day. The Quarter-finals where they’d face Texas. Recollecting in his mind, He remembered Holly and quite the shining spirit around them.

Still, with the nighttime beginning to roll in, no sign of Alexia nor Deveron yet. What on earth was happening? Cheveyo quietly held his hands together, trying to think up a solution. But calling attention to missing teammates would lead to other issues until, bursting through the door, Alexia, almost exhausted and out of breath, collapsed to the ground.

“Alexia! Where have you been?! Are you oka-” He stopped himself, clearly already seeing for himself her status. Roy turned to see Alexia then Deveron standing at the door, also out of breath.

A cough leaving his voice, Deveron spoke up. “Urgh… We ran into trouble… You guys better have not lost.” He’d feel the pressure of a hand on his back, realizing Heidi just returned also.

“Of course we won!” She spoke up though her overall mood was exhausted after that display of energy she showcased.

“Where’s teach?” Cheveyo finally stood up.

“Teach? Ha… Well, that’s the thing and where the trouble started. But, that Lyn lady had joined us, she should be dealing with it… Or done with it by now.”

“Lyn? Oh! I remember her, the quiet umpire lady, right?” Roy chimed in.

“Yeah, her. We lost track of her and Teach due to some strange halo lady. Kept warping us all over the place… But I probably could have done the same if her attacks landed on me more. Sadly, she got away.”

“...So the foundation is helping search for Teach...Well, that saves me the stress.” Cheveyo couldn’t believe it, just what was going on with Reynolds now. Before he could seek more answers, the intercom rang out!

“Would the vanguards of Side B head to their designated locations for the Quarter-finals.” Without any other warning, the intercom turned off, and a disgruntled Roy proceeded to exit the room.

“You guys went on a fun goose chase while we’re struggling to maintain our status here. I want out of this crazy bet.” Roy moved past Deveron and Heidi.

“Don’t be like that, Roy. Just… Give it your best!” Heidi would follow him in a weakened fashion aiming to encourage him before throwing his weight at an opponent.

“Wait… We’re already in the quarter-finals?” Alexia poked her head up from the floor. “How hard was it?”

“Well… Truth be told, there were a few issues, but we had to go all-out from the start, so we weren’t disqualified.” Cheveyo sat back down, still trying to think about the situation involving Reynolds.

“Then… Who’re we fighting now?”

Cheveyo squinted his eyes at the television. “Texas…”

Starlight now faced the true MVP of last year's tournament.