Codi always enjoyed the thrill that came with competing in the Gauntlet, but this time felt just that bit better than all the rest. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that this fight would be one for the Gauntlet fans – and for her – to remember for a long time. She could feel her whole body roiling with anticipation as she waited for doors of the Arena to open.

The media seemed just as aware that this clash would be one to keep an eye on. Her walk to the ready area had been a long, loud one, hemmed in by camera drones and reporters. They tried their best to drag some kind of comment out of her before she could reach the safety of the Arena, but if the encounter wasn't scheduled, Codi had no interest in it. Hell, the only reason she spoke to any of them was because Bronagh Llewellyn wanted her to. She strode through the corridor of bodies without so much as a glance to the left or right.

The rumble of pre-match noise from the Arena rose louder than before. It seemed that the spectators also knew that the coming fight would be a good one, and if there was one set of fans that could compete with Battlecast in sheer volume, it would be the screaming travelling support of Firequake.

She stopped at the door, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet, using the motion like a safety valve to drip out some of the adrenaline that was flooding through her veins. Bronagh Llewellyn halted alongside her, face impassive as she glanced back at the flashing bombardment of cameras.

"You seem...agitated," Llewellyn said quietly.

Codi grinned and shook her head. "Excited."

"He's a dangerous fighter, Codi. Don't underestimate him."

"Believe me, I'm not." She looked at the head instructor. "That's why I'm excited."

"I'm not sure I get your meaning."

"I mean, this fight is going to be awesome."

Llewellyn frowned at that. "It's not a circus. You're here to win first and entertain second."

"Oh, lighten up," Codi chuckled, and before her coach could reply the attendant signalled that they were ready for her. A few seconds later the Arena doors slid aside and she bounded out into the light.

"From Battlecast Academy, Codi James!"

The place was packed. She cast a quick glance around the stands and every single seat had an occupant roaring with energy and anticipation. Huge blots of blue, cyan and red took up entire sections, filled in with washes of colour from the neutral parties.

Her face slid into a vicious smile and she turned her attention to the Arena construct itself. The cuboid spanned the open space in front of her, a structure of three levels anchored by four enormous pillars at each corner. The levels themselves were made up of intricate criss-crossing lattices connecting to seemingly random platforms. Each platform had its own central support, thinner than the corners but still bigger than the average tree trunk. She could see straight through the skeletal structure to the door at the far end of the arena; still closed. However, as she examined the construct she realised something else.

The whole thing was made of wood.

For a moment confusion reigned in her mind. Normally the mad contraptions the Gauntlet engineers devised were constructed of the most robust material available. After all, they had to stand up to as many as twenty adrenaline fuelled fighters in combat exoskeletons at any one time. That was a lot of energy to contain. She could probably wreck this construct single-handedly.

And then it hit her. That was the whole point. The organisers had matched up two of the most violent, unpredictable fighters in the tournament, and then placed them in a construct that they would smash to pieces. The result would be one hell of a spectacle.

So much for not being in a circus, she thought.

Then the time for examination was over. She watched hungrily as the door at the opposite end split apart, and Rokkie Thakkar came striding out into the Arena. The Firequake fans howled for their top fighter and he in turn pumped both fists into the air, adding his own roaring voice to the clamour. He faced the largest section of red streaked spectators, screaming and pounding his chest plate with a clenched fist.

Codi watched with a thin smile on her face. She liked a good show, but even for her this was a little over the top.

Once he'd finished psyching himself up he turned and looked straight at her, his stare burning and intense. She held his gaze; her smile broadened. Then she extended a hand towards him.

She pointed her fingers like a gun and mouthed: bang.

Although she couldn't hear it, she saw his features crack as he laughed. Still holding his stare, Codi coiled her body to spring as the announcer counted down. Thakkar did the same, bending his knees with his arms hanging loose by his sides. She saw him tense as the countdown reached five and knew the reason why. Despite her excitement she knew they both had something to prove here. With first fight victories for each of them, this match would most likely determine who topped their group in the singles matches.

The countdown reached zero and both of them exploded from their starting blocks, racing down into the arena on a collision course. Codi braced herself for the inevitable impact, aiming straight at the Firequake fighter. Propelled forward by the exoskeletons they moved at a tremendous velocity and in a matter of seconds they reached each other.

Codi wound up the gravity on her right side and hurled her body at Rokkie Thakkar, shoulder first. What she hadn't bargained on was him doing exactly the same thing.

Their bodies smashed together with bone-shaking force. Codi felt like she'd just run into a truck, and they both went whirling off in different directions under their sheer momentum. Thakkar was more heavily built and his flight was more of a skidding, bumping roll across the arena floor. On the wrong side the weight scale, Codi went spiralling away, crashing straight through one of the spindly wooden struts until eventually she thudded into one of the supporting pillars and tumbled back to earth.

As she picked herself up she heard the crowds going berserk after that first thunderous exchange. Her whole body tingled, partly from the shock of impact and partly from the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She looked to where Thakkar's tumble had ended; he was already back on his feet and hurtling towards her.

She moved to meet him.

Codi dove under the first murderous haymaker, rolled and spun to her feet, lashing out with her leg. He anticipated the move and met her halfway, turning into the blow and lowering his body, tensing up and absorbing the impact against his shoulder guard. Then his left hand snapped out like a piston, aiming for her face.

She dropped her head backwards with barely an instant to spare, feeling the wind as Thakkar's fist whistled in front of her face. Although she lost sight of him, her instincts were honed after the gruelling Battlecast training, and she kicked out again, feeling the sole of her exoskeleton boot crunch solidly against the other fighter's chest plate.

With a grunt of surprise he went flying backwards. Codi straightened up to see him hit the ground and smoothly backward roll to his feet again. His vicious smile returned and in a sudden motion he bunched his legs and jumped.

Propelled by the exoskeleton he cleared twenty feet with ease and landed on the walkway immediately above them. Codi didn't hesitate, leaping up in pursuit. When she landed on the narrow spur of reinforced wood, Thakkar grinned spreading his arms wide, inviting her to attack.

She was happy to oblige. Bursting into motion she raced effortlessly along the narrow beam, winding up a swing with her right fist. Waiting till the last possible moment, she saw Thakkar finally tense to avoid the blow. Instead of swinging, she dropped her arm tipped her body backwards, launching herself into a flying two-footed tackle.

Her opponent reacted with inches to spare, hurdling her with surprising speed. Codi slammed her boot against the beam, scraping a divot in the wood as she halted her forward momentum. Then she twisted and surged upright, crashing a violent uppercut into Thakkar's chin as he turned to face her.

His tattooed face twisted up with pain but he rode the impact, taking a step back and planting his feet. Codi followed up with another swipe, but before the blow could land her opponent darted forward into her reach. He blocked her strike with his arm then lowered his head like a bull. She couldn't get out of the way and took the full force of his head-butt squarely in the face.

A gasp rose from the spectators as the force knocked her down, her back slamming into the narrow beam. Blinking to clear her vision, she clamped her legs around the walkway to steady herself and braced herself for his follow up. Sure enough, the Firequake fighter made to stamp down on her chest.

Codi caught his descending boot, gritting her teeth against the tremendous weight added by the gravity fields of his exoskeleton. With a snarl of exertion she shoved his foot aside, simultaneously slackening her grip on the walkway. Using his leg as an anchor she pushed herself away and let her body swing around until she was hanging upside down beneath the beam.

Coiling her body up, she reached up with both fists before he could get out of the way and smacked his legs out from under him with as much force as she could muster.

Thakkar fell, bouncing off the beam and plummeting to hit the ground below. Twisting her body, Codi released her legs, instead catching the walkway with her hands and dangling there, looking down. As he got back to his feet she launched herself into the air with a single powerful yank, somersaulting on her way down to join him.

She slammed to the ground on one knee to the screams of the Battlecast fans. Slowly she raised her head to look at Thakkar, a predatory smile on her face. He returned the gesture and the fight reignited.

Minutes passed in a whirlwind as they pounded each other up and down the wooden construct. They hurled themselves around the arena in a chaotic violent dance, smashing through thin walkways and supports, kicking each other up and down levels, carpeting the ground with broken splinters. Codi relished the wildness of it; the almost total abandonment of calculation and technique in favour of sheer force. Something primal roared within her each time she flung her opponent across the arena or crashed a blow against his armour.

This was the real Gauntlet.

After another blizzard of back and forth strikes Codi drove her opponent back towards the corner of the arena, lining him up for what she hoped might finally put a dent in his resistance. So far she judged that she'd gotten the best of the exchanges on sheer impact, but that didn't mean she didn't want to win the fight outright.

She managed to hook Thakkar's arm and hurl him into a roll towards one of the massive pillars that supported the main structure of the arena. With her opponent lined up, Codi dialled up every gravity field in the exoskeleton and sprinted straight at him. He got up and turned in time to see her blazing towards him like a comet.

Codi drove a shoulder hard into his midriff and clamped her arms tight around him, not breaking stride. Her feet slammed against the floor plates like two jackhammers as she carried Rokkie Thakkar thirty feet across the arena. With a final surge of effort Codi increased her speed and rammed her opponent into the huge supporting pillar.

A splintering crack echoed through the air and she lost her grip on Thakkar, her momentum spinning her past the pillar until she hit the ground lying flat on her front. Scrambling back to her feet she whirled and saw Thakkar on all fours, the back plate of his exoskeleton covered with pulverised slivers of wood. She also noticed that the pillar they'd ploughed into was now bent like a broken bone.

Shaking himself like a dog to dislodge the wooden splinters, Thakkar turned to face her, a hungry smile on his tattooed face. He took a step forward but another crack of snapping wood arrested his progress. Codi's eyes flickered to the supporting pillar. It had bent even further. Another crack sounded then the whole arena construct wobbled unnervingly.

They both looked up.

Codi's eyes widened with horror when she saw half the structure about to collapse on their heads. She glanced back down to see Thakkar looking at her and, to her amazement, the other fighter was grinning like an idiot.

"TIMBER!" he whooped, whirling away and diving in the opposite direction. Codi had just enough time to follow suit before a building's worth of wood came crashing down on them like an avalanche.

Loosening her gravity fields and propelled by the powerful servos of the exoskeleton, Codi managed to clear the worst of the collapse, but still ended up half-buried under a mangled collection of broken supports and walkways. Snarling with effort she kicked herself free, sending splintered wood spraying in all directions as it broke under the force of the exoskeleton.

Once she'd smashed her way clear of the debris she looked around to try and find her opponent, but of Rokkie Thakkar there was no sign. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the wreckage of broken wood and collapsed struts. Then a crash snared her attention and she turned sharply to the right. A mount of broken logs and metal seemed to be writhing and moving as though alive.

Then a gore red exoskeleton exploded from underneath it, sending debris in all directions.

Thakkar looked around breathlessly until he spotted her. Then he glanced at his immediate surroundings and an expression of amazement stamped itself on his features.

And then the final klaxon blared.

A silence swelled like a bubble, before the spectators exploded into a torrent of cheering. The sound crashed down through the arena like a flood and despite herself Codi started laughing. Every single person, whether Battlecast or Firequake or anything in between, was screaming their approval. She hoped the fight had looked as good as it felt.

She looked across at Thakkar, chest heaving as she regained her breath. He met her stare, still grinning like a lunatic. Codi knew she should have felt more anxious that this important group match would now come down to the impact ratings, but for some reason she just felt exhilarated. The whole exchange had been so utterly wild that it made up for any result that might be coming.

Minutes passed as the noise of the crowds died down. Rockie Thakkar waded out of his heap of debris and crossed the arena to stand beside her as they waited for the judging decision. She glanced at him.

"Well that was different," she murmured.

Thakkar nodded. "I'm not complainin'." When he spoke his voice carried a slight rasp, a consequence of growing up in the searing heat of Io's volcanic atmosphere. The terra-forming scrubbers could only do so much.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

Codi took a deep breath, steadying her heartbeat as the announcer's voice boomed out across the arena. Thakker looked at her; raised both eyebrows for a moment.

"What a display," the announcer continued. "But there are no draws in the Gauntlet. We have the decision by impact rating from the judges." Another dramatic pause. "The winner by impact rating is...Codi James from Battlecast!"

As the cheering started again Codi let her body deflate, releasing the breath she'd been holding and turning her eyes skyward in relief.

"Well, y'had to drop half an arena on me," Thakkar laughed. "But you got there."

She turned to face him, smiling thinly. "I don't mess around."

"Yeah, I got that." He stuck out a hand. "You're crazy. I like it."

"You've got a few screws loose yourself," she returned, shaking his hand. "Make sure you get to the knockouts. I think I'd like a rematch."

*

Codi didn't have a lot of time to dwell on the victory or on Rokkie Thakkar. After they cleared the media storm on the other side of the arena doors she'd quickly ditched her exoskeleton and made her way to the fighters' lobby where she hoped to find Leela. The other girl had her ominous match with Keefer Darkwood looming close on the horizon, and Codi felt like she needed to at least show her face – show her support.

Her friend wasn't there but on the display screens she did get to watch, with no small amount of satisfaction, as Dustin Morto got his boulder-like hands on one of the other Black Horizon competitors who'd made it through the Mayhems. This boy was not Keefer Darkwood, and at the hands of the Atlantic Academy's top fighter he never stood a chance. It seemed their rivals from across the ocean didn't like Black Horizon either.

With that small success in the back of her mind, she then jogged down to the next logical place she would find her young companion: the gymnasium. Sure enough, when she arrived Leela was there in full Gauntlet amour along with Bronagh Llewellyn, no doubt imparting some final words of wisdom.

"Hey, hey," she said, loping to a halt in front of them.

"Hi." Leela forced a smile. "How was your fight?"

"You didn't see?"

She shook her head. "I've been down here."

"I won – impact rating."

"Good."

Codi frowned. "Never mind me. How are you feeling?"

Leela shrugged. "I'm okay."

Bronagh Llewellyn pursed her lips and looked at Codi. "I believe we've prepared as much as we can. It's in her hands now."

Leela swallowed hard at that. Codi could sense the nerves in her friend, though she could hardly blame the rookie fighter for that. She'd been just as nervous when she first stepped into the Arena with Bruno Varlin.

"Just remember what we practiced," Codi said firmly. "He's not superhuman. None of us are. You can beat this guy, Leela. Go out there show everybody that you're not just here to make up the numbers, alright?"

Leela gave a bobbing nod. "I'll do my best."

She placed a hand on her friend's shoulder pad and with the other pointed at her chest plate.

"Get angry: find that level," Codi told her. "And good luck."