--I hope that you like this chapter, it's pretty long though. You finally get to see what type of bit beast Saphira is. Enjoy!
Ch. 14- Power Revealed
"Yeah! I got it!" yelled Tyson triumphantly as Dragoon made it through the obstacle course, all cans intact. It had taken him almost ten tries, but he had completed it and Max was up to try. Tyson glanced around at his teammates who, for the most part, had waited patiently for him to finish so that they could try.
"It took you long enough," remarked Kai from his position on the wall.
Tyson ignored him as he noticed that someone was missing. "Hey," he asked, "where's the ice queen?"
"I dunno Tyson," replied Ray, unconcerned, "I think she went inside."
"Oh, I'll go find her," Tyson said and ran into the dojo.
Marina was in one of the practice rooms again, this time though, she was practicing her unarmed combat. It was her own combinations and variations of judo, karate, tai kwon doe, kendo, jujitsu, tae bo, and military hand-to-hand self-defense. She had removed her boots, which now sat in a corner, and hadn't bothered to put out practice mats. Once again she concentrated all her attention on completing each move with precision and accuracy. She was in the middle of completing a back handspring combination when she saw a movement out of the corner of her right eye. Twisting her body out of form she did a roll instead to land in front of the person in guard stance.
She realized that it was just Tyson and stood up easily. She could tell that Tyson looked speechless and realized that he must've been watching her last few moves, which included backflipping off a wall and a complicated kick pattern. She didn't normally like to show off her skills and she hated it when she let her guard down, or focused on one thing when she should be open to her surroundings.
"Whoa…" Tyson managed to stammer.
Marina sighed and walked over to get her boots. She pulled them on quickly, wishing she could have gotten more practice time in, without interruptions. She turned around to find Tyson with two practice swords in hand, and he threw on out to her, which she caught by the hilt easily.
"Care to take on the master?" he asked playfully. "As a practice session of course. I only saw you use a kendo stick once and I'd like to see how good you really are."
Marina flicked the kendo stick around her wrist in a circle and smirked. "I doubt that you'd be worth my time." She moved to put the kendo stick back but Tyson held out his and blocked her path.
"Why?" he taunted," Are you afraid you'll lose? I figured as much."
Her eyes blazed and she said coldly, "Fine, but don't blame me if you get hurt." Marina knew that she really shouldn't accept his challenge but something about Tyson rubbed her the wrong way, and made her quick to anger.
Tyson moved to ready position and Marina did likewise. All of a sudden Tyson yelled and leaped forward into the air, kendo stick held high above his head in an attempt to strike. Marina quickly sidestepped and smacked him on the back, hard enough to make him fall over. He got back up, rubbing his back where she'd hit him and lunged forward again. This time Marina grabbed his kendo stick with her free hand, and used his momentum against him as she ducked and levered him over her shoulder. He rolled and landed on his back. She stepped forward and pointed her kendo stick at his throat saying, "I win. Do you give up?"
Tyson rolled his eyes and replied bitterly, "For now." He hadn't realized how fast she was and was jealous of her skills.
She had placed both practice swords on the rack on the wall and was about to leave the practice room when Tyson yelled, "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
She turned to look at Tyson to see that he was red with anger. "What," she asked, "is wrong with you?"
"You stole Dragoon!" he practically screamed, "Give him back!"
"I don't have your Dragoon," Marina replied, trying to stay calm. "Why would you think that I'd want it anyway?"
"I know it was you," Tyson said angrily, facing Marina. "You're the only one who steals around here."
Something inside Marina snapped and her eyes blazed dangerously. She would not stand by and let this boy wrongfully accuse her. Tyson pushed her back and she retaliated by slamming him into the wall and lifting him up by his collar so that his feet were dangling. He struggled uselessly against her iron grip. She shoved her face close to his and said dangerously, "Do not accuse me Tyson. I don't steal anymore, it's in the past. I'm not interested in your bitbeast at all and I do not appreciate being threatened."
She released him and he dropped to the ground. She stormed angrily out of the room and came face to face with Kai, who had gone looking for them when he heard Tyson's outburst. Marina was so mad that she reached out and forcibly pushed Kai out of her way, into a wall. She strode by without a word, her hair streaming behind her in her eyes sparkling dangerously, and left the dojo.
--I've changed my mind and decided to make chapter 14 a two-part chapter. Sorry, but I will make it up to you by posting both parts today. Please review!