The silence was suffocating. No one had expected this turn of events and anyone who could make a sound found themselves too stunned to react. But, like a movie in slow motion returning to its normal speed, everything began to move once again.

Luck could feel himself panic inside. Why had Star done that? And what would happen to her? She had told Luck in a worst case scenario she could die, so would she?

Shouts echoed into the warehouse as Maiza and Ennis beat futilely on the barrier keeping them out.

Gustavo's face twisted into a hideous expression of rage. Bellowing like a wild animal the he released his grip on the knife and swung his right fist as hard as he could at Star, aiming for her head.

Star had just enough time to throw her arms up to protect herself before the blow landed. The force of the attack created enough momentum to toss Star's body across the room as though she were a ragdoll. She landed on her side and rolled once before coming to a stop.

Star grunted in pain as she pushed herself onto one hand and knees, her second hand held to the wound in her stomach. Star pushed herself fully onto her knees and pulled the knife out, tossing it almost out of the barrier. She then began to slowly push herself to her feet when she heard a metallic sliding noise. Star glanced behind her and noticed Luck's gun resting next to her foot. She didn't have long to contemplate this turn of events because the magician in the center of the room now spoke.

"We have to kill her, Gustavo! She'll ruin everything otherwise!"

"You don't tell me what to do!" Gustavo spat back at the girl before turning back to face Star. "I'm gonna crush every bone in your body!"

His declaration made, Gustavo then charged Star like a wild bull. Know she had scant seconds for action, Star forced herself to her feet. As she stood up, she grabbed the gun with her right hand and pressed her left to the wound in her stomach. A faint, greenish glow surrounded Star's hand. But it wasn't there for long. Gustavo was practically upon Star. It wasn't difficult to imagine what would happen if the beefy Gustavo got ahold of Star's thin body. Of course that was if he could get ahold of her. Star's smaller size worked to her advantage and she deftly dodged Gustavo's grasping hands.

Luck watched all of this, but none of it soothed his anxiety. After all, Luck knew first-hand how hard it would be for Star to take down Gustavo. The man was built like a juggernaut and even when Luck had emptied the contents of his gun into the other man, he had barely slowed. Unless Star was a crack shot, Luck doubted that she would be able to bring Gustavo down with the gun.

But Star had other plans. Her leap away from Gustavo turned into roll placing nearly ten feet of distance between the two. Despite Gustavo still being too close for comfort, Star turned her attention to the other Magican. She leveled the gun and fired.

The Magician girl's face paled when she realized that she and not Gustavo was the target. Her arms raised into a defensive posture even as she tried to form a counter spell.

The first shot was wide and ricocheted off the ground to the right. Star corrected her aim and began to pull the trigger for a second shot when Gustavo's foot connected with Star's shoulder in a frighteningly powerful kick. The sudden blow caused the barrel of the gun to swing down the second Star pulled the trigger. This time the bullet connected with the ground a few feet in front of the girl. The gun fell from Star's hand and clattered to the floor. Before she could recover enough to reach for the weapon again, Gustavo gave it a hard kick, sending the gun spinning across the floor, past his Magician partner. Momentarily stunned, Star had no time to react when Gustavo brought his foot into her side, sending Star tumbling to the other end of the room towards Firo.

Outside, Maiza and Ennis shouted and beat their hands helplessly against the invisible barrier that kept them from coming to Star's aid.

"What's going on, why aren't you helping her?" Accused Nice, who had finally arrived. She had hung back a little when the others had rushed from the room, not eager to get involved in a skirmish. Nice wasn't a coward by any means, and she did acknowledge that she owed the three for rescuing her. But the thought of Jacuzzi, and what would happen to him if she should get killed, kept Nice from following too closely lest she become collateral damage.

"Don't you think we would if it were possible?!" Maiza replied sharply. It was all he could do to keep from shouting the words at Nice. The idea that he would stand idly by while a friend was fighting not only for her life, but for the lives of other friends as well, filled Maiza with rage. Under normal circumstances he might not feel anger of such intensity, but Nice's accusation was compounded with Maiza's own anger and frustration at his own helplessness.

Nice looked from the two before her, to the open door, and back. Something had to be wrong. Why wouldn't they just rush in through the open door? It was then that Nice noticed something extremely odd. Ennis's hands her held flat against the open air, as though she were pressing them against a door in a vain attempt to open it. But there was no door to open. Or was there?

"You two take cover," Nice warned, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small bomb.

"What about you?" Ennis asked.

Nice just smirked. "I'll be fine. I've been around explosives long enough!"

Maiza nodded. He realized that they weren't in a situation where they could entertain long arguments about the safety of a venture. They would have to accept Nice's word for it. Maiza and Ennis ran to the edge of the building and took cover around the corner.

Once sure that Maiza and Ennis wouldn't be caught up in the blast, Nice reached into a different pocket and pulled out a Zippo lighter. It was the newest thing, just out last year. Jacuzzi had gotten for Nice as a birthday present. Nice couldn't help but smile at the thought that she could instantly produce a flame with just a flick of her thumb. And with that Nice lit the fuse on the bomb and tossed it at the opening before running for cover herself.

Maiza was about the stick his head around the corner of the wall to find out what was taking Nice so long when suddenly the person in question careened around the corner, shoving Maiza back against Ennis. Maiza was surprised by Nice's sudden arrival, but Nice barely even seemed to notice that the two of them were there. Instead she leaned against the wall, peeking around the corner in the direction of the small bomb, a faint grin on her lips.

There was no time for anyone to even think about uttering a word. Within seconds a loud explosion rent the air. And in that moment Nice's actions didn't matter at all. Maiza rushed from behind the wall, impatient to finally come to Star's aid. The smoke was still clearing but that didn't matter to Maiza. He could make out the entrance well enough. He rushed forward, prepared to at least tackle Gustavo to the ground, when he stopped as suddenly as if he had run into a wall. The barrier remained intact. Maiza slammed his hands against the invisible wall in anger, Ennis and Nice quickly joining him.

Just beyond the veil of smoke there came a cry of pain and a high-pitched laugh. Everyone felt themselves tense up as the last vestiges of the smoke dissipated to again reveal the battle going on beyond the barrier. Star had just barely dodged a punch from Gustavo, blood dripping from fresh wounds on her arms and legs.

"You think that little thing could break my barrier?" the Magician mocked. "Just sit and enjoy the show. It'll be your turn soon enough."

Her piece said, the girl turned her attention back to Star and Gustavo. Gustavo was prepared to attack again, and Star's body was poised to dodge. But before Star could even begin to leap to safety, the Magician spoke, tracing what looked like letters quickly in the air. At her words, dark hands seemed to rise up from the ground, and wrap themselves around Star's ankles and lower legs, holding her down.

Realizing that she couldn't escape, Star braced herself for the blow that was sure to come. She threw up her left arm to protect herself, but oddly enough had her right hand held out in a 'stop' gesture. Gustavo swung at her, and Star barked a short command. Gustavo's punch slowed, as though his fist were fighting through some thick morass to reach Star.

But just as suddenly as Star cast her spell, the other girl counter acted it. With a few words and a swiping gesture, Gustavo's thrown punch returned to its full force. The second the blow landed the shadowy hands vanished, allowing Star's body to be thrown across the room again.

To those observing the fight, the fact that Gustavo wasn't even mildly stunned or surprised by the magic was shocking. It also advertised a grim understanding. The only reason Gustavo wasn't surprised by the phenomenon taking place around him could only mean that he had some more familiarity with magic than the others. Which meant he was a likely culprit in the recent attacks, or at least that he was in cahoots with the culprits.

The Magician narrowed her eyes and stared at Star suspiciously for a second, before a look of glee broke across her face.

"You've almost run out of seals, haven't you?"

Star's head whipped around to glare at the other magic user vehemently. It was obvious from Star's reactions that what the girl said was true.

"I bet you only maybe ten left," she continued. Then, to Gustavo, "Don't worry about actually beating her. If we just drag this out she'll eventually kill herself."

"You don't tell me what to do!" Gustavo shouted back at the girl. They were allies but they weren't friends.

A feeling of horror settled over the Immortals present. While they didn't know exactly what the girl in front of them was talking about, they could understand the implication. Whatever it was that Star used for her magic, she was running out of it. If the fight dragged on for too long she would use all of it, which would apparently be fatal.

Luck felt like he wanted to be sick. He couldn't move a single finger to help or protect Star. She had just taken what might have possibly been a fatal blow for him, and was now fighting not only for him but Firo as well. But this fight could end up killing her! And he was completely and utterly helpless to change the outcome!

Firo felt a rage so intense it was as though he had all the fires of hell burning in his stomach. Star had risked her life to save his friend. Now she was risking her life again to try and free them. And he was just lying on the floor like a passed out drunk! How could he face the Martillo or Gandor families knowing that a girl had died trying to protect him and he had done absolutely nothing to help!

"I don't care what short stuff over there says," Gustavo said in a tone thick with grandstanding. "Kicking you around has been fun and all, but it's time to end this."

Star spat out some blood from her mouth. She reached into her boot and pulled out a knife. Pushing herself to her feet, Star reached into her pocket and pulled out two of the slips of paper she had so carefully counted at the start of this endeavor.

"Yes," Star agreed in a tone that implied she had an end plan. "Let's end this."

Despite her earlier bravado, the Magician girl looked uneasy. But Star didn't give her a chance to try and plot anything. She leapt into action seconds after her declaration. Star held the slips of paper out in front of her and said one short word. One of the papers burned with a purple flame that didn't seem to generate any heat, considering Star still held the paper in her hands. It was reduced to ash within seconds and in that same instant a torrent of water rushed through the room, cycling like a hurricane and heading straight toward Gustavo.

The Magician dispelled the torrent of water with a few well-placed hand gestures and words; however, it seemed that Star did not intend the spell to do any damage, but rather act as a diversion. Gustavo had thrown his hands up and braced himself for the impact of the maelstrom of water. This meant that he couldn't successfully attack Star when she lunged at him. But instead of going for a vital spot, Star thrust the knife through Gustavo's foot up to the hilt.

Gustavo let out a shout of pain, which allowed Star to tuck and roll past him without being attacked. So far Star's actions seemed extremely haphazard. The floor of the room was now wet and slippery, which would be a problem for Star as well as Gustavo, and Star had just left her only weapon planted firmly in Gustavo's foot.

Unfazed by the loss of her water spell, Star continued through with her plan.

"Sorry 'bout this Firo!" She called out as she leapt against the wall and pushed off from it. For a split second there was a gleam of white light in what might have been a spell circle, but it vanished too quickly for anyone to be sure. But it was obviously some kind of magic that Star had performed, since her body was launched into the air much higher than any human being could possibly jump.

Star's body arced though the air, turning in a graceful somersault. As her highest point, seemingly suspended upside down in midair, Star held out her second slip of paper towards Gustavo. She spoke a different word than before, but the effect was similar. Except that once this slip of paper burned there came a flash of light and a deafening clap of thunder as Star called down a lightning bolt into the middle of the room.

Everyone present, except for Star who closed her eyes against the flash, was temporarily blinded by the brilliance of the spell. And Firo finally understood why Star had apologized to him moments before. He felt pain crackle suddenly through his body in a way that he could only describe as electric.

At the same time that everyone's sight began to recover from the lightning strike, there also came the acrid smell of burnt flesh. Gustavo stood stiffly, small trails of smoke curling away from his body. And then, suddenly, as if the nerves in his body finally realized the ordeal was over, Gustavo collapsed to the ground. The water, which soaked not only the floor but also Gustavo's body, and the metal knife blade that passed through Gustavo's foot and directly into the ground beneath it had made the man the perfect lightning rod for Star's elemental attack.

Star touched down, rolling over once to expend the energy from the fall. But she didn't stop to admire her work. Instead she launched herself across the room at the enemy Magician, who seemed to care as much about Gustavo's fall as Star did.

She immediately launched into an attack against Star. Her fingers danced in the air as though writing on a chalk board and her lips moved swiftly but silently. All of this was accomplished in a few seconds. Now the girl's fingertips glowed red. She swiped one hand across the air in front of her, like a cat clawing at a bird. The air itself appeared scratched, and those scratch marks were moving towards Star at a frightening speed!

Star dodged to the side but couldn't avoid the attack completely. A new wound opened up on her shoulder. But undaunted by the attacks thrown at her by the Magician, who was scratching frantically at the air, Star pushed herself forward. Her eyes glittered with determination, her arms raised defensively in front of her to protect her body from a head on attack.

The next few moments seemed to span an eternity. Star charging towards the Magician, narrowly avoiding the attacks, and the Magician frantically trying to halt Star's progress. And then Star leapt at her. The girl slashed with both of her hands and a light shower of blood splattered the ground accompanied by a wet, slightly squishy sound of flesh being cleaved in two. Star tumbled to the ground, rolling past the Magician before stopping a couple of feet behind her.

The quite of the room could rival that of a graveyard. Everyone held their breath. Everyone except the Magician, who's chest was heaving with adrenaline. The look on her face a mix of complete shock and dark triumph. She truly believed that she had defeated Star and removed the only obstacle in her way.

Then there came the sound of metal scrapping against concrete. Star was kneeling behind the girl, her arms extended and Luck's gun held firmly in both of her hands.

"I don't think I'm going to miss this time, do you?" Star said between heaving breaths. And then the pulled the trigger.