"Congratulations team! We've made it through to the next round!" Chris cheered as the four of them sat around a table in the festival grounds, drinks in hand and plates of food in front of them. As they crashed their cups together they all felt a sense of pride over their victory and relief that for the time being they didn't need to worry too much.

"That was a hell of a match, didn't think things would get that hairy in the first round." Andrew added after he took a long drink from his cup.

"Nah. That wasn't anything special." Andrew gave Lauren a sigh

"Coming from the one who decimated their team leader, you must have expected something extraordinary."

"Seeing as each academy is sending their best teams then yeah, it should have been a lot closer than that."

"It was for me, without Ulysses I think I would have been taken out by the metal arm guy." Chris said between mouthfuls of food.

"I am just glad that you were unharmed. I could not think of any other way of stopping him at the time… I hope he is okay?"

"HAHAHA! You dropped a wall on him, he's not going to be "okay" Ulysses!" Lauren laughed causing Andrew to splutter from his drink.

"Really?! Holy crap!"

"Don't worry Ulysses, I'm sure he's fine. In the first match one of the team mates from Haven was buried in an avalanche from the mountain arena and he's ready to leave the hospital in the next couple of days." Chris' words seemed to ease Ulysses, but he still wasn't fully convinced. "Seriously, he's going to be okay. Anyway, we've got other things to worry about like who's going through to the next round."

"Well you can count me out. I'm not interested in any more fighting." Chris turned toward Lauren with a raised eyebrow

"Out of all of us I thought you would have been the best choice to go forward. Why don't you want to?"

"As I said, not interested. We've proven a point that we can work well as a team and that we can handle ourselves in a proper fight, so I don't think I've got anything else to prove myself."

"What about gaining a victory for Beacon? For Vale?"

"What about it?"

"You're not concerned over that?" Lauren shrugged

"Nope. This whole tournament is just so each kingdom can show off, flex their hunter muscles and eventually one can feel superior over the others when they win. At least for two years then it all happens again." The other three remained silent for a while until Andrew spoke up

"Wow… didn't know you were so anti-kingdom. I might have something I like about you after all." After only a moment he added "Still hate you though." Lauren suddenly threw a bread roll at Andrew's head then laughed as he was momentarily stunned.

"If we can resume the serious topic of conversation children." Chris did not seem amused over the pair but they all calmed down. "Good, so I take it that you're out then?" He said looking at Lauren.

"Indeed."

"Fine so it's between us three then." Chris looked over Andrew and Ulysses.

"If she's really out then I guess I'm happy with either of you two, knowing that I won't have to fight alongside her is a pleasing thought."

"Andrew. Please stop saying things like that about Lauren." Andrew sighed at Ulysses

"Come on mate, you know we hate each other."

"Loath is more along the right lines." Lauren piped up as she was eating her food.

"Thanks, loath. Definitely loath but we are fine together. It works between us." Once again Ulysses was not to impressed with the response, but he didn't say anymore.

"You want to go to the next round Andrew?" The question came from Chris and Andrew suddenly felt like he really did want to go into the next round. He hadn't thought about it before now as he wasn't even sure if they would pass the first stage.

"Yeah… I'd like to put my hat into the ring."

"Why doesn't that surprise me." Once again Lauren tried to speak while eating hoping to get a rise out of Andrew.

"Well I'm okay with that. You were capable of fighting two guys at once in the last match, so the doubles wouldn't be so bad for you. Just don't get cocky, your next opponents will be much more difficult."

"Don't worry, I'll keep a level head."

"Good, now all you need is a partner…" After looking at Ulysses, Chris smiled and gave a single nod. "Ulysses, you should do it." Ulysses went pale and froze.

"Me…." He took several deep breaths "Me…"

"Yes. You two should be the ones to go through."

"Why not you?!"

"Because I think I've done what I needed to do in this tournament and this could be good for you."

"You cannot be serious! Compared to you two I am not even on a comparable level of skill."

"You're much better than you think Ulysses. You saved me in the last match and you have the advantage that you're suit, and abilities can be altered from match to match. They could be facing a completely different guy to the one they saw before."

"But what if I cause us to lose the match?"

"You won't." Andrew's voice broke the conversation between the pair.

"How can you be so sure?" Ulysses asked him

"Because I just know."

"That is not very logical or conclusive. It should be you and Chris." Chris shook his head

"As I said, I've taken what I needed from this. I've tried my leadership skills in combat and the next two rounds won't be as effective at honing that for me. Also…" Chris looked briefly at Andrew "I think you'll be a lot better at keeping him on track." Andrew quickly stuck his middle finger up at Chris.

"I am not sure I could do this." Ulysses still wasn't sure about the choice.

"You can. You are a member of team CULA, you made it through to your second year and you got the most stubborn ass-hole I've ever met to work as a part of this team. If anyone can with win the next round as his partner then its certainly you." Ulysses looked round the group, both Lauren and Andrew gave him a reassuring smile and Chris nodded in approval. With a deep breath Ulysses finally answered.

"If you are all sure then I will accept, I will fight in the doubles round." The Three of them made a cheer and Andrew put his arm around Ulysses' shoulders.

"This is going to be great! We've got this in the bag!" However, Ulysses was looking rather nervous so Andrew said. "Hay it doesn't matter if we win or lose, this is just a competition. It's not like it's a real-world mission so there's no need to be so concerned?"

"I just do not want to let you all down." The look on Ulysses face almost made Andrew feel depressed so he shook him gently.

"Not possible I'm afraid Ulysses because that's my job, you just focus on working your brilliant mind and I'll do the heavy lifting. Trust me you'll always be fine when I've got your back."

The next day Andrew and Chris watched team ACKE in their match against a team from Haven and during the match Andrew observed their manoeuvres. The team were good, in Andrew's opinion they were really good which did make him wonder what would happen if they had to face each other in the tournament later.

One of the things that he noticed was that each member of the team acted in unison with each other in a way that defied logic, like precognition and after a while Andrew realised what was going on. Carissa was using her semblance, her telepathy, to co-ordinate with the others which meant that their opponents wouldn't be able to hear them and plan against it. Even though Andrew was impressed by that he was more fascinated with Arthur and his semblance called Ancestral Memory which allowed him to delve into his blood line and use any of his ancestor's combat styles at will. Seeing him switch between all these in seconds made watching him fight both fascinating and terrifying making Andrew feel even more uneasy about facing them in the tournament.

"Crap, they're amazing."

"Yeah they are. Wonder if they wouldn't mind doing some training with us?" Andrew glanced over at Chris.

"Could have done with that before this all started."

"Ha! They got you that worried now? What if they send Carissa through to the doubles? What if she ends up in the finals? That could make things REALLY interesting." Andrew shuddered

"I hope that doesn't happen, I really don't want to end up fighting her at some point. It could make our relationship interesting afterwards."

"That's true, if you win then you're a woman beater but if she wins then you are whipped. Either way you lose." The comment was played as a joke and even as Andrew hit Chris in the shoulder, he wondered what could really happen if that fight came to be.

"Can I withdraw from the doubles?"

"HA! Nope! All done and dusted now so you'll just have to suck it up and except it." The sigh that came from Andrew afterwards made Chris laugh again. "Ah don't sulk, I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Meh, I guess it's a long shot. I think one of us would be out before we ended up in a fight."

"We'll just have to wait and see." Chris smiled as Andrew shook his head in annoyance but carried on watching the match while he cheered for his friends.

When ACKE won the match Andrew could just about hear the cheers from his school mates over his own cheering but there were a lot of boo's coming from the crowd and many of them aimed at Carissa for being a Faunus. He was about to stand up and march up into the crowd in a fit of rage but was stopped by Chris grabbing his arm.

"Don't do it."

"You want me to just sit back and let them insult them?!"

"Yes! You cause a scene and you'll only make it worse."

"You can hear them too! You can't say that you're fine with this?!"

"Of course I'm not but you picking a fight with the Atlas public isn't going to help anybody! Please calm down, you'll only make things far worse for her." With a growl Andrew replied

"This is stupid, because I want to defend my friends, my girlfriend, I'm in the wrong?"

"We're in Atlas, unfortunately this is the norm so don't push it. Come on let's go, we've seen what we needed to see so let's get out of here." They left the arena immediately after team ACKE left the battle floor and Chris decided that Andrew needed to cool off before he did something that everyone else would regret. Andrew didn't agree with Chris, but his team mate didn't give him any choice as he almost ordered Andrew back to their temporary dorm room. When he arrived, he opened the door to find that he wasn't alone.

"Oh, you're here. Guess I won't get any peace and quiet then." Lauren was blow drying her hair but stopped when she saw Andrew.

"Hi sulky, can you be miserable somewhere else? I'm getting ready to go out and can't be arsed with you right now."

"And you think I want to be here? I'm only here on team leaders' orders with added punishment of being with you."

"The fact you take orders from him make me like Chris even more." Andrew's unamused face made Lauren smile. "What happened?"

"Argh. I just don't like these people from Atlas."

"Oh that's a shocker! You don't like something! Tell me is there anything you do actually like?" Andrew made a murmuring noise and went over to his bed.

"I like Carissa and I don't like it when people say awful things about her because she was born a Faunus." There was a pause "Why do we have to hate each other? Humans and Faunus, it makes no difference what we are, we are all living beings so there's no difference, but some people just can't see that."

"Aww its nice to hear you sticking up for her, but you don't have to tell me this, I'm already on your side."

"Great… somehow that makes me feel worse."

"Just doing my job!" with a sigh Andrew then asked

"Where are you going? Actually, more importantly WHEN are you going?"

"I'm going out with Ulysses, we're going into Atlas properly to see the sights."

"Really, you wouldn't find that boring?"

"Between that and being stuck here with you, I know which one I'd choose. Besides its not the sights I'm interested in." Andrew suddenly found himself smiling just a little bit.

"Right, well enjoy yourself and don't tease him too much. Ulysses deserves better than that." Lauren scoffed

"What do you mean tease him?"

"Well you always act clingy with Ulysses so I just thought you were playing with him, you know teasing him." Lauren didn't change her expression. "That's what everyone thought not just me." She turned away, grabbed a hair brush and began to brush her hair all the while leaving Andrew's statement hanging in the air. He started to feel uneasy about the fact she was so quiet but just as he was going ask what she was doing she spoke

"Did you know that every guy I've met while being at Beacon has either hit on me or asked me out?"

"Erm… no."

"Yep, even your buddy Qrow asked me out on a date when we met. You may like him, but I wasn't impressed."

"Fair enough but I think you two would have made a cute couple." Andrew was joking and Lauren knew instantly as she scoffed at the thought of being with Qrow.

"It gets really annoying."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Yeah, they all see me and the first thing they do is start thinking with their dicks."

"I doubt that is entirely true." Lauren raised her eyebrow.

"I know what they want."

"Can you blame them, I know I find you insufferable and on rare occasions the embodiment of annoyance, but I can say you don't look… unsightly." Lauren gave a brief chuckle.

"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Don't get used to it." Andrew groaned with a half-arsed smile.

"Aww thanks, you're not such an ugly bastard yourself." She replied which caused Andrew to laugh for a moment. "When it comes to things like that, I'm not really a big fan of…it."

"It?" he asked but before she could say anything he realised what she was getting at. "Oh it! Is this because of…" Andrew tailed off as a wave of shame went over Lauren's face and he remembered what she had once told him about her past, about what the bandits who had captured her did to her. After a few moments of silence Lauren's face changed back to her normal face

"All those guys at Beacon just see a girl they could bed and all I see is the same bandits that took me."

"It's okay, please don't say any more." Being someone who struggled with his own past, he didn't want Lauren to have a similar problem recounting hers. It was strange though because Lauren always seemed more adjusted with it and had come to terms with what had happened whereas he couldn't bare thinking about it for a single moment.

"Because of that I swore off it forever. Man or woman, I never wanted to experience it again or even be with anyone."

"I understand."

"Before I came to Beacon the few boys I met after David saved me all tried the same thing. They wanted me to be their girl and I never wanted to "belong" to someone again." Andrew nodded "Until…"

"Until?"

"I met Ulysses. When I met him, he treated me like a person, like a normal girl and he had no intention of wanting to be with me. He was just being nice because that's the kind of person he is and the more I got to know him, the more I started to like him. After a while I started to want to be with him but he's so innocent that he'd never do or say anything about it."

"Really? He's not got a clue? Seriously?"

"I never hid how I felt, he just thinks I'm being nice. He treats me like a person not an object." With a sigh she said, "It's nice to be seen as someone and not something again." Once more Andrew began to feel sorry for her

"You really should just tell him, he's a great guy but he's not so smart when it comes to certain subjects like dating."

"You're really giving me relationship advice? After what happened between you and Carissa?"

"Hay, we're together now aren't we? I asked her out knowing it was a risk, I think you should try with Ulysses?"

"Why do you care?" she asked, and Andrew took a deep breath

"Because he's my best friend and deserves to be with someone who cares about him. I'm even going to admit that a crazy idiot like you will be good enough for him because of what I saw in our match with team WEST."

"Oh that thing in the middle of the fight…" she looked away "I didn't lie and I wasn't putting on a show before you say anything else."

"Well I heard you in the arena, in fact I think everyone heard you in the whole world when you protected him. Although I never heard you say it quite like that before but it's the first time I thought you were genuine. I just marked it as you playing the joke really well to mess with him though like always, however after what you just told me then yeah… I think I can accept that." Lauren chuckled

"Are you telling me I have your permission to ask him out?"

"Ahh… I suppose." She laughed again.

"Okay, not that I needed it but it makes me happy knowing you'd be fine with it although I didn't think you'd be acting this protective over him."

"I'd die for him." Her face was shocked at the response and the speed of its delivery.

"That's a little over the top. Oh who am I kidding you're always over the top, I shouldn't have thought otherwise."

"He never gave up on me, he's someone who this world sorely needs so I'm not letting him suffer if I can prevent it."

"Ha! So what you're saying is that him being with me wouldn't be suffering! That's all I need to know, you can't say anything against it now that you've flat out admitted it!" Andrew blinked then after a few moments to think he realise he had, in a roundabout way admitted that even though Lauren drove him around the twist, it wouldn't be bad for them to date.

"Crap…"

"Hahaha this is perfect! Now you can't say anything against us and have to smile and nod!" as she looked at him she then lost her ecstatic face. "Crap, this also means I can't see you get pissed off because you're okay with it… well that sucks." Now Andrew laughed

"That's true! So, we both got what we wanted but can't piss the other off about it, stalemate."

"I think we'd better decide one of us won or we might be in danger of getting along! Yuck!"

"That'll never happen remember, we loath each other."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." The pair smiled and just as Andrew was about to move Lauren simply said, "Thank you." Andrew didn't need to ask why and nodded once to show he'd acknowledged it. Lauren then carried on getting ready for a while as Andrew lay on his bed with his hands behind his head and for a while there was silence. Until after about ten minutes Lauren said

"You know, out of everyone I've met, there was only one other person who treated me differently. Like a person and didn't start with any cheesy chat up lines."

"Who was that?" Andrew asked Lauren from across the room then felt a deodorant bottle hit him in the chest causing him to sit up straight.

"The guy who will always remain sulky to me." Andrew paused for a moment then followed with a sigh.

"How could I forget about that. I was just pissed at you, so somethings never change. At the time it was for… erm… I forget. What was the problem again?" After everything that had happened in the time since he'd forgotten the very reason for their unusual relationship.

"Well if you've forgotten then I'm not going to remind you." Lauren said which made Andrew chuckle.

"I think I'd better remember, can't be pissed at you for no reason or it'll just be weird."

"It's already weird… but it's a weird that I really like between us. Everyone thinks that we really hate each other and wonder how we can be on the same team."

"Well we do hate each other, don't we? I mean we've never got along and since we first met all we do is annoy and piss each other off, most of the time."

"Oh, I know. One day when you least expect it I'm going to get you back for all those times you put your barriers up right in front of my face when I'm walking!" Andrew burst out laughing.

"HA! That always brightens my day. So what are you going to do as payback? Dye my hair a stupid colour? Put super glue in my underwear or are you just going to cut off an appendage by "accident". Lauren contemplated each one and then shook her head.

"Nah, nothing like those. I'll probably just use a wind blast to knock you off Beacon cliff when we get back." After a pause they both then suddenly laughed.

"Good luck with that!"

"Thanks! I'm going to need it, you're such a heavy bastard that I might have to make another tornado just to get you off the ground!" Lauren then paused for a moment and said "Andrew can I ask you to promise me something…" Andrew tilted his head in surprise

"I guess but what is it?"

"Never change, as crazy as it sounds I like us being like this. You know, the whole playful hate thing."

"Really? Playful hate? You like how we treat each other?"

"I do. It's something that's just ours, something that makes our relationship special." Andrew still wasn't sure what she was going on about and got up off his bed.

"You think we have a relationship? Okay… fine I'll except we do but still, you want us to continue doing this? I would have thought you'd make me promise that I'd treat you better?" She smiled and shook her head at the same time.

"No. I don't want that." Before Andrew could ask another question, she was already answering it. "You remind me so much of my brother." Andrew suddenly felt his mind go blank. "We were always on each other's nerves, from the moment we could both walk. Having you like this makes me feel like he's still here, looking out for me."

"Oh…" he was speechless. This sudden and completely unexpected confession had taken him by surprise and now he didn't know what to do about this. But he eventually knew what he needed to say, "I promise that for as long as I'm breathing, I'll always do my best to cause you as much irritation as possible and be a constant pain in your ass." Lauren made a short laugh that soon turned into a sob as she walked over to him and flung her arms around him while he put his arms around her and for once in their lives Andrew and Lauren showed how much they really meant to each other. After a few minutes they let each other go,

"Right, I'm going to leave you to it Lauren. I'm feeling hungry and I'm hoping that ramen store at the festival ground is still open. See you later." Andrew gave her a wave and turned to leave.

"Enjoy yourself, see you when I see you." As Andrew got close to the door, he reached out his hand to turn the door handle but as he did Lauren decided to something first. She created a strong enough wind gust that made Andrew shoot forward and smack into the door he was about to open. when he backed away trying to comprehend what had happened, he then misplaced his feet and felt himself fall to the floor, so he reached out to steady himself. As he did, he grabbed a shelf that wasn't secure, and he fell regardless whilst also knocking it of the wall as well as causing everything on it to crash on top of him afterwards. When the disturbance had finished, Lauren heard a single "Ouch" from under the pile of items covering Andrew's head and began to laugh hysterically.

"Oh gods! That went so much better than I planned!" Andrew moved a book off his face and stared daggers back at her.

"Well it might be someone else that'll go for a flying lesson of beacon cliff when we get back" His voice showed he was not amused but her laughter was so loud that he wasn't sure if she even heard him. Because of this he saw no reason in arguing the point and got up for the door, having better success in leaving on his second attempt, leaving Lauren to enjoy her victory."

For the next week the first rounds of the tournament continued and before they knew it the doubles stage was soon underway. Andrew and Ulysses were not called up in the first three days so were able to enjoy the matches while watching the victors for weaknesses that they could exploit in the finals. When they were at last called up to fight, it was against a team from Haven Academy called Team SOLZ (Souls) and Andrew was annoyed that they were from a team he'd not seen so couldn't properly prepare for it.

As Andrew and Ulysses were getting ready to enter the arena, Andrew turned to his partner.

"What did you decided to go with in the end?"

"I chose the circular blades and my improvised pulse cannon."

"Damn. I didn't think that was ready?"

"I have tested it and it works quite well. It should do fine." Andrew smiled

"If you made it then I've got no doubt. Come on, let's get out there."

As they walked out into the arena, Andrew tried to eye up their opponents, but they hadn't come out just yet but after only a minute they suddenly emerge from their entry way and stood opposite them. Looking at the two opponents from team SOLZ made Andrew double take as from what he had heard about the team these two were brothers but couldn't be any more different from each other. The larger one of the pair was Smithe Miyazaki who looked like a weird combination of overweight and muscular that made his almost bold round head look rather small in comparison to his body. He worn plated golden armour and, in his hands, he held his weapon that he had called the "Executioner" which was a massive two headed hammer with one side larger than the other.

Standing next to Smithe in a much more casual stance was Oliver Miyazaki, he was smaller, thin and leaner than his brother with much lighter looking leather armour. His red hair was all stuck up and blown back looking more like from his facial expression that he was about to go on a fair ground ride as he twirled his weapon in one hand in the form of a small dagger called "Dragon Slayer".

"They do not seem to look like brothers to me." Andrew whistled out a deep breath

"I have to agree but according to the team roster they are."

"Unless they are twins they cannot be on the same team so how have they done this?" Before Andrew could make a guess, they were interrupted by their opponents.

"We are twins if you must know." Oliver called out which made both Ulysses and Andrew blink in surprise. "You ever hear of mirror twins? Well that's us." Oliver looked pretty smug with his explanation, but it seemed to annoy Smithe.

"Stop talking to our opponents." Oliver chuckled as he hit Smithe in the arm.

"I was just being friendly, don't be such an ass brother."

"Just don't forget that we need to beat these guys, not take them out for lunch." This made Oliver laugh out loud.

"No problem there, they'll be down and out before they even know what hit them." Andrew scoffed

"Don't be so sure about, we don't go down easy." Now Smithe laughed

"Don't be stupid, your little pal there looks like he could be knocked down by a slight breeze." Ulysses looked down at the ground and sighed which made Andrew start to become angry.

"Then that'll make you look like a real weakling when he buries you in the dirt." Smithe's smile turned evil.

"We'll just see about that."

"Looks like this is going to be a good fight." Oliver said as he span his dagger in the air and caught it with his other hand whilst Ulysses leaned into Andrew.

"Do you think we can win this? Even with me as your partner?" Andrew patted Ulysses on the shoulder

"Damn right we can, don't let them put you down. You focus on Oliver and let me deal with that mass of arrogance, he won't be so conceited when I knock him down a peg or two." The arena then came to life as the sections were selected, and they became geyser fields, ruins, mountain and long grass. Then the announcers began the count down and as soon as the match began, Andrew was unprepared with what happened next.

Oliver came flying at him so fast that he didn't have time to grab his axe and just had to take the hit from the dagger which sparked with electricity sending a jolt of pain through him and making him stumble backwards.

"Andrew!" Ulysses cried out

"Don't worry about him small fry!" and with an earth-shattering crash, Smithe's hammer destroyed the centre of the arena and causing Ulysses to leap into the air towards the long grass. He activated Tattie Bogal and his buzz saw attachments and waited for the much slower Smithe to run over to him.

Andrew had just about got stable on his feet and pulled out his axe from his holster on his back and blocked the next series of blows from Oliver's dagger. Unlike the other opponents that Andrew had faced in his life, Oliver was different simply because he utilised speed to such a degree over strength to a point where some of his moves were so quick Andrew didn't know where the attack would hit until it hit him.

"Thought so! You the strong and slow type! Easy!" Oliver was smiling the same smile he began with the whole time they were fighting. This was starting to annoy Andrew as he raised his axe to start his attack and after swinging it several times at Oliver his annoyance grew as none of his attacks even came close to hitting him.

"Oh dear! Losing your cool are we." Oliver skilfully avoided each swing from Andrew's axe and when an opening presented itself, jabbed back with his dagger. After a few of these, Andrew jumped back to reassess the fight and look at his aura levels which to his surprise he hadn't taking that much damage.

You might be quick, but it'll take you all day to whittle me down. Now that he knew his opponent wasn't capable of landing an affective blow he decided to change his tactic, he needed to stop Oliver from moving about so much and luckily, he had something that would do that nicely.

"Right, let's fight for real now." He called out to Oliver who raised his dagger.

"If you think you can."

As Smithe continued to swing his mighty hammer over and over causing immense damage to the long grass arena, Ulysses assessed his opponent. He knew that Smithe was strong but had no speed to land a blow on him for when he was using his enhanced E.X.O suit he was too fast for his opponent. After a decidedly powerful hit destroyed a part of the ground, debris flew up into the air and Ulysses rolled back to avoid any of it hitting him. He expected for the dirt and rocks to begin raining upon him but it never did so he stood up to see what had happened and saw an unusual sight as all of the debris was just floating in the air around Smithe

"That is fascinating. How are you doing that?"

"I'll tell you when you wake up." With that Smithe began hitting each rock in the air around him with his hammer sending them hurtling at Ulysses who used his buzz saw blades to obliterate each one as it came towards him. After a few of these Ulysses was feeling confident that he could maintain this defence but as he destroyed the last rock, Smithe came charging through the dust and smacked him with his hammer. The force of the impact knocked Ulysses clean off his feet causing him to roll backwards several times ending with him flat on his back. Happy with his attack Smithe smiled and rested his hammer over his shoulder

"Warned you little man." He then turned around and looked over to Oliver and Andrew who were still fighting, with a chuckle he started to march off. As he was about to say something he felt a force hit him in the back and fell with a hard thud to the ground with his chin taking an especially hard hit. He growled and rolled over to see what was going on, catching sight of Ulysses standing tall with a pulse cannon sitting on his shoulder.

"I would prefer you kept your attention on me for the time being."

"You'll regret that small fry!" And in a flash Smithe had pushed himself back to his feet, ready to resume his fight with Ulysses.

Meanwhile Andrew was putting his plan into action, he knew that he couldn't catch up with Oliver but he did know that if he could trap him then he could hit him. Andrew started his next series of attacks with his axe and just as he thought Oliver kept his distance and danced around him so he put up his barriers as a box around him. After one such attack Oliver tried to jump out of the way and crashed into an invisible wall, stunning him and allowing the time for Andrew to set up his comeback as he threw a punch into Oliver's gut and pushing him into the rear wall of his barrier box to increase the impact. He only held it for a second and then released it so that Oliver would stumble and fall to the ground.

"Son of a…" Oliver wheezed then flipped back to his feet and Andrew could tell he was trying to figure out what happened. Andrew went in for his next attack and once more Oliver tried his best to move around it but as he sidestepped he hit another barrier and fell forward right into an uppercut from Andrew. This time there was no barrier for him to crash into as he flew up into the air and back into geyser field.

"Right… whatever you're doing, it's getting old." Oliver was losing his smug tone and was quite clearly starting to become angry.

"Well stop bouncing around and I won't have to block you."

"Oh yeah just let you hit me, that's a sound strategy." Oliver span his dagger around just as one of the geysers erupted blocking him from view. As Andrew readied himself with his axe, Oliver burst through the mist and drew his arm back for an attack which Andrew started to prepare for. Suddenly the dagger extended into a long spear which Andrew wasn't ready for and the attack hit him in his left shoulder, sending a massive jolt of electricity into him causing him to cry out in pain.

"See, I've got some tricks up my sleeve too!" Andrew merely laughed back at him through his pain. "What? You find this funny?"

"Nah, I just forget that people don't know that me and pain are really close buddies." With Oliver standing over him he grabbed the spear and using a correctly placed barrier snap under his hands, created enough force to push the spear off him and force Oliver to fall backwards under the strength of the push. The snapping sound that was created by his barrier was very close to his ear and momentarily deafened him whilst also throwing out his equilibrium as he gingerly stood up and grabbed his axe from when it had fallen. Now both were back on their feet and giving each other a cautious look.

"Fine I think we've finished playing around now." Oliver checked his aura level briefly and then looked over to Smithe who was still having problems landing his hits. "I think it's time bro!" Suddenly Smithe stopped his attack and sighed.

"About time!" In a split second Smithe began glowing blue and at the same time Oliver started glowing yellow. After only a couple of seconds they then both turned green which only served in confusing Andrew into what was going on.

"Nice colour show? Can we get back to this match?" Oliver smiled

"Sure, it won't take much longer now." In his usual speedy moves, he was back in close range with Andrew who once again was just a little too slow to stop the first strike. Unfortunately, this was a costly mistake as the hit with the spear had immensely more power and force behind it, so much so that Andrew couldn't keep his stance and was flung several feet backwards. When he composed himself he shook his head in shock.

"That was different from before." As he wondered what was happening when the commentators answered his confused mind.

"And now the Miyazaki brothers are using their one of a kind joint semblance. Smithe's "Brothers Grace" and Oliver's "Brothers Might" which allows them to gain the others power. It really is something special and makes them formidable together."

"Great now he's as strong as Smithe as well as being fast." With a sigh he gripped his axe in one hand "Just when I thought this would be fun." Not willing to give up he ran back to Oliver knowing that his opponent now had the strength to inflict the damage he would need to win this fight. When the two locked weapons, Andrew tired to use his weight to break the deadlock but he underestimated how much stronger Oliver was now who simply smiled at his attempt.

"Aww, I'm not so easy now am I?"

"Still too talkative." Andrew then brought his knee up into Oliver's gut which broke the stalemate which almost saw Andrew collapse onto of him. Oliver stumbled backwards and used his spear to steady himself.

"That was a dirty move!"

"No such thing in a fight." Andrew tried once again to hit Oliver with a flurry of attacks and just as before none of them connected. After one swing, Oliver span around behind him and using his spear more like a bat struck him across his back sending him flying forward with a jolt of electricity shooting through his bones.

This just got a whole lot harder

Andrew span around and raised his axe at a very unimpressed Oliver who smiled as he leaned on his spear. He thought about trying his barrier box again, but the extended reach of Oliver's weapon meant he wouldn't be able to get close enough and he doubted it would work again anyway. He took a deep breath and decided that he needed to end this quick. Using another barrier snap this time under his feet he leapt forward at a height Oliver wasn't expecting and landed his attack that hit Oliver's spear. Although with Oliver's enhanced strength he took the hit without budging, move his spear in a way that Andrew's axe slid to the ground under his weight and left him open. This was followed be Oliver spinning his spear several times and each spin connected with Andrew's head. Once he was finished he lined up a hit and charged his spear with electricity that then connected with Andrew's chest in a flash and crash that caused Andrew to hurtle into the ruins area, the impact was loud and the ruin he hit then collapsed on top of him.

"Got ya!" Oliver was pleased with his attack when he saw that Andrew wasn't coming out of the rubble and walked calmly over to Smithe.

"Looks like it just you now small fry. If you want to give up now before my brother gets here, then I'll accept your surrender." For a moment Ulysses paused and looked at where Andrew had landed, expecting him to emerge from the rubble but nothing happened so he turned back to Smithe and took a fighting stance.

"I will not surrender. Doing so would insult my team, my friends, who trusted me to win this for them." He wanted to go and see if Andrew was okay but knew that he would need to deal with both Smithe and Oliver before he could do that.

"You may look weak, but I can't fault your resolve. Unfortunately, I won't go easy on you, in fact now I think I'll be a bit tougher knowing you can take it." He grasped his hammer firmly in his hands just as Oliver had reached them.

"You got this one brother, or do you need a hand?" Oliver called out as Smithe grunted

"Just get him. We can't take any chances, watch out though he's a tricky git." Before Oliver could respond Ulysses fired a concentrated pulse from his cannon at him which pushed Oliver away. He stuck his spear into the ground to stop him from being flown away, while this was happening Smithe charged over to Ulysses and brought his hammer down on him. The impact sent Ulysses into the air even though it didn't hit him, and He finally figured out what was going on with Smithe's hammer.

"It has gravity defying dust crystals in it. That is impressive! I should do something like that with my suit!" Ulysses landed firmly on his feet and took an evaluation of his opponents; his aura was higher than theirs but combined he was fighting a fresh combatant again. He then looked at Andrew's aura level which was still in play, but he wasn't moving from the ruins he was buried in so could have been knocked unconscious.

"Wow, he's got some good tech in that thing." Oliver was getting himself ready to fight as Smithe pulled his hammer from the ground.

"Told you, don't underestimate him." The brothers then started to split up and walk each side of Ulysses and force him to fight on two sides. Ulysses already knowing this was their plan ran straight for Oliver with his buzz blades spinning, when he was close to Oliver he started his attack as Smithe charge for him again. Just as Ulysses began the fight he activated his pulse cannon again and kept it on Smithe who slowed to a crawl as he tried to reach them.

"You're bold, not even worried about taking both of us on?"

"I cannot be, I will not let them down. No matter what you do."

"Nice words. But unless words can win a fight they're meaningless." Oliver and Ulysses continued to brawl, and Oliver was amazed at how well Ulysses kept up with his speed and strength. He knew it all came from the suit, so it was a key strength of his but also a massive weakness for if it was shut down he could no longer fight. Oliver flipped back from the fight and used his spear to unleash an electrical blast at Ulysses, forcing him to move and disengage his cannon from Smithe. Ulysses did but then fired his pulse cannon at Oliver sending him into the air but as he did Smithe used his hammer to hit Ulysses, sending him over to the geyser fields. Once Ulysses was stable again he saw Smithe catch Oliver with one hand and then carry him on his shoulder as he walked over.

When they got close Oliver jumped over Ulysses as Smithe ran up to him to once again try to fight him on two sides so Ulysses tried to use the terrain to his advantage as he moved to keep a geyser between him and one of them at any time. He found Smithe to be more predictable as he always just swung his hammer with as much force as he could muster whereas Oliver appeared to think more in the fight. He figured all this out as he fought them, he got a few good hits on them but nothing to drastic as he didn't have time to focus on one for the other was then on top of him. As he moved around a geyser it went off and hid Smithe from him, so he aimed his attacks at Oliver, trying to get a hit off. However, Smithe now made use of the geyser by aiming the head of his hammer at it and activated the gravity dust, causing the geyser the turn at a right angle straight at Ulysses. The hot water fired at such a high pressure that Ulysses couldn't stop himself from being pushed back and take damage to his aura.

"Right. He is not just a brawler." He looked at his aura level and then Oliver's and Smithe's level, he had taken them both down considerably, but they had also been able to damage him in return.

"Ready to give in yet?" Smithe asked

"No."

"Have it your way then." Out of no where Oliver appeared in a flash and smashed Ulysses into Smithe who them hit him away into the middle of the arena. The hits knock his aura down dangerously low as he lay face down on the arena floor hoping he could still turn this around but as he pushed himself up he felt something strike him in the back. The noise of sparking electronics coming from behind him causes his body to turn cold as his suit quickly started to become unresponsive.

"Oh no! No I cannot let this…happen… Oh please just MOVE!" He barely got back on his knees when his suit fully shut down. He could just turn his head to see that Oliver's spear was sticking out of his backpack which served as his power pack. He tried his hardest to move but nothing would respond and if he deactivated his suit then he was out of the tournament, he simply couldn't let that happen but couldn't think of a way around it. In his panicked stated it took him a while to hear the footsteps behind him from Oliver and Smithe.

"I think that's the match small fry." Ulysses contained is frustration at his current situation.

"Sorry mate, you put up a real good fight but its over, just say you surrender because we really don't want to have to hurt you anymore." Oliver said as he pulled his spear from Ulysses back and walked around to face him with Smithe. Ulysses looked up at them and as his lip began to tremble he said.

"I will not surrender. I will not disgrace my team." Smithe chuckled

"If you weren't trembling so much I'd be impressed. Better luck next time pal" as Smithe lifted his hammer, Oliver raised his spear and Ulysses closed his eyes waiting for the attack to come but it didn't. He eventually opened his eyes to see that both were frozen in place and they looked just as surprised as he was.

"Ouch…" Andrew started to pick himself up and rubbed his face "That really hurt, hope I'm not out of this." Looking at his aura level showed he was still in this but if he took another hit like that then he wouldn't be, so he needed to watch his opponents more carefully. He didn't want to put everything on Ulysses to win the match, it wouldn't be fair seeing as they should be partners in this. Moving the rubble off him he stood up and twisted his neck, waiting for an audible crack that would ease his crooked neck after that last hit. When it did he smiled and rotated his shoulder a few times and felt ready for another go at Oliver but when he finally got around to surveying the battlefield he saw that both Oliver and Smithe had Ulysses on his knees.

"Don't you bloody dare!" He thought for a moment about putting a barrier round Ulysses but that wouldn't help when they would come for him, so he needed a better plan. He needed to think quickly but nothing was coming to mind, he wasn't about to let Ulysses get hurt because he got sucker punched. Suddenly they both raised their weapons and Andrew froze, without thinking he sent out a barrier but not around Ulysses, around Smithe and Oliver.

He outstretched both his arms and encased each of them in a separate barrier that they couldn't move in, effectively turning them into statues. Even as he did this he knew that creating two barriers at the same time wasn't something he should do but there was no way to encase them both in one single barrier and not catch Ulysses in the middle. As he did this he immediately felt pain start to travel up his arms from his hands, it was like a severe burning sensation that only got more intense the longer his held both barriers up. As quickly as he could he picked them both up and brought them up to him in the ruins, their faces frozen in shock trying to comprehend what was happening. When they were in front of him, Andrew took a deep breath to try and take his mind off the pain.

"No one picks on my best friend, got it. NO ONE!" he threw then both away from him at speed and remove the barriers from them, only then noting that his arms were steaming from under his armour. Smithe landed with a crash into the centre of the arena while Oliver flew further away into the mountain zone, hitting the mountain head on. Andrew then started to charge up his axe with as much of his barrier power as he could muster and leapt from the ruins, he rolled on impact with the ground and when ready he unleashed his barrier slash at Smithe who took it full force causing him to yell on impact as it took him along for a ride towards Oliver. Oliver had got himself out of the mountain and had just turned back to face the battle while he wobbled on his feet, still trying to figure out what had happened when he notice Smithe scream as he hurtled towards him. Oliver was about to move but was not as stable on his feet and lost his balance, the next thing he knew Smithe had crashed into him and then the pair of them carried on into the mountain. The impact from the attack destroyed a sizeable part of the mountain and embedded both of them into the rock with Oliver being crushed between Smithe and the rocks. This made the mountain unstable and the whole thing started to crumble around them and Andrew watched as their aura levels depleted into almost nothing to which he sighed with relief.

"That was close." He said as he looked at his arms, steam still emanating from them and the pain they were causing him was excruciating but he didn't cry out, merely made a face showing his discomfort.

"Andrew that was amazing! Thank you for your assistance!" Ulysses had deactivated his suit and had come running up to him but only when he was close enough to him did he notice something wrong. "Andrew are you okay?" Andrew gave a shaken breath before he spoke

"I need to get my armour off." He said in a voice that was trying to be calm while hiding his agony. Ulysses moved over to him and went to remove his armour when he saw the steam coming from his forearms.

"Andrew!"

"I know, just help me take them off." Ulysses quickly unbuckled Andrew's gantlets and when he had done it, Andrew let his arms drop causing the armour to slide off. His arms were still covered in his black under shirt, but it looked damp although his hands were more troubling as they appeared to have been scalded. They were red and wet with small areas of skin already peeling away leaving behind the raw wounds open to the air, there were also blotches of brown were the affects were even more intense.

"What have you done to yourself?!"

"Just being reckless…" Andrew tried to joke unconvincingly "I think I need to get to the nurse's station." Ulysses nodded frantically

"You certainly do! Come on, this way!" and Ulysses led Andrew away from the arena, from all the cries of the audience and the commentators end of match round up. All this noise passed Andrew by as the pain from his arms was so bad that he feared if he didn't force himself to keep moving, he could have passed out then and there.

"Chris is going to be livid with me…" he said under his breath as he knew the worst was yet to come.