I apologize for the painfully long hiatus, especially after leaving such a cliffhanger on the third chapter. I won't bore you with the standard excuses (lack of motivation, lack of time, etc.) but instead, just get on with the story.
Shen Woo charged forward angrily, releasing a feral scream. Duo Lon stood in mocking calm. Shen drew closer, closer, until Duo Lon gauged it to be close enough, whipping out his fists and catching Shen by surprise.
Except Shen wasn't there.
He had feinted attacking, tumbling behind his opponent as he sensed an attack. Shen, now safely to Duo Lon's back, grabbed his foe by the neck and slammed him into the ground. "I've learned a few tricks!" he roared triumphantly. Duo Lon snapped back up, making a few knife-hand strikes at Shen which were deftly blocked. After blocking a smack from Duo Lon's shoulder, Shen attempted to counter, but then found his face entangled in hair. He spluttered, and found himself being dragged forward. Duo Lon had wrapped his ponytail around his face, temporarily blinding and distracting him. He wasted no time, unleashing a series of blows, flowing from one attack to the next, ending his counter with a painful-looking double-palm to Shen's midsection, staggering him.
Shen was not to be outdone just yet, and made some space between him and his opponent. For several tense seconds, they played footsies, neither one closing the space for fear of it working against them. To break the silence, Duo Lon stomped his foot on the ground. It seemed to sink into the concrete floor, then resurface as Shen's feet, smacking him smartly in the shins, making him stumble, as well as pissing him off. He leapt off the ground, somersaulting forward, swinging his foot around and lashing it at his foe's head. Duo Lon, seeing this coming, blocked it. Shen landed from his vault, using the momentum to spin his other foot around in a hook kick, which Duo Lon managed to avoid at the last second. Then, Shen whipped his body around, bringing his fist in a downward hammer punch that found its mark quite clearly on Duo Lon's face. He slammed to the floor, recoiling from the blow. He was in trouble, and he knew it. He had to bring in someone with a little more power behind them. Rolling backwards, Duo Lon threw out a few more strikes, waving his arms elaborately, but they were little more than ruses. He had to get out. He ducked, sweeping his foot out and knocking Shen floorward, then got the hell out of dodge. In his stead, Benimaru leapt in, primed and ready to go.
Shen, now fairly bruised but unfazed, kipped up, swinging his fist up as he did. Benimaru sidestepped and gave him three swift kicks to the head and gut. Shen did his best to keep his mind straight, but knew he had bitten off more than he could chew. He coiled both of his fists and delivered a strong blow to Benimaru's abdomen, knocking him over. He ran back to his side of the "ring" and vaulted over a trash can, mostly because he wanted to.
In his stead, Ash Crimson came out. He had considered using Oswald to buy himself some more time, but he didn't want to get rusty, and still wasn't sure how much they could trust Oswald now that they were in the semifinals. He clenched his fists; green flame started flowing from his palms. He came out both guns blazing, lobbing bits of flame at Benimaru. His opponent gracefully rolled past the projectiles, face-to-face with their greatest foe. Ash, not to be dissuaded, hit Benimaru twice in the chest, then delivered an upwards blow to the chin, knocking him upwards. Ash followed with a graceful flip kick, green flames trailing behind. Benimaru's back hit the ground, finely singed.
Ash wasn't the only one with powers. Benimaru drew his hand back, a small bolt of lightning arcing into it and infusing it with thunder's power. He twisted forward and landed a solid blow on Ash's jaw, sending the lightning's energy with it. The two went blow-for-blow, and Ash decided that now would be the perfect time to play his first of several trump cards. He grouped his hands next to each other, creating a ball of green flame as large as his head. He tossed it, almost carelessly, and it began incinerating Benimaru, his shirt catching fire and his body and arms getting severely burned. He hit the deck and began rolling to put out the flames, and headed for home. He was stopped dead in his tracks by another lash of flames that bit his back. Benimaru hit the ground, barely moving; he was spent. Elizabeth, furious, began moving out, but a hand kept her back.
"Let me go." Duo Lon's ever-pliant voice inserted.
"But…"
"I'll soften him up for you. Just trust me."
Elizabeth, struck by this act of chivalry from a normally indifferent teammate, let him have his way. Duo Lon charged out, leapt up, against an alley wall, then propelled himself off of it, high in the air, befuddling Ash. Taking advantage of the confusion, Duo Lon delivered three spinning kicks, still in the air no less, to Ash. Ash, getting fairly annoyed, grabbed Duo Lon by the hair and delivered a hook punch, alight with green flame, to his gut. He then found his way back to his team, with Oswald finally joining the fray.
Duo Lon, wary of this new foe, put up his guard, trying to read his patterns, but was drawing blanks. His foe just inched closer, his hands sliding in and out of his suits and pockets. The two were almost face-to-face, and Duo Lon panicked slightly; he wondered if he had just let his opponent slip right into where he wanted to be. But there was no time for second guessing.
Whoosh.
A hand lashed out, stopping inches short of its mark on Duo Lon's face, yet it still stung. Duo Lon felt a trickle of blood on his cheek. Oswald was toying with him. Duo, attempting to not let himself get overwhelmed, began fighting back, but it was useless, the cards found their mark: a gash on the shoulder, a cut on the upper arm, a slash on the chest. The wounds were not very deep, they were made by cards, after all, but they stung, and Duo Lon had already been battered. He had had enough, and collapsed.
Finally, Elisabeth went in. Oswald gave a sweeping horizontal slash, but Elisabeth dashed under it and gave Oswald an uppercut so fierce that he was lifted off of the ground. Her small frame carried great power. Oswald twisted right-side up in mid-air and threw a card downward as he descended. Elisabeth batted it away with her riding crop, and swung her fist at him. They struggled, neither one able to gain ground. Elisabeth thrust her open palm forward, summoning small ice shards and slinging them at Oswald. They did their work, leaving several wounds. "Ice powers," he mused. "This is new."
Though Elisabeth could give a punch very well, she couldn't take them very well, and a few well-placed cards later, she was barely fit for fighting. In a final suicide of an attack, she vaulted toward Oswald, swinging her riding crop down. He saw this coming, quite blatantly, and swung his hand upward, slashing along Elisabeth's arm and chest and sending her tumbling awkwardly, still in the air. Oswald hopped up slightly, met her in the air, and in one painfully long motion, reared a card behind his back and struck downward greatly, gashing across Elisabeth's chest and sending her to the concrete with her teammates.
The match was decided.