-3-

Edited by Slightly Dazed Bystander

Vix Cole stands atop a nearby building. He'd witnessed the events that transpired during the first qualifier round. He wears a guilty expression as he stares into a diamond-like crystal, "I'm sorry that I had to use you as a distraction Norah, especially after what you went through." Vix laments. His stave is lying besides him.

"What's with the face?" Vix hears a monotone voice. Kai appears behind the lagomorph. A super turretus stands beside him. Vix notices thrusters aboard the silver and blue contraption, with some kind of handle atop the hull.

He must have flown here. Vix concludes.

"Nothing in particular," Vix insists, "Tell me, what happened to you in Shàobīng?"

"If I tell you, would you answer me the exact same question regarding you and the Móshù shī?" Kai counters. Clearly he didn't want to answer the question.

"Touche. Nevertheless take this," Vix reveals a sapphire that gleams to the moonlight. He passes the gem to Kai, who accurately grabs it whilst focusing on him. "It's best we each have one. Something tells me Jai has already caught on, but if he hasn't, I'd rather keep the element of surprise."

"Even then, why are you giving me this? I can't perform energy manipulation, I'm not even sure Spade can."

"Trust me, knowledge is irrelevant when these things are involved."

Kai shrugs with indifference.

"We have another problem." Vix informs.

"What happened?" Kai demands, wearing an annoyed expression.

"It's about Milla…"

The next day the second round of the annual avalician martial arts tournament begins. The first match is scheduled to feature Norah and a young martial artist named Noel. Milla feels the best she've ever been and assures her teammates that they will all reach the next round. Her enthusiasm shines brighter than a star, which the other fighters took notice of. Chan is pleased. The vulpine can't help but to feel relief for the hound.

Across from the confident party, a swordsman scoffs at the positive hound. The man's criticism is more personal, "To think this naive bitch was given free access to this tournament."

"That's not how we treat our allies, Kujo." Zhao, the youngest of the Dong Mein Dojo faction and personal friend to Milla, warns. The tibetan wolf's tone is positive yet threatening.

"Psh, this is a competition, she's no ally." Kujo counters. Kujo is a mongoose who uses a longsword. He's among the highest ranking students at the Dong Mein Dojo and the leader of Zhao's faction. Despite his ranking he envies both Zhao and Milla for the grandmaster's special treatment towards them. The mongoose simply retreats.

"Good morning everyone!" Pliny greets. Everyone cheers in response, awaiting the next fight. "Seems you guys are rather impatient today. No need to worry the first fight for the second round starts now! Norah Li versus Noel Zhan!"

The arena has also changed. The stone pillars remain, but there is noticeably less vegetation. The only applicable hiding spots are the shrubs and bushes seen throughout the environment. Furthermore, half of the arena is flooded! Norah and Noel stand across from each other, awaiting their opponent's first move. Noel is an ox who's known for his monstrous strength but flawless technique. He may be strong but he's not a fool.

Over on the balcony where the leaders watch over the fights, Neera and Jin enter. Yazmine is the first to notice the dragon and panda's entry. "Welcome, came to have a better view?" The empress speaks naively.

Dail is quick to signal the red panda to end the topic. In response Yazmine covers her mouth.

"She want to see how her daughter is doing." Jin explains. His face is neutral but caring.

The Royal Magister sighs, "There's no need to worry about her Neera. She's been doing fine on her own." He assures.

Jin responds with a skeptical expression, showing clear distrust towards the royal magister in particular.

"I know," Neera rushes as though she didn't want to admit her worries, "It's just that... I'm curious… considering the circumstances."

"Just say that you care for the girl already!" Mayor Zao abruptly interrupts.

"You're no leader to me. So I can just turn you into an ice cube if I wanted to." Neera growls.

"As preferable as that would be, you know that will only cause more war. We've already endured one war two years ago, let's not spark another." The Royal Magister counters.

"Not like this world is in any better shape," Tuanjie retorts. He changes the subject, "If you're really that worried for her, then you can watch this round with us. Any objections?"

The other leaders agree, and so Neera stands next to the royal magister as she spectates her daughter's fight.

Tuanjie approaches the draconic general as he's about to leave the room. He whispers into his ear. "I understand you worries. I don't agree with how the three kingdoms and the Qin empire treats your people and neither does Yazmine. However if we're to assure ourselves a bright future we must accept things the way they are, for now. I appreciate your patience, no one should go through what these kingdoms do to their inferiors."

In the arena Norah and Noel are in hand to hand combat. However Norah is the one who has sustained the most injuries due to the ox's brute strength. Norah is yet to use her energy manipulation, primarily due to conserving her strength. Unfortunately, she underestimates the ox, expecting someone she could easily trick or manipulate. Instead, Noel successfully counters most of the panda's attacks. It is clear that Norah is losing her patience. This is ridiculous!

Noel laughs, "What's wrong? I expected better from you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Norah demands.

"I mean, is this all the Li bloodline has to offer? Don't you Li women use magic? Here you are, thinking you can beat me in hand-to-hand combat. Unless you can't pull a magic trick for me." Noel mocks.

Both Norah and Neera take great offense to the ox's ignorance. It's clear that Norah is at her limit. "For someone who's considered intelligent, you're really freaking ignorant!" The panda hisses, "You want a magic trick?"

"Uh, Norah, you're alright there?"

"Oh. I'm fine, this dumbass won't be when I'm through with him!"

Noel's confidence shrinks as the panda's rage becomes visible. The marking on Norah's right shoulder and the energy crystals in her bracelets glows bright red. A large concentration of energy encompasses the panda. Typical for a mage, they increase in power through gathering more energy and withstanding the large mass of it. Only Vix is capable of physically seeing a person's affinity. Other mages or energy manipulators can only sense their affinities. The instant enough energy surrounds the furious panda, Norah's limbs are engulfed in fire. "H-hold on!" Noel pleads. His cowardice becomes clear.

"No. You insulted me and my family! Which is ironic because I hate being compared to my family. I also hate the expectations put against me because of my family! You wanted a 'real fight'. I'm going to give it to you!" Norah cries. Her voice suddenly sounds composed, which only intimidates the ox more.

"I'm sorry!"

The apology falls on deaf ears as Norah approaches and assaults Noel. Although Noel tries his best to defend himself, Norah greatly overpowers him, using her energy manipulation to increase her physical strength. To the audience it was less a fight, and more a bullying. Noel tries a different approach by keeping his distance, Norah throws fireballs at him. Without anything left to lose the ox charges at the youth, hoping to at least hit her. Norah grabs the ox by the horns. With all her strength she lifts Noel, slamming him into a stone pillar. The fight ends and the ox is left completely unconscious. The panda simply dusts her hands as she exits the arena and the paramedics .

"Norah Li wins!"

On the balcony, the leaders remain silent whilst Neera forms a slight grin.

"To think this is the girl I grew up with," Dail muses. The king briefly observes the older panda. "...and that this woman is the one who raised me."

Zhao is walking down the hallway after using the bathroom. He is whistling a simple tune as he returns to the fighter lounge and is looking forward to his second round fight. After his victory in his first round fight against an energy manipulator, he seems to have caught Milla's confidence. Suddenly someone's arm wraps around his neck. It is his teammate Kujo. "What… the… hell are you… doing?!" Zhao demands, trying desperately to breathe.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. Maybe torture you, but that depends."

"What do… you… want?"

"I need information my dear endangered wolf."

"I have… nothing you… need."

"Oh but that's where you're wrong. You're rather close to Milla Basset aren't you?" The mongoose hisses.

"You…" Zhao passes out from lack of air.

Kujo sighs in disappointment. "Oh well! If he refuses to tell me what is up with that bitch, I suppose I can still use him as leverage to give myself the advantage over her. To think that my sources would prove this useful. To think that Milla Basset is my opponent." The mongoose grabs the unconscious wolf and drags him to a nearby closet.

Milla and co are in the fighter lounge. Chan and Norah have successfully won their respective fights which leaves Milla. To everyone's shock, the previous fight between Rob Stiil and Kaz Torikku ended in Kaz's favor. The trickster is seen boasting about his close victory against the red scarf while Rob is seen with his wife. Rob doesn't appear to care much for his defeat, although his wife is livid towards Kaz. Rob refuses to let her attack the bobcat, though Kaz is slowly alienating him.

"You're alright?" Milla approaches the pair. Hanna scoffs at the hound, but Rob ignores her.

"It's alright, no matter how much he milks his victory he's only going to embarrass himself." Rob explains.

"Well, I wish you luck!" Milla assures to Hanna. The female fox only ignores the hound.

"Don't mind her."

In the arena Pliny waits for the audience to relax so that she can announce the next fight. The red polar bear is excited. Today has been going so well! As long as nothing goes wrong, everything will be smooth sailing! This next match might be interesting.

The audiences has calms.

"Let's go ahead into the next match! Zhao Shi versus She Xing!" Pliny announces. However, only She Xing appears, a mysterious man who wore a cloak and a farmer's conical hat. The man appears fairly silent and introverted. The red polar bear is confused. She calls out the missing fighter's name. "Zhao Shi?"

Everyone grows worried. It's strange for a fighter to suddenly disappear. Milla knows the fighter well. It is unlike Zhao to purposely be late or absent for anything. The hound begins to panic, but then she remembers what Kai told her. She relaxes and hope that Zhao is alright.

"I suppose the best I can give our absent fighter is the postponement of his fight with She Xing to the end of this round. With that said, I'm sorry She Xing for sending you down here for no reason, you're gonna have to wait. If Zhao Shi doesn't make it to his match by then, he automatically forfeits." Pliny explains. "Let's start our next match between Icarus and Akira Seido!"

A battlesphere worker emerges from the arena entrances and approaches the polar bear. He whispers into her ear. She Xing is still in the arena.

"Eh?! W-what do you mean that Icarus forfeited?!"

The worker only shrugs. The crowd's worries grow and the fighters are confused. In the fighter lounge both Jai and Zhen watch the television. They watch the chaos behind Zhao's disappearance and Icarus' forfeit.

"Are you behind all of this by any chance?" Zhen questions. Both the rat and dragon are resuming their chess game.

"Heh, I will admit that the chaos is quite impressive, but I assure you that this is the work of an amateur." Jai concludes.

"So I'm not the only one who assumes kidnapping."

"The irony is that something tells me that whoever kidnapped Zhao didn't care whether he wins or loses. The person is either looking for information regarding his opponent or intends to use him as a bargaining chip to manipulate or defeat his opponent."

"How would you know all of this?"

"Because I already know who did it, let's watch and see the next fight. I assure you that's when all of our questions will be answered. Also it's a pretty common strategy."

Zhao wakes up and finds himself in a closet of some sort. He's somewhat disorientated, so it takes him a moment to gather his senses and analyse his surroundings properly. "Where… where am I?"

"You're awake."

"Who are you?" Zhao demands. He bangs against the steel door that separates him from his assailant.

"It's me, Kujo, you intrepid boy."

"Kujo?! The hell is wrong with you?!" Zhao can hear hysterical laughter behind the door.

"I was originally going to force you to tell me everything you knew about Milla Basset, but thinking about it. It'll be so much easier to just manipulate that stupid girl, whom you've grown to fancy."

"You bastard," Zhao's speech is overpowered by Kujo constant laughter, "You're not going to get away with this!"

"Go ahead and try to stop me! Speaking of which, our fight is about to start. Too bad you won't be able to witness me beating her to a pulp! I wonder how the grandmaster would react after I defeat not one but both of his star pupils!" Kujo shouts. He's well aware no one can hear him. He leaves Zhao to his folly.

"Shit! I need to get out of here!" The wolf again tries to break the door but fails. "CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!"

In the arena, both Milla and Kujo stand across from each other. Both hound and mongoose draw their swords and prepare themselves for the sword fight ahead.

"The fight between Milla Basset and Kujo Yuoyue starts now!"

That instant, Kujo strikes first, thrusting his sword directly at his target. Predicting the attack, Milla avoids by switching the hand she held her short sword in and swinging the blade at the mongoose's side. Kujo blocks the attack, holding his sword firmly with both hands and pushing the hound away from his person. The hound charges at the mongoose, using her opposing hand to fire several psychic pulses. Kujo avoids them all. Milla thrusts her sword directly at Kujo. The mongoose steps aside to let the attack pass through, but when the hound notices her attack missed she stops at her tracks to give herself leverage. Kujo predicts this and lunges with his sword, aiming at the hound's stomach. Milla barely avoids the attack, twirling herself around to strike the mongoose from behind. She switches hands again, giving her the advantage. Kujo improvises and blocks the attack with his longsword which he held with one hand. This changes nothing as the hound takes advantage of the distraction and trips the mongoose by sweeping her foot underneath. Milla holds her sword a few centimeters away from her opponent's face. She smiles in victory.

"Naive girl, you think you've won?!" Kujo questions. He kicks the hound's sword out of her hand. The katana lands a few meters away with the blade wedged into the ground. The kick greatly injures the hound's hand. While she's distracted by the pain, the mongoose grabs Milla by the collar. "Your hand won't be the only thing hurting. Unless you forfeit. Now." Kujo demands.

"Are you serious?" Milla retorts.

"Don't be smug! Let's make a deal. If you forfeit, I promise not to hurt you or Zhao."

What a twist…

Milla's eyes widens in horror. "What did you do with him?!" She shrieks. Her voice is raspy and concerned. The audience moves as the hound's sudden demand catches everyone's attention.

Kujo pulls Milla closer to him. "If you make a scene, I'll be sure to make both of your sufferings twice as painful," He whispers. The mongoose raises his voice, "You filth!"

Milla's opponent tossing her ten feet away from him. She skids across the stone floor, leaving scrapes and bruises across her body. Milla doesn't get up. I can't fight back.

How sad. you've already broke?

Shut up.

Kujo slowly approaches the hound. "Oh? So you're just going to let me win, I suppose it's no different from forfeiting. Perhaps I should humiliate you then. You're doing this for Zhao's well being after all." He mocks.

Shut up.

You're not going to be any good if you're incapacitated. Now show this fool your true power!

Shut up.

Kujo reaches Milla's side. He looks at her in disgust. "How pathetic." He begins to repeatedly kick the young hound. "To think that you were one of his favorites?! What nonsense!" He refutes, kicking the hound. The crowd watches in disgust.

"Shut up." Milla responds softly. No one is able to hear her nor could she tell. Her hearing seems to have shut down. All she hears is the voice and ringing.

Just let-

"I said shut up!" Milla demands. This catches Kujo off guard as Milla leaps up and punches his face, buying the hound enough time to retrieve her katana. "I'm not giving up!" She proclaims.

"You brat," Kujo responds. "I'm going to kill you!"

Milla is unmoved by the threat. She charges at her assailant.

"ANYONE HERE?!" Zhao calls out as loud as he possibly can. His arms are already tired from repeatedly banging on the door. The wolf can only lean against the door and sit down in defeat. "Great, just great. I failed to protect Milla and myself. Damnit!"

The door opens, causing the tibetan wolf to fall down onto the hallway floor. "Get up." Zhao hears a voice, but the artificial lights blinds him. They don't allow him to see his savior. After his eyes finally adjusts he sees Kai. "I'd recommend hurrying to that arena."

"Kai! I already know! That bastard is going to pay for threatening the both of us!" Zhao proclaims. He wears an agitated expression.

"I think you're forgetting a crucial detail." Kai informs. His tone is monotonic as always.

"Well, Kujo wants to use me as a bargaining chip to get a cheap victory against Milla." Zhao's tone calms, thinking really hard about Kujo's plan.

"What would happen if Milla doesn't act the way Kujo had planned? As far as he knows she's just a timid girl who have strong sympathy towards her friends. Ironically I think that's what's going to fuel her rage more…"

"Oh!" The wolf snaps his fingers in realization. His expression becomes worrisome. "Crap! Wait… how did you…"

"Stop asking questions and just help her already."

Zhao dashes through the long hallway to Milla's aid.

The fight between Milla and Kujo continues. However Milla is at a disadvantage from the injuries she sustained from the mongoose's beating. Her reflexes are slower and her focus is scattered. Although she's determined to defeat the man who threaten her friends, she's also worried for her friends' well being. The swordsman counters all of her attacks and breaks through her parries forcing the hound to rely on her energy shields. Due to the smaller size of her shield, Kujo dashes behind her defenses and attacks, disrupting her focus. The more the hound uses her shield, the more exhausted she becomes. The lack of focus begins to disrupt the efficiency of her energy consumption. She's losing energy at an exponential rate.

"What's wrong Milla? You're already regretting your refusal?!" Kujo is in a state of sadistic joy as he ruthlessly beats the poor girl. "This is one of the so called 'Heroes of Avalice'? How sad."

You seem to be having a crisis…

"Are you even listening to me?" Kujo is livid. Half of his speech is nonsense that Milla can't hear. "What is it going to take to make you say something!"

What a disappointment you are, you can't even take harsh words…

Kujo loses his patience and grabs Milla by the collar. He slams her against one of the stone pillars in an attempt to get a reaction from her. Nothing. Only blood which runs down from the canine's head. The mongoose gives up and let's go of the doll-like hound.

Milla can only hear the same ringing from before. However she can see Kujo walking away as though he have already won. "Hey… I'm not… done…" She demands, struggling to get up.

"If this is all you have to offer then you're a disappointment. I bet your friends are no better. You're right…"

Milla begins to regain her hearing.

"...You're nothing. You've let everyone down."

Milla's face grows pale. I've let… I've let everyone… down?

No. You still have power left. You have my power left. The power that was reawakened from a new power that was gifted to you.

Who are you…

I'm a friend. I assure you that I only want your safety.

How do I know that you're not lying…

You don't.

Why are you talking to me now?

That's for you to figure out on your own. Now tell me. Who do you want to destroy?

I don't want to destroy anyone.

Oh?

I just want to help my friends.

Done.

The air begins to feel dense in the arena. Kujo feels the sudden change of atmosphere. He looks behind him. What he and the audience sees frightens everyone. A dense red aura emanates from Milla. This aura is all too familiar to Pliny and Dail. They watch in horror, fully aware of what comes next. The mongoose feels gravity stronger than usual on the ground, whilst it's lighter in the air. Milla slowly gets up and grabs her swords. She lifts her head up to reveal shining red eyes. Her jade green energy is gone, replaced by crimson red, furthermore the energy itself is radically more out of control, spread out.

"T-this is…"

The fighters are completely focussed on Milla. Unlike the audience and Kujo, they are interested in this new power that she has gained. Jai in particular seems pleased. So it begins

Milla slowly walks closer to her opponent. Her mannerisms are eerily composed yet still frightening and sadistic. "You monster!" She barks. Her voice is noticeably more mature which only adds to the mongoose's newfound terror. "No one. No one threatens my friends."

"Y-you don't scare me! I'm better than you!" The mongoose proclaims, attacking the hound with all of his might. Although he claims to be unmoved, he is frightened. He acts simply to preserve his skin.

Milla easily dodges the attack, which causes Kujo to lose his footing. In that instant, Milla fires a psychic pulse against his back, forcing him into the ground. The man feels as though he fell from several feet the moment he lands on the ground. Milla keeps her distance as she rapidly fires several projectiles at Kujo as he struggles to get up. Kujo barely escapes the majority of the barrage of attacks which follows as though Milla was a turret, her attacks were straight forward. He is hurt by those that land. The mongoose musters up some courage and charges right at her. He firmly tightens his grip and swings his longsword again. This time he had predicted Milla would dodge. Milla predicts this action, blocking the attack with her own sword. The hound compresses the energy surrounding her blade, which makes her sword significantly stronger.

As Kujo struggles to overpower the hound. Milla's rage becomes more and more visible. With one slice Milla cuts the opposing blade clean in half horizontally. The raw power from the attack shocks everyone.

"S-she just cut through reinforced steel?!"

Milla follows with a super shield burst, catapulting Kujo several feet away from her. She summons three phantom blocks simultaneously. The action itself intimidates Kujo. He gets up quickly and retreats. Before he can get far enough away, the hound compresses one of her phantom block and throws it at him. She hits. A painful shock stuns Kujo and throws him to the ground.

The hound fires a second super shield burst at the defenseless swordsman, He'd lost his sword after the previous attack. Again he is launched several feet. Kujo crashes against one of the stone pillars, spitting out blood.

Milla slowly walks towards the mongoose with one more phantom block. The hound prepares to attack at point blank.

"Please… please! I forfeit! I FORFEIT! JUST STOP!" Kujo pleads.

Milla feels someone holding on to her shoulder. "It's alright Milla. I'm fine." The hound fiercely turns her head and sees Zhao. The tibetan wolf wears a soft smile.

"Y-you're alright?" Milla asks. Her voice still maintains it's mature tone, but her tone is softer.

Zhao nods.

The hound comes back to her senses. The dense red aura dissipates and returns to normal. She looks around and sees only the frightened expressions of the audience and her opponent. The leaders attempt to appear indifferent but Dail had a sympathetic face. The fighters are now mildly fearful of the hound. Her teammates glare in disbelief. "What… What did I do?" Milla cries. The hound is distraught.

"It's okay. Right now you have a lot of explaining to do."

As Kujo moves through the long hallways, he contemplates what he should do. I can never show my face to my brothers, to my students or my grandmaster. I'm going to kill that possessed girl and that foolish boy! Only when they're not looking though.

The man's terror can still be seen in his face.

Kujo sees a white dragon at the opposite end of the hallway. It's Jai. He seems intrigued. "Interesting experience you had." Jai opens.

"What do you want? Dragon!" Kujo scoffs.

"I just want details. My Red Scarves granted you information. I expect you to repay the favor."

"I should be asking what the hell is wrong with that mutt! It doesn't matter, I'm going to kill her! I will kill her!" Kujo grows impatient.

Jai's face becomes serious. "I can't allow that." He retorts. Zhao is along the hallway perpendicular to the hallway the dragon and mongoose is in. The wolf reaches the intersection and notices both Kujo and Jai. Zhao quickly hides behind the corner.

"Too bad! I'm going to kill her. GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Jai doesn't say a word. As Kujo passes the dragon he feels a sensation around his neck.

"It's a good thing your life wasn't part of the agreement." The dragon muses.

The mongoose falls dead with blood leaking from his neck.

"You should be grateful that I stopped him. It's up to you if you wish to share this." Jai advices as he walks away.

Zhao doesn't respond.