Ladies and Gentlemen. Let's get ready to rumble!

Chapter 8

Ready to Rum-bull

Kevin rolled out of the way and Minotaur charged past him, ramming into the wall. Pulling its head out of the wall, it turned its eyes back on Kevin.

"Over here. Try hitting me," Jason called, and the Minotaur ran for him. "Garu!"

Jason crushed his card, and Sigurd appeared, swinging his sword. The green wind blew out, slowing down the man-bull so that Jason could dodge.

An arrow hit Minotaur in the back, and Kevin strung another. "Hey hamburger, Try getting me." Kevin fired his arrow, but Minotaur simply grabbed it and crushed it in his hand.

"Hey! I liked that one." Kevin flipped out his card and smashed it with his bow. "Philoctetes, Double Fang."

Kevin's persona fired two poisoned arrows at Minotaur, and both of them struck in the chest. But Minotaur simply pulled them out and snapped them.

Minotaur let loose a bellow, and charged for them again.

Sam blocked a blow from Wes with her shield, and used the moment to step back. "Wes, you have to stop this. Please."

Wes went to punch her again, but suddenly whirled and grabbed Jennifer's sword arm as she brought it down. "Do you challenge my strength? Will you make me become this?"

Jennifer met his red eyes, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I won't become this. And if I have to crush you to free myself, then I will."

Jennifer whipped out her card, but Wes grabbed her hand before she could snap. "I don't think so."

Jennifer struggled in his grip, but he wasn't letting her go. "Let me go, Wes."

A sinister smile spread on his face. "Very well." With a grunt, Wes spun and released Jennifer, sending her into Sam. Then he walked to them menacingly, cracking his knuckles. "Now, where were we?"

"Reload!"

Jason nodded to Kevin, who was scrambling to gather up his spent arrows. Jason raised Gram, and charged for Minotaur.

Minotaur bellowed, and a blast of ice shot from its mouth. Jason stopped and brought up Gram to block, but the attack still hit him hard.

Shaking off the frost, Jason pulled out his card, and crushed it. "Garu!"

Minotaur clapped its hands, sending a wind blast into Jason's garu, overwhelming it. But Jason couldn't move. He was so tired, he just watched the attack come.

"Jason! Get away!" Kevin shouted, and Jason felt himself being pushed, followed by a cry of pain.

Turning around, Jason saw Kevin on the ground, bleeding from the slicing winds. Kevin gave a weak chuckle. "Gotta keep movin, deadweight."

Fixing a fierce glare on Minotaur, Jason raised Sigurd's card. "Brave Blade." Sigurd emerged, and the mighty slash sent Minotaur stumbling back.

As he prepared to charge again, a shriek caught Jason's attention. Looking over, Wes had his hand around Jennifer's throat.

Something broke in Jason's mind, and his vision turned red. The red card appeared in his hand...

How do we stop Wes without hurting him? Sam thought as she blocked a punch with her shield. Her shield vibrated from the impact, making her arms feel numb.

"Please Wes, you have to listen to me. I don't understand what you're talking about."

"He can't hear you, Sam. He's lost to his anger. All we can do is stop him."

Sam looked at Jennifer, shocked. "But he's Wes. We can't hurt him."

Jennifer raised Nothung, her eyes determined. "If we don't stop him, he'll kill us."

Wes turned to Jennifer. "I accept your challenge. I'll kill you, and break free of this fate."

Jennifer charged for Wes, her sword ready to strike. Wes blocked her strike with his arm, and sent his fist to her face. Jennifer ducked, and spun, slashing at Wes' stomach.

Wes stepped back to dodge, and sent his fist into Jennifer's stomach, doubling her over.

Shoving her to her knees, Wes took Nothung and turned to Sam. He walked slowly toward her, backing her up to a wall. Tearing away her shield, he grabbed her shirt and ran Nothung through it, pinning her to the wall. "You just stay here. I'll be back for you last, my dear Samantha."

Sam's eyes were wide as she stared at her friend, and didn't move as he walked away.

Then he grabbed Jennifer by the throat. Jennifer shrieked, then gasped as Wes squeezed at her windpipe.

The primal scream made him stop, and he looked over to see the red vapor forming Bahamut, with Jason staring at him.

Wes released Jennifer, and turned to Jason, Minotaur stomping over to him.

"You will not take her from me," Jason snarled. "Agilao." A blast of fire emerged from Bahamut's mouth, heading for Wes and Minotaur.

"Bufula," Wes said, and a blast of ice shot from Minotaur's mouth, meeting the fire. The two attacks met and pushed against each other, neither willing to give.

Rubbing her throat and coughing, Jennifer stumbled to her feet. Her eyes went wide as she saw Jason and Wes fighting each other with their beast personas.

She started to run to them, but someone held her in place. Turning, she saw Kevin holding her arm.

"Let go of me, Kevin. I have to stop them."

Kevin shook his head, no trace of his normal humor in his eyes. "I can't do that, Jennifer. Jason would never forgive himself if he hurt you." His grip tightened, as if he was using her to hold himself back. "We have to stay out of this until someone wins."

Kevin let go of her, and walked over to Sam, still stuck to the wall, and yanked the sword out. "Believe me, I hate it as much as you do, but we don't have a choice. In the battle between beasts, we humans would just get in the way."

Jennifer nodded and folded her hands in front of her. Please. Please don't let either of them get hurt.

Bahamut roared as the two attacks tore each other apart, and charged forward, slamming into Minotaur. Minotaur braced its feet, and scraped to a stop.

With a bellow, Minotaur brought up its right hand, and slammed the fist into Bahamut's head. On impact, Jason stumbled and held his head.

Bahamut shook its head, and bit down on Minotaur's left arm, drawing blood on Wes' arm.

While the two beasts grappled, Wes charged for Jason, his fists poised. As they came together, Wes sent fist after fist toward Jason, who nimbly dodged all of them.

"Minotaur!" Wes shouted. Minotaur looked up, and grabbed Bahamut, and threw him into a wall, smashing several cubicles. Jason again reacted by grabbing his side.

"Sukunda." Minotaur bellowed, and a light enveloped Jason. This time, when Wes went to strike him, Jason moved much slower, and was forced to block several of Wes' fists.

"Bahamut, Tarunda!" Bahamut roared, and another light shone around Wes, causing his blows to have less than half their usual strength. Jason used the chance to shove Wes away, and brought his sword back up. "You won't take Jennifer from me, and I'll kill you to protect her. Agairu Flare!" Bahamut stomped back to Jason's side, and the ornament began to spin, the fire and wind mixing in Bahamut's mouth, ready to fire.

Minotaur bellowed in challenge. "Anyone who forces me to become this is my enemy, and I will destroy them. I will be free! Arctic Burgaf Storm!" Minotaur bellowed again, and the ice and wind began to mix in its hands.

"Now, you will fall before me!" Wes and Jason shouted simultaneously, and the two beasts launched their attacks.

The two magics collided, and the air exploded from the force. They pushed against each other, pieces of them shooting off and destroying the area around them.

Then, something changed. Wes attack was starting to dissipate under the force of Jason's.

Then the attack was entirely overwhelmed, and Jason's flare shot toward Wes. Minotaur stepped in front of Wes and took the attack, being pushed back by the sheer force of it.

With a final bellow, Minotaur crushed the attack with its arms to its body, and it exploded, sending Wes to the floor.

Smiling evilly, Jason walked over to Wes' prone body, and brought up Gram. "Never again."

"Get behind me!" Kevin shouted, and grabbed Sam's shield. With Sam and Jennifer behind him, he braced himself behind the shield.

When the shockwave of the exploded attack hit them, Kevin nearly fell over as he tried to protect them, but Jenifer and Sam helped him stay in place.

After it died down, Kevin dropped the shield, and looked over to see Jason standing over Wes with his sword up, ready to strike.

"No," Jennifer shouted as she pushed past him, and ran in front Jason, her arms spread out. "Jason, you have to stop. I'm okay now. You don't have to hurt him."

Jason's face looked confused, then softened. "You're okay?"

Jennifer nodded and took his hands, taking away Gram. "You can stop now. You protected me."

The red faded from Jason's eyes, and Bahamut slowly faded away. Smiling, Jason ran a hand over Jennifer's head. "I'm glad you're safe."

Then his knees buckled, and Kevin rushed forward to stop him from falling. He laid Jason down, and went to check on Wes.

A clapping sound caught Kevin's attention, and he looked up to see a person wearing a cloak standing in the doorway, the face hidden by a hood. "Such an incredible display of power. I hope to further test it soon."
Kevin pulled his bow off his back as he stood up, and strung an arrow. "Who are you, and what are you talking about?"

The man laughed. "All in good time, archer. For now, these two must rest, and you must gain more power. Until next time." With a swish of his cloak, the man left.

Kevin started to go after him, but Sam grabbed his arm. "You can't go after him."

"Why? He has answers that we need."

Sam just shook her head. "I got a feeling of his power from Calliope. We couldn't fight him at our current strength. He'd crush us in an instant." She looked over Jason and Wes. "For now, we have to help them."

I enjoyed this chapter because it was power vs. power, and ally vs. ally.

I'm willing to answer any question, so long as it doesn't involve the plot itself, so don't hesitate to ask.

Please read and review.