'That bastard…' Lynn thought resentfully as she, upside down, found herself drifting and twirling helplessly through the spherical battle room, the sound of firing weapons resounding around her. She would speak out in anger, were it not for the bottom of her helmet clamping down her jaw. She tried to move her limbs, but found it quite useless as her flash suit was frozen stiff. 'I can't believe he used me as a shield. He's gonna pay for that!'

As her body revolved, she was able to get a brief glance in the direction of the cylindrical frame of stars and the soldiers still fighting tooth and nail for dominance along its edges. She couldn't make out much, but it seemed as if things weren't going smoothly. 'But first… he better win this battle.'

Amadei breathed hard, watching with growing dismay as Delta Toon below them was rapidly wiped out. He glanced back up, returning his focus completely to the battle, and glared downwards at the large and muscular toon leader who had orchestrated this turn around. 'Who is this guy?' He had thought that Neil already uncovered all the information on Bigfoot's aces they would need to know about, but they'd never anticipated someone like him; avoiding being flashed with complex movement patterns. His skills were top class no doubt, probably among the best in all of Battle School. How had they failed to identify someone like him beforehand?

The enemy's forces were coming up rapidly, and he had to move. Holding his gun by the barrel, he clasped both hands on the column of stacked stars he had been using for cover and began to scurry up it. Using his muscles he kept his legs from floating backwards while he climbed quickly upwards to put distance between him and them.

But one good soldier didn't equate to a good army, he knew as he reached the next highest ring and pulled himself atop it. He twirled his gun into its proper position and thrust his arm downwards to fire, being sure to keep most of his body protected by the ring as he did so. Dozens of frozen bodies now littered no man's land, making it difficult to get a proper shot across it, but thankfully also provided him someone protection.

Keeping his guard up all the while, Amadei glanced around and got a feel for the situation. What was left of Turtle Army, barely a dozen troops, was now scattered about the top half of the cylinder, while Bigfoot Army was pressing upwards vigorously. Beta was now down to three boys - none of them a Toon Leader or a Second – while their escorts had been reduced to just him and Timmy, from what he could tell. Delta was gone altogether, leaving Gamma the only toon with minimal damages. The enemy only slightly outnumbered them by this point, but what remained of their forces had united and were operating cohesively by following their ace's lead.

Across the cylinder, he noticed someone grab onto a frozen troop and then jump in his direction – positioning the body below him as a shield to block incoming fire while riding it as a surfboard across the gap. As he was nearing the opposite side, a bigfoot that had climbed higher than the rest took aim upwards at him and fired from an angle the shield couldn't protect him from. But the surfer had seen this and kicked off it, twirling in mid-air while snatching up a loose gun in his free hand so he, dual wielding blasters, could return fire. Both shots struck the bigfoot dead center simultaneously, and the dual-wielding boy continued hurling towards Amadei.

'Of course, we have an ace of our own,' Amadei thought as he extended a hand and helped stop the boy's flight. He touched down on the ring beside him in a crouched position, smiling. 'Lightning Bolt Rolf.'

Two more Gamma troops leapt down to join them, and Rolf spoke. "LC, have Beta clear us a path. The two of us are going to take out the boss. I'll have half my toon stay high and provide supporting fire. That ok?"

He nodded, and relayed the orders before joining the three Gammas as they parkoured downwards with impressive skill, the enemy toon leader appearing to scowl upon seeing their approach. A storm of lasers soon ignited between them as the final firefight ensued.

Neil was taken off guard. He had been expecting a clean and easy victory, and the fact that such a low ranked team had managed to come back from those circumstances was dumbfounding. It was a disgrace to his strategic skill, and to his army's abilities. He had given up watching the battle from above and dived down to rejoin his army in their last stand against Bigfoot. He floated past the two Gamma troops holding the higher ground and landed near two Betas further below. Amadei and Rolf had already launched an initiative to take out the enemy ace, and he saw no reason to call them back. For now, he just needed to provide an extra pair of hands and give them a clear shot to do so alongside the Betas. Once that single opponent was taken out, the battle would be theirs.

He stopped himself behind a pillar near where the two betas were holding their positions and looked sideways at them. "You," he said pointing at one and dragging his finger through the air towards a junction where a pillar and a ring met some distance to the side, "go there." He did the same for the other soldier, directing him to a lower position so the three of them would form an equilateral triangle. "Fire at whoever I fire at, and do not leave your positions no matter what. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Timmy replied to the commander's order, dully surprised by his sudden appearance behind him. For the past couple minutes, he had been searching precariously upwards for Klas' unexpected attacker, but found no enemies above his position. 'Gamma must've already got him…'

He made his way downwards to the best of his ability and took position beside a junction where a pillar and a ring ran through one another. He nestled himself in its corner so that his torso peered out ready to fire, thankful that the dwindling of soldiers had actually made it possible to peer out and aim at all unlike before.

The same could be said for Bigfoot Army, though. Their job was to reduce the number of targets that Amadei and Gamma had to deal with, and Neil's keen eye allowed him to pick out enemy shooters posing a threat and strike them. One bigfoot, taking aim at one of their comrades, was struck in the arm by Neil and stumbled long enough for the Beta to get him in the leg, followed shortly after by Timmy himself disabling him with a chest shot.

He pumped his fist victoriously at the success of their triangular formation and Neil was already picking out their next target. This continued a couple times as Neil and Rolf dueled with Bigfoot's ace expertly, constantly moving through the structure while exchanging fire – suffering losses and disabled limbs all the while. The three Gammas that had joined them were gone, frozen, and the enemy still had the advantage in numbers.

Two targets later, Timmy's gaze snapped to the side as he saw Rolf just barely block a shot from the ace with one of his arms. With his opposite leg already frozen, he was forced to do an awkward hop and spin around the nearest pillar for cover. He noticed a random bigfoot appear behind him while preparing to shoot and Neil attempted to flash him but found the light from his gun blocked by a frozen troop. The Beta in their formation failed to hit as well, and he felt his heart rise in his chest with a mix of excitement and nervousness as he realized that he was the only one with a clear shot. He exhaled slowly, steadying his arm, and then pulled the trigger with a smirk.

…

And missed.

The light only struck the bigfoot's leg, failing to freeze him and allowing him to pull the trigger unhindered. Rolf was struck in the back, instantly frozen, and Timmy slammed his fist into the pillar beside him in anger. It was over.

The ace had turned and fired a shot upwards, disabling the Beta in their formation before turning his attention back to Amadei. Timmy's heart beat fast and his pupils shrunk in panic as he knew that things had taken a turn for the worse. Amadei and the ace brawled from afar with their guns for a few precious seconds while the battle drew nearer and nearer to its conclusion.

Suddenly, time seemed to slow down and Timmy's eyes dilated as he stared at the debris of frozen bodies littering no man's land – his mind projecting a beam of light which zig zagged through them. He inhaled, recognizing the light as a pathway. One that avoided the ace's line of sight completely and gave him a direct shot. He knew that if he failed it was all over; leaving his position after being ordered to stay in place was blatant insubordination. But what if he could turn the tides back in their favor by doing so? Caught in a conundrum, he weighed his options in the span of an instant and came to a decision.

He thought - no, he was certain – that he could succeed. No enemy would be able to flash him before he reached his target and fired, and the maneuver for using frozen bodies as stepping stones that Amadei had taught him a few days before played back through his mind. There was no way he would fail.

By the time he crouched down, tightening his leg muscles ready to kick off, adrenaline pumped into his blood and he knew he could no longer stop himself. He shot forward headfirst at frightening speed, becoming a comet as he shot through the frozen bodies. Bouncing off them several times with the skill of a pro, he changed directions at sharp angles. His heart beating intensely, he laughed aloud knowing that that the moment of truth was soon to come. The ace had stepped out from his cover to fire at Amadei – knowing not that Timmy was already above his position and firing downwards straight into his chest. He roared as he pulled in his finger and a flash of light went off followed shortly after by the buzzing of a disabled suit.

It took Timmy a second to realize that his finger was still millimeters from the trigger, and it was his suit that was frozen. 'From above, again?' he thought to himself in disbelief as he was sent ricocheting off a pillar and spun wildly into no man's land. How could someone have possibly made that shot? But he knew it was the enemy hidden above higher up the cylinder - it had to be - and he silently cursed himself for assuming that he was no longer a threat. He'd failed again.

Minutes passed, his body gradually losing momentum while the sound of gunfire slowly died down. Finally, the lights came on and the teachergate slid open to let the officer administrating the match enter inside along an extending platform. "The battle has ended," she said loudly, her voice amplified by a microphone attached to her collar so that all in the large room could hear. "Congratulations, Bigfoot Army, on your victory."