Amends (Part 2)

(I'm about to start back to school guys. I'm afraid I won't be able to update as often as I have been over my winter break. Keep your eyes peeled though! I'll keep writing!)

Alex swung her arm up and her whip sprang up from the ground and lashed behind her before striking forward. Katy charged and side-stepped the first attack while swinging her naginata around in front of her and holding it like a lance. Alex stepped to the side and jerked her arm back. The whip came from behind Katy and struck her in the back. "Agh!" It wasn't enough to throw her off her feet, but damn, it hurt. The sting between her shoulder blades wasn't as frustrating as her attack being interrupted. When the whip was in front of her sight again, she had no choice but to stop and block. Katy held the shaft of her weapon before her and Cicero snaked through the air right between her eyes. The loose strips on the end wrapped around the shaft of the naginata and the electric shock raced straight from her palms to the very core of her body.

"Gyaah!" yelled Christian.

Katy spun her weapon like a windmill and drew in the end of the whip. Alex jerked back with all her might and now began a rather embarrassing tug-of-war while the next shock was charging from Cicero's handle.

"Come on, come on!" Rachele squeaked.

"Get inside," Tim whispered through his teeth.

Katy snapped her hands to the top of the shaft closest to the blade and slipped the end out of the whip's grasp. She wasted no time in closing the space between her and Alex. She spun and landed a heavy kick to her chest but it only knocked her back a step. Katy interrupted Alex's next swing with a slash that was aimed at her chest but Alex managed to turn her shoulder to it. Katy's opponent yelped but bounced back with a punch. She ducked and swiped Christian under Alex's feet. "Oof!"

Katy put her foot between Alex's breasts and Christian's blade under her throat. She sighed in relief. That wasn't that bad after all.

"Kate!" Christian shouted followed by Rachele's squeal in the background. She didn't even have time to fully turn her head before a sharp snap sounded next to her ear. White filled her vision in the second it took the other side of her head to hit the ground. Though her face was numb she could feel her blood running hot over her cheek and neck. Katy struggled to regain her wherewithal, instinctively pressing her hand to her face where she felt the blood coming from. Alex was back on her feet and Cicero was still in weapon form in her hand.

"Hey! That's not fair! Cicero attacked on her own! Alex wasn't controlling that hit!" Kian challenged.

"It's fair," Stein said dully, keeping his eyes on the fight. "Meister and weapon can fight as one or two, however they wish." Next to him Marie was biting her lip so hard it had turned white.

"Are you okay?" Christian's naked chest was heaving in the short blade. A spot of blood was showing under his long nose.

Katy swayed a little, feeling as if the blood was all coming from her brain. "I don't know if we can do this," she breathed.

"We can. I promise we can do this. Let's get in close range again, we'll have them both."

Alex kept Cicero's handle low and she stared at Katy with her sleeve now half drenched in red. "Are you okay," she said evenly.

She nodded quickly and wiped her bloody hand on her skinny jeans. "You?"

"Yeah."

"Ready?"

Alex nodded.

Katy sprinted forward with Christian in her right hand. When Alex snapped the whip, she switched Christian to her left and spun the shaft to deflect the strike and most of the shock. Once she was within four feet of the meister again, she knew her objective. If they were going to fight separately, then they should be separated.

Cicero sliced through the space behind Katy. Judging from the angle, she leaned deeply to one side and jabbed Christian's blade at Alex's side who jerked away from the prod with another yelp. Katy advanced and swung her partner again but Alex blocked with the handle of the whip. Targeting her wrist, she butted the shaft of the naginata at Alex's hand that held the whip to try and knock it out of her grasp but she had a good solid hold. Katy's opponent flipped backwards with a kick that was only haphazardly blocked by her weapon. She kept advancing. For every foot Alex moved back, Katy moved that much forward. She couldn't let her get more than seven feet away from her or she was within the most intense striking range of that horrid whip. By now the collar of Katy's fitted shirt was getting soggy with blood but she didn't have a moment to consider how much blood she was losing or how deep the gash on her face was. The numbness there had since left and been replaced with a deep sting that paired nicely with the sting in her back. She noticed her footwork wasn't as sharp anymore but it wasn't yet sloppy. Shock was affecting her—or maybe she was losing more blood than she thought. Whatever the cause, she had to get the upper hand before she got sloppy. If she allowed her coordination to fail her, she didn't have a chance.

Katy and Christian's friends still cheered here and there whenever they weren't holding their breath. They had since engaged in a fistfight, blocking and dodging and taking punches right and left. Katy used Christian to occasionally swipe from the other side or simply to balance herself when she dodged. But there was no throwing her off her feet right now. Her focus was still zeroed in on removing Cicero from Alex's grasp. Katy could tell she was getting mad. Her expression was nothing close to what it was when she asked her if she was okay and it was unlikely that she would take it easy from here. But that was all right because Katy didn't plan on taking it easy either.

"Rah!" Alex spun away from Christian's blade again. Now Katy noticed the resonance aura that surrounded her opponent. When did that happen? "Seismic Bolt!" Alex jerked the whip above her head and kicked off of Katy's shoulder, simultaneously knocking her to the ground. The whip twisted around in the air over everyone with pops of electricity before it waved down with an ear-splitting crack against the ground.

The stones broke in a spider web shape under them and every particle in the air was stimulated with a dense electric shock that vibrated the ground. The bystanders all struggled to maintain their balance but Katy was tossed a foot off the ground by the shock to her frame and slammed back down on the broken stones. Her muscles all twitched uncontrollably and a bit of drool slid from her lips while her lungs tried to remember what they were supposed to do. She heard her weapon give a quavering grunt of pain and Alex landed on her feet with Cicero gathering back beside her.

"Katy!" Rachele screamed. Kian stopped her from running forward.

She couldn't lift a finger before she felt the whip wrap around her ankle and jerk her closer to Alex. Her body knocked against the now uneven ground until she rested near her opponent's sneakers. Alex was panting and bleeding badly and Cicero was charging her next electric shock.

Dr. Stein closed his teeth and took a step forward ready to call the match.

"Katy," Christian said softly, "Let 'em hear our song."

She closed her eyes and breathed calmly. "Okay." Her fingers closed a little tighter around the shaft. She waited patiently until she felt the wind from their resonance aura against her face. It was strangely soothing. In her head she could hear Christian's flawless voice crescendo on a powerful string of notes.

The naginata started to glow. The blade on the end stretched out another foot and the edge became serrated. From the other end of the shaft an identical blade sprouted like a flower blooming. Alex's eyes went wide and she took a step back.

Katy inhaled deeply and back-flipped up to her feet, slinging the whip through the air with her. She heard Cicero's frantic exclamation to hurry and release her full charge, but Katy jabbed her weapon forward, catching the whip in the jagged edge of her blade and yanking the handle straight from Alex's distracted grip and tossing her on the ground far away. Her eyes now found the unarmed meister. "Angel's Fire!"

Christian's blades burst ablaze with such heat and intensity that the space around them was visually distorted. Katy spun her weapon over her head and around her with a great yell and swung a massive wall of fire at Alex. The force knocked her off her feet and sent her to the wall of the castle behind her with a hard thud.

"Yes!" Rachele jumped up in the air while Kian stared in awe.

William shifted his weight next to Odette. "Well, holy shit."

Alex coughed and sat up, slapping at some singes on her shirt. She looked up with blurry vision to find Christian's fiery blade at her neck again. "Okay!" she said angrily. "Get the hell away from me."

Katy stepped back as Christian's flames extinguished and he returned back to his original one-blade form. Her chest was heaving and her head was swimming. All she could think to do now was look at Dr. Stein. "Does that mean we win?"

A smirk appeared on his pale face. He lifted a hand. "Katy and Christian win."

"Oh, good." She plopped down on her butt, which unintentionally escalated to her back. She couldn't remember closing her eyes but everything went black and she could still hear Alex and Cicero's grumbles as they dispersed with Storm and Calkin mixed with her friends' excited cheering. But Christian's voice came louder and clearer, accompanied with his hands behind her shoulder and neck as he lifted her up off the stone. "I'm okay," she assured him dreamily.

"How do you feel, huh?"

She could hear the smile in his tone even though she couldn't see it. She started to smile a little too. "Pretty badass."

He gave his signature high-pitched chortle. "That's right! You are a badass for sure."

Katy's friends slid in beside her and she still spoke to Christian over their vehement congratulations. "I'm sorry I'm so negative all the time. I know… I can bum you out. I'm gonna try not to… be so pessimistic all the time… I'm gonna fix myself."

"I'm sorry I got so frustrated. But you know I'll be there all the way." He squeezed her hand.

The arms that felt like home wrapped around her and picked her up and she immediately knew it to be Tim. She leaned into his chest with a little smile as he carried her back into the castle. "I love you," he said quietly.

"I love you too."