40th Chapter! Can you believe it? Hope you enjoy! Thank you war sage, punisher7771, and Generalhyna for following my fanfic and I would also like to thank Crispybaconlove, and lidip14!

Chapter 40: Motivation

After Voluta had been taken to the infirmary, Gelato was ordered to do so as well in order to heal his bloody hand, despite his reluctance. The crowd waited patiently as Morte and Oscuro took their places in the arena. Then Antifrizione gave the signal. There was silence. Oscuro looked around the arena nervously, and raised his hand.

"I forfeit the match!" he said plainly.

This surprised everyone, including the Godfather.

"What is your reason?" Antifrizione asked.

"I…I left my puppet…at the hotel me and my siblings were staying at…accidently." He gestured to his back, and indeed, the wrapped puppet wasn't there. "Without it, I'm not very strong, and Morte would most certainly win."

"If you say so, though I find it hard to believe that you forgot your main weapon when you're one of the Finalists." Antifrizione then raised Morte's hand. Only a few people applauded. When they both left, Antifrizione said, "I'm sorry that match was disappointing, but hopefully this next one will keep you on the edge of your seat! From the Foglia family, we have Capriolo Marche! And his opponent: Pallamano of the Rena Siblings!"

No one clapped as Pallamano entered the arena, but she didn't seem to mind. Meanwhile, Capriolo was snoozing on one of the benches in the locker room. Gelato woke him up, but he made no intention to move. Frustrated, Gelato picked Capriolo up by the collar of his vest, dragged him up the stairs, and threw him into arena. Pallamano looked behind her, and noticed Capriolo lying on the ground face-first. He rolled over, but he didn't get up. The spectators, out of impatience, threw their trash at him, telling him to get moving. But he just stared at the rocky ceiling above the arena, with no regard for the popcorn bags, candy wrappers, or soda bottles lying around him.

"Well if you're not going to take this match seriously," said Pallamano, gritting her teeth. "Then I'll have to beat you senseless!"

She then jumped into the air, raising the parasol above her head. Capriolo threw some knifes at her, but they missed. When Pallamano struck the parasol down, Capriolo rolled forward, and stood up, looking down at her.

"Why do I seem to end up fighting girls?" he sighed.

Insulted, Pallamano swung the parasol upward, but Capriolo dodged once again, and hid behind one boulder out of the few that were scattered in the arena. They were placed there by the former Godfathers in order to allow Soldiers to hide or rest behind during a battle. Pallamano saw where Capriolo went, and opened her parasol, shouting, "War Birds' Dance!"

A gust of wind hit the boulder Capriolo was hiding behind, causing the top to be completely cut off. The crowd gasped when they saw this. When the wind died down, Pallamano placed the open parasol next to her, and smirked.

"There's no point in hiding," Pallamano said. "I know where you are."

Twirling the parasol, she threw another gust of wind at the boulder, which completely shattered it, but was surprised to find that Capriolo wasn't behind it. While Pallamano had the parasol lifted in front of her, Capriolo had crawled on his hands and knees to a nearby boulder before she blasted the previous one, throwing his vest up into the air as he did so. After getting himself seated with his back to the boulder, he closed his eyes, and cupped his hands.

The crowd was tense.

Pallamano became impatient, and then just as she was about to use her War Birds' Dance again, Capriolo opened his eyes, stood up from his hiding place, and said, "Mocking of the Shade!"

He sent one long shadow at Pallamano. Quickly, she twirled her parasol and glided backwards. Then when she landed on her feet, the shadow almost caught up to her, but then it stopped to everyone's amazement. She looked down at it, and then traced it back to Capriolo, whose brow was scrunched in irritation.

"So your shadow-thing has a limited range." Pallamano drew a line in the gravel with the tip of her parasol as she spoke. "And you're using the shadows of the boulders as your source. If that's the case, all I have to do is destroy them in order to render you defenseless."

But just as she raised her parasol at him, a small circular shadow became visible next to the linear one, allowing it to extend further than the hand-drawn line Pallamano had placed. She lifted the parasol again, and glided back. For a second, she looked up and saw Capriolo's vest tied into the shape of a balloon, being weighed down by four Throwing Knives. Before she landed, she twirled the parasol again. By the third time, the balloon landed on the ground, and the shadow stopped at her feet once more.

"Humph! I guess you're not a slacker after all," Pallamano said, holding the parasol in front of her again. "You seemingly threw your vest up into the air carelessly, but it was actually a hand-made balloon. This was done so that you could use its shadow to extend your own as long as it drifted. But now that it's faltered, you're finished!"

"Actually, you're the one whose finished," Capriolo corrected.

Pallamano laughed, and then as she tried to twirl her parasol for another War Birds' Dance, her arm didn't move. She tried to move her feet, but they were stuck. Even turning her neck seemed to be impossible. It was then that she remembered what happened to Oro Terra during her battle with Capriolo.

"You…You got my shadow," she faltered. "But…how?"

Capriolo turned his head. "Look behind you."

Obediantly, Pallamano's neck turned as well, and she saw that the black shadow had now emerged out of the hole Gelato had dug during his fight with Voluta, which was right behind her, and therefore allowed it to take possession of her own shadow. Her eyes widened when she realized that during this whole match, Capriolo had been leading her up to that hole. Pallamano thought she was simply getting out of his shadow's range, but really, she was walking into a trap.

As Capriolo walked forward, so did Pallamano. Then when they were within a yard from each other, Capriolo raised his left hand, causing Pallamano to raise the hand she was holding her parasol in. Everyone in the arena waited on the edge of their seats, but Capriolo just sighed, and stated, "I forfeit the match!"

Everyone gasped, or had gaping mouths. Such examples included Gelato, Maiale and Oscuro. The Godfather frowned, while Antifrizione's eyebrow twitched as he came over to Capriolo and Pallamano.

"Why are you forfeiting the match? You clearly won!" Antifrizione said with slight irritation.

"I don't wish to continue…because all that shadow manipulation has depleted my nature energy a great deal, and I'm tired," Capriolo said, lowering his hand, which eliminated the shadow that was possessing Pallamano, who looked at him with wide eyes.

"Fine," Antifrizione sighed, and lifted Pallamano's hand.

End of Chapter 40