Already within the first hour and the battle is already on. Four different factions, brought together for different reasons, are in the middle of a struggle for survival. But with the mysteries of the arrows rising up, an awakening has occurred, and it will change how the race will be played from this point on.

The strange figure that had appeared left Gwen stumped. She didn't know where this figure came from, why it looked like this, even why it wasn't attacking her.

"Are you guys seeing this?" Gwen asked her companions.

"Seeing what? Are you trying to make any sense?" Priya asked.

"Okay, I don't know what this is about, but somebody definitely heard me use an explosive arrow." Aloy noted. "Now if you aren't looking for a fight, I suggest you start moving before-"

"She has our arrow!"

Gwen's group became alert as they along with Aloy see Paul moving towards them from behind a dune.

"Oh man! More people?!" Owen began to panic.

"Hold on, what arrow?!" Priya asked.

"That's a question for a different time. Get out of here!" Aloy yelled as she pulled on her bowstring.

Aloy fires an arrow at Paul, who easily dodges to the side.

"Too slow!" Paul yelled out. "Take this!"

The brawler leapt forward at the huntress, ready to deliver a powerful haymaker. But Aloy manages to parry it with her spear, and the two were immediately locked in a clash.

"Hah! Impressive!" Paul smirked in the face of competition.

"Well, I guess we both were surprised." Aloy went into fighting stance with her spear. "Bring it on."

As the two begin to fight, Gwen's group were still trying to figure out what to do in this situation.

"Guys, should we leave?!" Owen looked worried about the predicament they were in.

"Aren't we gonna help her? We're trying to get her on our team, right?" Gwen asked.

"I think so too, but it's too dangerous." Millie stated. "There are two groups we're in the middle of. One is a group of competitors in a bloodsport and the other group consists of experienced melee combatants."

"We're outnumbered and outmatched! We better leave before things get out of hand!" Owen stated as he turned to the horses.

"I don't think you guys can do that." Asuka was already in their way, blocking their way to the horses.

"Leave us out of this. This isn't our fight." Priya tried to negotiate with the fighter. "We don't even know what arrows you're talking about."

"Unfortunately, something came up when we saw your brush with the Legends." Asuka stated. "As much as I hate to say it, that pompous snob brought up a pretty reasonable argument."

"Who?" Gwen was confused about this remark.

Suddenly, Lili flies out of nowhere and lands a powerful flying kick at the goth's chest. Gwen gets knocked to the floor as the heiress approaches her.

"Well, I certainly didn't like that remark." Lili was slightly annoyed, then turned her attention to Gwen. "But, I guess there are bigger fish to fry. The arrow did something to you, didn't it?"

This question caught the attention of Aloy, distracting her just enough for Paul to land an elbow strike on her chest.

"Ghhkg!" Aloy stumbled back from the power of the strike, causing her to drop her spear.

"Let's see you handle this!" Paul clenched his fist.

To Aloy's surprise, Paul clenches his entire arm enough for the sleeve he was wearing to tear apart. The brawler was about to do his signature move; the Phoenix Smasher.

"Haaa!"

Then to Paul's own surprise, Aloy quickly went in for a punch as well. Their two fists collide, causing a small shockwave to erupt from the force.

"Whoa-ho! Now that's a clash!" Paul exclaimed in surprise. "You've got guts, flame hair!"

Despite this successful attempt at blocking the powerful attack, the sheer force from the brawler's punch causes the arrows Aloy had collected to fly out her pouch and land next to Lili.

"What are you talking about?" Gwen perked up at this sentence.

"That special factor the Golden Voice was talking about. Of course, we weren't the only ones curious, right?" Lili stated as she walked to the arrows on the floor.

"Shit!" Aloy yelled out.

Paul was in the middle of another jump-in attack, but Aloy was able to dodge, giving her enough time to grab her spear.

"I better end this quick!" Aloy yelled.

Aloy instinctively dodges Paul's punch from behind her. She then spins her body so quickly that her spear strikes Paul enough to drive him into the sand.

"Gah!" Paul exclaimed.

Aloy points her spear at Paul's face to prevent him from moving. She then turns to see Lili inspecting the arrows.

"Somebody get the arrows away from her!" Aloy yelled out.

Immediately putting the pieces together, Priya charged at the heiress and went in for a roundhouse.

But Lili manages to dodge under it with ease. She then grabs Priya by her hair, shoves her to her knees, and does a spinning axe kick that drives her face into the ground.

"Hggkk!" Priya exclaimed.

"Priya!" Millie yelled out.

"Well, I guess we head straight into the fun part." Lili says as she stares at the arrows.

"Priya! Get outta there! She's gonna stab you with an arrow!" Owen yelled out.

But, to everyone's surprise, Lili grasps one of the arrows tightly and without hesitation stabs herself in the stomach with it. Pretty much everyone was shocked by this, even her own teammates.

"Huh?!" Millie was baffled by this action.

"Have you lost your mind?! We have a race to win!" Asuka yelled at her rival. "Kill yourself later, I'll help!"

"It seems none of you… imbeciles figured out the… use of the arrows…" Lili berates the onlookers as she slightly coughs up some blood. "I saw how the… arrow disappeared from the goth's arm after the… convenient light show it put out…"

"And then what?! What are the arrows for?!" Paul asked.

"You aren't… meant to shoot the arrows as if they're ammunition… that's why there's only one in… each care package." Lili stated. "The special factor… these arrows have will show if I use it on… myself."

Lili drives the arrow further into her stomach, despite the painful winces she was giving off. As this went on, Gwen finally realised where the heiress was getting at, and looked back at the strange figure that was still floating next to her.

As Gwen begins to get a burning feeling of resolve, the entire scene gets interrupted as another blinding light envelops Lili.

Back at the top of the sand dune, the Apex Legends group began to get up. Even though they were protected from the explosive arrow by their energy shields, it didn't protect them from the sheer force of the blast, causing them to get knocked out.

"Oh… wow. How long was I out for?" Octane rubs his forehead. "Damn, that woman came outta nowhere."

"I didn't expect that quick of a reaction." Wattson stated. "It appears that the sun is almost about to set."

"Well, seeing as I'm not hungry at the moment, only a couple minutes passed by." Rampart stated.

"Other than our shields protecting us from that… agh… blast, I'd say we lucked out on this one." Mirage stated.

"How so?" Octane asked.

"Well, it seems they have left for a while now. They didn't seem to bother finishing us off." Mirage stated.

"Well, I'm not really sure about that. I still see a couple horses over there." Rampart stated. "I guess they're probably healing or something."

"Then I guess we should take a look. We're trying to determine the arrow's effects, right?" Wattson suggested.

Just as she says this, a bright light began to flash from behind the nearby dune. Though they were far enough not to be blinded, this still sorta disoriented them.

"Well, I guess that might have something to do with the arrow." Rampart slightly shielded her eyes from this.

The light eventually died down, and it quickly became an interest to the four.

"I'll get a perimeter ready. You guys should probably take a closer look to see what happened." Wattson stated.

"Already on it! Come on, Witt!" Octane quickly got his gears riled up.

Before anyone can say anything, Octane grabs Mirage's arm and pulls him as the two tumble down the dune.

"Whoa!" Mirage exclaimed.

As the two tumbled down the dune, Rampart and Wattson watched this with awkward looks.

"Well, I can't say I expected this." Rampart raised an eyebrow at this. "We better go as well. I should get Shiela just in case something goes wrong."

"Let's hope that will not be the case." Wattson stated.

Back at the fight, the light had already dissipated from Lili. The group turned to the heiress as they see the hole in her stomach was completely healed, and the arrow she used on herself had disappeared.

"Yep, I shouldn't have done that in my stomach. Fuck, I can still remember the pain." Lili exclaimed, slight groaning.

"It happened again. The arrows all have the same effect, but what is it?" Aloy asked.

Gwen looked at the strange figure once again, and it's expression seemed to perfectly match her newly unearthed resolve inside. Whatever this is, it feels like a part of her, and something else will appear next to Lili that will become a part of her as well.

"I think I may know. But I will not let that arrow fall into another person's hands." Gwen stated.

Gwen began to sprint towards Lili, with her strange figure in tow. The others watched in confusion as the goth was seen making a move at a fighter more than capable in her field.

Seeing this as a distraction, Paul quickly grabbed Aloy's leg and locks her in a judo hold, bending her leg in this powerful hold.

"Hgg-gkah!" Aloy yelled in pain.

After the painful hold, Paul immediately stood up and ran at Gwen, looking to defend Lili as she was recovering from the arrow.

"Here goes nothing! Strange figure, go!" Gwen yelled out, sending out the figure.

Despite this statement, nobody else can actually see the strange figure move fly towards Paul. All they saw was the brawler getting hit in the face, despite the goth not being nearly as close for such attack.

"Agh! Huh?" Paul quickly recovered, but was quick to go into confusion. "What was that?"

"I guess it seems what that princess was talking about actually had some weight to it." Gwen stated. "The strange factor that the Golden Voice was talking about, is the power that these arrows unlock."

Immediately as she says this, a golden outline appears around Paul's face. As the others around him try to get a closer look, the outline flips open, causing the brawler's face to open up like a book.

"Huh?! What the?!" Paul exclaimed.

Though this didn't hurt, the fact thay his face has become a page caused him to panic, even the others were unnerved.

"Well, when I said power, I expected a sort of strength from the strange figure. This was unexpected. Bizarre, to say the least." Gwen raised an eyebrow at this.

"Okay, just what the fuck is going on?!" Asuka asked.

At that moment, the Golden Voice suddenly appeared above the scene, ready to give an explanation to this entire ordeal.

"It seems time has paved the way for new revelations. Time and a few arrow impalements." The Golden Voice stated. "Bold move on De Rochefort's part."

"So the arrows do play a major part." Aloy sighs at this. "Mind telling us what the uh… special factor is?"

"Of course, but keep in mind that the information I'm about to give will also be spread to the other racers, this will keep the players in the know from having an advantage over those who don't.

"Yeah… just get on with it." Lili was still in a bit of pain.

"Gwen, Lili, one by chance, and the other through bold experimentation, have unlocked the potential of their fighting spirit, creating an extension of their spirit to manifest in this reality." The Golden Voice announced through theatrics. "And that extension of their spirit, a vital part of the systems of this race is known as… a Stand!"

"A… Stand?" Both Gwen and Lili exclaimed at the same time.

Whoo! Complications, a fine way to introduce something in the midst of chaos. And despite that causing further complications on the writing side, I managed to get something to work. Stay tuned for the next chapter!