As the Aquilus twins walked into Sanguine's club, Nihilus glanced down at his slightly younger sister. "Behave yourself this time." He demanded, keeping his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.
Rolling her eyes, Thanaton seemed to step in rhythm with the sound of music. "Oh, lighten up. I love it when you take me here." She smiled while fixing her jacket. "How do I look?"
"The same as you did over a year ago." He flashed a faint smile, it only fading away as he felt an elbow hit his side.
"Ugh, whatever. Jackass." She mumbled, pushing her purple hair behind her ear as she started to skip towards the bar. "You know where I'll be if you need me!"
"I'm not pitying you when you have a hangover again!" He shouted, his brow twitching ever so slightly as he removed his hands from his pockets. Seeing her wave him off, he sighed softly and shook his head a bit. Eventually he made his way to a corner booth, sitting down and waving a waitress down. "I'll take a glass and a bottle of silver saber." He exhaled, leaning back a little. "And whatever the special is today."
"Make that two glasses." An all too familiar voice chimed in his ears, making him slouch a bit more. Sliding into the seat across from him, Katie was smiling wickedly with her dog in her lap. "I have the most amazing news to tell you. You definitely owe me one."
"Huh?" Nihilus raised his eyes, sitting up a little. "What do you mean?"
"You remember that green haired, dolled up, fancy, whatever, stupid girl that you were working with recently? And brought under your care to help her hide from police or whatever it is you were doing?" She began to mess with her golden locks, her teeth only showing more as she grinned.
"Kagami." He corrected with a nod. "And yes, I do. Why do you ask?"
"Well I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with her. So I sent Tohopka to investigate your new buddy in crime." She chuckled softly, watching him shift around before leaning on his hand with a bored expression. "Turns out she's a no good, goodie two shoes. She's a Huntress and was working with the police. You're welcome for busting her before she got you and the others arrested."
He blinked a few times, his eyes dead as he brushed back some of his hair out of his eyes with a shrug. "Really? Huh."
"Oh come on! You don't even care! Not one bit?" She exhaled, leaning forward. "Of course you wouldn't. You of all people would be the one who doesn't care you nearly got arrested." She rolled her eyes before smiling as she glanced at him. "But that's what I like about you. Nihil." She winked.
Rolling his eyes back, he only scoffed. "Not like Thanaton and I couldn't kill someone before they got to us. There's no reason to worry."
"You're right. There isn't." Katie gave off a small life. "Mommy took care of them." She then blinked, reaching across the table to grab a few strands of his hair. "Are these greys on you already?" Her brows furrowed.
Slowly pushing her hand away, Nihilus shook his head as his hair fell back across his eyes. "They're nothing." He mumbled, leaning back onto his hand. "So what did your mother do?"
"She bit that green haired, double sided, bitch." She said proudly, smiling wide. "And gave her commands to kill her teammates. So you definitely don't have to worry about dealing with them ever again." She nodded just as the waitress came back.
Watching the glass bottle being placed on the table with a soft clank, he blinked slowly, staring at the red eyed blonde for a moment before shaking his head with a faint smile. "She didn't have to, I could have handled it myself. But give your mother my regards for helping us out."
"And that's what I like about you." She giggled softly, reaching over and grabbing one of the two matching glas cups on the table.
Running through the Emerald Forest, Cheyenne, Kris, and Elise were all jumping from tree branch to tree branch. The ground below them zooming past as they each went as fast as they could. Grinding her teeth together, the Faunus glanced back, seeing a blurred glimpse of green following closely behind them.
"This is bad! This is bad! We can't fight Kagami!" Kris shouted, her torn trench coat blowing against the wind as she struggled to keep her pace.
"Well we can't keep running forever!" Cheyenne yelled back, panting softly as she launched herself from tree to tree.
"And we can't exactly hope Kagami's strong enough to overpower that witch's poison!" Elise swallowed thickly, her hands balling up into tight fist. "Nihilus said that her semblance runs off willpower! The stronger the person, the more likely she's able to take control!"
"So what are we supposed to do for the next couple of hours, you know, while our friend is trying to kill us!" The young redhead snapped a bit, her brow twitching.
"We may be teammates but we are definitely not friends." Kagami's distorted voiced muttered from behind as the slash of a sword echoed in the air. Cheyenne yelping as the branch below her was cut, followed by Kris' and Elise's. As the three landed on the ground and stood up, Kagami landed in front of them on one knee, slowly rising with a ruthless grin. "Understand?"
"We understand that you're not right in the head at the moment." Elise grinded her teeth, her chest heavily rising and falling as she stared at her team leader. "And that you're not thinking clearly or making your own decisions."
Scoffing, the jadette shook her head while twirling her sword. "Do you honestly believe that? Maybe I've always felt this way and I've just been hiding it deep down. Maybe I really, really hate all of you and can't wait till your blood covers my hand."
"Because you wouldn't be you if you did. That's why you're not yourself at the moment." Cheyenne slowly took a step back, her hands reluctantly going towards her modified rifle. "We don't... we don't want to fight you."
"But I want to kill you." She snarled, lunging forward with a quick slash at the Faunus.
Quickly stepping in between the two with her duel weapons crossed over in an x to stop the blade, Kris grunted softly with her boots digging into the ground below. "We don't want to hurt you! Come on! Snap out of it!" She demanded.
Smirking, she stepped back, twirling her weapon around. "That's not going to happen-" She was cut off, Elise's feet colliding with her face and sending her flying back across the woodland ground.
Landing on her feet and nearly hyperventilating, Elise looked as if she had just done the toughest thing in the world. Her jaw was tight as her hands barely trembled. Taking a deep breath, she inhaled as much as she could as she looked at the other two. "I... I don't think we have a choice..." She muttered, her voice shaky as she tried to pull herself together. "I... I think we have to fight her. And beat her. She's an amazing hero and I don't even want to imagine what she'd be like if Sanguine had her full time against the people of Vale."
The Faunus and the redhead both glanced at each other, brows furrowed before they slowly nodded. Grabbing her gun and fully pulling it out, Cheyenne took a deep and shaky breath. "You call the shots. What's the plan?" She eyed the brunet.
"You think you three can out wit me?" Kagami chuckled softly, pushing her hair out of her face as she stood up. Leaves and debris falling off her shoulders. "Especially with the dunderhead calling all the moves? You do remember the first day of school that klutz tried to shoot you because she thought you were a deer on school grounds, don't you?"
Gulping with a slight flinch, Elise turned around to eye her. "Listen, Kagami, I know you're not in control, and I know these words aren't yours. Just hang in there. We're going to fix this. I promise. And when we're done I'll write you another beautiful poem." She smiled brightly.
"That poem you wrote was trash." Kris muttered.
"Shut up." She hissed, looking around at their surroundings. "Collapse a few trees, Chey. It'll give us more leverage while fighting. Kris and I will distract her."
"On it." The Faunus nodded as the redhead stepped up besides the young farm girl, her weapons being held like tonfas with blades extended.
Letting out a huff of air, Kagami shook her head. "You think that will help you? You're all going to die out here!" She shouted, giving off a war cry as she ran forward, her sword in a reverse grip.
"I'll take right." Elise quietly said, grabbing her baton as she took off.
"Left it is then." Kris nodded, exhaling as she took steps to the left and came around towards her in an arch. Her eyes locked on and watching her friend's every movement.
Eyes quickly darting between the two, the jadette took a large step forward with her left foot, her sword coming up and blocking the candy cane weapons with a heavy clash as she brought her left arm up, grunting softly as she blocked the baton with her forearm. She slid her blade back up against the duel blades, metal shimmering against metal as she brought her arm around, Sending her right fist straight into Elise's face. As the brunet stumbled back, she kept the momentum of her body going, bringing her right leg up and colliding it with the redhead's side.
The group quickly dispersed, a large tree falling down between them followed by several more around them. Some were flat on the ground while others were left at an angle. Grinding her teeth together, Kagami quickly surveyed the area. "You know, snipers are cowards! You have no nerves, you're so scared you have to hide from the battle and fight! And you lack so much skill all you can do is pull a damn trigger! You are nothing but a coward, Cheyenne!"
Taking a deep breath, the deer Faunus changed her rifle setting to a light blue. "Don't worry. She's going to be fine." She quietly mumbled, reassuring herself as she softly exhaled. Quickly standing up and over a fallen down tree, she took aim behind her team leader's back. Two quick shots fired off, both striking each of Kagami's feet. Seeing her stumble a bit as her feet were encased in ice, Cheyenne quickle ducked back down behind the tree, moving as fast as she could to another spot that kept her hidden.
"You know, you're being a real bitch right now! Brainwashed or not!" Kris shouted, taking her trench coat off and flicking her wrist as the toys underneath were sent scattering across the woodland grounds. Dropping the clothing, she spun both her weapons, retracting the blades as she held them like a set of pistols. Taking a few steps forward, She began to fire shots, one after another with clenched teeth.
Groaning, Kagami started to let out several heavy breaths, her blade moving as fast as lighting as each bullet bounced of the tinted metal with sharp clinks.
With the jadette distracted with blocking, Elise bolted forward. Th redhead pulling back her shots as the brunet brought her baton around in a backwards swing with her left hand, striking Kagami in the face and sending her stumbling away as the ice shattered around her feet. Grimacing like it pained her more to do so, she didn't let up and instead stepped forward more. Not letting her friend have time to recompose herself, she brought her right fist up in a harsh uppercut, the jadette's head tilting back slightly before her body arched forward as Elise's foot struck her in the chest and sent her back.
Groaning, she placed her hands down against the ground, forcing her body to flip over backwards. Her boots digging into the ground along with her hands as she forced herself to stop. Rising to her feet, she clutched her sword tight, brushing her thumb across her nose as she glared forward. Her sight quickly diminishing as a blast of steam exploded in front of her, blinding her sight.
Exhaling, Cheyenne leaned her head back a little with her eyes shut before she slid down a tree that had fallen at a angle. "Kris! Chain!" She shouted, jumping on top of another tree and running across it.
The redhead glanced at Elise, the brunet nodding, to her to which she threw one of her weapons in the air, letting it twirl as she grabbed the straight edge. Pulling her arm back like she was going to throw a ball, she threw her arm forward, the curved part of her weapon launching out into the foggy mist. Tugging back as hard as she could, she gave off a faint scream, her jaw flexing as she flashed her teeth.
Watching as Kagami was pulled from the fog and thrown through the air, Elise took a deep breath, taking aim as she gently and hesitantly squeezed the trigger. A dart zooming through the air and striking Kagami's right hand.
Flinching as a sharp pain shot through her arm, the jadette dropped her sword with her eyes clenched shut as she flew through the air. Her eyes only opening as her back struck a tree as she gasped loudly as a large chunk of her aura was chipped away.
"...I'm sorry..." Cheyenne mumbled quietly, her brows furrowed as she gulped. Taking aim, she shut her eyes, looking away as she fired. A red blast hitting Kagami and exploding in a rush of fire.
As the smoke cleared, the jadette coughed a as she dropped down to her knees with heavy breathing. She groaned, her head hanging low as she placed her hands against the ground. Before she could even stand, Kris rushed forward, snatching up her left arm and holding it back as Cheyenne jumped down, doing the same with her right arm.
"We didn't want to hurt you." Elise mumbled, putting her rifle behind her back as she put her baton away. Gulping, she stepped up towards her friend who was struggling in the Faunus and redhead's grip. "But... we're not going to let you do anything you'd regret later." She took a deep breath, letting her arms hang down at her sides as she stood directly in front of Kagami who let her head hang down, her hair covering her face. "I'm really... really sorry." The brunet's brows furrowed heavily as she brought her fist back. "You'll thank me when you wake up." She swallowed thickly, sending her arm forward.
Snarling with her teeth show, Kagami glared through her hair that shrouded her face, only one eye showing and it still glowing red from Sanguine's poison. Forcing her feet upward, she wrapped her left leg around the brunet's arm, the heel of her right boot smashing into her nose. Pushing off her, she flipped over backwards, pressing her feet against the tree that was behind her. "You'll have to try harder than that!" She hissed, jerking her arms together as Cheyenne and Kris collided together.
With her arms now freed, she straightened her legs, launching herself off the tree and rolling onto the ground while standing up in one fluid motion. Taking two steps forward, she grabbed the face of Elise who was catching her balance. Smirking, the two's eyes met. The brunet's going wide as Kagami's eyes faded to a dark green mixed with red. "You're nothing but a worthless waste of space! Oum knows why any is even friends with you!"
Giving off a battle cry, the jadette forced her hand down, slamming the young farm girl's head into the ground as the impact indented itself in the dirt. As Elise screamed, she simply gripped her face tighter, speaking louder. "You're impulsive! Ignorant! And just down right completely stupid in some situations!" She pushed down harder with her hand, the ground breaking apart more as a chunk of Elise's aura was lost. Raising her arm while still gripping the brunet's face, she forcefully shoved the back of her head back into the dirt. Elise screaming as her aura completely faded away. She then quickly pulled back, disappearing in a cloud of smoke just as Kris' weapons swiped through the mist that faded.
"Damn it." Kris cursed, panting softly as she crouched down next to Elise. "Are you okay?" She quickly asked, helping her sit up a little.
"Ugh... I... have a headache now. A really... really bad headache." The brunet groaned, rubbing her head with her eyes shut, tears faintly swelling up in them. "But I'm fine. We gotta... we gotta stop Kagami." She grimaced, moving her head around slightly before her eyes shot open wide to the sound of Cheyenne screaming.
Grimacing as her hair was being pulled back, the Faunus's brows were twitching as her fingers trembled while holding her rifle. Behind her, Kagami had a tight hold on her light brown hair, pulling back hard enough to make her held tilt back as the smoke around them dissipated. "And you... you're just plain pathetic." The jadette whispered quietly, pulling harder as her eyes reverted back to a bloody red.
"You're nothing but a runaway feeding off of others. You couldn't even make it on your own. You're soft and weak." Snarling, she let go of her hair, immediately putting her into a headlock as she moved her lips close to her ear. "Without anyone else, you're nothing but a pushover who couldn't punch the broad sid of a-"
She was cut off, Cheyenne dropping her rifle as she reached up and grabbed Kagami's arms. "Be quiet!" She snapped, her voice going loud as she jerked her leader off her, keeping a hold of her right wrist as she pulled that arm behind her back, keeping her left arm on her back as she pushed her down to her knees. "You can just be quiet! I don't care if you're brainwashed!" She gritted her teeth her eyes watering only a bit. "You can just shut up!" Her voice echoed, birds flying off in the distance as trees were ruffled.
Grunting, Kagami took a few deep breaths, only grimacing as she tried to move. Finally her body relaxed against her hold. "Ow... ouch, Chey... Chey, that hurts." She whimpered a bit, closing her eyes as her hair fell across her face. "Chey, let go please, that hurts."
The Faunus let out a quiet and questioning sound, her brows raising a bit as she let up on her hold. "Cheyenne! No!" Kris shouted in the distance, but by then it was too late. Just as she let up, the jadette quickly smirked, her eyes glowing red underneath the shadow of her hair as she spun around and grabbed her by the neck and the arm.
"See! I told you! Pathetic and soft!" She shouted, flipping her over her and slamming her back into the ground. Pushing her into the ground as she stood, she snatched up the modified Atlas rifle, leaving it on the red Dust setting as she raised her arms. "Happy hunting." She winked, pulling the trigger.
A large explosion went off at her feet, and as smoke and debris cleared the area, Cheyenne was seen laying completely still with her eyes shut on the ground. Kagami staired for a second, watching as her friend's aura completely disappeared. Waiting, she exhaled and groaned as she saw the Faunus' chest moving up and down. "Damn it." She growled a bit, holding up the rifle as she went to reload.
Before she could though, the curved edge of a candy cane weapon flew by, wrapping around the rifle and jerking it out of her grasp. Growling, she looked up and glared just in time for her chest to be kicked by Kris, sending her falling onto her back and skidding away across the ground as more of her aura was chipped away.
"Kris!" Elise shouted, stumbling heavily as she ran across the area, her head pounding with each step she took.
"On it!" The red ead shouted back.
Nodding, she kneeled down, skidding across the dirt for a second as she came up next to Cheyenne. "Hey, hey. Hey." She gently nudged her, her hands firmly gripping her shoulders, her vision blurring for a second before coming back. "Chey, you're okay, aren't ya?"
Groaning softly back, the Faunus shifted around slightly while opening one eye halfway. "What do you think...?" She quietly muttered, taking a deep breath and letting it out shakily.
"Right, right sorry. Bad question." She stuttered a bit, grabbing her arm and pulling her over her shoulder as she helped her towards a tree. Setting her down as gently as she could, she leaned her back up against it. "Don't worry. Kris and I got this. You just take it easy."
Cheyenne slowly nodded, coughing a bit as she leaned her head back. "Sorry... about that..." She muttered, swallowing thickly as she inhaled. "It sounded like her... and it sounded like she was in pain..."
"Shh," The farm girl reached up, pushing her finger up against her friend's lips with a smile. "Don't worry about it. Sometimes things happen. It's not your fault. You were just looking out for a friend."
Sighing, she slowly nodded back while closing her eyes. "Like how it wasn't your fault Katie bit you and knocked you out...?"
Elise was quiet for a second, her jaw flexing before she gave a slow nod back and stood up. "Yeah. Sometimes we all make mistakes. And sometimes we can't stop what's going to happen. Just like how it's not Kagami's fault for what's happening now. If anything, we have that stupid Zucchini to blame." She groaned a bit, rolling her eyes.
"Mhmm..." She quietly let out, letting her body relax.
Turning around, the brunet started to step away but then stopped, quickly glancing back behind her at her friend. "And don't let what Kagami said get to you. You're amazing and kind hearted. And that's what we love about you. You wouldn't have gotten this far in life if you were weak. And even if you were weak," She grinned a bit. "What would be wrong with that? You'd be a badass friend anyway." Seeing the Faunus smile softly, the young farm girl gave a nod while smiling to herself as she hurried away.
Groaning deeply with heavy breathing, Kagami looked up with narrowed eyes after being pushed back. Grinding her teeth together, she slowly started to walk around in a circle with Kris on the other side of her. The redhead blowing strands of her hair out of her face as she gripped her candy caned weapons like tonfas.
Reaching up, the jadette brushed her nose while snarling. She quickly glanced around before smirking as she stopped moving. Locking eyes with her friend for a split second, she slid a foot back as her eyes flashed to a bright green mixed with a glowing red. She held out her hands behind her back, inhaling heavily as she closed her eyes and threw her arms forward.
Kris blinked once, tilting her head in slight confusion before her eyes widened. She quickly started to take several steps back, twirling her weapons around as several small tiny toy jet planes shot through the air towards her, exploding on contact with her canes. Seeing a shadow above her, she glanced up, gritting her teeth and crossing her forearms as Kagami's boots collided with them.
Grunting, Kagami pushed herself off, backflipping away as she landed and skidded across the ground. "Just how long do you expect to keep this up?!" She shouted, her chest heavily rising and falling as she glared at her teammate as her eyes faded back to blood red. "You can't keep fighting someone you're completely outmatched to!"
Sliding back herself, the redhead softly exhaled while lowering her arms. "You're one to talk." She placed her weapon in her left hand in her right hand, holding them both in one hand. "You look like you're about to fall over and collapse yourself! Even your aura can be depleted! You're not unbeatable!"
"It doesn't matter if I'm not unbeatable," She let out a low growl, lowering herself into a low fighting stance. "All that matters is if I can kick your sorry ass. Which should be easy, considering how small you are, Christmas." She put emphasis on the name, mocking it in the most degrading tone she could.
"I think I liked it better when you didn't talk much." She rolled her eyes, holding her right hand down with her fingers outspread. Looking back at her leader, she quietly exhaled. "At least then we only have to deal with one smart mouth." She flashed her teeth a bit, flicking her wrist.
"You better hope you can move your legs as fast as you can run your mouth." She spat back, quickly looking around. Seeing a fleet of toy helicopter flying towards her,she scoffed and rolled her eyes, quickly jumping back and dodging between them. "Did you honestly think you can hit me that easily?"
"No. I don't." She took a deep breath, keeping her arm still.
As Kagami's brows furrowed, her eyes soon widened as she felt the ground beneath her feet moving. She glanced down, teeth flashing as she was swept off her feet by two toy cars. With her back crashing into the ground, she heavily grunted, spitting out a bit as the wind was knocked out of her.
Letting out a heavy huff of air, Kris rolled her head back, taking a second to catch her breath as she put her weapons away. Slowly and cautiously walking up towards her friend, she kept her hands balled up in tight fist. "You shouldn't underestimate me. I would think you of all people would understand that."
Panting heavily, she slowly rolled over onto her stomach, pushing herself onto her hands and knees. Her long green hair falling across her shoulders and wrapping around her face. Swallowing thickly as sweat dripped from her nose and onto the ground, she shakily pushed herself up to her knees while staring up at her friend.
"This is it, got it?" She brushed her red hair behind her ear. "There's no point in fighting anymore. You've lost, and when you wake up, everything will be fine." She pulled out one of her candy cane weapons in her right hand, holding it by the curve with the straight edge against her arm. Gulping, her serious expression faded to a softer, more regretful one. "I'm sorry..." She whisper, bringing her arm around to bash her in the head.
Watching the weapon coming towards her, the jadette's eyes slowly widened. Puffing out her chest as her head followed the candy cane's line of travel, she brought up her left arm in a last resort effort. Balling her hand into a tight fist, she moved it behind her neck, letting her bicep and forearm block her face.
There was a loud smack, metal hitting body as Kagami cried out and fell over onto her side. Her aura finally breaking and fizzling away as it was fully depleted. Hitting the ground with a loud thud, she grinded her teeth together while her fingers dug into the dirt below her. Snarling, and with her remaining strength, she spun her legs around, swiping at her friend's feet and catching her off balance.
"You-You'll have to try... a lot harder than th-that!" She shouted, her voice trembling as she pushed herself up with shaky limbs. She brought her left arm around, slamming it into the young girl's chest and pushing her back. The impact of the strike making her gasp for air and drop her weapon. To which the jadette quickly snatch up, holding the straight edge in her right hand, her knuckles turning white as she brought it around and struck her in the hand.
"Do you think you can get rid of me just like that? This isn't some sparring match in one of your combat schools!" She brought the weapon around, striking Kris after each sentence she spoke as she desperately tried to block herself. "But what would you know about that! You didn't even finish your training! You decided you were something special because you were that witch's niece and pushed yourself ahead! News flash! You're not even worth being called special!"
She brought the weapon around once more before bringing her leg around and kicking her in the side, sending her colliding up against a tree. As she slid down it, she quietly groaned with her eyes shut as her aura disappeared from the strain of this fight and the one before.
Now not even breathing with her mouth closed and loose strands of her hair dangling over her eyes, Kagami flipped the weapon around, taking aim at the redhead with the weapon as she held onto the trigger. Just before she could fire though, a dart shot out, striking her wrist. "Gah!" She immediately dropped the weapon, stumbling back a bit while holding her arm. Gritting her teeth as her entire body trembled, she glanced down at her wrist, seeing crimson red dripping down.
Jumping down off a fallen over tree, Elise reloaded her air compressed rifle with another dart before she swung it back across her back. Gulping, she bit her lip as she rolled her shoulders back and the expression in her eyes softened. "I'm sorry I had to do that." She quietly muttered, swallowing thickly yet again.
Swaying a bit, the jadette took a step forward. "I'm going... to knock you out cold... and then I am going to kill each of you, leaving you for last at the hopes you wake up and see their blood on my hands..." She snarled, showing her teeth as her chest rose and fell.
"I'm not going to let you do that." She slowly shook her head, the action making the pain sting sharper for a split second as she groaned. "You're not going to kill me. You're not going to kill any of us. You're not going to kill anyone, ever. It's not you, and it would eat you alive if you ever did." She sniffed a bit, taking a few steps forward. "I'm not going to let you do something you'd regret. Especially considering you're not the one in control right now."
"That's ironic... coming from someone who enjoys killing animals for fun." She snapped, taking a few deep breaths as she slowly let go of her bleeding wrist. "Real ironic."
"We're not getting into this. Not now." She slowly pulled out her baton, grimacing at the pain in her head as she tried as hard as she could to ignore it.
"Heh..." The jadette faintly smiled, sliding one foot back as she lowered herself down. Still breathing heavily thought it had calmed down some. "What? Does your little head hurt...? Maybe if you didn't need people to save your impulsive self all the time... you wouldn't get hurt in the first place..."
Elise's jaw tightened a bit, her eyebrows moving close together as her eyes narrowed. It had been a long day. A long day for sure. Quickly exhaling, she bolted forward, keeping a firm hold on her baton.
Growling back, Kagami took off forward, her arms loosely following her body. "This is your end!" She shouted, bringing her fist around with her teeth flaring.
Gritting her teeth, the brunet ducked down, dodging the blow as she brought her baton up in an upward bash.
Jumping back, she heavily exhaled dropping her body down low as she brought her leg around to swipe her off her feet.
She quickly jumped up, bringing her legs close to her chest before her boots came crashing into the ground. Sliding one foot back, she lunged forward, bringing her baton around to her torso.
The jadette brought her left arm to her side, blocking the strike with a heavy grunt. She then sent her hand forward, the palm of her hand shoving up against her chest and shoving her back.
Elise skidded backwards, groaning softly as she shook her head. She glanced up, quickly dropping down and sliding underneath her friend as she attempted to kick her with both feet.
Landing on her feet, Kagami aggressively blew strands of her hair out of her face as she turned around, her hands balling up in tight fist. She spun her body around, bringing her foot around in a roundhouse kick that collided with her teammate's face just as she stood back up.
The young farm girl dropped to the ground almost immediately while dropping her baton, shakily holding herself on her hands and knees. With her eyes shut, she let out a quiet whimper, her head feeling like it was about to explode in pain.
"Heh..." Scoffing, the jadette slowly walked up to her, swaying a bit with heavy breathing. "Did you... did you really... think you could beat me?" Seeing her friend trying to get up, she slid her foot back, sending it forward into her stomach with a snarl.
Crying out, she fell to her side, her arms wrapped around her stomach. Coughing heavily, she struggled to breathe for a couple seconds before she slowly opened her eyes.
Kneeling down on top of her friend, the leader of team MACE reached down, her fingers slowly wrapping around her neck. "Goodbye..." She hissed, slowly squeezing her fingers, her knuckles turning white as she leaned down to be face to face with her, watching her face slowly turn red.
Elise struggled, her feet digging into the ground as she tried to push herself up, her hands clawing at Kagami's arm. Her chest soon began to ache, her head pounding away in time with her own heartbeat. As her vision soon started to become blotchy, she leaned her head back, letting her arms fall down to her sides as her chest trembled and moved up and down.
With one eye shutting, the brunet let her head roll to the side. Her vision started to blur more, the world around her spinning as she spotted her baton. Trembling as she moved her head to look back up at Kagami, she slowly moved her right hand, her fingers slowly wrapping around the handle of the baton. Staring up at her friend, she closed her other eye, the pressure in her head overwhelming.
There was then a loud thunk, metal coming in contact with a head. Dropping the weapon, she gasped for air as the fingers around her neck released her. Coughing heavily, she rolled over, her hands holding her neck as she curled up. The bright red color slowly fading from her face. After a minute, she slowly opened her eyes, rolling over onto her other side.
There she saw Kagami, motionless with the cruel and wicked facial expression gone from her face and now showing a more relaxed one. Her back gently rising and falling with each breath she took. A small stream of red dripping from the left side of her head.
Breathing heavily, Elise rolled onto her back, staring up at the sky as the sun began to set. The sky fading from blue to a deep orange. Swallowing thickly, she closed her eyes while letting her arms rest across her chest. It was over. That nightmare was finally over.