*An*

"An," Ning said as we walked through the tunnel of the arena. "Please don't let yourself be blinded by your desire for revenge."

"I won't," I said, walking ahead of her.

She sighed through her nostrils. "Can you even see that you already are?"

My violet eyes glanced at the end of the tunnel. Xing and Yanyu were waiting for me.

"Don't worry, Ning. Once I've defeated them, things should start going back to normal."

"How?" she asked. Her footsteps stopped. "How would anything go back to the way it was? An, you aren't an avenger. You aren't an assassin."

"Who said anything about killing them? I'll make them, at least Aida, suffer the same way Sarah is. I'll crush her throat, rupting her vocal cords and disfigure her. I'll render her cripple..."

"An, stop it!" Ning yelled, running up to me. Her arms wrapped around my waist. "An. Listen to yourself. Don't lower yourself to the same level as Aida."

My fingers curled around Ning's hands. "Yo-"

"Our people follow the rule of an eye for an eye," Xing said, leaning on the tunnel wall. "It's how we show punishment to those who have hurt us or our loved ones. Mercy is for the weak hearted."

I closed my eyes and pulled Ning's hands away. "Yeah."

"What?" Ning cried. "An... don't listen to him."

"Be quiet," I said, walking away.

Aida and two others waited for us in a plain white tiled battlefield.

"Who knew you would get this chance so quickly," Aida said, snickering.

I pulled out my sword. "Shut up, you piece of trash."

Her smile vanished.

"Aida, don't let his words bother you. He's the true piece of trash," her gray haired partner said.

"We will now be starting the second match of round 3! Aief versus H.E.H.!" the announcer yelled. "Begin!"

My first instinct was to aim for Aida, but a shockwave sent me flying. My back got within an inch of touching the field barrier.

The one who hit me struck again but a translucent dome manifested over me. Blood splattered over it as the force of my assailant's punch was deflected back at them. It was the gray haired guy.

"An, don't be so hasty," Yanyu said, continuing to stand in the center of the battlefield. Force-fields also protected Xing and her.

I smiled. I wished I had her power. It would make getting revenge easier, and perhaps Ning would've been happier as the enemy would hurt themselves.

"There's no need to dirty your hands," Yanyu said, closing her eyes.

Aida narrowed her eyes at the masked woman. "You're underestimating us? That's a serious mistake!"

Yanyu snickered. "Nahimana must've been wrong about you," she said, appearing behind her. She kicked Aida to the ground, creating a massive crater.

"Impressive," Aida's other teammate said. Her whole body was covered in black, even her head was covered in a black helmet with a visor covering her face.

She raised her hands out and raised the three of us into the air.

"Why isn't it being deflected?" Xing asked, staring at the barrier.

Yanyu did away with her barrier and threw her axe at the girl.

The mysterious fighter warped away in an instant.

"She's a psychic like me," I said, eyes wide.

"That doesn't explain how she can neutralize my barriers' passive effect," Yanyu said. Her hand caught her returning axe. A blur of gray stuck her head. Green thorn vines rose from the crater, wrapped around her legs, and pulled her down.

"Yanyu!"

"You..." Aida said, emerging from the crater. A large smile covered her face. "Thank you for giving me a challenge!"

Yanyu screamed as more vines appeared. They tore through her white cloak and slashed her skin, dying the once pristine cloth crimson.

"Stop it!" I yelled.

"An, stay back," she yelled, grimacing.

"You cowards!" the gray haired guy said as he stopped behind Yanyu. He placed his hand on her back. A pulse of sound echoed throughout the arena, but he was pushed back by it.

On the spot he touched was a small barrier. Yanyu panted and threw her axe at Aida.

Aida jumped into the air, dodging the spinning weapon. Her vines stabbed Yanyu in multiple places, though some of them were deflected back at her.

Yanyu yanked out some of the vines but let out a scream as soon as she did. Tiny thorns had gotten stuck in her wounds.

"Yanyu!" I yelled. "Let us out! We'll help you!"

"No. If I do then you'll unleash those chains again. You can't overuse your power, An."

"If I don't then you'll end up like Sarah!"

Aida turned to look at me and grinned. "Interesting. I wish to see that power."

Yanyu appeared in front of Aida as she made her way to me. "You would regret that."

The girl snickered. "You're making me even more curious! Now, step aside."

The supersonic mage struck Yanyu in side, sending her falling into the crater that Aida had risen from. "There, go on, Aida," the guy said.

Aida giggled. "Thanks, Ben." Her green eyes focused on the flickering barriers. "Looks like that woman is at her wits end too." Vines rose out of the sleeves of her coat. Their tips grew longer and sharper.

"Yanyu..." I said, clenching my sword more. My knuckles had turned snow-white. Shadows appeared around the ivory blade. Purple chains appeared around me and snapped.

Aida's smile vanished as the barrier around me was broken by the violet aura around me.

She narrowed her eyes at me and dashed forward. One of her vines nicked my arm but the wound quickly healed.

"What?" she said.

I grinned, warping behind her. The edge of my blade touched her neck. "I should slit your throat for what you did to Sarah."

She snickered. "Then why don't you?"

"Because... I want you to suffer. Death is the easy way out for you," I said, smiling.

Her eyes widened.

"Now, to take care of your friends. Xing, go get Yanyu."

"I don't take orders from you, but alright," he said, calmly walking away. "Remember what Yanyu said..."

I blinked. "Hmm? Are you worried about me?"

He scoffed. "As if. Though I can't lose you. I hate to admit it, but you're stronger than both Guang and Ning."

Aida stared at me.

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

"You're not human... at least not completely." She chuckled. "It appears that Sarah has two interesting specimens vying to become her mate. Though I have no clue what it is you two see in her. Her people are an evolutionary dead-end. Mixing your genes with her would be stupid. Why dilute them?"

"You're the one who is stupid," I said, closing my eyes. I warped away and appeared behind Xing. The gray haired guy stuck Aida.

"Aida!" Ben said as his teammate splattered blood.

I smiled. "Come on, hit her more."

Ben vanished from sight. I spun around and blocked with Aida again.

"That's it! More! Make her suffer!" I said, continuing to smile.

"Ben, sto...p," Aida mumbled.

"Aida, why haven't you escaped his grip?"

She grunted. "His power... its restraining mine. It's this weird aura around him."

He glanced at the violet radiance around me.

"I told you to be careful with him," the other girl said. In her hands was Xing's head.

"L-let go of me," Xing said.

"Happy to oblige," she said, dropping him to the floor.

"Xing!" T-that was fast! I hadn't even seen her take him down!

"Now, to clean up your mess..." she said, warping behind me.

I threw Aida at her and flew into the air. "Psyche Draco!" A pink dragon appeared from my forehead and flew down at the H.E.H. trio.

The girl in black held her hand up and blew it away with only her mind.

Aida stood up, her wounds quickly healing. "You two, allow me to finish him off..."

"Look at yourself. You are in no state to fight. Lay low and heal," her teammate said.

She chuckled. "Since when have you cared for your teammates, Ben? I'll be fine." Vines danced around her. "I'll be sure not to fall for the same trick again! Flors Devorans!"

A dark green aura surrounded the vines, ripping them way from her. The vegetation clumped together into a spinning sphere.

I warped away and aimed for the black suited girl's head. Ben stuck my side with a knife.

A barrier of my own making formed around me. Aida's wad of vines lurched at me. The arm-like vegetation wraped around my barrier until it completely surrounded it. Then, the plant opened what appeared to be mouth.

I sighed. "Is this her big spell?" I raised my sword into the air and slammed it to the ground. My barrier and the carnivorous plant dissolved into particles of colorful prana.

Aida bit her lip. "This power, what's its limit?"

"We'll find out!" Ben yelled, vanishing into thin air.

My eyes closed. An image of the arena appeared in my mind's eye. Ben dashed around in circles, building up momentum. Then he turned right with his knife held out for me.

*Clang*

I gasped. My eyes widened as my sword shattered. The thick aura on the blade was enough to hold back Ben's knife, though.

"That was stronger than I anticipated," I said.

"Of course. Ben is the second strongest member of our team. First is her," Aida said, pointing at her black-clad teammate. "It would be a shame if he weren't enough to take you down."

I warped away and appeared next to my fallen teammates. My aura moved around them, healing their wounds.

"An!" Yanyu yelled, opening her eyes. A barrier appeared overhead. Ben let out a scream as his back hit the barrier of the battlefield.

"If you could do that then you should've done it sooner," Xing said, glaring at me.

"Sorry, I was testing the waters a little."

He scoffed. "Like I buy that. You simply wanted all the glory for yourself to look good in the eyes of the princess of Sera."

My cheeks redden. "That's not it."

"Boys, we still got two opponents to take down," Yanyu said, pushing herself up.

Aida walked up to the edge of the crater and smiled. "You did well, An. But you won't be avenging your beloved princess anytime soon." She snapped her fingers.

Yanyu gasped. Spikes appeared out of her body, stabbing her as well as us guys.

"W-what?" Xing said, coughing up blood. He backed away from Yanyu. "A... trap?"

I glanced at the arm that Aida had nicked early. It had been impaled with a thin sword sized thorn.

"H-her thorns..." I said, staggering back.

Yanyu clenched her teeth and pulled out the thorns one after the other.

I covered her in my aura, healing her wounds.

"How long will your powers last?" Aida snapped.

I grinned. "I managed to extend my limit a tad more compared to last time. Though you got a point. I better wrap things up soon."

"Yanyu, Xing, guard me, okay?"

Xing nodded as he held a hand over his chest. One of the spikes had gotten him close to his heart.

I sighed and covered him in my aura once again. "There. That's the last time I heal you. So make this count." Not that I even had enough energy to heal anyone anymore... not even myself...

The psychic girl chuckled. "Flustered, Aida?"

The emerald-haired girl grinned. "A bit. Though I'm also excited..."

The mysterious girl crouched down and sat at the rim of the crater. "Now, how will you break through that woman's barrier?"

"You don't plan to help me?"

A light chuckle filled the air. "You wanted to fight the three of them yourself, did you not?"

Aida tilted her head at the barrier. "Hmm..."

Xing spun his sword in a circle and emerged from the barrier, stabbing Aida near the heart. "You should act quicker! Hesitating in battle is unwise."

I smiled. It was a good idea to have healed him after all. Warping over to Aida, I slammed my elbow against the top of her head, sending her falling to the ground.

Aida gritted her teeth. "Blood...," she whispered.

"Huh?" Xing said, looking at her as if she were insane... which she was.

Roots spread out from her feet and legs. "Give me your blood!" she yelled, raising her head.

"Boys, get away from her!" Yanyu yelled.

Too late, her roots wrapped around the two of us and made their way up to the blood covered areas. My aura had grown too weak to push them back.

Aida chuckled. "Such delicious blood," she said, standing up. "It's rejuvenating. Hmm... I see, so you're part fae... Fae blood is difficult to come by these days. I should gather some more up and take it home for further study."

Yanyu's axe tore through the roots. "You won't be getting more of their blood!"

"You're at your wits end," Aida said, dusting herself off. Vines, roots, and branches slithered out of her sleeves. The roots wrapped around her barrier.

Yanyu stepped back. Since they weren't attack, she couldn't do anything about them.

Xing and I ran at Aida but instead out sword stuck each other. The sadistic mage had jumped high into the air.

"Come An, show more of your power! Show me the power of an heir of the ancient Fae queen!"

Xing's jaw dropped. "What?"

"I'm not sure what she means either." My parents had kept our heritage a mystery.

"Why should I give you what you want?" I snapped.

Aida raised her hands to her lips. "Because, if you don't then a certain someone might be silenced forever."

The plant mage went through the force-field around the arena before anyone had any idea what was happening. Even I didn't. My body had simply moved on its own.

"H-he shattered the barrier..." Xing said.

The crowd roared to life in cheers, others in gasps.

Though Aida remained afloat, vines covering her abdomen, healing the damage of my attack. Her blood covered lips curled into a smile.

Curses... I didn't hurt her nearly enough...

My vision blurred. I was losing elevation... or so it seemed. It was hard to tell as everything was spinning.

"An!" Yanyu screamed.

My vision left me.

"Brother!"

I gasped. "Sis?" I asked, trying to open my eyes. My sister was here? But where? Where was she? I wanted to see her... but everything was black... my eyes and my entire body had gone numb. I wasn't even sure if I was still falling...

Instead my mind, my essence, floated in the dark, sense-deprived void.

For all I knew, I might've been dead...

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter :). Thoughts? Predictions? Theories?**