Ash rolled just in time to avoid the wind from behind. She was on her feet in milliseconds, continuing on her way as though nothing had happened.

The ground cracked behind and vines appeared out of the floor. Tobias' swung his blades, cutting them as fast as they grew and tried to catch hold of him. Ash dodged them. However, they did the job of slowing them down.

Daxon tried to follow the two in his team carrying out the assault, however, a yell made him turn his attention behind where his opponents had grabbed the flag and began their retreat.

They'll win this round, Callous yawned.

Ash ignored him and continued to push. She needed to at least put in some effort if she was going to hold back and hide her true power for now.

The lack of attacks from behind showed the team had turned to defend their members with the flag. Their goal was obvious, to bring it back to their side and score as soon as possible.

Tobias glanced over at Ash and nodded. With a new burst of speed, Ash dove forward while the other skidded to a halt. Turning, he eyed the approaching opponents and the flag in their hands. The boy's eyes flashed, and he raised his blades out before him.

Red.

It appeared in a mist-like form and seeped out to both sides, forming a barrier facing the approaching group. Though it looked innocent enough, it was far from so.

Adonis' arrows flew with a vengeance but were deflected by a forcefield every time.

Ash kept on her path, leaving the rest to her teammates.

Her eyes focused on the flag ahead. It stayed in the center of the whirlpool, out of arms reach. She didn't slow down.

One, she counted the step.

Behind her, Tobias flashed out of existence. He reappeared in the air, weapons aimed at the neck of the enemy carrying the flag. His attempt was foiled as a vine shot out of the ground and wrapped around his leg. He slashed it lose before it could smash him to the ground.

Two. Ash was almost upon the whirlpool.

Adonis pulled back the bowstring, the arrow of light etched into it was a lot brighter than before.

Three. Ash jumped. While performing a flip, she reached out and snatched the flag from its spot. A moment later, she landed safely on the opposite side and whirled. The other team was almost back in their zone.

Boom!

The ground between Ash and her opponents exploded as a large burst of light hit it.

As soil and grass rained down around her, Ash paused. Her eyes drifted to the scoreboard floating in the sky.

Is he watching? She couldn't help but wonder.

Her opponents only managed to escape getting blown to bits by skidding to a halt.

Adonis stood, panting at the strain it had taken on him to gather the energy for such an attack.

Are you going to reward him for the effort? Callous asked. Or do you plan to get covered in dirt?

Ash's eyes turned to the scene in front. Her opponents were already recovering and assuming on their journey to the goal.

"B!" Daxon's yell reached Ash's ears.

Nah, she replied to Callous as she took a step forward before breaking into a job. Let's do it their way for now.

Tobias engaged in a fresh attack, successfully forcing two opponents, one with the invisible energy shield, to stay behind and defend.

As she ran right towards the enemy, Ash rolled up the flag around the little pole it came on. She was only a few meters away from colliding with the others when she drew back her arm.

The audience could only watch in admiration as the girl launched the flag through the air. It flew right over the head of the unsuspecting team, heading straight for Daxon, who was wide open.

He didn't even try catching it. Instead, he raised his scythe and used it as a bat to send the flag straight to where Skyer stood close to their zone.

In the meantime, Ash launched herself right into the middle of the three enemies. She made a reach for the flag they carried, forcing them to slow down and defend. Ultimately, she simply ended up dodging attacks.

The air filled with a buzzer.

"1 to zero" a voice spoke. The first round concluded.

Ash immediately ceased any aggression, simply choosing to walk by her stunned opponents. She ignored the blazing eyes and the groans of frustration.

The roar of the crowd was briefly audible as the barrier was lifted for a few moments to motivate the teams.

"You have two minutes to re-group," the same voice from before boomed before the crowd's cheers and jeers shut off.

Ash jogged back in the direction of their original starting position.

"Nice catch!" Daxon, who was already there, thumped Skyler on the back.

She gave a grim smile, her former pale face now filled with a flush from the workout. The war hammer in her hand looked way too big for her, but she held it with ease.

"Is that a crystal activated weapon?" Adonis asked with wide eyes, he was still panting from his former attack.

Skyler nodded shyly.

"Is that really all you've got?" Tobias growled as he walked over to the group. He addressed Adonis, "your stupid arrows are useless."

Adonis' face paled.

"I think the last one was quite impressive," Ash spoke as she joined. She shot Adonis a smile and Daxon added his own thumbs up.

The boy gave them a weak nod.

"Are you kidding?" Tobias wasn't about to let go. "Judging by his state, he can't form an attack like the last one. All his other ones are just bouncing off their defense!"

"We don't have time for this," Daxon warned. The countdown for the next round had already begun and both flags popped out of existence before appearing in their original positions.

"We need someone to distract the barrier ... problem solved," Ash threw out.

"If you're so eager, you do it," Tobias growled.

Why not get rid of this fly? Callous suggested at that moment. All the other teams have been doing so.

Ash eyed the seething boy. I'd rather have a vocal one around that doesn't hide his attention than someone agreeable who's plotting beneath, she replied.

Callous stayed silent.

"Ten," the countdown for the next round counted down the last few seconds.

"Nine."

"What next?" Skyler asked.

"Let's go with formation E," Daxon suggested.

There was none who contended.

"One!"

Both teams sprang into action.

"And why aren't you serious?" Tobias asked as he ran alongside Ash.

She barely shot him a glance.

"Your weapons for decoration or something?"

"Why not focus instead of getting so caught up in everyone else's business?" Ash retorted.

Tobias' lips stretched as he reached behind his back and pulled forth his weapons. "Maybe because I can't help but point out fault when I see it?"

Ahead of them, the other team ran as one.

"Your concern is appreciated," Ash spoke curtly, her eyes tracking the movement ahead, "but it would serve you well to keep them to yourself."

Tobias never replied as the two sprinted on.

Their opponents drew their weapons as they moved, determination in their eyes to crush the two who were brazenly going right for them.

As one, Ash and Tobias came to a halt and leaned over.

The confusion of the team ahead was short-lived as two figures popped into view.

Skyler and Adonis, who'd followed so exactly they'd been hidden from sight, moved in sync.

One.

Two.

They didn't slow. In the next second, they each used an available back as a launchpad.

Skyler raised the hammer in her hands, eyes ablaze as she reached back and gathered her strength. Adonis fitted not one, but three arrows of light to his bow. They were released in midair, whizzing toward the opponents.

One of them immediately raised the invisible forcefield. However, protecting their front meant an attack from below was possible. Therefore, there was nothing they could do when Skyler landed and smashed the large hammer down at the same time.

The ground shook and the force split open the soil. The opponents, not ready for this attack, found themselves toppling and the barrier fell due to a break in concentration.

Zip.

"Ahhh!" a girl rolled to the ground, clutching a bleeding shoulder an arrow had pierced through before disintegrating.

Tobias and Ash were already on the move, not giving them a chance to recover.

Both used the exact same tactic, using Skyler and Adonis' backs to launch themselves and go for an attack.

Daxon leisurely walked along from behind, calmly balancing the scythe on his shoulders. He shot a lopsided grin toward the crowd he could not see, most likely receiving shouts of admiration. He then broke into a jog to join the full-on fight ahead.

As Ash soared through the air, she pulled and tossed several blades in quick succession. The first was blocked by a hastily erected barrier, the second and third by several vines that shot out, and the next by the double-sided pitchfork.

The girl with a bleeding shoulder tottered to her feet, teeth gritted as she raised her uninjured hand, ready to slam it into the ground.

Tobias, who appeared before her, gave a chilling smile and lashed out.

Crack!

A scream echoed as the healthy boy swiftly broke the already injured opponent's arm and deposited her on the ground where she writhed in pain. He quickly followed up with a blade to the second shoulder, resulting in another scream. He was only forced to retreat when another opponent reached him.

Ash didn't comment on the underhand attack. She was too busy reigning blows on the two opponents before her. However, there was a chilling change in the air, causing all her senses to tingle. As she dodged, her eyes darted briefly to the source.

Above, the sky darkened, and clouds gathered.

Skyler, who was fighting the boy with invisible blades, sent him back, blocking his every attempt to get by.

With a yell, the girl dodged his attack and knocked him to the ground. She raised the hammer high above her head, only to freeze up.

There it is, Ash thought as she spun to avoid getting impaled by a pitchfork.

Daxon was cutting through vine after vine, working together with Tobias. Their game plan had become very apparent, take out the opposition team and worry about the flag once they were gone.

Skyler's hesitation was enough for her opponent to react. A wicked smile made it across his face as he thrust out one hand and raised the other.

The next moment was only a second, but it might as well have been longer with all that happened.

The dark clouds above funneled to form a twister. In the same moment, wind blades flew from the other extended hand, traveling faster than Skyler would be able to dodge.

Ash, however, had her eyes on the situation from the start. As she dodged another attack, three daggers flew from her hands. They hit the wind blades, invisible to most, and knocked them out of the way. Only one grazed Skyler's shoulder, shocking her back into reality.

The girl tipped her head back, staring at the funneling cloud that would tear her to shreds. Ash tackled her to the side, sending her stumbling out of the way just as the cloud touched down and tore at the ground.

The wind howled and both teams found it difficult to stay standing. They battled against the danger of getting blown away.

The young man with the wind blade calmly got to his feet. His eyes were now as grey as the sky. His hair and clothes flapped in the wind as he raised a hand. With a flick of his fingers, a twister touched down and grabbed a hold of one of his own teammates. The girl couldn't even let out a scream when she was tossed through the air.

Looks like he's decided to stop playing around, Callous spoke.

Ash rolled off Skyler and scrambled to her feet, eyes settling on the boy's neck. Freed from where it had been hidden below his shirt, a crystal floated in the air. Its color made both team's hearts sink. For the crystal around his neck was a solid black.