The room was silent. All eyes were on Ari and Hine. Ari stood relaxed, one hand on her hip and the other smoothing the stray blonde hairs on her head. Hine, on the other hand, was fidgety and hopped on the spot, his cheeks pink.

"Ready to face your defeat?" said Hine in a grand voice. Ari didn't reply, keeping her blue eyes on him. He scowled when he failed to garner a response.

The students held their breath. The air came to a still.

One moment Hine was in her sight. The next moment, Ari almost fell on her face when she dived out of the way to evade his first attack. A rush of wind whipped the stray hairs away from her ponytail. Something skimmed her cheek, grazing the skin slightly. Ari stumbled and straightened up, her heart racing and her mouth open.

Hine skidded to a halt about twenty metres away. His trainers screeched on the hard floor, echoing in the auditorium. He rose with deliberation, a smirk on his face.

"Wasn't expecting that, were you?" he called. "Not so cocky now, eh?"

Ari watched him with heightened awareness. Hine's ability was evidently acceleration, but she'd never seen it in action as he was so low ranked. But the speed just now was impossible for a Rank D user – no, he would have to be at least Rank B, if not higher. The difference was astonishing.

So this was what happened after a user powered up.

A familiar adrenaline rush coursed through her body. She flexed her fingers and placed her weight on the balls of her feet. Hine hopped on the spot, his eyes bright.

Hine disappeared again. Ari's eyes darted around the room. Dust rose in his wake, but she could barely keep her eyes on his form. He was on her from the right. Ari spun; another fist skimmed by her. She couldn't see where his attacks came from.

Bad breath on her face was the next thing she noticed. A dark shape moved towards her head. She touched her necklace and discharged some electricity. Strength flowed down her legs. She shot backwards.

Hine's second attack missed her face by a millimetre. If she'd jumped back any later that would have hit her squarely in the face. The attack overbalanced him. He stumbled, swearing. Gathering his composure, he stood up, licking his teeth with his tongue, panting.

Ari berated herself for using Mina's necklace in a panic. There was no way of knowing what else was in store. She couldn't deplete all the energy right now when she didn't even know where her sister was.

She barely noticed all the eyes of the auditorium on her back. All she could see was Hine – dangerous, bloodthirsty Hine. His advantage was speed. She couldn't see him, so she couldn't deflect his energy. If she could catch him—

He ran towards her again. Ari caught his footwork and his expression before he vanished from her sight. Hine might be more powerful, but he wasn't well-trained. He was coming in to her right again. She sidestepped, keeping an eye for the path leading up to her previous position, and sure enough, once her eyes attuned, she could see Hine passing.

He cursed, skidding to a halt. It took him three seconds to come to a standstill. Ari realised that, although he had great bursts of energy, he couldn't really control it. He had to make an obvious start and projectile and each move took him a long time to recover. Standing still was inviting him to aim properly.

Ari moved the next time Hine moved. He came for her straight-on – a reckless decision. He was becoming desperate now that she saw his weakness. Ari was ready for him. She timed his approach and then stepped to the side. On cue, he breezed by, yelling swearwords.

It didn't solve the problem though. She was able to evade him. So long as she kept her eyes on him whenever he initiated movement, she was able to avoid him, but that wasn't going to defeat Hine.

He seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

"Running isn't going to save you, Transformer!" he said, breathless. "Is that the best you can do? Just dance out of the way?"

If she could catch him when he was in full swing, she could divert that energy. But she would have to do it without getting hit herself, or the injuries would be severe.

He shot forward. Another straight-on attack. Hine didn't seem inspired in terms of strategies. If Ari focused enough, she could see the dust in his wake and could predict his next movement.

Without warning, Hine missed a step. For a split second, Ari lost sight of him.

He drove her back with a ram from above. Ari's hands flew to the point of contact. Kinetic energy surged in her core, but Hine wasn't slowing. Her breath left her lungs as he continued to press against her. The more kinetic energy she stored, the more he seemed to generate – which was impossible. Acceleration and energy generation were two different classes of abilities. He couldn't have both.

When Ari couldn't hold any more, she discharged it. A burst of electricity flew across the auditorium, causing some of the lights to explode. Students screamed, leaping from their seats on the wooden stairs and fled.

It was a wild shot. She missed Hine. Taking advantage of the pause, he grabbed her by the wrists and threw her across the room. Wind whipped through the loose hairs from her ponytail. The ground passed beneath her. Disorientated, Ari sucked in several breaths. She managed to get one foot between her body and the wall before she slammed into it. Kinetic energy stored in her body again. Her knee bent, absorbing the impact. Her head tilted up.

Hine was gone.

"Think you got the better of me, huh?" he said with a grunt.

Ari flinched. He was above her. A leg came slamming down. She blocked it, feeling her energy supply fill to the brim. Gritting her teeth, she sent a blast of electricity out. Hine withdrew his leg so quickly he gave her friction burns. Ari yelped. Her shot hit the far wall, dissipating into the rocks. She sent out another blast, emptying her supply. She started to fall.

Hitting the wooden steps, Ari absorbed the energy. The students had retreated to the edges of the room; some had even fled, leaving only the curious ones watching despite the danger. She propelled herself forward, spinning in the air to face Hine. Sure enough, he had planned to hit her once she landed. A chair smashed onto the wooden steps from which she'd rebounded a split second before. Shards flew everywhere.

Ari landed about ten metres away, electricity crackling from the soles of her feet to soften her impact. Hine was on the balcony overlooking the auditorium, his eyes trained on her. Ari's arms still ached from his attacks. It was difficult to gauge how much energy Hine delivered when he moved so quickly.

He hurled another chair at her. The speed of it was incredible. A brown blur flew in her direction. Ari jumped out of the way and shielded her face when it smashed into pieces, showering her with splintered wood.

A punch came from her blind spot. Ari shifted her hands, realising too late the chair was a distraction. Her hand cushioned Hine's fist just in time. Her core surged with his strength. Her feet scraped on the floor – the strength was mind-blowing. Hine's momentum carried her backwards.

Up close, Hine's eyes were wide, the pupils dilated. Veins stood out on his forehead.

Ari increased the friction between her feet and the floor, all the while converting Hine's punch into electricity, dissipating it into the ground. Yet he continued to push.

Sweat dripped down Ari's face. Her throat was closing up with each gasp of breath. Her muscles strained against Hine's assault. The energy levels jumped up and down. It was tricky keeping that in check and watching for Hine's intentions at the same time. It had been a while since she'd actually focused on a fight. Mina was waiting for her.

She waited until her core filled and then discharged. Hine growled, trying to withdraw. She kept a strong grip on his hands and poured the energy in. Hine's face flushed bright red, his limbs jerking out of control. He yelled. Hands locked over Ari's, seizing up with the shock.

With another yell, he tore his hands from her grip and shoved her away. There wasn't as much power this time, but Ari still skidded backwards, one palm dragging on the floor in front of her. Hine stood panting, his eyes wild.

"You're relentless, aren't you?" he said breathlessly. One of his legs jerked and he winced.

Ari said nothing, studying him. He shouldn't have been able to break free from her grasp. His muscles had tensed up from the electric shock, and yet he was able to overcome that. Time was ticking.

"Keeping silent won't change the outcome, Transformer!"

"I'm not making a point of being quiet. I just don't have many idle comments to make."

Hine scowled at her from across the room.

"Always pretending to be so cool. God, you've no idea how horrible March City is!"

Ari wanted to ask why he blamed her so much for March City's shortcomings on low-achievers when she didn't even realise the struggles existed, but Hine didn't wait for her to reply.

He sped forward again. The shock seemed to have slowed him down. His limbs moved in a sluggish manner, likely still numb. It didn't make his attacks any less deadly, but at least Ari could see him now.

Hine threw punch after punch, each one accelerated and packed with energy. Ari was forced back, parrying each hit. Sparks and bolts of electricity flew through the air with every negated assault. Even though slowed down, Ari just about kept up with him. Hine moved so quickly that one slip-up could be fatal. She had to bring him down soon. His persistence made any initiation of attack difficult. His eyes burned like the red curfew lights at night time, intense and hungry.

Ari's mouth was dry. Her eyes jumped all over the place, keeping up with his flurry of movements. The sound of skin hitting skin, punctuated with grunts and crackles of electricity, filled the air. She continued to back up, with Hine closing in on her. They might as well have been alone.

Ari slowed her breathing in an attempt to keep her senses sharp. Two hands of his, two hands of hers. Energy in, energy out. Her core energy jumped up and down. Her arms started to ache again. She wasn't deflecting enough energy – some of his attacks actually dealt damage.

"I know your weakness, Transformer," he said under his breath.

Ari wondered how close she was to the far wall. The auditorium extended behind Hine. If she hit the wall, there was nowhere to run.

"You can only transform energy if you see it coming," he continued. "But if you're distracted, you won't react in time. Like this!"

Ari deflected his latest punch, her eyes flicking to his right hand and expecting another attack.

Instead, his left leg came up. Agony exploded in her flank. She cried out, feeling her feet leave the ground. Her head swarmed with pain senses. Before she could place her hands or feet beneath her, she hit the adjacent wall.

Pain shot up and down her spine. Her breath was torn out of her lungs. With a guttural noise, she collapsed on the ground. Darkness closed in.

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