Markl moved faster as time passed, if that was even possible -- no, it was Carlos who was slow, tiring. He kept up initially, but fell further and further behind, clumsy blocks barely deflecting Markl's one-armed assaults. Cuts appeared on Carlos's arms. Blood dripped on the floor, slipping him up.

A fissure opened with deliberation at the back of Tora's mind. Ross took off at a sprint that hid the extent of her injuries well, light feet skipping between the shards of machinery and discarded wires. Tora lumbered behind, sensation drifting back to her four limbs. Her eyes invariably drifted back to the doomed last match between her two former teammates.

Carlos panted, shimmering in and out of sight. Dark blood dripped onto the floor, smeared by his footprints. Sweat trickled down his forehead. His movements were coarse and unplanned. Markl attacked with unrelenting slashes, forcing Carlos to waste energy diving out of the way. His retaliations missed by miles. Squelches followed every stumble. Carlos's foot slipped in a puddle of his own blood. His arms flailed. Markl accelerated at him, eyes ablaze and bloodied blade aimed to kill.

Ross cannoned out of nowhere straight into Markl. Markl let out a furious yell, crashing into several machines with flashing lights. At the same time, Carlos tumbled down the steps, squawking, before landing spread-angled on the ground with a bam. Some of the machines Markl struck started to smoke; one of the screens cracked and turned to black. Markl leapt to his feet and lashed at Ross, carving her right across the face – except she shimmered into nothingness instead of bleeding.

Markl wheezed, his face turning purple with rage.

"How many times," he seethed, "do I have to kill you lot before you stay dead?"

"You'll have to find out," Ross said, narrowing her eyes.

Markl's lips curled. "At least I know Damien's dead."

Two other Ross copies stood behind Markl. One of them gestured at Tora – get the Artefact.

Tora lugged her useless body onwards, trying to keep discreet.

"I know how to tell the difference, Ross!" Markl said, panting. Ross let out a yell; no doubt Markl had made contact with his dagger. "I suggested all these ways to augment your deception – did you not think I can tell?"

Ross didn't bother to reply. Markl let out grunts before there was a crash. Tora ignored them, dragging herself past Carlos's still body and up the metal rails. Her chest burned; her muscles weighed like lead. Her vision turned dark at the peripheries. She pushed past all the fatigue and light-headedness, staunchly stumbling on. Tora grasped the edge of the podium where the Artefact sat in the neon blue light, feeling about to collapse.

The Artefact really was a shoe. She'd never seen it in solid form before, but judging by its shimmering, pale blue outline and reflective surface, it was obvious this was not its true form. Perhaps it had no true form, and this was the shape it took in the human world.

Covering her arm in a protective layer, she reached forward – and hesitated. Her memories of being a Shifter was hazy, but a small voice in the back of her head warned her against touching it for too long. It craved blood, energy, power...  Biting her lip, she grasped it. It was freezing to touch, even through her forcefield, and surprisingly heavy. She tugged it out, frowning.

"That's enough playing around."

Markl's voice turned her to stone. Tora registered Ross's heavy panting and barely-concealed groans and turned, her heart plummeting.

Machinery knocked askew littered the raised platform upon which they stood. The metal barriers at the sides leaned away, distorted by multiple bodies that had rammed against it from earlier. Detached flimy silver pipes oozed out glowing chemicals. Crackles and the stuttering whirring of the half-broken computers filled the air, punctuated by Ross's pants. Markl had her in a headlock in his good arm, the dagger pressed against her jugular. Her hands curled around his large forearm, barely keeping the threat at bay.

"Let her go, Markl," said Tora, her throat sandy. Markl, blood streaking across his cheeks and one eye socket bruised, grinned lopsidedly at her.

"Not in a position to bargain. Give it here and Ross keeps her head attached."

A copy shimmered on Ross's outline. Markl tightened his grip. She gasped, her tiny arms straining against his.

"No more tricks behind my back, lieutenant," he growled. "I know them all. Give that to me now, Tora, or I'll give you a cross-section anatomical view of one's neck."

"Don't do it!" hissed Ross, green eyes burning with indignity.

"Ross!"

"You're going to condemn Ross to her death?" Markl cocked an eyebrow. His dagger twitched. Tora's stomach did a nauseating somersault. Once again, she found her conscience at Markl's mercy. She knew Ross wouldn't bat an eyelid to sacrificing herself if it meant the Artefact was safe, but Tora couldn't bring herself to get the lieutenant killed at her own hands.

Time slowed. Every heart beat drummed through Tora's ribcage. Every sweat meandered down her skin. Something flickered – a subtle movement – in the corner of her eye.

She cast the Artefact high in an arc towards Markl.

Ross's mouth opened in disbelief. Markl's eyes widened. His arm loosened. He kicked Ross forward, forcing her out of the way of interference. He raised his hand, barely clutching that dagger. The blue boot sailed towards him.

Then it stopped its course in mid-air, before plunging to the ground. Blood dripped from nowhere, falling between the grates and onto the floor below.

Tora knelt and caught Ross before she landed face-first onto the ground. A faint red line appeared at Ross's neck, but it didn't bleed much. She trembled and gritted her teeth, clutching Tora's shoulders in spite of herself.

"I said, stay dead!" roared Markl. Tora's head snapped. Before she could throw out a shield, Markl raised his dagger and plunged it into the air.

A surprised gurgle reached her ears. Her blood ran cold.

Carlos shimmered into visibility, a startled expression on his usually jovial face. Dried blood caked the sides and back of his dark blonde hair. His body shuddered. Markl reached round, tore the Artefact from Carlos's arms, and kicked him aside. He stepped back, heaving, bloodied hand clutching the blue boot at last. The blood marked a stark contrast with the bubbling neon blue surface.

Ross let out a soft, strangled cry.

"No!" Her voice cracked. Tora's arms were numb, wrapped around Ross's tiny body.

"You rats... how many times do I have to kill you?" Markl's voice dripped with venom. He straightened up, his dead right arm swinging uselessly. Brown eyes blazed with fury. His shoulders heaved with every breath. Blood mingled with glistening blood, soaking his ripped and dirtied t-shirt. His left hand held the Artefact like it was a precious stone. He scowled at them before his eyes darted back to his prize. "No matter. I got what I came for."

He studied it. The surface rippled with vigour, the blue colour more piercing than before. Something more than the fact that Markl held the most powerful item in his hand was making Tora uneasy. Something wasn't right.

"Ross... we need to get out of here," she said in a low voice. Ross tried to swallow her sobs. Tora wasn't sure if she'd actually heard her. Tora's golden eyes jumped back to Carlos. He was still breathing – just about. Markl's dagger stuck out of his back. Carlos's hair covered his face; Tora couldn't be sure if he could still see what was happening. His arms and legs tangled in a mess like the limbs of marionette with its strings cut.

Markl struggled to pull out a small vial from his jean pocket with his occupied left hand. He took off the lid with his teeth and spat it out, and then poured the crimson liquid onto the boot. Tora guessed that must be human blood.

"Be gone," Markl said, his eyes meeting Tora's and his lips curling, "and welcome to the dawn of a new age."

Tora held her breath. Ross crawled over to Carlos and cradled him, stroking his hair with a shaking hand. The glow grew brighter, until she had to squint to be able to see. The pulsing on the surface became so violent that Markl dropped it. It hit the ground with an oddly hollow clang.

"What... but how?" he spluttered, staring at his hands. His other hand still couldn't move. "Where's my surge?"

The ground trembled as the Artefact throbbed with increasing magnitude.

"The humans are dead – that's all I need to activate it!" He stared, taken aback, at the thrashing boot. He raised his bloodied hand. "Unless..."

He ran a trembling hand through his hair, congealed with blood and dirt.

"Unless they're not."

He whipped his head round at Ross and Carlos.

"Unless one of you is part human."

Tora's mouth dried. Her panicked gaze flew to Ross and Carlos, neither of whom were in a fit state to stand, let alone fight. Markl marched towards them, murder in his eyes. He paused only to pick up a broken off chunk of machinery that was little more than a hunk of metal and a tangle of wires and continued at the two, dragging it behind him.

Tora threw all her power forward. Her muscles screamed and her head threatened to burst. Markl was steps away. He swung the chunk back, his arm struggling against the weight, and brought it down on them.

She dived in front of her friends, eyes squeezed shut, and with all her might she willed herself big.

Something bounced against her abdomen. Her flesh sunk in before bobbing back with a gelatinous stubbornness. Tora opened her eyes. Her spherical, limbless body sat as a seven-foot tall furry wall between Markl and her friends. Markl swore, stumbling back and letting go of the chunk that Tora had bounced back. It sailed backwards, crashing into more broken machines and rubble.

Tora shrunk, tipped off the edge into pure exhaustion, and collapsed in front of Ross and Carlos in her Shifter form.

"That's—enough!" she growled, with as much menace as she could muster lying in a heap.

Markl's face twisted in fury. At that moment, the fallen Artefact broke into a brilliant beam, blinding them all. The ground below Tora's hands shook like an earthquake. It was at this point Tora realised what was wrong. Stripped of whatever stabilising facility the humans had provided and impregnated with blood unfit for sacrifice, the Artefact became unstable. Tora shielded her eyes. It no longer held the shape of a boot – or anything at all.

Markl's hand shot to his side. His eyes widened. The Veil Cutter was gone.

At that moment, the Artefact exploded. Everything drowned in white.

Remember to vote!