Dimas analyzes both of his identical opponents. He's looking for anything that'll tell him which one was the real threat. A stray hair, a random scar, but there's absolutely nothing. Even the dead eyes behind their masks are the same.
[Maybe the rocks?]
Nope, even the amount of rocks they had were the same. At least from a quick glance. It's not like Dimas has the luxury to count each rock. And since they weren't shooting any rocks at the moment, only slowly walking towards his location, Dimas is unable to determine which rocks were real based on whether or not they actually left a mark on anything.
[They're trying to trap me.]
It was obvious that Clarke and Fake are using their identical looks and mannerisms to keep Dimas from running away. Running left or right, fake or real. A pincer plan with only one legitimate pincer. It was a 50-50 chance and they were betting on Dimas's hesitation to keep him right where he was.
Dimas shifts his weight to his left foot, his right ankle is still hurting from where the rock hit while he was running away. Dimas feels a stone beneath his shoe, before he can kick it away, he's struck with an idea.
Dimas picks up a few stones, places his back against the stone pillar, he peeks out and gauges the distance between himself and them, then tosses the rock over the pillar and near the 'Clarke' on the left. It lands without hitting anything while the 'Clarke' doesn't seem to notice. Dimas turns his attention to the 'Clarke' on the right. He throws the rock but this one doesn't manage to hit the ground, instead it seems to pause in mid-air before joining its brothers in orbit.
[There you are.]
Dimas smirks and edges towards the left side of the rock.
[Maybe that trick would've worked on an idiot but not me.]
Dimas bolts for the other side of the arena, while not an offensive strategy, it beats being cornered. Clarke and Fake are stunned momentarily by the unexpected move, Fake at least reacts by shooting phony rocks but Dimas already knows they're harmless and does nothing to avoid them. Clarke shoots a volley of rocks at Dimas, in hopes that one will hit and impair Dimas. It was too late. Dimas was already safe behind a pillar.
Clarke and Fake look at each other. How was he able to look past their ruse? Was this a part of his Brío Arts?
Neither of them had even the slightest idea that Dimas had used Clarke's own Brío Arts to his own advantage.
[Okay, this is good. I have more cover on this side but there's still a few more problems.]
Dimas wipes some of the blood from his right eye but it's only a temporary solution as more blood continues to spill from the cut.
[Really wanted to avoid using her now but I can't risk fighting with only one eye.]
"I call support!" Dimas yells towards the judges. Shouting wasn't necessary. One of the tournament staff member's Brío Arts allows them to hear the fighters, even if they whisper, to relay any support calls. A pink portal appears in front of Dimas, almost immediately Lilee steps out and begins to work on the cut above Dimas's eye.
"I'm not going to close it completely, just enough to slow the bleeding, I'll close it after we get it cleaned up, okay?" Lilee says.
Dimas is impressed. He didn't expect Lilee to immediately react to the situation and remain composed. If anything, he expected her to be nervous about being in the arena. But she wasn't.
"What's the plan?" Lilee gently wipes the blood off of Dimas's eye with her sleeve.
"Basically... wait until I can think of one." Dimas begins to tap his forefinger above his upper lip. "I need to find a way to get close without being turned into Swiss cheese."
"I might have an idea."
Before Lilee has a chance to relay her plan, the pillar they're hiding behind begins to rumble violently. The duo flee just as the pillar comes crashing down where they were standing. Dimas runs to the right, taking cover behind another pillar. Lilee went left.
Thack!
Thack!
[Brute force won't get you anywhere, I'll just keep-]
Dimas stops his thought. His pillar. It wasn't shaking. He turns to see the nearby pillars being toppled. One after another, they fall, leaving Dimas without an escape route.
[Guess he's through playing around.]
Dimas surveys the aftermath, apart from the one he's using as cover no other pillar is left standing, leaving him in the same position he was in not too long ago. Worse actually. Clarke is out of patience.
With all the other pillars gone, Clarke taunts Dimas.
"Nowhere...to...go."
Thack!
Hearing the familiar noise causes Dimas to tense up.
With his back against the wall and the sword at his throat, Dimas readies himself for a desperate, not to mention risky, counter-attack.
He sends the flecks towards his right arm which is already cocked. Dimas focuses entirely on the sound of rocks cracking against rock and the waning safety of the pillar, once it gives and begins to fall, he'll punch it, the strike should send it towards Clarke if it doesn't shatter completely.
Out of nowhere, the pillar ceases shaking and the sounds come to an abrupt end. Before Dimas could question what just happened, he hears his name being called.
"Dimas! Here's your chance!"
It was Lilee. Dimas steps out from behind cover. Lilee has her arms around Clarke, pinning his arms to his side but Clarke is still able to move his fingers and he points them at Lilee. The rocks began beating against her back, she felt like a drum being played violently.
Lilee refuses to let go. As painful as the rocks are, she knows letting go now would mean defeat and she wasn't about to let that happen.
Fake stood helpless on the sidelines, it looked like they wanted to help but had to keep their distance or get clocked by a stray rock.
Dimas finds himself momentarily stunned.
"Don't just stand there! Do something!"
Lilee's yell triggers Dimas to act. He rushes towards Lilee. Fake tries blocking Dimas, it didn't make a difference, Dimas barges through Fake as if they were nothing more than a flimsy screen door, they're tossed aside and land awkwardly on the ground.
Clarke sees Dimas but before he can do anything, Dimas clenches Clarke's hands keeping them into fists and unable to point.
"You can let go now, Lilee." Dimas is looking into Clarke's widened eyes. For the first time since Dimas has seen them, Clarke's eyes finally show emotion. Fear. Dimas smirks.
Lilee releases Clarke and takes a few steps back before stumbling backwards and falling.
"Nowhere to go." Dimas parrots Clarke's taunt back at him.
Dimas releases Clarke's left hand. However, Dimas delivers a blow to Clarke's stomach before Clarke can even open his hand. Dimas then grabs Clarke's arm with both hands before throwing Clarke over his shoulder.
Clarke stays down, dazed and in pain. Dimas looks down on him, places his foot on one of his hands and applies some pressure, not enough to make Clarke cry out but enough to show that he can.
"Here's the deal. Surrender or I break your hands. Choose." Dimas says coldly.
Clarke shivers. He can tell from Dimas's tone and his menacing aura that it's not an empty threat.
"I...surrender."
Dimas takes his foot off of Clarke's hand and walks over to Lilee.
"The winner of this round is Dimas!"
The crowd cheers. Regardless of the outcome, it was a good match and that's what they're here for.
"Can you stand up?" Dimas kneels down next to Lilee.
Lilee tries standing up but her ankle gives out. Dimas catches her.
"I might need a little help." Lilee says sheepishly.
[You owe me for this.]
Dimas picks her up into a princess carry.
The crowd ooh's and aww's with a few whistles thrown into the mix. Lilee blushes and stays quiet.
Dimas doesn't notice, he's more focused on getting out of the arena and getting some rest.