The disciples of the Moon Palace were furious and ready to fight.
"Do they have no shame?" said one disciple.
"We will not be spoken to like that!", yelled another angrily.
"Let us get rid of them, Phoebe", screamed another moon girl looking at Phoebe.
They all wanted Phoebe to give the order to fight. But Phoebe was only in charge temporarily, and she didn't know what to do. If she chose wrong, she would have to explain herself to Georgina.
"Phoebe doesn't have anything to say," Blaze said smirking. "I guess that means we're free to do whatever we like."
He called over one of his men and jerked his chin at the Moon disciples.
"Pick whatever girl you fancy," he said. "They won't dare to resist. And if they do, we'll destroy the Moon Palace and kill every woman here."
The man stepped forward to examine the women, but they glared at him, shouting threats, and promising to kill him if he got any closer.
"No one move!" Phoebe ordered.
Blaze had said that he would destroy the Moon Palace if they fought him, and she couldn't bear the thought of that. She couldn't allow her sisters to attack.
"Phoebe, are you going to let him do whatever he wants with us?" one disciple asked.
Phoebe was paralyzed with indecision. She didn't like either of her options.
"Pick me," she said. She couldn't let her sisters suffer, so she had to sacrifice herself.
The man was overjoyed. He had been excited enough by the other women, but this one was of the highest rank, and she was the most beautiful woman here. He couldn't wait to touch her.
He walked over to Phoebe and reached out his hand toward her chest, his eyes glued to her.
Phoebe closed her eyes and clenched her fists. She felt humiliated, but she knew she had to endure this to protect her sisters.
Right before the man's hand made contact with her chest, Phoebe heard a whistling sound as a blade flew through the air and pierced the man's hand. He fell to the ground, squealing with pain.
"It's Georgina!" someone yelled.
Everyone looked around, trying to find the person who had thrown the blade. Blaze and the other gang leaders knew that only Georgina Fox knew how to throw blades in that way.
The disciples of the Moon Palace were overjoyed, and they were busy looking around, trying to find their lady. They all took strength from the knowledge she was here, and they began to regain their courage.
"How dare you attack us!" called a voice from behind the gangs. "Clearly, you have a death wish!"
Two women strode through the crowd to stand beside Phoebe.
"Callisto! Luna! You're back!" Phoebe cried, happy to see them.
"Thank you for looking after our sisters," Callisto said.
The man who had been about to touch Phoebe got to his feet and ran back toward his gang, cradling his injured hand.
"Coward!" Callisto called after him. Then she and Luna shot their white and yellow scarves from their sleeves, binding the man.
"How dare you invade the Moon Palace," Callisto said, pulling the scarf tighter.
The scarves contained special steel wires, which began to dig into the man's skin. Callisto strode forward and struck the man several times, sending him crashing to the floor. When she unwrapped the scarves, he didn't move.
The gangs watched, their mouths hanging open, and then they all took a step back.
Three more people arrived and came to stand beside Callisto and Luna. It was Celeste, Selene, and Alex, who was carrying Debbie on his back.
"Why are you just standing here?" Blaze roared to his men. "Deal with them. And don't screw this up."
He looked around at his gang.
"We outnumber them," he said.
"No matter how good Georgina's martial arts are, they can't beat us! Tonight, we will capture the Moon Palace. Then we will take all their money and all the women."
The other gang leaders also encouraged their men, and they all began to grow more confident.
"You're all just disciples," Blaze said, looking at them. "Why doesn't Georgina show herself?"
"I don't need Georgina to deal with you," Alex said, stepping forward. "I can deal with you myself." He still carried a sleeping Debbie on his back.
Alex knew he had to keep quiet about Georgina's death. If word got out, then more people would come to attack the Moon Palace.
"Who are you?" Blaze asked, looking him up and down, clearly unimpressed.
"I'm a disciple of Georgina!" Alex said. "Take your people and leave. Don't ever come back. Whatever happened is in the past, and you need to forget it."
Blaze laughed. "Forget it?" he asked.
"Our men are about to take the Moon Palace, and you expect me to just walk away?" He sneered at Alex. "Since you're Georgina's disciple, I'll kill you first, and then I'll take the palace."
"He's a weakling", Blaze thought. "He'll make a fine example to the others. Especially those two silly girls who attacked my man".
All four Moon maidens were ready to kill Blaze for Alex.
Without waiting for a response, they rushed at Blaze, and everyone began to fight.
Blaze was strong, and even though he was surrounded by the four women, he wasn't overwhelmed by their forces. He fought hard, managing to hold his own.
"Let me help!" someone called, and several gang members joined the fight, giving Blaze the advantage.
The Moon maidens were starting to struggle.
"Stupid girl!" Blaze said, sneering at Callisto. "Did you really think you were a match for me?" He punched her hard in the chest, knocking her backward.
Callisto fell to the ground, her hand on her chest as she gasped for air.
The other three women dashed over to her, determined to help.
Alex could see that the Moon maidens couldn't deal with Blaze and his men, and he knew he would have to join the fight. He handed Debbie over to Callisto and ran at Blaze.
"Loser," Blaze said, his lip curling with contempt. "Are you finally ready to fight? Well, this shouldn't take long." He doubted Alex would put up much of a struggle.
"I've given you a chance to leave," Alex said. "You didn't take it, and you've hurt my friends, so now you have to pay." He was furious, and he knew he would have to defeat these people to end the crisis.
He dove into the middle of the gangs, striking out at several men, and knocking them to the ground. He made each strike count, taking each man out of commission as quickly as possible, and then moving on to the next target.
He kicked out at one gang leader and heard the man's leg break. Space began to appear around him, as some fighters hit the ground and others backed away.
Blaze and the other gang leaders simply stared at him, recognizing that he fought just like Georgina. They were shocked by how powerful he was, but they wouldn't back down.
"Let's go!" Blaze urged the other leaders. "We can deal with him together." He realized they would have to work together to have any chance of defeating Alex.