Ace and Stellis were too slow.
They could only watch as the second figure jumped on Marsha's back, pinning her arms to her side with their legs.
Matching that speed, the Son of Lightning instantly charged forward and rammed two gauntlets right through Marsha's midsection... and his teammate's.
With a ghastly howl, Marsha's wolfen body began to let off large amounts of steam. As each second that passed, her body reduced in size, losing its animalist features. After only a few seconds, she was back to her normal form, a black haired girl with olive colored skin and piercing golden eyes.
Spitting out blood, she fell to her knees.
"Alright... I yield."
When she finished speaking, a final canon blast rang out from above, along with another report from the announcer.
"Well folks! You saw it here first! The final two teams are none other than House Lightning and House Steel! I must say... House Lightning having a second young Lawless was quite the surprise! And somehow House Steel tops that with three! Lets see how these two Houses perform in tomorrows last man standing event! We will start promptly at noon! Now give our young competitors a round of applause!"
After the announcer finished, there was a faint pattering sound and fireworks exploding overhead.
It would have been more distracting to Ace if not for the bloodthirst emanating from Stellis.
Even though her visor was up and he could only see her eyes, it was apparent that she wasn't happy. Her intent was so palpable that Ace could have sworn she was going to attack the Son of Lightning right then and there.
He stuck close to her... just in case.
Looking down on them was the pair from House Lightning. The one in the white gi was leaning on the Son of Lightning. He had two fist sized holes in his gi, but had already healed. Also, just like the Son of Lightning, he had a mask on that matched his gi.
The pairs stared at each other in silence for a few seconds.
Suddenly, the one in the black gi spoke.
"What's wrong Stellis? You didn't think it'd be that easy to get rid of me did you? A couple dozen bruisers.. seriously? Only reason Marsha stood a chance was because I was a little tired... I guess the spearman was good too."
Pausing to point a figure at Stellis, the Son of Lightning continued.
"In the end, it will come down to the one on one fights - and we both know how that will go."
Shaking at his words, Stellis suddenly grabbed Ace's shoulder.
"We'll see, I'm not alone this year!"
At her words Silas appeared on her other side, carrying Bell.
Seemingly unimpressed, the Son of Lightning scoffed while patting his teammate on the shoulder.
"And neither am I..."
Releasing his teammate and jumping down to the ground, the Son of Lightning walked forward until he was standing eye to eye with Stellis.
"You've lost to me nine times in a row. Please do be sure to give it your best shot this year. This is your last chance."
Hearing his condescending tone, Ace was sure Stellis would take a swing at him. By some miracle, she kept her emotions in check.
Seeing her lack of aggression, the Son of Lightning chuckled before jumping back up to join his teammate. Before long, a floating stone platform came to retrieve them. Ace and his teammates watched as they flew away.
"I don't like him!" Bell said. "Ace, did you see the way he talked to Stellis! We can't just let that slide!"
Ace only looked off into the distance, remembering the matriarch's promise.
With a sigh he responded to Bell.
"We won't. This year, his streak ends. Even if he has help."
Seeing a floating platform heading their way, Ace turned to the rest of the group.
"And I think I know how we're going to do it..."
***
Ace and his teammates sat at their locker room table. After showering and eating dinner, they had begun creating a strategy for the second phase. As per the rules of the tournament, coaching would not be allowed in between the first and second day. If they wanted to win, they would have to craft a strategy based solely on their own wit.
In light of that, the table was cluttered with various notebooks and pieces of paper. Looking at the notes that it taken hours to write up, Ace sighed.
"So here's what we know. It's the four of us fighting the four of them. It's like a relay. When one of us falls, the other steps in immediately. There will be no break."
Turning to Stellis and then looking back at a stack of papers, Ace pinched the bridge of his nose.
"And Stellis, you still have no clue how his Notch works besides this one thing?"
She sighed.
"We've been over this already! I told you, NO! His ability involves force absorption and redirection, that much is guaranteed. Beyond that... no clue. Every time I've fought him, my Notch ability doesn't recognize his Notch usage as aggressive, only his strikes, so it's likely not an overtly combat oriented Notch. I hate to say it, but he's the problem. Not the the Notch itself."
Ace accepted her outburst and rough tone. At her words, even Bell was hesitant to speak.
'Losing to someone ten years in a row will definitely do that to you I guess. Not that I wouldn't know what that feels like...'
With memories of Thalia filling his mind, Ace was reminded of her precious advice. "Analyze the situation".
Clasping his hands, he addressed the whole group.
"Fine. Lets say he's hard to beat one on one. It's a gauntlet. Just like Larcet recommended, we'll tire him out."
Stellis spoke up once more. This time less angry.
"It sounds like a great plan... really, it does. But I don't think you understand what we're dealing with, and neither did my brother. It's hard to get close, and once you do, he somehow gains a boost in power while you grow weaker. Trying to compete with him in close quarters is... tough."
Ace rubbed his chin.
"Well, if I can just get my hand on him once. It'll be over for sure."
Bell shook her head.
"Guys... we're doing all this to take down one guy. What about the rest of his team, you know... the two Bruisers and the one Lawless. You haven't even mentioned them yet."
Ace scoffed.
"If we can beat the Son of Lightning with either Me, Stellis, or Silas remaining fresh, then the other two Bruisers won't be a problem. The fight with the other Lawless will just have to be quick one, ended before dwindling reserves become a problem."
Stellis nodded her head.
Realizing that there wasn't much they could do to prepare, Ace moved on to the only thing they could control.
"There's one saving grace. We have to submit our battle order to the proctor before the match. At least this way we don't have to worry about them switching things up on us if we do better than they thought we would."
He paused and looked at each of his teammates.
"So that leaves us with one thing... What our order is going to be. If our opponents are smart, they'll have the Son of Lightning go last and the other Lawless go third. They won't want him to get tired again."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
"So here's what's going to happen. Bell, you're going first! I'm confident you'll beat the first bruiser they send out, maybe even the second too. If not, that's okay. If you get to the first Lawless just try to make him use his ability so we can get a glimpse of it. Stellis you're up next. Do your thing, take a couple hits, get stronger, and beat the other Lawless down. If he's unexpectedly strong then Silas will clean up after you. I'll fight last, just like the Son of Lightning."
Everyone turned to look at him with Bell expressing the most doubt.
"You're going to fight him? But what about the plan to stall him out? You're stamina isn't exactly the greatest with your ability."
Ace smiled brightly.
"Well I've been working on that! Check this out!"
*** The Next Day ***
Bell was standing side by side with her teammates on the elliptical outline. With a light rumble they were lifted into another room by the platform beneath them. On one side of the room was a bench. On the other was a large window with an archway built into it.
Through the window, Bell could see the arena. A large dirt courtyard about 75 yards in diameter. It's size was easily large enough to accommodate long range fighters. There was even some natural cover like boulders and trees scattered about. She wouldn't need such things of course. Her style was honest and straight to the point.
To her side a voice grabbed her attention. It was a Sentinel, asking for the order in which her team would fight. In her periphery she saw Ace point to her, Stellis, Silas, and then himself. The Sentinel nodded his head, typed something into a stone tablet, and then turned to her.
"You may proceed outside when ready."
Taking a deep breath, Bell stepped out into the sunlight.