Team Dual Paradox VS. Raging Storm

Part 3

Victor fell onto his back, gasping for air. Beside him, Anora struggled to stand, still rubbing her eyes. "Redhead? What happened? Where are you," she called. Victor just groaned and weakly clutched his gauntlet, drawing energy from the mage stones. After a few seconds, he wheezed out an answer.

   "I'm alive. Just...gimme a second and I'll fix your eyes. Just sit tight and keep your voice down."

  The energy from the mage stones soon refreshed Victor's body. He finally sat up, cursing himself. "That is the last time I ever teleport that far without the use of my stones."

   "Whattaya mean?" Anora asked as he reached forward and cast a simple healing spell to her eyes. Within moments, she blinked and looked around, reacting with worry when she saw Victor's face. He face was pale and flushed, perspiration drenching his hair and brow.

   "Dude! You look like you just ran a marathon! Are you alright?"

   "Am now, for the most part," Victor replied with a weak chuckle. "I'm gonna need to spend at least half a day resupplying these rocks after this particular power withdrawal. Bet you're glad you kept that stone on you though, huh?"

   "What happened?"

     Victor sighed before responding. "Well, after Titus knocked you on your ass, I had a short grudge match to keep him from cutting you up, then as I was about to teleport us outta there...I don't know what hit me, but it felt like getting kicked by a packel. Thankfully my wards held up, but I panicked and just teleported us. Problem was, in the urgency of our situation, I didn't use mage stone energy for that little escape plan. I used my own power."

   Anora stood up, processing Victor's words. "So...you're telling me you panicked and tired yourself out with that spell?"

   "Tired?" Victor rose and walked to the edge of the pillar they now stood upon. He squatted down momentarily, scooping up a shiny yellow mage stone he had placed before their fight began, then peeked over the side. Almost a kilometer below them, the pillar where their first meeting with Raging Storm floated, much smaller of an island from this height. "Honestly I'm lucky that mistake didn't kill me."

   Once again Victor cursed himself for making such a stupid move, drawing more energy from the stones on his gauntlet as he sat down on the floor. Anora watched him momentarily before taking a seat next to him. She waited before speaking. "Well, you saved both of us. That's what matters."

   Victor turned and looked Anora dead in the eye, his expression hard. "We need to talk about your fighting style, Annie."

   Anora was taken aback slightly, but she shrugged. "Whattaya mean? I didn't get scratched by him, now did I?"

   "Not that," Victor cut her off. "Your defense is solid. I'm talkin' about those love taps you were giving him. What in hells was that about?"

   Anora scoffed, almost offended at Victor's remark. "Alright, first off: Damn, bro.  Secondly, that dude IS fast! You were right, okay? Is that what you wanna hear? He's unpredictable. I was trying to take him down, but he's too—"

    "There it is," Victor interrupted.  "You're trying to take Titus down."

      Anora stared incredulously at her teammate. "Yeah? Is there something wrong with that?"

   "Yes," Victor said calmly. "You need to take him OUT! Those little shield jabs you were doing; they're not gonna hurt him. In order for us to win this tournament, sometimes you gotta kill the competition, Annie."

    Anora stood up with a frustrated huff. "Well I'm sorry, Soldier Boy, but killing people ain't my thing! If you hadn't noticed, I'm a super hero! I protect people! I'm not looking for blood on my hands."