(Outdated) The King of Elements

The Main Event (part 2)

The crowd roared as Tiffany made her way back to her shield. Dre was amazed at her skills. Considering how Brianna easily defeated Sophie, he thought that there would be at least a challenge between the two. It seemed completely one sided, with Tiffany having the advantage throughout the fight.

As Tiffany grabbed her shield and refitted it on her forearm, another figure floated down on the opposite side of the battlefield. Dre lost his breath as the figure stood. Her hair had been tied in a short black ponytail. She wore a pair of black jeans and a white shirt under her breastplate. Her dark skin appeared slightly darker under the limited light. "Dude, isn't that your mom?" Megumi asked.

Dre still didn't find his voice. He just simply nodded. He hadn't expected to see his mother in any type of combat clothing. The same mother who used to tuck him in at night and read him bedtime stories. The same mother who always protected him from Ian's rowdy way of "playing." She now stood in front of her best friend, ready to fight to the death.

The audience grew even louder as Tiffany turned to look at her best friend in the eyes. They both stood there, staring each other down, both with the same confident smile. Dre could tell that out of all the competitors in the roster, they both wanted a chance at each other.

"Don't think I'm gonna hold back on you, Tiff," he heard his mother say as she grabbed handle on her back. It looked like a wooden bat as she slid it from the strap until midway up, where a metal plate encircled the weapon with spikes jutting out from it. The top fell to the ground, sounding as if it weighed a ton.

"That would be unwise of you to do, Abby," Tiffany said as she set the shield in front of her.

Abigail smiled before she dashed at her friend, dragging the studded mace behind her. She raised it up over her head and swung it down as easy as a regular bat; Tiffany's shield caught it, but the sheer strength of Abigail's swing brought her to her knees. Abigail swung upward, catching her shield once again, only the force of her blow brought her hand up overhead. She followed up with a kick to Tiffany's face, sending her rolling over the terrain.

Tiffany sat on the ground her eyes glued to Abigail, looking frightened beyond belief. Her nose began bleeding, along with her bottom lip. She stood up, wiping the blood off her face with the back of her hand. "Like I said," Abigail said as she rested the mace on her shoulder, "I'm not holding back on you. I'd hope that you wouldn't either."

Tiffany's look of astonishment slowly disappeared as she stood. Her face was now hardened, the same it had been whenever Dre was late for her classes. "You got strong over the years." She slid her right leg behind her, holding her sword at the same position of the leg.

Abigail dashed again. She leapt in the air as she held the mace over her head and used the momentum of her descent to strike harder. Her blow was blocked, only this time Tiffany held her ground. Blow after blow of Abigail's relentless attack had been blocked, sending a sickening sound of metal on metal reverberated through the dense forest. With each block, Tiffany was knocked back a few inches.

"Dude, your mom is freaking scary," Megumi said, recoiling in her seat with each hit.

"I think it may be a good idea to not make her mad," Kimmy said, sounding just as terrified as Megumi. Dre couldn't agree more with that statement.

The mace clashed with the shield again; both women backpedaled, trying to catch their breath. Tiffany was in worse shape than Abigail; her shield was heavily dented and chipped, both her nose and mouth were bleeding profusely, her arms dangled pitifully as she glared at her opponent. Abigail fell to one knee, using the mace to keep from falling over. Blood began to slide down the handle of the mace like crimson tassels. Her breathing was far more labored than Tiffany's. Whoever one this battle would surely fall to the next opponent.

"I never thought I'd see our moms fight so... viciously," Dre said before looking over to Megumi. She didn't say anything. Her focus was set solely on the screen. It was as if Tiffany's determination had transferred to Megumi, surging through her daughter.

"They're fighting as if they hate each other," Kimmy said through the tenseness. She stared at the screen, looking concerned for both of their well-being.

"Mom says that Tiffany is her best friend," Dre stated. "Don't forget; this is almost like a game. No matter how real it looks, they aren't getting hurt." He wished that he could believe what he was saying. He wished that it would stop, real or fake. He couldn't take seeing his mother trying to kill her best friend.

"Hey Tiff," his mother said through pants as she slowly made it to her feet with the aid of the mace, "what do you say about this: loser buys their family dinner tomorrow."

Tiffany smiled, though it waned from fatigue. "Sounds good."

Both women dashed at each other. Abigail swung horizontally at Tiffany, but exhaustion made her swing easily blockable. Tiffany diverted her mace and thrust the sword into her chest. She grimaced as she disappeared. Dre stared at the screen, horrified as the crowd erupted. It's not real, Dre. It's not real, he reassured himself as he shook his head.

Tiffany fell to her knees, gasping for breath as Bianka began to fall from the skies. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Afraid not," Bianka said as she reached for her two battle axes attached to her back. Tiffany stood unsteadily, blood dripping off of her chin each time she exhaled. She rushed at Bianka, roaring as she charged shield first. Bianka dodged her shield, throwing one of the axes into her back as she shot past her. Tiffany fell to the ground, disappearing just as Abigail had done.