Colors in the Dark

[5] Training

Ayami walked back to the center of the PE ground to where her mentor was waiting, looking at the top of his game once more.

"I'm here to push you to your limits, and then beyond. As UA puts it, Plus Ultra! So, bring it on," Ectoplasm told her, creating and spitting out the ectoplasm his mouth produced and formed fifteen clones in a matter of seconds.

"Ares, join me! Unify!" She called out for him, allowing the red ripples of the feisty spirit to spread to her own mind just as she had for Deimos and Prometheus previously.

His thoughts grew clearer and more pronounced as the ginger girl allowed his aura and her own to join together, her hair beginning to turn a deeper shade of red, almost crimson, while her irises did the same, leaving only a few spots of amber.

Ectoplasm waited about thirty seconds after he made his clones before sending them after the girl, but by that time she and Ares were conjoined, and they dodged to the side, slipping out of the clones' grips.

He formed a few more clones and sent them after. Ayami bit the inside of her cheek as she allowed the closest one to hit her, with Ares' help, storing the energy for a second before extending her palm back toward it and knocking it back with an equal force.

"Now, follow my lead," he instructed, feeling the power of Clone working through their system before he formed a red knife blade in their shared hand. "Use this to protect yourself, but our best bet is to make clones and distract his. Then attack the real one."

"Sounds like a plan!" Ayami said breathlessly as she jumped away from the rest of the clones and practically threw up a pile of ectoplasm, which grew to form an identical copy of her shared form with the red spirit. Even though they were separate entities, she realized she had complete control over it.

She sent the clone to defend her while she made three more before growing dizzy, instructing them to keep the Ectoplasm clones at bay while she took care of the real one, which she'd been monitoring.

He stood further than the others, not chasing after her but instead watching with a bemused expression, though somewhere behind his ever-present grin was him analyzing the situation, making sure his clones were following his directions to a tee.

While her clones were engaged in an especially-outnumbered brawl, Ayami darted between them, having to fight a few herself. Multiple times she and Ares had to slice through the air with their red blade, causing their opposing clone to dissipate from the impact.

"On your six, we have to pull a one-eighty and Counter Shield!" Ares called, and then two spun Ayami's body around, knife extended, forming a semisphere of red aura that absorbed the whole clone into it before both were waved away by the redhead.

She was beginning to tire from the sudden change of pace, struggling against Ectoplasm's defense. However, considering she was an orphan and a student-in-training and he was a Pro Hero, she was holding her own pretty well. Ayami could feel Ares getting overworked as well, but he had a fierce determination, so she knew he'd be with her until the fight ended.

Still dodging stray clone attacks and jumping around, Ares/Ayami finally made it to where the real Ectoplasm was. Blade at the ready, she charged, though he quickly held his fists up and formed another clone to take the attack.

Ayami formed a shield to get rid of it and prevent any other clones from getting in front of her attack before she charged at him again. He side-stepped and tripped her, causing her shield and her blade to dissipate into the air. It took all the girl's willpower not to cry out in pain, to hold on to the merge she had and stand up.