Arogen

Chapter XIII

"Rue, here!" I yelled to her, handing her a gas bomb I had picked up near me, flying right past her.

"Thanks!" she called out, before pocketing it and grabbing a spiked ball as well.

I searched through the chaos of the weapons battle to find Thomas, rising up into the air, sword in hand, grinning at me. Distracted, Ben took the opportunity to fly right into him, knocking the sword out of his hand. Infuriated, Thomas chased after him. I looked around the heap to find another sword to secure incase Thomas failed. I spotted Elisha, plucking a sword out of the pile, not bothering to check her surroundings. Determined to catch her off guard, I flew towards her from behind, preparing to snatch the sword dangling from her fingers. Sensing me, she tightened her grip on the sword before raising it towards me. Excited for the challenge, I pulled out the bow and arrow, aiming carelessly towards her feet, to distract her. As I picked up flight speed, I waited until I neared her enough to ensure I wouldn't miss before aiming straight for her hand at the last minute. Eyes widening in realization of her error, she flailed the sword wildly before my arrow flew straight and true, hitting her wrist knocking the sword straight out of her hand. Howling in pain, she clutched her wrist while I swooped in scooping up the sword. Searching the air for Thomas, I found him glaring angrily at Ben who now stood with Star, sword secured in his hand. I flew over to Thomas whose scowl faded as soon as I handed the sword to him. Having all secured weapons, me, Rue, and Thomas quietly hovered, awaiting our fight to begin.

Elisha rejoined us shortly after with another spiked ball in hand, eying me in disgust. If looks could kill, I would've certainly died then and there.

"Begin!" Mr. Sharp howled.

I looked to my left to see a spiked ball tumbling through the air straight at me. I instinctively ducked, hearing the whoosh as it raced over my head straight towards Thomas's back as he clashed swords with Ben.

"Thomas, move!" I screamed as he turned around, eyes widening at the ball heading straight for his face. His wings wrapped around him protectively, causing the ball to bounce off. That was close. I swiveled around to find Elisha smiling at me, proudly.

I turned to find Star cocking her arm back before flinging a gas bomb, straight at me from the left while Ben flew at me with his sword from the right. Cornered, I shot up in the air causing the gas bomb to slam into Ben, exploding, rendering him helpless as he flailed wildly, trying to regain balance. Star speedily flew towards him, catching him on her back before he plummeted to the ground. Visibly shaking under his weight, I caught Rue race towards her to attack. Catching my eye, Rue gave me a nod, warning me to watch Elisha as she headed straight for Star. I searched the sky for Thomas, who flew slowly towards me, wincing, probably from the hit Ben landed on him with the sword before he too got hit.

"Are you okay?" I called out to him.

Nodding, he picked up speed. I heard a shriek and twisted around to find Rue, hit with the spiked ball by Star who was surprisingly quick under Ben's weight. I met Thomas's eyes, exchanging a look of understanding before rushing towards Rue to catch her in the air. With a thump, she landed on my back, knocking me off balance for a brief second before I adjusted. With the weight of Rue on my back, my speed had decreased as I flew towards Thomas, who was now rushing towards Elisha with his sword.

Understanding what I had to do, I flew directly towards Star. Incase Thomas failed, I'd have to battle Star until one of us fell, or dropped the teammate we were carrying. Smiling, Star welcomed the challenge flying towards me with an intense gaze that told me she was going to put up a fight. I carefully reached behind me for my bow and arrow so as to not knock Rue off my back, securing it in my fingertips before positioning it at her back and aiming. Knocking Ben off her back seemed like an easier win than attacking her head on. Understanding what I was planning to do, Star shot up higher in the air, ruining my shot. Grinning, I decided to get closer to see if she would give away anything that may help me predict what she had planned.