Stephan sidestepped and swung his sword, slashing D’Angelo in the chest with one smooth stroke. D’Angelo screamed as the acid ate through his skin and Stephan smirked. He wasn’t letting Zen’s abuser free. D’Angelo would pay for what he had done. D’ Angelo pressed a hand to his still festering wound and growled. He took out the other sword and got into a stance that worried Bernado. He had seen what the young Don could do when in that stance. Stephan summoned another water/acid sword and got into his stance. Then the dance of blades began As each thrust and parried while going around their opponent searching for weaknesses. D’Angelo thrust one sword while blocking Stephan’s thrust with the other. In turn, Stephan was blocking his thrust while thrusting with his other sword. They twirled in a clang of blades and D’Angelo kicked out at Stephan only to be stopped by a sword as Stephan used the other to block his other sword. D’Angelo’s free sword sliced Stephan’s cheek and he smirked. Stephan grinned and stepped back.

“What do you say we kick it up a notch?”

D’Angelo smirked and got into his stance. “Alright.”

Stephan smirked. He has no idea what I’m capable of.

They started their dance again but then Stephan picked up momentum. So did D’Angelo but try as he might, he couldn’t match Stephan’s increase in speed and Stephan ended up impaling his shoulder and slicing his side. D’Angelo screamed as the acid ate at his skin melting it into a sticky mess down to the bone.

The smell of skin melting met Stephan’s nose and made him wrinkle it in distaste. That’s gotta sting.

D’Angelo lunged at him. He’s infuriated.

D’Angelo lunged for his shoulder and he blocked but he couldn’t avoid the slash to his side by the other sword. He made a thin shield of water around the spot just as the sword sliced through. It sliced the shield not him and he stepped forward into the slash unbalancing D”Angelo. D’Angelo slid back and Stephan lunged with his speed catching the human off balance and slicing off a hand. A sword clattered to the ground but the acid cauterized the wound fast. It also melted it to the bone. D’Angelo screamed, curling his arm against his chest.

“That’s one. Want to go for two?”

“D’Angelo screamed and ran, thrusting his sword at Stephan who rolled his eyes and blocked before sidestepping and thrusting one of his swords into D’Angelo’s other shoulder melting it to the bone. D’Angelo collapsed to the ground and Stephan was about to thrust his sword into his gut.

A whirring from above caught his ears and he looked up. There were several aircraft hovering over them and men jumping down from the planes without parachutes. A thin white glow encompassed them. Wind elementals! What are they doing here?

“Looks like he wanted the crystal after all,” D’Angelo gasped, smirking.

Stephan narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

“The GAA of course,” D’Angelo said laughing.

Stephan scowled and impaled D’Angelo on his sword.

“Right now my acid is eating you up inside in a long nasty process but I don’t think I’ll give you the satisfaction of dying. Not after what you’ve done” Then he whispered in his ear “I have had her. Several times already, and you were never even close. I want you to live with your failure and the fact that you’ll never have her as I have. Try to touch her again and this will seem like child’s play!” He removed his sword and used his water to clean the wound of all acid remnants. D’Angelo began bleeding out but by then Stephan had turned and faced the new intruding force. He had bigger worries now. Mainly a force of wind elementals who weren’t as weak as his brother to handle and who knows what else. He ran to meet the others who were facing off against the new opponents.

###

Ricardo was staring at the battlefield smirking. It wouldn’t take long for them to win against these humans and steal Isaias. Beside him, Yolinda stood with her serrated sword against her shoulder and a wicked smile on her face.

“I’m going down and greeting the Dons,” she said, pulling on her knee-high stockings. Ones with bows at the sides. She smoothed down her lolita dress and fiddled with her gloves that matched her stockings. Ricardo rolled his eyes and waved her on.

“By all means do so but if they beat your hide don’t return. Garrett means business this time.”

She blew a bubble. “Please what can humans do to me? I’m off!”

Ricardo nodded watching her float down to the ground below.

“I should be off soon as well,” he muttered, shadow warping to the ground. He had some children of his to greet.

###

Marek and Val were having some problems. It was clear to them that these guys were far better fighters than the others had been. They weaved in and out of Val’s strikes and they worked well in teams

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“Honey, this just got interesting.”

Val couldn’t agree more

###

Bernado was sweating after having to dodge another blasted tornado! These guys are no joke!

He ran at one, surprising him and stabbing him in the back before stabbing his chest where his heart was and moving on. Carmelo was fighting with his rapiers again and stabbing from afar and Rosa would sneak behind the wind elementals and slice their jugulars with her knives. How she got behind them was a mystery. Then again her kids are shadow elementals. She has to have something of them in her blood. He was about to run at another elemental when a weird Lolita chick came floating down to the ground with a very big serrated sword in her arms. She meant business. She dusted her skirts off then she called for them.

“Will all the Dons please come over and play with me, please? I’m a very bad girl,” she says blowing a bubble and twirling a finger in her lock of violet hair that’s tied in two small pigtails. Bernado shivered in disgust and he could see Carmelo staring at the violet and pink concoction that had landed before them. Rosalinda snorted and neared her first.

“What do you want Lolita?” she asked, hands on her hips. She was panting slightly from her exertion in taking out elementals that somehow dropped from the sky.

“I just want to play meanie.”

“If that’s the case, act your age. I don’t play with little girls.”

The woman straightened and smiled. “Very well then,” her eyes glowing a violet color. Rosalinda felt the change in gravity instantly and moved out of range making the woman smile.

“You are a smart one but that won’t save you. I’ve learned to extend my gravitational pull for miles around me.”

“But I bet it’s a limited weight difference am I right?”

Yolinda scowled and reigned her ability in. Rosalinda smiled and stepped back further. She was joined by Bernado and Carmelo.

“Careful, she can increase the gravity of anything within her range,” Rosalinda warned.

“How do we beat her then?” Bernado asked, staring at the strange woman.

“We have to attack from afar. Your niece beat her easily with whips,” Carmelo said.

“She won’t be so easily fooled this time, but maybe I can get her with my knives for a bit while we trade off Bernado,” Rosalinda said.

“I can then use your distraction to stab her,” said Carmelo. “The gravity issue is solved with the two of you taking turns and it only helps me thrust easier.”

Bernado nodded. “That’s the plan then let’s go!”

Rosalinda smiled and walked forward. “Ladies first Bernado.” She rushed the woman with her knives out.

Yolinda activated her gravity. “It won’t be so easy!”

###

Stephan was stabbing an elemental and rushing to help with the elemental problem that he knew the Guerreros and Arachnids would have problems with. Not only were they stronger but faster than a regular humans. At least double their speed of 40mph and he doubted that most Guerreros or Arachnids could reach such speeds while battling yet. Only Lieutenants had the capacity for it and there were a handful of lieutenants in either group’s ranks. The results were devastating. The Guerreros and Arachnids were having their assess handed back to them. Combined with the fact that a wind elemental could take away your oxygen, and many of them were dying before they could land a hand on them. There weren’t many but the ones that were there were hard to catch unaware and so they had to battle them. The wind elemental took away his oxygen and he covered his head in a water bubble. Surprise!

He sliced the wind elemental’s head off and scoffed as he got rid of his water bubble and continued on.

###

Isaias swung his whip at the wind elemental, but he made himself intangible for the nth time. I’m really getting tired of these guys!

He pulled his whip in and clipped it to his belt and took out his katana. When the wind elemental made himself tangible, he struck, severing his head from his body.

“Ha! Become intangible from that,” he muttered moving on.

Zen shadow warped and slashed at a surprised wind elemental’s jugular. It’s like they’re expecting someone else. Could there be a shadow elemental with the GAA?

She moved on.

Marco sighed as for the tenth time a wind elemental stole his oxygen. He shrugged and thrust his sword into the wind elemental chest before reestablishing his oxygen again and moving on.

###

Bernado rolled avoiding the large serrated blade and stood blocking the same sword with one of his cleavers. They were slowly wearing her down. Her gravity was becoming less and less of a problem and Rosalinda had cut her up good on her last turn. The Lolita was anything but happy right now. He dodged her sword and once more parried her strike with one blade. With the other, he thrust it into her shoulder earning a screech of agony as he slashed at her shoulder deeply. She increased the gravity trying to knock him down but he stood, ignoring the added weight, and slashed at her face, giving her a deep cut. He panted and stepped back from her range. It was Carmelo’s turn. He turned to wipe his forehead but had to dodge as the lolita came charging at him with that big sword swinging like a mad woman.

“Get back here asshole! We’re not done yet!”

Carmelo stood in her path and blocked her swing. “My turn,” he said stepping forwards and thrusting his sword at her shoulder. It met flesh and he twisted his sword before pulling out. A little lower and I would have had her. He parried her angry swing and sidestepped burying his sword into her back. She screamed as his sword finally met her heart. He twisted his sword and Yolinda fell to her knees crying and grabbing her chest.

“That hurt! Meanie!” Her eyes bled completely violet and everything gained gravity.

“Here comes the finale. She’ll destroy herself like this,” Rosalinda said at the violet-hued girl who stood covered in a violet aura.

Bernado winced. “Why do you say that Rosa?”

“This gravity will not only crush us but her. If we can last a few more minutes her internal organs will collapse.”

“It’s nice to know that not everything I taught you was forgotten.”

Rosalinda gasped as a shadow coalesced into her ex-husband.

“Ricardo,” she gasped and fought the urge to kill him for all he had put her family through. Carmelo moved to stand beside her and so did an infuriated Bernado.

Ricardo pinched a nerve on Yolinda’s neck and let her collapse to the floor then he turned to the others.

“Where are the children?”