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V.2 - Chapter 13 - Grad vs. Grad

The tiger twirled the sword in one hand, never taking his eyes off Sasha. He didn’t look familiar. Not in the slightest. But the panther had heard the words clear as day.

“Kill me?” she asked.

Alexander chuckled. “Exactly. I could take you in alive, but where's the fun in that? Not every day I get to go traitor hunting. Speaking of which..."

He took a step back, Sasha blinking as the ground caved in. A large bundle of black and white fell from the sky, stepping directly in front of her. When did you- The panda couldn't fly as far as she knew. And they were on a building several stories high. Mr. Xan gave no answers, his hammer held out at the ready.

"Commander Xan, I presume?" Alexander greeted with a wave. "I see your wounds have healed up nicely."

The panda didn't respond. Nor did he so much as acknowledge the panther at his back.

"Mr. Xan?" she asked.

Nothing. She was about to call to him again when she finally noticed the change.

Signals. They were all flowing the panda's way, rising around him just as they had done on Dyre's ship. On Torpha. His gaze never left the smiling tiger, who kept a hand resting on his hip the entire time. Mr. Xan? What the heck are you doing? She ran over.

"Stay back!"

The panther froze.

"Don't get any closer," the panda hissed. "Go back to the ship, Sasha. That's an order."

The panda kept his gaze locked forward, more and more signals funneling through him. Like a living battery. She could see his teeth gnashing, fur standing on end. It wasn't something she'd ever wanted to feel again. The same tidal wave she remembered clear as day left him mangled and broken. Had left the Black Death coughing up blood. She squeezed GT, ignoring the panda and running to his side.

"Not a chance!"

She flicked her staff forward, earning an intense glare.

"Sasha."

"I'm not letting you hurt yourself again."

She could see the rage in his eyes. Was it over her or the pain he was forcing on himself again? The man had just recovered and he was already trying to rip his own body to shreds. No way was she going to stand by and let him. At least staying meant he didn't need to be so rough.

"I dunno what's going on," she said, "but you said we're a team, right? Well, teams work together."

He flashed his teeth. "That's not what I-"

"I don't care! You're my friend too, Mr. Xan. I'm not just gonna stand by and- Huh?"

The panda was gone.

"Where'd you-"

Alexander was also gone.

Her ears twitched, the flood of signals all disappearing as fast as they came. She could still feel Mr. Xan. And the graduate. But the former's signals had grown miles away. She looked around the empty rooftop. Huh? Her gaze fell on the broken section of railing. The barrier at the edge of the roof.

Oh no.

She ran to the edge.

No. No. No.

The minute she got there, she fell backward, a hand rising over her mouth.

No. No.

She tried to push against what she saw. Deny it as a trick. A fluke. But the voice she heard next to her confirmed it as the truth.

"Sorry about that."

She looked over, Alexander balancing on the edge of the roof.

"He was in the way anyhow."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The tiger winked, Sasha's gaze moving from the knife in his hands to the distant streets below. To the section of road which had caved on impact. It was no illusion. At the bottom of the building, there laid her liaison. Mr. Xan. The man who'd risked everything to get her out of the Black Web.

He wasn't moving.

"So how ought we play this?" Alexander asked. "I could give you a little push, too. Make it over quick so you won't feel a thing."

The panther continued to stare at Mr. Xan's body. But as Alexander spoke, she felt the fur on her skin rising. Never before had she wanted so much to tear someone's face off. Not even Mercury.

"GT," she said.

"Yes, Ms. Sasha?"

She rose, the shaking of her hands subsiding as she squeezed her weapon.

"Activate skill. Full power."

Her field rose, the panther zipping and crushing title. She growled, the tiger hopping away and landing with a grin.

"The old-fashioned it is."

The ground sprung up around them, Sasha glaring as she saw the roof morphing around them. No. It wasn't the roof. It was the air. It darkened and solidified, becoming a stretch of black that took on a boxy shape. A coarse barrier. Alexander lowered his dagger forward.

"No need for inter- Woah. Straight to the point are we?"

Sasha roared, attacks swinging and hitting dead air, the tiger weaving and ducking. His dagger scrapped against GT, dragging along the base. Sasha flicked him off, screaming louder as he continued to bounce around the enclosed rooftop.

"Stop running!"

She threw the staff aside, claws sharpened to launch forward to the same result. His frame was putty, constantly moving and darting. He danced around her, Sasha panting heavily with not a scratch to show for it. For her or for him. She screamed in frustration.

"Must be a newbie, huh?" the tiger asked.

She resummoned GT, to the same effect, the man going so far as to smack her with his hand as he was dodging, fur bouncing off her helmet. It just made her more angry.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you?" Alexander asked as he was moving. "Always keep your cool in a fight. Otherwise, you leave yourself wide open. Such as."

She winced, blade cutting across her chest. The panther stepped back, one hand on the wound as used GT for balance.

"Consider that a freebie," the tiger said. "Coulda gone for the kill, but there's no sport in that. It's no fun if you die too fast."

She glared at the man, though the damage to her chest was hard to ignore.

As fast as he moved, he could have killed her ten times over. But he didn't. He smacked her in the head and gave her a nasty wound, but neither of those would be fatal. He knew that. And yet, for some reason, he just stood by. Didn't even do anything as Sasha ripped off the bottom of her tank top, using it to dab at the cut.

"GT. Status report?"

"Energy reserves at 50%, Ms. Sasha. And...are you alright?"

She hesitated to respond.

Suddenly she was fighting a feline sent to take her out. Suddenly she was bleeding and running lower on energy by the minute. And suddenly she was without her liaisons. Mr. Erin was out cold. And Mr. Xan was...It hadn't occurred to her just how alone she was. At least partially. She let out a small breath.

"GT."

"Yes, Ms. Sasha."

The panther pulled the shirt piece around her, tightening it with a knot to use as a makeshift bandage.

"I'm counting on you. Okay?"

She took another breath for strength.

"I am at your side, Ms. Sasha."

And then she was zipping forward, staff meeting tile again.

"Nice tr-"

Fur. The staff bounced off Alexander's chest, GT reappearing moments before Sasha zipped away again.

The tiger ducked, blade arcing, only to miss as Sasha flung herself upward, throwing GT a second time to bounce off his back. She yanked away before he could retaliate. But Alexander chased after her, a grin spreading.

"That's more like it, Panther."

She pulled clear of his attack.

Control. Speed and control. Make every shot count. She repeated the words as she zipped about, exchanging her field for the speed of flight. Though the box was lacking in space, it was just as small as the training rooms she'd fought Mr. Erin in. But there was no weasel to slow her steps. No time powers at play. She landed on the ceiling, jerking forward to slam the roof, Alexander dodging and throwing his dagger. It flew past, cutting her helmet.

"Windtail! Air Slicer!"

Sasha felt signals spiking. She yanked away, the dagger coming back at lightning speed. The tiger caught it with ease, Sasha wincing as he appeared in front of her. Too fast to dodge. A kick sent her soaring back and smacking off the barrier. Cripes. She rose only to duck as the knife came, barely missing her head and embedding into the wall.

"Don't slow down now, Panther." The dagger reappeared in Alexander's hand. "We're just getting started."

The tiger swung, Sasha zipping but feeling metal across her back anyhow. She knocked him away, but he recovered, the slash blocked by her staff. His movements. She dodged clear, but still got cut in the shoulder, almost tripping as she landed. How did I-? She landed against the wall, her next zip aimed at the ceiling, but her body went the opposite direction. Towards Alexander.

"Get back here!"

She tried to pull back, but that only slowed her forward momentum. The air. It was pulling her forward. Dragging her towards him. She could feel signals rising over the tiger. Cripes. She threw up her field in a panic, finally letting go as she plunged forward, GT swinging with all her might.

He caught it with one hand.

"Hu-"

Her voice dropped away.

Pain. Sharp, burning pain. She looked down, the blade jutting out of her body, Alexander's hand resting over the hilt.

"That's game, Panther."

He ripped it away.

At once the pain magnified, Sasha's field dropping away as a cold chill washed over her. Oh. Did I...She fell to her knees, her thoughts a blur along with the world around her. Alexander flicked his dagger clean, the weapon disappearing as he knelt in front of her, hand patting her over the head.

“Thanks for the fight, Sasha," he said. "Been a while since I fought a gravity user. Made me feel all nostalgic.”

He smiled, his face wavering in the shivering panther's sight. He pulled away, her body hitting the ground moments later.