Ken raised his right hand and Tiffany and Max tensed up slightly.
Ken: Alright.......
Tiffany bowed, and Max who was completely prepared to attack, flinched before oddly bowing himself.
Ken: Ehh.....
Luke: He'll get used to it.
Ken: Hmmm.. Begin!
And so it started.
Both sides locked eyes once more, not moving.
Rose: (thinking: This is so intense.)
Ken: (thinking: Interesting choice playing defense. But both of them? Even Max?)
Luke: (thinking: C'mon, Tiff. You've got this.)
To Max, the creature in front of him was many times more terrifying than it was mere seconds ago.
Ken's comment about her beating Luke, Rose and Ken made him think twice before attacking.
It wasn't fear, per se, but rather, the question, "How on earth did she beat them? Did she have some kind of special trick he didn't know about?"
And as for Tiffany, it wasnt so much that she was being cautious, but rather, that she had long since decided that moving was a bad idea.
570kmh.
In mere seconds, in the blink of an eye, he could punch her.
Could she dodge it? She didn't know.
It was her first time fighting against something this fast.
And so... she would wait and let Max make the first move.
Besides, given her calculations....
Max's stance suddenly changed to something of a racing pose.
Tiffany: (thinking: Given his personality, I wont have to wait very long.)
And then, it happened.
Max super speed dashed and punched Tiffany right in the face, sending her flying straight to the ground.
Rose: Oh....
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She then closed her mouth.
Luke whistled and Ken simply remained silent.
Max shook the arm he'd used to punch.
Max: (thinking: I hope I didn't overdo it.)
But to his utter shock, he heard Tiffany getting back up from behind him.
Max: Tiffany?
She rubbed her cheek and turned back to look at him.
Rose: Tiff....
Luke: (thinking: This is gonna be tough...)
Ken: (thinking: What will you do.... oh unsurmountable leader?)
Back at the battlefield...
Max and Tiffany looked at each other for a moment.
Tiffany: If you want to do some real damage.... you'll have to do better than that.
Max flinched. That was the last thing he'd expected to hear.
Max: (thinking: That hit was supposed to be hard enough to knock a normal human out.)
Luke: Heh....
Ken: She's encouraging him.
Rose nodded, her eyes ever on the battlefield.
Tiffany: Are you ready, Max?
And then again, even more shocked by his opponent, before eventually making his decision.
Max: Yeah (thinking: So, shes tough. No kidding.)
He palmed his fist.
Max: Ok then. Let's go!
He got into a running position and started his dash towards her once more, but this time, just as he made it to her, a massive smoke cloud engulfed the both of them.
Max: Huh?!
At the outskirts of the battle field...
Ken: Hmmm... she finally used it.
Luke: Huh?
Ken: A few months ago, Tiff had me make her a super compressed smoke bomb.
Rose: A super compressed... smoke bomb?
Ken: Yes. One that releases smoke so quickly that if you open it infront of your face, you'll need to hold your breath to keep yourself from suffocating.
Rose: Oh my gosh! Really?!
Ken: Yeah... (thinking: So that's your counter to super speed, huh, Tiff?)
In the smoke cloud, Max quickly started trying to find Tiffany. But within what was no longer than a few seconds, perhaps even one second, from right above him, Tiffany pounced on him and forced him to the ground in a restrictive hold.
Max: What the...?!?
The smoke slowly cleared to reveal a captured Max with Tiffany right on top of him.
As it was, Tiffany had jumped into the air as the smoke bomb went off.
Rose: No way, Tiff!
Ken: Hmm...
Luke: Good job, Tiff.
Max: But... how....?!
She pulled at his arm, making him groan even more.
Tiffany: Max. Do you know the true meaning of battle?
Max: (grunting) True... meaning of... battle?
Tiffany: Hmph....
The other three simply silently watched.
Tiffany: A fight, ... Max, .... is not decided just by who has more powers or by who has more speed or more strength. A fight, Max, is also decided, by whomever can take advantage of a critical situation.
Max: A critical situation?
Tiffany: Hmph. Every moment on a battle matters. If you remember that, you'll understand that even a weakling can beat a well established warrior if he or she is willing to make that critical decision. Remember that, Max.
Ken: Hmmmm. Well... this battle may soon be over...
Max: Oh yeah?
Tiffany: Hmm?
Max: Critical decision, huh? You forgot about this!
At that moment, while Tiffany was on top of Max, he begun to discharge electricity. Not enough to kill her, but at the same time, just enough to stun a human.
But even after that, Tiffany remained undaunted.
She gritted her teeth and made her hold even stronger, pulling at Max's arm even harder.
Max: (thinking: Jeez. Tiffany's so...... )
It wasn't as though Max's electricity bore her no pain, but rather that she refused to let that stop her.
Ken: (thinking: Whomever endures this pain the longest... will be the winner.)