Joanna

Shino Aphiry City

Owen had vanished, well, one of him, the normal him. Chloe was occupied by one that seemed to have a crush on her. Johnithyn was occupied by two others. One of them was just very annoying and the other just wanted to fight. I was occupied with the last two. One was quite the story-teller but only told sad or depressing stories that wanted to make you cry or hide in a corner. The other claims to be bored all of the time, even when he's doing something. The idiot calls the stories lame and boring causing the 'story-teller' to cry, not that he won't anyway.

"Do you too know where Owen is?" I asked them without ever thinking about what they were going to say.

"I don't know," the story-teller said in between crying. "Hunting the other two?"

Artimys, Sister of Nature, Mother of Darkness; please help us.

xyx

Chloe

The Owen that was clearly not the real Owen finally just vanished. Looking around, the other four had disappeared as well. Johnithyn looked exhausted, Joanna looked really tired. They were looking behind me. I spun around and there stood the real Owen. Without warning my body felt really heavy. He caught me.

"I guess five of me is too much for you guys," he picked me up. "You wouldn't want to meet the one I caught."

"One got away? There were two, right?" Joanna asked.

"It would've taken me about a week to get that one; he's got some of my most wicked powers... besides, how much longer would you guys have lasted?"

Owen, thank you for coming back.

Jasmine

Yami Aphiry City

"I can't believe he gave you a map," the whacky was following behind me. "I think I lost a little respect for him,"

"He gave me a boundary and a set of rules, this is also just a piece of a map, he's not stupid. I like him," I turned a corner.

"I think he respects you a little for trying to command him, even though he is your ma-"

"I am my own master!" I hissed at him. "He might get money for every time I fight but I choose to obey what commands me from now on."

"Wow, you must really like the name they gave you... hissing like a kitty, jumping up and clawing people, do you scratch like a kitten too?"

"A cat! I'm 'Hell Cat', not 'Little Kitten'... and I'm debating on how to enter my next fight... why are you following me anyway?"

"I was curious to know what the rest of the place looked like, as long as I'm with the person that has the map I can't get lost right?"

"We walked off the edge of the map three turns ago. We already broke one of his rules."

"What?!"

I laughed. "I'm just kidding, we're right here," I pointed where we were on the map.

"...I suggest you get out of here kid," Someone said from behind a cell door, not really a very friendly voice. "An aphiry sees anyone out of a cell in this area they get tossed into one and whipped countless times."

"What if you resist?" Whacky asked.

"They may try to k-"

"HEY! What are you doing out of your cell!" An aphiry guard that spotted us came running. He didn't look too tough.

"Hold this," I handed the map to the whacky guy following me around and ran straight for the aphiry guard.

He stopped and stood his ground.

I leaped at him; he ducked out of the way. I landed, spun around and barely dodged a strike from a spear weapon he had conjured. This guy is quick. I dodged another attack before leaping at him again, this time catching his left shoulder. I spun myself and landed sitting on his head, my one hand at his throat, my feet keeping me balanced and my other hand holding a card-thing in front of him. "Read it or I cut your throat open."

I let him read it.

"This cannot be true; I saw Raito put his sword right through her."

"Wow, the fact you remember me... was I that popular?"

"My brother was found dead near a combatant's cell. His throat was torn open with claws. The combatant was killed in a similar matter. Since you don't have claws you were ruled out. Someone was trying to frame you so that you would be executed. That incident reminds me of everyone involved. Also, I admired how you stood up to Raito the day you fought him. How did you survive?"

"Hey!" Three other aphiry guards showed up.

"I can't answer your question." I flipped back beside whacky. "We will go back to where we came so that we don't cause too much trouble. Thanks for the story," we took off as I was handed the map. I cannot die, not yet.

"Don't worry, I'm fine..." he went and stopped his friends from chasing us.

We turned a corner. "Now what?"

"Now we go back and eat something because I'm hungry," I also need to get back into shape. That much jumping around shouldn't tire me this much.

Joanna

Shino Aphiry City

"You four..."

Owen spun around.

"Yes, you..." he came close, two others joined him. "...you're Owen and his friends' right?"

I was ready to send one of them flying already.

"That battle with Elder Ed, how did you manage that?"

"I couldn't even feel any power coming from either of you!"

They got way to close, my power flared to life, and then the air went cold. My will to fight fled. The three of them stopped and backed off a bit.

"I remember you three," Chloe said. "Your surprise attack won't work this time."

The ground froze under my feet.

"You know us?"

"I watched you surround a couple a year ago, you had completely destroyed them. I will not let you do that to us," the ice beneath us was dark, I did not dare move."

The three of them all of a sudden just collapsed. Chloe looked confused before looking over at Owen who was smiling. "How..?"

The ice disappeared.

"They were trying to move the earth beneath us. I held it down and they drained their power. Johnithyn, thank you for the idea."

I turned, he was smiling too.

xyx

Chloe

"Owen?"

"Chloe..."

"How did you know they would move earth? And how did you stop it? Wouldn't they have just moved some other earth?"

"Not if they couldn't."

"What?"

"Moving and controlling anything is a lot harder than keeping it where it is. Johnithyn used it on me once, surprised me when I all of a sudden needed a lot more power to move the earth beneath him. I held everything in place as soon as you said 'surprise attack'."

"Everything?"

"Well, how many places could they have surprised us? The ground and behind us, maybe even above us but I didn't think any of them could control air or somehow hover something above our heads without us noticing..."

Maybe I should accept the fact Owen is powerful enough to be reckless... but some of the things he can do surprises me... how am I supposed to keep focused?

Jasmine

Yami Aphiry City

"What are you doing? Your first fight is in a couple of hours!"

"Are you going to ask about everything I do?" I put power in my fist. "I need to test how strong I am somehow," I threw my fist at the dirt wall. I wasn't expecting what came next. My fist kept going and I smashed through it.

"That was interesting..." I heard Whacky's voice.

Ow, damn that hurt…I rubbed my sore cheek. "Get me fire!"

"Who needs fire?" he walked in and a few seconds later he started to glow. "I make a good lamp don't I?"

"What kind of power is that?"

"The kind where hiding is impossible at night."

"Not much here, just a really big room."

There were small areas that looked beat up all over the place. "This is a training room."

"In the dark?"

I looked more closely and the beat up parts. "He was a fire user."

"There's a door over there," he pointed.

I went to it and tried to open it.

"I wouldn't..."

"Come on, it's not like we're going to get killed from opening a door."

"There could be something on the other side."

"That is exactly why I want to check it out," I put power into my fist.

"Wait, you are not going to-"

I punched the door and it flew open; not just that, the room lit up with fire all along the walls. "That was cool, come on, I need your... 'lamp'."

"I don't think so; you want me to- hey!"

I dragged him through the doorway and shi- we fell down a flight of stairs right into another door at the bottom that broke on impact.

"Ow ow ow ow, why'd you... oh shit."

"What's up?" I looked around and found two pairs of eyes staring at us. There was a bit of light so Whacky stopped glowing preventing us from really looking at them. One of the pairs of eyes was not normal.

"Um... hi?" Whacky said and then turned into whatever he turns into to prevent from getting killed. I don't really think his 'ghost' ability helps at all but that's what I'm led to believe.

I put power into my fist.

Whoever it was wave his/her hand. The power from my fist vanished and Whacky turned back to normal. He waved us away and both sets of eyes turned away from us. Whacky turned and ran; I followed because I didn't really want to get left in the dark.

Once again in my fur armour I didn't really expect to be on the giant stage again. The aphiry guard that led me here was the same one that led me here the first time. I guess there is not much that changes in only a month. The announcer began, I didn't care; I walked in or tried to. The guard blocked me from entering.

"Look, I don't want to stand here while he rambles on about stuff I can't even listen to."

"I'm supposed to keep you here until he calls your name," he didn't look the least bit afraid. "Your opponent is going to tear you apart."

"Who is it?" I asked to let him stall me.

"He is called tank. He doesn't really have any real powers but he has a talent for ripping his opponents apart. They're usually kids like you. He recently lost a match against another called-"

"I don't want to know his history with wins and losses, why is he called 'Tank'?"

"He can withstand almost any attack from you little ones. When you guys run out of energy he grabs you and starts ripping you apart. It's very brutal to watch, but no one in 'this' arena has seen it yet."

"I won't let them have a chance," I got ready as the announcer got close enough for me to hear what he was saying. He had already announced my opponent.

"...girl is back from the dead ready for revenge! She survived a deadly sword wound from a sword that has never failed to kill before! A feline by a name we all gave her! I give you the dangerously cute, HELL CAT!"

The guard stepped aside and I entered the giant arena for the second time. Cute?!