Axel frowned immediately when he heard what Jean had just said. The idea of them fighting each other seemed unfair, especially since neither he nor Rick had any abilities. When he voiced his concerns to Jean, she replied,
"It doesn't matter. The fight will happen anyway. It's part of the test. Don't worry though, you won't get hurt. If you do, we have contingencies for that," she said glancing at one of the officers.
Axel immediately deduced that one of them likely had a healing ability. Still, that did little to settle the uneasy feeling gnawing at him.
This was an unfair fight for both him and Rick, but he wasn't about to start whining too much about it.
"Relax, mate," Ares said, grinning. "I'll make sure you don't get last place. I'll knock the pretty faces over there out, then I'll knock you and Quiet out, and I'll win. Sounds good?"
"No," Jean cut in sharply. "There will be no knocking anybody out."
As soon as she said that, a circular ring, similar to a boxing arena, began to rise slowly from the ground. One of the officers had his hand stretched forward, clearly using some sort of ability, though Axel couldn't tell which one exactly.
The ring fully materialized, and standing inside it were Axel, an arrogant Ares, a nervous Rick, a steady Kinsey, and a bored Nile.
"The last person inside the ring wins," Jean announced loudly as she tapped a few buttons on her wrist terminal.
A system message appeared before Axel's eyes.
[Alert! A fight is imminent.]
[Battle Mode has been initiated.]
[All stats are now active.]
[New Mission Recieved: Knock one opponent out of the ring.]
[Reward: +20 EXP.]
'Holy crap! 20 Exp? And all I gotta do is take someone out.'
Axel knew he couldn't take on Nile or Ares. Kinsey was unpredictable, but there was someone he knew he could defeat with ease. Rick.
'Damn it. I can't do him dirty like that. Maybe if I explain to him why I need to defeat him, he'll understand.'
Axel didn't get enough time to think it through before Jean gave the order.
"Start!"
Immediately, Nile lunged forward, lightning fast, every movement of hers was precise and deliberate. Her target: Ares.
But Ares had been expecting it. After all, all he had done since the test started was piss her off. The moment she moved, he dropped low, her fist sliced through the air where his head had been a heartbeat ago.
He rolled smoothly through the ground and back onto his feet, a smug grin tugged at his lips and a small chuckle escaped his mouth.
"You should smile more often, princess." he teased.
Rick and Axel stood at the edge of the ring, watching, unsure whether to jump in or stay out of her way while the other girl, Kinsey hovered on the other side, also not quite sure of what to do either.
Now before the fight started, Ares had been standing before Axel and Rick, almsot like a brick wall between both boys and the two girls on the other side. But now, with that one dodge, he was now in front of Kinsey. There was nothing between Nile and Rick or Axel.
The smile on his hace dissappeared slowly as he realized. She had tricked him into moving out of the way.
Before he could react, she was already midair, with her knee out, the motion was fluid and vicious. Her knee slammed into Rick's chest with a bone rattling crack, sending him hurtling backward and out of the ring.
"Not cool, blondie." Ares growled. He wasn't smiling anymore.
Nile didn't even flinch. She couldn't care less if he was the hulk at this point.
'Ah, dammit,' Axel cursed inwardly as he watched Rick hit the floor outside the ring. His best bet at completing his mission was gone. That left Kinsey.
He turned his head toward her only to find that she had the same idea as he did. She was already sprinting toward him.
Axel immediately shifted into defense mode, muscles tensed. He had no idea what her ability was, and he wasn't about to find out the hard way.
Her first strike came fast, a motion aimed for his side, but Axel rolled, dirt scraping his arm as he hit the ground and came up beside Ares.
Now, the match had devolved into a perfect standoff.
Axel and Ares stood back-to-back in the center of the ring, breathing steady, eyes locked on their respective opponents. Axel facing Kinsey, Ares facing Nile.
"Can you take her on, ginger?" Ares whispered to Axel.
"I don't know. Did you just call me ginger?" Axel frowned.
"Focus, ginger!" Ares hissed under his breath. "Go for her head, immobilize her and send her ass out of here. I'll handle Pocahontas here." He said, glaring at Nile.
Axel hesitated for a split second. He didn't like hitting girls, but this wasn't about liking or not. He needed to level up and besides, it was him or her. He chose himself.
Using Ares's solid frame as an assist, Axel burst forward. His boots scraped the floor as he charged toward Kinsey.
He threw his fist forward, a quick jab meant to bait her, and she of course took the bait. She ducked, exactly as he expected. But his knee was already coming up.
A sharp cracking sound came out from the attack as his knee connected with her jaw.
'Bloody hell. I'm so sorry,' Axel thought.
Kinsey stumbled backward, holding her jaw. The hit from Axel had made her a little drowsy. Now was a perfect time for Axel to deliver another blow, one that would render her vulnerable, that way he can toss her out of the ring with ease, but he doesn't. Not yet.
Across from them, Ares and Nile's duel had turned into a blur of motion and grit. Fists met forearms, kicks deflected, strikes dodged by mere inches.
Ares was strong and fast, but Nile matched him, move for move, strike for strike. She fought with precision and intent, like someone who was trained to kill, not just spar.
For once, Ares couldn't find an opening.
The match dragged on, four fighters locked in motion, none backing down.
And through it all, one thing hadn't happened yet, No one had revealed their abilities.
"Use your powers if you want to win this fight." Jean advised.
***