Toney stood perplexed in the middle of the clearing. He hadn't expected Ichi to just throw in the towel so easily. In the middle of his confusion, however, a body began to descend to the battleground. He stood confidently with his arms crossed, grinning concededly as he looked at Toney. A smirked crept on his face as he said, "Ah, there you are, Raheem. Ready to lose?"

"Me? Lose? I'm beginning to think that old age is finally affecting your mind. Have you forgotten what happened the last time we fought?" He unsheathed a broadsword from his back.

"Pure luck. The question is 'will lightning strike twice'?" Electricity chirped in his hands.

"Let's find out," Raheem said as he rushed at Toney. They both swung at each other. Their swords collided, sending a shockwave surging threw the forest. The trees, bushes, and the glowing butterflies were all blown away, surrounding the both of them in a war torn battlefield, only visible by the light of the moons.

He swung at Toney, only catching the side of his blade. Easily pushing him away, Toney heaved his mighty sword overhead, threatening to slash him in half. Raheem fell to the ground as the blade soared over him and rolled out of harm's way.

Toney rushed at the backpedalling Raheem, swinging powerful, unanswered blows. Raheem ducked, dodged, and swayed from Toney's slashes. He narrowly missed being impaled by a massive thrust as he sent the pommel of his sword crashing into Toney's forehead. He stumbled backward as blood trickled between his eyes. Dropping his blade, Toney sent a wave of fire at Raheem, who blasted a beam of water out of his free hand. Both elements collided, struggling to push each other back. A thick mist of steam began to spew from the struggle, veiling the battlefield.

With his vision obscured, Toney drew back his fire and dived out of the water's path. He blindly felt around for his sword, keeping his ears perked for any sound through the mist. Finally, he'd found the blade of his sword, and worked his hand up to the sword's handle. He stood as he grabbed his sword and held it behind him, listened and watched for Raheem. Nothing.

Where are you? He scanned his eyes through the mist, slowly turning on the balls of his feet. He heard something behind him and swung his sword in the direction of the sound, catching nothing but mist. Raheem was close, but how close?

He heard light, rapid footsteps pounding towards him to his left; he thrust the sword out, only this time he felt something hit. The footsteps receded, and the mist followed. Raheem absorbed the mist, bleeding from his stomach. "You need to be quieter than that if you want to try to fight like a Kurai Elite," Toney said, grinning. His grin quickly disappeared as he looked at his friend's snarl and manic eyes. He's losing his cool. I need to finish this. Now.

Raheem rushed at Toney, sending quick, haphazard blows at him. His sword nicked Toney's shoulder, dangerously close his chest. Toney had to leave his sword behind so he could focus on dodging. Even without his sword, however, he was too slow to dodge his quick swings. Raheem sent a burst of slashes at him, slicing though Toney's bicep, forearm, and across his thigh. Pain shot through Toney as he forced his palm in Raheem's chest, sending him far back enough to conjure one final attack.

It was agony holding his hands out in front of him, but he had to ignore it to focus his energy into his hands. He breathed out as embers began expelling out of his hands, sticking to Raheem, who was still struggling to stand back to his feet.

Just a little more.

Raheem worked his way to his feet; realization jolted through his face as he looked at Toney. Too little too late. "Dolofónos to̱n astéro̱n!" A blinding light exploded through the battlefield. He felt his strength sap from his body as Toney fell to his knees, gasping for air as dizziness threatened to overcome him. Why haven't I been transported back to the stadium yet? Unless...

Raheem's voice cried out through the battlefield. Toney shot his head up, seeing Raheem falling towards him, his sword prepared overhead. With the remainder of his strength, Toney threw a hand up towards him and shot a small wave of fire at him.

~~~~

Toney's eyes flashed open. He was expecting to find himself in the battleground, but instead he was in the transfer pod. Did I die? The transfer pod opened. He slunk out of it, feeling as if gravity was tripled under him. He reminded himself to gorge on Fruits of Marathon once he got to a store.

All of the other pods were already opened, except for one. He lumbered to the operator's table, where a note and two Fruits of Marathon laid. He picked up the fruit and took a bite before reading, mumbling to himself. "Uh, oh."

The final pod opened up as Raheem slipped out. "Man, I feel like hell."

"You look like it, too," Toney said as he tossed the second fruit of marathon at him.

It hit him in the face. "Where is everyone?"

"Something bad happened in the town. We need to get out there, and fast." Raheem took a bite from the fruit. "How did you escape my Star Killer?"

"Whenever I realized what you were doing, I managed to cover my body with ice by letting it slip out of my pores. If I hadn't remembered what it looked like, I would've been dead." He took another bite. "So, how bad is this problem in the city?"

There was a tone from the intercom before a message played. "Due to circumstances in the city, the tournament has thus far been canceled. If you are a resident of Earth, please return home in a safe and organized fashion. If you are a resident of Amity, it is advised that you stay inside until this situation has been resolved. Thank you."

Toney turned to his friend. "That bad."