Thank you silent0racle for the beautiful artwork above!

2014 Copyright © A. M. Forest

All Rights Reserved

A younger version of Apolla and Argon circled each other, their feet bare.

Argon was thinner and less muscular than his present self, his rich red hair cut short to his scalp, his face showing that of teenage youth. He wore a worn dark red cotton shirt and dark gray trousers.

Apolla was also skinnier, her hair much longer and pulled back into a braid to keep out of her roundish face. She wore a tight long-sleeve white top and tight gray stretchy pants.

They were both in attack position, Argon's face showing irritation while Apolla's showed no emotion at all.

Labren was watching the pair as they circled each other, his arms crossed.  "Since you two passed the first two steps of attack and blocking, it's time to work on your evasive techniques."

He began to pace. "The game is simple. You are to avoid being hit on the hand. If your hand is touched, that arm is to go behind your back. If both hands are hit, the attacker has a free hit. If the attacker misses the final blow, the game starts over fresh. Whoever gets three attacks in a row wins."

"So if I--" Argon began just as Apolla charged. In three steps she was in striking range and slapped his left hand then right before turning to round-house kick him. The blow hit him in the face and he flipped before landing on the ground with a 'umph' and a groan.

"Excellent, Apolla," Labren exclaimed happily. "Now prepare for round two. This time, Argon is the attacker."

She moved back to her position, her facial expression still empty as Argon got up, glaring at the girl in front of him. He wiped his bleeding lip with his sleeve before getting into place.

"Get in attack position." Labren ordered. "Begin."

They circled each other. Argon was wary of the emotionless Apolla across from him even though he knew he was the one to attack first.

He took one big step and aimed for her head with a single thrust. She dodged by pushing his hand to the side then in quick succession landed three punishing open-palmed hits to his solar plexus. The final blow hit him so hard, he skirted back a couple feet, trying to catch his breath.

Labren raised his eyebrows, surprised. "I was not expecting that from you, Apolla. Fantastic defensive and offensive maneuvers." He turned to Argon, "One hand behind your back."

Argon glared at her as he settled his arm behind his back. His remaining arm lifted up into position, a determined look appearing on his face.

Apolla's remained unchanging.

"Begin."

~~~

She dodged left, quickly ducked under his extended arm before spinning low to swipe his feet from under him. Argon flipped backwards to avoid the move, leaving enough space between them.

"I see you finally learned to attack first," Apolla smirked, her voice taunting.

Argon returned the smile. "Had to try. Only the gods know how many times I had to learn that lesson from you."  

Her smile grew as they circled. "Let us see how well my lessons have affected you." She pounced, and they danced.

It was back and forth without a hit, both almost toying with each other. With hand-to-hand combat, the threat of death was less likely; unless Apolla hit a powerful blow to his head or the left side of his chest, which he knew. She had the strength and skill to do so, but he had the speed and agility to dodge those fatal blows.

With those dodges came the bounce step that gave him the momentum to send a deadly blow of his own to her ribs that she danced around easily. "You've gotten faster, phoenix." she said evenly as they continued to block each other's moves.

Apolla swung one arm towards his face that he grabbed and locked between his arm and side. She swung the other arm with the same effect, locking her in close range, their arm bands biting into their skin. He gave her a cocky grin. "Let's just say I've been practicing."

She wedged her feet in between their bodies, pushing hard off his chest, causing her to flip into a crouch five feet away. Her smirk matched his. "Not enough as it seems."

She slowly stood as Argon began to circle. Apolla matched his pace. This time, she attacked first. In four seconds, she landed three punishing punches to his ribs and abdomen, blood coming from his mouth as he failed to block the blows.

He dodged at the last second to avoid the kick she sent his way, moving far enough to recover from his inattentive defense.

"You don't seem to be pulling your punches," he grumbled as he wiped his mouth with his fist.

Apolla's face scrunched up in confusion. "I thought I was holding back?"

He smirked. "I must have been mistaken then." With that he lunged towards her, about to touch her shoulders when she leaned back to avoid his advancement. Argon tucked and rolled before bouncing up to his feet again.

"Argon," she began as she blocked a blow to her head before counterattacking, "Do you remember that game we learned in our teenage years?"

He dodged and pressed forward. "You mean around the time you showed no emotion as you tried to kill me?"

With a frown, Apolla ducked. "I don't quite remember it that way. I always saw you as a worthy opponent that was to be taken seriously." she twisted her body to land a kick.

He blocked, but not firm enough to stop him from sliding a couple feet. He rolled his eyes. "I must have missed that expression." he deadpanned. "The game you are referring to was called 'nindzsa', was it not?"

"Yes, that one." She lifted her hands in front of her. "Let's see how well you learned from it."

His smile matched hers as he centered himself and copied her stance. He remembered the game all too well. The fact that she cracked three ribs and caused some internal bleeding that day with open-palmed attacks caused him to never forget that game.

He actually dreaded it.

Apolla attacked first, spinning around to kick his left hand only to miss by inches. She recovered quickly, charging forward to aim a hit to his face. Argon dodged and swung his arm and she bent backwards with the movement to avoid it.

"You know the...tournament is coming up." He spoke hesitantly, giving her the opening to slap him in the face. He staggered back a few steps as he glared.

"I know." Was all she said. The games he spoke of was something she was secretly excited about.

There were five facilities around their dimension. The one they lived in was called The Mountain Guardinal Ward.

Every year, the five Guardinal Facilities gathered in the mountains, put their top fighters in the arena, and have the notorious death battles. Apolla was always chosen to represent the Mountain. To say the least, Apolla never lost. Blood and glory was what she was trained to love.

Argon eyed her warily. "I don't like that excited look on your face. I might be mistaken into thinking you actually enjoy those fights." He took the extra step needed to knock her right hand then twisted to hit the left with his foot. This gave him the momentum to hit her square in the chest, full force, with both hands.

She slid back a few feet, her head down, expression unreadable. Apolla coughed and blood painted her lips in crimson.

When she looked up, her gaze was bloodthirsty. As she wiped her mouth with her arm, Apolla smiled. "Nice hit."

"Shit." Argon stared at her wide-eyed; he's seen that look before and the last time he did, she broke his arm and cracked three ribs.

She had incomprehensible speed at that moment. He knew she was unstoppable now. She was coming for the kill.  

The next thing he knew, Argon was in the air before he felt her fist embed itself in his lower abdomen. Dust accumulated around them when he hit the ground.

As the dust settled some, Apolla stood up straight and dusted off her hands. Looking down at him, she spoke, "The fact that you are still breathing is the reason I am excited for the games. I can't kill you." With that, she walked off.