??? [Perspective: Mina]

  The doppelgangers moved as one. Mina braced herself with a low grunt. Her club bristled with fresh spikes that vibrated in her grip. She knew what Biscuit was trying. The cat wanted to bury her under bodies until she had no breath left. Until the swamp had no gaps left for her to break.

  Fine. She would carve the gaps open.

  The first clone lunged low. Mina kicked its jaw sideways with a snarl because she liked hearing things crack. She followed with a swing that spat another [Shrapnel Shower]. Spikes blew across the muck. A few doppelgangers burst into shards that skittered away.

  Her focus split for a moment. The real Biscuit darted in. Claws raked her thigh. The cut opened hot and fast and she hissed as blood sprayed into the swampwater. She pivoted into the pain. Pain always told her where to hit next. She slammed her iron club into Biscuit's flank. The ceramic shell cracked. Another layer broke.

  Shards dropped into the muck. They pulsed. They fused.

  Now seven Biscuits prowled around her.

  The crowd roared overhead. Their noise rolled down like waves but Mina barely heard any of it. She listened instead to the rhythm of Biscuit's paws. She felt the pattern of her steps. Mina turned her own body into a counter-beat. She fought like she always did. Hard and close.

  Another clone rushed her. She rammed her club into its maw. The spikes surged and the head blew into fragments. She caught another in the gut with her horn because she liked feeling resistance break. As she tore free two more claws slashed from behind. One struck her shoulder. One scraped her jaw. Hot particles sprayed against her collarbone.

  She staggered but did not fall. She never fell while she still had blood to burn. She dug her feet deeper into the muck. Every muscle screamed.

  "Come on. Keep multiplying. I will smash you all the way down to dust."

  Biscuit laughed. Her voice was sharp and cruel. "Then keep bleeding for me Mina. I have lives to spare. Do you." Her fur shell cracked again. More shards fell and fused before hitting the mud. Now eight Biscuits circled her with the same hungry grin.

  Mina tightened her grip. Her kanabo trembled. The spikes stretched like a tree's thorns. Her odds shrank with every crack, but the shrinking did not scare her. It only stoked the fire in her gut.

  She lowered her stance. She let her Dominion flare. Her kanabo warped in her hands. Spikes grew and fell and grew again. If Biscuit wanted a sea of bodies Mina would be the storm that smashed the sea apart.

  Steel clashed. Ceramic shattered. Blood hit water.

  No one gave ground. No one quit. No one fought soft.

  The clones rose. Eight. Then nine. Mina felt the weight of it. The fight was no longer a show. It was a test of who could outlast the other. A test of will and bone.

  She roared and drove her kanabo through another clone. Shards rained over the swamp like glass. Her chest heaved. Her wounds burned. Her grin stayed sharp. No matter how many lives Biscuit threw at her, Mina refused to be the one who broke.

  ??? [Perspective Switch: KiAera]

  I forced myself to breathe in the Wait Zone. My chest felt tight. The crystal sphere flickered in front of me with every swing and splash of swamp water. I watched Mina's life particles drip as if they were trying to drag my heart down with them. My ribbons twitched behind me because I hated sitting still.

  When Biscuit's shell cracked I had expected a reset. Annoying but normal. I did not expect the shards to crawl back together into a clone. The first time that thing slashed Mina across the ribs my stomach dropped.

  Damn it. A double layered ability. That meant Biscuit was no longer a nine life wall. She had become something worse. If each layer made another clone then Mina was not fighting one cat. She was fighting ten at once by the end of it.

  I glanced up at the stats hanging above us. Mina still had the advantage in APeX but numbers did not care about advantage. Numbers crushed you if you let the fight drag too long. Mina fought like a brawler. She loved the rhythm of blows. Biscuit's trick created chaos and chaos ate tempo alive.

  "Mina is bleeding already," Nex muttered. His face looked as tight as mine felt.

  "She will not quit for that," Skadi whispered. Her voice shook with fear and faith.

  They were both right. Mina never quit. That was her strength and her flaw. She loved the blood and the headbutts and the crash of bodies. But love was not enough when the math went bad.

  I studied Biscuit. She was feral and sharp and she knew how to pull a fight apart. She would keep taunting. She would drag time out. And Whirlkool was already pulling Loa away. Divide and bleed. A simple tactic that worked too damn well.

  My jaw clenched. If Mina did not adjust fast enough, she would drown under a mountain of cats.

  And worse, I could feel the Sovereigns above watching closer now. Crueltal leaned forward on her dais, eyes glittering with cruel amusement. Szylla's monocle caught the light again as though recording every twitch of movement. The Grimgore Warlock at Crueltal's side was practically licking his lips. They were not watching Mina fight. They were watching her suffer.

  I hated it.

  My ribbons coiled behind me, aching to rip through the barrier and join her. But the dome was law. I'd be erased before I even touched it.

  All I could do was whisper under my breath, not sure if Mina could feel it or not.

  "Think Mina. Do not let her drag you. Break her pace. Make her fight yours."

  Because if Mina couldn't… this wasn't just going to be a bad match.

  It was going to be a bloodletting.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  ??? [Perspective: Mina]

  The swamp swarmed with Biscuits. Nine of them prowled around her. Mina kept swinging until her shoulders burned. She split one into fragments but the shards crawled right back together behind her and she cursed under her breath.

  Her breath grew ragged. She fought through it. Her grin never left. But deep down she felt it. This tide would drown her if she stood still.

  A claw slipped through her guard. Her ribs screamed as another clone raked her down to a knee. She spat blood and raised her club anyway. Shadows closed in around her.

  That was when the air cracked.

  A weight slammed down on the clones. Three or four flew screaming across the swamp and shattered against rock. Mina blinked up. Loa hovered above with wings wide and eyes burning pale. Her feathers shook from strain.

  Her voice carved into Mina's mind. 'On your feet! I said I would cover you.'

  Mina stood with a snarl. She held her club tight as the clones closed in again.

  But Loa's move left her open. Whirlkool had waited for it. The Kappa rotated her shell cannons. Water surged into the barrels. Then she fired. The projectile screamed through the air like a rocket and hit where Loa hovered.

  The blast lit the swamp like a bomb. Loa fell. Feathers scattered.

  The crowd screamed. Half awe. Half hunger.

  Mina's heart hammered. "Loa." She crushed another clone with her club. She glared at the Kappa as her cannons hissed with heat.

  Loa's body hit the muck. It dissolved into black haze.

  An illusion.

  Mina barked a laugh. "That's my bird."

  Loa reappeared above. Her wings spread wide. Talismans spun between her fingers and lit with psionic flame. They fell like burning leaves. Each one hit a clone and burned it down to shards.

  Biscuit cursed. Her tails whipped. Her clones rushed again but Loa's wings flared. Feathers flew like blades and shredded two more doppelgangers.

  Whirlkool aimed again. She fired pistols this time. Crab shells and spiral shells shot into the air. Loa's feathers intercepted them. Steam burst with every clash.

  'Eyes forward Mina. Whirlkool is open.' Her voice called.

  That was all Mina needed. She pushed off the ground. Her pain fell behind her. Her muscles burned bright. She leapt at Whirlkool with a savage roar. Her kanabo warped into a spiked lance. The Kappa tried to defend. She was too slow.

  Mina slammed the weapon into her artillery shell. Metal cracked. Plates split. Water sprayed sky high as Whirlkool stumbled.

  Now the Kappa looked like prey.

  Mina yanked her club free. "Caught you cannon freak."

  The last clones fell under Loa's talismans. The field thinned. The fight shifted. It turned into a brawl they could win.

  Biscuit stalked out of the water, dragging furrows through the mud.

  "You always thought one lucky hit made you equal," Biscuit sneered. Her tails snapped, sending spray fanning around her as she circled. "Back then, you'd come at me with your horns lowered like some barnyard bull. Thought it was brave. Thought you could beat me by sheer will."

  Mina bared her teeth, kanabo spinning in her hands. "And you thought kicking me into the dirt made you strong. All you ever did was laugh from on high while I clawed my way back up."

  Biscuit lunged, claws flashing. Mina swung wide, spikes catching her forearm and spraying shards of ceramic, but the cat twisted midair, landing neatly on all fours.

  "Claw your way up?" Biscuit purred mockingly, prowling sideways, never breaking eye contact. "No. You whimpered. You begged me to stop when I had your head under my paw. You don't want to admit it, but I remember every squeal."

  Mina's heart thundered. Her vision narrowed red. She stomped forward, and brought the club down in an earth-splitting crash. The swamp floor shattered, geysers of muck erupting as Biscuit darted back.

  "I was a child!" Mina roared, spittle flying. "You had years, claws, and Jalkra's' name at your back. I had nothing but rageand still I kept standing!"

  Biscuit hissed, her tails cracking like whips. "And you still are that rage! You're still my little mouse. Squeaking, pretending you're a lion."

  They collided again, kanabo spikes against claws. The impact quaked through the arena, a sound like boulders colliding. The crowd screamed, some chanting Mina's name, others Biscuit's.

  Mina shoved, horns nearly touching Biscuit's snarling face. "I'm no mouse. I'm a Captain of Chimera Crew! My crew follows me, not because they fear me! Because they trust me!"

  Biscuit's fangs gleamed in a wicked grin. "Then they're fools. And when I claw your horns, they'll see the same weak, trembling runt you've always been."

  But beneath the thunder, something clicked in Mina's chest. Every insult and scar Biscuit had tried to drag out, all boiled the same way. The old Mina, the "mouse," would have thrown herself harder and harder at that wall until she shattered her own horns. That was what Biscuit wanted. To wind her up. To make her reckless.

  And Mina realized… she wasn't that girl anymore.

  Her crew trusted her. Loa trusted her—even if that damned crow wouldn't say it in words. She wasn't fighting alone. She hadn't been for a long time.

  Mina's grin shifted. Less feral, more deliberate. She took a page from that darn Boggorc, who was probably now burning in the depths of the Infernal Realm.

  Biscuit noticed it instantly, tail tips twitching. "What's that look? You're not done already, are you?"

  Mina spun her kanabo once, slow, deliberate, and let it rest across her shoulder. "Nah. Just figured something out."

  "Idiot!" Biscuit lunged, expecting the same berserker swing. Mina didn't swing. She sidestepped—calm, measured—mud splashing under her as the claws slashed harmlessly past.

  The Nekomata's eyes widened.

  Mina's kanabo lashed out low, spikes manifesting in mid-motion, hooking Biscuit's ankle. With a brutal yank, she dragged the massive cat face-first into the muck.

  "Not so fun when the mouse stops running, huh?" Mina snarled, and brought her elbow down like a spear into Biscuit's back.

  The crowd exploded.

  Biscuit hissed, scrambling up, her eyes wild. "Y-You're still swinging wild!" she spat, voice ragged.

  "No," Mina said, spinning her kanabo into a guard. "I'm choosing my swings. Big difference."

  Biscuit rushed again, tails snapping to sweep her legs but Mina anticipated it this time. She jumped early, her foot crunching down on one tail, pinning it to the mud. Kanabo descended in the same motion, smashing into Biscuit's exposed shoulder.

  The Nekomata yowled, claws raking desperately through muck, tails flailing in wild arcs. All elegance gone. All smugness gone. She was desperate.

  "You're not my tormentor anymore," Mina said, her voice booming across the colosseum. "You're just prey waiting for the final blow." With a wide swing of her club, she slammed Biscuit skyward.

  She turned, Loa awaited her. She and Loa stood back to back. Their breaths matched. They had fought too many battles together to lose rhythm now.

  Biscuit snarled across from them. Whirlkool hissed. The crowd roared at the shift in momentum.

  Biscuit moved first. Her fur cracked. More clones formed. They sprinted at Mina. Loa's mind snapped into her thoughts.

  'Four on your left. Low angle. Sweep wide.'

  Mina spun with a growl. Her kanabo stretched into a spiked chain. She cleared three clones in one brutal arc. The fourth leapt at her throat but Loa's feather speared it midair.

  Whirlkool countered. Her shell cannons opened wider. Water glowed inside. She fired a sequence of blasts. Hammerhead shots. Crab scattershots. Then a narwhal rocket that screamed straight for Mina.

  'Duck now.'

  Mina dropped flat. Loa's feathers intercepted the missile. The blast shook the swamp but did not touch Mina.

  She grinned up at Loa. "Still sharp bird."

  Loa's talismans swirled. Her feathers glowed. Biscuit staggered as the psionic heat slapped against her. The cat spat curses.

  "Cowards. You hide behind feathers and scraps while I bleed."

  Mina drove her hammer into the muck. Mud geysers sprayed Biscuit's face. Mina followed with a leaping smash that cracked more ceramic fur.

  Whirlkool drew her pistols again. Water blades cut the air. Loa blocked most but two struck her wing. She grunted and steadied herself. Her aura surged. Talismans circled her like burning satellites.

  "Mina. Final volley. On my mark."

  Mina wiped particles from her mouth. She pulled her {Dominion} tight into her club. She crouched low. Her whole body tensed.

  Biscuit lunged. Whirlkool fired.

  "Now."

  The swamp exploded.

  Loa unleashed everything. A storm of feathers and talismans lit the sky. The psionic blades tore through every clone in seconds. Biscuit stood alone and exposed as the talismans struck her again and again.

  Mina followed with her own blast. Her club burst with psychic shrapnel charged by Loa's force. The blast ripped Whirlkool backward and slammed her onto her shell.

  Both enemies hit the muck at almost the same time.

  The crowd went wild.

  Mina stomped forward, her chest heaving as she raised her kanabo high. Loa landed beside her, wings out, her battered body tilting forward, talismans turning to ash.

  "Not on my watch."

  Mina lifted Loa by the arm, hauling her upright and grinning. Together, they stood victorious!