[07] FINALE - Part 1

[Ashe]

There were moments in every event when something about the contestants changed, some for the duration of the situation, some for the rest of their lives. Some... beyond that, Ashe thought as she looked at Sophia from across the ring. Must've heard Sage's story, too.

She pulled the blue haired doctor close to her chest as she cried, rubbing her hands over her back as she dwelled in thought. The Eliminators, however, didn't allow her that convenience. Ashe's mind reeled in and out of the current events as she tried to piece together the remnants of Sage's shattered life with the pressured words from the man in sunglasses.

"Well... fine, whatever. How's this: if you don't fight, I'll kill all of them. For real," he threatened to Sophia, who stiffened in response.

Her ears locked onto that final bit of information at the end. What exactly did he mean by 'For real'? She'd gone through most of this event arguing within her mind about this very situation. Was this merely a game or an actual group assassination event?

The fear of death had been very, very real. She had felt actual pain, actual stress, and true terror at the thought of being killed. If it had been just a game, what had stopped her from just standing there and getting 'eliminated'.

On the other hand, Kristanna had used the precise words of 'eliminate' over 'kill'. The actual wand that had struck Vincent seemed to be equivalent to a game controller using a targetting laser to remove that object from within the game scene. But then after Kristanna had turned to leave, she had asked Ashe directly 'what if you are wrong?' There was only one thing she could be referencing there.

But just now, the man identified as Norris seemed to slip up and inform them that it wasn't real.

Though what did that matter now? He clearly said he was going to kill them for real with that exact same phrase, so regardless of the past events, it had no bearing on their survival chances now.

Could he really take them all out, here?

"I... I think he's bluffing," the girl at Ashe's side whispered, her mind processing the information as well.

"I agree."

The priestess turned on the doctor in a moment. "Can you really take that chance?" she seethed, causing the girl to go rigid. Ashe met her eyes directly, defiantly. "Can you?" she found herself asked.

The pair of girls turned from her oppressive stare and looked to the Eliminators surrounding the group. "Ashe... I have to find Sol," Sage declared with finality, her fist closing tight at her side. Her sad eyes turned back up to Ashe after a few deep breaths. "I... I'm sorry..."

Vengeance was that important to her, she realized. Sage felt that somehow by getting back at her attacker, she could take back that bit of herself that he had taken from her. It made everything from Ashe's own past seem so minor in comparison that she turned away disgusted at herself for a moment.

"Sage..."

She closed her eyes, reflecting over the events of the tournament. Every step of the way had been a mere step for survival, dodging one direction or another. For Sage, every step had been a progression one, leading her closer and closer to her actual goal.

Why was it that each of them fought? She was simply here and fighting out of fear of the possibility of dying. But was that important enough to her that it was worth that same scenario killing another of her friends and denying them their goal just because of her fear? Sophia was here once more. Death was not the permanent oblivion that she had been lead to believe, at least for some.

What was Sophia fighting for? She was here and fighting for her chance to be returned to life, Ashe assumed. She might have been taking a once in a... A sad laugh broke her lips. She couldn't consider coming from the afterlife and trying to earn the right to live once more as a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' when it wasn't granted till after that had ended. She couldn't deny Sophia her chance at coming back, but nothing guaranteed that. If they had that power, then there could be other ways.

Trafford... To be honest, Ashe had no idea as to what the man was here for. She knew nothing about him. As selfish as it sounded, she didn't particularly care what his goals were for the event. No, she stopped herself. He was a person just like they were. She couldn't just assume that his opinions were meaningless just because she didn't know him.

But Sage was her friend. Two out of four was still better odds than one out of four when it came to accomplishing your goal, but could she deprive the others of their own? She had to. Even if she was fighting for herself, with no true goal in mind, she would be denying them their own chances.

She turned slowly, her hand slowly drifting out through the air to allow her to better view the stream of cobalt hued energy sliding throughout her fingertips like smoking tendrils. She repeated the motion, moving her hands out in front of her as if she were outlining an expansive invisible stomach. Her hands began to glow brighter and she smiled, looking up to her friend as she held them forward to show her. "See? I... I might be able to do it. If I learn more, I mean." On cue, her energy dimmed a moment before returning for her. "Its tough, but I'm finding that the harder I try, the tougher I make it on myself. If I just... I have to just let it come on its own and stop trying to make it come to me."

The doctor nodded slowly, a smile coming to her own face a moment before fading quickly. "I'm glad for you, Ashe. I- I never learned- well..." she stammered. "I don't have the ability to use it. I'm pretty sure I don't, anyway. I'm glad you can."

"Thanks."

They both watched each other a moment more before a slow trickling stream of ice protruded from Sage's knuckles, growing into a set of blades to use in the upcoming fight that they were all forced to partake in. "Are you ready?" the blue haired girl asked her pink haired friend.

"I think so. And Sage," she prompted, before popping her neck and moving into a stance that she had been taught. "I want you to know something. I am your friend. If... by some wild feat of luck... I survive this ordeal, even if I don't have to eliminate anyone to do so," she added quickly. "I'll help you find this guy."

Sage's eyes widened a bit. "Ashe, no, I can't let-"

"Can it. Time to fight now, so don't try to talk me out of it. That's the reward I'm hoping to get if this is actually a game. So get over it."

Her blue hair swept through the air as she shook her head, opening her mouth to argue the point. Ashe didn't let her, however, as she charged in, watching the girl stop mid gasp to defend herself from the incoming assault. "As-" she attempted, taking her breath in deep as she threw her hands up to block the strikes. "Wha-"

"I told... you that... I'm not... changing my mind!" she screamed between breaths, throwing a quick horizontal sweeping punch, catching Sage across the mouth as she let her guard down to argue once more. Ashe immediately pulled back to keep from hitting too hard, but it was a bit late. Sage hit the ground hard and Ashe's fingertips covered her mouth as she quickly apologized. She rushed over to Sage's side to help her back to her feet but the girl looked at her with an icy glaze over her eyes as a small trickle of blood ran down her bottom lip.

Ashe's eyes flashed blue and she saw the energy gathering for Sage's attack before the girl made any sign of physically gathering it, as if her intention manifested before she intended to control it. It was very different from the standard sight that she'd seen when someone used their Ki. Sage was wrong, Ashe believed. She could access her Ki, she just seemed as if she could only use it at the base level of manipulating the cold rather than in its raw form.

She didn't have much time, her psyche realized, and she threw her arms up over herself as the pained girl before her suddenly threw both of her hands forward, shards of ice crystalizing directly before her and flinging themselves in the direction of her opponent. Even more surprising than the viciousness of the bladestorm in her direction was her immediate response to it. A wave of her own Ki exploded from her glowing palms and flashed in front of her, covering a small space directly before her as she cowered behind it.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite large enough or strong enough, allowing small blades of frost to penetrate the very edges and a few of the weaker spots in the hastily made defense. They painfully cut across the extremeties of her flesh that weren't covered, her ear lobe, her ankle, her elbows. She'd even taken a small razor to her hip bone, thankfully deflecting off the bone. "Ahh!" she cried out, the shield dimming a moment as she winced in pain, looking over her wounds.

It was Sage's turn to be surprised, her cold stare faltering for just a moment. "I'm sorry!" she cried out, her own defenses lowering for just a moment.

"Now we're even," Ashe pointed out, leaning down to check her wounds for a moment. "But remember, we're doing this, to help you find Sol!" she cried out, throwing her arms in a backhand motion, the shield of energy flying away from her as if propelled physically by her arms.

It slammed into Sage and sent her flying back through the air, her arms flailing wildly before she hit the ground, a small shield of snow reducing her impact before hitting the ground. Ashe drew an arm across her mouth slowly, finding a bit more blood on her cheek from her ear. Her gaze locked onto each of the Eliminators, some of them thrilled at the turn of events, some of them uncaring, one of them almost sad. She had to do this, though. She had to make sure that no matter who won, Sage found her peace. The girl had gone through so much in this event and had made so many sacrifices to her normally timid persona. Ashe wasn't going to let her fall.

Sage would find her peace.