"No shit"

Tre spared you a glance, sweat beading on his brow. "No shit," he grunted, shoving back against another of Riley's singing sonic waves.

"But they made a mistake," you continued, stopping a few feet from him. "They put the two most powerful people on the same team." You looked him dead in the eye. "So, here's the deal. You cover my back, I'll cover yours. We handle the grunts. Together. We win this, and you and I can settle our score later."

It was a gamble. A huge one. You were offering a truce. A partnership. Not as master and servant, but as equals. You were acknowledging his power, his threat, and offering him a piece of the glory.

Tre's eyes narrowed, a flicker of something unreadable in their depths. He didn't answer, but he also didn't refuse. Instead, he gave a curt, almost imperceptible nod, then turned his full attention back to Guggi, who was winding up for another devastating punch. The unspoken pact was made.

You turned your gaze, a smirk playing on your lips, to the other fight. You wanted to see your queen work.

The battle between Violet and Gina was a brutal, beautiful dance of power and cunning. Gina, relying on her shapeshifting, was a whirlwind of shifting forms.

You watched Violet move, a blur of controlled fury, and for a moment, you felt a surge of pure, unadulterated pride. She was your creation, your queen. She moved with a purpose that Gina, in all her chaotic shifting, lacked.

Gina, **** and cornered, made her move. She didn't charge. She didn't attack. Instead, she scrambled backward, her form rippling. In the space of a heartbeat, she wasn't Gina anymore. She was a random, lanky male student from your calculus class, one with a terrified look plastered on his face. He stumbled, feigning a panic, and darted behind a series of holographic pillars that projected images of crumbling cityscapes.

"Violet, hold!" you commanded, your instinct screaming a warning. It was too classic a misdirection. A feint to draw the aggressor out, to separate the pack.

But the fury in Violet, the sting of Gina's earlier disrespect, was a white-hot flame that consumed caution. She didn't hesitate. With a snarl of frustration, she launched herself after the shapeshifter. "Get back here, you coward!" she yelled, her powerful form disappearing into the maze of holographic rubble. The trap was sprung. She was gone from your line of sight.

"Damn it," you muttered, your focus fracturing. This was Mrs. Love's true test. Not power, but trust. Could your team function when separated? Could they handle the unexpected?

A heavy impact drove the air from your lungs. Guggi had broken through Tre's defense. The big man's shoulder connected with your chest, sending you skidding backward across the polished floor. You twisted, absorbing the momentum and rolling back to your feet in one fluid motion, but the opening had been created.

Riley saw her chance. She stood tall, her mouth open in a silent, wide O. The air shimmered around her, and a wave of pure, concussive ****, propelled by her strange notes, slammed into the glowing orb. The pedestal flickered violently, the light within it sputtering.

Tre was on Guggi in an instant, grappling with the bigger man, trying to pull him away from the objective. They were a storm of flying fists and grunting effort, a purely physical struggle that would only last seconds.

You were split. The orb was about to fall. Violet was out of position, likely chasing a ghost. Kimmy was doing her best to snipe at Riley from cover, but her small projectiles were ineffective against the other girl's athletic abilities.

You had a choice. Help Tre with the brute. Try to reinforce the orb. Or go after Violet.

You made your choice in a split second. "Kimmy, on me! Help Tre." you roared, your decision crystallizing. You ignored the fight at the pedestal. You ignored the **** objective. You broke into a sprint, heading directly for the holographic maze where Violet had disappeared.

To win this fight, you didn't just need the orb. You needed your queen.

You burst into the maze, the fake crumbling walls and projected dust a confusing blur. You heard the sounds of a struggle ahead, a grunt, the crash of a body against a hard surface. You rounded a corner and stopped.

No one was there. You couldn't hear Violet. You look frantically for Violet. Sweat beading your neck as you continue to hunt for her.

The silence in the holographic maze was a physical weight, broken only by the distant, muffled sounds of struggle from the main arena. Your pulse hammered in your ears, a frantic counterpoint to the unnatural quiet. You moved with predatory silence, your senses stretched thin, scanning for any sign of Violet. Every shadow seemed to coalesce into her form, every flicker of projected light a trick of the eye. Then you saw it.

Down a narrow alley between two projections of shattered office buildings, a figure lay crumpled on the ground. A familiar shock of black hair was splayed across the dusty floor. Violet. Her limbs were arranged at an unnatural angle, her body still. You couldn't believe Gina got the better of your Violet. So much angry emotions floods your body. You wanted to snap Gina in half.

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