The wave that Felix left crashed into Will, knocking him down and washing over him. He was left scrambling back to his feet, spluttering and coughing up the water that he’d accidentally swallowed. There was no sign of Felix, of course. Joseph and Tamara were stirring feebly, having taken quite the beating in the space of a few seconds. Richard looked in better condition, but there was no denying that Felix had hit them hard.  Tamara herself was swaying on the spot, her eyes unfocused.

“Damn,” Will said quietly. This didn’t bode well for their chances if they were so badly injured and exhausted this early. “Alright, let’s fall back for now.”

Richard shook his head stubbornly. Even Tamara looked askance at the suggestion and would have said so if she didn’t have her jaw clenched, obviously fighting back a wave of nausea. “We can keep going. We’re not done yet!”

“I’m not trying to say you’re done,” Will retorted. “But we can’t leave the others here like this, and we could use a short break. Charlisa’s group can cover us while we rest for an hour or so. The fight’s not over until we knock out all the other competition, right?”

Richard’s face was still stuck in a stubborn expression of denial, but he didn’t say anything further. Taking advantage of his hesitation, Will stooped to pick Angel up, slinging them over his shoulder. “Get the others, and let’s go back.”

They did just that. Joseph grabbed his brother Emmet, and Richard hauled Michael off the ground. Then, moving at a brisk jog with the dazed Tamara in the middle, they retraced their steps back to where Edward held the rest of the Nexus. They found Charlisa’s group quickly, situated a fair distance away from James’ group, each member looking in a different direction, on the watch for trouble.

“Will!” Charlisa exclaimed, her eyes popping as she saw the unconscious figures they were carrying. “Are they alright?”

“Just knocked out,” Will explained, his chest heaving. Angel wasn’t heavy, but the exertion was starting to wear on him. “They’ll be fine, but they’re out. Their tags got taken.”

Charlisa nodded, casting another glance at the surrounding area. “Go and put them near Edward. We’ll cover you.”

They indeed did conjure a wall of hot flames, just in time to intercept some projectile that sailed down from the sky. When Will looked for the source, Charlisa shook her head. “Don’t bother. They’re too far away. They’ve been taking shots at us this whole time, but we can’t see them.”

Will nodded his understanding and led Richard and Joseph over to the rear group, where they gently laid down their knocked-out allies. “Felix,” he said, in reply to Noratuk’s curious look. “I think he and Olivia are working together because someone was throwing chunks of ice at us.”

It had only just occurred to Will that he’d never seen Olivia train. She hadn’t used her Nexus powers at all during their visit. He now new realized that it had been intentional so that he wouldn’t be able to think of a way to counter her. But now he knew. She could sling ice and water across great distances, even further than Charlisa could with her flames.

“Sit down for a little bit,” he ordered Richard and Joseph. Tamara had already sunk to the ground, drinking from a water bottle that James had passed her. “I’m going to see if I can’t do something about whoever’s throwing rocks at us.”

He left them behind and ran back over to Charlisa. As she saw him returning, she asked, “So Felix did that?”

“Not just him,” Will explained. “We were also ambushed by some Earth Nexians. One of them was hidden and got me when I relaxed. Couldn’t get their tags. Then Olivia started throwing those ice chunks, and knocked them out.”

Charlisa nodded her understanding, then intercepted another rock with a small firebolt, shattering it in mid-air. “These attacks have no real force behind them. I almost wonder if it’s worth it to block them.”

“If you don’t, they’ll use bigger rocks,” Will put in, certain he was right. “They’re trying to tire you out by keeping you on the defense. That will leave you vulnerable to attack later.”

She frowned thoughtfully, nodding slowly as she digested his words. “You may be right. But one of us can’t defend all on our own, so we can’t send anyone out to get them. And if we all move forward, they’ll probably also start using bigger rocks.”

“You’re probably right,” Will said. “But I think I can get them.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I know you’re quick, but surely even you couldn’t go that far without your Condition breaking.”

“We’ll see,” Will said with a shrug. “I just need to pay attention, and see where the rocks are coming from.”

He pulled his phone out to turn on the camera and pointed it in the direction the rocks had been coming from. At maximum zoom, he could make out the details of a building nearly two blocks away. Holding as still as he could, he waited. Another rock appeared, being deflected by another wall of flames. Then another, to the same end. He smirked to himself and put the phone away.

“I can make that distance,” Will said confidently. “I lapped the campus twice, which is three or four times as long as that.”

“If you think so,” Charlisa said. She tried to sound encouraging, but her face betrayed her doubt. When he didn’t take off at once, she added, “No time like the present.”

He grinned at her. “True.”

He waited for the next rock to come, then charged forward, moving as fast as he possibly could. He was across the open space and running along the side of the building faster than anyone could blink, and tore his way down the street. He had to keep his eyes slit against the rush of oncoming wind, but as a rock sailed far over his head he knew that the hidden attacker had been taken aback by his blinding speed, and panicked. Now more rocks were coming, larger and heavier than the others. He couldn’t suppress the grin that broke out on his face.

He darted to the left to avoid the three large rocks, then again to the right to throw them off. More rocks rained down, missing him by several feet. The hail of stones picked up now as the unseen attackers continued to panic. A smart opponent would have taken their chance to escape before he caught up, he thought. But it was too late. With a powerful burst, he threw himself high into the air. Just before he hit the apex of his leap, he saw the three Earth Nexians who had been launching the barrage.

One of them sank out of sight just as he came into view, but the other two were already turning to face him, large pieces of rock floating in the air behind them. Before they could launch them, his two fireballs knocked them both back. They weren’t down by any count, but it gave him just enough time to land on the rooftop and close the distance.

He struck at the first one with his fist but nearly broke his knuckles on the thin layer of stone that appeared to cover the man’s torso. Will staggered back with a gasp of pain, clutching his fist, and was struck in the stomach himself by the other one. He was a competent fighter. Will leaped to the side as the first opponent moved forward to capitalize on his hesitation. The two Earth Nexians had the momentum now, and it was all he could do to avoid the flurry of rocks thrown from point-blank range.

He ducked low to avoid another rock, then released a blast of fire with two hands. The flames swept out low, knocking the legs out from under both of them. Before they could recover, he’d hit the first one again, and the body went limp as he was knocked out. Will grabbed the other as he made it to his feet, and increased the power of the electricity running through his body. It burned him with a shock, but the effect was much worse for the Earth Nexian, who shook violently as he was electrocuted. When Will released him, he hit the rooftop without a sound.

Will felt the roof under his feet starting to shift. This time, he was ready. Moving quickly in a half-circle with his lightning, he ended up behind the Earth Nexian as he surfaced, throwing rocks in the wrong direction. Will punched him in the base of his spine before he could recover, stunning the man. He reached out and yanked the tag from around his neck, then gave him a powerful shock as well. He fell on top of his comrade that had suffered the same fate.

Finally, Will allowed himself to relax. His left hand was throbbing painfully from where it had punched the solid stone, but it didn’t seem too badly injured. He stooped with his hands on his knees to catch his breath, glancing back to where the Fire Nexus was located. He could just barely make out Charlisa at this distance, as she was in the same position. He shot a quick burst of fire into the air to let her know he was fine, and he saw her release one in reply. Grinning, he made his way down to the ground floor, pausing only to snatch up some tags.

He could go back now, he knew. But he still felt fresh despite all the attacks he’d given and taken, so he decided to continue. Seven Earth Nexians were already down, which meant that nearly half of their force had to be out of the running. It was still a heavy risk, he thought, but he could at least try to see if he might be able to finish it all off. Having one less group of enemies was an attractive thought. His mind made up, he moved further away from the Fire Nexus.

Almost immediately, he spotted the first Soul Nexus member. The man was sitting on a nearby city bench, his head down. Will couldn’t believe it. The man was supposed to be monitoring the nearby fights, yet here he was napping! A flare of irritation welled up in his chest, and he made a beeline for the figure. He stopped just before him and nudged him with the toe of his shoe. It was a little harder than intended, but he didn’t care.

Something was wrong, he thought. He poked the figure now. Only then did he see the splotch of red that stained the brilliant tunic. A second later, he made out the wound that had killed him. A small hole, about the size of a human fist, had been punched through the man’s chest, right where the heart should be. Will recoiled in horror at the realization, taking several steps back, a wave of nausea threatening to overwhelm him. He was dead! Someone had deliberately killed him. But who? Surely not one of the other Nexuses, he thought. That would have made a commotion, which would have been hard to hide.

Just then, he heard the sound of running footsteps, and whirled around, ready to fight. He was already on edge with the sight of the dead Soul Nexian and instinctively thought that this was the man’s killer, here to get rid of the witness. But it was another Soul Nexian. Now the fear struck him that he might be blamed. A few seconds later, he could make out who it was. It was his old friend, Kenta!

“Will-san!” Kenta cried out, his chest heaving. He sounded relieved to find him, which hadn’t been on the list of expected reactions. “You have to help me!”

“What?” Will asked, taken aback by Kenta’s disheveled appearance. “What’s happened? Do you know who killed him?”

Kenta nodded, his eyes wide with fear. That alone concerned Will. He’d never known the young warrior to show fear like this. He’d seen or experienced something that put the threat of real mortal fear into his heart. “It’s terrible, Will!”

“Tell me!” Will said, his fear rising to match Kenta’s. “What happened?”

“Master Togai,” Kenta gasped, barely able to speak with his gasps. “He came back late!”

Will felt a chill enter his heart. How had Togai escaped? But that revelation was nothing compared to what Kenta said next.

“Master Hitori is dead!”