Isabelle and Benjamin panted, nearly out of breath as the battle continued. Both of them looked as if they were about to pass out at any minute. The people watching were on edge, wondering who would win, while some were becoming sweaty from standing out in the sun so long, and others had gotten bored with how things had progressed so far.

“So, who do you think will win?” An older teen asked their friend.

“I don’t know; it could be anyone’s game.” Their friend replied.

“You think they’ll get in trouble for fighting?” A young girl pondered aloud to herself.

“Maybe we shouldn’t stay too close to where they are...” An older woman commented worriedly.

“What if the fight ends in a draw?” An even younger boy suggested.

“Aw man, that’d be like every movie I’ve ever seen.” An older man complained.

Tired of hearing the constant bickering and whispers discussing their fight, Isabelle threw a curveball at Benjamin. “Do you want to give up now, Benny?” She asked.

“Are you kidding? I can do this all day, you know...” Benjamin said while panting. “You won’t be so lucky.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that your weak, human body will collapse at some point.”

“I won’t, I can’t! I won’t let you take over my world!” She retorted, slamming keys on her keyboard to see what would happen.

Dozens of sparks came out and went for Benjamin’s feet. The dark magician tried to jump over and side-step as many as he could, but they just would not let up. They kept going! Not to mention, it made it look like he was doing a little jig.

“Where’s your magic now?!” Isabelle taunted.

Benjamin wasn’t sure what to do, being stuck in a tight spot.

“Master, over here!” A familiar voice cried out. Harry’s voice prompted Benjamin to turn and find the critter running at him with something in his paws. “I’ve come to your rescue. Catch!” He threw the wand as Benjamin jumped up to grab it.

After making a touchdown, the magician looked at the wand, now in his grasp. A big smile grew on his face.

“Yes, oh, yes!” He laughed. “Oh, you guys thought I was weak, huh? But now, I will show you the true power of the dark magician!”

Benjamin lifted his wand in the air as the white clouds in the sky turned dark. Once they heard the rumble of thunder, the spectators ran for shelter. Isabelle and Nicholas huddled together as they looked up, shaking uncontrollably, as lightning flashed briefly.

“H-how is he doing all this!?” Nicholas panicked.

“I don’t know!” Isabelle exclaimed.

“All right, time to summon more lightning!” Benjamin shouted.

Lightning cracked against the dark sky, striking Benjamin where he stood, causing him to collapse onto the ground. Isabelle and Nicholas both gasped in horror and rushed over to where his twitching body laid there. Benjamin opened his eyes and turned to his wand, surrounded by a yellow aura.

“Are you ok?” Isabelle asked upon seeing Benjamin in an awakened state.

“Oh, I’m fine, never been better actually...” He got up slowly with a wicked smile plastered on his face. “Especially now that I have accomplished some synergy with my wand.”

“Um, you probably shouldn’t overdo it.” Someone commented worriedly.

“Hey, have you noticed something... strange about him? Compared to before?” Nicholas whispered to Isabelle.

Before she had time to answer, Benjamin shot out dozens of lightning bolts from his wand. Isabelle deflected them off with her shield, causing them to hit fences, nearby signposts, and trees in the distance. Isabelle, however, flew back because of the sheer force of the bolts colliding with her shield. She landed on her bottom a few feet away, along with Nicholas.

“Look out, Isabelle! He’s more powerful now!” Nicholas ran close as he warned her.

“Yeah, I know.” Isabelle replied, “But you have to get out of here; it’s too dangerous!”

“No way, I’m not going to just—”

“Hey, think fast!” Benjamin shouted in a condescending tone. “Lightning spark!”

A plasma of lightning shot out of Benjamin’s wand immediately after. However, Isabelle pulled a fast one and pressed ‘P,’ which unleashed a plasma beam of her own. They collided with one another.

Isabelle’s plasma beam dissipated, while Benjamin’s sparks rocketed straight up, breaking through the clouds. Soon after, rain fell, and Isabelle hurried to create an umbrella to protect herself and Nicholas, and from getting wet using the laptop’s power. Benjamin just stood there with the wand still in his grasp, silent.

“Benjamin, won’t you give it up? This whole battling thing is getting ridiculous!” Isabelle cried, trying to maintain.

“You can’t tell me what to do!” Benjamin retorted. Despite his words, he stopped for a minute to think about the outcomes. Ugh, we seem evenly matched, so how can I possibly win? Even with my newfound strength, I- wait, that’s it! Of course, I can call in for some help. Why didn’t I think of that before?

“Uh, are you going to say something?” Nicholas asked.

Benjamin ignored him. With his eyes getting twitchy, he held the wand close to him and whispered: “Come now, I summon you to fight alongside me.” “Morph into something strong and defeat your enemies!” He shouted, extending the wand as high as he could go.

Another blast zoomed out into the sky, this time, colored yellow-orange. It went straight through the heavens; the gray clouds disappearing as everyone looked on, the light went higher and higher until it disappeared from view.

Benjamin still wore a huge smile on his face, waiting for the creature to come and help him, but it didn’t show up. His smile grew weaker as he dropped his wand and fell to the floor, landing on his knees. Isabelle and Nicholas weren’t sure how to feel. It seemed like the magician finally gave up, but they didn’t feel accomplished, especially with how their enemy reacted to the whole thing.

Harry looked over through the fence and frowned as tears formed in Benjamin’s eyes and slid down his cheeks. He said nothing for a moment, and the only word his Master mustered up after all that was a quiet, somber, “Why?”