“First off, if you think that I beat them in a fight when I won that first Master Game, think again. It was basically a shell game hybrid of Rock Paper Scissors and Hide and Seek. I could find them with my innate abilities and I know some tricks that let me cheat without technically cheating at Rock Paper Scissors.

“I made the game like that because I knew that in an up-front fight, they would decimate me. After watching them for a while, I came to understand that they are incredibly aggressive fighters with highly lethal Powers. Basically, they can deploy their Aura over a distance and ignite it into a different force for each of them. Rob is their wide-range fighter, he spreads out his Aura in large shapes and ignites it in a fiery explosion. Bob is their supportive fighter. He deploys his ice into intricate shapes and arrays to restrict and disable the movements of targets. Job is their long-range fighter. He can form his Aura into large tendrils over long distances and ignites them into powerful and concentrated blasts of electricity. The only trade-offs I could discern between them is that they can’t manipulate what they create after deploying their Aura and they’re just as likely to be harmed by them as their targets. With those Powers, they can give trouble to even upper-rank monsters, but the Power they used to take me out the last time was new. Odds are it’s an Ultra Power, a Power with Limits shared by multiple Masters. Since it only affected me, it must only harm a specific target. From what I could gather with Red Shadow Girl, it was nothing but extremely high air pressure.”

Alzolami was going over her intelligence about the Denja brothers. They were standing at one of the entrances to the hedge maze below an open sky. Despite the tension in the air, it was a really nice day and the section itself was rather pretty. Far above them were a few indistinct cloud masses hanging in a clear blue sky with the sun hanging slightly to the west. The floor of the section was a short, soft grass and the hedges had dark green leaves and gave off a pleasant piney scent. In front of them was the entrance to the maze with walls three times as high as Nick.

On their way, they had spent the better portion of the half hour talking tactics. The plan they had hammered out was solid with enough leeway for individual improvisation. Though one of the most critical parts of it hinged on a lot of factors, particularly the upcoming behavior of the Denja brothers themselves. All in all, it was a pretty big gamble on Alzolami’s understanding of their opponent’s behavior, but Nick and Yohan chose to go all in.

As they were fastening the flags to their arms, Mr. Nikeman’s voice rang out from all around. “The Master Game will begin shortly! Once I give the signal, both teams will enter the maze with intent to either find the center or take out the opposing team! On my mark... Three... Two... One... Go!"

With the Go! the three of them shot into the maze. Nick ran left and turned a corner while Alzolami and a gasping Yohan went right a longer distance before turning a different corner.

***

"Have either of you spotted him yet?” “Nope.” “Negative.” Rob ground his teeth in spite. The ability to send telepathic messages among each other was one of many new Powers he and his brothers developed to augment their teamwork after losing to Alzolami the first time. Despite his brothers’ suggestions, Rob had declared that they would take nothing less than a crushing victory by K.O. starting with administering a powerful beating on Nick for humiliating them after they had generously aided him in his failing Master Game against their nemesis. This is what that manic moron gets for not knowing how to take a victory and HCs like a normal person!

They were running throughout the maze and weaving past corners in an attempt at finding Nick first, reporting every five minutes on their status. Job, their expert on searching with Aura, was scanning the widest radius possible in a triangular shape to simultaneously locate their target and map out the maze.

Bob’s excited message rang out on their channel. “I have a visual on target! He’s in quadrant two! Should I engage?” A malicious grin spread on Rob’s face. “No. Herd him to the center of the quadrant. We’re gonna hit him with the Danger Triangle!” Job’s voice worriedly rang in Rob’s head. “But that’s our final attack! If we do that, we won’t be able to use it for three days!” Rob growled and loudly projected his response. “I want that meat ground into hamburger! Nothing less! GOT IT?" Rob decided to take their silence as an affirmative.

As he neared quadrant two, he could hear the crackling of Bob’s ice and see the flashing of Job’s electricity over the walls and quietly laughed under his breath.

As Rob rounded another corner, he came upon a four-way intersection with Nick in the middle, wearing a pointlessly defiant look on his tan face as a wall of solid ice blocked off his escape to the other side.

"Everybody in position for Danger Triangle?” “Yep!” Sounded out Job “Affirmative!” Sounded out Bob. “Good! Fire when ready!”

Rob held up his hands together in a triangular hole and gazed at Nick through it. He felt his Aura surging, confirming that his brothers had done the same. Rob was so full of glee that he didn’t notice the tearing sounds on both sides of him and quickly dropped down into nothing through a Challenge Door.

Nick stood behind the wall to Rob’s left, the flags with vines wrapped around them coming from two of his fingers on his right hand. Alzolami really hit the nail on the head with what they’d do. Dad was right, revenge is the worst liability for a Master!

Alzolami’s plan was to go with Yohan for a distance and use Yellow Shadow Girl to transform into the likeness of Nick to act as bait while the real Nick stalked Rob and grabbed his flags the moment he went for the kill. It had cost him one of his flags, but it effectively crippled all opposition.

Meanwhile, Yohan was pedaling through the maze at breakneck speed on a tricycle of golden light. He rounded three more corners before spotting a circular hedge with an opening covered in black and white four-petaled flowers. He raced with all his might and crossed the threshold into victory.

"The Master Game is over! Yohan O’Mann has reached the center of the maze, securing a win for his team! My Challenge Doors will appear momentarily and transport both teams to one of the starting points where the losing team shall hand over all of their medals!”

***

"No, no, no, no, NO! You cheated us again! I won’t stand for this!” Rob was throwing a hissy fit over their loss while Job and Bob were standing a safe distance away, eyes wide as they leaned away from their brother.

“Quiet down, Hothead and just fork over the medals! You knew the rules and the stakes going in, now you gotta pay the price for provoking us.”

Rob glared at Alzolami with a look of pure fury. “You! I should have known you would do something slimy, greasy, and wimpy again, you BLOT!” Alzolami’s eyes flashed in an intense but focused fury. “You know the unwritten laws of the Master’s Academy as well is I do, Rob. When a student falls for a trick, it’s their own fault for falling for it. Besides, you know what happens to losers who refuse to hand over their ante.” Rob continued to stomp around while screaming expletives.

Nick stepped forward. “Rob, my Dad always said, 'People who desire revenge are the least free in the universe because they’re stuck in a prison of their own creation.' You were always going to lose to us because you can’t get any stronger with a heart full of vengeance. If you’re fixated on hurting us, you’ll never be able to beat us. When you’re truly free, come back and we’ll accept your challenge.”

Rob stared at Nick and started breathing hard and fast. Over a couple of minutes, his breathing started slowing down and he became less tense. When he finished, he closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, exhaled gently, and opened them. “Okay, okay, I’m man enough to admit that there’s some merit to what you’re saying.” Rob reached into his pocket, drew out a stack of three medals, and handed them to Nick. “You won’t be hearing from us for a while. Next time we face off, we won’t make it as easy for you.

Rob turned away and walked towards the entrance to a building opposite to the maze. “Come on boys, we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us, especially me.” Before turning to follow, Job stuck out a thumbs up and Bob mouthed a quick Thank you!

“So, Alzy, what do you think of us now?” Alzolami looked at Nick, eyes glowing soft and warm. “I guess refusing to acknowledge both of your capabilities would make me the biggest, bluntest lump of them all. I guess it would be in my best interests to hang out with you two in the long term.”

Yohan warmly smiled at her. “So, what are the other unwritten rules of the Master’s Academy?” Alzolami gently put her hand on his head. “Good luck figuring them out, Small Fry.” “Figures, I gotta ask, what does happen to students who refuse to own up to their ante?”

Alzolami’s eyes dimmed and Nick could have sworn she jiggled a little. “Trust me, you don’t want to know. Just ante up when you have to and you won’t end up in an uncomfortable position.” After a brief moment, Nick and Yohan burst into laughter. Alzolami’s eyes brightly flashed, but she chuckled a little under her breath.