"Okay guys," I said, looking at Mila, Bryce, and Mercy, "stay calm and remember what I taught you. Other than that, just have fun kicking ass."

They nodded at me. This match was supposed to be against Squadron Six. If two of them won this, I'd get to fight in the next match and, let's face it, that's all that really matters.

I waved goodbye to them and headed back up to sit by Theo and Levi. When I got there, Levi was still going on about how amazing his match was, just like he has been for the past hour. Seriously, six matches later and he's still going on about this. I mean, seriously, six matches later and he still won't shut up.

I was about to turn around and tell him to shut up when I saw Mercy go into one arena and Bryce enter the other. While Bryce was casually stretching his arms and legs, Mercy was staring off, closely watchin the rocks, probably calculating the fastest way. This was the difference between the brain and the brute force.

The whistle sounded and they both went off. Mercy was facing another dagger user which meant it would be a fast paced fight. On the other side, Bryce was facing off against an archer, which meant he quickly had to take control of the fight. If he didn't, Archer Guy would put him exactly where he wanted Bryce.

I looked back over to Mercy's fight to see her staying high up, jumping from rock to rock with precision that I'd never seen in her. I don't ever remember teacher her that. Did balance come naturally to her?

Her opponent, Dagger Guy, was sticking to the ground. He'd stop every few seconds to peak around a rock and then keep moving. It would be useless if Mercy kept high up, especially hen he kept looking for someone at eye level, below in Mercy's case.

Bryce, on the other hand, was looking high, waiting for the first rubber arrow to fly. Archer Guy was still on the other side of the arena, waiting up high for Bryce to wander aimlessly into his territory. At this pace, he would.

Metal hitting metal caught my attention. I looked back to Mercy's match to see her, midair, attacking Dagger Guy. The force of Mercy's whole body pushed him back and into a rock. He grunted when his back hit the rock, but Mercy didn't relent. She kept her daggers firmly pressed against his, crushing him against the rock.

A yell from Bryce's ring brought me over there. Bryce clearly had a hurt shoulder, based on the way he was holding his left dagger. By the position of Archer Guy, he'd gotten shot with one of the rubber bows. I rubbed my own shoulder, remembering the ache from when Mila shot me with one of those.

In the other ring, Mercy had managed to knee Dagger Guy in the stomach, and he'd felt it. He was on his knees, doubled over in pain. Mercy held her hand up in triumph. I guess Dagger Guy admitted defeat, because he wasn't planning on getting up anytime soon.

I turned back to the other ring to finish the match, but I was a bit late. Archer Guy had his boy pulled across Bryce's throat and his legs wrapped around his stomach. The two daggers were laying on the ground while Bryce's hands clung to the bow, trying to tear it off his neck. A whistle was blown, signaling his defeat.

I quickly ran downstairs to pick the two of them up and to wish Mercy good luck. Our victory banked on her winning the match.

---

Bryce looked down at his hands while the rest of us looked at Mercy's match. It hand's started yet, but it would any second.

"Were screwed," Mercy whispered under her breath. No one wanted to tell her she was wrong, but I never told her she was right either. I had faith that Mila would find a way out of this, for the sake of the team, if anything.

The whistle blew and Mila was off using her small agile body to climb onto the nearest rock a get going. Unlike Archer Guy, Mila actually preferred taking the offensive over waiting, which was why the bow I'd had made for her suited her well. To my disappointment, they hadn't let her use it in the match, so she stuck to a normal bow with arrows strapped across her back. Luckily, I taught her how to tell what size of boy would work best for her, so nothing was too big.

On the other side of the ring was an average sized girl holding a long sword.

I looked back to Mila to see her edging closer and closer to Sword Girl. Knowing Mila, she'd probably already found the girl, but had chosen to wait for the perfect moment to attack. She made a large circle around Sword Girl, who was wandering aimlessly through the arena. That was her first mistake.

Her second was when she took one step into Mila's territory without looking back. When she took one step too far, Mila was ready. An arrow zipped through the air. I could imagine the streaming sound it made as it flew. It hit Sword Girl dead center in the back, right between her shoulder blades.

Sword Girl let out a grunt then turned around to attack Mila, but it was already too late. Mila was gone, already half way across the arena and waiting for another chance to attack.

"What the hell," I heard Bryce whisper. Well, I was glad to see Mila's astounding show.

"Different than you thought, huh?" I asked, feeling a bit proud of myself for being her teacher. "She's actually pretty good in a fight."

Sword Girl was following Mila's footprints, which she'd purposely left in the ground, At least, that's what I'd do. Sword Girl followed the path to where Mila lead her. She, on the other hand, was waiting a ways away, where she knew she could get a clean shot. Notching the bow, she fired again, but didn't wait to see if her shot was a success.

She may not of see it, but she probably heard it. The arrow hit her right in the stomach. Sword Girl let out a grunt, before following Mila's shadow once again. This time, it wasn't the footprints she followed, but Mila's black hair as she turned corners. Sword Girl was catching up with Mila.

But that was her third and final mistake, thinking Mila couldn't fight in close combat.

Sword Girl caught up, but I almost think Mila let her. Mila was hiding behind a rock when the other girl appeared, sword raised and ready. But not ready enough for the split second attack Mila had planned. Instead of using a bow like I'd thought her, she'd thought outside the box and taken out one of the arrows. She sat there, waiting until her opponent impaled herself of the arrow. Not really, they were only rubber. Still, with the speed Sword Girl was going at, that had to hurt.

Mila immediately dropped the arrow and went for her bow. Sword Girl already had her sword drawn and ready. The bow met the blade as Mila protected herself from the fast blow. She was pushed back a few inches, but already ready to take the next attack. It came quickly, slamming down on the top of the bow in an aim for the top of Mila's head. Bitch.

Mila, reacting faster than I thought she could, pushed the blade away in a mimic of what I'd done with Theo a few days ago, only with a bow now. Sword Girl was wide open when Mila slammed the bows point, with all her might, into in her stomach. Sword Girl fell with a thud, and I saw Mila raise her arms in triumph, smiling in our direction.

I felt pride swelling inside me as I went to get her from the waiting guards.

I gave her a congrats hug and pat on the back when I saw her. I told her that I never doubted her, though if I'm not sure if she believed me. I brought her back to the others who all congratulated her. She was definitely one of my thinkers.

"So," Theo said, glancing at me, "you ready for your fight?"

I gave him my big toothey Cheshire smile.

"I can't wait."