Mind Games

Magnus spun vertically before kicking the side of his 'mother's' head. Her clone flung sideways and onto the ground with a loud thud. Magnus didn't let up.

He zoomed toward her, the water below him splashing wildly, and kicked her down again. The rest watched in shock as Magnus continued his relentless attack on his 'mother'. Thali then noticed something worrying.

Magnus's skin was starting to crack, almost as if he were overheating.

"Guys we need to help him. At this rate, he's going to die." "I can't allow you to do that." The raven-haired girl known as Mystic extended her hand forward.

A wave of dark fog reached for the team. As they tried to dodge, Mystic flicked her wrist,

and the dark fog wrapped around her. "Enjoy finishing each other off." She muttered to herself. Her dark eyes then turned toward Magnus, who was now looking visibly drained but still mad.

His mother then got up, looking brand new. All this was fucking with him in a horrendous sort of way. His body felt like a ton of bricks were dropped on it. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see that Mystic was sitting there amused by everything.

The group in the fog was trying their hardest to navigate it, no matter how dark it was. Thali lit up her hand and waved around. "Guys! Are you alright?" A hoard of yeses echoed around the fog.

Thali then waved the light toward the group who seemed to just be standing there. Her hands hovered over her belt, a moment of hesitation crossing her face before springing into action.

"First things first, Elvia's eyes are orange not pink. Secondly, why on earth is Mortale smiling? Finally, Ivankov isn't a lizard man." She muttered to herself. "Flame Whip." Her whip illuminated the entire area. The fake team came toward her, attacking her one by one.

She grabbed Mortale by the throat, the flame whip disappearing, and threw him in mist. "Mortale would have not allowed me to get to his throat without slicing my arm off."

She whispered to herself. She ran toward where she threw the imposter but Elvia's human form crashed into her from the side.

They landed on the ground with a painful thud and were unprepared for the oncoming air attack from Ivankov.

"Mighty strike!" The ogre's axe came down in full force."Moon slash!"The attack was intercepted by Mortale's attack. Thali sat up and groaned, the sound of Elvia profusely apologising echoing around her. She then started looking around.

Where were the rest of the fake team? Like a prayer being answered, The team was thrown into her part of the mist. The real Ivankov emerges with a victory smile on his face. This was pure, unfiltered chaos.

-----------------------------

Magnus ran up the pastel blue mountain, his mother's clone running in front of him. "Come here, bitch!" He screeched. His mother's clone looked back, before increasing her speed again. "What on earth is going on here?" A male's voice spoke out.

Mystic turned around to meet the old man from the waiting room. He was a tad bit far, however, she knew the minute he steps into her territory, her little gimmick would be over. The old man's blue eyes bore into Mystic's black ones.

The longer he does, the more uncomfortable she becomes. He then stepped forward and entered her zone. The pastel colours started coming back again, and the mist circling around the rest of the group disappeared so did the fake them.

Magnus's mother's clone disappeared. Everyone looked at each other and back at Mystic with confused looks. Magnus had cooled down and was walking toward his group.

He sat on the ground and took a deep breath. This battle had taught him one thing. He had not properly mourned and wasn't in tune with his feeling like he thought he was.

He needed to mourn and get past the fact his family and friends were gone.

If he didn't, then God knows who his next victim of rage could be. And he didn't want it to be his own team. Thali placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled down at him. "Nice to have ya back?" He nodded his head before smiling, looking up at her in the process.

Nice to be back." Ivankov dropped his axe and pointed shaken up at Mystic.

The rest of their eyes followed his finger, their brains finally registering that the old man was here too. "It's the old dude from earlier." Elvia pointed out, startled.

Their eyes widened even further when Mystic's body was being devoured by a purple creature being. It had several eyes and sharp yellow teeth. Upon further inspection, the team could see that it was coming from the old man's arm.

The makeshift team did not know whether to be disgusted or intrigued. Then the feeling of absolute dread coursed through their body at the thought of having to go against that. "Fret not children. I've no intention of versing you here. Our meeting is in one-to-one matches." His velvety voice spoke out.

"Mystic was simply a participant who had been on my hit list for a while. She accepted her fate a little too easily, however." He graciously continued.

"Now then. I shall be on my merry way." He tapped his left foot on the side of his right foot and disappeared. The team once again relaxed. Mortale caught the glimpse of white light coming from one of the mountains. "Guys! I think that's the exit."

They wasted no time running. Magnus had no other thoughts but to drink and eat when they got back to their rooms.

"Woooouldd you look at that!" The stadium cheers actually felt music to the team's ears. They were at last in civilization. Being surrounded by people felt really good. "The last five contestants have arrived! Increasing the numbers from 19 to 24!" The crowd cheered at the top of their lungs.

"We've finally got the last contesta-" Before he could finish, a loud explosion came from the right side of the stadium, and a hoard of screams followed through.

Magnus had just about enough. Tears of exhaustion welled up in his eyes, and he collapsed onto the ground.

"Jesus save me now?"

Something big was in store for them.