Switcheroo Part 3

As the 5 of us moved across the trees in vengeful pursuit along the way, Aphele managed to spell out the situation.

"Okay, the way I see it, it seems Lunaire and I have each other's elements while Deon has Mai's. Brandon has light, and Mai has spirit. I doubt I know how long any of this will last, so let's give ourselves the bare details. We can't be each other at the end of the day, so let's not bother and imitate ourselves; we've all got our methods; instead, copy yourself as best as you can."

At that moment, a fanciful discussion started amongst us as we gave more insight into the very parts that make us who we are.

"Treat it like one of your metal constructs, you have to be focused, and you have to be detailed. Don't feel, think it through, don't let it overtake you."

"Light is all about performance. Make every move count. You can do a lot with it, so make it all streamlined."

"Water and Wind are more powerful together. Think of it like playing a piano or typing a message. I have never been fancy with it, though, so maybe you can add your spin.

"I know it might be a little hard for you, but this might be the first time you can let it all out. Every emotion, every feeling that you have, let it go here, and you'll be just fine."

However, by the time it came to me, Brandon gave me a little extra advice.

"Spirit is an element that can be obtained through hard work and training. You have to run so hard you puke, hit so hard your bones rattle, strain your muscles till they ache. It's an element that relies on trusting yourself to get into action. That's how I managed to get this far, and that's how I managed to stand with you all here; I guess you couldn't see that, though," Brandon said with glazed-over eyes.

"Brandon, no, I didn't mean that. I just wanted you to be safe; that's why I joined this war with you."

"And I appreciate that Mai I do, but you can't guarantee that safety, not you or Basa. I've been looked down upon my entire life; I don't want to deal with it from my own family. I just want you to trust me, okay?"

From there, I didn't see the voice of my baby brother. But that of a man looking for a chance to prove himself. All this time, I've been so good at reading other people's emotions, yet I couldn't read the one who probably needed it most. So without a single word, I placed my hand on his arm and nodded understandably. With all of that in mind, we finally managed to close in on our target. Eventually, we found ourselves in the presence of an incredibly steep slope of a rocky yet grassy hill. Said hill led to a bustling city below with our thief already making her way down as she dug a rough trail from below. With Lunaire and Aphele's senses capabilities, they decided to make the call.

"If she gets into the city and hides under the sewers, we'll lose her. This thief needs to get stopped now; let's call it in but proceed to move," Aphele said.

At that moment, Aphele closed his eyes in concentration, with one word said out.

"Fastform."

From there, an umbrage wisp formed on his arm as he unleashed a dark whip that collided with the thief so hard that she popped out of the ground like a broken toy! With a small gesture, the whip also managed to return the bag to us! Instantly her smug demeanor crumbled at the sight of us as she started her own frustrated words.

"Don't you fools when to give up; I was trying to make it easy for you."

"What can we say? The easy way was never our style. Give yourself up now, and you maybe don't have to submit the hard way."

"Aw, it's cute that you think you win, that you can handle what's to come. Elements aren't just some superpower, you half-witted, dunderheaded nincompoops! I just changed who you people are and cut your power in half! Don't you dare insult my work by thinking you can beat me! I will-"

"Just shut up!" Lunaire said as she fired off a sputtering wild stream of flames.

In response, our enemy summoned a thick wall of stone from the surrounding area, but with the steep slope working against him, he was getting pressured. And that wasn't going to get any easier as Aphele shot up into the sky on stilts of shadow to fire off a series of spikes before they could hit their mark. The thief shifted his feet to propel himself to the side on slits of rock! When that happened, I decided to take Brandon's advice to full force and spring into action!

I instantly started to intercept him with a Ramming Knee! However, before I could connect, he used the earlier stone he made for the wall to create a stream of stone that swept me up to get knocked into Aphele, who was still in the air! Through bloody bruises and dusted-up eyes, I saw the battle continue as Lunaire used her new metal element to make a wildly crude club as she jetted right towards her for a big swing. At the same time, Deon tried closing in with a tempest-like joy buzzer from behind her. However, their inexperience of said weapon showed as the thief compressed the rock surrounding them on such a level that a small smokescreen. When the smoke cleared, the two were stuck as if they were in concrete.

This means that it was only Brandon was left. As the thief walked out of the smoke with no effort Brandon in a kicking motion, fired a straight shot that removed both her mask and wig in one go! From there, we revealed a dark brown girl with a face with freckles and pimples. And she was not happy. Before Brandon could fire another shot, she snuck into the ground, only to shoot up it immediately after in a suit of earthen armor! Since Brandon couldn't get a solid beat as the woman's landing caused a small quake that forced Brandon to fall on his knee! At that moment, the woman then lifted Brandon with one hand and started choking.

"You misanthropes are nothing more than idiotic thugs; you should be serving me, not fighting me! Maybe I should end you right here!

With her focus on us completely vanishing, I had just enough strength to pull myself out of my rocky prison and spring forth straight at her! Using a Twin Constrictor Scissor Hold, I managed to get her off him as Brandon started coughing. A part of me wanted to go over and help him, but instead, I started this.

"Let's finish this, Brandon, together."

At that moment, I could feel our respective auras synchronize as we faced our opponent! Wild energy started to jolt around my body as I dove in straight with a Joey Dropkick. The woman with a cocky smile simply tried avoiding the attack, but thanks to a barrier from Brandon, I instead rocket off it to deliver a Tiger Roundhouse to the head! This discombobulated her just enough to have Brandon close in with a lighting-filled uppercut! With another set-up barrier, I jumped up to deliver a tiger roundhouse that flung her back to earth! As she started to bounce around the hill, we started to close in, with Brandon giving me platforms to dance off of.

With each step, my excitement grew even greater, as if the fight was a game. With my now picked up speed catching up with the girl was no problem as I tried to roll into a rhino axe kick! However, with the remains of her armor, the thief made a gauntlet of earth to block the hit! At that moment, I got slammed into the ground! However, I couldn't help but smile.

"What's so funny? Has my superb intellect driven you to madness cur?"

"Nothing really, you just forgot my brother. That was a big mistake."

At that moment, Brandon lifted his invisibility, decking the thief with a joy buzzer like kick! With our assailant finally down, the 2 of us gave a victorious high five solidifying a new bond that I'll have to get used to. Once the authorities finally came, we managed to get touched up, knowing now that the switch up would only be temporary. Other good news was that our little friend Pebble Le Pew would be facing a good 30 to 40 years behind bars. She was a megalomaniac with a list a mile long, hoping that she could sell the crystalia to make a quick buck. Lucky for us her plans were left in the dirt. While the incident itself would undoubtedly cause some real havoc for the training camp, both from the media and training camp, I couldn't help but smile. Because for the first time in a long time, Brandon and I were closer than we've ever been as we regaled our tail to Basa and the others excitedly. This may have been a tough day, but who else can say that they had a bonding experience like us?