Allison didn't hesitate in the slightest with responding. Her mind was entirely made up, and she wanted to get this point across to this guy once and for all...

"What you see is what you get with me, I'm afraid. The fact of the matter is, Evan..." she paused, turning to look him straight in the eyes. "I do not need your 'assistance', nor to I even want it. If you're half the man you seem to make yourself out to be, then you will respect that I want to be left alone, and choose to indulge me in that right." She gave another pause as she looked back towards Kaine, her eyes narrowing as she prepared to finally voice a fraction of her motives, knowing that it was obvious he knew who she was targeting, and therefor no longer mattered if he knew she was only here because of him. "And you claim to 'know' that man? I've been following him since before he made his way into Gallus; you only just met him tonight, along with nearly everyone else he's currently with..." giving one final pause, her face contorted into one of light rage, and her tone darkened to match it. "You know nothing of that man..." she finished, going quiet once more.

Kaine continued wearing a blank expression, only ever blinking from time-to-time as he watched Piper's match unfold with utmost intent. He was still a little hungry after his last helping, but he chose to ignore it so as to focus on what was displayed before him. He wanted to see just how far Piper could be pushed before she had to resort to her unstable energy. This was now his responsibility to foresee, since he had taken on the job of training her later. Understanding how she fought, acted in a situation of disadvantage, what was too much for her to handle, and when she could no longer keep her unstable energy at bay, were all things he could use to better train her. Vital information a master would need to know about his pupil, if you will. Although Kaine didn't really think of himself as Piper's master. That title required more influence than in just that of one aspect of bettering one's self. It's not like he was teaching her martial arts. That being said, he wouldn't mind doing just that, should she ever ask.

Piper's change of environment was truly impressive, and it was enough to make Kaine crack a smile by reflex. Changing the area around her to better suit her style was a very good strategy, but she still didn't know much about her opponent. Jumping the gun on such a tactic could often backfire in one's face if they lower their guard for even a moment, simply because they believe their opponent incapable of adapting to the situation. Hark couldn't have been named Champion for nothing... Kaine was sure this was nothing more than a slight setback for the guy. After all; his weapon of choice was long range...

The dust cleared and Hark could be seen holding himself up with one hand, his other behind his back. He was hand-standing on top of his boomerang which itself was perched atop a spike right under him. He dropped his arm and fell onto one of the spikes, and as he fell on to it it shortened until it was no more and he touched the floor of the arena. He touched the spike his boomerang was on and it shrunk down to nothingness as well and Hark grabbed his boomerang mid-fall. He swung the giant boomerang with his right arm and smashed the spikes around him down. He stomped and their remains shrank away. "Earth against Earth usually makes for a tough match up," he smirked, "but let's see you handle something else, maybe the Gale Strike." He reared his arm back and flung the boomerang with great force. It flew fast and had an added boost of air behind it, strong enough to move Hark's jacket forward. The deadly weapon flew toward Piper quickly, trailing behind it was a forceful gust of wind.

A woman in with raven black short hair in a blue military jacket approached Kaine, and tapped him on the shoulder, she asked if he was the contestant from a couple of matches back. She showed no amusement or excitement in anything she said, in fact she showed no emotion at all. She was accompanied by a hunched figure in a hooded military jacket, he stood so still that someone might have though he was a statue. Neku noticed as he looked over at the noise, that when he looked at the figure, there was absolutely no magikal aura, not even the small amount present in living things, but he knew that this must be a person. Neku didn't like what he got from the figure.

Evan looked at her and her expression. She was mad, but not at Evan specifically, she seemed to hate Kaine. "You act like he's a soulless monster, but I don't know why, if you've known him for so long then maybe you can explain why he's hanging around those people, why he chased after me in my confusion with the girl in the ring, and why he didn't do worse to Yurishi, why he would hold back or even care to be friendly to anyone." Evan tried not to agitate the situation or irritate her. He saw Kaine being approached by the black haired woman and a figure the same as at the stairs to the balcony. He thought now, that maybe if he could at least learn a little more of this situation, that maybe he could help.

"Piper is good!" Scarlett exclaimed at Piper's powerful tactic. "Not bad for a beginning!" Of course, this wasn't a problem for Hark, as he turned out to be an earth wielder too. He defended himself quickly, without much visible effort. Suddenly, a woman approached Kaine, asking him if he was one of the contestants. Scarlett couldn't pay much attention to this, because in that moment Hark threw his boomerang at Piper. Would she escape this attack? Little did anyone know what followed next.

It was fast... It was out if its mind... It was jumping from person to person, going deeper into the crowds... It was... a weasel. This furry little animal seemed cute at first, but something was off about it. Maybe it was scared from something? Maybe it's running from something? Or it just wanted to storm in the tournament tent? Maybe it decided to land with its nails on Saphire's head without any reason, as she didn't expect this at all. She was so surprised and scared, she once again lost control over her powers. This time it was Scarlett who paid for this misfortune - light and darkness invaded her and knocked her down on the floor, unconscious.

"Oh my! No! No, no, no, no! I'm so sorry!" Saphire could barely breathe after what just happened, she didn't even pay attention to the match. The red haired girl placed Scarlett's arm around her shoulders and started dragging her to the medical tent. Maybe she had to ask for help, because dragging 108 lbs trough a huge crowd wasn't easy at all.

The doctor could see the girl struggling, so he ran to her and helped her.

Once again Scarlett was on the medical bed. "She's here very often." The doctor said. The girl, who was mad at Scarlett because of the lizard prank was there too. She was still recovering. She was surprised to see Scarlett in the tent, but decided not to say anything.
Saphire looked at the doctor's mask and went stiff, speechless and pale. Suddenly she started shaking uncontrollably. "Are you alright?" the man ran to the girl. "I'm fine..." Saphire calmed down, breathing heavily.

Kaine was watching Hark very closely, and Piper even closer. Hark's display of dexterity in a tight situation was admirable to the audience, and commendable to the competitors who were spectating. Kaine gave another slight smile upon seeing him totter back down to ground level, showing off his own prowess with the Earth. After Hark explained his abilities to Piper and the rest of the people surrounding them, Kaine leaned forward slightly, crossing his fingers together and resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes were on Piper now, thinking about what her answer to that will be... That was when Hark made a move of his own towards Piper by sending his boomerang flying straight for her. The speed made Kaine's eyes widen a little, not expecting it to be so incredibly fast. The speed of wind truly was something to behold, when used by the right wielder. The outcome of this attack made Kaine give a simple "Hmm..." as well as cracking yet another smile.

That's when Kaine felt someone's presence before they even managed to step up and tap him on the shoulder. He turned to the person who grabbed his attention, immediately noticing a second being, which truly surprised him, as he couldn't sense him in the slightest. This gave his stomach a strange turn, but he otherwise brushed it off with a simple "Whoa! He sure is a weird guy, ain't he!" The woman who came to speak with him asked him whether or not he was the contestant who fought awhile ago. Upon hearing this, Kaine smiled and gave her his answer. "Yeah, I'm Kaine. I fought...2 matches ago I think? With Yurishi. It was the one where no magik was used." he said, adding in a proud smile for both he and Yurishi after saying that last bit. "Why do you ask--" Kaine was cut off by a tear in sound due to magikal pressure, which made him snap to its location; Scarlett and Saphire.

Kaine stood up once he saw that Scarlett was laying on the ground, unmoving, then looked at Saphire. "Man, you really DO have trouble with that, huh Saphire?" he said, scratching the back of his head. He almost made to help the young girl take Scarlett to the medical tent, but the woman in the military uniform reminded him that she had business with her by grabbing his attention once more. By the time Kaine started speaking with her again, Saphire had already rug Scarlett off without another word. "Dang... I meant to give her a hand... So, what was it you wanted me for again?" Kaine placed his hands on his hips in his usual relaxed manner, waiting for her answer.

Allison was truly beginning to get annoyed with having to explain herself. So much so, in fact, that she simply wasn't going to answer his tedious questions any longer. It had nothing to do with him, no matter how much he wanted to be the all around 'good guy', and so he didn't need to know anything she knew. "It has nothing to do with you, Evan. Drop it. Before I get mad. If you're worried that I may do something to him, then don't; I am merely observing his actions..." she said, before pausing and adding in a '...for now.' in thought. If Evan wouldn't leave her be, she would simply find another place to continue her observation of this 'Kaine'. She, in no way, needed this boy. In fact, it was beginning to seem as though he would only cause her trouble if she reached the conclusion she was looking for, and she didn't need him getting in her way if she did... If push came to shove, and Evan blocked her from what was rightfully hers, then shove would come to the end of the boy's life...by her own hand. It was regrettable, but if that is what must be done in order to ensure her goal, then so be it...

Her train of thought was interrupted by the sudden appearance of what she thought to be a military official. The woman was leaning over slightly so as to speak to Kaine quietly. After awhile, Kaine stood up and spoke with her as the fast girl from before was now suddenly being drug off to the medical tent. Something about this didn't feel right to Allison as she watched patiently, not taking her eyes off of the scene. She couldn't bear the thought of the military catching him before she did, and this started to make her heart tighten with anxiety. She quickly fought it off, however, never losing her composure in the slightest. It was not over yet...

Piper's eyes did not widen in shock but she did growl a little. Earth was her default in near all situations but it could not be in this one, earth against earth never turned out well because that meant it became a match of power and Piper strong as she was was not as powerful without her light. Throwing herself backward Piper shot up an a piece of rock to throw the boomerang off of her trail. Then for extra measure she jumped from spike to spike with grace and speed shocking to most. Blinking Piper took a breath and ignored the feeling of eyes watching her, even if she knew that among them were friendly gazes. She could easily evade but it would never work for long... She was going to need to break out her light magic whether she liked it or not.

Standing Piper stared at Hark. "See the problem is not only are we both earth users... But my default weapon happens to be long range as well... Though I do suppose that does make things interesting... Lucky for me I'm use to several fighting styles..." Piper cracked a confident grin. Leaping again Piper made a spike shoot up under her foot allowing her to go higher and farther so that she landed on a spike behind Hark. As soon as she landed Piper made pieces of rock shoot out from the spikes surrounding Hark like blades they descended towards him, but once again Piper was just testing the waters. But hey if one did happen to hit her opponent bonus right?

Hark raised his hands around him and a cylindrical earth tube surrounded him blocking the shards of rock. His boomerang twisted back and headed once again for Piper, with very little lost speed. Hark raised up from the cylinder in a sitting position and facing Piper. The boomerang came within inches of hitting the back of his head, but it did not waver him. He reached his right arm out and stopped the weapon in mid-air. The stop was so abrupt that it almost looked wrong. Hark stood up and rested his right hand on his boomerang which was now standing vertically from ground to his hand. He stood relaxed and asked, "So uh, what is up the arm, and also some of the metal on your body, is that armor or..." he left it for her to answer.

"Chairman Alois requests your presence, it's a somewhat secretive, but urgent, matter," the woman said, "we were sent to escort you to his balcony." She seemed like she could be more interested, as if this was a pesky chore. The other still waited silently, but he looked up and to the distance, across the ring and through the fighters. Neku really didn't like this figure, and especially the fact that he was hooded, something to hide usually isn't good in some way. He started walking away around the ring, not very fast though.

Evan watched as the match proceeded but then noticed the conversation across the ring. The woman was definitely the one by the stairs, but the hooded one he couldn't make out. Then the hooded one looked over in his and Allison's direction. 'I don't like him, he gives me a bad vibe' Virgil said. Evan felt it to, maybe they were kind of connected that way besides his thoughts. The hooded figure gave Evan feeling that he was looking directly at Evan, and not the both of them. 'Okay I know you feel it too, this is a weird feeling' "How should I know what a voice in my head considers normal, in fact why am I so used to you?" 'I'm tapped into your head so I've kind of been having little conversations with your subconscious, but honestly i know you feel it.' Evan just couldn't look away from the gaze of the figure, it was like some sort of magik. "Yeah," was all he could reply. 'Hey are you listening?' Virgil asked. Evan didnt reply, he just kept staring. He looked harder and harder. Finally he saw through the shade of the hood, and it was a metal face, like a mask without features, only slits for eyes and a mouth, but none where there. It held only more blackness. Evan was brought back to reality by Virgil's yelling in his head. He found himself now standing, his glove back on, his pain somewhat numbed and himself almost halfway between the ring and Allison. How long had he been out? The figure started walking slowly around the ring, and something told Evan that it was walking to them. He may be some sort of military member like the others behind the bleachers near the stairs, he was not very strongly affiliated with whatever his partner was doing. Evan looked over to the other side where the medical tent was and saw Chairman Yun, he was present when Evan rn from the medicl tent, maybe he would know who this was, or at least help with something. "Hey Allison, I think someone is coming over here, you stay if you want but I'm gonna go talk to the Chairman at the medical tent

Kaine was having trouble trying to pay attention to both this new face and Piper's match, but he managed to take in the accounts of both in the end. He turned to the woman in question and gave her a frown, not really understanding the situation, despite her having explained it to him rather straight and to the point. He gave his head a scratch as he thought about what she said.

"So...wait... Is this guy in danger or something...? Because if not, I'd really like to just stay here until Piper's match is finished..." he said, lowering his hand back to his side once more, still frowning slightly. Kaine didn't know why someone he's never met face-to-face would be proposing a meeting, but he wasn't uninterested in getting to know new people, he just didn't understand why he was so special all of the sudden. Wait, wasn't this chairman guy the person Evan was escorted to see just an hour or two ago? What could he want with Kaine...? While he thought about this, the strange man with seemingly no life energy began walking around the ring. Kaine's eye was pulled towards the hooded figure by instinct. Something about this person didn't sit right with him at all... Maybe it was a Familiar...? No, that couldn't be it; Familiars have energy just as regular humans do. So what was it...

Eventually, Kaine's attention was brought back to the woman before him. "Like I was saying; is this a matter of life or death? If it isn't, then it can wait until later." Kaine's mind made up, he gives her a smile as if to say "no hard feelings", in case she took his slight refusal in an offensive way. If not for her, then possibly the guy requesting him, wherever he might be.

Allison looked up at Evan as he suddenly stood up and began walking towards the ring. She watched his back for awhile, wondering just what he was doing, as there simply wasn't anything too alluring in that direction. Least not to her... But Evan was acting as though he saw an unbelievably beautiful woman or something, only...it was unnatural, like a siren or a succubus type charm. No longer really interested, Allison crossed her arms and looked back to Kaine, who was chatting with that woman who came up to him just previously. Finally, Evan seemed to snap out of his daydream, because he was suddenly walking back towards her.

He gave her his piece, albeit sounding as though his mind might be elsewhere at the moment. "Whatever... Do what you want." she said, turning back to the ring and laying her back against the seat again, which gave him her answer as to where she would be while he was gone. She looked forward, just as a hooded figure began walking this way, or so it appeared. 'Great,' Allison thought to herself. 'another person to deal with... Will there ever be a day where I can go about my business in peace...?' She blew air through her lips, causing her bangs to float up for a second, showing her annoyance with everything.

Piper laughed. "It's not armor... I ended up stuck in a fire as a kid trying to save a cat... I did get out but my arm and eye got burnt... So I cut off my arm and pulled out my eye... Then replaced them with metal... Though my arm got messed up earlier... So I made a quick rock replacement." Piper grinned and crouched down. "My friends are watching after my limb...Why so curious if I might add?" While Piper grinned she began to formulate a plan. Armor did not sound to bad right about now but should she use earth armor he could use that against her... Should she use light to create armor well... Wait... Could she even do that. After weighing her options Piper made her decision. Slowly but surely she loosened her hold on her light magic until it was free instantly she felt a burning sensation run up her body and when she looked she realized she was engulfed in what appeared to be white fire. 'Not really armor unless I concentrate on hardening it... But this could work if he touches me he will get burned maybe not a burn one will see but a burn he sure as hell will feel.' Piper grinned it felt good to let all her magic flow around her though now she knew everyone could feel her full on strength which meant she'd have to get much more creative.

Hark smirked, "I like to learn about my opponent, it helps my strategy." He thought for a moment before speaking. "I also believe that nothings free, and everything one earns must be bought through trade." He laughed a little, "I'll trade you that little fact for yours." He picked up his boomerang and spun it around. He stopped with it pointing at Piper. A huge gust of wind came from it and blew with near tornado like force at Piper as the light surrounded her body. Hark squinted just a little as the armor covered her, it was so bright a white it almost hurt his eyes a little.

Evan walked up to the large man and greeted him. Yun laughed quite hardily and greeted him warmly. He asked where he had been since running off. He explained how he went and talked to Alois, leaving out the part about the mission he'd been given, and about the girl he'd met that acted strange and wasn't the friendliest of people. "Why dwell with someone so unfriendly?" was all he asked after Evan finished. "Well," he said, "I don't really know, she just sort of gives me this feeling, like maybe there's something more important that she's doing, something dire, and to me that sounds like an adventure, plus helping someone as an added bonus."

Evan saw the figure slowly walk over to where Allison was, and to where Evan was sitting. He crouched down on his toes instead of all his feet. His left arm just dangled there to his side instead of moving with his right. He put his hand to the ground and left it there for a moment. He raised his hand again and stood, then walked away again, back to where he was. Not once did he even acknowledge Allison was there, and it seemed like everyone but Evan ignored him unless he was right there. Evan looked once more and noticed there was a burn in the shape of a hand print where the man had placed his hand before.

"Ugh," the woman said, "look, the Chairman wouldn't request anyone to do anything useless, but I've been kept in the dark as to what exactly is going on, and honestly I don't care." She looked away at the match for a moment before carrying on without looking Kaine in the face. "I'd have to guess though that from the level of secrecy that this is being kept at, it has to be something close."

Piper reacted upon seeing the wind heading toward her. 'Pray this works!' Concentrating until it hurt Piper concentrated on the light around her hardening it to shield her from the blunt forced of the wind. Needless to say it made her feel sick to concentrate that hard but it worked as the gust of wind hit her Piper managed to stay on her rock she did go back but she did not fall. Piper grinned. So it HAD worked? That meant she would have to use her light magic now... Piper released any hold she had left and the magic in her body began to flow like wild within her the glow got stronger but Piper ignored it. Without waiting for Hark to realize that his attach had failed to knock her off Piper hardened the light around her like armor once more and sent herself shooting down toward Hark like a glowing bullet, fully intent on ramming her now hardened foot into his face know that if she managed to make any contact at all she could send burning light fire into his body and begin to weaken him. She was still testing her new found ability before she tried to use her maker magic with it... Making armor was kinda easy but if she wanted to make a weapon she would need to know just how her light magic interacted with her whim.

Allison watched the strange hooded man move about out of her peripherals, not wanting to show that her attention was on him ever since he made it over to this side of the ring. He didn't appear to be doing anything suspicious, but he was acting rather out of the ordinary. He reached Evan's vacant seat, and for a moment, she thought he was going to sit down, only to be surprised by him leaning over, touching the ground with his palm, raising back up once more and finally walking back to his companion. It wasn't until the man showed his back to her that Allison realized just how eerie she truly found him. She hadn't even noticed because it was so still, and that's what irked her now; the man had no aura, and this actually slightly frightened Allison on some level. Once he was out of sight once more, Allison looked down at the spot the guy touched, out of reflex. What she saw made her brow crease out of slight shock and minor disbelief as she eyed the imprint the guy had made with his hand.

The earth in this area was nowhere near soft enough for someone to make an imprint so easily as simply touching it. If so, there would be thousands of footprints scattered throughout the area, but the ground was more or less perfectly even and hard. Not only that, but the imprint the guy left behind was slightly steaming, as though a large amount of heat had done the job. Only thing was, Fire shouldn't have been able to warp a strong content such as this so quickly and nonchalantly, and Earth wouldn't leave behind such a trail of exhaust from the act... So what was this "man" after all...? Thinking this, Allison shot her head up by reflex, but she wasn't looking at the guy who made her feel so uneasy; she was looking over at Evan, holding a serious scowl on her face, which showed her shock at what just happened. Realizing she looked over at him, she blinked and turned back to the ring, giving the imprint in the earth a few glances out of the corner of her eye every now and then.

Kaine was about to reply to the woman speaking to him, but the sound of a large gust of wind drowned out his words, cutting him off entirely, which forced him to spin around in order to take in the progression of the match. He had felt Piper's aura rise exponentially while he was turned away, and had figured that it was due to letting her Light magik out a little, but it was now clear that she was letting out more than was necessary. This made Kaine scowl a bit as he frowned at the situation. The sight itself was awesome to him, but he knew that Light wasn't the strong suit in Piper's arsenal. At least not yet, and he wondered how long she'd be able to last like that. This was why he was so seriously watching her compete. He had given her his word that he'd help her with control over her energy after the tournament was over, and he knew that whether she actually managed to win or lose this thing, she'd still come out of it stronger than before, because Kaine will have learned all that he needs in order to properly understand the concept of her Light magik, and further her training. That being said, he wanted her to come out on top, naturally. But it wasn't looking too good for the little woman right now...

Piper's energy flow was strong, but not 100% stable, and it would eventually give out entirely, which could be bad, considering that her type seems to be destructive, based on what she told him about it. But how could Piper win without the use of her Light magik now? Her usual fighting methods were sabotaged at the moment, what with not having the use of her other arm... This made Kaine think about a way to help her, hoping that it was within the rules. Now completely ignoring the woman behind him as though she had never come down in the first place, Kaine spoke to Neku.

"Hey, Neku. Lemme see that thing real quick?" he said with his usual smile, pointing to the golden metal arm that was slung over his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" The doctor asked Saphire. "You seem kinda nervous..."
"I-I'm fine..." Saphire said. Could one blame her? That day she managed to lose control over her powers to a point where someone got hurt... twice - that could easily remind her of every moment in her life when that happened. However, this wasn't the only reason for her nervousness. There was something about that doctor, which made Saphire feel a weird connection in the tent.

Scarlett opened her eyes wide, she suddenly stood up in a sitting position. "What happened?" She asked like she was in a rush.
"You only passed out, not a big deal." The doctor replied.
"Thank you for the help again!" Scarlett thanked smiling in a calm manner.

In the next second people could feel the wind of Scarlett running from the medical tent with Saphire on her back. "PIPER!"
She yelled.

Soon the girls were back to the others. "What did we miss?" Scarlett asked while looking at the arena. "Oh... my... god..." This is all she could say when her eyes met Piper's powerful attack.

Hark sidestepped to his left and pushed himself hard with a burst of air. He was launched to the edge of the arena very quickly. If it was a game of speed she wanted he was also willing to oblige. He was spinning from the gust, and so had to catch himself with his hands. He barely managed to stop at the edge of the arena, but he used another burst of air to flip himself back onto his feet. He didn't wait to see how she caught herself on the rock pillar he was on before, he summoned his boomerang and swept it in her direction. This was a much stronger force of wind than the last blast, and it sort of spiraled, making a small tornado.

'That's incredibly creepy,' Virgil commented after the man walked away. "I can't disagree, remind me not to get on his bad side," Evan thought. Yun looked away from the match and at Evan, "You know young man I've been meaning to ask you about your match." Evan was surprised, "My match?" he looked away thinking about his loss, the first loss of the night. "What's to ask about the first loser of the night," he said glumly.

Yun laughed, which Evan took as a bit harsh at first, until Yun elaborated. "You may have lost, but Neku is strong, I remember him when he was a boy around your age, and I'd arrested him several times for thievery, and then Zen came and turned him into the warrior you fought earlier." He smiled in his memory as Evan looked at Neku handing Kaine Piper's metal arm but paying close attention to the match, "The point is, you have just as much potential as he does, and I'd hope that you might find that potential in the military." Evan was somewhat in awe of Yun's belief as to what Evan could possibly be, and belief in Evan as is.

"Don't let him work you up to much about the military," Evan noticed Zaku was now on his other side, "even with potential, fighting for another man's motives don't always create a great warrior." Yun scoffed, but decided not to argue right now, and save it for the arena. Evan asked where Zaku had come from, "Over by the old man," he looked over by Zen, "he just kept asking questions about me, and when I told him to stop he started asking questions about you, so I decided that I'd rather go where there might be less talking, but it seems I made the wrong choice."

Evan caught a bit of his friends obscure hint, and didn't pursue conversation. He was a little tired of talking too. He touched his bruised cheek, and listened to Virgil hum some tune when he thought about his match. He couldn't remember much, it just sort of went black after a knee to the gut and hitting the ground. "So Virgil, that pressure you where talking about, is it still there, and now that I'm asking how do I know to trust what you've said so far?" 'Yeah sort of, and because I've only helped you so far and I have no possible reason to harm you, I'm kind of stuck in your head.' "Oh great I'm gonna hear voices for the rest of my life." 'Haha,' Virgil said sarcastically, 'but seriously, things where sort of a mess before I was here, that pressure should have been stressing your mind and making you already hear voices.' Evan took a moment to think this over while glancing at Allison and the burn mark next to her.

Piper had only managed to jump onto the pillar when the wind hit her luckily though being swept away by the wind and smashing into the side of the arena saved her from getting cut in two by Hark's boomerang. Hissing in slight pain Piper rubbed her back where she'd been smacked down... She was lucky the light magic was softening her blow or she could have ended up more bruised up. Piper cracked her wrists and grinned. Hark was fast for someone so big which meant he had another advantage raw strength and speed... If only she had her other arm fully operational or even half so she could use her light magic... But with her replacement not even properly attached she would blow herself up... Well... She could try but the most likely item she could make and control without completely killing herself would be a whip and it could always turn on her because her other arm could not contain the magic.

Growling Piper launched herself into a run jumping from rock spike to spike with the added boost of her earth magic. Soon she was perched again like a bird while sending off a silent apology to Kaine... The poor man was probably ripping his hair out right now wondering why she was using magic she herself admitted to being unstable... Luckily it had rarely hurt her often time it hurt those around her... A few times it had even compressed and blown up... Wait... Blown up? Piper narrowed her eyes... Most maker magic required two arms... But if she only use the one? The good one? And if it was something simple nothing complex like a bow or weapon but a ball? She'd done it before! When Even had disappeared she'd made a bubble of light it was easy she did it all the time... But if she let go and threw it like a bomb as the magic left her control it would blow up... Piper's mind worked furiously on the thought...

Despite her plan she knew letting it out of her control was risky... She could injure her arm... But it was all she had. Leaning down Piper allowed her light magic to flow to her good arm and soon in her palm a small ball of light grew without allowing it to get any larger or out of control Piper silently apologized to Kaine, and launched it at Hark. Sure enough it flew at Hark like a bullet and blew up inches from his form as Piper released her control on it. Clutching her arm Piper hissed and growled feeling a slight pulsing pain run through it... But she did not wait for it to stop... Using the explosion to her advantage Piper once again shot herself toward Hark she hit the ground and ran toward him charging up another burst... Her arm would surely be numb from pain after the fight but so long as she did not allow them to get to large she herself would end up alright.

Neku having handed over Piper's metal arm without even glancing in his direction, likely due to being enraptured by the match before him, Kaine thanked him with a smile, quickly getting to work. His eyes became more serious and focused as he scowled at the contraption in his hand. It was definitely a design of purely unique style, the likes of which Kaine had never seen over on his side of the world. The blacksmith shop he grew to work at exceptionally well never had any orders this advanced. But the basic concept of how to get it working again was enough. Thinking this, Kaine smiled as he propped open the panel over the forearm and pulled out a small tool. "Well, this shouldn't be too hard to figure out." he said with a confident look in his eyes.

Across the ringside, Allison watched Kaine fiddle with the golden arm with narrowed eyes, wondering just what it was that he was up to. She had no idea that he knew how to work on such contraptions... But then again, she barely knew anything about him aside from the things she needed to know, and that currently wasn't one of them. What happened next, however, surprised her even more, which instantly angered her due to not understanding this man's motives any longer...

Shortly after Kaine began attempting to fix the metal limb, he felt Piper's energy skyrocket in a very unnatural way. This made his eyes shoot up at the ring. "...!? Oh no! This is bad...!" he said, more to himself than those around him. "Gotta get this done quick..." His eyes shot back down to his efforts on Piper's golden arm once more, praying that she didn't give herself over to her Light magik. It was all he could do from there... Finding only a few small obstacles in his way, he managed to at least get the inner workings of the arm back into operation, but there was a lot of damage from some form of electricity... He gave the metal tendons and wiring a whirl, and they moved a decent amount, but that still wasn't enough for speedy combat like this... Frowning slightly, Kaine began amping up the process of each gear as Piper's fight continued. She had already thrown her other ball of light; he could tell from the pressure in the air changing, as well as the noises of combat in front of him. It seemed like she was finally a good stretch away from Hark once more, which was the perfect opportunity for him to hand over the arm... It was more or less finished, but any more than this, and he was afraid he might mess up, entering territory with the art that he wasn't familiar with. He only hoped that where he flung her arm to was in fact a good ways away from Hark...

Kaine turned to the woman in blue slightly, believing her to be someone who knew much about the rules of the tournament, and gave her a quick nod. "This arm is Piper's, and was, up until just now, not in working condition, so she left it behind. I just fixed it, so I'm gonna give it back to her. No time to ask if it's okay, so take it out on ME, and NOT Piper if it's against the rules, okay? You're my witness!" Saying this, Kaine spun around and flung Piper's arm directly at her, his aim absolute. "Here ya go, Piper! CATCH!!" he shouted as the golden arm made its way to its owner as the lights reflecting off of its sleek surface gave it a magnificent shine. Kaine tensed up slightly as he waited to see how she was fairing now having used her Light magik to the extreme more than once tonight...

Hark saw the orb of light approaching, and could feel that just the pressure from it was flimsy and unstable. He could only guess that it was a bomb. Hark was beginning to think she was either crazy, he couldn't deflect it because it might hurt a bystander, and dodging could do just the same, the guaranteed hit. He caught his boomerang and placed it in front of him while commanding a powerful wing to swirl in a tight curve around him. The bomb hit and exploded, but the shield of wind protected him well enough, although it did drain his magik pool by an obvious amount.

Hark heard a voice from the sidelines, and it's words gave him an idea. He could see the figure of Piper through the dust of the explosion, and quickly shot himself with a gust of wind again. He flew straight through the dust and toward the arm headed to Piper. He managed to grab the arm mid-air, and land safely enough behind her. He didn't waste time standing, planting his boomerang and holding the arm straight out in front of him. He thought that maybe if she had both arms then she wouldn't resort to this tactic, unless this was her natural form of attack, but this was worth a try.

The military woman sighed after seeing what happened with the arm. "Look, I don't care what you do, if you're so concerned you can see Alois to clear anybody's name or whatever," she seemed to be a bit more annoyed at the man's ignorance of her request, "He just said it was urgent, and you can still watch matches from his balcony, now are you coming or not?" Meanwhile the hooded figure walked back behind her and made no other movements.

Neku watched the fight, and was somewhat worried with Pipers use of such an unstable attack. It did however force Hark to block or endanger people. After the hit Neku noticed a hard drop in Hark's magik pool, but he still didn't fully approve of the technique. He hardly noticed when the hooded man returned, still devoid of any sign of life. Neku couldn't seem to not feel on edge around that, even all the most advanced wielders he had met on his travels couldn't do that. He tried to ignore it and watch the match, and tuned back in at an exciting moment, Hark had just intercepted an arm thrown by Kaine, but he didn't look to be doing anything bad to it but instead offering it to her.

Saphire could finally notice the hooded person too. At first she was gazing at him, but then she quickly turned her head towards the arena, before she could be caught staring and before she had another urge to throw up.

Scarlett, who didn't notice the person yet, gasped when Kaine threw Piper's golden arm at the arena. She bit her lower lip when Hark took it. "Great..." She thought. It seems that the arm is fine, since Kaine wants to give it to Piper. Now Hark has it! What is he going to do with it? Apparently he understands that she has a chance to win if she has it...

"Ok, am I missing something?" Scarlett asked after Hark offered the arm to Piper. She couldn't deny that she felt slightly relieved, though. "Maybe he wants to see her full potential." She thought. "Professional fighters can afford this, while normal or beginner fighters would rather keep the arm away from her, so they can have bigger chances."

Piper was pleased when she noted the dent she'd made in Harks magic supply. She still had allot thanks to the fact she'd basically been storing up all her light magic until this point... It was also becoming easier to control the more she let it out of course she knew she'd have the worst head ache after the match but she would deal with that when she got to it!

As the dust rose Piper heard Kaine's voice and snapped her head in direction of her friend ready to scold him for distracting her in the middle of a match but soon she saw why as her arm was being tossed in her general direction. But sadly Hark seemed to have noticed as well and beat Piper to the piece of metal. Piper turned and stared at the man. "Break it before I take it and I will crush you in between two boulders..." Piper's tone was icy and dead serious as she marched forward and took her arm. As soon as she had her limb she wasted no time in sending huge clouds of dust to cover the arena and booking it to the cover of a large clump of spikes. Hiding in the shadows Piper sucked away any light to ensure she would not be seen before finally re-attaching her faithful arm. As soon as it was back Piper let out a sigh... She felt pressure relieve itself immensely, but sadly she also felt her head and arm throb painfully.

She was not sure what Hark thought he was doing in giving her back her arm... Perhaps he thought it would give him an upper hand? But if that had been his plan he was wrong! Kaine had managed to fix it enough for her to be able to use her magic the way she was use to and that meant Hark was now going to be hunted. Grinning Piper tested her metal arm before she began to make herself a bow... Arrows were always something she made at the last minute out of light and rock and depending on the amount each to it's own affect...

Kaine continued watching the match with his hands on his hips as per the usual, still holding a carefree smile, even as Hark snatched up Piper's arm. As though not interested in the least as to the what happens in the match, the military woman still standing behind Kaine, whose patients seemed to be thinning at an alarming rate, spoke her annoyance towards his previous request. At that, Kaine merely turned his head back to her with a frown and gave her his answer. "Hmm? Oh, just tell him I'll meet him after this match here. Is that okay?" he said, giving her a smile before turning back to the match, not waiting for an answer. Just then, Scarlett questioned Hark's motives, upon which, Kaine spoke his mind over the matter.

"Nah, I don't think it's anything like that. Hark probably just wants her to stop using such dangerous methods. That's the only reason why I got her arm working and threw it to her in the first place, after all." he said, just as Piper took the arm in question. Shortly after, a large cloud of dust blanketed the ring, masking both opponents from view. Piper was likely reattaching her arm while under cover of the smoke screen she created. A good tactic. What would happen now that she had another option of attack and defense available to her? Well, that was anyone's guess, but Kaine had a feeling she would no longer resort to her previous style of offense. There was no way she would be able to keep that up for long anyway, even if she was beginning to get the hang of her use of the element; its unstable power was simply too much for her body to handle at the moment, and so she needed to stop before something terrible happened. Kaine hoped that she too would realize this, and refrain from anything outside of her normal style.