“Lord willing,” Paul responds. “I’m just looking forward to when those days can be shared with that weaponized woman right there.” As the young man says this, he points to his girl talking to Z. “I’d still be an impressionable coward if not for that miracle standing nearby. I pray constantly that I’ll be able to repay her with following God so she has something worth calling a leader guiding her. Heh, she definitely needs a strong guy for that fiery spirit of hers.” Paul’s expression with this shows he’s very satisfied with Kammy’s go-getter nature.
This leaves us with our twins hanging out with Blue and Red, and this has already turned into more training for Elfie, the ever-dangerous Double-Edge, while Gigi simply chats with Red for now.
“Marcia,” Blue says, calling out to the woman who once taught him the art of the blade, “you thought Porter and I were good, but this kid will make you question your credibility as a teacher. He’s almost as good as James Scott or the other Xames’ over there.”
“You’re kind, Blue,” Edge says with gratitude, “but I haven’t exactly seen you falter yet. In fact, I know you are an Infinite on top of this skill, so don’t think I take for granted that this is all you’ve got.”
Shaking his head and smiling, Blue reminds the boy, “I’ve been working on my skills here for how long? I’m talking about when I was alive and facing Porter. I might have given you some fierce competition, but unless I was using a System Blade, I am not confident that I would’ve beaten you then. I was an Infinite then as well, but I think you’re about at that level, despite what your iu say.”
“Don’t go giving the kid false hope,” Red shouts. “Now, where were we?”
“I don’t remember,” Gigi admits. “And the more I hear those nerds smack-talking and being all ‘Oh, you’re almost as good as that guy,’ the more I want to jump in and make them earn their wings.”
Red had determined to have a full conversation with Grace before just rushing into a brawl, but the temptation is too strong now. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Let’s show those muscle brains what it’s all about.” And with this, the two girls ambush the men, ready to show their own sword-fighting skills. Don’t worry; as mentioned before, the SG’s have ways to make such exchanges safe and doable for both genders so that nothing dangerous or inconsiderate of the ladies can be done. We have to keep safety in mind at all times during a bitter sword fight.
“Come on, boys; what happened to all that praising you were doing?” Gigi taunts as she and Red have already formed a successful plan in keeping the guys on the run.
However, Elf is still significantly stronger than his sister, giving him and Blue a major advantage with Grace being the weak link here. Moments of clashes and witty banter go by before Ent is able to take advantage of this gap in power. It’s a disgustingly large gap, too. Normally, when her brother’s massive strength proves to be too much for her, Gigi will pick a respectable spot to give one last desperate attack before letting his next major hit be the deciding blow. However, she’s in the mood to challenge herself more today, and thus she ignores the oncoming storm of unbeatable force about to beat her to the ground.
“Are ya through yet?” Ent asks triumphantly.
“Only if you’re forfeiting, loser,” she defiantly teases back.
Red’s own battle with Blue brings the two closer to the twins, giving Grace a dangerous idea. “Red, switch. Now!” Without thinking, the teammate reacts, letting Gigi continue the bout against an Infinite Warrior. While this is daunting, the implications of the swap is what the young Lady Rug is counting on. If she can just hold her own long enough for Red to beat up Elfer, Grace can still win this thing. This strategy is shaky with Ent being able to handle a lot more than Gi, but the sister is counting on her partner to figure out the scheme before Blue does and ends things first.
This strategy that Grace has enacted soon gets her in a bind that she wasn’t ready for, with Blue trying not to overdo it, and yet still making Gi suffer in the process. As she can tell there’s no way she can possibly outlast her brother, she decides to quit, but changes her mind again at the last moment. Her resolve impressed Blue, but he can’t foresee this lasting much longer.
Inner Man Theatre 