It took a moment, but Li realize what had just happened. His plan actually worked a lot better than he hoped. He heard a thud, Logan falling to the ground by the unexpected shift in weight, and moved out of the way, watching Logan get up.

"Well, that's an interesting trick, bit it wilnae save ye for long." Logan told Li as he tried to summon his weapons once more. Things were just going Li's way today. Turns out Logan was only capable of summoning his dirk, the only armament that wasn't out during the bind. Letting out a sigh of relief, he took a moment to catch his breath.

"I dunnae suppose we could just call it a draw?" Li chuckled at hearing this. Considering the strength of the wards used for the bind, he estimated he had about another 20 seconds until Logan can bring back his weapons. Remembering his original intention, the flag, he turned to the tower, then back to Logan.

"Well I have no need to stay here now," he said while turning back towards the tower. Looking over, he saw someone with his flag jumping out the window followed by Evelyn flying towards the plaza. That was his new target. If Li can retrieve his flag before the carrier gets remotely close to the plaza, then he's doing his job well. Thinking back on it, he wasn't sure how his team's attackers were doing. He could only hope. Turning back to Logan, he continued speaking.

"Well someone just jumped out the window of my tower with my flag, so if you don't mind, I got another person to deal with." With that being said, Li turned around and ran with the intent of intercepting the flag.

___________________________________________

Dom never knew how much he hated stairs until today. After a surprisingly peaceful climb, he finally made it to the top. Panting, he briefly saw Evelyn and Johnny, only to then see Johnny jump out the window with the flag, and Evelyn following him. He couldn't help but be proud of Johnny for having balls of steel, but at the same time, Dom just climbed who knows how many stairs and he wanted to hit something. He let out a shout of frustration whilst alone at where the flag should have been. Well now he had to get back down, and the stairs was definitely his last choice. Walking over to the tower window, he looked over the edge. It can't be that bad of a fall, can it?

"Alright. Here goes nothing," Dom said to himself as he jumped out the window himself. Screaming for his life, he immediately regretted that decision. Once Dom finally regained his composure, he started shooting out blasts of air to cushion the fall. Thankfully it worked and he reached the ground mostly unscathed.

"I hate this exercise," he murmured to himself as he walked towards Johnny's direction.

Logan grumbled angrily. He hadn't actually expected Li to take him seriously. Logan wasn't the kind of person to back down, regardless of the situation, and he had hoped his opponent knew that. The Scot couldn't let this stand. He would teach Li to turn his back on an enemy. He called once again upon his weapons, this time bringing out his Whitworth rifle. Only Dom, and possibly Johnny, knew about this new armament, something the junior had been counting on. He quickly took aim, leveling his sights on Li's receding back.
"Think fast!" He shouted, and pulled the trigger.

Before even reaching the tower on his mad sprint, Maximilian caught sight of Phora and Alice combating what he could only assume was a member of his team and from the general look of the fight the two girls were going all out on their assault against their opponent. Perhaps coming here was a bad idea... Maximilian quickly scurried away from the tower back behind the cover of the Senate Order building. There wasn't much Maximilian could do to help the griffon totem, if anything his abilities would more than likely only get in the way, but just as he was preparing to count himself out of the battle and slink away to safety an idea crossed his mind. The same tactic he used against Daniel could possibly be used on a much larger scale if he could bring enough water up from beneath the city. If he were to turn the entire area surrounding the tower into a makeshift ice rink the flying creature would have a complete advantage over his enemies who could no longer rely on their footing.

Taking a deep breath Maximilian concentrated for a moments time before he began to summon forth the water that was now swirling violently beneath his feet. The ground about him began to rumble and shake as water from all about the city began to rush and churn before finally an enormous geyser erupted from the ground dumping a terrific amount of water just about every place it could. The geyser continued to spray water every which way as Maximilian moved away and hid himself further behind the building in preparation to freeze the water. He needed to be careful though as his artificial rain had already completely soaked him from head to toe.

Derrek was halfway up the first flight of stairs when he heard the thump on the ground that was Johnny outside. He really didn't want to get caught up in any kind of mess, but what was it that kept nagging at him...

         "My guess is you have no clue to what you can really do with your powers, hm?" Miss Rachael inquired to the seated Derrek, as she pulled a small drawing maniquin from one of her desk drawers. "What you've done up to now were merely parlor tricks. Your real talent is much more 'awesome' then tieing shoelaces together. Which if you haven't realized by now, I'm not wearing."

         Derrek was caught off guard by this. That's exactly what he was trying to do, but that's when she had them. But now she had stood and walked around the desk with completely different shoes. Discomforting, sure, but she had probably just changed shoes, without using her hands. Yeah.

         "No," Miss Rachael's grin was at it's pinnacle, "you have a most powerful ability..."

         She explained very little, knowing full well that Derrek wouldn't pay any attention to a long speech, but by the end of it Derrek was intrigued enough to try what she said out. The felling was almost like sleep, but the dream was grounded. He could see, but not in a way that could be explained with words. Awkwardly, like a baby trying to take his first steps, Derrek made the maniquin take a bow, and when he awoke, there it was, exactly how he left it.

         "Archive Club, huh? Well I do need the grade..."

That was it. To get the grade he must participate in all activities. Damn adults and their ultimatums. Derrek crumpled onto the stairs, spirit aimed at the flag in his enemies hand. After all, how though could it be to wack someone in the head with a pole, when you are the pole. With that he took a swing.

---

"Well, what I was doing, you can't really help with..." As soon as she said this she covered he mouth with her hand. Sometimes saying thing in a language that's not your native speech, is really difficult. "That's not, I mean!" She was trying to catch herself before the boy took it the wrong way. "My power I was using my power, and you can't use my power... oh... would you just like to guard me and see what I mean, would that be better?"

Tsubaki was biting her lower lip. This making friends thing didn't get any easier, did it?

After the cloud of dust disappeared, Johnny slowly got up to his feet feeling no harm from the fall. He felt a sense of accomplishment, feeling that he did something useful for the team. Maybe strength just wasn't his strong suit. Though that sense of victory was fleeting as he looked up and saw Evelyn flying towards the plaza. Most likely she would be waiting for him. 

Johnathan started running towards the plaza shortly after he had gotten up. It would take him a while to run all the way back, but he'd get there eventually. Johnny didn't have any time to waste. Especially if Evelyn was waiting for him. Maybe he could try to get to the plaza without being spotted. Though if he was being followed, it might make that a bit difficult. Instead, he simply decided to just run straight to the plaza. 

Suddenly, he was hit in the side with what felt like a pole, in which he was saved by arx yet again. Johnny wondered how long that sigil would last. He wished he could ignore that hit, but he knew it would be unlikely. He remembered seeing Derrek back at the tower. He concluded that it was him since no one else showed that type of ability prior to his arrival, but Johnny wasn't about to let go of the flag so easily if he just fell out of that tower for it. He continued towards the plaza this time going in a sprint, noticing Li hot on his tail.

Logan shouted something. Before Li could process it, he felt a sharp pain in his lower back. What just happened? , he thought. Falling to one knee, he turned his neck around to see Logan poised with a rifle in hand. he just got shot. It took a while for Li to take in what happened, but was quickly brought to his senses when he tried to move. It sure felt like he had been shot. There was no bullet wound, but it hurt just like if there was.

"Well, I'll be honest, I was not expecting that," he said with little energy. There wasn't much else Li could do in terms of offensive, and knowing Logan, he wouldn't leave until the fight was truly over. With not many other options, he went fully defensive and started to meditate. Slowly opening his third eye, he could see a good portion of the battlefield and everyone in it. His flag was still on the move, but Evelyn was ready to stop Johnny from winning it for his team.

There weren't many options to communicate this with his team, so he decided to stay put until he could move again. Li placed a much more powerful ward while meditating. Now that he knows his trick worked, this ward should prevent Logan from using his armaments once he's close enough to strike. Hopefully it'll be able to stop the summoned bullets mid flight. Much like last time, there was a good chance this wouldn't work.

Daniel c*** his head as the girl stumbled over her words. What was she trying to tell him? While he listened to her stutter he detected a blindingly white soul somewhere nearby. He looked around nervously before speaking. "I'll protect you," He said. "But you need to work fast. We're being watched."

The griffon quickly flew around the tower to avoid the tornado and approached Phora from behind. Phora decided to counter this, moving to a position far above Grayson in the blink of an eye. She then dived through the air, holding the flag like a javelin, aiming for the griffons eye. With a stroke of luck she could push the monster straight into the vortex.

Alice was surprised with herself. She still felt as if she'd just woken up from a pleasant nap, even though she'd been fighting for quite some time now. When was the last time she had to push herself even to this extent? With her spiritual reserves feeling practically limitless, it was hard to tell.
Lloyd was charging straight for her, so she once again fired a volley of bolts toward him, however she spread them out slightly to compensate for any dodging he might try. Suddenly, a huge geyser began spraying water everywhere. This could work to her advantage. "Damian! Use your lightning!" She moved into the first floor of the tower to take cover from the water.

Derrek knew he scored a hit, however it didn't seem to phase the kid, and with the distance growing between them Derrek's grasp over the pole was wavering. After another meaningless smack, control over the pole was lost and Derrek awoke with a jolt.

"Agh, she didn't tell me about that part..."

-

Daniel's sudden change of demeaner made the hair on the back of Tsubaki's neck stand up. Looking around at ground level yielded nothing too her, so she decided that Daniel was probably right, that she should hurry. Beginning to twirl her fingers, she was about to set off to try and construct the overly large Vis again, then she said something without even meaning to.

"I believe you."

And she set off.

Logan blinked in surprise as Li dragged himself off the ground and sat. It would have taken immense resolve for the boy not to be writhing in agony now. The Scot shrugged. That would come soon enough. He had to admit, he felt the slightest big of guilt for shooting him in the back, but it really was his own fault. With that, he brought the rifle up again. Considering this particular weapon was muzzle loaded, he was glad that the nature of his abilities automatically replenished the rounds for him. He pulled the hammer back and aimed at Li again, this time leveling the sights on his right eye. Trying to hit someone right between the eyes was all well and good for maximizing your chances of making a hit, but it was also the thickest part of the skull. With a stationary target, best to aim for somewhere he knew would cause a lot of damage. Once he had the target lined up in his sights, he fired again. However, just before hitting Li, the projectile curved off target just the slightest bit, dealing him a glancing blow at best. It seems he had put up another ward. His powers were weakening, and a few more attacks would probably remove it altogether, but Logan didn't quite have the patience for that. He dispelled his rifle and ran straight for his opponent, driving a powerful sidekick toward his face.

It was raining and Alice was yelling at him to use his lightning. For a bit there, Damian had simply zoned out so he was not sure what he wanted her to use his lightning on. Lloyd was very expectant of his lightning and the flying creatures were at battle. He saw the geyser of water and watched it, feeling incredibly unsure of what to do. He knows water conducts electricity but if his stupid idea even worked, everyone but Alice and perhaps the griffin and fairy would be electrocuted. He made the decision on what to do and with his free arm, he fired a bolt of lightning at the geyser of water, then another at Lloyd quickly.

Li, in his trance like state, could sense the next bullet fly at him with the "third eye". His ward reflected it, just as planned, but he knew he couldn't take many more. The next thing he felt was Logan getting rid of his rifle and charging forwards. This time around, Logan was just attacking physically, no spiritual aids. He was learning. Luckily for Li, this was easy to dodge, minus the pain from moving his body, but for now, it was lower back pain or a blow to the head. He chose the back pain. Sensing the attack, he dodged the kick. The pain in his back was much worse than he thought it was going to be, sending Li's body to a slight curl. Still beat getting kicked in the face.

OOC: Mmm, I must say, everyone has been fighting very ingeniously. Let's keep this up throughout the rest of the chapter.

Even where Evelyn crouched, she could feel a very slight tremor as the geyser erupted in the northeast part of the city. She smiled to herself, for even though she could not sense the movement of water, she could sense Maximilian's spirit stirring as it moved below the city. She briefly wished she could be there to see whatever it was that he was doing; Naturae were truly amazing to behold.

She returned her attention to the plaza below. Tsubaki, the mousy girl, was doing something. Having learned her lesson from her previous encounter with a Notatorum, she decided it would be best not to wait and leaped from the roof of the building flying overhead and circling the plaza. Conjuring a wisp she threw it down in front of Tsubaki and threw another down at Daniel.

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

Johnny, having once again been saved by his sigil suddenly found that it was rapidly growing hotter and hotter. It was as if someone was sticking a hot branding iron onto his body. This pain seemed different, yet familiar, though whatever Miss Rachel had done to numb most of the pains on the battlefield, for some reason it wasn't working on this particular pain.

The sudden yet seemingly familiar pain Johnny was experiencing made him stop in his tracks. He seriously was freaking out. What was happening? Where had he felt it before? Had he even felt it before? Was it wearing off? That didn't make sense. In the past whenever the sigil would wear off it would just fade away. Was it because of his spiritual reserve levels? Were they so low now that the sigil wasn't taking effect anymore? Or...was it something else...? Maybe Miss Rachel knew the answer. Johnny had to get back. He continued towards the plaza again, now running faster than ever before. 

-----

Grayson swiftly dodged the pixie's incoming assault. The two seemed evenly matched. Neither of them giving an inch. One small slip up and he could lose. Honestly he was excited. He had been fighting with his full strength now. As the griffin dodged Phora's attack, he reached out with his talons and attacked from behind. 

Lloyd had stopped running when it surprisingly started raining, and after dodging most of the bolts, though taking a few. The most logical thing to do now was to get inside the tower so Damian couldn't try anything with his lightning. Since he was still relatively close to the tower he quickly went inside, just in time as Damian fired a lightning bolt. He saw Alice and delivered a roundhouse kick aimed at her side.  

Lotus laid there in defeat. She had failed. She laid there watching the upperclassmen, they performed magnificent feats and maneuvers. How could she possibly take down Alice. Lotus began to fill with anger, bravery, vengeance, and bloodlust. As Lloyd swung at Alice, Lotus lunged at the fourth year. She was filled with the combined power and vigor of a vengeful tiger. As Lotus lunged at Alice, Dot appeared behind Alice and rushed Alice's soft, weak heel. Lotus and Dot were being fueled by an increased amount of honor and vengeance. They lost all thoughts of the game or the flag. They wanted the same one thing. Alice to fail.

Logan had to admit, Li's persistence was admirable. Anyone else would be crying by now. Still, he wouldn't last much longer, and they both knew this. It would take a miracle for Li to incapacitate Logan at this point. He probably wouldn't even be able to fight effectively anymore. The Scot half-considered moving on to help the others, but after the stunt he had just pulled, he thought better of it. No, he'd finish this fight here and now. He recovered from his missed kick, then turned and tackled his opponent.