Low gravity made every movement feel wrong.
Momentum carried too far. Every mistake was amplified.
Drayke stood relaxed anyway.
As if Marsh itself obeyed him.
Chitki's voice cut through the masks.
"Now. Don't hesitate."
Water Beauty moved first.
She twisted her wrist and the thin moisture in the air snapped together, forming razor-thin streams.
They lashed toward Drayke from three angles—fast, precise, lethal.
Drayke stepped forward instead of back.
The streams bent.
Warped mid-flight.
They tore past him, slicing rock behind instead.
Clementess inhaled sharply.
Her voice dropped, calm but strained.
"Slow."
The word carried weight.
For half a second, Drayke's movements dragged. Not stopped—never stopped—but delayed.
Like time itself resisted him.
Blood trickled from Clementess's eyes immediately.
She staggered but stayed upright.
That half-second was enough.
Bandri was already there.
She spun low, dagger flashing. The blade carved a clean line across Drayke's side—metal screaming as it met warped air resistance.
Drayke hissed.
Not in pain.
In annoyance.
Bandy roared.
The tremble from earlier returned—stronger, wilder.
The ground beneath them fractured as he slammed both fists down, shockwaves ripping outward in uneven pulses.
Drayke vanished.
Appeared behind Bandy.
Fist drove into Bandy's spine again.
Then another.
Then another.
Too fast to track.
Bandy crashed into the ground, coughing, body twitching.
Bear moved.
No warning. No buildup.
He was behind Drayke.
A knee slammed into Drayke's ribs hard enough to dent the air itself.
Drayke flew, spinning, barely correcting before smashing into floating debris.
Bear took a long sip of apple juice mid-fall.
"Ouch," he muttered.
Drayke recovered instantly.
He twisted space and appeared above Clementess.
Before he could strike—
Water Beauty's arms snapped up.
A massive pressure burst exploded upward, water compacted so dense it hit like concrete.
Drayke was blasted sideways.
Tuka was already there.
No powers.
No tricks.
Just movement.
He used the low gravity, twisted mid-air, planted one foot against debris—and launched himself forward.
Drayke blocked.
Barely.
The impact sent both of them skidding across the fractured surface.
Chitki raised her arm.
"Link formation. NOW!."
Bear responded. "What a corny name man..."
Lights flared across their masks.
Data synced.
Angles calculated.
Bandri attacked again—high.
Bear struck low.
Water Beauty constrained movement.
Bandy forced terrain collapse.
Clementess stayed silent, breathing shallow, eyes burning.
Drayke dodged.
Blocked.
Warped.
Still standing.
Until someone rose from a blind spot.
Not flashy.
Not elegant.
A straight punch.
Tuka.
All weight. All will.
It connected with Drayke's face.
Drayke never really took Tuka serious.
The sound was ugly.
Bone met force.
Drayke flew back, skidding across Marsh's surface, carving a long scar into the planet itself.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Uncertain.
Drayke wiped blood from his mouth.
He was annoyed than before.
"You.....," he said calmly,
"Really?."