Elias felt his entire body lock up as ric set his sights on Alyssa. He didn''t want ric to look at Alyssa or even have her as a thought in his mind.


    His eyes gradually narrowed as he took a step forward too, capturing ric''s attention again.


    "She''s not your concern," he replied with a bite to his tone. "Trying to take over the entire world isn''t your concern either. We''ve all lived a bnce life for years. You can''t just mess that up."


    "I can do whatever I want to. Right, Helena?" ric replied as he nced at the blonde witch. "This is Helena. She''s been helping me keep tabs on you."


    Melina grimaced as she shook her head subtly.


    "You shouldn''t support him," she told Helena as she stepped out from behind Tyler to join Elias'' side.


    "You''d be a fool not to," Helena replied as the corner of her mouth curled up slightly. She was set in her ways, brainwashed by ric. So many of them were.


    Elias nced at Melina, sharing her frustrated look. They couldn''t let people like ric or Helena decide on the fate of the world. Innocent people would be caught in the chaos and killed. It wasn''t right.


    "We''re not going to let you do this," Elias said, feeling his palms start to heat up.


    ric chuckled, looking amused.


    "And you think that you guys can stop me? Have you practiced enough?" he asked, inly taunting them.


    Elias tried not to let his firm expression waver. It shouldn''t surprise him that ric knew what they were up to. Even if he did or didn''t know, it didn''t matter. They were here together now, and they weren''t going to go their separate ways peacefully. That was never an option.


    "Find out," he replied.


    ric tossed his head back andughed, his voice echoing throughout the clearing.


    "You''re funny. Bold. I like that," he said. "It''ll be even more rewarding killing you."


    Elias clenched his jaw tightly, breathing in deeply through his nose. He turned and looked at Alyssa, who looked frightened. In fact, she looked more scared than he had ever seen her before.


    This could be thest time that they saw each other. He couldn''t even remember theirst kiss, but he wished that he had kissed her a little longer, a little deeper. He had regrets, but he didn''t regret any moment that he had spent with her.


    "Get back," he mouthed to her, giving her a pleading look. He knew how ric was, and if ric got the opportunity to use her against Elias, he would.


    Alyssa swallowed hard before taking a few steps back toward their edge of the forest.


    Elias nced over at Melina, who looked a mix of angry and worried.


    "We''ve got this," he murmured to her, seeing a look of determination fill her face instead. They had to be ready.


    They didn''t have any other choice at this point. ric came here to fight, and they were going to give him the best fight that they could muster.


    At least they had Scott and Tyler around to help with the witch, who would certainly be a thorn in their side.


    "I''ve waited a while for this. You kept running around and around in circles, thinking I wouldn''t catch you,"


    ric said as he shrugged off his ck leather jacket. He rolled his neck around a few times, his eyes shing ck briefly. "Now, I get to have some fun with you."


    Elias tried to ignore the rapid beating of his heart. His nerves were shot, but he couldn''t focus on his feelings right now.


    There wasn''t time or room for that. He had to focus on what came next, and he had to keep himself from dying as best as he possibly could.


    "Then, what are you waiting for?"


    *********


    The tension between the two groups continued to build as they red at one another, waiting for the other to make the first move.


    Once the fight started, there was no telling when it would finally end.


    Elias was just d that Alyssa was waiting in the cover of the trees behind them. He didn''t want her to get caught in the crossfire.


    Elias nced to his left to see that Scott had moved to his side. They were closest to ric, while Melina and Tyler were closer to Helena.


    They would work in teams. Hopefully, they could take someone down in the process without being taken down themselves, but that was just a hope. That wasn''t a guarantee.


    Helena moved first, generating what looked like a bundle of electric blue energy in her hands. She shot it toward Elias and Melina, who both dove in different directions to avoid being struck.


    Elias hurriedly pushed himself to his feet. When he looked up, ric was right in front of him somehow.


    He gasped as he was thrown back, hitting the ground with a pained huff. Pain echoed throughout his body as he watched Scott try to take a swing at ric.


    ric ducked out of the way, moving incredibly fast. He shouldered Scott, knocking him back with ease. He packed so much power in his hits, proving to be twice as strong as a vampire.


    Melina and Tyler faced off with Helena, dodging beams of crippling energy. She swiped her hand to the left, knocking Helena off her feet.


    Tyler jumped onto Helena, his fangs snapping an inch from her neck.


    Helena ced her hands on Tyler''s chest, sending a painful surge of energy through him to make him fall off her.


    Elias got back into the fight, knowing that he needed to step it up or risk getting killed before he could evennd a hit.


    He felt his palm heat up as he ran at ric, tackling him to the ground. They tussled, trying toe out on top of each other.


    ric smashed his elbow against Elias'' nose, blood already spilling. He pinned Elias to the ground, his eyes growing dark.


    Elias struggled beneath ric, starting to feel a crushing pressure on his body. It wasn''ting from Elias'' hand, so it had to being from his powers.


    Elias had to break free. This wasn''t a simtion like what Melina showed him.. He managed to shove his hands up, watching mes re up from his palms before he grabbed ric''s face.