Scared. Her instinct toward flight spiked as she knew enough that it had been infected with something vile and sinister. Panic settled in her chest as she could feel her body weaken, her thrill of the fight dwindling as the reality of her injury hit her like a tidal wave.

  "Amber!" Dime voice's cut through the fog of her pain. "What's wrong?"

  "My wing... I think it's infected!" Amber hissed, feeling her energy drain. She was still on high alert, but the throbbing in her wing was becoming a consuming thought.

  Dime's eyes widened, glancing back at the smug duo of Vaine and Miss Fang. "We need to retreat! We can't fight like this!"

  "No! We can't back down now. We're the hunters; we have to keep fighting!"

  She forced herself to focus, her determination stirring a flicker of willpower within her. But deep down, she knew the situation was dire. She couldn't let Dime's valiant spirit be wasted in this fight.

  Vaine finally stepped forward. "Is that a real injury I'm sensing, dear Amber? Such a shame."

  Amber gritted her beak, pushing through the pain. "You won't win! This fight isn't over yet!"

  Miss Fang chuckled. "Oh, it's far from over. But only for you, my dear. Allow me to show you what happens when the hunt turns around."

  Amber took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. But her wing throbbed against the cold gusts, and time felt limited. Panic. No time, or she'd feel worser and weaker by every blink.

  "LeeLee! Attack!"

  Her next strike had been initiated by full desperation. She targeted Miss Fang with abandon, kicking with all her might. The wind swept around her, but Amber felt the strain. Her energy waning at the same beat as the throbbing in her wing intensified. The exhilaration of the fight was mixed with the dread of her injury; the competing emotions made it hard to stay focused.

  Miss Fang dodged to the side, then she shouldered Amber's attack aside with a flick of her arm.

  "You need to understand, little bird, the hunt is not just about speed; it's about strategy." She lunged forward, her claws poised to strike, but Dime was there, rushing in to intercept.

  "Dime's here!" She charged with fierce determination.

  She positioned herself between Amber and Miss Fang, ready to protect her friend at all costs. But the reality of their situation was dawning on Amber—this wasn't just a game. It was a battle for survival.

  With Dime's defensive stance, Amber had a moment to gather her thoughts. She could see Dime was ready to support her, but could they really take on both of them? The way Miss Fang was moving, Amber realized that the sly predator was far from done and likely just getting warmed up.

  "Dime, we need to work together! I'll create a distraction," Amber said, trying to mask the tremor in her voice. "You go for Vaine. He's just standing there like a statue!"

  Dime squinted, determination hardening her gaze. "Dime cannot do that! Dime says we both strike at Miss Fang!"

  "Fine! LeeLee! On three!" Amber called, barely managing to extend her wings despite the pain. "One… two… three!"

  As Amber launched herself toward Miss Fang, she kept her focus razor-sharp; it was a gamble, but she had to make this count. She kicked off the ground with every ounce of strength she had left, using her [Tempestuous Kick] again to propel herself forward. But Miss Fang was ready, her claws raised dangerously. "Foolish little bird! You think you can take me?"

  Amber thought of Dime; she needed to keep Miss Fang occupied just a little longer. "You underestimate me!" she employed a feint to the left before quickly veering right. The grass whipped around her as she ducked under Miss Fang's swiping claws. Then she spun in mid-air and kicked out with her [Tempestuos Kick] at full force.

  Miss Fang caught her leg— with her mouth, clamping hard on it before slamming her down. Amber cried out in pain. Dime halted her assault; left astonished and confused as to how to proceed. But that gave Miss Fang enough time to rush Dime and crosscut her with venomous claws.

  The field itself had been split apart with a deep "X"-shaped gouge. Dime crashed to the earth with a thunderous thud, her body skidding to a stop in the tall grasses.

  Amber's heart sank as she watched her friend fall, the impact echoing like a death knell in her ears.

  "NO! DIME!" Her wings flapped wildly as she attempted to rise, but the pain in her own wing and leg throbbed fiercely, rooting her to the ground. She felt helpless, the anguish of her friend's injury mingling with her own.

  Miss Fang stood over Dime, her eyes gleaming with triumph.

  "Oh, how the mighty have fallen! What a delightful turn of events."

  Amber's world narrowed down to her friend, lying wounded and vulnerable before the formidable duo. She couldn't let Miss Fang gloat. Dime had given everything in this fight; she couldn't let that sacrifice be in vain.

  Amber yelled and forced herself to stand, her body trembling from the effort. "I won't let you—" she faltered, her voice strained with pain.

  "Won't let me what, little bird?" Miss Fang stepped forward, her figure casting an imposing shadow over both Amber and Dime. "You seem to be in quite a predicament."

  Amber's mind raced. She needed to act! She needed to act fast! Hurt. Poisoned. Dime was down, and she was injured. Then, the prey-driven side of her instincts hit her like a vortex.

  "Stay away!"

  Amber screeched. She unleashed a storm of [Feather Barrage], her own plumage, at Miss Fang. But Miss Fang was quick. She launched herself forward, claws outstretched, slicing through the feathers with ease. "Your loyalty is admirable, but futile!"

  Amber choked on her adrenaline and stood. She whipped her wings around, using [Wind Shield] to create a barrier just in time. The impact sent shockwaves through her body. The shield did not hold, and that left her in the mercy of Miss Fang's claws.

  She felt trapped as she tried to peck, swing, kick, as the claws never seemed to stop or relent.

  With every feathery strike she attempted, Miss Fang countered, laced with an ease that only heightened Amber's despair. She was losing ground, and she knew it. As she struggled to keep her footing, she could sense Vaine's presence lurking nearby, an ever-watchful shadow, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

  "Is this the best you can do, Amber?" Vaine's voice was chilling as a whisper on the wind. "You're hardly impressive when you’re cornered."

  Amber growled through her pain. "I won’t give up! I can't" Her heart pounded fiercely, not just for herself but for Dime, who lay vulnerable in the grass, unable to rise. For KiAera, who believed in her since they met each other. For Chimera Crew, who—

  Miss Fang advanced. "You don't seem to understand your position at all. This is not just a fight; it's a lesson in humility."

  She lunged at Amber again. But Amber, fueled by desperation, twisted out of the way just in time, her instincts kicking in. The grass rustled around her, and she knew she had to think beyond the immediate threat. If she couldn't overpower Miss Fang through strength, she needed to outsmart her, to use the environment to her advantage. But the realization to think ahead.

  Too late.

  Miss Fang swung her claw upward, carving motes of Amber's particles into the air. She gasped and collapsed to the ground. The beastly panic had reached its peak as she realized defeat was imminent.

  "Ah, here's the final act of our theater," Miss Fang said, pressing her foot against Amber's throat. Amber felt the talons' threat tighten. It was over. The end. Sorry, Dime. Sorry, KiAera. Sorry, Liozel.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Amber! Don't give up!" That voice. It belonged to LeeLee Liozel.

  Her neck twisted enough to see little Liozel standing in the Wait Zone with the others. KiAera tried to pull him back from rushing into the Combat Zone. LeeLee Liozel was there to cheer her on, and that was exhilarating enough to motivate her. Her body felt warm in a different, heartfelt way now. This was the moment when she wanted to become more like KiAera.

  Strength. She needed more of it to protect herself and them if she ever wanted to keep them safe.

  The pressure on her throat from Miss Fang's claws were tightening unbearably. Just as she thought it was too late, the world around her exploded into vivid colors, the grass shimmering like an emerald sea.

  A soft, gentle voice spoke with rejoice in her head.

  [Emergent] to [Dominant] evolution is underway. Would you like to evolve from ["Running Ratite"] to ["Phoenix Harpy"]?

  She didn't understand, but the voice sounded appealing. She had no clue what "Phoenix" meant, but "Harpy" sounded like "happy." So she agreed.

  [Yes]

  In that instant, a warmth and radiance enveloped her. The pain in her wing seemed to fade, replaced by a scintillating glow that coursed through her body. Amber's wings expanded, feathers shimmering with an iridescent hue. What was happening? She felt as if she were rising, fueled by something beyond her understanding.

  Miss Fang's expression shifted from glee to shock. She leapt backward as if she'd been burned. "What is this? Ah, a metamorphosis."

  The air crackled around Amber as she shifted, her form transforming into something more odd; her legs changed, her wings lengthened, each feather now edged with flames, igniting like a burst of sunlight. She took a deep breath, drinking in the energy around her and feeling it pulse through her veins.

  "I won't be your prey anymore!" She felt really powerful, filled with a fierce energy she had never known before. Then, with a powerful flap of her newly equipped wings, Amber propelled herself upward. She loved how she soared high above the ground like a magnificent figure against the clear sky. She kicked one leg outward and squeaked at the oddity of her newfound featherless legs.

  Her beautiful plumage been replaced with this smooth skin. Like she'd been shaved.

  Amber squealed, her voice a shrill, unsteady chirrup as she twisted in the air. What—what had happened to her? She tried to tuck her wings close, but her eyes caught that her body wasn't right anymore. Her talons still gleamed sharp and curved as ever from her thighs downward, but above them… smooth. Bare. Soft.

  Feathers gone.

  Feathers gone.

  She flailed mid-flight, nearly tumbling as if the wind itself mocked her imbalance. Her talons clawed at nothing, and she patted at her thighs, her chest, her arms. Arms? Oh fluttering storms, arms. Her wings were still there, still feathered, but in between them jutted these strange not-feathers. A chest with odd, round, skin. No down. No fluff. Just skin.

  Amber shrieked again, not out of fear of her foes, but because she didn't recognize herself.

  "What—what is this?!" she gasped, staring at the stretch of her own thigh. "Where did my feathers go?! Why am I—why am I bare?! It's wrong! It's wrong!"

  Her bird-mind raced in frantic loops. A bird without feathers was a broken bird, a weakling, something to pity or peck to death. But she wasn't sick. She wasn't broken. She felt… stronger. Lighter. Her wings wider, her chest burning with fire-bright energy that refused to die down. And yet, she couldn't understand the alien shape of herself.

  Miss Fang laughed, tail swaying as she circled. "So the chicklet becomes a harpy, hm? How very… precious. But even dressed in skin, you're still just prey. It's adorable how she doesn't even know what she's becoming. How precious."

  Amber's beak—no, mouth-thing—clicked in protest. Prey? Prey?! No.

  She hunched, talons swiping furrows in the air, wings clutched around herself. She wanted to scream at Fang, wanted to shred her for mocking, but her mind snagged. Becoming? Becoming what? She didn't even know the word KiAera had used before—"human." What was a human? Why did she feel her body bending toward that strange word she had no picture for?

  No, she shook her head; she felt it inside her now, something more than a bird, something that burned. But she didn't have words. She didn't even know how to describe what she was. However, she acknowledged the air felt different on this skin. Cold. Vulnerable. Her instincts screamed at her to fluff up and cover herself, but she couldn't. She just couldn't.

  "Amber!" Dime's ragged voice called from the grass. "You… different now. You strong!"

  Strong. Yes. She wasn't weak. She wasn't prey. But she was wrong.

  Her talons flexed, digging into the earth as she landed shakily. Her wings trembled, still burning with phoenix-light. She raised one wing tentatively, staring at the strange digits that curled, clenched, uncurled again. Not a just claw. Not a familiar wing. Something else. Something she didn't understand. She squawked, shaking her head wildly. "What am I?! What happened to me?!"

  Vaine finally moved, his smirk sharp as it was infuriating. "Ah, realization. The most delicious moment of any evolution. You've shed ignorance and gained form. And yet… you don't even know what a Harpy is, do you?"

  Amber blinked, confusion bursting like sparks behind her eyes. Harpy? The word meant nothing. Just a sound. A noise. But whatever it was, the way he said it made her feel like she was it.

  And she didn't know if that was something to fear… or something to love.

  She flexed her new limbs again, fire curling faintly at the tips of her feathers. Her heartbeat thumped. Everything in her instincts screamed at her to flee, to preen, to fix this strange skin-thing. But deeper, beneath the panic, was a stirring. A call. Something proud. Something that said rise.

  Her bird-brain whirled. Harpy. Phoenix. Human. She didn't know what any of it meant. But she knew one thing. She screeched at Miss Fang, wings flaring like burning suns. "I'm not prey! I'm AMBER!"

  And she launched herself, body still strange and awkward to her, but wings beating with fire-bright fury.

  Miss Fang cackled from the grass. "Oh, little birdie finally grew claws. A harpy, are you? How precious. Still prey, just dressed prettier."

  Amber hissed through her mouth, feathers along her wings puffing with defiance. No, no, she wasn't prey. She could feel it in the fire flowing inside her veins now. But her own mind tangled; she couldn't make sense of her skin, her arms, her new strange form. She wanted to fluff and preen but couldn't. She wanted to run like before, but her legs felt different.

  Her panic almost crushed her.

  "AMBER!!!"

  The shout cracked through the air like thunder. Her head snapped toward the Wait Zone.

  It was LeeLee Liozel. His little arms waving furiously, his voice shrill and raw. "You can do it, Amber! Fight, fight, fight! Show them your wings! Show them your fire!"

  Her chest hitched. The heat inside her body burst hotter, but not from the infection, not from the fire-light of evolution. No, this was different. Liozel's cheering burned brighter than flame. He believed in her. Her little crew believed in her.

  She screeched back, a sound half-bird, half-something-new. "I'M NOT PREY! I'M HARPY!"

  Her talons tore into the ground as she launched herself. The air itself seemed to obey, whipping into a cyclone as her wings beat with newfound strength. Fire trailed along the tips of her feathers, turning her into a blazing comet of fury.

  Miss Fang staggered at the force of her dive. Vaine's smirk twitched, eyes narrowing as though finally something caught his attention.

  Amber didn't care about their faces. She cared about Liozel's voice still shouting her name, filling her with more than instinct, more than panic.

  This wasn't just hunting anymore. It wasn't just about striking fast or fleeing stronger predators.

  This was about protecting.

  She roared again, voice cracked and raw, but her wings thundered. "I'M AMBER, AND I'M HARPY!"

  Her kick shot forward with whistling force, cyclone winds wrapping around her talons. Miss Fang's grin faltered for just an instant—Amber saw it, she saw it! Victory was right there—

  Then it was gone.

  Miss Fang's body slipped sideways like smoke. Amber's flaming talons cut through only grass and air.

  "Predictable," Miss Fang hissed.

  Amber tried to adjust, but the momentum carried her off-balance. A hand snatched her by the wrist. In one brutal twist, Miss Fang wrenched her through the air and slammed her down into the dirt. The impact knocked the air from her lungs.

  "Ghhkk—!" She gasped, feathers scattering, her strange bare skin scraping against the earth.

  She flailed, wings beating, trying to rise, but Miss Fang was already above her, pressing a clawed foot down hard on Amber's chest. The pressure hurt worse than the infected sting of her wing.

  "New feathers don't make you a predator, little chick. It makes you… clumsy."

  Amber screeched, thrashing.

  "Let me. Go!" Her fire flared, her wings igniting once more, only to be snuffed out as Fang's tail whipped across her body, lashing out until it sent her tumbling like broken prey into the grass.

  "Amber!" Dime's voice cut through. Despite her wounds, Dime barreled toward Fang, claws bared.

  But Vaine moved. He appeared like a shadow, intercepting Dime with ease. His claw swept once, and Dime crashed down, crumpling to the earth. She twitched, tried to stand, but her body refused.

  "No! DIME!" Amber screeched, scrambling to her talons. She tried to rush, but Miss Fang was there again, faster, sharper, striking her wings and knocking her flat. The grass pressed cold against Amber's cheek. She blinked dazedly, trying to focus, but her body trembled too much. She wanted to fight, wanted to rise like a burning star for Liozel, for KiAera, for her crew! But her body wouldn't obey. Her chest burned with humiliation, hotter than her fire.

  The fairy announcer's voice rang above, too bright, too cruel. "And the winners are… Miss Fang and the Venerable Vaine!"

  Cheers and jeers roared around the arena, but Amber barely heard them.

  She lay sprawled in the grass, half-feather, half-harpy, half-broken. Tears stung her eyes, though she didn't understand what they were. What they truly meant. New emotions. She didn't know what hurt more: the sting of defeat, the ache of her wounds, or the crushing shame of being taken down so easily, so helplessly, even after she had changed.

  Miss Fang's shadow loomed over her.

  "Remember this, little bird. Evolution doesn't make you a hunter. Experience does."

  Amber squeezed her eyes shut, chest heaving, as Dime's pained groans carried across the field. They had lost. She had failed.

  And yet… faintly, even through the ringing in her ears, she still heard Liozel's voice calling her name.

  "Amber! You're still amazing!"

  Her heart clenched. Even in defeat, the fire inside her refused to die.