Disclaimer: See chapter 1

AN: I got the name of the challenge setter wrong. It is in fact Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, not Anna Camp aka Obi-quiet. Sorry about that.

AN2: Someone pointed out that my prompt wasn't clear in the last chapter. So for this one, the prompt is in bold

"Would you like to play a match Alix?"

Alix raised an eyebrow as she heard the familiar voice of Rose on her headset.

"Rose? I didn't think Soul Swords was your thing," she said and Rose giggled.

"Juleka introduced me to the series, but she's not available right now. Would you like to play in the Temple of Flowers? It's my favourite arena, so cute and flowery and perfect."

"Eh, why not" she replied with a grin as she sent an invite across Z-box live. Moments later, Rose sent an acceptance reply.

The screen began to load and the Temple of Flowers arena appeared on Alix's screen. Like the season they were in, winter flowers of red and yellow dotted the arena floor. In one corner of the ring, Alix's fighter of choice appeared.

Her character of choice was a lot like her. A short haired tomboy with customised pink hair and a slim rapier.

"Time Dancer, Tamora!" the announcer's voice boomed and then Rose's character appeared.

Unlike Alix, her character was a tall man wearing a white shirt, black trousers and a plain red tie. In his hands he held a stack of papers and instead of a face, he had a blank white head.

"The Bureaucrat," the announcer declared and Alix chuckled.

"You do know that he's a joke character, right?" she said. "Seriously, I thought you might have picked someone better."

"Don't be mean. You'll hurt his feelings!" Rose admonished and Alix raised an eyebrow.

"His attacks hardly do any damage, his blocks are almost useless and he's not very fast," Alix pointed out. "Compared to pretty much every other character, he's not exactly got a lot going for him."

"Well I believe in him," Rose said determinedly.

"Battle begin!" the announcer declared and the two on screen avatars leapt into battle.

Five minutes later, Alix was staring at her screen in disbelief. She simply did not believe it was possible. In one corner of the ring, The Bureaucrat was filling out paperwork. In the other corner (And it hurt Alix's pride to see this,) Time Dancer Tamora lay knocked out on the ground. Somehow, Rose had managed to turn The Bureaucrat's almost useless paper and funding cuts into a deadly melee. Her requisition forms had expertly blocked Alix's attacks in a way that defied explanation. Rose had even managed to activate his special move, a filing cabinet dropped from the sky.

"Oooh, I think mama is calling me for dinner. See you at school tomorrow!" Rose said cheerfully as Alix continued to stare. Switching off her Z-box One, Alix strapped on her skates. She needed to clear her head. (And, although she would deny this if anyone mentioned it, needed to get over the shock of just how good Rose was at Soul Swords.)