Ken: (thinking: Well.... that..... is still a surprise.)

Max didn't make a move. He just stood there. Waiting for Luke to come to him.

All the while with a bright smile on his face.

The scene was so perturbing to Luke that he actually paused.

Luke: Hey.... you do realise that if I grab you, it's basically game over, right?

Max: Yeah... that is true.

The smile in his face didn't wane in the slightest.

Luke: Ok then. I guess I'll just... take a free win. I guess...

He slowed his pace, trying to be more cautious.

Luke was no stranger to Max doing the less expected thing, and so, he knew something was off. Especially that smile.

Why on earth was he smiling?

Ken looked behind Max. No nasty surprises. So, what was it?

The smile on his face perplexed both teens.

So much so that even a few metres from Max, he began to slow down even more.

Luke: (thinking: Just what is he planning?)

And it was at that point that Tiffany arrived on the scene.

Tiffany: Hey, what did I miss?

Ken: It's not over yet.

Ken's eyes were glued to the battlefield.

Max: Hey, Tiffany!

Luke: Oh, hey.

And they both almost immediately turned to the battle.

Tiffany: (quietly) How's it going?

Ken: Let's just say... that this battle is about to get...

He motioned to Tiffany to look at Max.

Ken: ... very interesting.

It only took Tiffany a few seconds to guess what had happened. Pebbles all over the floor, Luke approaching Max slowly, and the final piece of the puzzle, the out of place smile on Max's face.

Why was he smiling? Did he have a plan? Was he just unnerving Luke? Who knew?

Luke approached Max with more caution than he ordinarily would have, this time stretching his hand out from a distance rather than just grabbing him.

Luke: Well... I guess I w...

And just before he could grab Max, he moved from his position.

Max: Too slow!

And then proceeded to zap him.

Luke: What the....?

He made another grab, and Max proceeded to dodge and zap him again.

He made yet another, and Max did the same, all in the same small distance.

Ken: Oh yeah... he can do that.

Tiffany: Hmm...

Ken: While it can be hard to remember this, Max isn't just fast when he's running.

Tiffany: Huh?

Ken: Max can... accelerate any movement he makes. No matter the kind...

He continued as Max continued to dodge Luke at close range. Each dodge followed by an electric shock.

Ken: ..... be it ducking, dodging, even punching..

Tiffany: I see.....

Ken: (thinking: But.... even Max should know by now that there is a danger to staying so close to Luke.)

After several failed attempts, Luke finally got tired of trying to grab Max.

Max: Whatsamatter, Luke? Give up?

Luke: Heh....

At that point, Max was behind Luke.

Luke: Nope.

He slammed his hands as hard as he could, creating a massive shockwave, sending several pebbles flying back, and leaving Ken and Tiffany quite surprised by the result.

Luke: There. Now, where are...

He had indeed felt Max disappear from behind him, but what he did not expect was for Max to be standing right behind him, completely unscathed.

Max: (like a butler) Hmmm.... I do believe you're quite tired, Master Luke.

Luke: What the....

Ken and Tiffany exchanged glances.

They weren't allowed to give tips during sparring, but if they could, what they'd said would have surprised Luke.

Luke: How did you...?

Max: (like a gentleman) A true magician... never reveals his secrets.

Ken: Well now.... (thinking: Truly.. surprises are your nature.)

Tiffany: (thinking: Max... just... what are you?)

He then playfully bowed to Luke.

Luke: Tch... (thinking: What did he do? I'm sure of it. I clapped my hands, and he flew away. And there's too many rocks around for him to run away normally.)

And Max?  He continued to smile brightly.

Luke: Well then.... I guess I have no choice.

Max: You quit?

Luke: Nope

He looked around, realising that due to his first clap, several of the rocks had been misplaced, and so Max had more breathing room. A lot more, in fact.

So, instead, Luke decided to try something.

He turned around to go find another training block, only for Max to fire yet another bolt at him.

Luke turned back to Max.

Max: What!? I'm not gonna make this easy.

Luke: (thinking: This guy...)

He went for the next block at a running speed. It was quite a ways away, and so Max got several blasts in.

As Luke was running, he suddenly heard a voice....

Ken: Enough. Match, Max.