Max: Rose...

She held her cheek and because of her yell, Tiffany paused and quietly waited as Rose rubbed her cheek some more.

Rose: Mmmmm... mmm...

As if that stress wasn't enough. Now she'd been hit.

She gritted her teeth. Not in pain, but because of her sheer embarassment.

Not only was she just hit, but also, Max and Tiffany saw her. The mental stress and shame were almost too much to bear.

He'd think she was weak, wouldn't he?

That was her first and only thought.

And then, more flooded in.

She'd never actually won a sparring match in front of Max before, had she?

First Luke, then he himself, and now Tiffany.

Her eyes wanted to look to Max, but she kept her eyes on Tiffany, forcing herself not to look.

And also, she hid her face from them. Just enough that they wouldn't notice the pain she was in.

And then...

Tiffany: Do you surrender?

Rose gasped.

So caught up in her thoughts was she, that she'd completely forgotten that she was in a fight.

She looked up to Tiffany and, forcing her voice to sound self assured...

Rose: No. I won't.

Tiffany: Good.

Yet another stone flew at her, which Rose was able to catch yet again, and then, Tiffany continued the barrage.

Back with those watching the fight...

Ken: Tiffany is a fast one, but sooner or later, she'll run out of pebbles to throw.

Max: Oh.... yeah....

Ken: But... then again....

Max: Hmm?

Ken simply pointed to Tiffany's current pose.

It was an interesting pose she'd taken while still throwing the few stones left in her hand.

The kind of pose one ready to lunge at something would take.

Max: She's....

Max turned to Ken who simply nodded quietly. And as for Tiffany..

Having thrown her last stone, she lunged at Rose at an incredible speed, covering a surprising distance, and landing a kick to Rose's torso, sending the teenage girl flying and crashing into the wall.

Max: Woah!

And woah was right. In such a simplistic sense, Tiffany Chang had subdued the psychic.

A feat that impressed both Max and Julianne that day.

Julianne: (thinking: She's a sharp one. I can see why they have her in their ranks.)

Max: (thinking: Tiffany's something else. Tch.)

As for Rose, the embarassment had gotten even worse. Now she was on the ground again.

It wasn't like Rose believed Tiffany was a weak opponent.

On the contrary, she believed that she was an incredibly strong opponent. 

Instead, it was the shame of her decision. Now... both Max and Tiffany would be disappointed in her.

That feeling of pain in her heart...

She slowly brought her head up.

Yet again... Tiffany had paused.

She was simply looking at her.

Like a child who'd just failed her parent, she was terrified of even looking at her.

And as for Tiffany, she saw her sorrow. She knew she was scared.

Tiffany: Do you surrender?

Rose hesitated.

Back with those watching the battle...

Max: What's wrong with her?

Ken did not answer. He knew, but knew better than to interject.

Max: Why doesn't she just use her psychic powers?

Luke and Ken knew better than to answer that question.

As for Julianne Hunter... she could put two and two together and see that something was wrong with Rose, but she thought better than to do something about it. After all, team business is team business.

Back with those at the battlefield....

Tiffany: Rose...

She still did not answer.

Tiffany: Do you...

It took everything in Rose just to answer that, as her intrusive thoughts worsened.

What if Tiffany had begun to think she was weak? What if Max was making fun of her right then? What if...

But no. In her she still had the strength to say, albeit weakly...

Rose: N... no..

She slowly pulled herself up but kept her gaze to the ground.

Rose: I can still fight!

Tiffany held one more rock in her hand. She knew that this must have been hard for Rose. She knew how she must have felt. But irregardless, a battle... remained a battle.

The kick she'd thrown wasnt strong enough to knock her down. That was a calculated move.

She knew exactly what she was doing.

But in this case... she had to end the fight.

And so, yet another rock flew from her hand.

Going directly to Rose at a terrific speed.

It was at that moment that Rose hesitated more than ever before, this time she couldn't even process the idea of stopping to protect herself.

The rock would hit her and she would lose.

And just as she'd almost accepted this fact, a loud voice echoed from the other side of the room.

It was Max.

Max: Hey, Rose! Kick her butt!