Mal grinned as he felt brittle bone crack beneath his fist, but then he felt it shake beneath him as the earthen hands grabbed at the bear's side. He called back his chains, wiping one hand across his forehead to deal with access sweat as he panted while they returned. 
 
 When he looked back, however, he caught the emerald gleam as the relic dropped from the creature's eye. The bear itself was shaking beneath him as it broke free of the rock's grasp, giving Mal little time to react. Already he was losing energy fast. His body was at the verge of aching as his adrenaline started to pewter away. 
 
 He figured he could get two more commands in maximum, and that was giving up the strength and speed of the spirit to do so. He took a deep breath, and the mark's heat dissipated as the growing spirals returned to its point of origin. Then, with a quick glance at what was in front of him, and his hands firm on the two chains as they looped around his waist, he leaped off the giant creature and called to his chains. 

 [color=yellow]"Crowley, reach for the tree!"[/color] Mal shouted and the chain on his right complied. It stretched towards the bark and slammed the sharp point into the tree's side. Then, as his right hand grabbed the links firmly, he called the chain on his right into action, [color=yellow]"Naga, grab that relic as we swing by!"[/color]
 
 His right chain pulled taut as his feet neared the ground. The left chain rushed forward towards the gemstone, and Mal's eyes widened as the girl in red leaped towards it from the tree. 

 There was a split-second difference. It was still everyone's game, he told himself, but he knew that there was no way he'd have enough energy after this encounter to defend it feasibly. He really should've saved on the energy before coming here. Then again, he had not expected resistance.
 
 Or competition.