The sword sang through the air, just missing the buttocks and legs of Pikatok, who used her mastery of the ice and her unyielding strength to avoid the blow that would have reduced her movement speed by a fair bit. 

She had done it by stopping immediately on one foot, and leaping off with the other. Right and left. It mattered very little, he was still well ahead in his planning. 

His turtle tattoo stopped storing energy, locking in what it had. Part one had been completed, and the back up plan for two was going to be underway, any second now. 

Across the expanse, he could hear Pikatok attempting to goad him into leading the attack. Soon, he would take her up on that. For now, he was settling into enacting his plan. The tattoo on his right shoulder began to glow, and he could feel the tell-tale signs of the Thunderbird racing through him. Phase two was underway.

Now, he had to deal with Pikatok as she were. He began to run in a wide circle around Pikatok - being near the portal was useless. He had to outlast her, or beat her, and this time, he was planning on the latter. His eyes scanned the horizon, making sure to go back to her constantly to keep her in sight.