It was sarcasm. I'm way too excited about this battle to forget about it. I'm not sure who I was cheering for here, since I like Shinyso and Tephro equally =P I think Tephro gets the worst of this encounter.

Shinyso fended off another attack, spun, and planted a foot solidly in Tephro's stomach, knocking him away. The younger of the pair went with the blow, absorbing most of the force easily and coming back up with a feral grin. For all his youth, the Bloodflame was Shinyso's equal, and he knew it. So did Shinyso.
Tephro came in again, dodging the serrated disk that Shinyso threw at him. Katana and saber clashed again. Shinyso forced their blades up, caught at Tephro's wrist, and rammed his half-brother in the stomach again, this time with his shoulder, throwing Tephro back against the wall. The Bloodflame's head slammed painfully against the rough stone, and he dropped to one knee, winded and dazed.
Shinyso hesitated, reluctant to kill his half-brother, despite the fact that Tephro had been doing his level best to destroy Shinyso a moment ago.
Tephro staggered to his feet, shaking his head to clear it. His silver-green eyes blazed as he lifted Edge once more. Shinyso eyed him warily. He had a bad feeling about the outcome of this battle.
Tephro dove forward, immobilizing Shinyso's saber with a metal-clad wrist. Shinyso twisted away from Edge - and moved directly into Tephro's next move, as the Bloodflame reversed his grip on his katana and drove the hilt into Shinyso's ribs.
Shinyso gasped. Tephro couldn't know it, but he'd struck the exact place where Sai had impaled Shinyso on Diamondus.
His brother forced Shinyso's blade out and away, but before Tephro could bring Edge in to finish him off, Shinyso's hand shot out and closed around Tephro's right wrist - his sword arm. Tephro twisted free, but the damage was done. He had never executed the killing blow.
Shinyso broke away, and raised his saber again just in time to catch Edge. Tephro aimed a kick at Shinyso's knee, metal-rimmed soles flashing, and Shinyso avoided the blow hastily.
Tephro twisted his blade free and slashed in and across viciously. Shinyso twisted away just before Edge sliced the air where he had just been, and brought his saber around in a crosscut. Teprho ducked and swayed to the side as Shinyso's blade hissed past his ear. At the same time Tephro's katana nicked Shinyso's shoulder; Shinyso shrugged off the minor injury and sliced his own saber down the outside of Tephro's arm, leaving a shallow, glancing cut. The pair broke apart and circled once more, each looking for an opening.

Jheran's head snapped up suddenly and he spun, eyes going unerringly to where Tephro was locked in combat with his half-brother. Neither was winning, but nor were they losing.
Shinyso slammed Tephro back against the wall. Tephro drove a foot into his half-brother's stomach and cast a desperately frantic look at Jheran - he'd gotten himself in too deep, and he knew it.
I've got to get him out of there.
Jheran glanced at Elexei, who looked back guardedly.
"Ah ... wait here," he said offhandedly, and stalked over to help Tephro.

Tephro hissed in frustration as his blade was blocked yet again. He dove in under Shinyso's saber, tried a crosscut, but Shinyso was already there, blocking.
Abruptly another presence overwhelmed Shinyso's senses. He threw himself to the side, came up, blade in hand, and found himself facing two Bloodflames instead of one.
Jheran towered over Shinyso, who sighed mentally. Just when he'd been winning, too.
"I don't want to fight you," he told the Bloodflame leader. Jheran nodded regretfully.
"I know."
Shinyso was quick on his feet, which was probably all that kept him alive. He managed to avoid every attack Jheran threw at him. But he couldn't keep it up forever.
Finally his speed failed him. He ducked a fraction of a second too late, and the flat of Jheran's blade caught him on the side of the head. Shinyso fell to his knees, stunned.
When his vision cleared, the Bloodflames were gone, and Elexei was nowhere to be seen.

Defalcon realized quickly that Irinn's broadsword was for more than show. The lizard General's natural speed and grace transformed the weapon from a clumsy hunk of steel into a deadly instrument. Defalcon had never seen anyone use a broadsword with so much finesse. He had a feeling that he would not come out on top in this fight.
He avoided a thrust quickly, feeling himself tiring. He wondered if Irinn was experiencing the same deadly fatigue, but if he did the General wasn't showing it. He remained coldly calm.
An explosion directly behind Irinn distracted the General long enough for Defalcon to ready himself for the next attack.
It never came - or at least, Irinn's never came. Defalcon didn't expect the sudden blow to the back of his head as one of the bodyguards lashe dout in an attempt to eliminate this threat. He collapsed without a sound.
A second later, Sasha's scimitar ended that dutiful bodyguard's life.