Alex fended off the three monkeys as best he could, but it was a losing battle. His health was rapidly depleting and he needed to create some space, desperately. If he could just get a few seconds he could pop a health bomb. That should make the battle a little less dire.

First, he needed to figure out how to do that with an enemy that was much faster and stronger than him. Not just one, but three really. He had noticed that the monkeys had started hitting a little softer than when there was only one. Softer might be an overstatement. It was like saying it was an eight pound sledgehammer hitting him and now it was only a six. It was better, but it was still being swung with the force of roided out lumberjack.

The monkeys had incredible coordination. It was likely because they shared the same thought processes.

There has to be a weakness there. It can’t be that easy to control three different consciousnesses. I can barely handle one right now. They do tend to attack in nearly the same way and at almost exactly the same time. I need to separate them.

The three monkeys began another charge at him. Alex singled one of them out. The other two were just distractions, so Alex made a thin layer of metal behind him in an almost egg shape to hinder their assault while he focused on the one in front of him. They were moments away and Alex had waited until the last possible moment to erect his defenses. He didn’t want them to change course at the last second.

They finally arrived, both monkeys behind him were pounding away at the metal making it sound like the bells of Notre Dame. Alex grappled with the remaining monkey. With its diminished strength, Alex was able to contend with it. He was still the weaker party, but what else was he going to use his stored up energy for if not for animal abuse.

With both arms occupied, Alex went with the coolest, most classic move ever—the head butt. He channeled energy into his neck and his head hurtled forward. It connected with the monkey, but it had a similar idea. Both heads moving at record speed collided, blood trickling down both of their foreheads. They both recoiled, the monkey baring its teeth in Alex’s direction.

That didn’t go as planned. I guess I’m not as creative as I thought. The stupid monkey had the same idea as me.

The tolling stopped behind him and Alex knew that he only had moments before the threesome resumed their barrage. Alex jumped forward and grasped the monkey in his hands again. Luckily for him, it had still not totally recovered from their mutual self-inflicted headache. Alex grabbed hold of its arms and began channeling his energy. Recognition shined in the primate’s faces, but it was too late. Alex’s hands began to glow red and an instant later, both he and the monkey went flying.

Alex recalled the Eonsteel to encase him as he flew back. He apparently liked the egg shape because he donned it again, only this time in its entirety. He did add some spikes to its shell to hopefully inflict some damage as he soared past the other two monkeys.

A few moments later, he landed with a spray of sand as he crashed into the gritty waves of the desert.

Finally! A moment of peace.

He quickly popped a health bomb and felt the surge of vitality it brought. He breathed in relief. Alex didn’t think he would ever get used to the flavor of the makeshift health potions, but in that moment, he had never tasted anything so delicious. Well, except for that delicious goop from the war camp. It would be blasphemous to say otherwise and Alex may be considered a heretic by the natives, but that was one line he wouldn’t cross.

His momentary respite ended much too soon, as the clanging began once more. Alex was taken unaware, and his eyes shot wide and he looked around.

Oh right. I’m inside an egg. I can’t see anything.

He subtly opened a slot in the shell so he could see his options. It was apparently not so subtle, as immediately, thick monkey fingers came poking through the hole nearly stabbing him in the eyes.

“AHHHH!”

He reflexively closed the slot and regretted his quick response as three bloody fingers fell into his face, one of them directly into his mouth.

“Bleh! Gross! That’s nasty,” Alex nearly coughed up a lung as he tried to eradicate all remnants of the monkey from his taste buds. He scraped his tongue raw to no avail. He would have to suffer its terrible flavor for a while longer. He had thought the health bombs would have incinerated his taste buds, but apparently, he had enough left to experience the monkey fingers.

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“Oh my gosh! I’ve seen what monkeys do at the zoo with their hands!” Alex nearly vomited.

Instead of opening another slot, Alex just assumed that they were all there, waiting for him. He instead opened a panel beneath him and began digging. He formed a shovel from the reallocated metal. His arms moved in a flurry of motion and he carved a path down and out of the sand. It felt oddly cartoony to Alex as he popped out right behind the trio, all of them unaware. Taking advantage of the oblivious foes, Alex charged up a death ray. This one needed to be much larger than any he had made before. The Death Star of death rays if you will. All the while, the primates continued pounding away at his empty shell.

Alex’s hands began hissing from the build up of energy. He let out a grunt of pain and all three monkeys looked back at him. They began to hoot and started hopping around before moving towards him.

Dang it! I couldn’t have held it in for a couple more seconds?

With nothing else to do, Alex released the energy. He aimed at the monkey in the middle, hoping that he could get the one that was kind of lined up behind it too. Blinding light flashed and Alex blinked a few times to restore his vision. He couldn’t see much for a few seconds, but what he did see kind of shocked him.

He was hoping to maybe hit two of the monkeys, but the monkey in the middle stepped back as both of the remaining monkeys dove in front of it.

I guess the middle one was the main monkey.

Both monkeys flew backward in a smoky bundle of fur and charred flesh. One of them got the brunt of the attack, as when it stopped rolling, it didn’t move anymore. The other two retreated about twenty feet. They stepped next to each other and in an odd display, performed reverse mitosis. Almost as if they were magnetically attracted, their bodies merged with sickening crunches and unnatural twisting of bones. Alex looked in with horror, absolutely dumbfounded. Less than ten seconds later, one monkey faced off against Alex. A new, terrifying snarl was spread across its face and Alex swallowed in trepidation.

I don’t like the look of that at all. Hopefully, it’s weakened by the loss of its clone. I don’t know if I’d stand a chance.

The simian looked straight into Alex’s eyes, and began to make an all too familiar dance. Alex panicked. If he fell under the monkey’s spell now, he wouldn’t see tomorrow, and he knew it. Alex didn’t know how it worked, but he assumed it had something to do with his vision. Alex instantly called some Eonsteel over his eyes to, hopefully, protect himself.

Alex had heard that sometimes, when someone was born blind, their other senses were enhanced to compensate. He perked his ears and tried to sense any changes. A sudden punch to his gut proved to him that he did not have enhanced anything.

Either I don’t have enough practice honing my senses, or that’s a load of crap. Well, I guess if the monkey is punching me it isn’t dancing.

Alex retracted his blinders, and saw the monkey standing in exactly the same spot as before, beginning its dance once more. Alex looked at it in confusion. How had it already made its way back there? Alex covered his eyes once again, and again, he was rocked by a punch to his midsection. Instantly, he pulled away the Eonsteel. The monkey stood in exactly the same spot as before.

“Alright! There’s no way!” Alex yelled in exasperation.

The monkey started dancing. “Not letting that happen again,” Alex muttered to himself.

He charged up a death ray and aimed for the primate’s head. It stopped dancing, obviously not wanting to chance a blow. Alex lowered his hands and the monkey took the bait. Alex continued charging, and just before he released the pent up power, he raised his palms once more. With no time to dodge, the monkey was hit directly in the chest. It was launched back a few feet, but the absorption of the clone had obviously increased its stats again.

Before the monkey could recover, Alex dashed forward, an uppercut at the ready. Alex’s first blow landed, but the subsequent ones were either dodged or parried. So, Alex traded one blow for four. Not a great trade, but beggars can’t be choosers. Alex was glad that he landed anything. He felt like he was scraping the bottom of the barrel. He was running dangerously low on stamina and his skill was just not up to par with his current enemy.

It felt like everything was one step forward three steps back. Alex couldn’t get his hands up fast enough to block all of the incoming blows and his health began to dip as well.

Alex disengaged by charging up an explosion in his feet. Suddenly, he was thirty feet in the air and was already popping another health bomb in his mouth. His ascent began to slow, then his momentum shifted and he began to fall. He hadn’t planned far enough in advance to know his next steps. He could barely think as it was, Alex was mostly just reacting at this point. He was lucky that his reflexes had increased so much. He was also starting to get a better feel for the flow of battle.

Yet, with all these advances in his abilities, he still wasn’t good enough. He consoled himself by reminding himself that he was punching above his weight class right now. He was outmatched, but not entirely overwhelmed. That had to count for something, right?

Alex felt a flicker of hope start to rise in his chest. He may not be demolishing his opponent, but he wasn’t completely helpless either. He just needed to keep it up, and it would all work out. It had to. He couldn’t think about the repercussions if he failed. He didn’t have many people that were relying on him, but he didn’t want to think about what his death would do to the girls.

“It’s settled. I’m not going to die today. You are,” Alex said as he began hurtling down. “Man, that was pretty cringey. I’m glad nobody else heard me say that. That would be embarrassing.”