Cain was momentarily stunned by the punch. The sound of the impact had made more than just him flinch. Ashley and Joey had been a few paces behind Billy, but they took a few more steps away. Jake was alone but that didn’t seem to bother him at all. Cain had the sneaking suspicion that Jake had dealt with his teammates in a rather ruthless manner. The only person who managed to react to the punch was Jake. Jake braced for the punch and managed to withstand the impressive blow. His legs didn’t even buckle. He spat some blood to the side, cursed loudly, and punched right back.

Cain had seen Billy withstand just about everything in this dungeon without ever staggering. Most injuries just seemed so small on someone as large as him. Jake’s punch, however, was superhuman. Jake was smaller than Billy, though arguably not by much, and his arms were thick. Jake’s fist met squarely with Billy’s chin, and to everyone’s shock sent the large man staggering backward. Cain looked at Jake in complete disbelief and saw something odd. Jake’s whole body seemed flushed now as if he had twice as much blood as a normal person. It was almost like he was blushing across his body. His skin had changed to a deep shade of pink, and he screamed while charging at Billy.

“Eat this!”

He swung with a wide haymaker. The gesture was so exaggerated that Billy, even dazed, managed to lean out of the way of the attack. However, that attack proved to just be a distraction.

“Feint!”

Cain called out desperately, but Billy didn’t respond. Cain’s vantage gave him a clear sight of the fight, and he saw Jake’s real attack. A knee that aimed low at Billy’s stomach, and it landed. Billy crumpled forward, but Jake was ruthless. He brought his other hand down in an overhead blow aimed straight at the back of Billy’s head. Before he could finish Billy off, a translucent blue arrow of ice struck Jake in the face. It didn’t pierce his skin, but frost began to spread across his face like mold. Jake stepped away and frantically tore away at the ice. Some skin tore with it, leaving streaks of blood running down his face.

That was enough time for Billy to recover. He bent at the knees and leapt forward. The ground beneath his feet quaked as he threw himself at Jake in a shoulder tackle. For all that Jake was strong, so was Billy, and he was bigger too. The collision was like two boulders smacking into one another. Jake was carried like a toy as he was picked up and slammed into the ground hard. Cain winced, hearing the fight. It was like two bears fighting. Ashley’s arrow changed something though. It opened the door for the rest of them to join the fight. Joey ran forward, hands blazing with light. Cain didn’t, he crept backward. His job was to heal them, but he could do more. They had seen a part of it with the wolf, but he hadn’t shown them the extent of what he could do.

One of the first things the teacher sent him was a lecture on healing which detailed the many ways that healing could go wrong. Cain wasn’t dumb, he saw the meaning behind it. After all, he had asked the teacher about what it meant to fight as a healer, and that lecture had been his response. Cain could hurt Billy or Jake, but he didn’t want to. The way that his skills worked made his damaging abilities especially cruel, and he just felt weird using them on people. So, he gradually blended into the background and just prayed for his team’s success.

Jake stood up slowly, groggy from the tackle. Cain was just impressed that he managed to stand. Even Billy seemed impressed. Most people would’ve hesitated after seeing someone stand after an attack like that. Joey either wasn’t that kind of person, or he was just taking an opportunity where he saw it. He swung precisely; a fist of strange green light surrounded his hand. Jake shook his head to clear it and managed to catch Joey’s fist at the same moment. Then he squeezed, and Cain shuddered at the sound of bones breaking. Joey screamed in pain, but those cut off, as Jake punched him with his other hand. The shouts weren’t the only thing that got cut off, as Jake’s punch tore Joey’s head off. Blood and gore filled the room for a moment before dissipating into mist. The theatrics didn’t stop Cain from retching. Ashley wasn’t much better, shrieking and turning away in fear.

That was a mistake, and Jake capitalized on it. He slipped around a punch from Billy, moving even faster than he had a moment ago. He was practically a blur as he reached Ashley. Ashley raised her hands in a defensive posture, her bow held up like a shield. Showing no hesitation to punch a girl, he swung with even more force than he had against Joey. The bow snapped, and his fist drove through her skull in a quick jab. Her skull didn’t pose much resistance, and it burst into fog along with the rest of her body. Cain slowly adjusted to the experience by reminding himself that this was all just a game.

Billy chased after Jake, but he was too slow now, and Jake managed to turn and raise his hands. This time Jake hopped between his feet and properly took a stance. A stance that Cain recognized, one meant for a boxer. Billy didn’t match him, and just charged with the obvious intent of tackling Jake to the ground. Billy’s arms were raised as if to grapple him. Jake waited calmly, though that contrasted with the veins on his forehead, and the expression on his face was angry. Sweat ran down the sides of his forehead like a stream. Cain didn’t think he had ever seen someone that angry. For all of that, Jake was patient.

At the last second, Jake dodged around Billy’s tackle and wove a punch below Billy’s guard. Jake’s fist connected with Billy’s chest raising him an inch off the ground. Billy wasn’t out just yet; he grabbed Jake’s arm and fell forward. Even Jake couldn’t lift Billy one-armed, and certainly not while fighting him. Billy yanked hard as he fell forward. Jake screamed as his arm popped out of its socket. It would’ve been ripped off had Jake not reacted and fallen with the motion. They fell to the ground together, though Jake was quick to kick Billy in the side and push him away.

Jake jumped to his feet. Cain could see his arm and it looked pretty useless. It kind of just swayed at his side like a piece of rope. Billy rose slowly, shaking his head and looking around randomly. Cain met eyes with him for a moment and Billy called out to him.

“Heal me!”

Cain almost did that on instinct, taking a step forward. A glance at Jake made him pause. He looked at both of them and shook his head no.

“I’ll heal the winner.”

“You fuckin traitor!”

Billy shouted back and took a step toward Cain. Cain took one step backward. Jake laughed making Billy turn around. Cain took advantage of that moment and slipped even further away. His back touched the hedge wall, and he stopped. There wasn’t anywhere else for him to run, but he didn’t need to, as Jake drew Billy’s ire with an insult.

“Nah, he’s just not as dumb as you.”

The taunt was bland as far as insults went, but it hit home. Billy charged Jake. Cain almost couldn’t believe how red Jake’s skin had become. And he seemed bigger now too. Not taller, but burlier. Nobody sane would run at a person that looked like Jake. However, Billy definitely wasn’t sane at the moment. Did both their skills make them go crazy?

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Jake reached into his pocket and pulled out something in a quick motion. He was somehow moving even faster, though Cain wasn’t sure how. He was fairly certain that Jake had far exceeded the speed of any student. His hand whipped about, and he chucked something at Billy. It moved so fast that Cain could barely even make out what it was. When he did, he nearly screamed, and only fear stopped him. They were pieces of metal, shards; actually, it was shrapnel. Billy who was charging, couldn’t hope to dodge or block, and the metal struck him head-on. They dug into his skin, drawing blood and shredding his flesh. A fragment pierced Billy’s eye, and then his scream of rage changed to one of pain.

Jake rushed forward following his throw. Screaming in pain, and clutching at his eye, Billy had no chance. Despite all of that, Billy managed to duck out of the way of the first punch though narrowly. It passed just inches from his head. However, dodging a single attack wasn’t enough. Jake followed up, hitting Billy with a quick jab that sent him reeling. Cain was just amazed that it didn’t blow up his head like it had with Ashley. It did do damage though. Blood ran from Billy’s nose as he staggered backward, still clutching at one eye flutily. Jake kept on his onslaught, throwing another punch.

That punch changed as he opened his hand and grabbed the side of Billy’s head. Cain couldn’t help but glance away, but he still saw what happened. Jake snapped his arm around, twisting Billy’s head and snapping his neck. Just like that it was over and by the time his body hit the ground, it had dissipated into mist. Cain swallowed hard as Jake finally turned to him. Back against the hedge, Cain raised his arms defensively.

“Wait, I’m not going to fight you.”

Cain waved his hands frantically and was relieved to see Jake’s skin return to normal. The fury vanished so suddenly that he almost seemed like a different person. Even his voice had become calm.

“Calm down. I won’t kill you. I need you to heal me. Plus, my team could use a healer.”

Cain's shoulders sagged for an instant, but then they tensed up again. Was he lying? He wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t like he could run either way. So, he did what he could and nodded.

“Okay, sure.”

Jake grinned.

“See, we can all be sensible here.”

Jake walked forward slowly. He raised his good hand offering it to Cain gently. The gesture might have been good-natured, but things stopped being good-natured after someone punched through two people’s skulls. So, Cain did the only reasonable thing and took the hand as slowly and carefully as he could. Jake had probably killed a lot of people to get this far, and Cain doubted that he would be so merciful after getting healed. So, Cain made a choice. He touched Jake’s hand but didn’t heal him. Instead, he did one of the things that he had read about before. He focused on his healing and made Jake’s body grow new flesh. Not, with the purpose of healing, rather he used it to seal up Jake’s veins.

He didn’t get very far before Jake realized something was wrong. However, his training with Clo paid off. He managed to track Jake’s surprise attack out of the corner of his eye. Cain threw himself sideways, narrowly avoiding a kick that tore through the hedge wall. Cain tumbled across the grass and ran. He didn’t bother turning around and just sprinted. Only after a few steps did he glance backward. Jake wasn’t chasing him. He fell to his knees; blood ran from his nose as he struggled to stay up. Cain watched as Jake pulled a familiar vial from his pocket. Cain was too far away and couldn’t stop Jake as he pushed the metal tube into his side.

“What, why isn’t it…”

Jake struggled to speak, his words trailing off as he glanced up at Cain. There was genuine fear and desperation in his eyes. Cain met that gaze and shook his head ever so slightly. Boosters wouldn’t help him. He would need another healer, one specialized in removing things, not regeneration to fix his veins. Jake’s slumped forward into the grass, and his body began to shake. It only lasted a second or two, but then his body dispersed into a fog. Cain stared at the empty spot for a countless number of rapid breaths. Then he slid to his knees and vomited. His hands trembled as he considered what he had just done. The feeling lingered on his fingers. He closed his eyes slowly, and when he opened them again, he focused on the matter at hand. What did he do now?

___________________________________________________________________________________

Abigail P.O.V

Abigail chatted with Aida, as she recovered from the last room. Their team had come to a simple agreement. Aida would handle every other room, but they would fight as a group for anything that looked genuinely threatening. This last room hadn’t been threatening, but it had been gross. Abigail rubbed at Aida’s hair with a towel, but she couldn’t get the sticky substance off.

“Thanks for the help, but I don’t think you can do much else.”

Aida grabbed her hand stopping her. Abigail winced but nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. I didn’t really expect those bees to explode. Since when do bees explode anyways?”

This trial was fairly obvious with its game-like nature, but this just seemed annoying. The room hadn’t even been that hard. It had just slowed them down by covering them in honey. Abigail still felt like her clothes were glued to her back. Sabrina complained from her side.

“Ugh, I just hope that Maya’s having a better time than me.”

Sabrina was an odd one, and she was even weirder now. She kept talking about her teammates, though mostly about Maya a lot; it was honestly kind of weird. Abigail rose to her feet, brushing off what dirt didn’t stick to her clothes. The other two did likewise, but Aida was basically a honeycomb at this point, so the gesture did little.

“If only Sarah was here. She would be able to get the honey out easily. At least it doesn’t smell bad.”

Aida and Sabrina didn’t respond to the comment. Abigail didn’t mind it, both of them were the serious type. They didn’t make a lot of jokes. The only person that did play along was not fun to be around. Abigail still had to get him though. She walked to one of the archways and called out to Leopold in the other room.

“Come on Leopold, we’re done.”

He turned the corner, smiling like he always did. It was sudden that Abigail took a step back. Had he just been waiting there this whole time? He shook his head from side to side.

“You know this isn’t fair. Why did I have to wait by myself?”

He made a mock gesture of being hurt as he held a hand to his chest. Abigail didn’t bother responding and just turned away from the man. She didn’t like Leopold much. He was weird and really really annoying. Aida just shook her head and led the way toward the next room. Sabrina was the only one that didn’t seem completely done with Leopold. She gave him an apologetic nod and hung back to walk alongside him. Abigail rushed after Aida and looked eagerly at the next room. It was empty as all the rooms had been. At least that was what she had thought at first.

That changed as she saw a figure at the opposite end of the room. A one-armed man, stained with blood and dirt; a look on his face that made her shudder. Black hair, and an appearance that had charmed much of her school, terrified her now. Abigail shuddered as she saw the cold ruthless gaze on Clo’s face. Then she saw something on his head, and some of that fear burned away. There was a cute tiny bird on his head that was glancing about with rapid curiosity. Abigail couldn’t help but stare at the small creature.

Aida didn’t pause or take in the situation. She moved with a speed that she hadn’t revealed before. Clo reacted, rushing forward to meet her. He raised his hand to the side, and a blade formed there. Abigail froze, images of his previous fights crossed her mind. And she shouted for Aida.

“His sword cuts through everything!”

Abigail hadn’t seen Aida take any attack head-on, but she couldn’t help but worry. Couldn’t stop remembering how easily Clo had won his previous fights. Only then did she remember who Clo’s teammates are.

Her head spun back toward Sabrina, who had chosen to hang back with Leopold for some odd reason. She watched in horror as Sabrina plunged a small knife into Leopold’s neck, driving it through, and cutting across his throat in a fatal blow. Leopold fell forward but his body turned to mist before hitting the ground. Then Sabrina turned her gaze toward Abigail, and Abigail froze. Sabrina didn’t look regretful or apologetic. Her face burned with resolve and determination, and Abigail raised her shield. She couldn’t match Sabrina’s expression; nor could she mask the fear in her eyes.