The iron tang of blood wafted into John's nose as he hobbled forward. He held Cassandra to his body with one arm. His other arm lay broken at his side. .

Everything hurt. His legs hurt, his back hurt, his fingers hurt, every part of John's body was drenched in agony.

But John still had to move. Because if he didn't keep moving. Then Cassandra would die.

John knew this for sure. Dead bodies surrounded him. And it didn't take an idiot to see what you had to do to become one.

John held Cassandra tighter to his chest.

You'll live, Cassandra. I swear it.

"John!!!!"

Running towards John was a man with deep black hair and a pale face. It was Charles.

John looked up at Charles. He had his sniper rifle slung around his back and he wore clothes that were decidedly unsplattered by blood. You could tell that he hadn't even seen a hint of the actual battle during his time in the battlefield.

"YIP!"

"YIP!"

"YIP!"

John's dragons yipped at Charles as he approached.

"Chaaaaaaaa." John attempted to say Charles's name, but all that came out was a wheeze.

Charles looked at John; there was a deep scowl on his face.

"What happened to Cassand——-"

A massive explosion rocked the ground beneath John.. He almost fell but Charles leaped forward and managed to steady John in time.

"Easy there," Charles said

"Thaaaaaaa." John wheezed.

Charles glanced around himself. Everywhere he could look there was blood death and monsters. Fear grew in Charles eyes.

"We need to get out of here. Quick, follow me. I know the way to shelter." Charles said

Charles started to speedwalk through the battlefield. He would duck and prance to the side to avoid any blows from nearby opponents. John slowly hobbled behind him. He wouldn't duck or dodge blows at all. He would Just take them head-on and keep on moving.

Charles looked back at John as he hobbled forward.

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"Hurry up."

"I CAAAAAAAA." John wheezed

Charles pranced his way back through the battlefield to John.

"I'll take Cassandra."

John continued to hold her to his chest. He was reluctant to let her go.

"You can't protect her," John said with uncanny clarity.

Charles frowned.

"We need to move fast. We never know when this battle could take a turn for the worse. It could cause rabid hostilities which could create a catastrophe like the one in East Aurora." Charles said.

John frowned.

"Okaaaaaaaaa." He whezed.

John handed Cassandra to Charles. Charles held her with more ease than one would expect for a sniper.

Charles started ducking and dodging ahead again. John hobbled after Charles with a slightly faster speed than he had had moments before.

John followed Charles for about thirty minutes. In that time John took thirty blows.

They found a red door that was dug into the ground. It stuck out maybe a couple of inches into the air. There were no other structures or anything around it to warrant there being a cellar there. But despite this. There it was.

The ground shook again.

Charles turned to look at John.

"Come on. We need to get in the Cellar." Charles said

John nodded.

"Alaaaaaaaaaa." John whezzed.

Charles took that as John saying a yes.

Charles opened opened the door to the cellar. He quickly descended the ladder with Cassandra in his arms.

There was a red ladder going down the Cellar.

"We'll wait in here until Band-Aid heals you and Cassandra. And once you two are healed, we'll get out of dodge." Charles said

John nodded. He couldn't precisely speak right now.

John slowly made his way down the red ladder into the cellar.

Strangely it didn't buckle under John's weight. But John was too tired and scared to question that at the moment.

Charles threw Cassandra over his shoulder like a potato sack and started descending the ladder.

He closed the door behind him.

They were immersed in darkness. John couldn't see a thing.

"Are you there?" Charles asked.

"Haaaaaaaaa." John wheezed in response.

"I'm going to take that as a yes," Charles said

"Now all we can do is wait."

John nodded. John sat on the floor of the Cellar.

The floor felt smooth but not ridged. John assumed it was made from some kind of fake wood. Maybe they were in a wine cellar?

"Yip!" Band-Aid started to shine his healing light on John. The light illuminated the cellar in a soft glow. John could see his surroundings.

The walls were blank and painted deep black. The floor was also black. In fact John couldn't see a single hint of colour other thaan black throughout the entire Cellar.

~Strange. Everything here is so strange.~

Luckily, nothing unfortunate happened during John's time in the Cellar.

John waited for the next few hours as Band-Aid healed Cassandra.

"Wuhh. Huh." And after that time, Cassandra awoke from her wounded state.

Cassandra turned her head to look at John.

"What happened?" Cassandra asked

John smiled

"You almost died," John said with clarity. He had finally caught his breath enough to speak.

"Oh... Typical." Cassandra said

John nodded.

"YIP!"

Band-Aid hopped from Cassandra to John. He began to blow his healing light on John again.

John smiled as he basked in the glow of that healing light. The pain that had been John's world for the last few hours began to abate.

It took Band-Aid about another hour to heal John.

After that, John pulled himself to his feet.

"Okay. Let's get out of here." John said

Both Cassandra and Charles nodded.

"Yes. Let's." They said in unison.

"Jinx you owe me a soda." Charles quipped

Cassandra glared intensely at Charles.

Charles just grinned in response.

The second they opened the cellar, they were immersed in a symphony of screams, smacking flesh and the trembling earth.

Even though they knew it might be dangerous, they leaped back into it.

They'd be participating again in the orgy of war.

And this time.

They wouldn't lose.