Before he could answer him the Swordman was already zapping across the battlefield, as much as he wanted to accompany him to check on Mac but it was Kass who needed his help right now. He moved as fast as his legs could carry him, the journey more difficult than he expected, the infusion spell had left behind a lingering sense of weakness that he was having some difficulty accounting for.

After a short track, he finally reached him.

The battle raged furiously behind him, last he saw everyone was finally arming a strong response against the ninja, but he couldn't allow himself to be distracted, not with a patient in front of him.

Kass was lucky to have that supernatural toughness of his, whether it was from his class or his vampiric nature it was obvious that without it he would be knocked out or worse, heck from what he could see the guy was holding on by sheer fucking will. That won't do, Lesser Restore flashed through his mind again before it turned gray and inert, spent for the rest of the day.

"Good job holding up Kass, here, its time to go back into the fight"

Now, where was his anchor?

How? When? That damned Druid. His tricks know no bounds. I was hasty. Foolish. And he was ready for me.

Zigmund had been taken completely by surprise. The last thing he expected was that Adam would be capable in melee combat, and so Zigmund's attempts to attack were so laced with shock that they were feeble and did nothing. Not even with his Strength boost. He could barely move to dodge or parry. Not even with his Speed boost. He couldn't do anything. And now he he was on the floor, shaking as he struggled to to stand, lamenting how badly he'd played his cards this battle.

He even Shapeshifted back to his human form. Right as I was ready to counter a Bear-form charge with my Explosion attack.

Adam had indeed been smart or lucky not to continue in his ferocious Shapeshifted form. Giving in to the loss of self-conscience that usually comes with a first-time attempt at Shapeshifting would have given Zigmund a chance at an eventual counter attack that would have been regrettable for the Druid - The same counter attack that began the demise of Aurok the Maneater.

"I think this is as good a time as any to finish this fucker, once and for all. What do you say? Let's fucking do this!"

"Heh...Couldn't have said it better myself. Let's."

Zigmund took his eyes from the fiercesome Adam and looked to see the four adventurers who formed another wave of assault.

The unswattable fly. The one who I killed. The blue whirlwind. The loudmouth with MY sword. I'm in bad shape but I can contain them. Just wait for the mistake.

Magical water pauldrons covered his forearms for blocking purposes. His left fist remained covered in a steel punching weapon. His right hand formed a water blade upgrade-transformed to Titan Rock. Zigmund let them come to him, remaining perfectly still until the first attack on him burst him into action.

With blocks, parries and attacks, he fended off the main three as best he could. But with their enchanced power and teamwork, and the constant threat of Fenna on the perimeter, Zigmund could not keep up. MacKensie's head on attacks would draw his attention enough that he was off balance enough to have to pick his poison: Be struck by Zell and The Black Sword, or hit with a kinetic haymaker from Clive. He managed to hit them back occasionally, but slowly and surely he was losing. Fenna's precise and patient attacks seemed to land every time, whether they did respectable damage or not. Clive's kinetic punches would ripple through his body when they landed. Zell's attack's were prioritized to be blocked, due to the power of the sword. MacKensie's accurate targetting of his weak points were forced to be priorities too. But even the latter two landed sometimes.

The flurry of fighting would leave Second Chance with injuries. Zell was stabbed right through the leg, entry wound and exit wound. Adrenaline would only mask it for so long. MacKensie was punched in the eye. Over the course of the action it would swell shut. Clive's lack of technical prowess compared with the other two meant that he took the most damage. He would have to wear broken ribs and a grievious stab wound high up on the chest, next to the shoulder, and another deep laceration under his armpit that was bleeding badly. Fenna's wise strategy of patience meant that she escaped any injury in the chaos.

After parrying Zell, only for the man to back out, catch MacKensie's hand and swing her around to come in with a strong flying kick - Zigmund barely had time to get his hand up and only half blocked it, the head-kick making him stumble sideways into Clive, who socked him with a kinetic punch that slammed him into the ground.

Zigmund hurried back to his feet as Clive came at him with a kinetic combo that hurt even to block with magical pauldrons on his forearms. And that was just the beginning. Both the other two came over the top of Clive - Zell first, slamming a powerful aerial strike down on Zigmund who could only block it enough to save his own life, diverting the aim at his head onto his shoulder. The dark steel-orichalcum alloy of The Black Sword cut his shoulder deep, creating another splash of blood.

"Argh!"

And then MacKensie who'd come over the top of both Clive AND Zell, fired a bolt that penetrated his helmet and lodged into his skull, then landed behind him and thrust her dagger into his side.

"Arrrgh!"

Fenna's patience was once more rewarded and her thrust came next, right into the chest of Zigmund.

"Urrgh!"

I am done. Defeated. How it is possible for one of my calibur to so CONTINUALLY underestimate my oppoenents? Regret is pointless - but it will haunt my afterlife.

All adventurers backed off a step as Zigmund, who was clearly finished, managed to stumble a single step before crashing to the floor. His pain could be heard as he lay on his side, plate steel armour covered in blood and water. He strained loudly just to turn onto his back, steam blowing from the lower part of his visor, signalling heavy, labored breaths.

Your majesty... I've failed you.

All that was left was the killing blow..............

After returning to his human form, Adam was relieved to see four other members of his team pick up where he had left off. It was impressive seeing their combined assault on Zigmund, even if the Druid was concerned about the injuries they received. Nothing fatal though; nobody was dying this time around, and the fatalities were technically in the negative with Clive back on the team. And speaking of death, James healing Barracker was another thing Adam was happy about. Everyone had stepped up for this fight, that much was certain. 

And now it was almost over. The once-ferocious water ninja seemed to be at death's door, and Adam felt most of the team was too injured to strike a finishing blow without worrying about any last-ditch tricks their adversary had up his metaphorical sleeve. So the fisherman walked up to Zigmund, close enough to attack but not so close he'd be in stabbing range. First he created a ring of the water absorbent roots around Zigmund to prevent an escape or to block any counter attacks. Then, aiming straight at their enemy, the Druid fired a natural energy beam at him. 

Footsteps. My executioner.

Slow, repeated double-streams of steam continued to release from the lower part of Zigmund's visor. Soon, the Elite Unit of General Saladin's Scout Force, saw the man who would kill him. The ring of water absorbant roots began to sap the water amongst the blood all over Zigmund's armour, draining the last of his life force even quicker. A few spots of morning rain began to hit the ground. What little of the precipitation landed near the ring of roots would take that too.

Himmmmm.

Him. Such hatred surged within Zigmund that the twin-streams of steam breath was stronger upon sighting the Druid. The spots of rain went from very light to suddenly heavy. Such was the season in Mytheria. Sunrise had come. And morning rain was upon them.

The twin streams of steam began chugging quickly, as if Zigmund was coughing.

Adam aimed his hand and Earth Domain Source coalesced in front of his palm. The rained poured. Zigmund's chugging became loud.

It was not coughing.

"Huhuhuhaha..."

Adam's Natural Energy Beam fired and there was a massive explosion of force. Anyone within 20 feet of Zigmund and Adam were flung over 30 feet away.

As far as damage goes, those who were caught in the blast would take more damage from the landing after being flung than the explosion itself.

The rain poured hard and heavy. As the steam and smoke cleared, everyone would see Zigmund stood tall, holding Adam up high off the ground, by his throat. The ring of roots could not absorb the rain fast enough. Spinning blades of water upgrade-transformed to steel circulated and cut down all roots around them. Zigmund's body - armour included - was regenerating at frightening speed. The rain that bounced off his head, shoulders, arms and ground around his feet... became a perceptible barrier around his body.

"You thought you'd done it," Zigmund said to Adam as he choked the man. "You actually thought you'd defeated Zigmund Mugba-Zarak." He chuckled. "Let me see that Bear transformation again, Druid."

Anything Adam tried would be cut off easily and effortlessly. Roots from the ground - spinning blades. Another energy beam - a simple twist of his body or tilt of his head.

After a few more moments basking in the glory of complete and absolute power, he let go of the Druid's throat and let loose a hurricane of punches before the man had even hit the floor. Adam was sent flying by the last punch. Zigmund was quickly walking after him. He grabbed the man by his jacket began punching him into oblivion - face, chest, stomach - until he felt he'd gotten enough of an appetizer of the dish they call 'Revenge.'

Adam was bloody and bruised with broken bones. Zigmund's power was so much that Adam was knocked out, woken up and knocked out again, at least twice over. He would be out of the fight for 2 Rounds, or 1 Round with medical attention or healing magic.

Zigmund looked up at the rain clouds. Under his visor - his perfectly repaired helmet - he was smiling with glee.

There would no more chances for Second Chance.

Tossed aside by the violent explosion the farmer flew backwards slamming into the earth from the sheer strength of the blast 'Damn it...We were so close to putting down the headless cock..' Clive struggled to get to his feet, vision severely impaired and his ears ringing from the explosion he was a sitting duck "N...N..NnoOoO.." the texan rasped as he weakly clawed at the soil where he laid.

Blood was beginning to pool around him gushing from the severe gash from his abdomen, severe pain wracked his body and his vision grew dim. 'No...No, I just came back. I can't darn well die now..' through bloodied teeth he grit, a fierce burning in the core of his being welled up filled with a roiling wave of determination..And something else.

Suddenly whispers filled his ears, and a white glow shone skyward above from his chest the wind picking up around the farmer's body causing the blades of grass around him to shift like waves upon the ocean.


"You ain't killing me...I...REFUSE TO DIE!" the texan roared over the wind surrounded by a heavenly ethereal aura Clive slowly got up, from his hands and knees. Miraculously his bones mended themselves, his wounds closed all his cuts and bruises faded as light magic did it's work on the texan farmer.

Zigmund - now kitted out in a fancy new helmet, his armor all nice and shiny Clive's expression twinged with anger and annoyance 'If there’s a good god in heaven wherever you are right about now we could use a miracle of our own' the farmer gruffly sighed to himself staring up into the dark cloudy sky with a frown upon his usually chipper and smiley face.

"I ain't give a damn who you are, I only care about one thing..." though his wounds were healed his clothes were bloodied, red from his own blood shredded and ripped at the hem of his shirt he took one and and tore off the fabric with ease throwing aside the bloodied remains of his top in a heap.

"And if there's any justice in this world or anything that is holy I swear to all that is holy I will see you as bait for the vultures." as he made his speech the light around him faded though glimmers remained, he spoke to Zigmund and also shook a fist to the heaven's above.

Figures stood behind the form of the metallic warrior, shadowy indistinct forms, Clive blinked holding his breath as he saw the figures of people, some he might have recognized others he didn't. But it was certain that Zigmund was surrounded by death.

"Y...You're a damn monster...You killed them...All of them..." the hair tumbling over his face hid the grim expression he had, a tear trickled down his cheek and he felt himself ball up his fists tight Clive's knuckles cracked and whitened.

"For all the folk you have killed...I will avenge their deaths, it's time to dance with the devil you son of a bitch!" Clive shouted his voice rattled with anger.

Filled with a strange power deep in his core, Clive stood his muscular chest bare to the elements a faint ethereal glow dancing upon his arms. As much as he wanted to rush the bastard, Clive knew better then invite an attack. He didn't have no armor to protect him not like some of his allies.

Something was building inside him however but what he couldn't tell...but he went in on the powered up warrior, keeping a hand up to protect himself while delivering a gut punch that would send his opponent flying.

Barracker’s attention was drawn to his leader James. The rhythm of his quick beating heart slowly levelled out to see a friendly face. “Captain,” the Paladin said with a smile.

"Good job holding up Kass, here, its time to go back into the fight"

James’ healing skills were quite the amazing feat, Barracker felt restored, with enough energy to act. Suddenly there was a massive explosion and the smoke cleared, showing Zigmund holding Adam up by his neck. “Adam, no”

The heavy rain made it hard to see the battle clearly but he felt an overwhelming presence, an aura coming from Zigmund. The water ninja had shown his full power, becoming one with his domain, entirely made from droplets of water. The rain was heavy going, crashing down onto the battlefield. Barracker stood up, his eyes drawn to the new fighter that had entered the fray. “Captain, this is his full power of Zigmund, I can sense it through the water. His affinity is the same as mine. Our friend will need our help to fight and defeat him.” He looked around the battlefield for his tower shield and spotted it many yards away from himself. “Captain, I will try and lure the battle away from Adam. If you have any ideas, I put my trust in your capable hands. “ He began to run but stopped to quickly say what was on his mind to James. “You remind me of Areleth and the stories my mother Anne used to say about him in his younger days.” Barracker listened to James’ response before realising he would need to enter the battlefield sooner than later. The stranger was about to challenge Zigmund to an outright duel. “Stay swift commander.” Barracker gave a nod to his leader, before high tailing it off to collect his shield.

"I ain't give a damn who you are, I only care about one thing..." The man Barracker did not know, tore off his own shirt and threw it away. There was a glowing light surrounding the man's body. "And if there's any justice in this world or anything that is holy I swear to all that is holy I will see you as bait for the vultures."

The man with no name’s words were inspiring and as he continued to talk, Barracker knew that, who ever he was, stood opposing the powerful enemy with righteousness, he had a big heart and a strong will. This was something a Paladin could respect.

After receiving his shield, he flew into the action. No matter what was happening, Barracker was ready to throw up his last shield spell, to save the unknown ally from anything that looked like a fatal attack. He muttered the magic word for his stoneskin, rushing at Zigmund in a zig-zag motion, trying to push Zigmund into an attack, so he could preemptively dodge out the way, before gaining the distance to strike at Zigmunds shoulder.

This one. The one I killed. Talks too much. Something about his power was disrupting my abilities. I should break his neck again.

Zigmund was invited to make the first move and he took the invitation, but not before walking right up to Clive until they were a mere 2 feet apart. The armoured ninja was a bit taller and his visor covered his face, but there was no doubt that they were looking eye to eye.

Without moving a muscle, Zigmund used the rainfall to create a blast that knocked Clive stumbling backward. Clive came back with a gut punch that Zigmund covered up to block. It did not send him flying, but the armoured agent slid back in the wet dirt 8 feet. Again he felt that kinetic force ripple through his body and disrupt his lifeforce.

Strange. But merely a tickle.

Zigmund moved back into martial range and threw out a jab to test Clive who batted it away and threw a counter. Zigmund caught the man's fist in his palm and squeezed down metal-clad fingers to hold Clive's hand in place. In spite of the kinetic force once again bothering him, Zigmund let the rain soothe him and held his vice grip. "That entire speech... for this?"

Now Zigmund ramped it up. He pulled Clive into a powerful body shot, then Zigmund span around, summoning a water sword and came around to deliver a slash that Clive managed to weave, only to be sent flying to the ground by a powerful follow-up punch. As Clive got to his feet, Zigmund had already turned to water and dropped into a puddle. It was so hard to see in the rain - to see the fast moving puddle position itself behind Clive.

Zigmund was up and back in physical form behind Clive and drove his water sword into the back of the unaware ma-

Well, he would drove said sword into Clive's back if it wasn't for Barracker's timely Barrier Spell. Zigmund calmly looked to see the vampire coming towards him, then used a foot to shove Clive effortlessly out of the way so that he could meet the next weakling.

This vampire has been an annoyance.

The Zig-Zag motion was enough to draw Zigmund into an attack - a swipe of his sword, but as Barracker dodged around, Zigmund saw the swing of the Claymore and did something he would never do in ordinary combat...

The Elite Agent's shoulder formed a water barrier that upgrade-transformed into Earthbone-Diamond: the hardest substance in the world. Earthbone-Diamond: found only in the deepest places of the world and so rare a substance that Kings and Queens of the Underdark and Dwarven Realms would start full-scale wars over a SINGLE INGOT. The magic and lifeforce required for Zigmund to upgrade-transform his water into Earthbone-Diamond for even a second was ridiculous. Indulgent, to say the least. It weakened him greatly.

Hubris. Ego. I want to see the hurt in his eyes. The rain will replenish my power quickly enough.

Barracker's Orichalcum Claymore struck the Earthbone-Diamond shield - on impact the blade chipped, cracked... then broke completely. And suddenly the Earthbone-Diamond was gone, and Zigmund used two open palms to fire Water Domain Energy Blasts at both Barracker and Clive to blow them away - swat them like inconsequential flies.

Speaking of swatting flies... where is she?

He looked around for Fenna. Adam and Fenna had been the objects of his hatred since their 1st encounter. Both had been the two biggest factors in his failures and humiliations thus far, as far as the members of Second Chance were concerned. The man had been dealt with. Now for the woman.

Fenna stood with her spear in the hand, the end resting on the ground. Zigmund had fallen and Adam went in for the kill. She had never before witnessed an execution, but this was satisfying. The man who had caused them so much pain was going to die. Suddenly there was an explosion and Fenna was thrown away, like the others who had surrounded Zigmund. She came down on the ground hard and groaned, but was quick to get back on her feet.

"Oh no..." their enemy stood once more. The rain... had it something to do with the rain? She looked down at her spear, the ice was already used up in their first attempt to defeat Zigmund. While the elemental damage she had partly absorbed from Zigmunds earlier attack was gone, she still remembered how it felt, much like the fire damage from before. Maybe? She tried to focus on it to infuse her spear again, but that failed. Her eyes darted over the field and while Clive and Barracker dealt with Zigmund, she rushed to MacKensie.

Fire or ice? Water puts fire out, ice freezes water, but Zigmund has ice abilities as well. The thoughts rushed through her mind as she joined her fellow ranger. "I don't know if this works," she said as she put her hand the bolts she could see. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment on the feeling of ice magic and transferred some of it onto twelve of the bolts. "I don't know if this will hurt him more or not, try it with one bolt. If it doesn't work, keep them for later."

After that she turned to the battlefield once more. It had not turned in their favour. Zigmund looked around until his attention was on her and there it remained. "Okay then..." she muttered. When it came to special abilities there wasn't much she could do right now, but she could keep Zigmund occupied for as long as she could. "Challenge accepted."

Her eyes moved to a tree behind Zigmund, she couldn't see Sil but she knew the falcon was there. Wait for the right moment she thought, hoping Sil would understand. While Fenna wasn't sure if Sil's talons and beak could do much damage to this water ninja, the falcon was fast and a well-placed distraction could be the difference between life and death.

With her spear ready she rushed towards Zigmund, focussing on his movements. She knew he was fast and that he could disappear and re-appear with ease, but she had battled him before and she knew his movements better this time. And if he'd try some elemental magic on her, she knew that while there was a limit as to how often she could absorb it, she hadn't reached it yet.

I see you. Unafraid. For now.

Zigmund began walking toward Fenna, and she to him. When she rushed, Zigmund stopped, ready for whatever she would do. Ready for the indiscernable range of that spear of hers. Ready to exact his revenge.

"Arh!" he burst with surprise. He was not ready for Sil's appearance in his face. "Blithering..."

She did no damage, but scratched at his visor, fluttered her wings and was away before Zigmund could slap her. And Sil had distracted him at the perfect time for Fenna to ram her spear into his upper-abdomen. Blood and water splashed from him.

"Urg- ...mmmmmmm." He took the pain in his stride and grabbed her spear. Then ice covered the weapon, all the way down the shaft and even up Fenna's hands and arms so she was stuck.

Perhaps if he hadn't been showing off and spent so much magic to break Barracker's greatsword, Fenna's spear wouldn't have broken through his armour and buried so deep into him. Perhaps if Clive's kinetic punches weren't disrupting his body, he would be healing twice as fast.

No matter. The rain refills me by the second. Faster than any of them can damage me. And without their Druid. Without the electricity of their wizard girl. I am healing faster than they can damage me.

Zigmund kept a hold of Fenna's spear. With his other hand he pointed at her. A long, very thin spike of Water Domain Source formed from his finger, then it suddenly fired like a beam at Fenna and pierced through her chest, just under her clavicle. The thin spike came out of her back, protruding as far as the length of Fenna's spear itself!

"You like that?" Zigmund asked calmly. His pointing finger was joined by his middle finger, and a 2nd spike formed, then fired, peircing right through Fenna, right next to the first spike. "Doesn't feel good, does it." Then his ring finger joined. A 3rd spike. Fire! Right through her shoulder. "You and that Druid will be the last to die. I will kill all of your friends. Then I will catch your bird and pull it apart in front of your eyes. Then, and only then, will the two of you die."

The spikes, the ice covering Fenna's spear and arms, all melted into vapour and rushed back into Zigmund's body. Then he pulled Fenna's spear from himself pushed it aside and flew at her. His shoulder-charge came with a barrier of water-magic. The power sent her flying across the wet dirt, leaving her half-concious in the rain.

Fenna's injuries from Zigmund's finger spikes would leave her left arm completely unusable without hospital treatment or powerful Restoration Magic beyond Second Chance's capabilities. In addition, her concussion from his shoulder-charge would render her out of the fight for 1 Round.

The fly has been swatted. The Druid is down. And I am on my way back to full power due to the rain.

Zigmund's stab wound from Fenna's spear was drawing in the rain. He was healing at a remarkable rate. There was nothing that could stop him now.

Zell had followed Adam to Zigmund's dying body, stepping through the giant water-absorbent roots with his usual disregard for his own safety, all to have a front-row seat to Adam finishing their enemy off. A dark smile was on the Englishman's face. He was tempted to delay Adam so he could rip Zigmund's helmet off and see his true face. Perhaps even stop Adam altogether and cut this bastard's head off, just as he'd promised back in the Mazy Hillocks. But no. Adam had the job covered. A close up view of the life leaving Zigmund's body would suffice.

Adam raised a hand as the rain began to fall heavy.

"Adios, Tin Can," Zell jeered smugly. "It's been fun."

And then came the blast. Suffice to say; it was not the kind of blast Zell expected. The light and noise alone, as Adam's beam turn into an explosion, was enough for a complete sensory overload.

...Piiinnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg...

Blind and deaf to the constant blur and ringing in his head, Zell barely realised he was flying through the air until he hit something. Hard. It was was one of the statues of Hades that were lined around the temple courtyard. Zell was left lying on his back in the dirt unconcious, until enough rain filled his mouth to choke him and bring him back to life, coughing hard. And yet, the ringing persisted. Very gradually his vision and hearing came back, Zell reorienting himself with the guidance of an angry, heavily American-accented speech from their resurrected comrade.

Seeing Zigmund stood there, Adam nowhere to be found, everyone else spread about... and then his memory of the very last moment before the blast: Zigmund laughing. From struggling to hang onto his life, to laughing. What changed?

"The rain," Zell whispered to himself. Then with this new conclusion, he looked at Zigmund again. Their enemy was devoid of any injury - any scratch! - they'd given him. "Shit. We hit him with everything we had."

Clive was angry as fuck. Rightly so. But Zell had already felt the pain of what happens when fighting while enraged. He had to get in there. He got to his feet and as soon as he put weight on his left foot, he was made aware of the heavily bleeding hole in his leg. "Fuck," he was the cry of pain as he fell on his face. Pain hit Ten, all through his body, as if jumping out for 'Surprise!' at this very moment. His left leg was completely fucked and he was in agony.

He could barely stand and limp, falling over once again, forced to sit out and simply watch Clive and Barracker go at Zigmund. Forced to relive the Mazy Hillocks fight all over again - a completely clear and utterly demoralising power difference between Second Chance and the metal ninja.



-The memory of the first meeting between Zell Brooks and Barracker Kassel in Golden Tree Park. Two men, strangers, bonding over girls and weapons. Funny. Different worlds and yet; typical boys.

The entire meeting was burned into his mind, not just because of the new friend he'd made, but mostly because it had been the first time he'd opened up and verbalised his feelings for MacKensie. In this particular moment, the specific memory of Barracker's Claymore was the important part... as it just FUCKING BROKE IN HALF!

Panic began to set in. Zell heartrate managed to rise even more. Orichalcum - one of the hardest metals in Mytheria - swung with vampire strength, connection clean... broken on impact. Zigmund had become more powerful than ever. Everyone's limited spells were running low, no doubt. Some had surely ran out completely.

"We're dead."

Even if they managed to hold out until the rain stopped - which, to be frank, would be impossible - Zigmund would be at full strength and they would all be close to death... and that was the best case scenario! There was only one path, in Zell's mind. One way to stop Zigmund. And there'd be only one chance at it too.

One slim chance.

He looked around and saw Fenna and MacKensie. Fenna went to meet Zigmund as Zell tried to get over to them, limping for a couple of steps before falling and realising he was better off crawling.

"MacKensie," he called out before she too decided to run off. He needed her badly, if his plan was to work. When he finally scrambled his way over to her, he beckoned her to her knees, to his level, to hear his words and see his eyes. "Zigmund is going to kill us all. Right now he can't be touched." He sounded like he was mentally broken, panic riddled and all over the place. He struggled and started to control himself. "But I can kill him." He put a hand on her shoulder, nodding his head, eyes wide. "I can kill him but I'll only get one chance. This sword... once per day..." he suddenly shook his head. "Fuck all that. Trust me. I can kill him but I need to get close, and I can barely walk."

He grabbed her gauntlet, his other hand still on her shoulder. "You can get me there. Twelve yards. That's how close I need to get. Ten metres. Like a football penalty box, you've seen it right? The goal..." He suddenly shook his head again as he once-again cast away the need for explanation. "Fuck.. listen. Get me twelve yards in. Please. Zip us in there and let me go. Twelve yards.

I trust you," he added, voice shaking as sincerity battled to overwhelm panic in his cadence and tenor. He let go of her gauntlet and gently guided her head so their foreheads touched. "I trust you. Do you trust me?"

A magical grapplehook gauntlet. A teleport. A sword that could once-per-day cut through anything.

One chance. One roll of the dice. One dance with the devil.

He was sure that someone, somewhere was laughing at him, tracking where his anchor had ended had taken longer than expected and on top of that started raining, then the moment he picked it up an explosion went off behind him. He was too far to be blown over but still close enough to feel the sheer force of the explosion.

His annoyance turned to terror when he looked at the monster with his friend in its hand.

“Captain, this is his full power of Zigmund, I can sense it through the water. His affinity is the same as mine. Our friend will need our help to fight and defeat him.” He looked around the battlefield for his tower shield and spotted it many yards away from himself. “Captain, I will try and lure the battle away from Adam. If you have any ideas, I put my trust in your capable hands. “ He began to run but stopped to quickly say what was on his mind to James. “You remind me of Areleth and the stories my mother Anne used to say about him in his younger days.”

Barracker words felt like a gun against his head.

What could they do? Calm down! what could they do!? Calm down!, WHAT COULD THEY DO!!!??? CALM THE FUCK DOWN!!! A swallow breath and the thoughts kept rushing furiously through his head, the enemy was faster than them, stronger than them, had a way to make himself temporarily invulnerable, could create weaponry from the environment, was more experienced, and had seemingly just gotten a boost from the rain.

Sure, killing him, no big deal.

FUCK

Kass was still waiting for his response "Buys us time! There is a way to deal with him we just need to figure out how!" He nodded at his answer, swift indeed, and without waiting for a moment he launched himself towards Adam, he was out of Lesser restores but he could still heal.

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, anchor haphazardly held over his shoulder, thankfully that bastard was too busy engaging in combat to notice him. Reaching Adam was as relieving as it was stressful, the younger man was a mess, broken bones, laryngeal trauma, bruises on top of bruises, and most likely a mild concussion. He did what he could before casting Increase Healing Speed, there... there was a risk that his injuries may heal wrong, he tried to set things right as well as he could but without the time to do surgery there was a big risk. But his life was more important, better to give him a chance to fight once more than let him be a sitting duck.

Now back to that fucking glaring problem.

Zigmund, how could they defeat him? They needed something with enough power to put him down permanently but what could they us- voices, who- there, Zell was saying something, it was faint and he couldn't make what he was saying but the gesture, someone else may have mistaken it as a goodbye between two people, but he knew Zell, the tough bastard was not the type to give in to desperation, rage yes, grief maybe but fear? Not in a thousand years. A memory came back to him, of a night full of laughter and drink and at the end of it-

Power.

A plan was beginning to unfold in his mind.

He cast another Source Infusion and started running towards the enemy he couldn't hope to defeat "Bastard! Motherfucker! Die fucking ogre!" He wondered if they would understand the call back- and the message attached to it, just like before, a distraction, an attacker, and a sensible person. Of course, that guy was too smart and experienced to fall to the same strategy as an ogre.

That was why it was good he had, how had Zell put it? Ah yes, 'a party trick for every occasion'

How apt.

All his Blessing until now had required him to say a chant, but this one, he had the feeling this one didn't require it. So even as his mouth continued to sprout obscenities his mind crafted a different message.

Finally he reached Zigmund, the little part of his mind that still could ponder such matters wondered why would the monster allow him to approach? Maybe because it knew that he couldn't do anything to damage him? Well jokes on him, he knew he was a bitch in melee combat anyways. He swung his weapon fully knowing that it was doomed from the start, but it didn't matter, whether it was a punch or a stab that he received in return was irrelevant, contact was made and the Blessing triggered.

"Oh Lathop, Whisperer in the Void, Messanger Divine, give right to our connection true, share our communion and grant us E̶̹͕̤͓̲͌̈͆̿͆ņ̶̛̤̠͚̤̆̓͌̓̈́̒l̸̤͈̣̣͓̘̺̞̗̟͌̋̐̿͠͠ỉ̶̧̨̤͓̙̬̠͐̀̃͂̀̃̊̔̾̈̕g̵̡̜̖͙͍̥̹̟͎͙̱̞̘̈́̀̒̑͋̃̎̌̎̐̀͊͑̒̕ẖ̷͙̼̭̣̖̥̫̝̜͛̾̍̈̾̊̂͛͘͝ţ̷̰̯̼̖̰̝͍͇̻̣͍̩͌̕m̷̛͍͂͆̈́́͠ë̷͚̳̗͙̝̠̤͚͖́n̸̢̡̪̺͖̫̹̯̜͖͇̜͙̋͂ͅͅt̶̛̬̠̞͇̱͌̈̐͗̀̉̊̿̒͛"

In that moment...

James saw Zigmund

And

Zigmund saw James

The brains. Charging. Why?

Zigmund turned to face James, his head tilting to one side as he used the Cleric's approach as time to think. Even in this powerful form, he would not be out-smarted.

He cannot surely think he can hurt me. Not after what he's just witnessed. So... distraction?

In his periphery, he scanned the battlefield for threats, noting the position of everyone. He would be ready for whatever they would do. And water form to reposition if necessary. Although the idea of them being able to mount any substantial threat was thin, at this point. Two of the group were down and out. The vampire's weapon was broken. Their magic was weak. Their strength not enough in the rain.

This will be interesting. Come, Cleric. Mount your pathetic distraction. Or martyrdom. Whatever. You will die.

As James swung the anchor, the bulk of the weapon made it no more 100 degrees around it's arc before hitting a Water Barrier, stopping it dead in it's tracks. Zigmund did not respond immediately, looking for some effort of an enemy flanking maneuver. There was none that changed his mind on his next move.

"Pathetic," he said as he rushed up to James and punched him in the torso with a newly formed water-bladed gauntlet. He gripped the man's robe before the Cleric's fragile body could fly off from the impact. "Kill the healer." He punched him again, leaving another big stab-wound in James' torso. "That's what I've learned is best when dealing with..."

James' two stab wounds were incredibley close to his heart, lungs and other organs. He was not dying, but the bloodloss and shock would be enough to put him out of action for 1 Round.

And then James' blessing took hold.

"Ugh," Zigmund let go of James and staggered backward, suddenly overwhelmed with a million thoughts, sensations and emotions. "What is this!?"

So many of them... so many thoughts... all at once...

A child raised in place called Mexico. Veracruz. A simple community. Kind. Sharing. A boy grows into a noble young man. Nuevo Leon - another place. A man grown. Dutiful in the occupation of a logistics business. A big heart. Disguised with a scowl. A big brain. People skills, potential, promotions, leadership.

All of this Zigmund might have been able to handle. But it was all of the knowledge that actually came with it that threatened to tear his mind apart.

Cars. Highways. Skyscrapers. Phones. Computers in every pocket... attached to the entirety of human knowledge, ideas and thought via The Internet.

"I can't..." Zigmund held his head as he staggered backward some more, leaning and twisting as he tried to hang onto his sanity.

Aircraft carriers. Fighter jets. Televisions. Twitter. 7 BILLION HUMANS!

And all of this noise, these thoughts, trumped by the overwhelming fear and panic of... "Burning," Zigmund's voice was so full of pain, anxiety and the emotion of what James had gone through in the last moments of his last life. "I..."

Zigmund's brief moment of enlightenment to another universe and James' history, brought him almost to his knees. But he regained himself as his discipline and will-power slowly brought him back.

But James had most certainly created an opening for Second Chance to do with what they will.

"Ada-"

Adam, wait! was what she'd tried to say, upon hearing Zigmund's laughter. A single step toward him was all she managed before the explosion.

She'd been blown into the air, in the direction of the temple, her Class-given reflexes and agility enabling her to flip and land in such a way that her fall wasn't so bad. Still, when she hit the ground feet first, she continued to tumble and roll along some distance before managing to gain purchase on the ground and skid to a halt. Crouched in the three-point stance, one hand held her head as the ringing in her ears shook her brain - her eyes squeezed shut from the pain.

Fortunately, she was in good and safe company, as she'd ended up next to the temple with Barracker and James close by; two people who weren't close enough to be affected by the explosion. But still, Where is Adam? And the others? She managed to capture fragments of the end of the Paladin and Cleric's words to eachother, then another bright light and loud noise seered her senses.

But the light did not hurt to look at. And the noise was relievingly a voice of her friend. A man who'd taken some of the harder hits in their four-versus-one melee assault on Zigmund. Clive. Now she could see that Zigmund was back on his feet - a revelation that shook her core. Zigmund was fully healed! But Clive was too! Each of them empowered with a very visible aura, facing eachother in a stand-off. How the situation had come to this, she was still processing and her emotions were being thrown in all directions - unfortunately, mostly negative...

"I ain't give a damn who you are, I only care about one thing..."

Barracker and James, by this point, had ran past her, both in different directions. MacKensie managed to tear her eyes away from powerful, central focus of the battle, desperate to look around and make sure everyone was okay. James was running towards... she squinted... "Oh no," she breathed. Adam was down and seemed in need of serious attention. Fenna was up and coming towards her. Then she saw Zell getting up before attention was demanded by her fellow Ranger.

Everyone is alive, she noted with relief as she started to listen to Fenna. Relieved, she was, but relief only slowed her descent into darkness.

"I don't know if this works," Fenna said as she put her hand halfway into MacKensie's ammunition pouch and began to embue some magic into a dozen of her bolts.

"My thanks." MacKensie pulled a bolt out, cold to the touch, with an icey glow. "Ice," she said, hesitantly, almost as a question.

"I don't know if this will hurt him more or not, try it with one bolt. If it doesn't work, keep them for later."

MacKensie nodded weakly, her eyes being pulled all over the place. Clive and Barracker were valiant in their effort, but it was not nearly enough. Would there be a 'later?' Was Adam okay? Was he actually alive? She had no answers. She looked back at Fenna and nodded again, "Okay," giving the older woman a small touch on the elbow as thanks and good luck. Fenna turned to the battlefield and MacKensie drew her one-handed crossbow from the small of her back and loaded an ice bolt into the chamber. There was a high probability that this ice bolt would be nullified, due to Zigmund's Source Domain and the fact that her weapon wasn't very powerful in the first place, but they had nothing to lose by trying. The situation was much like her mindstate: Desperate.

'Desperate' turned to 'Dire' very quickly, when Zigmund displayed his seeming-invincibility in a fight with Fenna. "Fenna!" It was horrifying. Her eyes shimmered with fear and the threat of tears. She aimed her weapon, but as Fenna was hit like a battering ram, MacKensie found herself paralyzed, thinking, How did it come to this? We were so close! She couldn't believe how the tables had turned. "Fenna."

"MacKensie." She heard the voice, but couldn't take her eyes off Fenna's half-concious form on the floor.

"This is impossible," she muttered as she took in the aftermath of swift destruction. Everyone was down. And Zigmund was standing tall and all-but untouched. "Impossible."

She was dragged down to a knee by Zell and drawn helplessly to his gaze as he told her what she already knew. They were doomed. "But I can kill him." He put a hand on her shoulder, nodding his head, eyes wide. She could not help but shake her head. Impossible, was the thought running through her mind. She was not convinced. "I can kill him but I'll only get one chance. This sword... once per day..." he suddenly shook his head. "Fuck all that. Trust me. I can kill him but I need to get close, and I can barely walk."

He grabbed her gauntlet, his other hand still on her shoulder. She listened, but her conviction had worn away. She was exhausted. She did not believe. She'd given in. "You can get me there. Twelve yards. That's how close I need to get. Ten metres. Like a football penalty box, you've seen it right? The goal..."

"I don't know," she admitted weakly. His words were swirling around her ears, but not exactly registering. A blockade of despair had formed over her. Her eyes watered.

"Fuck.. listen. Get me twelve yards in. Please. Zip us in there and let me go. Twelve yards.

I trust you," were the last words: Three words that seemed get past the blockade - Three words that snuck into her mind and sparked a small flame of willpower within. He let go of her gauntlet and gently guided her head so their foreheads touched. The flame of willpower that had been sparked, now grew into a small fire. "I trust you." The fire grew. She closed her eyes, prompting a tear to roll down her cheek. Inside, she searched out that fire. It was there... willpower. "Do you trust me?"

"With all my heart," she answered. He'd saved her. On the brink of total collapse, he'd given her something to support herself with: His plan. His strength. But more importantly: His faith.

She took the deepest of breaths and let it out, then opened her eyes. "Twelve yards."

The time had come for action. They gripped eachother around the waist and she concentrated her perception. Twelve yards. With her sharp eyes, she could almost make out the radius around Zigmund. But what to fire her gauntlet at? What to grapplehook onto?

"Bastard! Motherfucker! Die fucking ogre!"

"James, no don't," she bemoaned. James was running wildly at Zigmund. If none of Second Chance's front-row fighters could handle the ninja in close-quarters, then James was...

What? Ogre? the thought brought her mind all the way back to their first day in this world. Their first hour. Their first battle. That's when she realised that James was signalling her! Or Zell! Or both! Surely so! He was too clever, too intentional... it could not be a coincidence. He was enacting some crazy distraction plan and they were meant to capitalise. "Jai vous, mon amie," she whispered. "Lord have mercy."

As he struck, she went to fire her grapplehook and burst into the fray, but her instinct told her to wait, even when she saw him get attacked. Somehow she knew that James was just too damn smart to think a simple distraction was enough to stop this powerful and intelligent foe. Zigmund was no ogre.

And she was right.

James took heavy damage. It was hard to look at - tough to stay put - and MacKensie could only hope that he would be okay. But her eyes were now on Zigmund who was writhing and staggering around, holding his ears. What in the sacred blue had James done!? Zigmund seemed physically invincible. But James had found a way. Whatever their party leader had done, it was something she had not seen from him before. And it was working. Zigmund was stumbling in the direction of the steps of Temple Hill. This was her chance.

Just above Zigmund's head height, she fired her blue beam/wire out and connected to the pillar their enemy was moving towards. It just so happened to be the very same pillar that MacKensie and Zell had been stood against, the night before. A good omen, perhaps.

A trace of a smile crept onto her face as she knew just what to say to Zell. The same thing she'd told him on the walls of Hommas, right before James and Zell had cooked up something ridiculously insane.

"I know that you specialize in stupidity but I'd rather not die again, so whatever you are going to do, do it well."

And with that, she held Zell tight, then they went from 0-60mph in a second, zooming horizontally towards Zigmund's position. At such speed, the wind was fierce in her face, but her eyes remained firmly open and focused on, Twelve yards. And within moments, the time came...

...and she let him go...

In the midst of the tumultuous battle the sounds of blade against blade rang out amidst the torrent that poured down from the stormy skies above, the air was filled with noise.

Thunderous blasts of water, voices filled with anger and pain echoed in Clive's ears as they rang from the blast that sent him sprawling. The southerner groaned, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut as he slowly struggled to push himself onto his hands and knees heavily breathing on all fours.

"Urgh...Ooh, that's gonna hurt in the mornin'" groaned the man as he stumbled to his feet, Clive had to get his bearings after being tossed like a sack of potatoes. 'Damn it, we ain't even made a dent what the heck are we gonna d-' the farmer bit his tongue frustration brewing, their efforts seemed as though in vain no matter what they threw at the man.

"You dang old son of a bitch I-" the texan growled cracking his knuckles more determined than ever to beat the ever living crap out of the man who killed when James suddenly came in like a madman yelling at Zigmund, worried for the cleric Clive snapped out of his daze and rushed at Zigmund not realizing what was happening to him too focused on his one task to pay much mind to the divine invocation.

"Lemme give you a hand partner'" taking advantage of the lapse in Zigmund's composure he slammed a fist into his back sending the man skidding with the force of the blow, causing another ripple in Zigmunds armor.

To say Zell was fired up would be the understatement of the century. His heart had turned into a Ferrari combustion engine. In place of his blood was lava. Instead of adrenaline - steroids. And his brain's synapses were firing bolts of lightning. MacKensie on board with the plan - Tick. The Frenchwoman's eyes going from 'drowning in despair' to 'Surfs Up!' - Tick. 'With all my heart'? - Big-ass tick, right there. As the two of them held eachother, ready to go, it was like they were two atoms in a molecule; electron sharing back'n'forth so rapidly, it was like both of them had double energy now.

Colevont bond...? Covenant bond...? COVALENT bond! See? I paid attention in class... sometimes.

While Zell was deciding to recall highschool science lessons in the middle of a tense and deadly battle, James' yelling managed to draw him from his tunnel-vision on Zigmund.

"Bastard! Motherfucker! Die fucking ogre!"

"James, no don't."

"He can't be serious," Zell added. Their only healer was on a suicide mission. That was the first thought, at least. Just like MacKensie, Zell admiring his best friend's bravery had brought his mind all the way back to the last time James was shouting obscenities as loud as humanly possible. That time, it was actually an ogre he was yelling at. And also...

It was all part of a plan, Zell realised. He sees us. "Heh," Zell's one-sided grin was back. "What have you got for us, bro?"

When the Mexicano took the first punch, Zell tightened his grip on MacKensie. "Now, Mac." But she stayed put. Then James took a second punch and Zell started to panic. Had she frozen up in the moment? "What are you waiting for?"

Then it happened. Whatever the hell 'It' was, it had happened. James had fucking happened - the god-damn genius that he was. Zigmund started freaking out, staggering away from James. MacKensie was not frozen at all. She was right on timing, more in-sync with James than even Zell was, in this moment (just like last time too.) And they were off, flying towards Zigmund at speed, Zell with his sword already out.

Clive ran into the picture and helped Zigmund right into their path with one big punch that sent the metal ninja skidding into the stone pillar, just off the path at Temple Hill steps. At twelve yards, Zell and MacKensie let go of eachother, Zell landing on the wet dirt in one-footed skid.

"Take Vor..." he wound his body up, mid-slide.




"Take Vor..."

Zigmund had good enough hearing to catch the magic invocation and his head snapped to the sound. He knew those words, all too well. How the loudmouth had managed to figure out that The Black Sword was cursed? The Elite Agent could guess. How the loudmouth was brazen enough, and morally flexible enough, to intentionally say those words and inherit the curse? That was a more difficult assessment.

Either way, Zigmund needed to move.

He tried to use Water Form but it malfunctioned, due to the kinetic energy rippling through his body. Damn that man, was his curse for Clive. He backed up a step and found himself against the stone pillar. Zell was still a fair distance away. Was he going to throw the sword? No - ridiculous - he must have been charging something. Zigmund would be ready to dodge. Still, he kept trying to activate his Water Form.

"...Baphomet!" came Zell's voice from over Zigmund's shoulder, a quarter way around the pillar.

Zigmund stiffened up. "!?!?!"





"...Baphomet!"

Zell span with all the torque and power his one-footed stance could muster. The sword went through the stone pillar like a hot knife through butter, kept going without losing any speed... Zigmund managed to Water Form just in time... but didn't have the time to drop into a puddle. The blade of The Black Sword went straight through the water-form neck of their enemy, turning Zigmund's water form back to his usual, steel-armoured physical self. The decapitated head popped up into the air. His body fell forward, neck gushing blood. The top half of the stone pillar slid off the opposite way and hit the ground with a loud crash.

Zell finished his 360 spin, then almost fell over, using the bottom half of the pillar for support. Once he saw the lifeless body and Zigmund's head hit the floor, he blew out a big breath and turned to slide his back down the pillar and take a seat on the ground. He was pale, his leg still bleeding from the entry and exit wound on his thigh. He couldn't do much but heavily breathe for a moment.

He wasn't sure where MacKensie had landed, but had a feeling she would be close. "You there, doll?" if she answered...

"I think that counts as a drink for me."

After half a minute, Zell cut two strips of his cloak off, then tied the green the green fabric tight around his injured leg to stop the bleeding. After that, he got himself up with a strain and went to touch base with the rest of his friends.

Hardul slept peacefully for the first night in a long time. The dwarf woke up shortly after sunrise, watched his wife sleep with a serene look on his face, then quietly got up and dressed to go outside. It was raining, but that didn't stop Hardul. He had thanked Adam before leaving, but didn't get the chance to thank the rest of Second Chance for ending his nightmare. In particular, he wanted to show his gratitude to MacKensie for believing in him.

With a steady pace, he ascended Temple Hill. When he arrived at the top, he was aghast at the sight before him. The entrance to the Temple of Hades was in ruins and on the grounds in front of it looked like a battlefield. The members of Second Chance looked more than worse for wear.

"By the forked beard of Ares, what happened here!" He saw MacKensie, who didn't look quite as hurt as the others and assured her that he would fly back to Cherrad to get help. "I will bring our best healers and medicine, don't worry!"

And so he ran down the steps to wake the village. Unfortunately, many of those who knew actual healing magic were some of the first cult members to be drained of all life by Drath'tuthan. Attacking the overall strength of the Light Domain in the region had been one of The Listener's goals. But that didn't mean there weren't any villagers knowledgable in first aid and alchemy.

Hardul knew that Cherrad would bring all capable hands to help the heroic adventurers in any way they could. It was the least they could do. For they had been given:



Zigmund's lifeforce was so powerful that all of Second Chance would see and feel the purple glow of their Source Crystal as the enemy's Source filled their crystals. It was a lot, but only Barracker would feel the overflow of his crystal: The power of Ascension to a higher level.

It had taken Barracker many years to reach his previous level of Ascension, and he had spent many months, many battles and many scars to reach this new level. And yet he had barely stayed within reach of the unique and amazing powers that the Heroes from Another World currently wielded. Keeping up with the rest of his party members through Source and Ascension would become more and more clearly an impossible task, as time went on.

Unbelievable pain.

Mytheria had been the cause of a great deal of injury since Adam had arrived in this new world. Ogres, wolves, wraiths and more had caused him to discover new ways of getting hurt.

None of this, however, compared to the experience of getting eviscerated by the water ninja. Oh, how close Second Chance had been to victory! Literally a few footsteps away. Then as if to laugh at them, whatever gods this world had made a rainstorm, and now the Druid was experiencing a downpour of pain. This, he decided, was what dying felt like.

And then, nothing.

Just pitch black for what felt like forever. Maybe Adam really was dead and there was nothing after that. Then he woke up to a scene of devastation. His friends severely injured, himself still in quite a bit of pain. Was this Hell? Punishment for failing to execute Zigmund on time?

Then he saw it.

The water ninja's head, bloody and detached from his body.

Somehow, they had won. Second Chance lived. Adam pulled himself off the ground and sat, breathing a sigh of relief; even though it kinda hurt to breathe, it was well worth it.

"By the forked beard of Ares, what happened here!”

It was Hardul. The Druid lacked the energy to interject, and since the dwarf was talking to MacKensie it seemed unnecessary anyway.

"I will bring our best healers and medicine, don't worry!”

More relief, and gratitude. Adam would have to thank him and anyone else who heeded his call later. Now though, the fisherman only had the strength for a quick question, aimed at nobody in particular as he tried to stay conscious. 

“Is everyone okay?”

Adam was curious what had happened, but that could wait. Even in his dazed state, the red-eyed man's priorities remained the same.

The top of the stone pillar falling off had altered MacKensie's trajectory of flight, throwing her up into the air. Quickly, she released her grapplehook, then fired immediately at the ground and let it pull her out of the air. She landed in the sprinters-start position, on the other side of the stone pillar to Zell, right next to the decapitated head of the metal ninja. Frozen in position as she looked at it, she half-expected it to magically reattach itself to the body, but it didn't, and so she allowed herself to fall back into a sitting position and lean her back against the pillar. She sighed with relief at the raining sky, looking upon it with a single eye, the other one closed up with swelling. Vengeance - it didn't taste as good as she'd thought, but she enjoyed it all the same, knocking Zigmund's head away from herself with her foot so she could be rid of it's presence.

"You there doll...?" came Zell's voice from behind her.

She took a second to wipe the sweat from her brow, pondering the funny coincidence that both of them had ended up here, talking through this same pillar once more. "I am here."

"I think that counts as a drink for me."

She was too tired to laugh but appreciated the levity. It was a team victory. From start to finish, everyone had performed admirably, working together to keep eachother alive, match their opponent's strength and break him down. And only the rain had saved him - almost stealing their victory. But Second Chance showed their determination, bought eachother time and created a situation where they could strike a winning blow. She got up with both pain and pride, noticing that her wounds from the previous night's battles had opened up again. She would need to visit the hospital when they got back to Valhiem.

Hardul's appearance was timely and she gave him her gratitude and let him be off, then looked around at her friends. Adam was sat up but clearly in terrible condition. Before she could assess everyone, James' bloody robes prompted her to action. She hurried towards him.

"Is everyone okay?" Adam asked.

"No," MacKensie answered the red-eyed man with distress, noticing Fenna as she ran to James, remembering how the other Ranger had recieved those injuries. The blood on her was noticable too. How bad? MacKensie couldn't tell. "Clive, Barracker," she called to them, the least hurt of everyone. "Please, help Fenna... and Adam..." she looked around and saw that the ruined temple entrance had crumbled into such a way that there was a shelter - an alcove of sorts - big enough for all of them to wait out the rain and wait for the village of Cherrad to come with medicine. "...that shelter, there."

She helped James to his feet carefully. "Take your time," she told him, putting his arm over her shoulder and then slowly helping him to walk to the shelter in the ruins. As they moved across the courtyard, she smirked at him. "Crazy 'Ogre plan 2.0' hmm? Magnifique, my friend." She chuckled. It was really quite amazing how in-tune with eachother they all were. "What on earth did you do to him? To Zigmund... to make him so vulnerable?"

Once everyone was gathered in the shelter, MacKensie told everyone, "Help is on the way." She checked over Fenna and Adam, to make sure there was no immediate emergency. "You will be okay," she told Adam with relief, placing a hand on his cheek as scanned him up and down. She gave his shoulder a squeeze and one last look of relief before moving to their spear-wielding heroine. "Your shoulder, Fenna..." she checked her over. "We will need to visit the hospital for that, I think," she said to the other woman with a furrowed brow, but ended her assessment with a smile for her. Along with James, their wounds were the most serious. She could not imagine the pain they were in, if she was feeling how she was. Zell's leg needed treatment too, but overall, it appeared that the party would make it to Valhiem hospital, with some help from the people of Cherrad.

And so, the big question remained. "Clive," she began, her tone replicating the surprise she felt when he'd first appeared on his ethereal steed. Unsure quite how to word it, she just did her best; "How are you here? You were..." She shook her head, mystified. "What happened?"

He went down.

Two debilitating wounds that presented a serious risk to his life, if untreated they may become a bigger problem and he would be close to useless until he could heal. He barely felt them, instead, all his attention went to... somewhere

So many thoughts... so many of them... all at once...

A child raised in the Capital City. The empire. Martial arts. Hunger. Need for power. A boy grows and does what he must. The Underworld - a hidden place in plain sight. A man grown. Seedy business and big risks. A closed heart. RED. The Devil Baphomet. A contract, a sword, special training. The Antiquinities. The Witch Queen

All of this James was unable to handle, the knowledge threatened to tear his mind apart. But the comprehension didn't stop there. There was more, like a flood or a tsunami, an unending deluge that refused to stop until

Hacking. Soul Gems. Mytheria. Cursed equipment. The Colosseum... Other dimensional entities... Eretia, Eredge and Dantuin

The siege of Valheim

A part of him, a part that felt foreigner and familiar at the same time was screaming that the information was important somehow, but as he was right now he barely hung on to consciousness, his mind couldn't focus on anything, sliding from topic to topic, incapable of holding a single coherent thought, if General Shigure could see him now he would be the laughingstock of the army. He was wasting time that much he could tell and the discipline instilled by countless hours of training was all but yelling at him to get back at it, the battle was still raging on but no matter how much he wanted to join all he could do was observe from his place on the ground. He felt some faint irritation as he watched Zell use his sword, sure he had his anchor but in his opinion his swordsmanship was a silver better than the other man's... or was it? For some reason, he had the feeling it wasn't quite correct.

He closed his eyes again, he was tempted to go to sleep, he was so very tired for some reason, guess taking a nap before attacking the temple was not the smartest of ideas, at least he had taken the time to enjoy his coffee before everything went down.

A new voice.

"I will bring our best healers and medicine, don't worry!"

He left a grunt at the irritant voice of the villager, thankful that someone was there to help his party in his moment of weakness, General Saladin likely had a way to reanimate them if they fell but he was friends with them so he would prefer they keep their lives thank you.

“Is everyone okay?”

Ah! the fucking druid was making sure everyone was still alive despite being injured himself, classic from the guy really, he would have to do something good for him later he decided. Right now all he wanted was to just sleep.

The adrenaline was wearing down and he was starting to feel the way everything hurt, it reminded him of that one time in the Colosseum, he knew he was being silly it wasn't like this was the first time he was wounded like this but he guessed it was just a natural response to react like this to the extent of his injuries.

He almost protested as Mac helped him to his feet, why was she dragging him to shelter when she knew the rain would heal him? Knowing Mac she had a reason so he allowed his broken body to be dragged along, trying as hard as he could to do something resembling a walk but knew it was Mac doing most of the work, damn when had she gotten this strong? the wonders of Ascencion he supposed.

"Crazy 'Ogre plan 2.0' hmm? Magnifique, my friend." She chuckled. It was really quite amazing how in-tune with eachother they all were. "What on earth did you do to him? To Zigmund... to make him so vulnerable?"

He looked at her in confusion, him? vulnerable? just what was she talking abo-

He saw it from the corner of his eye, slumped where it had ended after Zell cleaved through it.

Zigmund's/His corpse.

Reality broke.

Two incompatible sets of thoughts appeared in his head at the same time, consuming his attention and dragging him to the depths of his mind, he was Zigmund he was James he was Zigmund! he was James! he was Zigmund!! HE WAS JAMES AND ZIGMUND WAS DEAD!!!

He wanted to rebuke it and knew it was true, what happened? why was he like... this? -The Blessing! He barely could understand it before he used it, how could he be so reckless!? He had no choice, he- Zigmund was just too strong, he should had-

He needed to focus.

James had used a Blessing that... that did something to him and Zigmund making it difficult to separate between them, James was alive and Zigmund was dead, James was going to keep adventuring with Second Chance and Zigmund's story had reached its end, those were the indisputable facts. He wanted to cry, to rage, he was afraid, he was jubilant at being alive, he was thankful his party was alive and well, he was surprised that Clive had returned from the dead, he was spiteful for the fate that befell him, he knew he wanted nothing more than keep sane and he couldn't continue tearing himself apart. Pragmatism won, a compromise was reached and James returned to the waking world. A million thoughts were running through his mind but first he had to take care of his injuries as much as he could, this body wouldn't heal from the rain and if he wanted to last long enough for help to arrive then he would need to act fast, his hands pulled his bag of medical supplies and he got to work.

He could hear Mac questioning Clive in the background. Another thing to add to the list.

Barracker was thinking about the loss of his sword as Zigmund water blasted him away. It was a symbol of his last act as a pure human, when he stayed back so his squad could retreat. He had fought all those orcs and their captain all by himself, saving his men from being cut down from behind. That's when Viktor Battousai showed up and changed his life forever. He kept the orc captains claymore to commemorate the only good part of that battle they had lost on the plains. That was his sacrifice to save others.

The vampire managed to land on his feet, the stoneskin absorbing some of the damage, but the impact sent him skidding yards away. Once he recovered from the pain and the damage, he looked and saw that Fenna was now in trouble. Instantly he reacted, flinging the tower shield with all his might, aimed to break the water spikes that were piercing Fenna’s shoulder. But the spikes disappeared before the shield made contact, the shield flying harmlessly through thin air, and right off ‘Temple Hill’. Now he had lost both shield and sword. If I’m not dead I can still be an effective soldier.

He sprinted in between Zigmund and Fenna, ready to throw down with his fists against the force of power. But then suddenly, "Bastard! Motherfucker! Die fucking ogre!" James drew the attention of Zigmund and ended up doing something to Zigmund which left him in a vulnerable state and the aladdin could not explain what was going on, his reaction was strange. After that came an attack from the man with no name. Then Zell and MacKensie flew into the picture and then it was suddenly all over. Zigmund was dead and the battle ceased.

Baphomet? Barracker’s ears pricked up, did he hear that right? Everything happened so fast he was stunned. It wasn’t in his head, it wasn't a figment of my imagination? A name that should not be taken lightly, no way would one of 'The Princes of the Oblivion Plane' just pop into his head. How did Zell even know what he just said? Barracker should’ve been celebrating over a hard fought victory or helping the wounded, but he couldn’t shrug off what he just heard. The Paladin continued to stand there, staring over at Zell, the man he called friend, who was so unserious and charismatic but also brave and strong. He suddenly looked a little different. He could not help but think he needed to speak to him and address this.

He was broken from his daze after the appearance from the dwarf and then MacKensie called them all to action, regrouping at the shelter in the ruins of the temple entrance. Barracker turned towards Fenna and helped her up trying to not damage her shoulder further. “On your feet, soldier,” he said warmly. Then looked at Sil wherever she was, and told the falcon. “She is going to be fine.” Then as they walked a pace manageable for Fenna, Barracker mentioned to his comrade in arms. “You caused Zigmund quite a bit of trouble with that spear of yours.”

At the shelter, Barracker tried to help the others with what healing supplies James had in his bag. Their leader was taking care of his own wounds and seemed to be in his own world, so Barracker joined to assist in aiding the others. He overheard MacKensie asking the newcomer who he now knew to be called Clive. Then he remembered from Zell’s telling of Second Chance’s story that they had a friend called Clive who they believed to be dead. Interesting development, he thought as he paid attention.