" Fast? Like.. Like a car? " Dash tilts his head.

  " Duh, are you slow? It's not like I can super-speed my way out of this with you weighing me down. " Terra walks off, Dash quickly follows behind, " The big question is: How do we get out? "

  Terra rubs his chin, looking around as they get further and further into the darkness.

  " What if we-! " Terra cuts off Dash, " I got an idea, we explode our way out! " He smirks, Dash blinks. " Huh? "

  Terra grabs Dash by the collar, he swings his arm backwards, his palm facing where they came from, " ka-BOOM! " A dark-red light engulfs

  the tunnel originating from his palm, shooting through the tunnel in lightning-like crimson arcs, they both fly forward at breakneck speeds, a sonic-boom forming

  where they stood.

  They pass multiple piles of what looks like flesh, vaguely humanoid things and plow through whatever was in front of them. They pass an overgrown metal door,

  which Terra stares at for a second too long.

  At the end of the tunnel they slam into a slimy brick wall, breaking through.

  On the other-side, they are in the middle of a road, the sound of ringing slowly dissipates and is replaced by tire screeching and honking. Terra stands up, shaking the green and purple alien guts off his cloak as a brick flies past him. Commuters stare in horror at the pile of alien guts splattered over the asphalt, one of them walking out complaining loudly when their windshield is collapsed by a brick.

  A few scratches and blood run down a cut on Terra's cheek, " Landed it. " He smirks, before turning to Dash, which

  is still screaming even though they aren't flying through the tunnel anymore, scoffing, " Told ya', shortcut. "

  Dash's voice lowers, looking around through his arms, " Am I.. In the after-life? Heaven? Hell? " He drops his arms, looking at Terra, which is running across

  the road, cars crashing into each other or into the guard-rails.

  " Wait for me! " He quickly begins running, trying to keep up with Terra, screaming in fear as cars fly past him and pile up.

  Terra stops, his smirk widening as he looks into the distance, Dash stumbles over, panting, " T-Terra.. " He pauses, panting, " Wait.. " He leans over,

  putting his hands on his knees, " Where are we.. Going.."

  " Look up, dumbass. " He points, Dash follows his hand, looking up, a car dealership with a large logo of a suited person driving a car right on the

  top of the building, '' Carter's Automotives. ''

  Dash continues panting, keeled over, he sounds like a pug having a heatstroke, meanwhile Terra snickers at the large sign,

  finding it funny, and absurd that he specifically found a dealership right here, but he isn't complaining.

  [>]

  Terra and Dash crouch behind a decorative bush. The bush is significantly smaller than them.

  " Alright, Shroom, listen closely. We need to sneak in there, get a car, drive it out the window. " He points at the dealership, basically all glass,

  " The car I am gonna be driving, should look cool, expensive and fast, but also say '' I follow traffic laws '' so they think we're just

  a couple of rich idiots. Plan A: I use my amazing charisma. "

  They approach the building, Dash sweats profusely," Sir, are you sure about this? I mean.. We're kind of obviously on the news- "

  Terra shushes Dash, putting a finger on his mouth, " Do not doubt.. The great Terra! " He chops Dash on the head, Dash winces.

  The receptionist straightens his tie as a customer leaves.

  “Come back any time!”

  Terra strolls past, smirking, Dash glued to his side. A guard by the entrance turns, eyeing them.

  Terra pulls a face at the guard and keeps walking.

  He plants a hand on the counter. “Hey, dude. You can help a guy out, right?”

  He leans in. “Small. Fast. Not too revealing. Oh, and make it a supercar. Chop chop.”

  Terra tilts his head toward Dash, whispering, delighted:

  “Watch this.”

  The receptionist blinks, his nose wrinkling at a sharp, ozone-like stench. His gaze drifts from Terra's manic eyes down to a pulsing green stain on his shirt that seems to be... twitching?

  The receptionist blinks, glancing at a green stain on Terra's shirt, "I'm.. Not sure I understand what you mean, sir. Is that... is that seaweed?"

  Terra snickers, picking a piece of purple meat out of his hair. "Special effects, kid. Now, about that supercar. Chop-chop."

  He looks past Terra, noticing Dash hiding in his scarf, `` A sporeborn? `` His lip curls, a split second flash of disgust that vanishes beneath a mask of corporate fear. " Well... I see. Could you... specify the model, sir?"

  Terra looks around, taking a pen from the counter and using it as a toothpick, he points out whatever looked fast, the pen's tip covered in saliva, the receptionist leaning back from it, " That one. " A drop drips onto the table as he walks over to the car, the receptionist quickly walks over, " Sir i am sorry to tell you this but- That car is currently not on sale, it's simply a display car-

  Terra stares at the car, and then the receptionist, " Whatever, fucking dork. " He walks off, " Probably a scam anyways.. " Dash quickly follows with,

  " U-Uhm, what do we do now then- "

  The receptionist tries quickly walking over, " Sir, wait, we have plenty of other cars! " He points at a grey sedan, very average, very.. Boring.

  Terra turns slowly, the pen in his mouth like a cigar.

  Terra stares for a few seconds, his face almost disgusted, " Yeah, no.. Cya, normies! ", he throws the pen with a light flick toward the sedan, and it cracks the window.

  The receptionist opens his mouth, but he notices the dried blood on Terra's cloak and slowly closes his mouth, deciding that screaming at the crazy hobo

  isn't the right move.

  He continues his stride unbothered, glancing to the side at Dash.

  " New plan, Shroom. We bust in, and we take the fast one. Why does that dork get to decide what we drive? This is a free country, right? "

  Dash peeks over to the dealership, staring at the sweating receptionist, " Why not get another car? "

  Terra snaps over to Dash, " Because we're gonna get the fast one god-damnit! "

  A few minutes later, Terra and Dash stand in the parking lot.

  Terra looks up. “Dash, we’re getting onto the roof.”

  Dash squints. “That’s… really far up though. How am I supposed to—”

  He looks over, Terra's footprints are all that's left on the ground. He turns to the vertical glass wall and looks up.

  Terra is already halfway up the glass wall.

  “Too bad, too sad, not my problem. You're just slightly useful dead weight anyways!” Terra calls down, laughing like a maniac as he scales the wall with just the

  suction of his palm and his ungodly grip strength.

  Dash exhales slowly, “Alright, Dash,” he mutters to himself. “You got this. It’s just a big, completely vertical wall of glass, with nothing to hold onto. ” He looks

  back up to the glass. " LIKE THAT HELPS! " He yells.

  He takes a step closer and presses a hand against the surface. It’s cold. Smooth. Slippery.

  He tries to pull himself up anyway, feet scraping uselessly making dirty scratch marks on the glass, " Nghhh! " He pulls himself up with

  whatever leverage he had.

  After a minute, Dash risks a glance downward and immediately regrets it.

  “O-Okay,” he whispers. “Step one…”

  He swallows. “…out of a hundred.”

  Pull, pull.. His hands are shaking and holding on for dear life, each second felt excruciating. He looks up and sees Terra whistling, flipping off the receptionist, which is dialing the cops with a phone to his ear and pacing in circles.

  Terra lifts himself up one last time, standing at the ledge. He hops off and lands on the rooftop. " Smells like shit up here. Can't say it's any better than undercity though.. "

  Dash's hand latches onto the edge, " S-Sir, what are we doing up here? " he pulls himself up one last time, rolling over onto the cold concrete with

  sweat covering his blue freckled face.

  Terra looks around, " Dash, you shitty amateur.. i'm looking for a way in. "

  Dash slowly gets up, " W-Well i've watched a few movies and uhm, usually they go over to a vent, unscrewing it, and then they go and crawl- "

  Terra snickers, " You're even more useless than I thought.. We'll have to be more quiet. And, you may wonder, how do we do that! "

  Dash nods, " Yeah I was gonna say that.. "

  Terra reaches behind his cloak and pulls out his blade - a thorn still stuck onto it- spinning it in his hand, before slamming it into the concrete of the roof.

  He paces in a circle, dragging the sword effortlessly through the roof, almost like butter.

  Dash looks down, frantically trying to stop Terra, " Terr- I mean sir, it's going to fall! "

  The concrete cut-out drops right as Terra made the full circle.

  Dash yelps, putting his fingers in parallel. " Swarm: Venom! " Suddenly, 2 black snakes shot out from thin air, grabbing onto the

  concrete with their backside while digging their teeth into the concrete. One of the snakes chips their tooth, the others

  barely able to hold onto the large slab.

  " Neat. " Terra crouches, staring at the snakes and seemingly figures something out in a few seconds, " Actually, i got an idea! Summon another one of those

  stupid snakes, Dicktip. "

  Dash quickly puts his hand together again, same parallel hands, " A-Alright! Swarm: Venom! "

  Terra grabs the snake as it shot out, jumping through the gap and using the snake to latch onto the concrete just like the ones are doing with the concrete

  slab. " Another magic mushroom. "

  He keeps putting them together, even tying knots, till they had a rope all the way down to the car, Terra climbs up the snake-rope, " Hey, dumbass, why're

  you just standing there? " He grabs Dash by the cap and slides down the rope.

  Dash screams, " HAHA! YOU SCREAM LIKE A GIRL! " Terra laughs, they both land behind the car, `` Silent landing, stealthy.. ``

  The "silent" landing hits with a dull thud that rattles the floorboards and sends a ripple through the water in the dealership's decorative fountain. The receptionist freezes mid-sentence. His eyes widen, tracking the two blood-stained figures crouching behind the matte-black bumper of the display car.

  " Shit. "

  Terra jumps into the car, " Stealth mission compromised! " He yells, grabbing Dash by the

  scarf as he tried running, " Plan B. RUN! " He's thrown into the backseat, " Lets see.. Watch and learn shroom, a genius at work." He smirks, but has no idea what he's

  doing, he just stares at the dashboard.

  He starts clicking random buttons, the windshield wiper swings back and forth, the roof disappears and appears, the seats swing back and forth, " HAHA! "

  "Sir! SIR! THE RECEPTIONIST IS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE!" Dash shrieks, his face pressed against the glass of the door as the seat-belt

  mechanism tries to wrap around his neck.

  The receptionist is approaching quickly, they both turn, Terra smirks.

  " You snooze, you lose! " Terra creates a key out of flesh. He slams it into the key hole, turning it. He takes out a piece of creased and old paper with

  ' I owe U one' written on it. He throws it out the car's window, before slamming on the gas, spinning the steering wheel, hitting the receptionist

  and plowing through the people who just entered, Dash screams so loud his voice crcaks, holding onto the seats for dear life.

  [-/-]

  The guard looks over to the other, " Why do I feel like I've seen that guy before.. "

  The other guard glances over, " Probably because he was sketchy. Well actually.. " He recalls something.

  The guard turns to stare at the traffic build up, " Wait. I think i remember- "

  The car hits the guard, brutalizing them. Their body is crushed and organs spew everywhere.

  Dash is hit by a brain fragment, he faints, Terra is using a severed hand from one of the people the car hit to steer.

  The car drives into the bush and enters the highway, hitting a car as he swung the steering wheel to the side.

  He looks down to the passenger seat, seeing the phone the receptionist was on, still on a call with 911. " Hello? Officer? " The receiver

  pauses, " Who is this? "

  " TERRA UUMMMBRAALLL!!" He yells, dragging it out. He throws the phone out the window, hitting a truck behind him.

  " HEEELLL YEAH! YEE-HAW, OR SOMETHING! " He throws the severed hand toward the truck behind, hitting it again, laughing, his pupils dilate and a

  grin spreads across his face.

  He stomped on the gas harder and harder, the car

  flying through the highway at such a speed that the cars flew by like they're moving in the opposite direction, " HAHAHAHAH! "

  Terra adjusts the rear-view mirror, staring at Dash. " Wakey Wakey! We're going on a road-trip! Let's lay the ground rules.. "

  The needle on the speedometer hits the upper-limit.

  Terra was having the time of his life, one foot buried into the accelerator, one hand steering through the lanes and hitting cars, the other throwing

  ' I owe U one' notes out the window, " Look at 'em go! It's like bowling but with people! Anyways, rule 1: " He laughs as he slams into a

  SUV with a family of four inside, the car flips, one of them visibly being thrown out the window and being crushed.

  " No complaining! " He says, leaning back in his seat.

  Dash finally opens his eyes, his body pressed against the chair due to centrifugal force. " What? " Dash murmurs, his eyes widening. All he hears is Terra listing rules as they speed through the highway, changing lanes rapidly just to pass cars. " GET ON THE LINES, DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO DRIVE? "

  Terra turn over, facing Dash, " Well I do now! " He snickers, " The lines? Who do you think i am! Boring Bum-bral? And didn't you just hear me say rule 1 is no complaining? " He flies through 3 lanes at once, opening a compartment in front of the passenger seat, " Piece of junk, Where's the 'Explode The Cops' button. " He pokes each button, the car bounces,

  swerves, the windshields fly up and down.

  Dash looks at the rearview mirror while screaming, he notices- " AAAAAHHH- WAIT, is that a.. Drone? "

  A drone flies parallel to them, right next to Terra. The screen on the drone lights up with a stylized E in old-english font, " Terra, you have an 82.45% chance of crashing right now. You will kill atleast

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  74 people according to the line integral of your path and the predicted traffic from surveillance cameras with account to work days weather and other data points, I assume this satisfies your—"

  Terra grabs the drone by the propeller, " Who the shit are you? "

  He casually rips off the drone's carbon-fiber propellers by the motor, the voice still coming from a speaker inside the drone, " I am E, Terra. I know where you are going and I know you are driving to your death. "

  " You don't know Shit, 'E', what kinda fucking name even is that! You're just a letter! " He throws the drone out, Dash's face goes pale, " S-Seventy four..? "

  Terra swerves into cars and oncoming traffic, sending whatever vehicle in his way flying off the guard rails or into other cars, " LETS MAKE IT 174! STREAK!"

  Dash hides in his scarf as sparks fly past them, the sound of people screaming echoing in his head, repeating, " But those are.. People. "

  " SEVENTY TWO, SEVENTY THREE, OOOHH, SEVENTY FIVE! " He stops as Dash speaks, " Shroom, people are just little guys who

  can't think for themselves! This is freedom, doing whatever the hell i want! SO GET USED TO IT! "

  He look at Terra for a few seconds. He thinks about his words for a second too long, `` This is.. Freedom? `` But

  his thought is cut short when he notices a school-bus in the distance.

  Dash gasps through his scarf, " TERRA, PLEASE, THERE'S A SCHOOLBUS THERE! "

  the supercar’s tires scream in agony as he clips a sedan, sending it spiraling over the guardrail like a discarded toy, " Huh? " He looks forwards, noticing

  the bus," Sorry, i don't speak 'boring'! " he stares at it for a good few seconds, " Waaitt.. Perfect! The pigs won't see it coming! " He swerves, the car spins, chipping the bus by a hair, switching lanes

  and hiding behind it.

  Dash turns to look back, the car hiding in the shade of the bus. A police-car whirrs in the distance, multiple black armored vans are seen approaching.

  Meanwhile Terra is flipping off the kids that are looking through the window, " Meat-bags! "

  The kids' faces are pressed against the back window, eyes wide with terror and confusion as a blood-covered maniac flips them the bird from a stolen convertible.

  "Look at 'em! Future tax-payers!" Terra cackles, adjusting the rearview mirror to look at his own reflection instead of the road.

  "Terra, focus!" Dash grips the door handle, his knuckles white. "Those aren't normal police cars... Black plating... Reinforced tires... That's R.C.T. Pursuit Squad!"

  The vans roar behind them, engines sounding like angry beasts. A turret mounts on the top of the lead van, swiveling toward them.

  The school bus is the only thing stopping them from opening fire.

  "Guardrail, 20 foot drop, traffic below, moving 50 mph.. " He mumbles, "Hey, Princess, hold on to something!" He grips the steering wheel,

  "Plan C, Plane!"

  Dash blinks. "What?"

  The car swerves into the guardrail. Metal crunches and shrieks, and then—silence. They are mid-air.

  Dash’s mouth opens, eyes bulging. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!"

  Meanwhile, Terra leans back, hands behind his head. It’s almost as if classical music started playing.

  They float in slow motion, Dash lifting from his seat in zero-gravity terror, while Terra casually checks his fingernails.

  Dash looks down. "THE BRIDGE, IT ENDS EARLY!"

  Terra looks down. The highway leads to... "A dam?"

  SLAM.

  The car hits the lower service road. The suspension explodes, sending sparks showering across the windshield.

  The car violently fishtails, tires screaming as Terra wrestles it straight.

  Above them, the R.C.T. vans screech to a halt at the jagged edge of the broken guardrail.

  "Well," Terra chuckles, shaking glass out of his hair. "They're not stupid enough to—"

  A gruff voice booms from the broken bridge above. Terra squints, holding a hand over his eyes to block the sun.

  "TERRA UMBRAL!! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!" Flame-Fist's eyes spark orange, his pupils glowing.

  "Hey again, Chain-Smoker!"

  Dash winces, rubbing his spine. "My back..."

  Terra smirks. "Deal with it!" He slams onto the accelerator. The car lurches forward, metal scraping violently across the ground as the broken suspension drags.

  Flame-Fist jumps off the bridge. Sparks of orange Ether form at his fingertips, glowing like dying stars. He shoots forward like a missile, his eyes igniting into

  pure flame. His body swings, legs contracting into a drop-kick formation aimed directly at the car's roof.

  Terra sighs. "Predictable as always, Flame-Guy—or whatever your name was!"

  He casually swerves to the left. Flame-Fist slams into the concrete right next to them with the force of a meteor.

  The shockwave sends the car flying sideways. Terra jumps out mid-air, grabbing Dash by the collar as the boy sits frozen in terror.

  "Let's move, dead-weight!"

  Terra lands rolling and starts sprinting down the dam road. Behind them, Flame-Fist roars, trying to pull his foot out of the crater he made in the reinforced concrete.

  BOOM.

  Suddenly, a shadow hides the sun. An R.C.T. van blocks out the sky.

  The driver is a sweating teenager wearing a blindfold, screaming at the top of his lungs as the van plummets. Standing on top of the armored vehicle,

  perfectly balanced, is a woman in R.C.T attire.

  "I'VE FOUND YOU! UMBRAL!"

  She stands confidently, arms crossed. Her unkempt violet hair whips around her face, and her purple eyes shake with manic laughter.

  Two guns materialize mid-air next to her head. They float in sync with her descent. The guns click. She points a finger at Terra and snaps.

  BANG! BANG!

  Two bullets ring past them, chipping the asphalt by Terra's feet.

  Terra skids to a halt, looking between the stuck fire-man and the falling gun-woman.

  "Crazy woman that can spawn big weapons, Chain-Smoker with anger issues... Great!" Terra grins, looking at the construction barriers blocking the dam's

  spillway. "Looks like we're skipping the line for the water slide!"

  A sword flies past Terra, hitting the floor next to his foot, the van landing. It turns, the woman jumps off and lands on the ground, " Frozen in fear are you? I

  cannot blame you, anyone would cower in fear in the presence of Ruby! " She laughs in a confident tone.

  Terra drops Dash, " You talk too much! " He dashes forward, his fist reeling back. A burst of Ether shoots out from his fists, " Divergent Ether. "

  Ruby steps forward, ducking under the telegraphed punch, snapping her fingers.

  " Tricked ya! " He stops the punch, the Ether suddenly appears in his shin, meanwhile a bullet appeared next to Ruby, shooting forwards towards

  Terra's head, which he now catches.

  Her eyes go wide, a slight smirk, " Tao-Ether! ", Terra kicks Ruby with his shin, a shockwave forming, her head recoils as she's sent flying across the pavement.

  ' Tao-Ether, a technique mostly found in the east. It is to move Ether instantly, without a path. Usually, people take years to learn this.'

  " You.. " She wipes the blood off of her cheek, spitting it out, " You know how to use.. Ah whatever, won't stop the great, ME ,From taking you in! "

  She points at Terra, " Projectile: Spear-Rain! " She laughs, Terra stops mid-stride, looking up. Spears form a few meters up, raining down on him.

  He quickly grabs one of them, " Free weapon! Lucky! ", parrying the rest with it, the spear masterfully spinning around in his hand and

  hitting each one perfectly.

  Ruby took the situation to her advantage, stepping forward twice, closing the distance, her eyes glow, Ether forms at her fist, she swings upwards,

  uppercutting Terra, " Take this, weakling hobo! " Her fist comes in contact, he's sent stumbling a few meters back, sparkles of cyan Ether still sizzling at his chin.

  " Fucking bitch- " A spear impales his shoulder, " Gotcha! " She smiles, her words mocking.

  Terra chuckles, ripping it out, " That'll leave a mark. But I've had worse. " Suddenly, the spear is wrapped around by strands of crimson flesh, it bends the wooden

  handle, splinter shooting out.

  Ruby smirks, " You're crazy, I find it amusing. " She gets back into offensive position, " Projecti- "

  Flame-Fist's foot enters Ruby's peripheral vision, Terra has already noticed.

  He moves like a blur, sparks of flame dancing around him, one at the tip of his kick, " ROGUE! " His foot barely misses Terra, " Too sl- "

  A bullet travels right next to Terra's eye, just an inch away, he visibly can see the Ether crackling around it, " ..These guys are good. "

  Flame-fist's legs adjust, a jet-like flame shooting out, he knees Terra in the face, " He couldn't do that bef- " His nose cracks, he's sent rolling backwards.

  As another few projectiles flew at Terra, he slowly got up, he lifts his hand, " Alright, party's over, i'll end this. " A wall of crimson-flesh forms next to him, the

  projectiles hitting the wall and slowly sinking into it, seemingly being digested.

  He slowly walks towards Ruby, " You First. " Terra glances at Flame-Fist, She giggles.

  He circles Ruby, moving quickly, his arms freely flailing behind him as he ran, Ruby points at Him like she's holding a gun, her index finger

  acting like the barrel, bullets fly by Terra as he runs.

  He stops his sprint, kicking off the floor into a roundhouse mid-air, Ruby is hit by his kick, barely given any time to React, but flame-fist appears in front of Terra

  at the same time, flames coming from his hands, " Flame-Bird! " His hands clap together right in front of Terra, creating an orange shockwave. Terra is sent flying

  into a tree, " Gah! " His back comes in contact.

  He stumbles forward, " God, as annoying as always with those attack- " He swings his head to the side, a knife flies past his head into the Tree.

  Terra swings his hand forward, a large tendril of flesh exploding out of the floor, it flies towards Ruby, grabbing her.

  He swings it into an approaching Flame-Fist, sending both flying down the road, right next to the drop-off to the Dam.

  " Checkmate. " He runs over, they're cornered at the edge, blood trickling from his nose.

  Flame-Fist gets up, " No. Not quite.. "

  Ruby seems to be disoriented, but she isn't out yet. She slowly gets up, her hand lifitng.

  `` Another spear-rain?! `` Terra gets into defensive position.

  Suddenly, he turns, `` No it's- I haven't considered if she can- ``

  A brick is sent flying into his head, moving at the speed of a car. He's sent flying off the corner of the Dam.

  Ruby looks down, " I'm going! " She jumps down, Flame-Fist sighs, talking into his walkie talkie, " Subject has been located in the

  Washington highway dam, requesting backup. "

  Dash finally unfreezes, " S-Sir..? " He looks around, He hears Terra laughing from the drop-off to the dam.

  " I'm gonna have to.. Capture you. " Dash looks over, a blindfolded teenager no older than 16 holds a blade, he's shaking.

  Dash gets up, he seems to think twice, as if not wanting to fight back but at the same time.. He doesn't want to let Terra down.

  " I don't wanna have to do this.. " Dash's hands are put together, " Please just let me go. "

  The blindfolded teen shakes his head, " I can't.. You're a rogue, you're evil.. I have to. I can't let you people exist. " He grits his teeth, running

  forward, his blade swings towards Dash's head.

  Dash quickly moves backwards, `` He can't see me.. But he knew where to swing. It must be that he gave up his eyesight! A binding exchange, for power? ``

  He swings his hand forward, " Swarm: Latch! " Making a grabbing gesture. Suddenly, a snake whips forward, " I remember you! You were the driver,

  you made 3 wrong turns and you were holding the steering wheel with your right hand but currently you're holding your sword with the left,

  You must be changing it up maybe as a tactic to hide you're right handed! " He focuses, he perfectly remembers Terra's movements.

  The snakes hiss, this gives the blindfolded child a periodic trajectory of the snake, but he only is able to make a slight wound on the snake, missing it by a hair.

  It latches on, " S-Shit " The teenager tries ripping it off but his body seems to weaken, a slash and it cuts off, but Dash now closes the

  distance.

  `` Just like Terra did.. Tao Ether. ``

  His foot glows with green ether, but it doesn't come instantly. His foot strikes the teenager in the head

  though it doesn't do as much damage as it would. A small shockwave of green forms at the point of contact.

  The teenager does not falter, he points up towards the sky, " Boundance! "

  `` Boundance?! That uses up a lot of Ether.. His root seems to be unawakened so he isn't experienced based on that and his age, but wait! What if.. He used

  a binding exchange, his sight for Ether? ``

  A purple shell forms around them, a hollow sphere.

  Dash quickly puts his hands together, `` But because he's blind, he relies on sound and Ether to track his opponents, so i'll make him deaf! ``, " Swarm: Open! " dark wasps

  appear from thin air, they charge at the teenager, biting him over and over, while circling him and making the constant noise of buzzing overload his senses, their

  trail of Ether making Ether-Sight inaccessible.

  Meanwhile, the area around them is encased in a purple shell, " Boundance: Rush! " The walls of Ether explode out with spikes, one of them hits Dash in the

  hand, " NGH! " His hand is impaled clean by the purple thorn of Ether.

  He sobs from the ache of his wound, his skin having turned purple on the wound's edges,

  but he does not give up just yet, as his adrenaline is keeping him from screaming in fear.

  His wasps partially retreat back, absorbing the Ether through bites.

  `` One of the powers I've gained from these wasps is Ether bites.. They go directly to the root and extract the Ether directly to the user, me! And that means.. ``

  His hand points up, crimson energy arcing like lightning from his right palm.

  The teenager tries to disperse the wasps but it is futile, " Shit- Shit- Shit! I can't.. I can't.. "

  Dash stares at the teenager, they're on their knees and panting heavily, defenseless. His hand is pointed at their head but he doesn't fire.

  " Just.. Just kill me, just like you rogues do. " They lower their head, `` Sorry, Ma'. I didn't make it. ``

  Dash stares, the boundance flickering, eventually cracking.

  " I.. I don't want to kill you." Dash sobs, but his hand is still pointed at his foe, he could end a person's life, right here.

  They stare at each other, the teenager doesn't seem to register, his eyes just as broken as his, his hands just as shaken.

  Time seems to be suspended. The sound of water flowing, the buzzing of the wasp, it all fades out.

  " What? " It seemed alien to the boy. The person in front of him, a rogue, the people he's told are cold blooded murderers, is

  refusing to kill him.

  `` Five years ago. Inside a kitchen in the suburbs. ``

  ``"Look at me, Ma! I'm the Red Ranger!" ``

  `` A younger, scrawnier version of the boy stands on a chair, a red towel tied around his neck like a cape. He jumps off, landing in a pose, giggling. ``

  `` His mother laughs, washing dishes. "Careful now, my little hero. Don't break a leg before you save the world." ``

  `` "I won't! I promise! I'm gonna be strong, and I'm gonna join the R.C.T., and I'm gonna make sure no bad guys ever hurt you!" He smiles, laughing

  in a low tone.``

  `` The sterile white lights span across the room, reflecting off the mirror, distracting him. The smell of medicine and blood in the lifeless room. ``

  `` A doctor holds a clipboard, a look of pity and guilt washes over him. The boy, now fourteen, sits on the exam table. His mother is crying softly in the corner. ``

  `` "It’s a degenerative condition," the doctor says coldly. "Genetic. You’ll lose ninety percent of your vision by twenty.

  Total blindness shortly after. You can't be a field agent, son. I'm sorry." ``

  `` He slowly stares down at his hands, they shake. He's scared. The edges of his vision are already blurry and dark. ``

  `` " Huh..? You.. You're joking right? " He looks up, turning to his mother, turning to anyone, he looks around, both simply stared. Noise slowly

  washed out, replaced by the noise of ringing.``

  `` " You'll always be my hero, Lennard. " His mother says in a sob-drowned voice, wrapping her arms around him, " I'm so sorry.. " ``

  ``A dark room. An R.C.T. recruiter sits across from him. ``

  `` "I don't care about my eyes," the boy says, his voice shaking but firm. "I don't need to see the world to save it." ``

  `` He grips the table. "I heard about the Binding Vows. The exchanges. Take my sight now. All of it. Just... just give me the power to keep my promise. ``

  `` I want to be a hero. I have to be." ``

  `` " The R.C.T are here to help." " You're part of a good cause, Lennard. "``

  `` " Rogues are cold-blooded murderers with no remorse. " ``

  `` " They're heartless. " ``

  `` " Kill them, so they don't kill another. " ``

  ` ` The voices repeat in his head, over and over, " You'll always be my hero ", He slowly realizes the truth. ``

  The boy doesn't cry, he can't. He already has. He had already accepted fate, but this was different, he figures it out, and the thought enters the back of his head..

  `` Was I being used? ``

  " You.. You're not gonna.. " Lennard stares up, his eyes shaky.

  Suddenly, he couldn't hold on anymore, he realizes his hand can't move, he accidentally is discharging Terra's ether and he can't

  move.

  " No- No no no. NO. NO- " Dash screams as the energy slowly leaves his hand, as if a bottle of soda is about to pop.

  As it shoots out, Lennard's head visibly blows up, half of it staring off lifelessly, painless. They land flat onto the floor.

  Dash stares at his hand, blood splattering onto his face.

  He chokes on his own spit, his mouth tries to make a noise, a scream or a yelp but all that comes out is a choked cough.

  [-/-]

  Terra is plummeting rapidly, he laughs, " Skydiving! " His hand slams into the side of the dam, Ether spewing out

  into the concrete and breaking it apart. He hangs off of it, looking up.

  " Fall to the might of Ruby! " She cackles, a greatsword forms at her hands, she swings it at Terra.

  `` She doesn't have to use them as projectiles, I'm guessing she can make weapons or projectiles, anything dangerous, but what are the limits of this ability? Who knows, fuck it! ``

  He kicks off the concrete, the greatsword falling past him. She swings it into the concrete, using it as a platform, " You're quick, mortal! "

  " Mortal? Who the fuck do you think you are woman? " He points at her as he's still mid-air, a whip of flesh exploding out from his hand, he swings

  it at Ruby.

  " Your attacks are slow, weak! " She ducks, the whip hits the dam, embedding into it, " And you're retarded! " Terra screams back, enjoying

  the fight just as much as her, `` I got her, just where i want her.. ``

  Boom, the whip explodes into pieces, the flesh hits Ruby, embedding into her skin and exploding once more, her forearm is now flesh-

  " What the hell? " Terra grabs the wall with a tendril, hanging off, " You're a fucking Blightborn! "

  Ruby cackles once more, her arm bleeds but not red, it bleeds green, " Correct! "

  He suddenly appeared in front of her, " Then I can have fun. ", his legs were coated in crimson energy, a dropkick.

  She barely has time to react, her forearm regenerates as she leans back, " Tricked you again, third time. This is why you go to school folks. ", he latches onto

  the concrete, his leg swings backwards, a horse-kick.

  Due to her being leaned back, her face came in contact. She is sent flying off her greatsword-platform, " Guh?! How could you.. You trickster! " She

  hisses, " Projectile: Spear-Rain! "

  `` Here? What is she doing— ``

  The spears come from the side? Right in front of Terra's face a spear embeds into the concrete, he turns, a dozen more are here, " Same Drill. "

  He grabs the spear, using it as a weapon, but wait-

  " TRICKED YA! " She cackles, `` She what? OH! `` The spear wrings out of his hand, hitting him on the head.

  He is standing on a greatsword which she also controls, and a dozen spears are about to hit him all at once.

  " You're smart for a Blightborn— NOT! " He points forward.

  `` It's gonna be those flesh things! But little does he know, these spears now have heavy Ether coating, they'll go right through- ``

  " Vermillion Energy: Crystal! ", from his hand forms a wall of pure crimson crystal, the sunrays reflecting off of it perfectly.

  The spears all bounce off, yet they're coated in Ether and have Steel tips..

  He moves his palm at her, Ruby is still falling so she now kicks off the dam's edge right as she passes it, " Shit! "

  A spike of crystal forms right next to Ruby, about to impale her, her eyes turn to the side staring at the construct, still

  in the jumping pose after having kicked off the edge.

  Terra still stood on Ruby's greatsword, " Why hasn't she moved it.. Right! Because she is occupied. Does this mean she needs to be

  thinking to move these things, and it isn't subconscious— "

  He looks up, the unforgettable silhouette that is approaching him from the top of the dam a hundred meters or so up,

  moving fast enough to create waves of air around him.

  Sparks, not like last time they fought, this time they glow in 4 directions like a star.

  " Flame.. " His fist reels back, an explosion of condensed flame combusts from the tip of his fist, smoke

  visibly trailing from it, terra lifts his hand to hide from the blinding light of the fist.

  " Well well well, look who came back! " He laughs.

  " FIST! "

  [-/-]

  The candle lays still, the ember beginning to form.