Having just been victorious in her fight versus Kali, Arua looks down at her incapacitated opponent and the fresh wound she inflicted upon her. She, however, is not content with her victory, perturbed Drakthar is giving the lesser woman more attention when she knows it is strength that he values most.

“Hey, you are up next. I’ll look after her for now. You can take over for me once you win,” Xander tells Drakthar as they overhear the announcer calling Drakthar and Xenos out for the next fight.

Xenos scoffs upon hearing this, “I wouldn’t count on it. It looks like you’ll be looking after two people once this battle is through”.

“Okay, it will only take a few moments,” Drakthar declares, ignoring Xenos’s confident words.

The two of them walk into the arena amidst the cheers of the crowd.

Now that the tension in the waiting arena beneath the arena has died down, Alistar takes this moment to approach Xander, kneeling down as he asks, “Hey, did you need any help with her?”

“No, I think I have everything under control now. I appreciate the offer,” Xander smiles up at him, faintly masking the worry he feels over Kali’s condition.

“Did you see that God wasn’t here? Gwendolyn too,” Alistar points out, trying to cheer Xander up despite being his opponent in the upcoming match.

“Yeah, it’s a good sign at least. I think maybe my friends had something to do with them being missing,” Xander notes, a hopeful tone seeping into his voice.

“Maybe I’ll actually get to know my cousin after all,” Alistar comments, eager to have that chance.

“If you really want to get to know Gwendolyn, her best friend is right here,” Xander gestures towards Kali, “You two can talk once she wakes up”.

“Come on Xander, you’re her best friend. We both know that,” Kali interjects weakly, having been barely listening to their conversation as she hangs on to her consciousness.

Xander chuckles a little, “Maybe... we’ll have to ask her after this is all over. For now just get some rest, no need to waste energy arguing over something like this”. Kali mumbles something in agreeance as she drifts off again.

“I hope everyone enjoyed that exciting first round! Now we have two more fierce competitors about to face off! First, you all know him well, he’s already accustomed to this arena, the hero of the Pits, Drakthar! Challenging him is Xenos, a warrior from a mercenary group known as the Iron Legion that roams the desert. The very same group that Drakthar used to belong to. Without further delay let this battle between mercenaries begin!” The announcer introduces the next two combatants, starting the match.

The two of them eye each other, both of them confident, wearing their power armor, an enhanced suit of armor commonly worn by those of the Iron Legion. Drakthar has had enough waiting, he strides forward, slashing horizontally towards Xenos’s torso.

Xenos can block but it takes everything he has, straining to keep Drakthar at bay. Drakthar realizes this is going to be much easier than he thought, he strikes low, aiming for the joints in Xenos’s power armor.

The awkward angle of attack makes it so Xenos is unable to fully block, Drakthar’s axe pushing past his sword and into his knee. He screams out as he can barely stand, stumbling as he uses his sword as a crutch.

Drakthar doesn’t show him any mercy, directing his axe towards Xenos’s neck as his sword is unable to block, still lodged in the dirt to keep him standing. The battle is over the second Drakthar’s axe makes contact with its target, Xenos’s head flying off his body and falling to the ground, leaving a trail of blood from the body to where it landed.

Drakthar calmly wipes the crimson liquid off his axe before reattaching it to his back and walking out of the arena.

“Well, it seems Xenos was no match for our hero, Drakthar!” The announcer comments as some of God’s men rush to clean up the body.

“Good, you are back. Can you keep pressure on this while I fight?” Xander asks Drakthar once he returns to the waiting arena with the others. Drakthar wordlessly takes over, putting his hands over where Xander’s were.

Once Xander and Alistar start walking, Arua goes over to Drakthar and shows him something she wrote: I am glad you won. Now we have a chance to fight each other. He looks up and she is gazing at him wantingly, perhaps trying to make him focus more on her instead of the wounded Kali he is tending to.

“Yeah, I’d want that,” Drakthar agrees, although distantly. Arua looks like she is about to write something else but she stops midway, frowning as she realizes that Drakthar has more interest in this other woman despite her being the victor.

“You are already so bloodied and our match has not even started yet,” Alistar jokes as the two of them walk out into the arena.

“Yeah, I should probably clean up first or people might get a little scared I was fighting someone down here,” Xander realizes, pulling a rag out of his bag of holding and using it to clean his hands of Kali’s blood as best he can.

“We have another intense match up for the two of you. One of them is a noble from the Sacrosanct Empire, Alistar! The other is a former priest of the Purity, who also was the mastermind responsible for their downfall and the coup in the Sacrosanct Empire that overthrew the Athaulf line of kings, Xander! Let this Sacrosanct Empire grudge match begin!” The announcer once again gives the crowd an introduction of the fighters before starting the match.

Xander makes his move, knowing there is little point in hiding it from the audience if God is already well aware of what he is capable of. He stops time, making it so that only he can move as everyone around him stays still, ignorant of what it is he is doing.

He teleports behind Alistar and holds his blade so the broad side of it lines up with the top of his head. He lifts the sword, lowering it upon Alistar’s skull with such force that it knocks him out immediately.

As time resumes, the crowd is silenced, perplexed as they see Xander standing, where he stood when the match started, across from Alistar, who has already collapsed to the ground. Their confusion slowly morphs into outrage, feeling that in some way Xander must have cheated for his opponent to have suddenly fallen without warning.

“I don’t understand, did they fight?” The announcer questions, he is as puzzled as the rest of the audience. His question is answered as Xander picks up Alistar and throws him over his shoulder, carrying him out of the arena so he isn’t carted off by God’s men as an assumed corpse.

“I guess Xander is the winner!” The announcer declares, unable to decide otherwise. An outcry of boos permeate throughout the arena, those watching feeling robbed of the fight they were so eager to see unfold. Those in the front rows start throwing items they are not particularly attached to at Xander as he exits, only a couple of them finding their mark as Xander doesn’t care to block them.

“They don’t like you,” Drakthar points out the obvious as Xander returns and lays Alistar down next to Kali.

“Apparently they don’t like being deprived of their show. Kind of an extreme reaction though,” Xander comments as he leans back to finally relax.

“Is he going to be okay?” Drakthar asks, wondering why Xander just put Alistar down and isn’t doing anything to treat his injury.

“He’s fine. He’ll be out of it for a couple of days maybe and then he should be back to normal. He doesn’t have it as bad as Kali,” Xander explains, knowing he didn’t hit Alistar hard enough to cause significant long term injury.

“Speaking of Kali, we need to find her an actual doctor. I would assume God has one here but I’d be surprised if he just let him take care of Kali given what he ordered the guards,” Xander brings up, starting to worry about Kali’s recovery.

As Frederick and Radek leave them in the waiting area, Xander gets up, starting to look around for someone he could ask about a doctor. Past the doors leading towards the outside of the arena, he finds eight men stationed to keep the fighters at bay if they try anything.

“Hey guys, do any of you know if God has a doctor on this island?” He inquires calmly as all of them turn and point their spears at him.

“Woah, just asking for my friend back here, no need to feel threatened,” Xander puts both of his hands up.

“Stay back, we aren’t supposed to let any of you out,” one of the ones in front says in fear.

“I am not trying to get out. I just want to make sure my friend gets some help. Do any of you know where I can find a doctor on this island?” Xander asks again, making certain they know he has no nefarious intentions.

These guards, ignorant of God’s orders to those overseeing the fights in the arena, comply, “There is one, he works a little bit outside of the main city. I can take your friend there if you want”.

“As long as I can come along, I’ll come right back with you once we get there I just want to make sure she’s okay,” Xander adds that stipulation, not fully trusting these men.

“Okay,” the man agrees, mostly out of fear. He, one of his comrades, and Xander go over to where Kali is lying down. Xander takes over for Drakthar as the two guards pick up each side of the stretcher.

“I will be back. We are going to get her to a doctor,” Xander informs Drakthar, giving him a nod letting him know he will make sure she gets there without anything happening. Drakthar nods back at him, certain Xander will come through.

They remain silent on the first part of their walk, exiting the arena and heading to the eastern part of the city. One of the guards breaks the silence, asking, “Is she your girlfriend or something?”

“No, I’m married to someone else. She’s just a friend,” Xander explains while changing what he is using to soak Kali’s blood from the wound.

“I just assumed because you were so insistent on getting her to a doctor,” the man notes, not trying to offend him or anything in fear he might retaliate. The rest of the walk not one of them says a word until they make it outside of a plain-looking building a bit into the jungle.

An older looking man with black hair, the top of his head bare as he is starting to bald, walks out with a grumpy look on his face.

“Who’ve you got there?” He asks the three of them.

“This woman was competing in the tournament, got a bad cut on her back,” one of the guards responds.

“I’d call it more than a cut,” the doctor notes as he observes Kali’s condition.

He sighs before telling them, “Well, get her inside. It looks like she’s already lost a lot of blood”. They listen, taking Kali through the door as the doctor clears off a bed in the adjacent room.

The four of them carefully move Kali off the stretcher onto a bed where the doctor can start to work on her.

“You, how did this happen?” The doctor asks, directing his question at Xander.

“She took an axe to her back,” Xander readily explains.

“Hmm, okay. You can go now. I’ll take care of her. It’s bad, but the wound didn’t hit any of her vitals so it isn’t life-threatening,” the doctor gives his prognosis.

“Okay doc, we will leave her to you. Come on let’s get back,” one of them tells the doctor before trying to get Xander to leave with them.

“Wait, before I go. Can you just promise me you won’t let God stop you from saving her? I don’t want to find out later that he came here and ordered you to… let her go,” Xander requests, wanting to make sure Kali’s life isn’t in danger.

“Look, kid, why do you think I’m all the way out here? I try to stay away from that man as much as possible. As long as the three of you don’t blab she’ll be fine. Plus, I don’t see this being something he would waste his time on. Now if you would excuse me I would like to save your friend,” the doctor responds, giving Xander confidence that we will keep his word.

Xander and the two guards arrive back at the arena after the last battle has concluded. Xander returns to the room with the others where he learns that Radek was victorious over Frederick.

The four remaining fighters, Xander, Drakthar, Radek, and Arua are led back to God’s mansion, given no word on why he was absent for this round of the tournament. As they walk through the streets, they notice there are more guards roaming around than there were before, frantically moving from house to house, barging inside each of them with no warning.

“Oh yeah, she escaped,” Xander whispers to Drakthar with a smirk.

“Didn’t know he cared this much,” Drakthar observes, surprised God would go to all this trouble to get a single woman back when he has so many others.

“Let’s just hope Kayde and the others can keep her hidden,” Xander notes as they just arrive at the mansion.

Elsewhere, near the edge of the jungle at the southern end of the city, Kayde, still disguised as a Sacrosanct Empire villager, walks back into the inn where everyone is staying. Inside he finds Maximus and Jean the Blacksmith sitting at a table, having an animated discussion about Jean’s work.

“Hey guys, it’s me Kayde,” he slips the ring off for a second to show them.

“Kayde! I am glad to see a gentleman of high esteem such as yourself was able to avoid that scoundrel’s clutches,” Jean the Blacksmith celebrates his arrival.

“Where is miss Lunette? Did she succeed or did he capture her too?” Maximus inquires, having been in on Lunette’s plan.

“Nah, she’s good. Her, Gwendolyn, and a couple of other women God was holding are near the jungle. I came here to get our stuff, we have to move to a place where they aren’t going to find us. I was thinking into the forest,” Kayde explains, mentioning their status as fugitives to the two of them.

“Well, that does not seem like a situation I would enjoy. I will leave you to it,” Jean the Blacksmith notes before getting up, not planning on roughing it when God isn’t looking for him.

“Let me help you carry your things mister Kayde, I will accompany you back to them and assist you in your efforts to hide them,” Maximus takes the opposite approach, keen to stay around these heroes so he can create more stories about them.

Maximus and Kayde pack up the groups’ belongings from their rooms before swiftly moving back to the treeline where they find the four women waiting for them. Maximus looks puzzled as none of them resemble the descriptions of Gwendolyn.

“I must say I am confused. I thought miss Gwendolyn had golden hair,” he comments as he sees the unfamiliar three women all with brown hair.

“She’s disguised just like me,” Kayde explains as she goes over to Gwendolyn and pulls the ring off her finger so Maximus can see what she really looks like.

Maximus is overwhelmed as he looks at Gwendolyn’s soft blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, even if those eyes are staring off into nothingness.

“It… it… is a… pleasure to meet you… uh miss… miss… Gwendolyn,” Maximus shakily greets her, his usual composure completely lost in the face of someone so beautiful.

“Sorry Maximus, she isn’t responding right now. Just looking at the ground. I’ve been talking to her since Kayde went to get you but she hasn’t reacted to anything,” Lunette explains, not able to use her normally chipper tone.

Klara and Francine both look down as Lunette says this, having experienced Gwendolyn being like this for much longer than the rest of them.

“Ah, I have been rude. Let me introduce myself to the two of you. My name is Maximus, famous songwriter who has been shadowing mister Kayde and his comrades, it is a pleasure to meet the two of you,” Maximus introduces himself to Klara and Francine.

“Nice to meet you Maximus, I’m Klara and this is Francine,” Klara responds, happy to make the acquaintance of someone willing to help them.

“Now that everyone knows each other why don’t we go deeper into the jungle so God can’t find us and put us all back in that tower,” Kayde suggests, trying to get them moving.

“Okay, but we shouldn’t push it too much. I’m sure these three are in shock and you are a little worse for wear,” Lunette suggests, pointing down at Kayde’s busted leg.

“I guess you’re right. We’ll walk for a couple of hours and then make camp,” Kayde decides, picking up his things and preparing to move out.

“Sure, but once we stop I am going to start looking at repairing that leg of yours,” Lunette smiles as she tells him.

A few seconds after starting up again, Kayde whips his head around and asks with an irritated tone, “So is anyone going to tell me where Fore is? Or do I have to keep waiting?”

Francine and Klara are very confused by his sudden shift in tone and Lunette and Maximus are equally puzzled because they assumed Fore was with the other and forgot about him now that they got Kayde and Gwendolyn free.

“Wait… I have no idea where he is. Last time I saw him he led me to where God was bathing. I assumed he was with Maximus,” Lunette tells her side of things.

“No, he never came back once he left with miss Lunette. I thought he was with you the entire time,” Maximus notes, knowing the answer won’t quell Kayde’s worries.

“That’s kind of annoying… but he’ll be okay. He is Fore after all,” Kayde concludes, knowing whatever happens to him it can’t be bad because of his luck. They finally find a place to stop down for the night next to a river, Lunette starts looking at Kayde’s leg while Maximus, Klara, and Francine start setting up camp.

“Is it bad?” Kayde asks, genuinely curious because he has never been damaged to this extent before. Lunette ignores him, too focused on the machinery and wires that make up Kayde, attempting to decipher how she can fix him.

Kayde knows not to try and get her to respond when she is in this state, instead he leans back and starts to whistle while he waits for her to finish.

“Okay, I can fix your leg. But I don’t think I can restore your invisibility without figuring out what this busted part is,” Lunette holds up the remains of some misshapen metal.

“I think we are going to need to bring you back to the Scientist for that,” she concludes, annoyed that the Scientist can hold her inability to fix Kayde over her to gloat that he is the superior scientist.

“I’ll fix you up tomorrow, for tonight I think I need a bath,” Lunette tells him, getting up eyeing the river.

“You ladies want to accompany me?” She asks the other two with Gwendolyn as they walk by.

“Sure, but Gwendolyn won’t get close to the water, if we bring her in then she’ll start screaming. She got this way because they drowned her over and over… so even though she doesn’t react to anything else she’ll freak out if she sees a pool of water,” Klara explains, going into the details of how Gwendolyn came to be like this.

“No worries, I can rig up a shower for her,” Lunette notes as she starts to dig around in her bag looking for a certain contraption. She pulls out a metal square measuring about five feet, the others watch in awe as she presses a button on the side of it and it unfolds into an open-air shower.

“It doesn’t come with the water but if we load enough here it’ll work,” Lunette tells the dumbfounded onlookers as she opens the container on the side for the water.

“Impressive! Is there anything you have not invented yet?” Maximus asks, his confusion now replaced with awe.

“Yes, there are many things,” Lunette begins to go on a long rant, causing Maximus to realize he has made a grave mistake. The others send him irritated glances, wishing he hadn’t pushed her to prattle on like this.

As Lunette gives Maximus a preview of all of her future projects, Francine and Klara get to work loading water into the makeshift shower. By the time Lunette is finished it is ready to use.

“Alrighty you two, why don’t you stay on the other side of camp for a few and let the ladies shower,” Lunette declares, knowing that even though she doesn’t mind onlookers, the others might.

Maximus helps Kayde up and moves him so he is sitting up against a tree on the other side of their camp. In between closing his eyes to rest, Kayde notices Maximus trying to sneak peeks from the other side of the tree as the women disrobe.

“Bold, I didn’t take you for the type to spy on women,” Kayde nonchalantly comments, directly calling Maximus out.

“I feel it is my duty to, why were their bodies made if not to be gazed upon and admired by many,” Maximus starts to wax poetic about the female form.

“Dude, you know my girl is one of the ones you are leering at right now?” Kayde points out, feigning anger to see how Maximus will react. This snaps Maximus out of it, causing him to turn around and look the opposite direction.

“I am sorry, I did not consider the present company. I did not mean to dishonor you in any way by gazing upon miss Lunette’s magnificent figure,” Maximus quickly apologizes.

“I’m only messing with you dude. Go ahead and look, I’m normally the type as well but without my invisibility there is no way I could ensure I’m not caught,” Kayde sets him at ease, letting him know he wasn’t serious.

“Ah, okay, then I shall admire them for the both of us,” Maximus declares as he starts peeking out from behind the tree again.

“That weirdly formal guy is looking at us,” Francine whispers to Klara as the two of them are in the river.

“He is?” Klara quickly whips her head around to check, noticing Francine’s observation is true.

“It’s still better than being locked up and being forced to be with God,” Klara comments as she ignores him and goes back to washing herself.

Meanwhile, Lunette is helping Gwendolyn out in the shower, the amount of effort she is going through makes her realize just how bad Gwendolyn’s condition is. Gwendolyn doesn’t react at all to the cold river water hitting her skin no matter how freezing it is.

“Come on say something,” Lunette begs in a soft tone, not wanting the others to see her so depressed when she is usually chipper.

“There has to be something I can do to cause a reaction,” she mumbles to herself as she strains to reach up to the top of Gwendolyn’s head to wash her hair.

“You know, I slept with Xander,” she declares rather loudly, grabbing the attention of everyone around them. Lunette curses to herself when that doesn’t incite a reaction from Gwendolyn.

“I heard what now?” Kayde calls out from over by the tree.

“I’m only kidding Kayde, I just wanted her to get mad at me or something. She isn’t showing any emotion at all, it’s creepy,” Lunette explains herself, not wanting Kayde to think she would actually do something like that.

After washing up the five of them go to sleep, intending to continue running to keep Gwendolyn out of God’s clutches until this business with the tournament dies down and they can return to their normal lives.