Allisa stopped to catch her breath. She had run all the way from the library, running through corridors and down stairways with no actual direction in mind. Her reason for running wasn't just to get away from the gas mask homunculus. There was another reason.

While in the library, the haze she had previously had finally dissipated, albeit painfully. She wasn't sure why she had forgotten it.

Her guess was that it was an aftereffect of the strange ability the white man employed to knock everyone down. That was the most likely source, but it was also possible that it was a result of the impact she sustained from the mans 'Pulse' move that messed up her internal organs, and may have induced a brief shock which sponged earlier memories from her brain. Or it was a combination of both.

Either way, she remembered that when she collapsed, miraculously she wasn't knocked out like the others and could still see what was going on. It was then when she saw the homunculi take three people away with them. She couldn't identify who it was, but she knew that some people had been taken.

Damn it.

Allisa banged the wall. She was angry that she couldn't remember this sooner. She was angry that she was so powerless against the white man.

"The peaceful existence you have grown accustomed to is now forever lost to you,"

Once again, the boy Yun's words rang in her head. No mater how much she wanted to keep her peaceful life, there was no way of that happening. And as it turned out, keeping her two lives separate from each other was starting to fall apart. Meeting Cliff and the Hunters made her realize that the gap between the two worlds was smaller than she thought. Actually, it had been there all along, she just never saw it until now. As much as she wished, this was her reality.

Allisa then shook these thoughts from her head, realizing that this was the sought of thing she shouldn't dwell on at this time. She then started running once more down the corridor.

****

Tristan and Bill ended up in a large room. After fleeing the creature they ran as fast as they could and ended up in what seemed like some kind of common room. It was a strangely large space and had a single couch located at the center, with a table not too far away. Tristan shut the door behind them. He cursed softly under his breath.

Ever since the start of the year, he seemed to have been having bad luck. Before, he was the undisputed top dog of the school. He was one of the strongest in school, recognized in his skills at football. He was also the most popular and considered one of the hottest guys in school. He considered everyone beneath him and used his strength to bully kids like Bill to do what he wanted.

Then came the start of the new year, and with one punch, his authority that he built up was shattered. Following that, bad luck followed him around. First was finding out that the punch he took cracked his rib cage and was barred from football for about 6 weeks. Just running for his life took more out of him than Bill. The second was his popularity plummeting. The rumor that he was beaten up spread around the school like a virus, getting to the point where it became overdramatized.

Even so, his popularity plummeted. Many of the girls who used to fawn all over him now laughed at him. Other members of the football team started giving him a hard time, calming that he was incredibly weak. His entourage deserted him, and several elementary school kids were now picking on him. And now, when things couldn't possibly get any worse, he found himself in a situation of which he could only describe as a horror movie.

Just my luck...

He slowly waddled to the center of the large room over to the couch, where Bill was sitting.

"Move." He said to him.

Bill didn't move.

"I said move!"

Bill still didn't move. He just looked forward to nothing in particular. Aggravated, Tristan grabbed him by the color and lifted him up.

"Listen you-"

A pain from his chest came and he dropped bill back, clutching his chest.

"A.... A... A..." Bill tried to speak in an attempt to ask, "are you ok" to Tristan. Still, he couldn't make a sound.

"N-Never mind..." Tristan crouched on the ground as he clenched his chest hard. Running there had been nothing short of a chore.

Suddenly, the door of the room cracked open. Bill and Tristan looked and to their horror, 4 of the creatures stumbled in, two walking up right with blades on their arms, one which walked on hind legs like a dog, and a third with no hands at all, but wore a mask shaped like a bird with a long sharp beak. They slowly made their way across the room to where Bill and Tristan were, spreading out as to block any means to escape. The boys were backed into a corner with no possible way of escape.

And then, as the dog-like creature lunged in the air, someone kicked it into the wall. The figure then landed between the bird mask and one of the sword arms, grabbed both their faces, and blew them up. The fourth was dispatched in a similar way, this time with the figure punching the creature's gut and exploded his fist on impact, launching the creature back into another wall.

"Damn that was close. Couldn't have you two dying on us yet."

As Tristan and Bill looked at their apparent savior, they realized that they were no better off than they were a second ago. In fact, their chances of survival were practically zero.

****

Frosh peeped his head around the door, which Thatch blasted through and saw the carnage he had brought.

"Sharly's not gonna be happy," Frosh said to him as he made his way over.

"Like I care." Thatch snarled. "We should be grateful that I got there before those things tore them to pieces."

"Guess so."

Thatch clicked his fingers, staring at Tristan and Bill. "Alright, time for you to go back to your cells."

"N-N-no way!" Tristan bravely muttered.

"No," Thatch let out a laugh. "You're in no position to argue. Either you go back to the cell of your own free will, or I'll drag you back." Thatch raised one of his hands and pretended to examine it with a cocky grin on his face. "Since I'm in a good mood, I'm gonna let you guys decide." He then dropped his hand to his side. "Either way you chose, the result will be the same."

"And if It comes to it, you're on your own," Frosh said to Thatch.

"Fine by me."

Tristan tried to look for something, anything to fight back with. Unfortunately, there was nothing to use. A cold sweat broke out across his body; his head worked faster than it had ever had before. "Wh-Why are you picking on us...." That pathetic phrase was all he managed to mutter.

"Huh?"

"W-We're weak... why do you have to pick on us." He hadn't even heard himself, but to everyone else, it sounded like a little kid begging to his school bully not to hurt him.

Thatch burst into laughter, so hard that he had to force himself to stop and catch his breath before he could speak. "...How stupid are you?" he said clutching his stomach, "You clearly don't know how this world works." He then regained his composure and lifted his right hand up, palm facing the ceiling. "The strong, always push around the weak. That's how this world always works. The reason why this is happening to you is because in this situation, you're the weaklings with no way to defend yourself!"

"Well, we're not monsters like you!" Tristan blurted out without thinking.

Thatch stopped giggling and lowered his hand. "You're the one who sprung the lock on the cage right?" He then slowly paced towards Tristan, raising his hands at these sides. "We can't have you breaking out again, so I think I should take one of those arms of yours."

Tristan froze in absolute fear, taking involuntary steps backwards.

"Or, maybe I should take a leg, so you can't run anymore."

"Sure that's a good idea?" Frosh asked, not trying to stop him.

"We need them alive, I know that." Thatch grinned through his teeth. "That doesn't mean we need them in one piece." He then started to waddle in his stride, a murderous glare in his eye. "So... Your arm... or your leg, which shall it be?!" Thatch then lunged in the air, stitching out his arms as he free-fell towards Tristan.

A fist then slammed into his face, sending him flying backward towards Frosh, who moved out of the way as Thatch scared the ground as he landed hard.

"Found ya," Max landed on the ground between the Homunculi and the two frightened boys, glaring at the downed Thatch. "Exploding guy!"

Max and Melvin vs. Thatch and Frosh

Tristan lost the feeling in his knees and fell to the ground. Bill did the same, as both of them looked up in disbelief at their real savior.

"Wha-What?" Tristan mouthed.

"There you are!" Melvin ran into the room, huffing and puffing. "Wh-What did you-" Melvin then looked at Bill and Tristan. "Wh-What are you doing here?!" he asked, recognizing both of them.

Max looked back at the two. "These are the guy's I smelled."

"That doesn't explain why they're here?"

"Us? What are you doing here?" Tristan blurted out. "And what do you mean smell?"

"Um... That's a little complicated..." Melvin said to him.

"Why are you guys here anyway?!" Everything was moving too fast for Tristan. "Are you with those freaks?!"

"Hell no!" Max snapped at him annoyed. "I came to beat up the exploding guy!"

"What do you mean?" Tristan looked back and forth at Max and Tristan in utter confusion. "Who are you and what's going on?"

"W-We'll explain later," Melvin said to him. "But how did you two get here?"

"Oh, we brought them here."

Max and Melvin turned to face Frosh.

"What?" Max clenched his teeth with partially suppressed rage. "Why the hell did you bring them here? What could you people possibly need them for?"

"They’re sacrifices mother needs," Frosh said calmly.

"Sacrifices?" Melvin, with his wand in hand, pointed it at Frosh scowling. "What is the Alchemist up to? Why does she need sacrifices."

"I'm not telling."

"Frosh!" Thatch finally picked himself from the impact scar on the floor where he landed. He glared at Max intensely. "Fire Kids mine." He growled.

"Got it. Guess the wizard kids mine."

Thatch then removed his ragged shoes. Underneath, his feet glowed sickly golden as his arms. He then grinned at Max through his teeth. "Gotta say, It's good to see you again Fire kid." He raised his hands up. "No one is goanna interrupting us this time, it's just you and me!"

"Fine by me," Max ignited his hands as he prepared to charge. "I was planning on taking you out!"

"Good," Thatch then moved his right hand back. The glowing on his right palm became more intense and a small ball of energy started to gather in the hand. "In that case, I should go all out!" He then shot out the ball at Max.

Taken by surprise, Max's first thought of dodging out of the way, but decided against since Tristan and Bill were behind him. In the end, he threw out a fireball, which impacted the ball of energy. The result was a large explosion, more powerful than Max thought from the size of the energy ball. The smoke cleared quickly, with Thatch grinning at Max.

"What the...?"

"Cool huh?" Thatch moved his right arm down slightly to savor the look of surprise on Max's face. "It's another move I developed from my Explosive touch. I can draw out my explosive mana and compress it into a ball, which I can throw. Doesn't pack as much of a punch compared to point-blank range." He then leaned back and formed two balls in his hands. Instead of launching them at Max, he aimed for the two entrances to the room, aiming just above them to collapse the passageway, sealing everyone in. "Don't want anyone to leave the party early."

Max glanced at the collapsed passageways. He could easily clear the blockage with his power, but he had a feeling that Thatch wouldn't give him an opportunity, meaning if they were to leave the room there was only one-way. "Melvin," Max pointed to his left. "You might want to get back. I got a feeling this is gonna be rough."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Melvin ran in the direction Max pointed out.

"You guys!" Max addressed Tristan and Bill and pointed to his right. "Get to the corner and stay there." He instructed. The boys did as instructed, knowing that this was something they should keep clear of.

Thatch giggled to himself as he crouched down to the ground. "Nice, playing the hero," He then put his hands to the ground and took a stance that looked like he was about to sprint. "Let's see how long you can keep it up!"

The souls of his feet then exploded sending him rocketing in the air towards Max, somersaulting in the air and bringing a leg down on Max, who managed to block it in time. The force of it was so strong that the ground beneath Max's feet cracked. Any normal person would have lost an arm. Thatch somersaulted back down to the ground and sent out a punch at Max. Max, blocked it with his arm.

With a grin, Thatch detonated his hand, staggering Max backward. He then lunged forwards and buried two fists into Max's gut. Max coughed as the wind was punched out of him. Thatch withdrew and performed a roundabout kick on Max's right side, sending him flying to the right. Max regained his composure and righted himself, skidding his feet across the ground. He then let out a fire roar at Thatch. Like before, Thatch placed his hands on the ground and detonated it, creating an effective shield which absorbed Max's fire.

As Max picked himself up, Thatch burst through the smoke created and launched two his exploding balls at Max. Max hunkered down and took the hits, both exploding on the impact of his skin. Thanks to his tough skin and tolerance to fire-based attacks he was unharmed. With the mana of a Fire dragon in his body, it would take something with heat equivalent to that of the sun to properly hurt him. These attacks only gave him slight jolts of discomfort. Thatch descended on Max with both arms stretched wide. Unable to counterattack due to the smoke from the impacts, Max reached out and grabbed his arms, holding them out. However, Thatch had managed to position one of his hands above Max's head. When Max realized, it was too late. Thatch shot out an explosive ball that impacted on Max's face. Loosening his grip, Thatch broke free, pivoted and kicked Max's gut and exploded his foot, sending Max hurtling back.

"HaHaHaHa... Is that all you got?!" Thatch jeered as he turned back around and sent a volley of explosive balls at Max, causing explosion after explosions. "Come on! This is disappointing! I'm not even taking this seriously yet!" Thatch then lessened his volley and examined the massive smoke cloud that had formed where Max was. "This is disappointing. Don't tell me you're out of steam from our battle earlier?"

The smoke then cleared up, and Thatch's grin disappeared as he saw that Max was nearly unharmed. He got back up and stretched his arms. "So you weren't serious then," he said to Thatch. "Good. That was all you had, this wouldn't be much fun."

"What...?"

Max grinned and waved his fingers as a taunt.

Thatch grinned in response. "Alright,"

He then exploded his feat to rocket himself at Max. Before he reached him, Max flared up his fist and sent a fireball at Thatch before he reached him. As Thatch staggered from the impact, Max punched him in the gut hard, sending him flying up in the air. He then let out a fire roar at Thatch, who was suspended in mid-air and unable to shield himself like before. Seeing the column of fire fast approaching him, Thatch exploded left hand with a large blast, using the force to push him aside just dodging the blast.

Max then leaped up to his level, faired his hands, and put them together to hammer down on the airborne Thatch, who moved his arms to block. His fist's impacted and sends Thatch down consumed in the fireball, smashing into the ground below. Still in the air, Max summoned a massive amount of flames to his right and punched down, sending a fireball at the spot where Thatch had landed, which impacted the ground and created a large explosion that illuminated the whole room in that instant in a red glow which quickly died down. Max landed back on the ground as a large amount of smoke and dust flew from the crater he had just formed.

Suddenly, Thatch burst from the smoke, landing back several feet from Max, covered with soot and dust. Just before the fireball had impacted, Thatch managed to leap partially out of the way to avoid a direct hit but was caught in the resulting blast.

"Not bad..." He breathed. "If I actually took that, I would be in trouble." He then looked at Max with a grin on his face. "Looks like we're starting to have some fun!"

Max grinned back and clicked his knuckles. "Bring it on! Exploding guy!"

Thatch then lunged once again at Max.

****

Melvin watched from a distance as the battle between Max and Thatch began to heat up.

That guy's pretty powerful if he can go toe to toe with someone like Max with brute strength.

"Pretty evenly matched I'd say."

Melvin turned and saw Frosh in front of him, his eyes also fixed on the battle. He forgot that there was another homunculus present. Not just that, the one with the immortal body.

"Gotta say, I'm surprised someone like him exists." Frosh then glanced his emotionless face at Melvin. "I mean, we don't really consider ourselves human in the least, but fire kid seems to be the least human of us all."

"He's what we call a salamander," Melvin told him. It wasn't exactly a secret in the group. "It's a human who has been infused with the mana of a dragon."

"A dragon?" Frosh took a look at Max, who was throwing flaming punches at Thatch who was weaving in and out before landing a kick on him. "Guess that explains a lot." He then took a look at Melvin once again. "Yet you treat him like he's still human while you look at us like we're monsters."

Melvin wasn't expecting Frosh to say something like that, so was surprised when he said it. "T-that's got nothing to do with it!" he yelled. "You've killed so many people here. Innocent people!"

"Innocent, guilty, they're all the same."

"What?"

"There's no such thing as an innocent person. We've all committed sins and acts that would make others curse us. You're probably no different." Frosh lifted his finger and pointed at Max. "Or him." He then pointed at Tristan and Bill at the edge of the room. "Or them." He then lowered his finger as he continued his gaze on Melvin. "In the end, we're not so different."

Melvin wanted to argue, but couldn't think of anything that didn't sound like an excuse. So he decided to change the subject completely. "Why does the Alchemist need them?" He was referring to Tristan and Bill.

"I'm not telling."

Right, there's no way he's gonna tell me.

"My turn," Frosh said, "Where are the other four of your group?"

"Huh?"

"We detected six intruders. Your two of them, so where are the others?"

We were detected?

"Well, it doesn't matter. With Sharly releasing the dolls and Weedree on the hunt, your friends are gonna die." Frosh then reached behind him and pulled out a black box from his belt. In an instant, it suddenly grew into the basket he carried earlier.

Melvin readied his barrier. He remembered his ability from earlier on that day, on how he could use toy weapons into actual weapons. He also had the feeling that he hadn't seen the full extent of its power.

"Hey, know what the best thing about toys are?"

Melvin didn't reply but kept his guard up.

"Imagination," Frosh then rummaged through the toy box and pulled something out. Melvin braced himself expecting some kind of weapon to appear. "GI Joe."

Out of his hand, a toy action figure grew life sized, showing a grizzled veteran with a scar on his cheek and a military tunic. However, his skin and hair were clearly plastic, His arms and a certain point in his neck all had the usual plastic joints anyone could find on an action figure.

"Wh-What the..."

The soldier then saluted and spoke, "Your orders, Sir!" It said.

"It can talk?!" Melvin said, surprise lighting up his face.

"Yep," Frosh then pulled something else from the toy box. "Barbie." Out of his hand, a second figure appeared, taking the form of a blond, skinny girl.

"You called master." She said.

Frosh then turned to the figure he called GI Joe. "Private, get me some cake, I'm hungry."

"At once, Sir!" The soldier then pivoted and marched out.

"What about me, master," Barbie said.

"Oh right," Frosh looked towards Melvin and pointed. "could you kill that guy for me?"

"Wh-What?" Melvin was puzzled by the seemingly random line up as he was expecting Frosh to send the soldier after him.

"Of course." Barbie then leaped into the air and pencil dived straight towards Melvin's position. Even with his barrier in place, Melvin knew better than to solely rely on it so he immediately leaped out of the way as Barbie landed. To his surprise (and relief that he dodged) the impact sent parts of the ground shooting up as Barbie's legs buried themselves into the earth beneath her.

"Whoa!!"

Before Melvin could catch his breath, Barbie shot out from the ground and somersaulted in the air, legs extended. Melvin, not willing to test the strength of his barrier, ran as her legs impacted on the ground behind him. As he ran, she cartwheeled after him, each leg stroke leaving a scar on the ground.

"What's with this chick?!"

He pointed his wand behind him. Since he was running, he wasn't able to cast level 2 spells since they required an incantation. But Level 1 was still usable in his situation. He first launched wind blades at Barbie, but he effortlessly dodged them, letting them glide past her as she continued her cartwheels. Melvin then launched a fireball at her. Once again, she dodged it with her series of cartwheels.

"Ok come on!"

Then Barbie tripped and fell down. Melvin stopped running and turned to see what had happened. He then noticed that some of the plastic on her left leg and arm were partially melted.

Did I hit her?

He then realized that, even though she acted like a real person, she was made of plastic. Even though the fireball missed, she narrowly dodged it. And because the fire was hot enough, it partially melted the plastic on her limbs. Melvin grinned slightly when he discovered the weakness and cast another fireball at Barbie. Unable to dodge due to her damaged limbs, the fireball hit her head on, blowing her away.

"That was harsh," Frosh commented. "What did she ever do to you?"

"She tried to kill me!" Melvin answered the odiously rhetorical question.

"Sir!" the soldier then appeared with a cake on a plate and gave it to Frosh.

"Thanks," he said as he took a bite of the cake.

"YOU ACTUALLY SENT HIM OUT TO GET CAKE?!" Melvin screamed in annoyance.

"Want some?"

Out of spite, Melvin sent a fireball at the soldier, which blew him away. Is he not taking this seriously? Melvin forced himself to calm down. Losing to emotions in battle was one step to the grave, even for wizards. "Alright." He said when he was more level headed. "What exactly was that just now?" He pointed out the melted puddle of plastic that was the Barbie. "Your ability is to bring toys to life more or less. However, I doubt that doll was supposed to be that strong. So what did you do to that doll?"

"Nothing. I just imagined her to be strong."

"What?" Melvin then recalled something Frosh said before the battle began. 'Imagination?'

"Barbie's are usually airheads with no real strength to them. I thought it would be cool if this one had super strong kicks that could break steel."

Melvin then realized what his power was. "So, everything in that box, you can use it however you imagine?"

"Right. Just like with normal toys, there's no one way to play with them." Frosh finished the cake and casually threw the plate down on the ground, breaking it. "That's how magical toy box works. When I pull something out, I imagine what I want it to do, and grow to life-size with the ability and function that I thought of at the time." He then reached into his toy box and pulled out what turned into a gun, a plastic foam dart gun that could be found in most toy stores. "Here's an example." He then fired out around, a white projectile that impacted harmlessly against Melvin's barrier. Frosh, a little suppressed of its existence, fires a second shot, which did the same thing.

"Ha, that's not powerful enough to penetrate-"

Before Melvin could finish, Frosh let off a third shot, this time, one far bigger than the last two. It hit Melvin's barrier and shattered it completely. The blast blew Melvin back several meters and knocking him down.

"W-What...?"

"Originally, this thing wouldn't have been able to fire off anything. But when I summoned it, I imagined that it would fire white-hot plasma. And once shot twice, the third shot would be bigger and more powerful, capable of penetrating the armor of a tank."

Melvin struggled back to his feet.

"Get it now? You're fighting someone who can imagine the tools to kill you. Still want to continue this?"

"Fire Bolt!" Melvin launched his fireball directly at Frosh's hands, which held the gun, blasting him down. "You're more annoying than the other guy I faced not too long ago."

Frosh got back up to his feet. His arm, going up to his elbow was burned from the impact and some of his skin was flaking. His right hand took the worst, blackened and looked as though they were burnt down to the bone.

"Don't go assuming you've already won." Melvin re-erected his barrier as he spoke. "I've been through far worse situations than this. There's no way I'm gonna back down," The images of Nel, Max, Yuki, and even Allisa, came to him. "I'm Melvin Stride, apprentice of Dran, Arch Sage of Rosaria! And there's no way I'm backing down, Not to you, not to anyone!"

Frosh's wounds then healed completely. "Not bad." He said as he clicked his freshly healed hand. "Guess I should introduce myself." He then lifted his thumb up and pointed at himself. "I'm the 5th Homunculus of Luvia Roswell, Frosh. Nice to meet ya." He then held out his toy box. "And I'm afraid I can't back down either, so you have to die."

****

Leaping up in the air, Thatch let out a volley of explosive balls at Max. Max leaped from the resulting smoke and leaped out a roar at Thatch, who dodged it like he did before by using the explosive force in his hand to push him out of the way. Max leaped up at the airborne Thatch and threw a punch, which Thatch caught in with his hand, spun round and kicked his flank, sending him crashing back into the ground.

"Hahahaha! I don't think I've had this much fun in ages!" Thatch landed back on the ground, keeping his eyes on the point where Max landed.

Suddenly, Max burst out and punched a flame fist at Thatch. Thatch blocked with his arm but the force sent him skidding back several meters, skidding across the ground, leaving grooves where his feet were. Max then kicked a flamed kick into Thatch's flank, staggering him back, and then punched him hard in the gut, sending him flying back. He then let out a roar at Thatch. Thatch, however, recovered in the air, and used his left hand to push the ground and move away from the fire heading towards him.

Max then instinctively whipped his mouth with his arm and cursed beneath his breath. Man, this guy kinda reminds me of fighting that weirdo in the feather cap. Definitely better than clone guy though.

For a while, their battle had gone back and forth, Thatch barraging Max with his explosives power, and Max hitting back with his fire attacks. Both were equal when it came to brute strength, and the area around them was scared from the fighting.

"Tell me something!" Max called out to Thatch. "Why did you bring those guys here?"

"Huh?" Thatch looked to the corner of the room where Tristan and Bill huddled in fear. "What do you care?"

Max took a look at the two. "I just want to help them out of this."

"'Help them out of this'?" Thatch then started to giggle. "What? You're trying to be the big hero or something? How pointless!" He then stuck out a finger at him. "You're a monster, just like me!"

Max grimaced at the words.

"You really think someone like you can be the hero?" Thatch then pointed at the two boys. "Do you think they will? After seeing what you can do, you think they're gonna keep treating you like the human you seem to pretend to be? Of course not!" Thatch's finger then pointed at Max once again, scowling. "They will fear you! They won't be grateful at all for the pain you're putting yourself through! In fact, they'll probably wish you just died here! Save them another nightmare!"

"I don't care."

Max's words silenced Thatch in an instant. "Wh-What?"

"That would be nothing new to me." Max smiled sadly to himself. "No matter where I went, no matter who I helped, no one ever saw me as anything but a monster."

Thatch gritted his teeth hard as a mass of rage came flowing into him. "So why help at all?!" He yelled. "If they see you as nothing more than a monster, why help in the first place?!"

"Cause when you see someone in trouble, you help them," Max replied in a clear voice. "It's as simple as that!"

"Is that right?" Thatch started to involuntarily click his fingers. "What a load of crap!" He then crouched down and launched himself at Max, punching out which Max blocked with his arm. "What's the point?!" He then flipped around his body up and kicked Max in the face, staggering him. "Saving people who only see you as a thing!" Thatch then righted himself, "Helping selfish pricks who can't help themselves!" and punched Max in the gut. "Trying to be a hero when none exists!" He then exploded his punch and sent Max back. "Why fight for them at all?! Are you just some arrogant bastard who believes that one day people will accept you as one of them?"

Max skidded across the ground as he landed, trying to stop himself from falling over.

"Well! What's the point?! Why save anybody?!"

Max remained silent.

"What's wrong Cat caught your to-"

While Thatch was distracted, Max flew forward at incredible speed and punched Thatch in the face, sending him flying back, skidding the ground and eventually impacting the nearby wall.

"Just shut up," Max muttered. "I don't need to take your crap." He then raised his fist to Thatch, who was freeing himself from the wall he was knocked into. "I protect whatever I want! It's as simple as that!"

Thatch gritted his teeth as he got back to his feet. His noses bleed slightly, indicating that the punch had broken it. "Whatever," he snarled. "Let's see if you can save them."

Life of Neglect

Frosh reached back into the toy box and pulled out another item. This time, it turned into a stationary turret armed with a deafened minigun. "Shred him to pieces." The gun then spun and started firing what seemed like real bullets.

Melvin stood his ground and the bullets impacted on his barrier. Each one hit his barrier at insane speed. Melvin held out his wand to pour his mana into the front of his barrier to keep it from shattering. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, especially at the speed the barrier was being hit. And if it gave in, the bullets would reduce Melvin to a stain on the floor.

However, Melvin did have a plan. He held out his wand to his side and quickly swiped it in a line. "Border!" a glowing wall then appeared in front of him. Ripples formed where the bullets impacted. Noticing no effect, Frosh stopped the firing. The barrier remained in place. "Now, Reflect!" Bullets then fired from the gun and impacted on the gun and Frosh, destroying the gun and filling Frosh full of holes. As the barrier dissipated, Melvin watched as the blood dripping from Frosh evaporated and the holes, which littered his body like Swiss cheese started to close. Right. No matter what I do, I won't be able to do any damage to him.

"You ruined my clothes," Frosh said, pulling at his bullet-ridden clothes. "It was a pain when you blasted a hole in me before,"

Gray clouds then started to gather above Frosh. "Raging gods of calamity unleash your might! Thunderstorm!" The area then lit up as lightning descended on Frosh in a loud BOOM.

Frosh disappeared in the blue light emitting as million of volts of electricity impacted the ground. As it settled, Frosh emerged with several burns, which healed up quickly, and showed no sign of slowing down.

"You're kidding?" Melvin had intended that the spell would have at least slowed him down due to the massive electrical current which would stun any normal person.

"That was too weak," Frosh said to him. "And besides, hitting my body won't do anything, and I can't be knocked out if that is what you were trying to do." Frosh then lifted his toy box out. "My soul is infused into my Toy box. Only way to kill me is to destroy it."

Melvin looked at him slightly confused. Did... he just tell me his weak point?

Frosh then looked at his toy box. His face was still unreadable, but it seemed like he just realised what he did. "Ops... Can you forget what I just said?"

That settles it, This guy's a dimwit. Melvin stared at the black toy box. So if I destroy that, I'll stop this guy.

Frosh then reached back into his toy box and pulled something out. "Superman." In a puff of smoke, a man who Melvin recognized from Allisa's comics appeared, wearing a blue jumpsuit with an S on the front and a red cape. "Kill that kid for me," he ordered him.

Superman then flew forwards towards Melvin, preparing to punch him. "Flame Wall!" A wall of fire then appeared before Melvin and Superman flew through it and melted in seconds, the bubbling plastic appearing at Melvin's feet. "It's made of plastic. Plastic melts in extreme heat." He pointed his wand at Frosh. "You may be able to make minions from your toy box, but they nonetheless are still toys!"

Frosh let out a sigh. "Guess I'm gonna have to use something else." Frosh then pulled out another item, which turned into a handgun of similar design to the one he used earlier. He fired a shot that seemed like a real bullet. It hit Melvin's barrier and shattered it.

"What?"

Frosh fired a second shot. Melvin quickly ducked down and the bullet passed him by and blasted a large hole in the wall. Melvin took a look at the devastation and gawked in horror.

If I take one of those I'm dead!

He then looked back to Frosh who was beginning to take aim. Melvin then immediately got up and started running to his left and ran in a circle around Frosh. Frosh let out another shot, which missed, then another and another, each blasting gaping holes at point of impact. Either through luck or Frosh being a bad shot, Melvin managed to survive just by running. When the firing finally stopped, Melvin pivoted and pointed his wand at Frosh.

"Wind Blades!" A gust of compressed wind shot from his wand and severed the arm that held the gun. "Now! ThunderBolt!" A pillar of lightning shot from his wand aiming at the toy box in Frosh's left hand.

"The only way to kill me is to destroy my Toy box."

At the last minute, the bolt changed its directory and struck the ground behind Frosh.

"I-I missed..." Melvin looked in shock as he realised that the bolt diverted just before it destroyed the toy box.

Frosh looked behind him while his right arm started to grow back. "That was close." He said.

"Thunder Bolt!" Melvin sent another bolt at the toy box and once again, its trajectory diverted. "Fire Bolt!" Melvin sent a fireball at the box, and that skimmed past Frosh's face instead. "Wind Blades!" He cast out wind blades, which passed by Frosh completely. "I... I can't hit him..." Melvin broke out into a cold sweat. "Why can't I hit it?"

"The only way to kill me is to destroy my Toy box."

Kill him...

"Never, no matter what the circumstances, use magic, to kill."

If I destroy the box, I'll kill him... Melvin was starting to realize why he was missing. Magic responded to the caster's emotions. If they start to waver, the spell a wizard cast could be undone. And that was what was happening to Melvin.

Frosh looked a little confused at Melvin's confected expression. "Having trouble?" He asked.

"If... if I destroy your toy box...." Melvin gulped. "Will you actually die?"

"Yep." Frosh then held out his toy box. "My soul for some reason is placed inside this box. No matter what you do to my body, as long as my soul’s safe, I can regenerate."

"So if... if I actually destroy it, you will actually die?"

"Give it a shot," Frosh said.

"What?" Melvin raised his wand in response. "D-Don't screw with me! If I destroy that, you'll die!"

"So what are you waiting for?" Frosh said calmly. "I am your enemy, and a homunculus at that. Aren't you here to exterminate us?"

Melvin doubts increased. His body was sweating uncontrollably as his emotions conflicted.

"Come on, are you gonna kill me or not?" Frosh gestured to Bill and Tristan. "Otherwise, they won't survive it here, and we're certainly not gonna let them go."

Melvin bit into his lip and slowly raised his wand. I have to... a sphere of flames started to build.

"Head me, origins of the flame that gives us life...."

He's a homunculus. And imitation of life,

"and will, gather together...."

I have to do this.... Melvin's grip on his wand was becoming so tight that he could feel blood trickling down his arm from grasping his wand too hard.

"And Smite down.... Down..."

The flames then dissipated and Melvin dropped his wand to the ground.

"I... I...."

He then collapsed to his knees and looked as though he was about to cry.

"I can't do it!!" He screamed, banging his head to the ground. "I can't take someone else's life! I just can't!"

Frosh lowered his toy box and looked upon the weeping Melvin. "Technically I'm not a normal life. I've died once before." He then looked at his hand. "This body isn't even mine. I'm no better than a monster." A look of sorrow came over Frosh's normally emotionless face. "No one ever cared if I lived or died, in this life or my previous one. I was just a stain on other peoples lives."

Melvin then looked up at Frosh, Tears falling down his cheeks.

"No one ever gives a damn about little old me. You should just end it right now. No one will care if I were to die."

"I'd care!"

Frosh jolted at Melvin's words. "Wh-what?"

"You have life, don't you! You have a soul! You're no different from me! I can't kill you! I don't want to kill you! I'd care if you died at my hands!"

Frosh started on as Melvin continued to weep. "You... care... about me...?"

****

All alone.

All his life, he has been alone.

No one wanted him.

No one cared about him.

Day after day, he was isolated in his room, surrounded by toys. They were his only friends. His parents were always working and never had any time for him. At school, he was just as alone. No one cared about him. No one approached him. All he had was his toys, and nothing else. As years past, he came to a realization.

He was unnecessary. No one needed him to exist. No one cared if he existed. So if he disappeared, life would just go one for those around him. One day, he put that theory to the test. He walked out of his house, found a bridge above a freeway, and stood at the edge. No one wanted him.

No one cared about him.

No one needed him.

These thoughts flew around his head as he stood there looking down. And then, just like that, he jumped to his death, and died as he lived, alone.

****

As Melvin looked up he saw tears dropping to the ground. But they weren't his. He looked up and saw that tears were falling from Frosh.

"No one ever cares about me." He repeated himself. "You're the first person to say that... you care."

Frosh then dropped his toy box to the ground. Then, to Melvin's shock, he stomped on it, breaking it apart.

"What are you doing?!" Melvin screamed.

Across the room, Thatch looked at the source of the scream and froze. "FROSH!!"

Max stopped where he was and looked to where Thatch was looking. "What?"

Cracks started to form on Frosh's skin. His fingers started to disintegrate and turn to dust.

"What are you doing you idiot?!" Thatch schemed.

"I've had enough," Frosh said, raising his hand. "I killed myself long ago so this is nothing new."

"Why?" Melvin struggled back to his feet, looking with shock as Frosh's immortal body started to turn to dust. "Why did you do that?"

"Cause I can't kill you either." Frosh smiled at him. "You're the only one who said you care about me. Not even mother had told me she truly needed me. I thought that, once again, I was unnecessary."

"Quit talking nonsense!" Thatch screamed out, shaking his head. "Are you just gonna up and die like this?! HEY!!"

"This works out." Frosh smiled at Thatch. "Now I won't be able to piss you off so much." Frosh then disintegrated completely, leaving behind only his clothes.

Melvin then dropped to his knees, mortified at what he saw. "Why did he...?"

Thatch gritted his teeth hard. "Annoying to the end..." he muttered. "Good riddance..."

Max glared at Thatch after hearing what he said. "Hey! He was your comrade! How can you say something like that?!"

Thatch then fired up an explosive ball to the ceiling above Max, causing a cave-in at his area, burying him under the derby.

"Max!!" Melvin got back up and picked up his wand.

Thatch remained still. His voice started to whimper. "Pissed me off right at the end... Can't say I'll miss that..." A single tear streamed down his cheek. "You idiot..."

****

"Hey Frosh!" Thatch burst into the common room where Frosh was.

"Oh, hey Thatch." Sitting in front of Frosh were three life-sized figures of Batman, Spiderman and the Joker, all with cards in their hands.

"Who are they?"

"My friends," Frosh said. "We're playing poker."

"We got a job," Thatch announced to him.

"We?"

"Yeah, That bastard Rubrik said I need to team up with you."

"Great." He said with a moan.

"What are you playing anyway?" Thatch looked over Frosh shoulder to see what cards were in his hand.

"Poker." He said.

"With your 'friends'?" he looked at the action figures sitting around. "What are you even betting?" he asked. "This is a gambling game, so what's at stake with your personal slaves?"

"How much work to dump on you."

"What?!"

"Currently the Joker has 40 hours of extra work to give you."

Thatch Grabbed Frosh's head and blew it up. He then launched exploding orbs on the action figures.

"That was rude," Frosh said as his head finished regeneration.

"That time you had it coming!" Thatch yelled.

"Why take it out on them?"

"Cause they pissed me off." Thatch let off a sigh as he put his hand to his head. "You really live to annoy me don't you?"

"Why don't you just kill me, then I won't piss you off so much." Frosh then got to his feet.

"Why do you think I keep blowing your head off?"

"Kicks? Stress relief?"

Thatch then rubbed his chin. "Guess that's part of it," he muttered to himself.

"And if you really want to kill me, just blow up my toy box." Frosh then shrank his toy box and attached it to his belt. "That way I won't come back."

Thatch found responding a little hard. "W-Well... I'll keep that in mind."

Frosh walked by Thatch. "You don't like me, do you?"

"Wh-What with that all of a sudden?" Thatch sounded slightly bashful. "I-If it seems like it, it's cause you piss me off all the time."

Frosh stopped walking and looked down on the ground. "Do you remember the past?"

"Huh? You mean our past life?"

Frosh nodded.

"Well..." Thatch rubbed his head. "Can't say I remember all of it. I get some of it." he then shook his head. "What's with your moody attitude all of a sudden?"

"Just thinking," Frosh turned to face him. "Maybe I shouldn't have been brought back. This seems no different from my last life." He then looked forward again, turning his back on Thatch. "I feel unnecessary once again. No one really cares about me. I'm just a byproduct from Mother's experiments."

"Ahhh... Let's just go." Thatch then started to push Frosh.

"Suppose I did die for real. Who would really be sad for me?"

Thatch stopped and bonked Frosh on the head. "Just stop thinking about this crap." He then looked up at the dark ceiling. "Besides, I'd definitely notice if you were gone."

****

Damn it. You always knew how to piss me off. Why, why do you have to do this? Why did you actually kill yourself?

"I feel unnecessary once again. No one really cares about me."

Damn it! Why did you have to say things like that! True, you are a pestering troll. Everything you said would piss me off. You always knew which button to press and make me blow you up. But I.... I....

I cared about, like my brother...

Damn it! Damn It!

Thatch slowly clenched his fist. "What did you do..?" his head then shot up with an expression of rage and sorrow aimed at Melvin. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO FROSH?!!!!"

Before Melvin could react, Thatch blasted himself forwards and swung out his leg at Melvin, catching him in the chest and sending him into a nearby wall. Melvin cried out as he impacted the wall. Blood squirted out from his mouth from the force of the impact. He dropped to the floor coughing and spluttering.

Thatch then appeared before him and started brutally kicking him hard. "That hurt?!" He snarled, whipping his eyes. "I'm gonna make sure you die slowly you little brat!" He cried as his foot impacted on Melvin's chest. Melvin cried bit by bit as each hit came. "Does that hurt huh? Well GOOD!"

After the next kick, Melvin grabbed Thatch's foot. "Y-y-you..." he coughs and wheezes as he tries to speak. "You were crying..."

"What...?" Thatch snarled.

"You... were sad... you feel emotion... to your fallen... comrade... you were... human enough to... feel that," Melvin glared up at Thatch with defiant eyes despite his situation. "So... what about the people you killed.... Where's their sympathy?"

Thatch withdrew his foot and picked up Melvin by his collar and hoisted him up to his eye level. "You got a big mouth." He growled.

"F-Frosh," it became increasingly difficult to speak from the choke hold Thatch had. "He... didn't want to kill..." He croaked out. "He... Had that look... He could have killed me right there... But he couldn't... he wasn't a killer.... that's why he..." Melvin paused for a bit to catch what little breath he could. "You're.... different... You love to kill...."

Thatch's gritted teeth then disappeared as he started to collect himself. "Yeah, I admit Frosh was soft. He never killed anyone with his own hands." A grin then formed on his face. "And your right, I love to kill you humans." His grip then tightened around Melvin. "And I do it for the sheer hell of it! Because I can! Because in this world, it's the strong who destroy the weak!" he then clicked his free hand and raised it high in the air. "You're weak, and I am strong, and that is why you are gonna die!"

A brick then hit the back of Thatch's head. He barely flinched and turned round to where the attack came from. There stood Bill with a rock in his hand.

"Nice try but I'm far tougher than that, " he said to him. "Now scram before you regret it."

"N-N-N-No!" Bill muttered. "I-I-I won't run."

Thatch then dropped Melvin and turned to face Bill. "Fine."

Bill then prepared to hit Thatch with the brick when Thatch kicked him in the gut. Bill staggered back and dropped to his knees clutching his gut, and looking like he was about to regurgitate the contended of his stomach.

"Man, that was pathetic." Thatch then grabbed Bill by his hair and hoisted him up. "Honestly, what do you honestly think a stick insect like you can do against someone like me, huh?" He then raised a hand till it was level with Bill's head. "You couldn't take me on even if there was a thousand of you. Just face facts, you're weak."

"I-I..." Bill stuttered. "I'm...T-t-t-tired... of being w-w-weak...." Bill smiled mostly to himself. "I-I-I want to be brave... Like A-A-Allisa..." he then looked up at Thatch sill with a smile. "S-s-so... I'll fight y-y-you even though I'm w-w-weak."

A vein on Thatch's forehead bulged out as his rage kicked into high gear. "YOU WORTHLESS-" As Thatch was about to lash out at Bill, Tristan came up to him and tackled him back.

"No way am I gonna be shown up by this geek!" he yelled as he forced Thatch back with his football tackle. However, due to his still cracked ribs and Thatch's overwhelming strength, he only pushed him back a few centimeters.

"You too huh?" Thatch kneed Tristan in the chest, causing him to lose his grip, and then punched him down to the ground hard. He then picked Tristan back up and forced him back on his knees. "You know, screw mother and Rubrik,"

Shaken from the impact to the ground, Tristan threw a wave punch at Thatch. Thatch moved his body out of the way and slammed his punch into Tristan's belly, so hard that he coughed up blood.

"Now I remember," As Tristan was about to drop to his knees, Thatch grabbed his head and slammed it down into the ground. "I know why you piss me off so much when I look at you," A sinister grin came over Thatch. "You're the type of loser who believes he's the top of the food chain and thinks he's the most important guy in the world." Tristan squirmed as Thatch applied more pressure in his hand. "You look down on others and bully them simply because you're stronger. The worst kind of cowards."

"S-Stop," Melvin crawled forwards to Thatch. "Leave them alone... I'm the one you want."

"Oh don't worry, you're next." Thatch said to him. "But first, I'm gonna show this loser that he's no longer the top of the food chain."

Thatch released his grip and stomped on Tristan's back, hard enough he jolted up in pain. His face was mashed up with a broken nose and various cuts from the impact. Thatch raised his hand high and brought it down on the prone boy.

Just then, an explosion came from the other side of the room. As Thatch turned to the source of the explosion, a flaming fist smashed into him and forced him through the wall, all the way through the next passageway and into an empty room.

Max stood in front of Tristan, facing towards the hole in the wall he created. Tristan strained his neck as he looked up at him.

"Max..." Melvin sighed from relief as he sat up against the wall. "Took you long enough."

"Sorry bout that," Max said to him. "Are you ok?"

"Don't worry," Melvin smiled and started healing. "It's not as bad as it looks."

Max turned his gaze back to the hole in the wall.

On the other side, there was an explosion amongst the derby. An enraged Thatch emerged from it. "You..." he hissed. He had forgotten that he didn't finish him off due to his flash of rage and just buried him.

"You're fight's with me," Max walked into the passageway he broke through. "Not them!"

Thatch was clenching his teeth so hard that he could break them. "Why..." he hissed. His gaze fell on Bill and Tristan who were just visible behind him. "What's the point?" His eyes burned with absolute rage. "WHY BOTHER SAVING ANYONE!!"

Max halted his advance.

"You're strong, I admit that much," he then pointed to the boys behind them. "So why do you protect such weaklings?!!"

Max remained still as he listened to Thatch's rant.

"In this world, it's the strong who dominate the weak! That's how it's always been. So why...? Why do you fight to protect those who are weaker than you?!!"

"Cause I know what it's like to be weak," Max moved his hand up to his scar on his chest. "To be powerless against something so strong, and watch everything you loved burn away." He then tightened his grip on his chest. "That fear ..." his teeth clenched as the painful memories came back. "That feeling..." he then glared at Thatch. "That's something no one should ever feel!"

"Is that right?" Thatch twitched his fingers. "Well I got news for ya, that's just how the world works, the weak fall to the strong, " he then pointed at Max. "and it's suicidal bastards like you who think of others are always the first to die!" He swiped out his hand and opened his palm. "You think you can save the weak?! All your doing is prolonging their torment in this world! They remain weak because they expect someone would come to save them, and die with their hopes crushed to dust!"

Max brought his fists up. "Not sure why you believe that, and frankly I don't really care. But you hurt one of my friends, so I'm taking you down! Ya hear me, Exploding bastard!!"

Thatch spat a goblet of saliva and blood before answering. "Alright then..." He then lowered his arms and stretched out his palms, ready to pounce. "Let's finish this!"

****

Luvia stopped as another tremor came across the corridor, shaking the entire complex. "What is that?" she asked. They had felt tremors for a while now, all of which seemed to be coming from a certain place in the labyrinth.

"We should hurry," Rubrik pressed. "I can't sense the origins but..." he then cut himself off from finishing his sentence. "What?"

"What is it?" Luvia asked.

"Hold on," Rubrik put a hand on the walls and concentrated. In this confined space, his Sensor abilities were limited to a few meters as compared to outside. He could only sense someone in the labyrinth if they were literally a few corridors away, which was why he couldn't sense what was going on at the source of the tremors. "One of the sacrifices... is close?"

"What?"

"Thatch and Frosh..." Rubrik cursed under his breath. "It's the girl. And she's being pursued by... one of Sharly's dolls."

A look of dread came over Luvia. She felt her knees beginning to give way. "No... Not her! Anything but her!"

"I sense Diane in pursuit. She's nearly there so don't worry. She'll reach the girl before long."

Luvia let out a sigh of relief.

"Wait..." Rubrik interrupted, "There's someone else heading towards them... it's... her?" Rubrik said with surprise in his voice.

"Who?"

"She's here too?" Rubrik punched the wall. "Damn! I should have made sure to have killed her then and there!"

"What is it?" Luvia asked again, growing concerned.

Rubrik turned to face her. "Mother, I need to go. One of the intruders is close by, and she is very powerful." There was an urgent expression on his face as he told her.

"An intruder?"

"I have doubts that Diane would be able to handle her. I must deal with this, and I will retrieve the sacrifice unharmed."

Luvia took in a deep breath before replying. "I'm going to." She announced.

"Mother, I strongly advise-"

"I will not cower while my children fight for my sake." Luvia shot a determined look at Rubrik. "I wish to see my would be assassins." She then smiled at him. "Don't worry, I trust you will keep me safe."

Rubrik let out a sigh of defeat. "As you wish. But stay close to me."

"Right." They then started to move. I'm so close. I won't let anything stop me, Vina.