I could wait - for everybody's power to develop like Jason's -

My arms lengthened, my legs and my fingers stretched. I pushed out jagged chips of crab chitin from my flesh like ridged scales covering all of my skin, with larger pieces interspersed like bulbous growths to further confuse my humanity, and hide the parts I didn't want crab shells piercing. I bent over and forced my tailbone to extend in a fat stub, holding my thighs against my stomach -

They were stronger - before the night had gotten bad, they'd improved. And I was learning still what I was capable of, but it was too slow -

On my face I wore a mask carved from gnarled dark wood and filled with protruding nails, each of which I stuck a fat dead eyeball of the reptile birds on, two crab pinchers welded to my teeth moving as I chomped up and down -

How much time did we really have? They needed to be ready. No more cheap sacrifices. No more ignorance. Today we learn what we are capable of - learn to be strong -

I was hideous - and hopefully they'd be too terrified to be rational, to recognize the scraps from what we'd already been killing. I know I would be -

He saved their lives - in the way of giving a man a fish.

And I stalked toward them, as they mingled around the tree, poking at the cook fire - crab. Much better then frozen peas. Far tastier to eat your pain, your revenge over it - and enjoy.

I was teaching them to fish.

"OH FUCK!" Derek screamed, and I was already coming at them. I ran low to the ground, just a foot and a half above the sand like a raptor, I'd waited for the perfect moment -

"Run!!!" They screamed, but of course Brandon was an idiot, as he pushed the others up, boosting their asses as they grabbed the hanging knotted rope - shitty rope, that couldn't support four grown men - they had to learn to do without him, or we would lose him, "Get up, get up!"

"Hurry!" Jason shouted, up first, hand out reached - Snagging Derek and lifting him with Mike hot on -

"Brandon!" Derek was already balling, bouncing movements, praying for him to hurry - fumbling with his bow and arrow -

Jason tossed spiral blades, snipping them at me, they severed exposed chiton as they splashed against my magic armor, and Brandon's body was tensing, ready to jump, throw and pull himself up -

I dove, arms stretched, the Queen plunging her stinger into his leg before he could pull himself up and I passed him, knowing - he dangled, frozen a long second and then fell, collapsed - screamed as they attacked me but what do they do?

Climb down? Surround him and hold me off - carry him to safety, Mike dove first right at me - spear appearing in his hand, I hissed, let the spear scrape over as I shouldered him, heard the other two thumps in the sand - too late -

I swooped over Brandon, grabbing his leg and took off! Sand kicked behind me as they screamed, chasing -

Too slow -

Cuss words do no damage. Regrets save nobody -

Hisssssssss

I screeched and clicked and gibbered as they lost ground, pushing themselves - running as fast as they could, chasing me -

"Cody! Cody!" Derek cried, between blowing on his whistle. At least he held himself together enough to call for help - I almost regret growing and shaping the whistles to be dick replicas, because as they put them in their mouths and send the shrill call echoing it's not enough to cover my laughter -

"God, save him!" Mike screamed.

Prey - Fool - he won't help you either. You have to help yourself -

Gah - Gah -Gah

I was having a bit of fun, even though it was serious - it was better then my anger, the rage that - was futile and self-directed, and pushed outside - at everything. Because we were weak. Any time a man in a team is weak. The whole team is weak.

When I dragged him just to the edge, far enough away that they could see and not stop me - it took me three minutes, three doses - and their savior was gone, nothing they could do -

I started clawing at Brandon, scratching and ripping at him, then popping my face into his paralyzed vision, letting him see chunks of flesh in my teeth - in and out - I threw strips of meat the butchered birds out in handfuls - I let stored blood ooze out all over me in a mess -

Come on -

I heard their screams, as they came closer - heard the helplessness, the knowledge, the way the whistle twill twisted with their sobs - crys for salvation to anything that could bring it, none of it was enough as they same him limp, saw the pieces flying and knew.

I ripped open his arms and chest, careful not to go too deep, but enough to make sure he was getting actual damage - then I heard it, sizzling, crackling -

-1 HP

I continued to rip as a groan started then a yell -

I tore at his ear, ripping it halfway off - I swiped at his face, his eyes, and Brandon erupted!

-1 HP

Flame erupted across his body, across the flimsy armor I'd crafted for them to replace their wasted clothes, and he came up, at me - raising - I punched him in the head as hard as I could and he collapsed. The flames hung there for a brief second, then slipped out.

-1 HP

One down...

And I dragged him out far out of sight this time -

"Brandon...Brandon." I shook him, I'd covered his head in leather so he couldn't see me, I didn't want to scare him again -

"Aaaaahhh!" He jumped up screaming, punching - already healed.

"Quiet." I shushed him, "I need you to listen. We don't have time, I need to save the others."

"Monst-"

"Quiet! Keep that on." He'd been reaching.

"What -"

"Shut the fuck up, they know when you are looking at them, something to do with the eyes. Stay here. Don't move, I'm growing walls around you - you have a new ability. Figure it out. It may be our only hope."

"Cody, I have to-"

"I have to save them now. I can't protect you!"

"I don't care -"

"You can't see! What can you do blind!" I spat at him, pushing him down, "Stop throwing your life away and start figuring out what you can do with it!"

Brandon roared even as he sobbed, he started punching himself, I saw blood dripping from his mouth beneath the wrapped leather, already smoking -

"Keep your eyes closed!"

I popped out a little wood box no bigger then a coffin and stuck it over him, made it creak with a bit of growth and then turned back toward the tree running, it wouldn't hold him long - they hadn't made it back yet, were still in the sand screaming, Mike on his knees, arms spread wide. Jason puking.

Derek just standing pale - blinking. Whistle dangling out of his mouth.

I started hissing, roaring already and Derek was moving, snapping up like a zombie awakening, he ran at Mike, "Get up!"

100 Yards.

I watched Derek wrap his arms beneath Mike and lift him up, forced his knees to lock, then turned to run - "Run!"

75 yards.

"No." Mike said.

Jason grabbed at him too, pulling him - they each had an arm -

50 Yards.

"No!" Mike shouted, and the other two were backpedaling trying to pull Mike with them, each had an outstretched arm -

25 Yards -

"NO!"

And Mike was glowing. His whole body, the golden light of the sun surged out of his body, clung like honey, and he flicked.

Derrick and Jason were coated in a similar glow and their bodies were tossed behind him, rolling away from me they were sent tumbling, no sliding across the sand, and I juked left, to go around, reaching for Derek -

Mike didn't move a muscle, but he interposed - his body drifted, slow, but I couldn't -

"Thank You, God." Mike whispered - his face filled with peace even as tears leaked, his eyes and neck turned to the sky, I realized he'd become a shield for them, I took a swipe at him. My claws cut just as easily, easier - I tore right into his bone as I raked down his chest, like running my fingernails across a xylophone.

Only them - I realized, he hadn't protected himself at all - Why were these fuckers all a bunch of...suicidal maniacs. Couldn't anybody attack -

"Thank You, God." Still Mike repeated it, over and over - I couldn't get past him, now I needed to reach Derek, needed to see what he was capable of but every time I moved Mike shifted, and I couldn't do anything to slip him, no matter how fast I ran, somehow he was blocking me -

"Damn it, Mike! You selfless bastard!" I shouted.

It came out as a gurgled roar, of course, but still - I paralyzed him and still he floated there, I puched him in the head - what had to knock him out - as arrows hit me and glowing spears were sent around Mike, curving down to sink into my wooden helm -

"Cody?!" Derek shouted.

"Damn it!" I pulled up. I'd planned on telling them of course, but I was thinking of getting them drunk first, once they'd calmed down...and it was going to be, well, probably not today.

They'd been intermittently shouting my name this entire time, of course. Blowing the whistles between attacking.

Derrik dropped into the sand.

"Why!" Jason screamed, "You killed him, you -" All his mana surged and I felt the pull, saw him flare, and it twisted, hitting my gut -as he took -

Mikes glow dulled - flashing, unfrozen, the gold light flickered into silver, back to gold, silver - and he crumpled to his knees -

"I - I don't think - I don't think I can forgive you."

"Brandon's fine!" Derek moaned, sitting down and dropping his bow - I felt the sucking sensation that had left me weak slowly lesson to nothing

"What!?"

"God, thank you!" Mike sank down - kissing the ground, his hands clasped in front of him like the whole beach was a prayer mat - the coating gold again but dripping off him, absorbing into the sand -

I sucked the foreign material that I'd used as my disguise away, replaced with lose clothes that ran wet with blood - once more I felt myself trying to heal it and once more held myself back because...it didn't work right. For the first time since the system, my body had scars - imperfections where I'd forced healing. Forced skin back together, smoothing it over like putty, zipping it up -

Frankenstein -

"I'm sorry, I'll explain." My social compass was telling me this was a very, very big no, no, "I had to do it, you were too weak, and the only other way was to risk a real monster triggering it. You saw what happened with Jason, it was the same with me."

I listened to their various objections, the insults, the confusion, still in the arms of terror as I went to reclaim Brandon, he was walking toward us with the bag over his head, lifted enough to see the sand - the others rushing over to hug him, new tears - explaining how sorry - tattling on me -

Derek finally realized he had the dick whistle in his hand then threw it on the sand, swinging to me -

I was already sitting down.

"There is power in us. You've seen a bit, at first I thought it was just what we did, if we practiced we'd eventually get an Ability like my crafting, but I think now it's deeper, more individual. I saw it with Jason and Derek. With myself. It's tied to our personality."

I had all of Derek's attention, Mike was still praying silently, automatically, not a prayer I recognized, a look of bliss on his face clear that anything I said didn't matter -

"My crafting, my pain, my growth - it's all about change. Changing myself. Growing as a person. When I first entered the dungeon, I wanted to die. I was going to kill myself, I think, at least that's where I was headed if nothing had interceded. Maybe it just forced me to realize that I wanted life. My power gave me what I needed -

"I had to change. And I did. Then Jason - jealousy, whatever motivated you to feel that way, it's an aspect of you, your personality, what you need for the life you want. The same with Derek, acting or lying. I don't think he will have a change triggered by combat -"

"I did." He said.

I blinked - then held up a finger, wait -

"I forced it. Forced your drive to manifest. Because we don't have time to stumble onto our strengths. We can't just farm coins and throw money at the issue. You could handicap yourselves, never discovering your true potential because you don't need to."

They were slowly nodding, Mike had grown silent, and the angry expressions now merged with comprehension, but I saw the air around Brandon shimmering, his armor curled and blackened strangely.

"Now we're going to sit down and talk about what we have now - what we've learned, and see where it leaves us. We're going to communicate - find out how we can support each other - and we will do it before and after every fight."

"Who made you-"

"Me. I made myself boss." I interrupted, "But I'm not the leader, Mike is. Brandon doesn't want it, Derek thinks too much, and Jasons is still a puss, not the good kind - either."

"What?"

"Tough love. And I'm going to force this until you can beat me up - until we're all equal. Because then I won't have to die for you - because I will. Brandon will, too. We'll all just die for each other and not accomplish anything...My family needs me, so do yours - the world needs us. There are people out there that are being turned into cattle. Their only crime was surviving. Returning. And right now I may be one of the strongest people - the most capable of stopping it."

I didn't speak with anger - though I was pissed they couldn't -

"Thank you." Derek said, and I started to cry. I turned around, facing the ocean so they couldn't see it - the massive body of water made me feel smaller, which could make my problems smaller -

I wanted to hurt, wanted to feel the pain of what I did because I knew it was wrong, but necessary - I knew I needed to be punished, wanted them to lash out and hold me accountable.

I didn't want to be thanked as much as I did, I didn't want to exist in a place where - and I realized he had never thanked me before...why now?

I felt Mike shifting, and somehow knew Brandon motioned him to stop, he knew me. Maybe we knew each other a bit.

The pain was mine. I earned it. I kept it close and buzzing within me, I turned back around.

"You will understand or you won't, I won't apologize to you again and pretend it was an accident. Now I want to know your powers, your abilities.

"I want to know who you are."