“What the hell man!” Daven said, fuming. “You can’t just do that.” After they’d climbed back up the slope, he had yet to let Cedric speak. He stomped back and forth across the path before he rounded on Alex. “Tell me I’m not crazy here. Somebody!”

Alex just shrugged, and Daven threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

He’d tried with his sister already, but he’d gotten nothing. Diana just stood there quietly beneath Valerian’s shadow. She had realized the purpose of this too, even if it was clear by the frown on her face she wasn’t the biggest fan of the whole thing.

Cedric waited patiently for the archer to run out of steam, as if he’d expected the reaction all along. “You all did well,” he finally said when there was a pause. “You didn’t give up or run away. You fought, and you lived.”

Daven made to speak, but Cedric stopped him by holding a finger up.

The crew leader fixed the boy with a firm stare. “You’ve fought before, Daven, I know. A few monsters here and there. Your bow was always enough to take the day. But you’ve never had to fight for your life like this, have you? Never had to watch your sister struggle for her own?”

The archer glanced at Diana, swallowed heavily.

“Did you know what you were going to do in a situation like this? How you would react?” Cedric continued. “Would you rather that first time happened somewhere else, or here, with Valerian and I watching?”

“But Diana almost—”

“I panicked,” Diana interrupted her brother. “I should have cut that first vine before it ever took me down but I froze. And when it had me by the neck…” She shook her head. “It felt like I was drowning. Yes, it was awful, and I hated it but…” Her eyes were drawn tight, but the condemnation seemed to be turned inward. More self-critical than accusatory. She let out a resigned sigh. “But Cedric is right. It was best that it happened here, now.”

“Diana…” Daven started glumly, but she just nodded at him.

Cedric’s brown eyes softened. “Look. I’ve never had to do this before, alright?” He sounded suddenly tired. “Every chaser has gone through it when they’re hopefuls. Myself included years ago, and I’m sure someone did it to Valerian as well. It’s a trial by fire kind of situation, made to look like all is on the line. Even if it isn’t.”

“I still hold that doing it here was a mistake,” Valerian said, arms crossed over his armored chest. “Too many things could have gone wrong as I am not familiar with the local monsters.”

Cedric nodded. “You have a point,” he conceded. “And I sprung that out on you. I was going to do it in the first stage, but these three surpassed my expectations.” He looked at them, meeting each gaze. “I won’t ask, of course, most of us aren’t as eccentric as Daven when it comes to these things, but your ability with your Gates… is something else.” His eyes had stopped on Alex when he said it.

Alex stared back flatly. He didn’t ask, sure, only implied he would like to know. Asshole.

Just the same, Diana kept quiet.

“Ah, well…” Daven said, suddenly flushed with embarrassment instead of anger. “You know how it is and all.”

“In any event,” Cedric said, all jovial again. “It’s good that you know how to train by yourselves. Plateauing is all well and good, but having a bunch of Gates open doesn’t make you a good chaser. It’s how skilled you are with them, be it one gate or ten.” He cracked a smile. “The motion of the ocean, as it were.”

Daven nodded dumbly.

Diana rolled her eyes, though a reluctant smile pulled the corner of her lips.

Cedric opened his mouth to continue, but a harrowing wail echoing somewhere in the forest stopped him. Somewhere close. His jaw clicked shut.

It was just as well. Alex was about done with this conversation. “Are we finishing the dungeon or what?” he asked.

He was still up to it, his MP healthy enough if he used the power sparingly. Diana looked more disheveled than overall tired, and Alex had no idea how the power was used for classes like Daven’s Archer.

Or Cedric’s Lancer and Valerian’s Paladin for that matter. He had yet to see them doing anything supernatural beyond a few feats of strength and speed.

Cedric scanned the brush around them for a second, then nodded. “Yes, better we push on,” he said. “The monsters will intercept us no matter what. Valerian and I will deal with them for now.”

After the fight they just had, no one in the crew disagreed.

xx

If he ever thought he could deal with Cedric if his suspicions had proved true, Alex was dead wrong.

The crew leader carved a bloody path through the dungeon. The long blade of his spear shone violet in the tainted light of the forest, and it cut through the Deadwoods’ bark as easily as it would wet cardboard. The lashing vines of the Flesh Flowers could hardly scratch him before he gutted its bulging mass or ripped away its flower crown, and any Spring Rabbit was more nuisance than actual obstacle for him.

And all of that was combat alone. No flashy moves, no anime-like blasts or power ups. Cedric didn’t use any power-intensive trace as far as Alex could see. Perhaps the sheer speed and reflexes required to do what he did were given by whatever Gates he had opened—some passive abilities that allowed him to move as gracefully as he did.

That’s what Alex suspected Daven had as an archer as well. Beside the new Gate of the Arrow he’d told them about, there had to be something to allow him better handling of the bow, a form of increased perception or plain better eyesight, and some field stealth. Even now as they followed behind Cedric after he sliced open another Deadwood—the fifth so far—Daven’s steps fell more silent than any of the crew’s.

Diana marched beside her brother, brooding all the way. She hadn’t taken her performance against the Flesh Flower as well as Cedric had. Alex had not seen how she’d dealt with the Flash Flower, occupied as he was, but from the aftermath of it, it sure seemed like she didn’t have much to worry in that regard.

And Valerian, instead of taking care of the rear as usual, walked beside them like a bouncer protecting celebrities from rabid fans. Every Spring Rabbit that launched itself at one of them was bashed across its cute face with the metal boss of his shield. One hit was usually enough.

They had just entered a thicket of squat elm trees when Cedric held up a hand. The dense brush was covered in shadows here. The low elm branches looked like gnarled fingers reaching to grab at their heads.

“Quiet now,” he whispered, eyes narrowing as he peered about. Everyone stopped behind him, and all sound died with them. Too silent to be natural.

The air was thick in Alex’s nose, stale and wet. He bent his knees to stay beneath the branches. No one had mentioned trees coming alive, but he’d seen too many horror movies to ignore them.

Cedric pointed before them. “See there,” he murmured. “And there, there, and there. Flesh Flowers.” Each spot had a lump swelling the earth. Two flanked them on the right, while the others were further ahead in between the trees. In the dim light, they looked like tricks of the eye. “There’s more too.” He squinted about, then shook his head. “But we’ll have to spring the trap to know what else is hiding here.”

“What do we do?” Diana asked. She sounded eager to prove herself again.

“Valerian already knows what to do,” the crew leader said. “Daven, you’re on branch duty. Keep your eyes on high. Diana, you and I will take the Deadwoods. Alex, I want to see how you do against the Flesh Flowers. Your fire will work better against them.”

There were silent nods all around. Cedric flipped his spear on his hands and braved forward, the leaves crunching under his feet the only thing to be heard. The others were quick to follow behind, spreading into a tight semi circle around the crew leader.

Unbidden, a smile found its way onto Alex’s face. It was about damn time. The power wasn’t the only thing he felt spreading across his chest. Following Cedric as he butchered the monsters in the forest was like watching a friend playing a new game he just bought. It was fun for a while, but at some point you wanted to try it out yourself.

Watching just wouldn’t do for him now. Alex didn’t think it ever would again. His heart beat faster, the hairs on his arms standing up.

Chaos broke when the first Flesh Flower burst out of the ground further ahead to the right. Fire bloomed in Alex’s hands, and the light illuminated the shadowed forest around. His eyes widened at what he saw. Many of the elms weren’t trees at all. The Deadwoods rose as if from a deep slumber—three, four… six of them, their hulking bodies groaning into motion.

Then the shrieks came from above. Three together—three Killer Sloths, hiding in the eaves, and the shrill sounds seemed to grate and scratch against each other. The jabbing pain in his head was immediate, causing his grip on the power to flicker. The traces already forming in his mind’s eye broke apart. Diana and Daven brought hands to ears, and even Cedric couldn’t hide a wince.

That’s when the Spring Rabbits shot out of the brush.

The ambush was a good one, Alex had to admit. Certainly more than what he expected. In fact, he didn’t even know monsters were capable of planning something like this. The first surprise with the Flesh Flowers springing out of the ground and the Deadwoods emerging from the tree line was meant to take their focus away from the canopies. Canopies which hid the Killer Sloths. Sloths whose shrieks left them vulnerable to the rabbits’ ramming. After that, they’d be easy prey to bigger monsters, no doubt.

A great plan, all in all. Properly organized and executed.

They didn’t take Valerian into account, however. One moment he’d been walking in the back of the formation, and the next he was punching the Spring Rabbit that had gotten to within a meter of Alex’s head square across its furry jaw. Something cracked beneath Valerian’s boulder-like fist, and the rabbit flew away as if it was a punted football.

Alex reeled back in surprise. He would never have dodged that in time. There were gasps behind him, and he glanced back. His jaw dropped when he saw a giant shield of golden hard-light stopping the two Spring Rabbits who’d leapt at Daven and Diana. The hologram-like light shield matched the real one planted on the ground between the siblings, only several times wider and taller.

The monsters crashed their curled horns against the gleaming hard-light with a loud crack and bounced away. Not a dent was left on the shield. It reminded Alex of the Green Lantern's solid light constructs, only bright as the sun.

“Mind the battlefield,” Valerian rumbled through the shrieking of the sloths.

Alex nodded and pulled himself up, trying to shut away the needles in his brain. His HP was dropping steadily as the Killer Sloth’s sang their deadly song, but he had bigger things to worry about.

To his left, Cedric was taking care of four Deadwoods by himself, dashing in and out of their guards, spear flashing. Bark flew as his attacks hit home; but as slow as the monsters were, he couldn’t find too many openings when so many were focusing on him. The other two had passed him by and were shuffling toward Diana. The clacking of their laughter added to the monsters’ melody.

That meant Alex had to manage the Flesh Flowers by himself. Whether he liked it or not, he’d have to leave the sloth’s and their shrieks to Daven. The two closest were shuffling toward them, vines whipping about in a frenzy. High keens sounded from the pus-yellow flowers above them.

Setting into a low stance, Alex’s skin flushed as the power surged inside. He didn’t bother with the fire arrows. Those wouldn’t work here. A trace he’d been dying to use took shape in between his hands, his arms thrown wide to the side. Fire sparked and bloomed in front of him, long and broad like a surfer’s board, before tightening on the outfacing length, grinding into itself, narrower and narrower.

Sweat beaded on his brow, but that hard barrier that would stop him wasn’t there. It wasn't easy focusing when the screech of the sloths still sounded, but he could do this—he knew it. He pushed on the fire, squeezed it and molded it to his liking even as it spat out sparks in resistance. The flames shrunk into a thin wedge, shrunk until the edge on the outside was flat—sharp. What started as a board looked like the blade of a giant scythe now.

The strain only stopped when the fire seemingly relaxed in his hold. Alex smiled, feeling the pathways inside him flourishing to accommodate the new trace. Confident, he turned to the first Flesh Flower.

The monster didn’t have any legs, so it’s body slithered on its stalks like a giant, bulbous snake.

“Alex,” Diana called, voice strained. She was looking at the Flesh Flower from the corner of her eyes, even as she jumped back when the Deadwood in front of her managed to step out of the pit of mud she’d formed. “If one of those bloody vines gets anywhere near me, I’ll kill you in your sleep.”

“Understandable,” he answered flatly without looking. He had no intention of becoming a plaything to the monster. The vines reminded him too much of tentacles.

Before the Flesh Flower could ever get in range, he shot the flames toward the monster. The trace flew in an angle, aiming to split the thing in two shoulder to hip.

Two rust-red vines lashed out to intercept the scythe. Unlike how they were able to bat away the fire arrow earlier, however, the fire cut right through them this time. The sheared tentacles flopped down to the ground, thrashing without their gnarled stubs.

The Flesh Flower they belonged to wailed in pain, intestine-like body writhing madly, only to fall silent as the flaming scythe sliced through the giant flower of its head and part of its bulging mass. All its vines stopped suddenly, limbs cut apart from the brain.

Alex watched the scythe speed past the monster, cutting through the brush, only stopping as it hit a thick elm tree. The flames dispersed in the air, and the trunk was left with a huge gash that nearly felled it. It didn’t explode after losing its cutting power as he wanted, but it was enough.

Behind it, a geyser of sickly green blood erupted out of the empty crown of the Flesh Flower. At the same time, a Killer Sloth with an arrow in its eye dropped from above, almost on top of the bigger monster. They broke into black dust together.

“Mine was harder to hit,” Daven said petulantly. Seemed he wasn’t too happy with sloth duty.

“Maybe.” Alex turned to him and gave him a smirk. “But mine was bigger.”