Wyatt froze, eyes level with the tip of the blade. 

Erik tilted his head ever so slightly, eyes unblinking. "You know, you have a face. A face that annoys me. A face that pisses me the hell off. There's so much optimism in there. So much determination. I'd love to teach you that in this world, you're all alone. There's no one to cry to. No one to just sit down and take the time to tell you that everything is OK. That's what I've learned."

He swallowed slightly, unable to think of a reply. 

"Give up! Look at your so called comrades. They're getting their asses kicked."

From the distance, Wyatt flinched as there was a brilliant flash of light and a figure flew head first towards the ground. 

Erik sighed, almost in mourning. "I shouldn't be doing this. I wanna go eat cookies. I wanna sit on Royce's shoulders and eat Jolly Ranchers all day. The blue ones, of course. All the other flavors are disgusting."

Dagger scowled from behind him. "Stay on task, Killman."

"Why should I? This guy isn't even bothering to put up a fi-"

Wyatt took the opportunity to kick the boy in the stomach, who gasped out for air and curled into a ball, knife out of his hands. 

Dagger let out a shout in alarm as Wyatt elbowed him as hard as he could, scrambling for the knife as he broke into a run. The sound of footsteps behind him was audible as he ran faster, diving behind a fallen tree. 

He covered his own mouth as he tried to catch his breath, heart pounding. With each beat, the cut down his eye felt like it was pulsing with slight pain at the same tempo of his heart rate. 

Wyatt hid more as he heard the footsteps of two people followed by a loud curse. 

"Come on, Belmont! How the fuck did you lose him? You have doggy hearing, don't ya?" Erik yelled out as he threw down his knife. 

The other set of footsteps stopped as the sound of loud panting for air was heard from the other person. "I can't run as fast as you, twat."

"Whatever. You should have been able to catch him. I don't know why you couldn't."

"If you don't want to be with me, then go search for Clark somewhere in the candy cabinets. That seems to be the only place you're familiar with. I may have the worst type of body for stuff like this but at least I don't have your terrible sense of direction."

Wyatt heard the snap of a branch as Erik stormed off. "You'll pay later for what you told me, Belmont!"

Dagger scoffed as the sounds of Erik leaving died down.

Wyatt's breath hitched as Dagger sat down on the tree above him. "You know, I saved you from getting killed by a short little squirt. The least you could do," he leaned down to look at him, "is to let me murder you instead."

Wyatt tried to kick Dagger, the boy smirking as he dodged much faster than it took for Wyatt to try to hurt him. "You don't remember what I can do? I have, as Killman so kindly put it, 'doggy hearing.' I know what you're doing before your body can even agree to your thoughts."

He paled as he scrambled out from the log frantically, looking up at the boy. 

Dagger's face twitched slightly before he broke into a wide, deranged smile and laughed. "I like you a lot. You actually make me feel like who I'm supposed to be, ya know? I don't get treated like the dirt for once. I don't get forced into things I hate doing."

Wyatt stood quickly as he broke into a run, jumping onto a tree that had been torn from the roots and tilted enough so that he could run up and onto the branch of a tree that still stood. Legs burning from the exercise, he gulped down the fear of looking down and began to survey the forest. 

The river to his right. Further to his left, there was a cave, completely dark and hidden. And, just above him, there was the exact area where Chase died...

"There's no way you could scout the entire battlefield. Your eyesight isn't like mine. I, however, know every single square inch of this place."

Dagger sat down on the branch that was across from Wyatt, legs dangling in the air. Though he seemed calm, Wyatt noted that his face was slightly green from the height. He smiled faintly and looked at Dagger dead in the eyes. "What makes you think I haven't memorized the entire battlefield already?"

Dagger stiffened slightly from his place on the branch. "Impossible."

Wyatt quickly fired a small arrow of his magic, aiming for the emaciated boy's neck. As soon as the magic headed for his target, he jumped off the tree and into the river, quickly swimming back up. Wyatt grunted as he hauled himself onto the shore and ran as fast as he could, water trailing behind him. 

"How do I fight him if his hearing is strong enough to hear my thoughts, Thane?" Wyatt muttered.

"Well, from my experience-"

"Good question, Clark." Dagger waved at him, sitting on a rock in nothing but a pair of soaked underwear, water dripping off his pale, shivering body. Wyatt flinched as he skidded to a stop, panting heavily. "Just answer my first question then."

Dagger cocked his head to the side. "Go ahead."

"How did you get those senses?"

He laughed before sneezing. "That's going too far, Clark. The first question you need to ask is, 'How many senses do you have in the first place?'" Dagger smiled unpleasantly as he held up three fingers. "I have three of the five senses normal people are supposed to have. Since we have all the time in the world, I'll let you in on some more insight about me. I can't taste, and I don't have the fingerprints to really feel anything. To make up for those two losses, Royce had you and your little friends kidnap me. He gave me better hearing, smelling, and eyesight."

"I already learned this. You told me before you changed, Dagger."

Dagger snarled slightly. "Fuck off, nerd."

Wyatt shut up, watching as the boy slid off the rock and put on his pants, before reaching into the pocket. 

He braced himself as Dagger put on a pair of silver gloves. As soon as they were on, Dagger leaped forward. There was a glow of light as he swung the axe forward. 

Wyatt ducked barely in time, only to find Dagger's fist swinging up. He felt a hot pain as he stumbled backwards and fell backwards onto the ground.

"You're a klutz, you know that?" Dagger ambled forward. 

Wyatt coughed as he stood quickly, despite the bloody nose, the busted lip, and the metallic taste in his mouth. "Where's Jackson?"

He smirked, a look of malicious intent flashing in his dull, gray eyes. "Jackson? Was it that skinny, tanned kid with brown hair? Supposed football star?" There was another flash of light as he swung a sword at Wyatt's arm. 

"Left!"

Wyatt jumped to the side, holding his hand out. "Round!" A flurry of black bats formed and rushed at Dagger. 

The boy laughed as he dodged all of them, the sword forming into a knife as he stabbed at him. 

He felt his body bend back against his will, leg coming up to kick Dagger in the chin as he did a somersault backwards. There was a crack and Dagger cried out, stumbling backwards quickly. 

When the boy stood up again, he looked more shocked than angry about the large, blue bruise that was forming across his jawline. "How...?"

Wyatt panted heavily, holding his hands out desperately. "It wasn't me, I swear. I didn't even know I could do that."

Dagger snarled slightly, holding a hand to his chin gingerly. "I don't mean that. How did you hit me? In that split second...I didn't hear your thoughts at all. What did you do? WHAT did you DO!?" His voice rose as he screamed out the last word. 

Wyatt took an uneasy step back as he felt the sudden drop in the atmosphere. Dagger held his hand up. "I give up one hour on my life to the god of war, the deceiving one, the second eldest man to the four true rulers of this world. I will willingly accept my fate no matter what happens, as long as you lend me this strength and this weapon, Raymond."

There was a faint laugh from the distance as clouds formed over the sky, everything darkening. 

Wyatt's heart skipped a beat as he tried to move. He couldn't. 

He was in a state of complete paralysis. 

Every nerve in his body screamed for him to run. His muscles twitched. 

The hair on the back of Wyatt's stood as Dagger brought his hands together in front of his face. "War God."

There was a tremble from the earth beneath. If there was anything happy before, it had vanished in less than a second's worth of time. The oxygen seemed to thin out, making it hard to breathe. Even the trees that once surrounded them seemed more menacing. 

He was in a world of fear.

The scariest part of the world that Wyatt noted was Dagger. What used to be cloudy gray eyese had changed to a start black. He was suddenly donned in a large cape, a blood red crown perched atop his head. He was wearing black pants and boots. In his silver gloved hands was a large scythe, much bigger than he was. 

Wyatt managed to move slightly, eyes wide. There seemed to be an aura of authority over what he used to know as Dagger Belmont. He couldn't take his eyes off. 

Dagger suddenly sprang forward, swinging the scythe forward at Wyatt. Wyatt tensed. The neurons and synapses in his brain forced him to move. Wyatt spun around to run as Dagger tripped him down with the handle of his scythe. 

Wyatt fell down, breathing heavily, spots in his eyes. He saw the tip of the scythe coming down at his heart. He held his hands out in futile defense. It came down, quick and fast, closer and closer. Wyatt felt Dagger's boot stomp down on his hand. He felt his fingers go numb, unsure if there was pain anymore. In his sub-conscience, he heard Thane, yelling at him to get away. 

All of a sudden, Dagger's eyes widened. The weapon fell from his hands. It fell onto Wyatt's chest, knocking the air out of him. The atmosphere of fear disappeared all of a sudden. The nightmare Wyatt had been in vanished. 

"Oh my god, you're not dead."

Wyatt almost smiled, every feeling of relief suddenly vanishing as he saw the situation in front of him. 

It was Crimson Ryder. 

She smirked, shaking her head as she let go of Dagger, who fell to the ground in a pitiful heap. Wyatt stood quickly. 

She rolled her eyes and stepped forward until they were only a foot away from each other. Wyatt's breath quickened. 'Crap. I had a crush on her before, huh? I wonder why I liked her.'

Crimson giggled and clapped. "I honestly can't believe you lost to Dagger. He's so weak, could you not see the pain in his eyes when he pulled off that stupid magical move? Come on, Wyatt. I thought you were stronger than that," Crimson whispered as she carefully traced his bruises. 

Wyatt sucked in a breath as Crimson stood on her tiptoes and brushed the hair out of his eyes. "If you even want to stand a chance against me, you're going to want as much eyesight as you can get."

With a sudden flick of her wrist and a movement that Wyatt couldn't keep up with, he was on the ground, her knife to his throat and his arms twisted behind his back in a painful position. 

Wyatt cried out as he rolled and kicked her off, standing up quickly to only fell her fist in his stomach. He lurched forward in pain. 

She came from the right, almost as fast as Cassidy. In almost what seemed like an instant, Crimson disappeared again. Wyatt's let out a shout in surprise as Crimson appeared in front of him, slashing her knife across his chest quickly. He screamed out in pain as blood ran down from the cut, shirt ripped open from the force. Wyatt felt his lungs burn and fell to his knees in pain. 

Crimson took the advantage, landing on top of him with her boot in his scalp and knee digging into the area between his shoulder blades. Wyatt landed on the ground with a thud, chest heaving and begging for air. 

The girl laughed out, deranged, as she stood and grabbed him by the back of his shirt, forcing him up as she slammed him into the trunk of a tree. Purple spots appeared in front of Wyatt's eyes as he spun around and tried to break free. Crimson punched him across the face, her rings scratching him up. He slumped forward, blood running down his face. Wyatt coughed as darkness slowly descended upon him. 

Crimson smirked as she tied his wrists and dragged him off into away into the forest. Far, far away. 

*****

Cassidy Blaze

Cassie trudged back, a large bruise on the side of her head. She felt dizzy as she opened the door and walked into the conference room, coming to a freezing halt when she saw the rest of Royce's soldiers, waiting behind Crimson. Her eyes widened in shock. "Dagger?"

Crimson sneered as she tossed Dagger forward. Cassie ran over, catching his crumpling body before it hit the ground. Her eyes felt like they were burning in hate. "What did you do to him, Ryder?"

Dagger shivered in her arms as Cassie cradled him closer, rubbing his back. Once Dagger fell asleep, Cassie stood up carefully and turned to Crimson, glaring at her. "Answer me, you bitch. What. Did. You. Do?"

Crimson smiled innocently. "He was going to ruin Royce's plan. All I did was stop him."

Cassie took an angry step forward, fists clenched. "What did you do exactly to him?"

"Simple. I used my lovely ability and sent him to Death's Door."

The last shred of restraint broke in her as Cassie let out an angry scream, lunging forward at the girl. "Burn in hell, you animal!" She pulled back her hand to slap the girl across her face. 

A shadow passed and intervened. Cassie froze, her hand centimeters away from Royce's face. "Royce...I..."

He pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly, waving a hand dismissively. "No matter. I just came here to tell you something." He walked over, taking notice of the injury on her head as he traced it lightly. "I'm guessing you won?"

Cassie smiled nervously. "Yeah." 'Barely.'

Royce chuckled and leaned close to her ear. "I'm guessing barely."

Cassie blanched before she took in a deep breath, stepping away from him. "I won either way. Does it really matter if I beat her in two minutes or two hours?"

Royce quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "I suppose not," he grudgingly admitted. Royce stood taller, silver hair falling to his shoulders. "I just hate seeing you hurt. After all, you know me the best."

Cassie sighed and nodded. "So what did you need?"

"There's someone outside who's been asking for you. As persistent as Romeo when he waited for Juliet, if I were to describe them."

She nodded before leaving, walking out. As she opened the door, she looked back. "Amanda, mind taking Dagger back to his room please? I'll pay you back later."She closed the door, the door shutting with a clang. 

Cassie looked around for the person, her shoes kicking up dirt as she searched. A sudden scream cut through the air as she froze, heart pounding. Curiously, Cassie cautiously walked towards the screams, finding herself in a clearing that was surrounded by willow trees. 

There was no one there. Cassie looked around in wonder, eyes finally catching sight of a pair of legs that were sticking out from under the tree. Next to them was...another person? Cassie peeked in, freezing. 

The person who had been screaming had gone quiet, face white as paper and sweat rolling down his forehead. Next to him, the boy was humming, legs crossed as he held a book with one hand and pet the guard's hair with the other. 

Without looking back, the boy smiled. "Finally, my darling. I've been waiting so long, this poor little human's already succumbed to his nightmares. Ever heard of this delightful poem? It's by Shakespeare. Look at this last stanza, such a powerful message.

No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renowned be thy grave!

Yet answer me this, Cass. Why won't anyone actually listen? Was he wrong? Am I never to be beaten?"

He stood and turned around, a small smile on his face. He had silver hair that ended at the nape of his neck, with red eyes that were oddly shaped. Otherworldly eye, with deep black pupils and a red hue that was reminiscent of blood. He wore a black kimono with gold trimming, a purple sash holding it together. There was a blue jacket draped over his shoulders. He was barefoot, his wooden sandals next to him.

Cassie averted her gaze away from his eyes. "What are you doing here, Gin?"

He laughed as he sat down. "First look at me. And don't worry, sweetheart. I won't kill you yet, you can look at me in the eyes."

"I don't have enough trust in you," she retorted. 

"That's true."

"And you lie a lot."

"That's also true."

"So should I trust you?"

"Of course."

Cassie resisted the urge to punch him as she looked up at him. "Tell me what you're here for."

"My, my, so demanding. We're not in a rush, are we?"

"I just finished a battle, Gin. Save this for later, please."

"Suck it up, darling."

She scowled as she wrapped her arm around his neck in a chokehold, pressing her forearm into his esophagus. 

Despite the position he was in, Gin's smile only widened. Chuckling, he gracefully slipped out of her grasp, regaining his composure, taking out a small envelope from his sleeve.. "I have a message I need you to give to Royce. From Lucius."

"Why don't you tell him yourself?"

Gin pursed his lips. "We're not exactly on speaking terms. Last time there was a fight, remember? The cake and whatnot about Royce's entire lecture at me? And then we tried to kill ea-"

"I remember."

"That's why."

Cassie crossed her arms. "Use the same advice you just told me. Suck it up, grow a pair and give it to him."

Gin laughed insanely as he bound forward to her. "I see you've gotten some fight in you, sweetheart."

She flinched and shoved him away. "And you haven't changed at all. You still make me want to throw up at your sorry state."

Gin blinked before he burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as tears streamed down his face in glee. He wiped his eyes after his fit and looked at her, a smile on his face and his sharp teeth showing. "You're hysterical, darling. I'll tell you the truth: I regret not making you like me sooner. If you'd worked for Lucius instead, my life would be so much more interesting."

Cassie fumed as she slapped him and stormed off. "Give that damned letter to Hunter yourself, Gin!"

Gin touched his cheek carefully, eyes wistful. "I was messing around, Cass," he mumbled. 

Cassie stopped, not looking at him as he walked to her. "I wasn't kidding about the fight with Royce though. It was over something else, not the cake. About his family a little bit. Please, give the letter to him. If I go, there's going to be another separate war just between the two of us. And, I feel a little bad for making the poor guard a victim. Mind taking him back for me?" Gin carefully helped the guard over. "I have to tend to some other things."

She sighed slightly, nodding as she helped the guard stand. "Alright."

Gin smiled crookedly as he bowed and took her hand, kissing the back gently. "Thank you, darling," he murmured as he turned away and ambled off, book in hand.

When Cassie got to the edge of the clearing, she stopped and glanced back, spotting what seemed to be him among the drooping branches of the willow trees. "Gin!" 

Cassidy's eyes widened in shock as the wind blew the branches to the side.

He was gone, and so were the willow trees.

The only thing in the middle of the forest was a pair of wooden sandals.