Severance wanted to throttle Ironhide. The tank had lost his mind.

His instincts cried, and he ducked before he even knew why. A wooden spear whistled overhead. The thing that threw looked like a naked monkey wearing a tattered loincloth. Naked, because it had no fur save for a thin strip across the crest of its head. The pale letters over its head declared it was a grimli, but to Severance it was a stupid monkey.

It chattered angrily and flung itself at Severance. He backpedaled several steps, jaw clenched in irritation. The monkey pounced on the floor just in front of him, then sprang up at his face in the next instant.

Not even Severance's improved agility could save him. The beast crashed into his chest and they went down in a flurry of limbs and screeching.

Stubby fingers grabbed his face, nails digging in hard enough to draw blood, then yanked. His head was lifted off the floor before the monkey smashed it back down. Red flooded Severance's vision while distantly, he heard something crack.

How is this easy?! Severance reached up and vainly tried to push the beast away from him. It didn't budge. Instead, it smashed his head into the floor again.

Just dodge stuff and heal, is what he said. Let the others take care of the mechanics, he said. It's a straightforward and easy fight, he said!

Ironhide, Severance decided right then and there, was a big fat liar. One could not just "dodge" insane monkeys—not when they had a tendency to come after you with all the ferocity of a starving bear.

His head hit the ground a third time, and his vision began to darken. Dimly, he was aware of his health flashing orange. And his wasn't the only one.

Ironhide's was orange, Valentin's was fine, Atrocity's was fine and oh... Awesome Dude was almost dead. How did that happen?

Snow swirled before him, nearly blotting out the disturbing image of a naked monkey's cackling face.

Metal flashed by, perilously close to his nose, and then the monkey was gone. Severance lay in a daze. He thought he could smell the sharp scent of blood.

A tall, black and red shape loomed over him. "You alright?"

Severance blinked, his vision gradually clearing. He stared up at Valentin, then wordlessly lifted a hand.

Valentin immediately leaned down, grabbed it, and hauled Severance to his feet. The knightglaive looked him up and down, the corners of his lips tugging into the faintest hints of a frown.

"Heal yourself."

The quiet, toneless way it was delivered sounded harsh, and it made Severance's stomach twist in an ugly way. He moved back, jaw clenching, and dropped his gaze to look for his war fans.

They hadn't fallen very far away, so he hastily grabbed them. That had been far too close. If Valentin hadn't saved him, that monkey would have killed him. And if he fell, then his team wouldn't last very long.

He could feel the weight on his shoulders, the responsibility of his role, and he swallowed hard. He had to be better.

"Mend," he muttered, casting the skill on himself. It didn't bring him to full, but he was now in the green zone, and that was enough. A glance at the party list let him know that he had a choice: heal Ironhide or Awesome Dude. Both were dangerously low now.

He looked at where Ironhide stood in a narrow passageway that slanted upwards like an inclined mine shaft. It even had the rails, but these ones hummed with energy. A heavy metal orb about the size of a car spun on these rails, kicking up sparks and sounding like a shrieking freight train.

The only reason it didn't fly off the tracks and crash into the rather small platform was because Ironhide stood in its path. Right inside the narrow passageway, he braced against it with his shield and stopped it dead in its tracks.

If that heavy metal ball hit the platform, it would break it apart and the entire team would fall into the depths of whatever lurked in the shadows beneath them. Atrocity had explained, rather gleefully, that it meant instant death for all of them.

With that warning fresh in his mind, it wasn't much of a choice. Severance focused on Ironhide. "Mend. Radiant Dome!"

Behind him, both Atrocity and Awesome Dude balanced on top of narrow pillars. These pillars had started out as mere circles in the platform's surface, but once both players had stepped upon them, they started to rise.

These pillars would lift them high enough to reach a small switch on the room's ceiling. When both switches flicked off, the rails in the narrow passage would be de-energized, the ball would stop its crazy descent, the enemies would go away, the traps would stop trying to kill them, and the exit to the dungeon would be revealed.

Oh, and the final treasure would appear.

That was the idea, anyway.

It turned out to be a whole lot more complicated than that.

Awesome Dude shouted, surprise in his voice, and then his health bar vanished. A moment later, he fell like a stone. His body landed a few feet away from Severance with a sickening thud. And with a great creaking groan, the pillar he'd been on changed course and began to lower back down.

Great. Severance glared at his friend's corpse. This is the second time he's fallen off.

He lifted his gaze to the other pillar. Atrocity was so high up that Severance could no longer see him past the pillar's height. The Wanderer had to be close to the switch now.

"Watch it," came Valentin's calm voice.

But Severance had already caught the sound of clicking in the walls surrounding their platform, and he jerked his head up. He turned in a wary circle, eyes fixed to the walls and the holes littering them on all sides.

The first time this trap had activated, he'd nearly died. Actually, he would have died if Valentin hadn't shoved him out of the way as quickly as he did.

Four metal tubes slid out of four holes, all in a neat row. Severance tracked their direction and quickly moved out of the line of fire. Awesome Dude's body was in the way, and he accidentally kicked the Shade's shoulder in his haste to pass by. Whoops.

Deadly needles enshrouded by flames roared out of the tubes and passed over exactly half of the platform. The fire was so hot that the needles glowed white within it. Severance pressed himself against Atrocity's pillar and winced as he watched his friend's body get scorched. It sprouted a lot of little needles too, like a pincushion.

It was a good thing they couldn't really feel pain in this game. Severance didn't even want to imagine what that sort of damage would feel like. It looked horrific.

A low voice murmured, "I'm going up."

Valentin stood a few feet away, his crimson gaze tracking up Atrocity's pillar. Then he glanced over at the one Awesome Dude had fallen from. It was still maybe thirty feet high and still descending.

He flipped the glaive around so it was held behind him, its point raised in a reverse grip. Then he bent his knees and surged up in a powerful leap.

Severance watched as Valentin hit and rebounded off of Atrocity's pillar, pushing himself towards the descending pillar. He kicked off that one and flew back towards Atrocity's, but at a much higher angle. One more push and he was able to reach the top of the descending pillar.

The moment he landed on its surface, the pillar halted its movement. A moment passed before it rumbled and began to rise once more.

Severance shook his head. Valentin operated at a level different from most other players. He wasn't even sure if Valentin was using an actual skill to move like that, or if it was just his innate movement ability. Not once had he heard the knightglaive call out a skill name when he moved.

By now, the roar of fire and projectiles had ended. There'd be a short moment before the next trap or creatures would be spawned, so he focused on Awesome Dude's burnt and smoldering body and began to cast Revive.

"How's it going?" Ironhide turned his head, but sandwiched between the walls and the spinning metal ball as he was, he couldn't see much. He would have noticed Awesome Dude's death from the party list, though.

"Valentin's taken the pillar," Sev called out. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the spinning ball's screech. "And I'm reviving Dude."

"Alright. Hurry."

As if he needed to be told that. There was no way he could keep the naked monkeys from swarming Ironhide on his own.

Come on, move a little faster, please.

It felt like an eternity before pale winds gathered around the Shade's blackened corpse. They lifted him off the ground so he hung limply in the air. Slowly, healing light began to sink into him.

Flakes of black, dead flesh began to fall off, revealing healthy pink skin beneath. And fortunately for everyone in the vicinity, Awesome Dude's underclothes remained intact, but most of the light armored clothing that Shades often wore was ruined. It hung off him in tatters.

Severance looked away, giving his head an internal shake. This was the second set of gear that the Dude had gotten ruined. He really hoped his friend had a third set in his Inventory.

"Ugh," was the first sound Awesome Dude made when opening his eyes. "Those stupid monkeys!"

"They push you off the pillar?" Severance couldn't help but ask. That earned him a mild huff.

"Yeah! They gotta be dropping from trapdoors in the ceiling or something." There was a faint pop as a third set of clothing appeared in his hands. Except... it wasn't the dark color Severance was expecting.

He stifled a laugh as he watched his friend pull them on. "Are those your trainee clothes? From when you started the game?"

Awesome Dude didn't quite look right in the pale, loose trousers and top. He scowled, and re-equipped his claw blades.

"Yeah. My clan only lets me take two sets of spares a day now. It's annoying."

"You could always go buy some from the market," Severance suggested.

To that, his friend gave him a disgusted look. "Why would I do that? Free stuff is better."

Severance looked up at the ceiling, exasperated. One of these days, he was going to see the Shade wandering through the city with nothing but a trashcan lid to hide behind.

"Look out!" Atrocity yelled down from his pillar, just as a chorus of angry screeches echoed through the room. Both Severance and Awesome Dude groaned as one.

"I hate monkeys," Awesome Dude complained. His claws appeared over his hands, sharp and ready to use. "Hey Sev, can ya throw me-"

"On it," Severance said. Soft green wind swirled around him, gathering energy into his war fans. "Mend."

"Thanks!" His friend grinned. "You're the best!"

Severance gave a half smile, but didn't answer. He walked into the middle, watching the perimeter of the platform. The monkeys would be climbing up from below. He focused on the party list for a moment, and it pulsed as if sensing his attention; everyone was in the green.

Still, he replaced the Radiant Dome over Ironhide just to keep him topped up. Then he glanced back at Awesome Dude. The Shade was already running out to meet a monkey that was just pulling itself up onto the platform.

He threw a Ward on his friend. Out of everyone, Awesome Dude would need the extra protection the most. Now that everyone was looked after, Severance could get down to business.

"Sky Dance!"

He felt the shift within, almost as if he himself became electrically charged. Blue sparks burst into life around his fans. Picking out a monkey at random, he fired off a Flare.

Awesome Dude had rushed right into the thick of them, energetically slashing away with his Claws. The fact that he was fighting three to one didn't bother him, for he cried "Shadewalk!" and became untouchable.

No matter how the monkeys screeched and tried to grab him, he danced around them like a leaf in a flurry of wind. Severance wondered what the Shade would do when the skill ended. It only lasted several seconds at most.

It wasn't his problem, though. Unless Awesome Dude's health bar dive bombed into the red zone of death, he had other things to worry about. Like the naked monkey charging across the platform at him.

"Flare!" Though there were no open skies overhead, thunder rumbled from somewhere above, and a single bolt of crackling blue energy shot down. It crashed into the monkey's head, eliciting an enraged screech.

Rather than slow it down, the attack only spurred the creature on. It dropped to all fours and galloped across the stone tiles. Severance had no time for another Flare.

He lowered his stance, rising onto the balls of his feet. The split second before the monkey hit him, Severance tensed. "Pivot Cut!"

He spun around the monkey, just evading its reach, and ended up behind it. His fans whooshed through the air before the hooked ends tore into its back. With no fur to protect the monkey, it was like cutting into a tomato with a saw. Tiny rivulets of electricity danced along the wound.

Severance winced, but he didn't stop there. With a quiet murmur of, "Skyfall," he began the next series of attacks. The monkey cried out and tried to pull away; Severance folowed, keeping close so the next slash would strike.

Since its attempts to evade weren't successful, the monkey whirled, fingers spread like claws, and lunged for his face.

Severance didn't even have to try to dodge; his body instinctively moved on its own, shifting his weight to his left foot so he could lean out of the monkey's reach. As he did so, he dealt the third and fourth strike of Skyfall.

+1 Intelligence

The monkey fell back, shrieking as it went. Severance lunged forward, the fifth strike of his war fans crossing over its neck. The cries stopped. The monkey fell. And Severance felt hot gore drip down his face like sweat.

His mind shuddered but his body did not react. Even as he felt a thrill of triumph over a fight well fought, a small part of him recoiled in revulsion. Fighting was ugly, gruesome, and even though these monkeys were just constructs in a game, they died hard.

Just like everything else in this world, he thought grimly, and then broke into a run because Awesome Dude was getting swarmed.

He switched to Earth Dance along the way, and then did a quick Flutterstep just before he reached his friend. By directing the twirling dance steps, he was able to pass by three monkeys without disrupting them.

Awesome Dude kicked at a monkey's legs, sending it tumbling into the path of another. He caught Severance's eye and grinned.

"Scrapper!" The Shade tabbed yet another monkey in the face before he dove into a roll and came up right behind it.

Severance moved with the flow of battle, repositioning himself by a monkey that was now at the Shade's flank. "Skyfall."

The normally gentle winds that accompanied Earth Dance now spun in sharp gusts, brushing against every cut left by one of Skyfall's attacks. They whirled towards Awesome Dude, their pale green light sinking into him and restoring small chunks of health with every fresh gust.

Severance settled into a rotation, using Pivot Cut, Skyfall, and Flutterstep when it was ready. He threw Ward on himself to absorb hits, and he had to change his focus target to himself a couple of times for the heals. His damage in Earth Dance wasn't much in Sky Dance, but at least he was still helping deal with the monkeys while keeping them both healed.

He also made sure to keep a Radiant Dome in place over Ironhide. The regeneration effect was just enough to slow the tank's loss of health to a crawl.

Once the last monkey fell, a low bell tone rang through the room. Severance looked up, a crease forming in his brow.

"Ha!" Awesome Dude cheered. "Atrocity's got the switch!"

Looking up at the pillar that Atrocity stood on, Severance saw that it had quit moving. "Why isn't it coming back down?"

"It won't. Not until Valentin gets his."

"So, he's stuck up there?"

"Yup."

"What if he just... jumps down?"

Awesome Dude looked at him strangely. "He'd die."

Severance shrugged. "I could Revive him."

"Huh." Awesome Dude considered this. "That could work."

Severance thought of Atrocity's stunt with the Concussive Shot. Then he imagined the Wanderer doing a swan dive off the pillar and falling a hundred feet only to go splat at the end.

His lips quirked upwards.