Straying from the Pack

Agon was on the other side of the room, running through a small valley of coins as the serpent thrashed about, yearning for even the smallest taste of his flesh. Kiche followed behind the beast, prodding at its scales with his rapier; there was no effect. The twin-headed serpent proceeded to chase Agon down. As Kiche continued to distract the creature, Agon took his chance and dove into one of the coin piles. As he tunneled through, he looked through an opening to see Mars standing back towards the entrance, completely frozen. Agon slowly made his way over to him, trying his best not to get caught in the crossfire. Strauss and Zahmidas were locked in a flashy exchange of clashes with their blades; anytime Strauss landed a hit, Zahmidas would try to take a handful of coins into his mouth, but Strauss would use his magic to blow the gold right out of his hands, making the rotting man howl in anger. Strauss was clearly toying with him and enjoying every moment of it.

Mars watched as the other members of Verdict fought with the same skill and technique he had grown up with, and started to feel a trace of nostalgia.

“Huh…” he sighed melancholically. He was slightly startled as he heard a rustle within the pile of coins next to him. Agon popped his head from out of the pile.

“Mars…! Agggh!” Agon squawked as he lost another minute. Twenty minutes left.

“W-what are you doing in there, guy?!?”

“Trying to figure out what YOU’RE doing! You’re just standing here like a statue!”

“Look, man. I just don’t wanna get in the way.”

“Get it the way…?”

“Look.” He limply raised his right arm and pointed to the others. “They’re doing just fine without me. Plus, they got you on standby if you gotta set something ablaze.” Agon quickly realized what he was doing. He softened his voice and climbed from under the pile of coins to stand in front of him.

“Mars…you messed up once-”

“Lives were lost because of my selfishness. If Strauss needs me, he’ll call me from the sidelines. That’s how things are now. I sit and wait like a good boy so I don’t mess things up…again.”

“What happened to all that bite you had when we were in that room with all the melted gold?”

“Forgot my place. I lost my bite after my owner ‘disciplined’ me, and now I'm back in line, like I should be.” He says, bunching his hand into a fist, remembering how Strauss knocked him to the ground with one punch.”

“Mars, you-” Just before Agon could continue, the serpent made its way to where they were and towered above them. “AAAAHHHH!” Kiche swooped in right as one of the heads lunged at Agon, sinking his rapier into his eye. The beast let out a violent cry as it bled all over the throne room. With his weapon still lodged in the serpent’s eye, Kiche climbed on top of its head and began to steer it into the walls over and over again until rendering it unconscious. He then dismounted and went to help Strauss fight off Zahmidas.

“Mars…Are you happy here?” Agon said, trying to collect his breath after almost being eaten.

“I don’t know WHY you keep asking me that, man.”

“Because you’re not giving me an honest answer!” Agon snapped. “I had to go through this whole dungeon watching Strauss, your so-called friend, badmouth you. And now you’re standing here at his beck and call like none of that even happened? That’s not happiness.”

“Are you happy here…?”

That question pulsed in Mars’s mind over and over again.

“I’m fine.” He said sharply.

The serpent woke up from its unconscious state and let out a roaring hiss. It jerked around in a frenzy. Agon watched as he lost another minute to Olagna. He gave Mars one last stare, but as he looked into his eyes, he saw no will. He sighed and turned to face the serpent.

“Like…with them…?” Louder, the question rang.”

Kiche was standing right by Strauss’s side. It was two against one. Zahmidas fell prey to a variety of team attacks, tag outs, and combos of all sorts; every single one being flawlessly executed. Agon caught a glimpse from the side of his eye and couldn’t help but be impressed. His focus quickly shifted back to the serpent, now with only three functioning eyes, diving into the ground, trying once again to get a hold of Agon. Its accuracy had suffered due to Kiche’s attacks, but it remained determined to taste the human flesh. Agon backed away and raised his hand in the air. “Alright, snake! Let’s turn up the heat!” But just before he could use his Heartburn ability, Strauss shouted at him.

“Agon, no! Don’t use fire magic!!!” Agon stopped and lowered his hands to look over at Strauss, who was still fighting Zahmidas while talking to him.

“Zahmidas eats the coins and uses them to heal his body and make him stronger! If you melt it, he’ll drink it up and be even stronger!”

“Crap…Then what do I do…?!?” Agon wasn’t sure at first, but then an idea sparked in his mind. He rolled out of the way of another attack from the snake, then planted his feet. “Hey, three-eyes!” He yelled. The beastly serpent reared its head in Agon’s direction, hissing softly and preparing for its next attack. “Tell me how this tastes…!” The serpent lunged forward, and Strauss yelled out and started running towards him.

“AGON, NOOOO!”

“DEFIBRILATE,” Agon muttered. Currents of electricity surged through his body and crackled loudly. He gritted his teeth in a wild smile; it felt like all of the adrenaline in his body had reformed into a great ball of shocking power. Strauss stopped in his tracks and stared at Agon, baffled.

“...Lightning magic…?” He muttered. Agon extended both of his arms out and let all the electric energy pour out from his fingertips. The static danced around the serpent, digging under its scales and shocking it from the inside out. The beasts let out a screech as the remaining three eyeballs popped into a puff of smoke. The snake slowly disintegrated and became just another pile of gold. Agon’s eyes returned to normal as he blinked away the last current; he breathed heavily and chuckled to himself. “W-woah.” Mars and Strauss looked at Agon in disbelief.

“No way…Does he really…?” Mars wondered.

“Agon has two types of magic…just…like…” The two of them locked eyes for a moment, though Agon could only see Mars from his perspective. He called out to him, still smirking as a result of the remnants of high-voltage magic leaving his body.

“You’re not your past, Mars.” His ears pricked up at Agon’s words. Strauss didn’t know where this was coming from, but couldn’t take his eyes off Agon. “I’ve seen how much you care about people. Heck, you only knew me for a couple of hours, and you still looked out for me. I don’t buy that you’re happy here, because I know that YOU know that you’re more than someone’s lap dog.

“...Agon…? What are you…?” Strauss muttered.

“We owe it to ourselves to choose better. You may not wanna believe it, but despite what you did, you deserve better than this. Because I see you. Not your past mistakes. You. The you who’s willing to stick around and atone for his mistakes.” Mars was speechless. Strauss began to storm over to Agon, but just before he could, he heard Mars call out.

“TWELVE FOOT UNDERHAND…!” Mars reached his left hand into the ground, and a long stream of dark energy shot from it, touching Strauss’s ankle.

“You-!” Strauss tried to pick up his foot in time, but it was too late. Mars grabbed his ankle and dragged him under, pulling him back up right in front of his face.

“Me.” He responded slyly, tossing Strauss into the air and socking him with his left arm. Knocking him out.

“G-Gehe?!?” Kiche stammered, briefly looking over to see Strauss’s body sprawled on the floor of coins. He wanted to run to him, but he was still fighting Zahmidas. Mars walked over to Agon with a bright smile on his face.

“You wanna tell me where all that came from?”

“Ah…I just couldn’t stand to see you putting yourself through that anymore. Having to be under someone who constantly holds your mistakes over your head…it’s unfair.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Hey, I'm not saying what you did wasn’t bad, but I’ve also seen your loyalty and care for others; it’s genuine. That alone lets me know that you’ve learned from your mistakes, and you wanna do better. You don’t wanna be put in that same box. So why stay in it? Why stay here?”

“Guy…if I try to leave, Caldivere is gonna hunt me down. C-Carine…”

“Are you willing to let all that keep you from choosing a better life for yourself?” Agon questioned. “I’ll ask you one more time…Are you happy here?”

A tear ran down Mars’s cheek, and he silently shook his head while sniffling.

“Then let’s get out of here,” Agon said with a bright smile. Mars's eyes widened as he looked at Agon's face in surprise.

“It’s strange…” Mars thought. “I used to chase their smiles because they felt so warm. But his…? It feels so…real….I think...I like this smile a lot better...”

“G-Ge!!! Gehe!!!” Kiche was starting to feel fatigue fighting Zahmidas now. Mars and Agon looked over as they heard his struggling cries for help.

“Ohhh…I forgot about him…” Agon groaned.

“Should we help him?” Mars said, wiping the tear from his eye.

“Yeah, Kiche didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I dunno, he laughed at a lot of the jokes Strauss made about me…”

“G-G-GEH!!!!” He stuttered.

“But doesn’t he laugh at everything?” Agon quizzed.

“True, true. Alright then, Agon. What’s the move?” Agon’s eyes lit up as Mars finally called him by his name. He smirked and put a hand on his left shoulder.

“How about you finish things off?” Mars grinned from ear to ear at his suggestion and walked forward towards Zahmidas, who had just knocked Kiche away with his blade of gold. He turned to face his next target, who stood perfectly still. Zahmidas hollered and charged at Mars, waving his sword in the air. Mars took a deep breath.

“LIMBO STEP.” He stomped his left foot to the ground, and the entire terrain tilted. It felt like the whole world was on a see-saw. Zahmidas staggered and tried to keep his balance while Mars stood perfectly still. He then took his left heel and pushed down on it, making Zahmidas and all the gold rush forward. Kiche and Agon fell to the ground, grabbing onto the walls and watching Strauss’ unconscious body slide across the floor. Zahmidas flew forward, right into Mars’s left hand. He gripped Zahmidas’s head tightly, then a little bit tighter…Tighter still…until he crushed his skull. Zahmidas’s body fell apart, his gold bones turning to ash. Soon, the rest of the throne room followed; all the gold and riches scattered about became piles of ash that dissipated to reveal a lush green field.

“Wow…” Agon gasped.

“Gehe! Geh, Geheehee!” Kiche scrambled to find Strauss’ body. Once he found it, he ran away, chuckling to himself.

“Where’s he headed?” Agon asked.

“Back to Caldivere, to let everyone know that I’m a filthy piece of trash that, once again, made team Verdict look bad.”

“Sheesh. Sure glad I’m not on that team.” Agon joked. Mars grunted as he lifted his left hand. He studied it and smirked to himself. “Yeah…me too…”

COMPLETE A DUNGEON: MISSION COMPLETE. 40:00 BT ADDED.

“T.A./H.A. SKILL DEACTIVATED. TIMER STOP.”

“W-wait…what…?” Agon shook his head. He couldn’t believe what he heard.

“What’s up, Agon?” Mars was confused as he watched Agon virtually snap his neck to look at the sky. Tears began to flow from his eyes. Mars put his right hand on his shoulder. “H-hey, man! You okay?!?” Agon saw it. The starry night sky, and the moon that lit a spotlight upon his body. The tears wouldn’t stop flowing. He fell to his knees, overjoyed.

“I-It’s night…” He sobbed.