Ali and Konnor had found their way into the cave after having searched for quite some time. They had been running for a while but were still going strong.
"You know, Catnap has us all figured out," laughed Ali as she ran forward.
"She has us figured out?" Konnor asked in confusion.
"Don't be an idiot," she said as she punched the hulking cat man to no reaction on his part.
"Oh, right, you mean us, he laughed. "And, by the way, you punch like a girl," he said as he carried on laughing.
"Ugh, whatever... but I just want you to know I feel happier when you're around."
"Me too. But I don't think now is the time to get mushy."
The two laughed before beginning to pick up the pace of their running.
Meanwhile, in the centre of the cave, things had gone from good to what now seemed to be horribly bad.
Mikey and August were on their last legs in a desperate attempt to protect a petrified Alice.
"Why won't you move, dammit?" August snapped.
The young swordsman was bruised head to toe, clearly not prepared to go any further in his handicap battle against Daniel.
"Mikey, isn't there another way to stop him?"
"I doubt it," he responded. "He looks pretty lost in himself."
Daniel rushed forward once more, tackling Mikey to the ground and slamming his immense paw onto the side of the gunslinger's face.
Mikey screamed in agony as August rushed forward. Despite the rage that overcame him, August refused to take extreme measures against his best friend.
Through gritted teeth, August ignited his Red Steel Blade and called out to Daniel.
"Get off of him! We're trying to help you, you idiot!"
"Oh, what do you know, you wannabe Firewalker?" Snarled Daniel return.
August began taking steps forward, each one as small as the last.
"All I know is that this Hound Blood makes you aggressive. But I still think we can fix you."
Daniel stood on his hind legs, leaving Mikey to lay on the hard ground. He ran forward before beginning to walk circles around August.
"Think back to who you really are," August reasoned.
"You're telling me this isn't who I really am? I know for a fact that I'm a monster. We all are... you just haven't realised it yet."
The flames engulfing August's hands began to burn more vigorously as his hands wrapped tighter around the handle of his sword.
"Listen, you're my best friend and up till now, I've been restraining my strength so as not to hurt you," explained August. "We're just trying to help..."
"I don't need help," snapped Daniel as he charged forward.
August slashed diagonally left to which Daniel easily manoeuvred out of the way. Then, with sheer force, Daniel used his entire physical potential to knock August as far as possible. Daniel rushed forward once more only to be stopped dead in his tracks by a second round of Mikey's Plasma Cannon.
"Surprised I'm still up?" Asked Mikey with a cocky grin as blood trickled from the side of his head.
Daniel growled in return as his attention turned from August. He began to take slow steps forward to Mikey as his snarl became more threatening with each foot forward.
