The monster ran wild, abilities no longer caged.
Though it found that it never could age.

'This is bad. Very, very bad' Mitch sighed quietly, watching as the event unfolded. Choco and Rob merely nodded in response, observing how whenever Preston moved, the Trickster would do something completely random 'How are none of them tiring out?'
'One's currently being fueled by rage, and one's an insane murderer who helped to wipe out an entire village of baccas' Noah reasoned, and the Ignis Canadian flinched 'A-A bacca village? Where... Were there any survivors?'
'Not that we could see, no. It was around the Aether and Windlands, didn't you hear about this?' Upon hearing the news, Mitchell's heart shattered. One of his best friends was from that village, and if what the Void Prince said was true... Well, they would never meet again.

'Hey Mitch, are you alright? You look kind of upset about something' Blinking himself back into reality, the Archer hesitated before nodding slowly 'Yeah, I'm alright. I just - Preston, duck!'
The Texan had paused to take a breather for a few seconds, but that was all the time Rueben needed. The castaway laughed darkly, and sent out a wave of darkness that knocked the brunette off of his feet before standing over him with a twisted smirk in his - Technically speaking, her - face 'Oh, giving up so easily, sweetie? I'm disappointed in you, honestly - Unable to fight properly, or even protect his friends!'
'Shut the bloody Hell up, or I'm going to drag your soul to the Underworld myself!' Kenny snapped, a burning hatred in his eyes as he stood in front of his friend 'Preston doesn't need to protect us from someone like you'

'Oh, is the blondie trying to support the one who almost got him killed? How sickeningly disgusting,' Rueben snorted defiantly, causing Preston to whimper softly and pull his knees up to his chest 'I-It's true...'
'No it's not, Preston - He's doing this to weaken you, don't listen to him!' The blond protested, turning around to face his younger friend who's eyes fell to the ground 'But... But I - Kenny, watch out!'
Time seemed to stand still as a searing pain ran through the American's spine. He gasped, falling to the floor as a loud ringing filled his ears 'K-Kenny?! Oh no, oh Lords... Come on Kenny, stay with us!'

'What... What jus-just h-happened?' The Atlantic Prince stuttered, unable to move as his older Brother's face appeared above his own 'Crap, fudge, stercore... Y-You're gonna be-be okay, y'hear me? Just d-don't fall... Go...'
With his hearing beginning to fade, and eyesight hazy, Kenny could barely hear himself think. The pain was still prominent in his back, and through the almost static confusing his senses, the boy could hear panicked screeching 'Losing... Help him... Ability?!'
'No use, the... Deep. If... Stronger, then... Possibly save...'
'...Got to... Something! He... Die, and if... Then... Please'

Meanwhile.

The Australian let out a small cry of alarm as his older - yet shorter - friend was pushed to the ground by his opponent, growling viciously as she raised her weapon (Perhaps a small sword, or a dagger) over Vikram's head 'Well, looks like I won!'
'I wouldn't count on it, little girl!' Pushing himself up, the Indian countered a possibly fatal blow by side-stepping and kicking the back of the girl's legs 'Who's short now, huh?'
'Jide's having way too much fun' Harry muttered under his breath, with his younger counterpart nodding slightly and taking a few steps back to avoid having a knife embedded in his skull 'Should we stop them? Vik could get really hurt by doing this'
'He'll be fine, Lachlan... You really care about him, don't you?' Lachlan flinched, looking at the magic-wielder who wore a smug smirk on his face as he crossed his arms 'W-Well of course, he... He's one of my best f-friends!'

'Get the Hell off of me!'
'Or maybe you care for a different reason'
'You can't use your abilities, you peasant!'
'Did you just call me a peasant? I'll show you who's a peasant!'
'I-I don't know what-what you're talking ab-bout'
'Sure you don't, big guy... But yeah, maybe an intervention would be a good idea. You take Vik, I take Alesa?'
'Got it, have fun with that' The two dashed for their respective fighters, dragging one away from the other kicking and screaming while the other lay limp in their friend's arms 'Uh, Harry?'

The shorter boy's eyes flashed with annoyance, and he disarmed the girl before calling into the air : "Simon, bubble her!"
The same red barrier from earlier surrounded the girl, who instantly snarled and tried to break her restraints while Harry turned back to the taller Aussie 'What's up?'
'Vik's not moving'
'Oh, that's - Wait what?!' Jogging over to the two as Lachlan gently set the Void Royal on the ground, his heart sank as he saw Vikram's condition. Multiple cuts and forming bruises were scattered across his skin, and his hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat - He had been pushed way too far 'Olajide Olatunji, what in the Universe's name did you do to him?!'
'You can't blame me for this, I was helping him!'
'I think you went a little bit overboard, Man. Look at him, the poor guy's exhausted'
'At least one of you has common sense... JJ, you know Vik isn't the best when it comes to fighting. If it had been yourself, or one of the guys, then it would have been fine. But you know exactly why he isn't as strong as the rest of us'
'Yeah, well you're not exactly the strongest out of all of us either, are you?'
'At least my death wasn't from being smothered in my sleep!'

'Guys, arguing isn't going to get us anywhere. We can talk about this later, right now we need to help Vik - Now, Lachlan, do you know what just happened?'
The Australian took a shaky breath, nodding slightly and gaining a slight smile from Harry as the voice continued 'So I'm guessing Bog told you about us, then?'
'Not everything, but I know enough. What is that thing, anyway?' Pointing to the translucent red bubble, Lachlan could hear the girl screaming profanities that would make even the hardest Knight flinch 'Oh, her? She's a demon, but normally she only attacks when provoked'
'She tried to kill us'
'Actually, Harry could have dispelled her if he wasn't such a-'
'JJ, this really isn't the time. Helping Vik is the main priority right now, you can take out your anger later on a tree or something' The shorter boy looked down, clenching his fists but saying nothing as he kneeled by his friend's side 'This legitimately isn't the time, can one of you just help him?'
'I'm on it!' A red orb appeared just above the Brit's chest, followed by a loud "Ohhhh" 'He sustained some rib damage, but that's nothing I can't take care of. Emotional damage on the other hand... Aye aye aye, this ain't pretty'
'Emotional damage?' Lachlan asked, tilting his head slightly as a pale crimson figure slowly began to materialize 'That fight with his... the demon took a lot out of him'

The red orb began to gain more colour and light as time passed by, turning to a lime green before shattering over the boy's chest. Lachlan cried out in alarm, but the red figure merely shushed him 'This is the best part, Blondie!'
The broken pieces slowly rolled themselves into tiny balls, around fifty in total, with a slight yellow tinge around them. Letting out a slight sigh, the Australian took a few steps back and sat against a wall in relief 'I-Is he going to be okay?'
'He should be fine,' The crimson spirit laughed at the Aether Prince's semi-shocked, semi-relieved expression before standing up and facing Harry 'Hazza, can I ask you something?'
'Go ahead, Behz'
'Why the bloody Hell aren't you a ghost anymore?'

Meanwhile.

'He's going to bleed out if we leave him any longer!'
'Preston, I... I'm sorry, alright? If I did heal him, there's still the fact that his spine may be permanently damaged'
'Rob's right' Brice's shaky voice broke the atmosphere, and the duo turned to see their Australian counterpart standing with his head down low 'O-Only water can he-heal him now'
'Well that's easy, can't you just summon some?'

'It doesn't work like that. He either has to do it by himself,' The younger blond was in no condition to do so, as he had fallen unconscious only moments after he'd been struck 'Or I can try to find a natural water source'
'Nothing else will work?' Seto asked, messing with the hem of his cloak awkwardly as he surveyed the scene. He didn't really know these people, but he would do anything if it made Amelia happy again 'Oh gosh, Landon... He's fine, I promise, he's just... Sleeping'
'I'm nine years old, I think I know when someone's dying' Letting out a soft whimper, Preston's eyes began to water before he rubbed them viciously. He wasn't going to cry, not when his friend is in a life-and-death situation.
That didn't stop a few small tears escaping though, landing on his life-long friend's arm as he looked around 'Whe-Where can we find one?'
'There's one in the Catacombs, and another one in the Dungeons. Should we split up, or-'
'Going in groups would probably be the best idea... Brice, Preston and I can go to the Catacombs. Amelia, Nathan and Noah - You get the Dungeon,' Raising his voice so that all the others could hear, the Canadian spoke with a fierce determination lacing his voice 'Everyone else, protect Kenny at all costs!'

Gaining multiple replies of "Got it!" "We won't let you down, guys" and a random cheer here and there, Amelia swivelled around and crouched down to face Landon, who's facial expression held slight concern 'Are you guys gonna be okay?'
'We'll be fine, Landon... You know how to get Vik and Lachlan back, don't you?' Nodding awkwardly, the boy turned and pointed to the misty orb floating above the Thrones 'I just have to touch that'
'Was that really all we had to do? Gosh, we're dumb... Wait for me, guys! Make sure you get them back if something goes wrong, okay? Good luck, and don't get hurt'
'Amelia, wait!' The girl was already rushing out the door, and the young Aether Prince's call was most likely lost in the commotion caused by Mitch and Choco's fight against Rueben.

'Choco, you're still injured from Ali's attack earlier!' Mitch warned, jumping back to avoid a shadow ball while the dark-haired Guard shook his head 'I don't give one! This monster possibly killed my friend, I'm not letting him get out of this easily'
'Oh, looks like the bird's getting lairy' Panic struck Choco's heart as he shuddered slightly, before he dismissed it and raised his weapon - A weakened steel sword, but it had the ability to set someone on fire. Vincent never questioned this feature, but was always wary when unsheathing it incase it backfired and turned the boy into a blazing, screaming mess.
Lovely image, isn't it?
'H-How... Shut up, dangit! It doesn't matter, that has nothing to do with this fight!'
'Or does it, Vincent? Y'know, your other form could aid you in this-'
'I said, shut up!' Rushing forward, the Ignis Warrior raised his blade and almost hit his target... Keyword almost. A dark tentacle lashed out of the unstable ground, wrapping around his ankle and pulling him high into the air 'Let's see if the bird can fly, shall we?'

'You-You wouldn't dare... Would you?' Without giving a straight answer, Rueben merely snapped his fingers as two more smoking ropes materialized from the shadows 'Eh, depends on whether or not you'll stop lying to your friends'
Mitch looked a bit uncertain as he took a defensive stance, before looking up at his friend 'Choco, what's he talking about?'
'N-Nothing important!'
'Oh, I think it is. Now - Are you going to tell your Hunger Games Champion over there what we're talking-'
'I'd rather fall to my death than tell anyone! I'm not going to change,' By this time, the ropes had squeezed around his stomach and torso 'I can take you down without my abilities!'
'Hold on a - Abilities?!'

...Crap...