Root and Squidd had formed a truce of sorts. Neither of them had weapons to hurt the other, and neither of them wanted to do so in the first place. So instead they strolled through the forest, taking a moment to enjoy the smell of the fir trees around them and to take a while to appreciate the safety of the moment.

God knew that moments like these were going to be rare soon enough.

"I've gotta say, this is nice." Root admitted. "Talks like these almost make you feel like things are normal."

"I agree," Squidd replied. "It's weird, though. We're both talking casually and we could even be friends, I think, but in a few days circumstances are going to change so drastically. I mean, I don't want to fight anyone now, but it's crazy what people will do when they're told they should do it. It makes you wonder how thin that line was in the first place." He looked up, squinting at the sky. "Really, how much does it take to convince someone to kill another person? How far away is that... mentality, that allows someone to do that? Things like this make me think it was never really that far away at all."

It was at that moment that they heard a cry of terror, and the atmosphere of relaxation evaporated at once. Root and Squidd ran over in the direction of the noise, and through the trees they were able to watch with chilling detail as Scatter walked step by step, slowly closing the distance between him and an exhausted Vianbni. A sword was in his hands, and a dozen small cuts that bled profusely could be seen, even from that far away.

"What the fuck did I ever do to you?!" Vianbni yelled at Scatter. "A few days ago you were normal, and now you're some sadistic killer. How does that even happen?"

Scatter hesitated for a bit, thrown off-guard by the question. "I... haven't really thought about that." He replied at last. "I think it's because part of me knows that you'd kill me just as easily. There's no other way it can happen." The hesitation in the boy's face, however brief, was gone now. "It's not my fault that we're in this game. Maybe you should have ran for the sword first instead of running into the forest. That's no one's fault other than yours!"

He was close enough now, and with a single swing he simply sliced open Vianbni's abdomen, spilling his innards without so much as blinking. There was no troubled look in his eyes as he heard Vianbni's scream, and there was no change in his posture besides one of violence. For all of his justification, Scatter knew deep inside that he was really enjoying the Games so far.

Maybe the willingness to kill and maim really wasn't that far away.

He walked away from Vianbni's dying figure without bothering to finish him off, straight towards the direction of Root and Squidd, although he didn't see them yet.

They ran away at once, terrified beyond words.
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Cybernetic was a one-man killsquad. He roamed through the forest alone, but the weapon in his hand gleamed in the sun and felt powerful in his grip.

He was unaware of Zero and Lamitrov, tracking him from a distance.

"There's a big drop in the ground a hundred meters or so off ahead." Lamitrov whispered. "I almost fell in it myself earlier today. It's hidden behind a fallen log. I betcha if we make Cybernetic chase us over there, he won't see it in time." The blue-haired girl smiled mischievously. "That mace of his won't be a problem, then."

"I love it." Zero replied. "But how do you plan on doing that?"

"Just follow my lead." She grinned, before disappearing into the bushes. "Get his attention and I'll do the rest."

"Wait, what?" He tried to ask, but she was already gone. He wondered not for the first time if Lamitrov was just trying to trick him into getting himself killed, but in the end he deemed that he could probably keep away from Cybernetic without a problem. "Ah, fuck it. Let's go."

Running parallel to the drop in the ground, Zero had no trouble catching up to the android in his slow, confident stalk of a predator. "Hey, you!" He shouted out, grinning. "What's the point of that mace if you can't even catch anyone with it? You stupid robot, you won't kill anyone in a million years!"

"What are you trying to say, number of non-existent quantities?" Cybernetic asked back, perplexed.

"I'm saying come the fuck at me! I'm not scared of you, you little... ah, shit." The armed man was already sprinting towards him at full speed, and he was closing the distance fast. "A little help, Lamitrov?" He stood where he was, waiting for a moment longer. He needed to keep him close to the edge if he wanted him to fall off of it in the first place.

"KUMBAAYYAAAA!" Like a bat out of hell, Lamitrov simply exploded from the trees next to Cybernetic's location, running next to him with a wicked grin on her face as the two of them neared the cliff at blistering speeds. "YOU NEED SOME OIL, CYBER? MY GRANDMA CAN RUN FASTER THAN YOU!"

"My module for giving fucks cannot be found. Please update software." Still running, Cyber swung his mace straight at Lamitrov's skull, but she easily ducked out of its path and skidded to a stop, raising the most sarcastic soldier's salute Zero had ever seen in his life. By swinging, the android had overbalanced himself terribly, and he tripped. Right as he reached the edge of the cliff.

He fell. And he hit the ground with a scream and a mighty crash. Cybernetic was not dead, but one of his legs had broken and the mace had disappeared into the foilage. Stunned, he let out a soft groan and closed his eyes, half-buried in a mound of old and dead bushes.

"Woohoo! That was crazy!" Lamitrov shouted in exultation. "Good work, partner." She raised up a hand, and Zero complied with a wicked high-five. "Teamwork beats maces any day!"

Zero laughed, still feeling the adrenaline rushing through him. "Yeah! Yeah..." He sighed, looking at his partner for a second time, differently now. "Man. I really hope we don't have to face each other any time soon."

That seemed to sober Lamitrov a bit, and her eyes turned downwards. "Yeah... me neither, Zero. Me neither..."
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