The day after, Teon wears bandages around his chest and stomach. He slowly walks through the hallways, one hand always holding onto a wall. He opens the door to his room and enters. His friends can't believe what they are seeing.

  "What the fuck happened to you, dude?"

  Max blurs out.

  "Was that Lucius?"

  Teon shakes his head.

  "No, Kaia. That was Kai."

  He walks past the two girls and lets out a pain-filled groan as he lies down on his bed. Percy and Lloyd leave the bathroom laughing, which instantly stops as they see Teon.

  "What happened to you, man?"

  "Kai beat him up!"

  Max answers before Teon has any chance to speak. He sighs and runs a hand over his face.

  "Please don't blame him for it. That was all Lucius's plan."

  Kaia moves to stand next to him and reaches for the bandages.

  "How bad are your injuries?"

  "Manageable."

  Teon answers. Kaia removes the bandages and reveals a huge, circular burn right where the chest and stomach meet. Kaia gasps in shock.

  "What does he mean by manageable? This looks worse than Lloyd and Percy after our mission."

  Kaia thinks and takes a step back, covering her mouth with one hand. She reaches for the wound with her free hand and touches it slightly. Teon groans in pain again.

  "Ohh... sorry."

  "Don't worry."

  The only thing running through Kaias mind at the moment is the thought of what would've happened if this attack had hit her instead. Teon wraps the bandages back around his body before slipping a shirt over his head and lying back down.

  "If I just rest for a few days, I'll be able to move freely again. Don't worry about me, guys. Just continue training."

  He musters a smile before closing his eyes and dozing off.

  Two days after Teon returned with his injuries, he is still lying in bed. Meanwhile, the other four just arrived at the training field, with Nova already waiting for them.

  "We just got an emergency signal, three nightmares. This time it's further away; you will receive the coordinates and go alone. I'm not going to play babysitter again."

  Max is the first one to turn around and sprint towards the entrance of the base, closely followed by the rest.

  "Aren't three a bit too much for us?"

  Percy voices his concern.

  "Bullshit. We work as a team, and it's going to be easy. No playing hero this time."

  "And who made you the leader?"

  Lloyd sneers at Max.

  "Just shut up, dude."

  They arrive at the coordinates, the far outside of a small city. Not much has been destroyed. The mentioned nightmares, all three just as big as the last one they fought, are making their way to the center of the city. Lloyd lets out an excruciating scream as his bones grow, getting the attention of all three Nightmares. They turn and storm in the direction of the scream. The moment they are close, Max uses her ability, and the monsters get visibly slower as their power decreases. Lloyd jumps against the wall of a house, breaking the wall, before pushing himself away from it and slamming into one of the nightmare's heads. It falls to the ground, two bone blades deeply buried in its head.

  At the same time, Percy attacks the one that is closest to Max.

  "Shit!"

  Max's knees give in, and she falls.

  "Three at the same time may be too much for me. Take them out fast!"

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  Percy evades the huge claws of the monster before pulling a spear out of the air. He slides with his knees over the ground to get beneath the monster's head before throwing the weapon up, piercing the head in a single attack. It falls down, about to bury Percy beneath it, but just as it's about to touch him, the monster dissolves into black sand. The boy sighs out in relief before looking for Lloyd. He is standing on a pile of black sand. The two look at each other before the roar of the third one pulls them back into reality. They turn their heads to where Max is kneeling just to witness how Kaia holds the jaw of the monster open with her bare hands as it tries to eat Max. The two boys move as fast as they possibly can to get to their friends but are too late. The nightmare throws its head up and swallows Kaia.

  Max screams out and tries to get up, but to her horror, her body won't move. The other two are just stunned from the shock. The monster looks down at Max again before opening its mouth. Suddenly the monster stops. A hole is ripped into his chest, and Kaia falls out of it, holding a heart in her hands. The nightmare lets out a whimper of pain before disappearing into black sand. Kaia pants heavily and goes down on one knee. After a few moments of just staring at her, the three start cheering and run, if possible, to her.

  Far away in the base. Nova stands in a control room, watching a big screen on the other side of the room, which shows the events in the attacked city.

  A door behind her opens, and Lucius enters; he looks surprised.

  "Nova, what are you doing here? Why aren't you with the recruits?!"

  "They don't need a babysitter all the time, look. They already took care of the nightmares."

  "Still, I would feel much better if you continued to look after them."

  Just as Lucius finished his sentence, the screen lit up red. A woman at a nearby computer looks up stressed and turns to Lucius and Nova.

  "Sir, our satellite spotted another nightmare in the city. This one wasn't reported before."

  "How strong?!"

  Lucius asks in a stressed tone.

  "We don't know yet."

  "See?! That's why I want you to look after them!"

  Nova scoffs at Lucius's remark and turns away from him, her eyes on the screen again.

  "SHIT!"

  Everyone's attention in the room is directed to the screen. It shows a nightmare, twice the size of the others. A grotesque appearance. It's laughing while holding Lloyd's unconscious body and smashing his face into the asphalt. The other three recruits lay scattered and unconscious nearby. A man speaks up.

  "Lucius, sir..."

  He looks at the place where Lucius was before.

  "W...where is he?"

  Nova points at the screen without saying a word.

  The nightmare is still holding Lloyds while smashing his head into the street. Suddenly there is a beam of light coming from the sky. Right where the monster stood is now only a pile of sand on which Lucius stands, holding Lloyd in his arms.

  The man who spoke up just moments ago stares at the screen, mouth wide open.

  "That's it. The second strongest person on earth."

  Nova says before turning around and leaving the room. After the door closes behind her, she murmurs.

  "As soon as they're back, I'm going to be lectured."

  She sighs before walking down the hallway.