Alexander woke up and immediately looked at the timer. There were two hours left. He shot up and noticed most of the pain was gone. His brain was still fuzzy, though, so he took a second to recollect himself. Everyone was either in position or doing some final touches to their equipment, and they paid no attention to him. 

He stumbled over to the console that displayed the shop, using his one-hundred credits to buy some nutrition blocks and water. He haphazardly fell back to his bed and ate. The nutrition blocks were cheap and high in calories and nutrients, but they tasted… gray. At least, that was the best way Alexander could describe it. They tasted bland. Still, he ate, and after his body was satisfied, he took a second to focus on what he should do next.

He already bought everything he wanted skill wise, so he took a second to think about either some clothes or a weapon. Everyone had used their credits gained from the last fight to buy better clothes for this environment, and Alexander dreaded going outside again in only a kilt. However, something kept bugging him. This IS just a game, and I wanted to make an impression. Maybe I should stick with this whole "kilt only" gimmick? He thought about it some more. I'm lucky not to have any missing toes from frostbite, and I'm even more lucky to have survived until now. But I wanted to only have a kilt when I went into this. I don’t want to just abandon that. 

Alexander kept stewing. He kept turning over what happened and what he should do in his mind, and each time he was reminded about what he did. He flipped a switch, and he let something out. It wasn't an entity or some kind of poison, it was simply him. There was no other personality, no other side; it was just a dark impulse that he hoped never saw the light of day. But now it was beating in his chest. He wanted blood. 

Alexander shook it off after a while, the thoughts were starting to spiral. The morphine was starting to wear off, so he decided to get up and do some stretching. He still didn’t know what he was doing, so with every movement he kept having to re-balance himself. 

"Need some help, oh Berserker?" Jenny said in a sly tone, suddenly appearing. Alexander looked over with pleading eyes.

"Please..?" 

Alexander spent the next hour trying his absolute best mimicking yoga poses that Jenny did effortlessly. He memorized them the best he could, and Jenny provided a great deal of useful advice about what muscles need stretching, the best beginner poses, and basic breathing and mindfulness techniques. 

Afterward, he was sweaty and exhausted, but at the same time incredibly limber. He felt more at peace and more focused than ever. He thanked Jenny as she went back to her post on the roof, then went over to Brandon. He was sharpening his broadsword, and he now had some thick leather armor. 

"Hey there champ. You've been passed out for thirteen hours..." He gave a chuckle. "But don’t worry, I developed a plan for the yetis."

Alexander sat down next to Peter, who was affixing his own pieces of armor. Jade was nowhere to be seen. "I'd love to hear it."

"Alright, we’re basically going to rehearse what happened last time, but with a bit of a twist." Brandon paused. "Us four are still going to be outside, with Kate on the roof and Jenny as her guard, but this time Steven and Sarah are going to be using an energy cannon." Brandon smirked. 

"A cannon?" Alexander asked, now dumbfounded. 

"You’re goddamn right a cannon.” Brandon rested his hand on his knee. “We moved the shield generator to the roof, and we were able to afford a cannon as well." Brandon hit Peter playfully, and they both shared a look of 'awesome.' "It’s only got about four shots in it, though, before it craps out. So we’re going to have to make them count.”

"How are we going to do that?" Alexander asked, almost wishing he hadn't.

"It's simple– you.” Brandon paused again. Alexander expected a punchline, but none came. “Listen, we need you to be a distraction. We’ve got three whole Yetis to fight, and we need to do this smart.” Brandon looked over at Peter who nodded in agreement. “Listen, here’s the plan– us three are going to be right outside the bounds of the shield generator, waiting, while you distract the Yetis. Kate is going to fire her arrows as quickly as she can, and when she hits one in the eyes, that's when we step in.” 

"After a yeti is blinded, at least hopefully halfway, Brandon and I are going to taunt it towards the building. You'll have to taunt the others into staying away from the building, so good luck." Alexander gave a "are you serious" look, then Peter continued. "Jade will stay near the building and activate some wire traps we were able to configure. Hopefully, we'll draw it in and trip the beast. Once that happens, we'll cut the tendons to its legs, allowing the cannon to have the perfect shot." 

"So what happens if I die?" Alexander finally got out. Brandon took up the conversation again.

"Well, simply don't." Brandon said with an entirely serious tone. "But if you do, I'll fulfill your role in a limited sense. Essentially, the goal is to blind them, trip them, immobilize them, then blow them to bits with our cannon. Any questions?" 

"I mean I guess not. Why are you entirely relying upon me to do this?" 

"We're also entirely relying upon Kate to shoot eyes from a hundred yards away and for the brain twins to have a working cannon. We're all cogs. Now go out and be a good soldier." Peter said with more marine than usual. 

Alexander thought to himself about the task. He felt incredibly associated with the past twenty-four hours. Deep within him, he was questioning if this was all possible, but above that, he felt something much worse. He felt butterflies in his stomach, but it wasn’t because he was nervous– he was excited.

A half-hour later, and with nine minutes left on the clock, everyone was in position. Alexander was out in the frigid cold, cursing himself for not at least buying some shoes. His feet felt like they were on fire, but at least he could feel something. Still, worse than the cold was the jitters running through him. Every cell was screaming at him to stop, to go back, and to go home. He felt like the world was caving in. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t go back. He felt like a puppet being controlled, and right now he was being forced to fight. 

When the clock struck zero, a horrible pounding was heard not far off. After a few seconds, he saw three yetis, in a triangle formation, all slowly walking towards them, pounding their chests in unison. 

They all looked roughly the same. They were almost fifteen feet tall, had mostly white fur with patches of blue, and coal-black eyes that signaled death. Their teeth were massive and crooked, with horrifying tusks jutting out. And while he couldn't smell it yet, Alexander assumed their breath was just horrendous. 

When the yetis got closer, they stopped and stared at Alexander. Here was this tiny human, clad only in a kilt, with his arms crossed like a concerned parent. The one to the left scratched his head, debating on what to do. The one in front just shrugged, stepped forward, and screamed. Now Alexander could smell the breath, and it was somehow more disgusting than his imagination. 

The billowing cry echoed through the mountain top, seeming to shake the very fabric of reality. It lasted almost a full minute, and by the time he was done, Alexander’s ears were ringing. The yeti looked smug at the human now coated with saliva. But Alexander was unphased. Nervousness turned into excitement, which itself turned into anger. If he could not live peacefully, Alexander decided right then and there that he would throw caution to the wind. And as the wind swept over his now pinkish skin, he gave in fully to the fight. He gave in completely to this game. He would be the best. 

Alexander dug deep and started to slip into the same black fury as before. He then took perhaps the largest, most painful breath of life, taking in as much air as physics would allow, then started to scream. 

After what was just under ten seconds of his barbaric scream, his chest started to cramp with how much he pushed. His face turned red, then purple, and he started to see stars. And after he was done, his throat feeling like it was just ripped out of him, one of the yetis stepped back. 

The yeti in front twisted its face with rage at this human and started to swing his massive fist down at him. But just before it made contact, a zipping noise filled the air as an arrow flew through the sky. It landed, finding its final destination in the right eye of the yeti.  The beast let out another scream, this one of pain, and started to charge at Alexander. 

Alexander, who was now hyperventilating, started to run back towards the bunker, sprinting as fast as his legs would allow. The other two yetis followed behind.

Alexander was not fast enough, and after a few seconds more of the chase, the half-blind yeti grabbed Alexander as its two companies encircled the now grappled Alexander. The yeti grasped down hard and lifted him up, laughing as he did so. Alexander heard a crack and coughed as the rest of the air escaped his lungs. But he kept his resolve and waited. 

His patience paid off. A split-second before the rest of his ribs broke, another arrow streaked through the sky and landed into the other eye of this giant. 

Alexander bit down hard on the hand at the same time, and the yeti relented. With rage, the beast charged forward, sprinting past Alexander, who allowed the beast to ramble onwards. But when his two companions tried to follow, Alexander stepped into the way and grinned.

The two screamed as they started to either grab or smash Alexander, narrowly missing each time as Alexander kept sprinting and dodging. But he knew he didn’t have long. He felt his energy lower, and he felt his lungs burn with tremendous force. 

Alexander suddenly heard a loud thump and looked back to see the blind yeti now collapsed on the ground, blood now seeping from its legs. But for the split second he looked away, he wasn't able to dodge, and one of the yetis smashed its fist into his right side, instantly breaking several bones in his arm and chest. 

Pain shot through his system. Unimaginable pain. He collapsed on his knees as his vision blurred. He coughed and blood splattered onto the snow. One of the yetis laughed as it raised its hand. But then a sickening BOOM echoed through the mountain top. One Yeti was down, and it was now everywhere. 

Alexander tried to get up, but he just couldn't. It took all of his energy just to stay upright. The shock of the cannon going off only stalled the yeti for a second, and they both swung their arms down. Alexander felt time slow again. Milliseconds spanned into seconds, and he could feel how close death now was. But he relented again, and he let the last bits of himself go. The rest of the chains in his mind broke, and a nature-defying energy shot through his system. 

Alexander leaned forward, did a handstand on his one functional arm, then flipped onto his feet, narrowly dodging the attack. Without skipping a beat, he suddenly lurched forward and behind the two yetis. But before they could react, he jumped and drop-kicked one right behind the legs, forcing it to its knees.

He then dodged to the other side, now facing the other yeti. A scream of pain bellowed from the downed yeti trying to get up as an arrow flew through the air and got one of his eyes. The yeti scrambled up and launched forward towards the archer, but before he could get close enough, an arrow landed in his other eye. A thud sounded as he was tripped, then another mechanical nightmare shot out and obliterated his body. 

Meanwhile, Alexander was burning all the energy he could find in his body. He was desperately trying to keep up with the one remaining yeti, forcing his body as best as he could to dodge its attacks. And since its back was turned away from the archer, Kate couldn't get a clear shot. He was alone, and he was struggling. 

A reckoning came as the yeti finally managed to land a hit, breaking Alexander’s left leg upon impact. Alexander collapsed on the ground, and the Yeti joyfully picked him up. An arrow shot out, but the thick skin and muscle of the yeti's back prevented any real damage. 

Alexander saw blood in his vision as the yeti lifted him, bringing him closer to its mouth. Alexander could feel the warm and moist breath of the beast, its yellow teeth taunting Alexander. But then, that horrible sound was heard again. The cannon shot out its third blast, sending a ball of energy that grazed the shoulder of the giant, searing skin and disrupting its attempt to eat Alexander. Now annoyed at the cannon, the yeti dropped Alexander and rushed at it. 

As the yeti charged, Kate was finally able to hit one of its eyes, but only after many failed attempts. It still ran forth, however, and the melee trio suddenly found themselves trapped as the yeti saw, and easily dismantled the tripwire. 

Brandon, Peter, and Jade backed up and were bordering on the shield. The yeti’s attacks were pushing them back, and the scientists could not risk their last shot. It was difficult enough to aim the cannon, and they were on their last shot. So the three fighters continued to occupy the beast as it probed the weakening shield generator. 

Alexander felt cold. Seriously cold. He lost way too much blood, and only had two functioning limbs. Still, he could see what was going on– it didn't look good. Not today… NOT today… 

The yeti screamed triumphantly as it finally got one of the trio. It grabbed Brandon in a death grip, and no amount of knife or spear attacks could make it let go. It grinned as it moved its arm back, aiming to throw the poor man at Kate. 

But then the yeti stopped; it felt someone tugging at its fur. The yeti turned to look, but couldn't see anything. It felt like someone was scratching him. The yeti started to write uncomfortably as it kept searching for what was on its back, but then everyone saw it. 

Alexander had climbed his way up the back of the yeti, with a tooth of one of its fallen friends clutched in his mouth, and was now at the top. Alexander then wrapped his only functioning leg around the throat of the yeti, flexing as hard as he could. The beast immediately dropped Brandon, and while gasping for air, tried desperately to punch and pry the berserker away. But it was too late. After getting a good grip, Alexander took the yeti tooth out of his mouth and jammed it into its only functional eye. 

The world darkened, and Alexander fell. The last thing he heard was a loud scream, followed by a world-shaking blast. 

--

To describe Alexander's physical state as unstable did the word injustice. He was quite literally seconds away from death when Sarah and the others got to him. 

The last yeti had died, but the team was shaken up. Some of them have never seen that much blood in their lives. And while they were able to work through it in an attempt to save poor Alexander and the others, it was incredibly difficult.

An hour passed. Those with smaller injuries, such as burns, cuts, or sprained joints, were tended to. But Alexander was still walking the fine line of death. They were barely able to keep him alive and have his heart pumping, and his body looked like a jig-saw puzzle. And even with this new world full of technology and magic, there was nothing anyone could do. That was, until, Steven found a vial of nano-bots in the store. 

But it wasn't as simple as just injecting it. Because of the high cost, those contributing to the project could only afford non-programmed bots, essentially meaning they’d be useless without instructions. Still, Steven was undaunted, and offered to try and get a functional vial of nano-bots. 

Over the next ten hours, while the others suited up and prepared for the deadly battle ahead, Sarah and Steven worked as a duo. Sarah would keep Alexander as stable as she could while Steven tried his absolute best to try and program the damn things. It proved to be a challenge unlike any either had ever dealt with. But they were both some of the top performers in their fields, and with enough trial and error, they had something that could maybe work. 

"Brandon, get over here." Sarah started after a sigh. Brandon came downstairs, now with a full suit of metal armor, and walked over to her.

"You got something?" He asked cautiously. Brandon had never seen someone break a sweat from programming before. 

"Possibly.” Steven said while spinning in his chair. “To the best of my knowledge, this vial of nano-bots will fix Alexander’s condition.” 

"Alright, so what should we do?" Brandon asked.

"I-I don't know." Sarah shot back. "That's why I called for you." 

Brandon never liked being a leader. In fact, he hated it for most of his life. And when he joined the Navy and kept being promoted and given men to lead, he kept questioning why. One day, he was sitting down playing some checkers with his grandfather on his porch. It was a dusty and creaky thing, but it was where he spent a lot of his time as a child. 

He had been venting to his grandpa about having to lead people and how much he hated it– how much he felt like he didn't deserve it. His grandpa stayed dutifully silent, just listening, until Brandon finally gave up with a sigh and sat back. And after his grandpa made his move, he started to speak in a low voice.

"Kid, the fact that you don't think you're above anyone else is what makes you a great leader." His grandpa took a pause and looked right in Brandon's eyes. "And the fact that they keep promoting you means you're doing a damn fine job. People listen to you, and you're always there when they need it. You may be a dumbass, but at least you're not a power-hungry one." Those words stuck in his mind like nothing else ever had. And ever since then, Brandon found leadership to be much less awful. 

"Look, it's his life we're talking about. Sure, it is just a game, but if this goes wrong he will feel the pain and may not be able to log out." Brandon took a long sigh. "There are too many variables here, and with how brutal this "game" has been so far, I'm hesitant to say we should just do it." 

Sarah looked at her feet. She knew that this experimental vial violated so many rules of medicine. 

"But if we don't do it, he won't be healed for ages. And he might just be torn apart by what's coming at us." Sarah tried to reason.

"Maybe that's for the best. If that thing kills him, he'll just respawn good as new, I think. But if your experiment goes wrong, the agony he’ll feel could be hellish." He had a good point, and Sarah knew it. But they both also knew that without their favorite distraction, their chances at winning the next fight were worse.  

"Here. Let's just put it to a vote, democratically." Brandon spoke up after a fair bit of silence. 

After some time, they gathered everyone. The group ultimately agreed that a vote would be best, and after counting the ballots, it was a 5-2 decision to inject Alexander with the syringe. 

Sarah was the one who did it, while Steven was close beside her. The rest of the group sat or stood back, just watching. The room was dead silent. 

Sarah found a vein, inserted the needle, then slowly pumped the contents into Alexander. But as she went to press a cotton ball against the recent puncture, she didn't find it. In fact, it didn't look like a needle had been poked through him at all. She double-checked that she even used it, and when finding that the syringe was indeed empty, she just stared. 

The team waited and waited, and after twenty minutes they could see his body start to reform.