The pain fades out enough for me to focus some time later. Apparently I didn't hit the bottom—not even the ledge where I started. I just fell a few inches before they caught me and pulled me up the rest of the way. Could have fooled me.

The rain hits pretty soon and keeps coming. We almost can't make out Ted's face in the sky because of it. I don't bother trying to note his death. Trucy has the clipboard, and I don't even know if I can keep my vision in focus long enough to write anything.

The night passes slowly. People take shifts. Juniper seems to be awake every time I check on her. But I have no idea how often that is, and it's not like Simon's getting any sleep, either. As far as I can tell. I keep zoning out, so I can't really keep track... It's a good thing I don't have guard duty tonight.

I'm certainly not going to solve Clay's murder at this rate. I can't even theorize what happened to Ted. Something. He's gone. That's all I really care to know about him, anyway.

Breakfast is a bit of cold broth. Somehow the temperature doesn't hamper the taste. I'm probably either too hungry or thirsty to care. I don't think my headache's just from dehydration, though. I... h-hope I didn't end up with any brain damage...

"H-hey!" Trucy jumps to her feet, hurrying to the cave entrance. "It's a parachute! You guys! It's a parachute!"

"Awesome!" Robin hurries after her. "What is it? Something cute? Breakable?"

Priorities...

Trucy gets to the donation first and gives it a once-over. She's stiff initially but grips the whatever-it-is tightly and turns around with a small smile.

"A syringe?" Hugh squints at it. "Filled, I hope?"

"Yup." Trucy rolls it in her palm. "It isn't labeled, but I'm pretty sure we're not getting any medicine in advance with—" she shrinks—"well, most of our sponsors gone..."

"And only one of us has a very particular need for treatment." Simon eyes me, and it takes me a minute to realize the others are doing the same.

Uh... Huh? Okay.

A syringe, huh...? Is it the same stuff...?

"All right, I've got this." Athena snatches the donation from Trucy and removes the cap before freezing up. She's done this before...

"Don't worry, I'll take care it." Robin carefully plucks it from her hand and steps over to me. "Hugh, can you come remove some of the bandages, pretty please?"

I dimly watch the two of them cooperate until the needle pokes into my arm. Forcing a breath out, I avert my gaze as a little pressure builds up at the spot. A tingling starts to spread before someone's fingers press down on the injection site. My arm grows oddly warm, and it spreads to my chest, my back, my other arm, my legs, finally my head. The pain fades to a persistent, prickling buzz of sensation before dissipating.

"Well, Apollo?" Athena leans over to better look me in the eye. "Any better? You look more relaxed."

I grin. "Yeah. I feel fine." And for one time in this mess, I really mean it. Without the pain, I can move myself, walk, climb... I can go back to pulling a little weight. With my sword, I'll... be pretty useful on game hunts, so... I can do that...

Or... maybe I can just sleep...

I feel myself tilting forward before I more or less collapse on the cave floor.

I'm facing up. Haven't opened my eyes. There's some light out, though, sending dull red patterns of spots drifting across the back of my eyelid.

"Um, a little more on the left, and it should be perfect." It's definitely a female voice. Can't place it at the moment...

I drift for a while longer before slowly opening my good eye. A blur of brown and red is in front of me, and it resolves into a clear view of the brace across Robin's chest.

Um... Uh?

"Oh! Dude! Are you finally awake?"

I blink. "Y-yeah..." After a glance to the side—it has to be noon—I add, "Was I really out for that long? Seems like it's been... just a few hours."

She pulls back, sitting on her calves and wiping her hands on her knees. "You've been snoozing for a whole day."

"Wh-what?" I sit up some, my back protesting. At least it's more like shouting than agonized shrieking, though. "Did I miss anything?"

"Not really." Behind her, Juniper clasps her hands together. "Don't worry about it, either. You need all the rest you can get after... what happened." She coughs twice.

"Yup!" Robin leans forward. "And since you were doing fine, Juniper got to get some rest, too!"

When I glance at Juniper, she flushes. "A-anyway... Um, I thought of something and had Robin help me, and... Well, why don't you see for yourself...?"

She hands me a mirror I recognize from Klavier's supplies. I try to ignore that part and check out my reflection instead. It takes me a minute to register that anything is actually different.

"Oh! You styled my hair for me!"

Juniper nods, looking worried. "I tried to remember it as well as I could, but Robin did all of the actual work."

Robin gives me a thumbs-up before taking the mirror back and handing it to Juniper.

"Thanks, you guys." I smile. "I really appreciate it. I'm... feeling a little better now, but I still don't think I'd be able to hold my arms up long enough to do it myself."

Juniper's expression finally softens. "You're welcome. Take all the time you need to heal up, okay?"

"Will do."

"Well, then!" Robin gets up, turning to the others. "You wanted me for something, Simon?"

Simon, leaning against the tunnel wall, opens his eyes to view her. "Yes. We need to explore further in, and you are to bear the torch for me."

"Like... the flashlight?" She looks around before Trucy shuffles through my bag.

My brow furrows. "Is that really a good idea? After what happened last time..."

Simon looks to the side. "We're much farther above the ground now, and the mountain spans a shorter width. If we can find an exit at the other side, we may stay here. Otherwise, being blocked in is far too real a possibility."

Trucy hasn't handed the flashlight over yet. "Isn't Ted gone, though? Do you think your sister would be able to work with the bombs?"

"She's no simpleton. I'm certain she'd be able if she were to try. Of course, she would never stage such a broad attack when I'm within this alliance. Aura, however, is not the only other player."

Athena frowns. "The Gamemakers."

He nods. "They could very well have prepared a trap for this situation, and I intend to see if they've any reason to do so."

Trucy finally lets go of the flashlight, and Robin snatches it.

"The flashlight might still stop working inside, though." I shut my eyes as a throb of pain goes across my forearm. "Do you have an actual torch?"

"I am well aware of the strategies needed for this battlefield, Justice-dono." He nods at Robin, tossing her a short torch from his backpack. "Come."

"Be careful!" Athena calls, watching them for a while before turning back to me, smiling. "So you say you're feeling better?"

"Yeah. I don't know if it was just the rest or if some of the painkiller's still in my system, but I'm doing fine."

"Oh, speaking of which!" Juniper hurries to retrieve a packet wrapped in a parachute and unwrap it. "You'll have to keep eating if your body's going to repair itself. We saved some fruit pieces for you. There's a little meat left over, too, if you want me to try to heat it up for you."

"The fruit sounds fine, thanks." I reach a little, but not enough to actually take hold of the food. Juniper scoots forward and hands it to me without complaining.

The pieces are diced roughly, and I can't quite identify them until I start eating. This one's definitely an orange. Not sure about this one, but if everyone else has eaten it and isn't affected, it should be fine.

In the meantime, I try to see how far I can turn my neck now without cringing. About halfway. I can see down the tunnel—well, most of it is black, but there's a bit of light from the flashlight.

Ah, it just went out—

"Aaaaaaaggh!"

A much fainter, bluish light reflects off the far stones as Athena jumps.

"S-Simon?!" She takes off running before something makes a thud. I can hear Simon's shackles rattling in there somewhere, but it's pitch black down there now, so I have no idea what he's facing off against.

Grunting, I start to push myself to my feet, but I go back down. Okay. That's how much it hurts. Let's be prepared this time...

"Apollo, it's all right to sit down." Juniper looks me in the eye. "I'm sure the others can handle this without you having to get hurt more."

"Just finish your meal, and—" Trucy gets up, taking a step farther into the tunnel—"well, get ready to run if you have to."

How am I supposed to run if I don't even get up, though? Ugh... Even if Simon's injured, I'm sure he won't have any problems. Hugh can take out a few mutts or whatever, too.

Chewing on another fruit piece, I look down the tunnel again. The only light is from a freshly lit torch, and I can barely distinguish head from head. It looks more like everyone's standing around instead of fighting or fleeing, though.

"Simon! Wh-what happened?!"

"I-I don't know, man!" Robin shouts. "We were just walking along, and—" her voice rises in pitch—"and... something zapped his shackles from nowhere. I don't see where it could have come from..."

"Let's get him away from here if it's safe," Trucy says.

As they start to pull Simon towards us, Hugh's voice is hoarse. "I can't feel a pulse!"

"N-no way!" Athena drops to her knees. "Clear out, already! I-I have to start CPR!"

With that, the others shift, and, after a moment, Hugh and Trucy drift back by Juniper and me. Robin gets the flashlight back on but just watches as Athena frantically pumps her hands up and down.

I can't hear much but breathing for the next half-minute.

"Anything?" Robin asks.

"N-no... Better get back to it!"

This continues for another minute. No cannon, but no shouts of victory from Athena, either.

I catch Trucy glancing at the entrance repeatedly.

"Expecting something?"

She blinks, facing me. "Well, CPR alone usually isn't enough, so I was going to see if anyone would donate a defibrillator. Nothing's come yet, though."

"A defibrillator, huh?" Hugh takes a step closer to us. "The one that shocks the heart back into beating?"

"Basically." She stares at the outside world for a little longer before sighing.

Hugh frowns. "They must be expensive."

Too expensive for our sponsors to spare anything, especially after I just got my syringe... But you'd think Simon would have quite a few backers, and I don't imagine the District 2 mentors being ready to donate to us non-Careers.

Has Simon... gotten any donations? If he's been sent here to die... maybe he's not allowed to.

"Wait a second." Trucy spins on her heel. "Robin! You said something shocked his handcuffs, right?"

"Yeah!" she calls back. "Right where the flashlight cut off."

Trucy fists her hands. "And we've had the flashlight problem several times, right? So maybe he'll get zapped again if we push him through again."

"Wh-what?" Juniper's eyes widen. "If it was almost enough to kill him, why would you want to do it again?"

"If there's no defibrillator, we'll just have to make our own! And if the electricity somehow targets his shackles, we can position them to make sure the jolt goes through his heart!" She turns to me. "Does that make any sense?"

I lift my arms just enough to press a finger to my forehead. "Well, we don't have much of a choice... If he's not doing so well without it, it could be worth the risk."

I turn a bit to look over Simon. He's slack, eyes closed, hands at his sides. His wrists are burnt, a few red branches disappearing under his sleeves. Another round of electric shock wouldn't do any good for those, and he's probably more prone to taking other damage now that he's already been torn through once. But if he's going to die without another shock, I can't give a good reason not to try it.

"Athena?" She doesn't look at me, but I'm sure she can hear me. "If you don't get a pulse in two more rounds, we're going to try Trucy's idea, okay?"

The constant thrust of her weight onto her palms is wearing her down, but she gets out a weak "okay."

The rest of us stay silent as she keeps up the CPR. A few breaths, back to pressing on his chest, then finally a pause. She checks Simon's neck for a few moments and looks to me, shaking. "Let's... get him over there."

Taka, perched near the entrance, follows as the others pull Simon back to the danger zone. After positioning the 2's wrists and a bit of squabbling about insulators, Athena grabs the rubber soles of his shoes and, holding her breath, pushes him across the floor. The sparks of light course across him again, though there's no cry of pain this time. After it dies down, Athena pulls him out of the way and starts compressions.

It doesn't look like it's doing any more good. One more round of compressions, and Athena hurls him into the electric field again. Compressions. Breathing. More compressions. Even as athletic as she is, she must be getting tired.

"No...!" She lifts her hand from Simon's neck and steers him towards the invisible wall again. "Hang on, okay?"

Hugh grips his neck. "I don't know if—"

A crackle of electricity cuts him off, and the whole cycle starts again.

"Simon! Listen to me! You have to hang in there...!" She gasps for breath before giving him a few. "You're strong; I know you can pull through if you try to! You can't condemn yourself to death yet! You—you still have to protect me, remember? Are you listening?"

She throws his wrists into place and shoves him back into the trap with a cry.

"Aiiii!" She snatches her hand back from his leg and blows on it.

"Athena! Are you okay?" Trucy comes up to Simon's other side. "H-here, I can take over—"

"I'm fine! I've got this!" She waits a little longer before trying to pull the 2 back again. It only takes a few compressions before I hear something snap.

"Listen to me. You can handle this. You're a tough prison guy, right? I-I've seen you train even before then, and..." She leans over more to breathe into his mouth. "You're... going to be okay if you just listen to me and pull yourself together! O-okay?! Come on! I'm going to save you this time! I swear!"

She finishes the cycle and, shaking so hard she can barely get a grip on him, nearly throws him across the tunnel to get his handcuffs electrified again. At least she manages to wait long enough before pulling him back to the safe side.

"All right, Simon! W-work with me! You have to try your hardest, too...!"

A cannon fires, and she freezes before hunching over again to keep up CPR.

"Come on!" She keeps pounding away.

"A-Athena..." Juniper quietly approaches her.

The 3 shoots her a glance before turning back. "We don't know that it was for Simon! It isn't for you, r-right?! You wouldn't let that happen!" She stops for mouth-to-mouth but gets right back to compressions. "L-listen to me! You can't die like this! I know you can pull through...! Simon! Simon! Can you hear me?! Please...! Please... listen t-to me..."

Her hands slip back to grip her elbows as she presses her forearms to her stomach. "Please..."

A flicker of motion at the entrance catches my eye. The hovercraft claw has descended, open, waiting. Somehow I can't bear to tell Athena.

"We... should move him this way," I manage.

Athena doesn't move an inch as the others carry Simon outside.