Chapter 13: Which Is Far Too Full Of Cy-Bugs

As Ralph and Sorceress ventured deeper into the cave it became more spacious and the crystals grew larger and brighter. Some were as tall as trees and so thick that not even the huge wrecker could wrap his arms around them. They pierced out sideways and diagonally from the walls and still more hung down from the ceiling like icicles and chandeliers. Everything was glowing with the same deceptively tranquil cyan light and giving off heat. The continued screeching and clattering of Cy-Bugs could still be heard echoing in the distance. When the bugs weren't making noise it was uncomfortably quiet between the two Bad Guys, neither one knowing what to say to the other.

At last Ralph broke the silence. Sorceress had the map open and led the way through the cave. He leaned forward enough so she could hear him whisper. "How far are we from the exit?"

She turned her head just enough to answer. "It's in the next chamber at the end of this passage. We're very close."

Ralph nodded and wiped the sweat from his brow. Then there was nothing but uncomfortable silence again. Although he was sweating from the crystals' heat, his stomach was a cold knot of dread. He wished he could hold Sorceress' hand for comfort but didn't dare try. He had no right to seek comfort from her after the scene he made earlier. If she decided to leave him because of it he wouldn't blame her. He deeply regretted it but couldn't find the words or the courage to say it. Now wasn't the best time to talk about their relationship anyway. For now their main concern was getting out of here alive.

Unbeknownst to Ralph, Sorceress was internally scolding herself for everything that had gone wrong today. This wasn't what she had in mind when she said she wanted to fight Cy-Bugs. She knew nothing about this bonus level or how many bugs there would be. It might be too much for the two of them to handle. She considered calling Corporal Kohut on the comm-link he gave her upon entering the game but decided against it. Anything involving her last boyfriend had to be avoided at all costs. It would hurt Ralph and she had already hurt him too much today. The only way she would call Kohut was if she had no other choice left.

Clink, clink, clink…

Sorceress stopped and raised her eyes from the map. "Did you hear that?"

Ralph froze, eyes darting around nervously for a flash of green in the sea of blue crystals.

They listened in silence for a long, tense moment. Then the suspicious noise came again.

Clink, clink, clink…

Ralph's skin prickled with goosebumps. "Cy-Bug," he hissed.

Without another word, he pulled Sorceress with him as he dashed to hide behind the biggest cluster of crystals in sight. The metallic clinking continued and grew steadily louder. Peering out from behind the cluster, Ralph spotted a set of four shiny eyes burning like green lanterns in the soft cyan glow.

A lone Cy-Bug clattered into the passage, its shiny black body casting a dark blot against the soft glow of the crystals. It paused and let out a droning buzz, eyes flashing from blue at the sight of the large glowing formations jutting from the ceiling. Acid green wings flashed from the four ports on its back and lifted it off the ground.

Ralph was only slightly relieved to see the Cy-Bug too entranced by the light of the crystals to look for them. He watched the passage for any sign that more bugs were coming. The path from their hiding spot to the next chamber looked so much longer than before. A few screeches and clanks sounded from the chamber beyond, but no more glowing green eyes approached.

The wrecker frowned, bushy brown eyebrows furrowed in thought. He glanced down at Sorceress looking tiny and fragile beside him. An average Cy-Bug could chomp her down in a single bite. Although she claimed to have experience fighting these creatures he wasn't about to take any chances. He couldn't let anything happen to her.

Ralph pressed his back against the huge chunks of crystal hiding them from view. The Cy-Bug was still buzzing distractedly around the ceiling, hovering from one shining crystal formation to another.

"Stay put," he whispered to Sorceress. "I'll go first, then you follow me."

She frowned up at him in confusion. "But…"

He held her shoulders in a firm grip and looked her straight in the eye with grim resolve. "Stay. Put."

Sorceress stared at him, surprised by his determination. What was he thinking? Was he trying to protect her again? Did he really believe she wasn't strong enough to handle one Cy-Bug? Before she could voice any of these thoughts he released her shoulders, turned, and made a run for the next giant cluster.

She bit her neatly manicured nails as she watched him stop to hide behind another cluster several feet away. Then she spotted movement out of the corner of her eye and heard a heavy clank of six metal legs hitting stone. The Cy-Bug had just landed and was now making its way across the cave floor toward the same shiny cluster where Ralph was hiding. About ten feet away the bug paused, long green cerci twitching behind it as if it sensed something. Ralph stayed quiet and still, back pressed up against the crystal and waiting for the bug to make a move.

Sorceress covered her mouth with both hands and prayed silently for the Cy-Bug to leave but it didn't. It stood there in front of Ralph's cluster for a long time, green cerci twitching behind it. Then it let out a gurgling growl. Its robotic insect language was different from that of Sorceress' pet spiders back home but she distinctly heard it say something in that growl.

Eat...

Her heart stopped. It knew Ralph was there and it wanted to eat him. Then her stomach flipped in fear. Not about the Cy-Bug, but about losing Ralph. She couldn't let that happen to him. Without thinking she jumped up from her hiding place and shouted. "Stop!"

Startled, the Cy-Bug stopped in its tracks and stared blankly at her with glassy green eyes. Still hidden behind his crystal Ralph also stared at her with a similarly befuddled expression.

Sorceress stood silent and motionless as her mind raced. Now what? She could hit the bug with a spell at this range but it was so close to Ralph that the blast would hurt him as well. She could lure the bug away from him but then he would be left defenseless if more bugs came.

Still staring at her with its glassy green eyes the Cy-Bug made a confused chirp.

Eat…?

Then it went quiet, as if waiting for her to reply. That gave her an idea. Perhaps there was a way to save Ralph and escape this level without having to fight. She raised her hands in a placating gesture and decided to do something she had never tried before: reasoning with a Cy-Bug.

"We are not your enemies," she said in the most calm, unthreatening tone she could manage. "We mean you no harm."

The bug continued to stare at her and showed no sign that it understood.

Sorceress spoke again. "Let us go. We won't hurt you, just let us leave this cave alive."

The Cy-Bug stared her down with empty eyes. It took a step toward her and let out a low, threatening growl.

Eat…

Sorceress swallowed and shakily stepped backward. It was trying to intimidate her. Maybe shorter words and sentences would be more effective. "No," she said, shaking her head firmly. "You can't eat us."

The bug growled again, louder and more threatening than before. Ralph sucked in a breath through his teeth.

Eat...

"No," Sorceress repeated in a firmer tone. She kept her hands raised and her voice level. If she let it see her fear it would win. Maybe one short sentence would get through to it. "No eat."

The Cy-Bug reared up and roared, opening its mechanical jaws wide to show its blazing green maw and rows of teeth whirring like a buzz saw.

EAT!

Until now Ralph had watched the scene from behind his crystal with increasing worry and confusion. Then the Cy-Bug lunged for Sorceress and the wrecker sprang into action. Just before the monster could reach her, he caught it by its segmented tail and dragged it squealing backward.

"Sorceress!" he shouted, grimacing from the effort. "Run! I can't—Whoa!" The Cy-Bug whirled around with Ralph still clinging to its tail, swinging him into the air and throwing him off. He went flying over Sorceress' head and into a huge crystal at the center of a particularly large cluster. He hit with a loud crack and dropped to the ground in a heap.

"Ralph!" Sorceress cried. Forgetting the bug she flew to where the wrecker lay in a stunned daze. Dropping at his side, she leaned over him and scanned him frantically for any sign of injuries. "Are you okay? Answer me!"

The dazed wrecker grimaced and sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Oww…" he muttered, raising himself up on his elbows and rubbing the back of his head with one big hand. His skull felt like it was about to split open.

The Cy-Bug roared again from the other side of the cave. This time it sounded furious as it clattered across the ground toward them, ignoring the shiny crystals in its path in favor of its uncooperative prey.

Sorceress jumped to her feet and held her arms out to her sides to form a shimmering pink sphere around her and Ralph. The angry bug banged into the force field's surface and scuttled back, growling at this new thing blocking it from its meal.

Standing firm at the center of the magic sphere, Sorceress spoke to Ralph. She had a new plan. "I'm getting us out of here. Get ready to fly."

Her levitation spell launched them off the ground and into the air and he barely had time to throw his arms around her waist. Then they were zooming down the passage at high speed, leaving the angry Cy-Bug shrieking far behind them.

As the crystal-studded walls blurred past them, Sorceress spoke to him without taking her eyes off their path. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"

Keeping one hand on her back, Ralph released his hold on her and rubbed his head with the other. The back of his skull still ached but not as much as before. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good." Her expression hardened into a frown. "Then what were you thinking, you idiot?!"

Ralph blinked a few times, surprised at how quickly her mood changed. Then he became defensive. "What was I thinking? You're the one who tried negotiating with it!"

"Don't change the subject! You could have been killed!"

"What about you? Did you really think a Cy-Bug was gonna listen to you?"

"You were too close for me to attack it! It's not my fault its A.I. is too simple to understand the word 'no'!"

Ralph dragged a hand down his face and groaned in frustration. He hated arguing with her. She was as stubborn as him, if not more. "Look, let's just drop it and get out of here before that bug catches up, okay?"

WHAM

Something bashed against their bubble from behind. Startled, Ralph and Sorceress looked back to see the angry Cy-Bug hot on their tails, green wings beating furiously and steel teeth glinting from the light within its mouth.

"It's right on top of us!" Ralph cried, clinging to Sorceress with both arms again. "Go faster!"

Sorceress strained to increase their speed but the sphere wouldn't go any faster. Then the Cy-Bug rammed into their bubble a second time and she lost control. They careened wildly through the tunnel, bouncing against the walls and off of crystals like an enormous pinball. Ralph clung to Sorceress for dear life all the while, equally terrified for both their lives. Just as the tunnel widened into an open chamber the Cy-Bug rammed them again. The force threw Sorceress off-balance and destroyed what was left of her concentration. The sphere popped like a soap-bubble and the two Bad Guys hurtled helplessly into the open.

As the ground came up to meet them Ralph pulled Sorceress into his chest, squeezed his eyes shut and braced for impact. He took the brunt of their crash landing and kept her shielded with his own body as they tumbled, rolled and finally skidded to a stop on the hard stony ground.

SCREEECH

Before either of them could ask the other if they were alright, a chorus of piercing shrieks cut through the air. Sorceress sat bolt upright and raised her arms, creating a new magic force field around her and Ralph. She was just in time to shield them both from the Cy-Bug ambushing them from the air. It smacked against the shimmering pink dome and let out an irritated snarl as it circled around them.

Sitting up next to her, Ralph was horrified to discover that they had landed in a cave full of Cy-Bugs. They were all big enough to chomp even the huge wrecker down in two or three bites and their burning green eyes stared them down hungrily. Some buzzed distractedly around the many crystals protruding from the cave's vaulted ceiling, but several on the ground were closing in on them.

Temporarily safe inside the magic shield, Ralph squeezed as close to Sorceress as he could, eyes darting from one Cy-Bug to another as he stood curling and uncurling his fingers into trembling fists. His heart was racing and it took all his willpower to keep from screaming. Then he spotted a familiar shape against the far wall of the cave. It was a set of unbreakable steel doors just like the ones that had trapped them in the first cave.

"The exit's over there," he said, not taking eyes off the doors. "But it's closed. How are we gonna get out?"

Sorceress chewed her lip in thought, straining to keep up her concentration as one Cy-Bug chewed at the base of the magic shield. Her first thought was that to use the comm-link to call Corporal Kohut for help, but again she dismissed that thought. It was too late to call for help. No one would get here in time. They were on their own.

"Maybe the doors work like the ones in the building," she offered. "We can't advance to the next level until we finish the one we're on."

"And that means killing bugs," Ralph sighed. It always came back to that, didn't it? He looked out at the Cy-Bugs in the cave and tried counting the ones he could see. "There's about twenty of them. That's too many take on all at once. We gotta spread 'em out."

Sorceress glanced up to the cave's domed ceiling. It was covered in enormous protruding crystals and several stray bugs buzzed lazily around them. "I'll draw off as many as I can and blast them up there. Can you handle the ones down here?"

Fists clenched and jaw set, Ralph grunted and nodded his head. "Yeah."

She glanced at him over her shoulder, worry creeping into her voice. "You're sure you want to do this?"

He turned just enough to smile at her. "I'll be fine," he said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. "I'm the hero who saved the arcade, remember? I got this."

Sorceress hesitated a moment longer, reluctant to leave Ralph to fend for himself. She dispelled the shield, raised her hands over her head and shot a burst of flame straight up. The blast startled the surrounding Cy-Bugs. Then she took to the air, drawing several flying bugs with her.

As soon as she was gone, Ralph raised his huge fists overhead, screamed at the top of his lungs to drown out his own fear, and charged headlong at the remaining Cy-Bugs. He punched his first bug in the face so hard it went flying backward into a second bug with a pained screech. A third bug charged him and then a fourth. Both got a mighty punch that knocked them backward and upside-down.

The wrecker paused only a moment to catch his breath. It surprised him how many hits he had landed so quickly, but these bugs were tougher than the candy bugs he fought in Sugar Rush. It would take more than one punch to kill them. Then he had an idea. Just as one of the bugs came at him again he dodged and caught it by the tail with both hands. Grunting from the effort, he lifted the bug off the ground and hurled it at a second bug. Both screeched and smacked into a cluster of giant crystals where they died in a burst of green. For an instant he felt proud for killing two bugs at once. Then it was back into the fray.

Meanwhile Sorceress was zigzagging through the maze of huge hanging crystals with hungry Cy-Bugs buzzing after her. Her plan was to disperse them even more and attack them one by one. This was a favorite tactic of hers on her previous visits to the game. When the bugs had scattered enough she turned on the offensive. Her fireballs weren't hot enough to kill Cy-Bugs. Only lightning spells packed enough heat to destroy them in one shot.

With a few well-aimed bolts she zapped three bugs in a row. As they screeched and died in consecutive bursts of green, a confident smile spread across her face. "I never get tired of this," she said to herself.

Soon Ralph heard the explosions and shrieks overhead. He glanced up from pummeling his next bug to see flashes of purple lightning and green explosions among the cyan crystals. He couldn't hold back a smirk. "Show off."

ZAP

A beam of green energy blasted out of nowhere, instantly vaporizing the three bugs in its path and narrowly missing Ralph by a mere six feet. At first he thought it was a stray spell from Sorceress, but then another energy beam blasted a huge crystal behind him. To his surprise it came from somewhere on the ground. Then he saw it; a Cy-Bug with an exoskeleton made of glowing crystal, perfectly camouflaged with its surroundings—a Crystal Bug.

"Aw, crud," Ralph groaned.

The Crystal Bug opened its mouth and fired another blast of energy at him. With a cry of alarm the wrecker dove out of the way and the crystals behind him exploded, showering him with glittering rubble. Then he was on his feet and running for his life. The bug buzzed after him, shooting more sizzling beams from its mouth. He could only duck and dodge, unable to get near the bug while it was shooting at him. It had locked on its target and wouldn't rest until it destroyed him.

Then he stumbled over a rock and fell on his face. The bug screeched in triumph and crawled closer and closer, jaws opening wide to feast on his juicy flesh. He cringed on the ground and backed away, too panicked to even consider throwing a punch. This was it. This was how it would end. He was about to be devoured by and turned into a giant cyborg insect, the same awful fate as Turbo.

If only he could have apologized to Sorceress when he had the chance. Now she would never know how he felt—

FWOOM

Something bright and hot exploded against the Crystal Bug's back. Stunned, Ralph looked up to see Sorceress floating there, hands raised from casting the spell and hair flowing behind her dramatically. Relief flickered across her features when she saw him unharmed. Then she scowled dangerously at the bug looming over him. She would teach it a lesson for trying to eat someone she cared about, but first she had to get it away from him.

The Crystal Bug turned around and snarled at Sorceress, angry at this weird creature interrupting its meal. It opened it mouth and fired a green blast at her but she blocked it with her shield spell. "You want to eat me?" she taunted, rising higher into the air. "Come and get me, bright eyes!" Green wings sprouted from the bug's back and it gave chase. As Sorceress drew the bug off she called back to Ralph. "I'll handle this one! You take care of the others!"

"O-Okay!" Blinking out of his stunned trance, the wrecker rose to his feet and took a moment to assess the situation. To his surprise the cave was almost empty. He had wrecked more Cy-Bugs than he thought he could and Sorceress had zapped her fair share as well. Then the Crystal Bug had done them an unexpected favor by killing off some of its own with its laser beams.

Now there were only five normal Cy-Bugs still alive. They were steadily making their way toward Ralph's spot, clanking along the ground and gurgling hungrily. He clenched his fists and scowled, noting that his fear was much lower than before. Five bugs weren't as bad as twenty. He raised his fists and charged them head on, sending bugs flying left and right with his powerful punches.

Up by the ceiling, Sorceress dodged and shielded herself from the Crystal Bug's fire, luring it higher and higher as she tried to think of a plan. Attacking it from the front would get her killed for certain. The best option was to strike it from behind. When it took a break from shooting she dispelled her force field to cast a fireball at it as a distraction. The bug's eyes flashed blue just before the flames burst in its face.

As it screeched and flailed its six chunky legs, Sorceress swept up and over to shoot a sizzling lightning bolt right at the space between its wings. The spell exploded against the bug's sparkling exoskeleton, wracking its body with painful jolts of electricity. It shrieked louder than ever, but to Sorceress' surprise it didn't disintegrate. As she was readying another lightning spell, the Crystal Bug whipped around and fired a fresh blast of blazing green energy from its jaws. She wasn't quick enough to raise a shield this time.

ZAP

The beam skimmed Sorceress' right leg, burning the flesh of her outer thigh. Searing agony erupted through her body and tore its way out her throat in an anguished scream. Then she dropped straight down, too overwhelmed with pain to stay airborne.

Ralph had just finished off his last bug when he heard the scream. He saw Sorceress plummeting to her doom. His heart plummeted along with her. "NO!"

With a fresh burst of adrenaline, Ralph dashed across the cave and dove to catch her before she could hit the ground. She landed safely in his arms but he was only relieved for a moment. A big patch of skin on her right leg was red and swollen with grotesque blotches and blisters. He recognized the wound instantly; it was identical to the burn he received on his hand six days ago when he saved her from a flaming oil drum.

Seeing the dismay on his face, Sorceress tried to smile. "Sorry," she said weakly. "I let my guard down." She grimaced and sucked in a breath through her teeth at the burning sensation piercing through her leg.

Ralph's stomach turned at the sight. He had failed her. He told her he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Now here she was with an injured leg and in too much pain to fly. He really wasn't good enough for her.

"No," he said, shaking his head slowly. "I'm the one who should be sorry."

A shriek like steel scraping against stone rang out through the cave. The Crystal Bug banged into a large stone a short distance away and thumped heavily to the ground. Twitching all over and wobbling drunkenly, it rose to its feet and gazed at the pair with an unsteady, flickering gaze.

They stared back in confusion. Neither of them had ever seen a Cy-Bug act like that before. Then the bug opened its mouth and the green light inside shone brighter. Ralph quickly turned and ran to get out of its way, carrying the injured Sorceress with him. An energy beam fired and struck a boulder-sized crystal, sending pieces of shattered rock flying.

Ralph shielded Sorceress from the debris as best he could and took cover behind another huge crystal. Stopping to catch his breath, he knelt and lowered her to the ground, careful not to touch her wound. She was huddled against his heaving chest with her head tucked under his chin and her fingers gripping his shirt. Her hair was a tangled blue mess and he could feel her lungs breathing as hard as his. "You okay?" he asked, brows crinkled with worry.

Sorceress pulled her face from his shirt, blue strands of hair dangling over her eyes. "I think so."

Ralph's eyes shifted to the huge, blistered burn on her right thigh. "Not gonna lie, that looks horrible."

"Thanks a lot," she said dryly. She stretched her wounded leg out and winced from the movement. "We need to kill that thing."

He kept a hand on her back to steady her. "That's the last one left, huh?"

She nodded. "Yep. It seems that last lightning bolt hurt it after all."

Ralph turned to look over his shoulder to where the Crystal Bug was still wobbling and twitching. He glared at the tottering creature of rock and steel, all traces of fear replaced with intense, utter hatred. Any monster that hurt Sorceress so badly had to be punished. She didn't deserve this kind of suffering. He would avenge her. It was the best thing he could do for her after all that had happened today.

He pulled his hand away from her back and started to leave. "Stay here. I'll handle this."

Sorceress caught his sleeve before he could stand. "Wait."

The wrecker sighed. "I have to do this, Sorceress. You can't fight with your leg like that. So don't try to stop me."

"I'm not stopping you." Her eyes, looking more violet than red in the cave's cyan glow, were filled with fear for his safety. "Just… be careful, okay?"

Seeing her concern soothed his temper just enough to let him gently take her hand between his big fingers. "I will," he said with a gentle smile. "I promise."

With those parting words, he released her and stood up. If he stayed a moment longer he would have seen a surprised blush steal across her cheeks.

Striding out into the open, Ralph puffed himself up to his full imposing height and called out to the Crystal Bug. Sure enough it was still lumbering around like a drunkard, bumping into things and tripping over its own clunky legs. Perhaps the crystals combined with Sorceress' lightning bolts had short-circuited the bug's system somehow.

Ralph would have found the sight amusing if he wasn't so furious. His temper had revived and it took all his willpower to not to stampede over there and smash its mandibles off. "Hey!" he yelled. "Sparky!"

The disoriented bug turned toward him, eyes flickering in a way that looked like confused blinking.

Ralph jabbed a threatening finger at it. "Yeah, I'm talkin' to you, laser breath! You're gonna pay for what you did to my woman!"

Peeking out to watch from behind her crystal, Sorceress groaned, face and ears reddening with embarrassment.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Ralph ran screaming at the Crystal Bug with his fists raised. The bug gurgled ominously and lurched forward, opening its mouth to unleash a fatal blast, but the wrecker closed in first and smashed his meaty fist into its glowing maw. With a shriek the bug flipped off the ground and landed on its back, six legs wriggling helplessly in the air.

But Ralph didn't stop there. While it was still down he jumped on the creature's armored belly and hammered away at its ugly face. With each hit its legs convulsed and it screamed louder and louder. Throughout the assault it never had a chance to fire its energy beam. Finally, with one last, colossal haymaker, the Crystal Bug exploded under Ralph and died in a blast of green light and shards of crystal.

The wrecker stood at the center of the mess, panting from exertion and face shining with sweat. Then, at the far end of the cavern, the unbreakable steel doors creaked and groaned open. It was the most wonderful sound Ralph had heard all night. Finally! He and Sorceress could leave this death trap once and for all!

Oh, no… Sorceress. He'd lost his temper and gone overboard with the wrecking, just like before. Did she see everything? Had he scared her again? He hesitantly turned back to where she was hiding, expecting to see her cringing in horror from what he had done.

Sorceress was leaning out from behind the huge crystal, propped up on her hands and one good knee. The look on her face was one of wide-eyed, open-mouthed awe. "Wow…" she said, not quite believing what she just saw. "That was amazing."

Ralph shuffled his feet self-consciously. At least she wasn't scared this time. "Um, we should go." He shuffled over and bent to pick her up. Carefully lifting her from her left side to avoid rubbing the wound on her right leg, he walked to the now open tunnel that would hopefully take them to freedom.

During the walk Sorceress avoided eye contact with him and kept her hands in her lap. It was so strange; she felt more peaceful and more nervous at the same time. The danger was over and Ralph had proven he could protect her when she needed him to. Yet tension remained between them. Even though they were physically touching they were still so far apart.

Soon they were out of the cave and in the tunnel. As soon as Ralph set foot in the tunnel, the steel doors creaked groaned shut behind them. The Crystal Cave bonus level was now sealed off and they were back in the pitch-black darkness of the mining tunnels.

"Think you can work up a light spell?" Ralph asked, standing still and unable to see the woman he held even with her sitting in his arms.

"Let's find out." Sorceress cupped her hands and concentrated. A tiny golden light formed between her palms, no bigger than a candle's flame and just as bright. She frowned and concentrated harder, willing the light to grow stronger, but nothing happened. "That's as bright as I can get it."

"That's good enough," he assured her. "So… how do we get back to the surface?"

"Oh, right. The map." She lifted the light spell to float above their heads and held her flat palm in front of her. There was the usual puff of twinkly purple mist for conjuring small items from her inventory. But nothing appeared in her hand. Confused, she tried again. Another twinkly puff of mist happened; still no map appeared. That could only mean one thing. Her face fell. "Uh oh."

Ralph frowned down at her. "What do you mean, uh oh?"

Sorceress gazed back at him seriously. "I lost the map."

Author's Note: Well, there it is. My first really action-packed chapter! I hope it's not terrible and that I did a satisfactory job with the Cy-Bugs, since I've never written them before.

That said, I originally had a different ending for this chapter! At first Ralph was going to be the one to get injured in the fight instead of Sorceress. He got a concussion and passed out, and the next chapter was going to take place at the Hero's Duty infirmary with Felix showing up to heal Ralph's injuries and Calhoun scolding our couple for going into the bonus level (I can still use that last part-it's been too long since we last saw Felix and Calhoun).

Sorceress was also supposed to feel guilty for Ralph's injury and blame herself for it, enough to break up with him entirely so he would be safe! But in the end I decided not to follow this idea because 1)Ralph getting injured as a plot device happened once already in Chapter 1, 2)it's out of character for Sorceress to end a relationship with a man she likes so early, and 3)they've only been dating for about a week, so their breakup wouldn't have the powerful impact that it should. I would like to explore that idea further but not until they've been together for enough time to forge a bond that would truly hurt to break.

And now I must sleep. The time is now 3:07 am. Yes, I know that's ridiculous but I was excited to finish this.