Chase nearly forgot about the burning sensation festering in his chest after he saw Cutter's body tumble into the abyss. All the air left his lungs. He was stunned. He didn't even like Cutter, but the man didn't deserve to be killed like that. 

Everyone else seemed to be rooted to their spots, paralyzed by Kane's heinous display of strength. The man dropped his hands, a malevolent grin on his thin lips.

Chase had no idea how Kane did what he just did, but he didn't have time to question it. He did know he needed to be taken out before it happened to someone else. With an ability like that, they man would be virtually invincible.

Someone had to take him out before it was too late.

His chest muscles protested as he rose from the ground. Part of the black mesh material of his suit had burned away, including the blue one stitched into it. He could thank Apex for that. Luckily, his skin hadn't been damaged. It still hurt like hell, though.

His throat constricted as he stared at the ravine. Snow continued to fall down, the faint smell of gunpowder and blood filling the cold air. He choked back a sob. He wanted to mourn. He wanted to exact his revenge on Kismet for the deaths of all the Atlas agents and others killed by them.

But now was no time to let his emotions get the better of him. There would be time for grieving later.

Chase held his arm out, willing his sword to come to him. The blade gravitated to his palm, his fingers wrapping around the hilt. His jaw clenched as he stared at Kane, who remained in the middle of the room with that smug smirk on his face.

The smile made his blood boil. He had no remorse, no guilt. In fact, he seemed pleased with himself. How could someone be so sinister? He didn't understand, nor did he want to. Scowling, he stepped forward, tightening his grip on his weapon. He was going to make the man pay—for everything.

''Kane!'' Chase's voice boomed around the large cavern of a room. ''This ends now.''

Kane howled in laughter and held his arms out, his palms upturned. ''We've only begun, boy.''

After activating his holo-shield, Chase detached the blue disk from its holder and prepared to throw it. Apex materialized before him in a cloud of crimson and ombre. His eyes glinted like a feral wolf's.

''You thought we were done?'' he mused. Before the blond could move, Apex kicked him in the chest. Coughing, he staggered backward.

As soon as Apex attacked him, the fighting in the room resumed. Oscar took on Frost, Andre and Lycan continued hammering away at each other, Emily and Theo confronted Kane, and everyone else fought off the remaining mercenaries.

Steadying himself, he glared at Apex—who was walking at him. A faint aura swirled around his crimson blade.

Chase's brow furrowed.

''Kane isn't the only one with new tricks,'' Apex spat.

He swung his sword at the boy, a low hum slicing through the air. Chase raised his shield, just in time to block the strike. Sparks flew from the solid hologram. Pushing up, he forced his opponent a few feet back.

Apex snarled. He closed the distance between them before unleashing a flurry of heavy downward slashes. Chase fended them off with ease; while Apex might've been a capable swordsman, his strength didn't match Sentinel's—though, the boy was trying his best to steer clear of the glowing blade.

Seeing as how his skin handled the man's energy blasts in the past, he figured letting the charged sword touch him wouldn't do him much good. Over time, he learned he wasn't as durable as he once thought.

The two of them continued trading blows, though, Apex had the edge. Chase needed to change the tide if he was going to have any shot at defeating the Prime.

He swung his arm, smacking Apex in the face with his shield. The man was sent flying but disappeared midair, only to reappear in front of Chase. He then drove his sword into the boy's left shoulder.

To Chase's surprise, it tore clean through his skin and muscle.

He winced, his shield vanishing as he held the bleeding wound. A warm and wet sensation spread through his shoulder area; the entire area felt insanely cold and unbearably hot. He could feel the blood leaking down his back.

A few excruciating seconds later, he felt the muscles shifting ever so slightly; they were rebuilding. But they wound wouldn't finish closing anytime soon. And the pain wasn't going away either.

Apex swiped at him again. Slightly dazed, he managed to sidestep the attacks. He hit the man's sword hand with the hilt of his own weapon, hoping he would drop it.

No such luck. The Prime kept his grip on his blade and jumped up into the air. He stuck a leg out, catching Chase in the face with the sole of his foot. Chase stumbled backward but remained on his feet.

While he attempted to recollect himself, as the pain in his arm amplified with every passing second, Apex came at him again. He swung at Chase's head and a sharp yelp escaped the boy's lips as he ducked, barely missing the energy-charged blade.

Chase backed up again. Glancing over his shoulder, he realized he was near the edge of the clearing. The unknown beckoned him closer. His stomach turned, his face slick with perspiration. The sticky snow clung to his face, matting down the golden strands of loose hair.

He needed to move. And fast. He had an idea—albeit, a rather stupid one. Turning to Apex, he dropped his sword.

Apex froze, eyebrows raised.

''You gonna stop hiding behind that sword of yours?'' Chase said smugly. He hoped his crackpot plan would work. If it didn't, he would surely die where he stood.

Fortunately, Apex took the bait. He abandoned his blade as well. His gaze darkened while he raised his fists. ''You asked for this.''

Chase clenched his jaw, remembering himself getting beat to a pulp in The Grid. Afterwards in the infirmary, he felt humiliated. Weak. It angered him to his core. This battle wasn't about saving the world anymore. It wasn't about stopping Kane. No. It was personal now.

He engaged first. Feigning left, he jabbed right. His fist glanced off Apex's chin. Even though his punch barely connected, he still drew blood.

Apex chuckled and wiped his chin. ''Lucky shot, kid.''

''It's Sentinel.''

Apex teleported behind Chase and jabbed an elbow at his head. Chase fell, pain erupting inside his skull. He raised his arms, blocking the fists raining down on him.

Chase kicked out, catching Apex in the chest. He skidded across the floor, tumbling over like a barrel. He stopped himself with his hands and quickly sprung to his feet. Chase ran towards him, only for the man to teleport behind him yet again. The Prime then used Chase's momentum to push him to the ground.

Apex pounced on the boy, who had rolled to his back. Chase covered his head, blocking the man's punches. Apex took a different approach, this time peppering his enemy's abdomen with quick punches.

Chase grit his teeth. He reached up to grab Apex, but he kept throwing his hands back down before continuing his onslaught. Then his nose cracked, blood pouring from his nostrils.

Not again. The pungent taste of iron filled his mouth. 

After a few more blows to the head, his vision darkened. He made out the faint silhouette of Apex, who prepared to bring his fists down one more time. But it didn't happen, as a hulking figure collided into him.

Chase struggled to his feet. It felt like shards of glass were pushing against the inside of his head. He took a couple of shaky, deep breaths. His eyes were swollen but he could feel them opening back up.

His enhanced healing factor was working overtime today.

Looking to the side, he saw Andre fighting Apex—the former seemed to be winning too. The Kismet soldier was crawling away, fear in his eyes. Andre stomped towards him, snow dotting his silver skin.

Chase's eyes widened as he watched Apex moving to retrieve his blade from the ground. ''Andre!'' he yelled. His friend turned around to look at him. ''He's going for his sword!"

The big Prime nodded. He reached out with a large hand to grab Apex. Just as his metal hand grabbed a fistful of Apex's uniform, the two of them teleported away. They re-emerged next to the crimson blade.

Taking advantage of a confused Andre, Apex quickly picked up his blade and rose to his feet. Andre blinked rapidly, a dazed look on his metallic features.

Holding the sword with both hands, Apex raised it above his head. The red aura was back. Energy crackled in the air around it.

Chase tried running forward, but his legs failed him. He called out to Andre, who was just beginning to regain himself. It was too late, though.

Apex sliced his blade through Andre's outstretched arm.

The boy bellowed in pain and clutched his bleeding stump of an arm. His skin shifted from its silver state to its natural, dark complexion. The severed arm fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Chase nearly threw up.

Apex kicked Andre down to the ground, the boy still grabbing at what was left of his arm.

Somewhere behind him, he heard Stella scream. Out the corner of his eye, he watched her running towards them. She kneeled down beside Andre, placing her hands on his bleeding appendage. She whipped her head towards Apex, tears pouring from her eyes. ''What did you do?!"

Apex ignored her and turned to Chase. Blood dripped from his sword. ''Your turn.''

Chase looked down at Stella and Andre. She was trying to minimize the bleeding while a screaming Andre convulsed on the stone floor. His eyes were shut tightly, sweat coating his face.

Apex did that.

And Chase was going to make him pay.

He turned to Apex, fury burning in his azure eyes. His jaw clenched as he snarled at him. ''I'm going to kill you.''

''Funny,'' he said. ''I was just about to say the same to you.''

Chase released a guttural cry as he charged at him. The smirk disappeared from Apex's gaunt face as the blond collided into him, sending him flying into a wall. He crashed through it, falling into another room.

After calling his sword to him, Chase strapped it to his back and climbed through the Apex-shaped hole in the wall. The man laid on his back, his lips stained red as he stared up at the ceiling. His eyes widened as he saw Chase approaching; he tried getting up. He couldn't.

Chase nearly salivated at the sight.

He got on top of the man. He uttered no words, no witty comment. His wrath was silent, unforgiving. It was ruthless.

After the first ten punches, the stinging in his knuckles reduced to a dull throb. He preferred it that way; it allowed him to keep going. He heard something crack as his fist passed across Apex's face for what felt like the hundredth time. Blood covered his fists, but he didn't care.

Apex needed to pay for what he did.

''I-It feels g-good right?'' the Prime said, his voice shattered. ''The p-power. Knowing y-you have full control.'' Chase slowly stopped hitting him, his breathing ragged. Apex flashed his blood-stained teeth in what looked like a smile.

He heard movement behind him. His heart stopped after he looked over his shoulder; it was Stella. She stood in the opening in the wall, frozen as she watched him. She trembled, even flinching backward after he turned to look at her.

''This isn't you, Chase.'' Her voice was an octave above a whisper. 

He swallowed hard, shaking his head. ''He has to pay. He has to.''

Stella slowly approached him. As she got closer, she placed a hand on his shoulder. It was a soft, yet strong, touch. Her expression urged him to think about his actions.

''If you kill him, we're no better than they are.''

''But—''

She glanced at Apex. ''Is he worth it? Is he really worth it?''

The man didn't deserve mercy. None of the members of Kismet did. Not after everything they had done, all the people they had hurt.

Stella was right, though. He wasn't a killer. He couldn't become the very thing he wanted to destroy. It didn't make him feel any less conflicted, though.

But then he remembered what Director Shaw told him before they all got on the jets—he made the man a promise. He couldn't break it. Hanging his head, he sighed and dismounted the man.

''Though you were going to kill me,'' Apex murmured, half-awake.  Chase shook his head at him while backing away.

''No,'' he said. ''No, I'm not gonna kill you, Victor.''

Apex growled. ''You think you're so noble, don't you?'' He lifted his head to look at the boy. ''You're weak! And you're a coward!''

Chase's eye twitched. Beside him, Stella held his arm, stopping him from moving.

His father taught him to never let someone disrespect him. He was told he had to be on top, or people would run all over him. It was something he lived by. But, just this once, he was willing to go against his old man's teachings. Stella was right—Apex wasn't worth it.

He shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the hole in the wall. Before leaving, he glanced at Apex over his shoulder. ''You might be right, you know. Maybe I am too weak,'' he said. ''But if I'm weak, what does that make you?''

And with that, he climbed back through the hole and began to head back to the battle to help his friends.

''Come back here and fight me!" he heard Apex yell. He was desperate. ''Coward!''

Chase shook his head and grabbed his sword off his back, tuning out Apex's deranged screams. Stella returned to Andre. She had Chase rip a piece of her mission suit off to wrap around their wounded friend's arm. It would stop the bleeding for now, but he was going to need professional help.

''You did the right thing,'' Stella told him. She offered him a warm smile.

He hoped she was right.

''Kane's going to the machine!'' Victoria yelled from her cover spot. She shot off a couple rounds at some mercenaries, dropping them instantly. Kismet's numbers were dwindling, but so were theirs. They needed to end this battle soon.

Chase and Stella shared a glance before nodding.

Without another word, the two of them took off after Kane.