Veronica walked into the infirmary with Daniel finally taking his face out of her neck. He wore a large smile as he jumped at Theodore. Theodore caught him in his arms, patting the back of Daniel's head.
Theodore: You did amazing out there, Daniel.
Daniel: Daniel won, papa! Daniel is the strongest!
Theodore: You sure are.
Theresa reached over, stroking Daniel's head as he held tightly onto Theodore.
Eve: P-Please try not to cling too tightly to him. He's still recovering!
Ziyad: Give the family some room, Eve. This is a good moment for them.
Li's thoughts: I wish I was Daniel right now…
Hugo: So he beat up a guy with glasses, so what?
Mike: He didn't kill anyone, wise ass. This is a huge improvement from the previous round.
Carrie: That is true… Good on you, Daniel!
Carrie's face contorted to a silly-looking smile as she brought up both of her thumbs. Mike rubbed his head, confused at the sight before him. Eve walked back over to Thong, grabbing a needle and putting it against the large gash down his face.
Hugo: Hey hey now! What's that for?!
Eve: I can't just leave this wound open. I've done what I can for the inside, but it needs to be stitched closed.
Hugo: My student isn't weak, you know. He'll be able to get through that without a hitch!
Li: You know he isn't superhuman, right? He won't be able to survive with something like that visible…
Mike: Yeah, don't try to hinder Thong's progress, dumbass.
Mike grabbed onto Hugo's shirt collar and pushed him back. Hugo fell to the ground before hopping back up and bringing his face up to Mike's.
Hugo: You're lucky I didn't take Thong's spot during the preliminaries or else I would have washed you in the first round.
Angel: I heard about your match, I heavily doubt that.
Ziyad: Calm down, everyone. We don't need another fight after Daniel just returned from his.
Eve: That's right! I need to check his status immediately!
Theresa: He has been cut up quite harshly, but he seems to be in high spirits.
Daniel: Few cuts never scare Daniel!
Theodore: That's a good boy.
Daniel's eyes fluttered close and he rested on Theodore's chest, breathing softly. Theresa and Theodore looked at one another before turning their attention to Daniel.
Ziyad: The boy had quite the match. Let's place him in a bed of his own.
Eve: Right away!
…
Bodin's infirmary was silent as Simon walked in with the paramedics. Magnus laid unconscious on the stretcher before being placed on one of the beds. Everyone watched as the men left. Simon held his head in shame as he stared down at his friend's unmoving hand.
Simon: He… he lost…
Yussuf: This means… we're down to one…
Hiroto: Things could not have gone worse for this group in a single round.
Daymond placed his chin on his fist, looking closely at Magnus' unconscious body. He stood up, the injuries on his body being mostly wrapped up.
Daymond: There is no doubt that these two matches have been the most detrimental to our morale.
Bodin: That's without a doubt. The Arachna had three matches in a row and managed to lose all but one of them.
Shizu: Currently, the Arachna, Imperium, and Collective all have the same number of individuals moving onto the quarterfinals. Two of the ones moving onto the quarterfinals are unassociated individuals.
Hiroto: That knight and the boy that beat Shun. It is impossible to ignore that both of these fighters are dark horses.
Yussuf: One was able to beat Shun with techniques that aren't native to Wing Chun and another is a knight that was able to beat the most technologically advanced fighter…
Daymond: I can do nothing but thank all of you for the effort you had put forth in the matches so far.
Shun: Why does that matter… None of us made it except you, boss.
Daymond: And because of that, I have gained all the information I needed. Think about it like this. Thong and Daniel showed how far the extent of their martial arts prowess they have access to can reach. We didn't see the extent of Daniel's potential from his first match and Magnus has given us just what we needed if he were the one to reach the finals.
Yussuf: Boss… You sound pretty assured right now.
Daymond put on a smile which felt a jolt of energy into Simon and Yussuf. Shizu and Bodin smiled behind him.
Daymond: I am the most confident I have felt in a long time. My blood is rushing from the idea of what fights I'll come to face. I'll ensure the victory of the Arachna. I will not let us fall.
Daymond attempted to take a step forward, his face wincing in pain. He dropped to one knee, Shizu and Bodin immediately dropping to his side. Simon and Yussuf rushed over to him as Hiroto let out a chuckle.
Hiroto: Make sure you can keep yourself up before raising the morale of your men. But you've definitely reignited the light in them.
Sudu: He might be useful in motivating the trainees.
Hiroto: You say that as if I can't do that well myself.
Sudu: If I'm being honest, I wouldn't say you're the best at it…
Hiroto: Talk about brutal honesty.
Shizu and Bodin brought Daymond back up to his seat. He placed a hand on his chest, controlling his breathing.
Daymond: It appears that I'm still in no condition to move from this room…
Simon: Boss… don't you think this is a good place to swap with one of us? Yussuf and I have had plenty of time to recover and are in much better condition to fight in the next round.
Daymond: Despite the truth in your words… I cannot put such a burden on you all. Not when I'm the one to arrange this tournament for my own selfish desires.
Hiroto: Yeah. If you were fighting for the betterment of the organization, you would have asked me to swap in after this round. But you didn't even give the slightest hint that you would do that.
Yussuf: Would you actually swap with him?
Hiroto: Of course not. This guy set this up himself, so he'd need to look amongst his own group.
Hiroto looked over to Shizu, who wore a serious expression. He smiled before looking back at Simon and Yussuf.
Hiroto: I can't deny that currently, he is your strongest fighter. His condition might be poor now, but he has that guy by his side.
Hiroto pointed over to Bodin, who wore a sly smile. He clapped, his expression becoming more gleeful.
Bodin: I truly try my best with the medical fields I'm exploring. If I'm able to research the mechanics of the Release and my own medical expertise, I may be able to bring Daymond here back to his perfect condition.
Yussuf: Boss back in perfect condition…?
Simon: That'd basically be unbeatable!
Simon looked over to Magnus, who was breathing softly on his bed.
Simon: But can you do something for him first? Those strikes from Daniel aren't light…
Simon walked over to the other room, reaching into a pocket in the duffle bag before walking back over to Magnus. He placed the new pair of glasses next to him.
Simon: He needs to know he did well when he wakes up.
Daymond: He's a strong individual. He won't fall from a few injuries like that.
…
The sounds of the audience were nothing but muffles within the walls of Xavier Patch's room. He worked tirelessly on Abraham's body, which was covered in a tarp with only one portion of the body exposed. Two paramedics watched silently near the trays, watching Xavier go to work on the patient.
Paramedic 1: He's only taken breaks to eat and sleep… He's like a machine…
Paramedic 2: This is what he's best known for.
Xavier's blade carefully cuts through Abraham's skin, his movements like that of a master. His eyes followed each movement closely, the skin eventually being safe to remove. The paramedics walked away from the doctor, not hoping to disrupt his work.
Paramedic 1: He said he should be able to apply his special treatments after today's surgery, correct?
Paramedic 2: Yes. The procedure that had dumbfounded us. The application of metals to the bone is nothing short of insanity. Yet he has two confirmed successful subjects. Daymond Theraphosa and Jason Bellthorne…
Paramedic 1: And it's impossible to ignore how their innate durability has increased through those procedures. We need to watch closely while he performs them, maybe there is something we can learn.
Paramedic 2: This could benefit the organization at large! Imagine what this could lead to…
The door behind the men slowly crept open, a figure sneaking into the room unnoticed. Despite the silence of the room, neither paramedic could hear the figure's steps. A hand was placed over both of their mouths before their necks were quickly snapped. The figure walked towards Xavier, who did not look away from his patient for a moment. The figure watched before turning away from the two, wondering about the room. The figure's empty eyes looked over every cranny of the room, not seeing a single thing out of order. It turned back towards the door, exiting without having made a single sound. Xavier's focus remained entirely on Abraham, his movements have not hesitated for a moment. His eyes traveled over the insides of his subject. In his attempts to keep his patient alive, he was completely unaware of the deaths that had occurred mere meters away from him. He was also unaware of how his own dedication had saved his own life. The doctor could do nothing but focus solely on his patient.
The pieces continue to move within the Eclipse.