The Misty Swamp

The Misty Swamp is the second round in The Intense Struggle. This round is later revisited in The Gradual Massacre.

Description
The thick mists of this battlefield will cause a competitor to become irrationally angry. The thicker the fog, the greater the effect. The contestants are not told about this effect of the fog, only that it will obscure their vision. Bae being an agent of The Monitor is informed about this beforehand.

Events
Immediately Sister Clara and Aph attempted to leave the confines of the battlefield, only to be forced back by the churning of the soil. Bae follows Clara and Aph and plots how to get them into the mist. B takes wolf form so as to be better suited to the terrain. Aegis wanted revenge against Larus for the murder of Trickster. Aph silently followed Clara pondering the mortality of the situation. She wants to make full use of the time that they have together and so asks Clara if she will marry her. Meanwhile Bae was watching this unexpected proposal. He shapeshifted into Aegis and grabbed Clara, ruining the moment and simultaneously infuriating Aph. She chased him into the thick mists, lightning shooting from her. She isn't quick enough and looses him in the mists, collapsing into tears. She then loses her connection to Clara and wanders off in a random direction. Meanwhile Clara had been dragged deep into the mist and was consequently furious. She started battling Bae-gis, who unable to dodge an incoming attack morphed back into his normal form and fled. The real Aegis was deep in the fog and becoming angrier and angrier. Clara and Aegis ran into one another and started battling in deep mist fuelled rages.

Larus, B and D'Neya were together elsewhere in the swamp. They encountered Aph wandering blankly through the swamp. Larus preferred to get the hell out of there, but D'Neya called to her happily. Thick fog suddenly rolled over the group. B was familiar with boundless rage and attempted to flee before he could do anyone any harm, unfortunately he slammed straight into Clara, interrupting her and Aegis' battle. He started to transform into a bear. As the mist swept over D'Neya, a small black book fell from her pocket, falling open and revealing the word 'nothing'. Angry that it had been so pointless D'Neya began lashing out at the nearest person, Aph. D'Neya began sprouting black tentacles that stretched throughout the swamp. Aegis and B battled furiously. Aegis formed his weapon into a makeshift minigun and fed an entire log into it, firing a barrage of splinters at B and then randomly into the mist before being knocked unconscious. Bae had been recuperating nearby when suddenly it was under attack by a hail of splinters, it fled the area morphing back into the Cabaret disguise and was attacked by one of D'Neya's tentacles. B prepared to make the killing blow on the unconscious Aegis when he was attacked by Clara. B managed to decide that sticking around this place was not a good idea and fled, pursued by Clara.

Bae as Cabaret managed to dodge D'Neya's searching tentacle only to discover that Larus had been watching his transformation. Bae pursued Larus in order to keep him quiet about what he had discovered. The Monitor instructed Bae to knock Larus unconscious. Clara, B and Aegis left the mist and their minds began to clear. They saw Bae transform into the shape of Trickster. Bae explained that he had been hired by The Monitor to sow discord amongst the group. Then he fled, and was pursued by B in the form of a beaver. Bae emerges in a small enclosed area thick with mist. Here he is instructed by The Monitor that he has to kill a competitor and take their place. B arrived in the form of a crocodile, and they battled to the death, with B killing Bae and devouring his heart.