KINETIC

"I can tell you're holding back." Clay said as he and Cain stared at each other. "I'm sure we can find a way to help you recover your old self if you'd just stop fighting and..."

As Clay spoke, Cain's eyes seemed to waver slightly but returned to a blank stare just as quickly.

'I'm right, he's still in there... Somewhere. I need to find a way to bring him out.' Clay started running through some options in his mind, trying to decide what would allow him the opportunity to get his friend back.

He wasn't able to think for long before he felt the gravity around himself shifting. Clay quickly crouched down and slammed his hands into the ground to prevent himself from being affected.

As Clay's hands pushed into the ground the gravity around him changed directions, attempting to pull him towards Cain.

Clay was prepared to be pushed away like the last time so when he felt he was being pulled in instead of pushed away he was quite surprised.

His entire body flipped forwards but he spun in the air and hung onto the ground like it was a wall. The handhold he had created was working perfectly.

'There has to be a way to wake him up. Should I just try to knock him out for now? If I capture him now then I can figure out how to help him later...'

Clay looked 'down' at Cain who still hadn't moved from his spot a few dozen meters down the road.

'Why isn't he moving...?' Clay thought, confused by Cain's actions.

Suddenly, the force of gravity around Clay doubled in intensity, then it tripled and quadrupled.

The intensity was increasing so quickly that Clay felt like he had gained momentum even though he was still stationary.

The force that was pulling him towards Cain was so strong now that Clay's hands were ripping through the hand holds he created.

For several meters Clay continued to dig his hands into the ground in an attempt to stop himself but it was pointless.

The gravity had become too powerful for Clay to stop himself with just the dirt in the ground and he knew this.

Instead of pointlessly trying to slow himself, Clay pushed off from the ground towards Cain. His momentum added to the gravitational force and he picked up speed while readying his fist.

Cain remained motionless, with his hands at his sides, as Clay came barreling towards him. Clay was reaching a speed of several meters per second now and knew that if he put too much force behind his punch it could seriously injure, or even kill Cain.

'Damn it, not only does he have the upper hand in power but I have to hold back too? Well I suppose he's holding back too... I think...' Clay thought.

When there was only a few meters left before the two were within reach of each other, Clay threw out his fist, aiming it towards Clay's head.

' It shouldn't be strong enough to cause permanent damage but you never know...'

"Please don't die you lunkhead!" Clay shouted as his fist moved forwards.

Clay was expecting his fist and body to slam into Cain in the next moment but something very strange happened instead.

His body slammed into a wall of force going in the opposite direction his body was traveling. Clay quickly slowed before coming to a complete stop and eventually being pushed away.

'Did he bait me into attacking so I wouldn't be able to defend myself when he changed attacks...?' Clay thought with surprise. 'Since when does Cain think ahead like that!?'

Clay was already prepared to slam into some walls and building when he eventually reached the end of the street. He lifted his arms in preparation since there was nothing else he could do.

Instead of falling a hundred meters to the end of the street, he fell only two. After those two meters, Clay found himself being blushed back towards Cain's again.

After every few meters of movement Cain's body would change directions, heading towards and then away from Cain over and over again.

The interval between each directional change was becoming shorter with each change until eventually Clay ended up in between the two forces, an equilibrium of sorts.

He was about a meter of the ground and incapable of moving. His body was being held in place by the two opposing forces that threatened to crush him with their power.

While Clay was worrying about being crushed and trapped in the air, Cain slowly walked towards him.

It only took a few steps before he reached a panicking Clay. He reached out with speed, grabbing Clay by the neck.

The opposing forces faded away, returning gravity to its natural flow as Cain pulled Clay closer. The two of them were face to face when Cain spoke with a deep voice.

"Help... Plea..se..." Cain said with pleading eyes.

Clay's face lit up for a moment as he felt a tinge of hope rise up inside him. "You really are in there..." He said with a smile.

The grip around Clay's neck suddenly began to tighten, preventing him from breathing.

"Cain...s...top." Clay tried to say more but found it impossible to continue. His vision was starting to darken as the grip around his neck tightened.

Cain suddenly screamed out as though he were in pain and dropped Clay. The scream was Loud and deep, sounding more like a roar than anything.

He fell to his knees, right beside Clay, while gripping his on head and screaming. Clay was gasping for air as Cain fell beside him.

Seeing Cain go through such an ordeal was breaking his heart and causing his hatred for Trent to increase by the second.

"Clay!" A voice shouted out from behind and Clay turned towards it.

"Rene?" He said with a ragged voice while rubbing his neck. "Why are you here?"

"I realized the ones who destroyed the hospital were you and Cain... I couldn't leave knowing that. More importantly, what's happening to him?" Rene asked as she approached the pair.

Clay rolled to the side a bit and got up on one knee as Rene stopped beside him." Cains mind is still in there, he's fighting for control..." Clay said.

"Fighting with what?" Gerald asked as he arrived beside Rene.

"I don't know..."