It was getting worse now, the fire spread uncontrollably and more cabinets were already burning. The flammable liquid had already crept around them. The fire started to reignite Ted's fur now, and at the most unfortunate moment, one of the red bottles burst in front of him, sending a splinter of glass, cork, and burning liquid to his face. To his bloody nose.

Yet Ted was not stopping, the air he breathed out from his injured muzzle was as hot and fumed as the surrounding smoke. Bartholomew anticipated the next mad attack and had a blade stab deep into Ted's forearm, and what came next was a tense pause, like a small prelude before the the wick ran out and ignited the barrel of gunpowder.

And finally, the Gladiator Ted lost it, following an ear-splitting roar was a brutal and continuous pounding. Sharp edges or hard metals, he did not care anymore. Injuries marred his muscular forearm. The fire burned his entire body, exposing his skin he almost looked pinkishly bald. 

But he kept pounding, and mauling and pounding as cries of anger were ripped from his throat. Until his claws almost fell off from their sockets and his forearm was so calloused they looked like a pair of terracotta with blazing cracks rather than ones made of skin and muscle. Bartholomew's metal body endured, blow exchanged, until he realized that his living adversary had started to be as tough as himself.

Finally, in a single pulverizing downswing, Ted managed to detach Batholomew's arm from its invisible, unliving socket by crushing it against the hardened floor. A crack formed on the overturned tiles, the blow was so powerful that fire and burning liquid were withdrawn from them. Ted struck again, like a hammer trying to demolish the floor that trapped him and his enemy, again and again in multiple places. Retaliations from Bartholomew started to lose their effectiveness. A glow pulsed in the place where the heart should be, and after final pounding, Ted the Gladiator raised himself up from his stony restraint. 

_____
Everyone heard that roar, and Widernia smiled smugly at the implied threat, but immediately cut them short at the idea of saving the [i]lab[/i]. [color=f49ac2]"It's too late for that,"[/color] she said, mustering strength into his legs to stand, but she could not. Her vision was still black and white, and her hands shaking. 

So she grabbed her staff instead. 

Those... people were understandably alerted, but the red mage paid their cautiousness no heed, and remained smug, as if knowing whatever they would do to her was not making much difference... now. 

With a single tap on one of the bars, a controlled electric current spread rapidly to all three cell doors. Glows outlined some runic letters, and when they faded again, the sound of locks being disengaged could be heard. Widernia adjusted her position and leaned on the bars, panting, yet still smiling mockingly. [color=f49ac2]"He is coming for you!" [/color]

At this point, fires had engulfed almost the entire lab, and the smoke was almost unbearable. Still, the fire that blanketed the floor was shallow; one could run through and make it back to the main entrance if they were willing to burn their soles and withstand the pain. 

The poisoning blaze and smoke, however, was the least of their worry, for Ted the [b]Enraged[/b] Bear was breaking free, hell-bent on finishing the fight. There was no going back now, not for him.