Data missing. Requesting update...

[Idran1701]

Leaning forward, Greg returns the handshake, giving a small smile.

"Oh, I've had more than a few conflicts recently, I think I'm pretty well-prepared. Honestly, this is about the first chance I've had to rest in a while."

Sitting back, his expression turns a bit more thoughtful as he looks off. "I'll have to figure out a way to head off with the two of you, though. Even if I don't care for him much, I'm not that eager to leave this world's Greg high and dry. I'll talk with Small once she's back, but whatever she says, I'll be sneaking off with you two once you're ready. Watch out for her, though. I think she's got some other plans in mind for the two of you."

[Endesu]

"Is that so? I've gone through some trouble recently myself, but I'm sure you're aware of some of that already..."

She paused, perhaps pondering over what he had said, before responding in turn. "Are you certain about her? She seems trustworthy enough to me... certainly, she appears to be in with an underground crime ring around here, but better to be in league with bandits than with the executioners patrolling the grounds."

It was at that point that the man began to stir, perhaps having gotten enough rest for the moment....

"Finally," Carroll sighed, "At last you're awake!"

[Idran1701]

Frowning, he rolls the possibility over in his head."...Maybe. I'll think about it. I'm still not sure if I'd call her trustworthy, but you've got a point, I suppose."

Glancing over to the knight as he stirs, he nods to him once he's conscious enough to recognize it. "Have a good rest? We've been talking for a bit. It's safe to talk; I told her close to the same thing that I told you on the way here."

[Endesu]

The man blinked slowly before sitting up with a jerk, looking about with some worry in his eyes. "Who... are you people? Where am I? Let me see, I was in the bar..."

"... no way. You don't remember anything? It wasn't that long ago, was it? You fought against an assassination troupe and killed almost everyone. It was so bloody," Carroll replied, obviously a bit surprised by this turn of events.

"Me?"

"Yes, you! You alone. After that, we came here with a thief and her 'partner', Gregory over there. We've been sitting here, catching our breath and thinking over our next moves. Are you certain you don't remember anything?"

The man said nothing, simply staring blankly at both Carroll and Greg.

She sighed, "This is terrible."

"Wait. Truly, I don't remember a thing," the man replied earnestly, finally coming to stand.

"You don't remember fighting?"

"No, not at all."

"You can't remember coming here, either?"

"No, I do not remember."

At this point, Carroll turned to Greg, shrugging her shoulders with exaggerated disbelief. This had been a most unexpected turn of events, after all.

[Idran1701]

Taking by surprise himself, he gives the man an appraising gaze. "...This happen before? Or did you hit your head or something?"

[Endesu]

"No... not normally...," the man replied. It was at that point that, for no apparent reason, he began to laugh.

"Don't laugh like that! There's nothing funny about any of this," Carroll admonished him. "The least you can do is admit responsibility for what you've done, and trust the two of us."

"OK, whatever, responsible. But... if such things did occur last night, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again," the man replied with a definite tone of smarminess.

Carroll gasped at the sheer rudeness of the reply, but the man swiftly put up his hands in an apologetic gesture. "Woah, woah, I'm just kiddin'. Don't want the two of you coming down on me in this sort of state, after all. But don't expect me to just 'trust' you, either... the guy over there looks like he knows what this city is all about, but you... you don't have the smell of this town's water about you. The sooty rain... it gets into everything, even houses and bathing water. And if you don't have 'the smell', then you must be one of those upper crust socialites. Am I right?"

At this point, he turned to Greg, "You there. You know what I'm talking about, right? I can see and smell the mark of the soot on you, so you should be able to work with me, here. Don't tell me you're in with that type of crowd, too."

[Idran1701]

Sighing, he leans back again, wincing for a bit before speaking up. He mutters, "If it's not one thing...

"Okay. I'm not part of any city's upper crust, you can believe me about that. You can trust me, and I vouch for Carroll here. And for now, we've got a bit more to deal with. So, you've never seen her before, you're sure? Doesn't remind you of any siblings or anything?"

[Endesu]

"Well....," the man started, but he didn't seem to find any reason to continue his stance. So he simply let it go, trying to maintain his position.

"... no...? I do... did have a sister, but... well, what's this about, exactly? Why are you two interested in me?"


"I would like you to accompany me," Carroll responded.

The man glanced at her for a moment before essentially putting her off, "If you want a decent bodyguard, you should hire one with your money."

"But what I want is not a "decent" bodyguard. I want one who'll fight
against the Guardians."

The man was taken aback at this. "Guardians? Where in the world are you going to find someone stupid enough to fight against the Guardians who are directly controlled by the royal family?"

"Finally! You remember now?," Carroll asked him in an exasperated tone. "I was thinking that Duran City would be a good place to... hide, from the execution troupes. What do you say?"

"... Duran City... isn't Duran City home to the largest heavy water treatment facility around?"

"... why, yes it is. How well do you know Duran City?"

"... not too well. I've never been there. But... I have been meaning to visit, now that I think about it."

"What good timing."

"I guess . . . Well, OK then, I'll help you guys."

"Well, then, I'll reintroduce myself. My name is Carroll Mew, and this man is Gregory."

"I'm... Lucian. Lucian Taylor."

This settled, Lucian looked towards Greg for a moment. "What you asked earlier... about bumping my head. Is there something else I need to take responsibility for, now?"

[Idran1701]

"Nothing but what she's already told you, really. We had a bit of a talk ourselves, but I can fill you back in on that. But other than that one incident, I think you're free and clear; that's just a good way to lose your memory, or so I hear."

Looking to Carroll, he continues.

"So, once Small gets back, I suppose I'll fill both of you in at once. At the worst, we'll have to fight our way out when she tries to hold us here for whatever crazy reason she has, but I think we can handle that, and I doubt it'd happen anyway. And then...how soon did you want to leave, Carroll?"

[Endesu]

Lucian took this into consideration and simply sat back down, rubbing his head slightly.

"Well... I suppose we can stand to rest here until Small comes back. We'll need all the rest we can for the journey out of this city," Carroll responded. "Besides, I'm certain she won't be as bad as you seem to be claiming her to be. Just wait and see, I suppose."

With that, she sat back as well.

Would Greg be receptive to kicking up his heels for the time being? Quite a bit had transpired since the last time he had rested, after all...

[Idran1701]

With things having calmed, it's tough for Greg to not relax here, even if his mind does keep drifting back to Gaera; with luck, getting back won't take too long. Of course, once he's back, there's still the issue of finding Jikuro, not to mention figuring out something to do with his death, and at some point stopping whatever's going on back home. He frowns, picking away at everything he's got ahead of him, turning things around and figuring out just what he might be able to do about his situation.

First things first, though. He's got to find a way to get back in the first place. Then he can worry about the rest of his problems.

[Endesu]

Some time would pass in this world...

Eventually, he would awake later on to find Lucian and Carroll already up, stretching out and straightening their equipment. Carroll noticed and held a hand out to help him up. "I see you're awake," she noted as she bent downward. "Apparently, Small should be here shortly."

It was at that point that the door into the room opened, and a hooded man whom Greg had never seen before entered. In his position, Lucian was closest to the door, and was quick to greet the man with a "Who are you?"

"I wanna talk to the girl behind you," the man replied. "Get outta the way." It was at that point, as well, that Small popped up behind the man and waved her hand in a gesture of greeting to all assembled there. "Hey there, Greg, Carroll, fighter boy!"

"Hello, missy," the man started as he now spoke directly to Carroll. "My name is Zappa and I run the Hooded Monkeys, a local... 'self-defense group'. This little girl behind me is Small and she's my underling. Last night she hid you in our secret hidden room here. She also received some pretty expensive pieces of jewelry from you for her troubles. I wanted to personally thank you for those gifts."

Carroll smiled slightly as she responded, "Oh, never mind. There was no better way to show my gratitude for her kindness."

"I do think, however, that it might have been too much appreciation on
your part," Zappa replied. "There must be another; more appropriate gesture of thanks on our part. For as it stands now, your gift is too overbalanced for the act. It seems to me that the two of you are going to be leaving this town shortly, but trust me; it still isn't safe enough for travel yet. Because of your over generosity, it would be my honor to guide you two to safety."

Carroll's smile deepened, though she managed to retain a semblance of dignity as she responded with, "Are you sure you want to do this for us?"

"Of course. This is business," Zappa replied earnestly, before turning to Greg. "And Gregory... apparently you've been keeping a close eye on your guests here over the past few hours. Small told me as much. While that's all well and good for them, I am rather curious as to how your last 'job' turned out."

[Idran1701]

Blinking and stretching, he looks Zappa over as he speaks to the two. Putting on the look of someone confused through being half-asleep, he yawns as he thinks over his answer to this question.

"M' last job? Eh, slipped up a bi', I'll admit." Gesturing to the frame, he frowns as he continues, "No' worth all tha' much a' th' moment, u'fortuna'ly. Been feelin' off all day, bu' I think i' 'll pass soon 'nough. Jus' needed a bi' o' rest i' all."

[Kelne]

"Sure, Not-Boss, no problem," was the cheerful reply. From 32, as it happened, who tended to assume the role of spokesman. Uncertainty or not, tracking down the Boss was always a good plan. Whether he wanted company or not.

------------------------

Steeled as he was for unpleasant surprises, the twinge came as something of a shock. Yet another reminder that time was shorter than he'd like. Swearing softly to himself, Kelne flipped the switch, hoping it wasn't connected to anything malevolent.

[Endesu]

"Ah, well, fine. You'll be owing me for it in the future, given that I gave you the task myself... but you're a trustworthy sort, so I won't concern myself over it any further. You can help make up for it, though, by helping us escort our two guests to safety. Any objections?," Zappa queried Greg, looking rather calm over the entire matter.

Suddenly, a man dressed in an orange cloak and hood rushed into the room, with a good dose of urgency in his tone. "Something is coming!"

With that, the sound of metal being both sharpened and dragged against stone began to emnate from just outside of the room they were stationed in.

Small panicked just a bit, looking to the door wildly. "It's the sound of metal... It might be a guard... or it could be...!"

Lucian stood at the ready, looking towards the door somewhat cautiously. "Shit," he began to mutter, but was interrupted by the orange man shoving one of the swords with a gauge in the center into his hands.

"... what's this...?," Lucian queried, looking at it uncertainly.

"It's a sledge I made. It's light, but extremely powerful, trust me!," the orange man responded.

"All right then, everyone, we have an emergency situation. I'm not sure how they found us, but we need to move quickly," Zappa spoke calmly but swiftly, gathering everyone into the room together with one swift glance. "Our two guests will need to be escorted along... the rest of us will need to be ready to meet the guards... or whoever else they may be... at the exit. Greg? What will you do?"

Apparently, it was Greg's choice as to where he would go and who he would help...

***

Justin nodded firmly. "Very well, then. I'd like to ask all of you to step back into the airship and ready yourself with whatever you have available. If any of you Minions have something you can readily secure yourself with, make use of it. I'm sure you lot can think of something?"

He made to take his seat at the pilot's position, prepping the ship for immediate takeoff into the portal. He had to work quickly...

Stephen sighed slightly, and moved with the Minions as they presumably made their way back into the ship... a distant thudding sound gave him reason for pause, but only a very brief pause as an extended visual look around revealed no immediate dangers charging their way...

***

The switch, fortunately enough, seemed to open way into a passageway of some sort... one leading to a flight of stairs which descended downwards far more directly than the path they had been taking.

They were apparently not the first travelers that had gone down that way, however... a few charred Ikei corpses littered the stairway for some distance down. There had presumably been living Ikei infesting the way, but something... or someone... had cleared them out somewhat recently...

"Shall we go, then?," the swarm of floating eels queried. "Is something else wrong, now?"

As if on cue, another painful twinge emnated from Kelne's wound.

[Kelne]

"I tend to operate under the assumption that there are more things wrong than anyone can possibly imagine," Kelne said, starting down the stairs. Lovely to know that his cunning disguise made him a target for some other faction in this tower.

Counting the religious loonies on the ground floor, that made three factions so far. No doubt there was a faction of Infinity goons around somewhere... Call it a half-dozen factions total. Knowing his luck, he'd soon be in a position to list the key differences between them.

---------------

The minions happily filed onto the airship. As far as passing the time went, it seemed that the method of choice was an epic snakes-and-ladders tournament.

[Idran1701]

Glancing to the door, and taking in all the ruckus, Greg frowns, wondering just what exactly's going on here.

"...I'll have t' escort them. Still no' in th' bes' shape for some heavy combat a' th' moment, dunno how much help I'd be here."

Standing, he grabs the captured sword, looking to the pair briefly before turning back to Zappa.

"With all thi' now, who else's comin' 'long on tha'?"

He puts on a frown before continuing, "Or 'm I gonna be takin' thi' on m'self now? Hope tha's no' th' case."

[Endesu]

"A wonder you aren't already a simpering, paranoid wreck, then... but to each their own meltdown," the swarm of eels responded with a somewhat sardonic tone.

The trek down the stairs would reveal quite the haul of slaughtered Ikei. It would seem that whoever or whatever had come through here had acted on a 'scorched earth' policy, which wouldn't work too well in the favor of either Kelne or 42, disguised as they were under the guise of mutations.

Before long, the sounds of explosive combat could be heard from somewhat further down. The dying screams of various Ikei, as well as emnations of various types of magical energy, emnated constantly from the lower area.

"Well, then. It appears whatever came through here is not too far away at this point. What do you wish to do, Kelne?," the faux eel swarm questioned the disguised tyrant. "We could easily avoid another fight and go back to where we originally were, or continue onward and meet a potential new enemy..."

***

Justin would launch the airship just as the critical tiebreaker round of snakes & ladders had been reached. The ship was not up for long before it angled itself downwards, pointing directly towards the portal... and ultimately making something of a mangled nosedive.

Entrance into the portal seemed to send every being in the ship into a random direction. Justin and Stephen would be blown to the back, while the Minions would find that they had undergone a curious bouncing effect of sorts, sending them all over the ship before ultimately coming to rest. Tragically, the tiebreaker round of snakes & ladders had been shattered by the heretofore unseen impact of mysterious portal entry.

Fortunately (for once), the ship had stopped in place the moment Justin had been thrown from the seat.

***

(Ahem!)

"... I'll come with ya," Small interjected, stepping up to the plate with a somewhat cocky swagger. "Or I'll at least help guide ya guys, since I know a good shortcut from here."

"Any problems with that, Greg?", Zappa questioned him.

[Idran1701]

"Nah, that'll be fine. Tha's wha' I was assumin' in th' firs' place an'way."

Walking forward a bit, sword in hand, he gives the two other outsiders a quick look before giving Small a bit of a smirk. "Afte' you? If you'll b' guidin' an' all."

[Endesu]

"Yeap. Seein' as how you're a bit off on your game today, I'll take the reins here, slick," Small responded with a smirk of her own as she lifted up a random part of the wall to reveal a hidden door. She opened it and dashed through, leaving space for Greg, Lucian, and Carroll to follow in her wake.

"Hurry on," shouted Zappa, "and we'll close this behind you. Don't let anyone get killed, Greg... I've always considered you trustworthy. Now live up to that promise."

The sounds of the apparent enemy were drawing ever closer... Greg would have to move after Small quickly if he were to survive. Presuming he did so, he, Lucian, and Carroll would go through a dark tunnel and out onto what appeared to be a subterranean station of some sort. There were a series of decrepit rigs connected by time-worn bridges here and there, and Small had already crossed the first.

Now, Greg had, at the very least, a moment of time to glance at the bridge... and it looked so worn after Small had crossed it, in fact, that it appeared ready to give out. Would he still risk crossing?

[Idran1701]

Frowning as he looks over the bridge, he glances down into the chasm below. Not having much choice in the matter, though, he heads across carefully. He looks back to Lucian and Carroll as he starts across, trying to keep a reasonable pace without rushing things too much.

"...Prolly best t' go a' this one a' a time, I'd say."

He turns back ahead, keeping an eye on the bridge but also looking up to keep track of Small's progress, not exactly wanting to get lost down here.

IM: You'd think they'd keep these in better condition for times like this. Eh, nothing to do about it now, just have to be careful here.

[Endesu]

Looking down revealed a chasm, indeed; anyone unfortunate enough to fall would tumble for several stories before coming to land in what appeared to be a multitude of piles of scrap, debris, and other apparently useless yet still sharp and dangerous materials. A careful pace would most definitely be useful!

Lucian nodded to Greg, though Carroll was looking back towards the way they had come, perhaps suspecting that the enemy would emerge at any moment. Small, to her credit, had stopped some distance ahead, presumably waiting on the trio to catch up.

Greg's trek was treacherous, to say the least; the bridge seemed to swing and bend under his body weight. Each step seemed to be more than the bridge could bear, and the ropes that bound the bridge seemed to be moments away from snapping and pitching Greg into doom below.

... however, none of that happened, and he was able to get across.
Now, he had to deal with the other two. Who did he want to come next... Lucian, or Carroll?

[Idran1701]

Carroll being the lightest, Greg beckons her over, giving her an encouraging look as he speaks.

"All ri', jus' take i' slow an' careful, an' i' 'll be fine. It's no' half a' bad as i' looks, really."

[Endesu]

Carroll nodded uncertainly, forcing herself to look directly towards Greg and prod herself over the bridge at an excruciatingly slow rate. The bridge did not seem to creak and bend under her quite as much, but it still maintained so much noise that one would've thought the bridge to be hundreds of years past its prime.

This left Lucian, who prepared to climb over equally slowly... just as the sound of weapons being drawn and multiple feet charging in line began to emanate from the tunnel through which they had come not too long ago.

Lucian turned towards the sound in surprise, and Carroll's eyes were locked on the tunnel. Greg couldn't be entirely sure, of course, but these were the same sounds the apparent guard/execution squad raid had been causing earlier...

[Idran1701]

Watching the tunnel himself, he sighs. "...'course. Hurry 'cross, Lucian, we'll cut th' bridge b'hind us. Try t' be careful, though. I'd hate t' lose someone this early, afte' all."

While Lucian moves, Greg gets his sword ready, watching for any of those "executioner squad" sorts coming. Grimacing, he keeps his left arm free, ready to give Lucian a hand if things turn sour and he needs to avoid a sudden fall.

[Endesu]

Lucian nodded and attempted to speed up just a bit as he crossed, ultimately joining Carroll and Greg with (surprise, surprise) no major incident.

Lucian then looked to the bridge, nodded to Greg, and set to work on cutting the thing down so as to slow down potential pursuers...

And said pursuers arrived, streaming out of the tunnel from which Greg and co had originally escaped... led by the so-called 'leader' from earlier.

[Kelne]

"We carry on, but we drop the disguises," Kelne said, canceling the illusion about him, "I wouldn't count on finding common cause with whoever's responsible for this, but we certainly won't if we look like the opposition."

Kelne continued downwards, ready to respond to aggression at a moment's notice. It was always possible that it was Astrynax, but Kelne would have expected him to have gotten through much earlier than this.

-----------------

#32, having been knocked out of the competition in the early rounds, decided to make his way up to the bridge and see what was going on. All this rattling around could get inconvenient.

[Idran1701]

With the newfound flood of soldiers, Greg begins chopping at his own side of the bridge, working on what looks to be the strongest section of rope. Glancing up every now and again to watch their progress, he slices as quickly as he can, slowly severing the strands of the rope one by one. As he cuts, he speaks up to Lucian, keeping his voice low enough to hopefully not be overheard by the approaching executioner squad.

"...Hoped t' have it down by th' time they go' here. Di'n' wan' them t' step on i' an' fall t' their deaths 'r nothin', just be a li'l held up."

[Endesu]

42 nodded, canceling out his own disguise. He looked around for a moment, perhaps having gained a new perspective on things due to taking on the appearance of a horrid swarm of mutated flying eels, before continuing on with Kelne.

Thus, they descended, and all too quickly did they come across a rather interesting figure, one who was just now finishing off the swarming Ikei. The figure was short, fuzzy, bore a doily-bob and a suit of Dragoon armor, as well as a lance at hand. First glance would reveal the figure to be a Moogle of some sort, but a closer look would reveal one that appeared to be none other than End Reshiki. He bore a curious cloak of sorts that appeared to cover half of his face and the same half of his body to an exact 't'... but, otherwise, he appeared to match up with the Moogle of old.

"Oh, I see you're here as well, Kelne?," the Moogle mused, visually inspecting the duo before himself. "I'd recommend leaving soon... it gets much worse from here. Well, so long."

With that, End turned and appeared to be travelling away from the former tyrant with as much speed as he could muster...

***

As the snakes & ladders tournament was reset back to its prior position, Justin and Stephen swiftly made their way to the front of the ship to see just what was going on. 32 joined them in their investigation, and the three found something rather interesting...

The ship had apparently smashed headlong into yet another lens of some sort, creating a few cracks in the apparent 'glass' of the structure. The lens in question appeared to reveal a bizarre version of the world they had left only moments ago; the entirety of the world appeared to have been reformed into a series of paper craft structures and people; to say nothing of the clouds and skies, which appeared to be an interlocking pattern of blue and white paper, perpetually set in motion against each other.

"Interesting... it seems we've made our way into the Stream of Consciousness. I never thought we could reach it by way of one of the lens being opened, but here we are...," Justin mused, a hand on his chin.

***

The two would find that the work would progress much quicker as they set to hacking away at the old bridge together; they would mostly finish with the destruction of the aging rope within a matter of moments.

"... I've learned far too well not to forgive anything that harms myself or those I'm supposed to be sworn to protect. I... I can't think of it any other way," Lucian responded, partially mumbling, as he set to work on his own part of the bridge.

By the time the soldiers and their cowardly leader had reached the spot, the bridge had been dealt with entirely, leaving a rather large gap between the platforms. A conventional leap would likely result in a fall to one's demise.

"Come on, then, let's go!," Lucian shouted, turning tail and running with Carroll to where Small was still waiting. She had a grin on her face, as if she was somehow enjoying watching this series of events...

She was now right across yet another bridge, which looked similarly worse for the wear... apparently Greg would have to repeat the motions with this bridge, as well?

Lucian sighed, readying his sledge for more cutting action. "It never ends, does it?," he queried.

[Idran1701]

As the bridge falls into the chasm, Greg looks to Lucian oddly, though he says nothing as the two head to the next bridge. With Lucian's next comment, he gives a slight frown, looking back to the soldiers, watching for any bows and arrows they might be readying. "No' tha' I've found, no."

Crossing this bridge as best he can, he waits once more on the far side for the other two to reach him, sword ready again as he glances at Small with a humorless chuckle and a small smirk of his own. "Enjoyin' this, are y'?"

[Endesu]

The executioner squad and their captain eyed the chasm below as both Lucian and Carroll made their way over the second bridge, reaching the duo of Greg and Small in a matter of moments.

Small smirked slightly at Greg. "Well, we've got about three more bridges to cross before we reach the area that leads out of this city. So you're going to have to work fast there, Greg," she observed with a wry undertone, keeping an eye on the executioner squad.

Said squad appeared to be discussing its options, so it wasn't as if they were absolutely out of time...

Lucian had already set to work on cutting away the second bridge.

[Idran1701]

Getting to work cutting, Greg watches the distant squad, paying the occasional glance to Small for the sake of courtesy and giving a small chuckle at her comment.

"Well, I doubt we need t' cut all o' them. If th' firs' two don' stop 'em, don' see why th' las' three would. I' 'll give us more'v a head start too, an' I ge' th' feelin' we mi' nee' that."

Pausing, he checks the ropes, frowning on his progress.

"Guess Zappa foun' th' sweet spot wi' these, eh? Jus' ba' 'nough t' give y' a scare when y're crossin', 'n' jus' well-made 'nough t' give y' a trouble in takin' 'em down."

[Endesu]

"Well, as you should know, or would know if y'weren't suffering from apparent amnesia mixed with brain damage, Zappa isn't the boss for nothing... he plans all of this crap out ahead of time," Small answered with a fair degree of reverence. She herself was a somewhat disdainful figure, yet she apparently held a good deal of respect for Zappa. Apparently he had been able to prove himself at some point in the past to her?

As Lucian and Greg set to work on the bridge, they would find that their concentrated effort, right from the start, would eat away at the bridge at hand quicker than before, making the chore less of an annoyance.

However, an unfortunate twist soon came up as Greg kept an eye on the executioner squad... the group was now setting to work on establishing their own makeshift bridge out of what appeared to be their own weapons. Whether or not such a bridge would hold was up for debate, however!

Small, meanwhile, had already taken off over the next bridge, with Carroll at hand.

[Idran1701]

"...Damn i'." Greg continues his cutting, heading off from the bridge once they've taken it down. "Come on, Lucian, don' think we need t' worry 'bout th' othe' bridges. Eithe' they're stopped where they are or they're no', we'd jus' be slowin' ourselves up a' much a' them."

[Endesu]

The job was finished, and the bridge swiftly plunged into the abyss underfoot. The guard captain and his executioner squad were hurriedly building what appeared to be a functional bridge out of their weapons some distance ahead... yet, obviously, they were not working quickly enough to catch up with the escapees, and said captain was in a red fury because of this. Lucian nodded in response to Greg, hurriedly heading on towards where Small and Carroll were waiting.

From the dark crevasse beneath, there was a brief rumbling...

It had come. Work had been done, and it had come about. And it knew what it had come for. It had been seen by one who had still not fallen into darkness... and one who had to be eliminated before any further damage could be done to the overall plan...

Small looked about uncertainly even as she began to move on. "'the hell was that? An earthquake? Isn't this the wrong time a'year for such?"

"... yeah, it is..." Lucian responded, "It's happened out of season before, but..."

As if to interrupt his point, a madly vibrating black tentacle of unknown origin came from below, seizing the platform the group had just left tightly. With this event came another rumble, one that shook all present to their knees. With the rumble came an odor that filled the entire area; one of rotting death, of corpses exhumed in the sun, of flesh left to decompose with garbage. There was also a vague scent of rotting eggs thrown in, as well.

Apparently, the source of the rumbling was not an earthquake.

[Idran1701]

A bit unnerved by the vibrations, Greg tries not to pay it much mind at first, thinking it just another obstacle to their escape, and a minor one at that. With the eruption of this tentacle, though...Greg gapes, obviously recognizing the sight. Turning ahead, he begins to run, watching the others to make sure no one's falling behind.

"Keep at it, don't let that thing grab you!"

[Endesu]

"What, you know what that thing is?!," Small yelled out, obviously a bit unnerved by the presence of 1x Otherworldly Nightmarish Tentacle. She took off with Greg, and Lucian and Carroll were both quick to follow, giving the Tentacle a momentary look before keeping their eyes on the path out of there.

It was during this time that two more tentacles emerged from the abyss below. One came swinging towards Greg's group, but missed by a fairly wide margin due to the fact that they were running too fast for it to properly keep up with their movement. Their escape was still hindered by the rumbling that came about with the tentacle striking the ground, however, as it made it much harder to keep both feet moving on the ground.

The other tentacle came down towards the guard captain and his executioner squad, who had been staring with dumb surprise at the preceding events. Two of the executioners were smashed and seized by said tentacle, and swiftly dragged downward into the abyss below, with a fair amount of screaming accompanying them on the way there. The captain, however, lucked out of this fate, and issued a full scale retreat.

Currently, the group was still a fair distance from the exit; two more bridges loomed ahead of them, and the tentacle that had nearly struck them before continued to smash into the ground just behind them, catching up bit by bit. It wouldn't be long before it caught one, some, or all of them, and their ultimate fate would most definitely not be a pretty one...

[Idran1701]

Throwing a glance back, Greg pulls out the frame of the mirror shattered back in the store, seemingly so long ago. Finding a few shards of glass still attached, he begins tugging them out as he dashes, heedless of the slicing he may incur on his own hand as he tosses them onto the ground behind him. Though so much smaller than the tentacle, with luck these makeshift caltrops will distract the being on the other end of this tentacle, giving them just enough of a gap to make it to the exit.

"I'll explain later, once we're out! Just keep running!"

[Endesu]

His hands did indeed incur some slicing, and he began to bleed ever so slightly from said slices - but his ignorance of such factors at a time like this were perfectly understandable. The tentacle now continued to slam down onto the ground behind them, though it seemed to slow just a bit as it did so - it seemed somewhat surprised by the presence of the shards of glass. The tentacle began to slow down in its pursuit of the group, as if unsure whether it should continue to pursue them in this way or not... and with each slam, more and ever more purple blood began to bleed from the seemingly tiny wounds opened up with the shards of glass.

Its pursuit of them was slowed enough for them to reach the exit, as their speedy escape had practically flown them over the remaining bridges. An angry roar of sorts emanated from the abyss below, and even as the group fled through the tunnel leading to grounds just outside of the Violent City, they could feel its rumbling and the sounds of crashing - presumably, it was tearing apart the entire area.

A feverish, darkened, and bloodshot eye looked directly into the tunnel as the group headed on, and Greg could sense that it was looking, with all of its unearthly hatred and aura of death gas, directly upon him.

Finally, however, the entire group managed to escape from the tunnel itself and head out to what appeared to be a field of some sort, some distance from the city itself. They were now in the 'outer world', apparently, and there was no sign of adverse pollution, here.

In the distance ahead, forests stretched out - apparently, the spiritual people that had been mentioned to Greg earlier lived in these parts. Could he be closer to his goal?

"Zappa doesn't appear t'be here yet....," Small said, somewhat exhausted by the escape and coming to rest on her knees. Carroll and Lucian nodded, both also somewhat exhausted.

"So, Greg... y'mind telling us just what the hell all that was about?," Small mouthed off, looking at him with a rather foul expression.

[Idran1701]

Leaning against the side of the tunnel exit, he looks off into the woods, still fairly stricken with fear by the appearance of that...thing, but obviously glad to be out of the pollution of Violent City. He seems a bit lost in thought (and in catching his breath), not responding immediately to Small's query. After getting himself back together, though, and somewhat calmed from the dash, he looks over to Small, frowning as he does.

"...Well, I was going to tell you once we were out...I was hoping it'd have been under better circumstances, though. I'm Greg, but not the one you know. I'm from another world, and right now I'm just trying to get back. And that...thing back there...it's tied into that too, it has to be. I don't know how it got here, but I'd be an idiot if I thought it was just a coincidence, though.

"There's this group where I'm from trying to summon that thing. I have no idea why, but it's part of some plan of theirs. I was trying to stop them, with a...a friend's help, but things ended up badly."

He pauses in his explanation, looking off to the woods again and giving Small a chance to say something in return.