[3] The Sewer System

[Friend or Foe]

Kazuya
Rose
Ashe

Wizard
Tempo
Sage


"What the hell?" Kazuya said aloud as his group stumbled into something. They were in the sewers that spanned away from the abandoned town, probably to a lake or river. "There are people here."

Ashe was helping Rose walk by holding her arm over her shoulder. They looked up as they saw the man called Uzumaki nudging a muscular Oliver Nash onto his back. He was knocked out, but clearly alive

Nearby, music was playing very softly. Tempo groaned and shifted as his headphones blasted into his ears. He sat up, noting Sage's unconscious form near him. "Who're you?" He asked the three, groggily.







(Two groups meet up. Interact, be sociable, fight shit and/or explore the end of the waterways if you want. It'll come out to a lake/river. I'll intervene if you need me to, but I think you guys are all pretty creative. Looking to see some character development before an action round)

[Super Buu]

“Who’re you?” asked the boy.

Kazuya stepped forward, hand lightly touching the hilt of his blade. “It’s good manners to give one’s own name before you ask it of others.”

“Oh … sorry,” said the young man a little sheepishly. “It’s Tempo.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “I’m Rose, this is Ashe,” she said, gesturing. “And don’t mind Uzumaki. He’s just pissed off because he’s missing an episode of Rurouni Kenshin right now.”

“You’re lucky you’re already injured,” growled the raven-haired warrior.

“Wait, so …” Ashe interrupted. “You’re the other group?” Her eyes met with those of Rose – it seemed as though they were both thinking the same thing. Are they going to try and kill us for the money?

“I guess … we’re what’s left of it,” said Tempo, a note of hesitation in his voice. And, apparently picking up on the unspoken notion that had passed between the two girls, added: “We just want to get out of here.”

“What happened to the rest of your group?” asked Kazuya in an interrogative tone.

“You might not believe me, but … we got attacked by giant scorpions.”

“No shit? We got attacked by goblins!” Her voice didn’t betray it, but Rose was getting worried. They hadn’t been told there’d be monsters on the island. What else were they hiding, waiting to use as ‘plot twists’ for the viewers’ entertainment? Her eyes darted around the dark sewer, as though expecting the walls to start closing in at any moment. It looked as though escaping was going to be a lot more difficult than she expected.

“There were six of us, and the scorpions killed one,” continued Tempo. “We ran into a cave, and then the tunnel collapsed.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what happened to the other two.”

Uzumaki snorted lightly – it looked as though he had a few guesses. But apparently he’d been satisfied by the boy’s story, as his hand had moved away from his sword. “The other half of our group went off to scout, but it’s more than likely they ran into something too. Given the circumstance, it seems as though our best option would be to combine our forces.”

Rose was glancing at the two other people behind Tempo, who seemed to be stirring at last. One of them looked like an older man, whose grizzled, scarred face was topped by a head of silvery hair. The other … Rose froze. What the fuck? She leaned closer, eyes widening. Is that the fucking vegetable juice girl?

Her train of thought was derailed as the silver-haired man sat up suddenly, his suspicious eyes burning into the three newcomers. “Who are you?” he barked, struggling in his daze to stand up.

“Take it easy, Wizard,” said Tempo. “They’re not enemies.”

“We were dragged into this ridiculous competition too,” confirmed Kazuya.

The older man said nothing to this, but gave a short, humourless chuckle, as though he knew something the others hadn’t realised yet.

Tempo now turned to the last member of their group, who lay still on the cold concrete. “Sage?” He extended a worried hand to touch her shoulder, and the girl immediately shrank back – apparently she was awake enough. She sat up quickly, and gave a light gasp when she registered the three new people staring at her. Then her head started to swivel frantically.

“Where’s Sophia?”

The teenage boy shook his head apologetically, and the one known as ‘Wizard’ just stared forward.

After a few seconds, Rose broke the awkward silence. “I’m gonna sit down,” she said. The stone was damp, dirty and hard, but she had to catch her breath. They never tell you about this part, she thought, wincing at the pain in her limbs. Ki had immense applications and destructive potential, but it was easy to forget that it was also one’s life force. The body didn’t function well without it, as Rose was quickly discovering. She was starting to see why so many warriors didn’t use it. The human hybrid had half a mind to do the same … but the other half of her mind still remembered just how awesome that attack had been. Using ki was a double-edged sword.

How come every advantage has to come with a disadvantage? wondered Rose, sighing inwardly. While she was glad to have a few more people backing them, the teenager couldn’t help but wonder if these newcomers also brought new dangers with them. Only time would tell.

[Sage]

A great stone fell from the ceiling, smashing into the floor of the cave. A huge pillar of light streamed into the dreary confines but it was soon obscured by a familiar silhouette. A dozen massive scorpions rushed into the cavern, and the still-recovering group was forced to run.

Sage panicked, and raced down a corridor separate from the one her friends took, watching in horror as the horde raced after them. Screams and shrieks soon followed, and then silence. The girl stood stock still, her breath caught in her throat as she listened intently. The cave was deathly silent, not even the skittering of the scorpions’ armored legs sounded out through the cool, damp deathtrap.

Suddenly, she thought something had brushed against her neck. Her blood ran cold, and she found herself unable to move. After a few moments, despite her uncontrolled breaths and shaking constitution, she whirled around to see the source of the terrifying sensation. She slowly exhaled, her shoulders sagging as she relaxed. Nothing.

Sage turned back around, and was suddenly face-to-face with a massive scorpion, its stinger already drawn to strike. She tried to scream, but the deadly appendage lunged toward her, heading straight for her face.

- - - -

The azure haired girl awoke with a tiny gasp and a start, sitting bolt upright, not even noticing Tempo’s hand on her shoulder as he withdrew it. She breathed heavily, and wiped the thick sheen of sweat from her forehead. The hybrid’s nervous eyes darted about like a small bird, her head suddenly turning every which way to take in her new surroundings. There were... people here. But...

“Where’s Sophia?” she blurted out. The musically enraptured boy just lowered his head, sullenly shaking it for a moment. Sage’s visage faltered, and her eyes pleaded for an answer, not that anybody could see it in the pitiful lighting. The girl was somewhat surprised it was bright enough to see at all; it looked like they were in a...

With an uncomfortable grunt, the girl scrambled to her feet. In a sewer. The overwhelming stench of waste was nearly enough to make her pitch forward, but that was the least of her worries. A sewer. Full of water runoff, and sludge and toxic materials and... and... shit!

“Huh?” came an inquiry from some distance away. Sage winced; she must have projected her thoughts again. She really had no idea where this telepathy came from, or even how it worked. It was difficult to control. Her worries, however, quickly returned to the matter at hand.

This was... this was unacceptable! She was a doctor, she spent an enormous wealth of time and effort maintaining sanitary conditions and hygienic practices, and now she was thrust into a sewer!? Already a wave of anxiety washed over her. What if someone contracted something down here?! What if she got sick?! Who would treat her?! Thoughts of horrible diseases and conditions rapidly raced through the mind of the young intensivist.

It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, she futilely repeated. You’re okay, you’re fine, it’s fine, it’s okay. Just have to... just have to get out. Get out. Stay calm, get out.

A distraction. Frantically, she picked her way down the tunnel toward the others, heaving a sigh of relief that the floor of the sewer - at least here - was dry. “Uh... um, Tempo?” she inquired. She was almost surprised to see him glance over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised. Though she was unsure how he had heard her over his music, she brushed the thought aside. “S-Sophia, she’s not...”

“I... don’t know,” came the boy’s honest reply. “We got separated.”

The azure haired girl quietly nodded to herself for a moment, before looking up at Tempo. She nodded again, in thanks, and then averted her gaze. There were... three new people, and Sophia and Juno were missing, now.

Her eyes roved along the floor, more to get away from the gaze of others than to actually check for anything, so she was fairly shocked to discover her medical kit and the pack given to her at the beginning of the competition, as though someone had set them out for her.

She spotted two girls, then, with similar hair. She considered the idea they were twins, but immediately disregarded the idea. The thought brought images of her sister to mind, and to be reminded of the fact she was not here wounded her deeply. Her eyes turned red and she very nearly sobbed, but managed to retain her silence. In the poor light, she was spared any looks of concern.

The last of the new people was much more menacing in appearance. He looked like a... Sage didn’t really know what else to call him but a ninja. He even had a sword, and had struck a fairly dominant pose, stalwartly unmoving as he scanned his surroundings. The man sent a chill down her spine; and now not Zena nor even Sophia could protect her.

She glanced over to Oliver, then to Tempo. She sighed. They had been... nicer to her so far than most anyone she’d ever met. So why was it she felt more comfortable around Sophia than them?

Her thoughts were interrupted again, as her stomach gurgled loudly. She nearly winced, realizing she hadn’t had anything to eat or to drink since she arrived. Kneeling down, she hefted her pack, withdrawing a canteen and a half loaf of bread. This location was horribly unsanitary, but it would be even worse to collapse in such a place than to eat in it.

With that decided, she turned away from the group and ravenously devoured the bread, and went through almost her entire canteen worth of water before realizing she may not find anymore for a long time. With a sigh, she closed the container and slipped it into her pocket, discarding the now empty bag.

Quietly, she awaited the decisions of the newly amalgamated group. Her intense cynicism told her nothing good would come from the discussion, but she had no other choice but to wait. Again, she wished her sister were here to deliver her from this terrible nightmare, but she knew it would not happen. Her fate would be decided by these many strangers.

[Ashe]

“Turn the cameras to that pink haired girl from earlier. Ashe,” the host of this decrepit game requested. On queue, the monitor zoomed in on the girl as she walked quietly down the waterway as if lost in her own thoughts. “She’s going to need to kick our ratings up if she doesn’t want me to fill that sewer with a flash flood.”

Balrog pointed at the footage from earlier where Ashe had given one of the cameras her middle finger and the sharp increase in ratings that followed shortly after. “Other than that temper tantrum, what’s so special about her?”

Kai leaned back in his chair and smiled, obviously pleased with his little event. “She has no idea, just yet, but she has great potential inside of her. I picked this one out myself after she managed to disable one of my scout bots one night at a warehouse.”

The black man’s brow rose. “She did that? I know you got the data scan of her from the uplink before it exploded, but I thought you said she didn’t use any abilities?”

“She didn’t,” he laughed, pointing at the screen as he saw her starting directly into another camera with a tempered look. “I was looking for the person that I had been told had the Star’s Tear imbued into her when she was a child. I had no idea that it had built up such enormous power within her, and to think that she has never even used it, or even knows how to use it… That’s why I gave her that short term memory loss injection right after we took her from the front of that Capsule Corporation building. We are going to poke and prod her until the energy wells that have been building within her boil over and she explodes into a furious light!”

He leapt from his chair, throwing his arms dramatically into the air and looking up before returning his gaze back to the monitors before him. “And its all going to be caught live, right here, on Friend or Foe!” he announced triumphantly as he watched the girl on the monitor throw a discarded brick directly at the camera and the static that shortly followed. “The networks will eat it up,” Kai grinned darkly.

***

“We should follow the water,” Ashe announced, returning to the group after having taken a break to get some time to herself. An hour or so had passed since they had met and they were finally acclimating themselves to the presence of the others - if you didn’t count the girl called “Sage”. She seemed as if she were on display at a cannibalism convention, and Ashe really wasn’t sure how - or even if - she should approach her.

The silver haired man named “Wizard” looked up at her from the others who were eating to regain their strength. “Not a bad idea,” he nodded, his eyes giving away nothing of his thoughts.

“Why?” Uzumaki asked, looking directly at Ashe before taking another swallow from her drink.

Ashe stifled a shrug before the others dismissed her opinion before she ever had the chance to announce it. “This water is flowing in a specific direction,” she pointed out, moving her hand in the air to illustrate her point. “That means the sources are up there,” she continued, pointing in the direction of town that they had come from, “and I assume the water has to go somewhere. So I’m guessing there is some type of exit down that way.”

Rose shrugged. “We could always climb back out of one of the ladders.”

“When’s the last time you saw one of those?” the other pink haired girl asked in response.

“Good point.”

Tempo, who had seemed entirely oblivious to the conversation up until now, yawned. “Maybe. Seems like in this place its just as likely to go to a bottomless pit or something.” Her lips tightened as she sucked in against her teeth. His stupid headset was driving her up the wall. She almost always had music over her ears when she was not focusing on something, and somehow the people that had left them all here thought that it would be utterly hilarious to leave this kid with his headset intact and yet her’s was nowhere to be found.

That wasn’t really his fault, she knew, but man if a constant reminder didn’t drive her up the wall. “Yeah, I know. But dude…” she trailed off, holding up her nearly empty water bottle and shaking it so all would see. “I am so not refilling this thing in that piss water we’ve made camp near.”

Sage seemed to turn a different shade and she turned quickly away. Uzumaki only cleared her throat in response, eyeing her own nearly empty bottle of water in thought. The group still seemed unsure of those from the other group, but then, they had all been dropped on this island with the claim that the other group, of whom they were now sharing rest areas with, was hunting them down for a large sum of money.

“So what are we doing?” she threw out, hoping to get a comment or two from the worn out group.

[Sage]

Ashe, Rose, and Kazuya. That’s what they were called. Ashe had returned a while ago from a remarkably long absence, given the circumstances. In that time, the group spoke a fair bit. Occasionally a gesture would come Sage’s way, but thankfully, every time she was mentioned or considered, it seemed to be only in passing. Still, she felt exposed. Standing awkwardly for so long, unable to lean or sit for fear of the grievous contaminants in the sewer.

Sage stiffly remained standing, hugging herself so as to prevent her hands from idly brushing one of the filthy surfaces. Finally, once the girl with the jagged pink hair returned, she addressed the group, and it seemed that soon they would travel. At least they would be trying to get out of this disgusting hell hole.

“...I am so not refilling this thing in that piss water we’ve made camp near,” Ashe declared. What a horrid time for Sage to tune in. She spun on her heel, trying to hide the spreading shade of chartreuse on her face. Well... on the plus side, at least the two shared a mutual disgust for their new surroundings.

“So what are we doing?” it was Ashe again. Sage looked from her to Rose and frowned. They had to be sisters. Could that mean Zena was on this horrific island, too? What horrible fate had their host bestowed upon her?

“No!” she exclaimed, louder than she’d intended, but still mercifully quiet enough to warrant only a confused glance. Sage just hugged herself tighter and looked away, as if to hide her embarrassment.

“We follow your suggestion,” Oliver suddenly declared after another uncomfortable pause, in response to Ashe. “Our only option is to explore the sewer. No doubt it’s set up to be a lot more confusing than necessary. Following the water’s as good an idea as any. At least we’ll know where we’ve come from.”

Nobody could come up with any alternative, not even the menacing-looking ninja, who’d shot her more than a couple steely glares during the group’s long discussion. And so, they marched further into the horrible-smelling dungeon.

Much to Sage’s intense discomfort, the tiny amount of water, no more than the tiniest spring’s worth, quickly gave way to a tunnel halfway submerged by the filthy liquid. A pair of slimy walkways, one on either side of the stagnant canal of filth, stood at most an inch above the water. And they were, as the azure haired girl soon discovered, very slippery.

Still, she was forced to press on. To follow the others, lest they leave her behind in... she shook her head. Best not to think about it. Just walk. Leaning hard against the wall as the others were doing, now, deciding enduring the filth on the walls was better than plunging into the liquid waste.

They traveled like this, awkwardly pressed against the wall, shimmying alongside the putrid water beside them. The going was long, hard, and disgusting, but it sure beat splashing along through it.

And then it happened. Sage’s footing faltered, and she slipped. With a shrill gasp, she pitched forward, and the horrid liquid rushed up to meet her, but some blessed, merciful fate brought Oliver’s hand toward her, and in his fingers he grabbed a fistful of the back of Sage’s sweater, halting her at an exceedingly awkward angle.

He pulled her back from the brink, and to his - and Tempo’s amazement, the blue haired girl threw her arms around him, grasping him tightly as she buried her head in his chest. She was crying, he suddenly noted, staring down at her with a severely confused look on his face. “You come face to face with a bunch of gigantic scorpions and you’re fine,” Oliver clicked his tongue. Well, he thought. As fine as someone as high-strung as her could be, anyway. “And it’s a little grime that gets you so upset?”

Sage said nothing. She was totally gripped by fear. She wasn’t even aware she was clinging for dear life onto a man who might as well have been a complete stranger. She wasn’t aware she was in tears. She wasn’t even aware of the rancid smell of the place anymore. The shock... the shock had been so intense. She began to tremble, and gasp for breath.

“Wh- agh,” the grizzled ex-detective suddenly realized the girl was going into convulsions. “This is... not really a good time for-” gritting his teeth, he cut himself off, peering down the tunnel. He sparked up a little sphere of ki and tossed it ahead, illuminating the chamber as it whizzed through the dead air. “There. The water levels off ahead. Just a little ways to go and we’ll set you down for a minute,” he explained. “Come on, you’ll have to walk, kid.”

Sage weakly nodded, weakly moaning a response. She shuffled along against the wall as Oliver begrudgingly led her by the hand. Though she didn’t realize it, he routinely paused and checked over his shoulder. Her doctor side would have assumed he was doing it to ensure she was alright, but the truth was, he didn’t trust her. In his defense, in almost any other situation, Sage wouldn’t have offered him her trust, either.

Finally, they stepped off the hazardous walkway into the bottom of the tunnel, where, sure enough, the deep water had given way to a tiny trickle of runoff in the middle. Immediately, Sage took hold of her inhaler and took a deep puff from the device. Using... this too much, she thought.

“I’ll bet,” came Oliver’s reply. The girl’s head snapped around to face him, shock on her face. “You’re, uh, throwin’ your thoughts around, again,” he explained.

“Oh, I’m... I’m sorry,” Sage offered, looking away for a moment. Her gaze returned to Oliver, and she lingered for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, but failed to gather the words. The girl closed her mouth and looked away again. She really was grateful, but the gruff old man intimidated her. Sage resigned herself to just fall in step behind him and keep her distance, as usual.

[Tempo]

A smile stretched across Tempo’s face as he dragged himself through the grime of the sewers. Not even the putrid stench of the tainted water washed away the grin. For the first time in his life a woman touched him. Due to his condition, Tempo was sheltered most of his life and the kindergarten buddy system didn’t really count as his first womanly encounter. There were five other people standing around that Sage could have latched onto for dear life, but she chose him. Maybe it was sheer coincidence, but Tempo would have no part of that. His eyes remained fixated on the woman as she slowly trekked across the goo, holding onto the walls for support. She turned toward him for a moment. Caught off guard Tempo could only think to wave. Sage forced a smile through the obvious pain and discomfort.

He nonchalantly made his way toward her. His arms were folded behind his back and he whistled along to the melody in his headphones. The other members of the group didn’t suspect a thing. He lowered the volume on his MP3 as prepared his opening statement.

“Hey.” It was a start.

She turned her head towards him. She seemed better off then she was before. “Hey.” Tempo had just begun a full on conversation with the opposite sex. This was truly a historic day.

“You seemed awful scared back there. You ok?” Tempo said with a look of concern over his face.

“Yeah...a little. Im fine now.”

The conversation was losing steam fast. Tempo could feel more of the boring word vomit coming on. He needed a new topic. The teen scanned his surrounding area. Not thinking that a chat about sewers rats or human excrements would go over well he shifted his attention toward the people. The first that caught his eye was Oliver who was directly in front of the two. He couldn’t control his impulse and he said the first thing that came to his mind.

“So...uh...this guy is kind of a jerk huh?”

Oliver stopped mid step and jerked his head backward. Sage’s eyes widened and Tempo’s mouth hung agape. He grabbed the orange haired youth by the collar of his shirt and shook his fist out in front of him.

“What the hell did you just call me?”

“Well..uh.”

“Listen to me you little shit. I hit you once already don’t make me do it again.”

Oliver scared the ever loving shit out of Tempo and it showed. But in order to make out of the “game” alive, they would have to work as a team. He swallowed his pride and nodded. The grey haired man chucked Tempo backwards sending him right into Sage. Tempo quickly jumped off the poor girl and helped her to her feet. He smiled as he placed his right hand on the back of his head.

“So...How bout this weather?”

[Super Buu]

As she walked carefully through the damp stone tunnels, Rose was badgered by a need to complain about the sewer, but quelled it. This place was shitty – literally – but it still wasn’t as bad as the situation they’d been in before, and for that she was grateful. Still, though sewage didn’t present an immediate risk of fatality, she felt like she’d hurl if she didn’t get out of here soon. And that would be bad, since the girl had just finished eating the only piece of food ‘they’ had provided her with.

Most of all, Rose was glad that they hadn’t had to fight the other group after all. Uzumaki’d been wrong about that. But right about the other thing. Everyone had a killer in them, no matter how hard they tried to cover it up with civilities. At the abandoned town, when she’d been backed into a corner … she changed. For those few moments, all of her human thoughts, concerns, and beliefs just faded to the background. Her mind had been focused on one thing, one goal, one desire: to live. And she had lived.

Rose grimaced. Not only had the samurai been right about human nature, but he was a better fighter, too. His own skill at dispatching the goblins had proven that. Just who was this guy? He didn’t look that old, not even thirty, and yet he seemed to have a century’s worth of experience. And as if he wasn’t mysterious enough, Ashe thought he was a crossdressing woman. Rose hadn’t even considered the idea at first, and had dismissed it out of hand when Ashe had mentioned it, but the more she thought about it, the more she wondered.

But most of all, Rose was confused at her discovery of the warrior’s true name – Uzumaki. Was it just coincidence that it was the same as her mother’s surname? She felt a burning desire to talk to the man, to ask him … but that would mean putting up with his arrogant, patronising attitude, and would likely just end with the samurai telling him that Uzumaki was as common a name in Japanese as Smith was in English, not to mention rubbing in the fact that he’d been right about killing. Fuck that.

One thing did brighten the girl’s thoughts, and that was that the Buuzumaki Whirlpool had worked perfectly. She’d been practising it at Master Dog’s, but had never actually used it in a fight, or, for that matter, in such a state of low ki. The girl really should have seen that collapse coming. But the hour of rest had done her good, and although she still ached from the bumps of the day, that overwhelming feeling of emptiness and exhaustion had passed. Rose was adaptable, if nothing else.

But do I really want to get used to this?

[Kazuya]

To say that the added company was welcome company was a little bit of an overstatement. It was three more heads that were likely to get them noticed, and subsequently, killed. She hated groups, and reveled in the sanctity and safety of solitude. Being forced to oversee more and keep up this façade flawlessly was going to get more difficult.

They shimmied and padded through the acrid sewage, balancing precariously along impossibly narrow ledges in search of another ladder in which to escape this noxious muck. The longer she inhaled the stink, the more she wanted to throw up, but somehow, the idea of puking right now didn’t seem appealing.

“This is so disgusting!” moaned Sage; she took note of the seafoam hair, and wondered briefly if it was dyed. Colors like that didn’t happen in nature. Where did society go wrong?

“Bitching isn’t going to get us out of here, kid.” Uzumaki reprimanded softly, her eyes staying ahead in search of a sliver of light, or a recess, something that they could stand on that was more solid. Her hands slid along the broken bits of brick, her fingertips attuning themselves to the rough texture.

“Hey, up ahead!” Rose gushed excitedly, pointing to a silvery gleam against the wall ahead. “Light! Maybe there’s an exit!”

There was a collective sigh of relief that fell over the small posse as they approached the godlike beacon of silvery light, Kazuya, in particular, looked upon it with suspicious eyes. How far had they travelled from the gnomish creatures that attacked them earlier? Would their morbid trek have been enough to shake the threat of being attacked again, or were they headed for battle once more?

Her fingers suddenly lost its foundation, jolting her for a second before she realized there was no wall. “Stop,” she barked, halting the line of bodies behind her with an outstretched hand. Peaking her head around the sharp corner, she smiled as a wide recess stretched before her, expanding ever deeper into a facility of some sort, hidden in the depths of the sewer system. “I think we found something, kids.”

“Where the hell did this come from?” Oliver, the more imposing member of their new bretheren, stepped forward, his heavy, booted feet clacking against the moist bricks. The man was a veritable juggernaut of flesh, his eyes cold and steely as they scanned the out of place base hidden in the pipeline. Kazuya’s gaze swept over him, taking in the very air of supremacy the creature exuded, and for the first time in centuries, she felt almost foolish, and intimidated by his presence.

“Beats the hell out of me,” she snapped haughtily. “I didn’t make the plans for this hellhole.”

“What matters, guys, is that we’re here;” Rose crooked a smile as she came between the two alphas, her hand thrusting firmly on her hips. She seemed completely oblivious to the authoritive aura that rolled in a thick, heavy fog between the two leviathans. “At least we’re off that friggin’ ledge.”

“Thank the Kais’,” someone amended in agreement.

Kaz rolled her black eyes and sighed as her attention once again darted towards the glass and brick structure before her, wondering who in the hell would want to locate their ops in a fucking sewer. “It just makes no sense,” she muttered, crossing her arms over her bound chest. “Does anyone else find it odd that of the miles upon miles of shit we’ve mucked through, that someone has made this trek before, and thought it was a fanfuckingtastic idea to build a hideaway down here?”

“It’s a little out of the way,” Oliver gruffed, thrusting his hands in his pockets. “Can’t say I’d blame ‘em, anyways. If I was a badguy, dependin’ on the side of the fence I’m on, this would be a great place to set up camp.” Strolling up to the large sliding glass window, he reached out and knocked on the glass a few times, baring the side of his mouth in what Kazuya could surmise was a smirk. “Double paned, keeps the stink out.”

“Somehow, I do not find that as a dealclencher,” Kaz wrinkled her nose in disgust as she tiptoed around a pile of brown muck. “Let’s go scout it out,” she ordered. “Sage, Ashe, you two stay behind me and Oliver, the rest, stay close, and keep your eyes peeled. Don’t want any surprises.”

[Kazuya]

Sage’s eyes were a little wide, her scent was simply that of prey. Kaz was willing to bet if faced with danger, she’d be too weak to save herself. Feh, it was women like this that gave the rest a bad rep. Who says you can’t be a woman and strong? Was it only that some were born prey, and some predator, like her?

Ashe was little better, only her stink wasn’t as strong. The pink haired teenager kept close to the two alpha dogs, but not so close as to stifle their space. Kaz turned her head and gave the faintest of smirks to the seemingly fragile girl, a smile that meant everything and nothing, one that knew and was naïve. It was meant to confuse. At some point in this game, perhaps it would be time to turn on this little thing, and as dark as her heart could be at times, killing children wasn’t exactly her cup of tea.

“Holy shit, there’s a fridge in here,” Rose exclaimed, swinging the door of the appliance wide opened, the bright, piercing light inside washing the room in an artificial yellow glow. “With food!” Ears pricked all across the large room, heads turning expectantly.

“Is it still good?”

Rose reached inside and pulled a carton of milk out, unscrewing the cap and sniffing, all senses expecting the most foul odor, but instead, was pleasantly surprised at the mellow aroma wafting to her nostrils. It was as if Heaven had a scent, and it tingled her appetite like a well cooked steak. Nodding a little too quickly, she tipped the jug to her lips and drank deeply.

The crew took turns raiding the fridge, wiping out the contents in no time flat. Six bodies laid around on soft mats that Tempo found stuffed against a wall, waiting for them. “If you ask me, it’s like someone knew we were coming.”

“Probably rigged with all kindsa cameras,” Oliver observed sourly. “Watching us.”

“Well, at least it doesn’t smell like ass in here, which is amazing considering we’ve been wading through it for the past few hours.” Kazuya stood and brushed her brown gi of the invisible specks of dirt that accumulated on her rear. She was the only one that didn’t take a cot, opting instead to perch on a brick…something or other. She wanted to call it a table, but it was small and not really made for anything practical except for the purpose she now employed. “If it’s got a fridge and cots, I’m willing to bet there’s some kind of bathroom facility, unless they just wanted to be complete assholes.”

“I do have to piss, come to think about it,” Oliver scratched his groin in that manner that most men did without thinking about it. She had to adopt the movement herself to blend in more with the guys, but always found it disgusting.

“Thanks for sharing,” she snorted.

Oliver smirked coyly and rose from his cot. “Y’know, you’re awful small for a dude, Uzumaki.”

“And?”

The older man’s brows forked for a second, like he was analyzing her, trying to read between the lines of her façade, but instead settled on another knowing smirk and remained quiet.

Letting it go, whatever ‘it’ was, Uzumaki sighed and let her gaze slide back to the other four, finding them all in various states of sleep. “Be a good time to catch some rest before heading back out, I’ll keep watch if you wanna…”

“I don’t think so,” Oliver gruffed, pulling his arms behind him to rest at the small of his back as he looked out the plexiglass window that led into the sewers. He was watching for something, expecting something, what that was, she had a fairly good idea about, but didn’t want to spook the kids. Perhaps she could confide in Oliver, he seemed to be fairly capable of handling his own, so a few extra surprises may not be such a hard thing to stomach.

“Oliver, right?” Kazuya edged over to the imposing man, closing the space enough to keep her voice from carrying further than the two of them. “I think we’re being followed. At least five or six extra, far enough back not to be picked up easily to untrained ears. I notice you keep looking out the glass, I am assuming you heard them, as well?”

Oliver gazed at the shorter man, his face tight, barely readable. “Who would be following us?”

“Beats the hell out of me, but do you think we’ll be safe going back out there, or should we wait?”

[Kappa]

Oliver Nash drifted about the dominating void of his unconscious mind, a phantom in a prison cell. "And so we fall..." he muttered, talking to the cold walls that boxed him in. , "...deeper down the rabbit hole."

The Wizard came to.

He looked around and instantly saw a gathering of figures unfamiliar to him. Instinctively, Oliver analyzed his surroundings for combat advantages until he realized that they weren't exactly a threat; on the contrary, apparently this bunch were just as fucked-over as his own.

Shaking his head, he growled underneath his breath. If one thing was certain, it was that this old man was sick and tired off being knocked unconscious. That and the riddles. God, how he hated the riddles...

What had happened back there, in the sandtraps? Who was that ominous man in white and furthermore, what did he want from Oliver? "Don't fail me," he had said. What the hell was that?! The twists in this game were not slowing down and frankly, they made his blood boil.

The crime fighting veteran had to put his thoughts on the backburner, though, as he embraced the fresh scent of chaos (and shit) that the Sewer System provided. "Onward-ho," Oliver quipped bitterly. Sarcasm rolled off his tongue like a snake's poison.

The trek through the sewers was unpleasant and uninteresting--with exception given to the girl's misstep--until they stumbled upon the rather perplexing quarters that had apparently sprung up from the ground. There were beds... and a fridge. The aging convict knocked on the barrier that seperated the room from the putrid tunnels. It was glass, possibly bulletproof.

You're laughing again, aren't you? Oliver's ongoing dialogue of the mind was enough to provoke a Dr. Phil special, but when it came to the psyche of its contestants, Friend or Foe did not discriminate.

---

“Oliver, right? I think we’re being followed. At least five or six extra, far enough back not to be picked up easily to untrained ears. I notice you keep looking out the glass, I am assuming you heard them, as well?” asked the oriental warrior of the sandman.

With eyes that stuck into Kazuya like needles, the old man responded. “Who would be following us?”

“Beats the hell out of me, but do you think we’ll be safe going back out there, or should we wai--"

A 'shh!' cut through the man's word like a hot knife to butter. The silver-haired powerhouse threw a finger out into the tunnels, as if to say 'look.' The shadows danced about. The creatures that haunted this den were close, he could sense it. They would have to be ready. He turned to his armed affiliate and gave a nod. Kazuya responded with a shinkt as his blade was drawn.

Moving outside, they pounced the intruder(s) with a v-formation. They synchronized--blade and fist--while soaring through the air. The combined force met ... a golden retriever. Panting, tongue wet with saliva, the mut barked with glee. The weapons, metallic and natural, stopped before hitting their mark.

Meanwhile, Tempo was patting down his bed. The fight had left him exhausted. Sure, the place was suspicious, but they needed to rebuild their strength. And so, the boy toggled the volume on his mp3 player and stretched out on the matress. If it weren't for his melodies, he might have heard.

The ninja staggered back a few paces, a little embarassed; but Oliver stood still, eyes wide. The femme fatale had almost let out a sigh of relief when her ears twitched, and thats when she came to the same cold realization that had struck the Wizard only milliseconds prior. Her head snapped back so fast that it might have spun off, and Oliver's gaze followed. But they were too late...

The crystal-haired addict had been leaning against a wall, when a pair of arms emerged from it, pulling her into the abyss. Tempo, bobbing away, was completely stunned when a black sack was pulled over his eyes (for a second time), closing him off from the others. Ashe too was caught off guard, as an oversized arm emerged and twisted around her leg. The floor panel collapsed and she lost her footing.

Rose was left to decide which one to save, while the self-appointed 'leaders' on the outside were forced to watch as the group was taken.

Into the shadows.

[Ashe]

“This sake stuff isn’t as strong as I’ve heard,” Ashe laughed, taking another shot from the bottle. Rose said nothing as she gorged upon the near endless supply of food from the tables. “You should try some,” she offered, having had her fill of the delicious meats and vegetables already. Her only response was a growl as the other girl amazingly kicked off a shoe and began to use one of her feet as a third hand to speed up the process.

“Ah well,” she shrugged, sipping the rice wine with content. “Its almost like drinking hot water, but strangely good. Nice that they warmed it up for us before running off to whatever they were doing, yeah?” The young adult girl chuckled and tossed the cap of the now empty bottle into the trashcan nearby before holding up the bottle before her. “Wish they’d at least have left enough to get trashed on though,” she complained, tossing the bottle into the trash behind her.

Glancing over the other girl’s shoulder, she saw Tempo preparing himself a bed and decided that it wasn’t a terrible idea herself. Scanning the room, she noticed Sage eyeing one of the beds carefully, as if weighing in her exhaustion with the idea of a germ infestation having taken place in one of them. “I don’t think whoever was here had herpies, you know,” she called out to the cerulean haired girl, still denying the feeling of any of the sake. The girl looked at her with a start and then turned away. Ashe’s lip turned slightly and she grumbled a followup. “Well, the chances are slim anyway. Probably about the same as getting kidnapped and left on some island with a bunch of people you don’t know.” She looked back up at Rose, who seemed to have not heard a word she had spoken as she shoveled bite after bite into her mouth. “Oh blah, at least its pretty much impossible to happen again. I mean, what are they going to do, have someone kidnap us from the island that we were kidnapped to?”

Her mood had soured over the last few minutes of thought and she decided that the idea of heading to the bed was probably best. Between the exhaustion and the circumstances - and apparently the drink, she decided as she rose to her feet and felt the sudden vertigo - she had been left desiring sleep more than anything once her stomach had been filled. “I’m heading to bed,” she announced, pushing past Rose. She hadn’t even realized that the bossier two members of the group had run off on their own. As far as Ashe was concerned, if they were plotting to kill anyone, they’d likely have just done it by now.

Maybe they were like the rest of the group. Tempo seemed focused entirely on getting sleep, Rose’s vice had been the food, Sage was now at the sink washing over herself with a rag as if the water were sanctified, and Ashe had been lured in by the small amount of alcohol that had gone with dinner. Everyone had found what they had desired in some form, so she wouldn’t be surprised if the two had run off to hook up for some stress relief around the corner.

Everything happened so fast. The drink had suppressed her unrealized Ki sensing ability to the point that it had allowed her to be caught off guard. The same was likely true of anyone else. A light switch had been flipped in the base and in that moment, Tempo, Ashe, and Sage each found themselves caught in the arms of a mercenary. “Hey!” Ashe cried in surprise, alerting Rose’s attention as she was searching for a scrap of meat on the table of bones.

“Huh?”

The other girl jumped up from the table and spun, catching sight of her companions being taken down three different exits from the main room. “Oh son of a-” she started, throwing her bare foot back into her shoe before rushing immediately down one of the hallways.

---

Ashe’s head became even muddier as it struck the floor after her legs had been snatched from underneath her. Blacking out for a moment, she came to in a darkened room, being shaken back to the real world by a rough arm. “Come on, Ashe, wake up!” a voice called to her.

Her eyes flickered open and she saw another figure sprawled out across the room, unmoving. “Ungh… Is he…”

Rolling around, her eyes met that of a girl about her age. “Bec?” No, it wasn’t her friend, this girl had similar hair to her own. Then the previous events and realization of what had happen flooded her mind. She pushed herself quickly to her feet and panicked, looking every direction. “Sage? Tempo?” she called into the room before Rose snatched her to her groggy feet.

“Working on that now and I’m going to need your help,” she answered, turning the other girls head to get her attention. “You better be ready for this Ashe. I put my foot across that guy’s face hard enough to knock him out cold. Hopefully, you’ll know how to do the same.”

Ashe felt Rose pull her arm, leading her back the way that she had come. “Which way did they take the others?” The effects of the drink were already fading, the sense of danger and the accompanying adrenaline having overpowered the liquid mentality that she had absorbed.

The pair slid to a stop for a moment and looked both ways. “I think-”

“I’ll get Sage!” Ashe suddenly decided, rushing down one of the two hallways.

“Wait!” the other girl called, her hand pushing back a strand of hair that had fallen over her eyes. “How do you…. Gah!” she cried, rushing off in the direction of the leftover Tempo.

---

Her legs thundered furiously as she raced down the other hall, searching for the watery haired girl. That hypochondriac must be terrified right now! She didn’t know how she even knew that Sage was this way, she only knew what her gut told her and her suspicions were confirmed when she came around a corner and slammed into someone.

“What the hell?” a masculine voice cried out, tripping over Ashe and hitting the ground, unintentionally releasing Sage in the process. The man was immediately on his feet and pointed a gun at her. “Don’t you fucking move, girlie!” he threatened, rising to his feet and walking slowly towards her. “Just because I took a wrong turn earlier doesn’t mean- Hey, get the fuck out of the way!”

Ashe had ignored her own self survival instincts and quickly placed herself between the quivering girl and the mercenary, throwing her arms out wide. “Sage… Stay behind me,” she warned quietly, not sure if the girl heard her through her own shock or not.

The man tried to aim the gun at the girl behind Ashe, but finally locked his wrist directly to the protective girl instead. Then his face twisted in disbelief and he held his other hand up in frustration. “He told me that I couldn’t kill the pink haired one. Said he had some plans for her. There was two of ya,” he growled, unsure what to do. “Fuck it, it’s a fifty fifty chance. Perhaps I’ll just blow out a leg or something,” he compromised, moving the gun down with a wicked grin.

She braced herself, never moving out of the path of Sage to save herself the bullet. Thankfully, it was that moment that Rose appeared, leaping across the hallway and springing off the wall in perfection, bringing her foot around into the other man’s face with a feat of aerial acrobatics. The man collapsed, dropping his weapon, before looking up at the new arrival. “The second one?” he growled. Her answer was a knockout blow with the other foot.

“Should have just taken the hint and played dead.“ Turning back to the other two girls, she stretched her legs a moment before grinning. “Alright, well, now you know how to do that,” she beamed, giving the couple a thumbs up.

Ashe grabbed Sage’s arm to pull her up but instead found herself momentarily captured again - this time by the grateful arms of the blue haired girl. Her sobbing had overpowered her too much to get out more than a cry of “Thank you!” but Ashe quickly pried her off enough to return circulation to her body.

Rose’s jaw dropped. “Hey, I am the one that played Batman here.” She gave a joking pout a moment before looking back at Ashe, who had patted the girl reassuringly on the back, and filled her in. “I ran into Oliver and Uzamaki when I got back. Apparently a couple of guys tried their luck on them right after they saw you guys get taken, plus a third that was about to try one on me. They dropped the three of them and met me at the hallway leading to Tempo.”

“So they went to get him?”

“Yeah, I came back this way,” she answered, yawning. “Let’s get back. It’d probably be a good idea to search the rest of this little hangar before actually sleeping in it. Maybe even post a guard to keep an eye out for us.”

Ashe sighed. “Yeah, I guess we did let our guard down. I’m not exactly used to this type of stuff,” she explained.

“Honestly, me neither. Not like this.”

Nodding, the two gave Sage a concerned look. “What about you? Please tell me you haven’t just had a case of bad war memories on us,” Ashe asked, giving a half hearted joke about the situation.

Sage didn’t seem to notice it, but did finally speak up to them. “I am unharmed,” she spoke softly, taking a deep breath for a moment before Ashe caught sight of an inhaler going back into her pocket.

“Huh, don’t get too dependent on that thing,” she warned, not sure if Sage really cared about a stranger’s opinion. “My friend’s mom had some problems with asthma herself growing up. From what I’ve seen, it sucks something major, but you can learn to control it over time.”

Sage only nodded and looked away. “Um, maybe we should get back to the group.”

Rose nodded and mentioned her concern. "Yeah, I'd like to know what happened with Tempo."

[Kappa]

"Son of a bitch!" cursed the old man as he took the first step in a run toward the sewer barracks. Kazuya, having seen (and staged) many an ambush, kept her feet grounded in the mucky soil. Be it instinct or experience, something kept her still as a statue.

Out from the cave wall, a mercenary materialized. He landed twelve paces ahead of the ex-detective, halting Wizard's haste. "Is this.. demon magic?" Oliver asked of the creature's miraculous arrival. The humanoid was dressed head-to-toe in black, in a cloth that clung to his lithe figure. A rectangle had been cut out for his eyes, and through it he glared at the Wizard with ill-intent. Clearly, he wasn't interested in a word exchange.

There had been less pause given when the second mercenary arrived, this one falling from the ceiling atop Kazuya. Dressed in a similar fashion as the first, this one wielded a pair of katars. At this, the samurai cracked a smirk. Melee wasn't exactly her weak point. The punching blades were met with a defensive flash of silver, followed by the klink of metal-on-metal.

Eyes flushed with anger, Wizard charged the lean intruder, while his opponent drew a sidearm. The oversized pistol came up on an eighty degree angle and fired, but by then the elderly fighter had already buckled. Whatever inhabited the putrid river cascaded about him as he slid across the shit, to connect with this ninja look-alike, and he marked his territory with a—pop!—fist to the head. His knuckle had arrived on its target with such force that it collapsed the ear canal, followed by the wail of the intruder. He staggered backwards like a drunk, clearly disoriented, and Oliver took the opportunity to follow-up with an uppercut. Soaring forward, he threw his other fist on a sharp arc into the enemy’s jaw, and the ninja was vaulted across the tunnel.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Not too far away, blades were dancing through the air, whistling a song of battle. Kazuya had been matching the katar duet but it hadn’t been easy. Through gritted teeth, the warrior continued to parry. She had spent far too much time on the defensive for her liking and she had her doubts whether she could keep it up for much longer. No, she would have to turn the tables.

When the counter-offensive came, she had a different plan of action. With the fluidity of water, she knocked back the Ninja’s initial swipes. But it was upon the second wave of attacks that Kazuya had intentionally let her guard down. All the while, she pressed her katana forward, with much more force than before so that it nearly disarmed one of the blades. Carefully she chose which attack to let through and because she wished it so: a katar dealt a flesh wound across her ribs. The mercenary, taken aback by her falsified success, had opened the gates for Kazuya’s next move.

The samurai blade snapped across, quicker than the ninja could anticipate, and severed the ‘successful’ limb at the socket.[/COLOR]

His grip on the pistol loosened and Oliver, still on the move, had caught it mid-air. The Wizard brought his slide to a skid and stopped about three feet away from the assailant. He took a few steps toward the groaning man in black, mumbling a few words that illustrated his disgust. “Your time is up, bub.” After that Oliver pumped the entire magazine—fifteen hallow-point bullets—into the shattered vessel.

The exposed joint of Kazuya’s opponent sprayed a fountain of crimson upon the victor. Licking her lips and lost in the bloodshed, the samurai warrioress finished the job. Up, across, and out the side. That was how the ‘man’ cut as if she was writing a signature.

Oliver had witnessed this and he tossed her a crooked glance. “Uh… nice.” After which, he approached her. Adrenaline coursed through Kazuya’s veins and the pair took a minute to cool down. Finally, the battle-tired warriors exchanged words. “So how do you think they move through walls?” quizzed the man. “Hell, might as well have been magi—“ That’s when an indent in the wall caught her attention. Oliver’s eyes followed hers, and an eyebrow shot up at the discovery. There was a button, somewhat camouflaged by its surroundings, and shaped like a thumbprint. Looking at the severed arm—not far from where he stood—Oliver caught that it wore a thumbless glove, “Well I’ll be…”

The old man grunted and Kazuya’s stomach turned as he picked up the appendage and pressed the digit against the cave wall. Unsurprisingly, the cave wall slid open, revealing the hidden passage.

A few moments later, the pink-haired fighter known as Rose noticed that the mysterious suite had gone silent. Little did she know… there was a mercenary creeping up behind her, blade ready to skewer the girl. The soldier of fortune took a silent step forward, initiating his attempt, when someone grabbed him by the shoulder. He turned around–crack!—and ate a wrinkled fist the face. “Wasn’t expecting that, were you demon?” interrogated the Wizard.

Rose jumped, and turned around with her fists out, ready to lay down a can of whoop-ass, but she saw there was already one open. Frowning, she ran off to help the others.

Following Oliver’s arrival, Kazuya popped out of the wall and took over where he had left off. A flash of silver travelled upwards diagonally from the target’s jaw line to his opposite eyebrow. Slowly but surely, the top half of the assailant’s face slid off, and his body collapsed. It was as clean a cut as any.

Oliver bent down and rustled through the corpse. “Oh hey, smokes!”

[Sage]

“I am unharmed,” Sage declared, surprised at her word choice. Unharmed, she thought. But not okay... she frowned, taking a deep breath from her inhaler. She was overdoing it, she knew, but so long as she was in this filthy dungeon she would do whatever it took to avoid an attack.

“Huh, don’t get too dependent on that thing. My friend’s mom had some problems with asthma herself growing up. From what I’ve seen, it sucks something major, but you can learn to control it over time,” the pink haired girl warned. Sage froze for the briefest of moments as a twinge of contempt washed over her.

What the hell would you know about dealing with a medical condition!? she silently growled, and suddenly winced inwardly for a moment, watching to see if she’d accidentally spoken out telepathically again. Thankfully, it seemed noone had heard her, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Um, maybe we should get back to the group,” the diminutive girl evasively replied, hoping the others would see some sort of merit in that sentiment.

“Yeah, I'd like to know what happened with Tempo,” Ashe’s twin chimed in. Sage looked from one bubblegum haired twin to the other. They were definitely related. If not twins, then they were sisters.

The blustery Rose confidently led the way back to the room where they had been seized from. Still no sign of Tempo, but the door leading into the putrid sewer was left open, and so the trio headed back into the horrid waste-tunnels, much to Sage’s chagrin.

To the girls’ shock and horror, Kazuya and Oliver stood in the tunnels over a handful of savagely mutilated bodies. Ashe - though mortified by the sight - had the good sense to wrap an arm around the azure haired girl, who stared with eyes blank at the bloody mess.

Sage didn’t bother fighting her off; the gesture was oddly... comforting. She tried to rationalize it; these men had come upon them with the intent to kill, and were destroyed by their own actions. But...

But there was no reason for them to have had to butcher them like that. The fashions in which these men had been executed was sickening. “Hey,” the ex-cop nodded as they approached, puffing on a newly acquired cigarette.

“Was craving one for way too fucking long,” he off-handedly exclaimed. Sage’s jaw nearly dropped. He Kazuya had killed these men, and all he could think about was feeding his–

Her thoughts halted abruptly. His addiction. She realized the hypocrisy of her thoughts. At this very moment, she was floating on Valium, and here she was looking down on a man trying to catch a buzz on a much weaker substance.

But it’s not like I’m gonna get cancer for what I’m hooked on!

“So, where’s-” Rose began, before hearing the rapid, splashing footfalls from further down the tunnel. “Someone’s coming!!”

As one, the several members of the group turned to the source of the noise, and out of the darkness appeared Tempo, madly sprinting toward them. From behind him appeared four armed mercenaries, their blades raised with intent to kill as they charged after him.

Rose, Oliver, and Kazuya weren’t about to have any of it, though, and launched forward. Noticing his new-found support, Tempo spun on his heel in order to aid the retaliation. In seconds, four black-suited men were killed or incapacitated, and a hush fell back over the putrid chamber.

Tempo nodded his thanks to the three who had come to his aid, and then thumbed the clickwheel on his iPod.

Something clattered on the ground near Sage, giving her cause to jump slightly. She looked down, studying what had fallen near her. Confused, she bent down to pick it up, surprised at how heavy it was.

Lifting the object to what little light there was, she noticed it looked like... like a gun. It had a trigger, and held the typical shape of a pistol, but it looked... bizarre.

“Um, hey,” she softly began, catching Ashe’s attention. Sage held up the item in her hands. “What... do you think this is?”

“I don’t...” the pink haired girl picked up the object. “I don’t know.”

“What is it?” Oliver demanded, stepping between them, suddenly noticing the strange device. “What is that?”

Ashe didn’t exactly hand the object to him, but he wound up with it in his hands anyway, and his hands fit around it much more comfortably than when Ashe or Sage had held it. “Looks like a gun,” he gruffly stated, holding it out before him. He pulled the trigger, and suddenly, a huge blast of bright green energy went sailing down the tunnel, colliding with a wall farther down, erupting in a surprisingly large explosion. “Holy shit,” he gave the crystal haired girl an incredulous look. “You found this?”

Ashe took a glance at Sage, who failed to quickly respond. “Yeah,” she answered for the quarter saiyan, “She did.”

“Well you better keep it,” Oliver handed the weapon back to Sage. “You might actually be useful in a fight with this.”

The statement hurt - a lot - but the pink haired girl's comforting hand on her shoulder tightened, as if to soften the impact. Sage was used to that kind of treatment, though. Everyone talked to her like that... even Zena. It was nothing new.

“Anyway,” Oliver continued. “We found a secret entrance here; figure we should check it out since we're all together now, anyway,” he suggested.

[Ashe]

The two self-proclaimed leaders of the group were the first through the entranceway. The rest of the group shuffled in behind them, a series of circular lights embedded within the ceiling being their only savor. The walls were just like those of the facility - white, clean, in every way not your typical sewage drain.

Echoes surrounded them as their feet pounded against the metallic platform that was extended a bit from the entrance to the room, leading out into what seemed to be an enclosed bay, similar to a space station dock. There was a very clear pool of water running underneath the platform with enough room to give the impression that some kind of hovercraft or other vehicle had been located here. At the end of the pool of water was an exit that was designed to look like a large sewer drain.

Beyond the pipe, a fresh breeze rolled in and they were bathed in natural light. Oliver exhaled a cloud of smoke and grinned at the group. “Here’s the part where we get wet, kiddies,” he chuckled, seeing Uzamaki dip one of her blades into the water to test the depth. “How wet will that be?”

“To the shins, at least, provided that the depth remains consistent the whole way across,” Kazuya answered. She immediately stepped into the water and confirmed the depth. Looking back at Oliver, she took a step forward. “It does seem to be sloping down a bit, so I’m guessing it’ll be just under waist level at the edge by the pipe. Likely to allow whatever is docked here to have some leeway for impact before it slows settles in further in.”

The silver haired man nodded. “Surprise, surprise. I don’t think anyone cares what’s outside of that pipe if they are ready to get the hell out of this waterway.”

”NO!”

Everyone turned immediately to see Sage taking a step back, her outcry being entirely a mental one. Ashe quickly approached her and pointed at the water. “Its alright… This water runs out from that pipe coming directly out of the area where their showers were stored in that bunker. Its about as clean as it can get.” It was pointless. The girl was rigid and unmoving, as if thinking about how germ ridden the water was.

Oliver let out a grunt from the water and turned from them, pushing through it with Kazuya. “You kids are going to have to grow up sometime,” he called back over his shoulder.

Ashe glared at him for a moment. She had hoped that he’d have helped carry the girl, but it looked like it was left to the other three to handle. “Tempo, uh, grab her just below the waist. Wrap your hands around her thighs and the three of us will carry her through the water with her stretched across us. She shouldn’t touch it if we do it right.”

She looked up at Tempo who was slowly moving into position, carefully trying to get his arms into position as Sage kept turning around in protest. He seemed as if he was afraid that he might accidentally bump into her ass, given his awkward approach. Rose finally had enough, pushing Tempo out of the way and wrapping her arms completely around the girl from behind. “Alright, time to go!” she grunted, taking a breath as Sage tried to pry herself loose.

“What are you-” Ashe cried out as Rose suddenly floated a foot into the air. “Uh, don’t drop her?” she finished as she realized what the other girl had in mind. At the word drop, Sage gave a squeek and wrapped her arms tightly around Rose.

“Catch you on the outside,” the girl managed, erratically bursting down the hallway in a weave back and forth that nearly sent her toppling into one of the two leaders as they climbed onto the pipe’s exit. Tempo and Ashe closed their eyes and plunged forward into the water, wading across as quickly as they could.

Before getting to the edge, a loud scream was heard - both audibly and mentally - and then a loud splash. “Uh oh,” the girl exclaimed, pushing forward to the ledge.

Uzamaki had already dropped down from the edge of the pipeline and Oliver’s smirk showed that there was no danger before he too stepped off the side. Ashe pushed herself onto the ledge and looked over, seeing a large clearing of grass around a beautiful and crystal clear lake. She smiled at the change of luck before stifling a laugh as Rose emerged angrily from the edge of the water to the wet earth surrounding. She had Sage in tow, grumbling something in the distance about her flight path.

Ashe reached down to help pull the surprised boy up beside her before jabbing her thumb back at the group. “Come on!”

---

Ashe and the boy with the headset quickly caught up as they ran down the hillside that had met the mouth of the pipeline. The two leaders had just reached the pair with a slow and measured pace, not seeming to care about the result as long as they were all there. The teenage girl’s shoes seemed to inadvertently wrap around themselves and she suddenly found them removed from beneath her, opening her eyes widely as she fell forward, hitting the ground before rolling quickly down the hill.

Slowing to a stop, she pushed herself clumsily to her feet and took a deep breath to clear her throat. “Sometimes…” she began, before the other boy was at her side, kneeling down to help her back to her feet. Giving him a smile, she took his hand and let him help her up. “Thanks,” she said gratefully, quickly releasing his hand before heading back towards Sage and Rose. He stayed behind for a moment.

“How is she?” the girl asked the pair as she pushed past the veteran fighters.

Rose was standing there sopping wet, staring at Sage as she danced around as if the rain would come. “Losing her mind, I think.”

Shivering a moment in the cold, Ashe walked forward and grabbed the pleading seafoam haired doctor by the shoulders. Before she could try to figure out how to comfort her, the girl cried out at her. “Its got me!” she gasped, returning to her rain dance in an attempt to grab whatever had clung to her.

“There, by her ass!” Rose called, pointing. “Its something reddish, brown.”

Ashe grabbed it quickly and held it up. “Its just a small crab, haha…” she laughed, turning around for the group to see. “Its kinda cute.” Turning back to Sage, she held it up and tried to soothe the distressed girl. “See? I bet its more terrified to suddenly find itself out here than to be in that water. I wonder what kind it is,” the girl mumbled musingly.

The raven haired samurai approached the girls and reached for it. “Who cares, let’s just eat the damn thing. I’m tired of this bread.” Ashe quickly turned away from her with the crab.

“I think it’s a Kenyan Mangrove Crab. Though I wasn’t really paying attention that day. All I could think about was sushi,” she added apologetically as she sympathized with where Kazuya was coming from. “We should totally name it. Its got cute little pincers on it… What about Pinchy?”

Rose shook her head. “Too obvious. Probably already been claimed by someone,” she added.

“Tch! Well… screw them,” the first girl pouted, holding up the crab. “I like the name Pinchy, or even Pinchy Jr.”

“I like the name ‘dinner’,” someone in the background called out, inciting Ashe’s glare.

Sage took a few deep breaths and eyed the thing carefully. Under hear breath, she mumbled something about a “cave demon”. Her battle against the scorpions in the sandtrap would not be forgotten, and as far as she was concerned, crabs and scorpions were all in the same family.

The clinging, snapping, pinching and prying family of ankle biters.

The Pinchy McGrabbem family.

[Kappa]

Once everyone had a moment to cool off, they set up a small encampment on the foot of the water. Someone, utilizing similar magic to that which Oliver displayed, ignited a few twigs into a steady flame, which was set up on the sand between the grass and coast. The misfit group was shuffled around it, clinging to its warm embrace like summer camp children. And to Uzamaki and Oliver Nash, that’s exactly what they were. They, along with the girl they called ‘Rose’, decided to work the night-watch as the sun was coming down. If the game hadn’t stopped throwing hurdles their way, why would it stop anytime soon?

The dark blue canvas above them made the slow transition into a full-on night sky. Their encampment was slightly illuminated by a half-moon and the scattered scars of the cosmos. Tempo was sprawled out on the grass, bobbing his head to the beats, and observing the constellations, while Sage remained near the fire, shivering. She wasn’t usually affected by a drop in temperature, so then why did she feel so cold? Nothing made sense anymore, but her eyes were getting tired, despite her efforts to fight the sandman. The curtains of her eyelids had almost come down on her when suddenly—“Ruff… Ruff! Ruff!”

Sliding down the waterfall, with the exact same tongue-out expression it had when it first greeted the party, was the golden retriever. It barked at the group as it peddled toward them through the crystalline waters. Ears and fur drenched, the dog looked tired. It must have chased them for the better half of an hour. “Bark,” it said rather matter-of-factly. The dog’s arrival had certainly waked a few of them up, but it travelled toward the one that paid the least attention—Oliver Nash. Undoubtedly, this shocked the rest of them.

“Go away, mutt!” growled the bitter old man, as he had a smoke by the river. But oddly, and rather intriguingly, the dog pestered him further; pawing at the veteran. “I said—“ but before he could finish or scorn the creature, it plopped down beside him. It sighed, and almost simultaneously, he too sighed. “Why the hell don’t you listen, boy? Aren’t you scared of me?” Oliver assumed it was male. The dog raised its head, with wide eyes, and shook the water off his fur. It looked up at him and even though he tightened his fist, it didn’t move. His muscles loosened, and he slouched back into the sandbank. “So you’re just stupid then.”

After the scene had died down, the rest of them went back to their places, and Kazuya returned to her guard post. Sage stared across the grass though, through the rising embers, at Oliver Nash and the golden retriever. There, upon the water-touched coast line, the Wizard washed his hands of the assailant’s blood; all the while, the dog slept. Watching the crimson lace away from his fingertips provoked a bit of reflection from the old man. “By God, what have I—when did I—this fucking place! I … hmph.” To put his thoughts into better words, Oliver wondered how he could be capable of such carnage and furthermore, what was this place doing to him? He used to be a good man, an honest man; a man of justice. But was there room for justice down here, in the bowels of Hell?

Lost and torn, he wasn’t sure what the answer was, or who he was anymore. All he knew was that he couldn’t sleep, and his left arm was losing feeling…

[Tempo]

The cool breeze swept past the youngsters face removing any stench of sewage that still lingered. At the bottom of the hill were the rest of his squad mates. They already began setting up camp for the night finally trying to get some well deserved rest. Tempo plopped onto the ground in relief that he was finally out of danger.

Never did he think that he would ever fight massive sand scorpions and mercenaries when living in the quiet town of Treble. He lived what he thought would be a lifetimes worth of adventures in barely no time at all. He laid his head back onto the soft soil of Earth and looked up into the stars. He hoped that Enka-sensei was ok, but he knew he would be proud of him. He clicked the wheel in his I-pod to the shuffle setting and let the tunes take him into a deep slumber.

***

Tempo knew something horrible had gone wrong. The streets of Treble town were now barren and there wasn’t a sound to be heard. The young teen busted open the door of the Treble town dojo. What laid before him was a complete disaster area. The walls had fist sized indents in them and almost all the furniture was completely obliterated. The strangers had already beat him to his home. Tempo just hoped he wasn’t too late.

The orange haired boy raced up the stairs to Enka’s room. He stood horrified at what awaited him. Sitting in the far corner of the master bedroom was Enka Uriel clenching his blood filled chest. Small bullet wounds littered his upper body each dripping with crimson liquid. A smile spread shining his bloody teeth. Tempo couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down his face. Enka winked at the boy and waved him toward him. Tempo knelt down in front of the closet person he ever had to a father and hugged him.

“You have to get out of here now Tempo.” He whispered. “Its about time you left this dead end town anyways. I have done everything I could for you.” He cracked another smile, but this time it was accompinied by tears of his own. “I don’t know what these people want with you, but I can hold them off long enough for you to get out of here.”

Tempo shook his head. “No. I wont leave. We can fight sensei. STAND UP AND FIGHT!” Tempo was erratic now. His emotions were clouding his judgement something his sensei told him to never let happen.

“There are too many Tempo you have to go now. GO NOW!”

Tempo stood up and slowly backed up toward the door. He turned to leave right before he was interrupted by his only friend once more. “Tempo. I love you.”

“I love you too...dad.”

Tempo had never called him that before. He was glad he did because that was last time he heard Enka’s gentle voice.

***

Tempo shot up from his fetal position in a cold sweat. He looked around to find that he was still nestled at the bottom of the hill. All of his new “friends” were scattered around him some sleeping and others making small talk. Tempo didn’t think anyone noticed his frantic awakening, so he laid down once more, but this time with very familiar tears streaming down his cheeks.

[Friend or Foe]

The sun was up again and the group was just starting to rise. Oliver Nash and Kazuya were up early, as expected. Rose had fallen asleep in the middle of the watch and the two older leaders of the group took turns for the rest of it. Now they were just getting people up.

"Up and at 'em," Wizard said he nudged Sage, who was leaning against a tree in mid-sleep. She was startled and looked up, surprised. "We're leaving in about ten minutes. Tempo is off getting water."

Sage looked around. Sure enough, everyone else was already up. The two redheads she was convinced were related were eating some of the bread that they were given when they started the journey. Next to them was Uzumaki, the ninja who had taken over leadership along with Wizard.

"Tempo has been gone about five minutes now," Kazuya said. "I'm going to go check on him."

"No, I will," The old man had already begun moving. "Get them ready."

As Wizard walked off, Ashe felt the need to speak up, as she was already in a grouchy enough mood after being woken up ridiculously early. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"The waterways," Kazuya said, "I saw them while I was scouting last night. This oasis probably runs there to get purified and go to the rest of the island."

As she was explaining the details of the next destination, Wizard was already out of earshot. He headed over for where Tempo was. He figured the boy needed time to think, so he had let him get water and probably take a few minutes to relax. He looked around the edge of the tiny stream, covered by two lone trees. There was no sign of Tempo.

He looked at the sand. There was footprints leading to a certain spot away from the stream. Then they slid backwards and stepped forward again. He looked around to find pieces of clothing and even a tiny wire clashing against the background of the sand. The police officer in him was waking up as he put the peices together. The last piece of the puzzle was some blue dust laying across the otherwise beige sand. Some kind of explosive device had been set off.

"Where's Tempo?" Someone asked. Oliver looked back and stared Kazuya Uzumaki right in the eyes.

"Tempo is dead," Oliver Nash told her. "Something blasted him from far away. He was here, and now he's not. So let's do the same and get the hell outta here."






























(Tempo has been forcibly teleported from the game. Everybody else advances. Congratulations.)

Wizard wins two saibaman seeds that he can find and grow on his own. The catch is he must give one of them away to somebody else.)