The sun shone feebly from a cloudy sky, painting the streets of Redmond with a jaundiced glow. Slumped in the passenger seat of Twytch's car Benzie stared sightlessly out at the grubby sidewalks and forlorn looking buildings, lost in thought. Working for a dragon was a bad idea. Refusing to work for a dragon was probably an even worse idea. Telling your incredibly protective best friend that you're working for a dragon and going spelunking in a ghoul nest on the same morning? She shuddered slightly at the memory.

"You're going where?" Finn's voice had been deceptively mild. She had repeated her destination along with the information of why she was going there and waited for the explosion. Just as she had expected, it had come. Pacing aggresively back and forth across her kitchen, he had started with the irresponsible nature of getting caught up in such a load of drek, heaping blame on the Black Princes and telling her for possibly the millionth time that Demetrik would give birth to kittens if he knew one of his disciples had joined a gang. He then ranted at length about the probable dangers she would face and had completely failed to be comforted by the fact that Twytch and Athena would be accompanying her. He warned her repeatedly that he had an engagement of his own this morning and he wouldn't be there to bail her hoop out when, not if she needed it.

Perhaps most frightnening was when he had abruptly gathered her up in his arms and held her close for a moment, crushed against his broad chest. "Be careful Benzie." The intensity in his voice swelled and his electrically charged gaze bored into hers.

"I will Finn. I promise."

Their little exchange threw off her entire morning. She had hoped he would come with them. Partially because he was good to have in a fight and partially, she admitted privately, because she just felt safer when he was around.

She was still disecting the look on Finn's face as they parted ways when Athena parked and let a disgruntled Twytch out of the back seat of his own car. Joining her companions in the present Benzie exited the car and came to stand beside Athena on the sidewalk. Lighting a hot pink cigarette she glanced around the parking lot. A single, black van was parked nearby and as her eyes came to rest on it, the entire thing rocked to one side and the driver's door was thrown open forcefully.

Crimson Fist was easily six and a half feet tall. With long strides he closed the gap, fixing an obviously cybered red gaze down on them. Twytch stared back, his mouth hanging open inelegantly. Benzie gaped as well, trying to decide if this was for real or if she was somehow still asleep. His face was covered in painfully obvious dermal plating, the kind generally reserved for less visible parts of the body, resulting in splotchy metallic areas on his otherwise browned face. He had long, black hair pulled back at the nape of his neck and his clothing was comprised entirely of black synth leather, with the noteable exception of a styleized blood red fist on the breast of his ribbed jacket.

"You are the ones sent by Mister Yoji?" He frowned at the three of them impartially and went on without waiting for them to respond. "You are late. It is 10:07. Come." He gestured towards the van and suiting action to words pivoted on one heel and began marching. Seeming to emphasize his displeasure at their tardyness his body gave forth a rude noise and Twytch, following in Crimson's wake almost missed a step as the smell hit his nose. Athena unsucessfully smothered a giggle beneath a cough but their guide seemed not to notice. He reached forward and threw open the rear doors of the van, gesturing them all inside. "It is not far. I will drive us there."

Exchanging a glance mixed of apprehension and amusement the three of them filed into the van. Twytch in his dark grey suit making for the front while Benzie and Athena settled in the back. The trip was silent. Crimson Fist drove them northwards, towards a section of Redmond Benzie had never seen. The buildings became even more run down and strewn in open lots between the sagging structures stood pitful groupings of filthy looking tents. The people who appeared to live in them scattered as the van approached, only reappearing cautiously after they had passed. After awhile even the strange tent cities became more rare and the buildings looked more and more deserted. Several times Crimson was forced to navigate the van around rubble heaped in the street itself and they began to wonder if they would have to go on foot at some point when he slowed to a stop.

"This is the place." The samurai slammed his door open and stepped onto the broken pavement. Moments later the rear doors of the van opened again. Twytch let himself out of the passenger side and joined Crimson around the back as the girls slipped out as well. Crimson Fist opened a metal locker on the back of the van and began rummaging through it as the others took a look around. The building before them was covered in old graffiti and chipped palsticrete. The double doors looked like they had been blown in at some point and black soot stained the gaping hole left behind. Windows in the front of the building had been boarded up and then some of the boards had been broken away. In spite of all the cavities outside, the interior of the place looked to be pitch black.

"Nice place." Twytch observed sardonically, smirking at Athena.

"Not really." Crimson's voice was perfectly serious as he turned from the van. "There are many ghouls inside. We come now because we hope to catch them sleeping." He held several small flashlights in one hand and a roll of adhesive tape in the other. "We will need these inside. It is very dark."

Smiling slightly at the obvious nature of his statement Benzie reached out and took a flashlight and the roll of tape."This is going to be a bit awkward." She held the flash light along her right forearm, winding the adhesive around the entire arm.

"Worth it though." Twytch took the tape from her and began attaching his light to the barrel of his Manhunter. Crimson reached into the locker again, emerging this time with a long rifle. He set the butt of the gun on the ground and the barrel hovered on level with his chest. He took the tape back from Twytch and stuck a flashlight to the barrel of his rifle, covering over the Remington logo inscribed in the metal.

"So, how many baddies are we talking about here Crimson?" The Fist looked thoughtfully at Twytch for a moment, tossing the adhesive back into the van and pulling a sheathed katana from the locker before slamming the doors.

"Could be dozens. Could be hundreds." He glanced at Athena where she stood off to one side of the others. Passing her flashlight back and forth in her hands, eyes glued to the entrance of the building. "Shaman girl, you stick by me okay?" He grinned for the first time since meeting them. "We will let these two bad asses go in first huh?" He gave a great guffaw as though this was somehow hilarious. Surprisingly Athena smiled at him slightly and nodded, coming to stand beside him. Still chuckling to himself Crimson looped the belt of the katana's sheath over his shoulder and then shot an expectant look at the newly appointed bad asses. Exchanging a less enthusiastic look Twytch and Benzie headed for the blackened entrance.

"Could be dozens, could be hundreds." Twytch mocked softly so only Benzie could hear. She smirked in response, reaching up to pull her goggles into place over her amber eyes then drawing her katars smoothly. The interior was darker then they had expected, the gloom seeming to cling to everything. Their flashlights cut swaths of brightness into the dark and the skittering sounds of retreating devil rats and other vermin could be heard clearly in the quiet. The floorplan of the building was open but piles of fallen plasticrete and other debris littered the floor, forcing them to snake their way towards the rear of the building. The air was stale and cool when they first entered but as they penetrated the interior a warm stench crept into their nostrils. Part unwashed body, part week old corpse.

"What the hell is that smell?" Athena's voice echoed tremulously in the darkness.

"Did you expect flesh eating mutant zombie's to smell good?" Twytch asked drolly.

"They are not zombies." Crimson rebuked calmly. "They are metahumans that have been infected by the Krieger strain of the Human- Metahuman Vampiric Virus and as a result have mostly lost their intelligence." He paused a moment. "And they eat other metahumans. Usually dead ones though." He added helpfully.

"Or ones accommodating enough to waltz on in and deliver." Twytch added. Athena made a small noise in her throat that sounded suspiciously like a gag.

"I would advise you to not get bit or scratched by them as well." Crimson's voice continued in a low rumble. "The virus is highly contagious. It would be a shame to become a mutant zombie yourself."

"What's that?" Twytch swung his flashlight off to the left slightly, illuminating what appeared to be a large hole, broken through the floor boards, dirt littering the area around it.

"The entrance to the hive." Crimson answered, "they prefer to live underground when possible. The smell will get worse from here." He said apologetically.

Approaching the opening in the floor, hand lights held out before them, they could see a sharp incline leading downward. The earth inside appearing to have been scored and pushed aside by animalistic claws.

Twytch grinned at Benzie."Ladies first." His voice was heavy with false chivalry. She glared back at him.

"You go right ahead then cutie."

His eyes narrowed."Together then?" she nodded.

"Together." The two of them stepped down into the hole. Their feet immediately sliding in the loose soil. The descent was part slide, part scramble. Bouncing around the tunnel like lasers at a night club, their hand lights illuminated brief glimpses of soil and a glistening wet sludge that became more prevalent the deeper they went. The temperature rose noticeably as their bodies slid down the incline, a small landslide of displaced dirt and rock rolling down below them. Finally the earth leveled out again and the two of them slowed and stopped, getting back to their feet and brushing off the worst of the mud while they waited for Crimson and Athena to join them.

A second wave of debris washed down the slope, coming to settle at their feet and Crimson Fist slid into view holding his sport rifle tight against his body. His flashlight illuminating the ceiling above him as he came. Moments later a faint blue luminescence filled the fissure and Athena floated serenely into view. Her feet hung just above the surface of the incline and she sank gracefully, alighting beside Crimson. The magical glow faded away, leaving them all to stand in the darkness, broken only by the harsh white glare from the hand lights.

Benzie turned her gaze away from the pools of light, allowing her eyes to adjust to the dimness. The flashlights gave off enough light for an elf to see relatively well in, despite the consuming darkness and she could only assume that Crimson's cyber eyes came similarly equipped. The cavern was narrow, the ceiling just tall enough to accommadate Crimson's height with perhaps a hand span of clearance above him. It smelled like an open grave. A fresh one. She grimaced slightly, turning to the street sam.

"So deeper in I suppose? Any idea how far?"

Crimson Fist shrugged,"Mister Yoji did not say. He only said that what he wants is being held by the hive leader. And he said the hive leader had kept his intelligence through the change. That's quite unusual of course so we must be careful of him."

Benzie looked to Twytch again, who shrugged slightly and nodded further into the hole. Trying not to focus on Finn's predictions, she walked in deeper, shoulder to shoulder with Twytch. It was silent but for the heavy steps of Crimson behind them. Not so much as a breath of fresh air seemed to creep it's way down here. The strange heat was oppressive. The scent of decay grew continuously stronger.

Athena wretched audibly and Twytch turned to give her an encouraging smile. As he twisted back to look at her his light skated across the ceiling and came to rest on a dark crack perhaps a meter across, right where the earthen wall met the ceiling.

Crimson stepped forward, placing himself between Athena and this new tunnel, lifting his rifle to his shoulder. The light pentrated into the dank hole, revealing more rent earth and slime. They all stood silent for a moment, ears straining for any sound only to be met with silence.

"This place is too quiete!" Crimson's voice boomed, startling the three elves around him. "I will grow bored and boredom leads to not paying attention! Next thing you know we will all be eaten by ghouls." He chuckled at this and stomped on, gesturing for Twytch and Benzie to proceed again.

The tunnel continued in monotony. Same foul scent. Same clinging darkness. Same squelching of wet, slimey soil beneath their feet. The silence seemed to stretch an eternity but probably it was only five or six minutes later that they heard the pitter patter of little ghoul claws.

"Too much to hope we'd find no one at home I suppose." Twytch muttered, both hands on his Manhunter as he scanned the darkness ahead. "Can you see em yet Benzie?" Just as the words left his lips the first ghoul skuttled into view. She walked on all fours, her elongated arms ending in claws that dug at the wet earth. A thin shift clung to her emaciated body, exposing most of her milky, scabrous flesh. Sparse, stringy hair was pushed back from her face, revealing her cataract encased eyes and long yellowed teeth. "Oh! She looks hungry!" Twytch took aim and pulled the trigger. Blood erupted from the ghouls shoulder, sending her spinning backwards just as another appeared beside her. This one, a male, walked upright. Whatever clothing he had worn during his change was long gone and he lumbered straight at Benzie, claws curving wickedly in the low light.

Katars in hand, she rushed forward to meet him, her right hand curving in towards his throat, her left diving towards his strange, distended belly. With a sickening twist he spun away from her. The tip of her right katar sliced across the front of his neck, releasing a thin line of dark blood. Her left hand missed completely, her momentum carrying her forward to flank the ghoul. Turning, he slashed at her face and she ducked, taking a knee in the soggy dirt. He came to rest on all fours before her, the corners of his almost lipless mouth drawn back in the rictus of a grin. She had an instant to take in the thick saliva dripping off his chin as he leaned in towards her face, the stench of his breath turning her stomach. Then she slammed her left katar up under his chin. His eyes bulged, dark liquid bursting forth from his tear ducts and a wet rattle escaped his throat. Disgusted Benzie jerked her blade free and spun back to her feet, eyes scanning for her next foe.

Twytch's little girl friend recovered from her gun shot wound with uncanny speed, crawling back at him, an angry hiss emitting from her gaping maw. He stared at her in horror for a moment, taking note of the large chunk of flesh missing from her left shoulder and the cascade of glistening red blood soaking her dress. With a shake of his head he brought himself back to the task at hand and leveled his pistol at her head. Just as he pulled the trigger another pale form emerged form the darkness at the edge of his vision. This one seemed to be clambering up the side of the wall. The female ghoul's head exploded and her body was flung backwards, landing on its belly just at the edge of the light. Turning his attention to the newest ghoul he had time to make out a balding head and what had once been a nice pair of leather pants before it sprung off the wall at him, colliding with his right shoulder and sending them both stumbling across the tunnel.

Athena stared at the gore erupting in the cave before her. Trembling, she raised her hands and muttered a quick prayer to the cleansing Waterfall. Blue light erupted from her palms, rushing in a wave down the tunnel, cresting briefly near Benzie and then flowing on to rise and crash into another pair of ghouls coming shoulder to shoulder down the tunnel. The wave of ethereal light seemed to wash them both off of their feet and together they crashed in a heap of too long arms and legs. The ghoul fortunate enough to have landed on top screamed in protest, his screech echoing loudly back down the tunnel and launched himself towards Benzie. The second ghoul lay flat for a moment, sniffing at the air and then he too scrambled but didn't attack, instead he crawled to the fallen corpse of the first ghoul that had appeared. The ghoul who Twytch had relieved of her head and began to feed at the wet hole in her shoulder.

Head cocked to the side Crimson Fist stood unmoving as chaos exploded around him. Slowly he turned, his head tilting back and forth, red cyber eyes closed down to glowing slits. He came to rest with his broad shouldered back to the fight, his head turned so that he could still see the elves over his shoulder. He stayed frozen like that for a long moment, then faster then his large size should have allowed he caught Athena by the elbow and pulled her behind him, raising his rifle to his shoulder.

"We have company coming at us from behind as well my friends."

"Of course we do!" Benzie ducked beneath the outstretched claws of her latest assailant, swiping forward, the blued steel of her katar split the ghouls stomach open and slippery entrails burst forth. Sliding out at revolting speed they landed in a wet pile at the ghoul's feet. Another ghoul appeared in the light, she had been a child once, maybe ten years old, now she rushed forward and began to slurp eagerly at the putrid innards of her howling kin. Swallowing hard Benzie backed away averting her eyes from the grisly sight. At the edge of the light she could see more ghouls. Some seemed to be stopping to feast on their fallen comrade. In the brief moment she looked, she couldn't count them all. A hunched figure in front of the pack stumbled forward snarling as he reached for her. Beside him a tall male with a few wispy strands of dark hair still clinging to his head barreled past her, straight towards Twytch.

Twytch's struggle with the wall crawling ghoul continued. The elf had his back to the tunnel wall, his left hand was wrapped around the skinny neck of the ghoul as it clung to his shoulders. It's mouth snapped at his face, it's drool coating his clenched hand. His right hand lifted parallel to the ghouls head. Manhunter ready for action he set the barrel right against the creatures temple. A sanguine eruption, thick with pieces of flesh and brains rained down as Twytch let the bodyl fall. As the red rain settled he found himself face to face with the tall ghoul who seemed slightly disoriented as he skittered to a stop before Twytch sniffing at the cascading remains of his brethren. In the face of failing inspiration Twytch swung his right hand, pistol and all, smashing the heavy gun straight across the thing's face, laying it flat out on the drenched soil.

"Damn! How many of these things are there?"

"Too many." Crimson answered, twice his rifle sang out in quick succession. "But I have cleared the way behind us for the moment." He pivoted on his heel and pushed past Athena, his rifle already locked onto the hunched ghoul engaged with Benzie. "You must return that direction."

"Are you out of your mind Crimson?" Athena raised her hands again adjusting for another spell.

"Quite possibly little shaman girl." He took another shot and Benzie's bright blue coat was splattered in vital fluids as the chest cavity of the ghoul she fought exploded. "But you must go now. Go and finish the mission. I will hold them off."

Benzie and Twytch exchanged an incredulous look, "Crimson," Twytch's voice was disbeleiving, "we can't just…"

"You can and you must." The Fist's voice cut them off, punctuated with another detonation of his sport rifle, the muzzle flare briefly lighting his big blunt features. "Go now young elf. It has been my pleasure." He stalked past Twytch and Benzie as they backed up the tunnel reluctantly, placing himself between them and the oncoming ghouls. "Go!" The single word was part command part battle cry but it carried enough authority in it to get their legs moving. Twytch grabbed Athena by the elbow and started back up the tunnel, his pistol held out before him. Benzie half ducking squeezed in on Athena's other side, the three of them ran, stumbling past a smattering of ghoul corpses, leaving Crimson Fist to his fate.


They ran for several minutes, listening to Crimson's gun shots becoming fainter and further apart. Athena's cheeks were tear stained and she gasped raggedly for breath as they came to a halt.

Twytch stared hard back into the darkness."This is so fragged."

Hands on her knees, drawing deeply of the death scented air, Benzie nodded."So what do we do now?"

"Can't quit after that now can we?" Twytch turned to meet Benzie's gaze.

"No." She shook her head, "no, I don't suppose we can." They both turned to look at Athena who slumped with her back to the wall of the cave, heedless of her long hair hanging loose in the muck.

She stared back at them from red rimmed, sapphire eyes and nodded her agreement."But not back that way. We have to find another way."

"The ghouls that came up behind us must have come from that smaller crack we passed on the way in." Tywtch said looking back over his shoulder as he once again scanned down the passage. "I doubt they were out on the surface this time of day. We'll have to try that."

Athena winced, "Have we passed it already? Or is it further on?"

"I think it's further on." Benzie straightened, her spine making an audible popping sound. "I'm not completely sure, but I bloody hope so." she glanced back down the corridor and added softly, "I doubt Crimson could have bought us much time, we better get moving."

The three of them continued on again. Twytch bringing up the rear, walking backwards to ensure nothing snuck up on them. Athena and Benzie took the lead, scanning the walls with their hand lights. As luck had it Benzie was right. Perhaps twenty meters further on they rediscovered the gash in the tunnel wall. It didn't look anymore inviting the second time. Happily it still looked as deserted as it had the first go. Practically feeling stinky ghoul breath down his neck Twytch wasted no time, hopping up and grabbing the lip of the opening, he pulled himself up and crawled in. Athena took his hand and pulled herself up behind him with Benzie bringing up the rear.

The going was rough. Crawling on hands and knees through sludge at a steady incline turned out to be less fun then it sounded. Twytch, using his elbows to dig his way forward while keeping his pistol and more importantly his handlight aimed in front of them, kept up a steady stream of complaints about the deteriorating condition of his suit. Not quite loud enough to be heard word for word, but loudly enough for Athena and even Benzie to get the gist as they crawled along behind him. The stench defied logic. Rotting meat and unwashed body, so intense it went down the nose and tickled their throats as if daring them to vomit.

Thankfully the tunnel was a short one and it wasn't long before they were crawling out into a fair sized cavern.The hole they exited was located almost in the floor of the cave, right up against a wall. Slowly swinging their flashlights revealed piles of rags and other grimey fluff arranged into nest like beds scattered across the floor. The walls climbed away into a darkness the light couldn't pierce.

"Welcome to Camp Ghoul!" Twytch murmured cheerfully, kicking aside some of the bedding on the floor as he moved away from the wall. He held his Manhunter before him with both hands, scanning slowly back and forth. Benzie mimicked his motion, veering off to the left a bit, she held her right arm across her filter mask covered mouth and nose, allowing her katar to dangle over her shoulder. Her left arm held before her as she swept the large room. Filthy bedding, ghoulish refuse and the same slime coated, rocky soil as far as the handlights reached.

Trying not to look at the floor anymore then she had to, Benzie contented herself with sliding along the wall, looking for a way out. It didn't take long to find what she was looking for, a low ceilinged burrow extending out of the left side of the cavern. Twytch would be ducking slightly as he walked but it beat crawling. Turning to wave her friends over she could see their faint outlines and bobbing lights coming towards her. No one dared speak too loudly so she just pointed her light towards the tunnel to show them what she had found.

"Good." Twytch's voice was low as he and Athena came to stand with Benzie. "We found another tunnel back there but I’m fairly sure that one goes back to where we were before." He glanced into the opening before them. "Looks as good as any other option right now." he shrugged, "Let's go."

Once again the three of them walked down a dark, silent passage, Twytch hunching slightly to avoid the sporadic rocky out cropping. This tunnel went on for perhaps ten meters before making a sharp turn to the right. As they came around the corner they could immediately see a new chamber opening up before them. The walls shot out and the ceiling rose. A few more steps and the three of them stood at the edge of the most horrific sight they had yet seen.

The chamber was roughly circular. The soil that made up the floor looked to be more slime and less soil, creating a soupy sludge that clung to the feet. And the walls... hanging at intervals along the walls were people. In most cases corpses was a better description but here and there one still twitched limply in their bonds. They hung stretched tight, their bodies inflicted with terrible wounds, eyes missing, jaws torn away, eviscerated with piles of half eaten entrails pooled at their feet, sliced and bit into, fed off of. Perhaps a dozen total. Men, women and even one, that Benzie quickly averted her eyes from that looked to be an elven child. Between the bodies, painted on something that looked like stretched hide, were huge arcane symbols that gave off an eerie scarlet glow, filling the cavern with a bloody light.

"My, my, my whatever have we here?" A harsh voice called out. Turning to find its source their eyes came to rest on a slightly raised platform to the left of where they stood. Perched at the front of it stood a rickety podium draped in more hides decorated with more mystic symbols and writings. As they watched a lone figure moved forward to flank the stand. He stood very tall, more than six feet and bone thin. Tattered, dark robes hung from his skeletal frame, the hood thrown back to reveal pale scabrous flesh and milky white eyes. He leered at them, his chin damp with drool. "You do not belong here at all now do you?" He rasped. "Unless you have come to bring me and my family a snack? Fresh snacks are harder and harder to come by lately, with so many mouths to feed." He grinned at them.

"A spell slinger ghoul?" Twytch's whisper was disbelieving.

"I think, maybe so." Athena's voice was very small from behind Benzie.

"I think maybe yes!" The ghoul shouted at them, sounding suddenly angry. He began to pace back and forth along the rim of the platform. "You think just because I am this?" He gestured at himself nodding, "That because I am infected," The word twisted hatefully off his tongue, "that I am no longer pulsing with power?" His voice became louder and louder as he spoke and the drool seeping from his lips began to foam. He stopped suddenly leveling his emaciated arm out to point at the center of the cavern. "I will show you!" he screeched, "show you!" His sentence died slowly as he ran out of breath, dragging out his last syllable as long as his lungs allowed. His howl still hanging in the air the red haze began to coalesce around his outstretched arm, gaining in brightness till Benzie couldn't look directly at it.

"Oh shit." Athena summed up, just as the magical energy shot forth from the ghoul, tracing a graceful arc upwards before diving into the mucky earth in the middle of the floor. The barrel of Twytch's pistol burst to life. His first shot sent a shower of splinters and torn hide into the air as a chunk of the podium exploded. The ghoul threw himself back, his skinny arms coming up to protect his head from raining splinters. The second shot clipped the creature’s side as he hit ground and scuttled behind the remains of the podium cackling madly.

"Snacks are going to get dirty!" He squawked gleefully.

"He means us?" Twytch glanced back at Athena who wordlessly nodded, pointing out to the floor with a trembling hand.The earth was rising. Benzie felt her jaw drop but didn't bother trying to remedy that as she watched the muddy floor climb higher and higher.

It happened so quickly it was hard to see exactly how it happened, first they could make out a wet looking lump which grew into a disfigured, melting face with a pair of elongated appendages. In the blink of an eye it was climbing to it's feet hunching low to miss smashing itself against the roof of the cave. It's body seemed to recycle the filthy gook from the floor, drawing more into itself as other parts of it continually sloughed off, drawn back down by it's own weight. The great head turned to face them. Holes sat where its’ eyes and mouth presumably should have been. The edges dripping around the red light showing through from inside.

"Twytch, "Athena's voice was tight. "Go kill that ghoul." Deciding that he really didn't want a piece of the big moving drek pile anyway he nodded and obediently sprinted towards the platform. Giving silent thanks to Demetrik for her katars, her foci that carried her very essence within them, the only thing that might allow her to actually hurt this thing, Benzie rushed in at the soggy elemental.

Athena raised her slender hands before her, muttering under her breath to the Waterfall.

Twytch made it about halfway to his quarry when the giant spirit suddenly turned its’ burning gaze on him. With a disjointed jerk to disengage its’ gooey arm from the floor of the cave the elemental reached for the running elf. Swinging with terrific speed it smacked its’ great wet arm into Twytch's torso, raising him high off the floor.

Benzie didn't stop. Instead she ran in and leapt at the thing's side, katars held out before her. The right slammed home, sheathing itself in the muddy body, the left blade glanced off a rock, leaving a trail of soil in its wake as Benzie's momentum carried her forward. Her cheek slammed into the dirt, but she clung to the katar embedded in the creature using it to push herself higher, poising her left hand to strike again. With a roar the elemental dropped Twytch. He turned end over end at least twice before landing in a heap back in the mud.

"Twytch!" Athena screamed his name, dropping her extended hands she began to slip and slide towards her fallen friend.

"Great." Shoving her body weight up and forward again Benzie drove her left hand blade into the solid mass of the spirit. The thing let out a wet sounding, guttural protest and spun around, searching for the source of its’ pain. Hanging on as it turned, Benzie let out a string of unlady like observations, yanking her first katar out of the muck and driving in with all her strength above the blade anchoring her to the creature's torso. The elemental waved its’ long arms about, passing them just over her head, it's gaze swung back and forth, scanning the ground before it. She laboriously pulled the left blade out, "Stupid," slamming it in above the right she pulled herself up a bit higher, "fragging" the right katar came out, liquid mud oozing out of the puncture left behind, "dirt spirit!" She pounded the right blade in again, suspended from her katars, she clung to the creature's chest, her booted feet slipping in the goo as she fought for more leverage.
Suddenly the huge head tilted down and the burning gaze locked on to her. "Oh hell." She had time to wince before the huge body jerked, bringing one of its’ long arms in to smash her flat against it's chest like a bug.

Athena came to a skidding halt beside Twytch as he started to push himself to his feet. He glanced up at her as she reached him, white hair caked in slimey mud he smirked, "I meant for that to happen." He pivoted on his heel bringing his pistol around towards the platform again. "Help Benzie."

He staggered off again, intent on his still giggling quarry. Yes, he felt like he had just been hit by a truck, a big one, but that maniacal laughter was giving him a headache. Executing a less then graceful hop up onto the platform, he made eye contact again with the hunched form of the ghoul. He sat with his long arms wrapped around his legs, his lipless mouth twisted into an ugly grin as he laughed at them. A small wet spot stained his dark robes.

"You!" The ghoul's milky eyes widened and he hazarded a glance around the remains of the pedestal, out into the main arena as if he expected to see Twytch still engaged with his summoned spirit.

"Me!" Twytch agreed, squeezing off a round from his pistol. Unfolding his spidery limbs with super natural speed the ghoul scampered back just as the soil between his extended legs erupted. Growling the elf took aim again as the ghoul came to his feet.

"No!" The ghoul yelped and dove towards Twytch as he took his shot. Pieces of tattered cloth blew off the ghouls back followed by diseased too pale flesh and putrid too dark blood. He crashed into the dirt at Twytch's feet. "My power will save me!" He howled up into the elf's face. "my power will kill you!" a bony arm shot forth from the filthy robes, claw tipped finger pointing threateningly at Twytch's face.

"Not if I kill you first." Twytch pulled the trigger.

Athena had turned back to the spirit as soon as Twytch was on his feet. Her soft voice murmured softly to the Waterfall, to the mana inside her soul. Gracefully she held her arms before her, slender fingers spread, her palms faced the elemental. Ignoring the sight of her friends feet dangling limply from beneath the creatures monstrous arm she tapped the astral plane and the room flared to life. The mucky soil glowed faintly with life, greens and browns of the earth tarnished with the blood red film of the ghouls' filthy magic. As she scanned across the room she could make out the grey husks of the bodies strapped to the walls, mingled with the flaring beacons of the arcane symbols in between. The ghoul glowed brightly, the duality of his magical nature easily perceived here. It became clear to her how the creatures could see so well with their cataract blinded eyes. She could see the intense dark red of his spirit cowered before the faint outline of Twytch's tall form. Satisfied that the situation on the platform was being handled, Athena turned her attention back towards the elemental. Benzie's aura glowed brightly, greens and blues swirling against the browns and reds emitted by the Earth spirit. Athena opened herself to the mana around her, body tensing as she channeled the magic towards the core of the astral creature.A wave of intense blue light manifested on the physical plane, pouring forth from Athena's hands it rushed towards the elemental, seeming to gain strength and momentum it, rose higher and higher, cresting just above the creature’s great head.

The spirit's red eyes looked up at the wave uncomprehending, then the magic crashed down. Pieces of contaminated earth fell away from the elemental faster then it could draw more in. Melting beneath the onslaught it let loose an eerie moan just as another shot rang out from Twytch's gun. Together Master and bound spirit toppled slowly to the ground. Benzie joined the remains of the muck used to give the elemental a body with a resounding splat as the mud supporting her dissipated.

Athena slowly dropped to her knees, releasing her view of the astral plane and her hold on the magic available to her wearily. Stepping over the remains of the ghoul leader, Twytch came to stand at the edge of the platform, surveying the state of his friends below. Grinning as he watched Benzie push herself up out of the mud, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket.

“You look like hell.” Benzie glanced down at herself, using the back of one hand to wipe mud from her goggles. When that only smeared more on, she shook her head slightly and removed her goggles all together, setting them on top of her mud caked head. The effect was devastating on Twytch who laughed so hard he dropped the cigarette he had been attempting to light.

Benzie looked to Athena in confusion. The shaman raised her head to look at Benzie as well, taking in her uniformly muddy appearance. The once electric blue jacket and cherry red leather of her pants plastered with dark earth. Her skin coated, her blue hair matted and only a small circle around each eye shining bright with her normal skin color. Athena laughed helplessly, falling from her knees back onto her ass in the thick mud.

Looking down again, Benzie pictured what she must look like in her head and giggled as well, struggling to her feet. She started to dig into her coat pocket only to find that it too was filled to brimming with warm mud. Stomping towards Twytch she paused a moment to help haul Athena up out of the muck, then came to rest before her laughing friend.

“Smoke please?” she held out a soil encrusted hand and tilted her head to look up at him imploringly. In response Twytch roared with a new wave of mirth, leaning heavily onto the remains of the podium to keep from falling over. Benzie narrowed her amber eyes at him and jiggled the katars still dangling from her fingers thoughtfully.

Luckily for Twytch, Athena had a handle on her own amusement and came to his rescue, holding out a slightly bent cigarette as an offering to Benzie. Flashing a greatfull smile Benzie accepted it and the lighter that followed, lighting the cigarette and inhaling deeply.

“Now what?” she handed the lighter back to Athena who shrugged.

“Search the ghoul I guess? Without Crimson, I don’t even know what we are looking for.” The two girls climbed onto the platform and passed Twytch as he clung to the podium, gripping his sides with one arm as he tried to regain his composure.

Athena distastefully patted the corpse down while Benzie used a corner of his robes to wipe the guck from her katars so that she could resheath them.

“These don’t exactly have pockets.” The shaman said, peeking into the front of the tattered rags. “and I don’t see any jewelry or anything else on him either.”

“Well, let’s check in here then.” Twytch’s voice still sounded awfully delighted for their surroundings. Turning the two girls saw him standing off to one side of the raised area, his flashlight pointed at what appeared to be a door. A normal, synthwood door, set into a regular door frame in the cave wall.

“That’s weird.” Benzie led Athena over to join him.

“Extremely.” He nodded in agreement, reaching for the knob. “Shall we then?” and he threw the door open. Stepping quickly in Twytch scanned around, pistol leveled, light flashing. The room was vacant, the furnishing sparse but it was an actual room. Old, stained plasticrete made up the four walls and across from them a staircase led upwards to another door. Beside the door they had entered stood a small writing desk with a plain chair before it. Both pieces looked like they were made from real wood. Beyond the desk, nestled against the wall was a single wide bed with a sagging mattress suspended from its’ wooden head and foot boards.

Reaching to the side, Twytch flipped a switch and a single bare bulb suspended from the ceiling flared to life. Closing the door behind them, the girl’s filed into the room as well and the tree of them wordlessly spread out. Twytch headed for the stairs, stopping at the door on top and listening intently. Benzie stayed by the entry door to guard against further intrusion from inside. Athena made straight for the desk, opening the single drawer and then reaching for a strangely shaped bundle on the desk’s surface when the drawer proved to be empty.

It was her soft gasp that brought the other’s attention to the object she had uncovered. Sitting there on the simple wooden desk sat an ornately carved  golden cage. It was very small and the bars of the enclosure looked to be inscribed with tiny runes. Inside the cage was a far greater wonder. A tiny humanoid figure peered up at them from behind the bars, his little face a mask of sorrow. His great dark eyes seeming to drink them all in, small wispy wings glowed a faint golden color from his back

“What the hell is that?” Any thought of danger from the other side of the door momentarily forgotten  as Twytch gaped down at Athena’s discovery. She shook her head slowly still watching the creature.

“I don’t know. I’m sure this must be what we came for though.” She reached forward to grab the small handle at the top of the cage.

Benzie left her post by the door and came in for a closer look. The thing looked like a fairy from a children’s trid show come to life. As she watched him he swished his wings slowly and Benzie had the overwhelming feeling that such a magical being deserved freedom. His small face turned towards her as if he could hear her thoughts.

“We can’t take this back to Yoji.”

“What?” Both Twytch and Athena chorused incredulously. Turning curious stares her direction.

Straightening self consciously under their scrutiny Benzie pointed at the tiny creature. “Just look at him. He has wings, he deserves to fly.”

Picking the cage up Athena shook her head slightly. “Benzie do you have any idea how bad it would be to cross a dragon? Besides, this thing is obviously magical, it could very well be extremely dangerous.” She turned up towards Twytch, obviously dismissing the matter from her mind. “Where does that door go?”

With one last confused glance at Benzie he turned the knob and opened it, leading into the doorway with his pistol. A cool breeze swirled past him and down into the basement room, carrying with it the scent of rain. Peering out for a moment Twytch laughed and stepped out of sight, calling back down to them, “Come on up ladies, I see the street! No worries, I’ll pay the cab fair!”

Athena grabbed up the dirty cloth that had been used to cover the cage and wound it back around. Effectively cutting off Benzie’s view of the tiny winged creature inside. “Not that cabs come out this far.” She muttered before hurrying up the stairs after Twytch.

Out voted and not feeling great about it Benzie stood a moment longer in the dank room, wrestling with guilt for not freeing the sylph like being and loyalty to her fellow Black Princes. A second burst of cool air shot down the steps, curling around Benzie as though the Wind was inviting her out to play. Never one to turn her back on her totem she gave herself a shake and resolutely, she left her worries in the basement. Hurrying up the steps to rejoin her companions for the long walk out of the Barrens.