Magical Teacher Professor Landry! - Episode 4: The Lady in White

[Girasol of Chaos]

Several small groups approached their own now. The blue oni could see beyond that the fight with the bow-woman had ended, thankfully with everyone alive. Her focus snapped to the wolf-boy that stepped forward. He offered support for an attack, while the tainted Diana rushed forward, panicked. She refused to go in. Chou's eyes narrowed, untrusting. She didn't want to go in either, but there was something wrong with the girl. Couldn't be relied on, at this point. Alarm intensified when what appeared to be a Fae joined the group. Trickster, was he with her? Her time in books yielded enough information to make her wary towards the group overall now.

Sao spoke, directing the blue-skin's attention back towards someone she did trust. "Who is the fastest among us? Or the strongest?" Chou's eyes followed the direction of the undine's gesture to the gazebo's pillars. A small smile formed around the tusks as Sao outlined her plan. The oni swallowed her alarm towards the group for now.

A red tinge formed at the edge of her irises and Chou nodded to her tanned friend. Reverting back to pure blue orbs, she stepped towards the pavilion again, "Well then, there's no time to waste." Chou approached the nearest black pillar and planted her feet. With a side-sweep, the club ripped through the air, hungry to crush the foundation.

[Overcast]

Jay followed behind Dal as he spoke, his recent distaste for Diana did not help the Director's point get across to him, he was set to disagree. He didn't bother voicing it though, Dal already seemed set to ignore her advice, and with that he imagined Koh would continue on with majority support. Barring anyone else speaking up.

And of course Dal had to follow with a small quip and a wink,

"And yours as well, Jay, not that I think I need to request YOUR assistance,"

For the smallest inkling of a second Jay's heart skipped and he chuckled nervously, though he honestly didn't know why he was so nervous. It was just a fight, he'd been doing it all day! Must have been something he ate. Obviously.

"Right behind you."

Sao suddenly dropped in on the scene and seemed more suited toward the opinion of Diana, but with her light agreement she brought upon an idea that seemed to get stuck in Jay's head in a way he just could not shake.

She said they should break down the building.

Not to say that Jay had ever been much of a delinquent back home, but the imagery of tearing down the structure on top of the haughty instructors head just made him grin, perhaps a bit too much. He didn't even understand the concept that the building might hold some kind of mystic pull, all he knew was a few concepts about load supporting walls and the idea that buildings are hard things to dodge.

If anything it was a good way for him to make a dynamic introduction to the teacher he'd yet to fight yet.

Now if either he or Chou had been listening they would have caught that part about getting the fast people trying to get Jo out before they brought the building down. But impulse driven people think alike and as he saw who he thought was Shin moving for one pillar he couldn't help himself.

"One sec Dal, I think we'll bring the fight to us."

He leapt to the next closest pillar and planted his batting stance, spitting onto his hands before pulling his bat back mightily, his aura surged hard as he batted a perfect swing toward the black support, bat whistling with incredible force.

[Teal Mage]

"Fight me," Jo dropped into a fighting crouch, raising her claws before herself. "Professor Shuyin." At her side, a small black puppy growled low, tail still and fur bristling. The curtains behind them blazed with radiance, throwing Jo's front into shadow. Her white skin and dishevelled hair was painted gold by the light leaking into the gazebo, and sixteen shadows decorated the tiles below her, eight from her and eight from the puppy, two in each of the cardinal directions.

"…" Having lowered his head during the course of her last words, Shuyin raised it again. Like Jo, the bluenette's front was hidden in the shadow cast by the light leaking through the curtains behind him - unlike her, his gold eyes were still clearly visible on his face. The contrast made it difficult to make out his expression. Was there a smile on it?

"How fitting." Shuyin stated, flicking his unarmed right hand toward the east wall. "You die in like company. But," Coral-red energy flickered -

A ripple of white raced over the pavilion.

- and green liquid erupted from Shuyin in a raging and foaming geyser.

"It did not have to end like this." Shuyin murmured, softly – too softly to be heard over the roar of his own spell. The steam that rose from the ceremonial torrent's origin - directly in front of him - rendered the man little more than an instinct and ghostly blur, for several moments.

* * *

"…about, er, your offer." Sean began awkwardly, now in front of the kneeling forms of Hannah and her grandmother. "I'd..." The muscled Canadian's eyes were averted; he seemed to be having trouble making eye-contact with either of the woman before him. "...appreciate your help." Sean grudgingly concluded. He may have been a little embarrassed!

Resting her back against her grandmother's chest, Hannah opened one green eye to regard Sean curiously. Behind her, the elderly woman chuckled. "I am not skilled at breaking curses," she stated, arms still loosely wrapped around her granddaughter, "but I can see to the healing of your wounds."

Hannah sighed and shut her eye again. "Yeah, I've no problem with that." She stated, before relaxing with a sigh. "He seems like a decent guy." The blond added, softly.

A fond smile appeared on the old woman's lined face. She shut her eyes and shook her head ruefully, then took a deep breath. Green-blue light stirred around her form, as the woman raised her voice - a strong alto - in a haunting melody. Words in a language Sean didn't recognize filled the air, and a fresh earthy scent reached his nose. A haze of teal light now suffused the air around the trio. The bruise-like marks on the hockey-player's body began to tingle, as blue-green and orange magical energy suddenly appeared within them, competing with the amber light of Astarte's curse. Slowly, the marks began to fade.

* * *

Satisfied with her healing success, Sao smiled warmly down at Adeline and stated cheerfully, "Can't let anything happen to such a pretty face." Adeline flinched in surprise, a faint blush appearing on her face at the words. "Up you get," Sao went on, still smiling - perhaps a little wider? - despite the girl's reaction, "come on." She extended a hand to her.

"...ah, thanks." Adeline replied, taking her healer's hand - with a little trepidation. The pair stood, as Chou suddenly exited the gazebo, and turned toward them. After a short greeting, which Adeline merely smiled and nodded to in reply, the Oni launched into a full report for Sao. Adeline did her best to listen intently.

"Shuyin's still inside?" Adeline jumped and whirled around at the sudden voice from behind and to her right - it was Kohana. He was shirtless again – a detail that made Adeline blush profusely - and now had a pair of triangular dog ears growing out of his head. If his attire hadn't been so distracting, Adeline might have freaked out. Paying her no mind, Kohana went on, eyes still fixed on the pavilion. "Pompous ass." He stated, annoyed.

Kohana knelt, and scratched the ears of the small black puppy that had scampered up from behind him.

It was then that Adeline noticed he also had a tail.

"Miss Su- Adeline." Kohana went on, settling into a cross-legged position, "Blue skin. I need you ready to attack, fast and together." Adeline stared at him, or rather, his tail, in mute incomprehension. "I will support you as long as I can." Kohana went on, then, shifting his gaze to rest directly on Adeline, "Please hurry." He stated - a hint of desperation in his voice.

Adeline blinked, and shook herself suddenly. As Kohana's puppy scampered off toward the tent, she jerked a hasty -

"What the hell are you doing!?!" It was Diana! Adeline blinked in mute surpise as the surprisingly normal looking girl man-handled Kohana. "That place!" She gestured emphatically toward the pavilion, "Bad! C'mon Koh, isn't that obvious!?" Diana crossed her arms, holding her silver sword almost absent-mindedly, "That thing has 'Evil Lair(tm)' written all over it!" Another adamant gesture from the group's resident Genki Girl followed, "You don't just charge into an Evil Lair(tm) head first! You'll fall right into, like, a dozen or so traps that way! Use your head!"

...didn't Chou say something like that? Adeline thought, frowning in the pavilion's direction. Jo seemed to have grown claws since she had last checked on her. Satisfied that nothing awful had happened yet, she turned back toward her allies - only to find Dal (Wings!?) and Jay had joined their sharing circle.

"I'm sorry," Dalbhach stated, as he came up behind Diana. "but traps or no I'm going back in, even if alone. Johanna is in there with Shuyin right now and I won't let her face him alone -"

Adeline glanced back toward the pavilion again - just in time to see a raging torrent of green tea explode from Shuyin. The steaming and foaming steam consume both Jo and Kohana's puppy, before vanishing from view. Oddly enough, it didn't emerge from the pavilion's north curtain.

"- Even so," Dal went on, still speaking to Diana and perhaps unable to see inside the pavilion from where he was standing, "I won't argue with your observations, and I could certainly use your strength to face that man."

"Uh," Adeline's eyes were on Kohana. Was...he steaming? "...guys?" She squeaked, timidly.

Dal didn't hear her - he was still talking. "And yours as well, Jay," The Fae continued, glancing over his shoulder toward the baseball player following him, "Not that I think I need to request your assistance." He turned back toward the pavilion and began to walk unhurriedly toward it.

"Guys!" Adeline repeated, a little more urgently. Kohana was definitely smoking now. And trembling. His face was tight and his hands clenched, the knuckles white. She thought she saw blood leaking from them, and little spots of angry red were spreading across his skin. She took a hasty step toward him, but then hesitated, unsure of what to do.

"Who is the fastest among us? Or the strongest?" Sao asked, turning toward Chou as she spoke. From where she was standing, she had to have noticed the tea geyser...right? Pointing at the thin, black pillars holding up the gazebo's tiled roof, Sao continued, "If some of us can enter from the other side and get Jo out safely, the rest of us could bring the gazebo down around him."

...Shuyin's geyser ended abruptly. Jo had vanished, and something seemed...different about the pavilion – was it glowing faintly? The colors looked a little different. Kohana released a soft gasp and seemed to slump forward - burns now covered him and white steam rose from his body. He looked like he was in pain. Dal had almost reached the curtain nearest him - but it seemed like he was moving impossibly slow to Adeline's increasingly flustered mind.

"Well then, there's no time to waste." Chou stated, moving toward the south-west most of the supports to the pavilion.

Jay jerked a nod, a expression of giddy glee appearing on his face, as he spun to the right. "One sec Dal," The Fae paused, hand raised to the curtain in front of him, to glance at the baseball player, "I think we'll bring the fight to us." With that, Jay was off and running - toward the south-east most support.

Adeline screamed.

And, suddenly, sword miraculously appearing in her hand, she charged past Dal, into the pavilion.

...

Cursing, the Fae followed quickly after.

* * *

The power of Grandma Iruimi's healing song and Sean's demonic regeneration was enough to purge Astarte's curse from the youth's body. Where the dark bruise marks had been, now only pale, but healthy, flesh remained. Strangely enough, Sean's clothes seemed to have...grown a little. The sleeves of his tuxedo now extended to his elbows, and the jacket stopped short of his belly button. His pants were longer as well, now extending just over his knees. Likewise, the collar of his dress clothes - which he had ripped a moment ago, seemed to have grown half way back.

It appeared that Grandma Iruimi's song could heal both wounds and clothing damage. How useful.

Adeline's scream of frustration erupted to the north-west.

"..." Grandma Iruimi's brown eyes slid open, and her song ended. Surprisingly, it appeared that she had benefited from the spell as much as Sean had. Her clothing had been repaired, the dark blues and browns of slim dress were rich and new, and the fabric of her shawl – once a faded purple, now a deep indigo – seemed to shine brightly. Where her hair had been white and held in a bun, it now hung down past her shoulders and was an intense black. Her wrinkles had all but faded, and her faintly red-brown tinted skin held a healthy glow.

In short, she appeared fifty years younger.

"...your friends seem to be in trouble." The now-young woman observed, still hugging Hannah protectively. "Will you help them?" She asked, fixing her brown eyes upon Sean.

* * *

Chou swung her club with all her might at the south-west pillar. Spikes snapped and splintered, exploding into the air and peppering her torn kimono like the shrapnel from a grenade. The slim black pillar shook, and the faintest crack appeared on it – but the damage was minimal.

Meanwhile, Jay had finally reached the south-east pillar.

Like Chou, the baseball playing delinquent swung his bat with all his might. Black magical power burned around him, as a loud ping! exploded into the air as his bat sheared through the pillar - snapping it in the middle, and sending the black fragments tumbling off the tower's side. He carried his swing to completion, just before the surge of supernatural energy left his body, Jay staggered back a pace, and slumped slightly, panting. His arms felt like they were made of over-boiled spaghetti.

Strength Surges still took a lot out of him.

But, hey, he’d succeeded!

…

The gazebo seemed unaffected.

* * *

Shuyin's spell ended as abruptly as it had begun, leaving a steadily spreading pool of green tea some distance off. A bubble of green light - dripping tea and steam - flickered and faded away, as the black puppy relaxed its stance, finally. It appeared unharmed, but, judging by the way it was panting, tired.

Of Jo, there was no sign.

But, the pavilion was vastly changed - on the inside, at least.

An alternating expanse of brown-veined-white and black-veined-brown marble tiles seemed to stretch to infinity in all four directions, eventually vanishing into a milky white void an unfathomable distance off. High above, a roof of similarly milky marble – seemingly suspended of its own power – served as a ceiling. Save for the slightly raised platform Shuyin and the puppy occupied, there was no other ornamentation.

In a flare of green-yellow chartreuse light, Jo reappeared with a gasp a score of paces to the south – well behind Shuyin and his platform. After falling to mist to escape the Ceremonial Torrent, Jo had moved through the solid stone below Shuyin, in an effort to escape the Pavilion. Obviously, the sudden transformation had foiled her.

The Professor turned in her direction.

"Welcome -"

Screaming with frustrated rage, Adeline appeared on Shuyin's right, seemingly from thin air. Her hands were wrapped tightly around the hilt of her short-sword, and her sandal-like formal shoes pounded the tiles below her as she charged the bluenette's side -

But was abruptly yanked backward by Dal - he'd caught her long braid.

Shuyin chuckled, then turned his head the new-comers. Despite his best intentions, Dal was quickly learning what Jo had a moment ago – getting out of the pavilion was no longer as easy as it had once been, and certainly was not as simple as stepping through a flimsy white curtain.

"As I was saying!" Shuyin suddenly boomed, as Adeline winced and rubbed the back of her head, glaring at Dal. "Dear students, be welcome to my Infinite Ballroom!" He smiled ironically, "As I have sure you have now deduced, escape from within is quite impossible!" Shuyin chuckled again, fixing Jo with a cold smile. "This endless expanse shall be your collective grave."

"Now," A faint smile appeared on his lips, and his eyes flickered toward Adeline and Dal. "allow me to introduce your hosts."

Suddenly, the pair found themselves surrounded. Four figures, each clad in identical and elaborate gold embroidered red ballgowns, had appeared around them. Featureless heads, seemingly made of plastic, regarded them silently. Had either Dal or Adeline glanced at their hands or feet, they might have been surprised to see that they made of shiny silver metal, capped with sharp, thin, blades – very much like katars.

They attacked.

Shuyin chuckled and returned his full attention to Jo.

He began to walk, slowly, toward her. "You seem…tired, Johanna." Shuyin murmured sleepily, "Are your magical reserves perhaps low?" He chuckled, "You should have fled when you had the chance -" His next smile was icy, "- but then, dolls do not know what is important."

* * *

"Dal." Adeline muttered softly, eyes darting from motionless mannequin to mannequin - and lingering on each of their blade capped limbs. Each glowed with faint white light - which, together with the cut of their dresses, made them very reminiscent of Marisa.

"Those wings -" She went on, urgently, as the four faceless heads snapped toward the pair in their center. "- they work, right?" Adeline's hand tightened on her sword, and the faintest corona of scarlet light appeared around her body. "As a Candidate for Class President -"

Her eyes flickered toward the surrounding mannequins, "- I'm ordering you to leave these to me -"

They attacked! Bladed limbs slashed viciously outward, seeking flesh - Fae or Human - as they closed in, attacking with unnerving coordination. Alone or working together, Adeline and Dal would find even a single one of these...beings, a difficult opponent. Surrounded as they were, they would be hard pressed to do more than survive.

[Bard The 5th LW]

"He seems like a decent guy." Sean gave no response, and he tried as hard as he could to not even look at her. Clearly, he was not ready to pay a compliment to her.

"...your friends seem to be in trouble." The soreness from the curse had gone now. Sean observed his arms and legs, his clothing slightly repaired. He didn't completely know what she had done, but it had the intended effect. The once old woman had also seemed to benefit, her clothes having become more lustrous in color, and age fading from her face.

Who was she anyways?

"Will you help them?" Her eyes locked on him, a color similar to his own. Already, his allies were screaming. Why though? Pain, anger, fear? Distress wormed its way onto the Canadian's face.

He struggled briefly to respond, but he could barely bring himself to say anything. He supposed he was still angry. Hate and anger were powerful things. "Yes." Not even a complete thank you. His eyes studied the ground beneath his feet briefly, and he only nodded to her in response. Hopefully the half-demon's thankfulness would be understood through his silence.

Turning towards the pavilion, his first instinct was to jump straight in and jump the pretty boy teacher. He began to take off full speed for the structure, and while he did his thoughts began to turn. The particular moment of reflection... was about Hannah. Thinking about it, she beat him effortlessly, and he couldn't count on getting a lucky break like last time. Power in numbers also seemed less likely to work, as there were at least three of them battling the girl. He hated to admit, and wouldn't relive it, but it was... enlightening to put it gently. He couldn't win in a straight up fight. If he battled this guy on his own terms, then there was no chance at victory.

By the time Sean reached the pavilion, his legs were shaking, and he was huffing air at a rapid. He rested his hands on his knees as he breathed, head towards the floor. The first person he saw when he raised his head was Diana, which he felt didn't really help his situation at all, but he'd get no where dwelling on her. "I'm here *heave* I guess," he said to the group, consisting mostly of the unoccupied Dian and Sao. He managed to gather himself though as his breathing slowed.

"Shuyin in there then?" he asked, looking at the closest curtain wall. He would have just leaped in, but he resolved to think about it. Shuyin wouldn't have the damn thing set up if he didn't want them to go in, right? They'd have to make him leave, if that was even possible. The others seemed to be taking that idea to heart, as Jay was standign right by a damaged beam.

With his left arm raised, Sean began to spin ice and snow for an attack. "I'm going to try something," he said as he approached the curtain, "when it fails I'll be open to whatever suggestions you have."

Sean loosely grabbed the free material of the curtain hanging before him. He quickly pulled it backwards, in an attempt to tear it off, trying to undo as much slack as possible. "Professor!" he screamed in a scratchy voice as he pulled the cloth away, "we will wait no longer! Face us out here now or we will bring it down on top of you!" Sean was yelling this, but he was only just now realizing something; he couldn't even see Shuyin! He really hoped that his voice could carry well enough.

[Dracorion]

Shortly after, most people left. Just Sean was left, asking the old woman accompanying Hannah to heal his wounds. Jack would ask too, if Hannah hadn't said no one should try to heal him. Bitch.

He watched at the woman started chanting, but Jack had to drop his gaze to the ground when her aura acted up. Looking hurt. With his reserves so dangerously low, and still dropping, any kind of magic use was dangerous. And that included reading anyone's aura.

So he just sat there, looking at the floor and the old woman's light show reflected on it, and listening to her chanting. Man, what he wouldn't give to read her aura. It sounded interesting.

After a bit, a scream from the pavilion reached his ears. Jack rose, not a quickly as he should, given his exhaustion and the vines dragging him down, but fast enough to stir the aching all over his body. He groaned as he became painfully aware of the cuts and bruises and vines. "Oooooohhh... dammit." Then, remembering why he stood up, he looked in the direction of the pavilion. He could see some of his classmates outside, and one of the pillars holding the structure up seemed to have been broken. Some were missing, though, and he expected they had gone inside.

Sean darted past him, following the old woman's recommendation. He turned back to Hannah and her and... saw that the woman was no longer old. She seemed to have grown younger, somehow. Damn, he really wished he read her aura now.

Feeling torn, Jack's head turned once more toward the pavilion, and then back to the couple. If he went to help his classmates in this condition, then at best he'd be merely completely useless. As much as he wanted to witness what was going on, it was probably better if he stayed out of the way. And... he still had something to ask Hannah.

His emerald eyes settled on the witch, and he saw the root spears bursting through Landry's chest once again his mind, and he remembered what it felt like when she stuck her hand in his chest. Jackson clenched his fists and jaw, and took a deep breath. He really needed to stop flashing back to that.

His fists were still closed tight at his sides, as he wasn't entirely successful in putting aside his feelings. Still, he went for it: "Why did you kill her?" He asked Hannah. Then he remembered what wolf boy said. "Or, try to kill her, I guess."

[Krylo]

Trapped.

Dal's face took on a grim expression as he realized his mistake, releasing Adeline's hair. He had only wanted to pull Adeline and Jo from the pavilion, to marshal their forces in their entirety. This was... exactly the opposite of his plan, but he was here now and there had to be a way.

"Dear students, be welcome to my Infinite Ballroom!" the professor boomed over the expanse, his words cutting through Dal's thoughts. Shuyin smiled ironically, "As I am sure you have now deduced, escape from within is quite impossible!" Shuyin chuckled again, fixing Jo with a cold smile. "This endless expanse shall be your collective grave."

Now Dal smiled as well, but not one with mirth or arrogance, or anything of that nature. A coldly determined smile. 'This is it then,' the fae mused to himself as Shuyin introduced their 'hosts', a quartet of viciously armed dancers. He could feel his plans and thoughts slip away as his body prepared for lethal combat, but then... there was something... off.

No, they could still fix this. He just had to...

His stance shifted imperceptibly to the defense, until Adeline requested he leave, her aura firing up. She had a plan as well, and he would have to trust her. "Don't die," he said simply before jetting into the air as the mannequins lunged. A katar-like hand swung up after his leg, and the fae tried to twirl out of the way on his ascent.

Even so, steel bit flesh and a line of bright red spun through the air after the wincing Dalbhach. A grazing wound, the fae thought thankfully as he glanced down at his leg. It shouldn't hamper his mobility on the ground. Even so it stung and he momentarily pondered the wisdom of leaving the girl to her own devices... but no time for regrets.

"Shuyin!" Dalbhach yelled as loud as he could, as his eyes flicked from the professor to the mannequins as he hovered above the ballroom, his mind attempting to derive the meaning behind this niggling sense that something was not quite right with either of them. "Stop this!"

"You told us," Dalbhach's voice took on a pleading tone, "That you arranged this to stop the deaths of innocent humans. That Landry, 'cooly calculated the murder of her own species', but now!" His hand waved down toward Adeline, "What are you doing? What is this worth if you kill her? Let the human girl go! She doesn't need to have her innocence or life destroyed by this battle!"

He tried to sound as convincing as he could, but the attempt to snag Shuyin's attention, to free Adeline, it was a ruse. An attempt to buy time so he could figure out what was really happening in this infinite ballroom. His only real hope was slowing down this death match enough to find a route to victory.

...Of course, he wouldn't mind if it worked. If nothing else she could relay Jo's, and his own, situation back to the others.

[Girasol of Chaos]

Chou's club plinked almost harmlessly off the pillar. Frustrated, she looked to see if the baseball bat-wielding boy had any more luck. His aura flared and the bat sheared through the pillar with a magic-based swing. He staggered back to survey the damage - the bar snapped but did little to the actual structure.

Brow furrowed, the blue oni tried again, determined to help out, taking great care to try to ignore what chaos was occurring on the inside. The faster she brought this thing down, hopefully the less damage there would be. Her thoughts were interrupted on her third additional swing.

The pole fractured and collapsed, causing the side of the structure to begin to sag. At this point Sean approached the curtains, trying to peel back part of the collapsing wall. "Professor! We will wait no longer! Face us out here now or we will bring it down on top of you!." Chou frowned, preferring the professor didn't attack them.

[Steel Shadow]

"Professor! We will wait no longer! Face us out here now or we will bring it down on top of you!" Sean's bold threat echoed across the tower.

There was a light tap on his arm. If he turned around, he'd find Diana shaking her head with a sad smile on her face as she began to walk away. "Sorry Sean. He won't be in there. It's just bait for a trap, he's probably long gone. But you looked pretty cool yelling it."

She sounded... Tired. Of course she moved with as much energy as she ever did, but not everything was right with the class Director. Then again, some would argue that had been the case for some time. Whatever the truth, it didn't stop her from (cautiously) slipping past Chou and Sao, sparing only a quick, worried glance at the apparently injured Kohana, before striding north, sword held tightly in hand.

"I'm going to go see if I can find where Professor Shuyin has hidden himself," she said, raising her voice without looking back. "Uh, if you hear screaming, I probably found him. Good luck getting everyone out."

And with that, she hurried away.

[SinrXIII]

"STOP!"

Kohana's shout was directed at the director extraordinaire, barked out as he slumped forward. His palms were bloody; he'd dug his nails into them as he'd tried to keep his connection with Puppy active.

The shaman took a deep breath, and rose on shaky legs.

"Don't you DARE go runnin' off City-girl! Last time you did that, you vanished and got yourself a dye-job." Kohana let out his breath, and took another, flexing his fingers experimentally. They were sore, but hurt no more than the rest of him.

"It was a bad idea to ask anyone to go after Teacher Shuyin. I wasn't expecting... well, I fucked up." He growled softly, eyeing the pavilion. "We don't need to separate right now. If we do, he'll just pick us off like the wounded animals we are."

Another deep breath, and Koh sank carefully to his knees. "No one's dead yet, so we still have hope. I say we wait here, and continue wreckin' his house. If we get him out, we can show him how bad it is to corner wolves, instead of dying like mutts."

He finally settled on the ground again, closing his eyes. It finally occurred to him that if Diana wasn't listening, he'd wasted a decent speech, but there was no time to worry about that.

[Steel Shadow]

There was a momentary hitch in Diana's step as Koh called after her, and she slowed down to listen to his argument. She only looked back once he'd finished, a rueful smile on her face. "Yeah..."

"You're totally right, Koh. Completely right. Last time I was on my own in here, bad things happened. And they might happen again. Everyone should stick together and listen to one another, and all that. You're making a good call."

"But..." And she began moving away again, at some speed, looking away from the others once more.

"Sorry Koh. I don't think he's in there. And that means he's off on his own somewhere in here doing who knows what. We can't afford that right now! You need to get the others out, but I can't help with that! I'm just a girl with a broken camera. What I can do is find the guy and let you know where his is. And... Well, we'll see. You guys stick together, you'll be fine."

And then she was gone.