-Blighttown-

Jinta picked himself up out of the slime he'd landed in. The mud ruined his leather armor, soaking it through with poisonous gunk. He turned around, looking up at the rotten board that had given way and shaking his head. His armor heavy with the mud slowly working itself out of the gaps, Jinta trudged back to the bonfire. He sat down, rested, dried his armor and deposited his longswords into his Bottomless Box. He replaced one with the estoc he'd held onto since he'd first found it while starting his journey, and to replace the other he took the falchion he'd found off his back, strapping it to his belt instead. He stood, testing the new weapons. He held the falchion in his dominant right hand, slashing with it. Definitely better than his longsword for slashing. He slashed and stabbed with the estoc, longer than his old sword and a bit lighter and thinner. Also better for what he'd been using his longsword for, since he wasn't left-handed. Jinta paused his journey to familiarize himself with his new weapons. His style didn't change much, slashing with his right weapon and stabbing or parrying with his left, but the new weapons had new weights and lengths that he didn't want to forget in the heat of the moment. As he trained, the world moved on without him, including Tetsuro, Seiko, and Solaire…

-Depths-

Well rested, Tetsuro and Seiko returned to the stairs to resume their progress. They descended, returning to the chamber below where the water from The Depths was draining to. Tetsuro approached the nearest foe, a slime, and slashed at it with his Balder sword. Though the slime was thin, his sword didn't pass through completely, getting stuck. The slime shivered and part of it climbed up his sword, getting a better grip. Another shiver and the entire blade, up to the guard, was inside the slime. Seiko snapped her fingers, using Combustion and lighting the slime on fire. It immediately shrank back and burned to a husk.

"Looks like if we run into any more of those, they're yours," said Tetsuro, inspecting his blade for damage.

"There are three paths, but I'm willing to bet that those huge doors are locked. No getting through there without a key. This one in front of us appears to go back into the sewers. I'd rather not stay here long, and something tells me we want to go through that gate. There's also the other doorway. It might be best to check the other way first and see what's through there before we decide."

Seiko nodded her agreement and started walking toward the other doorway. They walked down a narrow, damp passage, arriving in the largest chamber yet. Support pillars several meters thick held up the ceiling, which had a large break in it that let in sunlight. There were a few levels to where they were, built almost like the inside of a castle, complete with ramparts instead of railing. The massive chamber was empty except for a body wearing hard leather armor.

"Is that Jinta?" said Tetsuro, leaning over the side for a better look. A bolt of magic hit his helmet, knocking him over.

"Mage!" said Seiko, pulling Tetsuro out of its line of fire. "You ok?"

Tetsuro had a hand over the right side of his face. "Peachy."

He reached down for his flask, drinking Estus and moving his hand. Seiko could see tendons, muscle, fat, and skin stitch back over his cheekbone.

"Let's find a way up to that thing."

They started exploring the chamber, but found no way to reach the mage up above them.

"There must be a way up to it in the other direction. If we try to go down into the chamber, that thing will harass us the entire time. We should turn back…"

They backed off, heading into the path that lead them into the sewers, fighting off a few giant rats as they picked their way through the passages. They came across several forks in the passage and finally backed off from that path as well.

"I get the feeling we'll be lost if we try to go through this way. I have a few prism stones, but I'd rather use those to test heights than crawl around in sewers. The only other thing I could try is to fire back at the mage with a bow and some arrows. At that distance, though, I doubt I'll be accurate. I don't have the eye for long distance shots like that, especially shooting up at an angle like that while under fire myself. We'll just have to keep an eye on the mage and move forward. If that is Jinta down there, we need to get him out if he's not Hollow… Or dead."

They returned to the large chamber.

"I found a big crossbow!" reported Seiko from a set of stairs. Tetsuro turned to look and only saw her hooded head poking up. He walked over and followed her, finding a golden summon sign on the ground before reaching the crossbow. He touched it and they waited. In a few seconds, a figure emerged from the sign. It was Knight Solaire, sword and shield in hand.

"Greetings!" said Solaire, muffled under his helmet. "Good to see you again, Tetsuro. And well met, m'lady."

"Seiko."

"Ahh. I am Knight Solaire. You've lagged a bit, I see, Tetsuro. I hope The Depths didn't cause you as much trouble as Jinta."

"He was here?" asked Tetsuro.

"Oh, yes. I summoned him when I was through exploring and he expressed that he had been hopelessly lost until he'd run completely out of Humanity."

Tetsuro leaned over to Seiko. "Told you it was a bad idea to try and navigate the place."

Seiko looked confused. "I agreed with you, though…"

"Did you not come through The Depths?" asked Solaire.

"We've been able to work together and make a few paths of our own. Do you know how to get to the mage overhead?"

"Ahh, the Channeler? I should be able to deal with it once we start the fight."

"Fight?"

"So, I caught you your first time? Excellent. Then I might save you even more trouble. There's a horribly deformed dragon that makes its home here. You'll need to fight it if you want to continue into Blighttown, as it has the key."

"Did Jinta?" asked Seiko.

"He was the one who helped me through the fight my first time. He wasn't able to hurt it very much, but he distracted it long enough to buy me time. With the three of us now, it shouldn't be too bad."

"Well, let's stop waiting around. This sounds like it will be interesting, and I need to ring that second bell."

"You've actually summoned me as I was making my way toward it. Your path is dark and winding, and the next big arena is the home of a corrupted Daughter of Chaos."

Tetsuro and Seiko looked at each other.

"What? Do you find something I said strange?"

"Did she wear robes like these?" asked Seiko, spreading her arms to gesture to herself.

"She didn't wear anything. From the waist down she was a horrible demon like a spider, much bigger than a human."

"Not Quelaana, then," said Tetsuro. "That's a relief. Thanks for the news."

"Of course. Shall we?" said Solaire, walking over to the last set of stairs and starting down them. Tetsuro followed, finding a wall of fog blocking the entrance to the massive chamber.

"Gimme a minute," said Tetsuro, following Seiko to the crossbow. It was large, unwieldy, and he didn't have any ammo for it anyway. They left it and joined Solaire near the fog.

"After you," said Solaire.

Tetsuro pushed through the fog, followed by Solaire, then Seiko.

"Spread out, you two. While one person keeps its attention, the other two can attack. I will move aside and take care of the Channeler before it makes the fight worse."

Seiko moved to the right while Tetsuro moved forward and to the left. Sure enough, the head of something poked over the edge of the chasm at the other end of the chamber. Judging by the head, it looked to be a lizard that might be five meters or so long. Tetsuro took a few more steps forward, waiting for it to scramble up and attack him. Seiko moved up as well, hands glowing a rich blue, eyes faintly glowing sky blue. After the dragon looked from Seiko to Tetsuro a few times, it seemed to decide on Tetsuro, finally moving. Only it wasn't five meters long. Or the entire head.

A gigantic claw reached up out of the chasm to pull up a section of this nightmare's body, then another and another and another and another, until a three-sectioned dragon stood more than halfway to the ceiling of the chamber. If it stood on its rear legs, it could touch the stone ceiling. The lower two sections looked normal enough, but the section that rose up to face forward was made entirely of rows of teeth and the tiny head they'd first seen. The thing let out a horrible roar and got down on all sixes, charging at Tetsuro bodily. He dropped his guard and ran to the side, diving out of the way and slamming to the bricks heavily. The Gaping Dragon, the corrupted beast Solaire had warned them about, skidded to a stop before smashing its head into the wall. It took pause, sucking in great, shaking breaths after its exertion.

"It's sick…!" realized Seiko, saying it aloud to Solaire, who was standing next to her and facing away from the dragon, looking up at the Channeler.

"Oh, yes. There's an awful lot of toxin in Blighttown. This dragon was once a majestic thing, and a worthy foe. But treat it with respect, sick as it is, because it is still a powerful enemy."

Tetsuro stood and ran over, hacking at the nearest leg. His Balder sword sliced through withered scales down to bone, revealing bones with uneven rises and a bile-green tint. They appeared to have been black, once. Tetsuro swung again, perfectly into the rent he'd made, thinking to chop into bone and further weaken the limb. The bone was far tougher than human bones, and his sword chipped on impact. Tetsuro pulled back quickly, his sword couldn't support its own weight, and it snapped two-thirds of the way up the blade. Tetsuro looked at it in surprise, but his attention was pulled back to the dragon as it finally recovered, standing its top third upright again.

"This thing's bones are harder than metal!" he called out. He glanced back to see Solaire rolling aside to dodge a bolt of magic, then ready a Lightning Spear. Seiko was running forward, preparing to jump on the dragon's back.

"It's sick! We can tire it out!" responded Seiko as she ran. She leapt up with all her might, jumping almost five meters in the air. Tetsuro was briefly dumbfounded at the sight. Seiko landed on its back and put her hands out in front of her, spraying Fire Surge with both hands. The flames flowered as they came in contact with the Gaping Dragon's uppermost section, but did next to nothing.

"It may be sick, but it was still a dragon!" said Solaire.

Seiko looked around, struggled to keep her balance as the dragon turned and swung one of its middle legs at Tetsuro. Tetsuro blocked, but was thrown back. Solaire threw a Lightning Spear at the dragon, the Channeler dead, shearing a line of scales off the tiny head atop all the teeth. The Gaping Dragon roared in response and whipped its long tail back and forth, trying to crush Solaire. Solaire blocked the second swipe and hacked into the tail with his straightsword. He, too, cut down to the bone, but was unable to do much else. The exchange gave Seiko an idea, however.

"Tetsuro! Cut the base of the tale for me!" she yelled, running down the dragon's back. The dragon twisted its top section this way and that, trying to get an angle where it could reach back and snatch her up. While it was distracted, Tetsuro ran to its rear and put his shield on his back, using what was left of his sword in both hands. He chopped downward as hard as he could, slicing open the dragon's hide right where the tail met the body. He was about to swing again when he saw the dragon raise its rear leg to step on him, so he dove aside, hands still over his head with his sword. He landed face-first in some residue he'd rather not have identified, but the dragon missed. In his place, Solaire made the other cut, taking advantage of the distraction.

The dragon appeared to be dizzy after flailing about to grab Seiko, pausing and burping audibly. Seiko jumped down, put her arms around the base of the tail as best she could, put her foot inside the wound Solaire had made, and pulled. The dragon howled in pain, and an opening between its vertebrae came into view. Solaire, still standing by, took a step forward and slashed, his plain sword passing through the muscle and sinew smoothly. The tail came off in Seiko's arms and she stumbled back before dropping it. The Gaping Dragon began to roar, but was cut short by a horrible retching sound. It leaned over and vomited a sickly dark green. The stuff coated the rear section of the chamber, some of it flowing down the pit where the Gaping Dragon had appeared from. The dragon only partially recovered, completely drained by the act. Oddly, no blood flowed from its wounds, even then.

"How do we kill this thing? Or should we just wait for it to die on its own?" said Tetsuro. "At this rate, that wouldn't surprise me…"

He drank Estus to recover from all the running, as well has his bruises from being smacked around. The drink also revitalized Solaire's phantom. While they had time, Tetsuro passed the Estus to Seiko, who also drank. She handed it back, but she was more focused on trying to find a way to win the fight. Their foe was huge, even if it was sickly, and wouldn't go down easily. Especially if they couldn't get it to bleed out. Her fire was useless as well.

"As I said before we began," said Solaire, "If you two can distract it, I should be able to bring it down with my lightning. It would be even better if you could lure it to the fore of the chamber, near where we came in. If I could stand in the direct sunlight from the opening above, my power would be greater."

"I think we can do that. Seiko, can you use some flashy Pyromancy to get its attention? I'll take some swipes at its legs and any teeth I can reach. That should get it riled up enough to come after us."

Seiko nodded, putting up her hands and running over. She brandished a long Fire Whip, dazzling the Gaping Dragon and drawing its eyes to her. She spiraled another Fire Whip over her head as it turned, keeping it from looking at Tetsuro as he charged. The dragon tried to make a grab for her, but she leapt back, practically flying over the ground for three meters. Luckily for her, Tetsuro sliced out a small tooth and drew the dragon's attention, because her boots landed on the slippery, wet bricks and she slid backwards into one of the support pillars in the chamber. She caught her balance in time to see Tetsuro running toward the fog door where they'd come in. Hiding under the supported floors, Tetsuro dodged the dragon's limbs as it grabbed for him, teeth grossly oscillating in hunger and anticipation.

Boots in the slime, Solaire stood in the rear of the chamber, standing in one of the sparse rays of sunlight from the broken ceiling above. Sword sheathed, shield on his back, he raised a fist and called in the sunlight. From thin air, small sparks gathered in an instant to form the javelin shape of a Lightning Spear. Solaire pitched it at the Gaping Dragon, right at the back of its top section. The spear blasted off scales and scorched the flesh beneath, but Solaire was far from finished. He formed one after the other, flinging Lightning Spears with expert form another five times. Each bolt that struck stripped scales and wounded the dragon, even as it struggled to turn around to face the threat. Solaire was holding his first Great Lightning Spear, prepared to continue his barrage, when the dragon nearly fell over, then roared. Solaire threw the spear right into its open maw. The roar turned into an inhuman scream and the dragon's limbs shook violently.

It slammed its top section down, preparing to charge at Solaire, heedless of the pit behind him. Solaire readied another Great Lightning Spear, aiming. The Gaping Dragon ran at him, all six limbs dragging it over the bricks. Solaire threw his spear, pegging the dragon right in its tiny head. The dragon died instantly, sliding over the slick floor and pushing Solaire over the edge. His phantom fell, fading out quickly and vanishing. The dragon slid to a stop with its top section hanging over the edge. Its soul split, shared between Tetsuro and Seiko, and the fog lifted from the door. Tetsuro walked over, careful of his footing and balance, looking over the edge. On one of the bottommost teeth in the Gaping Dragon's mouth, wedged between teeth, hung a thick metal key on a thin, rusted chain. The pair of Undead returned to the bonfire so Tetsuro could retrieve a spear. Seiko had to then spend a few minutes waiting and watching, while Tetsuro used his spear to carefully recover the key.

Seiko pushed the huge metal doors open, revealing the massive sewer pipe that led to Blighttown. There was a ladder to the right that led down onto the wooden scaffolding built into the pipes that created their path downward. Tetsuro and Seiko looked down into the blackness, unsure of what to expect next...

A/N: Sorry if the formatting got choppy in there somewhere. I had to edit a section for consistency with something later in the story, and when I pasted it in it still had the smart-quotes and indents from Drive. Next time I'll make sure to read it over FIRST...