Prologue
Warm summer breeze blew in through the boarded up windows of the devastated Fleur de Lune hotel and caressed the bright orange hair and light green streaks of Kiara Takanashi. The mighty Phoenix sat there naked under the sunlight of high noon, surrounded by a pile of her burning ashes and the remains of the destroyed grand piano behind her.
Kiara brought her hands up to her heart and felt the phantom pain of Calli's scythe falling upon her. That pain faded away like a bitter memory and tears started forming at the sides of her eyes. That was when she noticed the presence of the Atlantean Gura and the detective Amelia standing there before her. The Phoenix, overwhelmed by her emotions, declared with a tearful yet triumphant voice.
"KIKIRIKI!"
Gura's eyes shone with amazement and her shark's tail wagged behind her with delight. This wasn't the first time that mortals had witnessed her revival, Kiara recalled. Because of that, she had gotten used to the awe and fanfare that came along with it.
The detective's reaction, however, was much more muted.
Amelia Watson was clearly surprised, but Kiara couldn't read her expression at all. There was a shadow over Amelia's blue eyes and the beginnings of a frown on her lips. More than that, Amelia had a peculiar obsidian orb in one hand and her Webley revolver in the other.
Both of the detectives' hands were trembling ever so slightly.
It made Kiara feel incredibly uneasy.
While the lingering pain from Calli's scythe subsided, dreadful memories began rushing back to Kiara's mind. She recalled the tense conversation she had with Amelia before the battle in the hotel. The absence of the librarian Ina'nis Ninomae also made Kiara's heart tremble.
"Ame, I…" Kiara started, frightened now by the presence of the detective looming over her, "I'm… I…"
The detective pocketed the orb, holstered her revolver and stepped forward towards Kiara. The Phoenix shuddered and lowered her head out of fear, expecting the detective to lash out at her or assault her.
However, Amelia took off her brown cardigan and gently draped it over Kiara's shoulders, clothing her naked body without saying a word. The detective then turned to Gura and spoke.
"Hey Gura. About those sandwiches… make enough for four now. Got it?"
"Ame…" Gura spoke beneath her breath. A smile broke out on the Atlatean's lips and she excused herself, wagging her tail all the way out of the lobby.
Once Amelia and Kiara were alone, the detective looked straight into the Phoenix's eyes and spoke to her.
"Kiara. They took Ina from us and brought her to the Underworld. We're gonna get her back. I know you just got back… but can we count on your help?"
Kiara finally managed to smile again.
"I'll do everything I can to help, Amelia!"
"It's just 'Ame', remember?" The detective extended her hand to Kiara cordially, "Welcome to the Watson Expedition. Or rather… welcome back!"
AlterMyth
Forged In Mythical Flame
Fifty-Third Scene - New Lease On Life
Jenma barely had the time to lift her head from her pile of borrowed books in the foyer before she was tackled into a hug by the barely clothed Phoenix. Kiara Takanashi, clad in nothing more than Ame's brown cardigan, smothered Jenma with affection and cheered with utmost joy.
"Jenma! How I missed you!" Kiara wholeheartedly declared, "I didn't think I'd see you again! I'm so happy you're here! My dearest friend!"
Most people watching would have thought it was an exaggeration, but Kiara's words were true. Phoenixes like her tended to speak from their heart after all. Now that she was back, Kiara was once again the last Phoenix in the universe and Jenma truly was her last friend in the land of the living. Jenma understood this, so she didn't bother to stop Kiara's loving assault and returned her embrace wholeheartedly.
Ame and Gura watched the two from a distance and let Kiara and Jenma savor their reunion in peace. In the meantime, Gura prepared her sandwiches and Ame brewed a large pot of tea for four. When Kiara finally managed to calm down she borrowed some clothes from Jenma.
She was given a frilly, breezy white blouse, light green undergarments that Jenma insisted was swimwear and short denim trousers trimmed with orange-and-white checkerboard patterns that fascinated the Phoenix to no end. Unfortunately, Kiara had a little trouble buttoning up the trousers - a testament to Jenma's immaculate figure - and the Phoenix decided to just leave the top button open.
Even though the partially unbuttoned trousers made Kiara feel a little self conscious, her rumbling stomach quickly snatched her attention. With that, Kiara returned Ame's cardigan and the group of four sat down together for lunch.
Kiara wolfed down two whole sandwiches by herself as if they were the tastiest sandwiches in the world. In Kiara's mind, those truly were the greatest sandwiches in the world. That was the first food she ate when she came back to life, after all. It was a meal that she didn't think she would have been able to have at all!
Regardless, the Phoenix noted Gura stealing glances at her while she ate. The Atlantean seemed rather proud of herself and her handiwork, so Kiara smiled back in appreciation.
Once she had her fill, the mighty Phoenix wiped her mouth with a napkin and heaved a long, satisfied sigh. She leaned forward, laid her hands on the table and then faced Ame, Gura and Jenma to talk business.
"First of all, I want to apologize for keeping secrets from you, Ame. Gura." Kiara started and sipped her tea pensively, "In my last life cycle, I lived for five hundred years, four months and a day. Phoenixes, however, only have a five hundred year lifespan. When that time expires, we are expected to die and be reborn."
"I also apologize for keeping this from the two of you. Things happened so fast that I never had the chance to talk about it." Jenma apologized alongside Kiara now, "Enma and I were supposed to let Kiara renew her cycle when we first met her. Thing is, when the Grim Reapers ambushed us in London, we had to change our plans in a hurry. Kiara had to fight alongside me and Enma to help us escape." The manager then closed her eyes and shook her head, "By the time Kiara brought me to safety, Enma was defeated and Kiara was a week past her expiration."
"Living beyond our lifespan is a breach of our contract to the natural order." Kiara continued, "Phoenixes who live beyond that point start to degrade, just like humans do in their twilight years. We become dangers to ourselves and to the world at large. Some Phoenixes went crazy or lost control of their powers. They caused tragedies, fires and heat waves."
"Oh!" Gura piped up, "Is that why it got hot all of the sudden here in Bordeaux back then?"
"That may have been my fault, yes." Kiara admitted somberly, "That's why the contract to the natural order exists. The Grim Reapers send teams to 'end our cycles'. I've seen it happen many times with my own two eyes. It's been a routine lately." She looked at her own reflection in her tea and continued, "They meet with the Phoenix past their time and tell them to make their peace. Then, the soul of the Phoenix is crushed, ending their cycle once and for all."
Kiara pursed her lips, gathered her resolve and then faced Ame and Gura with fiery determination once more.
"But now I'm back with a new lease on life!" Kiara declared eagerly, "That's why I've decided to help Ame and Gura bring Ina back from the Underworld!"
Ame, Gura and Jenma smiled warmly at the Phoenix and welcomed her back to the land of the living. However, Gura was the first to tilt her head and hum.
"How are we gonna go down there, though?" Gura wondered, "Those Grim Reaper varmints disappeared into thin air! We tried tracking them, but we couldn't get any leads!"
"We managed to get this thing from their camp too." Ame brought out the obsidian orb from her pocket and set it down on the table, "It's probably the key to going down to the Underworld, but we don't really have a clue about how any of this stuff works."
Ame and Gura then groaned in perfect sync. Kiara, on the other hand, folded her arms and proudly reassured them.
"I've been scouting out the Grim Reapers these past four months, you two!" Kiara winked confidently, "I've learned some of their tricks! I've seen them use obsidian orbs like that to get to and from the Underworld." A complex expression then formed on Kiara's lips and she added, "I also had a chance to meet with Calli in Paris, remember? I learned a lot of things from her too."
That was when Kiara remembered something. She hasn't exactly told Jenma about her meeting with Calli in the French Capital. Kiara always knew the hatred that Jenma had for the Grim Reapers, so she was afraid of bringing up the meeting. However, her excitement got the better of her and she let the cat out of the bag.
Kiara turned towards Jenma to check for some sort of reaction, but the management trainee seemed to be avoiding her eyes. In the meantime, Ame and Gura were watching Kiara with keen, undivided attention. Innocently, the Phoenix decided to continue.
"It's a little hard to explain, but obsidian reacts to magical energy in different ways." Kiara lectured with a more cautious tone now. She then pointed to the orb on the table and appraised, "That's a Grim Reaper's orb. It's been used quite a bit, so I don't sense a lot of power left in it anymore. It's still probably enough for two trips, though. Rough estimate."
"Two trips… It's gonna have to be a quick in and out mission, huh?" Ame rubbed her chin and looked at her distorted reflection in the obsidian orb, "Once we go in there, we'll only have one shot to make it back out. We're gonna have to make it count."
"That's right." Kiara agreed, "As for using the orb itself… we're going to need the magic of the Grim Reapers to activate it. Strike the orb with the magic of death and a portal to the Underworld will be opened."
"Death magic, huh?" Gura grumbled and eyed the orb with suspicion. Her shark's tail recoiled while she hissed, "I was wondering why the damn thing didn't react to my trident. My trident's a magical weapon too, after all."
All of the sudden, Jenma spoke up. However, she did so with an uncharacteristically impatient tone.
"You're not suggesting we knock on the orb and ask them nicely to open up a portal for us, are you, Kiara?"
"That would certainly make things a lot easier for us, Jenma." Kiara laughed uncomfortably and scratched the back of her head, "However, Calli did tell me something interesting." She looked Ame in the eyes and revealed, "She said that her superiors think Ame has the potential to become a powerful Grim Reaper!"
Beads of sweat formed on Ame's brow when she heard this. She then scratched her cheek pensively.
"Chadwick did say something about that when we were fighting her." Ame recalled. She then blinked and furrowed her brow, "But wait! Doesn't becoming a Reaper mean I have to die first or something!?"
"Well, yes." Kiara confirmed bluntly, but she quickly reassured, "I'm not asking you to become a Grim Reaper though, Ame. I'm saying that we can harness your magical potential and forge it into a weapon - just like the sickles and scythes!"
"Can you do that, though?" Gura interjected, "I thought only Grim Reapers can wield death magic?"
"Life and death are two sides of the same coin, Gura." Kiara smiled at the Atlantean and summoned her fiery broadswoard, "Calli told me that death is the secret of life that nobody wants to learn."
Kiara tapped the obsidian orb lightly with her blade and the orb reacted for a brief moment, albeit weakly. The Phoenix then continued.
"My powers are the mirror opposite of Calli's but are similar in nature." Kiara dissolved her sword with a flash of orange light. She smiled and clenched her fist eagerly, "That means Phoenix fire can mold Ame's potential just enough to make an imitation. It won't be a fearsome weapon, but I assure you that it will open the door to the Underworld."
"Are there any side effects, though?" Ame pressed on, "Something tells me that this weapon won't be coming out of thin air for nothing."
"Hmm…" Kiara rubbed her chin and racked her brains, "I don't think there will be any effects on your body. Your soul will remain whole too. You probably just won't be able to become a Grim Reaper when you do die in the future."
Ame paused for a moment and looked up to the sunroof of the hotel foyer.
"I'm closing one door to open up another huh?" The detective clenched her fist and declared, "I made a promise to Ina. I'm gonna do everything to bring her back. Let's do this."
"You truly are a noble soul, Ame." Kiara smiled at the detective, "Your weapon will bring Ina back to the land of the living. I swear on my honor as a Phoenix!" She then turned to Jenma and spoke, "That only leaves the strategy, Jenma. Can we…"
However, Kiara stopped. The junior manager was looking right back at her with a frigid, unsettling gaze.
"Jenma…?" Kiara repeated her name with a trembling voice.
"Let's talk strategy then." Jenma hissed with disdain, "We're marching into hell to save Miss Ina… and we're going to do it my way. Understood?"
"Well… you are our strategist now." Kiara conceded with looming fear, "But what do you mean by 'your' way, Jenma?"
"My way means we're saving Miss Ina and only Miss Ina." Jenma revealed, emphasizing the word 'only', "I'm not sticking my neck out for those treacherous Grim Reapers. Not even Calliope Mori."
Fifty-fourth Scene - The Junior's Burden
Jenma's sharp declaration silenced the room in an instant. Thick grey clouds sailed through the sky and shrouded the sun, robbing the lobby of the natural afternoon sunlight. Ame and Gura straightened their backs and felt the tension rising in the room. Kiara, on the other hand, couldn't believe her ears.
"W-what are you talking about, Jenma?" Kiara stammered and tried to reason, "Calli is one of the five Myths that you and Enma came here to recruit!"
"But Calliope Mori tore you open in this very hotel, Kiara!" Jenma argued furiously, "She and her meathead boss with gaudy shoes have been plotting attacks against us and the Watson Expedition all this time!" With that, Jenma turned towards Ame and Gura and asked what seemed like a rhetorical question, "You two have fought Grim Reapers in the past, right? Do you really think they're gonna play nice with us if we smile and wave!?"
Ame rubbed her temple and paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. She then faced Jenma and calmly countered.
"What's stopping us from saving Ina and recruiting Calliope Mori, Jenma?" Ame started with a measured tone, "Let's talk logistics and tactics here, okay? We all have our histories with the Grim Reapers, but let's stay on topic. Please!"
"Tactics and logistics, huh? Fine then." Jenma grumbled, barely able to hide her dissatisfaction, "Well - first of all, we're going to be outnumbered twenty, thirty or even forty to one down there! Miss Ophelia's already on her way to London as we speak, so we can't count on any cavalry coming to save our butts this time either."
"We're not going down there to wipe out the Grim Reapers, Jenma." Ame shook her head and continued, "The way I see it, we're gonna have to sneak into the Underworld. Nice and easy." She then turned to Kiara with a smile, "Plus, with that weapon Kiara's making, I might pass for a Grim Reaper or something."
"That's true…" Jenma snorted, "But we don't really know the layout of the Underworld. We can sneak around all we want, but we're bound to get lost down there!"
"I managed to see a map of the Grim Reaper bastions in continental Europe, Jenma." Kiara interjected this time, "I can still remember it in my head. I can draw maps for us if you want! If I remember correctly, the nearest one is called Sous La Lune . If they took Ina anywhere, it's got to be there!"
Jenma lowered her head and scrambled to find more reasons to refuse. She then glowered at Kiara and lashed.
"Even if we're sneaking in with a map, we're gonna be in openly hostile territory with who knows what waiting for us!"
"Not everyone in the Underworld is going to be hostile to us, Jenma!" Kiara insisted, "The fact that I'm still here means that Calli might be willing to cooperate with us! We just have to find her and then…"
Before Kiara could finish, Jenma rose up from her seat and slammed her sheathed katana onto the table with unbridled rage. Then, she spoke in a fiery crescendo.
"In case you've forgotten, the reason I'm carrying senpai 's katana is because of Calliope Mori! She and the rest of her Grim Reaper goons are the reason why we're in this predicament today! I don't have time to play house with a bunch of skeletons just because one of them didn't kill you properly! I'll never forgive them! ALL OF THEM!"
"Jenma…" Ame tapped the table in an uneasy staccato to get her attention, but the management trainee's wild tirade continued.
"I already lost senpai, so I don't want to lose anyone else, Kiara!" Tears started forming in Jenma's eyes and she fell back down to her seat, "Ever since I got here in this world, it's been failure after failure." She covered her face, turned away from the Phoenix and continued, "I can't go back to my world empty handed, so four out of five contracts is good enough. I don't want to take any more risks that I don't have to, okay!?"
Kiara watched the tearful Jenma with compassion and revealed, "I don't have any solid proof that Enma was slain, Jenma."
"... what?" The management trainee paused. Her jaw dropped and stayed open in shock.
"I've ambushed Reaper patrols and interrogated a few of them." Kiara explained, "I even brought it up with Calli when we met in Paris. However, nobody has confirmed what really happened to Enma. For all we know, Enma could still be fighting them or running away. Maybe she's been captured! We can't give up hope yet!"
Ame knocked on the table again and caught Jenma's attention this time. She then grinned and deduced.
"Plus, if Chadwick's praise is anything to go by, I'm sure the Grim Reapers would have done everything they could to have this senpai of yours become a Grim Reaper too." The detective rubbed her chin and pondered playfully, "Now that I think about it, Chadwick seemed pretty infatuated with her. I could tell."
"Infatuated with Enma-senpai!?" Jenma gasped, "Preposterous! Senpai is mine, Miss Amelia! Don't joke about that." The management trainee's ash green eyes then went wild and she suddenly agreed, "But you know what - you're right! There's no way that my beloved Enma-senpai would die to that boney, heartless meathead grim reaper with fancy shoes!"
At this point, Gura suddenly laughed. Her laugh broke the tension that had been lingering in the room. The Atlantean then stole a glance of Ame, Kiara and Jenma before she grinned and made her wholehearted offer.
"How about this, Jenma? When we go down there to the Underworld, let's make Mori and Chadwick spill the beans about Enma! You can decide what you wanna do with them after that."
"That's… actually not a bad idea." Jenma agreed, surprised that the Atlantean-turned-cowgirl was lecturing her instead of the other way around. She then shrank in her seat, suddenly embarrassed by her roller coaster outburst of emotion. A fond smile formed on her lips and she admitted defeat. "I can see why Upper Management was so keen on making HoloMyth happen."
"Did you say something, Jenma?" Ame tilted her head.
"It's nothing.' Jenma shook her head and quickly regained her professional demeanor, "I'll craft a strategy with Kiara for how we can sneak into the Sous La Lune bastion… but you'll be calling the shots, Miss Amelia. After all, this is the Watson Expedition."
"I appreciate it, Jenma." Ame nodded.
"Just promise me that we'll find out what really happened to Enma-senpai. Let's save her too if we can." Jenma earnestly requested, "After all, Enma-senpai would have come running to save me too if I was in danger. This is the least I can do for her now."
Kiara sauntered over to Jenma's side and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. The management trainee heaved a sigh and let the Phoenix comfort her this time around.
Once Jenma had managed to calm down and gather herself, the four ladies began preparing for their trip to the Underworld.
Fifty-Fifth Scene - Why We Fight
Ame, Gura, Jenma and Kiara spent the rest of the afternoon sharing notes about the Underworld and the things they might expect to find there. Kiara told them what she could about the Grim Reaper bastions built along the River Styx and its many branches and their river-based society. Ame made estimates about just how many Grim Reapers were going to be lurking around the bastion. Gura, on the other hand, remembered her battles with the Grim Reapers and chimed in with some suggestions. Based on those inputs, Jenma drafted a tactical map to plan their infiltration.
The four of them finished their map and their plan by the time the sun started to set. With that, they gathered their things they needed for the mission and discarded everything else to travel light. They took horses and rode out of the Fleur de Lune hotel down to the clearing in the forest where the Grim Reapers disappeared - the point of no return.
They dismounted, made one last check of their items, weapons and supplies and then set the horses free. With that, Kiara approached Ame and offered her hand.
"Are you ready Ame?" The Phoenix gave the detective a small yet determined smile, "With what material shall I forge your weapon?"
Ame heaved a sigh and looked up to the setting sun beyond the thick canopies of trees. She then reached into her cardigan and brought out her broken golden pocket watch.
"I was supposed to get this repaired in Bordeaux, but Uncle Watson's watchmaker friend is now dead." The detective rationalized and handed the pocket watch to Kiara, "Ina tried repairing it once too. This time, though, I'm gonna use it to save her."
"Understood." Kiara respectfully took the watch and laid a hand on Ame's shoulder, "Now close your eyes, Ame, and listen to my voice."
Ame did as she was told while Gura and Jenma looked on a few paces away. The detective's vision was plunged into darkness, but she suddenly felt an intense yet welcoming warmth envelop her body. Kiara's voice then guided her vision and shone like a ray of light through the darkness.
"Listen to my voice, Ame." Kiara repeated as she held the detective's shoulder more firmly, "Remember your life's journey - everything that you've faced up until now - the stories that have made you who you are."
A myriad of memories appeared in Ame's mind like a parade of moving pictures in the ray of light that was Kiara's voice. Ame saw herself swimming in that light, surrounded by her parade of memories.
In that parade, Ame saw her loving family in Bedfordshire eating their Sunday roast. She remembered her Uncle Watson's growing collection of trinkets that he gathered for her in his office. The many lessons of the eccentric Sherlock Holmes came to the surface as well. Even the times she literally butted heads with her distant relative Ophelia Lowry came to mind and made Ame chuckle.
Then, Ame saw the peculiar letter with the blue, triangle-shaped wax seal floating before her eyes. It was the Cover Corporation letter addressed to her. She hesitated at first but soon gathered the courage to take the letter and open the seal.
Images of her adventures over the past four months came flooding out of the letter to join the parade of memories - from the feverish debate in the Occidental College, to the stormy voyage of the RMS Teutonic, to the fierce battles she fought in Bordeaux. The smiles of Ina, Gura, Jenma and Kiara made Ame's bright world become infinitely brighter.
"I see." Kiara's tender voice filled Ame's mind, "This is why you fight. This is why you don't fear death."
When Kiara said this, Ame's golden pocket watch appeared before the detective's eyes. The watch was engulfed in white hot Phoenix fire, fueled by Ame's sea of memories. Soon enough, the pocket watch dissolved with a flash of golden light and took the form of a curved British cavalry saber with a beautiful golden scabbard. The saber had a Mameluke hilt with an intricate cross-guard depicting a great blue shark swimming through an ocean of stars that adorned the Priestess' head in Ina's old sketchbook.
Ame reached for the weapon carefully and the sea of bright light faded away from her eyes. As soon as the detective blinked, she was back in the forest clearing on the outskirts of Bordeaux. The sun had already set, but the moon shone brightly and reflected on the golden scabbard of her new weapon.
"Whoa…" Ame felt the weight of the weapon for the first time, but it somehow felt familiar to her. She looked at it and drew the blade just enough to see her own reflection. "So this is my weapon…"
"That's right." Kiara nodded and smiled at the detective, "It's a magical weapon that manifests when you call for it. Just like Gura's trident!"
"Ehh!? Lemme see!" Gura piped up and went over to Ame's side. She wanted to comment about it and gush over the amazing ritual she witnessed when she suddenly saw the shark swimming through the stars in the cross-guard. Gura's cheeks flushed red and she whispered, "Ame…"
"We're gonna rescue Ina together." Ame smiled at Gura with a bright smile, "Right, Gura?"
Gura laid her hands over Ame's and looked straight into the detective's eyes when she made her promise.
"We'll bring Ina back! You can count on me! Then, we'll always be together!"
Kiara and Jenma watched their exchange under the moonlight with happy smiles on their lips. After a short while, Jenma brought out the battered obsidian orb from her bag and reminded her team.
"It's time to get going, ladies." The management trainee lobbed the orb upwards to Ame and declared, "Let's get this show on the road!"
Ame nodded and drew her mythical cavalry saber from the scabbard. She then struck the orb mid-air with a backhand swing. The obsidian orb shimmered with golden light and burst with a myriad of crimson red sparks. Those sparks soon flew quickly in the shape of a circle and accelerated until a magical portal was opened.
Through the threshold of crimson sparks, Ame, Gura, Kiara and Jenma saw a cavernous world of brimstone and otherworldly heat that briefly stung their skin. There was a small dock close by on a tributary stream of the River Styx while the lights of the Sous La Lune bastion shone faintly further downstream.
Satisfied, Ame picked up the now fragile obsidian orb from the ground and dissolved her cavalry saber with a quiet thought. Her sword and its scabbard then took the form of her old golden pocket watch.
Ame looked at the pocket watch in her hands and saw that the hands of the clock were moving once again. Seeing that brought a smile on her face and she reattached it to the chain she wore at her hip. The detective then held onto the strap of her Krag rifle and turned to her companions with a smile.
"Ina's waiting for us." Ame eyed the lights of the Sous La Lune bastion, "Let's not keep her waiting."
With that, Ame, Gura, Kiara and Jenma stepped through the portal into the Underworld. When the portal collapsed, the four ladies disappeared from Bordeaux without a trace.
Epilogue
In the secluded confines of the hilltop house-turned-shrine, Calliope Mori gently and dutifully brushed the long, dark-purple hair of the Priestess Ina in silence. Neither of them said a word while J-chad, Death-sensei and Mr. Steven Lowry were setting up a bulky, bellowed studio camera in the large living room.
Calli helped Ina into her complicated black ceremonial dress and placed the white veil over her head. She then brought out a golden tiara of stars and crowned Ina's head. Ina stole displeased glances at Calli but the elite reaper quietly pleaded with her to stay patient for just a little while longer.
Once Ina was fully dressed, Calli retreated behind the camera. Mr. Lowry covered himself under the curtain of the camera and then took Ina's picture with a bright flash of light.
"By the end of the week, your image will replace those stodgy portraits of Queen Victoria in England, Priestess Ninomae." Mr. Lowry remarked with maniacal glee, "The reign of Death and Destiny will begin in earnest!"
"It shall be a glorious day indeed, dear friend." Death-sensei acknowledged with his wrinkly smile, "Or should I say… Prime Minister Lowry?"
Death-sensei and Mr. Lowry laughed rambunctiously while Ina twisted her lips and fought hard to stay quiet. The two men then disassembled the camera and were escorted by J-chad out of the shrine. That left Calli and Ina alone on the living room sofa.
Once the coast was clear, the elite grim reaper leaned over to Ina's side and whispered.
"We're escaping through the jetty in the keep. We've got two hours left. J-chad prepared a motor-boat for us. It's not pretty, but it's fast!"
"Good." Ina's tentacles sprouted out from behind her back and wielded her crowbar. She then pulled her futuristic pistol out from under the sofa, "I can't wait to get out of here, Calli."
"Me too, Ina." The reaper agreed with a smile, "Me too."
With that, the Calli and the Priestess eagerly bumped fists.
To Be Continued