A/N: I left the end very open this chapter since my school laptop battery was dyin'. Thought it was a good place to stop. Read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 2: Questions

(Ashley POV)

Someone tapped on the table, jolting her up from her small daze. She saw it was Tori. "C'mon. I think it's clear," she whispered as she stood. Ashley glanced over at the bar. The guy who bought her a shot was still there, nursing an empty glass. She eyed him curiously as Tori pulled her out of the bar. "Stop starin' at the poor guy."

They walked out onto the sidewalk and found it was drizzling. "Goddamn it!" Ashley whined as she pulled her black hat Jimmy gave her from her bag and placed it securely on her head. She looked over at Tori, who was pulling her green hood over her head. "Where are we going?" Ashley hiked her bag higher on her shoulder. "Tori?"

Tori seemed to be staring at something towards the end of the street. Ashley leaned and saw two men in brown trench coats coming towards them. "I think we should go…" Tori's voice was quiet, almost scared sounding.

Ashley nodded and turned around. She saw another person looking a lot like the two on the opposite end. She chuckled nervously. "We've got a problem, I think."

Ashley whipped Tori around and pulled her across the street. She looked over her shoulder and saw the three follow her, with their hands in their coats. Something like a ping ran through her mind and Tori said, "Wait. I just sensed a jump."

The two saw the wild haired guy from the bar standing in front of them. "Oi, pick on someone your own size." He stood with his hands in his pockets, very casually. Then he jumped behind the two men and clunked their heads together.

Tori and Ashley stood in awe. "Is that the other jumper?" Ashley asked, watching as the mysterious jumper fought the three unknown people.

Tori gave a small "Uh huh," as she hid behind Ashley. Ashley watched as he managed to knock two of them out in one blow and the other was down when he kicked them swiftly in the face. Her jaw dropped. 'And this guy bought me a drink earlier?'

Once the three strange people seemed to be down for the count, the guy turned and said, "It'd be best if ya find a rock and crawl under it." He shook a wet strand of hair from his eyes as she spoke. "Otherwise, the Paladins might find yeh."

She stared at him in wonder. 'What's a Paladin? Who was he? Why'd these people attack them?' Somany questions blared in her mind.

She heard Tori ask, "Who are you?" Tori stepped aside from behind Ashley and pulled her hood down a little farther.

"The name's Griffin. Now if you'll excuse me," he said before jumping, disappearing from their sight.

Tori stared at the spot he was just standing in. "He's gone…"

Ashley squinted and took a step forward. "But what's that?" She pointed at something that looked like split glass in almost two feet from the ground. She hesitantly put an arm through it and felt her self being pulled into it. She fell through it and landed on her stomach. "Damn it. Me and my curiosity," she mumbled.

"What do yeh think you're doin' here?" Griffin's voice boomed over her.

She pushed herself off the warm and gritty ground with a groan. "Sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Well ya followed through my ruddy jumpscar so yeh must've meant to!" he shouted.

"Your what?..."

He scoffed. "Rookie. Have ya ever even seen another jumper?" Griffin asked as he put his hands in the pockets of his damp jeans. Ashley shook her head. He gave a sarcastic laugh and walked away, pulling off his leather jacket as he walked.

"Can you just help me out a bit here? So what if I'm a bit of a noob." She followed him into what looked to be a bedroom with determination to get some answers.

Griffin whipped around as he tossed the wet jacket onto the bed. "You want answers? Fine. Ask now."

"Uh… Two seconds." Ashley held up a finger for him to wait and jumped back to the outside of the bar. Tori was huddled under the door to the bar. "C'mon!" she yelled. Tori ran over, holding her bag securely to her shoulder. Ashley grabbed Tori's arm and jumped back to her spot in front of Griffin. Tori fell to the ground beside her and she looked back at him. "Okay. Now who are the Paladins, what do they want, and where the hell are we?"

Griffin glared at her. "You brought her. Great. Just lovely." He threw up his arms and stomped over to the bed, sitting down abruptly. "This is what I get for bein' soft. Fuckin' David," he mumbled.

Tori was off the ground and looking around. "Nice place you got…" She pushed her hood down and shook her blond hair. Griffin ran a hand through his drenched messy hair as he leaned on the edge of the bed.

Ashley looked back and forth at the two. "Damn it. I want some answers!" she shouted as she stomped her foot to get their attention. Griffin's head shot up, sending her a half snarl. A ping went through Ashley's mind for the second time today and she looked around. A tall man with short blond hair appeared in a spot behind her.

He smiled and looked at Griffin. Griffin got up and shook his head. "Sure why not? Let's have a goddamned party so the Paladins can find us and kill us all!"

The blond man adjusted his long wool jacket and looked at Tori, then back to Ashley. "Hi," his smiled had a slight frown of unsureness hanging from it. "Who are you?"

Ashley fixed her bag and said, "Ashley. This is Tori," she pointed at Tori who gave a small wave. "Can you tell me where we are and- Wait. Who are you now?"

He walked towards them and held out a hand. "David Rice." She shook his hand, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Can you please tell us where we are?" Tori asked.

"You're in my bloody lair. Now will you just leave?" Griffin hollered behind them.