"You must be off your game today," said Eddie. "You're usually a lot funnier."

"I'm not joking, man. I'm dying."

Eddie didn't gasp or move. He didn't even feel that surprised. All he felt was a numbing sensation and a sick churning in the pit of his stomach. The Guardian of Metal... someone who had helped him, who he considered a friend, was dying? "How?" It was all he could bring himself to ask.

"I battled a fucking army of some of the darkest, most twisted beings anyone could ever conceive," the Guardian shrugged.

"You don't look hurt at all."

The Guardian clutched a hand over his chest with a grimace. "It's not that type of injury. I've only held on this long so I could tell you what you need to do, but now that's done I won't last much longer."

Thinking fast, Eddie grabbed the Guardian by the arm and started dragging him back the way he came. "Keep holding on then. I'll get you to the Kill Master ASAP. There might be something he can do!"

But the Guardian somehow slipped out of the iron grip as though he had turned to air. He stepped back towards oblivion, shaking his head and looking more tired than ever. "Even if he could, I can't leave Motor Forge."

"Why? You said yourself, there's nothing left here."

The Guardian wouldn't meet his eyes. "The Titans bound me to it. I haven't left this fucking place since they ascended."

"The trapped you here?" To say the least, Eddie was startled by this revelation. "Why would the Gods pull such a dick move?"

"They had their reasons," the Guardian answered simply. "Now go. I've bought you some time, but it'll mean nothing if you keep dick-assing around here."

"No." Eddie crossed and stuck out his chin.

"I said go!"

"But we should at least-"

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" The Guardian viciously pointed to the distant headlights of the Deuce, but it was his voice that made Eddie wince. The sheer volume of it was impossible, and the quality was as though he was hooked up to a giant subwoofer. The Roadie didn't just hear it, he felt it in his teeth, his chest... possibly even his soul.

Eddie gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. It took a second for him to catch his breath, stand up straight, and gape at the barely conscious being before him. Hollow repetitions of "Out!" were still echoing off the cavern walls, as he finally accepted the facts. The Guardian of Metal was not human, was not weak, and was not going anywhere.

"Okay," said Eddie, defeated. "I'm out." He turned to leave, but paused. "See you in the next life," he said over his shoulder. There was no response.

With a sigh he started forward. He got about ten steps before he heard a heavy *thwump* accompanied by the soft *chink* of metal on stone. He stopped, deliberated, and turned. He was still close enough that he could see a black heap sprawled out on the floor, the cross still shining up from it. He started at it a moment, looked towards the speck that was the Deuce, then back again, and said, "Screw it." There was no way in hell he was going to leave a friend to die alone in the dark without at least trying to do something about it.

He approached cautiously, fearful that either the Guardian would spring up and start cussing him out again, or that he would find nothing but empty robes. He nudged the pile of cloth with his foot and clearly felt the shifting of a heavy mass. Yes! There was a body in there which he knelt beside and turned over.

Though the Guardian didn't stir, his chest still rose and fell. In one smooth and practiced motion, Eddie stood up and slung him over his shoulder, then ran back to his car as fast as he could without risking a fall to his death.

Once he reached the Deuce, he gently lowered the Guardian into the passenger seat and jumped in. A quick u-turn later and he was facing the incline up to the exit, slamming a foot on the gas, gunning it up the hill, and... stopping dead in his tracks.

"What the hell?" He looked around in confusion. At least the Guardian didn't look like he was going to explode or be crushed. The pedal was still to the metal, but all it was getting him was screaming tires and a face full of smoking rubber. Meanwhile a series of glowing red symbols had formed around the mouth of the tunnel that were similar to the ones that used to line it. Eddie kept pumping the gas for several minutes, hoping to break through, when he noticed a slight flickering of the symbols akin to a faulty neon light.

He smirked, backed up a few feet, and went with his fallback for dealing with barriers... he rammed it.

This time the flickering became more pronounced, so he backed up and tried it again.

Finally on the third go the symbols were actually going on and off and the nose of the Deuce slowly moved forward.

"Come on... come on..." He kept his foot down and bit at his lip, nervous from the tension. The red glow grew brighter; then went out for the last time. The car rocketed forward, and Eddie barely managed to slam on the brakes before he hit a wall.

First he checked that the Guardian was still breathing, then he said, "We are so outa here!" and made his way up the tunnel as fast as he could without crashing into anything.

It was slower going than he would have liked, but finally he emerged into daylight.

The contrast was so great that he had to stop and shield his eyes until they adjusted. He stared at his passenger with concern, but after a few moments he was certain the Guardian wasn't going to spontaneously combust or melt or anything. It was actually very surreal seeing him outside in the real world for the first time, like something from from one of Eddies messed up dreams had walked into Bladehenge and asked for a beer. The natural light revealed that his many chains, crosses, rings were made of a rich silver, the bracelets on his wrists gave off a faint red glow, and his skin was deathly pale; a complexion Eddie was willing to bet had nothing to do with the fact that he was dying.

Speaking of which, they really needed to move along.

"Next stop, Kill Master."