Five years later.
The sound of screaming from the tunnel sent Alice scrambling for her gun, aiming the barrel into the black depths. Seconds later, a group of men shot out of the passage, weaving around her like a herd of horses in their attempt to escape. Hot on their heels was Anemone, running backwards as she shot at whatever was following them. Alice hastily stepped forward, aiming bullet after bullet at the nightmarish creatures trying to get at the other woman from the side.
"I take it that we found the wrong door?", she asked cheerfully, when every creature was fought back into the ancient passage. Anemone grinned sheepishly, nudging a whimpering creature back into the shadowy den with her foot. "Unfortunately. Though, at least we're not drowning in five hundred years of built up rain water…." Alice pouted.
"That wasn't my fault. Who knew that they had an open air reservoir in a temple to a dead god…"
The Underlander snorted, moving more of their former attackers back into the den which she and Alice's team of diggers had wandered into. Alice perched on one of the ruins, watching the younger woman work. Anemone had grown very much since Alice had found her, deep in the belly of some under-funded insane asylum. Removing all the filth caked on the poor girl, revealed gently curling red hair and pale skin that was soon replaced with a beautiful honey tone from the constant exposure of their travels. To Alice's surprise, Anemone wasn't a woman at all. She was thirteen when she was released and already towering awkwardly over the dainty Champion. Now, at nineteen, Anemone stood at an unfashionable six feet and Alice couldn't be prouder.
"Miss Kingsly?"
Brought back to the present by the stuttering voice of her foreman, she glanced down at the short man.
"Yes?"
"W-we-" , he started, before his eyes drifted to beyond her, and his pallor whitened.
"Wha- what is she doing?"
Alice turned and blinked.
All of the tunnel's original occupants were moved back into the shade, already healed from the distracting, but not fatal mortal bullets. Anemone was standing at the edge of the darkness, looking down at them as they crowded at her feet. One, which was the largest and stood at least knee high, pressed two large paws on the woman's thigh, chattering lowly at her.
"It seems, Mr. Jun, that she's talking with it…. Perhaps they wanted to tell us we picked the wrong tunnel…"