Chapter Ten: Into the Meat Grinder

The silence of the early morning was broken by the sound of a stick thumping against a wooden bell. "Alright, naptime's over, everybody up and at 'em!" shouted Eva, eagerly awakening her fellows. The sun had barely risen, leaving their responses to this to be…lacking.

"Huh!? Wha!? Wha'sgoin'on!?" cried Kikimora, leaping up from her cot. "Are we in danger!? Did they find us!? …Oh." Unimpressed, she climbed back into bed. "Let me know when something important happens."

Eva walked closer, hitting the bell right above her head. "Oh, c'mon, Kiki, don't be like that! Today's the day we take the fight to Baltheus! You don't want to sleep through this, trust me!"

A snarl came from up where Belos had settled down from the night. The revenant pulled himself out of bed, albeit reluctantly. "This better be worth it," he growled.

"What do you mean?" Of the three of them, Patience had handled the wake-up call the most gracefully. She was up and stretching the moment Eva had begun ringing–early mornings likely came with her territory. "If I'm remembering things right, you're the one who wanted to go after Baltheus the most!"

"Vesh. You hate Baltheus," Belos corrected. Now awake, but not necessarily alert, they made their way over to the war table, where they saw that not everyone had been woken up by Eva. "You are awake already?"

"Oh, I'm as surprised as you are," said Alvin, rubbing his eyes. The two wondered if he had gotten any sleep last night, or if he had spent the whole time planning. "I was planning on just looking into this place for a few minutes, but I kept going deeper and deeper, and…" He yawned. "Next thing I knew, it was morning! But on the bright side, we're more prepared to raid this place than ever!"

Eva carried a half-asleep Kikimora under her arm, setting her down in a chair. "Right. Between my research and Alvin's connections, we've been able to come up with a foolproof plan to infiltrate Baltheus' stronghold. With this excursion, we'll deal the first of what will hopefully be many blows against his empire! Starting today, we light the first fire that will one day burn away his evil."

"...Literally," Alvin added after Eva's dramatic speech. "We are literally going to light a fire. We've decided that's the most efficient way to destroy the building and all of his research."

The trio stared at him. "Really? Arson? That's what we're going with?" asked Patience. "I mean, fine, if that's the plan, but did it really take you guys three days to come up with that?"

"Hey, it's not like all we're going to do is sling a fire spell and run!" said Eva, sounding a bit defensive. "There's a boiler room located at the lowest level of the facility, we're going to–Actually, I'll let Alvin explain it. Alvin, you're on." She sat down, waiting for him to begin his speech.

He just sat there for a moment, thrust onto the spot. "W-what, just like that? I thought we'd have at least another day or two to get ready! Everybody just woke up, we can't just–!"

Belos was growing impatient. Every moment they wasted here was another moment they could be spending on their crusade against Baltheus. "Get to the point," he ordered, clearly frustrated.

"R-right, you're right, we can't afford to wait too long," he said, shaking his head. "Okay, so, here's what we found: this place is called Tailbone Institute. Most of the surrounding area thinks it's just some run-of-the-mill research facility, but we know better. Some of us have been deeply affected by what goes on in here."

Patience nodded, looking away.

"But the fact of the matter is, we don't know what goes on in there. Which is why I've concocted this–"

"We've concocted," Eva corrected.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, Eva and I have concocted this simple three-phase infiltration plan that requires all five of our unique skills and assets." He laid out the blueprints from the facility. "Now, here's what we'll do…"

The unfamiliar music filled the air, shaking the very ground Vesh stood on. His eardrums pulsed in tune with the beat, further disorienting him along with the blinding lights and cheering crowd. But despite the assault on his senses, he was disciplined enough not to get distracted. He wasn't about to let a little music, no matter how nauseating, keep him from his quarry.

'The Foresight Site.' What a stupid name for a club. Even if it didn't play music that was yet to be created, he was surprised at just how many people were in attendance. Though far from a packed house, it was a respectable amount of people who had shown up. Just why they had shown up, though, Vesh would likely never understand.

"Boss, can we hurry this up?" asked a member of the Wild Hunt, covering his ears. "If we stay here any longer, I think I'm gonna get tinnitus!"

Vesh shot his subordinate a glare, silencing him. Flanked by about four or five others, the group's leader pushed through the crowd over to the far wall. The deejay was fully absorbed spinning his records, but a little ways away was the man they were looking for. He sat at a nearby table, bobbing his head to the music as he filled out some paperwork.

He looked up to see Vesh and his posse approaching, his face growing pale. This was a good sign–it meant he knew who they were, and what their being here meant for him. He tried to greet them, but his voice was drowned out by the music.

"What was that?" asked Vesh. "I couldn't quite make that out. Speak up!" In truth, he was speaking over the man just as much as the music was. "Alright, you know what? Why don't we step out for a bit?" He led the man into the back of the club. Closing the door behind them, all that remained of the music was a dull rhythmic thumping. "Ahh, much better. Now then, you must be Indigo."

The man was visibly shying away from Vesh and his crew. "Yes, that's me. And something tells me you're Vesh'tai, am I correct?"

Grinning, the great hunter took a folding chair from a nearby stack, setting up to sit in it backwards. "Call me Vesh. Now, word on the street is that your small family-owned business recently had a run-in with the revenant that's been causing trouble around here." One of the other hunters handed him a wanted poster bearing Belos' likeness. "This look familiar at all?"

Indie examined the image. "Uh, can't say it does." Even though he had been able to deduce Belos' identity, he still didn't know what he looked like, so this wasn't technically a lie. Even so, he was smart enough to put two and two together. "Only run-in we had recently was some trouble with a couple corrupt guards."

"Mm-hmm, I heard about that." Vesh leaned forward in his seat. "Word on the street is you brought in a few friends to help you out. Couple of tough guys in cloaks and masks. Plus a house demon. This friend of yours–Eva, was it? What can you tell us about her?"

Indie looked away–how did he know her name? He resisted the urge to peer into his mind, knowing someone as experienced as Vesh would likely have ways of preventing this, or even turning it back around against him. "N-not much," he replied. "She's pretty secretive. We don't know where she lives, and she never takes off mer mask, either. If you want to meet her, I can ask, but she's not exactly big on talking to strangers."

Vesh stood up, causing Indie to step back. "No, don't bother. See, as interested in Eva as I am, it's more her friends I'd like to know more about. They tell ya any interesting secrets about themselves? Using their mouths, or otherwise?" He stepped closer to Indie, smiling as he watched the shorter man shrink away.

"I-I try not to read minds, it's considered rude," he replied, trying to stop himself from looking Vesh in the eye. "And I promise you, I'd never seen any of them before! They just showed up with her that day! If I knew any more, I'd tell you, honest!"

"Oh, I believe you," Vesh said, in a tone that suggested he really didn't. "But what I find hard to believe is that you didn't, even once, take a quick peek inside at least one of their heads." He leaned in closer. "See, some of my hunters are Oracles too, and let me tell you, from what they say, it's hard to resist that urge! So, if you want to tell me you're more disciplined than a couple of hardened professionals, that's fine…but the least you could do is let me know if one of them was the revenant."

He looked up. "The revenant? You're kidding, right? That thing's a monster that eats people, what would it be doing dressing up in robes and working a security job?"

Vesh shrugged. "You tell me, you're the mind reader. Maybe that's how it cases out its future victims. Tell me, Mr. Forsythe…" He looked at Indie, his eyes narrow. "Do you and your brother feel safe here?"

If he did before, he didn't anymore. "W-why wouldn't we? You're out there hunting that thing down, aren't you? It's easy to feel safe when you're on the case."

"Flattery will only get you so far," Vesh said, admittedly smiling a bit. "So, you really don't know anything about the revenant, then? Really, truly nothing at all?" Indie shook his head. "Well then, that is a shame. I really thought we had a lead here. But it turned out to be a big…old…nothing."

With a nod from Vesh, his crew began to circle around Indie. No immediately threatening maneuvers yet, but they were clearly boxing him in, as the door was the first place they blocked off. He did his best to stay calm, hoping that his message had been received…

"Hey, bro, you in here?" It apparently had, as Russel made his way into the back. "It's your turn to–Oh my Titan." His eyes went wide. "Is that Vesh'tai Walpurgisnacht in the flesh!? Aah, I've dreamed of this day for years!" Russel immediately ran up to the man and began pestering him. "What are you doing in a little old place like this? Oh, is it about the revenant? Are you here to film a new special? Is it a special about the revenant!? I've seen all of your crystal ball specials before at least twice each, I'm a huge fan!"

"...I can tell," Vesh said quietly, put off by the display. He took a step away, pushing Russel back. "Welp, thank you for all your help, even though it got us nowhere." He directed his followers to the door, leading them out. "Oh, but one more thing…" He stopped, turning back before exiting. "Until we catch that revenant, I'd watch your back out there, especially at night. Bonesborough's a dangerous place these days–I wouldn't want a couple of my fans getting hurt."

With that, he was gone. The brothers waited a moment to make sure he had really left the building. When he had, Indie nearly collapsed, sighing with relief. "Thanks for the assist, Russ," he said. "Pretty sure they would've killed me if you hadn't shown up."

"In a public place? Are you sure?" asked Russel. He was staring at the door, making sure none of them would come back through it. "Even if he is as bad as Eva says, with all these witnesses around…"

Indie got back up. "Oh, I'm sure. I was getting some major bad vibes from those guys, and–" He gasped. "Eva! Russ, I think they're after Eva! We have to warn her!"

His brother glanced at him oddly. "Well, we already knew that. She told us as much. She was the one who warned us he might come here in the first place, right?"

"No, I mean, I think he knows more than she's aware!" Indie said, pacing back and forth. "The way he was talking, it was like he already knew she was here, he was just looking for confirmation. And if he knows we know…there's nothing stopping him from coming for us, or for her!"

"Hey, hey, easy," said Russel, placing his hands on Indie's shoulders. "We'll give Eva a heads-up, but I don't think Vesh is gonna find her. We don't even know where she hides out! As for us, tell the bouncers to let us know if he or his cronies come back. All of us fought so hard for this place. I'll be damned if some two-bit thugs disguised as monster hunters are gonna take it from us!"

Russel's speech did its work, reassuring Indie. "Okay. You're right. We can't let this guy intimidate us. I'll give her a cawl, you get back to deejaying." He escorted his brother towards the door.

Though a bit taken by his brother's sudden turn, Russel still headed out. "Alright then. You'll take care of things, yeah?"

"Don't worry about me! Just give the people what they came here for!" Indie smiled as his brother went back to the DJ booth. But as soon as he was gone, his expression fell. In truth, there was someone else he was worried for. "Belos, I hope you know what you're doing," he said quietly, walking off to find a crow.

First and foremost, we'll need disguises. Luckily for us, the workers there use standard-issue biohazard garb. It shouldn't be too hard to grab some of that. We'll need two sets, one for Eva and myself.

Patience, using all of her thieving expertise, slipped in through the roof of the dry cleaners. Unseen by the lone sleeping worker, she was able to swipe two uniforms, before making off with her prizes and vanishing into the night.

Once we have those, we'll need to get ourselves familiar with the place. A full stakeout is too risky, so the best we can do is camp out there the night before we move in. Anything more, and we're likely to get caught.

After a trek, the group arrived at the building–more specifically, they were a short distance away, overlooking it from atop a hill. "It looks like any other research center in the city," Patience noted.

"One this far out in the wilderness, though?" said Kiki. "That's suspicious, even without knowing what we know!" She shivered. "It's reminding me of the warehouse…"

Eva began setting up a tent. It was low to the ground, and camouflaged, so as to draw as little attention as possible. "Yeah, it's hard not to imagine what's going on in there. Given everything we've heard, probably a lot worse. Belos, come give me a hand, huh?"

He did. While helping out, he occasionally glanced over at the building in the distance, filled with a palpable sense of dread. Whatever nightmares were happening in there, he could sense them from here. A soft growl bubbled up from his throat, as though expecting an army to burst through the doors and descend on their position.

"Yeah, I'm nervous too," she replied, also staring at the building. "This is probably the most dangerous mission any of us have ever taken. But when I think of all the things we've accomplished, both alone and together, it gives me hope we can do it. I'm willing to risk anything to see my father again."

"Hopefully not anything," Kiki said under her breath, crawling under the half-finished tent. "You'd better not be planning on selling us out!"

Eva rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Okay, I'll risk anything within reason. Now c'mon–we've got a big day planned for tomorrow."

The next step might be the most dangerous one of all. Once morning comes around, we'll split into two groups: with our disguises, myself and Eva will slip in through the main entrance, while Kiki, Belos, and Patience will sneak through the air ducts. …Yes, I know it's a cliche, but that's our only way inside!

The five of them hid by one side of the building, peering around the corner at a convoy of approaching carriages being let in. "That's our cue–wish us luck," Eva said.

"You're the ones who can just waltz on in," Patience said. "You should be the ones wishing us luck."

"And we will," said Alvin, signaling for her to quiet down. "Alright, here we go, it's now or never." The two in disguises made their way to the door, while the others made their way to the roof. Belos climbed up the wall, with Kikimora clinging to his back, while Patience threw a strand of magic to pull her way up.

A single guard stood at the entryway. "Yeah, checks out, head on in," he said, as the last carriage passed through. He didn't bat an eye as Eva and Alvin approached. "You guys got your IDs?"

"I think so," Alvin said, reaching into his pockets. "Oh, that's right, I left mine with you. You should have them both."

Patience fished through her pockets as well, coming up with nothing. "Uh-oh…I think we must've lost 'em at the dry cleaners. Any chance you could look the other way, just this once?"

The guard chuckled. "No worries. People are always losin' their stuff to that place. Just the other day, we lost two entire suits! I keep saying we should just wash our stuff here, but Lord Baltheus can't be bothered to spring for a few washing machines. Go ahead in." He rapped on the door, which crept open.

That was much easier than either of them thought. "Much appreciated," said Alvin, following Eva inside.

"Huh. If I didn't know better, I'd say we were being set up," Kiki noted, peering over the roof as they headed in. "I do know better, though. Right? …Right?"

"Look, regardless of my hang-ups with this plan, I'm sure everything will turn out fine," said Patience, magically loosening the screws on the grate. "If worst comes to worst, we'll just wing it. Hasn't failed me so far!"

She carefully removed the grate, waiting for Belos to go first. "That does not reassure me," he growled, his lanky body slipping into the vent. Kiki climbed in after him, and Patience brought up the rear, reattaching the grate once she was inside.

Trying their best not to look like starstruck tourists in the process, Eva and Alvin both took in the interior of the research facility. It was fairly unremarkable, clearly not designed for visitors. "Huh. Thought this place'd be more heavily guarded," Eva whispered.

"Its remoteness must do most of the work," Alvin replied. "But I guarantee there'll be more resistance once we get lower. Let's just hope they can manage the next step…"

From there, the three of you will make your way through the vents until you're able to swipe a guard's keycard. Patience, I imagine this will be on you once again. Sorry to put so much on your shoulders, but this is where you have experience, after all. From there, we'll make our way to the boiler room, which is through the testing chambers,

Carefully, Patience detached the grate on the ceiling, holding it so that it wouldn't fall. The showers were loud, but not loud enough to disguise the sound of metal falling to the floor. "Okay, now go, quick, quick!" she whispered urgently.

With his long arms, Belos lowered Kiki down to the floor. The shower could stop running at any moment, and they all knew it; she'd have to move fast. Kiki quickly scampered over to the clothes hanging on a nearby hook, rifling through their pockets.

"Come on, where are you!?" Kiki whispered urgently, trying to find the card in question. Much to her annoyance, the first few she tried were completely empty. "Does nobody in here have a keycard? How does anyone get around this place if they can't open the doors!"

"Hurry!" Belos hissed. The longer they stayed here, the more likely someone would stumble upon them, ruining the whole thing. He was prepared to leap down and grab her if needed, but Patience held him back, worried that would only make things worse.

Eventually, Kiki got lucky, producing a viable keycard from one of the pockets. "I got one!" she shouted, before slapping a hand over her mouth. "Uh, I got one!" she repeated, quieter. She made her way back to the center of the room.

Just in time, too, as the shower turned off at that moment. Belos reached down, scooping up Kiki and pulling her up into the vent just as Patience replaced the grate. One of the workers rounded the corner, but was just too late to see anything. "Hello? Did somebody say something?" he asked. Looking around, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. With a shrug, he went about his business.

The elevator opened, revealing a trio of figures that strolled into the room. Flanked by a pair of guards, the scientists within the room all looked at attention as the center figure walked with purpose towards the other end. He was a witch, tall and thin, with a bluish tinge to his skin. His graying black hair was slicked back, and a pair of sunglasses covered his eyes. "Right, what are we working with today, Callen?" he asked one of the scientists.

"Um, it's Calum, sir," he corrected timidly. His boss didn't seem to care. "And, uh, we're moving on to the type-seven formula after preliminary tests of the type-six ended up being…less than viable." He cringed. "So, um, now that you're here, should we get started?"

The head scientist removed his sunglasses, revealing heavily-bagged eyes, hooking them onto his coat. "Should've already started by now, but whatever. Bring in the first volunteer!"

The chamber where the scientists were was separated from another by a large pane of glass. On the other side was a single chair, covered in straps for restraining test subjects. A door opened in this other room, and a pair of guards escorted in an elderly one-armed witch. He seemed fairly out of it, with his half-lidded eyes suggesting he had been sedated.

The guards strapped into the chair before making a hasty exit. "Alright, test number…what's this one? Three-hundred-forty-seven," the head scientists said, disinterested. "Bring in the thingy."

Another door on the other side of the chamber opened, and in came a pair of witches dressed in hazmat suits. One was carrying a small case, attached to which were several freezing spells. He set it down, opening it up to remove what was frozen inside: a severed arm. From its greenish coloration, webbed fingers, and claws, it appeared to have belonged to some manner of amphibian demon.

The other witch produced a pair of syringes. "Administering type-seven serum to subject," he announced, injecting the witch in the chair with a greenish fluid. The elderly test subject showed no acknowledgement. "Administering type-seven serum to graft." He did the same thing to the arm, with his partner holding the limb up to the empty spot by the subject's shoulder.

In no time, the serum began to take effect. The skin, both that of the subject and the arm, began to shift. The veins near the injections started to change color to a sickly green, as something seemed to be moving beneath the flesh. Both affected areas began moving closer to the other, until a tenuous connection was made.

The scientists on the other side observed the interaction with eager anticipation. "Come on, give me some good news," said the one in charge.

"Graft appears to be integrating seamlessly," one of the hazmat-wearing witches said, observing the reaction closely. "We have full integration of muscle and tendons, and the bone looks to be in the process of setting. This could be the one."

A light scattering of cheers and applause filled the observation room. The head scientists, however, knew all too well to never celebrate too soon. He waited and watched until they could say for sure the experiment had been a success.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before something went wrong. Rather than receding, the green veins began to spread across the subject's body, which in turn started twitching. "Uh, something's going on in here," said the other. "I think we have a potential rejection here."

But the boss knew this was no mere rejection. "You might want to step back," he said, with the air of someone who had seen this many times before. Perhaps wisely, the two technicians did as ordered.

Soon, the twitching escalated into full-bodied thrashing, with the subject threatening to break through the restraints. Making matters worse, greenish liquid had begun to dribble out of his mouth. The new arm was getting the worst of this, with its claws raking the side of the chair until, finally, the strap couldn't hold it any longer.

Once it had broken free, it became apparent that the arm had a mind of its own. Far from integrating with its new body, it took the elderly witch as a threat, and reacted accordingly. The scientists reacted in horror as it repeatedly slashed its host, providing the horrifying illusion he was attacking himself. Only the head scientists stayed calm, regarding the failure with disappointment. "G-get in there and restrain him!" shouted Calum.

"No–there's nothing to do for him now," his boss said. "Besides, get any closer and you'll probably be next. Just mark experiment three-forty-seven down as a failure, and sanitize the testing area."

The prosthetic continued to rake its claws along its new owner, though it began slowing down as they both began to fade. Due to the sedatives, the subject had not reacted in the slightest to any of this, something that perhaps made the incident even more disturbing. Cutting their losses, the two technicians moved in, both unleashing flame spells to mark the end of the experiment.

The head scientists sighed, rubbing his eyes. "What are we doing wrong here?" he asked. "If we can't figure out how to attach a simple limb, how are we supposed to move up to whole bodies?"

"It might be the basilisk blood that's causing the problem, sir," Calum said. "We've observed it having necromantic properties, so it's likely that–"

"Of course it's the basilisk blood," he replied irritably. "But if we remove that from the equation, what do we have? No basilisk blood, no seamless grafting. Our job is to find a way to prevent that from happening." He pointed into the testing chamber.

Calum cleared his throat before continuing. "Yes, of course. …Er, shall we proceed with the next test?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," mumbled his boss, before strolling out of the room. "I'm gonna go take a walk. Get the next guy drugged up and ready for when I get back." With that, he pushed his guards aside, heading out the door into the hallway.

"I don't like this," Alvin said quietly. Both he and Eva were standing by a vent in the duct system, waiting for their keycard to arrive. But as Alvin realized, just standing around doing nothing was bound to attract unwanted attention. "It feels like everybody's staring at us."

"Just calm down and look relaxed," Eva told him. "Nobody's looking at us, but they will if you draw attention to yourself. If anybody asks, we're on break."

Despite her assurance, he couldn't help looking around to make sure they weren't being watched. "How long can one break last, though?"

His question was answered as another hazmat-suited figure began to approach the pair. "Great…alright, just stay calm and act natural," Eva whispered.

"You two, what's going on?" he asked. "We've got some tests being run downstairs, we should have all hands on deck."

"Hey, relax, we're on our break," Eva said. Alvin nodded to back her up. "If everyone needs to be down there, why are you here?"

Though they couldn't see his face, he probably narrowed his eyes at this remark. "Funnily enough, I'm also on my break. But seeing as it's been five minutes already, and you two were here when I left…"

Eva groaned. "Look, buddy, it's been a long day. We'll be done when we're done, so you just worry about yourself. If the boss wants to dock our pay, well, that's between us."

For a tense moment, Alvin was certain their cover was about to be blown. Thankfully, he turned to walk away. "Fine. But don't come crying to me when you two end up out on the street."

"That was close," Alvin breathed once he was gone. "Patience better get here soon. I don't know if my heart can take that many more close calls…"

After a while, their attention was drawn to a rattling from within the vents. "Hey! Hey, guys!" Patience hissed. "Wait…that is you two, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's us," replied Eva. "Did you get the card?"

Kikimora nudged her way past Patience, passing the keycard through the slats in the vent. "I sure did!" she said proudly. Eva quickly took it before anyone could see. "So, what now?"

"Now, we should be free and clear to make our way to the boiler room," Alvin said. He inserted the card into a mouth near the elevator. The mouth bit down and, after a moment, the doors opened. "Good. Everybody inside." He and Eva made their way into the elevator, while Belos, Kiki, and Patience slipped out of the vents into the shaft, standing atop it.

Eva hit the button for the bottom floor–or at least as low as the elevator could go. Shakily, it began to descend, rattling as they traveled underground. "What's up? You aren't claustrophobic, are you?" she asked Alvin, who was still quite nervous.

"No, but I'm realizing we didn't go over our escape plan as thoroughly as we could have," he said. "Once that fire starts, we'll be right at the epicenter. As far as I can tell, the elevators are the only way up from down there. If they're compromised…"

"I'm very familiar with how Baltheus runs his business," Eva replied. "Safety is far from his primary concern. As far as he cares, subjects careless enough to let an accident happen in the first place aren't worth saving."

Alvin blinked. "Was that supposed to reassure me?"

"But because of that, everybody who works under him knows they're on their own if something goes wrong. So that's why every facility like this has all sorts of secret escape tunnels hidden where Baltheus' loyalists wouldn't find. That's how we're getting out."

"And…you know where to find these tunnels, right?" asked Alvin, still a bit anxious.

Eva chuckled. "I have a general idea. Don't worry, I'll look around for a bit before we take care of things." She looked at the ceiling. "You guys got that up there?"

"Loud and clear," answered Patience.

Soon enough, the elevator reached the bottom floor. Belos and the others returned to the vents, while Alvin and Eva stepped out once the door rattled open. "Coast is clear," Alvin reported. The two plus three made their way down the hall, hopefully towards where they needed to go.

They weren't alone as they thought they were, however, as a figure suddenly rounded a corner, almost crashing into them. "Move it," snapped the bluish scientist, shoving them out of the way as he carried on. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Eva was about to offer a convincing cover story, but the man left without another word. "...Huh. Guess he's too important for us," she said, continuing on. "Ah, well. It's the arrogant ones like him who look past revolutionaries like us."

"So, that's what we are now," Alvin said, almost in disbelief. "We're really starting a revolution."

"Who knows? With any luck, this little act of rebellion will only be the first of many," Eva replied. "People all over the Isles could rise up against their oppressive rulers…or at least just against Baltheus. I think I'd be content with that."

Strangely, there didn't seem to be anyone patrolling the hallway. With all the bad things that allegedly went down here, they both assumed it would be much busier. Neither was the type to look a gift horse in the mouth, though, so neither commented on the lack of resistance. Soon enough, they reached another door that needed a keycard. Alvin inserted it into the mouth, and the door unlocked.

After cautiously opening the door, making sure that nobody was inside, Eva led the way into the next room. "This looks like the place," she said, taking note of the eerie green lighting and metal grating along the floor. If there was ever a room for containing a variety of horrific experiments, this was it.

The party ventured inside, and soon came to realize the extent of Baltheus' side project. The room was full of giant vats, inside of each one a figure floated in some manner of liquid. Far from being recognizable as witches or biped demons, all of them had been hideously mutilated in a way that was unnatural even for the Boiling Isles. Alvin felt cold ice rising from his stomach as he beheld the aberrations hooked up to tubes that lined the room. Worst of all, a good number of them seemed to be alive, twitching or moving within their tubes.

One of the vents opened up, and Patience crawled out. "Titan above…" she said breathlessly. "What is Baltheus doing here?"

"Whatever it is, it's all the more reason to burn this place to the ground," Eva said, hatred clear in her voice. "You four go on ahead to the boiler room. I'll look around for a quick way out."

Patience nodded. "Got it! You guys comin'?" she asked to the vent.

"I…think I feel safer in here," replied Kiki, remaining within the ductwork. She and Belos followed the pair from within, the latter regarding the twisted experiments with a sense of foreboding.

Alvin tried not to look at the mutated bodies as he and Patience walked past. His morbid curiosity nevertheless got the better of him each time, and each one seemed worse than the last. One had a series of arms haphazardly placed along its back. Another was missing its head, several tentacles emerging in its place. Yet another was two bodies stitched together, including their heads, with their faces twisted into grimaces.

"I'd…like to leave here as soon as we can," he said, gulping.

"You're telling me," Patience replied. She was looking at the mutants as well, though her expression was one of growing worry rather than outright horror. "To think, this was what could've happened to my mom… Compared to all of them, she got off lightly." She was silent for a while as they kept walking. "Are we sure this is the only one of Baltheus' horror shows?"

Although Alvin knew what he wanted the answer to be, he knew that was only wishful thinking. "Who can say? It's the only one we know about, but he could have places like this hidden all over the Isles. Don't tell me you're thinking about tracking down every one?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking," she all but growled, turning away from the horrible sights they passed. "We can't let him do this to any more people. We have to put a stop to this at the source."

"And we will," Alvin assured her. "Destroying this facility is only the first step in loosening Baltheus' control over this section of the Boiling Isles. I'm…not entirely sure what we'll do after that, but I'm sure we can think of–Oh my Titan, is that what I think it is?" Losing his train of thought, he hurried over to a glass tank he had spotted up ahead.

Patience observed the tank, which contained what appeared to be an amphibious, serpentine demon floating in a similar solution to the other tubes. "What do you think it is?" she asked. It didn't appear to be a product of Baltheus' insane experimentations, but she had never seen a creature like it before.

"If memory serves, this has to be a basilisk," Alvin said in awe, examining the creature further. "I've never seen one in person–they're supposed to be nearly extinct. I don't know how he got it–this might be one of the last individuals in the wild, possibly ever."

"I appreciate the zoology lesson, but rare species or not, we still have to destroy this place," Patience pointed out. Not that it mattered much: the basilisk didn't appear to be moving within its tank, even with all the various tubes connected to its body.

Alvin managed to pry himself away from the elusive creature. "Yes…yes, you're right. We came here for a reason, and we can't afford to waste time." The pair quickly made their way towards the boiler room, which was only a side door away.

Perhaps obviously, it was much hotter in the boiler room. Numerous giant tanks filled the room, sending large quantities of steam into the rest of the facility. "Eva said you guys had a better plan than just setting a fire and running," said Patience. "So let's hear what ya got."

"Well, if we sabotage all of the vents in here, all that steam will have nowhere to go," Alvin said. "That pressure will build until it releases, and when it does, we open the vents again. The fire will spread all over the facility, burning every last trace of Baltheus' experiments."

"Something I can get behind," Patience said, making her way over to one of the boilers. She turned a wheel to close the vents, and could already hear the metal creaking as the steam began to build up. "Well? You just the idea guy, or are you gonna help?"

Alvin went over to join her, but not before offering some advice to Belos and Kikimora. "Just so you know, you two weren't in the vents just to make it through easier. There's some fans in place by the boilers that prevent fires from spreading. I think you know what to do!"

"I think so, but I also think you should go first, just in case," Kiki said to Belos. The revenant wordlessly made his way past her to assist in the sabotage.

"Hey, so I heard you guys talking earlier–you sure Eva knows what she's doing?" Patience asked as the two of them tightened the boilers.

"I don't see any reason why she wouldn't," replied Alvin. "The entire reason we can do this is because she spent most of her childhood living with Baltheus. She knows all the ins and outs of how he runs his operation, not to mention she has the motive to want to bring him down."

Patience hummed in reply. "I guess. Still, I'd be a bit more comfortable if she told us what she was doing before she ran off. Just hope she finds the way out before this place goes boom…"

Alvin hoped so too. "I'm sure she will," he said.

From inside of the boilers, Kiki was working up the courage to get close to one of the fans. Not only was it spinning rather fast, but all the steam pumping through made it red-hot. "Okay…just gotta…" She hesitantly reached out for it, pulling her hand back when she realized that wouldn't be the best idea. "Okay, how can I–"

Belos reached past her, grabbing the fan and crushing it with little effort, not even reacting to the heat. He then wordlessly moved on to the next one, leaving an impressed Kiki behind.

"Huh. Okay, I can do that, too…probably." She headed to another fan, cautiously drawing a spell circle and averting her eyes. The bolt keeping the fan in place shakily unscrewed itself, causing the fan to pivot violently. It soon tore itself apart, flinging the blades into the wall of the vents, narrowly missing Kiki. "Hey, that wasn't so bad!" she said cheerfully, once she opened her eyes.

As the two of them continued restricting the steam's movement, Alvin hoped Eva would hurry up with their escape route. He did trust her, as he told Patience, but things were getting worryingly close for his liking. If they were still in here when it started to blow…

He would soon see that wasn't all they had to worry about. "Hey!" The cry made the both of them freeze. "What exactly are you doing in here!?" A trio of guards stormed into the boiler room, none too happy with what they had found within.

While Alvin froze, Patience, clearly having much more experience with this sort of thing, walked right up to them, acting like she was right where she belonged. "Mornin', fellas," she said. "Is something up?"

All three guards aimed a spell circle at her. "Hands above your head! Step away from the boilers, and get down on your knees!"

She complied, at least with the first part. "Hey, hey, easy! Look, we were told to perform some routine maintenance down here, I don't know what everybody's freaking out about all of a sudden! Look, if we did something wrong, why don't we all calm down and discuss it like civilized–" She cried out as a spell hit her elbow, knocking her to the ground.

"Patience!" Alvin ran over to assist. It wasn't a serious wound, just a small burn, but the guards were clear they were ready to give them another. The armored figures stepped closer, spreading out to surround the intruders.

As this went down, Belos watched through the slats of a vent, resisting the urge to growl as he bared his teeth. Sensing he was moments away from acting, Kikimora tried to hold him back. "Boss, calm down!" she urged. "If we get caught, it's game over!" But Patience and Alvin had already been caught.

One of the guards pressed his spell circle against the back of Alvin's head, making it clear the next spell wouldn't just wing him. "Take off your masks," he ordered. "Both of you. Slowly."

Patience complied, with Alvin following suit. "I don't recognize these two," said another. "You have any identification?"

Alvin's hands shook as he reached into his pocket to take out the keycard they had acquired, hoping that would suffice. He handed it to the one behind him, who took a moment to observe it. Only a moment, as he soon decided he had seen enough.

"Well, we're already here–might as well make the most of it," he said, dropping the card to the ground as he walked away. "Throw them both in the incinerator. No one will even know they were here."

Both of them immediately objected upon hearing this. "What!? No, wait, she's telling the truth! We're supposed to be down here!" Alvin shouted. Each of them was grabbed by one of the guards, who began hauling them away. "Just ask our boss!"

"Oh?" asked the guard. "And who's your boss, exactly?"

A brief pause. "Lord Baltheus himself," replied Alvin. "He personally sent us down here to deal with the blockage."

The guards were not impressed. The lead one wordlessly turned away, as his two subordinates continued dragging the pair off to their final resting place. "What kind of due process is this!?" shouted Patience. "We weren't even doing anything wrong, as far as you know!"

With his allies' lives in mortal jeopardy, Belos could afford to lay low no longer. He was seeing red–or more accurately, blue, as his eyes lit up the stark color. Amid Kiki's panicked murmurings, he tore his way through the vent, descending upon the biggest threat.

The guard only had time to let out an exclamation of surprise before Belos was on top of him. His armor protected him from the revenant's claws, but not well enough. Even his allies were surprised as he tore into the guard with his teeth, taking his bile sac for himself.

Patience used this momentary distraction to slip her knife from its sheath, jabbing it into the guard's side through a gap in his armor, before rushing Alvin's guard and driving the blade into his collarbone. Before he could retaliate, she blasted him with a spell of her own, throwing him a good distance away. "You alright?" she asked Alvin, helping him to his feet.

"I am for now," he replied. "We'd better go, though. This place is bound to blow any second!"

The guard Patience had rescued Alvin from got to his feet, preparing to send another spell at them. Before he got the chance, Belos was on him as well, the two tumbling into one of the boilers. The revenant's claws raked across the metal, but the guard managed to blast him back with his spell. "Come on, you want some more!? I'm right here, come and get–"

The boiler exploded, engulfing the guard in a ball of fire. The others went soon after this, filling the room with deafening bangs and searing heat. Patience and Alvin dove to the floor to avoid the worst of it, while Belos, his instincts in full control, clambered up a wall and out of sight. The third guard, the one Patience had stabbed in the side, used this time to hurry out of the room before things got worse.

Kikimora had long since vacated the vents, and made her way over to the other two. "What do we do now!?" she shouted. "This whole place is coming down on top of us!"

"Stay calm!" said Alvin. "Eva will come through for us, I know it! But first, we need to get somewhere safer."

Patience helped him up, with him, herself, and Kiki quickly heading back into the room with the experiments. "Not sure there is somewhere safer now!" she replied. "We really shoulda thought this out more!"

And then, once everything's primed to explode, we make our getaway and watch the fireworks from a safe distance! Everybody ready? Then let's get moving!

The series of explosions had been felt by the entire facility. At first, the higher-ups had assured everyone that it was just a tremor, nothing to be concerned about. But once fire had started spewing from the vents, most of the workers wisely decided to egress, orders be damned. With many of his workers dispersing, one of the scientists decided to stay behind, remembering a certain encounter he had before all of this started.

The scientist lounged in the chair of the security office, looking over recent camera footage. Sure enough, those two technicians he had barged past headed into the boiler room not long after he left. It seemed he had been right to send those guards after them after all. Not that it did much good in the end.

Calum barged into the room. "Dr. Graydon!" he shouted. "It's not safe here, the whole facility's on fire! We have to leave before we're all burned alive!"

His boss, Dr. Graydon, held up a hand to silence him. "Relax. A little smoke never hurt anyone. Besides, we have more pressing matters to deal with."

"Um, n-no offense, sir, but what could be more pressing than an uncontrollable fire?" asked Calum, just barely keeping it together.

Dr. Graydon stared at the screen, paused on the image of those two intruders. "Calum? Would you do me a favor and contact Lord Baltheus? If I'm right, and let's be honest, I'm rarely not, I think we have something that just might interest him.

"R-right away, sir," Calum replied. "If I may, what exactly is it?"

The doctor smiled. "Just what he's been looking for." He got to his feet, leaving the room. "Oh, and tell every guard still here to converge on the lower levels. We have some uninvited guests…"

The room full of experiments was burning as well. Probably for the best, given everything that had been done to them, but it still meant getting through was a challenge. Several of the tanks burst from the heat, the preservatives within only fueling the fire further. "What do you think the odds are the elevator's still working?" asked Patience.

"Not high," Kiki said, practically clinging to their legs as they made their way through the smoke-filled room. "Eva! Eva, we could really use your help right about now!" But she got no response, the human seeming to have disappeared.

"Right now, I'd be more worried about Belos," Alvin said. His eyes darted around the room, looking for movement in the smoke. "I'm not sure he can control himself in this state."

"When did you become an expert in revenants?" asked Patience. But in truth, she was worried as well. One would have to be insane not to be worried about the rampaging monstrosity loose in a burning building, even if it was theoretically on their side. "Hopefully he's still able to recognize us."

And speaking of monstrosities, it soon became clear that not all of the experiments in the room had perished. The trio came across one laying in a pile of broken glass, and would have passed it by had it not suddenly twitched. "I'm…not the only one who saw that, am I?" asked Kiki. The multi-armed, many-toothed beast opened its eyes, clambering to its feet and screeching at the interlopers.

"Other way, other way!" shouted Patience, trying to deter the creature with several spells as she guided the other two to safety. Even with the numerous projectiles hammering against it, the abominable beast continued to give chase, though the fire slowed it down somewhat.

Things somehow got even worse as they stumbled through the burning room. "Freeze!" In spite of all the danger, they complied as they nearly ran right into another collection of guards, each of whom had a spell circle pointed at them. "On your knees, now! Final warning!"

"Come on, now is not the time for this!" cried Alvin, despite complying. His words fell on deaf ears, as the guards were paying little attention to the fire threatening to consume them all. "Look, let's get out of here first, then we can talk about–"

The creature interrupted their negotiations by pouncing on the nearest guard, causing the others to unleash a flurry of spells in a panic. Just as well, as that likely would have been them in a few more moments. The party once again changed their direction, ducking down into a dead end in the form of a gated wall. "Guys! You made it out!" a voice called from the other side of the wall, belonging to Eva.

"Eva!" cried Kiki. "How'd you get over there?"

"There's a door just down the hallway to the right," she explained, pointing in the direction. "I found a way out through here, hurry! I'll meet you guys halfway!" She paused, looking them over. "Where's Belos?"

"He's…handling things in his own way," said Patience. "We'll try and rein him in before we come to you, but if we're not there in five minutes, leave without us."

Alvin looked at her, quite perturbed. "I didn't agree to that!" he cried.

The room shook, causing some of the ceiling to collapse. "You'd better move fast!" Eva said. "I'm not sure how much longer this place can hold up!"

They didn't need to be told twice, making their way through the ruined laboratory. While the good news was that none of the guards or experiments were focusing on them, the bad news was that they were focused on each other, a minor war having broken out in the midst of the flames. Monstrous screeching and yells of panic filled the air almost as much as the smoke, making it hard to hear as well as see.

Alvin got down on his hands and knees to crawl underneath a fallen filing cabinet. Just as he made it to the other side, a guard stumbled into view, catching sight of him. "Freeze!" The guard prepared to fire a spell, only for Belos to intervene. The revenant sped past, tearing the guard's arm off in a single motion. As he screamed, Belos dragged the rest of him off on a second pass.

Alvin suddenly found himself back on the island. No longer was Belos the intimidating but trustworthy ally he had grown somewhat accustomed to. Now, he had reverted back to the unknowable beast that had attacked the explorers in the woods, dragging off one of their own. The image of his piercing blue eyes and gaping, fang-filled jaws were burned into Alvin's vision.

Acting almost entirely on instinct, he ran through the chaos, with Patience and Kiki shouting after him to be careful. He could barely hear them, both due to the fighting and him tuning out the rest of the world. He was lucid enough, however, to alter his path at the sight of Belos leaping out of the fire, wreathed in flames, and descending upon a party of unfortunate guards.

Spells collided against the walls as the trio finally reached the door. The hallway outside wasn't much more pleasant than the lab, but it at least lacked the ongoing war, which was a small mercy at this point. Trying their best not to breathe in the smoke, the three hurried to the room Eva had indicated. However, one final surprise presented itself, as one of the experiments made its way out of the room and chased after them.

They rounded a corner with the mish-mash of witch and demon parts screeched while closing in for the kill, each of them running on fumes. But just when it seemed like the creature was about to overtake them, a vial full of liquid shattered against it, causing the nearby flames to envelop it. The monstrosity then fell to the ground, and the trio turned to see their rescuer: "Eva!" shouted Kiki.

"You guys are cutting it close," the human noted, ushering them inside what seemed to be an office full of files. "Is Belos with you?"

"Not unless he's on his way," said Patience, as Eva pulled aside a section of wall to reveal a cave dug through the foundation. "Should we wait for him?"

Alvin glanced at the current state of the facility, which was growing hotter by the moment. "I don't think we can afford to wait," he said, maybe a bit too fast. "The least we can do is get somewhere safer for now."

Unable to argue, he, Patience, and Eva made their way into the tunnel. Kiki didn't move, looking back towards the door. "We can't just leave him!" she urged. "He doesn't know the way out!"

"I know, but if we stay here, we all might end up getting roasted," Patience pointed out. "Besides, you've seen what Belos can do. He can handle himself just fine."

Kiki was hesitant to leave, but she had to admit, they had a point. It was only a matter of time before the fire consumed everything in here, and everyone. From everything she had seen him do, Belos was likely more than capable of finding another way out…but she couldn't know that for sure. Unwilling to leave her savior's survival up to chance, she steeled herself before rushing back into the flaming hallway.

"Kiki, don't!" shouted Eva, but the diminutive demon had already gone. She hissed, momentarily debating what to do. "Okay, you two go on ahead, I'll be back in a moment," She too chased after one of their own.

Patience and Alvin shared a glance. "And who's going to save you?" asked the former. But Eva was already gone.

Stumbling through the halls, Kiki returned the way they had come. "Belos! This way!" she yelled out, hoping he could hear her. "We found a way out, but we have to go now! Please, hurry!"

There was a groan as the building shifted, shaking the foundation. More flames erupted from the laboratory, most likely from the rest of the boilers exploding. Kiki covered her face as the heat washed over her, looking back up with worry in her eyes. Could Belos have survived something like that?

Another group of guards appeared, just as the flames were pulled back in towards a figure stepping out of the room. They prepared their spells, but before they could fire them, the flames were launched back at them in an enormous blast. Their armor was not enough to protect them, with the attack reducing them to ash. The source of the blast, Belos, growled, as Kiki watched in awe. "B-Belos…?"

Eva dashed around the corner just too late to witness the display of magic. "Kiki, come on, there's no time–" She was interrupted as Belos suddenly dashed over to Kikimora, picked her up in his jaws, and sprinted towards the exit. She had to leap to the side to avoid being knocked over. With both of them accounted for, she headed back the way she came.

Yet more guards showed up to block the way, unleashing a barrage of spells. Belos' eyes flashed blue as he brought both of his hands down hard on the floor, magic flowing from them. Concrete and stone burst up from the ground as the hallway in front of them was torn apart, filled with spires of rock. Eva didn't see what exactly happened to the guards, but she imagined it wasn't pretty.

The three soon made it back to the tunnel entrance. "Eva, did you–" Alvin stumbled back and cried out as Belos burst into the room, carrying Kiki down the tunnel and out of the facility. Shakily, he got up again, with some help from Patience.

"That's, what, the third time I've picked you up today?" she asked.

"No time for quips, move, move!" urged Eva, pushing them both into the tunnel. Not a moment too soon, either, as more of the facility collapsed behind them the moment they headed out. The trio crept through the narrow stone walkway, each having cast a light spell to illuminate their way.

The heat from the fires faded quickly, but the rumbling as the building continued to fall away behind them could be felt almost as strongly no matter how far they went. Dust fell from the tunnel's ceiling as more quakes rocked it, with each of the party silently praying it wouldn't collapse. "So…you think Belos and Kiki made it out okay?" asked Patience.

Alvin would have answered, but he was still too shocked by their narrow escape to think clearly. He had been especially shaken by being re-exposed to Belos' violent nature when pressed, taking him back to his first encounter with the revenant. It seemed Eva noticed his silence, pressing him on the matter. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, just…glad we made it out," he said quietly, hesitant to bring up the real cause of his distress. Belos was now one of his allies, so the last thing he wanted was to drive a wedge between the team.

"We aren't out yet," Patience pointed out. "Let's not celebrate until we can see sunlight."

A little while later, and they indeed saw sunlight. All three of them happily crawled out of the cave's exit, climbing up onto solid ground once more. In the distance was the flaming husk of the research center, the fire having spread to the top level. A crowd of people was moving away from the danger, though the sight thankfully created enough of a spectacle that nobody would notice the trio making their escape.

Off in the other direction, Belos continued to carry Kiki away. "Thank you for rescuing me, sir," she said, dangling from his mouth. "What about the others? Shouldn't we go back for them?"

Belos looked over his shoulder, seeing the other three getting their bearings. He placed Kiki back down, before bounding off into the distance in the direction of their hideout.

"Hey, wait!" Kiki called after him. "It's not safe alone!" But he was already gone, leaving the rest of them behind. "Oh…" Unable to follow him, Kiki returned to the rest of the group.

"So, we actually pulled it off," said Eva, beaming with pride. They had begun the trek back home, hoping to put as much distance between them and the crime scene as possible. "Baltheus should be feeling that one pretty soon!"

Patience glanced back at the wreckage. "I can feel it from here! Hopefully this'll only be the first of many–Kiki? What's up? Where'd Belos run off to?"

"I'm not entirely sure," she replied. "I think he's going back to base, but I don't know why he didn't wait for us. It's weird, isn't it?"

"Very weird," Alvin said. "It's almost like the fight down there triggered something in him. He went into fight-or-flight, like how he was back on the island."

"Y'know, you've never really gone into too much detail on what happened over there," Patience said. "Do you ever feel like regaling us on your epic journey overseas?"

He looked away uncomfortably. "Not really. It's…well, I wouldn't call it traumatic, but I'm definitely not the same man I was before I went there. I'm just lucky I didn't end up being eaten by the revenant."

Kiki found it hard to believe that Belos used to be little more than a wild animal. But on the other hand, she had seen firsthand how ferocious he could be. "So, what's the plan now?" she asked.

"Now, it's back home to plan our next move–but not before resting up," said Eva. "I imagine we could all use one of those…" Everyone agreed, making their way back to her hidden shelter. As they traveled, Alvin silently hoped Belos hadn't fully reverted to his old ways…

Talus' office was silent, save for the quiet sound of bolts being turned as he tuned up his robotic legs. Even with everything going on lately, he hadn't expected any visitors today, which is why he was surprised to see none other than Dr. Graydon. "Everett!" he said, setting down his tools and getting up. "To what do I owe this sudden visit?"

The good doctor was not alone, accompanied by Vesh. "Yeah, sorry to drop in on you like this, but it's urgent. I'm sure you heard what happened down at Tailbone?"

"Yes, the whole place went up in a blaze," he replied, recalling hearing the news. "Thank Titan that so many were able to escape."

Dr. Graydon grumbled. "Maybe, but all our research sure didn't. Normally, I'd be a lot more annoyed at having to start from scratch, but I think I may have discovered something even more valuable than everything that was burned. But don't take my word for it: I have it on good authority that Lord Baltheus will be very interested in my discovery."

"Oh?" said Talus. "And whose might that be?"

Grinning, Vesh placed a crystal projector on the desk, to Talus' shock. "His." The device opened up, projecting an image of Baltheus above the three. He was seated on his throne, looking much more somber than his usual carefree self. When he realized the image was on, he looked up.

"Lord Beltheus," Talus greeted, not used to seeing the lord appearing so formal, and presumably sober. "Is everything alright? I heard about the fire at your research facility, I'm sorry that–"

"Talus," Baltheus interrupted, his voice quiet and restrained. "I apologize for dropping this on you so suddenly, but there has been a…slight change of plans. The last time we spoke, I told you that the revenant was of little significance, correct? However, due to the new information Dr. Graydon has given me, I now ask that you capture the revenant alive, and bring it to me as soon as possible."

Appropriately, Talus was confused by this sudden pivot. "And this information, what exactly have you learned?" he asked the doctor.

"It came to me just after the fire broke out," he said. "I initially wrote this revenant off as just another case of mass hysteria, or at the very least a creature not worth looking into. But after seeing what it was capable of that day, I believe there's a lot we can learn from the beast. A lot we can gain from it."

"You mean…it was there that day?" said Talus.

"Oh yes, it and all its friends," the doctor replied. "One of them was your apprentice once, wasn't he? Seems prolonged exposure to revenants makes people more privy to terrorism. Who knew?"

Talus was having a hard time processing this. "No, I refuse to believe that. It's true that we haven't heard from Alvin for a while, but it is simply not possible that he has become some manner of revolutionary!"

"Revenant's got powers, remember?" said Vesh, tapping his head. "We've already established that it's probably got Alvin under its control. And who knows what other sorts of things it can do?"

"We'll know, if we can capture it and study it," said Dr. Graydon. "Think about it, Talus: this isn't just stopping a threat to Bonesborough, this could be about the scientific breakthrough of the century! History, chemistry, medicine…" He nudged his head upwards at Baltheus. "Just think of everything we could learn!"

Although he had a bad feeling about it, Talus couldn't argue with the benefits. "That is true, such a creature would have profound effects on many scientific communities. But if I might ask, how can we be expected to capture the revenant now, when all our past efforts have ended in failure? This beast is clearly much more cunning that it lets on."

"This is the exact reason why I sent Dr. Graydon to you," replied Baltheus. "With the both of you putting your heads together, plus Vesh's savviness regarding magical creatures, I'm sure you can put together something viable. And I don't think I need to remind you that time is of the essence, yes?"

"Yes, of course, my Lord," Talus answered. "We will capture this revenant and bring it to you as soon as possible."

Baltheus nodded. "Good. I already lost one laboratory, I don't need to lose another. Don't disappoint me–that goes for all of you." The image disappeared, and the projector clicked closed.

"Well," said Dr. Graydon, clapping his hands, "we've got a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it. I suggest we get started, ASAP."

"Yeah, that sounds good, Mr. Doctor, but good ideas don't just come falling outta the sky whenever we want. Unless you have a plan to trap this thing, I don't know how we're gonna–"

"Oh, I have a plan alright," he said. "It's true that the revenant is tricky. But he also has friends now, meaning he doesn't travel alone. You yourself had some encounters with them before, haven't you? All we need to do is find them–and they'll lead us right to our target."

Vesh grinned. "You know what? I think the two of us are gonna get along great!"

Talus, on the other hand, was far more skeptical of the whole thing. He didn't voice his displeasure, as this was the best option they had, but the prospect of going after Alvin didn't sit well with him. Would they really have to go after his protege? Or worse still, was Alvin truly under the monster's control? If this was true, he thought, he would find a way to reverse the process.

After all, Alvin may have blamed himself for inadvertently bringing the revenant back to the mainland, but Talus had sanctioned the voyage in the first place.

AN: It seems that no matter what I write about, it always ends up with a creepy lab filled with mutated abominations floating in tanks that escape and attack people. It is my gift, it is my curse.