"Karo, you get your butt back out here! I know you can hear me so slither your scalely ass back off my arm and help us!" Rene fumed, violently shaking her arm.

"Not to burst your bubble Firecracker, but I don't think it works like that."

"Then how does it work, oh wise one? Oh wait, that's right you like to keep all your intel to yourself, like the freakin' fact that Scarlet can seduce people or that you are a fire-starter!" Rene voice had steadily climbed to an all-out scream of frustration.

"To be accurate..."

"That doesn't count!"

The cracking of shifting ice snapped both their attentions back to said person. Scarlet was a glistening, beautiful ice sculpture as she stood back up.

"I'm sorry, but why isn't she dead? It's not that I necessarily want her to die, it's just, that really isn't fair."

"Welcome to the world of freaky, Sparky." He chuckled.

"Fine if we are in the world of freaky, then where's my freaky? Karo move your tail you dumb reptile!" Rene went so far as to slam her arm into a nearby table. "Ouch! Bad idea." She cradled her arm which already had a bruise forming. She hoped it hurt Karo at least as much as when he bit her and turned back into a tattoo.

"Could have told you that."

Crack. Crunch. Scarlet stumbled like a puppet being jerked about. Seriously, how was that even close to being fair? Rene poised the sword at the ready, aiming at the female ice zombie. She wondered if Scarlet would shatter if she drove the blade through her still amazingly good-looking body. The girl was freezing from the inside out, yet somehow she managed to remain pretty. Rack up another point to the unfairness of life; then again she was some sort of mythical deer lady...still a rip-off. Rene coughed causing slight amounts of blood to coat her tongue. She spit it out, whipping her mouth with her hand. Michael's concerned eyes searched her face, but Rene remained focused on Scarlet. They didn't have time for anything else. She couldn't lose focus again. She was angry and her emotions swarmed about in her head little enraged bees buzzing their problems. She was angry at herself for the anxiety attack; it was ridiculous but the truth. Rene was furious at Miss Rachel for being a horrible psychiatrist, and person for that matter. Her soul raged at the asylum for all the crap and pain over the years. Her sense of loyalty burned against Scarlet for using Declan like that. The untrusting girl inside her was upset with Declan for being used. Her madness and logic, that craved balance and stability, screamed at Karo and Kai for abandoning her. Finally she was annoyed with Michael because, one he was Michael and two he had been holding information from her. It all combined to form a cold, hard, sharp anger that kept festering in the darkness. Her shoulder got colder pulsing in time to her slowly growing rage. She rolled her shoulder trying to ease the freezing tension. A resonating metal clang echoed behind her.

"Uh, I think you dropped something." Michael deadpanned.

One eye on Scarlet, Rene reached behind her feeling around until her fingers closed around another ice-cold hilt. She brought forward the twin to her sword. Now she had a set. Two ice swords to wield and wreak havoc with. That was good right? That was if one ignored the fact her tattoo basically just fell off...oh, reality what a cruel mistress it had become. Well, there was the freaky she had been demanding earlier. She really should have kept her mouth shut.

Flakes of ice dropped, twinkling to the ground, with each step Scarlet took. Rene tightened her grip on her, now pair of weapons, both of which had freezing properties in their crystals. Freezing abilities capable of turning Scarlet into that, with one only scratch well, technically a deep cut but not the point. The point was Rene was probably going to end up popsiclizing herself too. She was just gonna call that now. And unlike Scarlet, Rene doubted she would survive it, which was really too bad, because unlike Scarlet, Rene wouldn't make a pretty ice corpse. Scarlet sort of slipped and skated across the floor leaving streaks of water on the tiles. Probably the first time they had been cleaned in years. That was dangerous in itself; they should really get her a wet floor sign to drag behind her. Scarlet and her watery trail didn't make their way towards them. Instead, she went over to Kristy's blackened body.

"Wait!" Michael shouted, Scarlet came to a faltering stop, hovering over the body. "Make Declan poke her." He snickered. "Get it? You check to see if someone is dead by poking them with a stick."

Rene sighed and punched him, hard. "Time and place, idiot."

"Ow," He rubbed his arm with a smirk. "It's not like she's dead anyway. I know my fire. She's just cooked a bit extra crispy. Whatever they did to her, whatever they made her, my fire isn't going to kill her that easily. You however Scarlet, aren't looking so good, can't be great for a nature spirit to be frozen alive. Decision making time, and let's be honest, we both know what is more important to you here, darling." He drew out the word a perfect imitation.

Scarlet blinked, the shut and open crinkling and breaking little icicles on her long, dark eyelashes. She took one last look at Kristy before turning on her heels and pushing off like a runner. The awkward disjointed movements hindered by the ice, didn't match the elegant girl making them. The more steps she took though, the faster she became. Rene watched in shock as Scarlet's legs slowly became deer limbs, hooves and all. The change seemed to help with the freeze, because in no time she was making a full out sprint for the exit. Rene made a step to follow her when a shot echoed from behind her. Scarlet danced and wove through the destroyed room avoiding the sudden onslaught of bullets. She disappeared down the hall into the belly of the beast, through the gaping hole of a mouth from where the doors used to be.

In a daze, Rene turned around to see a sweaty and beaten Lora breathing unevenly, her face calm and still. She visibly gaped, stuttering at a loss for words. Lora ignored her, striding past them to Kristy. She rolled the young girl over with her boot, so her face was to the ground. Lora made a sign of the cross and mumbled some incoherent words then shot her in the neck. She just shot Kristy...she killed Kristy...what the hell is going on!

"I severed her spinal cord; it was the only way to keep her from getting back up."

Here came the vomit. Rene leaned over retching. How she even had anything left in her stomach, was beyond her.

"Sparky?" She flipped him the bird. "I'll take that as you're okay."

She glared at him and forced herself straight. "No, I'm not okay! How is any of this okay?" Rene turned to Lora. "You just shot her. You killed Kristy on purpose! You were the one who was all concerned about people, and whether or not they were going to die, but then you stroll in here and go all terminator on their asses." She quickly covered her mouth at the blood infused words. It didn't help. She was soon dry heaving hunched over. Until she was finally empty.

Michael shifted uncomfortably obviously more ashamed of Rene yelling at him about it than the actual event. Lora was watching her with those steel gray eyes, waiting out the rant and vomiting, as though observing a toddler's tantrum. Rene dropped the swords, small ice patches threading the tiles where they hit. She wrapped her arms around her stomach trying to hold herself together. She couldn't help it. How could they both be so nonchalant about it? Sure, Rene had been ready for blood coming into this; it was a war after all. However, blood and death were two very different things. It was one thing to wish someone dead and want to have vengeance for the pain they had caused, but it was another to actual do it. She had wanted Kristy dead. She had often even wished to be the one to end the psycho, but to watch her die so calculated and calmly, it was gut churning.

"Things have changed Rene." Lora's solemn voice toned like the final ringing of church bells for the souls of the dead. "Kristy was no longer Kristy. The things they have been doing to her have rotted her mind from the inside out; you can't say you didn't see it. I've found out a lot since I've began digging into the buried secrets of this place, and it is far worse than you can imagine." She got down and slung Declan's limp arm over her shoulder, holding him up.

"I can imagine a lot. Trust me you don't want to know what goes on up here." She tapped her head half-heartedly, trying to shift back into herself.

"This isn't a game anymore Rene and you can't keep thinking of it as one. Not if you want to live through it. Kristy is just the tip of the iceberg, the beginning of their battering ram they are creating to sink the ship so to speak. There is a lot more hiding deep underwater. You need to be ready for that." Lora started dragging Declan towards the way Scarlet had escaped. "Killing isn't right, I'm glad that you realize that. If I can help it, you will never be the one to end a life of another. But, this is a war, death is inevitable. It's us or them."

Cold, the metal stuck and stung her sweaty palms as she picked up the swords, desperate for something to stay grounded with. Insanity, though hard, was her. She may struggle and wrestle with it, but it being part of her was something she had come to accept. How then, had she become something of a voice of reason? She was supposed to be the mad one here. This whole being reasonable thing really was not a good look for her. What else was she supposed to do when she was the only one getting sick over death? Ignore it and pretend everything was okay, was that the answer? Or maybe she was to suddenly stand up and start protesting for peace? Peace wasn't what she wanted though. She wanted to fight. She needed to fight. So, why did she feel conflicted about it now?

"For what it's worth Firecracker, this was never how it was supposed to go down."

Surprised she cocked her head at him, trying to interrupt the words. How it was supposed to go down? What did he even mean? She didn't get a chance to ask as he jogged off after Lora. Rene looked at the swords in her hands then up at the exit which swallowed them.

Are you still with me?

Until the very end, young one.

Fledgling, do you really think you and by extension us could be defeated by mere mortals?

Rene smiled at the indirect jab. She had dragons on her side, even if they weren't by her side, and her body was a fully loaded arsenal, in theory. Screw Lora's advice, this was going to be the best game ever played. Far better than those old arcade games she used to play. She took off after them, wincing against the pain before blocking it out instead focusing on the pounding of her feet. She had enough practice doing that, zoning out the world and herself, and soon enough she had raced ahead to catch up with them. Michael had ducked under Declan's other arm, helping to lead the unconscious boy down the hall. Tiles were torn up and scattered across the hall. She wondered if that counted as stepping on a crack when it was so utterly destroyed. Step on some rubble and you'll break your mother's...bubble, stubble, trouble, hubble. Yes that must it, break your mother's Hubble telescope. It just wasn't the same.

The group navigated the war-torn halls making their way deeper and deeper. Many of the strewn guards were huddle together, helping one another bandage-up with pieces of fabric from clothing. Rene tried not to focus on them too long. It made her ache. Lora's face was a mask of confidence and determination; however, Rene could see the pain in her eyes. These were her men and women. She was their supervisor and leader, yet she couldn't stop this from happening to them.

"Lora." A guard's raspy voice croaked as she reached out for her.

The strong steely woman froze her mask slipping. The empathy and compassion for her fellow human was evident. Rene supposed that was part of what made Lora a true hero. She cared, even for those who might not deserve. She wanted to save the lost and bring them back to the light. Michael had also pulled to a stop, adjusting to take more of Declan's weight, and waited for Lora's cue on what they would do.

"Help and patch each other up the best you can, then get out of here. What those in charge have been doing here is wrong and this is your last chance to get out." She took in a shuttering breath, re-masking. "You have a right to choose, think wisely about it before fighting a war, especially one you don't believe in."

"Very inspirational." Michael did an awkward clap with one hand against his thigh. "And if that's doesn't get your butts moving," Michael jerked his head backwards. "Sparky back there still has another dragon up her sleeve."

The hall fell silent as the words sank into the wary soldiers. Rene waved awkwardly for a moment under their somber gazes, a few of which widened at the glowing blue sword. She quickly dropped her hand at that. However, they continued staring as though it would all suddenly make sense what decision they should make. Life wasn't that easy. Slightly annoyed to be put in the spotlight, Rene stormed past Michael and Lora to take the lead in their expedition. The sound of their feet following her, kept her plowing forward. To what though, that was the question of day and perhaps Rene's life. Where was this expedition leading? She really had no idea what waited for them. It wasn't like they were off to save the damsel in distress or treasure hunting. It was an abyss they were entering. The walls, the tiles, the doors, and rooms may all be familiar, even in their ruined states, but that wasn't the darkness that crept along the walls and their thoughts. The darkness was the unknown of what they were searching for, the unknown that sucked them and threatened to make them disappear.

Static crackled over the intercom. "Would Miss Sparks please head directly to my office for psych evaluation and treatment?" Miss Rachel chirped with barely concealed frustration, repeating the order three times.

"Well that's convenient." Michael muttered.

Rene tossed a look over her shoulder at him, a slight smile pulling at her lips. "I was thinking the same thing. I always wanted to start the burning of this place with that witch's office."

"Best not to keep her waiting then. You know," He smirked. "I bet motivational posters and lace make good kindling."