They froze as a collective group, both sides caught off guard.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Like a skipping record in her head, Calponia internally cussed on repeat, rapidly glancing around the room as she frantically tried to come up a plan that wasn't 'Run in circles, screaming.' Damn Mack for not being here. Damn Lady Agatha and Cesario for not being here. Damn Eugene for not being here. The dread in her stomach intensified as the battered figure of Miranda groaned. The sound seemed to break the spell as an invigorated Ariel shoved his brother aside and shot forward.

He left a trail of glittering sparks in his wake. Calponia blinked, her reaction time at as snail's pace as she watched the pale man attempt to rescue his sister. The scene unfolded in slow motion, as if the very air transformed into some viscous fluid that impeded their actions. Ariel was still far from them, too far, when the hooded figure lashed out, flicking his fingers.

A crack like thunder pealed through the air, a loud blast that overwhelmed her senses and left her ears ringing. Calponia felt a whoosh of air as Ariel flew backward, crashing to the floor with an impact that dwarfed her previous fall. She felt it through the soles of her feet, vibrating up her legs. All through a flick of the hooded guy's fingers.

Calponia took an instinctive step back, her heart pounding as she braced herself for a world of pain.

The hooded figure released Miranda's hair with a huff, planting his hands on his hips. "Bugger, this is unexpected."

He was drowning in blood.

His awareness of his surroundings was muted, muffled by the unending thrum of blood. Heartbeats surrounded him. He snuffed them out, one by one, seeking something intangible but necessary, more necessary than the blood that ran hot from the vein, cooling and congealing on his fingers.

Blood on his hands again.

He didn't want this.

He didn't want to be this.

Deep inside, a piece of him thrashed and wailed, a fluttering butterfly trapped beneath the paw of a massive beast. An apt comparison as he was the beast, the monster, the nightmare come to life. He stumbled, leaning heavily against rough stone, unable to reach that tranquil piece of his soul he'd worked so hard to save.

He never should have gone home. He should have stayed at the tavern, in sanctuary, with her. He panted, clutching his burning chest. The burning sensation plagued him since he stepped foot in this blasted realm, spurning him forward, but it did little to temper the blood lust, the rage fueling his every step.

Drowning, drowning, the tavern made a mistake fetching him. A mistake placing him on this path. Blood dripped from his fingers. How many had he killed. Heartbeats silenced one by one, except his own thundering pulse, pounding in his ears.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor of stone. The predator in him stilled.

"Sound the alarm! The bitch has escaped--" the brash male voice cut off on a gasp, stumbling onto the massacre. Twisted bodies littered the hall, blood seeping into stone. They had no useful information, but she was here. He could taste her on the air.

He didn't give the startled male a chance to cry out, a bloodied snapping out to seize the man by the throat. He lifted him high, waiting for the rich tang of the man's fear to flood his senses before he spoke.

"Where is she?"

"I-I don't know what--ack" The man turned a florid shade of mottled purple with a slight squeeze.

"Where is she?"

Whatever the man saw in his eyes, it was enough for him to lose control of his bladder. "She-she escaped."

"To where?"

"I-I-I--" the man wheezed under the unrelenting pressure around his throat. Blood seeped between his fingers as his nails dug into the man's skin. "Th-there's another level. I think she found the way in."

His chest burned, hot and sudden. He snarled, his handing flexing out of his control, crushing the object between his fingers. The man slipped to floor, neck twisted like the others, but he had useful information. Useful information and the fine trail of her scent that wove through the air like Ariadne's string. All Valentiniaus had to do was follow it down.

Calponia wasn't sure what she expected. Maybe something like Tim Curry straight out Legend, rather than the pleasant, mild voice that emitted from the hood. There was a deep, artificial echo, which made the hooded figure sound vaguely like a baffled Vincent Price voice over as he addressed them.

"No, this won't do, this won't do at all. This was a trap for the way keeper, not you. You are far too early, my dear."

A strangled sound dropped from her mouth. She glanced between the bloodied brothers to their crumpled heap of a sister. Being addressed with such a sentimentality by the Big Bad left her feeling flustered, so flustered, it took a long moment for the words to click.

"A trap for Mack," she whispered. A flicker of hope kindled to life inside her. A strange emotion considering her current circumstances, but if the hooded figure orchestrated this great big mess of clashing realms, then he expected Mack to survive a horde of undead zealots. Really, she should too, but it felt good to have it confirmed. He was alive.

Her relief was bittersweet, thrown by the hooded figure's next words. "He'd come crawling here, eventually. After the Inquisitors were through with him. I do hope they are up to the task I hired them for. Hard one to weaken, that one. I can't imagine how much energy he must exert keeping you under control."

Calponia felt the hope drain from her, leaving a chill down to her bones. "What are you talking about?"

"Surely, you've seen the toll the bête noire takes on him?"

She flinched as Caliban swore behind her. She recalled all too keenly how weakened Mack was after siphoning off the bête noire, but he'd recovered from it. Hadn't he? The chill worsened. She had to do something. Calponia refused to let this bloody curse be anyone else's undoing. She had to stall, had to think of something.

"What do you want?"

"Why the Heart, of course," said the Big Bad with affable ease. "Surely you've heard the phrase tossed around, though I doubt that lout has explained what it means. How important it is?"

A surge of indignation flared in her on Mack's behalf. "Actually no, I haven't," she spat. She hadn't, right? Calponia strained her exhausted mind, rucking over her memories of the past few days. Was it only days? It felt like weeks, months, an insurmountable amount of adrenaline and fear crammed into such a short time. Mack promised to explain things to her, but there hadn't been time, no time. The gears and cogs spun behind her, like mocking clockwork. Calponia kept her face blank and took a small step toward the wall. It was a nervous action, one the hooded figure wrote off without a thought.

"Truly? Perhaps he forgot to mention it, though I must say, your ignorance is greater than I thought."

She scowled at him. "What is this, pick on the Earthling day? Piss off. Heart, kidneys, whatever the organ, you aren't getting it."

Baffled Vincent Price chuckled. There was nothing affable about the sound. "Are you so certain, my dear? There are pathways between the realms even that arrogant fool doesn't know about, pathways that will lead me to what I seek." The hood tilted as he considered her. Calponia felt the weight of his gaze, like insects crawling over her skin. "Then you'll be of use to me. Though you do have quite the talent for disaster. You really must try to stay alive until then." He snapped the fingers of one gloved hand. "I will make sure of it."

She registered the intent in that echoing lilt a second too late. He flashed towards her. Calponia squeaked and back peddled into the wall of gears. The terrible pins and needles sensation zinged down both her arms, leaving her numb, unable to defend herself. The scent of burning metal made her eyes water as the wall shuddered and whined behind her. The hooded figure appeared in front of her, pressing one hand against her sternum while the other reached behind her and plucked at the air. For a second the world turned gray. She couldn't breathe. Over the figure's shoulder she caught sight of Caliban, a sibling under each arm, staring at her in horror.

A pulse of power drove into her chest, a bolt of ice that froze her inside. The hooded figure glanced up at the shuddering wall. "It appears you succeeded in derailing my plans after all. Do try to survive your little caper," he murmured. This close she could smell his breath, stale, with a hint of something she couldn't place, but felt she should. Her senses were in disarray. He stepped away from her. "Until next time."

The bastard vanished. Calponia sputtered at the empty air, her awareness of her surroundings snapping back with a vengeance as a piece of the wall crashed next to her.

"Come on!" Caliban roared at her. She shoved herself forward, refusing to look behind her as she slipped and skidded to the others. The expression on Caliban's face told her all she needed to know about what was going on behind her.

"We need to get to the maze," she said.

"But the water." His eyes widened.

"Don't look at, don't even think about it," said Calponia, using tried and true advice that got her through many a muck up in the past. "Just keep going." The ramp went up, which hopefully meant the shifting maze would be above the water level. She hoped. She scrambled up the ramp, Caliban on her heels despite carrying two unconscious people.

"We're going to die," sobbed Ariel.

Okay, one unconscious person and one useless sack, Calponia mentally amended. She snatched a torch from the wall as they ran by. The light source would make their escape easier, at least they could see the walls moving...

She took a breath at the sight of the maze entrance. The stones ground together at a furious pace, snapping and pounding, clearly going haywire as the gears crumbled below.

"We might die," she said.