Alright.
As I said before, there is no way a Corrupted walking around just like that won't draw all attention available.
So, deep breath, flail those tentacles... and let's go.
There's no one in the hallway where I took the guard out, so I just take the nearest corner. With full confidence, I turn my head around, looking at everything with only partially fake interest. Corrupted, when not trying to mate or kill you or just sleep, have this insatiable curiosity which mostly manifests in Separated, but even the wild ones are like that.
The sun outside is slowly setting, the fortress is pleasantly quiet, most members of the garrison must be in the barracks or simply away, and-
HAH, we got hostiles!
-there's a griffon chick wearing grey apron and gloves turning around to look at me when I turn another corner in an attempt at finding anyone to lure away from Desert Shade and her group.
Well, I may have overreacted on the enemy part.
She stifles a scream, drops her mop, almost pushing her trolley with cleaning supplies over, and scrambles in an attempt to run away. Unfortunately for her, the gloves covering her forelegs don't offer much grip on the wet floor, and she quickly slips, planting her face into the stones.
"That's some weapons-grade grin you've got there, Blazing."
What a coincidence! I was just thinking how boring it would be to have to walk through the whole fortress and try to draw everyone's attention on my own.
Now, let's start with a little baring of teeth at the cleaning lady.
"Aaaah, please no no no no no..."
Now add the tongue tentacles.
"I beg you, please let me go," she pushes herself away from me, slipping on the wet floor again and again in her panic.
Aaaand finish it off with an evil-
"ACHOOO!"
-sneeze? Damn it, her feathers got too close to my nose.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" she starts screaming her lungs out.
When she runs out of breath and the ringing in my ears stops, I lean in again and wink at her.
"Scream again, but something a bit more coherent, will you?"
"Wha- wha- wha- wha-?"
"HISSSSSSS!"
Oh hey, I can do the thing all Corrupted do. Easy.
"HEEEELP! HELP MEEE! CAN ANYONE HELP MEEE?" she starts wailing.
That should do the trick.
I unroll my fetlock tentacles and test how they fare on the wet stone floor. Pretty fine, as it turns out.
"What in Emperor's name?!" I hear a new voice call out, and the sound of pawsteps fills the air.
"I think we'll soon be getting all the attention you wanted."
Good. One, two, five... not enough.
The incoming griffons pause for a second to take the situation in, but their guard instincts kick in, making them draw swords.
"Not too experienced with Corrupted, are they?"
I think they're opting against the guns just so they don't hit my "hostage".
"What now?"
We still need more griffons here. Let me try something...
I take a deep breath, push my chest forward, and spawn a bunch of tentacles from my back in order to make myself look better and more terrifying. It works and the approaching griffons slow down. One reaches for a walkie-talkie on his belt.
"There's a Corrupted in the fortress, I repeat, a Corrupted inside the fort- I HAVE NO IDEA HOW IT GOT HERE, JUST SEND REINFORCEMENTS! Bottom floor, near staircase B."
Another hiss followed by more flailing of tentacles makes them stop, spreading out over the wide hallway.
*WREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!*
That's one annoying siren, but the noise seems to be contained within the fortress, likely not to cause panic outside. That's kind of the best case scenario for us.
"We heard the call. What's- oh Emperor's talons that thing is huge!" another group of griffons emerges from behind the corner.
"I can hear more of them coming, but this time from the other side."
Good for you, Heavy, because I can't hear a damn thing with the siren.
It's time to leave, though. If Des needs more time then she'll have the make some herself. There has to be over half of the fortress' weekend garrison on my back already. With few careful steps on the wet floor, I retract the tentacles, turn away from the main group, and bolt it.
"Careful-"
"Damn it!"
"The hell are you-"
"Aaaaah!"
The cleaner lady really should have put up a "Caution" sign beforehoof. Good to know the standard Legion issue boots aren't too useful in this instance. Heheh.
I'd love to admire the pile of cursing and falling armored griffons behind me for a while, but as soon as the featherbrains realize they have wings, I'll be in serious trouble.
"Four griffons just behind the corner!"
Clotheslining the shocked group ahead with tentacles sprouting form my sides, I pray to whoever is on my side at this point in time and keep running, because the easy part of the plan is over.
And now we trot forwards... and right, past the stairs up, and right again, aaaand one more time.
Hello again, cleaning lady.
Hello again, remnants of the griffon pile.
"Running in circles, well, squares, doesn't seem like a smart survival idea. Not to mention Desert Shade should be leaving the dungeons any minute now."
First, I wanted them to think I'm a panicking dumb animal. Second, I needed to get as many of them on me as I could. Now we need to lead them up onto the roof.
"Unlike you, they can fly."
Don't worry, I have a plan. And don't worry further, I know my plans always fail, so I have a plan B.
With the staircase upwards coming up just behind the next corner and the angry screaming of griffons behind me, I ascend onto the next floor. Now to do the loop again...
I hate running. Having Corrupted stamina is making little to make it bearable, since I'm quite hungry. These teleports to the real world and back to the Final Sanctuary are pretty inconvenient.
"So, about the plan..." comments Heavy as more griffons join the pursuit.
Get on the roof, and slide down into the city on the power cables.
"Or you’ll slip and fall over five HIGH stories down."
That’s plan B, Heavy. Don’t skip ahead.
Two more stories up further, I pick up the pace a little to give me a bit of distance away from the pursuers. I rush up the short stairs leading onto the roof itself.
The door at its end is locked.
Quickly going through the guard keyring, I find out that none of the keys fit.
"Time for a plan C?"
C? Right. What would a real Corrupted do? Run around blindly until driven into a corner and forced to fight.
Alright, new idea.
Ah hah!
I spit at the lock in hope of melting it. Some Corrupted have acidic spit, right?
The lock fails to sizzle, smolder, or anything I wanted it to do. Bastard.
"Plan D?"
Running out of time and alphabet here, Heavy. Any ideas?
"They're halfway through the hall, maybe just run back and-"
"Grrbl?" my throat starts burning, and I suddenly can't breathe.
Clawing at my neck and staring in growing panic at the lock, I let out a single loud cough.
A glob of black goop lands on the door, melting part of it along with the frame. Not waiting a single second longer, I slam the rapidly disintegrating obstacle open and rush through.
Corruptor powers, baby.
"Behind you!"
My moment of celebration is cut short when I feel talons grasp my tail just as I'm about to finally get to the fresh outside air.
A quick buck backwards solves the issue, and the armored griffon tumbles down into the rest of the guards lining up behind him on the thin stairs.
"Alright... cables... cables..." I mumble to myself, turning my head around.
"You didn't realize the power lines could be underground, did y- nevermind, to the left."
I just turn and run even before I notice what Heavy did first.
The short glimpse of nearly five TALL stories' worth of height underneath me makes my legs tremble, but I climb up the short pole, wrap my forelegs around the thick cable, and-
"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPS!"
My stomach is trying to escape through my ears as everything goes blurry. I can't blame it. If this wasn't my only working body, I'd be out of here faster than you can say 'splat'.
"Ah- ?!"
It comes more as shock than pain, but I suddenly spin around. Time slows down as I look up, realizing half of my right fetlock is missing, and my grip on the cable is slipping. Damn, those bastards sure are good with guns when allowed to use them.
Cheaters. Come here in person and try to stop me using your own power, cowards!
The wound closes quickly, and I swing my foreleg back up to catch the-
"No- aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
In hindsight, a jerky movement while hanging on a loose cable while barely able to hold it with my slipping healthy foreleg covered in blood might have been a dumb idea.
On the other hoof, I won't have to think about it for long because of...
...groooooooooooooooooooooooooooound!
Darkness.
"You knew this would happen, right? "
...
"Please tell me you did, otherwise this would have been very stupid."
Emerging from the icy cold pool of my own black goo, I drag myself from whatever strange liquid shape Corruptors can take back into the alley.
Well, Heavy, after Canterlot, I really wanted to test if this liquid form would work consistently.
"Really?"
HECK NO! What idiot would willingly jump down to their likely death?
"The old you from when we met."
Point taken, Heavy. Point. Taken.
"Griffons are circling above. They don't look keen on meeting a Corrupted in a narrow, dark alley."
Perhaps they were informed that Corrupted usually just die in the air. I've got my own kind of crippling vertigo, but the general rule of losing control over my shape and blowing up doesn't seem to apply here.
Anyway, I can't stay here like this, with my back against a dumpster.
Hmmm... Heavy, tell me how I look when I do this.
"Your tentacles retracted and you are a little smaller. You could pass for a big earthpony from a distance. Up close, not a chance."
Damn. I was hoping for something more, but it seems I can't just change shape like Corruptors can. On the other hoof, I don't burst like a bubble when flying. Why can't I be an all-powerful force of royalty whom everypony loves and who lives happily ever after?
"Death of boredom in a week, Blazing."
I guess I'll just have to wing it. It's weekend, early evening from what it looks like, there's almost no one around, and whoever is around will likely be sitting in some public park or minding their own business.
Hiding in the shadows and side alleys, I make my way towards the more tech-y part of the city.
"Haaa-" I hear a loud gasping for breath after I peek from around a corner just to face a griffon wearing a suit likely returning home from some weekend overtime.
"Greetings, sir," I say with all politeness I can muster. Everyone knows Corrupted can't talk.
He shuts up, blinking and tilting his head.
"Oh, ehm, well, hello to you too," the griffon stutters, "I thought you were somethin- someone else."
"Don't sweat it," I still don't dare leave the alley, but don't want the griffon to get more suspicious at having to talk with just a head coming out of an alley, "Mind if I ask where the Golden Standard bank is? I'm here for a business meeting and need to withdraw some funds."
"Oh ohhhh," he smiles, nods, and turns around, pointing down the wide street.
"Go three blocks that way, and then it's two or three blocks left."
"Thank you very much," I run off back to the alley before he can turn back. Thankfully, my sense of direction is somewhat decent, and I wasn't too far away from my target in the first place.
Heh, managers. Not too smart.
"To be completely honest, you've grown nerves of steel, Blazing."
Heavy, the only reason I'm not crapping myself is because I'd leave a trail long enough for the soldiers to find me.
"Still, that was quite something."
Stop complimenting me, I'm not used to that and it scares me.
With Heavy's tired sigh, I set out on the hopefully final part of today's journey.
In about fifteen minutes, I find both the Golden Standard bank and the public restroom nearby. Checking the foul place -the bathroom, not the bank- for any current users, I see no one in the main room, but one stall is apparently occupied. Slipping into the corner one, I lock the door behind me and get ready to wait for Des and her group.
Thankfully, this stall is sort of cleaner than the others, which makes the waiting more bearable. It even comes with an air freshener. Future, eh?
Why would that be here and not in the other ones?
"Ehm..."
Ah yes, of course, just my luck...
There's a circular hole cut out in the side panel of the stall.
"Leave it up to you to end up in a bathroom with a glory hole."
DES PUT ME UP TO IT!
"Anyway, do we just wait?"
I have no idea where we are, other than somewhere in the Griffon Empire. I think we either just wait until I pass out and get back to Void's place, or until Des' guys arrive. Doing anything rash right now would only make things worse.
"I'd like to remind you of what you did in the past hour and a half."
Shut up.
Damn... the waiting just lets me know how hungry I am.
*Tap tap.*
Oh for crying out loud! Why did I have to think about food as a Corrupted? Which god hates me? Wait, all three of them.
*Tap tap.*
"I think there's a griffon on the other side of the hole and he wants to-"
Yes, Heavy, I know.
"What do we-"
I can either knock him out and shove him into a different stall, not knowing when he'll wake up, or do the deed and he'll leave.
"You can't be serious."
I am starving, Heavy, and Corrupted are kind of attuned to sustenance of this kind. Anyway, it's not the first time I'll be used like this.
Very reluctantly, I tap back. Soon enough, I eat my meat, as they say.
"You're enjoying it a little too much."
I can feel you watching, Heavy, and disgust is the polar opposite of what I'm getting from you.
"Well, I... ehm..."
Besides, I DO miss Crom, and this is the closest thing I'm getting.
"I do miss Tio too. Though he was the kind who like doing this to me, as a changeling, I mean, not the other way around."
"Glk-?!" the griffon's not so little friend is whisked out of my mouth, I hear struggle, and look into the hole for possible incoming police members.
A bright green eye looks back.
“Needed something to pass time, I presume?” asks Desert Shade.