//------------------------------// // Act 2 Chapter 12 // Story: Collision Code // by SSJRandomMaster //------------------------------// Act II: Collision Course Chapter 12: It’s All Here --------------- In light of the current situation, Corey usually didn’t have much free time. What time he had to spare in a day was sucked into Shining’s training of him. However, today, Shining had decided to go on ahead of him. He wasn’t sure what Shining had in mind for the regimen today, but Corey suddenly found himself at a loss for what to do to fill the time.   However, as he tried to walk towards the stairs to head towards the living room to just wait for the inevitable exertion, he heard the rapid steps of someone behind him. Corey stopped, turning in place to see who it was.   “Twilight?” asked Corey upon seeing her. She continued to close the distance until she was in front of him.   “Corey,” Twilight said, “I think I found something big in that book!”   “Big, how?” Corey asked, blinking, unmoving. Twilight didn’t want to wait for him to move, evidently, for one of her arms shot out, the hand gripping Corey’s forearm and pulling with more force than he thought Twilight would pull him with, and he found himself taking rapid steps just to stay up.   “Here, you need to have a look at all this stuff anyway!” Twilight said, “Quick, before Shining has you going out there again!”   “Fair point,” Corey conceded, straining slightly to speak while keeping his balance. Twilight continued to pull him right along. Mentally, he added, Not like there was time for it the past few days anyway…   Twilight continued dragging Corey until they were in the room where he had started learning magic. Twilight slowed her pace, but still held on to Corey’s arm the whole way. Even when she stopped by the desk, using her magic to float at least five pages of notes in front of them, she still held on. Corey looked over to Twilight, only to be interrupted when Twilight finally began to speak once again.   “Look here,” Twilight said, using her free hand to point at the notes, “It looks like runic magic can be used for the same things that unicorn magic is used for now…” She pointed to one set of notes, “These runes appear to cause a barrier to appear. It can actually be fine-tuned to appear over specific parts of the body. And here, you have a sort of anti-gravity field.”   Twilight used her magic to shuffle through the notes, bringing her hand to her chin, “And where was it now? A-ha, there!” Her finger shot out, pointing out another few lines of notes, “I think I found something similar to what you used on the creature from earlier!”   Corey followed her finger. Near it was a set of odd scribbles, followed by bullet points below it.   “Hmm, ‘increases kinetic output; can be used to increase the effect of physical power’,” Corey read, “That’s…incredible! Was there anything in there on how it was used?”   He looked over to Twilight, who looked back to him with a frown.   “Unfortunately, there are no specific ‘how-to’ guides on how to cast any of these specifically,” she said, “What I can tell you is that runic magic requires some kind of magic source; meaning they can be used by any living creature with magic.”   “I see…” Corey couldn’t hide his disappointment, “Nothing specific…”   “Still, I have to say,” Twilight said, glancing down to the desk at the book, which Corey only now realized was open as he followed her gaze, “This book has been very enlightening. I didn’t think I’d be reading this much. But…”   Corey looked up to Twilight, feeling alarm swell in his chest, “’But’…?”   “There’s more to this book than it just being a guide book,” Twilight said, floating her notes off to where she had pulled them from. She then put her other hand down, on a paragraph on an open page. Her finger pointed at the opening word, “I think it’s a log…here, listen to this.”   Corey looked down again. This time, Twilight read the passage aloud.   “She came to me again, her quest to learn…” Twilight read, “While it was refreshing in the beginning, it has now begun to worry me…”   Both of them paused as the words sunk in. Eventually, Twilight spoke up again.   “Could this be a teacher’s book we’ve stumbled upon?” asked Twilight, seemingly more to herself now than to Corey, “And who was this student that had her teacher so worried…”   “I don’t know,” Corey said, “But that doesn’t sound good…”   “When I read this, I knew I had to tell you…” Twilight turned to face Corey again, her voice breaking off as her gaze lowered slightly. Corey followed her eyes, and looked down to his arm which was still at his side. Twilight’s purple hand was still gripping his forearm tightly. There was an awkward pause. Corey looked up to Twilight, aiming to tell her to let go, only to realize she was still looking to his arm, and noticed that her cheeks were starting to pinken just a little.   This moment of pause from Corey was all the time it took. He felt her fingers moving around on his forearm, and the sensation of the touches sent shivers down his spine. His cheeks reddened quickly, and through his mind a single question began to fire off repeatedly.   What is she doing what is she doing what is she doing whatisshedoing???? Corey thought, his voice catching in his throat. Thankfully, before things could get any more awkward, Twilight looked up to see just how uncomfortable Corey was getting. Then, she looked back down, and let out a strangled gasp as her face changed to bright red. She immediately pulled her hand back, holding it over her chest as she tried to say something.   “I-I-I’m sorry,” Twilight stuttered, her face remaining red as she tried to explain away what she was doing, but no explanation came, “I-I-I…oh, um…I…I…”   “I-It’s…” Corey started, “It’s…no problem…But—“   “I—I just noticed I was still holding on and it felt so…so…” Twilight’s voice faltered, “Different…”   “D-d-different…?” Corey questioned, looking to the arm that Twilight had just made it her duty to start touching, a nervous edge to his voice as he pulled his other arm out of his jacket. “I…don’t know…”   The jacket came off completely, floating to the floor. Corey re-examined his arm, and touched it in the spot where Twilight’s hand rested, expecting his finger to sink into his skin at least a little. Instead, his finger bent just a little on the surface; he had hit muscle.   “What…” Corey said, continuing to poke his arm in other places—the same thing happened. Instead of his finger sinking, his arm muscles seemed to repel the force his finger was giving. He moved his other hand towards his stomach; the same thing felt like it was happening. Also, Corey’s stomach was a lot further in than he remembered it being, as he discovered when he went to feel it.   “How am I…?” Too lost in the fact he’d changed more than he realized, Corey’s hands went to the hem of his shirt and began to lift…   “Ahem!”   Corey froze as he realized what he was doing, his hands slowly lowering down until his shirt was back in place. He knew that sound very well, but he was too afraid to look. Twilight turned her head and looked.   “And just what is going on in here??” Shining asked, walking up to the still frozen Corey, “I go away for five minutes and come back to…to…”   Shining trailed off. Corey wasn’t sure why, but for some reason he felt like the fury he heard was…declining?   “S-Shining, it—it wasn’t…” Twilight said, still lightly blushing, still sounding like she understood absolutely nothing of what had just happened.   “Your face says it all, Twily,” Shining continued.   Corey still had no response, his arms dangling uselessly at his sides, his eyes wide and his voice box failing to be of any use other than to emit pathetic squeaks.   “And you,” Shining said, tapping Corey’s shoulder, “Keep your shirt on and follow me!”   Now, even if Corey had recovered, he would have been too embarrassed to say anything. Instead, Corey quietly tried to salvage what little was left of his dignity, and followed Shining out of the room, dragging his feet.   Twilight watched them the whole way. As soon as she heard the front door shut, she pulled over a chair and sat down, running her hands through her mane.   What did I just let happen!? She thought to herself, as the memory of what had come over her continued to haunt her… --------------- At some point during the trip back to the training area, Corey had finally started walking normally. Despite the fact he knew he would need to be fully alert when he got to the training site, his mind continued to be on the scene in the library.   What happened back there? Corey thought, one of his hands going to his forehead, And why did I think pulling my shirt off on the spot was in any way a good idea!? Twilight was still standing right there! And why was she acting so weird anyway!? She was rubbing my arm like— “Hey, it’s about time to get started,” Shining said, snapping Corey’s mind out of his thoughts, “You ready?”   Corey blinked, and took a couple more steps forward before taking a second look at the area around him. While it was the exact same place he had been for most of the past few days, it still had something new in the area; four things made of solid earth, each at least eight feet tall.   “Where’d the boulders—?” Corey started to ask, but was interrupted.   “I’ll explain after the warm-ups,” Shining said, “But first…”   Corey sighed, still wondering where all the boulders came from. They weren’t there the day before. Since Shining had left early to get everything ready, Corey assumed it had something to do with that, but held his tongue as he took his spot at the starting line.   The run itself was the same as it had always been: five miles. Just like with the days before, Shining saw Corey’s performance had improved from the previous day’s run. Even after the run, Shining could hear his breathing was far steadier when he paused to catch his breath. Though he was still hunched over with his hands to his knees, it was clear he was improving.   Good, Shining thought to himself.   “Alright,” Corey said, having finished catching his breath, already moving to put his palms to the ground, “Now for twenty push-ups, right?”   “Forty,” Shining said.   Corey paused. Then he looked up, giving Shining a confused look.   “You heard me right,” Shining said, “Today, we’re doubling each rep,”   Corey gulped slightly as a realization dawned on him, He’s serious…   Ultimately, it didn’t matter what he thought; he knew he had something he had to do. With this in mind, Corey finally looked down towards the ground, and began his first of forty push-ups.   Shining watched, his arms folded over his chest, as Corey went through each of the workouts. Interestingly, even with double the workload, Shining observed that Corey’s stamina was still holding up through it all.   Even better, Shining thought, smirking slightly.   As he finally finished, Corey was winded. However, this time, he didn’t even look like he was about to fall over. Corey’s head was bowed, but he remained firmly on both feet.   “Still standing, huh?” asked Shining.   “I’m as…” Corey wheezed, breathing hard, “Surprised as you are…”   “Now,” said Shining, turning around and starting to walk away, “Let’s move on to the next part of your training.”   Corey looked up. He took one step, then another, following Shining with no trouble despite the fact he was still winded from the warm-ups. At first, Corey expected Shining to turn around and try to shock him again; it wasn’t exactly out of the question given the way combat training usually presented itself. However, as Shining stopped in front of one of the new decorations for the training site, Corey wondered if this was the case.   “Now, you were asking about the boulders earlier, right?” Shining asked. Corey gave a small nod, not feeling up to answering, allowing Shining to continue with, “Well, I brought them here.”   Corey looked up to face Shining directly, disbelief evident on his face.   I won’t even ask, but now I have to wonder, Corey thought, Are these the result of a spell, or did he carry these here? And if so, did he take them all at once or one at a time…how long was he gone?   “Why?” asked Corey, trying to shut up his thoughts before he got lost in them again.   “For the past couple of days, I’ve done what I can to train you physically, but I can’t just keep your focus on that alone,” responded Shining, resting one hand on the boulder, “As unicorn ponies, our physical strengths can only get us so far. So, to make up for that limit, we also work on mastering our magic.”   “Originally,” Shining continued, “I was going to teach you a new spell, just in case you ever ran into a situation where you couldn’t muscle your way out. But, then I remembered something Twilight told me. Something about when she saw you fighting one of those creatures I was told about.”   “You’re talking about the runes, right?” Corey asked, already having mental flashbacks to that moment…what little he remembered of it.   “Exactly,” said Shining, “From what Twilight told me, you managed to take one of them down in a single punch. And intel says that something like that wasn’t an easy feat. In fact, only three of those involved were able to break one of the creatures: Twilight, John, and you. I may not know much about runic magic, but I know one thing.”   Shining looked over to the boulder, taking a couple of steps back, “Anything that happened once, can happen again.”   Corey realized what Shining was asking of him, and raised his right hand slightly, looking down to it. His fist curled and uncurled several times, as though he was analyzing its color and texture all over again.   Increasing kinetic force, thought Corey, recalling what he did know of it, A single punch that shattered the creature that John had trouble busting up at first…But can I really do it again? It was entirely by accident that time, and I don’t even remember how I did it. I— Something hit Corey in the chest, and he instinctively raised up his hands to catch it before it hit the ground. Once he looked down to it, he realized what it was. It looked similar to what a boxer would use…   “A knuckle guard?” questioned Corey, continuing to look it.   “Won’t help if you break your hand,” Shining responded, throwing the other knuckle guard over to Corey. After a few more moments of hesitation, Corey donned the knuckle guards, and walked over to the boulder Shining was standing next to.   What happened at that moment? Corey thought, trying to think his way through what he was told, I had just realized I was in a pinch. I apparently screamed something, and the spell went off on its own. Hmmm…   Next thing Shining knew, Corey let out a scream, throwing out a punch with his right hand. The punch struck the boulder, leaving virtually no evidence that the event occurred; no crack or anything else. Corey took a couple of steps back, his face contorted in discomfort.   “Nope, that didn’t work,” Corey said, lightly waving his punching hand. It wasn’t like it hurt or anything, but the equal and opposite reaction from the rock did catch him off guard.   “And not even a spark,” Shining commented, “Well, if at first you don’t succeed…”   “Try, try again,” Corey finished, standing up straight again, preparing himself mentally and physically for yet another attempt. --------------- The next stage of John’s training, while more difficult than the first stage, had one pro that the first stage lacked. Since his goal was to fly up towards the top of the cliff, any failures would quickly take him back down to the first step.   If anything else, John thought to himself, preparing for his next attempt, It saves me some time. Like all the previous attempts, Rainbow hovered beside him, waiting for him to start. Even though Rainbow showed that he didn’t need to do it, John still started his take-off attempt with a strong jump. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt it was natural for him to do it that way.   Here we go, John thought, now at the peak of his jump, giving off one strong flap of his wings. Not missing a beat, Rainbow took off after the dragon, having no problem keeping up with him. With each attempt, Rainbow made sure to be close behind John, monitoring how he was using his wings through the attempt. With each failure, Rainbow made sure to inform him exactly what he needed to fix in his form.   With each failure, John was made aware of the faults in his flying. With each subsequent attempt, he tried to make the corrections Rainbow pointed out to him. It wasn’t long before John not only began to see, but actually feel the difference from before to after Rainbow began to help him. Each take-off took him even higher than the previous, and each time he felt himself beginning to adapt further. Even now, the amount of focus he needed to maintain his balance mid-air had diminished.   And now, after many failures, after so many attempts, John found himself almost half-way up the cliff, all under the power of a single flap of his wings. However, this was as far as one flap would take him; he began to feel himself slowing down as gravity started to pull him back down. Making sure not to let himself slow to the point of stalling, John quickly gave his wings another flap, adding one more push to his ascent. Just as John had hoped, the propulsion increased his speed again, and he was now climbing higher than before.   Almost there! John thought to himself, seeing the top of the cliff drawing closer. However, before he could climb and higher, he was suddenly thrown off-balance. A strong gust of wind hit him from the side, pushing him off-course. Having lost his bearings for a moment, John found himself falling yet again. However, this time was different than the others. Even when falling, he wasn’t as helpless as he was through previous trials.   Opening his wings once more, John quickly tossed his weight, which successfully shifted him upright again. Afterwards, he turned his attention to the ground below, slowing down his descent as he drew closer to it. Before he knew it, John was back on the ground, looking up at Rainbow, who was descending down towards him.   “What just happened?” John questioned of her as she landed in front of him.   “Strong air current,” Rainbow said simply. John opened his mouth to make a reply, but quickly closed it again. It didn’t take him long at all to realize where it had come from, or why it had to happen in the first place.   “Have to be ready for anything, right?” he asked.   “Exactly,” said Rainbow. John nodded to her and made his way to the starting spot once more. Though he was a little disappointed that he couldn’t reach the top after getting so close, he knew deep down that what Rainbow had done was necessary.   Anything can happen up there, especially here in Equestria, John reminded himself, And if I don’t adapt to it quickly enough, I could be done for… --------------- Corey knew the day was going to be a long, long day. The past few days’ worth of experience had taught him that. However, at least those days were padded out with stuff happening to him and he was actually moving more. For the past hour at least, Corey had been trying various ways to get the spell to work again. Shining watched the whole time, but he hadn’t really said too much other than urging him to try again.   The boulder still remained just as sturdy as it had been, not even a hairline crack to show that Corey was even doing anything to it. Corey threw out yet another punch, this time with his left arm. His fist impacted the stone, and was met with the same result: the force he put into the rock coming back out at him and pushing his arm away. By now, Corey had been prepared for the pushback, but after this failure, he let his arms slack to his side.   “Damn,” Corey groaned, closing his eyes as thoughts began to overtake him. He vaguely heard something—Shining talking to him, maybe. However, he was already beginning to get lost in his own mind.   It’s no use, Corey thought, I can’t even get a single fragment of a rune to show up. Giving up already? There it was again, that inner voice that always seemed to manifest itself whenever he was having doubts. This is something that’s only going to help you if you can get it right, and you’re just going to turn your back on it? I can’t even remember how it happened to begin with! Corey thought, It was in the heat of the moment and I didn’t see you doing anything back then!   You’re focusing on what happened, his inner voice countered, And not why it happened. And it happened because you had nothing else you could do.   Memories back to return to Corey. They were fragmented at first, just like before, but the fragments began to come together as he was forced to remember more and more of it—the memories seemingly pouring in from a source Corey wasn’t even aware he had.   That’s right… Corey thought, Even with every advantage I could somehow take I couldn’t even really scratch it. I was convinced I was about to die in this world…a world I thought the only way that could happen was by freak accident or by natural causes.   And think about this, The inner voice continued, If you don’t master this spell, you will be just like you were then, extra conditioning or not. But what else can I do? Corey thought, I don’t even…   Another wave of memories cascaded over him, ones he wasn’t fully aware of until he had been forced to look back on that moment. He now remembered the sight of his own blood, and how it made him feel. He was afraid for his own life, but it was…a different kind of feeling, somehow.   Magic is derived from will,, Corey thought, the memory continuing to wash over him as fragments of the final moments of his battle played over and over again, And my will was…my will should be… --------------- Shining wasn’t sure what had happened. After his latest failure, Corey had spaced off right in front of him. His shoulders had slumped downward, and he was looking towards the ground, his eyes distant.   “Did I…break him?” Shining wondered, having been unable to get Corey’s attention. Just then, there was a green spark on Corey’s horn, followed by two more, before the appendage became wreathed in a torrent of green magic.   That’s not a normal spell…is this…? Shining’s question was soon answered when Corey’s arm moved yet again. It was pulled back at an angle now, the fist pointing down towards the ground. And then, as Corey’s horn pulsed with magic, Shining saw it. At first, there was one odd, glowing, green symbol over Corey’s forearm, but then several more began to surround it. Corey’s closed fist began to glow.   Corey moved again, letting out a loud scream as he punched the rock again. This time, when his fist made contact with the boulder, the glow seemed to go into the rock, and a moment later, the rock cracked heavily, deep cracks running through all of it. The next moment, the boulder exploded, sending small chunks and dust back away from it. Shining instinctively took a step back and raised one hand to shield his face from the dust. Once the effect had cleared, Corey was once again frozen, this time in the ending pose.   He actually did it… Shining thought, unable to contain a smile, I thought it’d take him longer to do that spell again… --------------- Corey remained in the punching pose, his gaze locked on the destruction he caused. Slowly, but surely, Corey returned to a normal standing posture, slowly looking towards the hand that had produced the impact. His hand flexed as he remembered what he had to do.   I can’t ever forget how it felt then, Corey thought, To be unable to even protect myself, let alone anyone or anything else I care about. It’s a feeling I don’t want to feel again. And by remembering how it felt back then…I won’t let it happen again… --------------- As the preparations on one end of the spectrum continued, so too, did preparations on the other end. In that same cave from before, one chamber was lit up with a scarlet glow. The echoes of whatever kind of magic being used could be heard all throughout the cave. In another chamber of these catacombs the escapees called their base, one hulking figure in a cloak stood at his full height, towering over two other cloaked figures in the same room.   The tallest of them had his arms folded, one foot tapping the ground impatiently. The smallest of the group, no taller than a pony, leaned against the wall, all calmness. Another figure was there too, sitting in the room, though from his frame it was clear he was bigger than a normal pony. His hands were on his knees, and it was almost like he was meditating.   The sounds of magic continued to echo around them, and eventually, the tallest one roared in annoyance. The cloaked figure who was sitting down looked up, while the one leaning against the wall took a look over to the one who made a noise.   “I can’t stand it!” the tallest one shouted, looking like a predator ready to pounce, “Why can’t she just send one of us out already!? If she sent me out there I’d deliver more than just one win! I’d wipe them all out!”   “You know the rules, Lyon,” said the pony-sized one, casually waving one of his arms in a carefree manner, revealing one regular, pony hand, “And much as it annoys me I can’t go and finish what I started, the rules are the rules…”   “The hell with the rules!” Lyon roared, striking the wall hard enough to cause at least the chamber to shake, “We’re the worst of the worst! We shouldn’t be making rules to begin with!”   At this, the one who was sitting stood up to his full height and moved his head. Though his eyes couldn’t be seen in the dimly lit cave, it was clear he was looking at Lyon. He eventually spoke up.   “Hold your tongue, Lyon,” said the third prisoner, raising one arm to point a clawed finger in Lyon’s direction, “You know full well what happened to the last guy who spoke out against her…”   Lyon paused, his arms slowly lowering. The cloaked pony on the far well resumed folding his arms, and the third prisoner merely stood there, lowering his own arm as the memory they all shared washed over them… ---------------- It wasn’t too long after they had all broken out. It was a simple matter for each of them to slip away. Lyon may not have had much upstairs in terms of brain power, but he could count. At that time, there were six others besides him. By now, each of them had taken a cloak—again, one for each of the seven escaped convicts, and thus all of their features had been obscured from one another. “All of you too, huh?” asked one of them. Lyon turned his head to look. “Judging from how puny you are,” said Lyon in response, “You’re a pony, aren’t you?” “What’s it to you?” responded the cloaked pony, “Surprised I’d be down there or something?” “While I enjoy the fact we’re technically out of there,” said another, with an eight-foot-tall frame; still smaller overall than Lyon, also male, “Now we’re back where we started.” “I just want to know who called on me,” said one more, one red scaled hand messing with his cloak. “Someone’s awfully sure of themselves,” said one other who was smaller than Lyon. “Why shouldn’t I be?” asked the red-scaled escapee, letting down his hood, revealing a lizard-like face. The top of his head was black-striped, the rest of his body a brilliant scarlet, “I’m the Salamander…” One scaled hand became engulfed in orange flames. “Salamander…Salamander,” commented the cloaked pony, “Oh! You were thrown down there for—“ “Ahem!” A feminine voice roughly coughed, getting all seven’s attention. Standing at the entrance to the chamber was another pony-sized cloaked figure. She surveyed the group, looking back and forth between them. Another one!? Lyon was on the verge of roaring in anger, Because of him, I was thrown in there to begin with…   “I see, so all seven of you made it out safely,” said the newcomer, “Good, so my escape plan was a success…” “You were the one, then?” asked Salamander, “Who opened the gates?” “I wouldn’t take all the credit, but I did help each of you out of there,” said the pony, taking a few steps closer. “Why?” asked another escapee; Lyon could tell it was a she from the voice, at least. “Well, that’s simple,” the newcomer continued, “I want each of you to be part of a game of mine. And don’t worry, I promise it’ll be enjoyable…so long as you listen to what I say.” Lyon would have voiced his dissent, but Salamander was way ahead of him. “Get real!” he shouted, stomping one of his feet, “You expect me to listen to you?” The newcomer paused, stopping her steps as Salamander pointed one scaled finger at her. “The only reason you want our help in the first place is because you can’t do anything yourself! Is that right?” Salamander questioned, “Please! You can’t boss me around! And what’s this game you want to play? We’re all out now! So why should we—“ “I don’t like your tone…” the newcomer interjected, raising one of its arms. The hand fell out of the cloak, revealing a gray tone to it, though it was hard to tell in the dim light. The fingers of the hand snapped, and for just a moment, something scarlet appeared. “And just what—“ Salamander took a step forward, but halted as his body pulsed red. There was an awkward pause, followed by a terrible scream from the lizardman. This was soon squelched out by the sound of Salamander choking on his own blood; it suddenly began to pour from his mouth. “Dead before he hit the ground…” mused one of the escapees, his voice of dull shock as he watched Salamander’s lifeless body twitch, facedown in a pool of his own blood. “Anyone else wish to voice their opinions?” asked the newcomer. Not one other escapee had anything to say to that. “Good,” she said, “Now, as I was saying, I’m about to start up a game. And don’t worry, you’ll enjoy it, as long as you listen to me…” --------------- Lyon barely suppressed a snarl as the memory finished replaying in his head. He wasn’t about to go out that way. The prisoner that had pointed at him slowly sat back down, and released a heavy sigh.   “I’m not fond of playing games with my victims myself,” he said, “But what else am I to do?”   “You’re not fun,” said the prisoner leaning against the wall, “Just wish she’d let me go. I’m itching to finish some business…up north now, I think.”   Before Lyon could voice a retort, the voice of his boss boomed throughout the caves, carried by an unseen force.   “Lyon, could you come to me? Same place as before?” she asked. Lyon looked up, once again about to snarl.   “Well, well,” said the cloaked figure leaning against the wall, “Looks like you’re up.”   Lyon knew enough to not retort, feeling he really didn’t have a say in the matter, and didn’t wish to keep his new boss waiting. He knew the room well; it was where he’d seen the pathetic excuse for fighting that the other side had put up. It wasn’t hard to find his way back to that chamber. When he entered, the boss turned to him, her hood still up to obscure her face.   “Ah, right on time, Lyon,” she said, motioning behind her. Lyon walked into the room.   “You wanted me for something, right?” Lyon asked.   “Correct,” the boss of the escapees said, “Why don’t you have a good look behind me…”   She raised her arms again, and the light in the chamber intensified. Lyon blinked. He could see more of the creatures she’d sent out earlier during her little “test”. There were quite a few more than there were back then. They were all currently inactive, though, seeing as how they weren’t glowing.   “Your time is coming, Nemean Lyon,” said the boss, turning her back to him, “Get yourself ready…”