"End of the road Daffyd. Or whomever you really are." Chance says as she begins stalking towards me after giving her knuckles a good crack. This is bad, without my powers Chance will completely wreck me without breaking a sweat. Could I make a dash for the SUV and escape?

The red thread that had extended from the hospital building has by now erected a cocoon over the entire grounds, cutting off right at the edge of the public road. That must be the limit of how far the Incarnate can extend his influence. The red thread also seems to ignore physical reality, no clipping through walls and vehicles in order to set up its barrier. Makes sense, given the fact that the red thread does not actually have any actual physical presence. Unfortunately, its ability to cut me off from The Voice's power is all too real.

Could the SUV even function while its caught within the Incarnate's anti-Voice field? Taking a glance at the vehicle, I notice that the red thread has failed to no-clip through it, instead opting to wrap itself securely around the car's exterior. The SUV looks as if it has been caught in a large spiderweb. So that's how it is.

The Voice had told me that the SUV is a mobile place of power. The Incarnate can't actually exercise any influence over it, but has instead severed the SUV from its surroundings, preventing The Voice from relaying instructions to the vehicle. But on the other hand, if I can manage to actually get into the SUV, I should be able to reactivate the artificial core in the place of power.

I perform a quick shuffle to the side and angle myself at the SUV, hoping for a chance to make a break for it. Chance matches my movements calmly and interposes herself between me and the car. Clicking my tongue in annoyance I level the shotgun at Chance in an attempt at intimidation. From the look on her face, I can tell that she is distinctly unimpressed.

"There's dragon's breath loaded." I say while pointing the gun at her, "Move aside."

Chance's composure breaks and she puts a hand to her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter, "Really? You're using an incendiary weapon to threaten the Master of the Fire of Perdition? Really?"

Dammit.

"You're way more pathetic than I thought." Chance sniggers, "Why aren't you throwing down Gallant? Scared your body will start leaking blood again?"

I bite back my retort about Chance tag teaming me with another Incarnate. There wouldn't be much point since their coordination is most likely directed by Fate on an unconscious level. More importantly, the time I waste arguing with Chance can be better used to engineer my escape. The longer I stay, the more dangerous this situation becomes. I begin backing up slowly and casting about for an escape route. My hopes are dashed when I see a large crowd of men and women gathering right behind me despite the fact that everyone normal is keeping their distance from the violent man carrying a shotgun.

The rest of Siobahn's muscle are here and they have cut off my retreat. Shit. Should I just surrender and save myself a beating?

That's right. How could I forget such an obvious thing?

"You're full of talk." I sneer back at Chance, "You are not going to hurt me."

"Oh?" Chance grunts as she tilts her neck to the left and right, very aggressively working out the kinks, "I still owe you for what happened at the lab."

"My sister told you to pick me up right?" I smile, "That's your mission, not beating me up."

As Chance scowls as my response, I catch a familiar sight from the corner of my eye. The black cab is parked just outside the hospital. The Voice must have summoned it the moment we got cut off. Alright, I need to make my way outside and extract. As long as Chance sticks to flapping her gums and intimidation, I should be able to drag things out long enough to accomplish that.

"Don't call Siobahn your sister." Chance snaps angrily, "We both know that you're not her brother."

I begin walking away from the SUV and gradually drifting towards the main road, my eyes all the while locked on Chance. Chance matches pace with me but doesn't seem inclined to take any actual action.

"Doesn't change your mission though." I remark as I keep my feet moving.

"No it doesn't." Chance admits, "But as far as my mission goes, why can't it be both?"

My mind goes blank. What are you talking about?

Chance explodes into motion, closing the distance between us in a blink of an eye. Without the powers, I have no way of matching that speed. Her fist slams hard in my gut and I am sent sailing backwards, landing on the ground hard as blood begins to pool in my mouth.

"Huh. You haven't recovered from your previous escapade?" Chance remarks with surprise.

"Oog." I groan as blood begins to seep out of my mouth. I seem to have lost feeling to my entire lower body. Did Chance sever my spine in a single blow? I roll on to my belly and keep crawling towards the main road. If there's a silver lining to getting my insides turned to mush, its that Chance has reduced the distance between me and the black cab. I hope The Voice can fix the damage to the body. It'd better. The body's a loaner after all.

"My mission Daffyd," Chance continues nonchalantly, "is to both bring you home and beat you up. So its really no issue either way. Keeping crawling though. Its funny."

Laugh it up asshole. Once I get past the servant's field, we're going to have a reckoning. Just keep talking and let me keep crawling away. My head suddenly burns with pain as Chance grabs me by the hair and forcefully yanks me up. She then turns me around to face her and looks at me squarely in the eyes.

"You're going to tell me your name. Your real name." Chance hisses, "And your title. Then I'm bringing Daffyd home. Got it?"

"What're are you talking about?" I mutter hoarsely.

Chance punches me in the gut again and I throw up a glut of blood on her. She wrinkles her nose in disgust before continuing.

"Don't play dumb." she snorts, "I know that you entered into a pact with Daffyd. But I can command you to break it if I have your true name and title. So out with it before I get nasty."

A sharp pain in my head causes tears to well up in my eyes. I steady myself and shoot back, "Keep knocking me about and Siobahn's brother dies. You want that?"

Chance rolls her eyes at me as she smirks, "I told you already, stop playing dumb. You want to risk dying together with your host? Now out with it."

In the background, Siobahn's muscle begin moving closer, some of them carrying shackles and lengths of rope. Shit. Do they intend to drag me off to some dungeon if I don't cooperate? I desperately stare at the cab, hoping that The Voice will take action, but the cab just sits there, completely unaware of what is going on.

"Time's almost up." Chance says as she tightens her grip on me, "Someone wants to do things the hard way."

"I ... I ..." my voice comes out in gasps as I desperately try to get Chance's attention.

"Yes?" she asks as she leans closer.

"I like it hard!" I growl as I plant the shotgun's barrel to her chin and pull the trigger. A lance of purple flame swallows Chance's head and she shrieks like a banshee.

But before her grip on me breaks, she flails furiously about, her fist slamming into my head with a vicious backhand. I feel bones break and a warm, wet sensation builds just beneath my skin. Red gradually begins to clot across my eyes as I am sent flying once more through the air. I hear horns blare and cars skidding to a stop.

Right into the main road? I think so at least. The only thing I can see is red.

"Oh shit!" the muscle exclaims in the background, "The young master!"

"Calm down!" I hear Chance snap at her underlings. I hear her footsteps stomping towards me and strong hands lift me up, far more gently this time.

"He's still breathing!" Chance yells from next to me, "We can take him back!"

I feel the untrustworthy warmth of the core begin to build again, liquid fire flowing into the cracks and wounds of my body. A bright light begins to wash away the redness that has bricked away my sight. I feel like a feather, as if I am floating away into the sky. Drifting off into the distance. As the buzzing in my head lulls me off to sleep.

My body begins to mend as my power returns. But that's impossible. I never learnt how to heal myself. I never needed to. The buzzing builds, growing and growing. Its all I can think about now.

Of course I learned how to heal myself. Oh, how I learned. But Siobahn knows that already, doesn't she?

"Let's go home Daffyd." I feel Prince Enma begin dragging me away.

And for the first time in a long while, I see through my own eyes once again. Never. I will never leave with Enma. Just as I will never agree to going back to being a nobody in Neo-Cardiff. I extend an index finger into Enma's side, and like a lover lean towards him just as I whisper in his ear.

"Finger of the Mountain."