A huge plume of water erupts as we all stand in stunned silence. Our view is obscured by the erupting water and then the Ferry Rat disappears. Echo reacts first. She flickers and then dives off the ramp. Her tiny figure darts down into the falling water cloud and disappears, hot in pursuit. The Stranger moves next-

“What are you all waiting for?! After him!” he calls and then everyone is moving. The Stranger leaps off the ramp without a second’s hesitation, and drops down several stories to the bottom floor. Meera glances at me and I can see she’s worried. However, there’s nothing for it. I nod and we also step off the edge. The wind rushes into my face as all around us, the Stranger’s men start to move. Some of them take the ramp, evidently not confident in their abilities. However, almost half of them seem not to care about the drop. Damn…where’d he find so many strong guys?

*Splash*

At the bottom, Blink lands with Meera and I, while men splash down everywhere. Up above, some of the weaker ones are still sprinting along the ramp to get here.

“Blink! Search the whole goddamn floor!” the Stranger calls out orders. He nods at Meera and I, pointing at an archway. “I didn’t see which way they went! But they’re somewhere on this bottom floor! Split up! Find Echo and the Ferry-Rat! Bring them to the entrance! If anyone or anything interferes, you know what to do!” As soon as he says that, he tosses us something, and is gone, down another archway. Plucking his present out of the air, I see that the Stranger has given us a scroll. When my fingers unfurl it, I see it’s a map. My eyes scrunch up trying to understand it. On first glance, it’s mostly a mess of lines. How the hell do I read this?

“There’s too many floors to properly map!” Blink runs past us to another set of tunnels along with a squad of his men. They split into more and more squads, splashing away. He nods at us with his frowning mask, “That’s just a rough sketch of some of the areas around here! Remember, to find an exit, search for the brightest pipes and go up!”

So, what you’re saying is…you don’t care if we get lost. Great, even if we find the Ferry-Rat, we’ll have to drag him to the surface and come back here? With every Omniscient Guard in the city looking for him? Tsk…and you always said to plan out every move. The hell is this then?!

“What a mess…”

*Splash splash*

Before I know it, Blink’s squad is also gone.

*Splash Splash!*

“Boss, let’s go! They’re going to beat us to the Ferry-Rat!” Meera tugs at my sleeve and I show her the map. Her good eye practically rolls up into her skull trying to read it. “Errr…actually…maybe we should take our time.” Looking around with what I’m sure is a grimace under her mask, she chuckles nervously, “Hehe…now that I think about it…without them, it sure would be easy to get lost!”

“Yea. Honestly, I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do.”

“Well, I guess we can take our time. Actually now that I think about it, how come nobody else got a map?” She asks questioningly. Now that you mention it…I didn’t see the Stranger give anyone else a map. As a matter of fact everyone else was already waiting. Strange…

“Maybe, they already have maps,” I reply. But something about that still strikes me as odd. As a matter of fact, this whole operation feels weird. It isn’t the Stranger’s style at all. Too rushed, too harried, a bunch of unknown variables. Is this a trap? But why go through so much trouble then? He could just report us to the Omniscient Guard if he wanted to get rid of us. No…it doesn’t make sense. And also, what happened to my third Icebomb? Slowly, I get the hang of the map to a degree. It turns out I was holding it upside down. Gradually, I make out the schematic of the bottom floor. It looks vaguely like we’re in some sort of spiders web. The biggest tunnels all seem to curve up, leading either here, or to the surface. However, it looks like a good chunk of the right side of the map is dark and unexplored. Orienting the map to where we are, I realize that’s the direction the Stranger went. It’s perpendicular to where we’re going. Hmm, that’s weird. The main tunnels are all filled in for everywhere else. But there’s no information on that side. Won’t the Stranger get lost? I guess he’s confident enough not to care…how nice of him to send us in the best mapped direction…

“Alright, it’s fine. Even if we get lost for a bit, I should be able to get us back here,” I tell Meera. Glancing around one more time, I suddenly feel very exposed in the open. Pushing for the future, I find it still out of reach with the Stranger so near. Damnit. “Let’s go. Watch our backs. I…I’m a bit bad in this environment so…” Quietly, I admit something which I wouldn’t admit to anyone else. Meera for her part doesn’t quip back for once. She just steps in behind me, and I feel better as her small hand touches my back.

“I gotchu, Boss.”

Like that, we head into the darkness. Traveling at a trot, I follow the pipe which the Stranger directed us to go. I have a vague idea of where to go. However, the undercanals have become a mess with so many men running about each floor.

*Splash Splash Splash*

“Go, he’s not here!” I tell a squadron of the Stranger’s men. We keep crossing paths, although the deeper we travel, the less often it’s happening. Regardless, the sounds of our footsteps splishing in the ankle-deep water is causing everyone to be jumpy. Tsk…this is nerve-wracking. If I could just see the future this whole thing would be a lot easier. Honestly, if the Stranger just left for a bit, I’d have a much clearer picture of where to go. Glowing bones turn into streaks of green light as we speed up down a longer pipe. It’s like running in a hospital in my old world, when the power is out and only the emergency lights are available. Creepy as all hell and even grosser though. Meera keeps her hand on my back, and whenever I turn around, she has her head on a swivel. It’s a wonder her neck doesn’t get tired. Hang on…something’s changed. “Meera, do you smell that?”

“Yea. It smells…foul, gross.” Despite her disgusted tone, though, unlike Kisa or Nya, she continues to breathe normally. A Rainstopper through and through. “Death, and rot. Corpses, and a lot of them. But there’s something else…my tongue can’t quite figure out the taste. But it’s nasty!”

“Oh it’s nasty all right,” I grimace. Memories of the grotesqueries under Tosa come to mind. It didn’t smell exactly the same. But this foul rotting odor…under the Asha incense back then, it’s unmistakable. An uncountable number of corpses. And the putrefied stink of flesh that has long since lost it’s life…yet continues to move. Yes, I’m sure of it. There is something here which does not belong. The Stranger was right. It is not a natural rot. Something down here…is tainted.

[Sin, sin, sin…]

What was that?

Oh, just you again. I’m glad to know that we’re not alone down here. Even if my head hurts and I’m not entirely sure you’re real. Even imaginary friends are nice in the dark.

“Boss? Are you alright?” Meera’s hand on my back senses my hesitation. “Why’d you stop? Does your head hurt?”

“It’s nothing. Just…be wary. I think the Stranger was right,” I reply. “This place reeks of a Witch’s corruption. And I’m just saying…if you see any particularly big rats…be careful. They might explode.”

“You mean, like the Ferry-Rat?” Meera asks. “I wasn’t planning on stabbing him.”

“...No, I meant actual rats. You didn’t pay attention when Perideen gave his lecture on Bloodfiends, did you?”

*hic*

“Wait.” I hold up a hand. Meera’s warm breath comes over my shoulder, tickling my ear as she takes a look. “Did you hear that?” My eyes strain to see down the dim pipe. We’ve been going further and further away from the central room we came from. The pipes have been getting smaller and darker as the guide-bones become less common. Up ahead, there’s a three way fork in the path. One path left, one straight, and one to the right. “I think I see something. But I can’t quite make it out…can you?”

“It’s…what in the…?” My companion’s voice grows incredulous. She leans her chin on my shoulder, trying to get a better look. “Is that…why in the hell? Boss, I think there’s a bloody Demi down there. But not the Ferry-Rat. Too small…” Meera steps in front of me. Trained to see in the dark at a young age, even with one eye, she’s better than me at making things out down here. “Well…stab me if I’m wrong, but I think…there’s more than one. Don’t tell me…those are kids?”

I’m sorry, what?

Kids?

Like Natalia, that kind of kid?

“Let’s take a look.” I advance slowly. Fully aware this could be a trap. Perhaps we’re having a delusion. Some shared sign of madness. But now that I’m closer…yea, they do look kinda like kids. “Wait a minute. Didn’t the Stranger say something about flushing out the Ferry-Rat’s friends? Are these…?”

*Splash*

My foot comes down just a little too heavy. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to move silently with all this water around. Suddenly, the little shadows in the distance shift. Three pairs of yellow eyes glint back at me in the darkness. They widen in fear-

“There’s someone here!”

“What do we do?!”

“R-Run!”

Immediately, the shadows start to sprint down the tunnel. I’m wary, but their voices were definitely young and child-like. Considering they might be related to the Ferry-Rat, I decide it’s worth the risk. Meera follows as I take off in pursuit. To my surprise, it looks like our prey is running on all fours. Water splashes everywhere beneath their feet-

“They’re Demi’s!” Meera remarks. “I think…Demi-Raccoons.”

*Splash splash*

We’re gaining on them!

Luckily, these don’t appear to be Demi-Cats, so they’re a bit slower. Additionally, they’re children so their legs are pretty short. Meera and I gain on them swiftly. Carefully, I chant a spell, utilizing the water in this place-

[Frozen Water of My Soul, Come Forth-Chill]

A cold wind shoots out from both my hands and into the water. It freezes the surface on contact and spreads down the tunnel. Cracking noises ring out until the twin lines of ice pass our prey and then curve towards each other. They touch in front of the Demi-Raccoons and a translucent wall of blue-ish brown ice rises out of the sewage, blocking their path. Gotcha.

“Stop! We’re not going to hurt you!” I call out. Well that might be a lie. Fortunately, these Demi’s are young. And it seems not used to magic. They gasp out in terror and dig in their heels, spraying water everywhere trying to avoid my barrier. Good thing too because I’m fairly certain they could break through it if they really tried. “We just want to talk!”

“W-Who are you?”

“Friends of the Demi’s. You’ve probably heard of us. We invented the passcode. Do you know it?” I try to calm down the little Demi’s while approaching them. They’ve turned around, completely baffled by my ice wall. Now that I can see them up close, they really are just children. What in the hell are three Demi-Raccoon kids doing down here? Feeling almost as confused as the kids, I rub the back of my neck. This oughta calm them down. I say calmingly, “Is the cheese good?”

“Eek! It’s one of them! The kidnappers!” The largest Demi-Raccoon, a boy who looks hardly twelve, takes up a stance. He starts to charge at me while calling out to his friends. “Run away! I’ll distract them!”

Kidnappers?

Huh?

*Splash*

Meera immediately puts herself in front of me. She flickers and meets the boy’s charge. In an instant, he’s smashed down by her shin into the mucky water. Behind him, his two friends try to run, but still can’t figure out what to do about my ice wall.

“It’s blocked! We can’t get through!” One of them, a girl, calls back. She fearfully turns to us only to gasp when she sees the boy being held down by Meera. “Nika!” The girl grabs the other Demi-Raccoon kid and growls, “We have to help Nika!” Already, I can see Meera tensing, preparing to take them out. No…no, I need them alive! Jesus Christ what is going on?! Why didn’t the passcode work?

“Meera…stop!” I yelp, realizing this is getting out of control. “Stop! STOP! All of you just relax-!”

“CHARGE! SAVE NIKA!”

You idiots! Do you realize you’re trying to fight a Rainstopper!

Oh my God…Meera’s going to kill a kid.