I'm not leaving without you! Even if he could run (and that was unlikely, with the chain wrapped around his arm), there was no chance he'd leave her with the thief; he'd never abandon her to even a relatively moral person (like Lelan), let alone someone so monstrous.

Unfortunately, in the time it took him to recover, Lelan lost his advantage, and while Eld couldn't clearly see what happened it sounded painful and resulted in the boy being flung at him.

There was no room to dodge, and he couldn't afford to let go of the hook lest it be used to embed itself in him or Lelan. So he tried to catch Lelan as best he could with one arm, wrapping it around him as he came close, but the force of doing so caused him to take several steps back and go down to one knee.

He didn't have time to worry about how extensive his injuries were--the thief was surely not going to let them take the time to recover, or if he did it would be at the cost of them letting him get away. Either way, it wasn't a viable option, so he could best help Lelan by keeping their opponent off of him for the time being.

Though how he was going to do that, he wasn't sure--approaching was much simpler when they were on either side of him and the thief was forced to have his back facing one of them.

Inevitably, Lelan crashed into Eld. Eld fell to one knee, while Lelan fell into Eld, both legs flat on the ground, shoulder against Eld's chest. It was difficult to see in this inky blackness as is, but as Lelan leaned forward, Eld might still be able to see the extent of the damage. Lelan was bleeding profusely from his back. It was going to stop on its own, but it was still soaking the back of his jacket fairly quickly--and soaked into Eld's shirt, too.

"Nggh . . . that . . . son of a bitch," Lelan groaned as he reached over for where he assumed there'd be a wall and used the indiscernible vertical surface to help himself stand up. He wasn't beaten, but he was hurt.

Truth be told, it was the first time someone had actually used Sarrevous against him in battle. He'd have been surprised that Sarrevous was so willing to follow this psychopath's orders, were it not for the fact that Sarrevous himself was an unjustifiable bastard. He was uncaring, rude, and even hateful at times. People were nothing to him. A wielder was just idle interest. Lelan knew damn well that Sarrevous would be as interested in this thief as he was with Lelan.

Kageko's voice wasn't heard again. Somewhere, though, somewhere deep in the back of Eld's mind, he might be able to hear a faint scream. Not a pained scream, not a horrified scream, but a scream for his sake--she was shouting something, but she was too distant, briefly, for him to understand it.

The thief stood straight up, his body perpendicular to both vertical surfaces. His eyes narrowed upon Lelan and Eld as they stood and gathered themselves up again. It was going to be harder for them, now, having only one direction to attack him from--



The walls to each side were pierced hard in an instant. The thief held his arm back behind him, from which the chains shot, two in each direction, striking into the walls like gunfire. Hollow echoes of brick and stone shattering filled the alley painfully quick, until in a single moment, one chain reared its hook behind Eld and Lelan:

But not to pierce them, no. It left one surface and shot forward into the next--and then another, and another, and another, and another, all weaving in and out like fine threads through two completely different fabrics--

As soon as he heard it come from the wall behind them, Lelan turned around, prepared to catch the hook, but he didn't have to. Instead, he watched the first and second and third and forth strike again and again, repeating their threading process until there was little space left to boast--not enough to squeeze out, truly.

"Oh . . ." Lelan turned around.

Six more chains had burst through the gauntlet, and now as snakes, hung over the thief's head, their hooks like mouths ready to tear into human flesh. They wavered back and forth, dancing subtly to the persistence of silence.

And Lelan finished his statement: ". . . fuck."

Eld shrugged off Lelan's complaint. With something like that, if the thief was gunning for efficiency he should have just filleted the both of them. Was he just toying with him, or was he so unhinged he just didn't realize he could've done some serious damage there?

"Are y-can you still fight?" He knew Lelan well enough by know just asking if he was alright was going to get him a sarcastic reply.

With the hooks hanging above the thief like that, Eld couldn't afford another reckless charge just yet, so he approached cautiously, ready to use the chain and hook in his hands to try and deflect an incoming attack.

"It's going to be difficult to fight him like this, from one direction," Eld observed.

"Actually . . ." Lelan trailed off, a sense of urgency in his voice, "We're dead. If we don't get out of this alley, we're not going to make it."

There was no denying it. No matter how level headed, optimistic, or downright cocky a person was, anyone in this situation would have to be forced to consider the fact that he or she had been lead into a death trap. The thief had lead his pursuers right into a place he knew he could win. Tactically, it worked. For the thief. Some might even go so far as to call it absolute brilliance, but if Lelan could help it, no one would know the exploits of this psychopathic homeless man. He wouldn't be dead--just . . . pointless to the world . . .

Which required him to live through this.

Lelan nervously glanced from Eld to the thief, then back to the chains barring their exit. Indeed, death was a guarantee if they stayed here. The thief was essentially playing with them, somewhat. It was a flaw, definitely, but as it seemed, he almost had the right to. With no flaw weak enough to exploit in this small of a space, and so many strengths going for him--with so few for them--there was literally no chance for success. They were going to die. Eld might consider denying it, but as a smart man himself, it wouldn't take much thought to come to the same conclusion as Lelan, if only because the previous tactic, knocking him off balance to loosen the chains, wasn't remotely helpful here. Even while loose, the chains blocked their exit.

"You're better off than me right now," Lelan hated to admit, "I can see what I can with these chains if you can keep him off my ass."

Lelan proposed a situation where Eld didn't try to defeat the thief, but stall him. The former tactic might well get Eld and Lelan both killed . . .

"Gee, stop trying to make me feel better," Eld muttered under his breath at Lelan's estimate of their chances. Unfortunately, he was probably right--Lelan, though a pretty good fighter in his own right, was out of his league with this guy. At the moment so was he, though he hated to admit it; if he had the full use of his Qi, blasting the thief out of the alleyway would have been a cake walk.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do," he assented anyway. With the space so narrow, it was impossible for two of them to fight at once anyway, and Eld could defend himself better.

Fortunately, despite Lelan's fairly obvious low opinion of him, he could take care of himself well enough.

Eld spared a brief glance up. What's blocking us above? he wondered. The alley shouldn't have had a roof or anything, so there shouldn't be anything stopping him from jumping outside...but he was getting the impression something was in the way. The question was, was there really something blocking the sky, or was the thief using Kageko to trick his senses?

Lelan didn't respond, for once, out of necessity. They didn't have time to spare. Instantly, he started into the chains, pulling tightly on them at first, checking how taught they were. Indeed, they weren't going to be pulled loose. That didn't stop him from trying, though.

Two chains lifted in unison over the thief's back. Their hooks like fangs dipped with the command of a collective mind. The thief himself barely even looked at Eld, now. He allowed his eyes to trail down towards Eld's shins, not his face. His expression over time had fallen from grinning wildly to stoic, if not angry. He had a snarl creeping through his lips, characteristic of some sort of demon. The chains each rattled in agreement with his discontent.

Each of the two chains sped forward, aimed not for Eld, but for Lelan Jericho, whom would be the sole designer of a way out of the thief allowed it. Without Lelan, Eld wouldn't be escaping alive, either . . .

He didn't have much time to consider alternate escape options as the thief went on the offensive once more. The target wasn't him, though, but rather Lelan...apparently, whatever he was up to, it wouldn't be fruitless...so long as he didn't get interrupted.

Eld intended to make sure he wasn't. The hand holding the hook lashed out first, striking the one of the hooks and deflecting it. With his free hand he grabbed the chain of the other one just after it passed by, pulling his arm down as he did so and changing the momentum into a rotation; the fact that he was used to using a weapon with a chain worked in his favor.

"I'm the one you're fighting," Eld declared, swinging the hook of the chain he just grabbed at the thief's legs. Given how the he could control the weapon, it was unlikely to work, but it would make him shift his focus at least.

The thief's sneer became much more evident. His eyes moved up to Eld's knees and thighs. Still, he did not focus upon Eld himself. Truth be told, it was difficult to in this "light." Eld was just a silhouette. Seeing him was inconsequential. Knowing he was there and what he was doing, however, was of great consequence.

Eld wasn't able to swing the chain for any great radius. He had a small space to work with, just a little wider than a person. It didn't allow for much of a twirl, but enough to get the job done.

Well, almost.

The hook didn't meet the thief's leg, but the wall, through which it was propelled. The first hook and chain, deflected, lay upon the ground by Eld's feet, unmoving. The thief wasted no time in attacking again, this time not at Lelan himself, but Eld. In the same line of thinking, Lelan didn't stand a chance without Eld, either. If either were eliminated, the other would soon follow.

Three hooks lunged at Eldridge with wild abandon, one towards the boy's shoulder, another at his right leg, and the third strictly for his stomach . . .

Seeing the thief sneer, Eld couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied. Though it was perhaps misplaced here, he was usually satisfied to see another acknowledge his skill...whether they wanted to or not.

Just as the thief was about to strike, he noticed that the hook he'd deflected hadn't gone very far. He knew, with the way the chains could move, that he couldn't afford to leave it there. So he kicked it, sending careening at the thief.

By sheer chance, the the hook colliding with one of those the thief sent at him, the one aimed at his leg (and thus going lower than the rest). This was fortunate--he could take care of two, he was certain, but three would have been difficult. This time, though, since they were aimed at him, he had to duck.

He did the same as before, deflecting one, the one aimed at his chest (which, since he ducked, would have smashed into his face if he did nothing). He dropped the chain he'd just attacked with, since its hook had smashed into the wall and was therefore useless to him, using that arm to catch the chain that passed over him, aimed at where his shoulder was.

Again, he changed the momentum to his favor, but this time into a vertical rotation, attacking with it again, sending the hook forward and up between the thief's legs if he didn't do anything to defend himself.

Additionally, he wasted no time in sending the hook he'd deflected, and would land near his feet again, flying with his foot at the thief. He couldn't aim it, but it would give him something else to think about.

Each hook knocked back at the thief was, in turn, knocked away by a seemingly invisible force. The first hook veered straight to the left at a ninety degree angle, straight into the wall. There was no hesitation; it was simply gone.

The second hooked chain received the same treatment, except to the right. It fired off like a bullet into the wall, just as the three before it. They were lodged into the wall, now, and a familiar sound returned--a roaring sound, a bellow of unnatural force, of stone eroded away at an unstoppable pace, with momentum only continuing to grow despite all forces it had going against it--

Alas, nothing happened. In the end, the thief allowed one more hook to fly--a hook which would no doubt be deflected. He didn't try with this one. Eld would be able to deflect it much easier than the others.

Meanwhile, Lelan had found something of great interest. It seemed that the walls were not made of high quality stone. In the dark, he couldn't see them, if they were sandstone or whatnot, but pieces chipped away easily at the points where hooks had born holes through the walls. The amount that they had, too, made it look like two individual thin slices of Swiss Cheese, except the cause of those holes were still in place. So many holes could only serve to further weaken the structure, though.

So Lelan did the first thing that came to mind. He grabbed a chain at waist level, put one foot to the wall, and heaved back with all his might. It didn't do a damn thing at first, but with enough effort over time . . .

Eld couldn't believe his luck--every deflection sent hooks and chains careening into the walls. Whether the thief was trying to do something to the walls or just having terrible luck, he wasn't sure, but he did know this: when the thief sent his last remaining chain at him, he was also leaving himself open.

Now's my chance! Even as the chain was heading toward him Eld broke into a run, again dropping the chain he picked up before (whose hook was also, now, through a wall) and, narrowly avoiding the hook as it shot past him, catching the chain.

This time he choked up on it, so that he was now holding a hook in each hand. The thief didn't have any more chains ready--he was wide open. He knew he couldn't pass up this chance. Even if the thief tried to pull him back by the shoulder, he'd counter with a burst of strength, pushing ahead in spite of the restriction to slash at the thief.

It wasn't more than a second after Eld began to run at the thief that the roaring in the walls started up again. Almost instantly after it started, a hook burst from one edge to the other, narrowly missing Eld, not from the back, but the front. It shot out like a cannonball, nearly impossible to catch, as difficult to deflect as a bullet, but still at the right pace that Eld could stop just in time to avoid being impaled on the chain. Dodging by jumping forward, however, would have resulted only in death. It was at level with his stomach, more than enough to break his momentum--

For just a fraction of a second later, another burst through the wall, this one for his neck--and then another just at level with his ankles . . .

Lelan had passed a glance back at this, briefly, yet enough to understand the kind of trouble they were in. The thief was using a tactic that Eld had actually feared moments earlier. It had, perhaps, been more important to him to box in his enemies before he killed them--make sure they had nowhere to run, no way to escape the inevitable demise that was coming their way.

It was more than just a little daunting to think about. So, Lelan pulled harder. He strained every muscle in his body in the process, making himself bleed out even more, but paying no mind to it. The urgency of the situation called for it. Lelan even began to kick at the wall with the foot he had braced on it, all whilst he continued to pull the chain he'd grabbed with all his might.

Without even thinking, Eld stopped abruptly, just in time to prevent him from running headlong into the chain that shot from the wall, crossing in front of him. A noise of alarm escaped him--he thought the thief might have been doing something with the walls, but he wasn't expecting that.

It was thanks to sheer panicked reflex that he leaned back as the next chain shot out a second later, passing just in front of his face. With the curve of the hooks he wouldn't have been pierced, but if they were strong enough to burst through a wall it could very well have crushed his windpipe if it hit him.

The third chain, however, found it's mark, striking his leg with enough force to completely bowl him off his feet. He quickly found himself scrambling backwards to put some distance between him and the thief.

That...it shouldn't be possible! To be able to control the chains with so much force--not even pulling reeling them in or shooting them out, but out from the thief's body entirely...it had never occurred to him that he could smash through the walls with them like that.

"How's the exit coming?" Eld asked with no small amount of urgency.

As Eld dealt with the thief, Lelan continued to hammer his foot into the wall of the alley. He couldn't see it, but he knew it was there. The thief was sending more chains, the three that Eld had to deal with, three that Lelan saw out of the corner of his eyes, one by one, and he knew he had to speed the hell up. Faster he kicked, feeling the wall give little by little . . .

And in the end, Eld's question was asked right in time:

Crumbling filled the alleyway as what felt like rocks piled briefly onto Lelan's shoe. He stumbled back and caught himself on the wall behind him. Kicking the wall had helped, after all. Each chain was down, fallen to the ground, dislodged by Lelan using the stress on the wall with so many holes in it, overstressing the wall and forcing it to collapse, ejecting every chain that had threaded through it, leaving only a massive opening behind: their only escape route. Eld, still on the ground, wasn't in the best of positions to leave, though--so Lelan got moving quick again.

Lelan grabbed Eld by the shoulders and lifted hard to help him back to his feet--or, rather, drag him back as quickly as he could, as it would have taken longer for Eld to get his bearings back than it would for Lelan to drag him out, "Shit--c'mon! We got our opening!"

But that didn't mean the thief couldn't close it up again. This, however, could be stopped easily. After all that had happened so far, Eld had been the only one with a certain ability to make the thief stumble back, which had temporarily forced a half of a second of control loss with the chains. If Lelan was dragging him out of the alleyway as fast as he could, and Eld could assist with the thief from a slight range all the while . . .

Eld couldn't afford to spare a glance back to check what all the racket was about; he was entirely focused on the thief, and more specifically staying alive for the next few moments. Which was why Lelan's shout that they had an opening was welcome.

As he continued to crawl backwards as fast as he could, not wanting to take even the second it would to stand up, he Lelan begin dragging him. That was...not pleasant, but it allowed him to devote his attention to something else, especially now that the thief's wall attacks had been thwarted.

With a shout, he tossed another weak Qi blast at the thief to stun him, though he was actually thinking of how every time he did so the response was to pull him backwards by the chain around his arm--a bad thing before, but now that was the direction he wanted to go.