Spiral of Events: Unfriendly Restitution

Several spiral-shaped domains gleamed with mocking intent against the pinkish-orange sky. A alone, hooded Casalyian walked in the shadows, quickly turning down an alleyway. He moved quietly until he spotted a sign and a few tables located beside a door -- the alleyway café he was looking for, he thought to himself. He took a seat at the very first table and turned his attention to intently watching the entrance of the alley.

Another Casalyian, the shop owner, stepped out from the door, holding a cup. Wordlessly, the shop owner placed the cup in front of Terrence.

"It has been a long time, Terrence. Did you get lost on the way here?"

"Of course I did," Terrence replied with a smirk, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

The shopkeeper retreated inside, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

Terrence quickly took a cigarette out of the pack, an automatic gesture from years of indulging his bad habit. He gently lifted the cup of Casalyian brew to his mouth, still holding the cigarette in his other hand. Today looks like it's going to be a handful, he thought to himself, placing the cup down. He reached in his back pocket for a lighter, then slowly brought the lighter to the cigarette.

Terrence's eyes started to refocus on the entrance of the alleyway. A sudden rise in personal energy let him know someone else was near. His hood fell back slightly, revealing his almost black face. He tensed, thinking about the consequences of getting caught in Casalynn -- most likely death, since he was an informant. He shuddered.

But the large figure waved, catching him off-guard. Terrence quickly realized this could be the Casalyian he was watching for. Relieved, he thought he might make it to Vincent after all, before they go inside the temple. The Casalyian gently edged his rather large frame down the alleyway. He was greatly impressed with the cleanliness of it. Not a scrap of trash existed. It was narrow though, very narrow. The Casalyian stopped short of Terrence.

He eyed the Casalyian's appearance – red hair, mustache, an excessively overgrown beard, overweight, and a little older than Terrence himself. When Terrence was satisfied that he was looking at the real deal, he nodded, then spoke with an agitated tone, "Take a seat, Ramos."

Ramos obeyed, looking around. This place was unusual, almost cramped into a space that did not exist. But that was the nature of the world of Casalynn, cramped in most areas and nothing but forest in others. He stared into the window of the coffee shop. "Weird place for a café, don't you think?"

Terrence nodded, almost chuckling, indulging this Casalyian in what little conversation he could spare. "It even says this on the sign. Only the truly lost could find this place."

The Casalyian thought for a moment. "Does this mean you are lost?"

"No, I lied and told the owner I was lost."

The big Casalyian eyed Terrence sourly. "That is just typical of you, Terrence. So anyway, you already know that the king plans to give himself up and hand the throne over to his daughter."

"Hold up before we get to business." The air around Terrence became heavy with little red and black energy charges. His red eyes appeared to glow a brighter. "Squawk," he said in a commanding tone. A shift zone opened; revealing black and red on the inside. And something on the inside of the zone opened its eyes and stepped out of its little pocket dimension. Spreading its wings, it shook them as black feathers fell loose, landing on the table.

"Your wish is my command, Master," the monster replied vibrantly.

Ramos looked mildly disgusted at the oddly-shaped monster. "It looks like a very large raven," he commented dryly.

Terrence chuckled. "Squawk, I need you to look around Casalynn for any trouble – mainly Monett, if you remember her."

"Yes, Master." The bird creature cocked its head, taking flight.

"Now back to business, Ramos," Terrence said, giving the Casalyian his undivided attention. "Tell me something I do not know."

Ramos shifted in his tan amour, uncomfortable with Terrence's intense gaze. "They originally thought they had Siphon in custody until the Council Chambers fell. Now they are not so sure. They have one dead body and a look-alike. Also, the Authority Force thinks that Monett and Sizzler Sutra have something to do with the council, along with the huge stink of missing red eyes. They have no evidence, of course. The only thing they can conclude is that around the time the red eyes went missing, Monett's child was nowhere to be found, either."

"She has a kid?" Terrence said while taking a drag. "Two Siphons – none of this makes sense. Also, if she had a kid, why would they let her keep it? The poor thing might be demented by now. Besides, who would have slept with her?"

"Pay attention!" Ramos grunted furiously, trying to convey a sense of urgency. "Look, the demand is for the king and the heads of the council. They have no idea how word got to Casalynn."

Terrence snorted, "No matter what the council does, they will never hand them over!"

Ramos aimed his blue eyes directly into the eyes of Terrence. "They are handing the council over, too." His tone was deadly.

Squawk's black wings stretched out. His red, beady eyes kept peeled for trouble. "Eye infringement," squawk croaked.

After he spoke, a white energy ball dispersed over the area, hitting everything from trees to buildings. Squawk began to see through the buildings and leafy green trees after the white light from his ability faded. He croaked again sounding out the word "Direcorption," causing his eyes to swirl and turn white. Squawk could now see farther. Everything that would usually appear in at a distance was now enlarged to regular size. He spotted Monett, a little girl, a shaggy Casalyian, and a chubby monster. He leaned his head toward their direction and quietly spoke, "Soft sound." The sounds around squawk amplified. He nestled himself on a branch, ease-dropping on the unsuspecting individuals below.

"Mommy, you mean I get to see Daddy Siphon!" Yin exclaimed loud enough to make Squawk cringe.

Sizzler let loose a low, dry chuckle, knowing they were here for reasons other than to let Yin see her precious fake father.

Monett stopped and faced Sizzler after hearing his slip of the tongue. "Something you'd like to share?" She responded nastily.

Squawk momentarily lost interest in them and focused on a door that was ajar. He observed it as broken at first, but something seemed off. Squawk cocked his head in confusion studying the door again . . . Maybe decayed . .. Perhaps both, yes . . . He quickly analyzed his surroundings, taking mental notes . . . A dungeon prison? He flapped his wings in disapproval. Careful not to let lose a loud sound, he quietly murmured, "Trouble found starting with a capital 'M'."

Squawk turned his much-needed attention to Monett's posse, as they all slowly entered the spiral-shaped dungeon. He released energy balls, appearing as bright white balls that dimmed.

Squawk's eyes went pure white. "Eye elopement," Squawk crowed. The energy balls slammed into the walls, then disbursed, creating flat invisible particles that spread all over the dungeon, allowing squawk to see through the walls.

After they passed the decayed door, Monett walked two feet in and stopped. She stood still, and the metal walls of the dungeon began to morph. A horrible crunching and twisting echoed from the walls before her. Monett stepped back.

Yin ran to cling to her mother, immediately scared of the horrid sounds.

Monett gently pushed Yin back, annoyed. "Yin, be a big girl!"

Stairs suddenly opened down from the morphing wall.