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The girl watched him leave, then hesitantly looked towards the window. She stood there for a long moment, trying to get her courage built up. The moment she did, she melted into her ink state and lunged towards the window to slip through the crack again. She wanted to do this as quickly as she could, while she was still brave enough to do it. Then, if she lost her nerve, she'd be out in the streets already anyway. No going back then.

Once outside, she turned back into her child form and began walking down the street. Her stride quick and forceful, trying to keep her adrenaline going to keep the fear of running and hiding at bay.

She wasn't sure how long it would be... but she knew they were getting their security up again when she had left the lab.

The girl continued to walk until she became tired. Her legs began to ache, and her adrenaline had worn off. She thought that she'd have an easier time just switching to her inque form, but she didn't want to be attacked by any heroes or anything like that.

Taking a moment to let her legs rest, she looked around the street. She found a security camera outside a small grocery store. A frown crept onto her face, and her eyes darted around. She didn't see anyone on the streets, or the rooftops. She didn't even see that man from the apartment building. She looked back down the street, and realized that she couldn't even see that any more either. Loosing more of her nerve, she backed up into a dark alley. There she melted into her inque state and hid behind a dumpster.

Edmond needn't wait for very long. The child had been view of the cameras just long enough to be pin pointed it seemed. A few buildings away from the alley that the child had hid in, a sewer lid rotated itself loose from the pavement. Once loose, it lifted from the ground and was gently placed on the ground, without making a sound, by what looked like a series of inky black tendrils like the child had. What came out of the serer was a far cry from whatever the child was, however.

A, what would best be described as a creature, slid out of the sewer. Its thin body similar to that of a human female, covered in spikes and thin inky tendrils snaking about it's body. Its face, were two white spots that seemed to serve as "eyes", and a large fang filled mouth.

The creature slipped over towards a building, and began climbing across the side of it. Up half way, then across the buildings. Well out of sight if the child decided to come out of hiding. It moved towards the alley, then paused above the dumpster that the girl was hiding under.

The creatures tendrils grew, then slipped downwards all around the dumpster. As though it was going to try and ambush the child with the things.

It didn't take long for the creatures tendrils to surround the dumpster. Once they did, each long black strand shot under the dumpster as quickly as it could. The inky black mass hiding under it screamed once, then dove out from under the dumpster. The tendrils were wrapped around the black mass, nearly melting into the child.

The creature lept down off of the wall and landed next to the blob. The tendrils still snaking about in the air between it and the child. The inky mass struggled with the tendrils for only a few moments, then grew still. The creature waited a moment, then broke the tendrils from it's body, letting them slip around the inky mass completely.

The creature waited a few more moments to make sure that the child was still now. Once she was satisfied with that, her posture relaxed. The head of the creature began peeling away; the mouth sinking into the long black tendrils that separated from the face and melted into the shoulders of the figure, revealing a woman's face. She took a black, clawed hand and flipped back her thick brown hair. Then rested her weight onto one leg.

"There now. That wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked, her voice dual toned. "Next time you won't run away, now will you?"

The inky mass lifted off the ground, and the child reformed herself. The tendrils that had wrapped around her ink form now seemed to be attached to what would have been the child's skin. Now her arms were as black and clawed as the woman's. And the child's face was partially covered by whatever substance the older woman controlled. Her eyes white and ghostly.

The woman pursed her lip once she got a closer look at the girl. "Now... my symbiote shouldn't do that to your coloring. It wasn't the camera. You're turning discolored. Soon you won't be able to keep a human form for very long. Seems as though you can't go for a full day without your medication yet." she said. Then she sighed and pointed towards the sewer hole she had arrived through. "Looks like the big wigs will have to start over. Too bad for you. You were one of the nicer little bugs."

The girl nodded, then turned and began making her way towards the sewer opening.

The child was the first to reach the sewer opening. She stopped just before the large hole, then melted into her inque form. Once she vanished into the tunnel, the other woman made her way into the sewer. The black tendrils of whatever substance she controlled rose up as she descended, and scooted the lid of the sewer back into place.


The two then walked down through the large maze of tunnels that ran under the city. For the long bit of time that they did walk, there didn't seem to be any particular location they were heading. Straight down the main tunnel. Then a right. Then a left. Then straight again. All the while the child didn't so much as look up at the woman. She just looked straight ahead with her now white eyes. The woman didn't give her too much mind either. Her expression was contemplative, but that seemed to be it.

Eventually the two came to a dead end. The child stopped and waited patiently for her next orders. The woman moved towards the large metal wall that cut off any other trail for them. She placed her hand on the wall, and then began feeling around for something. Soon, her hand pushed a panel into the wall, and a snap echoed throughout the sewers. The woman stepped back as more mechanical sounds echoed off the walls, and soon the dead end became a large sliding metal door. Behind which, was one large metal room. There was another door on the other side of the room, but it seemed to be securely locked.

The child moved ahead of the woman and into the other room. Then the woman proceeded into the room after her. Unaware that they were being followed.

Luckily for the Count, the laboratory's security wasn't fully functioning just yet. The cameras that would have spotted the unwelcome visitor were not working, or turned on for that matter. Neither were the security alarms that would have locked the second set of doors upon notice that the first door had not closed properly.

Upon looking into the second room, the older woman and the child could be seen walking down a long metal hallway. There were no doors, no desks, nothing to hide behind to continue to follow the two towards the set of very large metal doors they were walking towards.


EXIT Rosie and Allure to Underground Exhibit.