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"Oi. Wake up."

A booted foot nudged the unconscious wanderer's form, a rough but distinctly feminine voice filling the silence.

"It was admirable of you to try this and all, but you won't get anywhere if you don't wake up."

The woman rolled her eyes in mild annoyance as Rei tried to get his bearings. She waited until he was at least slightly focused and standing before she spoke.

"Yeah this is the hive mind. Yes and no to the other one and who I am doesn't matter. Now here's the deal." she turned away and crossed the small dark space of dungeon, walking to the metal door that blocked the way out. "The horde doesn't want any of you lot breaking free, so it's locking you up."

Her right foot reared back and swung straight into the door, knocking it off its hinges and into the wall on the other side. She glanced back at him coolly "The horde is a b***h so I'm helping you out. Any questions? Too bad. Keep up, grandpa."

And with that said she walked out into the hall and into the light that led to the next part of the Hive Mind.

The woman's stride was clipped and quick, business-like and obviously not one for wasting time. She completely ignored his reply on her grandpa comment and continued walking. Her blood red gaze was aimed forwards, never back.

At Rei's question she replied shortly but didn't look back at him "Weren't you listening? If it wants you lot locked up what do you think it's for?"

The walls around them started to shift and roll and the woman cursed under her breath before turning and grabbing Rei's arm, yanking him forward with her so that he was walking alongside her. As the walls continued to shift and even start melting she kept her grip on his arm "Stick close to me and whatever you do don't look back."

Up ahead there was what seemed to be a doorway filled with light. If they could reach it then they would be free to move into the next area of the mind.

Behind them groans, wails, and cries of help began to pierce the air. Suffering and agony was thick in the tension, but the woman never looked back. She set her jaw in either annoyance or stubbornness and kept walking, pulling Rei along with her.

The woman didn't so much as flinch as the wails grew louder. She yanked Rei with her through the door of light and they dropped down down into another place.

She landed lightly on her feet on the dry and dusty earth, glancing about her at the Ancient Ruins. As soon as they were on solid ground she released Rei and started walking forward "It's just a monster. Destructive and mindless, wanting nothing more than to consume everything in sight."

Blood red eyes took in every little detail of the stone structure before her. She ran her hands over the cracks, trying to find the weaknesses before sighing and letting her hands drop.

"Alright this is where you come in, gramps. You have a strong connection to the Horde because you're one of the Family. You need to use that connection to find the rest." with that said she sat down on a slab of stone and leaned back against another, waiting for Rei to work things out.

The woman cracked open one blood red eye to glare at the man as he came up with her "nickname." If looks could kill, Rei wouldn't be six feet under, he'd be ash in the wind.

She closed her eyes and was silent again, taking in the quiet of the Ancient Ruins. This place was a mix of dreams, reality, and nightmares. A place where they all met and were permanent. The moment Rei had been awakened in the dungeon the reality of the Hive Mind had started to shift and warp in an attempt to ensnare him before he could begin.

She wasn't going to let this go without a fight.

Rei's voice brought her back to reality and she glanced over at him, taking in how his fingers seemed to slide through one part of the wall. Without a word she got to her feet and walked over, grabbing his hand albeit rather reluctantly. She couldn't see or feel the connections so she was essentially blind in this place without Rei to point them in some semblance of direction.

The woman said nothing as they stepped through, dropping his hand the moment she could see the world around them again. She stared up at the canopy of leaves overhead. She glanced over at Rei when she heard him moving about again, taking in his wooden weapon silently. She raised a single eyebrow before shrugging as they started walking.

Silence passed between them before Rei started asking questions. Much like the former shinigami, she kept her eyes forward and set on caution "There's no way to tell, this is a place of dreams and nightmares, memories upon memories of individuals heaped atop another in a near constant state of flux. My best guess would be to assume that time is distorted to some effect. Now I don't admit it lightly, but I could be wrong."

The world around them shook, a deafening roar echoing in their ears as Elesria's attack impacted in the waking world. The woman shook her head and glanced over at Rei "So either way you better start workin fast, gramps."

The woman rolled her eyes as Rei cleared the path. It irked her slightly and she was glaring holes into the surrounding forest until she heard Rei's shout. Again, she rolled her eyes but when she spoke her voice was surprisingly firm "Don't get all worked up over it. It was her own choice what she should do and if she did it to help those she was fighting alongside then you should respect her decision."

Without warning, a loud roar echoed in the forest, loud enough to shake their very bones.

"Get down!" Rei would find himself suddenly being shoved to the ground as a large claw came out of nowhere and slammed into the woman. She hit one of the trees hard enough to form a small crater before she slipped and fell to the ground, her from limp and unmoving.

The beast roared and made to approach Rei, its claw shrinking down to normal size as it charged.