"...visitors from the past shall return to the darkness whence they came..."
           - Vampire Hunter D

   Despite the fact that Mani was sneaking around back, Eric was having a hard time keeping up with the ninja. He moved swiftly and without a sound, casting Eric a look every so often as they made their way to the back of 'The Flying Woodchuck'.

   "So what did you see in there?," Eric finally asked.

   Mani slowly turned around. "About four or five individuals roughing up the inn keeper," he responded. Coming to a window, he swiftly crawled underneath it. Eric followed, but wasn't nearly as smooth with it. "They seem to be looking for someone," he added.

   "Think it's Corina?," Eric wondered, his voice betraying the nervousness he was trying to mask.

   Mani mearly shook his head, choosing to say nothing. He had heard the large man holding up the inn keeper say something about 'the red-headed bitch', but decided it would be best to keep it to himself.

   After picking the lock to the back door, the two found theirselves standing in the inn's dark kitchen. All was silent, save the group interigating the inn keeper. Mani turned towards Eric.

   "Stay HERE," he commanded. "Don't do anything stupid. I'm going to check the back." Eric nodded nervously.

   "But what if they come in here?," he wondered. Mani cast him a quick glance before disappearing into the shadows.

   "Pray that they don't."

   An instant later, he was gone.

   As he had expected, Mani found Corina's room ransacked. Bed upturned, closet ripped open, whoever had done it left no stone unturned. He slowly pulled out his katana as he stepped inside the room...

   ...and was nearly knocked down by a figure running out. Whoever it was pushed him back, then fired a bolt of magical energy at his head. He quickly ducked as it dispersed against the wall behind him, sending out small pieces of charged ice, shocking him slightly.

   "Wait, I...," was all he got out.

   Finally able to focus, Mani could see that it was Corina that had fired at him, the same Corina that just pushed the upturned bed at him. <Now this is getting out of hand,> he thought as he was forced to dodge once again. He suddenly caught sight of a large pot and plant in Corina's hands...

   <Girl or not, if she hits me with that plant, we're gonna brawl...>

   Corina suddenly stopped as she seemed to recognize him. She lowered the plant slightly.

   "Easy, Corina," he said, choosing his words carefully. He slowly put his katana away. "I'm not gonna hurt you, so feel free to put the plant down, all right..." Corina seemed freaked out, so he could (sort of) forgive her nearly giving him permanent brain damage. Mani glanced down at Corina's hands, not wanting to let the dreaded pot out of his sight. For the first time, he noticed that Corina was holding something in her other hand. It appeared to be some sort of stuffed... thing. He had assumed that it was a white teddy bear or something, but the one antennae and the wings told him otherwise. What the hell kind of creature...

   "Um... sorry...," Corina mumbled, putting the plant down which calmed Mani down extremely. "For all I know, you could have been with those jerks...just who are you, anyhow?" She seemed a little embarassed about the situation, in fact she looked a little like a lost child with that stuffed... creature... in her hands.

   "Hey, that's all right...you were just being cautious," Mani calmly answered. "Oh, sorry for not telling you earlier...I'm Mani. Now would you mind telling me just what those creeps wanted with you... and what's up with that thing you're carrying!?" His curiosity had gotten the better of him, he couldn't help it.

   Corina smiled slighly, but was suddenly interupted by a shout coming from the lobby.

   "NOOOOO!!!"

   Mani's blood ran cold.

   The voice belonged to Eric.

   Mani pulled out his sword and was prepared to go charging into the lobby, but as soon as he turned around, Eric came stumbling into the room, his face pale as as sheet and trembling like he had been slapped by the devil himself.

   "They... they broke his legs!!," he shouted (the key word here being SHOUTED). Mani had to seriously debate whether or not to slap him in the back of the head, but decided against it.

   "Did I NOT tell you to stay there?," he casually wondered. Eric didn't answer. He just stood there, his eyes still wide with fear as to what he had seen.

   "You keep interesting company," Corina commented, sweeping back some of her red hair. "Did he wet his pants?"

   "Watch it," Mani remarked, grinning slightly. It WAS a good question...

   "We have to get out of here!," Eric shouted, not paying any heed to what had been said.

   A moment later, the three were out the back door of the inn.

   They ran down the long, dark alley, away from the inn, away from what had taken place, away from the nightmare that this girl was due to face. Mani knew absolutly nothing about this city, this world for that matter, but he knew they had to leave the city of Harliquen. There would be death if they stayed, it would only be a matter of who and when. He wasn't going to allow that to happen to this girl, or to Eric for that matter. They were his only friends in this strange, new world. New friends, but friends nonetheless.

   "YOO-HOO!!"

   The three suddenly froze as a figure strolled out of the shadows some distance before them. Corina's eyes widened slightly as she saw who it was, while Mani's narrowed slightly as he glared.

   "Now this is PERFECT!," Maxis Vandola shouted, toying with a silver knife in his hand. "Not only did we find that little bitch, but that jackass ninja too!"

   "You've met Maxis?," Corina wondered. Mani nodded.

   "Ran into him on the beach. He vowed to kill me or something. Said some crap about being a bounty hunter."

   "LOOK OUT!," Eric suddenly shouted.

   Mani looked up in time to see some woman with a sword leap down from the rooftop, her sword aimed at Corina. Mani quickly drew his katana and leapt up, parrying the blow. Corina quickly responded by fireing a stream of fire from her hands, but to the suprise of everyone, the woman absorbed the blast into her drawn sword. The large, blonde-haired woman smiled.

   "Don't tell me you forgot about that already?," she teased, smiling wickedly at Corina.

   "Let's see you absorb a sword BITCH!," Mani shouted as he swung at her. The woman parried the blow easily, and before Mani knew what had happened, she punched him in the stomach HARD.

   <Egad, she hits like a freaking man!>

   "Where I come from," the woman began, "we have a name for people like you. Stu-pid."

   Mani grinned. "Well, where I come from, we have a name for women that can hit like that." He slowly slid his sword back into its sheath. "Les-bi-an."

   Enraged, the woman let loose a massive lightning bolt at him. It was somewhat undirected, so Mani, Eric, and Corina had no trouble dodging it as it struck a nearby building, ripping a massive hole into its side.

   "THANKS!," Corina shouted as she and her friends darted through.

   Maxis suddenly ran over to where the woman stood. "You IDIOT!," he shouted. "You let them get away! What the hell's wrong with you, Elana?!"

   Maxis suddenly hit the ground as Elana backhanded him harshly across the face. "SHUTUP!," she shouted. "Go find Blackfist and tell him we found the girl! NOW!"

   Mani, Corina, and Eric ran through several of the rooms in the building, which appeared to be a brothel. Ignoring the fornication and sin going on around them, the three eventually made their way back out to the streets, where the festival was still going strong. Mani quickly snatched Eric's jester cap from his head and plopped it onto Corina's, so that she wouldn't look so obvious. "Now," Mani said, looking at Eric. "Can you get us out of this city?"

   Eric nodded slowly, and began to make his way through the crowd with Corina and Mani close behind.