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[h3]CITY-U

7/2/3/50

'VANESSA'[/h3]
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Arduous pushes the memory of his hero exam into the back of his mind, today was a new day and today all we wanted to do was go back to sleep.

His arm like a heavy chain swings from where it is magnetically affixed to the railing. "I can't believe they woke me up for this." Arduous complains, eye lids winking one after the other.
He watches as the scenery rockets by the window. Roof tops and concrete, the occasional patch of trees whose leaves had just stared to turn, from summers rich green to autumns deep amber. This truly is the heart of the city.
A line of thick green metal bars slithers into his view the speed causing them to look like floating snakes. To the untrained eye innocent enough, but to a tram going veteran it was a sure sign of a tunnel. 
The outside rush of air becomes more audible and then with a plop the tram is plunged into darkness. Dim headlights slowly fade on overhead, barely illuminating the many passengers, some of whom are still clearly shaken by the sudden lighting change. 

The brakes screech. Causing the standing passengers to bolt forward, however the seated passengers carry on, unaffected. The trams telecom crackles to life and through it speaks the flat toned driver. "First stop, Troiseme Quardrant. Palmiers Plaza." as the tram parks with a loud hiss.  
A cluster of people from the far side of the tram funnel out onto the dimly lit platform the morning sun illuminating from the stairwells to the surface."We should stop here one day, try'n make it big on the slots" Arduous says jabbing his muscular companion with an elbow.  A few commuters shamble onto the tram, "You can always tell the lucky ones from the unlucky, It's in the eyes" observes Arduous, gesturing to the passenger paying upfront. 
"Nice thick wallet on him, must've had a good night" agrees a conversation in the booth to Arduous' left. 

He stands in the dark for a time, the novelty of the tram wears of quickly, “at least they're quic-” His thought is cut off by movement out the window, eyes reflexively scanning around for another sign. He stares intent at the pitch black portal, it's smooth shiny surface reflecting a faded image of the passengers in the tram. 'what was that?' he wonders to himself, eyes straining to make out anything, and then he sees it out of the corner of his eye.

 A grey mist licks the window. It starts to swirl, in a mesmerizing complex pattern, the outer reaches of the mist spiral around one another, creating almost a frame for the vortex of mist within. Arduous is hypnotised, stunned at what he is seeing. He hears 'Angelo's voice, but it is distant, obscured. He feels like he's falling, falling into a black void edged with grey.

The mist flickers, giveing way to an image, A blind lion, aged and regal. The Lion struts through it's territory, knowing that wherever he reaches, he is king. Two pockets of mist appear around the lion, One floats towards the shadows and forms into the shape of a ravenous hyena. The other pocket stretches, and twists itself into a great cobra, fangs dripping with malice. The lion, in all it's pride ignores the new creatures,"what are they to the king" it thinks. The creatures circle, encased in shadow, they move closer and closer to the lion, and to each other.The lion lays down, a single moment of weakness. "Now is the time" both new creatures think. In a flash the lion is dead, it lies bleeding as the Hyena and the Snake realise, that the battle for the throne had just begun.


"Final Stop. Premier Quadrant, Mercier Gardens.” Crackled the driver over the trams telecom. 
Arduous blinks, realising his companion has been trying to talk to him for some time, "I-uh, I guess we're here then." He says, feeling as if he had just slammed into a wall of lucidity. 
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