It seemed that Astrid wasn't going to get that fight. Well, she knew better than to try and pressure her brother. After all, it would either make him more adamant at wasting her time, or actually disappoint when he just turned in the towel after the long prep to the fight. And if there was one thing Astrid knew it was when to fold and get out of a place. Usually how she dealt with 99% of her problems. The odd 1% became her next goal to overcome. [color=00a99d]"Well then, brother. I'll just have to take joy in kicking your butt in Mario Kart."[/color] She went through all the effort to use the sigh emote too, which was pretty reliable for making anything seem like a disappointment. At the very least the place finally seemed to be dying down, and the lack of paladins was finally letting some variety shine into the room. There was a kinda crook with a camera, a angel with their gimmick, and... Apparently a skeleton. She'd heard of his guild, though she didn't bother recalling the name right now. Since after all, it was all clearly coming to an end. When the photo snapped, she had her fingers raised up, giving Grey a nice set of bunny ears to remember her by. Though she fully expected him to be aware she was doing it by now, since she bombed all of his photos that way. But with that last photo out of the way, it was time for something... Less boring. Like a tour. Taking a step back, and a twirl of defiance, she marched away from the group, and finally made her way to the hallway. Passing by the odd straggler, the odd NPC... The ones she passed she waved to, none of them waved back. She remembered briefly the few she spent time with, programming in just for fun. She even modeled one right off Grey, who was her servant. Made him a grump who hated non-paladins. She left him behind, and she knew for a moment or two that he'd be ever so grumpy about her being a witchblade now. That was if he wasn't about to vanish forever now. The hallway of champions stood before her, and she took it all in. The endless vaults of weapons, the armor left behind by members who quite. A deep breath, and she counted down. 10... 9... 8... She wished for a moment this could last forever. After all, escapism was something anybody could wish for. 7... 6... Maybe that was just nostalgia talking. 5... 4... 3... 2... Goodbye. 1... 0... 0... [i]0...[/i] [b]0...[/b]? Kind of a long second there. [color=00a99d]"Well, that's weird."[/color] And then her voice was funny. As if possessed, and then she heard it. The whispering. [sub]"Are you ready?"[/sub] Astrid spun in place, and there was nothing. [sub]"Are you ready to leave? These holy walls are so boring."[/sub] [color=00a99d]"And just... Who are you?"[/color] Astrid said, speaking to thin air. [sub]"You insult me, Astrid. We've been together so long and you still forget me? After all, I'm the reason you stepped away from the paladins and their holy circles. I'm the reason you wielded me against your enemies and took their lives. How many have you killed, because I asked it?[/sub] [color=00a99d]"Oh god, you're the Witchblade."[/color] Astrid said, whispering softly in horror. She was in the game. She was wielding a cursed sword. But worst of all, this was probably Grey's fault somehow. ___________________________________________________***______ [color=00a99d]"What did you do, Grey?"[/color] Astrid was the first to start shouting as she stormed into the throne room. The odd Silver guard raising their weapons a bit higher around her. One or two she recognized. But she'd deal with that later. For now, as she stood with the others, all the while glancing to the guides who'd escorted them here.