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[center][u][b]Jailbreak In Fairyland VII[/b][/u][/center]
[sub]Faerie, The Royal Palace, Forbidden Wing[/sub]
[sub][sub][hr][/sub][/sub]
[indent][indent][color=lightgray]With Zatanna's assistance, Tefé was able to gather up the rest of the guard uniform. As the newly dressed guard finished putting her boots on Zatanna paced around the scene of the crime. Zatanna wasn't a professional criminal but even she knew that you got rid of the evidence. The last thing they needed, after all, was the whole thing going up in flames because they got found out early. The first order of business was the horrific display of Tefé's blood. Luckily for the magician a simple cleaning spell work just as well on viscera as it did grease stains.  

The blood dealt with they now needed to deal with the bodies. The hallways barren nature provided little hiding space. Instead, they found the nearest door and got to work. With her strength, Tefé gathered up the guards while her black haired associate used her magic on the lock. With a click, the door gave way opening into an unused bedroom. Dust covered the dressers and nothing but a mattress sat on a sagging bed frame. They dumped the bodies on top of the bed in a small pile. As they left, Tefé snaked a root-like tendril into the locking mechanism breaking the door. They would still be able to force the door open, but it would still delay them if they woke up quicker than expected. 

The last signs of their struggle dealt they finally advanced. Crossing the threshold into the forbidden wing, Zatanna couldn't help but feel nervous. Growing up in a place like Gotham crime and theft was always the reality. And yet even a city plagued by crime its population had a habit of romanticizing it. Crime would always be sexy you only had to look at Bonnie and Clyde or Dillinger to see that was true. Yet the platonic ideal of the Errol Flynn was that - an ideal. The reality Zatanna was finding was much more frantic, much more brutal.

Trying to distract herself, the magician attempted to talk to Tefé, the problem was she didn't know what to say. What did people talk about on heists? Or did they talk at all? It seemed rather counterproductive to the goal of not getting caught. But then again  Tefé also didn't seem like the type to follow societal conventions. Deciding to go for it, Zatanna asked the only thought that she still couldn't shake from her head.

"So...."have you always been like this?"

When Zatanna was younger she had a pet corn snake that she found in the garden. She named the snake Lucifer, because of course she did, and was fascinated the first time he shed his skin. Now Zatanna found herself clinging to those memories of her old pet to reconcile with Tefé's ability. The comparison only worked so far though as Lucifer didn't leave a pile of melted flesh and blood when he shed. And even as she looked at Tefé's new red-headed, armor-clad form, a mote of queasiness still coiled in her stomach. 

"Yep ever since I was a small babe," Tefé confirmed nodding her head in agreement. "A shame really might have been a more interesting story if I fell into a vat of nuclear waste or something."

"Are you a metahuman?" Zatanna asked before adding "Not that if you were it would be a bad thing. We kinda go hand in hand, after all, both having our starts in sideshows."

"No, but the way that people act when they see what I do, I might as well be." Tefé commented with a shrug "My dad controlled plant stuff and my mom controlled flesh stuff. So when I was born it turned out I got the best of both worlds."

"Must have been some family huh?"

"It was interesting at times yeah." The woman in armor responded before directing the conversation away from her. "How about you? Even a girl from the bayou like myself has heard of Giovanni Zatara before."

"It was a life."

"That bad huh?" 

"Don't get me wrong, I had a very privileged childhood. Most kids, hell most adults, would have dreamed for what I had."

"And yet you always felt like you were missing something?  Mardi Gras without the jambalaya?" 

"Really working to battle stereotypes aren't you?"  Zatanna asked with a raised brow and despite herself the start of a grin.

"Hey Z', Jambalaya is fucking great." Tefé insisted 

Zatanna snorted and shook her head.

"Whatever you say, swamp girl,"  Zatanna teased "and maybe ask me later. I'm not really in the business of dropping years of emotional baggage on strangers."

Tefé  shrugged

"Suit yourself. We are getting close anyway."

Zatanna didn't need Tefé's comment to notice the change in the environment. The ornate decorations of the palace had faded away to dark gray stone.  It reminded Zatanna of walking down a street in the week after Christmas, watching the houses that were once filled with bright twinkling lights go dark for Winter's coming chill. There was no need, after all, they were trespassing beyond the veil established for the public. It was a waste of resources to focus on aesthetics when only guards or prisoners would see it. 

An occasional door was the only thing to interrupt the barren stonework. Unlike the ornate wooden doors in the palace, these doors were solid pieces of metal. Zatanna deduced that their controls must be elsewhere given the lack of any handle or crank. As she neared closer to one of the doors to examine it she got startled as a fist slammed against the other side. Heavy and hard the repeated banging grew in intensity as the prisoner on the other side began to scream.

"Let me out! Please let me out! I don't wanna be here anymore!"

 Tefé reached her hand out and tapped Zatanna on the shoulder.

"Come on," She stated gently "we gotta go."

Nodding Zatanna turned and followed her. 

Yet the prisoner's ranting continued and it wasn't long before other prisoners joined. The arrhythmic pulsating thundering of fists sounded like a growing stampede. And on top of the slamming was the voices. Some of them were pleading like the first prisoners, others were yelling vile threats, while others still screamed. It created a cacophony of sound that only amplified with time as it traveled like a wave down the cellblock. Ahead of the magician, Tefé picked up speed as she tried to outrun the sound. 

Soon the sounds of heavy footsteps joined into the chaos. Ahead of the infiltrators was a group of six guards no doubt coming to check on the commotion. Much to Zatanna's dismay, they had different uniforms than the one that Tefé was wearing. Black interwoven scales shined to a polish made up the uniform's primary material and rather than helmets, they wore masks. Horned demonic visages adorned the masks each snarling in a grimace.

"You look nothing like them!" Zatanna whispered as the guards approached. 

"How the fuck was I supposed to know that?" Tefé protested

"You said the guard you were sleeping with told you!" 

"Yeah, where they were keeping the Kingkiller, not the friggin' dress code!" 

"What are we going to do?"

"Go with the flow." 

They both slowed to a stop as the guards traversed the last of the distance. Zatanna tried her best to act casual as the masked individuals began to fan out across the width of the hallway. One of them stepped forward to address them. A large crystalline blade hung from his back and an orange mask adorned his face. 

"What are you doing here soldier? And with a civilian at that?" He questioned. His voice was deep and textured like oil running over jagged glass. Zatanna didn't know if Faerie had cigarettes but if they did this guy must have smoked at least two packs a day. 

"I'm to escort her to the Kingkiller, sir."

"The Kingkiller?" The man asked surprised "I'll need to see papers from both of you."

"What papers?" Zatanna asked

"Papers given to you by the Queen."

"Ah well, you see... funny story about that."  Tefé started before sending an arm of bark flying forward in a sucker punch. The guard anticipating the move dodged to the right and drew his blade.

"Apprehend them!"

Three of the guards moved in on Tefé drawing crystal blades similar to the one with the blue mask. Zatanna moved to help her but before she could three sharp twangs sounded. Three crossbow bolts with crystal tips came soaring towards Zatanna. In a state of panic, she tried to leap to right out of their path. Her acrobatic efforts managed to avoid two of the bolts but a third clipped her in her left leg drawing blood. As the crystal made contact a pulse of cold energy ran through her leg. The magician having to drop to one knee as the chill made the entire leg seize.  

The masked guards aimed and readied themselves for another volley to finish the job. Gritting through the pain, Zatanna looked up at her attackers and remained calm. She waited as they leveled their crossbows and fired another volley. As three more shots came to end her life, she yelled a command.

"Sigea!"

And for a brief moment, the air in front of her hardened into something thicker. The particles pushed together and pulled into a hardened barrier. The bolts one after another made contact with the shimmering magical defense. Two of the bolt's splintered from the force of the impact and a third rebounded off of it completely. The three arbalists looked to one another frantically before they prepared another volley.

But Zatanna was already on them. 

"Ekans!" 

One of the guards screamed as his crossbow transformed into a large serpent. Before he could drop the reptile it already began going for his neck. Screaming the man collapsed to the ground wrestling with the reptile as it began to wrap around him. One of his allies in a valiant attempt to defend him aimed his crossbow at the snake and fired. The bolt killed the creature, but the heavy impact pushed it through the snake and into the guard. He screamed in pain before the crystal's effect took place making him go numb. With the panicked guard f reloading, Zatanna turned towards the other about to fire.

"Pu!" 

As if attached to a cable, the arbalist was yanked upward. He shouted as he dropped his weapon as he soared upward. The guard slammed hard into the ceiling several feet above them. As he made contact the effect of the spell fizzled and gravity took hold of him once more. Screaming even more as he came down like a hammer upon the ground. He lay there groaning on the ground, only able to curl himself up into a ball.

Another bolt came flying towards her but soared far off the mark. Zatanna turned to face her last adversary having finally finished reloading. The magician could only feel pity when she saw the tremble in his hands as he held his crossbow. In a panic, he tried to grab another bolt but fumbled and sent it clattering to the ground. Showing mercy the dark haired girl put him out of his misery. 

"Thgiew!

A soft pinkish glow surrounded the arbalist's weapon as the magic took hold. He began to struggle as the weapon grew heavier in his hands struggling to keep it up. The numbness in her leg fading, Zatanna stepped over the bodies of his comrades. Closing the distance, Zatanna took a single index finger and poked it into the center of his mask. The force was enough to send him teetering backward collapsing like a felled tree. He lay struggling unable to move pinned to the floor beneath the weight of his own weapon.

"Z' heads up!"

As Zatanna ducked the blue-masked swordsman was sent flying over her head. As the body landed on the floor ahead of her in a crumpled heap, the magician rose to her feet and looked back. Tefé stood her armor dented and blood dripping from a cut on her forehead but still smiling. 

"We should probably go..." Suggested Zatanna

Tefé nodding in agreement they broke into a sprint running down the rest of the hallway. Zatanna's heart pounded and the muscles in her legs protested as they ran for what felt like an eternity. She pushed on though inspired by the image ahead of her. A large vault-like circular door at the end of the hallway. If Zatanna was a prison design it was behind a door like that she would store her most valuable prisoner. Slowing down as they reached it Zatanna shouted out a spell.

"Nepo!"

Nothing happened.

"Nepo!"

Still nothing.

"What's wrong Z' outta juice?"

"I don't get out of juice!" Zatanna replied as she got up close to the door. "They must of spell-proofed it somehow!"

Gently pushing her aside, Tefé stood in front of the door and closed her eyes. As she breathed out hundreds of tiny little tendrils burst through her flesh and began wedging themselves around the door. Zatanna could only watch in amazement as she could hear dull clicks from beyond the door as the tendrils worked at an unseen lock.  Tefé's eyes were shut tight with concentration as she listened to the soft sounds to guide her in the right direction.

"Stop them!"

Spinning around Zatanna's heart sank as even more masked guards were running down the hallway towards them.

"No pressure or anything but are you almost done?" Zatanna asked 

"Just.... keep them busy!"

Turning her attention back to the guards, Zatanna knew that she had to hold them off somehow. Recalling the frost stonework leading to the bathhouse, she was struck with an idea.

"EzeerF!"

Patches of ice began to spread across the floor of the hallway ahead of the guards. The patches connected and multiplied and soon a thick sheet of ice covered the floor. The charging guards focused on the two of them did not notice the ice until it was too late. The first few that stepped onto the icy patch collapsed. The falling guards set off a domino effect as they knocked down the guards behind them and so on. Zatanna smiled as the sound of panicked shouts and metal clanging against the floor. The guards were already pulling themselves up but the diversion had bought them some time. 

"Got it!"  Tefé proclaimed 

There was a loud affirmative click as the door slide open. Zatanna scrambled inside with Tefé following suit, the guards still hot on their tail. The plant elemental was just barely able to pull the door back into place before their would-be captors reached the door. The Guard banged against the door and tried to force it open but it would not budge. But it was not the banging on the door that drew Zatanna's attention.

The magician was staring at a large birdcage in the center of the room. And there sitting cross legged in the middle of the cage was a man unlike any Zatanna had seen before. 

The prisoner was a large man wearing a pair of sackcloth brown pants and nothing else. He was gargantuan in size, a solid mass of muscle that seemed to fight with one another to take over his frame. But the thing that caught Zatanna's eye the most was the prisoner's skin. An amalgamation of different tones and textures patched together with staples, stitches, and screws. As they came in, he tilted his head upward from his meditative stance. Two eyes stared back at Zatanna one a deep green and the other a milky white.  As they came in, he tilted his head upward from his meditative stance. Two eyes stared back at Zatanna one a deep green and the other a milky white. 


"And who might you be? Does another observer come to see the freakshow? No that is not right at all, your demeanor is all wrong to be one of them. [b][i]Interesting.[/i][/b]" The patchwork man commented as he rose to his feet easily towering over both Zatanna and Tefé. "Then tell me, why have you come to visit old discarded Frankenstein left to rot in his cage?"

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