[h2][center]Geralt of Rivia[/center][/h2]
[center]The Maw- The Kitchen[/center]
[center]Lvl 7 (89/70) -> Lvl 8 (91/70) [/center]
[center]Word Count: 862 words[/center]

The Lady was, most likely, not running scared, Geralt thought. Ace was...well, a lot of things came to mind, not all of them accurate. Ace was being optimistic, most likely. An endless well of optimism. It was enough to make a jaded, sour old lemon like Geralt sick sometimes. This being one of those times, in fact. He bit back a sarcastic comment, though, instead watching their surroundings and waiting for others to arrive. 

He did also take note of Sakura's comment about her homeland, Japan, though. That this place was reminiscent of it was bothering her. It was almost amusing that [i]that[/i] seemed to be her main complaint at the moment. 

Nadia's own comments were more grounded, though, and Geralt found himself agreeing. This 'Lady' that Moreau spoke of, the leader of this horrific place, was not one to be taken lightly. Of course, Nadia had to throw a pun in, but Geralt just ignored it and focused on the theater. He'd noticed the same light she had, albeit a bit later owing to his wholly human physiology, and as such only saw it when the cat girl was already on her way to the 'seats', such as they were. He started moving to follow her, but paused when he saw no reaction from the audience. 

Mannequins. As if this place couldn't get any worse, it was filled with [i]mannequins.[/i] Freaky fake people, and with the lighting as it was, there wasn't much way of knowing if any of these things was just a fake, or their target. Given the time difference between her vanishing from sight earlier and getting up here, she could, feasibly, be anywhere. "Careful. We have no idea if she's hiding out there."

Mere moments after he spoke, the Runaway Kid made it to the stage and was crossing it. Geralt gave the kid a nod and a hope for good luck, despite knowing he couldn't be seen. It just felt right. Unfortunately, his well-wishes would prove fruitless. 

There was a massive slamming sound as the lights went out, save for one spotlight illuminating the kid. The monsters they'd seen before appeared, one on each side, boxing the kid into what was, from an outside perspective, an obvious trap. It wasn't one the kid could avoid springing without risking certain death, however, and that was what made it so much worse. Geralt already knew how this would end. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, before opening them and forcing himself to watch as the Lady grabbed the Runaway with some sort of shadowy magic. 

His face hardened and his mouth became a slit as the Runaway Kid was transformed into some...husk, his life force seemingly drained directly from his body. Geralt looked right at the Lady as she beckoned towards their group, hand gripping the Nail steadily. 

As the moment passed, Nadia queired the group for ideas on how to rid themselves of the Maw's presumed Captain. Geralt's own idea was inelegant as it was lacking in detail, but he offered it in commiseration of what they'd just witnessed nonetheless. "Simple. I drive this through her heart." Holding the Nail aloft as he said it, Geralt let out a huff. "Not quite sure [i]how[/i] we get to that part, though." 

It wasn't surprising that many of the others had visceral reactions to what they'd witnessed, nor was it shocking that Sakura couldn't take it. Geralt closed his eyes, heart aching for the girl. It was this exact sort of thing he was talking about the night before. Diving in to save the kid would likely have gotten them killed, and that would do nobody any good. It didn't mean that the pain of watching it dulled any by that truth, but it was all they had. The brutal truth to excuse their inaction, their inability to stop this. 

Spinning the Nail with a flourish, Geralt turned to the semi-arguing Koopas, who were quickly coming to an agreement. "The store room is the best place to start. Her room is just as like to hold her as it is some clue as to her vulnerabilities, and the last thing we want is to confront her at less than full strength. Any tool or possible weapon we can grab could be the difference between freedom and winding up like that kid." It felt a little low, admittedly, reminding them so callously of what they'd just witnessed, but the last thing Geralt wanted was it happening again. If it required a little emotional manipulation, so be it. 

Mirage was staying back with Sakura, and while he'd prefer more people stay back and make sure she was alright (especially if it came to a fight), Geralt also half-expected Bella to do so as well. He gave the Abyssal a small nod in Sakura's direction, but didn't say anything. If she chose to stay back or join them in the storage room, it was her choice. 

Already a bit behind the Koopas, who had in typical fashion already started moving, Geralt hurried after them, doing his best to keep from making noise as he did so.