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Description
Blood is Thicker than Water.

Splish, splash, splosh. Dripping pipes and the sound of joy could be heard muffled behind the large door to newest addition to the gallery. After a tough round to start, the victors needed the break. A girl, young with brightly coloured cyan hair approached the door with her companion, an ornery robot with a strong distaste for vermin and vermin-like activities. Taking the lead, the girl, Cyan Thyssed, proceeded to swiftly open the impressively trimmed door up. On the other side, she saw exactly what she and many others needed; a sparkling waterpark.

The smell of chlorinated water against smooth concrete walkways filled the air. Various waterslides populated the northern edge of the room. Some were open, while others were closed like tunnels. To the east side of the room were various hot tubs populated with some of the contestants and some of the visitors having a pleasant time. The west wall held shower rooms and changing rooms for those available. The new addition seemed to be a hit with almost everyone.

Out in the middle of the water was a donut-ring floaty being ridden by an extremely tall imposing figure with blue lipstick. A large smile met with three sharp smiling teeth met Cyan’s gaze. The figure beckoned out to Cyan with sharp claws while joking that “the water won’t kill you, unless it does”. While a little uneasy with the figure, Cyan went to the changing rooms anyways. Her robotic companion and rodent killer Overexaggerated Vermin Removal Unit (O.V.R.U.) stood at the edge of the room, peering in at the pool event. After a few minutes, Cyan returned in a stylish swimming suit.

Walking back to O.V.R.U. Cyan exclaimed “Sorry O.V.R.U., this isn’t really the kind of place for you to be. I’ll treat you to something later, but for now I could really go for a swim.”

Scoffing, O.V.R.U. replied “Well, that’s just fine. I don’t even like the water anyways. Full of weirdos anyways. I wouldn’t want to be in there with them.”

Cyan laughed at the odd, yet pleasant situation “Well, I will not be too long. I just need some time to relax after what we have been through so far. Maybe it is better I get to know or understand these folks a bit better. It may help out later.”

Cyan continued to enjoy her time at the pool for some time, meeting interesting characters and learning of struggles for the initial round. Some stories were tragic, with unfortunate ends. Other stories were exciting and were very relatable. There was some hope to be had for Cyan, knowing that even with all the described challenges, she and O.V.R.U. would be more than ready to handle them. Before getting too pruney, she took a few rides on the slides and then headed to the changing rooms once again. When she came back fully clothed, she noticed the imposing figure had disappeared from the floating donut. Cyan headed for the exit to meet up with O.V.R.U., but noticed a claw draped on her left shoulder.

“Hello there hon, I don’t think you got to spend some time with me.” Said the almost ghostly figure. “My name is Tulpa. I know most people know me by now, but I figured I would take this opportunity to take a stab at this introduction thing.”

Cyan slowly turned to face Tulpa with a surprised look. “Uhh, sorry. You were having so much fun floating in the water there that I didn’t want to disturb ya. I’ll talk to you later; I need to get going. My friend is waiting for me outside of the waterpark.”
Tulpa laughed full-heartedly. “Well, if you need me, I’ll be back in the pool.”

Cyan proceeded to quickly walk away from the awkward situation. She met O.V.R.U outside of the indoor waterpark to head off for the next objective. O.V.R.U. got away from the wall he was leaning on and looked at Cyan impatiently.

“That was slow, even for you.” He bitterly stated.

“Hush. Like I said, I was getting valuable information. If I had some fun as well, that was side-effect.” Cyan replied.

“Alright Cyan, what do we do with that information now then?” O.V.R.U. inquired.

Without a delay, the loudspeakers boomed into action. The stiff lines of a curator came through. “Hello, this is Cornelius. I hope everyone has been enjoying the newest addition to the gallery, the waterpark, as it was a gift from some of us to you. It may not be as great as an antique or as wondrous as an old scroll, but it will do for now. Expect more changes going forward”. This was followed by some coughing fits and a final announcement. “Oh, yes, and before I forget, there will be another bout of friendly competition held soon. Do not go anywhere too far. This is all. Cornelius, signing off. There, it is done. Sorry, what? The button? This one? Press it? A novel idea! So if I push it just like th-“.

O.V.R.U. scoffed loudly. “I think he figured out how to finally work a button. Some of these people here are so technologically inept.”

Cyan had a small chuckle. “Not everyone here is as smart as I am. That’s exactly where we have an advantage though. You and I will win; I am sure of it. For now, let’s do a little exploring. I’m sure that they aren’t telling us everything.”

The two proceeded to walk the halls. New wings had been constructed, but were off limits. Bars, boards, doors, and more blocked the entrance to most of these places. Faintly, dust and strong chemicals could be smelt through gaps in the protection. Something was cooking, but would be best served as a pot of mystery for later. One of the later branches, however, was blocked by what looked like a thin wall of paper with written foreign symbols on it. In the corner of this blockade, a dark rabbit with brightly glowing eyes and metallic chains was scratching away. Presumably, the rabbit had been there a while as the current scratches were a slow addition to the hole currently made. The rabbit turned to look at the two and then quickly hopped away clanging the chains behind. O.V.R.U. proceeded to recognize the entity and actions as vermin-like.

O.V.R.U. began to chase after the vermin-like figure, attempting to perform his job. Cyan on the other hand, a little spooked at such a large and unusual beast followed O.V.R.U. to remain safe and to find out what was going on. Clanging continued around the halls and the tail of the rabbit could be seen around the corner, as if the rabbit was leading them down a deeper hole in the gallery. The hallways grew darker and darker as it became harder to find the rabbit even with the clanging chains. O.V.R.U. and Cyan managed to fall behind as the rabbit sped up and the sounds of chains faintly disappeared. Still chasing, the two were interrupted suddenly with a strange sight in the darkness.

Bony fingers crept around the corner, pulling the skeletal silhouette of another contest face to faces. A gigantic corpse to order without a side of skin, muscle, or a lower half. A strong cold glow came from the skull with three eye sockets, while a calming warm glow filled the ribcage of this monstrosity. The skeleton torso approached, crawling and pulling itself across the floor to the two. The darkness in the room grew as two more sets of glowing eyes appeared next to the skeletal giant, but lower. One set familiar, the other new. Soon, a voice cracked the darkness.

“Ah, so you must be Cyan and her robot partner O.V.R.U. who I am glad I am meeting. My name, which you should know, is Hector. The other set of glowing eyes you met earlier here is Nocta. This bunny doesn’t talk much, and neither does this big calcium colossus.” Hector proceeded to sigh before another bout of verbal jousting. “So there is a situation in the gallery. We have not informed most, as it is the reason for the delay to the next round. There is a little problem going on. We can’t go into too many details, but we have a pest problem that needs to be dealt with.”

Losing track of the vermin directly, O.V.R.U. laughed loudly. “You have a giant skeleton, security, magic, and more and you can’t take care of some vermin? I guess you have come to the right robot and mechanic team.”

Cyan pondered for a second before chiming in. “I assume this isn’t some sort of regular vermin y’all are having issues with. There is no way a few rats, disgusting as they are, would be causing this much concern.”

Hector chuckled quietly in the veil of shadow. “You are a smart one, aren’t you? Yes, these are no regular vermin. You may have noticed the power dimming, and no, it isn’t because of Cornelius finding the power generator or the new waterpark addition. There is a serious problem arising. One that Cavil has specifically requested to have dealt with quickly and quietly. What we have invading is a few demons. They are shorty, nasty, and smell horrible too.”

O.V.R.U. laughed once more. “Again, you have access to all these other guys and you need our help? I know I am a fantastic rodent roaster, but demons seem like a different beast altogether. You might want to call a demon-hunter instead.”

Cyan quickly replied. “I don’t think there is anything that can keep us down. I am curious though, is there any tangible benefit for the both of us?”

Hector lowered his voice and walked closer to the terror terminating team. “Don’t tell a soul, but if you agree to help hunt these demons with this skeleton here, Ethos is their name, then we will allow a free pass into the next round of competition. You can consider this the next trial of sorts. No mess with another contestant, but perhaps a little more blood.”

Cyan took a second to think the proposition through. “I don’t have an issue with it. I can take O.V.R.U. and Mr.Bones here for a wild extermination ride. Is there any information you can give us on these demons before we go a-hunting?”

Hector laughed brightly as a flash of bright light gleamed from his teeth. “No. Cavil wanted them dealt with but has told us nothing else. Something strange with this situation, for sure. I highly recommend against letting this information out lest you find yourself the loser of the next round. I might also recommend finding some more uninformed allies to help deal with the situation. I am not sure how big of a problem it is. For now, Nocta and I have some issues to attend to. We do not expect results, but Cavil does. Just keep that in mind.”

The two sets of glowing eyes disappeared slowly into the darkness. Chain rattling also faded with softer footsteps. The two judges had disappeared, but left Ethos in the party. Ethos proceeded to follow behind the two.

Cyan looked back, thinking about the new ally. She was interrupted by O.V.R.U.’s snide remark. “So, they gave us something to work with, half-off. They must know we’re the best for the job.”
Ethos kept a blank stare at the robot before moving on. Although not one for conversation because of a lack of flesh, Ethos kept looking forward in the now dark hallways and at the two. Cyan noticed this and stopped to take a closer look at her new companion. For the undead, this skeleton seemed particularly animate as well as friendly.

Cyan took notice of a few details. The skeletal figure itself, which lacking a bottom half, was still impressively large. The bones were the only physical element there, so there had to be some sort of power source. No electronics, no plasma, no tiny hamsters in hamster wheels. Perhaps, the power of soul, something like O.V.R.U., which also lends to far more personality than the typical binary biting bot.

Cyan, trying to be friendly tried to initiate some conversation. “So, you must be pretty special.”
Ethos nodded in response and then stopped to take a second to scratch some small drawings in the floor. A small skeleton with a line through the bottom half. Next to the skull, Ethos craved out the figure of a man dressed in a darkened cloak. Next to the ribcage, Ethos depicted a warrior woman with a long spear. A frilly heart was drawn between the two figures. Spectral tears dripped slowly from the skeletal eye sockets.

Cyan took note. Ethos was familiar to O.V.R.U. in some ways. Ethos, this being, was two souls trapped in a body. An odd situation for sure, but perhaps something could be done. After all, O.V.R.U. was essentially a soul in a mechanical body. Creating two separate bodies for the spirits housed in Ethos would not be so hard with the right materials. It would require consent, but that would have to wait.

Cyan looked at Ethos’ face. “You know, maybe after this is all done I can craft you some new bodies. We can talk about it later. For now, let’s go hunt some demons.”

The three left through the halls before coming across some suspicion. Scampering noises with the occasional “bleeh” and “reeh”. Scratching, thumping, scratching, and more thumping. Just in sight at the edge of darkness were a few small grey demons with blank stares and sharp teeth. Seeing the party, the little imps scurried away into the darkness. O.V.R.U., Cyan, and Ethos chased them down back to the waterpark in the darkness.

Inside the waterpark, the lights were dim and the smell was awful. What was previously refreshing water on concrete became the horrid smell of clotting blood in vast quantities. What once was clean, became stained. The concrete edges were splashed with blood, the pools and hot tubs were filled with bubbling life juices, and the waterslides bent and stained dry. Everyone had left except for Tulpa, who was still floating on the donut floaty in the blood. Tulpa looked over and waved a claw.

“I see you have been making friends without me. Don’t worry, I’ve been having a bloody good time by myself. As soon as some lovely nasties showed up, they replaced the waterpipes with some weird runic bloodpipes. They went out. Seems you found a few little ones. Those ones are called Hoblins. Feel free to play around with them.”

Tulpa floated over to edge, picked up a Hoblin, and tossed it with great glee. The Hoblin flew in a strong arc landing on its face, bloody and pulped. The other Hoblins remained scared.

“See, they are a lot of fun. I think toss is their favourite game!” Tulpa exclaimed.

Cyan was disturbed by sight. O.V.R.U. and Ethos were left unfazed. Tulpa sat there smiling, while the Hoblins stood shaking in fear.

Tulpa broke the silence again. “So, what are you guys up to? Mind if I hang around for a bit?”
Cyan immediately responded. “Blood, there is so much blood. I swam in there. There was no blood in there before. I mean, I suppose so, but really? This is not natural. I really hope that was not the blood of someone I know.”

O.V.R.U. grunted stoutly. “We could always use a psychopath in the group.”

Tulpa grinned from ear to ear in response. “Lovely, then I shall accompany you on your little task. I know exactly what these little demons look like. I shall draw their visage for you. Perhaps a little blood drawing on the wall?”

Cyan stopped Tulpa right after. “No, that’s enough. I have had enough of this. Hop out of the pool, please. You can point them out when we see them. I would rather have the waterpark back to normal.”
Tulpa chuckled loudly. “Alright, alright. Suit yourself. Let’s head out.”

The four headed out of the room and proceeded to walk back down the hallways. Still dark, the group made their way to the suspicious paper runed wall that Nocta was previously scratching at. While near the wall, dripping noises and the smell of blood could be discerned. Demonic presence was likely here. Attempting to deal with the wall proved a little trickier than thought. Cyan attempted to break it down first by simply punching the paper. This ended in no success. The paper wall was able to bend at the impact. Ethos attempted force next, using skeletal punches and slashes to try to break the paper. This was also a failure as the paper was able to absorb the impact without any marks. Finally, O.V.R.U. shot flames at the paper wall. After the barrage, the wall was still standing without any marks. Even O.V.R.U.’s teeth were unable to tear down the paper wall.

Tulpa watched and laughed as the crew failed to take down ordinary paper. “The runes are very protective. They seem demonic as well. If I may make a recommendation, the giant skeleton should use some dark magic. I will slash it down. Paper is paper. Nothing more.”

Ethos agreed and proceeded to apply the pressure of dark magic to the paper, emanating it through skeletal fingers. Tulpa brought his claws out slash swiftly at the darkened paper. The scratches were successful. With the assistance of dark magic, the claws tore the wall into shreds.
“This is why you brought me along. You’re welcome, by the way.” Tulpa exclaimed.

Cyan looked puzzled and intrigued at the unfolding actions. “Well, that’s one way to shred paper. If that didn’t work, I would have had to invent some sort of wood chipper for paper.”

The group made their way down the new branch. Blood stained the floor in drizzling demonic patterns. Fresh, familiar, and pungent. In the background disturbing murmurs could be heard, growing louder as the end of the hall approached. Before the door was reached, beams of light pierced the darkness from behind. Robotic whirring, besides O.V.R.U., could be heard approaching with heavy footsteps. The lights grew stronger and the noises grew louder. A friendly voice could be heard, brightening up the situation.

“Hello folks, looks like you’re a little lost. If you don’t know who I am, you’re about to learn. Some call me D-847, others call me Arg. Saw some demolition going on. Figured you could use my help. I am a demolition expert. My trusty hammer and I are ready to make some dents. If you are doing non-demolition things I will be on my way.”

The hodgepodge of a group decided to take D-847 in. A demolitionist may prove useful for the events coming up. With the fog-lights from their new robotic companion, they could clearly cut to the source of the blood spilling. The room at the end of the hall was blocked by a heavy iron door, recently rusted. Straight vertical bars lined the frame and supported a thick padlock with a key jammed inside. D-847 took his trusty hammer and broke the rusty slammer. The door swung open quickly, creaking into the strange room.

The room behind the door was faintly illuminated with red light coming from a gaping and screaming portal. A couple small demons with pointy horns and gnashing spear tip teeth, armed with iron claws stared back. They quickly jumped into action to defend their blood-soaked portal. In retaliation, Tulpa quickly tag-teamed with Ethos to start fighting one of the demons. Ethos was able to hold down the first demon as Tulpa was able to slash into the demon’s belly to draw the innards out. The second demon rushed into the portal as quickly as possibly, tripping on its own cloven feet. The portal erupted blood violently and began to shake.

Suddenly and violently, the portal spewed out several more demons of the same shape and nature. These demons were as angry as the last. The first demon was finally finished off with the combination of Tulpa and Ethos. The demons started their own attack, swarming Tulpa and Ethos. O.V.R.U. stepped in and started spread flames in the room, providing residual damage. The flames proved to be of little effectiveness, however. In the backlines, Cyan and D-847 backed off.
Shouting from the backlines, Cyan had a plan to execute. “Hold the demons off. Arg and I have some work to do. These demons are starting to invade in masses. The portal must be the weakness. I have a plan, but I require you to hold off those demons for a little longer.”

The demons swarmed Tulpa, O.V.R.U., and Ethos. D-847 and Cyan ran to the back of the hall and disappeared for several minutes. Afterwards, Cyan with D-847’s assistance was able to roll out a massive metalic bomb, covered in lights and explosives while in the shape of a golf ball. The bomb lit the darkness with its bright lights. The swarming demons became panicked once again.
Shouting once more from the distance, Cyan took her plan into action. “Everyone, clear a path to the portal! Fore!”

With great force, D-847 took his trusty hammer out and hit the giant bomb down the hallway straight for the portal. The rest of the team threw the demonic horde into the portal and backed away. As soon as the bomb bowled into the portal, it started to shake violently. The frame began to vibrate more intensely over time before finally collapsing. The void closed with bright flashing and a last gush of blood into the room, which soaked everyone. Soon after, the lights turned on and the blood evaporated quickly into the air. Things seemed like they were returning to normal.
“A golf-bomb? That’s a new trick. I knew only the best and brightest could have built me.” O.V.R.U. proudly exclaimed. “I am glad you could find these lesser beings a job.”

“Hush now O.V.R.U.; that is no way to treat the team. Everyone had their part to play. I think we can both appreciate that. Y’all did great, by the way!” Cyan replied.

A large pout with a soft chuckle followed from Tulpa. “Well, there goes the blood. I will miss it so. I suppose I will have to make some more later. If any of you need me, I will be back at the pool. Feel free to donate some blood to my cause.” The blood-thirsty ally left.
A grunt and some panting could be heard as soon as the imposing figure disappeared. “I haven’t had so much fun with demolition in a long time. I have things that need attending to. I am glad I could be of service. Should you need someone of demolition expertise, please feel free to look for me. I am always happy for a round of bomb golf.” The android took his leave, still puzzled at the invasion of demonic figures.

Cyan, O.V.R.U., and Ethos were left alone. The task had been completed and this gave all of them immunity for the next round of competition. Before heading off to see the judges, Ethos beckoned Cyan and O.V.R.U. to follow. The anatomy lesson in crawling guided them along the now-lit halls to an almost plain door. Above the door, there was a sign that read “Do Not Enter” that was familiar to Ethos, but not so much to the other two. The skeleton pushed its way through the door. Once through, a skeletal hand peered out and gestured to follow.

Cyan was a little nervous about where the skeleton had led, but wanted to explore this new area. She dragged O.V.R.U. in as well. After entering, Ethos quickly shut the door. This new room was filled with intrigue, questions, and worries. Most of the room was empty for the displays. There were, of course, empty stands, paintings, and spaces for art to come in as expected in an art gallery. What was out of place was the new art within the displays. Various stands and paintings on one side of the room were hidden behind pristine white drapes. Ethos took the opportunity to pull them aside. Behind them was a scene that shocked Cyan. Some of the contestants from the first round, frozen in time, populated the enclosed area.

Cyan approached the familiar figures slowly. “Huh, hello? Are you guys alive?” No response came to the girl however. She stood with her mouth agape staring at the poor victims. She turned back to Ethos slowly after.

Ethos looked back at Cyan, quiet as ever. Ethos had seen this place before, but not so populated by new additions. A second after, Ethos took it upon themselves to pat Cyan gently on the back. Seeing the girl distressed caused spectral tears to flow softly from their sockets. Upon contact with the floor, the tears glowed brightly and evaporated back up to Ethos’ skull. The loss of potential friends as well as the looming passive threat to both hit hard.

O.V.R.U. stood silent. While normally a snide remark would be perfect, the distress of the other two beings had reached him. He stood waiting at the door for whenever Cyan was ready to leave.

“This is horrid!” Cyan exclaimed. “Is this what is happening to the contestants? Is this our fate? Will we never get home? They can’t treat all of us like this! We did not volunteer to become art for some sick show.”

Ethos responded by forming human-shapes with the glowing souls in the bodies. The two souls met each other in the ribcage where they began to dance slowly. The two souls, while silently speaking, reassured Cyan that she was not alone in this cruel place. There was always someone there to understand, someone to protect, someone to talk to. To try to calm Cyan down after the shocking incident, Ethos proceeded to re-enact their origin. A man in blue fog and a woman shrouded in an orange mist took steps to carefully demonstrate the past. Fierce combat, demons, necromancy, the hate and scorning from a village, the return of demons, the struggle of the warrior woman, the fall of the warrior to terrible demonic magics, and finally a necromantic end.

Cyan let out a solemn sigh. “You know, I have tinkered with machinery before. Perhaps if I find the right supplies, I can help build you a couple new bodies. O.V.R.U. over there is proof enough that my methods work. It would probably be foreign to both of you, to Ethos, though. Your choice later on if I can manage to get the materials.”

Ethos stood still for a moment. An interesting proposition for sure, but Ethos was unsure about robotic bodies. Coming from a more medieval setting, the idea of robotics was unsettling. The only metal that was used was in weaponry and the occasional construction. After the consideration, Ethos moved towards the exit without a word.

O.V.R.U. chuckled. “Perhaps you will upgrade to my level. Maybe we will see you later, maybe we won’t.”

Cyan cut O.V.R.U. off swiftly after his remark. “Thanks again Ethos. There is a lot going on here. Don’t mind O.V.R.U., honestly. I hope that I can see you again. We’ll figure out what is going on here. I would rather not have any of us fall victim to this place.”

Slowly, Ethos exited the room leaving the two behind. Two new bodies were potentially at the ready. That would end the journey Ethos had been on and would also reunite the two souls together in a more face-to-face embrace. On the other hand, robotics was unfamiliar and the robot known as O.V.R.U. looked a little less personable. What supplies may be available in the gallery may be limited as well. There would be time with the success with the demon hunting. Ethos retired to roaming the halls and looking around for more answers and questions to the mysterious gallery.

In another room, far hidden in the gallery, Cavil was pounding on his desk. Cornelius reported to him directly about the situation and the recent events.

“Demons and waterparks. Who’s idea was it to install that waterpark anyways!? The water bill has been going through the roof. Oh, and the scouts seem to have found my location. Tell me, did the chosen ones deal with all the demons?” Cavil exclaimed angrily.

“S-sir, yes, I believe. Well, from what Hector said, it sounds like the portal was blown to smithereens and most of the demons present were torn to shreds.” Cornelius said quickly in response.

Cavil chuckled deeply. “Good. Good. See if you can cut costs in other areas. I will need the money soon for my own little project. The newest addition to the gallery is starting to fill nicely. I think it is about time to release round two upon these eager contestants.”

Cornelius sighed and headed off to a separate room. The speakers played throughout the gallery. “Round two will begin shortly. Enjoy the waterpark while it is still intact. I cannot guarantee it will be there or in its functioning state for the future.” The speakers cut off with loud static, leaving the contestants surprised.

Description
Blood is Thicker than Water.

Splish, splash, splosh. Dripping pipes and the sound of joy could be heard muffled behind the large door to newest addition to the gallery. After a tough round to start, the victors needed the break. A girl, young with brightly coloured cyan hair approached the door with her companion, an ornery robot with a strong distaste for vermin and vermin-like activities. Taking the lead, the girl, Cyan Thyssed, proceeded to swiftly open the impressively trimmed door up. On the other side, she saw exactly what she and many others needed; a sparkling waterpark.

The smell of chlorinated water against smooth concrete walkways filled the air. Various waterslides populated the northern edge of the room. Some were open, while others were closed like tunnels. To the east side of the room were various hot tubs populated with some of the contestants and some of the visitors having a pleasant time. The west wall held shower rooms and changing rooms for those available. The new addition seemed to be a hit with almost everyone.

Out in the middle of the water was a donut-ring floaty being ridden by an extremely tall imposing figure with blue lipstick. A large smile met with three sharp smiling teeth met Cyan’s gaze. The figure beckoned out to Cyan with sharp claws while joking that “the water won’t kill you, unless it does”. While a little uneasy with the figure, Cyan went to the changing rooms anyways. Her robotic companion and rodent killer Overexaggerated Vermin Removal Unit (O.V.R.U.) stood at the edge of the room, peering in at the pool event. After a few minutes, Cyan returned in a stylish swimming suit.

Walking back to O.V.R.U. Cyan exclaimed “Sorry O.V.R.U., this isn’t really the kind of place for you to be. I’ll treat you to something later, but for now I could really go for a swim.”

Scoffing, O.V.R.U. replied “Well, that’s just fine. I don’t even like the water anyways. Full of weirdos anyways. I wouldn’t want to be in there with them.”

Cyan laughed at the odd, yet pleasant situation “Well, I will not be too long. I just need some time to relax after what we have been through so far. Maybe it is better I get to know or understand these folks a bit better. It may help out later.”

Cyan continued to enjoy her time at the pool for some time, meeting interesting characters and learning of struggles for the initial round. Some stories were tragic, with unfortunate ends. Other stories were exciting and were very relatable. There was some hope to be had for Cyan, knowing that even with all the described challenges, she and O.V.R.U. would be more than ready to handle them. Before getting too pruney, she took a few rides on the slides and then headed to the changing rooms once again. When she came back fully clothed, she noticed the imposing figure had disappeared from the floating donut. Cyan headed for the exit to meet up with O.V.R.U., but noticed a claw draped on her left shoulder.

“Hello there hon, I don’t think you got to spend some time with me.” Said the almost ghostly figure. “My name is Tulpa. I know most people know me by now, but I figured I would take this opportunity to take a stab at this introduction thing.”

Cyan slowly turned to face Tulpa with a surprised look. “Uhh, sorry. You were having so much fun floating in the water there that I didn’t want to disturb ya. I’ll talk to you later; I need to get going. My friend is waiting for me outside of the waterpark.”
Tulpa laughed full-heartedly. “Well, if you need me, I’ll be back in the pool.”

Cyan proceeded to quickly walk away from the awkward situation. She met O.V.R.U outside of the indoor waterpark to head off for the next objective. O.V.R.U. got away from the wall he was leaning on and looked at Cyan impatiently.

“That was slow, even for you.” He bitterly stated.

“Hush. Like I said, I was getting valuable information. If I had some fun as well, that was side-effect.” Cyan replied.

“Alright Cyan, what do we do with that information now then?” O.V.R.U. inquired.

Without a delay, the loudspeakers boomed into action. The stiff lines of a curator came through. “Hello, this is Cornelius. I hope everyone has been enjoying the newest addition to the gallery, the waterpark, as it was a gift from some of us to you. It may not be as great as an antique or as wondrous as an old scroll, but it will do for now. Expect more changes going forward”. This was followed by some coughing fits and a final announcement. “Oh, yes, and before I forget, there will be another bout of friendly competition held soon. Do not go anywhere too far. This is all. Cornelius, signing off. There, it is done. Sorry, what? The button? This one? Press it? A novel idea! So if I push it just like th-“.

O.V.R.U. scoffed loudly. “I think he figured out how to finally work a button. Some of these people here are so technologically inept.”

Cyan had a small chuckle. “Not everyone here is as smart as I am. That’s exactly where we have an advantage though. You and I will win; I am sure of it. For now, let’s do a little exploring. I’m sure that they aren’t telling us everything.”

The two proceeded to walk the halls. New wings had been constructed, but were off limits. Bars, boards, doors, and more blocked the entrance to most of these places. Faintly, dust and strong chemicals could be smelt through gaps in the protection. Something was cooking, but would be best served as a pot of mystery for later. One of the later branches, however, was blocked by what looked like a thin wall of paper with written foreign symbols on it. In the corner of this blockade, a dark rabbit with brightly glowing eyes and metallic chains was scratching away. Presumably, the rabbit had been there a while as the current scratches were a slow addition to the hole currently made. The rabbit turned to look at the two and then quickly hopped away clanging the chains behind. O.V.R.U. proceeded to recognize the entity and actions as vermin-like.

O.V.R.U. began to chase after the vermin-like figure, attempting to perform his job. Cyan on the other hand, a little spooked at such a large and unusual beast followed O.V.R.U. to remain safe and to find out what was going on. Clanging continued around the halls and the tail of the rabbit could be seen around the corner, as if the rabbit was leading them down a deeper hole in the gallery. The hallways grew darker and darker as it became harder to find the rabbit even with the clanging chains. O.V.R.U. and Cyan managed to fall behind as the rabbit sped up and the sounds of chains faintly disappeared. Still chasing, the two were interrupted suddenly with a strange sight in the darkness.

Bony fingers crept around the corner, pulling the skeletal silhouette of another contest face to faces. A gigantic corpse to order without a side of skin, muscle, or a lower half. A strong cold glow came from the skull with three eye sockets, while a calming warm glow filled the ribcage of this monstrosity. The skeleton torso approached, crawling and pulling itself across the floor to the two. The darkness in the room grew as two more sets of glowing eyes appeared next to the skeletal giant, but lower. One set familiar, the other new. Soon, a voice cracked the darkness.

“Ah, so you must be Cyan and her robot partner O.V.R.U. who I am glad I am meeting. My name, which you should know, is Hector. The other set of glowing eyes you met earlier here is Nocta. This bunny doesn’t talk much, and neither does this big calcium colossus.” Hector proceeded to sigh before another bout of verbal jousting. “So there is a situation in the gallery. We have not informed most, as it is the reason for the delay to the next round. There is a little problem going on. We can’t go into too many details, but we have a pest problem that needs to be dealt with.”

Losing track of the vermin directly, O.V.R.U. laughed loudly. “You have a giant skeleton, security, magic, and more and you can’t take care of some vermin? I guess you have come to the right robot and mechanic team.”

Cyan pondered for a second before chiming in. “I assume this isn’t some sort of regular vermin y’all are having issues with. There is no way a few rats, disgusting as they are, would be causing this much concern.”

Hector chuckled quietly in the veil of shadow. “You are a smart one, aren’t you? Yes, these are no regular vermin. You may have noticed the power dimming, and no, it isn’t because of Cornelius finding the power generator or the new waterpark addition. There is a serious problem arising. One that Cavil has specifically requested to have dealt with quickly and quietly. What we have invading is a few demons. They are shorty, nasty, and smell horrible too.”

O.V.R.U. laughed once more. “Again, you have access to all these other guys and you need our help? I know I am a fantastic rodent roaster, but demons seem like a different beast altogether. You might want to call a demon-hunter instead.”

Cyan quickly replied. “I don’t think there is anything that can keep us down. I am curious though, is there any tangible benefit for the both of us?”

Hector lowered his voice and walked closer to the terror terminating team. “Don’t tell a soul, but if you agree to help hunt these demons with this skeleton here, Ethos is their name, then we will allow a free pass into the next round of competition. You can consider this the next trial of sorts. No mess with another contestant, but perhaps a little more blood.”

Cyan took a second to think the proposition through. “I don’t have an issue with it. I can take O.V.R.U. and Mr.Bones here for a wild extermination ride. Is there any information you can give us on these demons before we go a-hunting?”

Hector laughed brightly as a flash of bright light gleamed from his teeth. “No. Cavil wanted them dealt with but has told us nothing else. Something strange with this situation, for sure. I highly recommend against letting this information out lest you find yourself the loser of the next round. I might also recommend finding some more uninformed allies to help deal with the situation. I am not sure how big of a problem it is. For now, Nocta and I have some issues to attend to. We do not expect results, but Cavil does. Just keep that in mind.”

The two sets of glowing eyes disappeared slowly into the darkness. Chain rattling also faded with softer footsteps. The two judges had disappeared, but left Ethos in the party. Ethos proceeded to follow behind the two.

Cyan looked back, thinking about the new ally. She was interrupted by O.V.R.U.’s snide remark. “So, they gave us something to work with, half-off. They must know we’re the best for the job.”
Ethos kept a blank stare at the robot before moving on. Although not one for conversation because of a lack of flesh, Ethos kept looking forward in the now dark hallways and at the two. Cyan noticed this and stopped to take a closer look at her new companion. For the undead, this skeleton seemed particularly animate as well as friendly.

Cyan took notice of a few details. The skeletal figure itself, which lacking a bottom half, was still impressively large. The bones were the only physical element there, so there had to be some sort of power source. No electronics, no plasma, no tiny hamsters in hamster wheels. Perhaps, the power of soul, something like O.V.R.U., which also lends to far more personality than the typical binary biting bot.

Cyan, trying to be friendly tried to initiate some conversation. “So, you must be pretty special.”
Ethos nodded in response and then stopped to take a second to scratch some small drawings in the floor. A small skeleton with a line through the bottom half. Next to the skull, Ethos craved out the figure of a man dressed in a darkened cloak. Next to the ribcage, Ethos depicted a warrior woman with a long spear. A frilly heart was drawn between the two figures. Spectral tears dripped slowly from the skeletal eye sockets.

Cyan took note. Ethos was familiar to O.V.R.U. in some ways. Ethos, this being, was two souls trapped in a body. An odd situation for sure, but perhaps something could be done. After all, O.V.R.U. was essentially a soul in a mechanical body. Creating two separate bodies for the spirits housed in Ethos would not be so hard with the right materials. It would require consent, but that would have to wait.

Cyan looked at Ethos’ face. “You know, maybe after this is all done I can craft you some new bodies. We can talk about it later. For now, let’s go hunt some demons.”

The three left through the halls before coming across some suspicion. Scampering noises with the occasional “bleeh” and “reeh”. Scratching, thumping, scratching, and more thumping. Just in sight at the edge of darkness were a few small grey demons with blank stares and sharp teeth. Seeing the party, the little imps scurried away into the darkness. O.V.R.U., Cyan, and Ethos chased them down back to the waterpark in the darkness.

Inside the waterpark, the lights were dim and the smell was awful. What was previously refreshing water on concrete became the horrid smell of clotting blood in vast quantities. What once was clean, became stained. The concrete edges were splashed with blood, the pools and hot tubs were filled with bubbling life juices, and the waterslides bent and stained dry. Everyone had left except for Tulpa, who was still floating on the donut floaty in the blood. Tulpa looked over and waved a claw.

“I see you have been making friends without me. Don’t worry, I’ve been having a bloody good time by myself. As soon as some lovely nasties showed up, they replaced the waterpipes with some weird runic bloodpipes. They went out. Seems you found a few little ones. Those ones are called Hoblins. Feel free to play around with them.”

Tulpa floated over to edge, picked up a Hoblin, and tossed it with great glee. The Hoblin flew in a strong arc landing on its face, bloody and pulped. The other Hoblins remained scared.

“See, they are a lot of fun. I think toss is their favourite game!” Tulpa exclaimed.

Cyan was disturbed by sight. O.V.R.U. and Ethos were left unfazed. Tulpa sat there smiling, while the Hoblins stood shaking in fear.

Tulpa broke the silence again. “So, what are you guys up to? Mind if I hang around for a bit?”
Cyan immediately responded. “Blood, there is so much blood. I swam in there. There was no blood in there before. I mean, I suppose so, but really? This is not natural. I really hope that was not the blood of someone I know.”

O.V.R.U. grunted stoutly. “We could always use a psychopath in the group.”

Tulpa grinned from ear to ear in response. “Lovely, then I shall accompany you on your little task. I know exactly what these little demons look like. I shall draw their visage for you. Perhaps a little blood drawing on the wall?”

Cyan stopped Tulpa right after. “No, that’s enough. I have had enough of this. Hop out of the pool, please. You can point them out when we see them. I would rather have the waterpark back to normal.”
Tulpa chuckled loudly. “Alright, alright. Suit yourself. Let’s head out.”

The four headed out of the room and proceeded to walk back down the hallways. Still dark, the group made their way to the suspicious paper runed wall that Nocta was previously scratching at. While near the wall, dripping noises and the smell of blood could be discerned. Demonic presence was likely here. Attempting to deal with the wall proved a little trickier than thought. Cyan attempted to break it down first by simply punching the paper. This ended in no success. The paper wall was able to bend at the impact. Ethos attempted force next, using skeletal punches and slashes to try to break the paper. This was also a failure as the paper was able to absorb the impact without any marks. Finally, O.V.R.U. shot flames at the paper wall. After the barrage, the wall was still standing without any marks. Even O.V.R.U.’s teeth were unable to tear down the paper wall.

Tulpa watched and laughed as the crew failed to take down ordinary paper. “The runes are very protective. They seem demonic as well. If I may make a recommendation, the giant skeleton should use some dark magic. I will slash it down. Paper is paper. Nothing more.”

Ethos agreed and proceeded to apply the pressure of dark magic to the paper, emanating it through skeletal fingers. Tulpa brought his claws out slash swiftly at the darkened paper. The scratches were successful. With the assistance of dark magic, the claws tore the wall into shreds.
“This is why you brought me along. You’re welcome, by the way.” Tulpa exclaimed.

Cyan looked puzzled and intrigued at the unfolding actions. “Well, that’s one way to shred paper. If that didn’t work, I would have had to invent some sort of wood chipper for paper.”

The group made their way down the new branch. Blood stained the floor in drizzling demonic patterns. Fresh, familiar, and pungent. In the background disturbing murmurs could be heard, growing louder as the end of the hall approached. Before the door was reached, beams of light pierced the darkness from behind. Robotic whirring, besides O.V.R.U., could be heard approaching with heavy footsteps. The lights grew stronger and the noises grew louder. A friendly voice could be heard, brightening up the situation.

“Hello folks, looks like you’re a little lost. If you don’t know who I am, you’re about to learn. Some call me D-847, others call me Arg. Saw some demolition going on. Figured you could use my help. I am a demolition expert. My trusty hammer and I are ready to make some dents. If you are doing non-demolition things I will be on my way.”

The hodgepodge of a group decided to take D-847 in. A demolitionist may prove useful for the events coming up. With the fog-lights from their new robotic companion, they could clearly cut to the source of the blood spilling. The room at the end of the hall was blocked by a heavy iron door, recently rusted. Straight vertical bars lined the frame and supported a thick padlock with a key jammed inside. D-847 took his trusty hammer and broke the rusty slammer. The door swung open quickly, creaking into the strange room.

The room behind the door was faintly illuminated with red light coming from a gaping and screaming portal. A couple small demons with pointy horns and gnashing spear tip teeth, armed with iron claws stared back. They quickly jumped into action to defend their blood-soaked portal. In retaliation, Tulpa quickly tag-teamed with Ethos to start fighting one of the demons. Ethos was able to hold down the first demon as Tulpa was able to slash into the demon’s belly to draw the innards out. The second demon rushed into the portal as quickly as possibly, tripping on its own cloven feet. The portal erupted blood violently and began to shake.

Suddenly and violently, the portal spewed out several more demons of the same shape and nature. These demons were as angry as the last. The first demon was finally finished off with the combination of Tulpa and Ethos. The demons started their own attack, swarming Tulpa and Ethos. O.V.R.U. stepped in and started spread flames in the room, providing residual damage. The flames proved to be of little effectiveness, however. In the backlines, Cyan and D-847 backed off.
Shouting from the backlines, Cyan had a plan to execute. “Hold the demons off. Arg and I have some work to do. These demons are starting to invade in masses. The portal must be the weakness. I have a plan, but I require you to hold off those demons for a little longer.”

The demons swarmed Tulpa, O.V.R.U., and Ethos. D-847 and Cyan ran to the back of the hall and disappeared for several minutes. Afterwards, Cyan with D-847’s assistance was able to roll out a massive metalic bomb, covered in lights and explosives while in the shape of a golf ball. The bomb lit the darkness with its bright lights. The swarming demons became panicked once again.
Shouting once more from the distance, Cyan took her plan into action. “Everyone, clear a path to the portal! Fore!”

With great force, D-847 took his trusty hammer out and hit the giant bomb down the hallway straight for the portal. The rest of the team threw the demonic horde into the portal and backed away. As soon as the bomb bowled into the portal, it started to shake violently. The frame began to vibrate more intensely over time before finally collapsing. The void closed with bright flashing and a last gush of blood into the room, which soaked everyone. Soon after, the lights turned on and the blood evaporated quickly into the air. Things seemed like they were returning to normal.
“A golf-bomb? That’s a new trick. I knew only the best and brightest could have built me.” O.V.R.U. proudly exclaimed. “I am glad you could find these lesser beings a job.”

“Hush now O.V.R.U.; that is no way to treat the team. Everyone had their part to play. I think we can both appreciate that. Y’all did great, by the way!” Cyan replied.

A large pout with a soft chuckle followed from Tulpa. “Well, there goes the blood. I will miss it so. I suppose I will have to make some more later. If any of you need me, I will be back at the pool. Feel free to donate some blood to my cause.” The blood-thirsty ally left.
A grunt and some panting could be heard as soon as the imposing figure disappeared. “I haven’t had so much fun with demolition in a long time. I have things that need attending to. I am glad I could be of service. Should you need someone of demolition expertise, please feel free to look for me. I am always happy for a round of bomb golf.” The android took his leave, still puzzled at the invasion of demonic figures.

Cyan, O.V.R.U., and Ethos were left alone. The task had been completed and this gave all of them immunity for the next round of competition. Before heading off to see the judges, Ethos beckoned Cyan and O.V.R.U. to follow. The anatomy lesson in crawling guided them along the now-lit halls to an almost plain door. Above the door, there was a sign that read “Do Not Enter” that was familiar to Ethos, but not so much to the other two. The skeleton pushed its way through the door. Once through, a skeletal hand peered out and gestured to follow.

Cyan was a little nervous about where the skeleton had led, but wanted to explore this new area. She dragged O.V.R.U. in as well. After entering, Ethos quickly shut the door. This new room was filled with intrigue, questions, and worries. Most of the room was empty for the displays. There were, of course, empty stands, paintings, and spaces for art to come in as expected in an art gallery. What was out of place was the new art within the displays. Various stands and paintings on one side of the room were hidden behind pristine white drapes. Ethos took the opportunity to pull them aside. Behind them was a scene that shocked Cyan. Some of the contestants from the first round, frozen in time, populated the enclosed area.

Cyan approached the familiar figures slowly. “Huh, hello? Are you guys alive?” No response came to the girl however. She stood with her mouth agape staring at the poor victims. She turned back to Ethos slowly after.

Ethos looked back at Cyan, quiet as ever. Ethos had seen this place before, but not so populated by new additions. A second after, Ethos took it upon themselves to pat Cyan gently on the back. Seeing the girl distressed caused spectral tears to flow softly from their sockets. Upon contact with the floor, the tears glowed brightly and evaporated back up to Ethos’ skull. The loss of potential friends as well as the looming passive threat to both hit hard.

O.V.R.U. stood silent. While normally a snide remark would be perfect, the distress of the other two beings had reached him. He stood waiting at the door for whenever Cyan was ready to leave.

“This is horrid!” Cyan exclaimed. “Is this what is happening to the contestants? Is this our fate? Will we never get home? They can’t treat all of us like this! We did not volunteer to become art for some sick show.”

Ethos responded by forming human-shapes with the glowing souls in the bodies. The two souls met each other in the ribcage where they began to dance slowly. The two souls, while silently speaking, reassured Cyan that she was not alone in this cruel place. There was always someone there to understand, someone to protect, someone to talk to. To try to calm Cyan down after the shocking incident, Ethos proceeded to re-enact their origin. A man in blue fog and a woman shrouded in an orange mist took steps to carefully demonstrate the past. Fierce combat, demons, necromancy, the hate and scorning from a village, the return of demons, the struggle of the warrior woman, the fall of the warrior to terrible demonic magics, and finally a necromantic end.

Cyan let out a solemn sigh. “You know, I have tinkered with machinery before. Perhaps if I find the right supplies, I can help build you a couple new bodies. O.V.R.U. over there is proof enough that my methods work. It would probably be foreign to both of you, to Ethos, though. Your choice later on if I can manage to get the materials.”

Ethos stood still for a moment. An interesting proposition for sure, but Ethos was unsure about robotic bodies. Coming from a more medieval setting, the idea of robotics was unsettling. The only metal that was used was in weaponry and the occasional construction. After the consideration, Ethos moved towards the exit without a word.

O.V.R.U. chuckled. “Perhaps you will upgrade to my level. Maybe we will see you later, maybe we won’t.”

Cyan cut O.V.R.U. off swiftly after his remark. “Thanks again Ethos. There is a lot going on here. Don’t mind O.V.R.U., honestly. I hope that I can see you again. We’ll figure out what is going on here. I would rather not have any of us fall victim to this place.”

Slowly, Ethos exited the room leaving the two behind. Two new bodies were potentially at the ready. That would end the journey Ethos had been on and would also reunite the two souls together in a more face-to-face embrace. On the other hand, robotics was unfamiliar and the robot known as O.V.R.U. looked a little less personable. What supplies may be available in the gallery may be limited as well. There would be time with the success with the demon hunting. Ethos retired to roaming the halls and looking around for more answers and questions to the mysterious gallery.

In another room, far hidden in the gallery, Cavil was pounding on his desk. Cornelius reported to him directly about the situation and the recent events.

“Demons and waterparks. Who’s idea was it to install that waterpark anyways!? The water bill has been going through the roof. Oh, and the scouts seem to have found my location. Tell me, did the chosen ones deal with all the demons?” Cavil exclaimed angrily.

“S-sir, yes, I believe. Well, from what Hector said, it sounds like the portal was blown to smithereens and most of the demons present were torn to shreds.” Cornelius said quickly in response.

Cavil chuckled deeply. “Good. Good. See if you can cut costs in other areas. I will need the money soon for my own little project. The newest addition to the gallery is starting to fill nicely. I think it is about time to release round two upon these eager contestants.”

Cornelius sighed and headed off to a separate room. The speakers played throughout the gallery. “Round two will begin shortly. Enjoy the waterpark while it is still intact. I cannot guarantee it will be there or in its functioning state for the future.” The speakers cut off with loud static, leaving the contestants surprised.