Sell you a Bridge chapter 174

February 14th 2011 The OZ 10:00 AM EDT

I  had to admit, the Queen's tower was...imposing. It was also ugly. Like a  serious eyesore. I turned to Cain.  I was trying to distract the man, he'd been taking it hard since we'd realized the mystic man had been taken along with DG, a fact that I personally hadn't even noticed. "Seriously who does her decorating?  This place looks like a standing collection of rusty dildos. I've seen  literal dumpsters with more aesthetic appeal. Like if you're going to  make your palace out of metal at least use stainless steel. Though I  can't imagine why you WOULD make it out of metal. Her AC bill during the  summer must be horrendous."

Zee  snickered a bit at that, but Cain just rolled his eyes. "No clue who  built the place. Look, kid, you asked for a spot nearby where you could  isolate a few longcoats. That'll be your best bet." He pointed to a  series of dirt hills a small ways away from the tower where a longcoat  patrol was marching. I nodded to him with a smirk and with an effort of  will slipped through the shadows to appear at the base of one of the  dunes. When I came through I shifted into my insubstantial state and  waited, getting ready to try possession for the first time.

When  the next group of soldiers came through I flew at top speed over to the  closest one and just...jumped in. It felt weird. Like I was jumping  into water that was WAY too hot, and I felt a sort of resistance across  my entire spirit. It took most of my concentration but I was able to  force my way past it and shove myself into the drivers seat of the body.  It felt weird and clumsy, and I stumbled when I took control. The other  longcoat with the guy I'd possessed turned to look at me. "Morris what  the hell did I tell you about drinking the night before maneuvers?  Though kudos for holding up so well until now."

I  cleared my throat, shaking my head as if to clear it. "M'fine." I kept  my response as short as possible so there was less chance for me to get  noticed. Morris's friend rolled his eyes and turned back to marching. I  followed behind, getting more acclimated to my temporary flesh as I did.  We walked around for a solid hour before finally turning to head into  the giant ugly ass tower where DG was undoubtedly being kept. It was a  long walk, and the place was basically a maze, but I got ready to knock  out my companion and find my friend when I felt a hard smack to the back  of my head.

Well.  Not MY head. Morris's head. My head was completely insubstantial. It  was a weird feeling staring down at my own body as it collapsed in a  heap. Even weirder was when I realized that while insubstantial I was  NOT invisible when possessing someone, so I ended up just standing there  as a ghost in a pile of tangled limbs as I turned to look at my  attacker. DGs eyes were wide and terrified as she looked down at the  body, then at her hand, then up at me. Then without further ado she  hurled herself at me, arms wide open.

I  returned to my physical state, taking a second to blast Morris's friend  in the face with a light ectosplasmic bolt and knock his ass out before  I caught the now sobbing brunette. "Morgan! You're ok! Azkedelia  wouldn't tell me what happened to you, I thought she might have hurt  you! How is everyone else? Is Zee ok? And Cain, and Glitch, and Dreamer?  How is Raw? Patches wasn't hurt was he?" Her babbling sort of ran  together as she talked faster than I'd ever heard anyone speak.

I'd  been angry, planning to yell at her for her stupidity. But she really  was impossible to be mad at. It was like kicking a puppy. I just laughed  and gave her a squeeze before stepping back. "They're fine. They're all  annoyed that you went rogue, but they aren't hurt." I paused. "Also  where the fuck did you get a dog? Because I'm positive you didn't have a  yorkie with you when you got captured, and I feel like mental health  puppy therapy probably isn't high on Azkedelia's list of dungeon  amenities."

She  smiled brightly. "He found me in my cell. He was the one who got me  out. He knows the way out." She turned to the small dog. "Alright boy,  which way is the way out?" The dog barked once in response. He did not,  however, look away or turn in any specific direction. Staring seriously  into DG's eyes. I rubbed the bridge of my nose as the supremely  unhelpful dog barked a second time.

That  was pretty much all I could take. "Tell you what, as great as I'm sure  your dog is at giving directions, I just walked in here with that guy." I  nodded to not-Morris. "I have a perfect memory, so I can lead us back  the way I came and out the front door." Of course, we would probably run  into some longcoats, but I was in a punching things mood, and I was  armored up anyway so I could tank some shots for DG if they decided to  try to ventilate her.

Before  I could lead us though the dog darted over and nipped my leg. I snarled  a bit, but it didn't hurt much given my elastic flesh. Once he had our  attention he ran over to a large industrial machine and hopped into a  hollow in the metal, barking at us insistently. I glared at the yappy  dog. DG, oblivious to my obvious annoyance, bounced excitedly. "I think  he wants us to go in there!" Since the dog was smart enough to free her  from a cell I decided to just go with it, if we ran into longcoats I  could just blast our way out anyway.

We  climbed into the machine and followed the inner chamber into a huge  pipe, walking along it for quite some time until we came out in a huge  empty industrial area behind the tower. The dog led us out back into the  dirt hills and I split off a clone to find the rest of our crew and  lead them over as I followed the running pooch along the path he was  leading us down and into the woods.

My  clone was able to steer the others around to meet up with us and as we  came out into the woods Zee came barrelling out of the trees to tackle  hug DG. The older girl laughed joyfully and pulled my girlfriend close.  Dreamer came up and gave me a hug and smile as we watched the two of  them  gush excitedly at each other.  Her voice was teasing as she said.  "Another successful mission huh?"

I  laughed and gave her a squeeze. It was nice to see Zee so happy to have  a friend back. DG was the most normal person any of knew, and she'd  grown on all of us. The girl was basically a real life disney princess,  and it was impossible not to like her after you got to know her, but Zee  had connected with her the most. Cain and Glitch and Raw all ran up to  the girls happily grabbing them both in a group hug and I smiled at how  happy they were to see DG again. Vykin, Bear, Artemis, Wally, and Serifan came to stand  next to us. Vykin nodded to me. "An excellent extraction, my friend."

I  smiled at him and was about to respond when I noticed the dog run out  into the middle of the clearing. It yipped a few times, drawing the  growling ire of Patches and his five new siblings and turned to face us.  There was a shifting, sort of twisting warp in the space in front of  us, and suddenly the dog was gone, and an older, kind looking dark  skinned man with mutton chops and a portly frame was smiling at us. I  blinked and looked around. "That guy was a dog right? I'm not the only  one who saw a dog there a second ago?"

Even  for us a small dog turning into a full sized man was weird. He had  smile lines around his eyes and was wearing a ratty looking long brown  coat over a shabby suit. He smiled kindly at us. "No. I was indeed in  the form of a dog a moment ago. I apologize for the surprise, but I  assure you I'm a friend. I knew DG's mother. She sent me to help her  find the emerald."

I  had to be honest. My weird threshold was pretty much shot by this  place. Guy who turns into a dog sent by the princesses long lost mother  to help her find the magic emerald to defeat her evil possibly possessed  sister? Yeah, sure, why not? But that made me even more curious as to  what this emerald actually was. I glanced at DG. "So, I'm hoping your  stupid plan had some kind of benefit other than letting me take a quiet  tore of Azkedelia's sewer system?"

DG  flushed. "Yeah. That machine that we escaped through? The mystic man  said that she was going to use that to destroy the OZ." Cain seemed  excited by the mention of his old boss, and I realized I hadn't seen the  old man since the ice palace. I felt like an absolute bastard for not  noticing he was gone, I assumed they hadn't mentioned him being taken  because they didn't want to piss me off more. DG teared up a bit at the  mention of him. "I...I'm sorry Cain. He got grabbed when I did, and...he  didn't make it. She killed him."

She  swallowed, forcing herself to move on though I saw her aura flash with  guilt and shame at the thought of the man who had died partly because of  her plan. "He...he said that she needs the emerald to make the machine  work. She still doesn't know where it is really. She tried to get it out  of my head, but all she managed to get were the words 'Grey Gale'.  Before he died, the mystic man told me that the path to where my mother  hid the emerald is in the south."

Cain  looked pained at the news of the old mans death, and I walked over to  put a hand on the mans shoulder. Before I could day anything though, the  dog guy interrupted. "Folks? I suggest we keep moving." His eyes  flicked side to side as if waiting to be attacked, and I saw flashes of  fear and shame in his aura. The shame was weird, but I'd seen people  with reactions like that to their own cowardice before. Besides, if he  tried anything I'd kick his ass anyway so it hardly mattered.

Cain  cut him off before he could continue. "Sorry pooch, this is where we  part company. I admit you helped us out. I'd even thank you for what you  did back there if I knew who you were, or what. But with the longcoats  trying to use us to find the emerald and those damned flying monkeys up  there looking for us, we don't have time to figure out what your angle  is in all of this."

The  portly man smiled. "I understand your skepticism Mr. Cain." Cain look  surprised at the name drop. "Yes, I know who you are. I know who several  of you are. Like you Mr. Glitch, the advisor to the Queen herself. Or  you Mr. Raw, a viewer of extraordinary skill. And Mr. Cain, you were a  Tin Man on the mystic man's protection detail. The three of you are  quite famous in the OZ, and quite in demand." He pulled out a sheet of  paper with a bunch of pictures on it. "Now I'm not sure who the rest of  you are, but the fact that Azkedelia wants you out of play is enough for  me. Before you go chasing an old dog off, will you at least hear what I  have to say?"