The time had come. A sacrifice was required. High above the floating rock, the smiling man looked down from the storm clouds. He crossed his arms and frowned. Even with the silent lightning flashing around him, he was still mostly obscured by shadow.

He sneered. " 'I am in blood. Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more. Returning were as tedious as go o'er...It will have blood: they say, blood...will...have...blood.' " He punctuated each cry of the word blood with a forceful enunciation as he stared down at the mist below.

"She knows of course." Slowly his frown turned back into his normal smile. "An ironic placement, framed as a mere coincidence. But two can play that game. After all, I wasn't the one who brought him, and yet here he lies just as I planned. Poised to ruin yet another of her grand schemes through sheer greed and ignorance."

As a flash of lightning flew inches from his face, he disappeared as its light faded. In that same instance he stood in front of the entrance to The Oasis. He glanced over to his side and saw the hollow king lying there still.

"Pathetic. A real king would shed as much blood as needed to keep his power." he mocked with a malicious smile.

The hollow king slowly turned his head towards the smiling man.

"Oh? Seem to have grabbed enough sense to move on something other than instinct, did we?" the smiling man chuckled, without even trying to hide his malice.

The hollow king breathed out slowly. It was almost a moan, but he clearly was trying to communicate, though it seemed speech was still beyond him.

"Stand up or lie back down like the dog you are." the smiling man prodded. "Half measures are no good here."

The hollow king turned his head away from him and slowly let it lean back until it was resting against the wall as he let out a deep moan.

The smiling man shrugged and flung open the door to The Oasis. Ted, Sentenza, Lulu, Narissa, Bakade, Trizel, Sid, and Nugget all had paper in front of them and were scratching away at them. As the door opened, they all stopped to see who it was. A general feeling of shock hung in the air as they all froze at the sight of him back so soon.

Sentenza was the first to move. He reached down and pulled out Mala's pistol and brought his other hand over to throw back the hammer as he aimed it at the mysterious man.

"Wait! Not here! Not..." Narissa reached out towards Sentenza as she tried to stop him, but she was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

It was loud. Surprisingly loud for a pistol. It almost sounded like a cannon had just been fired, and not a revolver. The smiling man didn't seem worried at all. As the bullet flew to him, he stood his ground. Although, unlike the other times, he stumbled back as it seemed to hit him. For a brief moment he almost frowned, but he managed to catch himself, and instead broadened his smile. But it had hit. Unlike the other times, it had actually made contact, but as Sentenza smirked, the color drained from Narissa's face.

"That wasn't..." Narissa gulped as she quickly stood up. "Sentenza! You used the wrong one!"

Sentenza stood up with his old cocky swagger. "Of course it was. Only had the one." He turned towards the smiling man as he added, "What? Couldn't dodge that one?"

"Hah....hahaha...hahahahahaha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The smiling man started to laugh. It was quiet at first, but quickly rose in intensity. "You country bumpkin. Now where did you get something like that? Not without help I'd expect. Still, did you really think that'd be enough? That your little peashooter could do anything more than surprise me?"

Trizel stood up and cracked his knuckles. Sid, Bakade, and Nugget moved closer to Sentenza as the three of them stared at the smiling man. The air almost seemed heavy as Ted began to sweat. But before he could say anything, Lulu grabbed a wooden club from beneath the bar, and then leaped over it.

"Now, hang on a minute guys," Ted sputtered out quickly before he gulped. "Let's just slow down a minute here."

"When the powers that be show up to put their foot down. Well, you can't just let them get away with it," Lulu said with a smirk as she slowly smacked the bat against her hand with her eyes focused on the well dressed man.

"He shows up often enough, why now?" Ted sputtered as he stood up. His legs were shaking. They felt like jelly and his mind screamed at him to run, but there was nowhere to go. The only exit was blocked by the smiling man, with a crowd of his angry friends ready to confront him.

"He is early," Trizel snarled. "Plus, you must be able to feel that aura around him."

Ted, just looked confused before Sid explained, "It is ominous. His intent for blood is so obvious he may as well be wearing a sign. Even before Sentenza shot him."

Narissa leaned in towards Sentenza as she whispered. "That wasn't the bullet. It wasn't...special at all."

"But I used..." Sentenza reached into his pocket, and paused a second, before he pushed against the bottom. Rough stitching quickly came undone, and his finger pushed through. He scowled. "That darn imp."

"This is the end!" Trizel shouted as he stepped in front of the others. "We will bow to you no longer!"

"Ah, you have some bite at least. Too bad it is sorely misplaced." The smiling man grinned as he slowly licked his lips. "I'm glad my intention was obvious. Wouldn't want to surprise you after all."

"Ttthhiisss iiisss yyyoouurrr llaassssttt cchhhaannccceee," Bakade snarled. "Llleeeaavvveee nnnooowwww, ooorrrr ddddiieee."

Nugget's wing was still in a pseudo sling, and her leg was in a brace, but she scratched her talon against the wooden floor as she stared straight where the smiling man's eyes should be.

"We need that bullet," Narissa whispered anxiously.

Sentenza's face became emotionless as he flipped open his gun's barrel and slowly slid one bullet in after another. "You can track him, right? With that bond or whatnot?"

"This mist is..."

Sentenza shifted his cold gaze over to Narissa. He looked even more like a heartless killer than when he had pressed his gun against her. She grew quiet and just slowly nodded. His eyes shifted back towards the smiling man as he tilted his hat up slightly.

"This is it," Sentenza said calmly. "We're going all in here. If we can, let's rendezvous with Death. Even in the mist, he'll be a big help. Ted, be sure you stick near Sid."

Everyone seemed to be preparing for the fight, as the smiling man slowly opened his mouth. Ted's breathing kept getting quicker and quicker. Everyone seemed to be waiting, and Ted was paralyzed with fear. Then, it happened. Ted's feet moved. With all of his strength he ran deeper into the building, and immediately he knew his destination. The words flashed in his mind. If he could get to the cellar, surely, he would be safe. If he could just climb down there and hide in a barrel, maybe he could escape what was coming. And so, he ran.

With everything he had, he ran away from his friends and the monster covered in bloodlust that he was sure would kill some if not all of them. He'd seen a glimpse of what the smiling man could do. There was no way to win, so why even try? Maybe he'd spare him in the end? Ted wasn't sure, all he knew was that he had to get to the basement. down as deep into the ground as he could get.