Ace apparated in darkness.

Hello. Anyone? Figures.

The [Link] connecting Ace to the rest of The Hangmen had been severed.

“To the Alchemist, [Pact].”

[ A spirit has been found. ]

[ What do you desire? ]

To communicate.

[ The spirit desires you to free him. ]

I’ll find you. Freeing you is something I can’t guarantee.

[ The spirit has accepted your offer. ]

[ Pact formed!]

[ Active Pacts: 1/2. ]

The moment the pact was formed, a voice lanced through Ace’s mind.

Who are you?

My name is Ace. I’m part of a party called The Hangmen. Cally So said you would help us.

Cally sent you? She’s always a pain in my neck.

Are you in a position to complain?

I suppose not. Now, where are you?

I just took a connector here. It’s all dark.

Let me see if I can help.

A matrix of thin white lines outlined the darkness that surrounded Ace.

What did you do?

This is what I remember of the space. They didn’t bother blindfolding me when they dragged me here.

How good is your memory?

I have an eidetic memory.

Don’t know what that means, but I’m not complaining.

Ace walked toward the outline of a door. As he grasped the doorknob Elric’s spirit sent a chill down his spine.

Don’t take the door, Elric said. Find another way in.

Ace looked up to a grate just above the door.

Ace drew a sword from the scabbard on his back. Tiny slashes in the metal segmented the blade. The cross guard doubled as a trigger lever. The handle was rather bulky; the wrap around it hid the gears and mechanisms underneath.

Ace pointed the tip to the ceiling. “Focus, [Possess].” The moment Ace completed the chant, he pulled down on the lever.

The blade clicked, and the lines along it expanded, splitting it into segments. Connected by a thick cable, the segments rocketed upward; the blade's tip embedded itself into the ceiling.

Ace gently pressed his thumb down on the lever. The whip sword’s blade slowly retracted as Ace walked up the wall. He grabbed the grate above the door and pulled it loose. After he crawled inside, Ace pressed down on the lever. It clicked again, and the blade retracted back into a sword.

After sheathing his blade and popping the grate back into place, Ace crawled through the vents. Since Elric had never been up in the vents, the entire space was shrouded in darkness.

Any chance you know how to turn on the lights? Ace asked

The infusion is right next to me.

Brilliant.

Once he finally reached another vent, Ace pried it open and crawled out into the rafters. Clutching onto the beam with one hand, Ace glanced down out the outlined prison-like space. He spotted several cages, with interiors that faded into darkness. He recalled that the vast majority of the animals had been auctioned off in the first half of the show; Elric might be the only thing left in here.

The sound of marching metal echoed through the space. Ace focused on the sound and spotted the outline of two suits of armor patrolling up and down the cages.

Which cage are you in? Ace asked.

None in that area. There’s a door at the end of the room. That’s where they’re keeping me.

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How do I get in?

My chamber has two locks. They must be unlocked simultaneously. The two suits of armor have the keys.

Don’t you mean the guards have the keys?

The suits are animated by an infusion inside the breastplate. Damage the infusion, and they’ll disanimate. Be warned, the infusions are linked together so that if one goes down, the other sets off an alarm. Please tell me there’s someone with you.

I’ll see what I can do.

You mean we?

I mean me.

Ace pulled his revolver out from the holster on his hip. He pulled the hammer back. The infusion engraved all across the revolver began to glow. The barrel of the revolver started to rotate, rapidly gaining speed.

“[Possess].”

Ace pulled the trigger. Every bullet in the revolver fired in an instant, spreading out wildly in different directions. Imbued with Ace’s essence the bullets quickly changed their trajectory and raced toward the animated armors that patrolled the hall.

Ace guided the bullets between the gaps in the hollow armor. Sparks illuminated the darkness as the bullets danced around inside the suits of armor, grinding against the interior of the breastplate, scratching the infusion inside, and rendering it inert.

The two suits of animated armor crumbled to the ground; the clanging of metal echoed through the space.

Ace pulled out his sword as he holstered his revolver. He pulled out his sword, and clicked the lever, transforming it into a whip. “[Possess].” The whip sword moved on its own like a snake as it coiled around the beam Ace clung to.

Ace gently climbed off the beam. The whip sword slowly extended as Ace rappelled down.

Ace spent a while rummaging through the armor in the dark before he managed to pry two keys from the armor sets.

He walked down the hall, looking left and right into the dark cages, expecting something to jump at the bars. At the end of the hall was a door with two locks, one at the top of the door, the other at the bottom.

“[Possess].” Ace imbued the two keys with his essence and moved them both into the locks. The locks clicked open and fell off the door.

As he stepped into a room a voice called out from inside. “The lights are on your left.”

Ace rubbed his hand along the left wall until it hit a sigil engraved into the wood; he shut his eyes as light enveloped the entirety of the space.

[ Pact Fulfilled! ]

[ Active Pacts: 0/2.]

As Ace’s eyes blinked open he found himself face to face with a pale elven hybrid with long blonde hair dressed in elegant crimson clothes accented with gold. Shackles lined with runes chained the man to the wall opposite Ace. “So you’re Elric?”

Elric shook his hair to get it out of his eyes. “Yes. You managed to get here on your own. Very impressive.”

“Thanks,” Ace said.

“Now could you get me out of here?”

“How do I get the shackles off you?”

Elric pointed to the two keys in Ace’s hand.

“Using the same keys is just lazy,” Ace said.

“Or efficient, depending on how you look at it.” Elric attempted to stand up, but the chains rattled, and went taught, causing Elric to fumble to the ground. “Ah!”

“Can’t you use a skill to get out?” Ace asked.

Elric held up his hands. “The infusion on the shackles is sensitive to essence. I use a skill and my hands get sliced off. Honestly, my hands being gone isn’t the problem. I could always put them back. I’m more worried that the sudden pain would cause me to die of shock or pass out. If that happened I’d quickly die of blood loss.”

“Yeah, that sounds, not good,” Ace said.

“Not good indeed.”

Ace moved toward Elric ready to unshackle, but took a step back.

“What’s wrong?” Elric asked.

“I think we should discuss what exactly you’ll do for me and my friends before I free you.”

“Fine,” Elric groaned.

“Good. Before that, I need proof that you’re really you.”

Elric rolled his eyes. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a red stone. The surface of the stone looked like a meteor shower trapped in a bubble of time; different shades of red overlapped on the stone, streaking across its surface “A philosopher’s stone. No one else can make them. Is this satisfactory?”

“Do you have more?” Ace asked.

“A few. I can always make more.”

“Including me, there are seven people you need to treat. Do you have enough for all of us?”

“That depends on what I’m treating.”

Ace pulled down his collar revealing the golden chain tattooed on his neck.

Elric’s eyes widened. “Ah, I see. A complex problem, but the solution is rather trivial. Simply transmute the skin around the neck. A single stone will be more than enough for all of you.”

Ace went to speak, but Elric interjected. “Might I add, there is a [Planar Connector] located in the room you arrived in powering an infusion. If I could make a suggestion, I have my own custom plane of existence. Once you free me, with a simple chant, by using the connector in my own plane as an anchor, I could take us to my personal workshop. It would allow me to work on you and your friends much quicker.”

“That’s fine,” Ace said.

“Excellent. It seems we have a deal. I’ll treat you and your friends, and you get me out of here.”

“Wait a second.” Ace pointed to the philosopher’s stone in Elric’s hand. “I want that as insurance.”

Elric scoffed. “You can’t be serious. Do you know what this is worth?”

“More than your life apparently. In case shit goes sideways and we have to leave your ass here, I’d like to at least have the hope somebody other than you could fix us.”

“Nobody can use these as well as me.”

“Why would I need it to be used well? After all, you’re the one who said the solution was trivial. You either gamble on me, and my party, or on yourself, and whether you can withstand losing both your hands.”

Ace extended his hand out. “So which will it be? [Pact].”

Elric scowled as he dropped the stone into Ace’s palm.

[ Pact formed!]

[ Active Pacts: 1/2. ]

“Thank you. I’m going to get the rest of my friends, and we will all be back in no time.”

Ace rushed back to the room he had teleported into when he first arrived. On the wall was a glowing sigil. As he placed his hand on it the infusion activated, and he was thrust back into the theater.