The muffled shatter leading to a subdued pinging of loose pebbles and then CRUNCH, Josh could only guess was the instantaneous pulverization of those pebbles by immense and as yet unseen stone weights, (that were rolling? around him and Sen in every direction), was just about enough to drive him insane. And the sounds were only getting closer by the second. Much closer!

Anyone who could see the study in angst Josh’s faced morphed into could tell that the present uncertainty of what they were facing was also giving rise to growing anxiety as well. Being honest, Josh was a skosh nearer ‘extremely uncomfortable’ than just ‘a little edgy.’

But it couldn’t be denied that his not knowing exactly what was spiraling toward them from all sides, bringing some kind of unimaginable doom, was adding a definite crowd-pleasing element of suspense to the also unseen spectators. This, the forty-four year old lawyer and relatively recently-turned iteration-jumping cultivator could tell from the spontaneous gasps of disembodied excitement that randomly punctuated the otherwise looming atmosphere of death and destruction.

Then there was the impenetrable ‘fog of war’ currently shielding the above said anonymous, noise-making monstrosities. The dense white blanket of fog had started swirling about him and Sen in heavy dollops shortly after being dropped off by the two Titans had in the center of the gaming field they were now in.

Holding his breath, Josh let his right eye twitch at the visually impairing wall of almost solid white preventing him from knowing exactly how near the noisy mechanized monsters, whatever they were, were.

A low rumble of anticipation from the unseen, but somehow all knowing crowd of spectators reached Josh’s enhanced hearing. He could hear small audible gasps of their surprise or forlorn predictions of his demise when he paid full attention. How the spectators could see them, or for that matter anything through the fog, Josh had no clue. All i know is that we cant see more than 20 feet into it…If that…

Reflexively and ineffectually, Josh’s left hand waved before his eyes trying for the hundredth time to disperse the fog. Like swiping at the ocean as you swam underwater, it remained.

I really don’t like it.

And if he was being completely honest, since he’d been thrown into this iteration, that was ‘eight aspect doors from his own,’ whatever the hell those were, Josh had to admit that he’d developed a thriving dislike for the unknown. In his brief experience in this new iteration, all too often the unknown was hiding monsters that any three-year-old kid knew were in the shadows under his bed. Only, the monsters in this iteration could and did routinely pop out to take giant chunks of hind quarters when he least expected it.

Josh tapped his Bond awareness and felt a bit more than he could actually see Sen. His fallen Immortal brother who was now karmically linked with him to get back to Josh’s four-year-old daughter Sophie. Sen was five to six feet away and lying on his belly with his right ear to the ground. He had both eyes closed and was listening intently to the sounds Josh could hear all around them while standing. It was a damn good impression of a Civil War era Indian scout, Josh had to admit. Josh also couldn’t help but notice that Sen was getting pelted with a steady stream of loose gravel and rocks. As the constant and increasing impact tremors of their encircling pursuers grew closer, the force of their passage was becoming enough to make the small stones bounce up and down like fleas on a wild dog around Sen’s prone form.

Sen sent no mental thoughts through their Bond. But Josh was sure from his overall constipated look that what he was hearing wasn’t good. No surprises there…

Josh’s mental tongue finally cracked under the building pressure. ~Sen…some kind of rock monsters are literally circling in to crush us. We can’t see anything because of this fog-whiteout so thick it could teach Carl von Clauzwitz and Walter Bright a thing or two…and somehow, you think a Tanto impression from the Lone Ranger is going to help us?! Let’s just pick a direction and get the heck out of here while we still can!~ Josh had unconsciously pointed with his four fingers in the direction that his cycling Essense was telling him that the ‘Safety’ area, Thiea, the female Titan goddess had said would be ‘perceptable’ to them after the game had started.

Frustration built further into Josh’s mental tone. ~I know your cycling Essence is telling you the same thing it is telling me. We are supposed to head that way, toward the safe zone that we can feel! If I let my feet do their own thing, I’m almost sure that they would walk there on their own…~

Josh trailed off his mental tirade in a decreasing volume at the realization of his own statement. Yes, I’m almost being pulled in a direction without giving a thought to wether or not it is the smart thing to do or not…

Not reacting to the escalating tone in Josh’s Bond-speak, Sen remained as he was. He did however encourage the last realization in Josh’s surface thoughts. ~Yes, brother. You are correct. If you weren’t controlling your actions, you would find yourself moving in the direction of safety without giving it conscious thought. Its a side effect of being under the influence of a significantly superior Will and Intention.~

~So you mean that we are being controlled by these bastards. Against our will?!~ Anger touched Josh’s tone at the violation of losing what was his all to often misplaced assumption of freedom and independence.

Sen’s expression grew more tense and he pressed his ear even closer to the ground. Making it clear to Josh that aside from having this conversation with him, Sen was still listening intently to the rumbling all around them. ~…Not exactly brother. The draw in the direction of the safe area is merely that. A pull on a spirit being’s Essence in the direction in it is located. It is nothing more for a being with the same relative level of strength as being whose Will created the draw. But, for those such as us– Much less powerful beings, than those intended to feel the nudging…it is a draw. For someone weaker than even us, it would be a compulsion– I have seen it many times from the other side of the Intention, when I was an Immortal. Naturally I interacted with other spirit beings, even powerful cultivators who could not resist my simple whims.~

~So…They aren’t trying to mind control us…we’re just seriously outclassed?~

~I believe that is the proper way to interpret what is happening, yes.~ Sen held up his hand to stop further conversation and focused his hearing on the ground. After a second he continued. ~ I also agree that our pursuers are approaching from all four cardinal directions. But, the question I am trying to answer is: Where will the other three not be when one finally finds us and we need to run away? That is why I am tracking their vibration vectors through this tera. And why I thought it best to wait for an opening.~

After hearing his brother’s reasoning, it made way too much sense compared to Josh’s ants-in-the-pants strategy. Some of the tension left his shoulders as he saw Sen’s wisdom. Unfortunately, ~Vibration wha–~ was all that Josh was able to get out of his brain before Sen, apparently hearing what he needed, bounced up to the balls of his feet in a squatting position and made a brisk gesture pointing with his fingers toward his left. ~Our path lies this direct–~

“Yululululululululuyuuuuu!” Sen’s words were cut off by an undulating cry from about fifty yards behind them that pierced the dense fog. Reflexively they both turned their heads in the direction as the deep churning sound of crushing accelerated at them.

I guess they can see better than we can… They both thought at the same time.

A split second later an eery red glow illuminated a bulky shape Josh estimated to be about the size of a delivery van as it billowed the fog in their general direction. A second after that Josh caught his first glimpse of one of their opponent chasers bathed in crimson light as it diffused through the cloud bank all around them. Unfortunately he was all too aware of the ill omen that it also cast him and Sen in the color of bright blood. But, even with this admittedly disturbing harbinger, Josh’s first overriding thought after the shape actually punched through the fog and he got a clear sight of it was…

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Are you kidding me!!??

And unfortunately for Josh, it took his brain a beat in its attempts to take stock and categorize the bizarre sight that greeted him.

It was a strangely perfect amalgamation of opposites. And the ultimate conclusion that Josh’s reeling mind of their enemy was only made by reaching back to his childhood. What rolled out at them was a fusion of the polar distinct genres of TRON and Flintstone technologies. The bright red glow that formed a diffuse crimson nimbus in the area was coming from what Josh assumed could only be some kind of Essence circuits or channels. The thin, pulsing lines outlined the peripheral and occasional mid-body spacing through the structure of an oversized, open-topped dune buggy that appeared to be carved from a single piece of grey stone. Josh guessed its speed was between ten and fifteen miles per hour. But it was hard to assess given the complete lack of any stationary objects near it. However, he could tell that it was accelerating in a beeline directly for them.

Maybe souped-up steam roller is a better description, Josh’s slightly panicked brain said to himself as his eyes took in the vehicle’s main feature; a gigantic, six-foot in diameter, stone cylinder, also outlined in pulsing red Essence channels, that served as its front wheel. The solid cylinder was noticeably larger than the opposite one in the rear. The differences in size caused the front of the machine to be tilted up and slanting in an angle of decline to the back.

The crush-buggy’s four occupants were all sitting in a straight line in the open-air cockpit. The single instant of attention that Josh paid its occupants revealed that they were all wearing extensively decorated headgear. Each adorned with differing radiating features made from feathers, glinting crystals, dull stone plinths and or intricate wood carvings. Their four faces, exposed torsos, and limbs were all painted in white pigment that highlighted their skeletal structure. It overall reminded Josh of the Calavera style used during the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexican neighborhoods from his Earth.

The one that was holding the glowing red sterling yolk in the rough center of the crush buggy’s seating line was thickly muscled with a bulky shaped head and facial features. Giving the distinct impression that he was carved out of stone or igneous rock. Sitting next to the driver, in the center left was a humanoid appearing to be completely skinless with only connective tissue over muscle and bone. Under his ribs was a completely empty abdominal cavity of darkness. This flayed team member was the one yelling their war cry. Vocalizations which were starting to make Josh grind his molars from their gritty intensity. The other two opponents were, by first impressions, very attractive, dark haired and eyed, youthful human looking women. It wasn’t lost on Josh that he thought he saw both of them smile as his decidedly male thoughts raced through his mind. The one with pheasant feathers as a headdress smiled more demurely. The one with a full bouquet of multicolored roses had a observantly more wicked slant to her grin. It also hadn’t escaped Josh that his mind had taken the time to register the factoid of how hot the women currently trying to kill him were… I’ve been alone far too long, was his last thought before. Three red lashes lanced from spontaneously formed Essence launchers mounted just above the heads of the roller’s occupants. Josh’s Essence-enhanced body reflexively drove his hips, head, and right foot to move in coordinated and completely opposite directions that would have made Micheal Jackson envious. The three sizzling lines shot past Josh and snapped back like stretched bungee cords toward the direction they had come from a fraction of a second before and then dissipated in evaporating motes. But Josh didn’t have any attention to focus on those three as he was much more concerned about the fourth and last snare that had hit his stationary left ankle and formed a sizzling noose that filled the air with his cries of pain and the smell of burnt leg hair and skin. Josh helplessly tried to yank his leg away without success in a series of fruitless jerks that sizzled the bottom of his crew jumper into ash.

The noise of the invisible cheering spectators rose to down everything else out as Josh’s legs were then unceremoniously pulled out from under him and he was slowly, inexorably dragged toward what would be a much too pressing engagement with the buggy’s front crusher.

This is going to suck…, was his first thought as his body was dragged through the dirt leaving a two inch deep trough over the firmer ground below. His clawed hands panickedly raked the ground, leaving criss crosses of four deeper furrows to his sides.

The part of Josh’s brain that wasn’t in full squirl-trapped-in-a-sack-hystarics, noted that the crush buggy was now twenty yards away and stationary. However, it was burning the proverbial rubber spinning the killing cylinder at its front at a tornado’s speed. Loose pebbles and soil under it were being pulverized and sent in an exhaust cloud of rock shards and fine dust to the buggy's rear. That same, ‘still aware’ portion of Josh’s mind also saw that at some point the glowing Essence tether had split in two and attached to the axle on either side of the front stone wheel.

But Josh’s long hours of training with Sen hadn’t been for nothing. Immediately Josh went into combat mode, enhancing his entire body, activated an Earthen Shield around his leg and propagating his Space/Time attunement to phase out of the snare. He then pivoted to start running toward the direction Sen had initially pointed them in like he should have when Sen first indicated…

…At least he tried doing all those things…

In a fraction he realized none of his attempted cultivations had come into effect. Even more troubling was that he was no longer even enhanced by his circulating Essence. In fact, his Essence was unresponsive and spinning uselessly in his core despite a continuous staccato of furious mental lashings for it to get to work and do anything to prevent him from being beached like a mackerel and smeared into Skippy peanut butter on the grinder from hell.

~...Sennn!!~ Josh screeched a little too high pitched for even his own psychic ears to hear anything but the frightened scream of a little girl. But Sen was already at his ‘dragging’ side as an uncountable number of sparking slashes from his Karmic brother’s dual blades to confirm what Josh had already feared. There was no cutting through the glowing red lash. Sen’s blades bore heat discoloration and more than a fair amount of notching. The only other result from using his underpowered weapons against the big boys they were currently matched with was pain in Sen’s arms Josh could sense through their Bond.

~Our weapons and powers of cultivation are not equal to the superior strength of their Essence in this construct. Because it is so much stronger than ours, prevent your own Essence from responding to your intent. There is only one way to escape this. Brace yourself and send your Essence for maximal healing.~

~Ya I noticed that– Wait!—What?? Brace myself?? Hold on! There’s got to be another option–~ Josh waved his hands in more of an attention getting manner than to actually stop Sen.

~Nope.~ Was Sen’s only utterance as he laser focused on Josh’s left ankle.

The out of sight crowd went wild with cheers as Sen’s enhanced swing from his right handed Kaizoku scimitar arced a solid blurred wheel of reflected crimson and sliced cleanly through Josh’s lower leg just above the red loop around it. A geyser of blood erupted from the lopped off limb to continued fan’s cheers that were still drowning out all other sounds. The lash pulled back Josh’s severed foot at the same non-rapid speed through the dirt to the whirling millstone of death.

Still occupied with Josh’s anatomy, the crusher was apparently not yet freed to move forward. The waving arms and angry consternation on the faces of the Aztecs let all know that Sen was a lot less than their favorite guy after having denied them their early kill.

But unlike Josh, Sen had no time for the cares of his opponents. Like the Hulk in a hurry, the short top knotted man grabbed the wide-eyed and clenched jawed Josh under his armpits from behind. Sen bent his Enhanced knees and propelled them both into a herculean leap. Obviously aiming to once again gain cover in the dense fog.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Josh had suffered his fair share of injuries since being the last person on the elevator after lunch back at FSU’s Jacksonville campus. But none of his wounds had been as dramatically self-inflicted as Sen chopping off his left foot like the cancer it had become. The science side of his brain was making all kinds of noises for some reason interested in studying the phenomena of self-inflicted wounds and Essence enhanced healing rates. And Josh was going to let it once he was circulating his Essence enough to actually start healing. Presently the majority of his compartmentalized awarenesses were screaming from the pain that was burning its way through the bandwidth of his soul. The segmented awareness that was studying his suffering with the detachment of an entomologist watching a bug pinned to a piece of cardboard pointed out that the wound hadn’t started with blinding pain. It pointed out that after the bizarre cleaving pressure had freed him from the certain death of being pulled to the crusher, he hadn’t felt anything for the first half a second or so. All of Josh’s consciousnesses had been oddly void of pain in a absent way like some kind of yogi’s out of body experience. Unfortunately, by the time Sen had them soaring off the ground like the original cartoon Hulk, the smoldering flames of agony had brought to him all to vivid colors of frying-ultraviolet and neon race car red. Two seconds into their jump, near what must have been its apex a twenty yards off the ground, Josh’s healing had stopped the bleeding, lessened the pain, and returned to him the power of cogent thought.

~…Thanks for the save… brother~ Josh Bond-spoke through pained hisses both auditory and mental.

~As you teacher it is necessary for me to point out that It wouldn’t have been needed if you had followed me like a padawan should. Instead of being absorbed in the images you sent along our Bond, imagining your female opponents doing flips in the Brigantine’s zero-G suites while wearing only their underwear…or something called a ‘bikini’ you have never told me about. You are guilty of gawking at trouser meat and being led like a hoochie mama!~

Even with his brain far less than 100 percent, Josh knew he had to correct this misinterpretation before something really bad happened.

~Ya, I only ever said that once, and I wasn’t ‘led by my trouser meat because I was gawking at the hoochie mama’s…’ I swear! I was studying the vehicle for weaknesses– And I’m sure neither of those two ladies are hooches. Despite trying to kill me…–

At that point they had gone through the parabola of Sen’s leap, and were coming in for a landing with Josh still held in Sen’s arms like a bride being taken across the threshold. They both knew was no way he could stick the landing with only one foot, enhanced or not.

Sen’s jaundiced glare told Josh that he wasn’t going to get out of talking about his mistake in concentration during combat due to his staring at the girls. Sen even told him so as he bunched his legs to land as quietly as possible. ~Once we are finished with this task we will revisit this, as well as the intriguing concept of the bikini–glackkkkaachhhh”

They hit the ground hard and Josh felt Sen attempted to throw him to the side with feeble, unenhanced arms. Josh heard the sound of both of Sen’s femurs snapping from the force of the hit and looked with sickening thoughts as he saw his brother laying on his back, both of his legs flopping askew in sickening non jointed asymmetry. Sen’s hands furiously, but ineffectually struggled with a yellow colored Essence tether firmly noosed around his neck. The skin of his neck and hands started to bubble from its burning as he was slowly dragged on his back head first into the revving up crusher.