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Twin pistols roared to life and a pair of lead balls slammed into whatever had been beating on the other side of the massive door. A roar of agonized fury resonated off of the metal walls and the warrior woman bounded forward. Without ceremony the pistols fell from her hands and she drew forth her rapier and a dagger. The smaller of the two blades sank to the hilt in the skin of something huge and she let go of it as she shifted her momentum into a roll which took her around to the back of it. The sounds of battle filled the space behind the huge thing and it turned away from the cage to face the immediate danger.

It sounded as if a dozen people were fighting in the room beyond, but as the impossibly massive entity wadded into the fight, Maya could see that Elizabeth was fighting on her own and the room's many screams were the men whom she had slaughtered. Like a dancer she ducked, spun, and then lashed out with deadly flashes of steel. Like an artist she sprayed the walls with crimson and when the door breaking monster reached her, both of her blades plunged into its flesh.

Bone shattering impact caused Maya to flinch as she watched Elizabeth fly across the room, bounce on the deck, and then tumble into a heap toward the front of the ship. Blood vomited out of her lips and her opponent began pawing the ground with one leg ... like a bull.

"Torero," she whispered and her legs began to carry her forward. Once, her mistress had brought her to a bull fight ... and she would never forget the blood sport or the ways which the Matador moved. Before The Bull could begin his lumbering charge, Maya held up one of her pistols, shut one eye, and then squeezed the trigger.

The pistol clicked and then the spark form the flint ignited a fireball through the chamber. The proximity to the target was close enough to scorch his flesh and the lead ball burned into the back of his thick thigh. The unmistakable roar of a bull in pain shook the walls as he crashed to the deck. Maya rushed forward with the other pistol but tripped and fell. Her momentum ended up draping her over the monstrous body and for a moment they simply stared at each other in pure shock.

The Bull was barely human tanned skin which stretched over the muscles of freak. Corse black hair covered most of him and a blanket of scars told the story of his toughness. In darkness of his eyes, Maya witnessed the power of a wicked intellect which was taking delight in this battle. The pain of his wound was like a lover's touch and their resistance caused a tooth filled grin to stretch hideously over his face. All of his features spoke of how much he was loving this ... all of it.

A mast-like arm raised a cannon-ball fist and Maya rolled to the side as it came down. The impact shattered the wood as it struck and for a moment the arm was pinned under the hull of the ship. Maya followed Elizabeth's example in tossing aside her empty pistol, but she had never practiced left handed shooting, so she switched the loaded one into her good hand. Another forward lunge, jammed the barrel of the pistol into the man's dark eye, and discharged the weapon directly into its brain. The noise was deafening and the spasm caused one elbow to smash into Maya's sternum and she pulled away.

The world swirled in a blur of motion and impact and it took a long time for the Maya to stop tumbling. It took several moments for her body to register what had just been inflicted upon her. It started as a severe tingle which started along her skin and then moved inward. Like a sinking ship the pain moved through her blood ... into her muscles and bones ... until all of her was uniform in its agony.

Maya turned to her side and gagged as she tried to scream. A few muscle spasms shook her with convulsions which ended with a gasp as her body remembered how to breathe. For several miserable seconds she lay curled onto her hands and knees, sucking in painful breaths which groaned out until the rest of her senses caught up and her breathing settled into a less laborious process.

Looking around her was almost as painful as laying there but she could see that The Bull was not moving. The wound had killed him ... it had to have killed him ... nothing in this world could have survived such a wound. Of course ... nothing in this world should have been able to break down a giant metal door with their bare fists either.

Elizabeth staggered over and knelt down beside Maya. "Can you move?" she growled and Maya nodded and grunted a response. She closed her eyes as Elizabeth helped her to her feet and the effort drew more torment through her. "Come on ... this way." Together they staggered back into the metal room which they had started in. Natasa was huddled in the corner, staring at them with the wide frightened eyes. "Come on," Elizabeth told her, "I can't carry both of you."

The younger woman nodded and then wobbled to her feet. Her eyes then suddenly grew larger and the wounded warriors turned to see The Bull trying to rise in the room beyond. He was not ready to do battle just yet, but the fact that he was moving at all did not seem possible.

"That's ... not fair," Maya whimpered. She watched the monster pull his mangled arm out of water, breaking the boards and enlarging the whole in the bottom of the ship. Water began to leak in as he stumbled and turned toward them. Bovine eyes glowed with yellow fire and he gave them an angry snort. Maya's eyes went wide with absolute horror and she once again her muscles all seemed to seize.

The Bull set his stance with a grunt of rage and he pawed the deck once. Then he lowered himself and charged at them with a horrible bellow. Elizabeth threw both women out of the way and thrust her hands in front of her like she was planning on catching the man. Her battle cry answered his and she lunged forward. Time seemed to slow, for Maya, and as she laid upon the ground holding Natasa to her, the insanity of her comrade struck her dumb. Then ... they collided.

An explosion of light and fire erupted from the point of the collision and engulfed both combatants. The glowing fireball then swerved to one side, crashed through the metal wall, and disappeared into the ocean on the other side.

Water rushed in to fill the space and the sudden cold sparked Maya's senses back to life. Another surge of energy poured through her and she was pulling Natasa to her feet. Maya moved towards the door ... and the stairs. The water was up to her waist when they reached the bottom and it was halfway up the stairs by the time the emerged into the gun deck.

Blood and bodies had been flung everywhere and Maya felt the bile in her stomach bubble towards her throat. The faces of the men whom she had touched ... the bodies she had mended ... the energy she had felt ... laid around in piles of rotten meat. The stairs to the top deck revealed more of the same. The crew had struggled valiantly against the enemy but all had fallen before The Bull and his horde.

"Maya!" gasped a voice and she turned to face Joseph. The pain of his injuries filled his face and the glow of his eyes had faded back to their natural brown. The magic of Natasa's kiss had worn off and he limped towards them with his hand pressed against his abdomen. "You ... you have to escape!"

"Where?" Maya asked as she glanced around. "They're all dead!"

"I know!" he gasped, "but we're almost there ... almost to the Nether-Pylon!" Joseph then looked out over the horizon and Maya followed his gaze. A temple stood upon the waters as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "There ... you need to take her there." Maya looked back in time to see Joseph fall to one knee. Though his hand was clasped over his wound, his blood was still flowing through his fingers.

"Joseph," Maya whimpered.

"Brujah," he corrected her, "my name ... is Brujah."

"Brujah," she said with a smile. "Witch."

"Yeah," he said with a chuckle that caused him pain. "Come on." Somehow, Joseph managed to stand, and together they moved across the deck, stepping over the bodies of the fallen as they went. Maya leaned the weakened Natasa against the guard rail while she pulled up a tarp, unfastened the lines which held down a long boat, and pushed it into an upright position.

"How ... how are we going to get this into the water?" she half-shrieked as the ship began to list to one side.

"Don't worry about it," Brujah said weakly. "The Theodotos is going down ... just ride it out."

Maya scoffed in bitter annoyance at him and then moved the delirious woman into the boat. "Come on," she told the man but he just shook his head at her. "Get your tragic ass in this boat now!" she growled and the man gave a weak laugh. A moment later all three of them were in the long boat. Wood groaned on the ship as the bow began to life sharply into the air. Maya stood on the seat and held Natasa in place so that she would not fall. When they hit the water the bottom of the long boat caught and twisted. Then there was a terrible noise and they all fell backward. Then ... all was silent.

Maya laid on her back staring up at the sky. A light rain began to fall upon her face and some thunder sounded in the distance. The little boat bobbed on the waves and it took several moments for the young woman to find the will to sit upright. Every inch of her body hurt. Though she knew parts of her were likely more hurt than others, at this moment it all registered in her mind as one big overarching wound. More than anything she wanted to just lie down and pass out ... but there was still work to do.

Maya managed to pull herself up and onto one of the seats. Natasa was curled up on the floor ... asleep, her deep breathing signaling that she was in no danger from wounds or trauma. The Theodotos was gone and The Bull's big ship was listing dangerously to one side. There was movement inside and Maya got the feeling that the crew was working to save their vessel before it too sank beneath the waves. This was the only chance they were going to have to escape.

"Brujah," she said as she took up one of the oars, "help get this ..." she broke off as he lay slumped in the corner. Breath did not raise his chest and color was leaking out of his face. In a panic she dropped the oar next to her and flung herself towards him. The moment her fingers touched him, she knew he was gone ... no pule ... no heat ... just a shell that would rot without life. For a moment Maya felt the strength fall out of her. She wanted to throw herself down and scream. She wanted to howl in rage and tear off her garments in the most primitive gestures of absolute grief. But this was not the place for that ... and she definitely did not have the time.

Settling back onto the center seat, Maya put the oars through the grooves along the side of the long boat. Facing the back of the boat allowed her to see both the sleeping forms ... one which would wake and the other which would not. Several deep breaths drew in strength. "Don't scream," she told herself. "Don't scream ... don't lose it ... okay ..."

Maya braced her legs against the rear-most seat, dug the oars into the water, and pulled. The muscles along her arms and back strained painfully and for the first time she was able to feel which places hurt more than others. A hysterical little giggle forced her to pause as she realized the ridiculous situation she was in. Captured by slavers ... attacked by pirates ... done battle with a stupidly huge man-thing ... alone in a little boat in the middle of the ocean ... her psyche began to crack.

Again she pulled back the oars, strained laugher shook her and she gave up trying to hold it back. Again she rowed ... and again ... and again. All the while she giggled and let tears flow into her eyes. Sweat joined the tears and she felt her battle fury began to burn out. Whatever strength had been carrying her this far was almost gone. A glace behind her told her she still had a long way to go.

The laughter stopped and she paused for breath. The Bull's vessel still leaned in the water but it appeared to have stopped sinking. It was possible that the men inside of it might soon surface and give chase. It was very unlikely that the men in that vessel would be anything like the men whom she had just traveled with.

Maya grabbed ahold of that idea and focused it into strength. Though she knew she would pay for all of this excursion later, there needed to be a later. She put her feet back on the seat and pushed off. Again ... again ... stroke ... stroke ... the beat of the oars broke the water's surface in a rhythm. It was painful but she kept the sound steady. Again ... again ... on through the burning of muscles ... on through the desires of her mind to fall and start screaming. Emotions bubbled and frothed inside of her skin, but it fueled her. As long as she was strong enough to feel ... she was strong enough to row ... and row she did.

A loud bang shuttered through the bow of the boat and tumbled Maya off the back of her seat. For several seconds she just lay there gasping for breath, but then she emitted a painful groan and lifted her bruised body into an upright position. The long boat had struck the stone walls of the temple and, somehow, she had managed not to sink them outright.

A giggle of pure maddening hysteria emitted from Maya's exhausted body once more. After a moment, that too became too much effort, so she pulled in her oars, straddled the middle seat, and pushed her little boat hand over hand along the stone wall. The rain came down in a steady drizzle, creating small but powerful waves which helped push them along. Maya quickly changed her strategy and simply pushed off from the wall so that they would not smash up their craft the rest of the way. The waves pushed them back until they finally reached a corner. They then turned around the corner and the water flattened out on the other side.

Maya did not know if it was supposed to do that, but she was much too tired to put much thought into it. Instead she took up one of the oars and paddled for a few more feet. Then the boat clunked into a set of stairs and Natasa burst form her slumber.

"What ... where are we!?" she shouted. Her eyes were large and alert as she looked around. Her gaze then fell upon Brujah and the emotions seemed to drain out of her. "Oh ... dear Brujah," she said softly touching his brow. With a sad sigh she leaned over him and pressed her warm lips to his. The gentle glow from earlier resonated softly around Brujah's lifeless form and Natasa drank it up into her. The glow then spread over the rest of him and all of it flooded into her in a brilliant light. When it passed, his body was gone, and Natasa was flush with some of her former strength.

"Uhm ... are you ready?" Maya asked, uncertain of what she had just witnessed. The little woman nodded and then they both made their way onto the stairs.

"This way," Natasa said as they began to climb. Maya watched the boat begin to drift away. Though she considered pulling it up in case they needed it, the young woman whom she was sworn to protect paid it no mind. A grunt of frustration exhaled out of her and she turned to climb the stairs. Two stairs later, she fell to her hands and knees.

Maya laid upon the stone of the temple and considered her body's offer to pass out once more. It seemed like a really good idea ... she knew there was a reason why she should not do it but that reason was becoming more difficult to remember and the shadowy fingers of unconsciousness which began to caress the edges of her vision felt friendly enough ...

"Xitllali," she heard the name spoken, "Xitllali ... you cannot rest here. You need to get up."

"Why?" Maya heard herself muttering as she rose onto her hands and knees once more.

"The Bull is not slain," Natasa told her, "he is wounded but he will gather himself up soon and finish what he started. If we don't go ..."

"Alright," Maya growled and she began to crawl slowly up the stairs. Some words were spoken by her companion but they did not register in her mind. All of her focus was aimed at lifting her heavy meat up the stairs. There were so many of them ... or at least it seemed that way.

Maya had no recollection of time as she moved ... but eventually she reached the top. For several moments she just rested there on her hands and knees, panting and gasping in an effort to stay conscious ... to stay alive. She had ... to stay alive. Her eyes lifted to look around and she wondered suddenly if she was still alive at all. The temple was flat at the top but the world around it was not the blue of the ocean or the gray of the rainclouds. Up here everything was different ... up here everything was red.

"Come on," Natasa told her.

"Where ... are we?" Maya asked but she felt her feet moving beneath her and soon she was standing. There was no wall for her to follow but she managed to put one foot in front of the other without falling. Together the two women moved across the stone temple. The red sky floated lazily above the yellow and orange shimmer of the water. None of the colors made sense but the young woman no longer cared. All she knew was that she had to keep walking. All she knew was that there would eventually be a place where she could rest ... it had to be close by ... it just had to be.

Eventually, they reached the frame of what looked like a massive gateway. The inside of it glowed with some sort of liquid light. Maya looked to her companion with questions on her face. Natasa smiled warmly at her and reached toward her. "Take my hand," the younger woman said. Maya obeyed and allowed herself a guilty little shutter at how soft and warm the little hand felt in her own. They stood there a moment, hand-in-hand, and looked upon the surface which flowed before her like water in an upright pond. Then Maya felt the little hand pulling her forward. They stepped into the shimmering expanse ... the light surrounded their bodies and Maya could feel a tingling hum fill her up and then pull her forward. Then, the whole world stretched until there was only light, sound, and energy.