Goodbye San Francisco! Hello London!

Corinth paused for a moment as he took in her story. It was a good story, he'd give her that. He poured her a final shot and then finished the bottle off himself.

"I think I remember hearing about that, but I was bogged down in my own stuff to really follow along with it. Glad it worked out." He paused again. Grabbing his pack of cigarettes, he pulled one out and lit it in his usual manner. "But something kind of bugs me...," he looked over at her as he blew out a stream of blue smoke into the wind. "You're a killer. A stone cold killer. In your story, you killed multiple people in one mission. Not monsters, not supernaturals...people."

He let his words sink in and then continued. "And when we were out in the field today, you were quiet, walking on egg shells around me, and nervous to speak up." He shook his head. "And here I was treating you like some delicate flower, trying to show you some of the ways to do things and you're walking around with blood on your hands. That's good. You can use that in the future. And speaking of future," Corinth stood up and stretched his back, "I need to get some sleep. Who knows what I'm walking into tomorrow when I get back."

After bidding their farewells, Corinth closed the door behind them and settled into the bed. The room wasn't swirling around him, yet a sense of contentment enveloped him. Before long, the soothing embrace of sleep began to draw him into its depths.

The next morning, he arose before the sun came up and was dressed and ready to go. His bags were packed and placed on his bed and his guns were loaded and holstered. Checking his phone, he typed in the coordinates for the Agartha Gate and saved them. It wasn't too far away, but he's need a taxi to get there. Putting the phone away, he looked over the letter he finished writing to Lumina and folded it in half.

Leaving his room, he pushed the letter under her door and began walking down to the front desk. He told the desk clerk to grab the bags from his room and to send them off to his address in London. He made sure to leave a big enough tip as an incentive to not screw it up.

The drive to the Agartha gate was a smooth one. It was still dark outside, but the sun was beginning to crest over the horizon. The pink, purples, and blues creeped across the skyline and reminded Corinth of the colors often associated with cotton candy. Buildings were slowly starting to wake up and more and more lights behind windows began turning on like many sets of eyes opening to greet the new day.

Arriving at the address, Corinth paid the taxi and sent it on its way. He was standing on a small bridge that overlooked a large drainage ditch that had only the slightest sliver of flowing water moving through it. Making his way down, he saw that under the bridge, was a small hole that led into the side of the slope towards the city. As he moved closer to it, he could feel the buzzing in his head.

The buzzing acted as a counter vibration given off by the Agartha Gate so Gaia's Guardians could pass through with no problem. For mortals, it would make them ill and if they continued getting closer, could eventually kill them, or at the very least, drive them insane. But for Corinth, it was a sign that he was on the right track to find it.

Corinth had to slouch as he walked into the tunnel, but as he moved further in, the space grew wider and the buzzing grew more vibrant. Soon, the dark tunnel was opening up to a larger and brighter area. The buzzing slowed to a gentle, almost soothing vibration and he was now walking on what looked like a branch of sorts. There were small moths flittering around the sky and a few people that have stopped and set up trade stands for all of Gaia's favorites to buy from.

As Corinth continued on, he was met by a familiar face; the Stationmaster. He was in charge of making sure people found their proper exits and destinations and was usually the first person who alerted the guards should something seem out of place. Corinth smiled and shook his hand as he approached. Before he could say anything, the Stationmaster pointed to a branch that veered off towards the right and disappeared into the distance. The London Branch. Smiling again, Corinth tipped his hat and began walking.

Time was irrelevant in Argartha. It was as if it stopped completely. If one entered at six in the morning, it would still be six when they exited, although one would have to factor in time zones and such, but it would still appear as if time didn't move. How this worked for multiple people entering at different times and staying for long periods, Corinth didn't know. that was far beyond his mental capacity and it hurt just to even think about it. So he didn't. He accepted it as one of Gaia's many abilities and moved on.

Following the branches, he opened a door and found himself in what appeared to be a basement in a building. Closing the door behind him, he looked around and saw a staircase on the far side of the room. Keeping his hand on the butt of his gun, he walked up the stairs and then out the front door into the streets of London. The building was old and uninhabited which made a good place for a gate and the Templars had purchased it a long time ago to help keep it extra secure. Still, it was always better to be ready, just in case.

Once outside, he called Dalia to let her know he was back in London. She gave him Jack's address, but he knew it by heart from all the times he had to stake it out. "Who's going to meet me there? Jones?" He gave a disappointing grunt. "He's like a little puppy, always seeking approval from the work he's done. It's annoying. He's annoying. This is me being nice."

Ending the call, he phoned a taxi and thirty minutes later, he was pulling up to Jack's flat. It was a small two story apartment building with four units; two on top and two on bottom. Jacks was the top left.

"Ok jack," Corinth said as he stepped out of the cab. "Let's see what kind of trouble you got yourself into this time."