This is a summary of Greyashe Episode 23.

OP: OUTRUNNER

ED: Talim.

Chapters Covered: 46-48

A girl with pretty purple hair, and hazel eyes is attended to by a butler. She looks to be perhaps a few years older than Van, but not quite Guy's age. With her is a muscular man who perhaps played sports (or maybe hunts for it) when he was younger, but in his older age had a quiet and serene aura around him, like a Lion watching over it's pack. Together the two are dressed to impress, and mingle sparingly at this party. Another man notices them and strides over, his confidence flowing from each step he takes. Once he reaches the two he bows to the taller man who only acknowledges his presence with a nod, and then turns to the younger lady who warily, boredly allows him to kiss a ring on her finger. The man introduces himself as Arums Pajari, and welcomes the two to his party.

The girl still sounds bored, and asks what flimsy pretext he's having this party under. Had he found some other rusty trinket somewhere else? Armus laughs lightly, genuinely amused by her attempt to belittle him. He tells her simply that life itself is the party, and that they should enjoy themselves as much as possible. The girl is less than impressed with this answer, and shows it in her body language. Armus shrugs off her indignation by going on to say that this party is not for a thing, but a person. He says that he has now found that there is unflavored beauty on this world after all, and felt that throwing a party is the least he can do to thank the goddesses for seeing fit for him to gain such a exquisite find. The girl asks what he means, and he repiles without a hint of facetiousness that he may have fallen in love with an angel. The girl's features dim for a moment, and then she asks wryly where his 'lover' is. If this party is for her, shouldn't she be here to enjoy it too? Or could it be that she doesn't even know she's supposed to be in love with him? Armus laughs weakly, showing a bit of embarrassment as he says that she's shy, and doesn't want to come to the party. The girl grows tired of their conversation, and turns away from Armus, stating such. He doesn't try to call her back, and instead invites her to come back to his estate if she should ever feel the need to unwind from work, insinuating that a job that is always two steps forward and six back must be hard on someone so young. The girl's eyes widen in rage, and she storms out of the room, the large man trailing after her. Armus adorns his face with a sinister smile, and then joins his guests as they party.

Outside the girl rants about how slimy and repulsive Armus is, and curses him to a fiery death. The man finally speaks in a calm voice, asking her to calm down. They had only come to see if they could find anything suspicious about his party tonight, but nothing had come up. The girl laments that with their positions, they are granted power but lose freedom. She then perks up and glances at her partner, asking his opinion on the matter. He simply states that they are vessels to do the goddess's and kaiser mage's will, and he is satisfied with that role. He then replies to the girl as Mist of the Silverwind, asking her to be patient. Mist smiles warmly at her partner, and referring to him as Grim the Rocksteady claims that she knows all is for the greater good. She then notes that Luge was raving about some girl he saw while at the GMAGY, and wonders if they should go see her for themselves, but Grim is against it saying that they should go report their findings (Or lack thereof) to the administrative lobby. Mist groans, she hates seeing them just as much as she hates Pajari, but she goes along.

Meanwhile not too far away from that exchange, Van, Guy and Claire watch the entryway to Pajari's home from the nearby bushes. They then creep along to the side of the house, and try to peer into the window, but find that they are too short to reach it. Van recalls Dayta's plan, as she was able to hack into his security system, and get a layout of his house. She told them that he normally keeps his rare items in a vault on the topmost floor, but in this case since Kani is a living, breathing organism, she's probably located somewhere else, if not at the party itself. She couldn't tell exactly where the young Witch would be, but that would be where Van's eye would come in handy. She gave the plans to the boy for him to anyalize, not before warning them that the guards there are trained to kill on sight, and then ask questions. The most important objective would be to find an entrance inside, as with the party going on they would probably be able to get around without being noticed right away.

In the present, Guy cycles through different plans, but finds that none of them will end well. Claire is initially against going inside in the first place, as although she has no problem with Van, she still doesn't trust Kani. Besides, she would be well taken care of here wouldn't she? Last but not least, while she had recovered enough to run, her leg still hurts a slight bit, making it hard for her to escape quickly. Van tries to convince Claire to help Kani, but it seems to be a lost cause, until Guy suddenly perks up with a plan. He then asks Claire to help, calling her 'Burnqueen' in the process. Van turns to Claire and for the first time in their journey, sees her eyes glitter with a childlike glee. The boy then recalls that 'Burnqueen' was one of the names that she had asked to be called initially. Guy shrugs and states that she uses fire, and talks with a high dialect like a queen....so, he had put two and two together. Claire is now literally burning up, and is more than happy to give Guy her aid. He asks her if she can concentrate her flame so that it doesn't billow out, and she confirms that she can. He then turns their attention to a nearby window, and asks if she can burn the hinges off, and then meld them back together once they're in. Claire asks for a boost to the window, and once Guy gives her one, she gets to work.

Armus goes upstairs to Kani's room and upon opening it sees a man lying unconscious with a heeled shoe near his head. Armus glances at Kani who is in the bay windows again staring at the moon, and before he can say anything, she states simply that she had to act in self defense. The host doesn't become upset, noting that some people just cannot hold their alcohol. He amusingly adds that the heel print on the man's head seems to be caused after he was knocked unconscious, to which Kani replies that she may have gone overboard. He asks the girl why she's so rigid when she has everything she could ask for; and this is a question that goes unanswered. Armus strides over to Kani and taking her chin gently brings her face to his. He then smiles and asks if she has someone else she's waiting for. Kani shifts her eyes downward, which confirms the host's guess. He tells her not to take him as a fool, just because he likes to party. He then asks her to tell him about this person she holds in such high esteem. Kani yanks his hand away from her chin, and is about to launch into a tirade about Van, but.....realizes she can't. She knows next to nothing about him.....they had just met after all. Armus is like a wild animal upon it's prey when he catches her hesitation to answer his question. He again prods, claiming that if this person really is important to her, she should have no problem talking about him. After another awkward silence, he tells her why she can't say anything. She has no connection to him whatsoever does she? Maybe they had just met, or perhaps he doesn't hold her in the same esteem that she holds him. Either way there is no concrete proof that he will come for her. Even if he is coming, the guards will make sure he doesn't get anywhere near her, and if he should make it past them, he'll see to it that she doesn't leave with him. Armus then whispers in her ear that if he should come and perish, that it would be her fault entirely. Kani's eyes widen in realization and she stares at Armus, her fear unbridled.

Van, Guy and Claire sneak around the middle floor of the house, trying to find Kani's location. Van states that she is being kept somewhere with a magic 'screen' on it. The boy is sure that she is here, but he cannot get a lock on her actual location unless they get really close. So the trio has to make their way from room to room, holding their breath that no one will see them. Finally Van stops by one door and beckons to the others, claiming that Kani's trail heats up here. Guy creeks the door open slightly, and closes it quickly. He says in a hushed whisper that the party is going on RIGHT across the door! Van realizes this, but once again says that Kani's trail leads that way. Guy groans, and acknowledges that Van knows what he's talking about, and then opens the door again. He tells Claire and Van to stay with him, and not to stand out too much. Unfortunately, he is unable to follow his own advice. As soon as he walks through the door, an alarm goes off, and everyone's attention is on him. Armus Pajari didn't get rich from throwing free parties, people had to pay to get into these functions and see his ever growing collection. When one paid in full, they would get a small odorless and colorless spray on their clothing that would indicate to alarms that they had indeed paid the fare to get in. The moment Guy stepped into the door, the fact that they had snuck in somehow was now obvious. Guards surround the man, and try to take him away, but Guy knowing full well what the result of being escorted by the guards would be throws them off of him and then tries to make a dash for the other side of the room with Van and Claire in tow. The guards are swift however, and Guy has to result to using a nearby table as a vault, and a punch bowl as his ammo. The party erupts into Chaos, and Guy finally announces to 'Burnqueen' and Van that it's 'clobbering time'.

Several more Guards surround them, and Van is able to predict where they'll lunge from, giving the already battle ready Guy an edge. The trio keeps moving, and the guards are hot in pursuit. Guy explains to Van as they run that fighting is a form of caring too. To put your life, pride, beliefs and thoughts on the line as you fight with an opponent is something that one shouldn't take lightly. He enjoys fighting because he enjoys meeting new people, and life. A fight can be just as intimate as a long kiss, or a dance in a ballroom if done just right. Losing a fight and winning a fight has different meanings to different people as well. Van mulls this over and the three run deeper into the house. They to one hallway where suits of armor stand against the walls. However once they arrive, the suits of armor turn and picking up their weapons lunge for the trio. They duck and dodge, using Van's commands to avoid becoming skewered. One suit of armor breaks the pole on his weapon, and Van picks it up feeling that it will have some use later. Guy asks 'Burnqueen' why she's not using her flame, and she replies that if they think they have enemies now, if they were to recognize her using her flame, the people after them would never cease. Guy chides her for not saying something sooner, and using one of the fallen armor's spears turns and breaks the security cameras. Convinced that she is unseen, Claire breathes flames into the rest of the warriors, melting them.

Armus gets word that he has party crashers from another guard. He quickly asks who would be uncouth enough to sneak into his home uninvited, and he is quickly given a description of the trio. Armus reasons that there is a good chance that these are the people here to pick up Kani, and tells the guards to make sure that she doesn't know about them. He has almost broken her will, and if she finds out they're here, she may rebound. True enough, Kani sits in the room her hands gripping her knees, as the realization that she may be alone now hangs over her. However, once Armus departs to ready his 'secret weapon', the young witch creeps over to the doorway where she hears two guards talking about the audacity of the three intruders. A small girl, a large man, and a teenage boy. One more guard runs up flustered, and reveals that the automated armor in the third sector had been melted, as if someone with a flame thrower had walked down the hallway! It doesn't take Kani more than a second to understand the identities of the mysterious party crashers, and with a shout she knocks one guard out of her way with a devastating kick, and runs down the hallway before the others can react.

Armus goes to a control room and asks the supervisor there how things are progressing. The supervisor smiles sinisterly and notes that the guards have already lead the party crashers to 'the basement' by allowing them to think they have the upper hand. Armus nods and then turns over to an intercom. He calls into it, and asks someone named Raferty, if he's been listening. A hushed voice not used to talking to others responds that it has, and Armus then states that it's time for him to earn his keep.

The trio reach a hallway with only one door leading into the next room. Guy hears the sound of Guards in pursuit, and hastily dashes for the door, even as Van calls out that they shouldn't. Claire asks the boy what's wrong, and he replies that something dangerous is behind the door. Claire isn't bothered, proclaiming that they can handle anything that is thrown at them now. Van is less than convinced, but has no recourse as Claire follows Guy into the door. He goes too, and on the other side the trio is greeted by an unnaturally bright light, and a seemingly empty room.

...Empty of life that is. Several bones of what seem to be humans are lying scattered around the room, and a cathedral style window hangs ominously in the background. A man sits in a chair fashioned from old fabric and the bones of animals and humans alike. He then remarks that it's strange for people to come to the basement looking for him. Guy curses, and realizes that they were lead there by the guards. He then reasons that it's only one guy against the three of them, so they shouldn't have too much of a problem......

The man rises from his chair slowly and methodically. He starts towards them, stating that the basement strikes fear in adults and children alike, because it represents an unknown in a known place. No one wants to be in the basement for long. Claire and Guy shift into battle stances, while Van stands fixed in his spot. His face is an automobile accident between fear and anxiety. His eye throbs viciously, if it could talk to him, tell him about the horror and pain he and his friends were about to partake....it wouldn't.

It would simply scream.