He's Just "Tired..."

~35~

As Ink had continued to crawl seemingly aimlessly through the depths of the vent system, more and more worry began to flood through the depths of his mind. The price of being caught would be far too high of a risk; one at which he could not afford to take. At this point, he could not risk calling upon Reaper for assistance, nor would he want to. Talking here in the vents could easily cause his voice to echo and no doubt alert at least a few minions that Ink was attempting to escape through the vents. Time was passing as Ink had begun to feel as though he was utterly lost, yet there was a part of his mind that was still telling him to continue through with this. Going back was no longer an option. After what had seemed like hours, Ink by now had no doubt that his escape attempt had been figured out. While he could always keep the thought in mind of how not all of Nightmare's minions are too overly bright, he still had to keep his guard up. Fortunately, it wasn't too long before he could feel the cold air of the outdoors seeping into the ventway. He had to be close to an exit now.

When he did actually find a vent cover that certainly allowed a glimpse of the outside world, he grinned wildly as he began to remove the vent cover, having an easier time with this one. He took a glance out of the vent, looking for any guards. None, great. He made his way climbing down, the cold snow getting on his feet. He didn't particularly care for the cold of the snow normally, but now he was just grateful to have this old familiar feeling back. "Fucking finally!" he exclaimed as the utter exhaustion of the voyage he just took had begun to catch up to him. "...Took ya long enough, pal. I'm surprised you actually made it out." Reaper shrugged a bit as he took yet another sip from that damn cup of coffee he always had with him. "For a minute there, I thought you were actually gonna end up dying in that vent system. As much as I know the Multiverse likely has more than one reason to need you alive, part of me is also partially disappointed to see you made it out alive. It's not often that a skeleton like me gets to say they warned someone that they were gonna get themselves killed in a vent system and for it to actually end up happening." A lazy grin could be seen on his face.

Ink couldn't help other than to go utterly silent the moment he heard that familiar yet by now, annoying, voice that belonged to the skeleton known as Reaper. "Oh fuck off, Coffee Boy. I ain't in the mood to deal with your bullshit. You could have easily opened a portal for me to escape from that wretched place but noooo, you wanted me to suffer by going through the damn vents! Well, ha! I made it out alive, so don't start celebrating about my demise because it ain't gonna happen, buddy! I ain't dead yet!" Ink laughed out at Reaper. It seems that being lost in a vent system can really start to get to a skeleton over time. Either that, or Ink was just opting to take a moment to brag at Reaper's misfortune. Reaper chuckled a bit and rolled his eyelights. "Gloating much, buddy?" Yet another sip was taken from his presumably cold coffee, or at least Ink believed it had to be cold because how the hell would it always be hot? Reaper certainly knew how to get on Ink's nerve, that's for sure.