by Grimm
Grimm walked along the bridge under the open sky. He could've sworn it was the same bridge he and the others had battled on earlier, but could find no signs of the fight. He looked at the sky and the clouds rolling overhead. The sky was colored wrong. It was like looking at a negative of a photograph of the sky.
"What the hell...?" he wondered. He kept walking toward the Castle of Crossed Destinies. Various alternate lifetimes played out on the open sky behind him. Grimm glanced at a couple, realized what they were, and then shook off the temptation to continue watching them. He had no time for this. He had to get back to the real world. Whatever that meant.
Grimm made his way into the Castle and entered, walking cautiously. He noticed the stairways ascending and descending from impossible angles, twisting and turning into seeming nothingness. He saw odd, amphibious creatures walking along some of the stairways. They appeared to be carrying something on their backs. Grimm couldn't make out what they were carrying.
"Don't remember seeing those guys before."
He walked for what seemed like eternities, before coming to a hallway that led to a large, white door. He began to walk toward the door when he felt a tugging on his jacket.
He looked around, startled. "Huh?"
One of the small, amphibious creatures was standing behind him. "Please not to go that way, mister. That way lies madness..."
"Stupid hallucination," he muttered and began down the corridor.
"Tried to warn you!"
Grimm came to the door. It was larger than it seemed. He noted the word "ASYLUM" written across the top, with a skull and crossbones underneath.
"Friendly place..."
He opened the door and walked into a small passageway leading into a large chamber. The ceiling appeared to be several hundred feet up, the walls surrounded by rows of balconies with barred openings. Some of these openings had limbs hanging out. Many had trails of blood pouring out and dripping onto the floor.
In the center of the room was a large desk, like one a judge would have in a courtroom, only larger. A man sat behind it. He wore a black robe (coincidentally resembling a judge's robe) and had long white hair that fell down into his face and shoulders. There were black marks above and below his eyes, which were all white.
The man looked up at Grimm. "Yes, Grimm. Have you found him? Or is there something else?"
"You know me?"
"Of course, you work for... wait. Something is not right. You should not be here now. You're lost in the Castle."
"How do you know that?"
Just then, a door opened in the other side of the room. Five figures walked in: a short black man, wearing a black martial artist uniform with red trim; a short, pale man dressed all in black (he looked vaguely familiar, but Grimm couldn't quite place him); a tall woman with red hair, wearing a black pleather outfit with flame designs; a large, hairy man with a purplish tint to his skin; and another figure who hung back in the shadows.
The short pale man walked up to the desk. "Hey, Grimm, you got lost in the Castle again, huh? Happened to me just last week. Don't worry, the boss man here'll fix you up." Then, turning to the man behind the desk, he said, "We've found him. He's hiding on one of the lower levels. We think he's killed two guards. We're going in now."
"Excellent," the man replied. "Bring him to me when you're done."
The man (judge?) then turned to Grimm. "You must go now. This is not for you to see yet. A guide has been appointed for you. There is a task you must face before returning to your friends."
The man gestured, and another door Grimm hadn't seen yet opened. An old man with a long beard and white robes walked in, followed by a gray android.
"Greetings. I am one of the caretakers of the Castle. And this," he said, motioning to the being behind him, "is Tempus of the Time Trust. He will enable you to find your right path home. Walk with us for awhile."
"Um, sure, I guess," Grimm said, following the two out of the doorway.
The others turned to look at the person still in shadows. "Man, it must be eerie to see yourself that way, huh, Grimm?" said the short, black man.
"Like you wouldn't believe, man," said Grimm, stepping out from the shadows. "Now let's go kick some psychotic ass."
Tempus and the Caretaker guided Grimm to an old, wooden door cracked with age. "Consider the brief glimpse into a future a gift; the Castle likes you. And this, as well," the Caretaker spoke and gestured, as Grimm's face was restored. He reached up with his gauntleted hands to feel skin and muscle that he hadn't felt in months.
"It's time for you to go now."
"Thanks. I won't forget this."
Grimm entered the doorway and walked out into an isolated forest region. There was a small lake fed by a waterfall. Grimm looked down into the lake at his newfound face. He looked and saw the Leviathan staring back at him.
"Sssurprissse!" Dr. Zachary Knell's acidic venom flew directly into Grimm's face.