Alyce barely has time to fully take in all of the information that her sensors are giving her. There are too many spirits that she can see, which leads her to wonder just how many she cannot see. She notes Rick's appearance next to ISaint just before his message reaches them and she is glad that they have not lost another companion. She spares a quick moment of thought for her Hell Hound companion, but then ISaint's own message comes across and she realizes that time is too short for that sort of pain just now. Besides, the pillar that had given them its protection is beginning to crumble; the spiderwebs of cracks caused by the explosion have weakened it significantly. Alyce and Al stand to leave and she makes a small jump away before turning back to the pillar, a crazy thought in her mind.
The pillar supports part of the roof that has not collapsed yet and its removal would send large chunks of rock down on whoever is beneath that section of the roof. The collapse is imminent, but perhaps she can give it a push. In a brief span of time she prays to her God, to the voodoo spirits, and the Dragon to protect Al and leaps back out of his embrace toward the pillar, relying on the surprise of her movement to break free of his grasp. She has to go back to the pillar................its girth is too much for her whip to encircle if she is away from it by more than a foot or two. Her move has caught Al by surprise, at least for a second, and she takes advantage of that brief time before he comes back for her, knowing full well that will do just that instead of doing the smart thing, which is to continue running for ISaint and the exit from the building.
Plenty of ballerinas have made a more graceful spin, but Alyce is not interested in grace right now. She wants power behind her swing and she gets it, both from what strength the Dragon has lent her and the unnatural speed that Rick has provided her. Alyce's arm sweeps out and the monofilament edge of the whip wraps completely around the pillar and a bit more. She cries out as she yanks on the whip, pulling it through the cracked stone of the pillar in one mighty movement, going off balance and staggering back into the firm embrace of Al's arms. He is cursing at her something fierce, some of it in languages even Alyce does not know, but all Alyce can do is smile. He has come back as she had felt he would. She is safe now, because nothing can harm her in that protection.
It takes a few seconds for anything to really happen. After all, her slice was exceptionally thin and it takes the stones of the mighty pillar a short amount of time to realize what has been done to it. Seconds of time pass almost in slow motion as Al drags Alyce towards ISaint and Rick, who are providing covering fire against the tide of spirits that can sense that two of their tormentors have delayed too long. One, three, five spirits go down to the withering fire, but there are just too many. Then, with a loud crack that must have been heard far from this place, the pillar snaps, collapsing on itself in a shower of stone, wood, and dust, bringing with it a large section of the roof above. Most of the spirits chasing after Al and Alyce are crushed by the falling debris, any immunity they had overcome by the tons of rock falling upon them. The three that escape that fate are quickly brought down by ISaint's skill as Al guides Alyce to sanctuary.
The combination of the Dragon blasting through, Al''s magnificently planned explosion, and the collapse of the pillar has weakened the structural integrity of the roof to the point where a huge slap of stone teeters for a second then separates from the rest of the roof, coming down in one massive piece. The spirits below have no warning and are crushed out of existence by the stone that almost completely covers the growing pit. Almost. Certainly there is a delay in the actions of the Entity beyond, for even it was not prepared for what has just happened, but it recovers quickly. A good bit of its aperture had been closed again, but it redoubles its efforts to break free. Perhaps it senses that the puny mortals arrayed against it have used their last bit of luck and are now unable to prevent it from coming through the hole. Many of its worshipers have been slain and it will have to do the rest of the work mostly by itself, but that is of little import just now. It WILL escape and it WILL punish those who have labored to delay it. The Entity spares precious seconds imaging the humiliation and torture it will inflict upon the Dragon Slayer's prized follower and his minions.
Al and Alyce arrive at ISaint's side and look back on what they have wrought. Al is still cursing her as she reaches a hand into a pocket of her dress and pulls two slightly crinkled Lucky Strikes from a dented pack and shoves one into his mouth. He does not stop his ranting at her as she digs a battered Zippo lighter from another pocket and lights the cigarettes. "Thank you, Al, for caring." She looks at ISaint and Rick and smiles. "And what do you two have planned as an encore?"
