-GM-

((OOC:

I'm slapping this up now as a general warning to any who might find themselves reading this quest. All participants are adults and, as such, I'm lifting my restraint on just how dark it will be. I ask that, should you be under age, you read something else. It may not get to a questionable point any time soon, but I know of at least once that it shall. Melodramatic? Maybe. But I'd rather people be prepared than caught off guard. Please, heed this.

:OOC))

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((OOC:

This round is going to be one to smooth the transition between break and activity. I only require that you give me your character's perspective on Saol's live death and a fast forward of them returning to the field. Note that your FMD will get a little inverted with its colors and flashes of static will be common when you go into the field from the Chaos Gate. For those trapped, your vision will do the same thing. You'll be dropped off in the middle of the forest with Sidhe to greet you, Nemera still hanging on his back with her fused arms together and slung around his neck (like before, a minor code manipulation that makes carrying her easier). The keywords, as before, aren't identified.

Any questions? PM/IM away. Get ready, amigos!

:OOC))

Ping!

Baron’s eyes opened slowly as he heard the sound, the silver irises moving back and forth along his limited line of vision as he tried to find the source of the noise. Yawning loudly, both in the real world and in the game, the Twin Blade sat up, rubbing at his eyes to clear the sleep from them. Looking around, he realized that he was still in the field of Ä Resonating Snaring Walkway. With a start, Baron leapt to his feet, realizing that he had actually fallen asleep while his character was logged in! If he hadn’t been particularly lucky, a monster could have stumbled across him in his sleep, and that would have been an easy Game Over. Fortunately, it seemed that he was whole in body and health, so the Twin Blade sighed and looked around, trying to remember what had woken him in the first place. His mind was a little fuzzy, after the nap, so his memory was somewhere else.

Baron’s eyes finally latched onto the floating envelope image at the corner of his screen, and he realized that it had been a Flashmail ping that had woken him. Pulling up the message quickly, the Twin Blade saw that it was from Gyl, and immediately launched into it. After all, if the fact that it was from the Eventide Crescendo’s hacker wasn’t enough to get Baron’s attention, the subject “It’s time” would be very effective. The Twin Blade scanned through the letter, ignoring the warning part- heck, he knew the risks now, and was fully prepared for whatever could come- and moving on into the instructions. He wanted to know where he needed to go, and what he needed to do. The plan was simple- make a break for the Chaos Gate and access it for an instant transport to the Juk Prison. Easy, really, even if they had to evade the Knights of War, since Baron had already seen how effective the moderators were, having escaped from them twice now. Opening the menu to Gate Out, the Twin Blade started to close the Flashmail, then stopped when he read a part of the warning again.

“… Our still-conscious members are officially in more danger than those tucked snoozing in a hospital.”

The line was a simple warning- Baron, Talal, and Takua were all in danger, pure and simple. They had the greatest chance of becoming a comatose victim like Sekai, Zan, Nemera, or Sidhe. But Baron wasn’t going to give up because of that, no. He knew that there was a chance that he’d never leave The World again, but that was something he was willing to risk for the mission. The Twin Blade had come too far to turn back now, plowing through all of the obstacles in his way, whether it had been the riddles, each one protecting a Ganz Orb; or the monsters that had tried to destroy the Eventides every step of the way, Baron had seen it all. Even the final clash against Saol wouldn’t dissuade the eager Twin Blade, and that man had been ruthless and cruel, a powerful thrall to the Higher, Jula.

The thought of the Wild Hunt’s general made Baron feel a pang of guilt. The Twin Blade, while he knew that Saol was their enemy, still didn’t feel right about killing the man, especially the revenge that Nemera and Kira had taken for the Juka Sprites at the end. Regardless of motivation, Saol had been a human… at least, as far as Baron had known. The fact that the man could have been an AI wasn’t any better, though- after all, they were simply humans without the flesh. Either way, the Twin Blade wasn’t a cold-blooded murderer. He hadn’t been through whatever experiences had hardened the others to such callous actions, and as a result he couldn’t stand seeing deaths like that. Baron knew that it was necessary, that it was for “the greater good,” but that didn’t justify it in his heart. The Twin Blade sighed, knowing that he’d probably have to witness another similar ending in the near future, if the Juk Prison’s dungeon was anything like the field. It just… didn’t feel right, either way.

Shaking his head, Baron Gated Out of the field, appearing in Mac Anu’s Chaos Gate plaza as his character data reappeared. Before heading off, the Twin Blade took a quick look around, looking out for the Knights of War who had chased him before. The streets were empty for the moment, but he knew that it wouldn’t last- there would be a commotion soon enough. Though he knew that it would be trouble to do so, Baron strolled out from the plaza instead of heading straight back to the Chaos Gate, curious to see just how tight security was. It didn’t take long to ascertain that as the Twin Blade found several patrols of the Knights moving around the town, all in set patrols to make sure that the Eventide Crescendo wouldn’t make their way to the Chaos Gate. Baron raised an eyebrow at the security, wondering how the others would fare without blasting their way through the patrols, since four of the seven current Eventides would not be able to use the log-in trick that allowed them to go from anywhere in the Root Town to the Chaos Gate. Baron had used the tactic once himself, logging out to leave Mac Anu and logging back in to appear in the main plaza. It was a good evasive action, if necessary.

Still, Baron wanted to try to get the less fortunate players, such as Sekai, Zan, Sidhe, and Nemera, all to the Chaos Gate without having to worry about the guards. After all, those four would have to fight their way through if they got caught, and all that would do would be to confirm CC Corp’s suspicions that the Eventide Crescendo was a group of cyber-terrorists. No, Baron knew that it would be best for the group to keep a low profile for now, so the only thing to be done was to clear a path for Sekai and the others. Fortunately, the Twin Blade had a plan to do so already forming, and a small smile crossed his face as he envisioned the chance to tweak the Knights of War’s collective nose with one last escape. Moving quickly and quietly, the Twin Blade snuck up behind one of the nearby patrols, restraining a laugh. Suddenly he struck, his hands coming up to shove the Knight from behind.

“Boo!”

Oh, the look on the man’s face was priceless as he nearly jumped out of his skin. Laughing, Baron ran a short distance from the patrol, turning and giving them one last wave before he headed off, running from cries of “An Eventide!” and “Get him!” as the Knights started chasing him. Two nearby patrols came as well, noticing the commotion and probably eager to get some sort of reward for capturing one of the elusive Eventides who had escaped them for so long. Baron kept running, moving down the streets and causing as much noise as possible while he made his way through the Root Town. The Twin Blade heard a few cries, indicating that soldiers should follow other paths and cut him off, but he had expected such, which was why he had made sure his path ran along the Mac Anu River. There was always an escape route handy when necessary, and Baron would easily be able to buy enough time for the others- if they took it, of course. As he ran, the Twin Blade wrote out a quick Flashmail to get everyone’s attention, just to make sure they did.

Once the mail was sent off, Baron continued his run, at least six or seven Knights coming up behind him. They weren’t keeping up well, though, and the Twin Blade thought he was actually going to lose them for a moment before several emerged out of a side path a short distance ahead. Baron slid to a stop, realizing he was surrounded on both sides, and turned, diving into the river. Unfortunately, he couldn’t simply swim downriver and get away like he did the last time, as the guards split up and headed both directions, lining the river so that Baron wouldn’t have an escape route. Irritated, the Twin Blade tried to think of something as he made his way downstream. It didn’t take long before he smacked himself in the forehead for missing the obvious answer, and while he was hidden under the water, he logged out quickly, the rings of light enveloping him and transporting him away from the scene. Hopefully, the Knights would be busy searching the river for him a little bit longer.

Logging back in quickly, Baron appeared at the Chaos Gate plaza, grinning as he realized that almost all of the knights in the general area were focused on the chase, leaving one, maybe two at each patrol. Hopefully, the rest of the Eventide Crescendo would have an easier time slipping through the lowered defenses, and they could all get to the Juk Prison without causing the uproar they did the first time they had tried. In the meantime, though, the Twin Blade was going to go on ahead, as much as he could, anyway. Walking up to the Chaos Gate, Baron opened the menu, wondering how he was going to get to the Juk Prison, when the menu simply vanished. Blinking, the Twin Blade started to access it again when three golden rings emerged from the sky like a normal transport and took him away. It looked like Gyl was already way ahead of things.

A burst of sunlight flooding through the green canopy was the first thing Baron saw as he appeared in the Juk Prison, the idyllic scene hiding the real terror that lay beneath. The moment of peace lasted for all of a second before something… strange happened. Static flashed across Baron’s screen, and things became strange, with the sunlight turning an off-shade of grayish black, and the green forest turning an odd red, like everything had been turned upside-down in terms of color. The Twin Blade blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision, wondering if in the real world his eyes had freaked out from being attached to the game for so long. Soon, though, the effect faded, and Baron found himself standing in the forest clearing, looking around as he tried to reorient himself, adjusting to the field once more. What had happened in that brief moment, with the graphics and sound? Was it a result of Gyl’s little loophole, just a temporary effect? It didn’t really matter, but Baron planned on asking the hacker if it happened again.

Sidhe and Nemera were both standing nearby, the Heavy Blade leader riding piggy-back astride her partner’s back. Her arms were held before the Long Arm, and they were oddly fused together, as if the data had merged, but it was quite convenient, allowing Sidhe to keep her slung on his back while the woman was unconscious. Baron just hoped that Nemera didn’t wake with her arms like that- it would creep him out, for certain! Still, it made things easier for everyone, since Nemera would have to be taken to the Juk Prison’s dungeon for treatment of her illness, and rather than two people carrying her in a crude stretcher or some such thing, only one person would be taken out of the mainstream fighting, if it came to that. Hopefully, the cure would be found first, though, since Nemera was not only a valuable ally, but their leader and their friend as well. Baron had been worried back when the Heavy Blade had fallen after the climactic battle with Saol, and that fear still remained, especially when he looked at her. Could she… could she really die?

Relax, your mind is starting to unbalance again.

But… but she could really die! This isn’t as simple as a player getting ghosted! What if we can’t help her?

I understand your worry, but you need to relax. She still seems to be fine, otherwise Sidhe wouldn’t be dragging her along, right? What point would there be in bringing a corpse along? He has faith in her will to survive, and in all of you to aid in that effort. Now, once more, calm down.

Baron did as he was told, trying to relax, but his mind was still racing around, albeit not as badly as before. It was a passable sort of calm, for now. Instead of looking at Nemera, lest guilt and worry flare up again, and instead focused on the little things, like his outfit. Brushing the dirt off of his black pants, the Twin Blade smiled lightly, wondering what the others would think at yet another costume change. It was fitting for the wings he had recently acquired, really, and it wasn’t a major alteration from his previous outfit. Dressed from head to toe in black, the Twin Blade only had two exceptions- the white shirt that could be seen through his unzipped jacket, with the mark of Libra in gold on it, and the white-feather lining that was around his neck. Beyond that, all was black- the leather jacket that was cut short at the waist, the gloves and long pants, all were dark midnight. And as such, dirt and grass stains tended to be very visible if they marred the surface, which was why Baron simply stood in place instead of taking a seat in the grass like he normally would. Naturally he had to keep up appearances.

Now, to wait for the others to arrive… and then to move on with the dungeon. It was time to go into the depths of the Juk Prison. Question was, were they ready for what waited ahead?

Takua didn’t wait for very long on the bridge of Mac Anu before a flashmail pinged loudly in his ears. He stiffened before opening it, immediately feeling something was wrong. Then again, things had been feeling wrong for several hours now, this wasn’t anything unusual. His eyes flickered over the sender and the title, understanding what was meant by that and what was about to happen. If he had anything else to get, or do, it would have to be now. Before he went into the field itself. However, he had taken care of his business just a few minutes before. There was nothing left to do but to make his way to the Chaos Gate. However, the rest of the flashmail…well, worried him would be one way to take it. That everyone who was not in a coma was suddenly in danger in real life of being tracked down and killed was…well, chilling was one way of saying it. One wouldn’t have expected that a war within The World would translate over to the real one. It was to be expected after seeing what had happened with Dr. Ilos.

It would be best, he decided, that they know the true risks. Yes, Gyl said it…but having one person say that it was a possibility was something completely different when faced with something real and concrete. He hesitated, knowing that some people might freak out…but also he knew that it would be better for them to know just how far the Highers’ reach could extend.

That, done, he started to walk to the Chaos Gate. The Knights would be a problem, but after he took out his wings and lifted off, it was hardly worth the effort. People just didn’t look up, so why notice a Wavemaster flying on wings of ice at around one hundred feet when you couldn’t even tell who it was? He was just starting to descend when Baron’s flashmail pinged in his ears, and he wanted to sigh. Why was the kid…doing that? Well, it might be good for those who didn’t have other ways of getting next to the Chaos Gate.

He warped into the field itself, noting that, somehow, Baron had actually gotten there first. How the heck did he managed to do that? It was…a little suspicious, but no matter. He shrugged mentally and looked around. He was instantly reminded of the battle that had happened in the field, and of the…rather unique way that Nemera and Kira had decided to commemorate the fallen bastard who had led the opposing army. He walked over to where there was a nearby tree, although he didn’t lean against it. He just looked around…until most, if not all of them, had warped into the field. Although he didn’t realize what was about to happen, two very important people had just warped into the field, and he was about to be screwed, very, very quickly.

Takua had possibly three seconds to figure out that something was wrong in a very, very bad way when Talal turned towards him with a vengeance in her eyes. What the hell had he done? After their brief chat within the alleyway, he hadn't talk at all to her, primarily because he was so caught up in his own thoughts, dealing with the field and was concentrating on that. Something had, obviously, pissed her off very successfully, and the way that she was advancing on him with her fists clenched in her hands, after just beating the crap out of Saol, he had a pretty good idea that it was his fault somehow. What was she going to do to him? Would the rest of them just stand around and watch, doing nothing and let him be demolished by the whirlwind of fury that was currently coming at him? It appeared so, because nobody had noticed for the time being. She was a female, so that meant that she had her emotions effecting her more than other people might have, and that definitely didn't bode well for him. Logic, depending on what her problem was, might have saved his ass. If it were emotional?

Logic had already been tossed out the window and any attempt to counter emotion with logic would only make it worse. Emotion to emotion would make it much worse if it were the wrong one. First thing of course would be to figure out what was wrong, and do it fast, as she was coming up right next to him. Trying not to flinch as best as he could, he looked at her. What the hell had he done?!

"Uhh...hey Talal. What's up?"

He didn't want to back up, didn't want to give the impression that he was scared of her coming at him with murder in her eyes. That was bullshit mind you, but, with any luck, it'd save his ass more than running would have. However, she stepped forward, planting her foot directly between his own.

Okay, so even a blind man could tell that she was pissed at him now. She had bent her head back so as to stare him directly in the eyes, not a good sign either. She hadn't said anything yet, but the air around them was primed to explode in just a moment. He couldn't think of something that he had done...so something that he didn't do? Hell, he had told her not to come, that it would be bad...of course, this was far worse than he had expected already, but that already proved that the dungeon would be far worse. After seeing the slaughter in the Axis Mundis and learning that the first part of the dungeon was a prison...well, he had been thinking that it'd be more like a torture chamber than a prison. They had...maybe half a floor of prison, and the rest of the dungeon had been guards, an arena, and the lab itself. Not...something like this might be.

He couldn't quite keep his eyes from hardening as she stared at him though. What the hell had he done in the fucking first place to piss her off like this? It didn't make any sense whatsoever.

"I presume that there's something that I did wrong here, or else you wouldn't be glaring at me like that."

Direct might work, as she still wasn't responding to him. Knowing his knowledge of tact though, that was likely to set her off if nothing else. Not what he wanted to do, but probable all the same. As far as he knew he hadn't done anything wrong, so he wanted to know what he had supposedly done.

"You can't even begin to fathom what you've done. Whether or not you have done something wrong or not has yet to be decided."

Her voice was low, quiet enough that it would have been difficult to listen in if you were anywhere farther than six feet…or closer. Unless you had senses that far outdid normal human ones. He wouldn’t be surprised if Zan had them given what he could turn into. Unfortunately for him, all of his thoughts went out the window in the next moment as Talal started to rant.

"Those defenses had been in place for years and you just stormed right on past them. No one, and I mean no one had managed to even get remotely close. Why would you bother doing that if your only intent was to gather reinforcements for your cause? You could have just asked. Wasn't my curious nature and desire to help enough to tell you that all you had to do was ask? Noooo, you had to go one more step. You had to make me think you actually wanted to be friends. Sad part was that I believed you and have considered you one this whole time which is the biggest reason I'm here in this fucking hell hole of a field; to watch your back, which by the way I've been failing miserably at thanks to those wings of yours taking you out of reach of anything I could possibly help with. But that's beside the point at the moment. Hell, were you even trying or was the fact that you succeeded to break through and win my trust just an extra added bonus?"

As she went off on him, Takua felt his face heating up in real life, and it wasn't from embarrassment or shame. He hadn't wanted her there in the first place, and she accuses him of manipulating her to join? He wasn't even sure how twisted logic could lead to that when he had been repeatedly and adamantly stating that she shouldn't go, that it was dangerous, and that she wouldn't want to get involved. Apparently he'd succeeding in befriending her as well, which was where the guilt for him came in. He hadn't...really meant to do that, even though his earlier actions might have managed to do it, he wasn't sure where she sat for him. Even better, things were probably about to get nasty and ugly inside of the dungeon...and that in Gan had brought out a nasty and brutal side of him that he hadn't known was there. But...why did she assume then that he didn't want her as a friend? What the hell had he done or not done that had convinced her of that?!

"That's actually the easiest thing to figure out. You haven't even talked to her yet inside of this quest. Kind of a red flag for a woman, just to let you know."

Groaning when Ondine made her appearance in his head, making sure that he was well and truly boned. She was a woman, so she would know far better than him...but was it his fault in this field, when he just didn't really want to talk to people generally? He wasn't a person who made friends easily or opened up generally, and, unlike Talal apparently, his shields were in place and had deflected her from his core. That was good, a sibilant voice whispered in his ear, as the closer that someone was to his heart the easier it would be for them to crush him like a bug. He twitched slightly as she pushed him backwards, right into the tree that was behind him. His eyes flared in anger at that, blue waters turning to specks of ice in his eyes instantly. He hadn't really done anything wrong and she was pushing him now? His voice was low, cold, and without a scrap of emotion that could be found, only traveling to her ears.

"My attempts to keep you out of this field failed. I was attempting to keep you away, not to recruit you. If you remember correctly, I refused to so much as give you the name of the group. You were the one who asked Centrus and decided, on her own, to come. I'm sorry if you somehow think that I tricked and manipulated you into this hell of a field on the off chance that we needed more people, but I didn't. I didn't ask for you here, I didn't want you exposed to this sort of darkness. If you think this was hell on the field? I can promise you that the dungeon will be far, far worse.

As for breaking through your defenses, I can assure you that that was a complete and total accident. I was attempting to help someone, and ended up throwing you into this mess. I'm sorry that you seemed to construe my attempts to keep you out as a way to get you in here."

Abruptly, the atmosphere around him changed as he straightened slightly. He closed his eyes for a second, concentrating and collecting himself, before he opened them, much of the coldness around him gone.

"I did want to be friends with you, I just...don't think that we're there yet. Make me a deal. After getting through the dungeon and the darkness that you can find within, the twisted humanity, and what that will do to me, if you still want to be friends, then we will. You just don't know enough about me yet, and what I can become when faced with this..."

The last word was filled with as much information as he could muster from Gan. All of the torturing thoughts, sights...the supposed Twin Gods, Sprouce's two children, the Eden Training Room, all of the deaths, the killings. The thirst for Dread Code and the blood that carried it that had been lost in a fog of hunger every time he tried to recall all but a few details from that final floor and a half.

"Shit."


”So somehow by me showing you I can finish the dungeon it makes me worthy to be your friend? What, you don’t think I can handle what that dungeon has to offer? You don’t think I can handle it, if you turn into some arrogant asshole or something because it’s a fucked up field and you get pissed about it? What? What is so horrible about you that I can’t handle? Humor me for once and just be straight up with me instead of constantly talking in fucking code all the time!”

Check another thing off on things that pissed her off. Not that he could blame her for that, he was just trying to protect her. At this point though, he was done with playing that game. She wanted to know, she got to know what it was that had happened. Not everything, that would take quite some time, but enough so that she could realize that he wasn't bluffing. That he had good reason to think that the fields twisted him slightly, change his character to protect his core. A heartless bastard was less likely to be twisted than someone who cared, and he did care. He couldn't hide it that well that he cared, he could only try to protect that heart and the innocence that dwelled within it. At the rate that he was going, it wasn't going to last for much longer, which was just to bad.

"What if I told you that, for the sake of the group, I was turned into a vampire in the last field? Someone who needed blood, and really Dread Code, to sate an inner hunger that devoured the mind? A virus that could move into you if you were Immersed in the game, and that's exactly what I was. If we had failed to get the Gan Incarnation back, I'd either be dead or in a mental hospital long before you met me. I fed on Sprouce, the leader of the Gan research station, and enjoyed the taste of his blood. I feasted on him while he screamed and ignored it all for that taste. I slaughtered his little horrors, the Children of Eden, with spell and with my teeth to make sure that I didn't gain a taste of my teammates. The Eventides weren't just allies. They weren't people. They were food."

His voice and eyes bored into her, focusing that topic into a spear that drove into her ears. To prove that he wasn't lying.

"Perhaps I should tell you about when I tortured a man for a passcode to slaughter his allies. Pressing a fist into the wound caused by needles filled with Dread Code so that he screamed with pain, all for a single birthday."


A small, sight, cruel smile crossed his face. In the back of his mind, he shuddered, but wouldn't do it in front of her. Had to prove his point, even at the cost of...his humanity, yes. And his morals. How he felt, now, about all of those acts that were necessary then.

"Still want to be friends?"

She rolled her eyes though, and crossed her arms. She didn’t believe him at all then. Not with that kind of an attitude.

"I'll believe that you may have tortured that guy for information however far fetched it seems from the Takua I know. But come on...vampire? You? The only thing that Dread Code has done for me is enhance my distaste for the smell of blood and mud mixed together. Sure, we can still be friends. If the vampire you ever surfaces again...bite me. Maybe I'll turn into one and fly around with you without having to have the wings."

Takua just stared at her, watching as she joked about something he was dead serious about. He had warned her. Raquar had warned her. Gyl warned them all at the very beginning. If she wasn't going to believe what he had gone through, or what Dread Code could do to a person, then she was just going to have to find out the hard way. Her...joke, if one could call it that, wasn't appreciated, and any trace of humor or of a smile had been wiped from his face instantly as soon as she had said it. His eyes leveled at her and he smiled slowly then, one without any trace of humor or warmth. It was the smile of someone who knew, who had been there and perhaps had once doubted that himself. But then there was the sadness mixed in, that it wouldn't end well for any of the parties involved. But maybe, just maybe, she'd be shocked enough when she was Immersed for the first time that she would regret having said that joke.

"You'll figure it out soon enough on your own."

He walked past her to where the rest of the group was, ignoring anything that she might say or do. The Vampirism wasn't something to joke about with him at the moment, not only a week later. He could understand that there were changes to him and his mind, but did he really have to like the taste? If she couldn't understand that...well, it just went to show that, for the time being, he was correct. She would need to understand that he was telling the truth, that he hadn't lied. All she would have to do was ask Nemera or Sidhe if she so chose to do so. But he wouldn't do that. As mean as it was, as spiteful as it was, he was going to let her find out on her own.

"Takua...wait. Please. I..."

He wasn’t going to have it though. Not after that. Not at the moment. Give it a few minutes, maybe in the trip to the dungeon, and he’d be ready to listen. He saw her grab his robe, but he just kept on walking, because he couldn’t talk right then. Not when he was ready to lash out with anger because she thought that he was trying to joke with her about that. That wasn’t something to try and joke about with him at the moment. Maybe in a few weeks time it would become something that he could laugh at safely, but…when he was trying to warn her? No, he couldn’t do it. He walked away from the Twin Blade, trying to get farther away from her. He just…didn’t want to talk. Wanted to think it over, what he had said and what he had done. Unfortunately, it appeared that fate had other plans for him.

“Takua, you have any of those Gloom or Rapture vials on you?”

Takua blinked slightly as Kira walked up. The question was a little unusual and...he didn't really want to talk right now, not after what had just happened with Talal. He needed time to think and to look at things again, to determine just what the hell he had said and what he had meant. The entire thing was a mess, and not one that he had wanted to be in. Why on earth did she have to joke about such a thing in the first place? It might have been over and done with and...instead she hadn't believed him and had decided to blow it off. After what had happened in Gan, that didn't...seem right. If he could joke about it, then maybe he'd be alright with other people doing the same, but he couldn't do that yet.

That Kira just happened to walk up right now, after they had stopped talking, had him more than a little suspicious on what her intentions were. However, he dug one of his vials out of the inventory and held it for a moment. Gloom, as was obvious by the color...and yet he didn't want to give it to her yet.

"Why? What do you want it for?"

Her hand reached out, clearly expecting him to hand it over, even though he was being reluctant. When it finally seemed to get through to her that he was actually being serious, she gave him a response, eyes flickering to Sekai as she did so.

“I'm sick of having her go catatonic every time a goddamn Ani spell goes off; I want to test my theory out the next time something goes off and she freaks out.”

He looked at her for a second, indecision warring behind his eyes. He didn't know how Kira could cause either Rapture or Gloom to snap Sekai out of her...Ani hatred, but if it would work, he'd want to help. It just didn't make any damn sense. But then, what could she be doing that would be bad in the long run? He was just being paranoid...but there was still something wrong with the whole situation. He still handed it over, looking at her oddly for a moment before relaxing. It was Kira after all. Of course there was something else going on, this was Kira after all. But he could...well, hope that it was for either the good of the group of the good of a few people. She didn't want Sekai to die and it was highly unlikely that they'd be getting out of the field until they got the Incarnation Crystal. Once it was in her hands, he could rest assured that it'd be used for something...he might regret it later, but probably not. It'd be interesting to see what she did with it though, and to see if she had indeed told the truth or if he was right, that it was for something else entirely.

“Thank you.”

She turned away as if to walk over to where Talal and Sekai were…and then spun back, cracking the vial of Gloom across his face and then again…but with her fist. Takua fell down, wondering why the hell he hadn’t listened to that voice in the back of his head. She glared down at him, but he wasn’t buying any of it. He refused to be intimidated by her.

“Get your head out of your ass and act like a proper member of the Eventide Crescendo. You[/i] brought Talal into this mess, it's your goddamn responsibility to make sure she knows and understands the risks and dangers involved in this. If you want her to get as fucked over and responsible for the deaths of thirty-four human beings like you are? Then by all means, get the fuck out of this group and go join the Highers.”

What?

“I will not have you creating a broad ass fucking window inviting the Highers, the things of this field, in to completely fuck us over more so than we already are.I don't care what was exchanged; laugh it off and get the flying fuck over it or have that kid, Gyl, take you the hell out of here.”

He almost didn’t hear what she said next. Something about making sure that he couldn’t ever pull this type of bullshit again. He could give less about what she though at this point. His own anger was an almost palpable force that radiated out from him. Another one. Another fucking one that was blaming him for dragging Talal in when she had pursued him of her own accord. He'd tried to keep her out hadn't he? God fucking dammit when did these things get so complicated. When she was finished he snarled right on back up at her, not caring that she could kick his ass at any time. The pain still smarted, but that didn't matter. He had other things to be pissed about.

"Blame me for this? Considering that she brought herself here when I was trying my fucking hardest to keep her out, how is this my responsibility? She knows what most of the dangers are already, and she doesn't seem to want to believe them! Go over to her and tell her what the fuck is going on if you want to, because she doesn't want to believe what I have to say!"

He took a breath, but wouldn't let Kira step inside of it with her own response. His eyes were flashing because he was feeling hurt and cornered and more than a little pissed at how things had devolved.

"I just don't want to talk to her right now. If she needs help, she'll get it, but if she won't believe me when I'm being serious, when I tell her what can happen in these fields, then I can't help her now can I? Not even you can help someone who doesn't want the help, and if she won't believe that I'm being serious, then I can't make her believe my words and I can't advise her!"

His lips curled into a sneer, feeling one of her sentences stab home. Sprouce had said something worse...but he had simply gotten angry off of it. Someone who he considered a friend saying it was...much, much worse. He got up, refusing to let her intimidate him while at the same time feeling his anger slip away. He was terrible at confronting people either with something that he needed or with anger, and it showed with how quickly that feeling vanished. It was shriveling as he spoke further, and he felt the prick of two tears that threatened to form.

"I'll be over what she said shortly, but don't fucking talk to me like that. Anything between us is highly unlikely to hurt the team because neither of us are stupid enough to let it get to that point."

He meant and believed that last part. Her last lines, about making sure that he'd never be a liability again, he could care less about. If she tried to kill him at this point in time, there were plenty of people who could resurrect him, and that spat would end up hurting them more than the current friction between him and Talal.

"Why the hell are you even involved? This is between the two of us, and not you. If you want to help, don't get involved and don't try to intervene. I'll be fine as soon as I can think about it, and then I'll try to explain it again. So get the fuck out of my face and don't get involved in this if you want to make it better."

Her spear whipped out and blew his ankles out from under him. He could have just flown away from her, but something made him stay, made him listen for some godforsaken reason as she glared down at him.

“Well well, looks like someone managed to grow not only a pair of false balls, but realizes he knows every little nuance about how someone's words and actions could be interpreted. I congratulate you for accomplishing things your kind and my own have been attempting for generations.”

Kira’s spear was digging into the ground in the same way that the sarcasm she ladled onto her tone of voice by the gallon tried to cut him. Still, he didn’t care. The fuck did she know?

“Talal damn well knows what the dangers are? Don't even give me that load of shit; there is no way the likes of you could possibly tell her enough to prepare her for what she'll be going through. And you expect her, someone who'd still got the fucking shine of someone just settling into the rhythms of what they believe is a game, to believe every little word you say?”

She laughed then, laughed down at him…and he knew that, in some ways, she was right. But in others, she was dead wrong, and that was what still drove his anger, his rage. Fuck that shit. While he might not expect her to believe every word that he said, he’d expect that, as someone who went to Gan and who knew what it was like, his word would be accepted as the truth because of what she had been forced to see.

“Your ego must be the size of the gaping hole between Niarosa's legs; you've been muttering to yourself the entire field- yes, I've been keeping an eye on you and the rest of these people- and your eyes don't focus at those muttering points. Whatever is going on; if you're going to be a jackass and reject the people around you who want to be your friend and help your sorry ass. Then make your goddamn choice and separate completely. Don't go saying 'I'll be friends' and then curl into a shell and hide from everything just because someone may have a hard time believing what's gone on; hell, had I not seen what these assholes are capable of doing myself? I'd think you were full of shit and on something.”

There may have been something there…except that Talal had been through the field portion. Plus, when had he wanted to be Talal’s friend in the first place? Ugh, this was…so not good. It was slipping again. Slowly perhaps, but it was there. More madness in the mind. Telling him that he shouldn’t be friends with anyone at all, especially Kira because obviously she was hurting him, and Talal was in on it as well. What were the odds that this was all just a plot, Talal doing this to make Kira pissed at him, so that the Long Arm could have an excuse to beat the shit out of him? No, he thought clearly, that wasn’t the case at all. She had…some point. He shouldn’t have walked away like that. He should have stayed and talked it out.

“I'll let you in on a little secret; friends and loved ones are the biggest burden you'll ever have. Those thirty four lives you helped take? That weight is nothing compared to what friends and those you will come to love will lay upon your shoulders. She's here because she's obviously wanting to be friends with your sulky ass and wants to be your support. If you told her about that last field, she knows you'll need a shoulder to lean on. And really, out of everyone who's here, right now, take a good solid look at these people you arrogant little bastard;”

He closed his eyes, listening to her words go on and on, weighing each one as they came in. Arrogant little bastard? Hardly. He wasn’t arrogant at all, or so he thought. He didn’t even know what was going on in his mind, he could barely classify what he thought of the people around him. Why should she want to go into the field with him? That…was so wrong. Why this field? Why chose the EC to go into? He cursed that Centrus had told her about the Eventide Crescendo and told her where to go, got her involved in this. But more than that, he cursed himself. He’d been so stupid in giving out hints about this that she just had to be interested.

“Who out of all of them is and has been wanting to fight along side you? Who out of these people gives enough of a shit to go out of their way to throw themselves into the worst that human minds are capable of creating just so that you might have a little fucking support and reinforcement at your back and side? You are the only person she truly knows and feels she's able to trust in this field. She is following you because she trusts the likes of you and wants you to trust her in return. Onida looks up to me as an experienced former High Priestess, in her eyes, I still hold that title and the power that accompanies it. As a result, you are under my jurisdiction and that Talal is one of your friends, that places her under mine as well.”

Trust him? That was ridiculous. She didn’t trust him. Hell, she shouldn’t trust him, nobody should trust him right now. To do so would be ludicrous. He could barely keep it together, and she was trying to tell him that Talal trusted him? Hell, Kira shouldn’t have trusted him either, but that would have opened up a new can of worms altogether wouldn’t it?

“That goes double considering my loved one happens to worry over the both of you and that you two are under her command in the Army of Darkness. You have two fucking options Takua and only two options; I'll make them clear right now so that we're on the same page.”

When did she crouch down, he wondered briefly. His anger was lost somewhere, he wasn’t sure where it was anymore. Maybe it had simply vanished as it typically did when he got into confrontations. There was very little heat in her eyes now, they were simply…serious. In truth, that scared him far more than the anger ever could have. Something was wrong here, he thought as he looked at her. He was startled, even more so when she continued to talk.

“You can shoulder the responsibility of having a friend, as desired or unwanted as she may be, and give her reactions more than just the initial 'oh she doesn't believe me, fuck this I'll let her see it herself' thought out of you. Or you can forever be that crying Wavemaster under the Mac Anu bridge who won't pull his ass out of the shadows or let anyone help him out. If you choose that path, the hiding under the bridge one?”

God damn her for her insight and error all at the same time. There was so much that he didn’t want to let her know, and so much that she didn’t know…and yet she was right on so many levels it made him sick. He knew it as well, and he knew that he was wrong at times in this just as much as he was right.

“You aren't the one who'll be scarred and damaged, not when you're so caught up in self-righteous... whatever you may be feeling at the time. She will be the one who suffers the full intensity and severity of the consequences caused by your actions; because she's the one who gives the biggest shit about you, and thus has the most to lose.”

She hauled him upright suddenly, and the Wavemaster was suddenly wondering how much she had to despise him right now. Had to hate his guts for constantly failing, for having failed what he had told her and for always involving her even when he didn’t want her to become involved. Sure, he knew them and she was, technically, his High Priestess, but that could matter less in a lot of ways. She didn’t have to do any of this, and yet she continued to do so, always getting herself into the thick of things and, usually, beating the shit out of him. He knew she disliked weakness, so she had to loath his very existence and what he constantly did.

“You'd better choose before we enter that dungeon; because you can't take anything back once we're in. Vesica is not a stupid animal, as much as I call her so out of annoyance; don't prove her choice and faith in you wrong.”

He stared at her back as she walked away, trying to bring that anger that he had felt when she had gotten her facts wrong…and couldn’t. She was right at some points, and enough of them that he couldn’t deny that he had to do something, although what that was continued to elude him. He ran his fingers through his hair, eyes closing as he tried to think. He needed to apologize and explain to Talal what was going on, what had happened…although when he would actually have time to do that was something that he didn’t know. Maybe on the way to the dungeon itself? If…he needed to, he would find the time inside of the dungeon. No matter what Kira said, there would be time inside of the dungeon. He could talk to her when they were inside. At the very least, he could send her a flashmail explaining himself.

She was one of the only friends that he had while inside of the Juk field, and, given what had happened during their little break, he wasn’t sure that she would want to be along anymore. He was already mentally weak enough, he had no idea what would happen inside. He wasn’t sure what he would do or what would happen to him in there, and everyone around him would have to bear the consequences of that…as well as himself. There were some things that she didn’t know, some things that she was wrong about. Sekai had been over there…who knew how things would play out now. For all he knew, all of the friendships that he had were about to come down like a stack of cards because of one thing that he had done. Maybe…maybe Sekai would be able to explain to Talal what went on inside of prison fields, what could happen.

Fuck. When did things turn out this way? He didn’t…see how it got to this point. Was it simply that he had allowed Talal to be here? How could he have countered that though? It was no use thinking about what he had or hadn’t done now though. She was here, and unfortunately for him, he was stuck with it. What…could he do now? From what it sounded like, the Twin Blade was in some serious pain at the moment, and he was the cause. Something that, as much as the dark whisper said that he did, he didn’t want. He didn’t really see how he could possibly six that pain though. Talk to her obviously, but about what? He couldn’t really decide and rubbed his eyes in pain. Finally, he just decided to send a flashmail to attempt to salvage what little he had left.

Saol was dead and even though it had to be done, Talal wasn’t happy about it. The way in which he died, the pain he must have been in from those orbs in his chest and the holes. She shuddered at the thought of what that must have felt like. Granted, if one tried to look at fair, he got off easy compared to the horrors that the Juka Sprites had been put through, right down to their children. Anger washed over the Twin Blade when she thought about the children. Watching Nemera and Kira take their revenge upon his corpse, the anger told her it was the right thing to do, but once it was done and note left for all to see, her morals told her the truth. Whether it was or wasn’t the right thing to do for each individual member of the group, having done it just made the Eventides plummet to the Highers level. Were they any better now than the Highers when it came to moral standings? For now, she didn’t think so.

Nemera collapsed and was quickly hoisted by Sidhe back onto his back with her arms firmly wrapped around his neck. She wasn’t well and they needed to hurry. Gyl had other plans for the group, plans to keep them safe until he could relocate. She looked at Nemera and the Twin Blade dropped her head with a heavy sigh. The Heavy Blade didn’t have time for this, but there was nothing she could do as everyone was warped out of the field seconds later.

Back in the streets of Mac Anu, the yellow and black clad female felt instantly lost. She didn’t know what to do or where to go, but she knew she couldn’t just hang around the gate waiting for Gyl’s call. The Knights were patrolling and would be looking for perhaps a little revenge of their own considering how the Eventides had left them. Casually and calmly she walked off towards the shops. There were always plenty of players over there and she could get lost in the crowd for a bit. Making her way through the weave of players, she occasionally heard the word “Eventide”. Each time she heard it, her heart stopped and panic would rise from inside until she realized that other players were just gossiping about the earlier events of the day. She needed to get away from the people, get away from the constant paranoia she was having, but where to go?

Passing by the Pawn Shop, she stopped in quickly to see what they had. The field had made it overly obvious how limited her items were and she was going to rectify that just a little. She placed her trade items on the counter with a smile on her face so as not to look all gloomy or too conspicuous, but man was she nervous.

Yup. Just an ordinary player in here to do a little trade, that’s all. Yup, nothing to look at here. Just little ‘ol me.

The shop keep was none the wiser, or at least he didn’t let on if he knew anything. With her trade complete, she stood in the doorway for a moment deciding where she should go. Part of her had wished she would have tagged along with one of the other players, perhaps Takua so they could talk. She had so many questions and was confused on so many different levels, but she never even saw him come out of the gate.

Spying the bridge where she and the blue robed Wavemaster had last met before the field, she headed to the ladder that led to the support structure below. At first she thought about going to the rooftops but felt they were too obvious. Anyone could casually look up and see her or something. No, she needed better seclusion, somewhere hopefully no one might roam during the day. It was right then that her desire to find a field all her own came flooding back to the forefront of her thought. How nice it would have been to be able to just gate there right now. Takua had mentioned having a similar field of his own, one that he had the key to. That was probably where he went so he could rest his mind like she wanted to do. Sekai, Kira and even Zan needed the rest too. The fatigue and oh God, the sore muscles they probably had from everything that had happened in the field must be so very painful by now. She wondered where they all called home in The World.

Having tagged along behind a couple of different groups like she was with them, Talal made it to the bridge and sighed as she descended down the ladder. Once under the bridge, she accessed her menu and changed her appearance a little, just in case someone decided to venture down. A change in hair color to a light shade of blue flowing loosely around her shoulders and ahh yes, that would work nicely, a black kimono wrap to hide the yellow top and camouflage her a little in the darkness of the underbelly of the bridge. Climbing the rafters, she was safe…for now and leaned back into the corner and closed her eyes trying to close out all of the noise around her.

Ping!

What? Crap! I fell asleep!

The laptop was precariously supported between her knees and just getting ready to fall, which wouldn’t have been good. It could have logged her out or worse, damaged the laptop to the point of not turning back on if it lost power. Setting all that aside, she opened the flashmail from Gyl and was shocked at what she was reading. What was Twilight? Why were she and Baron and Takua at more risk than the others, after all they were the ones that could quite literally die? They couldn’t possibly know where she lives and getting to her would take awhile since the nearest airport was two hours away and a lot of mountain roads they could get lost on.

Panic struck the girl behind the FMD and she removed it. Would they really go that far? There was nothing that could stop her right now from going back. If Takua didn’t need her help, well the others might. Kali ran over to her door and latched the double bolt lock and the security chain that she never used. Not that a little chain would stop someone if they really wanted in. She looked around the studio apartment and grabbed a nearby chair and shoved it at an angle under the door knob. It made her feel a little stupid to be doing such nonsense things but she wouldn’t worry as much this way. Returning to her spot on the futon, she put the FMD back on and closed the flashmail. It was time to go.

Thankfully no one had bothered her although having been asleep; she couldn’t be positive that someone hadn't visited and just decided to let her be. Either way, she pulled up the menu and returned to her normal appearance. It might make things a bit difficult to get to the gate, but she wasn’t sure if she could change back once she was in the field.

Baron was on top of things apparently. His flashmail came just as she crested the top of the ladder. It was good that there wouldn’t be as many Knights roaming but she hoped he wouldn’t get himself in a mess trying to help everyone else. Again, she calmly and quietly walked towards the plaza. Just a few feet from the Chaos Gate she heard them.

”Look! That’s one of them. An Eventide! Get her!”

Talal let out a gasp and ran for the gate pulling up the menu as she ran to be ready. Stepping into position she realized she didn’t have any keywords, but Gyl was on top of things too and the trio of golden rings came down and whisked her away just before the Knights could get to her. Colors shifted, blacks became whites and vice versa through the whole spectrum of colors with bursts of static while she transported to the field. It was strange since usually she just had a black screen.

Finally, she arrived in the field. Blinking several times hoping the black spots from all the static and weird color array would clear she looked around. Sidhe still with Nemera on his back, Takua and even Baron had already made it. She was happy to see Baron especially, thankful whatever trouble he may have encountered while buying everyone some time, hadn’t landed him in the Knights of War jail. It had been a long haul already for the group, both mentally and physically; at least it had for the female Twin Blade. She had gone from one end of the spectrum of feelings and emotions to the other and back again.

She looked over at her friend dressed in blue. Was he her friend, or was it more one sided? They had both used the word at one point or another in past dealings. Wasn't that enough clarification that they were? Still, she couldn't help but feel that she was the only one that saw their relationship to one another that way. Friends will talk to you, if even only to break the monotony of a silent walk. Friends will go that extra step to make sure you're okay in a bad situation, if only from a nod of the head. He had done really none of these in this field so far, except in the alley before they left. Then again, she hadn't really done anything in his direction, or at least nothing that he could hear and/or see. Her ghostly rant at him didn't really count since the battle raged louder around her and no one could hear. The same held mostly true for any of the other instances as well. They were all distracted by the field and staying on alert to truly have a conversation with anyone.

Did he not understand that she only sought out this group of his because she cared for his well-being? That's what friends do. They look out for one another regardless of whether they're strong enough or have the ability to handle whatever gets thrown at them. She was by far vastly out of her league, or at least she thought so. Two weeks of playing the game, not having even learned everything about its basic concepts and she joins a group to watch his back in a field that doesn't even follow any of those basic concepts. There is something terribly, terribly wrong with this picture.

He knew from their conversations that she was concerned. Was he just so dense that he couldn't see the underlying intent to follow and try to help? She couldn't, wouldn't believe that. Sure he vaguely told her of the danger, but knowing she would follow, he should have been a little more forthcoming with the info. It wouldn't have stopped her, but at minimum she could have been a little more prepared.

The frustration within her was growing quickly with each thought. Once relaxed hands were slowly turning into clenched fists. She couldn't handle this unknowing, this constant up and down of emotions. If he didn't know how she felt, then he needed to know. Regardless of whether or not it was a good time for such a thing, she needed to confront him now for her own sanity sake.

How the Hell did he break through her walls in the first place? Hell, he probably wasn't even trying so the next question would be, why did it happen? Was she just ready to try friendship again with someone? No, that alone was not enough to just let everything drop. Was it just some scheme to get her hooked to find the Eventides and help them? After all, there numbers were small and their mission was huge. They needed all the help they could get. If that was the case, he chose the wrong person to do that with. She didn't take kindly to being used like a puppet to be dangled on a string when it was convenient for others.

Talal turned towards him, intense dark brown eyes glaring right into his own as she approached. She was going to get to the bottom of this and find out exactly where they stood. Step by intent step she approached him head on.

"Uhh...hey Talal. What's up?"

There was a raging battle going on in her mind as to how she should handle the situation. She knew she needed to stay calm and not let her emotions get the best of her. The last thing she wanted to do was break in front of the group or him for that matter. She needed to stay stern and not back down or he'd have his opening to get out of the confrontation they were headed for. She hated confrontations so it was going to take every last ounce she could muster to not give in and let it go before she had her answer.

He didn't move, he just stood there and watched her approach. If there was the slightest of quiver in his voice she didn't hear it. That could mean one of two things; either he has absolutely no clue why she might be upset with him, or he does and is trying to play innocent in hopes of getting off the hook.

"What's up? I'll tell ya what's up. You lured me into a field from Hell. THAT's what's up!

She stepped closer until she was practically on top of him, her foot landed almost in between his. She had never lost her eye contact with him, but found her head slowly tilting back as she got closer to the taller Wavemaster.

"I presume that there's something that I did wrong here, or else you wouldn't be glaring at me like that."

Her eyes narrowed as she released a heavy sigh. She could feel it coming on, another one of those moments where her mouth was going to run away and she'd be left behind picking up the pieces. Every good sense in her head was telling her to just walk away, but she couldn't.

"You can't even begin to fathom what you've done. Whether or not you have done something wrong or not has yet to be decided."

Her voice was low and firm. Someone would have to be standing right next them or have extremely acute hearing to know what was being said. Approaching him like she had would attract attention for sure by those that weren't in the front of the group, but there was no need to make a further obstacle of herself by yelling. She took a moment to think of her words carefully.

"Those defenses had been in place for years and you just stormed right on past them. No one, and I mean no one had managed to even get remotely close. Why would you bother doing that if your only intent was to gather reinforcements for your cause? You could have just asked. Wasn't my curious nature and desire to help enough to tell you that all you had to do was ask? Noooo, you had to go one more step. You had to make me think you actually wanted to be friends. Sad part was that I believed you and have considered you one this whole time which is the biggest reason I'm here in this fucking hell hole of a field; to watch your back, which by the way I've been failing miserably at thanks to those wings of yours taking you out of reach of anything I could possibly help with. But that's beside the point at the moment. Hell, were you even trying or was the fact that you succeeded to break through and win my trust just an extra added bonus?"

Emphasizing the last word, her hands came up and once clenched fists turned into open palms that landed squarely on either shoulder giving him a small shove backwards towards the tree behind him. Her heart was pounding behind the monitor. She hadn't been this agitated in a long time, especially with something that hit so close to home with her emotionally. She really had no family that she acknowledged having, so friends were that family. For the last two years up until now, her total friend and or family count totaled a whopping...one; her cousin Zane had been the only one to stick with her through it all.

She listened to him attempt to explain how he hadn’t meant for her to follow or recruit her into the group. Talal teetered on the proverbial fence of whether or not to believe him. It had become so common place to just hear the exact opposite of what everyone was saying because in the end, that’s what they were really trying to do…at least to her. Now, everything was actually making sense, which pissed her off even more because it meant that she was completely wrong and had just accused him of something that wasn’t true. Even the rigid cold of his voice and the look in his eyes was known, thanks to an earlier rather heated discussion they’d had. But it was the last that even though he sounded sincere, had her very confused and just a tad bit irritated.

”So somehow by me showing you I can finish the dungeon it makes me worthy to be your friend? What, you don’t think I can handle what that dungeon has to offer? You don’t think I can handle it, if you turn into some arrogant asshole or something because it’s a fucked up field and you get pissed about it? What? What is so horrible about you that I can’t handle? Humor me for once and just be straight up with me instead of constantly talking in fucking code all the time!”

Her voice was beginning to rise which not only gave away that he had gotten to her, but that they were now going to be attracting attention; so much for not making an obstacle of the situation.

He actually listened? Takua began telling her of the horrors he faced in the last field. The problem was that they sounded too unbelievable. Sure, they had seem some outlandish things so far in this field, but it was all done to the Juka Sprites, a race that was already part of the game, part of the programming. What he was saying sounded like it was coming straight out of some science fiction movie.

"Still want to be friends?"

Talal admitted to herself that at first, the whole shock factor had enveloped her. Then, she finally came to her senses, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms in front of her in disbelief. A quick flash of the Wavemaster standing at the Chaos Gate in Dun Lorieag, holding out a polite arm for her to grasp for balance and smiling happily.

"I'll believe that you may have tortured that guy for information however far fetched it seems from the Takua I know. But come on...vampire? You? The only thing that Dread Code has done for me is enhance my distaste for the smell of blood and mud mixed together."

He was trying to scare her and she knew it. For the most part, the shock treatment had caused her to shudder behind the monitor, if only because of the description of horror he used. She never was much for horror movies. However, she couldn't let him know she was shaken in the slightest. He had warned her about Dread Code and the things it could do but she was just one of those people that couldn't just accept such a sci-fi thing actually happening to a real person.

Sure, we can still be friends. If the vampire you ever surfaces again...bite me. Maybe I'll turn into one and fly around with you without having to have the wings."

Her humor backfired and in an apparently horrible way. His eyes, the motion of his body, his tone and movements were all the coldest she had ever seen. She couldn't back down from his tactics though because she had started this whole mess.

"You'll figure it out soon enough on your own."

Giving into him was not an option, but making light of the state he had been in obviously didn't set well either. It was her out though when faced with confrontation or when she was backed into a corner that she didn't know how to get out of. She knew he wasn't lying about those events. No one could have made up that kind of story.

"Takua...wait. Please. I..."

Dark brown eyes were suddenly heavy with guilt ladden sorrow and what she had just done. Her hand reached out for his arm as he passed. The grasp of his robe was all she managed, which slid through her fingers as he walked away. Her head dropped in embarrassment, anguish and dispair. His final words playing over and over again in her mind. Yes, she was certain she would find out soon enough when they reached the dungeon and she felt she was entering it with one less ally on her side and she only had herself to blame.

The young girl walked over to the opposite side of the tree and waited for the rest of the group to pass. It was obvious she knew nothing about being in these fields and it was best to follow and bring up the rear...quietly. The knowledge that the one person she had freely given her friendship to in this World and the real one, just turned his back and walked away, possibly forever. It was all she could do to keep her outward emotions in check as she stood their and waited staring blankly out into the forest.

The young female Twin Blade was doing her best to stay out of sight as the group passed by hoping she could bring up the rear and therefore wallow in her own utter failure alone. She had no desire to concern or attract attention from anyone else with her issues since she had no intention on letting it effect her ability to fight. She wasn't that dumb and blind. She also needed to just keep out of sight long enough to get her emotions in check. The devistation from everything that she started had come to a head and she couldn't hold back the drops that were beginning to fall from the corner's of each eye.

She put a hand up to her face and brought it back down to confirm a suspicion. First thing she was going to do after she was done with this field was to go find a lesser versioned headset that didn't transfer all of her facial expressions. Some things were better left private. Second, she would investigate how in the hell they managed to create such a device in the first place.

She closed her eyes and let it flow for a brief moment. It was a release of tension of sorts, not that it helped much. Takua's coldness about her finding out on her own said a lot. He felt she didn't believe what he had told her and possibly also that what he had told her, still lay very close to home inside of him meaning it was a very touchy subject. One that she probably shouldn't have joked about like she had. She was striken with guilt over the last bit knowing how that could feel which made it that much more difficult to keep in any audible sounds that she was crying.

“Talal-san? Are... are you alright? May I come over to your side of the tree?”

The sound of the small Archer's voice, ever so soft and hesitant sounding startled the dark haired girl into a panic, muttering under her breath at the thought of being caught.

"Shit"

Quickly she wiped away all remnants of letting her emotions out and took a slow step that had her continuing on around the tree. If Sekai was at the tree, the rest of the group had hopefully passed by already. Talal didn't want to appear like she had stopped to hide, even if she had done exactly that. Did she see what happened? Was that why she was approaching? Please say it isn't so and she's just investigating her disappearance for danger's sake. Sekai's next question however was a dead giveaway as to why she was there causing yet another muttered undertone before she responded.

Talal stopped her movement around the back side of the tree knowing she wasn't going to be able to just pretend she didn't hear the white haired girl. The Twin Blade turned her head slightly to the side to catch a glimpse of Sekai out of the corner of her eye and signal she heard her. This was going to be interesting to say the least. She was gonna straight up lie her ass off since the straight forward approach had bombed so wonderfully already.

"Oh! Hello Sekai. I'm fine and I don't think the tree has been assigned to my side or yours yet so I would imagine that means you can step where you like. Umm...this area is secure, or rather no further enemies have been spotted yet. My apologies, I didn't mean to fall behind?"

Playing dumb sometimes works, but would it work with her. She didn't know her well enough to know that yet so the Twin Blade just hoped for the best. The Archer's words, soft and sincere, had Talal's mind reeling about how to deal with it. It wasn't something she was used to coming her way; someone actually curious if she was alright instead of the other way around.

Sekai's height was playing its' advantage, allowing the shorter female to look into the Twin Blade's eyes, even though Talal was trying to avoid that particular contact at the moment. Thankfully, she was fairly certain that she had cleared up any physical appearance issues. A pause was taken to collect her thoughts before responding in a polite tone. Her head still hung somewhat, and her face held a heavily confused look to it.

"If you are concerned about my ability to fight, please don't be. I will do what needs to be done for the good of the group. I am... "

There were too many thoughts rushing through her mind of what had all just transpired and the Twin Blade found herself battling to not break in front of her Commander.

"Forgive me, I am not at my best. I have made a grave error in judgement and said something I shouldn't have. In answer to your question more precisely, I'm 'fine' in the respect of I will not let it affect the rest of the group or our mission. I'm not 'fine' in a more personal sense as I figure out how to deal with the consequences of my actions, which in this case may take me awhile. I appreciate your concern.

She bowed slightly in a polite gesture of gratitude and allowed her eyes to slowly glance in the last known direction Takua was headed when she caught sight of Kira headed his way. Her brow furrowed and panic began to strike once again.

"What...is Kira doing?"

"Kira asked me to come speak with you... not that I needed to have the request placed anyway. I... I was going to come and see for myself if you were okay, I believe she's going to go and speak with Takua-sa-"

Sekai's words fell on mostly deaf ears at that point as Talal's full attention lay on the scene that was now playing itself out across the way. Brown eyes grew to imense proportions when Kira struck the first time. A loud gasp that had the Twin Blade matching the Archer's movements of hand over mouth. When she saw the sudden jerk and the coiled fist, her feet immediately and swiftly began moving towards them.

"NO!"

Her facial expressions went from a look that would have resembled an 'OH SHIT', to one of worry to anger aimed at the female Long Arm all in two point two seconds flat. Why did she have to interfere? She was going to make things just that much worse and now Takua will probably think she asked Kira for help or something. Just great, that's all she needed to top off such a perfectly failed argument already.

Talal tried to run over towards the now flat on his back Wavemaster, but her forward momentum was haulted rather abruptly. The smaller player had grabbed her by the arm, leaning back with all her might and digging her feet into the ground. The female Twin Blade tugged the opposite direction, but she had to give her credit. The girl knew how not to let go.

Frustration of being confined from running and the overwhelming feeling that anything that may have remained in her favor, was now gone, Talal pleaded to the brink of a few teardrops making their way back down her face as she looked directly into the tawny colored eyes of the girl at the end of her arm.

"Why won't you let me go? She's just going to make things worse than I already have. If I haven't lost his friendship yet, this will certainly end it for sure! You've got to stop her! Please."

There was no more hiding her emotions from Sekai. The white haired girl obviously knew something and what words she did catch before going numb sounded as though she was attempting to be a closer acquaintance then just a higher ranking officer. After this however, making another new friend was quite low on her priority list…or would it?

“I have to trust that Kira will do the right thing; if she chooses to step into something, it isn't on a whim. If not her, then please, trust me to know that she's doing what she believes is best.”

Sekai raised a hand to her face slowly. Had it been a quicker movement, Talal out of instinct would have shut her eyes and braced for impact; a punishment of her stupidity by a ranking officer or perhaps the proverbial slap across the face with the 'pull it together man' tag clearly written on it. This was neither however. Her movement was slow and had she been able to actually feel the touch, the Twin Blade would have probably flinched from not being used to such personal contact for quite some time. As it was, Talal stood there keeping her arm taunt and trying a quick jerk once or twice just for good measure to see if the grasp would hold. Damn was she strong for such a short shit.

As she spoke, she held out the free hand that was covered in digital tears she had wiped from the Twin Blade's face. Her dark brow furrowed slightly at the mention of trust. Trust was just something she did easily, although it was something that had to be given before her friendship would be. In a big way, they went hand in hand but trust definately came first. She had put that trust in two people in The World so far but only because they had earned it in some fashion.

The white haired girl looked back up making eye contact once more. If Talal was reading her correctly, it was almost as if she was sharing in the Twin Blade's emotional state, but she chose not to question her about it. However, the look in her eyes struck something that made the black haired girl relax; her arm no longer taunt or trying to pull away and her shoulders slumped slightly. She listened to what Sekai had to say noting there was something in her speech, an accent of sorts perhaps. The green clad girl spoke as if she had known Takua for quite some time and knew him well. It made her wonder if Sekai was one of the friends he had been worried about during their first quest. Talal looked closer into the eyes of the Archer in front of her as if staring harder at her would provide her with answers.

The tears had finally stopped again and all she wanted to do was drop to her knees, but she remained standing. It was bad enough to have lost it in front of another player, but at least it had been another female that, from all apperances, suffered from similar emotional struggle or at least an understanding of such. It could have been worse. She could have lost it in front of one of the guys and then the only thing they would have seen her as from that point forward was some wimpy girl. Talal had already settled that score with a couple of guys in her past, showing them that she could have emotions, even cry once in awhile and was still strong enough to kick there miserable ass in a fight.

Hearing her last few words about demons and running away, made her realize that she hadn't really thought about the face he may actually be afraid of something. He had always put on such a good show. Confusion mixed with curiousity flowed through the girls expressions like an ocean flooding into a sinkhole.

"So, what you're saying is that he was telling me the truth about becoming a Vampire, here in the game? I guess part of me believed him all along, I mean, there was no reason for me not to. If I can believe, which I do, that you and the others can be stuck here and feel every strike of a blade, the effects of a spell, or the dampness of my tears on your hand..."

Talal sighed heavily, wondering if letting Sekai know that she knew was a good idea.

"...why shouldn't I believe that he could have been turned into another creature? If I can trust what he has told me, he is not yet stuck here and that is a big reason why I'm here in this field. To watch his back and hope that whatever I can offer will keep him from suffering... suffering the same fate as his friends although part of me is afraid that he would welcome that fate with open arms."

Another heavy sigh and the Twin Blade broke the eye contact that was threatening her with another breakdown.

"As for trusting you or Kira I will say this. I once gave my trust and my friendship freely until one day, it was used to mislead me. So now, trust and friendship are not something I'm able to do easily. I have given both to Takua, but I don't think they were received if that makes any sense, which hurts me greatly in ways I can't explain. So please forgive me if I say I'm not able to put my trust in you and Kira at this time. I don't mean any disrespect or ill intent towards you. I just can't allow myself to cross that boundary again...not yet. I hope you understand."

What on earth did she just do? Talal was caught heavily between not letting her emotions control her actions again and wanting so badly to put her faith in the small white haired girl standing in front of her. It had been so long since she had actually talked to a female outside of customers at work, that she almost forgot what it was like.

“I do not blame you... for being concerned.”

After being manhandled by her, the Twin Blade was a little confused at how she backed off and seeminly shyed away at some of the finer points of their conversation. Why did it feel like perhaps they had more in common than either of them wanted to let on.

“It's... it's okay. Trust is... something that should not be given out easily. After all, who knows when... when it may be used to injure you in the end, right?”

Obviously, situational differences considering the cultural gap that Talal pretty much knew existed between them, but there was a chord struck if only based on the hint of a smile and the response about trust and how it could be used to hurt in the end. Ohh, how that was so true.

The reaction, how she let go and broke eye contact almost had the taller girl feeling like she had still managed to offend Sekai by not trusting her. It was also in all likelyhood that she was just misreading her body language. Afterall, she did smile. Smiles were always a sign that everything was okay...right?

Shit!

Damn herself all to hell for not being able to tell or to constantly second guess where she stood with people. That really wasn't what was important at the moment though as brown eyes followed the ground until they fell upon the pair across the way. What had she done and why had she allowed it to break out from the safety of her mind for others to see? Her walls at this point were so broke that even a master craftsman wouldn't be able to fix them so while one part of her tried desperately to keep it all in, the other followed her heart. It was when she did so that always got her in trouble but, just maybe this time it would be different. She couldn't hide and shy away from it forever unless she wanted to live a very lonely life.

Having stood there for a long moment now in heavy contemplation, Talal made a leap of faith and hoped it wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass later.

"I would really like to give you my trust and my friendship, Sekai. I just don't want to have history repeat itself and give it where it is not necessarily wanted."

Her eyes stared at Takua for a long while before dropping and returning to the ground at her feet. No one knew if the small Archer would be able to pick up on what she was truly trying to say, since she couldn't get the words to be spoken aloud.

"I don't know what will happen now with him. I can only hope for the best. I will stay clear of him and do what I can from afar and let him cool down. If you don't mind, I'm going to go sit down until we're ready to move out. Thank you, for caring enough to try and do what you thought was best. Both of you.

Not knowing what else to do, Talal walked slowly back over to the tree and sat down pulling her knees in close and wrapping her arms around her legs to hold them there, propping her chin atop her knees. Looking out, Kira was on her way back over. Lord only knew what she was going to say if anything to the Twin Blade after all of that. Right now, she just wanted to try and clear her mind and get ready for the dungeon, but yet another ping told her she wasn’t going to be that lucky.

Takua was apologizing and offering further explanation but only if she was willing this time to believe what he was saying and truly listen to him. At this point, she was more than willing to just shut up and listen and do her best to believe everything he had to say. Sekai had pretty much sealed that end of things. There was just something about the small Archer that said she never lied. She composed a quick reply to ease his mind so he would hopefully enter the dungeon with a little less guilt on his shoulders.

-Zan-

Nothing.

He felt nothing.

Zan’s glacial eyes took in the details just as the others - Saol’s remains violated and a warning impaled into his skull - but was not moved. What felt like years with the Freedom Fighters had hardened his heart to some of the more pragmatic truths about war. To accomplish your goals the enemy needed to die. That was that. Amidst even that, sometimes troops needed a boost in morale, needed to feel like they had given the opposition the proverbial ‘fuck you’ finger. Though it didn’t appear to be accomplishing that in all of the Eventide’s scattered members, it did something for Kira and Nemera. That was important. Was it something the Lycan would have ever suggested? No…but it was done. Hell if he was going to mourn the desecration of a psychopath’s corpse. The female Heavy Blade’s proceeding collapse jolted his nerves from their indifference, but, as always, Sidhe was there to catch her. A flare of his nostrils and Zan knew she was in a bad way. The Swath Sickness, an affliction that smelled of blood, pus and oil, slithered hot and scaly through her veins with nothing but malice. If they didn’t find the promised antidote soon, she wouldn’t make it. What the Sickness did to someone when it hollowed them out and completed its work wasn’t an insight that the player desired to possess. He was perfectly satisfied being left in the dark if it meant the woman lived. She had what it took to properly lead an army to victory and, though they were hardly an army, the Eventide Crescendo couldn’t afford to lose that kind of talent. Not this deep into the muck.

Gyl’s Flashmail, one by one, snatched the collective away from the tumor-stricken paradise. Zan would have liked to say he was reluctant to leave, that he wanted to get the whole mess done and over with, but that would have been a lie. Fact of the matter was, even the werewolf was starting to grow a little unnerved from the weight of what they had experienced so far. The Heavy Blade had gone up against his fair share of fuglies and freaks in his time in the game, but never had he pitted himself against an entity like the Swath. Violence was its skin, disturbia its blood, hatred its bones, darkness the brain that operated the twisted construct and madness the soul that powered it all. Having been psychologically raped by the…thing…the lycanthrope had a rather bright light on its otherwise shadowed and unknown inner workings. It was the essence of everything that could go wrong in the world on every conceivable scale. It was the person butchering their family, a beloved pet stepping into oncoming traffic, the black hole that ate worlds…all of it. Thinking back on it made Zan shudder, icy picks digging down his spine. How the man would spend his time wasn’t in question. Though he had been given a brief reprieve from his quest, that didn’t equate to slumber and feeding. Eating. Slumber and eating. Rather, it meant only that he was to go out and hone skills that he had seen lacking in the recent clashes. Physical engagement would keep his mind sharp and his body sharper. There was no time for introspection that could just as easily leave him the disembodied pity machine that had woken from Lowen’s funeral as it could a stronger asset to the team. The juice wasn’t worth the squeeze.

The trio of golden rings swallowed him without another thought.



The name was deceptive. Brown Wyrm, that was. The thing was clearly more a stony grey with shades of penciled graphite and splashes of treaded cement. It had been a creature of hovered might. Great wings had beaten slashes of wind against the cracked, canyon terra. Massive lungs exhaled oxygen in snarls and snorts. Climbing up its twisting back had been like ascending a jagged mountain face, fingertips scraping raw against the various nooks and crannies as Zan fought to stay perched, struggled to keep his lean advantage while the world around him spun in frantic lurches. Even with his preternatural muscle, wielding the Plasma Blade one handed while the other clung for dear, desperate life had been something of a challenge. Alright, that was a bit of an understatement, but anymore would fly in the face of the poor Lycan’s ego. Slamming the oversized weapon through the back of the Wyrm’s neck had felt akin to punching his hand through granite - possible, but painful and jarring. What did it matter now, though? Coming up from his crouch, both hands curled into white-knuckled fists around the sword’s grip, Zan yanked it from its stubborn sheath and stared down at the not-Brown Wyrm that resisted him no more. The wolf in him stretched, flexing its metaphysical presence in lieu of yet another victory.

A peaceful gust dried the cooling sweat that drenched him, infiltrating the array of wide bite marks and the gouged claw-slashes in his clothing. Quite frankly, the Heavy Blade was in tatters. The single Wyrm hadn’t done the job alone. Eyes still on fire with the adrenaline still thinning in his blood, an amber flame within distinctly inhuman irises, swept the abused battlefield that looked not unlike the aftermath of the Eventide Crescendo’s head-to-head with the Saol. Ghosts, memories of the slayfest indulged played like bad videos in his mind. A handful more of the trying Brown Wyrms here, a duo of House Golems and the odd firecracker drill that whined in their chest like a rattling spear there…the day had completely consisted of it. There had been fields with Harpy Queens and Wander Demons and a myriad of other grinds that he hadn’t had the chance to test himself against before. The levels that he had accumulated in the Prison Field had served as the necessary stokes to his hearth to get the job done. How long had it been, really? As he so often reviewed, Zan’s perception of time could no longer be relied on. For some of those trapped within “The World”, temporal recollections were skewed and ‘wrong.’ Going field to field, cleaving down what dare stand before him…the whole thing seemed like a couple weeks. The werewolf could practically call upon distinctions that demanded it. Yet…how long had it really been? A few hours? Days? Again, he wondered if it mattered. Pondering too thoroughly on the matter was likely only to lead to headaches and personal debates.

PING!

Besides, he had places to be.



Mac Anu’s sunset skies struck Zan’s eyes like a beautiful woman; ember-orange locks flowed across the horizon, over grain-gold flesh and around the royal blues and purples of an ornate dress lined in rare slivers of ivory trim. The warm hand of the unnamed goddess caressed his cheek as the player’s head lifted and lids shut to her graceful dance above. The serenity of the moment could not be indulged too long, as much as the Heavy Blade would have desired otherwise, for Gyl had struck the Eventide gong and their numbers had been summoned to again breach the smudged reflection of a field. Gating Out had placed him in the opportune position next to the Chaos Gate so Baron’s request was discarded. There would be no chance for violence, not unless Zan actively sought it. Which, as fun as it would be, would only put unneeded pressure on his allies. Damn. For one last selfish second, the werewolf’s gaze remained on the amorphous, celestial canvas. He could almost feel Lowen next to him then, holding his hand with her deceptively dainty-looking fingers that hid hard years in their knuckles, with a soft smile splitting her thin, always kissable lips. It made his heart ache. The moment the lycanthrope felt that downtrodden tsunami rise like God’s wrath above him, frantic keywords were entered and he was taken from that town. From himself.



The hot rays of the Juk Prison’s sun felt changed as the rings deposited him upon the soft, vegetation-ridden soil. No longer did they seem like the fingers of some deity reaching through to ease them, a sanctuary from the presence of the Swath. Now they felt more like the soldering tips of the devil’s pitchfork burning through the canopy to brand them all. For Zan, there was no point. Samael had already kissed the left side of his face with silver lips.

Aside from the chirp of the occasional bird, it was bickering that reached the ears of the Heavy Blade upon his arrival. Though he was yards away from them, slowly trudging through the lush underbrush with imposing steps, Zan’s apt vision displayed all three parties with detail and perfect clarity. Sidhe and Baron seemed keen to remain distanced from the other two, allowing them their venting and the hopeful reconciliation before they waltzed into the Pit. Sekai was putting Talal at ease for the same argument that Kira appeared to be ripping Takua a new one for. No surprise there. The AI seemed to always have a knack for sticking her upturned nose into other people’s business like a dog’s muzzle getting a little too intimate with your ass. Except this dog was more inclined to rip your rump roast apart than give an innocent sniff. Poor kid. The only reason Zan hadn’t completely written the Long Arm off as dimwitted fuck up was because of what he had learned before the Eventide Crescendo had gathered in the maze of back alleyways. For a reason unknown to him, Sekai had laid with her. If there was one person in the world who’s judgment he trusted, it was the Archer’s. There had to be something else to the icy woman that was worth loving. Or, more accurately in Zan’s case, worth tolerating the steaming pile of flaws Kira possessed. The one thing that managed to reach his eyes now was the fact that the overbearing individual had Sekai’s back. The werewolf could respect nothing more.

That same thought had briefly downcast blues staring at the glossy, ink black cuffs at his wrists. Normally wide open, wolven eyes that shined their ephemeral emeralds like jewels were firmly shot. Most situations would have that dictating Nulus’ manifestation in the game, but this time it inclined only his conscious absence. All the energy he had spent protecting Zan’s mind from the Swathling that sought entrance had earned him some rest, for sure, but the Heavy Blade wasn’t enjoying the silence. Left to his own devices, to that void, his mind had the nasty habit of eating at itself, hungry for guilt, like a starved animal. Hopefully the end of this mission would see the Shade’s reemergence onto the Lycan’s mental scene. Ironic. Never would Zan have imagined himself in a position where he missed the pestering vocals and jabbed, mischievous insults. Oddly, they were becoming like brothers. Like it or not, the two were bound to one another - take one away and the other suffered for it. There was also the question of whether or not the player would be able to become Nahnan if the group needed it, but that was an obstacle he’d fret about when the time came. Doing so now would only stack his already daunting collection of worries that much higher.

Zan took a deep breath.

With an aura of infallible confidence, impenetrable to even those who knew him best, the man made his way to the others. It was time to do this.

((OOC: HOORAYSHITTYPOSTOFSHIT DX))

-there hadn't been time to worry about the danger, her place in the back row was no longer needed; not when there was something she could do to help potentially change the outcome of the battle. Kira suddenly appeared at her side, their legs moving swiftly as they flanked behind the leader of the Wild Hunt, Talal and Baron's attempts at knocking him down were too direct, he'd either kill or avoid them all together. With a quick glance and a flash of feelings and intent sent through their link, the two timed their attack to be as fluid and synchronized as possible and snapped out with all the strength in their battle weary bodies.

Something popped and gave beneath their feet, Sekai's stomach protesting at the sound even as she caught the fierce sense of satisfaction ripple through the AI beside her. Pressed to his knees, the two women leaped out of the way, Sekai suddenly getting and odd, disconnected feeling that they were all assaulting their enemy as if... as if they were a pride of lions or of wolves or something that worked as a strategic team to take something down. Kira spat at the sound of Jula's name, her amber eyes flashing fiercely as the predator within her- the noblewoman who desired blood payment in return for what he'd wrought over the field, an entire AI race and to those around her- snarled in her veins and within her heart for vengeance.

The spell decimated an already dying form, overkill, but absolutely fitting to the bastard.

Sekai became aware of it, the hair on the back of her neck rising as she stared at the orange-purple lines rippling through Saol's remains, the recognition and terror clear on her face as she grabbed Kira's hand and whirled, pulling her almost violently toward the treeline as Sidhe's shout encouraged the rest of them to move as well.

“Back! Now! Get behind a tree!”

The scent of blood filled her nose, burning, boiling and coppery that stuck to the roof of her mouth and down her spasming throat as she huddled against the gigantic tree, fingers digging deep into the bark in front of her as Kira walled her in, covering the much smaller girl with her own body in case something exploded from behind.

Kira set her teeth against the shrill sound of the fucking explosion, her hands covering Sekai's as best she was able to do; her hands bigger than the girl's own and covered them to further dull the sound to make it easier on one of them. She remembered the smell of this kind of battle from before, sure, the Dread Code made it infinitely more uncomfortable and her skin was crawling with an unclean feeling, like she'd need to purify herself in the coldest river she could find, and she could feel her little one shudder from the assault to her sensitive nose.

It was over.

The general sense of the finished battle seemed to hit them all in one way or another as they milled about, examining the damage, the extent of what the cost had been for their victory and likely checked on one another in their own unique ways. Sekai was shaky, her eyes averting from the carnage as she examined everyone, trying to assert if anyone needed a La Repth or anything of the sort.

Kira strode forward, her shoulder straight, head held proud and the lightning within those amber eyes enough to put a loyal servant of Wryneck running for their life. Her head cocked to the side, a stoic, regal air surrounding her like an invisible cloak as she stared at the broadsword, the edges pressed against the ground as she reached for it and began the struggle to heft the bloody thing up.

A hand suddenly appeared beside her own, the amber eyes and arctic, regal air freezing between the two for a scant instant as she measured the woman in some way and, with a barely there curve of her lips, allowed the female Heavyblade to do as she pleased. With the broadsword in the ground and the approval clear in the leader of the Eventide Crescendo's eyes- who knew that she had a sadistic streak in her as well? Not to mention she didn't need such a thing to accomplish her intent anyways- Kira's arm swept down and deftly picked the severed head from Saol's body from the ground.

The smile on her face might have made the general shit his pants as she examined the head, as if she were going to collect it like an old pagan Goddess and display it, before slamming it down upon the pommel of the sword in a macabre imitation of the small child's head they'd seen at the beginning of the field. Her fingers reached out, feeling the revulsion and horror from Sekai through their link- only making her smile grow wider- and sank into his eye sockets like it was nothing. A sickening squelch and a slight bit of resistance followed the removal of both of the organs within her hands. Smiling at them and hoping that he still had some vague spirit around to see what was being done, she set the second squishy sphere with its mate and busted the jaw with a satisfying snap.

And the tongue was removed soon after, the semi-slimy thing no match for her fingernails as she tore it out and dropped it neatly to the ground with a flop that was more disgusting than anything else. The eyeballs were set in, peeking up at whoever would come to examine the barbaric battle carnage, and she stepped away, allowing Sekai to use a Pure Water to clean her hands as the thrill of icy energy sent a shiver down her back.

Nemera added a finishing touch, Kira smiling in approval to the woman in a wondrous reversal of roles right before the leader collapsed-

Flashmail had awakened them less than five minutes before, Sekai reequipping her armor while Kira adjusted the tie on her top and pulled her hair into her classic trademark bun. Joining the crowd while silently talking through their link about the flashmail contents with a concerned look from the Juk-blessed Archer at those who weren't comatose- specifically at one certain Rue affiliated Wavemaster who'd been last seen draped over a snow leopard's back.

The Knights presented a problem, Kira's muttered one of her 'owe myself 50 GP' in an attempt to inject some humor into the situation as they made their way through an opening in the crowd, Sekai and herself using tricks- ducking behind smaller crowds and tripping them with their weapons rather than assault right out- until they reached and gathered with the others. The field was uncomfortable- to say the least and-

Any further examination was stopped by the way Talal moved.

Kira grinned to herself, a private smile playing on her lips as she observed, Sekai nervously standing beside her and watching the interaction play out.

And... it failed, miserably. The expression on Talal's face had said it all as she retreated. Sekai looked up at Kira, knew that glint in her eye and sighed privately. Accepting her role Kira had requested of her, she tried to talk with Talal, finding it difficult and had to bodily restrain her- an easier feat than she'd believed ever possible for someone like her- from running over when Kira delivered a rather cringe worth blow.

Kira strode back, icy fury and impatience in her eyes as she settled next to Sekai and communicated silently back and forth with her once again. There was a smug sense of satisfaction about the AI, as if something she'd done had made her rather content despite how pissed even the little Archer could feel without Kira saying it directly at the Wavemaster.

Sekai frowned; what had Kira slipped into his robes and... what was going to happen to them now?

-GM-

Nemera wasn’t the same. As Sidhe watched her and Kira exact their revenge upon what was left of the general of the Wild Hunt, he felt her grow a little further from him. Since the day they had decided to rebel against the simple recon missions Nall had them on, the female Heavy Blade had undergone a metamorphosis. The dark, hardened personality that she’d show sometimes in private gatherings in a Theta hideout that had long since been abandoned had been given an opportunity to flourish in the field. Was it necessary? The Long Arm feared so. Still, watching her do what she did, Sidhe couldn’t help but sense that metaphorical bond change. They would always be friends, the best of, but now he viewed it - and her - through an entirely different lens. Part of him mourned that loss, grieved at the ache in his chest for the effects of war, and in turn he too grew a little colder. Any level of tenderness would be abused in the coming times, so it was something he should have probably thanked her for. Nemera had embraced the philosophy of conflict with open arms like a familiar, long-lost lover. Sidhe had resisted that oncoming, but felt such resilience waning under the weight of events. A look to the others, to the EC’s wayward vagabonds, and winced. It was clear on a few of their faces that they had lost respect for their leader, or were in some way horrified, and he couldn’t blame them. Nothing good could come of that seed if they allowed it to grow too strong, too tall. It was something the sapphire-hued player would have to keep an eye on. For the whole.

And she fell.

There was no thought process involved. There was only reflex. One moment smiling, proud of her deed, and the next consciousness was being sucked from her eyes. The Heavy Blade was dead weight in his arms, but Sidhe kept her up just the same. Everything that had bothered him not seconds before slipped away like whispers. He could hardly remember why Nemera had seemed like a phantom of her old self before. The squall of concern and affectionate that struck him, capsizing his heart, fought those self-made demons away. Who cared about conduct if she was dead? None of it mattered until her eyes fluttered open again and she shoved him to stand up on her own. The Long Arm would have liked to believe he came across as levelheaded on the surface, but he knew it wasn’t the case a few layers under. Panic and fear seized him, swelling his brain in a toxic broth, and Gyl’s Flashmail came as something of a lifesaver. It was the perfect distraction, an excuse to get away from everything with Nemera and fret on his own time. Alone. Unwatched. The party didn’t need to see both of their leaders losing it in too short a timeframe. Morale was as important as survival, if not a factor of that very thing, and the corroded blade of the Juk Prison field had left some of them with scars already. This would give them a reason to relax and recuperate before the real shit hit the industrial-sized fan.

Sidhe was the last to go.

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The day and night, for Sidhe and the sleeping Nemera, were spent sweating inside the unlit safety of some dilapidated hovel in Mac Anu. The occasional crack in the walls around them let in slivers of light from the sun (and eventually silvery tendrils from the moon) that made things not seem like a complete black hole. They even allowed the ever-worried Long Arm to listen in on the occasional passing of players and whatever it is they had to talk about. Due to the location, of course, most of what Sidhe heard were Player Killer schemes and wannabe hacker plots, but it gave him something to pull his mind to. There were a few times he tried to sleep, tried to blank out his mind and grab a few golden z’s, but it was always in vain. With Nemera’s now-labored breathing, clammy flesh and uneven heartbeats (there was a time or two that, fingers to her neck, he could have sworn the organ stopped completely) he could not indulge in something as selfish as slumber. It was a luxury too out of reach. Sidhe had even contemplated Flashmailing Takua or Baron to watch over her while he passed out, but ego and his lack of trust for her care outside his own hands prevented it. There would be time for all that after they healed Nemera and after they laid the smack down on whatever twisted crap the dungeon would throw at them.

There was a heartbeat there where Sidhe suspected he was nodding off, but a Flashmail took care of that. Whether he was grateful or enraged, well…something to decipher another time. Gyl was safe, it appeared, and that’s what mattered. A second message flashed in his inbox, one explaining what was going to be done to the female Heavy Blade’s arms and how to work it, and was deleted as soon as it was read. Alright then. Time to get back to work. The Long Arm should have gotten up right then, knowing the others may need his help against the Knights, but he found his body oddly resistant. Thoughts bogged him down, cowardly contemplations, and it disgusted him. Nemera needed his help, Sekai, Talal, Baron, Takua, Zan, Alana…all of them. Yet here he sat in the dark and dreary peace because it was just that - peace. Oh sure, worry and paranoia gnawed at him, but it was the closest he had come to experiencing it in a long time. Times between fields had been all preparation, all analysis and debate. With the last bringing about the loss of another of their numbers, one who had been with them for all of the journey so far, the clash of words with Nemera had been fierce. Sidhe was sick of bringing along innocents, recruiting them from the BBS like ignorant soldiers, but Nemera argued its necessity. After all, she said, isn’t that where they seemed to be getting the best warriors? The most passionate? The most human? If it were anybody else, the cerulean-decorated player would have accused her of becoming another Nall.

At that, he rose up and gathered her with him, arranging Nemera in the proper position to fuse her arms. The shabby door was pushed aside and, in the thrall of sunshine, he ran for the Chaos Gate.

No more stalling.

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Like a bad dream - the initially glitched vision not helping the simile - the falsely comforting arms of the field welcome everyone in. One by one they gathered, one by one they worked out frustrations (well, two or three of them anyway) that should have been taken care of back in the Root Town. Ah well. Sidhe was just glad they were doing it now, before turmoil would only complicate the matters at hand. Now, despite the unprofessional timing, it was acting as something of a release. Hell, maybe the two squabbling children and their nosy mother would make themselves stronger for it. He could only hope. Alana was the last to join them, falling in a whoosh of ornate rings, and with her they were ready to move things forward. A general call was made to gather and follow, Sidhe’s words quick and focused. It was spoken in such a fashion that there could be no mistaking the gravity of what they were headed towards. It said without actually speaking the words that they were to switch to a militaristic mentality. Everything around them was a danger. Everything from the soil to the sky wanted to see them die. No, not simply to perish. The field itself wanted to revel in their suffering. They had to understand this, to the bone, or they would not survive. Hopefully they gathered as much from the deceiving simplicity of his orders.

The walk was steady, not rushed or spastic, and was held in mostly a complete silence like a group of Green Berets closing in upon their target. Some faces were straight and stony, others downcast or worried, but still they walked on. If there was any one thing that unified them, it was a sense of purpose there. None of the Eventides doubted it. Not fifteen minutes of this and they found themselves standing before a mountainside, at its base; a sight not unlike those of the mines. The one key difference lay in the embellished seal some of them had grown to detest imposed upon the otherwise flawless slice of earth like a bad growth. Hand after hand, some more hesitantly than others, pressed upon its surface and, body by body, the green clouds of energy were sucked onto its mystic surface and transported to a place they were unlikely to ever forget. At first, Sidhe was confused. The persisting blackness, even as the sound of his transport was complete, made him think something was wrong. It was only when a vague pulsation of florescent light made itself known from far behind the outline of the two doors in front of him did he realize it was just dark. The doors were a swinging, plastic-y grey with an almost imperceptible glaze of the lightest blue. Each had small, vertically turned rectangular windows - also seemingly plastic - with crosshatched black lines and a bare, dirtied visibility to what lay beyond. Sidhe pushed them both casually aside and walked on in.

The floor was the same grey/light blue concoction as the doors they had come through and couldn’t be mistaken as anything but the drab visual of an old hospital. The walls supported this theme, this color scheme, and was riddled with scratches and peeling paint. The air smelled stale, an old dance of faded ammonia and something coppery and harsh, and it tasted about as appetizing. There were no auditory clues, however, to offering up anything on that spectrum. Everything was eerily still and hauntingly quiet, something the Long Arm wasn’t sure if he preferred or detested. Past the doors as they were, the group found themselves in a short hall, split like a ‘T’, with a single door at its immediate end. A bit more solid than the twins they had come through, its steel composition (still keeping to the hue of the place) seemed cold even from where Sidhe stood. Above it, almost invisible without its backdrop light, was a sign that read simply ‘Power Supply.’ Due to the fact that, save for the flickering sign to its left (one that ended in an arrow tip and read ‘Resistant’), the place was as pitch as the entrance…well, the player figured they’d be headed there first. A look above would show dual-rod lights spaced out every few feet, but they weren’t doing any good. A second glance to the signs beside the doors and Sidhe found his head at a slight tilt. While the illuminated one spelled out ‘Resistant’, its sibling to the right of the power supply door displayed an opposing ‘Compliant.’

It implied much, a bit too much, but Sidhe left it be for now. First, some lights. Then he could let the little horror show start to get to him. He moved and everyone followed, all with their own current observations, until they were in the midst of the t-intersection itself. The end of the halls to their right and left were double steel doors that, when Baron and Takua went off to investigate, would not open. Electronic locks, maybe? That, or the group was screwed before they had even gotten started. Crossed fingers were rewarded when the male Long Arm opened the Power Supply entrance without so much as a groan of resistance from the thing. Good. A wash of colder, but equally old air crawled around them, slithering in even the tiniest hole in their outfits, but Sidhe resisted the impulse to shiver. Everything beyond - gasp - was as black and indiscernible as the rest of the place thus far. Still, hoping to get lucky, the Eventides pressed on just the same. They did their best to stick together, using vocals to keep track, but dispersion was unavoidable. It was Talal who voiced a suggestion of illuminating weapons and a handful of stupid-feeling groans of agreement met it. Those who could, did, and it was a few grains of sand through the hourglass later before some of them had temporary torches and those who didn’t tagged along. They all seemed to have wandered into its center, none of the light reaching its walls, so the next step saw them fanning out.

My kingdom for a light switch…

A girlish squeal, one clearly belonging to their miniature Archer, preceded the ear-tingling static hum of electricity slowly coming to life. Little by little, the entire room became a giant bulb of green light that rose the hair on their arms like a balloon hovered over each and every one of them. It was some trick of physics that stopped the same thing of becoming their hair. Sidhe almost wondered if the comedic value of it would have helped cushion what they saw. An almost accountable number of Incu horns littered nearly every single inch of space around them like the pride and joy of some vicious hunter. That’s what gave the room its color. A myriad of cables and wires stabbed into them, disappearing into various points in the warehouse-sized room with a ceiling that stretched up almost as high as the Falls Golem had been tall. The shade of the luminance and its origin gave the room an atmosphere that made Sidhe feel awkward in his own skin. Sick bastards.

A more logical voice piped up from Kira’s mouth. “Sekai, how did you…?”

Looking confused, standing next to one of the horns, Sekai answered. “I-It shocked me…”

Alana stepped forward before any more baffled discussion could take place. “They just require the touch of a Juk-affiliated player to activate. Jula put the Power Supply room near the entrance in case there was ever an emergency.” A brief pause. “You see, you can’t use a Sprite Ocarina in here. The only way to actually leave the dungeon, without the help of some ingenious hacker, is to make your way up here. That means you’d have to pass by it on your way out. All of the normal rooms in this dungeon, last I knew, were electronically activated. I’m sure half of her twisted lab rat subjects are hooked up to similar devices. If you turned off all the power before you left, if things got hairy, everything would lockdown. So…”

Sidhe took it from there. “Nothing gets out. If they don’t have the right person with them, nothing gets in either. Kind of clever, I hate to admit. It also puts everyone in a bit of a sticky situation if the wrong person got to it, though. The exit would be not twenty feet from them.”

Alana nodded. “Jula was the only one who could move manually about in this place. She didn’t have the Twilight ability to teleport, but she had designed this place to imitate that. She was almost always here, so it was something easily remedied. The rare times she did leave, she left the power to someone else. Used to be me, but obviously that isn’t the case now.”

Sidhe nodded, but it was an idle motion. With this miniature puzzle solved, his focus was again on the way they had come through with a singular pondering plaguing him.

What came next?

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((OOC:

Map!

Alright folks, you should know what to do at this point. Action scripting, action scripting, and some more action scripting. Always feel free to ask me questions.

Enjoy!

:OOC))

Takua was struggling with himself. He knew that he’d been wrong, partly, in how he had dealt with Talal. He needed to resolve that somehow, figure out where she stood within him…inside of a self that seemed more and more confused as time went on. He wasn’t even sure how he was going to figure out where she stood in the first place…and he also knew that, however much he did or didn’t tell her about the Eventide Crescendo, that seemed to be the real reason she was so angry at him. Because he had put up signals that she was a friend, but then was acting like he wasn’t. He sighed and gave up for the time being. Sidhe was apparently ready to move on now that Alana was back, and gave them a speech that, quite likely, Nemera would have delivered were it not for the fact that she was still sick.

Both of the two leaders made the Wavemaster pause. Sidhe…well, to say that he looked exhausted and ready to sleep for the week that it would take between Juk and Rai was a bit of an understatement. He wasn’t sure how Nemera was still alive, but he wasn’t sure if it was pure force of will or something else. Very likely she was hanging on by the skin of her teeth…and it showed that it was causing a strain on Sidhe and the rest. Bad morale. What floor was the cure on? Hopefully it was only the second, maybe the third. No later than that though. They couldn’t afford for it to be any later than that. After the speech was done, he began to walk with the group…and suddenly something felt off about his robe. As if there was something in it. He blinked, reaching inside of it…and pulling out a Water Magic that he most definitely didn’t have before. His eyes bugged out at the sight of the rare, wondering how the hell it had gotten inside of his robe. That was when more than a few things clicked together, and he spun around to look at Kira with his jaw falling wide open.

His gaze of disbelief met a glare that told him on no uncertain terms that she was still pissed at him for what he had done with Talal. More confusion there. Why the hell had she, of all people, given him a Water Magic?! She looked away from him then…and at the last second, there was a small, tiny, motherfucking, shit-eating grin that blossomed for him to see. He had to be insane, he thought lucidly, he had to be seeing things. First of all, there was no way that the book in his hands was a real Water Magic, second of all, Kira couldn’t have given it to him….

He was pretty sure that the tiny popping sound that he heard was an aneurism, but he wasn’t sure.

Shaking his head, he continued to walk, equipping the Book to give him another small bonus to his Rue stat. He started to walk again with the group, having halted because of the still rather disturbing few seconds that he had just moments ago. They eventually made it to the dungeon itself, thankfully without another ambush by the Swath. There, another mountain awaited them that looked vaguely like the Mines themselves…except that the entrance was obviously the huge sigil for Jula on a perfectly smooth slab of rock. He sighed momentarily, eyes hardening as he touched it and was whisked away to the dungeon proper. It was time, he thought to himself. Now would be a good time for another flashmail, assuming that they weren’t forced to fight instantly.

The entrance was, in a way, anticlimactic. They went from the darkness of the loading screen…to a nearly pitch-black entrance room. He wasn’t Immersed though, which meant that the Dread Code count in this portion was relatively low. There was no doubt though that there was some. There was practically no visibility, and it was only after a tiny flicker of light from beyond what was apparently a door that they could actually figure out where to go. Sidhe took point, and Takua fell in a few feet behind him. Close enough to assist, far enough away so that he wouldn’t be killed in an opening attack.

That done, he returned to what they were doing. It was more than a little disturbing that there was no sound at all other than themselves, and he wasn’t to keen on the complete lack of light either. Or the oppressive stillness, of age that surrounded the hallway. Worse for him, the walls reminded him of a hospital…which reminded him, in turn, of PolyBeta Hall. Not a pleasant place to remember by any stretch of the imagination. Granted, there obviously wasn’t any power. Which made him wonder…how was this place lit up? More to the point…ah. At the end of the hallway was the magical room that they would want. Very simply named Power Supply. However…something that was even more worrisome and odd were the two doors at the intersection. He walked down to the door that was had a sign labeled Resistant pointing at it, trying to open it up. Barely visible with the other sign, Compliant. Remembering what Alana had said about the first two floors of the dungeon…he shivered. This wasn’t going to be a good floor at all.

However…one question that ran through his brain echoed weakly. Just how long had this place been shut down? For how long had this place been left, shut down like it was? He couldn’t feel the age as well as those who were in The World could, but even to a regular player, you could practically see it. Sidhe though seemed to be able to open the Power Supply room…even though that was just as fucking dark as the rest of the area had been. After Talal suggested that they bring out illuminating weapons, he took out his Stormlord’s Rod. There was a mild Rai glow from it, but it didn’t seem to reach very far. He started to spread out, hoping that there would be someway to activate whatever it was that powered the installation. On the other hand…maybe they shouldn’t try and reactivate the dungeon. There might just be very good reasons why it had been deactivated….

It was almost instantly after that thought that Sekai let loose a very girlish squeal, which was followed by a zap of electricity and a quiet hum that signified that she had, indeed, found whatever it was that would give this place life again. Green light began to build up in the room…and suddenly they were all able to see what exactly the sign meant by Power Supply. There were thousands of Incu horns that littered the walls, practically packed in inch by inch, all of them wired up and vanishing into the walls. How many…of those poor animals did Jula butcher in order to make this dungeon?

The ensuring conversation was short and fascinating to the Wavemaster. What an ingenious safety device in case something started to turn absolutely nasty. Of course, if the shit really did hit the fan in Falls Golem sized chunks, there was no way that everyone would be able to get out of the installation before someone cut the power and put the entire place on lockdown. By the mere fact that it was on lockdown, that meant that something really bad had occurred…and that there would be dead members of Jula’s army, presumably, later on. More than likely it’d be a bloodbath…but he couldn’t shake the feeling that, if it had gotten bad enough that they’d been forced to put the place into a lockdown, they were going to be walking into a world of hurt. Which actually made him wonder for just a moment how the Juka Higher had let things slide down to this state…which reminded him that she couldn’t get into the field anymore. He turned and faced the Progeny, asking the question that had plagued him for quite some time.

“Alana...how did the Juka Incarnation seal Jula out of this field?

"Alana was the first, and last, to try and gain personal power from the Incarnation. She, somehow, managed to create a link between her data and the creature. It gave her power, incredible power, but the reason why it wasn't mimed by any other is because of the equally incredible weakness it gave her." Alana paused, her eyes drifting with a glaze of nausea towards the door she had left. "That bond made her just as suspectable to its abilities as it was to hers. She managed to realign that bond around the Prison Crystal. It couldn't work their connection with the crystal interfering. When the Highers were told to break it apart, our informants said she did as she was asked, but she always kept a piece of it slung around her neck. I can only assume something went wrong with that and, exposed to its power again, the Incarnation used whatever it had been saving up to exile her." The Progeny shrugged. "It's my theory, anyway."

Takua nodded, a small, vicious smile crossing his face as he considered what poor Jula had to go through now. Such was the price for wanting that power. With any luck though, they’d be trashing her shortly anyways, and with the Juka Incarnation with them to boot. For a moment, he touched one of the Incu horns just to see what would happen…although nothing did. He turned, walking out of the double doors into the hallway again. He instantly hung a right, walking straight to the double doors that led into the Resistant Sector. This could become incredibly interesting momentarily…and dangerous as well. There was no telling what he’d find inside of the area…although how it branched off almost instantly did not fill him with anything but a sense of horror. There were two rooms off to the left and the right, and the same cursed color as the opening hallway was there as well. If he didn’t have the map up, and hadn’t just opened the door, they might as well have been the same place.

He opened the door into the one that had a sign stating that it was ‘Resistant Room 1’. The first thing that struck him was the state of disrepair that the entire room was in. Most of the lights above him (fluorescent dual-rod, oddly enough) were broken in some way. That left the room rather…dark with only two lights on. The walls were cracked, broken, and had the paint peeling from them with vigor. There were several mattresses pressed up against the walls, sweat and dirt staining them as much as the walls were peeling. All of that was made picture perfect by the single mattress in the center of the room…and the single dead Juka Sprite in the center of that. Flies buzzed around it…and Takua suddenly noted how odd it was that there would be flies in The World. After all, that was a real world thing, there wasn’t generally anything to decompose in The World, and so flies weren’t needed.

He walked forward to the dead man, noting the caved in side of his head. There was also few missing fingers…two of them, to be exact. He felt something harden in him, at the sight of seeing more death, and knelt down beside the dead AI. After inspecting the body for anything like he had found in PolyBeta Hall, he moved it to see if there was anything under it. Nothing. He took a look at the six smaller room that linked onto the main room…and hated how much it reminded him of Gan. Fuck this room design, let it die in hell, he thought to himself even as he wrenched open one of the doors. There wasn’t a light inside of the room, but he could still see the single mattress…and the several corpses that rested on it. Slash wounds everywhere, blood splatter had painted the walls so that one could barely see the original color underneath it. He looked down when a buzzing sound reached his eyes…and found two buckets with flies swarming around them.

He took several steps backwards instantly, glad in that moment that he could not smell anything at all. His gorge rose, but he pulled it back down. There was only thing that those buckets could be, which meant that these AI were very realistic. So much so that they had biological processes like humans did in the real world. Why would someone design…no, he reminded himself, they weren’t designed. They had been born here because of the field itself…maybe the Juk Energy that had run through it had given rise to them. That was the only explanation that made sense. He swallowed hard and moved on to the next room, finding only more dead, slashed bodies and a room filled with blood. The rest of the rooms were the same as the first, and when he was done with just Resistant Room 1, he knew that this would not be a good place. Odd though that all of the subjects in the stalls and the main room had been male. Were the females somewhere else or were they just in the other rooms?

Shutting the door to the first room on the way out, he crossed instantly to the second one and opened it. Inside was much the same scene as the last one, with the single dead male Juka Sprite on the mattress in front of him. Unlike the last one, this had all of his fingers intact and so was his head. However, its neck had a huge gash in it, and it was missing four toes. What was it, the boy thought as he moved all of the mattresses away from the walls to see if there was anything behind them, about the missing parts of their bodies? Maybe he should start to keep track of them. There was nothing hidden behind the mattresses that he pulled away from the wall, and he ended up standing of them as he crossed to the body in the center, again shifting the body and then the actual mattress itself to see if there was anything else.

There was nothing though, and he quickly made his rounds of the six smaller rooms. Death, death everywhere. Nothing but death inside of this room. He exited…and as he did so, there was a sudden, quick flicker of movement near the Power Supply room. He tilted his head and walked down there, looking around when he got to that corridor. There was nothing though, and he shrugged as he turned back. Again, right when his peripheral vision could see the end of the hallway, there was a shadow that seemed to flicker, as if something had just vanished down that next area. He ran past both the Resistant Room 1 and 2, getting to the end of the hallway as he quickly glanced down it. Nothing. Not even a trace that anyone had even been there. There was, however, another room. Eyes narrowing with an intense dislike for what he was going through, he opened the door up, gazing inside at the body there. He walked inside and stared at the body. Someone had shattered the jaw there, allowing the mouth to hang open…and reveal the single missing tooth.

He was suddenly and vividly reminded of Gan, with the numbers hidden inside of the patients in various ways. What if the password to continue on happened to be the number of missing parts of the anatomy? That would make sadistic sense to a Higher, and so he started to jot down the numbers. Two missing from the first room, three from the second, one from the third. Still male as well, which made him wonder if the females were in the Compliant sector or if they were in another area entirely. The poor bastard had been brutally beaten to death as well, if the massive bruises and wounds on his body were anything to go by. He opened the side rooms again, going through each one of them hoping that there would be some reason to do so. What were they…the bathrooms? Did the Juka Sprites really have to take a shit in those side rooms in nothing but buckets? Disgusting. It also made him wonder what the conditions were like in the Compliant area. If they were nicer than this, or if they were just as bad.

What was it about the Juka Sprites that they hoped to gain by imprisoning them all here? Test subjects? That made the most sense. Use the conquered people and pillage their bodies as well, raping the only thing that they had left. How far had their morale gone, he wondered to himself, if they were forced into these prison cells and experimented on by their captors? Especially with Rapture and Gloom in the field, the methods that the Highers could use to experiment on their subjects were numerous and varied. That was when a single fact from the Gan installation came back and implanted itself firmly in his mind. Gan had been around for at least two years, so how long had the Juka prison field been conducting their own experiments? Even allowing for time to slaughter all of the Sprites in their homes, that left…maybe a year and a half to do their experimenting before they had to shut down, assuming this had happened a month ago. Maybe it had happened long before that. Whatever it was, it meant that this place had been unsupervised for a long long time.

Which didn’t exactly bode well for the Eventides.

Then again, they didn’t have to worry about facing the Higher of Juk, so that was a very good thing indeed, even if Takua could have nullified her one-hit kill attack. Still, there was likely no live army here waiting for them, which was definitely a point to their advantage. Instead, they had to deal with whatever she had created that had caused the entire dungeon to be placed into Lockdown.

He walked out of the third Resistant Room, walking further down the hallway as he watched for that shadow that seemed to be flitting into and out of his vision. What was that? Some sort of observation device or a creature that was still alive up here? He didn’t know, but he didn’t like it. He wanted to get rid of it simply because of the feeling that he got off of it. He went into the fourth room, one that seemed to have been back to back with the second one. This man had his eye cut out, the obvious cause of death being a massive gash in the stomach. So then, assuming that he was supposed to count that which was missing, the pattern when 2,3,1,1 for now. Rather like a password one would enter into a keypad. How…original. He shrugged and checked the other six rooms, again with the same dead bodies, the same slop buckets of piss and shit. How he was glad that he couldn’t smell anything. All of the poor Comatose players had better go through a side that didn’t have open waste.

He had walked back into the hallway when the thought hit him like a punch to the gut. His eyes widened and he stared back into the room with horror in his eyes. The innocent body of a dead Juka Sprite stared back at him…and in his mind’s eye, he saw The Swath taking it, raising it into its own creation, taking the ones in the small holes in the wall and sending them out to kill them. How soon, he thought to himself in a panic, before the Swath found them? Frantic hands flickered over the keyboard as quickly as they could. It felt like he was running against time itself, trying to get out of the way of an oncoming meteor. That you couldn’t do it before one was hit.

Once she hit send, somehow she didn’t feel like it said what it should. The Twin Blade scowled to herself for not having thought things completely through before sending it. She should have jumped at his offer of explanation. If anything, it probably would have settled her mind on a lot of the confusion she was feeling, but all she was doing was thinking about him and attempting to put him at ease over the situation. It was just what she naturally did for people as if she was on autopilot when faced with the decision to do something for herself or for someone else. The ‘someone else’ always won.

Whatever Talal was hoping to gain from sitting down and keeping to herself was quickly shot down when Sidhe spoke. The tone mixed with the simplistic value of his words suddenly made her question why she came back, but the questioning thought vanished quickly. She knew why she came back and there was no changing her mind. Standing abruptly, she joined the others. Quiet footsteps brought her form so that she traveled somewhat in between Takua and Baron. Her own resolve had her there to help but for the time being, staying close to the familiar kept her nerves at bay for just a little longer.

She kept her ears tuned to all the different sounds. Footsteps told her where everyone was and there seemed to be nothing else moving. Her eyes at first actively searched every inch of their surroundings until after a while it was clear that there was nothing but scenery to look at and the girl finally settled her sight on the ground at her feet. A slow draw of her newly acquired set of blades had her ready if anything should jump out at them however.

The walk was overly quiet, but then again the field had that effect on people. Everyone, she was sure, had much on their mind and no one seemed in the mood to share. Could she blame them? A quick NO slapped her mind like a wet towel being snapped against bare skin.

What she couldn’t deny at the moment was that she desperately needed to focus on something other than herself and what she wanted or perhaps more to the point…needed. They were headed for the dungeon of the field and she knew the dungeon in any field was always far more dangerous than the field itself. This field wouldn’t be any different if even more so of that analogy which meant, she needed to be prepared for the worse she had ever seen. Time seemed to have no meaning as the group made their way along the path that Sidhe had chose; mere minutes bringing them to the base of a mountain that looked eerily familiar.

The Twin Blade stared at the symbol that desecrated what could have been a beautiful mountainside in any other field. A look to either side only gave way to nothing but solid mountain. There was only one purpose for the symbol to be here. It was the entrance to the dungeon much like what they had found inside the mines. An unsteady hand reached up; a pointer finger tracing the outer edge before she placed her whole palm on its’ surface. The green hue of Juk energy encircled around her whisking her through the portal as her stomach filled with lead filled butterflies of anxiety to what might be awaiting them on the other side.

Was her headset not working? She couldn’t see a thing. Finally a faint light was visible ahead of them, but it by far was nothing to write home about. From the silence, the loud ping she heard in her ear sent her heart skipping a beat right there on the spot, which told her she already didn’t like the place and even more so was scared. Although she like to sit in the dark in her apartment, there was always a hue of light shining in from the window so it was never this dark.

Seeing the flashmail was from Takua and how he entitled it, immediately she felt guilty for lack of a better word. She wanted his friendship and all the things that went along with that, but because of what she had done and how she had handled it, she almost felt like now he felt obligated somehow to oblige. That’s the last thing she wanted. Reading through the message, part of it didn’t make sense to her. No big shocker there really, but she re-read it through a few times just to make sure she didn’t miss anything. When she read about the Dread Code, now she understood why he was constantly telling her to stay away from it. That’s what filled the Falls Golem and why she had briefly lost control of herself behind the monitor. Surely though, Gyl was keeping watch over them and would pull them out if anything was going horribly wrong…wouldn’t he? Somehow, even though she had figured Takua would welcome the chance of permanent Immersion as he called it, she didn’t think it would actually happen on this quest. His final words of the message almost made it sound like there was no way out of it. Someone at minimum or perhaps all of them would perish before they were done here. Wanting him to be wrong, she refused to believe the last.

They would get out…all of them.

Trying to follow his advice and not panic, even if it was for a different reason then being immersed, she chose to chew on his words for awhile before responding; not wanting to make the same mistake twice and not think things through before putting her thoughts in writing.

The pitch black room opened up into a bleak, pale grayish blue hallway of sorts when Sidhe just walked through a pair of swinging doors that were directly ahead of where the portal had landed them. Talal put out a hand to stop the motion of the door and stood there in the entrance. The floor, the walls with their random scrapes, dings, cracks and peeling paint, and even the ceiling all carried the drab coloring reminiscent of some old horror movie released in black and white instead of color. Goosebumps appeared on the girls’ arms behind the monitor sending a sudden chill down her spine. She had never been a fan of those kinds of movies and she surely didn’t want to live or play through one of them. Then again, this was no longer a game really was it? It had become a war played on a digital field with the end results being very much real.

The group stood in the center of a long hallway with doors at each end and one directly ahead of them which had a barely noticeable sign that read ‘Power Supply’. An eyebrow raise was made at the thought of putting some light on their current situation, but being cautious right now was more important that having a better view…or was it? The two signs to either side of the power supply room pointed to the two side doors at the end of each hall; one read ‘Resistant’ the other ‘Compliant’. The Twin Blade didn’t even want to consider the ramifications of what those meant at the moment. She detested what Jula and her minions had already done as evidenced by the plight of the Juka Sprites and the Incu. Deep down her gut told her they were going to find remnants of what was commonly and cruelly referred to as ‘lab rats’ in most scientific arenas. In this case, she feared it would be more of the Juka Sprites, but honestly hoped they wouldn’t find anything at all.

Takua and Baron each took a direction and checked the side doors, both reporting back that they were locked. It looked like forward was there next best bet, but a power supply room was unlikely to have more than one entrance or exit to it which meant if they didn’t figure something out, they weren’t going to get very far very fast. Sidhe once again pushed through the entrance to the room and everyone just filed in behind him into what was yet another pitch black room.

It was then that the Twin Blade made a silent wish that she was playing a different game. One that was a little more similar to that of her old tabletop ones that she loved so much. There were always more gadgets and items to be had, more useful little trinkets like oh, maybe an Everburning Torch or something. Man, how she detested not being able to see anything and she was getting really tired really fast of the whole Marco Polo way of keeping track of each other. There just had to be something somebody had that would be useful in a situation like this.

Thinking back to her quest with Baron and how the Rai and Vak spells they had used in the one pitch black room they encountered had acted like a flashlight, if only briefly, it did give her an idea. There was no need to have everyone set off a bunch of spells not knowing what direction to send them in and what they might hit by accident in the process, but if they could somehow activate one and make it last for a bit? Like a gigantic light bulb had just gone off in her head, she quickly switched out her blades for the lower leveled Sotetsu. A hesitant voice broke through the shuffling.

”Might I suggest that anyone who has skills on their weapons that are bright like Rai or Vak, activate them and use them like a torch of sorts. I’ve got Vak so here goes nothin’.”

It worked! She heard a few under toned grumbles, but it seemed that no one had a better idea. Once those that had the abilities used them, they all realized that even standing together, the light wasn’t bright enough to enlighten the whole room so the began walking outward toward each wall to investigate for as long as they could hold the spell. Somehow, she didn’t think it could be held indefinitely so a better plan or even a light switch perhaps that would turn on those fluorescent looking like fixtures in the hallway, would need to be found before too long.

A brief thought was given to the small fact that maybe they shouldn’t look for the lights. Sure it would make traversing the dungeon much easier if they could actually see what they were walking through, towards or on that horrible chance, fighting against, but it would also alert whatever might be lurking to their presence. The thought became null and void rather quickly when Sekai’s voice took on a high pitched tone as she squealed. Just after, before anyone could say anything else, there was a hum and the room lit up in a green hue. Green for some odd reason was not exactly what the Twin Blade was expecting, but the color choice soon became clear and she deactivated her weapon. The digital hair on her arms rose as if they were little slivers of metal and she was standing under a magnet and she hoped her hair wasn’t doing the same thing. A precautionary hand rose up and ran itself down either side of her head even though she couldn’t tell if it was doing any good; it made her feel better.

Instant and complete anger filled the girl at the sight of the never ending array of Incu horns that lined every square inch of the walls. All those innocent and in her mind benevolent creatures’ lives lost because of something that was part of them. Killed and used as if they were put in the field for no other purpose but to be slaughtered for the energy they possessed naturally. How many perished in just this room alone? Her head tilted downwards away from the walls, eyes closing in both anger and horror at what she was looking at. When her eyes opened, they carried a new glint of hatred. Someone was going to pay. She owed…no the Eventides owed at least that much to the Incu for saving them and she was going to make sure the debt was paid.

Sekai’s response to the question that everyone wanted to ask but only Kira had voiced didn’t make much sense until Alana piped up with an answer. Talal couldn’t help but let that small grain of distrust slide in as she listened. If the Archer knew about the power supply room and how to activate it, not to mention the fact that she used to be one of the others to have the power to do so, why didn’t she just walk past Sidhe in the first place and light the damn place up? Whatever sacrifices she had made fighting alongside the Eventide Crescendo, the Twin Blade couldn’t put her feeling to rest. Just look at Saol and what he was willing to do in Jula’s name. Who was to say the Alana wasn’t just like him? After all, getting rid of Saol just made her one step closer to Jula…right? Perhaps that should be something she should run past Takua later. If she happened to be right, best she not be the only one to have contemplated the possibility of a double agent amongst them.

Progeny or not, it was still possible. Alana’s theory about how Jula got evicted from the field just sounded like more reason to not believe her. How did she know so much and still be around to tell the tale? How again did she get aligned with the Progeny? Talal stared at the walls, deep in thought trying to remember when the group first met Alana and her squad back in the forest, but so much had happened since then and she had simply filed the event away in the back of her mind, apparently in a place where it wasn’t going to resurface any time soon. What happened to that squad of hers anyway?

Too many questions were roaming through the poor girls mind again and staring at walls lined with remnants of Incu horns attached to cables leading everywhere and nowhere all at the same time, made for an uncomfortable place to suddenly be. She needed out. Out of this room of tragedy so she could think. She watched both Takua and Baron exit the power supply room; obviously they were going to go see if anything changed with the locked doors now that they had activated the dungeon. That was as good enough reason as any to leave the room so the Twin Blade followed just a few moments behind Baron like a shadow.

Looking down to the doors first to the right and then to the left, she took a step out and turned around to look at the signs on the wall again. Compliant sounded good to her, just in case she ran into anything while roaming. Who knew how long the power had been off, maybe months. They could find some really pissed off workers that had been trapped and if so, they were either going to be insane from the darkness or… She shuddered; her mind went automatically to where creepy places like this were most common as she remembered the macabre faces of the Juka Sprites they had already seen.

Walking down the hall very slowly and quietly, she saw Baron exiting a door on the right and going immediately across the hallway into another door. He wasn’t being chased by anything and wasn’t fighting so at least that was a good sign. Anger still filled the Twin Blade from before so stopping to chat and see what he found probably wouldn’t be such a good idea. She walked past the door where he had entered. Maybe there would be something more…colorful around the corner.

Not too far from where she turned there was another door like the others she had walked past. Looking up, the sign said ‘Compliant Room 3’. How many of these rooms were there? It looked like the door was about at the halfway mark from either end before the hallway took another turn. Rather than stop there, she decided to see what was around the other corner first. All she found was yet another set of doors, like the first Baron had gone in. Each was directly across the hallway from the other.

Eenie, Meenie, Mienie, Mo!

The door to her right won the toss so spying the sign, Compliant Room 5 it would be. There was a handle on the steel looking door. She placed one palm on the door and before she could reach down to grab the handle, the door pushed open. Hmmm, that’s interesting. Why have a handle if the door just pushes open?

At first glance the room was actually more pleasant than she thought it would be. It had brown carpeting on the floor and rather than the drab grayish blue of the hallways, the walls were a rich dark brown wooden paneling. Still the room wasn’t dark which made her look up to see that the ceiling was painted a nice shade of white which reflected the light well around the room. Brown eyes followed the ceiling to the where it met the far wall and down. There were several piles of nicely-crafted oak beds stacked atop one another. A quick count put them at a dozen plus beds in all, but it was the single bed in the middle of the room that finally caught her eye.

Talal slowly approached the single undisturbed bed. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight of the fly –ridden corpse of a male Juka Sprite while her hand flew up to her mouth in the real world attempting to keep the girl from hurling. As much as she couldn’t stand looking at the body, once she got her stomach under control she tried to find a cause of death. Unfortunately, the only thing notable was the fact both ears were missing. The wound marks were straight rather than jagged. They had been cut off rather than torn or ripped which meant it was done intentionally.

With a furrowed brow she backed away from the bed and noticed the other six doors in the room, three to either side. Could it get any worse? Reaching for the first door closest to her, she opened it and immediately closed her eyes. She wanted to scream, but didn’t. Two beds were tightly shoved into the small room. Both were piled high with more male Juka Sprite bodies. Blood almost completely covered the wall in an odd slash mark pattern. It was a dump room, but the walls made it look like this was also where they were killed. Regardless, there was nothing she could do for them now except possibly revenge which was starting to weigh heavily on the girls mind. She shut the door and moved onto the next. More of the same carnage was found in each of the other five rooms; her anger and desire for a little retribution grew with each closing of a door.

Leaving the room behind her she walked down the hall, opting not to go into the room across the way. Just starting to turn the corner, she stopped and turned around. Something in the back of her mind was eating at her, something she couldn’t quite put a finger on and walked back towards the room. Whatever spurred her movement, she reached out and closed the door completely and stood there for a moment staring at it.

Time to move on.

Back down to the end of the hall that turned to the right and down another long uneventful and bare hallway void of any doors, she found another ninety degree turn to the right. Turning, she almost stopped dead in her tracks. Two more doors right across from each other like before lay about mid-way down the hall. Reaching them, she entered the door on the right first hoping that perhaps she’d find a lab with vials and test tubes and Heaven forbid a possible cure for Nemera. Pushing open the door of what was name plated as ‘Compliant Room 6’, her heart sank.

The room was exactly the same as the last, same brown carpet and walls with stacked oak beds against the walls and the three doors on either side of the room. Last but certainly not least was the single bed in the center of the room. Talal moved towards the six smaller rooms first, not ready for whatever display of torture lay on the bed. Each and every room was a mirror image of the one before it and with each room she left a silent prayer as she closed the door. She wasn’t much of the religious type, but it just seemed…appropriate.

Turning to the bed in the center of the room, she closed her eyes for a moment and then walked forward. Another male Juka Sprite, one who had been relieved of a couple of his limbs. He was left with only one arm and one leg, their pairs having been severed. If this kind of torture was done to those who by the names of the rooms were considered “compliant” she didn’t dare want to imagine what happened to the ones on the resistant side of things.

She left the room and walked across the hallway into ‘Compliant Room 7’. More of the same atrocities were found and a pattern being clearly defined amongst the rooms. Was there some purpose to the choice of things missing from the bodies? Nothing in any of the rooms told of a reason or purpose to the room other than display and…storage. Again, showing her due diligence to the six smaller rooms, the Twin blade checked each one of them. There was always hope in the girls’ heart that something would change, something would be different. Yet, she feared that for these rooms at least, the hope would die with the Juka Sprites that were held within each of them.

The fly-ridden male corpse in the center of the room literally had had his nose chopped off. Any other feature of her body for torture, she thought, could be dealt with, but not the face. There had always been an issued within her about things happening on or around her face. It wasn’t a way of being vain about her appearance or anything; it was more of an extreme panic attack to have movement close to her face that she could never explain. A slight shudder and another set of silent prayers and the dark haired female exited the room, closing the door behind her.

Turning to her left, she questioned whether she should continue traveling down the hall not knowing where Baron or anyone else might be. The repetitiveness of the rooms had hardened her somewhat to what they contained, but so far the dungeon itself was still creeping her out inside. Everything had been so still and silent through her wanderings. The only noise from her footsteps and the opening and closing of doors that when the familiar ping of a flashmail sounded; she just about jumped out of her skin.

Reading through the message, Talal no longer questioned the direction she was moving and just hoped that everyone else was making their way along as well. If not, thanks to Takua’s foresight of the possibilities, all of which she hadn’t even really begun to even consider, they would be. His mention of the missing body parts obviously meant that he had found similar things in other rooms, but why would it be important to remember?

Heading around the corner, she came to yet another door but this one was a restroom by it’s plaque on the wall and she had no desire to look in a restroom. There was no way she wanted to find someone or something sitting on a toilet…or worse. Picking up her step after sensing the urgency in the Wavemaster’s message, Talal moved around yet another ninety degree turn to the left in the hallway. With all the turns she was really glad there were no other hallways to become lost like a mouse in a maze. Walking past the last door, she headed to the end of the hall where it ended with another door.

So, only one room left in this end of the hall. Best not to doubt and play the I wonder game later.

The Twin Blade turned back to the room she had passed and pushed open the door to ‘Compliant Room 8’. Confirmation was given with the sight of the same brown toned room with the white ceiling and stacked beds. One last time, she did her rounds through the six doors and left six silent prayers at the closing of each. Finally, one thought wouldn’t leave her mind as she gazed upon the single dead male corpse in the center that was missing a hand…

Why were they all males?

One last final prayer and the female left all the Sprites resting in whatever peace they may have found in death. Exiting the room she caught sight of Baron moving quickly towards the end of the hall. It had donned on her that she hadn’t responded to her blue robed…ally? Was that a safer word than friend so as not to confuse things? Shaking her head, she wasn’t willing to write him off as a friend yet, but she would make certain it was his desire to be so, not something he was doing out of guilt or obligation. For now, just a simple reply.

There was no time in between hitting send and the sound of yet another flashmail coming her way.

It was funny she thought, how Baron specifically used the word ‘he’ in his message. Did he also find nothing but males in the other rooms? Regardless, she stopped for a moment to think and remember each room, trying to block out everything she saw except the body in the center of each room. Hitting ‘reply’ she quickly typed out a list of the room number and what she saw. A last small request to stick together from now on was made and she hit send and began walking down the hall towards her fellow Twin Blade.

Where was everyone else?

-Zan-

The Lycan’s dreamy lull was rattled back to clarity by the ring of Sidhe’s voice through the group not long after Alana’s arrival. There was an authoritative demand in the way he spoke, just this side of bossy, but Zan let it slide. The guy was just doing his job. The tone held a lot of connotations, a lot of warnings and foretold dangers. All of which the Heavy Blade absorbed without a second thought. It went without saying, of course, but the sapphire Long Arm - God, him and Kira would make something of a monotonous couple, wouldn’t they? - helped remind whatever bits of Zan that thought things couldn’t go too badly to wake the fuck up. They moved as a unit for the first time since Saol’s demise. They held the fluidity and purpose of a pack of wolves rather than the awkward bits and baubles that had comprised them when they first entered this place. The thought, the comparison, didn’t feel completely Zan’s own. Oh, his wolf soaked in it with a loft of its muzzle, but it wasn’t he who first realized the similarity. How did he know that? A very subtle part of his consciousness, one formed ever since he had to deal with the thoughts of Nulus intruding upon his own, felt it brush past his mental shields like cold digits. Who…? It couldn’t have been the Shade. Not only did the lycanthrope know he was still out, but it was too superficial to belong to anything from within. No one else had that kind of access…

Wait. Wait.

Zan paused in his steps for only a breath, his stride smoothing away the brief hiccup in grace, and found his daydreams shifting to the Data Vestibule instead of the deceptively serene scenery that sang and fluttered around him. Dien was too shut out at this point to have that level of reach. Raquar…Raquar didn’t feel cold. He felt like a brother, both in blood and in taste for the Black Wave. Sekai couldn’t have been the culprit either. She felt like calm, like the eye at the center of his Beast’s storm or the single light amidst that same darkness. She felt like warmth and family, a sibling to his call to Krake. Who, then? Who else? Zan poked and prodded at it, not losing another solid step amongst the others despite the fact, and what struck him was the brief flash of the trek through Sekai’s eyes. They were so close to his own that they came across as echoes in a cave, reverberating back what he already knew. No. That didn’t make any sense. It couldn’t be her. It. Hold on. Cold. Narrowed vision slowly turned to Kira like a character from a horror movie suddenly realizing some terrible truth. Of course his wasn’t so dramatic as that. How had she done it? Why would she…? So many God damn questions. More insistent mind jabs at the problem brought the wolf pack back into his mind’s eye, but it felt distant. It didn’t seem like a new thought. Rather, it was like something he had known, or sensed, before that had simply been lingering around the surface. In the fight with the general, perhaps? Why was he catching back tides of Kira’s mind, of all things? Her connection to his lumen was the only thing he could come up with. Huh. The Lycan wanted to keep it to himself, but he knew how hurt she’d get when she was left out of anything. It was all probably in his head, some kind of hallucination or some shit, but if it not…

The Lycan’s attention turned itself onward then, vision reaching on almost a mile beyond to scout for any who’d stop them when they had come so far. The full spectrum of his senses sought out this goal, of course, and it wasn’t long before his ears were perking for anything out of the norm as well. Perhaps the only one with a range that exceeded his sight, smells buffeted his olfactory warehouse like a swarm of multi-cultured insects; the musk of fear, the sweet tang of the vegetation, the mineral waft of the soil, the fragrance of the flowers, the rich organics of the trees, the downy tickle of the Incu, all of it. There was nothing, not even in the sounds that whispered their secrets into his ears, to make him question their safety beyond the obvious. Fact of the matter was, what they were doing right now wasn’t safe. Going further into the bowls of the beast would only make things worse, but they had to do it. There wasn’t a question of options. Though it was for a deck of different reasons, dealt out in their thoughts with a tricky blackjack slinger, they all kept on. For Zan it was a juggle of things both selfish and selfless. The need to cleanse his karma, to try and thin the blood on his hands, was what had brought him to the Eventide Crescendo in the first place. None of his personal agendas, his desires to be free of “The World”, were pursued here. Deep down, the werewolf knew he’d never completely make things right. He could end up saving twice as many people in his career as a rebel against the Elites as those he had cut down and shot down when Lowen was murdered, but it would never be absolved. A man cannot take another human life and live guilt-free again. No one but a sociopath could. Even those that deserved it, even those within the digital landscape they traversed deserved a shred of shame from those who had done the deed.

It was a catch-22, but what in life wasn’t?

Snorting at that, a bit loudly and a tad bitterly, Zan immediately converted his expression into something blank and featureless. Well, as featureless as a mug with its left half muddled away with burn scars could be, anyway. Fucking Xael. An absent, subconscious hand lifted a fingerless glove to pad against the rough, rubbery skin. Before that particular nastiness could be dwelled on for too long, the group’s destination finally peeked through a clearing of the mighty oaks that stood gargantuan and neutral around them. A field of unmoved gods. The Eventide Crescendo had come to the side of a mountain’s base, healthy and standing as proud as its previously mentioned brethren, with Jula’s crest defacing its otherwise beautiful profile. Had she left even a stone unturned in her drive to claim this place? God damn. Zan’s wolf snarled at the taint, at the injustice, but the player kept it contained. A simple marking on a rock was going to be the least of his moral objections soon enough, he was sure. As the party around him began to place their hands upon its corrupt design, an action that caused them to explode into jade particles that were just as soon vacuumed into the crest, the Lycan reluctantly joined in. It almost seemed like gracing the thing with contact was some kind of tribute to the Juka Higher’s work, but he swallowed his pride as best he could. There were bigger fish to fry.

Painlessly, Zan was sure he could feel himself being ripped apart and changed, left only as a consciousness suspended in the emptiness of transportation. To most who played the game, loading screens were a necessary nuisance. For the Heavy Blade they were unnerving. Even seconds without a body for those within the game could lead to something dire, right? There had to be some sort of small percentile that spoke of its possibility. At that, the werewolf stopped…and twitched the smallest of smiles (as best he could without lips, of course). Here he was trying to combat larger fears with smaller ones. Distraction and denial could be wonderful tools indeed. Then the brief journey had been made, what the party was deposited into wasn’t entirely what Zan had been expecting. It was true that there wasn’t exactly a lot of light to make this judgment, but what was present was enough. Cracked, scratched hospital walls with fading grey/blue paint and plastic double doors - a hospital embodied in virtual reality. His eardrums played him a song of dribbling water somewhere out there, a chorus thrum of eager heartbeats around him, and the electronic hum of whatever was flickering through the doors beyond. Nothing special. The moment he had a real chance to breathe, however, and the lycanthrope knew something infernal had happened there. There was no mistaking the scent.

This place reeks of decay, mildew and death. God, and the fear has soaked into the walls. What the hell have we walked into?

Rather than voice this insight, Zan kept it under wraps. They’d all find out soon enough. Why rush it? The stench was, for all intents and purposes, relatively ‘weak.’ Should he explore, however, Zan knew he’d only find things that he’d smell in his nightmares until the day he died. Great, ‘cuzz he really needed more of that. Moving on without him, the small collection of fighters - dwindled since their beginning, deprived of three through the work of the offline lackeys that licked the binary boots of their Higher masters - deployed a duo to try and move through the Resistant and Compliant corridors to no avail. Locked. That left them, of course, with only the Power Supply room as an option. This, luckily, was unlocked. If its title was even in the least bit revealing, their current haunted house was about to get a little brighter. Breaching the area didn’t liven this hope any, but the chain reaction of ignited weapons (Zan’s Corona Blade adding to the mix) helped to alleviate that a smidge. The Lycan’s nostrils crawled with the smell of primal, wild energy and the bare remains of a broad number of Incu. He knew what he’d see even before the aroma of burnt arm hair and the following kick of hot wires lit the place up like a macabre Christmas tree with some kind of racial conflict against the red lights. The room was a convergence of blacks and greens, shadows cast with various depths this way and that while the emerald wings of illumination flushed past most of the pitch shade. It would only take a little strobing and some repetitive phrase to turn the place into a rave. Still, in its own way the sight was as beautiful as it was tasteless and wrong.

Eventually, after a rather tense interaction between Sekai, Kira and Sidhe, the group parted and went one of two ways. Some claimed the Compliant area to explore, others the more ominous Resistant route. Following Sekai, at first, Zan chose the latter. The more they walked the halls, shoes clacking and thudding along, the more distinct the earlier scent became. For the Lycan right then, what all of the unfortunately comatose would smell inside the room is what was assaulting him right then. It gave him a little more information about what to expect, none of which was good. Some, like the fact that he knew waste was cloistered in some portions of the Resistant Rooms, confused him. Why were AIs created with that kind of senseless function in a place like a video game? The answer, of course, was just as readily apparent. Right. They weren’t made. The Juka Sprites had been born in this field. Though it was still the first he had heard of such a thing, it had apparently given them functioning organs that went unused for most. Even Zan, a human being made flesh within the prison of ones and zeroes, didn’t have to worry about maintaining his bladder or anything of the sort. Weird. Shrugging it off, doing his best to whether the small storms that would fill the hall when any of the doors would swing open, the werewolf paced along the corridors feeling useless. The stench was so repulsive, so strong, that waltzing into any of them seemed to be at his own peril.

Bah, don’t be a coward. Not over something as silly as a rank odor.

The personal council was reluctantly taken, a hesitant Heavy Blade wandering into Resistant Room 4 with his green shirt lofted over half of his face. It had been intended to help, of course, to hold everything at bay, but Zan simply hadn’t been prepared. The player had expected bad, really bad, but hadn’t fathomed the overpowering entity that seemed to nest in his nostrils. The shirt did nothing, not with the nose he had. The world, almost immediately, began to tilt and double. Nausea bubbled in his gut, churning his stomach and tightening the muscled on his abdomen like a vise grip on the organs they covered. Just as he had left the room, staggering into the hall with gags and coughs that should have expelled his lungs, the knowledge that he was going to vomit snuck up on him with absolute certainty. The stage of fighting it had come and gone. He had never stood a chance. His gait became frantic as he charged down the hall, sickness-glazed eyes roaming over signs for some kind of miracle. There had to be a place he could go in and empty everything he had eaten since conception from his body that the others wouldn’t have to stumble on. The visual of ‘Resistant Restroom’ answered his prayers too quickly for him to listen to what his nose was trying to tell him about the place. Forcing his way in, hunching over in preparation for what was to happen, Zan suddenly couldn’t breathe. The difference between the rooms and this place was like the difference between someone getting socked in the face and run over by a train.

Solidless bile spewed in thin, discolored puddles from his distended mouth. He tried to take in air, to breathe between hurls like his body demanded, but that same body refused to allow anymore of the room’s “oxygen” into it. Something akin to choking sputtered its way from his lips while his vision tunneled and colors bled and popped. Just when his own body was feeling too heavy to support anymore, let alone move, someone else was dragging him out and heaving him into the hall. Zan was vaguely aware of Alana standing above him, her mouth moving with questions and her face furrowed with concern, but he couldn’t hear anything over the sound of his monstrously huge gasps. By a stroke of mercy, the rebellion of his stomach seemed to have stopped, but he almost wished for it back. Something worse had taken its place.

He was so embarrassed.

While everyone was out exploring and gathering intell, he was laid out and trying not to assure himself that the air hadn’t become a biological weapon. The inferiority that had struck him after Xazyx returned with a friend.

Uselessness.

It didn’t take long for the other members of the Eventide Crescendo to arrive, appearing in the usual fashion, with golden rings of light signifying their presence. Baron looked over each, as if fixing their faces in his memory. For all he knew, this would be the last time he would see one or more of them… or the last time they’d see him. The Twin Blade was well aware of what could happen, was indeed afraid, but he wasn’t going to give into his fear and let himself get swept away by it like he had almost done before. Keeping his breathing even, Baron noted each and every person present, wondering if they were thinking the same thoughts, eyeing the others with the same pitying glance. That thought lasted all of ten seconds, as Talal boldly turned on Takua and started reprimanding him. Rather, that was how it appeared, as the Twin Blade couldn’t actually hear the conversation, but between the body language and Takua’s helpless look, it wasn’t terribly hard to figure out. Baron was tempted to move closer, to get an idea of what was going on, but caution advised him to keep a good distance away, and so he did so. It was best not to get tangled in such things.

Things were getting heated, but it was good that all of the bickering was out of the way early on. The Eventides had been fairly calm-minded and worked together with a surprising show of teamwork that would be baffling in a normal situation. Everyone disagreed at times, making their arguments or conflicting with another’s opinion, and yet, throughout the first half of the Juk Prison, things had been quiet, everything moving with a mechanical smoothness that betrayed nothing of what everyone was feeling. That calm, calculating method of moving through the field had allowed them to go further than they would have had their group be fragmented by personal issues. Now that they were descending into the dungeon, that same risk of disunity reared its head just as it had before, and the horror-filled area would work to make it even worse. If the group broke now, things would only get worse and the Eventides would fail in their mission. That was an unallowable result, something that would not happen if it could be helped. Too much depended on their success.

Shaking his head and sighing, Baron felt relieved that he had resolved everything with Sekai early on, in the lapse between the two trips to the Juk Prison. The hesitation he had felt throughout the field following the lighthouse had been completely eliminated, and for good reason- the Twin Blade knew that he would have been much less effective if he had been mired in doubt, unable to work effectively with the entire team. In the end, that would drag everyone down- cooperation would be essential throughout. Briefly, Baron considered each member of the party around him, wondering if there was anything that needed to be said or done before the whole dungeon trek went underway, if there were any issues that needed to be resolved then and there. Fortunately, it seemed that there was nothing else that needed to be said or done before the descent down into the Juk Prison’s dungeon.

I feel like I’m walking to the executioner’s block, wondering if I have any regrets before the axe comes down…

It’s just the pressure of the situation. Relax, already, or you’re just going to get yourself riled up. Do that meditation thing you tried to use to balance your mind from before- maybe you can settle down a bit.

Baron wanted to shoot Libra a wry look, but unfortunately, it would look odd if the others noticed him doing such, so he kept his face neutral as he replied. Oh, you’re a well of good advice, Libra. Still, you’re right, I’m getting myself worked up before we even go there. I’ll try to keep my cool a bit better.

The whole group started to walk away, probably heading towards the dungeon, presumably. Baron started to follow, but noticed Talal moving behind a tree, as if going off on her own. The Twin Blade started towards his friend, wondering if something was wrong. The two had known each other only for a short while, but they had been able to talk freely, as close friends, something Baron hadn’t been able to do before that point. Thus, he wondered if he should go talk to her, to see what was up. The Twin Blade was already two steps into his stride towards the tree that Talal had retreated behind before Sekai stepped in first, speaking softly, as she usually did. Baron halted, again wondering if he should say something, but he knew that Sekai would probably be able to handle it better. Besides, he also guessed that female company would be better for Talal, so he slipped away, moving behind the other members of the Eventide Crescendo, trusting the two women to catch up on their own in a few minutes.

The rest of the walk to the Juk Prison’s dungeon was taken in complete silence as the Eventides moved together as a group. Baron lowered his gaze, thinking to himself, not willing to look around at the others. He didn’t yet want to see the stony, indifferent look that the group, including himself, would likely assume to avoid falling apart at the horror that would greet them in the dungeon. Baron’s own conceptions of what lie ahead were already making him nervous, and he was trying his hardest not to blow things out of proportion. It didn’t help that the Twin Blade had an overactive imagination, and anything that could happen was perceived at least ten times worse in his mind. It was one of the reasons he tried to avoid watching horror movies.

And now, he was living in one.

Fortunately, the walk to the dungeon wasn’t terribly long, only about fifteen minutes away. Still, even with a minimal duration such as that, it felt like forever because of the silence that Baron was greeted with as the Eventides moved forward. The only sounds were the crunch of leaves and soil between each person’s feet, as well as the wind, lightly blowing through the forest and rustling the crowns of the trees. It was a natural, peaceful silence, yet a subtle undertone that inspired an unknown fear in Baron’s mind was hidden beneath it all. Something didn’t feel right, as the cliché went. Of course, the Twin Blade understood part of that feeling- during the first visit to the Juk Prison, everything had seemed calm and quiet, until the uglier side of the field that wanted to wipe them out made itself known. The Swath had ripped away any illusions of a safe, peaceful haven in one quick strike, and it now created a fear that Baron almost tangibly felt. What happened if it struck again during the trek? What would happen to Nemera…?

Fortunately, the Twin Blade’s thoughts were broken as the Eventides arrived at the entrance to the dungeon. For one thing, it helped him stop worrying about what could happen, all thoughts of the Swath forgotten upon seeing the dreaded entrance before him. For another, it also saved Libra the need to lecture Baron about relaxing again, likely to have been a bit stern after two such occurrences in the field so far. Either way, though, everything was swallowed up by the glowing rune sunken into the mountain nearby. The Twin Blade was instantly reminded of the Mons Juka Mines from before, the ones where the Gloom and Rapture concoctions had been created. Unfortunately, while it had been a natural laboratory of sorts, the dungeon waiting ahead would be where all of the actual testing would likely be held. The methods by which the Juka Sprites had been turned into the creeping monsters from before would likely be revealed, a horror in itself. In other words, the source of the field’s evil was hidden within. Baron wasn’t afraid to admit that he was scared by what was hidden within.

Closing his eyes, swallowing lightly, the Twin Blade placed his hand on the glowing rune on the side of the mountain. He knew well enough what would happen- his body would break into glowing green fragments of data, to be absorbed into the rune and transported into the dungeon itself. The process didn’t take long, as Baron cracked open one eye a moment later, and found himself in complete darkness. Great, it seemed that the Eventides had entered the stereotype of an evil lair- the dark room where one was bound to be surprised. Baron had his blades halfway drawn as he tried to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness, to pick out the details, but a sliver of light a short distance away quickly made itself known. It was low to the ground, likely meaning that it shone out from beneath a door. The Eventides (as Baron gathered, targeting player after player to get an idea of what was happening) followed behind Sidhe as he pushed the doors open, leading the group to a new hallway.

The new room was immediately one that made Baron shudder, a room reminiscent of an old, decrepit hospital. The Twin Blade hated hospitals, in general, and this wasn’t helping his case much. It seemed like an irrational fear, but with the consideration that the one woman he had loved thus far had died during her stay in a hospital, Baron had at least a halfway decent case. The place gave him the chills, especially since the silence inside was almost absolute. Outside, in the field, there had at least been the natural sounds of the wilderness, like leaves rustling in the breeze, but here, there was nothing but footsteps against the floor as the Eventide Crescendo made its way down the hallway. Looking around, Baron kept his eyes roaming, his hands on his blades, knowing that silence in Jula’s laboratory couldn’t be a good thing. Where were the tortured screams, the mad rush of electricity that would be powering all sorts of experiments?

Where are you coming up with all of this?

Sorry, my imagination tends to run wild at times like this.

Shaking his head to clear it, Baron followed Sidhe to the end of the hallway, where another pair of double doors waited. These were quite a bit sturdier than the ones from before, made of steel. The sign on the front, labeling the room as “Power Supply” only made sense- important rooms like that were generally well-protected. To either side of the door were markings with arrows pointing down either section of another hallway that intersected the first, making a large “T.” The sign indicated that the doors on the far right were labeled “Compliant” while the doors opposite them were labeled “Resistant.” Baron ignored that for now, going to the doors on the “Compliant” side and tugging on them. Nothing happened, meaning that they were either locked or stuck. On the off-chance that the latter was true, the Twin Blade planted a foot against the surface to either side of one of the doors, and pushed with his legs as he tried to open the doors. Still, there was no success, so he gave it up as a lost job and moved back to the Power Supply room, where everyone was entering.

Oh. Some light would probably be good.

Entering the Power Supply room, Baron found that it was just as dark as the entrance hall that the Eventides had come out of. He almost said something about Jula not paying the power bill, but a suggestion from Talal to use illuminated weapons. Shutting his mouth rather quickly, the male Twin Blade pulled out his Fishskin, a light-green Juk aura surrounding them (he never understood why the weapons were Juk element, but he didn’t question it) and held them above his head, giving him a very small area that he could see somewhat in the dim glow. Moving forward, he started to look around for something like a switch. His foot found something in the dark, but before he could examine it, a squeak from Sekai caught his attention even as the entire room lit up with a shimmering green glow hundreds of thousands of times more bright than the wan light that had been coming from Baron’s weapons.

Blinking in the sudden burst of light, the Twin Blade looked down, to see what his foot had connected with in the darkness, and his eyes widened as his saw the Incu horn on the ground, wires attached to its entirety and going to various points in the room. Baron knew that they could be used as a power source (he had seen it when the horns were creating an energy field around the second Ganz Orb), but he never imagined that they would be gathered to this extent and exploited so mercilessly. Restraining the anger that suddenly welled up, Baron turned to the other members of the group, listening to Alana’s description of how the field worked. It seemed that the entire place was run by electronic locks, which explained why the doors wouldn’t open before, and how it required the touch of a Juk-affiliated person to make it work. At that point, the Twin Blade tuned out the conversation and made his way outside, knowing what was next on the list. They’d be splitting up shortly, so he would go ahead and take the initiative.

Emerging from the Power Supply room, Baron took a moment to compose himself. The sight of the Incu horns scattered all across the room, used as a sickening power source for the dungeon, had both nauseated and angered him greatly. It was wrong to use such innocent creatures as a way to further the horrifying experimentation that went on with the dungeon. However, Baron knew that he couldn’t afford to lose his calm just yet- he had to be rational for now. Maybe in the fighting ahead he could vent on something. Until then, though, the Twin Blade had to focus, keep his mind on the task. After all, he had been able to benefit the Eventide Crescendo during the field with his skill in solving several of the later riddles, and he hoped to continue doing so through the dungeon. However, he needed to be relaxed and controlled to do so.

Sighing, Baron looked around, noting the two doors at either end of the hallway to his sides, the ones that were marked “Resistant” and “Compliant” by the arrows nearby. The Twin Blade didn’t even need to think hard about what each meant- it was clear that the doors described the Juka Sprites who were experimented on. Those who were compliant were likely those who had given up hope and had allowed themselves to be used as research materials, while those who were resistant were those who still tried to fight free, who attempted to avoid being monsters that could harm others of their kind. Baron shuddered at the thoughts of what research would greet his eyes beyond the doors, but he knew he had to. Still, he wasn’t willing to face the tortures that likely would greet him if he went through the “Resistant” doorway, so he headed towards the door labeled as “Compliant.”

The same style of construction that was predominant throughout the parts of the dungeon revealed so far was repeated in the hallway that stretched out before Baron. A short distance away, two doors, one on each wall, were visible. The hallway extended a good distance beyond that before curving off to the left, vanishing from sight, but the Twin Blade standing at the entrance put that out of mind for the time being. Baron’s sights were set on a nearby door, one made of steel and likely quite solid. On the door, marked like the Power Supply room, were the words “Compliant Room 1.” Baron stopped, curious, and reached out to grab the door’s handle, hesitating only momentarily to steel himself for what could lie inside before tugging the door open and moving inside.

Naturally, as the Twin Blade entered, his eyes flew across the room, grabbing details as they went along. The room was nicely furnished, with a well-kept brown carpet complementing the wooden walls and cream-colored ceiling. Overall, it was quite cozy for a laboratory for experimentation. Baron imagined that those who were compliant and simply went along with the research were treated better than most, though the sight in the center of the room said that the end result was roughly the same. A comfortable-looking oaken bed sat in the middle of the large room, similar to a number of similar frames that were stacked off to one side, and on it sat a fly-ridden corpse, one that clearly belonged to one of the male Juka Sprites. Baron didn’t see any apparent source of death, no marks or anything, until he noticed the hands. All but three of the prisoner’s fingers had been removed, leaving the ring and middle fingers on the left hand, as well as the index finger on the right. Baron shuddered, realizing that the man had either died of infection or blood loss, by the look of things- and neither of those were a particularly good way to die. But if this was one of the compliant subjects… what had been done to those who resisted being experimented on? It could only be much worse.

Performing a quick check of the body’s clothing after fanning away as many of the flies as he could, Baron found nothing. He hadn’t actually expected to find anything, but who knew if there was perhaps a note, or a clue as to what sort of experiments were being performed? It had been worth a check. Sighing, the Twin Blade started to leave the room, when he noticed a side room, one that hadn’t immediately captured his attention after it had settled on the corpse. In fact, there were six doors, three on either side, spaced at a regular interval. Curious, Baron walked up to the first one, the one to the immediate right of the hallway door, and pulled it open. His morbid curiosity was paid in full as he caught sight of the contents of the side room and tried not to shudder again. There were two beds in the room, not quite as well furnished as the ones stacked in the center room, and on them were stacked piles of male Juka Sprite corpses. Blood was caked on the wall like a gruesome layer of paint in all directions.

Slamming the door shut behind him, his eyes wide with the horror he had seen, Baron took a moment to let his breathing slow again. The sight within had been a shock he hadn’t been braced for, and it had affected him profoundly. Sure, Sekai had told him of the visions of murder and death that the Ganz Orbs had contained within, but the Twin Blade had only been able to imagine what had occurred. Now he was getting a full-on visual, and it was something he wasn’t prepared to handle just yet. In the real world, his hands were shaking on his controller, but he swallowed once and forced them to grip tighter. Baron closed his eyes for a moment, breathing calmly again, and stood from his position leaning against the door. Moving to the next doorway, expecting something of the same hidden within, the Twin Blade wasn’t disappointed. The same scene repeated itself over and over in each of the remaining rooms, and soon, Baron had shut the last door, no longer willing to look.

“How… how can people just do these sorts of things, even in the name of science? It’s sick, twisted, messed up… why? Why haven’t they been stopped yet? Why has this been allowed to continue this long?!”

Baron wasn’t even aware that he was speaking out loud at that point, his voice getting louder and more shrill as he went on. Sinking to his knees momentarily, unable to stomach what he had just seen, he was almost tempted to go to Sidhe and request that he be allowed to leave. Either that, or Flashmail Gyl and ask for a quick exit out. Either way, he wanted to leave, to get away from the sick perversions that had been made out of the game he had once enjoyed. The World was just an online game! It shouldn’t have gone so far as to get living beings, whether human or AI, trapped in situations that had been revealed so far. The comatose players, the horrifying experiments of the Juk Prison… why hadn’t CC Corp done anything about it? Why hadn’t they put a stop to things? It was all wrong!

Shut up, Baron, and think! For one thing, someone is doing something about it, or did you forget your mission? You’re here to help them, so do so! Don’t give in so easily! As for CC Corp… they’re corrupt anyway, caring more about their own skins than the people within The World! Don’t worry about them, focus on the task at hand, or you’ll only be a burden.

Baron was silent, his eyes glued to the floor as he tried to get everything back in its logical place again. His whole foundation had been shaken by the room, and since it was only the first level of the dungeon, things were bound to get worse. The Twin Blade didn’t know if he could take it, if he was breaking down so easily. Putting his head on the ground, he squeezed his eyes tightly shut, trying to understand, hoping for some strength that could help him get past this hit to his sensibilities. Nothing came to mind, though, and renewed thoughts of quitting there and then came to the surface again, tempting him with a chance at semi-normalcy again…

Baron, I’m going to say one more thing, and if this doesn’t work, fine, go quit. But just hear me out, alright? Do you remember when we were at Θ Lonely Law’s Core, when you were trying to figure out your balance in life? Do you remember why you chose to come back here, the last reason that tipped the scales in this direction? Think about it.

Baron’s eyes snapped open as he realized the depth of Libra’s words. Sitting back up on his knees, the Twin Blade remembered what had helped him come to the decision to return to the Juk Prison. For a while, he had considered running for it, leaving the others to deal with it, and in the end had developed a list of reasons to go back and not to do so. Both had come up perfectly balanced, leaving Baron torn with indecision, but back then, Libra had also reminded him of one last reason that he had forgotten in his fear, something that he had always held dear before. The reason that the Twin Blade had come to the Juk Prison, as part of the Eventide Crescendo…

…It was because it was the right thing to do.

Locke took a moment to remove his headset, wiping at his eyes and calming quickly, remembering the resolve that had brought him back to the Juk Prison. Slipping the visor back on, he picked up his controller and began again. Baron got to his feet, now much more rational than he had been before. Moving to the doorway, he opened it up and moved out into the hallway, now resolute and ready to continue. A quick glance to the side revealed Talal, making her way down into the deeper regions of the dungeon. Shrugging as he watched the female Twin Blade walk away, Baron made his way into the door opposite the one he had come out of, one clearly marked as “Compliant Room 2,” and steeled himself, well aware of what was likely to be inside. However, there was the chance that a clue of some sort, something that could be used, could be hidden in one of the rooms in the dungeon, and Baron wasn’t going to let anything that could be used to shut down the dread laboratory go by.

Inside was a room similar to the last in appearance and setup, and here, the only difference was the corpse in the center. It was another Juka Sprite male, covered in flies as before, but this time, his hands were whole, with no missing digits. His feet, however, were missing all but two toes, the rest removed roughly as if sawed off. Baron almost felt sick again, but he turned his eyes away from the corpse to check the nearby doorway, sure of what would be inside. Sure enough, the same piles of bodies greeted his vision, stacked atop each other in a messy mound as if they were tossed in there for storage. Shutting the door behind him, Baron didn’t even bother to check the other ones, knowing that they were the same. Heading to the doorway, he opened it and stepped outside, trying to clear his mind of the images that still haunted them.

Shuddering, Baron decided that he’d go a short distance away and see if there was anything that wasn’t labeled “Compliant Room.” Making his way down the twisting hallway, he saw five other rooms, labeled 3-7, and finally came up to a room marked slightly differently than the others. It was marked “Compliant Restroom.” Baron paused, wondering if he should check it out, but he wasn’t sure that it would be necessary. Instead, he continued even further down the hallway, passing “Compliant Room 8,” and found himself at a pair of double doors marked “Healers Only.” Now that was different from the other rooms. Baron quickly approached the doors, reaching out to open them, when he noticed the lock on them. Frowning, the Twin Blade examined it closer, wondering if he could pick it with a Fortune Wire or something. However, in close proximity, it was clear that the lock was twisted and broken. Frowning again, this time in a bit of worry more than annoyance, Baron pushed open the doors and headed through without difficulty.

The doors led the Twin Blade to another area, an almost square room, fairly small in size. The doors that he had come out of were labeled “Compliant Hall” while the ones on the opposite sides were labeled “Resistant Halls.” It seemed that the other hallway from near the Power Supply Room doubled back and ended up in the same place, making the first floor of the dungeon a large circle. On the left, a set of doors with no apparent lock were labeled “RaEx 1.” Baron went over to those doors, tugging on them, but they were locked fast by some unknown mechanism. Kicking at them once in annoyance, Baron turned to the other side of the room, to the right of his entry. A door with a pair of very obvious electronic locks sat there, with two keypads to either side of it. The Twin Blade groaned, knowing that the whole thing meant passwords would be needed, something that he didn’t have.

Time to go back to searching.

Sighing, Baron turned and started back towards the first two Compliant Rooms, deciding that it would be best to check through all of the rooms in the hallway he had been in. Odds were that somewhere in the rooms was the password to one of the keypads, and the other would be somewhere in the Resistant hall. Baron started past Compliant Room 8 and was starting to turn to go down the hallway further when he noticed the Compliant Restroom. It was odd to have just an ordinary room like that one sitting around, when they were only using the Juka Sprites for experiments, right? It was worth a shot to check that room out, to make sure nothing was hidden inside. Pushing open the doors, Baron found himself in a room that looked similar to the dorm areas in terms of the walls and ceiling. The floors were linoleum, though. Eight stalls, evenly spaced out, were only broken in uniformity by a shower between them. At the far end of the room was a large mirror. Something was written on it, carved into the surface over and over…

“Healers don’t heal.”

Baron shuddered once more, a seemingly common occurrence as he went through the Juk Prison. The healers had been mentioned before, in that area with the keypads. Clearly, they were the “doctors” that likely performed experiments on the test subjects. Looking around, trying to take his mind off of the message, the Twin Blade noticed that one of the stall doors was ajar, and he strode over to it, knowing that he was likely to find something else to make him cringe. He wasn’t disappointed when he found a slumped-over Juka Sprite with a huge piece of his skull missing from some kind of gouging wound. The AI was dead, without a doubt, but at least he was mostly whole, unlike the people Baron had seen in the Compliant Rooms. It looked like it had been a fairly quick death as well, unless he had bled to death as well.

Sighing, Baron looked around and caught sight of the shower stall nearby, noticing that someone was in it. Another male Juka Sprite was lying on the ground, a deep cut in his stomach indicating the cause of death. Baron knew for a fact that the AI had not had a good death- stomach wounds were often the most drawn-out as one tried to hold one’s innards in while trying to avoid bleeding to death. It was rather painful as well, so it was said. Sighing, turning away before he was nauseous, Baron found himself faced with a similar body in the stall on the opposite wall. This one, however, had a dented head, which complemented the cracked wall very well. Was it suicide? Murder? Both were possibilities, based on the evidence, but it was more than likely the latter.

Sadly, none of the bodies had a clue on them, either, and Baron was left right back where he started, albeit with a few more unpleasant images. Closing the door behind him, the Twin Blade made his way down the hall, noting Talal coming out of Compliant Room 6 and realizing that she had probably started further down. Knowing that, the Twin Blade bypassed rooms seven and six, instead making his way back to three, the room after the ones where he had begun. It made logical sense to take them in order, after all, rather than jump around randomly. It was with that thought in mind that Baron soon found himself back in front of the door, looking at the sign before him. Without hesitation, he pushed it forward, completely resolved not to lose it as he got ready to view the latest carnage.

The latest room was no different from the first compliant rooms aside from the corpse change. Clearly, there was some kind of pattern going on, as the latest corpse had his jaw broken, the shattered bone allowing the corpse’s mouth to hang open, revealing a single tooth. Baron had to wonder why random body parts were missing at that point, but it was likely that there was some depth to Jula’s experiments that he wouldn’t get. Shrugging, the Twin Blade headed out the doorway, not even bothering to check the side closets. He knew what would greet them, and had seen enough piles of dead body for one floor. Instead, he went around the next turn and stopped at the door labeled “Compliant Room 4.” A quick peek inside revealed a corpse, this one with an eye plucked out. Shuddering as usual, Baron hurriedly closed the door, done with his examination of that room.

Still, something bothered him- where was the key to the door at the end, the password to open one of the electronic locks? It didn’t look like any of the rooms would have it- they were all examination rooms, with corpses who had lost most of their body parts. The first one had three fingers left, another had two toes, one had one tooth, and one had one eyeball…

Wait. Three, two, one, one. Could that mean something? Could there actually be a code hidden amongst such gory conditions? It made a grotesque sort of sense- what if one of the healers forgot the code? There had to be a way to remind them somehow, and that was it. The remaining body parts on the corpses in the center of each room had to be the key! Hurrying down the hallway and bursting through the double doors at the end, Baron typed out a quick Flashmail even as he examined the keypads, wanting to perform a few tests.

Once that was done, Baron tried a few quick combinations of button-pressing, starting with the numbers he knew, 3211, and then hit zero over and over, wondering if perhaps there would be something to alert him when he ran out of digits. It was a method to ascertain if the answer could be found the way he saw it- If the keypad stopped at eight digits, then there would be one for each room, giving him the passcode he needed. Unfortunately, nothing happened as he kept pressing zero, so Baron sighed in frustration. Trying something else, he pressed each of the numbers, zero through nine, to see if there was perhaps an affirmative beep hidden in there somewhere. Again, he was greeted with nothing but similar-sounding tones, foiling that particular attempt as well. The Twin Blade was about to try something again when he heard a faint beep, a pair of flashmails arriving, one with Talal’s response waiting for him. He eagerly read through it, getting the numbers as he went.

So, based off of the final numbers, if Baron’s theory was right, the password was 32110201. That was only a guess, of course, but it was worth a shot. The Twin Blade noted in passing that Talal would be coming to join him, to stick together, as he opened up Takua’s flashmail to note the contents. It was pretty much the same thing, with people needing to buddy up. It also seemed that the Wavemaster was onto the riddle for his half of the floor, which would mean that the sealed doors would be open soon enough. At least, hopefully. For the meantime, Baron turned back to the keypad and started typing again, praying that he was right. He entered the digits quickly and surely.

3…2….1…1…0…2…0…1

Baron punched the numbers into the right-hand pad, hoping that he had gotten the answer, but was saddened when nothing happened. Puzzled, the Twin Blade tried it on the left-hand pad, just in case, but found the same result. Considering the riddle, he tried two more combinations, 782912211 and 7829121015 for the missing pieces of the Juka Sprites, but still had nothing. Confused, he tried to consider what he had seen, and still came up with the same answers… unless the Juka Sprites in the Compliant Restroom were an answer. Baron decided he’d check on that shortly, once Talal had come and met up with him. For now, it was time to wait and think.

A few minutes later, Baron realized that there was a part of the riddle he hadn’t considered. Perhaps the room number was important in some way? The Twin Blade had tried based off of the bodies alone, but the fact that each of the rooms were numbered as they were as well… maybe that was the key. Curious, Baron walked up to the keypad, deciding to put that on the back burner for a moment. There was one other thing he wanted to try first- what happened if the bodies from the Compliant Restroom were also added into the equation? Maybe that was the key- the Twin Blade had ignored an important room without thinking about it. There had been three bodies within the room, none of them missing anything, so perhaps they were all zeroes in the code. It was worth a try, anyway.

Baron quickly tried 32110201000, putting the Compliant Restroom on the end of the code since it didn’t have an official room number. However, nothing came of it, and the Twin Blade frowned again, wondering if he was on the wrong track again. Trying again, this time with 32110200001, putting the rooms in order and using the various numbers he had assumed from each to get the code. Unfortunately, the same lack of result showed itself, and Baron was forced to reexamine his idea. The only thing he had left, though, was a correlation between the room number and the body within, something he doubted would work simply because of how simple it seemed. Still, it was worth a try, right?

13 – 22 – 31 – 41 – 50 – 62 – 70 – 81

Punching in the last digit, expecting nothing, Baron was surprised when the entire keypad lit up, the buttons flashing as if to say that it was the correct code. The Twin Blade raised an eyebrow, making a mental note not to put aside any possible answer, and waited, expecting one of the large locks on the door to slide open. However, within five seconds, the keypad stopped glowing, and everything was back to normal. Baron was only puzzled for a moment, and then he noticed the other keypad, the one on the left-hand side of the door. It seemed that both codes would have to be put in within a certain amount of time from the other, in order to open the doors. In essence, a second person would be required. The treasure hunter frowned, knowing he’d have to wait until someone from the Resistant Hall came and put in their code, so he leaned up against the wall near his pad, waiting for someone else to arrive.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Kira came up, surprisingly without the miniature Archer that she usually tagged along with. Baron wondered why Sekai wasn’t with the Long Arm, but he said nothing, sure that she was likely safe with someone else while Kira was out exploring. Regardless, it was someone from the Resistant Hall, which meant that she might know the code. Fortunately, it seemed she did, and Baron put in his code quickly as Kira put hers in. Baron crossed his fingers, wondering if they had really gotten the answer. His heart jumped momentarily as a hiss was heard, both locks being released simultaneously, leaving the door to be opened. Without waiting, even though he knew Talal would be arriving, Baron pushed open the door and moved into the new area, curious to see what would be hidden behind such security. Probably something important, knowing his luck.

The room behind was a mid-length hallway, thicker than the others had been, with two doors on each wall to the sides. The area was in the same drab hospital fashion, keeping with the floor-wide theme, but Baron ignored that as he glanced about, seeing the two rooms on the right to be of first importance. The closest one, labeled “Resident Nutrition,” was the first to be explored. Baron moved to the door quickly, checking the handle, and found it unlocked. Pulling the door open, he slipped inside, one hand on his weapon as he entered. There hadn’t been an enemy as of yet, but Baron was sure that it wasn’t going to be so easy forever, so he was cautious and ready. Fortunately, the room seemed to be empty of human or AI life. That didn’t prevent it from being a spine-chilling area, though.

The room was lit up by a giant cylindrical device in the center of the room, one that went from the floor to the ceiling. At the top of the cylinder was a plaque with the words “Raw Juk.” Growing up the sides of the cylinder were crystalline structures, something that almost reminded Baron of rock candy, but not quite. Through a few openings and cracks in the structures, the Twin Blade thought he could see some kind of green liquid floating in the cylinder, though he couldn’t be sure. That was the source of the light, though, and it filled a good portion of the room. Going by that light, Baron caught sight of a plaque set at the bottom of the cylinder, one that had clearly written words on it that he could read. They said “For maximum gathering efficiency, wait for resident nutrition to completely cover surface. Premature removal results in slower growth.” That was probably related to the crystalline structures- they were clearly covering the cylinder now, so would probably be harvested soon. But by whom? Baron hadn’t seen anyone alive since he had entered the dungeon, so that was a mystery.

Looking around the room, Baron caught sight of roughly thirteen circular doors set into the walls, five on each of the longer side walls and three on the back wall opposite the entrance. Moving to the nearest one, the Twin Blade noticed a sign on the wall above the doors, one that read “1 Rock - This serving, given once a day, will keep a Sprite alive but will not curb hunger pangs. RESISTANT MEAL. 3 Rocks - This serving, given three times a day, will keep a Sprite satiated. COMPLIANT MEAL.” Clearly it was a method of organization… but for feeding the Juka Sprites? Was this an experimental substance, or was it designed to keep the AIs in perfect condition for experimentation? Either way, it wasn’t just any ordinary growth, that was for sure.

Out of curiosity, Baron decided to break a chunk off, to see what exactly it was made of. Pulling out one of his blades, he easily chipped off a small fragment from the main mass. Sheathing his weapon, the Twin Blade looked closely at the fragment, trying to understand what exactly it was. He didn’t understand, though, so he added it to his inventory and sent a Flashmail to Gyl, mentioning the crystalline substance and directing the hacker to the item now in his item pouch, where it could be plucked out with ease.

Once the Flashmail was sent off, Baron left the room after one more glance, assuming that there wasn’t anything else left to deal with. Looking at the cylinder in the center of the room, though, the Twin Blade wondered if he should find a way to stop the substance, in the event that Jula and her minions used it to further their goals. The cylinder was likely the answer, since the crystals grew up the side of it, so maybe it had to be broken? Breaking off a small patch of crystals on one part of the cylinder, Baron stabbed one of his blades into the surface, trying to break the glass-like substance. Unfortunately, it held fast, without a scratch, leaving nothing changed. Sighing, the Twin Blade sheathed his weapons, sure that he wasn’t able to do anything else in the room, and headed into the hallway again.

The next room on the right, which Baron walked towards quickly, was labeled “Surveillance Room B.” As he moved to examine the room, the Twin Blade noticed Kira checking out the rooms on the opposite side of the hallway. Clearly, she was going to handle that half, reducing the amount of exploring Baron would have to do. Shrugging, the treasure hunter tried the handle on the doorway, finding it unlocked too. It was really no surprise, though- if someone had cracked the codes to get into the hallway, they would probably be able to handle a single lock. It all made sense, in a sort of way. Pushing the door open, Baron stepped inside, looking around immediately.

The first thing that greeted the Twin Blade’s vision was a large array of hovering panels, spaces between all of them used to slip into the center. Clearly that was how one accessed the vast multitude. Baron almost went in himself, to see what it was like, but stopped when he saw a body within the center of the ring. The man within was wearing a large green trenchcoat, one that covered a black shirt, black pants, and black shoes. He looked like some kind of scientist, or rather, it looked like he had once been. Now, he was a corpse, his torso split messily in half, and he lay within the ring of screens. Gingerly, Baron approached, examining the man closer, and noticed an ID badge clipped to the front pocket. Removing it carefully, the Twin Blade examined it closely, noting that it had the man’s name (which was “Teeg,” quite odd, to be honest) and position, which was “Observer.” Beneath the name was an ID number, "333483," and a barcode beneath it. Baron pocketed the badge, knowing that it might be used in the future for accessing a door.

Turning to leave, Baron noticed another figure on the ground near the wall, several broken screens nearby. Running over, the Twin Blade realized it was a young woman, one who had likely been thrown against the screens and had been killed. She was dressed similarly to the dead Teeg, and her ID badge was labeled “Observer- Hahliday” and had the ID number “454512” on it. Baron took the ID and put it in his inventory as well. Once he was done, the Twin Blade started to leave, and then he realized something. Both of the people seemed to be Jula’s helpers… and both were dead, killed by an unknown, but very violent force. Baron swallowed, wondering if said force was friend or foe, and quickly typed out a Flashmail, suddenly worried.

Sending it off, Baron prayed he wasn’t too late, even as he headed back to the room where the keypads were to meet up with the others.

Turning one's heart cold wasn't something that the small Archer found herself able to do; the military mindset as foreign and alien a concept to her as one might find a roach in the middle of a quarantined, sterilized area.

Yes; she understood that things in that field wished for their pain, wished to revel in their suffering and would more than happily, greedily send them to their deaths like countless others. But... at the same time, did that truly mean that they in turn had to adapt a 'us or them' attitude no matter what?

The walk was silent, her worry a palpable thing despite her relief at seeing that Zan was okay as her eyes moved amongst the group. Kira's whisper-soft footsteps in sync with her own as the tall AI kept her guard up enough for the both of them, scouting the surroundings for any sign of hostility that moved even the slightest inch.

Sidhe-san... he didn't look very healthy. Was what Nemera-san had contagious? Sekai wondered in concern, noting the lines of exhaustion in the man's face with concern clear in her eyes. How many of them were going to fall away from one another and fall before... whatever awaited them? It worried and troubled her a very great deal...

A very small but significant amount of comfort came from the barely perceptible squeeze of her hand, a brush of an arm against her own that let her know the AI was still there and rather intently listening. She had Kira and she had Zan; those two... despite their, err, disagreements with one another's way of handling things, surely they wouldn't... they wouldn't fall?

'I really need to stop thinking of all the bad that could possibly happen and focus on what good there is.'

The tiny Juk blessed Archer thought ruefully with a shake of her snowy head.

The same marking that left them all angered to some degree was in the mountain side, glances exchanged before, one by one, their hands were placed upon it and they were transported to whatever lie beyond. Hesitation was going to get her and.... and someone else killed one of these days, Sekai told herself severely, biting her lip as Kira took her hand and placed it upon the mark at almost the same time her own hand pressed against it.

She needed to be able to act on her own.

Her eyes widened, face paling as she looked at the fake looking doors- the windows- and felt something sick rising up sharp within her stomach. Only someone unused to seeing that kind of window wouldn't know what that generally symbolized.

Where those were found most commonly.

'Don't... don't tell me that this is-'

Kira looked just as sick as she did, memories of a time she had seen those kind of doors with those windows flashing through her mind. Twilight had done it once, it'd probably do it again if they willed it enough and there was a need for the same thing to happen. The AI shook her head violently and charged ahead, not wanting to look at it any longer than she damn well had to. Sekai picked up the pace as well, one hand nervously held in a fist as she bit her thumbnail out of habit.

Not good. Really not good.

Blood. I smell blood. Somethin' else too.

Kira informed the girl, warning her in her own subtle way to be on guard for anything that might attack as Talal suggested a way to illuminate the shadowed hall from hell. Sekai whispered the beginning of a Rai based spell, more for her own comfort in case any kind of Ani based enemy reared up and attempted an assault and watched the bow she held in her hand become a glowing, almost comforting gold in hue that illuminated about fourteen inches or so in front of her.

All swarming into a room called the 'Power Supply', they milled about and muttered to one another, unable to find a light switch or anything that might activate the lights around them. Sekai shivered, backing away as far as possible from the chill that came with more stale air, the kind that wanted to completely devour her. Back another step, and another.

And another and ano-

“Hyaaaauuu!”

Slowly and with a hum that sent chills down her spine and the hair rising on all their arms, light began to form somewhere behind her at first. Sekai whirled around wild eyed, hand clutching the place where something had gotten here. Her eyes were comically large and the short, unevenly cut white hair currently stood on end as she froze at what was generating the noise and the light in horror.

Kira was not fond of Little One induced heart attacks, her heart almost out of control as she too whirled, spear in hand and ready to skewer a bitch and serve 'em to Zan for a formal meal. She noticed the hand against the girl's body and the way she was staring, looking confused, bewildered and horrified at the same time at the glowing horns and put two and two together.

Gods help her; keeping Sekai out of trouble was going to be like trying to catch fish blindfolded in the desert.

“Sekai; how did you...?”

One of the most pitiful, wounded and confused expressions that made the little shit so endearing turned her way as she pointed to the antlers and responded shakily.

“I-It shocked me...”

...oh fantastic; her little one was officially a walking target for trouble.

'It went 'BZZT' and that's all I heard when I felt it get me and-'

Whatever the hell Sekai was saying in her native tongue in their connection was way too fast for even her fluidity in the language to keep up with. Poor thing, Kira thought with amusement and finger combed through the girl's static filled hair to try and make it lie flat again with some success. Still fluffier than usual but, it'd have to do.

Alana's explanation made sense, as much as neither one of them wanted to admit at the time being, and Kira found herself once again more than a little suspicious of the woman's true intentions. Sure, Sekai had stared the woman down and damn near shoved the help down her throat- something Kira had been all too happy to watch go down- but... it hadn't cast the suspicion away in the least.

Neither one of them still trusted Alana, not in the long run. Kira less so than Sekai. As people filed out, going to see what hell sent horror awaited them after the locks slipped away, the AI found Sekai staring at Sidhe with a mix of anxiety and concern in her timid features.

Kira had to admit; he did look like he needed a bit of a break for sure. Sekai seemed to be considering what she should do and- definitely not a time to interfere or put her own two cents in- seemed to be caught between two different ways of approaching the subject.

It was definitely in her best interest to sit this one out unless she was needed to put it in blunter, less polite words, the Ruem princess decided and quietly stepped back and waited to watch how this particular scenario played out in front of her.

Sekai hesitated, uncertainty filling her expression a moment as she tried to decide whether or not it'd be a good idea to question the current leader of the Eventides while Nemera-san was... unwell. Compassion and a tendency to worry replaced any current fear as she bit her lip and walked forward a bit, hurrying her steps to catch up with Sidhe-san and softly voiced her inquiry; fumbling with her words as her almost absurdly polite speech warred with an overly shy nature.

“Sidhe-san? Um... if... it isn't out of line for me to ask, and if so I truly do apologize and mean no disrespect, you... seem very tired. Have you not rested even a little?”

"Hmm?"

He blinked, the movement looking like it too way more effort than it should have.

"Yeah. I got a few winks during the break."

That was most definitely not the very same sharp minded and observant Long Arm from the first part and, somehow managing to make her disbelief polite, tawny eyes darkened in concern as her gaze touched on the pallid form of Nemera's unconscious body upon the taller man's back. She certainly couldn't carry her like that and couldn't ask Kira to, knowing that the AI was wanting to go see if anyone could be saved in this damned place if they were alive, but... she could... she could be useful in watching over her for just a moment.

“I ask that you please excuse my ill manners in what I say next but,”

She swallowed hard and seemed to fight with what she wanted to say.

“But I do not believe that Sidhe-san is telling the complete truth, if the truth at all. This place is... it's going to be worse than the field itself, I... I have a bad feeling about it and, if Sidhe-san isn't at least a little rested, or takes an opportunity when he has one available...”

Sekai didn't want to think about the repercussions having someone so exhausted it was taking effort to even blink be in a battle for life or death. Her chin set in a rather endearingly stubborn manner, the small girl gathered up her small mantle of courage and donned it as she made her proposition.

“Please allow me to relieve the burden just for a little bit; I will stay on one side of Nemera-san and you... you can be on the other if it may make you feel any better. But, I really believe you should rest for even a little while, you're going to end up getting hurt and that would make Nemera-san and and everyone else here very sad.”

She bowed quickly, tiny fists held at her sides as she tried to put in as much of an argument as she could.

“If.. if I will not do, I'm certain Kira will stand guard too or someone else who you may like better surely would not mind doing so for a little while if it's to help.”

"No."

For a minute, the Sidhe-san they all knew was there, not only in voice but in appearance as well. For a moment, Sekai thought he might have just needed a bit of... a bit of encouragement or a push to help. And then the exhaustion returned fiercer than ever.

"I'm sorry. Look...thanks. I mean it, thank you, but Nemera's my responsibility. I'm doing fine. I just need to keep moving. She's, heh, she's a little heavy."

Sekai flinched as if the verbal denial had been a lash from a whip across her body. She swallowed hard against the lump that threatened to rise in her throat, an annoyance rising to the surface along with a few whispers of thought that said that if Alana or Zan had asked, then he might have been more willing. Damn herself for not being strong enough to just take Nemera-san off of his back and knock him on his stubborn butt.

“If... Nemera-san and her well being is your responsibility, who's is it to keep you and your well being in mind?”

Kira moved, a whisper of her skirts-like garments and the soft scrape of her spear against the ground signalling her approach. There was a rather classically annoyed expression that was probably slightly reminiscent of the typical scowl Nemera used when something was particularly stupid and exasperating and that she had to deal with.

Men, for example.

“Is your pride really worth your life and Nemera's?”

Always to the point and never beating around the bush, her voice was calm but just as pointed as Sidhe's own had been. She knew pride when she saw it, or believed she did. The man was ready to drop where he stood and snooze and yet it was pride and stubborn brass balls that kept him going. Plus, if Nemera had heard that heavy comment? Kira was fairly sure the strong willed, temperamental Heavyblade would have measured his length out on the floor and forced the poor bastard's rest on him.

“She'd kick your ass if she knew you called her heavy.”


"I believe you guys will keep me safe. You've made it clear you care enough."

Sekai was learning to recognize sweet talking when she heard it and that had definitely been sweet talking of some degree. She wanted so badly to believe it and to assume that responsibility herself and yet...

D'oh, Kira! Sekai mourned in her head, wanting nothing more than to smack her palm into her face in a classic and typical example of exasperated embarrassment as she realized what the AI was trying to pull.

"She can be mad at me when she's healthy again. Until then, she's under my watch."

If he thought Nemera was going to only be mad at him when she woke up... Sekai shook her head sadly, feeling rather sorry for the poor male Long Arm. If Nemera-san's temper was as bad as it ever was? And especially if she wasn't feeling good still? She had a feeling she'd make some kind of example out of him.

Maybe tie him to her sword and drag him around the dungeon on her back. That seemed like a rather sadistic, if not very Nemera thing to do; especially if word got around that he called her 'heavy'.

"Also, blackmail? Real respect winner."

The thumbs up was complete and total sarcasm, as well as his comment, the sound of palms slamming against the doors a little harder than necessary to open them causing Sekai to wince and give the look to Kira; patient as it was but, still that kind of look.

Kira was polite enough to keep her opinion of his sarcastic comment and the look her male Elemental and Class twin had given her between herself and Sekai, expression never changing a hint as he, rather childishly, slammed the doors open in a complete waste of whatever damn energy he had left to end the conversation on the way out. She and Sekai paused, two sets of different golden hues meeting for a long moment as silent communication- more like planning- was sent back in forth and decided upon by an incline of their heads towards one another.

Sekai would go the same way as Sidhe-san would, and judging by the looks of the unopened set of doors, the same way Zan and likely Takua-san had gone as well. She was the least conspicuous of the two, even if she couldn't lie to save her life and had proven time and time again that she was the type who tended to do better

While she was on her way out the door, she noticed an unread flashmail from Zan and opened it, pausing at the door with her head tilted ever so slightly to one side while she read the contents with a bit of a raised eyebrow.

'Did you make a reference to the Eventides... um, being like wolves at any point?'

Kira frowned at her, the AI's head cocking to the opposite side Sekai's was tilted at as she gave the girl a searching look and shrugged, seeing no harm in it and nodded.

Way back in the field and in the battle with Saol, yeah. I made some kind of reference between wolves and the Eventides. Problem?

Sekai shook her head and responded to the flashmail with one of her own.

Suddenly, going the Compliant route didn't seem like a good idea, some snaking, vicious feeling in her gut telling her not to separate from Sekai to the point where she wouldn't be able to get to the small girl easily. She jogged to catch up, passing by the girl and slowing long enough to deliver a message and a faint hand against the girl's small shoulders to give her strength- and to give herself the strength to prepare for it all as well- before she too disappeared into the dimly lit halls.

Change of plans. I'm over there; go ahead and stay with Sidhe and Nemera while I take a better look around. Also, 5 GP says that he scowls or narrows his eyes when I walk past.

Sekai's response was rather... blithe, though there was more than just a slight hint of amusement in her voice as she informed the disappearing form of the AI of Sidhe's reaction to the passing with a shake of her head. Such a strange person, that AI love of hers, Sekai thought to herself with a small, private smile. The two letters that made up the short term for 'artificial intelligence' amused her, considering that was how one spelled the Japanese word for love 'Ai' when using English letters.

Ahh, the amusement of being from another country, she thought and smiled to herself, shaking the silly out of her head and racing to catch up with Sidhe carrying Nemera to carry out her task of being responsible for their well being and safety while his was compromised by the unconscious form on his back.

'I believe that five GP is mine.'

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She had slipped past the others in their pause in the hallways, Alana and Zan's forms having gone before her as her ears caught the sounds of individual reactions, of flashmails being sent back and forth- an odd echo from her link with Sekai- and the distress from her little one that followed the contents of said messages. Everything was relayed to her as she'd requested, the voice reading them shaky and the sorrow painfully clear with every note 'spoken' to her. It was unspeakable, what Jula had done to the Juka Sprites, and yet the part of her who'd gone on not one but several massacres- each as vivid in her mind's eye as the day she'd done the dirty deed- in her lifetime within her world?

Kira found herself believing that the methods her people had taken were less... cruel. More barbaric- maybe- but definitely kinder than what these people had been put through and forced to endure.

Then again, there's a line we don't cross; no matter who our enemies are.

There didn't seem to be any such line in the human cruelty; that was for sure.

The air was stale, fetid with piss and excrement, old copper and sickness souring it as she kept her stomach and mind completely down with the ruthlessness of a wither-hearted old warlord. This was no place for feelings and emotions to be on the rise; anger would do nothing in this place, neither would sorrow or pity or anything else someone might be harboring within their hearts.

If they could; the hearts that no longer beat and the minds that no longer thought would have been free after the first few hours.

Resistant Room Five was everything she'd come to expect- and then some- from the people who'd likely run this forsaken realm. Broken, unnatural lighting- how else to make someone so used to sunlight uncomfortable and miserable?- unnatural floors and unnatural fibers making up bullshit they called 'bedding' littered the area. Flies swarmed a mattress in the center as Kira approached and paused beside the body, kneeling beside it as she swatted aside fat, blood gorged flies away from their investigation of both the corpse and her own still living flesh.

Missing ear. Takua had found something alright. She made a note of that, keeping it stored with some other information she'd need to keep in order to report back to the others with their findings.

Beauty was found even in death; no matter how gruesome it may have been, Kira thought, examining the body and found herself unable to find a cause. It wasn't from the ear being removed, not that she could tell unless they'd continued annoying the wound to the point it infected and the fever from that killed them. Eyes still open, a shade of green and brown that would have been dazzling had it not been glossed over with- motherfucking flies.

Her hand snapped out, banishing the pests and felt her heart rate jump from annoyance for an instant, slowly, steadily calming back down to settle like an iceberg in the middle of a frozen lake. Her fingers were gentle as they closed the lids for the last time and rose to her feet.

“I can do no more than this and your dirge; I shouldn't even do the latter, you aren't my people.”

She told the body quietly, amber eyes somehow softer than normal and with an expression that none who kept her company had witnessed thus far.

“But I cannot get Rohana here, as much as I wish to. You'll... have to settle for a former Ruem High Priestess and pray that will be enough.”

Her spear was called in, thumb run across the wickedly honed edge as she watched her blood bead to the surface and placed the mark of Juk across the forehead of the one on the mattress. This wasn't something she could do for all of them; those who were dismembered, in her eyes, were those Jula's men and women, she thought with a flash of Alana's face within her mind, suspected to be the leaders of them all. For the leaders came the highest respect; the rest would... they would have to make due with the formal closing of their eyes and the dirge.

A deep breath, the filthy air in her throat and on her tongue making her nauseous, and one long, sweet and clear note filled the room as she moved into one of the smaller adjoining rooms. She took her time, examining those who had died, ignoring the piles of shit in the bucket and the smears on the wall as she entwined the name of their race into the traditional Ruem mourning song. Their whole race- she really doubted that there would be any left due to Jula's little bitchfit and the traitor who'd sold their own people out- was completely slaughtered.

And this, aside from helping the Eventides and, as an extension, the Progeny, take the Highers out?

Was the only thing she could truly do for them.

The dirge continued through the other smaller rooms and into the next room, RR6 as she remembered it, adding it and the fact that he was missing all but one arm and his head remaining as 'limbs'. Her thumb was reopened, the mark of Juk placed upon his brow, and her fingertips- unbloodied mind you- closed his eyes for their eternal rest. Low notes that rumbled, vibrating against her rib cage and higher, clearer notes that echoed softly within the room poured from her lips as the end of the dirge came with the final of the smaller additions to the sixth resistant room. The last smaller room was where the first round ended and two more had their eyes closed before she stood.

Her thumb was throbbing; she'd have to clean it out after she was finished, probably have to cut just above it and in the same place to let it clean out before sucking it and spitting the contents to the floor. There was anger there, she knew there was and it became a tangible thing, sticking like a lump within her throat as she regarded the bodies around her.

These were not her people. Not her responsibility to tend to, to take care of.

Hell, this wasn't even her place to do what she was doing any longer.

Her footsteps entered the seventh resistant room, closed the forest hued eyes of the body missing nothing within it and marked his forehead with a bloody symbol of their God. Again her lungs filled with the foul air of the suffering and the damned before the dirge began a second time. Each smaller, corpse filled room proved as disheartening and as frustrating as the last as her fingers continued to close grimy, accusation and suffering filled eyes one after another until each set seemed to blur in her mind.

She was settling back into old habits of olden days she'd thought long, long past. The problem with settling was whether or not it was a good or bad mindset to find herself into; death was going to be plentiful in this place and this wasn't the last time she would see conditions as bad- if not worse as time went on- than these.

The eighth room passed in a blur as well, her eyes and mind- by habit- took in the severe gut wound and the missing hands of the leader dead in the mattress. Her fingers closed his eyes while her thumb was opened yet again, placing the mark of Juk upon his brow as her throat and mouth continued to spill forth the mourning song for the entire race. Kira wanted to do more, direly wished for the ability to do more for them. Not even her people and yet, the part of her that was still bound, that was still filled with the habits and the memories of being that High Priestess still tore at her with vicious, unrelenting claws?

That part of her was desperate to give what rites she could; not knowing those who worshiped the Neutral God's formalities but, needing to do something for them since there was no one left to do such for them.

She finished the dirge in the last room of the smaller ones. Shaking and wanting to be somewhere clean and not inside, Kira gave herself a slap across the face, streaking her left cheek with the Gods only knew what and set her jaw grimly before heading out into the hall way and 'round the corner. The scent of fresh vomit hit her hard as did the form of Zan and- oh for the love of Merrows why- Alana standing near the door she hadn't entered yet.

She'd place a bet that Alana hadn't thrown up judging by the expression lingering in her eyes and face.

Kira's expression was grim and unusually serious for the general 'who gives a shit' attitude she tended to throw around without a care in the world. Stepping around the vomit had proved tricky but doable as she paused one step into the room, backed hastily the way she'd come out of it with an almost violent shake of her head- like she was rejecting everything that had to do with it outright- and proceeded to frown a minute.

Something that was clear distress filtered into the pupil lacking amber eyes as she glanced around, seeming to have forgotten that Alana and Zan were there in the first place, and came to some conclusion or another as she called in her weapon, the tip of it suspiciously stained with fresh blood- as did her still oozing left thumb- and used it to begin a tear in the long, nearly ankle length sapphire blue overskirt she wore. Ripping up and across, the large chunk of thick fabric was gathered up and folded into a mask-like covering for her nose and mouth, tied behind her bun, the amber eyes were startling in contrast the the jewel colored fabric as she charged back in minus the spear.

Shards of glass were everywhere, her eyes sweeping the room for a generalization of the look- dirty, disgusting and in worse shape than the nastiest of the smaller rooms she'd been in; and that was saying something- before she began to pick her way through the room itself, mindful of the glass shards at first before eventually resorting to recalling her weapon to sweep the glass away from her path.

Shit was everywhere, that was for certain and- what in the hell.

She stared at the Juka Sprite pinned to the wall in abject horror crossed with revulsion. By a jagged shred of glass no less?! That sound might have been her jaw cracking, Kira wasn't quite sure as she gashed her thumb for the... third? Fourth? time that day and stretched on her tip toes to manage a clumsier but still legible mark of Juk upon that one's brow. Nothing missing, cause of death ridiculously painful and obvious, Kira thought with a shake of her head.

Fucking thing needed to come out.

Now.

Her hand reached out, trying to find a non-jagged edge before swearing under her breath and yanking despite the way the vicious thing decided to take a bite out of her as well. The sting and answering hiss of pain was nothing compared to the horror that hit her next as she dropped the jagged shard and found the body tumbling straight down the hole before she could even manage to reach out to grab a hand, a foot or anything to keep the body where it was.

“Fuck!”

The harshly uttered word echoed about the room, vocalizing her fury and distress at seeing the body go down somewhere it definitely did not need to be. Had it not been so far down- ten seconds?!- Kira'd have tried to fish him out- as nasty as that was- purely on the respect level, not to mention it was disgusting to even think about.

“Evagna ussa...”

She said quietly to the missing hole, distressed and almost- almost wanting to cry over such a thing before her training reached in and yanked her up by the proverbial scruff of the neck to slap her back into action. Moving from the retched hole to the body she could salvage, she pulled him with her non-injured hand away, wincing at the open throat that gaped up raggedly at her.

Her injured hand was slick with blood, angling it so that she didn't drip all over his body was some large pain in the ass chore as she finally marked the rune of the Forest God upon his forehead and stood to her feet. Breathing was hard enough with the mask on, near impossible without it, not without wanting to throw up anyways. Such a stench she hadn't ever been privy to even in the foulest of places she'd been in battle before.

This was going to take some seriously concentrated effort on her end.

Her eyes closed, bloodied hand leaking down the shaft of her weapon, the wood quietly drinking it in as it slipped down in beads that more resembled the tears of the brethren who'd fallen, as she inhaled through her mouth, feeling her stomach roil violently in protest and her throat threaten to close entirely on her and began again.

This was not going to be the first time.

And, surely, this would not be the last time she sang the dirge this day.

Her voice was pleasant, even if thick with mourning, grief and regret, as her voice followed the song. A wild thing, untamed in sound as the notes followed one another higher and slowly spiraled low before returning again in a language as alien as it was familiar to those able to hear it. What she was saying was likely not understood, not by any near or alive anyways, but the emotion, the tone of voice that was required for their passage was more than clear enough to let those around know what it was.

When the last notes faded, their echoes no more, Kira turned and walked out the same way she did into the room. Rather than turn back the way she knew she'd come, Kira moved further down the unexplored portion of the hall and emptied the contents of her own stomach. Damn her pride, she thought wearily as she heaved again, the splattering obvious before the dry heaves kicked in and the gagging gave nothing more than spittle, mild stomach acid and bile that could be spat out.

Her eyes closed a moment as she inclined her head once and knew that once she returned- despite how foul she likely smelled just by going into the rooms alone- that she'd need to stay at Sekai's side. Just until the shakiness had worn off and the unfamiliar feeling of being distraught managed to fade away.

'Should I come for you?'

Sekai asked anxiously from their link, ready to come and find her as soon as possible as soon as she said the word. Kira shook her head, knowing her little one wouldn't see the gesture but, would get the gist anyways from the sentiments sent down the link.

If it were my choice, I would have you sent out right now. I don't want you anywhere near this place; and I highly doubt even Zan would be inclined to disagree with me right now.

That sparked a worry alright, the AI thought wearily as she opened her eyes.

I will be there shortly, I'll tell Zan and Alana to come along as well.

She picked herself up and set her expression back to rights, ripping a larger portion of the overskirt off to even it out all around, giving it an almost petal like point in the very back as the several layers of... what looked like gauzy goldenrod fabric hid all but an outline of the strong legs beneath it. Wiping her mouth with one half she tore from it, she dropped the rest over the vomit as much as she could, tearing a smaller piece from the second have and, in passing, offered the oddly shaped smaller piece for him wipe his mouth on.

And dropped the second, bigger piece over where he'd emptied his stomach too without looking at him with more than an understanding 'I won't mention it' expression in her eyes. The sympathy- as unusual and uncharacteristic such a thing was, sent in her direction for one, and from him for another- in his gaze felt more like that glass that had sliced her palm than anything comforting.

“We need to regroup; trouble is on the way and,”

It seemed like an awkward thing for her to say, expression reflecting her trouble as she finished her thought in an uncharacteristically quiet manner.

“I don't think it's something we should be separated for.”

The walk back seemed longer than the walk there, her body rounding the final corner as she caught a hint of white hair in the distance. Tawny eyes immediately found her in the same uncanny way a cat found a mouse in the darkest of nights, the girl bowing slightly in apology to Sidhe as she squeezed on past and rushed over to meet the grimy AI. Removing a small square of cloth, some largely unimportant piece Kira imagined, and pouring a little of the Pure Water on there, the girl set about to wiping away the grim from Kira's skin as best she could with her brow furrowed in worry.

Something stung her hands, Sekai's cleaning of her gashes annoying as she hissed softly from the pain of it. Her eyes darkened as the small girl poured the contents of a Health Drink over her injuries, watching them scar and heal over until she couldn't tell the difference anymore. Zan was going to get a similar treatment, Kira thought; even the humor of the girl fussing over the grumpy werewolf wasn't enough to do more than make the corner of her mouth twitch faintly.

Her face was suddenly caught by two small hands and pulled to look directly into a pair of worried eyes that searched her, looking for some kind of answer as a flashmail suddenly echoed in both their minds, Sekai opening and forwarding the contents for Kira to see as she asked a single question of the woman.

'...it's that bad, isn't it?'

Tears clouded her eyes, forcing them to close again as she too composed a flashmail for the rest of them to see with her own findings and dropped her head for one moment on to her little one's shoulder. Just one second, that's all she needed. It hadn't meant to come out as spoken aloud; something only supposed to be said between their link, the place only the two of them could her. Her voice came out in a harsh whisper, throat still slightly raw from the use of the long, sustained notes from the dirge for the Juka Sprites.

“Even worse.”

Frustrated restlessness caught her in the throes of her need for some subtle comfort- despite how rather unsubtle her gestures were- and Sekai caught her by the wrist, examining her expression and nodded, releasing the agitated woman to do what she needed to and watched her depart. Not too long after, the stone faced AI- her eyes clearly showing their annoyance in flashes of golden light in the dimly lit area- returned and seemed to be heading back towards the other end of the hall.

This time, Sekai thought to herself, she would not go alone.

Sekai jogged after with an apologetic look to Sidhe- she'd watch him when she got back and protect he and Nemera- and caught up with the long legged AI a few heartbeats later, reaching out and grabbing the woman's wrist again. They waged a silent war between them, eyes locked and postures tensed, stubborn and unyielding as the heated, fierce argument between the two of them continued.

And ended with Sekai as the victor.

She stuck close to the AI, shuddering at the distinctive smell of death, blood and what she suspected was probably urine in the air as they continued, Kira's hand moved and personally covered the girl's mouth and nose as she escorted her hurriedly past the bathroom. The icy princess' eyes narrowed as she reached the keypad, frowning at the damn thing as she murmured for Sekai to flashmail Baron, the two of them attempting to enter the numbers several times- failing to synchronize them the majority of the time- until they managed to succeed on one and listened to the lock give.

“Be careful.”

Kira told her softly, spear suddenly in hand and gestured for Sekai to do the same before heading down the same cold cement hallway with it's unnatural, harsh lighting. Sekai's grip tightened on the bow in her hands, the Rai based energy still lighting the surrounding area with a soft, pale golden hue that almost reminded the girl of a will-o-wisp or firefly, her eyes skimmed the area, looking for something- anything- that might present itself as a danger. There was the possibility of the Swath coming as well, despite being there with Kira... she didn't want to be stuck with just the two of them.

Baron could be seen a moment- only three of them? That wasn't going to work either, even with herself on healing and support fire, and the two of them on assault duty. They needed the entire group in case anything went wrong and fast.

He vanished into one of the rooms, Kira leading her into the next and frowned with interest at the odd collection of filing cabinets around the area. Together they explored, checking cautiously for any sign of hostility before going through the filing cabinets themselves, disappointed to find them empty and void. Sekai's eyes lowered to the ground in a weariness that she knew was only going to get worse as time went on- and blinked.

Papers?

One by one she scooped them up, skimming over them and called to Kira, reading them to her and watching the AI's analytical gaze go to work with narrowed eyes.

“There's some interesting stuff on the computer as well; empty files but, the titles of such'll be of use to you.”

Kira gave her the information, tugging the girl out of the room as she stored the files in her inventory and followed the tall woman into the next room. A series of sharp curses filled the air, a sudden body between herself and what she'd already seen catching her off guard as she looked up, noticing the way the muscles in Kira's throat seemed to be working, like she was angry or something that they'd walked right into something she didn't want them to see.

After a moment's time, she reluctantly moved to one side, allowing Sekai to see the results for herself as the two of them moved forward. Sekai accepted Kira's need- desperate as it was in her heart- to offer some sort of protection and quietly kept herself half a step behind the woman, taking some cover behind the woman's broad back and peeked around when her steps began to slow to a stop.

Two bodies lay on the floor, sprawled on their faces with a fist sized hole in their skulls showing the way they'd been killed- someone or something had gotten them both from behind- amidst all the floating screens. Weaving through the screens, Sekai paused, frowning at the grainy image of the bodies strewn about the rooms and- at something she could almost make out despite the quality.

“There's an ID on both of 'em, looks like one of those bar code things you have on most stuff in your world. I have their names too, put 'em in the flashmail and send it out.”

“Yes and, um, did they do something to their heads in those rooms?”

Kira stiffened at the inquiry, looking at one of the screens herself as she stared, cursing under her breath and rousing the curiosity of the smaller girl. She'd be patient too, wait for her to finally be unable to stand the curious stare and just spill it. So, she cut the girl off at the start and just told her, made things easier.

“I doubt we'd even be able to get Rohana anywhere near this Gods forsaken shit hole; I'm no longer a High Priestess but,”

Understanding filled Sekai's expression as she returned her eyes to the screen in front of her, tilting her head a little to try and see if she could make it out any better than she'd been able to before.

“That's why your hands and fingers were so cut up? You were... doing something that Rohana-san may have done?”

Kira inclined her head, somehow glad for once that Sekai was able to catch on to something barely spoken about so quickly.

“I don't know the traditions of the Juka Sprites or that of any in the Juka Temples. Rohana would but, like I said, I don't want to tell her if she can't be here to send her people home. I did what I could according to the Ruem rites I know but, I don't know if that'll even remotely work.”

Sekai nodded, seemingly satisfied- even heartened- by the answer. Some things, the small girl thought, were best left as explained and not pried into. Her heart hurt at the sight of the bodies, but the fact that Kira had done what she could to help and to send their spirits to their own personal 'beyond', was good enough for her as she composed her flashmail to the rest of the party.

They gathered what they needed- Kira spending a good three to five minutes yelling at her in a hushed, loud whisper about putting unfamiliar green crystal candy things in her mouth when she had no idea if it would kill her or not before Sekai got tired of the lecture and stuck a piece inside the AI's own to shut her up.

It... was kind of entertaining to see the way her face had turned red, not to mention there was a certain amusement in watching her hack, cough and shudder while bitching at how bitter that had been and Krake help her when this place was done, the Incarnation rescued or whatever and they were alone because there would be hell to pay-

and proceeded to launch into another series of curses when Sekai stuffed another piece in her mouth and ran out of the room after gathering as much as her inventory would allow.

There was a meeting point, she'd wait for everyone there, Kira looking pissed as hornets as she came storming from the odd room they'd come from and stood rather unhappily beside her. The glares she was giving the girl could have singed the hair off a man's balls.

Luckily for Sekai, she wasn't a man.

-GM-

Sidhe had taken the opportunity to wander about the various rooms like the rest of his group, having to put on the facade that he was doing just peachy (though Sekai and Kira had shown that it was a flawed one), and felt each one make his heart a little colder. It had to be done. It was the only way to keep moving, to keep breathing, to keep sane. The conditions the Juka Sprites had been forced to endure made the Long Arm's teeth grind like coarse stones. The filth, the dilapidation, the cold...how anyone, human or not, could force another living creature to go through such atrocities boggled him. More so than his heart, his soul felt like it had dropped a few degrees as well. Fatigue forced him to think without his inhibitions or his mentor censors. There was no energy for it. All he felt was hate, anger, and determination to see this through. The AIs had to be avenged. Like Saol, their torturers would have to see the brutal blade of justice. Like all the clichés went on the matter, there were wrongs to be righted and monsters to be slain. If Sidhe had his say, there wouldn't be a single being left breathing who had had their hand in all of the vile echoes of 'life' that ran chilled fingers down his spine and made his stomach churn with revulsion. This was only the first floor? God. If the Juka Higher freaks and fuck ups followed the trend of their brethren, the Eventide Crescendo was in for a long, horrifying ride. Here's to hoping none of them broke too soon.

Perhaps one of the most astonishing things that Sidhe had come upon during his exploration of the wretched floor was Kira. Not the woman herself, no, but the music that came from her. It felt intimate, private, so the Long Arm never intruded. He did, however, listen. To all of it. It showed him a new side to the callous female that shared his class and his Wave affinity. From just the general background he had been supplied, he knew she was an Artificially Intelligent program. This bond to origins, and general...did he call it humanity, morality?...seemed to be the drive behind her funeral songs. It almost made him feel a little ashamed. Why hadn't he thought to do it? Why did bodies only strike him as corpses now, something that existed only in the past tense. Yes, he felt sympathy and disgust for them and what happened, but it had never occurred to him to give them any kind of proper send off. If he wasn't so sure she'd make him regret it with some kind of verbal jab, Sidhe would have thanked her for it once she was done. As it stood, he could only hope she'd catch the look of acceptance in his eyes. The sapphire-hued player got over all of her failings in that moment. Sure, she was likely to infuriate him from time to time, but when things were settled, said and done? He respected her. More so than a lot of the present company he didn't know, he respected her. They'd likely never be friends, but he finally felt comfortable with her as an ally. Go figure.

One by one, each with their own inner scars, the group began to gather near the end of B1. Two keypads barred their way to the locked door before them. There were a myriad of guesses and flurries of number strikes, but most of them resulted in nothing at all. Be it some kind of new clever trick or a sign they were doing something wrong, no noises even accompanied their incorrect guesses. There was only the droning pang of press after press, morale clearly starting to decline and give way to agitation and hair-pulling annoyance. Sidhe, quite frankly, blew at this kind of thing. Puzzles and riddles weren't his forte. Nemera was always the same way. Tiral was a bit better than them, but their ineptitude in that realm was why they had been stuck on recon via Nall's orders for so long. It was only when they had begun to recruit from other players of "The World" that they had taken off as a clan. Nall no longer tried to stop them. Be it because he saw their success or was simply happy with the influx of new comatose people for him to order around, the EC hadn't heard so much as a peep from him in months. Well, it certainly felt like months. Who knew what the truth was. Sunsets and sunrises had long since become a desensitized sight. Half the time the Long Arm wasn't in a place that could give him even that. Amidst this random tangent of garbled thought, Baron and Sekai seemed to steadily approach a conclusion. It wasn't graceful by any means, but after some mumbled deliberation they had done it. The doors locks clicked open and the group, caution riding them like a board on a wave, pressed forward.

While some took this time to explore the newly revealed side rooms, the only thing Sidhe had the energy to do was lean against the nearest wall and take a breather. He would have sat down if it weren’t for the nagging suspicion that it would lead to more bitching from the miniature Archer or her dagger-eyed woman. A glance opposite his location showed Alana doing much the same as himself, her one arm crossed behind her back and placed against the rough, worn surface. There was a look to her eyes that the Long Arm couldn’t explain, but whatever it was made him sad for her. She looked…troubled. Bad memories of a place that had once claimed her? Absently, Sidhe nodded to himself. That seemed likely. If the dungeon had been even remotely like this before the Progeny had rebelled against their keepers, there could be nothing but nightmares that waited for her here. When she caught him staring, there was a lull in time, a visual silence…and she smiled. The sapphire-hued player was no expert on facial expressions, but the way it was crafted seemed to go beyond the normal, social niceties. It implied an ‘I’m okay’ and ‘thanks for your concern’ if his instinct was to be believed. So he smiled back. When she looked away, her smile morphing into a different degree of such, Sidhe’s own head lowered with the smirk still painted and slouching towards goofy. Yeah. This was the appropriate time for that.

When things seemed to have been properly searched, the group again coalesced at the hall. There was only one to go, one Sidhe assumed led to the Chaos Gate, and he couldn’t help but feel like they were doing well. Already the first floor had been ‘beaten’, so to speak. With their numbers, covering an entire basement floor could be done in a fraction of the time that Gan had witnessed. Zan, having positioned himself at the forefront of the party, finally made a step towards the door. And stopped. There was something wrong with the air between the Heavy Blade and the door beyond. It…it seemed like a graphical glitch, like a pocket of heat was distorting the image. Before the acting leader of the Eventide Crescendo could even think to tell everyone to get back, a shockwave did the job for them, unseen energy crashing into his stomach and filling him with an undeniable nausea that sent the world into a momentary lapse of vertigo as he sprawled on the cold linoleum floor. When the world righted itself again and allowed him the opportunity to glance back at the error, it was gone. In its place stood a man as out of place to the game’s genre as the dungeon had been thus far. Clad in a dirt-streaked white suit, an old-looking individual stared back at them with a smile tainted by gaps and yellow, jagged remains of teeth. Equally yellow eyes stared at them with bloodshot sclera and sweat and dirt matted down his wispy mane of salt and pepper hair that snaked down a foot past his shoulders. Wrinkles dragged at his baggy, sagging eyes and uncut, discolored nails hung idly at his sides. Perhaps most off-setting of all was the pitch shade that had filled all of his visible veins, streaks of black that further disfigured his unhealthy flesh.

Before anyone could speak, the stranger bowed.

“Welcome, my friends. Welcome to my humble abode.” As if waiting for applause, the man paused before he continued. “You’ve come with such delicious…” He wafted the air to his nose like he was smelling a fine dish. “Fears. Darkness. I’ll have to thank you. It’s become slim pickings here as of late. I think I may have gorged myself a bit too overeagerly.” He chuckled, looking almost embarrassed. “Now. I know you’ve come here to snatch my cousin away, but I’m afraid that’s not something I can allow. You’ll find this door locked. Not even the most skilled magician could unravel its molecules, I assure.” He suddenly stabbed up a finger into the air. “But wait! I prefer to bloat you with more of that delectable oil around your pruning hearts. After all, you’d make a good meal now, but I seek to make myself a feast.”

Kira snarled. “Why don’t you go fu-”

The stranger was quick to interject. “Ah ah ah, Ms. Kira.” The Twin Blade would feel something of a headache go on. In fact, such a thing seemed to be spreading to them all. “You go shooting off your mouth like that and I might have to take out my poor frustrations on little Sekai over there.” His nasty grin split wider. “You wouldn’t want your poor charge to fall into the hands of another man you'd be too pathetic to take care of, mm?” He chuckled. “Of course not. No. As I was saying, though, I would very much like you to see more of the nest this mother bird has crafted for himself. Turn the knob. Fall deeper in the rabbit hole.”

And before anyone could act, he was simply gone. A blink for them all and they were alone yet again. Laughing at the silence in a fashion more akin to laughing away his own unsettled nerves than actual amusement, Zan again moved towards the door. So far, it appeared to be one of the only ones with an actual knob, not the handles that Sidhe had grown used to. As instructed, left with no other alternative, the Heavy Blade coiled his fingers around its marred metal surface and turned. It clicked, locked, and from no discernable source a siren began to sound. There was no slow change to the world around them. It came in leaps and bounds. Everything - the linoleum floor, the badly painted walls and the flawed ceiling - began to curl up like burnt paper and float up before spiriting away as fleeting binary. The world took on a reddish hue as the floor, the walls and the ceiling were replaced by steel and scarred by forked lightning formations of raw dread code. The pull for all of the ‘normal’ players into an Immersion was sudden; jarring. One moment at their computers, listening as the siren slowly faded, and the next living and breathing within a game that was likely to never be the same in their eyes again. The four doors that led to the different rooms had even changed, black wrought iron, sharp-edged constructs standing in their place. Though the other two, both at the end and back where they came, were the same in general…even they seemed off by a degree. With the air around them smelling of ash, blood and body odor and a lingering taste of all those same things corrupting their tongues, the Eventide Crescendo knew they weren’t in Kansas anymore.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

((OOC:

Map!

Sorry for the long wait, my friends. Hopefully it was worth it!

You know the drill.

:OOC))

((Disclaimer: Events within this post are graphic and not for those who cannot handle sensitive subjects. Viewer discretion is advised. You’ve been warned.))

Takua watched the others go at the combination after he had tried. The lack of noises was disturbing him, like they were making some sort of error, but there was really not much more that he could do about it. The fact that there were two of them seemed to imply that one was meant to use them both at once…and indeed, when Kira and Baron finally did finish it and move in to explore the other rooms that were revealed, that was what happened. He, very simply and foolishly, had discounted the room numbers as having anything to do with the answer. The Wavemaster reminded himself not to discount such a thing again, and to always consider every option.

He was interested and distracted by the interaction between Sidhe and Alana though. He wasn’t quite sure of what he was seeing but, were they…flirting? He blinked a few times at the two of them, but in the back of his mind, he was wondering when the Swath was coming. He was assuming the entire time that it would come into the Juk Prison itself, instead of just the field. That would only make sense, unfortunately, because of the way that it seemed to follow them around and the effects inside of the Axis Mundis. He sighed, trying to drum up some optimism after the bloodletting that he had seen, and simply couldn’t find it within himself to do so. He simply couldn’t believe that the Swath wouldn’t come, as much as he wanted to. Something had happened here, and they hadn’t run across a single living being yet. When he glanced inside of the four rooms at the top and saw the slaughtered members of Jula’s lab crew, he could only assume that such would, indeed, have become something of the norm.

When Sekai’s flashmail dinged in his ear, he read it with incredible interest. Healer sounded…almost benign, although in this place that could be an incredible mistake. Acolyte did indeed sound like the men they had killed within Templum Krake, so maybe they wouldn’t have to face any of them? That would be nice, although he certainly couldn’t make that assumption. If any of them were even still alive, that was. Ash Guard…somehow, alarm bells rang when he read that name, but he passed it by, figuring that he’d either figure it out later or they’d find out. Observer…well, if what Sekai said was true, then most of those were likely dead as well. That left the Emerald Guard and Listener, the former of which sounded like a bitch to deal with as well. Listener…not so much, he’d have to figure that one out later as well.

When they were all done and back out into the main corridor, there seemed to be nowhere else to go since the door into the RaEx room was still locked. He didn’t like leaving something behind, but they hadn’t gotten hit by the Swath yet, and he didn’t want them to stop yet. He’d learned that it was always wisest to search every room, to leave nothing unturned. Especially after Gan, when not completing a single riddle had left Sprouce with over three hundred Children of Eden to play with. Still…if everyone wanted to leave, then maybe they should.

Only, they couldn’t. There was something there that didn’t belong. It looked like the waves of heat coming off of scorching hot pavement in the summer at three in the afternoon…but that was all he could see before something that wasn’t visible blew him backwards and onto his ass. When he got up, there was a man standing there in a dirty white suit, a smile that was as diseased and yellow as many things had been so far that he didn’t want to repeat. The black veins that lay beneath his flesh reminded him of Nemera…and as he spoke, Takua’s heart seemed to freeze. Was this the real face of the Swath? He spoke of the Juka Incarnation as a cousin, which implied that he possessed tremendous power. The rest of the speech…the Wavemaster suppressed a shudder.

Was this really the Swath? If so, that might explain the man’s talk of darkness and fears, things that the Swath certainly seemed to like. Eating that darkness though? That was something that was beyond the boy. Certainly, the man was creepy enough, but he couldn’t pursue that course of thought as a sudden headache struck him. But then the man chuckled, speaking for a final time before vanishing. Their enemy was not only letting them live, but inviting them deeper? Fuck…that wasn’t good in any way, shape or form.

It was then that the group seemed to recover, and Zan obeyed the man’s final instructions. His fingers turned the knob, which clicked. Locked. Takua couldn’t even feel the disappointment before a siren began to sound. Almost at the same time, the world around him began to transform into something far darker, more sinister. Everything began to peel away paint and substance transformed even as binary wafted in the air from vanishing walls, floor and ceiling around them. The air turned red as the walls became that of industrial steel, cracks of Dread Code running through them all. Takua had one moment to feel panic before he was ripped out of his chair and in an upright position, hands on the staff, smelling blood and ash filling the air. The same things coated his tongue, but the doors turned into nearly demonic, black iron chunks of metal that barred their way forth.

Nothing immediately attacked him, but that didn’t cause him to drop his guard. This was the Swath, so it could come from anywhere, at any time. It seemed that he had been right about his guess, and how definitely not happy he was about that either. There was something about this environment that picked at his brain, at defenses that had been shored up only a few hours before. His eyes narrowed both because of the Immersion and because of that feeling, finally closing just slightly as he took a deep breath…and opened his ocean blue eyes, turning purposefully towards one of the four rooms in the hallway that they were in. Immersion was nothing to him. He’d done it before in more trying circumstances than this, while infected with Dread Code Vampirism and fighting Sprouce.

He turned towards what had once been Surveillance Room A. Now it was different, called Voyeur Room A. The name change didn’t make him feel any good either, but he walked towards the door on his own. At his level, he should be able to defend himself just fine. He pushed open the portal, revealing the new carnage and scene before him. What had once been a room with dead human bodies was now something quiet different.

Two massive fans spun on the ceiling, one quickly and one slowly. Both seemed unnaturally razor sharp, blood coated the metal as both spun around on their path. Sixty three screens that showed scenes of the dungeon still played out their loop, showing the man he had seen not even a minute prior knocking every female Juka Sprite, butchering the males, and then hauling off the females to another location. A fine ash floated in the air, coming up from the black metal mesh floor, below which rocks with even more Dread Code riddled cracks awaited him. Embers burned on those, and it was by those embers and the lights of the screens that he could even see the room. The ceiling itself was made out of huge rusted steel panels. The few keyboards in the room were bloodied and fallen on the ground.

What attracted his immediate attention though wasn’t the room itself but the three monsters that roamed it. Entitled O5s#rJe, they all had flesh that looked like pus. Their knees would randomly pop out in any direction, and long arms that had eyes in their palms. Diseased nails completed that ensemble, but the head was what really drew Takua’s attention. They were huge, almost…like they were going to tip the monster over at any time, almost entirely covered with blackened holes that blinked at him. Maybe they had been eyes? All three of them were stumbling around the room until he entered…and so he pulled out his Great Elite and pointed it at the closest one. It was a pity, he thought as he glanced at it, that he would have to do this to a monster that couldn’t reach him. He glanced down at one of its eyes even as he cast the spell…

And was abruptly blinded.

He cursed violently, stumbling backwards a little bit even as he heard the summon go off. Although he couldn’t see it, the tall woman stood in front of the monster that he had just attacked. Lightning crackled from her hand all the way down to the doubled bladed battle axe that she carried in a single hand. Taking the axe off of her shoulder, her hand pulsed a brilliant gold as more Rai energy blasted down to wreathe the metal in electricity. The stumbling creature in front of her was the target, and as the power held within the weapon reached its maximum, she struck. The battle axe blasted into the creature, throwing it across the room and through the holographic screens before it hit the far wall and began to squirm around, giving an odd sound as if it were sobbing Lightning pulsed outwards from the Lanceor Ch, shocking the two other O5s#rJe (Observers?) that had stumbled into the absolute maximum range of the summon.

It took ten seconds for his blindness to clear, and he made a mental note to never look at those eyes directly if he could help it. He shook his head and pointed his staff at the other close one, casting a GiRai Rom upon it and then its other one. It was only then that he realized that the one that he had already nuked wasn’t dead…just like any of the other ones. God fucking dammit already. As the twin thunder tornadoes ripped his enemies to pieces and dropped them to the ground as well, the brief smell of ozone filling his nose, he composed a quick flashmail to the party.

Short and to the point. He didn’t know how long he would have to work before they got back up, so he dashed to the closest one, making sure that he didn’t look at any of the eyes. There was nothing on any of them that stood out or identified them. In fact, they were most definitely naked, something that he wasn’t too thrilled about. Turning from that to the keyboards, he quickly typed in a few sentences, trying to get a reaction out of it. The moment that his fingers touched the keyboard they were coated with a strange grease that refused to come off. Just to make him feel even better, none of the commands that he had attempted to type in would do anything, and he left just as they were getting up. Two minutes or so until they did so. Recalling the last time that he’d left a door open in Gan, he slammed this one shut and made sure that it was closed.

Baron seemed to have been looking through the other one, and he too came out at about the same time that Takua made his way to the main hallway and opened the door there. He glanced instantly to the RaEx room, making note of the doorknob that had appeared there…as well as the lock that was in the center of the knob. Baron beat him to it.

Takua surprised himself by being mildly resentful at that…and then more. Why was he always taking the point, always seeming to shove Takua aside and take the things that the Wavemaster wanted to do. Granted, that was dangerous and foolhardy, but he still felt that way, as if his role in the group had been taken from him. Maybe, he thought suddenly, that was it. Baron was trying to devalue him in the eyes of the group, showing that to the rest that he could be more efficient than the other boy, the one who had gone through Gan and done so much for them. After all, he was dangerous, wasn’t he? He’d taken the DCV upon himself and had, in doing so, turned into a bloodthirsty freak with the possibility to destroying the entire party. Of course they would want to get rid of him. This was just Baron’s way of giving the rest of them an excuse to do so, to be free of the mentally unstable Wavemaster.

Wait…that didn’t make any sense now would it? After all, they’d invited him back in a twisted fashion, and he held Yarthkins Shell, something that would be vital against Jula’s special ability. So they couldn’t want to get rid of him just yet. They’d want him to give up that item first, so he would have to watch out for that. Besides, why did he want to explore anyways? Because he wanted to take the darkness that seemed to permeate the air like the grease upon his fingers upon himself, to ensure that those new to it weren’t exposed to it. Because it made him feel like he was doing something. Like he was contributing to the group in some way. He’s failed to do that at all on the surface, constantly letting Baron or someone else find the answers. Proving just how useless he really was.

He’d been let back but…why? He was practically dead weight at this point, wasn’t he? The only thing that he could truly recall contributing to was the demise of Saol. Granted, that was important, but that was only one small thing. Baron and Sekai had done everything to do with the Ganz Orbs. All he’d done with those was hold onto it, which was nothing. So he was a resurrecting meatshield at this point, a body that they’d have to cut through before they got to the important people. A limp little fleshy sack that was easily disposed of. So he either needed to reassert himself to the place that he had managed to hold onto in Gan, someone that could be counted on, someone that could lead somehow through some of the darkness. Right now, he was simply someone that was there. Not even truly an Eventide. Hell, he shamed the name Eventide by his actions, he was that pathetic. No wonder Nemera and Sidhe wanted him out. He was tarnishing the reputation simply by being there. Mayb-

“Wake the fuck up boy.”

Ondine’s angry voice broke through his self reflection in time for him to see Baron find out that the knob was locked. Well, that made sense because of the keyhole. The Wavemaster took no time at all to begin to walk away while the Twin Blade tried to pick the lock with a Fortune Wire. That wouldn’t work. The Highers were just a little bit too efficient for that. The actual key would be needed…not the amateur lockpicking skills of a regular player. His destination, as he walked through the halls of the Traitor Sector and moved past the pulsing tumors that seemed to serve as doors, was Power Supply. The doors there had been unlocked in the regular field, they should in this one as well. He navigated the hallways and wound up at the doors themselves. He put one hand out towards the door…and heard a voice that he had never heard before. It was deep, masculine, and above all, gave an incredible feel of malice that he had never heard before in a human voice.

“Do you really want to do that? The other side is filled with horns of Incu in the regular field…what about now? It’d be instant death for little, powerless you.”

Takua spun, confused by a voice that came from nowhere and everywhere at once, a voice without a body and that Baron, who had just rounded the corner, didn’t respond to. Which meant that only he had heard it…which meant what? It hadn’t come from Ondine, who was looking worried in his vision, which meant that he now had yet another voice that only he could hear? Or was this just a plot by Baron to make him doubt his own sanity, something that was happening at a very quick rate. He shook his head violently and pushed open the doorway…before standing in the center of it, staring at the hall in front of him. Once full of Incu horns, this was now much…so much worse.

Every last one of the horns had been replaced with a live Incu heads, all of which were mewling in pain and suffering. The wires that lead away from their horns made odd wet sounds even as they hummed and pulsed…but wait. Were those wires or veins? He couldn’t tell even as he walked into the room, feeling the stunned horror settling back over him before he even bothered to look around more. Directly across from him were six gaps, and across from each gap was a wire, for a total of twelve. Finally, on the ground beneath them all was a single rusted lever.

He had to do it. Takua walked forward, making sure that he got there before Baron, and threw the switch. As dangerous as it might be to do, it was obviously there to be thrown, and they would never learn the effects without using it. What happened was nothing less than spectacular as red lightning crackled and leapt between the wires in front of him. He flinched backwards at the sudden display…but that was all there was. After a few more seconds, it shut off by itself, and the lever flipped back to off.

So that had done nothing…which likely meant that there was something else that he had to do. But what? Almost instantly, a thought sprang to mind, one that he reflexively banished…unsuccessfully. Very likely, it would end in his death, but this was the Swath…and more importantly, this was a Higher field. That alone convinced him that there might very well be value in what he was about to do. The other option was to try and find out exactly what they needed to put in there, but that might take a while. On the other hand, this would take a few seconds and he’d be done.

And why not? He was undervalued now. He needed to do something, anything, to gain back some control The voice was whispering to him now, evil thoughts and ideas about what might happen, but he threw the switch, making a conscious effort to ignore it before he walked forward. As he did so, he resisted the urge to both yell “IGOR, THROW THE SWITCH” and then “LIFE!!!!”. His body passed into the red lightning…and then he was gone, his mind ripped away from the shell that was his body.

His quivering flank was soaked through with his own blood, scratching the ground in a feeble and futile attempt to escape. Another stab, another burst of pain and attempt to get away. A quick and nearly instantaneous head toss brought his executioner into view, and the smiling head of Saol brought down one of the swords into his stomach. Blood spilled out on the ground as he cried out, an animalistic sound of terror and pain as his large eyes pleaded with the master of the Wild Hunt to save its life, to let it live. Another slice, and part of the poor Incu’s throat was torn out, silencing its cries as more of fluid soaked into its hide. Finally, mewling up at the Hunter, both blade descended into the heart. For a brief moment, there was intense pain and terror, of dying, and of dea-

The doe’s back leg was lopped off in a single slice as she frantically threw herself around on the ground with a bleeding stump for a limb. Terror and panic pulsed through her body as she tried to think. Where were her little children? Surely they had escaped, hadn’t they? Please let them be spared, she thought as the blade sawed through one of her forward legs and screamed in pain. Agony surged through her as she tried to move, tried to get away, but that only brought bellowing laughter from the man above her. Maybe her Mate had lived as well, had escaped somehow. Any further thought was banished from her mind as two blades took off the lower part of her body, and pain enveloped her entire being as she bled out her last. Death was there, holding her as sh-

A gauntleted fist crashed into the young buck’s side, sending it to the ground as it whimpered and tried to find air for its lungs. Vise-like terror gripped its heart, squeezing it until it could only twitch frantically in the grip of fear, and the young Incu quivered in the grasp of the near paralyzing emotion that had taken a hold of it. It tried to get up, to run, somehow, to escape from the man behind it, but he was too fast, too accurate. An impossibly strong being that was destroying his life and that of his sisters, brothers, mother and father, his cousins and everyone around him. Why was it them? Why couldn’t they have lived their lives in peace instead of dying here? He cried out as a blade whipped through two of his legs at once, sending it back to the ground as more pain flooded his system with a fresh blast of adrenaline to an already overloaded system. The young buck’s last thought was that, just perhaps, some of his family had escaped the pain. Somewhere, there was the warm feeling that he had enjoyed for all of his life. Blood sprayed from his hindquarters as the swords found new targets, and began to work up his spine before h-

Takua writhed as the memories kept coming, flooding his mind. He was not human. He was the Incu as they died at the hands of an AI that no longer existed. Mothers, brothers, fathers and sisters died before his eyes, as he experienced their pain and emotions. Something broke as it continued, as he continued his visions of the past.

First one, then the other. The doe was suffering one sword while her mate was struck with the other one, forced to watch as the being that she’d loved with all of the heart within her body was slowly killed just as she was. Her cries were not for her own body that soaked the ground with her vitae, but for her mate who was doing the same. The terror that she felt was not for her own skin but when the sword was held, ready to descend upon the back leg of the male who had comforted her, gave her the children that she had raised, had loved her, had given everything that he had to her. And that cruel sword flashed down again and again, blood flying everywhere even as her own body was wracked with pain. Her mate had been her life ever since she had met him so long ago, all of that time ago, when their lives were pleasant, before the man carrying two long metal objects had appeared to cause the suffering. She held out her prayer to the being that had smiled over them for so long, sent her thoughts out to her mate and to Krake. Finally, she saw the blade that flickered towards her male, and saw death glaze his eyes over before she realized that her own vision was darkening. But not in time before he was dead, and she gave one last scream of pain that embodied the word loss.

Then the Wavemaster was the buck as he screamed in pain at the suffering being visited upon his mate. He hadn’t found any other one in their tribe that was remotely like her, and he had never left her side since that day. They had cared for each other in the way that was that of the Family, of the race that was the Incu. But that was being taken away in front of his eyes by the man dressed in armor, wielding two things that rent his flesh like the sharpest of teeth. He dug those objects into her side, the side that he had felt for so long now, and blood that he wished he never had seen flowed out of the wound. Would she die? How could she die? She was the reason for living, the life that had brought him his sons and daughters. And here she was, dying in front of him. His own prayer went out to the Jade God that had blessed them all, trying to find it within Krake that he would save her life, even if it meant his own. But he never finished his prayer, as one of those blades sliced through his throat, and he gazed upon his mate for one last time as his vision drifted towards black. But not before he had time for one last thought as he tried to find the answer. Why?!

It went on for hours, barraging the boy with visions of death. Thousands of deaths of animals that gave him all of the terror and suffering that they had felt as they died at the hands of a deceased General. He was the Incu for those hours, for that day that it took him to get through all of the deaths. He had long since given up counting as he went from one vision to the next, feeling death, always death. His thoughts were those of the Incu and what they cared about. Their mate and children, the Juka Sprites that they had lived with for as long as they could remember, the family and pack they had lived with for their entire lives. Prayers to Krake to save them, save at least some of the warmth that they lived for and loved.

Finally, sometime during what felt like his millionth death (even though in reality it was only over three thousand), he was back as his own body dropped to the floor in death. His ghost stood, but he saw nothing in front of him. He was still the Incu, back in a human body now, but the pain and suffering that he had seen was still with him. His mouth opened…and the loudest scream that he had ever heard or made spilled from his lips as he gave vent to the feelings that he had felt. Of loss, of terror, of the slaughter that he had been forced to experience. The extermination of nearly all of a species had been funneled through him, and what had felt like twenty five, maybe thirty hours had only happened in a single second.

The scream went on and on as he tried to get rid of those emotions, give them something for the suffering that they had gone through. Finally, it ended, although he was sure that everyone there had heard him. He shuddered violently, only then feeling the weight of being dead, the illness that seemed to soak through every pore.

“See you little idiot? Now what are you going to do now that you’re so broken like that? Think they’ll want a little shattered boy like you?”

"Didn't it ever occur to you that touching lightning while you could actually feel it MIGHT not be the best idea?"

He turned numbly to the Twin Blade. Of course it had occurred to him that it was a bad idea to do that…why wouldn’t it have? He opened his mouth, not even realizing that he was still talking with the intellect of an Incu, was in fact almost speaking like one.

"Of course I knew that it would be a bad thing. Nothing...within one of the places owned by Jula's friends is good."

Baron sighed, looking at the Wavemaster. "And I expect you want me to revive you, is that it?"

Of course he wanted to be brought back to a living state, so that the death state was gone, so that he could stop feeling horribly again. His response was still numb as he answered without any emotion at all.

"It would be kind, would it not?"

Baron moved over and poked at Takua's charred body with one of his blades. "Well, not necessarily so. See, you can't feel anything while ghosted, and thus, it would actually be cruel to make you feel pain and such again, wouldn't it?"

Takua gazed at the Twin Blade, horror beginning to dawn on his face. Not be resurrected? On this field? How would he be able to survive here in the Swath while he was dead? Did the boy want him to have his mind shredded and taken apart? Was that it? Now that the Wavemaster was dead, he couldn’t protect himself any more, so they could simply abandon him and leave him for the Swath to play with for the rest of his life. He tried to make one last desperate plea, hoping beyond hope that describing how it felt to be dead would give him safety once again.

"I'm hurting right now anyways. Being dead is not simply lack of sensation. Death brings other things. Death feels like disease has taken over body. Only much worse than anything in the Real World."

"Oh, really? Well, whatever. You'll be useful later on anyway, won't you, champ?" A quick wash of light flowed from Baron's hands and covered Takua's body as the Rip Maen spell brought the Wavemaster back to live. "There, all better, now? Just no more touching lightning, 'kay?"

He was back! Takua felt so much better now. Maybe…maybe that wasn’t their plan. If it was, he would still be dead. There had to be something else though…but he could at least give Baron something for saving his life.

"Only if you don't as well. The memories...don't touch the lightning. No good comes of seeing that vision."

Baron nodded. "The lightning is unappealing enough anyway, thanks. I don't think you'll have to worry about me."

The Wavemaster ran for the door, desperate to get out of the room with all of the still mewling Incu heads. The memories crowded his skull, competing for space, making him feel less like a human and more like an animal. He paused for a moment while outside, making a short detour down the hallway that they had come from in the regular field while constructing a flashmail. Maybe…a warning would keep him within the group for a little while longer. He could hope.

He shook his head, trying to clear it even as Ondine walked up to him. There was a look on her face that he hadn’t seen before, even as he noticed that there was Jula sigil on the wall where they had come from, so there was no way out into the Swath portion of the field. He turned around…only for a sudden icy sensation to flood his body. He jumped…only, he didn’t. He was within his own mind now, and Ondine was walking purposefully towards the corridor that had formerly been called Resistant. He was about to question her when she spoke up, almost angrily.

“Shut up and deal. You can’t even think straight right now, so it’s my fucking turn.”

A final moment remained before a blast of mental power sent him into unconsciousness, and Ondine, fully in control of his body, typed up a flashmail of her own for the group. Damn idiot, she thought to herself, being so fucking stupid like that. If…she sighed, knowing that she couldn’t do anything at this point. It was all up to the damn male whose body this really was, not her.

If she was right about Kira as well, the female Long Arm was likely going to be asking the majority of questions. That was fine…as long as she asked questions that Ondine was even able to answer. The woman currently controlling Takua threw open the black-iron door to Helpless Filth…and promptly felt like throwing up.

Maybe having taken control wasn’t such a good idea after all.

The ‘bathroom’, if one could actually call it that, was constructed out of the same metal that the rest of the walls were. Behind each of the walls and the ceiling was a massive industrial sized fan, spinning behind a giant blackened metal cross. Beneath the floor, there were four of the things, although slightly smaller. Holes that once might have actually been bathroom holes were now simply sharp, jagged metal holes in the ground. On all of the walls were the bodies of Juka Sprite males…all partially fused to the wall itself, and all showing expressions of terror and pain. Every last one was covered with…what could charitably be described as filth and an odd glisten to their skin. The smell was enough to make her want to run back outside and shut the door. Anyone with a higher sense of smell would likely have thrown up on the spot, and as it was she was tempted to do that.

She walked closer to the closest male and finessed her way around the hole in the ground, trying to pull one of the males away from the wall. The smell was, if at all possible, worse now, and her efforts did absolutely nothing but transfer more of the sweaty substance to her own hand.

That did it. She practically ran out of the room and shut the door as quickly as possible, breathing in the air as quickly as she could. That was odd, considering that this was the Swath and she was taking comfort in the smell of the air. Considering the difference, that wasn’t really that odd, but…

She moved briskly to Helpless Room 8, hesitating for just a moment before she threw open the door. She was expecting all a manner of horrible, terrible beasts or something absolutely brutal to spring out at her, but there was nothing at all. She took a step inside and looked around, trying to figure out what there was here. To start off, another of the damn fans was on the far wall, although the other walls and ceiling were all metal plates. Down below, she could see the Dread Code rocks and embers coming up through the floor. Strewn around the room, seemingly at random, were large…oddly lumpy mattresses, although there were less than the actual room. They were all stained with blood, dirt, sweat, and something that looked a hell of a lot like vomit…and, she realized as she took a breath in, smelled like it as well. Her gorge rose up, but she suppressed it. She had to help out the man whose mind she resided in, and this was the only way she could do it. She steeled herself and walked over to the nearest mattress…and turned it over.

She jumped backwards at the sight of the monster beneath it that was now getting up off the ground. Titled A]us8, it obviously couldn’t see, although the manner of such was enough to make Ondine wince. It had a barbed wire blindfold. It’s nearly white flesh was practically covered with liberally dripping and oozing lacerations that were visibly infected with…something. Green and yellow bruises covered the body as well, although the most dangerous part was obviously the overly large arms and hands that it held. As it got up, she heard six other mattresses overturn…and was suddenly surrounded by seven of these monsters. As the first one stumbled towards Takua’s body, its arms, covered with barbed wire, dragged on the ground.

She flinched backwards as it swung at her, and she abruptly realized that, unless she started casting some spells, she was about to die. She cast a GiRai Rom to buy herself time, using a move that she had seen Takua use a bit. She cast it on herself to keep them away…and watched as the closest one simply ricocheted away while she took damage herself. Swearing, she switched out for a different staff and cast GiRai Kruz on the monster. The moment that the lightning tornado ended around her, the twin waves of lightning blasted inwards towards the monster, sending it crashing to the floor in a single hit.

Taking that as a sign that it was down for a while, she cast the same spell at the next monster that was…awww fuck. She spun to the side, getting out of the way of a punch that would likely have caved in her head. Her retaliation, another wave of lightning bolts that crackled and sizzled through the air before it hit flesh, put that same monster on the ground, crying and wailing. She moved quickly, draining her SP even more as she sent another five spells out to crush the remaining monsters that were moving quickly in her direction. The first lightning ball warped the red atmosphere as it crashed into its target, causing a small burn mark before the monster hit the ground…and the rest of the spell dove in after it. The second wasted no time at all, and two waves of converging electric orbs simply turned a monster’s neck into a ring of seared skin. The third GiRai Kruz connected, oddly with a series of the lacerations, causing a foul stench to fill the air as oozing pus was vaporized by lightning. A fourth wave simply crashed in, electricity playing around A]us8’s skin before it dropped to the floor.

When the final spell, coursing with Rai energy as the little spheres of lightning flew inward and sent the final monster to the floor to whimper and squirm like the others. Ondine breathed slightly heavily as she dropped to the ground, examining the monster closest the door. There was nothing on its body to suggest that there was anything of value there…and proceeded to freak out when it started to rise quickly. She darted backwards out the door and shut it firmly. All she had gotten for that room was a head full of pain and a group of monsters that refused to stay down.

She shuddered and walked to Helpless Room 7. She did know why Takua was here…although she desperately wanted to disagree with him and get him the fuck out of the area, especially considering what was about to happen to him. She sighed and wished once again that she had the power to change what was about to occur that she knew about, but also knew that to do that would be to destroy herself, which would be a bit of a paradox. How Gwyneth had done that was still a mystery to her…or was it? She strode down the hallway with a troubled expression on her face, her stride a bit more aggressive than Takua’s was, her posture a bit more assertive.

She opened the door to Helpless Room 7 cautiously…and proceeded to close it for a moment to collect herself. Then she opened the door all the way and stared at the scene before her. A dozen dead Juka Sprites were hung up around the entire room, with rope tied around their neck and massive cuts deep into their necks. All of them looked as if the head was only actually half on…and she shuddered even as she stepped into the room. They were all naked, and, as she inspected every last one while trying to ignore the smell and sights, without any sort of identification that she could see. Glaring at the mattresses around the room, she flipped one over with hate, getting ready to run for the door in case there was another monster. There was nothing though, even as she wandered throughout the room, always flipping things, always looking for anything that could help her. It didn’t help that her light source was Dread Code but, it would have to do.

She walked out of the room and started down the hall to the next room that she was going to go into when she stopped, eyes widening at the sight in front of her. Two…monsters were phasing out of the walls in front of her. Long claws stretched in front of them, with legs that looked as if they had been sewn together. Its mouth was strangely vertical, but what worried Ondine the most was the fact that the metallic looking claws had Dread Code on them. It was then, as she stared, that the monsters named C4ipp)-d struck. She attempted to dodge backwards, but one claw raked into her leg…and suddenly her legs locked together, just like her enemies were. Her eyes widened as she considered her position, and quickly tried to bring her staff around to bear on them…when a certain Heavy Blade whipped past her and promptly slaughtered both of them, blood practically flying through the air as the poor monsters hit the ground…and didn’t move at all. Her legs unlocked and she got up. Somehow, this was a little awkward for a first meeting, so she simply nodded her thanks and moved on down the hallway. She didn’t want to appear stiff but…these were Takua’s people, not hers.

It was when she was over halfway there when she realized that she needed to heal herself. She did so with a La Repth, resting for another few moments to let her SP recover, and then moved on. She didn’t want to run into more monsters anytime shortly, although she knew it was somewhat likely that she would have to fight them again and again. That they didn’t die at all sucked, but if she could keep them on the ground for someone like Zan, who apparently could kill them for some reason, to slaughter then she was still useful.

Oddly, the sixth room had absolutely nothing inside of it, even after she went around turning over all of the mattresses. Nothing inside of it at all…that had to mean something, but right now, she couldn’t think of it. Shrugging, she walked down to the next room. Five. She would stop there and take some time to think and plan her next several moves…as well as maybe getting next to a few people so that when more of the phasing monsters came, she could fight more effectively.

When she entered Helpless Room 5, at first she thought that there wasn’t anything in that one either. The different, she realized as she took a few steps inside of it, was in the grating on the floor. She looked down…and saw bodies clinging to the mesh, muscles locked into place by death. Shuddering, she inspected the rest of the room but found nothing, walking back outside before moving down the hallway to where the RaEx room was. It would be there that the next thing that they needed to explore would be, she thought sadly, and tried to find something good to think of. There was nothing though. Baron’s feeble attempt at humor, something that Takua hadn’t recognized, seemed just so…out of place in a field like this. Something so dark didn’t need humor to attempt to lighten a mood that shouldn’t be lightened. It was a terrible field, one that shouldn’t exist, and to joke while inside of it seemed like a way to try and forget about the hardships, to not honor them. Plus, it just didn’t make much sense. Or, if you were going to joke…don’t do it right after someone screamed out in pain and suffering. Even for her, that was insensitive.

-Zan-

Like a claustrophobic cluster of school children crammed into the back of a bus, the Eventide Crescendo amassed at the topmost hall in anticipation of moving on from the first floor hellhole. The entire maze of rooms had gripped their collective hearts with black talons that oozed venom and oil over the precious organ. It was unlikely that any of them had reached this point without the proverbial rain cloud pouring down a deluge and wracking the air above them with crackles and hisses of shadowed lightning. Already, it had gotten to Zan in a fashion so strong, so overpowering that he had been humbled and knocked down a few notches in front of the one-armed Archer. To say his pride was still hobbling would have been an understatement. In his mind’s eye, that very pride was curled into a fetal ball with deadened eyes. The predicament, however fleeting, had forced the Heavy Blade to rely on another. It had broken him down and rebuilt him with a few more blocks of the oft-sought team spirit. Weirdly, it had made him stronger (though he was loathe to admit it). The fact that he had been so open to this evolution without his usual period of stubborn struggle felt…foreign. Good, yes, but foreign just the same. Though it may be a fact that, like everyone seemed to fear, would bite him in the ass later, Alana’s availability and clear lack of judgment as she assisted him after his hapless wandering into the Resistant Restroom made her an ally in his now-sky-blue eyes.

At the head of the group through nothing short of sheer coincidence, the Lycan only neared the last unexplored room when he was sure the last little duckling had waddled in line. As soon as he did, however, the space between him and his goal suddenly began to warp like some sci-fi movie tear in the continuum. Whatever it was, the distortion started playing tricks on his heightened senses; cross-wiring and false-feeding them until the werewolf thought it was going to crack his skull open. Sharpening teeth ground along the rest, his hands a second from clenching his temples when the shockwave rippled through the small corridor and knocked everyone in the rag-tag party on their asses. The impact also left Zan feeling ill, motion-sick even, but such trivial discomforts were soon dismissed as unimportant as he realized something had been left in the wake of the odd attack. Well, someone. The figure was dressed in a dirty suit that, once upon a time, must have resembled something pristine. Wiry black-and-grey strands of hair flowed down in nappy tendrils and his mouth appeared to house a freakshow of tooth remnants and diseased gaps. The eyes that bored into every fallen player - so much, in fact, that Zan felt as if a slug was crawling along the surface of his brain - were yellowed and bloodshot. Most offsetting of all, as unnerving as the hygiene void was, had to be he web of pitch black veins that had replaced the more expected set. When he spoke, it was with a grating confidence and a tone that shouldn’t have made Zan’s head swim, but most certainly did just that. It was almost as if straight listening to him was a chore. It was because of this that he didn’t immediately grasp the implications of the statement used to hush the female Long Arm. The ‘man’ left almost as soon as he arrived and it was with a guttural, inhuman snarl that the lycanthrope pulled himself to his feet. The light skies of his irises again settled into the old, chilled glaciers of their norm.

“Fucker.” The word was spat and spoken with enough finality and disdain to signal that such was an accurate summary of the event and the being that had interrupted their progress.

Shaking off the last remnants of the man’s presence like a wolf shaking off after a tread through dirty water, Zan knew that there was only one real way to proceed. As much as it pained his pride to be following the directions of some dungeon-dwelling bum who got off on gorging on darkness, there was no where else to go. The only place the team had yet to explore was a room that was locked. Even the Lycan’s superhuman vigor hadn’t been able to tear the door from its hinges. That said something about its reinforcement. With one last, preparatory breath, the player wrapped his hand around the knob and turned. Click. Locked? Fucking locked? After all that show and dance about feasting on their inner demons and whatever the hell? Arching his foot back as a sudden wave of frustration washed over him, the otherwise inevitable impact was ceased only as something much more demanding of his addled attentions cried out like the wail of a banshee from every direction, showering him with its ear-scraping sonic rain drops. The siren suddenly sounded like the blaring monotony of a klaxon, visions of running through an underground facility with a malnourished angel tucked into his side bombarding the werewolf with emotional mortar fire. That, too, was forcefully corked as the very walls around him began to…to peel. Rather than scraping off the scab, it was like watching the process done in reverse. A twisted, industrial version of the housing unit floor gnawed its way through the barrier of sanity and left them all standing in a red haze of steel, rust and dark iron doors.

Law and order was swallowed into an infernal fever dream, suffocating the rational and replacing it with the unnatural and the unholy. Evil made a home, shadows a sanctuary. When the red/orange cracks clawed across the wall, a shiver of old, animal fear chattered up his spine and made a curled nest in his cortex. The wolf within whined and lowered its head. In his mind’s eye, Zan watched its otherwise proud tail tuck between its legs. The noble predator had met this ‘Dread Code’ before, but never in an environment so…so natural for it. Sekai’s questions gifted him with a brief reprieve from his mental spiraling, but when that was gone he was left in much the same position as he had been before. The Heavy Blade wanted nothing more than to do his job and protect his companions, but his body and his mind had known the Swath. It remembered what it was like to be bonded with that anomaly, with that abomination of the digital world, and wanted to be as far away from it as humanly possible. Because that was impossible, it forced claustrophobia down his throat, nearly choking him on it. Zan felt cold, a freak occurrence with blood running as hot as his, and couldn’t fight back the hug of his arms against his body as the chill pinpricked icicles along the surface of his skin. Goosebumps spread like wildfire. Even when he heard those around him probe into the corner rooms, pitted against things that should not exist within ‘The World’, he didn’t move. Only when they were cornered, about to die, would he dare shift from his statuesque pose. The birth of a phobia; glimpses of the Dread Code showed him only the countless irises of a black cloud and the torrent of wretched images like a migraine behind his eyes. Somewhere, far off in the stark trembling of his thoughts, he knew this level of fear of the darkness was not his own. From the depth of someone’s psyche, his mind had adapted it. Zan was starting to wonder if forging that pack had been the right thing after all.

It took far, far more effort than it should have, but the lycanthrope was able to pull himself from this mental slump enough to start moving again. He still felt caged in, like everything was too small, but it was progress. Zan did his best to school his expression, to hide the alien turmoil churning inside of him, but he was afraid he didn’t quite make it. Still, should any son of a bitch point that out, he’d be more than happy to feed them their own windpipe. Anger. Anger felt good. Anger he knew like an old friend. When the Heavy Blade realized that hot emotion was burning away the paranoia and the worry, he called for more of it. Culling the emotion from the Beast was like taking water from the ocean - there was always more. Yet, still it was not perfect. The combination of will and fury built Zan a bubble, but from the outside of that fragile shell the shades still lurked and gnashed their malformed fangs. By the time he was mostly himself again, the player also realized he was alone. The group had drifted, absently leaving the once-terrified man behind, and that fear started to bleed back into that shield. He had to find someone. He had to move. Had to go. Someone’s screams jostled him into action, Zan moving with a speed that most of his class could only hope for with the right Ap spell. The sound was tormented and terrible, but it had gone by the time he made it back to the entrance of the dungeon. Baron was talking to him, razzing the dead-eyed boy, but Zan moved on just the same. The Lycan’s head was too fucked up to take on the load of anyone else’s problems. His job was to protect their bodies. The rest could be left up to someone with a bit more psychiatric talent than someone like him who needed that help more than he could dish it out.

Aimless wandering brought him almost full circle, paused again by Takua in some kind of predicament or another. Was that kid always getting himself in trouble? Two creatures, their names a jumble of letters, symbols and numbers like the rest of the Swath mutants, crawled on the rusted metal ground that made up most all the floors in this level of Satan’s anus. Their legs looked fused or bound together somehow, their skin as clammy and pale as was the standard, but their heads had a mouth…eye…thing…that ran vertically up along their otherwise featureless faces. Dread Code lined the metal hooks that made up their claws and, for a moment, Zan froze again. Snarling in annoyance, he pushed it aside, forced it away and ran on to save his companion. Since only Twilight abilities seemed to be able to take the monsters out in the field, the Heavy Blade was only going to assume the same principle applied here as well. Nails grew and sharpened into claws of his own and, with a flung jump, he was on top of the one who had just struck Takua down and paralyzed him or…or something. The werewolf wasted no time in turning the greasy thing’s back into hamburger, the walls splashing with water-thin blood until it simply stopped moving. The Wavemaster’s evasion tactics with the second one had kept it busy, but another bounded step put Zan on its back as well. Reaching his hand around, the player pressed crimson-stained claws against one end of the writhing creature’s throat and dragged them harshly across to the other. When that didn’t quite kill it, a last-second tactic pried his claws into either side of its stupid slit face, slowly peeling and pulling at that Venus Flytrap flesh until it snapped in half like wet cartilage and that monster, too, stopped its thrashings. Still straddled on its back, shirt now dripping with its gory finale, something was bothering him. Zan lifted his hands up into view.

They were shaking.

((The following posts may contain graphic nature not suitable for most readers. Please be advised to not read further if you are of weak stomach, young age or easily offended.))



Slowly wandering down the hall, Talal kept looking back over her shoulder hoping to see some of the rest of their group, but each look only brought an empty hallway behind her. Stepping a little faster, mostly due to it being too quiet, her wandering picked up the pace and soon she came to the junction of doors where Baron was nowhere to be found. She grimaced a little but instead she had found the others leaning against the walls resting, looking tired and if she didn’t know better…sick. It could just be the lighting of the dungeon, but their pale appearances told many things if she was reading them correctly, even if their expressions said otherwise. A quick check of their statuses showed no signs of poisoning or other game induced affects, which was good but it also meant there was probably another reason.

She kept her distance, walking back down the hallway some but only by a few yards, knowing they probably weren’t in the mood to be disturbed and Takua was busy peeking through the door as well. Most likely, since most of them were all members that were stuck here, they were getting more than just the visual aspects of what they had found in the explored rooms. She had never been around dead and degraded bodies in real life and didn’t know what kind of aroma there must be in the air, but she had no doubt it could turn ones stomach in a heartbeat.

The time alone even though she was near the others, gave her time to go through her list of questions to see if by chance any had been answered. Sadly, she had only added to the list and not really answered many at all. While she found herself staring down at the floor tracing the lines in the floor, the ping of messages arriving within moments of each other stole her attention away from thought. The first was from Baron and the second was from Sekai. She looked over each with curiosity, but the contents didn’t help her uneasy feeling at all. The Twin Blade had never expected not to find someone or something in the dungeon, but the hope was always there that they wouldn’t.

Sekai’s message had a lot of information in it. More than the female Twin Blade could even begin to comprehend on the possible meanings it could hold. What she did know was that none of it was good. They were using the Incu’s natural abilities for their own good at the Incu’s expense. They were torturing the Juka Sprites, killing them, but for what possible purpose? What could they possibly gain from watching the torture and murder of so many innocent…people? Never would she have accepted such positions as she was sure those that had been called ‘Observers’ and ‘Listeners’ were involved in. It was so very morally wrong on so many levels. How could they possibly accept and actually perform such a job was beyond her. At that moment, Talal had lost any and all respect for anyone who had been associated with such atrocity, which in the back of her mind still included Alana. Noticing that everyone in the group was including her in their flashmail’s of information. The Twin Blade just didn’t think that was such a good idea. After all, she was the right hand of Jula at one point like Saol by her own admission. After seeing what kind of things Jula was doing and knowing that right hands were the enforcer of the workers usually to make sure things got done, why should they trust her? The dark haired girl wondered if she was the only one that felt that way. Should she dare voice her opinion to someone in the group? She had considered telling Takua, but after what happened out on the field, even with his attempts at better communication, she wasn’t sure he wanted to hear anymore of her opinions.

This field, no it wasn’t even just this field, it was the whole game since she had started had completely screwed with her outlook on things. First with Takua and that whole mess and now, she couldn’t even seem to get enough walls back up to suppress the need to share her thoughts with others after years of keeping to herself about everything. Saving the message, filing away the information for possible later use, the girl behind the monitor sighed giving into her need and began composing a flashmail. Everything was so very confusing. What truly had she gotten herself into? What kind of person would she be when it was all over?

Just as she hit send everyone began to gather back in the area where all the hallways seem to come together. Those that were resting were no longer leaning on the walls and Talal had come in from the side and positioned herself towards the back of the group. Zan had taken point and the Twin Blade thought she saw what looked like heated air in front of him by the distortions, which she thought was odd for such a cold looking dungeon. Had the dungeon been shut down so long that by flipping the power for the lights, it was causing fluctuations in the data? Practically before she could even finish her thought a burst of unforeseen energy flattened the group to the floor and even though the girl had been off to the side a bit, she had not been spared; her light frame thrown back against the wall like a rag doll.

There in front of the group where the distortion had been, stood a grimy, ugly, old man. The dingy and dirty white suit immediately made her think he was one of those mentioned in Sekai’s message that had escaped, but then she remembered those were residents, meaning Juka Sprites, not one of the employees. Although come to think of it, ‘Residents’ in hospitals meant Doctors in training. Regardless, this unkept and unhealthy looking man before them was talking. What did he mean by ‘His” abode? Was Jula a guy? No, she got banished from the field, or so someone said. A quick, distrustful glance was give at Alana’s backside. Who was this cousin he was speaking of? They were there for a crystal and he certainly didn’t look like any crystal. He might be able to pass himself off as a lump of coal but definitely not something shiny and vibrant. His final cannibalistic words were met with a statement from Kira that the whole group probably had wish they said or at least were thinking in various terms.

Her head started to pound and the female Twin Blade was sure it had something to do with all the confusion rambling around in her brain. At the mention of doing something to the small Archer, Talal’s hands went immediately to her sash, ready to pull blades on a moments notice. She was getting tired of his sarcastic tone. It wasn’t helping the headache that was taking a good hold in her head and just wished for him to stop talking. He was inviting them into the dungeon, to go deeper. They all knew that’s where they were headed, but being invited to go? She didn’t like the sound of it at all and then the man was just…gone.

Zan stepped forward again and reached for the door knob. She heard a click and then a siren that made the girl twitch from the unexpected sound. Everything changed. It was like they were in an upside down digital shower as the floor and walls peeled off, breaking into small particles that floated away leaving behind them a new and even colder look to the dungeon than before which could only mean one thing…the Swath had returned.

”Shit”

Before she could even begin to take in all the changes of the area around her, the Twin Blade was jolted from the safety of her futon and into The World that she was now seeing with her own eyes. Panic washed through her like a waterfall. How? But I didn’t touch anything! I followed his directions and I listened. I was just standing here behaving myself. I didn’t TOUCH ANYTHING! Thoughts screamed inside of her head begging the girl to be let out, but she couldn’t, no wouldn’t allow herself to become the center of attention like that. Somehow, without touch-

Rapidly moving eyes finally focused on what they were seeing on the wall in front of her. Lines and lines of dread code flowed across the walls. Quickly she turned around and found the same on the wall behind her. Her nose was quickly overwhelmed with scents of blood, ash and oh GOD what was that horrid smell? Somewhat flailing hands grabbed for the sash hanging down from her waist and hoisted the end of it up to cover her nose and mouth. She looked up to find the Wavemaster to start asking questions, but he had already vanished and she didn’t have a clue into which direction he went and if she was like this so was he and Baron as well.

She walked towards the Resident hallway but the odor seemed to get worse and for at least the moment, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stomach it and turned around. The Twin Blade started walking back down the Compliant hall, not even paying attention to anything but the dread code in the walls. There had to be somewhere that wasn’t filled with the stuff…didn’t there?

Finally after walking through practically the whole hallway and almost to the last turn that led back to the power room; she stopped at one of the doorways. The nameplate was no longer Compliant anything it now read ‘Traitor Room 3’. The door didn’t even look like a door, it was a rectangular shaped section of the wall that looked alive. Well, if you could call a swollen, puss filled patch of wall with pulsing vein type threads running through it like feeder tubes ‘alive’.

Realizing that she probably shouldn’t be wandering the dungeon alone while the Swath was around, the Twin Blade turned away from the door and began walking back towards the junction area to find Baron. That was when she heard the screams coming from behind her. Although she wasn’t sure, she swore it sounded like Takua and she ran as fast as she could towards it cursing herself for not doing what she had come here to do and watch his back. Whatever made him scream, maybe it could have been prevented had she just been there.

Rounding the corner into the power supply room she came to an abrupt halt. Baron and Zan both had already beaten her there. Zan was already headed back down the other hallway while Baron and Takua were talking, but about what she couldn’t tell from the doorway. It was probably better that another guy had come to his aid anyway. It saved pride, ego, face and all those other things that guys tended to worry about. Of course not all guys were like that but it didn’t hurt to give them their space she supposed so she headed back towards Traitor Room 3 without letting them know she had even been there. Along the way, she noticed that all the other doors were just like the one she saw. All of them carried that pulsing, writhing tumor atmosphere.

”Great”

Talal quietly mumbled to herself as she walked back to her destination. She was starting to realize that there was no possible way she could always be there to watch his back. This was no typical dungeon where the party as a group explores each and every room together like it has been in every single solitary quest she has been on. It wouldn’t keep her from trying, but reality was hitting in a very large way right now that she had been pulled into the game. The whole bit about this being a life or death situation just hit her like a Mack truck.

Taking out a single blade she poked at the door really not wanting to touch it, but there was no visible handle. She hoped that it was more solid than it looked and she could just push it open that way. Besides, what if it carried some sort of disease with it or transferred the Swath sickness that Nemera had? As the tip of her blade touched the pulsing door, an instant gush of puss, blood and other liquidy and not so liquidy substances shot out at her before she could give much of a reaction other than turning her head. The rank concoction splattered her across the stomach and chest. Turning her head back, she got a full waft of aroma through her nose that sent her into dry heaves and dropped the girl to her knees. A minute or two passed before she was able to get her system under control. She slowly reached for and grabbed the hilt of her blade that had been dropped and shakily stood back up feeling a little light headed.

”This sucks!

Thoughts and wishes of why she couldn’t have been immersed into the game while strolling through a nice field of flowers or something were followed by the resolve that she needed to get through this door. It had been made clear at one point that you explored everything that could be. There was not going to be anymore pussy footing around and with both blades now drawn, the Twin Blade took a deep breath and stabbed through the door and sliced downward. Another closing of the eyes, turning of the head and a freaking load of splatter later, two long cuts had been made and she began hacking her way through about a foot of tumorous flesh until the opening was big enough to step through.

Once inside, she noted that the floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of the same rusted looking steel paneling as the hallways. Briefly she wondered where the red hue of the room and halls was coming from. There had been a lot of blood shed seen already on this floor but the tint wasn’t wet looking and didn’t appear to be something directly on any of the surfaces. Was there something in the air, a parasite, a toxin, or perhaps an undetectable or unscented gas? Looking around at the cracks of dread code that were riddled now throughout the first floor of the dungeon, the logical conclusion was just an off cast of it’s color so for now she left the concept alone.

The beds were still in the room, although there were fewer of them and instead of being nicely stacked as before, they were randomly placed and positioned around the room. They were also no longer made of the nice crafted oak but of rough, sharp-edged metal that were all splattered in blood, some areas more heavily than others with no mattresses anywhere to be found.

The six doors were still present as well only now they were made of dark mesh wire that canvassed the door in several layers and criss-crossed creating a solid door, unable to view what was behind it. The handle was jagged and sharp. As much as it seemed that the intent was to keep things from getting into the room based solely on the only means to open it, she couldn’t bring herself to attempt to grab it. She tried placing a blade on either side of the handle, but in the end they were too cumbersome on such a small thing and kept sliding off before the handle turned enough to do any good.

There didn’t seem to be anything else in the room worth interest and she just hoped not opening the side doors wouldn’t cause problems for them later, but she rather like her hands just the way they were. A thought was given to send a flashmail to Baron and ask him what he thought, but now that she was immersed, she couldn’t figure out how to access the menu which sent her into a momentary panic again. How were they to communicate if they didn’t stick together? She back out the slimy opening in the door and abruptly halted herself again. There has to be a way to do it or the others wouldn’t have been able to send or receive this whole time, which she knew they had done. Grimacing to herself for freaking out before thinking, she turned to the right and moved on down the hall and around the corner.

As she walked she somehow knew she had messages but for the life of her, she still couldn’t figure out how to access them. It was such an odd feeling too. Shaking it off and hoping they didn’t contain something that couldn’t wait until later, she approached the next set of doors that were as before; one located across from the other on either side of the hallway. Both doors again were large door sized writhing tumors. By now having already been soaked in the stuff, her senses had become somewhat numb to the smell, but the sight of it was still rather unnerving.

Choosing the door on the left first that now read Traitor Room 4, the dark haired girl covered in muck began slicing her way through. She hacked and slashed and the door itself seemed to give way just like the other but…there was more to this one, like it was thicker or something. Continued efforts went into creating an opening in the wall off bloody pulp and puss when she saw something…odd. Stepping closer, Talal took her hand and tried to open the slit a little farther. She was already covered in the stuff so if she was going to get sick, not touching it wasn’t going to help her any. Choking back her gag reflex and the feel of the slimy substance flowing between her fingers, she looked closer. At the sight of the face of a dead Juka Sprite staring back at her she gasped in fright and almost screamed just to relieve the tension, but didn’t.

Eyes closed, she shook off the nerves that were tingling everywhere sending shivers down her spine and reopened her eyes to try and figure out what to do. The Twin Blade, having unknowingly sliced into a couple of the bodies already, took more care in trying to slice away the rest of the door. Perhaps they were stacked there as a barrier that she could move? Once the door had a big enough hole in it she reached up and tried to put her hand in between the top of the door and the bodies, but all she found was more flesh which confused her, not to mention feeling horrible at having to touch naked dead corpses in the first place. An attempt to push the pile of corpses over into the room was also unsuccessful. Finally, after trying all sides of the door, she came to the conclusion that this room was just filled to the brim with the deceased Juka Sprites; packed into the room like a bunch of sardines in a can.

”How disrespectful.”

A silent prayer was again made as she had before in this room and an asking of forgiveness for any disrespect she may have shown while trying to push them into the room. Finished, she turned and started working on the door to Traitor Room 5, trying to push the visions of the tortured faces from her mind. She had considered using a spell to break through the door but now, knowing that Juka Sprites could possibly be that close to it, she wouldn’t take the chance. Besides, SP was better saved for defense and healing and in this place; you never knew when something was going to jump out at you.

Thankfully, the door to Traitor Room 5 went better and there were no bodies packed in on the other side. As she finished her hacking and entered the room, it was the same as Traitor Room 3 with the random positioned bed frames and nothing really saying ‘look at me’, so she left wanting to just be done with exploring and maybe find a shower or an underground river she could jump into to get washed off. Her clothes were soaked and matted with grossness and she didn’t even want to think of how she smelled. Her hair was a mess and filled with blood and slime from the splatter and walking through the doors getting dripped on. All the thoughts of muck made the girl shudder before exiting the room.

Quick footsteps made it around the next two turns of the hallway as she came to the next set of doors across from one another. Sighing she started in on the door to what was now Traitor Room 6. By now the female Twin Blade had gotten a knack for hacking through the writhing tumors for doors and made short work of it. Entering, she gawked in horror at what she saw. There were about a dozen or so Juka Sprites strung upside down by their legs. It wasn’t so much the fact that they were hung from the ceiling that horrified her; it was the fact that they were wrapped in barbwire in a manner much like a cocoon.

She ran into the room looking for a chair or something sturdy she could stand on but sadly, the bed frames soaked in blood were all that was available to her which she knew she would slip and fall if she tried to use them. Looking up at what attached them to the ceiling, she found more barbwire. The girl reached up as high as she could with her blades but they were too short. Okay, think about this first. They are wrapped in barbwire that ultimately will slice me open if I lose balance trying to jump up and free them. I can’t hold the bodies so they won’t hit the ground for the same reason. If I succeed in cutting them down, then all that’s going to happen is they will fall to the ground and be even more impaled by the wire than they already are, thus further desecrating them.

Another heavy sigh came from the girl as she realized there was nothing she could do for them without injuring them further even though they were already dead. She left the room in utter disgust at the treatment of the Juka Sprites. So many died and were so horribly tortured. She knew that the groups of people hanging from the ceiling were most likely still alive when they were wrapped up. Standing at the door finding nothing else in the room worth noting, she said yet one more silent prayer and left.

That was it; she was done exploring these rooms. Someone else could come along and finish the rest. She didn’t want to look at anymore. She wiped her blades off on her pants, although it didn’t help much since every inch of her was covered by now and put them away. She walked back towards the entrance to the locked door. Perhaps someone had found the key in their ventures. She traversed the rest of the all in no time at all and was back at the juncture. No one was there which troubled her at first, but she knew this was where they would all eventually meet back up. There was only one locked door left and someone would have the key.

At first, she waited but no one came and she was now bored so the young girl ventured down the long hall that she had never been down. She opened and went through the first door on the right and walked into the room that was labeled outside as ‘Slave Nutrition’. The floor was made of a dark mesh wire much like the side rooms were, only she could see through the floor. There was something flowing beneath it and she knelt down to get a closer look even though the general aroma of the room already told her it was a river of blood about twenty feet below the mesh floor. The only thing that confused her was how there was a faint light coming up through the floor from it. What kind of light came from blood?

There was a cylinder in the middle of the room that was filled what she could only deem blood mixed with a sludge-like pus. Yellow/white crystals were growing on the outside of the glass cylinder. There was a plaque at the top that said ‘Raq Disease’ and the girl wondered what “Raq” was or the possible acronym it might stand for. She continued looking and found that a plaque on the base of the cylinder looked like it once had words on it, but they had since been scratched off and were no longer discernable. The walls and ceiling were more of the same rusted steel panels with the same red hue everywhere.

She looked further around the room and found a dozen or so circular doors set into the walls. There were five on each of the side walls and three along the back wall that was on the far side from where she had entered. On the wall above the nearest door was some sort of note so she walked over to read it. It read – “1 Sore = Once a day to covet nightmares. Helpless Meal.” The next line down read – “3 Sores = Three times a day to bed disease. Traitor Meal.” She knew what sores were but did they have a different meaning in this case? She took the note from the wall, folded it and placed it in her pouch to show someone later thinking it might come in handy or give way to knowledge that she probably just wasn’t understanding. Seeing nothing else of interest in the room since there were no desks to rummage through or keyboards and monitors to play with, the Twin Blade turned back towards the door when something caught her eye.

She went back over to the glass cylinder and the crystals growing on it. Talal attempted to grab one of the crystals to remove it, but they were all covered in blood and therefore to slick to get a good grip. In turn, her hands were now covered in blood. Whether she was just getting used to the feeling or too numb mentally at this point to care, she shrugged and took one last look at the cylinder. There was something moving in it. Dark brown eyes grew wide with horror once again as she saw a dead body slowly make its way up the cylinder, rubbing against the glass. That was it, she was out of there, wiping her hands on anything she passed by trying to remove the blood from them.

Almost at a quick jog, she was out of the room and back out in the hallway and leaned against the wall panting. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths of which almost sent her back into dry heaves, just from the odor coming from the hallway she had never stepped foot in. She wasn’t into this horror stuff at all. It was almost more than she could handle on a repeated basis and she was beginning to wonder how she would make it through the rest of the dungeon. She slowly slid down the wall and sat down, resting her head on her knees waiting for the rest of the group to return.

For now, she just needed the room to stop spinning.

((OOC: Disclaimer time. For all you itty-bitty little munchkins who shouldn’t be reading this but probably will, you’re in for a pretty horrifying time. I personally recommend you just turn back once you’ve read this and go on with your lives, because otherwise you’ll probably have to see a therapist. YEAH. IT’S THAT BAD. Anywho, carry on. Not like I can do anything if you ignore this. But here’s to a fair try!))

Baron took a moment to lean against the wall, closing his eyes, breathing heavily. The sights of the dungeon, the horrors inflicted- they were starting to take their effect on the Twin Blade, and he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to go on. For the tenth or fifteenth time, his resolved wavered, and he wanted to beg Gyl to give him a path out of the area, anything, just to leave and try to forget what had happened in the Juk Prison’s dungeon. The field itself… it had been tame, to a sense. Only the shambling Swath beings had been horrors, but they hadn’t been as bad- it was almost like they were just everyday game zombies on steroids. But no- the gruesome icons of Jula’s research were visible in all of the rooms, torn and bloody, the most inconceivable treatments ever seen marring their corpses. And the worst part was that the Eventides were only on the first floor of the large dungeon- what would the rest be like? Would the women and children be next? Would there be more tormented experiments, more sick and twisted than the ones before? It was hard to imagine, but imagine it Baron did, shuddering with the images that his imagination conjured.

You alright, Baron?

I-I don’t know… I never expected to see such obscenities in my life. People who have seen horrors, they’re distant, like another race of beings, but… but now I’ve seen it, and… I don’t know how to handle it.”

I can’t do much about that, unfortunately. My emotions aren’t the same as yours- I see these poor beings with a detached feeling, not one of pity, anger, or sorrow. Perhaps you’d be better off talking to someone else in the party- they’re human, unlike me.

Baron sighed, putting his head in his hands, a dull ache starting to form behind the temples in the real world. Locke put down his controller a moment, rubbing at the hurt, and then he looked around, considering Libra’s advice. Maybe it would be best to talk to someone. However, it had to be someone who was able to take the horrors with a much braver face, someone who had been through it all before. First to mind were Sidhe or Takua, but Baron cast those thoughts aside- both were experienced, true, but unfortunately, they didn’t appeal as someone to just come out and talk to. Two guys talking about emotions never looked good on anyone. That left the female half of the group- Alana, Sekai, Kira, and Talal. The last was discarded as well, simply because the female Twin Blade was just as new to the whole situation as he was. Alana was thrown out as well, simply because Baron didn’t feel comfortable talking to the former Progeny. So it was between Sekai and Kira, and the choice was easy enough.

Baron approached Sekai, his shoulders slumped and his eyes glued to the ground. It was clear from his look that he was in a cross between not feeling well and simply wanting to break down. He tried to put on a strong face for his friend, though, rather than having her worry. Of course, his words would probably do that well. I mean, who in their right mind would say what he was about to? "E-excuse me... Sekai? May I borrow Kira for a few minutes?"

Sekai and Kira exchanged a look, and Baron shuddered somewhat, wondering what the two were thinking. Sure, it was an odd request, but the Twin Blade felt that Kira would be the better choice of the two to talk to, especially with the way he was feeling. Sekai would be comforting, kind, perhaps pitying- but none of those would do. Baron knew that it would only weaken his nerve and cause him to doubt again. Instead, Kira would have to take the plate for that one… if she was willing. The Long Arm was an odd one, and Baron couldn’t predict her in the least. Perhaps that was why she would be good to talk to- she might know the right thing to say. Fortunately, Sekai acquiesced quickly.

“Of course.”

Kira looked up at Baron, her eyes narrowing, and the Twin Blade squirmed slightly under that gaze, feeling like a bug under inspection. Still, she moved away from Sekai readily enough, moving over to his side instead and nodding for him to lead the way. Baron was glad that Kira was coming along so willingly, though- without knowledge of why she was needed, the Long Arm could have simply refused. Fortunately, that hadn’t been the case. Kira spoke as she moved up to Baron, the words practically whispered so that only he would hear them.

“If this needs to be out of earshot and somewhat private, lead the way.”

"T-Thanks..." Baron led the way to the previous room, the junction between the four main areas of the dungeon. Once he was there, he leaned against a wall, rubbing at his temples. He closed his eyes, looking a hundred more times tired than he felt, breathing once before speaking. "I... I need your advice on something. You seem to be the most composed after all of this... how do you do it? How can you stand all of these horrors and yet remain so calm?"

Kira was silent as she made her way through the hallway, striding out behind Baron, and she leaned against the wall across the room from the Twin Blade. She was paying attention, that much was certain, and she was simply listening with a calm, empty expression, a neutral stance that would leave her unbiased and best-equipped to answer. Baron mentally heaved a sigh of relief- indeed, Kira was fitting his expectations nicely, ready to listen to what he had to say. Even after he was done, she considered her words carefully, rather than just say the first thing that came to mind. Baron had to appreciate the cool, calm way that the Long Arm was taking it, and remained silent while she considered.

“The best way I can put it is a difference in what we've been exposed to in our mutual lives. From what I'm to understand, most humans don't get caught up in wars- public or private- often or at all within their lifetime. It's the opposite in most AI races as well; we're born in the middle of both private and public wars; most dying and fading back to wherever we originate from in those wars.”

Kira’s eyes shifted back to Baron, focusing on the Twin Blade.

“This is by no means my first time seeing an entire race or two of AI wiped from existence and I'm fairly certain it won't be the last either. I'm affected by it; but like all individuals- AI and human alike- I choose how to show it; if at all.”

Baron was quiet as he stared at the floor, considering the words. His mind was in turmoil, his thoughts unsettled, as he tried to produce a coherent response. "Y-yes... but... I don't know. I want to go on, to help the Eventides, but... but at the same time, I want to run, I want to scream at Gyl to remove me from the field and let me go back to my life. I want to forget any of this happened... but I don't think I can. I'm scared, but I don't want to leave... and yet I do... does this make sense?"

Sliding to the ground, the Twin Blade held his head with his hands, a headache starting to form as he tried to regain his composure. Baron wanted so hard to get a simple answer, some mystical key to never again losing his nerve and his sanity like he was already doing, but it seemed to elude him constantly.

Kira, in a move that surprised Baron, moved up close to the Twin Blade, leaving her spot at the wall to kneel in front of him. Was she… was she trying to be comforting? After all the times Baron had seen the Long Arm, he hadn’t known her to be a particularly kind person. Not to say she was unkind, but she was often cold and distant more than anything. It was a bit surprising for the Twin Blade to adjust to the change in thinking, and then Kira had to go and mess with his hair, like he was a little kid! Baron was immediately confused by the shift in attitude, but… it was nice. Something unexpected, yet sought after. The Twin Blade, rather than do or say anything, simply let the action pass without comment as Kira continued speaking.

“It makes sense. If there's one emotion even the AI share with the rest of humanity; it's fear.”

Kira rose to her feet, straightening at the knees as she stood over Baron.

“You're scared and want to return to a place, a time where you weren't and where you could be safe again; everyone goes through those times. As little reassurance as this may be, you aren't the first one who's come to me saying the exact same thing or paraphrasing what you've asked and told me.”

Kira smiled lightly, showing no doubt or hesitation as she continued, but again, the smile was another new concept for Baron to see on the Long Arm. There was definitely a side of her being revealed that the Twin Blade had only guessed at.

“But the majority who've confessed those same things have turned out to be the best damn soldiers and the most reliable out there.”

Baron smiled lightly at that. In the end, he did feel better, hearing that speech. It wasn't one meant to give false hope, to comfort, but it wasn't one that was meant to make him angry enough to fight back, a cliché that everyone took advantage of. No, Kira's speech had touched him profoundly, simply because it was her own way of helping, no matter what it seemed she was trying to do. Baron wanted to jump up, to hug her... though he didn't favor the idea of a spear through the stomach. Instead, he tried to smile again and perk up.

"Thank you, Kira. It's funny, but I knew you'd know what to say. I think I can go on now. Thank you, again."

“Don't mention it. I'll wait here with you til you're ready to go back to the others, safety comes in numbers after all.”

Kira returned to her place at the far wall, the sympathetic expression vanishing in a heartbeat as she leaned against it, relaxing. Instead, the look that Baron referred to as her “business face” reappeared, calm but always alert. However, rather than wait, as Kira had suggested the Twin Blade simply nodded, getting to his feet. There was no point to just waiting around, was there? "You're right, we should get going back. I suppose we should go." As he headed towards the door, he paused, suddenly remembering something, a mischievous smile crossing his face for a moment. "Did Sekai ever give you my message from when she visited me at Θ Lonely Law's Core?"

Kira frowned at the question, looking clueless, but Baron knew he hadn’t made a mistake before, and smiled again even as the Long Arm raised an eyebrow at him. Not to mention the simple method of “tagging” someone to see their character name and be able to identify them easier. No, it had clearly been Kira before, and Baron was curious to see how she would react.

“Something about looking good as a blonde if I remember right, though, that wasn't the way she phrased it. No idea what the hell she was talking about, I wouldn't be caught dead as a blonde. Why?”

Baron smiled. So, she was going to play that game, was she? “Iunno… I vaguely recall a certain woman, walking into the Trade Center and purchasing a Water Magic from me, one that was marked on the spine. Now, imagine my surprise when I see you, slipping the same item into Takua’s robe. Fortunately, I can put two and two together. But if you want to deny it… well, I suppose I can tell Sekai about it, can’t I? She might find the kiss interesting as well…”

Kira looked bored, though she raised her eyebrow a bit at the comment. Clearly, she knew he was onto her, but wasn’t going to admit it. Pulling her spear from the air, the Long Arm whirled it around a few times, as if mildly amusing herself. She replied with a half-yawn of sorts, indicating her lack of interest in the topic.

“Saw some chick in blue and white fur- you don't wear fur when you tear a monster or other person up, blood never comes out of it- flipping her shit to a group of gothic lolita dressed women in pink, red and black a while later, I ripped it off of her for three thousand gold after offering to whoop the guy's ass for her.”

Something came over Kira at that moment, a glint in her eyes that made Baron feel distinctly uncomfortable when the gaze shifted over to him. The Long Arm raised her spear with a light smile, raising the point towards his middle, and suddenly the treasure hunter realized the point she was getting at even as she spoke.

“And unless I'm mistaken, I think you just made a rather unfortunate confession.”

Oh dear.

Well, it was time for a few more desperate countermeasures, lest Baron find himself getting the business end of Kira's spear where it didn't belong. "Really. Fine then, you want to prove it wasn't you? Do me one favor, odd as this sounds- give me a kiss, just a light peck, and you can prove your innocence. I may not be able to feel things, but I can read body language and such better than the average man. You want to prove it wasn't you? Fine, do so. If I was wrong, I'm gonna get pummeled anyway- might as well make it worth something."

Kira’s spear actually fell at that, the Twin Blade’s words catching her off-guard for the first time in… ever. Baron was actually surprised at the success, watching the gears turn in the Long Arm’s head. She was actually confused, even for the briefest of moments, and she was trying to figure out if Baron had said what she thought he had said. It was interesting, watching her consider for that moment.

“You just, did I hear- did you just ask me to kiss you?”

Baron smiled, showing the dazzling grin that captivated so many... at least, in his own mind it did. "Yeah. Believe it or not, Kira, I did. Odd as it sounds, that's really the only way you can clear that suspicion... or confirm it. I mean, hey, you can stab me through with your spear and end this conversation, but death is nothing in a game for me. So you might as well go through it, or have the lingering doubt that could spread to... other ears."

Kira’s eyes narrowed again as she stared at Baron, and the Twin Blade once again went cold at the stare, wondering what the woman was thinking. Baron had never been able to completely fathom the chilly Long Arm yet, and that wasn’t any different. The odds weren’t particularly in his favor, though- he was going to pay dearly for the brief moment of control he had on the situation, and while it was worth it, he was still sweating the whole issue. Kira would get him back, no doubt about it… and he was very much worried. However, when she smiled and replied calmly, Baron wanted to shrink down, feeling things turn against him immediately.

“Blackmail doesn't suit someone with a chivalrous spirit and that smile makes you look like- what the hell is it Sekai called them- a loan shark. Or something like that.”

Kira raised her spear higher, taking it from Baron’s middle to his throat, getting the message clearly across with the weapon.

“If I kiss you, I'm guilty of what you're accusing me of and that, little treasure hunter, isn't a good bargain on my end at all. I think I understand; you're still not able to get what you saw outta your mind from the Hot Spring. I do have a standard price for these kinds of things, you know; all you have to do is ask and I'll name the price.”

So, Kira was throwing out the wild card that had stunned Baron so many times in the past, was she? Baron smiled back, having steeled himself for such an encounter, expecting it, and returned with his own jibe. "My, a price, you say? That's very interesting. I wonder what Sekai would have to say to you even make the suggestion of.... selling your body. And why would you pick on an innocent Twin Blade? For all you know, I'm below the age of consent, making you a pedophile. Rather nasty habit, that, and I'm sure your companion wouldn't appreciate that in the least."

Baron had to grin as the game went on, warming up into his role. He wasn't going to fold so easily, as Kira would learn. No, it was time to show her what he could do if pushed to do so. "Also... I wonder... that kiss I received before was so experienced... as if it belonged to someone who had been through the fires of passion more than just a few times. If you're going to make such an offer with your body, like you did, then you're only convincing me more that it was you I saw at the Trade Center."

Unfortunately, Kira decided to stop holding back at the moment and started lashing back with much more force than any of the Twin Blade’s arguments had done previously.

“If you're innocent, I'm a Vestal Virgin and Sekai is, what the hell is the name of the queen of those female sex demons... Lilith? And, as a matter of fact, I'm willing to bet you're older than fifteen years old- which happens to be Sekai's age mind you,”

Kira put up a finger at each point, causing Baron to flinch as he realized just how deep of a hole he had dug himself, but he stood as strong as he could, trying to get past the worst of it.

“And it makes you legal in the country of Japan; age of consent happens to be fourteen. As for selling my body,” Kira’s expression shifted for a moment, before returning to what it had been before, “Let's just say Sekai knows I come with my own personal baggage and leave it at that. She'd be upset with me, yes, but knowing her, she'd try and offer her own body for the same purposes somewhere down the road.”

“I'll leave it at this; you want the kiss? Fine; you'll get it alright. I don't wanna hear you bitch afterwards though. I treat men and women very differently in these circumstances; if you catch my drift.”

Baron smiled weakly, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. He knew that he was going to lose, so he bowed out gracefully. "Alright, you got me. I'm not 'innocent' in that sense- I actually just turned eighteen recently, putting me in the American age of consent. And you're right- what you do is none of my business. I was really just curious to see if I could manage to make you confess, though I see it's a pointless attempt. Oh well. I'll keep that kiss as an IOU, Kira- save it for a better time. We should get back to the others, too, I suppose. C'mon, blondie." Baron couldn't resist one last dig as he headed back towards the hallway where the others were waiting.

The Twin Blade grinned as he turned to walk away, knowing what that last bit would do. It was a bad gamble on his part, with much more to lose than there was to gain, but it was a victory of sorts in his eyes, and if Kira reacted as expected… again the grin flashed widely, especially as heavy footfalls behind him, those slammed against the metal floor of the dungeon in anger, became clearly audible. Suddenly, a hand on his shoulder spun him around, putting Baron and Kira face-to-face before the Twin Blade found himself slammed up against the wall. Baron was bemused by the results of his last jibe, his fear and horror forgotten from before, and wondered just how far Kira would take things.

For a moment, things seemed to stand still before Kira leaned in close, her lips pressing firmly against his own as she came in for a strong kiss with more behind it than Baron had seen back in the Trade Center in Mac Anu. She held it there for a moment as the Twin Blade froze, once more freaked out by the situation, even though he had been on guard against Kira’s other tricks to mess with his sensibility. No, those were teases, this… this was… well. There was no way to describe the violence behind the movement, even as it was broken away. Baron was left to slide to the ground, staring into space as he tried to recover. Kira wiped her lips clean of blood- where had that come from?- and spoke, calmly as ever.

“That, I will have you know, was how I'm 'nice' to the men who purchase such services; consider yourself lucky and that as your proof.”

Baron let out a simple, silent "Wow" before simply standing, turning and walking down the hallway. There was nothing more to be said or done. The Twin Blade shook his head, dazed, and decided it was better not to dwell on it.

Their session over, his fears dissuaded, Baron entered the area where the others were after casting a quick Repth on himself, having discovered his bloody lip. It seemed that the others had been waiting to go, and the Twin Blade nodded, ready to go. He started heading towards the door sitting at the far end of the hallway, along with the rest of the group. Zan, being the imposing leader-like figure, took charge and reached for the doorway at the far end of the hallway. However, as he did so, the very air seemed to shimmer, directly in front of the doorway, as if blocking it off. Locke took off his headset, making sure it wasn’t a graphical glitch or something, checking it to see if perhaps something was on the blink. Everything seemed in condition, though, and the boy slipped on the headset… only to find that he was looking at the metal ceiling of the facility. Getting to his feet, the Twin Blade noticed that everyone was scattered across the floor, picking themselves up or already standing again. It was like a bomb had gone off or something, knocking everyone back. Looking towards the shimmering spot once more, Baron was going to examine it to see if it was just a glitch or some such thing when he realized that it was no longer there. Instead, they had new company.

An older man, unkempt and disheveled, stood where the error had been. Long, greasy shanks of gray-black hair hung partway down the man’s back, covering about a foot of the stranger’s dirtied white suit. Broken, jagged teeth showed between grinning lips and running, bloodshot eyes that fit the man. Off-color nails that looked like they had been scraped across a blackboard a few too many times marred the man’s wrinkled, yellowish hands. However, the worst part was the streaks of black that ran all over the man’s body like veins… in fact, they were veins, just that off-color awful black. Baron shuddered, wondering what sort of fouled blood ran through the stranger’s body, but before he could think too far on it, the man bowed, speaking softly, though arrogantly.

Talking of fears, evils, the darkness in a person’s heart as if they were a meal fit for the taking, the stranger spoke cryptically, a crooked, evil smile crossing his face. There was only one point in the conversation that caught Baron’s interest though, aside from the small amusement he got seeing Kira get riled so easily. At one point, the man had said “Now I know you’re here to snatch my cousin away.” What had he meant by that? The only thing the Eventides were hoping to retrieve from the Juk Prison’s dungeon was the Juk Incarnation… and if that was the case, and that was what the stranger meant… Baron’s eyes narrowed, a dozen and a half ideas passing through his mind, though one stood out more dominantly than the rest, wild as the idea sounded. It wasn’t likely, heck, it was a far shot with no real supportive evidence, but…

Was this man the Ani Incarnation? The idea seemed preposterous, outrage, and downright impossible, but from the man’s dark attire to his cryptic words, the title seemed to fit him to the letter. Baron wasn’t yet sure about what he suspected, though- it was still a wild guess without any real support. Still, it was… an interesting thought. The Twin Blade decided to take it up with Sidhe a bit later, but for now there was still the issue at hand. Turning his attention back to the conversation, scowling as he caught the end of the threat against Sekai, Baron was about to retort himself when the man simply vanished, leaving the hallway empty. His blades gripped in either hand, the Twin Blade looked around, but the stranger was indeed gone. Sighing, feeling an odd sense of relief that had come with the man’s absence, the treasure hunter sheathed his weapons and instead watched as Zan headed towards the doorway. It was time that the group headed to the next floor.

The Heavy Blade moved to wrap one hand around the doorknob, and oddity so far in the Juk Prison’s dungeon, and twisted it, only to find it locked. However, things didn’t just end there, else Baron would have made the suggestion that they break the door down or something. No, as the handle clicked, reaching the point where it could no longer turn, an alarm was triggered, sirens wailing somewhere in the background. Even as it went off… there was a drastic shift. The world seemed to be set aflame, curling up and vanishing in bright red code. The area reformed around the Eventides, harsh metal taking the place of the hospital floors, jagged cracks of glowing red code visible in it. The entire air seemed to change, a burning color enveloping the whole area. But that wasn’t the worst of it, not by far. Suddenly, in an odd tug that Baron couldn’t begin to describe, things seemed to suddenly have a dimension that wasn’t there before. Something had changed. Ash and blood filled the air, a distinct odor that hadn’t been there before.

Wait. What was that last part? What was it about the last thought that had seemed off…

Then Baron had it, and his knees gave way beneath him as he realized what was going on. The Eventides were Immersed again. The same effect had occurred once… twice in the field that the Twin Blade could immediately call to mind. Closing his eyes and trying to relax, Baron waited, expecting the effect to end after a few moments, all sense of normalcy returning as he found himself at his computer again. Opening his eyes, however, he realized that he was still Immersed. The Twin Blade, out of curiosity, reached up and pinched the exposed skin on the back of his glove, and flinched as he felt the nerve endings react, giving him a wash of sensation telling him that he had indeed felt the action. Shuddering, he sank down to his knees, feeling the hot metal beneath him as he tried to suddenly reason what was going on. This Immersion… it wasn’t like the other ones. Where there had been brief bursts to give the players a taste of what it was like for the comatose… this was different.

Baron leaned against the wall, his head in his hands, as he started at the contact that he shouldn’t have felt. No, that wasn’t supposed to happen! None of it was supposed to happen! They weren’t supposed to be trapped in the game! Baron knew that the others who had been trapped were ordinary people just like them, but fate had dealt them a worse hand, putting them in a different situation. No! He wasn’t supposed to be trapped, it wasn’t supposed to be that way! None of it made sense- he was just an ordinary student, playing a computer game, and now, through some sort of… some sort of data… thing… he was thinking he was in the game, feeling it as if it were happening! It didn’t make sense, no! It couldn’t be real, had to be a bad dream, it couldn’t be right…

Vaguely, Baron heard someone speaking to him amidst the chaos that his mind had created, and he dully tuned into it, slumping onto the floor as he tried to deny what had happened.

Baron! Get a hold of yourself, now!

Some awareness returned, breaking through the haze of his thoughts. Baron felt tears on his face, felt his hands hurting from how hard he had clenched them. Spots of blood were visible on his palms where the nails had dug into the skin. Even the Twin Blade’s thoughts were as shaky as he was. L-Libra…?

Yes, Baron. Now, get up. You’ve been on the floor for nearly five minutes, moaning and tearing yourself up. You need to get a grip, and stand up. I know it’s hard for you, suddenly being thrust into my world like this. But you won’t do any good with this act of self-pity. Now, stand up!

Numbly, Baron put a hand to the wall, standing, shuddering as he felt the warm metal beneath his hand. For a moment, he almost faltered again, before pushing himself up on shaking knees. He didn’t want… he didn’t want to get up. He wanted to stay back on the ground, to curl up in a little ball and hide from the world, to close his eyes and make it all go away. The Twin Blade wanted to wake up in his own bed, remembering it all as nothing more than a dream, a nightmare induced by the horrors witnessed in the Juk Prison’s field. But no, he knew that it wasn’t the case, that no matter how much he wished otherwise, he was Immersed in the game. He was like one of the comatose, able to experience every feeling as it happened to his character. But… but he vaguely recalled someone mentioning something similar. Hadn’t Takua, in the last field, ended up Immersed in a similar fashion? Yet he was still one of the “normal” players of The World, not one of the comatose… perhaps it was temporary, but with a much longer duration than the earlier shocks. Yeah, that had to be the answer… there was no way that it would really happen, not all the way, not at all. Baron gave a nervous laugh, trying to straighten up, though he leaned against the wall until he was sure he could stand more steadily.

Pulling himself to his feet, noticing that Takua was already leaving, Baron forced himself to take a few unsteady steps forward before finally getting back into his natural rhythm, feeling unnatural to be actually walking rather than controlling a character’s actions with a few buttons. But soon he got into the feeling of walking again, though it was a bit awkward- Baron was built differently than Locke’s physical body, so it was a bit of an adjustment. The leg muscles, for example, reacted a lot more quickly, due to his class, which favored speed and agility over strength. So theoretically, Baron could run a lot faster than he could in the real world. It seemed that there were some minimal perks to being part of the game. Still, the as the Twin Blade ran after Takua, he felt the strain on his legs and realized, too, that he couldn’t treat the situation as he would in the game. With feeling came fatigue and exhaustion, which meant that Baron wouldn’t have the limitless energy that came with being a game construct.

It would be a long walk through the dungeon.

As Takua went into one of the four rooms connected to the hallway they were on, Baron turned and went into another, wondering if anything had changed in the rooms. Something seemed odd, bizarre… different. The formerly sedate-looking doors had been replaced by hulking metal monstrosities, as if they hid something horrible within. Dully, still trying to adjust to his current situation, the Twin Blade made his way over to the doorway that had originally been labeled “Surveillance Room B,” wondering if he could use the screens to take a peek around the various rooms of the Compliant hallway, to see if anything else had changed. Foreknowledge of any possible threats would be useful, even if the Twin Blade had to step around the two bodies that were likely still inside. He shuddered at that idea, realizing that he might have to touch and move them. Considering that he’d be able to feel it, the cold clammy skin, the greasy, slick blood… ugh. Baron was not looking forward to his time Immersed, and prayed that it ended quickly.

Coming up to the doorway, the Twin Blade noticed a completely different label above the doorway. Instead of “Surveillance Room B,” the door was now labeled “Voyeur Room B.” Raising an eyebrow, wondering to what extent the Immersion had changed the dungeon, Baron shoved the door open, holding one hand to his blades, wondering for a moment how difficult it would be to fight while Immersed. Maybe some of the body reflexes would kick in or something, the Twin Blade couldn’t be sure. Still, he wanted to be ready in case the time came where he had to fight. Grimacing, he stepped inside the new room, his eyes immediately darting around to take in the sight.

The general makeup of the room was the same, with the computer screens and keyboards set up in a circular fashion in the center of the room. Two fans whirled in the ceiling, one fast, one slow. Again, nothing really different. However, the floor was one of the more noticeable changes- instead of a solid floor, it was a mesh grid to give any viewers a look at what lay below. Rocks lined with veins of Dread Code let of burning code that flickered almost like sparks off of a flame, ash visibly floating upwards. Another noticeable change was the screens- instead of just the views of the dungeon, something was happening on them. Baron started to move closer, to get a better view of what was happening, but at that moment, he was suddenly halted by the presence of three other figures. The feeling that someone was watching the Twin Blade suddenly flared up, and Baron turned to see three monstrosities shambling around the room at him.

Each of the monsters had an pasty, pus-colored skin stretched over their frame, a sight that was gruesome enough without the other details. Each step they took was shuddering, disturbing, as knees with no apparent limits on their joints popped back and forth as the monsters walked around. Their arms were thin, jagged nails tipping each, and in the palm of each hand was… were they eyes? If so, they had been horribly marred beyond recognition, as if they had been gouged out. Oversized heads looked as if they would cause the beings, tagged “'O5s#rJe,” to topple over at any second, and yet they managed to stay standing. On their heads were holes all over, as if they were extra eyes. Baron wanted to examine further, to analyze the monsters for threats, but one lunged at him, its claws slashing out as it stumbled forward.

Falling back in surprise, Baron felt a searing pain in his arm and saw that the nails had torn deeply into his left bicep, leaving blood to run down the limb. The sting grew more intense by the moment as more blood continued to pump from the wound, and the Twin Blade almost fell to the ground, unused to the pain. In the real world, he had been injured before, but not like that. He tried to focus, to think of something to do, but the pain kept driving his mind from any useful answers. Finally, it occurred to him to use a Repth spell, and he started to open the menu to access his spell list… when he realized that he didn’t have a spell list! Panicking, Baron stumbled back, practically crawling on the ground towards the doorway in an attempt to escape the fiends that wanted to kill him, but another one blocked the exit. Nearly whimpering in the fear that hadn’t been there while he was outside of the game, outside of the feeling of intense pain in his arm, the Twin Blade practically curled up in a ball on the ground in his terror. The fiends started coming closer by the second.

Baron! Get up! You don’t have time for this! You think your arm hurts now, what do you think these things will do if they get to you and start tearing at your body? You need to fight them! Defend yourself. Get up, you stupid child!”

Baron spoke aloud without realizing it, tears streaming down his face as he tried to make himself as small as possible, scared beyond belief. “I can’t, Libra, I can’t! I’m scared, I d-don’t want to do this! It hurts, it h-hurts more than any pain I’ve ever felt! I’m going to die here, and that’ll be that! I-I’m so scared, so scared! I-I…”

Suddenly, one of the monsters raked its claws across Baron’s back, causing the Twin Blade to literally scream at the agony as the skin was torn apart by the jagged nails that tipped each of the thing’s fingers. In an attempt at desperation, his fear exploding in a rush of terror, Baron whirled, drawing one of his blades from its sheath and swiping out with it. The weapon tore into the fiend’s body, tearing through flesh with a sickening tug that the Twin Blade didn’t even notice in his terror. He tried desperately thinking again, trying to figure out how to use his magic to save him. A Repth for healing, something powerful to wipe out the creatures so he could escape… Baron knew he couldn’t just rely on his blades, not without knowledge of how to properly use them. Even before his blade had made its way through the monster’s body, the boy scrambled away, struggling to move to the other side of the room against the pain that constantly screamed from the wounds in his back and arm, trying to put as much distance between the monsters and him while practically shouting at Libra for answers.

How do I use my magic?! You know how it is being in The World for real, how did you do it? Hurry, please, hurry!

Baron, relax! It’s simple, focus for a minute! Close your eyes, envision the Wave you wish to make use of, and shape it into one of the spells that your equipment allows you to channel.

Baron closed his eyes, his mind flying every which way, trying to think of a spell, trying to remember what equipment he had equipped on himself before the Immersion, since he didn’t know how to change his gear either. He… he had been equipped with his Fishskin, right? That was a start. They had the Merrows spell on them… maybe that would do. The Twin Blade closed his eyes, focusing on the ice and water that made up the Rue element, feeling the cold rush over his skin as the magical energy started to form. However, he wasn’t sure how he was expected to “shape” it into the summoning form… unless maybe he just envisioned it? Focusing on the water serpent that made up his Merrows summon, envisioning the water coalescing to form the being, Baron felt another rush of energy, knowing that the spell was activating… but what now? The monsters were getting close, and the Twin Blade simply lashed out, pointing at the monster and screaming, his throat raw from the sound.

“Merrows!”

That last cry had done the trick, and immediately, the spell formed before him in a burst of ice and water that erupted from thin air, forming the serpent that embodied the Rue element. With a silent hiss, the summon shot forward, slamming into the monster nearest Baron before exploding in a burst of Rue energy. The force was close enough to cause the Twin Blade to recoil back from the shockwave, but the O5s#rJe that had been struck fell back, its mouth opening in a horrifying moan. The other two beings fell back as well, hit by some of the force, though they didn’t go down as easily. Instead, they continued their approach, and Baron lashed out again in desperation, an electric-yellow aura of energy surging from him even as bolts of brilliant lightning fell from the sky to slam down on all three of the beings after him, the GiRai Don spell leaping to mind out of nowhere. The smell of charred flesh was almost overpowering for Baron, but he untied the bandana from around his arm and covered his mouth and nose, filtering out some of the smell. The heat from where the lightning had struck still smote him in a rush, as did the electromagnetic discharge that left his hair standing on end, but it was over. All three monsters were on the ground, twitching but otherwise unmoving.

Breathing a sigh of relief, leaning against the wall, Baron became suddenly aware of the injuries paining him. Now that he knew how to access his magic, the Twin Blade thought it would be much easier to heal himself. However, as he visualized his Repth spell, he was surprised when nothing happened. Then it hit him- due to his Emperor’s Crown being equipped, he didn’t have access to his Repth spell, which was on his Peasant’s Cap. Therefore, he was stuck until he figured out how to switch his equipment around. Sighing, Baron reached into his item pouch at his waist and pulled out a Health Drink, not sure how he had found it, or how it fit in the pouch with all of the other items that he kept at hand, but rather than question it, trusting his body’s natural reflexes (rather, the programmed ones, but that was hardly the issue), he simply popped the seal and downed it, grimacing at the cough-syrup cherry flavor. Still, the wounds in his arm and back felt immediately better, though they didn’t close all the way, indicating that what would the equivalent to his game-based hit points wasn’t fully restored. Still, it was enough, and even though the injuries still stung slightly, it wasn’t enough to bother him, not yet.

Getting to his feet, Baron started to head towards the exit, wiped out physically, mentally, and emotionally from the terror that had gripped him in that fight. The Twin Blade didn’t understand how the other comatose members handled it… they felt so much pain, so much injury… why hadn’t they quit while they were ahead and stayed hidden in the Root Towns, away from the hurt and fear? It just seemed so senseless for them to put themselves at such risk…

Suddenly, a movement near him caused Baron to whirl as the monsters from before started getting up from the ground, causing the Twin Blade to nearly drop his weapons in terror again. Could the monsters not be killed? Or was he not strong enough to do so? Either way, Baron didn’t want to stick around for long. He wasn’t sure if the monsters were strong enough to open the door, the way they were, but they were still between it and him, so had to be cleared out. The Twin Blade looked over them, noticing one of the “eyes” on one of them, staring at it directly… and suddenly was blind. Crying out in fear once more, his vision completely gone, Baron staggered back, not knowing what was going on. Instead, he lashed out in random directions, all of his magical energy firing off in bursts ahead of him, unsure if they hit a mark. Another GiRai Don, a GiRue Kruz, and a Rue Kruz all exploded at the same time, the sounds of lightning and ice tearing apart the room, the sound of a monitor or two hitting the ground echoing loudly. Baron backed up as far as he could, unseeing, feeling a wall and pressing his back against it, praying to whatever powers may be that he would be able to see. Fortunately, his vision started to return about ten seconds after it had faded, and things were starting to come into focus again. The monsters were back on the ground, the area around them in shambles. Two monitors had fallen off of the display, broken in the fall, and one of the keyboards was on the fritz from the mix of electricity and ice.

Breathing heavily, trying his hardest not to look at the monsters, lest he get blinded again, Baron inched around the room, heading for the doorway. He slipped out the door, letting it shut behind him, before he collapsed, almost literally, onto the ground, sobbing lightly at the ordeal he had just been through. His first encounter while Immersed, and he had nearly lost his sanity in the process. Still, he was alive, and that was what mattered… right? Trying to even out his breathing, wiping away the tears that streaked his face with a grime-stained finger, the Twin Blade pushed himself to his feet, still unsteady and exhausted from the terror, but ready to continue on.


((OOC: Second part will be up shortly. -_-; ))

((OOC: Same disclaimer as the above post, kiddos. Move along now, nothing for you all to see here...

And here's the second half, for the rest of y'all))

It seemed that Takua had finished his room as well, the one opposite his, and was having his own issues with whatever he had seen, though he was much more composed about it than Baron was. Feeling embarrassed and a bit ashamed at his cowardice, the Twin Blade stumbled over to the door at the far end of the hallway, unwilling to look the fool in front of the others. No, he had to prove that he was useful to the others, that he was not some child they had to protect and preserve. No, no, no! Baron shook his head angrily and picked up his pace, ignoring the strain that his legs were trying to inform him of. Pulling ahead of Takua and heading towards the RaEx room, which seemed to be the Wavemaster’s destination. The Twin Blade reached the door first, noticing that this time it had a knob with a lock on it, unlike before. Twisting it and finding it locked, Baron grimaced in frustration and a bit of embarrassment. Takua would probably have opened it easily, either by breaking it down or something clever. He probably was thinking Baron was such a fool, such a child! Well, the Twin Blade would show him.

Fishing a Fortune Wire from his item pouch, Baron stuck it into the lock, twisting it to try to find the proper position, so that he could twist the wire and open the door. However, several attempts were all blocked by the door’s odd mechanics, and the dull throbbing in the Twin Blade’s arm and back weren’t helping his concentration. Throwing down the item in frustration, Baron sighed and followed after Takua, who seemed to be heading down the Compliant Hall with a destination in mind. Rather than wander around aimlessly, the Twin Blade stuck his hands in his pocket and followed behind, still a bit annoyed at the lock from before, though now fear was starting to replace it. The dungeon had certainly changed, too- the doors were now masses of oozing flesh, the walls and floor still that same fearful metal… ugh. Baron shivered as he followed Takua all the way through the hallway, figuring that the Wavemaster was heading for the Power Supply room. It was a sensible choice, and Baron realized how foolish he had looked by not going for the obvious again. Growling slightly under his breath, the Twin Blade entered the Power Supply shortly after Takua did. And gasped, his hands going to his mouth at what was inside.

Where only antlers of the deceased Incu had been before, thousands of Incu heads were visible, wires hooked up like veins before going up into the walls and vanishing, powering the area. Baron immediately turned his head and rushed out the doorway, feeling sick to his stomach, collapsing to his knees outside the room, trying to put the image out of his head. It was… that had been… the Twin Blade wanted to be sick, could feel his stomach churning, but slowly regained his composure, the image fading. Takua had yet to emerge- once more his cool professionalism was clear in the fact that he hadn’t run. Once more embarrassed by his own actions, Baron swore and stumbled in the doorway, refusing to back down again. The scene that followed, though, definitely made him feel a lot better about how idiotic his actions had been.

Bolts of red lightning arced across the room, the static field causing Baron’s hair to stand on end again. Shrinking back against the door to stay out of the way of the lightning, the Twin Blade looked around and saw Takua, heading towards the lightning. What was he doing? Was he…? No, no, the Wavemaster was smarter than to just walk into the lightning, right? Baron winced as he saw Takua go up and make contact with the lightning, the shock running through the man's body with ease. The smell of singed hair filled the room even as smoke rose from the Wavemaster’s body. The Twin Blade shook his head as he saw Takua's ghost floating over the charred remains of his body.

Then the screaming began. It was horrible, a screaming that wasn’t just physical suffering, but mental as well, something that caused every fiber of Baron’s being to shudder. Even though he was ghosted, Takua continued to scream, and he didn’t stop for a few minutes. Finally, the noise died down, and the Wavemaster seemed to relax, though he seemed…different. Baron sighed, falling back on his usual sarcasm to try to drive out the memory of that horrible scream.

"Didn't it ever occur to you that touching lightning while you could actually feel it might not be the best idea?"

Takua gave him an odd, unfathomable look. "Of course I knew that it would be a bad thing. Nothing... within one of the places owned by Jula's friends is good."

Well, so much for sarcasm. Baron sighed, looking at the Wavemaster. "And I expect you want me to revive you, is that it?"

"It would be kind, would it not?"

Baron moved over and poked at Takua's charred body with one of his blades, feeling a need to get back at the Wavemaster for the injury to his pride earlier. "Well, not necessarily so. See, you can't feel anything while ghosted, and thus, it would actually be cruel to make you feel pain and such again, wouldn't it?"

Takua gave Baron a look of pure dread, his voice shaky and his words odd. "I'm hurting right now anyways. Being dead is not simply lack of sensation. Death brings other things. Death feels like disease has taken over body. Only much worse than anything in the Real World."

"Oh, really? Well, whatever. You'll be useful later on anyway, won't you, champ?"

Now the issue was how to resurrect Takua. Rather than waste his Resurrects unless it became necessary, Baron instead thought about how he’d be able to switch equipment. He had a Rip Maen spell on one of his other pieces of head armor, and just enough SP to cast it. The question was how he’d go about doing it. Scratching at his head, the Twin Blade wondered where the menu was when he needed it. Maybe if he did something like how he cast his spells… Baron closed his eyes, trying to envision a menu, just like he saw when he normally played. Scrolling down it, he went to the equipment screen… and there everything was! Switching his head armors around, so that he had the proper one equipped, Baron smiled, realizing that he was starting to understand how it worked.

A quick wash of light flowed from Baron's hands and covered Takua's body as the Rip Maen spell brought the Wavemaster back to live. "There, all better, now? Just no more touching lightning, 'kay?"

"Only if you don't as well. The memories...don't touch the lightning. No good comes of seeing that vision."

Baron nodded. "The lightning is unappealing enough anyway, thanks. I don't think you'll have to worry about me."

With that, Takua left the room, and Baron followed shortly behind, not looking at the heads filling the room. Even the thought gave him a case of the shudders. No, it was time to head down into the hallways and explore the rooms given to them. Perhaps they had the secret to progressing with the dungeon, no one could know. It was worth a try of sorts, at least. Sighing, Baron headed down towards the hall that had been formerly labeled “Compliant Hallway,” wondering if the name had changed there as well. Only one way to find out. Heading down the hallway, the Twin Blade quickly moved to the first door… swollen flesh-thing. Whatever it was, it was a door of sorts, right? Regardless, the room was labeled as “Traitor Room 1,” a fitting change from compliant that truly was more honest than the first name. Those who helped their captors were indeed traitors. Pushing on the doorway, expecting it to give way, Baron was surprised at the resistance, as well as the texture of the door. Pulling his hand back, the Twin Blade felt the slimy stickiness that coated it clinging to his hand and tried his hardest to shake it off in a mix of disgust and revulsion. Unfortunately, it didn’t come off well, and he was forced to try to ignore it as best as he could, though he was certainly shuddering.

Well, that tact hadn’t worked. Baron was still left with a sealed doorway. Maybe it was like one of those doors with a pull sign that he had missed? There wasn’t anything to grip, though, unless… ew… he would have to dig his hand in to get a firm on the door. Reaching out gingerly with his already befouled hand, Baron pushed it in, trying to get a grip on the slick, rubbery surface, though with no luck. His stomach was telling him that it probably wasn’t a good idea to continue, and he frankly agreed with it, pulling his hand back again. Well, it seemed that pulling didn’t work either. Maybe force would do the trick instead? Switching to his Silver Bracers, Baron sent a Rai Rom to smash into the door, hoping to tear through the material instead. It didn’t give way, though, and the lightning fizzled. Go figure. That wasn’t working either- were the doors sealed beyond access? They were like walls of flesh, unable to be blasted or forced open… wait.

Baron’s stomach roiled again as he considered yet another option, but he knew he had to try it, as disgusting as it sound as much as he was going to regret it. Pulling one of his blades from its sheath, the Twin Blade gingerly poked his weapon at the doorway. With a little more pressure, it slowly pierced through, and Baron found his answer, though it came with a sigh. Pulling downwards, he began the process of cutting through it, soon making a hole wide enough for him to go through, though his arm was drenched with gore, and he was shuddering from head to toe at the feeling, wanting nothing more than to dive in the Mac Anu River and stay there for the next year or so. Soon, though, an entrance became visible, and Baron squeezed through, covering the remainder of his body with the same fluids, horrified. If the rest of the dungeon was like that…

Baron’s thoughts trailed off (though the disgust remained) as he surveyed the room he was in. The random beds were still lying around, though there was no centralized one this time, and none of them had mattresses. Several of them were covered in something roughly like blood. Each of the doors on the side were jagged and deadly, clearly not something one wanted to grip. Looking around the room in a quick survey, checking under the beds, looking around for anything out of place, Baron’s search came up empty, causing him to give a sigh of frustration. He had gotten all messy for nothing? Great. Someone owed him a very long bath later on. Though, there were still the rooms on the sides… but how would they be opened? Baron didn’t relish the thought of any more pain, that was for certain. Well, there was one way… Taking off his jacket, the Twin Blade wrapped it several times around his hand, making sure there was plenty of material protecting his hand. Reaching for a doorknob, wincing at the long rips that were heard as he twisted the knob, the Twin Blade opened it… to find another bed. Great. Damage to his jacket and getting covered in ick were all that had come out of visiting the room. Sighing, Baron left the jacket wrapped around his hand and headed out the first doorway, covering himself in the slime again.

Okay, that was just getting nasty at that point.

Moving across to the door across the way, labeled “Traitor Room 2,” Baron looked at the doorway and sighed, knowing what he had to do. Swallowing once, the Twin Blade stabbed his weapon into the door to begin his bloody work. Closing his eyes as he did so, he tried to imagine being elsewhere, doing something completely different, ignoring the wet squishes and squelches that came with each hacking motion. Soon enough, the door was open, and Baron moved through again, shuddering as usual while he looked around. He nearly lost all semblance of thought and made a run for it, though, as he saw what awaited him within. Male Juka Sprites, impaled on spikes in the most unmentionable of places, all were scattered throughout the rooms. All of them had large gashes on their torsos, some of them twitching, but all were clearly dead or suffering on the brink of it. Shuddering, Baron moved around them, hurriedly checking one of the side doors the same way he had in the first room. Finding another bed, he fled, hoping there was nothing else in the room. The door didn’t even bother him as he stumbled into the hallway, trying to free himself of that room, the smell and taste of blood in the air, the utter atrocities hidden within. It was horrible, too horrible.

Baron leaned against the wall in a cold sweat, his stomach trying to empty its contents but unable to do so. He wanted to be sick, he wanted to run, but the horror keep coming to mind again and again. The Twin Blade simply slumped down to the ground, trying to cope with what he had just seen, trying to think of some way to make it less horrible, less terrifying… but it wouldn’t come. He sank to his knees, his head pressed against the warm metal of the floor as he prayed deeply, both for the salvation of the poor wretched souls who had been left back there and for the strength to continue on, to stop any more atrocities like that. Baron prayed again and again, finding some scant comfort in the last bastion of hope he had, his faith. Finally, after about five or so minutes on the ground, he gave one last sob, one last shuddering breath of fear and terror, and pushed himself to his feet, wiping at his eyes with one mucked-up arm, and soon, he was standing, his resolve restored. He would go on- he had to!

Buttressed again by his renewed courage, Baron strode resolutely down the hallway, passing by Traitor Rooms 3 and 4- both of their entrances had been hacked away, indicating someone had beaten him to them. Instead of stopping at Traitor Room 5, though, he continued on, thinking that the smaller rooms might not be the key. Instead, what about the odd ones out, the bathrooms? Perhaps they had the answer. It was worth a try. Baron moved up to the Traitor Restroom quickly, not even flinching as he tore through the opening. He knew that he couldn’t hesitate for a moment or his resolve would flee, and that would do him no good. Instead, he continued to cut through the doorway, and soon there was an opening for him to go in. Shuddering at the usual slick feeling, and hoping that there was a working sink or something in the bathroom that he could use to wash off some of the slime, the Twin Blade made his way inside.

Well, getting clean was immediately out of the picture.

Each of the bathroom stalls was made of the same mesh that the floors were made up of, enabling Baron to see through them. No bodies were inside, but it was clear that every toilet was filled to the brim with blood. It was definitely a discomforting sight, one that caused the Twin Blade to avert his gaze. Of course, that didn’t help much, as yet another Juka Sprite greeted him, this one in five different pieces, torn apart by a contraption on the wall that made quartering look humane. Shuddering at the chains that had clearly yanked the poor AI apart, Baron searched around, and saw the mirror that had previously said “Healers do not heal.” Only this time, there was a new message, one that was that much more horrible: “Guilt is the root of all evil.” True words, that. As terrible as they were, it was true.

Heading out of the room with a shudder, Baron continued wandering, trying to understand what had caused all of the atrocities he had witnessed. Who would willingly commit such evils? It made no sense how someone could be so twisted and evil. The thought continued to play itself over and over in the Twin Blade’s mind as he continued down the hallways, trying to find some way to understand it all. He only stopped when he reached a new doorway… and blinked. Looking around, he realized that he had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t realized where he was going, and had ended up in an unfamiliar hallway. Baron looked at the door nearby and saw that it was labeled “Helpless Room 4.” Sure enough, he was in a different area altogether! Likely, it was the area that was formerly labeled the “Resistant Hallway” – that would make an ironic sort of sense, wouldn’t it? The compliant Sprites were traitors, and the ones that were resistant were helpless to do anything.

Sighing, deciding that it was as good of a room to visit as any, Baron performed the usual means of entering by making a gory mess of cutting his way through the doorway, and soon arrived in the latest room, trying to steel himself for some other horror that would show. Opening it… he was surprised. Metal panels making up the room was the only real oddity, aside from the mattresses strewn across the room. Surprised, Baron stepped in, wondering what the catch was. It was way too easy to be that simple. There was some catch, some atrocity he hadn’t yet seen. Where was the evil horrors that would try to rip his sanity from him yet again? Curious, the Twin Blade nudged one of the mattresses, expecting something beneath to jump out or squirm. When nothing happened, he flipped it over, and found nothing. A similar search of the other mattresses revealed the same.

Confused, Baron wandered back out into the hallway, heading toward the next room down the line, Helpless Room 3. However, as he started down the hall, he caught sight of motion at the end, low to the ground. Definitely not friendly, then, not at the way the figure was. Drawing his Bloody Blades from their sheaths, Baron held them at ready, the beginnings of a spell already on his tongue as he watched the thing approach. When it got close enough to make the details defined, the Twin Blade nearly dropped his weapons in horror, getting a good look at the creature. Covered in unhealthy-pale skin, with no face to speak of, three horrifying creatures, tagged “C4ipp)-d.” Baron shuddered as he saw them, with huge, hooked claws reaching out of their hands, and their legs bound up in some odd fashion that prevented them from standing. However, the worst was the face- there were no eyes, no sensory organs that were distinguishable. Just a wide, gaping mouth that completely bisected the head.

Baron sent a GiRue Kruz through the corridor ahead of him, orbs of ice smashing into the lead monster as it started to move quickly, dragging itself along the corridor. The spell was hardly enough to faze the monster, so a Dek Vakz followed by a Vak Don rained down on it, leaving a much more solid hit that sent the monster backwards, as if crippled. Huh. “Crippled,” and “C4ipp)-d.” Maybe that was the translation from code to real words? It was an interesting thought, but one that there wasn’t time to dwell on. For now, there was a scary monster-thing trying to shred him with its massive claws. Backing away, Baron sent another Vak Don, and another, finally smashing the first monster to the ground, where it lay twitching. The other two quickly made it past, though, and one even got close enough to slash at Baron. The Twin Blade backpedaled, feeling fear start to build up again, and a desperate Vak Don rained down, though it missed, due to the bad aim. The monster leapt up, slashing at Baron, and ripped a shallow gash in the Twin Blade’s chest. Grimacing at the new pain, starting to worry, he started to back away when something felt off. Falling to the ground, Baron looked down and realized that his legs were locked together in the same morbid fashion.

Horrified, suddenly crippled in a way he hadn’t expected, Baron tried to crawl back, out of range of the monster’s strikes, but it stabbed another claw into his leg, neatly passing through the leg and causing the Twin Blade to literally howl at the pain of it. A GiRai Don rained down in another desperate attempt, but the monster withstood the blow and continued to creep forward purposefully. Baron stumbled back as best as he could, oblivious to all but pain and fear, trying to get away, to escape…

Suddenly, a spear lanced through the top of the monster’s head, pinning it to the ground before a burst of Twilight energy surged through the thing and literally deleted its data. Baron looked up, grabbing at the hole in his leg, trying to staunch the flow and lessen some of the pain before casting a Repth spell to restore the limb. Getting to his feet, Baron saw Sidhe engaging the last monster, the one that the Twin Blade had downed before already hit by the Long Arm’s Deletion Critical skill. The man dealt with the last being using an amazing display of skill and finesse that Baron had never seen before, ending it with a downward stab that sent another surge of Twilight energy to delete it. Baron could breathe easier as he was saved, and Sidhe gave him a quick nod before heading down the hallway. The Twin Blade waved a quick goodbye before getting back to his feet, wincing at the injury to his leg. It had healed, but not completely. Sighing, Baron cast another Repth to fully restore it, before he turned back down the hallway and kept walking towards Helpless Room 3.

With his usual skill at butchering things with a small dagger, Baron slowly cut his way through the doorway, expecting another gruesome scene, as always. This time, the room didn’t disappoint. Aside from the usual room setup, there were about a dozen canvas bags hanging from the ceiling by a rope. Blood dripped from a pool at the bottom of each before falling to the burning DC stones beneath the floor, each drop landing with a hiss. Much as he regretted the action, Baron knew he had to check the bag, to find out what it contained. He knew he was going to be horrified, so prepared himself for the inevitable even as he severed the rope that held the bag to the ceiling. Another quick cut across the rope opened the bag… and several human innards spilled out. Okay, that was disgusting. Yet oddly, after seeing so many disturbances in the last few minutes, his brain was becoming numb to the shock, and Baron was only mildly sickened by the image. Shaking his head, he looked around and saw the other bags. Interestingly enough… the thought that a key was in one of them suddenly popped up. Sighing, wondering whose brilliant idea it was to torture him so, Baron started in on his gruesome work, going through all of the bags. The stench alone, not just the sight, made him want to gag, but he did his best to keep calm. Finally, in the last bag, something… unusual rewarded his search.

Pulling the last sack open, Baron found an oddly realistic female doll. Its face was smeared with a blackish-gray substance, like ash, and two long cuts, one on each arm, marred the entire length of her forearms. It was creepy, kind of like the cuts someone would make if they were cutting themselves. The Twin Blade shuddered, thinking to discard the doll, but then he paused, wondering why it was so out of place among the rest of the items in the room. Thinking, he decided that it’d be best to keep a hold of it and put it in his inventory, before heading out into the room, being careful not to step on anything. However, he paused as he tried to put the doll away, getting an odd error noise. Not only that, but something happened with his inventory- looking closely, the Twin Blade's eyes widened. Three Resurrects had gone missing! Swearing under his breath, Baron prepared to toss doll aside, but then he paused, realizing that it might still be important. Grumbling, he tucked it under one arm and continued out the doorway to search around, though the irritation slowly began to be replaced by disgust again as he viewed the room, the feeling building up stronger and stronger. As soon as he exited, he slammed the door shut behind him and slid to the floor, breathing heavily.

If that was just the first floor, it was going to be a long day.

The two women were waiting, gathering with the rest of the group as they one by one converged back into the safety of a larger number and took stock of one another's harrowing discoveries. Between the time spent alone with one another and what little they'd had to collect their thoughts, both the little Archer and her guardian seemed to be... somehow more at peace, a little relaxed when they stuck close to one another. Both glanced up in a comical- had the situation not been as critical and serious as it was- parody of a cartoon, synchronized in motion and held very similar, if not the same, temporary expressions as Baron approached the both of them.

And then, the differences began.

Sekai's immediate reaction was concern, anxiety filling her expression as she sharply focused all her attention on the Twin Blade in front of her, wondering what on earth hurt him and where the heart-wound had been sustained... and what had caused such an expression to cross his face. Kira, on the other hand, scanned immediately for physical injuries before her mask slipped into place, unreadable and professional, as the low inquiry submitted itself to the two of them.

Not quite, kid. Not quite.

"E-excuse me... Sekai? May I borrow Kira for a few minutes?"

Surprise hit both of them, though the mentioned woman's eyes merely narrowed marginally, as if the request- unusual as it seemed- intrigued her and, yet, was somehow expected after a moment. Amber eyes met a pair of concerned, gentler bronze and held, exchanging a look that seemed to last for a good, long while and broke in an instant with a mutual nod to one another as Sekai replied first, stepping to the side to allow Kira to move closer to Baron.

“Of course.”

Pupil-lacking eyes narrowed considerably; Sekai wasn't being left terribly unprotected- not that she doubted Zan's ability to get in there and rip someone's head off to discourage them from trying any bullshit with her little one- but, nonetheless, she still wanted to get whatever business was needing to be handled done, over with and forgotten about to return. All in all; Kira just felt better when she herself could see the danger with her own two eyes and have the girl within her general area.

“If this needs to be out of earshot and somewhat private, lead the way.”

She informed the Twin Blade, her tone giving about as much away as the expression a world champion poker player would weep with envy over that she wore on her face as if it belonged there. Her last encounter had been with a much more self-assured and confident boy on the cusp of trying to become a man... the cocky little upstart that he was. He led the way, Kira trailing near silently behind him, the soft, occasional sound of her feet padding against the ground or the heavy fabric of her overskirt whispering against the wall where it brushed against the cement until he found the place he wanted and settled with his back facing the wall.

He was exhausted already and they hadn't even had shit hit the fan yet, she thought with a silent, sad shake of her head that he missed while his eyes were closed, rubbing his temples as he was before he spoke up. She'd settled against the wall herself, arms folded over her chest and attention directed fully on the boy himself- a rather unnerving thing to have with a heavy stare such as hers- while he spoke.

Three. Two. One-

"I... I need your advice on something. You seem to be the most composed after all of this... how do you do it? How can you stand all of these horrors and yet remain so calm?"

Called it.

Kira shifted her position slightly and seemed to be choosing her words rather carefully before she spoke. Her voice was as calm and composed as expected, though there was no shortage of almost human like understanding as well within the tone. Comfort was not her strongest point, but, then again, neither was being a leader; which was why she'd always been frustrated in that whole 'you heal as a Priestess or you lead as the Head of the soldiers' bullshit from a life she'd prefer not to think about.

“The best way I can put it is a difference in what we've been exposed to in our mutual lives.”

She gestured about her with one idle hand before settling it back over her chest, a fairly useless thing for her to do with no other meaning other than to increase the boy's awareness over the area.

“From what I'm to understand, most humans don't get caught up in wars- public or private- often or at all within their lifetime. It's the opposite in most AI races as well; we're born in the middle of both private and public wars; most dying and fading back to wherever we originate from in those wars.”

Amber eyes shifted, looking directly at Baron as she weighed her words carefully; he'd stepped into this one on his own, misjudged how deep he was getting and now found himself floundering and trying to keep his head above the water.

“This is by no means my first time seeing an entire race or two of AI wiped from existence and I'm fairly certain it won't be the last either. I'm affected by it; but like all individuals- AI and human alike- I choose how to show it; if at all.”

Pepper something with facts and it dulls the pain a little, somehow, it seemed to work with what she knew of human history that she'd studied when helping Sekai out; such things had been fascinating and she'd found herself confused and dazed from passing out from not sleeping. Weird as that had been and rather amusing really.

"Y-yes... but... I don't know. I want to go on, to help the Eventides, but... but at the same time, I want to run, I want to scream at Gyl to remove me from the field and let me go back to my life. I want to forget any of this happened... but I don't think I can. I'm scared, but I don't want to leave... and yet I do... does this make sense?"

He slid to the ground, raking his hands through his black hair as Kira stared on impassively- but not unkindly- as he responded to her as best he could, looking miserable enough that the High Priestess within her- still largely near the surface due to the death she could practically taste in the back of her throat; coppery and sour as it was- stirred and urged her forward out of a sense of duty, of owing it to the boy to show him that he wasn't nearly as pathetic a figure as he seemed to be at the moment.

And likely viewed himself as.

Kira moved, the heavy fabric whispering against the cement as she left the wall and knelt in front of the black haired Twin Blade, watching another one play out against the faceless hundreds... maybe even thousands that she'd seen do and go through the same act.

She couldn't make him feel any better or make the decision for him, of that the AI was certain from what little experience with people other than Sekai and Ko that she'd really taken the time to interact with- both of them being on opposing ends of the spectrum and thus requiring two completely different interaction methods- and did the only thing that she could really think of. One hand reached out and tousled the boy's hair for a moment before she withdrew it and spoke.

“It makes sense. If there's one emotion even the AI share with the rest of humanity; it's fear.”

There was a rustling of fabric, a cracking of joints as Kira rose back to her feet.

“You're scared and want to return to a place, a time where you weren't and where you could be safe again; everyone goes through those times.”

Except those who never knew the word to begin with.

It was frustrating that there was nothing more she could do in this instance; comfort would be false and wasn't really in her nature to do and yet, giving him a verbal and physical ass whooping wouldn't produce the same results it would have in a specific Heavyblade she knew.

“As little reassurance as this may be, you aren't the first one who's come to me saying the exact same thing or paraphrasing what you've asked and told me.”

The smile was slight on her lips, the unease she felt nowhere in sight in both body language and in her voice as she finished up, offering a hand out to the young human to help him to his feet.

“But the majority who've confessed those same things have turned out to be the best damn soldiers and the most reliable out there.”

"Thank you, Kira. It's funny, but I knew you'd know what to say. I think I can go on now. Thank you, again."

How the hell did he- ugh, I'm getting soft in my old age.

“Don't mention it. I'll wait here with you til you're ready to go back to the others, safety comes in numbers after all.”

Most of the time anyway, Kira added on a private note and returned to her place against the wall, her normal expression- calm with narrowed eyes keeping a sharp lookout- back on her face as she took the moment to adjust to her own thoughts... and to puzzle over what felt different about giving the same kind of speech this time than any other time before.

"Did Sekai ever give you my message from when she visited me at Θ Lonely Law's Core?"

That caught Kira's attention, snapping her back from an inward thought process as she frowned at the boy's question like it was something surprising.

“Something about looking good as a blonde if I remember right, though, that wasn't the way she phrased it. No idea what the hell she was talking about, I wouldn't be caught dead as a blonde. Why?”

After a good deal of witty- and less than witty- banter, Baron's little joke finally grew on Kira's nerves, something shown by the fact that she snapped back with a response that revealed a little... more than she'd wanted to at this point in time- if every in this life of hers. The grin returned, holding a distinctively less... teasing and a good deal more violence than normal.

“I'll leave it at this; you want the kiss? Fine; you'll get it alright. I don't wanna hear you bitch afterwards though. I treat men and women very differently in these circumstances; if you catch my drift.”

His reply was carefree and blithe, like he was just humoring her as amber eyes flared, that dangerous, malicious aura creeping up and settling over her like a tainted mantle as she watched him turn away and head back towards the rest of the group. No, he did not just turn his back on her, not while she'd said something that should have rung a little alarm in that thick head of his.

Kira allowed her spear to disappear before it hit the ground, eyes cold and aura colder still as she strode forward with ill intent in every line of her expression and caught up within a few larger than normal strides. One hand, chilled like death itself, caught him by the shoulder and sank deep, nails claw-like in use as she felt them sink into the leather of his coat and forced him to face her. Her free hand caught a fistful of his t-shirt beneath the coat, bunched it and jerked him down so that he faced her, allowing him a split second glimpse of her no-nonsense expression before slamming him roughly, violently back first into the wall.

It was time to pay the piper her price.

She let another half a heartbeat's worth of reaction time and proceeded with her little game, her body molding itself to his own in the way only an experienced woman's body knew how before her knee slammed up and into his stomach at the same time her lips melded with his own. She was the controller of this, dominating, rough and violent- too damn bad he wasn't able to feel this or he'd know the torn feelings of terror mixed with helpless longing that the other flirts she'd made examples out of in her earlier, pre-Sekai days- gesture of 'affection'. As she began to withdraw, she bit down, gouging a nasty cut in his lip and removed herself, taking two steps back before removing his blood off her lips and chin with a delicate looking gesture with the back of her hand.

“That, I will have you know, was how I'm 'nice' to the men who purchase such services; consider yourself lucky and that as your proof.”

Silence was good, though Kira thought she'd heard a muttered 'wow' before he'd gone off to rejoin the others. Her silent footsteps were close behind, the blood remaining in the bottom and back of her mouth was spat out to one side, the edge of the thick overskirt she wore used as a cloth to wipe the back of her hand and her mouth on. Blech, she'd need something to run that taste out of her mouth at some point, no one save a selective few individuals she could think of off the top of her head were sane enough to like that foul taste in their mouth.

Why would you like tasting like you're chewing on a piece of GP all the damn time?

Sekai tilted her head to one side, looking curious but patient as Kira gave her little one a slight shake of her head and returned to her side, waiting for whatever the fuck was going to happen next. Her eyes narrowed, the little Archer's back suddenly straightening as she looked around her, one small step back the only warning the AI had before the tiny girl was trying to struggle her way out of the near back of the group towards the front where Zan was, her tawny eyes frightened and fixed on the tall figure of the Heavyblade.

“No don'-!”

Too late.

Kira caught her before she fell, shielding the girl's body from the unyielding ground with her own as the shockwave knocked them all over in a burst of nausating heat and sound that bode nothing well for any of them. A man was there who hadn't been before, looking about as sick and distorted as the rest of this God forsaken place as Sekai's hand suddenly sought and found hers, the girl ashen faced and terrified of the individual even as his first words raised every hackle Kira may have proverbial had and felt herself move slowly, carefully to position herself into a manner she could roll easily to and assault the fucker in front of her.

At the sound of 'meal', red took over and stole Kira's vision, her mouth opening and a snarl exploding forth as she bared her teeth- notably unbroken and twisted like the freak in front of hers- in a parody of an animal preparing to rend someone to proverbial shreds.

“Why don't you go fu-”

The threat he made, the headache that thundered behind her eyes for the split second only pissed her off further, a growl rumbling low in her throat and chest to the point where, frankly, Kira was more surprised Zan wasn't getting up and trying to fuck this guy over three times straight for the direct threat aimed in Sekai's direction. Her body, on the other hand, acted purely on instinct and slid protectively, possessively between the man and Sekai herself, blocking her little one's fixated stare and the man's eyes from getting to her with a blatant, unspoken warning and promise that she'd be dead- permanently before she'd allow anything to happen to the shaking Archer.

Zan seemed to find it amusing once the man vanished and reached for the knob, Sekai strangled cry once again attempting to reach him-

Only to fail as the siren went off and everything went straight to the pits of Hell.

The floor peeled away, copper thick and ugly in the air and in her throat as the siren continued its wail and change of the surroundings. Metal, twisted, blackened and charred filled the room, turning it from a hospital into some perverted mechanical wasteland around them as the Eventides looked around them at the changes.

The Swath had arrived; and they were fucked.

((OOC: Part two with the rooms will be in the next post. I'm just blocked writing wise and this was about all I can get done at the moment. The rest should, in theory be up before Thursday evening if I'm lucky.))

((Disclaimer: Do not, under any circumstances, read this if you're unable to handle brutal, descriptive violence and unsettling subject matter. This isn't for minors and if you're unable to stomach certain older movies, I don't suggest reading any of this thread from the above GM post forward. Thank you. I feel like I'm back on fanfiction.net again. WTF.))

Sekai's first reaction was to look from the three- Kira excluded- she knew were comatose before looking sharply over to where Takua, Baron and Talal all were, watching how they moved and returned her gaze abruptly to the others. Back and forth the bronze hue moved between the two groups, Kira's hand beneath her arms to lift her to her feet startling her as she huddled unusually close to the cool skinned AI.

“Sekai?”

'That was... that had to be the spirit of one of the Ani shards. It must be, there's no explanation for- for a lot of things. Takua-san and the others; I can't tell the difference between them anymore.'

Spirit of an Ani shard huh, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. The 'cousin' comment made sense, though she'd rather chew tinfoil- whatever that was- rather than deal with that motherfucker anymore. And by no means did she envy anyone who decided trekking into that field just to snag a shard of Wryneck's power if that was one of the spirits of the shard or was the spirit. Cold eyes slid, watching the movements of the others as they split up and began exploring the horrors the Swath was going to visit upon them next and found herself frowning.

She was right; there wasn't a difference between the way someone like Zan or Alana moved in comparison to how Takua or any of the other two moved. Maybe slightly less fluid because they weren't used to it but, in the end, she could see what Sekai was saying and was no kind of pleased with the development.

Guess this means we'll find out how well each of them handles the sensation of pain in its truest sense.

Speaking of pain; it was time for the both of them to give their portion of the blood, sweat and agony that was needed by this fucking hell hole, Kira's only comfort was that she could take it for Sekai and spare her as much as possible... unless the girl tended to do what she usually did and messed shit up by going off to do something on her own.

Sekai seemed to agree with her, for the most part anyways, and slipped off a little ahead of her, choosing the old room with the file cabinets and the computer- as it might have been the safest and least affected by the change- to head into first. Kira's eyes narrowed at the odd, pissed looking writings and found herself grinning, unable to help the almost twisted sort of amusement she got from some of the words she was able to make out and filed a few of the terms loosely strung together for later use; maybe even against that cocksucking motherfucker with the bad teeth.

Twisted, charred remains, a sickening scent filled the air as the small girl quietly made her way around the former metal structures, not looking at the floor; especially after a muttered comment by Kira turned her cheeks pink from the, well, she wouldn't go into what it implicated but, it was by no means appropriate to speak even by oneself. The wall behind the computer drew her, trying to find what was behind it until she realized she was sick, stumbling away from the violent orange hue and shuddering, sweat trickling down her back and throat as she shook her head and looked down at the keyboard in disgust.

Covered in dried blood; no keys in particular were able to be distinguished between, all of it equally covered as she sighed and gingerly touched the mouse, suspicious and half-expecting the thing to just bite her like it was alive as the screen came to life- looking... different, uglier and sicker than before, how she knew this was something she didn't understand but, accepted like most things anyways. Trying not to touch it as much as possible with her bare skin, she moved the mouse over and double clicked, frowning at the changed names of the files and tentatively hit the button twice to open it.

Nothing for a moment, maybe there was nothing there after a-

“S-SHIT!”

Sekai screamed, losing her balance and hitting the ground with wide terrified eyes, the pitch of her shriek blending in with the blare of another, terror filled agonized scream-turned-wail filled the entire room. A female Juka sprite convulsive violently for a series of moments before the screen went to normal, leaving behind a rather large eyed girl frozen where she'd landed on the ground before sense seemed to reach her. Shaking like a leaf as Kira stood over her, looking down with a raised eyebrow with her spear planted at her side like some comical guard of a palace who'd caught the bumbling thief where they shouldn't be, the embarrassed Archer's hand lifted off the ground, the weight supported by her other arm as she shakily aimed a finger in the icy Long Arm's direction.

“D-Don't you start; you would have screamed too had you been in my position.”

The glint in Kira's eyes said otherwise but, she humored the girl and helped her to her feet before following her back over to the computer and kept a respectful distance behind the girl, guarding her back and keeping an eye out for anything suspicious while her little one took care of whatever it was she was doing on the computer.

Tormentor Records; that just sounded wonderful, Sekai thought sourly to herself and entered that file, frowning at the subfolder lurking beneath with a furrow of her brow. This could mean bad things; very bad things as she took notes of the different names of the folders and braced herself for more things that would pop out and make her heart take permanent residence within her throat. That and, well, she was pretty sure her hair outside of 'The World' was probably white as her own within it by this point in time.

'I've probably shaved off twenty years of my life at least at this point; if it continues, I'll not live to be forty years old.'

'Stalker' seemed to be a good place to start, though the hair on the back of her neck prickled at the very thought. Great, so they had people who'd hunt people down, making them paranoid and freaking out because someone was playing games with them until they struck. Fun. Something moved out of the corner of her eye when she clicked on it, revealing emptiness as per usual; some things apparently didn't change, she thought frowning and turned to look at what had moved. Nothing?

“...?”

Kira looked at her, then to the wall her tiny lover was staring at in a mixture of disdain and confusion with a question open on her own lovely face. Sekai shook her head and looked back at the screen, going out of that folder and into the next one. 'Watcher'. Great, now they'd have some really twisted, icky peeping tom or big pervert watching their every single move until it drove them nuts.

Something skittered past her vision on the wall in front of her, the girl jerking, looking sharply to find where the hell it went as Kira frowned at her sudden movements, spear in hand and a wary expression on her face as she followed Sekai's eyes with her own, thinking her sharper, battle trained eyes could spot something hers might not be able to quite yet and found nothing. A more concerned expression began to form on her face as Sekai gave her a dirty look and muttered about shadows playing havoc with her eyes on the wall.

'Butcher'; now didn't that just sound pleasant, Sekai thought sarcastically to herself, a bit of new humor enlightening the girl's mind as she listened to Kira mutter something to herself in her own language and move away to look at something before double clicking that folder.

Nothing? Sekai frowned, cocking her head to one side before something gave her pause, a feeling of not right within her very chest as she murmured a confused inquiry to no one in particular, turning to face Kira as something cracked, bronze eyes meeting Kira's own sharp, stern amber hue before she looked down, saw the blood begin to blossom and glanced back up in wide eyed terror.

And watched Kira's expression as long as possible as blood splattered the entire room, Kira ducking behind the charred shelf in case anything monsterous exploded from the girl's chest- it wouldn't surprise her if anything had- and looked cautiously back to find the girl's body on the ground, chest looking like a grenade the size of her heart had just jumped outward rather from at all angles as she stared. Stunned and in disbelief as her little one's ghost appeared, looking rather displeased at the blood stained corpse she'd left behind before it began to fade away into date and spoke.

“Maybe... I should have expected that. Mika-chan had a movie where something like that kind of happened.”

Kira knew exactly what she was talking about; which was why she'd ducked behind the file thing in the first place. Sekai managed to shoot her a weak, shaky smile; obviously more than a little bothered by the gruesome way she'd died but, at the same time, able to see the humor in watching Kira dive for cover like someone out of a movie.

“You watched it, didn't you?”

“All of them; including that shitty Alien versus Predator one and the sequel to it.”

She hesitated.

“Not mad at me, are you?”

She did feel bad for listening to her first instinct and ducking behind something in case it was one of the nasty things but, dammit, it was something these sick bastards would totally pull!

Sekai shook her head, a more genuine, amused smile on her face now as she even managed to laugh a little and spread her arms, as if saying 'well, what else can you do?' before replying to the sheepish AI's question.

“No, but you get to take the remaining folders, sound fair?”

Kira grinned at her little one, sending off a flashmail to get the damn Wavemaster- she was still not happy with him and would continue to make her displeasure with him known until he did the right thing and corrected his error- to hurry his ass over to the room they were in to lend them a hand. In due time, the boy arrived- walking and moving a hell of a lot differently than he had before, something that didn't escape Kira's ever wary gaze and sharp observation ability in the slightest- and used his newly gained Rip Maen to revive her little one back to normal.

Sekai took a moment- while Kira exited out of the damn window, glared at the title and began muttering something about changing its name to 'cocksucking motherfucker' or something that would fit within the character limits to see how they liked those apples- to read the flashmail sitting idly in her inbox and blinked, reading the screen back and forth with a bit of a nod of understanding, Kira cocking her head to the side as she too read the contents and raised an eyebrow before trying to decide which folder to click on next.

Sending off the reply with a weary hand passing over the back of her neck, Sekai turned to see how Kira was doing... only to find Kira suddenly right up and in her face so fast she had no time to react other than to yelp in surprise and take a gigantic step back.

“K-Kira?”

Those innocent raping, power hungry, soul raping bastards; Kira seethed, looking ready to snap and slaughter the first thing that moved the wrong way as she searched Sekai quickly with an attention to detail that had the small girl turning bright red and shuffling uncomfortably beneath the intense gaze. Finally, a hand reached out and touched her throat, reaching around to make sure nothing was damp, that what she'd seen had been nothing more than illusion before breaking into a series of soft but vile curses that had Sekai looking at her with her mouth slightly agape in horrified surprise.

She fixed that right quick; her mouth possessing Sekai's with a ferocity that would have impressed even the hardest porn addict with the intensity of such an act before pulling away and storming back to the computer.

Her message had been sent; if that motherfucker had been watching that this girl and this one alone was hers and not to fucking touch or mess with her.

Sekai, on the other hand, stared after her, lips starting to darken and swell from the pressure as her hand reached up, as if unable to stop herself and checking to see if that had just happened before shaking her head, turning a rather brilliant shade of 'Maiden in Mortification' red before pointedly not looking in Takua-san's direction after the incident.

She had no idea what on earth she'd done to deserve that but, okay, whatever. Kira did what she wanted, when she wanted and usually it took a threat to do... something, she hadn't figured out exactly what yet because she'd never won an argument with her to this day before she'd behave herself in public... or otherwise.

Not that she particularly minded the sudden, unexpected 'assault', maybe she'd have to try the same thing at some point, see how the shoe fit on the other foot... or however that saying went.

The snowy haired Archer turned around, looking over her shoulder and yelped again, ducking beneath a spear that had tried to sever her head from her neck like it was some kind of target practice. Something black dripped continuously from her mouth- not blood, even heart's blood didn't bleed that dark- and to the floor as Sekai and Kira played a rather lethal game of tag between the two of them. Why she wasn't going after Takua-san could only be explained by- whatever had gotten her- the fact that she must have been sent after someone who was dear to her.

And because Ko-onii-san wasn't there, well, she supposed that aggression, no, hatred turned directly on to her. She didn't take offense to it, knowing it was false- hopefully for the most part. She hated herself enough for the both of them really- and yelped as Kira's spear sank in and stuck in the filing cabinet she'd hidden behind only ten minutes or so before.

Taking that as her chance, Sekai tackled her, ramming her shoulder into the taller woman's stomach and knocking her to the ground in a violent series of thrashing, flailing limbs before a double shout of “Flaming Arrow of Inferno” scored an unusually lucky “Elemental Critical” on the woman and killed her in a burst of gold and scarlet flames that fanned out and burned all but their commander as the arrows stuck from the AI's throat and stomach. Breathing hard as she muttered a 'Rip Maen' to bring Kira back to life, the vacant, furious and hatred filled gaze was gone and replaced by the rather annoyed and sardonic pair of amber eyes she knew and loved.

“Did you have to use Vak?”

Sekai's eyebrow quirked upward, her expression nearly identical- younger for sure and thus less effective than Kira's own look but; still an amusing sight for the Wavemaster who might have been watching- to the one on the Ruem princess' face as she answered quite matter-of-factly.

“Would you prefer I used Ani instead?”

Kira scowled.

Sekai stuck her tongue out.

Kira reached out and caught her tongue between two fingers and flicked the small girl's nose with her free hand in retaliation as she sat up, watching the girl make a garbled protest with a smirk of victory on her lips.

“Don't stick that out unless you intend to use it.”

She admonished not unkindly, a quirk to her lips and a glint to her eyes that wholeheartedly admitted to teasing the girl purely to make up for attempting to kill her... and because she wanted to take her beloved's mind off of the horrors that room had faced thus far. Everyone had their coping mechanisms; Kira's was either to completely shut herself down and allow her court mask, to allow the more... professional part of her personality rise to the surface; or she teased and took her mind completely off of it with some absurd form of humor.

Sekai didn't mind that latter choice, being as it gave her a chance to try and retalitation. Key word most definitely being try considering Kira most often had the upper hand in some absurd way or another. Teasing done and over with, their apology- hell if anyone even recognized such an interaction between the two as a way to say 'I'm sorry for trying to kill you'- accepted and delivered between themselves, the two women headed back to the computer in preparation to see what the last of the folders had in store from them.

“Zealot; isn't that one of those religion freaks who eats, sleeps and shits the word of their God or whatever?”

The disapproving look Sekai gave her was more than enough to answer the question.

“Thought so.”

Kira double clicked, bracing for the worst and for some freak to come frothing at the mouth about some perverted, twisted form of the neutral God of Natural Life and swinging some blade around to remove them to gain favor or some shit like that. Sekai's sharp cry had her whirling from the screen, eyes searching desperately as she paled, watching the marks- crude and uneven- gouge themselves within her little one's flesh, those small hands trying to cover them, trying to stop whoever was doing that to her as the marks began to spread. Blood pooling around even as Takua snapped out a 'La Repth' to heal the damage. Both of them in horror as the marks retraced themselves; deeper and deeper into her fair skin as Kira's eyes met the pain filled, tearing bronze of her little one's gentle gaze and swallowed hard.

She knew what needed to be done and Merrows damn it all if she was more than a little reluctant to get her little one's blood on her hands.

Again.

The spear was called into her hands, Sekai sobbing at this point, her screams of pain had abeited to nothing but choked cries and moans when it became especially too painful for her to bear as their eyes locked again. Sekai's expression, her voice through their link pleading for her to do it, to end that pain as quickly- and painlessly- as she was possible. With a good deal of bitter irony filling her mouth with a sour, coppery taste that had nothing to do with the inside of her cheek she viciously bit, Kira lunged and in two moves, managed to plunge her spear deep into the girl's breast, piercing her heart and remove it to lop the girl's head off in a sure, swift stroke that would have impressed her old instructor.

How many other people have had their lovers begging for death at the hands of their beloved?

Just the thought was ugly enough to bother her as the girl was revived, shaking and immediately going over to embrace the AI who'd turned away, sickened by what she'd done and angry at herself for putting the girl in that much pain in the first place. At the touch of untainted skin, Kira looked over her shoulder to check the expression, finding concern and worry, a bit of anxiety and the lingering pain that she must have been continuing to feel from memory alone.

“Don't.”

Sekai cautioned her firmly, looking at her in a particularly stern- in a shaky way but stern nonetheless- before she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the broad expanse of the woman's back. She took comfort in the simplest of things, the gesture both intimate and heart warming at the same time before the two women jerked, startled by Takua's yell to get out of the room as Sekai paled, noticing the sudden surge of Dread Code cracking, spreading wickedly and- with Kira and herself recalling what that kind of spread must mean and not wanting to find out what happened to comatose (and AI) individuals when hit by massive amounts of the stuff- hauled ass out the door. The door was slammed shut behind them, all three backing the hell away from the door with similar expressions of wariness, fear and sweat soaked agitation as they waited for any kind of reaction.

And only relaxed when it appeared nothing was going to explode or kill them.

Yet.

Both of the women were surprised with Takua's accompaniment but, not opposed to the notion, Kira muttering about how a three man cell accomplished more than too few or too many as they walked down the twisted metal hallways.

“Eww.”

Sekai immediately sheltered herself behind Kira, peeking around the tall AI's side at the massive, pulsating... thing that took up the entire doorway, blocking their entrance into the room as the three looked at one another and then to the door. Sekai attempted to cast a spell on the door itself, watching it do nothing but make the... tumor shiver and glimmer like... she didn't even know what to describe it as.

Other than so very, very disgusting.

Which left them with only one other choice; see if it was damageable by blades. Kira's spear sank in deep, splurting blood and the Gods only knew what else all around the area. For once, Kira was grateful in more than one way that she'd chosen a weapon that, on average, was between six and nine feet long with a blade of two or more feel to add on top of that. The splatters still reached their feet and stank to high hell and beyond, but they still managed to cut through it, the AI by no means wanting to touch it as much as possible as she shoved and hit the cut out pieces with her spear until she'd cleared it completely.

That had been fucking nasty; and she had an iron stomach!

Mesh was everywhere, sharp, jagged edges everywhere and all around one nasty fuckin' place to be no matter who you were, Kira thought in irritation as she looked around. There were bodies, oh yes, there just had to be bodies all over the fucking place like usual. Wouldn't be the goddamn Swath if there wasn't death and devastation and fucking God knew what else lying about like the victims of some unholy plague unleashed upon her world.

Fucking humans.

Sekai was examining the doors, so woven tightly with wire and mesh that it was impossible to see what was on the other side and, with a rather disdainful and distrustful look at the wicked looking excuse for a handle to open the door- something that guaranteed to probably go so deep and far into one's hand that there'd be no fucking reason for anyone to even bother using their hands anymore- turned back to Kira with an “I'm not sure what to do now” look on her pale face.

The former High Priestess strode forward; her spine was the very steel she wielded as her weapon; there was no backing down now. Not yet, not ever when it came to these kinds of hazardous situations. She too examined the handle from every angle she could, trying to see if she could manipulate it with her spear or if it needed a literal blood and pain sacrifice to be able to open the fucking thing while Sekai prayed for the bodies of the starved husks that had once been Juka Sprites.

Kira could feel the girl's pain and grieving tears from there, hating that she could do nothing for them but pray as well. Useless prayers that would never fucking help them or make their spirits- likely restless and vengence filled- rest at ease. So she did the one thing she could think of that any other in her position with even a slight bit of her experience would have done.

She translated- as best she could anyways- what she was saying in her dirge to the Juka Sprites for Sekai and- Goddess did this seem so... so personal that it felt like something inside of her was completely vulnerable and exposed, waiting to be violated and torn to pieces like the rest of whatever innocence she may have at at some distant, early point in her life- invited the girl to pay homage to those who shared more in common with the tiny little Juka blessed Archer than her own icy Ruem based nature.

While Kira herself hesitated, Sekai placed down offerings of food for the dead- not something unheard of due to her own Shintoist beliefs and upbringing- before rising and returning to her side to slip her hand into Kira's own.

And sang.

Two voices rose in the air, entwining around one another as the song of mourning dedicated to the lives lost before they had even begun, for those who shouldn't have died and were killed before their time had truly, truly come for them to join their God... or wherever their spirits went when they died.

Sekai's voice was high and sweet, sounding young, innocent and the way Kira believed one of the priestess-in-training must have sounded when first faced with having to perform her first dirge. For a girl who was so shy, so introverted, she packed a powerful set of lungs; able to keep up with Kira's own strong voice that rang out, rising and setting the tone in a deeper tone than the pitch the smaller girl was able to reach.

Together their voice became a sorrowful rhapsody, rising higher and then dropping with the wild, unexpected notes that raised the hair on the back of one's neck as they finished; letting their voices fade completely and echo out without care for who the fuck wanted to hear and who dared to try and stop them. They were going to pay homage to the dead; it was the right thing to do and there was nothing more they could have done.

Not without going back in time; something that was impossible to do no matter how fervently they so wished.

They moved, doing the same for the next room they'd come into when bodies were find, Sekai's voice unused to the strain and, with no diminished amount of respect, had Kira sing softer to help her not rip her throat too much as they made their rounds, finding nothing in this room or in the next hall titled 'Helpless'.

And then they found the room full of bodies strung up, pierced by several thick strands of barbed wire that completely webbed the room in. Almost too tightly strung together, Sekai winced as she reached in, a shallow cut appearing as she was nearly able to bend her entire arm around a bunch of the 'web' without getting nicked. She was small enough; she could do it... though she wouldn't be able to do the dirge; not like this.

“Don't even think it. Whatever's in there isn't important enough-”

Sekai looked at the fierce, angry expression on Kira's face and gave her a sympathetic, understanding but resigned face of her own as she shook her head and replied quietly.

“You never know what is and isn't important here; I must. Sing their dirge, I'll do my best despite how, um, much this is going to hurt. Takua-san, please assist me with healing magic when Kira tells you to heal. I'll be sending a message through our link... as I think that's all I'll be able to do since, um, I'm not good with pain.”

She sounded sheepish, embarrassed at her own weakness and inability to tolerate too much pain as she outlined her plan and, before Kira could protest or go in before her, removed her bulky armor- less to protect her, unfortunately, but also less to hamper her movement as she began picking her way as carefully as possible through the menacing mesh of barbed metal waiting for flesh to tear into.

After five minutes, Kira glowered at Takua, the Wavemaster obviously taking it as a sign to heal and raised his wand to heal, the magic flaring up and curing her of the damage as she continued to cut herself, letting the blood weep upon the ground as she gritted her teeth and continued forward in the stubborn manner that refused to allow her to die.

She would not die; not when there was so much for her to live for and cherish. She cried, of course, anyone with a weakness to pain would often do so, no matter how stubborn they were as tears mixed in with blood, stinging her wounds as she finally made it to the... doll? wrapped in barbed wire so thick she knew she was going to hurt badly when she would try to free it.

“There's a... disturbing looking doll here, tangled in the barbed wire. I'm going to get her out. Takua-san, um, this is going to be really painful, I'll need a healing spell on my way back.”

There were several strangled screams of pain that the girl managed to almost completely silence by clenching her teeth, the cries obviously from the way blood ran in rivulets down her pale arms and splattered her body and face as she tore her hands and wrists to absolutely gory shreds to get that damn thing out, the healing spell helping a little as she raised it in success and tried to put it in her inventory.

Her yelp of frightened surprise had Kira damn near throwing herself head first into the barbed wire to get to her, amber eyes flaring into twin suns as she snarled at the girl to her her ass back there or so help her God she was going to get it.

“It eats resurrects! I don't understand.”

She yelled over, coming back and wincing at every cut, sobbing because, for the first floor? All of this was a lot physical pain that she didn't even remotely feel was okay. But... if this was all there was for the time being? What was going to happen on the next several floors? Especially if this was a floor specifically designed for physical pain due to the hospital-like surroundings when the Swath wasn't active.

Another healing spell later and she was okay, somewhat, again, holding the doll out for Kira to glare at and examine as she tried- much to Kira's annoyed amusement- to feed the doll a piece of the Jukacite, even breaking it into a bite sized piece that would fit into the doll's mouth.

Nothing.

They traversed back to where they'd started, suddenly losing track of where Takua-san- as strange acting as he was and with that flashmail saying he was someone else and the real Takua-san was 'resting', Sekai wondered if he too suddenly had an AI like she, well, used to and in a sort of way that Baron-san had as well,- had gone. Shrugging and keeping an ear out, they knew they'd run into trouble sooner or later and, with as little to do as possible in order to rest, the two women sat down to rest a moment

Sekai was sitting between Kira's legs, the woman's spear almost like a safety bar across the smaller girl's armored lap as she leaned against the taller AI's cool skin, closing her eyes a moment and trying not to remember all the horrors they'd been through in the last... what; hour? Two hours?

Time just didn't work the way she'd been accustomed to anymore; she needed to get used to that and accept that as well.

Takua arrived back not too terribly much longer, muttering about the doll and snagging it from her hands with the small girl blinking in surprise, tilting her head and calling after him to be careful and not to try putting it into his inventory or else the Resurrects he may have would disappear at a rapid rate.

With a sigh from Kira, Sekai leaned back, looking up at her and tried a half-hearted smile before letting her chin thunk against her chest and allowed the heartbeat of one stubborn AI to comfort her as much as possible. In return, Kira inhaled slightly and released, tension flowing out in an age old exercise that came as much from habit as anything else as she rested her chin atop Sekai's downy head. The faint smell of sweat mixed in with the girl's naturally soft and gentle scent met her, calming her as much as it kept her on her guard as she too took that moment to rest.

Because it was the smart thing to do after every trial gone through. One had a moment to rest? Take it and use it to the biggest advantage possible. One never knew when the next opportunity would come after all, and the next could very well be the final, permanent rest in the end.

And there was no way in hell that Kira was going to allow that kind of end to come to either one of them any time soon.

((Do Not read this post if you are squeamish. This post has things that made me wince, I’d advise not reading it))

A sea of white surrounded the boy, a wash of nothingness around him as he floated in the vacant space. He was not awake, still recuperating from what had happened to him while he had been conscious. That would soon change though, as the white sea around him trembled and quivered from an unknown source. Color began to streak through the nothingness, allowing something to reach his senses when he opened his eyes to see them. A few yards away there was a ball that gradually appeared out of the sea that was rapidly changing color from white to black. A dark charcoal black, it solidified into ground quickly, and his feet landed softly on top of the ground, but he didn’t topple over. Unmoving, he stood while the world was changed around him. The great dome in the sky overhead, on the other hand, remained a soft white. The ball in front of him was the same white. Even though there was the illusion of infinity all around him, there was no where for him to go.

No where for him to escape the truth.

He gradually awoke, eyes fluttering open as he winced in pain. His intellect was clearing slightly, but he could tell instantly that he wasn’t in Juk anymore. In fact, he couldn’t tell where the hell he was, but he didn’t think that it was any worse than the Prison Field could possibly be. He looked down as his feet crunched the dried soil before looking around at the white sky for a moment. There was something that he knew he should know about that sky…but his attention was suddenly drawn to the sphere. Something was happening to it. Slowly but surely, it was sinking back down into the ground, hardly leaving a trace behind. But before it vanished entirely…he caught a glimpse of something that he could no more identify than he could list the reasons for the universe to exist.

The moment that the sphere vanished beneath the ground, the earth began to vibrate as if in an intense earthquake, sending the confused boy to the ground for stability. On all fours, he could only see the ground…and the sudden blast of white energy that shot up through a crack in the ground for a moment. Blinded, he shut his eyes and rolled over onto his back as he tried to regain his vision. Gradually opening his eyes, he looked upwards into the sky above him and wondered. Why was he here? What was here? How had he gotten here? He had been in Juk, he recalled, and then…he’d walked into the red lightning, only to be given all of the death memories of the Incu. After that was a…haze, somehow.

As if that memory was the trigger that was needed, he heard a massive crack rip across the domain that he was in. A tremendous black crevice broke through the white above him, shooting up towards the center of the sky. He was only then aware of the thousands of smaller cracks that jutted out of the horizon, moving up towards the center, fracturing the sky around him into hundreds of different pieces. At the same time, his head began to throb heavily with heat, with pain, as he stared into the fracturing sky. Slowly or quickly, the black lines greedily spread their tendrils across the white dome, and Colin felt his stomach twist in dread.

-----------
Ondine had no sooner reached the spot in front of the RaEx room when she received a flashmail directed at the boy whose avatar she now wore. She scanned it quickly, eyes widening and rising as she moved quickly towards the Files room. Sekai had died and needed someone to resurrect her? Well shit, that made things interesting…and likely galling for Kira to have to rely on someone else to save her girl. She shook off the strange feeling that had settled over her after she had explored the last few rooms, an emotion that was nearly a lethargy, and walked in on…Sekai’s corpse as well as a furious Long Arm. The Wavemaster (Wavemistress?) winced when she saw that Sekai’s chest had forcibly been forced outwards, likely resulting in an incredibly painful death.

She took no time at all to cast Rip Maen on the archer, noting the room around her. Sekai’s body had been in front of a computer that they were apparently using…which might explain why she had died. Maybe. Perhaps it wouldn’t explain that at all. Takua waited in the back of the room in case she was needed again, wondering the entire time what she would see.

Ondine wasn’t disappointed.

Each time that Kira clicked on something…something seemed to happen to her. The Long Arm whirled out of the chair and looked like she was about to kill something. The woman stormed over to where Sekai was and seemed to search her neck and mouth for a moment that had poor Sekai blushing furiously…right before she kissed the girl with enough force to make Ondine whistle. Holy shit Sekai was a lucky girl. If she had a woman that would kiss her like that…well, she wouldn’t have been in Juk any longer, that was for sure. What happened next she wasn’t able to see…until the Long Arm clicked on the last one. That was when the blood began to soak into Sekai’s clothing, over and over again, as the sigils for Krake were seen…on her cheeks. She could imagine that that was happening all over the Archer’s body, as blood began to run from the wounds…and then the Wavemaster gaped. It wasn’t stopping. It just seemed to be carved and recarved, always bleeding without slowing down at all. Ondine didn’t waste any time, quickly casting a La Repth and hoping that would take away whatever the hell it was that had afflicted her. The runes for Krake healed up…only to be drawn right back into her body again.

Ondine winced as she saw what was going on. Would death stop this? Hopefully, but she wasn’t about to kill her in front of Kira. Lord only knew what that would cause to happen, and since she could feel every inch of pain now that the Swath had caused Immersion, she didn’t particularly want a violent and pissed off Long Arm going after her flesh, especially since this was Takua’s body. Finally, Kira did kill Sekai…and Ondine wondered just how much that had to hurt. Forced to end the life of the woman that you loved. However, the Wavemaster was right there with another Rip Maen almost the moment that the Archer died, so she wouldn’t have to suffer from the pain and agony of death for long.

After that, Kira clicked out of whatever subdirectory she had been in on the computer and went to the other folder. This one was a video clip…and it starred a room that Ondine was only too familiar with. A look towards her skin would reveal sweat beads standing out on suddenly chill skin. No. Why now? Why the hell did she have to see that room so soon after Takua had had to see all of that there? God fucking dammit this wasn’t fair in the least. She wanted to slaughter that asshole that had put them all in the Swath, end his life and laugh as he died, dancing on his grave for several minutes…hours…maybe a day or two.

However, the informational content of the video made her focus on it even if all she wanted to do was to get the hell out of the room. It had focused on one of the groups of Incu heads…and carved into the wire sets themselves was the word ‘Wrath’ over and over again, right around the rims. That was when it ended…

And the screen of the monitor cracked in a way that was all too familiar. Takua didn’t take any time at all to speak with absolute urgency…and no small amount of dread. She’d seen this before. Had watched the rooms peel away in torrents of binary as Dread Code consumed everything in its path, a hungry, voracious predatory reaching for her body.

“Out. Now.”

She started to run, getting out of the door in near record time. The moment that Sekai and Kira escaped from the rapidly deleting room, she slammed the door shut with a shaking hand, hoping that it would stop the spread. If it didn’t, they were all fucked. Somehow, that room had been rigged to self-destruct the moment that they saw that video, likely to delete whoever had seen it.

------

Takua watched as another sharp, black line etched its way into the sky. Something screamed its way across the blank landscape, whipping past him and fading into the background as he shuddered. What the hell was that? Why did he feel so…desolate all of a sudden. It was as if something terrible had just happened, but he didn’t know what could have happened. The black lines continued to grow at a much slower speed now…but still expanding with sudden, almost savage strikes into the areas that were still white.

--------

She was quivering, she realized unhappily as she started to move along with Kira and Sekai almost numbly. The door had held evidently, but she couldn’t get the last shot of it out of her head. Of all of the Dread Code spreading out and consuming the room. What would have happened if Sekai or Kira had been a few seconds too late. She shuddered as the image of Xander in his final moments, melting into the floor, came to mind. The scenes where the room around him had peeled away, consumed by the Dread Code, flickered in front of her eyes as she walked behind Sekai and Kira. She couldn’t think right now, she realized blankly. Even though she hadn’t been in control at the moment that Takua had been forced to see the Incu deaths, she had been affected by them and all of the other horrors that she had seen.

She could barely think as she passed by the two still bodies of those who had attacked her earlier. That didn’t include another three, presumably ones that had attacked other people. She barely noticed though, the parade of images in front of her eyes still primarily those from Gan, what Takua had had to experience first hand. She was, in fact, barely aware of her surroundings until they got to the final Helpless room that had yet to be visited…or was it? Maybe this was only the second to last. Either way, she was still staring blankly in front of her when Sekai walked out with a doll…and then her eyes sharpened and cleared. The doll looked like the emotion that had been carved into the wires in Power Supply…Wrath. Two holes in its sides also caught her eye, but she had to figure things out first. She strode forward, grabbed the doll from Sekai and bowed her head before speaking.

“Sorry, but I need this. Thanks.”

Sekai looked a little worried for a moment but didn’t protest as Ondine began to walk away. Instead, she spoke quietly about how the doll ate resurrects if one put them into the inventory. Ondine nodded and took off into the Power Supply room. She placed the doll that she had gotten from Sekai just inside of the door so that she couldn’t lose it and looked up to see Baron in front of her…with another doll. Ooo, now that was interesting alright. There was only Wrath though, and the doll that Sekai had found had fit pretty well…until she remembered that there had been six different sets of wires inside of the Power Supply room. That meant that there could potentially be six differing emotions…whatever, she needed the doll that Baron had. She moved closer to him, calling out as she did so. She didn’t like any of the dolls, and that nervousness was possibly reflected in her face and her voice.

"Hey Baron, can I take that doll off your hands for a few minutes? I need to try a few things with it...and where did you find it anyways?"

His reaction wasn’t…exactly one that Ondine had expected. Instead of handing the doll over, he clutched it to him and stepped backwards, as if he were trying to protect it from Takua. O…kay? What the fuck was that all about? Was he concerned that Takua was going to do something mean and horrible with it?

"Try what? Just tell me, I'll do it."

Ondine resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. Okay, so he just wanted the credit then. What the fuck ever, he could get over that. Like it mattered to her, however much Takua might disagree with that interpretation. So she nodded, trying to not let her irritation with Baron show because he was being an idiot, and walked towards Power Supply again. Her steps became shorter as she did so though. She didn’t like going in there at all, and she wasn’t happy with the fact that she’d have to go back into that room again, much less what she was doing.

"We're going to try and put that doll in the electricity when it's going, see what happens."

The Twin Blade had an abrupt change of heart, practically throwing the doll at the Wavemaster with a shudder before practically fleeing.

"On second thought, you can do it. I... I can't really deal with that room, if you understand. Um... I don't wanna get zapped or anything.”

Taking the doll from him, Ondine opened the door and walked inside, glaring at the Incu that surrounded the place for several moments as they mewled at her. God fucking dammit she hated this room. It had practically broken the boy whose body she inhabited, and that wasn’t good either. Ugh, god dammit, she was going to slap some sense into him if she could after this was all done. Although, she thought miserably, that might be impossible. Gunner had been quiet ever since she had taken over, which was good because otherwise she’d pimpslap his ass into submission. Fucking asshole.

She walked forward with the doll before realizing that something was wrong. She looked down at the hand that held the ashen faced doll and realized that…it was shaking. Badly. She couldn’t hold the hand still no matter how hard she tried, it just kept jumping around as if it wanted to leap off of the Wavemaster’s body. She walked around, close to the Incu horns though, and quickly found the ones with Wrath carved into them in the upper left gap. She didn’t stop there though, walking around to the other five sets…and quickly finding five more emotions, or at least acts. Hate, Despair, Atrocity, Lust and Murder. Lovely, so definitely…something that belonged in the Swath. She took at look at the doll in her hands, a small smile crossing her face. With the doll’s emotions, it had to be Despair…and the one that Sekai had found would either be Hate or Wrath then, although for the time being she’d say that it was Wrath. She twitched when one of the Incu next to her whimpered at her rather loudly, startled by it. Swearing vehemently, she stormed back to the switch, hating the Swath and this room for what it had done to Takua.

She hated this room for other reasons, she knew, but steeled herself and pulled the switch anyways. The red lightning flipped on…and she threw the doll into the torrent even as her body flinched away from what Takua had so blithly walked into. The memory of what had happened in there coursed through her, something that made her wish to be out of the room all the more, but she needed to stay. However, she threw the Despair doll into the electricity where it the wires said that…where it promptly bounced around in the electric current before blasting against a wall and staying there.

She muttered and gingerly touched it with her staff before being satisfied that it wasn’t going to electrocute her, then sat down and looked at it more thoroughly, noting the two holes on both sides. Her eyes narrowed at that, flickering back up to the wire sets that hung in the gaps and then back down to the holes. Her finger touched the holes, trying to get inside, but there simply wasn’t enough room. Instead, she walked over to the Despair section and dragged one wire into the side of the doll, finding that it fit perfectly. Well, that helped her out a bit, at least she knew that she was likely on the right track. Sure enough, the other wire worked as well, and when she stepped away the doll was hanging in the gap in front of her. Walking to where she had left the one that she was tentatively dubbing the Wrath doll, she plugged that in to the wire set in the top left corner before walking back and throwing the switch.

This time, it seemed that the electricity only went through the dolls, which hummed and vibrated in the gap for several seconds before the current shut back off. Alright, that meant that they needed the other four dolls. She could easily search for them, possibly find the all. However, it would help if the others knew and were searching for them as well, and for that purpose she quickly crafted a Flashmail as soon as she was out of Power Supply.

Since she’d already been through the Helpless side once, she decided that it was time to take a trip down what was now the Traitor corridor. While she had been exploring, people had opened up the doorways…not that she was feeling very happy with that. A few peeks inside, especially the second one, didn’t make her feel any better. When she came to the fourth room though, she was confused for several seconds. Why was there just more flesh there instead of open space? That was when she realized that there was a face staring at her…and she backed up face, understanding that the room was simply packed with bodies. She felt bile rise in her throat as she stared at the room unhappily…and then raised her Firedrake Bone and pointed it at the room. She wasn’t happy doing this, but the odds were good that there would be a doll inside.

“GiVak Kruz.”

The twin waves of fireballs formed in the air around the Wavemaster, hovering for a moment before flickering inwards and striking the barricade of corpses. A few burst into flame, their flesh falling from their bodies, but there was barely a dent put into it. Somehow, it just hadn’t done enough damage…so would a Vulcan Ch be able to work then? After all, it was more damaging and had a huge radius to it, so it might just work out. Switching to the Starstorm Wand, she sent the second level summon forward. The phoenix didn’t scream, there was no point. It was attacking corpses…there was no honor there. None at all. It just molted into flame right as it struck the wall of dead Juka Sprites, a ball of fire that consumed several bodies and limbs in his way. Flesh and parts of bodies actually bounced out of the room, sticking to the wall behind her even as she sent a RaVak Don in from the Firedrake Bone.

The Vulcan Ch had obviously been more effective than the GiVak Kruz, but it was also a massive amount of SP. That wasn’t good, so she had switched over to the third level spell instead. She’d have used a fourth level, but he didn’t have any of those. Instead, she watched as the three meteors crashed down, explosions ripping into corpses even as she advanced just a bit farther into the room. A wall of dead bodies surrounded the path that she was cutting into the center of the room, and she took a deep breath to try and calm herself. That was a mistake, as the sudden smell of burnt flesh filled his nose as she gagged on the smell. Quickly, she cast another RaVak Don, another series of explosions which disintegrated body parts under the heat from the third level spell. However, the Wavemaster’s SP was now below where she could use another one, and there was no point in consuming SP restore items just yet. Plus, she didn’t want to be here anymore. Quickly leaving the room, she was about to shut the door before she realized that there wasn’t a door.

Well, that killed the idea to keep the smell from spreading. Now, anyone who walked on by would be forced to smell the burned flesh, an air that seemed to stick to her body as she walked away. Time to go to Slave Nutrition and see if she could find anything there, she reasoned to herself. After all, she had gone into only two of the top four, and she doubted that Voyeur room B was any different than the one that Takua had explored. That left Slave Nutrition. She shuddered lightly, her own brand of madness whispering about her as she walked into the room. Damn Takua really knew had to fuck himself up, although what he had didn’t exactly help. She cursed him with as much style as she had because of how badly he could screw with his own mind, and this wasn’t helping at all.

The room itself didn’t seem to bad…except for the body floating in what was ‘Raq Disease’. That didn’t look to apetizing, but it had gotten to the point where she saw five times as many dead bodies as she saw people. Dead Juka Sprites, while horrible, on their own no longer freaked her out. What had happened to them, on the other hand, did. However…this didn’t look so bad. Yet. The freaky ass crystals on the cylinder didn’t make her too happy. There were several…well, best that she could call them was ‘vaults’ around the room that were still closed. Had who ever had taken this room simply ignored them or were they closed back up. Whatever. She strode over to the first vault, the one closest to her, and opened it up.

Which was when an absolute outpouring of blood soaked her to the bone.

She spluttered under the deluge, staggering backwards as all of the fluid turned once dry robes into blood-logged cloth and coated her blue hair until it practically clotted together. The smell was practically choking her now, so thick was the scent that now permeated her body. Roasted flesh and clotted blood…well, that was wonderful. She collapsed to the ground, looking down at the ground to see the river of blood below her…and felt herself heaving as the saliva in her mouth turned that nasty flavor that always proceeded one throwing up. It happened a moment later, her back bowing for a moment before it snapped upwards and her head down, vacating her stomach of anything that might have been in it.

It took a minute before she was done, and she watched the falling vomit for several moments, as well as the drops of blood that slowly dripped from her robes. That was nasty. She coughed again as she rose, checking inside of the vault in case that had actually been worth anything. The only thing that she could find though were a bunch of rocks that looked a hell of a lot like the ones on the cylinder. Damn. There had better be something here though, she resolved with a grimace as she stood to the side and opened the next vault, watching the flood of blood pour out of it. She repeated the process until all twelve doors stood open, all of them with nothing but rocks in them. Snarling, she placed her hands under a rock and lifted, annoyed with how damn weak the character was. Takua needed to work on his physical strength or he was never going to get anywhere in life dammit.

She moved every rock out to the middle of the floor, almost creating a mountain there out of the rocks. She had been hoping that there would be something under the rocks, but there was nothing at all. Maybe they were hidden inside of the rocks then? Whipping out her Gaia’s Staff, she called down an OrGan Don on the slimy stones, fighting rocks with more rocks. Unlike the ones that she was targeting though, these were clean and they held power behind them. All of the rocks in the middle of the floor shattered, creating a massive mess there as the boulders crashed down on them, miniature shockwaves expanding outwards…but otherwise, nothing. Ondine growled at the wasted effort, turning her attention to the crystals clinging to the cylinder. Venting some frustration, she smacked at one of them with her staff…and watched as it cracked off.

Her head tilted to the side as she walked forward, leaning down down and grabbing it for a moment before attempting to put it into her inventory. It appeared there as Jukosis…which prompted her to start cracking at crystals like crazy, causing them to all fall off onto the ground. Several minutes lates, she had 99 of them in her inventory, and was thoroughly done with this as soon as she did two things. First of all…there was a plaque that she tried to manipulate by getting her fingers around it. No luck there, and so she left it alone. The last thing that she did before leaving was switch to her Great Elite and cast the Lanceor Ch on the cylinder. After seeing what glass could do in any of these fields, she doubted it would break…but she could at least try.

The thunder summon landed slightly on the ground amid the rubble, brandishing her electrified battleaxe before charging forward. Lightning blasted up and down the shaft as the woman charged forward, sparks skipping off of the mesh floor as she flickered forward. At the last moment, she swung her massive axe right into the side of the cylinder…and nothing happened at all. Ondine didn’t really care though, she had figured it would happen, and the door slammed shut on the room almost seconds afterwards.

She moved back to a few of the other rooms on the Traitor side, ducking into the first one that she found. There, pairs of Juka Sprites were turned away from the door as if in fear…and they all had the rocks that Sekai had given them as offerings. The song that both Kira and Sekai had sung here still chilled her to the bone, even thought it was beautiful…it was still haunting. Takua would have liked it, she knew. He still wasn’t awake though, which she didn’t mind. Boy needed his rest, he could deal with this all when he woke back up. Of course, she knew that he was still gettig this all in real time…but at least he had time to piece his mind back together after the Incu slaughter that he had seen.

She moved quickly through the room, checking between the pairs of male Juka Sprites for any dolls at all. It didn’t take her long before she found one, even though it wasn’t exactly…good. Its head was only half on and what past for its organs were hanging out of it and a little…chewed up was the best way that she could put it. She muttered and sent out a quick flashmail that stated that she had found a doll. There was no way that this could be anything but the Atrocity doll, which was okay. She’d put it into its little place in a moment, after she tried to get to the center of TR4. She was sure that there was another doll in there somewhere, probably in the middle of the room. She choked again as the smell of seared flesh sunk into her again…and her spells came down. Three RaVak Dons later, three spells that sent flaming meteor after burning boulder into the flesh and bodies of the Juka Sprites, she found what she came for. As the last bodies vaporized, blew apart, or fell apart, the doll fell to the floor.

Ondine walked forward in distaste, picking up a little doctor doll off the limb-strewn floor. A small, serrated scalpel lay in his hand, blood that didn’t come from Juka Sprites covering it. She snatched it and put it in her other hand before whirling to the cut tumor that served as a door. She didn’t want to think about it. Didn’t want to comprehend that she was blowing apart bodies, melting the dead. She was covered in blood from head to toe, and it was drying even as she walked out of the room. Drying blood also happened to shrink, meaning that it felt like had a second skin that had covered her body which was contracting down on her. Fuck, Tak was going to freak when he came back. That was, unless he got stronger all of a sudden, which wasn’t likely until he realized that had happened.

Moments later, she was shuddering in Power Supply again. The little cute doctor doll she put in Murder, and the other, half-eaten one was put into Atrocity. Before she walked out of the room, she flipped the switch again. Unfortunately, the same thing happened as last time, and she stalked off to the rooms that she hadn’t seen yet. She stopped before reaching TR2 though and closed her eyes. Was it time to let Takua back? Would it be a good idea to wake him up? She checked for a moment, trying to see how much of his intellect and…sense of being there was back. It took a second later, and then she sighed in defeat. Still a no. Maybe she could put him back in before the end of the floor, if all went well. Muttering to herself, she walked into TR2.

-------

Takua watched as the cracks flickered with black energy, still growing although at a slower rate. Far slower. He had a feeling that all of this was incredibly important, if only he could-

“How the fucking hell did I wind up with someone like you as a host huh? It just ain’t fucking fair, I swear.”

The boy twitched violently as the voice rang out from behind him. He swiveled instantly, but there was nothing there, only a small…form of wry amusement…and a crushing feeling of inadaquacy. But what the hell did he mean, ‘host’? That didn’t make any sense at all. He was about to open his mouth to ask him what he meant when the voice chuckled right next to him.

“Maybe there’s a reason that you don’t know. Ever thought of that? Maybe everyone, including all of those you hold dear…perhaps they’ve all known the truth? What if memories could be editted for reasons other than those you know? What if…”

The voice trailed off, but Takua no longer felt safe in this world of white and black lines. His eyes turned everywhere before going upwards, watching as the black lines underwent sudden growth. His eyes flickered everwhere, trying to find whoever this man was and failing utterly. His own voice now rent the silence, trembling and shaken. He knew that his memory had been edited…but what if the rest was true?

“Who was you? What do you want?!”

A vague form flickered in front of him, enough to make him think of a very big man, someone who was bigger even than Zan when he transformed into that wolf, but it was gone before he could be sure. However, there was a sense of subtle mockery that came from the man.

“My name is Gunner, although I prefer the name Tormenter, as I can be assured that is what you’ll be calling me for many years to come.”

Something…was right there for him. Just beyond him. It was like he could touch it…it was just that close. Its name was a fuzzy presence in his mind, something that he knew, could almost see. But it still eluded him, what this was. He couldn’t think of it, and a flare of the obsidian cracks above him distracted him again before an intense flare of pain flared through his mind. What, he thought as he looked up to see the growth of more lines, was that?!

-------

Ondine stormed back from TR6 to TR2. Her hands were bleeding, but she hardly noticed them right now. Pain was a constance presence now, one that was caused by barbed wire and doors whose only intent was to shred the hands of those who touched them. She’d been able to do nothing the first time around in TR2, and so had gone to Room 6 to see if she could something there. She’d found the Juka Sprites hung up on the ceiling in barbed wire, and had promptly used a combination of her hands and magic in order to both cut them down and free them. She’d also fucked up their bodies, and she had no doll to show for it. God dammit already she was getting pissed and confused by this place. Confused because all of this torture was…getting to her, and pissed because of the same reason. Not the best of minds to be in. She stopped when she saw Baron standing at the doorway, practically twitching before he turned away. Awww fuck, now that wouldn't do. Granted, what had been done was terrible, but it was only going to get worse.

"Baron? You might want to get inside. It's terrible what's happened to them, but they're dead. Plus, I can guarantee we see worse shortly enough."

The boy (was he younger than Takua?) was staring down at the ground and responded with an emotionless tone that reminded her so much of the Wavemaster himself. Damn kids these days. That almost made her laugh. Like she could talk, she didn’t have an age in the first place, so didn’t that make her the youngest of them all?

"I... I know it will, and... it's just... it's hard to face. What kind of monster does this sort of thing? No human is this evil, this corrupt... and yet, there's clear evidence of it. It's not the sight that horrifies me so- It's the loss of my last faith in humanity that does it."

Ondine stared at him for a moment. No human was this evil? Sadly, the world was filled with examples of just that. Her own eyes turned to ice as she spoke...not loudly, not even at a normal volume, softly. But there was a hidden layer of power there, of assertiveness, that would let her words reach the intended target.

"No human is this evil? We haven't been reading enough history I assume. Concentration camps from Hitler. Stalin sent hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, to die in the Siberian wastes. The world has been filled with torture and death. Just remember, when all of that faith is gone? There are people who will walk into that room, do what they need to do, and fucking waste who did this. If you've lost faith in humanity, you've kind of lost faith in why we're here, which won't do now will it?"

"But Taku- I mean, um, Ondine, or whatever you call yourself now... that's all ancient examples. I know it's illogical, but... I guess I never expected that such... such horrors would happen again."

So he was going to do the guessing game. At least he had read the flashmail. But the rest of what he had said…she really wanted to just sigh and send him back to school. Ancient examples her ass. Humanity really didn’t seem to have changed much in the past several thousand years, other than that it had gained in sophistication all things good and bad. Well…and some people seemed more tolerant nowadays than they were years ago. That was also a good thing. However, his voice fell at the end, as if he finally realized what he was saying.

"But... I guess... I guess you're right. I didn't really think about it that way..."

There was a wry smile that flickered over her face for just long enough to be seen. Baron would have to adapt quickly if he wanted to make it through the field unfortunately, the Swath was already making that perfectly clear. Thinking would be required as it always was, as well as a level head to get through the amount of evil that the Highers could put into a field. This was far worse than Gan had been, and they hadn’t even completed the first floor. Fucking Jula.

"History repeats itself, but for what it's worth, this is the Swath. It's a construction. It's meant to fuck you up, to break you down, to drive you insane. What we see here isn't what really happened in a way. What you see in the other dungeon, the one that looks like a hospital...that seems to be what really happened. If we want to get back there, we need to find those last two dolls. If we want to beat the fucking shit out of that creepy ass fucker who wants to provide himself a feast, we need to get out of here."

He nodded to her and went inside, something that she promptly did as well. They instantly went for the first bodies, ones that were still obscenely jiggling somehow, as if they had been forced to cling to life. It was heavy and hard as hell, but someone they managed to get all of them off of the spikes that had been driven up their ass and through their bodies. Doing so revealed no doll, so Ondine took a look down the hole that started in their heads to see if there was anything there. Of course, there was nothing at all in any of them, so she glared at the spikes themselves in irritation. That prompted another idea, and she cast another GiRue Kruz on the closest metal spike, hoping that it would break. No go, of course, something that didn’t surprise her.

Since they didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, Ondine got up and started to walk out the door. Baron followed almost instantly, much to her amusement. Still feeling competitive or just didn’t want to be alone in that room eh? She moved up towards the Traitor Restroom, looking inside and immediately stiffening. Somehow, she didn’t think that a device that could be used to separate a person into five parts at once much like a rack was pleasant, nor were the five remains of a Juka Sprite in the room. The toilets that she could see were all filled with blood…which made her sigh and open the doors. Her arms were already coated, why not. Swearing to herself as she plunged her hands into them and sloshed around, she found nothing at all in every toilet except for lot and lots of blood.

They started to play with the chains of the torture device next, Ondine ignoring the blood-written message ‘Guilt is the root of all evil’ on the mirror. Even after the GiRue Kruz and a Vulcan Ch, the device help up firm. Probably indestructable, she thought bitterly as she looked around for something to destroy. A few moments later, her staff went flying through the mirror, shattering it effortlessly and exposing…absolutely nothing behind it. Well, besides the large amounts of shattered glass that she had produced. If this were in the normal field, she might have settled for seven years of bad luck. Since this was the Swath, she didn’t want to know how much bad luck she had just gotten there. Baron turned on a faucet…and oil came out of it. That caused a spark of interest in her eyes, followed by her turning on every faucet in the sinks. Lots and lots of oil. She started walking towards the door even as the air around her shimmered with Vak, a single ring of fire converging on the faucet that Baron originally turned on.

The oil caught fire instantly, something that was almost a napalm that spread on the oil itself. It wasn’t moving very swiftly, but the got the hell out of the way quickly and shut the door as well. The Wavemaster didn’t want to be responsible for all of their deaths, but she also didn’t want to leave that room operational.

They went to HR7 next, the entity possessing Takua’s body didn’t feel like going into 8 just yet. Who would want to fight monsters that had barbed wire on their hands? Well, not him, that was for sure. Inside of their destination, Baron cut down all of the Juka Sprites and the two set about looking at them all. She couldn’t find anything at all, and she set back to think until she noticed that Baron was bringing them all together for something. Sighing, she helped him out, watching impassively as he tried to burn them all with a Vak Don. Since that didn’t seem to work, they moved to HR8…something that didn’t make Ondine happy. Why did they have to go in here? Maybe if they had Zan, they could make sure they stayed dead. That seemed like a good idea, and he shot the Heavy Blade a flashmail requesting his presence.

It wasn’t too long before the man arrived in order to start on the fun destruction that would shortly occur. All three entered the room and instantly started to put the monsters on the ground. The Wavemaster continued to use single target spells to put them on the ground for Zan to dispatch, and that seemed to work well enough. Now that they were all still, she took a look at all of the bodies in order to see if they had anything on them. There was nothing though of course, and she waited for Baron to be done with the room. Maybe it was the red tint to this very air that she breathed, but she was not-so-gradually coming to hate this place and all that it stood for. When this was done, she wanted whatever or whoever controlled or created the Swath in front of her, helpless, so that she could just choke a bitch.

They went up to the Voyeur rooms next, possibly simply to get rid of all of the monsters that were left, although she did more than just that. After rechecking all the screens, she busted them with her staff, leaving shards of glass everywhere in her search for a doll. There was nothing though, nothing but that glass and dead bodies. The keyboards were fallen and bloodstained, so they couldn’t even work. The great part was that she didn’t have to worry about the monsters getting back up. With their Might Swath Slayer around, they didn’t have to worry quite as much about that…as long as he finished the job. She wasn’t surprised that he looked bad though, perhaps a little numb. There was enough in here to sicken anyone and they had barely even started.

What would it be like before the end?

((Second post coming))

((OOC: If you haven't seen the first bajillion or so disclaimers by this point, then I don't see why you'd pay attention to this one, but in the case that you do- this post contains materials that may be offensive to the younger minds, so if you decide to enter, just remember- we warned you!))

Sitting outside of the room marked “Helpless Room 3,” Baron took a moment to catch his breath, trying to calm himself after yet another terrifying step into the madness of the Juk Prison’s dungeon. It was… well, there was no word to describe the sensation that the Twin Blade was feeling, both physically and mentally. Physically, he was shaking while at the same time, almost curled up on the ground, while his mind registered disgust, anger, and fear all at the same time, the conflicting emotions pulling at him every which way as he tried to find that inner calm that he had possessed throughout the first half of the Juk Prison, the feeling of balance that had kept him moving through the field. The feeling that had replaced it was an unfamiliar, alien one that made Baron want to leave it all behind and yet also want to destroy every last trace of the atrocities committed by whatever tainted mind had conceived such dreaded tortures. It was an interesting mix of conflicting thoughts, from an objective standpoint, but for Baron, it threw everything in turmoil.

The Twin Blade almost remained dwelling on the matter, and probably would have stayed there if it hadn’t been for Takua approaching at that moment. For that brief second, jealousy of the Wavemaster’s apparent calm surfaced among all of the other emotions, and Baron stood, his pride suddenly refusing to let him look pitiful in any matter. No, he would remain strong, especially around Takua. Tucking the doll under one arm, acting like it was nothing, the Twin Blade stood, leaning against the wall like he was taking a momentary breather. Just as he expected, Takua took one look at the doll Baron was holding and stopped, probably realizing that it had some importance just as the Twin Blade did. The gears in the Wavemaster’s head were almost visibly turning as he spoke.

"Hey Baron, can I take that doll off your hands for a few minutes? I need to try a few things with it...and where did you find it anyways?"

Baron frowned, stepping backwards and holding the doll. So Takua wanted to get credit for solving some abstract riddle, something that the Twin Blade hadn't seen? He was trying to act smug and superior again, wasn't he? Well, not going to happen. Baron immediately retorted, his pride kicking him in the head once again as he answered, though he ignored the second part of the question. "Try what? Just tell me, I'll do it."

Takua didn’t argue, surprisingly. Baron had hoped for a good argument, something to lift his mind from the gloom and terror that constantly tried to settle around him. Instead, the Wavemaster simply turned and led the way down the hallway, as if he were heading to the first two Helpless rooms. Curious, Baron strode behind him, noticing Takua’s nervous behavior, as if the Wavemaster dreaded his course of action. Baron couldn’t blame him in the least- he wasn’t sure what kept him moving either. Still, the two continued down the hallway, bypassing the last two rooms on the Helpless Hallway as they made their way further and further, stopping as they reached the doorway that led to the Power Supply room. There they stopped, and Takua pushed open the door, albeit hesitantly.

"We're going to try and put that doll in the electricity when it's going, see what happens."

Baron shuddered, seeing the room again, and practically thrust the doll at Takua. "On second thought, you can do it. I... I can't really deal with that room, if you understand. Um... I don't wanna get zapped or anything.”

Yeah. It was a lame excuse. But it was simple enough- Baron was not going in there.

Baron simply watched as Takua made his way into the Power Supply room, wondering what the Wavemaster planned on using the doll that Baron had found for. He wasn’t going to rip the wires out of the Incu heads and stick them into the doll, was he? Or was he going to make use of the red lightning again? If it was the latter, the Twin Blade wasn’t going to go in and help him, no way. He had a strong aversion to the Power Supply room after seeing its contents the first time, and Baron knew, without a doubt, that at least until he was no longer Immersed, he wouldn’t even look in the room if he could avoid it. Probably even then, the Twin Blade would avoid it- between the moaning cries, the visual, the chance of even touching one of the severed and yet still-animate heads… Baron gave another shudder and turned away, leaning against a nearby wall as he waited for Takua to emerge.

While he waited, though, to get the word from the Wavemaster regarding what had happened, Baron decided to experiment with his newly-regained ability to access his game menus. Scrolling through them, he looked at his equipment, his inventory, his status, making a quick check to see that everything was properly prepared. Organizing everything gave the Twin Blade a chance to relax, his mind settling into the dull everyday tasks that most players dealt with. As he was scrolling through, though, Baron noticed his inbox had two Flashmails waiting in it. Opening it, curiously, he noticed that both were from Takua, one titled “Red Lightning” while the other was titled “Change.” Opening the first one, Baron read through it, and realized just how badly the electrocution from before had affected the Wavemaster. It made sense as to why he had acted so off when the Twin Blade was joking about reviving him. Still, it was a bit muddled, the Flashmail clearly indicating that his mind was not in the right place, and Baron closed it, only getting a general gist of what was what was going on. He hoped that the second one would be a little more coherent.

The second Flashmail caused Baron’s eyebrows to rise quite quickly as he read through the message contained within. It seemed Takua had something similar to Sekai’s situation, with another “companion” of sorts, one that could apparently possess his character’s body as Kira could for Sekai. It was an interesting situation, and while Baron wondered what it was like, he personally didn’t want to experience such a situation. Fortunately, Libra only had control of the mouth with Baron’s consent, but that was it. Still, the message certainly made things more… interesting, if nothing else. The rest of the message was simply a more clear synopsis of what Takua had written in his first one, including a little bit on the end about Saol, one that certainly made Baron feel a little better about the general’s death. Closing his inbox, Baron considered what this change meant.

Libra… have you ever heard of such a possession? I mean, I’ve seen Kira using Sekai’s body, though that was likely by consent. But can a non-human identity simply wrest control from within like that?

I can’t say I’ve heard of such an occurrence, admittedly. Before now, having an AI or an alternate existence, as there is plenty out there we don’t know of, possess a player and merge with it was a possibility, but full possession? It’s never happened in my knowledge. Of course, I’m a more limited source, because, as you recall, the Zodiac went underground quite early. You’d be better off asking someone like Kira, who apparently has knowledge of how to do so.

Baron paused, remembering his last conversation with Kira and its rather… interesting results. I think I’ll pass for now.

Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. As an AI without any exposure to such feelings, I confess I’m a bit confused. That woman, she sounded angry, yet she kissed you, which is an action done in love, the opposite of hate. I don’t understand.

Baron found himself at a loss for words. The Twin Blade had never been asked such a question before, in all eighteen years of his life. Normally, in life, one became accustomed to the intricacies of human relationships, but for Libra, who was both created as part of a different world and then separated from that world… well. It made sense that the AI didn’t have the faintest idea about anything relation to interaction. However, though he had been given a lifetime to learn the details and make use of them, Baron was completely stumped as to how he was expected to explain it. Thinking for a minute, he started in cautiously, trying to make it as simple as possible.

Well… ouch. This is a tricky subject to explain in words. See… actions don’t always embody the emotion that they are meant to represent, like a kiss should for love or a fist should for anger. No, actions and emotions can be completely independent. In the case with Kira, they were- I hit upon her pride, making her angry, thus she turned around to make her point with that kiss. She was still angry. Do you understand?

Not exactly. But I’ll think upon what you’ve told me.

Baron leaned away from the wall again, looking around and realizing that Takua had left and gone somewhere while he was distracted by his internal dialogue with Libra. Frowning, the Twin Blade started to go off to look for the man, but instead looked at the Power Supply room curiously. As much as he wanted to avoid going in there, he did want to know what Takua planned on doing with the dolls for. If nothing else, he wasn’t going to let the Wavemaster take all of the credit for getting them through the floor. Once more, pride showed itself, and Baron clenched his teeth together, moving across the room quickly, not lingering too long on any one part as he tried to see what had been changed. At first it seemed like nothing, and the Twin Blade was ready to run out of the room, when he noticed something at the back of the room, above the switches.

Drawing up close, Baron noticed the same gaps in the wall above the switches that the red lightning had come out of. Looking closely, the Twin Blade noticed that there were words carved near them, six in total, one for each gap. Reading them, he swallowed thickly, wondering what they mean. Quite clearly, the words read “Lust,” “Despair,” “Hate,” “Murder,” “Atrocity,” and “Wrath.” In the gap marked “Despair,” the doll that Baron had found was hooked up, a wire attached to each hole in the side of its torso. There was another doll, too, hooked up to the “Wrath” gap. The Twin Blade shuddered as he examined its angry expression, and quickly turned away, wondering what it all meant as he headed for the door. Clearly the dolls represented a riddle of sorts… and perhaps finding the dolls and placing them in the right positions unlocked a door or something. It made an odd sort of sense, and that explained why the dolls were hidden like they were…

The Twin Blade’s thoughts were interrupted as Takua came in, two more dolls held in his hands, ones that went in the Murder and Atrocity slots. Baron didn’t even bother to look at them, knowing that they would probably not be good for his mental condition. As the Wavemaster went by him, though, Baron could have sworn he smelt the odor of something burning around him, but said nothing, sure that Takua had simply been in a fight or something and had used a Vak spell to end it. Regardless, it wasn’t an important detail. What mattered more was that Takua had already found two more of the dolls, leaving two left to reveal. That meant that Baron had to get the remaining two dolls, if he could.

Takua turned to head out the door, heading towards the Traitor hallway, and Baron followed quickly behind him, not willing to be left behind. The two soon found themselves in front of TR2 again, looking at the door that led to the room that had nearly broken the Twin Blade upon first sight. As the door swung open, Baron stood in the doorway, practically frozen, as he once more saw the bodies impaled upon the spikes in the most grotesque manner available. Shuddering, he turned away, his hands shaking from the disgust and loathing he felt at the scene. He tried his hardest to turn around, to face it, but... he couldn't...

Takua broke his thoughts once again. "Baron? You might want to get inside. It's terrible what's happened to them, but they're dead. Plus, I can guarantee we see worse shortly enough."

Baron sighed, his eyes turned towards the ground. Though he barely could stand for the shaking, his voice was steady, emotionless, empty. "I... I know it will, and... it's just... it's hard to face. What kind of monster does this sort of thing? No human is this evil, this corrupt... and yet, there's clear evidence of it. It's not the sight that horrifies me so- It's the loss of my last faith in humanity that does it."

The answer was softly spoken, yet the words drove home instantly.

"No human is this evil? We haven't been reading enough history I assume. Concentration camps from Hitler. Stalin sent hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, to die in the Siberian wastes. The world has been filled with torture and death. Just remember, when all of that faith is gone? There are people who will walk into that room, do what they need to do, and fucking waste who did this. If you've lost faith in humanity, you've kind of lost faith in why we're here, which won't do now will it?"

Baron's eyes snapped up at the authority in Takua's voice, remembering the flashmail he had seen earlier, and remembering that this wasn't the same Wavemaster. "But Taku- I mean, um, Ondine, or whatever you call yourself now... that's all ancient examples. I know it's illogical, but... I guess I never expected that such... such horrors would happen again."

His voice fell as he realized what he was saying. "But... I guess... I guess you're right. I didn't really think about it that way..."

"History repeats itself, but for what it's worth, this is the Swath. It's a construction. It's meant to fuck you up, to break you down, to drive you insane. What we see here isn't what really happened in a way. What you see in the other dungeon, the one that looks like a hospital...that seems to be what really happened. If we want to get back there, we need to find those last two dolls. If we want to beat the fucking shit out of that creepy ass fucker who wants to provide himself a feast, we need to get out of here."

Baron nodded, turning back to the room, trying to stop his hands from shaking as he made his way in, once more seeing the bodies violently impaled on pikes, driven into the worst positions. However… judging from where the Twin Blade had found the Despair doll, it was likely that the bodies held some sort of clue relating to the remaining two dolls. Indeed, Takua (Ondine?) was already moving to lift one of the bodies off of the spike, but was having trouble doing it on his own. Baron moved over to help, though he paused as he saw the body, still twitching, and almost pulled back, unwilling to touch the corpse. Still, seeing Takua (Baron decided to stick with the normal name, regardless of who was in control of the body) working so hard to move it, he swallowed as much of the disgust as he could and moved to grip the corpse, pulling on the shoulder and let to pull the impaled Sprite off of the pike. The corpse was slippery with blood, and Baron shuddered in revulsion every time it twitched, nearly dropping it once or twice, but soon he and Takua had moved it off to the side, revealing nothing left on the pike. Figuring as much, as he had found the doll in the very last bag he had checked, Baron resigned himself and the two went to work at the rest of the bodies, he and Takua removing them one by one until they were all off to the side, some still twitching. Lovely visual.

When all of the bodies were moved, Baron looked around, frowning when he realized that nothing was left, and no doll had been revealed. It was possible that the pikes were the key, though, and the Twin Blade tugged and twisted them, trying to move them in any way, shape, or form. Unfortunately, there was no give in that regard, and Baron was left looking at a room that didn’t have a single place where a doll could be hidden. Frowning, the Twin Blade looked around, but since there was nothing else, he decided that maybe the room wasn’t the key. There were still another twenty or so rooms on the floor- any of them could have the remaining two dolls. So maybe it wasn’t the answer.

Thinking back to the two gaps that hadn’t been filled in the Power Supply room, Baron considered the two names that marked each. Lust and Hate were both missing. Was there a room, perhaps, that related to the dolls? If so, Baron would have pegged the room they were in to be symbolic for the Lust doll, considering the rather awkward and unpleasant way that the male Juka Sprites had been impaled. Still, having searched everything, the doll wasn’t to be found, so it probably wasn’t symbolic. That left any of the other rooms open to the chance of having a doll in them. Lovely.

Well, there was one room that Baron wanted to explore in detail again. Heading out the doorway and leaving behind TR2, the Twin Blade started down the long, winding hallway with Takua not far behind him. It was a quiet trip, one where neither spoke. Soon, the two reached the Traitor Restroom, the hacked-apart doorway awaiting them. Swallowing, Baron indicated that Takua could go first, and indeed the Wavemaster did. Soon they were in the room with the blood-filled toilets and the Juka Sprite that had been torn into five pieces. Shuddering, Baron looked around for some indication of where the last doll was, but he didn’t see anything.

A splash from off to the side caused Baron to jump, drawing his blades from their sheaths, but when he turned to look, he only saw Takua, feeling around in the blood that filled each toilet’s basin. The Twin Blade turned away immediately, shuddering at the thought of feeling around in blood… ew. Rather than concern himself with that, though, Baron looked around, trying to find something else. His eyes fell upon the chains that had torn apart the Juka Sprite before following them up to the device on the ceiling that retracted or gave the chains slack by the turn of a wheel. Why it was on the ceiling, Baron couldn’t imagine, but possibly there was a doll or something hidden in the room, and the wheel was the answer. Relaxing, calling his Ethereal Angel Wings to appear on his back, the Twin Blade felt an odd sort of shifting before the soft feathers rested against his back. Spreading them like they were a natural extension of himself, Baron lifted himself into the air, hesitating momentarily as he adjusted to using them while Immersed. Once he was comfortable, though, he flew towards the wheel, stopping in front of it, before giving it a good tug to turn it.

With a slight creaking protest, the wheel started to turn, and the chains that emerged from it were given more slack, pooling on the floor but revealing nothing even as the wheel clicked, refusing to go any further. Frowning, the Twin Blade turned it the other way, merely out of curiosity. As it turned, the chains retracted, ending up fairly high on the wall when the wheel clicked again. Still nothing. Baron sighed, letting himself settle back to the ground before leaning against the wall to think. As he did so, he noted that the strain in his leg muscles relax a bit, and realized just how wearing all of the walking he had been doing would be on his body. However, his shoulders, where the muscles for the wings would be located, weren’t the least bit tired after his flight. At least he had figured out an alternate to keep moving if he ended up exhausted.

The question was, what next? A roaring Vulcan Ch from Takua striking the wheel at the top of the room answered that question. Ducking down from the heat washing down over the room, Baron wondered what the Wavemaster was thinking, and came to the conclusion that the doll could have been hidden behind the wheel. Unfortunately, as the flames faded, the wheel was still whole and intact, no damage visible on it. Go figure. Baron pushed himself to his feet, standing up and nearly staggering as he did so, stopping near the sink to steady himself. As he looked up, he saw the words again written across the mirror. “Guilt is the root of all evil.” How fitting for the guilt of the traitors to cause such horrors. But seeing it again and again… it seemed pointless to dwell upon such matters. Angrily, Baron grabbed one of his blades and slammed the hilt against the mirror, watching cracks spread before the glass fell out of its frame in shards. Nothing was behind the mirror, but… at least the message was gone.

Embarrassed by his temporary lapse in composure, Baron cleared his throat and turned back towards the sinks, acting as if he had only been looking for the doll, guessing it was behind the mirror. Since there had been nothing, well, he was moving on. That’s all there was to it, right? That had to be it, that was all. Idly looking around, Baron looked into the sinks, wondering perhaps if he could wash all of the gore that was starting to crust on his hands. Turning on one of the faucets, he waited… and watched as oil dribbled out. Go figure. Baron sighed, walking away, knowing that he would probably be uncomfortable for the remainder of the dungeon, at very least. Oh well.

The smell of something burning behind him caused Baron to whirl again even as Takua lit the oil on fire with a quick Vak smell. Between wanting to laugh in sheer, ironic annoyance and simply running out the door, Baron decided on the later, considering slamming the door in the Wavemaster’s face. Would serve him right for doing something like destroying a room! Of course, the Twin Blade couldn’t really do that- that was a horrible thought!- but still. Hurrying past the doorway, holding it long enough for Takua to get out before closing it quickly, making sure that it was sealed tightly. It wouldn’t do to have the flames spread to the rest of the dungeon- might make it a bit tricky to find anything if they were all burning to death. Regardless, the room was pretty much toast, and that was that.

Takua was already moving on, though, and Baron hurried to keep up, not wanting to be left behind. The two made their way around the rooms again, in a seemingly random fashion, and made their way to HR7, where bodies hung from the ceiling, as if they had literally been hanged. Baron stared at them dully for a moment, not even fazed at this point. He had seen- and handled- bloody bodies that had been slick with their own vital fluids, something that disgusted him and practically caused him to break again as he had moved them. Hanging bodies, with no other physical marks aside from the cuts on their necks (that was a bit disturbing, but not half as bad), were hardly anything to quake about. Dead was dead, true, but in a sense, these just seemed more like game graphics than anything else.

Of course, Baron didn’t want to just leave the bodies hanging there. Even though they didn’t bother him, leaving them there was just out of the question. He at least wanted them laid down respectfully, rather than swinging back and forth above the floor like sickening puppets. Unfolding his wings again, the Twin Blade floated up to the bodies, pulling out one of his blades as he began sawing at the ropes. As he did so, he idly thought about the fact that there could be a doll hidden with the bodies somewhere. It was worth a look, as the Twin Blade was going to get all of the bodies to the ground anyway, so he could kill two birds with one stone. He continued cutting the ropes, and Takua picked up on the cue and started burning the bindings with Vak Kruz spells. Baron winced each time a body hit the floor, but he felt like he was doing something for them, at least getting them down, and so he continued, until all of the bodies were on the ground.

Once they were done, Baron and Takua did a quick search of the bodies, looking to see if there was anything on them that could be of some use. Unfortunately, there wasn’t, so they left the corpses lying on the ground, though more neatly arranged. Takua tried something akin to a cremation, a Vak spell that rained down on the bodies, but they didn’t seem to burn. It was odd, and a bit unnatural, but in the end Baron just left them there, lying somewhat more peacefully on the ground. There was nothing more that could be done.

The next room they stopped by was HR8, and inside were seven monsters, all tagged “A]us8.” Baron drew his blades even as Takua began casting, though he seemed to avoid Rom-type spells, oddly enough. Rather than ask the reasoning, the Twin Blade backed up, avoiding hand-to-hand combat where he could. He still didn’t feel comfortable about his skill with the weapons yet, and thus stuck to magic, which would pretty much run itself once cast. With that, Baron sent a pair of Vak Don spells, crashing them down on two separate monsters, as well as a third as a Rue Zot erupted from the ground and impaled it, leaving it to slump to the ground as well. Zan, who had been brought along due to having Twilight abilities, finished the monsters off. One that was starting to rise gave him a close call, but even that one was eventually defeated. The Heavy Blade turned to leave, but he seemed… hesitant. Something was clearly bothering him, though Baron couldn’t see what. Soon enough, though, he was gone.

Rather than dwell upon the issues that the others had with the area, as he had his own, Baron went back to searching the room once it had been cleared. Unfortunately, nothing but overturned mattresses greeted him, so he started to leave… when he thought of something. The dolls weren’t necessarily in plain sight, right? What if they had been hidden… like in the mattresses? It was worth a try. Baron pulled out a dagger and set to work on the nearest mattress, stabbing his blade down before drawing it back, cutting a long line down the direct center of the mattress and slicing it open to check the insides. Unfortunately, all that greeted him was foam and fluff, nothing of any importance. Rather than give up, though, the Twin Blade went and cut open the others, including the ones in the side rooms, though he still ended up with nothing.

Takua was already out the door and on his way to the next room, so Baron ran and caught up, though he felt his legs muscles starting to strain as he did so. All the walking through the dungeon was starting to get to him, but he ignored as best as he could as he followed behind the Wavemaster. Soon, the two arrived at the Voyeur Rooms in the northern section of the floor, and went into the first one. There, they encountered another trio of monsters similar to the ones that Baron had faced down in Voyeur Room B, but they went down quickly between the twin barrages of magic that came from the two players as they mowed down their enemies. Zan, who had been dragged along as well as they passed him in the hallway, finished them off before heading back into the hallway, clearly looking troubled. Okay, Baron admitted he was a bit worried, but again, there was nothing to be done about it, so he let Zan leave.

A quick search of the room revealed nothing, as did an almost identical fight-and-search method in the next room. Takua had the idea of searching the monitors, smashing each and every one of them in case a doll was hidden inside, but again, a search revealed nothing, and the two players took a moment to think, stumped. Where exactly, were the missing two dolls? It made no sense for them to be non-existent. They had to be somewhere! Unfortunately, Baron was drawing a blank, and for a moment, it seemed that Takua had too, but then the Wavemaster stood, heading out. Baron was directly behind him, wondering if he had caught on to something that the Twin Blade had overlooked. The two moved quickly, and soon arrived at the room formerly marked “Resistant Restroom.” Instead, it was labeled “Helpless Filth.” Baron shuddered at the name, but followed Takua inside.

No, actually. Thinking about it, Baron realized that this “Ondine,” who had taken Takua’s body over for the time being, was a completely different person. He had been following Ondine around instead. Her mannerisms, her words, all of it was different from Takua’s, and it wasn’t right to classify them as the same person. Shaking his head, the Twin Blade went inside behind Ondine, trying to classify her separately from Takua in his mind, difficult as that was.

The room wasn’t terribly different from the other restroom, though this one had several gaping chasms in it. Looking down them, Baron immediately shuddered and backed away, his fear of heights suddenly kicking in. But that wasn’t the only thing that had disturbed him. Within each of the holes were Juka Sprite bodies literally fused to the walls, as if they were a natural part of them. Ta- er, Ondine seemed to ignore that, though, and climbed down, using said bodies as a foothold to search below. Unfortunately he… she slipped and fell, met by a hiss as she hit the DC coals below. Screaming and the smell of burnt flesh caused Baron to gag, but he could see that Ondine would die shortly. Rather than prolong the pain with healing spells, he waited for her to ghost, and then revived her so that she was atop the floor in one piece. Maybe not mentally, but physically, anyway.

Ondine went back to thinking while Baron continued doing the same, running over the rooms in his mind. They had, in essence, searched every room on the floor, with the exception of the door at the very top and the door labeled “RaEx Room.” The two doors had looked pretty solid too, so the chance of breaking them down to see what was inside was out, unless… Pausing, Baron took a moment to consider before sending a quick flashmail to Gyl.

It didn’t take long for a reply to come.

Well, there went another idea. Sighing, Baron followed Ondine as she set off again, wondering what she had planned this time. The Wavemaster (Wavemistress, in this sense?) made her way towards yet another of the opened rooms, labeled HR5. Baron followed behind, and stopped when he saw the torture of the Juka Sprites within. At first glance, the room seemed empty, but looking down, one could see the Sprites holding on to the grating as they hung over the DC coals beneath. Sure, they were dead and it was mostly just their stiff bodies holding the grating, but still, it was brutal, especially when they twitched, like most creatures in the Swath did. Looking around, Baron didn’t see a doll, but as he searched, his mind kept being drawn to the bodies below, a grim conclusion forming in his head as he saw them.

Baron leaned against the wall, his eyes closed as he realized what might have to be done, before speaking softly to Ondine. "...We need to get them to let go."

Ondine blinked at him and then down at the Dread Code rocks below. He was thinking about dropping them? What good would that do?

"Why? Any point in doing so?"

Baron frowned. "Well... this may not be the best logic, and I'm going to probably hate myself later for this, but... well. In most games and such, everything is somewhere for a reason. Why have these bodies clinging to the floor? It's possible, perhaps, that doing so will reveal one of the missing dolls... besides, they're already dead, or if they aren't, they're still suffering, so at least we can destroy the bodies quickly and be done with it, just like when you fell in the Helpless Filth."

She just stared at him for several seconds. He still counted this as a game? There was something seriously backwards in that head of his if he still thought that this was a game of some kind. This was war, and in war things were sometimes there for no reason at all. In real life, things were just there. For comatose people, this was their World.

"I'll do it, but realize this. As long as you're inside of the Eventide Crescendo, this stopped being a game of any kind. You went from a happy game to being in the middle of a war. It might not be in the real world, but for all of those who have been infected by Twilight, this is their world. Granted that the Highers do things in a twisted fashion, but in real life not everything is there for a reason. In any of these fields, not everything is there for a reason. BiVak Don."

Flame fell from the skies, burning through digits and sending the bodies to plunge to the floor, one by one as they were released from their hanging positions. As each of them hit the coals, though, they started convulsing, and then started screaming horribly, making Baron cover his ears in horror for a minute. The screaming continued with no sign of an end, but Ondine did her grim job regardless. When the last of the bodies had fallen, the possessed Wavemaster looked at Baron again, speaking once more. She stared at him for a moment coldly, with a fair amount of malice in her eyes, and spat the words out.

"I was wrong. The reason that these are here is because they would hoping one of us would do this, and one of us would be scarred by that."

She promptly left, storming out of the room.

Baron ran out after Ondine, placing a hand on her- Takua's, actually- shoulder, to stop her from going anywhere. "Wait! I'm... I'm sorry. The way I said that came out wrong. I know it's not just a game anymore, but... I don't know. Haven't you seen how 'conveniently' things have worked out? For example, that though the doors happened to be locked, they also just 'happened' to have these six dolls to possibly open it? It's just too convenient, and that's why I thought of it that way. I'm sorry if I've angered you, but please. We have to keep a cool head about this."

She stopped entirely...and began laughing in the middle of the hallway. She turned slowly and looked at him oddly before calming down, taking a visible gulp to regain her own balance.

"Sure, 'conveniently' is one way to put it. Or we can say that this was the design of someone who wanted us to see everything here. Remember what the man said before we were taken by the Swath? He wished for the darkness in our hearts to grow. He wanted for us to see these things. In the process, as we wriggle around here trying to get out and he laughs, we break and crack. Don't forget what this was originally either. It was a research station, designed to make troops for the Highers. It's meant to be traveled through. The Swath wouldn't like that though, so he sets things up so that we have to go the roundabout way. Along the way, we get horribly scarred. That is the purpose behind each of these rooms."

Baron’s shoulders dropped slightly, but he tried to remain composed as best as he could. He felt like a kid thrust into an adult’s war, with no idea of what was going on or what to do. Still, he wanted to do what he could to help, and as such, he would have to adapt and figure things out. Sighing, the Twin Blade lifted his chin as the two of them moved on to the next room, continuing their search. They ended up at HR7 again, looking at the dead bodies that they had left there before. Baron paused, looking at them, wondering at something. If they couldn’t be burned… were they important otherwise? The Twin Blade conveyed his thoughts to Ondine, who in turn came up with the idea to try to bring them back to life via a Rip Maen spell, though they weren’t ghosted or anything. Still, it was worth a try, though in the end, the spell fizzled out. Groaning at that, Baron tried a Repth next, wondering if perhaps the AIs weren’t really dead. Sadly, it fizzled, just as well, leaving the Twin Blade at a loss for something to do.

Then something clicked, something Baron hadn’t realized before, and he started off towards the Traitor Hallway again, realizing something that hadn’t been immediately obvious before. He practically ran as he made his way back to TR2, running past the chopped-open portal and to the bodies inside. Immediately, he bent down, examining them, and realized that the cuts actually opened up to the inside of the bodies. They weren’t merely “flesh wounds” at all- rather, they were much deeper incisions. Peeling the skin back, one would be able to actually reach inside. Baron, in his eagerness, almost did so, but then he saw the body convulse again and all of his enthusiasm faded as he scrambled backwards, not wanting to touch it. Fortunately, Ondine stepped in, having followed, and was a little bit more sanguine about the whole thing, pulling the wound open. This was repeated for several of the bodies before she finally found something.

Pulling in close, Baron looked and saw a single doll tangled up in the man’s intestines. The features were hard to make out from where he stood, but the Twin Blade knew that it was one of the two missing ones. Ondine reached to pull it out, though she had a good deal of trouble, what with the Juka Sprite thrashing around in pain and gargling incoherently. It was an effect of the Swath, Baron knew, but he still wanted it to stop. Reaching in suddenly, using his blades to cut away the innards holding the doll in place, Baron yanked it free and pulled back, his eyes wide and his hands stained in blood and bodily fluid. However, he was holding the doll that he and Takua had sought after, that was all that mattered.

Taking a look at the doll clutched in his hands, Baron noted that it was a likeness of a nude female with chafe marks on her wrists and ankles. Since the remaining two dolls were Lust and Hate, and the doll looked like anything but hate, the Twin Blade assumed it to be Lust. Rather than hold on to it, though, he tossed it to Ondine and walked out the door, feeling out of sorts as he did so. After the surge of adrenaline from seeing the Juka Sprite screaming, Baron felt drained and wanted to simply lie down. He had to content himself with leaning against the wall outside of the Power Supply room, though, and closing his eyes, resting. It had been a long trip, just for the first floor, and it would only get worse.

((Same as above, except that this is even worse))

She walked out of Voyeur Room B after going on a screen rampage, having done it the same that she had done to Room A. Nothing at all in those rooms, nothing on the monsters in there. She proceeded to check the other monsters in the hallway to see if they had anything on them with no success. Baron seemed more convinced that the mattresses in the rooms might have them, cutting them to pieces and exposing vomit-stained fluff.

The pattern was different than that though. So far, and she had confirmed this after looking into both HR1 and 3, all of the dolls had been found next to dead Juka Sprites. That meant that all of the odd numbers in the Traitor Section were out, as well as the Even numbers in Helpless. Logic then suggested that you would find them in either HR5, HR7, TR2, or TR6. She couldn’t see couldn’t see how you could possibly get a doll out of HR5, and TR6 had turned up nothing at all…although the same had been true, so far, with TR2 and HR7. Perhaps it was hidden in Helpless Filth? A sudden thought struck her, and for several seconds she just wanted to deny doing that. She hadn’t climbed down one of the chasms that was lined with dead Juka Sprites to see if there was anything underneath it. Yet she didn’t particularly want to go back in there…

But she did anyways.

A few minutes later, she was standing at the edge of one of the holes looking down to see if she could spot anything. There were DC lined cracks down there which promised nothing good at all, but she began to carefully try and climb down anyways. Her foot found purchase on the slippery, slime covered flesh of the fused Juka Sprites, and she began to move as carefully as possible…until her hands both slipped at the same time. Without a moment, she was in free fall, eye wide open and cursing as she slipped past all of the Juka Sprites into a wide open cavern that was as large as the room was. For a moment more she continued to fall, until she crashed down onto the coals. The instant that she did so, pain erupted through her body. Heat spread from the inside of her body outwards, cooking her alive, even as she was paralyzed by the rocks beneath her.

It took over a minute for her to burn alive, but at the end of that she finally was freed from the constant suffering to ghost. She flew back up through the chasm to be resurrected by Baron, which he did in fairly short order. Feeling someone sick after dying and having that whole affliction put onto her, she tried to ignore the smell around her and the blood that still stuck to her body. More than that though, her eyes were beginning to glass over, as if she were coming a little dazed. It didn’t take long for her to notice though that the faucets in this room also put out oil, although she put that burning off to a later date. She could go pyromaniac in a bit. Now, however, was not the time.

They moved to HR5, even though she didn’t think that there was anything to actually do there. She avoided stepping on fingers, moving around them as Baron went after the mattresses again. There was nothing really for her to do but stare at the bodies that still hung to the grating for dear life…or perhaps that was for dear death? After all, they didn’t exactly seem alive, muscles locked in place and all as they tried not to fall. She remembered how it felt, and knew that it wouldn’t be a pleasant thing to hit those rocks either. That was when Baron spoke up, his eyes closed as if he didn’t want to bring this up.

"...We need to get them to let go."

Ondine blinked at him and then down at the Dread Code rocks below. He was thinking about dropping them? What good would that do?

"Why? Any point in doing so?"

"Well... this may not be the best logic, and I'm going to probably hate myself later for this, but... well. In most games and such, everything is somewhere for a reason. Why have these bodies clinging to the floor? It's possible, perhaps, that doing so will reveal one of the missing dolls... besides, they're already dead, or if they aren't, they're still suffering, so at least we can destroy the bodies quickly and be done with it, just like when you fell in the Helpless Filth."

She just stared at him for several seconds. He still counted this as a game? There was something seriously backwards in that head of his if he still thought that this was a game of some kind. This was war, and in war things were sometimes there for no reason at all. In real life, things were just there. For comatose people, this was their World.

"I'll do it, but realize this. As long as you're inside of the Eventide Crescendo, this stopped being a game of any kind. You went from a happy game to being in the middle of a war. It might not be in the real world, but for all of those who have been infected by Twilight, this is their world. Granted that the Highers do things in a twisted fashion, but in real life not everything is there for a reason. In any of these fields, not everything is there for a reason. BiVak Don."

She cast the spell again and again, always targeting the fingers that clung to the metal grates. Each Juka Sprite fell down finally at the end onto the coals…and then all of them began to writhe and scream in agony. It went on and on, constant convusions as all six of them as the shrieked. After several moments as she stared blankly at the ground where they were…she looked up at him for a moment coldly, with a fair amount of malice in her eyes, and spat the words out.

"I was wrong. The reason that these are here is because they would hoping one of us would do this, and one of us would be scarred by that."

She couldn’t help herself now. No doll. The screaming was resounding in the air around her, reminding her that she had done that. Oh yeah, she felt great. In another moment, she was out of the room, walking as quickly as she could away before Baron caught up with her.

"Wait! I'm... I'm sorry. The way I said that came out wrong. I know it's not just a game anymore, but... I don't know. Haven't you seen how 'conveniently' things have worked out? For example, that though the doors happened to be locked, they also just 'happened' to have these six dolls to possibly open it? It's just too convenient, and that's why I thought of it that way. I'm sorry if I've angered you, but please. We have to keep a cool head about this."

She stopped entirely...and began laughing in the middle of the hallway. She turned slowly and looked at him oddly before calming down, taking a visible gulp to regain her own balance. Okay, so maybe it would be better if Tak was here. He actually might be able to handle this better than she was because he’d been through it before and possibly knew how to deal with it. One thing was for sure, she didn’t really know how.

"Sure, 'conveniently' is one way to put it. Or we can say that this was the design of someone who wanted us to see everything here. Remember what the man said before we were taken by the Swath? He wished for the darkness in our hearts to grow. He wanted for us to see these things. In the process, as we wriggle around here trying to get out and he laughs, we break and crack. Don't forget what this was originally either. It was a research station, designed to make troops for the Highers. It's meant to be traveled through. The Swath wouldn't like that though, so he sets things up so that we have to go the roundabout way. Along the way, we get horribly scarred. That is the purpose behind each of these rooms."

She calmed down with that out of her system though. She sighed as they went back to HR7, and she began to feel around. The large cuts into the necks made her worried that perhaps they had shoved something into their stomachs, maybe the neck itself, or perhaps even the head. To that end, she felt around the stomachs to see if anything had been hidden there. It was only when she had gotten down to it and everything was quiet that she heard them. Six screaming voices that sounded in her head, shrieking and wailing of pain and suffering as she turned…and they abruptly vanished when her robe made noise with the floor. Son of a bitch. Did they mean to haunt her for what she did? Oh wow, she was not happy right now. She went back to her work, noting that they only appeared when she wasn’t making any noise at all. Thus, she made noise while searching to preculde that. However, she found nothing at all. Disappointed and not prepared to go after their necks and heads just yet, she followed Baron out when he went back to TR2.

There he seemed rather interested in some stomach wounds that the Wavemaster simply hadn’t seen before. She blinked, and then her eyes sharpened as she hissed. Of course they would hide them in there. When Baron didn’t seem up for the task, given that they started to moan on the ground when he tried to pry them open, Ondine took over. Ripping open their bodies produced gurgled screaming, but it was screaming nontheless. There was nothing as well, just bodies that flailed and tried to get out of her grasp, until the second to last one. They were so lifelike, even though she knew they were dead, or at least only animated by the Swath. That was the only reason she was able to keep herself safe at the moment, because they were truly dead. These weren’t the actual Juka Sprites.

In the intestines of the fifth one, she caught sight of a doll. She was trying to fish it out but having little success when Baron’s hands and blades darted in to cut away the flesh surrounding the doll. She grimaced, but it came away at last. There was very little doubt in her mind when Baron tossed it over to her that this was the Lust doll…although it was a little twisted that way. Shrugging to herself but truly glad to get out of the room, she left and walked into Power Supply to hook it up to Lust. Some difference though, she thought to herself grimly. This was…well, she didn’t like it at all in any of the rooms that they had been in so far, and she didn’t think that she was going to like any of the rest of them.

The only room that she hadn’t really fully explored was still HR7, so she went back there. All of the bodies were laid out on the ground before her glazed eyes, bloody hair still matted to her body and the smell of burned flesh clinging to her like a hated lover. How she just wished that they could both be gone. After several minutes of trying various options, there were two things that she could do. There was a possibility that it was actually somewhere in the head of the Sprite, or it was in the neck.

She couldn’t really explain later why she had done it, but her staff swung down upon the head anyways. With a sharp crack it gave way to the staff, staining it with brains and other fluids as she moved on to the next one. They were dead, she told herself over and over again as she swung the staff down to reveal nothing more than messy brains again and again. Finally, she stood among the carnage breathing heavily, trying to hold herself back at this moment. She had just crushed skulls of the deceased in order to find a single fucking doll, and hadn’t found it yet. Defiling of the dead had not only taken place, but it had been brutal. She shrank to the ground as she sent out a small flashmail to Zan asking him to come to HR7. Takua, she knew, was suffering for that. The white world that he was in had just gained even more cracks as she had done that, even more as the smell had permeated through her deadened senses.

She just wanted this to be over.

But that wasn’t to be, as Zan arrived quickly. The Heavy Blade was sweating profusely, she realized oddly. Again, she couldn’t blame him for doing so. She was beginning to wish that Takua could just heal already so that she could get him back in the seat that he belonged in.

"Yeah? W...Wh...What did you need?"

She sighed, but pointed at the Juka Sprites on the ground. She was suddenly aware that he’d be right next to her handiwork, but that couldn’t be helped now could it. Her voice broke once, but it still managed to get her question out.

“If you would sl-slice into the throats here, so that I can see if there’s anything inside of the esophogus, that would be most appreciated.”

It was only the second one that they struck gold. The final doll, oddly feeling incredibly human and realistic as if it had been made of flesh, was in there. As she took it out of the throat though, she realized that had bruises all over and it felt like every bone had been snapped in its body. She realized, as she thanked Zan and walked down to Power Supply, that this had to be Wrath. The other would be Hate, and the rest fell into place nicely. Redistributing Hate to its proper position, she hooked up the Wrath doll and walked over to the lever before flipping it.

This time, things were considerably different. All of the dolls started to convulse like they were alive before they began to disolve into a stream of red particles that coalsced in front of his eyes. It was simple, as if he had just been dropped into the real world and grabbed a it himself. A key on a keyring…with the lable RaEx 1 on it. She reached out her hand and took a hold of it, satisfied that this was done and that they had completed this section. Next would be the horrors of whatever was inside of RaEx 1, although she didn’t think that they would all like it; it would likely give them passage out of the Swath on this floor. Or perhaps it would simply let the continue. Either one would be satisfactory at this point.

However, she had another stop to make even as she sent out a very simple flashmail.

She ducked into Helpless Filth for a moment, casually turning on all of the faucets before casting a Vak Kruz on the oil again. She walked out of that room and shut the door even as it was engulfed in burning oil, moving towards where everyone else awaited. If they looked closely, they would see the blood that still stained her from the Traitor Restroom and Slave Nutrition, could smell the charred flesh scent that still clung to her like tar. But the true telling sign was in her eyes and how she walked. They were glassy as if she weren’t even there, even though she obviously was. No, those told of the horror that she was still trying to get over, even as the footsteps that she was making covered the screams coming from HR5. She got to the doorway and waited for everyone to arrive that was not there before sticking the key in the lock. She barely wasted a second to cast a La Repth on anyone who needed it before turning it in the lock.

-GM-

Sidhe felt...inadequate. Because of the weight he bared, the unconscious woman strung along his back, and his refusal up to that point to take a rest, the Long Arm could hardly trudge a few feet. The thought of wading his way through whatever atrocities awaited the team made his muscles cry in protest. If not for some of the higher level characters like Zan, Sekai and the bitchy counterpart to himself, the co-leader of the Eventide Crescendo would have ignored his body's whining and persisted on through the madness that had swallowed them. As it stood, he finally allowed his wall to start to crumble. The sapphire-hued player only had one remaining objection to the thought, but a look to the woman that had kept by him for the last handful of time's sand earned him a nod. Alana would watch over him and Nemera. Sidhe was too tired to contemplate all the fears and the doubts the party had for the Archer. Should she take advantage and ghost them, or do some other vile act, he would make sure she regretted the day she ever laid a hand on the Heavy Blade he protected. Until then...fuck, he was too tired to be paranoid. Detaching the snowy-haired female from his back, laying her on the only semi-clean looking spot on the hall floor they had made the Swath transition in, the man slumped against the wall and let his eyes slide closed. It didn't take long. Sleep welcomed him with open arms and nestled him against its bosom. Just a few minutes, that'd be all he needed...

Fever dreams swallowed him whole like the gaping maw of some terrible beast. Thoughts were muddled with irrational fear and anxiety, every shadow of his delusional, crimson-hued nightmare grinning at him with ruby eyes and jagged black teeth. They became his party members edging towards him; hungry. He couldn't move. Nemera was too heavy. Dead weight. She was dead. The panicking Long Arm tried to remove her from his neck, but her body only seemed to grip him tighter for it. He sobbed. Things blurred, ran together like a fresh painting splashed with dirty water. Vertigo clawed at his stomach with no remorse, no mercy. Even as Sidhe ran from it, every choice was the wrong one. Every hall and every corner would only lead him deeper into the bowels of the Swath. Creatures that shouldn't be grabbed at him, dragged him under and into the sea of bodies and pitch that was suddenly beneath him. He tried to speak, but their fingers only invaded his mouth, prying his jaw to the point of breaking. And still he sunk lower. Lower. His eyes were gouged and pulped, the sockets scraped and broken. The player's flesh was peeled from his form like wet paper. Pain walked hand in gleeful hand with terror and vomit threatened to meet the challenge. Even that, however, was too much effort. All he had left in him was screaming, endless screaming, but no one would hear him. Sidhe would die here in this horrible place and no one would ever know. He'd live a life amongst the dead and dying.

"Sidhe! Wake up! Wake up!" Alana, her remaining hand practically breaking his rib cage with the strength put behind her shoves, hovered above him. Worry creased her brow. The look only mildly seemed to decrease when his blue eyes finally opened. "We're moving on. Are you alright? You started to sound like you were choking. And...then there's the whole sweating thing."

Blinking groggily - how long had it been? - down at himself, the Long Arm was rather surprised at the depth of his profuse perspiration. Though the rest had been filthy with chaos, he couldn't deny that he felt substantially better. Physically, anyway. Psychologically...it was too soon to tell. Sidhe felt almost like he was in shock. Rising to his feet, Nemera was slung back to her original position, arms fusing at the edges. The Heavy Blade felt lighter. Offering Alana a sleepy thanks and a half smile, the man took a moment to compose himself in the solitude of the small antechamber before pushing out into the collective. Takua had already started to turn the knob, but when the door clicked open, it was Sidhe who took point. He had already indulged his backseat behavior long enough. It was time again to show the Eventides that he was still somebody worth following. God, he missed Nemera. Though they were of technically of the same standing within the rag-tag clan, she was always better at keeping the group motivated and united. Sidhe had been there to provide some support. He had been the guy to fall back on when she was too busy. Now that he was the only one available, however, the player found the level of responsibility not to be not to his liking. It made him want to fidget and squirm until the feeling of a dozen eyes burning holes in the back of his neck finally ceased. How none of them had seen right through him yet, seen this insecurity, the Long Arm would never know. Hopefully, though, it kept up. Without someone to be behind, a group seemed quick to fall to pieces in the kind of situation they currently slunk through.

Finally opening the door after what had to have been a bit of an awkward pause, Sidhe took the first few steps forward, leaving enough space for his companions to fan out around him. It was a fairly sizable room, no doubt. It wasn't much larger or much smaller than the biggest one they had come across yet - the Power Supply. Unlike that one, however, 'RaEx 1' was decidedly circular. Though there was little doubt that it had a drastically different appearance in the 'real' version of the dungeon, its floors were of the same pitch grate material that had made up all of the Helpless zones. Coal burned, too, with Dread Code splits below them, but the severity of the cracks was much worse. The sickness that often came with such a concentration for those in a coma, though it would not find those Immersed, made itself known like a bad memory. The Long Arm's blood felt sluggish, his thoughts bogged down with disorientation. He could still move, still think, still operate, but it was with no small handicap. Sidhe wiped at the fresh layer of sweat upon his face and continued his visual trip about the room, trying to ignore the almost steady haze of ash floating up from twenty or thirty feet down. A cough wracked the player as he noted the black, wrought iron walls covered in a graffiti of gibberish words and infernal symbols that glowed with a red-orange light. No doubt why that was.

Because the ceiling matched the walls in material make up, only the lettering and the coals below offered light. It was far from dark, but the hue mixed with the natural crimson tint in the Swath and created an ambiance that couldn't be ignored. Not by Sidhe. At the center of the room, the last thing to be spotted by the co-leader (though it most certainly should have been the first) was a raised section of iron flooring upon which two things stood. At this section's front, closest to Sidhe, was a dirty plaque set upon a tall pedestal. At its middle was an unlabeled key and around it, spiraled in a Dread Code pulsing alphabet, was a simple phrase that repeated and literally spun like some hypnotic device. It read only: "The first child of an army, created in the suffering of two to make a juggernaut as one." The actual approach to decipher the simple message was a slow one on the Long Arm's behalf. After all, the creature that slumped idly behind it wasn't the kind that Sidhe wanted to disturb. It was pretty clear to him what would happen the moment the key was removed, so he allowed himself a lull of observation. Created from two Juka Sprites (such was obvious from the occasional, unique patch of moddled green on their skin), one male and one female, it was bound in leather so dark green it was almost black. Most of the woman seemed to be fused onto the male's back, her legs tipped with thick black points.

While her arms jutted out the male's forehead, tied together with palms flexed out, the male's arms were thick and almost battering-ram-like. No doubt the things could deliver some serious punishment. Sidhe winced at the thought. Both of their eyes seemed blocked off by the straps, but their expressions were clearly different. The man's was stoic and indifferent, but the woman's seemed frozen in a wide-mouthed call of fear. Occasionally it would move, or twitch - which would elicit a mild jump from a few Eventides, Sidhe included - but it seemed harmless. With a weird kind of confidence, the Rue-loving Long Arm was pretty sure it would be as helpless and malicious as a puppy until the key was removed. It was for that reason that he found his cool blue eyes lingering upon the surface of the embedded object, pondering leaving. Giving up. Packing it up and going home. If they didn't find a cure for Nemera soon, Sidhe wasn't sure he could even make it the rest of the dungeon. Alana had promised them a cure, somewhere, but how long off was that? Was she even telling the truth? His battle-calloused digits paused above it. For a moment, he actually believed he'd have the balls to tell them all to go screw themselves, that he was getting out of Dodge and anyone smart would do the same, but the moment was quick to pass. A deep breath crawled through his lungs and wheezed through his body, making him cough on the ash and the vague taste of blood once again. He took the key. In the process of putting it in his inventory, Sidhe almost missed the sight of one of the oversized limbs cracking across his face with a meaty thud and a hovered DEATH above him. The world spun as he did, stopping only when the walls and the meshed floor broke his fall.

The Long Arm coughed again, but this time blood spattered down and sizzled along the cooking coal. The monster rushed him and some number of ribs were bruised or broken, but Sidhe did as Nemera would.

Screaming out some incoherent battle cry, he charged.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

((OOC:

Name: Parvumeus
Level: ??
Element: Juk
Description: See post or picture.
Spells: Juk Rom, Juk Zot, Juk Kruz, MeJuk Kruz. Cast from weaving female hands.
Stats: As could be expected, Parvumeus is very physically strong. Every hit he does has the Death Added Effect and, once you're below 100 Hit Points, it'll kill you outright. Any attacks made the flailing female legs, with their pointed ends (which will start to drip with a sickly green/black liquid once the key is removed), will end in a moderate amount of damage, but will also be coupled with Poison that will activate at about a 40% chance rate. Its Physical Defense is exceptional. Its Magical Defense is average. Its magical strength is almost as impressive as its physical. It's a little on the slow side, though it's always charging and the limited size of the room makes the fact almost pointless to mention.
Abilities:
-Allure: Coming into even the briefest contact with any of the obvious female protrusions (face, chest, and any part of the legs but the stabbing feet), with the exception of the hands, will Charm you. Always.
-Adore: When they aren't busy casting magic, the hands will grab at the nearest enemy if given the chance (otherwise waving around in the in-betweens like Cthulu's face) and immediately Paralyze them and inflict them with a Dek Vorv and Dek Vorma. The male part of the creature will then take this time, if it’s convenient, to bat around the disabled opponent while the hands toss out higher leveled spells at them. Being touched by the hands, because of all this, is most likely a death sentence.

Any questions? PM or IM me, as always.

Enjoy!

:OOC))

Baron sighed, gripping at his head, trying to make the images that he had seen so far go away. Blood dripped at the edge of his mental vision, screams echoed in the vault of his mind. Faces, twitching, shuddering, all twisted in agony, jumped in and out of his focus. Wounds, blood, cuts gaping and releasing entrails, gore everywhere, all of it kept popping into his mind, one at a time, and the Twin Blade could have sworn that he was going to go insane from the visions of twisted corruption that had created the dungeon around him. Baron wanted nothing more than to drive the thoughts from his mind, to leave the dungeon once more. But he knew that he’d never forget the horrors he had seen… or those he had committed. Sure, he hadn’t dropped the bodies in HR5, but it was his fault that they were dropped. Sure, he didn’t make the gaping wounds on the corpses in TR2, but he made the pain much worse and sawed through flesh he could feel. Guilt and shame, shame for his cruel, weak ways and his inability to think of a better solution, rushed through his mind and body, twisting at his insides like a burning knife.

A rustle of robes broke Baron’s thoughts away as he looked up to see Ondine ducking into the Power Supply room again, another doll tucked in her hands. This one was covered in bruises, and several parts of its body were slightly twisted, like the bones were snapped. For a brief moment, Baron wondered which of the six horridly sinful traits it represented as based on the words in the Power Supply Room. Lust, Hate, Wrath, Atrocity, Murder, and Despair- all of those were represented in the evil and twisted dolls that had been cruelly hidden to torment the Eventides as they searched for them, to solve some riddle and move on with the dungeon. However, the question of “why?” kept echoing in his mind over and over. It made no sense, until he considered what Ondine had told him earlier.

“…Or we can say that this was the design of someone who wanted us to see everything here. Remember what the man said before we were taken by the Swath? He wished for the darkness in our hearts to grow. He wanted for us to see these things. In the process, as we wriggle around here trying to get out and he laughs, we break and crack…”

It was a horrible way of thinking, gloomy and morbid, but Ondine had a very strong point there. The Swath was intentionally leading them around the dungeon, treating them to the various atrocities committed throughout the dungeon. The room with the bodies clinging to the floor, holding on with a death grip lest they fall to the Dread-code filled coals below, to burn and suffer for an unknown eternity, or the room with male Sprites impaled all the way through their bodies, the pikes emerging from their open mouths- all of those were just the first floor’s examples of horror. The worst was yet to come, and Baron knew it, for two reasons- first of all, it was only the beginning, and it always got worse. Second (and this was surely the more chilling reason), Baron had yet to see the females or the children of the Juka Sprites among the various tortured souls. That meant they were likely held further down… and they were part of their own atrocities. The Twin Blade shuddered, thinking of what could happen.

Fortunately, he didn’t have much opportunity to dwell on his morbid imagination, as Ondine came out of the Power Supply again, a new item clasped in her hand. A key on a ring hung from between her fingers, and as Baron saw it, his jaw almost dropped. Where had Ondine found the key? Had it been in the Power Supply room the whole time, somehow overlooked? No, it had to do with the dolls and the labels in the walls at the back. Likely the six had been used to reveal the key, and Ondine had managed to get it. Standing from his place against the wall, Baron got to his feet, feeling his stiff legs protest lightly after their short rest. He felt a bit more rested, of course, his muscles a little less tired, so it was worth it. Pushing himself up, the Twin Blade turned and followed Ondine, and the two made their way towards the northern end of the floor, stopping only partway to ignite the Helpless Filth room, for some unknown reason. Baron kept silent, averting his eyes and trying to ignore the stench of flesh roasting in the next room. Fortunately, they moved on quickly, and soon stood before the room marked RaEx 1.

Baron paused, watching a La Repth wash over him and heal the remaining physical wounds on his body as Ondine cast the spell, preparing the now reassembled party for whatever could be inside. The Twin Blade didn’t blame her, and started preparing the others as well. A pair of Ap Corv spells for Zan and Sidhe, a pair of Ap Corma spells for himself and Ondine, as well as an Ap Vorv for the Wavemaster and Sekai. A last-second thought sent an Ap Torv at Talal. The process drained about three-fourths of his SP, but Baron believed it was worth being somewhat ready for anything that the dungeon could throw at them. Once they were all ready, Ondine twisted the hand holding the key to the keyhole, unlocking the door and throwing it open.

Sidhe took point as the door was thrown open, asserting himself as a leader though weariness was evident on his face. Not just physical weariness, though- worry, concern, and the burden of leadership weighed heavily on the Long Arm. Still, he tried his hardest to remain moving forward, and indeed, he led the others into the room, still holding Nemera on his back, and made space for the others to come in behind him. Baron prepared himself in terms of equipment, switching his gear around to give him the most magical strength that he could get. The Twin Blade was still unsure of his skill with his weaponry, and though he had gotten used to his new body, and had become acclimated to movement, fighting with weapons was still outside of his knowledge for the time being. Letting his wings settle out on his back, he calmly, slowly, followed behind Sidhe.

The room itself was circular, almost as large as the Power Supply Room, if not bigger, though it was somewhat empty, considering how well it had been hidden away. Only two major features drew Baron’s attention, though they were fairly significant. The first was a tall pedestal with a plaque on it. The plaque held a single key, one that was surrounded by floating letters, briefly reminding the Twin Blade of the lighthouse back in the field, with the words spiraling around the place where the Ganz Orb had been hidden. Likely, the words pertained to something important as well. Baron moved up behind Sidhe as the Long Arm went to grab the key, reading the words over the leader’s shoulder.

“The first child of an army, created in the suffering of two to make a juggernaut as one.”

Baron looked up as he read it, focusing on the other object behind the pedestal, seeing it much more clearly. A gigantic, once-humanoid figure stood as a silent sentinel, one that looked as if it had been made from two Juka Sprites melded together, looking like something from the Helpless Filth room, with the Sprites who had been fused to the walls down in the miniature chasms. Only this time, the first female Juka Sprite that Baron had seen throughout the entire dungeon was evident. Both had eyes wrapped in straps, but the female’s face was contorted in fear. Nail-tipped hands emerged from the male’s forehead, bound together by a strap similar to the ones binding the monster’s eyes. The woman’s feet also emerged from the male’s back, ending in sharp points instead of feet. The man’s arms were no longer that- instead, it looked like someone had attached a pair of massive clubs in their place. Indeed, truly a ferocious monster, and clearly the one described by the words around the key. It didn’t seem to be moving, but that wouldn’t last long.

Indeed, as soon as Sidhe reached out to grab the key, Baron saw the juggernaut, suddenly tagged as Parvumeus, start to move. A single massive arm lifted up, heading down to smash into Sidhe. The Twin Blade didn’t have time to warn his leader, instead pulling out his wings and leapt up, flying back to avoid the strike. Sidhe went flying across the room, hitting the grated floor even as he started coughing up blood. Baron, on the other hand, stayed out of reach for the time being, instead watching the scene below even as he began planning on his own attack, particularly cautious. After all, he could feel pain now- one blow would probably leave him in so much agony that he would lose his will to fight.

Before starting anything, though, Baron reached into his inventory, delving for the scrolls buried within it, ones he had brought just for powerful creatures like the one below him. Finally finding the one he wanted, the Twin Blade pulled a Beast’s Bane from his pouch, unrolling it and letting the scroll activate, immediately sending a Dek Vorma spell at the Parvumeus, letting the M-DEF Down effect settle in. Once it was set, Baron grinned, pulling another pair of scrolls from his inventory, holding them at ready. He was about to unroll the first of them, an earthen-brown one whose seal was that of a mountain crag, when he suddenly felt an odd surge around him. Blinking once, he saw the branches of a Juk Kruz spell form around him, and his eyes widened in true fear as they started to converge. Closing his eyes, shielding his head with his arms, he awaited the pain.

The branches and brambles tore at his arms and back, pain lancing through the Twin Blade’s body in bursts, like he had been poked with a hundred needles, only worse. It wasn’t as unbearable as expected, being a level one spell, but it still hurt, causing Baron to whimper once at unfamiliar pain, an injury he had never experienced in his life. However, though it hurt, he fought off the wounds, trying to ignore the burning in his skin as blood ran from one or two scrapes and cuts. But the injury served one other purpose- it was the last straw. Baron’s eyes narrowed in anger as he saw the monster that had attacked him, and he unrolled the scrolls in his hands simultaneously, the two glowing with an earthen glow that filled his hands. He was sick of being hurt, of being afraid, of being threatened.

Simply put, he snapped.

“Die.”

A pair of spells went off at once, coming from different directions. A Gan Zot rose from the first scroll, the earth forming from an unknown source on the metal grating as it formed a large pillar to strike at the male half of the Parvumeus. At the exact same moment, a large boulder formed similarly above the female part’s head, falling in an attempt to smash several dozen pounds of solid rock on the monster. From there, Baron fell back again, scrolling through his list of spells and scrolls, waiting for his next move. Depending on how the others acted, he could stick back and actually use his SP-based spells, where necessary, or he could stick to healing. All he knew was that he couldn’t afford to get up close, in the event that one of those massive arms came up to meet him. Still, he couldn’t remain at a distance fore-

Watch yourself!

Baron caught Libra’s warning just as the Juk Kruz spell formed around him, the branches and thorns from before appearing in midair. Rather than flinch like before, the Twin Blade simply tucked his wings in, falling backwards before diving straight down, gravity kicking in and dragging him downward. The white feathers fluttered around him as he dove beneath the spell, before spreading again to stop his fall. However, he found himself caught as a pair of trees shot up beneath him, one striking his shoulder and the other hitting him square in the middle of the back. Gasping out in pain, unable to make any more noise than that from the pain of the injury, and was sent spinning, bouncing off of the floor as he hit the ground. His eyes were clenched tight in agony as he mumbled a pair of hurried Repth spells, letting his health regenerate even as broken ribs and torn muscles knitted together. Getting to his feet, Baron stumbled backwards, staying away from the battle as he tried to recuperate, his body still aching from bruises all over.

And the worst part? The battle had only just begun.

“Why aren't you trying to sleep?”

Her voice was lowered, though there was still a bit of the sharp edge to her tone as she continued her watch for anyone- be it team member or enemy alike- to show up with a signal that it was time to get moving. An unspoken 'this would be a good time to rest' lay hidden in the inquiry while amber eyes flickered from one side of the hall to the other.

Sekai shifted a little, easing the weight off one side of her hip so it wouldn't stiffen up and leaned back, head against Kira's chest as she watched the woman's eyes shift in their ever-watchful manner. It was silly but, there was just something so... fascinating about the way the icy woman did things that the small girl couldn't seem to help but watch. Must be what people meant when they said a person just attracted attention by, well, living. Or something silly like that, she thought to herself with a bit of private amusement before finally answering the question posed to her.

“I don't think it would be a very good idea to close one's eyes while the Swath is active.”

A sharp glance down at the girl with hawk-like eyes narrowing at her was the response she got, and while she knew the question about to be asked, Sekai silently kicked herself for being rude and pushed herself to her feet, brushing off her clothing and- tucking a bothersome tendril of white hair behind her ear- offering a hand to assist Kira off the floor.

“We should go and catch up with the others, that way we're not left behind.”

They came near the end of the gathering, Sekai's eyes immediately looking to Sidhe, noting that he looked... slightly like he'd caught a break- his hair was all mussed and darkened with sweat but, his color looked a little better and the way he carried himself- and Nemera-san- didn't seem to be as... downtrodden and weary, like every step had been a conscious effort to make. The majority of her was relieved that he'd managed to get a little time for himself to close his eyes and rest. But, there was the small part of her that was rather frustrated with the temporary leader of the Eventide Crescendo for choosing to suck up his pride and sleep in a place that begged for such vulnerability.

'Sidhe-san... you may have gotten less... troubled sleep had you only rested when I approached before.'

The tiny Archer thought with a mix of sadness and reproach in her expression as she followed his movements with her eyes as he took the lead once more. One should count their blessings in the long run, Sekai thought with a shake of her head and straightened herself out with a curious frown to the little sign at the side of the door.

'RaEx 1? Ra... Ex...'

She frowned, something telling her that she should know what this meant and froze, digging through the files she'd taken and had placed in her inventory to hold on to for later and felt herself pale. 'RaEx 1' meant... there was no other possibility; it had to mean 'Rapture Experiment 1'. They were going to fight the first- surely that's why the number '1' was there- of the Juka Sprites who'd been taken for experimentation and it'd be unavoidable that those poor Sprites would be killed so that they could continue on.

Through the door and one step into the room meant a different sort of Hell for those within the coma, sickness came in a blinding wave of thick heat that seemed to suck the life and energy directly out of them. Left behind was nothing but sickness; a disorientation and unsteadiness that she couldn't shake off accompanied by a nausea she'd not felt since her kidney had failed on her back when she'd been in the field with Ko and Raquar with the others.

A ghost-like ache- dull and throbbing with heat- seemed to echo a reminder she couldn't ignore of that time either; like her thinking of the incident had summoned the memory of pain to manifest. A small, gloved hand reached carefully back and rested with a ginger, careful pressure against the spot where her kidney had been and winced a little when- was it just her imagination?- it seemed to sting at the slightest amount of weight against it.

No, she would never forget for as long as she lived.

And then Sidhe ripped something off of a pedestal that lie in front of... something she didn't even want to recognize as Juka Sprites; so horribly twisted and mutated were they that she just wanted to weep in sorrow and anger for them both. Especially the perverse way they'd been melded together, like, like someone had been far too fond of bondage to even begin to see how wrong it'd been to bind them like that in leather. Her eyes drifted back to Sidhe for a moment before snapping back to the monstrosity created by her own people from the race of another and froze, mouth opening to try and get something- anything out of her mouth before it was too late as it started moving while Sidhe-san was distracted.

Sekai couldn't even manage to find the voice to scream out with, watching as one of those swollen, mutated clubs of flesh swung with horrifying accuracy and connected with the side of Sidhe's head and face to send him spinning with a sickening speed into the wall and crashing to the floor.

Nemera took the brunt of the wall hit, the small girl managing a sound lost in the echoing of metal in the air that sounded an awful lot like the Heavyblade's name as she struggled to get around the crowd, to make her way over to Sidhe and Nemera's side with an intensity that betrayed how terrible all that Dread Code was making her feel. Just as she'd managed to get through, calling Sidhe's name out in desperation, the blue clad Long Arm- a human, male twin of her beloved Kira's favored element- did the worst thing he could possibly have thought of when he'd pushed himself to his feet.

He snarled out a war cry and charged.

“No!”

Sekai screamed, putting on a burst of speed as no other thought but to prevent Sidhe from getting himself- and Nemera-san, for he'd never forgive himself if something happened to her when he'd apparently lost control in his fury- hurt, or worse; killed in battle raced through her mind and sent adrenaline pumping through her veins. He wouldn't respond when she called his name out a second time and the only thing she could think of to do was, well, to stop him physically.

Darting into his path, Sekai gritted her teeth and charged him, praying that she'd be able to avoid that spear of his and dropped her left shoulder down a bit, feeling the rounded curve of bone strike something- dear God were all men supposed to have stomachs like that?- rather resistant and felt pain lance through her, the bone and joint wrenched as, one moment, she could see Sidhe-san's form and the next, well, she was staring at the ashes and coals of a black metal mesh floor.

'Where did he... go?'

Blinking rapidly and wincing as she gripped her throbbing shoulder, Sekai's hair whipped about her face as she turned around, looking for where the sapphire haired Long Arm had gone with an expression that clearly held more than a few similarities to the man lying dazed and confused on his side. Hopefully, Nemera-san hadn't been caught in that fall or she'd have to confess that some of those pains were her fault when the woman woke up.

And now to, well, step clearly out of her place and do something she'd never done before in her life but had seen Kira, Nii-san and Zan do several times before; she was going to chew someone out for doing something she saw as a very stupid move.

"Please forgive me for stepping out of line."

Formalities seemingly done and over with, the little Archer grimaced and rubbed her shoulder where she'd hit his stomach, looking quickly behind to her check on where their enemy was before turning a rather intensely serious and stern- for her anyways- scowl on to Sidhe. Better to let her displeasure be known and, hopefully, it'd be shocking enough coming from her lips that it'd slap that good, strong common sense she knew he had back into his brain.

"I'm almost glad Nemera-san is unconscious so that she couldn't feel that landing; please, if you're going to attack? Leave Nemera-san with myself or Alana-san to guard before you charge like that again."

Her expression softened a bit after she'd gotten the irritation out of her voice, her hand outstretched as she spoke again.

"I'm sorry, that hurt- in more ways than one- I should think. Ola Repth."

A wonderful sense of emptying suddenly rushed out of her, like the magic had been agitated by the DC running chaotically amok in the room and was glad to be out, as a blue-green light settled over the two warriors, healing the injuries as much as a restored four hundred in health would manage to help out and stepped back and away- just in case she was gonna get smacked.

"I..."

He didn't seem to be too, err, 'with it', as the girls in her class would have said, concern in her eyes as she prepared a second healing spell, maybe there'd been a concussion or something else that was muddling his senses? Less than a few seconds later and Sekai suddenly found herself with a rather heavy armful of Nemera shoved into her body and orders- blunt and direct as ever as a haze seemed to creep over Sidhe's eyes once again and his grip on his weapon shifted again, tightening in a very similar manner to when Kira was furious and ready to launch her spear through someone... or something.

"Give her to Alana. She can't get too close with one arm."

'I really doubt she's useless in battle with only one arm... and she appears to be the type who'd be rather offended if she heard you say that, Sidhe-san.'

Kira didn't know what the fuck she wanted to do as she watched the entire charade unfold in front of her shocked eyes. A good portion of her had every intent of storming over there and throttling the younger, smaller girl until those wide eyes rolled right out of her unthinking little skull while another part of her was rather impressed by the aggressive show of action taken by her timid little Archer.

The rest of her was trying to convince her that dropping on to her back, kicking her feet in the air like a child and laughing hysterically at the sight of the six foot plus 'all so serious' Long Arm who shared her element being hit in the gut and flipped right over the girl's shoulder- he'd spun Merrows thrice dammit! spun!- and hitting the ground with what was probably the best 'what the fuck was that?' look on his face.

Quickly jogging over to assist the struggling girl with the taller woman's weight, the female Long Arm gave her little one a sly smile, eyes dancing as she was unable to resist commenting on the situation.

I think I'm going to get jealous, look at that, another woman's all over you and you're flirting with another Long Arm.

The look Sekai gave her could have killed another person, if, well, her little one's glares were actually effective and not just entertaining as hell.

Fuming and somewhat sulking- with a bit of a wince when she pulled too much of her half of Nemera's armor clad form on her bruised and strained shoulder- Sekai stubbornly raised her chin in an all too familiar manner and kept heading towards Alana's pensive looking form tucked as far away as she could possibly get from the mutated experiment looking for its next target.

'I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. And, might I add, that it's just wrong for a human being to have a stomach that feels like a brick wall when hit!'

Kira choked, turning her stumble into a series of coughs that had absolutely nothing to do with the amount of DC and everything to do with the look of promised retribution and annoyance that seemed stamped upon the small girl's face as the little Archer turned to Alana and bit her lip, trying to address her as politely as possible.

"Alana-san, I was asked to leave Nemera-san in your care for this battle, will you protect her?"

"What?"

Sekai's eyes narrowed as she repeated her question a second time, tawny eyes on the woman's anxiety ridden face, searching to see what was fake and what was truly genuine. There was no mistake in the snowy haired Archer's mind; Alana definitely wasn't giving them all the information she had- information that they likely needed in more than one way to both survive this field and get through it faster.

And that didn't settle well with the young high school girl in the least.

"Sorry. Yes, of course."

'You wear a mask like everyone else I know who has something to hide does; I wouldn't be able to recognize it if I weren't so intimate with a mask or two of my own.'

Nemera taken care of- supposedly- while Alana's eyes returned to battle after the woman had been placed into her care, Sekai trotted away with Kira loping easily beside her, an inquiry out loud about a battle plan sent the small girl's gaze towards the AI's own as a considering look came on to her face, a flash of her eyes back towards where Alana and Nemera were before her head turned to where the battle was being waged.

'We need something, a strategy of some sort that will both help in the fight against... the mutated Juka Sprites,'

Kira found her respect for the girl go up a notch or two at the blatant refusal the girl showed when it came to addressing their enemy as a 'monster'; she called the melded thing what they had been. If it was mercy or something else, the former High Priestess didn't know but could respect anyways. Referring to what they'd been in better days rather than what her own people had turned them into was a coping mechanism, a way of remembering that she hadn't thought the girl would do.

'But keep Alana-san and Nemera-san safe from harm as well. Even though I think Alana-san would fight if pressed, I doubt she is without her, um, hidden ace in the sleeve, as they would say, I want to keep her focused as much as possible on keeping Nemera-san away from any more harm.'

An idea struck the girl, a crude, basic one but, a strategy nonetheless as she searched for the other fighters. Zan was already up there, Sidhe-san as well along with- shoot!

'Baron-san!'

Her eyes darkened in concern, knowing that the others could use healing and used Zan as a focal point since Baron, Sidhe and... she couldn't find Talal-san but knew she was around, could probably use a good heal by this point as she cast her spell, the area affect should be useful in this circumstances.

“Ola Repth!”

The powerful blue-green light erupted over the four players, healing their physical injuries- there was nothing she could do right now to soothe or ease any of the mental and emotional ones- and hopefully recharging them to do more damage... if they could.

As for herself, she composed a flashmail and sent it off as quickly as possible, Kira understanding her intent and charging into the fray herself with her spear gleaming orange from the embers floating up and from the cracks beneath the mesh. Sekai would do what she could after the flashmail, the AI thought to herself and sized up her opponent as best she possibly could, wondering exactly what they could do to bring it down as quickly and, well, painlessly wasn't an option really, but quickly and with as much mercy as they could afford to have without getting themselves killed.

Another person she knew by, well, online name and who she felt needed a kind word or so to help keep their spirits up was slipped into a fresh flashmail and sent off as well, hoping that her words would make him feel a little less... alone and that he was as, well, okay as anyone could be after so many of these horrors and fields.

Tawny eyes landed on the battle, sweat slickening her palms as she passed out Speed Charms, Takua, Alana, Zan and herself receiving the first boosts, the others would receive theirs in just a few moments as well. This was preparation, she told herself as she hesitated a moment and nodded; she needed to help Zan since he was, in her eyes, in the most danger of them all as the heaviest hitter.

So a Hunter's Blood- to increase his physical accuracy, and how she dearly hoped it would help even a little- and, a secret weapon she'd been holding on to settled itself like a cloak over the Heavy Blade; an odd glyph appearing for an instant before fading as his health restored itself on its own, like some kind of miraculous auto-regeneration due to the Health Charm she'd picked up and used without a single bat of her eyelashes; he would need it in addition to the other healing spells she could use.

Her preparations complete, the snowy haired Archer removed a bow from her inventory, fingers tightening around the gleaming gold metal bow as it set off a soft, gold light of its own. A pretty bow that, to her, should have looked more ornamental than practical in her hands, with strong powers in the Rai element; it was her hardest hitting bow and the one she hoped would make the biggest, well, irritation and distraction if the time came to offer herself up as such.

Small, fast and with an almost endless supply of projectiles she could shoot from any real distance; what else could someone her size ask for?

Ondine was slightly relieved as Sidhe took point from her. Granted, she wanted to go into the room first and do the whole intrepid explorer bit, but doing so could probably cause her imminent demise. Since they were all still Immersed and thus could feel pain, she didn’t particularly want to be butchered in a way that only the Swath could imagine. The red tint to the air itself around here didn’t make her feel good at all. Of course, before she had put the staff away that she had used to crack open some skulls, she had been sickened by the smell coming off of it. When she put it away though, it had gotten…well, cleaned was one way of putting it. Either way, the smell and the remnants on it were gone, which was a very good thing.

After a few moments while they waited for Sidhe to move into the room, Ondine took out Gaia’s Staff and walked in with that one. While not exactly similar, Gan’s first floor had featured a rather hard triplet of bosses right away. It was possible that they would run into something that was much the same here, something that didn’t make her feel particularly happy at the moment. Especially considering the difficulty of those bosses…even though they weren’t comparable to the Tar Clones or Sprouce later on…well. Considering how much harder the Wild Hunt had been than the Sand Lich, she didn’t particularly want to think about what would happen if the scale in difficulty for their next ‘boss’ if it followed that similar pattern. Hopefully it wouldn’t though, that Saol was just an incredibly powerful abberation.

Hopefully.

That wasn’t entirely banished as she saw the creature that lay on the middle platform, but she went ahead and took in the rest of the room first since it wasn’t moving. It was the same basic…texture as the rest of the dungeon from the looks of it, but there were far, far more Dread Code crackes and symbols than anywhere else. Hell if she knew what the Dread Code count would be in this room, but she didn’t think that any of the people inside were feeling any good. When she finally convinced herself that the real purpose of the room lay in the middle, she allowed her focus to come back to that.

The monster that was tagged as Parvemus (Juk based, so it was good she had her staff with Gan out) and looked like what it probably was. The fused, mutated pairing of two Juka Sprites. One man, whose arms had been turned from what they normally were into huge monstrosities that would likely be better suited for an engine of war, and one women, who had been mostly fused into his back except for the arms that came out of his head. Neither of them could actually see unless the near-black green leather that covered their eyes allowed them to have one of the critical five senses. She was still looking at the two different facial expressions when one of them twitched, causing the Wavemaster to jump into the air until she realized that that merely meant it was alive. Further checking out of the room made her come to the conclusion, just as surely as Sidhe had, that removing the key from the pedastal would start the fight in very short order.

She didn’t expect that they would just turn around and leave though. Such an act seemed so very…anti-EC. It would be giving up and giving the Highers back an Incarnation, research facilities intact, with monsters for their army. Such a thing she couldn’t handle. She had seen the gigantic forces they had had on their side in the Ganz Arena, and they were, she thought only those forces that Dirge had. Not even the ones that the rest of the Highers could summon. Takua and his friends would be hard pressed if they had production facilities still around…and perhaps it might be a good idea to melt this dungeon down, just to prevent that. Perhaps not all of it, to prevent another catastrophic destruction, but enough of it to…well, get rid of the things that the Highers needed. That would be good.

When Sidhe’s hand withdrew the key though, she saw the monster wake up…and sudden rivulets of a corrupt green liquid course down the pointed ends of the females legs. Well, that was obviously some kind of a poison, and not one that she wanted to meet up close and personal. This fight was going to be about staying the fuck away from it, and in such a confined space, that wasn’t going to be very easy. The small area also ruled out using summon spells, especially since all of the Melee classes would be in range, and such a spell would cause incredible pain to her own allies. Not exactly the type of thing one wanted to do.

However, what they could, and should, do was buff each other so that they were at the maximum potential that they could be at. She was about to start casting Ap Do on the people within range when Sekai went charging past her and…fucking tackled Sidhe. She stared slackjawed at the Archer for several seconds, tempted to start bursting out laughing even though they were in the middle of a fight for their lives, but a sudden MeJuk Kruz that formed around him suddenly reminded her where she was. She swore and ran as quickly as she could from the area, sharp branches obviously tracking her movements as she swore repeatedly. When they darted in, she ducked as gracefully as she could under the wooden spike that was closest to her. She thought that she had gotten out of the spell entirely when a large branch slid a spike into her upper right back, pain flaring as blood began to seep from the wound.

Okay, so that wasn’t pleasant. Only the fact that she had high magic defenses in the first place made it tolerable, but they needed to get that monsters stats down now. She was only just looking for Zan to see if he could cast a few Ap spells when two gracefully enfolded her with their power. It was like two spirits had cradled her in their arms, close to their chest, and allowed their power to surround her. As wonderful and as elegant as that sounded, the fact that it was a boost to his magic attack and physical defense made her even happier. Eyes finally finding the man that she sought, she mentally commanded the flashmail to open and allowed whatever wizardry transformed her thoughts into words to do their magic.

She had only just sent that off when a flashmail pinged in his inbox, and she quickly opened it to find that it was from Sekai. Her eyes flickered over the contents, reviewing the strategy…and nodded. She had just suggested that he start casting the Ap Do’s, so he would. Depending on what the mutation did thou-

The meaning behind the name of the room slammed home just like a direct hit from Parvemus’ fist to the face, something which she promptly experienced. Understanding blossomed like her blood did; RaEx 1. Rapture Experiment 1. That explained a whole hell of a lot, and made her even more pissed, and worried, than before. Pain flared bright and intense as something gave on her skull, forcing her to understand just how much power was behind that punch. She became aware, slowly, that she was missing a fuckton of health thanks to something that was slowly fading from the air above her. Death. Well that was a nasty little ability. She’d have to keep that one in mind if she either tried to be a tactician again or woke Takua up to do what he seemed to do best. Sekai’s plan would either have to be changed or kept the same if the mutated remains of two Juka Sprites pulled anything strange out of their asses, but no strategy truly survived contact with the enemy. That was why there were tactics.

She healed herself and everyone in the room with a La Repth, quickly casting Ap Do’s on people that Sekai hadn’t hit herself. That made Sidhe, Kira (why hadn’t Sekai taken her?), Baron and Talal. She moved out of the way of a Juk Rom that was in the process of destroying the area where she had been a second prior and checked her positioning again. She was approximately in the position that Sekai had wanted her to be in. She changed her armor to allow her to cast Dek Ganz and then Dek Juka. Both debuff spells sought that armor of her enemy, looking for weaknesses, for places that it could sink into an destroy part of its offenses and defenses to Juk and Gan.

That task done, she pointed her Gaia Staff directly at Parvemus and whispered the names of her spells. She could feel the power drain from her as the Wavemaster’s will shaped the spell, calling out to the Gan element and causing it to manifest in front of her. It was simple and non-tactical, for now. That would come in another few moments, after she saw how this experiment would respond. As much as she hated to be so reactionary before she could be proactive, that would be how it could go. Certainly all of its special abilities had not been shown yet. There would be more…oh so many more, and those she would have to expose before they could truly formulate a plan to take this Rapture fused pair of Juka Sprites down.

Three boulders from an OrGan Don formed just a few moments after the second level rune on the floor did. The GiGan Zot ruptured the floor underneath the monster, twin spires of earth seeking to send the unnatural creation back to what spawned it, a digital abyss. To coordinate with that upwards strike that was aimed at Parvemus’ legs and belly, the three sizable rocks from his third level Gan spell plummeted downwards, aimed directly for the females head. Both would be hurt by this, although there might not be any difference between the two now that they had been fused. Either way, the male ‘half’ would be taking the brunt of the GiGan Zot if all went well, while the OrGan Don would strike either his head or the female…perhaps both. Assuming that the rampaging creature didn’t get out of the way entirely.

-Zan-

Alone.

Finally.

Zan had carefully maneuvered himself around the constant shifting tides of the group’s movements, looking for a place that he could have some time to himself. The most obvious choice seemed to be the Swath reflection of the dungeon’s entrance (the opposite hall was currently occupied by the lingering scents of Sidhe and their caution-inducing, one-armed Archer), but the first few sweeps showed a curious few ducking their heads in. The Heavy Blade assumed they were looking for clues to something or another that, theoretically, he should be involved in. But he couldn’t. Not yet. The Lycan needed to get a hold of himself. The constant franticness of his heartbeat and the insane pace of his thoughts were beginning to cloud his character. He wasn’t himself and, by the looks on the faces of the few who interacted with him, it was obvious. Only when he thought it was clear to the party on whole that the antechamber held no interest did he finally slip himself discretely aside and step into the darkness. Usually, the shadow held no edge of fear for him, no slight of hesitation. The Swath, however, possessed an unnatural grip over him, coiling diseased fingers and making him constantly rigid with unspoken terror. It made those shadows seem more malicious, more dangerous, and for a moment he was stopped by the doors. Every muscle in him wanted to turn around, to find what passed for light in the crimson hell hole, but what remained of his iron stubbornness would not be done in so easily.

No, this is what he had come in here to defeat.

Broaching the blackness, carving it with the knife of his determination, Zan forced himself to sit upon the cold steel floor. He could feel the edges of rust flake at his uneasy shifts, grinding into entropic powder and filling the otherwise eerie quietus with its mild crunch. The werewolf was forcing himself to feel helpless against his newly acquired phobia in order to show that there was nothing to fear in its environ. Oh, abominations and bloody displays lurked abound, but he had to get over the anxiety that crept into his throat like bile at the mere presence of the Swath; the cracked Dread Code. Though it required the painful gritting of his jaw, Zan forced himself further into the senseless depths of his ‘plan’, lying flat upon the surface that bit at him with its icy temperature. Shouldn’t there be more fire in a place this close to hell? Eyes closed - though this, too, took a gargantuan amount of effort on his part - the Heavy Blade focused right then on stopping the hyperventilation that had caught him off guard. Every breath he gorged on tasted like ash and disease, but it got him what he needed and, with a little annoyance at his weakness, finally calmed him and allowed Zan to attack the effort again. First thing was first: he needed to cut off whomever he was connected to that had played an absent-minded part in his horror’s evolution. The Lycan imagined himself sitting in the center of a safe, sane room. The walls were smelted from the strongest and cleanest metals, every door that opened him to this emotion shut and chained. Mental imaginings began to churn as concrete mental shields, slowly but surely, and the intensity of his imagined fright began to lessen.

Thank fucking God.

The fear for the Dread Code, for the Swath hadn’t left, oh no. Now, however, it was no more important than anyone else’s fear of genuinely bent things. It was rational. It was safe. Most of all, most importantly, it was controllable. When Zan rose again to his feet, charcoal trenchcoat dirtied on the back with red-orange smears, the shaking had left him. There was a certain effort needed to keep this calm in place, to keep the reigns in his hand, but the Heavy Blade would drop kick an Elite if it meant giving him the chance to never feel like he had before again. To feel so helpless, so small, so young…something he hadn’t felt since he had witnessed a rifle blow out the back of a very troubled woman’s skull…it was a moment to be forgotten. Or learned from, perhaps, but certainly not sought. Parting the doors with either hand and joining the slow-moving snake path down the halls once more, Zan found himself too relieved to be himself once more to be embarrassed. Anyone who was witness to his odd behavior could shove their comments up their ass - or he’d do it for them. That disregard for anyone’s negative opinion of him helped to bolster his old self and it was with that more settled sense of identity that he ended where everyone else seemed to. Not unlike the crowded moment back before Mr. Rotmouth showed his ugly mug, the Eventides had clustered around the entrance to the ‘RaEx 1’ room. Which, if history was going to serve as a lesson, meant something undoubtedly lacking in fun or merriment was behind the door that Sidhe was turning. Hurrah.

When the door was opened, a new, acrid scent snaked its way up his nostrils. The bitter tang of it stuck to the roof of his mouth and the back of his tongue like peanut butter. Zan would have pinned it down quicker if it hadn’t been for the small fact that, two steps onto the dark mesh later, he was overcome by a stimuli as alien as the smell. Whatever digital, hypertechnological power gave Twilight it’s oomph seemed to screech to a halt. Like a real crash, the sudden stop resulted in a pile up of his internal functions, of the physical masteries he had become far too accustomed to. The Lycan’s third crossed one foot over the other in a sideways stumble that tilted his vision to the same degree. It felt like the blood that usually pumped through him to the rhythm of a jungle drum had slowed to a distant, lazy beat. If he wasn’t still able to walk, to move, he would have felt some kind of deep sympathetic connection with Supes about then. Kryptonite must be a real bitch. A glance to the elephant in the room, tagged ‘Parvumeus’, brought hazy blue eyes to a narrowed squint. The fuck? It was like - not like, he realized, it just was - somebody had forced the data of two Juka Sprites to merge in a position that was neither comfortable nor very flattering. Someone was a little too fond of sadomasochism. The effort required to reorient himself, to adjust to the rapid deceleration of his power, prevented the werewolf from screaming out at Sidhe and stopping him from taking out the damn key. It was obvious to even a novice dungeon runner than doing so would awaken the malformed beast beyond it. Had the Long Arm been a little more clear headed, they may have had time to properly buff and talk tactic shop. As it stood, the Eventides could do little more, initially, than watch their leader get bitch slapped across the room.

Smooth move, dumbass. You could give Phoenix a run for his money.

Concern for Nemera blossomed when she took the brunt of the impact against the wall, but Zan was still getting his bearings. When the sapphilia Long Arm got up and charged like a rhino, the Lycan prepared himself to flail like a school girl with the hindering Dread Code sickness from the infernal fires beneath…but then something happened. At first, his brain absolutely refused to admit that what he was seeing was possible. Surely the illness that turned his bodily fluids into sludge was also making him hallucinate. After all, Zan would have to be tripping balls to have conjured up the vision of Sekai going NFL on Sidhe. The Archer wasn’t actually capable of flipping a guy over her back, was she? It’d take…God, it’d take a level of aggression, first off, that he had seen her only rarely call upon. When a wipe of his eyes and a pinch of his sweating skin showed that she had, in fact, done the deed, Zan found himself with a new level of respect - and caution - for the girl. Shit, who was to stop her from playing linebacker on him the next time he stepped out of line and went blindly charging into some undeniably dicey situation? The body handoff to Alana made him a little uneasy, but he had to admit that the choice was sound. Seeing as her current disability prevented her from getting too close to the action without risking serious detriment to her bones, she would be losing the least by being forced to play babysitter. Everyone else already had their parts to play. Baron’s buffs (the name of a future ‘The World’ shop?) were just then starting to be felt, literally sped up by the flush of a Speed Charm’s effects through his troubled machine. The magical energies pulsed and thrummed through him, restoring enough of his balance to make combat possible. He wouldn’t be at his best, but the Heavy Blade would be able to ‘tank’ all the same. With all the Flashmails read between dodges and the occasional distraction call, Zan was ready to step up to the plate.

“Alright, pal. Give daddy a kiss.”

Whether mere presence or the words themselves registered, Parvumeus stopped its advance on another Eventide and turned its ‘face’ towards him instead. Playing to Sekai’s request, he took that brief stint of time to try and sniff out some kind of weakness, but he only got the same bitter, sour taste in his mouth (aside from the implied blood and floating ash, of course). Zan had originally thought it was new - his human brain using faulty memory - but the wolf spoke up in recognition this time. It never forgot a scent. In the mines back on the field, the Rapture concoction had smelled almost exactly like that. There was a change, perhaps made in whatever process took place to make Parvumeus possible, but it was there. Which made the room’s name, RaEx 1, click. The first Rapture experiment. What’d the shit do? Merge data? Had that already been discussed? Zan had a little experience in that realm, of course, but it never turned out so…wrong.. All such thoughts were shut down with a violent tear of immediacy when the overgrown beast thumped towards him like a gorilla and a MeJuk Kruz chattered into life around him. Using the enhanced speed at his disposal - both based in Twilight and the game’s mysticism - the Plasma Blade was shoved through the metal floor in a ear-grating cut of metal through metal. The Lycan, landing on the butt of the grip with preternatural grace, proceeded to back flip over the oncoming collapse of the spell. Faster though he was, the Dread Code’s side effects induced enough of a sloppy execution of the otherwise flashy tactic and left him wide open, stomach arched out, for the vicious club arm that sunk into his gut like a panicked foot through quick sand.

An unsettling cocktail of blood and vomit spewed from his slack jaw on the way down, misting the air as his back smacked with a meaty thud into the metal flooring. The word DEATH was hazy above him, but Zan was too busy mewling over his flattened organs and his half-collapsed rib cage to care about something like a word. There was no air in his lungs and the idea of trying to suck some in seemed absolutely ludicrous. Thick crimson bubbling up from his mouth and sliding like hot syrup down his cheek, all the Heavy Blade wanted to do was lie there and die. And stay dead. Just when he thought he understood the realms of pain, something had to come along and show him what a joke that was. Idle sparks of his brain’s electricity, manifesting through various desires to get out of the way before the freak finished him off, had his fingers twitching but accomplishing nothing. Only a hundred and one, of a thousand and ten, hit points remained within him. And holy harlot of agony was he aware of it. Pain tears clouded the already swaying image above, but it looked like the others had pulled Parvumeus away. Unable to breathe, choking on his own vitae, Zan felt himself beginning to fade. And it was beautiful. It was glorious. It was divine. With his lucidity left the pain and black crept at the edges of his consciousness. Sekai’s regeneration spell and his own natural abilities to mimic it were trying to fix the trauma, but it wasn’t fast enough. Not long now and he’d be free…

Blue and white chased away the shadow in a rush, the sound of a wind-flooded tunnel filling his ears as four hundred of his hit points (and any of those around him) were restored. It was enough to knit the most vital damages away, but it still left him five hundred points in the hole. Most of the internal bleeding had stopped, and his left lung had reinflated, but it was just as much a curse as it was a blessing. After all, going into shock was going to kill him, yes, but it had taken the pain away. Now? Now, rising to his feet, Zan knew he could fight on…but the pain was still there. Slamming back two Health Drinks like an alcoholic slamming down two shots of Jack - ah, childhood memories - the last of Zan’s skeletal injuries cracked back into place and left him only with a blush of bruising that’d make any hardened warrior wide-eyed. Now he could really move. Now he was going to get some fucking pay back.

But first, the support.

Staying at the edges of the small room while Talal and Baron hopefully did their thing, Zan proceeded to cast a flurry of Ap Ganz and Ap Juka spells on each and every one of his party members. The brown-orange and emerald auras fought the natural red back for one bright, shiny moment and left them all with a new slue of defenses against their opponent. It also left him with only eighteen Skill Points, but feh. He was a physical class. Skill Points were a luxury, not a necessity.

All of that out of the way, it was time to show Parvumeus that Zan was no one’s collapsible sitting apparatus. The Plasma Blade was reclaimed, but with the proximity of combat, a six foot weapon wasn’t exactly the most practical. Instead, depositing it into his inventory, the Lycan’s fingers coiled into fists, knuckles popping with the force of their clench. With the Ap Corv putting his class and hack-based strength on a higher level of hurt and Sekai’s Hunter’s Blood increasing the dexterity of his strike, Zan took Sidhe’s first plan of attack and (literally) ran with. Bellowing out various obscenities to get the thing’s attention yet more, the player ran head-first into what was turning into a storm of Gan magic with a punch arched back and ready to blow. When explode it did, shooting forth with the power of a cannon ball towards Ugly’s stupid apathetic face, Zan imagined the sound of bone breaking and the combo he was already constructing in his anger-swollen thoughts…

…and smiled.

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((OOC:

I’m going to try and get this trend going. If only to keep things a bit more orderly both for myself and you guys (especially helpful during GM posts so I don’t forget buffs you may have).

Zan
-Buffs: Ap Corv (Physical Attack), Ap Do (Speed), Ap Torv (Physical Accuracy), Rig Saem (HP Regeneration), Ap Juka (+Juk), Ap Ganz (+Gan).
-Debuffs: None.

:OOC))

She had sat there for a few minutes and even though she had heard footsteps running about in the nearby halls, no one had ventured back her direction. She knew it probably wasn’t good for her to just be sitting around by herself with the Swath about and attempted to stand up. Pushing up with her legs that had oddly stiffened up while she had been sitting down making her muscles revolt and not wanting to move which she found interesting, Talal attempted to stand. Her hands still covered in blood regardless of the efforts she had made to wipe them off, braced them against the wall and pushed heaving her body slowly up the wall.

Cautiously she wandered back down the Traitor Hallway, unsheathing her blades just in case. There could be a very logical and very unfortunate reason why no one had come back. Instant fright and then panic struck as her pace quickened. She passed door after door until she had come back to the Power Supply room. Again, she found no one. What she did find was more horror for the Incu. She hadn’t looked around the room the last time, only at Takua and Baron but they weren’t there now and her curious nature made her look.

She wanted to run up to them, there bloodied and dismembered heads still whining. Her natural nurturing instinct immediately took over, running into the room, falling to her knees next to one of the Incu’s, blades were dropped on the floor to either side as she scooped its head up in her lap as best as the vein looking wires would allow. She petted the blood soaked head gently attempting to provide comfort, wishing she could hold them all…and cried. They were in pain and there was nothing she could do. Even though her encounter with the still live Incu’s back in the forest was brief, she felt bonded to them in a way. She had befriended them and they in turn saved the entire party from being wiped out by the Falls Golem. Even with all the atrocities that had been done to the Juka Sprites, the ones done to the Incu hit the small Twin Blade even harder. Were these Incu even still alive? This was the Swath and it had a way of twisting reality. They were just heads with no bodies and no anything that would sustain life of any kind so even through her self imposed emotional state; she was still trying to figure out…how?

She thought about sending a flashmail and as odd as it was, the list was there. How did she do that? Was that it? Was all she had to do was concentrate on what she wanted to do? It wasn’t really the time to question such things as she began reading the messages that had built up. The first two were confusing and upsetting all at the same time. He had already been here and found out what happened to all the Incu, but he didn’t mention them being alive or even animated and he sounded hazy as if drugged or something. The next one said it was from him but talked about some other name…Ondine? Who was she and where did she come from? What right did she have to take him over like that? So many questions and there was no one around to answer them. Part of her wished that she had never gone over to her cousins that night and learned about The World. The other part wouldn’t have it any other way.

The next was a reply from Sekai about Alana. Talal was shocked to read what her Commander had to say but felt somewhat relieved that she wasn’t alone in her thinking. The next one (how many did she have piled up?) was from Takua again. At the mention of the dolls she looked up, remembering the ones in the room with her. That was obviously what he was talking about, but…was it him talking again? The inlaid tone in his words seemed unlike the Wavemaster she knew. Was it him or was it this Ondine person? Regardless, the slight girl nodded seeing there were things to be done that could potentially get them at least off this floor.

Tears slowly ceased as she stroked the head of the Incu in her lap that never ceased it’s mewing. Gently placing it back down on the floor, she gave a brief notion to pull all the wires out in hopes that would end their suffering, but the good of the group needed to come first. These dolls were their ticket out, or so one party member believed and they would be useless if he was correct if she destroyed what they plugged into. Grabbing her weapons from their resting place on the floor, she said one last silent prayer for her friends. The emotion behind it beckoned to start the flow of water down her cheeks again but she had to resist, had to focus on the task at hand.

Leaving the room with a heavy heart but determination to help the group, Talal began the daunting task of searching for more of these dolls. First she came across TR1 that had nothing but empty, blood stained bed frames in it. Making sure to cover all the bases she could think of she moved all the beds around, looking under around and in between. She also looked at the walls for any hidden holes that might have served as hideaways for small objects, and found nothing.

Traveling further down the hallway she came across the room that had all of the wired Juka Sprites hanging from the ceiling. Someone had taken them down and removed the wire. She was sad that it was apparent the dolls were not as easy as she had hoped they would be to find. The Twin Blade went room to room finding other things that had been searched more thoroughly and others that had just the beds that hadn’t been moved. Just to cover her bases, she traveled through both hallways and moved every single bed hoping to find something. As she traversed the halls, brown eyes searched high and low for out of the norm patters, at least where the Swath halls were concerned. Would she find any patched areas of wall or perhaps a crooked ceiling tile? Unfortunately, her search came up empty. She admitted she wasn’t very good at the whole hide and seek game and it was getting rather frustrating. Something told her she’d have to get more…violent about her techniques than just the surface scan.

It was a little disconcerting that she had still not run into anyone, although she thought she saw a flash of colored cloth going around a corner at the end of the hall. She hadn’t heard any screams or signs and sounds of battle so for now, she would continue her search for the emotion dolls. Room after room warranted her no reward but did show her exactly what some of her party members were doing to find what they were looking for.

She hurried past the worst rooms and checked bodies in the others until finally another flashmail arrived from Takua stating he had found the last two dolls and she needed to basically get her ass back to the locked door, which she did running all the way looking forward to not being alone in the Swath any longer which had her one of the first to arrive.

To stop felt good. The young girl wasn’t used to being tired in a dungeon and was feeling even more so due to the emotional turmoil she was putting herself through, with a little help from the Swath. Talal watched as the other members trickled in from all directions, all looking extremely beat both mentally and physically. The question raised again in her mind, how in the Hell did the comatose players keep going like damn energizer bunnies? It’s not like they can fill up on caffeine or energy drinks, well…health drinks but that really didn’t help the energy part did it? The yellow and black clad Twin Blade had a renewed respect for them.

Talal watched as the Wavemaster approached. His (her?) movements were noticeably different. The look on his face was a mixture that she couldn’t read but she knew it wasn’t good and now with this other person in the mix, the poor girl was unsure if she should, or more precisely could, approach him and just make sure he was as okay as anyone could be under the circumstances.

A small hand came up from its place at her side, fingers stretching out, reaching for him, a shoulder, an arm, something as he passed…and stopped. Once straight fingers curled downward into a fist and the hand was somewhat hesitantly retracted. A slight grimace present on her dirty face aimed at herself. It was like she was being tested to see if she would follow through on her promise or not; to still be there for him when he changed and right now, she was failing miserably. Everything was so confusing before and now Ondine show’s up and the Twin Blade was back second guessing herself and her actions again. Was this the change he was referring to? He had made it seem like whatever the change was it would be a lot worse than this. For now, maybe it was best not to meddle and just watch. Do what everyone else had done to her and sit back and observe. Who knows maybe it would actually work.

The key was inserted and Takua was getting ready to turn the knob when Sidhe stormed past taking point into the room. It caught the girl off guard since he had remained more to the back of the group to care for Nemera ever since the field, but she had to admit it was good to see. Everyone followed cautiously into the large circular room with the same walls and red glow to the air around them. The ash particles in the air flowing upward from the burning coals below that had even more of the Dread Code running through it than the other rooms had had, made it harder to breathe and left a nasty aftertaste.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the center of the room, to the deformed figure of two people combined somehow, fused together in a morbid twist of flesh with altered hands and legs better equipped for fighting than a normal set would have been. Talal found herself looking at it as an odd form of sick bondage as if the male that made up the major portion of the figure, was carrying the woman on his back like some sort of trophy. Of course this would have made sense if her arms weren’t jutting out the front of his skull and his arms didn’t look like giant oversized baseball bats. This of course was all purely based on the two complete opposite looks on each of their faces; the woman’s being that of fear and pain, where the male was rather complacent as well as the fact that the straps that wrapped around each of them looked like a kind of leather. This place certainly was making her mind go to weird places…Gah!

The occasional twitch from the figure made the young girl jerk back even though she was still on the outskirts of the room. Anything that moved didn’t bode well for the group and it was obvious something was going to make it move a hell of a lot more. It was just how things seem to go for the Eventide Crescendo. Sure enough, when Sidhe grabbed a small key from the pedestal, he was quickly rewarded with a large smack upside the head and everyone immediately went into action.

Status effect spells were flying everywhere compliments of Baron, Sekai and Takua. She marveled briefly at the strange tingling feeling of the effects as they attached there enhancements to her character. Sidhe in a fit of battle rage took off to rush the creature only to be bum rushed himself by Sekai sending him flying up and over and then down to the floor with a thud. The move shocked everyone including Sidhe, especially considering who did it. If the Twin Blade had learned anything about the small Archer so far though, it was that she must have had a damn good reason. The relinquishing of Nemera to Alana’s care pretty much summed up her intentions. It would keep the Heavy Blade out of harms way as best as any of them could, but it should also allow the Long Arm to move about more freely thus giving his attack more favor of doing some real damage.

Sekai was first out with a plan and since she didn’t have one that was any better, Talal readied herself to be part of the, would it be the second line? of attack. It was time to bring out some weapons she hadn’t yet used, the Soul Blades. With any luck at all the she hoped the Skill Drain ability might activate sometime during this battle. Searching through her pouch she found two items she thought would be useful; a Wizard’s Blood and a Hermit’s Bane.

Juk type spells were going off left and right so she knew the one would definitely help, if only a little and she activated the Hermit’s Bane on Parvumeus reducing its Magical Attack ability. The other she tossed at Takua as she ran by with a nod and a slight smile. He’d know what to do with it.

Weapons held strong and firm, Talal took off with a sense of purpose and a little happiness that she was being useful after her utter failure in finding any dolls. Fighting was something she could do with little to no thinking required. Her usual strategy of running in, attacking and then getting the heck out of dodge to regroup was exactly what Sekai had ordered.

Circling around with her increased speed and physical stat boost at her side, she came at the two-headed creature from the side. Swinging around she went for the hips and legs of the female that were flailing about. Last thing she needed was to get smacked in the face by a flailing appendage. Instead of the face though, a foot found her shoulder. The Twin Blade yelled at the pain it caused. She had been so careful to stay away from everything sharp through the dungeon that she hadn’t experienced pain yet. The nausea that followed from the greenish black ooze that dripped from its toes sent the girl retreating, immediately fishing through her pouch. The antidote was quickly found and downed along with a health drink. The combination of liquids tasted like a spoonful of cod liver oil that her mom insisted on giving her as a kid that never worked. Thankfully, the items of The World worked like they were supposed to.

Back in the fray she went, dodging flying tree limbs and spiny bushes. A better attack point was needed so she pulled out a scroll to give her a moment to think. She remembered a recent addition she had picked up that was a constantly active ability, the Feng Shui, which gave her an idea. Unrolling and activating the Raining Rocks scroll that was targeted directly above Parmuveus’s head, the brown aura began to form. Rocks and boulders of all sizes appeared literally out of thin air and hovered for a moment until the spell was completely formed before raining down upon the room. She didn’t know if added stat effects would work with scrolls, but if they did this would be a good thing. The girl charged in for yet another run, trying to keep up the distraction. This time she was aiming for the other set of legs.

Who knows, maybe luck would be on her side.


((OOC:
Talal
-Buffs: Ap Do (Speed), Ap Torv (Physical Accuracy), Ap Juka (+Juk), Ap Ganz (+Gan), Feng Shui (+1 Gan)
-Debuffs: None.))

-GM-

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Sidhe blinked up at the rusted ceiling, paused, confused and in a tiny bit of pain. One second ago he had been charging, certainly, and the next…some small blur and he was on his side feeling like he had tripped over a trashcan. Even when the Archer began to talk, to explain, it took the dazed man a second to connect the fact that she was talking about what had happened. In her twisted logic, it was her who had bowled him over for being irresponsible with Nemera’s safety. Nemera, Nemera. That name should…ah. A subtle blink behind him and the whole situation suddenly jolted into clarity. Ah, God damn it! Getting to his feet, prying apart her fused arms, he handed her off to Sekai. Though it didn’t show, no small amount of guilt was welling up in his gut. He had let the nausea and mild vertigo mix in with his anger and the pain he had suffered from Parvumeus’ strike. Alana seemed a sound choice, so he voiced it and filtered the rest of his focus into not being anyone’s hand-to-hand bitch again. He was sure his face gave off the false impression that he was slipping back into that tunnel-visioned stupidity, but in truth it was quite the opposite. As per his usual, Sidhe was wrestling with the list of potential strategies in his head, figuring the best way to go at the son of a bitch with as few of them suffering the crippling ‘Death’ impact as possible. Before he could finish, of course, two of the party members - Sekai again, and with Takua this time - bombarded him with Flashmails. Though they weren’t what’d he’d call ‘short’, they spelled out a sound enough way to start. He’d go with it, for now.

Baron, however, either didn’t get the message or didn’t care. For some reason, rather than go along with Sekai’s hit-and-run strategy, the kid was trying to convince himself he was a Wavemaster. In such an enclosed space, trying to take advantage of a potential elemental weakness via a physical class was just…stupid. Having to hold up the Twin Blade’s weight in the matter, he launched into the fray, light-glistening spear swept through in a simple strike that was meant to force Parvumeus back rather than accomplish any kind of significant damage. The attempt at wrangling was successful, the boss monster thudding its way back and into the Gan Zot that the self-proclaimed ‘treasure hunter extraordinaire’ had set into its path. The Dek Vorma that had been attempted by the same player earlier had fizzled out a failure and the Zot didn’t proclaim any critical, but the sapphire-clad Long Arm still imagined a spire of earth through the gut and a couple smaller ones poking potholes in his chest didn’t feel pleasant. Oddly, though, the beast didn’t let out any kind of howl. There not so much as a whine of discomfort. Keeping its outfit in mind, Sidhe realized, would probably explain it. Uck. The thing probably liked it. Still, it whipped around in time - had the female part of its structure called out some telepathic warning? - to literally swat away the few small boulders that fell, reducing them to dust with the force of Parvumeus’ swings. Which put its back to Sidhe.

Grinning, the Long Arm was quick to take advantage of the mistake, his wicked glaive fell in a forward stroke and sunk with a meaty slush right between the slight mounds that made up the female’s protruding chest. The creature paused for only a second, the idle limbs that dripped its viscous poison springing into action. Here Sidhe thought he was the one taking advantage of a slip up when, in the process, he had made a similar error - he got too close. Spider-like tips skewered through his ribs, taking a healthy chunk out of his remaining hit points and pumping his blood with the toxin. It was an agonized struggle to free himself, but after kicking off and dislodging, the shambling co-leader of the Eventide Crescendo felt like he was going to topple over. It didn’t matter that his health was getting dangerously low. Oh no. The poison, in combination with the Dread Code sickness that ate through him, made a powerful potion. Everything was tinted with a nasty jade, swimming together with the red and making a pool of disease that put his desperate back against the wall. He had to think. Had to…had to do something about the poison. The wounds on his torso burned with an unnatural fire that kept the blood flowing and prevented even the prospect of clotting or slowing. God damn it. He was letting them down again. The moment his eyes started to roll into the back of his head, the point conceded, the chemical that had brought him to the brink of death was suddenly purged by a Takua-tossed Antidote. Not missing a beat, Sekai noted his weariness and used yet more of her Skill Points to send an Ola Repth sweeping through her crowd of allies and sealed up the holes the flailing appendages had ‘gifted’ him with. Topping Sidhe off was the Twin Blade he had been quick to dismiss as foolish before, a Health Drink restoring all but a hundred or two of his bar. All that lingered now was a few aches and scrapes from his initial encounter with the leather-bound mutant.

Sidhe took a moment to really grasp the impressive display. The group had functioned like a whole, like a single organism with Takua playing white blood cell and the two others cutting off the hemorrhaging flow to the party’s wound. In that moment, the Long Arm knew just how much trouble the Highers were in. Muscles braced for another attack, but he froze at the light display that danced along the boss’ flesh from the ether. The Wavemaster’s Dek Juka waged a war with Parvumeus’ internal defenses and won out in the end, the aura settling over its physique and soaking in like water to a sponge. The Dek Ganz, however, was not so lucky. Like tiny sparks, the orange particles bounced off the monster and snuffed out useless upon the dark mesh floor. The display had certainly caught their foe’s attention, of course, and its deadly aim centered like a crosshair upon Takua’s edge-bound form. Quick on his feet, the player wasted no time in calling out to his powerful magics, a GiGan Zot roaring out from the grate and filling up a sizable portion of the room with its unprejudiced spires. Were it not for the Ap Do’s that invigorated them all, the cloister of close-ranged fighters would have been felt its power. As it stood, only Parvumeus’ gait brought it through the unforgiving, earthen fangs, only half of their bites shuffled through while the rest nicked and cut and disoriented the beast. One, through sheer angle, skewered it clean through. In through the center of its stomach and out its back, the severity of the wound made its receiver grunt in its first, if subtle, show of pain.

When the magic faded and the wound was left gaping, Takua didn’t seem finished. To add insult to injury, the Gan Wave’s third level spell came to life at the top of the small - considering the circumstances, anyway - room. It seemed to hover, unsure of itself, before its storm crashed down without mercy. The room shook with the force of the impacts that missed, but it was those that didn’t that actually served as the real problem. One did indeed hit its target, caving in part of the woman’s face with a scream that was so…real, so organic that it hurt Sidhe’s heart to even witness. It’d hurt the Wavemaster as well, but for entirely separate reasons. One of the cascading hunks of stone that seemed destined to fulfill its mission found itself acting as a giant baseball against the batting force of one of Parvumeus’ arms. The force broke the magical conjuration apart, but a squeamishly large chunk still managed to repay Takua’s favor and bounce harshly off the then-crumpled plane of his wincing expression. Though the others charged in - Talal’s attempt at a side attack dismissed with a poisonous kick - the boss creature had all the time it needed to lift both of its meaty arms over head and finish off the poor player with a double thump that reduced his body to little more than roadkill. With it’s target brutally eliminated and the female Twin Blade’s scroll work ricocheting off its skin in painful bounces, not to mention Zan’s words culling its attention, it again turned to face the wary lot of them…

…right into the Heavy Blade’s fist.

Though their masses were clearly out of proportion, whatever propelled the strength in Zan’s body (not to mention the helpful spells of his teammates) collided knuckle with jaw with enough power to send the thing stumbling backward, confused. The sound of it reverberated along the dome-like walls like wet meat being struck. Sidhe was at the Lycan’s side when he charged in again, Baron and Talal grabbing the flanks with gleaming knives, and the chaos was alive once more. It tried to shamble out of the way of the two Twin Blades and their flaying cuts, but it was so big and could only do so much. Blood painted the environ in sprays, joining in with the severe ‘leak’ in the boss’ middle that was only just beginning to clot with raw flesh. When an arm would lift, Zan would be there to sweep it away with a flexed forearm and counter with yet another fist shot to its disfigured face and thrusted glaive jab to its gut courtesy of the sapphire-loving Long Arm. It kept the monster off of its game, kept its wounds open and kept the damage wracking up, but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Somewhere in its ass kicking, Parvumeus remembered the other tools at its disposal. Two Juk Roms temporarily reduced Talal and Baron into flailing limbs that tried to fight off the stinging pain. A thick club rose to dismiss Sidhe, but Zan came in to block it as per the rhythm and routine he had gained. Without the Twin Blades, however, its focus was free enough to bat the werewolf aside like the nothing he was to the entity, his head greeting the wall with enough oomph to keep him down…for now. In a panic, hoping to keep Parvumeus distracted while the others ran support, Sidhe darted around and leapt forward, his spear readied to horrified visage in twain.

But he was stopped.

At first, it wasn’t clear how, but he had enough time to look down at the legs straddling his hips to realize what had transpired. But it didn’t matter. Lust and a territorial sense of possession filled him like the fires that burned feet beneath the Eventide Crescendo’s boots. For one disturbing moment he kissed the bound face hungrily, greedily, and the bloodied and broken lips (ala Tak’s previous actions) kissed him back. There was nothing pure or clean about it, but it consumed him whole. When, not two seconds later, he was dropped and freed, it was to the party that their leader turned with a look of menace and a threatening rise of his weapon.

For hurting his love, he’d kill them all.

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((OOC:

Parvumeus
Buffs: None
Debuffs: Dek Juka (-Juk)

Note: Sidhe’s Charmed condition is something a bit beyond the norm for a player. The usual items and spells will help him, but they only have a 25% chance to do so. If you do anything to try and cure him, let me know and I’ll tell you if it succeeded.
Note 2: Also…I realized it’s a bit quirky that you guys can spam buffs and heals and what not but you’re limited on your attack. From now on, ‘good’ spells get a limit of three per turn as well. After all, you’re still in the heat of combat and don’t have all the time in the world before the frame representing your turn is over. That’ll give you three ‘good’ spells (Aps, Repth’s, the like) or items and three aggressive spells or items for six total per turn. If you have a real problem with this, let me know and we’ll discuss it. You could change my mind, but I think this adds a new degree of strategy, myself.

Either way, enjoy!

:OOC))

Eventides were swarming the two-headed enemy. Spells were going off left and right, some hitting some missing the target completely. The hit and run tactics were being used and for the most part succeeding, but it was obvious that Parvumeus had some excellent stats since most of the strikes the group had landed seemed to effect the creature as if they were mere paper cuts; barely a moan or in most cases not even so much as a flinch with very few exceptions.

A swift combination had Parvumeus finally making some noise at the hole in his gut. The raining of boulders from above landed the next fateful blow; a rock landing on the face of the female. The impact made the young girl wince, looking down and closing her eyes for a split second. The female’s scream was like that of any in pain and Talal was saddened, knowing they had to continue, had to win the fight, hoping that whatever minds may have once been in the fused Juka Sprites were gone. The hope, that their souls had departed long ago and that all that remained was the deformity now in front of them; a mere shell to destroy. She had to stick with that hope. It was the only way she would keep her sanity intact.

So far her attacks hadn’t really produced any damage. Her initial hit and run ended with her being the one to get hit and her Gan scroll as well as the debuff she attempted had both failed. Things were not looking good for her ability in this fight other than maybe being a pesty distraction and meat shield. The latter didn’t sound at all appetizing considering her current state, one that although she had been warned could happen, had never been welcomed with open arms. Now that it was here though, she knew her resolve would have to hold strong and keep her running, no matter the pain. Eyes quickly ran over the field at all the players who had already felt more than their fare share and not once had she heard them complain about it.

Sekai’s plan was working in theory, the Eventides acting like a well-oiled machine, if only for a few moments in time. Zan and Sidhe joined front line forces fighting side by side. Talal glanced over to her fellow Twin Blade, they were both headed into the fray taking swipes at Parvumeus’s flanks, blood spatter and sprayed everywhere with each cut adding even more color to the drying slime covered Twin Blade’s apparel. Fighting was indeed a messy business when it involved sharp objects and the cutting of flesh, veins and arteries.

Even well-oiled machines though ran into trouble and the Eventides were no different when a pair of Juk Roms were released upon herself and Baron. Splintered tornadoes filled with wood, branches, leaves and other foresty debris had the girl flailing her blades wildly in the air like baseball bats. A gasp followed by a very loud growl came from the small framed female when her leg was impaled by a large wooden stake. Her leg burned in pain and her head pounded with the sudden influx of nerve impulses rushing to her brain. Brambles and a scattered amount of various debris whisked around leaving scrapes and cuts everywhere before the tornado finally died down enough for her to move. It was all rather overwhelming for someone thrust into a situation of this magnitude and she knew it was going to feel even worse if she should be unfortunate enough to end up on the end of a sword. She never did have a very high tolerance for pain and usually stayed away from anything that caused it.

By the time she was able to get back in the fray, Zan was down and Sidhe was…kissing the enemy? Brown eyes grew as wide as oranges at the sight before her. What possibly could be going through his head tactically that would make what he was doing a good idea? Sure it was a distraction but…ewww was the only word that came to mind.

A health drink was quickly consumed while Parmuveus was temporarily distracted. Too bad this whole immersion thing was such a big secret or the girl would have submitted a suggestion to give these things better flavor. A sour look upon her face as she tossed the bottle aside, the hole in Parmuveus’ stomach caught her attention. It had been a gaping hole and now it was partially filled back in with raw flesh. Had he cast a Repth on himself? It was unlikely, she thought, since they had kept it so busy and the fact she hadn’t seen any healing light around it. It must have extraordinary regeneration skills or perhaps one of those Rig spells that for the life of her, she couldn’t remember which one did what. All the dark haired girl knew was that one of them allowed a slow and constant HP renewal, remembering how she and Baron had run across one at the entrance to the dungeon on their quest together.

She had lingered too long on her thoughts though as Sidhe had broken free of the clutch, but the look on his face had her a bit worried; extreme emotional anger. It was the kind of look that was usually seen on the face of warrior; one of vengeance, for something lost or hurt. The look itself didn’t have her worried; it was the simple fact that it wasn’t aimed at Parmuveus but at his allies. Typical confusion due to all the oddities in The World that she had run across so far, once again encompassed the poor girl’s mind as she ran in the opposite direction from the blue clad Long Arm.

Turning once she felt she had reached a safe, the word somehow not fitting the situation, distance she saw Baron tossing an item at Sidhe that apparently didn’t work, just before the Long Arm’s spear found her fellow Twin Blade’s mid section turning him into a ghosted form. A mental face palm struck the girl square on. Of course, how could I be such an idiot? Sidhe is under some sort of charmed spell. Gah!

Running back over, Talal tossed a resurrect at Baron and weighed her options. None of her blade attacks seemed to do much damage aside from leaving annoying paper cuts and seeing the regeneration abilities, whatever they did needed to be in magnitude. Anyone that took a good look at the female would know the wheels were turning based on her facial expressions alone. Her eyes were almost at a squint, brows furrowed and a quirky little curl to her lip.

Switching out her weapons to the Yosetu & Fuyou, she had a plan. If it worked, it may be looked at as a bit of an overkill but then again, tactics were never really her strong suit. A quick flashmail to the Archer was needed for some long range assistance, just to get the ball rolling.

Her response was immediate although unexpected since she was watching her for a nod instead of an actual reply. Had she sensed something churning in order to reply so quickly?

At the mention of the splatter, something the brown eyed girl hadn’t considered, her eyes grew big, almost in that comical ‘hehe, oh yeah huh’ kind of look. Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out one of the Burning Oil’s she had picked up in town while waiting for Gyl and prepared to toss it. The splatter warning was well placed and everyone should get it.

Purposefully sending it to the specific individuals instead of the group, leaving Sidhe out so it wouldn’t tip their hat so to speak, she felt that everyone was now duly warned, although she wasn’t sure if it would help those of them on the front line like Zan.

Making eye contact with the white haired Archer, Talal nodded and tossed the bottle above Parmuveus’s head and backed up to a safe casting distance. She waited for the flaming arrow to strike the bottle, watching the now literal Burning Oil rain down in a bright red and orange glow of flames before casting a Vak Rom right at the two-headed enemy. The dimly Dread Code lit room became bright for a few moments as the fire filled tornado grew to full strength.

She couldn’t see through the flames to know if it actually hit its target which was frustrating her. If it did, would it be enough to weaken their opponent and slow its regeneration processes down? There was no way to be sure and the Twin Blade waited, ready to make her next run once the flames all died down.


((OOC:
Talal
-Buffs: Ap Do (Speed), Ap Torv (Physical Accuracy), Ap Juka (+Juk), Ap Ganz (+Gan), Feng Shui (+1 Gan)
-Debuffs: None.))

You need to get up, Baron!

Don’t want to… hurts too bad…

Baron looked up from his position against the wall, a bit battered and bruised from the damage he had taken earlier. Blood still trickled from a cut or two, nothing serious though the injuries themselves certainly stung. No, the worst of it was the dull ache in his ribs and one shoulder, like the bones themselves had been bruised. The Twin Blade wouldn’t have been surprised if that had been the case, after the free-fall into rising trees and then being thrown against the floor for a few bounces. Most of that would have broken bones and torn muscle, and Baron vaguely remembered a lot of pain for a few moments before he had healed himself with a pair of Repth spells. Then he had found himself where he was sitting now, nothing but a painful memory remaining throughout his body, a shadow of what he had been feeling.

Baron knew one thing more than any other- he was terrified. The brief surge of anger and desperation that had burst out upon the minor pains had faded and left him feeling drained and weaker, the fear that he had felt coming back to fill the void in its place. Pain was still a foreign experience, at least at the levels that he was feeling it, and the natural survival instinct caused him to retreat from the source. The Parvumeus thing… that creature had been causing the damage, the injury that he had suffered. It was the cause, the bringer of the hurt and fear that constantly tried to crush the Twin Blade even as he stared at its horrifying visage. If it was the cause, then he had to get away, to escape it… but the room was closed, there was no way out…

So, since he couldn’t get away, the source had to go.

A desperate feeling of need rose up in Baron, need to get rid of the thing that tormented his body, the dull ache a constant reminder of the Parvumeus’s presence. No, it didn’t have to just go away. It had to be destroyed, to prevent the hurt from coming again. Something primal rose up in Baron, the Twin Blade forgetting everything but an intense need to eliminate the monster before him. And yet, somewhere in that primitive rage was a cold, calculating eye that scanned the room constantly, making judgments and planning accordingly. It watched as the Gan Zot from the scroll before struck the monster’s stomach, leaving a gaping hole, while the Gan Don was shattered easily. A note was made even as Baron watched Sidhe get struck by the poison legs, something about not getting in too close to them. Poison sunk into the Long Arm quickly, the infection filling his blood even as he staggered back, but Takua’s (Ondine’s? It was hard to differentiate between the two now) Antidote quickly purged that. An Ola Repth from Sekai was a relief, the healing wave of magical energy washing over him and healing the last of his wounds even as Sidhe was patched up nicely. Baron moved over to the Long Arm, gifting him with a Health Drink to restore another good portion of his health before turning back to the fight at hand.

The next move on the constantly moving chess game that the Eventides played appeared in a burst of green light that shone across the Parvumeus’s body, the Dek Juka spell sinking in and weakening the monster’s natural magical strength in that element. Baron mentally noted that, his fear of the oncoming spells weakened somewhat as he moved in a bit closer. A similarly-cast Dek Ganz to further exploit the monster’s weakness failed, though, though it certainly drew the Parvumeus towards the Wavemaster, charging forward with its club-like hands. Takua immediately summoned up a GiGan Zot, apparently not caring for the group members nearby in his momentary panic. Fortunately, they had the advantage of the Ap Dos that sped them out of the range of the attack, so that only the attacking monster was struck, though it was only slowed temporarily. The OrGan Don from above, though, was quite a bit more effective. It struck the woman’s head, eliciting a scream of pain, the first sound that Baron had heard from the monster the entire time.

While things seemed to be going well at first, they sadly took a turn for the worse. The OrGan Don that had been so effective suddenly became a deadly weapon as the Parvumeus used its club-like hands to swat one of the gigantic chunks of stone raining from the sky back at the spell’s caster, knocking Takua to the ground to be flattened an instant later by the same appendages, crushed into the grating with little but red smears of him remaining. Baron tossed the Wavemaster a Rip Maen healing even as he lunged forward, ripping at the monster’s sides with his weapons, the Bloody Blades drawn from their sheaths even as the sudden urge to destroy took over again. However, the instinct was reigned in as Zan, Talal, and Sidhe joined him in a furious combination of timed attacks that kept the monster off-balance and continuously hurting.

However, though the assault was synchronized as well as could be, it wouldn’t last forever. That much was proven as a pair of Juk Roms burst into being, one of them enveloping Baron within it. The Twin Blade stumbled back at the stinging pain from all directions, swatting at the millions of cuts and scrapes that formed on his exposed arms and neck, blood drawn from several wounds. Sometime in his distraction, the entire attack fell apart, ending with Zan slamming into the far wall and collapsing to the ground. That left poor Sidhe alone in the Parvumeus’s attack range, and Baron half expected the Long Arm to be impaled on the poisonous limbs once more, only this time leading to death. As the Juk Rom around him faded, though, the Twin Blade was greeted with a different sight than he expected, with the female half of the gigantic monster wrapping her legs around Sidhe before the Long Arm actually moved up to kiss the broken lips.

…Wait, what?

Baron had to double-take to make sure he was actually seeing what he thought he was seeing. But no, there was no illusion to the sight before him. Sidhe broke free a moment later, raising his spear as he turned towards the remainder of the Eventides scattered before the Parvumeus. Baron targeted him quickly, sure something was wrong, and found the Charm ailment in place, turning their leader against them. It seemed a bit more potent than the usual Charm, in terms of Sidhe’s reaction, but that was probably just a side effect of being Immersed. Or in Sidhe’s case, comatose. Still, the Long Arm was a pretty effective fighter as far as Baron had seen, and without knowing his level to determine his strength, he had a trump card, too. Things were looking bad. Fortunately, a Restorative would fix him right up, assuming that they could get it to him without being skewered.

Baron fished through his inventory, seeing if he had such an item, and found two resting at the very bottom. He had never been thorough in stocking up on those and Antidotes, and now his lack of foresight was hitting him hard. Still, it was something for the time being. The Twin Blade tossed the first one to Sidhe, waiting for the Charm to fade and things to go back to the chaotic battle they had just been. However, the Restorative seemed to hesitate and fizzle upon contact, leaving Sidhe still charmed and lunging forward, his spear raised to attack. Baron fell back, dodging the first thrust that was aimed at his middle, placing one hand on the spear and vaulting over it to throw the Long Arm off-balance for a moment while the next Restorative leapt to his hand and was shattered against Sidhe’s head with a mumbled “Sorry!” from the Twin Blade assaulting his leader. The item looked like it was about to take hold, to bring Sidhe to his senses, but then it too fizzled, leaving Baron without a chance to heal Sidhe and right in the Long Arm’s range. A quick spear through the middle ended that, though, pain blossoming like the blood across his shirt, the red staining the white fabric as blood practically poured from the fatal wound. Overcome by pain, Baron collapsed to his knees, even as one jerk added to the injury as the spear was removed. Fortunately the pain vanished as the Twin Blade ghosted, but something worse came with that: Emptiness.

Baron had been afraid of what death would feel like in the game, as if it would actually kill him in the real world, and the sensations he was getting started to make him think he had. It started out small, like a flu virus, making him feel slow and dizzy. Then weakness came upon him in a surge, a lethargy that grew stronger and stronger until all the Twin Blade knew was drifting, like his mind was filled with an unyielding fog. He could perceive the events at hand with a bit of focus, but even that was wearying. He just wanted to close his eyes, to sleep, to let the darkness envelop him in its embrace…

A bright light shone through it all, some form of healing banishing the hands of death even as they sought to draw Baron into their embrace. The Twin Blade’s eyes snapped open even as his body was reformed, all physical wounds gone even though his magical energies were again depleted. Still, Baron hadn’t realized just how good it felt to live again. The draining feeling was gone, along with his injuries, so he felt fit and full of energy, once more back to the perfect condition he had been in at the start of the Immersion. Of course, the reminder that he was still trapped within the game caused the Twin Blade’s good mood to vanish instantly, and the realization that the battle was still going on continued that process. Frowning, the Twin Blade started to turn back to the Parvumeus, his blades drawn even as a flashmail jarred in his ears.

What now?

Baron ignored the Flashmail for the time being, ready to get back into the action and defeat the Parvumenus. Oddly enough, his terror from before had evaporated, and it felt just like he was playing a game again. It was probably his restored body, without any aches or pains, that prevented that deadly trigger towards an insane, irrational fear. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, though, he knew he was ready to fight. It was with that in mind that he sidestepped a crushing downward slam from one of the Parvumeus’s club arms and slashed out at the male’s torso, aiming for the area that Sidhe had struck before, the flesh still raw and putrid. Twisting so that both blades cut across the wound, Baron found himself reminded of the doors in the Swath-twisted dungeon and stabbed both blades at the monster, intent on gouging out the monster’s innards, but a Juk Zot beneath him sent the Twin Blade flying back to slide against the floor, wincing at the stone-based burns on his skin.

Ow.

Rubbing at his bare upper arms while cringing at the raw skin, Baron decided to check his flashmails even as he winced at the burning feeling in his arms and neck. The first two, from Takua and Sekai, had been plans of a sort that he hadn’t noticed at first, and likely had already been attempted. The last, though, had just been sent from Talal, and the male Twin Blade looked over it with curiosity, wondering what “Beware of Spattering Flames” entailed.

Scanning over its contents quickly, Baron caught sight of the plan coming, having seen Sekai use a Burning Oil and Vak ability in conjunction, knowing that the effects could be devastating. Unfortunately, Sidhe was still close to the enemy as well, meaning he’d be sacrificed… that was cold. Shaking his head, the male Twin Blade ran at the Long Arm, knowing that the Charm was in place and he’d probably end up skewered again, but it was better than just letting Sidhe die like that. Fortunately, another Restorative from an unknown source restored the Eventide’s leader (why hadn’t his worked before? That was a mystery) and assured Baron of his own safety even as he saw the bottle lobbed into the air. Copying what he had seen Sekai doing before, the Twin Blade slammed into Sidhe with a full-on tackle, throwing them both to the floor, hopefully out of range. Baron covered his head and neck with his hands, hoping that he wouldn’t find himself charbroiled if he still was in the area that he fire would rain down in, and prayed for the best. Even as he did so, he unrolled a scroll bound with a green seal of a tornado, throwing it out between himself and the Parvumenus like it was a live grenade.

A decent-sized tornado of leaves and wood exploded in the Parvumeus’s face, a bit of revenge for the earlier Juk Rom being dealt out. All was fair in love and war, after all, and this was certainly war. However, being a Juk-based spell, Baron didn’t expect to do much damage- but that wasn’t the point. He hoped that the tornado would blow the falling flames away from himself and Sidhe, saving them unnecessary burns and pain. But would it work?

((OOC: Buffs: None (removed upon death)
Debuffs: None))

-Zan-

Few things felt as good as a solid punch to an enemy’s face. The sensation of flesh giving way to a coiled fist, bone grinding against knuckle and that satisfying crack…part of Zan lived for it. You could blame it on the Beast or blame it on the natural human tendency towards violence, but it thrilled him. It invigorated him. It made him feel alive. Adrenaline was a fire in his veins that matched the primal drum beat of his heart in flow. Blood burned and bubbled, boiled and brewed. Parvumeus, it seemed, could do little more than stumble this way and that. With the help of Sidhe, Baron and Talal, the lummox was at their mercy. It felt again like a pack of wolves descending upon their pray and, this time, it was Zan’s own mind that conjured the simile. In a mildly exaggerated sense, it made him feel like a king. There was nothing like physical supremacy to make you rise to the top of your own narcissism. There was no wrong they could do. Whenever it’d try and attack, the Heavy Blade was in there fending it off and allowing the others to get in their digs. Whenever it seemed like it was going to land a solid blow upon Zan, the werewolf would watch as the others would force it back and make it feed on its disorientation. Truly, it was a dance. As much as it was a violent show of will and gritted teeth, it was poetic. It was art. Again, Zan felt his mind pull in overdone tones and extrapolations, but he couldn’t help it. In the red haze of blood and flailed limbs, there was no rationality. During such times, he tapped into something ancient given to him by Twilight, an instinct old and buried in most. Only because of that same mechanism was he able to do so with such grace.

But it wasn’t to last.

The boss couldn’t be made a fool for long. It allowed them their gratification, their overindulgence, and then it began to adapt. Like all resilient creatures, it evolved from its oppression and became something more. Something better. Something deadlier.With two wood tornadoes - slightly diminished in power by the debuff - occupying the Eventide Twin Blades, a window was opened that would show to be the turn of the tides. Tricking Zan into a bout of overconfidence through an allowed deflection of one of its clubby arms, it used the other bloated limb to bat the Lycan aside like he was nothing. Like he was air. In that moment, Zan knew exactly how the Knights of War often felt when their numbers were flung at him. The strength behind it, one that again brought Death floating above him, made dog meat out of his flank and soup of his organs. His vision clouded with something that had nothing to do with victory or glory and everything to do with agony. Even thinking about moving was painful. Breathing was a dream and existing was becoming increasingly improbable. Through sheer desperation and the fact that there was simply no other choice, the Bat Earrings were mentally reached to and their healing properties demanded. Moving his lips to speak the spell through garbled blood was done in winces and an initial howl of pain that was lightning along his nerves. When the light did finally blanket him, knitting what needed knitting, it was cast a second time to flush him back to his usual self. Like before…it was with no small amount of anger.

Sadly, that anger could not be invoked. The sight of their leader making out with the enemy was stunning. What the fuck was that moron doing? If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em? It wasn’t until he was released from the straddled grip of Parvumeus’ better half with kiss-swollen lips that Zan happened to look over at his status bar in his mind’s eye. Charmed. Shit. Making a mental note to go anywhere near the female, the lycanthrope prepared to toss out a few items when Sidhe was suddenly in a fray of crazed assault. In the small space with something more important demanding equal - if not more - parts attention, it was difficult to keep up with the Long Arm. He was here, he was there, he was every damn place. The speed magic that had been gifted to him suddenly became their bane. After some sparring with a few dazed folks, the man found himself under an assault of the healing variety. Baron’s attempts met only failure. Didn’t the items heal one hundred percent of the time? Fuckin’ A. Of course. Sidhe couldn’t be under any normal kind of Charm, oh no. He had to be under the sway of crack-hyper spell. Rummaging through his inventory, hoping the son of a bitch didn’t decide to make a Zan-kabob, he looked up, Restorative raised…only to find the situation handled after a small amount of carnage via Takua. Well. Okay. That was handled. Now it was time to turn their attention back to the elephant in the room.

A Flashmail drew him away from any immediate action, his attention falling upon the words that were contained within. Ah. One of Sekai’s firebombs, courtesy of Talal. The moment the message had been fully read, the Burning Oil was a live grenade paused in time with a flaming arrow flinging towards it in perceived slow-mo. Fuck. They weren’t wasting any time. Flinging himself into a side roll, the explosion changed his plans mid-jump and punched him aside with the rippling wave of kinetics that accompanied the orange glow. Again, Zan found his back playing ping pong with the domed wall, pain blossoming like a bruise along his back as he indulged himself in a shudder. Hopefully that hadn’t been for naught. If the werewolf had been bitchslapped by a bomb for nothing, heads were going to roll. Lifting stifling to his legs, amber, wolven eyes glared at their collective opponent and anything he might be able to use to give him some sort of…some sort of edge. Merely combating the thing head-to-head, physically, was going to keep them open to the same damn Death hits, poisons and charms that were keeping the party down and on the defensive, for the most part. What to do, what to do...aha! Vision literally scoping in on the pulsing ball of raw flesh that filled in the large wound in its gut, a million possibilities flushed through him in an instant. Which to pick? Seeing as the two had a certain score to settler, what with the constant ‘making Zan look incompetent’ thing, the Heavy Blade wanted to make sure that it hurt. For that, his recently acquired Mimiru’s Sword was pulled out from the idled ether of his inventory. It had been a rare that was pulled from the smoldering rewards of Saol’s remains and it was God damn time to use it. The Critical Hit rating on it was…phenomenal. Pain it could do. Pain it could do very well.

Weaving in between splashed, flaming oil and the attacks of his teammates, Zan found an in of his own. With an exposed flank begging to be struck, the weapon was arched and swung with nothing short of prejudice. But Parvumeus wasn’t having any of it. Somehow - likely through the flailing female on his back - the creature had become aware of his little tactic and swung itself around like an oversized circus ride. A panicked back flip cleared him of any potential trauma via the clubbed arms, but it was in the center of a Juk Rom that he found himself. The random flairs of pain from the briar debris weren’t enough to completely ruin his landing, but it was with gritted teeth and a slightly awkward looking shamble that he came to rest. Throat opened with a roar that was all wolf, a sound that human vocal cords simply shouldn’t be able to make, he again went in for the kill with the thick blade seeking out a few pounds of flesh. Zan fantasized of the devastation he could cause at his level with a Critical Hit and found all his violent erogenous zones a-tingle. No more of this being outwitted and outgunned crap. Never had the situation been a fond one and such was not something that was on the calendar anytime soon, either. No. There would be blood, there would be death, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be anymore of his. Parvumeus could think it was as badass as it wanted to, but the fact that it was no Saol wasn’t going to change. The general hadn’t been able to best them with an entire army at his back. Some freak conglomeration of flesh and data wasn’t going to succeed where he had failed.

The blade tried to seek out the spot that had become something of a one-hit wonder; the stomach wound. Whether or not it’d do its job, he’d be out just as soon, trying to play more to the usual Twin Blade tactics than those owned by his own class. After all, next to Parvumeus, he was a damn Twin Blade. Or, at best, a Blademaster. There would be none of his usual head-on bullshit unless he wanted to smear a few more inches of the walls with his vitae. Once in the clear - as much as one could be in the chaos they were all immersed into - more thinking would be applied. Brutish ‘on-the-fly’ usuals weren’t going to cut it, to his dismay. Charging head-long towards the freak with a sneer dirtying his expression, he awaited its usual attack. The Ap Do still filling his already-amplified speed with yet more juice, he was able to flip himself forward when that club lunge came. The second level Kruz that tried to catch him mid-air was equally foiled, but hopefully the spun slice of his weapon upon the woman’s face would not be. Something had to hit, after all, if the weapon (one that was lower in level than his Plasma Blade) was going to shine and get its slice of the glory cake, so to speak. On his feet, he’d spin around to face the back of the fiend, making sure he was in the clear of its ooze-dripping feet before a third flip found him flipping back from its reach in yet another display of his Twilight-driven talents. This, however, came only after the call of a BiAni Don that amassed globs of amorphous black and purple gas into the air. It wouldn’t do Sekai any good, but it was the closest spell on his list and something had to be done in the few microseconds he had.

Hopefully it was enough.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

((OOC:

Zan
-Buffs: Ap Corv (Physical Attack), Ap Do (Speed), Ap Torv (Physical Accuracy), Rig Saem (HP Regeneration), Ap Juka (+Juk), Ap Ganz (+Gan).
-Debuffs: None.

:OOC))

Ondine had a few moments to feel incredibly satisfied with the job that she had done before she entered into the world of pain once more. The Dek Ganz hadn’t gone through, but the Dek Juka would certainly help take the brunt of the damage out of the spells it could cast. Unfortunately, and she had known it the moment that she had started to cast, the thing wouldn’t exactly like having its offensive power taken down a notch or two when it came to Juk. Which is exactly why she had cast the two spells that she had directly after one the other. Both of them, especially the GiGan Zot, hit. That said, she hadn’t expected Parvumeus to just fucking blast one at her like a freaking missile. That rock impacted her face, causing blood to spray everywhere as bones shattered and pain screamed outwards.

A moment later though, she realized that the true pain was yet to come. Parvumeus wasn’t done with her just yet, and she wasn’t in a position to run away. With both fists raised high above her head, there simply wasn’t enough time to dodge, nor was there even enough room in the first place. Pure agony ripped through her body as it was crushed like what happens when a ten ton weight falls at terminal velocity into a human body. Actually, that was pretty close to what had just happened, or so she thought. It wasn’t exactly the most…pleasant of experiences, and neither was the feeling of sickness that clung to her for a few seconds afterwards as she stood ghosted. At least someone revived her quickly.

The following battle (holy shit, had she done that much damage with the GiGan Zot?) was swift and brutal to all parties involved. At the beginning, Parvumeus was getting its ass handed to it on a silver platter. It eventually remembered that its arms were not its only weapons though, and spells flung the Eventide Crescendo’s machine out of whack. Ondine reached into his inventory for a moment, intending to drag out a Mages Soul…and found that Sekai was already in the process of using one on her. Well, that was nice of her and definitely something that the Wavemaster would have to thank her for later. It wasn’t like she didn’t have enough of them in her inventory as it was, but she didn’t like the idea of blowing one so early in the fight as it were.

Her eyes flicked back to the fight…and began to blink. Rapidly. The sight of Sidhe on top of the female, kissing the lips that the OrGan Don had broken, made Ondine question her own sanity. Okay, so that wasn’t exactly right, she knew what her own mental state was, but she really just had to wonder if she was hallucinating or not. Her right eye narrowed and twitched even as her left expanded massively, trying to comprehend what it was that she was seeing. When he climbed down and turned towards them all with a gleam of menace was when she finally looked at the status symbol on him. Charmed. Oh dear sweet god they were screwed unless someone could get rid of it. Baron seemed to be on it, so she returned her attention to the monster at large.

She switched her gear again, returning to her Ceramic Anklets for the Dek Ganz contained there. She wanted that weakness to Gan hightened, pumped up a bit more, a chasm in its defenses that would allow them to crush it. She sent that will into the spell, feeling the energy within her deplete as the energy rushed out to meet Parvumeus. That magic sought the armor that it had been unable to destroy the last time that it had assaulted with renewed energy. Constantly seeking, looking for the way in that would expose the fused pair of Juka Sprites to even more damage to Gan energy.

She was about to do more when she suddenly realized that not only was Sidhe not cured of his charm, but he was going straight after her. She swore as the first spear thrust missed her by centimeters, and right when she was about to back up to get away from any follow up assaults the shaft of his spear spun around and nailed her in the stomach. Pain flared as she flew backwards several feet, landing upright although only barely. The look in his eyes wasn’t any that she knew about, something so hostile and possessive, ready to slaughter all that stood in his way. So what she did was something psychological, or was that just the side effect of the Charm itself. Why hadn’t it been cured before? No matter. Her hand shot into her inventory and dragged out a little bottle, a restorative. There was no time to play nice, so she had to use this on him in some way…

Which was right when the actual head of the spear slammed into her left arm.

She snarled as the pain nearly caused her to drop the bottle, but she wasn’t done yet. Even as she wrenched her arm away from the man’s spear, her healing item was thrown the distance between them to smash directly into the man’s chest. By the time that it had made it though, his spear was ready for another strike, this time straight to the head. She cast a La Repth quickly, but knew that with the amount of damage that she had taken from the first hit, a second one would kill her easily. Thankfully though, the charm was dispelled, and Ondine sighed in relief that he wouldn’t have her head on a pole.

The ding of a flashmail, on the other hand, made her stiffen as she opened it up. Her eyes flared at the message inside of it, quickly glancing over at Talal. If she was going to use something related to Vak, then it was time to get a party started. Sidhe had just been tackled by Baron, presumably to get him out of the range of the explosion, but Ondine wasn’t about to do that. Even as the bottle (oh, another grenade then?) was thrown and a burning arrow was released by Sekai, she had the correct staff in his hands and ready to be used. The timing might be hard, but she hoped that she had it down. Right when she thought that the arrow was going to hit, she cast a MeGan Rom. It was then that she realized the use of actually saying the name of the spell that one was casting out loud. It was a fucking warning to other people.

“MeGan Rom.”

The whirlwind of stone burst into existance around Parvumeus, its winds howling as its rock sought the flesh of the monsters in its midst. But even more than that, it was there to amplify the effects of an explosion. With any luck, a detonation would turn that storm of earth into a raging cylinder of molten lava.

That was the point where Ondine decided that it would be a great idea to start backing the fuck up, especially when a Juk Rom exploded in her face. She flinched and started to try and run out of the storm, finally succeeding only when it stopped. A myriad of small cuts covered her body from the spell when she scrambled away from it, turning back at last to see that Zan was assaulting the Rapture created monster. He didn’t seem to be having too much success though, so the Wavemaster decided to help him out a bit.

Exactly how he was going to do that could be a problem though. Certainly the club like arms that Parvumeus wielded were of massive concern, but so were the spells. Potentially the spells even more than the physical attacks for Zan. Then there were the hands that dangled out of Parvumeus’s head. So far, it had been proven that every part of the body had a use, except for the large and fleshy center that seemed to be everyone’s primary target. Contact with the body of the female seemed to charm people, getting hit with the poisonous feet would poison you, and getting struck by the large battering ram style arms would serve you with either Death or its noncapitalized counterpart. Thus, it stood to reason that the hands of the female could be potentially deadly…or simply capable of charming, and the last thing that Ondine wanted to see was a Lycanthropic Heavy Blade come around and shove a huge sword down her throat. There was a very brief pause in her thought process before the girl banished that thought and all of the imaginative images from her head. Not something that she needed to be thinking about at the moment.

Either way, keeping Parvumeus from attacking Zan was a priority, as the Heavy Blade could likely do more damage than the Wavemaster if given the opportunity. Because of that, it was high time to make things happen now wasn’t it? Ondine swapped out her current staff for her Bubble Rod. It was the GiRue Kruz that she wanted, and she picked two different targets for the spell. The first was the hands that flowed above the larger male’s head, and the second was something that most people seemed to have ignored so far. The floating ring of ice crystals was summoned into being, boosted in power by his Water Magics and a BL Yokohama. Their target was Parvumeus’ right leg, just as their sister’s spell was flashing inwards towards the female’s arms, right where they connected with the head of the male. Should they miss, there was a good chance that some of them would spike through what was hopefully still a vital part of their anatomy.

At the last moment, right before they started to all fly inwards, Ondine noticed the Ani spell being let off by Zan, the purplish cloud of darkness that swarmed above the monster. Through Takua’s past experiences, her eyes darted over to Sekai, to see what was going on. If she had a really bad reaction, the Wavemaster might have to do what everyone else seemed to be doing and just get her down so that she didn’t cause anyone else to get killed. If possible, she was just going to let Kira handle the Archer though, because she didn’t want to get on the female Long Arm’s bad side.


((Buffs: None
Debuffs: None))

Battle waged around her as Sekai attempted to keep herself in a place she could heal those in need, and to keep herself in a position where she could serve as a good distraction to give Alana-san some time to get herself and Nemera-san to a safer place if ever the attention fell on her. Takua was felled by a nasty combination of a boulder slamming into him and then the twin hunks of meat that couldn't even be called arms anymore slamming down on him to leave him as nothing but gore and remains dripping into the dread code below.

Cringing even as Talal resurrected the downed Wavemaster- her own aid coming in the form of a Mage's Soul to revitalize some of his lost SP- Sekai's eyes turned, Kira ducking beneath a mighty swing of the arms and using the butt of her spear to block an attempted grab from the legs before slashing at them in retaliation and backing hastily away as the next physical assault surged in with a burst of magic attacking the Twin Blades.

Kira slipped back, beating a quiet, stalking retreat as she sidled up to Sekai's side, a quick glance answering her question on whether or not the girl was alright as two things happened at once; Zan got clubbed upside the head and went flying- again, what the hell, should they just give him wings or something?- and the legs caught Sidhe in quite the, ahh, inappropriate hold, locking over and around his hips in a way that was more than a little sexually suggestive as they raised him off the ground- must have been a Heavyblade- and drew him close.

She knew the moment the spell had clicked into place by the glaze in her male counterpart's eyes and groaned audibly. Fuck. And clearly, that's exactly what their lips were doing with one another, she thought in some twisted form of disgusted amusement as she watched him kiss the mutilated face of the female melded into the mutated male sprite's back. Merrows, that had better not be a game of tonsil hockey she was seeing or so help her...

Amber eyes turned to see the comically horrified expression on Sekai's face at the sight, her mouth dropping open, closing and then opening again as if she were wanting to say something about what was going on in front of her but couldn't find the words. Amusement kicked in full force as Sekai's face suddenly turned a rather interesting shade of red, bow dangling off her arm as she covered her eyes with both hands and muttered something to herself that had Kira chuckling.

“I am not old enough to see those kinds of things.”

And couldn't help but make the situation worse, despite the bloodied mouth turning their way as her counterpart leveled his spear at the rest of them- yep, she'd seen this before, Charmed- and muttered to Sekai.

“This is what we call being sexually repressed; it's not healthy and I have a feeling the next break we get, he and Alana need to, ahh, relieve some tension.”

Okay, so maybe she'd deserved that, Kira thought to herself and rubbed her shoulder, the impressive impact of the girl's fist striking had actually done some damage, enough to hurt and leave a bright red mark. Good girl, the Ruem Princess thought to herself with a pleased, if not rakish grin on her face as the girl hustled back into battle.

You'd better be the one taking me out if I get Charmed, same goes for you; I'll take you out if you do; none of that someone else doing it bullshit.

Sekai tossed her short hair, the longer white tendrils in front bouncing as she kept her eyes on the moving form of the gigantic enemy, trying to find some kind of weakness or another on the mutated Juka Sprites that she might be able to exploit before she sent a sideways look over at Kira, a rather unusually sly, uncharacteristically... almost animalistic like smile curving her lips a bit as she responded through their link with what sounded like a light purr to her voice.

'No worries there; I'm the better kisser anyway.'

It was Kira's turn to have her jaw nearly hit the rusted floor from the response, watching the triumph- smug and arrogant as it was in the way those tawny eyes suddenly lit up and the small curve of her lips turned just a little more as she notched an arrow in her bow, furrowed her brow and took aim at the spot where the two were merged into one, maybe a shot to the brain would help matters?

“Shocking Arrow of Voltage!”

Keep on the move, she told herself, immediately in motion again as a Flashmail dinged in her ears, a quick scan and glance up showed that Talal was waiting on her, a quick response back and she had swapped bows, the entire metallic bolt charged and ready as she fired the moment Talal lobbed the flask into the air. Timing her arrow right- hopefully- Sekai let loose her arrow and watched the streak of red, orange and blue flames roar forward and strike the flask dead on as it exploded and splattered everywhere.

Please, she thought to herself and notched another arrow in the bow, once she'd managed to switch back over to the Rai based one- the one with the strongest magic held in it- and took aim again, ready to fire when one of the worst things to happen did;

Zan let off an Ani spell; one of the stronger ones directly within Sekai's line of sight.

Kira swore, shoving away from the battle she'd dove head first for, her spear vanishing within her grip as she tried to get her little one's attention, to make her focus on anything but that slick, dark energy filling the room and preparing to crash down with a shout that should have succeeded in any other time, at any other place.

“SEKAI!”

*

Everything was deceptively calm about the five foot nothing Archer standing there, as if tendrils of Dread Code and wire had slithered up and bound her feet to where she stood, transfixed by the heavy shadows growing larger, taller and thickening all around her. Even sound faded away, she thought she'd heard someone's name calling her voice, could have sworn someone was there and wanting her to turn their way. Feelings turned numb and cold, like she was suddenly disconnected from herself, yet still within her own body at the same time.

Darkness grew.

hands descended-

Distant rumbling laughter echoing.

cradling the slim, fragile line of her jaw with calloused palms-

Chain mail rings clinking together like some macabre, twisted form of demon teeth.

tilted her head back to meet eyes the color of the forgotten Hell where even Gods feared to tread-

Laughter breaking like thunder around her ears.

air was too stifling, thick and syrupy and tinged with blood, soot and an unfamiliar taste that felt almost coppery but sweet and acrid at the same time-

The darkness energy seemed to explode from where she stood, breaking into large clumps that slowly formed into a menacing, skeletal representation of the man with frozen Hell for eyes that swiftly descended upon the two mutated Juka Sprites with laughter only she could hear. She could hear the words hidden inside the roaring, thunderous laughter, whispering in a seductively poisonous croon that she was next, that there was nowhere left for her to hide.

There was-

No.

Safe.

Place.

'He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's here. He's herehe'sherehe'sherehe'sherehe'sherehe'sherehe'sherehe's-'

Deafening as the world seemed to expand and shrink at the same time, her bow hit the ground with a shrill screech and clatter before settling down into silence. The noise echoed within her mind, like cell doors slamming shut, like thunder roaring in her ears, chains rattling all around her as something caught within her chest, threatening to bubble up and explode out of her in any way it could manage as the world began to spiral around her.

Hands shaking, rising up to cradle her jaw, trying to find whether or not those hands were there or not as her fingers brushed against the sensitive skin of her ears, the sensation sending a jolt of terror not unfamiliar to her as images flashed repeatedly in her head; a myriad of nightmares collected into a series of scenes, every single one she was caught in one way or another as the dull sensation of pain pricked and blossomed into heated agony as her nails dug into her temples and cheek.

Too slow.

*

Kira swore a vehement streak as the girl locked down, the blood against her face already a telltale sign that the girl had tripped big and was fucked over in one of the more intense stages of the fear based attacks that struck her when an Ani spell was even remotely cast; this one worse than the one against Saol considering she wouldn't be able to find the common sense in her to run like she should have.

Her arms reached up, tearing the girl's hands away from her face, wincing at the fingernail gouges left bleeding behind and restrained her, glaring at no one in particular and prepared herself to bodily throw the girl out of the way if the scream the AI knew from experience was about to rip itself from her little one's lungs.

*

Those two words thundered louder than anything she'd heard before, reverberating within her mind as that pressure leaped unwelcomed from her chest, through her throat and out her mouth before she was able to think about what she was doing. It hurt. God, it hurt, what was wrong with her throat? Who was ripping out her throat?!

One word ripped out, high enough to shatter glass as the note rose impossibly high in the metallic room as she clutched her head, eyes visible for a scant instant- wide beyond belief with the pupils damn near invisible, shrunken by her own psychological terror- before they sealed themselves shut, face twisted, distorted like an old school horror movie heroine trapped in a doomed situation as every ounce of strength and lung power went into her denial and fear powered wail.

Blood seeped out the sides of her mouth, dry lips split from the way her mouth had widened during the scream, blood from a ragged throat was hacked up, thrown up along with bile to sizzle in the burning coals below as her vision swam before her; darker than black, deeper than Hell and more terrifying than anything that could have come after her in the night back in the real world.

There was no escape.

-GM-

Useless.

Mother.

Fuckers.

That’s all any of them had ever been. The children that the Eventide Crescendo had gotten into the habit of recruiting had never really been good for anything beside fodder. Even at that, they often failed. The scrambling shits couldn’t even go a quest anymore without going comatose. Finally, Sidhe understood the true depth to the old cliché about good help. Moving about the room in fluid strides and sweeps of his weapon, clashing here and stabbing there, he felt like each attack had a two-fold purpose. First and foremost, it dealt some much-needed revenge to the players that were abusing his love. Secondly, it was a kind of justice for Tiral and his sacrifice. It was the fault of morons like these that he was gone, that he was changed into something of living flame and pain. If Raquar had been here, the Long Arm would have made a particular show of butchering that son of a bitch. Nemera’s sickness? Their fault too. They should have stepped in the way and taken one for their leader. Soldiers had responsibilities and all of these plastic men and women were too stupid to recognize it. Why hadn’t he done this before? The beat down had been so very long in the making. That he had resisted up until now showed only the sheer might of his patience for their impudence. But no more. A kiss from his bound maiden had shown him the error of his ways and Sidhe was finally ready to vindicate them. The deaths and the maiming wounds were like baptismal waters that washed away the sins of his mighty mistakes. Silly items were tossed at him, like there was something to be cured, but they didn’t work. Of course they didn’t work. There was nothing wrong with him, oh no, but everything was wrong with them.

And then there wasn’t.

And then he didn’t know what to believe.

Mid-stride, his glaive about claim a pound of flesh for reasons that had seemed completely rational before, the Long Arm found himself paused in a transitory haze of conflicting beliefs. The anger and the need to kill his companions was fading as fast as daylight at the end of the world. Emerging from it was a smoldering realization of his actions and a sudden, furious need to wash his lips until they scraped off and he regrew them (God, the wonders of a good Repth). Dear Lord, what had come over him? The Restoratives gave him a small list which, based on the effects, was immediately shrunk down to a single possibility. Coming in contact with the female part of the freakshow had Charmed him? Cringing at what had transpired, Sidhe did his best to subtly flick his eyes over to Alana to evaluate the level of horror and disgust twisting her expression. But when he looked, it wasn’t negativity that he had received, but a sympathetic smile. The player might have apologized to the others, but he had a feeling they had already forgiven him. They seemed understandable like that. It wasn’t the first - and certainly wouldn’t be the last time - that they had seen a status effect do something regrettable to a teammate. The sudden smash of weight into his side - what the hell was with tackling lately?! - made him reevaluate that opinion. Either Baron hadn’t seen that things were all better with him or he was getting in a little bit of tit-for-tat. Great, maybe he deserved-

KABOOM

The sound and force of the explosion rattled bone and teeth alike, making Sidhe more than grateful for the then-explained tackling. If the Long Arm hadn’t been knocked out of the way, well, he didn’t want to know what a makeshift grenade could do to a human body at that range. Looking up at Parvumeus, he watched the thing finally start to lose its pain tolerance. With flaming oil clinging to its right half, its body aflame and cooking, it began to…to mewl. The male face remained uncaring and undaunted, but the female sounded like a cat that was slowly dying through some incredibly inhumane means. It wasn’t that Sidhe minded dishing out a little damage, but the sound made his gut churn and his heart ache. Talal’s Vak Rom exacerbated the agony of the boss monster, licking skin and tossing more of the oil around until part of its head and its left arm joined in the cookout. Sadly, a fire tornado with freshly combusted oil in such a small room is not without its drawbacks. Sizzling handfuls of the stuff would catch the poor female Twin Blade in a boiling patch on her neck and the other of her class, Baron, along his right forearm. Or it would have, had he not tossed out a well-timed Rom spell of his own that dispersed the oil back at Parvumeus. Though none of his physical attacks could find purchase in the ebb and flow of the arcane, that could certainly be viewed as some sort of blessing. The flames weren’t going out on any of the afflicted and still the spell, winding down in its last seconds, threatened to spread the mistake. If someone didn’t do something to contain it, and soon, Sidhe knew they had just dealt themselves their own Game Over. After all, though a little of the fire didn’t do a whole lot of damage, it didn’t appear to be able to go out. Any kind of water on a fire of the nature, too, would only spread it. Dropping and rolling? Ha. The damage would eat away at all their hit points until there was nothing left. Fuck.

Takua, for the umpteenth time, came to the rescue. Be it through strategic know-how or sheer luck, the spell he summoned acted as nothing short of a much-needed miracle. The MeGan Rom’s swirling boulders acted as some sort of containment field, only the occasional drop of the stuff managing to sizzle its way down to the Dread Code coal fires below. True to his other intentions, unbeknownst to the sapphire-loving Long Arm, the mixture of rock and flame caused the objects to smolder like a messily constructed magma prison. All the while Parvumeus screeched and screamed in a varying tempo of human and alien vocal cords that hurt the ears in more than one degree. By the time the spell combination had come to a stop, a shaking creature, parts of its body still on fire, was left in its wake. The moment was brief, fleeting, but a GiRue Kruz ala their friendly neighborhood Wavemaster shot through the base of the arms that jutted out of the malformed creature’s forehead…and severed them. Even the male cried out, then, the arms flopping momentarily like fish out of water on the dark grated floor before coming to rest at an eerie stillness. Another of the same spell, picks of ice conjured in a circle around Parvumeus’ leg, smashed down upon their target without mercy, Takua still unwilling to let the moment of weakness pass. Though it didn’t quite have the dramatic effects of the first, it had turned the monster’s right leg into jutting bone and oozing dog meat.

Following in his teammate’s footsteps, Zan rushed in at the weakened mutation with the intent of taking due advantage of its current predicament. Still, vulnerable as it was, his first stab at its raw core was shamble dodged. Luckily for the Eventides, however, the method of evasion had put far too much weight on the thing’s bad leg and, the female howling, it slouched to a forced kneel. The moment that happened, the Lycan was flipping over the group’s target, his sword cleaving the woman’s face in twine with a Critical Hit shaking above her as he came to a land. Whatever retaliation may have came his way was avoided with another flip, this one backwards, that left Parvumeus to deal with the first spell that had been on his list in a moment of quick decision. It was only when the werewolf landed and stared up at the convulsing plumes of purple and black shadowfire that he winced. Unlike Zan, Sidhe wasn’t aware of the degree of Sekai’s fear, but it wouldn’t be long before he discovered the depths at which her psyche had buried her in its power. Her electricity-crackling arrow didn’t quite hit its intended target, the massive concoction of flesh having tried to move from its flight path, but it still crackled and burned a nice wound in its side. But it wouldn’t matter for her, not in about two seconds time. As the BiAni Don bombarded both the floor and Parvumeus with its power, the co-leader of the Eventide Crescendo watched the Archer flip the fuck out.

Sidhe would have been glad to pay more attention to that particular crisis, but as often happened in these scenarios, something much more pressing reared its ugly head. Literally. Where the arms used to be, capable of casting all sorts of concentrated magic, a pulsing green light now resided. Before the Long Arm could even think a warning, a literal canon shot of wild Juk energy filled a corner of the room where Kira was heading to protect her lover, tossing out the occasional firecracker-like spazz of curling, painful wisps that bit and burned like plasma in peppered patterns on Zan and Takua’s skin. But they lived. Kira, however, didn’t share their luck. Being at the epicenter of the raw blast left her as a pile of gore that not even the most skilled mortician would be able to identify. The attack, it appeared, had a secondary effect. What tendrils of the stray element didn’t eat at the two previously mentioned made contact with the walls instead and, surprisingly, changed those same spots back into what looked like the ‘real’ dungeon’s reflection. White, chipped walls gave way from the metallic rust and let some sanity into an insane situation. The cost, of course, was far from fun or easy, but Sidhe found himself suddenly able to think a little bit clearer. The Dread Code illness turning his blood into syrup seemed to lessen. The cloud of hopelessness that often accompanied the Swath seemed to lose the worst of its power. Their fight was far from over, but the Long Arm could finally see sunlight on the horizon.

They needed to finish this.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

((OOC:

Parvumeus
Buffs: None
Debuffs: Dek Juka (-Juk)
-New Attack - Juk Blast: Being that it's not an official attack, there is no real damage counter. The amount it'll do to you is anywhere from 1 to ghosting. And, of course, it'll start changing the room back: whitish hospital dome walls and hospital-light linoleum flooring.

The new day, as I mentioned, is Thursday once more. Keep up the good work, guys! Parvumeus is almost done for.

:OOC))

-Zan-

The joy of Zan’s successful cleave of the female’s face and the accompanying critical was short lived. Only when the atmosphere of the cramped room darkened further did he realized what he had done. Landing from his flip, crouched like a tiger ready to strike, he watched the purplish clouds of beautiful Ani energy bubble and churn in preparation for their fall. Yet, he knew of someone that would not exactly share his pleasant opinion of the sight. Rather, this person would be amidst some kind of panicky seizure in about two seconds time, if he knew them at all. Worried and guilt-ridden blues shifted across the hellish walls, along the sweating faces of his teammates, and finally upon the visage of someone he had come to trust with his very life. Sekai’s face was losing color as fast as an arterial wound loses blood. Her sanity was hemorrhaging out of her ears and there was but a tick of the big clock before she exploded. Or maybe not. Maybe the Archer had gained some kind of control over the irrational terror that struck her in the presence of the Black Wave. Yet, quoting a favorite game of his, Zan found Lady Luck was really a whore and he was fresh out of cash. Kira was already on her way to her love, even before the scent of blood basked the air and made the Lycan’s wolf growl for more. Unlike Parvumeus, Sekai’s crimson wasn’t laced with chemicals and digital fuckery. No, it was pure, innocent, sweet…a lamb to be slaughtered. Though he couldn’t remember doing it, Zan found his eyes closed and his head lifted up to the sky with nothing short of a semi-erotic glaze to his expression.

Embarrassment and shame threatened to choke him as he shut the look down and become his usual, studied self, but there simply wasn’t time. Sekai was on meltdown mode and it was all his fault. Why did he always do this? Always with the stupid mistakes that got people he cared about hurt. Such a novice. Such a motherfucking amateur. If not for Kira’s tweaked Flashmail, he would have gone over to her, to reconcile and pay her back for all the times she had been at ground zero of his meltdowns, but the Long Arm was smarter. There would be time for that later. Now? Now Parvuemeus got a sword shoved up his ass to make up for lost time and to be the object of his psychological projection. Or whatever the hell. Defense mechanisms and psychology were never really his strong suit in school. It’s an absolute wonder he had all the issues he does, the Heavy Blade mused bitterly. Turning back to stalk the lug at the room’s middle, his eyes narrowed at the odd glow coming from the wound in the monster’s face. It was getting brighter, slowly but surely, and if Zan’s experience with such things (be it through television media, video games or his time in “The World”) was a sign of things to come, shit was about to hit the fan. When the inevitable blast went off, the player’s shouted warning was muted beneath the force of it and he could do little else but cringe when Kira was used as a new bucket of paint to freshen the walls. The big bang wasn’t the only thing to escape, however. A few tendrils of what looked like raw Juk wound around the room like eels. Some struck him, burning through leather and cloth to bubble flesh, but the pain was…distant. Whatever connection Zan had with the Wave seemed to comfort him from the worst of it.

What wisps spared him - or Takua, it appeared - seemed to change the very environment the Eventide Crescendo had been fighting in. From nightmare to cold reality, the hospital they had initially gotten to know made itself known in patches and stitches. It all whispered of a place that, Zan believe he spoke for everyone, the group longed to return to. The Swath wasn’t a place intended to keep a person grounded. Though some of them may have been unaware of it, they were all slipping. On one level or another, they were all losing themselves in its bowels. Having undergone the nasty effects of it before, Zan knew how to spot change. Their circumstances were molding them like soft pieces of bloody clay. In the end, when all was said and done and they said ‘fuck you’ to the dungeon and the whole God damn field, any of the players still present could look back to the person they had been before they had ever known about the Eventide Crescendo or comatose players and wonder who the stranger was. Evolution under duress. Tension making the caterpillar build its cocoon a little faster. Some of them would be better for it, stronger, but some would crack and crumble under its pressure. Zan was already pretty sure he knew who was who. He challenged them, inwardly, to prove him wrong. Not one of his companions deserved that fate. Not that he was aware of, anyway. Who really knew with some of them?

Putting all the pseudo-intellectual mumbo jumbo out of mind, forcing himself to pay attention to the scrimmage at hand, plans began to churn within the otherwise stagnant core of his brain. With all the blood and all the violence permeating the air like a fine perfume, doing so proved to be exceptionally difficult. It challenged him to ignore the irrationally and the bestial gluttony of it all. If he wanted to, if he really wanted to, the Lycan could lose himself in that red-hazed glory. There was no telling who’s be alive when the smoke cleared, not even if he’d be alive, but God the temptation didn’t lessen for it. It was a war he fought with himself whenever combat got intense, whenever enough wounds were made and enough blood was spilled. The whole of it called to him like a moth to the proverbial flame. It held a dark allure that seduced and debased. It was the mythical siren calling to the sailors, ready to lure them into the dark, slick rocks of the night. Yet, despite it all, Zan held himself in a state of control. There was no willful or noble reason for his drive, for that ability. It came only down to the simple matter it always did - too many had died so he could get it. The player could never make up for what he had done, but he could certainly stop himself for making it all for nothing. Nothing quite like throwing an accomplishment away to kick those you had hurt along the way in their cash and prizes. Zan was capable of a lot of things, but he liked to think he’d never be voluntarily capable of relinquishing what he had been put through so much to give. It wasn’t fair. More importantly, it wasn’t right and he’d be damned if he was going to condemn his soul any further. Maybe they had low security prisons in hell.

He could dream.

A charge via the oversized Parvumeus jostled him yet again from a train of thought that had derailed him from more pressing matters. Gah! Focus. He had to focus. The moves of his companions had left the boss crippled and in agony, but he/she also had something of a new weapon. If more had been even a little near Kira, Zan had no doubt they would have ultimately suffered her fate. That, of course, meant he had to stay the fuck away from the gaping wound that had once been a forehead. Kind of. Or. Or maybe not, actually. Maybe initiating some kind of elemental overload or something along that line would actually result in an unseen victory. Tired of thinking in the box - lot of good that had done him, lately - the Heavy Blade had chosen to step outside and take a gander at the view. It would be something of a waste if he ventured out to do it on his own, so the possibility of a Flashmail was clearly not out of the question. Zan had a feeling Takua would be a big part of that, what with the almost unholy arsenal of spells he had at his disposal. Shove enough Gan energy into Parvumeus’ melon and maybe they’d see some fireworks. Even those that weren’t exactly rolling in the magical dough could play part in his plan. Keep cutting at the head, at the thing containing all of that energy, and it could only help in the containment failure, right? Oh, sure, there was always the chance of something mildly catastrophic happening to them as well, but what was life in the EC without a little risk?

Zan wasn’t lacking in the spell department, not in terms of amount and level, but his power with magic was far from impressive. It seemed he’d have to lead by example and teach some of the physical classes that they were referred to as such for a reason. There was a time and a place to defy the stereotypes, but most of the time they were in place for a reason. A Heavy Blade shouldn’t be spamming spells, after all. Not if they actually desire to see something get done. Dragging the tip of the Mimiru’s Sword along the grated ‘ground’, he watched the sound get the attention of Fuggo and grinned in anticipation. Either he was about to kick some serious mutant ass or the group was about to see something funny. And painful. And partially humiliating. He waited. And waited. And beckoned. Finally, sure of a target, the face-pulsing freak became the face-pulsing rhino and began its charge. There were a million things he could do at this point. Most of them were even a lot safer than what he had planned. But what did you get playing things safe? Pfft. Arching the great broadsword back, Zan started to spin, and spin, and spin. Even as his preternatural grace fought away the dizziness - at first - he feared that he’d accidentally impale Talal or Alana or someone through the face or, God forbid, trip on the damn thing himself if he didn’t decide a throwing point…and soon. Whether or not anyone was listening to his plan wasn’t part of his concentration zone. Releasing it, the sword spinning with the force of his throw, Zan could only close his eyes.

And pray he didn’t recognize the screams.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

((OOC:

Buffs: None
Debuffs: None

:OOC))

Ondine hadn’t dreamed that her spells would have such blatant success as they had. She felt a little lucky when the MeGan Rom had contained the burning oil like it had, but to turn into such a revolving cyclone of molten devestation as it had was something she had only hoped for. The pain was evidently excruciating though, as the monster screamed out in ways that shouldn’t have been allowed, the combination drilling deep into her skull. That cry of pain reminded her, once again, that Parvumeus wasn’t your typical monster, and was a fused pair of Juka Sprites. Not something that she wanted to remember, but it was there again. When the spell finally ended, she was left to stare the damage that she had wrought. The rapture experiment had been burned badly, parts of it still blazing, and was shaking badly. A split second later her first GiRue Kruz went off, and she gawked as it actually severed the arms that came out of the head. She hadn’t actually thought that would even happen, it had never even entered her head. Whatever they did though, it was gone, even if it was simply charming someone.

Her last spell turned the monster’s leg into what looked like slush and bone. That was great, as was the massive Critical Hit that appeared over the monster when Zan slammed his blade into the halve that was female’s face. That, she thought as she winced in sympathetic pain, would have to hurt like a bitch. Not that Parvumeus didn’t deserve it, but still, a critical hit from a level…shit, how high was the Lycan? 47? Ow. Unfortunately, that was when Sekai began to freak out…and badly. Ondine stared in a mixture between awe, sorrow and worry at the size of the complete psychological fuck up that the Archer was going through. She was going to start to move towards the girl when Kira’s flashmail arrived. If the AI was going to take care of her lover, the more power to her then, and the Wavemaster turned away.

Only to be shocked at the size of the green ball of energy that was hovering around the space where the arms had been on the experiment’s body. It seemed that it was waiting for Ondine to notice it, as a blast filled the section of the room where Kira was…and completely vaporized her, leaving what looked like a bloodstain and nothing else. There wasn’t even a second wasted before Ondine chucked a Resurrect towards the Long Arm; but after that she had her own worries. Streamers of energy had curled outwards from the burst of Juk and were now landing on top of her robes…and burning through as if they didn’t exist. In another moment, she was suddenly aware of how hot they were, as if embers of liquid fire had touched her skin and seared her. The pain was excruciating, as though plasma had been played across her skin, but relatively few hitpoints were taken.

She dropped to the ground though, sweat standing out on her skin as she held in the scream that threatened to burst from her lungs. She wasn’t even aware that Zan had practically shrugged it off, too concerned in keeping air inside of her. Eventually, painstakingly, the pain began to fade more and more. She glanced at her arms though and saw that the Juk had played merry hell with her skin. When she glanced upwards though, she saw something else that had her both privately rejoicing and happy. Somehow, places where the wisps had struck that weren’t players had caused the area to slowly revert back to the actual dungeon, the one that she could term ‘sane’ by comparison.

Finally, the pain subsided to the point where she could move again. She got up and checked where Parvumeus was, making sure that she wasn’t in the danger zone again, and thought for a moment. If they could pulp the other leg, it wouldn’t be able to move nearly as well and things could be wrapped up in short order. On the other hand, the fucking cannon that it had grown out of its head would make things difficult, and suggested that they needed to get rid of it right now instead of wasting any time. On the other hand, if cutting off the arms had given the damn thing the attack it had now, maybe it’d be a better idea simply to do as much damage as possible and just kill the thing instead of trying to take things at their leisure.

Ondine took a moment to glance around and view the available fighters. Nemera was still out, Sekai and Kira were both occupied, and she wasn’t sure just how much use Alana could be at the moment. What other spells did she have besides Juk? Other than that though…they had Sidhe, Zan, Baron and Talal…which was when the girl’s eyes sharpened. Talal was on fire from the oil, and it hadn’t gone out yet. Given that it was an oil based fire, it wouldn’t go out anytime shortly either, and that meant that she’d have to die before it went away, or they’d have to carve out the flesh where it was. Given that it was sitting on her neck, it would probably be better just to kill her and be done with it. She instantly composed two different flashmails, one to Alana, one to Talal.

It was almost seconds afterwards that he received Zan’s flashmail, detailing a plan that Ondine could wholeheartedly get behind. She smiled slightly as she dragged her Gaia’s Staff back out, pointing it directly at Parvumeus as it began to charge towards Zan. Was he trying to be suicidal as well, or did he have something up his sleeve? Either way, she wasn’t letting the thing make its way to the Heavy Blade, especially after she saw what he had begun to do. Poor Rapture Experiment 1 was about to become Poor Dead Rapture Experiment 1, and there was practically nothing that it could do about it. The moment that she saw the sword go flying through the air, she began chain casting her spell combinations after a quick dose of a Mages Soul.

“GiGan Zot. OrGan Don.”

Anyone looking her way would see the staff vanish into her inventory as she quickly changed staves from Gaia’s Staff to the Muddy Rod. Damn the fucking level on it, it was the only staff that he had with a Rom style Gan spell of any appreciable level, and a level one spell was not appreciable. Meanwhile, her spells started to take effect. The GiGan Zot glowed on the floor in front of Zan, and the mighty spire would find themselves lunging outwards at Parvumeus in an attempt to halt its charge. Over the same spot that Takua hoped it would be stopping at, with or without his GiGan Zot hitting, the three boulders took aim directly at the creature’s head. All three boulders of earth, each a monstrosity in their own right, plummeted with as much force as a small bomb.

Her flashmail dinged quietly as she cast a MeGan Rom before switching out to her Gaia’s Staff again. The message from Alana was a very simple one word answer that made her annoyed. “Enough.” That wasn’t an answer at all, that was just a way of fucking cockblocking because you didn’t want to share. The MeGan Rom would spin up where all of her spells had so far congregated. It was simple really, just a hope that it would hold the beast there while the rest of them planned their strikes…and also to hold it still for the last spell that she had. Hopefully nobody would be in the area when this went off, because if they were, things would go back very quickly. Her last spell was said with as much volume as she had spoken any spell before, one that she hoped would be the last spell she would have to cast against the monster before her. It was a warning, and was said as such. Its message was clear, “Get the fuck out of the area that the boss is in.”

“Yarthkins.”

That was when it turned into a behemoth against a behemoth. Although not as large as Parvumeus was, the troll was no shrimp, and its muscles were a testament to that. More than the muscles though, the spiked club that it held in its hands showed just how powerful it really was. It gave everyone a moment to get clear before it roared its challenge at the mutated freak in front of it, muscles nearly snapping as it wrenched its club off the floor and arced it directly over its head in a downward smash that was targeting the forehead of the male Juka Sprite, right where that blast of Juk had come from. Foolish perhaps to charge directly into what could kill you, but if anything could counter that thing, it would have to be a summon. If it didn’t get rid of the Yarthkins…well, a spiked mace that was nearly as big as the Wavemaster who had summoned it to the forehead was never a good thing. It’d be even better if Zan’s sword was stuck in its head and the huge hammer that was the club drilled the nail that was the Heavyblade Sword through Parvumeus’ body.

As a precaution, Ondine took another Mages Soul and cast a La Repth, hoping that, with everyone healed even just slightly, they’d have enough to survive if casting a summon in this confined space was a terrible mistake.

((OOC: Buffs: Ap Corma
Debuffs: None))

Baron’s ears rang. The sound of the explosion at close range had nearly deafened him, oil from the attack pouring down like some hellish rain from above as it threatened to consume all within range. Fortunately, the Green Gale scroll that he had thrown out had done its job, deflecting all of the burning oil that had come towards him and Sidhe. Sighing in relief, the Twin Blade sat up from his position on the ground, brushing his jacket off while letting the throbbing in his head go down. Rubbing at his aching temples, he picked up his weapons from where they had fallen on the ground and held them at ready, a bit stunned from the close-range bomb that had just gone off, but overall sound and intact.

Sadly, that didn’t seem like it would be the case for very long. Flames were licking across the floor, spreading rapidly through the enclosed chamber as the oil splashed about. Poor Talal, who didn’t have the same protection Baron and Sidhe did, found a patch of the burning mess splattered across her neck. Baron could only watch as she was burning, knowing that he couldn’t do anything about it, and averted his gaze, hoping that the death was quick. In the meantime, his nose reeled at the scent of burning flesh, his eyes watered from the smoke filling the area, and every other sense told him that his own death was near as well. Indeed, the flames were moving quickly through the room, drawing closer by the second.

However, the flames were averted by a gigantic tornado of rock and earth as Takua’s MeGan Rom burst into being around the center of the room, containing the flames and pushing them back towards the monster trapped in the middle. The Parvumeus screamed in pain, a chilling chorus of misery and agony flowing together like an unholy dirge from the underworld itself. Baron wanted to cover his ears at the inhuman moaning from the merged Juka Sprites as they shared their pain with the rest of the world. Fortunately, the mixture of spells died down quickly, though the lingering shadow of the sounds remained in the Twin Blade’s mind. Wincing at the recollection, Baron got to his feet, ready to fight, even as he saw another spell form in the air. A GiRue Kruz smashed into the feminine hands jutting from the male’s forehead, severing them completely with one fell blow. The maimed limbs fell to the ground, flopping around for a moment before stopping, drawing Baron’s attention back to the monster itself.

Zan was immediately in the fray next, leaping up to drive his sword forwards towards the rotting middle of the monster, aiming to further add to the wound that was already there. Sadly, his attack missed as the Parvumeus somehow managed to stagger away, though that put it at an even more vulnerable position as one leg gave way, having been weakened a few moments before by a second GiRue Kruz, courtesy of Takua. The monster was left defenseless even as Zan’s blade met it in the center of the feminine face. The screaming visage was torn in two by the massive broadsword, a bloody, gaping wound torn through flesh and bone even as a resounding Critical Hit rose above the wreckage of the female half of the monster. Unfortunately, it was his next move that caused even Baron to wince as the BiAni Don fell from the sky, the dark orbs of black energy falling upon the Parvumeus. The Twin Blade saw it coming, and immediately started counting.

3… 2… 1…

Ping!

Right on cue.

Baron didn’t even bother to read the message from Kira after reading the subject. There was no doubt that the cold Long Arm would deal with Sekai in whatever way she deemed necessary. In the meantime, there was still work to be done. Putting aside images of Sekai losing her grip on sanity, the Twin Blade held his weapons at ready, looking for an opportunity to strike, studying his foe. As he had the moment to examine the Parvumeus, though, he noticed something odd. A surge of forest-green energy was gathering on the male half’s forehead, where the female’s hands had been before Takua had dealt with them. The energy suddenly shot forward like a beam of raw Juk power, striking Kira as she went to go deal with Sekai’s meltdown. The Long Arm was immediately vaporized by the blast, nothing left of her but a few drops of crimson to stain the warped walls. Speaking of the walls, those spots hit by the remaining burst of energy were suddenly cleansed of the Swath affliction, gray-white hospital paneling showing through in splotches. Baron felt a surge of hope, seeing as the Swath didn’t seem to be completely eternal, and prepared to fight.

It wasn’t over yet.

A quick glance over the battlefield gave Baron a general idea of where everyone was as he made sure that their health was high. Everyone seemed to be in good condition, aside from Takua and Zan, who had gotten scorched a bit by the blast of Juk energy that the Parvumeus had fired a bit before. A quick La Repth over the battlefield to sooth the burning wounds, as well as those of any who had been injured otherwise, shone quickly as it left the Twin Blade’s hands. Soon, it seemed that everyone was in good condition, so Baron prepared his own assault, even as the Flashmail from Zan came in. Checking it quickly, the Twin Blade grimaced at the plan put before him. In truth, Juk and Gan were two of the elements Baron didn’t particularly excel in, putting him at a loss, even with the option to strike at the legs. He had a few Juk skills, true, but with the maelstrom of spells that would be flying about, he would be hard-pressed to get in for an attack without being shredded first… unless he did things carefully.

Thinking quickly and checking through his inventory for anything useful, Baron came up with a Cosmic Truth scroll as well as a Summon Thunder one. Looking at the two, the Twin Blade stuffed the latter in his item pouch even as he saw Takua beginning a fresh assault on the Parvumeus. Tossing an Ap Corma to the Wavemaster, as well as renewing the one on himself, Baron prepared the two of them for their twin assaults. Even as several masses of Gan energy struck at the monster, courtesy of Takua’s now-enhanced magic, Baron prepared his own strike, hoping that it would work. Pulling his Fishskin from their sheaths, replacing the weapons he had ready, he prepared his own blow.

A Merrows spell erupted from behind the Parvumeus, the gigantic serpent forming out of the ice and water that burst into being. Timed to hit at the same time as Takua’s Yarthkins, the massive summon drove at the monster’s back, an attempt to slam into it synchronized with the other summon’s drive downwards. If all worked right, the combination of blows would leave the Parvumeus going face-down into the ground. At that point, the next phase of the plan would kick in, as the Cosmic Truth scroll would burst into being beneath the monster, the level three Gan spell rising from the ground to slam into the hopefully-exposed forehead. At that point, if the monster wasn’t defeated, Baron hoped that it would be open to a clear assault. That much was to be planned out, though, even as the Merrows started its charge forward.

As the spell took effect, though, the Parvumeus turned to face Baron, the burst of Juk energy glowing as it shot forward to blast the Twin Blade into the wall. A large chunk of his chest went missing from the blast, lowering his HP by half, but that was unimportant. Pain was. Pain filled every ounce of his senses as he writhed on the ground in sheer agony, trying to stop the horrifying feeling creeping along his chest as crimson stained the ground. Baron could literally feel his life pulsing away with each heartbeat as he clutched at the ruins of his chest. Death seemed preferable at that moment, and the Twin Blade looked at one of his blades in longing, wondering if he should just grasp it and end the agony that wracked every ounce of his being.

The La Repth that flowed across the battlefield was a like a breath of cool air on a burning inferno- it only slightly diminished the pain that settled across the Twin Blade’s body. However, that feeling grew stronger and stronger until the bloody mess had been restored to flesh and blood, the healing magic taking hold and finally stopping as it restored most of Baron’s missing health. Staggering to his feet, gasping at the memory of his agony, the Twin Blade stood and looked around, to see if the battle was still raging.

Hopefully, things would be over soon.

Did I give them enough time?

Her eyes frantically looked around the room but it felt like she was watching everything in slow motion. She had begun to panic, wondering if there had been enough time between the warning message and the toss of the bottle. Talal watched her teammates scatter in their own way. Baron took the initiative to handle, or rather tackle their Long Arm leader out of the way. She felt sorry for the poor guy. That was twice in a short amount of time that he had been surprise tackled by his own comrades.

Her thoughts were abruptly halted by the explosion of the bottle. All attention snapped immediately back to Parvumeus even while the Twin Blade attempted to keep her balance from the shock wave of sorts that was put out. Her arm came up acting as a rather feeble attempt to shield her eyes and self from the blast but it didn’t really help and the oil splattered as promised right onto her neck prompting a rather loud raspy yelp of pain. She was on fire. Her first instinct was to snuff out the flames by slapping her hand quickly up to her neck.

”OW! SHIT!”

The pain was intense and her low pain tolerances were threatening to send her into a blackout. She couldn’t allow that to happen. Who knows what that would do to her while in this Immersion state as the others called it? No, she needed to overcome this and fast. The oiled flame that she had hoped would envelop Parvumeus was dripping down her body. Everywhere it touched burned wildly; flames licking at her skin. The tiniest of hairs were the first to go quickly followed by bubbling and blistering skin before charring it all together. The smell of burnt flesh was churning the lowest regions of her stomach. Tears began to puddle in the corners of her eyes, but she did her best to hold them back. Pain was one thing, but the mental image she had at the moment of her burning alive was just a bit more than she could handle. Her hand darted to the pouch hanging from the white sash around her waist and pulled out a Health Drink which she downed quickly hoping it would oust the flames and restore her to normal. Nothing but surprise was followed by disappointment that it didn’t work and a single tear dripped down her cheek.

Mixtures of fire and earth spells ran wild in the area around Parvumeus and out of pure and simple fear of the oil that now dripped freely down the girls body, she ran away from the flames that she had created. Glancing around the room with an expression that could only be interpreted as ‘help me, please’ on her face, she didn’t find what she was looking for. Instead she found Baron unable to raise his eyes to even look at her. The rest of the girls were taking care of their own business along the outskirts of the battle and weren’t looking her direction, at least at that moment in time. Zan was busy doing what he did best…attacking the enemy. The guy never stopped fighting and it was with that thought, Talal found a hidden shred of will within her and the tears stopped.

All of them had been injured, had suffered, and none of them had complained about it. She was the weak link of the group apparently. Not being able to hold in her emotions when things were bluntly thrown in her face, or plans back fire because she didn’t listen close enough or react soon enough. Gah! Why am I so stupid? Why can’t I be like the rest of them, strong and courageous? I just wanted to help, not hinder. Even with her desire, she still found herself almost hugging the far wall, trying to be as far away from the action as possible. Every time she moved, more needles shot through her body. Charred skin cracked and tore as the oil moved inch by inch across her neck with gravity on its side.

Mentally, she began sympathizing with the yowl of pain that was coming from Parvumeus and suddenly she felt a tinge of guilt rush through her, knowing she had been the one to instigate its current state. Large shards of ice then severed the arms that were once a part of the male’s forehead sending the flying to the grated floor to flop around a bit before settling, breaking her self-induced guilt trip from thought. Events were unfolding in rapid fire succession before her eyes. Zan’s charge although initially missing, granted the more positive side effect of Parvumeus dropping to one knee, bring the beast into perfect range for yet another strike from the Heavy Blade that removed the face of the woman.

Black and purple clouds formed around the enemy, mesmerizing the Twin Blade with their swirls until she heard the most blood curdling scream ever. Her head snapped which in turn reminded her of the burning and blistering pain all too suddenly. She had learned quickly that the less she moved the lesser the pain, or at least the sharp spurts of it. Sekai was blowing a head gasket over something and even if Talal had wanted to help, she couldn’t even help herself at the moment. Kira was already in route to assist when she got blasting into obscurity by a pulse of Juk energy that came from the void that had been created where the female’s bound arms once were.

Everyone scattered, but it didn’t matter. Those in proximity got rained on including the walls, ceilings and floors. The blast started a chain reaction of change from the cold steel blue of the swath, back to the peeling paint and solid floors of how the dungeon had been before the Swath took over. Things were slowly changing back in uneven lines like watching a piece of paper that was burning along its edges from simple embers without flame. Talal’s health bar suddenly went back to full, when the healing light of a La Repth washed over the whole group, but the flames that licked at her still remained almost acting as if they had been renewed in some way, taunting the poor girl with the curly wisps of reddish orange waves of heat and pain. Why do they purposefully prolong her suffering? Was it payback of some sort for her stupidity? No, she couldn’t think that way. Someone was trying to help the group, not just her. How could they possibly know what it was doing to her?

The mental struggle to stay focused and even tempered about the predicament she was in. That she herself had put herself in. Brown eyes canvassed the room, looking for the one person that she just knew could help. She found the person, but the blank look on the Wavemaster’s face was all she got in return. Her heart sank and hope was lost as her eyes fell to stare at the floor. Her one wish that he had would fix whatever was wrong with her was cast into the flames that were happily traveling over her. He had always known just what to do, why wasn’t he helping?

The faint sound of a flashmail sung through her gloom like a far off chime. Right off she didn’t like the subject. It was blunt and direct and told her what the message was about. Her eyes rose sharply up to stare at Takua, the same blank look still on his face. Although she had pretty much figured out that death was her only possible option to cure her plight, she hadn’t considered suicide. Somehow that path had stayed nicely buried under many other options. It was something she didn’t condone in other people in life, how could she possibly do it to herself even if she was inside of a digital world knowing she could be brought back? It still went against every morale fiber that was who she was.

Her eyelids lowered slightly and her gaze focused even harder on her friend. The message, it wasn't from him, it was from her. The blue robed individual she saw was nothing more than a shell of who she knew; stolen from the Eventides by this Ondine woman. Who did she think she was taking over his body like that? For that matter, where in the Hell did she come from? Did he know her already? Was she apart of him? Was she like Kira? If so, why didn’t she just come out in her own form? What are her true intentions? It was hard enough to keep an occasional glance at Alana, whom the Twin Blade still had her doubts about, now there were two of them? Was she present back in the forest during their little spiff? She must have been. She’s trying to step in. She must be why Takua reacted so badly and now Ondine was giving options of types of death. One of those, Talal was sure would give the woman nothing but pleasure to sit there and watch her suffer. She was probably laughing internally right now.

Her mind was hitting overload quickly on all the massive questions that rose to the surface in two seconds flat. Suspicion, distrust and a general dislike for Ondine encompassed the dark haired girl like a black hole, threatening to swallow her without so much as a look back.

Another chime, another message, but this one was from Zan and the subject was much more appreciated, even if it wasn’t directed at stopping her pain. His plan had merit, at least to her and she was in a rather interesting position to lend a more physical hand than usual. Oh yes, a little game of catch the fly with the chopsticks for a little distraction, followed by a suicidal charge should provide some assistance. After all, she had a lot of Gan skills as well as a continual added boost to that skill thanks to the Feng Shui she had acquired during the limbo between field and dungeon. That was it! She would fight the good fight. Not to give Ondine the satisfaction that she was looking for, no, but to be like those around her, strong and courageous with maybe just a hint of stupidity thrown in for good measure. Wouldn’t want to get carried away and think she could just lose that aspect of herself while on a whim of self righteousness now would we.

Another burst of Juk energy was shot out in the Twin Blade’s direction, but thankfully she still had a little time left on the Ap Do, leaping to the side and into a barrel roll before springing back to her feet with a painful growl that didn’t seem possible to have come from such a small female. The pain surged through her like a lightning bolt and her health dropped a little more. The walls and floor where she had just been were already changing just like the others. Even though it wasn’t sunshine and daisies, she wanted the change to go faster, welcoming it with open arms. Anything to get out of the Swath again.

Darting this way and that, zig zagging to and fro making sure she had Parvumeus’s attention. Not that her little stunt with the bottle hadn’t probably already accomplished that small task. Once again with weapons drawn, the Twin Blade had switched out for the lower leveled Sotetsu, but it had a special ability on it that she could only hope would activate before she bit the dust…the Critical Hit.

Talal danced around the deformity in front of her leaping and spinning just out of reach of the beast. It may have been down to one knee but it didn’t stop Parvumeus from defending itself against the inflamed girl flitting around it. The quick movement, the air breezing over her skin only seemed to enhance the flame that still waved over her. Its large club like hand rose up and swung as she leapt over, but she had miscalculated and caught the tip of her shoe which caused her graceful flight to stumble and stop rather abruptly in mid air. With each small chunk of health that dropped from her status, she smiled even bigger and became even more determined but even with the added speed; she was beginning to slow down.

It was time; time to do what she could to help end this fight. Talal rolled to the side, barely missing getting pummeled into the floor by another clubbed hand and stood up. Turning to face Parvumeus for hopefully the last time, she approached from his side with both blades held together. There would be no retreat from this attack, she was aiming to go between the ribs and hopefully pierce whatever vital organs, if any, this thing had. Once there she would twist and turn for as long as she could hold on. Spells and summons were forming around her, aimed at Parvumeus. But a mere bladed attack was not all the Twin Blade had up her sleeve since things had a way of backfiring around her.

”Gan Don”

Even as the brown glow of the earthy element began and the large boulders formed in the air above them, the sight and sound of the oversized blade flying through the air was caught out of the corner of her eye as she lunged forward with a large smile on her face. There were so many things converging on the target all at once and she was going to do her best to be right there in the middle of it all. She had never felt so...alive. One way or another, it should make for a quick and painless death. Hopefully for both of them.

Just what the doctor ordered.


((OOC:
Talal
-Buffs: Ap Do (Speed), Ap Torv (Physical Accuracy), Ap Juka (+Juk), Ap Ganz (+Gan), Feng Shui (+1 Gan)
-Debuffs: None.))