[[ Ok, let's just say this figure missed the apperance of Frostbyte, then (btw, is it Frostbite or Frostbyte?? >< ) ]]

No IC Post here

OOC: Welcome to everybody new or returning!

The woman hesitates. She doesn't particularly want to kill the rhino. So she brings the pommel of her sword down on Danny's head hard enough to knock out even a sturdy creature like a rhino. "You want him dead, kill him yourself. I personally would prefer not to kill people unless necessary. Xell, we'd best help Serenity." She turns and dashes towards Reni, even though all the dodging has worn her down. She's not done until everyone is safe, at least for the moment. She charges silently at the orange doberman, not caring what part of it she slices. She doesn't bother to check if Xell is behind her. Either he is, or he isn't.

OOC: @Rubycored: Works for me. c: && It's actually Frostbite, with an i.
@Veckums: Thank-you for the welcome!

I'll do a small IC here, to keep Glitch caught up with Lani and the others. I'm just waiting for a character to harass or hit the semi-conscious Wraith now, and I have a great scene in mind for after that. Kukuku.. XD

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Glitch raised an eyebrow in curiosity, his foot still atop the fallen rhino's head. "Oh. So she talks. This is a surprise." He turned his attention towards the fallen rhino beneath him and cautiously stepped off, then turning to Sigil. "There's not much else I can do to this bastard here with a goddamn stick... and I've had my fair share of killing before I came down here anyway, soooo... I'll uh. I'll leave this to you."

He merely waved a goodbye at the silent Sigil and darted after Lani. "Oh, hey!" he called out upon reaching her, nearly bitten by the doberman, "I just wanted to—damn mutt, I'm trying to talk!—I just wanted to say thanks for jumping in and"—he slammed the pole down upon the demon dog's head, similar to how he knocked down Danny—"saving my ass earlier. I owe you big."

The mutt fell flat on the bloodied ground, but not even a moment passed before it leaped back up and lunged at Glitch once more. No reply from either of the girls. Glitch merely sighed as he knocked the doberman to the side. "What, I may be insensitive at times, but that doesn't mean I can't be polite."

The doberman, now completely bruised, rolled over to its feet, still as feisty as before. Its blood-red eyes darted from side to side, contemplating, before charging in on its nearest target.

OOC: Ash, thanks for the compliments, glad you liked the Raverwar fire palace description. I did get some help by looking at a mount doom picture though and described what I saw in the picture XD

Yes James like I boasted to you on FB, very very very well written post. Excitement galore and tense!

Thanks for all the compliments too Rex. Don’t worry. I’m ok. Better get back to work though Managed to write this sneaky entry here > D. I’ll talk to you later hun.

OOC2: Editted scene with Wraith on Rex's request

IC:

Julien’s domain

Julien continued to watch the fight within the cave, scratching his chin with interest.

The revelations that had unfolded really had gathered momentum and made the view ‘oh so interesting’.

And he had indeed, been watching everyone.

There was an odd battle between Kenneth and Serenity versus the red Doberman. The conman fox had managed to trick the Doberman into throwing an object which the contemptible canine mistook as a bone, only to come hounding them back. Kenneth had also abandoned the will to protect Reni due to an argument exchanged with sarcastic comments, and in turn left and walked off to light a cigarette. A complete disregard for the rest of the battle that was taking place.

Xell had managed to subdue and secure Flint- and had run to take down Danny. This left Nathan temporarily safe. His compulsive memory loss was so fun to watch. He could not even remember the request Xell had asked of him- which was to ask Flint how to get out. Where the exit was... not that the Rhino would've have likely have given him an answer.

The latter Rhino fiend having fought Glitch and Sigil. It appeared that Danny had had the upper hand- only to be taken down again by Glitch and for his weapon to be mysteriously sniped away by that mysterious phantom figure- Sigil.

“Now what did he do with that whip?” Julien mused out loud as he tilted his face with intrigue. He wasn’t particularly fazed by the mysterious occurrence. However, one thing he would ensure is to keep weapons AWAY from him. He didn’t particularly like the way he managed to dissolve it like that and wondered whether it would have future repercussions?

Lani, an impressive fighter, had managed to kill one of the Dobermans and swiftly ran to Glitch, Xell and Sigil’s aid.

It now appeared… what was this? That Lani was a little more than reluctant to deal the final blow Danny? ‘Why was that then?’ he thought deeply as he glared closer into the looking glass with a hand covering his mussel. Finally she had uttered some words for the group to hear as well.

She was now running to help Serenity and beckoned for Xell to follow, now that Danny was unconscious. Glitch too had followed shortly after.

“Ugh, really…” he thought disgusted. Did they honestly think sparing their enemies their lives would benefit them in future? What sorry, deprived mistaken souls they were for thinking that.

Julien sat back and smiled as he turned his vampiric gaze to the last individual in question. Wraith.

The one who had contributed ‘absolutely’ nothing to the fight. He looked like he was suffering a bit. Weakened, writhing, confused… trapped in his own mind. Poisoned right through.

“Te he he. That can only mean one thing…” Julien chortled “hell’s pet found himself a new owner. Well, enjoy.”

Julien stood up and waved a dismissive hand at the looking glass, the scene fading and resuming the façade of a mirror where he caught one last glimpse of his own sadistic reflection.

He decided he had to meet up with Jacob and command a report on the Underworld’s runnings.

He was also looking forward to that writhing mess, Ren, pitching up on the scene. See how much that pitiful creature will suffer in the upcoming redemption trials.

Camp cave

Xell looked over his shoulder as Lani swiftly ran off to help a struggling Serenity who was being chased around by the last of the two Dobermans. Glitch, too, had followed suite.

It had in fact, appeared that Glitch severed the red Doberman so significantly, that the dog was rendered dumb folded and confused.

He gave a cold and guarded look to Sigil, who had managed to quaff Danny’s whip. Now this creature really was beginning to freak him out. He decided he’d watch him a little more closely in future. Although he was glad that whipping-snapping Rhino was without the weapon- he wondered where the weapon had gone and whether it had served to strengthen him in some way?

Xell shook his head, an unremorseful expression on his face as he bent down to face Danny. Clasping his head within his hands, he jerked it severely to one side and snapped his neck. Rendering a dead prison guard.

He then started to run up to catch up with Lani, Glitch and Serenity. Before he got any further however, he turned and he looked at the decapitated orange Doberman who had been slain by Lani. Next to the deceased Doberman, was the weakened hedgehog. The cerulean and frost-blue coloured hedgehog, who had not moved from the support of the stalagmite throughout the whole ordeal.

“Dammit…” Wraith said through gritted teeth, as he clawed the stalagmite to support himself. He broke out with a cold sweat- trying desperately hard to fight the invasion of that mystical being Frostbyte who was taking over.

He scrunched his eyes in an agonized fashion, severing scratch marks into the rock with his hands as he gripped onto the stalagmite.

Xell tilted his head, before taking a couple of cautionary steps forwards.

“Stay away from me!” Wraith exploded, falling onto the floor on his knees as he clasped his head with paranoia riddling his eyes.

You’re unbelievable.

Just give in.

“Shut up… SHUT UP!” Wraith shouted, his mass of sweat-drenched spines and locks covering his face as he fell onto his hands by now.

Stop making a scene. People will think you’re…

“Er.. WHO are you talking to?!” Xell asked, looking at Wraith appalled.

At that motion, the crazed cerulean hedgehog looked up at Xell. Almost looking through him. His eyes were plasmid and iconoclast.

He threw himself in the grey reptile's arms- clinging onto his shoulders for support and nearly knocking him over. It took Xell by surprise... he was actually stronger than he had given him credit for.

"Get it out of my head... get..." Wraith's eyes widened his shock as he found a slap delivered to the side of his face. Knocking him to the ground in a heap.

A little unkeen to stick around any longer, Xell made a face as he stared at the deranged being. He decided to cut his losses and run over to Nathan, who he had asked to interrogate Flint for answers.

“Hey! How’s it going?” Xell asked Nathan, who appeared to be giving a fallen Flint a dumbfolded look.

“Er… you did ask him how to get out of here… right?” Xell asked, scratching his head as everyone gave him a stupefied look.

OOC: T_T Ughh sorry everyone else for posting so frequently. I'm going to slow down some after this one. It's just.. everyone here is doing so awesome, I get so excited whenever I see a new reply, that I just have to add onto it... XD; && I've been meaning to post this one for a little while now, I just hadn't a clue how to execute it until now. Hee.
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Wraith merely on the ground in utter pain and confusion.  "Why... won't you..."

Ooh!  Ooh, Wraith!  He slapped you!  Look at that—

Wraith did not reply with words, only cringing in silent agony at this moment, his eyes beginning to widen in terror – or rage.  It was impossible to tell.

You don’t like that, do you?
Shut up!
It hurts, doesn’t it??
Shut up, shut up—
You can’t just sit there and take it—weakling!  WEAKLING!!

“Don’t… don’t touch me…” Wraith’s voice cooed, trembling. He slowly began to stand himself up, without any difficulty whatsoever.

Xell turned back to face Wraith momentarily, eyebrows raised in even more confusion, before turning back to Nathan and Flint, trying to shrug off the uncanny events happening one after another.

“I said… I said…” Wraith giggled.
Of all the things he could do, he giggled—like a madman.
“Don’t touch me.”

Suddenly, Wraith fell back down almost as quickly as he had gotten up, flailing his arms in madness.  Claws formed by gathering shadows began to emerge from his fingers, extending.  Hardening.  He writhed momentarily once again. “Don’t touch me,” he sang, “Don’t touch me, don’t touch me, don’t touch me!!”

“Well… this isn’t good.  I think I know what’s going on here.  This shouldn't last too long, but for the time being... Don’t get too close to him, everyone.”

All the spectating eyes turned to Glitch as he continued to speak, “Well, I mean… You can do what you want.  But just don’t die.  Not here, please.”

“Obviously!” Kenneth shouted back, toying the cigarette between his fingers.  ‘The hell is he talking about, “just don’t die”? We know that—

“Hey, don’t get pissy with me.  I’m trying to be nice,” Glitch shrugged, “Geez, everyone here has ants in their pants, I swear.”

“What point are you trying to make, hedgehog?” Xell said calmly.  He didn't even turn to face him.

“Hedgehog?  Oh, right, I haven’t introduced myself.”  He faced Xell and bowed politely.  “My name is Glitch,” he returned to his original stance, “and I’ve been subjected to killing—massacres—”

Wraith snapped once more, this time laughing maniacally, but still rolling around on the ground.  Curious, the remaining doberman even approached the mental hedgehog, but Wraith immediately swept his newly formed claws across the dog's face, leaving behind deep streaks of crimson. It darted back, snarling, and dove after a spectator, completely ignoring his new wounds.  Everyone shifted their attention back and forth from the two to Glitch, but Glitch kept his focus completely glued to Wraith and his awkward movements.  Wraith’s multiple scars and wounds from even before he had entered the vortex began to rapidly close up, almost completely; he was near blood free at this point.  “…vasoconstriction,” Glitch muttered to himself, clenching his fist.  Oh, I definitely know what’s going on here.

“And?”  Xell nearly snapped at Glitch, catching his attention once again, “There's more to it than just that.”  He wouldn’t warn everyone in such a manner if there wasn’t something more to just “I killed people”.  He's still hiding something.

“Ouch, I try to be nice and you’re still not taking my advice?”  Glitch feigned wiping away a tear.  “Fine.  I'll admit it: I’ve been subjected to cannibalism too.”  His mouth curved into a wry smile, “And I know exactly what’s going on here.  It’s a long story, and it doesn't seem like he'll do much now, but… I hope you all listen to me when I say to watch out.  Heheh.”

Xell merely twitched his mouth at this, unsatisfied with Glitch’s response, and returned his attention to the bounded rhino.

Cannibalism...?  Reni paused momentarily, gathering her thoughts, her memories of his words from before they had entered the vortex.  “Wait… was that just an ‘accident,’ too?”

Glitch let out a wholehearted laugh.  “Yeah, you know what?  Let’s just go with that.  But don’t worry, I’m not going to eat you.”  He calmly pointed at the cerulean hedgehog still rolling around madly on the floor, “But if you're not careful, he might try to.”

--------------------------------
OOC: Super sorry if I ooc’d on anybody’s character!  x__x  Please let me know if I have so I can fix it!

Unfortunately for the dog, the spectator it chooses is the already on-guard Lani, and while she doesn't get its head on the first swing, nor the second, a half-dozen exchanges later she manages to get the positioning she needs for her to make that single deadly stroke, as apparently only death will keep the beast from attacking.

The grisly deed done, she flicks the blood from her sword and turns back to the blue hedgehog she'd only noticed when he yelled at Xell to shut up -- and then to get something out of his head.

"Possession, isn't it?" she asks after a long moment, adding up the facts.  The dark aura around the crazed creature, Glitch's earlier mention that he'd killed people -- such as his family -- "accidentally", plus him now apparently knowing what was going on.  Saying that he was "subjected to" instead of that he "had"....  %Only this creature wasn't the original host.  Glitch was.%

((Please let me know if it's too unlikely for someone to figure this out.  It seems kinda obvious to me, but I also know things my character wouldn't.))

[[ So, are everyone's attention right now drawn on Wraith? since I kinda have an IC post i wanna use here but it won't be valid if the answer is "no" :dummy: (as in, is Nathan still with Flint?)

hallo @ Veckums ]]

====================

Edit 3: [[ Bentlee told me "yes" to the above question, so i will now proceed with this post ]]

...and while everyone was too all dazed by what they are being presented with with Wraith's extremely erratic behaviour, Lani's theory on the cause of this craziness, and Glitch explaining it as if it's no big deal; noone suspected anything out of ordinary until Glitch just happened to look around after he's done with explaining the "curse" that is being inflicted on Wraith [[ Rex - do you need another post for this? ]] and realised to total shock that the Rhino Guards and what remains of the two Dobermans are no longer there.

He starts walking around and looking in all directions as if he is anxiously searching for something, only to confirm the fact that the enemies who they just fought managed to vanish out of sight.

Then he notices the shadow of the figure he just happaned to see just minutes earlier [[ or Post #49 ]] projected onto the wall just outside the gates, and as soon as he notices it the figure once again starts to walk away. Glitch starts giving chase, only to be stopped by the gates which has been shut since the start of the fight. Glitch held onto the bars as if he is trying to reach the Figure, but as per standard feature the bar instantly heats up and forces Glitch to quickly remove his hands, yelping, and shaking them furiously to get the heat off.

...great, now all members of the party are stuck inside the cave with Wraith's condition unknown, it will be totally up to Nathan if he managed to actually ask Flint about methods of escape before he mysteriously disappeared.

[[ Apologies for using Glitch for this post >>  :noes: considering he was so far the only one who has seen the Figure up to this point P:  ]]

OOC: @Shylarah: You got it. XD

@Rubycored: You're good, don't worry. <: He's probably not going to go further into anymore explanations unless someone prompts him to, and I'm going to assume that the other characters have the general understanding that Wraith is being possessed by something at this point. XD;;

[[ Well, now you lot have to worry about how to deal with a slightly larger problem now 😛

...all while Julian giggles himself to sleep >> ]]

OOC: As I've been left behind a bit due to IRL stuff, I'll move on a bit.

             The thing moved towards the bars of the cell, clasping the bars, effectively ignoring the others. With a slight motion, its body became as liquid and slipped through the holes, reforming on the other side.

(OOC: Slightly ooc for Reni there, Rex...She might be scared, but she's not going to show it if she can help it, instead covering with snark, but not overly bad either.  Have to say, I'm not thrilled with this whole possession thing, but...well considering the situation, it's a little more acceptable.  I just often find the 'character possessed by something' thing a bit...I dunno...overused?  But considering they ARE in the underworld, I will just have to get used to it.  XP  *shrug* That's just me, though.  I DID join this...XD; )

OOC: Lol @ Rubycored's comment XP You're classic

Right as for the other point raised.

Possession, overused. Is that the real issue? I haven't seen it that much except maybe subtle undertones in Code Geass, Higurashi... and this one other anime. And then this other anime I didn't finish... was it Blood? *shrugs* Anyway A lot of concepts are overused. Including hedgehogs, foxes, and camps. I think a lot of ideas really have been tested rendering a lot of storylines predictable so I think at the end of the day it's all how it's executed and how you can make it stand out. Just like someone writing a CV and trying to stand out amongst a group of candidates.

idk, just my two cents I guess. Funny because I sent Rex a whole 1-2 pages on how it's one of the best posts I ever read. XD

Ok need to go to work. I am late. ARGH!!!

[[ I kinda already expected this (the possession) since the post Frostbite came out in post #40, so i don't see why you lot are complaining now

oh well, no need to cry over spoilt milk i guess, let's just continue as before?  ]]

OOC: Ok then, I can move the scene along. UNLESS, has anybody written any hectically long scenes they are dying to post?

If not shall I proceed? I'll wait til I get home for an answer. Don't want to ruin anyone's scenes and such.

[[ Shall we wait for Pachamac's reply? he hasn't posted in a while and i don't feel like leaving his characters behind (or having to drag them along without his control) ]]

OOC: Good suggestion. Sorry for being greedy *slap on the wrists*

OOC: For what's its worth, creating anything original is next to impossible nowadays. It's as Kate said, it's not so much the concept that's important as it is the execution. If you can do things differently and with a twist then there's nothing really wrong with it, tbh.

Anyway, geez, talk about a lot of posts to have to read through! You guys really like to post, huh?

Also, quick request; can people please post in the past tense? It's quite disconcerting having to swap between past and present tense; I think if we could have one uniform tense it'd be a lot better but that's just me, personally. Down to you guys.

IC:
Nathan had been swept up along with the rest of the group in focusing their attentions on the weaked, and perplexingly acting Wraith. Of all of the unusual characters to have been assembled so far, including himself, he had to admit that Wraith's actions were some of the by far strangest he had seen. Sure, Nathan had the issue of forgetting pretty much everything, but he didn't talk to voices in his head.

Nathan took a quick photo of Wraith, and texted a small note for himself to remember, including the possibility of possession as Lani had suggested.

Name ?Schizophrenic/Possessed?Be wary of
He also did the same for the other newcomer, Lani, although he didn't know her name as of yet.
Name ?Strong fighterScary sword

"So... er, you did ask that creep if there's a way out of here, right?" Xell asked, turning away from Wraith's situation to get back to his earlier point. Nathan looked at Xell blankly, before realising the dragon was actually speaking to him.

"Er, ask him if there's a way out of here? Did I...? I don't know...?" The salamander spoke in a confused tone.

Xell looked towards the salamander with confusion and annoyance as the other gathered individuals did the same. They kept a cautious look towards the struggling Wraith, but were also interested in just what was going on with the hoodie wearing salamander.

"It's not a difficult question. You honestly can't remember if you did or didn't?" Xell pressed the question.

"Do you mean I haven't told you, then?" Nathan replied. "Well, er, I guess now's a good time to tell everyone then, I think. I suffer from a condition known as anterograde amnesia, which means I can't create new memories. After a while I'll forget whats happened. I think it must have happened again after you asked me to question him." Nathan pointed to where the bound rhino, Flint, once was.

"Are you serious?" Kenneth interjected. "So now, amongst our entire crazy band of crazies, we've got two nutcases?" The suited fox pointed over his shoulder to the still struggling hedgehog on the ground.  "How the heck do you expect us to be able to deal with you when you're just going to forget stuff after what... 10 minutes or so?"

"The time it happens can vary. Sometimes it can last as short as 10 minutes, sometimes I can remember stuff a lot longer than that." Nathan replied. "I actually have a routine set to help me with my disability. I have my problems but I don't let it ruin my life. I use my phone here to take pictures of people and write down notes. I can remember who people are that way."

"And if it comes down to a fight that you're worrying about, I can handle myself. I don't want to sound smug or anything, but I think I might be more capable in a fight than most of you." Nathan continued, before looking towards Lani and her imposing sword. "Well, bar you, miss, but then you're pretty terrifying, really."

"You expect us to believe you can handle yourself in a fight?" Xell asked, scepticly. "When we were fighting that guy on the ground there, you just upped and ran away, leaving me to deal with it."

"Did I? Huh... I guess I didn't have anything I could fight him with... like I said, I can't remember."

"Cut to the chase, kid, what's your super amazing ability?" Kenneth asked, getting more than a little irritated at the pointlessness of this conversation. His cigarette wasn't helping to calm him down.

"Hmm... well I guess you'll find out eventually. I don't think I want to reveal it yet. I'm guessing the walls have ears and all that..." Nathan contemplated. "But it'll be very helpful. Besides I'm sure you've all got talents you don't want each other knowing about."

Kenneth looked away at the comment. He was right about that.

OOC: I'm going to pretty much agree with everyone here; what we're getting at may have some overused moments here and there (e.g. hedgehogs, a fox, a vamp, a princess), but I think the way we're putting this together is pretty much original on its own, considering, as mentioned earlier, it's kind of difficult to pull off something 100% original nowadays. All the characters here are still very original in their own way anyway, imo.

I also didn't think the possession bit would be considered too overdone (as there aren't many series I personally know that have done this.. aside from Yugioh lol, but that may just be me && my lack of knowledge about other series >__>) ~ but I'm hoping it'd still be a fun concept for everyone to toy around with regardless. Bentley and I even spent a few days just putting together how we were gonna execute it lol.

@Pachamac: "Sure, Nathan had the issue of forgetting pretty much everything, but he didn't talk to voices in his head." omg I loved that line. XD

&& I definitely agree, we should all stick to the past tense, for the sake of consistency.

@Violet: For Reni in my last post, I cut it down to something a lot less 'fraidy, but if's still ooc, lemme know and I'll just take it out completely. XD; Sorry about that earlier!

No IC here.

[[ @Pach - well, once you're getting really interested into the RP it's really hard to stop, doesn;t it? :laughing:

Also, thanks for that, as I forgot to mention that since English is my 3rd language and I never had formal education in literature and grammar so i was constantly in state of confusion when it comes to figuring out which tense to write in >>, now i know, at least for this one ^^;

BTW, eventhough i don't like correcting people's posts, but as far as i know, flint is supposed to have "disappeared" (along with Danny) on post #57, but if you want to keep him in the scene that's fine by me ]]

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

No IC here, and probably won't be expecting one for another 5 posts or so

Ooc: Huh, completely missed that, my apologies. Tbh I'd prefer it if he was kept there, since he's not knocked out or dead like the others then it could provide a reasonable reason why he hasn't dissapeared (that and I'm too lazy to edit xD), but if you really want me to change my post I can do.

((Are the bars magically shielded? Aside from the burning on contact, I mean.))

Lani was paying more attention to Glitch than the blue hedgehog, and when he swiftly moves to the bars she followed his gaze, but she wasn't fast enough to see the shadowy figure. She too was confused by the disappearance of the four creatures they had been fighting. "Did you see something, Glitch?" she asked, approaching him. "Oh, and about earlier -- you're welcome." She hadn't meant to seem stand-offish. "I was a bit preoccupied at the time. I didn't intend to seem rude." She watched as the strange masked creature oozes through the bars.

((edit:  Gah, I only just noticed the fourth page.  *whaps self*  I feel so stupid now...
Also, sorry about posting in present tense.  It's a habit, and I will try to remember to post past tense from here on.
Also, how do you make a routine or even become aware that you have anterograde amnesia if you can't remember anything after a certain point? *giggle* just picking nits; don't mind me.))

%I wonder how we're going to get out of this,% she thought to herself, turning her attention back to the group in time to catch Nathan's explanation of his condition -- and his compliment.  "I've had a great deal of practice," she shrugged.  "I'm sure if we can get the rest of you weapons, plus any abilities people might have, we'll all be a force to be reckoned with.  Xell, are there any other loose bars or the like, such as you found for Glitch?"  She looked around the area, searching for things that might be used as a weapon.

OOC:

Just a quick post to tell everyone that I will be taking a more active role in the RP very soon. I'm currently occupied with a few things and it could actually work out better if Ren enters the other side in a few moments. Everyone carry on doing your thing, I'll catch up 😛

Oh and by the way, i'm liking these posts!

OOC: @Nocturne: Thanks for the approval. c; Still looking forward to seeing more of Ren, haha.

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Glitch grinned slightly upon seeing Lani approach, appreciating the concern. "I thought I did, though whatever it may be keeps vanishing. Seems this thing likes to come and go. Coward." He shook his wrist in an effort to ward off the burning sensation. "These bars seem tough... but I'm sure with some effort we could to break through them." He subsequently glanced down at his own weapon, a bar that may have been severed from one of the gates. "But I don't think I can do much here but dent them. Oh, shame."

He too caught Sigil slipping through the bars, to which he raised a brow. "That's something you don't see every day. Perhaps... if we can't bust through these somehow, maybe he could find something on the other side...?"

Glitch turned his attention back towards Nathan and the others, listening in to his explanation as well as glancing occasionally at the writing cerulean hedgehog, who was now inhaling and exhaling rapidly, seemingly out of breath. "And this just keeps getting more and more exciting, doesn't it."

OOC: In the process of writing an IC. Unless someone has written something 'beautiful' tell me. Only written a paragraph so far but kind of have in my head what's next. Will wait til I get home to post though. 🙂

OOC: Oh no, double post. Sorry. Honestly didn't mean to do that. Incentive to stop using dumb work computers...
OOC2: Oh crud, not that exciting after all. orz

IC:

Xell considered what Nathan had to say about his condition. Anterograde amnesia. After that explanation it certainly made a lot of sense, given the set of events that had taken place. His tone of voice and body language also indicated that there were no lies in the explanation. Therefor he deduced that he must’ve been telling the truth.

‘Well… he’s not a bad person… but really…’ he deliberated in thought, wondering what his so called special abilities really were. He guessed he would have to wait to find out.

Xell turned to look at Lani, who had addressed him. She was enquiring about a pole he had retrieved earlier and had handed over to Glitch to fight off the prison guard Danny.

He gave a glance towards Glitch, who was talking about an ominous being in the interim. He wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about, and frowned momentarily, but then waved a dismissive hand. Talk of a sighting compared to be relatively normal considering the other happenings that had taken place and characters that had presented themselves.

He followed Glitch’s glance at the Wraith and nodded in agreement. The cerulean hedgehog was still in hysterics over his mental confinement.

“Well, I don’t about any more weapons in here…” Xell sighed “I was actually looking around the area… and I saw that big boulder over there though!” Xell said addressing Lani’s question. He pointed at an extremely large spherical-like boulder that stood on top of a slight slope.

“Heh, reminds me of Indiana Jones…” Glitch simpered, earning a confused look from Xell, who then resumed a serious expression.

“Perhaps if we assembled all our strengths and gave it some manoeuvre to render some movement to act as a projectile…”

“You mean push it, ‘do a barrel roll’ and break the bars, right?” Kenneth spoke caustically, rolling his eyes.

“Well thank you Mr. Cancer stick!” Xell quipped back “oh and by the way, I hope that cigarette kills you faster than you killed my army men with that duff gun powder you sold them…”

“Te he he! Barrel roll…!” a reverberation broke out from Wraith, which echoed in the cave. The group turned to look at him and sighed momentarily, before looking back at the boulder.

“Ok then, well. Should we try and get the boulder rolling? Should we?” Xell asked, turning to Lani, and then the rest of the group with the intention of trying to encourage some teamwork- in spite of the fact establishing any teamwork of any kind with this ensemble felt futile to say the least.

Lani was amused by the mention of Indiana Jones. "I think that's a good idea," she said in reponse to Xell. "Glitch, we can use your pole as a lever." A brief image flashed before her eyes: a group of people using whatever they could find as levers to clear rubble away from a destroyed building, with people trapped underneath. Yet nobody in the group was anyone she knows. She brushed the strange vision aside with a slight shake of her head.
"Xell, Kenneth, I don't know what happened between you two in the past, and at the moment, I don't care. Now is not the time to be bringing it up. Let's focus on the present. Serenity, Nathan, we're going to need you with us too."

(OOC: Eh...must just be me then....@ the whole possession thing. Guess it just makes me uncomfortable. *shrug* Oh well. My misgivings aside, will try to roll with it.)

IC:

"'Mr. Cancer-Stick'..." Serenity snickered to herself before returning her attention to the task at hand, noticing the spherical boulder mentioned. She doubted she could budge it herself...maybe this teamwork thing wouldn't be so bad...at any rate, the guys weren't patronizing her anymore...for the time being at least. That's what she hated most, to be honest. All things considered, she should not have snapped at Kenneth...but she was not about to admit that to HIM! Her hubris wouldn't let her. Regardless, she joined the group at the boulder to help.

TBC

(OOC: Bleh. Meh post is meh. Oh well.)

OOC: Ok then *places space maintainer, and I don't mean the orthodontic kind* 😛
Going to advance the protagonist RP.
So forever hold your peace til I post... unless someone has a 4pg assignment that speak up, or forever hold your piece

OOC: Sorry am late. Have been such a narcoleptic this week.
Rubycored’s scar http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v128/ ... ScarII.png
And yeah, any OOC’s tell me obviously
Frostybyte's 4th paragraph (c) VAC's 'Discoloured eyes'

IC:

Cave

“Er... what?” Xell asked in disbelief as he held his arms out open when Lani dismissed his past dispute with Kenneth. Lani picked up the pole from earlier and ran towards the boulder. Serenity had already followed her.

“I agree with her, rookie,” Glitch said “what’s done is done. They’re dead. You could die again. So move along and get over it, emo.”

Glitch then made a dash towards the boulder Lani was running towards. Nathan hesitantly followed suite, referring to his phone to remind himself who he was following- typing in extra mementos entailing the objective of following Glitch and Lani and why they were to try and move the boulder.
That just left Xell, Wraith and Kenneth left.

Xell and Kenneth stared at each other coldly. Kenneth took one drag of his cigarette, before flicking a few ashes to one side and smirked.

“Seriously man, what do you want me to do? Heh. Cry you a river?” Kenneth asked unremorsefully. Kenneth turned around and casually walked towards the others who were planning to uplift the boulder. Not that he necessarily planned to help the underdogs themselves.

Xell sighed exasperated. Of all the rotten tricks, he’d have to be condemned to fight along with this fiend.

Before he made his way towards the others, his eyes were drawn to Wraith once again- who appeared to be rocking back and forth with his arms holding his knees to his chest.

Wraith found himself looking up in a child like-manner as Xell walked over and looked down on him. Xell saw his own reflection in the synthetic green irises of the hedgehog’s eyes.

It was only then Xell remembered.
The company Xell had been working for rivalled another company. The adversary company being Synthetic Eden organisation (SEO) who carried out a lot of experiments on animals and genetically synthesized creatures. He recalled being on the lookout for a protocol creature who was designed as a bioweapon, but wasn’t quite complying with the organisation’s regulations and was thus ceased and terminated.

‘Was that him...?’ Xell wondered, as he narrowed his eyes at Wraith ‘one of the world’s biggest potential threats? That disappeared without a trace...’

How could such a so-called powerful creature be weak enough to be taken over by
some... possessive force as Glitch suggested. Lani too suspected such that.

“Just what are you anyway?” Xell asked, shifting his weight about his feet in preparation for anything unexpected.

For a moment, it looked as if Wraith understood what was being said.

Oh, did you hear that Wraith? And the way he’s looking at you. Psh, you’re a freak!

“I am Wraith. And when the time comes… scaly…” the cerulean hedgehog finally spoke as he got up with a temporary sense of coherency “I’ll tell you what I really am. And when I do, I’ll be the taker of everyone’s final offering.”

Xell simply looked on as he stood his ground, with a dark scowl. He noted that the hedgehog stood around the same height as him now that he had a straight stance. He half guessed the mass of spines were contributing to his daring look.

My my, aren’t we well spoken. The last host I inhibited used to just whine when he had a chance…

“Wraith…?” Xell finally uttered as he studied him carefully. He wondered how long the hedgehog had control over his normal speech patterns before he might lose it again.

“I know you’re not yourself. Somehow…” Xell hesitated, not really knowing where he was going with this.

Catch on fast, don’t they? Why would he care though. I wish he’d just beat you.
You weak pacifist.
Pacifist.

“I don’t know if I like the sound of the real you either,” Xell grumbled as he reflecting on his earlier statement which sounded a bit like a threat.

“Then again I don’t trust a lot of the group members any faster than I can throw them. My question is, will you cooperate with us? Because if you can’t… I’ll have to…”

Slashing yourself for the future dream
You've lost your soul like a stupid machine
Living the lie is not what it seems
When you fool yourself to live another's dreams

“…can’t take it… just can’t take the voices…” Wraith shuddered as he found himself almost collapsing again. Xell reached out in time and caught him.
The grumpy dragon sighed again as he found his hands were full with a dismembered personality that mentally and physically drained himself.

“Just stay put for now, rookie…” Xell lay him down against the former stalagmite “if you behave I’ll come back for you.”

After Xell had placed the waning Wraith against the body of that rock, he ran over to the rest of the group, who had by now got the operation under way. They were now waiting for him.

“Waiting for…” Nathan scrolled through his phone until it flickered to the picture of a grey Dragon
“Xell Rhinestone. We require your assistance.”

“Psh, yeah. It was your idea,” Glitch turned around which made his cloak swish “what took you so long? What were you doing, having a tea party with ‘him’?”
The white hedgehog pointed at the cerulean hedgehog who looked close to unconsciousness.

“I thought I told you to stay away from him.”

“Yeah well, sorry,” Xell smiled insincerely “thanks for your concern. Should we get going? Who’s doing what?”

“Xell, you, me, Kenneth, Nathan and Glitch will push the boulder. We’ve put the poll under the rock. Serenity’s is going push the poll down to lift the rock while we push.” Lani instructed.

Xell simply nodded, and thus took his place behind the rock with everyone else in their position.
“On the count… 1… 2… 3!” Glitch announced.

“Yeah yeah…” Kenneth muttered, who began to push regardless.

With that, the group of protagonists began to push the rock, giving it all their strength as they tried to compete against the boulder’s mass.

“Ugh! Dumb rock’s not budging…” Reni complained as she tried to drag the inclined poll downwards in order to hoist the boulder “knowing my luck my hands are gonna blister by the time we’re done here!” she shouted exasperated as she let go of the poll.

“Don’t give up… I think it’s moving..” Xell said as a sweat drop fell down his forehead.

“Yeah, we just need one last catalyst,” Glitch announced, pushing Reni and yanking the poll downwards.

At that motion, the rock finally bounced half an inch off the ground and tumbled down the inclined plan it was stood upon. It gradually rolled and rapidly accelerated, throwing dust and debris in the wake.
Everyone looked on with anticipation as the rolling projecticle was just about to collide with the gate.

As the rock made contact with the bolted gate, it effortless smashed the gated barricade and sent shards of broken steel bars and rock in a chaotic flurry.
The rock itself continued to roll down the cave passage way- to the unknown and beyond.

“Well, guess it worked,” Lani said, retrieving her sword and stood to look on at the broken barricade. She began to make her way down, wasting no further time.

“Hey presto,” Glitch said jumping off the platform without any hesitation towards the exit. He turned back and looked at everyone “well, are you guys coming or what?!”

“Guess so,” Reni muttered, analysing her blistered hands and was annoyed at what felt like hours to heave the poll took a second for Glitch. She made her way past Glitch without looking at him.

“Can do,” Kenneth said, flicking a cigarette and smirking casually as he made his way out.

Nathan took a snapshot of the exit and wrote in the objective. Namely to get out.

Xell, too began to take his leave. However…
He glanced towards Wraith, who showed signs and symptoms of looking sedately ill again. He wondered why he kept his word. Nonetheless, he walked over, bent down and retrieved the hedgehog. Making sure to walk behind the group. He knew no one was going to be happy about him carrying a psychotic co-dependent around.

___________________

Julien’s domain

“Oh, so they did it? They managed to escape?” Julien noted as he looked through the blazing looking glass to follow the protagonists progress. By now they were walking down the passage way of the cave, which was illuminated with wall torches.
“How interesting,” Julien muttered “it’s only the beginning though. I trust I’ll burst their delirious bubble soon…”

Julien’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted when an expected thudding knock came on the heavy clad oaken doors.

“Come in Scar,” Julien announced as he snapped his fingers. At that notion, the oaken doors opened either side with a creak, which revealed the dark silhouette of a heavily armoured, spined-creature.

The armoured figure made 4 metal clamping steps to situate himself in within Julien’s domain. He stared sullenly at the Patriach through the blazing fires. An inanimate cold expression comprised of a heavily scarred and blinded right eye, a fixed yellow and intense left iris and heavy browed features. A red scarf trailed down his heavy suited armour which was reflecting orange and red hues off the blazing fires.

“Oh but for being not much the talker…” Julien laughed as he stared back at him with ember-like eyes “I have a task for you my boy.”

Julien passed over an authentic scroll to Scar, who had by now come within reaching distance to the Patriarch. The scroll appeared to be rolled up and tied with a silken bow and secured with red wax.

“It is but a parting gift from the cave for our protagonists. I trust they won’t find their way out on their own. So they’ll need this… possibly…” Julien’s gaze fell onto the looking glass as he noted the peculiarity of Lani’s sword, Nathan’s obsession with his phone, and Xell carrying a semi-concious Wraith.

“Well, do you have anything more to say?” Julien asked candidly but rhetorically as he held his right hand out openly. The palm that bared his 3rd vampiric eye.

Scar looked back at Julien; silently but obediently.

The armour clad knight turned around on the spot, and took his leave out of Julien’s domain. Each step a resonance of his dark and enigmatic soul.

_____________

Cave passage

The protagonists continued to make their way down the dimly lit cave, with Lani taking the lead and the others more or less close by. Xell, on the other hand, made sure he lagged behind somewhat. At least until Wraith got his bearings again which he hoped was soon. He wasn’t particularly fond of carrying him.

“Anybody have ANY idea where we are going?” Reni asked, as she turned to every now and again to give a scrutinizing look at nothing but brick, stone, and fire torches that comprised the whole setting.

“The way out perhaps?” Kenneth suggested with a hint of sarcasm.

“I figure you’d be leading if you had any clue yourself on the ‘way out’!” Reni retorted, giving the white fox a dirty look.

“Hmn,” Kenneth muttered in a dismissive manner, before taking another drag of his cigarette to blank any further conversation with the violet hedgehog.

“Guys… wait… I sense something,” Glitch stated, stopping to a standstill and holding out his right arm.

“I do too…” Lani said, narrowing her eyes. She wondered whether it had been the presence of that aura she and Glitch had suspected earlier on. No one else had seen it. And the aura indeed, felt faintly familiar.

“Up ahead, what is it?” Nathan asked, pointing towards a dark silhouette in the distance. It stood tall, and appeared to resemble a broad and sturdy dark armoured knight. It was surrounded with mist whilst fires illuminated its outer metallic form. He appeared to be carrying a cloak like scarf which flickered off his armour from the cave airstream.
Before Nathan could take a snapshot and make notes, his mind suddenly went blank. A moment of amnesia suddenly left him standing there so still and confused.
He looked at his phone and scrolled through the figures he had documented so far. Unable to locate a match to the strange ominous being standing in the dark.

“Up ahead, what is that?” Nathan said pointing towards the dark silhouette in the distance.

“Ugh! You already asked that!” Reni snapped, looking at Nathan with disbelief. She would’ve made further sarcastic remarks had she not heard about his condition earlier on.

“Yes. I see it,” Lani stated, eyeing the figure speculatively “it appears to be offering something… a scroll of some sort…”

“Ok, cool…” Glitch deliberated as he narrowed his eyes in attempt to get a better visual image of the shadowesque being “so, any volunteers to approach and retrieve the ‘sacred’ scroll?”

Everyone stood still and looked at each other. Xell eventually caught up, having heard the conversation and frowned.
Placing Wraith to one side, he too exchanged glances with the gathering to see who would be bold enough to go forth.

IC:

Hearing Xell's footsteps, Glitch waited momentarily for anyone to step forward before looking back in Xell's direction -- and the completely unconscious Wraith laying behind him. "... Wait a second," he said to himself. Without hesitation, he walked over the cerulean hedgehog, passed Xell, who merely watched him come by.

"Wait," Xell said, noticing this, "what are you--?"

Glitch knelt down and snapped a few times at the unconscious hedgehog. "Hey--hey. Frostbite, are you still there? Did you give up? Hello, hello--"

"What are you doing!?"

"Maybe these snaps aren't loud enough. Hmm. I would clap, but... what a shame." He snapped a final time in Wraith's face before finally remaining silent, almost eager for any response from the fainted hedgehog.

"I said, what--"

"Shh, shh, it's okay now." Glitch simpered to himself, completely cutting off Xell. He rose to his feet. "He's completely knocked out."

Xell just stared at him, dumbfounded. What in the world was that...!?
Without hesitation, Glitch about-faced and returned to where he formerly stood. He spoke to Xell as he walked, "Didn't mean to cut you off--sorry. But we shouldn't be worried about the nutcase coming out anymore. When that hedgehog wakes up-- if he wakes up, he should be back to himself. But now-- Right. The scroll." He exchanged glances with the others for a moment upon catching up with them. "I see we're all still standing here... Do we have any takers yet? Going once? Going twice...?"

The thing that was Sigil stood behind Xell, bobbing about in complete and utter silence. None of it's movements made a single sound, save for one. It reached up and pressed upon its mask, issuing several clicks and the same vacuum seal.

OOC: Sorry for the short post.

While at the third count, noone had volunteered to approach this shadow figure to try retrieve the scroll.

Another whole minute passed by, everyone just stood there staring at each other in total silence other than the sounds of the cracking of the flame torches on the wall.

".... soooo, anyone?" Glitch finally broke the silence "...he's not going to wait there forever!"

"why don't you go??" Kenneth spoke in a tone that as if it's the most obvious answer that noone thought of before.

"I-I-I CAN'T!" Glitch exclaimed back, rather nervously.

This felt rather odd to most people here, never before in their pre- and post- lives have they ever felt this nervous before, as if they are now facing their biggest fear they have ever experienced [[ if any ]], and this shadow character is excerting all that right down the group. They exchanged looks between one another, with the same expression of confusion and anxiety. Will they have to approach the character? Will they have to talk to the character? Or...? Will they have to FIGHT the character?

Some characters briefly glanced at the shadow character before instantly looking away, as if they don't want to even look at the character straight on.

"Why don't YOU go then, Mister "Self-righteous Punk"? " Xell said at Kenneth after taking his long-deserved break carrying Wraith around, as if he was trying to take every possible opportunity to push all responsibilites on Ken on everything.

"No thanks, I have bigger things to deal with at the moment", Kenneth said, took another puff of his "cancerstick" while leaning against the wall relaxed but otherwise totally bored.

Before anyone finally volunteers to try communicate with the shadow figure - it appeared as of the stalemate is going to last a long while.

Nathan looked around the group with an added air of confusion. He only managed to recognise them from the photos and notes he had just scrolled through, but he was still at a loss as to where or how he particularly ended up in this situation. This group he was with seemed to be constantly debating on who should go and meet this strange new arrival and confront him, and as it stood, no one seemed to be volunteering.

'Why not?' Nathan thought to himself. He had no photos or notes of this person on his phone. No guarantee about whether or not this would be incredibly dangerous or not. Well, considering the other's lack of desire to interact with this stranger, it was most probably dangerous.

Still, no progress was ever going to be made unless someone decided to do something.

"H-hello there," Nathan said rather awkwardly as he walked forwards to the armoured knight, before shortly stopping a relatively safe distance away from the individual. "What do you want?" Nathan asked with a frown, determined to try and break the stalemate.

Kenneth on the other hand just stood back and took another drag of his cigarette, but whilst his appearance belied a cool, calm and collected individual, he was ready to move and react at a moment's notice.

The shadow figure simply stood there without moving or speaking, but it was clear from his expression that he is simply trying to tell Nathan "C'mon, come and get your item :0, I don't bite" but whether this was obviously clear to Nathan, or anyone else, remains to be realised.

Nathan gave the shadowy figure a curious glance. Honestly, this was hell, what could you trust? The figure's posture changed, and it almost seemed to becoming irritated at being kept waiting so long for something that was so simple. It was holding out a scroll. Unless this was some trap, and a poor one at that, it seemed to be genuine enough.

Nathan curiously took the scroll from the being, looking at the clenched piece of parchment in his hand, and then took a couple more quick steps backwards, never facing away from the figure as he did.

"Er... thank you?" Nathan spoke.

((Lani would /never/ remove her sword from her person if given any choice. It's scabbarded, at her side. Also, she'd probably insist on taking Wraith with as well. However, for that part, I'll just assume that she was going to come back for him. Other than that, lovely!))

Lani was glad to see that Xell has brought the unnamed blue hedgehog with them. She'd been concerned for the creature, despite -- or perhaps especially because of -- his violent fit. As she looked at the shadowy figure ahead, an image flashed before Lani's eyes: a man with pale hair and quicksilver eyes turning dark, suddenly surrounded by a dense fog of darkness, and though she didn't recognize the person the image sent a chill down her spine. The strange vision gave her pause, and lasted long enough for her to be effectively removed from the debate of who should go. The added sense of fear made her reluctant, but someone had to and -- was Nathan going to go alone?

Afraid or not, she couldn't allow a comrade to go into a dangerous situation without support. She stepped forward as well, allowing Nathan to take the lead position as diplomat, with her taking the position of guard. She kept her hands clear of her sword so as not to give the wrong impression, but she was confident that she could draw it fast enough to deal with a threat, should one emerge. At least she would be normally, but with the fear weighing down on her, she wasn't so certain. Still, she knew the protocol for the situation called for certain actions, and she would comply. She kept her hands steady despite the rest of her shaking very slightly.

When Nathan stopped, she stopped as well, slightly behind him and to the left. The shadowy figure didn't seem to be responding, but it still held the scroll. She steeled her nerves, deciding that if Nathan didn't step up to take the scroll very soon then she would do so herself, dangerous or not. She was relieved when the lizard did step up and take the scroll. That meant she didn't have to. "Let's go back to the others, and see what message the scroll contains," she suggested quietly to Nathan. She really didn't want to stick around the imposing figure any longer than she had to.

"Er, yes..." Nathan shyly replied. "And t-thank you for watching my back, miss...?"

"Lani will do..." The woman replied quietly.

"Lani?" Nathan repeated as he flicked through the photos and notes on his phone. There were so many people and things he had to remember that it was a trying job to have to remember all of them in the time he would have before he'd end up forgetting again, and having to repeat the entire process over and over again.

"You're welcome." Lani nodded back, still wary of the shadowy creature.

Nathan added another note to his phone concerning Lani:

Name: Lani
Strong fighter
Scary sword
Nice person

"Well, what does it say?" Glitch asked as the pair rejoined the assembled group.

"H-hold on just a s-second." Nathan replied, as he knelt down in the middle of the circled group, unravelling the scroll on the ground so everyone could see it, even in their limited light.

(OOC: Still here...but not feeling well. x__x)

[[ hope you feel better >: ]]

OOC: No problem Shylarah, will edit as appropriate ^_^ Lovely flashback you had for Lani! Had me intrigued.

IC:

Cave

Nathan carefully unfolded the scroll and studied the intricate details of its inked contents. Glitch, too peered over. As did Lani, Reni and Xell. Wraith was still somewhat passed out as his weakened, but healed form rested against the rocks of the bricked wall. Ken couldn’t really have cared less. He could, however, see the unfolded literature from where he was standing without getting involved in the claustrophobic circle to his mind.

Xell took a moment to consider the happenings. And ask himself who that strange dark knight was, and what his motives were for handing over a scroll. All part of Julien’s game? It must’ve been.

“Looks like we have a map,” Xell deduced as he noted diagramtic schematics which were illustrated with fine red and black ink. He also noticed the cursive writings which which described their surroundings “uhm, some of it is written in Latin…” he grumbled.

He looked at everyone, and from the look of their faces it didn’t seem that obvious that anyone was jumping forward as a multi-lingual talented individual.

“There’s enough info to get us out though, I think…” Nathan said as his eyes widened, as if trying to absorb as much detail as possible from the diagrammatic drawings.

“Yeah, look how simple it is,” Glitch spoke, running his gloved finger across the parchment “if we just continue on in a straight line, we will be out of the cave into what looks like… is it a town?”

“Unless it’s a trick… all whilst the Overlord… whatever his name is… looks down on us and laughs like this is all some sick joke!” Reni protested.

“Well it’s our only lead,” Lani said solemnly “I say we make haste. Now.”
Lani turned to look at Wraith, who was still unconscious. Before she could get near, Xell had stepped in to pick him up.

“It’s fine, I’ll handle the burden,” Xell said “if you ever get tired of fighting for us though just let me know and we’ll trade.”

Lani nodded, and turned around to lead the way. Nathan held the scroll, whilst Glitch analysed it- ready to instruct as appropriate on directions. He didn’t particularly rely on Nathan’s ‘competent’ memory span for that task after all.

"Looks like that knight-dude has gone," Glitch noted. No one said anything further. They were simply glad to be free of his sinister and heavy dark presence.

Unbeknown to the rest of the group, Sigil was drifting right behind. Like a trailing dark presence.

Kenneth and Reni trailed after, whilst Xell kept to the back with a passed-out Wraith in his arms. He began to reflect on Glitch’s earlier actions. Especially the way he kept snapping his fingers in front of Wraith and asking if ‘Frostbyte’ was still there.
Who was Frostbyte? He didn’t mean Wraith, did he? And what was this about him coming ‘back to normal’? Unless Frostbyte was this possessive force. In which case, if Wraith did come back to normal- would Frostbyte still be there? None of this was making any sense.
He wanted some answers. Especially since was probably carrying a potential psychotic-tempered timebomb in his hands. However, now didn’t seem the time. Everyone’s survival as of yet was the dictating motive for now.
“L-l-look, I think I see some light..?” Nathan stuttered as gripped his cell phone with one hand with the parchment and pointed with another hand towards the end.

“Indeed,” Lani answered.

“It’s complying with the map so guess it’s working,” Glitch confirmed.

It was but for a few minutes later, the group had finally stepped outside.
Before the scene was cast within the viewers’ eyes, the group were met with bustling but strange sounds. Town crowd talk filled the air, with the sounds of old carts and horses hoofs that cantered outside.
There was a mild feel about the atmosphere as grey clouds drifted aimlessly through the sky in constant slow motion. Lining the very peripheral surroundings were village greying trees. The central core of their surroundings comprised of a cobblestoned roads with numerous thatched houses set out ahead of them. The streets were numerous and narrow, and were filled with wandering folk- dressed and drabbed in old cloak. They appeared to be peasant folk who were either carrying away goods with their horses and carts, or blacksmiths that were slaving away constructing swords and armours with their hammers and anvils in a blast furnace.

“Well, did we step back in time or what?!” Glitch exclaimed, in disbelief of the old, authentic but stale surroundings.

Xell too, turned his head to take in everything. It truly looked like a medieval town. Was this was Julien meant? The 1st circle being a medieval slave camp.

…slave camp…

It was then Xell turned to look at a nearby oaken tree and sweat dropped as he saw a parchment poster jabbed into the wall with a worn looking arrowhead.

Furthermore, the parchment had the words ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive’, and had a quaint illustration of all of their faces on it.

“Guys… guys…” Xell said trying to get the group’s attention “we’re in danger here… just look at that poster…” he nodded with his head.

“Screw that… look… there’s a village pub!” Kenneth announced “you guys do what you want. I’m going for a drink…” the white fox said walking off.

Before the group could do anything, a group of 6 black-masked rhinos, similar to that of Flint and Danny were seen talking in the distance. One of them glanced once or twice towards the group direction- a suspicious look beginning to form of his face.

“Cripes, we’ve been spotted,” Glitch said “what now?”

"Can't believe there's more of these bastards," Glitch noted under his breath upon noticing the group. The curious rhino locked eyes with him, and Glitch immediately turned away.

"Ya know," he said calmly, eyes now on the white fox ambling away towards a suspicious-looking building, "I don't think he has a bad idea, splitting up... Doesn't seem like they completely recognize us yet -- and if we stay here clustered in one huge group like this, we'll be attacked for sure." He shrugged. "Unless you guys want to fight six of these maggots at once, then we can go for it. Doesn't matter to me either way what we decide to do." He cracked a small frown and began to scan the surrounding buildings, "Just wish I could find something better to fight with than a rotten stick. Maybe there's an armory nearby..."

Lani looked at the group. The most easily identifiable had to be the ghost-mask person. Following that creature were Serenity and the bright blue hedgehog, due to their intense coloring -- and possibly herself, with her unearthly white hair. "We should have at least one fighter in each group," she said aloud, "but there is another consideration -- how easily recognizable each of us is. Kenneth wants to go off on his own for now, alright. He seems sure of himself, so I'll assume he can fight. I propose the following groups: we can't leave Blue on his own; he's far too weak right now. Xell, you've volunteered to look after him. You two should try to stay out of sight at the edges of the village. Glitch, you've got a weapon, as crude as it may be, so why don't you and Nathan stick together. Serenity, you're easily recognized, as is Mask here." Lani gestured to Sigil. "I have a solution for that, so you two should come with me. Whichever of the two groups finds the armory, get weapons for yourself and Xell, and join up at the edge of town. Then send one person to find the other group, so they can get weapons as well." She looked at the others. "Does this sound like a reasonable plan?"

While the others discussed her idea, she focused on her magic. She only had a little, but she'd discovered that illusions were very versatile. Slowly her hair turned a drab brown, and her distinctive sword became just an ordinary blade. If the others agreed, she'd disguise Serenity and Sigil as well.

[[ Ken is really enjoying himself, isn't he? XD ]]

No IC here, but I do have some sort of plan that i think i can use *plotting*

Ooc: Just want to put this out; Kenneth isn't a complete asshole. Sure, he's a conman and he has a very lax attitude and a tendency to joke about things and laugh stuff off, but he's not a completely serious, selfish prick. Basically think Sawyer from Lost? He definitely has a conscience and he definitely has things he regrets, even if he isn't willing to share them. Just wanted to throw that out, he's not some sort of evil monster.

IC:
BAM

The tavern doors swung open with a vicious snap, and Kenneth swaggered into the pub. Some of the other patrons' eyes focused on the odd suited fox, whilst others still continued to simply down their drinks. In this particular village, drink was an extremely valuable commodity and reward for all the other harshness that they had to experience in life, such that even peculiarly dressed strangers such as Kenneth did little to distract them. Saying that, however, a few shady bystanders still seemed to focus their attentions on him as he walked on up to the bar.

"I'll have a vodka please, my good man." Kenneth ordered as he laid one elbow down on the counter.

"Ey? Vodka?" The barkeep replied incredulously. "What kind of drink is that? And what manner of garb be you wearing, laddy? Where you from, stranger?"

Kenneth sighed. "Just get me an ale or something, then." He just wanted a drink, and he wanted one now.

"You got any money to pay for it?" The barkeep asked with suspicion.

'Godamnit this is getting tedious.' Kenneth thought to himself, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small stone he found earlier in the cavern, and flicked it onto the bar counter. "I'm sure this is plenty."

The barkeep picked it up and his eyes glimmered in surprise and awe. "Sir, you're certain...??" At the same time he was hurridly pouring Kenneth his drink.

"Yeah, just keep pouring me drinks until I say stop. Oh, and send me a couple of your serving girls so I can relax and chat with them, right?" Kenneth said, taking the glass and sitting down at a table against one of the tavern's walls. The barkeep responded with an eager certainty, and cashed the pebble carefully with an almost unspeakably valued glee.

No sooner had Kenneth sat down at the table and begin to take a drink, however, did a group of five more peasants approach him, blocking any exit from his seated position.

"You fellas mind? You're blocking my light," Kenneth spoke, before beginning to down his drink.

"I best reckon you don't belong here, stranger," said one of the five, a grey wolf dressed in the same poorish peasantry garb as the rest, who seemed most likely to be the group's leader. "You be wearin' some right funny clothing an' all that."

"Yea, and did y'see the queer way he talked to the barkeep, making him think that stone was like gold or somethin'!" said another.

"Hey, boy, who the hell do you think you're calling queer?" Kenneth shouted out, irritated.

"Y'know what else I find rightly suspicious? This poster here... I do believe a certain someone is on there," the leader continued. Kenneth raised himself up to look at the poster. 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.' Bah, not the first wanted poster he'd ever been on. He slumped back into his seat.

"So what's this all about, gents?" Kenneth began, an almost sinister glimmer twinkling in his eye as he looked with an intense seriousness at the five men. "You think you boys can try and capture me, claim some sort of bounty reward?"

"That 'bout sums it up, yep." said the leader. "I don't think you really have much of an idea what its like to live like we do. It's not anything personal, really, none of us give half a damn what it is that you did to deserve being a wanted man, its just that we need compensation here."

Kenneth leaned back again, his body relaxed, his arms stretched out across the length of the seat. He was deliberating what to do.

"Y'know, I just hada brief thought to go with you fellas," Kenneth began. "Turn myself in, go straight and all that. But then again I just got here and I'll be damned if I let a group of punks like you take me away from my booze. Well, damned moreso than I already am, I guess."

"Wrong answer!" The wolf leader yelled, pulling out a knife from seemingly nowhere and lunging towards Kenneth. Before the blade could get anywhere near the suited fox, Kenneth had lifted up the table and thrown it atop of the wolf. At once, the other four members began to charge towards Kenneth, and in no short time a full bar brawl had broken out. Tables and chairs were being thrown about, bottles being smashed atop patrons' heads and in general full bedlam had broken out.

Amidst the riot, Kenneth walked out of the dust, casually throwing the wolf's clean knife up and down in his hand, before taking a seat on the stool at the bar counter. The rest of the tavern was engaged in a full brawl, and the five men who had tried to attack him earlier were all involved as well, but focusing none of their attention on Kenneth anymore. It was almost as if they had forgotten all about him, or couldn't see him... or maybe they were simply seeing something else, instead. Regardless, nobody was now bothering Kenneth, and that suited him just fine. He would have preferred a quiet drink, but a drink to the sounds of a raging bar brawl wasn't so bad, either.

"Hey, barkeep! Don't forget to keep them coming!" Kenneth smirked. He relaxed on his stool, and turned around to continue watching the developing brawl, oohing and ahhing at each painful hit a patron recieved, before beginning his next thirst quencing drink with a satisfied smile.

OOC:
@Pach: Please lemme know if Nathan's at all OOC here and I'll fix it asap. Like if there's something specific he would say in his situation, or if there's a different entry for his phone you'd rather have me make (if any at all), just post it and I'll edit accordingly. c: I just hope I have a fair understanding of how his personality works at this point.
Also, btw... how was your post made in 1917? XD
-------------------------------------------

IC:

Glitch turned to the salamander beside him, who seemed to be flipping through his phone once again. "Guess I'm stuck with you, apparently."

Nathan's head jolted up, quickly, eyes rapidly scanning Glitch. "Wait, why would you say that? What's going on?"

Glitch smiled wryly, "Could be worse." His eyes dropped down to his rusting pole tapping against the dirt, then lifted back to Nathan. "You can help me find an armory, right? We need something to do. Can't just stand around here awkwardly like this."

"But you've a weapon right there...?"

"You can't expect me to do much damage with a rusty stick. This thing probably couldn't even hurt a fly." Glitch sighed and lifted the pole straight up, staring straight at it. "Could probably dent something though." He suddenly slammed it into a fattened tree beside him, to which Nathan flinched at. The tree remained unresponsive however; the leaves had not even rustled. Glitch returned the pole to its former position beforehand and observed it momentarily before letting out another comment.

"Oh, I dented it. Poop."

Nathan scrunched his eyebrows at this and quickly flipped through his notes once more, slowing down upon catching Glitch's name in an earlier entry. He added more to it:
Name: Glitch

??

Dented pole

Just watch out for

An uproar from the bar's direction suddenly burst out. The group could hear the clashing and destruction of the glasses and tables within the building. Passersby merely turned their head towards the commotion, which was blocked from their sight by the tavern doors, and walked on confused.

"Oh," Glitch said casually, "well, I guess that's our cue to go."

"Shouldn't we see--"

"Like I said. Dented pole." Glitch darted ahead into an alley, not too far away from the tavern Kenneth had walked into. He paused and looked back to Nathan, whose eyes were still glued to the clamorous building before noticing the white hedgehog ahead. Glitch motioned for Nathan to hurry along, almost completely ignoring the raucous event. When Nathan eventually caught up, Glitch tossed him the incurvate pole. "Here. Hold this for now. It's better than nothing, for you anyway."

The two continued on the narrow but lighted alleyway, eyes bouncing back and forth at the crude signs hovering all about them. Bars, clubs, artisans shops, meager art shops -- the list hopelessly dragged on. At some point, Nathan came to a stop and pointed at a shop dead ahead of the two, "Look, a weapons shop."

Glitch threw his arm up in joy. "Great! This is perfect--wait here for me. I'll be back. Just, uh... make sure none of the bimbo rhinos followed us down here. Beat them up if they did."

Nathan began to stutter a reply, but Glitch had already entered the armory. A bell rang lightly upon the entrance door cracking open. Glitch peered inside. The shop itself was not all too big nor impressively decorated, however ornamental weapons of all sorts dangled from the surrounding walls. A bulky tiger clad in a dirty white apron faced away from the open space behind the glass counters, hunched over, polishing and repolishing a bloody broadsword.

"Hey, you." Glitch called out, cautiously approaching the tiger. His eyes continued to scan the walls around him.

"Huh?" The tiger's head sprang bounced up. He slowly turned to face Glitch, still wiping his weapon clean.

"Yeah. You." Glitch fixed his attention on the squalid feline before him. "I need a weapon--particularly a nice, curved sword. Do you have anything like that?"

"A curved sword? Oh, sure thing sir," the tiger quickly placed the broadsword on a countertop behind him and began to surf through the wall beside him with a meaty index finger. "We have plenty."

"This is great--" Glitch paused and bit his lower lip. "Oh. Lovely. How do I pay for this. I don't have any money."

"Oh, no need to worry sir," the tiger returned to his customer, wielding a shiny curved blade in his gloved hands, "for you sir, it's absolutely free."

"Free? What?"

"You're our one thousandth customer today, sir." His lips curved into a genuine smile. "We always give our one thousandth customer a free generic weapon, sir. Like a sword, or a spear, or--"

"Bull****. I smell a trap."

"No, really sir." The tiger turned to the side, revealing a boorish poster outlined with red letters. It seemed to be plastered unevenly atop another poster, as curved edges poked out from its sides. "Take a gander at the sign behind me, if you will sir. See, sir, 'The one thousandth customer in a day receives a free weapon.' Unless you don't want to take the sword you seemingly don't have money to pay for..."

"All right, all right, fine. I'll take it." The tiger generously held the sword out with both hands to Glitch, who gingerly gripped it by the handle. He eyed it top to bottom. "Thank-you." Without waiting a second later, Glitch ambled out of the door towards Nathan. The tiger waved, still smiling, then returned to polishing his sword.

OOC: Sorry, but I've gotten lost again. I'll try to keep up, but no guarantees right now. Just go ahead with whatever you wanted to do, Shy.

The creature simply bobbed about, staring at Lani with a face that bore no features, nor hint of what it might be thinking. It simply stared at her, soundlessly.

Lani focuses upon Sigil, and slowly the mask turns into a relatively normal, if expressionless, face, mostly hidden by his hood. Instead of floating, the edges of his cloak appear to brush the ground at all times, and she keeps his head from appearing to bob quite so much.

OOC:

Once more, into the fray!

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

The Cave

A
searing display of white light erupted into existence from within the dank,
cave-like interior.

Slowly,
a form comprised of light began to emerge from the brilliant singularity. It
pulsed with life as if it were moving to the rhythm of a heartbeat and then, as
it completely pulled itself from the dimensional door from which it arrived, it
shattered.

Shards of light fell to the ground like glass fragments and scattered in all
directions, unravelling from the figure of a dark purple rabbit as if it were
an extra layer of skin being shed from the being.

Ren
straightened himself out as all of the unnatural sources of light faded into
nothingness. He took a moment for his eyes to adjust before giving his
immediate surroundings a thorough scan. Immediately his gaze focused on the
splatters of blood, running along the walls in streaks and pooled on the
ground. There had been a fight here but curiously there were no bodies to be
found.

Looking
to the ground, Ren saw multiple sets of footprints. Looking straight ahead, he
could see where they led, straight through a ruptured set of iron bars. Whoever
these people were, they were resourceful.

This was
all very troubling, ‘Has something gone wrong?’ Ren thought. His arrival was
not supposed to be delayed, that was not supposed to be a side effect of his
interference with the vortex. Yet here he was, alone while the others
undergoing the trial had presumably advanced without him. More investigation
would be required.

It was
as he took his first step forward that Ren’s mortal form became painfully
apparent to him. His entire body buckled inward and his eyes widened as he fell
to the ground, coughing and gasping all at once.

The fit
didn’t last very long, but the shock was enough to keep Ren lying on the ground
in a foetal position taking slow, deep breaths for a few moments afterwards. He
looked at his hands and the ground that he had collapsed on and saw something
very concerning.

‘...Blood?’

Ren
wiped his mouth to confirm that the blood was indeed his own and not simply
more of that which littered the surroundings. This wasn’t good.

“Something’s
wrong.” He glanced back at the empty patch of ground from which he had arrived
and then looked back to blood on his hands.

“Something
has definitely gone wrong.”

It was
entirely possible that the construction of his new flesh had not proceeded
properly from within the vortex, no doubt the result of Ren’s interference.
Another possibility was that the reconfiguring of his soul was causing some
kind of unforseen reaction from the inhibitor curse. Either way, that prior fit
was not a sign of good things to come.

Standing
to his feet, Ren took some deep breaths and stretched each of his limbs,
gauging for reactions as he did so. Nothing. He outstretched his arm and
prepared for another test, but then he hesitated. Julien was most likely
watching; the later that Julien could find out that Ren had regained some use
of his power, the better, so he chose against transforming an arm.

Not
entirely satisfied with his current analysis, Ren proceeded through the hole in
the bars, regardless. The best he could do now is hope that the damages to his
mortal form weren’t extensive enough to become a hindrance. Perhaps he’d feel
better after eating something.

Another
source of bright light awaited up ahead, Ren shielded his eyes as he approached
it. Wiping blood away from his mouth, he stepped through the white and into the
first realm of Julien’s challenges.

----

Beyond the Underworld

Medieval Village

The
landscape before him was not quite what Ren was expecting. The lowly squalor of
peasantry, as filthy and repulsive as it was, was a thing of beauty compared to
the cruel depths of the underworld. Ren took in a deep breath of the air, it
smelled musty, moist, but it was brilliant. His skin tingled as he felt it;
sunlight. Ren continued walking around, under a bridge and through an alleyway
as he continued to observe and ponder. These sensations, they were enough to
make Ren contemplate his own former mortality; it seemed like such a long time
ago now that he thought about it.

“Are you
alright, mister?”

Ren’s
train of thought was interrupted by the voice of a young boy. Ren looked to his
side to indeed see a young rat, no older than maybe ten, dressed in a muddy
cloak and sitting atop a barrel.

“You’re
bleeding, are you alright?” the boy asked.

A
sinister feeling came over Ren as he observed the boy. It had been a while
since he had consumed a soul and here, greeting him upon his arrival, was a
helpless mortal coil, just asking to be torn asunder. He did not want to reveal
his powers to Julien yet... but it had been so long... so very long.

“Oh, I’m
fine...” mused Ren, lashing out and grabbing the boy’s throat with his left
hand.

The young
rat gasped and struggled as Ren brought his right arm upward in preparation for
something.

“But I
could be much... much better.”

Shivering,
the young child closed his eyes and waited for his inevitable end, and end that
did not arrive, as Ren hesitated.

Ren
stopped himself as he contemplated his position; the Trial was one of
‘redemption’, which meant that the taking of an innocent life could perhaps be
perfect grounds for expulsion from the entire thing. He would have to look
elsewhere for a means to bolster his strength.

As he
began to let go of the child, a stone collided with the back of Ren’s head. The
young rat scampered away, running behind Ren as he stood there growling and
clutching at the point of impact.

“Papa!”

Ren
turned around to see his attacker, an older rat dressed in a cloak and sporting
an eye-patch, the young boy standing at his side glaring at Ren angrily.

“Well
well, what’ve we got here?” said the older rat in a raspy voice, “are you
alright, Junior?”

The boy
nodded to his father and pointed a finger at Ren, “he was gonna hurt me, Papa!”

“tsk tsk
tsk, well that’s no good.” The boy’s father drew a knife, “It’s not a good idea
to pick on children.”

Ren
growled at the rat, “Get lost, both of you, before I get mad.”

“You
were supposed to get the drop on him, Junior.” Said the rat. “Sorry, Papa.” the
child said apologetically.

The man
stretched out a hand to ruffle his son’s hair, “That’s alright, Junior, you’re
still learning. Now, the poster said there was a lot of money on his head,
Junior. Do you remember what else the poster said?”

The
young boy pondered for a moment before loudly replying, “Wanted, dead or
alive!”

“Haha,
very good, Junior! Now, which one will it be today? I’ll let you decide.”

The
young boy grinned and drew a knife of his own, “dead, Papa! Definitely, dead!”

The man
grinned and dropped into a fighting stance as he advanced toward Ren with his
son beside him, “Very good thinking, Junior. Now let’s make this quick, your
mother will be getting very worried about us by now.”

The two
knife-wielding assassins steadily made their way toward Ren, blocking off his
exit from the one-way alley that he had walked into. As he observed them, Ren
grinned with his realisation, these two were coming at him with intent to kill,
surely they cannot be considered ‘innocent’ any longer...

---

A
flutter of birds scattered from a rooftop in the village as a muffled cry was
heard coming from an alleyway, the sound was disregarded by the hustle and
bustle of the village as just another unruly day-to-day happening. How
horrified anyone would have been to witness what was happening from within that
mundane alley.

“My
boy!” the man cried out from a pool of blood he lay on, “You demon... you’ve
killed my poor boy!”

Ren
unceremoniously let go of the lifeless, bloodied young rat in his hand,
allowing the small frame to hit the ground with a thud. The boy’s skin was grey
and his eyes were purest white, devoid of any spark.

The
tongue that resided in the jaw that was Ren’s arm licked at its lips before
vanishing as the arm changed back to normal. The bloodied, grinning creature
named Ren slowly began advancing toward its second meal.

With his
teeth clenched and tears streaming down his face, the rat struggled to stand on
his broken leg to avenge his fallen son, but found no strength to overcome the
excruciating pain.

“Y-You
killed my boy.” The man sobbed, a hand still tightly clenched around his
dagger. He tried in vain to swipe at Ren’s legs before his blade was kicked out
of his grasp followed by a swift kick to his already bloodied face. He felt the
beast’s hand wrap around his throat as he was brought up to meet with its cruel
gaze. Those eyes, those horrible, beastly eyes... there was no remorse behind
those eyes.

“Wh-What...
What are you?”

The
jagged grin didn’t open to speak and the eyes didn’t even blink, the creature
just stayed where it was, transfixed, as it silently raised its other arm. The
arm split down the middle, once more revealing that terrible, other-worldly
gaping maw.

“You
killed my boy, you bastard! WHAT ARE YOU!?”

At last
the creature’s face changed but it did not speak, instead it let loose a
horrible fit of laughter as the jaw on its arm began to screech like a beast
from another time and age.

The
colour faded from the rat’s flesh and the life in his eyes vanished as his very
soul was drawn out from within him, emerging as a translucent, ghostly trail of
smoke from his mouth and eyes. The soul wailed in futile protest as it unwillingly
snaked into the eager maw that beckoned it.

The
thump of the man’s body hitting the bloody cobblestone sounded in unison with
the snapping shut of the jaw along the dark rabbit’s arm. With his composure
regained, Ren closed his eyes and brought his hands to his arms rubbing along
his biceps, smearing the blood from his hands over himself in the process.

A
relaxed sigh escaped his lips and he smiled to himself. The earlier
invigoration of sunlight against his skin could not compare to what he felt now.
Ren took another moment to bask in the fruits of his work before making his way
over to the barrel the child had been sitting on earlier. He saw his grisly
reflection in the water he found inside and decided to clean himself up.

When he
was satisfied that he had removed all traces of his crime from himself, he
proceeded toward the sounds of the central village area, taking care to avoid
stepping in pooled blood on his way out of the alley.

Making
his way to what looked like a ventral part of the village, Ren’s attention
immediate fell to a group of individuals that stood out like a sore thumb
amongst the common squalor. A brightly coloured lot of individuals stood around
a tree covered in what looked like posters, most likely the ones the rats had
been talking about.

Off to
another side of the square, he saw a group of burly rhinos eyeing the strange
group and conversing amongst themselves, he could also see weapons at their
belts.

“This looks
interesting” he mused while swiping a green apple from a nearby fruit vendor’s
cart. He was about to take a bite out of it when the vendor, a small, stout
walrus tugged at one of his ears.

“Hey!
That’ll be three copper pieces, ya basta-“ the man decided against finishing
his sentence when he noticed Ren glaring at him.  “Eh... I mean... on the house!”

Ren continued
looking at the walrus as he violently bit into the apple, sending juices
splattering into the vendor’s face. Leaning against the fruit cart and loudly
chewing his apple, Ren surveyed the proceedings with great interest. He knew
he’d have to co-operate with these strange individuals in order to pass the
Trial, but he wanted to gain as much knowledge about them as possible before
introducing himself to them. No doubt they would be full of questions for him
as well, so it would only be fair to gain more insight into their capabilities
by first observing them.

Or at
least, that’s what Ren told himself as he took another loud bite of his apple.

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

OOC:

My posts won't always be this long, promise.

((*applauds Nocturne*))