[Misery Manor - Upstairs Hallway]

The noise came again, clearer and closer. It grew into a regular pulsing that seemed to emanate from the hallway to the right. Upon close inspection, one of the doors in that hallway appeared different. It bore an eerie spherical mark written in what seemed to be black oil- a great number of thin lines all drawing in towards a central point.

Here is where the signal could be heard the loudest. There could be no doubt, the air itself seemed to shake with the force of vibration. Each thrum came like a hammerblow, low and constant in it's frequency, infrasonic rumbles strong enough to set a person's teeth rattling if they held their jaws closed tightly.

edited 29th Jun '16 4:53:56 AM by Gault

yey

The Black Jungle -> Misery Manor (Phoebe, Ashleigh, Half)

The two-and-a-Half people riding on the carousel unicorn continued through the depths of the jungle for a while with few disturbances. Perhaps the music Ashleigh was playing on her fiddle helped calm the angry spirits of the birds in here. However, as they went on, the surroundings became darker. And darker. Until even Peggy's Glowing Beacon couldn't light up the outlines of trees. And yet, she kept that beacon lit, the light emanating from the orb on top of her pole, lest they become enveloped in near total darkness.

Along the way, Phoebe sniffed the air, and then wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Ugh, what is that smell? Smells kinda rotten whatever it is."

Ashleigh put her violin down and took a sniff as well... and immediately covered her nose with her hand.
"Smells like... death. I think this means Necromere is close now." And so, she took out her Scanner again and opened her inventory portal, stashing her violin back on the shelves within.

Slowly, the darkness subsided, but only somewhat. An old dark house came into view, barely silhouetted against an array of dead trees, atop which numerous ravens were perched. Only a little bit of the dreary ground around the manor was visible, the surroundings outside of that consisting only of blackness.

"What happened to the rest of Necromere?" Ashleigh inquired as they approached the manor. "This definitely looks like Misery Manor, but everything else seems to have been devoured by the Blackwood or something."

"You mean the Black Jungle," Phoebe clarified. "But either way, I still don't like the look of this place... I dunno how Gon and Yamiko could stand it!" She was shivering now, and it wasn't because it was cold outside.

Peggy walked all the way up to the front porch of the manor, which was as barren and desolate as the rest of the place. The big wooden door leading into the place was closed, and there was not a soul in sight... but there was a prominent knocker on the door.

"Well, looks like this is our stop," Phoebe announced. "I-I mean... your stop," she added to Half.

"Oh come on Phoebe, we should at least see Half off," Ashleigh remarked. But though she shifted her weight towards the side of Peggy's saddle, somehow her legs refused to budge. It was as if her very body didn't want anything to do with the manor. "I say... this place could do with some TLC. I wonder why all these ravens are here... reminds me of this old thriller film where hundreds of birds went mad and attacked people." Indeed, there were ravens perched on the railing lining the porch, on the rooftops, on the dead trees nearby... and although they were silent, they seemed to be watching everyone present.

"This is creepier than I imagined..." Phoebe moaned, huddling close to Peggy's mane. "Can we just drop Half off and leave already? And why are you still on the saddle?"

"Why are you?" Ashleigh asked bitterly. But after a few moments, she managed to push herself off the saddle and onto the ground, inviting Half to do the same, and even to hold his devoid-of-feeling hand if necessary.

"Now, are you sure you want to do this?" she asked Half. "Because once you do, there's no turning back." And then she faced the old wooden door, and the knocker upon it, reaching out a hand towards the latter. But an inch away from it, her hand froze, trembling in fear. She heard a rumbling noise of some sort coming from inside the manor... she knew knot what it came from, but it was low, rattling, almost mechanical in nature. Peggy apparently heard it too, for she gave a startled whinny behind her.

I'm not sure even I could do this... I must be out of my mind. God help me... Her heart was beating very fast... She shut her eyes tight, and gave three quick knocks on the door. All around her, the ravens on the porch squawked.

There were several moments of silence. Haunting, chilling, silence. Until at last, the door creaked open. Ashleigh could barely make out the living room of the manor, filled with dusty and/or moldy furniture and cobwebs, and even what she could have sworn was a black widow spider crawling away into the shadows. A shiver ran up her spine - she hated spiders, black widows especially. At this, she backed away until she came to the steps leading off the porch.

"Well Half..." Ashleigh said stiffly, with a gulp in between, "good luck..."

Gonna wait for Killer Clowns to respond before posting with Sinistrina. It's up to Gabe whether he wishes to answer the door (though it just opened anyway) or further investigate the strange sound.

San Francisco - Hashberry (Gon, Moreena, Lauren, Demo)

Gon knew he shouldn't have spoken to Moreena like that. No sooner than he did did a bunch of black tendrils appear right out of the goth girl, sending shivers down Gon's spine as soon as he saw them. He took a moment to collect himself, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head as usual before speaking.

"Dafuq was that? I'm not sure if that was proof enough, but that was a bit creepier than I would've liked. Although, to be fair, I have a goddess with me too, so I guess that makes us even."

In fact, he decided to prove it, taking out that red electronic smartphone-like device known as a Scanner and pressing a couple of buttons on it, before pointing it at the ground. A soft beam of light pointed at the ground, and materialized into something that looked newt-like upon first glance. She was about the size of a house cat, and her long body was smooth and bright gold in colour, including her very draconic head complete with a snout and fangs (but, notably, no scales). She had large fiery feathers for eyelashes, which also made up a pair of wings folded at the sides of her body. But not for long, for she flew up and landed on a nearby mailbox, folding the wings back again. To further suggest being part-bird, she had scaly bird feet. But her tail was more lizard-like, and had a lit flame on the end of it.

Here's a drawing of Triumph for reference. Her current form is at the top of the page (labeled Fethermander, her species name); below it is her goddess form.

"This is Triumph," Gon introduced. "And she's actually a fire goddess. ...Or she will be after an invocation - this is her 'child' form."

Triumph snorted, blowing tiny flames out of her nostrils. "I ain't no child," she spoke in a sassy tone, carrying a bit of a Southern accent. "Though he only invokes me in a battle, so unless you wanna fight, I ain't gon' do it."

"Aww come on, be nice, will ya?" Gon said with a shrug, patting the feathered salamander on the back. "I don't think these guys will hurt us."

edited 28th Jun '16 7:37:22 PM by ladytanuki

Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.

[Clinic/Henry]

Henry got up out of the chair and looked at the others. "Don't worry the pain is back down to tolerable levels." He then turned around and picked his jacket up of the chair, checking the kevlar lining before putting it back on. Then he walked over to the closest window to get a good idea how the storm looked.

"That storm doesn't look like it's going to let up any time soon so I guess we're going to have to bite the bullet."

[San Francisco-Hashburry/Lauren]

"You better hope you were kidding. I've had enough to deal with today between my husband's hubris and being stuck here in my personal hell." Laure said to Gon annoyed as she turned her attention back to the building approaching the front door.

The building looked exactly the same as it did in 1967 when she was 7 years old. It stood out from the other building on the street due to it lacking decorations and anti war signs that the others living on the street put all over in the place. She chucked to herself as she remembered a time where some people tried to do that only to have her grandfather threaten to blow their heads off with a shotgun.

As Moreena and Gon were getting into a conversation behind her she went into the house. Again just like the outside the inside was exactly the same as it was in 67. The decorations were decently middle class as this was a time where her father was beginning to move up in the world at the bank he worked at, with photos of her family adorning the wall, earth toned floral wallpaper and her grandfathers war medals in a display case.

Suddenly she heard voices coming from the kitchen. She followed the sound and opened the door to the kitchen and gasped in surprise at what she saw.

In the kitchen was her 7 year old self sitting at the kitchen table cleaning her grandfathers guns, her 14 year old brother who was at this time beginning to become a hippie sitting across from her and finally her grandfather. Her grandfather was an older man in his early 50s clearly ex military with a strong build and short orderly hair cut. He stood by the window smoking as he looked outside.

"Absolutely discussing." He said angrily while using the ashtray on the windowsill. "I fought for this country and I wasn't even born here! Now these pansies are refusing Uncle Sam's call." He then opened the window and shouted out to no one in particular. "Learn some damn responsibility!"

Her brother sighed. "You know grandpa maybe they don't want to. It's a free country after all." He said snidely.

"Freedom isn't free!!" Her grandfather snapped.

"Oh you did it this time." Her 7 year old self said looking up from her work.

Her brother looked at the younger Lauren."Shut up." He told her before looking back to his grandfather. "Yeah I know Grandpa you say that every day."

Her grandfather put out is cigarette. "And I'll keep saying it until it sinks in!"

Her brother sighed again before getting up and heading for the door. "Yeah what ever. I'm going to Darren's place."

"I better not catch you at a goddamn rally!!!" Her Grandfather yelled out to him as he left. After he left he looked to Lauren. "I hope you don't wind up like him."

Her younger self looked up at him. "Don't worry Sir I won't. I'll work for everything."

Her grandfather laughed. "Ha Ha that's my little soldier!" He said patting her back. "Now come on. They should be busting out the buttons here soon."

The younger Lauren got a big smile on her face. "Yes Sir!" She got down from the chair and joined her grandfather as he grabbed his hat to go outside.

As the pair left the kitchen they faded away leaving Lauren there wondering what it was she just saw. "What the fuck?"

Ruins(Cira, Reynardo, Gwenafer):

The dark grew darker to Cira, distances deepened and shadows stirred. A soundless melody muffled all sounds, and warmth ran from his arms to his very core as his hand grasped a weight he remembered well.

The sword was a beatiful, terrible thing, whose power seemed to invade Cira as he held it. It was long as Cira's arm, thin enough to be almost needle-like, and from tip to pommel it was of the same substance, like dark silvery metal with a prismatic sheen, and a very, very subtle dark red light lining the edges.

For a moment, the sensation of summoning it overwhelmed Cira, due to how close to reality it was. He had never tried that in a dream before, in part because an enemy could try to hijack its creation. But both Aian and the so-called vampires, if they were truly real, were afraid of the fire within it.

In fact, he was so enraptured by the weapon, the only thing Gwenafer said he was not too distracted to hear was her reference to the Pale Lady.

"We avoid that name where I am from. It attracts attention of the wrong kind.", he whispered to her, clutching his torch and sword even tighter.

edited 30th Jun '16 2:03:59 PM by EternaMemoria

"The dried flowers are so beautiful, and it applies to all things living and dead."

[San Fran - Demo]

Demo was just outside the door when the entire conversation took place, and blinked twice in bemusement. He wasn't what you would call a sensitive man, but even he got the distinct feeling he had seen something he shouldn't have seen.

"Took the words right of of me mouth." He strode into the room from behind her, filing his uneasiness away like he always did. "I've heard of phantoms putting on plays for visitors, but as far as I can tell, you aren't dead, so that possibility's out."

He stopped and thought about something for a second, before pulling his grenade launcher down to waist level, as if to inspect it. "That young-looking lass was you, right? Not some dead twin sister or something who might have a grudge or three?"

edited 30th Jun '16 5:50:22 PM by gameknight102xx

San Francisco - Lauren's House (Gon, Lauren, Demo, Moreena)

Gon watched as Lauren entered the house, where a conversation among a family was taking place. Although he moved close to the door to get a better listen, he didn't actually enter the house, for the sake of being polite. (He knew better than to piss off a businesswoman, even if her suit was disheveled.) He could hear bits of the conversation, something about guns and hippies and sibling rivalry.

The last part got to him, and put a smile on his face. The conversation between the two children (though the boy wasn't so young himself) reminded him a bit of the types of conversations he and Ari used to have, though those were more along the lines of school stuff and whether Batman or Superman would fare better in a post-apocalyptic Earth. And then he heard the armoured guy asking if the little girl was Lauren or her twin sister. At this, Gon just had to laugh.

"You don't have much experience with flashbacks, do you?" he joked. And then he put his foot in his mouth (not literally), for the notion of a flashback brought up memories of his brief nightmare in Misery Manor. His face had a nervous expression on it and was pointed more towards the doormat.

Just outside the house, the flying salamander known as Triumph stayed perched on the mailbox, glancing impatiently up at Moreena.

"So what's new wit' you?" she asked, mainly out of boredom.

edited 30th Jun '16 8:33:59 PM by ladytanuki

Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.

[The Tranquil Underworld (Mazra, Caleb, Anoerith)]

"You're assuming that they're really here," Mazra pointed out to Caleb. "I'm not sure I'd believe that even if this wasn't a dream."

Still, she saw no reason not to keep going with this adventure of theirs as long as it wasn't actually hurting anyone. She kept her eyes fixed on Anoerith, deciding to take her word for it that they needed to focus on her for this to work. The machine woman's appearance still scared her a little, but she thought it shouldn't be any more scary than falling into an infinite void, or whatever this was. Anoerith had called it an 'in-between'?

Walking like this meant she couldn't really pay attention to what was around her, of course, which was too bad, since when would she get to see something like this again? I'm walking in space! Or, I suppose it's not really space, but I don't think anyone else would be walking in this either.

Or maybe not. If Anoerith's world has a name for it, they might do this more often...

Eventually, Anoerith started talking again, and she looked up. Her mouth dropped open a little at the sight of the impossible tower with a silent 'Wow'.

"I don't know," she replied lightly, "depends on what heroes you're talking ab-"

The screams distracted her, and she dropped a hand to her field-sword hilt, though she didn't activate it. "What the Emperor is that?!"

[San Francisco - Lauren's House] (Gon, Lauren, Demo, Moreena)

Moreena retracted her tendrils into a spot between her shoulder blades with a disturbing schlorp, and walked over towards the door of the house. She stopped right outside, and glanced over at Triumph. Her physical form looked liked some kind of small, feathered lizard, which seemed like an unusual choice for a goddess, but Moreena had seen - and worn - stranger forms before, and she knew that appearances were mostly arbitrary anyway.

It seemed odd that she would rely on a human to "invoke" her though, but that could just be a quirk of her home reality.

"Oh, just the usual," the Goddess of Death responded to the Goddess of Fire with a casual shrug. "Guarding my Domain, searching for lost souls, exploring the multiverse... And somehow ending up in strange dreamworlds, as the case may be."

She noticed the sounds from within the house. She was clearly not the only one having visions from her past.

"How about yourself?" she continued. "How come you're traveling with a mortal?"

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

[Nearby the Clinic]

Not so far away from the frozen river, a rather confused girl was trying to snap out of unconsciousness. She was of a scrawny complexion, and pale skin due to her lack of exposure to sunlight, with short but kinda messy hazel hair. As she laid on her back, vision blurred by both the snowstorm and her own disorientation, she instinctively reached for her right arm using her left hand in order to verify if her most valuable piece of equipment was still there.

-“Thank goodness... I still have it.”

She uttered in relief, as she felt her fingerless cybernetic gauntlet still firmly secured to her right arm. With that out of her mind, she tried to stand up as quickly as possible, but her current dizziness prevented her from doing so, causing her fall on her posterior. She pinched her nose-bridge out of reflex as she tried to get her bearings, confirming in the process that she was wearing her prescription glasses... Which was rather fortunate, because it was difficult enough for her see anything in front of her, even with them. She reached for her back, trying to feel if she still had her backpack with her, but it seemed like her luck only allowed for so much... She didn't really expected to find it, as she still remembered having lost it during some recent events. However, as she inspected herself, she noticed something odd about the fabric of the clothes she was wearing at the moment: It felt too “refined” and “expensive”.

-“How did I end up dressed like this?!”

She exclaimed in disbelief, as she noticed she was clad in a rather ornate pink dress. It was like something a princess in an animated movie would wear, but it still had certain grace to it that would allow her to wear it in a real-life formal ceremony. It was a rather unorthodox outfit her to wear, given her usually scruffy “fashion-sense” and her self-proclaimed lack of style... Which made it all the more mystifying for her, as she couldn't imagine what kind of circumstances would've compelled her to dress up like that. Nonetheless, given the unfortunate quirks of her transformation device, she felt fortunate to be wearing something, specially in such an inhospitable climate as the one she was currently experiencing.

-“...Nevermind. I'll care about it later... Right now, I would prefer not to freeze to death.”

She muttered in order to motivate herself. Making a deliberate effort, she managed to stand up once again, and without a losing a moment, she scanned her surroundings in order to find some place where she could shelter herself from the harsh cold. Fortunately, a pair of yellowish lights seemed to be relatively close to her. Moving with difficulty, because of both the snow dragging and weighting down the mysterious dress, and because of the high-heeled shoes she was currently wearing, she still managed to reach the frozen river, where she stood motionless for a couple of agonizing seconds, trying to find an alternative route, so she didn't have to cross it. But with the snowstorm growing stronger with each passing moment, she decided to risk it, and just try to reach the other side as quickly as possible.

Though, instead of trying to run for it, she went for a safer, if slightly less dignified approach, as she assessed that trying to run with high-heels would only make her trip and break the ice under her, so it was better for her to just crawl through the frozen water given her circumstances. Fortunately for her, she happened to be wearing a long elbow glove on her left hand; it didn't insulate as much as her gauntlet, but at least prevented from making direct contact with the ice. After a couple of excruciating minutes, she managed to reach the other side, her heart racing because of the constant danger of the path collapsing without a notice, but relieved to leave that death trap behind her. Then, she stood up and hurried her pace in order to reach the lights ahead of her. Once she was close enough, she noticed that the lights were a couple of lanterns hanging from the porch of kinda rustic looking house. Without losing a moment, she proceeded to loudly knock the door in front of her, hoping someone would answer as soon as possible.

edited 4th Jul '16 8:03:35 PM by VPhantom

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

Wasteland City - Academy (Durnem, Xeqa, Miyuki, Hana)

Durnem raised an eyebrow at the warrior queen's explanation. So all this was a discussion of politics that somehow turned hostile? It seemed kind of odd that she should encounter that in this strange world, even if she was used to seeing such petty disputes back in the waking world. She looked briefly to the shadowy knights again, sensing the same hostile aura about them.

And then she looked back to Xeqa, glancing again at that shadowy presence around her. The separate aura she had seen around it was no longer pitch-black, but was now an ugly brown, like the colour of sewage. Heck, the whole presence looked kind of like fume clouds that might surround vile piles of feces sitting out in the hot sun. And yet, Xeqa's actual aura underneath it suggested more a disgruntled mood than anything else, although there was also some sort of hidden yet profound sorrow, hinting at a sense of futility and impending doom.

"Hmm, I quite agree," Durnem decided to reply, thoughtfully stroking her chin with the side of a claw. "Death should never be one's end goal when fighting, even for a cause. It's more like a side effect. At least where I'm from, we wouldn't say a fallen warrior died for their clan until after they were dead - saying it before sounds like tempting fate. Still, though, I can see why these two might say that. Perhaps they are merely acknowledging the real possibility that they might die in a war. I should know, as I grew up in one of many clans who fought over sections of ocean."

She paused, and there was a slight look of regret on her face... which quickly turned to annoyance when she looked back at Miyuki. "If this is a political misunderstanding, I would advise you to dismiss your knights and turn the sky back to normal," she instructed her. "There's no need for violence in such a situation, and right now you are merely wasting your energy."

Durnem decided to be wary of Miyuki, as she looked to be in some stage of adolescence, an age group known for being unruly and unpredictable, especially when angry. If she could already use summoning and shadow magic at this stage, she could be very dangerous if she lost emotional control. As for Xeqa, she eyed her with a slight bit of disdain, as she could tell that her attitude might have escalated things (she did call Hana and Miyuki "simple-minded"), and perhaps it had at least partially to do with that vile and dangerous presence about her. The fact that she tried to use some sort of spell on Hana didn't help either.

San Francisco - Lauren's House (Gon, Moreena, Lauren, Demo)

Gon shivered again as Moreena retracted her tentacles, as they sounded much like slurping noodles when they went back into her back. Meanwhile, Moreena was talking to Triumph, and ending with asking her why she was traveling with a mortal.

"Lost soul... you can say that again," Gon responded matter-of-factly, rubbing the back of his head. "I have no idea why I ended up here, although this seems to be another dream. Just a while ago I was in a dream in which I was adventuring around with my buddies, and then things became all dark and eerie and stuff. Then I had a nightmare and woke up, and now I guess I'm asleep again."

Meanwhile, the flying salamander known as Triumph rolled her draconic eyes. "Because he has an Elemental Key. The Fire Key specifically. Ain't you never heard of the Elemental Guardians of Mystrica?"

"I don't think she's from Mystrica," Gon guessed, then turned to Moreena. "Mystrica is the virtual world that I fell asleep in, though I'm originally from Earth, though more modern than this. It's kind of like a real-life video game, in which I'm one of the heroes. There are five of us in all, but they're all... elsewhere. One of them is my little sister Ari, and she's been held captive in who-knows where for quite a while now." He wasn't completely sure if she was still in Misery Manor like she was in the previous dream.

"Yeah, so I'm basically stuck with him," Triumph explained. "And I'm safer for doin' so, because these crazy folks called the Techno Mafia are trying to steal all the Elemental Keys so they can use the goddesses' power to take over the world. In other words, I'm a walkin' bull's eye, but in exchange, I do get to transform into the Goddess of Fire from time to time, so it's all good."

"Technically she's replaceable," Gon added, "in fact she's one of a series of 'special edition' Mystripets modeled after the Elemental Goddesses, kind of like a demi-god. There are quite a few of them, mostly owned by rich pet collectors and such, but only those of us with Elemental Keys can invoke the goddesses within them. So actually, it's only when invoked that you're a walking bull's eye," he finished with a glance at Triumph, then turned back to Moreena. "It'd be like if someone made series of dolls that look like you, and gave a special 'chosen one' a magic skull or something that allows one of those dolls to transform into you. Although that wouldn't make sense because you're standing right here. As far as I know, the goddesses of Mystrica basically imprisoned themselves in the Elemental Keys to protect themselves from the mafia." He also held up his Scanner, which was infused with his own Fire Key. "It is kind of odd that they would choose mortals though. They always do that, both in video games and in several movies and anime series as well. Kinda ridiculous if you ask me." His gaze naturally turned towards a lampshade hanging on a lamp in the living room of the house.

edited 1st Jul '16 2:35:35 PM by ladytanuki

Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.

[Approaching the Clinc]

Footsteps crunching the snow underneath, a young woman calmly and quietly moves through the forest. However, at a first glance, the fact her dress-like doctor's uniform is covered in blood would stand out the most. Following that, though, would be the six foot sword of shifting white and red casually slung over her shoulders, her black twintails bouncing off it.

Stopping for a moment and casually sinking her sword halfway into the ground, she looks down at her right leg, the stocking torn up and exposing several stitches partially. Her face narrowing in thought, she finally speaks with casual seriousness. "Well, that's going to be annoying to fix..." Sighing in light annoyance, as she brings her left arm up to massage her forehead...

She stops, turning it over and scrutinizing it, her lips frowning as she looks at the bloodsoaked & bandaged forearm that's missing a sleeve like her over arm. Yanking her sword out of the ground with clear anger, as she resumes walking she angrily flicks it out- Firing off a red beam that explodes the snow into a cloud of mist.

Yet as she wraps her arms over the sword again, she notices three things- a cabin, a frozen river, and a woman(?) in a pink dress. 'Hm'ing at the sight of these she adjusts her path to meet up with the woman. At first it seems she is still touching the ground, by as she approaches the river- She stands several inches above the ground, odd distortions where she stepped... But silent nonetheless.

Finally, standing a foot above the ground and six feet from the building and thus fellow woman, she lazily dangles her right arm with sword held- In that instance looking decidedly bloodsoaked. Her left arm extended to shake hands, she abruptly speaks in a casually interested tone.

"I'm Noire Blanc, probable human- I don't suggest going where I just left, unless you got some meat fetish. Still, very nice Hime Lolita, though an eldritch forest probably isn't the best place for such an outfit. Seriously, mine's all messed now..."

"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."

Underworld

"Maybe," Caleb told Mazra, "but I'd rather make sure. Assuming the worst has gotten me this far with all my limbs intact." He followed Anoerith like she instructed, trying to examine the structures out of the corner of his vision. After an indefinite time, the great shadow they aproached became a tower. Caleb briefly wondered if this was what Lina was like, then walked to the bridge.

On a more stable surface he immediately looked around to see the whole of the structure, even missing an opportunity to comment on Ano's words.

The screams were enough to break him out of this trance, throwing him of balance enough that he feared falling off even the wider platform. Regaining his stance he called out "who's there!?" Barely waiting for an answer, he exhaled his eidolon to feel out the surrounding area in hopes of finding the source of the noise.

to clarify Caleb exhaling his eidolon allows him to use something like a radar power that can differentiate between living and inanimate. Eterna Memoria can determine if he finds anything.

Black jungle -> Misery manor

Half was uncontiously moving his head to the music until he saw the encroaching darkness; then he was met by the smell of corpses. After some time he saw the outline of a house. They were finally there, and Peggy landed.

The two humans were reluctant to get off, Half didn't blame them; little could hurt him, but other creatures were always at risk. Still, looking at the ravens Half realized that they actually unnerved him a bit. Half got off and flanked Ashley it didn't look like Phoebe got of ready to strike out at anything that would threaten the humans. If they looked they would see that his arms become a bit longer and looser.

"Now, are you sure you want to do this? Because once you do there's no turning back."...did he? A part of him wished he could spend more time with her and her friends. But as he aproached he new this was important and...he couldn't allow anymore distractions. "I'm ready, at least I think so," Half said, "I think I'll find what I'm looking for here; whatever that is."

Half ignored the sound, assuming it was normal for this place. Before he went in he said, "thank you, for everything really. You and your fellows were one of the few people who treated my line with kindness, and I won't soon forget it."

edited 1st Jul '16 6:56:46 PM by Novis

You say I am loved, when I don’t feel a thing. You say I am strong, when I think I am weak. You say I am held, when I am falling short.

[Ritter Clinic]

Heinrich raised his eyebrows. "Do you mean 'bite the bullet and brave the storm' or 'bite the bullet and agonizingly wait for the storm to pass'?"

Friedrich found himself putting a freshly lit cigarette in his mouth. Funny, he could have sworn he was just holding that whiskey glass on the table there. But whatever.

Shit, was that knocking? He hurried to his feet, muttering curses under his breath as he ran to get the door. Whoever the hell was out there had to be near death at this point, unless they were wearing the world's thickest coat.

Except... apparently not. Despite the ladies' completely inappropriate attire, they didn't seem like they were in awful shape. Only out for a short time? But then where did they come from? The storm felt like it'd been raging for hours, and this place was basically the middle of nowhere.

Fuck, there was a lot to process here. The overloaded pink dress and blood-stained uniform competed for his attention, but the blood won pretty quickly. He narrowed his eyes at the fuck-off huge sword she was carrying. Was that really necessary? And twin tails were an unusual choice for someone her age. As for the other girl—interesting gauntlet, to say the least. And seriously, why that dress?

"Need a place to get out of the cold? Come on in. We already have a bit of a party going on." Friedrich stepped aside so they could enter. "Wonder why so many people decided to go out on a day like this..."

The ever-present magical energies swirling around Friedrich intensified as a precautionary measure against any nasty surprises from his new guests.

---

[Farm (inside barn)]

"I can see that." Ren Yangchao was disappointed, but not surprised. "At least the wounds aren't deep. And it's a good thing she was close to here."

They bowed their head in greeting to Min, deciding not to comment on her rudeness for now. "Seilaan's immortal ancestor. It's a long story."

Seilaan flinched and tried to shrug the cloak off as soon as it touched her shoulders, but let it sit there when she realized that letting other people's belongings touch the ground wasn't very polite. But it was just... she didn't need it. He didn't even ask if she needed it, either. And what was Ren Yangchao doing here?

I'm allowed to entertain myself. But don't mind me. You'd better do something about those wounds.

Now what was Vince doing? Those weren't medical supplies, were they? Seilaan hurried over.

"Thank you. Let me take care of it." She reached for the first aid kit.

Ren Yangchao nodded slightly to signal to Vince that he should hand it over.

The last battle's curtains will open on stage!

San Francisco - Outside Lauren's House (Gon, Moreena, Lauren, Demo)

Moreena raised an eyebrow at Gon's explanation. It was quite a lot of oddness all at once, but she got the gist of it. So Triumph wasn't really a proper goddess, so much as a vessel of sorts for one?

"Some time ago," she replied, scratching the base of one of her horns, "me and the other gods of my world used to have mortal servants who could borrow some of our power, or invite us to possess them. I suppose that is somewhat similar. Of course, we agreed to stop doing that after..."

Someone was standing in a nearby, unnaturally dark alleyway. The figure's clothes were different, and she wore a spiky silver crown on her head, but there was no question about who she was. Her face was distorted into a wide grin with way too many teeth, and her taloned hands were covered in blood.

This dream is not exactly subtle... Moreena blinked, and the figure was gone. She looked back at Gon.

"You said your sister was missing? Captured? In your world or this one?"

Ruins (Cira, Reynardo, Gwenafer)

Gwenafer's eyes widened a bit as Cira created - no, conjured, as Jann would have insisted that the proper term was - a sword out of thin air, but she did her best to look unfazed. Yep, definitely a mage.

"We avoid that name where I am from. It attracts attention of the wrong kind."

"A superstitious mage?" she asked, with a hint of skeptical dismissal in her voice. "Or are you scared that some Moreenian cultist is gonna show up and take offense?"

edited 2nd Jul '16 9:16:09 AM by Corvidae

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

[At the Clinic's entrance -> Inside Ritter's Clinic]

Before anyone had the chance to open the door before her, a strange person appeared behind Ruth. Because she didn't hear any footsteps approaching, and the overtly grim aspect of the seemly female figure, her first instinct was to release her gauntlet's seal, and prepare for the worst. However, she hesitated the instant this person extended a hand towards her, as if they were asking for a greeting. Nonetheless, after all she had experienced during these past few weeks, Ruth knew better than to blindly trust strangers; for all she knew, that seemly innocuous gesture might have been just a cruel trick used to disarm her... Possibility in a violently literal sense, taking into account that blood dripping blade the stranger was carrying on their shoulders.

-“...Hi... I'm Ru-uth.”

She stated with a clear hint of fear in her voice, as she pressed both of her arms against her chest, and took a step backwards, away from the gloomy figure.

-“...A-are you o-one of The Guild's memb-bers, or one of Ms. Cele-este's acquaint-tances by any cha-ance?”

She inquired with a shaky voice, both because of the unbearable cold, and the sheer terror this stranger inspired on her. Now that she looked at them more carefully, this person did resemble some of the other girls she had met and worked with during her stay in that strange world. A lot of them also had a grim presence and wielded dark powers despite them being working together along more “conventional” heroines. However, there was something about this person that didn't inspire any kind of confidence in Ruth: The red blood dripping from her blade. During her stay in “the other world”, none of the hostile extra-dimensional beings she fought against had red blood. And while it was possible some of that blood belonged to this person, it didn't make sense for them to coat almost an entire sword with that amount of their own blood.

Just as she was about to release her seal in order to not take any chances against a potentially dangerous enemy, the door behind her opened. She turned around to see an old-looking gentleman clad in winter clothes, whom extended a polite invitation for both of them to enter the house. Overwhelmed by the slight relief in the current tension and the hospitality of the man, she fell to her knees as she gently grabbed the gentleman's right hand as a sign of gratitude.

-“Thanks a lot, mister... ”

However, she couldn't dwell into that spontaneous gesture for too long, as she was still worried about the ominous blood-splattered person. Standing up in front of the old man, as she defiantly faced the sword wielding stranger, both arms down but still together as she readied herself to release the gauntlet's seal as soon as she saw anything suspicious. Then, she stated in a rather blunt manner:

-“...Are you sure it is a good idea to let this person in, mister? I don't know who she might be, but that blood drenched blade, and the aura of dread around her... I don't trust her.”

edited 2nd Jul '16 11:11:03 PM by VPhantom

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

[farm, inside barn - Vince, Lise, Ren Yangchao, Seilaan, Min, Varris]

He looked at her for a second, then summoned another arm to float the first-aid kit over and pop the lid. Standard depression stuff.

The kit had been assembled for hard outdoors work, a rare engagement in Mialor. There were sterile gloves, rugged, waterproof bandages of both the adhesive and rolled types, little finger-sized pods of thick antiseptic gel, tiny forceps for thorns, kits for treating insect bites and minor burns, pouches of saline for eye washing, and even an extendable splint. The way the kit's materials were packaged, the illustrations and instructions for everything, and the construction of the forceps and splint seemed to imply manufacturing techniques and advances in medical and materials science that were a good distance beyond what the rest of the farm implied.

Vince stood by and watched, ready if she needed help with anything, or to take the cloak if it started getting in her way. Lise settled next to him, watching as well, while the scarred-up wyvern with multiple horns that greeted Min and Varris came down to keep an eye on the girl's strange wyvern. The other two- the smaller adult and the baby -remained next to Ren Yangchao.

edited 2nd Jul '16 1:59:54 PM by CrystalGlacia

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."

[Ritter Clinic]

Blinking at Ruth's question, it almost seems like Noire didn't pick up on the negative emotions. Though as the man opened the door and reacted to them, Noire casually loops her arms over her sword- And just as casually stepping back onto the ground. Her eyes roving over Ruth and the man, Noire closes her eyes and gently hums once she hears the other girl's cautious statement.

Her sword abruptly vanishing, Noire runs her right hand through her hair. Standing up tall and nestling her fists into her sides, the strange half-Zettai Ryouiki girl finally speaks with casual cheer. "The cautiousness is one of my favorite things about humanity, though it is rather offensive you consider me dreadful."

Holding her arms behind her neck, Noire tilts her head to the side- Before suddenly pointing her right hand at the older man, speaking with that same casualness "I'll need some bandages for my right leg and a medical eyepatch."

Bringing her right hand to her face, with that attention shifted one would notice her eyes are unnaturally white- Humanly impossible, even. Still, a look of realization subtly covering her face, she suddenly performs a curtsy after an uncertain few seconds. Bringing her hands to hold in her lap, Noire Blanc speaks with casual seriousness.

"I've just left a very strange place of visceral... Meat, having lost some things along the way. You seem like an old timesy doctor, so I assumed you'll have the supplies I need. I apologize for any inaccuracy, I'm a little unfamiliar with the current human standards. Anyways..."

Shifting her attention to Ruth, Noire simply looks at her curiously before speaking again "I hardly wish to cause any trouble, so I'll be on my way if you can spare the supplies I need. However, as I'm not familiar with this Wightful land, I could do with some directions- I rather have someone support me before I try exploring that meaty land."

"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."

Underworld (Anoerith, Mazra, Caleb):

Ano did not care to waste time with words, instead running towards the origin of the screams. Her stride was dexterous like a panther chasing her prey, instead of the frantic and unbalanced running of a wounded gazelle that she displayed before in the overworld. Her wings extended and moved as she ran, giving impulse yet keeping her on the ground. With a small jump and a beat of her wings, she came to a stop a few centimeters from the tall half-open gate of black iron that marked the entrance of the tower.

It was at least as tall as a three-story building, and behind its bars lay a tunnel with an arching roof of black stone and sides framed by what looked like the fronts of buildings in some older Tevirrean telen neighborhoods, with walls of wood between pillars made of blocks of stone molten together, and windows of coloured glass. The ground was not like a street however, but of pristine white tiles with black geometrical motifs that followed a pattern that was hard to decipher yet impossible to deny.

The fake street was littered with people, some fallen on the ground with their hands blocking their ears, some walking in circles with clearly distressed looks, some running wildly to saints know where, most wearing tattered clothing or white tunics, with some exceptions, and most also had a chain curled around a limb, made of silvery metal and with curved spikes on the last seven links, which penetrated the flesh of the limb they were binding without making it bleed, while the spikeless end dragged on the ground. None of them were screaming, however. Most ignored Anoerith's dramatic entrance, but an old man wearing a concealing black cloak approached her. Or stumbled in her general direction with great difficulty while grimacing with pain.

"You can talk?", he asked, almost shouting in order to be heard above the screams. "Trouble in the white room. Fools too scared to help.".

Caleb's eidolon would feel a very high amount of ambient noise in the underworld. Every empty space would seem like it was filed with small random and short lived variations of life and thought, that shouldn't be too dense to blind it, but still confusing or unnerving at first. The structure of the tower, on the other hand, would register weakly, but still certainly recognizable as a living, and maybe even thinking thing, of a subtle stability that fades into the background after enough time. Although the passageway the trio found themselves in is styled to look like a fake city, the interior of the buildings lead to a mazelike area with dozens of people.

Another noteworthy detail are the people in the underworld. Most would give Caleb the impression something was amiss when he saw them with his eidolon, but he wouldn't be sure of what most of the times. Some people, however, would appear to be like the images of many people superimposed to his eidolon, or would flicker in and out of view.

edited 2nd Jul '16 8:11:09 PM by EternaMemoria

"The dried flowers are so beautiful, and it applies to all things living and dead."

[Ritter Clinic]

Friedrich grimaced. For fuck's sake, did she have any idea how melodramatic she was being? Then again, what else did he expect from someone wearing clothes like that...

When Pink Dress voiced her concerns about the other stranger, he looked at her, then at Blood Stains, then Pink Dress again.

"There are worse things out there." Granted, she already sounded pretty fucking weird (Old-timesy? The hell did she come from then?) but he could deal with weird. "First door to the right is the clinic. Right across from it is the parlor. Make sure you say hello to the goat, too. Now get in before you freeze to death."

---

[Farm (inside barn)]

What the hell is any of this? No, no, calm down, just look at the pictures, it's probably just the usual stuff in different packaging. Focus!

Seilaan turned away from Vince before undoing her hasty bandage wrappings. Damn it, she could have done a better job if she'd actually stayed still and done it properly, but now they were nasty and she didn't know where the rest of the roll went. So these little pod thingies were full of antiseptic, right? She glanced over the instructions to figure out how to open it up. See, this wasn't so hard. The chemicals stung when they made contact with her cuts, but she made no outward indication of the pain. She used magic to quickly and neatly wrap her arms up with fresh bandages. It clearly wasn't her first time.

"Much better. Thank you," she said cheerfully. She was still furious with herself, but never mind! Never fucking mind. She didn't have to make this more awkward and horrible than it already was. Why did this have to come back and bite her in the ass again? She already came to terms with it in real life. Or at least she thought she did. It was just because she was afraid for Min, right? It wasn't really a problem for her anymore...

The last battle's curtains will open on stage!

[Ritter Clinic]

-“What?! Worse things than a sinister blood-splattered stranger wielding a menacing blade?! You can't possibly be-”

Ruth replied to the gentleman with clear disbelief and indignation, as that kind of (perceived) naivety seemed like something out of a stereotypical horror flick; the kind where they allow the creepy stranger in, and moments later they start slaughtering everyone inside the house. However, before she could complete her tirade, she noticed that the old man's demeanor was unusually composed, as if it really wasn't such a big deal to him. A regular person would have shown at least a hint of fear after seeing a blood-splattered overtly creepy stranger standing on their porch, but this old man didn't seem to mind it at all... That could only mean this man was honest about the fact that there were WORSE things out there. She didn't know if that thought should comfort her, or make her even more wary of the current situation, but she decided that, whatever was the case, it wasn't worth making a ruckus at this moment... She needed all her psychical, intellectual and emotional energy right now.

-“...Alright, I understand... Your house, your rules... Sorry for making a big deal out of this.”

She said with a genuinely apologetic tone, before turning her attention back to the strange “girl”...

-“...Thanks, but no thanks.”, she bluntly replied to her offer, “Nothing personal, but I think I'm done when it comes to embarking on unexpected quests for glory, gain and generosity along with mysterious strangers. Too many bad experiences with those during the past few weeks... Specially if said quest happens to take us into a meat dimension inhabited by sentient steaks, walking pork-chops, intelligent hamburgers or...”

She took a brief, awkward pause in that sentence, as if she was struggling to spit the next words for some reason...

-“...creeping sausages...”

She said with clear disgust in her voice, a little shudder, and a strange emphasis on the word “sausages”, before continuing with her regular tone...

-“So, no, I'll pass. Now, if you both excuse me.”

She concluded while making a slight bow, before making her way towards the parlor, still wary of the blade-wielding stranger, but slightly more confident after witnessing the old man's staunchness in the face of potential danger. Just before she arrived to that room, she noticed the goat the gentleman just mentioned.

-“Hello there, goat!”, she uttered with genuine joy, as she knelt in front of the creature, “Sorry, I don't have any treats for you... Though, to be honest, I don't even know what goats eat.”

She said with a smile on her face. Despite being a sheltered city-girl, she had a soft spot for animals. They had a “forbidden fruit” appeal to her, as they weren't allowed to have pets on the small apartments where she had been living for most of her life... Not to mention that a certain “special person” to her was also really kind to animals, so it was only natural for that quality to rub unto her with time. With some hesitation, as she wasn't sure if goats were prone to biting the hands of strangers, she tried tried to pet the goat using her gauntlet-clad hand, but she stopped when she noticed something unusual about her fingers...

-“What in-?”

She uttered in confusion, as she noted the carefully applied pink nail-polish that adorned her right hand. Then, she took off the left elbow glove, and saw that her other hand was manicured in an identical manner. Out of curiosity, she sat down and took off her shoes, verifying that her feet were given a similar treatment, pink nail-polish on her toes and all. When she stood up, she took a nearby picture frame, and using its reflective surface she inspected her face. Despite her brief trek through the snow, it was clear she had been wearing make-up too... And that the person whom applied it actually made a good job, because it wasn't as garish as the pink dress.

-“You got to be kidding me!”

She exclaimed with a disproportionate tone of exasperation. It wasn't like someone had threatened her family, it was just an unexpected, possibly unwanted make-over... But the implications were still creepy to her, as she didn't know what kind of extreme circumstances would have forced her to do something so out of character for her, a self-proclaimed couch potato and scruffy geek. She returned the picture frame to where she took it, before collapsing on her knees because of the “shock”...

-“Jumping Jiminy-cricket on a friggin' bicycle...”, she mumbled with a blank stare, before clutching both sides of her head, “What the hell I've been doing during these past few days?!”

She asked to herself as she tried to recall any memory of what had just recently happened. But, the more she thought about it, the more confusing everything turned out. Chaotic images of magic-wielding women, bizarre creatures, terrifying monsters, and a confusing world on the brink of collapse raced through her mind without any kind of context nor cohesion... As if they were mere fragments from a distant fever dream.

-“Darn it... I really can't remember...”, she stated with resignation, before slowly getting off the ground while using a nearby wall as support, “I need to take a break... Maybe it will come back to me... Eventually... I hope...”

...She murmured with a clearly somber tone, as she made her way towards the parlor, not bothering to retrieve the discarded glove nor shoes. Once she reached the room's threshold, she took notice of three people already there. With a subdued and apprehensive tone, she announced her presence.

-“...Hello... Are you all travelers stranded because of the blizzard?”

When she saw an available chair in the room, she gestured towards it before asking:

-“...Do you mind if I take a seat?”

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

[Ritter Clinic]

Her eyes perking up at the man's words, Noire Blanc turns her attention to Ruth as she speaks. Tilting her head in confusion, Noire crosses her arms as she taps her left foot. "Does she not like sausages? Demon Goddess Lilith said every woman is suppose to love them... Hm, perhaps the Cult of Eldon can clarify the matter..."

Turning her gaze back to the older gentleman, Noire turns halfway so she can turn her head to the side. Taking in all the snow, she suddenly speaks with her casually serious tone "Do you need any of these things cleared away? I've received training for the purpose of fighting off villains that wish to oppress the innocent- I've even had an encounter with the Servants of Humanity's infamous 'Diablo Girl', so I'm more than qualified to assist."

Her red and white sword reappearing in her right hand, Noire looks out to the field, scrutinizing all that she can see- Once again speaking suddenly. "What things will I be facing? Is there a Cyromanatic Golemcrafter? I could melt away this snow, but I'll need to know where the Golem Core or Cores will be."

Stopping herself, Noire turns her head to look at the man, tilting her head in curiosity. Easily sinking her sword into the ground, Noire extends her right hand before loosing casually interested words.

"I noticed you made no comments about my eyes, I've been told they're... Unusual, is the word? Thus alongside your knowledge of other strange entities, would I be correct in assuming you're a mage or... Not quite human yourself? Either way, it is a pleasure to meet one so unbothered by my existence- Name's Noire Blanc if you didn't hear earlier, and you would be...?"

"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."

[Ritter Clinic - Parlor]

Iveya, still visibly tipsy from the whiskey (though much less inebriated than one would expect from the quantity), said "so it is! Unless I missed something, we're waiting until the storm dies down. But I, for one, am feeling," she lifted the still magically-full whiskey bottle, "quite patient." She put the bottle down and nodded at Ruth. "Another soul uncertain how they came to be here, yes?" She took a moment to consider the newcomer. The outfit had to be some sort of ceremonial or theatrical garb. Not even the most ostentatious Iveya had seen, though more ostentatious than most. Made incautious by the alcohol, Iveya had to ask: "and what in the name of the Dead Gods is that outfit? You are some sort of..." an awkward pause, "...priest, actor, or performer perhaps?" The remaining option was "courtesan", but Iveya, who personally regarded the professional with a great deal of suspicion, wasn't quite drunk enough to suggest someone else was so employed.

[Misery Manor - Upstairs Hallway]

"That," Gabe said as he eyed the door, "does look like a problem." He took one last look at the trap door, then looked Sinistrina over. He wasn't entirely sure he now completely trusted her, but she'd been fair and reasonable thus far. If she said Yamiko could handle the next part, so be it. Better to find out what new darkness was now interfering with the old.

He looked over at the door, studying it icily. "I don't like that sigil," he said. He pulled out a single golden feather, seething with the energies of light, and aimed it like a dart at the door. He did not yet toss it at the door, but instead said, "I vote we obliterate the door and the sigil alike, but if you have a better idea, I'm quite happy to listen. You've already made it clear I should try to avoid any further gratuitous property damage."

Xeqa I'll get to later, hopefully tonight.

edited 4th Jul '16 6:30:56 AM by KillerClowns

[Ritter Clinic - Parlor]

Slightly baffled, though not completely surprised, by the stated assumptions of the inebriated woman, Ruth nervously tried to explain herself.

-“...What? No, I'm not something like that, not even remotely!”, she put her fists on her hips, in a superhero-style pose as she readied herself to announce with an overtly dramatic tone, “In fact, I would dare to say that I am...”

But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't complete that sentence. Just a few weeks ago, before that disastrous campaign in “the other world”, she would've stated with great confidence and bombast that she was “the ultimate heroine of justice”, “the embodiment of the righteous punishment upon the wicked”, “the savior we all deserve and need”, or any other kind of overtly cheesy self-endorsement... But now... After her ego was ran to the ground... After fighting something so out of her league... After having been betrayed by a supposed friend... She no longer had the confidence to call herself a hero. She used to believe that, which is why she was always eager to state it in such a grandiose manner... But now, she wasn't sure any more...

-“...I ...I'm a pest control technician...”

...She finally uttered that technical truth in a rather pitiful tone as she lowered her arms and head in disappointment and shame.

edited 4th Jul '16 7:41:42 PM by VPhantom

"It's better to burn out... THAN TO FADE AWAY!"

Misery Manor - Outside (Phoebe, Ashleigh)

Ashleigh watched with caution as Half entered the manor, and nodded with a smile as he said his farewells. The door creaked to a close behind him, and Ashleigh stood up on the porch, moving her hand over her forehead and chest to make a cross.
"God help him..." she said with her arms clasped together. "For venturing into such a wretched place I would never touch."

"Can we go now?" Phoebe called from atop Peggy's wooden saddle. "Maybe to someplace... nicer than this?"

Ashleigh walked off the porch towards the winged carousel horse. "I suppose that's all we can do for now," she said with a sigh. "Come to think of it, if we go back to the Black Jungle, we may be able to find another Elemental Essence, as I believe I remember seeing one in Otori Jungle when I looked at the map. Judging by the birds there, I believe it may be Air element, which would be your specialty."

"Yeah, guess it can't be the Plant essence; we already got that way back in Mayville."

Ashleigh's face brightened a bit. "Ah yes, that was the first essence we got, wasn't it? And we had to fight that vile flower to..." She paused, as she heard footsteps nearby. And then a dog barking.

It wasn't just a dog - it was a wolf. One with purple and black fur, and bright purple eyes. Next to her was a stockily-built black cat with gray spots on its back, a short stubby tail, equally bright purple eyes, and purple tufts on its ears.

"Are those Mystripets?" Phoebe asked.

"That's a Faylinx..." Ashleigh wondered. "It's one of those goddess children... the child of Mythrine specifically. But I don't see its Keeper... and I've never seen one as a rebel."

"Wait a minute, that wolf looks kinda familiar... Oh, I remember! Lupin had one!"

And then the wolf spoke, in a gentle feminine voice. "Why it's me, Artemis. I do in fact belong to Lupin. And this is Shadowcat, Ari's Faylinx."

"She belongs to Ari?" Ashleigh questioned, remembering Gon saying that his little sister had been trapped in Misery Manor. "Where has Ari been all this time?"

"Oh, I know." The voice belonged to neither the cat nor the wolf - it was a distinctively more airy voice, and very sweet, yet with a strange creepy undertone.

"Lorraine?" Phoebe was looking right at a familiar ghostly sorceress belonging to Yamiko. She got goosebumps upon the sight of her, for she always managed to creep her out. "What are you doing here!?"

"Watching over Lupin, of course!" Lorraine proclaimed with an unsettlingly sweet giggle. "And I say, he's not doing well." There was a clear tone of amusement in her voice.

Artemis, the purple wolf, growled at Lorraine. "You better not be doing anything to him," she threatened.

"Something's wrong..." the small voice of Shadowcat muttered; everyone immediately turned to face her, and she was transparent. "Ari... isn't in the manor... and neither is Gon..." And then she faded away into nothingness.

Phoebe and Ashleigh looked at each other, then at Peggy. Both Phoebe and Peggy seemed worried... and so was Ashleigh at first, but then a thought occurred to her.
"Relax, I think they may be safe," she told them. "This is a dream world, remember? They may have simply woken up."

"Or they could have surrendered their souls to the manor," Lorraine remarked matter-of-factly, after which Artemis positioned herself in front of Lorraine and snarled at her. "But of course it wasn't my fault," she added with a shrug. "By the way, you can't bite me. I'm a ghost, remember?" She giggled again. "Don't worry, anything done to Lupin is just of the manor's doing."

Misery Manor - Upstairs Hallway (Sinistrina, Gabe)

As Sinistrina saw Gabe walking around to the right hallway, her eyes caught something on the wall directly opposite the door he was looking at. It was another old picture hanging there. This one depicted an old man and two young girls, one blonde and one brunette and both blue-eyed, in a toy store. It was nighttime, and the old man was tinkering with some porcelain dolls he was making, the blonde girl helping him by sewing together a fancy dress for one of them. Behind him, the brunette looked a bit untidy and was holding a bundle of fabric, but the other two weren't paying any attention to her.

Sinistrina frowned at this picture for a moment, before turning around to face Gabe. And there she saw the reason why he was looking at this door - there was a weird black oily symbol on it. Meanwhile, Gabe was planning to throw a feather at it, opting to destroy the sigil and the door with it.

"You're in quite a destructive mood," Sinistrina remarked calmly. "It is odd - this is clearly a magical sigil of some sort, yet I never use them. However, I think the source of its magic - and that sound - may well lie beyond the door. This sigil is black, which is my very realm..." and here she placed a hand on the door, right underneath where the sigil was, "and thus I feel it is safe for me to investigate it. All but the most powerful of black magic cannot harm me."

Just then, she glanced behind her, and saw her will-o-wisps dancing around behind where Gabe was.

"What perfect timing," Sinistrina spoke. "It appears someone else has just entered the manor. I'll tell you what. Why don't you check on our guest, while I peek inside this room?"

She paused for a moment, and after Gabe either left for the front door or said that he'll remain here, she slowly opened the sigil-bearing door, her staff at the ready, her will-o-wisps going in right before her.

Misery Manor - Cellar (Yamiko)

Yamiko had landed in a large pile of burlap sacks, filled with some unknown soft substance. She spent what felt like several minutes just lying there crying, but soon she noticed that something was off about the place. There was a strangely familiar sensation in the room... as well as a strong smell of mushrooms. Now that she looked, she saw that she was in some sort of cellar, and there were mushrooms everywhere outside of the pile of sacks she was on, growing right on the rotting wooden floor and whatever filth was beneath it. There were a couple of torches on the walls, their dim ruddy glow illuminating a pile of mold and more mushrooms a short distance away from her.

Cautiously, Yamiko sat up and stepped onto the wooden floor, and immediately felt a sharp pain in her right ankle, the same one that she had broken long ago. Carefully, she stood up onto her left foot instead, setting her right foot down slowly next to it. She felt the sharp pain again, but her ankle did seem a bit steady, although weak and a little bit wobbly. As she limped forward for a few paces, she felt a profound sense of dread, anticipating something terrible about to happen. She remembered that feeling all too well, and she saw scenes of it flash before her eyes as she looked around. Visions of police officers separating her five-year-old self from her father, of the lull before the climax of the dance she did at the talent show, of the moments before a punch to her classmate would result in her expulsion from high school... All of that eerie yet subtle inner knowing that there was danger looming around the corner.

All at once, the visions faded, and Yamiko found herself looking at the moldy mushroom pile. Upon closer inspection, there appeared to be a person lying beneath the mold, which could possibly have been the mycelia of the mushrooms. Notably, they were death cap mushrooms, exactly the ones Alice was talking about, and they appeared to be feeding off the person.

Yamiko gulped. A part of her really wanted to look away, for she had that eerie feeling... that it might be someone she knew. As soon as she thought it, she shut her eyes tight, and noticed that her heart was threatening to burst free of her chest.

I can't be panicking... Yamiko thought. First of all, this is Misery Manor, and this is... this is all a hallucination. Second, on top of that, this is a dream. So why does it feel so real? If this is someone I know - maybe it's my dad? Given what's happened so far, it's probably my dad... no, he's probably not actually dead. Is he? I don't know - I haven't seen him for over a decade now, and if he did get the death penalty, would he have gotten it? This... no, it's gotta be a trick of the manor... It's gotta be a trick of the manor...

And then she heard obnoxiously sweet laughter right before her. She opened her eyes, notably keeping her gaze up and away from the person, only to see Lorraine hovering there. Yamiko scowled. "What are you doing here? I thought I put you in my Scanner!"

"But you left me out when you entered the manor, remember?" Lorraine taunted. "So I can appear at any time! But, I can clearly see I'm bothering you. I'll leave for now. But you've gotta see who those mushrooms are feeding off of. Here's a hint - it's someone you love!"

Yamiko watched with annoyance as Lorraine disappeared through the wall, forming her hands into a heart shape as she did so. But she knew one thing now...
That is my father.

Gingerly, Yamiko knelt down, and immediately saw that her dad was wearing black trousers. And a black coat by the looks of it. It was as if he had prepared for his own funeral. She took a deep breath, and felt for where his face would be... And after a long pause in which she closed her eyes and gathered her composure, she pushed the mushrooms aside, immediately feeling his glasses still covering his eyes, the gaunt features of his face... And his mustache had been shaved off for some reason, which was odd, Yamiko thought.

When she looked at his face, she gave a loud cry of surprise, which was actually close to a scream given its volume and urgency. She looked at his face again, just to be sure... and shook her head in disbelief, tears falling out of her eyes. That was not her father. He looked quite a bit younger, and had no mustache to begin with. His eyes were brown instead of blue, his hair long and wavy instead of short and straight, his glasses rectangular instead of round.

She couldn't look anymore. Her head drooped and more tears fell out of her eyes, onto the mushrooms growing out of the young man's chest. "Lupin... no..."

Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.

[The Tranquil Underworld (Mazra, Caleb, Anoerith)]

Mazra stared as Anoerith ran off towards the screaming sounds, apparently without bothering to think twice. Well, that's stupid. Paladins were supposed to charge fearlessly into battle, but 'charging' was usually a metaphor. It was even stranger because of how different it had been from her previous jittery personality.

The way she moved was different, too, but in a better way. The creepy, awkward movements now seemed kind of... almost graceful. She wondered what that meant.

Unhooking her field-sword, she thumbed it on, and the square transparent blade emerged, glowing orange. She moved after Anoerith more slowly. Along the way, she muttered under her breath in response to the last thing Caleb had said before he... did whatever. Does using his eidolon have any visual effect?

"'I always assume the worst and I haven't lost any limbs. I always assume the worst and I haven't lost any limbs'. Well, Magrin Suub was an optimist without ever losing any limbs - and he used a field-sword!"

She sniffed, then stopped dead in surprise - all right, horror - at what she saw inside the entrance to the tower. Mazra had seen a couple of unpleasant sights in her life before, but never anything as... twisted as those spiked restraints the people had on them. She wondered, somewhat abstractly, if she should throw up.

After a moment, in which she didn't, she noticed that the people - if that's what they actually were - didn't seem particularly concerned about the things piercing their flesh. Also...

"Huh," she said, her initial reaction fading as she began to think of this as just one more dream oddity. "There's no blood. That's messed-up. But then where are the screams coming from?"

The old man coming up caught her attention, and she turned, waving the field-sword in what she intended to be a non-threatening manner so that she could get a better look at what that cloak was concealing.