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 Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:02 pm
Petro struggled to free his weapon, planting his feet on the ground, he threw his entire weight into pulling. It looked more like the shadow had released the mace than it had been out of Petro's own efforts. The sudden mobility had the tikbalang stumbling back, both in his mind and in reality. His heel smacked against a large stone, sending him sprawling backwards and bringing his mace down along with him. Hard.
Metal impacting against something shook his shoulder socket, the wet, sickening crunch of breaking bone and squelching innards reached his ears. Slowly, Petro turned to look at what he hit, brown eyes growing saucer-wide in horror. There was blood, bright and wet, on his mace, the dark metal a sharp contrast to the pale flesh and pink hair.
"N-no, nononononoLIZZY!!!" He shrieked, shoulders shaking and knees trembling as he tried to rise but couldn't. His body wouldn't listen to him.
The shadow crouched beside him, a pale line splitting across where a face should be, revealing jagged, uneven teeth. Well, look at that. And here I thought you wouldn't be able to ******** things up. Guess you showed me, yeah? A cold, unforgiving hand coiled around one of his mane's spikes while an impossibly long arm wound about his neck.
Petro's sight turned red, the sensation made him want to run, to buck, throw off the would-be rider, show this wannabee-tamer the folly of trying to ride him. He screamed at himself to move but all that came out was a soft whicker.
You're no challenge to even tame. No wonder your clan is trying to get rid of you. I don't blame them. Friendly fire isn't really all too friendly, is it? I'm sure Lizzy would agree.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:03 pm
Riley's hand lifted up to brush through Jericho's hair, before pulling his head down onto her shoulder. None of us should have to see each other like this, Jericho. We're being tortured. No one expects us to be strong through all of this. Certainly not me. I just want to keep you here, safe. That is enough. Her other hand rested around Malodore, brushing the back of her fingers against it softly. She took a deep, cleansing breath, before the sound of Sheridan's scream broke through the fog.
Her head snapped up, but she couldn't see him. She couldn't see anything past the two in her arms. She shook her head, and her brow furrowed deeply. Sheridan? She reached out, trying to find his mind through all of the fog. She couldn't even tell if she was reaching him or not. Sheridan, keep walking. Even if it doesn't feel like you can walk at all, just keep walking. We're going to get through this.
She hoped she was getting through to him at all. Tentatively, she tried to reach out to any mind at all. Were any of the students in the vicinity?
We're going to get through this.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:14 pm
'Lizzy!'
She knows that voice. She'll know it anywhere.
"A-Amrita? Where're you?" She called out weakly; how long had she been wondering about in this fog? Somewhere along the way, she had let Jericho go and moved on alone... Or did Jericho push her away? The voices were confusing her, but that voice... That was loud and clear. Stumbling around blindly in the fog, she called out again, "Amrita?"
'Over here.... Over here... Over here...' The echo caused a shiver to run down her spine, and her hairs to stand on end. It was another hallucination, right? Amrita shouldn't be out here; she should be at the beach with Tess. Safe and away from this... This fog that currently consumed them.
'Lizzy... Help...'
Ahead, she could see a figure on the ground, crouched over, as if in pain. The figure sat up, looking straight at her as she approached - one good eye, one eye socket where her face had rotted away. The ghoul she had traveled with during Christmas... She were clearly there. the temptation to hug her was great, but she tried her best to ignore her; it was an illusion. She wouldn't fall for the same trick that had trapped her friends...
'It hurts...'
"It'll be fine," She found herself murmuring despite herself, "I promise we'll be back in school soon, alright? We're trying our best..." Of course, 'we're' referred to the little group that had current lost themselves in the fog - her included, of course, if she's seeing Amrita out here. Its just a vision, her mind playing tricks on her. She had reminded herself over and over again that it was not real, but...
'What if its not enough? I'm scared, Lizzy... It hurts...'
She froze at the whine; that voice, that tone... For a second, she believed that the Amrita on the ground in front of her was real. That she had came all the way out here to the lighthouse path to look for her because she had taken so long to return... She had made the little ghoul worried. Reaching out a hand, the Demoness forced a small smile as she squat down beside her, giving the ghoul's hand a comforting squeeze.
"I don't like breaking my promises," She nodded, patting her on the head gently; it was comforting for her... A familiar gesture. Closing her eyes, she pulled Amrita close to her, giving her a hug, "I feel lost without you, Amrita."
'Then make do without your source of strength.'
There was a sickening crunch, a scream... And Lizzy felt the weight in her arms disappear as Amrita dissipated. She found herself embracing nothing but air. Shivering, she stood up, feeling sick to the stomach as she rubbed her bare arms and took a shaky step forward. It was a hallucination, nothing else. Nothing to be worried about; she only had herself to blame for falling for such a trick...
'Take a guess at where you are and you'll realize that there's no infirmary in this world.'
"Its not real. Its not real. Its not-"
'What is real and what is not? Physical pain is caused by the mind - how do you tell then, what is real and what is not?'
"I just know-"
'I know what you think. Don't believe me? Alright then, tell me if this is real?'
She squeezed her eyes tight as she continued forward, taking her bat out of her backpack; it glowed green, a deadly poison miasma coating the surface. Placing the thicker end on the ground, she moved forward, afraid to see. Beside her, she could hear Tess scream, and then dead silence. She squeezed her eyes even tighter; there was no way Tess could be here either.
'Ah, perhaps not convincing enough? Are you afraid to look? If you don't look, you'll never know what is real and what is not.'
She could hear another voice - Petro's voice this time - followed by the clash of weapons. He gave a war cry before muttering something in his native language; it ended with a cry of pain from the boil before there was again silence. It was so real, so much like what Petro would do, that she was tempted to look - but she didn't think he would go down that easily.
She walked in silence for a while, eyes still closed as she used the bat to navigate her way... Then, a string of curses and swears rang out through the fog. She knew that voice too - it obviously belonged to Mac. The fight didn't last as long as Petro's, and she could soon hear the Reaper fall following a scream that made her sick to the stomach.
Again, silence followed her "friend's" defeat, and this time, she found herself sobbing. What if that was real? What if she could have prevented Petro and Mac from dying but didn't because she was being stubborn? FEAR was scarce here... What if they can't reform? Will they hate her for not helping them when they needed her? If they end up dead because of her, she would rather they hate her...
Suddenly, a frightened scream rang through the air - Arachne. She had never seen the Spiderkin fought before, and the scream was enough to momentarily stop her in her tracks. She opened one eye a little, just in time to see a hooded figure silently slice her friend across the chest, her blood spilling on the ground before the fog covered up the two figures as the opponent landed the final blow.
"I-its not real, its not real, its not real..." Again and again she murmured as she shut her eyes again, tears streaming down her face as the bat stopped glowing; she had completely lost her focus.
'The red dragon will die ironically by fire, that is Death's Charm!
The basilisk will turn to stone and a fallen angel will lose his wings once again.
Envy will be the death of himself, of course, as he loses his Pride.'
"Not real. Not real. Nice poetry though, but it'll never come true." She muttered when she heard another voice inside her head; a different one. The same one that had tasked her with looking after her friend - and she had failed.
'Just like you will fail escaping thi-'
"Riley, if its really you, I'm fine..." Her voice was weak and strained as she called back out mentally, wondering if her voice could even reach anyone anymore, "I-Is Jericho alright? I'm s-sorry... I... Are you and Malodore alright? I will join you soon, promise..."
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:19 pm
Jericho let Riley pull his head down onto her shoulder. Though, he still brought up a wing to cover himself. He felt utterly ashamed and didn't really want to be seen. While in no way was he hidden, it was at least comforting a little to do such things.
"You're still managing Riley..." he almost whimpered. Here he was as a total mess. Malodore was unconscious, and he heard the screams of Sheridan and Petro within the fog. And yet Riley seemed to be able to remain calm through it all.
Though he felt like he wanted to say more, he didn't. He wished this was all some horrific dream and that there was no field trip at all. With any luck he'd awaken in his room, happily curled around his treasures without having to show this weakness to any of his friends. Without having to really deal with these illusions that insisted on plaguing everyone.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:37 pm
That isn't a fair assessment, I'm too busy worried about the two of you to have my own terrors. Besides, I wasn't managing very well earlier, was I?
Despite all of her excuses, she still didn't quite understand why she wasn't suffering the same fate as her friends. Whatever was going on in that fog was affecting all of them at once, this time around. All of them.. except her.
Unless.. unless this wasn't real at all?
She eyed Jericho warily, unable to discern if the warm body against her was really his, or some trick of the mind. What kind of hallucination would give her this comforting presence of the ones she loved?
Except.. they were suffering. She was not.. but she had to watch them suffer. While it shouldn't hurt her as much as it did to watch it happen.. it was the greatest pain she had ever known.
Perhaps this was her torture, after all.
Or perhaps it was her lack of control that was her true suffering. She had lost every ounce of control when the fog took the group away from her. She was powerless to stop it.
Powerless.
She let out a soft breath of a chuckle. This was no hallucination. This was real. The fog knew her reality was worse than any horrific hallucination, right now. Because of that, it let her stew in her own juices.
How very clever.
She heard Lizzy's voice, and surged with a spark of hope. Good girl. She replied to Lizzy. Jericho and Malodore are both with me. I would not consider their condition 'all right', but I've got them. They'll be safe, for now. Try to find us. I'll ask Jericho to call out to you. She nudged down slowly, trying to get Jericho's attention. Will you call out Lizzy's name? She's safe, and I think she's close enough that she might hear you.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:53 pm
It was true that Riley wasn't doing so well earlier on. However, this was a time where the others could use some sort of pillar to lean on. And right now she was here for him admits the the chaos that was going on in everyone's minds.
The dragon was relatively still and silent as time went on, though he moved when he heard the Illithid address him. Looking up at her slowly, he nodded before peering into the fog for signs of the pink haired demon. He didn't see any but that didn't mean she wasn't out there. However, he couldn't help but shudder at recalling seeing her explode into bits.
"L-Lizzy..?" he called out. His voice didn't carry the strength or volume it normally held. Biting his lip for a moment, he went to try again.
"LIZZY?" he called once more, louder, but still lacking in conviction.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:04 pm
"I agree...and of course, you know, this one had to be mandatory. I don't even know why it was mandatory..." Sharra lamented softly, still trembling slightly, as he could hear the voices of Yaya and his aunts in his ears....sometimes imagining that the djinn's torn hands were clutching pathetically at his shoulders, begging for his attention. But he wouldn't look, he couldn't, it was just illusions, beckoning him further into madness.
Squeezing the other's fingers gently, the nergal smiled over at his friend. "Nah. I think we can tell her...we'll be forgiven, she's not the sort to get easily angry, especially if I did something like that to help someone we both care about." And it was already quite evident that Aksaja had been initiated into the circle of friends shared by both nergal and marid. "I'm with you in this...fog or reapers or those crazy...a-absolutely horrible illusions we've all been seeing. We are going to bash our way out of this...or just walk, as the case may be." Ah gods, he was truly exhausted, but there was no help for it. All of them had to press onwards.
"Riley!? Lizzy!? Any of you guys out there?!" It could hurt to call for them, now could it? Hopefully nothing devestating had happened to any of his friends and classmates.
Ha. Fat chance, that.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:06 pm
He was on his hands and knees, gasping for breath, his mind barely holding to reality against the darkness that threatened to close in around him again. He had to get up, he had to move forward, before the nightmare consumed him again.
What?
A voice had broken through his thoughts, his body instantly growing tense, his tail ready to lash out. Another nightmare? No, this voice was familiar, encouraging.
"Riley? Where are you?"
Right, on his feet. Taloned hands curled, digging into the ground, one foot underneath him, then the other. Come on, Sheridan, get up, you can do it.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:09 pm
Too easy, this is too easy, the shadow laughed. Petro felt rather than saw the figure climb onto his back, the arm around his neck tightening its hold to the point of choking. Giddyup, my little pony, giddyup!
The insult didn't so much as register in the boil's mind. Everything was red. Angry, vicious, furious red. Petro doesn't remember scrambling to his feet, doesn't realize he's screaming, "Not gonna get tamed! Y' won't! Won't won't won't!!!" All he knew was he had to get the rider off him. Now.
Had he been in his proper state of mind he would have reminded himself over and over that this wasn't real. But pure instinct drove him forward, making him charge blindly into the mist, eyes completely white, blinded by mad desperation. It was a wonder he wasn't frothing at the mouth in his frenzy.
((ooc: anyone, feel free to literally smack some sense into Petro @ 3@ he won't lash out, he'll probably think he ran smack into a tree or something.))
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:14 pm
Riley heard first Sharra, and then Sheridan call out to her. Inwardly she cursed her lack of a mouth - she wanted to rip her pin off right now and just SCREAM to them! She shook slightly in frustration, looking around for anything that could make enough noise or light to-
..Her flashlight!
Riley took the hand that had been brushing against Malodore, and reached back behind her. She pulled her flashlight out of the bag, and turned it on. It's bright beam cut through some of the fog, but she could tell a lot of it was still too thick for the light to pass. She slowly passed it left and right, trying to signal to anyone close enough to see it.
Do you see the light? She asked those within range of her voice. My flashlight is on. Can you see us? Come to us, if you can.
If only the lighthouse was on, she was sure it would have been producing enough light to follow in this fog. Her shoddy little flashlight wasn't going to find everyone.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:15 pm
Riley heard her! At least... That's Riley, right? Not another voice out to confuse her? It was difficult to tell at this point, but something told her that it wasn't another hallucination caused by the fog... She smiled to herself, relieved that they were safe at least.
"T-Thank you, I'm... Glad..." She managed to reply before falling into silence again as another voice attacked her.
'You won't fit in. You'll be left behind.'
"J-Just... Shut up already..." She wiped away her tears using the back of her hand, increasing her pace as she lifted the bat off the ground, opening her eyes to try to make navigation better; of course all she saw was more grey. Riley said to listen for Jericho's voice, but she couldn't help but wonder if his voice would even reach her in his current state. Ugh, could she even distinguish his voice from the voices around her?
Then she heard it - a faint cry, but it was her name. And it was different from when "Amrita" called out to her.
"JERICHO. LOUDER." She yelled back, determined to get out as she stopped to listen again; she couldn't tell which way his voice was coming from, "YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT."
...
She heard Petro! And it sounded different from the whispers! He's not dead! She was right! He's not dead!
"JERICHO, HURRY."
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:21 pm
Aksaja smiled faintly at that - though the visions had caused lingering doubts within his mind - for now . . . Sharra was indeed with him. The lightning dragon winced just slightly when the nergal boil started yelling, but moments later, he realized it had been the right thing to do, as other voices called out.
Then Riley's voice came into his mind, talking about a light. Damn, he wished he could fly just now. Surely this fog didn't go all that high above their heads! Or maybe it did, and his father was up there, circling. Waiting for him . . . circling and circling . . .
NO. Jackdammit, he had to stop thinking about. A light, look for the light. Squinting into the fog, he thought that he saw something to their left. "That way . . . I think," he said softly, pointing.
"Riley!" he called out then. "Is Jericho with you? Yell or something!"
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Dragain rolled 2 6-sided dice:
4, 6
Total: 10 (2-12)
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:21 pm
Amon Larethian He was on his hands and knees, gasping for breath, his mind barely holding to reality against the darkness that threatened to close in around him again. He had to get up, he had to move forward, before the nightmare consumed him again. What? A voice had broken through his thoughts, his body instantly growing tense, his tail ready to lash out. Another nightmare? No, this voice was familiar, encouraging. "Riley? Where are you?" Right, on his feet. Taloned hands curled, digging into the ground, one foot underneath him, then the other. Come on, Sheridan, get up, you can do it. 
A mysterious hooded figure has been watching the student's actions all this time. Out of nowhere the seemingly fade from the fog right in front of your student, grabbing them away from the others. Your student is being attacked!
The first attack would leave the dragon drained, a stinging sensation where he was cut.
[Remember that students can roll 2D8!]
HP: 13
Damage: 4
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:22 pm
Jericho shifted his weight so he could sit more comfortably while looking around. He heard other voices in the area, but they didn't seem like hallucinations. They sounded like lost students. Looking towards Riley, he bit his lip again and heard Lizzy calling him to shout louder. Come to think of it, the others might be able to find their way more easily if he really yelled it out.
Closing his eyes, he tried to regather himself.
He had to do this for them. They needed to regroup. Everyone was weakened because of this. They needed to stick together.
Pushing away as much of his doubts, he arched his back and let out a roar for all to (hopefully) hear.
"VOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!! WE'RE OVER HERE!!""
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 8:29 pm
"YES, THAT'S THE WAY, JERICHO!"
She had started to cry again, but no longer because she was afraid - she could see light shining from the outside of the fog! Holding her breath, not daring to hope, she broke into a run, her grip on her bat tightening...
"Riley! Malodore! Jericho!" She was out of the thick fog! It was still foggy here, like the rest of the island, but it was different... The voices in her head faded into whispers as she dropped her weapon, wiping at her tears before launching straight at Jericho, throwing her arms around him as she buried her face into his chest, "Youdidit! Youdidit, youdidit!"
She really should be more specific with these things. She also wasn't thinking straight.
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