Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ryan opened his eyes, expecting to see the ceiling of the infirmary at the tournament. He expected to be lying down, bandaged up, and in intense pain at the onslaught of energy attacks he just took. He couldn't fathom why his friend would have used such a surefire way of winning when he was one to usually put on a show when he knew he would win. Ryan knew he would lose. He knew from the moment he saw who his opponent was that he would not be able to make it to the finals. Ryan accepted this fact and decided to make it a good fight. But to lose to his opponent and friend that harshly? He just froze and couldn't believe what was heading towards him.

Instead of seeing the ceiling of the infirmary, and instead of lying down and bandaged up, Ryan was standing. He was standing before a grand building of some sort. He was in no pain. He was not bandaged, and he was perfectly fine. Everything was intact. Clothes, Gunblade, body. Nothing was missing or out of place. The only conclusion Ryan could come to was that he had died in the bout with his friend. Was it intentional, or was the killing blow accidental? Was it because of Ryan's own fault of freezing up as the attack neared, or did Bubbles really intend to end his friend's, Ryan's, life? Ryan would have to ask Bubbles when he saw him again, if and when ever that was.

(253 words.)

Ryan took a few moments to mull over the past few minutes. He had died, killed by one of his own friends. Whether it was of his friend's own accord, or completely unintentional, was unknown at this point. Ryan would have to go and seek answers before he decided exactly which action he was going to take against his friend, if any action would come of his decision at all. Ryan would be stronger when he returned. He would be able to withstand the assault he had received in the tournament arena. He would not lose like that again. Especially when it came to fighting a friend.

On top of the circumstances of Ryan's arrival at the after life check in station, Ryan had learned a little bit about how things work in the other world. Here, at the check in station, newly deceased souls were to wait in line to go be judged by the great King Enma. The souls who led a good and righteous life were granted passage into heaven, and likewise, the souls who led evil and unhonorable lives were going to Hell. Ryan was completely sure he would be going to Heaven, if he chose to take that path. Every now and again, there were souls who were able to keep their bodies when coming to the after life. Ryan was one such case of this occurrence, and he would be given a few alternate choices on where to go once he had been judged.

Being a soul who has kept their body, Ryan would be given the choice to go train with either a Kai, which was for the good souls, or a Lord, which was for the bad souls. Ryan did not even consider going to train with a Lord, for the simple fact that Ryan had lived a good and honorable life when he was still alive. To go train with a Kai, Ryan would have to travel along Hydra Way to one of the four Kai planets. North, South, East, and West. Obviously, each one has a different training style, and a different group of techniques. The exact same with the four Lords. But to get to the Lords, one of an evil conscious would have to travel through the void. The void was made, from Ryan's understanding of it, a complete lack of the five senses. It drove some mad. But those who made it through had the chance to train with one of the four Lords of Hell.

Whatever way it actually was, it was time for Ryan to finally step into line and walk his way down the path towards his destination, the grand building of the Check In Station that sat before him. The young and recently deceased student to the Kikoukenjutsu Sword School stepped in line behind one of the many spirits that roamed the area. As soon as Ryan stepped in line, multiple other spirits stepped, or floated, in line behind him. The line grew as quick as it diminished, always seeming to be at a constant length away from the door of the large structure that sat before him. Ryan would take a step forward for what seemed to be about every thirty seconds. These spirits were smaller than he, and they didn't take as much space up as he did, so the distance they probably moved was a few steps to them...or floats? Either way, this one step at a time was beginning to grow old very quickly. There was nobody else to talk to, as all of the ogres were running around trying to rally up the wayward spirits or going about a variety of other tasks at hand.

Ryan did not bother with any of the other spirits or ogres around. He severely doubted that they would be able to understand him and he also doubted greatly that he would be able to understand their...squeaks? Squibbles? What was that noise they were making anyway? Ryan couldn't quite place as to what the noise actually sounded like. He just knew that hearing it for what seemed like thirty to forty minutes was beginning to really grind at his ears. The only thing that snapped Ryan from the drilling at his eardrums was a thunderous 'NEXT' coming from the doorway up ahead. Ryan was about ten 'people' away from the building now, and it seemed that spirits were entering from there, and stopping until they heard that tunderous voice roar out from within the ancient structure.

Another 'NEXT' had caused Ryan to swallow in a nervous gesture. He was afraid to ask who, or what, was beyond the giant mahogany doors before him. One more 'NEXT' left only two more spirits in front of Ryan before it was his turn to go before whatever was ahead. Ryan could not help but to fidget a little bit as the thirty seconds it usually took seemed to last a lot shorter than it had previously been before. Another 'NEXT' and Ryan took another step forward, now even more nervous at what was ahead. The Ogre to the left of him was not even paying attention to how nervous Ryan looked, either that or he was not acting like he noticed. The Ogre just stared at his clipboard as if he were reading something. There was only one Spirit left before him now. And the next 'NEXT' took it ahead.

There was only Ryan now. There was no turning back. He would go on ahead, no matter how nervous he felt. He had no idea what was beyond the mahogany doors before him. He could almost feel the seconds draining away as that moment when the next 'next' would be called. It was not too long and then it was actually said that dreaded word. 'NEXT!' Ryan gulped one last time and stepped forward.

Inside, Ryan stood in a giant hall, one strangely similar to a postal office. Only the sorter was a huge Ogre sitting behind a mahogany desk. Only the red colored wood was sturdy enough to withstand a fist pound from a creature such as that. The creature sitting behind the desk was obviously the highest ranking out of all of the Ogres here. He also seemed to be the most angry out of all of them.

"NAME!" His voice boomed around the room, but didn't seem to escape to the outside. Despite talking to Ryan, this Judge, Jury, and Executioner of sorts continued to stare at his paperwork on his desk. This obviously was not the best job to have.

"Uh, Ryan Greyson, sir." Ryan stiffened as the figure looked up and actually payed attention to him.

"Ryan Greyson? Why does that name sound so familiar?!" The great Ogre before Ryan began rifling through some paperwork "Greyson...Greyson...ah! Here!" He took a few seconds to read the paperwork. "This can't be right! I sorted this just a couple of hours ago!" He took a look to Ryan, then to the paperwork, then back to Ryan. "This says I sent you to Hell. But you are judged to go to Heaven!"

"Sir!" A smaller, blue Ogre stepped out from a nearby room "The same thing happened to his Father years ago. I've pulled the archives. It seems his family line had a curse put on it a long time ago."

"Wha...what are you talking about?" Ryan couldn't believe what he was hearing. His father had a copy or something of the sort?

"Yes, what exactly are you talking about?" The large Ogre sitting before Ryan seemed as clueless as he was. "And you!" He pointed to Ryan, which caused the young swordsman to gulp and straighten up. "Before you say anything, I, King Enma, sort thousands of souls daily! You can't expect me to remember something that had happened multiple years ago!"

The smaller blue ogre, which was about Ryan's size, cleared his throat to regain King Enma's and Ryan's attention once more. "As I was saying, the boy's family has been cursed long ago, far down the line. Each new generation's first born would be a son, and the curse would be passed down, well more like copied down, as the curse would still apply to the father. Subsequent children could be either male or female, and also would not have the curse. Anyway, that is the first stipulation of the curse. The second is that the cursed, when they die, would have a polar opposite doppleganger sprout from the back of their consciousness. It looks as the cursed did when they were alive, and they also know all the cursed knows. A perfect copy in all except personality. There is one final stipulation to the curse. If the cursed were to be killed by someone they trust, the doppleganger would only return to life if the original returned to life. The evil clone would then seek out the previously trusted one for revenge. Now, I've read how you died, as it is fresh in your family history. You probably want answers, and would seek your kill for them, no?"

"Yeah, I would want answers."

"As I suspected. Your doppleganger would want revenge, and would seek to kill your friend. He will return to life the moment you do, and he knows everything you knew up to the moment you died. What you learn while you are dead is the key to breaking the curse. You and your father are the only two who have actually been killed prematurely. And your father chose not to resurrect. His evil clone is still in Hell."

Ryan's eyes narrowed to a new resolution. "I want to go back...so I must train. I wish to take Hydra Way."

"NOT SO FAST!" King Enma pounded his fist on that mahogany made desk. "We still have the matter of where you should go to discuss!"

"King Enma, if I may..." The blue Ogre stepped forward. "Why not send him to the North Kai's planet to learn the Spirit Bomb? It only harms the evil, and the good would be able to bounce it away if misfired.

"Yes, yes, that is good." King Enma pounded his desk once more and smiled, baring his fangs in what Ryan would call the most terrifying genuine smile he had ever seen. "It is done then! To Hydra Way with you!" King Enma was about to shout 'next' one more time before Ryan interjected with a question.

"Excuse me, King Enma, sir, but I have a question. Is that desk made by Mahogany by any chance? My parents had all of the furniture handmade out of mahogany."

The blue Ogre took on a look of disbelief, as he knew that his workload had just increased by tenfold. Every once in a while, King Enma would go on a tangent about his Mahogany desk and how he came to acquire it, either by way of a question, such as Ryan had just asked, or out of boredom, and possibly out of King Enma noticing someone eyeing the desk itself.

King Enma sat up straight and bared the toothy grin once more. "Krieger, take care of things. This human and I have to talk about MAHOGANY!" King Enma threw his hands up at the word 'mahogany' This was obviously a liked subject for King Enma to talk about. He was probably very fond of the reddish colored Mahogany and it was almost a creepy obsession with it, if Ryan could tell.

The smaller Blue Ogre sighed in complaint as he was ordered to handle the judging of the souls coming through. He stepped outside to judge souls from here, as he knew just how enthusiastic King Enma became when he was talking about mahogany with someone. The great Mahogany doors almost slammed shut behind the blue Ogre as he exited the check-in station. "Please, everyone. I will be your judge for the time being while King Enma is otherwise occupied at the moment. We will get you all to where you need to go, if you just stay in an orderly line and move along in a nice and orderly manner. We thank you for your patience as we move you along to your eternal living place."

Inside, Ryan had just realized, as the great mahogany doors shut behind him, how much light had actually come from the outside. It was nearly pitch black inside. Ryan tried to adjust his eyes to the now complete darkness, until he heard some shuffling from behind the desk and the sound of a switch flipping. Overhead lights then came on and King Enma brought his hand back from the wall and sat up straight at his desk once more. He then leaned on his elbow and sat his head on his fist. "So, you want to know of the wonders of Mahogany, do you?"

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Wonders of Mahogany? I was just asking if it was made of mahog..."

"SILENCE!" King Enma's yell seemed to shake the room, but the people outside either did not notice or did not care. "Mahogany." He then waited a few seconds before continuing his speech. "Mahogany is one of the greatest materials known to man, and greatly overlooked by many. But this is not just any mahogany! This is mahogany from the planet of Malchior Seven! Where the trees are over three hundred feet tall and breathe FIRE! Did you hear that? The trees and wood from the planet of Malchior Seven are FIRE PROOF! If this building were to burn down at this very moment, this desk and those doors behind you would STILL BE HERE! ISN'T THAT AMAZING!?" King Enma seemed to be allowing Ryan a moment to respond, or so it would seem.

Ryan's face bore the exact same look of surprise the Blue Ogre attendant had before him. It took him a moment to realize that King Enma was completely enthusiastic about Mahogany, and Ryan, for the life of himself, could not understand why the judge, jury, and executioner of the after life would be so obsessed with some wood. Ryan was about to speak again, when...

"SILENCE!" King Enma stared at Ryan a few seconds with a blank expression before he spoke again. "Mahogany."


2385 Words: x2 Double Power Post. 4770 + 1233 = 6003

The platinum haired warrior’s eyelids began to twitch; ascension and the descent of his chest were now visible. “Did I…did I survive?” the platinum haired warrior thought. Back at the martial arts center he was sure that he didn’t. His friend had injected the blade pretty deep into Reiko’s midsection just before he perished. Or maybe the vital organs of the platinum haired warrior were secure, and the stab was just designed to knock him out violently. Signs of life were showing on the outside of the student. Plus the platinum haired warrior was able to think consciously so it was clear he was still alive. The only question was if he was back at the Dojo.

Did everyone make it out alive? He knew that Rose did but what about the others that were willing to put their lives on the line. “I guess I’ll just have to see.” While his body remained wherever it was, vision was alive and well. His eyes slowly opened up to the setting around him, while his brain was processing what was going on. “Strange, I don’t remember the clouds being this color….”he commented. The eyes of Reiko narrowed with much skepticism. Suddenly, someone gave him a reason why the clouds were this color. For a second Reiko was glad that there was someone around him; perhaps proof that there were survivors and that someone was guarding his vessel. But when he heard the reason, Reiko was in disbelief. At least part of him was.

“Oh that’s easy son….you’re dead.”