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 Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:31 pm
"Uh, okay," he nodded to Riley. He would have rubbed the back of his head as he was wont to do when confused except he would rather not risk dropping Astra. Petro's brows furrowed in both confusion and suspicion at being told his eyes were yellow. But from where he was from, yellow wasn't a bad color for eyes. It was red he had to watch out for. Oh Jack, please let their eyes not be red after he had that thought.
"Jericho, y' think y' can light up y'r sword again? So Lizzy can find us," he explained. "Dunno if she found Mac or Seph yet."
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:34 pm
Once the two were up on their feet again, Jericho let out a sigh and took a step back. It was then that he realized Petro was carrying Astra and he couldn't help but make a face at that. He supposed they shouldn't leave the faerie behind. Whatever.
In any case, he could feel the tension in the air between Riley and Mal. This little expedition towards the lighthouse was rather taxing, moreso on the mind than on the body. The images he saw thanks to the hallucinations still gave him chills and made the dragon rather uncomfortable. He just did what he could to not think of those things.
"You all are so sure that going to the lighthouse will save you. For all you know, it will be your doom," the voice hissed; its voice dripping with malice, "We've been trying to save you all. But you've been ignoring all our warnings. Turn back while you still can."
These words did make the dragon's pace slow down some. While he didn't want to believe the voice, it did have a point. There were no guarantees they'd be safe from this insanity once they reached the lighthouse. But that didn't stop him from hoping.
"... Let's hurry," he said before going ahead and igniting his sword and holding it in the air as Petro requested
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:41 pm
Every second Riley spent thinking about Malodore's disbelief, her own passionate anger grew. She had just admitted, for the first time, that she loved it - albeit without meaning to - and her thanks was a terse reply about their eyes again. It was easy to fall into the dark depths of angers embrace from therein.
Petro's fear of red eyes would come into play soon enough, if something didn't calm her down quickly.
She stormed ahead, determined to get far enough that she couldn't feel it behind her. She didn't want to hear it's hoofsteps crunching the gravel beneath it's feet. She didn't want to accept that this was where they stood right now. That the fog had finally whittled it's way between them.
She focused on Petro for a moment, if only to distract herself. Her eyes narrowed. I know you, she murmured under her breath. Have we met?
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:41 pm
Charlie had no time to react to the hit over the head as now he was being dragged along with Lizzy. Huh? Mac wasn't really a unicorn? That just confused the demon more but he didnt question Lizzy. Unicorn Mac faded as quickly as it had came which was a relief. The hit to the head must have really knocked some sense into him even if it was slightly delayed.
"Where are we going?" Truly it was a question worth asking specially after waking up to unicorn Mac.
They're taking you to a hot dog stand and they are going to serve Charlie hot dogs.
"Oh really!? Can I have one cause that sounds delicious." It didnt seem to bother Charlie much to be talking to a voice that wasnt really there.
NOOOO you can not have one you fool because they plan on making the hot dogs out of YOOOOU
"Really? I don't think those would taste so good. I have this one rash on my back I get some times and I think eating me would spread it. Sooo the joke would really be on them."
What are you some kind of idiot or something?
"WHOAH NOW! Thats not very nice..." Charlie frowned.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:53 pm
As far as Malodore was concerned, the Riley-thing's behavior was only to be expected from a fog-born doppelganger; it didn't really care what happened as long as her behavior didn't become dangerous or obviously insane.
Instead, it dropped back to walk next to Jericho and Petro. The flaming sword was comforting, somehow. It was warm, and bright - two things that had been sorely lacking over the past few days. Days? How long had they been here, anyway? The plague doctor's heart twisted a little at the thought of Luce all alone back in Amityvile...
... and Riley, wherever she was right now. It had to hope she was making her way towards the lighthouse too. The thought that the Riley-thing had been what it had embraced before made it long for the real deal. Hopefully they could reunite at the lighthouse.
Finally, it opened its beak to speak again. "Did anyone else see a great deal of paper? In their hallucinations, I mean?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:57 pm
The monster boil quirked a brow at Jericho's expression, then remembered how the fairy had snuck into the dragon boil's room during the Kobold incident. (Well, that's what Petro called it, whether or not the others did wasn't his concern.) And suddenly things felt heavier, the fog more suffocating once he remembered they weren't at the academy. Petro always knew he would someday be in situations where his life was on the line, fighting for his clan's survival. He had looked forward to it, even.
He knew now he'd been foolishly naive.
Suck it up and deal, Tro. Nothing else y' can do, he told himself, forcing a grateful smile at the beacon of Jericho's sword.
The monster horse looked startled when he heard Riley's voice in his mind. Oh yeah, she could do that, right? He wasn't sure how to answer back with his thought (no, really, Tro, you just think back but thinking isn't your strong suit, clearly.)
"Uh, y' invited me to join y'r Fitness Club?" he answered out loud. Did she accidentally invite him? No, he was sure she used his name. He'd check his account if he could but not only did he not have his computer with him but he doubted if it would even work here.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:03 pm
Mac didn't protest the squeezing hug, in fact he returned it once more. Illusion or not, Lizzy was a comforting sight; if the fog wanted to mess with his head some more, they should show him that Purple Demoness or his Parents again. ...If it was even the fog that had created them.
"What?" Mac said innocently to her comment about not getting separated; he'd already gone a couple steps ahead into the fog since, you know, she was busy with Charlie. "I don't know what you're talking about I don't do it on purpose, man." He frowned, though he did agree with her; getting separated was terrible. Feeling five steps behind them was...heart breaking.
"We're going to---" The Reaper paused as Charlie started talking to himself. Odd things, like something sounding delicious or not delicious or a spreading rash and...well, whatever.
Mac gave a very animated, exaggerated shrug before he turned his back to his crazy talking friend, heading in the same direction that maybe-Lizzy had some from. At least it wasn't in the direction of the cliffs; he refused to admit even to himself that for a brief few minutes, he was seriously considering suicide.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his younger sister again, the brown curls framing her pale face, the wide black eyes that stared up at him.
Charlie's here?! I want to play with Charlie, too! Can I, Leander? Please? PRETTY PLEASE?! She was calling out to him, her hands cupped around her mouth as she did countless times, though usually she was yelling at him from her room down the hall, and not through heavy fog.
"No." Mac grumbled, looking over his shoulder at the figure in the distance, the little girl who had stomped her foot on the ground, pufifng out her cheeks.
I HOPE YOU GET LOST IN THE FOG! I HOPE YOU NEVER COME HOME. YOU'RE MEAN! I HOPE YOU DIE! The illusion faded, but a voice remained; it was Saide, but it echoed with something darker.
You will die here. It promised him, whispering into his ear. Your friends, too. Visibly shuddering, Mac put his hands over his ears, trying to block out the founds; the voices persisted, whispering horrible things about death and demon baby sitting...
Until he spotted a light up ahead. It looked like a fire...? It was too high up to be a flashlight...didn't Jericho have a fire bat? He was pretty sure he saw one...Jack, if this was an illusion...well, he didn't care. He was still trying to cling to every piece of hope he had left.
"...This way!" He called out, suddenly running forward into the fog. "I think I found them!" He was so desperate to get back; but at least his water-heavy boots made running quietly impossible.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:08 pm
Riley's eyes widened to stare, and she almost tripped in mis-step when a dawning realization came to her. She didn't really pay attention to pictures on Groanspring.. maybe she should do that more often when she met students on there and invited them to things.
Petro! You're Petro, right? She stumbled slightly to return to walking at his side, a little awed at the circumstances of their unfortunate first meeting. Wow.. I really didn't think the first time we met would be.. well. She rolled her eyes and gestured up into the air in annoyance.
Well. Anyway. It IS nice to meet you, regardless - you're limping. Her eyes had dropped down to his leg, and only just noticed the limp. Do you need help?
It was around the moment she offered her assistance that she caught a stray thought. Her name, within the thought, had called to her attention, and when she digested Malodore's concern over a Riley that wasn't there with it right now, her expression fell in crushing melancholy. She had never felt a pain so real, it took her breath away. She turned from Petro, refusing to let him see the look on her face. Her weaknesses were not for public consumption.
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:10 pm
[HUNI. HUNI. I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU: POKE TESS
*random*]
Charlie talking to himself didn't bother her much; he seemed to have hallucinations that were rather... Tame, judging from the topic of his conversations. For once in her life, she was glad Charlie's Charlie. She smiled, turning her head so that she could look at the Demon she was pulling along; to her horror, she saw a Charlie that was bloodied and injured, and she pulled him closer so that she was taking his arm protectively instead.
"W-we're going to the l-lighthouse," Her voice was shaking slightly as she tried her best not to look injured-Charlie-illusion (please let it be an illusion!) while answering his question, "B-but first, we're w-walking out of this fog so we can s-see the lighthouse better... Remember, the v-voice that i-is talking to you that is not M-Mac or I is fake, okay?" She was almost afraid to look at Mac when she mentioned his name, but did anyway, regretting it almost immediately as she quickly turned her focus to the seemingly endless fog ahead.
The illusions were getting worse. It didn't do this before... It didn't show her friends like this before... If they got into a battle, she wouldn't be able to tell their real injuries from the illusionary ones...
"W-Wait! Mac!" She ran after the injured-Mac-illusion who was clearly the real deal... Minus the injuries, of course. She practically dragged Charlie along after the Reaper once she saw the light as well, her face lighting up.
"Jericho? JERICHO?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:19 pm
As they walked along, Jericho looked between Riley and Malodore, but he couldn't really think of anything that would make things better. For awhile, he was silent as he focused on holding his flaming sword up like a torch for the strays to hopefully see. As much as he liked a good confrontation, he didn't enjoy tension between his friends.
"How much longer do you think it'll be?" he asked to no one in particular. The map showed this one to be the shortest path but the lot kept getting side tracked with this wretched fog.
Rather than getting an answer to that right away, he heard his name being called. Turning around, he tried to see any signs of the spider demon.
"Lizzy? LIZZY!!"" he called out, hoping he hadn't just heard things in the fog.
"Watch it. She is likely not the true Lizzy."
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:24 pm
Had nobody heard its question? Malodore frowned. That was... slightly suspicious behavior, but then again they might all be being cautious. It wasn't going to go darting off just yet.
"I hope it's not much further," it said fervently. "Surely it can't be too far. Unless we're going in circles."
Oh, Candlejack, were they going in circles?!
"... We should leave markers of some kind." The plague doctor stopped walking for a moment and scraped a shallow trench in the ground with one hoof; upon reflection, it kept making that mark as it moved forward, adopting an odd almost limping gait that created a continuous line. It was a bit uneven, but... hopefully it would be visible if they crossed it again?
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:26 pm
Darkness, empty, silence, he was alone. There were no stars in the void, no life, there was simply nothing. Was he even there at all? He saw the void, yet he could not see himself, the hands he raised to his face appearing as nothing but empty blackness.
It had all become a blur and he could no longer distinguish what was real and what was illusion. Had any of it been real? The students, the fog, the island, the reapers, even Amityville Academy itself, it was beginning to question if anything was real. Had everything been a dream, a nightmare of the void? Was he even real? Or was he simply a figure imagined by some other creature?
So tired...
Then rest, forever in the oblivion's embrace.
I miss the stars...
There are no--
Wait, what was that? A light! He could see a light, a star! No, not a star. Sheridan shook his head, the void suddenly disappearing, the nightmare broken. A flashlight? The lighthouse! That's right, he had to get to the lighthouse!
He was on his feet, his resolve returning. Wings unfurled, flying was faster than running! He dared not fly too high, cosmos only knew what was lurking above the fog, but he could glide along the ground, moving through the fog only a couple feet from the ground. Why hadn't he thought of this before?
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:39 pm
It didnt matter to Charlie he was being dragged by Lizzy. He was enjoying the rest time but he couldn't help but enjoy his best friend Mac being there with him. Mac was the obvious choice for some one to follow. Charlie wasn't going to argue with his sense of direction.
"Who's Jericho?" Charlie couldn't help but ask. Lizzy sure did like to say his name a lot and loudly.
Probably some one trying to hurt Lizzy.
"SOME ONES TRYING TO HURT LIZZY! Wait why would Lizzy call out some ones name who was trying to hurt her?" The demon scratched his head.
Look behind you. See that black eye Lizzy has?
Charlies head turned and indeed Lizzy now for some reason had a black eye. "Hmmm interesting... But this is boring. Can you go back to talking about hot dogs or something interesting?" If Charlie was able to he would have crossed his arms.
Let me spell it out to you. SOME ONE. HURT. LIZZY. What are you going to do about it.
Then finally it clicked in the demons brain. "Some one hurt Lizzy?" Charlie frowned and turned around again. "LIZZY! Did this J-er-om-e-something guy HURT YOU!"
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:43 pm
After kneeling on the ground with his eyes shut for who knew how long, Aksaja dared a brief glance out into the fog. The eyes that had been watching him were gone, but so was everything else.
EveryONE else.
"They all abandoned you . . . " a voice whispered. "You're just dead weight to them. You never were very good at making alliances."
"No! Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!" Aksaja chanted, slapping hands over his ears. But somehow, the voice still penetrated, that voice he knew all too well.
"Such a failure . . . worthless cretin . . ."
No, he wouldn't give in. He couldn't . . . Sharra needed him, and Riley and the others . . . he had saved them before. He wouldn't. Give. Up.
Struggling up to his feet, Aksaja charged RIGHT AT the staring eyes, swinging his pipe at them. "GO AWAY!" he screamed. "LEAVE ME ALONE JACKDAMMIT!!!" But of course, the eyes weren't real, and that pipe whistled through empty air.
There had to be something to hit, though. Something he could do to make this STOP!
"COME OUT AND FIGHT ME YOU COWARDS!!!"
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:51 pm
An answer! There was an answer! Assuming Mac and Charlie both heard the reply, it was not just a voice in her head.
"JERICHO, I FOUND MAC! HE'S OKAY!" She sounded beyond happy as she yelled back, glad that they had finally caught up to the group, although was it just her or did the fog... Spread? However, perhaps due to happiness at catching up with the rest of the students, the illusions finally faded as Charlie and Mac went back to normal, no longer looking injured and close to death. Charlie's question caused her blink as she shook her head, "No...? He saved me actually... And I think he just saved me again. And you. And Mac."
When they were finally free from the worst of the fog, she dumped her flashlight back into her backpack before reaching out with her now free hand and pulling on Mac's arm. She clung onto it with her head rested against it, murmuring more to herself than anyone else, "Not letting you go again, Puppy..."
Then she remembered Riley's request for her to not leave Jericho alone. She has only two arms - one for Mac and one for Charlie. There was no way she was going to let Charlie wander off alone. He could get lost! Drop down a cliff! Have odd hotdog-related hallucinations and eat a rock or something! Maybe even see some sort of a candy mountain - no idea where that came from, but it's totally possible!
This was troubling... And she was too worn out to think of a proper solution; having 8 arms sound so good right now. She frowned, dragging both boils towards Jericho before letting them go, giving the dragon a hug... And then collapsing to the ground, exhausted.
... She might also be snoring softly.
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