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"Aa s**t!" Sheldon's eyes went wide as the leopard rounded on the bunch of them. People were tossed right and left, claws and and tail taking out the lot of them. His grip on Tony lost as the guardian tossed the librarian away with a single breath. Sheldon's hand was empty and he was too dumbfounded, really, to do much else but stare at the empty space until he noticed the space that Ever had occupied was suddenly gone as well - and replaced by that of the angry leopard itself.

He had no time to retort the guardian's accusations, that he wasn't trying to do anything. Really, his brain didn't have time to process and was running a blank. All his brain could tell him was 'well, s**t... that's a big wave' as the boiling lava came down hard on him.

He didn't have time to scream in the dream world, but he managed one in the real world as he woke up sharply, pulling at his returned shirt. "OH MY GOD, I'M ON FIRE!" Like he was Ricky Bobby in Talledega Nights. He rolled, collecting his thin sheets around his body and promptly fell off the bed in a clutter of cloth.

"Oh god, OW," It hurt like it did in that strange place and ten times worse. "Ow..." he repeated, resting the good side of his forehead against the cold ground of his apartment. God, this sucked.

Scylla screamed as the lava waves rushed up from everywhere, and the limbs created by her power curled in on themselves. She willed them to vanish, reserving her power for later. Christ, he was truly getting angry, and no one was safe. What could she do? He was coming closer, and she didn't want to hurt him, but he was randomly assaulting everyone. This was getting ridiculous. She dodged a geyser, barely, watching someone else get brutally ejected from the realm which this Cat on Fire controlled.

She could call her attack again, she could try and pull people to safety, but for many it was too late. People were flying everywhere, and waves of lava spilled over some of them.

s**t. Why was it that in the end, all Jada was was useless? All of her book learning, book reading, Tai Kwon Do lessons and shopping trips, all her money, even her damn tentacles, couldn't keep people safe all the time.

What a blow to her ego.

She was failing at protecting the innocents, and the Guardian of this place certainly didn't seem in the mood to listen to anyone say 'We don't know why we are here' anymore. "I don't want to own this place." she snapped at the guardian lamely, knowing the rampaging thing probably couldn't hear her. "I just don't want them to, either." She ducked a thrown punch, replying with one of her own. It bounced off a hard rock jaw and she winced, shaking her hand.

The volcano slowly subsided, the lava cooled, and all that remained were senshi. One was corrupt and eyes turned on her before slowly, the sun rose and everyone was ejected from the battlefield. The senshi had won this zone for themselves, the ability to keep it safe and away from the clutches of the Negaverse.

The guardian was not pleased but the rules of the engagement were not his own to settle. He simply settled to the bottom of his lava pool and swore that they would never find his sacred yarn ball. He was going to move it to the shrine as soon as he could.

---

Congratulations Senshi! You've won your first zone in Elysion and can thus traipse about the volcano, swim in the lava, and walk on it much as Leto did if you so will. You are also incredibly agile while in this zone, and will probably have tons of fun with that.

Thank you everyone for playing, I hope you enjoyed it! If you haven't done an exit post yet, feel free to do so.

Alkaid's last sight in Elysion was the few Senshi left, standing proud and triumphant over the lava fields. She watched them as long as she could, staring at them with what could only be describe as a mix of hatred and pity. She had failed Zinkenite, she had failed Tanzanite, and she had failed their queen. The Senshi had taken something that did not belong to them and Alkaid had been powerless to stand in their way.

She finally turned her eyes away, shutting them against the dream land as she felt that familiar feeling of her conscience drifting back to reality. When she opened her eyes again she was staring at the blank walls of her bedroom with no sign of her battle against the Senshi left but a bruise blooming on her shoulder.

She lay there for a few moments in her bed, staring at her ceiling in a state of blankness. No thoughts, no feelings, just emptiness. Then duty began to push at the vast void, replacing her apathetic calm with a need to fulfill her responsibilities.

She swung her legs over the bed and went to find her General so she could turn in her report.

[Sorry guys, I sleep weird hours when sick, so I failed - I appreciate very much everyone that kept Moonstone in the game while I was gone. YOU GUYS ROCK!!!]

Moonstone had been carried around by the previously unknown Captain who's name she never quite got, but who's face she would never forget. Zinkenite and Alkaid she would have known more, but it was the brave Captain that was there when she fainted from smoke inhalation; it was Alumo that moved her around the charred, volcanic land when all she could do was mumble, unconscious.

The woman-child was small against his back; entirely unaware of the chaos around them - the lava leopard, smoke and fire, the screams of frightened people. With all her defenses down, Lieutenant Moonstone was thrown forcibly out of Elysion and back into her bed; she would wake with a raw cry in her throat, a hacking cough wracking her aching body.

"Captain~" Alumo would not be forgotten. He had saved her life there, at the end...tried to win with her...and given her some direction when she was down, tired and aching. Her skin would have have a red, raw look to it - but it shouldn't blister or bubble up. Pandora would be okay...unless her Masters took out their displeasure at the Negaverse's failure out on her.

One minutes, Castille was in a strange volcanic land that seemed to want them out as much as she wanted out with a group of guys that were at least human. The smoke was unbearable, adn on top of that, there was a flaming cat flying down the mountain at them! She yelled, and suddenly, she was upright in her bed, screaming.

Her father ran in, short blonde hair sticking up and his face a ghostly white.

"What is it!?" he panted, running from the doorway to her bedside. He grabbed her shoulder and leaned forward, making sure she wasn't still asleep.

Castille couldn't move, or speak. The dream seemed to real.....she reached forward to hug her father, saying "I had a really real dream. Or nightmare. I'm not sure which...."

Her father grabbed her wrist before she could put her arms around him, and turned her arm over, eyes wide and hand shaking. "What is this?" he whispered, looking back in Castille's scared blue eyes.


Three scratches, a few inches long laced jaggedly across her arm. They were scabbed over and dirty, as if a rock had cut her...


Castille looked back at her dad, and saw his concern. "I guess the dream was real-er than I thought." she said to her disbelieving parent.