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"Oh, you poor dears," Fiona nodded her wrinkled features creasing further as she squinted her eyes in a pleasant, yet slightly pitying smile, "I'll leave you to your time alone then. I am glad the king's gift is one that has pleased you. If you need anything, you know where to find me." She bowed graciously, only to stand and lose most of her dignified grace as she rubbed her back and cackled in a fitting elderly fashion as she turned and left.

The image projected within crystal ball, for the briefest of fractioned seconds, had an almost entirely insignificant stutter.

The incense around the room, already a terribly dim source of light, momentarily seemed to be dimmer still--if only momentarily.

The smoke in the air and the curtains that surrounded them had subtle waves of motion--as if a soft breath, inaudible even to the one that made it, had crossed the threshold.

This had all happened simultaneously.

And then, not one second later, the blonde healer contorted into herself, as if the center of her being had become a black hole without escape, and before anyone could blink or do anything, she was gone.

Meanwhile, as if to take advantage of the distraction the same happened with her Geist companion, Prote.

To the dark figure across from her, to the one in control of it all, it would have felt not as if she'd been pulled away, but that she had been pulled deeper. As if, were it all a spider's web hovering over an abyss, she had been pulled through it below, underneath the purview of conscious perception; as if into the threshold itself, between...

The human and geist were neither here, nor there. In that instant, they were nowhere, they were betwixt and between, they were liminal and traceless--they had neither remained, nor had they departed. Then, before a search into the vague nothing could be mounted, their existence was gone entirely.

{Bobbi, Zell, Yuffie, Red XIII .:. Narnia .:. North Wing}

"No. No!" Bobbi wailed under her breath, tugging ineffectually at the doors. In a fit of rage, she slammed her fist into the solid surface. The shock of pain in her hand helped snap her out of her anger, and she pressed her head against the doors and closed her eyes. She took several deep gulps of air, trying to calm her racing heart again as tears slid down her face. She didn't bother to wipe them away this time.

Why would they lock us away from them? she asked silently. It doesn't make any sense! Her mind was racing, trying to fit facts together, trying to come up with answers, but there was only one conclusion she could come to. And she didn't like it.

This is a trap. Our families were bait.

It explained the Negator. It explained why she--and everyone else--was now cut off from those family members who had left before that performance. And suddenly she felt more vulnerable than she had on her last trip to Narnia--when that geist had siphoned off her memories of the past week, and she'd awoken to a strange place, strange faces. No weapon, no protection. Somehow this was worse, because she knew, knew that if these cheating, underhanded bastards hadn't brought in the Negator, she could protect herself and the ones she loved. But now? She couldn't hear Shiva, she couldn't summon Taulmaril. She was defenseless. Her family was defenseless. Her friends were defenseless.

I need to talk to Joe.

Her first instinct was to try the charms--and she was met by a telepathic wall. The wall was met by an expletive.

The archer gathered her skirts in her hands, hiking them above her knees so she could run, and whirled on the spot, sprinting towards the door she'd seen Joe leave through earlier. She blessed the Dress Sphere--the one magic the Negator couldn't touch--for giving her a good, sturdy pair of boots instead of dainty slippers or heels or something. She didn't want to take the time to take off her shoes so she could run, and the slippers or heels would have required that.

She hadn't gotten more than a couple of steps before she saw the woman in blue--whose name she had already forgotten--heading for her. Bobbi slowed just long enough to shoot the woman a glare laced with venom, and continued on.

{Bobbi .:. Narnia .:. Grand Hall}

Bobbi's attention was indeed caught by the key--as gaudy as it was, you'd have to be blind to miss it. Trembling, Bobbi closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose in an attempt to calm herself. She held that breath for the count of twenty, then let it out slowly. Admittedly, the words "I promise, I'll do whatever I can for you" went a long way in calming the brunette down.

"I'm sorry," she said, tightly, not really sure if she meant it. Her pulse was still hammering, her blood singing with adrenaline. She tried the deep breathing exercise again and consciously relaxed the muscles in her neck and shoulders. This lady was only doing her job. Might even be totally innocent if there was some sort of nefarious plot going on. Still, Bobbi had no intention of letting her guard down; just like that time at the beach in Hawaii when Ajora had cannon-balled uninvited into their midst. "I'm just... extremely on edge. You know I'm not the only one, I'm sure. I wasn't present at our team's last encounter with a negator, but I can honestly say that I'm... not enjoying my first experience with it."

She didn't add that she felt like she was missing an arm and a leg without her magic or weapon. She didn't mention her phobia of being trapped--a phobia that hadn't come into much play so far on this journey. She should have expected something to trigger it, but mostly she forgot she had that fear. Now that her third and (at this point) final phobia had been triggered, she was going to be that much more on edge.

"I understand that you brought it in for the safety of my team and your guests," she continued, finally meeting the woman's eyes. The venom in her gaze had lessoned considerably, though there was still a bite to it. "And considering my family is here, not to mention the children I've seen running around, I thank you for your consideration of our well-being. My... reaction, if you will, was simply a bad combination of the negator cutting me off from the very sources that make me one of the heroes you're venerating, and the... illusion that I was being barred from seeing my family." The archer offered the woman an apologetic smile, putting all of the training she had from her customer service jobs into the expression.

"I'm sorry if I scared you."

{Bobbi .:. Narnia .:. Grand Hall}

Bobbi stored the information about the locks away for later use. It was sure to come in handy some time, she was willing to bet. But when they offered to "eavesdrop" on the other group, Bobbi shook her head, and gently pushed Daniel in the shoulder in retaliation for his nudge.

"Thanks, but... Honestly, I just wanted to see my dad and brother. I think Mom said they were upstairs, I'm guessing in the residential area. I figured since everyone left through this door--or at least, I thought they did--this must be the right way. I think, though, now that I know how the locks work and where the rest of our families are, I'd like to let the others know. Some of us might even come looking for a place to stay. I'm sure Joe at least would like to get away from the crowds. I can see my family once I'm done with that, and have had a chance to calm down. Thank you for your help."

Bobbi executed a curtsey to the lady and Daniel, then turned and began walking, calmly but with purpose, once again aiming for the doorway Joe had left through earlier. One hand reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear in nervous habit, and she wasn't even remotely surprised to note that it was still shaking a little.

[[Daniel, Woman in Blue, Noelle : Narnia : Grand Hall]]

The girl woke with a sudden, sharp breath, she looked around quickly, only to find that her shoulder was occupied by her father's resting head. Her heart calmed from whatever nightmare she'd been caught in, slowly recalling where she was and how she'd gotten there. That's right? A party in their honor. She'd been reunited with her father and her friend had all been reunited with family members of their own.

She took a moment to let it all sink in again, until a sudden pressure in her gut made her have to move. Ah, she suddenly wasn't feeling that well. She stood up slowly, carefully placing her father's head down on the bench to let him continue to rest, he really was sleeping like a rock, it was incredible how much this man could take before waking it was almost like trying to wake the dead.

Meanwhile, Daniel watched Bobbi as she left and looked to the hostess. Neither of them at that point saw it fitting to invade the planning session beyond the doors and shrugged, splitting off their separate ways.

Noelle, in her still drowsy stupor, stumbled past where they were, through the doors and into the northeast wing beyond. There had to be a sink or a bathroom somewhere, if she didn't find one soon, the carpets and rugs might find a new shade of puke added to their repertoire of color.

Some time passed, the doors closed behind the girl as she vanished behind them, invisible to the inhabitants of the grand hall. A minute passed, the grandeur of the banquet carrying on as usual. Then, like nails on a chalkboard, screeching across a loudspeaker, a sound, sharp, harsh, and blood curdling ripped through the jovial atmosphere silencing everything and one:

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

((DM Note: The scream can be heard in every wing of the castle.))

[[ Narration - Northeast Wing : The Grand Cathedral IMPORTANT! CLICK FIRST! ]]

[[Cue: Golden Slaughterer(remix) by Taishi from Umineko]]

The doors opened to a small, simple room, red carpet floors, a few chairs and potted plants sat around decorating the otherwise simple room. At the center of the square space stood a pedestal with a golden plaque bolted to the top. On it read the passage:

"In the end, I am joy.
In the end, I am ssadness.
In the end, I am perspective."

As they passed by this, a second pair of double doors opened to the castle's grand cathedral. The marble structure, white and black intertwined with gold and silver run through every seam and crack, causing everything to glitter. Many large marble carvings of angels hung suspended in the air by chains and ropes overhead holding lanterns and spears that lit the massive space. At the far end was a stain glass portrait of Aslan and crude depictions of his chosen children. The sound of the blizzard outside was clear as day, the wind whipping about slamming itself against the windows wish to breach its way into the warm cathedral.

It was likely once a beautiful, surreal sight. But now...

Lining the floor of the cathedral, were pools of blood splattered across the columns, walls, and shattered fragments of pews. Atop the floor were the broken bodies of fallen angels that had descended from their suspended position above the hall. Between them and the bloody floor, was...



Linda, lay on her back eyes to the ceiling, the entire lower half of her body hidden beneath the torso of the marble angel that had collapsed over her, desperately pushing on the heavy stone still struggling to free herself leaving blood stained streaks as her hands slipped repeatedly unable to get a firm grip.



Richard the Gray, the old man well on in years, clawed feebly at the floor, his back pierced by a spear pinning his body to the ground like a insect for collection, wings of blood spreading out in haunting crimson along the checkered panels, growing in span with every passing second.



Elliot, the poor boy, had likely bee close to avoiding the same fate as the others, was suspended in the air by a spear that had unfortunately jutted up when an angel caught another midst its decent, spinning it up and crucifying the young man. Somehow, by some miracle or perhaps curse, he still lived, clinging to the spear, attempting, however futile, to remove himself from his elevated position.



Joe the Stranger's mother, was pinned between two angels, her chest crushed by the combined weight as she attempted to scream in protest to her leg which burned and caught fire from a lantern that had not gone out when it fell and hit the floor.



Sven, Daniel's brother, had been unlucky or perhaps the opposite. His head, was crushed beneath an angel's chest, besides that,his body looked relatively unharmed. He'd have died instantly.



The others, mainly those related to Jenny, Sayrike, Matthew, Dani, and Anthony, also shared similar fates, crushed mercilessly beneath the rubble and mercifully already passed on without much of a struggle. Still their blood covered the floor and walls of the cathedral and continued to flow out slowly to create a rippling pool of lively red.

At the corner of the carnage, was Noelle next to a pile of dirt and a broken pot. She seemed frantic, crazed, whimpering to herself, "Come on! Grow! Grow! Why won't you grow?! Come on. I need to- I need to help them!" at closer glance she continued kneeding the dirt, over and over and over, her hands cut up and wounded by shards of the ceramic pot that once held a decorative shrub. Ignoring the pain, ignoring the screaming pain running through the wounds in her palms that continued to be smeared with dirt, she rubbed away at the floor wearing away her even her skin turning everything raw against the floor below, "Why won't it work? Why won't my magic work? I need to help them. Why can't I help them?!" Her words turned into nonsensical sobs, whines, and frantic screaming as tears ran down her face and fell darkening the makeshift soil beneath her.

{James : Narnia : Northwest Wing -> Northeast Wing}

James looked around the area that he had entered. He hadn't been sure what to expect, but this wasn't it. It had clearly once been the dungeon, but it was re-purposed to be storage. The air near the stairs where he had entered was warm. But as he descended it grew colder as he headed down the stairs. At the bottom he looked around seeing the weapons that were stored behind one of the cells. He looked at the myriad of arms within the makeshift armory. He had always had a thing for weapons. After a few minutes in the cooler part of the storage room the corsair decided he was ready to head back into the Grand Hall and face whatever was going on. Just as he was nearing the top of the stairs is when he heard it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

{{Cue: Trail of Blood}}

The scream was enough to send chills down the corsair's spine as he pulled the door open and rushed back into the hall on full alert. If he could have, his hexagun would have been in his hands. He ran over to the table and grabbed the best thing he could find, which was a knife. He held it in an almost death grip, ice pick style as he followed the stares of the crowd to the apparent source of the scream which was in the room directly across from one he had just come from.... The Northeast Wing where he had seen his dad and several other guests leave to.

"Oh god no... DAD!" he yelled as his blood ran cold. Fear borderline terror already gripping at his chest as he wasted no time.

He bolted from where he stood across the hall, forcing his way through anyone who got in his way as he made his way to the room, following shortly behind Joe as he entered into the Northeast Wing and the horror that awaited them.

Blood... so much blood everywhere. What was once a beautiful cathedral was now a sight fit only in macabre horror stories, their family and friends the victims... The corsair's right hand was raised to his mouth. His legs were starting to shake violently and he felt faint. The sight of so much blood caused the gunner's stomach to turn.

'Focus... focus... you have to do something,' He thought, doing everything that he could to fight off the nausea he felt.

Which was when he spotted him... amongst the destroyed statues and blood was his father fighting with his last to stay alive, a massive metal spear in his back.

"DAD! Hang on dad!" the corsair bellowed as he rushed forward to his dying father, choking on tears as his hands gripped at the impaling spear. "You can't die on me... not now..."

The massive weapon would not budge with his strength alone. He needed help. They all did or their family and friends, those who weren't already dead would be lost

"TURN OFF THE DAMNED NEGATOR NOW!!! We need our powers to save them! HELP THEM PLEASE!!! You can't let them die!!!" He roared out into the Hall hoping beyond all hope that someone would heed the request.

He couldn't bear the thought of losing his father again. He had faced this fear in a minimal capacity back home when his dad had had heart surgery. However, that was nothing compared to his. His old man and all of the others trapped were going to die in front of their very eyes unless others came to help them and with each passing second the chances of them being saved dwindled.