Welcome to Gaia! ::

Adelaide watched silently as the figure they were fighting slowly shifted, changing into one that seemed to emit a benign aura, and yet, she couldn't help but feel unease as she listened to it converse with the familiar.
Claim what was rightfully theirs? Balance?

Who were they? WHAT were they? What was their purpose? What was this promise?
The more they talked, the more she felt confused and lost.
WAS she being deceived? Were all of them?

Though she couldn't remember who or what she was, or where they came from, it still hurt to be called a false creation.
Were they not very much real, right here, right now? Wasn't their purpose to fight, to protect?

Even as a new creature appeared, she was torn between whether to continue fighting, or to follow the stranger.
It seemed most of the girls refused to follow them, despite their offer, and she couldn't blame them, seeing as the figure had been their assailant not too long ago, but, just... all this fighting... what did all of this lead to?
Peace? Happiness?

She watched wordlessly as some of the other girls chose to follow the figure, one of them being the girl Thalia had greeted, while others stood and fought, and stifled a choked gasp as she saw Thalia and others fall. It seemed not matter which choice they picked, none of this would leave this unscathed.

A tear slipping down her cheek, she held up her shield, facing the creature.
"I... I will stay and fight."
She would stay to protect the others who didn't give up, she would stay to help give them a fighting chance. And then... she would remember her promise... hopefully.

----------------------

That had really hurt. Etain was trying to pull herself together without passing out or falling asleep.

What was it the ??? had said? Something about a wish and a promise made? Hmm, what was her wish? She couldn't quite grasp it. The more more she tried to remember, the more elusive it was.

What about the promise? She remembered making a promise to the ??? But what had it promised her in return? It really didn't matter. A promise given. So as the assailant made the offer to switch sides, Etain didn't even entertain the idea. She couldn't give her word and then change her mind like that. It just wasn't in her character.

She slowly struggled to get up and continue on with the attack. But with each attack came a fleeting feeling.

Hi-yah!The first brought an ounce of happiness to her. She had a brief glimpse of a girl. She could tell it was a girl, but for some reason she couldn't see her face, just a fog. But she could tell this was a memory. Just a girl in a field of flowers.

That little ounce of happiness helped her gather the strength to swing her staff again. I've had it! Etain screamed as she swung again.

This time she caught a glimpse of the girl walking away. But something was different. She couldn't pinpoint it. It brought tears to her eyes.

One last shot. She focused for a second. That memory, the girl, the happiness, and then unbelievable sorrow. Her wish? Maybe that was it. Something about that girl...

Suddenly her staff shot a blue ray of light directly at the assailant! Party Time! Etain screamed.

What had she promised to the ??? Parts of that memory returned to her.

Darkness faded to reality. Ragged gasps of breath breached her throat, the effort to sustain herself lost. Her chest heaved, each breath taking more effort than the last as her tiny body attempted to stay stable.

A crack. Two. Three. Her enter face was splitting down the center, and Magenta could feel it. "What's ... what's happening to me?!" she screamed, clawing at the cracks. It felt like scratching porcelain as more and more of the inky mist poured from within her. "MAKE IT STOP- make it stOP."

She collapsed to the ground on her knees, leaning back on her heels. Her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach, as though she'd been in this position before. Had she?

A flash. The memory of limbs striking her hazily faded in. She knew this place. The hallway. Teachers stared in disdained, annoyed that their utopian school had been disturbed. A tiny voice. She couldn't make out the words. What was going on? What was this hell she'd been submitted to?

Magenta would never know. All at once the framework that kept her together shattered. A crunch and it was over. Now she was truly gone and truly forgotten.

Conflicted. Lissa looked between the two figures with uncertainty. This mysterious figure seemed so sincere and convincing. Fake bodies? But she felt real.. she didn't want to simply believe that it wasn't. She felt real, from flesh to soul. She had to be real. However, she had woken up to know the small one as a guide. But was it just using them? Maybe it was.. but Lissa wasn't certain she was ready to take a leap of faith and follow this new stranger.

After all.. she still couldn't remember her wish. Her promise. She'd made a promise. If she knew nothing else, she had to stand by that one truth.

Her breath hitched, her hands tightly gripping the staff close to her body defensively. Fighting was scary. Very scary. Sure, it had felt natural, but her inner flame was so small. So timid. If she had to be honest with herself, she'd rather run away from all of it.

But no. No, she couldn't allow herself to just run because it was difficult to be here. Whether she was being tricked, no matter from who.. The small one.. the Mysterious figure..

She'd have to determine for herself what she wanted to do.

She'd fight. She had this weapon, created from her own energy and Fear. She was meant for this. Surely, this was her destiny. And she would fight. With all her courage she would fight.

Her first strike was swift, with little to no hesitation. A leap into the air, and a swooping motion of her weapon. A gust of razor sharp wind sliced at the enemy. The moment it connected, she was suddenly assaulted with a sudden memory. A vision that ripped through her conscious mind. She heard voices but no words. Saw friends with no faces. She was sure she'd seen it before. Felt it before. A warmth in her soul, a tingle of something in her heart. She felt at home.

But only for that one, split second.

Staggering backward as she landed, she fought to breathe again. What had that been? Were they her memories? She shook it off as best she could, stumbling forward to attempt another attack.

She barely struck her weapon to the enemy when another sharp, and painful vision ripped through her mind. Sadness; deep, dark and cold. She felt her soul begin to crumble; a weight push her knees to the ground. It was almost debilitating. How could an emotion so alien feel so familiar? It hurt.. it made her eyes burn. An emotion was making her ache all over.

Lissa struggled to raise herself to stand, her grip weakened on her staff. Her gaze shyly landed on the enemy ahead. She was so scared. So frightened of what was happening.

She raised her staff once more, yelping as she brought it down in one last motion.

The promise. It was at the tip of her tongue, yet clung to the back of her mind stubbornly. She almost had it! She'd been so close! But for certain.. she'd agreed to fight.

So she was right... she had to be right... she was doing the right thing..

She needed to believe this.

Lissa felt her body burn as the creature raked its claws across her form. She collapsed to the ground, shuddering as she felt everything nearly break down.

Shakily she forced her eyes to open, staring at the arms sprawled in front of her.

Cracks.

Large, angry cracks formed across her arms, down her legs to her feet. She sat up sharply, hands gripping her face. No! No.. False body... False body...

False. Fake. She wasn't.. wasn't real.

"No... nono... no... I'm... I must be real.." Her eyes teared as she stared in horror at the blackened cracks on her legs.

"I must be.. I can't be fake. I'm real... I am.." She sobbed softly, her voice a shudder. Like a doll she was coming apart, a shell. A make believe being born of.. what?

"I am..."

She falls to her knees at the strike from the monster, tears fell and hit the ground as Melony punched the earth under her. She hadn't died. Why, why had she lived when the others hadn't? Black cracks had crawled up her legs, but she was still around, She couldn't stand it. But... no she had to keep going. Melony had to keep fighting on, even if the others were gone. She would fight for her friends' honor.



Quotes:
(I feel bad for all the poor dead people)

(; A; Omg I have never been so scared of a dice in my life)

Willow yelped as the creatures claws crashed into her, the wind once again knocked from her longs. Swaying in place, she managed to keep her footing and not collapse. But it was hard not too.

She was so dizzy she could swear she was seeing things. There was something a bit farther away she couldn't exactly make out.. It left her rather confused. The feeling it gave her was unusual, and she couldn't figure it out.