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Today, when Siddie approached the base of the point, she noticed a door. It had been hidden among the roots, had opened now; it breathed Fear like the attic breathed age, like the cellars breathe mildew. It was unsettlingly familiar, and it took Siddie only a few seconds to realize why - it was too similar to the entryway into which she had descended when Conquest tested them unannounced. Where did this door lead?

She should turn away instead of poking into secrets she shouldn't know about. But the open door called to her, piquing her curiosity unbearably. Siddie ducked into the shadow of the strange door and followed the passageway downward.

It was dim here, the stone steps worn with use; as she descended, the warmth of the island bled away into a strange damp chill. Siddie tucked her arms close to herself. The light clothing she currently wore offered no protection against the cold. She hadn't been prepared for this. Then again, how could she have known she would need something warmer? Her sandals were thin, and the stone was cool through the soles. The walls were carved, she noticed, and she glanced idly at the images. Then she paid closer attention.

The images depicted Horsemen descending upon - upon the human world? They brought destruction in their wake, fire and blades and plagues and locusts, and Siddie shivered from more than cold, unsettled. Humans were for scaring; they produced Fear. Every scareling knew that. If all the humans died, wouldn't Fear die with them? And Fear was what they all were, the basis of all life in Halloween. If you had a special license, you could hunt human, but that was rare. But, she remembered, the rules of Halloweentown didn't apply in the Four Clans' lands. They'd been told repeatedly that the Clans had their own laws.

It didn't make sense. Surely the Horsemen couldn't really want to wipe out all the humans. Maybe it was metaphorical. That was kind of disturbing in its own way, though. If it meant something else, what could it possibly mean?

The end of the corridor came as a surprise, as absorbed as Siddie was in her own uncertain thoughts. The slowly strengthening ripples of Fear became a tidal wave here, washing upwards from glyphs deep below, stopping Siddie short. It wasn't the Fear she knew, but rather a painful, tingling, buzzing Fear, eddying and flowing around her, making her flicker at the edges.

It was drawing her in. Consuming her. Her hands were fading, becoming transparent, and panic welled up in her. She was being subsumed.

She struggled against the enervating Fear, confused and terrified. Why was this room here? What were the Horsemen? They weren't normal Halloween creatures; was it a different kind of Fear that fed them? It was potent and painful. Would a Horseman feel this way, entering this room? Or would they feel it as normal, maybe even soothing?

It could kill her, she sensed that instinctively. Not just dissipation, but true death. If she let it overwhelm her, she would be gone, permanently and irreversibly. That was why they hadn't been shown this place, she was sure. But why was it open now? What did the foreign Fear want from her? From them?

Why was this room even here? It could kill and consume normal Halloween creatures. What was it for? Was it here for that very purpose? And if it was ... why? A punishment, or something else, something worse, something Siddie couldn't even imagine? The confusion was almost worse than the pain of the strange Fear trying to draw her in.

She wrenched herself back from the pit, mostly by strength of will. One leaden step back. Another. The glyphs seemed to whisper to her. She was tired. She didn't have to struggle. She could just be drawn in and rest. The idea was weirdly seductive, and that terrified her even more. She fought it, kept dragging her too-heavy body away from the source of that wave of alien Fear.

It grew easier to move as she struggled upwards, though only slightly. She clung to the carvings that had puzzled her during her descent. Another step. Another. One more step, she lied to herself, and then again and again, one more step, this is the last one, just one more.

And then it was true, and her foot came down on a step that wasn't there, sending her falling forward to collapse onto the floor. She lay there for nearly a minute, warmth seeping slowly back into her body as she shook with huge, silent sobs. Eventually she hauled herself back under nominal control, pushed up to her knees, then her feet. It wouldn't do to be caught here. Probably anyone who strayed down into that tunnel wasn't expected to come back out.

She made her way slowly back out into the dappled light of the forest. She didn't know how she was going to climb back up to the dorms, but she was going to have to do it herself. She didn't dare ask anyone for help. Did Sammy and Shehk and Riley know about this place? Had they been drawn in? A burst of sudden panic tightened in her chest, and for an instant she couldn't even breathe. Were her friends still okay? Had the room eaten anyone she knew?

Siddie's dragging steps quickened with purpose. She had to know if they were okay.

The FEAR was sucking away at her, it was strange. She had felt the bite of a hunters weapon in the past, how they sucked at the FEAR that powered them to strike back at their own kind. This was different, it was deeper and hungrier. Her boney fingers clawed at the ground trying to pull herself up proper, but suddenly things felt warm, not like the kind above in the jungle. No it was somethinf deeper inside her that felt even better. Her eyes flickered again and the world faded.

She felt as though she was in the sky surrounding the island. She couldn't see a single thing, but she could feel so much more. How she spread so far, yet could focus so suddenly, a shield against anything that would harm the clans. Yes. She was a member of war, one they could never do without. She would defend them all.

She would defend Siddie and Shehk.

Suddenly her mind cracked, the vastness was gone even in the darkness of the black void. She felt small, alone and scared suddenly. She was not of War, she was an individual, she was someone.

Let your loved ones carry you.

The mindflayers voice tickled the edge of her mind as she struggled to find her proper sense of self. She was not of war, she was not a guardian of the clans. She had friends, people she had to protect, who would protect her in turn. She was Samantha Lee, she was less and yet more then that vast experience she had just felt.

Her eyes shot open, the black voids in her head flickering to life as she screamed in shock, her arm, it was missing her left arm was gone. She squirmed on the ground rolling over pushing herself back against a wall with her feet, her arm slowly reforming in a flickering purple wave of FEAR as she rebuilt herself just as quickly as the glyph seemed to pull her apart.

She was heavy, she was tired, she needed to get away.

To say she was scared was an understatement, Siddie had warned her, she had asked if Sammy had been there and now Sammy knew why.

She was terrified of the room and what it was trying to do in that moment.

She was whole again, her body had reformed, she was able to move and she started crawling towards the stairs dragging herself up by touch. Fingers scrambling at the ground as she tried to get out. The room was abuzz with noise, humming, whirling, screeching softly into the back of her mind. That wasn't all though, something as hidden behind it.

The screaming.

It hit her to the core, a blood curdling cry like the dying sounds Red had made so long ago. The sound of something suffering so deeply it made her own pain almost pointless and trivial. Still she crawled shivering trying not to add her own helpless wails to those echoing behind her in the main chamber.

She felt like she was breaking down. Her body was shaking she was sobbing, though no tears came she could only wail helplessly in the room. "HELP ME." She screamed, "RILEY, SHEHK, SIDDIE SOMEBODY HELP ME!" She was breaking apart again, her vision was ripping apart, the world flickering to black in tiny patches as she turned back watching her legs flicker away in purple flames that seemed to eat her body. The warmth was returning, she could feel the vast pull of the void around her and she barely registered the world going black as it pulled her back in.

I can defend them, everyone like this. Is this power; this strength, the gift of war? She swirled around the island wondering if this was what it was to pass. To be so intimately trusted with the power to defend this island. To be a God almost, unseen, unknown, but all powerful. That was till the pain struck. A thousand cries rose up as the unseen mass that she was a part of began to fracture. A pulse rang out over and over again and again causing her to wail in silence, her mind screaming as it was torn apart from the vast wall, slammed back into a cold, broken, body.

Her eyes where open but the FEAR was missing. She was running out, how long could she keep reforming? Yes, she was powerful, she was filled with it, she prided herself on it, but now?

Now she question how much longer she would survive before she was finally torn apart.

How Poke had managed to drag herself out of the cave was unknown ever to her. She was sure though she had looked like a wreck when she had excited, covered in sweat and stumbling over her own two feet (and tail), holding onto the walls to keep herself from collapsing. She did not stay there, least she risk horsemen asking her what she had seen. She didn't need them to laugh at her weakness, instead choosing to get away as fast as her legs would carry her.

After some time, she found herself at the base of the observation point. Looking up towards the sky, she thought about trying to climb up to the top. Was this a smart idea in her current state? Probably not, but she didn't want to return to the dorms and rest, afraid that once she closed her eyes she would dream of that place...

All of a sudden, Poke felt something. It was...strange, like there was a source of energy, of FEAR, that was different then before... She look around, noticing for the first time a opening at the base of a tree. She couldn't see inside the door, it was too dark. But she could feel the source of the FEAR was coming form inside.

Instinct told her not to go in. She was already drained mentally and physically from the days ventures, and she didn't think she would be able to withstand any more assaults on her mind and body. And yet...she felt compelled to go inside, to find out what was generating this FEAR. Gathering her courage, she walked through the door.

It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust, but the first thing she noticed were the stone steps that led deeper inside. She followed them, all along feeling like she shouldn't be here. Downwards she walked, the sudden transition from warm to cold not going unnoticed. The strange FEAR in the air grew more intense as she went on, until she could feel it all around her, pulsating, menacing...

She shivered under the weight of this FEAR, placing a hand on the walls as she let herself rest for a moment. It was then she felt marks on the walls, and stepped back to see the wall themselves were covered in carvings. Carvings of horsemen destroying the human world, with each picture displaying a different gruesome way to their demise.

Looking at the carvings, Poke was heavily reminded of her 'test', and she felt her stomach turn over in disgust. How many times was she going to have to witness this crap? But as she gazed at each picture in turn, questions began to form in her head. Originally she hadn't given any thought to the exchange program, instead focusing on what she would be doing in this strange new place. But now that she thought about it, it seemed a little suspicious. Why had the horsemen suddenly invited halloweeners here to learn? Was there a ulterior motive besides swapping students between schools?

She had no answer for these questions, and continued onwards, trying to ignore each new set of pictures. It wasn't long before she reached the edge, and as she peered over it...

She suddenly cried out in pain, as a blast of FEAR overwhelmed and sent her to the ground. The world around her spun as wave after wave was sent towards her, and she found herself unable to do anything but to look over the edge at the source of it. She could see the glowing symbol of the four clans, the humming sound it was emitting growing louder and louder along with the waves of FEAR, until she felt she would be smothered within it. Like the pressure in the deepest part of the sea, she felt herself being compressed.

As she rolled over, struggling to get back to her feet, she saw her own hands, the solid form now wavering, and then begin to disappear, her own FEAR being drawn to the symbol.

It was obvious to the dragon ghoul that now, would be a brilliant time to get her sorry butt out of here, but it was easier said then done. She slowly dragged herself onto her knees (observing her feet were also fading away...), and then stood up, moving inch by agonizing inch back the way she came. The father she moved, the less intense the FEAR became, until finally she dragged herself outside into the warm sunlight. Once outside, she found a nearby tree to empty her stomach contents under, them dragged herself away.

"Okay...I'm good...for today..." She would have to remind herself not to venture into anymore caves. More importantly she would not venture into that one ever again. But there were more pressing matters to attend to, like her blurring vision and her inability to stand anymore. Within seconds, she fainted.

(Word count: 816)

For a moment her mind lingered on that world of white, watching Siddie and Shehk each take a turn being questioned by the hunters. Would this lead to that world? Would it stop it? The thought of that hunter did nothing to help her. The thought of his smirking face lingered following her towards the void.

"I can't stop you can I...." she mumbled reaching a hand towards the face trying to grab it's throat. "You just... you'll just keep coming." She wiggled her fingers meekly as the warmth seemed to drag her down the steps she hadn't even barely started climbing.

Maybe she could stop him this way? The vastness of her power had no limit, among the others she would be able to stop the hunters. She could make a change. She tried to reach out, in all her vastness to find him. She was pulling away a single warm strand of power focused like a white hot knife she was eager, a spear of War ready to strike down a threat, but something called her back. The other voices disapproved. She fought for War, not for her own glory, not her own Conquest. She was a tool of war nothing more. Even as she was pulled down she fought back, she would kill the smiling hunter, if she was lost in this room now, she would use that power.

I must kill him, he will, he will hurt so many, I HAVE TO-

The illusion broke again and Sammy continued to scream, "TO KILL HIM!" The shout was strange, she was no longer animating her vocal cords, they weren't working right. The wound on her side, from the polearm, the bandage had long vanished, the open sore didn't leak blood any longer, it leaked FEAR. Purple fires burning and flickering like her eyes, another series of patches opening up along her side and right arm.

Time was running out.

((Forgot to roll FML poor Sammy))