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azuredreams generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
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 Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 2:50 pm
Underneath it all, under all the layers of the other haunted houses, laid the one that Hawk's Eye traveled through the most. It was the footwork that led him to the others that were wandering through the walls of the house they had fashioned.
Still, he was quick to exit it whenever he could, if only because what was in it terrified him.
After showing the house to Reyna ( who's own version of the haunted house was something else all together ) and briefly separating from them to find the people as they explored, he found himself suddenly back in his own room.
The magic they had used to create this place had be strong - he made sure of it. He just had not expected it to lure him in as well when he was not paying attention.
There was a single hallway with multiple doors. He had all ready made the mistake of opening one.
Inside the empty room was Athan kneeling, shadows convulsing around his throat as if choking him. Immediately moving into action, Hawk rushed towards the man only to have the shadows explode outwards - blood flying everywhere and coating the room and himself - leaving nothing but a bloody smear where Athan once had been.
And Doran standing smugly where Athan had been at.
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azuredreams generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 10:52 am
The blood dripped off of the walls and Hawk let out a strained mental sigh as he rapidly turned on his heel and walked back out the door. Slamming the door hard, the sound echoing far longer than it should, he let himself slide down the smooth wood of the door.
It was not real. That was not Athan.
If he did not repeat that for a moment, then he was certain that his panic would alert Athan and the night's fun would be ruined. As it was, the man was likely to notice his silence - but silence and then sudden panic? That would certainly set Athan off and have him here in no time.
After he thought that he had himself calmed, Hawk picked himself up off of the floor and proceeded to another doorway down the hall.
Mentally preparing himself, the possibilities of what could be behind the door clouding his Sight, he threw open the door and growled.
It was a garden, pristine and green and flourishing - but it was the sound of swords clashing that made him growl. This time it was Athan and Doran fighting by sword.
'Stop!' he hissed, voice turning dangerously low. Athan briefly turned his attention towards him, eyes cutting to the side and looking at him with a smile on his face.
"Za'reai, you should not see this ..." Hawk's heart lept into his throat. Athan had just called him -
- and that was all the distraction that Doran needed. He lunged forward, his sword piercing Athan's chest. With a sickening crunch of bone and the wet sound of flesh being torn, the sword was pulled right back out.
And Hawk mentally screamed.
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azuredreams generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 5:51 pm
He was no longer certain what the rooms said about his subconscious, only that he clearly feared the fact that Athan would die.
Horribly.
Without him being able to help.
Grimacing, he found himself at the side of the phantom Athan. Cradling the body to his own, he let out a strained mental sigh. He was fortunate enough that he had put up walls between his connection with Athan - though if Wren could hear him, he likely would have a headache.
Dropping the body gently to the green earth, he scowled at the apparition of Doran that continued to laugh as darkness seethed around him. Ignoring it, he stepped away and exited the room. Were all the rooms like this? With so many people around and so many possibilities, his Sight was unable to tell him what lay behind each of the doors in the hallway.
Resigned, he opened up another door and sighed.
This one was of him curled around Athan, nuzzling the man's cheek affectionately. That was not so bad, though he thought it odd that there seemed to be a odd haze to his form - as if there was two of him.
Suddenly he felt the tug of pale blue eyes and he looked up to see the form shifting and turning and before he knew it, it was no longer himself, but Doran.
Doran who wrapped himself around Athan who had began to struggle in his grasp.
His hands wrapped around the magic-user's chin and neck and with a resounding pop, he snapped his spine.
Body falling limply to the ground, Doran smiled maliciously at Hawk.
"You're next."
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 4:15 am
Reyna briefly found herself in a place she quickly recognized as not being her own. It was odd how that kept happening, but she imagined it was on purpose. She was supposed to hand out candy to people later and all.
She stepped into the room just as she heard the sickening snap of Athan's neck. She had just seen another version of him splattered against a wall. Her visible eye widened and she glanced over at the not-Doran-Hawk whom she assumed to be real given the stricken look on his face.
"You know," she began slowly, "I think I prefer my zombie strippers to your dead Athans and creepy-crawly Dorans." She reached to pet at his hair affectionately to at least lend a little bit of comfort before stepping through the next door.
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azuredreams generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 8:18 pm
'... what is worse,' he murmured as Reyna's hand touched his hair briefly, 'is that I prefer the zombie strippers.' His tail flicked back and forth quickly, stress carried heavily in his shoulders, as he turned to leave the room.
The demoness had all ready disappeared back off to her own collection of horrors and he was rapidly beginning to prefer that room over his.
Still the only way out was to run the course of the house - though somehow he was certain it could not be any worse. With a ragged sigh, he closed the door of the room behind him and walked slowly to the next room down.
The door blew open of it's own accord and he found himself instinctively holding up his arms to block the wind that was quickly gaining strength.
Pushing into the wind, he stepped into the room, and - for a moment - thought he could smell what he thought was burnt ozone, but he did not have a nose and it was not possible.
Instead, lightning struck next to where he was standing and rain began to storm down upon him.
In the distance he heard the words being murmured and darted forward. That was Athan's voice, clearly, but what was the spell ... ?
There was another flash, another bit of lightning, and when he reached what seemed the top of a hill he thought that he Saw Athan, his arms outstretched and runes dancing in the air around him and along his skin.
He knew the spell, it was on the edge of his mind, but the thought was stolen away with a whisper of Athan's voice caressed his mind.
'This is the only way, za'reai ...' And with that, the spell reached it's completion and all that was Athan was swallowed up into the beautiful emerald pendant that he wore.
That was now his prison.
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azuredreams generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 9:44 pm
Hawk had slammed the door on that particular event before the storm had finished running it's course just passed the door. Raking a hand through his hair, amazed that the rain that fell made sure he felt soaked even if he made his form less solid.
Or perhaps it was mind that made that so. He was so distracted that he did not notice that he had leaned against another door, or that he had opened just a crack and a hand slipped out and snatched him inside it.
"... where have you been?" The voice was a hiss against his ear and he felt his back pressed up against a firm chest. For a moment he was worried that it was another apparition, but when he was spun around and brought face to face with brilliant green eyes he knew it was not.
"Well?" Athan questioned, fingers stilled wrapped around his wrists and tugging him back closer. "Do you know what chaos you've created tonight?"
'I had not thought that the magic would be so ... strong-willed,' he admitted, reaching up a hand to place it against Athan's cheek as a way to try and calm his anger or make himself feel better.
Mostly the latter and a little bit of the former.
It was when Athan leaned into the gentle caress that Hawk became wary and slowly pulled back his hand and started back up.
"Is everything all right, za'reai? You know I am not truly mad at you ..." The words were sweet, but the voice was wrong he suddenly realized and, far too late, he noticed that Athan had closed the distance between them. "Why do you back up?"
'You are an apparition,' he hissed out, turning to head back towards the door before whatever was to play out did so.
"But I am real, turne'ash liene, and I wish for you to have my love! Do you not want it?" The voice behind him contorted, twisted and became something that was not his beloved Athan's voice. His Sight told him that the thing he had thought was Athan had contorted into something dark and sinister.
Demonic.
'I want nothing from the likes of you.' His voice was a near growl, tail lashing back and forth. If he thought about it, there might have been a trace of fear in his voice as he spoke.
"But I have taken it out for you!" The thing that was not Athan was in front of him again and he found himself walking right into it. One hand clutched at him and the other grasped for his hands, opening his palm and dropping something into it. "My heart; for you I have torn out!"
Hawk's fingers closed for a moment around the muscle that had been dropped in his hand and, for the first time that evening, he ran.
Past the laughing creature and towards the door that had opened back up.
It was only after he was out that he dropped the bloody heart with a sickening thud and thought, for a moment, that if he was inclined to cry now would be the perfect time.
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azuredreams generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
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Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 4:52 pm
The heart still beat, despite the fact that the creature it came from was locked behind the door he leaned against. Eyes closed and unwilling to open, he let himself follow the pull of his Sight to the next door.
What choice did he have? He would never hear the end of it if he dispelled the magick and ...
No. This was something he had to do - it would strengthen his resolve to see that Athan would never get harmed.
Fingers closing around a door, he slipped inside and knew he was in a forest once more and that a storm was coming.
"Where are you?!" a voice yelled in the distance and Hawk found himself following the voice until he reached a clearing.
Doran was there with a figure slipping away from his grasp and into a stone as Athan ran into the clearing as well.
"What crime have you committed now?" Athan hissed out, lunging forward.
'Don't!' He should not have, should not have called out to him, because the darkness gathered for a moment around the magic-user and he had all ready turned his head to heed Hawk's call.
Two small figures appeared out of the darkness and jumped onto him before he even spoke back.
Hawk turned his head away, Sight all ready allowing him to see what would happen next as the two small demons tore him apart piece by piece.
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 10:10 am
Mystic phased into view near to where Hawk was huddled. He looked odd. The house had altered his appearence, albeit only slightly. His form flickered as though torn between what he was, what he was becoming, and what he truly ought to be.
'I think I am in agreeance with my guardian,' he spoke in a low voice that seemed strangely... real. 'You are warped, Hanstha'le.'
He shook his head and for a brief moment a true smile seemed to be upon his face. 'I think mayhaps you ought to bake cookies once you are home with your za'reai. Snickerdoodles? Nothing else would suit this deep darkness,' he said in a serious tone despite how what he said only made about half-sense.
He drifted off as though still trapped in his own dreams and left Hawk to his nightmare.
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azuredreams generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 1:41 pm
Hawk made a choked sound, blind eyes suddenly wild and wide as Mystic spoke to him. There was a familiarity there and then the way the other looked and the Seer suddenly shook his head to clear the vision in his mind's eye.
'I think the cookies may be a wise idea but lemon ginger may be more appropriate considering the situation.' The Seer did not question his response or the appearance of the other - some things were better that way and ... change was coming for both of them either way.
By the time he had truly calmed down, Mystic had disappeared and he found himself back in the hallway once more. Fingers reached out, trailing along the grain of the wood until he came to a door handle and turned it open.
In the distance he heard his own voice arguing with Athan's. The hum of magic was in the air, charging it and making it spark against his skin. Making his way up the hill that had made itself in the illusion, he found both himself and Athan at a stand off at the top.
There was something off about himself - the shadow that was not him had red eyes instead of blue. They glared at Athan accusingly and, for a moment, Hawk held knowledge that was kept from him in his sleep.
He was -
"Never again." The voice cut through his thoughts and he watched as both himself and Athan began calling forth runes.
The end was inevitable.
The explosion was louder as the magic that was cast clashed.
The force of the magic threw Hawk back against a solid wall, knocking his head hard against the wood.
In this situation, at least, they had killed each other.
He laughed, but it was a choked near sob.
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azuredreams generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 9:46 pm
Too distressed to notice, Hawk did not truly pay attention as cold arms came up from out of the ground. It was only when he felt something painfully digging into his forearm that he noticed - and then he struggled.
The grip only tightened and he found himself unable to turn his form to something incorporeal. Whatever it was it was stopping him from changing his form.
'Let go,' he hissed out, mental voice hitching just a little.
"... but I need you with me," a voice spoke from under the ground and with a hard tug to get loose, a face broke through the soil. His struggling became more frantic when his Sight showed him just what was pulling at him - trying to drag him into the earth.
It was Athan - albeit it a dead one. Emerald greens eyes had turned milky and translucent and the skin on the face was beginning to rot, bone showing through in a few places. Hawk thought he could hear the insects gnawing on the zombie's insides ...
'You are not my Athan!' Yelling, he tried to pull back more only to find that the rest of his body was all ready sinking into the dirt with the undead creature.
With one final hard tug, he felt himself pulled down into the dirt and screamed. The earth was wet and closing in around, heavy and oppressing.
Sight not able to help him, he found himself truly blind and, for the first time he could remember, utterly afraid of what that could imply.
Except just as the he was about to cry out, to give in and call for Athan, he realized that he was no longer below in the earth, but standing on wet land. The house had ejected him back into the swamp - and was likely proud of itself.
Subdued he walked back towards the house and opened the door to go inside. As much as he wanted to leave, this was not a type of magic he wished to leave just to Mystic.
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azuredreams generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 5:33 pm
The hall way had changed. Candles flickered in and out, dimly lighting the passage that seemed to have been warped by time. The wood was falling apart and the ceiling looked as if it could cave in at any moment.
All of it was ignored as Hawk steadfastly walked towards another door and threw it open with a slam. Storm clouds thundered over head and in the distance lightning struck.
A tree was destroyed - an old one at that - and nearby was Athan. Not his Athan, no, but some other illusion. It took only mere moments for him to reach his destination and it was then he realized something was off. It was not just Athan there, but someone else as well. Not just dark, but chaotic ...
He paused as he came up to the clearing, the tree torn asunder not too far from him, and let out a mental hiss as the vision washed over him.
The urge to possess and own washed through him and he could see something chasing Athan, only letting him think he was getting away. No, in reality he was only bring himself closer and closer to what was hunting him.
If Athan would not let him have him, then no one else would. Something had aroused not only the darkness inside him, but the demonic as well.
Sharp nails dug into Athan's arm as he was yanked back against his body. His eyes were luminous in the dark, the lightning storm only highlighting the eeriness of his appearance. It was with a sickening pop that Athan's flesh was pierced and clawed at.
Struggling did Athan no good, he was too strong, the magic that had driven him to this insanity far too powerful and ancient for even him to counteract. Runes were carved into skin by force, an effort to make the magic-user submit to his power. It would work, but what would be left would not be Athan ...
Hawk came out of the vision, blind eyes staring forward to where the dark thing cradled it's broken toy, and silently prayed that Keloswyn would watch over them both.
That something like this would not happen.
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 5:42 pm
'Please ...' With the last bit of his prayer - an offer to a deity he was no longer sure could hear - he felt the magic fade away. No longer was there a storm, just as there was no longer a never ending hall way of doors with untold horrors behind each.
Picking himself up slowly, fingers rubbing at his eyes as if the rub away tears that were not there, he turned his attention back on the others that were still in the house.
Anything to distract himself from the heavy weight that was on his chest.
Except that he knew what was coming next, that Athan would find them all here, and that there was no possible way that he was going to avoid it.
The fact was that he was happy that the real Athan was finally going to be near him again.
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 8:41 pm
(( Note from Wren: As she forgot to put her roll here, she rolled in the thread @ p. 671 and got herself a two, right off the bat. Isn't she lucky? ))
Merci looked over her shoulder as they stood in the empty room. Dio was trembling behind her but he seemed in much better spirits then he had the first time around. "It's up to you Dio. Reyna told us how to get out of here." She wouldn't judge him, to be honest this was super hard on her too. She'd thought that it would have been like any other haunted house she'd been too. Kinda cheesy, kinda corny, but a walk in the park. This was by no means any of those things.
The black fiend hesitated and looked between the two doorways. He snuggled up behind Merci's back and his voice was quiet, 'We haven't found Rhys yet, we need to find him. I want to be sure he's okay. The maze was scary but we'll be okay right? Mystic and everyone said that it was just an illusion.' He sounded like he was giving himself that pep talk way more then he was trying to comfort his guardian.
The fox woman squared her shoulders and nodded. She was very proud of him, though a part of her wasn't sure how much he wanted to stay inside just to avoid the swamp. Dwelling on his motivations wouldn't get them closer to being out of here. So she pushed through the doorway that let her into a whole new nightmare.
Her feet crunched on dirt as she stepped through the door frame. The room was... not a room at all. The air was touched by the tang of the ocean and Merci had to lift a hand to grab her hat before it blew right off her head. Above the whistle of the wind, the roar of the ocean assaulted her ears. This was definitely not anything like the other places she had been to tonight.
Dio gasped at the feel of the air. 'Are we outside again?' The utter confusion carried on his voice as he spoke to his guardian. He knew that it was dark outside when they arrived but for some reason now the light in the sky was dying, painting the canvas of clouds a violent red.
Even though he addressed Merci, It wasn't her that answered him. It was a voice he'd heard before, and it was eerily familiar. His eyes moved over the grassy hillside, searching for the source of the words. "Dio? Is that you? Of course your outside silly we agreed to meet here didn't we?" The terrain slowly sloped downward toward a massive body of water. Dio had never seen the ocean before, but from the things he'd been told and read about, he assumed that was what it was.
Then he saw him, though it took him a moment to see who it was. He was silhouetted against the blazing sky. 'Tariq?' He slowly moved his hands away from his guardian and floated a few steps ahead of her.
Merci blinked slowly at the figure standing on the beach. Her tall form was unmistakable to the fox woman. She would recognize her lover anywhere. When she heard Dio say a strange name and float toward Cinder she felt confused for a moment. Why would he call her Tariq? Who was Tariq anyway?
Her train of thought was derailed suddenly though when her partners form jerked suddenly. Merci took two rapid steps forward and she couldn't keep the panic out of her voice, "Cinder? What's wrong?"
The red headed space pirate reached a hand out toward Merci when she was hit by the next spasm. "Merci, I don't think I have long." Cinder's tone was remarkably calm. "My cybernetics are shutting down, I can't stop them." Her knees went out from under her and she crumpled to her knees. At the same moment Merci shot from where she was standing and took the hill in a heartbeat.
Her arms moved around Cinder as the taller woman seemed to droop where she was sitting. "Merci, take care of Rhys..." Her voice just seemed to die off, and her body jerked a final time and went heavy in her arms.
Merci blinked slowly and whispered, "Cinder? Cinder come on you're going to be okay. If there is something wrong with your machine parts I can call Zero. Cinder wake up." She felt her stomach clench when her love's clear blue eyes stared unseeing up at her. The bottom dropped out of her world and her entire being shut down. She simply stayed where she was, holding the woman that was the center of her universe.
Dio didn't even seem to notice Merci move, he was fixated on the fact that Tariq seemed to be here. 'We agreed to meet here? I don't remember.' He drifted toward the other man and he canted his head to the side. 'I am glad though I wanted to see you again.' He let warmth enter his voice as he addressed his friend.
The astronomer smiled at him and held out a hand, "Come, let's take a walk shall we?" His glasses had slid down his nose, and the scarves were blowing in the strong wind coming off the water. Dio didn't even seem to need to concentrate, his legs formed from his tail and he reached out and took Tariq's hand. His skin was so light compared to the black of his own. He didn't notice it right away, but after a few steps he realized that the other man's skin wasn't just lighter, it was glowing.
Dio let out a sound akin to a gasp and tried to pull his hand away. 'Whats going on? Why are you glowing?' The fiend was starting to get that familiar tinge of panic. A feeling that had been following him this evening.
Tariq moved his free hand and pushed his glasses up his nose, a soft smile played on his lips as he answered the teenagers question, "That's what happens..." His voice trailed off and became quieter as the glow became progressively brighter. Dio frowned and tried to make out what his friend was saying. He could see the astronomer's lips moving, but couldn't hear anything coming out.
A high pitched scream made him look away from the light. He saw Merci just kneeling in the sand. Her face was vacant and her eyes empty, something was terribly wrong. He tried to jerk his hand away to go to her, but Tariq wouldn't let go. 'Stop this needs to stop!' Dio tried to flinch back away when the man next to him seemed to emit a burst of incredibly bright light.
Then, it was like someone was blowing the fuzz off a dandelion. Tariq seemed to break apart into smaller pieces and blow away. Little balls of light whisking away on the breeze, with one final word "Goodbye..." Dio's burgundy eye went wide and he tried to snatch the last pieces of him off the air. He was filled with a sudden desperation. All of the little lights seemed to dodge and weave between his fingers. Finally he managed to catch the last one and scoop it close to himself.
Merci slowly laid Cinder down on the sand and lurched to her feet. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. She looked up and saw Dio curled up with his hands clutched to his chest. The fox woman just charged across the sand and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him after her. "We're leaving, this isn't happening." He didn't try to resist her when she drug him back up the hill. She stopped in front of the door and chanced a look back over her shoulder, half hoping she wouldn't see the love of her life laying on the sand. But she was still there, vacant lifeless eyes staring at her. Merci couldn't stand it, she screwed her eyes shut and pushed the door open.
They had to get out of here.
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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 8:54 am
Hawk was leaning against the wall as they stepped out, his breathing heavy and his eyes wide with some unknown fear he was slowly working through. 'It is not real,' he murmured to them, or perhaps to himself as well, 'but you will think it is ...'With a comforting touch to the side of Dio's face, he dropped the piece of candy into the younger fiend's hand. 'I apologize in advance as you've found my room in this place, but I would find the others quickly ...'He slipped past Dio and touched Merci gently on the arm before he disappeared down the corridor into a door himself. The scent of magic heavy on the air as the door closed behind him. 
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Merci` generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 12:26 pm
Merci blinked slowly at the doorway and she glanced over at Dio. "We're going to get out of here honey, don't you worry." She took the candy from him and put it in her deep pocket. When she received a nod from her charge she pushed the door open again and stepped through. This time her boots rang with a hollow sound as she stepped through onto a wooden floor. Her eyes immediately locked on a tall dark form. The fox woman's ears flattened out and she hissed as she backpedaled and pressed her back into the doorway.
This was a first for them, usually in this place they hadn't seen the monsters until it was too late. Dio mustered up his courage and he sent a thought at the form in front of them, 'Get it over with! We're not afraid of you.' He drifted over in front of his guardian. He'd obviously hit his breaking point. He'd been so afraid and so helpless, he didn't want to be anymore. Whatever was going to happen now he was going to face it.
Bright green eyes fixed on them as Athan's form stepped out of the darkness in the room. Merci felt her knees go weak and she sunk to the floor. He reached a hand out toward them and then something insane happened. His flesh started melting from his body, starting with his face. It oozed and deformed as it revealed the pristine white bone underneath.
She didn't think, she just screamed.
The little fiend's eyes went huge and he let out a squeal as the first globular mass of flesh hit the floor with a hiss. the puddle started to spread out, and almost seemed to be crawling toward them. Dio didn't think, he just turned around and opened the door they'd just come though. The teenager ignored the fact that his guardian fell backwards and knocked her head on the ground, he just drug her through the opening and hoped whatever was on the other side wasn't worse then that.
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