[Mission #130] My own worst enemy.

[Fluffy Lynx]

SPOILER: Click to show

Mission #130
Ever heard of shared dreams? You and your crew are currently trapped in one... Only, truth be told, it's more of a nightmare! Find a way to get back to normal reality by escaping your characters' worst nightmares!

WORD COUNT: 612

TAGGED: @lynx

TAGGED: @flameyz

The first thing that reached the girl was an intense feeling of cold. The following sensation was that of stone against her cheek and body, as she found herself lying on the ground, chest down. The girl was wearing a green top strapped around her shoulders, and a pair of short hotpants. The mechanics boots and gloves were tightened around her wrists and ankles. Not exactly clothes one would wish to be wearing when it was this freezing cold. As she started coming more to and pushing herself up a little, blurry vision slowly started to zone in on where she was located. The stone ground was covered in frost, and every breath the girl took left a cloud of mist in front of her lips. Quickly it became apparent where the girl was. It was a dark corridor, with old windows lodged into the walls on either side. One of the windows had broken, and through it the wind was raging inside what seemed to be a castle. Peering out the window, it became obvious that currently she was elevated. Down below, humongous trees didn't even reach the window, meaning that any attempt of escaping through one would be a fall to her own death. There was only one way to go, forwards. Getting to her feet, Amelia was shivering, the girls skin colored more blue than seemed healthy. Scattered on the ground below her, Amelia found a trail of red rose petals, leading through the corridor and into the darkness of what she could only assume was an ancient castle. Unsure of where she was, or what was going on, the girl started to simply walk forwards. Every step she took, she was staggering, barely able to control her own muscles from the cold. Every step she took, she was about to fall over. Amelia didn't recall how she had gotten to this place, or where this place could even be. There was no sounds aside from the wind and her footsteps against the stone ground... With every step she took forward, the girl was getting more and more anxious. The dark was so deep, and she could've sworn she had seen something move within it. It felt like she was being stalked, like there was someone else there.

"Hello?"

She called out softly. Now that she had arrived, it appeared that she was standing in an archway, leading into the main hall of the castle. As her eyes got used to the darkness, she could see a fountain and various different doors. Few leading into what she assumed would be upstairs, and some leading downstairs. Blinking, she took a step into the main hall.
A huge, terrifying roar echoed from within the castles walls, the power of it alone being enough to send Amelia's hair backwards. From there, as the roar echoed through the corridor she had just been in, the windows shattered one by one, sending a thousand shards of glass flying. Breathing heavily, Amelia could feel her heart pounding. Frozen in place, the girl didn't know if she should move forwards into the darkness, or retreat. Peering into the dark, the girl saw something moving in the dark, opening the door to the upper floor, scuffling in before the door was slammed shut behind. Whatever had made that nasty sound, it wasn't something Amelia wished to run into, that much was certain.

[Flame]

SPOILER: Click to show

Kano has few worst fears, this is one of them ... i'll figure out some more normal ones later

It started as a shiver, his body unable to keep its core temperature up while it rested. So it did the only thing it could, bring it's owner into consciousness so that he could move and voluntarily start generating heat. So it happened he became aware of an odd sensation on his back, it was not the soft bed he was used to. Hands and arms moved about trying to grasp where he was, a rough, intensely cold feeling came as his skin came into contact with the ground. Frowning Kano opened his eyes groggily, his arms stretched out as he gave an elongated yawn. Pushing himself up to a sitting position he turned his head left and right taking in the situation.

Stone walls surrounded him, on them tapestries depicting people he did not know doing all sorts of activities. None of which he cared about enough to try and make any sense of. The room was oddly empty, he looked down to see a stone floor. Kano rubbed his eyes, pushing grit out of the way he took a second look around. Then he suddenly came to the realization, this was not his room. Startled he leapt to his feet wildly turning where he stood taking full in the current situation he was in. Unable to make any sense of it, he walked to the nearest door. Without a moments hesitation he opened the door and stepped out of the room into a kitchen.

Eyes widening in amazement as he watched large shadows move about the room. In their somewhat transparent hands bowls of food and drink floated. It seemed so precarious, as if at any moment the shadows would disappear and all the food would fall unceremoniously to the floor in a clatter. Without questioning it in the slightest Kano strode through the kitchen, picking up an apple from one of the floating bowls and walked out the other door into a large dining room. Unlike the kitchen which bustled with ethereal busyness this room was quiet, still as the night, a few lit candles were all that illuminated the room.

Odd because there were such large windows facing out toward the sky. Suddenly a scary possibility rolled through his mind and hurriedly he stumbled toward the window hoping to disprove his theory. Pressing himself up against the glass his eyes searched the sky. If there were clouds then the situation was not so bad. Unfortunately that was not true the sky was unmarred by the presence of darkened clouds instead it was simply black. No sign of the moon or the stars which usually brightened its great canvas, the sky seemed the great dark abyss. He screeched,

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Without even taking note of the grounds below him he backed away from the window. His feet stuttered, running into each other as he stumbled backwards in horror. One quick misstep sent Kano butt first onto the floor, his head banging against a chair. But the pain did not even phase him, he was already in his own kind of shock. Both of his hands covered his mouth as he bundled his knees up against him sitting there against the dining table. He rocked back and forth for a few moments as he tried to come to grasps with what was happening. Unable to accept what he had just seen he convinced himself otherwise. He convinced himself, that if he went somewhere else, his beloved night sky would be there waiting for him.

Taking off with a run he ran through the dining hall pushing open to great doors he left that room behind.

[Fluffy Lynx]

WORD COUNT: 657

TAGGED: @lynx

TAGGED: @flameyz

The girl had gained some courage, walking into the main hall of the castle as she looked around. There was nothing in there, aside from the fountain. It was portrayed like an angel, standing with a bucket of water, pouring it into the fountain, endlessly repeating itself in a cycle as the water was reused a million times over. It meant that there was some electricity operating somewhere within the castle. It was at that point that a deafening scream; Noooooo! Echoed through the castle, as Amelia found herself gripping her own wrist, looking into the direction that the scream had come from. The sound of shuffling quickly coming to a halt, as Amelia shook her head with a low sigh, turning to look at the statue once again. It was in her face, and it was no longer an angel, but a winged demon! Shock went through Amelia's body, as she tripped over her own feet and slammed her frozen butt into the ground with a loud thud. The girl was certain that this demon had been an angel moments ago. Things in this castle weren't as they seemed, and Amelia just wanted to find the quickest and safest route out of the castle. From outside, in the woods, wolves howling towards the non-existant moon could easily be heard.

It took a moment for her to gather courage, but as she got to her feet again, a door opened to the main hall from where the scream had come from just moment later. There was someone moving around, clearly as paniced and stressed as she was. As far as she could tell, this stranger wasn't a being that was going to hurt her. In fact, it looked like someone who was in the same kind of predicament that she was. It took a moment while he was walking into the room. It took a moment for Amelia to make the decision to make her location be known. If anything, she was completely suspicious that he could be another attempt at fooling her. Calling out to him, without actually getting any closer, Amelia made him aware that she was present.

"H-hey! .. D-do you know where this place is? I seem to be lost, and I would very much like to get out of here as soon as possible.."


Seeing that he wasn't flying into the room or acting super strangely for a person being trapped in the same kind of scenario she was, Amelia took a few steps forwards, allowing him to see her even if his eyes hadn't got properly used to the dark. Even so, until he got used to the dark, she'd likely appear as nothing more than a shade to him. A coarse outline amongst the main hall. At first, it had been a difficult decision to make her pressence be known. There was so many things in this place which weren't as they seemed to be, and this stranger in front of her could very likely be one of such things. Even so, to Amelia, the decision had been made from a standpoint. A standpoint that she knew made sense, even if tit turned out to be the wrong decision a few minutes down the road. On one hand, Amelia would be alone within a scary and unpleasent place, squirming through corridors without having anyone to talk to, without anyone to rely on. The girl would be alone, without any real ability to defend herself should the need arise. On the other hand, if this individual did turn out to be an ally in this strange castle, she'd have someone to talk to, and someone that she could lean against if she needed to. Being two certainly was less scary than being all alone.

"I think there's something unpleasent going on upstairs, I'm not sure we should go there... Do you know how to get out of here?"

[Flame]

Stepping out of the dining hall Kano found himself in what looked to be the main hall. Doors and staircases seemed to lead in all directions from the room. It was larger than even the dining hall and the dining hall already had been rather large. He looked around for any signs of life, but similar to the dining hall this room seemed fairly still for the moment. Hesitantly he took a few more steps clearing the doors they slowly swung back into place. The large doors came shut with a loud thud that startled Kano. He jumped where he stood, turning around suddenly to take a look.

Dumbly he stared at the doors, a smile started to form across his face. In the end he was being oddly jumpy given what was happening. He almost laughed but then the sound of a voice stopped him. It called out to him, or he assuming it called out to him since he was the only person he knew of who was here. The voice seemed tense, unsure, nervous so many things that Kano should have figured, but extremely curious if there was someone here with him he whirled around with the smile still broad upon his face. His eyes searched the great hall for the figure of the person who had called to him. They came up empty and his face began to fall a little, until he heard the sound of feet on the ground.

Slowly but surely a figure came into view, shrouded in darkness he could only make out an outline. While he had guessed from the voice, the outline was also distinctly female. She was distinctly different from the shadows he had passed in the kitchen, yes she seemed like she was actually human. Not just some ghostly object that was cooking breakfast or something. That was good, the smile returned to his face. Once again before he started talking the girl's voice rang out interrupting him. So he listened as she talked, preparing for his part.

With a cheerful smile on his face and much of the fears he had moments ago forgotten he started walking towards her. It was a casual walk at first, before it increased to a jog and finally run until he careened to a stop right in front of her. In the dark he could barely make out any of her features so he did what he thought was best. Raising an arm in between himself and her he morphed the arm into a limb-sized sparkler which brought light to the area illuminating her features. Thankfully human, she sported features that elicited a response from Kano's body that he did little to understand.

Smiling at her again he allowed his eyes to glance over her body, taking a closer look he noted she was probably a head and a half shorter than himself. Long red hair and blueish purpleish eyes were the most stunning features of the face. And let it be said the rest of her was worth taking a look at. He waved his sparkler hand around to illuminate sections as he watched. Unconsciously of course, Kano was no lecher, however his body had a mind of its own at times. The light would have also revealed that Kano was in his usual get-up, hoodie on and all, outside of the light of the sparkler only his red eyes would be visible in the darkness.

Smiling as always he finally remembered to respond to what the girl had said previously. His eyes not moving away from her at all he looked straight at her and spoke. "Yo! I'm Kano, funny meeting you here. For a moment I thought you were one of those shadows from the kitchen." Kano had not given even a second thought to the shadows in the kitchen, such things did not bother him. "But you aren't ... which is great!" Kano stopped thinking for a moment trying to remember what he had been asked. "I'm sorry I forget what you asked me ..."

[Fluffy Lynx]

WORD COUNT: 657

TAGGED: @lynx

TAGGED: @flameyz

Standing lightly on one food, as the stranger started to approach the girl took a step back, making sure that the distance was always just enough that she felt she could spin around and run if need be. When the other started fidgeting with a hand, Amelia raised an eyebrow. When his arm transformed into a light-source, the girls eyes widened. Just what on earth was going on here? Unsure of wheter to feel fascinated or repulsed, she merely stood her ground, looking at him curiously. That curiosity was also about to be replaced, as Kano made no effort to not stare at Amelia's body. Narrowing her eyes, silently judging him a complete idiot, the girl let out a sigh. As long as he wasn't trying to actually touch her, she wouldn't need to slap him silly. For now, it seemed that the other was human. Or well, mostly human, being that he could transform himself into light sources, and likely many other things if Amelia knew this type of person right. Shaking her head, she forced herself to ignore the stupidity of her counterpart, simply stating the question once more. Strangely enough, his lack of intelligence seemed to calm Amelia down a ton. It felt like she would be in charge and in control of things. That meant a lot to her feeling of safety.

"Do you, or do you not, know a way out of this place?"

Amelia asked the question in a calm tone, tilting her head to the side, before sighing softly. Just as things had started to calm down, everything took a turn for the worse. Onmce more, the horrifying bone-splitting howl echoed through the castle. A howl of something Amelia for certain had never encountered before. The chill and fright started from deep within her bone-marrow, spreading to her entire body like a raging firestorm. What followed was a massive quake, the whole castle itself seemed to shake. A quake powerful enough that a few pieces of rubble along with age old dust fell down from the ceiling. Amelia was shook off of her feet, unable to maintain balance through the quaking, ending up sitting on her butt with a low thud, shivering and rubbing her own skin in an attempt to keep warm. The girl was still colored blue from freezing, and her movements appeared to be odd jerks rather than smooth. The quakes stopped as soon as they had begun.

That is when the door to the upper levels was blown into the main hall. An invisible force had torn it clean off of its hinges, making the wooden door land in the middle of the main hall with a loud crash. If the two of them were to go around checking, they'd find that every door was locked and unbreakable. They only had one way to go. Upwards, towards the creature that Amelia had seen slammming the door shut only a minute or so ago. It didn't bode well at all. Upon further inspection, they'd also find small panels with information about the different rooms of the castle. The door that Kano had come from had a small panel that read dining room. Amelia's direction had read Studyroom. In addition to those two, there were three other entrances. The cellar was at the end of a set of stone stairs, obviously leading downwards into the dephts of the castle. On the upper floor, where the door had been blown off it read library, while the last door also on the upper floor read storage. For now however, it seemed the two of them only had one path to go to, and that was the library.

[Flame]

The girl before him looked back at him, her eyes had narrowed slightly, she had shook her head, but on the other hand she lacked a tenseness in her shoulders that he had seen previously. It was a mixed bag of nuts, but in the end Kano deemed to think of it as a good thing. Even if she disapproved of him, it was much better now that she seemed calmer than her jittery look that he had noticed not a few moments ago when he had brought the sparkler to her face.

She repeated her question to him, there was no inflection in her voice, not that if there was any Kano would take it as sarcasm anyways. The question was quite simple and thus Kano's answer was also simple. "Sorry, I've no idea where we are." Kano said with an unworried smile. But as he said that a loud howl rang through the main hall, echoing backwards it was enough to bring a tinge of fear even to Kano's face. His smile fell and was replaced by a straight mouthed look. It made him look as if he was pondering something, though he was not. Turning around to look up the stairs a shaking at his feet unbalanced him slightly.

The practiced martial artist, Kano quickly found his footing again. Knees bent to absorb the quakes he heard a quiet thud, the girl had fallen on her butt behind him. As the quakes stopped Kano made to look back at her to make sure she was okay. But he was stopped at the sound of a loud bang whirling back around to see wooden doors fly down from upstairs and splinter themselves against the floor of the main hall, not too far from where he stood. Kano looked on, his straight face now turning downwards, he was troubled by what was happening. There was an inkling of fear in him, but Kano was the courageous idiot type so he overcame that. His worst fears not yet realized, he finally turned all the way around to appraise the girl's situation.

His sparkler revealed upon closer inspection that she was extremely pale, almost blueish. Probably from the cold, Kano pulled off his hoodie and dropped it on top of her. Quickly he explained "Wear it, you need it more than I do." Without the hoodie he wore a simple white v-neck t-shirt. His hand returned to its normal shape and he stretched it out to the girl if she needed help getting up. At the same time he looked around, part of him wanted to find out what had blown the doors away. It drew him with a troubling curiosity, the possibility of seeing a beast of mythic lore only made him more interested. As he thought he spoke out loud, not meaning to but doing so anyways.

"I wonder what is through that open doorway. Should definitely check it out ..." Kano paused realizing he was not hearing himself in his head. His eyes brought themselves back to the girl. He spoke certainly this time without trying to persuade her. Seeing her still cold and jittery he spoke "I am going up there, I don't know what you want to do."

With a weak smile he revealed both his excitement and his concerns. Kano could not help himself, this was the stuff of dreams. Flying doors, loud howls, shades, it was all too interesting for him to pass up.

[Fluffy Lynx]

WORD COUNT: 740

TAGGED: @lynx

TAGGED: @flameyz

Sitting there somewhat sheepishly, Amelia got a hoodie dumped onto her face. It felt warm, comforting, and although it wasn't her's (and certainly not from someone she'd usually trust) Amelia slowly crept way into the hoodie. It was quite the awkward sight, as the hoodie was large enough to reach down just above her knees, and the sleeves were slightly longer than her arms, causing her to have a bit of extra sleeve flapping where her arms came to a stop. Because she was cold, she didn't bother trying to roll up the sleeves or anything like that, preferring to hide herself as much within the cloth as possible, pulling up the hood and wrapping her arms around herself as she slowly got to her feet again. The girl looked in his direction, shuffling a little nervously on her feet as a low sentence, almost a whisper, left her lips.

"Thank you kindly. If we stay together, maybe we can find a way out, too.."

The splintered door on the ground behind her, every other direction being locked or otherwise obscured. The angel that had turned into a demon, and the sense of being watched, alongside the fact that her newly gained compaining seemed wanting to go exploring. Everything combined left Amelia with very little choice. It was for certain that she'd prefer to head into danger with someone else, than staying behind where 'who knows what might happen.' It took a moment for her to gather the courage to step forwards and take position directly behind Kano, as they headed up the stairs towards the broken door. The girl didn't utter a single word, didn't voice her concern. Instead, she merely let him know that she was there, and that she was intending on following him. Hopefully that would turn out to be the right decision, for the both of them.

"It says out here on the front that we'll enter the library.. Hopefully it'll be only books.."

Amelia noted in a soft tone. Perhaps it would be important, perhaps it would not. Alas, as the two of them ventured through the door, they'd come upon a long hall. On either side of the wall torches were lit, flickering with a gentle and bright light. Atop the stone floor, an intricate and ornate rugwas stretching down throughout the corridor. It was colored red and had various odd markings upon it, feeling soft and delicate to walk on. There were four doors, two on either side of the corridor. At the far end of the corridor, a circular room with a fireplace was located. The roof here was glass, and had likely been an astronomical study room when it was still in use. The rooms themselves were filled with books and various equipment for astronomy. Binoculars, lenses, everything of the sort. Opening the rooms one by one, there seemed to be nothing interesting in most of them. When they reached the far end however, Amelia seemed to hit the jackpot. Rummaging through some stuff, the girl found a set of keys, labeled storage room. Waving them around in front of Kano, Amelia seemed very thrilled at the idea of getting out of the library as soon as possible...

"These keys are labeled for the storage room. I think if we return there, we could --"


Without any warning in the matter, a shadowy arm reached all around Amelia, pulling the girl out of the room in a riddiculusly fast manner, her muffled screams easily identifiable as she was clearly dragged towards the astronomy room. If Kano decided to go there, the room with the ceiling itself consisting of glass would reveal to him just what was taking place out in the night sky. The sky hadn't disappeared. There were still stars visible, but an indescribeable darkness seemed to be eating everything up, growing ever larger. Not only was it slowly swallowing up all the sky, it seemed like it'd also descend and swallow up the castle and everyone within, leaving the world in an absolute and complete darkness. A darkness in which no light could ever shine. A world forever black.

Amelia was lying on the ground towards the far end of the room, and likely needed his help. It didn't appear as if she was currently concious. Would Kano be able to overcome his sense of fear and assist the girl back on her feet?

[Flame]

Kano led the way, the girl having accepted the hoodie which was all together too large for her had then said she would join him on his exploration of the library. That had lit a little spark in his eyes, so confidently he went step by step up the stairs. Rising to the second level he walked straight through to the doorway towards the library. Looking at it he noted that the doors had been broken away from the frame which was completely unmarred. The thin sliver of the frame that was held in place by thick stone walls seemed untouched. To break the door in such a way, in Kano's mind that required a skilled practitioner.

It was easy to bust a door down, much more complicated to do so without bending the frame. If there was anything Kano was knowledgeable in, it was the tricks and trade of martial arts, the limitations and the capabilities of it. Walking through the doors he was led into a corridor. His sparkler arm was not needed as the corridor was lined by torches which gave a nice calming light to the corridor. That along with the deep red rug which ran along the ground gave the corridor a very warm feeling, it would have been more relaxing if not for the situation. At the end Kano could make out four doors, two on each side and at the far end of the corridor a final room. This did not seem like much of a library, where were the books ... but Kano did not worry too much about it and walked down.

Opening the first door on the left his eyes brightened immediately. The room was full of astronomy texts, books, scrolls and the like. Entering the room he began to inspect the the texts looking for anything he had not seen before. His attention caught he did not notice as Amelia walked off to check out other rooms. After finding an interesting one he opened a scroll to find a star map. Ever the elated astronomer he placed it on the ground and looked it over his eyes devouring the information it gave him. He temporarily tore himself from the map when he heard the jingling of keys.

The keys were in Amelia's hands and she began to talk about going to the storage room or something. Kano did not pay much attention as he immediately returned his attention to the astronomy literature around him. So immersed in the information was Kano that he did not notice the muffled screams of Amelia as she was pulled away by the shadowy hands. Instead he remained consumed with his reading, allowing the information to fill what little space was in his mind for such information. There he sat, in a position that most that knew him would never expect surrounded by text trying to retain as much information as possible.

It was a few minutes before he finally broke from the books, a small headache having come upon him. Getting up he looked around, checking the other rooms one by one. The next two rooms Kano checked were empty, no Amelia, no anybody. As he walked to the fourth door Kano heard a scream. Not just any scream it had a familiar sound about it that Kano associated with just one person. But why was she here? He had not seen her in so long ... Kano raced to the room to see a shadowy figure stabbing a long spear into the gut of a girl who looked about Kano's age. She was gowned in the dress of a marine officer, her body limp and her eyes were barely open. It had been nearly a year since he had last seen her but he recognized her as if it was yesterday.

A mix of rage and fear overcame him as Kano launched himself at the shadowy figure. His fist extended he passed straight through the figure and the spear he held. An illusion? He dropped down placing his hand against the girl's cheek. No this one was not an illusion, he could feel it, cold and lifeless against his hand. Kano patted the cheek gently praying to whomever he could, not her, not now. His heart froze for a moment as he pressed his ear against her chest and listened for breaths. There were none, Kangni was dead, laying before him, his best friend of countless years was dead. Pressing his hands against his face he bundled himself up for a moment. He let out a mindless screech before grasping at the girl's shoulder and knees to lift her up.

Like the shade his hands passed through both the shoulders and the knees and the image of his dead friend before him vanished. He stood up confusion, grief, and many other emotions welled to the front. His breathing had quickened, his cheeks were wet with tears and yet he reminded himself that he had to find the girl from earlier. But where was she? She had said something about going to the storage room.

Gathering his composure he stepped out into the corridor, for a moment he forgot which way the storage room was. Then he noticed that the astronomy room doors were open and through them he could see the red haired girl laying upon the stone cold floor. Without a moment of hesitation he ran to her, his single-mindedness kept him from noticing what was going on in the ceiling above him. Surely he would notice it and be trapped by his fears once more but for now he made it to the girl. Kneeling beside her he pressed his ear against her chest to look for a pulse. It was there.

Pressing his hand against her cheek he felt that it was cold, but unlike before this girl was alive. If only unconscious, wracking his brain he wondered how he could wake the girl from her slumber. Only one way came to mind, it was the storybook way of course. Hopefully she would not be too mad. Leaning over her, he brought his face over hers, his breath blowing down upon her. He was going to kiss her, Kano closed the distance.

SPOILER: Click to show

Kano would be the type to be distracted by a friend on the ground and not notice everything around him ...

[Fluffy Lynx]

WORD COUNT: 932

TAGGED: @lynx

TAGGED: @flameyz

The girls entire body hurt. It was aching, from being squished hard. It felt to her as if a giant hand had wrapped around her and simply squeezed till there was barely any life left within her. It had been the kind of feelings that Amelia hated the most. The girl had felt small and vulnerable, insignificant, helpless, like she was at the mercy of someone else and had no decisions to make for herself. It had been exactly the same as when she had been with Egon on that boat. The pirate captain had pointed a gun directly at her, and she could've sworn she had seen life pass before her eyes. For a short moment the girl had had a blackout, maybe like half a minute while Kano was moving about being a dumbass.. For a short moment she had wondered if she was going to die by the grip, but then without warning, she had been let go... Kano was approaching, which was about the time when she coughed lowly, moving her head upwards and somewhat awkwardly headbutting Kano, and somewhat awkwardly feeling his lips against her cheek. As if she had been drowning, a huge breath was taken as she rolled to the side, having somewhat attempted to shove Kano off of her in the process, though she seemed weak and unable to do so if he actuallly pressed onwards. What kind of pervert was he, attempting to take advantage of her in this place, when she had just been attacked?! Surely he ought to have had more dignity, just because he had lended her a jacket didn't mean that she was his girlfriend or anything even close! In fact, she'd started to wish that he wasn't there at all. Amelia felt repulsed and disgusted, and just as she opened her eyes and was about to give him a massive scolding, a freezing cold ran through her body. The girl was watching the oncoming blackness from beyond the window. It was eating every light in the sky, devouring anything that seemed warm and pleasent, and it was constantly expanding, coming closer. Instead of getting to scolding Kano, she merely pointed, shaking while doing so. The blackness had reached the window, and was now dripping into the room they were within, like some kind of thick liquid intending to fill up the entire castle. Liquid darkness...

"W-what on earth is that?!"

Amelia screamed as a few drops landed besides Kano, clinging onto the hoodie that she had been given, as if it was going to protect her. The glass above was starting to squeak and crack.  At the same time as the first drop hit the floor, all the flickering torches in the corridor were silenced, and everything had b een cast into an odd darkness, an unnatural darkness.. Instinctively the girl got to her feet and started running back down the corridor. Somewhere along the way, the glass roof cracked open and the darkness started pouring in. The best option Amelia could find would be to get out of the library, unlock the storage room, and close the door shut behind them. Hopefully that would buy them enough time to figure out what was actually going on.

"Run! Move move move!"

She shouted, as she herself ran through the door that had been smashed, entering the main hall once more. Upon reaching the main hall, the sight that she saw was for her eyes only. Down on the bottum floor where they had started, the pirate crew that her and Egon had defeated were standing. Half of the men were simply booing, while the captain was cursing at her. "Ya little filthy 'hore! Ya killed us! Wha' righ' did ya hav' ta take our lives?! Tha' same righ' we have ta take yours by now! Get 'er men!"
From there, the pirate crew, which to Kano would appear as nothing more than the same kind of shadowy creatures he had met within the dining room, started to move up the stairs, waving blades and approaching with the intent of crushing Amelia. With her heart racing, she was fumbling to unlock the door to the storage room. The liquid dark from the library was now leaking into the main hall, and things were getting more and more hectic, more and more desperate, and Amelia was scared beyond compare. In the last possible moment, she managed to unlock the door and rush inside. Hopefully Kano would've been fast enough to get in alongside her and lock the door behind them. One could always hope, right?...

The storage room itself was quite different to the library. Instead of books and fine instruments, here were wrenches, gears and other mechanical applications. The light was electrical, and seemed to be constantly buzzing. The room itself was circular, nothing larger than about twenty square meters. The light was in the middle of the room, towards the top. There were no windows, no other exits, nothing. They were going to have to go out the same way they came in, and if they were slow, the main hall would likely be filled with those pirates and darkness, waiting to eat them both up...

..Upon seeing that the room was a dead end, it hit Amelia like a brick wall. Instead of energetically searching through the room, she instead sat against the now locked door, leaning against it and pulling her knees up to her chest. The girl didn't want to go on. It was simply too hopeless..

[Flame]

Kano stopped the second he felt a headbutt hit him, his lips pressed against her cheek. When he felt a soft shove against his chest he started to roll off. A little flustered, he had assumed the girl was unconscious apparently that was no longer the case. Leaning away from her he noticed a fearful look creep over her eyes. Amelia pointed a finger at something behind Kano. Curious Kano turned around, upon the glass ceiling of the room there was a large black liquid that seemed to be everywhere. Moving past the window the droplets entered the room falling right next to Kano.

The girl screamed again, obviously she was scared of whatever this was, Kano himself was more curious. Not particularly bright he had not made many of the connections that Amelia had. The room darkened, Kano suddenly became aware that the torches had all been suddenly put out. Getting to his feet he instinctively started to back away from the black liquid. Morphing one hand into a sparkler again he found that his sparkler while hot was giving off no light. Unsteadily he took another step backwards as Amelia ran out of the room back down the corridor. Kano was tempted to try and touch this black liquid though his senses screamed for him not to.

CRACCKKKK!!!

A wrenching screech of glass finally breaking under the pressure brought Kano to his senses. Turning tail he chased after Amelia. Behind him waves of the darkness poured down, splashing against the floor it pooled. After pooling it moved out slowly consuming everything in a darkness that accepted no light. Putting his powers to good use his feet interchangeably turned into bottle rockets exploding behind him to launch him farther forward with each step. The liquid gave chase, like the flood gates opening it poured through the hall being pushed on by the weight of what was behind it.

Through the library gates he chased after Amelia, she was already unlocking the door of the storage room on the other side of the hall. Though he did not look behind him he knew that the wave of liquid was coming closer. The soft sound of jeering brought Kano's attention to his side where looking down he could see black shadows on the stairwell marching upwards. They were talking to someone, but Kano gave no thought to who that might be for the time being. Turning his attention back to the door which was quickly approaching he saw that it was open. Though he could not tell for sure, even he could assume as much to believe that Amelia was inside the room.

Getting inside of the room he slammed the door shut behind him. Without the time to lock it, he pressed his weight against the door. He felt the crash of the waves of darkness against the door, leaning against the door he reached up with his hand to turn the lock into place. The pressure against the door had already died down a little, no doubt because it was draining into the lower level. But still as it locked he sighed a brief sigh of relief. Walking into the room he looked around with interest at the many items and what not in the room. There still remained light here and as he looked down upon his sparkler arm he was relieved to see that it gave off light once again.

Putting his hands at his hips he looked around curiously. Amelia walked passed him once again, he turned and watched as she feebly sat against the door. She had a horrid look about her, with a bright smile Kano walked back over to her. Lightly tapping her on the shoulder he spoke,

"Whats the matter? You look distraught." Kano was simple, single-minded, and many time not consciously aware of the danger. It was a blessing and a curse, it made him confident, exceedingly hard to make depressed, it also made him reckless, and many times rather stupid. But in situations like this, when for many it would seem all hope is lost, it is then when Kano's brightness seems to shine. His happy, friendly, trusting presence was enough to bring a smile to many a person's face. For his part Kano was still a little flustered after almost kissing Amelia but he smiled anyways, no point in feeling down.

[Fluffy Lynx]

WORD COUNT: 516

TAGGED: @lynx

TAGGED: @flameyz

Sitting against the door, she couldn't even breathe properly anymore. It started slowly, as she took a few deeper breaths, trying to calm herself down, but it wasn't working. Then her breathing increased, and tears were starting to become apparent in the corner of her eyes. Then the breathing became hyper-ventilating, as Amelia had lost absolutely every control and calm that her body had had. They were going to die there. Locked away in a tiny little room as something was trying to force its way inside. They had no means of escape, there was no hope to be head. The pirates, she could hear them calling from the other side of the door, chanting and singing about how she'd soon be joining them, how they'd drag her all the way to hell and never let her leave. The girl knew it,  the girl knew that there was nothing that could be done from their current position. All they could do was sit down and wait to die. Wait for the door to give in, wait for the lights to disappear. The lights, the only little thing sparking a tiny hope in this otherwise darkened world. When Kano went forward and laid a hand on her shoulder, she instantly moved away, slapping at his hand as if he had just done something horrible to her. 


"Don't touch me!"


The girl shrieked, getting away from the door. Wheter through panic or survival instincts, he had at least managed to stop her from hyper-ventilating herself into a passed out state. The girls heart was hammering away, and she was having a hard time resigning herself to death. After a few moments of having been sitting idly by, she lowered her head, tears still streaming down her cheeks as she tried to put into words how she felt. It wasn't easy..

"Don't you understand?... We're stuck in here, with those monsters and that... darkness outside. We can't leave, and we cannot escape this room. We're sitting here, just waiting to die, like animals in a cage, and you ask me whats the matter?! The matter is that we're going to die here!"


With that out of the way, Amelia chucked a random gear through the room. It hit the wall and made a deep metallic sound as it dropped to the floor. This was her worst nightmare. Haunted by those that she had hurt, captured within a tiny room where there was no escape. In a world where the light was slowly disappearing, and she had to resign herself to her fate. Accept that she was going ot die. The mental implications, the thoughts of killing herself simply to escape a worse fate. The darkest pits of her mind... Standing up, Amelia went towards the door and reached for the key. The girl had given up, now she just wanted it to be over with. If Kano didn't stop her, she'd twist the key in the lock and let whatever was on the other side of the door into the room.

[Flame]

Seemingly afraid of his touch Amelia recoiled away from him. Moving from the door she began to cry it seemed. While not hyperventilating she did not seem to be handling the situation overly well. Kano made a quick apology "Uhhh ... sorry for touching you?" His voice was unsure, not feeling he had actually done anything wrong he could not say that line very convincingly. Pausing he wondered if he was doing the right thing trying to console her through his own actions. It was unlike him to question himself but given her seemingly extreme aversion to contact he was beginning to question it. Raising a hand he had made to walk towards her again but had stopped considering how she might react.

Then she spoke, this time in a troubled manner, her voice was full of fear and regret. On and on she went talking about how they were doomed, how it was the end. Oh what a horrible, terrible, mind-numbing, soul-wrenching speech it was to hear. But Kano heard it, every word and without a comment he stood there. For a short moment there was a grim look on his face, it was one thing to give hope to someone who is trying to survive. It was another entirely to try and do so for someone who has lost the will to live. He knew naught about Amelia, how could he hope to lighten her mood, bring her around again. For a moment he considered kissing her, from what he had heard sometimes that can bring a light to a person's eyes. But he thought better and was decidedly against it, given her last reaction she probably wouldn't appreciate that at all.

Not knowing what else to do Kano began to speak, from his heart and nothing else. "Die? Here? Please, as if such small troubles will by the end of you or me. You should have a little faith, look at me. I'm right here with you, do I look like a person who is about to die. Its all about having faith and hope ... and trusting in yourself to surpass the situation you are in." Words flowed out of his mouth as Kano banged his fist against his chest. Perhaps the most profound thing Kano would ever say he did not know where this spiel was coming from. He was about to continue when Amelia started to wearily walk towards the door. He stood in the way but she simply tried to walk around him.

Kano however would not have it. He would not allow her to give up, deciding it was for the best he rethought his decision to try and keep his distance from her. In this situation he believed as all people should that in your darkest hour companionship will bring you through it. There is a limit to what one person can do, but more than one person? The potential should be endless. Reaching out he grabbed her wrist as she walked by him. With a forceful pull he brought her body right up against his own. Putting his other arm around her, Kano embraced Amelia in a hug. Allowing the warmth of his body to press up against her he would allow no trying to get away this time. With one arm around her waist she brought the other up and placed his hand against the back of her head gently pressing her into his shoulder. In his most calm voice he spoke,

"It'll be ok. No one is going to die here."

[Fluffy Lynx]

WORD COUNT: 657

TAGGED: @lynx

TAGGED: @flameyz

The hyperventilating of the girl only lasted so long, not because she was calming down, but because her will to survive was strong enough that she, when she felt like she was going to pass out, forced her breath back under control. Looking at him with tired, bloodshot eyes, she shook her head from side to side, not saying a word to begin with. An odd squeak from the door made Amelia get to her feet, clearly pondering what the sound had been. It was at that moment, that the thick liquid darkness started pouring into the room. The lights started flickering, as Amelia immediately took flight to the part of the storage room that was the furthest away from the door. Climbing up onto a work table, she couldn't find any place further away to go. From there on out, the only way through the door was by passing through the darkness. A prospect that, considering all light disappeared from what the darkness got close to, wasn't a prospect that seemed promising to Amelia. It was an odd contrast, though. Movement wise, and reaction wise, the girl seemed to fight to survive.. yet in demeanor, tone of voice, and the words she said, it seemed like she had given up.

"..At least we won't have to wait in here to starve to death, seems.. whatever that there is, has come for us.."


It was spreading into the room, slowly. The little space that Amelia and Kano had left to seek safety in was continously shrinking. The claustrophobia, the completely absence of light. Breathing softly while rocking her body back and forth, the girl couldn't think of anything to do. With one of the brightest heads on a pair of shoulders, she couldn't even remotely think of a way to get through this mess. Not that she had had much chance to actually think clearly with all the different shocks and scares that had been throughout the castle. The darkness around them so thick that they couldn't even see their own hands, the door made a creaking sound as it opened. They were calling to her. The pirates that she had harmed, the souls which she had been responsible for sending to the other realm. It was all her fault, and she knew it. Now it had become time to pay for her sins...

"..I'm so sorry.. I'm really, genuinely sorry.. I'll come now, and abode for my sins."


With that, Amelia took off Kano's sweater, tossing it at where she had last seen him, hoping she'd be able to get it over to him. After that, she took a deep breath, before taking a step into the liquid darkness. It was heavy, thick, and sticky as tar itself. The girl could feel warmth being drained from her, could feel her thoughts being stolen away. Kano could likely hear her steps into the pool, even if he couldn't directly see her. It was strange. Where there ought to be a floor, it felt more like she was walking down a stairs. The liquid soon reaching her naval. Every step forward became harder and harder, and her mind was going more and more blank. Then, taking a final step, she felt her body sink into the dark, and everything became numb. Having accepted death, Amelia was gone...........

.....Sitting up in her bed with a scream, she looked around confused, sweat pouring off of her forehead. Turning on the lights, it took a few moments for her to realise what had actually happened. It had all just been a horrible nightmare. A nightmare that she had finally woken up from, by dying within the dream. Gasping softly, she looked out the window. Although it was still night, there was more light in this world than in the dreamscape. Shuddering at everything that had happened, Amelia went into the kitchen, opening the fridge and getting herself a midnight snack. Gods know, she felt she deserved it...

//END\\

[Flame]

He could feel her breathing slow in his arms. Kano smiled a little, Amelia seemed to be calming down from her previous mood. Kano released his grip slightly allowing her to work her way away from him once again. Noticing her eyes widen as she finally moved forcibly away from him quickly increasing the distance. Was it the hug? Kano wondered for a moment, he did not think it had been that bad. Scratching his head he paused as he sound a sloshing sound behind him. Turning around he suddenly realized what she had been so troubled by.

The door behind them had given way and the black liquid was now pouring into the room. It swelled, expanding along the floor and slowly turning this final room dark. Backing away from the growing tide he walked his way into the corner. Kano watched the it make its way toward him, the lights flickering, and everything it was somewhat understandable why Amelia was so shaken. Not watching where he was going his foot stepped partly upon a book on the floor. He tripped, falling backwards he tried to stick his hands out behind him.

They missed, just barely the table behind him instead, it rubbed off skin along her arms as he fell down. His head hit the table with a thunk. Finally his hands hit the floor as his head bobbled forward. Unlike him, it did not pause for injuries, it advanced still towards him slowly swallowing the whole room in its own darkness. He scrambled back to his feet before lifting himself up upon the table as he tried to increase the distance between him and the darkness. Amelia said something, she made perhaps a joke or something, Kano laughed heartily. His mood was not the best, but a joke could not help but make him smile slightly and chuckle a little. Looking back at the darkness he watched in advance continuously closer.

Figuring it was worth a try he aimed his hand at the darkness, morphing a bottle rocket where his limb once was he launched it at the black liquid. It hit, it didn't explode, or do anything it simply hit the darkness and was swallowed by it. Morphing his hand back he rubbed his arms slightly bugged by the uselessness of his ability. Wincing slightly he realized he had ran his hand over the skinned part of his arm. "Thought the explosives might push it back ..." he laughed quietly to himself.

Slowly but surely the darkness was creeping up on them. For a while they cowered in their corner until Amelia made a move. She seemed to have a moment of clarity, and began walking forward towards the darkness.She spoke in a voice that Kano could not catch. She disappeared into the darkness Kano paused watching. Then suddenly his sweater flew out of the darkness and landed upon his face. His vision darkened by his hoodie he didn't know what to do anymore. He was alone as the darkness overtook him, light faded from his eyes as he stood there. Shivers went down his spine as the darkness surrounded him until only a dim brightness in his red eyes could be seen.

Claustrophobia, fear of darkness, and solitude overtook him as he bundled his arms around his kness. He breathed, from his nose the sweet scent of the girl came off the hoodie. It was warm, like another human presence, it smelled different, it had its own smell. Calming down once again he held the hoodie to his face as the black liquid swirled around him engulfing Kano as well.

Then his eyes opened, the dim sunlight through the shades entered the room. He looked around, he was in his bed, in his room. He breathed a sigh of relief, it was a dream, oddly he could still feel the cold shivers around him. Thinking back he wondered, the girl in his dream was so vivid but he had never seen her before. What was with that?

~Fin~