Swamp of Lost Loved ones

"I couldnt go back again, i have a feeling that the innocence will make me see the slaughterd remains of my parents. And if it happened to me it will happen to you, be prepaired" Jae said, concerned about Kaele and how it could make her feel great amounts of pain.

"Be carefull alright..."

"You're leaving?!" *Kaele shouted, confused.* "Jae, you can't leave! If you go, the illusions will tackle you alone and I won't be there to help. You're in no condition to go off on your own!"

"But im worried about what will happen to you, look what it did to me..." Jae is concerned

"I'll be fine, and if I'm in a really dire situation, I know I can get myself out of it." *Kaele smiled optimistically at her. The feeling in the air was a mix of 'the battle is over' and 'when is this going to start'. She knew she didn't have much more time before the Innocence threw out another array of illusions.*

"Vivi... chan...?"

*Kaele flinched, swinging around on her heel to see behind herself. There was no one there. I could have sworn I heard myself... Kaele thought to herself.*

"Vivi-chan, don't leave with Mommy!"

*Kaele swerved around again, this time facing someone familar. She hadn't heard this conversation since she was four years old, she must have forgotten it in all the trama she suffered later on. The memory of her forgotten twin sister, who had returned to Japan so many years ago. The image she saw of her sister in the forest was of Vivi as a mirror image of Kaele 15 years old. Of course, Vivi had her black hair, but it was stained with red blood.*

"Vivi-chan!!" *Kaele screeched with shock and fear.*

"KAELE!!!!"

*Jae was shocked of the scream, she jumped up quickly and tried to run towards her, but Jae was severly injured so it was hard. She kept tripping and falling.*

"IM COMMING KAELE!" Jae kept trying to help her friend, but failing because of her injuries

((sorry I'm late))

*Masque looked down from the sky searching desperately for any signs of movement, but he didn't see any illusions. Instead, he heard screams coming from Kaele and Jae. He darted down from the sky toward them. But as he did this something unexpected happened. What felt like a giant hand grabbed him and threw him away as he shouted loudly, making him land into many tree branches, snapping them all before hitting the ground with a thud. As he looked up at what the hell happened, he saw what appeared to be a giant Egyptian stone statue.*

"What the -?! I thought I left you buried in the Pyramid?!" shouted a surprised Masque as he scrambled to his feet, making sure he had his staff in hand, but if the illusion were anything like the real thing, it wouldn't do him much good.

*Jae was on the ground, limp and weak. She tried to help Kaele even though she couldnt be much help. But Jae kept hoping she could find the strength to help her friend in need*

"KAELE! KAELE! ARE YOU OKAY?" she yelled out, hoping for a response

*Tourel and Fang were walking in the woods lost once again*

"I told you we should have headed back to the road but noooo! You said this was a short cut." Complained Tourel

"Well the beast was using the road and if there was one there had to be more. This way is defiantly safer" said Fang telepathically

"Well I would rather fight some of those beasts five times over than be lost hear without the road." Answered Tourel

*Suddenly the two heard screams coming from the area ahead of them*

Quote :

"KAELE!!!!"
"IM COMMING KAELE!"

*The two headed towards the sounds. When they arrive Tourel sees Masque who he recognizes as the Savior of Hidden Muk. The Masque Character was on his back and speaking to what appeared to be thin air.*

Quote :

"What the -?! I thought I left you buried in the Pyramid?!"

*Tourel and Fang then jumped behind some bushes*

*Kaele was frozen with fear as her dear sister stalked closer, drenched in blood. She had long forgotten that it was all just a mirage and that the forest was tricking her, she believed it was real. She only barely heard Jae screeching her name.*

"J... Jae, don't come any closer... You're hurt!" *Kaele exlcaimed.*

"Ne...ria?" *The illusion of Vivi asked.*

*Kaele stepped back, fear-struck. When she had returned to America from Japan, she'd given up her old name, Neria. In her mind, only the real Vivi would be able to remember such things. (But in actuality, the Innocence preyed upon her unconcious long enough to get information she couldn't even remember.) Kaele fell to the ground, feeling her mind was losing control.*

*The giant hand of the Egytian statue came crashing down at Masque, as it attempted to crush him, causing a tremor to be felt all over the swamp. Masque had managed to use his staff to give him enhanced abilities just in time, allowing him to be unharmed.*

"You have to be an illusion!" shouted a panicked Masque, "We'd have felt your footsteps a mile away!"

*It was actually quite easy to dodge the statue in mid-air unlike when he was enclosed in a Pharoah's tomb the first time. But even so, the statue seemed to learn how to read Masque's flying dance as each close call became closer and closer. Masque then tried to send magical fire at it from his staff, but just like with the original, it died out before it even touched him. I hate egyptian magic thought Masque as he continued to dodge the statue's attacks. Then another thought occured to him.*

"KAELE! JAE!" shouted Masque using his staff to amplify his voice throughout the swamp, "FIGHT EACH OTHER'S DEMONS!"

*Vivi, who appeared to be about 4 years of age, pulled a small blade out of her back pocket. The blood was still slowly streaming from her head, dripping off her chin. Kaele had no idea what to say; she pressed her back against a tree, feeling blocked in.*

"... Fight each other's demons!!" *Kaele heard Masque shout in her peripheral hearing.*

*What...? Kaele thought to herself; feeling a sense of Kaele versus Neria. Fight her?! I can't do that, it's Vivi-chan! But what if she's an...? Vivi lunged forward and sliced her arm, a deep painful gash. Kaele hadn't even ducked. She shrieked.*

*With survival in mind, Kaele held her wound and invoked her flames. As Vivi kept attacking, all Kaele could do was jump away. She couldn't hit Vivi!*

*Jae was still very weak, tired, and greatly in pain. She heard wut Masque said, she wondered how she was gonna do that if she was already beaten up by her illusion already. While Jae lied there thinking, she looked up again, she saw the man once again, but holding the heads of her parents, Jae was horrified, yet getting more strength to fight him.*

"So...you came back for more?" Jae said, sounding cocky and confient

*Jae took out her Tessen, made them grow and flame. She got up slowly*

"Fight with all you got!!!" Jae striked her illusion, surprisingly very strong, in her conditon, she was surprised herself

((Masque meant that we had to fight other people's illusions....lol))

*Masque bolted toward where he last heard Jae and Kaele's voice using his staff, as he continued to dodge the giant stone statue. He flew through the swamp trees and eventually found Jae ready to face off what Masque assumed to be her illusion because it was invisible to him.*

"Jae! Don't fight your illusion, or you'll lose! Fight someone else's! The Innocence made us see what we can't win against! We need to -" shouted Masque as he was cut off by a giant hand slamming down into the earth, causing tremors to be felt in the ground.

*Masque had managed to dodge the hand just in time as the hand came down leaving a handprint. Masque noticed something else as well, even though it had should have crushed Jae beneath it because of its large size, though no one could see it aside from Masque, it seemed to only affect the environment around it or the person it was meant for.*

((lol! sorry! i thought u meant something else))

*Jae felt the rumbling earthquake, and then she saw the giant hand print engraved in the earth*

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" yelled Jae, confused
Jae looked down on the colossal hand print again "WHO DID THAT?"

"That was my illusion!" shouted Masque as he dodged the hands coming after him,crashing through any trees in their way.

*Tourel and Fang then felt the ground vibrate and then they saw Masque jump into the air and fly away from them. then they hear Masque shout at thin air once more*

Quote :

"You have to be an illusion!" shouted a panicked Masque, "We'd have felt your footsteps a mile away!"

"Fang did he just say he something about an illusion. No you didn't get us that far off course we are way north." Shouted Tourel

"Oops, Sorry I guess we should have taken that turn or perhaps we should have stayed on the road." Thought Fang to Tourel

"OOPs! All you have to say is OOPs!? Do you know where we are? The Swamp of Dark Demons!!?" Ridiculed Tourel

"Well perhaps we should try to help these people they don't not know where they are. Nor do they know how to defend against the Dark Demons." Thought Fang to Tourel

"You make a very good point. We will speak of this latter." Replied Tourel as they turned to try and find where Masque flew to.

*They then tuned towards the voices.*

Quote :

Jae! Don't fight your illusion, or you'll lose! Fight someone else's! The Innocence made us see what we can't win against! We need to -"

*followed by a huge bang.*

Quote :

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"
"WHO DID THAT?"
"That was my illusion!"

*The two then run and follow the voices and they find themselves looking at Masque and a girl who was also obvisely facing yet another illusion*

"They wont be able to answer any questions unless I stop this racket." Said Tourel to Fang as he drew his bow.

*The arrow then started first glowing golden then to a bright white light almost to bright to look at.*

"Fight each other's..?" *Kaele mumbled after hearing what Masque said.*

*She closed her eyes, trying to ignore her own. She felt the tremors from Masque's illusion, but she couldn't imagine how large or difficult it would be to defeat. Since she knew she wouldn't be able to see it, Kaele decided to fight blindly. With her eyes still closed, she ripped a thick strip of cloth off of the hem of her skirt and tied it around her eyes. She stood up, and felt a knife pierce into her shoulder blade. Kaele stayed silent. She invoked her flames and jumped into the air, then lunged for where the tremors were coming from.*

*Kaele hit something; it felt huge and hard as stone. She didn't know if it was Masque's mirage or Jae's or someone else's.*

"Masque!!" *She screamed desperately, transforming her feet into blades, ready to slice her way through it.* "Did I hit yours?!"

*Masque saw as the a chunk of the statue flew from its side. She could strike it! But then, it tried to retaliate, but as it struck, its arm seemed to swing through he as though she didn't exist.*

"It worked!" shouted Masque back, "Keep him busy so I can make all the illusions visible!"

*Tourel had his arrow pointed at the sky and ready to fly when he heard*

Quote :

"Masque!!" *She screamed desperately, transforming her feet into blades, ready to slice her way through it.* "Did I hit yours?!"

Quote :

It worked!" shouted Masque back, "Keep him busy so I can make all the illusions visible!"

*Tourel just nodded to Fang as the wolf took up a defensive position by Tourels side*

"By the powers of the gods and the blessings of nature I call upon the Fifth element protect us from the Demons of our souls!!! Souted Tourel as Fang howled next to him

*The arrow of pure white light zoomed into the air, at about 200 feet the arrow burst like a firework raining gold and white sparks around the area seeming to trace a bubble that surrounded all three people. For those that could see their illusions it appeared as if something threw the illusions backwards as if they were hit by a fast expanding wall of air locking the Illusions outside of the protected area. Any wounds from the deepest cuts to the smallest broose incurred by thier individual illusions was healed seeming to close themselves and mend them at a steady pace.*

"Uh--! Okay!" *Kaele exlcaimed, still blinded by herself.*

*Kaele couldn't even tell she was on anything, much less being attacked by it. She kicked her feet back, slicing through her invisible enemy. She then jumped off, and flew by touching the invisible wall to the feet of the creature. She heard an explosion, much like a firecracker in the air. Kaele flew off of the stone monster, the air being knocked out of her lungs. Her blindfold flew off, and she could still see some of the white sparks fluttering about. She was being propelled away from nothing, a formidable unseen creature. The pain from her shoulder and arms from where she'd been stabbed faded away to nothing, the blood was creeping back into the wound and then healing itself.*

"What the hell is going on?!?" *Kaele screamed, hitting an invisible wall. All she could see in the expanse of empty space in front of her was Vivi, standing on something. Kaele twitched, remembering Jae's weak state.* "Jae, you okay?!"

((I deleted the out of character posts because it all got settled....now, back to roleplaying.))

*Masque had managed to get a breather as Kaele distracted the statue. What a troublesome thing this was. All they could do was fight invisible enemies, but how difficult that would be. Masque landed on a tree branch and was about to look for something in his hat when he noticed a peculiar sight. A golden arrow had been shot into the air, and toward the top of its arc, it seemed to explode, creating a bubble which seemed to blow back his behemoth of an illusion. But that arrow... Masque could have sworn he saw something similar to it before.*

"Kaele! Jae! Are you alright?! Did you shoot that arrow?!" shouted Masque, unsure of what to think just yet.

*Tourel Noded his head after examining his work*

That should do it. Now i need to get some questions answered. Thought Tourel

*then he heard*

Quote :

"Jae, you okay?!"

and

Quote :

"Kaele! Jae! Are you alright?! Did you shoot that arrow?!" shouted Masque.

*Tourel then began searching the air for Masque*

"No I shot the arrow, Mr. Masque. And Miss Kaele I would presume, where is this Jae isn't she in side the protection?" Asked Tourel sounding a bit concerned.

((sry im late! ^^; ))

*Jae felt no more pain, no more fatuige. She felt great and ready to fight again*

"IM FINE!" yelled Jae answering the questions her friends asked "What just happened? My injuries are all healed."

*Jae looked around to see if she could see her illusion anywhere, he was nowhere in sight but she could feel his presence*

"Well... Uh, yeah?" *Kaele mumbled confusedly as an answer to the mysterious boy's question. He seemed to speak like an old Englishman; the dialect confused her.*

"You're healed, too?" *She muttered skeptically after Jae's realization. She glanced down at her own arm, where the gash from Vivi's knife had been.* "Hey, kid! What's up with that firecracker thing you shot?"

*After finding what he was searching for in his hat and pocketing it, Masque hopped down from the branch he was in and landed right next to Kaele. There he saw the boy who had called him "Mr. Masque". *

"You okay?" Masque asked Kaele before turning his attention to the small boy.

"And who exactly are you?" asked Masque, a little confused as to whom the runt was.