Under the Hill - Second Circle: Lust

[Supernovae]

Michael turned quickly as another stranger appeared, this was apparently the guy who was in charge and he had asked him if he remembered the deal they had made this morning. He raised an eyebrow, he couldn't remember ever seeing the guy before, let alone making a deal with him. But, he figured this wasn't the time to be asking questions, especially since one of his cronies had a gun pointed to his head.

"Well I guess I would," he said to the newer man, "That is if your cronies here hadn't drugged my ass and pulled me ..." he then looked around. He hadn't really noticed the luscious garden they were in, the sight of it all was almost serene. "Hey, where are we anyway?"

[Rosesong]

Rose grabbed Enya and Ellaria, holding them tightly to her. She didn't like the scenario unfolding in front of them, and knew that if someone screwed up, they'd all be dead.

"Come on girls," she whispered so that only the two of them could hear. "We're leaving them and getting to the top of this garden." With that she crept backwards with her spear pointed up until the foilage hid her and the girls. "Ok, we need to get to the top of a tree," she told the girls, walking quickly while looking over her shoulder to see if they were being pursued. "From there we'll be able to see how to get to the top of the garden." With that, she began to help Enya and Ellaria climb a tree.

"Miss Rose," Enya asked innocently, "how did Judge Minos find Mister Taylor innocent if he's done bad things?" Rose stopped to look at the girl. "I... I'm not sure, Enya," she replied, "Maybe Mr. Taylor is good at hiding things."

Edited June 19, 2014 by Rosesong

[Chevaleresse]

Well, that was odd. Marcus stood, bemused for a moment. He had a faint urge to talk to her about. . . history? Since when did he care about history? Particularly. . . art history? He shook his head. Those two are proving to be bigger distractions than I had anticipated. Looking up toward the stairs, Marcus planned out a route. Top of the garden, eh? That's the only knowledge I have to go on, however unreliable it may be. The killer started moving toward his goal.

[K_H]

Kenny's eyes widened in shock.

That raid on Egypt happened thirty years ago! He needs to know at least part of the truth!

Kenny then turned to Michael.

"Look, Mike, this might come as a bit of a big shock, but you've just lost the past thirty years of your memory. That raid you were on... it was thirty years ago, and it ended badly for you and your co-conspirators. Now, to answer your question: We're in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. We've all been changed by some strange Accident, and there's no returning to 'Normal' as far as I can tell. Your Power is to turn back Time for certain things, but it costs you part of your memory in order to do so."

Kenny then Materialized a Mirror, got and recovered from a Headache, and positioned the Mirror so that Michael could see himself in it.

"if you still don't believe me, take a good look at yourself."

Edited December 21, 2014 by K_H

[anethia]

Annie walked along the trees, not sure how to handle the situation. She could try to take out Mr. Taylor, but that could probably escalate the situation. Or, she could go solo.

Her choice wasn't a hard one. Creeping low along the trees, she bit her left hand, as her right one was being used as her main grip. She focused on giving Ethic and Byron more agility, in case they needed it. It would help with dodging bullets if he decided to shoot. She leapt across the trees, propelling herself forward with lengthened arms. Grappling onto trees, she dashed round, twirling and moving at incredible speeds. She dashed forwards, and managed to catch a glance of Rose, Enya and Ellaria. She shot past them, rusting the leaves and even breaking a few branches in her high speeds. She soon came in the vicinity of a huge oak tree, bigger than the rest. She scaled it, dashing upwards and breaking through to the top. She shot both her arms down onto the tip of the tree, and did a handstand practically in midair.

She saw where she needed to go, she leaped off the tree, turning around before shooting her arm forwards, bringing herself below a tree and shooting far above it, into the canopy of larger trees. She continued foraging her way forwards, running along branches and pirouetting off. Soon, the blood dried up, and no more flowed. So, she began to walk forwards, and even climbed a tree. She could just barely see the opening, but it was extremely difficult. She had come a long way.

Exactly what she wanted.

Edited June 19, 2014 by Alatreon

[Sutoratosu]

Lucian glanced over at Kenny, for a moment, he thought that a monkey wrench had been thrown into the entire works of his little lie... then he realized he could continue off this if he adapted it a little more...

"That is correct, Michael..." he began simply

"We hired you to assist us in our Expedition to the hanging gardens of Babylon, which as my friend Kenny here explained, we are currently standing in the lowest levels of..."

Lucian turned to Ethic now.

"Ethic, show him what you've become able to do since... it happened earlier today..."

Ethic caught on immediately to what Lucian was trying to do right now, and went through the process of setting up the Invocation link with the Death Arcana... he held up his hands, they glowed with a strange multi-colored light... Ethic broke the link after a few seconds and let his hands fall to his side, the glow disappearing. Lucian continued speaking.

"Michael, shortly after we entered into the gardens, some type of... trap or something activated... If I was a fool I'd call it some type of magick... that trap did some strange things to all of our bodies... like it awakened some dormant power there... the ability you seem to have gotten was the ability to restore things to a former state of being... Mine is the ability to phase into and out of existence as I so please..."

He pointed to Byron

"Byron here became able to shoot Lightning from his body..."

He pointed to Ethic next

"Ethic... I honestly don't know what his ability is..." Lucian said, lying through his teeth

"Just that it can be quite destructive and takes a huge toll if he's not careful with it..."

Lucian looked Michael in the eye

"though... I guess the side effect of your ability is that you lose part of your memory... you remember what happened earlier right?" Lucian asked rhetorically

He pointed over to where Scott lay dead on the ground.

"That guy over there, Scott? he was part of the expedition team... but he went crazy... started cutting himself... saying he was gonna kill us all... I think something about this place got to him..."

He looked to Ethic now

"Scott and Ethic were... old friends... a while ago, Scott made a move to try and cut my throat while we were traveling through this plaza...Ethic stopped him... told him to get a hold of himself... but he was completely gone... insane... Tell him what happened, Ethic."

Ethic began speaking in a low voice, not making Eye contact, as if he was grieving past actions that had been necessary

"Well... after I tried to calm him down... he shoved to the ground... started to go after Byron and Rose... Byron was going to shoot him... but before he could get the shot off, I managed to get Scott's attention... He came at me..."

Ethic reached down and unwrapped Scott's sword, showing the blade to Michael

"He was carrying this with him on our way into the country... said it was for self defense encase something went down... well this is the very weapon he used to try to kill us all... me and him fought... that's when I found out about my ability..."

Lucian cut in

"the rest of us beside you and Ethic had made some display of what we could do up to that point... you two were the only ones who seemed to not be affected by the trap we went through..."

Ethic continued

"Yeah... I used my ability on accident... used it on Scott... sent him flying like a ragdoll... but he wouldn't stop... he just got up and kept coming at us... I pleaded with him... begged him to end this maddnes of his... but there was nothing I could say to bring him back... my friend had gone crazy...like a rabid dog... there was only one thing I could do for him... put him out of his misery... and for our own safety..."

Ethic dropped the sword to the ground, staring down at it

"I...I killed him... knocked him to the ground with my ability and drove his own sword through his heart... Hardest thing I ever had to do... we'd known each other since we had been kids...he was like my brother..."

Ethic shook his head and looked up

"I went over board using my power to stop Scott's rampage though... I died from over exertion, and you... you used that time thing you can do to bring me back... don't you remember, Michael?"

Lucian looked to Ethic shaking his head

"Nope... seems using his ability has it's own toll... takes a hefty stress on his memory... I think that's what caused this bout of strange behaviour, with him thinking he was thirty years younger..."

Lucian looked to the mirror Kenny had made somehow with his ability

"Michael." He said

"Come take a look in this mirror... you'll see the truth... and the sooner you see it..."

Lucian looked to the tree tops

"The sooner we can get on with this expedition and you can get paid."

[Supernovae]

Michael did his best to try and catch on to everything as the young boy and the guy in charge explained the situation. So, he was in Babylon, had powers and his powers caused memory loss? Oh yeah and it was supposedly 30 years in the future now, yeah right. The whole thing seemed fishy, but he supposed it wouldn't hurt to take a look in the mirror. He stepped forward and glanced inwards. The man that stared back at him definitely looked like him, but it was most certainly not him. There were cuts all over his face, but he could believe that, they probably had dragged him around for a while, so that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he just looked too old, worn down, and for some reason cheerful? Why in the hell did he look so cheerful, if the job in Egypt went downhill. And why were the girls allowed to leave as they pleased, this whole situation just felt fishy.

"What kind of trick is this..." Michael finally let out, after staring in the mirror for a few minutes. "What is this some kind of fun house mirror? You guys are nuts..." Michael finally turned and started walking away, noticing a sharp pain in his back, probably a side effect from whatever they used to drug him. "Look if what you are saying is true and I'm in your employ, then I quit. I don't work for freakshows and psychos. If it's all the same to you, I think it's best we all forget this meeting happened." With that Michael turned and started limping off in the other direction.

Edited June 19, 2014 by Supernovae

[Sutoratosu]

Ethic was about to yell for Mr.Taylor to stop when lucian put up his hand in a halting gesture.

"No, Ethic." He said, bending down and retrieving the Revolver Mr.Taylor had drawn on them. With that, Lucian disappeared from sight, Reappearing in Michael's path. The revolver was in his hand

"Alright, Michael..." He said.

"If you wanna quit, that's fine... more credit to get my own career started..." Lucian held out the Revolver, the handle pointed towards Michael and the Barrel pointed towards himself

"But at least walk away from here armed... there are others in the garden... other's who have abilities, and are looking for a fight..." He pressed the gun into Mr.Taylor's hands, then disappeared from sight once again, reappearing in front of Ethic and Byron

"What was that, man?" Ethic asked agitadedly

"It was as far as I could push the lie..." Lucian explained

"There was nothing we could say that would've made him stay... we'll just have to hope he'll get his memory back soon..."

He glanced off as Michael limped away

"And at least now he's not un-armed... encase certain people down here find him... like that 'Marcus' guy your so adamant about killing..."

Ethic sighed, knowing Lucian had a point

"Oh well..." he said, turning around to find Rose, Ellaria and Enya gone...

"Guess they fled in all the non-sense just now... can't really blame them... when a guy's lost his memory and is waving guns around in people's faces... guess we'll see them and Mr.Taylor at the top..."

He took another look around the area... noticing Annie wasn't there either...

"And Annie too..."

He looked to Byron and Kenny as he collected Scott's sword and stuck it through a loop on his belt and re-sheathed his own knife. he held out Byron's gun to him.

"I don't really know if either of you wanna keep traveling together..." he began

"But if either of you do, I've got no issue with it... though we should all get going soon."

Edited June 20, 2014 by Stratos

[K_H]

Kenny nodded in agreement, and then spoke.

"I'd definitely agree with you on that bit, Ethic. Let's go."

and with that, he started walking in the direction of the Staircase.

Edited June 20, 2014 by K_H

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

" I Figure it is best, at least 2 of our enemies are headed towards the top. Don't forget that Rat Quincy. I can handle this Marcus character for you guys, but you guys got to deal with Quincy." Byron sighed, "I don't know why, but nothing I can do has any effect on him, and we are both adept gunslingers, our skills are too matched."

[Rosesong]

About mid way to the top of the tree, Rose had Enya and Ellaria sit closely to one another and ventured out onto a branch. Staring out into the distance, she squinted, seeing a staircase to the east. Sighing, she made her way back to the girls. "Ok," she told them, "considering that Shotgun McGee is on the ground, along with who knows whoelse, I think we need to travel by tree. Ellaria, I'll carry you on my back so that you don't have to worry about transitioning from branch to branch. Enya, keep a tight hold of Ace."

With that, she gathered Ellaria onto her back and checked for a sturdy branch. Stepping tentatively across, she turned around and helped Enya cross. "Miss Rose, what about the traps waiting for us?" Enya questioned, turning her wide stare on Rose once more. Rose once again didn't know how to reply, but knew that the girl sometimes knew things that no one else knew. She had even known about Judge Minos before meeting the man-snake creature. "Well, Enya," she tactfully responded, "we'll think about that on the way there." And so began their trek to the staircase.

[Sutoratosu]

Ethic nodded at Byron's conditions

"Alright," he said

"Fair enough." With that, he turned and started walking off behind Kenny, for the staircase off in the distance that would take them to the top level of this place so that they could finally get some answers as to what was going on here.

Lucian Walked by Byron without a word, following behind Ethic and Kenny... something that used to not be necessary for him...

But being stripped of most of his abilities... had made it so that the act of walking from place to place was no longer Beneath him... but actually the only real way he had to get from place to place.

He tried to re-enter into a thought presence with Ethic like he had been doing earlier... only to find that when he tried to break down his current phsyical manifestation and enter his mind, he was unable to... like a wall had been put up...

A Fence with a roaring river beneath it... one that was sure to keep him out... though he had the feeling that Ethic had no idea it was even there...

Maybe it's just another thing I've lost because of Maxwell... He thought to himself as he increased his pace to catch up to Kenny and Ethic... luckily he hadn't allowed himself to grow fat over all those years he had spent as a keeper...

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"We should also look out for the pretty-looking ladies, and the handsome-looking misters," the little girl said cheerfully, and continued to say: "They look beautiful, but deep inside, they're horrible demons. But Ace says that some of them are nice-- you just can't tell them apart." The teddy bear in question had its ribbon tied around its paws, almost, funnily enough, resembling a rather flimsy pair of handcuffs. In effect, it appeared to be clinging to its owner's shoulders so that her hands and arms were free-- but if one looked closely, the bear didn't seem to be strangling the child at all, despite the load in its body, and that the ribbon was at the girl's throat. It also seemed that Enya had no trouble speaking as well, nor was there any hoarseness to her voice.

[Rosesong]

Rose groaned at this new piece of info, checking and carefully transitioning across a branch. "Has Ace told you how we can figure out which of them are kind and which are mean Enya?" she asked the girl, desperate for any sort of information that would help to keep them alive in this foul game of fate. Sure, you came back to life here, but death was not something anyone wanted to experience before it was their time. Rose also thought to herself, So Aighan isn't the only one. Better be on the lookout, as she held a hand out to help Enya across the tree branches.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

The child thought for a moment and stayed silent, as if listening intently.

"It's hard to tell, and they can be difficult to read. But they will always appear trustworthy... Just watch them closely and um... Don't be.. Entr... Entranced?"

After a while, she added, "It could help if you make sure that they don't have a weapon, or aren't about to grab you by the neck, or show their nasty claws." She said all this in her usual, nonchalant and innocent way as she balanced on the tree's branch with a cute smile.

[Rosesong]

Rose muttered to herself, "No entrancement, don't stand too close to them." Speaking louder, she added, "Thank you Enya, we'll make sure to keep our distance from them." Reaching over carefully, she grabbed the girl and brought her and Ace to the next tree. Allowing her to sit for a moment, Rose turned her attention to the more quiet member of their party. "Ellaria," she whispered, "I know that this is frightening, but we're going to get to the staircase soon, don't you worry. We'll be safe and sound in no time." At the silent response of her partner, Rose sighed. The girl had gone catatonic again, unable to cope with the hysteria that had occurred earlier. Placing her down next to Enya, she reached into the small part on her bag and pulled out a small container which held ear plugs. Normally, she used them for auditions, but considering she didn't play anymore...

Quickly rolling up the ear plugs, she explained to Ellaria, "Night's going to be coming soon, and I don't want you to have to hear the loving dead again. I'm putting ear plugs in your ears ok? This way, you can focus on happier things, things from before you came in here." Before the girl could say a word, if she was going to, Rose quickly stuffed one ear plug in. "I'm going to climb and see how far away we are, and if we need to adjust our course any. I'll be back, but I need you both to take care of one another." With that, she placed the other ear plug in Ellaria's ear, placed each girl's hand in one another's for comfort and safety, and began to climb.

As she began her trek up the tree, Rose began to ask herself hard questions. She hadn't wanted to travel with people in the beginning. But these girls... She stayed with them and protected them even after she had parted ways with Ethic and the others. They were like the sisters she wished she had growing up, very sweet and kind, full of innocence and peculiarities as many sisters are. Rose smiled to herself softly. They'll get to the bottom safely, I'll make sure of it, she vowed. Glancing around, she realized that the staircase was now slightly to the northeast, and that they had a long ways to go still. Guess we're traveling through the night, Rose thought, climbing back down. Once she got to the girls, she plucked an ear plug out of Ellaria's ear as to not frighten her, telling both girls, "Let's get moving." Hoisting her silent psuedo sister on her back, she quickly took her other psuedo sister's hand and began adjusting their course.

[Supernovae]

Michael grinned stupidly. It wasn't the best creation he had ever made, but it would certainly do the job. As Michael had been trekking through the forest, he'd stumbled upon a particularly sturdy looking group of vines. Just, the type you could fashion a nice whip out of. Michael gave it a test, cracking it wildly in the air. It wasn't quite leather, but it would certainly do.

Was he worried about his situation? Nah, not at all. Michael had survived in the jungles before, he was tough he could take it. Not only that, but he was still armed. That guy who was in charge had given him his gun back. Hell? Please. This seemed more like a boy scout trip to a bad ass like Michael.

But, still he needed to figure out his direction, the group had mentioned something about the hanging gardens of Babylon... Which unfortunately, still hadn't been discovered by the rest of the world, it just meant he was somewhere in Iraq. Still, there was no way the best archeologist in the world, and a master con-man like himself would die here. So, he needed a plan... Go up or down?

Well if Michael went down, he could then traverse the deserts of Iraq and try to find some sort of mark of civilization. Sure he'd find something eventually, but that would just suck. Or he could go up, start a fire and wait for a Soviet plane to fly over. The Soviets were currently at war in Afghanistan and Michael was pretty sure they'd have at least some presence over in Iraq. Besides, this was the hanging gardens of Babylon. How could Michael give up the chance to explore one of the ancient wonders of the world.

But, then there was one last problem, which way was up? Michael stopped and thought for a moment. If the hanging gardens were really by Hilah, that would place them due South of Baghdad, which was most likely where the campaign started. That would mean that they entered the structure from the South, meaning if he kept heading South, he'd eventually reach the top. Michael quickly turned and looked in the general direction of the Sun, waiting for it to move. As he waited it's position slowly traveled upward, meaning it wasn't quite noon yet. He quickly traced the Sun back down to where it would have started. That was, east enough for him. Michael then turned quickly and started heading in the direction he now knew was South, looking for a set of staircases.

[Notus]

Ellaria

"...I'm putting ear plugs in your ears ok? This way, you can focus on happier things, things from before you came in here."

Ellaria barely registered what Rose just said, but blinked when the sound around her stopped. Moments later, with Rose carrying her, she started to calm down a little. Now she had lost another one of her senses, but this time she knew it was for the best.

Besides, she still could feel things as they walked. More important, he felt the warmth of Rose's body against her own, and that calmed her. The wind blowed a gentle breeze on the top of the trees, and the temperature started to drop, meaning the sun was probably going down again. She shivered at this thought, but then decided to focus even more to try and be of any help.

Ellaria tightened her arms around Rose a bit more, half out of fear and half of resolve. She wasn't going to be a burden again.

The sun went down.

[Rosesong]

Rose groaned as the sun began to sink. "Ok Enya," she spoke across another branch, knowing Ellaria wouldn't be able to hear her. "We need to move a little quicker, if possible." Helping the girl across the branch, she began to double her efforts to maintain safety while keeping pace.

In the distance, Rose could see the stairs through the trees. "I see the staircase!" she said happily. "We can get to the top!" Paying heed what Enya had said though, she took a moment to let them rest, thinking on how to avoid the traps and avoid the possibly dangerous staff.

[Sutoratosu]

Ethic stopped in his tracks as the light overhead began to slowly fade away... he knew what that would probably mean.

He looked up the sky, and his suspicions were confirmed; the sun was setting. He looked around at where Himself, Lucian, Byron, and Kenny were...

They had made a good trek since setting out a while earlier... Ethic could see the base of the Stair case in the distance now, though it was still kinda far away...

But how far the stairs were didn't matter anymore. it would be night in a few moments if the sun sets as fast as it rises here. He let out a sigh of disappointment and partially of loathing as he drew Scott's black sword from his belt, and set up an invocation link with the Arcana of Death, keeping his ability at the ready for if, or rather, When, it would be needed. he turned around to face the other men.

"Well, guys," He began "We made good distance... but seems the days here are even shorter than I expected."

He looked up to the tree tops, trying to find some possible foothold in one of them where the group could climb up for safety tonight... then he looked over at the base of the stair case, and got another idea...

"We have two options now," He said

"We can either climb into the trees like we did last night... or we can try to storm the stair case and start climbing it before the crowd of those things that are going to appear gets too thick. What do you all think?"

[K_H]

Kenny answered Ethic's question.

"I like the sound of the second Idea better. Besides, getting to the top of the Staircase will be a piece of cake! however, I'd like to hear everyone else's opinion on the matter before we act."

[Ragnar]

Kayle flies through the night sky carrying the boy as they make their way towards the top, Ixidor heard something and turns his head, He squinted his eyes and saw some trees rustling from below, but it was hard for him to see from this altitude. Nearing the top, he notice a man carrying a sword climbing as well.They pass him and continues to fly higher. The sooner we get out of this circle, the better. he thought to himself.

They soon reach the top and landed, He saw the beautiful scenery of the garden.He requested Kayle to find a safe spot for them rest, The Valkyrie flaps its wings and flies around the garden. She soon finds a large tree to stay. Ixidor disembarks. "I'm sure you're tired Kayle, we'll rest here for the night and continue our exploration when the sun comes up" Ixidor said with a yawn and seems bushed.

"You go right ahead master, i never sleep, my only duty to protect you." Kayle turns her head waiting for a respond and sees Ixidor pass out under the shade of the tree. Kalye smiles, she sit downs besides the sleeping artist.

Edited June 25, 2014 by typhlosionrulez

[Supernovae]

"God damn it!" Michael screamed. These creatures were just everywhere! Michael stepped back, his whip was now covered in blood. His gun was low on ammo. His back hurt, for some weird reason. And to make matters worse these things had him surrounded. It would probably be game over for any ordinary human. Too bad though, that Michael was in fact, not an ordinary human.

One of the creatures finally made the move, a blonde haired male. But, before it could get within grabbing distance it faltered and fell to the ground. It's legs bloody with whip marks. Michael wasn't too worried about these guys individually, they were soft and pathetic, but in groups, they could be a bitch.

Another two jumped forward these two were females, beautiful brunettes. Michael was almost taken aback by there beauty. Almost. A single bullet passed through the first females head, while the whip made short work of the others body. These creatures weren't as strong as normal humans, there skin seemed softer for some reason.

But, there was no more time to play around with these things. Michael was running out of energy quickly, quicker then he should have actually. No, if Michael wanted to stay alive he'd have to make a move. The stairs were close, it was about time for good old Michael to get the hell out of here.

Michael turned quickly and fired at the three nearest undead. All head shots. He started running, through the lane he cleared, madly cracking his whip as he pushed through. The creatures clawed and gnawed at him as he pushed through, but none could get him to the ground. Then suddenly he had pushed through. The creatures weren't in his path any more and he was clear.

He ran wildly to the stairs and lunged onto the first step. He was out of breath, his body was giving out. What in the hell was going on? Had he really been drugged that badly ... or? Nah, there's no way it was 30 years in the future, that was just nuts.

He turned around, the creatures were still close behind, though it seemed like something was drawing there attention. Michael couldn't be sure of what it was, but he wasn't going to waste his chance. He pushed himself up and started climbing up the steps. It hurt like crazy just to stand, but Michael knew he had to move, the longer he stayed there, the quicker he'd die. And so he began his ascent up the steps.

[Notus]

Ixidor - DreamWorld

Ixidor's mind drifted a little bit after he went to sleep and then, as anyone else, he started to dream.

He was in a circular plaza under a glass dome, with flowers as colorful and scented as one could imagine. A huge fountain in the shape of a serpent stood in the middle of it, pouring water that would run into multiple streams that watered the plants and headed out of the place. Light bathed and warmed the ambient gently. Thinking better, it seemed like some kind of luxurious greenhouse.

Breaking the silence, a happy laugh came from somewhere. No, better say it came from everywhere. For a moment Ixidor tried to remember where he heard that voice, clear pure as crystal. Then he saw a flash of blond hair passing quickly between two rows of flowers, and remembered.

It was Mia's.

=========================================================

Phantom

Phantom had already conquered the first third of the stairway, and faced no problem. Actually, it was way too easy to his taste. The garden behind him had already begun to stir with the loving dead's painful wailing, but the way ahead was clear.

And beautiful on that matter. The stair had a three water channels running down it - probably for irrigating the gardens below - one in the middle, two in the sides, surrounded by statues of animals. Under the Red Moon, however it almost seemed like it was blood running in them in stead of water.

He stepped on something that made a noise in the floor. Imediattely the channels started pouring liquid into the stairs. Phantom lost his footing and slided down, but managed to take hold of a statue, grabbing it with all his power while the flood tried to push him away.

And by the way, the liquid was blood in the end.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Notus

[Sutoratosu]

Ethic nodded at Kenny's agreement, about to ask what Byron thought when he suddenly noticed a familiar red glow begin to fall upon the gardens...

Time was up. he looked up, and saw that he was indeed right... the moon was up.

and it was the color of blood, just like last night. he tightened his grip on Scott's former weapon, turning around as he began to hear the moans and wails of the Loving Dead. He looked over his shoulders at the others.

"Sorry guys... " He said simply, multi-colored power beginning to flow into the sword in his hand as he called upon his own life force.

"But looks like we're assaulting the stairs tonight... no time for further discussion, the trees are too far away for us to reach in one piece."

he reached to his belt with his other hand and pulled out his knife, the blade glowing in the scarlet light of the moon overhead. he said one thing as he took off towards the base of the stairs, closing in on the growing crowd of living dead assembling there.

"If you can't find a way through, then make one!"

he brought up the sword in his hand in an upwards stroke as he neared a loving dead, a man with a good build and long flowing black hair dropping into his face. he willed the energy he was channeling into the sword to begin running specifically around the cutting edge of it, allowing the weapon to easily cut into the flesh of the Loving Dead before him. the thing fell to the ground, a deep gash running across it's chest as Ethic felt a familiar limit in his mind, knowing he had moved a tiny bit closer to it...

He called back the Life-force he was circulating. if he used to much, he knew he'd end up dead just like last night... and that would be quite counter-productive.

He pushed further into the crowd, cutting his way through to the point where he'd cleared a small path for everyone else. he looked back Lucian and the others, then to the crowd, noticing it growing larger with every passing moment as more and more Loving dead rose from the ground...