Drowning Aspirations, Zarack's free...now what?

[TigStripe]

Karin placed a hand on her hip and gave Tiko an unamused look. "Well hey there to you, too. And what's this about a Stone?"

Teryngale shot Tiko a disappointed gaze, which Tiko automatically understood: their mission had been revealed.

"Nothin' for you to worry about," Nicholi interjected with his usual smirk. "We have our orders, you have yours. We're looking for something, is all."

Teryngale noticed the thoughtful look on Karin's face, dread filling his mind. Her answer confirmed his fears: "Hey, Mike, let's help these guys out."

"What? I just said-" Nicholi began, but the woman's hand silenced him.

"I know what you said. And if you're looking for what I think you're looking for, I'm pretty sure that I'm not letting you out of my sight.

"Absolutely not," Teryngale said pointedly. "We do not desire, nor do we need, your supervision. Our mission is clear to us, and you have no part in it. We shall go our separate ways here and now." The red-clad mage waved his arms at the curved wall, with the several doors leading out. "You pick one, and we'll pick another."

Karin shook her head. "Oh no, you don't. I said I'm not leaving you alone, and I mean it." There was a slight flash of light that shone between Karin and Teryngale. After a silent moment, Karin nodded in understanding.

"What was that?" Teryngale asked, his hand rubbing his right temple. "I feel...invaded."

Karin nodded again. "Yep. Hayden scanned your thoughts on the subject at hand. And you're clear. I can trust you - we have common friends."

"That doesn't really mean that we trust you." Teryngale's voice had taken on a much darker tone.

"Oh stuff it, we'll choose a door first like you said," Karin snapped. "I trust you won't stalk us just to keep an eye on us."

Nicholi was surprisingly silent throughout this exchange, his eyes watching the two debate with a small hint of amusement. Fingering the ring in his pocket, he was not about to make light the scenario that third party could tag along with them to search for the ring. "Hey Percy, I say we let them go ahead of us. I think the broad's telling the truth."

"Why not let them choose a door?" Reese suggested. "Since we don't trust them, let them leave first, wait a while to see if they come back, and then leave ourselves. It's not like all these halls will all meet a single point; that'd be pointless."

Teryngale sighed. "Fine. We'll leave you be if you grant us the same favor."

Karin shook Teryngale's hand in resolution. "No problem. If you see Arissa or Hiroshi after you find what you're looking for, let them know that Karin said hi." Karin led Mike over to one of the doorways. After deciding which door to enter, she turned back to the mage group. "Oh, and good luck - we're rooting for you guys."

[Zeke]

Tiko rubbed his brow in confusion. "What just happened?"

his heart sunk with the thought of his team's mission nearly compromised and he felt it better that he just remained silent yet he felt there was some things he was missing from that conversation. After a moment of them following their predetermined passage way he looked over to Teryngale. "Master Teryngale. What was it that that Karin woman did to you?"

Teryngale hardly spent a moment to ponder the question when he responded. "That woman possesses a spirit within her. Similar to the Raina girl you are friends with. The spirit must have searched my thoughts for our intentions. An ability that I find unsettling."

Tiko nodded, he understood his words. He thought about asking Ternygale how does someone end up sharing their entire being with another soul, but even he knew that magic like that is considered a taboo. Not that he was one to judge. Tiko was after all messing with the very fabric of time.

[PumpkinHat]

August grumbled and went through the door with impatience in his stride, "I'm here to kill some asshole, not look for a rock. We haven't got time for that crap."

A thought occurred to him and he hastily brought up his weapon, cracking open the various plates of metal that formed it, and let the water than had collected from his involuntary swim spill out. He sighed and reassembled the weapon with a few passes of his hand, "I really wish I had a damn cig."

[Rubilon]

Reese paused a moment and reached deep into one of his bags, pulling out a small paper box. "Here..." he stated, throwing it in August's direction. "...found this awhile back, found it interesting at the time, might help..." he stated before turning back towards the rest of his group. "Not sure how old they are, and no clue if it's still any good, but I wouldn't know."

Reese resumed his examination of the area, not really looking for any alternate routes, but just looking at the place for its architecture.

[PumpkinHat]

August caught the box with raised eyebrows, almost complete shock on his face, "Er...Well hell, anything's better than none. Thanks."

He wasn't sure what else to say but he knew just what to do. He popped open the box immediately and took out one of the less battered cigarettes. After fishing a lighter from his jacket he hastily began trying to get it to light. It took a moment for the old paper to catch the flame and he took a long draw as he headed down the hall away from the other group. He coughed and cleared his throat, "...menthol."

[Zeke]

The gang that saught after the stone followed the ominous corridor only to see a slight glimmer of light at the end. "Well if that isn't a bit clichet" remarked the Vampire. The others did not feel it necessary to retort to Nicholi. They crept uneasily to the room and peered inside.

Tiko noted how odd it was that they could not see inside the room. Without any other lead they all entered the room. The intense light grew even bright as they crossed the threshold until it dispersed revealing a personal study. "Odd.." Percival commented. "Odd?" Tiko repeated.

"I don't need magic to know this room isn't a stationary part of this construct"

Tiko nodded, and he and Reese both felt it too. "You mean it's a moving room?"

Persival began to walk about the large study, much larger than they originally thought. In fact the further in the room they went the more stacks of books seemed to appear, or the piles of old unrecognizable artifacts would be found scattered about. "Exactly"

"Extra dimensional" chimed Reese

"Exactly" Affirmed Teryngale.

The gang continue and until the light emanating from the room grew dim. Occasionally Teryngale would stop and inspect a book then place it back on its shelf. "I don't recognize this script at all, which disappoints me."

A glimmer light caught the groups eye and it wasn't long until they traced the lights that danced so fairly on the wooden ceiling to a large aquarium in the back of the variable-length room.

The aqaurium itself was large, much large than Tikaro has ever seen. He estimated the structure to be roughly 13 feet wide, 9 feet inward, and 12 feet deep. The entire structure was made of glass and filled to the top with the most crystal clear water. "Someone is obsessed with his pet fish." Tiko commented as he looked at the shiny smooth looking pebbles that made the bottom of the tank. He was so interested in the water vegitation that grew around the fake castle, Buddha and plastic treasure chest that he jumped back in surprise when a slimy humanoid like figure swam swiftly to him and stared his cloudy white eyes back into Tiko's sapphire.

"Careful nubs" Nicholi said while bending closer to inspect the 1.3 meter creature. He did in fact seem human, but with a feeble quality about him. If he had hair it was hidden beneath a layer of sickly green algae. His fengers and toes were webbed and gills undulated periodically to absorb the oxygen in the water. "Is it human?" Reese asked. "Of course not. It's...." Nicholi leaned in a few more inches but reeled back when the creature flattened itself against the glass baring its razer teeth. ".. Its.. undead" Saying the last part with a wicked grin. "Must be a pet."

The creature swam to each person as if sizing them up and waiting their next move.

[TigStripe]

"Gentlemen," a voice sounded from behind the group. "May I help you?"

Turning around, Percival saw the short man from the front foyer, his hands clasped politely behind his back and an unhappy smirk on his face. This time, he was adorned in a simple black tuxedo with a lighter shade of gray top hat and vest.

"It would appear that you haven't learned your lesson," the man chided. "I'm afraid I must punish you. My master shall not be disturbed by the likes of you."

The man raised on arm and opened his palm towards the undead creature in the huge tank. Without looking at the creature, and without saying a word, a small blast of energy shot from the man's palm straight into the aquarium's encasing, absorbed by the material. The energy visibly resonated throughout the water, coalescing around the fish-like creature in an instant's time. The creature writhed in what seemed to be pain for a moment, then charged straight at its tank's side. Tiko expected the fish to slam into the material, but instead the creature swam through it and out into open air. It turned about, its fins still wiggling as if it were swimming through the air, and turned to face the group of intruders.

The man shook his head. "And now, I must go pay a visit to your friends." As soon as his sentence ended, the man disappeared without a trace. "Disappeared" would probably not be the best way to describe it, as the man had simply stopped being there; there had been no signal of a teleportation, no blurring of his image through quick movements, nor had there been any residue left through magic. The man had simply stopped existing in that room, leaving a large undead fish looming over four intruders.

"Aw, fishsticks," Nicholi muttered. No one laughed.



Elsewhere, Karin and August approached yet another large door in their quest to find this Judas person. As soon as they approached it, August let out a disgruntled noise and Karin sighed.

"Another door. Just how many of these things are there in this place?" she asked no one.

"Two-hundred and seventy-three."

Karin spun on her heel to see a short man in a black tuxedo with his hands clasped behind his back. "Where did you come from?" Karin demanded. Indeed, Hayden had not noticed any living beings within fifty feet of the duo, yet here stood a strange little man who seemed to exist, but perhaps he didn't.

"What matters is not where I came from," the man replied pointedly, "but rather, where you should be going."

Karin stood up as straight as she could and crossed her arms. "We're on our way to see the master of this loony bin. We have some business with him."

The man shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot allow that. My master must not be disturbed by anyone. You see, he has business with someone vastly more important than you, and he must not be interrupted."

Karin eyed the door that they'd approached, then turned back to the man. "We're nearly there, aren't we?" she asked.

The man shook his head once more. "Where you are is where you should not be, that is all you shall know."

Karin stepped back and August stepped forward, his firing hand almost twitching.

Karin! I can feel it!

Karin jumped to attention and listened intently to Hayden, focusing her eyes on the little man in front of her.

The source of the anti-magic field is behind this door, I'm sure of it! If we can turn it off, I can help us find Judas.

Karin nodded once, her expression now one of sheer determination. "Hey, Mike. Seems like we've found something useful that Mr. Tuxedo doesn't like here. I say we investigate."

The man in front of them sighed. "Why does no one listen?" he asked rhetorically. "Very well."

The man punched Karin in the back, then kneed August in the gut, backhanded Karin upside the head, and delivered a quick chop to August's firing shoulder. All without moving from his location at the end of the hallway.

Karin rubbed the back of her head. While the attacks were swift, the man had little force behind them. They almost felt as if Karin had done it to herself. "What the-"

The man made a motion with his hand and two more of him appeared behind him, dressed exactly as he was. With an amused smirk, the three of them readied for a three-man charge, dashing down the hallway towards the duo.

Karin shook her head. "This isn't going to be pretty."

[PumpkinHat]

"It never is."

August reeled from the attack. It was almost as if this short bastard had powers just like his own. It felt eerily similar in execution, not just by the speed. He left no trace and moved far too quickly, almost as if existing in more than one place at once. In fact, it was far too like August himself and his abilities.

He glared, "I haven't got time to burn playing with your sorry ass."

His body blinked and flickered a moment as he moved very quickly to the side to avoid being hit. He groaned deeply with the effort, feeling drained from such a small maneuver and scowled. To hell with fighting this guy. That magic barrier has to go.

He took the next hits, feeling his lip bloodied as a fist connected with his jaw. He grunted as a foot aimed itself at his leg but the force was not enough to knock him off balance. He aimed his gun at the lock on the door and fired three shots in the hopes of breaking through.

[TigStripe]

The doorknob flew off the panel, and August kicked the door in as best he could, trying to ignore the still-pitiful attacks being thrown at them. Karin tried batting the man away, but it was to no avail - he was just too fast to hit. Or perhaps, he wasn't really that fast, but he didn't really exist where he seemed to be.

The duo stumbled into the next room, only to be kicked from inside its confines by their nemesis. With as much strength as they could manage, August and Karin combined themselves into a single charge that sent them flying through the doorway and into the next room, far out of range to be pushed out with such small attacks. Karin shielded her face as she dashed forward, guided by Hayden's senses, to a small console at the far end of the room. As she progressed through the space, the number of attacks targeted towards her increased in severity, while Augustine's seemed to lessen in number. By the time she reached the computer at the far end of the room, Karin felt almost as if she was constantly being pressured by millions of fists. She stopped for a moment, her arms still shielding her face and neck, and readied herself. With a quick roundhouse, she brought her heel against the monitor of the computer system there, sending sparks flying. She backed up, the unrelenting attacks ended completely.

Karin collapsed to her knees, rubbing her bruised torso.

It's gone. The anti-magic field is gone.

Karin slowly opened her eyes and looked up, only to see the man in the tuxedo standing with a grin on his face. That grin scared her.

"Congratulations," the man said through his grin. "Now the punishment really begins."

Without warning, the room exploded in copies of the strange little man - at least twenty of him appeared out of nowhere. Karin gasped and attempted to make it to her feet, but instantly fell back to the ground. The man had done his damage.

Karin, they're all real. He multiplied himself!

"August! Careful," Karin spat as loudly as she could.

"There is no being careful now, m'lady. Now, there is only punishment." the man's copies surged forth, evil intent clearly defined on each one's face.

[PumpkinHat]

Augustine drew a deep breath of relief as he flicked out another cigarette from the old package, lighting it quickly. He felt as if a very heavy burden had been lifted from his entire body, leaving him light as air itself. A trail of smoke poured from him and he chuckled, reaching into his jacket, "Don't be so smug. You've got a lot more to worry about than you think."

He disappeared without a trace, no sign or signature of his ever being was left. Karen and Hayden could feel his thought pattern cease entirely, as if it was never there or never had been, but the feeling of emptiness was vanished as he reappeared...several feet above her and the copies.

He fired a total of five shots, all directed at the heads of the copies, before he was too close the the ground. Four of the five disappeared while the last one reeled with a bleeding shoulder. August landed on the ground and tossed something tot he far side of the room away from Karen, it appeared to be a metal canister of some sort.

Three copies covered upon him at once, attempting to pummel him, but he was gone the same way he had disappeared the last time. He reappeared on top of the computer console near Karen, "Take cover if you can."

A shrill buzz resounded from the item and a moderate explosion consumed nearly half the room. August shielded his face from the heat and the shock wave with a wince, recovering fast as he darted his eyes around to assess the damage and ready to disappear again. Hate to waste one of those, haven't got a lot left.

[TigStripe]

Without even being asked, Hayden threw up a protective wall in front of Karin and Augustine that blocked the shock from the explosion, as well as a couple of dying bodies before they disappeared.

"Impressive," Karin said painfully.

As the room cleared, twenty new clones appeared, their intent still as obvious as ever, and without a single bruise or blemish.

"What the-" Karin looked around, convinced that there would be no end to this.

Karin, the original must be outside the room, supplying us with new targets. I can't sense him - there are too many life signals around.

Gotcha. We'll just have to work together on this one.

"Augustine, go find the original guy. He should be close by," Karin said as she painfully made her way to her feet. "We'll keep his copies occupied here so that he can't call for backup."

[PumpkinHat]

"Got it."

His mind was now on one thing and one thing only: find the target, dispose. No matter what the job, no matter what the situation he often fell into this one tracked mind and it made his will nigh unmovable. There was no negotiation, no time for fiddling around. Almost as if a machine had been activated within his mind, numbing all emotion either negative or positive.

He disappeared in a blink and five shots then three shots ripped through the copies, clearing a few more to give Karen more time to get her defenses in order. Eight of them disappeared, the ones closest to her, and August was gone.



Outside was deserted, or so it seemed, and his eyes narrowed as they darted around the area. He disappeared again and appeared ten feet ahead of where he once stood. He scanned the area again and again found it empty. The hall extended until it opened up to the area with the pool and the ceiling was approximately 15 feet high, extending higher in the next room.

He blinked away once again and then several consecutive times as his existence flickered through the next room, scoping it out and finding absolutely nothing. He scowled with an aggravated sigh.

"Looking for me?"

August felt the force of a kick against the back of his knee and his stance was compromised. Two hands latched onto his right arm and his gun fired out of instinct, only to send the stray bullet ricocheting off the wall uselessly. His body flickered as he turned, landing his foot into the first body he saw. The person reeled but righted himself, waving its arms like a marionette.

He could not essentially use the full extent of his abilities with this person latched to him like this, but he managed to move a few feet away as he took the man with him. This time another pair of hands grabbed his other arm and two kicks nailed him at vital points on his back. With a grunt he fell to his knees, feeling winded but still clinging to his gun.

A hand grasped a hold of his silvery hair and pulled his head back, forcing his gaze to look into the face of the short man standing before him. His brow furrowed, his icy eyes glinting fiercely.

The short man chuckled as he looked upon his captive, "Thought I had something to worry myself about, did you? You're powers are not so difficult to understand."

He took a step closer and August's right arm wrenched in the copy's hold, two more hands grabbing him and holding him steady. The butler shook his head, now within reach of his prisoner, "It's a shame you did not listen. You had to go meddling around. I do hope it was worth your life."

Augustine's body blinked and flickered. Before the short man could even react, his would be captive had his left hand tightly around his throat. August had simply used his ability to maneuver his arm free from his coat, the left side's copies not holding onto his bare skin.

He squeezed the man's neck viciously and the copies holding him began to choke along with their master. A few managed to hold on, but this freed him enough to stand. He picked the butler up as he did and simply chuckled, a low dark sound.

His eyes shown like winter's snow as his victim gazed down upon him, his own vision fading as he was loosing consciousness. Several of the copies hit the floor, holding their own throats in pain. Finally, his right arm was free and he brought the gun to the man's forehead.

Words were something that people wasted, breathes used for nothing but hot air and blowing off steam. In the real world, if you spoke too long you died. If you lingered but a moment, then it was over. If you so much as looked the wrong way you would know true regret. It was a foolish thing to speak. In the real world, no one cared. And neither did this cold, ruthless man. He had long ceased his cares for words, finding no value in them only wasted effort.

A gunshot said more than enough for him.

The hallway sang with the deadly chorus as the moans and groans of the many copies ceased in the presence of glorious silence. Augustine let the body drop to the ground at his feet, blood trailing along the damp floor. He turned and headed back to where he left Karen with a smug grin on his face, his cigarette clinging to its last couple draws.

[Zeke]

"Duck!" screamed Reese and Tiko simultaneously as the strange sea-creature of the undead "swam" toward them in unseen waters. The creature itself gaped its jaws wide baring rows of jagged yellow teeth. As he did so the sinister features of his decayed body was enhanced as spittle flew out of a large rotting hole in the side of his mouth leaving a purple tongue handing limply out.

The creature swam over their ducking heads and disppeard into the tank dispersing into murk within the aquarium. A no doubt smarmy comment was about escape Nicholi's lips when the water within the tank began to swirl inward and then upward into a torrent. Reese ducked back but the tip swirling torrential water cone race between Nicholi and Percival and around the Vampire's body attempting to trap him there where he stood. Nicholi stood still, even as the point of the torent was brought to his eye level and formed the head of the death-ridden sea creature , Nicholi persisted on treating this obstacle as merely that. "Master Teryngale.. The field.. I.." said Tiko as he could fill some form of unseen weight lift off of him. Teryngale cut his words short as the water itself froze in it's place and fell to the floor shattering like the large ice cube it became. The from of the creature hissed and razed toward the mage with intent in it's cloudy eyes.

It began to his and write in pain when a blinding spear of light pierced it's back and into the ground, pinning it in place. Tiko looked around wondering who it was that used such a spell. He had only seen that spell come from one person in his life but that woman was gone. His heart sank a little when he realized the spear had come from Reese, but he was impressed just the same. "Good Job!"

"This thing isn't finished yet." spat Nicholi.

"However it its immobilized" added Percy.

"So what do we do with it" Reese asked looking at Percival who in turned set his eyes upon Nicholi.

"Oh I get it? Just because I'm the vampire means I know everything about forces of the undead."

"Does it not?" The Crimson Mage asked.

Nicholi donned a look of faux shock before turning to the matter at hand. He reached out his hand to examine it but reeled back when it snapped at him. The force of his proceeding flailing tore the spear through its boding and forcing him free. The spines on his back slowly began to elongate and writhe like worms coming out of the ground on a cool rainy morning. Electricity crackled through the air as it race forward sending small bolts of electricity in air surrounding his body.

Nicholi jumped upwards with unpredictable ease, and even more unpredictable height and the creature turned in air with maddening fervor. Instinctively Tiko reached forward and clenching some invisible object in his hands and the creature stood still. It's lifeless eyes showing what could only be shock. Tikaro's brow furrowed and beaded in sweat, his expression was of strain and torment. "fateor" and the cloud in the eyes of the creature began to diminish, the decayed hole in the its face began to mend itself and the whole of the body began to change color. Where there once was no life at all, life was there again. Before long the creature looked as if it was never dead yet he fell, lifeless, to the floor.

"I reversed the effects of decay on his body."

"But wouldn't that just reinvigorate him?" asked Reese.

Tiko shook his head. "It also reversed the effect of the spell that was cast on him. He can now find peace in death."

Reese patted the young man on his back and walked over to the tank still full with water. "That's some power you got."

Tiko didn't respond.