When three dimensions mix together into a cocktail of confusion and mystery, stranding three strangers together how will they get back to their own worlds?
Three women had each been leading a normal life before a rift in reality itself opens, dragging them into a new world that seems to twist, shift and constantly change. Strangers to each other yet connected in other dimensions, how will they leave this new confusing world?
Biovera, seconds ago ready to fall onto the invitingly soft sofa found herself instead falling from the deep purple sky, the wind whistling past her and trying to cut into her like knives. It was succeeding too to an extent, parts of her flying off her body do to the gel-like consistency of her body. It took her a second to get her mind together, almost literally, to cause a mutation in her body to make her body the standard density of a person, and also to grow the bits of her that she lost. Her preference often had her in a more malleable density and substance, since she has no vital organs in case of injury, but strong winds become a problem. The rest of her brain caught up with her survival instincts, her head tilting down to watch the rushing ground - only to find it inches from her nose.
One painful landing later, she was left to sit up with a reeling mind and sore body. She was still recovering from the surprise trip when she heard a thump off to her left as a white fluffy shape groaned in discomfort. A feathered head popped up and quickly looked around, bright blue eyes staring out from a blue-tinged face. Her hair was a white mess on her head with snow blue ruffled feathers partially framing her small face and petite features, which were now twisted into a grimace. With a push of her arms, she managed to push herself onto her feet with more agility then you would have expected, and settles onto her heels looking up at the sky.
“Rgghh, what was that all about!” she exclaims, not at anything in particular, glaring up at the purple sky. She is a little on the short side, resembling a child in stature matched by her posture, yet her body more developed than that of a child. Bio assumes she is around 1.55 meters tall, her skin tinted a blue-ish white with a small wreath of feathers around her neck and along the back of her arms. She also has a tuft of feathers acting as a tail, her peach-colored shorts having a hole cut in them to make room. It took Bio a surprisingly long time to notice that the sky was purple, a deep vibrant purple instead of the shade of blue named after the sky itself. She was distracted once again though when another shape began to fall from the sky, another person it seemed.
Bio, on her feet in an instant managed to get beneath the quickly descending person. A second later and her knees bent to decrease the shock as someone soft and a bit heavy fell into her arms, and she looked down at whoever it was she had caught. She had a skin color similar to the other person, who was now looking over at them and blinking in surprise, but longer blue hair that draped over her shoulder. She seemed a bit taller than Bio, and more filled out with a figure resembling an hourglass. “Oh, thanks,” she said softly and giving a warm smile, which Bio responded to with a nod and gently set her down.
Bio herself was about medium height between the two, with peach-colored skin and short messy hair colored as of the sea, shades of greens and blues. Her eyes were a mix of the same colors, seeming to be constantly swirling with different colors. She wore a basic black tank top and grey shorts, with blue and green tattoos running down her left and right arms going from her shoulders to the base of her hands. She wasn’t skinny nor was she fat, somewhere in the middle, with a moderately sized chest yet a fairly large rump.
There was a sound like snapping cords in the air above them and all three looked up in unison to watch as the air seemed to crack, beginning to ripple with energy before shattering like broken glass. In its place was a seemingly blip in reality, a hole with no color or substance that made Bio’s head woozy just looking into it. From that hole appeared a figure wreathed in what seemed to be living shadow and confusion, a swarming mass in human shape that the sun couldn’t illuminate. “Heyoo, how ya doin’?” it called, seeming to contort in a way resembling someone laying down with their head resting casually on their hand.
It seemed to take everyone’s attention almost immediately, and everyone was left with dry mouths. Or at least that's what Bio expected, but she found herself feeling impassive, the shadow’s entrance too lackluster to be frightening. The girl with white hair was even beginning to shout up at the black figure. “Did you drop us from 100 feet up into 10-mile winds with nothing to actually soften our fall!?” she cried at the figure, a confused, but angry, frown crossing her face. The feathers around her neck and on her arms were puffed out as if she was trying to look bigger than she was.
“Well yeah, you see anyone else around here able to break reality?” she finished her sentence with a flick of her fingers, and the ground near our feet bulged and rippled, inverting in on itself to become a ditch. “Oh and also you three are all from different timelines who haven’t met each other, so you should probably get acquainted,” the figure mumbled dismissively, apparently turning to look at the living shadows that were supposed to be her nails. The three of us looked at each other, taking each other in, Bio being the first to speak.
“My name is Biovera… but I prefer to be called Bio…” she started, trying to be cheerful. The white-haired girl smiled, her earlier anger forgotten, and she held out her hand to me.
“Hi, my name’s Pomella! It's very nice to meet you - Biovera is a very unique name it sounds pretty - hey did you guys have homes or - “ the other girl gently cut off Pomella with a hand on her shoulder, looking patient if slightly annoyed. “My name’s Selena, and thank you Bio for catching me,” she said with a broad smile in Bio’s direction, who did her best to smile back but only managed a quirk of her lips. Since a couple of years ago, she had an extremely difficult time showing emotion, and it irked her to no end. But nevertheless, Selena seemed understanding and her smile widened a tiny bit more before they turned to the figure in the sky.
“Looks like it's going to be another of those universes..” it muttered softly, then shrugged and turned upright, seeming to stand even while floating, then waved her hand. “Chow”
With that one word she suddenly poofed into a tiny explosion of shadows, and the gaping rift behind her stretched wider and wider until snapping shut like a taut rubber band. The three looked at each other, the group unsure what to do next. “We should probably start looking around for something to get us back, right?” Pomella piped up, looking at the two of them for confirmation. She was almost like a child, but in a cute adorable way that was only slightly obnoxious. Bio and Selena both nodded, and the three began to walk across the long golden fronds of the grass.
The land here was strange, seeming to constantly warp and shift, bulging and stretching out like taffy in front of their eyes. The grass under their feet twisted into green thorny bushes while trees sprung up in sprays of dirt around them. In a matter of minutes, the three found themselves in a lush and dimly lit forest, complete with speckled sunlight poking through the trees. “Wow, how is this even possible?” Pomella murmured, looking up and around at the trees which only seemed to continue to burst from the soil. Bio nodded, struck silent both from awe and confusion.
She was a personification of mutation, which meant rapid growth was in her field of expertise. But none of this was natural, no science involved. As she watched a tree near her pop up she let her eyes see the energy of the tree, the life of the tree itself. To her shock though the tree had no swirling lines of green and blue to signify it was alive, instead a glowing streamer of red and brown traced itself through the branches and trunk. The tree wasn’t real, yet when she rested her hand on its rough surface she found it warm and lively. Red indicated it was inanimate, which meant if she ever wanted to mutate such a substance it would take a considerable amount of effort since to mutate such a thing it has to change on the atomic level from when it was produced.
If she touched a tree and willed it to grow, she could make the green and blue merge to cause an explosion of growth, making the tree able to contort in any way she wished and change in almost any way she liked. The amount of energy to do such a thing would only be equivalent to a 20-meter jog. But for the same amount of energy, she could only make an inanimate object grow nubs of plastic, and the more refined the material was the more effort it took to do less. This meant, to cause such rapid growth of a non-living substance that yet also felt so incredibly realistic meant that reality itself was twisting.
Her thought bubble was broken by a gentle shaking on her shoulder, and she looked to the left to see Selena watching her with a curious glint in her eyes. Bio shook her head, unsure how to phrase her discovery and began walking after Pomella. The more she watched her the more she compared her to an energetic child, skipping ahead while taking in the surroundings with open-mouthed awe. A small grin pulled at her lips that she just couldn't help, and she quickened her pace to keep up with her.
The air began to grow misty, and the trees grew crueler, their branches twisting and contorting as the bark itself seemed to grow gnarly, the sight somehow seeming to scare their image into her eyes. Bio found herself grateful for once to her inability to show emotion, both Selena and Pomellas' expressions souring as they took in the sight. Chittering and the sounds of clicking began to sound around them, golden eyes glowering from the trees and woods surrounding them.
The eerie setting, which only moments ago had been sparkling and cheerful, now filled all three with a sense of foreboding. The grass grew unkempt and long, taking a purple-ish tint while creepers with wicked-looking thorns began to circle the tree bases. The three of them pressed into a tight circle, keeping as much space between them and their environment.
"How can such a place go from breath-taking to horrific so suddenly?" Selena muttered under her breath, glancing at her companions.
"It's as if it's alive, it's become so claustrophobic now..." Pomella added, glancing nervously at the flash of a translucent eye.
"That's the horrifying part, it's not alive,"
"What do you mean Bio? How could something like this not be alive?"
"It's a farce, a mockery of life that spits in the face of science and mocks reason," Bio snapped, glaring at the thorny vines that snaked toward their feet, seeking to rend and trip. It felt as if the forest itself was breathing heavily along the back of her neck, its warm breath moistening her skin.
Pomella glanced around, and without warning, her eyes flashed into a dazzling blue glow that illuminated the entire forest in a cleansing light. The trees shrieked in pain and discomfort as the light brushed along their exterior, rippling as if it were a muscle. Lies blazed away, all that was left was a sucking, glossy darkness that seeped away from the purging light. All that remained was the ground they trudged along, made of a lightless stone devoid of color.
Bio whirled on Pomella, staring at her as if her companion had abruptly grown a second head. "What in the bloody blue blazes was that!?" she blurted, thrusting an accusatory finger at Pomella. "When did laser eyes become a thing?!"
She blinked, cocking her head to the left and shooting a confused look. "That isn't normal?"
Bio, flabbergasted, turned to Selena hoping she could clarify. She released a long breath, then focused her gaze on the white-haired bird-girl.
"No, shadow destroying glowy laser eyes are not normal, in fact, that's probably the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my entire life,"
"Oooh... are you sure? I feel like that's still a normal occurrence,"
Bio sighed, tilting her head up and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Pomella, you wouldn't happen to be a personification would you?"
"Oh yeah, the personification of rebirth," she recited automatically.
Bio took a moment to digest this information, then nodded. At Selena's uncomprehending expression, she elaborated, "A personification is capable of things within their domain, I'm assuming she cleansed the forest because it wasn't alive..." she finished with a shrug, unsure the capabilities of 'rebirth' as Pomella phrased it. "Personally, I'm a personification of mutation capable of manipulating living tissue, but in that artificial forest I couldn't do anything,"
Selena took a moment to process the information, then waved her hand toward the path beneath their feet. "good to know... anyway, we should probably continue on if we want to get anywhere,"
"I don't know, I feel like the scenery around her is something to marvel at," Bio jested, keeping a straight face. Pomella turned her head to give her a strange look, her lips curling into a small smile as she shook her head. "Your humor is a bit on the dry side, huh?"
She shrugged, and Selena chuckled softly. Then the three of us were on the move again, Selena taking the lead with Bio and Pomella following close behind. The stone beneath their feet began to warp and twist in a liquid-like manner, leaving Bio unnerved. It formed into a looming entrance 10 meters away, resembling the likeness of a cavern. Then the three were swallowed by the maw of the cave, vanishing into the void. Unbeknownst to the three, the path behind them crumpled like a tin can, folding and cracking on itself before crawling up the cave's surface, cutting off their only escape from what lied ahead.
The cave, in its own way, was worse than the forest. While the forest had put up a farce of peace, the cave had no such trickery. Instead, the three found themselves in oppressive darkness, the three having to hold hands as to not lose each other. Bio tried to use a small pulse of energy to mutate her eyes to penetrate the thick inky blackness but found her adaption useless.
Much like the woods, the darkness wasn't actually 'real'. The entire world was a paradox, every feature, or lack-there-of, explicitly placed to mimic reality. In actuality, it was as if the entire world had been flipped onto its head and spun, throwing out the laws of reality and physics with it. it was hard to explain in a linear sense since the very concept was the exact opposite of linear.
Her thoughts were broken as a cry of pain sounded ahead of her, Selena's hand wrenching out of her own nearly towing Bio with her. She heard Selena cursing, and reached down to find she had tripped on a fist-sized bump that had formed in the stone. Bio crouched down next to her, glowering at the rock as it merged back into the floor, before turning her attention to Selena. "Are you alright?"
"Bloody stone tripped me, I can't see a thing in this darkness," she grumbled, her silhouette slowly sitting up. There was a soft gasp of pain as she tested to see if her foot was broken."I think I sprained it..." she was quiet for a few seconds, then, adding timidly, "Could... you carry me by any chance?"
Bio nodded, then realizing awkwardly that she couldn't see she replied by gently wrapping her arms around the larger woman, wrapping an arm around her waist and under her legs. Sending a quick pulse of energy down her arms she added to the muscle mass in her arms, attempting to lessen the weight resting on her body.
Pomella linked her arm with Bio's, then the three trecked onwards. Within a few hours, the cave began to shift, crackling and popping as if re-aligning its spine. The clatter sent chills from Bio's head to her toes, making her whole body tingle uneasily. Seconds later a blue light began to emanate from the pathway ahead, dousing the cave in an eerie light.
Turning the corner, the three discovered themselves in an underground lake, bioluminescent mushrooms clustered around a crystal clear pool. Small patches of grass cracked the stone in places, giving the are an almost homey feel. "We should rest here, there is no end in sight and we'll need our strength in case something happens..." Bio commented, looking to Pomella. She nodded, and the three sat around the water's edge, Bio setting Selena gently down next to her.
Selena looked to her and gave a small smile. Bio looked back and gave a slight nod, gently picking up Selena's leg to get a look at her ankle. Selena gasped softly in pain as the weight changed, staring off into the water. Pomella, apparently exhausted, flopped down next to us with a 'fwump', her head falling onto my lap. Within seconds the bird-girl was asleep, a contented smile curling the edges of her lips.
Bio took a second to gently rest a hand on Pomella's hair, finding herself stunned with the trust that had just been placed in her. She certainly wasn't used to people randomly falling asleep on her- although, she had never taken the subway. Focusing, she looked back to Selena's ankle, gently feeling the area with two fingers. Nothing felt out of place, although a bit of probing using her magic found the muscles were indeed sprained. The flesh around the sprain also seemed slightly bruised from when her foot had slammed into the outcrop. "Sorry to be such a burden..." Selena mumbled softly, hiding her face behind her hair as she stared down into her reflection. "Your not a burden, a single injury doesn't make you a burden ever..." Bio scolded softly, gently dipping her ankle into the water. "But I slowed you down, I can't imagine I'm exactly light," "No you are not light, but it was necessary," "Then there was when you caught me during my fall..." "It would have hurt to land without being caught, I would know since I experienced it," "But that's what I mean! You're doing all this for me, and I can't seem to do anything in return!" she cried, Pomella stirring a bit from the disturbance. "Your company is all I need, having you around is... reassuring," "yeah, reassuring that somebody else will mess up..." "Do not, ever, put words in my mouth," Bio snapped, lips tightening into a frown. Selena flinched, making Bio feel a pang of guilt. She hadn't meant to be as harsh as she had been, but she hated when others tried to finish her thoughts without knowing what they were. Simply because it was hard for her to express them didn't mean she wanted someone else to do it for her.
After a second, Bio silently let go of Selena's ankle and lowered it into the water, then put an arm around her. Selena leaned into her almost instinctively, both staying very quiet. In that silence, it felt like more words were expressed and shared then could have ever happened through speech. Then, softly, Bio rested her head against Selena's. "I enjoy having you around, even if you don't have powers it's good to have you there to help... it's not like I can do much either," "That's not true! You can manipulate living matter, right? Mutate it or whatever," "Yes but nothing here is living except us it seems, and I have no idea what's causing it..." "Maybe it was that figure who dropped us all here in the first place," Selena thought, pressing closer. Bio barked a laugh, shaking her head. "You may be right, but even if it is that figure the last we saw it vanished into a rift, and I doubt it has a telephone," Bio joked wryly, bumping Selena gently. She let out a giggle before shaking her head, sighing loudly. "We need to figure out some sort of plan, we can't just keep wandering and hoping to find something," "Agreed, but our options aren't exactly prosperous - all we can do for now is continue till we find a way out," "I don't think that's going to happen, but..." Selena's sentence drifted off as she began to think, eyes focused on the surface of the water. Then as if lightning had struck she spun her head around excitedly, nearly smacking their heads together in the process. "I got it!" "got what?" "You said nothing here is real, right? nothing alive?" "Yes..." Bio responded slowly, not following. "Then what if that's because we aren't in a real-world?"
Her brain seized up for a moment, this new tidbit of information shorting out Bio's thought process. Feeling shellshocked, she slowly touched one hand to the water's surface, feeling no natural energy from it. "Are you..." she faltered, still processing what she had heard. "Are you telling me this world isn't real? As if it were some sort of dre -" "Yes a dream!" she cut in excitedly, practically bouncing up and down. "That one figure could do weird stuff, so maybe there is someone who can do illusions or something! We could just be stuck in some big Illusion that's being created as we go!"
While that revelation certainly was groundbreaking, it just made their current situation worse. "Okay... so if we are stuck in an infinite illusion, how do we wake up?" "We pinch ourselves of course!" "That's not how illusions work Selena, it wouldn't be so easy as pinching yourse -"
Selena yelped in pain as she pinched herself, then looked around wildly as if expecting everything to suddenly be different. It seems even an illusion's reality was cruel though, and Selena found herself still stuck in the cave. "... it was worth a shot?"
Bio chuckled softly, then focused on the problem at hand. "I think the first thing we do when we escape this cave is trying to find someone else, to see if we aren't the only ones in this illusion" she pondered, her head resting on her hand as she slowly rubbed her chin in thought. "If we can find other people it means we aren't alone and this could be bigger than we think it is - of course, it would be better if it was just the three of us because that would mean its something weaker than a more global option, but if it is global we're going to have to ring whatever information we can from the inhabitants of this illusion,"
Selena, taking a moment to catch up, nodded slowly. "Let's assume that the one doing this was a... 'personification' like you two are," she said slowly, choosing each word carefully. "What's the possible extent?"
To Bio's surprise, Pomella gave a yawn and slowly sat up, rubbing at her left eye. "It counts on what they personify, the larger their domain the more they can do - for example, a personification of death could probably extend lives or end them early, as well as guide them to the afterlife, while a personification of murder wouldn't have as broad a scope,"
Both Selena and Bio digested that information, Bio herself not having enough interaction to know this. "Is there any way for a personification to become more powerful?"
Pomella blinked sleepily, yawned then gave a small nod. "Yeah... if they can force some other aspect to fit inside their domain they can control that too, or if they gather a certain amount of belief," she stopped for a moment, seeming to think, then cupping her hands she dipped her hands into the lake and held up the water. "Say this is your domain," she began to explain, nodding at the water in her hands. "This is all you have to start with, and it doesn't grow without help. But let's say you were to add something into that domain - " using her wing, she gently flipped a pebble into the water, it floating merrily. "Now you can control that small aspect you added, like if that death personification were to benefit from religious belief - "
"hold on a sec," Selena cut in, seeming confused. "religious belief influences personifications?"
"Well yes, if a lot of people believe in one thing it adds to the pool, for example, the thought that death is wreathed in fire or has power over fire, and from that even though its not naturally in their domain it integrates with it naturally," Pomella confirmed, smiling a bit. Then abruptly she fell back onto Bio's lap, her explanation complete and the water cupped in her hands draining back into the lake.
Bio and Selena shared a look, then began to slowly stand in near unison, Bio reaching down to scoop the sleeping bird-girl into her arms. "Your ankle alright?"
"Yep, it feels almost as good as new," Selena stated confidently, rolling her foot in a circle. Bio gave a nod, then the two turned towards the end of the small cave where a small opening seemed etched into the stone. The two padded on silent feet towards the opening prepared to find a way to the outside world from the confines of stone. Then, from far behind them, the cave screamed.
Pomella bolted awake in Bio's arms so quickly that she almost dropped her, Pomella looking around with wild eyes sleep already forgotten. Selena seemed equally spooked, head snapping to look the way they came as another scream echoed off the walls. "What in the fu -" "You know I don't think we have time for swearing if my ears are working," Bio cut her off, the sound of clicking quickly approaching them from behind causing the cave to echo eerily. Whatever was coming their way, it was huge. Trying to be gentle in her haste, Bio slung Pomella onto her back, the bird-girl wrapping her arms and legs tight around her, nearly choking her. Bio was too busy running to notice something as trivial as choking, her feet a blur as her legs mutated without her influence.
Selena was right behind her despite her injured ankle, fear drowning the pain in the mad dash to escape - whatever it was - chasing them. As if spurred by the sound of footsteps, the creature had increased its own pace, a near-constant sound of screaming following right behind them. Part of it was Pomella, practically yelling in her ear to hurry up, its catching u-
The feeling of hot breath on the back of her neck made her yell in a mix of terror and fury, her legs acting on her own as the footsteps sounded from just behind them. Selena let out a cry as she stumbled, her ankle twisting under her as a faulty step nearly took her to the ground before Pomella managed to grab her hand and keep her from losing her footing. Bio didn't notice, too focused on running to take a break to think.
She felt more weight on her back, Pomella yelling to Selena to hold on as their hands clasped together. They were a pully system, Bio running at inhuman speeds as Pomella dragged Selena along behind them, the poor girl limping on her one good foot. Bio got her first look at the creature as they took a turn, passing a crystalline portion of the cave. The very sight set her entire body into overdrive, fear driving itself like a spike down into her core.
It was long, with clawed hands that reached toward them on long boney arms as thin as twigs. Its body was long and segmented, covered in chitin like substance marred with many scrapes and cracks, exposed flesh leaking yellow puss. It had too many legs to count, almost as if it were a millipede as the sharp ends dug into the stone, leaving the surface so full of holes people with trypophobia would have a heart attack. Its torso was humanoid in shape, bony ribs jutting out unnaturally. But worst of all was its head, extended on a neck as long as its arms so thin you could count the ridges of its elongated spine, sat the face of a human, upside with its eyes torn out to leave bloody holes and a mouth filled with teeth.
A scream tore its way free of Bio's lungs as her eyes locked on its bloody sockets, and any rational thought she had left whited out in that instant. Reaching back she grabbed Selena by the hand, snatching her to her side in one violent motion as her body responded to her distress. Feet and legs mutating further, long, curled claws dug into the stone beneath and launched them forward, legs covered in exposed muscles that contracted and pulled with every stride.
It felt like she ran for years, the sound of screaming and steamy breath pushing her onwards. The cave twisted in turns as if producing convoluted pathways simply to aid in the... 'thing's chase. It couldn't have been more than five minutes in reality, but fear extended that to an incredible extent. She kept hearing it get closer, the panicked voices of her companions as she carried them away. Then at the turn of the corner, she finally saw a way out, a large doorway filled with beautiful sunlight.
But then, just before they broke into the light the creature got a hold of her leg, claws digging into created muscle and locking it in place. The sudden jolt caused Pomella and Selena to rip from Bio's grasp, flying a few feet through the air through the doorway to safety. The creature's second arm shot forward and dug itself into her shoulder, eliciting a scream from her raw throat.
It turned her to face it, and she found herself staring into the black pools of its bloody sockets. Its mouth agape with row upon row of teeth gleaming with saliva. It screamed, and she found herself screaming again with her body using the last of its strength. Without conscious thought her ribs suddenly exploded from her chest, blood spraying out of the sudden self-inflicted wounds as her ribs straightened and embedded themselves into the creature's throat and face.
It screeched so loud it nearly burst her eardrums before it slowly began to melt. The wounds leaking acidic blood as it deflated in on itself as if filled with gas. Bio, having used all of her energy, fell onto the floor, her mind dizzy from blood loss and exhaustion. Her ribs slowly went back to their original shape and position, leaving bloody holes traveling through her body.
The last things she heard were shouts of panic as Pomella and Selena rushed to her side, one bruised and one limping. As her vision darkened, she caught a glimpse of their faces as they looked down at her in panic, and she faintly heard Selena yell "Don't go on me!" "I'm sorry Selena... At least I c..could protect y..."
Then, on that day, Biovera, the personification of mutation, died.
She found herself in darkness, a single light shining far away, barely out of reach. A silver chain tied her soul back to... where was she from again? She couldn't remember, staring forward to the pretty light at the end of the dark tunnel. It was so tantalizingly close, yet just out of reach. The chain kept her tethered and unable to advance, and she pulled at the chain, trying to rip herself free.
The chain groaned and creaked, but it did not come free of her. But the light was so close, it purred promises into her ears of peace and no more pain, no more hardship. A place where she could actually express herself! She pulled more frantically, and a tiny crack slowly began to form in the link holding her to the pain and misery of where she was from. Joy soared within her chest, and she slipped her fingers into the link ready to give the final tug and let her be fre-
"You know, personifications aren't supposed to die so easily," a voice commented softly from behind her, and she turned in confusion to a strange woman standing behind her. She disliked the woman. She was blocking her from her precious light. Her freedom, her promise out of pain. "Your journey has only just begun, what are you doing tapping out so easily?"
"Get out of my way, let me be free!"
The figure barked a laugh, stepping closer into the light so Bio could see her. She was pretty, about the same height as Bio with ebony skin and black eyes, white pupils staring at her sympathetically. Her hair was like liquid flames, flickering and dancing on her head while she held out a hand. Bio, partially awestruck, took her hand only for memories to come flooding back.
Selena - the creature - were they alright? Did she manage to protect them? Everything was blurry with fear, and she found her hands no longer pulling at the link to life. That's right - she was supposed to be alive, not trying to die. "I knew you weren't ready to die, you have a fighting spirit," the figure proclaimed, beaming at me. "Wait, but who are you?" I'm Inum, I guide those who need it to death as a personification of death, but I came because I knew it wasn't your time yet," she shook her head, sighing softly. "seriously, you did more damage to yourself then that horror did,"
Bio looked away sheepishly, excuses flooding onto her tongue to be unleashed only to be beaten back. She was right, even if Bio hadn't been in her right mind with fear. She began to feel a tug on the chain and looked up in surprise to see a giant blue hand, snowflakes, and crackling energy forming into a single entity that was slowly tugging Bio back. "Hopefully, if we meet again, it will be in the world of the living," Inum mussed, waving as her soul was suddenly yanked from the dead back to the living.
The first sensation that hit Bio was the feeling of something soft against her lips, then a rough pushing on her chest. She slowly cracked her eyes open to see Selena performing CPR, face stained with tears. She finished pushing and forced her lips against Bio's, blowing air into her lungs - not seeming to notice she was back. She reached a hand up and gently tapped her arm, Selena jumping in surprise before seeing her eyes were open.
Bio noticed Pomella off to her left, ice and a small layer of frost covering the grass around her that snaked to Bio's body, resting above her heart. Ah yes, she was a personification of rebirth. Of course, she could bring someone ba-
Her line of thought was cut off as Selena was suddenly against her, arms wrapped tight around her neck as she let out a sob into the crook of her neck. Feeling slightly taken-aback, Bio slowly rubbed her back, comforting her softly. This only caused Selena to cry harder, and Pomella opened her eyes to give Bio a weary smile. "Welcome back, we thought we lost you for a second there,"
Bio, unsure what to say gave a slight nod, holding Selena just a bit closer as she let out a sob. "Selena it's okay, I'm back..." "Yeah, your back! The fact your back means you left in the first place!"
Opening her mouth to respond, she decided better on it and instead rested her chin on top of Selena's head, slowly rubbing her back. A second later Pomella also began to massage Selena's back, while also sneaking in a side hug with Bio. Calming down slowly, she looked up at Bio through her hair, giving one last sniffle.
Bio was still sore, and most of what had transpired on the other side were now foggy and unreachable, except for the faint impression that she had met someone. It made sense her memory would be foggy, after all, she had been dead with no physical brain to store the information in. "Pomella, if I may ask... how did you bring me back?" "welll, its kind of a long process," she noted, eyes growing distant. "But I've already given one long boring explanation, so I'll summarize it,"
She squared her shoulders, faced Bio completely - despite the fact she was still laying on the ground - and stated, "Magic," "Hm, well you know as much as I would love to pick the finer details, I'm about as tired as a rabbit after mating season and could really use someplace to sleep," Bio declared, slowly sitting up causing Selena, who had been laying on top of her partially, to also get up.
"er, 'a rabbit after mating season'?"
She shrugged, and slowly stood up, planting her feet on the ground - then falling directly back onto her rump. As much as she wanted to stand, she just didn't have the energy to do so unsupported. "hey uh, Selena... sorry to ask this, but could you help me walk please?" "Absolutely," reaching down, Selena gently hooked an arm under Bio's and hoisted her up, Bio pushing up with her to help. She almost fell again but Selena stopped her, pulling her to her body while she stabilized. After a moment Bio nodded, and Selena pushed her away just a bit, yet keeping one hand firmly on the small of her back just in case. "While I was out, did either of you look for any nearby towns?"
They both stared at Bio for a couple of seconds like she was nuts. "Of course not, I was reviving you and Selena was fretting and crying a -" "Okay okay! You don't need to go into details," Selena snapped, a blush tinging the features of her face. Bio smiled a bit, but she couldn't help but sigh internally. While she appreciated the sentiment, it would have been nice to know where the closest town was. She desperately needed someplace to rest, even with the holes she had created closed they still ached and itched.
The next walk was blurred, sleep and discomfort messing with Bio's memory until features came into focus. By her guess, they had been trudging on for about half an hour. Looking up, she saw the outline of a town in the distance, but it definitely was not inviting.
The sky was dark and foreboding, storm clouds slowly rolling over the small town. None of the lights were on except for the large building in the center, and very few people could be seen walking around. Most that did stumbled and swayed as if drunk, even from this distance their skin looking pasty. While she was desperate to get some sleep, this place looked like the last place she would want to do it.
The nearby ocean lapped at the single dock the town had. Black, restless waves and swirling figures seemed to stir it into a froth, and Bio could swear yellow eyes watched them from the water as they approached. She was reminded of the creature that had killed her and quickly looked away just in time to see the moldy sign they were just passing. "Welcome to Innsmouth, a town of the sea"
"Well, Isn't this just a charming little place?" Bio commented dryly, looking around the room they had rented. After entering the city they had done their best to avoid the locals, making a b-line for the Inn near the center of the town, which only seemed slightly bigger than the average home here. "Its better than the cave," Selena remarked, yet her eyes showed her doubt in that statement. The cave had been nice and lit by bioluminescent mushrooms with a clean water source, and the horror living there had been killed. This tiny room, on the other hand, was awful.
The beige carpet was stained and torn in places, dirt and grim creating a permanent mark where it sat. The walls were yellow striped with white, yet even that was torn in multiple places with exposed wooden planks and stone showing through. The two beds in the room smelled of mold and were strangely slimy as if a giant fish had laid here. Bio almost would have preferred fighting the monster again to sleeping here. Almost.
Pomella, her usual bounciness dulled by fatigue, sighed and sat on the edge of the closest bed, cringing as it squelched underneath her weight. "None of us like it, but we can leave once it hits the morning... I'm tired, and I have a bad feeling about going outside this room into the town at night, even if to leave,"
"True, it does have that kind of eerie presence huh?" Selena concurred, frowning out the single window in the room, the only clean spot in the entire room. Framed to resemble a squid, the glass was spotless and framed the black, crashing waves perfectly. The three of them stared at the window, transfixed by the insidious rhythm the sea held. It was almost hypnotic as if calling us to its depths to play with the creatures of the deep. Of course the sharks and angler fish don't want to hurt you, they just want to be friends...
Violently shaking her head, Bio snapped a few times to get their attention. "Pom's right, sleep,"
The two nodded, then as Pomella, as if sentencing herself to death, slowly spread out onto the bed she had sat on, the present party stared at the second bed. "I uh, guess that means we share that one..." Bio mumbled softly, looking over to Selena. The implications of that, while not intended, caused a small blush to form on Selena's face as she slowly nodded. Selena slowly laid down, grimacing at the feeling.
Bio, at a snail's pace, lowered herself onto the bed next to her, the texture of the bed under her forgotten when she met eyes with Selena. The two stared for what felt like an eternity, then slowly began edging toward each other. The two got close enough to feel each other's breath as both wore a small blush. Unbeknownst to the two, Pomella smiled tiredly before slowly turning away, trying to give them some privacy. At least, she had the attention to till she saw the figure in her bed.
Her yelp of surprise snapped Selena's and Bio's attention to her, Bio quickly sitting up to look over at what the commotion was about. "Oh I'm so terribly sorry to interrupt, I had hoped to see 'something' before I said something," the figure teased, standing up from the bed in one graceful movement. He smirked at the three as they stared at him dumbfounded, trying to comprehend how they had gotten into their room.
He was tall, easily six feet with blue skin so deep it was nearly black. His red eyes were that of a cat's, vertical pupils shimmering with mischief above his gleaming white smirk. His hair was short in a perfect bed-head you only saw in movies, taking on shades of blue and grey. He reached up and tightened his blue tie, bringing attention to his white tuxedo lined on the inside with black stripes. His pants were equally fancy, a swirl of white and black in dizzying patterns.
"It is an honor to make you lovely ladies acquaintance, I am Fobus, the mischievous personification of fear, at your service," he purred, bowing deeply while keeping his eyes trained on them the entire time. Pomella, unsure how to cope, simply rolled out of the bed and thumped onto the ground. Selena hid behind Bio, while Bio couldn't help but shake her head, dragging a hand slowly across her face. "Great, we have a stalker..."
Putting a hand over his heart in mock pain. "Oh, my heart! Sorry sweetie, but you don't warrant that much attention just yet," he jested, his smirk only growing as he dropped his hand back to his side. "I'm just here to make sure you don't die in the next..." he looked down to his wrist as if wearing a clock, then gasped. "Oh! Nevermind, you already died didn't you? I should probably just go then!"
"wait," Bio sighed, looking at him in annoyance. "Sorry for being rude, I should expect to find random strangers in a room we purchased," "Indeed you should! After all, in only about 10 minutes you're going to have thirty of them in here," he mused, then thought for a moment. "Give or take, hmhm,"
If he wanted to get our attention he couldn't have chosen a better thing to say. "Excuse me?"
"Oh yeah! Ropes, gags they're bringing the whole shebang just for you! Well, you and the creatures of the deep anyway,"
"I'm sorry but I'm just going to repeat myself, excuse me!?"
"You remember that absolutely lovely little beastie that killed you? That's a puppy compared to some of the things in this twisted world!"
"Oh lovely, I'll just prepare my magic then..." Pomella grumbled darkly, sighing deeply. Fobus chuckled at her comment, before clearing his throat to continue. "Anyway, while I am supposed to be all spooky I prefer using suspense and what better suspense then openly telling them what's going to happen! Aren't I clever?" he preened, fingers drumming against each other diabolically. Bio decided it better not to comment and instead stood up from the bed. "Well thanks for the 'suspense', I think we have some work to do,"
"Oh, yeah I guess you do," he said flippantly, seeming disappointed that his brilliance wasn't acknowledged, hands dropping back to his sides. "Well I'll see you later, try not to die!" and with that, he walked through the wall. As soon as the heels of his shoes had left the room, three shadows could be seen moving around in an absolute tizzy.
Fobus sighed to himself, staying a second to watch the commotion with a small smirk. "Honestly, those three are going to be put through the wringer in this world," he looked out over the black sea, keen eyes picking out the dark figures of monsters preparing to breach the surface. Green eyes peered up at the streets from the murky depths, a group of villagers clothed in dark robes gathering near the water's edge. "They better succeed in this world though..." he murmured, smirk sliding off his face. "Otherwise, it may cease to exist all together"
5 minutes after Fobus left the three were ready to leave, having taken the time to fix what they had touched. The three exhausted companions nodded to one another, then crept out of the house as silently as they could. Bio had used a bit of her power to make the three of them look different, their skin and clothes acting almost as camouflage now as they moved silently through the streets. The main street felt like a death trap, so instead, they stuck to the back alleys and twisting pathways.
This turned out to be a bad idea, as only seconds after they left the sound of crashing echoed from behind them, bouncing off the walls. "They must have found us missing at the inn... ten minutes my- "
Bio went silent as Selena put a finger to her lips before gesturing ahead, where a shadow neared the end of the current path. The small bit of light present stretched out the shadow, making it look as if a giant were approaching as a figure turned into the same path they were on. They pressed themselves to the sides of the alley almost immediately as he began to walk forward, hobbling along as if his left foot were injured. As he began to near their spot Bio could hear him grumbling under his breath, cursing and -gurgling? Insults at the sneaky sacrifices.
His eyes seemed to have no pupil, only inky black spheres that sat in his face like glistening orbs. His skin was scaley and grey, his fingers showing just the tiniest amount of webbing between them. His stomach was bloated and stretched the white t-shirt he wore, sloshing as if full of water. Bio couldn't help but shiver as he passed, unable to control the instinctual fear that ran down her spine.
His head snapped toward her without warning, mouth opening to reveal blunted teeth as if tasting the air. She froze, unmoving - not even blinking as he stared at her for what felt like years. Then finally he continued on, heading towards the inn where the sounds of crashing and gurgled yells sounded. "I think they can only see movement, it's like how fish react to quick movements but not things that aren't moving," Bio called over softly, taking care of tilting her head in the direction of the Fishman. The two nodded, then the three hurried forward.
The rest of the walk was fairly uneventful, the fishmen seeming to have lost track of them, and the edge of the town was in sight. Bio felt relieved to be leaving but was surprised when Selena suddenly raised her hand and the three stopped, Bio shooting her a questioning look. "What is it? Were almost out can't it wait?" "Shouldn't we try to help them?"
Bio was stuck in stunned silence for a moment, Pomella seeming equally surprised. "Are you nuts!?"
"Keep your voice down!" Selena whispered back furiously, looking back at the town they were so close to escaping. "We're here to try and help this place, right?"
"No we got stuck here by some random person and are now trying to leave," Bio huffed, starting forward again. Selena grabbed her wrist, anchoring her in place while giving her a glare. "Why shouldn't we help them? Didn't you see that poor guy that walked by us?"
"You mean the one that was going to 'sacrifice' us?" Bio growled out, her bewilderment slowly turning to anger. Why was this happening now? This wasn't their problem, why should they have to deal with it?
"They obviously aren't in their right mind, I mean who would want to look like that?" she insisted, gaze flicking back towards the sea.
"Because they're nuts!"
"Tell me they're nuts after you stare into that ocean!" she snapped, finger shooting forward to point at the waves. Bio went silent as she watched them, that same mesmerizing rhythm starting to drag her forward. She could swear she heard a melody playing over the wind, calling her in... "Okay so the sea drove them crazy, that doesn't change the fact that they are crazy," she asserted, focusing her gaze instead on Selena's face. "Would you help me if I went crazy?" Selena challenged, suddenly turning her gaze to the ocean. Bio saw within only seconds her eyes start to grow distant, her foot taking an unconscious step forward towards the waves. Without even thinking Bio reached forward to cover her eyes, Selena growing still again. "What makes me different than all those villagers, huh?..."
"Because I don't know them!"
"So you know me?" Selena shot back quietly, pulling her hand away from Bio's hand. The two of us fell into an awkward silence, the only sound being their breathing and the waves crashing in the back. Her mind made up excuse after excuse, reasons why Bio was different than all those villagers. Was it because Selena was pretty? Was it her caring personality with its times of weakness when she cared too much? Or... was it how Bio was starting to feel towards her?
"Please, help me help them..." Selena pleaded quietly, reaching out to gently squeeze her hand. "Or I'll help them by myself,"
Bio was quiet, looking up at her as conflicting emotions battled for dominance in her mind. Then, seemingly out of the blue a voice cracked the heavy silence next to the two. "You won't be alone in helping them," Pomella murmured softly, putting a hand on Selena's back. With that gesture, Bio's mind was made up and she nodded, squeezing her hand back. "Just... don't get sacrificed to the ocean, okay?" "That's the plan," Selena confirmed smiling, then the three of us headed back. The streets were empty now, the townsfolk all gathered at the water or the inn leaving them free to walk the main street. "So, what is the plan for actually breaking them free?" "We talk to them!"
Pomella stopped in her tracks and, sighing deeply, shook her head. "Oookay, what's plan B?"
"Well, we're going to have to find someone who can tell us how this started in the first place, otherwise we could be at this all night," Bio reasoned, a frown contorting her features. "The problem is finding someone who isn't crazy and who will actually talk to us..."
"Oh you all should be fine, there is always some crazy coot who is just a different kind of crazy than the others," a playful voice whispered into Bio's ear causing her to spin around, only finding a sign having been placed behind them. There were no words on the sign, only an arrow pointing down a nearby alley. She wasn't sure how she had missed it before, but now that she saw it it was so obvious it hurt.
The sign was placed to the side of the road, and when she looked down the alley she saw in paint the words "Nick nacks emporium" above a single wooden door, a bit of light shining through a tiny window set into the planks. "I think... I think we might have just found our lead," Bio proclaimed hesitantly, slowly starting her way down the alley. The three approached the shop slowly, unsure if it was safe to knock. Even Selena, who had wanted to talk to the fish people, took a step away from the door seeming unsure.
Bio, glowering at the others too, reached forward tentatively and knocked on the door. "You crazies leave me out of it! I want no part in your mad ramblings and rituals!" came a male voice from inside the shop. "We aren't the crazies your thinking of, but we do want to learn what made them what they are so we can stop it!" Selena called back in, seeming to have found her voice.
There was silence for a few moments, then the sounds of footsteps approached the door before the handle turned and was cracked open. After a second to examine the arrivals, the door opened the rest of the way to reveal an average looking elderly man, wispy grey hair resting on a balding head. His face was creased with wrinkles and his eyes were slightly sunken as he gave them the hairy eyeball. The three of them waited there as he stared, shifting uncomfortably for a solid minute before he finally waved his hand.
"If you wish to hear the tale of madness then come inside, and for this town's sake I hope your promise of help is truthful," he intoned as they walked by and into the shop.
Small trinkets and items sat on shelves that took up nearly every inch of space in the small house, only leaving room for a small kitchen and bed tucked into the corners. Bio found herself interested in a few of the displayed items but turned her head to focus on the man who had let them in as he slowly closed the door behind them. He took a moment to stretch, back audibly popping back into place as he limped his way to his bed and took a seat. His eyes focused on the three of them as they stood awkwardly in the middle of the store.
He took a moment to get comfortable, settling into the bed before letting out a sigh. "I'll tell you now if yous be squeamish then you best walk out that door now, this ain't some pretty little tale I'm bout to tell ya," he announced, waiting to see if anyone would take the offered out. They all stood firm, although Bio wishing she had somewhere to sit instead. He nodded, then closed his eyes and began to speak.
"A very, very long time ago - and we talkin hundreds of years here - this town used to be one of the prettiest beach towns you could find this side of the kingdom. Sparklin blue ocean that shined as if the sun was enveloped in its waters, the town standing tall with new buildings decorated in the findins of the sea. You couldn't walk ten feet without being greeted by someone, and the sky was always clear and a blue only the sea could match," he made a sweeping motion in the sky as if clearing the clouds that choked the sky, painting the world in the image of the past.
"The sea sang such sweet melodies, the sea itself would sing to you as you swam and seemed to play with the littluns, pushing and pulling as a gentle mother would. My great grand-daddy passed on the stories the sea told him, tales of adventurers and great palaces of crystal and coral that grew from the bottom of the seafloor, the monthly town parties and birthday celebrations, an absolute paradise!" his mouth was stretched in a wide grin, his eyes reflecting the joy and fun he had heard so much about. But like a storm front advancing across the sky they darkened again, his haunted eyes making him look 100 years older than he really was.
"But then there was an accident - for ya see the sea was gentle and the village nice, but no matter how sweet the place it can always be tainted - the details are lost to the waves, but the day after a town party a boy's body was found on the shore, and his blood seemed to circulate through the waves like an infection. The wave's melodies soured and the townsfolk grew scared, the sea abandoned for fear of what could have killed the child," he sat back farther into his chair, looking them each in the eye.
"Murder is something that can never be wiped away and I want y'all to remember that - the sin of murder will haunt you for your life, and you will never escape the consequences that come from it - and just like it haunts life, it haunted that ocean till the crystal clear waves turned murky, and began to smell. The town did no better, their parties abandoned as they watched their town begin to decay around them,"
"How could all this happen from just one death?" Bio questioned, the rational part of her brain unable to wrap around what she was hearing.
"It is never just one death!" he snapped, glancing at her sharply. "Life is a magical thing that is fleeting, a time meant to be filled with happiness and strife hand in hand, and whenever one grows fruitfull the other harvests the crop... the crop this time happened to bear fruit as sweet as candy, so a scythe rotted to the core is what harvested that fruit,"
"Life holds magic and energy, and magical pollution does exist..." Selena muttered, rubbing her chin subconsciously. "are you saying the murder of this child, whatever caused it, became a catalyst for magical pollution?"
"I don't know all those fancy terms you're speakin, but if you mean his death caused it all then yes. The sea began to rot and the melodies and stories it sang grew disturbing, men who says they heard the songs unable to sleep for days. With conditions like that, it was only a matter of time before someone grew mad enough to seek the water,"
"Is that how the... infection, spread to the people?"
"Indeed, a man had gone insane and went for a swim in the black waters, and the sea sang to him twisted melodies filled with pain and suffering. The townsfolk speak so fondly of them, the tales of death and torture that the sea speaks. The deep ones call to them, and spread the blight of the sea to the living, corrupting them to serve their bidding,"
"The deep ones? I don't like the sound of that..." Pomella groaned, dragging her hand across her face. The store owner barked a bitter laugh, grimacing.
"well good, it means you's ain't insane like them psychos that wander the streets, but I can't tell you what they look like - if I could, then I would be wandering those streets too,"
"So if this all happened so long ago, how are we supposed to fix them?"
"Well I reckon the sea doesn't know what murdered that poor boy all that time ago - or maybe it does, I can't say. If you wants to purge this blight on our town though, your gonna have to figure out what happened all that time ago and try to make it right," he intoned, his eyes wandering towards the door that led outside, the insidious sea waiting beyond. "You best be careful though, if the sea did cause all this then you better shore up your sanity best you can - cause you'll be goin for a swim,"
"I was never good at murder mystery, so of course that's what we have to do to fix this problem," Bio grumbled a few minutes later, the three of them having left the shop to try and fix this mess. Bio wasn't sure what to think of the shop keeper's tale, in honesty she had a hard time believing how a single murder could cause so much. By a biological standpoint, his blood would have drained into the ocean - assuming death was from a stab or cut - then circulated out. She could understand the psychological effects on the people, but the sea? It wasn't a living thing, it couldn't have problems like this. For some reason, the concept that the sea couldn't be personified struck her as ironic but she couldn't quite place it.
"Well, where should we start? Asking the townsfolk is out of the question and it's not like a body stick around for hundreds of years and on top of that the shopkeeper made it sound like the ocean should be our last resort,"
"Oh I'm behind avoiding the sea, it feels like it's watching us and I don't like it," Selena commented, turning away from the black waves that tore at the sand of the beach. Bio had to agree, the sea seemed like a bad starting point. You just don't start with your last resort, it's too twisted. It's supposed to be the last resort for a reason. "Well, if there is some sort of magic pollution it would make sense if there was a sign where it started, so even if the body isn't still there may be some residual energy," Bio theorized, gesturing with her hand towards the water's edge.
"Yeah I guess so, but you better be careful not to draw attention from the townsfolk, there are a couple around the water's edge,"
Selena and Bio nodded, then the three started forwards at a relatively quick pace. As the group approached the water phantasmal images began to creep along the edges of their vision, putting them on edge. Bio saw out of the corner of her eye the horror that had killed her, but when she whipped her head around to see all that was left was the upside toothy grin, blood dripping onto the sand. Pomella's vision was obscured as she seemed to see only mushrooms as if they were trying to push themselves through her eyes while the roots found a hold in her nose. She gasped for breath, only to find the alien sensation had vanished.
The two glanced at Selena who seemed to be experiencing similar discomfort, arms wrapped tightly around her stomach with downcast eyes. The sooner they got away from this sea the better, and they weren't even going into it. A few minutes later, Pomella whistled softly to get their attention, and the two looked up to see a blackened patch of sand. It came more into focus as they got closer, a closer inspection revealing the sand had somehow hardened into a blackened glass. Selena reached down to brush her fingers along the side only to draw them back in a sudden motion, covering her mouth to smother the yelp of pain.
The interior of the glass was so fractured that the cracks seemed to be apart of the glass, and it seemed as if there was not a single spot where you could avoid a cut. The glass had an indentation in it, and as Bio leaned in closer it almost looked like...
"There was a body here, I think we've reached our destination," she murmured softly, racking her brain to figure out how this was possible. Selena clutched her finger which turned out to be bleeding slightly, but despite her efforts, a single drop of blood fell from the tip of her finger onto the black glass. To their surprise though, the moment the red droplet touched its surface it rippled and opened, resembling a skeletal maw. The mouth opened wide as the blood fell into the hole it had created, before slamming shut and seeming to swallow fervently. "more.... more blood.... give me more..." the mouth moned, and the glass rippled as the hollow seemed to fill.
The glass pooled together, its rough surface audibly scratching and groaning as it pressed together to take shape. The body indentation in the glass was quickly filled, and slowly with the sound of glass shattering a figure sat up. It was skeletal, empty sockets staring at the blood on Selena's finger with intense hunger, as if it had been starved for weeks on end. It reached one arm toward her slowly, and Bio quickly stepped in front, hand mutating without thought to form a scaled hand just tough enough to not be scratched. But much to her surprise, the glass skeleton did not try to grab Selena.
The skeleton cupped its hands together, wrenching its sockets on her face instead. "May I please have more blood... I'm starved..."
"You can have some of mine," Bio cut in without really thinking, having been caught by surprise. If anything she had expected it to be some crude undead, what kind of skeleton ever asked for food? The skeleton considered for a moment, then as Bio's hand went back to normal it took its pointer finger and carefully scraped it along her palm. Bio did her best not to flinch, instead clenching her fingers down to draw out more blood which fell into its hands with a soft 'plop... plop... plop' sound. One it had enough to have trouble holding in one hand it shoved the blood into its mouth, the red liquid falling through its chest cavity and vanishing into thin air.
The three took a step back as the skeleton began to glow, its socket's illuminating with a red light and the glass that made up its body reflecting shimmering red light through its channels, looking incredibly similar to veins. "Thank you... my name is Samuel, and I believe I'm what you're looking for," he stated calmly, red eyes turning to each of us.
"Wait, are you the boy who was murdered?" Selena asked, surprise evident on her face. The skeleton nodded, seeming solemn despite the lack of facial features. "Indeed, my foolishness plagued this sea and with it corrupted the very town I had loved so much... as a spirit unable to leave this glass, I watched the events that followed my death transpires, and it has left me quite..." he glanced down to his chest, seeming sad. "Hollow..."
Pomella visibly held back a laugh at the unintentional joke, trying to be serious. "So wait, what killed you, Samuel?" Selena questioned softly, genuine curiosity crossing her face.
" The sea had told me a tale of the great treasure that lay at its depths, and the miracles that befell those who reached those treasures... I had been young and naive and thought for hearing such a tale I deserved that treasure," the teeth grated together as the skull smiled sadly. "The sea bed was not deep at the time you see, and I had been a good swimmer and reached the treasure... but after that point things are hazy, and I can't remember how I exactly died but I know it was due to my own foolishness,"
"Of course, because it wouldn't be a murder mystery if you get the whole story from one person," Bio groaned, tilting her head back to look into the dark sky. Even worse, it sounded like to continue and figure what happened they would have to go into the sea. The last resort was becoming a reality, and considering the illusions that had haunted them on the walk here, she could only imagine what was possible in the actual water. For that matter, what monstrosities did the water hold?
"So... does this mean we have to go into the water?" Pomella asked softly, glaring daggers at the dark water. "I can't say the idea is exactly pleasant, but if its what must be done..."
"Sadly I believe so, I can give us gills but it wi - "
"Gills won't work, the ocean is too... choked," Samuel cut her off softly, skull tilted slightly.
"What do you mean choked? It's water if anything is supposed to be choked its whatever goes into the sea," Pomella complained, stomping over to the water and let it lap at her shoes. She shivered visibly as the water touched her shoes and she shuffled back, seeming surprised. "It's so cold... cold as the grave,"
"The grave isn't that cold actually, there isn't any temperature on the other side really," Bio commented, despite her comment remembering something about blue flames. Pomella, the carefree nature she held this morning drowned in exhaustion and horror, simply glowered at Biovera. "Hush you," she snapped, then plunged into a hand into the sea with light filling the palm of her hand. The second her hand was submerged in the water though, the light snuffed out in the dark waters as she jumped back with a shriek. The sudden motion pulled something back with her hand, and something black followed with a splash.
The black sea seemed to cackle as the object hit the ground with a wet 'fwump', the head of a fish staring blankly up into the sky as Pomella violently shook her hand, dislodging two giant leeches that had latched themselves to the flesh of her hand. Then the fish head twitched, eyes beginning to rapidly circle in their sockets as its mouth gaped open. The head was alive - or more accurately, it was reanimated.
"That's what the ocean is choked with..." Selena whispered under her breath, eyes wide in horror. "It's choked with death,"
Samuel nodded solemnly, then gestured toward one of the nearby larger houses, the only discerning feature being the streaks of red paint - or at least, what she hoped was red paint - that adorned the door and walls. "There is a spirit that lives there... I have never spoken to him, being tied to this glass tomb, but the townsfolk have referred to him as 'the man in the wall', there is even a sub cult for this guy... he may know a way for you all to go safely into the water but it's not guaranteed..."
"Any lead is useful right now, thank you, Samuel," Selena responded softly, giving the skeleton a slightly strained smile.
"Getting in there shouldn't be too hard, I can just -" Bio was cut off as he shook his skull. "He won't speak to your kind, he only deals with normal people..." Samuel interrupted softly, almost as if he was apologizing. "The only one of you three that would have a chance of talking to him is her..." with that statement he gestured to Selena with a single boney finger. The color drained from her face as the implications settled in, fervently shaking her head.
"I-I can't! If I do it I'll mess up, and and - " she babbled, waving her arms in front of her as if warding off evil. Bio rested her hand on Selena's shoulder, pushing down just a bit to get her attention. "You'll do fine, just be careful in there..." Bio murmured softly, nodding ever so slightly. Selena nodded back hesitantly, then after a second to cool her nerves she headed up to the house, fear making her heart want to beat itself out of her chest. If she messed this up, this town would forever be a horror show.
Selena did not like this situation one bit. At least Samuel had been somewhat nice, but now she was about to go talk to some spirit that had its own cult!? This didn't feel safe in the slightest and she did not want any part of it! If only she could actually speak that though since this whole thing had been her idea. She could have taken the offer out and not had to deal with any of this craziness - the out Biovera had offered...
She quickly shook off the haze that clouded her mind at the name, deciding to instead focus on not drawing attention to herself as she waited behind a corner for a group of robed townsfolk to walk past. The wall she pressed herself against was cold and moist, but if she didn't then she would be seen. If she was seen then she could get killed and then everyone would stay crazy then - wait, no calm down. Nothing's happened yet so there is no reason to panic. It's fine, everything is perfectly fine nothing bad is going to happen oh my god I really hope I'm not going to die today.
As soon as they were past the house she quickly darted to the front door, turning the handle while a thunderstorm ran rampant in her mind full of worry and worse case scenarios. Why couldn't Bio do this, she was the calm one! She knew why though, turning the nob to dart into the house as quickly as she could. She nearly slammed the door once she was in, before remembering she was trying to be sneaky. So instead of being an idiot, she slowly closed the door, cupping a hand over the knob to try and muffle the faint 'click' as it locked into place.
The house looked fairly normal on the inside, much to her surprise. Well, except for the blood-red candles - the bloody elk head pinned above a fireplace - the red liquid dripping from the second story floor... oh dear. "I really need to get out of here, the 'man in the wall' better talk to me..." Selena muttered darkly under her breath, hurrying towards the stairs. She was forced to stop though as she heard footsteps echo from the second story as well as gargled speech. Frantically she looked for a hiding spot, mind once again racing with worse case scenarios. Unable to find a better spot she slid under the table - just in time too, as she saw a black boot just peeking from the top of the stairs.
The footsteps and speech only got louder as another pair of shoes appeared, the two walking only a star apart. The newcomer seemed to be wearing foot wrappings that faintly resembled shoes, but Selena couldn't really focus on the implications of that. She was too busy panicking silently under the table. "So he does not wish to speak on such an important night?" she heard faintly from ahead, his words sounding as if he had to gargle water to simply speak.
"Hmm... no, indeed he is quite adamant, even his incessant tapping was quiet for once," another voice called, causing her to shiver. This voice wasn't hard to understand at all, instead, it was as if slimy seaweed were being stuffed into her eyes while it talked. "How unfortunate, we also had problems acquiring the sacrifices... such an important day..." the second voice bubbled up, now directly to her left. They were walking past the table, good riddance.
"I do hope we find those sacrifices, otherwise we may have to offer more children, and we're running short on our supply..." the door opened and closed a moment later, the slimy voice becoming muffled through the thick would, but it didn't matter. Selena was already coursing with rage, the very thought of using children - the future generation who still had yet to live - being used as a sacrifice making her forget her nervousness. The way he put it... their "supply", those poor kids weren't cared for at all. Selena bet they were just food for whatever horrific creature was in those cursed waters!
It only took her a second to unfold from under the table and begin stomping up the staircase, anger clouding her judgment and the whispering voice that told her to be silent. But while her own inner voices couldn't penetrate her haze, the voice that resonated from the hallway pierced her to her core. "Rap, tap, tap, who is this little mouse that scurries into the wolf's den?" a voiced mused, seeming to speak directly into her mind and bounce around in her skull.
"Wha-what the-!"
"Mmmmm, a loud one aren't we?" a laugh resounded through the staircase, which suddenly seemed a lot longer than before. She could see the room at the top of the staircase - the door was wide open and she could just see a bookcase in the back of the room - but it seemed like every step she took she got farther and farther away. "You should leave- run - this isn't safe for such a cute little mouse, the beartrap isn't too big to miss you," the voice warned, but it sounded more amused then if it was actually warning her.
"The bear trap or whatever can wait, I have to save this place!" she exclaimed, her voice bouncing off the stretching hallway. Then without warning, as if a rubber band had been stretched taut then released, she was flung into the room as matter and space collapsed and the stretched hallway snapped back into shape. The second she was fully in the room the door behind her snapped shut, and she looked up in horror.
The room was plain compared to the rest of the house, a bookcase sitting across from the door and a table sitting in the middle of the room, a single candle burning in the center. The room was silent for a second, even her own breathing seemed muffled. Then, slowly, a rhythm began to beat its way through the room. 'rap, tap, tap, rap, tap, tap'. It sounded like it was from the walls as if someone were tapping on them. High pitched laughter came from nowhere, and a shiver found its way easily down Selena's spine. It was as if someone from inside the wall were tapping.
There was a hissing noise like helium escaping from a balloon, drawing her attention back to the center table. Her mouth dropped open in equal parts shock and horror as something began to materialize in the chair, the tapping sound starting to echo from every wall in the room, the sound burrowing into her mind as time went on like an ice pick. The figure finished materializing, seeing a lazy smirk stretching her own mouth - wait a minute, it was her!
Selena frantically looked at herself, then back up to see an exact copy of herself sitting in the chair, but their expressions were very different. One was horrified, backing towards the door that had been locked behind her mind too confused to realize the knob wasn't turning. The other her was still giving the other a lazy smirk, one leg crossed casually over the other as she balanced on the back legs of her chair, arms crossed over her chest. "Hey there kiddo, what brings you to my lovely and spacious abode?" it drawled in her own voice, waving her arm at the space around them - her - she wasn't sure anymore.
It felt like she couldn't properly focus, the incessant tapping like coils on her brain, Selena slowly sinking to the ground with both hands clasped over her ears with her eyes shut tight. The tapping continued though, no longer from the walls of the room. It was in her brain, and unable to control herself she began to cry. "It's just a dream, just a dream please let this all just be -"
"Oh kiddo it is all a dream! but not in the way your hopping, no second dream for you," she - it, cackled, and she could feel its eyes on her.
"S-second dream?"
"Oh, I think I said too much, hmhm... I suppose if I want an interesting conversation I have to leave you sane, what a bother..." it sighed dramatically, and suddenly the tapping sound in her mind was gone. She sat there for a second, taking a second to recollect her thoughts. "W-who are you?" she finally managed to croak, opening her eyes to look up at... herself.
"Oh, that isn't obvious? I mean you came here looking for one thing in particular, yet when it greets you you cant tell? How ironic," it smirked, chuckling under its breath.
"s-so, you're the man in the wall?"
"mmm, so that's what I'm called?" it mused, leaning forward in its chair, propping its head up with its arm. "Man doesn't seem accurate at the moment, but yes I suppose you could call me that, but for time's sake it would be best if you found something else to call me,"
"Uhhh... I'm not sure..." Selena said doubtfully, and it smirked. "Yes you do, go on... say my name,"
"How about... Gemini?" she asked, slowly beginning to stand up.
"Oh-ho! Now, that's a good one, and a lot less 'ooooh I'm a spooky ghost that haunts your walls, fear me' style, I like it," Gemini crowed, smirking wider than ever.
"No offense meant, but isn't that what you're doing?" Selena questioned, the shock of the situation - but not the creepiness- beginning to fade as she made her way to the table.
"Oh no, the only reason I'm here is because that no good 'priest' -" she did finger quotes at the word 'priest' "- tried to summon me, so I decided I'd come here than just be silent and let him grovel, it was pretty hilarious honestly,"
"I see... u-uh, well you see, I was actually hoping to ask you for help - "
"oh right right right - you're trying to fix all the crazies in this town right?" Gemini asked, rolling her eyes into her head while circling her finger next to her head. "Well, you came to the right place kiddo, although I will admit I promise nothing about you staying sane after this conversation," Gemini purred, eyes seeming to flash yellow with excitement. Selena, temper flaring scowled at herself - at Gemini. "I will be leaving this house sane and staying that way for the rest of my life, thank you very much!"
"Ohhh, do I hear a challenge?" she smirked, and the tapping started in her mind again. Instead of trying to fight it like last time though, Selena simply began to murmur the sound. As she did it was as if water were being drained from her brain in the forms of insanity, leaving her mind pure. Gemini watched this in fascination, eyes wide and - strangely, excited - as she slowly stopped murmuring and simply repeated it in her mind over and over.
"rap tap tap, rap tap tap..." she cut off, smiling confidently. There was no longer tapping coming from her brain, but instead, it was in her brain, following what she did instead of its own rhythm. "My my, you truly are interesting with your coping ability - although, its more long term than sudden surprises, intriguing..." Gemini praised, a somewhat genuine smiling stretching her face. "Alright, I can't let someone like you slip from my fingers so easily - so how about we make an agreement?"
"An agreement?" Selena questioned cautiously, cocking an eyebrow. Gemini seemed to be unique in nature - reminded her a fair amount of Fobus, except more sinister - and she trusted her about as far as she could throw her.
"That's right kiddo, here's the deal - I tell you what you want to know and continue to help you, but you let me live in your head," Gemini said simply, smirking expectantly. Selena jerked back as if struck but didn't say anything, already thinking the offer over. She didn't trust Gemini in her mind one bit - the tapping was enough, even if she had control over it. If Gemini got in there who knows what she could do, she could maybe even control what Selena did which could be a disaster.
On the other hand though, if she didn't let Gemini in they would never be able to save this town, and if she had wanted that to happen she should have just left when they could have. When she thought about it that way, then there was only one answer. The worst part was, she knew Gemini could tell what she was thinking, she knew her offer was too good to refuse no matter the later consequences.
"Fine... but you have to make this tapping go away, I have a feeling you'll be obnoxious enough without the constant noise..." Selena grumbled, putting out her hand.
"I personally find it calming, but whatever floats your boat kiddo," Gemini shrugged, taking her hand. The second their hands made contact it was as if Selena had been hit by lightning, her entire body jerking as magic cracked through the room like a whip. Then only a second later the pressure was gone, leaving a tingly feeling that coursed through her. Then, from the back of her mind, Gemini began to cackle.
Tracks were left in the sand from Bio's pacing, nervous energy coursing through her body. She had a feeling Selena was fine, but she still couldn't help worrying about her. Pomella was sitting down near Samuel, who had decided to lay back in his glassy grave to reset, and was playing with the sand. The fish head had stopped twitching a while ago, but Bio's eyes kept getting drawn back to its still form. Besides Selena, that was the other thing that she was nervous about.
"Hey Pomella, excuse me for asking a worst-case scenario, but... can you revive the undead?"
"Mmm... I don't like your line of thinking I must say, but I'm not sure since I've never tried," she hesitated, then with a small smile added, "And if possible, I would prefer not to try please,"
"Of course, just checking... just in case," Bio conceded, rubbing a hand on her neck. She swore if Selena didn't come back soon she was going to develop some kind of tick. To her relief though she saw the door to the house Selena had gone into open, then Selena herself slip out and dash for the beach. Her eyes found Selena's and they both smiled just a bit, although Selena's seemed more tired than Bio had expected. The man in the wall must have been something.
"Good to see you back, I was starting to worry..."
"Don't worry I'm fine - well, for the most part anyway," she soothed, casting a slightly annoyed glare over her shoulder at... nothing? "Gem -" she cut off coughing, clutching at her chest in surprise.
"You okay there?" Pomella asked alarmed, standing up from her seat and reaching a hand towards Selena. Bio was already only a few feet away before Selena waved them off. "Y-yeah I'm fine, just choked on my own spit..." she assured, clearing her throat. Then, as if a sound only she could hear were sounding, her head tilted slightly to the side and her eyes went glassy, losing focus. Her lips then began to move as if she were speaking, but no sound came.
Bio was really beginning to worry, and a glance at Pomella showed she looked about as worried as Bio felt. Then just as she was about to question if she was alright again, Selena snapped back to attention, eyes focusing as she shook her head. Bio wanted to ask if she was alright again, but knew she would just say the same thing so instead asked, "So... do you have a way to get us through the sea?"
"Oh, right that's what we were doing... uh yeah actually, Gem - I mean, the man in the wall gave me something to get us down there, but he didn't promise how safe it would actually be,"
"Can you give a percent chance?"
"Hmm... about seventy?" she estimated, tilting her hand back and forth to say 'more or less'. While Bio couldn't say she was happy, it was better than a zero percent chance so she simply shrugged. "It's going to have to be good enough, we should probably do it as soon as possible,"
"I second that notion, I'm not sure how well I can do when I'm so tired," Pomella agreed, rubbing at one of her eyes. Selena nodded, walking forward till she was at the water's edge. As Pomella and Bio watched her, their eyes were drawn to the wave's hypnotic rhythm, unable to look away easily. Samuel had helped keep away the nightmares the sea brought, but the water itself was still as hypnotic as ever. Selena on the other hand though looked into the sea unaffected, cracking her neck and back before slowly raising her arms.
Bio dragged her gaze off the sea to instead look at her hands, only just realized she was wearing a pair of black silk gloves, the back adorned with silvery metal in a spiderweb-like design. She also noticed with some shock the seemingly wet and darker patch around the mark, the silk looking ever so slightly maroon red...
Her attention was snapped back to Selena though as she began to speak in a language that she had never heard before, the sound grating against her eardrums with a vile intensity. Pomella covered her ears with her hands, staring at Selena in shock as the inhuman sounds seemed to erupt from her throat. Her eyes began to glow ever so slightly, and the metal on the gloves shown wetly in the moonlight. While she knew it must have been her imagination, she could have sworn she was seeing double of Selena, a second transparent her standing only just behind her.
Then the awful noise stopped, and with a flick of her hands the water immediately in front of her parted like the red sea, the sea cracking before her and leaving the wet sand bare to the wind as the crack widened into a small circle, big enough for just the three of us. Dead fish and other ocean life twitched where they had found themselves beached, and Selena looked back to them expectantly. "We have to go quickly, I can only hold this for so long so we will have to be quick,"
"Selena... are you sure your okay? you seem..." Pomella faded off, seeming unsure how to finish the sentence. Selena frowned just a bit, annoyance and sadness evident in her face as she gave a quick nod. "I promise I'll explain later... but we need to go quick, Pomella can you make a light for us? I can't imagine it's going to be bright down there,"
Pomella nodded, still speechless and walked forward into the vacant sphere, Bio right behind her. Bio shot one look back to Selena, who followed in behind her. She didn't say anything, except giving Bio a small side hug, her eyes tired. Bio, hesitantly, returned the hug, mind whirling in confusion and panic. Selena's hand was wet against her side.
She must look absolutely insane right now. Gemini was standing next to her with her arms crossed, smirking evilly. "Aw come on cheer up! A little insanity never hurt anyone,"
"It most certainly has, and I'm not insane!" Selena snapped, glaring at her body double. She at least didn't have to worry about talking to herself - it seemed her companions couldn't hear her if she spoke to Gemini, but that was only a small bonus compared to the embarrassment she had already been subjected too. When she had tried to tell them about Gemini, she suddenly found herself unable to breathe, her breath hitching in her throat as her lungs seemed to stop working for a moment. "Hey now kiddo, no telling supernatural beings about me, understand?" Gemini had purred into her ear, gesturing to Bio and Pomella.
"It's too much of a pain to deal with, what with their magic powers and blah blah blah," she rolled her eyes, and Selena had found herself coughing as her ability to breath returned. Then when she had cleared the water away, Gemini had spoken through her mouth while the words brutalized her own ears. It had been even worse to see Pomella and Bio watch her though, their eyes wide as they watched her in horror...
"If you're going to be living in my head, then I need you to stay out of my life for the most part... including private life," Selena hissed at her, never wanting to see such looks again. At least, not unless it was completely necessary.
"Well, of course, I was just about to take my leave since I am no longer needed after all - just had to harass you a bit before I left," Gemini conceded, grinning mischievously right into her face. They had begun to walk into the water, Pomella creating a glowing blue orb between her fingers to illuminate the ball of air as they walked as well as a few feet of the murky depths beyond it. "Although I have a feeling you would prefer to see Bio go - or at least like to 'watch' her go if you know what I mean..."
Selena's face turned beet red as Gemini mimed slapping the air, then vanished in a poof of smoke while cackling all the way. Selena cursed under her breath, then turned her focus back to their surroundings rather than Gemini. They were fully submerged by now, the air pocket moving with them as they slowly walked down deeper and deeper into the sea, the undead fish and other creatures taking a second to watch them pass with unblinking, rotting eyes. Those that had eyes, at least - the others just stared with bony sockets. She shivered slightly, unconsciously pressing closer to Bio who still had an arm around her.
"The sea knows we're here..." Bio mumbled under her breath, looking at the watching fish with a tiny amount of worry. Selena still had trouble telling what she was feeling at times, but she liked to think she was getting better at it.
"Yeah, I just have to hope it's more friendly than it looks..." Pomella grumbled from upfront, frowning at a dark silhouette just outside of her light that Selena thought might have been a shark. "This wouldn't happen to include some kind of shield, would it?"
"No sadly, it's just to keep the water from touching us, but anything other than the water can enter freely," Selena responded sadly, grimacing as the question shifted her focus to her gloved hands. The metal was digging into her hand, binding the gloves to her hand... she could feel the power coursing through them which dulled the pain a bit, but the longer she held the bubble the stronger the pain grew. Gemini had given them to her before she left the house, and they had locked themselves in her hands the second she put them on.
Most of Gemini's magic seemed to be linked to her mind, and, annoyingly, anything that could make her crazy. She had a feeling she would be able to use the gloves and anything else Gemini gave her as long as she was sane, but every item would rip at that sanity. Gemini had mentioned that it protected her from outside horrors and insanity and that she would become saner as time went on. In fact, it almost sounded like Gemini wanted her to stay sane - which she was grateful for - but it was only because she was only interesting when she was sane.
"So, if say we were attacked by some creature..." Bio spoke slowly, choosing each word carefully. "Then it would have no problem doing so?"
"I mean, it would have to be able to breathe air to do anything effectively," Pomella added, glancing at the flopping fish and other creatures they were leaving behind as they walked.
"By the way Pomella I was meaning to ask, is it your light that's keeping away those... hallucinations?" Bio questioned, tilting her head curiously.
"Yeah I think so, but I have a feeling it won't last much longer, the bad feeling I got from the ocean when we were at the water's edge is only getting worse the deeper we go,"
Oh right, Selena had forgotten about the hallucinations. At least Gemini's gloves had some perks, she supposed. "I see, so while dealing with hallucinations and possibly other monsters, we're going to have to search the bottom of the ocean for who knows how long for treasure we don't know what looks like, then hope that we can wish the sea to be better for... Selena, how long can you hold this bubble?" Bio began to rattle on, pausing to look at her for a moment.
The pain was getting worse, more intense as time went on and it felt like it was sending spikes into her brain already...
"I'm sorry, but at most I can probably hold this thirty minutes, but at that point, I'd be so out of it someone would have to carry me..." Selena apologized, feeling hopeless.
"Great, this is going to be fun..." Bio deadpanned, a frown stretching her mouth into a tight line.
"We can do this, we have to!" Selena encouraged, doing her best to ignore the pain. "We have to save this town and make everyone better!"
"You sound like a hopeful child..." Bio grumbled, looking to her then glancing at Pomella who was hiding a smile. "But we need all the energy we can get, so I can't complain," her lips quirking at the edges in the hint of a smile. Pomella smiled a bit as well, tired eyes looking back at them with the rekindled embers of hope. Meaning she didn't see the dark shape at the edge of her light coming toward them at top speed...
Pomella
"Get down!" a sudden cry snapped Pomella's attention to Selena who was currently pushing herself and Bio to the ground, looking up at her - no wait, that wasn't quite right. Looking past her with an expression of fear and surprise that sent Pomella to the sea bottom just in time to feel a whoosh of wind as something huge sailed over her head. She glanced up in time to see rotting flesh and yellowed teeth before the shape was gone again, vanishing into the other side of the sphere without even a ripple.
The sudden motion broke her concentration though, her light snuffing out from under her and leaving them in darkness, leaving her keenly aware of the sounds of something big - a couple somethings - circling their sphere. "What the fu-" Bio's swearing was cut off as Selena gave another warning cry, and the three rolled to the side as another large undead thing came hurtling through their tiny sphere of air.
"Pomella, can you get that light back up and maybe stronger? If we want to not join the zombie fishes we need to see where they are coming from," Selena whispered furiously, and she nodded - too tired to remember they couldn't see each other - began to focus on the palm of her hand, channeling what positive emotions she had left into as bright a light as she could manage. Her power worked off her own emotions, specifically joy and desperation - the ladder was less potent, but she had plenty to spare at the moment.
Their sphere lit up like a lightbulb as the raw energy manifested in her hand, illuminating their surroundings to some extent. Pomella, almost wished she hadn't - she could see her family's bodies drifting through the see past the dark shape of many undead sharks...
"The hallucinations are back..." Bio mumbled from behind her, the shifting sand informing her she was standing up as she stared dumbly at her dead relatives. She knew she was right, but it was still shocking to see your parents simply floating on the currents in an unforgiving sea full of the dead. The fact that another of the sharks - she could dully make out a hammer-shaped head swimming right for her - was taking another shot at them. This time it was Bio who saved her, Pomella focusing on keeping her focus on the light as Bio roughly grabbed her shoulders and yanked her out of the shark's path as it hurtled forwards.
"There's at least ten of them... if we have to constantly avoid them, we won't be able to get to the treasure in time," Bio commented, a frown evident on her face as she stared at the circling shapes.
"Don't sharks only attack prey like seals, or like if there is blood in the water?" Selena panted, coming up from behind them to stare along with Bio.
"Ha, they have their own blood in the water to put them in a frenzy," Pomella answered wryly, a tired grin stretching across her face. The next shark was already charging, this one having a long saw-like appendage on the end of its nose. "I can't do anything to the undead without touching them, and as far as I can tell the most I could do is put them to 'sleep'," she added, squinting at the shape as the group shuffled to the left to avoid the newest challenger. She couldn't explain how she knew the extent of her abilities - it was more instinctual than anything.
"That last one gave me an idea, but it would only be able to get one at a time," Bio reasoned slowly, glancing back at the two of them. "If we could manage to sprint and only pause when they attack, we have a chance of making it in our time limit,"
"Yeah we could, but it's going to be close, especially if more sharks come..." Selena grimaced, and Pomella noticed as she clutched her hands as one of her eyes began to twitch. She had to imagine whatever magic was keeping this sphere up wasn't pleasant - but she was too tired to think about it much.
"Alright, we've got to do this quickly, you ready?" Bio asked, and the two of them nodded and crouched just a bit. Pomella did her best to mimic Selena, but her limbs were just so sore...
"On three... one," Bio began, a shark starting to turn to take another run at them. "two," it built up speed, splintered teeth shining in Pomella's light as it got close. "Three!"
A hard, white substance suddenly erupted from Bio's hand as she charged forward, Selena only a few steps behind her. Pomella watched in bewilderment as Biovera's hand turned white, a red substance she could only guess was blood pushing out of the disintegrating skin and vessels as her hand twisted into a long white spear, the edge wicked sharp. The shark was almost to the bubble as her arm seemed to grow more growths of the white substance, forming at her elbow and shoulder as if adding hard padding. Then all in one motion she jabbed her new spear forward straight through the shark's neck and anchored her feet, the momentum of the shark viciously jerking her arm back seeming to nearly take it out of her socket.
Pomella darted forward with all the energy she could muster and shoved the ball of energy she was still holding onto the shark's side as it thrashed on its perch. The moment the light was inside there was a bright flash, and suddenly its flopping stopped, Bio letting it slide off the spear with a squishy 'thud'. Bio let out a quick breath, rotated her arm a few times, then began running forward again as the next shark seeming enraged began to charge. Pomella, high brain functions occupied on keeping the light up and keeping pace with the other two let her instinct take over, mind going blank.
Biovera
The bones of her left hand and arm screamed in protest as she skewered the next shark, using her power to make her muscles extra stretchy for a split second so as her joint popped out of its socket it only took a moment for it to pop back in with a flash of pain. Pomella pushed her ball of light into the shark, Bio let it slide from her bone rapier, then kept running. Her entire body was tired and the ligaments in her arms were starting to run thin, what bone remained on the inside of her arm beginning to scratch and rub painfully together.
Selena was right behind her followed by Pomella, all three of them panting from the exertion as they took down shark after shark, till finally, the bottom of the sea was just coming into sight as the sea of sharks now circling them began to thin. There was no time for talk, the three of them to focused on simply reaching their goal to worry about speech. The pain was crashing down her arm in waves now, a few blood vessels beginning to show through her skin as the ruptured from the exertion. She knew she could repair the damage to some extent later, but she had no time right now.
Run, stab, pop, snap, pop, squish was all she knew for what felt like the next ten minutes, seconds stretched into hours and hours stretched into eternities. She could tell it was beginning to wear down her companions too, Selena beginning to giggle and speak to herself as -whatever it was she was doing - began to get to her, pupils like tiny dots in a pool of white. Pomella looked even more exhausted than Bio felt, having developed a limp over the last few minutes. But she was almost there, she could feel it in her core. So they ran, getting closer and closer to their goal as the sharks thinned and thinned.
Then from the blue above them came a blood-curdling shriek, and Bio only managed to get her arm up in time to catch the metal prongs of a trident as it plunged toward her face. As the sharp points dragged across her rapier pain erupted down her arm and she cried out in pain, taking a knee as a horrific figure hissed at them from the water just beyond the air they had left, their bubble getting smaller and smaller as time went on.
The figure looked like a person, but their face was scaled and twisted into a horrifying animalistic grimace of fury covered in green scales and glowing yellow eyes. A long-tail lashed where its legs should have been, and the tips of its scaled fingers ended in jagged claws as it gripped the metal trident in both hands, grinding it against her.
Bio could just make out the figures of more of them approaching quickly, their own spears clutched and ready to strike. Knowing what she had to do, Bio grimly turned towards her companions - one exhausted and one out of it, and murmured, "You have to go and find the treasure, fix all this... I'll buy you time..."
"You're going to die out here again, and I won't be able...!" Pomella protested before going silent as Selena took a shaky step forward, giving a small nod. Her eyes were determined, even as insanity seemed to claw at her mind. Bio nodded back, then breathed deep as Selena ran ahead as fast as she could, Pomella close behind.
Water colder than anything she had ever experienced suddenly pressed in on her, and she nearly took a breath from the sheer shock of the cold. Then with a grimace, she closed her eyes and did her best to defend herself. Stab, block, block, stab, pain, blood, more blood...
Selena
Her mind was like a storm as pain, unlike anything she could imagine flooding through her body in a constant wave, crashing against her very sense of self as she ran for all she was worth. She barely had the sense of mind to worry for Bio as all she could focus on was running, finding the treasure, ending this pain...
Then, just as her mind started to drown in the hurricane it was being subjected too, a glimmer could be seen ahead of her. Redoubling her efforts she ran for all she was worth, noticing the pile of treasure that glimmered like a precious gem in a field of suffering. Even Pomella was right next to her as they ran as fast as they could for the treasure, eyes trained on one specific item.
There was a single blue gem resting on top of the pile, easily the size of her fist and glowing with an internal blue light. Within seconds they reached the gem, hands thrusting forward to cup the gem between two hands. The second her hands made contact the fog of pain that had been clouding her judgment lifted, Selena taking a deep breath as if she had been starved for air. Then, without another thought she dropped to her knees, screwed her eyes shut and cried as loud as she good as the power evident in the gem coursed through her, giving her a single wish, a way to fix all this. "Please! Fix this town, fix the sea and purge the memory of Samuel from this ocean! Let his sins be forgiven and no longer to be blamed on the ocean and town which had harbored him! Please, fix this!"
Then with a blinding flash, the world went white.......
Her thoughts felt like molasses had been poured over them, slowing down her thinking as she slowly came too. Her body felt suspended as if invisible fingers were holding her aloft and gently moving her through the ocean. She could hear faint music coming from all around her, the sound sweet and seductive like a mother's lullaby. Her mouth opened, but just before whatever air was left in her lungs could be released something soft pressed against her mouth and pushed air into her lungs, causing her eyes to fly open.
Bio immediately regretted the decision as seawater stung her eyes and as quickly as she opened them she snapped them shut, mind beginning to speed up as she was supplied with oxygen. She was floating in the water, seeming to be slowly drifting up through the waves towards the surface as the light against her eyelids got brighter and brighter. The singing got louder as well, and once again something soft - lips, if she had to guess - pushed more air into her lungs as her previous breath went up in bubbles.
Taking a moment to think, she could still feel her bones jutting out in the rapier she had made, pain pulsing from what had been her hand - and the bones, it having snapped in half from an especially hard thrust from a trident. Her body still felt scratched up, and her stomach was woozy from loss of blood - but she wasn't dead, so it could be worse. She released another breath, and once again almost immediately lips pressed to hers and pushed new air into her lungs, and Bio was left confused, her mind catching up to the situation. She was still in the sea and was still alive... and the water wasn't nearly as cold as it had been, and there was no way that Selena could be down here to give her air...
Creating a second eyelid for herself, much like an amphibian would have, she managed to open her eyes and see the face hovering over her own. Her body spasmed in a moment of fear when she first saw the scaled face, but almost immediately calmed again as she noticed the differences from... last night? It was one of the fish people, but unlike last night its face was kind and worried, looking down at her with a slight frown as blue hair spread from her head and played freely in the waves. Her eyes were striking emerald green, and Bio found herself reminded of the tales of mermaids she had heard told when visiting the sea.
She slowly released the next breath, and like before the figure bent down and pushed more air into her lungs, not seeming to notice she was awake. Bio took another moment to look around, finding that the black waves that had crashed on the beach were now a crystal clear and beautiful blue, lapping at her gently like a puppy would its owner. Slowly sitting up in the water, the figure looked surprised before smiling wide, pointing up with a delicate finger - Bio finding herself relieved that the claws those hands had sported last night were gone.
The two swam to the surface together, the mermaid - who instead of having the weird finned legs like she had last night - helped Bio to the surface with strong waves of a tail covered in shimmering blue scales. Within seconds they broke the surface, Bio taking her first real breath of air. "Are you... alright miss?" the figure asked, her voice musical as her face turned into a worried frown. Bio, caught a bit off guard from her voice simply nodded, unsure what else to say. "My sisters and I are so sorry for what we did to you... to this ocean..." she murmured sadly, casting a longing look at the town at the edge of the water, much of its color seeming to have been returned. "When we found Samuel's body in our depths we were so overcome with grief and anger that... that..." she trailed off, eyes turning downcast.
"Till you went crazy... I guess that old coot was right, the sea truly does have emotions..." Bio conceded, focusing on the small shack nestled near the exit of the town. The figure nodded, looking down at her hands where the edges of her nails were still tinted slightly red - Bio had a faintly sick feeling as she realized it was likely her blood - and scrubbed at them furiously. "That being said... I can't forgive you for what you've done, you and your sisters killed this sea and turned the town mad with your songs... what's your name?"
"Kaila, and your right... it is hard to realize the cope of how you affect your surroundings," Kaila conceded slowly, her eyes seeming haunted from her own actions. Bio had sympathy for her, but she could never forgive what they had done. When a god has a tantrum, the world suffers. There is a reason people say 'those with great power have great responsibility', the greater the power the more people suffer when it is misused. "I think... if you ever want to atone for what you did, your going to have to do whatever is in your power to help the townsfolk in need, and to never let yourselves lose control like that again..."
Kalia nodded, seeming determined to help, but Bio still grimaced slightly. The faces of Kalia and her sisters, the twisted masks of rage that had attacked her last night and nearly killed her... would be forever burned into her memory. "Now then, a good way to start with that goal would be to swim me back to my friends..."
Selena
Selena was in a corner of the old man's shop, rocking back and forth with her hands clutched in front of her as a steady stream of curses wove itself from her mouth into the air. The shop keeper actually seemed fairly impressed with her creativity - which was part of the reason he was behind his counter, a good ten feet away from her. Incredible pain was still lancing itself up from her hands and down her arms, bouncing through her nerves like a tiny devil with a knife - no, ten knives!
Last night had ended in a haze, after the flash, the pain had broken her mind and she had been left laughing maniacally on the ocean floor as far as she could tell. She could hear screaming from all around her as everything undead had died again, and the creatures that were killing Bio clutched their heads, screeching like banshees. She had barely managed to catch that their features had been changing, but the rest was foggy. A long climb back up through the water as it swirled with quick torrents - Pomella, carrying her as she swam through the horrible water - screams echoing from the town as the madness drained from the land.
Selena, running out of breath looked to Pomella who STILL wasn't up yet! She had been asleep all morning, exhausting herself past her limits to an extent Selena was worried she was in a coma. Her chest was rising and falling in a slow rhythm, her expression for the most part peaceful as she - hopefully - slept. The thing she was worried about the most though was... Biovera.
She hadn't seen her, and those fish people had all been attacking her... her mind kept shying away from one particular possibility, Selena unable to cope with the implications.
"Hmm, I didn't think you'd actually be watching her go," Gemini, having appeared next to her mused to herself, looking out towards the water. "This town has officially gotten boring, what's next?"
"Do you have no moral compass?" Selena nearly shrieked at the spirit but refrained it to a harsh whisper. Gemini simply laughed, looking at her like she was an idiot. "Are you kidding me? She was just some random higher being that you met only a day ago, I've known her for even less time," she pointed out, jabbing a finger into her chest. "Why do you even care if she is de - "
"Don't, you, dare," Selena cut her off with a growl, and feeling Gemini's presence in her mind tried to put as much mental pressure on her as she could. Gemini, unimpressed, flicked a finger and shattered what mental resistance Selena had developed, leaving her wide open for an especially intense spike of pain from the gloves. She grit her teeth to keep from crying out, glaring daggers at her body double. "Fine fine no saying the D-word," Gemini took a second to snicker at her own joke. "So what now princess? what are you going to do now that your - " she cut off suddenly, then with a disappointed sigh looked towards the door. "Dammit..."
"Selena? Are you in there!?" a voice called from outside... an extremely, familiar voice. Selena's heart soared and she forgot about the throbbing pain in her hands long enough to jump up and run to the door, throwing it wide open. A grin stretched across her face, nearly going from ear to ear. "Bio, you're alive!"
"Sorry I'm late, my taxi was a bit late..." she joked softly, her own face sporting a small grin. She was leaning on her left leg a bit too much, and Selena noticed she was scratched all over her clothes practically cut into ribbons from the last few days. Her right leg was especially scratched, blood still drying and running down the skin. Her left arm hung limply at her side, the jagged bone of her broken rapier dragging on the ground with a bit of blood still trickling down it. Her knight was beaten, bloody, and barely standing - but she was alive.
Selena threw herself straight at Bio with a joyous cry, tackling her to the ground. Arms wrapped tight around her back as she pressed into her, eyes shut as relieved tears dribbled from her eyes. Bio gave a weak laugh, then slowly wrapped her good arm around Selena, and the two stayed like that for a moment, giving in to each other's embrace. "We really have to stop getting in these situations..." Bio murmured softly above her, and Selena gave a tiny nod against her.
The sound of footsteps - a lot of them - came crashing to their left as they both looked to see the townsfolk, free of the fish features they had sported only last night, rushed them. Selena began to get up from Bio in a panic, only to realize they were smiling. The kids were playing a game of tag in the back, laughing happily as the adults of the town came towards them shouting praise and cheer. To her surprise, seconds later Selena found both Bio and herself hoisted in the air as the crowd cheered, throwing them up into the air before catching them.
"This all feels like a bit much..." Bio murmured from next to her, soft enough only Selena could hear. She glanced up to see a small blush tinging the bridge of her nose, and she laughed softly. "Maybe it is, but we did do something pretty big last night,"
"How did all this get fixed with something so simple as a wish? As much as I hate to admit it seems too convenient,"
A voice coming from the shop dragged their attention from each other to Pomella, who was leaning on the door frame with tired eyes. "Magic is meant to be convenient, especially the strong kind," she called, a tired smile plastered to her face as well.
"Ah yes yes, blame all these fixes on magic! I had to work too ya'know, give a guy a little credit," a hurt voice cut through the crowd's ruckus - or, more accurately, the crowd had stopped their cheering. It was almost as if time were frozen as their eyes all trained on a single figure standing out in a deep blue suit. "Really, 'oh anything is possible with magic, even the transformation of the sea and town itself!', as if nothing as simple as some wishing stone could do that," Fobus dismissed flippantly, shaking his head as if the entire notion was completely foolish.
"That's what I had thought..." Bio commented, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh yes but your logical to a fault and have nearly died twice in the span of a single day," Fobus added, smirking up at her. Bio simply glowered back, but as always Fobus was unphased, continuing on as if nothing had happened. "I added my own power to the wish so it could actually fix everything, to some extent anyway," he explained, creating a tiny vortex of his own power in the palm of his hand.
"Wouldn't a 'personification of fear' want the opposite to happen?" Selena asked, feeling utterly confused.
"Oh its the same reason a personification of war tries to end them - its a bad thing when taken out of moderation - like candy,"
"Too much candy is never a bad thing!" Pomella cut in, some of her energy finally returning.
"When you get fat and lonely then call me and tell me that," he taunted, smirking as he mimed rubbing his stomach as if it were bloated. Now it was Pomella's turn to glower.
"An entire town that acts as a living horror show is just too much, too many problems," Fobus began to lecture, his voice as if he were talking to a group of children. "My little darlings, your understanding of personification politics is simply dreadful - needs work, C-," he tsked, waggling a finger in their general direction. Selena really did not like Fobus.
"But yes you all did a great job in your first checkpoint, but you still have a long way to go before you get to Hypolos, the root of all your problems,"
"Is he the one doing this giant illusion?" Bio questioned, her head tilting to the side. Selena had in all honesty completely forgotten about that discussion.
"Very good! Yes, and he has a horrible knack for creating nightmares from his paranoia," Fobus grumbled. "Seriously, half of this world is like a fairy tale while the other is like a bad creepypasta story,"
"Uhm, 'creepypasta'?"
"Oh bother - don't worry about it, enjoy your victory while you can, ya got more horrors ahead," he sighed, then with a nod of his head simply poofed out of existence before there eyes. Then as time seemed to flow again, Selena decided maybe, just for a bit, they could enjoy what they had accomplished. Too just take a bit of time, and be satisfied with a job well done.