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**Alayosho** · 09-28-2015, 11:03 PM

001 - Yosho Ki'Sing
Intermission | The True Prison of Cataminei Relle

Yosho looked around in a state of daze. No matter how many times he came here, either by Cataminei's will, or his own, the initial shock of this dream world left his mind fuzzy and out of touch. He looked around for his target, who was simply sitting right in front of him. She was the Angel of Dreams, Cataminei Relle; here she waited, trapped inside of her own dream and forever remembering ever dream that ever takes place. This particular pocket that Yosho and the Angel were in was named the "true" prison, where Cataminei actual resided. Around her was an unimaginable amount of spheres of existence, each containing its own dream. The sable-haired angel smiled and beckons the young man over.

"You sure enjoy visiting me, Yosho. How was the religious upheaval?" She smiled while saying such a silly thing.

"I honestly don't know. They've been keeping me locked in a room, for the most part. Apparently there's a good number of people out there trying to kill me." Yosho shrugged, taking a seat at the table before him. The table of glass had three chairs; One for Cataminei, who was currently occupying hers, one for Yosho, and one for a third person who never seemed to be around.

"How unfortunate--and you're such a nice person, too." Cataminei said with some mirth, leaning forward on the table and resting her head in her hands.

Cataminei was nothing like how Yosho would have imagined an angel. He thought she would be radiating divine power that would choke out his every sense of being. Instead she just seemed like a sweet, lonely girl who was impossibly beautiful. Although Lex had assured him not all angels were like Cataminei, Yosho's talks with her made them all seem more human than he originally had thought. "Hey, uh...Cataminei?"

"Yes, Yosho?" She canted her head to the side.

"I feel like...I've been going places. Like--not on Vailya, but before I come here. Its like it takes too long, or something, you know?" Yosho found the sensation hard to describe. The first time he visited, it felt like he had taken too few steps while going up or down a flight of stairs, and the next few stairs were a signal that he'd yet to reach the end, despite devoting the proper amount of time and effort.

"Is that so?" She simply let him speak. Angels must have a lot to think about, after all, so it was hard for her to work off something so vague.

"Yeah, its like...you know it takes a certain amount of time to get somewhere, but when you spend that time, you're still not there. Or...maybe it took too long to get there...I don't know." Yosho looked to the angel for help, but she appeared to have nothing to offer.

"It's possible that your consciousness is slipping somewhere in-between in your attempt to access my divinity. Perhaps your mortality needs a proper translation in order to comprehend the inherent divinity of my dreams. In order to do so, it could be accessing another plan of existence in order to allow your mind to bypass Statian law and access a degree of Transcendent Thought." Cataminei...explained?

"Um...sure?" Yosho couldn't exactly deny the assessment, but he couldn't confirm it either. "Is there any way to check something like that?"

"Well, you said it was like you spent too much time in getting here. Why not attempt to spend the amount of time it's supposed to take, and see where you end up?" Cataminei smiled brightly at this idea. She seemed excited by the prospect of exploring something new.

"Um...yeah. I guess I could try that...." Yosho frowned a bit. This feeling was foreboding. It was the type of thing that told you that you shouldn't do it--that you couldn't do it. But on the other hand, you couldn't ignore that sort of thing while it dug away at the back of your mind. He shook his head a bit and looked back to Cataminei. He wasn't here to discuss whatever weirdness was going on inside of his head. He had a question about something his bride-to-be had said regarding the angels. Who better to answer than Catamieni? "Anyway--I wanted to talk about...."

**Miniking1** · 09-28-2015, 11:16 PM

~The Real World~ A couple of months ago...
Crunch* Crunch* Crunch* Crunch*. The sounds of the wind and her own footsteps were the only thing Valerie could hear, as she continued down the desolate road. She stopped and yelled. "Tonyyy!" No reply. Valerie kept on going, stopping every few minutes, for hours. She stopped again, pausing even longer this time before shouting. "Tonyyy! Where are youuu!?" No reply. Valerie sighed and moved again, but her feet wouldn't move this time. Valerie had walked on air for 5 seconds before she realized she had been falling. "What!? Nooo!" She screamed, as she plummeted to the ground below with her arms crossed as if to guard herself. *Thud*

1 month ago...
"Ugh... I fell...? W-Why?" Valerie questioned to herself as her conscious returned.

"Because you finally reached the next level, that's why!" Valerie heard an all too familiar voice, one of the only ones she loved. She opened her eyes to view the image before her.
"TONY!!!" Valerie exclaimed.

"Congratulations Val. Took you long enough." Her brother remarked.

"I missed you so much! What happened, where are we?" She questioned.

"The people here call this place Fantasia. They can make their own stuff come true in here, so it HAS to be a game. This is gonna be our headquarters." Anthony stretched his arms around to give Valerie a clear view of the scene before her.

"It's an alley, with cardboard boxes. Sure is a fantastic HQ..." Valerie announced sarcastically. "I suppose anything will do though until we find out more about this place. Still beats renting a hotel with a bunch of other people any day..."

Present Day...
"I think I have the hang of this thing." Valerie claimed, as she whipped her chains at a box in the alley. "You learn how to do your thing yet Tony?"

"Nope. I'm sure It'll come when I really need it though." Anthony announced cheerfully as he lay on a worn out superhero themed mattress.

"We'll get there eventually. But for now, we need to go somewhere else. We can't learn anything new from this alley, so let's start traveling." Valerie said, as the chains receded into the sleeves of her outfit.

"Aw, but I like this mattress. It reminds me of the ones some of the kids in school used to have at sleepovers before they stopped inviting me." Anthony said.

"Why don't you marry it then. Besides, it's night time, the perfect time to move without worrying about troublesome people. Well, at least it looks like nighttime..."

Valerie and Anthony grabbed their things and set off through the streets.

**WriggleRid3r** · 09-29-2015, 12:24 PM

Pio's Apothecary and Clinic | Scrapyard District | Time: 7:20 AM

"...so another person died today..."

Pio lamented as she knelt in front of a bloodied corpse. This was the fifth person that has died while in Pio's care this week. Yes, the residents who frequented her clinic was always injured because of the frequent firefights that went on in the area, and there were times where Pio's genuine care was not enough to save the injured from the grasp of death. However, it was none the less saddening to see another life's fuse burn out.

"He wuz sayin' your name, ya know."

Pio turned to find a fat man with one arm replaced with prosthetic limb made of scraps, sitting on top of an old mattress Pio uses as makeshift bed for the patients. Pio remembered who he was: a bandit around the parts by the name of Porkshow, who wielded a giant scrap shotgun. He was carried to the shop by 6 of his men when he was injured during a firefight against another bandit tribe. While most of the bandits are not good company, Pio believed that they too deserved just as good a medical treatment as anyone. And to her surprise, most bandits she treated thanked her genuinely and kept her shop a relatively neutral ground of relaxation.

"Excuse me?" Pio asked.

"All night. Whimperin', sobbin', he knew his death was a-comin', but he couldn't accept it." Porkshow grunted, clutching his gigantic belly to alleviate the wound on his injury. "I told him to shut his trap, and how he should just accept it and move on. The last thing he said before he up and died was your name... and a 'thank you'."

"..." Pio said nothing, alternating her gaze between Porkshow and the dead man. To think that the last word he said was an appreciation to her, even though she was vastly inferior in her medical care to save him... it moved her, but it also made her feel sudden rush of grief and sadness as tears began trickling down her eyes... but she tried her best. The deceased was given the best potion she could concoct and the best care she could give... but in the end his candle of life snuffed away. The only thing she could do now is bury the dead...

**Kilelicus** · 09-29-2015, 10:52 PM

The Real World

As hot water rushed over Dahlia's body, she quickly found herself lost in her mind. She began recounting the dream that had been haunting her for the past few weeks. What exactly was the black blob that chased her through that building? What did it represent? And who was that figure that threw itself off the building with her in tow? These questions plagued Dahlia's mind for days on end. Soon enough however, she was brought back to reality by her brother's loud knocking on the bathroom door.

"Dahlia, you've been in there for half an hour! If you don't get out soon, you're gonna be late!"

"Oh shit, half an hour already?" Dahlia responded in disbelief. Her mind had been wandering for longer than she realized. "I'm coming out!"

She quickly shut off the water and grabbed her towel, wrapping it around herself before picking up her dirty laundry and lazily strolled back to her bedroom to get dressed. She came out of her room wearing a T-shirt under a large jacket along with her skirt and thigh-high knee socks, all rather haphazardly thrown on without much care for being prim-and-proper. In addition to her clothes, she had an unwrapped scarf draped around her shoulders. It was clear that, at this point, Dahlia didn't care a whole lot for her outward appearance. As a matter of fact, she didn't care about anything outside of her room. School was literally torture, at this point, but she put up with it for her brother.

The minutes rolled by and eventually, Dahlia had left home and trekked through the biting cold and blinding snow to arrive at her school. When she arrived, the other kids were already funneling through the doors. Dahlia followed suit, glad to escape the cold, but less than please to be trapped in this infernal place of "learning" for nigh on 8 hours. She began navigating the halls to her first class before...

"Oooooooh Daaaaaaaahliaaaaaaaaaa" came a singsong voice from behind her.

'Great. Just my luck...' Dahlia said to herself, groaning.

"Do we really have to do this right now? It's too ear-" Dahlia started, being cut off.

"Oh, shut up, you little slut. If I want to hear anything coming out of your hole, I'll go get one of the guys to stick their dick in it so I can listen to you choke on it." The girl from behind her said, approaching rather aggressively. She was accompanied by two other girls, equally irate.

"What's your issue today?" Dahlia asked, lazily glaring down the hallway.

"Our issue is that someone's been telling the staff that we're harassing you. Seeing as nobody in this school actually cares about you, I can only imagine it'd be you."

"What if it was me? What're you gonna do about it?"

The girl then snapped her fingers in a stereotypical gang-leader fashion, and her two compatriots flanked Dahlia and rushed her from both sides, restraining her.

"Hey... let go!" Dahlia demanded as she struggled against the restraints.

"So now I'm gonna kick your ass. How about you just sit back and let it happen, just like when you let that old guy shove his dick in you?"

And with those words, and the lack of mobility, just as the bully had planned, Dahlia went limp in their arms.

"Yeah, that's right. Just take it like the little submissive bitch you are." She said as she began pummeling the now catatonic Dahlia.

**Miniking1** · 09-30-2015, 12:41 AM

~Fantasia~

After minutes of wandering the streets, Anthony finally broke the eerie silence. "So where we headed Val?"

"Somewhere far" Valerie replied. "We won't go to a place with lots of people...We can't." She whispered the last part under her breath.

"Why not? You said we couldn't learn anything new when we were alone." Anthony recalled.

"I meant we had already spent enough time-" Valerie paused for a few seconds, then sighed. "You're right. If we're going to learn anything we have ask the ones who've been here the longest. That doesn't mean we need to stick around a bunch of others though, just a few."

"What about friends or a group? Could we get others to join us?"

"Yeah... I probably can't protect both of us alone if we encountered someone tough, especially with our limited knowledge." Valerie admitted.

"We could easily run though! You've been practicing running away more than fighting recently." Anthony pointed out.

"It's not like that. They're evasive techniques." Valerie retorted. "Besides, we don't know what powers others could have. They might be able to render our- er, my attacks useless."

"Then lets find a library." Anthony proposed.

"THAT'S PERFECT!" Valerie shouted, loud enough to startle herself and echo through the streets. She quickly pulled Anthony across the next corner and scanned the area before continuing. "Uh, as I was saying, a library would be great. Not only because we could learn a lot, but we also wouldn't have to deal with a bunch of other people. Any shop would do, but a library is the best choice."

"Then lets find a library and make our HQ near there." Anthony said, as they started down the street again, checking for buildings that could possibly be sources of information.

**Lunasa Prismriver** · 09-30-2015, 05:29 AM

Alleyways | Scrapyard District | 7:34AM

"Get back here you little shits!" A gruff shout echoed through the alleyway.

"Haha! Catch us if you can, fatass!" Joel shouted back as he sprinted his way over random pieces of garbage left on the ground.

Avi, displeased at Joel's taunt, elbowed him and glared. All Joel could do was flash a sheepish grin back.

"Once we catch you, you're dead kid!"

Avi and Joel turned a corner, knowing that the alley ahead would lead to a dead end. They used a dumpster to jump up to a pipe that spanned the width of the narrow passageway, from there they used a ledge to climb up to the roof. Each step of the way, they would help each other either by giving the other a quick boost or pulling the other up. They worked together to escape the thugs, running along the rooftops until they were far enough away to drop into a side street without being seen.

Joel tossed a small sack tied with a string up in the air and caught it on the way down. "Easy pickings. Maybe they should've guarded their treasure better if they wanted to keep it." He shoved the sack into his pocket before taking off his black hooded coat and hiding it in a pile of trash.

Avi did the same before crossing her arms and looking at him. "Joel, we have to stop taking these jobs. It'll eventually get us killed."

"Hey, you think the old man has more work for us?." The question earned him a weak punch in the arm from Avi. "Haha, just kidding, I'll find us some normal jobs." He said, casually strolling down a mostly empty street with his hands in his pockets and Avi following close behind.

**Alayosho** · 09-30-2015, 11:44 AM

002 - Yosho Ki'Sing
Prolouge | Fantasia(?)

Yosho opened his eyes. Rather, his eye were already open, but only now could he see. He was carrying something. A Box? A very heavy box. Someone was in need, and Yosho was carrying a box for them. It seemed to be full of books. Why didn't Yosho know what they were? He didn't look up, or deviate from his task, even when he wanted to. It was like Yosho was simply watching his own actions from inside his head.

In Statia, Yosho's home universe, there are some beings that are born without the ability to dream, and others who have their dreams devoured by the Angel of Atrophy. Yosho, being the former, had never dreamed before. The sensation of watching himself preform these actions was alien and frightening. The action's themselves seemed mundane, benevolent even, but because he was not consciously preforming them it felt wrong. He set the box down with some others, looking over to someone who called his name and smiling to them. It was someone he knew. He couldn't remember them, but he knew that he knew who they were. They were friends, and Yosho even called their named and said a witty comment.

This was not Yosho's first dream. Yosho had attempted over several days to do what Cataminei had told him to--Try and take the "proper" amount of time to get somewhere, and see where he would end up. Now he was in this half-way state, watching this 'other' Yosho do fairly normal things for a young man of his age. An older man came and patted Yosho on the shoulder and said something embarrassing. Yosho couldn't quite make it out, though. It had to do with a girl, maybe? He understood the feeling, at least; bashfulness. He was bashful about someone female. Probably a girl this 'other' Yosho liked, or that liked him. Yosho didn't care about the other yosho's life, though. He needed to break out of this awkward prison he'd trapped himself in. He didn't know how to contact Cataminei, or simply go back home. He couldn't change any of his actions, only watch them.

There was a loud noise off to the side. People began to scatter and yosho took a defensive stance. Yosho knew he was unarmed, though. There's no way he could fight men with weapons. Regardless though, Yosho wasn't going to move. He was tired of these gang members causing problems for others and stealing their goods and today he was going to do something about it. Yosho watched as the men came forward, saying something in an arrogant tone. He recognized a similar event that had happened when he was younger. Bandits were attempting to steal from a boarder merchant that Yosho was under the employ of. Instead of give in to their demands, Yosho walked forward and struck the man in the middle of the group, knocking him clean off his feet.

As Yosho thought of that memory, his other part did the exact same thing. It was surreal to see it from this perspective. Unfortunately for Yosho, on Devidica, he was armed. Here, he was shot and killed....

003 - Yosho Ki'Sing
Alleyways | Scrapyard District

"Stupid, boy!!" A grieving man scolded the motionless young man. He'd never had a finer example of a human working for him, and now it was all for naught. The young man, Yosho, had displayed an impressive degree of bravery in standing up to the highway men, but of course they shot him down for it. When they took what they wanted, the crew moved in and harvested Yosho's body.

"Let's get him to Pio's!" One of the other workers suggested.

"And what is she going to do?! Besides, it'd break the poor girl's heart to see him like this...." The merchant shook his head. Yosho had gone to visit Pio every day for the past few weeks, ever since he'd asked Yosho to grab a tonic from Pio's clinic. It was obvious Yosho was head-over-heels for Pio, but the merchant didn't know how Pio felt. He did know that no matter what it would crush her. If he stopped showing up, she'd feel abandoned for sure. If he showed up dead, how was that any better.

"Come on, boss! We're running out of time!" His worked rushed him to make a choice.

"Let's...go to Pio's..." The Merchant regretted his choice immediately. Yosho's heart had stopped beating before he even lifted the boy. Honesty was better than hiding the truth from someone, though.... That's what Yosho would have wanted.

They loaded Yosho's limp body into the cart and made haste for Pio's clinic. The merchant knew she was no miracle worker--not even a real physician. She was just a helpful girl. Why was he taking her some boy's body....?

**WriggleRid3r** · 09-30-2015, 05:18 PM

Pio's Apothecary and Clinic | Scrapyard District | Time: 7:44 AM

It took Pio more than 20 minutes to take care of the dead patient's corpse. Because she had no room to bury it, she could only burn it in a furnace and collect the ashy remains that will be tossed into the air. Porkshow was a great help: carrying the patient's corpse for Pio as it was too heavy for her to carry on her own. The furnace underground was usually for fueling the cauldron she has above ground, but it also doubled as a crematorium for the dead who do not have anyone else in the world to claim their bodies.

"Thank you so much for your help, Mister Porkshow." Pio bowed to Porkshow as she bid farewell to the fat bandit leader.

"Don't mention it. Happy ta help." Porkshow grunted. "How much do I have to pay you?"

Pio shook her head with vigor. "N- no! You don't have to pay me anything with how much help you've been, Mister Porkshow!"

"..." Porkshow frowned. Pio was an altruistic, selfless girl; almost excessively so. She would offer her last piece of bread to a stranger that looked hungry, provide people with clothing even though her filthy white dress is the only thing she has worn in a long time, traverse through a firefight just so she can make a delivery to someone who's too sick to walk to her shop... while it was a very beautiful thing to see in a heartless world like this, Pio was most likely going to be in a miserable time if people continued taking advantage over her.

Rummaging through his pockets, Porkshow pulled out a few crumpled bills and slammed it on Pio's counter. "Here, take this as payment. I can't stand to look at you starving and unclothed when you're out helping people. Go buy some nice things for yourself with that."

"No- I really-" Pio denied the payment... or tried to. Porkshow was already outside the shop, moving his obese body back to his territory, leaving several crumpled bills on the counter. "-can't..."

Pio stared down at the payment Porkshow made. Some dollar bills, some coins, an old sugary candy still wrapped inside... while it was in no way going to help in the long run, it should still help her get some breakfast... unless she finds someone who's in need of money more than she does. Realizing that even a famed bandit leader like Porkshow could lend a helping hand like this, she smiled as she sat on a chair, waiting for more customers that require her aid.

**Alayosho** · 09-30-2015, 06:32 PM

004 - Yosho Ki'Sing
Intermission | Royal Assassin's Guild of Grey's Mark - Offices

"Hey, Lex?" Yosho inquired to his "friend".

"Yeah, Kid?" Lexsuncion looked up from some papers. It was an odd sight to see Lex sitting down and working on tedious things like filing and organization. He seemed like such a flippant jackass that it would be impossible for him to do so. Despite that, Lexsuncion contiued to fill out, sign, and stamp papers, despite watching Yosho--His extraordinary peripheral vision enough to allow him to work and address Yosho at the same time.

"I-uh...I think I'm living a double life." Yosho didn't know how else to describe it.

"Nah--The Assassin posted in your room would have told me if you were creeping out at night." Lex said plainly.

"No that's not what I m--Wait what?" Yosho blinked in surprise. There was someone in his room?

"Never mind that. Continue what you were going on about." Lex nodded.

"Well..it's not like I'm going somewhere. It's like...It's like I'm there, but I'm only remembering it, even though its actually happening." Yosho shook his head, "No, it's like...It's happening right now, maybe. I just don't know it."

"Oh..." Lex said seriously, putting his quill down. "That's bad."

Yosho looked at Lex in surprise. Usually he'd have a witty remark, or some way to make Yosho want to beat his face in. A straight and serious answer from Lex was frightening for more than one reason. "Bad...?"

"Yeah. Considering you aren't actually going anywhere, your mind is likely running parallel to whatever set of events is going on. It's entirely possible that, since you can't dream, you're actually doing some inter-dimensional travel." Lex stood, walking over to Yosho and reaching out toward him, seeming to grab the air in front of Yosho's face then read it in his palm. "At least you haven't been enchanted in any weird way."

"What's going on?" Yosho didn't even know what to say anymore.

"Well, quite frankly--You're going to loose touch with Devidica the more you see that place. While you're here, this place is obviously going to be home. Once you actually go there, though, this place will seem like the alien one, and that place will seem like the real one." Lex frowned. "What do you look like, there?"

"I look like myself?" Yosho quirked a brow. what an odd question.

"Yeah. That's bad." Lex was...worried? Seeing Lex worried almost made Yosho sick to his stomach. "The less you have to tell you the difference between the two worlds, the more that line becomes blurred."

"But that one's the fake one, right?" Yosho was asking the wrong person.

"Who knows? There are so many planes of existance we don't even know about, its a bit pompous to suggest ours is the "right" one." Lex shook his head. "Good luck, Kid."

"Wait. Good luck? Can't you help me?" Yosho followed Lex as he went to sit back down at his desk.

"Not in the slightest. If I was going there with you, I could offer a fair bit of insight, and help you piece the "right" life together--I'm good at that, afterall. But, since I'm not, All I can tell you is not to mess up. Remember everything I taught you." Lex said, looking at Yosho's eyes deeply.

"....You haven't taught me shit, Lex." Yosho said flatly.

"Hey! You're Right! Hah, looks like you're on your own! now get out, I got death warrents to fill out and stamp." Lex chuckled. Despite reverting to the idiot Yosho knew, Yosho could still hear the worry in Lex's voice. He tried to get a peak at the names Lex was writing down, but he couldn't make anything out. Yosho turned around and went back to his room. He was going to lay down and rest. Instead of See Cataminei, he was going to try and go straight to Fantasia.

Pio's Apothecary and Clinic | Scrapyard District | Time 7:50-ish AM

"Pio!!" The Crew worker called out. "Pio!"

"Oh, hush, you idiot! Let's just get the boy inside!"

Pio would be able to hear the men outside the clinic. She could probably recognize the merchant's voice. He was a semi-regular customer, buying vitality tonics and the like for his older crew workers. Him and his co-worker seemed distraught. Before she could even raise out of her seat to see, the crew worker and merchant burst through the door, carrying the body of a fairly familiar young man.

Yosho was hanging in their grasp, limp and lifeless. The wounds were obvious by the blood on his shirt. Several gunshots to the chest.

"Please tell us you can do something, Pio!" The anxious crew member stammered.

"Pipe down, you oaf!" The Merchant Barked. "Pio..." He started. "I'm sorry, lass....I couldn't stop him from pickin' a fight with the thugs. I jus'...didn't know who else to bring the boy to...." The merchant sighed in shame, hoisting Yosho's lifeless body into his arms a bit tighter. "Where should I put him....?"

**Kilelicus** · 09-30-2015, 09:31 PM

The Real World

Several minutes passed after the vicious thrashing that Dahlia's bullies had delivered to her. After the beating, the girls snuck Dahlia into a nearby bathroom and set her up in one of the stalls, their version of "hiding the body." Dahlia, however, did not recover. When the two girls restrained her, and she knew what was coming, it made her feel as helpless as the day that she had been raped. And then the words that the bully had planted in her mind supplemented her already deteriorating mental stability. Those things combined triggered her typical reaction to these things: Catatonia.

Dahlia sat, effectively unconscious, in the bathroom stall, stuck in her mental prison that served as a reflexive coping mechanism. Within her mind, she was experiencing nightmares; flashbacks to the night that her family and innocence were taken from her. Tears began rolling down her face as she experienced such thoughts. Eventually, the grief became too much... She lost consciousness and her heartbeat began to fade. In her final moments, she cursed her life and thought "What a day to die..."

Before her heart failed, however, a void opened in the stall door before her, pulling her to... who knows where?

Fantasia

It was a typical day in Fantasia. About as typical as living in the Human Imagination got anyway. The citizens were all bustling around, firefights from the gang wars in different sections of the city could be heard echoing in the distance. But if the citizens of the city were to turn their eyes upward, they would see a dark void opening in what served as Fantasia's sky: what was effectively a solid ceiling spanning into infinity.

A young-looking man stood upon the balcony of his apartment, sipping a cold beverage and staring at the void when he saw a single girl fall through the gap.

"Right on schedule." He said, before turning into his apartment.

**Miniking1** · 09-30-2015, 09:51 PM

~Fantasia (Nighttime)~

"Val, I think we're being followed." Anthony said, as they watched the group of 3 men turn the same corner they had for a third time.

"I know, they're after our possessions. Whatever you do, don't run. We'll shake them off the next block." Valerie warned in a whisper, as the two siblings started to walk faster.

"'Ey, They're runnin'! After them!" One of the men, the shortest, yelled as he went into a dash.

"Dammit, you idiot. Now they're gonna run!" The middle one shouted as he started running as well. The tallest one said nothing but ran with them.

"Crap, they're running, we gotta go Tony!" Valerie exclaimed. She started sprinting. She knew she could outrun them for a while, unless they had an ablity to help them, but she was hesitant about Anthony. She turned and her heart skipped a beat. "TONY THEY'RE COMING! RUN!" She screamed at Anthony, who was still walking and hadn't noticed yet.

Anthony started running just in time, as the smallest one dove for him and missed. The middle one tripped over him and fell, before quickly getting up. "Stop screwing around!" He shouted at the shorter man, before running again. The tallest man was already catching up to Tony, but he passed him and kept going.

"You're supposed to catch them Idiot!" The middle one shouted again, this time at the tall man, whom turned ready to catch the boy.

Anthony turned left and headed that way. The middle one barked again. "Leave him, go after the girl!"

Valerie turned her head just as Anthony headed left. "Tony!" She yelled, and turned left as well. She soon could see Tony, whom ran parallel to them a few blocks away. She headed towards where he was going, and manifested her gray chains.

"Boss, she's got a weapon!" the shortest one said, nearly out of breath.

"Doesn't matter what she has, we outnumber them! Shut up and get them!" The middle one; the boss, ordered.

Valerie swung her chains at towers of boxes on the sides, before catching up with Anthony. "Don't stray far from me Tony." She said when she was close enough.

The shortest one tripped over the boxes and was exhausted. "Hey, carry him or he'll keep dragging us down!" The middle one said to the tallest. The tallest one ran back and lifted the smallest one like a child, before turning and catching up with the boss.

"We can't outrun them for much longer, we have to hide." Valerie told her brother as she lengthened her chains. They turned into a dead end, with only a box and trash around it. She headed into the shade and brought her brother close to her before wrapping her chains around them. "Okay, what would happen if they catch us? What would happen if they catch us? What would happen if they catch us?" Valerie repeated to herself. As her head filled with images and possibilities, her chains blackened, enough to hide them in the shadows.

"Will we be okay Val?" Her brother questioned.

"I think so. We'll make less and less noise the more chains we have wrapped around us, as long as I stay scared." The more prominent the color and her mood got, the better the ability would work.

"Got you now!" The boss said, as him and his men turned the corner. "What, they're not here? Shit, they must've climbed the wall! Other side let's g-"

"Wait!" The smallest one interrupted in a whisper. "That box moved." The men all stared at the box in the corner near the trash cans, before it moved again.

"Nice eye." The boss complimented the shortest man. They approached the box. "Alright, when we lift it, you grab whoever's inside." The boss murmured to the tall one, before they lifted it. The tall one quickly lifted the person inside. It was a barefoot woman with long hair and dirty robes. She brought her legs up to her chest and hugged them when picked up.

"Boss, this ain't the right girl. She was wearin red before." The shortest man said.

The boss was frozen and speechless. "That's my daughter! What the hell's she doing in this place!?"

"You sure boss? She looks way to different in my opinion." The shortest man questioned about the girl, who remained as speechless as the tall man. The girl stared blankly at the trash cans ahead of her, before the lid opened. Stuffed bears came out and stopped before the men.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure your daughter didn't have a bear army ether." The shortest one said, pointing at the stuffed bears in front of them.

"Oh, Good. Forget about those 2 we were chasing, let's take her back. They'll be useful." The boss ordered his men. But as soon as they stepped out of the alleyway, the girl let our a sudden scream. The men instinctively covered their ears and the tall man dropped her onto the ground.

"Shit! Pick her back up. Let's go!" The boss yelled at the tall guy once again. And so he did, and they ran back the way they came with the stuffed bears following them.

The girl continued to scream for a few seconds until her voice gave out, not long after she started.

The streets were once again filled with an eerie silence.

"Val?" Anthony said after a while.

"Yeah?"

"Who was that?" He questioned.

"She was probably just a helpless girl." Valerie said. "We can't worry about what happens to her, especially since we don't even know her." Valerie receded her chains and the two sat in the empty alley. A couple more bears exited the other trash can, and sat near them.

"How come she didn't fight back?" He questioned again.

"She probably wasn't a Magnus like me, so she didn't have weapons...I think." Valerie said uncertainly.

"What if the bears were her weapons?" He questioned a third time.

"Then they would've attacked the men. Plus, wouldn't bears be a weird weapon? Especially stuffed ones?"

"That would be weird, but some games had that! I even played one with a rainbow shooting-"
"Yeah yeah" Valerie Interrupted her brother. "Let's continue tomorrow, I've heard enough shouting today."

"Wait, is it safe to sleep here Val?"

"I think so. The bears don't seem that hostile, even when someone was being kidnapped. We'll know when we get to the library. But for now, we don't have many options."

**WriggleRid3r** · 10-01-2015, 01:06 AM

Pio's Apothecary and Clinic | Scrapyard District | 7:53 AM

Before Pio could even react, the merchant who frequented her shop and his assistants bursted into her shop, holding what looked like a man hurt in a crossfire.

"B- bring him into the clinic please!" Pio fidgeted at the sight of an almost dying man. She already lost 5 to the hands of Death, she will not let this man perish. "This way!"

**Alayosho** · 10-01-2015, 10:23 AM

Pio's Apothecary and Clinic | Scrapyard District | 7:55 AM

"Aye, lass." The merchant said. "You go watch the cart. Don't need another incident." He ordered his crewman to go back.

Yosho wasn't the largest of people, so it wasn't hard for the merchant to maneuver his lifeless body to the clinic. His mind was in a slight daze watching Pio desperately struggle to save someone who was already dead. The poor girl looked like she was already half-dead with the way she dressed and how famished she looked.

Yosho's injuries didn't look fatal, rather just the shock from the bullets are what "knocked the life" out of him. Regardless, he was still and motionless.

**WriggleRid3r** · 10-02-2015, 12:30 PM

Pio's Apothecary and Clinic | Scrapyard District | Time: 7:56 AM

Once at the clinic, which was just a small room with dirty mattresses or bundles of blankets laid on the ground for patients to lay on, Pio motioned the merchant to lay the wounded on one of the beds. Omce he did so, she began inspecting the patient for any injuries and if he was beyond saving or still salvagable.

"The bullets didn't hit any fatal spots; the shock from them must've knocked them out." Pio commented as she held up a small bundle of bandages. "I'll close his wound and bring him back to health. "

Pio wrapped the bullet wounds with a bandage, closing them off from any chance of infection. It was the best she could do for now; she ran out of ingredients for the potion that helps close wounds faster, but she sure as heck could cook up something to rejuvenate the drinker while the patient is unconscious.

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