“Friends?” Faira squeaked. “Friends?” You don’t befriend zombies!” If she had any doubt there was some relation, regardless of how small, between the two Mariannes, they all but dissolved. Her eyes widened as one of the undead caught sight of them and charged forward. Instinctively, she summoned flames around her, but thought better of using them. Zombies were bad enough without them being on fire. “Sever the heads!” Faira shouted at Conna’Cel as she reached for Little Ann protectively, wishing she had a weapon of some sort of her own. And I doubt they like music, she added as her mental inventory check came up with only the flute still in her makeshift pocket. As a couple of them neared her, their pace freakishly fast, she raised her free hand and summoned a dark shadow that expanded a good distance over the floor. The momentary sense of excitement buzzed through Faira as the two zombies fell into the dark hole, but it did not last long. She screamed and her powers took hold, turning her into a dark mass as the zombies stumbled from the shadows nearby, neither worse for wear save for a touch of disorientation.

Rosaline, having exited the room along with everyone else, barely flinched when the strange little girl known as Marianne ran headlong into the horde. Suspicion burrowed itself in her thoughts; no longer sure the little girl was completely safe. She didn’t pay that much mind though when she realized the zombies were now heading her way. A sinister smirk pulled at her lips, her fingers reaching for a pair of swords that weren’t there, at least not yet. Her hands gripped onto a pair of hilts, the swords appearing in her hold as if they were always there. One was heavier than the other, being a twin blade that split to be two swords. The nebula glanced over at Faira, tossing the second sword, the lighter one, her direction. It buried itself into the wooden floor, waiting to be claimed. “Faira, take the sword!!” she yells, already getting into a decent stance though she was facing away so she could yell at the human. Zombies locked onto her, rushing towards her in a flurry of movement and for a moment it looked like she would never notice their approach. In a whirlwind of motion Rosaline spun, the dual swords slashing cleanly through the decaying monsters with a hiss and a slight burning smell. Her eyes glanced momentarily at the decapitated creatures, their wounds cauterized by the magic running through the blades. She didn’t dwell on it long though, moving towards where she had seen the human last as she cut down zombie after zombie. Not a drop of blood touched her, for the wounds she inflicted did not bleed, and so when she reached Faira it looked as if she had yet to kill any of the creatures. The zombies were now before her, most of her companions behind her. “Get out of here, I’ll get Marianne, just get Ann and yourself out of here!” she orders, bracing herself for the next monster to attack. “This is no job for a human.” She sighs. Rosaline knew the others could handle themselves, especially Conna Cel and herself seeing as there was no flesh for the zombies to eat. For now though she merely held her ground, slicing down any zombie who came to close.

Marianne frowned as each of her “friends” were cut down one by one. She didn’t complain though, as if the natural action of slaughtering the zombies was a norm for her. Considering how they were…well, undead, that probably was the case. Still, it was curious on why all of the rotting creatures had avoided her specifically, steering past her as if she was some kind of plague. What was even stranger were the zombies themselves. As most of them were felled by blade and fire, each of them sported a grimy grin. It was as if the act of their destruction amused the mindless creatures to some abnormal degree. Frowning, Marianne skipped along until she stood next to Rose. Reaching out, she gently tugged on the taller girl’s sleeve. “Ah, miss? Um, shouldn’t we be leaving now too?”

Faira pulled from her shadow as Rosaline shouted to her and tossed her a sword. “T-thanks!” she shouted back. Gratefully gripping the hilt of the sword, it took her a couple wiggles to pull it from the floor. She paused for only a moment as Rosaline ordered her to take Ann and run, not wanting to abandon the others but still desiring to get to safety. Realizing she would be more of a hindrance than a help against the zombie hoard, she brandished the sword awkwardly in front of her, its weight strange in her hand yet granting some sense of security knowing she had something physical to defend herself with. Tightened her hold on Ann, she raced forward. Faira shouted and jumped away, careful of Ann, as a couple zombies ran at her and the child. She slashed ungracefully at the undead monsters, aiming high in hope of getting their head. Her surprise at the searing effect of the blade was short lived as the vile stench of burning rotting flesh made her stomach churn. Pulling Ann close, she melded into her all too familiar shadow form with the girl. The dark spot zipped across the floor down the hall and away from the zombie attack. She felt a quiver through the shadow form, the extra traveler exhausting the ability quicker than usual. As they reached what she hoped would be a safe distance away, the two reformed close to the wall, Faira holding her borrowed sword at the ready. Faira leaned heavily against the wall with an exasperated groan, hoping the others were okay and would rejoin them soon. “This is probably a dumb question,” she whispered after a moment, glancing down at Ann, “but you doing okay?” The stench of the wounded zombies lingered in her nose, threatening to make her vomit.

Rosaline quickly looked down at the little girl, the zombies around them dispersing. It might have been due to their lessening numbers, but she felt it had something to do with little Marianne. “You’re right, come on.” She replies. The doll-like woman takes the child’s hand in hers before quickly guiding them towards where Faira and Ann were. Any undead monster that noticed them seemed to back away, moving to where the rest of their kind was on the other end of the hall. Rose finally stopped, letting go of Marianne’s hand. She turned to look for the others. “Conna ‘Cel! Scarlet!” the nebula yells out, trying to spot them in the crowded mass. She finally caught sight of them, there were only a few zombies left standing around them. It seemed the rest were laying in pieces at their feet. They needed to get out of here soon though, there was no telling if there were more zombies that might show up soon enough.

Quickly slaying the last few zombies around him, Conna'Cel turned his head when he heard his name called. Seeing Rosaline calling them out, Conna'Cel made the logical choice of flying over to their location, shooting down zombies as he did so. The zombies were too low to touch him, so he was able to make the journey without fear of injury. Upon reaching the others, Conna'Cel asked, "What is the plan?"

However, it seemed that the group’s cause for concern was to be put at ease. For as Marianne continued to stare up at Rose in wonder, the zombies behind them all but fell apart into piles of organs and bones, rotting flesh skewing everywhere on the ground.

Weird.

There was definitely something related to those zombies and the girl who called herself Marianne. But to what end…whatever action that was taking place was soon interrupted by a grinding noise. To the left of them, something was shifting and moving into place. Further inspection revealed that it was the wall itself.

The wall opened up a dark hole of nothing before the sound of rushing water was heard. At once, a torrent of green water spilled out, though not enough to flood the area again. Something else was deposited from the darkness. Something large and moving fast.

A body was spluttered out of the water, slipping on the ground before them. The form of Adrian stared back at them, eyes blank and skin paled. It looked like he had drowned. Dead. He was most certainly dead.

Scarlet widened her eyes at the morbid scene, backing up from the dripping corpse.

“N-No way…we left him behind? But I thought-”

“Oh?”

Marianne skipped past the others and bent down towards Adrian’s dead body. Tilting her head curiously, she began poking the man’s sodden cheek, grinning profusely more as she did so.

“Ahaha, wake up silly! It’s not your time yet!”

Scarlet watched the young girl incredulously. Was she mad?

“Marianne, I don’t think-”

And then Adrian coughed. Rising up quickly, he gasped and choked as retched water spilled from his mouth, among other undesirables. Scarlet watched in shock as the half-demon, half-angel stood before them, seemingly brought back from the dead. Marianne’s childish laughter filled the small space, echoing off the walls.

What the hell was that girl?

Adrian blinked multiple times as he came back to reality. His last memory was of the hallway, then he had been sitting in a white room staring at his other half. As the angel and demon had sat with a chessboard inbetween them they talked as they played.

"So what do you think of these surroundings?" the angel asked.
"Maybe it suit you, but I prefer something a little darker" the demon replied.
"So do you think this means we are dead?"
"What does it matter we have been dead a long time. In any case even if we are dead, we will resurrect at some point we always do."

As they spoke a light appeared to their right with Marianne's voice.

"Oh look it's the bitch from earlier" the demon said.
"Well would you like a turn?" the angel replied after making a move on the chessboard and gesturing towards the light with his hand.
"No I do believe ill let you deal with this one after all I might just kill all of them, and I have some thinking to do anyway."

The angel stood and walked through the light and as he did he saw the others. His halos appeared burning on his arms. His sword materialized on his hip, and his wings seemed to burst from his back in golden light. He stood and cracked his neck. Finally he stared at the others and said in a confident voice.

"Did you miss me?"

Faira straightened as she noticed the others coming toward her, thankful—yet not too surprised—that they had managed to escape, albeit with the zombies still dragging themselves behind. However, their slowing pace quickly ended in a stomach-wrenching display as pieces of their rotting corpses strew about the hall.

Before Faira could so much as retch, the sound of grinding gained her attention. Her eyes widened, and she stepped away from the wall as it shifted into a gaping hole, the gurgle of water echoing inside it.

“Not again!” Faira groaned, grabbing Little Ann’s hand, ready to haul her up if the he hall flooded again.

Like a mouth dispelling a glob of saliva, only a hiccup of water cascade out, bringing with it the lifeless body of Adrian.

Faira gasped, a hand going to her mouth as, for the first time, she realized he had not traveled with them. Guilt spread through her at the thought that she had left him behind.

I-it was that or we all would have drown, she tried to reassure herself, shuddering at the thought. Well, whoever can drown in this group… she added with a quick glance at the others.

Her attention snapped to the young Marianne as the child stepped up to Adrian’s body, far too gleeful at the sight of a corpse.

“What are you--” she started, her words overlapping with Scarlet’s as the woman addressed the child.

She stumbled back slightly, slack-jawed, as life suddenly returned to Adrian’s body. She looked to the child as the girl’s laughter rang through the hall, then watched with relief as the man took his angel form and addressed the group.

Faira took a small step forward. “You—you’re alive. Really alive?” She paused, eyeing Adrian and raising her borrowed sword slightly as she continued, searching for any sign the man standing before them was an impostor or illusion of some sort. “It is you, isn’t it?”

As the woman approached with the sword he smirked.

"I don't know how many other men wear halos as fashion accessories and have wings."

Adrian walked towards her calmly putting his hand on the flat of the sword and pushing it to the side. He took her other hand and brought it tohis chest so she could feel his beating heart. As he held her hand there he stared into her eyes.

"If you would refer I could let the other one back out, HE is quite fond of you Faira."

“With the way my day’s been going?” Faira muttered. “There could be an entire clan of man-eating somethings who do.”

Faira inhaled and stepped back as Adrian gently pushed the blade aside, her eyes locking with his. The sincerity and lack of animosity she found there made her tight grip on the weapon’s hilt loosen slightly as she lowered it. She tensed, her gaze leaving his only to glance to her other hand as he took it and placed it to his chest where the gentle, steady beat of his heart pulsated beneath her palm, proving his life.

Her eyes widened in panic as he offered to let the demon rule him instead.

“N-no!” she said quickly, removing her hand just in case he decided to change anyway. “Think I’d rather deal with another hoard of zombies.” Pulling her gaze almost reluctantly from his, she turned, glancing around as if expecting her words to conjure just that. “Metaphorically speaking!” she added hastily.

“Plan?? We need to find the end of this hallway… Maybe we can find a way out of this madhouse if-“Rosaline started. Her words caught in her throat though as the wall had begun to open. The nebula tensed, expecting more monsters… or after the water began to spew forth from the hole all she could expect was more water.

Neither happened, instead Adrian’s lifeless form washed up by the feet. For a demon, or angel, he was surprisingly mortal. When little Marianne had skipped forth she had almost stopped her, the man wasn’t sleeping. It seemed she was wrong though… The little girl’s actions spurred the man to life before their very eyes.

Rosaline’s eyes narrowed a little, she no longer believed that this Marianne and the one from before were two separate entities. Even more so she had a sinking feeling she knew exactly what she was as well and the idea alone made the porcelain woman shudder. She tried not to show this though, turning her attention to the resurrected form of Adrian. At least it was his better half; the demon side of him truly ticked her off.
“I’m glad to see you’re still alive. We should probably get moving though… I don’t like this hallway; there are too many places for something to attack us from.” Rose sighed, genuinely looking concerned with his well-being.

Somewhere further along things were beginning the final preparations for their master’s return. It wouldn’t be long now.

Marianne watched the happy reunion with glee, clapping her hands excitedly. Well now that they were all together it was probably time to lead them out on the supposed exit she spoke of earlier. With a skip in her step, she located the closest person next to her and latched onto their hands. Ironically enough, it was Rose’s hand.

The girl would feel a slight jolt of icy sensations spreading around her arm, despite her lifeless form devoid of flesh. Though if Marianne was concerned by the effect her grip was having, she was completely oblivious to it.

“Let’s go, let’s go! To the end we go!” she chanted.

The young girl flashed Little Ann a knowing smile before skipping off with Rose in tow, leading the group further down the hall. Scarlet watched all this with narrowed eyes. Something about this all felt off to her. Not Marianne herself, but her actions. Just the way she grabbed onto Rose’s hand made her feel…bothered.

Brushing these thoughts off for now, she followed the group onward until they winded up near a large, iron-clad door. Indeed, it did seem fitting enough to be an exit to this living nightmare. Marianne walked up to it and gave it a healthy knock on its frame.

Then she reached out and tried the handle, twisting and turning it. The door did not budge.

“Whoops! Sorry everyone,” she said, turning back around. “It’s locked from the other side. Isn't that so interesting?”

Conna'Cel was rather surprised, if one could call what his logic system was going through surprise, when the demon/angel hybrid appeared. "The hybrid is deceased," Conna'Cel reported, landing back onto the ground and deconstructing his wings. "Scans show no life signs signaling otherwise." And it was true, the body had no heartbeat, or even any body heat.

However, that changed when Marianne went over to him. Life signs began appearing where none should have appeared, and the hybrid was alive once more. "Error, life signs reappearing," Conna'Cel reported. "Heartbeat and breathing have resumed." After a brief moment, he labeled the event as another unexplainable feature of the mansion. Conna'Cel then went through the process of figuring out what to do about the hybrid entity. The angel showed no signs of hostile intent, but the demon...

Well, the demon was a minor inconvenience compared to the situation at hand. Conna'Cel would not launch another assault until the hybrid was proven hostile.

Following little Marianne to what was supposed to be the exit, Conna'Cel held little regard for what he considered to be a minor obstacle in his quest for freedom. Going up to the door and placing a hand on it, he considered his possible options. The handle could be turned, so picking the lock in the keyhole was pointless. The house could regenerate, so breaking down the door was also not an option.

In the end, Conna'Cel stated, "It is impossible to open this door by mundane means." He scanned the doorway to see what lied beyond it, and was thwarted when his scans revealed something blocking his sights. It seems that the house didn't even want him seeing what lied beyond. "Error, unable to discover what lies beyond the doorway. There is an unknown barrier hindering my scanners."

"Good thing we aren't mundane people then" Adrian said as he walked towards the door. Stopping he put his hand to it and rubbed it across feeling the wood and iron. Gently he rapped it with his knuckles before sighing. Pulling his sword from its sheath he tapped the door with it, but left no visible markings. Stepping back he closed both hands in front of him and a ball of golden flames began to form between them.

"Since mundane means and physical force wont work lets try magic, Faira I may need your help with this" Adrian said. The ball of flames was now a raging inferno trapped between his hands it looked like a miniature sun. Finally he opened his hands and the ball of flames flew forward hitting the door in a golden inferno.

“That’s not ominous at all,” Faira muttered to Marianne’s words.
She hesitated a moment as the others followed Marianne’s directions, before, not wanting to be left behind, offering her hand awkwardly to Little Ann and following. After a short while surprisingly free of any obvious obstacles, they arrived at a large door.
Faira inhaled as a flicker of hope that, for once since waking up, something had gone right and they would soon return to the outside world. Alas, even that small ember was brutally extinguished as the young girl declared the door locked from the outside.
“‘Interesting?!” Faira growled at the girl’s choice of words as Conna’Cel went to the door, her free hand clenching into a fist as a quick spark formed in the air near her hand. “Try cruel.”
She looked to Conna’Cel as he spoke. “Figures,” she said with a sigh once he finished, releasing Little Ann’s hand.
She moved to step toward the door as if another person looking it over would change what they saw, but Adrian beat her to it. She watched him hopefully, taking a step back as he placed his sword harmlessly against it in case the door decided to retaliate.
“What?” She looked to him, surprised, as he stated his possible need for her help, fire forming between his hands. “Yeah, sure. What do you need me to do?” She stepped cautiously forward as his flames intensified.
“Hold on! What if it catches more than just—” Before she could finish, Adrian released the fury of his golden flames on the door.

Marianne flinched at Faira’s harsh tone, bringing herself closer to Rose and clinging to her arm. For once, her smile faltered and she frowned at the hostility the human was showing her. The flames in her hand probably didn’t help, though Marianne seemed not to care about that threat

“There’s no need to shout at me,” she mumbled, casting her eyes away and sulking a little. Seeing this, Little Ann showed off a smile of her own. Whether she was happy about something or just amused to see Marianne put in her place had yet to be seen.

Scarlet watched this all, shaking her head, both at the two girl’s behavior and the plan to set the door on fire. When Adrian shot forth a stream of fire without Faira’s cue, Scarlet’s eyes widened as she smelled something that wasn’t there before.

Gunpowder.

“Everyone get away!”

An explosion blinded their vision, assuming they were still in the vicinity of the door. The impact of the blow was enough to shake the manor, making the foundation groan and gnarl. However, once the smoke cleared, the door remained intact. Another problem plagued them though.

Thanks to Adrian’s attack, the walls and floor were now on fire, large patches set aflame and sustained by an outside power. The manor was ensuring that the fire would not be put out.

“Great,” she muttered, turning to glare at the angel. “Any plans out of this?”

As the flames drew near, licking at their flesh, they avoided Marianne entirely, drawing back instinctively. This meant that Rose was also safe to a degree, seeing as Marianne was still clinging onto the Nebula.

During the scan to determine what lied behind the door, Conna'Cel had indeed detected traces of gunpowder. However, since it seemed like such a minor detail, he didn't bother revealing this piece of information. Conna'Cel was also disappointed at the hybrid's way of thinking. Whether demon or angel, it seemed as though all his solutions involved the use of physical force.

Stepping away from the door, Conna'Cel let the entity continue with his futile effort. After all, he should be taught a lesson. Conna'Cel then began to determine how large the blast radius would be, and alarms began flashing when he determined just how large it would be. "Warning, explosion imminent," Conna'Cel alerted as Adrian fired.

Acting quickly, he sidestepped over to the people closest to him, which was Faira and Little Ann, so he would be in front of them, then attempted to push them away.

Thinking Conna’Cel referred to Adrian’s attack by ‘explosion,’ she paid him little heed. As the flames lapped at the door, a strange odor strengthened in the air. It smelled faintly familiar, but Faira could not quite place it.
“Everyone get away!”
Unsure of what was happening, Faira grabbed Little Ann’s hand and followed after Scarlet, but neither got too far before the door exploded.
Faira pulled Little Ann protectively in front of her a moment before Conna’Cel gratefully stepped in front of them and pushed them away from the blast, Faira dropping her borrowed sword.
Faira coughed as she inhaled the smoke rising from around the door, her ears ringing for a moment from the sudden sound.
“Th-thanks,” she gasped out to Conna’Cel as both the smoke and ringing in her ears dissipated.
Heat surrounded them as she straightened, and her eyes grew wide at the flames threatening to engulf them. She raised her hands toward the hungry flames, willing them to die down. They wavered for scarcely a moment, then grew as if mocking her attempt at banishing them.
She looked to Scarlet, panicked, as the heat intensified.
“How about get outta here?” Faira spared only a second to pick the sword back up and took a few steps back down the hall away from the hungry flames, a hand held out to guide Little Ann.

Rosaline was on edge, Marianne's icy grip making it only worse. She had followed along, glad to finally know there was a way out, but when the chaos of the fire, caused by Adrian, broke out she was petrified.

The nebula pulled Marianne back, getting them out of the Flames reach. One of her hand raised, a blur of light overtaking her fingers as she began to mutter an incantation. Finally her spell was put into motion, water beginning to leave her hand as if she had a garden hose. She pointed it towards the fires, smothering them with cold water until they died out completely. It made her slightly weak though, she was still recovering from her last battle with fire.

Seeing as the house repaired itself when the last embers died there was no trace of it ever happening. The walls, floor, and even door looked band new.

Rosaline sighed, her legs wobbling a bit. She had used a lot of magic in a very short span of time.

Suddenly the silence was broken by an out of place peal of laughter. Rose turned quickly to see the cause of the sound only to tense, not knowing if they would have to fight.

Standing at the base of a grand staircase, this was the main room afterall, was a girl. Her white hair was long and slightly messy but the thing that stood out was the overly cheerful smile on her lips. Alexandra stopped laughing, her eyes landing on Marianne for a moment. She clutched a ragged teddy bear in her arms. "Oh, it's people!! Hello people!!" She chuckled, waving adamantly at the group. "Ah, I forgot... I'm Alexandra and this is Mr T....... He doesn't talk anymore though. I think he's mad I didn't get him out of here." She huffs.

Rosaline looked a little confused, how long had this 'Alexandra' been here? Maybe she would know how to get out. "Excuse me... My name is Rose, but I'm wondering if you know how to get out of here." She inquired.

Alexandra tensed, looking at the bear as if for answers. "Should we tell them?" She questions aloud. Finally she looks towards Rose. "Well there are many ways, you could die..., and death will escort you put, or you can find the key." She answers, glancing just momentarily at Marianne. Suddenly she seems to remember something. "Or you can make a deal with... Um... No, I can't remember her name." She states, partially lying.