Forest
A shadow began lurking around the trees and making sure stay hidden by blending in with them. It stood very still, it's eyes scanning around for the person Hunter had described. It eventually found him and began the usual snickering as it continued lurking around. It wanted to be able to sneak up at Arin from behind, it just had to find a good spot.

Arin had to stop his search for his girlfriend as he felt like something was getting ready to jump out at him. He knew this was coming sooner or later. He stood there, waiting for the shadow to show itself.

---

Price just continued to stand right where he was. It was clear he wasn't go anywhere near that lake. This idea is way too risky for me.

@IceboundMemoire@Letmehaveone2
A few others have showed up since all that started and Ayaka noticed that Luna was one of them. So she ended up here too huh? Of course, she was happy to see her friend again,but she was a little busy at the moment. "Anyway, you said we should go this way Parell?" Ayaka asked as she started walking in a direction hoping the others would follow and that she'd find Arin along the way.

"Whatever the case, I don't care whether we end up going to the lake or not. We really should keep moving anyway."

---

@arowne97
Someone had suddenly come up yelling 'big bro' as he tried to hug Shiro. "Well he seems full of energy," Luna stated. "Quite the opposite of you, Shiro." It appeared the two of them were brothers, however. "But how about let's not prompt the trees to attack again?" she said slightly amused about the whole thing.

Upon hearing what Ayaka said, Luna had to admit that she agreed. Her friend seemed quite preoccupied at the moment so she left her alone for the time being. "My friend is right though. We really shouldn't be idling in one place for too long."

@Ninkitty

"Unless the lake of blood fully encircles the forest, we won't end up in it. I doubt that there will be anything to gain from going to the lake, and so we should head in the opposite direction, no?" He was still wearing his helmet, and as he moved it would tug on Joseph to pull him along.

With the arrival of even more people, Parell wondered how many had been sent here, and for what reason. It didn't make sense to pull so many different people together; he felt as though he had been here from the beginning, but the others were different - a pair of Nekos, a human from a world without magic, two human brothers with attributes to compliment where the other lacks... it was then he noticed someone else... rather, something else.

"A being with two souls?" He stared directly in Jyden's direction.

@mmarage@arowne97@Letmehaveone2

@IceboundMemoire
Jyden seemed confused at first and went to point to himself. Then he finally realized what this guy might have meant. Is he talking about Darth? He didn't wanna say anything about that. "Are you saying you know about...." He trailed off not wanting scare the cute guy(Joe) any more than he probably already is. I really hope he doesn't tell him.

---

@Ninkitty
Why did I even choose to go off on my own? Arin thought to himself while still waiting for whatever was there to show itself.

---

Shadowman of the Forest stood next to another tree, this one closer to Arin. It looked from side to side making sure nothing stood in its way before lifting its 'arms' in an attempt to grab and pull 'dino-boy' over and trap him against the nearby tree.

---

Arin looked at the shadow about to grab him and tried to move away from its so-called 'arms'. "I don't need this right now." He wasn't angry yet, but that didn't mean he couldn't stop the shadow from trying to grab him. He grabbed one of its arms. All he wanted was to find his girlfriend and being stopped by a shadow wasn't helping.

---

@Nikki Moonlight
It had been a while since Hunter sent all shadows but Shadowsaur out. He hoped at least one of them found Arin by now. He looked at Diana. "You think I should summon a shadow copy of myself. You know, just to make sure their doing their job right."

@Letmehaveone2

Diana looked at him. "Perhaps you should, just in case." She stared at Hunter quietly for a moment then she turned her face away and she thought of the first time she had been summoned by him. The first time had been unsuccessful as her intended host had died. Many were too weak to sustain her. It was a wonder that this vessel survived. She felt the young girl resisting again and she held her head. "Ngh..."

I tried to run, but I was stopped by some kind of wall. It wasn't exactly solid... It just seemed to push me backwards, quite forcefully, I might add. It seemed like it was the wind itself blowing me back... Oh well. I wasn't going to be stopped. I quickly turned left and continued running. That's when I noticed some sort of light was behind me. It must've been some kind of trick. I wasn't going to stop and look however... I just kept running, trying to get away... however, a strange light seemed to pierce me. It didn't hurt or anything... but something did feel... off.

As I ran, I was suddenly yanked backwards, and fell flat on my ass. I looked backwards and checked my body for something that would hold me back... yet there wasn't anything. Nothing was holding me back, however, I kept being tugged further and further back. Back toward that group. That man, he did something to me. Anger began to boil within me. I got to my feet, turned around, and began running back toward the group.

Parell's helmet... it's usual golden sheen was replaced by a silver aura. As I approached, that silver glow got brighter and brighter until it was nearly blinding. If I hadn't been driven to this level of anger, my calm and collected side would have surely told me that punching someone wearing a helmet would have done nothing but hurt my own hand, maybe even break it. My more rational side would have questioned why his helmet was glowing. However, I wasn't thinking clearly... how dare this man do something to me...? How dare he make decisions on my behalf...? How dare he force me to stay here...!?

I ran up behind him and swung wildly. Instead of my fist connecting with metal... it connected with flesh. That moment... the silver aura faded. It was finally visible what had happened. There was a large hole in the helmet where my fist had connected with the back of his head. The helmet was cracked all over, almost looking like a spiderweb. The punch itself... was below average, losing much of its power behind the sloppy way I had thrown it. That strange feeling I felt was now gone... my anger subsided, only to be filled with bewilderment and fear. How... did I do that...? His armor was definitely metal, I felt it, I didn't even make a dent, it wasn't cheap stuff... is it another trick...? But why resort to something like this...? Surely, now that I've attacked him, and actually did some kind of damage, he'll really want to kill me.

I backed away and tried to hide my emotions. "A-Ah, if any of you try and stop me... I'll do the same to you that I did to his helmet, got it? Just be thankful that I was feeling merciful!" I was panting... I could feel the stitch in my side... it felt horrible. But, now I really needed to get away. I could worry about the pain and exhaustion later. These people, whether or not they're actually killers... will probably want me dead now. I turned and began running away from the group, hopefully for the last time.

@IceboundMemoire

@mmarage
"How did he...?" Ayaka didn't care at this point. She was growing really tired of him. The problem was if he got himself killed, Hunter could quite easily use him against them if he wanted and she knew he would if he thought he had something to gain from it. "Ug whatever. He's becoming rather irritating. Let's see if he can get away from my wind. I mean really. We don't have the time for his stupidity right now."

She sent wind swirling after Joe to pick him up and carry him back to the group. She would then have it continue carrying him until he was ready to stop being a nuisance.

I could hear the wind picking up behind me. Whatever wind tricks they're doing, I wasn't about to be caught by them. I quickly dived to the side as I heard the wind howling loudly behind me. I could see the wind blowing grass and leaves around, it turned back towards me. "Nn... I won't let it catch me...!" I quickly began running again, making a right this time. "Think, Joe, think! They're pretending that magic is real. So... maybe they're operating under game logic. So, once that "spell" hits something, it should disperse. So it's going to have to be something large... thankfully I'm surrounded by trees, so I just need it to hit a tree, and I'm home free."

I began weaving my way around trees, the "spell" just barely missed each one... then I came across a rather large weeping willow. "Perfect!" I had noticed that the further that I got away from the group, the less strong the wind became, which, made sense, the "spell" has to act under some parameters. Meaning that this one has to be within range of the "caster". Probably meaning that annoying cat girl. I quickly ran around the tree, something that I had noticed about the "spell" was that it seemed to have a slow turn radius,I just need to get directly across from it, or at least close enough for the "spell" to break against the tree.

I kept running for... well... I don't really know how long, it wasn't too long, but... finally I heard the wind die. The spell must have finally broken against the tree. I panted and slowed to a walk, clutching my side, it felt like someone had dug a cleaver into it. I began walking away from where I believed the group was. I mean, I was able to recognize the path I had just ran down... I kept walking for a while before I finally fell to my knees in a clearing, panting and gasping for breath. "G-God damn, I'm out of shape..."

Deon didn't really care that he ended up in a strange place. Instead of being scared like most here probably would be, he seemed to be enjoying the creepy feel. He began walking and that's when something caught his attention. That lovely smell of blood which seemed to be coming from up ahead. I wonder if it's the kind I torture Lice(aka Price) with. As he got closer, Deon saw a lake where he figured the smell was coming from. Once he saw it, it was indeed human blood, an evil grin appeared on his face. He couldn't wait to start messing with this stuff. Now, to find Price and lure him here.

Ayaka sensed that her wind died down. He must have somehow been able to outrun it far enough away from her. "Hmmm maybe he isn't completely useless like he makes himself out to be. I mean that is if you're wanting to constantly be running away from everything..." Honestly, she wished the guy would've just let the wind catch him, but whatever.

She still knew what his scent was and where it was coming from. "Well whatever he's off in this direction. If someone doesn't mind following along, I'm going to go get him." Ayaka ran off in the direction she knew he was in and soon saw him on his knees gasping for breath in a clearing not too far away.

---

"I'll go with you," Luna stated as she ran after Ayaka. Whoever this crazy guy was, they seemed to have been having some trouble with him for quite some time. Besides, Luna might be able to help. Well unless he's that bent on being on his own, which quite frankly is the dumbest idea in the world.

When they came upon the clearing where he was, Luna walked up to her friend. "Ayaka let me go talk to him. I tend to be more patient than you. I'll try and get him to come back."

--

"I hope you can. I'm quite tired of dealing with him at the moment. I have someone I need to be looking for at the moment. If this idiot gets himself killed, then the necromancer that's causing this can use him against us if he so wished it." Ayaka turned into a cat and sat under a tree away from the clearing.

--

@mmarage
Luna slowly made her way toward Joe and saw how he was gasping for breathe. "Hello, you look like you might need water." She got out a bottle of water, since she always tends to keep water on her. Not for reasons a human may think, however. Knowing he's been acting insane because he thinks everything and everyone here is out to kill him, she added, "Don't worry, I didn't put anything in it. See?" She took a drink of it herself and then handed the bottle to Joe hoping he'd take it.

Shiro was just barely listening to the others talking as he looked at Haru, who was getting back up. "Do you need to act so childish?" he asked. Haru just jumped to his feet, grinning. "With how boring you are, I gotta make up for your lack of personality by being the funny one!" Shiro just gave him a blank look. "Hey! Don't look at me like that! We both know that you have little to no personality whatsoever!"

Shadowman of the forest used one hand to free the other from Arin's grasp. It then began to wrap both its arms around him in an attempt to pull him towards the tree it was standing by earlier.

Arin wasn't about to let this thing stop him from getting to his girlfriend. He grabbed both its arms and tried push them off to no avail. He had find a way to get this thing to let him go without getting upset. "I have someone very important to me that I need to find so I'd appreciate it if you'd let me go." He looked at the shadow.

It seemed this shadow could actually speak. "No can do." Shadowman tightened its grip on Arin's waist.

Arin glared angrily at the shadow once he heard its response. He still had his own hands on Shadowman's arms and attempted to push them off again with a little more effort. "Don't cross me."
_______________________________________________________________________________

@Nikki Moonlight
After getting a confirmation from Diana, he opened up his spellbook and flipped through the pages until he found the right spell. After muttering the words, a shadow copy of himself appeared right next to him. He closed the book before turning to it. "I need you to go out and see how those shadows I summoned are doing." The copy listened to Hunter's request and nodded before setting off on its mission.

I glared at the girl distrustfully. I accepted the bottle of water... then turned it over, spilling its contents onto the ground beneath us. A sip is nothing. If it's poison, she could have the antidote, or only drank just enough only to feel sick, but not die from the poison. If it's a sedative, then it doesn't matter, surely one of her allies were nearby, waiting for the two of us to lose consciousness. Once the bottle was empty, I dropped it between the two of us. "Sorry, bit of a germophobe, and the grass looked like it needed watering." My tone suggested otherwise...

I got to my feet. "Leave. Me. Alone." I began to unsteadily walk away. I needed to get away from these people. I needed to get home...

@mmarage
Luna caught his distrustful glare before he took the bottle of water. The moment he turned it over, she instantly started using her powers to keep the water from hitting the ground. It would be just a complete waste otherwise. When he dropped the bottle, Luna picked it up and put the water back inside it and screwed the cap back on. And he had the nerve to use 'I'm a germophobe' as an excuse? It was no wonder Ayaka lost her patience with him so easily. She never was one to put up with this kind of crap for long.

"It would've been more appreciated if you'd have simply said no thanks rather than attempting to waste water," Luna said as he had started trying to walk away. "Also, look at the way you're walking. Rather you think we're going to kill you or not is irrelevant. Because guess what Mr. If you continue to insist on being on your own because you're scared to death of everyone here because of something you've seen, then you'll end up dying anyway."

"I don't know what you saw to get you this worked up and I don't know why you're thinking everyone and everything is out to get you, but running off all alone is foolish. Especially, in a situation and place like this. We all ended up here same as you. Most don't even know where they are or why they're here. I'm used to being away from the island I grew up on, but I can bet that there are quite a few here that aren't used to being away from home."

Luna walked over to him with the bottle of water again. "So I'll ask again. Do you want water or not."

--

While Luna was trying to reason with Joe, Ayaka was busy trying to see if she can find her boyfriend. She didn't hear anything out of place at the moment. She suddenly heard what sounded like leaves and grass rustling as well as someone struggling against something. Just when she thought she didn't hear anything too. That had to have been Arin, but where was the sound coming from?

"A lake full of blood and dead bodies." I crossed my arms and glared at her, another trick, it had to be. "That's what I saw, now, let's think about this logically, there must be many bodies there in order to fill up a whole lake with blood. This obviously cannot be the work of an individual, nor in a short period of time. So, the only answer is that this is something that has been going on for potentially hundreds of years by a large group of people. This is also accounts for the numerous tricks that have been set up. Because, of course, magic does not exist. Meaning that to have this area so thoroughly covered in such tricks in order to make a victim believe in their illusions means that they would need much time, resources, and people in order to accomplish these feats. So chances are that anyone that I meet are likely to be in on this. So, it's best not to rely on anyone and go it alone. Not a new concept for me."

"So, I'll say this one more time. Leave me alone. I have no interest in working with you or the rest of your group. By separating myself from you, the chances of betrayal are far lower and improve my survival rate. I just need to find my way out of here and to the nearest phone. Then I'll alert the proper authorities and send your asses to a nice maximum security prison. Then I can go home and forget about all of this."

@Letmehaveone2

Diana soon regained control of the girl's body once more and she got a drink of water. She inhaled deeply, long black lashes brushing over her cheekbones as she closed her eyes. She muttered the words of the suppressing spell yet again. The girl was beginning to come through and needed to be suppressed again. "This vessel is getting very resistant to me. But at least she survived the process of the binding, most are too weak to hold me..."

@Ninkitty
Arin's anger worsened with each struggle and after awhile, he finally managed to push the shadow's arms off him. When it reached out to grab him again, he stopped it by grabbing its arms firmly. Now with its arms blocked, it resorted to kicking him. That kick... The thought confirmed that Hunter must be behind this and knowing that only angered him further. Why can't he just leave me alone?!!! If this kept up, it wouldn't be long before he would go into dino-mode.

@mmarage
So that was it? Well at least Luna now understood to some extent. It was obvious now that he came from a place where there was no magic for miles. And that he's obviously never seen a supernatural being before. He didn't even seem aware that he's one of the only few humans in that group. He also seems to think that they were using tricks in order to make it appear they were using magic.

“Tricks huh?” Luna opened the water bottle again and pulled the water out of it and formed this it into a strip of water that simply moved around her. “So you think making water float and move around like this some sort of trick? Sorry to break it to you, but I was born able to manipulate water.” She put the water back in the bottle. “Remember that talking cat you saw? She said she wasn't a normal cat yes? And then a woman with cat ears with the same voice appeared? Are you thinking that is a trick as well?" She turned into a white cat with a white ribbon right in front of him and stayed in that form for a minute. "If you think what she did was a trick then please explain this to me."

Luna turned right back to her human form before continuing on. And again in front of him. “Now I understand where you're coming from. A human who found himself way out of his element and couldn't do much to control it. Yes, normally it would take hundreds of years to accomplish a feat like that. I hate to burst your bubble on the whole 'magic doesn't exist', but this whole thing isn't normal. This forest isn't normal and neither is that lake. The only thing that I saw attack you was the trees themselves, which in fact were brought to life by one individual rather you want to believe it or not. And quite honestly that lake of blood is probably the work of one magic using individual as well. Yes you heard me right. Someone who is using magic. ”

“Ok sure it seemed like a couple others attacked as well, but they were doing the only thing they thought they could to get the situation under control and quickly, so for one the trees don't become disturbed again and for another one of us doesn't run off alone and die somewhere.”

“I understand that you're under the impression that your chances of survival are higher avoiding us, but again I hate to break it to you, but being alone in this crazy place lowers your chances of survival greatly. Especially, for someone who doesn't believe in magic or rather in this case refuses to believe it's real. Also it's quite dangerous for someone whose been running about the forest making a fool of himself all the while trying to get away from demons he thinks are there but aren't really. Both pertain rather you're a human or not and both being something you seem to be doing.”

“So basically, by leaving you alone. I won't feel right and neither will the others. Let's say that magic wasn't involved with the creation of that lake. Yeah, it would've taken a large group, but I assure you, it most likely would be a group much larger than what we have. Also going by the logic that it may have taken hundreds of years, then it would mean that it took several different groups unless you actually believe supernatural beings exist. Seeing as how you're under the impression magic isn't real, I find that really hard to believe. Think of how much blood actually makes up that lake and how many dead bodies could potentially be in it. “

"I'm telling you that all of us pretty much woke up here the same way you probably did. None of us know why we're here, but right now it doesn't matter. What matters is that we stay together as a group, And yes that does include you. I don't know what kind of world you came from but it's obviously one where there's no magic and one where the only species is human. You just found yourself some place where there's both magic and species other than human. Though why you, someone who thinks neither exists ended up here, I can't really tell you.”

“I'm not asking you to trust either of us straight away. Trust is something that's built up over time after all. What I'm asking is for you to quit making a fool of yourself and actually listen to what we're trying to tell you. Because I assure you, chances of you making it home alive are much higher if you actually stayed with us.”

--

@Letmehaveone2
Ayaka sent wind in a few different directions to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. She preferred not to have to track him by scent if she could. It didn't take very long, but she soon figured out where he could be. Knowing Luna would understand she took off to where she figured Arin to be. Honestly, maybe Arin could help with talking some sense into Joe if Luna can't. Then the four of them can go back to the group together.

I listened to her for a while then my eyes went wide. "..." I didn't say anything, I just stared at her trying to think of a possible way of making these tricks work... I mean... the water... maybe... some sort of slip of cloth or paper, just translucent enough for me to think it was water. As for her turning into a CAT right before my eyes.

I tried to think of something, a hallucination maybe...? Surely by now I had gotten whatever that weird knight guy had put on me out of my system. I didn't drink the water, and there wasn't anything on the outside of the bottle, I don't think. Even then, it would have been minuscule, and nothing that would invoke such a vivid hallucination. Mirrors? No, that wouldn't work, I would notice something like that rising from the ground or lowering from the sky. Substitution? No, can't be that either, I haven't looked away for a second. There's... no trick that I can think of. She herself wasn't a projection or any other form of optical illusion, after all, the water bottle I took from her was certainly real, and I don't think that they would have had the time to set that all up in the few seconds that I had my back to her. I would have heard her running off and hiding...

There must be a trick, there has to be a trick. Right...? Right...? I mean... magic doesn't exist... right...? But... what about what I had done...? Surely... they couldn't have calculated where I was going to strike from and where the blow was going to land on that guy's helmet... That hole... was just the perfect size of my fist. Why... go through such elaborate tricks...? Why claim magic...? Only an idiot would believe that such a thing exists... So... why? Why say that there's magic...? They could have just claimed that they were normal people that found themselves here. They were claiming that, but adding on the highly impossible claim of magic. That clearly tore a hole through their logic to gain my trust... right? Maybe that's also part of the trick...? Get me to think this way so then I would trust them because of the impossibility of what they were claiming...? My... head hurts.

Whether this was some convoluted plot to gain my trust to kill me was irrelevant. There was no explanation for this trick. I couldn't explain it. Everything else... maybe. Even then... it's hard to confidently say that everything was a trick. I could no longer deny this. It... was all real. Magic... indeed existed in whatever horrific world I have awoken to. "...You... turned into a cat... a god damn CAT." That's all I could say. I backed away slowly. The realization filling me with a mixture of awe, fear, and guilt. These people... may have very well just been trying to help me. But I tried to kill them, harm them, push them away. I closed my eyes and balled my fists.

"T-This changes nothing. It'd be better for everyone if I wasn't with you. I'm useless in almost every way that could be useful in this situation. As you said, I'm a human, I don't have any power. I'm not strong, I'm not fast, and I'm easily fatigued. In the end, I'll end up slowing you all down, or even get you all killed. My life is meaningless, anyway. If I were to die, no one would really miss me. So it's fine, I won't be causing anyone any pain."

@mmarage

"Hey, calm down." Luna said sensing his fear as well as guilt. It seemed he was willing to listen after all. "True in a fight, you may not be of help to us physically. Logically? Maybe. And quite honestly, your soul was literally bound to that helmet you punched a hole through so that's something. I get it. You're easily fatigued. But some of us do have powers that can carry you so that you can recover for a while. I doubt either of us will complain about that either. There are times that even we will need to rest as well." She knew Ayaka more than likely needed rest. Especially, after pulling off using her wind powers in cat form like that.

"No one's life is meaningless. Are you saying that you have no one at home that cares about you? A family member or a friend? Perhaps a girlfriend?"

--

@Letmehaveone2
Ayaka ended up finding Arin alright. But she found him fighting with a shadow. "You've got to be kidding me. First an idiot running about the forest like a lunatic and now Hunter's already trying to mess with Arin."

She ran over to where the shadow and Arin were fighting. She turned back into her human form. "Hey you stupid shadow. Leave him alone." She sent a gust of wind toward it.