This is it.

This is the moment that you realize...

You are dead.

Floating in this void, with nothing but your consciousness, you recall that you died.

Violently or quietly, screaming or simply sighing...

Whatever your circumstances were, you have met your end, not knowing what you would experience in death.

But all of you have one thing in common:



The desire burns in your hearts like wildfire in a verdant forest. You want to live! You would give--do--anything to live!

---

At first you felt nothing...just floating for who knows how long in that void. Then your senses come back to you suddenly!

Freezing cold air hits you first before your body falls onto a harsh stony, but smooth, ground. You find yourself coughing up some sort of liquid out before you are able to look around. Your surroundings are a strange combination of caverns, with what appears to be pieces of ruined architecture. You note that there are three different sources of light. You also note that your bodies are different than they used to be and you are wearing simple beige tunics...like you just came out of some sort of lab...

Two of those light sources are two glowing blue spheres. If you look carefully, you can make out shadows of adult human or human like figures curled up in a fetal position floating in the center of these orbs.

The third source of light is a swinging lantern, dangling in front of the face of a...short man with a red beard. He is staring at you with a startled look on his face, his eyes are as wide as tea saucers.

The old man hadn't been afraid in his final moments. He had lived well, seen all that he had cared to see, and done all that he had cared to do. And having done that, the old man had faced his end curious to finally see what came next. And as his consciousness floated through that void, the old man decided that what came next was in fact rather dull. He had nothing to do but float aimlessly and wait for something to happen. Was this it? Was this all that one could expect from death? The old man hadn't felt so cheated in decades. But just as he was about to attempt putting voice to his disappointment, all the waiting for something to happen that the old man had been doing finally paid off!

---

Coming to coughing consciousness on the cold cavern floor, the old man sat up and looked around. His surroundings too blurry to make out for the moment, the old man examined himself instead and found that he was an old man no longer. He was young again! The former old man chuffed happily at this. Things were starting to look up. And speaking of looking up, the man now did just that as his vision cleared enough to finally have a good look around. It didn't take the man long to find the short, startled, staring man staring at the man and the other people who were also present. Upon seeing this short man, the former old man stood up, dusted himself off and spoke. "Hello." He greeted with a friendly smile.

A vague shape could be made out within the shadows like a heavy blanket that fell upon the room, filled with choking smog thick as tar. Only brief flickers of a bright orange light licked at the edges of the void, threatening to consume the darkness and the shape of the figure within. Whispers filled his ears, but he could only listen as he felt himself fade. He was just a shape within the void, helpless as it strangled him and smothered him within the dark. The sound of glass shattering broke the silence, as a bottle of bourbon fell from his grip. It was almost poetic, and sobering to know you are about to die.

With a thud, he fell to the wood floor coughing and gasping for air. His eyes blurry from drink, the man could only drag himself towards the flickering light at the corner of his vision but as he did the glass upon the floor ripped at his wrist. All he could do was roll to his side and futilely hug his arm to his chest as crimson bloomed around the wound, Alexander laid there bleeding as his life slowly faded. He wanted to cry out desperately, but he didn't have the strength to fight anymore so the only sound to escape the poor drunk was one final rattling breath.

His body went slack, vision fading until everything went black. In his final moments all Alexander could feel was fear of the darkness, without light he was lost..

---

Sweat dripped from his forehead, he gasped and bolted upright like someone roused from a waking nightmare. Clothes drenched with sweat, his palms were cold and clammy. With one hand he ran his fingers through his hair, and leaned upon the other. He could make out the sharp edges of rocks within the cavern, oddly he thought that it was easy to make out the silhouettes in the dark. Then something donned upon him, he recalled a darkness consumed him but more horrifying was the fact he suddenly couldn't recall who he was or what his name is.

The blow came out of nowhere, slamming into her back, knocking the air out of her lungs and blistering her back while throwing her through the air towards a wall. Instinctively she flung her arm out and felt it shatter as it hit, broken bones piercing through her flesh making her scream breathlessly, then her head hit the wall with a massive *thunk* and everything went blissfully black....

---

...Where was she? Buried in rubble? She couldn't move! She couldn't feel any part of her self? Was she paralyzed? Was she in a coma? Was this a floatation tank for burns? Was she in surgery? Was she...? Was she dead? Was this death? Why did this happen to her? Who did this to her and why? Was this heaven? Hell? Limbo? Why wasn't she in heaven? Was it what she did with Johnny back in high school? That counted? Then why was she the only one here? I don't belong here! I had a life! I had a job! I had friends! I don't belong here! Let me out! Let me out!

...How long have I been here? An hour? A year? Five minutes? SOMEBODY LET ME OUT OF..!

---

...Cold hit her first, a shock after feeling nothing for so long - and then she realized she was falling. Fluid was running out of her mouth but there was no air to scream with. Feebly she tried to tuck her head before her body slammed on the stony ground, making her spew out the liquid, gasping as she was finally able to pull in air...

"Svo-lach'!" came out weakly, but air was filling her burning lungs, making her cough then her body painfully heaved, spewing more liquid from her stomach. For a fleeting moment, she wished she was dead again before the next contraction forced more liquid out.

Niki wearily raised her head, her vision all blurry but someone was there with a light...?

"Kto ty? Gde ya?" she managed, slipping into the motherland tongue she grew up with. Blinking, she could make out a man, no, two men, one bearded with a really old lantern. This didn't look like a hospital...?

"Kak ya syuda popal? Chto so mnoy sluchilos'?" Niki demands, then gasps in horror as she sees her bluish-grey arm. Somehow she managed to sit up, but looking down she was horrified. "Chto sluchilos' s moim telom? Eto uzhasno!"

Niki turned, taking in the room and the two blue glowing pods that had people in them...! Nor was she the only person writhing on the floor.

"What have you done to me?" she angrily demands, turning back to the other two.

"Kitty, copy me...Kitty Abort! I repeat Abort!"

As she thought back to Samuel's warning she felt her lips curl up in a sad smile, before she was struck so hard it was knocked off her face. She winced as she swallowed her metallic tasting own blood. Her face...would hurt in the morning...
The earpiece fell from her ear onto the rich burgundy carpet and the brute had noticed.
He picked it up and handed it over to a figure that came in from behind her. Whilst the other muscled suit pinned her arms in place. Her eyes widened when she noticed who the figure was that had entered the study.
The Pale Man.
He wasn't supposed to have been there.
She watched as he listened tentatively for a moment, before replying.
"I'm sorry, I am afraid your cat has met with a terrible accident. My condolences." His accent was still as heavy as it had been all those years ago.

He then gave a nod to the two brutes holding her. They practically forced her on her knees, yanking her head back to make her look up at him.
The Pale Man, calmly settled himself against his desk, leaning backwards with his cane in between his legs as he looked down upon her.
"Katherina..." The voice sighed in a reprimanding manner. Like a father would talk to his daughter.
"Why did it have to be you, my dear..." Another sigh followed. This time more impatient, filled with frustration.
"I believed we had a good deal. Your betrayal cut me deep." He poured himself a finger of whatever concoction he was drinking currently, before swirling the glass and sniffing it.
"Such a disappointment you have been, you are breaking my heart."

"You have no heart."

"True. That is what makes this easier." He stated as he had unsheathed the blade from the cane.
"I told you once before, if you betray me I will have my pound of flesh. Your friend can listen, while I take it from you."

He tossed the earpiece on the floor now so poor Samuel could listen to everything.
"You'll scream, Kitty. I promise you that."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The memories were jumbled and started to meld into one, but she knew there had been pain.
Worse than she had expected. She wasn't entirely sure when her consciousness had called it a day.
When it ceased staying awake and take anymore of the torturous horrors they inflicted upon her. She must have died surely.
She had known the risk. Such was the line of her profession.
There was no Geneva convention for her kind.
The snitches got more than stitches.
Still she had been a professional, somehow turning a bad situation into something decent. Or so she had assumed at the time.
Breaking in and getting the documentation so the boys back at HQ could work on a plan to fight evil.
How romantic that notion had been.
How naive she had been to think nothing of the consequences.
Or maybe her rude awakening was just part of the exercise. She couldn't be alive...Surely? As the darkness parted ways and some of the light sources overloaded her senses, she noticed the sheering pain had vanished.
In place of it there was an itch, a jolt of the body as her lungs cried out for air. She need to breathe again. instantly her lungs filled with air and fluid only to start coughing violently as a reflex. It felt like she fell towards the ground, the cold air and texture shocking her body awake. Her arms attempted to catch herself and the light and visions slowly adjusted.
She was alive...
The pale man...
Where was she? Trying to gather some sense of her surroundings she noticed her hands first. They were tiny...almost halved...
As this sunk in she instantly checked herself over only to realize this wasn't her body.
For an incredulous moment her brain asked her whether or not the Pale Man had done this.
Well if he had this was more than a pound. That gear had been expensive. The shoes alone had cost her an arm an a leg, figuratively.
As she stood up she noticed the others around her.
One was slowly gathering his senses against the wall, looking very similar to how she felt. Jumbled, confused and looking for answers.
Another had awoken and was speaking in a tongue unbeknownst to her until she mumbled a sentence she could make out.
"Honey, if I knew I'd tell you. Either this a twisted afterlife or we're about to find out." She spoke her voice lighter than her old one. Her body really had altered.
One tall man was looking off towards the light. She followed his gaze and joined his side.
"I take it we're not in Kansas anymore..." She joked half heartedly as her eyes fell over the man and the strange lab surrounding her.
Where in the world were they?

His hands felt different, pale and cold like they were dipped in freezing water which was didn't strike him as normal though strangely he wasn't sure why. His hair obscured the unsettled expression on his face 'I..I was..I..' smoke and fire, the blood pooling around him. Shards of broken glass, the rough taste of liquor and then nothing "No!" he shouted suddenly remembering the feeling of the smoke choking his lungs, his hand grasped his throat "No, bloody god no this isn't real." was this just a dream? Was he dead or in some kind of afterlife?

"It must be the bourbon..." he pinched himself but all he felt was pain, he did not wake up it was not a dream "I..I can't remember anything but the fire, the god damned smoke." he sobbed, hands in face shaking fiercely "I must be finally losing my mind..I must be." he whispered to himself.

The cold pale reflection of his eyes regarded others with a mix of fear and an unsettling wildness, his head pounded as though he awoke with a piercing headache from drink. He didn't know where he was or anyone around him, did they know anything? No, they looked as perplexed as he himself was.

It's stupid. What's the first thing you learn when you start being allowed outside? Look both ways before crossing, left, right, and then left again for good measure. But when your neck hurts from poring over intricate metalwork all night, it's easy to push away the thought. It's late, they're just going to get some groceries, and the store is right across the street...

Time doesn't slow down, like movies would make you think. Everything goes very fast - stepping into the road, intending to cross, hearing the loud, blaring honking of a car unable to slow down, hearing a distant shout, bright light, pain, crash, so much pain-

Quinn thinks they're drifting for a while. Blackness surrounds them, a dark unforgiving void.

And then light. Cold, harsh stone beneath their knees, and distant voices that become clearer as they come to unconsciousness. They blink blearily against the light, pressing a small hand to their small face. "What... where the fuck am I and how much did I have to drink?"

"No don't let them in to the file room. You do that and all we have done for the last ten years will lead to us spending the thirty in prison! I'm on my way to the office now, call Leonard and let him know we need tickets out of country as soon as possible. We need to start getting rid of what documents we can and quietly. The less the feds know the less likely we will need to stat out of country for the rest of our lives." The engine of the car roared as the man behind the wheel kept the gas pedal depressed and in a lower gear to keep accelerating. He yanked the wheel left then right as he swerved through traffic in a mad rush to reach his destination. The office was only a few more blocks away, once there he would need to get to his office. A snark prayer escaped his lips hoping Leonard was able to get the airline tickets for the first flight out of country. Once at the airport he would need to select which of his passports to use. Maybe Timothy Goodman, a simple engineer visiting southeast Asia for widget production lines. Yes that one will do. Now Theodore just needed to grab his laptop and...

He saw it a second to late. The traffic light was red and a semi-truck was in the middle of the intersection. The sports car collided with the rear axle of the truck, the frame of the car collapsing under the impact.  The seat belt dug into the man's skin as the force of the sudden stop pushed him into the rapidly deploying airbag. Neither of the safety devices did much to save him from his neck snapping.
No! Not like this, not yet. Oh by God not yet! All he could see was the world slowly going dark save for a spot of light in the distance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Theodore shot up with a gasp as he regained consciousness. His hand shot up to his left shoulder and neck feeling for where the broken bones should be. Nothing but firm flesh and bone could be found. No breakage, brusing or bleeding could be found. A quick look around reveled a dark room with dim lights around him. The structure seemed to be crumbling and leading off into a cave. He could hear the sound of voices nearby. Some of them seemed to be confused and uncertain.

Cautiously and quietly, Theodore got up from where he lay and walked towards the voices. "Excuse me but where are we in the hospital, how long have I been unconscious? I don't think I've seen this side of John Hopkins. "

The red bearded gnome could only look at the human who greeted him first in a friendly manner, and he responded with a confused, "Uh...He-Hello?"

He then watched as the others came to and started asking questions and making their own comments. As everyone collects themselves, they note that the 'pods' are not so much technological pods like they'd probably see in movies or visualize in science fiction novels. Instead, these pods seem to be more like...bubbles. Looking back, you see that whatever pods you supposedly came out from are nowhere to be seen.

The gnome listens to the group and he comments to himself in confusion while standing up and dusting himself off, "Kansas? John Hopkins?" It seems that he didn't recognize those names at all.

At the mention of afterlife, he starts, "I can assure you: This is not the Afterli--Wait!"

He utters the last word as an idea clearly struck him. He seemed to lower himself to the ground once again. One knee is on the ground and the other booted foot is on the ground as he seemed to be inspecting what appears to be strange markings on the floor.

He mumbles to himself as he studies the strange markings, and you notice that these markings seem to form a circle around you. The two bubble pods seem to be hovering above the markings themselves, while everyone else seems to have gathered within the circle.

"Eureka! Reincarnation! That explains what's going on right now!" The little guy exclaims in realization.

He then speaks out loud, "But only Druids are capable of that, and--I just made a discovery of a life time...!" The last statement came out as a whisper.

"Rein.... What?" Niki demanded, offended. What kind of trick was this?

Was this some sort of stunt? Did the Russians intercept her on the way to the hospital and put her in this to break her for information? Niki could feel her lips curl in disgust. Weird how they didn't think to at least put for the effort to make it look like a hospital?

Others around her looked confused as well. Were they actors or other agency personnel who'd gotten caught up in this as well?

"Beg you pardon?" Reincarnation? This dude is insane... right? Or they're having a bad dream... Or this is actually some sort of afterlife...

But then why are they so small?

Looking properly now, scaling themselves against others in the room, it becomes clear that, yeah, they really are smaller. Did they become a child? Is that what the guy meant with reincarnating? Quinn frowns, scratching the back of their neck.

"Reincarnation..." The former old man said thoughtfully as he examined himself for a second time, once more confirming that he was indeed young again. "Well that does certainly explain a lot." He then looked back at the little man and asked a question. "What is it that you believe you have discovered?"

"Reincarnation. It's when the soul is born again in a new body and life after their previous body dies," The figure in front of them clarified in response to Niki's and Quinn's questions and statements of disbelief.

He then rummages through his bulky backpack and pulls out a small mirror. He passes it to one of you, and he offers, "Here. You can see for yourselves,"

When you look in the mirror, you can tell that you are looking at yourselves, but your appearances have changed!

He then looks to Bartholomew and he answers, "I may have just discovered evidence that druidic magic was accessible a very long time ago--!"

He then stops himself and answers, "Wait. You probably don't understand what I'm talking about. First things first,"

He clears his throat and he introduces himself, "My name is Marbess Kerfluffle. Archaeologist and Alchemist,"

"Druids? Reincarnation? I didn't think that religious group believed in reincaration. I never considered myself religious by any means let alone believe in reincarnation. You must be kidding my good man." Theodore's voice starts to trail off as he looks into the mirror. His dark hair was now a sandy blonde, his facial features were sharper along his cheekbones and chin, and the color of his eyes had gone from deep green to a grey hazel. The points of his ears were like that of the mythological elves from the stories he read when he was younger. Was this some elaborate ploy of his former business partner trying to con him out of the company? Could this be a medically induced coma leaving Theodore as a vegetable for the rest of his life?

A gentle tug on the tips of his ears drew slight pain. The cool damp of the room with the smell of stale air combined with that made him second guess the comatose state. At least for now, to much of this felt to real.

"I'll be dammed. This is either the real deal, I'm on one powerful drug cocktail, or someone has me hooked up to some crazy virtual reality system.

Either way pleased to meet you Marbess Kerfuffle. I am Theodore McCoy, owner and operator of McCoy Premium Estates. If you're interested I may have an exquisite beach side property not to far from Daytona Beach. I'm sure we can find a lender that will secure you enough credit to buy."

The sales pitch was subpare as Theodore judged it. It had been many years since he had to sell it directly to the client. He relied on several subordinates that handled the sales.

"Svo-lach'! Where are we?" Niki demands, feeling her cheeks burning. This had to be hypnosis, or plastic surgery to make her so... huge all over. Or whatever they did. There had to be a way to fix this...?!

She glances at Theo warily. He sounded like a salesman - how could he accept this so easily?

"I demand to know what it is you want with us," Niki insists, returning to Marbess. "Why are we here? What do you want with us?

If he was an archeologist, did this mean he just dug them up? No, it had to be a trick of some sort!

Reincarnation? The hell kind of cockeyed nonsense was this man on about? Wasn't that a cultural taboo those people in the east part of the world believed in? No, he couldn't have died this was just some drunken nightmare. He was drinking that night, maybe in a study or something the details seemed fuzzy though he was beginning to recall something he mumbled to himself. A name maybe? His name? It started with an A, he rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to form the rest of the letters.

"A..Al? No that's not it..." slowly getting to his feet he mumbled to himself, swearing as he stumbled feeling unaccustomed to his body which further made him doubt this being a bad dream "A-ha!" he exclaimed to himself then frowning he realized the fact he had forgotten his own name may be reason to worry about his drinking habits but that Alexander thought (as he recalled drunkenly muttering his name to himself for some reason that night) would need to wait.

It was weird enough that the homely looking old man was named Kerfuffle-something or other but to top it off this...Good lord are his ears pointed? That isn't normal at all "If I weren't this bloody hungover I'd be inclined to smack you silly sir." Alexander shook his fist at the pointy-earred fellow "You do realize you are in a goddamn cave don't you? I dunno how you can put on a goddamn businessman air when your in a...Ugh I can't think let alone explain this place we're in, and speaking of..." turning his head to look the old druid up and down "Tell me this is a dream old man, if it isn't then at least I can be happy I don't hear the goddamn voices in my head anymore." Alex ran a hand through his hair, it was longer than he remembered and lighter almost white but that wasn't his primary concern anymore.

Right now all he cared about was figuring out what the exact hell was going on here and why, if he truly was reincarnated he wanted to know if his past troubles were left in his past and not here and now. Maybe just maybe he could live his life without thinking he was losing his mind.

Quinn stares into the mirror, trying to come to terms with what they're seeing. It is them alright; their face, their eyes, their hair, just... smaller. Squatter, somehow. Their ears are ever so slightly pointed and they touch the tips, feeling them quiver under their fingers. What the hell... it definitely isn't prosthetics. They don't think prosthetics could actually make them smaller.

"Alright, so say we believe you," they mutter. "Why? What were you doing? Who are you?"

As introductions commenced, the former old man opened his mouth to speak his own name. He paused before he began speaking though. Then he closed his mouth and began rubbing at his forehead in confusion as others introduced themselves around him. He couldn't remember his name. No matter how hard he tried. No matter what part of his memory he combed in search of it. He could not for the live of him recall what his name was. 'How strange.' The former old man thought to himself. 'You would think something that has been with you your entire life would be easy to remember. Although...' He looked around. Much like how he couldn't remember his name, he found that he couldn't remember much of what had come before either. But he was certain it wasn't anything like this. And on top of that, the short, startled, staring man who called himself Marbess Kerfluffle had described Reincarnation as being born again in a new life. 'If this is a new life. Then perhaps a new name is in order. But what to call myself...' The hand moved from confusedly rubbing the man's forehead to resting against his chin as he mulled over what name he would go by in this new life he now lived.

Theodore raised an eyebrow at the man who was waving his fist at Kerfuffle."Putting on an air of business? My good man I've made many a deal while exploring caves with business partners. As for explaining this, it is either real or dream caused by being left comatose. Quite honestly I do not think that this is more than my mind filling in time as I lay crippled in a bed. If this is real, well than perhaps reincarnation is real and those odd monks from the east have it right. Regardless I've always been a businessman and habit leads me to such things." The man ended with a shrug. So far little showed that this was not merely his own mind filling the void of his unconscious self. He remembered the car accident that occurred during his mad rush to his office. Perhaps that could work to his favor once he awakes. Someone in admissions could be convinced to look the other way when Theodore needed to make his next get away.

Marbess raised an eyebrow at Theodore's attempt to sell him beach side property. It's clear that Marbess had no idea what Theodore was talking about. He did jump a bit when Niki suddenly turned to him and insisted that he tell them why they were here and what he wanted with them.

He raised his hands, palms flat towards them in a placating manner, and he answered her questions, "I can assure you, I want nothing from you! Activating the Reincarnation spell was a complete accident on my part!"

He then spoke while adjusting his shirt and jacket, "As for where you are, you're in the ruins beneath Inesas, the Sunken City. Specifically, a part of the ruins that used to be inaccessible, but I was able to figure out how to open the doors to this area of the ruins,"

He looks to Khaziel when he asked him to tell him that whether this is a dream or not, and he answered, "I can assure you, this is not a dream,"

When Quinn asked their questions, he answered, "I'm an archaeologist. I came to study this area, since I figured out how to open the doors. It's an opportunity of a lifetime after all,"

He looked to Theodore again when he spoke, answering his friends.