[IC] The Collector (2) [Closed]

[Riven Wight]

Faira took a slight step back and her hands fell to her sides, ready to conjure some form of defense as Scarlet looked to her, the woman’s unblinking gaze unnerving. Faira’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as the woman forced a smile. Yes, well, I have myself lost in this place much like yourself Miss…?” “Faira,” the girl answered slowly a moment before the woman continued speaking. Her master? Faira blinked at her, the term strange to the girl’s ears. “I suppose…” she said aloud, shifted her weight awkwardly from foot to foot. She glanced to Rosaline as if to make sure that was the right answer, before looking back to Scarlet, her voice soft, uncertain. “If it gets us out of here faster… Do you have, like, a picture or something of your... uh... 'master'?”

[shi12]

The flames were gone, leaving almost everything destroyed in their wake… yet those darned paintings still stared out in their silent mockery. Rosaline quickly turned, her glass eyes meeting a woman she did not recognize. She looked even more out of place, though seeing as the place they were trapped in looked quite grand maybe they were just as out of place… not her. The nebula took several steps, putting her feet back on the floor so that she was closer to this newcomer. Rosaline now stood at the back of the group, her gaze raking over Scarlet to assess if she was friend or foe. Master? Exactly who could this master be? Was it the crazed mad man who had succeeded in invoking the group’s wrath, or was it someone else? With an unamused look on her doll-like features Rose stepped forward, her eyes narrowing. There was something wrong with this girl, yet she couldn’t quite put a name to the odd feeling she got from her presence. “Well then Scarlett, I do not know if we will find your master indefinitely but seeing as you are just another human I see very little reason not to help.” She chimes, seeming like a kind and caring individual. The nebula suddenly stepped even closer, her eyes narrowing in a dangerous way. “But if you turn out to be in on this mad house… I might just have to deal with you and I promise your death will be long and painful.” She murmured, smirking as her glass eyes glinted with blood lust. Suddenly Rosaline stepped back, an almost neutral smile gracing her features. “Do we have an accord?” she questions.

[Scarifar]

Conna'Cel took this new information into account, debating whether or not such a thing was even possible. Admittedly, his logic program was going haywire from the events within the mansion, but he still needed to make some sense out of what was going on. As he did, he continued walking, going past Scarlet and Rosalina, who were arguing about something trivial. Scarlet did not seem to be a threat, although he was still wary of her, as well as just about everyone else who had been with him. After all, he did not know them. Then again, most of them have not attacked him yet, so perhaps they were not threats to him. Barely paying any attention to the dissipating flames, he continued walking, searching for the exit that would lead to his freedom.

[Riven Wight]

Faira’s eyes widened slightly as Rosaline threatened Scarlet. Movement caught her attention as Conna’Cel began to wander on his own once more. Glancing between the other two women, she bit her lip. Taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, she went after him. “We should probably stay together,” she said softly, reaching to grip his armored wrist. “I mean, the last person who tried to wander off alone…” She shuddered at the thought of the boy killed by the fauns. “I don’t think I could deal with someone else dying,” she finished shakily, her voice scarcely audible.

[TheWendil]

“If it gets us out of here faster… Do you have, like, a picture or something of your... uh... 'master'?” Scarlet frowned then, answering with, “No…not really. You see, my memory of my master is…blurry at best. I can only remember certain aspects and yet….no, I’m afraid I don’t have a clear view of them. Apologies.” “But if you turn out to be in on this mad house… I might just have to deal with you and I promise your death will be long and painful. Do we have an accord?” The worded threat came from the doll-like girl; a person Scarlet could only assume was the leader of this band. Meeting her gaze directly, she neither flinched nor recoiled back from the challenge. She merely stared right back with a cool look. “You have my word,” she said slowly. “I only seek to escape this place with my master. If anything, I should be questioning your intents with this place. If I find that you are merely more creatures sent to toy with me…” A knife materialized from nowhere, and the maid pointed it right at Rosa’s throat. “…then I will have no choice but to ask for service elsewhere,” she said lowly, her eyes slowly shifting from its icy blue to a dark red. Further down the hall, right where Conna’Cel and Faira had run off to, something small and feeble was huddled in the middle of the hallway. It had the form of a child, though its back was turned from them. Its shoulders sagged, and a silent sobbing was seen from the creature. It continued to stay dormant in its location, crying in silence.

[shi12]

Rosaline stepped forward, letting the blade slide over the smooth porcelain. If she had been human there would be blood dripping down her pale skin, but seeing as she had no blood to spill and no skin to slice all it did was make a scraping sound. The girl smirked, impressed that this woman Scarlet was brave enough to threaten her. Glass eyes looked at her with very little emotion, the knife still pressed hard against her throat. “I completely understand but believe me when I tell you that there is no way in hell I’d ever let myself be a puppet for someone else’s use, I’d much rather die.” She replies, hands tightening into fists at her own words. The nebula suddenly stepped back though, turning towards the direction Faira and Conna Cel’ went. “Now, I believe we might want to go after them before they get into more trouble.” She chimes, beginning to walk after the human and the robot. The crying stopped, the small figure responsible for the sound having clambered to her feet in a panic. Little Ann was absolutely overwhelmed with terror, another sound meeting the child’s ears. In a frenzied scramble the little girl took off, running down the long halls blindly. Her deep brown eyes were wide, glancing back and forth as her little legs pushed her further from ‘it’ the creature who seemed to want nothing more than to torment her. Ann stopped looking forward, now completely worried that it would be hot on her feet. Her terrified escape though came to a sudden, and unexpected, halt, the child’s little form having run into something. The girl tumbled backwards, on the verge of tears only to gasp when she looked up at what she had run into… or who. It was a lady who was standing beside some sort of… metal man. Rosaline had finally caught up with the other two, but the sight before her was confusing. Sitting in front of Faira was a little girl of at least no more than six. She had long unruly brown hair, deep brown eyes, and a terrified pout on her face. The girl was dressed in a light pink dress, light red jacket that might have belonged to an adult, and a long crimson scarf. One of her shoes was missing, revealing the girl’s stained white socks. What had happened to this child? “Help me!!” the girl cried, having scrambled to her feet and latched herself onto Faira’s leg in terror.

[Scarifar]

Conna'Cel turned his head to face Faira, who had grabbed him by the wrist, begging him not to go alone. "Irrelevant," Conna'Cel responded. "I do not experience death. Please remove your hands or I will do so for you." Before he could say anything else, though, a sound grabbed his attention. He turned his head toward the sound to see a small child in his path, someone he could have sworn was not there before. The child seemed to be crying, judging from the sounds it was making. Flagging it as an unknown entity, he began to approach it, but something seemed to frighten the child and cause it to run in his direction, which in turn caused the child to crash into him and fall. Conna'Cel's threat detection level for the child rose up to 5% before slowly dropping back down. As the little girl latched onto Faira and Rosaline came to join them, Conna'Cel made the logical assumption that whatever frightened the child might be nearby. Conna'Cel then began to scan the path forward, attempting to detect any living entities or hazardous materials ahead of them. "Scanning," Conna'Cel said as he raised his arm, transforming it into his laser minigun barrel, ready to fire when any dangerous entities came into range.

[Riven Wight]

“You don’t…” Faira’s brow furrowed, then she quickly pulled her hand from Conna’Cel as he finished speaking. Is he actually a robot? Before she could ponder the possibility further, her attention turned toward the sound of crying. What now? she groaned inwardly, glancing to Conna’Cel as he stepped toward the young girl who seemed to have simply appeared in the hallway ahead of them. As the child turned and ran toward them, Faira took a couple steps back, though whether from whatever had frightened the girl or the girl herself, Faira could not say for certain. Regardless, she instinctively tried to catch the girl before she fell, but missed. Faira took in the girl’s disheveled appearance before her eyes locked with the child’s. “What—” Before she could finish, the child hurried to her feet. Faira inhaled and stumbled back slightly as the young girl begged for help and clung to her leg, Faira’s free foot moving behind her to steady herself and arms awkwardly spread apart. “I-It’ll be okay,” she stuttered, hesitantly placing a hand on the child’s shoulder as she continued quickly, just as wary of the girl as of the hall. “What’s wrong? Who’re you running from?”

[TheWendil]

“My, my. How very interesting this has quickly become.” The familiar soft voice rang out in the dark hallway, like a wind carrying a heralded message. Seeming to walk out of the very shadows themselves, Marianne stood before the gathered group with a gleam in her one crimson eye. Smirking, she directed that very same gaze onto the girl now clinging onto Faira’s leg. “Ah, why thank you Faira dear for holding the girl for me. This won’t take very long, and I really do appreciate the consideration for me. Now then, come along Little Ann.” The dark dressed girl titled her head and smiled warmly, though the expression did not match her next set of chilling words. “Why, isn’t it time for you to die now?” Elsewhere, Scarlet watched in silence as Rosaline headed off to join the others. She would have to keep an eye on that girl specifically, the one she likened to be the leader of that little band. Even so, she really wanted to believe that she could trust them. Sighing to herself, her red eyes slowly diluted back to blue and she put her knife away. She was about to join the others, when suddenly something held her in place. A pounding echoed painfully in her head, strong enough to make the maid fall to her knees. “W-What the…h-hell is this…?” Gritting her teeth, she began to gasp out in panic as the searing pain in her head only increased in intensity.

[Scarifar]

Conna'Cel found nothing from his scans at first, but then a new entity appeared out of nowhere. Conna'Cel recognized this new entity as Marianne, someone he had encountered earlier, and he never forgot a face. Not lowering his minigun arm, his threat level for her was..... fluctuating, and wildly too. That rarely happened. As a result, Conna'Cel could not take action. Marianne's next words only served to confuse Conna'Cel and cause the threat level to fluctuate even more wildly, never quite reaching 100%, but never quite reaching 0% either. Marianne was truly an oddity. "Explain yourself, Marianne," Conna'Cel ordered. "What are your intentions? For what purpose is the child meant to die?" He was not about to retreat until he was satisfied with the answers.

[Riven Wight]

Faira gasped as the familiar voice of Marianne came from the hall, sure her heart had skipped a few beats as she searched the eerily dim hallway for any sign of the threat. A moment before the woman appeared from the shadows, a gentle tingle, almost like a warning, spread through her. Faira gripped the child with both arms protectively as Marianne addressed her, hating the unnerving gaze the woman gave Little Ann. Faira glanced to Little Ann and took a deep breath. Still gripping the child’s shoulder with one hand, she stepped so she stood more between Marianne and the child as Conna’Cel questioned the woman. “I won’t let you lay a filthy hand on her,” Faira growled, using great effort to sound bolder than she felt. Pulling Little Ann with her as she stepped a bit further from the others, she silently commanded a small, thin circle of fire to life. It churned in the air around her and Little Ann, Faira careful to retain control of it to keep it from extending too close to the others around her. Faira jumped and the fire dwindled slightly as Scarlet spoke from further back, remaindering the girl of the other woman’s existence. She glanced back as Scarlet gasped, not daring to take her eyes from Marianne for too long.

[TheWendil]

“Oh? Didn’t you know?” Marianne asked in response to Conna'Cel’s question. “It’s simply her time to part from this world. Is it so wrong for that to be so? Why, by keeping her around her with you, she’s only causing more trouble than she’s really worth. And can you afford to risk your safety around someone you’ve just met? Trust me, I’m trying to help here.” Even so, Marianne’s tone held amusement in her voice, as if she wasn’t really taking the situation seriously or into account. The sound of movement shifting and snarling became louder behind her, and she looked back into the darkness in boredom. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you now,” she said, turning back to the group with an unconcerned yawn. “There’s no need to spark your little fireworks for me Fiara dear. The girl can live for now. Maybe she’ll make this more interesting?” In a flicker of movement, Marianne was standing right in front of the human girl, completely bypassing what frail barrier of flame she was attempting to conjure up. Reaching out, she narrowed her eye and gently grabbed hold of Faira’s still burning hand. A chill spread through her fingers, quickly extinguishing the flames completely. “There’s no need to be scared,” Marianne said softly, though a smirk remained on her face. “After all, I really don’t want to have to threaten you a second time, now do I? Remember how that turned out? Ehe, but you are so fun to tease little one.” It was then that the black-dressed girl caught sight of Scarlet’s shaking form on the ground. The smirk on her face became even wider, and she backed off for now. Chuckling to herself, she waved a farewell to the group before descending into the darkness once more. Things were becoming…so interesting. The snarls from the hallway echoed louder, filling the area with howls and inhuman barks. A set of feral, yellow eyes popped out, each pair of the glowing orbs attached to a beast roaming on four legs. The color was their fur was pitch black, making them appear one with the darkness. As they trained their gaze on Little Ann, the first of the pack leapt forward, soon followed by the others. Three massive wolfs pounced on the members of the group, landing on human, Nebula, and robot each.

[Scarifar]

After listening to Marianne's answer, Conna'Cel was not satisfied. After all, it sounded like an explanation one would use to avoid answering a question while under the guise that the question was being answered. Unfortunately, Conna'Cel would probably never get a satisfactory answer, as Marianne then disappeared. Conna'Cel looked at Little Ann, and was about to ask her if she had anything useful to say, but his scans had detected something. "Hostiles detected," Conna'Cel said as the shadow wolves were in sight. Conna'Cel tried to fire his gun, but the wolves were quick and dodged the laser bolts as he fired. One pounced onto Conna'Cel, knocking him down. "Engaging," Conna'Cel said as he created his energy blade from his other arm, piercing the wolf's neck. Pushing the body aside, Conna'Cel got back up and began to help slay the others, beginning with the one attacking Faira.

[Riven Wight]

Faira shouted as she looked back toward Marianne only to find the woman right in front of her. Before Faira could back away, the woman grabbed her hand, and the remainder of her flames extinguished as a chill spread up her arm. Her lungs and mouth refused to work as Marianne continued to speak. Faira swallowed hard as the woman backed away, feeling as if she had dodged a bullet as Marianne waved farewell and disappeared. Taking a deep breath, she looked to the floor, a good portion of her willpower going to keeping her on her feet. Don’t collapse again. Don’t collapse again, she begged herself before her attention snapped back forward as the snarls grew louder and the forms of the wolves seemed to materialize. “What, hellhounds?” she groaned. She tilted her head slightly toward Little Ann, her hand moving to grip the girl’s arm as one wolf gazed hungrily at the child. “H-hang on to me tight,” she whispered as she reached for the feel of her powers for what felt the thousandth time that day—or perhaps night. Now! she ordered mentally as the wolves leapt forward, Faira turning and bending to grip the child in hug. With her back momentarily to the beast, both she and Ann melted into shadow. No sooner had the two turned into a large gray puddle, than the dog landed atop where they had stood With the world around them still visible--shadows only looking darker and more like tangible objects as they clung in the corners, and colors appearing a bit more vibrant--Faira instinctively directed their shadowed forms as the patch of darkness shot across the floor. The wolf snarled in anger at losing its prey, its body turning to keep its target in its sight. In the blink of an eye, the shadow rose and formed back into Faira a fair distance from the wolf, the child still in her arms. The wolf turned its snarling maul toward them, and its body sunk as it readied to leap again. In one smooth motion, Faira straightened, pushed the child back behind her, and extended a hand toward the beast as it lunged. A ball of flame shot from her hand and hit the wolf mid-leap, its force sending the creature off course and making the stench of burning fur rise through the hall. It landed a few feet away, skidding slightly across the floor before it righted itself, foam gathering around its mouth. It turned its feral gaze back to them, but as it got to its feet, laser bolts shot through it from Conna’Cel’s gun. With a whimper, the beast fell limply to the floor. With a vocal sigh, Faira looked to the robot man. “Thanks,” she breathed, then looked to Ann, her voice shaking slightly as she addressed the child. “You okay?”

[shi12]

Rosaline did not like the sudden appearance of Marianne, but her words chilled her to the core. If Faira had not already chosen to defend the girl she knew she would have, children were a small weakness of hers. The nebula had been about to threaten the woman when the wolves, or at least that’s what she thought they were, appeared. Rosaline tensed, no longer paying any mind to the woman who had disappeared in a flash. Instead she focused on the wolf lunging for her. Her lithe frame moved quickly, preparing herself just in time for the wolf to leap upon her. Both forms went down but Rose had been ready for it. They landed, the girl shifting her weight so that she now hovered over the wolf with a dark look in her eyes. She was getting sick of this. SNAP! CRACK! With a single motion the wolf’s neck was broken, killing the creature quickly and easily. Rosaline didn’t even pause to check it was dead before standing, though when she kicked the creature aside it did not move so it was dead. Little Ann was terrified, her wide eyes taking in the dead carcasses before she once again latched onto Faira. “That was soooo scary!!!” she cried.

[TheWendil]

The remaining pack of wolves snarled, their feral eyes dripping with bloodlust and a desire to feed. One of them charged ahead of the main group, its will bent on crushing the life of Little Ann within its shadowy jaws. An injured yelp escaped its maw though, as a plethora of knives made direct contact with its face, flank, and head. Scarlet held another set of summoned knives, throwing them with expert grace and accuracy. She seemed to have recovered from whatever spell was ailing her, her eyes now a blood red as she narrowed her gaze. She was ready to fight. “That was soooo scary!!!” Upon hearing those words uttered, one of the wolves let out a loud howl before retreating back into the darkness. As if on cue of the call, the others soon began to disperse, some of them snarling at the red-cloaked girl for good measure. They were quickly silenced by the robot’s gunfire and the maid’s knives. “Well then,” Scarlet said coolly, her eyes slowing turning back to their original blue color. “And who might you be to attract such unwelcome attention?” she asked to Little Ann.

[Riven Wight]

Before the child responded, she looked over as another wolves readied to attack. Before she could so much as summon a spark, a barrage of daggers rendered the beast dead. She glanced back to Scarlet, impressed at the woman’s throwing skills. She inhaled slightly as she noticed the woman’s change in eye color. So she’s not human, either, then. Faira looked back to the child as Ann clung onto her once more. “That was soooo scary!” “Yeah, you’re telling me,” she muttered, running a hand through her hair. With the threat of the wolf pack--and Marianne, at least for the time being--gone, she bent to her knees and sat on her feet, both to be more eye-level with the child and to insure her legs really did not give out on her. “You’re name’s Ann, right?” She glanced to Scarlet as the woman asked her own question.

[Scarifar]

After slaying the last of the attacking wolves, Conna'Cel said, "Zero hostiles remaining." Transforming his arms back to normal, he turned to the group. Perhaps they were useful after all. He then turned his attention to the child. He noted a wolf's decision to attack the child and remembered Marianne's words on the child, but attributed the wolf's decision on the normal instinct the attack the weakest member of a group. He scanned the child and detected no physical injuries, and the only abnormalities involved elevated heart rate and other such things that could easily explained. Conna'Cel then noted his own battery level and usage. He would last perhaps a couple days if he did not find a power source to recharge from. He made his primary objective to find such a power source before he shut down, then brought his attention back to the child. Faira was currently speaking to the child, so he waited for his moment to speak, then knelt down to ask, "What do you know of this place? Do you know of an exit?"