Afterworld

[Pinkie Pie]

Death. The supposed end of all existance.

What happens afterwards has been a mystery that countless civilizations have attempted to unlock. The secrets of the world beyond this one, however, have stayed constantly beyond mere speculation.

What really does lie beyond the grave?

Several individuals are about to learn the answer....


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Okay, intro thingy done.

This RP takes place in a purgatory-ish world. The world itself will be earth-like in setting and appearance, but it most definately is not Earth.

When you make your introductory post for your character, in addition to giving whatever information needed (or linking to your RP card), your character will be in whatever their original setting/world was. They will be going about whatever "normal" storyline would be, but at the end of the intro post, your character's death will occur, however you see fit.

In their next post, they will awaken on Afterworld, a world who's setting may or may not be familiar. They will be greeted by a being calling themselves Death, who will then explain that they have died, prematurely to their time. Because of this, they will be given another chance, if they so desire, to prove themselves in an attempt to regain their past life. However, Death will not specify what this actually entails, leaving the character alone in this new world.

The choice, then, becomes up to the character : whether to accept the challenge to regain their previous life, or to surrender to a new life in Afterworld, looking for success, happiness, or power there.

Not all of the inhabitants of Afterworld are good, being Purgatory, many dark and evil beings have been cast into it as well. Entities which may soon move to gain power in the new world, which they may have failed at in the last... Whether you move to stop them, or to join them, is up to you...


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I'll be using Tea ('http://www.evermoreforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=282754&postcount=30') for this one. Review her RP card if you need information.

Anyone who's in, post their RP character info or card links. Once we've got a few people, I'll make my intro post as an example.

[Miles]

I'm going with Ruby ^___^ She's my most favorite RP Character!!
I've re-done her since I last used her...For anyone who might notice o.o but it's kinda super-cruddy because I did it real quick!

http://www.evermoreforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=283824&postcount=32

[Nickelback]

I'm totally joining up. It's definitely going to be fun.

[Pinkie Pie]

Okay, looks like everyone who's gonna join has signed on, so we'll go ahead and get this started.

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Tea slowed to a stop on her broom as she reached the massive doors of the cathedral. It was midnight, and the dark of the night combined with the silence of her movement on her broom kept her nearly invisible to whoever would be up at the time, which was probably nobody.

She slowly stepped off the broom, pushing gently against the doors to try to open them while making as little noise as possible. The doors were so large that it was impossible to keep them completely silent as they creaked open, but she managed to squeeze through without making too much noise, pulling her broom inside before sliding them shut again.

She climbed back onto the broom. She didn't particularly like walking when she could avoid it, and when she was lacking footwear, like she was now, she did everything she could to keep her feet off of the ground. It bordered ridiculousness at times, but she didn't care too much. Besides, right now, she needed to focus on silence.

She floated gently towards the front of the church. If the bishop didn't actually live here, she knew that there'd at least be a groundskeeper at night, especially if they were holding something like that within the cathedral walls.

The hallway that extended past the altar was narrow, and she grudgingly had to drop off of her broom to fit into it. She carried it close to her, and started up the staircase it led to.

The climb was long, especially going as slow as she was to avoid making noise, but after a few minutes, she came to the end of the hallway, into the main tower of the building. There was a heavy door blocking her passage, but that was easily taken care of. Lock picking was a fairly basic spell, and was one that she could pull off with some effort, without having to draw a card at all.

The door slid open, and she winced at the loud grinding noise it made as it did. So much for keeping silent. Still, as she slid past the door, she came to what she was looking for.

The room was filled with relics, extremely expensive ones made of all kinds of precious metals. It was no real secret that the bishop tended to use the tithes to the church to aquire these riches rather than using it for the benifit of others. It wasn't any different with the other wealthy churches she'd encountered. They preached the word of God with their mouths, but they certainly didn't follow his ways themselves.

Out of all of the gold and silver in the room, however, there was only one particular piece she was after. Walking quietly forth into the center of the trove, she gently picked up a magnificent golden cross. It wasn't so much the cross itself that she was after, though, but rather the main jewel that shown forth from the middle of the relic. A flawless emerald, which seemed to radiate with it's own light. She giggled softly as she gently touched it. The Dragon's Eye was in her hands.

She was turning to leave the room when it suddenly filled with light. Spinning around, she saw the Bishop himself at the door. Damn, she thought, the stupid door made too much noise after all. The old man, in his holy robes, looked angry. Glaring at her, he lifted his finger, pointing to the cross she held.

"Witch!" he bellowed, "A godless spawn of evil should never possess such a holy relic! In the name of God, return that which you have stole!"

Tea sighed. She didn't have time for this. She slid the cross into her pouch and jumped back onto her broom, flying straight for the old man. He looked startled, and fell back slightly, hurrying down the stairs as she flew after him. She almost fell off trying to fly through the hallway, but she wasn't going to risk getting off of her broom now. As she flew into the main part of the church, however, she was greeted by the bishop, standing in front of the door.

"God's punishment be upon you, demon!" he yelled. Tea was about to shrug it off and just plow through the door, when she noticed what he was referring to. One of the statues in the church was moving on it's own, and was now blocking her access to the exit, as well as attempting to swat her out of the air.

"Since when does the church use Golems?" she thought aloud, pulling out her card deck. She quickly drew her hand. Damn, a joker already, she muttered under her breath. It had stuck her with a King High. Stopping in midair, she held the hand forward, the cards glowing and becoming a ball of energy in front of her.

"High Arrow!"

The energy missile hit the golem rather hard, knocking off the arm that had been swinging towards her. She could see the bishop out of the corner of her eye dancing away in panic to avoid being hit by the debris from the damage. This wasn't a bad start, but she still needed to get past the damn thing. She touched the deck, the cards automatically shuffling as she did, and drew again.

A Jack and an Ace. That was more like it. The Ace faded, the card changing to another Jack, and she held the cards in front of her again.

"Twin Missle!"

She didn't bother attaching an element to the barrage, she simply fired the bursts of energy directly at the statue. As more and more of it crumbled at the force of the attacks, she got her chance to fly at the door. Sweeping low enough to wink and wave at the Bishop, who was red faced and seething with anger, she kicked at the door, pushing it open enough to slip through again.

And came face to face with a helicopter, lights blaring in her eyes.

Dammit. She was too late getting out. Giuvanni and his men had already gotten here. She'd had run-ins with the young crime boss and his organization before, as they often found themselves competing for the same relics. He was after the Dragon's Eye too, and though he was too late to be the one to claim it first, that didn't mean he was going to give up the attempt.

Tea rolled out of the way of the copter, just in time to avoid crashing into it. She flew passed it, trying to make her escape, only to find a large army of his men, all in their fancy suits, each holding a high-powered firearm, pointed right at her. She looked up to try to make her escape that way, only to find more helicopters blocking her movement upwards as well.

She swallowed. This wasn't a great situation to be in. She nervously looked at the men surrounding her, and looked even more nervously at the seemingly endless row of gun barrels pointed at her.

From one of the copters, she saw Giuvanni himself, his jet black hair slicked back, grinning slyly at her while standing at the door. He raised a megaphone to his mouth.

"Check and mate, love. I'd suggest handing the Dragon's Eye over before I give my boys the go-ahead to fire."

Tea smirked. He didn't really think she was going to give up that easily? She glanced around. Any kind of action she took was going to result in guns being fired. Well then, she'd just have to keep that from being an issue.

She reached quickly for the Ace of Spades in her hat. Seeing her do this, Giuvanni quickly signaled, and his men simultaniously began to fire off their guns. Before any of them could pull the trigger, however, the Ace of Spades in her hand turned into two Kings, and a pale, transparent barrier blipped into existance around her. That would keep her safe from the bullets for a while, a shield that strong could reflect those easily.

The problem still remained, however, that she didn't really have a way to safety otherwise. That wouldn't be too hard to fix, though, she thought. Just about anything could be useful right now. Tapping her deck again, she pulled another five cards. Her spirits were high, the first few cards were pretty good. Two more kings and a queen, the two could be discarded. She grinned and drew her last card. This wasn't going to be that hard after all.

She didn't have time to look at her last card immediately, as she felt a sharp pain erupt in her side, followed by another, and yet another. Confused, she blinked a few times, looking at the final card.

A Joker.

She stared at it for what seemed like hours in disbelief. Her shield had immediately dropped upon pulling the card, leaving her no protection from the barrage of bullets being fired at her.

Another sharp pain as she was hit again. This couldn't be happening. Another shot hitting her. The pain was becoming unbearable, her whole body felt like it was on fire. Another shot. Another. Another. Another. She didn't even have time to scream.

Then... nothing. The noise pounding in her ears stopped, and suddenly there was silence. She lost her grip on her broom, falling to the ground. Her body throbbed with pain, and her vision blurred. Her brain tried to work out what was happening, but couldn't keep up. She hit the ground, and her vision went black. The pain vanished. Her conciousness shut off.

She felt herself fall into nothingness.

[Miles]

(( I hope that was alright...I'm a little rusty -.-;; You'll have to forgive any typos...Typos love me. ))

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Ruby raised a brow in disbelief as she came to another dead end.
It had been hours since she had started to explore this cave. It looked pretty huge from the outside but she had no idea just how many tunnels there were to explore. Not to mention how many dead ends this place was hiding.

"I've had ENOUGH!!" Anger gripped her for a moment; she pulled the Hammer from her back, lifting it into the air. She was going to show this cave who was boss. No cave had ever gotten the better of her and this one wasn't going to be any different.
She wanted what sparkling, shining, wondrous gems this place held and Ruby was used to getting her own way.

The Hammer hit the wall with such force that she felt her arms tremble. Her eyes widened as she felt the cave itself tremble, she watched as the wall before her gave way and the tunnel continued straight.
This seemed like the right moment for a grin. She placed the Hammer securely onto its strap, making sure it wouldn't fall from her back before carrying on with her expedition of sorts.
"Can't be too far now...I can almost smell those precious gems."
She was praying that this cave held some Rubies. Gems were Gems and anything other than those darling red crystals would be sold to make money...But nothing topped the joy of adding another Ruby to her collection.

Ruby kept her eyes ahead. Not knowing what creatures lurked around the corner. This cave had clearly not been explored completely before. No one had ever found any treasure and she had just opened up a path that had obviously been closed off for a long time. "Oh, yawn! How boring can one place be?"
She placed her hands behind her head, closing her eyes for a moment.
Hmm...She stopped dead. Something was close. It was..."Big...Loud...It's got bad breath." She sniffed the air for a moment. You needed all your senses for a profession like this and Ruby knew what she was doing. She knew all the signs...The signs for when a monster was close, that is.
"A Dragon, maybe? Or a big Snake?"
Either way, it was something a lot bigger than her.

She pressed her back against the wall as she came to a sharp corner. The deep breathing of the unknown creature was getting loud, as well as annoying. She could smell rotting flesh, it seemed highly likely that this thing was a meat-eater. Not that unusual.
She shifted closer to the corner, turning her head slightly so she could take a peek without being noticed.

"Oh geez!!" She rolled forward in panic as she caught sight of large, spike covered tail flying towards her. In mid-roll she saw the wall she was against only moments ago come crashing down.
Her hands found the floor and she jumped to her feet. She turned to face the hostile creature, her hammer seemingly jumping into her hands.
Her first guess had been right. It was a Dragon. A fairly small one, considering what the average Dragon's size is. She shook the thought from her head. It didn't matter if it was smaller than an average Dragon. It was more than ten times the size of her.
"Right, right. Nothing I can't handle." She sighed to herself. Eyeing up the creature one last time. It was long and kind of fat. It had spikes running from its shoulders right down to the tip of its tail. It had a long snout and red eyes. Rage-filled eyes.

Ruby ran at the Dragon. Her hammer at the ready. She had to strike fast. There was no telling if it had an element or if it could breath anything elementally related.
The hammer flew with her right arm as her body came around to the creatures left.
She felt her head hit the cave wall. In a split second the Dragon had knocked her, causing her to fly into the wall. It was too fast. She had no idea that a Dragon could be so fast. They were normally slow and dumpy when on the ground.
"Of course!!" Then it hit her. This thing couldn't fly around in such a small cave. It had clearly adapted so that it was faster on its feet than an average Dragon.
"So...It's not an average Dragon." She jumped to her feet. She wasn't willing to hang around and fight this thing one on one.

There was another corner behind the Dragon. It seemed best to make a run for it and find somewhere more open to fight this thing. She was praying that it wouldn't come to a fight. It didn't seem likely that she would win against it. Not alone.
Her feet took off and she raced toward the Dragon, it had pretty long legs. She had a good chance sliding beneath its belly. Her legs shot forward and her body lifted off the ground, she skimmed across the dusty floor, sliding right under the Dragon.

It didn't seem happy, its long neck arched over as it watched her make an escape.
Ruby slid into the cave wall on the other side of the Dragon. Her head turned immediately, searching the next part of the cave for a hiding place or easier route away from this creature.
Her heart skipped a beat at the site. There was nothing there. It was another dead end.

"Water?..." She rolled to her feet and darted toward the dead end. She was now in a wide area. It didn't stretch upwards too much but it was a lot bigger than the previous tunnel. She stood at a giant pools edge. It was dark so that meant that it was deep. Probably even led to another part of the cave.
It seemed like she had to swim her way out of her. Or at least hope it was possible.
Her mind raced, she could hear the Dragon behind her. She could hear it brushing the walls as it turned around to come after her. Its deep and loud breathing becoming erratic as it became extremely angry. Her eyes focused on the water before her. She had two choices. Either fight the Dragon and most possibly get killed or dive into the water and most possibly drown.

It wasn't much of a choice but it was one she would have to make.
The Dragon cried out as its head came around the corner, its wide eyes catching sight of her.
She had never enjoyed water too much. She found herself remembering a story that her late father had told her. It ended with: "The mine filled with water...Most of the workers drowned."
It had always been the story that had given her nightmares as a child. And now she was thinking of her father.
"Great timing Daddy." She said under her breath before closing her eyes and taking the plunge.

The water was freezing. She felt the cold grasp her bare legs, then taking hold of her chest. It hurt, it hurt a lot. Before she could take one final gasp of air, her head went under.
It was going to be a challenge, she still had her hammer in hand and it was hard enough wading through rivers with it on her back...She didn't want to know what swimming would be like and she was unwillingly about to find out. For a moment, she let the weight of the hammer drag her down. Down was the only way out. It seemed weird considering she had only ever heard the saying; Up and Out.
Down and out didn't sound quite right.

The Dragons head flew into the water. Luckily for Ruby, she was out of reach. Unluckily, she wasn't out of sight. Within a second the Dragon belly flopped in. It wasn't the type of creature to let go of a grudge. It had some serious issues.
It was decided. The only way out was down. Ruby couldn't help but stress over the thought of there not being a way out somewhere under the water. The Dragon was too fat. There was no way she could swim back up past the darn thing.

There was a low thud as the hammer came into contact with the floor. Ruby winced at the pain in her chest. She was in serious need of air and it looked like she wasn't going to get any. She hadn't seen any tunnels on the way down and now she was at the bottom of the water filled cavern, the Dragon floating down to her rather fast. There was no way out.
"I-I can't take it...It...It hurts..." She couldn't stop herself thinking of the pain in her chest. She looked up, the shadow of the Dragon blocking whatever light there had been.
Her vision faded, she felt her mouth open, she felt the air that had been locked away escape from her body. The only air there was and it was getting away.

There was nothing but darkness. She felt her mind go blank. Her body became numb; she let the water take her. There was nothing more to do. She knew that this was it. She knew that death was all that awaited her now.

"My last...Adventure..."

[Nickelback]

He looked down at his own blood-soaked hands...And at the sight of his own sword impaled through him.
The only thing he could think was, What a nightmare...
It hadn't been long since he had begun a fight with a human thief named Jake, from a nearby village. They met rather abruptly in this forest, and somehow, after challenging him, it had been neck and neck to emerge victorious, after many bouts and stages of battle. It seems as if Jake had done exactly that. The battle and life of a former king flashed before the Saurian's eyes.

Growing up under the moonlit sky of his homeworld, wondering what is truly out there, beyond those twin moons. Fighting others his age in the Skydweller clan (And even sometimes in other nearby clans and tribes as well) and always coming out as the victor. Learning what great power from the local shaman he actually had...The power to manipulate objects and see things that no one else can possibly do. His early years, all flashing before his eyes in a matter of seconds.
Incredible, He thought, Could it really be...that I am defeated? But...Why does this thought seem alien to me?

He pondered this as he continued to stare of into the fabric of his memories and experiences, as the breaths came to him harder and harder, shallower and shallower.
It was only yesterday that he came to this planet in search of worthy challengers. That he'd find such people so quickly, and that one would defeat him as such, was impossible for him to comprehend.
Impossible? Or perhaps, unpredicted...Underestimated?

Then the thoughts of the battle rose to mind. He had escaped death many times before, being kicked off a nearby cliff with such force it should have killed him in the first place, but no, not only did he escape that, but he escaped the fall, using his own power! Did he think it'd come to this?
Only one thing came to mind after this thought, as he continued to kneel on the ground, hands soaked in his own dark blood, No...

Again, his life flashed before his eyes as his heart refused to work any more, the crowning of himself, speaking to a croud of billions across a sector of space. Would he have thought it'd have come to this? To adventure out, handing over the crown to lead a campaign against the space pirates, which then evolved into his quest for better fighters than he. Did he think it would come to this? He smirked to himself. Jake had begun to walk away. His initial surprise at being impaled with his own family's indestructable sword had faded, but it still seemed like a very cruel irony.

"This...isn't over yet...", He rasped, shocked at how weak his voice sounded. Even the growling nature of his Saurian tone was now fading from his lungs. His body was a wreck, but still he tried. Would it be, that even in defeat, he can do absolutely nothing? Perhaps, he has pushed it too far, last time. They had told him this would happen, eventually. But so what?

He was never one to give up easily. He attempted to use his legs to get up. But he couldn't even feel them, now. Did he care? Trying to support himself up on his legs with his arms, but failing, he slumped back to he knees, coughing blood.
Jake, nodding slightly at this sight, turned around and began walking away, towards the city.

"Yes, it is. May we meet again in the Afterlife...Commander Tadao." Jake said, saluting him from a long way off as he continued to walk away. Or was it? Tadao did not know, his field of vision was so distorted, now. Not to mention his depth perception. Even if he could fight back, he couldn't see. His power was also fading from him. It was coming.

It seemed far away, so far away, that he heard that voice. His vision was now enshrouded in darkness. He looked up at the Sun, blazing over his head, the blood seeping from his mouth now drying in the hot day that has approached on planet Earth. He knew the look in his own eyes was beginning to appear. That look. The lifeless one. He saw it all the time, before.
After all those years of fighting pirates and seeing that look approach their eyes, it was happening to him under completely different circumstances. He thought it interesting.

Looking down with his blurring vision, he saw the handle pressing against his chest. Grabbing it with his numbing two hands, he ripped it out of his body. The pain couldn't even be felt, anymore.
The whole world was turning gray before him. He thought of his family, his friends, his teammates, and above all, his homeworld, as he shealthed the sword with the remaining strength he had left.

He smirked as he took his last breath. Finding out what death really is was always a favorite mystery of his. Tadao could think no more as his broken, bruised and bloody body, vanquished in an honorable duel, fell to the ground of the clearing, death's grip taking full hold.

So...It is over.

[Rainbow Dash]

"INSOLENT MAGGOTS!"

Raniel charged into the fray of the battle once again, this time the field was the form of a castle. On all sides, soldiers lined his path. Those who did not get out of his way were crushed into the dirt. Steel clashed almost harmonically thoughout the battlefield, creating a soothing symphony for his ears. The swords were the violins, and his horse Tanya was the percussion. How he loved these sounds.

His unit broke through the enemy lines almost effortlessly, ruthlessly lobbing off head after head of his enemies. What fun.

Oh dear, Raniel thought to himself cockily, I guess I moved too quickly for my battalion to keep up. Too bad for them. The enemies, knowing Raniel's reputation, quickly surrounded him. An enemy lunged at him with a spear. Raniel drew his sword, sliced off the tip of the wooden spear as it was thrust to him, and the momentum kept the spear flying to his rear, impaling another soldier. In the spearman's shock, Raniel grabbed the broken spear ad twapped him on the side of the head, rendering him onconcious. From then on, it was pandemonium within that hostile ring of soldiers.

Several minutes passed. Raniel realized that he had underestrimated his enemy. Ah, but there was hope yet. As he fought in a frenzy, he saw his regiment catching up to him. They had their crossbows ready, realizing that though it was dangerous, it was necessary for them to use ranged weapons if they were to reach their target in time.

"Finally! Get over here already an-"

The volley of crossbows fired, and they hit their mark. Raniel collapsed to the ground. The enemy army scattered, confused and curious.

"You bastards... how could you... betray me..."

"For my sister, who you slew as though she were an enemy." The traitor thrust his spear into Raniel's armor, blood pouring out as though it were trapped inside against its will.

"And my wife and daughter." another called, and his arm was liberated of his body.

"For destroying my home!" His head was crushed.

"And all..." His vision blacked out.

[Pinkie Pie]

Yvl, could you get up an RP Card for your character soon?

EDIT : Change of plans. Saph offered to pick up Sora's old character, Jake, and fill in RPing for him. So we now have five people.

Jake's already got an RP card and an intro post done, so we can keep going now without any more bumps along the way, hopefully.

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Falling. That was all that filled her sense of existance. She could see nothing, she could feel nothing. But she could tell that she was falling.

It wasn't a rapid fall, she could feel no wind blowing past her as she descended. It was more like a smooth, soft dropping, as if she was sinking through water.

Her mind was a complete blank, all that she could manage to acknowledge was simply the feeling of falling, slowly and softly, through nothingness.

Suddenly, she could sense it slowing, as if she was gently being placed somewhere. Very gradually, she felt the sensation end, and she could feel something solid beneath her. Her consciousness slowly began to stir, and her senses started to return to her. She slowly opened her eyes, as if waking from a long and peaceful sleep.

She found herself on her back, looking up into a clear blue sky, white clouds overhead. She sat up, trying to piece together what had happened.

She was... outside of the cathedral, last she remembered. She'd gotten the Dragon's Eye and had been on her way out. Had she fallen, somehow lost consciousness? Maybe the golem the Bishop had been using had given her a hit on the way out. She didn't remember any of that, but then, she didn't remember deciding to take a nap on the ground either.

She turned, expecting to see the cathedral behind her. She blinked a few times, and looked around, but could see no sign of any building at all, much less the large church she had last remembered being at.

She stood up, looking around. Her hat, broom, and cards were all on the ground close to where she had been lying. Maybe she'd fallen asleep on her broom somehow, and wound up here by accident? She put on the hat and summoned her cards to her hand, tucking them back into the pocket she kept them in. She paused a moment, then let out a groan when she realized that the relic was missing. She picked up her broom, dissapointed, and looked back up. She gave a start as a young girl had suddenly appeared a short distance in front of her.

The girl looked like a young child, and if Tea were to try to place her age, she wouldn't have guessed any older than fourteen. She was wearing a dark and simple black dress, and she had a somber look on her face, as if she had awful news to tell someone. She was leaning against a tall, thick pole, which Tea hadn't remembered seeing before.

"A...are you alright, miss?" Tea called to the girl, somewhat unnerved by her sudden appearance. In response to this, the girl rose her head up, meeting eyes with Tea.

Tea supressed a gasp with some effort, as the sight of the girl's blood red eyes startled her. The color was very unnerving, yet oddly, Tea couldn't help but feel it was the most natural color in the world for the girl to have. The girl's somber look remained as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Tea... child of the wind... you have arrived... I apologize."

Tea wasn't sure how to react to this statement, or to the fact that the girl somehow knew her name.

"Arrived? Um... where... I don't understand..."

The girl's expression saddened, if that was possible, but Tea started to notice that it was not a child-like sadness, but rather a thoughtful, deliberate sorrow, as of a mother delivering the news of the death of a relative to her children.

"You are in the Afterworld... the destination of souls who have ended their time in the world of the living. You are dead."

With a sudden shock, as if someone had dumped ice water onto her, the memories of the night before flooded back. She recalled being surrounded by Giuvanni and his men, of the gunshots, of her shield failing... looking up slightly, her mind reeled as she saw the pole the girl was leaning against for what it was. A massive scythe. Was she speaking with Death?

She stood there for a moment, trying to take it all in.

"I.... I'm dead? This is... heaven?"

The girl shook her head slowly.

"This place is not the concept you have of heaven or hell... it is simply another world of existance, the next step of being... The closest thing that humans may have to describe it would be purgatory, but even that title is misleading."

Tea just stood there, still in shock.

"I... I'm dead... it.... is it really...."

The girl seemed suddenly closer to her, though she didn't recall her moving at all. Her presence was oddly comforting. The sad look on her face seemed to reach out to sympathise with the situation she suddenly found herself in.

"However..."

Tea looked up at the girl.

"You were taken before your proper time was to be up... I apologize for that. Because of that, your presence here is... unbalancing. It would be best if you could just be sent back to your world... but unfortunately, that can't be done. At least not immediately, and not by me."

Tea was still trying to work things out.

"You mean... there's a chance I could go back? Like, come back to life?"

The girl nodded.

"Yes. You can go back, and you should. You're time is not yet up, and staying here too long could be... bad. Bad for you, and bad for the balance of things that fate is supposed to govern."

"How do I do that? How to I get to go back?" Tea's mood was starting to lighten considerably at hearing this.

"I cannot tell you that. You will have to find that answer for yourself here in Afterworld. I'm certain that you will find your way back... but please be careful. There are others here in Afterworld, those that are supposed to be here, and not all of them are kind souls. Your soul makes you up now more than your physical body does... if it is destroyed, you will cease to exist, in any world, in any way."

The girl suddenly lifted her head slightly, as if hearing something in the distance.

"I must leave you now," she said apologetically, "there are others like you, who have met their end before their time, who are arriving as well. Your paths may very well cross soon, and you may wind up helping each other find your way back... or you may hinder each other. Only time will tell..."

The girl lifted the massive scythe from the ground with seemingly no effort at all, and turned away from Tea. It was a very surreal sight, but before Tea had too much of a chance to stare, the girl vanished, leaving her completely alone.

[Miles]

I assume we're meant to use the same image of "Death"?
If not then I'll edit it later.

Sorry T_T It's a bit uber crud. I've been working on it since last night, too. >.< I'm not very creative at the moment but I'll get better once I get my creativenuss back~

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There was a deep darkness. The scent of sorrow, fear...Despair.
Ruby felt her mind coming back to her. For what seemed like forever, her mind had been foggy. She couldn't quite remember what had happened.
There was no comfort to be found in such a sudden loss of memory.

It seemed like the right moment to open her eyes but they just wouldn't respond. Or maybe...They were already open.
"Have I...Gone blind?.." Was the first thought to enter her previously blank mind.
It was at this moment that she came to realize the lack in presence of her body. She felt light, as if floating but at the same time she felt steady as if on the ground.
It was a feeling that she had never come across, a strange sensation that she didn't even know was possible.

Through the silence and the darkness; The sound of waves could be heard. That soothing sound of the sea brushing up against the sandy shore.

The smell of the ocean filled her senses. It was a long forgotten scent...Something that she hadn't experienced in a long time. The comfort that she had lost from lack of vision came back to her with the familiarity of this wondrous smell.

"It is time to wake up..."

Color flooded her as her eyes flew open at the sound of someone else’s voice.
A long golden stretch of sand lay before her. The sensation of the ocean waves against her feet as she lay sprawled across and unfamiliar beach.

"I don't remember a beach."
Within seconds it all came back to her.
How she had been looking for the mother-load of all Rubies.
How she had come across that dragon...And how she had failed to make her escape through the underground passage of water.

"I didn't...Make it?"
She couldn't be thinking such a thing if she hadn't made it.
The sea?
Had there been some way out that she had missed? Maybe there was some kind of current that had swept her to the sea.
Either way, she was somewhere outside. Somewhere in the warm sun.

"I'm afraid...You didn't make it."

There was that voice again.
Ruby pushed her from the sand, flipping to her feet in one swift shift of the body. She stood ready to face whoever that voice belonged to.
"A...A...Child?"
Her face was filled with confusion at the sight of the young girl before her. She had never seen anyone like this before, and she seemed awfully dark for such a young girl.

"Hey there, sweetie." Ruby placed her hands against her knees and bent down to be level with the girl. She was a fair distance away but Ruby was alright with kids and she knew that being level with them would help them trust you.
"Do you know where we are?"

"This is Afterworld."
It was such a straight forward answer. This child seemed to be a lot smarter than she had been taken for.
Ruby put a finger to her lips, she had never heard of such a place. Was it a town, a city...A continent?

"I'm afraid to inform you..."
"Hm?"
"You are dead."

It was such a cold pack of words, something so serious was made to sound calm and collected.
Ruby's face screwed up at such a reply. "This girl is something sick!" she thought to herself, being sure to keep it inside for the time being.

"Just what are you playing at?!" Ruby threw her arm in the direction of the child.
Her eyes met with the girls. Her eyes were such a deep red. The thought of death covered Ruby in an instant.
"You're...Not kidding...Are you?"
She wasn't sure if it was crazy to believe a child she had never met, but there was a feeling that they had met before. That feeling of instant trust between two strangers.

The girl shook her head and waved her hand to the left lightly.
Ruby watched as her Hammer floated in from the direction of the girls hand and gently settled itself in her palm.
"This is Afterworld...You may be dead but you're presence here is unnecessary."

"What do you mean?" Ruby's eyes seemed to cross at the young girls words.
"You were snatched away from the world of living long before your time. You are not meant to be here."

Ruby planted a smile on her face. It was unbelievable but amazing.
"So you're going to send me back, right?"

the girls shook her head again. A look of sadness gracing her for a second. It was a look of sorrow for Ruby's lack of understanding. As if she felt bad for getting the new-comers hopes up.
"I cannot perform such a task. It is something you will have to find alone.
You will have to venture far into this world to find your answers."

The girl released the Hammer, sending it softly to Ruby.
"Do not delay. The longer you stay the more unsettled things may become.
This place is filled with dangers. There are beings here who will wish to do you harm."

Ruby gave a nod. That was understandable. There was nowhere in the universe where everyone was at peace. She reached out and took her Hammer.

"If you are destroyed here...You will cease to exist. Do not forget this."
The girl looked to the sky, then back to Ruby. "I must leave you now. I have much to do."

It was as the girl slowly faded away that Ruby realized.
"Was I just...Talking with Death?"

[Pinkie Pie]

I assume we're meant to use the same image of "Death"?
If not then I'll edit it later.

That was my intention... though I dunno if I really brought enough attention to the RP Cards ('http://www.evermoreforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=284355&postcount=34') that I wrote for both versions of Death.

I had it in mind that our characters would meet with the one version of Death, while Smash and Yvl's characters would meet with the other. Since we had it even then, I told Saph to decide whichever he wanted to meet up with.

It doesn't set our character's alignments in stone, but it definately changes the way they're introduced to the world, and probably influences what decisions they'll make while there.

[Nickelback]

It wasn't long before Tadao's mind became aware of...What was it he was aware of? After falling, he never hit the ground. He wonders...Still with his eyes closed, it felt as if he fell through the ground, as if he was ripped from the world by force. He wonders...

He felt as if he were floating through space, feeling the all too familiar feeling of nausea he has gotten so used to during his piloting years. But this time...It felt different. It wasn't the feeling of space. As if he were falling without velocity and without any air around his form, he opened his eyes to discern the truth, however, when he did so, all he saw was gray and black in front of him.

Quickly, Tadao realized he was on the ground, and sat up with a start. The gray and black was above him. The clouds. Feelings of liquids rushed to his throat, but he pushed them back down, not allowing his body to react to the sudden nausea. Blinking his eyelids until his vision returned from their blurry state, they then widened.

He was sitting on what seemed to be a hill. A concrete wall surrounding the hill like a prison made itself apparently as he took in his immediate surroundings, but something was wrong. The wall had upon the battlements skulls encased in teeth. Looking down, he was even more shocked.

He picked up blades of green grass, but they were all dead or slowly decaying as he watched. He could see them turn from green to brown, fall down and then turn to black, then nothing,
The grass...It's dying...Where am I?

As he climbed to his feet, steadily, the memories of his previous battle flooded back to him. The battle with Jake. He then remembered getting impaled with his sword, and falling to the ground, remembering his last thoughts, he touched where his blade should have been impaled right through his ribcage.
His eyes narrowed as his fingers only touched scales beneath his tribal vest,

It's not there. What the hell?

He reached to his side for his sword, but it, too, wasn't there. Nor was the sheathe for it. Tadao knew something was very, very wrong. Glancing at the sky, then the grim walls again, he began to notice more details about his location. He was on a hilltop, and sloping downwards, he saw what looked like not only a graveyard, but slaughterhouse as well.

Bloody spikes, nooses hanging from dead tree's limbs, guillotines, even fiery pits that led to somewhere down below. But above all that, he then began to hear slight screams, sometimes they are whispers in his ear, sometimes from far away.

"By the gods, this is not good." He rasped to himself, looking for a gate.

There was none.

Then all at once, fear took icy hold of Tadao's form. He found he couldn't move. He no longer could summon the willpower to use his psychic abilities. He knew something was coming, something powerful, and terrible. So terrible, it instilled absolute, paralyzing fear within him for the first time in years.

"W-W-Who's there? S-Show yourself...!" Tadao managed to get out with every ounce of strength.

He found he could turn again, and leaning against the barren, dead tree, halfway down the hill, with a still-hanging body seperating them, he saw a cloaked, black figure, holding a scythe sideways in its hands.
Tadao's eyes widened with shock and fear at the very sight of this grim figure.
He measured this new person at his own height, perhaps slightly smaller. His hair was a sleek black, resembling an Earth hedgehog.

Twirling the scythe in one hand, bringing it to stand beside him, he raised his face skyward to meet with Tadao's own. Blood-red eyes glared into his very soul with a certain malice, perhaps even god-like judgement. Walking slowly up the hill, he made his way to the side of Tadao, who tracked him with his head, but didn't move his body to face him.

"Who...the hell are you?" Tadao demanded in a barely audible whisper.

A smirk appeared on the young man's face, taunting Tadao with a shaking index finger, "Now, now, let's not ask questions is such a rude manner!", his voice was dark and sinister, like a snake's hiss.

Tadao's navy blue eyes narrowed again, "And yet you dare address me with impudence?"

The young man looked hurt, placing a bony hand to his robe's chest, but the smirk quickly replaced it, "I'm hurt, I wouldn't have expected you to be above a meeting with me. No matter, you're here whether you like it or not."

"What is it you want?"

"You're confused, you should be dead but you aren't, you miss valuables that are precious to you."

"You know the answers to the questions I seek."

"Yes. And let me guess the first one on your feeble lizard mind...Is it 'Why am I not dead?', well that one I can answer for you, it's because you ARE dead." The man smirked once again, near grinning, due to the incredulous expression on the Saurian's face.

Tadao sighed. How typical, he's dead and now he's stuck talking with some creepy guy in a bizarre graveyard with a weapon while he has none. A thought flickered through his mind, from the books he's read while on Earth.
"And I suppose I am in Hell?"

For the first time, the bony-looking young man looked surprised, and frowned, "No. This place is not what Humans call Heaven or Hell, nor is it the Jeiruuk, or Gauntlet of Reincarnation that most Saurians believe it."

He noted that this person knows about Saurian beliefs.
This is not good. New question.

"Then where am I?"

"Simply put, this is Afterworld, but you, like a select few others, are not meant to be here."

Silence followed, Tadao felt there was something more hiding behind that smirk than met the eye. He knew the scythe, black robe and general figure meant something, but he couldn't remember what. He knew he saw a picture somewhere depicting the figure.

"And?"

"And nothing."

"So I'm not allowed to go back, I suppose?"

The young man rolled his eyes, "No, not really. As much as I would LIKE to get rid of your lizard self, it's not possible for me to do. It's something you'll have to do on your own."

Tadao sighed, glancing around the graveyard, again hearing whispers of agony from afar. Yeah, this will be fun.

The young man tapped his scythe's pole on the dirt, catching Tadao's attention before speaking,
"Like I said before you started daydreaming again, you'll have to find escape on your own, through certain methods. Now, you can have your sword back-" The sword fell out of the dark sky, impaling the ground beside Tadao's feet, the hilt soon followed, "-But your immense powers are trickier to control here in Afterworld, so good luck with that."

Taking the sword up, Tadao attached the hilt to his belt and sheathed it,
"So I was brought here after my death, and informed of this. Why?"

The young man let his scythe lean on the tree and then began pacing around Tadao, putting his long bony fingers to his lips thoughtfully, "Your death was not destined to happen so quickly. Something went wrong with the universe for a few itsy-bitsy seconds, and you died, when it was your adversary, Jake, who should have perished at your hands."

Tadao took a few moments to absorb this as the man kept pacing around him, sometimes casting glances to gravestones,
"How can something go wrong with the universe?"

The young man shrugged,
"I'm guessing someone pulled the strings to get you here. I don't know who or why. You'll have to figure it out. Use that kingly mind of yours."

He then stopped, gazing at Tadao, then beckoned him to follow him to a gravestone,
"Come, come now, you should see this!"

When they approached, Tadao noticed how soft the soil was, it was freshly dug. Glancing towards the gravestone itself, it shocked him.

There read, in large letters etched in the stone: 'JAKE', however, the name was crossed out, and instead, underneath of it, was, indeed, his own name.

"So you see," The young man said without the slightest sad tone, "You are dead and Jake lives, whereas it would have been the other way around."

Tadao rose to his feet, and climbed the hill again, the man walking behind him with very little effort,
"Looks like I'm stuck here."

"You and the others."

"Others?"

The young man heaved an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes again, "Good lord, haven't you been paying attention? Yeah, there are others here, who also aren't supposed to be here."

Tadao then had a sudden thought, he remembered who this figure was. From reading books, he remembered that this was the classical figure of Death. Why he didn't compare him to the Saurian version of Death is beyond him, but within half a second he drew his sword and leveled it at the young man.
"You...I've seen you before. You're Death. Foul beast, you brought me here!"

Reaching out his hand, the young man's scythe glided into it from it's place resting against the tree, "Well, seems like you know who I am, now. So much for the oblivious lizard. You shouldn't try to fight your only guide in this world. Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself, I have to get going now, so I must leave your delightfully cheery self. Remember, don't get killed here or you will cease to exist. I have a feeling we'll meet again sometime soon! Enjoy your stay in Afterworld!"

Raising his scythe over his head, he brought it down, swishing around his form, forming a solid gust of wind, and when it faded, he was gone.

Tadao sheathed his sword, glaring at the spot where the young man, or Death, had been.
"Well, now if that isn't the best spirit I'll ever meet. Death, of all things."

[Rainbow Dash]

It was quiet. More quiet than he had ever been exposed to. Did everyone just finally shut up? Or...

The silence was broken with a gust of air. "The hell..." Raniel rose. He hastily glanced about at his surroundings, grassy hills, a dead tree... certainly nowhere he recalled arriving at. He continued to survey the area... something new was there now next to the tree... a man?

"You! Explain yourself! What the hell are you doing here?!"

The ghastly figure looked up at him, uncaring of his question.

"Answer me maggot!"

"You are dead."

Raniels sword immediately scraped smoothly out of its sheath, arriving in an offensive position. "So you are here to kill me? A freak like you?!"

Death's backside of his scythe swiftly swung downwards, knocking the blade out of his hands. "Watch your tongue, corpse. You are speaking with Death himself."

"Goddamn assassin!"

Death sighed. "Though I'd kill you if I were permitted to, all I'm here to do is tell you that you have been killed, and are now here, in the Afterworld."

Raniel's eyes widened as he remembered the events leading up to his demise. "Those treacherous bastards!"

"Makes your blood boil, doesn't it? You always could get out of here and get revenge, but wouldn't it be more fun to make your own empire here instead?"

"What's that?"

"The Afterworld is a vast place. If you wanted, you could conquer as much as you wish, and reign eternally. Just don't die, or your soul will be forefeit."

"Don't worry. I don't die easily. That last time was just a fluke."

"That's what they all say."

Raniel paced in thought. "And what if I DO wish revenge on those traitors?"

"Then you'll have to find a way to escape this place. I'm sure you're not cut out to survive long here anyway."

Raniel's eyes narrowed. He bent down to get his sword, but by the time he recovered it, Death was gone.

[Snips]

Jake felt a searing pain in his arm, but didn't remember how it had happened. He looked over to see that he had apparently fallen and scattered his weapons, only to be punctured by his own kunai. Had it all been a dream? He knew he shouldn't have killed Tadao, and what about his wife... their children... had he really been set ablaze so viciously? He pulled the knife out of his arm and his vision cleared somewhat as his attention was drawn to the red blood that coated his arm. He tried to stand, but fell again, and resigned to resting for a minute. He wasn't aware of what was going on anymore.

His eyelids heavy, he glanced around and realized that he had never been here before. The region, he could now tell, reeked of sulfur, and it was hot, as though he were near the top of an active volcano. Now wide awake and alert, he gathered his belongings that had scattered around him, and froze as a man approached him. No hair blocked his blood red eyes, as it was slicked back. Jake was unnerved by his odd appearance, and pepared to throw a shuriken at him, but then noticed his scythe. He'd have guessed it was well over 6 feet.

Jumping to his feet, he noticed that the ground was flat, and he stood in a wasteland of sorts. So much for his volcano theory. He could see smoke rising from embers everywhere. However, the tall man got so close that Jake was forced to turn his attention to him.

"Who are you?" Jake asked him, "And what's with that scythe?" The man laughed.

"I'm Death, and-"

"You should die for joking about that! Wait... if you're really Death, than technically aren't you already dead? Um... um... GO TO HELL! Yeah! That's right!" Jake wasn't sure why he kept talking, but didn't want to believe what he was being told. He couldn't help but believe it though, somehow, and was trying to force himself into denial, but to no avail.

"Hell? No, this is Afterworld. Yes, some may consider it Hell, and others Heaven, but it's more like a Purgatory of sorts, and even that's not entirely accurate. While here, I suggest you try to consider it to be your second chance at life."

"Screw you! What about my family!?" Jake retorted.

"Your children are dead, you saw them yourself! Think... how long do you think it took before your wife ran into the house after you? And the men, from the secret forces, out of fuel, then proceeded to cut her up, killing her too? Lots of screaming and no fighting back, she met a truly pitiful end!"

"YOU!" Jake lunged at Death, only to be sent flying by the pole end of Death's scythe. As he crashed to the ground, Death continued, uninterrupted.

"Your family is no doubt here too, seek them out if you will. However, I doubt a petty thief with an upbringing such as yours would be able to support them here, when so many possess normally inhuman powers."

"Would you stop insulting me!?"

"Oh, I'm so not sorry." Death said with a snide smile and almost sarcastic tone, obviously enjoying himself, "But you grew up in an environment where the only way to live was to steal, and don't exactly have much of an education. You make too many enemies too fast, and you met your demise relatively quickly last time, you didn't live even half as long as most humans. Here... your style will net you a week, at best."

"I'm no average thief, you know!"

"Oh, I believe that you are indeed an average thief. The good ones never get caught, do they? Besides... here, in Afterworld, where your soul itself is your very life, people won't hesitate to kill you if they feel threatened, or in revenge. You take their things for your own... and your family! Shall I tell your children that everything they own is paid for by others, who were robbed by a criminal by the name of Jake?"

"Seriously, just shut up and get out of my face already!" Jake snapped. Death smiled.

"Just one last thing. You killed Tadao, and then died, yourself, not long after. Only one of you was meant to die, but I'm not saying who." Death smiled, "So, will you seek him out, or your family?"

Death vanished, scythe and all, as Jake rushed off in search of his wife and kids.

[Pinkie Pie]

Sorry to give a kind of "teaser" of sorts, and I know this will probably piss off Smash, but this isn't my actual "next" post, meaning that I still have to do the one for my character before we can move on. I'll try to get that one done tomorrow after work. As for tonight, I have to go back in to do inventory, so I got this part written out while I had time.

(It's somewhat "rushed", even though I thought it out beforehand I didn't have that long available to get it typed out, so... yeah. If it's disappointing in it's content, I apologize.)

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

Death could feel the wind blow past her hair. However, she could hear no new voices over it. A temporary reprieve from the endless arrival of souls, the result of their departure from the world of the living. Five of those souls had arrived too soon, and they had been met and informed of the situation. She herself had only met with two of them, but she was confident in her partner's attention to his duties, even if she did disagree with his methods.

There was a sadness in her heart that she could only have met with two of the wayward souls, for it meant that the others had succumbed to some vice in their lifetime. Not a permanent damnation, for there was always an opportunity for the willing to repent, even if the Afterworld, but their initial arrival into this world would be more difficult.

As she held to her scythe, she could hear her partner approaching from behind, full of his usual energy.

"Hey, what's this, a break? Didn't realize we had the time."

She turned and gave a gentle, yet melancholy and sad smile to her counterpart.

"They've all arrived, then?"

"Hah! Like you don't know. Yeah, I just met with the last one. Classic cases, too, all of them. Two of them happen to know each other already, which gives me a chance to have a bit of fun."

The girl gave a hurt look to her partner, though it was not filled with surprise.

"How sad that you think of this dilemma as an amusement..." she breathed.

Her partner gave a smirk.

"Oh come on. It's nothing that didn't already happen during their lifetime. Besides, if I treated this job as seriously as you do, I'd wind up in your constant state of emotional blubbering."

She said nothing in response to this, turning away slightly from his gaze. She remained silent for a long time, so much so that she almost thought she could see the smallest signs of regret in her partner's face for what he had said. She knew better, however, knowing that such emotions were beyond his capability of expression.

"...do we know why this has happened yet?" she finally spoke.

"Hm? Oh, those guys? Nah, not a clue. The only possible explanation I could think of was that fight between the two of them not going the way it should have... but that witch you met with died before they did. Unless something happened with her that set the others off, I don't thiink there was any kind of real relationship between their deaths, aside from the obvious."

"...something is going to happen soon," she glanced over at her partner with sadness in her eyes. "These people might be the ones to cause it, or perhaps they were sent here by some force to try to prevent it... in either case, we should keep a close watch on them." Her partner shrugged.

"Yeah, sure. I'm interested in those two anyways. The other one's kinda the same old crap I'm used to dealing with, but I'll keep an eye on him too, just in case."

She saw his ears prick, and he looked up to the sky. The wind brushed against her as well, and she could hear it as well. He returned his gaze down to her and grinned.

"Sounds like break time's over, eh? Guess I'll see you around."

[Dark Luther]

Hi, sorry - but is it too late to join in the RP?

[Pinkie Pie]

Hi, sorry - but is it too late to join in the RP?

We're still pretty early into it, go ahead and get a character card up and an intro post made and you're in. I can fix the "narration" post I just did to reflect the addition of a character if I need to. Besides, that'll even out the number of characters, which will be nice.

EDIT : At this point, again to keep things even, a "good" alignment character would be nice. Though if you're dead set on making an "evil/violent/whatever" alignment one I won't stop you.

[Dark Luther]

Luther had never wished to be part of his party...,
he had never wished to be part of any guild either...
But here he was, doing something he knew to be foolish with a group that was not only incompetant, but also in certain cases untrustworthy...

Some were head strong and arrogant, prone to impulsive action, others were simple minded and allowed simple cumpulses to guide their path..., and some were just simply naive...
Seemed like every week the guild would tag another fool with him...
And they never even remembered his name..., they would just call him ranger..... idiots...

It's probably why he decieved them so easily...

The guild had charged them with the theft of an important religious artifact - claiming it was for the better and the the religious order holding it was fanatical and guilty of past inquisition, and that many neighboring powers thought it best...
It didn't take much to convince the party. Though every time they struck one of their churches, Luther questioned the fact that why are they attacking these men if they seem peaceful and pious..., the group would simply say:
"The guild said their evil..., that's enough for me..."
"Besides, if their so good, why did they have weapons..."

"They never said their evil...",
" And one can't blame someone for trying to defend themselves..."
Luther would think...., he used to say it, but knew they didn't listen anymore...


He wasn't a good man, but guilt can hit anyone..., and he wished to right his guilt for he knew he was doing wrong...
The more he looked into what he had seen, the more he was convinced his guild was what was lying to him...
It was not long before he contacted the order...
His party now knew the location of the artifact, and he offered the order to return it if they would forgive him for his sins...


After a dangerous mission through the catacombs - his party finally acquired what they searched for..., but during the night the Ranger stole away from camp with the artifact and met with agents of the order...
He was told he would be forgiven for his crimes against their faith - but only him..., that's all he would be given...
He was thus warned that if he were to return to his group, to part ways from them before they reached Sallow Pass, for it was there were they would pay for their sins...

Luther scoffed, as he had no intention of staying with these fools..., and the agents left him in the darkness...
He soon after left, he would not hear his party awaken, or what they would say afterwards finding both him and the artifact gone...

But just as guilt had tore inside him for other deeds..., he again stopped...
Some had been arrogant, some had been rude...,
and yes most of them were naive if not simply foolish...
But they were not bad men or women..., and they didn't deserve death when they only wished to do good...
"Damn it, you idiots"

He rushed back to cut off his group before they reached the pass..., he would stop them..., and confess what he had done, but at least warn them what was beyond them...
But then he though...
If he told them..., they would most certainly turn on him..., they may even do so without him speaking a word...
He certainly couldn't take all of them in a direct fight...
And what afterwards..., they would certainly tell the guild - and one who goes against the guild buys a price on his head...

He saw his group..., the anger in their eyes was obvious...,
he knew he couldn't just tell them...



Farther down the road he waited..., standing completely still...
he knew it had to go perfectly in order to work correctly...
His group came by and began to walk past him..., they could not see him..., and he held his breath in order for not even a noise to show...

then the last two were just about to pass him...,
Taious and Piercy - the two arcane users of the group, and he knew them to be his largest threat...

With a hand at his sword, he drew first his right - striking down Taious ( an older and frail man ), and then drew his left at Piercy ( a round and foppish young man -more akin to show than fight )...
as the sword slashed through each - instead of blood, a blue force sprayed out and to some extent was pulled out by his blade...

Down fell both men - though not much as warriors, they were indeed the greatest threat in a fight...
Their magic now subdued, luckily for them, they were only unconscious...


As he had struck, his powers to remain invisible had now vanished - and the rest of the party now looked at him - sword drawn and in the middle of the lot of them, and their two comrades on the floor...

Time was not wasted and Palos and the small Iago flanked him..., meanwhile Tonya on horseback drew her bow...
Luther quickly drew a vial from his belt and as Iago charged at him - he threw the contents ( burned bone and salt ) into his face... blinding the rogue...

Palos came down on him with his sword, but Luther raised his blade at a downward angle and allowed the blade to slide down...., lunging Palos forward, and with a quick shift Luther passed him - running the butt of his sword into Palos' head...
knocking the gullible war cleric, unconscious...

An arrow flew and Luther was struck by Tonya,
they both had quarrelled the most out of the group...
and it was no surpise she was the first to draw his blood...

He drew a small black long knife and threw it, not at her but her horse...
The horse whine from the sting..., and seconds later as she shot another arrow..., the horse collapsed from the poison..., bringing her down with it...

He had no time to see though, the blind rogue had recovered and now charged him from his side -
Luther quickly drew a set of bolas and threw them at the rogues feet..., catching the rogue seconds before his charge's conclusion...
but even while he fell - he drew and stabbed with his dirk..., catching Luther on the shoulder as he could not dodge while he in turn charged at the rogue and stabbed him with his sword..., again no blood....., though Luther was indeed bleeding.

Another arrow - in the back now...
Luther followed his hands down the sword handle and held the chain now attached to it...,
with a quick rotation he let it loose and it flew wrapping around Tonya's bow...,
with a quick jerk the beautiful bow was split in two...,
causing severe anger in Tonya's eyes as she drew her greatsword...

" first my horse, now my bow..., your going to die after this Ranger "...
She charged full force - fully raged...

Luther holding still, at the last second threw his sword to his right - distracting Tonya for a split second as her eyes followed the weapon...,
she soon noticed him as he leap rolled to his left and past her...

" Coward ", she yelled...,
only to notice a small pin stuck to her leg....

" Oh fuck you...", she said as her eyes rolled up and she fell unconscious...


" You'll be fine..., though that's never really been a good thing before...",
Luther sighed as he bled..., and watched his friends lie unconscious...,
at least he had saved their lives...


Then..., an arrow...
It's as if he blinked...., he didn't know why...
it's as if he had gotten a sore throat in a split second...

an arrow head potruded from his neck...,
he couldn't see it, but he felt the tip sticking out from the bottom of his throat...
he felt it with bloodied fingers....

He turned, but collapsed in the effort..., his vision fading as he fell..., only briefly seeing one of the agents of the order..., a crossbow at hand...

" Figures ", he gurgled with closed eyes...


" We said your sins are forgiven my son, we never said anything of your life being spared..."

and the world faded...,
Luther felt...nothing...
it's as those times he had been close to sleep, and felt himself drift away...

...he just drifted....





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part 2:





I was suddenly awake...
Luther was not the type to wake up slowly, but there was no grogginess..., no feeling of being tired..., it's as if he hadn't been asleep at all....

...Or was he still asleep...?

The world around him was dark..., yet - it's as if a full moon was out... as a blue light illuminated just enough to get around...
His clothes seemed cold..., as if he had left them outside and just been put on...

" I could have sworn I quit drinking...", he said sarcasticly to himself...
slowly he began to understand something was wrong...,
how had he arrived here...
He looked around...

" Where the hell am I now..."
The area briefly illuminated by dark blue light - with only a dark purple sky being seen in holes of the overcast above...
The buildings around him were simple, square and gray with pavement on the frienges...
The building he emerged from was gutted, missing a roof - just gray stone walls with numerous square holes for windows..., seeming almost like a cage...,
beyond him was a doorway with no door, he could see small stone steps and a long road beyond him sorrounded by these gray buildings...

" Why is it I'm always finding myself in places I never meant to be in..., something's got to be wrong with me..."
His shirt still cold, he threw it over his shoulder...
He lowered the front of his wide straw hat to cover the top part of his face, and placing a toothpick between his teeth...,
walked through the doorway...



As he crossed the stone doorway,
a young girl of perhaps 14 waited for him..., long hair and innocent expression....
He saw her by his peripheral...

" How do you do sir, I'm sorry to startle you..., but........."

...the girl trailed of speaking - as she noticed he didn't stop even after noticing her..., he just walked past her...
She gave a perplexed, slightly angered look...,
he had just walked past her - with a bit of a serious look on his face, he just walked past her and didn't say anything...

" Sir..., sir..."
She followed him, still speaking politely..., as a child would sound when asking something of a stranger...

" Hmm..., oh..sorry - I was thinking..., didn't notice you...sorry..."
Said Luther as he turned..., a stumbling in words a bit as he was caught unaware...

" It's alright..., I can understand how you would be confused..., that's why I need to explain to you what has happened..."
She took a serious if not caring tone..., as a child then would do when telling he parents something important...
" I'm afraid to say this to you, but you have died...,
your memory will soon return to you, and you will understand you have passed on to the next world...,
this..., all you see before you is the Afterworld..."

" ......... "
She couldn't see his blank expression, hidden behind the hat...

" That's kind of you..., thank you for the help..., now run along..., it's quite dark out, and it would not look right for someone like me to be seen with a pretty young girl like you at this late an hour..."
He patted her head..., and turned around..., and walked away...

She became aggravated, as he walked away..., putting on his overshirt again..., and stretching his arms out as he yawned...
She marched right up to him and tugged on his shirt...
As expected he turned around and looked down at her...

" I don't think you understand who I am....",
she said in quite a serious tone...., her age seeming older despite her appearance
She gave him a very specific look - looking him straight in the eyes to show quite deliberately her bright red eyes...

He smiled and brought his hat up..., showing his own red eyes...
" Oh, I see..., you have them too..."
....
She glared at him... trying to tell him something with just a look..., a skill only women of any age have the capacity for..., and men specificly are devoid of any concept of understanding..."

" Look, I'm very flattered..., your a very pretty young girl...,
and there aren't many of us around....,
but I'm afraid I'm a bit old for you..."

He turned around and for an uncounted time, began to walk away from her...

" I'm sure you'll find a nice boy when your old enough..."
He said as he walked away....,
her bright red eyes wide, her attitude no longer cross..., just surprised...



" haha..., kids.... ;
why can't it ever be an older girl...."
He said to himself as he turned at a corner..., not really knowing where he was going..., again lost in thought...

As he walked and made another corner - there in one of the doorways in front of him stood a stoic character..., much taller than he..., in flowing black robes and holding a scythe...
the expression so serious on his lower face, it seemed angry to him...

But just as he turned the corner and saw him,
he lowered his hat and made a round about and went back the way he came...,
leaving the hooded figure simply standing there...,


" Man, what was up with that weirdo...,
he was definitely looking for trouble.......,
oh well - not my problem..."

Luther walked further, his hand at the front of his hat, lowering it again over his face...,
as he walked further a wind wished by and he could have sworn he heard a noise from his right...
turning slightly and giving a quick look showed nothing there,
but as soon as he looked back - there was the man in black...,
in the middle of the building's sidewalk - right in front of his path...

" sorry, excuse me..."
Luther said nodding his hat and simply walking around him...,
leaving a the young man in black simply staring forward..., almost about to say something...



" Man, him again..."
Luther thought as he rounded the corner...,
only to find that man again..., the hood well down and showing a very stern and from the looks of his face, ignored individual...

Luther quickly stopped in front of him and looked slightly up - tilting the hat so only one of his eyes barely showed...


" Alright, this is most irregular, I've had enough of this..., this is quite frustrating..."
Said the man, in a deep yet young voice - refined and serious...
Then, to his surprise, Luther smiled...

" I know, I know..."
The cloaked man looked perplexed...

" I know what you mean - we keep trying to avoid each other, and by doing so we keep running into each other..., and becoming awkward...
It's actually quite funny if one thinks about it..."

The cloaked man making a face of utter confusion, simply looks on as Luther pats him on the side of his arm...

" Alright buddy - I'll make it easy...,
I'll walk this way..., and you can walk wherever you want - just not too fast or we'll keep bumping into each other..."

and with that Luther briskly walked away from the cloaked man..., his stern look remaining but looking from side to side with his eyes not knowing what to say...

" Hehe, talked my way out of that one...",
Luther laughed to himself..., as he briskly turned the corner and walked aside of another building...
hoping to make as much space between him and that disturbing, possibly gay man...


In his hurry - he almost walked right past her without noticing her..., but he did - and in turn stopped - took his hat off - and walked backwards until he reached the doorway where she stood standing and waiting for him...

" Your dead Luther, now stop being stupid.... "
Said the short young girl..., young...of only 16, but quite beautiful for her age......
Long curved hair and dark tanned skin..., her eyes were slender and foreign, and she wore an honest and right to the point look that no one - including him - could ever reply or talk back to...
in fact he never had been able to know what to say when she gave him that look......

" Always to the point ain't ya...."
Luther smirked, but was cut off...

" I'm not her...",
She said quickly and again to the point - showing she did not want any confusion....

" Figured..., she is de "
Luther again was cut off,

" That doesn't matter here..., it's one of the few places where it doesn't actually..."
She said sadly looking down and to the side...

" So what do you want with me, just mess with my head - how do you know her...or me for that matter... "
Luther became angry and placed his hand on the doorway, leaning over the young girl...
She merely stood her ground and stared at him...

The moment seemed too familiar to him, and past memories caused him to back and turn away...
" She always stood her ground too..."
The memories bothered him...
He shook them away, as he shook his head..., and stood there calm again and collected - but just as he was about to turn back and look at her again - a string of memories flashed in his head...
The Guild, his party, the order, that evening...his friends on the floor..., a crossbow bolt through his throat...
A spark hit him and he fell to one knee, his hand at his forehead - his head cracking with pain..., like a nail driven above his right eye...

It quickly faded as she spoke to him from behind...
" You remember now don't you...."

He was quickly shocked back into reality,
removing his hand from his forehead and lifting his head - he looked straight ahead of him...

Before she could say another word - he sprinted away...,
never looking back...

[Pinkie Pie]

Death walked up behind his counterpart, laughing heartily. She turned, with a hurt look on her face, and shook her head.

"You weren't supposed to come here, I was supposed to meet him alone."

"Yeah, cause that was working really well. Piece of work, that one, huh?" His smirk didn't fade, even at the sad look being directed at him. His partner seemed to give up on trying to make him feel bad, and removed her gaze from his face.

"It's unfortunate..." She started, "I wish he would have allowed me to assist him, to let him understand... now he doesn't even realize that he has a chance to go back..."

"Yeah, so? Let him stay. Stubborn asshole doesn't even want to give Death the time of day, let him live out eternity here then."

His partner rarely got angry. In fact, he couldn't even remember her getting mad before, it was always a depressed and sad look he was given. He was sure she had never actually been truely angry before this, because he was certain he would of remembered it. The look she gave him, for the first time, completely chilled him, and he almost gave a start at it. Her eyes blazed, and any mortal probably would have been killed by the enraged aura she gave off. He found that his smirk had vanished from his face, and for once Death felt the icy hand of fear grip him, something that before he would have thought impossible.

Though to him it felt like hours, her anger vanished in seconds, and in a steady, calm voice, she spoke.

"No. These souls, all of them, good and evil, must be allowed their chance to return to their world. Any less could further disrupt the balance of fate. Whether they make the decision to stay here or not is up to them... but they must be given that choice."

Death had regained his composure, and cleared his throat, trying to shake off what he'd just experienced.

"Er... yeah. So I should go after that guy then, huh?"

His partner shook her head.

"No, he will not listen to us. Our only hope for him is that one of the others will be drawn to him, and that in meeting him, he'll come to understand the situation on his own. His instincts are sharp, though he seems to block out what he doesn't want to face... But I feel that he'll understand things on his own in time."

Death shrugged.

"Alright then, whatever. I'm off then, we still got our day jobs to take care of."

He turned and left his partner behind, firmly convinced that pissing her off was an incredibly bad idea.

[Pinkie Pie]

Okay, so.... yeah. Next part for Tea's story.

The next few rounds should more or less be the characters trying to accept their deaths.

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

The wind was still there.

Tea had been standing in the same spot for what seemed like hours, with that one thought on her mind.

The wind was still there. She could feel it, brushing her hair back and forth, forming ripples in her dress.

If it was still there… how could she be dead?

She still had not completely grasped the concept of what was going on. All she could do was just stare in the direction that she’d seen Death. The image of that scythe was still burned into her mind. But the wind was bringing her back to herself. The problem came when she tried to take in the fact that she had died.

Alright. So.

Yes.

She was dead. Right. Got that.

She blanked out again, not able to accept it. She decided to try it a different way.

She was in an afterlife of sorts. From here, she could go back to her own world.

Eventually.

Maybe.

And there were others. How many others, she didn’t know, but Death had mentioned others that would be there. She’d have to find them.

How?

She shook herself, trying to regain complete control of her mind, which kept veering off in other directions and then crashing.

Alright. Facts.

She was here, in this place. It was a nice enough place. Grass, wind, trees. Got it.

She had to find at least one other person. They’d be looking too, assumedly, so maybe they’d find each other without too much effort. That one took a bit more effort to swallow, but she took the optimistic route and accepted it.

So, she’d find these people, and then…?

Crash, burn, back to step one.

Okay. So she was here, in this place…

This kind of thought process went on for a few minutes. She had by this time, at least, gotten to the point of accepting her situation, more or less. It wasn’t too hard once she decided to just leave the concept of death out of it. She didn’t feel any different, and so just acted on the assumption that she was alive. It worked. Kinda.

What was hanging her up at the moment was that she didn’t really know what to do next. Even if she did find any of these other people, even assuming that was even remotely possible…

She sighed. She knew that this was getting her nowhere. She would have a better chance of finding whoever she was looking for if she was moving. Right? Or maybe standing still was better. If they were looking for her…

Or maybe they were standing still right now, thinking the same thing. Darn.

Alright. She had to do something. She reached up to her hat, taking the Ace of Spades out of it. Holding it gently between the finger and thumb of her right hand, she gave it a soft flick with her left. It spun, almost of it’s own will. She loosened her grip on the card, and still it spun, propelled by some unseen force. It was all she had left from her old teacher, and some of his will was still imprinted on it. She’d used the card in similar ways before when she needed advice.

She waited, her eyes closed, then felt the compulsion to clamp her grip down onto it. The card immediately stopped spinning. She opened her eyes and glanced at it. It tip of it was pointing directly in front of her.

She sat down on her broom, and gently pushed herself in that direction. She had no idea what she’d find that way, but she was finding nothing while standing in place.

A minute or two of silent travel passed. The green field was beautiful, but it seemed to go on forever. She could make out mountains in the background, but could not properly gauge how far away they were.

Suddenly, she could make out a strip of grey from the endless green. She slowed down as she got near it, to find that it was a paved road of sorts. The pavement was simply a row of large, flat stones that seemed to somehow fail to fit together as they should have. It wasn’t something she would have wanted to walk on, particularly being barefoot as she was now, but it was a road, and roads tended to lead to places.

She glanced in both directions, and decided to go on impulse. She turned left, following the path, not knowing who or what she’d find.

[Miles]

Oh my -.- this is pretty bad but it's the best I can do for now

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

There was nothing but the sound of the waves; gently hitting the sea shore.

Ruby let out a small sigh, taking in the sound that would normally make some feel at ease or at least cure a mind full of stressful thoughts.
It was hard for her to understand that she was...Well...Dead...

"I always thought death would be...colder, darker...Emptier." The thoughts rolled around inside her head.
The warm sun was still beating down on her. Part of her was willing to lay there forever and ignore this whole "death" scenario.

"If I ignore it...Maybe it won't matter.." She closed her eyes and tried to let her complicated thoughts go. "Huh...Like that ever works."
She was too smart to consider, even for a moment, that ignoring all that she had been told would make it so it had never happened.

She sat up for a moment, letting herself focus on that wide ocean that covered the horizon.
Clearly...She wasn't going that way.
She wanted to stand but her legs wouldn't allow it but then she suddenly came to a rather random conclusion.

"If being dead is this similar to being alive...I bet there's caves and dungeons and even great big castles just full of gems...Diamonds, Sapphires...Emeralds...Oh Rubies~"

She decided that being dead didn't matter if it felt pretty much the same as being alive.
She just had to be extra careful...Cos Dying hear...Would mean that she'd cease to exist entirely.

"Alright! Well, I only died once in nineteen years. What are the chances of me dying again before another nineteen are up?"

Although it seemed like she was speeding along a little, Ruby felt very concerned about the whole thing. Letting herself fall into a pit of despair wasn't her style, though. And she was willing to ignore her fears in a hope that they would vanish over time.
She felt that if she came across something worthwhile in this world...She'd have nothing to fear and her journey back home...Wouldn't seem so long.

Standing strong and stable on both legs, she felt ready to turn her back on the sea and head further inland.
From here, she could see no pathways, no dirt roads...No nothing.
Only what looked like a big rock that blocked her view.
She could easily get around it or even over it, if she had to. It wasn't a problem.

She took big strides toward this rock, her arms swinging, a pout across her features.
Acting big in a situation that made you feel small always worked well for her.

"Hm?" Standing before this rock, she noticed a sign next to an arch way.
She knelt down, the sign and the arch being much lower than she was.

"This is your only hope..."
"The only way through..."
Arguing with sign seemed pointless and crawling through the arch did seem easier than any other option she had.
She got to her knees and elbows and began shuffling into the arch.
It looked long and dark but she could see light at the end.
Ruby had been in much tighter spots, so this was nothing.
Being the adventurer she was...Having a fear of tight spaces would over complicate things.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever and all this crawling was starting to take its toll on her arms and knees.

After what seemed like hours of crawling, Ruby finally made it through to the other side.
She sat herself against the rock and let her eyes adjust to the sunlight.

A sense of horror crept over her as she took in her surroundings.
There was nothing but grass...For miles...
A giant clearing, no humps, bumps...No hills...No trees...Just grass.

"I don't want to be dead anymore."
Her hands took her face for a moment as the stress got to her.
She was all for exploring new areas but she normally started from a known area and could find her way back.
Now she was starting from nowhere...Heading for nowhere and had absolutely nowhere to go back to.

She had never experienced this feeling before. The feeling of not wanting to go anywhere, not wanting to wander into unknown territory.
Never before had she come across the feeling of being unprotected and insecure.
It was almost like anything could get to her. She no longer felt the excitement of being in what could be...Undiscovered land.

"I...I...Need...Help..."

Memories of her past came back to her. Whenever faced with something that gave her an uncomfortable feeling...She'd always start to remember things that she'd rather leave to rot.

Now she was starting to feel what death truly was.
It was cold, dark and empty.

The only way to go was ahead but right now, she just wanted to stay put and fully take in what was going on.

[Nickelback]

Haha I didn't expect posts so soon. So hey, it's my turn so I think I'll post mine.

---

For awhile, Tadao just stood there, staring at the spot where the embodiment of Death had vanished, comprehending it all, turning everything over in his mind. It wasn't going well. And he knew it. Every time he came to the part where he died and ended up here, it didn't make sense. He could feel the moon reaching through the dark clouds above, and the heat of fires below. How could he feel this if he was dead? He turned it over in his mind...

This was some kind of dream. It had to be. No way could he have been sent here. He probably just passed out from his injuries and would wake up and feel pain again. Right? Wouldn't he? But something was amiss, something terribly wrong. He again glanced at the gravestone where Jake's name was crossed out and his own put in its place.

A cheap trick...Nothing more...That person was lying, who was he kidding? He had me going...Death...Yeah right.

At least, that's how he perceived it. He noted a gate behind him, leading outside the tall tower-like walls surrounding this...What was it? An execution zone? It did not matter, it was not a place he wanted to stay. Not at all. Still hearing the cries of help and screams of terror emanating from below the pits of steam and smoke, he decided to make his way for the gate ahead, when he found he couldn't move his feet, no matter how hard he tried.

What's wrong? What has my feet?

He looked down, except that there was nothing barring their path, they simply wouldn't move. He then knew the reason...Despair. He shoved it away, refusing to accept a feeling in that nature when he needed to get out. He needed to get out. Now.

He felt his feet begin to move, and he started to shuffle, then walk, and finally run towards the gate...But halfway there, his foot sunk below the ground, breaking it. He looked down and what he saw terrified him. His own face and body lie in the same grave he was just beside. Nearly screaming in terror, he withdrew his foot and half-tumbled half-ran to the gate, drawing his katana and feverishly slashing the lock, eventually causing the rusty chains to snap.

Shoving it open, he ran through it, watching the enclosed hill of death fade away, but the corners of his eyes perceived something else as the walls left the majority of his vision. He looked around, and saw for miles, nothing. Nothing...except a marsh. A dark marsh, its deep purple and green weeds rising from the watery surface in the pale moonlight. He realized he was on the ground that it surrounded, his next steps into it...Who knows what could be in there. He fell backwards from nausea, landing on his buttocks. He crawled backwards, his mind scrambled.

No...This...Isn't possible...No...I feel hopeless.

He felt a rising mass in his throat, and turned over to throw up onto the dirt. His nausea passing, he looked around, trying to regain his composure, trying to feel in-control as he always had throughout his life. He had never freaked out before like this. What was wrong with him? He now saw ahead of him, a path. A path made not out of water, but clouds. Clouds of mist that rose up from the water, as if beckoning him to follow them. He rose slightly, still buckling from his recent attack of nausea. And stumbled towards them mindlessly, his brain still trying to take it all in.

Only impulse told him to move forward, nothing else. He stepped into the clouds and they lifted him, as if a solid path. It was unlike walking on pillows, which would toss you to the side of you weren't careful, but as if a path of stone, an invisible bridge of sorts. It wound through the marshes, to where, he did not know. But he would find out. He looked back, to his entry point into this world...How did he get here, again? He couldn't remember...

He happened to take a look down, to his ring on his right hand, an amethyst colored gem in a ring made of silver. It concerned him. What was it from? He recognized it from somewhere. It triggered something, but he couldn't figure out what. A familiar face? Was it someone who gave this to him? He couldn't remember much...Only that he was brought here. Was there something more?

Shrugging it off, he took a few steps forward, before he went dark. Everything blacked out, and he fell face-first onto the path. He awoke a few seconds later, his mind surging with new information, and he felt the icy hand of fear grip him as he realized his fate, and he remembered. He remembered. He opened his eyes, now tearful, as he looked as his ring...The ring his brother gave to him before he went on a mission of soul searching. What has he done, has he forsaken his family to be alone now? He buried his face in his hands, sinking into the utter fear and despair that he so tried to fight off.

I am dead...I have left everything behind...And now there is nothing...

But wait...He remembered also...A chance. A chance to regain his life. To go back to the way things were. To go back to his home, and his family. He raised his head to look at the marshes.

This is what I'm going to do. I will not falter now...To falter would be to lose that chance. There are others, too...I must find them.

Slowly he picked himself up...And wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his glove. Ensuring his sword was sealed within its sheath, he trudged on down the endless path, hoping it led to somewhere, for it is the only thing he can follow that could possibly give him hope.

[Rainbow Dash]

Raniel stared blankly into the distance. Semi-counciously, he started to move foward. His eyes remained unfocused, with no purpose in his steps. He continued foward, too trapped within the moment to keep track of how long or how far he had traveled.

He suddenly snapped out of his trance. He was in a field jagged with rocks. "Dammit," he said, "where the hell is everyone... I need someone... now..." He gazed about his environment, and noticed somebody leaning against one of the rocks, though he couldnt get a good look at the person since he was facing away from Raniel.

Raniel sped up his pace. "Hey!" he shouted to them. As he drew nearer, he drew his sword. "Stand up! NOW!" He grabbed the arm of the resting person, pulled him to his feet, and stabbed him in the gut. Only then did Raniel notice that this person was missing a good portion of his face. "DAMMIT!" Raniel yelled. He continued assaulting the corpse with all his foce. He left the scattered remains of the corpse behind and continued moving foward. He felt better now, but not much.

[Snips]

Sorry for the delay, I decided to condense my post since one thing after another keeps happening and it would have teken forever to finish this properly, so here's the short version!

----------

Jake lay back against the tree, eyes closed. He had come a long way, the wasteland he had woken up in was no longer even visible through the thick trees. He opened his eyes and sighed. Was it all a dream? No, he was pretty sure it was real, he could still feel the nerves in his arms tingling from being covered in flames. But, what about that apparition? The man who claimed to be Death?

Jake didn't want to think about it. He knew he must be dead, but chose to ignore the fact until he was more emotionally capable of dealing with it.

"Whatever the case, I'm here now." He told himself as he closed his eyes again. He'd manage, like he always did. He knew what he did best, and that was all he could do to survive. Theft. In the town where he grew up, the only money anyone had at all was what they stole from the rich, and even that didn't last long due to taxes. Jake sighed once more. "Steal or have my life stolen, it wasn't the best childhood, and it's what did me in later on...."

Jake nodded off to sleep, and dreamt about the recent events. An unnamed man came to him, asking him for his assistance in a touchy matter which could never be discussed with anyone. Jake agreed, not knowing the terms, and the man had Jake infiltrate a secretive organization and steal some computer data for him. Of course, the organization came for revenge and....

Jake woke with a start, rolling on the grass, attempting to douse the nonexistant flames. His breathing was quick and broken, but after a moment he calmed down a bit. "DAMNIT!" he screamed, punching the tree. He was so angry he couldn't even feel the pain, or the blood flowing out of his hands. "My thieving, it's how I've survived my whole life, it's how I provided for my family, and it's what caused everyone's deaths! Yes, I know, I'm a greedy son of a bitch and all, but I've always been poor, money is just so appealing to me for obvious reasons! Damn... what should I do?"

Jake got up and once again started walking off without direction or purpose, hoping to find some trace of his family, or maybe a village of some sort.

[Dark Luther]

Luther sprinted down the street never looking back...,
not making a turn, not even glancing anywhere but at his feet as he ran at full pace...

His heart beating harder and harder - he pushed everything and anything he had in his mind away as he continued to run..., now only feeling his chest pounding...
he simply ran faster...hoping his heart would simply burst....
and then...he stopped...

A tree appeared just in front of him..., and he barely stopped from crashing into it..., his hand grabbed at the bark as he leaned against it...
only now did he raise his head, his hands running along his forehead pushing up his hair heavy with sweat..., his hat was gone - probably fallen...


" I..., what..., ahh "
The memories pushed back - his mind was blank now only with exhaustion - he collapsed with the pain returning to his head, one on knee he held his hand above his right eye - as if it would burst any second...
and then he fell back...

The sky wasn't there - only overcast now..., it was night, but the sky was still gray...
As he fell, as his head hit the cold grass - his head stopped pulsing..., he looked on at the sky and the memories came back...

His party..., what had happened..., his death...
...........he's dead....

" I'm dead....,
.....so..., where am I ? "

.....More memories came forward..., the little girl and her words..., and strange man in black...
...and...

" why was she there... "
He said in an almost angry, indignant manner..."

" Who was she really..."


.....No answers would come of course...,
and he would lay there..., the memories and thoughts..., and questions...., no longer the shock and pain from before -
in fact, he didn't know why he reacted as he did....
but though still troublesome, he was back in clear thought....

and finally, as he raced again and again through everything - the main question came back..., and he stood as he said it once more to himself...

" Where am I...? "
Though he said it softly and to himself, he looked around half expecting an answer...

" ............., ...I'm such an idiot..., should have heard the little girl out..."

" She's back there..., inside that place"
He looked grimly at the gutted city, a contrast to the soft grass surrounding it and the loose trees behind him that obscured beyond...

" But that's also where the others were..."
He looked down and thought of his options - and decided with a snap of his head up to go forward...

" Well, whatever they are - I'm heading in..., and at least pick up my hat..."



He reached up to lower the brim of his hat, and felt nothing - and feeling foolish fluttered his hair and put the hands into his pockets..., and walked forward, exhaling a deep deep breath...

The buildings were all gutted - from appearances - but not all as much as the one he awoke in...
Many still had roofs, and their walls, and from appearances their floors...

It was darker though - and it was hard to see inside of them..., but they were missing their windows and doors...,
almost appearing as caves inside..., they were just the barest buildings...

he couldn't help but look to his sides...,
the sky was darker and the buildings were completely dark inside...
they gave him a bad feeling as he walked past them - walking not on the sidewalk but in the middle of the street...,
with a slight gust every so often, running behind him and instilling a low howl...,

" like the devil blowing into a large jug... "
he said to himself - pulling his shirt in around his neck...

Then..., he noticed it - laying there right in front of him...,
unmoved in the middle of a four way street...
Almost strange in his mind really, that the wind hadn't taken it and blown it of somewhere...
He ran towards it before another gust could take it...,
but alas - the wind which had been blowing at his direction - blew the hat to his right...

" Damn it..."
He became extremely annoyed and pulled his hands from his pocket and ran after it..., he felt extremely foolish for some reason, chasing after the hat - but he did, making the turn and seeing it run off...

" Where's it going "
he thought angrily, as the wind had stopped and it was still skipping off...
His eyes trained on it he got close and lunged just as it skipped again - almost falling forward as he pounced on it - landing on one knee...

he stopped cold upon grabbing it though - his hands not moving, nor his body, nor even his eyes...
they were both trained forward..., as a pair of feet stood right in front of him, just a pace from the hat...

[Pinkie Pie]

The road seemed to go on forever.

The entire thing seemed to stretch on without end, and the lack of any real change to her surroundings did little to dissuade that illusion. It had gotten so bad that she had actually picked up speed beyond normal walking pace, which was something she almost never did. Her broom was perfectly capable of going at speeds much higher than even this, but she just didn't like to go fast. You missed the view, the beauty of whatever was around you.

She was thoroughly sick of beauty at the moment, however. More specifically, she was sick of the green and blue beauty of flatness with a strip of grey down the middle. The trees had even thinned out now, becoming rare sights. The optimistic side of her had originally decided that the sudden lack of them would mean that she'd finally have something to judge her distance by, but without any other... well, anything around, it was a pointlessly frustrating idea.

Finally she had just given up entirely on trying to enjoy the view and had started picking up speed, hoping to get to wherever it was that she was going.

An unfortunate and unforeseen consequence in her decision to go faster was that the lack of anything also made it hard to judge speed. Her mind ventured into the suggestion that she may have wanted to slow down again to find some way to regain judgment of just how fast she really was going, but her mind found it hard to communicate with the rest of her body, which was busy crashing into an old man and falling to the ground.

Tea's mind stood dumb at the interruption for a moment, then realized that some sort of reaction was called for. She snapped back into reality and jumped to her feet.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry! Are you hurt? I didn't mean to-"

The old man laughed, and Tea felt herself relax. He was either unharmed, in which case a simple apology would suffice, or he was out of his mind, which meant she could pretend to be a tree and probably get away equally well. She found her broom, which was also unharmed, and she decided with relief that she hadn't been going all that fast after all.

"Fine, fine, young lady. Some excitement to my day is always welcome, it's not everyday that pretty young girls fall from the sky onto me."

Tea wasn't sure whether or not to laugh at this, and tried to make a noise that she could pass as a giggle or a sneeze depending on what was appropriate. This wound up being harder than she thought, and so gave up entirely on a response to the joke.

"I... I didn't expect to find anyone out here, you see, and the road seemed to go on for so long that-"

"Ah, the road, yes. It can be quite an obstacle to overcome for someone who does not know it's secrets."

"S...secrets? What kind of-"

"You are new to this place, are you not? You have the look of a newcomer about you."

The old man seemed to make a hobby of interrupting, and Tea wondered if it was possible to complete a thought around him.

"Er, well, yes, in a way, I suppose," A sudden thought came to her, and she raced to get it out. "I don't suppose you-"

She hadn't been fast enough.

"Yes, I thought so. It's easy to tell, with some of those who've just died, particularly when they go for the road and get themselves lost like that."

Tea didn't know how to respond to that. The reference to her death unnerved her, especially after all the time and effort it had taken her to simply ignore the point to keep her moving. The comment that she was lost confused her. Not the part about being lost in general, she'd completely accepted that fact, but the part about being lost on the road specifically was what she had a harder time working out.

"Did I.... did I go the wrong way?" She inquired. It was a silly question, there was nowhere she was really going, and both sides had to lead somewhere, so there couldn't really have been a "wrong" way. The man must have assumed she was trying to get to whatever was on the opposite side of the road. He laughed again.

"No, no... there is no "wrong" way down the road. The road itself is the wrong way, at least for one like you at the moment."

Tea didn't understand, and said so.

"Allow me to explain," the old man started, "when one dies..." he paused, as if having realized that something had been missed. "You... do understand that your physical body is dead, correct?"

Tea didn't like the subject being revisited.

"So I've been told. If it's easier for everyone, I'd like to just leave that part out and assume I'm not."

The man shook his head sadly.

"Yes, as I thought. I'm afraid it's not as easy as you wish it to be. Your death is an occurrence of tremendous impact, it's not something that can just be ignored. The fact that you've decided to pretend that it hasn't is why you're on this road to begin with."

Tea didn't quite follow, and the look on her face must have shown this. The man continued.

"When one dies and is sent here, it is not necessarily permanent. They're given a chance at another life, an afterlife if you prefer, here in this world. If they refuse it, if they don't acknowledge what has happened to them... well, this road is one of the many places here that draws such people to them. They become convinced that they are still alive, wind up on a road, or a path, or a cave, only to find it does not end. They travel along it long enough, and find themselves back where they came from, but not alive, of course. They effectively become ghosts. Their chance at the afterlife is gone, and they wind up stuck in an eternity of non-existence. It's quite a sad sight to see one go through.”

Tea felt her face grow hot, and she tried to come up with something to say that would make her look less foolish. It was true, she had been completely ignoring the fact that she had… but he couldn’t be serious, could he? A sudden thought came into her mind and she decided to test it.

“Wait… if that… if all of that is true, why are you on the road at all? You obviously don’t fit into the category you described, but-”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that this road doesn’t lead anywhere. Simply that those who have not come to terms with reality will never see the end of it until it is far too late for them. You’re fortunate that you ran into me-” a look in his eyes seemed to indicate that he thought of trying to make a joke out of the situation, but the moment had passed, and after a second’s pause he continued. “It may well have saved you from a very nasty end. What a shame it would have been, too. It’s not that often that the newcomers are lucky enough to keep such a young looking form.”

Tea looked at him oddly.

“What do you mean by that? People die young all the time, don’t they?”

The old man laughed.

“Well, yes, they do,” he chuckled, “but that was not what I meant. Your physical body here is made up of your soul, your spiritual form. It’s tied very close to it. One doesn’t age here, at least not physically. But the body they’re given matches the soul they carried in life. Some, like yourself, are lucky to find themselves still in their youth. Others are even more so, having the chance to live a full life in their own world and become restored to their prime in this one…”

Tea stared at the old man in wonder.

“How old are you?” She inquired finally. “I mean, how old… when you…”

The man gave a sad look towards her.

“When I died? I was twenty three years old.” He saw her about to object and held up a hand to quiet her. “As I said, you don’t age here. But this body reflects my soul in life. I may have been young and healthy on the outside, but in my soul I had become an old man far before my time. It’s a very chilling thought, and of course looking back it all seems so obvious. How much better and easier things would have been for me in the long run had I made the right choices…” His voice trailed off a bit and he got a distant, dreamy look in his eyes. This held for a moment, then he seemed to remember that he was having a conversation and continued. “Ah, but that’s far behind me now.”

Tea had suddenly gained an immense amount of respect for the old man, and found him incredibly interesting.

“If…. If you don’t mind, sir… how did you… what happened that caused your death?”

The old man looked at her and smiled, the look in his eyes giving her the reassuring feeling that he did not mind her question at all.

“I was young and foolish, I admit,” he sighed, “I killed myself. I had recently been married, and my wife contracted a lethal disease shortly after. She did not survive it. I didn’t either, but for quite a different reason. I mourned her passing for three years. Compared to what I’ve experienced now, it’s such a short time, but then it felt like eternity. My friends had given up trying to console me, and I sank further and further… I was wasting away inside myself, as I said, an old man before my time.”

Tea gazed at him silently, almost thinking that she could make out the handsome young man behind the tired old body that stood before her. Another thought sparked in her, and she quickly made her inquiry.

“Wait, if she died before you did, she should be here, right? You could-”

The man laughed again, though this time she could hear the painful emotions behind the laughter.

“Try to find her? Yes, once I arrived here I thought as much also. She was so beautiful, even here. Her heart was truly pure, and she had not changed when she came here, if anything she became even more beautiful. While I…” his voice trailed off again. “Such things wouldn’t have mattered to her, I know, but I couldn’t face her. I’ve seen her from time to time, and she seems to be quite content. That is enough for me. I could not bear to place myself back into her existence, to force my sins upon her. This is my punishment, and I fully deserve it.”

Tea felt herself tear up slightly, and quickly wiped her eyes and tried to swallow the emotion before it overtook her. The old man saw this, and smiled.

“Are you crying for me? I truly do not deserve it, though I thank you for the kindness you’ve shown me in listening to my ramblings. But your focus should be on yourself, for your own sake. Have you truly taken in your own death? Do you understand what has happened to you?”

The memories of that horrible night that she had been trying to fight off won out at these questions, and the reality of what had happened hit her like a train. The tears she had been choking back at the old man’s story broke through with renewed force now that her full attention was pointed to the single thought of her death.

She was dead. Her world was gone now. Everyone there that she had known was gone. Would they have a funeral for her? Who would be there? The sickening feeling of the bullets piercing her flooded her memory. Would there even be enough of her left to have a funeral for? Would Giuvanni have even brought her body to a place where a funeral could happen, or had she just been buried in the dirt?

She stumbled to her knees, her brain unable to cope. She kept feeling the piercing of the bullets, over and over. She vomited, or at least her body felt like it was vomiting. Nothing actually came from her mouth as she heaved onto the ground.

Suddenly, it all vanished. The pain from the bullets which were not in her, the images, the sounds, they all evaporated into nothing. The old man helped her to her feet.

“There. It’s a nasty thing to deal with, isn’t it? But it’s done now. Once you’ve felt the full weight of something like that, everything else becomes easier.”

Tea forced herself to her feet, tears still streaming down her face. She was trembling like crazy, but looking through her tears, she found the scenery around her having changed drastically. The road was still there, and the area was still more or less the same grassy plain she had been in, but the overwhelming flatness and bareness had vanished. The place where she found herself was covered in hills, and, though just as green as before, it was a much richer green, dotted with trees and shrubbery in addition to the grass, which seemed to have deepened in color. She wiped her eyes, gazing at her surroundings in wonder.

The old man smiled at her.

“Ah, so you can see now, can you? It’s one of the drawbacks of the denial, it seems, you can’t see things for what they are.”

Tea shook herself off, starting to regain her standing. She almost couldn’t believe she’d actually taken all of that in, but she decided not to question it. She was dead, there was nothing that could change that she had died in the first place. But…

“Death… I think it was Death… she told me… something about me having a chance to go back.”

The old man blinked dumbly, not understanding.

“She…? Death appeared to me when I first arrived here, but it was a man I saw. Well, I suppose we can’t expect something like Death to be satisfied with a single form, now. Are you sure that you weren’t being told that you have a new life here, in this world?”

“No, she said that I shouldn’t be here, that it wasn’t supposed to happen. Or something like that. She said there were others who were the same as me, who are here by some kind of mistake.”

The old man scratched his head thoughtfully.

“Well now, that’s interesting. I’ve never heard of anything of the kind happening before. And for it to be more than one… Hm. Very interesting. It’s a small wonder that you did have so much trouble with your death if that’s true.”

Tea recalled the question she was originally going to ask the man, but she wasn’t sure if it hadn’t just been answered.

“So you don’t have any idea where any of these other people are?”

“Can’t say that I do, though at the same time, I can’t really say I don’t. I may well have run into them without realizing it, most people don’t seem to make their presence as, er, well known as you did upon our meeting.”

Tea felt her face grow warm with embarrassment.

“But, you are the first person that I’ve heard anything like that from. If these other people arrived around the same time as you, I’d imagine they’re struggling with the concept of their own death as well right now. Let’s hope they can grapple with it, especially if you need them. They may not have the good fortune to collide headfirst with… the solution, as you did.”

Tea got the feeling that the man was trying to make up for the missed opportunity to make his jokes earlier and was snatching each one that came up now to compensate.

“Well, I can’t say it hasn’t made my day feel more fulfilling. My day was threatening to consist of rather dull errands, but now I feel that I’ve made a difference for someone, and that is a much more satisfying day in my opinion. Now that it’s finished, I think I’ll turn my attention to going back to bed.”

Tea’s curiosity peaked.

“Errands? What kind of stuff do you do, anyways?”

“Ah. It’s a simple enough existence, but I find it satisfying, if not somewhat dull at times. There are caves that line some of these hills, you see, lots of coal deposits in them. I may be old and frail in appearance, but I still have enough strength to move a shovel or a pick. I’ve been at some of them for quite some time, and there are some rather impressive holes in the ground. I sell most of what I can gather, and keep whatever I need for myself. I run across a few rather pretty stones down there too, nice to look at, and surprisingly warm to the touch, but other than that they’re pretty much useless to me. I’d sell them myself, but something keeps me from wanting to part with them. They remind me of her, I think is what it is. Selfish reason, I suppose, but I think I’m allowed to have one or two vices at this point in my existence.”

“Stones? Like jewels?”

“Yes, quite a few if you know where to look. They-”

“And you said they’re warm, right? Like, even after removing them, if you were to touch them now, I mean, they’d still be like that?”

The old man laughed at her renewed vigor.

“Well, yes. Strange phenomenon, I suppose it has something to do with the fact that this place is just… well, just this place. The afterlife, I guess. Stranger things have happened to me.”

Tea hesitated.

“There isn’t any… I mean, do you own the caves around here?”

The old man looked surprised at the thought.

“Own them? No, not at all. Anyone who wants to work at getting anything they can out of there are free to do so. I wouldn’t have thought that you’d be the type to… that is, just from looking at you, you don’t seem… but then, there I am talking about appearances, after just saying what I did, I suppose…”

Tea wasn’t sure how she felt about pushing the topic forward, but she did anyways.

“Do you know if there are any jewels in the nearby caves? Or do you have to like, go digging to find them?”

“Well, that is… it’s funny that you ask. I think I remember coming across something inside one of the caves, some kind of ruin. The place gave me the heebie-jeebies, but I recall… yes, I believe I do, there was a nice sized ruby sitting on an alter inside of it. I can’t say whether or not it’d be warm like the other ones, but I’ve yet to come across one that hasn’t been. I had no idea that you were such an enthusiast about jewels, maybe I could show…”

Tea had already picked up her broom and sped off towards the hills. By the time the old man had completed the sentence and looked up, she was gone.

[Miles]

After struggling with her memories; Ruby had finally pulled herself together...Well...Together enough to take a stroll.
She figured that a walk would clear her head. She could get herself to a nice town or village, find somewhere with a warm bed...And sleep on this whole "death" thing.
Until then, she didn't want to think about it.

"I'll feel better after a good nights sleep" She mumbled to herself. Keeping in mind that walking was one foot in front of the other.
remembering this and talking to herself was proving rather difficult. She had never found multi-tasking such a challenge before...But then, how could one call talking to herself a task?
Insane

"A few more steps...A few more steps." She kept telling herself this as she felt anger begin to take over.
She was walking in the middle of nowhere to goodness knows where...Didn't seem like a great combination.
Her legs began to ache, not because she was wearing out, it was that feeling of frustration. That feeling of wanting to do something and not being able to.
"Does this stupid plain actually end!?" The words jumped from her mouth and echoed across the empty sea of green.
This anger that boiled inside her; She thought it best to use it for something positive.
Her feet gripped the ground and her pace quickened. Her semi power walk soon turned into a job which also made it's way to a run.

Speeding across this silent, grassy plain, she found herself thinking more on the subject of where she was.
It was hard to wonder about this place and not think of her death...So the thoughts soon faded.

Ruby was now surrounded by a blur of green.
Every now and then she'd find herself running across a grey path.
Each time she passed one of these paths, she skip over it.
But the more of them she saw...The more she came to realize...

"Is this...The same path?" This time she stopped at the path...Her eyes staring at its dull coloring.
It did seem that it was the same one she had passed so many times before.
But...How was that possible? If she was moving away from it...Then how could she find her way back to it?
The path couldn't move.
She pounded a foot against it. "Hmm..."
Not that pounding it would make any sense of the matter but she still felt that it was needed.

"So what if I run faster?"
It seemed to make sense. Maybe it was some kind of loop that could only be broken by going a certain speed.
It didn't seem too weird. I mean she was...You know...And in this world, too.
It was all strange enough as it was. There wasn't much else that could weird her out.

Ruby felt the wind slap against her face, her hair flying about as if it were alive. With each step she took, her speed would increase.

She had now passed that dull path several times or more. She found herself becoming light headed.
Stopping seemed like a wise choice right about now...

"Ugh..." Her body came to a rather limp stop...She could only watch as her surroundings turned black. Everything began to twist around itself, warping into an odd purple, almost black...Nothingness.
She stood still for a moment. Her body lightly swaying in exhaustion and confusion.

A groaning sound crept up on her. Followed by a light roar and plenty of bad breath.
As Ruby turned to face this stench...Shock gripped her expressions.
"A Dragon!?" Stumbling back, she got a clearer look at the beast.
"No...Not a Dragon...You're the Dragon that caused all this!"
She pulled her hammer from it safely locked position on her back. "You! If you hadn't gotten in my way...I wouldn't be here!"
The Dragon snorted, its mouth opening slowly, as if it wanted to have a test taste of her.
Its damp, warm breath hit her body but Ruby couldn't help but smirk.
"It looks like you got a good taste of death, too!"

Her feet took it upon themselves to jump back as the Dragon snatched for her, it's jaws crunching on what it sensed as impact.
In mid-swing, she realized that her hands felt empty. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the truly impossible...
"My Hammer?! It-It's gone!"
Snatched away without her even noticing?
No...
Taking a further look at the Dragon, she did not see her hammer or any remains, for that matter.
It had simply vanished. What on earth was going on here?

As the Dragon launched itself at her once more, Ruby was lucky enough to catch the top of its snout with her hands, giving her the chance she needed to throw herself onto its head.

Dragons were pretty smart but had no way to reach someone who stood on their head. No without hurting themselves in the process anyways.
At least...That's what she thought.

In this vast nothingness, Ruby felt herself being slammed against something as solid as a wall.
The Dragon was pounding its head upwards...A ceiling...Where?
Everything was dark...There were no boundaries, not as far as she could tell.
Clearly there were, though.

"I don't want to die...Again..." Those thoughts ran around in her mind with each blow to the ceiling that she took...Until she found herself falling from the head of this monstrous Dragon.
Her body took one final blow as she hit the ground.

Ruby lay still for a moment. The Dragon breathing down on her.
"This is it?..." She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see her second demise.
"I had a chance...I was told that I could...Make it home...I wish I had taken this more seriously."
Thoughts of her first death came flooding back to her. The chill of the water against her skin. That feeling of not knowing what was on the other side...Not knowing if there was a way out or not.
Then she recalled the Dragon. There had been no fear but she knew that fighting it was stupid if she could get away.
She had looked up...Wanting to see the light blue of the opening to the watery pit...But she had only been able to see the dark shadow of the Dragon as it reached down to her...Blocking her in.

That's when it happened. She could remember it all...Her lungs aching, the air forcing its way out of her.
There hadn't even been time to struggle...She had just...
"I died"

She opened her eyes; Ready to face her next death like the woman she was.
She would not cower to such a monster, never!

Ruby's senses were filled with color. The blue of the sky, the green of the grass.
The gray of the path?
Somehow the strength to lift her onto her backside came back. She sat there for a moment. Taking in her surroundings.
Had it all been a nightmare?
"I must have passed out..."

As she checked her surroundings again, she came to realize that everything was different.
Flowers, bushes, hills. There were even clouds in the sky.

"What just happened?" She got to her feet. "Everything is different."
Her feet took off and she ran for the hills. Happiness found its way to her as the hills became closer and closer, that gray mass of a pathway...Never to be seen again.
She had no idea what had just happened but it seemed like coming to grips with her death had helped her out.

Now she was free to find somewhere...Someone and start getting used to her new surroundings.

[Nickelback]

It all seemed...So vague. What happened? What led to this point? Why? Why this? Why here?

These were the questions that plagued Tadao's mind, as the answers continually evaded him. His feet continued to shuffle along the floating path twisting through the marsh. His eyes set somewhere off in the distance. Indeed, from a distance, one might think that he was a zombie, shambling to the unknown in search or living souls to devour. Tadao only wished it were that simple. The dim weeds protruding from the still waters of the marsh, with a blank sky overhead. He couldn't tell if it was a navy blue or a very deep purple. But it did not matter. There were no clouds. There were no stars. There were no natural satellites that could be seen. But wasn't there a moon? There wasn't now...How very odd. It was one of the most depressing atmospheres he's ever been in, and he knows there's no way out. Is there?

He turns his attention to the road, raising his half closed eyes, now bloodshot from weariness and stress. He could see it going on for miles. Turning back to look over his shoulder, he saw it also twisted for miles. He pondered the meaning of this path. Does it lead somewhere? Or is he forever cursed in this..What was it..Ah, he couldn't remember. The encounter with a grim man was the only life he had seen. Indeed, when such swamp waters are so abundant, he would expect to hear or see some form of life. The deafening silence crushed its weight on him. It angered him so.

He continued to shuffle along the path, hearing only the heels of his scaly feet scrape the invisible surface of the path, letting his mind wander and drop deeper into its dark abyss. Then an idea struck, one that illuminated the dark abyss of his brain. What if...The water let somewhere? The marsh...Is it so that the only way out is through? He wondered this, a new vigor restored in the new hope that there may be an escape. Indeed, the weeds height indicated there could not be more than five feet of standing water. It would obviously take less time to find an end if he swam. But for how long? He did not answer his own question, simply taking a look at both sides, and plunged into the water, feet first.

Soon after, He realized he was submerged completely. Something wasn't right. Certainly he should have felt ground. Then he opened his eyes, he could see clearly as his race came from water inhabiting lizards. What he saw defied logic. The weeds, they stretched down to infinity. The water had an infinite depth!

Not possible...

He quickly swam upwards, breaking the surface, and climbed back onto the cloud bridge, nearly collapsing on it. The cold hand of fear took grip of him.

"How...How could this be...There's no limit to the strangeness of this place? Is this a purgatory? This makes no SENSE!", He rasped out angrily, pounding the path with his fist. He realized it would make no difference. But he felt pain from that strike. How could he feel pain if he was dead? He didn't think too long on the fact. It made no sense, anyway.

Tadao then turning back to face the path, he noticed a spot in the distance. It stood out from the marsh, and the path went right by it. He could not identify what it was, however. That would be soon solved. First he shuffled again, then walked, and then ran, down the path. He wanted to reach whatever this thing was, he hoped it was some sort of boat, or portal, or something that would enable him to escape.

However, when he got closer, he realized it was not any of those. It was a hut. It looked like a tribal hut, in a way. reminiscent of those he saw on planets where the people had not yet developed armors and weapons of steel. In fact, he remembered these type of huts as ones used by jungle dwellers of all races. It rose up from the marsh, supported by poles, the door much higher than he could reach. However, there was a ladder. He placed a claw on it, before he noticed a sign next to it. Adorned with skulls, it displayed symbols in a language he did not recognize, much less understand. In the dim light, he could see it was written in red. Blood?

He slowly and silently climbed the ladder, taking heed not to make any noise. He succeeded when he finally saw the balcony in front of the door. The door also had a window. He took to the side of the shack's door, his memories of his skills as a royal guard coming back to him, he grasped for his sword in its sheath at his right side. But his claw grasped nothing. He looked down in surprise. Did he not have his sword with him?! He growled under his breath. What a predicament. He has no sword and his psychic powers are all but useless.

Typical.

He edged open the door, into the shack's lamp light, flinching at the loud, creaking sound it made. He ducked inside, closing the door silently. He wondered if he should leave it open in case of an escape. He decided against it, and instead took a look around. Shelves on both sides were packed with antique books, jars filled with liquids, some of those jars had objects inside them. He leaned closer to the nearest one, when a sphere suspended in liquid, turned around. It was a human eye. He recoiled in horror, and quickly ducked behind some chairs in the shadows as he heard footsteps. He did not notice if he made noise, he was very well too spooked to care, at this point. He simply watched from the shadows as a cloaked figure entered the room, mumbling. Tadao made note of its feminine sound, possibly human.

The figure made some obscene gestures at a bookshelf, reaching out a long fingered hand to grab a book from its holdings. The long fingernails scraped the dust from the book as it snatched it.As the figure lowered the hood, Tadao squinted to better make out the figure. A female human emerged, multiple piercings on her dark skin, above her eyes, and some of her ears. Her long black hair was smooth, but at the same time, twisted. She halted after she took the book, and glanced behind her, towards the door, as if expecting to see someone there. She stared for long moments before whisking back into an inner chamber in the shack.

Tadao slowly rose to follow her, and nearly cut his scalp off. He did not notice that above him were various swinging objects hanging from the ceiling. Butcher knives, swords, hatchets were all there. Some of them had dried blood and flies on them. He flinched, and took a hatchet from its place. Slowly he turned around and began to stalk the hallway from the main room towards the inner chambers. He followed the murmurs and mumblings of the witch doctress to one of several doorways. The others were shut, while this one was very slightly ajar. He could see her behind a desk, facing him, although her gaze was turned towards alignment of several stones on her desk, reading a book at the same time, while rearranging them, as if placing cards in an orderly row. At one point she paused, and Tadao withdrew from the light of the chamber shining through the crack.

"Come on, come in, whoever you are." She beckoned quickly, her voice tone was harsh.

Tadao had been found. He raised his hatchet and slowly entered the chamber. Her head was still turned towards the book, but her eyes watched him, then saw the hatchet.

She waved a long, bony hand, "You won't need that. I'm not dangerous."

He suddenly found the need to just drop it. And so he did, letting it clang on the wood as it feel to the floor. He tried to find words to speak, but could not summon the willpower to say them. And she seemed to already know this. She closed the book and sat back in her chair, arms crossed, waiting.

Then Tadao found words, "Who are you?"

The witch doctress smiled a toothy smile. Half her teeth were black or brown. Some were made of gold. It was a chilly smile that crept down his spine.

"It does not matter who am I, what matter is that who are...you?"

Tadao felt increasingly uncomfortable, "My name is-", But he was cut off before he could go any further.

"Did not ask for your name, I asked...Who are you?"

Tadao, completely confused by the question, shook his head as a sign that he wasn't following.

She sighed, "What is your purpose? What...makes a person who they might be? What is your needs...your...desires?" She said as, still grinning, she got up and increasingly got close to him, her eyes sometimes roving down his body.

Tadao did not like this, at all, he slowly circled around, putting distance between them, still intent on getting his answers, not answering them, "Why am I here?"

She thought for a moment in place, before tossing her hand out in a disregarding gesture, "If you do not answer that yourself, then you do not know the answers to what you seek."

"That is what I seek."

"Then you might find the answer if you find yourself."

This conversation was going nowhere, Tadao thought before answering, "I was told I was dead. Does that help?"

She waved her hand dismissively, as if it didn't matter, "But have you accepted what you have become as your new role and new life?"

Tadao wasn't following where she was going, again, and she sighed, looking behind her, and picking up the emerald book she had taken earlier from the shelf. She thrust it into Tadao's arms, "That is where you do find what you need to accept."

Confused, Tadao looked at the cover, side and back of the book. Nothing to indicate what it was. He opened it, and what he saw on the first page shocked him.

"You are dead."

He whirled around to face her, who had crossed her arms again and looked at him with apprehension.

Silence followed, when she finally said, "Do you accept that as the truth?"

He turned back to the book wordlessly, when he saw the letters that comprise of 'Yes.' appeared slowly below the first line. As he watched, both evaporated into the parchment. He glanced at the witch doctress with a mixture of amazement and horror, and she simply gestured to the book, which has then replaced both lines with, "Then tell me what caused death."

As he read that, he found his senses dulling around him, a whirling typhoon of colors and sense replacing those that he had. He now saw into a plain of trees and rocks. Two figures fighting. Over what he did not know. He stood there watching them struggle until he realized, one of those was him. He saw his own sword plunge into his figure, sliding through both sides of his body. He saw himself slump to the ground. But it didn't seem right. What was he watching? He looked down at the book, in which below that line, he now saw paragraphs of text. It all described himself telling the tale of his death as he knew it.

As he read it, his memories followed along, flooding him, as if suddenly unblocked from his consciousness. Tears welled in his eyes, and he soon fell to the ground as he did before. He realized what he was seeing was the truth. What he was seeing was his death. He was in Afterworld, and all that was told was true. He now accepted the fact that he was truly dead. He wiped his eyes with the back of his glove, "I understand, now..."

Then, he blacked out. Soon after, he came to, siting in a chair in the same room as he was before. But now it looked remarkably different. He could see pictures on the walls, ornaments in the ceiling, amongst other things that made the room look much better. But there was no light shining from lamps as before. And the book had closed on it's own. He could see the cover, which read 'Book of Truth". He glanced up, and the witch doctress was nowhere to be seen. He pondered this. He glanced sideways to her desk, and recoiled slightly. A skeleton lay in the chair she used to sit in. A skeleton with earrings across the bones, as if someone had showered it. Dust had been collecting for years on the desk and its belongings. Tadao slowly rose and walked out to the main room, his eyes downcast in realization.

He paused at the door way, and turned towards the dead form, "Thank you," He whispered.

As he passed through the main room, he realized it was all stripped bare. It was simply wooden walls and the two bookshelves. All were laid bare, layers of dust caked each, save for one spot on the bookshelf to the right. He saw a spot in the corner that was not dusty. He looked at the book still in his hand, and he found it was the right size. He placed it back in its rightful spot. Satisfied, he turned back to the door, where he was about to exit before out of the corner of his eye, he saw a cane leaning against the wall. Walking closer, he noticed it was his sword in it's sheath. He smiled, he knew who had placed it there. There was a note attached to the handle. Picking it up, he unfolded the old, wrinkled paper.

Go wheresoever the wind takes you, and let none fear of death, nor none fear of what is not the truth, cloud your eyes, for a destiny awaits.

He folded it back up, and pocketed the piece of paper. He pondered on it for several seconds before securing his sword back to his side. He descended the ladder, back onto the ghostly path. Turning to it, he saw the swamp had dramatically changed. Now he could see mountains in the far reaches of the swamp, and even a hillside ahead. The path had turned to a solid high ground, rather than a ghostly cloud. He began walking towards the hills in the near distance. Noticing that the moon and stars had returned to the sky, he realized he could not see them before because of his denial.

As he walked away, he paused and looked back, and if there was another there, one might have seen a ghost in the dust of many years, of a young witch doctress waving goodbye.

[Rainbow Dash]

After travelling for hours, Raniel slowly began to come back to reality. "Is this all there is to death?" he asked himself. Death... ah, right, he was dead. This was the first time he had really stopped to think about his new position. He sat down to rest, leaning against a rock.

Death... he thought, Death... oh, that thing. That which has been my servant for so many years has finally enslaved me, it seems. I know it all too well, it's almost a shame that I havent gotten a chance to see it so personally before. But... is this all there is to it? Rocks? I expected more, if there was to be anything at all.

Something twitched inside him as he was thinking. He opened his eyes, aand before him lied a completely new setting. Instead of the rocks he had grown accustomed to, there was instead a scene similar to that of the real world - grass, trees, and even what seemed to be a settlement in the distance - only with some awkward aspects he couldn't quite put his finger on. "Odd." he mused. Not knowing what else to do, he headed toward the settlement.

[Dark Luther]

It lay there motionless, a pair of feet behind it in plain view...
his attention stayed with his hat though, as he reached and picked it up, putting it on as he raised his head,
the wide brim of it blocking his view until the last second...

Looking on now with a shadow by his eyes - he saw her again..., well - not her..., but it sure looked like her...
her black hair and tanned skin - and scowl on her face...

Without a thought he turned around on her in the rudest fashion possible - adjusting his brim...
" I won't run off this time, but if I turn around and you still look like her - you can forget any chance of speaking to me..."

He turned around and there stood the young girl from before...
scowl still somewhat shown on her face...

" no wonder you fooled me so well, you both make the same face..., heh "

Death looked beside herself ( perhaps the fact that emotion was showing was not common for her ),
her past complexion rapidly gone -
followed by a quick look back with a serious and chillingly indignant tone spoke...
" Never had someone speak in such a familiar tone,
nore be so comfortably at ease speaking with death..."
( she spoke the final part almost in a testing manner -
to see if the fact of addressing herself had any effect on him...


" you'd think so wouldn't you..., but I tend to get accustomed to things rather quickly..."
There was no shock, no shift in his demeanor - almost as if he were in fact familiar with her...
He contemplated his next words for a matter of seconds...

" I apologize if I seemed rather rude earlier..., ...err or just now too...,
but I don't appreciate...well,
...nevermind - sorry about that, so I'm here to listen to what you've got to tell me...."


The young girl herself looked straight on as he spoke,
but she herself thought and contemplated,
and when he finished - she nodded to herself...
" come with me..."

They walked down the middle of the deserted street, passing the still gutted buildings..., the clouds breaking and allowing once again the nocturnal blue moonlight to light the way...
He walked side by side with her as she explained to him what she could...


" So..., there's others...., like me - here ? "
He thought of the concept for a second and looked up at the sky - putting both his hands behind his head and exhaling...

Death only nodded her head, her hands folded in front of her together as they walked...
" What is strange is why your perception of this world was differant from the others..."

" Differant, what do you mean ? "
His stargazing interrupted, he looked beside to her...

" Well, most begin with a serene background...
a field, green pastures, a beach...or even the last place they were before death - their home or a battlefield...
You didn't, you awoke and saw this world from the beggining for what it was..."

" ohhwhuh...."
He didn't know what else to say, he just returned his head back towards looking up...

" You see, they stay in these concepts..., your own world in so many words...until you realize your truly dead and accept it...."
Her face took a pained expression...
" There are some though who just can't..., and they thus fall..., most go on until they wither or dissappear...., but some truly fall..., fall beyond what most know..."
She paused a few seconds and left a silence as they walked that caused Luther to look back at her...
he glanced to see if she was alright - but she instead was merely in thought...

" Well, I guess my own death was never a real factor with me..."
He broke the silence and she turned her eyes to him...
" I accepted myself as dead quite a while before I needed to..., and though I really didn't want it to come along...I, well...knew it shouldn't be a shock if I was killed...
so I always considered myself already dead..."

She glanced the other dierection...
" A lot of men say that..., until they arrive here..."

" A lot of men say a lot of things...,
but they actually had something to lose in the end...,
or perhaps something to live for....

I guess it's like not getting one's hopes up...,
if you lose..., well..., you didn't expect to win anyway...
In some ways - life was that way for me...,
so I lived with the understanding that I was already dead...,
and whatever happened...happened..."


Death took his words to though...
She began to see all the members themselves were so differant.., what purpose could they all possibly have...,
is it with each other...?

They reached the end of the lines of buildings and to a cement clearing - before them a long straight canal carved into the concrete pavement - the water black under the moonlight...
and close by a bridge to the other half of the city...


" You seem to have taken to this world well then...,
almost as if you were born to live here and not in the real world..."
She stood still by the edge of the canal..., looking on...

" Heh, I guess you could say that..., though come to think of it - what kind of person does that make me....haha..."

He looked to her with a joking smile as he scratched his head..., but she didn't mean it jokingly...
His smile slowly faded...

" Where you awoke is the gutted remains of the city of NewHaven east of this canal...., beyond that bridge lies the rest of the city - down the road are a set of mountain and pretty much the rest of the world before you....
I've taken enough of your time now..., and have told you all you possible can know at the moment...,
thus I will take my leave..."

" .....Good luck Luther..."


Luther still looked on, trying to make out past the canal...
" Wait, I still want to ask you more about this..."
He turned and she had dissappeared....

" Well, let's see what I can find past this bridge...."
He lowered the brim of his hat, secured his personal effects, and made his first step on the stone bridge...

[Snips]

Phew, finally for an idea worth writing and the time to do it before forgetting the idea. About frigging time, huh?

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

Jake lay face down on a grassy embankment near a shallow pond. He was no longer in a forest, and he wasn't sure when or how he got there. One second, he was weaving around trees, and the next, the forest was nowhere in sight.

"Water." Jake mumbled to himself "Is like time. It washes away sins, wounds, lives... and resolve." Jake was struggling with any beliefs he once held true to himself. He had always put his family first, but now, here he was, his second chance at life. Why should he have to suffer like before? Why should he live in squalor and poverty like in his last life?

Thoughts of his family left his mind completely....

Jake grasped at the grassy land before him and started pulling himself towards the water. He thrust his face in and started gulping down as much as he could. He had never been so thirsty in his life, he realized, as all his fatigue and sense of dizziness left him and his sense of touch came back. He became acutely aware of the pain all over, and he noticed that he had apparently suffered some wounds on his way here. He didn't know what caused them, it could have been anything. He didn't care, he simply removed his clothes and washed his cuts and scrapes in the clear pond.

"What?" Jake asked aloud, startled, as his wounds started to heal, and the pool of water remained clear and pristine. "This is definately odd...." He sighed. "I guess things work differently in the land of death... in... Afterworld...." Jake sighed as he remembered Death's words.

He closed his eyes, and just lay back, still naked. His back upon the grassy hill, and his legs submerged beneath the pong's ripples. Jake relaxed, and almost forgot about his death completely for a moment.

"Mmm... this is nice...."

"Oh, hello!"

Jake was so startled that he reached for his weapons, but then he saw that it was a young woman. She was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes upon, with her hair literally shining like gold, She wore highly ornate robes of what Jake would have guessed were the highest quality available, but no... his eyes were drawn to the large ruby necklace she wore.

"Wha-? Oh, jeez, don't scare me like that!" Jake told her, as he shifted his weapons back under his shirt behind him. He pulled his pants underwater and put them on, and along with them, one of his knives. 'This is my chance at riches....' He told himself.

"Oh, please forgive me, I was just surprised to see someone else here! You see, I come to bathe here every single day, and I've never seen anyone else here at all! Um... do you mind if I come in? I can always come back later, you know...."

"Huh? Oh, um... not at all, uh... where are we, anyways?"

"My special place!" she giggled, "Lots of men have tried following me here, but they all get lost in the forest. I come here every day, even though it's far out of the way. It's pretty much the only escape I get from life at home...." She removed her robes and jewlery, and for one fleeting moment, Jake thought he felt the same feelings he once held towards his wife before he died. These feelings were quickly squashed when Jake realized that it was pure lust... and that the real prize lay on the riverbank. Nevertheless, he looked at her perfect, naked body with desire as she entered the water.

"So, what's your name?" He asked her, as she began to wash her arms. He was slowly advancing towards her, making sure that his dagger didn't fall out of the legs of his pants.

"Hm? Me? I'm Karynthia, and you?" Jake inched closer still, as Karynthia splashed water on her face and started wiping off any dirt that was there from her trek through the forest. Any lust Jake felt before was magnified tenfold, as he noticed that her lips were just as red as the ruby necklace she wore. 'Oh, great... I know I'm going to have to kill her, but... to spend just one night with her! Oh... damnit, life sucks! Uh, more like death sucks, aah, I'm still so confused! There's so much that I don't understand!'

"I'm Jake" he answered finally, "and I'm new here. Tell me, is this really the land of the dead? It feels so..." he grasped for the words that eluded him. He sighed. Death was right, he wasn't exactly very educated....

"Ineffible?" Karynthia suggested. "It means indescribable" she added, seeing the confused look on Jake's face. "Yeah, if you just died, It's understandable. I've been here for awhile, myself...." Now, it was Karynthia who was moving closer to Jake. "Can I share a secret with you? I was really ugly before I died. No one dared to look at me, ever. But, my heart was in the right place, which is probably why I'm so beautiful now...." she sighed. "I used to think my hideous looks were a curse, but I miss the isolation. I don't like having men of all ages trying to steal me away from my family...." Karynthia almost laughed. Jake could tell by the smile on her face, she already felt some attachment to him.

"I don't know what I look like now, I haven't seen a mirror or anything...." Jake said feebly, as he finally met the woman in the middle of the pond.

"Then look into my eyes, and see your reflection. Tell me what you see...." she told him as she wrapped her arps around his neck and pulled herself closer. Jake was on the verge of laughing, but managed not to. 'Damn, this woman holds nothing back! Not afraid to do things for apparently one reason to get another objective done! I like that!'

"Okay then..." Jake told her with a smile, and gazed into her eyes. They were blue and beautiful, as though miniature sapphires were dotted about her iris, but his attention was quickly drawn to the vague reflection he could see in her eyes.... "I..." he started, "I look like how I looked before I died!"

"What!?" Karynthia said, startled, and she let go of him. "But... how is that possible? Maybe it's how you died? Jake, how did you die?"

'Shit. I was hoping to leave that in the corner of my mind, not thinking about it much. It's such a scarring memory....' He sighed. "I could tell you, but... it was slow, and really really painful. I'd rather not relive the experience right now."

Karynthia's eyes met his again, and she pulled in close again. "I see... me too. Maybe these are stories for another time? Anyways, I was really surprised to meet someone else here... no one else that I know of has ever found this place, could we be soulmates?"

'Okay, now! Stab her! Do it now!' Jake thought, as he reached for his dagger... but he let the short blade slip from his grasp, and instead, he kissed Karynthia and said "Maybe, just maybe...."

Not long after, the two of them lay naked on the embankment, drying off and telling each other how they had died. Karynthia didn't seem surprised by Jake's story, but she did seem terribly saddened. "So... you were married before. Do you still... love her?" Karynthia looked ready to cry, Jake could tell. He secretly thought to himself that he should have left that part out of the story.

"No." He told her in all honesty, "I'm starting anew, I'm not going to be bound by my past at all. I wish my family the best of luck without me, that's it." he smiled as he looked into her eyes again, "You were jealous, weren't you?" She nodded. "It's okay, I understand. So... tell me, how did you die?"

"I... I was twelve." she said, "My family was famous as magicians, we were always putting on shows, and people thought we just did sleight of hand tricks and all that. No one ever clued in that it was real magic."

"Whoa!" Jake interrupted, "Real magic? It exists!? I want to learn!"

Karynthia laughed, "Sorry, Jake, you have to be born with it. Either that, or you have to meet a unicorn, which only virgin girls can do. I met one once, and it gave me even more power than before. Watch!" she opened her palm and placed it on the ground, and a blue rose bloomed in front of her. She plucked it and handed it to Jake. "None of my other family members can do that. I can actually fight with my magic. I shouldn't have, but I did, and that's how the secret got out...." Her eyes were starting to tear up, but she gulped and finished the story. "Some thief was trying to rob my father, I blasted him away with a couple dozen ice shards that didn't leave much of him to bury, but another man witnessed the event and escaped to tell others about it. We were on the run, but eventually they caught up with us. They placed pipe bombs in our Hotel, and killed us along with a hundred others, just because we were different...."

Suddenly, Jake was drowning in memories....

"Masks on. weapons out. There they are!" The two men burst from the shadows to confront the family that was walking by.

"So, you're the Marvelous Maximillian, huh?" Jake's accomplice, Casper, was the closest to the family. "Then that must mean that you're Gwen the Great, and Fabian the Fantastic. Hmm? Who is that girl back there?" Jake turned to look at the girl, who was perhaps one of the ugliest kids he ever laid eyes upon.

"I'm Karynthia the... the... um...." the child thought to think of a good word that had the same beginning sound as her name, but failed.

"Karynthia the Catastrophe I say!" Casper laughed, "You're too ugly to ever be allowed on stage! But that's not why we're here, is it, Puma?" Casper asked, using his code name.

"No it isn't, Ghost. We're here for your riches, Max!" Jake pointed his knife at the family, but Casper was closer. He stepped closer to Maximilian. TOO close.

"Daddy, NO!" Karynthia screamed, as Casper was about to stab him. "Shardeaina no Ilnastos!" she chanted, and her father was saved by shards of ice that literally cut Casper to ribbons. Jake stumbled backwards.

"WTICH!!!" He screamed, and ran away....

'How the hell did I forget? Casper was my best friend....'

"... Jake? Jake?"

"Huh? Oh... I just remembered something, I am so frigging forgetful that it's not funny...." he sighed. "I'm sorry, I lost you at the pipe bombs and the hundred other deaths...."

"That's about where I ended." she replied, but I looked into your eyes and they looked dark, kind of glazed over, are you all right? I was worried for a minute!"

"No." Jake said, "I was a criminal back in my previous life, and your story reminded me of sins I'd rather have forgotten... I...." 'I had a mask, she doesn't recognize me, even if I do look the same....'

"I'm so sorry!" she gasped, but Jake shook his head.

"Don't worry about it.... Anyways, it's getting dark, shouldn't you be getting home? I'm still not feeling well enough to travel, so I'll still be here tommorow."

"Yeah..." Karynthia sighed, "I do have to get going. Jake? Please be here tommorow, I'd be heartbroken if I never saw you again! Bye!" ...and she ran off.

'Damnit, if I tell her, she'll hate me, but she could potentially be a powerful ally. But, I can't bring myself to use her powers to my advantage without her knowing.... I should have just stabbed her while I had the chance!!!'

Jake sighed and fell onto his back, looking up at the setting sun. "Although, she got one thing wrong. I didn't tell anyone. Mark was in the bushes, watching. It must have been him who told everyone... I awoke the next morning having forgotten all about it...."

Jake closed his eyes and slept a dreamless slumber....

[Pinkie Pie]

I rewrote the ending about five times before finally posting. Not that it's any better now, I just got sick of rewriting it. Sorry if this one sucks.

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

It had been a little foolish to rush off so quickly. The thought was occurring to her now, as she continued her search. She’d gotten the basic direction from the old man, but had no idea how far the place was. He had spoken of “a few decent sized holes”, and Tea had imagined a couple of hills with some small craters in them. What she had found was essentially a man-made canyon, littered with countless tunnels.

Okay. Think. It’s got to be one of them.

She glanced back and forth, once again in the middle of the canyon. She’d flown by a few of the tunnels, even gone inside some, but she’d gotten nowhere. She was suddenly immensely grateful for her broom as the thought of having to explore this place without it crossed her mind and made her shudder. She wasn’t particularly strong, and the thought of trying to pull herself up the walls of the canyon to reach some of the higher tunnels (and barefoot, no less) seemed a near impossibility.

She had to think. There had to be something to tip her off.

Not that she didn’t have the time to search all of the tunnels, unless the man told everyone he saw about the ruby in question she doubted anyone would beat her to it, but she had never been incredibly patient when faced with a job as tedious as this, and she was aching for a shortcut.

She could feel the magical presence of the ruby somewhere in the canyon, but, perhaps because she was still getting used to this place, or possibly for some other unknown reason, she couldn’t pin down even a hint of where it was.

Wait.

She thought she had something. One of the sections of the canyon was considerably shorter than the others. At first she thought nothing of it, but now she was recalling something else he had said. The place had unnerved him when he found it. It made sense that he would have stopped digging and moved elsewhere. So, any place that looked oddly short in the canyon might just be…

It was a long shot, but at least it was something to go on. She pointed herself in that direction and quickly met the wall. Unlike the others, which had tunnels every few yards, there were only a few indentions on the wall, and one large tunnel. A nagging doubt of logic in the back of her mind told her that it must just be a wall he had only started on, but she shoved the thought aside and entered the tunnel.

The difference was immediately apparent. The other tunnels had no source of lighting, she had found herself squinting to try to see. This one had been the same at the start, but as she went further in a dull reddish light could be seen in front of her, and soon she was able to see again.

She had thought the source had been some sort of torch at first, but as she entered the clearing, she started to doubt it. The light seemed almost unworldly, and she could see no source of fire anywhere. Immediately in front of her was a huge structure, made of a type of stone that she couldn’t identify. Odd markings decorated this place, and combined with the eerie lighting, she understood why the place would have scared off the old man. She felt nervous herself as she slowly entered the ruins, and it was only the excitement of the thought of finding what she’d been searching for that kept her from retreating back out into the canyon.

She’d thought that it would be an easy grab, that it would just be sitting there, but the ruins seemed almost maze-like. She knew that the ruby was there, the magical presence it gave off was almost overwhelming, but she couldn’t pinpoint a location, and so hesitated before trying to pick a direction.

Before she could decide, a sudden noise from the tunnel gave her a small start. Someone else had entered the ruins.

[Miles]

Ruby had been running for some time.
It seemed to make perfect sense...Aswell as not making any sense at all. She felt comfortable just to run for the miles of nothing that lay in front of her.
It wasn't unusual, though. It may have been odd for her to be running for nowhere in this place but back home
Home...
She would run for miles, her senses guiding her toward rare gems. Maybe the same was happening now?
She did feel that she was being pulled by something.

Suddenly; The grass came to an end. Ruby stood before what looked like a canyon.
A canyon that looked like it had been savaged by giant moles. But a canyon.
"I can smell it. Feel it. Hear it."
The wind passed by her in an almost mystical way. Her hair flowed with the whispers of the winds. A thousand voices, all saying the same thing.
There was a gem here.
A Ruby.

Dust flew everywhere as Ruby seemed to Ski down the side of the canyon that kept the grass and rock apart.
It wasn't that far down, the chances of getting hurt were minimal. And she was pretty used to scraping her knees and cutting herself on rocks. That all came with the "job". If you want treasure, you had to be willing to hurt yourself for it. Only a coward, a weakling would let a flesh wound stop them from grabbing the most precious of treasures.
There's nothing like the warmth of a shimmering gem. Especially one that you earned.
Ruby came to a stop at the canyon floor. She looked on; Staring at the lumps and bumps that hid tunnels and caverns.
She closed her eyes for a moment. Her breathing staying steady.
There!
Her eyes opened, her feet taking off a few seconds before.
It was straight over the first tunnel and past a few others.
She could feel the aura of the Ruby, pulling her closer. She knew that it had to be a big one. Or at least an extremely rare on.
She could feel it from so far away. She could hear it so clearly.

After charging over a few tunnels and stumbling down alot pits and dips that stood in her way. Ruby finally stopped.
Her eyes fixing on the tunnel infront of her.
"It's so warm." She her hands to the entrance. It was the same feeling that she'd get from sitting by a camp-fire.
Although she knew that she was close. Her pace seemed to slow. She was excited by worried. Something didn't feel right.
"Yah~" Ruby felt her feet come to a halt as her upper body tried to continue. A rock had managed to escape her view, causing her to trip. She landed on her elbows. Managing to get away without a scratch.
She pulled herself to her feet, dusting herself off. But instead of continuing, she stayed still, silent.

"Someone...Someone is already here." She reached for her hammer. Pulling it from her back.
The last time she came into contact with life while searching for gems...She ended up dead.
I won't make that mistake again.

[Nickelback]

Tadao paused. The scene had become so clear to the Saurian, he wondered where in this world he was. How big was it? The question dominated his mind as he trudged forward on the invisible path winding through the marshes. The weeds were growing thinner, the hillside bigger, and the moon brighter. His thoughts flashed back to the ones he's left behind in the previous world. Will they ever know that he had died? Might as well forget it. There's not much you can do when you're dead.

He pondered that thought. What defines death? Obviously he is in, some way, another life, so is he technically still dead? He noted that as a question to be asked for when he met Death again. His hand tightened on the handle of his blade. There would be some other things Death would have to deal with for this nonsense. Then he halted in his steps with the realization, what if Death was in control of this realm? That would make things a little more difficult. Plus, he thought, looking at the shadows cast by the moon, he could be waiting for something, as well. A foolish thought, perhaps, but one that Tadao thought was worthy to keep about him.

He re-adjusted his vest and started moving forward again. It wasn't long afterwards that he reached the hillside. The path ended here. Tadao frowned, as the hillside was very steep, and looked difficult to climb, not to mention slippery due to the swamp water. Looking up in the sky, he had noticed the moon had yet to move from its position several hours previous. Now that was very odd, not only unnatural, but unnerving as well. Unless this satellite was moving with the world such that it looked like it stool entirely still? It's a possibility.

He growled at it, something was wrong. But first he needed to get over this hill to get somewhere dry. He was surprised fatigue had not set in yet. Was it a side effect of this area? So many questions, very few answers. He took a few steps back from the hill, and began running. Reaching the hill, he placed a foot on the near-vertical slope and began attempting to walk upwards, focusing his psychic energy towards his feet to keep him aligned with the muddy hill. Then he was falling backwards, and hit the water hard. Pulling himself to the surface, he realized the path had vanished as soon as he had touched the hill.

That wasn't good, he couldn't tread water forever. Especially with his heavy vest and sword with him. Shrugging off his vest and letting it sink to the depths, he took out his sword and plunged it into the hillside. He then realized that it hadn't gone all the way through. It had struck something hard. Bringing the sword down, he had carved out a chunk of the hillside mud and grass. Moving it out of the way with his claws, he touched the hard surface. It was some sort of stone, possibly concrete. He had an idea. Following the hillside to the left, he kept moving until he spotted what he was expecting. A drainage pipe. Grabbing hold of it, he vaulted himself inside, having to crouch down to fit.

Inching his way through the darkness, he eventually bumped into a ladder. Looking up, he saw the moon's pale light shine through a circular crack. Climbing up the ladder, he was able to push the manhole cover out of the way, allowing him out of the drainage sewer. Pulling himself out, he realized where he was, was a gutted city. It didn't look like anyone had lived here in years. It was very old, and perhaps a long time ago had an air of honor and valor about it.He carefully looked around before standing up and beginning to walk back towards the hillside overlooking the swamp. When he got there, though, he realized how massive the swamp truly was. Did the sewage pollute a lake so bad it turned into a vile marsh? It sickened him thinking about it, so he went back to looking down the hillside.

It was a few minutes before he spotted it, a gleam of silver. His sword was still fixed in the hillside, over fifty feet down. Hew knew he couldn't reach it physically, so he decided to use his telekinesis to reclaim his weapon. Tadao focused his will on the handle, seeing it glow slightly with a shade of violet. It quivered in the hillside, before sliding out slowly. But as soon as it was free, it fell into the water, sinking rapidly. It was immediately apparent that he did not have much control over his immense psychic powers in this realm.

"No!" Tadao yelled, wanting so badly not to lose his prized sword, it acted as if it were responding to his desperate commands, shooting back out of the water, nearly cutting Tadao's face as it soared above him. Letting go of his psychic hold, he caught it as it descended, sheathing it once again. Turning back to the gutted city, he spotted a river in a distance, and a bridge leading to what looked like another half of the city. He was very close to the man-made, concrete canal that led under the bridge, and he was filthy from the sewer.

After washing the sewage off his body and cleaning his pants in the fresh water, he rose in the canal and began to walk along the side, avoiding the current of rushing water heading towards the swamp. The light-colored scales on his chest, bare, save for his pendant, glistened in the moonlight as he went in and out of the buildings' shadows. Something didn't feel right. He placed a hand on his sword handle once again as he stepped under the bridge, pausing as if listening. He was wondering if he was hearing faint voices, or the water rushing beside him. But looking around, he saw no one. After several minutes, stepping out from under the bridge, he scaled the bank leading into the other side of the city, glancing around him for any sign of life. There was none.

Soon afterwards, he was wandering in between buildings in the heart of the gutted city. Then it hit him. He realized that anyone who saw him would probably be human, and be shocked at his appearance, possibly as a monster. And with nothing on his body but his cargo pants, he was highly unlikely anyone couldn't tell he wasn't human from any distance. Searching buildings on the side of the road, he finally happened across a clothing store. Dust and plastic covered all sorts of things. It took him awhile, but he had eventually found what he was looking for, a large, plain, brown robe that would shield his whole body from view, including his tail. He felt bad about stealing it, but the shop hadn't been used for a long, long time. It would be put to better use now.

Satisfied, Tadao exited the abandoned clothing store and continued along the sidewalk, hoping to find some indication of where in Afterworld he was, or where he needed to go, when he heard soft steps approaching from the next road corner. Hoping it was Death, so he could wrangle more answers out of him this time, he dashed into an alleyway between two buildings, hidden in the shadows, with his hand on his blade, ready to strike if need be.