Victoria, who had been pinned to the wall with fear, finally managed to make eye contact with Dio, who's metal face seemed strained as he tried to resist the constricting grip of the water. Knowing that his life could be in danger, she steeled herself, and turned to face Eria. "Look," She said, her voice quivering with fear, "I think that if anyone is going to know where the fire charmer went, it won't be us humans. Anrakir might, so might Dio. But I certainly don't think they will help unless they are free." Victoria barely ad time to finish her sentence, however, when Dio, barely able to form the words through the wall of water covering him, began to rant. "I wont!" He cried out, "I won't help you unless you free that jet! I am an engineer, and it is broken!" Victoria scowled at him, hoping he did not offend Eria any more than he already had. "I'm sorry about him," She pleaded, "he can be a little simple sometimes about this kind of thing."
Jase was sadly the only one to be concerned about Tellara, as he bent low enough that he perched just by her side. "Tellara! Are you alright?" Jase spoke softly, barely above a whisper as his fingers came away from her face with a thin dash of red. That was not how anyone deserved to be treated. Jase stood, holding Tellara's hand in his to help her stand. He just surveyed the situation with a silent glare, a fury that ran quietly as he tried not to visibly seethe in front of a person likely to hit you for talking out of turn. What irked Jase was how useless he was in this situation. His mind sifted through everything he'd been taught, but it was clear to him that nothing could help here. He would just have to lie down, and take it, it seemed.
Tellara accepted his help gladly, and his touch was more than welcome. It was comforting, and warm. She felt hurt, less in a physical manner and more as if she'd just been scolded by a harsh tutor. It was the kind of pain that made her want to cry, so instead she clung to Jase, not saying anything as she buried her face into his soft clothing. She seemed a bit like a frightened child. The contrast to her first appearance was incredible. Eria ignored them all for a second, turning to look at the silent one. Eria chuckled inside. He looked furious. Not outwardly, but Eria was more than aware that he was. Perhaps he would have something useful to interject. He hadn't spoken so far. "Ooh, Hello pretty boy. Why the long face?" She teased, striding over to him. With her back to the group, something only just occurred as noticeable. Strung to the back of her strange robe-like garments was an assortment of staves, about five or six bundled together. However, she payed them no heed, as she grasped the hair of the dark magician girl. "Have you got anything to say...?" She asked unwaveringly, even as she held the whimpering girl to her hand. The dark serpents fell away from the W-Wing, the world of blue unravelled from around Anrakir, and it seemed as though everyone had been standing there in the murky haze the entire time. Even A'Riel now stood, a panicked look of confusion on her face as she was suddenly thrust into this. "Has anyone, got Anything," She stressed that word, as it was clear she was becoming more than a little annoyed, "To say to me, about our little fire charmer issue?" She finished, looking around at the group, her hand reaching for one of the staves on her back. Her steely glare held none of her playful deception, no anger, no hatred any more. There was just a cold void as she spoke. "...Last chance..."
The moment that the fog cleared, several rays of light enveloped the group excluding the charmer. As the group began to ascend a circle of energy appeared beneath the charmer. Holding her in place. after a few moments fragments of fire could be seen drifting around the columns of light.
Jase felt just about ready to unleash the fury he was feeling, coursing through him. These charmers... To Jase, they seemed like horrible people, sick and twisted. Was this all just a game to them? Jase's blood seemed to boil as she turned to him, and he wished to strike her down then and there. She had said enough. But then, Jase's world turned to a bright spectrum of light. What the...? He began to feel light, his form held aloft by the shaft of celestial light. There was no chance to even speak, before a sickening rush overtook him, and suddenly all was dark. Then, a low thrumming, as Jase opened his eyes once more. He saw dark shapes on the floor around him. Were they... People? Jase's eyes soon adjusted to the dim lighting, and he realised the entire group seemed to be here. But where were they? Jase squinted, his eyes darting back and forth between empty spaces. The room they were in, it seemed cavernous, large and bleak. The roof seemed to be a shiny shade of tin silver, a hard, artificial surface. Yet the floor seemed to be made of something soft, and dark. Jase couldn't quite tell what it was. Portholes dotted the edges of the vaguely circular room. Where the hell were they? He nudged the form of the golden haired dark magician girl at his feet. "Hey... Hey, are you alright?"
Eria ignored the panicked faces around her and gazed upward to the source of the light. She wasn't caught in it, so her eyes remained unshielded, and unharmed, but she found what she saw... Interesting. A huge, forest green turtle with a hulking metal shell seemed hover a safe distance above the ocean. A spell binding circle appeared at her feet, and Eria almost wanted to laugh. She looked across to A'Riel, who looked troubled as always. It seemed that Eria's quest was no place for her. She might enjoy herself with some more actively compassionate comrades. And Eria was sure she could be trusted not to be a rogue element. She was hardly the rogue type to begin with. Her arm lifted despite the energies of the magical bindings, and she lay a heavy palm between A'Riel's shoulder blades, sending her clamouring into the circle of light. You needn't be troubled anymore. Go with them. I will never hate you for finding happiness, A'Riel. But I... Master you... You had a dream...! You will be a part of it. What you do with your life until then, will be entirely up to you. For I relinquish control. No you can't...! But it was too late. Eria could already feel the severance. It stung for a brief moment, but then all was well again. She was free... Free of what exactly? Eria just wanted what was best for her. And A'Riel had walked away from that. Her thoughts raced, but then the light claimed her, and suddenly it all went away. Once inside, she got up and surveyed her surroundings, the heat coating her in an oppressive blanket of suppressive air. She coughed slightly, the air around her feeling strange. What woulod the others think of her? A'Riel hoped and prayed that they wouldn't hate her because of Eria. Eria was a good person really... Even if she didn't show it. Tellara felt the slight nudge at her shoulder and got up immediately, her eyes wide in panic. Where were they? Who put them there? What the hell was going on? So many questions, nothing solid to grasp at. They seemed to be completely at the mercy ofr whoever put them here... But how did they go from the sanctuary to this? "I... I don't know... This place... I-I'm scared..." She said, clinging to Jase affectionately. At least he was still with her.
As Akira got up from the ground he wondered what had happened. But when he saw his surroundings he was wondering where were they now? He hasn't seen any place like this before, perhaps Anrakir. Anrakir! Akira nervously looked around for him only to discover that he was standing almost right next to Akira, with a puzzled expression. "Anrakir! Are you okay? What happened?" Anrakir could still feel the effects of A'Riel in his mind. Although they were slowly leaving his mind. "I'm fine. She did no harm. She actually..." At that moment Akira saw something in the corner of his eye. An unfamiliar figure... It was her. A'Riel. The creature who had took over Anrakirs' mind and did who knows what else to him. He immediately faced her and spoke. "You. You took over his mind like he was puppet! You shall..." "Enough Akira. She is not here to harm us and did not harm me. She is no longer in the control of the water charmer. She has been freed." "How do you know? What makes you think the water charmer didn't just send her here to finish off... Whatever she was doing to you?" "All she was doing to me is occupying my mind so I could not fight back. You can interpret that as the water charmer believing I was a risk. And most spellcasters, and other powerful beings can tell whether or not a monster has a master or not." He then turned towards E'Riel and walked slowly towards her until he was about his length away from her. "However I assume she must have some reason for being here, since most people would rather avoid a group of powerful mages and summoners that they have angered. So tell me, why did you come here?"
A'Riel took a startled step backward when the man shouted, and a further retreat from the approaching dark magician. Her eyes went wide like a frightened little creature, as she attempted to make eye contact with the tall, dark figure that over shadowed her. She shook her head fiercely, still backing away. "I didn't... Th-That is... I couldn't... I uh... Oh..." She just stopped talking, trailing off in a bout of severe timidness. She looked away from the two before her, clutching the aqua crystal to the pale green flesh of her chest. She looked very out of place in the dim red lighting, her bodily spectrum of soft green and blue contrasting heavily with the harsh darkness inside. "She... She sent me... Here. B-But I..." She still refused to look at them, and gladly let her words die out. It wasn't in her comfort zone, talking to others. Eria was the only one who understood her. Even her sisters were a world apart from her. A'Riel wasn't sure what to do. It was all so sudden.
The water charmer went her here? But Anrakir said... "I thought you said she wasn't being controlled by the charmer any more, Anrakir?" "Just because she is not in her control doesn't mean she won't do what the charmer says." He could tell that the A'Riel was frightened. It was clear she did not want to be here, and it was clear to Anrakir that she did not want to be anywhere except with the charmer. But why is she so attached to the charmer? Their personalties are almost complete opposites. The charmer is an evil creature who holds no care for the loves of others. Whereas A'Riel seemed to be a peaceful and timid creature. Perhaps he should ask? No... She's so scared at the moment she can hardly speak, questioning her motives further won't lead to anything helpful. But if he's friendly towards her, perhaps in time she will trust him enough to explain her motives, or possibly even reveal information that could bring down the charmer. "Listen. We are not going to harm you. None of us. I will make sure of that." What was Anrakir doing?! Just a moment ago she was controlling his mind like a puppet, and now he's making friends with her? What are you doing Anrakir? She may be of use to us in the future. And she is peaceful, she will not harm us. Besides I have a plan. "I will even allow you to travel with us, if I can convince the others. But just as you may not trust us, many of us probably do not trust you. So I need you to swear that for as long as you are with us, you will not harm us; you will not take control of any of our minds; you will not contact your master and you must help when your help is needed. If you do not accept these terms, then you shall not be allowed to travel with us, and you will roam unguided and alone. So, do you accept, or decline?"
A'Riel shook her hair out of her face, revealing glimmering eyes that looked ready to burst into tears. She listened to the Dark magician, barely managing to look further up than his chest. She nodded gratefully at their proposal, her eyes frantic and pleading. She was so frightened. She might have been trembling if it weren't so hot. "I... Th-Thank you..." She croaked, wishing she had something to hold on to. She looked at the room about them, noticing a metal man, and an accompanying woman still down on the floor in the middle of the large hollow shell. A'Riel almost fluttered towards them, her movements seemingly so delicate that it seemed somehow an apt description. "Are... Are they alright?" She asked, showing genuine concern as she bent to the ground. Her flowing white dress spilled out around her, and the soft, silken fabric glanced some of Victoria's flesh as A'Riel laid a hand on her forehead. A'Riel might have said she was almost feverish in temperature, but it was hard not to be incredibly hot inside here. She felt as though she were in an oven.
Victoria recoiled from A'Riel as fear gripped her: she had never been one to cower in fear, but this girl, she was different. Her appearance was not in any way outlandish, at least not by the standards Victoria had of strange. But none the less, there was something more to her, Victoria thought, something she could not understand. Through her mental link with Dio, she could feel that same feeling, albeit in emotion only. As always, his thoughts were shielded from her. "I," she said, her voice faltering, as if the words were clinging to her throat, desperately trying to force their way back down the way they came. "I'm ok. Just a little shaken. Though not like Dio.." She looked at A'Riel properly for the first time, and immediately realized that she had been biting back tears, not too long ago, if not still. "H-hey?" She said, "are you alright?"
A'Riel nodded, her eyes wide and probing. But she quickly withdrew, the colour of her cheeks becoming a shade brighter as she attempted to excuse herself from rousing the woman. The question... Or rather, the woman talking caught her off guard. A'Riel retreated further, seeing a glimmer of something in the woman's eyes. Fear? Who could be scared of A'Riel? It must have been something else... But A'Riel couldn't figure it out. "I... Y-Yes miss." She said, dipping her head as a gesture of respect, and a sound affirmative. The truth was, she was not sure if she was alright. But then, she was so very hot. It was stifling, the atmosphere in the room. But she just tried her best to ignore it, and continued on. "Are you sure you are fine?" She asked, a little more confident with a distraction in mind. "Would you like some water?"
With a slight woosh, a door opened and a red dressed woman entered followed soon after by a chimera which brought a fresh wave of heat. "you are currently residing within a monster known as a UFO Turtle. please excuse the heat. We are currently inside a volcano, one of the few places we cannot be found by the water charmer" she positioned herself by the door and waited for the others too react. As she did so the chimera walked over and licked Ariel's hand, before rubbing it's head against it.
Who was this woman? Was she with the charmer? No... Couldn't be. If that were true then in all likelihoods he would of killed them by now instead of sending her. So then who is she? "Who are you? And why and how did we get here?" Hopefully her intentions are peaceful. They should be. After all if she wanted us dead she could of just left them there. But what would she need with us? She mentioned the water charmer. It must be something to do with her.
A'Riel pulled her hand away quickly, a hiss and a faint whisp of steam resounding where the small cat had touched her. She accompanied the swift motion with a yelp, nearly falling backwards. They were inside a turtle? Inside a volcano!? Oh, this was bad. A'Riel wasn't sure what she would do if she had to stay inside one of those. Water began to form erratically around her as her breathing became frantic, uncomfortable. "No! Y-You have to let me go! I can't...!" She remembered heself and stopped, waiting for the water to settle around her. "I can't..."
"Calm yourselves. Your existence is under no threat. The master wishes you no harm, he chose to ensure your continued existence by means of rapid evacuation." At this there was a slight woosh and the familiar sight of Yamika appeared in a window that had now appeared with a perplexed expression on his face. "Sentry, dismissed." he made a dismissive gesture and the sentry walked over to the spirit. "I bear you no ill will, i wish for a harmonious existence between all. However should you resist or endanger our position you shall be neutralized." He spoke with a voice of implied passion, maintaining a neutral tone while his voice still held warmth. He then raised his hand to his left eye, and the runic pattern around his eye began to twist as he cast his eye among the group before focussing on the spirit. "Spirit, you are endowed with the ability to ease the suffering of those around you. Please see that you do so. I will be along shortly with refreshments." After this the window disappeared and they knew on more of the area outside the room.
