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The group gets out of the mansion in the nick of time - the structure collapses soon after then exit it.  It is still night, so the man starts a fire and takes his mask off.  Unsurprisingly, it is Battal.  But very, very beat up Battal.  A lot of the skin on his face has been ripped off, and a bit of bone shows through a massive hole in his cheek.  It is still dark black from when he was Forgotten.

It was hard crawling out of the rubble that he had wound up becoming a part of yet again before the house that he had once been tossed around in collapsed upon itself. "What in the world was I doing back here," he scolded himself before gingerly putting one paw in front of the other, wincing every time he tried to breath.

 

Oh, yeah, he definitely had broken ribs and the way the bone's broken points poked against the muscle made it a real pain to get from one place to another. Night befell the area and he soon spotted a blaze. One that belonged to the accursed group of prisoners with a few additions.

 

Diving quietly into one of the bushes at the edge of the campfire's light, he perked up his ears and carefully placed his eyes so that he could see through the bush with ease. That...being still disturbed the Hound's thoughts. How could something as powerful as that appear without his notice? In any of his lives, no less?

(As do I.)

 

Celina fled the collapsed scene, wielding a blazing sliver of wood taken from her cage. With only her osteotome, her music box, and a pile of burnt pig flesh for fuel and kindling, she was quite exposed to the open world. And yet, she loved the freedom of the air rushing into her face, the glory of actually running free. It was a wonderful experience, yes, but she wouldn't experience it much longer if she didn't run. But where is there to run in an open area, with no one on your side and everyone wanting you dead?

 

A glimmer of light blazed up in the distance; a small flame dancing on whatever fuel it could get. Strange; there isn't much fuel left, unless that carcass of some pig went up. Hm. She was glad for some sort of fire besides her measly torch; even if it was an unfortunate dead pig, she could salvage what was left and consume it. With this in mind, she runs towards the inferno, hunger now on her mind.

"B-B.... Battal?"

And with that, memories start flowing into Will's mind. What Dark Will saw when he was in control. He then saw the crushing of his body.

--------------------------------------------------Flashback-----------------------------------------------------------------

Will suddenly found himself on a cold, metal, operating table in a pure white room. Will tried to move, but he let out a cry of pain. He looked down to find his left leg missing, most of his torso gone, and his right arm mangled beyond use. Will tried to let out a scream, but one of his lungs was missing. He couldn't afford to expel that much air. He was hooked up to a machine for sustenance. The door slammed open, but Will could not turn his head to see who. The atmosphere immediately darkened, and the lights dimmed. Out of the corners of his eyes, he saw a group of shades, grasping various surgical tools and machinery. Out from behind them walked Shadowfall.

 

(Alright, Battal. Let's play flashback conversation, because I don't want to even try to guess what Shadowfall would say in this situation, as he is about to turn Will into the Masked Man)

(Shadowfall isn't really one for mechanics and machinery, so instead...)

 

But it seems Will was mistaken.  Whom he had thought was Shadowfall was actually someone quite different, but for the sake of keeping this short I won't go into too much detail.  Therefore, the being shall henceforth be known as Mechanic A.

 

Mechanic A examined Will with a robotic eye straight out of an 80s sci-fi movie; then an unnaturally wide smile spread across his face.  He raised a large, sharp instrument, something that looked like a combination of a chainsword and a drill.

 

"Relax.  This won't hurt a bit."  Mechanic A said, activating the device.  Then, with surgical precision, he cut open Will's skull.

Everything went dark for Will. There was only the sound of multiple saws and drills. Eventually, the darkness faded into light, and Will awakened. He was still on the table, but most of his pain had faded. He tried to gasp, but found himself unable. He tried to swallow, but found himself unable. He tried to question what was going on, but he was unable. He looked down, and saw everywhere that was missing, and a little more, had been replaced by machinery.

"HE IS PERFECT."

The voice shocked Will not in how sudden it was, but in that it came from where he was laying.

"MAKE HIM MY SLAVE. HE WILL SERVER ME WELL, FOR A TIME."

The shades began to close in on Will, one holding a mask that was frighteningly familiar to him. The shade placed the helm and Will's head, and everything went black once more. On onslaught of foreign memories came rushing to Will. The one that stuck out the most, however, was him standing over Snowfall's dead, headless body.

"MAKE IT STOP!"

Will fell into a crumpled ball, shivering volatility.

(What a good time for me to sign off. Good night.)
 

Jakob shakes his head.  "I haven't seen him since the Beacon Temple.  Well, actually, haven't seen him while I was..."

 

He sighs, his face growing depressed.

 

"Myself."

 

Looking around the group, he realizes something with a start.  "Where's Satoshi?  And Snowfall?"

As Celina walks towards the fire in the distance, she had to cross what remained of her now defunct prison. She lingered a bit on the spot, staring at the burnt structures and wood, simultaneously wrapping a piece of pig flesh around her torch for fuel. Despite this area being her prison, both physically and mentally, it was the only place she could remember. Even the worst memories were nice, because they let her reflect on what she has survived; she can still remember the metallic tang of blood from the first pig she has killed.

 

With a sudden jolt, Celina remembers that she wasn't entirely alone; she at least had certain friends. Friends...now that's something she hasn't though about for a while.
 

She drifted towards where her cage, now twisted metals and charcoal, lay before. The light of her torch didn't extend far ahead, but no matter; the outline of a slender figure was visible, lying on the ground peacefully. She knelt down next to the slender body, and slightly shook the figure. When the figure didn't awaken, she slapped it in the face with her osteotome, jerking it awake.

 

"Get up, you lazy bum."

 

Two pale lights, too faint to be noticed by a wandering eye, burst open into circles, the figure now visibly awake. Rubbing its head, it stares at Celina with a mixed look of reproach and pity. Sitting up now, it stares at the woman, not making any effort to acknowledge this psycho.

 

"There you go. Up now."

 

Stretching out its legs, it stands up, a foot taller than Celina. Of course, she wasn't disconcerted by this; she walks towards the campfire in the distance, beckoning for the figure to come. And come it did, drifting lazily behind on its one shadow tendril.

Jakob looks into the darkness, having heard a small sound from within the rubble.  The silhouette of Celina is visible before the still burning ruins of Taggard's mansion, as is...something else.

 

"There's someone out there."  Battal says, squinting in an attempt to see better.  "Not sure who it is, though."

Walking towards the campfire, she pauses at the faint, but stll audible indirect mention of her. She quickly drops the torch, stamping the flames until only a small inferno is there, too small to be noticed, but large enough for her to see a few inches in front of her own face.

 

"Crap. There are other people."
 

She looks towards the figure, then beckons it to move towards the campfire. At once, the creature slipped into the darkness, and while one couldn't see into the darkness, Celina knew that the shadow creature was now halfway between the campfire and herself, if any conflict were to occur.

Edited by Pecival

Dark Will crouches over Will as he shakes uncontrollably.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I have a feeling all of his memories are coming back... He is being destroyed by the shock. I shudder to know what he is seeing, what he did that we don't know about."

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

Wendy ran through the cave with her torch out.

Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening! I just watched a girl get fried in front of my own eyes! I have to warn the others!

Wendy emerges from the entrance of the base, where Wickerbottom stood guard.

"Wendy? What's wrong?"

"Some guy with a weird mask just killed the little girl with lightning, and he's coming for us!"

"Killed her with- Wendy, that's not possible. You can't control lightning, only store it's energy."

"It doesn't matter, he had a sword and a gun, too!"

Wickerbottom's eyes widened. Her face grew stern. She had seen a gun kill more than enough family members to know what they could do. She ran to a nearby tower, and began to ring a large bell. Out of a tent came Wigfrid, Willow, and Wx78. Willow grabbed Wendy and the lighter, as well as a pack of survival supplies, and escaped into the cave. Wigfrid, Wx78, and Wickerbottom all armed themselves with Thulecite Suits, and football helms. Wickerbottom grabbed a bunch of blowdarts, Wigfrid grabbed her Battle Spear, and Wx78 grabbed a nearby Fire Staff. They stood prepared for what might walk through the cave entrance. Out of it, marched the Masked Man.

"This must be the person the Wendy was talking about. It is fully armed, so be careful."

"THREAT IS ARMED WITH ADVANCED FIRE ARM AND SABRE FILLED WITH ELECTRICITY."

"This tiny man? Even the children of my village are bigger than this man."

The masked man pointed his sword into the air, and pointed it at Wx78. Lightning shot from the blade, and into him.

"SYSTEM OVERLOAD!"

"Wendy wasn't mistaken! He really can control lightning!"

Wigfrid charged forward with her battle spear, and brought it down overhead the Masked Man. He easily side-stepped, and sliced the Battle Spear in half. Wigfrid dropped it to the ground, and pulled a golden axe from her pockets. The Masked Man froze, and for a second, his sword stopped glowing. It was all Wigfrid needed to bring to axe down into the Masked Man's helmet. Sparks flew from the helmet, and the Masked Man began to spasm.

"That wasn't hard at all. Now, to Valhalla with you!"

The Masked Man gained his composure, and brought up his gun. He aimed it at Wigfrid's nose, and fired. Her brains splattered all over a nearby stalactite.

"Wigfrid! Damn it all!"

Wickerbottom aimed a blowdart at the Masked Man's exposed eye, and blew. The dart was sliced in half mid-air.

"EXTERMINATE"

Wx78 fired off a volley of fireballs at the Masked Man, all of which a direct hit. His body, however, showed no damage from the fire. The Masked Man raised his sabre one a gain, and shot more lightning into Wx78.

"SYS-SYSTEM OVER-OVERLOAD: CRASH EMMI-"

Wx78 exploded into various gears and contraptions.

Wickerbottom dropped the blowdarts, and grabbed a new contraption she had been testing. She had placed a handful of gunpowder into a metal shell, and ground red gems into another section. Pulling a pin on the contraption would cause the two powders to meet, causing an explosion in 2-3 seconds. Wickerbottom pulled the pin, and tossed it at the Masked Man's feet. It exploded into a light green fire.

"Please work, for the love of Them, work."

The Masked Man stepped out of the flames, covered in the fire. His clothes had been burnt away, leaving Wickerbottom to see what lied underneath. Part man, part machine.

"What did this to you?"

The Masked Man began limping toward Wickerbottom. She grabbed a nearby Lantern and pack of supplies, and fled deeper into the caves. The Masked Man collapsed.

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

"THE FIRE! THE FIRE- IT BURNS! MAKE IT STOOOOP!"

Will began thrashing in pain, trying to put out a fire that wasn't there.

Edited by Will

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