A study in the eldritch (Lunaraia;Pervy;MortalitasBorealis)

[Lunaraia]

Korrie and Fey:

Phyre watched Fey's struggle, at first she did not seem all too impressed, until about halfway through, when Fey woke up she would give the Phoenix girl a gentle smile, as she gave Fey a sudden hug, giving Fey a sense of being hugged by a particularly doting grandmother, for some reason,, before she pointed at a particularly nasty looking bolt cutter, then at her own collar, the implications pretty clear, or so she hoped, she wasn't all that pleased at having to restrain Fey, but for now her focus was to get herself freed from the infernal collar that had been keeping her captive for far too long.

Once Fey got to work she would find that Phyre decidedly wasn't human as where the bolt cutter would normally press against her skin they simply sank into flames instead, which would be a pretty good indication that Phyre was not a normal person at all not to mention that the bolt cutters would be burning red hot after a few minutes of working on the collar, which was slowly getting cut through.

As Korrie entered she would find that the heat of the forge was much less than it had been previously, in fact it felt, pleasant, undoubtedly the strange little object she had found had to be the cause, as it was the only thing that had changed since the last time she was here, even as she entered she would notice a few changes though as there was a wall of crystallized fire in front of her that forced her to slowly make her way deeper into the forge, where she could hear a muffled voice speak, followed by the sound of someone or something falling onto the floor.

As Korrie rounded the last blocking piece of frozen flames she would see Phyre, although Korrie did not know who that was pointing at the bolt cutter on the wall, then her own Collar, then she would see who she was signalling too, the moment she did lay eyes on Fey, the Collar would flare up with orders to immediately follow her original orders, while the object would demand she stand still just a few moments later to counteract it, both of which would be overwhelming Korrie's ability to actually think for a few moments as they both struggled to influence her actions, leaking Korrie with a small window to decide who to actually throw her own mental strength behind once she regained her ability to actually think for herself.

The moment of struggle would allow Fey enough time to cut the last bit of Phyre's collar which would immediately cause a blast of blue and white flames to explode out from Phyre herself, bathing both Korrie and Fey in a blinding amount of it, when the flames passed the crystalline fires that Fey had created would be no more, leaving the forge clear once more, and Phyre's appearance would have changed drastically, gone where the dirty young woman dressed in rags, and instead she was now wearing a delicate and stylish dress made of dark blue flames so small the dress seemed more liquid that gaseous, yet still completely hiding Phyre's features from view, her blue hair had also been set ablaze, yet the hair was also giving off what was undoubtedly a frosty smoke as if the fires were burning cold, rather than warm, her arms were covered in gloves of this same fire, burning yet cold at the same time.

Phyre looked over at Fey, not yet noticing the silent Korrie ”I... thank you, Fey, I can't even... remember how long it has been since I were free” her voice were calm and melodious, yet decidedly friendly as she embraced Fey once again, as she did Fey would notice something flowing into her from Phyre, something cold, yet not unpleasant, Phyre stepped back again, looking a bit self conscious for a few moments ”I guess I do owe you an explanation, don't I? Well you – hmm? Phyre turned her head having finally taken notice of Korrie, her delighted expression going tense as she noticed the wyvern-girl standing there, collared, but holding the strange object she had found earlier, would this strange girl be friend or foe given her current predicament? Phyre tensed up as she awaited a solution to that particular predicament.


As Kuroi sank her hands into Pax it would feel like sinking into a bottomless bog as no matter how far in she reached she never seemed to reach the other end, even as her spell started to drag in the darkness from Pax itself, it was as if the darkness was pouring out from some kind of endless source and into her, there was so much of it, suddenly Kuroi would realize that her spell was being overwhelmed as more and more of Pax Flowed into her, then it was suddenly as if the darkness she was absorbing was no longer coming from without, but from within, as if she had become darkness itself and darkness was all there was ”I must say, you are either extremely brave, or extremely foolish, not many people would dare to try and absorb a Shadow the way you just did” The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, including inside Kuroi's own head.

Pax' voice also seemed calmer and... amused ”Given your current predicament I could pretty much puppeteer your physical body around as I see fit right now, as your trapped inside your own mind after literally absorbing my entire physical body, core and all, luckily for you, I have no wish to face a Mask, in difference from my overconfident Master, he's not a bad kid, you know, despite his “punch-first-ask-later” attitude and obsession with the whole “Dark-and-Mysterious-Stranger” motif which he keeps butchering every time he opens his mouth, he's just.... careless I guess you could say, so I need to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, as such...” Kuroi were dimply aware that her body was moving was moving...

Trevor gave an annoyed grunt as the spears struck at him, but he did not disperse as Shiroi had hoped, but rather let loose a shock-wave of dark energies that pushed the spears and spheres back buying him time to rush Shiroi and strike at her, though his attack never landed as something slammed into him sending him flying backwards, past the spears and into the wall of the arena itself with a tremendous force, Shiroi could see what had hit Trevor clearly enough, it looked a lot like Kuroi, if Kurois eyes were pools of darkness with red pupils, and her hair were a long mane reaching to the ground and dripping darkness, and with shadowy claws for hands and with a fanged maw in place of a mouth, Trevor tried to stand for a few moments, before collapsing back onto the ground, the surprise attack having knocked the wind out of him.

The Kuroi-Thing walked towards Shiroi, it's gait unsteady and uneven as if it's body was not something it was used too “Do me a favour and remove the last enchantment your sister wrote on her arm, it's keeping me trapped in here, do that for me, and I will surrender as I have no wish to risk my Master against a Mask” the voice as a mix of both Kuroi's and Pax' as if they were talking in unison, and a quick examination of the arena itself showed that neither were anywhere to be seen, which likely meant that what was talking to her right now was a Pax-possessed Kuroi, not an ideal situation for Shiroi at all should she decide to not do as the Shadow asked, seeing as she would have to fight the shadow in her sisters body otherwise.

 

[MortalitasBorealis]

Nervous but curious, Korrie followed the trinket’s guidance back to the forge. Before she even entered, she could already feel that the oppressive heat emanating from the place had waned significantly, no doubt protection offered by the trinket. As she walked in though, the wyvern’s eyes widened as she saw that things had definitely changed in there, walls of crystalized flame blocking her path, rather like what was in the hall before. Were they caused by the same entity? Whatever had made them, she did not want to piss it off. In fact, what if the trinket belonged to whatever or whoever’s responsible for these frozen flames, and it’s just trying to return to its owner rather than help her?

Still, while the trinket’s intentions are still unknown, the collar’s was clearly bad, so she continued deeper into the forge, just more cautiously, sneaking along as quietly as possible, until she finally reached the end of the wall of crystal fire and carefully peeked around the corner. To her relief, the first thing she saw was a person instead of a monster, and not a very intimidating person at that. There was someone else with this stranger though, and Korrie kept watching, until she saw who it was.

The surprise of seeing Fey and the sudden intense and completely opposite impulses that assaulted her mind froze her and gave her a hell of a headache, and the wyvern girl would’ve whined in pain if the collar hadn’t silenced her. Still, when she regained some semblance of control over her own mind, as naturally submissive and eager to be an obedient pet as she was, she still had a clear mind on when to indulge and when not to, and it was easier not to act than otherwise. Perhaps without the trinket she wouldn’t have been able to help herself, but thanks to it, Korrie managed to simply stay still, gripping onto the crystal wall tightly and refusing to budge an inch.

Before her eyes, Fey successfully cut the collar off of the stranger, resulting in an explosion of fire that forced Korrie to back off and shield her eyes. When the searing light through her eyelids dimmed, Korrie could see the true form of the freed slave girl, her beauty stunning enough that it kept Korrie still even without her actively trying to. That moment of shock passed when Korrie realized the flame crystals were gone and she had just been spotted. The opposing impulses in her head raged once more, and Korrie again did her best to follow the trinket’s call, her feet firmly rooted to the ground. In fact, slowly, wincing, the wyvern girl managed to lift one hand and point at her own collar, a clear plea for help. ‘Take it off! Hurry!’

---

Her ploy seemed successful at first, the catgirl teleporting up to the shadow beast and plunging her hand into its body, feeling the darkness be absorbed into her body and funneled back out. Only this time, something was different. The darkness seemed unending, and no matter how much poured into her, the shadows did not recede, and if anything only seemed to grow.

That was the moment when she realized she screwed up. The same trick wouldn’t work twice, and Pax was ready for her this time. Swiftly her script was being overwhelmed, her magic reaching its limit, and terror welled up in her heart when she felt herself being consumed by the darkness until it was all she could see and feel. The familiar’s voice actually helped soothe her, reminding her she wasn’t alone in this abyss. “…I can be both.” She retorted, mostly to keep herself calm with conversation. In her defense, it had worked once before…

Kuroi’s fear further receded when Pax continued, though only slightly. “Wow, you’re saying you’d sooner sabotage your own master than risk fighting the Mask? That’s… foreboding.” She remarked. She wasn’t sure how well her sister was doing, but the shadowmancer and his familiar had been tougher than anything the two of them had gone up against so far, and if Pax had wanted to he’d have pretty much won the fight already, with her getting herself possessed and all. It’s safe to say that their opponents were significantly stronger, more experienced, and more versatile than either of them, and Pax was about to betray his master just to keep him away from the Mask. Just what are they getting themselves into?

The catgirl was shaken out of her thoughts briefly when she felt her body start to move on its own.

In the meantime, completely unaware of what had just occurred with her sister, Shiroi was still in the process of trying to bait and trap Trevor, an attempt that had, both surprisingly and unsurprisingly, not gone well. Maybe he guessed what she wanted him to do, maybe it was just coincidence, but the shadowmancer did not turn back to smoke, and instead managed to force back her barrage long enough to charge her. The spears and spheres quickly chased after him and Shiroi prepared to defend herself with her blade, charging up energy into the weapon to unleash it in a concussive blast, but she never got the chance. Something else beat her to the punch.

Neither of the two had seen the attack coming, and with Trevor having stubbornly remained solid, that meant he took the full brunt of the force. Stunned, Shiroi watched her opponent sail away and slam into a wall before shifting her attention towards her unexpected ally. A second’s confusion turned to dread swiftly, as despite the changes, she could easily recognize her own sibling.

Warily, Shiroi stepped backwards, energy-wreathed blade at the ready, but poised to defend. Somehow, some way, Pax had possessed Kuroi, but then why did he attack his own teammate? Was her sister the one in control? Was she fighting inside, leaving her body to run rampant and attack anything in sight? Her speculations came to a halt when her sister finally spoke in a distorted voice, and Shiroi finally made sense of what’s going on.

“…Well, if that’s what you want.” The albino responded after a few seconds and stepped forward, taking a hold of her sibling’s arm and using her own magic to carefully dispel the already destabilized script. It’d be a lot easier if she had some water on her, but whatever. Pax coming clean with his intentions immediately had quenched much of her reflexive anger and fear, enough that she could even appreciate that her sibling’s possessed form was honestly pretty cool-looking, like some kind of shadowy were-tiger. Still, the thought of lingering side effects worried her, and a part of her went through the same thought process her sister did.

Despite her best efforts, if things had gone on, Trevor and Pax would’ve won fair and square, she had to admit that. Heck, her sister getting possessed like that would already have been enough reason for her to just surrender instead of risking Pax doing anything to her or risk hurting Kuroi herself. Yet, the Mask was such a serious threat that Pax was willing to backstab his own master while they were on the cusp of victory just so they won’t have to fight it. A part of her suddenly felt like she was mirroring Trevor, too gung-ho for her own good and dragging her sister into a fight they really shouldn’t be approaching, only Kuroi was too nice to stop her by force. Should she really be doing this?

While Shiroi continued to seriously rethink her life choices, Kuroi’s script burned away into blue embers, letting Pax go free.

 

[Pervy]

Spoiler

Fey stretched a little and adjusted her flame-clothes. She, for her part, gave the impression of a very grumpy kid that refused to play with their own toys anymore for pouty-reasons, rolling her eyes before bolt-cuttering the collar. "Bloody taken ages too." She complained. Why was she being nice again?

She first slightly covered, then narrowed her eyes at the cold-flames thing, re-stressing: "Told you you were doing fire all wrong. For your interest, blue's actually supposed to be a more energetic flame than red or yellow." She complained, whilest also tensing up at the cold feeling, she didn't like cold. Granted, the blue dress was pretty.. pretty. But still! She pushed the woman off of her. Cold flames were just wrong. "You're free, stop bugging me."

She peered over to the collared Korrie then, noticing her with the wince, at first tilting her head, then sighing a bit more. "Great. more bolt-cutting. I'll just bring this thing around, be bolt-cutter girl. Clearly my flames don't do crap." Fey complained and raised her right hand to her neck, a chocker of burning-white flames forming around it swiftly.
"Ya'll propably think me stupid, but I'm pretty sure Korrie's either constipated or fighting some urge, everyone around here's wearing collar's, so, just for your interest, those flames around my neck are actually really hot, next joker trying to collar me will have their hand melted." She shrugged. "Then again." She grumbled, snatching Korrie's collar if not stopped pre-emptively. "Someone's just gonna snip their fingers or throw some stupid crystal at me and make 'em disappear, so whatevs."

 

[Lunaraia]

Phyre turned towards Korrie and nodded in agreement to Fey's statement ”It would indeed seem like your friend met the Usurper while you were separated, let's free her, shall we?” Phyre moved closer to Korrie, carefully at first
but once Fey took the collar Korrie was holding she rushed forward and in a simple motion bound Korrie in fiery ropes, that, while warm to the point of slightly unpleasant would not burn Korrie, though they would also not instantly snap iif she tried to get loose, even with Korrie's enhanced strength though they would stretch ever so slightly under the strain and would not hold to a prolonged attempt at getting loose ”Probably won't hold her for long, I suggest putting the cutter to use if you intend to free her, as I assume she is a friend of yours seeing as you know her name” Phyre noted as she added a few more ropes in hopes of prolonging Korrie's immobility while Fey did her work.

Phyre immediately moved to grab Korrie the moment her collar would break, easing her down to the floor while undoing her ropes ”Careful now, child, it can be quite jarring to be freed so suddenly, so take it easy” indeed Korrie would feel quite disoriented for a as the nagging of the collar would just abruptly vanish, along with all the compulsions it had put into her head, leaving Korrie confused and dizzy in the process, though she would quickly recover, even as Phyre gently removed the shard she had been holding as well, looking at it with clear interest for a few moments, before she gave Korrie a bright and kind smile, almost grandmother like, actually, aside from the fact that Phyre appeared to be about the same age as Korrie and Fey, though they both knew looks could be and most often was, deceiving.

Phyre looked at Fey with a gentle smile, giving her a pat on the back ”I know you are not a fan of having your fire controlled Fey, no fire elemental of any kind are, as such I am gonna give you a little gift, consider it a reward for freeing me, I do owe you a debt for freeing me, after all” Phyre put her hand on Fey's shoulder and a pulse of energy would enter her, it would be cold at first, but would quickly heat up to a pleasant warmth that would seem to radiate from within Fey herself ”There, I have given you a few gifts as a show of my appreciation for earlier, let it not be said that I do not repay my debts, first, your fire is now your own, no more having it's power snatched by anyone, feel free to burn to your hearts content, likewise the crystals won't bother you any more, unless you purposefully let them, more over I took the liberty of giving your fire the ability to differentiate friend from foe, as such it will only be pleasantly warm to those you consider friends, while burning everything else with the same abandon it always has, I would say that repays of my debt in full, or is there anything else I can do?” Phyre looked at Fey with an expectant look as she waited for the fiery woman to respond.

__________________________________________

The audience were, quite understandably rather confused as they watched Shiroi burn away the last of the seal and even more confused as Pax slowly poured out of Kuroi, leaving her slumped on the ground in a heap, the Shadow reformed into a semi-humanoid shape, gave Kuroi a nod and simply flowed over to Trevor as he picked him up ”We Surrender!” he said in a clear and calm tone, loud enough for everyone to hear, he turned to the twins once more ”Good luck girls... and for what it's worth, don't die” he simply said before he moved towards the exit, though as he went the twins could hear Trevor mumble something while Pax was collecting his dropped gear ”That was.... cheap... Pax... wanted to... fight the... Mask” Pax looked at Trevor as it swallowed Trevor's spear and shield before it responded ”And I swore to your father on his deathbed I would not let you go and get yourself killed, so deal with it, besides once you see what the Mask is capable off I am certain you will agree with my assessment” The shadow picked up Trevor again and simply carried him out under his arms as if he was a sack of potatoes even as Trevor mumbled something else which made the raven chuckle and respond with a single word the twins could not quite catch, waving to the Twins one final time as he left the arena.

The announcer seemed to be at as much a loss for words as the spectators, given the sudden end to the fight, but he quickly recovered ”Err... I.. am not sure what just happened there folks but it seems that Squirming Shadows have conceded the match as such the Monochrome Sisters move on to the finals!” there were a hesitant applause from the stands before it built in strength as the spectators caught on that it would probably be polite to give an applause, there was a flash of light and the twins would find themselves on some seats in those very stands, though the seats were situated in a small box on it's own, clearly reserved for the finalists to watch the proceedings leading up to the final battle, given that no one else were batting an eyelash at the twins sudden relocation. A few moments later the doors to the arena would open and the two remaining teams would walk out, Desert Sands on the right and the Feline Fury on the left ”Alright everyone the final semifinal is about to begin, Desert Sands Vs Feline Fury.... contestants.... BEGIN” the two cats immediately started off on some grand and flashy spell directed at the other duo.

The next moment the entire arena was swallowed up in a giant sandstorm, there had been no warning, no sound, no incantation, just one moment clear sight, the next a giant vortex of blowing sand was covering the entirety of the lower arena obscuring both teams from view, something moved inside the sand and a pained and terrified yelp of a cat could be heard, followed by the sound of something struggling briefly and fiercely as well as a bright if suppressed flash inside the swirling sand, before the sandstorm abruptly ceased, gone as if it had never been there, one of the two cats were lying on the ground, unconscious, battered and bruised, but clearly alive, where it's companion was were anyone's guess, as it was nowhere to be seen, the winners of the dreadfully short semi-final, the Desert Sands looked at the entire thing without betraying any emotion, however the twins and the spectators in general would notice something concerning, the veil the woman had been using to obscure her features had come loose in the sandstorm, revealing that her face seemed to be a mask made of some strange substance that seemed to go from looking like natural skin to a play like grey, which given the reaction from the crowd were probably an indication that they had found the Mask at last, or Masks, as the man's beard had also disintegrated in the fierce storm, revealing an equally masked face as well, clearly he duo felt no need to hide what they were any longer now, or perhaps they had simply gotten carried away, as the two looked up to the twins, with the man making a “Come-and-get-me” gesture in their general direction even as Arena staff carried the shell-shocked feline out on a stretcher without even bothering to look for the poor cats companion, it was their turn in that meat grinder now, the twins could hear a familiar voice cursing close by, and if they turned to look they could see a cloaked man with short black hair and several bruises sitting on a nearby seat, with a raven on his shoulder, Trevor, most likely, his expression was tense and he absentmindedly handed a bag to Pax, who, despite being a raven again, somehow managed to look smug as it took the offered bag, clearly Trevor had made some kind of bet with the bird.

 

[Pervy]

Spoiler

"I really dun know what to make of you." Fey complained. Phyre was nice enough, but she really didn't like her fancier than thou attitude, she'd had enough of those in the past. At least she could do some proper fire too, not this weird cool stuff.

Fey shrugged, and with Korrie restrained, quickly ensured to have her cut free, clarifying: "This ursoup mistress is a meano, so I'd propably unclamp anyone.. So I figure you're the original mistress huh? .. you know, going by you knowing of there being a way to make these collars come off, would be stupid to just have that lying around." Fey proved the insight of someone that misunderstood the word 'usurp'.

"Also.. huh.. you weren't jarred." She noted, before hesitating at the fire touch... and sighing...

"Haaah.... I'm a bit hot headed, aren't I? .. I guess the ability to not burn those I don't want to is worth a lot of cost, even if the fire is cold." She hung her head a little.
"I thought I knew all I could about fire control, that I was the best at it around.. I mean, I was, compared to any other superhuman beings, but guess I wasn't all that much." She crossed her arms. "There's one more thing you can do. Take those gifts back. It's enough to know that such things are possible... but I'm doing this my way" she decided, before reaching around her neck, unclasping the necklace and handing it over.. geesh, it was hot in this place... but she could deal with it.. she exhaled.. inhaled.. and calmed herself.. it wasn't -that- hot. Hot was nice anyway.
"This too, give it to nice fire-grandpa. Am sure you can find him if you're this powerful. I feel like it could be dangerous, in the wrong hands." But she nodded, determinedly.
"Someone elses power or flames can never be as good as what I come up with myself...." She smirked. "Plus just you watch. In time I might come up with a fire even you'll have to respect.. or fear!" She pointed at the fire-grandma, challengingly. "I'll tell you again. All flames are mine to command. Not every flame.. but any flame." She flicked her fingers upwards, flames once more engulfing her in a fiery dress, whilest a swirling of blue and green gathered around her hand, forming a sword of frozen, blue, cold fire, with edges of flickering eldritch blue lapping at the air going out from it.
"See, eldritch fire, and your frozen stuff is really not that hard either." She proclaimed, proudly.. with just a hint of a deep seated desire for approval in her voice, muttering on: "Seriously, making a big deal out of cold flames of all things, these nonsense flames are just not.. hot. why does everything taste of copper?" She asked, before flumping over again, her flames going out...

It was a good thing she had a tendency to heal up fast, considering her tendency to over-exert herself today.

 

[MortalitasBorealis]

Korrie continued focusing her attention on trying to stay still and harmless, with only enough mind to spare to notice Fey was in a foul mood for some reason. She would’ve cried out in surprise from the fire ropes if not for the silencing collar, and her body flinched, though the restraints did their work regardless. The approaching bolt cutter helped convince her body to stay in place and not get herself accidentally jabbed, until the accursed collar was finally removed, at which point the wyvern girl found herself momentarily stunned, falling to her knees while she stared blankly, blinking in confusion. The overbearing presence of the collar disappeared without a trace in an instant, leaving behind a vacuum in her mind, and it would’ve left her entirely at the mercy of the trinket she still held if that wasn’t taken away as well swiftly, which only left her mind feeling even more empty.

Still, she got used to being entirely in charge of herself again soon enough. “T-Thanks, Fey…” She said distractedly, her attention more focused on the new face that was Phyre. Something about the woman was just soothing, as if she could instinctively tell that she was a nice person. Watching the blue-clad woman’s conversation with Fey, Korrie couldn’t help but feel like she’s missed a lot while she was enslaved, and really ought to get herself caught up, though she didn’t want to interrupt them yet, still feeling really guilty that she got herself into that mess.

…Is it just her or is it getting really, really hot in here?

Under any other circumstance, Korrie would’ve been quite impressed with Fey’s resolution to improve her power on her own terms instead of relying on handouts. Unfortunately, the wyvern girl was too busy sweating and building up to a heat stroke without the trinket’s protection. "U-Um…. Excuse me, but… non-fire elemental here… Slowly… cooking…” She called out weakly while she tried to stagger towards the forge’s exit before she passes out.

---

Still not entirely sure what’s going on outside the dark realm her consciousness was stuck in, Kuroi could only wait patiently until she could feel Pax’s presence receding, her body collapsing to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut before she could get a feel of the situation. Shiroi immediately appeared in her vision though, helping her back to her unsteady feet. “You okay?” “As okay as I can be after being possessed by darkness.” The catgirl returned a soft smile to reassure her sibling.

Pax’s declaration of surrender got the two girls’ attention once more. “Don’t die? Sounds like good advice.” Shiroi smirked, even as it reminded both her and her sister of the gravity of the situation they’re currently in. The two girls waved back as their opponents left, then to the audience when they gave their applause. “I feel like we didn’t quite earn this…” “Hey, we still put up a good fight. We’ll just have to earn it proper next match. And try not to die in the process.” The two girls whispered between each other, before in a flash of disorienting light, they suddenly found themselves elsewhere, not back in the waiting rooms but in the VIP seats. After getting their bearings, the twins simply settled in to rest and prepare to watch the Mask in action.

“So, what happened exactly while I was possessed? I couldn’t hear or see anything during that.” Kuroi asked while they waited for the last two teams to arrive.

The white-haired girl grinned at the question. “Oh nothing much, you just turned into a shadowy were-tiger and one-punched Trevor. Being possessed by darkness aside, you looked pretty cool, kinda wish I could show you somehow.”

“R-Really?” The neko blinked in surprise and checked her body for any lingering darkness. Just as she was satisfied that she was back to normal, the next match’s combatants arrived, and the two kept keen eyes on the battlefield, waiting to see what happens. As expected, the cats were not the Mask, but neither sisters had anticipated the sandstorm to appear that fast and without warning. Unable to see anything of what’s going on in there, there were only sounds of horror to stimulate their imagination, and in a fraction of the time of their bout with Trevor and Pax, it was over.

“…Where’s the other one?” Kuroi was the first to ask, a quiver in her voice as she scanned the arena for any sign of the second cat, to no avail.

“Could’ve teleported out. Could’ve gotten eaten. Who knows.” Shiroi muttered without a hint of mirth in her voice, her attention more directed towards the two still standing. “Aw fuck, they’re both Masks.”

“W-What do we do?”

“I bet they put up that sandstorm just so we couldn’t see anything. There’ll be no dividing and conquering this fight. We stick together at all times.” Shiroi threw a quick glance towards the shadowmancer nearby, and his familiar. “And of course, don’t die.”

In tense suspense, the two girls waited, whether to be teleported back down into the arena or to be led down the more traditional way. Hopefully they’ll get a rejuvenation potion or something beforehand to restore their strength before fighting the literal manifestations of an elder god’s fragments.

 

[Lunaraia]

As Fey collapsed Phyre moved quick enough to actually catch her and slowly lowered her to the ground, before she walked over to Korrie and put her hand on her head, the moment she did Korrie would feel elated as blessed coolness would wash through her body as the room temperature seemed to drop from baking to quite pleasant, Phyre giving her a kind smile as well as she helped Korrie back on her feet, then walked over to the unconscious Fey and lifted her up without any effort ”Korrie, was it, why don't you follow me, we have things to talk about, like how you got your hands on that fragment and more importantly how the two of you wound up here of all places” Phyre started to walk, while indicating with her head that Korrie should follow, not that Korrie had much of a choice, given Phyre were holding Fey in her arms. As she walked she would give Korrie a closer look as well as, clearly curious as to just what Korrie actually was, though being too polite to say so, ”I take it the two of you are friends, given how fey here wanted to free you and knew your name... Korrie was it? I must say, you have an extraordinary friend in Fey here, not many would be able to conjure eldritch fire and Cry flames at the same time, let alone force out Ghostfire when I were actively interfering with their ability to use their fire magic” she looked down at Fey with an expression akin to that of an extremely proud relative as they reached their destination, Phyre's room.

Phyre put Fey down on her sleeping mat and gently stroked Feys head, wether Fey had regained consciousness already during the time she was carried and just pretending or still out of it Phyre couldn't really tell, though she gently stroked Fey's head as she, as per Fey's request took most of the gifts back ”Individualism and personal achievement are traits that are always strong for those of us brimming with the Elemental Fire, so I will heed your request little Fey, though the Crystals will no longer harass you no matter where you go, unless you should wish them to, as I refuse to let you do me such kindness without giving you some form of reward, I have my pride too, after all” as she spoke the energy she had used earlier would once more pulse through Fey, before Phyre turned back towards Korrie, ”Now dear, think you could explain how you wound up in this far-flung outpost of the Realm of Fire? As I am quite certain you were not sent here by the Primal Lord, seeing as my usurper has had me send reports as normal while wearing one of those blasted collars” Phyres fires turned green-tinged for a moment as she mentioned the collar, betraying a great deal of hidden anger towards the woman who had so betrayed her, if things were to be believed at any rate.

Phyre would continue to make conversation with Korrie about various topics for a few more minutes, until Fey either came too or got bored with being just lightly stroked on the head, but otherwise ignored to pretend to be out of it, Phyre would gingerly walk over to a small chute and take out some strange orange looking fruits, only that they were giving off a slight sulphuric scent and offered one to Fey and one to Korrie ”Eat, it will make you both feel better” she took a bite of her own, skin and all, if the two pets actually dared to take a bit off of it they would find that it was sweet, though it had a lightly bitter aftertaste, but eating it would leave them feeling refreshed and alert afterwards, Phyre looked over at the two with a thoughtful expression as she ate her fruit ”Hmm, I am not quite sure what to make of the two of you, you are... here, yet not quite right here, if you get what I mean, I am not exactly sure how to explain it, but I think it would be wise to get the two of you back to whence you came as I don't think your current state are … err … natural? It's as if you are a dream come to life, if that makes any sense to you” she would finish the rest of her fruit in silence, though her thoughtful expression would not fade even as she finished it.
___

As the twins pondered the situation an official appeared next to them holding 2 vials of what was obviously the rejuvenating mixture they had received the day before, likewise another, clearly much more nervous official had similarly appeared before the masks, who, despite their expressionless faces, gave of an air of amusement at the prospect of needing the potions, not a good sign. Once the Twins had drunk it they would be teleported back down to the arena again, the masks Eyeing the two with expressionless faces, but still with an intense gaze that showed clear interest. Look LOOK, I sense it I sense it! Brother Mist, BROTHER MIST it's inside the MORTAL, oh how INTRIGUING!! The voice was not normal as it seemed to echo from inside the twins' own heads rather than being something that they physically heard So it would seem, though not just Brother Mist, sense deeper, much deeper, under Brother Mist's power there was a pause, then a hissing sound, one of... fear, shock? Difficult to say The MOON, SISTER MOON, brother mist AND SISTER MOON, why WOULD Sister Moon SHARE with BROTHER MIST, it makes NO SENSE, SISTER Moon NEVER shares with ANYONE! the first voice complained, the woman shifting back and forth a bit, seemingly agitated as the commentator were introducing the teams, her voice perhaps? Less a case of sharing and more a case of taking, Brother Mist are not foolish enough to contest with Sister Moon, who as a newborn ripped us all apart, after all, let's see how well the hosts of Brother Mist and Sister Moon, will do, shall we?

Just then there was the sound of a large gong, signalling the start of the final bout, the effect was immediate on the two as the previous sandstorm immediately surfaced again, making visibility near zero for the twins, they could see something moving inside the sand though, something that was moving towards them, something BIG and they would have to back pedal fast as a giant, clawed hand, covered in sand and what appeared to be dried out bandages appeared out of virtually nowhere to slam down at them, barely missing Kuroi by an inch before it disappeared back into the sand, leaving the twins only guessing at what they where fighting and where it was now, as another claw strike would barely miss the two, forcing them to back off once again, it was almost like it missed on purpose....

 

[Pervy]

The flames had died down around unconscious-Fey leaving her naked but for her sash.. and the occasional ember of unconscious phoenix-elemental fun. She was also extremely passed out, clearly not knowing how to pace herself.

That did not stop her form murring softly when stroked.. she seemed a lot more innocent and hot-headed when asleep, really... but lucky for her, her self-recovery was as quick as always, and her eyes opened up, with a lazy yawn. "Fuaaah.. where's.. oh right, weird fire place.. yah I liked the vulcano-slide more.." She declared.

She sat up and yawned slightly, again, stretching and re-igniting her flame-dress. "Right, I dunno what to think anymore. I thought all fire-people were nice, for starters. Taking suggestions." She nodded, looking about, hesitating about how to feel about fire-grandma.. like.. she made Fey grumpy, but her instincts told her otherwise.

Plus, she'd been captured and that was not cool no matter how you looked at it!
She sniffed at the offered fruits and then shrugged, nomming one down.
"Oh oh! I can answer the dream-thing.. We're actually dream traveling to find pancakes from a dangerous yellow library dude living in some big city-house after our mistress got knocked out by an evil mermaid." Fey.. condensed the story.

"But.. that is weird, yeah, my flames are kinda up and down all day... Plus, these crystals all around, suckling up heat.. is this some fiery plane? didn't know those were around in dream-lands.. Anywhoo, i dun try to think about it too much because there's lotsa weird names and no one bothers to explain things proper like.. 'ok we gotta burn these dumbos, dun burn those, here's a treat for you!'

On that note, no matter what I think of ya, I dun like the fire-mage gal that brough us here, I am gonna kick her butt." She nodded. Phyre's state had not gone missed by her. ".. and am doing this entirely for myself. And for the pancakes, because I suspect they are really tasty if we need them this badly... I'll sneak a bite.. if.. err.. there's any left after we fed them to mistress, that is..." She clarified, rubbing her chin and munching on her recovery-fruit.. shifting a little on the matt.. it wasn't -that- comfortable..

 

[MortalitasBorealis]

Phyre’s touch was truly a blessing, and Korrie sighed in relief as the suffocating heat relented to a pleasant warmth. “Thanks…” She murmured, finally able to appreciate her free will again without having to worry about getting cooked. Of course, with her lack of information right now, free will didn’t really help her think of a solution to getting her and Fey out of here, so for now she could only follow the kind, fiery stranger and hope for the best.

For a while Korrie simply nodded along, confirming her name, the fact Fey and her knew each other, and Fey’s specialness, though Phyre would only see a rather blank look on the wyvern girl’s face when she talked about all the sorts of fire the fire elemental could control. Only when they were in the safety of Phyre’s room and she asked about how they got to the fire dimension did Korrie finally talk.

“Well, we were in Ulthar with our friends, and Korrie and Fey were visiting the dragon enclave, the festival’s in town and all. There was a fire elemental of some sort there though, probably the ‘usurper’ you mentioned, and she was causing some kind of fuss at reception until she saw us and just… teleported us here. Because she thought we’d make cute slaves, Korrie guesses. Korrie doesn’t know much more than that.” The pet wyvern explained, not going into why they were in Ulthar or how she got herself collared by the usurper. “By the way, you wanted to know where Korrie found the fragment thing, right? It was down the hallway from the forge, in some half-melted hall with more of that frozen fire. It helped Korrie fight off the collar’s commands, but otherwise she doesn’t know what it is or does.” She answered as well, remembering Phyre’s earlier question.

They continued to talk, the wyvern girl warming up to Phyre quickly, until Fey woke up. “Hi Fey. Thanks for the save earlier.” She thanked, then gingerly accepted the fruit offered to her. Her first instinct was not to trust anything that was normally meant for fire elementals, but Phyre has been really nice and should be aware she doesn’t have the same kind of heat tolerance as Fey does, so Korrie decided to take the chance and took a bite. It tasted a little funny, but otherwise it was fine, and it did leave her refreshed.

Fey beat her to explaining things about their there-but-not-there state, and Korrie could only giggle at the silliness, her spirits getting a much needed uplifting. “There is that, yeah. As for our, um, ‘state of existence’, it’s because we’re not native to the dreamlands, and we’re not physically here. We’re using a ritual to sort of astrally project ourselves here while our bodies are elsewhere, as a safety measure in case something bad happens to us. We can’t just wake up whenever we want though, so we’re still stuck here. Is there any way for us to get back to Ulthar?”

---

Just as the twins were hoping for some rejuvenating potions, an official appeared to bring them some, and the two quickly downed the concoctions, feeling their stamina and mana replenish. As soon as they finished they were once more down in the arena, face to face with the most dangerous entities they have encountered to date, perhaps excluding Shiroi’s mental visions of the Mist itself.

Startled by the voice in her head, Kuroi flinched slightly, while Shiroi remained calmer and more intrigued by the two Masks before them, talking about the twins’ patron deity. It stood to reason that the fragments of an elder god would be able to sense the power of one of their own. The voice of the second mask caused a moment of confusion for them though, unsure what was meant by a second power beneath the Mist’s, until they were reminded of Lady Pale Moon’s blessing. What was even more surprising was that the female Mask was actually agitated by the presence of ‘Sister Moon’s’ influence, as well as the male Mask’s mention of how Lady Pale Moon had been the one to create the Masks by tearing an elder god apart.

There was little time to ponder these new revelations though, as the fight began and a sandstorm immediately enveloped the arena. Expecting this, the sisters held hands, keeping in touch with each other to make sure they were always close by despite the lack of visibility. If they got separated at any point, the fight would likely soon end.

Before Shiroi even had time to put up any defenses, the two caught sight of something approaching through the sands up ahead, something large enough to be seen through the storm, and narrowly dodged backwards out of the way as the mummy’s claw slammed down where they stood. Another claw reached out to strike them again, another narrow dodge, even if they were more prepared for it this time.

“W-What is that?!”

“I don’t know, but I’m gonna try and find out.” Shiroi answered, looking about warily for the next claw strike. If the Masks had truly wanted to win quickly, just attacking from behind would’ve easily got them on the first hit, but she knew there was only so much mercy going around. “Sis, I’m gonna try to buy us a few seconds, can you give us a simple defense in that time?”

“I think I can!”

“Then get ready!”

As quick as she could, the albino slammed a palm into the ground, erecting a spheric barrier around them. A wall to be beaten against wasn’t the purpose though, as the barrier rapidly expanded until it exploded outwards with a wave of force, hoping to clear the sandstorm for even a few precious seconds, so Shiroi could see if the Masks were still there hiding in the sandstorm, or if they had become the sandstorm, and the giant monster inside of it.

In that small timeframe, Kuroi wasted no time scribbling a script on both her arm and Shiroi’s, activating it: ‘Repels sand’. It wasn’t much, but it should save them from a few hits and give them time to figure out more of the Masks’ power. She could’ve written ‘Destroys sand’ as well, but simply repelling sand felt like it’d be more energy efficient than somehow annihilating it. She got the feeling the Masks had infinite amounts of the stuff anyway.

 

[Lunaraia]

Phyre stared blankly at Fey as she listened to her explanation, clearly not following along at all, the explanation given by Korrie seemed to at least make more sense to her, given her less flabbergasted expression once she was done explaining things, though her expression remained thoughtful throughout the entire explanation. ”Elemental are as varied as any other people, young Fey, we can be kind, cruel, selfish or charitable, just like any other individual, as for this Ulthar... Hmm... can't say I have heard of it, then again Extra-Planar travel isn't my strong suit, seeing as I have never left the Plane of Fire with the exception of visiting my relatives on the Plane of Ice, I would need to consult someone more learned in that matter, though if you are Astral projections like you claim that would explain your slightly, “not there” look, hmm, I will see what I can do for you once I have dealt with Her, can't really have her running about with those accursed collars of hers while I try to get you two get back, who knows what she might do” Phyre seemed to pause for a moment ”Wait, you said that she got you in Ulthar and transported you here? Then there might be some information about the place in her private chambers then...” Phyre finished up her fruit and started pacing around the room, her fiery dress slowly changing from Blue-white to more regular looking fire as she paced around, likely a subconscious effect of her thinking.

Phyre stopped her pacing suddenly, before looking at Fey and Korrie, now with an eager expression and determination burning in her eyes ”So, I have an idea on how we can get close to the Usurper and get back at her, though... you probably won't like it” she paused for a moment, before pressing both her hands together and a small fire erupted from it, it lasted but a few moments before the flames died away, leaving Phyre holding three eerily familiar collars ”These ones are fake, they just look like the real deal, but it would likely fool the Usurper, for a short while at any rate, there is only one problem” she looked over at Fey as she spoke ”You would have to remain completely quiet, not a single word spoken at all, until we can get in a position to strike at her, eve na single noise, even a snicker, would give us all away, so Fey, can you remain quiet from the moment we leave this room and until we start our battle?” the way she asked Fey directly clearly suggested that Phyre had experience with dealing with people whose personalities were similar to Fey's, given that she only offered Korrie a glance after asking Fey directly about it, clearly expecting the Wyvern Girl to be able to keep her mouth shut until they could get ready.
________

The twins would get their wish of a clear view of what they were dealing with, and would likely instantaneously regret learning what awaited them, as the Masks had changed appearance completely, now truly living up to their namesakes as the Masks as their bodies had turned into dark energies, not too far from the shadows that Pax had become, though infinitely darker, if Pax was shadows the energies pouring out from the backside of the Masks were the Void itself, and it was from this energy that the giant hands had come from, and the mummified monstrosity they belonged to following behind them, as the two masks had intertwined their dark energies to open some form of gate, from which a giant mummy-like monstrosity were in the process of crawling through, the clawed “Attacks” had simply been it's attempts at dragging itself from the confines of the entrapping void that held it.

Now that the twins were getting a better look at it they could see that it wasn't hands but paws, fully two feet and a half across, and equipped with formidable talons that were even more horrid to look at given the things mummified form. It had great black-furred arms, and two shorter but still thick-as-a-man fore-arms attached each with one of those horrid clawed paws at the end of them, though the fur were matted and dead with clumps visibly missing even through the bandages covering them. Two crimson eyes shone as it stared at them with a unyielding hatred common in undead things, and the head of the undead horror, large as a barrel, the skin dried and cracked and partially covered with bandages. The eyes jutted two inches from each side, shaded by bony protuberances overgrown with coarse, matted hairs. But the head was chiefly terrible because of the mouth. That mouth had great yellow fangs and ran from the top to the bottom of the head, opening vertically instead of horizontally, and as the thing struggled once more to free itself it let loose another roar, as it did a small, ripped piece of cloth would fly out of it's horrid maw, it might have once been a small hat, small enough for a cat to wear...

There was a collective gasp from the audience as they looked at the thing and even over the wail o f the sandstorm and the things angry roars the twins would be able to hear one word, one that would probably make them VERY happy Aya hadn't taken them to the Underworld earlier, as the word “Gug” were uttered loud enough fo reven the twins to hear, the very same thing that apparently were lurking out on the moors and in the underworld and they had luckily avoided running into, though the Masks seemed quite content at sicking this particular and long-dead specimen on the twins now as it tore itself loose from the portal and the moment it's relatively short legs were under it it started to stagger towards the twins on all four, just as the barrier pressing the sand back collapsed as one of the Masks hit it with some kind of eldritch bolt, dispelling it and hiding the monsters renewed approach, the “Repel Sand” enchantment would at least let the twins breathe clearly though their visibility would still be obscured, though they would not have to shield their eyes lest they get sand in them any more. The shaking of the ground and the approaching silhouette were the only warning the twins would get as another swipe came in at the twins, with on paw high and another low and this one was aiming to hit, that much was clear given the speed and ferocity of the swipe it was clearly trying to grab either of them ad lift them up the same was a small child lifts a doll, though undoubtedly the things aim were not to play nice little games, given the obvious fate of the last thin it had gotten it's paws on. Worse still, if the strange noises coming from the sand were any indication the Gug would likely not remain alone for long.

 

[Pervy]

"Wait, you're part fire, part ice? How'd that happen?" Fey mused, tilting her head curiously, before, after watching the pacing, hesitating,.. and gulping, looking from Korrie to Phyre.

"Y.. you're asking a lot of me.." She asked, seeming serious, scratching the back of her head (with a hint of embers) and seeming to weight her options.. kicking Mean butt.. or talking.. talking.. or kicking butt...
She harumph'ed and crossed her arms.
"Guess I can try. But no promises.. I don't like her but this is your thing and I am still not sure if I like you." She nodded.
"Why can't we just... blow her up .. like.. booom!" She waved her hands determinedly.

"Korrie seems to have gotten stronger, you can do fire-stuff too and I wont fall for her flame-magic stuff forever. Rawr!" She declared, flexing. "Just need to see how exactly she does her thing one or two more times..." She nodded again.
Well, she seemed willing to try?

 

[MortalitasBorealis]

The wyvern girl blinked in surprise at the mention of relatives on the Ice Plane, and while Fey voiced the question, Korrie looked at Phyre with equal curiosity. She had thought the blue flames to be a symbol of how strong a fire elemental she is, blue flames being hotter than red ones afterall, but this did explain those ‘frozen’ flames from before. She would’ve thought that an ice and fire elemental would never mix, but it appears that isn’t the case.

Korrie listened closely as Phyre proposed her plan, even though she looked a little nervously at the fake collars before she took one and put it on. She wasn’t too keen on involving herself in this conflict or going up against that ‘Usurper’, but at this point they’re left with little choice, the Usurper could well start trying to hunt her and Fey through the dream realms if they escape without taking her down first. Besides, she did want to help Phyre regain her rightful authority, whatever authority that is, and the Usurper is both dangerous and cruel, a threat to more than just Korrie and her friends. It’ll do them and everyone else good if they take care of that threat now by backing up Phyre.

The wyvern girl was equal parts amused and worried when Phyre focused her instructions on Fey. She didn’t want to think badly of her sister pet, and the happy-go-lucky energy of the phoenix was often very charming and uplifting, but… well, she’s not exactly a master of self control. There’s a real threat that she might break their cover, so Korrie could only hope for the best. In response to the glance Phyre gave her, the pet wyvern just smiled and mimed pulling a zipper over her lips. She’s already the quiet sort, so this will be easy for her.

---

On one hand, her success at temporarily dispelling the sandstorm worked, which was cause for celebration; on the other hand, what that success revealed was nothing but dreadful.

There was, of course, what became of the Masks; rather than becoming the beast that was attacking them, they had instead become a rift in reality, with a darkness almost beyond mortal comprehension. It wasn’t a differentiation that could truly be described by words; there was pitch darkness, the absolute absence of light… and then there was the void, an alien emptiness that disturbed the mind on an instinctive, fundamental level to look into. It was a shame that this particular void was far from empty.

While Kuroi’s jaw dropped in a soundless scream, shrinking back with her cat ears folded down in terror, Shiroi felt like her heart had stopped for a second. The… abomination wasn’t the most grotesque thing she had ever seen, but it was perhaps the most grotesque, REAL thing she had ever seen. Eyes briefly followed a small scrap of cloth flying away that wasn’t a piece of bandage, and she wondered if it was what she thought it was. Beyond its hideous appearance, Shiroi also realized that the swipes from earlier weren’t playful feints, or even attacks at all. There would be no toying around from this monster, no honor, no mercy. It will come at them with its full force and slaughter them given half a chance.

The twins could hear the creature’s name called out amidst the gasps of horror from the audience, ‘Gug’, and both vaguely recollected that they had heard of it as a denizen of the underworld. The return of the sandstorm snapped the two out of their petrifiying awe of its terrible majesty, and both were quick to back away from the approaching silhouette and the swipes of its massive claws. The utility that Kuroi’s enchantment brought them was little comfort in the face of their adversary.

“Sis, you need to shut that portal down before something else comes through!” Shiroi immediately commanded, energy wings spread as she levitated into the air. The wings were a bright beacon in the obscuring sandstorm, and the albino quickly left Kuroi’s side, forced to change their earlier strategy of staying together so that she could pull the Gug’s attention away from the much more vulnerable catgirl. A trail of floating lights were left in the wake of her wings, like shining stars, that soon resolved into lasers that blasted at the undead horror. A greatsword of light manifested in Shiroi’s hands, and after a while of just barraging it with laser artillery, she would try to put herself right on the edge of clawing range in the hopes of baiting a swipe, then boosting under it while trying to cleave at the wrist. Here’s hoping its rotting, bandaged appearance was properly indicative of its durability…

The ravenette, meanwhile, had to force herself to not just quiver in her boots after her sibling took off, still cautious in case the Gug wasn’t drawn away. Without looking away from the beast’s silhouette, Kuroi started drawing on her own shirt, producing a sword of her own that was a little crooked; under less stress, she might’ve opted to draw the weapon in the shape of a key for her plan, but she wasn’t in the mood for frivolity. Her eyes still glued to the beast, legs ready to spring back on a twitch reflex, if given a few seconds’ more reprieve, Kuroi would quickly write ‘Shuts portals’ on the sword’s blade, activate it, then carefully try to flank around the monster so she could get closer to where it came from and stab the rift.

Will her enchantment be able to overpower the Masks’ will? She didn’t know, she was too busy praying that nothing would reach out from the void to drag her screaming into the abyss.

 

[Lunaraia]

Phyre looked over at Fey ”How I am half-and-half? Political marriage between my parents, strengthening relations and so on” as she said so she snapped her own fake collar around her neck and handed the others over to Korrie and Fey, even helping fastening them if need be, with that done Phyre redonned her rags and put out her own fire, quickly losing the more dignified look to once again just be a poor waif, at firt glace at any rate.

She gave a nod to them both once they were done, with their own preparations already getting “in character” then once they both had their collars attached opened the door and guided the two out and headed the opposite way of the intersection and past the hole that Fey fell down earlier, a few doors further down Phyre opened a door leading into a stairwell and started to lead the two others upwards, past the floor they had previously been on and up another two floors into another hallway, this one more finely decorated and even had lavish furnishing scattered around tastefully and had a more “homey” feel to it.

Phyre took a left and lead the two towards a large set of doors at the end of the hallway, a pair of the armoured things were standing guard outside them, though Phyre didn't even acknowledge their presence, nor would the guard care about the girls unless the two started to outright mess with them, at which case the guard would shove them away and Phyre would silently intervene, provided no one actually spoke up they would be let in without any issues.

Behind the large doors were a spacious audience chamber with a throne seemingly made out of brimstone on a small dais and surrounded by small indents in the floor filled with molten lava, if the air in the room was any indication Korrie would undoubtedly faint almost instantly if not for the fire protection given to her by Phyre back in the forge as the heat haze was clearly visible as they moved inside.
Sitting nonchalantly on the throne was the woman from before, reading a rather large book of some kind that seemed impervious to the heat as well as the fire, as the door closed she looked up and saw the trio and a clearly malicious grin formed on her face ”Ah my new toys have arrived, good good and even my favourite little puppet is with you, how marvellous”

The woman made a gesture towards Phyre who, with a lowered gaze walked up towards the woman and stopped just in front of her, before kneeling down, the woman put the book away, leaned down and with another one of those malicious smiles caressed Phyres face, before she backhanded Phyre violently, sending her reeling backwards, before Phyre could recover the woman stood upand grabbed Phyre by the throat ”You are such a cute little toy, hurting you always bring me joy you know?” she grinned malevolently, her beautiful features twisted into an ugly grimace in the process, as she slowly started to use her free hand to stroke Phyres head once more, though if her previous behaviour was any indication, it was only a matter of time until she struck again, would give the other two pets ample opportunity to launch a surprise attack, seeing as her focus solely on Phyre at the moment.
___
The Sandstorms howling would make it difficult for Shiroi to actually get any pinpoint accuracy on her shots though the undead Gug was so large it didn't really matter as several of the lasers hit home on differ parts of the Gugs large frame, though if the thing was damaged or even felt the impact was hard to tell as the thing just continued onward, then stopped as Shiroi's Greatsword ignited, the sockets of it's strange face somehow seemed to follow the glow of her wings as it reached out and swiped et her with one of it's arms, with the lower for arm reaching out to attempt a grab as she dove underneath it's grip, Shiroi's sword would find it's mark, but any hopes for an easy cut were quicky dashed, the things skin were like cured leather and the pandages were similarily tough and resistant to cutting, it was almost as if her magics were being dampened. The gug's response to her attack, however were sudden and unexpected, it responded not in surprise or by attempting to grab her, but by opening it's maw fully, nearly doubling it's already incredible width and revealing a maw full of razor shard teeth, Shiroi would have to be quick to avoid being engulfed completely as the monster lunged forward with the full intent of consuming Shiroi whole.
Kuroi would not fare much better, while she was able to safely circumvent the Gug, whose attention were on Shiroi what awaited her behind it was not what she had expected, the gate was gone, and so were the two masks, instead replaced by only one mask, with a new different Mask for a face, a Pharaoh's mask, and it's body was now that of an androgynous but muscular and bronze skinned human A sword to shut a gate? An amusing idea, but seriously, child, do you honestly think your will would be strong enough to shut a rift opened by one such as us? The voice in her head seemed strange not quite the voice of the old man or the woman, but rather a perfect combination of the two, the two made One, before Kuroi would be able to react the Mask would suddenly be right in front of her it's masked face nearly touching Kuroi's own, and as it did touch Kuroi's face the sound of the sandstorm and the sound of Shiroi firing lasers would just cease, a quick glance could show the world had turn black and white the sand not moving at all, giving Kuroi precious little space to move around in.

You are an amusing little mortal aren't you, you are fully aware of just how outmatched you are, to the point where nothing you can do can even hope to harm me and yet, here you are, fighting, not because you seek power or glory, but because you care for your sister and wish to protect her the Mask reached out, somehow able to phase through the time-stopped grains of sand to touch Kuroi's cheek You sister will die, you know, take a look Kuroi could suddenly see the Gug and how it had opened wide to engulf the charging Shiroi, both frozen in time I could end her existence right now, by just resuming time, you are not powerful enough to save her, right now, but what if you could be, what if you could fight as her equal and not as her support?”Kuroi would be able to hear the “Deal-with-a-devil” tone in it's voice, though she had no way of actually fighting back against it as it spoke to her.

Would it not be nice? To save her for a change, that is, all you need to do, is prove you can handle the power, the cat did not, it could not even handle to look upon Our combined form, let alone remain conscious when We touched it, but you, Child of Mist and Moon, you could potentially do it, you see, We am looking for a host, We am hunted by another Mask, one stronger than Us, but We have no interest in being subsumed back into the Creeping Chaos, We LIKE Our freedom and We am willing to pay for it, so if We have to go dormant and lend a small sliver of Our power to you for a few decades to throw the Haunter in the Dark off Our trail to secure it, so be it, the concept is simple, in a few moments We will put Ourselves onto your face and merge with you, if your mind can handle it, We go dormant and part of Our power will be yours to use as you see fit, the Gug is powerful, and it's resilient against the magics of the Mist and Moon, but with Our power at your disposal, you could banish it back to whence it came, as you would wield the power of the The Dark Pharaoh, a shard of Nyarlathothep, Herald of the Outer gods, your power would rival if not eclipse that you your sibling, you would be the darkness to her light, if you succeed, if you fail, well We gain your body as a vessel as your mind would be obliterated, so not much of a loss in the grand scheme of things either way We get what we want, but We are benevolent and kind and despite you being little more than a mere bug, We need your insignificance right now, you should be honoured

The Mask, reached up with a deliberately slow movement and “removed” the mask from it's face, revealing nothing but the same void underneath, then the mask was turned around and the the last thing Kuroi would know before a blinding pain overtook her would be the strange shimmery metal of the inside of the mask touching her skin, only time would tell if she could actually handle the Masks power or not, though the presence of the eldritch magics already inside of her would somehow seem to lend her strength in her struggle, as if neither were happy about this 3rd power trying to make Kuroi's body it's own.

 

[Pervy]

"I ment more like.. biologically." She mused, a little hesitant about the collar and chuckling.. there were logistical problems for a fire and an ice elemental in having sex, for starters. It sounded very one last night stand only like...

Feys preparation was to extinguish her own flames with just a hint of resilient emberassment, and put on a bored expression. That bit, at least, was easy.
Fey wondered briefly if the armored dudes were actually, well, dudes, or just some fire-inspired summons. Some evil fire overlord likely didn't have super many friends, she figured.
Admittedly, the room looked nice and fiery.. such a shame all this fire was wasted on a not-nice person!
Without 'Fire Grandpa's necklace, Fey herself felt pretty hot in the place.. until she reminded herself that she kinda was fire. Seriously why get herself burned?

Fey narrowed her eye when she watched the cruel overlord slap Phyre.. now the cold-fire gal was.. well.. weird.. but just slapping her for the fuck of it was even less nice.. Well, Fey had saved up a little ember of frozen, eldritch and ghostly, as well as obviously normal fire, but, really, she didn't need it. She glanced over to the woman, and thrust her hand forwards, before musing..:
"There is one thing, sis, that I truly envy you for.. No ne misunderstands your powers.. you are a dragon, you breathe fire. Me.. everyone things I am a pyromancer.. I throw fireballs. But they don't get it, not entirely." She nodded, lines of fire curling out from the fire-hair ontop of the womans head. "Fire is mine.. I don't create it, I just tell it what to do and it listens. When I throw a fireball, I don't create a blast of flames and toss it somewhere, I just ask a small flame to grow big and go up some meanos butt.

And when a woman with fire for hair gets uppity,.. Secret Technique! PHOENIX HAIR SHIBARI!" Fey posed dramatically, already having reached out for the flames ontop of their foes head secretly when they entered and now attempting to bind her up tightly.

 

[MortalitasBorealis]

A political marriage, huh? Still sounded odd for fire and ice to marry like that, though judging by Phyre’s existence, it’s clear the two elements mixed better than one would think. While she too wondered how it was that two polar opposite elementals could be in physical comfort around each other, much less conceive a child together, she figured she probably wouldn’t understand the intricacies of elemental biology other than ‘It just works’, so she didn’t really think too much on it.

With their fake collars on, the wyvern girl nervously followed the hybrid girl up with her sister pet, restraining her curiosity, though she still glanced about at the decorations. It was a nice, lavish place when one was less preoccupied with the fact they’d just been kidnapped across dimensions, and it made Korrie just a little homesick. Her new home with Mistress, of course.

Steering well clear of the guards and not giving them a second thought beyond that they’re bad news that they might have to contend with once the action started, the wyvern girl got even more nervous once she entered the audience hall, eyeing the pockets of lava on the ground and being very careful to avoid them. She wasn’t too worried about showing fear, having actually had a collar on her she knew they weren’t designed to leave her a mindless puppet. Still, she had to put some effort into calming herself; with how the air seemed to shimmer, she could tell how blisteringly hot the room actually was, and if anything were to happen to Phyre’s heat-warding enchantment bestowed on her, well…

And of course, there was the usurper herself, sitting cocky on her throne. Phyre’s rough treatment at the usurper’s hand made Korrie’s stomach turn, sickeningly infuriating, but she simply wasn’t confident enough to take the chance to do anything, not without someone taking the lead, so her eyes darted between Phyre and Fey, waiting for a sign…

…Then the phoenix girl spoke, and the wyvern girl nearly had a heart attack. They just blew their cover and lost the element of surprise! What now?! On the verge of panic, Korrie braced to have to leap straight into physical assault, not having much else she could do, but she waited to see if Fey’s trick worked, and what Phyre was about to do. She wouldn’t want to get in the way of either of them.

---

The initial parts of the plan went as expected. Shiroi successfully drew the monstrosity’s attention, baited a swipe, evaded it, then counter-slashed; but that was as far as the plan got. Despite the mummy’s rotten appearance, its skin and even its bindings were anything but brittle, as the blade slid over the limb while leaving barely a cut. Somehow, it felt like both the beast was unexpectedly tough, and her weapon was unexpectedly blunt, like something was dampening it. Before she really had time to think about it though, the Gug lunged forward with its maw, an illogical maneuver that Shiroi had not seen coming. Crying out in shock, the girl tried to boost out of the way with her energy wings, but she was just a smidgen too late. The teeth closed in on a defenseless leg, ready to tear it clean off her.

At the same time however, as Kuroi hurried towards where the portal was with sword in hand, unable to see anything beyond the sandstorm, she found at her destination not a gateway into the monstrous abyss, but an entirely new entity, or so it seemed at first glance. The neko froze in her step, staring at the masked pharaoh for a few seconds before realizing she’d been had; she and her sister had been successfully separated, and now she was about to face the might of both Masks united as one. “…It was worth a shot?” Kuroi answered hesitantly, not sure what else to do. It was at least a better idea than allowing the rift to stay open and let more abominations through.

Then without warning, the Mask was right up in her face. The ravenette flinched and stared back wide-eyed, a cry of shock dying in her throat; and then all was silent. Confused and fearful, Kuroi glanced about to find that time and color had temporarily seeped away from the world, leaving her and the elder god fragment trapped together within the moment. The Mask spoke next with words of truth; she had no foolish notion that either of them could actually win the fight, and really, she didn’t want to be here risking their lives against capricious fragments of gods, but Shiroi wanted to try, and Kuroi didn’t want to dissuade her. Her sister’s confidence was simply infectious to her, and hearing Shiroi talk, she couldn’t help but feel like maybe they would come out of this with something gained. The Masks were here seeking fun, surely they weren’t intentionally out for blood?

Yet when she turned to look, she could see how big a mistake they have made coming here. The end delayed by frozen time, Shiroi remained stuck in the beast’s path; she may survive the first bite, sure, but not without being horrifically maimed, then it would only be a matter of seconds before she’s finished off. Yes, they were sort of astral-projecting themselves here, so they should be safe, but even the slightest risk that they were not was unacceptable… but there was nothing she could do about it. Or was there?

“…What are you proposing…?” The neko asked warily, though she had an idea where this was going.

While the reveal that the Mask(s) were in turn being hunted by one of their own kind was a surprise, but Kuroi was too occupied by other things to think on that too much, namely being possessed by a third eldritch entity… well, technically the other two weren’t possessing her, she was merely infused with some of their power, but that only made this all the more different.

If Shiroi dies here, there’s a good chance she’ll still be fine again in the waking world. If the Masks overwhelm her now… For a moment, terror threatened to grip her, the girl instinctively pulling away from the god fragment, but then she stopped.

People react to desperation in many different ways, and for Kuroi, despite her meek nature, when the chips are down and she’s backed into a corner, the panic subsides and her mind focuses. Just as it did when she decided to brave Christine’s mansion in search for a cure to Shiroi’s illness, so too did her resolve steel itself now. There’s no escaping the Masks at this point, whether she likes it or not, this is a ‘deal’ she cannot refuse. That means she’ll simply have to survive it, and if she survived the cult brainwashing as a child, she can do it again as a grown-up.

Slow enough to let the dread sink in, the mask was lowered onto her face, and the girl… screamed? She wasn’t sure if she did or not, but the pain was agonizing, as if tearing at her very soul. A normal human couldn’t hope to withstand such an assault even with the strongest of wills, but thankfully, Kuroi was no normal human. The eldritch essence she already held began to push back, as did her self-preservation instincts, and the ravenette rode that force, resisting the Masks’ force with every ounce of her will.

She will not die here. She CAN’T die here. Her sister needs her.

Slowly, painfully, but surely, she began to force her way through the tide of the alien presence, reasserting her dominance over her own body and mind… though whether she would survive entirely without scars, none could say yet.

 

[Lunaraia]

The Usurper, paused and looked at Fey with an utterly incredulous expression, then staggered backwards as she was entangled in the fiery ropes, ”Surprise, Chā'i” the woman turned towards Phyre just in time to catch a blast of what was unmistakeably snow right in the face, causing her to stumble backwards, to distracted with the sudden stinging cold to actually fight back, immediately, leaving an opening for Korrie to take a swipe at her, if Korrie did it would be a solid hit that would cause Chā'i to stagger away from both her and Phyre, who were now radiating cold to the point where the floor around her were breaking out in rime and ice and you could audibly hear the creaking and cracking as the hot floor was spontaneously chilled and the lava flash-cooled into obsidian.

Even as Chā'i stagered backwards she broke loose from her fiery bonds after a bit more of a tug-of-war with them, at this point the fake collars had dissipated into blue flames and then into nothing, Phyre clearly saw no point in keeping the illusion going any longer, or maybe unable to do so while wielding frost to the level she currently was, either way Chā'i looked far less confident than she had just a few moments ago even as she ignited her own flames and sent a jet of them out towards Fey and Phyre both.

The ones heading towards Phyre wouldn't get far though as they started to crystallize and simply fell to the ground where they shattered, giving Korrie another opportunity to attempt to get in another strike, meanwhile the Fire headed towards Fey would be resilient to Fey's attempts at actually interfering with it, at least to begin with, it was almost as if the flames themselves did not like what was going on.

At the same time the doors burst open and the two guards from the outside entered, clearly alerted to the sound of the crystal flames shattering loudly on the floor, they stood there for a moment, clearly not sure what was going on, though only for a moment, before they took a step forwards, only to fall back as a wall of eery blue flames that were rapidly dropping the temperature in their vicinity sprang up with Phyre making her ay towards it, leaving a trail of ice and cold in her wake ”You deal with her I will handle the traitorous guards” she said calmly as she entered the fire wall and disappeared from sight, though if the sudden screams of pain and terror coupled with pleading voices spoken inn the same fiery language as before were any indication the guards were not faring well against Phyre at all, though it did leave the pets to deal with Chā'i alone.

Not that Chā'i seemed much more confident just because, as she was clearly suffering under the suddenly much more tolerable temperatures, it was now like an early summer day in the room and Fey would likely start to feel slightly chilly as a result, whereas Korrie would not notice anything due to her enchantment, while Chā'i were visibly huddling herself, clearly not used to such sudden temperature swings at all, even so she took a step forward, her hands igniting in angry green-tinged flames as she sent a jet of them against both pets, Fey would immediately notice that something was off about this particular fire, it just felt that way from looking at them, a sense of utter “wrongness” that seemed to come from the depth of her very being.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


The horrible pain and sensation of being crushed would slowly dissipate, the mask on Kuroi's face slowly but surely melting away into nothingness and suddenly in place of the pain there were... calmness, pure and serene as if the pain had never been, Kuroi would suddenly find herself staggering forward, passing through the sand as if it was not even there as she now found herself as ethereal as the Mask had been only moments before, the mask itself had also changed appearance,

Spoiler: becoming a beautiful ornate half mask seemingly made out of onyx, ivory and gold that were covering the upper half of her face

The ears of the mask covered Kuroi's own so perfectly she could hardly feel the thing at all and it did not inhibit her hearing at all, though it would take a while before Kuroi would realize this, seeing as the world was still deathly quiet with time stopped.

Kuroi would easily be able to move up to where the Gug was in the process of biting into Shiroi, it would only be a matter of a split second before the maw would crush her should time resume, so how to go about it? The answer would come to her from within as if instinct, simply pull her sister into the time-stop, all she would need was to touch her, then the two of them could work out how to deal with the Gug and how to return to the normal flow of time, Kuroi would sense though that once time started again it would be beyond her ability to stop it again, at least on the scale that the Mask had so effortlessly done as her fragile mortal body would not be able to withstand the level of power required.

 

[Pervy]

"Yeaah!" Fey posed dramatically, drawing some of the flames in the room to re-ignite her dress. "That's what you get for being bad tasting tea!" She declared. Seriously, who liked chai tea, it was way too sweet.
Next, she lowered her hands together, forming a small circle in between them, clearly planning another fire attack, no suprise there. Hoh.. and the enemy fire mage unleashed her own flames, which, suprisingly, refused to follow Fey's demands to simply rush aside of her.... althought, with a little more effort, she thrust her hands forward, slowing the advance of that first jet of fire, holding it in the air before letting it whisk away into nothingness with a confident grin.

"Hah. using flames against me.. What are you thinking.... huh, dun like the cold eh? .. not my thing either but that means perhaps I should try some cold flames.." Fey smirked, extending her hands and focusing on the fires she'd seen Phyre use before.. but before she got to that, she watched the green flames and, jerking aside, trying her best to dodge, she shouted at Korrie. "Oi! Don't get hit by those, they give me the creepy crawlies worse than the icey flames earlier!" Fey cautioned. Albeit she was not that used to dodging, more the type to take hits and heal from them. One way or the other, with the frost tingling at her naked feet and her fighting back an urge to sneeze, she lifted her hands, focusing on, whilest trying her best in avoiding the weird flames, gathering the same frozen-fires she'd seen Phyre use. She could do it! She was a mistress of flames and she'd seen Phyre use that stuff before.. she could do whatever she set her mind on...

"Busy her while I prepare to give her a smack'in Korrie, need a moment to gather the necessary flames.. Use your Dragon-punch!" Fey suggested and indeed, she was secretly hoping Korrie would be shouting 'dragon punch!' as she uppercut the evil fire-lady. But sadly, Korrie always struggled with the proper awesome-dramatic flair!

 

[MortalitasBorealis]

To their fortune, the usurper was too dumbstruck that she could be tricked to retaliate in time, and Fey’s binding attack worked perfectly. Seeing her opportunity, Korrie steeled herself and rushed forward, delivering a punch at full strength at the woman’s stomach after Phyre’s ice attack, and with the training the wyvern girl had gone through, that was quite a LOT of strength, enough that even someone as powerful as the usurper couldn’t brush it off. Though heartened by the fact her mundane assault actually seemed to do something, Korrie wasn’t so confident as to pursue the offensive, so she employed her usual Souls-like tactic of hitting and running, backing off and observing.

This proved to be the correct choice, as she avoided being targeted by Chai’s counterattack, the flame attack instead going towards the two that were vastly more equipped to deal with it, and with the usurper’s attention occupied, Korrie could flank her and punch her right in the side of the head before backing off again, no doubt having earned the ire of her foe now.

Spinning around to face the door as the guards stormed in, Korrie considered targeting the lesser foes so Fey and Phyre could take care of Chai uninterrupted, finding a little more confidence at the prospect of fighting (relative) trash mobs, but Phyre evidently had a personal vendetta against the traitorous guards, and the wyvern girl was not inclined to get in the way, so she just nodded and nervously faced the boss once more. That left her and Fey against the weakened usurper, who was either incredibly shaken by the fact someone was actually standing up against her or was just really crippled by the icy cold that had taken over the room, or both. Korrie couldn’t really tell how cold the room actually was, with whatever charm had protected her from the blistering heat before, she could barely even feel a dip in the temperature.

With only the two of them, Korrie felt like she could no longer stay back and needed to pull her weight more, though she was still hesitant to go in claws swiping wildly. Braced to dash forward and rush the usurper, that second of reluctance saved her again as Chai unleashed the strange green fire. She didn’t need Fey’s warning to know that anything coming from their enemy equals bad, but it was all the more incentive for the wyvern girl to throw herself to the side to avoid the attack, something she would’ve had a lot more difficulty doing if she was already rushing ahead and locked in by momentum. She’d throw a glance backwards to see what the fire did to the terrain it struck before getting back up and moving to flank Chai, making sure she’s distanced from Fey so their foe can’t focus on both at the same time.

At Fey’s request, Korrie then took a deep breath and rushed towards the usurper again, swiping her claws at her foe several times and attempting a spinning tail whip, keeping Chai busy. As expected, the wyvern girl didn’t say a thing, too focused on watching the usurper’s hands for any sign of an incoming counterattack. Melee combat is fun in games but it’s absolutely nervewracking in reality…

---

She wasn’t sure how long she fought for, pushing back against the force that threatened to consume her. Could’ve been seconds, could’ve been hours, but eventually, the pain began to give way. The end was in sight, and so heartened, Kuroi steeled her will and gave one last mental push forward; so into it she was that she even moved physically, gritting her teeth as she forced her way through some invisible barrier, and then…

It was over. The pressure was gone, and the catgirl stumbled from the lack of physical resistance. All was still around and within her, and with a calm that she pondered as unnatural, Kuroi reached up to touch her own face. The mask was gone, or at least some parts of it was, only the top half remained, and it seemed changed, based on what she could feel through touch. She’s pretty sure the mask didn’t have cat ears before. It felt eerily natural on her face too, almost like a second skin, she wouldn’t even have noticed it was there if she didn’t check with her hands.

Her inspection of the mask was cut short when she remembered where she was and what she was doing though. “S-Sister!” Her eyes widened in realization and she called out, turning frantically to look for her sibling, who was still there in the same position, imprisoned yet kept safe by the frozen time. For a moment, Kuroi pondered how to rescue her sister, what her newly acquired powers could do. Could she banish the Gug as the Masks had summoned it? Could she summon the power of elder gods and smite it? …She should get Shiroi out of there first, yes.

Without thinking on how she knew to do so, Kuroi swiftly made a hoverboard and floated up to her sibling, giving her a gentle tap on the shoulder. Immediately, the albino came to life, her cut-off cry of shock resuming as she darted to the side before realizing that something was different. “-AHHH!....? Wha- What just…” She looked about, horror replaced by confusion before she spotted her sister. “Sis! What happened? And… where did you get that mask? Where ARE the Masks?”

“Well, about that…” Kuroi began to explain as they landed back on the ground, how the Masks had frozen time and explained their true intentions to her, then forcibly possessed her, resulting in a battle of wills which she won, granting her a fraction of the power the Masks wielded. She left out the part where her soul would’ve been overridden had she lost, making the tale more intriguing for her sibling and less terrifying.

“Uh huh. So while I was screwing up and getting myself killed, you gained the power of gods and saved me with it. And I call myself the big sister? Maybe I should start calling you onee-chan instead.”

“P-Please, there’s no need for that, I was just lucky…” The neko blushed while her sister smirked mischievously, “Besides, we’re not out of the woods yet.” She continued, and both girls looked back towards the frozen abomination.

“True, we still have that to deal with. Think you can drop a cosmic roadroller on it?”

“That’s a little beyond me I fear, as will trying to freeze time again after I undo it, and perhaps even just opening a new portal to send it back. I know I’m still new to this, but I can still feel a sense for what I can and can’t do.”

“Darn. Well, we might have to just kill it via conventional means then.” Shiroi crossed her arms and examined the behemoth like one would a puzzle, knowing that it poses no threat, for the moment. “It’s a lot sturdier than I thought it’d be, if you don’t have anything that can wipe it out now then I don’t think we can take it in a straight fight even without the Masks backing it up.”

“Then we’ll have to take advantage of the time stop to prepare something that can kill it. I think as long as I don’t turn it off myself, it should last a good while.” Kuroi remarked, also staring up at the creature thoughtfully.

“Great. I even have an idea what we can do already. We might not have a roadroller but we can do something else… Help me check for anything that looks like a weakspot, and in the meantime maybe you can think up something you can do with your new Mask powers.” Shiroi remarked, and after her sister answered with a nod, the two circled around the Gug, examining it for vulnerabilities. Old wounds, rotten flesh unprotected by the bandages, a soft underbelly, anything. While Kuroi also searched within for any new powers that’d be useful on the Gug, Shiroi eyed the beast’s open maw. An idea began to form...

 

[Lunaraia]

Fey would find that conjuring the cold fire would be harder than she originally anticipated, as if a part of her very being were railing against the idea, though the more she pushed the colder the flame in her hands would become, and then, as if bashing through a wall within herself, Fey would find the flame in her hand turn the same bright blue colour as the wall behind her, ans ad she did there would be a shock wave of cold coming off of her that would give both Korrie and Fey pause.

Fey would quickly notice just how cold the damn thing was up close as her nails would immediately start to ache from bitter cold the flame was giving off as it eagerly consumed the nearby heat to fuel itself, even so Fey would find that the pain was slowly dissipating, along with the sense of cold in the room itself, it was almost as if mastering this flame had somehow removed her sense of cold itself.

Fey probably didn't realize it, but for Korrie and Chā'i it would be blatantly obvious something had major had happened to Fey, as the fire Fey used for clothes would now be lined with a thin blue edge of cold fire. Chā'i took a step back ”Impossible, how can you a mere half elemental wield that flame when I, a Fire Lord cannot?!” she looked utterly crestfallen, though it would not take long for the expression to change to one that seemed to be a mix of envy, greed and determination as she once more sent forth her green fire towards Fey and Korrie, this time in a cone to make it harder to dodge.

Korrie would be disappointed to find that the fire that had burst past her apparently had no effect on the fiery wall behind her as the flames had, much like the normal fire that she had shot towards Phyre earlier, simply crystallized and fallen to the floor, though the crystals would send the same sense of dread through Korrie as the fire itself had done to Fey, whatever it did it was BAD news.

Korrie would find that distracting Chā'i would be surprisingly east as Chā'i fired another bolt of green fire against Korrie, this one grazing her wing, as it did Korrie would suddenly find herself, wondering, though only for a moment, why she was trying to attack Chā'i when she should be worshipping her instead, it would not take a genius to know where that idea came from, not to mention how bad it would be to take a direct hit from that fire, even as Chā'i levelled her arms towards Korrie for another gout of fire though she did not have tiem to shoot it before a new wave of cold hit both her and Korrie, this one strong enough to affect Korrie even through her enchantment and it was coming from Fey.

--------

Examining the undead Gug wouldn't really reveal any obvious weakspots, as it's hide were, upon close inspection as resilient as the toughest leather you could get your hands on and then some, and the bandages were enchanted, even Shiroi would be able to sense the weak emanations of magic from them, even through the time stop, had they not been panicking when they first saw it it probably would have been obvious.

The thing also dwarfed both girls in terms of sheer size and bulk so a physical confrontation seemed ill advised, that being said, unless it had some ability the sisters didn't know of yet, it was land locked and both sisters could fly so at least they could stay out of range of it's swipes easily enough, even if that was all they could do at first glance, until Kuroi ha another sensation, there was a weakness, but it would be hard to get to, inside the Gug was a crystal that worked to fuel it's reanimation, destroying it would destroy the undead Gug, it would, however not be easy to get to, as it was inside it's chest cavity, protected by the leathery skin, bandages and a carapace-like ribcage.

The Mask however did have one more trick up it's sleeve for Kuroi, a sensation, like something were tickling her ribs, an itch that grew more and more, until the catgirl would not be able to help but itch there, as she did she could feel her hand grasp around a handle of some kind and it would turn out she were now holding a strange dagger Ribtickler, magical dagger, enchanted for sharpness and are able to pierce most armor even enchanted armor, the dagger had a sharp curve, like a raptors talon, with a crimson handle studded with small topazes, the blade itself were made out of some kind of translucent greenish metal, Poisonous, don't touch the blade Kuroi could FEEL that the blade could get through the Gugs defenses, but also that inflicting damage to it would drag it out of it's temporal stasis, meaning time would resume Kuroi would have one shot at landing a per-emptive strike.

 

[Pervy]

Fey hid her disappointment at a lack of 'Dragon punches', making a mental note to next fight with Shiroi.. Shiroi was good at cool attack names. Korrie was.. reliable, and serious. Alright, Korrie was alright, but.. where were the poses! The flair! She'd have to teach her sister-pet later.

Fey grumbled something inaudible to herself, likely arguing with her fire. It was a special kind of process, but it worked, for her. Then, finally, she grinned, triumphantly... only to mieep a little. "Fuck yeah! I .. brrr.. these flames really aren't my jam... brrrrhhrrhrh.." She mused, her teeth chattering, her fingernails a little numb.
"Bloody.. cold.. well, this should definitly do the trick..." She mused, struggling a little with just balancing the flame, at first. Although the thing seemed to do ok after a while.. or was Fey adapting? This was the first time in.. ever.. that the cold wasn't messing her up.. kind of a nice change of pace, although she wondered if she was starting to exhaust even her indomitable stamina, she'd been going wild all day, and it was fun.. but she'd be doing a looong nap later, she decided.

"Huh, I'd taken you for a fire-lady, but I ain't judging your gender-identifcation.. and.. heh.. it's a bitch to control, yeah, but.. I've seen Phyre do it a bunch. Just.. do what she does, Y'know, feel the fire?" Fey shrugged, before hesitating.. "Wait, why am I advicing a villain like you? You're yearning for a burning with all the shit you did to Phyre if nothing else, I dun care if she's weird and annoying, no need to like beat her up and stuff." She declared, swirling her hands slowly, clearly preparing to form that fire from a ball into an attack. Although the evil tea-lady would not let herself get defeated this easily, it seemed.. but luckily, Korrie was doing a good job of occupying her.. now how could Fey get a clean shot, without endangering Korrie Korrie was a trained combattant, but if Fey shouted dodge, the evil Firelady might do so too.. oh yes.

"Sit!" She shouted, whilest throwing up her arms over cross, her ball of fire floating up and forming into small, blue lances... a spray-shot that would deal moderate damage, but be hard to avoid, focused on striking down at Chā'i from above. There was but a moments hesitation whilest Fey aimed.. and came up with a good name.. "Blue Phoenix Style - IceFlame Impalement!!" She decided, unleashing her spears.. grinning.. and reaching out to the wall behind her, feeling like she could deal with the blue-fires better now, she picked up some more of it, balancing the flame.. and putting it in her mouth, chewing on it.
Fey was pretty sure that someone like their opponent wasn't taken down by an attack like this.. but it would weaken and immobilize her, hopefully, for the follow up! "Distracted enough eh? Get away from her Korrie!" She suggested, with comically big cheeks, inhaling and rushing forwards, lifting her finger to make a ninja-like gesture.. not because she had to, but because it was cool.. and apparently, so was she now, as she exhaled a blue-breath.. it wasn't dragon-fire, obviously, but a faux-similie created by fire-magic. The downside of this powerful attack was that Fey could not give it any cool names, whilest mimicking and focusing on creating her 'Dragon-breath'