Rise from Darkness (OPEN)

[ParamountKeymaster]

After such a great day, rest came easily for Toby. He had been light on his feet ever since Chrys's departure, though she remained a constant in his mind. And now, tucked away in bed, he had dozed off in record time, routine nightmares nowhere to be found. For the first time in a long, long time, Toby was at peace. Safe, content... happy.

Murphy's Law was never a friend of Toby's.

A few hours into his nap, as REM started to kick in, the shadows in his bedroom started to wrap around Toby. Once they had enough leverage, they lifted his sleeping form out of bed, stood him up on the floor and forced him to walk, guiding him like the strings of a marionette. As he stumbled across the floor, only partially –albeit unconsciously– in control of his motor functions, the shadows continued to consume him, shrouding him in darkness until he disappeared entirely.

From out of the darkness he reemerged, continuing to sleepwalk through this new terrain. He trudged along just outside the borders of the cemetery, unseen, unnoticed... unaware...

----------

Within the walls of the graveyard, darkness congregated. Figures writhed within the shadows, filling the atmosphere with hisses and whispers. The blackness was dotted with piercing orbs of white and yellow, as if the land was reflecting the night sky. And they all seemed to swerve around two figures standing tall in the center of the field. Two creatures like living shadows. One with white eyes, one with yellow.

"Come on, Melancholic," Sanguine chided as if this meeting was nothing but a joke. "What's this all about?"

"You know damn well what this is all about!" Melancholic snarled back. "This mission is going to put us all at risk and you know it!"

"So you dragged me out here just to complain. How typical." Sanguine circled around his fellow general, gracefully and silently as a ghost. "Why me, though? If you're so concerned about our wellbeing, why not seek council in Choleric's strength or Phlegmatic's empathy?"

"Because this entire suicide mission is YOUR fault!"

Sanguine huffed and rolled his eyes... at least to the best of his ability, considering he had no pupils. "It's not like I asked the good Mistress to target this island simply because the keymaster is here."

"I'm not talking about the keymaster." Melancholic jabbed a clawed finger into Sanguine's chest. "I'm talking about that... that mistake of yours!"

"Mistake? So quick to judge, are we? That's not like you, my friend."

"We're going to have enough resistance as it is. We don't need that THING threatening our system!"

Sanguine grabbed and twisted Melancholic's arm, earning a sharp cringe in return. He smiled a fanged smirk and hissed, "That's my problem. Not yours. The POINT, Melancholic."

Melancholic briefly turned to pure shadow to phase out of Sanguine's grip. Once reformed, he scowled at his partner. Fine. If he wanted the cold, hard facts so badly, then so be it.

[ryocker]

A sound like crinkling paper was heard, a mysterious sheet floating through the air as it landed behind one of the tombstones. To someone not noticing, this sheet of paper seemed uninteresting at the most- but then it appeared to make more sounds, suddenly popping up from behind the tombstone- in a surprisingly flat, but still with notable depth, form, not unlike something you'd see from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

He peeked at the goings on, but his body suddenly flattened again, the man folding himself into a small square note in an attempt to avoid suspicion. Mama Mia... I think I've gotten myself into a bigger jam than last time, he gulped, still desperate to avoid confrontation at the moment.

[DanteMGalileo]

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the cemetery, a lone figure walked between the gravestones, stopping whenever one caught its fancy. It would stop to read it, before moving on.

Dust kicked up from around my feet, but never staining my clothes. They do repel dirt after all. One particularly large headstone caught my eye. I looked closer. It appearred to be in front of a large memorial of some sort.

Guess this is just my day. I made haste over to it, kicking up more dust as I ran.

DIMENSIONAL ISLAND MEMORIAL
DATE UNKNOWN
IN MEMORANDUM OF THOSE WHO SUDDENLY VANISHED OFF THE ISLAND
MAY THEIR SOULS FIND ETERNAL PEACE

I shook my head and gave a weak chuckle, flipping one of my braids behind my shoulder. "Of course not," I said in a hollow tone, "It wouldn't be that easy."

Huh? What was this? I'm getting a feeling of ill intent... Those voices certainly aren't thinking of putting down flowers, aren't they?

I paused for a moment to summon my bow, its silver hue shining in the moonlight.

Lark kept his footsteps light as he continued his walk through the cemetery, the bow never leaving his hand.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Toby continued to slog through the field until he finally walked face-first into a tree, promptly startling him out of his reverie. He whined and rubbed his head, taking a minute or so to ease the pain away and regain full consciousness. When he did, his initial reaction was panic.

Oh crap, not again!

He anxiously looked around until he realized where he was. It was bad enough that Toby's somnambulism had resurfaced, and although the fact that he had sleepwalked to the cemetery was not particularly surprising, it was no less unsettling. If the combined efforts of the shadows and his subconscious had brought him here, it could only mean one thing...

Gulping a bit more loudly than he had meant to, Toby cautiously approached the entrance to the cemetery. He could already hear the voices...

----------

With a slight huff, Melancholic continued, "My point is that the assimilation process isn't going to happen overnight, and not only will that leave the Mistress vulnerable during the day, but this island's inhabitants are widely varying and immensely powerful. They're not going to go down without a fight."

Sanguine had to laugh. "I think you're giving them far more credit than they deserve. Yes, there may be many fighters residing here, but it's not as if we'll be combating the entire population. A few measly souls against the full force of Ten'dom? It's child's play. There's more than enough of us to overpower them, especially given our latest recruits."

"That is partially the point I'm trying to make. As great as our numbers may be, I would rather not rush this process and put our entire race at risk."

"WHAT risk?! We are immortal!"

"Mistress Desire will be exposed! She's never absorbed territory this vast or populous before! If someone were to attack her directly-"

"Nothing would happen! She is Ten'dom! She is darkness! She cannot be killed!" Sanguine narrowed his eyes, no longer amused by his friend's worries. "Are you questioning her power?"

The shadows surrounding Melancholic flared up, turning jagged and hostile. "Sanguine, I will not tolerate you spewing such blasphemies simply to prove a point!"

"Is that why you dragged me out here? To express your doubts about the good Mistress's plans beyond her knowledge?"

"I am not doubting her motives, I'm thinking about her wellbeing!" The shadows relaxed, though only slightly. "I know she's already rooted herself in this land and it's only a matter of time before the assimilation begins proper. I would simply prefer if we proceeded as quickly and cleanly as possible, and I have my concerns that the forces that oppose us potentially have an advantage."

Sanguine smirked, his twisted humor resurfacing. "One boy will make nary a difference, regardless of the power he shares with us."

"You know that for certain, do you?" Melancholic glided up to Sanguine, casting him an intimidating scowl, undaunted by their noticeable difference in height. "You may not care about the effect the anomaly has on our system, but I DO. If he continues to abuse and yet resist our power, we are approaching this battle with one hell of an Achilles' heel. You said it yourself, Sanguine. You introduced this island to Mistress Desire. You led the anomaly here. This is your problem. And I expect you to FIX IT."

[ryocker]

Paper Mario wiggled in his disguise, starting to unfold himself- holding nary a crease. He didn't fully understand what they were saying, but he had a bad feeling that these weird, shadow like people wanted to take the landmass he was sitting on and turn it into some kind of area for living space- what confused him was something about... Assimilation? The process of making something follow someone else's code or way of thinking? Oh, that wasn't good- if they could latch onto the people of this world and make more of themselves-

I can't just sit back and let that happen! he thought, uncrinkling himself and jumping on top of a tombstone. "HEY! YOU SHADOW GUYS!" he called out. He brought his trusty hammer into view, making it clear he wanted to fight.

[DanteMGalileo]

Assimilation, eh?

You mean that thing where you try to meld everyone together and be boring as hell?

Totally not laying down flowers. Nope. They strike me as the type to leave dead flowers anyways. Of course, that's assuming they know what flowers are anyways. Oops, rambling.

I don't like these guys. Guess they're gonna have to die. Or at least get a ton of arrows stuck in 'em.

I crouch down behind an old tombstone to the side of those... interesting creatures. I draw back the bowstring, a silver-white arrow conjuring as I pull it back...

I release it. I ready a new one.

Hope they don't like being hit with pure energy.

The two generals would become aware of a silvery-white arrow of pure energy heading at them.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Upon reaching the gate, Toby pressed himself against the outer wall of the cemetery, breaths choppy and eyes wide. He heard it. He heard it all. He knew what the two generals were talking about. He knew what was going on.

All of his worst fears were confirmed.

The Præt'nos were absorbing the island.

And the only flaw in their plan was him.

The shadows at his feet writhed around him. Seeing this, Toby instantly knew he was surrounded.

----------

Sanguine took a deep, calm breath, smirking at his partner. "It's funny how you assume I don't have every intent to. My demons have been monitoring that boy all his life. When the time comes, I'm certain he will be one of our greatest assets."

Melancholic sighed, backing off only a little. "I want to believe you know what you're doing, but the constantly worsening state of this situation leads me to believe otherwise."

"It's true that even I am not certain what the boy is capable of, but you must bear in mind that he is the first and only of this new breed. Now is the time to learn from him so that we will know whether or not it's worth repeating our mistakes for the sake of expansion."

"Pfft. Recruitment may be slow, but it's a guaranteed safe route compared to letting loose more wild cards!"

"Hence the purpose of this test run."

"Mein General!"

Melancholic's gaze snapped to the side when a lone Air Army Præt'nos drifted up to them. "Stand down, soldier! You've not been given permission to step out of line!"

"Melancholic, please, she's not hurting anyone." Sanguine calmly approached his messenger with a warm, friendly expression. "Yes, Enlightenment?"

"Vhile I trust zhat you and General Melancholic are avare of zhis," Enlightenment replied with a smile, "I believe it is vorth emphasizing zhat ve are not alone."

"Ah... Yes..." Sanguine smirked, darkness suddenly swirling violently all throughout the cemetery. "How right you are, my dear."

All at once, Mario jumped out into the open, Lark fired an energy arrow, an Earth Army Præt'nos leaped from the darkness and caught said arrow, and shadows wrapped around both aggressors like vicious ethereal tentacles.

[ryocker]

Gripped by the ethereal shadows, Paper Mario was left to the mercy of his newfound captors. "M-Mama Mia!" he screamed, the shadows wiggling him about like a dirty carpet. Unable to stop the process, a game cartridge shaped piece of cardboard with a meteor on its front flew from his pocket, landing smack on the dirt.

"O-o-oh no-o-o! I-a-a ne-e-e-d tha-a-at!" he called, desperately attempting to get free.

"Sorry flat man, but we're not obligated to assist your kind, one of the Prat'nos gently chuckled. "Hey General, you think this cardboard thingy's like this guy's expensive cell phone or something? Bet he'd be real upset if we broke it, he eerily chuckled.

"HE-E-E-EY! DO-O-ON'T-A E-EVE-EN THI-INK ABO-OUT IT!"

[DanteMGalileo]

"Well, looks like I'm well fucked, ain't I?"

I bowed my head, my vision becoming obscured by a mass of white. "Captured. utterly powerless. Surely I'm at your total mercy."

Wait for it, Lark. Wait for it. I sense one of them's approaching. "My General! It looks like we've got our first recruit! Look at him, he's already given up... How perfect."

Bingo.

With a silver flourish, I force my body to take the form of a, well, lark. The shadows can't reach me anymore. Just to annoy them, I shake my tail feathers right at them, just out of their immediate reach.

It occurs to me that this is truly a diversionary tactic, so I make my way to safety behind a small obelisk. Some of those shadow creatures continue to follow me.

I resume human form once I'm a few feet above the ground, and point a wing-turning-back-into-a-hand at the ground.

The ground splits, a series of jagged stones coming from the fissure. I personally direct these stone edges towards these shades.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Toby was rigid. He heard the commotion inside. He found himself utterly conflicted by his well-justified fears and his desire to help whoever was at the demons' mercy. There had to be SOMETHING he could do to benefit all those involved!

Slowly, cautiously, Toby took a step forward.

The shadows grabbed him.

"Oh sh- AHH!!!" The shadows then engulfed him and whisked him away...

----------

As the two generals' soldiers surrounded the intruders, Melancholic and Sanguine quickly sprung into action. The former approached Mario, shouting to his subordinate, "Stop teasing the sorry sod and just be DONE with him already!" Of course, it wasn't hard to guess what Melancholic was implying.

Likewise, while his soldiers' shadows stretched to reach Lark, Sanguine raised a hand and created a powerful torrent of wind, aiming to blow the bird off balance. When Lark landed and changed back, simultaneously summoning spikes from the ground, the shadows swerved to avoid them and surround him again. Melancholic slammed his fist into the ground, instantly reducing the jagged landscape to rubble.

"Such poor timing, gentlemen!" Sanguine taunted, summoning his sword and jabbing it against Mario's thin, papery chest. "Then again, we could always use a little more help."

Melancholic groaned. Had he not just asked that they not waste time on pointless monologues?! "Sanguine, these fools are nothing! Just hurry up and-!"

"OOF!"

All heads turned to the eye of the shadowy storm as a teenage boy in his pajamas was suddenly plopped haphazardly into plain sight.



Toby shook himself off, then froze up in fear. Sanguine stared at him, surprised yet intrigued. Melancholic was utterly dumbfounded for the longest time, baffled by this... THING'S sudden presence. There was a long, awkward silence, then the Earth General's voice squeaked out, breaking the tension...

"TH-THE ANOMALY!!!"

Mario was released. The shadows abandoned Lark.

All at once, EVERY BIT OF DARKNESS IN THE GRAVEYARD THREW ITSELF AT TOBY.

"AAH!!!" Toby instinctively shot to his feet and started sprinting, throwing his arms this way and that in a flailing attempt at deflecting the shadows that constantly shot his way.

[ryocker]

Paper Mario splatted on the ground, getting up in a hurry as he reached for his cartridge, putting it away without incident. Completely safe for the time being, the flat, cartoony man watched the events unfolding in the cemetery- every single shadowy monster was hot on that boy's trail, and it was honestly very hard to watch. "Oh boy... Hmm..." He tried to think of a way to help, but nothing was really- WAIT, THAT WAS IT!

Paper Mario Jumped up, gaining a red, square outline as he began to fold himself into a paper airplane. he then took off, flying effortlessly through the sky as he approached Toby. "Jump on!" he offered.

[DanteMGalileo]

Okay, who's this kid? Kids like this... well, they shouldn't be here.

Oh well. Wouldn't be the first time I saw something like this happen. Tee hee. They're all interested in that kid for whatever reason.

The paper man is more interesting to me. No wait, he's gonna try saving the kid.

Maybe I oughta try saving him too.

...

Yeah, let's save the kid. Maybe I can see if these things bleed or not.

I'm quick to summon my staff, its alexandrite blade gleaming under the moonlight.

Paper man's probably fine up there. So this shouldn't hurt anyone. Well, anyone IMPORTANT at least.

At my command, part of the ground collapses under the mass of the shadows. This'll give me an opening to cut some of 'em.

Time to fly. Or more accurately, to fall with style. I start running as the earth collapses, before making a great leap.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Muscles aching, lungs gasping for air, arms flailing as he pushed away shadow after shadow, Toby charged through the fray as the darkness caught up and flanked him. A clawed hand grabbed him; he quickly struck it with his own shadow and broke free. Several tendrils whipped around him; he mentally grabbed ahold of them and yanked them off. The earth started to shake beneath his feet; there... wasn't really much he could do about that!

When he heard a voice call out to him, Toby looked up and saw what appeared to be a human-sized paper plane. At this rate, he needed all the help he could get. No sense in being picky. Thus, Toby threw his hands down then raised them like a conductor, commanding the shadows to throw him off the crumbing ground and high into the air, where he grabbed onto the plane and shakily settled atop it.

All the while, as the Præt'nos started to fall into the collapsing earth, Melancholic looked over his shoulder to see Lark approaching his and Sanguine's soldiers. He sunk into the shadows and fell back to deal with this pest, despite not entirely trusting Sanguine to deal with his little problem. Upon entering the crevice, Melancholic summoned spike after spike from the walls of the earth, artfully avoiding the Præt'nos as he aimed to strike Lark.

The Præt'nos and shadows above ground reached up in numerous attempts to knock Mario and Toby out of the sky. Sanguine once again took command of the air, creating powerful winds that blew the paper construction in erratic loops. Once they were low enough, an amalgamation of Præt'nos struck the pair down.

After taking a hard tumble, Toby looked around for Mario. When he couldn't find him, fight or flight forced him to get back up and just keep running. Blindly sprinting headlong through the shadows. They were after him, after all. The others would be alright if they stayed away from him.

Just keep running. JUST... KEEP... RUNNING...

[ryocker]

The very instant he was knocked from the sky, Paper Mario landed nose first into the ground, struggling to unfold himself with his body stuck in the dirt. He finally managed to get himself free, unfolding and just laying flat on the ground, heavily wheezing out of exhaustion. "That... was... a nightmare," he gasped.

[DanteMGalileo]

Y'know, these clothes ain't cheap. I had to spend a pretty penny to get some of these! Okay granted I might have stolen the Galaxy Cloak and it's semi-indestructable anyways, but it's the thought that counts.

Especially when your earth spikes put a tear in my robe. I haven't drawn any blood yet, but...

I wonder if they bleed. Time to answer my question.

I evade more of the earth spikes sent my way. I hate to admit, but whoever's doing this is almost as good as me when it comes to gaiakinesis.

KSSSHHH!!!

Okay, that tears it. And by "it", I mean someone's neck. And my robes. But mostly someone's neck.

I close in on the distance, and swing my staff in the direction of one of the shadow beasts. The alexandrite blade hits it somewhere between its neck and shoulder.

I don't look back to see how it dies. I do hear it scream though.

So I swing more as I rush through these... interesting creatures. Gotta find the leader.