Stumbling Into Madness (Complete)

Wave after wave of energy pulsed from the man. Histories of the past wearers, the past spirits that where attached to it. The wave could start to be felt, physical energy jetted from it. Spheres of energy began to push out and even shift the trees. It would pull at the attackers skin, like hitting brick wall over and over again.

The body could do nothing but shake in disbelief and pain. Its skin starting to peal off to show bone, soon the mask was only attached to a skull.

"NOOO!" The voice rang.

Iha saw what was happening and ran to his body. It was deep into the jungle. Mangled and contorted. His arms where broken, legs all contorted in different directions. A branch even penetrated the bodies back.

"Well.. this is going to hurt." Iha anticipated the entry back into his body.

Siren howled in pain at being pelted the spirits' counter-attack, feeling cuts and bruises form all over them as fatigue began to sink in...but even so, they refused to let go. "NO! I won't quit! Not after coming this far!!"

"WE won't give up!!" Aurora chimed in, adding as much psychic power as she could and was soon backed by the rest of her kind. With renewed determination, the hero dug her fingers in and roared to the heavens, causing their telekinetic energy to blast forth into a giant pillar that soared high into the heavens and shake the entire ruins as she gave her all in one last pull.

Iha's spirit animated his body. Pain engulfed him. As soon as he was able he flipped his arms back around, twisted his legs and striated everything back out. Grabbing a bottle from his belt, Iha pulled the cork out and threw back the blue florescent fluid. In moments he was able to move normally.

As he approached the clearing he could see the man's body fall to the ground. The hero was ripping the mask from the body.

As it was freed from the body green energy pushed outward once again. This wave was bigger than any seen before. It seemed to echo. The energy swiftly went out, and when it came back it pulled all the psychic energy back to it's self. The mask floated in the air. The trees where beginning to be uprooted. The grass pealed from the ground. It was all being sucked back into the mask.

When Iha realized this he ran for his counterpart. Attempting to tackle her to the ground the metal would surround them protecting them from the changing landscape.

Weakened from the struggle, Siren didn't bother resisting when Iha knocked her to the ground, just hoping that he knew what he was doing.

"Just stay still. We need to wait for this to be over." Iha tried to comfort the hero. "Drink the potion I gave you. You'll feel better in no time." Iha said, listing to the commotion outside. It sounded like a train was running them over. Luckily the metal plus their bodies were heavy enough to weigh the sphere down.

Outside...
The trees where practically up now. A combination of vegetation, monstrous creatures, coyote spirits, and humanoids where being pulled into the mask. As it ended the noise was more like a whistle. The wooden mask fell to the ground.

Iha opened a tiny hole in the metal to look outside. The ground was stone again. Intricately carved into large blocks. The only grass present was the weeds in between the  cracks.

"I think its ok." Iha dropped the shield. The Wooden mask laying in front of him.

Siren drank the rest of the potion and started to get up, making her way over to the now dormant mask, "Hard to believe something so small could cause so much trouble..." With a sigh, she transformed her hand into a spiked mace, "Oh well...time to destroy it so that nobody else will ever be corrupted by its power."

"Wait!" Iha got between her and the mask. "This mask holds power we can't even fathom. What would happen if braking it pours all that power into the world?" He questioned.

Iha picked up the mask. Lighter than what he thought. He looked around. The cavern seemed smaller now. About as large as the schematics had it at.

"I will take it back with me. Keep it hidden... keep it safe." He finished.

Siren looked Iha in the eye, as if there were some part of her that was suspicious of his intentions...but she squashed that part almost immediately after recalling all he had done for her, and thus she relented, "Alright...you know more about this stuff than I do so I'll trust your judgment on this," She psyched herself up, "Now, let's take the quick route back since I got some strength left..."

She began to sing a different song this time, fine-tuning the frequency on the air before them so it distorted and warped into a rift gate, through which she would walk through to go back outside the ruins.

"You really are full of tricks." Iha said as he watched the portal form before him. It felt like jelly to walk through, but when he was on the outside he could see the T-16s. They where on the perimeter. Iha had a sense of appreciation when seeing them. Who knows what would have happened if Dr. Icarus hadn't came as soon as he did.

"I can't thank you enough for helping." Iha said to his companion. "Dr. Icarus will know what to do with this." He gestured toward the mask.

A protection spell would be cast on it later. Being sure to prevent anyone but himself from touching it. Maybe he could reverse engineer the spell that was cast on it, maybe not, it had an intense connection to the spiritual realm. Nonetheless he would get down to the bottom of it.

"Is there anyway I could repay you Siren?" He asked honestly.

Siren nodded in approval of all the people hard at work around them. She, however, simply slumped down beneath the shade of a tree, "Phew! I am beat!" She heard Iha's comments about thanking her and what he planned to do with the mask, "Don't mention it. I was glad to help. If anything, you saved my butt more than a few times during this whole mess so that makes us even in my eyes,"

Her smile stiffened at the sight of the mask, "Good...lock that thing up tighter than Fort Knox so something like this never happens again..."

She waved off his offer of wanting to repay her, "No need for that. Besides, a lot of what I need or want I already have," She smiled warmly, "That said, I wouldn't mind swapping contact info with you in case one of us ever needs help."

Pulling at the metal from his belt Iha formed a thin metallic card with his information on it. Nothing too dangerous to share, a telephone number to a secure network; it would allow her to contact him through comms similar of what Mehka was using. And an address of one of the safe houses in Mexico.

"The address there is to a safe house I stay at sometimes. Your welcome to it whenever you need. Just wave that card in front of the door. And here.." He handed her the card and a small metallic ball from his belt. "I've noticed you like absorbing things. Maybe this can give you something new to play with." He smiled. "Something to remember me by."

The T-16s where heading off to the pickup zone.

"Thanks, and here" Siren sung a soft melody and melted down a tiny mound of concrete to reforge into her phone number which he handed to Iha, "Call me in case you ever run into trouble and I'll be there in a flash," She stuck out her hand to shake his, "It was an honor working with you, and I hope we do so again soon,"

She'd wave him off before turning to walk off while examining the sphere in their hand with a smile, "Now, to find out what kinds of wonders you and I can work together..."

"Thanks. Expect a call from me in a few weeks. I may need your help again." Iha added, then began to run with the T-16s.

The once wooded and crazy sounding area was now back to normal. The birds where chirping and the creatures where at ease. The moon was still high in the sky, the night still young.

"Time to go get some rest." He said as he made his way back to the hotel. Once there he would preform a protection spell over the mask. Anyone that would try to touch it from here on out would be paralyzed.

The next morning...

Where to now? Iha asked over comms.
Well, how does Nepal sound? An enlightened individual says he has information on a relic that lead him to the path. Or back to India, word of a hive mind individual. Mehka offered.
I guess Napal is it. I'm sick of plain old hero work. Iha responded while closing the door to the hotel.
Ticket is booked. Do you wanna stop and eat some more enchiladas?....