Xibalba, The Place of Fear (For Silus/Ouro)

Locations: Northern Mountains surrounding the Plateau Basin of Mexico

Beneath the wild mountains was hidden an ancient temple-city complex, resembling the Aztecs in nature but far, far away from where the Aztecs lived. In truth, the temple was older than even that ancient civilization, a precursor to the mesoamerican cultures. Hidden away from the world for thousands of years, its existence alluded to only in legends- Xibalba, The Place of Fear, the Mayan Underworld.

In myth It was a place of death and demons, a great city inhabited by fiends; all manner of death traps, tests and trials for visitors. Within these stories though was a grain of truth; for indeed, the undermountain city was dark, and a veil of silence hung over the city, but danger was to be found in its every corner. The location is protected into scattered Aztec relics; and only those who have found those relics could find Xibalba. Or, they could have already been there.

Location: Avenue of the Dead, Western Receiving Terminus

The vast sea of silence that hung over the city was disturbed by the faintest ripple of sound. There, in one part of the vast underground, a figure slid down and emerged onto a raised stone platform, having come down from a long hidden, unused chute from beneath a ruined altar of sacrifice. She coughs as she stumbles out of a pile of dirt, dust and bone, half covered in leaves and vines.

Adorned in a weathered adventuring ensemble – khakis, high cut shoes, a leather bomber jacket over a blue tank top, her hair in a ponytail- Diana looks around, regaining her bearings. She switches on the clip-on flashlight on her jacket, and she looks around the impenetrably dark cavern. She refocuses and sees a ruined corbelled arch that indicated the entry to this platform, once a structure now in ruins.

She scans the place further, and her light fell upon dead bodies- fly riddled, decaying bodies in contemporary military uniforms lying in pools of dried blood, broken assault rifles and spent shells scattered all around. The girl comes closer to inspect it with her scimitar, turning one of the three bodies over to see that all the skin from his body had been flayed, a maggot erupting from one of the fogged over eyeballs.

Diana sees the stone path laid out before her, and begins walking, her eyes adjusting just enough to see the outline of the many layered pyramids- talud tableros- indicative of the Mesoamerican style. Indeed, more bodies could be found on the path, as well as abandoned equipment- smashed electric lamps, broken generators, empty ammo crates, sandbags, machine gun emplacements, radios... In faint visions, the ghost that followed Diana saw the city as it was years ago- a flourishing, unholy place, where the ancient ones were just as unwelcoming of the ancient warrior.

Diana walked down the Avenue of the dead, It was still quiet.

The Malefic visions were there once more. The creatures all standing around him. Humanoid in form, black scales and tails that doubled the length of their body that were linked in a manner that could pivot on a dime. The underbellies were a dusky color and it was obvious to him that these creatures stood at least five foot taller than himself...many smaller, but some even larger. They were surrounded by technology, technology adorned like that of tribal markings found in that of the old ruins around the world from civilizations passed. Those markings were rather specific. The dream ended when finally a creature walked up towards him, seemingly there was a form of glass between them. "We are coming" Suddenly there was a skull with a rather unique headdress on it and as it's jaw dropped, he felt as if his soul were being tethered back to his body, forced from a hall of skeletons that dropped on bended knee. His eyes flew open and he shot up, taking a deep breath in. He was seventeen years old in this form...he was already too old for this shit. He silently gave a nervous swallow as he swung his legs over the bed and stood up stretching out the morning's frozen up joints.  He looked over down at the one he shared a bed with...still asleep. Typical morning it is then. Zell quickly snatched up new clothing , a long sleeved microfiber shirt, the same microfiber material as boxers and a form of under-shorts. He then proceeded to put on Cargo-pants, heavy duty explorer style, combat boots and a jacket to match the pants. He took a shower and quickly exited, dressed ready to go, head to toe. It wouldn't take long for him to get there, however there was the issue of where exactly he was going. The dream...the skull behind the corridor of the damned.... it was a long shot... but if what Zell knew about this "Race" then they were likely in correspondence to the inexplicable disappearance of the Mayans. Then you he had the skull...and the skeletons and undead in the hallway. It was an underworld...Mayan underworld perhaps? Well that's a new one...

   Avenue of the Dead

   Of course since "Ouroboros" was now disempowered he couldn't go far without his own protection. The embarrassment came form the protection being his own eleven year old child. Silus was dressed in his usual oversized hoodie and he traveled with jeans and the like, much in opposition to Zell who looked like he stepped out of an Indiana Jones convention. They had come rather far, considering what it was they were looking for. The eleven year old boy went first, attempting to keep harm form befalling his now, what he believed to be,  powerless father. Silus quickly made his was, skidding down some rubble before calling for his dad to come on, and that it was all safe. Zell stepped down, the specialty combat boots able to keep him from losing too much traction, and keeping his water retardant microfiber clothing safe form the dirt.

   Zell took a step forward, looking around and examining the area as he let out an interested little sigh. The smell of death filled the room, and form the new pile of bodies he had found here. These were contemporary soldiers. That was not a good sign. This place had obviously been thoroughly prepared to last for ages to come...which means that when the ages died and civilizations have fallen under the pressure of time and tyranny this place would still stand, ready and waiting. He began to look for dog tags on the soldiers, he would send these back to their respective officers...under his own little guise of course. He took the tags and said a little blessing over the bodied before taking a step back. He also, knowing his luck, took a military grade assault rifle. He then produced the little thing to Silus, whom used his powers over the gauntlet of the Life Tree, Yggdrasil to conjure a mist, allowing him to restore the weapon. He then engraved a little runic marking and used his concealed weapon stone to enhance it to be able to fire out mystic bullets. Zell thanked his child before slinging the weapon over his shoulder and beginning down the Avenue of the Dead. As he walked he couldn't help but realize that his foot sunk a little bit deeper. His highly advanced mind, processing information at ungodly speeds allowed him to see things in a way where seconds felt like years...and at the moment there was nothing bad happening...save for a wall that dropped down, revealing a secondary path.

    "Whacha doin' daddy?" Silus asked with a little voice of wonder as he peered around Zell's leg and looked into the unknown.

"Exploring....let's go." He said with a little smile.. Little did he know that the only thing he had truly done was light the match on a problem much later down the road, but that was still to be seen. He would need to follow this road, and end up the exact same place as the other path would have taken. He'd make good to hope that if and WHEN he ran into whomever else was in here, they were not the most hostile thing on this planet. With his luck... he'd run right into them and they'd swing at his head...

The uniforms and dog tags indicated the men were of the Columbian military, probably hired out as mercenaries or ordered here by some politician to fight ‘rebels hiding in the mountains’.

The Avenue stretched for another two thousand feet from the terminating altar to the entrance proper of the city, serving like a highway for offerings being delivered to the city. The Avenue had many minor sacrificial chutes to receive such offerings, and those mini altars were converted into camps for the soldiers... but where they came from was not quite clear, at least not yet. The tents were now torn, shredded and abandoned, even the men who were still in their underwear and defenceless were not spared. Perishable supplies had rotten away, but there was still a good amount of gear to be scrounged from the camps.

Diana looked around the dark cave once again, the avenue terminating perpendicular to a large, ruined stone entrance archway, ruined walls stretching as far as the eye could see to both sides. The final three hundred feet of the avenue opened up to a vast, underground chasm. The avenue seconded as a bridge over the molten magma below, and any who would enter would have to pass through here.

The avenue approaching the entrance also featured many, many soldiers impaled upon blunt stone columns, the thought of them being run through with blunt rock sickening. It was apparent by now, that whatever did this, did not appreciate armed guests coming into the city.

The Ancient warrior bade Diana to pause, relenting her influence on the girl. Diana swooned a bit, and then knelt down where she was to retrieve an energy bar out of her backpack, as well as some water, to recover some of her strength. Having a host that was an underweight fifteen year old irritated the Warrior, and she planned on feeding this girl when they got out. The Warrior meanwhile, a figment only in Diana's mind, read the warnings on the entrance.

She took a bite and a sip, unaware of the new arrivals approaching. Diana’s mind was partially clouded, the work of the spirit who had taken her over.

Silus followed behind his dad rather close, making sure as to not get so close he was in the way though. He began to wonder if Zell resented him any. When Silus was little he would (and he still occasionally does) clings onto Zell's leg for security reasons, and simply because he liked having his father close by... but today Zell seemed very distant form the child...distracted almost. Even showing a visible look of irritation when Silus clung onto him just a moment or so ago. Silus began to wonder if he did something wrong...so what did he do? He established a telepathic link into his dad's mind. If you can't beat 'em Mind-mess 'em, right? Silus was pleased to find that the isolation was not the result of anything Silus had done wrong, nor was it due to Silus insisting on clinging to and protecting him. The irritation was because His daddy had this place in a nightmare...which was strange, but who cares. He's not mad at Silus so it's business as usual. That is until the little hero notices an all too familiar face that causes his indigo eyes to illuminate and a wide pearly white smile to cross his face.

"Cheokram!" Silus cheered as he ran forward. Zell cringed as he was just waiting for his luck to follow through, and the boy to trigger an Indiana-jones styled boulder trap to squash him like a pancake. Well let's face it...realistically his spine would shatter, and generally he would not become pancake like at all, his guts would seep through the flesh which would tear akin to that of a foam board. With that pleasant thought pushed to the back of his mind he noticed how Silus kept a healthy distance from the girl but was still looking friendly and utterly elated to see her. You'd have thought the kid had been in a gang with her. Though that idea was oddly familiar to Zell...for whatever reason. "How areya? You're not hurt are you? Nah I didn't think so. Gonna take more than a few little traps and triggers to knock YOU down!" Silus laughed at it. The adorable little guy and his endless faith in the former comrade almost struck a chord of jealousy which panged throughout Zell's heart. He, of course, played it off as he had more important things to devote such emotion to, such as the task at hand.

"Hello there young lady." Zell said with a smile. He was attempting to be genuine, though one could tell that the male himself was a rather isolated and introverted personality, much in contrast to his little son whom warmed right up and leapt face first into friends. Hmm...I wonder to which I should address him as. Silus or Loki? Zell thought to himself. Little did the poor little thought-reading Silus know it was a ploy or a trick rather to catch the little boy with his hands in the cookie jar...so to speak.

"She was in Awesome Squad with me, so she knows me as Loki." Silus said. Zell wore a smirk on his face as he slowly and deliberately turned his head with an arched eyebrow. Silus' face burned a bright red and he threw his hands up into his face. "GAH I'MSORRY!" He laughed, finding his own slip-up humorous.

"Oh..so she was part of the Awesome Squid."
"Awesome SQUAD."
"The Key you all registered under was Squid therefore you are officially the awesome SQUID."
"Not my fault Angel can't type....or write...or show up and run the group..." Silus said as if he were trying to formulate an excuse, but nothing else came to mind.
"Enough, we're being rude. Loki this is-?"

"Oh right! Sorry sorry sorry! Uh, Daddy this is Cheokram. Cheokram this is my daddy, also known as The Archon, formerly the villain Ouroboros." He said, his apology aimed directly at Diana. He then made the hand motions as if presenting the two to ach other.

"Professor Atterrius. A pleasure to meet you under...clearer mind and more pleasant circumstances." He introduced himself, not even considering the fact that he looked like he was only a couple years older than him. Far too young for his title, but there was a story for all this, and while they had the time now Zell was far, far more interested in making his way through these ruins. "Looks like this place is a little more popular than I thought." Zell said with a sigh as he held up several dog tags e had taken form the Columbian militants, holding them up in a bloody contrast to his own personal tag with a sigh.

The Ancient Warrior’s conditioning has Diana quickly spring into action, drawing the Blood Drinker katana with one hand and striking, but when the light shone on Loki, Diana’s own presence of mind stopped the blade from giving him a very close crew cut. The vicious glint of red left her eyes, as her killing instinct was reined in by the teenager.

“Loki? Oh dang it! I’m really sorry; I thought you were a zombie or something!” The sword felt heavy to Diana whenever it was denied blood, a small moment of hesitation before she lowered it and sheathed it in a fluid motion, a demonstration of an ancient Iaijutsu sword drawing technique, typical of the Ancient Warrior. Such restraint was what drew the attention of the aforementioned spirit.

“Hello there, mister. It's nice to see a familiar face here Loki... yeah, too bad Awesome Squad didn't work out. I ah... guess I'm trying my luck here for the time being. ” Diana bowed, the katana spirit making her feel all samurai-ish, then shaking Ouro’s hand as Loki introduced them. She wore an intricate armguard and glove on her right hand, and an observant eye would note its ancient design, Persian, and quite feminine. Her sword too, in its red sheathe, was an ancient and authentic Japanese blade. Old magic exuded from her equipment, and the blade’s aura was particularly malevolent, due to its lifestealing properties. The gauntlet meanwhile, was like a spirit, another being.

“...Yeah. Something doesn’t like visitors coming here.” She pointed towards the arch threshold, and the dark city beyond. There was something within the city that the Ancient Warrior compelled Diana to find. “But hey, ancient Mayan ruins have tons of treasure I hear. So... I guess you’re going in too, taking a look around? Heh... finders keepers alright?” Diana made a little small talk as her eyes ever so slightly looked away, towards the figment of the Ancient Warrior gracefully walked around her two new... companions... and studied them.

It struck Diana there and then. A father and a son... parent and child. Diana felt a hurt in her chest; Loki had a father who shared in his special abilities, and thus his activities. Diana had had to hide her own skills from her mother more and more, and eventually start to hide from her. When her mother finally cared to ask her, tell her what she had been up to when her grades were declining, it was the same time certain revelations about her parents came to light, and in frustration, Diana ran away from home. Oh how she envied Loki at this point.

“I guess we could talk while walking. Shall we then? What are you guys looking for here?” She teared up a bit, and turned away, fighting back a choking voice. She gestured for them to follow her, as she walked into the city slowly. Barely taking one step over the threshold, a tremor began to shake the cavern city. This sprung a friction device that caused two rough stones to strike each other and cause a spark, causing a chain reaction of stone braziers filled with fresh fuel to light up. Before long, the gridiron pattern of the city was apparent, street corners lit up and the ancient architecture now visible in dim brazier light.

“...I didn’t do that...” She said, freezing in place, as the tremors ceased... and the screeches and wails of demonic creatures began to rise, over in the far side of the 4 mile square city, opposite where the trio was. Someone else had arrived, and they arrived very loudly.

"No worries. No Autopsy no foul right? hehe!" Silus said, giggling a little as he began to look around. The introductions out of the way, something finally caught Silus' eye, something he had not seen before.

   Loki and his spirit-seeing eyes followed the Ancient warrior, just kinda...looking at her. While the warrior walked around them, Silus followed her with his eyes and as she seemed to study them, Silus waved a little. Many spirits that lingered after death were bitter, but genuinely good in nature after you warmed up to them. Though be it presumption or simple misconception he did not exactly perceive this spirit as the kind that might like to talk to him. Silus then grabbed onto Zell's sleeve and tugged on it, pointing to the spirit. Alas, Zell would have once been able to see her with the most perfect of clarity, but his eyes had long lost luster and the emerald glow that once illuminated even the darkest rooms was now but a soft tinge. Zell smiled and placed a hand on Silus' head, the hair patting down past his eyes as his chin shot up and he pouted slightly, looking rather amusing to the parental figure.

     "Makes sense I suppose. Walking and talking generally- oh, one moment." Zell said, like a little kid with a really interested OH to mark the conversation. Silus readied himself for combat, summoning forth his three wolves. Unlike the last time Diana had seen them though, the prismatic wolf was not the same as last time, this time it shifted into a human form and appeared to be a small blonde human boy, about the age of the current Silus. In case anyone were to ask Silus made meantion of it to Diana, through a telepathic link...if he could, there were some people whom simply could not be connected to, for whatever reason.

    Well erm... you see my dad is...  Well My dad is King of our people and he ended up getting in a fight with a cosmic deity that just flat out hated us. In the end it came down to him keeping his powers or him saving my life...and my brother's life. He chose to save us and now he's...kinda... well... powerless. Silus explained as he made mention of Zell, whom seemed to be having trouble even keeping up with them. Zell, reaching into the dark colored cargo shorts and he hummed, as if glaring through the area to find out what had just happened. The city was decent sized, 4 square miles, which means that whatever it was had a few moments before reaching them.

     "Loki, can you see any other souls here beyond ours?" Zell asked. Silus' eyes immediately shot to the Ancient Warrior, but he only offered up a curious hum as he cocked his head to the side. He then turned his attention to the demonic figures and squinted, as he tried to peer at any souls through the entire city. Something was off here, he didn't know what, but there was something wrong. Still having time to spare he'd pose a little... "theory" of his, seeing as this girl seemed oh so familiar. Pamnesia was a wonderful thing as he nearly instantly recalled that there was a woman he once saw that reminded him of this girl. He also remembered reading the paper this morning...

"Cheokram... forgive me for asking...but I couldn't help but notice you look rather familiar. The more I think of it, the more I realize that earlier today in the newspaper I noticed that "The Search Still Continues" as Monica Rosinni  looks for her daughter. I just so happen to own Gene-Tech...the worlds leading genetic research and genetic engineering corporation, so needless to say I've actually met the woman before and you bear a rather...interesting resemblance." Zell said, though he was saying it in a way that it was only a speculation, if Diana refused this or laughed it off, then Zell would not persist...Silus on the other hand...he was a bit more... annoying.

    "Wait...Cheokram..you...you ran away from home? Are you okay? Are you eating alright? I mean if you're not you could probably stay with us!" Silus said, the child was concerned for the former comrade, so much so he neglected the existence of the Ancient Spirit and the demonic figures.

   "Loki, I doubt she would feel comfortable with that. I would like to direct the attention to the fact that that screech was Preeeety aweful and we should probably be on guard. Cheokram all the more I'll say is that you're mother is probably worried beyond belief, and as a parent I know what it's like to have a child run from you...and then betray you...then take over your kingdom...and then giving up your powers for him-=Dad, you're being bitter again.--Only slightly..." He said with a slight smile before messing up the little guy's hair. Perhaps it was odd for Cheokram to notice how laid back these to were, especially in the face of certain danger, but let's face it. With the last name Atterrius you virtually could handle anything. Hell they just killed an Old God not that long ago and crippled his army... this place was nothing to freak over.

    "Cheo...I uh...I'm here if you wanna talk about it." Silus offered up quietly as he turned his head to look around once more. He watched as Zell stepped forward with his new Magical assault rifle and scratched his neck. Zell carried on, a little more oomph in his step, but he didn't wander too far. Silus, however, would stay with Cheo until she were ready to move...sort of forgetting his purpose for being there which was protecting the man that just...ran off.[/color]

Diana finished her chocolate flavored energy bar and water while she listened to them talk. She was quite fascinated by this family of magic users, how they were united by their special abilities rather than having to hide it. She also noticed that Loki could perceive Diana’s spirit mentor, and the tall, lithe armored woman smiled at Loki, placing an intangible hand on his shoulder before returning to her host-protégé’s side. Diana looked at The Warrior worriedly, knowing that to draw her interest was to possess artifacts or fighting skill.

Diana waved at the summoned wolves, having a soft spot for furred creatures. Maybe she could ask to pet them later.

Once they were on their way inside the city, taking the first cautionary steps, Zell brought up Diana’s mother’s frantic, high profile search for her. She was silent for a long while before answering, and her response was for both their queries.

“Mom... mom doesn’t really care about me. She’s just a mistress who only cares about the money she’ll stop getting from my father...” Diana said little more than that; though since it was from a teenager, who knew if it was the whole truth. Common gossip often spoke of Monica as well known in social circles, a desirable older woman that could only be tied down by the largest credit card limits.

“Thanks Loki. But, for now, I really wanna find what my mis-” Diana had little time to finish as the city’s defences activate, though the resistance they’d face was less compared to whatever made a Michael Bay movie’s worth of noise on the other side of the city. Demon howls and screeches echoed through the caves, the sound fighting against explosions and gunfire and... Laser beams.

“Mortals! Not welcome! Begone! Go home! You have one warning!” Nearby at the base of one of the many ziggurats, A serpent statue resting on a pedestal suddenly came to life and spoke, in a most deep and stony voice. They were polite enough to tell them to go home. To drive the point, the dimly lit streets began to light up with about a dozen set of malevolent red eyes, low to the ground. Demonic vultures by the looks of them, with few feathers remaining, forced to crawl about on their plucked wings. They squawked.

Diana’s hand was on her sheathed katana, eager to say no and get this battle underway...

Silus growled as he flashed, and instantly he aged into his older form but rather than go all the way to eighteen he was content to stop as sixteen. He held out his left hand and a chilled wind brushed across the winds. Spirits gathered and siphoned into his hand. The Ethereal Afterlife manifested souls into a gauntlet, infusing them with the energies of the various soul-streams and tying themselves to the energies of the immortal soul that was Silus. Yggdrasil, The slayer of Gods, able to even destroy the immortals and end the incorporeal. Be it noted there were several slivers and shards (unaccounted for in the picture) which swirled around it. The three wolves all growled as they circled Zell, protecting him it would seem.

    "No turning back now, eh?" Silus gave a chuckle, his adolescent voice still childishly alive and full of vitality though deeper and somehow more fitting. He started walking on, as the vultures looked at him. Silus didn't seem like he was the kind to shy away from a challenge...especially when Diana needed something. She was a friend to Silus, so he'd be a friend in return. The soul-shards all converges on the gauntlet, creating a blade like construct that flew ahead into the ground, once planted into the ground it would disperse, and the shards would slice away at two of the vulture while Silus kept approaching the city of the dead. His eyes and wits about him. Hocus and Kaisses all took off next to Silus, Yancey stood back a little, still in his "human" form as he focused, ready to use his light upon a whim.

  Zell, on the other hand would take this time to slip away, keeping to shadow and eventually vanishing off to the side, left to wander the streets upon his own accord. He knew his son would be fine, and his friend as well...but he was far too invested in what these ruins might hold, the information he so desired. He would not let his burden threaten his son, and so he left Silus and Diana to sneak through, and explore on his own a little. He knew the vultures were likely the least of his concerns in a place like this. But despite popular belief...even without the Ethereal...Zell was resourceful.

The vultures lunge at the duo, a large pack of pecking beaks bearing down on them, attempting to overwhelm them with numbers. More began to emerge from within the dark chambers of the ziggurats. Diana did not wish to bother with so many, and knew that it was one way Xibalba would overwhelm them. She stood close to Loki and swung her blade in wide arcs, bobbing and weaving, while slicing vultures by twos or threes, but their number made open combat difficult. Diana found it futile to fight after four or five good swings; their beaks were sharp and cut into her jacket, making a shallow laceration in her skin.

The Ancient warrior gestured them down a road. “We should keep moving.” Diana said, following her guide, but mistakenly allowed herself to be flushed down a trapped road. Taking a few steps, the entire minor roadway parted along its length, Diana just barely able to jump back out of the trap. This however, meant having the vultures cutting off the intersection, challenging them down into the trap road.

Diana thought fast, and climbed up onto the first layer of the ziggurat, a twelve foot high wall, with the aid of a few well placed throwing daggers. She embedded them into the stone that formed a makeshift ladder, her light steps allowing her to ascend them with a running start. “Come on, Loki!” She gestured for him to follow, able to assist him up now that she was there. This was now becoming a proper death course, it seemed.

Zell's solitary departure from the group meant he would once again find himself in more empty streets, the din of battle from the other side of the city slowly advancing. He would eventually chance upon a large, tapered ziggurat, unusually higher than others; upon its cracked stone door were bas reliefs that depicted a large, four armed skeletal creature surrounded by bones...

And as luck would have it, a stray rocket blasts it open. Nearby serpent statues come to life with baleful hellfire, staring at Zell. A cloud of dust came from the tomb, as the ruined stone door slid down. From it emerged one of Xibalba's mythical inhabitants; the Death Lord of Bone Aches, a skeletal monster that stood three men high, two torsos upon a single set of legs, arranged back to back. Four bony arms carried ancient obsidian studded clubs.

The joins of his bones creaked and groaned with arthritis, making his awakening extremely unpleasant for whoever was nearby. He moved with a slow and purposeful gait towards Zell, the man's arthritis-free joints deeply offending the monster. It opened its mouth to release a necrotic energy blast, the effects of which caused calcification even upon the stone. The arthritis monster it seemed, had an arthritis breath weapon.

Diana was certainly skilled that much Silus hadn't forgotten, though he found himself worried for her still. She made the notion that they move on, and while he loved the idea she must have forgotten one thing... she could probably pick up her social security check before he managed to run beside her. Loki was NOT a fast person, even in his older form. Granted he could technically DO something about it, but he wasn't about to let it all out there, especially when it was a last resort sort of thing. He ran off with her, falling drearily behind. Though when he did, he found his cheek victim to a peck, and not the good kind he oddly desired when he took this age, but the "Albert Hitchcock: Damn Birds you scary!" kind of peck. Silus also found terrifying talons piercing his sweater like a hot knife to butter and curving three crescent shaped slices out of the boy. With warm blood seeping from the wounds Silus grunted as the dozens of soul-shards flocked to him and circled around him, emulating the very effect of a blender, slashing at and threatening to destroy anything that got to close. He then transformed into a rather celestial looking being as he shot out faster than lightning, appearing next to Diana with a crack and a little crackle of what appeared to be electrical energy. Diana scaled the wall of one of the interesting buildings before offering assistance to Silus, whom had absolutely NO issues taking her help, since it was that or stay at ground floor.

   He couldn't help but notice that Kaisses and Hocus had stayed back, trying to keep many of the beasts busy as they could. They would have been easy lunch, however Yancey was proving to be a valuable asset, his photokinetic abilities radiating as they shielded and dispersed birds form a distance. The wolves were staying back to handle this it seemed, and while Silus was worried, he had to carry on with Diana. Though while he very much so enjoyed helping his friend he found himself victim to a rather close shave. He turned and he felt a burning heat singe his cheek. A burning, concentrated light had been fired off and would have hit Silus directly in the head, had he been a step faster. He ducked down and placed a hand on his cheek. With the clenching of Yggdrasil the shards all formed upon him again, forming a crystalline soul-shard-sword that he twirled in his hand...before dropping, because he's a total klutz. He looked to Diana and blushed from the embarrassment, not only had he proven the less skilled but the more accident prone and the more damaged. though he had more pressing things to worry about.... like the fact there were suddenly lasers flying about like it was a damn disco-tech.

Enter: Zell


Zell took in the sights. It was a truly wondrous place. He could see himself settling down here...if he didn't have to worry bout the noisy neighbors and he didn't need to worry about the racial prejudice about him being NOT "undead".  He found himself at a rather...strange ziggurat. This particular Mesopotamian structure was truly unique and apart form the rest, if not only for the sheer size difference, but the tapering and the unique door. Zell noted quite quickly that this place was a temple of sorts, or a tomb depicting Bones. "Well, I don't think I'll disturb-" He began only to have a stray projection of Hellfire thrown at the slab nearby. "-Or I can just, you know, ... kick in the front door like it's a drug-bust...whatevs..." He said. He sighed and then cleared his throat before deciding to witness this new "monstrosity" emerging. His mouth drooping on the left side as he shrugged, almost questioning himself "whatcha gonna do?" and moving on with it.  The creature's grand emergence done, Zell was left near speechless... left only to ask...

     "I don't suppose you'd let me go for a Klondike bar...would you?" Zell asked, uncertain of the response he was going to get. The man was the most brilliant mind in the world, though he never could understand why people were willing to do what they did Klondike bars. The creature roared with a necrotic calcification breath , one that Zell had no real fear in. With the assistance of his "curse" and the promise of the Prophacy imbued within him, he found himself oddly protected from the breath, but not much else. (+8 to Anti-Calcification) He felt a thick wad of spittle slap him in the face like a wet sock and his hat blew off. The creature's roar ended and he ran his sleeve over his mouth and eyes, cleaning his face from the deathstench fluids. "How the hell do you even make this stuff?" he asked in reference to the spittle that layered his face. He would expect the creature to not be so "nice" once it realized that Zell was immune to the breath... but still looked rather squishy.

spells used:

Guided by the Ancient Warrior, Diana sped to the other side of the ziggurat. The demon birds flew... or rather flapped their wings to give themselves jump boosts, and Diana periodically had to slice at them Blood Drinker expressed disdain at the enemies’ lack of mortal life force, causing Diana to briefly get into an argument with it. “Ugh, not now, please! You are such a drama queen!”

The sword retorted by missing a passing demon bird by a mile, the thing nicking Diana in the shoulder and causing her to bleed. She drives a throwing dagger into its eyeball, causing it to plummet down the pit trap street. Unwilling to taste any more bloodless demonic flesh, Diana sheathes Blood Drinker and stows it away into her shadow. In its stead she retrieves a Nordic broadsword, and the temperature around her seemed to rapidly go down. It was slower than the katana, but heavy, and its passing left trails of frost that caused demonic wings to stiffen, slowing down their many foes.

Diana hops down from the ziggurat carefully, the demon birds having been mostly discouraged by the unnatural cold. South American demons didn’t mix with Skadi’s arctic kiss. She found herself at an intersection, waiting for Loki to catch up. One path led to the sound of the battle on the other side of the city, another deeper into the city, while the third was a dark, empty expanse leading elsewhere. The Ancient Warrior stood closer to the first two paths, arms crossed and waiting patiently for her pupil to continue.

Zell’s battle with Chamiabac and Chamiaholom, the fused lords of bone, hardly remained the same. Its breath weapon not affecting him, the creature ponderously charges, its four spiked clubs swinging in a wild frenzy. The city was hardly static either, and one misstep could trigger yet another trap...

"Lost my dad. Go figure...nice one Loki, screwing this one up too.... Erm, Cheokram. I'm assuming the spirit traveling with you isn't from this place, is it? It looks different from a lot of the other souls wandering about aimlessly..." Loki mentioned. He had hoped that he was wrong and that this spirit would actually know something and converse with him. He kept the shards condensed into that of a sword before looking to Diana with a little look of concern. That blade of hers was rather ominous, it gave Silus the shivers just looking at it. He looked down the two alleyways. One led to combat, the other into darkness. This place was going to turn into a labyrinth of danger wasn't it? Silus growled lowly, not liking the situation in the slightest. He was weaker than Diana and it bothered him. Weren't boys supposed to be all tough and stuff? How'd he ever turn out to be so...frail and whimpy? Yet this girl was obviously the tough one...and the fact that Silus' enchantment backfired and permanently gave himself the smell of cherry blossoms and peaches didn't friggin help him much either...

    "We go that way and we know there's a fight. We go the other way and we don't know what we're in for. I wanna fight... what about you?" Silus made his case, but in the end he deferred to Diana's judgment, whatever she may choose. He would just need to hope and pray for the best for his daddy as he began to rub the blood weeping from the cut on his cheek.


Enter: Zell

     Zell was fearless, though that did not remove the fact this monster was one to draw... concern, to put it simply. It was a threat and it needed to be dealt with, one way or another. It seemed rather let down by the fact Zell was not damaged or turned into a calcium-statue in it's presence, and so it resorted to do what any other creature would. It played whack-a-mole. While Zell was impressive in the realms of Fighting Skill and reflexes, he lacked the natural means to deal any real damage back. Granted he did have this assault rifle that was enchanted with Silus's stone. Concealed-something-or-other. He doubted the measly item (lv. 8) would prove to be a challenge for the creature, so what did he do? He decided to do what he did best. Gurrila warfare tactics. Annoy the thing to the point it decides to leave him alone, or misstep and die. His above human reflexes showing as he leapt off to the side and then ran, at an astounding 100 MPH, his calcification immunity worn out as the promises of the prophecy expired for that moment. He dashed off to the side and put a slight distance between the two, turning and firing out at the bone creature. The fact it was two in one made it difficult to catch the thing off guard, and he did not at this moment, but he looked forward to the effects his lone weapon would do.

Diana ensured Loki could keep pace, pausing every now and then to check on him. “Whoa, careful there Loki. No, that’s...” Diana realized she’d never asked her spirit guide for her name. “...she’s with me. She taught me how to fight.”

Diana agreed with Loki's suggestion. “A fight then. I’d rather go someplace and do what I’m good at. What’s the worse this place can throw at us? A bunch of demon birds and Columbian soldiers?” Diana said, before the headlights of a humvee came into view, swerving out of control towards the duo. Diana leaps and pushes Loki out of its way, ending up on top of him as the vehicle explodes upon impacting a large monolith marker by a Ziggurat.

Diana looked up at the wreckage, shielding her eyes from the initial blaze. One man in some kind of heavily armored uniform and gas mask, on fire, escaped the wreckage, taking frantic steps before falling to the ground trying to extinguish himself with rolling. He eventually stopped, but didn’t get back up. On closer inspection, it appeared his body within his suit had swollen, and a horrifically powerful stench emanated from it.

A large figure approached the children, following right behind the vehicle. It was one of the death lords of this place, a great bloated humanoid thing of rotting flesh, followed by a cloud of lung searing stench. It wore a rope belt from which hung eight bloating corpses, eight gask masked troopers suspended by their arms, dangling like trophies to grant this great, foul creature some modesty. “Flesh, bone and bile! Boils and pustules, necrosis and rot! How delightful and delicious! Ahalpuh walks the land of the living once more!” It did not speak words, it merely thought them and they transmitted to the minds of listeners like a cloud of flies in one’s face.

Ahalpuh carried with him an obsidian dagger, but a dagger for a being of his size. He sniffed the air, and his fell, demonic gaze was cast upon Diana and Loki. Its eyes were clouded over with cataracts, but it did not need eyes to see. “I smell... I smell the tender, tender flesh of younglings! But they are not sacrifices... for I smell magic... Speak to your reasonable uncle Ahalpuh children... tell me what brings you to this dark, forsaken place?! There is nothing here for you but death and torment!”

Diana gagged, and immediately the Hand of the Warrior protects its charge from the smell (Dur +2, total 5) encasing her head in a life preserving enchanted helm.

“Ack!...It’s going to kill us just by talking!” Diana said, crawling away to gain distance from the thing. She flings daggers towards its face, and they all connect with eye sockets, mouth, and cheeks, cutting away strips of flesh but the thing may as well have felt a brisk wind as it laughed and laughed some more.

Zell

The enchanted rounds impacted the arthritic bone monster, blowing away a modest chunk of bone with it. A stray round struck its joints and caused it pain. By an expert’s estimate, it would take between fifteen to twenty minutes of continued sustained fire to bring it down; less if the bullets were concentrated on its legs. The creature advanced nonetheless, releasing another breath attack, but this one going way over Zell’s head, striking the path behind him and creating a web-like bone structure, barring his way.

"What? It can sense...no way!" Silus snipped. Ethereal energy was in fact magical, to an extent, however it surprised Silus that this being were able to detect the energy. Even to the most skilled of Magi and to the draconian senses the Ethereal's were simply passed off as humans. Those whom knew and could feel an Ethereal had met one before...or knew EXACTLY what to look for. This thing knew this energy and it scared Silus... unless it was speaking of Cheokram somehow. Was she magical? Wouldn't surprise him the way that Spirit was always around her. Silus began to quiver.

 Damnit he was afraid. Almost petrified to be honest. He was the son of the Titan King, the race of Death-energy wielding monsters....he stood before Death himself and still...here in a place like this he was still scared. Ryurou Shi, in a moment of weakness cursed Silus and his twin sister, Helena. Helena did not survive the development and was stillborn. Silus survived...but exposure to Nether energy or deathly elements were lethal, even in trace doses. The "condition" was corrected, and Ryurou removed the curse on the child...but still...to see a creature such as this... it only brought back bad memories...and it terrified him. He began to tremble and the blade he was wielding became unsteady. A trembling breath escaped him. Of course...Silus' crippling fear WOULD be here... The smell did not bother him though, as his own enchanted body allowed him to avert the deathstench in order to smell a nice tranquil scent that was himself...as weird as that sounds...

   Looks Like Diana would be mostly on her own at the moment...unless the beast directly addressed Silus.

Enter: Zell

     The creature was durable, though logic dictated that the joints are where one is weakest, and most susceptible to damages. Zell did not wish to destroy the creature, merely disable is before it could cause him any real harm, so he would obviously aim for the legs. Unless it did the General Grievous thing and use two of it's arms to run around. Zell would continue his assault as clear as possible, though he would need to keep moving it seems. He really did not wish to reveal himself here. It would be most unpleasant for him. He truly did not have time for this, nor did he have the inclination to play with this thing. It produced a new little trick, a breath much like the last, except this time it fired over his head and he would only sigh once he realized that this was not an offensive tactic, rather a strategic tactic. It was barring a mean for escape. Zell's assault would continue as he looked around for anything in the environment to use to his advantage and as his vast knowledge of the occult began to draw and recall every piece of information he had on the undead, Lich like creatures, and osteo-based prowess.

   He fired out more rounds, still skillfully dodging and evading before running and stopping up on the tomb entrance where the twin-gods were borne of. This was a rather interesting little monster. He would soon end this little game however. This creature was nothing to be feared, and honestly he could end this right here and now, though he lacked the inclination to show his true colors, as it tended to attract attention. Attention from beings far greater than this creature.

Diana fled a few paces behind Loki. She uses the frost blade to create cold air around her, freezing the plague flies that flew about, halting the spread of disease and stench to a more manageable level. "Loki? Doesn't the smell bother you? Um, you talk to it then, while I come up with something..."

With a twisted, jovial grin this bloated demon let out a slow cackle, a thousand voices that echoed telepathically. He plucked the daggers out of his face, and strips of rotting flesh hung from his slightly exposed skull, his lower jaw having rotted off ages ago. "Hahahahahaha! Pain... almost like pain, but not quite enough. Where do you go, lady of blades, Ahalpuh is friend to all children. I see... you dislike being near your uncle, this makes me sad..."

The demon's attentions fell upon Loki once more. He seemed... out of place with his demeanor indeed. "Let us speak with this one then. I will repeat myself no more after. Why are you here, scion of magic? Did you come to the Place of Fear without proper offerings? Have you come to pay respects to dead gods, or to enrich yourselves with aztec gold? I am old and forgetful, but you are in my quarter of the city! I will allow explanation... and bargains."

Zell

Taking sustained punishment, the thing eventually collapses at a leg, now making it the hopping skeletal death lord. It seemed this one was a fairly mindless construct, nothing more but a bone golem. Even here inside the city, Xibalba was littered with the remains of Columbian soldiers and their supply camps. A quick eye would allow Zell to discover a small cache of high explosive demolition charges, sealed in sturdy metal boxes but with kick lock.

If he had also paid attention, the texture of the floor as he moved changed, and there was a slight depression where he stood. A careless step could easily fall upon a trap, opening up the street and flushing down to the magma below...