Vikktor's Marshland Fortress

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Kadaj nodded incredulously. "Right." His tome was not mocking. "Kid... can you walk? We're going back out of here. You need somebody to carry you?"

Yazoo kept poking around the walls, looking into cracks and prying at weakened mortar, looking for suspicious devices of any variety, but it wasn't easy with Loz almost clinging to him. "Loz, why don't you go wait with Kadaj?" Yazoo requested, striving to not sound too irritated. He could tell his brother was nearly on the verge of outright bawling. "Kamen, take the opposite wall and work your way back around to me. And mind the corpse."

[*~Nikkole~*]

Lekki let his eyes wander around, he was trembling slightly. Everything seemed to scare him now, even if Kamen said he would protect him.... Vikktor gave him strength and will... but now he was just a frightened child. He looked back at Kadaj. "I think... I can walk on my own." He stood up fully and walked around Kadaj shakily and down the corridor that was the dungeon. He looked like he was going to either fall or puke though....

Kamen nodded and moved up the wall, closer to the door before working his way back down. He checked in cracks and along the stone wall for any clues.... He moved around the body, looking away as not to look at it.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Kadaj stayed close to the boy, noting his unsteadiness. If he starts to fall, I'm fast enough to catch him before he impacts. Loz followed after the pair, wound up tight as a spring. "Should we leave those two in here all by themselves?"

Kadaj sighed. "Yazoo can take care of himself. And Kamen ought to be find as long as he watches his back. Besides, why shouldn't we? There aren't any ghosts down there, I'm telling you. It was probably some old trick of Vikktor's that somebody triggered somehow. An illusion."

"Then what was it doing INSIDE a cell? Why would he try to trap someone who already couldn't get away?"

"I don't know, you'd have to ask him," Kadaj retorted. They started up the stairs. "It's a moot point. You're never going to have to go back down there again, so what does it matter?" He stalked up the steps. "For all we know he just did it to torture his prisoners."

Loz nodded hestitantly. "Yeah. Taunt the prisoners."

Kadaj gave him a harsh look. "Makes sense, right?"

Loz nodded, his mouth dry. Kadaj sighed and kept going.

Down below, Yazoo wasn't turning anything up. "There IS a rational explanation for this," he said, almost as if he were insisting it should be so.

[*~Nikkole~*]

Lekki stumbled up the first few steps before supporting himself on the wall. After a while he got the hang of it and made it up, skirting around the bodies of the dogs. He looked back at them with wide fearful eyes before starting into the other room.

Kamen thought he saw a flash. He looked around before realizing... he just stepped on a wire. He blinked before crouching down. He tugged on it and the 'ghost' walked along the same path it did before, before passing through the wall. Kamen stood and moved to the wall before finding the mechanisms that made it happen. "Hey, Yazoo." He grinned. "I found our 'ghost'." He let the wire trip again, making the woman go by him....

"Guess Lekki or Loz must have stepped on this wire here..." He contained his laughter, thinking about how scared he was for a few minutes there.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Yazoo smiled, inspecting the mechanism. "Nice work, Kamen." And logic wins through once again. Here's hoping I remember that when I go back upstairs... He looked thoughtful for a moment. He shot off a length of the wire and tied a piece of it around his wrist. "Most mysteries have logic lying underneath them. That fact is a key to overcoming fear... and instinct. Remember that, Kamen, and your time with me has not been ill-spent."

He rose. "Let's get back to the others."

He fird a couple more shots into the machine. "You know, there was one big tip-off, that told me the ghost had to have been fake..."

Kadaj noticed the young boy barely managing to hold himself upright, but somehow making it up the steps on his own... Now that's resilience. Tougher than he looks, this boy. Reminds me of how Ami was when she was little.

They came to the flight of stairs leading down into the main hall. The boy looked almost ready to collapse... "You sure you don't need any help, kid?"

Loz was so startled by the sudden question that he jumped a good two feet into the air. He assumed a defense stance before settling down and grinning sheepishly.

Kadaj gave him an odd look. "I'm positive that you do. Speaking in psychiatric terms."

[*~Nikkole~*]

Kamen blinked but nodded, repeating that in his head and converting it to memory. He watched him before giving him a slightly confused look. "And that was...??" He inquired curiously, glancing around.

Lekki stood at the top of the stairs and stared at them before looking at Kadaj. He shook his head. "No... I'm fine, I swear..." He hated getting help from people. It reminded him how weak he really was... The boy stood there a moment longer before swaying and then falling over, passing out....

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Yazoo smirked. "When Loz told me she was supposed to be Vikktor's wife." He shook his head. "What sane woman would have married that maniac?" He headed for the stairs, fingering the wire around his wrist.

Kadaj caught the kid a couple of inches from the floor. "And that settles that," he sighed, carrying him down the steps. Poor kid. He's beyond wiped out. I wonder how long it's been since he's had anything to eat... and exactly how old he is, anyway... "Afternoon, ladies," he nodded to the girls waiting down below. "Anything going on up here worth writing home about?"

Loz followed dumbly, his knees shaky... What's taking the others so long... I knew we shouldn't have left them alone!

[*~Nikkole~*]

Kamen did laugh at this one. "So true, brother.'' He could never see any woman coming close to loving Vikktor... ew. He looked around one more time. Oh, how times have changed... He sighed before jogging to catch up with Yazoo. "Hope that little trick didn't give Loz too much of a scare...."

Lekki made a soft mumbled but stayed limp in Kadaj's arms. Too tired to even try and wake up. He was very light, almost too light for his thin frame. His hair falling limp over a bruised eye.

Fituna and Cironia looked over at them. Fituna laughed a bit before shaking her head. "Nothing we haven't seen before..." She glanced to Cironia, who laughed. They were in a much brighter mood now that they had no worry or pressure.

Kuro stood back silently and watched them, he made no movement to run. Jeremy yawned and leaned against the wall near him. Jeremy had his gaze set on Kadaj coldly, he didn't like that he was carrying Lekki... he didn't like knowing he could be dropped. He didn't trust them, after all. But he made no move to go over to them... not wanting to seem like he cared. It wasn't his nature to care.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Yazoo laughed dryly as he made his way up the steps. "Ha... I'll be surprised if if turns out he didn't wet himself. He even hated haunted houses at carnivals. He said he wasn't scared of anything that was still alive, but the supernatural realm was something he had no intentions of, I quote, 'f**king around with', end quote."

They arrived on the balcony, and Loz's relief could be seen easily from any point in the room... a spectroscopic photo of him would have shown an immediate decline in his temperature. "Are you all right? Did you find anything?"

Kadaj set Lekki down carefully. "This one won't be much longer... I think he needs some food. Anybody got anything?" He turned to Loz. "Search the kitchen."

Loz hesitated, groaned under his breath, and made his way to the break in the wall. Yazoo shook his head at his reluctance, heading down to the others. "There wasn't any ghost, Loz. We found a projector."

Too late. Loz was already rummaging in the rubble... he found a couple strings of garlic and draped them over his neck.

Yazoo sighed. "Long as you're at it, get me some pita if you can find it." He came to Kadaj, fingering the wire again, deliberately keeping his eyes off... her. "You're soaked."

[*~Nikkole~*]

Kamen laughed and shook his head. "That's horrible..." He looked to the others before smiling. He was just happy no one was trying to kill each other.... He noticed Loz and almost laughed again, but stopped himself respectfully.

Lekki mumbled and shifted as he was set down. His eyes fluttered open, but then fell closed again. Fituna moved over, past Kadaj and knelt next to the boy. She checked his temp and his eyes, he was fine. Just very tired.

She gave a slight sigh of relief, pushing her long dark hair out of her eyes and behind her ears. She brushed some hair out of the boys face in a motherly way before standing again.

Cironia raised a brow at all the others before looking at Kamen. "You're still alive?" She blinked. Kamen nodded. She shook her head. "Of all people, I suspected you to turn up in a ditch somewhere.... no hard feelings." Kamen waved her off before looking to Kadaj and Yazoo curiously....

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Kadaj shrugged Yazoo off. "After your altercation with Miss Black Mamba, I'd be the last to pick at someone for being moist." He lifted an eyebrow at his brother almost maliciously before turning to the kitchen. "Loz, any luck?"

Yazoo blinked and almost winced. He risked a short look over at Fituna to see if she had caught the remark... he saw her tending to the boy, her maternal instincts clearly emerging.

He fingered the wire again, so hard that this time it broke.

He felt like his face was getting warmer. He jammed the wire into his pocket.

Loz called back. "Nothing but garlic, and that's mine, for obvious reasons."

Kadaj rolled his eyes and looked to Yazoo to comment depreciatingly on Loz's supernatural repellance methods, but instead saw something that he had thought surely could never been on this green planet.

Yazoo was blushing.

Kadaj's face went slack with shock.

[*~Nikkole~*]

Kamen heard Loz and sighed. He glanced to Lekki, he felt guilty now. He could have come sooner to help his friends... but he knew he could never defeat Vikktor on his own....

Fituna watched over Lekki while talking with Cironia. She laughed a bit before glancing towards the others. She smiled at Yazoo but then looked to Lekki as he stirred and shifted in his sleep.

Jeremy watched the kitchen, he replayed what all had happened earlier and sighed. Let's hope they let us go after this... I really don't want to be around these freaks any longer. I don't even want to know how Kamen met them....

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Loz finally emerged victorious, a loaf of bread in hand. "Here, I found this--" He cut off as Yazoo forcibly barged past him, heading outside through the busted gate. "Hey, where you--?"

"I have to go out," Yazoo replied tersely, not looking back. He disppeared outside the door.

Loz blinked. "Well, when you gotta go, you gotta go." He presented the bread to Kadaj triumphantly. "Voila."

Kadaj took it but made a face at the garlic smell. "Um, thanks. Loz, did Yazoo mention to you they found out there wasn't a ghost? A hologram projector. That was all it was. You guys tripped a recording."

Loz looked a little blown away-- and not a little embarassed. "Oh."

Kadaj nodded painfully, holding his nose. "Now, can you lose the garlands?"

Loz looked down at the garlic and smiled weakly, going back to the kitchen to pitch it. He stopped on his way back, noticing Jeremy's dark look. "Hungry?"

Kadaj opened the bread loaf and took a couple slices out. He shook the boy. "Hey, wake up." He waved the bread under the kid's nose. "C'mon, eat. You're so skinny I almost mistook you for a zipper." He wondered if he would have to take a Plunge to lead the kid out of his unconsciousness... he really hoped not. He was already a bit tired from the fight.

[*~Nikkole~*]

Kamen saw Yazoo leave and frowned slightly, he glanced around for a source for his sudden leave. He to the two girls, who shrugged when they got what he was asking. Kamen frowned a little more as he thought about it a bit....

Jeremy shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. Thanks though..." He offered a faint smile but looked away and watched the others. He wasn't feeling social...

Lekki scrunched up his face a bit and squirmed before opening his eyes. "Ah!" He fought and panicked a bit before relaxing, seeing that it was only Kadaj. He gave his eyes a moment to adjust. "Huh-wha?" He frowned and gave him a funny look before looking at the food.

Lekki pulled away a bit and sat up weakly, watching him warily as he took the bread from him and slowly ate it, treating it as if it were poisoned or going to eat him...

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Kadaj nodded. "That's better. How are you feeling, kid? You were really out of it for a minute." He leaned over to see the boy's eyes... they looked clear, but he decided to test his lucidity, just in case. "What did you say your name was?"

Loz shrugged at Jeremy's disclaimer, heading into the kitched to discard his garlic and see if there was anything else edible around... he was craving meat...

Outside, Yazoo was leaning against the outer wall, feeling its coldness. He wrapped the wire around his wrist again, tying the broken ends together tightly. He felt twelve different kinds of an idiot... Barging out of there like that. I probably drew more attention that way than I would have if I'd stayed... d**n it... what h**l is it with her anyway?! She's just... a woman. She's only...

The wire broke again. He swore under his breath.

He stopped himself. He never swore to himself. What good did it do?