[IC] Masks

[pyroman]

Another day, another unsolved mystery about the origins of the masks and the importance of the location in some random field in Nevada that was turned into what was now known as the facility at least twenty-something years ago which was found empty by Pendleton Howl and reconstructed to be a personal workplace, but later turned into a meeting place for others with masks that also had unknown origins, and no dollar. Pendleton had been working hard for the past week. As always, he kept his mask on a small stand in his lab, just a few feet away from his main desk where he kept all of his notes and records. Like the rest of the facility, his lab was futuristic in a sense, plain, simple, but had so much more room to expand. He had been fortunate enough to not have the feds hound him for his mask and findings, and the reason the Facility was as high tech as it was, was because of the government, who had given him the money and the privacy that he needed to continue his studies on the masks, so as long as he would report in with anything new regularly. sleeping peacefully, he was woken by a rather loud guitar riff that came from his radio, causing the man to jump out of his chair and hit the ground. He always loved having ambient noise playing while he worked, helped others with their mask abilities, or pretty much anything. He didn't remember having it playing so loudly, but apparently, he did, as only a select few amount of people had 24/7 access to his personal lab. With a groan, he got up from the floor and dusted himself off. Even though he was going to head back to his room, which was separate from his lab, he should still be clean in the event that others would be awake as well. Penn returned to his room and got prepared for the day. It took a bit longer than he would have liked due to drowsiness, but it was still relatively early in the day. He left his room and wandered the halls, meandering over to the kitchens to make something to eat. Unlike an academy or school, nobody was employed to make food. You cooked for yourself, or anyone else you wanted to, and nobody was in charge of it. The kitchen was quite large, and had something for everyone at every time. As he walked through the halls, he passed by several halls for the living quarters, and a few for training and relaxing. He knew he could have used his mask to easily get to the kitchen, but he had begun to use the mask less and less. He knew that the effects of the mask were transfering over to him more and more after each use, but what he was worried about was the mentality of the Reaper that he became. He could already use some of the reaper powers on his own, but to a useless extent, so he just decided to walk around the facility instead. As he reached the kitchen, the doors opened for him as they usually did, and he prepared himself a simple breakfast to get himself going until lunch. He wasn't overly hungry, but he knew that he could eat a fair deal if he wanted to. Once he was done cooking, he put everything he used away and walked to the gathering room, a multipurpose room of sorts that was usually used for socializing when a meeting wasn't going on. There were several tables and seats to take in the gathering room, organized to outline a large circle in the middle of the room. While normally it was just an empty space, it could rise to become a platform for different uses. Penn took a seat by himself like he usually did near one of the doors that led to other areas of the Facility, and ate his breakfast quietly as he watched the people who were already awake.

[Voltus_Ventus]

The desert wind whipped sand around the lone figure, but at least all the sand in the air kept the sun away, as it would have devistated him in his black and gray attire. Bartholemhew strolled through the desert as if it was a shaded promenade, walking cane in hand and backpack slung on, though he was half supernatural the desert would still kill him without water and food. He had set out two weeks ago on foot, following a gut intuition that he was meant to go where he was going, often he chatted with Bart as he took the back seat in their shared brain, talking about the 1800s and things like the first time he saw an automobile. However a few days ago the pair that inhabited the same body fell quiet as they settled into the journey, keeping good pace to arrive at where ever the hell they were going. Soon the wind died down and the sun was blazing through the dying dust, Bartholemhew took has jacket off and slung it over his shoulder, rather having one less layer then an extra one, underneath he was wearing his suit-vest and gray shirt with a black tie. A cabin-shack of sorts appeared in the distance, Bartholemhew went towards it welcoming the respite it would offer from the sun.

[Revans Exile]

After traveling to back to the good ol' US of A Dite turned her attention to that nagging feeling in the back of her mind. She felt drawn to a location she knew she's never been. She bought a map of the country, she spread it out on a table in the penthouse suite she was staying in. She closed her eyes and let the feeling lead her hands. She waved her hands above the map, she started on the coasts and moved her way inward. Once she found the approximate location she bought a state map of the area to further narrow it down. She repeated the process and found the location was in the middle of a dessert. "No way in Tartarus am I walking. Good thing I took up skydiving for that one music video." She had her assistant file a flight plan so she could take her private jet to take her close and once up in the air she had her assistant schedule a skydiving trip for the both of them.

[Traitor]

The relative silence of the desert scenery was torn aside by the noise of an ATV making its way through the sand. Its tires digging up a fountain of dry rain for everyone who happened to be unfortunate enough to stand behind the vehicle - though at this speed that was somewhat unlikely. The machine plowed through the landscape at an impressive speed, hardly having any difficulties with dunes or the likes, and though maintaining a straight direction was everything but easy, the driver seemingly had the time of her life. The young woman wearing a gas mask had no drivers license, nor any experience at driving anything whatsoever, but somehow she found piloting the stolen ATV quite intuitive. Suspiciously intuitive. She had no doubt this had to do with the mask as well, but it mattered not when a 'Woooo!' barely overpowered the noisy motor, muffled by the gas mask. She had no idea where this was going, or what to do when the howling monstrosity she had tamed ran out of fuel. The moment was simply to enjoyable to care!

[shi12]

Blue eyes blinked up at the strange ceiling, their owner having just recently awoken. Nina’s tired mind didn’t recognize her surroundings, though a part of her deep down inside knew exactly where she was. A huff of air escaped her lips, the brunette turning over in the unfamiliar bed only to come face to face, metaphorically, with the most likely suspect for her new surroundings. Sitting on the pillow beside her, the item turned over, was the mask. It must have come off in her sleep… The woman sat up slowly before picking up the mask, her fingers noting the chill that overwhelmed her as she did so. “What did you get me into now?” she questions aloud. Nina hoped the mask would remind her, as it had done thousands of times before in what could be a similar situation. Icy fingers seemed to curl around her brain, awakening thoughts and memories that the mask had suppressed. Then, leaving the young woman as quickly as it had come, the mask released her. Oh, right. Nina had recently felt the need to find something, at least the side of her attached to the mask had. For the past month the woman had not once removed the item, it wouldn’t let her. She had searched, coming up with nothing to show for this ‘quest’… until last night. Nina had finally found it, a small shack in the middle of nowhere. Deep under the run down building though was a facility full of people, people who all had masks of their own. The woman sighed, standing quickly and walking over to her measly bag of supplies. Drawing out a fresh set of clothes and her hygienic necessities Nina readied herself for the day. Maybe afterwards she’d go explore this new place…

[Major Ursa]

The understanding of how to use the mask came to him automatically, as quiet and as effect as a whisper. The first time he had used his power on someone, other than himself, was on a student during a beach trip. With the small amount of boardwalk bringing him close enough to see the edge where water ebbed and flowed over sand, as his more sand and surf wheelchair had gone into a bad state of disrepair from disuse…the photography instructor ended up settling down beside the last student left as the others had gone off to take photos. Too blessed was he, having the best behaved class. After an hour under the hot sun, one of the teens finally got back to him, and more specifically...the water cooler, with bottles of water. Such an impulse it was, with the mask tucked into his bag latched onto his wheelchair, and a bottle of dry beach sand given to him by one o the female students. The illusion in place, even he saw the crystal clear bottle of cool water go from his hand into the teen boy’s…and yet he felt his stomach drop as the youth removed the top and tilted his head back, even when the illusion kept with the flowing clear water that looked too delicious in this heat. The teen wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, screwing the cap on…there was something off in his gut feeling, before he finally noticed the wheelchair bound teacher visibly blanched with a look of what could have been guilt...and horror…upon his face, “Hey, Mr Foster, you alright?” As the illusion ended, sand poured out from the boy’s mouth as he spoke. “I’m sorry, wrong bottle.” ----- That incident had been explained as a combination of the youth suffering from some mild heat stroke, which would explain the carelessness and just straight up drinking a good portion of a bottle of sand. The teen recovered, nobody was charged as it had been clearly a series of accidents, but Isaiah Foster never forgot…as easy as willing it, a person could gulp down a glass of sand like it was the sweetest flowing, lightest juice upon their tongue. “Sir, are you feeling alright?” Being brought out of his stupor, he would have jumped slightly in his seat if he could. Turning and peering up at the older waitress looking at his with some concern to her expression, he chuckled and smiled easily at her, taking note of her nametag just at eye level, “Sorry, Gertrude, I must still have been half asleep.” Isaiah couldn't help but be reminded of the nurses typical of hospitals, looking at Gertrude’s expression change slightly…there was still pity, but no more than he expected, and favourably less so, even. “You travelling?” Isaiah could really only give a truthful nod to his inquiry, “If you're tired, you must be driving an awful lot, where you heading?” Honestly, he didn't know. Heck, he didn't even know why he had just felt the urge to get on up and out here, though jokingly he thought to himself, ‘Early midlife crisis, perhaps?’ Maybe a restlessness due to routine…which, in actuality, wasn't something he tended to have at all in life. As smooth as Isaiah’s life seemed to far, as face value, he really wasn't a planner. Still, he had to give some sort of lie, so he didn't sound like he was just going to roll off and disappear from the world. So, he gave the waitress the same answer he gave his wife, like he was the one cheating and had to hide what he planned on doing… “A colleague and I are getting together to work on photography project. Now…hmmm, can you tell me a little bit about this breakfast special?”

[twave]

What were they doing out here? "Out here? What are we doing in America?" Koharu asked. It was a fair question. Since their first encounter involving the whole mask they hadn't left Japan. Both their lives had been flipped head over heels ever since that moment. Though it could be debated if they had individual lives anymore. All the events leading up to this point were hard to believe. --- Whatever happened that night six months ago scared the crap out of both participants. Going back to their respective homes they didn't talk to a soul. What would one even say to explain it? Either way the event was exhausting and sleep quickly overtook them. Bizarre dreams awaited them until they woke the next morning. Robert's part was done, he had crossed an ocean to meet his other half. There was no turning back for him. The mask had more work to do with Koharu though. Waking with a start she looked around slightly panicked. Somehow she had the sense that she had been somewhere else. Noticing the mask she grabbed it and went to throw it away but couldn't bring herself to go through with it. Shoving it in a drawer she quickly got ready and left. No way did she want near the thing. It was possessed or something. Being at home was still too close. Calling a friend she arranged to spend the day with her. Good, this should be fine. Imagine her dismay when their destination was the area that she had run into the foreigner. After attempting to dissuade her friend with poor excuses failed she gave up and went for the ride. It was a big place. How likely would it be that she would see him again. He was probably just some tourist passing through. It could have even have been a bad dream or something. Thinking how ridiculous she sounded to herself she glanced outside the car and nearly had a heart attack when they passed by Robert. That was not the last time either. Throughout the day she somehow kept nearly running into him. What he stalking her? He appeared rather oblivious to her presence each time. Being slightly superstitious she tried to think of anything else that might have been a sign or something. This went on most of the day and when it finally came time to go home she wasn't as afraid of the mask as she was of that boy. Even so she didn't touch the mask for several days. Further trips into town were uneventful and she didn't see Robert again. By now she was feeling rather silly for having worried about such things. Feeling a little more confident that she'd let her imagination run away she retrieved the mask again. Looking it over it just looked like a regular mask. Putting it up to her face a sense of dread filled her. She had missed her chance to get to know who that was. All those opportunities were signs. All at once she needed to find him. Having both under control made leading them to each other easy. Without even really thinking about it the two united the mask and became one again. Even though it could not keep them fused together forever the mask made sure that they were as often as it could. Unable to resist the mask's will initially they would shapeshift into animals or other people and cause mischief and confusion in the town. This obviously meant that Robert stayed in Japan, much to his parents dismay and despite their objections. On Koharu's end her father saw the two together and gave her a long lecture about fraternizing with foreigners. Even though the mask had control of them for the most part when they were fused they could still converse. It took time for each to learn the other's language but when you have a near telepathic link it made short work of that barrier. As they grew closer they also grew stronger. Eventually the found they could gain some control back when they worked together. Finally losing out they regained control but the damage had been done. Use of the mask's power felt more natural to them both and even when split they wouldn't part from each other's company unless necessary. From that point shapeshifting became a normal occurrence and even when the effects lingered it was not much of a bother. That was until they put the mask on and felt a new draw. The mask had brought them together, perhaps where it led them now would prove to be just as good. Leaving everything but the basics behind they set off to find where it led them. --- And that is how they found themselves in front of this old looking shack and the questions began. "What is this? Is anyone inside? Are we supposed to live here?" By now it was sometimes hard for them to make out their individual thoughts. If they ran together that was alright. It wasn't often they disagreed. If anything they were more alike than ever. Even subtle things would occasionally make an appearance like when Koharu would lift her hand to adjust the glasses she didn't have. Speaking of Koharu, they were currently using her form. Entering the shack didn't quell the confusion. They made their way down into the unknown. Anxiously awaiting what new thing the mask had in store for them.

[pyroman]

As people gathered around the shack above the Facility, Penn was notified through a device of his own design meant for monitoring the underground building. It was pretty much a phone in all aspects, but one of his own design, and one of a kind. It rang and vibrated as the sensors outside picked up activity, and the scientist walked back to his lab to grab his mask. As he walked through the halls, he passed by the room of one Nina Simone. She had come to the Facility in her masked form not too long ago, and as always, he introduced himself to her and allowed the mask wearer in. Deciding to stop at her room, he knocked on the door and waited a moment before opening it with a "Hello?" He didn't walk in, but instead peaked his head inside and looked around briefly. "You came here with your mask on, and it's usually fifty fifty if the wearers remember what happens." He told her, still unsure if she was listening. "Well anyways, My name is Pendleton Howl, and I'm the one running this place. It's good to have another addition here, so I'll be going now." Pendleton shut the door and began to walk again, hoping that he didn't interrupt anything by suddenly coming in. If he had the time, he would have just waited until she invited him in, if she did at all, but he needed to make sure those people over ground weren't drying from the lack of life. He made his way back to his lab and put his mask on, black flames encasing his body as if it were a cocoon. A moment later, the flames dispersed, and a tall figure in black emerge from where Penn once was. The only reason his room was taller than most was because the Reaper's form was easily larger than six feet in height. In an instant, the cloaked figure disappeared into the shadows. In another moment, the Reaper appeared overground through a small shadow in the shack. He could feel a presence making its way down, but whoever was down there would be surprised to find that it would simply be a dead-end without Penn's authorization. Instead of going down, the Reaper walked out into the open, awaiting the others nearby to get closer to the shack. He stood tall, scythe in hand, and waited patiently.

[Revans Exile]

Kimiko waited patiently for Dite to find the location for the drop. There was nothing else to do so she began to meditate. The pilot on the other hand was getting frustrated no jump had ever taken this long and he can't for the life of him figure out why he let it go so long. Eventually Dite announced it was time. Kimiko grabbed her bag. Dite was the first to jump out of the plane, Dite being a risk taker waited until it was almost to late to pull the ripcord. Kimiko jumped and screamed in fear until she pulled the ripcord at the earliest possible moment. Dite and Kimiko landed behind the shack. Kimiko really wanted to question Dite's choice of landing spots, but her mistress was always right. Kimiko only had one question. "How are we supposed to get back to civilization? We have no water, no transpo, and it's goddess knows how many days travel to the nearest neighbor." Dite always the optimistic one. "We'll figure it out. Later." Dite walked around the corner looking for an entrance. "Look Charon is here. Char baby long time no see. You finally get tired of ferrying the dead on the River Styx?" Kimiko saw the tall robed creature and freaked out. Kimiko passed out. Dite turned to introduce Kimiki to Charon. "Poor thing. She did the same thing when I told her who Dite truly is." Dite picked Kimiko up and put her over her shoulder. "So Char baby, got any place where this poor girl can rest?"

[pyroman]

Having being spoken to by the extraordinarily beautiful woman, The Reaper looked at her and took note of the mask that she wore. She knew they there were several types of masks out there, in all sorts of different pieces of headgear, but he enjoyed seeing just a mask every once and a while. If his face could have been seen, Dite would have taken notice of the raised eyebrow that Penn had on his face. He knew of Charon, the ferryman of the dead, and he supposed that it's what he could be, as a reaper in a black cloak is rather synonymous and well known. Normally, he was opposed to letting non-mask users into the Facility, but he was sure that the wreathed woman would find some way to get her in. The Reaper nodded and motioned for them to continue onward. "There are others making their way into the waiting room." His voice resonated with power. He then moved his free hand over to his face to remove the mask. Once again, he was cloaked in black flames before returning to his normal form, the mask in his hands as he stood there. "Penn Howl." He introduced himself. "There seem to be some others on their way here, so just head on down into the waiting room and wait until the doors open. I'll explain more when we get past that."

[Revans Exile]

"I am Dite, Char baby you may know me as Aphrodite. This is my personal assisstant Kimiko." Dite motioned for Kimiko to step forward. "Since when do the masks that ruled the ancient world as gods allowed themselves to be removed?" Dite waved her hand as if wiping away the subject. "Let's go check the inside of this facility Kimiko. Let's hope the inside looks better than the outside, if not I am going to be extremely dissappointed." Kimiko recognized the tone in Dite's voice. It was extremely subtle, one would have to spend quite a lot of time with Dite to recognize the difference. Dite issued a threat. Like always Kimiko went in first. When it was determined to be safe she called for Dite. Dite inspected the inside. "Much better than the outside, that isn't saying much." She looked for this waiting room. "Char baby where is this waiting room?"

[pyroman]

The waiting room that Penn spoke of wasn't much more than a slightly lit basement with very little furnishing. However, that all changed when Penn took out his phone and pressed a button. For anyone in the waiting room underground, it didn't look like much. The walls and floors were clean, but there was only a single light that dimly lit up the room. When Penn pressed the button, the walls changed from their stone grey into bright white octagonal panels, with lights in the open spaces of the panels. Everything in the room suddenly became much better because of a single button. The room was now much brighter, and appeared much cleaner than before, and before the people in the waiting room could get settled into the change, the wall across from the stairwell that led to the waiting room began to disappear, panel by panel to show an elevator with it's doors open. Of course there were other ways to get into the facility, but Penn enjoyed having it done a certain way whenever new people came to the facility. If they were to take the elevator down now, they's find that once they reached their destination, the facility would still be relatively quiet. It was still somewhat early in the morning, and only so many people would be awake. Despite this, the Facility would be as hi-tech and clean as usual. The white octagonal panels were all over the place, a rather odd design choice from Penn, but he stuck to it. Pendleton stayed above ground, waiting patiently for the rest of the newcomers. They couldn't be far away, and he put his mask back on to take the form of the Reaper once more.

[Traitor]

The girl with the gas mask had to refill the ATVs tank twice over the course of the night, and when she emptied the second - and last - reserve tank, a feeling of uncertainty snuck into her mood. Not knowing where to go was one thing, driving through the middle of a desolate landscape with preciously little water and food was another...and the lack of gas didn't make it any better. But she kept going. Not like she had much of a choice at this point, it didn't require a genius or a higher degree in math to understand that she couldn't return the way she came. After hours and hours of driving through the desert, Charlotte finally reached the destination of her uncertain journey - a wooden shed came into view. The surprised 'Woah.' she let loose was certainly not because of the building, but rather directed at the person standing in front of it. Upon her arrival, she was still wearing the hooded jacket that shielded her from most of the nightly cold of the desert, together with fairly worn out pants and heavy boots. A bag full of basic belongings was strapped to the ATV. She stalled the motor and jumped off the vehicle without waiting for it to fully stop, roughly when the eerie figure in front of the building was close enough to hear her voice without excessive shouting. As the ATV slowly came to a halt, she produced a pistol from behind her back and carefully approached Pendleton, aiming down in front of her. "Shit, I always thought the gates of hell would be more...opulent. The bouncer is just as I imagined, though.", she proclaimed jokingly half to herself, half to the grim reaper in front of her, waiting for what she presumed to be 'death' to react. Her mind racing to make sense of this scenery, trying to comprehend what this place was and why the mask directed her to this run-down house.

[Voltus_Ventus]

As Bartholomew strolled silently along, the activity around the shack started to increase. People began falling out of the sky and spindly person on some kind of 4 wheeled motorcycle rushed through the desert a few hundred yards away from Bartholomew. Watching all this go by with a blank expression, he kept walking towards the shack, his feet making light tapping sounds on the dried out lakebed that was the desert. Soon, after an hour of further walking (things in the desert are further then they appear), the shack was mere yards away, however he found that he was approaching it from behind. Before he started wrapping around the dilapidated structure, the four wheeled vehicle he spotted in the distance prior to his arrival coasted past him at a slow pace before slowing to a halt; soon he heard the semi-distant sound of a woman. Leaning his head around the corner of the structure, him and all the other long dead souls in the mask to a combined shit. Death, the creature that they thought they were safe from in the mask was only a few yards away. ‘HIDE THE MASK!’ yelled the combined trapped souls and quickly, without a comment Bartholomew did so, clearly petrified by the presence of death. Slipping the mask back into his bag Bart felt Bartholomew slip away from him and relinquish command, however he still felt some of bart inside him, like residue at the bottom of a coffee pot; he felt this way because the mask less features of Bartholomew were still on his face, the wide black beady eyes and the smoothed black hair, but slowly strand by strand his hair turned blonde again and muscle by muscle, his irises reappeared and his eyes shrunk.

[pyroman]

Reaper's cloak flapped in the dry yet gentle wind. He observed the woman with the gas mask as she approached, and could feel the presence of several trapped souls. Being the Grim Reaper, he had extra senses like that. Suddenly, the trapped souls disappeared from his radar, He could no longer feel their presence, but just one soul taking their place. He didn't move at the sight of her firearm. The bullets wouldn't pass through him, but they would hardly be an effective tool to slay him. He was the Reaper, a god in his own right that took souls away from the land of the living. "Your mask." He spoke suddenly to the woman, his free hand pointing at her face. "Does it change you? Bind you with another? Are you more than you were without it?" While sandstorms were somewhat common, there hadn't been one in the area in quite some time, and the mask could have just been an accessory. She could have just wandered to the shack. They were all possible. "Remove your mask." He told her. Penn wanted for it to sounds like a request than an order, but the Reaper is hardly ever wavering. He then pointed with his scythe in the direction of the other being near him, the one that used to be the collective form of several souls. "Your mask is unique." he spoke as powerfully as ever. "Go inside, more will be explained shortly."

[shi12]

"Come on... Now you choose to be silent? Just a few months ago I couldn't get you to s-" Nina cut off her sentence when there was a knock at the door. The woman's blue eyes shifted to the slightly familiar figure who peered in. So that was the Pendleton Howl it had mentioned, one of the few details that had been explained to her. He was quite right though, her memory wasn't completely back on the matter, she only remembered getting here, meeting the man standing in the doorway, and the fact that their were more people in her situation down here. Just as quick as he arrived he disappeared back into the hall, the door closing with a soft click. Nina blinked, turning back to look at the mask sitting atop the bed on the other side of the room. "If you really want to know more then asking him would be your best shot." the mask chuckled. Yes, the mask can speak but only its wearer, Nina, could hear it. This little fact had given her quite a fright the first few times it decided to speak to her. The mask was completely conscious and had a very demanding grip on her, what it wanted it got and she had no way to say no. "Why don't you explain instead, he seems busy enough..." Nina questioned aloud. It's response was expected, completely common to the mask. "You really think I paid that much attention? Silly girl you should know better." it laughed, mocking her. Right, the mask often had a short attention span... It was truly insane. Nina groaned before snatching the silver object off the bed. She was going to explore and maybe try to find Pendleton again, she wanted to know exactly what this place was. The brunette quietly opened her door and slipped out, only to freeze at what she saw. This place looked like something from a movie. A shocked gasp left her lips, slowly making her way down the hall towards what looked to be some sort of common area. Maybe someone would be able to help her in her confusion.

[Revans Exile]

Kimiko and Dite took up residence on a couch in some kind of common area, Dite put her arm around Kimiko. "I take you the most interesting places don't I?" Kimiko was being flooded with Dite's pheromones, she was extremely aroused. All she could manage was a moan. Dite whispered one word into Kimiko's ear, Kimiko began to writhe in pleasure. Dite just giggled and then kissed Kimiko on the cheek. "No longer nervous are we?" Kimiko nodded affirmative. "We need to be here, not sure why yet. Hope to see more of the ancient Greek deity masks around. Especially the one that became Ares. Did I ever tell you about Ares, Zeus forced us to play the role of brother and sister but he was an incredible lover. Last I heard he was heading to Japan. Shortly after that I left and encountered the Norse people, I came to be known as Freya then. Haven't heard from Ares since or the rest of my fellow deities." Dite rested her head on Kimiko's shoulders.

[Major Ursa]

Surprisingly, with nothing but a feeling, he found the building. Well, to be more precise, it was a dilapidated shack in the middle of nowhere. With his mask in his lap and his willing of it, the illusion had fallen into place, making his presence virtually imperceptible. Couldn't be sooner, as the building didn't seem to have a ramp for him to try and roll up through the entrance. Looking around the general area and spotting a few planks leaning against the side of the shack, he leant over to noisily knock them over, though the general illusion of imperceptibility would have...well, nobody would notice, even while walking on or crossing over it. Not till the illusion was put to rest, or at least till he separated from the mask. With a little bit more nudging here and there it seemed to become a decent enough ramp for him to make use of. Finally wheeling himself up and into the shack, he looked up and had a creeping feeling...looking around, just before the doorway, he took sight of a real photographic moment. A large woodland spider in a very thick web, eating a trapped moth. Adjusting his camera, holding it steady, he finally took his pictures before actually going into the building. Mask in lap, camera in hand, looking over the picture briefly...Isaiah finally noticed the--"WOAH, okay!?" Looking up at what could only be the visage of death, for what must have been minutes, the paraplegic tried to remember when exactly he could have recently died. No, he couldn't be dead, right? Isaiah doubted he could use a camera is he were a ghost, or even still be wheelchair bound, for that matter. Laughing nervously, trying desperately to trust the strange power of the mask, hoping this reaper false..."...gods...!" Was the only thing he could mutter to himself in the moments after.

[twave]

So "Koharu" had stood in the dimly lit waiting room. Both she and Robert were confused as to what was going on. While trying to decide what to do They were surprised as the room began to change and become much brighter and more modern. This place was clearly more than met the eye. Hearing someone else coming Dite and Kimiko entered. After a few seconds They could tell that Robert recognized one of them.

Together they had created a mental construct in their mind. Early on is was a way to cope with being trapped by the mask. Now it was a force of habit when they talked to each other in their head. Koharu looks at Robert curiously. "You know who that is?" Her expression was a little suspicious. As their relationship evolved Robert had come to to find that she could be very jealous when she sensed any kind of attraction from him. "Well no not really. I know of her. Her name is Dite. She is a celebrity here in the US." Both stopped to listen to the odd dynamic of the newcomers. Again Rob had a moment of clarity, although it was confusing. "Oh duh, Aphrodite. That's where her name comes from." And again he realized he'd lost Koharu. "Aphrodite is the name of the Greek goddess of love. There's probably more to it actually. Most of the Greek gods represented multiple things." There was silence between the two before Koharu shook her head. "You're such a nerd."

What took place in their head was extremely brief in reality. Thinking it rude not to introduce herself Koharu raised a hand and waved to singer and her assistant. Thankfully with Robert's help her English went from zero to fluent in the short time they'd known each other. "Hello. My name is Koharu Saito. You're Dite, right?" Seeing as Koharu and Robert currently possessed the same body Dite would probably be able to make out that there were two hearts on the cusp of blooming into a much greater love for one another. Depending on how astute she was at least. The two's concentration was slightly interrupted by the elevator opening up so they could enter. Introductions first though.

[Traitor]

Of all things death could greet her with, this was one of the things she didn't expect. Something more archaic was what she had in mind. Definitely something involving the word 'BEHOLD!'. Tension didn't leave her, but since the reaper didn't immediately rush at her, swinging his scythe in delirious bloodthirst, she stood more upright and held the pistol casually in one hand. "You're gonna have to take my word when I say 'yes', bud. I'd rather not take it off right about now, would hate to get sand in my eyes." She shoved her hand into one of her pockets, immediately feeling the cold metal of a smoke grenade that wasn't there before. It made her relax, gave her a certain feeling of control over the situation. If things went bad she could just hide in smoke until death became bored, she thought. Regardless of the yet unused grenade in her pocket, the smoke she exhaled through the mask slowly gathered around her feet. Due to being outside, in a somewhat windy area and in the bright morning sun the cloud dissipated partially, so the passive emittance of the mask wouldn't suffice to fully veil her. It would however quite visually imply that there's more to her than just a random passerby with a gas mask.