[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/FGD7pKH.png[/img][/center] [b]Sherman Square Lost Haven[/b] [hr] Flashing lights, rushing wind, unyielding forces and shifting inertia, Marie’s unconscious form was at the whim of Thunderbolt’s speed. She was aware of her surroundings, aware of the fact that she had been escorted back to the tower in Lost Haven in what felt like an instant, but her mind was unable to focus on these external stimuli. Inside, she was lost, searching for control over her own body, falling deeper and deeper into the abyss. She could hear the continuous echo of her voice, yet she was not speaking. She could see an image like herself, a woman that bore her likeness, yet she donned garments from a time long passed. [i]Who are you?[/i] Marie tried to ask, but in the recesses of her own mind, she found it difficult to speak. In truth, she was unsure if it was even her body that she was trapped inside. The powers that she had wielded only moments ago, the magic that she tapped into, it was foreign to her, and yet entirely familiar. What was happening inside of her? Her illusory double appeared before her as a solid construct, a beautiful rendition of what Marie might have looked like in the Middle Ages. She moved her lips, but few words were given breath. “Find me . . . find yourself,” was all she managed to say before she disappeared and Marie, after a few more seconds of internal wandering, regained control of herself. She sat up and leaned against the wall, her hearing and vision returning to what they once were. She saw Radiance and Chris speaking to one another, the former longing to return to the heat of battle and complete the task given to them. “I-I . . .” Marie struggled to speak. She, unlike Radiance, wore no external injuries, but she was mentally drained. “I s-should probably get back out there as well.” Marie could hear the commotion through her earpiece. The Silver Sorceress and company had been revived thanks to some spell cooked up before the battle, meaning all the work that she and her comrades had done was being undermined. Their efforts had only slowed them down, and Marie had no such spell to return her companions’ vigor, but perhaps she could stop whatever magic the sorceress was working on currently. Marie, with the help of Chris, was back on her feet. She stumbled a few times, but the bulk of her strength had returned. “I think I’m alright now,” she said to the others in the room, “and I might know something to stop whatever spell Silver Sorceress and her sister are conjuring, but I’ll need a few things.” Marie took out a small length of chalk from a pouch at her side and began to inscribe Puck’s symbol onto the elevator door. Chris began to protest her blatant vandalization of his headquarters, but Marie interrupted him, “Don’t worry, it’ll wash off.” Once she had inscribed the symbol onto the door, she called the elevator to their floor. When the door opened, it wasn’t the elevator at all, but the entrance to The Red Devil. The smell of beer, musk, and strange concoctions flowed into the room, tavern patrons going about their daily business all the while. “I’ll be right back!” Marie called behind her as she stepped through the door into the tavern. Once the elevator had closed, the symbol on the outside disappeared. [hr] Inside The Red Devil, tavern goers were in a fit, all crowding around a grand mirror that had been set up downstairs. Its surface was a hazy white smoke, images of a bridge, a large truck, and other obscure omens filtered through from time to time. At one point, Joseph appeared, speaking to some invisible force, though none could hear what he was saying. At the moment, Puck descended the long flight of stairs into the tavern’s ground floor to watch the events unfold. Upon seeing him, Marie ran over. “What’s going on?” she asked in both a curious and demanding voice. “Well well, if it isn’t the White Witch! Surprised to see you back here to soon. Have you taken care of old what’s-his-name and his world domination scheme?” Marie sighed, she hadn’t the stomach for Puck’s untimely sense of humor. “No, not yet, that’s why I’m here. I need Joseph to help me work a binding spell, where is he?” “Afraid you missed him, love. He’s out on his own little adventure, and it looks like he might be in a spot of bother.” Puck pointed at the mirror. It showed Joseph frantically swatting at the air, yelling, stumbling, tearing up at seemingly nothing. The tavern goers made noises of disgust, some urging him to get up and fight as if they were watching a sports program. Marie hushed them and tried to see what was wrong with him, but the images came in flashes, and in another moment, the mirror was blank. “Where is he? What’s wrong with him? Where’s Holt?” Marie fired the questions at Puck with frantic unease, who only shrugged. “I’m here,” answered an ethereal presence. Shadows collected in a swirl next to Marie, revealing the familiar, Holt. “Why aren’t you with him, why aren’t you helping him?” Marie interrogated the spirit with increasing rage. “Calm down,” Holt interrupted. “He dismissed me in order to save me. It’s a long story and neither of you has the time to hear it, but he needs help.” “I’ll go,” Marie quickly volunteered. [i]Whatever power I’ve suddenly unlocked, I’ll use it to save Joseph, then he and I can take down Silver Sorceress.[/i] “What about your other problem, deary?” spoke Puck. “Right now you have an obligation to them more than to Joseph, are you sure you want to jeopardize their safety for Joseph’s?” [i]Damn him![/i] Marie thought. She knew that Puck didn’t care about the heroes or those affected by Diplodoc’s bombs, he was just guilt tripping her into making a decision for the fun of it. But he was right. If Marie went to save Joseph, she would be putting her teammates at risk. She didn’t doubt their abilities, but she more than any of them knew the dangers of magic, and she feared that their strength and numbers may not be a match for whatever spell the Silver Sorceress was cooking up. At the same time, she didn’t want to lose one of the few friends she had made in her time working in Lost Haven. Then, it hit her, a compromise could be made. “Holt, could you do something for me?” Holt nodded. A familiar was normally only bound to one witch and could follow only their commands, but this was a time when such rules were allowed to be bent. Marie quickly took up a small napkin and wrote the coordinates to Diplodoc’s base on it. “I need you to go to this location and contain whatever magic is being done there. Bind its power to the best of your ability until Joseph and I can work a proper binding.” Holt nodded once more, taking the form of a large raven and gobbling down the napkin. He flapped his wings, disappearing in a swirl of black smoke and reappearing above Diplodoc’s base. He quickly swooped down, flying above the battle and over to the Silver Sorceress and her sister. He transformed once again into his true form, became intangible, and wrapped himself around their spell, using his own power to secretly contain theirs. Meanwhile, Marie used Puck’s door to locate Joseph. She appeared just below the underpass where he was engaged in battle with the spirit of his father, Increase Mather. “Go away!” Joseph screamed in agony, swatting at his father’s form, whose ethereal body took his blows with ease. “You were always a disappointment to me, boy. If only you had been more like Cotton, but instead you called to the Devil’s whores and had you made into one of them! You don’t deserve to hold the name Mather, you don’t deserve to live!” Joseph screamed, a sharp pain shooting through his chest. There was no one there, no assailant to harm him, but his mind believed otherwise. “Leave me alone!” He again called out in fear, tormented by his father’s image, unable to do anything against him. “Joseph?!” Marie called out in response to his cries. “It’s Marie, snap out of it!” She tried to break through the illusion with her voice, but to no avail. Where she stood, Joseph saw only his father. Her voice was overpowered by his, and her compassion was replaced by his hatred. “You’re worthless!” Increase shouted, cracking a whip against Joseph’s back, who recoiled and writhed in pain. “You’re filth!” “It’s not real!” Marie tried again. “Whatever you’re seeing, it’s not real! Joseph, listen to me, it’s Marie, I’m here!” “A disgrace!” Increase yelled louder, twisting his son’s fingers in a small contraption, bending them, breaking them. Joseph continued to scream. “Father, I’m sorry, please leave!” Marie looked puzzled. She was unaware of Joseph’s past, of his family. She could, however, piece together what was happening to him. His fear of Increase was given life by some spell. He was being tormented by illusions and, despite all his power, could not break free of them alone. Marie seemed to recall spell to break illusions, for seeing past the veil. She began to chant, her voice like a low hum atop the bridge. It echoed through the entire underpass, her words calling to the spirits of the area. They came to her, bringing with them the energy of clarity, the gift of second sight. They placed their hands over Joseph’s eyes, giving him the ability to see truth from deceit. Marie commanded that the illusions fade, and they did, the image of Increase Mather burned away before Joseph’s eyes, and what was left was Marie. Her spell complete, Joseph stood up, wiping dust from his clothes. Wiped away thick tears and ran up to Marie, hugging her, thanking her. “I’m glad I could help, but there’s no time to be sentimental. Now I need your help with something.” “I would,” Joseph responded, voice hoarse from his frantic yelling, “but I’m working on something of my own right now. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I got involved . . .” “We don’t have time for this,” Marie interrupted. “I need you to help me with a spell to stop this bomb madness that’s going on right now, c’mon.” “No,” Joseph replied with a harsh tone. “What? What do you mean, no?” “Exactly what I said, no. I’m not gonna run off with you to help you save the day, not this time. I uncovered something big by myself, and I need to see it through to the end. I don’t want to be your sidekick, Marie, I need to do something for myself. You can help, if you want, but I’m not gonna help you until I’ve figured out what’s going on here.” Marie wanted to punch him, but that wouldn’t do either of them any good. Instead, she just nodded. “Fine, but let’s do it quickly.” The two of them wandered down from the bridge to the underpass once more, making their way over to the CDC truck, which was now clearly visible. Surrounding the truck, they could see Odette, Lekh, and a few strangers who had arrived not long after Joseph’s imprisonment. They watched for a moment, but upon seeing a strange shadow following Odette, a being she assumed to be a faery by the feel of it, she charged in. Still donning her White Witch attire, Marie spoke up. “What’s going on here?” she demanded, her recklessness brought on by an intense desire to return to Diplodoc’s headquarters. Little did she know, she had charged into another conflict all together.