How Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk?

(Besides myself and Sorin, only two other people may join if they'd like.)[/size]

In the Lotus Forest, many dark threads reached up over to the highest tree branch, where a lone chest lay. The threads reached through the lock, and after twisting and turning, the chest opened. After a bit of rummaging, the threads retracted back, to the tall, platinum-haired hypnotist. Now holding several different metals, alloys, and other materials in her hands, Dani turned to two card soldiers and said, "Thank you so much for your help. You may return to your queen and forget what happened here. Understood?"

"Yes..." With the monotone response, the guards walked off, back to the Queen of Hearts' castle as instructed.

For the time being, Dani had been looking for the materials for a new weapon that Ignis planned to use, just like she had promised. Thankfully for her, she didn't have to do it alone; some of her hypnosis had returned, allowing her to take control of the few card guards scouting this area to help her. Granted, it was only by a margin, but enough for her to get as much as what was needed. It was actually much easier than she thought it was at first.

With all of that done, the same dark threads wrapped around the many metals before they were all gone, to the Nightmare Illusionist for him to forge. That small quest done for now, Dani turned to the real center of attention, at least in her mind. The hypnotized Solar Samurai. The Hypnotic Seductress smiled as she walked up to Sorin and placed her hand on his face.

"Now then, my dear warrior of the earth," she said as she stroked his face, "let us try and get you to put more emotion into your actions."

~*~

Meanwhile, in another location of the forest, Kalas lied on the top of an oversized mushroom cap, Lucifer curled up at his side. In his hand was a lone Magnus card, with the image of a number of swords prepared to impale an unknown target, with a green background and the roman numeral VI at the bottom. The blue-haired youth and his demon dog companion had dropped by this world not that long ago, intent on forgetting what just happened back in Halloween Town. While exploring the forest, they had found another Magnus container on the world, which contained the next of his special attacks.

"Just three more to go..." Kalas muttered to himself, putting the card away for now. Despite what had happened before, he felt things were beginning to look up again. Not only with finding the next of his abilities, but also with the world they had ended up in. With all of its bizarre proportions and questionable physics, anyone without knowledge of [i]Alice in Wonderland[/i] would have been thrown off. But for Kalas, it reminded him of Mira, his second home nation on his world. In other words, he felt right at home.

But that was about to change soon.

====

In a section of the bizarre forest not too far away, Damien sat upon one of the massive mushrooms that inhabited the place, his legs swinging idly as he read the stories of kings and knights.

Reading had always helped to relax him, and relaxation was exactly what he needed to organize his thoughts.  He still found it excruciatingly frustrating that the memories of what he had written in his notes had disappeared.  Had it been just the notes themselves, he could have more or less easily re-written them, but now he had to go gallivanting across the worlds to find them.  One at a time, no less.

The voices coming from over the large wall of wild grass he leaned against were definitely not helping his though process either.  Muttering, he stood up on his mushroom and hopped on top of a taller one, which allowed him to peak over the grass and at the perpetrators for his annoyance.

He had been about to make some biting and sarcastic comment, when he realized the (admittedly stunning) woman was ordering around the Card Soldiers.  This in itself was odd behavior, as the cards would never take orders from anyone but their Queen of Hearts.  What also added to his suspicion was their completely monotone and synchronized voices.  He arched an eyebrow in curiosity, and thought about this turn of events.  Naturally, the way the woman issued commands and the way the Card Soldiers acted were signs of stereotypical hypnotism.  But that led to the question if this person was a threat.  She could simply be using her powers in self-defense, as the cards normally attacked anyone seen trespassing in their queen's territory; but the way she treated the other man seemed... dubious.  Regardless, he doubted he could trust this person.

Of course, Damien was so absorbed in his thoughts that the idea of [i]hiding[/i] so the woman wouldn't see him completely slipped his mind.

====

"Yes dear."  Sorin said, actually getting a little emotion into his voice for once.  While it still be considered emotionless it was still more than before which showed some progress for Dani.  The Samurai mostly due to all his experience that not even the hypnotism could get rid of, noticed the male and the strange dog like woman.  Neither seemed to be a threat at the moment so he did not draw his blade until Dani tells him to.

Since both of the strangers were out in the open there was no need to inform Dani that they were there so Sorin stayed silent.  He didn't acknowledge either of them, though he did keep his eye on the male that seemed to be focusing on them.

====

Dani smiled as she heard the little bit of emotion in Sorin's tone. Even if it was a little, it was still enough for her to be proud of. The Hypnotic Seductress opened her mouth to say something else, likely a suggestion for the Solar Samurai to put a bit more effort, when she heard the sound of one hitting a mushroom stalk, followed by the barked out greetings. Dani turned to the source, not yet noticing the boy that was watching them.

What she saw wasn't the strangest thing she had ever seen, but she did have to blink once. A woman, on all fours, seemingly part animal, most likely a Pokemon of some kind. Again, this wasn't the strangest sight ever, what with the worlds allowing an Absolmorph running about, but Dani certainly had not expected another one, especially one that was mostly human. At first, she was going to turn back to Sorin without giving another glance, honestly feeling that the strange woman was not worth her time.

However, with her hypnosis slowly returning, and with their need of followers, she decided against that. Instead, she opted to be as friendly as she could with this half Pokemon being. It would certainly help matters greatly for them to have more Interferences besides Sorin on their side, anyways.

~*~

The peaceful moment for Kalas and Lucifer would have lasted longer. However, that had changed, as the Mauthe Doog's ears began to twitch. His head perked up then, different scents catching his nose. Several others were close by, one familiar scent among them. But another...he could smell the unnatural darkness, as well as the evil intent. It brought his fur bristling and his hackles rising into a growl. Something was definitely wrong here.

However, he did not bolt off for once. Rather, the demon dog looked in the direction he caught the scents from and continued to growl, hoping it would catch his master's attention. Sure enough, Kalas looked to his canine companion, raising an eyebrow. "What's up, Luce?"

Only then did Lucifer get up, bark once, gesture in that same direction, and then bolt off the mushroom cap. Kalas frowned, though he was glad he was warned this time. Bringing out his wing and winglet, he flew after the Mauthe Doog to wherever he might be going now.

====

When he saw the man's eyes on him, Damien ducked back down to sit atop the mushroom once again, thinking about how to escape this situation.  He most definitely did not want to end up trapped in the woman's gaze.  He opted to just hide for now, that way he wouldn't have to get involved unless absolutely forced to.

As much as he may have wanted to prevent her from hypnotizing others, there wasn't much Damien could do if he too ended up trapped.  That strange girl with animal traits may have been able to help, but he wasn't sure.  Yes, it would be wise to stay out of sight for now.

Of course, this didn't stop him from summoning Excalibur from his book, just in case.

====

Since Dani told him not to worry about the strange dog like woman, Sorin wouldn't.  So he would put his attention back where the other person was.  Since he hid himself and Sorin wasn't sure of his intentions Sorin would keep his eyes in that area for now.  He would deal with it if the man showed himself to be a threat but since Dani had not ordered him to deal with it yet, he won't.  So all he could do was watch and wait.

====

It didn't take long for Kalas to catch up to his pet demon canine. Lucifer had stopped before another mushroom stalk, peering out and baring his teeth, but not growling or making any other sound. The winged boy frowned, staying behind the stalk while still in the air, just below the cap, and peered over himself to see what was up. There he saw the small group consisting of the part dog woman (he had seen stranger things to really question that), the beautiful platinum-haired woman, and...

Wait a second...was that Sorin? What the hell was he doing here?

Kalas would have asked these questions out loud, and would have come out to ask him face to face. However, when he got a good look on the Samurai, he knew right off the bat that something wasn't right here. What added to that was overhearing the woman's friendly demeanor, which brought a chill to his spine. Not only did it make him think of Melodia when she was under the influence of an evil god, but...her voice sounded familiar to him. Why was that...?

For now, Kalas remained in hiding, ushering from above for Lucifer to do the same. Until he got more information from observing the scene, he would wait for the right moment to step out and confront these people directly. He just needed to find out what in the many worlds was going on here.

====

Damien remained in his hiding spot.  He himself was not going to confront the woman.  He highly doubted he could fight both her and this 'Samurai'.  No, it would be far better to wait until he could get some help (as much as he didn't enjoy admitting he needed it).

Speaking of which, he just then spotted the blue-haired person peeking over a mushroom not too far away.  He waved somewhat frantically, hoping to grab the winged boys' attention.

====

As if Kalas' suspicions couldn't get any worse. Actually, this next action had confirmed them. Though he did not see the woman's eyes, he did catch the glint from them. And with the way this woman was talking and gesturing, not to mention how Sorin seemed right now, it led to one conclusion: hypnosis.

Kalas held back the urge to groan out loud. Great, a hypnotist lady. Just what the worlds needed right now.

Still, since he had yet to be noticed, might as well stop it however he can. Noting the kid on the other side waving to him, Kalas made a gesture to keep quiet before Nothing Threads twisted around his hand, the Death deck appearing not a second later. He took aim, prepared to throw them at the woman from where he was.

Unfortunately, he didn't take into account that while the woman wouldn't have noticed him, Sorin most likely would.

====

Damien had to resist the urge to palm his face in frustration when Kalas prepared to attack.  What they needed was some sort of plan, one that would allow them to work together.  The woman already had the Samurai fellow under her control and, from the looks of things, was trying to do the same with the dog-woman.  And he had the impression that she was a capable fighter herself.

Rushing in blindly would only get them hurt, or worse, hypnotized.  Damien tried waving some more, hopefully to get his message across, but doubted it would work; the blue-haired boy seemed to have a one-track mind.

So all he could do was sit and wait some more, hoping that this wouldn't end badly.

====

And Sorin most certainly did notice him.  The Samurai instantly took account of the threat and drew his sword.  Sorin charged right where Kalas was hiding and struck at the winged man.  The Samurai seemed to be making sure that whatever Kalas was planning to do to Dani he wouldn't and would turn his attention to the Samurai.

====

And then Dani caught Sorin charging at someone in hiding behind the mushroom stalk. She also caught another in hiding behind some tall grass (granted, it was only slightly, what with Damien's height). Just as she expected: more Interferences closing in on them. Even though her dear Samurai was taking care of one of them, Dani already had an idea to take care of it.

"Sorin, please stand back. We don't want to harm any potential followers."

And with that, many dark threads rose from the ground beside her, slithering into the air. Some of them had then snaked their way towards Kalas' location, while the rest reached towards Damien's.

~*~

It wasn't Sorin catching him that caught Kalas off-guard. When he saw the Samurai charging him, he swore under his breath and prepared to attack him instead. If he could, he might as well try to knock him out instead before moving in onto the hypnotist lady.

No...what had caught the winged boy off-guard was the woman's words.

"You must promise to serve us always. I, my dear Sorin, Rikka, and [b]Ignis Fatuus."[/b]

That name ran through Kalas' mind multiple times as his eyes widened. He never forgot his last encounter with that bastard. His kidnapping of Xelha, his bribing for an alliance in exchange for her safety, his revelation that he was [i]stalking[/i] him...and his forced kiss, both on him and the woman he loved. Kalas had managed to trap that man in his own illusion and left him for dead, thinking no one would try to save him.

But hearing the woman's words...no, i-it just couldn't be! He was still alive!? And that woman was working for him!?

Because of this, Sorin's strike had hit him dead on, a deep cut slicing through his chestplate. Kalas grunted, the Death deck knocked out of his hands, though he was now knocked back to reality. Unfortunately, it was too little too late; the dark threads had reached him, grabbing onto his wrists, ankles, and even his wings.

"Damn it!" the blue-haired boy swore out loud, struggling against the threads. However, one sharp tug of his natural wing, threatening to tear it off, had brought him to wince, hold back a cry, and stop right away.

This would have been a moment for me to say that it was best to not forget Lucifer. However, in this case, he was certainly not forgotten. Before he could leap at Sorin to stop him from hurting his master, those same threads had caught the demon dog by his paws. Lucifer snarled as he fell and tried to bite his way through, but more of those threads had caught him by the muzzle before he could do so. So the Mauthe Doog could only resort to struggling.

====

Damien panicked when the threads came after him, and tried to run away.  Unfortunately, the threads of darkness were far faster than him, and quickly caught up.  The boy turned, and swiped his sword at them several times.  However, Damien wasn't the best at fighting, and barely knew how to handle the blade.  Most of his attacks simply amounting to swinging randomly in hopes of hitting something.

Naturally, this plan was ineffective, and one of the tendrils wrapped around his midsection, pinning his arms to his sides.  Several more of the threads followed, completely pinning his arms and torso, and forcing Excalibur from his grip.  A small flash accompanied the blade hitting the ground, and it had returned to its book state in the blink of an eye.

Damien swung his legs, trying to wriggle his way loose.  He knew this strategy was unlikely to work, but he wasn't about to simply give in.

====

Sorin stopped as he was ordered.  Even if he wanted to as it was a direct order he had no way of going against it.  But Kalas, Lucifer and the other boy were captured so there was nothing for the Samurai needed to do anymore.  His Dani was protected and he would let no threats come to Dani.

====

Dani smiled as she felt that the two boys (and dog) were in her captivity. With a wave of her arm, gesturing towards herself, she willed the threads to come back and bring them to her. To which they have, snaking back with all of their struggling captives. Though she had never seen the small, spectacled boy in her life, she had to admit that it was a surprise to see the blue-haired boy here. Ignis was surely going to be happy with this.

"Sorin," Dani said once they were all dragged over, making her way over and looking down with amusement, "I want you to say hello to your fellow allies." Her gaze went to Kalas, her smirk growing slightly wider. "One of which will belong to Ignis at all times."

Kalas glared sharply at the woman, still in pain from his wing threatening to be torn off. He finally recognized the voice; another counterpart who gained her own body. But he chose not to address that. "I don't care what you do with me, but I'm not going with that bastard! I'll never do it!"

Dani chuckled, kneeling before the half-winged boy. She placed a hand on his face, gently stroking it. "You, Kalas, are a fool. If you didn't want to be in this situation, then you shouldn't have left my friend for dead."

"Go to hell, bitch!" he yelled, having none of it.

Dani 'hmphed', pulling her hand away and stepping back. "Such language for a teen-rated protagonist." She then turned her attention on Damien, her smile turning even wider. The woman placed both of her hands on either side of the boy's head and said, "And aren't you the cutest little boy that I have ever seen? You will definitely make a good addition to our team."

====

Damien flinched and tried to pull away when the woman put her hands on him, but the threads of darkness prevented him from doing so.  Even though he was panicking, Damien realized that there was something he could do, even if it would only delay whatever was going to happen.

He brought back a leg, and kicked the hypnotist, as hard as he possibly could; which admittedly wasn't much, but was still worth it, in his opinion.

He glared at the woman through his spectacles.  "I am no toy for your amusement, and I will hardly join you willingly.  Do your worst, fiend."

====

Sorin was just watching Kalas and Damien.  He wanted to do anything when Dani was kicked at but since she didn't seemed hurt and since there was no order he could do nothing.  Once Dani got her control over them there was no need to be on alert.  They too would come to follow Dani like he did.

====

Dani only winced very slightly as the boy kicked at her. However, as mentioned, it wasn't too much that she couldn't handle. She just kept her cool, removing her hands away from Damien's face. But not before taking away those glasses of his.

"I commend your bravado, child," she said, stepping away from her captives, "but sadly for you, your words will not save you. I doubt you'd be able to fight against my power."

Okay, even she admitted that was rather arrogant for her, especially since her hypnosis was still weakened. But she really doubted that either of the boys or the demon dog would break free. Raising one hand up, the dark threads rose into the air, lifting the three effortlessly and making sure they were all facing her.

And, as she had done before, Dani allowed her eyes to flash in their direction. Only this time, she allowed her eyes to glow as bright as they could, just so she could capture everyone's gaze.

"You will all become our followers," the Hypnotic Seductress spoke; unlike before, her voice was less musical and a bit more aggressive. "Just like my dear Sorin, and all those I've collected from Lior, all three of you shall serve us always."

Kalas thought to just look away, close his eyes, or just try to fight back. But he didn't do any of these, instead looking right into Dani's eyes. His defenses seemed to fall apart right then, his arms, legs, and wings going limp against his bonds, and his face going expressionless. "Yes...I shall follow..." His words were complete monotone as well.

However, Dani had not caught this yet, but despite the sudden robotic actions, Kalas' eyes were still full of emotion. The woman's powers had not captured him fully; he had decided to act the part while she was ahead of herself. Best to catch her off-guard once he had the chance.

Sadly, the same could not be said for Lucifer. The Mauthe Doog completely fell into the woman's gaze, his own struggling coming to a stop. Unlike his master, there was no pretend on his part. Even for a monster dog, he too had fallen under the woman's control.

====

As Damien's gaze was drawn into Dani's eyes, his struggling slowed, and then stopped.  However, unlike Kalas, the boy was unused to being exposed to such powers, and had less force of will to resist.  His limbs went slack, and his eyes seemed to become lifeless.

"Yes... I will serve you... always..."  He droned, sounding completely emotionless.

Damien had been, unfortunately, completely hypnotized and was completely under Dani's control, for the time being.  However, deep inside of his mind, he still resisted, if only slightly.  A slip in Dani's concentration would be a chance for him to break free, and he would certainly take it if he could.

====

Sorin watched as Dani hypnotize Kalas, Luce and the other boy.  Deep within his mind Sorin was fighting to break free and to help Kalas but with the level of hypnotism that was far beyond what she had just done to the three there was nothing he could do.  Even with his mind trapped Sorin's instincts were still strong.  And there was something that was bugging him about Kalas but he couldn't even voice his concerns since Dani didn't ask.

====

Dani's smile had once again turned wide as she had the three under her control. Unlike her dear Sorin, she felt no worries about either of them, believing that they had all fallen for her spell. With a wave of her hand, her threads had then lowered the two males and dog back to the ground, positioning them on their knees, and lying forward in the latter's case, before they completely dispersed. Dani once again walked closer to her captives, first to Damien. Kneeling before him, she once again placed a hand on his face, placing his glasses back over his eyes.

"You seem to be an incredibly bright one, though not so much in physical prowess," she said, trailing her hand from his jawline to his chin. "For that, you shall be our messenger boy. I think you will do quite well in gathering any sort of information you can find on the worlds for us."

That said, the woman backed away from Damien, now moving to Lucifer. She scrunched her face in disgust, finding the dog too hideous to her liking now that she really got a good look at it. "You don't seem like you'd make a good pet for us. You'll be the attack dog for anyone who dares to come in our way. That's all you seem to be good for."

The Mauthe Doog only let a small growl in acceptance to his new role. Kalas felt the urge to smack the woman for insulting his dog, but did all he could to hold it in. She had not caught him yet, so he needed to continue acting the part until the time was right. Sure enough, Dani had now approached him, lowering herself to his level (he had to keep his eyes away from her chest, as even he couldn't resist the gaze). Again she placed her hand on his face; he kept his head lowered in spite of that, not wanting her to catch his eyes yet.

"And you..." she began, once again carressing the side of his face. "At first I questioned why my friend would want such a dirty ruffian. But looking at you now, I think I can see why. Such a shame that I promised him to hand you over personally; I know now that I would have so much fun with you. But, as it is, you shall forever be a personal slave to Ignis Fatuus."

Hearing her words made the Divine Child sick to his stomach. Despite how beautiful this woman was, there was no way in hell he would let her do what she wanted with him, controlled or no. And like he said before, he will never go with that damn bastard again, not after what he did. However, with how close she was now...now seemed to be the perfect time to throw her off...

"Yes...I shall forever serve...Ignis Fatuus..." he continued his monotonous act; even his own words made him sick. But now he didn't have to continue; he finally allowed himself to glance at the woman's face, giving a slight smirk.

"But I'd have to be dead first."

Right that instant, the confidence in Dani's eyes were washed away. She grunted, obviously shocked to find that the winged boy was not in her control. But before she could do anything, several oversized cards had flown out into the open and cut past her, which made her give out a small cry of pain.

====

Damien bowed his head in respect as Dani gave him his mission, despite his mind trying to fight his actions.

"As you wish..."

When she moved to the blue-haired person and he suddenly attacked her, Damien didn't move to defend Dani.  After all, she had said herself that he wasn't physically strong, and had ordered him to gather information, not to defend her.

Had he control of his body, the boy would have smirked.

====

Unlike Damien, Sorin could fight and he would for Dani.  The Samurai already had his katana in hand as he charged at Kalas.  Even if his mind wasn't fully into this fight it was enough to remember how Kalas fought.  He did have to change his charge when the dog woman charged in herself but he could make do.

====

Despite the fact that everyone but Damien was charging at him, Kalas had already thought this through. The Divine Child flapped his wings once and flew to the air to avoid Sorin's charge. He had been about to move to try and knock the Samurai out, but then Lucifer had jumped him, thanks to the command Dani had given him. Though Kalas moved away slightly, the hypnotized demon dog still got at his ankle, gnawing at it.

"Sorry about this, Luce..." he muttered to his dog. He then drew his leg back and kicked as hard as he could, sending Lucifer flying. The Mauthe Doog yelped before he bowled right into Damien, the impact knocking the canine out and most likely doing the same to the boy.

Dani had gotten back her composure right then. Though she was damaged, the cuts the cards had given her weren't too much for her. She still had to hold her hands over them however, before she looked up to see what was going on. The woman was glad to see that Sorin and that ugly dog were fighting for her, but when she saw Damien doing absolutely nothing, she had to hit herself for not taking into account of her commands. But with him still under her control, she had been about to command him to start defending her as well...until she saw Lucifer crash into him.

Instead, Dani scowled. Absolutely useless, she thought. Forget what she said about them. The Hypnotic Seductress instead turned back to the Samurai and said, "My dear Sorin, incapacitate the winged boy however you can." She couldn't do anything at this point. Though she could use her threads to capture the boy again, he would most likely escape or keep on fighting back no matter what she did. Not only that, but she once again used the last of her restored hypnosis. So for now, she had to leave it to her current followers to take care of the problem.

====

Damien's mind had been trying to fight against Dani's commands as her concentration shifted to the others, and he had almost regained control.  Just as a rather large canine crashed into him.

The irony of the situation would've prompted a witty remark, were he conscious.  Unfortunately, the boy would just have to settle with a rather tender bump on his head and a splitting headache.

====

Seeing how Damien and Luceifer would be useless Sorin stepped up his game.  He had to keep Kalas out of the sky.  The longer he was able the fly the more of an advantage he would have.  So first plan of action was to ground Kalas.

"Auora."  Sorin monotoned.  The vortex of light appeared right behind Kalas hopefully keeping him in place so that Sorin could do more damage

====

Unfortunately, there was no way to avoid the vortex of light appearing behind Kalas. The protagonist tried to get away, beating his wings hard, but the vortex had pulled him in, doing a considerable amount of damage, as well as keeping him in place. And then the slash came at his single Wing of Heart. There was no way to avoid it; Kalas screamed out in pain, feeling like he had been stabbed through the heart, and was knocked down to the ground.

But even with the damage done to him, the Divine Child was not about to give in now. Weakly, he held his hand out, the Death deck flying back into his grip. Since he couldn't find it in him to get back up now, he had to take a shot from here. So he threw the cards out, straight for Sorin.

====

Sorin raised his card against the cards.  Really his blades could only block so much and several cards got past it and cut his skin.  However he had his orders.  He had to take out Kalas.

So the Samurai charged in.  "Solar Flare."  The Samurai said as his katana was superheated.  He had to press the advantage while he had it.  As long as Kalas was on the ground he would not be fighting at his full strength and Sorin was fully intending to ending this fight now.  The fiery blade came down, hoping to remove Kalas' head from his shoulders.

====

Kalas grunted, both in pain and slight panic as Sorin charged in, his sword superheated. He was still in internal pain from the direct attack to his metaphysical wing, and he wouldn't have enough time to bring out the Magnus that held his sword. His only hope right now was the Oblivion Keyblade on his back. So, gritting his teeth from the pain, he reached back to pull the Key out for use, defend himself from losing his head. He can't die here like this.

The minute he grabbed the handle, everything changed. In one quick motion, the Keyblade was drawn, held over him, meeting with Sorin's blade with a loud [i]clang[/i]. The look in his eye was different, not like when the White Winged Chaos took over, but rather a cold look upon his expression. There was no anger or pain, only determination. In the next instant, he pushed the sword away and then whipped his hands back to backflip back to his feet, sending a kick at Sorin's face as he did so.

Dani, seeing what Sorin was about to do, was about to command him to not kill the little raven. Ignis wanted him, so they needed him alive, just captured however they can. However, she stopped herself as she noticed the boy's actions. One moment, he was in pain and incapable of doing anything to defend himself, and now he was back on his feet ready to fight back. It was as if he was not in control of his actions...was that the case here?

"Sorin, see what you can do to knock him out," was all she could say. They were in enough of a disadvantage as it was; they had to do whatever they can to end this.

====

Damien let out a soft moan as he cam painfully back to consciousness.  The dog flying into him had been painful, yes, but hardly enough to leave him comatose for long, to Damien's great disappointment.  He opened his eyes, eliciting another bout if pain, and managed to look around without getting up and hopefully without gaining Dani's attention.

He saw the blue-haired person fighting off the 'samurai', with the hypnotist watching on.  He realized then that he had a chance.  Dani's attention seemed to be focused solely on taking down the one with the odd wings.  If he could sneak up on her, he could end this.

Grasping as quietly as possible for his book, Damien grabbed it and once more summoned Excalibur into his hands.  Standing and walking up behind Dani as silently as he could, Damien raised the blade to hopefully striker her down.

====

Sorin was knocked flat on his back from the kick, having been caught completely off guard by Kalas' sudden strength and his new weapon.  But the Samurai got back to his feet and gives a nod to Dani.  It would be rather annoying to just knock out Kalas as opposed to just killing him but he had his orders.  He would take the winged man in unconscious.

The Samurai charged in yet again striking high with his katana and going for Kalas' torso with the Chaos Seal.  While he had to knock out Kalas that didn't mean it would be easy by any means.  Kalas was not someone he could take it easy on.  And because of this he had all his focus on him which meant the other boy, Damien's attack on Dani went unnoticed.

====

Thankfully for her and Sorin, but unfortunately for Damien, his attack had not gone completely unnoticed. Dani had caught the boy trying to sneak up and attack her like she had left herself open. The woman was far from a fighter, but she was also far from stupid. When the sword was inches away from actually striking her, the same dark threads from earlier wrapped around the blade to stop it from doing so. More of them had then appeared and began to wrap around the boy.

"Did you really think that would work?" Dani asked, now turning to the once again captivated boy. With her hand out, the tendrils now began to cocoon him, ready to send him to a new area. "You will be our servant whether you like it or not..."

Kalas held the Keyblade over him to block the katana strike, then, almost in a blink of an eye, he hooked the weapon around and blocked the Chaos Seal from stabbing his torso. For a mere second, he just stared at Sorin with those cold eyes that were nothing like himself, before shoving him back. Oblivion was then held high, ready for a strike of his own...

...but then he suddenly blinked and gripped his head, the arm holding the Key lowered. It was as though whatever had took control over him had lost it right away and left him. But what...no, he can't be fretting over this now. From the looks, things were getting worse. That woman had caught the one kid, Lucifer was knocked aside and paralyzed, and Sorin was still under control and coming after him.

Needless to say, this was just taking too long. This had to end right away.

So, no longer feeling the pain in his wing, Kalas lifted back into the air to avoid any attacks Sorin might have brought on him. He then pulled out two Magnus, one that released his sword, and the other that contained his recently obtained attack. There was only one target to all of this, one who had to die right now. The sword was then coated green with the Chronos element, and the winged boy held it high above. Time then seemed to stop as, all around the Hypnotic Seductress, many illusory swords had appeared all around her.

[i][color=green]"Sword Style..."[/i][/color] And then he pointed his blade right at her. [i][b][color=green]"Dream Blade!"[/i][/b][/color]

Right then, in no less than a millesecond, the swords had impaled Dani before she could avoid it. The woman let out a shrill cry of the utmost pain, even as the blades faded, the attack doing more damage than she could handle. The tendrils unwrapped and dropped Damien in reflex, and she fell to her knees, unable to do anything. She needed help.

====

Sorin grunted, surprised that Kalas managed to block both his attacks.  He scowled when Kalas took to the air and was about to cast another Auoura spell to hold him in place as he tried to attack again when he heard Dani scream in pain.  The sound of Dani instantly shifted Sorin's attention from Kalas back to Dani.  Seeing the Hypnotist covered in wounds made Sorin run right over to her side.

Pulling out a Hi-Potion he poured it down her throat.  With Dani in danger like this Sorin could not complete his original orders.  He had to above all else protect Dani and right she needed to be protected more than grabbing Kalas for Ignis.  "Should we retreat?"  Sorin asked.  In Dani's condition, there was no way he could protect her and fight Kalas at the same time.

====

Damien gasped, both in surprise and pain, as the threads of darkness once again closed in around him.  They squeezed painfully, causing to wheeze, lungs begging for air.  And then Kalas' attack harmed her greatly, and she dropped him.  Damien landed on his bottom on the ground, and immediately crawled away.

He realized none of his attacks had worked so far, even with the benefit of what he thought had been surprised.  The boy was once more painfully reminded that he was not a fighter.  He could barely fight Heartless very well, what had possibly made him believe he could defeat this woman?  And so, he simply just tried to get away.  He wasn't thinking about the winged-boy, or those Dani had hypnotized, only focused on his own survival.  After all, he could hardly save himself.  There was no chance of being able to help the others.

He didn't even go back for his precious book, which had reverted from its sword form and lay on the grass a little away from where Dani had nearly strangled him.  If he could just get away, wait for her to leave, then he could retrieve it.  Not now, though.  It was far too dangerous.

====

Dani almost choked a bit when Sorin poured the healing liquid down her throat without warning. Though her wounds were now healed, she was still in a bit of pain, not in the best condition to keep ordering her slave around. Since the odds were against them now, it was best they retreat, which she ordered to Sorin.

After hearing that, Kalas would have none of it. He flew towards Dani and Sorin as fast as he could, shouting, "I'm not done with you, you wh***!" Unfortunately, the minute he got close, more threads had grabbed him before he could do anything. Unlike the woman and her hypnotized subjects, they didn't try to take him, and instead threw him off away from them.

"I'll let you go this time, dear Kalas," Dani said, looking in the Divine Child's direction. "But I'll warn you now that once the full height of my powers has returned, you won't be so lucky. Until then, do say hi to dear Ignis when you get the chance. He's been [i]dying[/i] to see you again..."

She began to laugh after that, right as the threads had covered them completely. Not a second too soon, they unraveled, revealing that the Hypnotic Seductress and the Solar Samurai were no longer there. All that was left were traces of the woman's laughter, which faded out seconds after.

Kalas glared at the spot in which they had disappeared, having skidded across the ground after being thrown. Just what he needed, another enemy on his back. So much for a moment of relaxation. Nonetheless, the boy got back to his feet, dismissing his weapons and dusting himself off. He then knelt beside Lucifer, who started to get back up on his paws as well. "You okay there, boy?"

A bark in response to reassure that the Mauthe Doog was a-okay. With that, Kalas then turned his attention to the book that the boy had left behind. Picking it up, he turned to the direction the boy had run off to and called, holding the book up, "Hey kid! If you haven't left yet, you dropped your transforming book!"

====

Damien had, in fact, not left at all.  He had ran and hidden behind a nearby mushroom, waiting for the woman and her hypnotized minions to leave.  Coming out of hiding, he approached the blue-haired boy and snatched the book out of his hand, a little forcefully.

Realizing that he had been unnecessarily rude, he looked at Kalas.  "Th-thank you.  This book is one of my few and most favored possessions."  Finding this satisfactory, he nodded to himself, before turning and heading for a Save Point.  Looking back one more time at the winged person, he disappeared in the green light of the portal.

====

When Damien did snatch the book out of his hand, Kalas was ready for him to start telling him off if he would. Thankfully, that didn't come as the boy instead thanked him. The bluenette had to nod a bit as he admitted to the book being one of his favored possessions, completely understanding him in that regard. As he turned to head off, Kalas gave one final wave before he was gone from the world.

With that out of the way, the blue-haired hero looked around the area they had fought in and sighed. He was still pissed off at that woman, still wanted to take her head if he could. However, as much as he hated to admit it, this was no longer his issue. He had no idea where she had gone with Sorin, and they probably weren't going to be after him right now. The only thing he could really do now was warn Audrey, the only one who would really be able to settle this. Despite his annoyances with that girl, mainly on the crossdressing incident, she didn't deserve losing her lover-boy to that villainous woman. Though he did have a glimpse on the love triangle they were in before, he knew it was all over and done with. If anyone had to save Sorin from the curse that had befallen him, it was the Dream Mage.

So Kalas reached for the Valor Shard she had given him, ready to call her up (though making a mental note to get a better communication device). He had to be calm in this, tell her matter-of-factly about the issue at hand--

"Hey dream-girl! You better be getting your fat ass out because we have a big problem here!"

...Or not, as he couldn't let go of his previous annoyance. Still, it seemed to have worked, as Audrey replied back, [i]"Oh hey there, Kalas. Thanks for planting the sticky feather trap in my home. That was really necessary payback for--"[/i]

"That's not the point, and don't deny that you deserved that!" Though he was glad that the trap pulled through, netting him some payback, that wasn't important now. "I don't think you already realized, but your lover-boy is not in the right mind! And when I say that, I mean some bitch took it away from him and is playing him like a freaking harp!"

...nothing but silence came through in response. He knew what he said might have hit hard, but she really had to know. Kalas sighed, calming himself slightly, before he went on to explain, "And in case you're wondering, said bitch is also another returned counterpart like that Ignis bastard. I sure as hell don't remember her too much, but she's obviously working for him since she tried to make me go to him. I would have gotten her, but she ran away because she can't handle one simple attack, and took Sorin and some dog-lady with her."

[i]"...do you know where they went?"[/i]

"Hell if I should know! If I did, I'd be chasing after them right now. But you're the only one who can get through to the guy, so hurry and snap him out with the power of love or something like that!" Even he noted the irony in his words, since he had been in a similar situation. Again, he just wanted to get the point across.

[i]"...right. Thanks for telling me this, Kalas. I'll go now."[/i]

With a nod, Kalas put the shard away. He had to leave it to her to save Sorin and the other one, and hopefully kill the hypnotist woman while she was at it. For now, he had to put his own worries aside and continue adventuring. With a click of his tongue for Lucifer to follow, Kalas walked to the Save Point himself, ready to head to the next world, wherever they would go.

====