[19:35] pg: ==>PG and TP: Rapidly approach the 5th to last gate/node.
[19:35] pg: 18th time's the charm, right little dude? ehehe
[19:35] tp: i sure hope so!!
[19:36] pg: alright man if this is the one remember the plan!!
[19:36] pg: you ready to catch me with that wicked aladdin shit if we git through???
[19:36] tp: yeah!!
[19:37] pg: ==>Each soaring step forward brings them closer and closer to the gate. They are
[19:37] pg: ==>almost upon it.
[19:37] pg: if this ain't the one let's have some more soymilk when we get back, yeah??
[19:38] tp: that was so not soymilk Mouse!!
[19:38] tp: but alright!!
[19:38] pg: ehehehehehe
[19:38] pg: ==>That mischievous laughter carries them through the gate in a flash of light.
[19:39] pg: ((gonna set the stage, shesh??))
[19:39] shesha: The world around you changed from one of searing heat and flames to that of a dry baking.
[19:40] shesha: Miles and miles of sand stretched in every direction, spotted by mounds of varying sizes.
[19:41] shesha: Upon closer inspection of the mounds, they are graves.
[19:41] shesha: Welcome to the land of Sand and Graves.
[19:41] shesha: Yet you are not alone. There are small creatures, this land's consorts, milling about befo
[19:41] shesha: before the gate.
[19:42] shesha: They look up at you and tense, waiting for a response.
[19:42] pg: ==>The candroids deposit them dutifully before the creatures, and Mouse is quick to
[19:43] pg: spring up from it, wide grin plastered across her face.
[19:43] pg: just can't catch a break from this heat, god damn!!!
[19:43] shesha: The creatures are salamanders, black with red markings.
[19:44] pg: ==>PG: Gaze around, squinting into the distance. Questioningly regard the creatures.
[19:44] pg: sup little dudes
[19:44] tp: uhm, sup from me too!!
[19:44] pg: where's dub-eff??
[19:45] pg: you dudes seen'em???
[19:45] shesha: They perk up at the mention of her title. "Quick wuick! This way this way!"
[19:46] shesha: They dart off in a direction, scurrying swiftly dispite the heat. One stays behind to
[19:46] shesha: urge you further.
[19:47] pg: ==>PG: Blink at mTP, grin, and shrug.
[19:47] pg: finally gonna git to meet yr idol, buddy!!!
[19:47] shesha: "Friend save! Friend help! But you need help friend!"
[19:47] pg: help???
[19:47] tp: yeah I-what??
[19:47] shesha: The salamander looks about to burst into tears, before also scurrying off in the same
[19:47] shesha: direction as the others.
[19:48] pg: ==>Her grin quickly fades, replaced by a worried look, as she jogs after the creature.
[19:48] tp: ==>Incredibly worried, he follows.
[19:48] shesha: The trek is very long, and from time to time a salamander will stop to be sure that they
[19:49] shesha: are keeping up.
[19:49] shesha: In the distance a lush green area has begun to come into view - it is utterly out of place
[19:49] shesha: in this landscape.
[19:50] pg: ==>PG: Be thankful for your SHOESHIGIS, before gawking at the oasis.
[19:50] pg: dang!!! look at that, if i was dub-eff i'd chill in a place like that, fasho!!
[19:50] pg: ==>Her words are lighthearted, a slight attempt at easing the tension.
[19:51] tp: they said she needed help though!!
[19:51] shesha: The same salamander as before - older than the others, waits for them to catch up.
[19:51] shesha: "Friend save! Friend bring water. But you need help friend. They sick!"
[19:52] pg: sick?
[19:52] pg: ==>The word is echoed with grave seriousness.
[19:52] pg: she always mentioned the headaches...
[19:52] shesha: It nods furiously. "Friend make water place. Friend make thirst go. Friend say that others
[19:53] shesha: come! You helo Friend!"
[19:53] shesha: He sounds almost pleading.
[19:53] shesha: ((help*))
[19:54] shesha: He begins backing towards the very large oasis, beckoning you to follow.
[19:55] tp: ==> You are utterly silent as you follow, the seriousness of the situation weighing
[19:55] tp: heavily on your mind.
[19:56] pg: ==>PG: Follow, scowling slightly. This isn't fun anymore.
[19:57] shesha: He leads you through the oasis. It truly is massive for such a land. Many consorts can be
[19:58] shesha: glimpsed through the foliage, and when the trees and other flora clear away
[19:58] shesha: a lake rests in front of you. It should not be there but somehow it is, and despite the
[19:58] shesha: heat it refuses to evaporate.
[19:59] shesha: In the center of the lake, on a raised platform jutting out of the water, a human figure
[19:59] shesha: can be seen sprawled on a cot. Salamanders mill around them, and pass on the
[19:59] shesha: primitive bridge built to reach the area.
[20:00] shesha: The older salamander leads you towards this bridge.
[20:01] pg: ==>PG: Follow, face a rock-hard mask. It's impossible to tell how hard her heart hammers,
[20:02] tp: ==>TP:  Follow with your panic on your sleeve.
[20:02] pg: but hammer it does. She passes a fleeting, worried look over her companion.
[20:02] pg: s'gonna be alright, buddy, just wait.
[20:03] shesha: The bridge is rickety and unused to the weight of humans, but it holds firm.
[20:03] shesha: Do you approach the platform?
[20:03] shesha: The older salamander has scampered ahead.
[20:03] pg: ==>PG: Pause, let out a long breath.
[20:04] pg: let me go first, i'm lighter.
[20:04] tp: ==> TP: Nod. You simply can not do this.
[20:04] pg: you coming? ==>The expression on her face betrays the slightest bit of understanding.
[20:05] pg: ==>If he isn't coming, she can handle it. I can handle it. Trust me.
[20:05] tp: ==> TP: Shake your head.
[20:05] pg: ==>He recieves a firm nod in reply and the slightest hesitation. Her hand comes up, but
[20:06] shesha: Several salamanders rush forward. "Both help! Come help! Please!"
[20:06] pg: She refrains from a strengthening smack, turning another inquiring look on him.
[20:06] shesha: They gently tug at both of your clothes.
[20:07] pg: come on, kid, she needs us. we can do this together. you got me.
[20:07] tp: ...
[20:07] tp: damn it!
[20:08] tp: ==> TP: Come along very closely to PG.
[20:08] pg: ==>She hesitates, grabbing a handful of his shoulder firmly before venturing forward.
[20:09] shesha: The salamanders crowd close due to the narrow bridge - both leading you and trailing after
[20:12] shesha: your heels. As you near the cot, you can clearly see that the person spread upon it is
[20:12] shesha: your friend.
[20:13] shesha: She is pale to the point of ashen, sallow, and covered with a sheen of sweat.
[20:13] tp: ==> On the sight, you try and grab Mouse's hand.
[20:14] pg: ==>Even she isn't cold enough to discard it, holding fast and attepting to up the speed of
[20:14] pg: the travel, slightly dragging him along if possible. A soft curse looses under her breath.
[20:14] shesha: The salamanders leave you, gathering on the opposite side of the sizable platform.
[20:15] shesha: They give you space.
[20:16] shesha: Her chest rises just barely, breaths coming ragged and uneven.
[20:17] pg: ==>PG: Approach the platform, forcing the boy along if necessary.
[20:17] pg: dub-eff, jesus fuck
[20:18] tp: ==> You are dragged, frozen in horror of your idol's state.
[20:18] pg: fuck, shit, what the fuck happened to you?
[20:19] pg: ==>PG: Attempt to place a hand on her forehead beforefumbling with your modus.
[20:19] pg: fuck, fuck, where are the healing- d'you got anymore mentos, kid??
[20:20] shesha: Her forehead is cold. THough the land is hot and she is covered in sweat, she is cold.
[20:20] tp: u-uh yeah!
[20:20] shesha: The eldest of the salamanders approaches on her other side.
[20:21] tp: ==>You hand a half empty case of mentos to PG.
[20:21] pg: ==>An expectant hand juts forward from PG, before she fixes a serious look on the elder.
[20:21] shesha: "Friend gave her Blood to give us lifeblood. Long ago water was stolen. She gave Blood for
[20:21] shesha: lifeblood," he points at the lake, "to steal it back."
[20:23] shesha: "Sacrificed self to save us."
[20:23] shesha: He sounds quite sad, but with a deep sense of gratitude.
[20:23] pg: ==>PG: Silently listen, brows pulling ever tighter together. She grips the case, knuckles
[20:23] pg: white.
[20:23] shesha: Without warning, her chest ceases to rise from when she exaled her last breath.
[20:24] pg: NO
[20:24] tp: ...
[20:24] pg: no, no no no no-
[20:24] pg: ==>PG: Shake. Lean down, ear to her mouth. Could she be breathing?
[20:25] shesha: A fluttering feeling moves through you if you have that gift, to detect such a thing.
[20:25] pg: fuck, fuck fuck fuck, fuck,
[20:26] shesha: The fluttering feels like the friend who lay before you.
[20:26] shesha: ((cue you, woobie boy))
[20:26] pg: ==>PG: Grab your head, bite your lip.
[20:27] tp: mouse!
[20:27] pg: fuck, should i, should we, kiss her, i mean that's what we're
[20:27] pg: that's what we're supposed to do, we're supposed to do that, when, if
[20:28] tp: mouse!!
[20:28] pg: ==>The second one catches her attention, and she looks over, harried.
[20:29] tp: (( uhm, what do I do? ))
[20:30] shesha: ((can I god-mode your character for a brief interval?))
[20:30] tp: ((yes))
[20:30] pg: ((oh shit!!!!))
[20:30] shesha: His hands are glowing. As are his eyes. Not only does he feel her but he FEELS her. She is
[20:31] shesha: still there, if only temporary.
[20:31] pg: ==>Her eyes widen. She involuntarily takes a step back.
[20:31] shesha: As his eyes ignited into light, he could suddenly SEE her, see everything alive. Mouse
[20:32] shesha: held her glow within her, as did the salamanders, but you could see your departed friend's
[20:32] shesha: glow hovering, slipping slowly upwards.
[20:32] shesha: No.
[20:32] shesha: You reach forward, grasping it with your glowing hands - and to any that watch it seems as
[20:33] shesha: if you grasp air with those hands trailing tendrils of light.
[20:33] shesha: You snatch her up and, with a great effort, pull her down back into her body.
[20:34] shesha: The light struggles against you, but you force it down and inside, keeping your hands on
[20:34] shesha: her middle to hold it there.
[20:34] shesha: As it makes contact, her chest begins to rise and fall again.
[20:34] shesha: But the strain is incredible. You have felt nothing like it before - this draining feeling
[20:35] shesha: Several times the light slips past you and her chest ceases to rise again. And each time
[20:35] shesha: you force it back with more effort.
[20:35] shesha: It now takes everything you have just to hold the light there.
[20:36] shesha: ((and you can have your character back for now ;3))
[20:36] pg: ==>Mouse can do little but watch, dumbfounded.
[20:36] pg: colin what- what are you-
[20:37] tp: agh-!!
[20:37] tp: ==> You continue to force down the light with all your might.
[20:38] pg: ==>The mentos case is snapped open as Mouse readies one.
[20:38] pg: do you think this'll work? do you think she can
[20:38] pg: does the game dictate that it needs to be swallowed? or, fuck, fuck,
[20:39] pg: ==>Confusion stays her hand, and PG bites a knuckle. Her face is still a mask of urgency.
[20:40] shesha: And with a final wrench, the light tears itself away from him one last time.
[20:40] shesha: The severing of the power rebounds within his own soul as the light is extinguished.
[20:40] shesha: And then suddenly normal sight is returned.
[20:42] tp: ==> You can say nothing, as you collapse on knees exhausted.
[20:42] shesha: The elder salamander steps forward and says a few soft words of gratitude.
[20:42] shesha: "For trying, thank you friends."
[20:42] pg: ==>A hand clamps over PG's mouth. It happened so fast. In disbelief, she leans over the
[20:43] pg: body, ear to the other girl's chest.
[20:43] pg: Her face darkens, as she pulls up again.
[20:43] pg: no, we can still save her
[20:44] pg: there's the kiss- anyone can be saved with a kiss, those are the rules,
[20:44] pg: that's how this works,
[20:44] pg: ==>PG: Rush around the platform, attempting to gather Colin into your arms and pull him up
[20:44] pg: get up, get up, come on, buddy,
[20:46] tp: ==> You, with great effort, pull yourself up.
[20:46] tp: ==> You are extraordinarily tired.
[20:46] pg: come on, come on, i know you'd want to do this, ehehe,
[20:46] pg: ==>A frantic, weak chuckle escapes her as she attempts to prop him up.
[20:47] pg: colin? you okay?
[20:47] shesha: The salamanders are all silent, with heads bowed. The elder looks upon the body with
[20:47] shesha: reverence.
[20:47] tp: ==> You heavily lean agaisnt Mouse's frame.
[20:48] tp: y-yeah..
[20:48] tp: you should hurry up and.. kiss her..
[20:49] pg: me??? but i thought-
[20:49] tp: i'm too tired..
[20:49] shesha: And he truly is.
[20:49] pg: ==>Fuck the hesitation. This time, it's about action. Sparing a last look at the boy, she
[20:49] shesha: There is a sunkenness to him. And even one without talents can sense just how drained he
[20:49] shesha: is.
[20:50] shesha: His very soul depleted.
[20:50] pg: leans over the body, placing her hand under the mass of brown hair, tipping the head
[20:51] pg: slightly upwards. Her lips find ones still slightly warm, eyes closing instinctively.
[20:51] shesha: Nothing happens.
[20:52] pg: She waits, holding the kiss almost desperately.
[20:52] shesha: A soft feminine voice invades your thoughts.
[20:52] shesha: "I could not save her. I am sorry."
[20:53] pg: The kiss is broken, and she lifts herself from her friend slowly. Silently.
[20:53] tp: ==> With wide eyes you stare at the body with disbelief in your eyes.
[20:54] shesha: She cannot be revived, her dream self has been killed.
[20:54] shesha: ((forgot the "'s)
[20:54] pg: ==>The words fight their way out of her mouth.
[20:54] pg: why didn't it work. what happened to her dreamself.
[20:55] tp: her dreamself is dead..
[20:55] tp: she's dead..
[20:55] shesha: "I am saving your leader in your timeline currently."
[20:56] shesha: ((oak is asleep and you'll find out wtf is happening after he posts it after tomorrow))
[20:56] pg: HOW DID HER DREAMSELF DIE?
[20:56] shesha: ((I'm saying the run here took a while))
[20:56] pg: ==>It's a positive roar, to nowhere but the sky.
[20:56] tp: killed.
[20:57] shesha: "I could not protect all. Though I tried.
[20:57] shesha: I am sorry."
[20:57] pg: NO
[20:57] pg: FUCK
[20:57] shesha: "I must go, your leader will tell you as he wakes" the voice sounds rushed and then fades.
[20:58] shesha: The body of yuor friend begins to grow cold.
[20:59] pg: ==>She tears herself from the platform, slamming her fists into a space beside the body.
[20:59] pg: FUCK
[21:00] shesha: The elder approaches, "We will care for friend. Give her place she deserves."
[21:01] shesha: ((and that's all I have for you, so ya'll can RP to yer heart's content))
[21:01] shesha: ((>_>;;; ))
[21:01] pg: ==>PG: Back away, taking breaths in a hiss before the hard mask reforms. Nod.