The Castle [02] (Remba, but don't let it stop you)

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Halfway through their meal a scream, an incredibly terrified scream at some distance from them, interupted the companionable silence. "Was that Keaton? That can't be Keaton," said Mel. She looked to the others present, looking for confirmation of the impossibility of the tough cubi screaming like that.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had eaten mostly through her meal, finding it hard to take her time eating one of her favorites.  She was taking in the compliments for her dish, until she nearly choked upon hearing the piercing scream from somewhere outside of the kitchen, a ways down the corridor.

She coughed and pounded her chest a little to loosen the bits out of her throat, swallowing them again before taking a harsh breath and looking up with a surprised expression.  She glanced at Mel, having heard her comment.  "I think that is Keaton.  She screamed like that once before," she pointed out, standing up and grabbing her sword which lay nearby.  Damn, but what would have gotten her so scared now?

The panthress hummed.  "If whatever it is could terrify Keaton, let alone a 'Cubi at all, then it must be something worth investigating," she calmly said and got up from her chair, glancing at the rest of the party before narrowing her eyes at the doorway.

[Gareeku]

While the others had gone off to the kitchen to eat, Gareeku had decided to take a walk around the building, his curiosity getting the better of him as he made his way around the various corridors, his eyes continually scanning the architecture and decor.

After a while, the wolf had decided that he had better join the others for food, his decision being made after his stomach growled audibly. Upon reaching the same floor as the kitchen, Gareeku was about to make his way to it when he heard a scream.
"...Keaton?" the wolf wondered to himself. As if on cue, the wolf then caught sight of the succubus running towards him. "Keaton! Is everything ok?"

[Stygian]

Nothing was okay. Everything was absolutely wrong. That was what Keaton felt and knew. The whole castle was infested with evil, something was out for her, Stygian was a monster and...
   Gareeku was a monster too, she realized. She only needed to take one look at him to see the evil that was lurking, gripping him, seeping right through him. At first he looked the same to her, but when she focused she could see it. It was Gareeku, but as he really looked, in his soul. The wolf's face was a fanged grin as he spoke, his eyes dark and his irises and pupils turned into glowing, fiery red dots. His usually smooth white fur was turned a ragged gray and he somehow seemed more muscular or toned. Or maybe it was that he was hardened somehow; his cheeks seemed sunken next to that grin and his fingers more clutching, with sharp, dark claws tipping them. As he came closer, she could see that he was carrying deep red scars in places, blackish chains that she somehow knew were part of the darkness that fettered his soul clinking and snaking about him as if they were alive and spikes at their ends glistening with his own blood. She also saw the glint off a pair of black horns, slightly curved out of his brow, and then, a pair of leathery black wings tipped deep red that extended from his back. He was a demon, a monster too.
   Keaton was overcome with fear. The image of the wolf as this was somehow not entirely solid, but it was strong. His eyes were so intense that she thought they might burn their way through her skull any second, and from how he whipped his now more muscular tail and closed on her...

- -

Stygian shook his head and muttered, slowly placing his hand over his face and rubbing his temples. He was never going to get any peace like this. Still, it seemed as if he was stuck being the host of this party, and that meant keeping one's guests entertained and content. But by Hell did he hate being forced into it.
   Turning on the spot, he put his hand on the wall and then leaned on it for a second, still with his left over his frowning face. He pondered only a bit, then slowly went over a few spells and began constructing a moderately complex ward, a glowing incantation circle appearing on the wall under his palm. He activated it, placing it on the castle itself, before turning and picking up his things. He couldn't well eat properly with an insane cubi running around the place, and certainly not while chasing her. At least now he would be warned and could do something if she decided to leave the building.
   Briskly, he walked back toward the kitchen, only to run into Mel and Aisha as they were leaving it. He eyed them as he passed them into the kitchen, talking while he set things down on the nearest bench.
   "Finished so soon? If you're concerned about the cubi, you really shouldn't be. I'm your host, and it's my job to take care of such things..." he said, making sure to put the right scathing tone in to effectively convey the message of just what he thought of the whole situation.

[Aisha deCabre]

As Aisha started to leave the room, hearing Mel following along behind her, she stopped upon seeing the bat returning to the kitchen.  She quirked an eyebrow at his statement, silent for just a moment while gauging the tone of his voice.

"So you are," she agreed, but gave him something of a sarcastic look, crossing her arms.  "Yet somehow we figured you wanted little to do with us."  She tilted her head with a smirk.  "It's appreciated, but what kind of guests would we be if we couldn't help with a few things ourselves?"

The huntress, satisfied with her argument, then started out the door, only pausing to glance back at Sebastian with curiosity.  "Unless you know something that we don't about what's happened?"

Thinking about it, Aisha still wasn't comfortable with rushing into another situation that she knew little about.  Maybe it was wise to just trust the bat's word on things.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Bambi was feeling next to useless over this next ....ah curse with now Keaton.  She watched Mel and Aisha rush out the door,  and just sit down by Gina.."Can we help Mel, Gina?" asks PBH 

but the Bat returns into the Kitchen, Bambi offers him some soup and a sandwich..... "Who got my speech mind, mister bat? or Where can Bam find it?" asks PBH as she makes more sandwiches for Gareeku or anyone else...

PBH

[Boog]

Keaton was making a lot of noise for someone with a fairly well established reputation as the tough chick member of the group. Stereotypes are wrong, yes, but there are certain patterns people tend to move in. Jeremiah was, of course, curious. Figuring that it was safe to go out, but hanging on to the coat in case it wasn't, he left to head in the direction of the screams.
"Hello? Keaton?" The frog yelled. Why no, I'm not about to question the logic of going towards the terrified capable person. Not a bit. No more than the -ThInGs I dOn'T nEeD tO tHiNk AbOuT. "Is everything alright?"

[Angel]

Ketefe hadn't wanted to stay in this town for more than a day, and she hadn't intended to go near the castle. She had to keep moving if she was ever going to find them, and Jarevei had told her to stay out of trouble, for his sake. Nonetheless, that castle had plagued her thoughts and dreams last night. Did it have to do with the sudden drop in temperature? What were those screams and noises of slaughter? And why the hell was she not going over there to help? She had done her best to ignore it, tossing and turning and thinking of Jarevei whenever she felt like jumping up and running to the castle.

And then, that morning, at the tavern, she had overheard the blond fox and the wolf talking. An infamous name... She wondered if they had anything to do with the commotion at the castle. A rather notorious family used to live there, from what she had gathered. So the curious cat had followed the two, as quietly as she could, grateful that she had remembered her sword. She was only somewhat afraid when the fox turned into a much creepier-looking bat; she was more curious as to why he needed such a dangerous gun. He might be an adventurer or a law enforcer, but even then, why the unnecessary firepower? She had stalked them, silently, to the tailor's and then to the castle, exactly as she had suspected.

She was hiding in the shadows of the front room, waiting for the opportune moment to introduce herself and get a few explanations. Her light blue fur and its thin orchid stripes usually made it somewhat difficult to hide, but due to the unusual cold of last night, she was wearing longer clothing than usual to cover it. The black cotton pants, black tank top, and her ever-present black mask made it much easier for her to remain unseen. She was brushing back her cobalt hair with her fingers when she heard a bloodcurdling feminine scream. Her yellow eyes widened in shock, and then narrowed with purpose.Sorry, Jarevei, she thought as she quickly unwrapped her sword and raced in the scream's direction.

[Sunblink]

If there was any sense of security or sanity left in Keaton's mind at the idea of having successfully escaped from Stygian--or the monster which he truly was--it had been quickly extinguished once yet another figure moved to intercept her flight.

Then again, there was no sanctuary to begin with. She wasn't safe here. Monsters and demons populated every corner of the rotting, infested palace, all out for blood, all out to rip and tear and kill, and they were after her.

Much to Keaton's eternal horror, the moment the next creature stepped before her, she once more appeared to freeze up; every one of her muscles petrifying, every drop of blood snaking through her tightening veins freezing into liquid ice. Cold sweat continued to bead around the fur coating Keaton's already damp forehead. "Aaah--" was all Keaton could manage to utter, even that tiny exclamation drowning away into an even smaller, prolonged groan as her eyes completely registered the sight in front of her.

Gareeku had--oh god, he had been--

The white fur that outlined Gareeku's form had been corrupted into a bedraggled, tarnished grey, bristling and whipping along with the almost palpable, contaminated waves of black energy she could feel corroding along his form. Thorny vines of it climbed up sinewy muscles, spilling in coalescing, filthy halos around pinpricked, infernal red eyes, accentuating every imperfection with his twisted being. The hollow cheeks, the serrated fingernails, the grin--the grin, she couldn't stop obsessing over how absolutely terrifying it was--and the livid crimson scars crisscrossing over his muscular body. Ragged wings drenched in black and striped with red emerged from his back, seeming to encircle both of them in how it merged with the smoky rings of darkness exuding off of Gareeku's visage.

She couldn't help it. She screamed again, but this time she did much more than just try and push her percieved attacker away.

Instinctually, her leathery pair of draconic-esque wings emblazoned with sable spirals unfurled from her back. Dual-fingered claws flexed and stretched their bony digits toward the air; spikes rose like tiny, fanged mountains on the back joints of her wings; black-decorated, yellow tendrils extended from the creamy membrane of her wings; and jackal-shaped heads shaped themselves like clay atop the tentacles, baring daggered ivory fangs and glowering at the monstrous creature with four, brown eyes.

Monsters.

They were all monsters.

"GET..." Keaton pulled back two of her wing-tentacles, quickly swinging it around in a wide, sweeping arc. If this hit connected, it would hopefully send Gareeku flying away from her. "AWAY FROM ME!"

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Gareeku]

"Keaton, what's going o-" Gareeku began as he looked at her. The look on her rage was one of sheer terror, and yet this terror seemed to be directed at him. Before he could say anything more, the wolf looked on as Kearton started to show clear signs of aggressiveness, wing tentacles beginning to form, their jackal-like heads snarling at him ferociously. This was then confirmed as the jackal succubus screamed again, bringing round a tentacle for an attack as she did so. Ducking, Gareeku just barely managed to avoid the full force of the attack, but he had not come away unscathed, the fresh cut on the side of his face was evidence of this fact.

"What the hell!" the wolf exclaimed, turning back to Keaton with a mixed expression of shock, confusion and slight anger. "Keaton! What the hell is wrong with you?! Snap out of it!"
It was then, however, that a new person appeared. Gareeku didn't know who it was, but the brandished sword didn't look particularly inviting.
"Whoever you are, stay back!" the wolf called out to the stranger, hopinh she would heed his words of advice. "And you can put your sword away too. I don't want Keaton getting hurt."

[Angel]

When she arrived, Ketefe was more surprised than she had expected to be. The scream had come from a very panicked jackal-succubus. But she seemed experienced,  and the white wolf near her didn't look or sound like he was threatening her. Nothing's threatening her, so why should she panic? Ketefe mused. As she jumped out of the way of tentacles swinging by her, she wondered how much information she could get from the wolf. This would need more explaining than she thought if she wanted to be of any help. She obligingly stayed back and decided not to use her sword until she knew whether she'd need it or not.

"What's wrong with her?" she shouted to the wolf, reluctantly reaching for the blanket she used to sheath the lightning-shaped sword. "How long has she been like this, and what can I do to help?"

[Stygian]

Stygian shook his head and muttered. Again, they were expecting things of him that he couldn't possibly know. When were they going to get it? He was not there for them, and even if he owed them they had better actually ask if he was going to help them. He had nothing against their company, but if all they wanted to do was use him then...
   "Someone just entered the castle," he said suddenly, his eyes shifting focus and turning distant. Slowly, they narrowed, and he breathed in deeply, obviously concentrating, shadows shifting around him a bit. "A cat. In a mask. She's got a sword, and... Keaton and Gareeku are fighting." His eyes suddenly clearing up and hardening, the bat walked between Aisha and Mel with determined steps that while completely silent still almost made them feel as if he were tramping past them. "Let's go," was all he said.

   Not more than a few moments after Gareeku had spoken out, Stygian appeared. Ketefe couldn't see or hear it; he was behind her and much too silent, but from their point of view the wolf and the jackal had no problem seeing the bat suddenly stepping out from an alcove through a momentarily deepening patch of darkness that seemed to both blend with and slip off his figure as if made solid before he was out of it. To Gareeku it mostly seemed like he was stepping out of darkness. To Keaton, that darkness writhed with tentacles and tendrils, fangs and little crawling shapes, and for a bit the bat was actually part of it, the disgusting creeping things flowing from it and into him as he walked out.
   He didn't so much as stop mid-stride to find his bearings. With movements that were so smooth, silent and practiced that they were instinct to him, the bat just walked out and up behind the cat with dark eyes and a grave expression, and then placed himself not an arm's length from her back.
   "Who are you and just what do you think you're doing?" he growled.

[Sunblink]

Upon witnessing Gareeku evade her hastily-aimed attack (although he had recieved a nasty slash to the cheek), Keaton felt her panic escalate greatly to the point became unbearable. Ears plastered flat and pupils pinpricked, Keaton continued to attempt and bombard Gareeku, flinging a quick jab with the sharpened end of a bladed wing-tentacle at him. Fortunately for him and unfortunately for her, this completely missed him, being as distracted by her fear as she was.

Cursing sharply under her breath, Keaton tried to conjure up a powerful dark-oriented spell to aim at him, but she simply couldn't manage to scrape together the energy. Not to mention she couldn't make the distorted shadows respond to her summoning--it was as though the very ability had been ripped straight from her grasp. Upon the introduction of a newcomer, Keaton whirled around, her eyes wide. The heads on her wing-tentacles bristled and all, simultaneously let out trills of shock.

Following the appearance of the striped, masked feline, Stygian materialized out of the shadows, tendrils of atramentous night rippling eerily off of his steadily solidfying form. Tiny, clambering shapes scrambled down his body, barely visible at first, but they seemed to each exude their own, individual aura of corrupted energy, as did the darkness surrounding them. Further horrified, Keaton let out a small, almost pitiful squeak of terror.

She had to get out of there. She had been defeated by Stygian before, when she was possessed by the spider. She wasn't going to take her chances by going up against both Gareeku and Stygian--and possibly the newcomer as well. While she wasn't a stranger to fighting while outnumbered, she truly didn't want to risk her life at this point. Very rarely had she actually experienced fear.

Letting out another, blood-curdling shriek, Keaton finally wrenched her mace from one of the wing-tentacles and whirled it around, aiming a powerful blow with its blunt-ended hilt toward Gareeku's chest. Whether it connected or not was not of Keaton's concern. Regardless of whether or not her attack was successful, Keaton ran, intent on escaping the presence of Stygian and Gareeku.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha hadn't really heard the bat's command to find Keaton.  She was already out of the doorway, most likely with Mel following and whomever else decided to investigate as well.  She had heard about Gareeku getting into a fight with the succubus, and a newcomer into the castle.  Heaven spare, she thought humorously to herself.  Lately, the place didn't have too much luck with welcoming newcomers.

The panthress followed the sounds of commotion, through the passages and corridors.  It wasn't at all hard to find them, whence Keaton had unleased another gut-wrenching scream.  Aisha finally found the succubus as she was retaliating against Gareeku.  She hung back unseen for a moment, observing her.  She hadn't seemed to be hurt...just enraged or in trauma.  What in the hells could have happened?

She saw the newcomer as well, a felid she guessed, with a mask.  Strange attire perhaps, but then again she had seen stranger things in the last hours.  It wasn't any concern of Aisha's.  Like the others, she was trying to find out what was going on.

"Keaton!" the panther started.  It was her turn now to see what she could do to help the jackal, trying to stop her as she was running, but staying cautious lest she'd fail.  "Why are you doing this?  It's us!"

[Angel]

Ketefe felt a chill run down her spine when the man behind her spoke. She wasn't used to being snuck up on, and the sight of the freaked-out jackal's attack had unnerved her. She turned around slowly, trying not to look intimidated. It was the bat from before, the one who had bought the menacing firearm. Ketefe couldn't tell if he was trying to scare her or genuinely livid at her for intruding, but she kept her sword sheathed, although the muscles in her arm were tensed in case he tried anything. The wolf didn't seem to be a threat at the moment and the panthress who had appeared had run after the jackal - Keaton, was it? - to help her, so Ketefe focused her attention on the bat.

"I don't see how who I am is more of a concern than that girl's safety," she responded calmly, nodding her head in the direction Keaton had fled. "But since I can assume you know her well enough not to be upset, I guess a stranger would be more worrisome. My name is Ketefe Solowynd, and I followed you out of curiosity about all the noise here last night. It's probably none of my business, but what happened here and how can I help? I can assure you I won't stay if I'm not needed; I just want to help out and be on my way."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Following Aisha to the scene of the confrontation Mel saw the panicked cubi swing at Gareeku and flee down the hall, followed by Aisha. Already at the scene were Sebastian and a newcomer, an absurdly dressed feline. For an abandoned castle this place had more traffic than your average small village. Knowing Sebastian could take care of the new arrival and seeing Gareeku appeared unharmed, Mel chose to follow after Keaton and Aisha.

[Stygian]

Stygian looked perplexed all of a sudden, and then tilted his head. She had her sword sheathed, smelled like he didn't know what, looked tense as a violin string and masked for apparrently no reason. And she'd uttered her whole name in the first sentence. Now, this was the sort of person he didn't understand; honest, straightforward and innocent. He'd never met anyone or anything of the sort. Of course, he didn't believe it for one second.
   "Benevolent stranger?" he said, tempted to add a 'Yeah, sure. And I'm actually Belphegor in a dress' but fortunately deciding not to. Muttering, the bat just walked past her, shaking his head. If three was a crowd, then what was this?
   "Fine. Come along or take a look around or eat the plants, will ya? Be my guest..." he said, in nearly the same tone he'd used against Aisha and Mel. It was turning ridiculous.

- -

It couldn't be! She was horrible! Keaton had never liked adventurers, but this?! It just wasn't possible. They couldn't all be monsters! And yet, she couldn't deny what she saw, couldn't deny the truth of it.
   Aisha looked comparatively close to what she'd always done, when one considered what Gareeku and especially Stygian had turned into. But her fanged grin, her eyes that burned like hot coals, the part-furred black, leathery and clawed wings that sprouted from her back and the orange-red glowing tattoo on her right arm that seemed to almost burn from under her skin were completely out of place with how she had seen the panthress before. She too looked somehow more muscled, more ragged, and a whole lot more ferocious than ever before, piercing eyes threatening to burst into flame at the jackal and smoke trailing from her lips, from behind which came a strange, fiery glow as she spoke, as if she were burning from within.
   "Keaton! Why are you doing this? It's us!" she seethed, her voice tinged with fire. And Keaton couldn't help but think; yes, it's you. It's really you!
   Then came a voice from behind her. That decaying, corrupted, slithering one...
   "Hold her down! We have to catch her!"

[Boog]

It was starting to get easier to catch up with the others after Jeremiah went off on one of his excursions. He simply looked down each hallway when he came to a branching path, and if any of his options looked quiet and serene he avoided them. He arrived in time to see what appeared to be a standoff between Aisha and Keaton, Stygian and... Someone. Just what the bonfire needs. More firecrackers.
The spiders scurried about across his back under his thick coat, agitated. However, they knew that this was important just as well as he did. We can't have any unpredictable variables, and were she killed then we lose out on her value as a potential host with extramental capabilities. This must be handled with caution.
"Now Keaton, let's not do anything hasty," he offered, stepping forward so that she could see his hands in the air, a universal gesture of a lack of ill intent, "You know who we are, you know we have no reason to hurt you. Simply..." he sent a trickle of magic along his gaze, "Be Sensible..."

[Angel]

Ketefe was quite relieved that there wouldn't be a fight just yet. At least Jarevei would have no reason to worry. She relaxed a little and turned to walk after the bat, noting the white dragon who had walked after the panthress and Keaton, and glancing at another arrival, a frog in a very thick fur coat. She guessed that most of them were more concerned about Keaton than her, but for some reason, a few of these people made her a little jumpy. No matter. The bat will probably explain.

"First things first: who are you, and why do you need that gun you bought?" she asked, wondering if it had anything to do with the noise last night and/or Keaton.

[Gareeku]

As the hilt of the mace connected, Gareeku grunted as a sharp pain made itself present in his chest, causing him to stumble back. Luckily the blow was enough to break anything, but it still hurt like hell. Trying his best to shake it off, the wolf watched as Keaton ran off, followed closely behind by Aisha and Mel. Turning back towards the stranger and Sebastian, the wolf concluded that those two would be fine, and so sprinted off after the others, hoping to calm Keaton down and find out what exactly had happened to her.

[Stygian]

This time, she nearly fainted. Jeremiah looked hideous enough to vomit at. Famished, with bulging eyes and spindly fingers, he looked like some half-dead and crooked old man under a shaggy coat, staring at her like a lunatic. Spiders crawled in his sleeves, and around and from him ghastly shapes moved, their hollow-eyed faces glaring at her like she were some sort of rabid animal in a cage. Which was not far from how she felt. It was insane!

- -

"Damnit, get her!" Stygian shouted, taking determined steps against the jackal and closing on her fast, ignoring the question the cat had posed. She could wait. For now, they needed to subdue Keaton before she could hurt somebody, or herself. Questions would have to wait for later. "Get back!"
   The bat leapt, and the ends of his shirt spread up, crawling darkness gathering under it. In a torrent, a host of tentacles that seemed as if made from pure darkness, half liquid and half organic, rushed out against the cubi, clawed hands and fanged heads at their ends grasping and snapping for her. Cogidubnus appeared, having just entered the hallway from behind her, and had to back up firmly against the wall to avoid the rush of darkness coming their way.

[Sunblink]

Despite Jeremiah's attempts to pacify her, Keaton barreled right past the frog, too fearful of seeing what he truly was--like the rest of them--to stop and listen to his poisoned words. One glance at him as she passed by was enough to nearly make her shriek all over again: coated in crawling arachnids and draped in ragged leather, old and withered and as dead-looking as a viscous, partially-decomposing corpse. Nearly screaming, Keaton pedaled down the hall, panicked, pinpricked eyes trying desperately to bare into the writhing darkness corroding the atmosphere before her.

Making out anything even remotely resembling a hallway was nearly impossible. Drowning darkness cloaked everything, entangling corners and contours with squirming, inky tendrils of black and pulsating shells of defiled green, transforming the entire castle into even more of a Hell than it already was. Every so often Keaton glanced over her shoulder to gaze in terror at the figures she saw sprinting after her in the atramentous shade--among those were Gareeku, Mel, and a new creature, this one with coal-like, sulphurous eyes and shaggy black fur, spreading over her body like a thick, bedraggled blanket up until they reached the roots of her wings.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Keaton screamed hysterically, "GET AWAY FROM ME BEFORE I--BEFORE I FUCKING--"

She would've said something along the lines of 'Kill all of you', but she never got the opportunity. Before she even realized it, Stygian had launched himself into the air, corrupted darkness roiling and tumbling under the folds of his shirt as it flared up around him. Dozens of shadowy tentacles launched themselves at her, each sporting a head or a claw or some form of fanged appendage, all possibly intending to rip or tear or hold her down...

She wasn't going down without a fight. Releasing another scream, Keaton whipped her mace around, concentrating as deeply as she could. Piercing through the insanity and the clouding, impairing frenzy. Livid bands of crimson lightning started to ignite around the the mace, twisting about each individual spike crowning the club. Without so much of a concern about hitting or damaging anyone around her, Keaton swung her mace, electricity crackling through the air after it like the tail of a comet, and shot a lance of energy in Stygian's direction.

~Keaton the Black Jackal

[Prof B Hunnydew]

The sounds of battle and screams, finally were too much PBH.  She didn't know what she could do but she left the kitchen into the Grand Hall as the fight raged on in the hallway.   She stood shocked and scared for your friends, as she watch the fight from down the hall.  Bambi desperate for a spell to dispel the illusions from Keaton's mind. 

A truth spell on Keaton may work but it would only last a few minutes or less under this curse. And then she would be back under her curse...The truth spell would make her force her to see and tell only the true, about herself and the others.  An sample spell normal used in investigations with hostrel witnesses.

It was the best she could do...Casting a green sphere of light straight into the succubus as Stygain pounces her and the succubus fires off her lightening at him... 

PBH

[Stygian]

Keaton's discharge missed the center of the bat's body as he leapt, but he still got a good dose of energy into him, and roared out with the shock. Lightning surged and crackled as most of the tentacles seemed to go unsteady and partly dissolve mid-air. He was still as much of a huge shroud coming for her though, and far from intangible. And beating on the bat with a mace in a situation like that did as much good as trying to smash water with a hammer. He tumbled into her, gripping her and throwing her over, attempting to pin her as quickly as he could.
   But, the situation was trickier than that. Suddenly came a green light sailing into the tussling pair, before Stygian got the jackal down on the ground. They rolled for a bit before they stopped, with Stygian returned to normal form and pinning Keaton on her back under him. Her mace had been knocked from her hand, and she kicked and struggled with her bare claws instead. Not that it seemed to do much at all. The bat was twice her size, and hard as rock. One odd thing though, that all who saw noticed, was the way the both stared at each other; Keaton as if the bat was about to bite her head off and Stygian as if Keaton had just appeared from thin air and stolen his ears.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

When Sebastian shouted to "get back" Mel flattened herself against the wall. Having been attacked by him once herself she had no wish to get between him and his target. She was a bit surprised when Keaton's attack caused him to shout. Her own experience had been far from successful. Mel ducked a second time as a spell went flying past and into the combatants. Their thrashing came to a halt and they just stared at each other. Mel cautiously stepped a little closer, not sure if the fight was really over. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

[Boog]

Jeremiah knew what his odds were of doing anything to restrain a pissed off, mace wielding cubi, and thus didn't try. He merely backed away and looked around for any sort of magical indication of what was going on. He wasn't the best of spellcasters, and thus wouldn't be able to see much, but you work with what you have.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha was taken aback by Keaton's demeanor.  Never before had she seen someone with a normally calm attitude look so frightened, as if she had seen a monster.  The panther's ears pinned back to her head in thought.  What could it have been...?

Hearing the bat's order to restrain her, Aisha moved to try, were it not for the fact that Keaton wielded her mace with such ferocity that it was hard to move close and be cautious at the same time.  She drew her sword, staying close just in case the succubus would start to turn on her.  From what she had seen of Keaton's abilities, Aisha was happy enough to let Sebastian handle her, which he seemed to be doing well himself.  "Keaton, just calm down, we just want to help," Aisha tried to calm, among the chaos.

It didn't take long either before the rest of the party came in, either trying to help or observing and looking a way, until the tussle slowed and stopped at a very tense crossroad.  Aisha lowered her sword, waiting to see what would happen.

[Angel]

Ketefe took a surprised step back when the bat ran away abruptly, but she jogged up a few minutes afterward to get a better look at the fight and to see if she could help at all. She  stopped about twenty feet away from Keaton and the others, and the fight was one of the most unusual and scary events she had ever witnessed. Most of these people were magic users, and the bat was either a demon or some sort of shape-shifter, what with all those tentacles that had come out of him. As for Keaton, she was screaming, whipping her mace around crazily and shooting energy at the bat. Ketefe was used to fighting Beings, so she hadn't bothered to learn any magic, and she seldom ever had to fight demons. Knowing that she'd probably do more harm than good if she interfered, the masked feline curled up against the wall and waited for the combat to end.

At last, Keaton was restrained by the bat, so Ketefe uncurled and watched the dragon walk over to the two surprised-looking fighters and ask if she could help. The cat stood, a little unsteadily, and walked close enough to the others to hear them and be heard. She found herself being curious about the succubus's behavior. The others had made it clear they didn't want to hurt Keaton, and yet she had been screeching for them to get away and attacking them, and now she was staring at the bat like he had just told her that he was going to eat her alive. Ketefe didn't know how the jackal would respond, but she wanted to help her and the others any way she could. "Keaton...why are you so scared?" she asked, in almost a whisper.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

" Truth Spell, it no hurt anyone, yet you must see and talk the Truth to u-self and others... But it no lasts.  The ebil sights will come back, soon. very soon" says PBH, as she , the light brown cat-girl with blue hair rushs down the hall.  She comes up the hallway to the bat and the jackal sucubus, "Fiend.. grrr....  my friend Keaton, but we must tie you up for you   for us" says Bambi  with a light kind hand on Keaton.  "Quick Need something to hold her, If she fight us again." shouts PBH as looks to the others in the hall.

PBH

[Stygian]

Keaton could barely get the two new people. The cat in the mask looked as if it were somehow part of her face, distorting it to a sort of mysterious, unexplainable smile over which her eyes glinted sharply, which could only mean trouble. Bam on the other hand seemed like some sort of capricious, mean-hearted pixie where she stood, with glowing eyes, an eerie grin and fae's wings, and leaves and wisps of green and diamond light falling off her. Things were going crazy...

   "There'll be no need for that. If she can get away..." the bat said plainly as he lifted Keaton up roughly and bent her arms up behind her back, then gripping around her wrists with one hand and holding her around her neck with his free arm. Her wings flapped in his face before he pushed against her back, hard, and tightened his grip on her neck, using nearly a foot of height difference and fiendishly strong arms against her. His voice had changed somehow. It was less... seething... in its tone now.
   "You're not going to get away. And nothing's going to help you. Not unless you give up," he said in her ear, his tone low but strong. "Quit your struggling, or I will be forced to hurt you." Then he turned to Mel. "Can you put something on her? Paralyze her or something? I think you'll need to go through her mind."