MI: 4, The Hunt Down

[Akarui]

Akarui pushed through the door into the hall, beginning their journey through everlasting mazes. "Yeah, a lion hunt does have a better ring to it, doesn't it?" she replied to Syras, not wanting to admit that their pursue of Daxx will probably become pointless. She hadn't seen the red since their walk through time and space, and he usually liked to cause flamboyant erruptions. He had said he'd calm it down a bit, she told herself. Maybe he was telling the truth. However infuriating he was, she somehow knew he wouldn't lie about that. He's probably just locked himself up in hiding. And how could she blame him? She'd nearly done the same. The only places she went were with Syras, and there was always a specific reason for going there. Whatever happened to spontaneous you?

Sighing, Akarui dragged her feet along, picking them up enough to save herself from tripping over any stubborn tiles. Taking a sideglance at Syras, she saw he was doing about the same. Deciding now was a better time than any to re-vamp herself, she edged towards the wall, picking up her hands to her chest in the shape of a gun. "Do do do doo..." she hummed in tune to Mission Impossible, arching her eyebrows at Syras as if to say, "Why not?" To add to the mix, she stood with her back flat against the wall, whipping her head first to the right and then to the left. As the coast was obviously clear, she ducked down and rolled across to the other side of the narrow hall. "Lion hunt, indeed," Akarui whispered, not daring to speak any louder, as she didn't want to risk them being "caught".

((Eh, I was going to have her open the dungeon, but I'll let you do the honors. Unless you want them to go elsewhere?))

[Syras]

Syras stepped through the door into the main hall and followed Akarui down it, not really caring where they were going as long as got where they needed to go. He kept the black marble knight from the chess board with him and placed it in his empty pocket, the one that didn't contain his jewel. However, as soon as the chess piece was safely in place, Syras reached into his other pocket and pulled out his nearly blackened jewel. He hadn't really thought about it in a long time and he had become so used to it, that it was almost like a part of him and he didn't even need to think about it to know it was there. The golden objects of their chase seemed important, but another million questions popped up in Syras's mind about their jewels. These obviously had more significance... but what? I suppose none of my questions can really be answered until we figure out what this place is all about... Syras thought and sighed, looking up to make sure where he was going. He stopped in his tracks and felt a laugh tickle his throat.

"Wha-?" he started as he watched Akarui suddenly become like a double agent, infiltrating a base. It took all of Syras's power to hold his laugh back so he wouldn't ruin the silent, suspenseful mood. However, the sight of Akarui looking around the corner quickly and rolling across the hall nearly made him double over. He had to bite down hard on his hand to keep in his laughter and a wonderful feeling spread through his body of his worries being lifted. This seemed to happen a lot around Akarui...

"You're insane..." he choked out, stifling his laugh once again. However, he couldn't help it. He crouched down himself and leapt across the hallway to land softly and perfectly next to Akarui like a cat. The coast to a large, dark door in front of them certainly did seem clear. Syras stayed in his careful, crouching position as he stared at the door. Something about that door seemed awfully familiar...

"The dungeon," Syras whispered as realization hit him and he knew where he recognized that door. This is where he came when his mental walls were shattered by none other than Daxx, the red jewel, himself. Instead of slinking away to the shadows however, Syras started grinning viciously in glee. If Daxx really was here, then Syras would be confronted with the place of his fears and the young man who initiated them. They always said that there's no better way to get over your fears than to confront them. Syras couldn't agree more. "Let's do it," he said and leapt over to the door like a cat once again, reaching up to open the cold, dark door. "Rock and roll."

[Akarui]

Akarui let go of her grip on the "gun" and slid up from her crouch to follow Syras. The door in front of them looked really eerie to her. No, it felt really eerie. All sorts of dangerous auras swept around her, almost seeming to whisper to her to run away and not go in. Then maybe this is our place, she asserted, sounding more confident in her mind than how she really felt. In truth, she would have no problem turning on her heels and running lickity split down the aged hall. Sure, she wanted to find Daxx and see what he knew about his artifact and possibly their own, but having ice crawling down her arms and back all the while... not so fun.

Unsure of what to do, the light jewel looked up at Syras to see what he was thinking. The expression of the dark's face seemed to reflect what would be the opposite of Akarui's. He had a confident air with dead-set eyes, barely blinking once, that also seemed to contain a look of... glee. Adventure. Courage. She didn't think she'd ever seen him like that before. It wasn't that he was always uneasy or anything; he'd just suddenly changed, within seconds even, to someone resembling more of a... knight. If Akarui hadn't been so shaky about opening that door, she would've buckled over in laughter at her choice in words. But as she was, her mind merely thought over the words all the more. He kind of does, though, she decided, his posture still as sturdy as ever before her. Just like a knight.

This observation somehow made her mind set. She knew what she needed to do to get the job done, the problem solved... maybe even this "world" changed. One step at a time. She would bring back the time and sun, reversing the effects set upon this place. There was no other way around the riddle. That had to be what it meant. And with these thoughts in mind, Akarui took her bold step forward, ready to rock and roll through whatever the door before them spat out.

As soon as Syras yanked the sad plank of wood open, a chilly draft escaped through the doorway. A curved staircase led down into the dark depths beneath the castle, evidently the path to a basement or cellar. Shaking off the cold and glad to be wearing jeans, she reluctantly crossed onto the landing, grabbing a candle that was hanging on the wall. Dang, it's out, she sighed, then summoned up a box of matches she had found on her bed last time she was in there, struck one and lit the wick. As she blew out the flame on the match and threw it aside, she pocketed the matchbook and glanced at Syras. "Um, you wanna go first?" It was a miracle enough that she'd stepped into this dank dungeon, but leading the way? She'd have to lose her mind completely.

[Syras]

"Sure, why not?" Syras replied to Akarui's question and turned back to look at her with a smile on his face. He tilted his head at her rather reluctant look, but chuckled warmly, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Hey, you all right? We will find the sphere and all that..." he said and stretched happily, gazing into the dark depths of the dungeon entrance. "Yeah, no problem. Just another adventure to sink our teeth into."

My gosh... Syras thought to himself at how good he actually felt. Am going bonkers, or have I finally defeated my fears? Despite being confronted with a seemingly impossible task of finding one person who just might have what they're looking for in a huge, seemingly endless world, Syras felt... exhilirated. Excited. He felt like this was finally his chance to do something right, something good. He wasn't plopped into this world for no reason and he was determined to figure out what that reason was. Even if it meant risking his life, he would do it. Oh, yeah. I'm bonkers.

Syras laughed happily and summoned a small torch from the air and dipped it over to light on Akarui's candle, flooding the dank staircase with the warm light that it had been missing. Syras gazed into the fiery depths of the torch and nodded both to himself and to Akarui. "All right, let's go kick some ass."

He smiled happily and practically ran down the staircase, though he slowed himself down intentionally to allow Akarui plenty of time to catch up. When he slowed down, he noticed that there were a couple of unlit torches along the staircase just sitting there and so, in an attempt to make the place a bit more easy on the heart, he reached up and lit the torches one by one, creating a steady path of light that would hopefully remain when they had to return. It didn't really matter, but Syras was suddenly thinking about so many things. Mostly about why in the world he was so revved up, but he just accepted it. It made things easier to tackle, anyway. "Lions beware."

[Akarui]

Akarui peered down the gloomy stairs, not able to get the thought out of her mind that she was about to enter Hell. As Syras' footsteps began to soften, she saw the staircase lighten, evidently the work of the knight down below her. "That's right, when this is all over, the whole castle will be enveloped in that stuff," she whispered to herself, nearly the only encouragement she had to descend the staircase below her. However, this lone thought was enough to send her to Canada and back. She would bring back the light into Fell. There wasn't a fiber of her soul that screamed otherwise.

She reached the bottom landing in no time, her confidence growing like the flame in her hand. "Completion of Task One: Affirmative," Akarui stated professionally, edging around the walls of the sad-excuse-for-a-room until she came upon a door. A whistling wind seeped into the stairwell from the cracks around the edges of it, whispering for her to keep going. "Shall we infiltrate?" she asked, and not waiting for an answer (as she knew it would only be the same as hers), grabbed the iron handle and gave it a pull. It swung open easily and a blast of the dead cold air greeted her with open arms, snuffing her candle within seconds. "Dangit," she muttered, knowing if she tried to light it again, the wind would only blow it out a second time with pleasure.

Knowing the only way to proceed was to go against it, she took a step inside the doorway. What was beyond was a hall smothered in black, looking alarmingly similar to the great hall up above. The only difference was that rather than the room being split between opposing forces, it was absorbed in nothing but darkness. This might have been because of the layers of dirt, but she couldn't tell for sure. After a while of observing and stepping further into the dungeon, Akarui realized the breeze had died. She pulled out her matches and lit it up, casting a warm glow on the dank surroundings. Soon, Akarui... soon.

[Syras]

Syras looked back to see if Akarui had followed him; she had, but she was a bit far behind. She still seemed reluctant to even enter this place, even though Syras had gone before her and lit up the way. He couldn't really blame her; it was rather creepy down here... But, there wasn't really much they could do about it. After all, a dungeon is supposed to be eerie and all that. He shrugged and let Akarui take her time, and so he looked around at his surroundings, getting a better feel for what he was getting himself into.

It was cold down here. He had a feeling that if he ran his hands along the walls, they would be slimy, but he didn't really want to take that chance. The shadows were frightening enough as it was. And yet... I feel so... comfortable, Syras thought to himself and nearly slapped himself for that ridiculous thought, no matter how true it was. It must have been because he was a dark jewel, and shadows were his friends. The dungeon was absolutely filled with them, surrounding him by his element. No wonder Akarui didn't want to come in here... She was a light jewel, and what little light there was was practically non-existant.

"Don't worry about her," Syras said softly to himself. She was a trooper; a little darkness wouldn't scare her off. Heck, if anything, it would probably make her want to fill the place with light all the more. Not that that would be good for me, I guess... Syras thought and laughed. They were such opposing elements, and yet they had practically been together in this since the beginning. Well, who said opposites can't be friends?

Syras stopped as a giant clearing opened up to him in the middle of the dungeon. Sure, it still looked terrifying; there were chains and shackles hanging from the walls and he could have sworn he saw some blood soaked into the dark stone, but the clearing looked important. It was empty, but Syras got the feeling that it hadn't always been like that. "Hey, Akarui! Come take a look at this!" Syras called out over his shoulder and walked a few more feet into the clearing. Whatever this place was, it sure didn't feel friendly...