Evil Forest

Christina was going no where in particular. She never had anywhere specific to go. That was why she sort of roamed Ooo, sort of a pure nomad who'd been lost from her tribe. It wasn't the life she'd asked for, nor the life she wanted for that matter, but it was the life she'd been giving and the life she tried to make the most of, even if she felt a little more than lost sometimes. Most of the time.

In this case though she was really lost, wandering haplessly across the landscape of Ooo. Everything was so colorful and alive, she noted in the back of her mind, though the thoughts passed quickly over her as she was quite unfocused. She'd been taking in the newness of Ooo since her arrival, not too long ago considering how long she'd been in rehabilitation under the High Guardian Court. Her appearance of 19 years was quite deceiving, as Guardian Angels aged different than the inhabitants of this world. It had been so long...

While lost in thought, Chrissy had unknowing walked into a vast span of woods. Haunting sounds echoed and noises creaked from the very trees. But it wasn't until she walked into one of these trees that she noticed she where she was. "What...?" Chrissy looked around, now feeling very lost within the thick woodlands and not sure which direction she'd come from, she began to miss her wings. "No Chrissy," she reminded herself firmly, but not unkindly in her heavenly and tender voice, "You have decided to wander Ooo as a human, or as close to a human as you can get, for a time."

'As to honor Samuel,' Chrissy thought and felt a jolt in her heart, a longing for her lost Bond, and her delicate fingers unconsciencely moved to the soft white teddy bear that was secured to her belt, hidden within the folds of her dress. Feeling the soft fur soothed the quickening beating of her heart and she felt peaceful, though the ache in her chest didn't go away entirely. Trying to ignore it Chrissy took a brave step forward into the darkness of the forest, content to be going somewhere else, preferably far away from such painful memories.

Edgar whirred through the forest canopy haplessly. The robot's cloak was clinging to the joints of branches he passed and he was beginning to suspect that some of the trees had actually been grabbing at him. "Say... Say, watch it, wise guy." He spun around in the air, throwing the beam of his flashlight onto the warped 'face' of a tree. It didn't seem to be animate, and the pixelated eyes of his small display narrowed uneasily. "Well... You don't say," His gaze darted from the trees around him. He wasn't on any discernible path, which was common enough for him. Without any legged companions, he saw no reason to limit his ventures to well-blazed trails.

Now he was lost with only himself to blame. EDG-R of course didn't blame himself. At the moment he was more angry at the tape recorder he had chased in here. "Regular Houdini, that wet tomato..." The robot's voice was bitter and almost cautiously low. He didn't need any of the unnecessary risk of his usually boisterous attitude, not without a companion better versed in combat. "Might need to get someone on the horn to come and dig me outta this trench," He was hovering just a few feet above the ground now, scanning the branches above for anything suspect. Who could he call? What adventurers had he joined in the past that he hadn't driven away from himself entirely? Not many.

Jo-Jo was currently falling out of the sky. He didn't quite remember how he'd gotten there, but thoughts like those could wait. After all, Jo-Jo needed to land; safely at that. However, as he flew, Jo-Jo felt the adrenaline rush through his whole body. He couldn't help but let out a shout. It rang free and clear as a bell over the forest. The shout belied the true freedom, joy, and raw exhilaration that could only be described as flight. As Jo-Jo flew through the air, thoroughly enjoying himself for the time being, he noticed below him was an ancient forest. The trees were old, grey, and gnarled; there was a thick, roiling mist that clung to the ground and the whole place was filled with a general feeling of eeriness. Jo-Jo cringed as he sailed over one of the taller trees, it didn't look like a very nice place to land. However, it was the only option Jo-Jo had, and he resigned himself to the fact that he would have to touch down here. As he plummeted to the ground, Jo-Jo reached out and grabbed a nearby branch. The branch was thick and strong, but Jo-Jo was moving quite fast and had a heavy ruck sack slung over his shoulders. The branch snapped with a loud crack, slowing Jo-Jo ever so slightly. As Jo-Jo tumbled through the treetops, trying to avoid impaling himself, he grabbed as many branches as he could in an attempt to slow his fall and land safely. Luckily, directly beneath him was a small bush. Jo-Jo landed on his belly with a thud and felt the air rush out of his body. "OOF!" Jo-Jo grunted.

Standing slowly, and brushing himself off, Jo-Jo looked around. His initial opinion of the forest stood, it didn't look like a nice place from the air, and it most certainly didn't look any better up close. Jo-Jo was displeased to find that, as he examined the area, he had no idea where he was. Slinging his rucksack off of his shoulders and sitting down with his legs crossed, Jo-Jo placed his pack in his lap and examined its contents. The contents of Jo-Jo's pack always formed remarkably shrewd suggestions of the activities Jo-Jo was currently engaged in. Jo-Jo pulled out his trusty bow, a map of what appeared to be a temple and its surrounding area, a potion marked "True Seeing", miraculously the glass vial was still intact, a metal gauntlet with a runic eyeball on it, a few miscellaneous scraps of paper, including the potion's receipt from a shop in Wizard City, and his guidebook. Jo-Jo stood up, carefully slung his pack back over his shoulders, and took off in a mostly northern direction. He'd deduced his bearings using the position of the sun in the sky. Further, since the temple was north of the forest he was currently in, that was the best option Jo-Jo had. As he walked, he remembered.

Jo-Jo had taken a quest from the local quest board in the Candy Kingdom. Someone was willing to trade a magic quiver for the gem in the center of the Temple should he bring it back. The quiver could alter the properties of the arrows and bolts that were stored in it. Jo-Jo had taken the quest in the hopes that if he stored his bow in the quiver, he could change what type of arrows it fired. When he'd gotten to the Temple, Jo-Jo proceeded through it like normal, checking all the doors, making sure to pick up all the keys he could find, snagging that awesome gauntlet, and finally, activating the booby trap that had sent him flying through the air. Jo-Jo chuckled to himself. "Ha, ha, that booby trap skronked me up real good. Totally wasn't expecting the builders to have designed such a redonk trap."

As he walked through the forest, Jo-Jo heard the sound of twigs snapping and general sounds of movement. He stopped, trying to pinpoint their position. They weren't that far away. Were they coming from some monster, on its way to jack up some poor old goblins? What if it was a little old lady trying to make it top her grand-kids' house to bake them some cookies? Either way, it was headed to the Temple, same as Jo-Jo. Justice demanded that he act. Anything short of an adventurer like himself, or a horrible monster wouldn't stand a chance in that temple. Jo-Jo slunk his way over to the source of the noise, trying to move as stealthily as possible. When he found it, Jo-Jo had to hold in a gasp. The thing that was making the noise... It was a lady peeps, and she was awful pretty. Jo-Jo felt himself blush. He could never quite act right whenever he was talking to ladies. They were so pretty and soft, he couldn't help but blush and stutter. Their beauty was just too much for him. He gulped and quietly stepped out of his hiding spot to greet the lady. "U-um, hello ma'am." Jo-Jo stuttered. "I-I noticed you were headed this way and felt obliged to inform you that the way you're currently going will lead you to a super dangerous, ancient temple." Jo-Jo felt his feet shuffle. Dancing nervously to the rhythm of his wildly out-of-control heartbeat. "I-If you like," Jo-Jo offered, "I could e-e-escort you to the next town over and help you get out of this forest." Jo-Jo wiped the sweat off of his brow and adjusted his goggles, though they needed no adjusting. "I-I'm Jo-Jo by the way. Jo-Jo the human." Jo-Jo said, bowing to the lady dressed in white. "At your service."

If the sun was high in the sky, Chrissy couldn't tell. She could hardly see past the branches that blocked her path, much less the ones that hid the sky from her eyes. 'At least I don't have my wings right now. They'd just get caught in all this junk.' she thought, trying to be opptimistic despite her gloomy surroundings. It wasn't working very well. Creepy sounds seemed to be coming from everywhere all at once. Even the very trees seemed to be reatching for her, their bark twisted into motionless yet terrifying faces. At any moment she expected so five head beast with a poisonous tail to jump out at her.

One of her hands had clasped the arm of a small white bear hidden inside her gown. It wasn't the gown she wore as part of her Guardian Angel uniform but a different one she was allowed to wear because she was in her humanoid form. No wings, hair pulled back into a tight ponytail (though the V shape of her bangs was still intact), dress a little more freeing than her other one... it felt nice being somewhat human, though the blue stripe across her lighter blue skin reminded her of what she was reguardless of who else recognized it. Few had ever heard of, much less seen their Guardian Angel.

Meanwhile her other hand was raised just above her head and a little bit infront of her, a white light shining from the tips of her fingers in the directions she pointed as she tried to illuminate the area directly ahead of her. Despite the light coming from her hand it still did precious little good as the forest seemed to be closing in on her with every brave step. 'It would be stronger if I were in my Angel form,' she thought, but shrugged that thought off with a simple, 'Oh well.' She liked the freedom this form gave her, despite certain limiting factors. Placing another bare foot infront of the other she found herself wandering deeper throught the Evil Forest, a growning feeling of unease twisting in her gut.

Suddenly she hear the sound of rustling coming from the bushes just a few feet away from her, off to the left. Whirling around she tried to sound tough and call out "Who goes there?!" but no sound came from her slightly parted lips. Not so much as a command for the unwelcome guest to do the splits. So much for intimidation... But when a young man, a human man who looked to be about her physical age, walked out of the bushes it was Christina who was scared. After a moment of shock she tried to hide the confusion and embarrassment on her face but likely failed as miserably as he was, his cheeks aflame.

"U-um, hello ma'am." The stranger stuttered. "I-I noticed you were headed this way and felt obliged to inform you that the way you're currently going will lead you to a super dangerous, ancient temple." As he stood there his feet were shuffling in an odd little dance of nervousness which eased Chrissy's mind a little. At least she wasn't the only one who had been caught off guard. "I-If you like," he began, obviously trying to cover for his stunned entrance, "I could e-e-escort you to the next town over and help you get out of this forest." He wiped some beads of sweat off his brow and adjusted his goggles, though they had looked like they had been fine where they were. "I-I'm Jo-Jo by the way. Jo-Jo the human." Jo-Jo said, bowing to the lady dressed in white. "At your service."

'Well, at least he's a gentleman instead of some horrible beast,' Chrissy thought relaxing slightly as she realized she was in little danger. A blessing as, though she could fight, she was quite weak in this humanoid form. Besides the lack of desire to quarrel, her speciality was healing, not hurting. "Hello, Mister Jo-Jo." She said with a curtsy, "My name is Christina. Christina Celeste. But please call me Chrissy." Running a small hand through her long white hair she sighed anxiously, her blue eyes flicking around the dark shadows of the forest before they landed on Jo-Jo again. "I am fortunate to have run into you. I seem to have gotten myself quite lost in this frightening forest here and I have not the slightest idea of how to get out." Clasping her hands together just before her bust line in a praying form, she smiled with a disarming hopefulness. "If you would lead me out I would be much obliged."

Much to Christina’s horror, Jo-Jo did not run. He didn’t even move. He only stood there and smirked. “What are you doing you fool?” she cried out in a panic, more for his life than hers. If he died, she knew what would happen, and she didn’t want it to. “Get out of here! Go! Before-“ When Jo-Jo’s eyes fell upon her, speech was lost to her. It was clear his intentions were quite opposite from fleeing. "I dunno who you think I am Chrissy." Jo-Jo said, slowly backing up and drawing his bow, his eyes no longer on her but trained on the tree. "But I ain't so low as to leave a defenceless lady all by herself to the mercy of a cursed tree."

Jo-Jo dropped his goggles to his face and pulled out his bow, taking aim at Chrissy. She closed her eyes and raised her arm to ward off the blow but it never came. Instead opening her eyes she found a thick root writhing on the ground. Shocked, Chrissy looked back at Jo-Jo as he let loose another arrow. The tree roared in outrage and the root on her ankle grew thicker, winding up her leg as the on her wrist did the same. Raising her free hand Chistina cried, “Be gone abomination of nature!” and pointed at the tree’s eyes as a bright beam of white light shot from her hand. The tree shrieked, unused to the light, and it’s roots slowed down, pausing momentarily.

Jo-Jo jumped back again, the roots trying to grab his ankles but missing and awkwardly flailing around. He rapidly fired six more arrows, pinning the roots to the ground. Jo-Jo shot the attacking roots as quickly as the shot out of the ground. Christina kept the light trained on the screaming tree’s corrupted face. Suddenly there was a shark pain along her arm and leg and she looked down, seeing thick spikes form on the roots. She felt the spines pierce her skin and enter her flesh along with the unfamiliar feeling of warm liquid spilling out between the thick roots. Screaming in pain Chrissy thrashed but the roots only tore into her further. Drawing a small knife from the folds of her dress, Chrissy hacked at the roots until they fell away from her and stood, ignoring the pain from her bleeding limbs. She turned to Jo-Jo to see how he faired and her heart almost stopped.

She watched in helpless awe as roots sprung out of the ground to attack him but he pinned them to the ground where they belonged. He landed, feet first on the face of the tree, firing two arrows into its eyes. He jumped off as the tree thrashed about, flipping his back legs over the top of his head, and extending them out to get a fuller leap. However, mid-flip, one of the branches caught Jo-Jo in the stomach, and sent him flying back into another tree. Chrissy’s hands flew to her mouth which was slightly open in a soundless scream. Inside her head the scream was louder than her lungs could have produced as Jo-Jo slumped to the ground, blood from the top of his head dripping down his face.

Finally Christina found her voice. “No! NOO!” she screamed, then turned and faced the offensive plant. Both hands raised she clasped them together and pointed her fingertips towards the tree’s face, opening her hands and a light shot from her palms. The roots and leaves of the tree disintegrated and the tree howled in agony, but the cry was cut short. A single arrow shot right over Chrissy's head and into the maw of the beast who suddenly went still, the arrowhead having pierced the ingrown knot which had serve to made the tree animate and evil. Chrissy heard a soft sigh behind her and whirled around. "Woo..." Jo-Jo breathed. "You ok over there?"

Eye’s still slightly aglow from her attack, arm and leg still bleeding and staining her white dress, body stil shaking from inexperience in battle; Chrissy could not form words and her only thought was ’Jo-Jo’s okay; he’s alive.’ After a moment of being dumbfounded Christina ran to his side as he slumped against the tree he’d been knocked into. Her protective instincts taking over, she immediately knelt and looked at him with concern. “Oh my glob, Jo-Jo you’re bleeding!” she whispered, placing a gentle hand on his forehead, feeling the sticky blood underneath her palm. “Close your eyes,” she said softly, her voice taking on a comforting tone. Soothingly she ran her fingers slowly through his hair, feeling the wound. He’d split the skin, but luckily hadn’t cracked his skull open. Already it was swelling though, which could still kill him if not tended to. “Here, let me help you.” Closing her own eyes she focused her energy and his skin knitting back together, the blood flowing back to where it should be inside of him. A careful hand (the one belonging to the uninjured arm) lightly touched his stomach where the tree had hit him was enough to heal the cracked rib and the bruising.

After a moment, Chrissy was sure she’d tended to his immediate injuries. Opening her eyes she was relieved there was no more blood and that the swelling had gone down significantly. “Okay,” she said with a kind note in her harmonious voice as she once again leaned back from Jo-Jo, “You may open your eyes again.”

As if wakening from a trance Jo-Jo slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times. "Wow, thanks. I feel like I could climb a mountain." Jo-Jo said, looking at her. A blush crept over his face as their eyes meet. "H-Here I thought you were just a p-p-pretty face... Thanks." Jo-Jo said and Christina didn't respond, only smiled happily. Being able to heal again made her remember a time long before the Curse and it made her feel warm inside. Guardian Angels were to help people, Cursed and Broken or not, and she enjoyed doing her job.

"Whoa!" Jo-Jo exclaimed, catching Chrissy off guard. "What? What is it? What's wrong?" She asked, shocked, afraid perhaps another enemy had stumbled upon them. As much as she loved to help, her powers were limited, even more so since she was without her wings. "You're hurt bad. Lemme see what I can do. It's my turn to help you." Jo-Jo said and Chrissy exhaled a small sigh of relief. She watched as he slung his bag over his shoulders, and into his lap.

As he opened the main pocket and started digging through it,Chrissy looked a her wound,or actually wounds. There were holes where the thorns of the roots had pierced her flesh all the way up to her knee and her elbow of her right arm and leg. A few holes still had the thorns in them which had broken off when she'd thrashed. "Ummm... I've got this bandage and some painkiller. Unfortunately it's all I've got, or can you heal yourself?" Jo-Jo asked and Chrissy managed a small, regretful smile. "I'm afraid not, only others. Thank you though," she said, taking the medical supplies.

Christina checked her wounds carefully. The roots hadn't been poisonous thankfully and she pulled the ones remaining in her arm and leg out. The fresh holes streamed blood and Chrissy bit her lip. She's quite forgotten physical pain and wasn't used to it yet. "Sorry I'm not much help as far as healing goes. I knew I should have bought some extra cure potions from that booth." Jo-Jo said anxiously, obviously bothered by this fact. Chrissy merely smiled as she dressed her wounds and wrapped them. "No no, please don't be bothered by it. I'm sorry I couldn't have been more help in battle. I'm not in a proper state right now to fight." She said vaguely, then looked at him and spoke with earnestly, "If not for you I would have died."

With that she finished wrapping her wounds, a sock and long glove of the medical wrap from her ankle to just before her kneecap and her wrist to her elbow. Small specks of blood could been seen on the white tape where it had already started to bleed through. "Alright, I am ready to travel again." She said bravely, though by the throbbing of her wounds she knew it would be better if she didn't but she was not eager to remain in this cursed forest for very much longer.

"I'm afraid not, only others. Thank you though," Chrissy said, taking the medical supplies. Jo-Jo's face fell ever so slightly. He was really bummed. He felt bad that he let her get hurt even though he was fighting so hard. Jo-Jo sat and rested while Chrissy tended her wounds. They looked really bad, Jo-Jo felt his heart give a painful twinge. A girl like that, lost in a forest like this one, and all she had to bandage those nasty wounds was Jo-Jo's spare roll of medical wrap. Jo-Jo shook his head, he needed to keep a first-aid kit on him from now on.

Christina checked her wounds carefully. The roots hadn't been poisonous thankfully and she pulled the ones remaining in her arm and leg out. The fresh holes streamed blood and Chrissy bit her lip. "Sorry I'm not much help as far as healing goes. I knew I should have bought some extra cure potions from that booth." Jo-Jo said berating himself for his lack of foresight. Chrissy merely smiled as she dressed her wounds and wrapped them. "No no, please don't be bothered by it. I'm sorry I couldn't have been more help in battle. I'm not in a proper state right now to fight." She said. It was strange, she usually looked him in the face when she spoke, even if he couldn't. Either way, she turned back to face him and Jo-Jo let the abnormality slide. He'd only just met her, she must have some quirks he didn't know about. She looked him directly in the eyes and spoke. "If not for you I would have died." Jo-Jo blushed. "W-Well, I was j-just doing wh-wh-what anyone would have d-done. After all, what k-kind of horrible p-person would just l-leave someone as nice as you at the m-mercy of a cursed tree?" Jo-Jo said, changing the subject and looking directly at the ground beneath him. She was so close to him, and she was saying such kind words. It was all too... stimulating for Jo-Jo. He stood, face burning with embarrassment, and walked over to the other side of Chrissy, watching while she tended to her wounds, to make sure no other dangers would befall them. He quietly pulled out his bow, holding it with his left hand. He didn't want to have to use it again, but it was still good to have it out, just in case.

With that she finished wrapping her wounds, Jo-Jo's bandage had formed a sock and long glove over the top of Chrissy's wounds. Small specks of blood could been seen on the white tape where it had already started to bleed through. "Alright, I am ready to travel again." She said bravely, though Jo-Jo saw right through her facade. "I thought I was the adventurer here, Chrissy. Those limbs of yours aren't anywhere near ready for travel. However, I don't expect you'd like to stay here longer than necessary. S-so, umm... l-lean on me." Jo-Jo offered, holding out his right arm and looking slightly away from Chrissy, blushing like crazy. "You c-can lean on m-me while we walk. That way we can get out of here and you won't have to work so hard." Jo-Jo said, nervousness and embarrassment dripping from every word. Jo-Jo didn't know if he would be able to keep himself from blushing, but Jo-Jo's personal sense of Justice demanded that his own personal foibles be laid aside should someone need his help. He would have to get over how pretty she was and help her as best he could, even if that meant spending the rest of the walk whistling like a tea kettle with steam coming out of his ears

Across the small clearing, Chrissy could tell Jo-Jo was skeptical. "I thought I was the adventurer here, Chrissy. Those limbs of yours aren't anywhere near ready for travel." Christina sigh softly, glancing at her feet as she leaned heavily against an inanimate tree. "However, I don't expect you'd like to stay here longer than necessary." Jo-Jo continued on and Chrissy looked up, noticing the color entering his cheeks with mild intrigue. "S-so, umm... l-lean on me." Jo-Jo offered, holding out his right arm and looking slightly away from Chrissy, blushing like crazy. "You c-can lean on m-me while we walk. That way we can get out of here and you won't have to work so hard."

An eyebrow raised as Chrissy looked at the handsome youth. His face was quite crimson and his eyes avoiding Chrissy's own. He was acting oddly, but Chrissy didn't know why. The roots hadn't been poisonous, so it wasn't that. They were both alive, so that was nothing to get flustered over. It seemed nothing was truly wrong, but it was obvious he was bothered by something. Whatever it was she couldn't put her finger on it. Deciding to ignore the particular behavior she made a mental note to revisit the strange behavior. Quickly she put all thoughts of suspicion aside and walked over to him, taking the arm he'd offered to her. "Thank you," she said softly, a faint blush turning her blue cheeks a lavender color.

The pair made their way though the forest quickly, despite Christina's injuries. They had to stop a few times when she needed a rest and to attend to her wounds which were bleeding less freely now. After what felt like an hour or two Chrissy noticed the forest became colder than normal, and darker (if that was possible). "Jo-Jo," she said softly, her concerned blue eyes tilting up to the sky. It was impossible to see through the thick, entangled limbs but it was easy to know what was happening. "Night is falling..." An eerily howl confirmed her statement.

Still leaning heavily on Jo-Jo's strong arm, Chrissy could feel the weariness spreading from her limbs to the rest of her body. "We could camp here for the night or, if we're close to the edge, we may be able to travel through the night to the town you spoke of." She gave his forearm a gentle yet reassuring squeeze. "You know this forest better than I do. Whatever you think is best I will comply."

Jo-Jo stood and waited, his cheeks aflame and his eyes averted. He was going to be taking a stroll, ableit not in the most charming of locales, with a very pretty girl. He was so nervous. Regardless, Chrissy walked over to him; taking the arm he'd offered to her. "Thank you," she said softly, a faint blush turning her blue cheeks a lavender color. Jo-Jo blushed harder. "Of course." Jo-Jo said, finally getting his stutter under control, though his voice quavered dangerously.

The pair made their way though the forest quickly, despite Christina's injuries. They had to stop a few times when she needed a rest and to attend to her wounds which were bleeding less freely now. Jo-Jo couldn't stop himself from wincing as she examined her bandages. They must have hurt very badly; still she carried on. Jo-Jo was impressed. Most girls he'd met weren't the type to put up with hard work, or harsh conditions. To be fair, they were all mostly princesses, so they didn't need to, but still, Jo-Jo couldn'y help but smile. Chrissy was a real trooper. After what felt like an hour or two Chrissy shivered, she looked up at the sky and at the forest around them. "Jo-Jo," she said softly, her concerned blue eyes tilting up to the sky. It was impossible to see through the thick, entangled limbs but it was easy to know what was happening. "Night is falling..." An eerily howl confirmed her statement. "Yeah." Jo-Jo said, looking around. The chill of night was slowly creeping into his thick clothes, the darkness around them crept dangerously closer, and the sounds of rustling could be heard all over the forest. Jo-Jo was sure it wasn't wind.

Still leaning heavily on Jo-Jo's arm, Chrissy slumped ever so slightly against him. She was tired, she had to be, walking several miles with those wounds. She would have to be undead or superhuman to have the will to keep going. She spoke up, tilting her head up to look at him. "We could camp here for the night or, if we're close to the edge, we may be able to travel through the night to the town you spoke of." She gave his forearm a gentle yet reassuring squeeze, sending the slightest of shivers down Jo-Jo's spine. He blamed it on the cold. "You know this forest better than I do. Whatever you think is best I will comply." Jo-Jo nodded. "It's still a few hours walk from here. Our best bet is to take shelter nearby, build a fire, and stay the night as safely as we can. This way," Jo-Jo said, motioning towards a small clearing to their left.

Sure enough, Jo-Jo had led them to a small cave, really more of lean-to formed out of three slabs of rock. The cave was positioned along the side of a small ring of trees which formed a natural clearing with the cave at it's head. "Wait here," Jo-Jo said, setting Chrissy on the ground. "Don't move too much or your wounds won't start getting better. I'm just going to check out that cave, make sure there's nothing in it." Jo-Jo smiled. "I'll be right back, don't you worry." Jo-Jo said reassuringly. He slowly walked over to the cave, his bow held high. As he reached it, he slowly lowered his bow and peeked inside. The place looked like it had been used as a nest, but there were no eggs or young animals anywhere to be found, not even broken eggshells. The cave must have been abandoned a long time ago. "It's safe!" Jo-Jo called to her, though not too loudly. He walked back over to where he had left her and offered his gloved hand. "Here, let's get you situated. Then I'll make a fire." Jo-Jo helped her over to the cave and slowly let her down to settle in. "It looks like an abandoned nest, but I didn't see any signs of recent use, so we'll set camp here for the night." Jo-Jo said with a smile, putting on a strong face, though he wanted that fire up as soon as possible. Fire would provide warmth, light, and an excuse for nasty creatures to stay away from the smell of wounded prey. "Here, take this." Jo-Jo said, handing her his spare gauntlet. "Wear this till I get back. It'll protect you." Jo-Jo said, smiling once again. "I'm going to get firewood, I'll be back in two shakes, alright? We need that fire."

Jo-Jo turned and left, running through the forest, his bow held high. He gathered as many sticks as he could find and a few small stones as quickly as he could and returned to Chrissy. He'd picked the sticks up off of the ground so as not to upset anymore tree monsters, and he did so within a dozen yard radius of the cave; not wanting to be far from Chrissy, should she need him. As soon as he had enough, Jo-Jo ran back to the clearing and the cave. "See, I'm back!" Jo-Jo said with a smile. "You miss me?" he asked, blushing ever so slightly and gazing at the ground. "Never mind, I've got a fire to build." He set the stones down in a ring a few feet away from the cave, and he set to building a tepee out of sticks. He put the smaller sticks in the center and the larger logs on the outside. He dug around in his bag for a moment before finding the receipt for the potion of True Seeing he'd bought earlier, as well as other miscellaneous scraps of paper that he didn't need anymore, and tore them up into little shreds. He placed the shreds inside the tepee and gave them enough room to breathe. Finally, Jo-Jo picked up one of the rocks that formed the ring and slapped his gauntlet covered hand against it, once, twice, and on the third time sending a few sparks into the nest of paper at the center of the tepee. After blowing on the sparks, the paper ignited, the sticks following and setting the logs ablaze. "There! Fire! Now we have light, warmth, and a way to keep anything that wants to eat us away from here." Jo-Jo said, smiling. In his haste to secure their fire and make sure Chrissy was ok, he'd completely forgotten his nervousness. Once the fire was set, however, he saw Chrissy again, and blushed. She looked stunning in the firelight.

"Okay, i thought it wouldn't be as scenic as walking, but i admit it, you were right!"

Only a little while ago, Flake the lamb had proposed the idea that instead of walking to the Ice Kingdom village, they should travel a bit faster. Raleigh was hesitant, since she enjoyed picturesque sights of nature, but as she started to get tired, she reluctantly agreed to his plan. She was now high up in the air with her arms up above her head, full of energy. Flake had transformed into a morrow, a large falcon-like creature with astounding speed, so that the travel to the village would only take about 20 minutes. With the height the two were at, the Cloud Kingdom could be seen just off into the distance.

"We should go there someday, you and I. I hear there's a humongous cloud forest just waiting to be explored."
"Not until you bribe me with some tea or something first. You know I'm scared of heights" the lamb replied.
"But you're fine right now!!"
"Yes, but i have wings..so my phobia is sort of...pacified."
"Yep. You just admitted that you're a bird afraid of heights."
The two shared a chuckle for a brief moment, and then the girl went back to peacefully daydreaming as she looked across the horizon. However, things didn't remain peaceful for long. Suddenly, Raleigh noticed a shiny orange speck sparkling in the sky. She pointed her finger at the object so that Flake could see the pretty light, but as soon as he turned his head, the two figured out what the speck really was:
A fireball.

It was much bigger and brighter and hotter than what it looked like from a distance. Before Flake could barely flap his wings to change direction, the fireball crashed straight into the lamb's wing, as if it had a mind of it's own. The last thing Raleigh remembered before blacking out was Flake's hooves stretching over her shoulders.

"Raleigh...wake up.....Raleigh!"
The teenager shook her head as she woke up to the sound of Flake's voice. Once she felt the soft but gritty ground beneath her, a chill went down her spine. She wasn't in the safety of the sky anymore. In fact, as soon as she saw the shapes of the trees around her, Raleigh immediately knew she was in the Evil Forest, the scariest and most deadly place in Ooo.

She had been in this forest once as a child, and had encountered some of the frightening creatures that lurked in the woods. She was lucky to be alive.
She got up quickly, knowing that if her and Flake were going to get out of the place alive, they would have to move at a steady yet quick pace. Dangers could be lurking almost anywhere.
"Can you transform back into a morrow and get us out of here?" Raleigh asked the lamb.
"I've already tried. For some reason, i'm not able to change into any form at the moment. It's like the impact of that fireball thing caused some sort of glitch or something. And besides, my arm is burnt up badly."
He turned to show her the huge red burn along his arm. Raleigh cringed at the sight.
"Don't worry, i'm fine, it just stings." he said, sitting on a rock nearby. He was starting to nervously shiver as though he knew the place. Raleigh wondered why he knew about all these locations in Ooo, but when she found him unconcious, he couldn't even remember his own name.

"We should camp out for the night. It's already afternoon."
Raleigh immediately opened her mouth to object, but before she could, Flake continued.
"We'll set up in a while. I want you to stay here while i use the lu."
"The what?"
"The lu."
"What's that?"
"It's what my parents used to call the....oh never mind. I'll be right back. DON'T WANDER OFF"

And so Raleigh sat there, bored out of her mind. Clutching her white backpack, she wondered what kind of monsters would be lurking at night. If most of the deadly creatures came out during the day, there was no telling how many would come at night. She removed her fur hat and scarf, storing them away in the large pack, and as she looked up, she noticed something in the darkness around her. There in front of her were two yellow eyes, staring at her. To the girl, the eyes didn't seem threatening, but looked as though they wanted her to come closer. She sprung up off of the ground, like she was under a spell, and held her hand out towards the eyes. As she approached the yellow light, getting closer and closer, her spell of curiousity was broken by a familiar voice.

"HELLLPP!!!!"

Immediately, Raleigh started to blindly run to where she assumed the voice was coming from. "FLAKE!!!" she cried, but no answer called back. She frantically searched all around, hoping that the lamb was just pulling some sort of prank, but as she saw the footprint that lay on the ground before her, her heart plunged into her stomach.

Raleigh recognized that footprint anywhere: it was an imp. Imps lurked in the badlands where Raleigh had lived for a while. Although quite small, imps could be numerous in number. However, those were desert imps. Forest imps could be different.

For about an hour, Raleigh desperately searched the woods, hoping to find something or someone that could give her a clue as to where to find her companion. She knew that he was probably dead by now, but she would push the thought aside before finding out for herself. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a glimmer (or rather a flame) of hope could be seen in the darkness. There was a fire nearby, and fire meant people. People meant help. She ran with all her might to the flame, and without taking a good glance at who she was speaking to, she spoke quickly and frantically.

"Have you seen a short, brown-wooled lamb about two feet tall and big blue eyes? He's lost, and i think he was taken by monsters or something...Have you seen him?"
She breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath after running for what seemed like eternity.

"It's still a few hours walk from here. Our best bet is to take shelter nearby, build a fire, and stay the night as safely as we can. This way," Jo-Jo said, motioning towards a small clearing to their left. Entering the clearing Chrissy could see a small cave, really more of lean-to formed out of three slabs of rock, positioned along the side of a small ring of trees which formed a natural clearing with the cave at it's head.

"Wait here," Jo-Jo said, gently lowering Chrissy to the ground.. "Don't move too much or your wounds won't start getting better. I'm just going to check out that cave, make sure there's nothing in it. I'll be right back, don't you worry." Jo-Jo said reassuringly, then slowly walked over to the cave, his bow held high. As he reached it, he slowly lowered his bow and peeked inside.

Chrissy, who'd eyes had been following him, now turned to the tree line. It was dark and thick with thorn bushes and dead, dried up plants. A few pairs of glowing eyes peeped out from the brush but vanished so fast Chrissy wondered if they d been a trick of her imagination. Regardless of what it was, Chrissy was glad when Jo-Jo called "It's safe!" He walked over to where she sat and she looked up at him with an expression of deep thankfulness. "Here, let's get you situated. Then I'll make a fire." Gratefully Chrissy took the extended gloved hand and used him to standup, her injuries going numb. She hoped that it was because of the cold, though she knew better to believe in dumb luck. But then again, she'd meet Jo-Jo by chance and so far it was the best thing yet to have happened to her.

"It looks like an abandoned nest, but I didn't see any signs of recent use, so we'll set camp here for the night." Jo-Jo said with a smile, carefully lowering Chrissy to the ground. She sat in a semi comfortable position which encouraged blood flow to the injured limbs. They'd seal up enough by now to maintain a continuous flow of blood, which she wanted as soon as possible. She's need to leave the bandages on for the rest of tonight and possibly the next day but she should be fully healed after a week or so.

"Here, take this." Jo-Jo said, holding out his spare gauntlet to Chrissy who, though surprised, took it. "Wear this till I get back. It'll protect you." Jo-Jo said with a large smile which made Christina also smile, the purple shades returning to her cheeks.. "I'm going to get firewood, I'll be back in two shakes, alright?" Jo-Jo said, walking out if the cave, stating to talk to himself as he did. "We need that fire..." Christina watched as he walked out. The moment he was out if the cave she let out a shuttering sigh. Her body was racked with pain as the muscles of her two hurt limbs throbbed in painful, violent protest. Focusing she put as much of her energy as possible into the healing but it did little good. Guardian Angels could not heal themselves.

Jo-Jo walked in a moment later and Chrissy manages a smile. "See, I'm back!" Jo-Jo said with a smile. "You miss me?" he asked, blushing ever so slightly and gazing at the ground. Chissy smiled, nodding her head enthusiastically. "Never mind, I've got a fire to build." He set the stones down in a ring a few feet away from the cave, and he set to building a tepee out of sticks. He put the smaller sticks in the center and the larger logs on the outside. Christina watched intently, making notes of what he was doing so she could hopefully use the knowledge later.

Take some paper from his backpack he tore them up into little pieces. He placed the shreds inside the tepee and gave them enough room to breathe. Finally, Jo-Jo picked up one of the rocks that formed the ring and slapped his gauntlet covered hand against it, once, twice, and on the third time sending a few sparks into the nest of paper at the center of the tepee. After blowing on the sparks, the paper ignited, the sticks following and setting the logs ablaze.

"There! Fire! Now we have light, warmth, and a way to keep anything that wants to eat us away from here." Jo-Jo said proudly and Chrissy applauded with a short span of laughter. Once the fire was set, however, he seemed to remember Chrissy again, and blushed. She wondered what was wrong. As the firelight flickered in her blue eyes she raised her hands to warm them near the fire's blaze. There passed between them a few lax moments of silence before-

Something came crashing through the brush. Chrissy whirled around, quickly regretting it as her wounds protested the sudden movement. Opening one eye she looked at the intruder, a girl, who was panting hard. "Have you seen a short, brown-wooled lamb about two feet tall and big blue eyes? He's lost, and i think he was taken by monsters or something...Have you seen him?" For the second time today, Chrissy was lost for words.

It was such a marvelous day in the Evil Forest of Ooo. The 'king of the shadows' as he called himself had nothing better to do than wander through the 'dreaded' forest. To Riddle, the Evil Forest was perhaps the best place in all of Ooo. There was nothing more fun than scaring the haunted trees, signs, zombies, and other monsters that attempted to scare him. Their faces of fear filled him with the greatest of pleasure. He knew that once his master plan took effect and he ruled all of Ooo, he'd be able to see more and more of those faces.

Suddenly, a ringing sound could be heard from the red holo-pendant on his neck. Sighing with frustration, he lifted the crystal and shook it, seeing Inferno's face in the red hologram that had appeared before him.

"What could you possibly want? Why aren't you doing what you're supposed to?" he said, his booming voice filling the forest.
"My lord, a girl and her lamb defied your power. I warned them, but they didn't listen."
After a moment of silence, the cold-hearted creature burst out laughing, as if his companion had told him a hysterical joke.
"Are you telling me that you got beaten up by an incompetent little girl and a stupid sheep? What are you, weak?"
"No my lord, you don't understand. The girl is stronger than you think. And the sheep...the sheep can transform into a why-wolf..."

Riddle's look of arrogance was replaced by slight shock, as if he knew one of the people Inferno was talking about. Still, he was not in the slightest worried. Inferno wasn't the best companion a future ruler of Ooo could have.
"I see....can you track them?"
"Yes, my lord, i can. I'm sending the data to you now..."
All of a sudden, the fire-wolf's face was replaced by a map of Ooo. A bright dot flickered on and off to show the duo's location. The dot was located to the south-east of the Ice Kingdom. Riddle cracked his mouth into a terrifying grin, exposing his sharp fang-like teeth.
"Alright," the dark creature said, "I'll see what i can do. They're only a couple of miles away from my location. Thank you for telling me this, Inferno."
"No problem, my master."

The hologram disappeared, leaving Riddle in the dark forest to himself. Focusing his anger, power, and energy into his hands, he created two giant flames. Clapping his hands, he merged the flames together, and swirled his arms in a spherical motion. The fireball he created became so intense, that he had to fly up out of the forest in order to prevent a fire. Finally, he chanted a dark spell, and released his energy out in front of him, sending the fireball across the sky like a shooting star. He revealed another creepy grin as he watched the bright flame disappear. Afterwards, he gently floated down into the shelter of the woods.

He spent the rest of the day wandering the woods, until he could feel the aura of some sort of complex creature. He peeked his yellow eyes through the darkness, seeing an adolescent human girl sitting by her lonesome. Riddle was shocked. He thought humans had been extinct for ages. Not even thinking twice, he took the moment as an opportunity to strike.

"Come closer" he whispered silently to her, using his black magic ability known as telepathy. For Riddle, it was basically mind control. The girl immediately stood up off of the rock she was perched on and started to approach him, her arm extended in his direction. "Yes...closer" he continued, his face curling up into a smirk, when suddenly a loud cry echoed through the woods. The girl must have had a strong will, because her connection with Riddle was broken, and she immediately sprinted off into the canopy.

Frustrated, Riddle floated through the woods, trying to take his mind off of the girl he could have so easily destroyed. She was lucky. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. Could this be the girl Inferno had talked about? Before he could determine the answer to that question, he saw something moving in the distance.

There, lost between the trees, was a rusty and red-robed robot. Riddle could only imagine what something as complex as a robot was doing in the middle of the Evil Forest. The robot looked like a hunk of junk, but to Riddle, it was extremely valuable. As they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Technically, robots had an upper hand against Riddle. He couldn't use telepathy against them, as they possessed no true mind or soul, just wires, batteries, and computer chips. Therefore, if he could make the robot his slave, that would be one less threat to worry about, and more technology in his hands. Then again, he could easily destroy the thing, but he would at least give it a try before burning it to ashes.

He swiftly appeared out of the bushes, circling the red-robed robot like it was his prey, and he was the predator.
"Are you lost?" he said with a malicious chuckle, "Poor robot. The Evil Forest is awfully dangerous for a thing like you. Do you need assistance? I can take you back to where you came from?"
As he levitated around his next victim, he gave another creepy smirk. He would laugh is this thing thought it was tough enough to stand its ground.

EDG-R hovered backwards, frightened on Riddle's approaching steps. The boy's eyes turned and brightened and it was all that the startled machine could to do raise his mechanical hand up over the display of his face in a primitive attempt and hiding. The cable arm whipped his cloak in closer as the flames whirled around them, and in the air he started to shake with fear. Probably didn't help that the Rumble Pak he had snatched off of that Game Bot Color a few weeks back was tripped by the slightest anything.

When Riddle spoke the voices that Edgar heard he swore were a malfunction in his audio receptors. What he said was confusing and a little above the logic the robot could manage at any given time. He had to assume that it was a bluff of some measure, but if not a human, what could this creature be? He saved himself the circuit-ache that any hard paradoxical thinking might induce and chalked it up to megalomania. The man simply had a power complex, combined with enough power to back it up. And now he'll kill me... The machine registered sorely, contemplating an escape route.

But that didn't prove necessary. The nightmare ended as quickly as it had begun and the boy stood before him under a seemingly thin veil of sanity. The calm that followed wasn't about to convince any human audiences, but Edgar accepted it eagerly. The tight rule of the Three Laws made situations of that magnitude hard on him. If the fires seemed too dangerous, he would have to leave to preserve himself, but if the boy seemed at risk of hurting himself, he would naturally have to attempt a rescue. This was complicated by the preceding proclamation. I am of no kind! Edgar's optics said otherwise. Whatever the boy was, he was human enough to trip every part of the positronic mind.

The apology that followed was as unconvincing as could be, but EDG-R swallowed it up. Part of his nature as a servant to man, perhaps, but definitely spurred along by the sheer fear that this boy had instilled in him. Riddle, as it were. Sounds about right... The ticker in his mechanical brain ran soberly. It's not his name. It's what he calls himself. Whatever that meant it put unease in the robot's weakly recovering expression. The display showed a small face with a forced smile, polite as could be. "E-D-G-err... Electronic Debris Gatherer. Then an R. Not sure about that R. Suits call me Edgar." A tentacle arm loosened and he put forward a spindly mechanical hand to shake. He'd once had a fedora that he liked to tip instead, one that was lost in a vicious duck mugging... Now handshakes were a weak resolve.

Christina had, to say the least, zoned out from the conversation. The moment she saw the girl, the human girl mind you, step into the clearing her hand had found the teddy bear and she'd closed her eyes, tuning out the two human voices. She needed to focus very badly and she took slow, deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Inhale, exhale. The knuckles of her hand turned a snowy white color as her fingers squeezed the soft, pushie toy.

Two humans. The pressure building behind her blues was expodential and she clentched her jaw. Normally it wasn't this bad when she was reminded, but now there were two humans standing infront of her and she'd never had any experiance with the change since her training. Would it be enough that she could hold on to her sanity? Was she even sane anymore?

A moment passed and finally Christina felt peaceful (or, at least, mostly at peace) and she opened her blue eyes. They held a slight glow, faint but eery. Her heart was stil racing and she dared not let go of the bear but now her body wasn't shaking, so that was a good sign. Also, the two humans were still alive so that was another good sign. Maybe her training was enough. Maybe it would last. Maybe she could control the change!

Or maybe she was totally screwing herself over with happy thoughts.

'Be optimistic,' Chrissy mentally reminded herself, tuning back into the conversation at hand.

"I was calling his name, and then in the sunset, I could see an imp footprint in the ground. I had a heart attack, and then i just kept running through the forest trying to find him." The girl, 'I think Raleigh is her name...', said, her eyes downcast and her voice strained with fear and worry for her little lost lamb. "I'm pretty sure I searched for an hour. It seemed like FOREVER though. And then, I saw a fire blazing in the distance, and i ran up to it, and then I met you guys."

After a moment's paused her eyes looked back up, but Chrissy avoided her gaze. "Your turn,' she said, though Chrissy bit her lip, still struggling to find words, though this time because of axiety and not shock. Instead she nodded with a feinted shyness over to Jo-Jo as if to direct any attention to him instead of herself.

---
*Small Side Note : Christina maintains her normal appearance but currently does not have her wings out. Additionally her hair in pulled back and she wears a different dress than in her profile pictures. She is unrecognizable as a Guardian Angel at the moment (I have an epic reviel idea but I'm saving it for later). :)

EDG-R listened with rigid form as Riddle delivered his 'sweet talk'. The cold machine wasn't oblivious to the common artifices of sarcasm and metaphor, but wasn't particularly sure how to receive the eery man's flattery, either. He remained silent. When he was pulled close to the man, the eyes of his small display diverted uncomfortably. Then, at the mention of leaving the Evil Forest, they filled with a mystic wonder. He draped the looping black cables that were his arms around Riddle's shoulders and obediently held on.

The ejection that followed involved speeds far greater than the robot frequented. His black cables retracted some, tightening his grip on the man. The display of his face was whirring static for lack of input against the shock. His optic receptors were only vaguely aware of the shrinking forest beneath them. Somewhere in the mechanical husk, Edgar's hard-drive was shifting through decrepit memories like corrupt files. God speed, John Glenn.

When his simulated consciousness returned to the present, the robot could see the cool night sky and the Grasslands stretching out below. The rotor housed in his center kicked in just as they came to land. The tentacle-arms loosened and retracted into his frame and he hovered away from Riddle. The man's farewell was as succinct and sudden as his appearance. The face Edgar displayed was a sort of queezy and worn expression, but he managed a weak smile at the pleasantries. His wiry mechanical hand rose and waved as the man left off into the night sky. The roaring flames seemed oddly peaceful in the dark. "Red Rock Pass." The robot spoke in an uncharacteristic monotone. Behind his display an objective was blinking out in a rigid font and he had already begun scanning maps across his data banks for the precise location to establish a nav point.

It didn't matter that the man had blatantly lied to him, or was perhaps of devious intent. What mattered was that he was man. The recommendation to meet again fell just barely short of a direct order, not enough to trip the automated obedience that it may have, but the machine's willingness to meet Riddle again was inevitable. Something happened when they took off. Something about the virtual recesses that his mind fled to in the fear of it all. EDG-R could hear history. Maybe even his own history. And maybe it was because of Riddle.