Xibalba

The "rat" scampered along the pavement in the dark alleyway, not even stopping to peruse the many bins of garbage lying overturned in the area around him, their enticing contents going completely ignored by the terrified creature as he fled, taking a sharp, abrupt turn into another alleyway and scurrying on all fours towards the place where he made his nest. Something had him spooked, and he wasn't going to stay around in this place and face whatever terrible thing might be pursuing him.

The sound of quiet footsteps was the only noise in the dark labyrinth once the fleeing rat had passed, soft-soled shoes skidding over the surface of the pavement once step at a time, making an ominous, quiet sound, the some tapping gently on the surface of some great, hellish drum, the echoes ringing out with each methodical step. Those footfalls were more like a drum than one might have guessed, for a gentle, cheerful voice soon joined into that frightful melody in a childish, playful song. Multicolored lights danced off of the walls of the alleyway as a small shape continued its steady walk toward the fleeing rat. He dared not look back, for to do so would be to face fear itself, hidden in the guise of innocence. He had awoken with those horrible red pools gazing into his very soul, and he knew that should he venture a single glance back at his pursuer, he would be rooted in the eyes of madness, and would be consumed. Still he remembered the maddening thing that had forced itself into his mind. Still he remembered the blood. Torn flesh had dribbled down from the walls around him, painting the world in shades of sanguine crimson. And at the middle of it all... That thing, that terrible entity that hid behind the mask of a child. But the blood dribbling down its face, running freely down its hands, that terrible, bloodstained grin, and those eyes, those awful eyes...!

"Run, run, run away
Mister Rat, go as fast as you can
A game of tag I'd like to play
I'm it, so run away
Run from me, little man."

The rat stopped short, the terrifyingly serene voice coming ever closer with each resounding step. He wanted nothing more than to heed the words of that song and flee as fast as his legs would carry him, but, to his horror, the path before him was blocked. He had taken a wrong turn in his frenzied flight, and now he was cornered. Already, the multicolored light of those unnatural wings was upon him, and a shadow had fallen over him, blocking out all but that eldritch light. He tried to muster the courage to turn and fight, for it was the only option left him, but found himself powerless to move. His terror bound him faster than any chain forged by mortal hands, and, fearing what he might see, he could not so much as look up. A cold sweat poured down his body, bathing him in a terrible chill from his dirty black hair to his tattered boots. The orphaned young street rat was powerless as he watched the shadow raise something over its head, a crimson light shining down on him. It was over. He was going to die...!

In an instant, however, something changed. The light vanished, and the shadow covering him was gone. Slowly, tentatively, he looked up, his heart racing as though it would leap out of his chest. His fearful gaze was met by... nothing. The one who had pursued him was gone. There was no trace of that horrifying thing anywhere to be found. The light from the spread crystalline wings was gone. The blood was gone. The deep, maddening red eyes were gone. He could not hear the sound of that taunting voice, nor those resounding footsteps that had haunted him for the past half hour. Like an awakening from a bad dream, he found himself safe and sound, once more firmly within the world he-

These were the last coherent thoughts the street rat ever had, for at that instant, the crimson light returned full force, bathing everything in the hue of blood. It dripped and flowed about, as though he had been submerged in a sanguine sea. Pain shot up his left arm as something dug deep into him, and two small but nonetheless firm hands seized his limb as though they would tear it from its socket. The pain doubled as what had pierced his arm was violently torn forth, ripping a chunk of flesh out with it. Blood spurted in a small shower into the air as the rat - no, the boy flailed wildly, trying in vain to escape.

The savaged left arm tasted sweet, the delicious flavor of Human blood once more refreshing her gullet. The fear she had so patiently instilled and cultivated was like ambrosia, bringing life and immeasurable pleasure throughout her body, filling her with strength and power. The boy tried to run, but she wouldn't let him. Diving forward, she tackled him, overbalancing him before he could even finish his first step and sinking her teeth into his shoulder, tearing into the streams of life running through his body without any concern for the flesh, skin and ragged clothing she had to brutally rip her way through to reach that beloved and craved sanguine flow.

The boy screamed, like music to her ears as her game of tag reached its climax. This was so much fun, so much fun! But there was not yet nearly enough blood to slake her thirst. She had to have more, more, more, more!

Her thoughts were disrupted by the boy's futile struggling. In a desperate attempt to free himself, the little rat had grabbed her by her long golden mane of hair with his uninjured arm and tried to pry her from his shoulder. That smarted! She was the one who was it, not him! He had no right to try to inflict pain on her! That was against the rules! Righteously indignant, the girl coated her arm with her spiritual energy, and, clamping down on his arm, sank her fingers into the offending limb, reaching deeper, deeper, deeper, through the soft skin, through the spasming muscles, through the nerves and veins and whatever else stood in the path of her unshakable grip. The boy screamed incoherently. It might have been a plea for mercy, or for help, but she didn't really care. She had reached her target, for her fingers had finally connected with his arm bone at the elbow. Grasping it tightly, she shattered it like a twig, the fragments of white ivory shattering outward through his mutilated flesh as the limb slumped uselessly, twisted at an artfully cruel angle. Satisfied with her work, she once more plunged her teeth into the rat's flesh, lapping up his precious blood. When the flow ran dry in one place, she would simply find another well from which to take her fill. The boy's useless efforts to escape were growing weaker by the second as the alleyway became flooded with crimson as his reservoirs of life fluid overflowed. It was a pity that so much was wasted, but she had no time to dwell on such things. Already, his life was growing dim. It seemed the game was almost over. There was only one thing left to do.

Rising up as she straddled her victim, she bit downward, her canines plunging into the rat's throat. Fighting through his pain and fading consciousness, the boy raised his barely-functioning left arm, clawing at his neck in a last attempt at resistance - useless. The only thing he did was hasten his own demise as he helped pry open his own gizzard. He gasped, gurgled, flailed about, and finally lay still, the last of his sanguine wells running dry. The bloodstained young murderess stood, a smile on her face as she looked down at her victim.

"Tag~! You're it~!" She declared in a proud, sing-song voice as the life in the boy's eyes faded, his blood mingling with the trash on the dirty ground. She cocked her head back, her eyes wide with a euphoric glee as the dead rat's venous claret dripped from every inch of her defiled body, and let loose a terrifying laugh of triumph, like a cat crowing over its deceased prey. Her raucous cry rang out through the dark labyrinth, echoing back several times. Then, all was silent.

Slowly, the girl composed herself, and, glancing around her, gingerly stepped away from the corpse at her feet.

"Ange," She complained, sounding displeased. "You broke another one of our toys, Ru~. Now Marisenne will have to find something else to play with... You even left her to clean up your mess, Ru~." Sighing, the young girl turned and trotted away, her arms spread wide as she went briskly along. Turning, she looked back at her deceased victim, and smiled as though oblivious of the death she had just wrought. Waving goodbye to her "toy," she gave a final farewell before dashing into the darkness.

"It was fun playing with you, Mister Rat! Bye bye, Ru~!"

Humming can be heard from one of the many alley ways in the this dark section of the city. By one of the many tin garbage cans sits a young looking boy, with a frail looking frame, a black windbreaker with its hood over his head, and dark emotionless eyes. Those who are more attentive can hear the faint crackle of folding paper, five small sheets of paper floating in the air as if it was magic, folding into intricate pattern. A small flicker of a smile can be seen on Rei's face as a small paper turtle floats down to the palm of his hand. His head bobs back and forth while humming, the turtle spinning slowly in his hands. He felt calm, happy, and content with this small paper turtle, but...he started to feel oddly mischievous. Rei's eyes become blank, tasting the other emotions, a small crowd of footsteps can be heard coming from both ends of the ally. He blinks as the footsteps stop, a semi circle of poorly clothed men, each between the age of 17 -19, four of them. They all smiled at him mockingly, looking down on him.

"Oi, look at him. little pussy with his paper baby animals." They all chuckled. Rei knew these were just small time gang members. There was one boy holding a rock, tossing it up in the air then back to his palm over and over. Another adolescent held an aluminum baseball bat over his shoulder, with the other one having a revolver holstered by his side. The last boy was unarmed, smiling as he continued on, "What are you making their, pussy baby? Making little birdies?" They all laughed and slapped their knees, Rei just dully remarking, "It's a turtle, not a bird." Slowly he brings his palm up, showing the intricately folded turtle. This is followed by a small surge of pain over his hand, the boy tossing the rock hit Rei's palm knocking the turtle down to the ground with a soft pat. Rei had seen it coming, he just chose to let it happen. "It's a pussy toy. Be a fucking man, and grow up you queer bastard." The rock-throwing boy walked up to the turtle and stepped on it, grinding the masterpiece between his boots. All of them laugh, their chortles filling the alley. Rei's eyes twitch as he closes his eyes. They all laughed, and mocked him, calling him names, hurting him. Foolish. The laughter and banter of the boys was interrupted with an abrupt shriek of pain. The boy who stepped on the turtle held his foot in pain, all of his companions look at him in concern, their eyes widen in horror at the site. It has seemed that their friend has lost his toes, a small gory mess bubbling over the slice that has seemingly appeared out of no where. The boy holding his foot was caught up in his pain, ignoring not only the concern of his fellow ruffians, but as well as cries of sheer terror and awe of what they were seeing. Several amounts of small little cards of paper slithered up the boy's body, snaking around his waist and arms, making their way around his neck. The boy's eyes widen, finally letting go of his foot as he claws his neck, gurgling as the papers slowly crush his wind pipe. He falls to the ground writhing in pain twisting and turning, his cohorts watching, failing to notice what was happening to Rei.

Thin papers flow from Rei's belt covering Rei entirely, covering him in a large, thick, white trench coat, as well as white gloves. and a large white fedora. A mask coalesces over his face, taking on the style akin to that of a medieval plague doctor, the nose of the mask pointed out much like the bird's beak. Slowly, long sharp claws extend from the tips of his gloves. Rei stares at the writhing boy blankly, licking his lips under the mask. An audible crack can be heard as the boy's neck snaps. A faint and ominous moan fills the air, not one from the boy's dying moments, but from the masked man himself, obviously enjoying the kill. The three remaining ruffians turn around, jumping back at the sight of the 'demon' in front of them. One of them, the unarmed one, points at Rei shakily. "Wha...what did...what are y-" He was quickly interrupted as his finger disappears, screaming and holding it close to him. The other two's eyes widen, the boy of the bat crazily raising the sporting instrument swinging it at Rei's head. In nothing less than a blur, as if he was expecting it, the bat is in pieces, as well as half of it's wielder's face. Rei brings his attention back to the boy with the slices finger, backing away as fast as he can. He runs towards him, the claws on his hands retracting, grabbing the man's arms, headbutting him. The 'beak' of the plague doctor mask stab itself between the boy's eyes. He pulls back, the beak bloody. Another deep moan comes from Rei's mouth, as if sighing after drinking something. Refreshed. Rei slowly turns eyeing the last boy with the revolver. He starts to slowly walk forward, the boy with the revolver bringing out his gun, shooting him frantically. With each bullet, Rei cringes being hit back falling to the ground, motionless. The boy with the gun, breathes heavily, finished with his ammo. He turns around ,walking backwards, shaken, freezing at the sound of humming, a soft hand caressing his neck. Rei right behind him, humming that same song, when he was folding his paper turtle. Slowly Rei hums the song in his ear.

Silence...

Rei slowly whispers, "Scream for me."

And so he did.

Marisenne had just been on her way to find somewhere she could clean herself up, when a familiar sound had stopped her in her tracks - the sound of jeering insults and taunts. She stopped, turned, and glanced down a side alleyway. What met her eyes was a scene that she could sympathize with: four older - not to mention armed - boys looming over one smaller one. The sight made her blood boil. After all, she had been "bullied" for what she was, too. Like this boy, she had taken it quietly. However, the boy was much more similar to her than she initially realized, for a moment before she herself could let Ange out and chase the mean people away, the boy solved things his own way.

The screaming and gore might have terrified any normal child. But then again, the bloodstained innocent was by no means an ordinary child. Such sights were so commonplace to her that being afraid of blood and death would be like an ordinary person being terrified of a fly.

And, while she might have been reluctant to approach the boy before, his display of courage and ability in defending himself made her feel a sort of kinship with him. He, like she, was bullied, grew tired of it, and changed his circumstances through use of incredible power. While she still felt a little nervous, in her naivete she was confident that he was like her. And so, she stepped forward, entering the alleyway where the boy stood.

"Hello, mister!" She called cheerfully, her carefree, happy voice contrasting starkly with the blood staining both her and the boy she hailed, both brought into stark relief by the multi-colored light streaming from the unnatural pair of crystalline wings adorning her back. "Mister Paper did a good job dealing with those bullies. They didn't hurt Mister Paper, did they?" She asked innocently, looking up at Rei with her unnatural crimson eyes. Although she had only stood before him for a single instant, something would feel distinctly wrong about her, and, more importantly, about those strangely terrifying eyes...

"Ooh. That's a big mess," The young girl said worriedly. "Marisenne ended up messy, too." She gestured to the blood staining her face and limbs - the rest being mostly invisible, since her dress was already red to begin with. She stared up with an innocence that belied her words and appearance, as though she simply wasn't capable of understanding that people were now dead, thanks to her and "Mister Paper." Chances were, this was actually the truth.

"Marisenne was going to go hide after Ange played tag with a Mister Rat, ru~. Since Ange made a big mess, Marisenne needed to clean up before someone noticed, ru~. But she couldn't find a place to clean up, and ran into Mister Paper instead! It's nice to meet you, ru~!" She explained somewhat nonsensically, her odd speech patterns and habit of adding little noises onto the ends of her sentences making it slightly difficult to understand her, although what she meant was, thankfully, fairly obvious. After speaking, she stopped, placed a finger to her cheek thoughtfully, and suddenly realized something.

"Hey, wait! Mister Paper can see Ange, too? Nobody else could see Ange but Maris, ru~."

Alexi heard the bang. He also saw Syd tackle Nicole. The Hunter turned towards him. "Woah, how about we just get out of your way, and you just...not....eat us...." he noted, backing up with Tammy, but it swept its arm at Alexi. Now, while it may have been near impossible for Syd or Nicole to see, or and still hard for Tammy to see even, but when the hunter swung, some sort of barrier made of air formed, softening the blow. This sent Alexi back into a wall though. And with a large bump on his head. He also blacked out for split second.

Left. Left. Right. Top. Bite. Right. Tammy. Nicole. Alexi. Blood. Park. Hunter. Wound. Shot.

Alexi, after regaining his head, stood up. That was......something more then archaic. It made less sense then normal. Thats when he saw the Hunter swiping its claw at Tammy. He quickly pulled him back. The hunter then swept the same claw again at Alexi, while Tammy went behind him and started doing something. Alexi moved to the right, and then back to the left as the Hunter swung its right claw. Constantly stepping back at the same time. The Hunter then however lept at Alexi, but Alexi ducted down out of the way. However, the hunter had cut Alexi off from the store. Alexi accidentally tripped and fell back however while backing away.

The Hunter tried to bite Alexi, but when he tripped, it actually helped dodge it. But then, the hunter slashed at him again, slightly wounding him. However, that's when it was hit in the head with a trash can, covering the hunter in trash. Tammy was standing behind it. "Tammy, get ba...." he started, except the hunter then looked at him, not Tammy, when he spoke. The hunter was just hit with smelly, Xibalba trash. It couldn't smell them. It couldn't smell anything really.

Now, as long as Alexi doesn't make a noise, he would be perfectly okay. He was wounded, there was some blood, but it wasn't too lethal.

"Amazing! Mister Paper is amazing! He knows about Ange, ru~!" The enthusiastic child said, grinning from ear to ear and doing something that appeared to be a cross between a victory dance and bouncing up and down to express her joy at finally meeting someone who realized that her friend was there. Although most people - especially those with unusual abilities - would have had her too scared to approach them, or stay there for too long, this boy was different. Not only was he like her - bullied because of his powers - but also he seemed to know so much about her after only having met her once. It seemed to her naive and "innocent" mind that he was clearly destined to be her new friend. And to her, that was more than enough to trust him unconditionally. This was fortunate, since her trust somewhat reduced the effects of her crimson eyes upon Rei, meaning her excitement at meeting him didn't cause the maddening ability to take hold more quickly.

"No, Marisenne isn't Ange, ru~. At least, not most of the time. Ange is Marisenne's friend, but she can't seen or felt, so sometimes Marisenne lets Ange use her to do the things she wants to. It's probably very boring and lonely being stuck in Marisenne's head all the time, so Marisenne lets Ange out to play when she wants to, ru~. That's why Marisenne is all messy now- Uu, that tickles!" Her statement was cut off by Rei's kind gesture in cleaning her up, the smooth texture of the paper napkin inducing a quiet giggle from the distracted child. "Marisenne is messy because Ange went out to play tag, ru~." This final explanation seemed to carry a hidden weight behind it. The mysterious Ange living inside the child - evidently named Marisenne, since that seemed to be the term she most referred to herself by - and sometimes using her body to "play games." While it was fairly obvious that Marisenne couldn't recognize the frightening visage she had sported, soaked head to toe in blood, or in the significance of the crimson claret she had bathed in, it was a fairly sure guess that this unknown "Ange" - the one who had, according to the child, done the deed- knew exactly what it was she had done. It seemed that these games of "tag" Marisenne let Ange play were something much darker and more terrifying than any simple play.

Smiling softly, Rei finishes wiping up Mari, the last piece of paper flowing down his arm to his belt. He gently pats the young girls head, ruffling her hair, trying to comprehend everything she was trying to say. He starts to contemplate for a moment, was this girl housing a whole new being or soul within her? From what she's been saying, it seemed to be the case, and yet, from what he's feeling himself, the two emotions of innocence and bloodlust were intertwined together somehow....flowing with each other as one being. Is it quite possible that this girl holds an alternate personality? It didn't make sense to Rei at all, in fact it was viewed by him as downright preposterous. These feelings of bloodlust are much like his, albeit he looked as if he were young, he was still an eighteen year old, and he was sure he had a mind of an eighteen year old, if not, older. The girl in front of him was young, younger looking than he was. For such a young and innocent child to have a persona that had a lust for death that competed with his own was just plain ridiculous. And yet, this was no ordinary child. From what he can tell, those wings on her back weren't just a prop or costume, they were very much real. Yet, he wasn't phased by this fact, much like her he was also odd, even more so. Shaking his head he starts to stand up brushing himself off. He smiles softly, reaching out for her hand. What secrets did this girl have, or what is she trying to hide? He knows that he'll find out eventually, but for now they've got to get out of here. The gore filled mess in the alley would take too long to clean, so they're going to need to leave soon or risk getting caught. Rei extends his hand closer to Mari, wanting her to hold it. "Come on, Mari... let's go before someone finds the mess. We've been hanging here for too lo-"

Rei's eyes widen as his sentence was interrupted by a pair of shouts, on the other side of the alley behind Mari. "Oi! There he is! He's the one who took out Brand and his mates! He's a bloody monster! Shoot him!!! SHOOT! HIM!" These shouts were immediately followed by the sounds of numerous gun shots, all headed for the back of Mari. He closes his eyes, there was no time to get a shield up, nor was there time to retaliate. He tackles Mari, wrapping her in his arms in a bear hug, twisting around to run to the other direction, but not before falling after a few steps. Rei screams as he falls, falling on his side to prevent falling on Mari. Blood and small wisps of smoke flows from his shoulder and knee, a small cut on his side from a bullet graze. He curses himself for not being able to notice these thugs right away, too focussed on Mari, ignoring the different tastes of emotions around him. He also cursed himself for not noticing the familiar taste of emotions from the previous fight. The signal was weak, but he was too late to notice that it was gone. There was a fifth boy, a bit late in catching up with his friends, only to experience their demise just a few moments ago. His head twists to look at Mari, a little dirty but still okay. Papers start to flow out onto the ground, snaking around weakly. No good, he didn't have as much control because of his injuries. His eyes widen as he hears the clicks of reloading and walking. "Shoot him again! He's still moving!" Rei twists onto his back putting his hands in front of him as a small and weak torrent of paper twists in front of him forming a crude shield in front of them. The shield begins to break down as each bullet hits the wall of paper. Rei coughs a bit, his shield shuddering at his lack of focus. He weakly turns around to Mari, "M...mari! Run f-far away! M-mr. Paper'll be okay!"

"Okay-" Marisenne agreed cheerfully, and was just about to turn and walk away when she noticed the people standing in the entrance to the alleyway. She stopped, turned, and, her eyes widening in surprise, she pointed to them worriedly. "Mister Paper, they found us, they found us! Trying to tag us, tag us!" She exclaimed. It seemed that although she viewed this as a game, an inkling of just how dangerous their situation was had been revealed to her. She didn't have time to continue her warning, however, for she was once again cut off by her new friend tackling her, the sound of gunfire and bullets whizzing through the air bringing back old, painful memories of her escape with Ange, of the night she had finally broken free and gotten her revenge. The pain she had felt had been horrible, and just thinking of that terrifying place brought a chill up her spine. She began to panic. Were these bullies here to try to take her back? Or maybe they wanted to drag Mister Paper off to that frightening place? No, no, no, never go back, never go back, never let them take another there again! A flare of light entered her crimson eyes, and she stood, her skin pale but her expression resolute, a slight, out-of-place smirk forming on her lips. Suddenly, she spoke with a voice much more composed, and much colder than before.

"Boy," She said simply, glancing down at Rei, her bearing the regal air of a monarch commanding a lowly peasant to stand aside. "Don't look into my eyes. I don't like it when my companion's toys break so quickly."

And with that warning, she turned, and stepped forward. Running a hand across the paper shield, she spread a stream of blood across its surface. As she removed her palm, she grimaced, and the flesh of her hand, suddenly torn and ripped in several places, began to knit itself back together before Rei's eyes. In that instant, thousands of multicolored crystals began to take form across the paper's surface, scattering the second volley of bullets like chaff before a hurricane. The shield tore apart, and the young child stepped through the breach, a downright sadistic smirk on her face as she walked forward, her eyes and wings gleaming maliciously.

"Where'd she go?!" One of the men exclaimed, looking around frantically. The others followed suit, searching for her everywhere, unable to see that she stood right before their very eyes. Ange's madness had taken hold, and was spreading throughout their weak minds like a raging flood. Several began to cry out in surprise - some even screamed in terror - as a multitude of bizarre eldritch visions appeared before them.

"Foolish mortal, you will not understand, nor could you understand. To think that you deceived yourselves into such arrogance as to try to break one of my toys - for shame! - but when you are alone in the dark you are nothing but simpering cowards. Where is your pride now? Dead and gone, as you soon will be too!" Ange laughed mockingly, spreading her wings wide as the crystalline wall behind her shattered outward, a storm of tiny darts tearing forward like a raging wave, consuming all in their path save for their master, who stood unharmed at their center as they scattered around her. In an instant, each of the men had been struck by uncountable numbers of the projectiles, and, with a psychotic smirk of glee, the black angel snapped her fingers.

"Burn in the pit of torment, you blind little HUUUUUMAAAAANNNNSSSS~!" She jeered, watching as, in a flash of multicolored light, a tremendous release of energy literally tore the men apart where they stood, her power ripping them to pieces before they even had time to scream. When the light cleared, the only things left were the bits of flesh and bone and the droplets of blood that fell like rain. Casually, the young child picked up a torn canopy of paper, and held it up over her head, using it as a makeshift umbrella to protect her from the deluge of gore. Closing her eyes, she spread her arms out and laughed, crowing madly with her triumph as the bloody rain fell all around her, soaking the ground in a sanguine, sticky mire. As the remains finally stopped falling, Ange dropped her paper shield, and slumped her head, the last strains of her laughter dying out around her. Her wings once more folded upon her back, and slowly, her head rose.

"Oh, dear," Marisenne murmured, looking around her. "Ange tagged them back, Ange tagged them back. Hope Marisenne's boots don't stain, ru~."

A flurry of emotions pierced Rei painfully during these few moments, so much that his bullet wounds felt like nothing to him. He lies there, trying to keep the shield up, trying to protect the first friend he's ever had, the friendship that was formed just a few minutes ago. He's never felt this way in a long time, having the need to have something to protect in his life. The idea of having absolutely anything precious to you was just plain wrong to Rei, a burden that will possibly kill you. But Rei felt quite different, of course he was correct about the killing part, but this wasn't a burden, not at all. He felt refreshed finally, a sort of bliss that rivaled with the bliss of death. He finally felt a cause, a cause that he would fulfill in these last moments, a cause that will help him attain peace of mind. Rei, although blind, closes his eyes, it was time...or not. Suddenly a surge of pain fills Rei's mind. Grasping his head he is able to shakily keep the shield up, but it quivers and wriggles, struggling to retain its shape. He starts to grind his teeth, wondering what could cause such pain. He heard the remnants of a small girl's voice, "Boy. Don't look into my eyes. I don't like it when my companion's toys break so quickly." But Rei didn't need to look into her eyes. He felt it, he felt her madness exuding out of her already, crushing and piercing into his brain. Rei could only roll and groan trying to keep his own sanity, but alas, it was done in vain. He didn't notice the new...the darker and more twisted version of Mari prepare to kill these men, instead his mind was slowly being assaulted into a deep void of insanity. But suddenly the pain dissipated. Rei opens his eyes.

He was standing up, but...but now he was at home in his room, and in front of him stood his little sister. A smile fluttered across the boys face, as the girl in front of him giggled. He didn't question whether or not this was an illusion, whether his sister was alive or dead. He didn't even question himself when he obviously was given the ability to see. Instead he smiled at her sweetly, just staring at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. He blinks once, and his sister is gone momentarily. He once more his sister is there again, but the smile that was donned unto her face was gone. He blinks once, she's gone, he blinks again, and this time he sees a more battered and hurt version of his sister. There were small cuts all over her body, her nails digging into her arms, the only sound was her soft whimpers. He blinks once more, and opens his eyes to a terrifying sight. Her sister screams at him, clawing at her eyes, each orb being ripped out as she exclaims in pure terror, "I have her eyes!!! I HAVE HER EYES!!! I have her eyes!!! I have her eyes...!" Rei starts to run for her sister, trying to stop, but no words came out of his mouth. He runs towards her even faster, hoping to stop this madness, but instead the distance between the two children grow. As he runs, Rei trips over, falling down into a pit of darkness, closing his eyes in sheer terror, opening them once again to find himself on his back, a bright light blinding him. Was it just all a dream...? The frail boy tries to stand up but finds himself unable to move. His eyes adjust to the light, finally able to see where he was. From what he sees, the background around him is pure darkness. He looks down where he was lying, and slowly his eyes become consumed with pure horror at the realization of where he was. It seemed he was strapped onto a lab table, and before he could cry out for help two arms that have been gloved in latex and a scalpel on hand. The empty hand places itself on the boy's forehead, using its thumb and index finger to open his right eye's eyelids. The scalpel descends slowly as a whisper fills his ears. "You have her eyes."

And as the blade slowly descends, Rei screams finding himself shrieking on the pavement holding his head, followed by a sudden feeling of bliss. He looks around hazily finding all of his adversaries dead...and Mari in the midst of the gore. Rei could barely hear her...something about tag and being tagged....but it didn't matter to Rei, because a few seconds after he fainted into a deep and dreamless sleep, from the lost of blood and the traumatizing experiences from the madness. All from just one little girl.

The little red devil turned about, that childish face bathed in a calm smile that defied all logic, even as the ground beneath her feet was bathed in the blood she had just shed. However, in an instant, that smile turned to a look of concern, and of fear, for when she turned about, her eyes were met by the crumpled, fallen form of her newfound friend, whose mind she had inadvertently assailed with visions of an eternity of pain no Human being was meant to know.

"Mister Paper?" She asked nervously, approaching him quickly and leaning over him, the gleam in her bright red eyes replaced by the fearful, tentative darkness of worry. "A-are you okay?"

No answer.

"Mister Paper?" She repeated, dread filling her voice as she shook his unconscious form. Had she done this? Deep down, that thought made her feel something - a sensation she could remember from long, long ago, but could never hope to define. Foolish, innocent child, who had cast aside fear and pain along with the fetters of morality that had bound her, becoming the unwitting pawn of a monstrous being of her own creation all to escape the hellish reality that had consumed and nearly extinguished her precious life. The feeling she could not understand was guilt. She, whose hidden rage at being imprisoned had driven her to kill countless innocents as well as those innumerable tormentors who had plagued her every waking hour, yet could somehow feel remorse for the pain she had accidentally brought upon one being such as herself - the first entity she had dared call a "friend."

But even she, whose mind had been twisted and warped by endless suffering, could yet realize one thing: Rei needed help, and, while she herself could not give it to him, there were other people who could. And so, mustering her resolve, Marisenne determinedly took her new friend's limp wrists in her hands, and, fighting through the sorrow she felt at the anguish she must have caused him, desperately began to pull. He was bigger than her, and her childish body could not soon muster the strength to move him. Despite this realization, however, she refused to accept such a fact, and continued to pull with all her might, desperately trying to drag her friend to get help until she was too exhausted to continue pulling. Over the course of her efforts, she had barely moved him more than a few inches.

Then there was no escaping it. To get him to help, she would have to use her powers, which meant someone was sure to see her once she left the alley, which in turn meant that the bad men following her would realize where she was. But this was the only option left to her. She had to save her new friend. And so, she knelt beside the blind magus, wrapping her tiny arms around Rei as best she could and supplementing her grip by painfully generating crystals to fasten the boy to herself. Then, she rose, forcing out a burst of energy to pick her up off the ground and lift her into the air. Multicolored light danced off of her, tiny, gleaming particles spiraling out around her like a glistening pair of seraphic wings. Then, with a single flap, she surged her power and launched herself upward, clumsily shooting off like a rocket and into the air.

Now she just had to find someone who could help Rei.