[align=center]?? Folklore ??

One wouldn't believe that they had ended up in a fairy tale.

Once upon a time, you have.

 

There are those in the Netherworld that want to uprise and take over the land of the dead and the land of the living. Led by those from the Overworld, they have grown stronger and stronger.

There are still Messengers and others that can travel to the Netherworld that want to prevent this overrule and restore the balance.

Will both worlds live happily ever after?, or....

 

Rules:

Please, don't:

(( If your brother's a skeleton with baggy pants and plays the sax, then yush. ))

 

Eliza grumbled and moaned in her sleep. Due to the corrupt system of the Netherworld, her dreams were rather harsh and were slightly taking over her sanity. When they finally passed through the portal, the dreams settled themselves a little. Her original clothes flashed back onto her, showing she was in such a state that she couldn't turn back on her own.

 

(( In other news, I've beaten the game this RP's poorly based off of. ))

(...He's skinny, sure.... xDD)

 

Raiden squatted down slightly so he could put Eliza down, trying not to knock her too hard in case he woke her up and she went psycho or something- even though her original clothes were back, he half expected her to leap at him, laughing, and try and strangle him. Okay, he was just paranoid, but...

He plonked himself down on the floor, sitting a few feet away, between her and the portal. Silly as it was, Raiden didn't want to just leave her there- after all, if he'd been strong (or stupid) enough and wandered through the portal, someone else could have and dragged her right back through.

(( xDD ))

 

Within a few moments, Eliza had woken up. She sat up, but the motion had made her notice her migrane. Wincing, she clutched her head. "Something tells me that I should've gotten more sleep last night..." she murmured.

 

Entering the HellRealm, s'Arina looked over the edge at the endless pit covered with red fog. "Getting rid of those kids won't be easy," she thought out loud, "but it is at the top of my to-do list." She then looked up as someone in a cat-designed cloak approached.

"I never knew messengers could get screwed with just by being in our realm," Raiden commented, not looking at her, but instead at his arm. Scorch marks ran along it, healing as they reached his shoulder, but still apparent against the pale skin. He wasn't healing as fast now he was out of the Netherworld, but they didn't hurt. He supposed it was his comeuppance for messing with lightning too much, even if they would fade soon. He was less bothered by the injury itself, more concerned with how scruffy it made his right arm look in comparison to his left. Though, were he able to glance in a mirror, the dirt on his face would have bothered him a whole lot more.

As the headache temporarily subsided, Eliza looked at Raiden. Before she could laugh at how dirty his face was, she paused when she saw his arm. "Wh-- Are you okay?" she asked the rather redundant question.

 

"Who are you?" s'Arina questioned the boy.

"Let me ask you that first," he said. "Are you behind the disorder of the Netherworld?"

"Ahh," s'Arina said after a moment, "you're halfway dead, like me, huh?"

"More or less," the boy said, finally breaking the chain of avoiding questions.

s'Arina closed her eyes for a moment, then stated, "The spirits tell me that your name is Evany, and you were killed in this land of the dead."

Evany glared at her, repeating, "More or less."

"It's not like it can kill me." Raiden smirked, shaking his head. "It'll be fine after a while. And I probably should be asking you that." He turned, cradling his arm against his side.

"I'm... peachy," was what Eliza was able to conjure up, despite her headache. "Why? What happened?"

 

"So, what?" s'Arina began. "Are you going to try to kill me?"

"Maybe if I were stupid enough to try it," Evany stated.

After a moment, s'Arina came to a realization. "You're fully aware that you can't kill what's partly dead. That's why you got yourself killed." She paused before smirking. "You greedy soul, wanting to surpass death for selfish reasons."

"That, you have wrong," Evany remarked. "I did this for the sake of both worlds."

"You went completely ape-shi-" Raiden started to say, then tried to correct himself. After all, if she couldn't remember, there was no point in being stupidly tactless. "Um. You had... a bit of a problem. You went kind of nuts and some creepy spirit told me to bring you back here before you got worse."

"Oh..." Eliza said, slightly questionable. After a moment, she then asked, "What time is it?"

 

Finally, s'Arina grinned, saying, "Well then, what do you say to a race?" Evany raised an eyebrow. "A race to the Netherworld Core. The first one that gets there and accomplishes their goal wins."

"The Netherworld Core?" Evany questioned. However, he paused. Of course. If something was wrong with the Netherworld, then the first place one would think of checking was the Netherworld Core. Why hadn't he thought of this before?

"First one there wins..." s'Arina said before suddenly disappearing into a portal.

Great, now he had to get to the Netherworld Core to stop her from doing something drastic. However, as always, one can only enter the Netherworld Core once they overcome all of their fears...

Raiden stared at her for a moment, incredulous. Then, he snorted, covering his mouth and trying to mask the laugh that was threatening to burst out of him.

"Do I look like I have a watch? Even if I wore one- which would be stupid, since time passes differently back home anyway- wouldn't it get broken, with how much I get thrown around?"

"Oh, I guess that's a good point," Eliza remarked. Eventually, after using some strength to stand up, she declared, "Well, I might as well go home then, so I can get some rest for tomorrow."

"You're going back tomorrow?"

Raiden looked at her with utter disbelief, not bothering to try and stand up as well. He touched his palms to the ground like he was about to get up, but didn't put any real pressure on them or shift his weight in the slightest.

"After what happened today, shouldn't you take a break from this stuff?"

Eliza paused, thinking for a moment. "I should," she began, "but there are beings endangering both our worlds. Who else is going to set things right?" Turning around, she continued, as though to herself, "I'll probably go ahead and give Ruru some food before going to bed..."

"But... what if you... what if it happens again?!" Raiden continued to ask, voice raising in volume, as he shifted his weight onto his knees and got to his feet, ignoring the faint twinge in his injured arm as he did so.

 

Will had sat himself in the entrance to the cave, out of the way, right after Eliza had left. He'd managed to doze off up until that point, when Raiden's raised voice woke him up. Picking himself up, not quite sure of the time but figuring it was about time he started his shift anyway, judging by how much his body was aching from sleeping for a while in an awkward position, sitting propped up as he had been. Since he already had his cloak with him- he'd been sitting on it while he was asleep- he didn't have to go back for it.

Eliza looked back at Raiden, raising an eyebrow. "Bad creatures attack every now and then," she stated. "It's nothing to be very cautious about." In all honesty, she couldn't recall what happened, what Raiden was talking about.

 

Entering the Faery Realm, Evany looked up at the tree that was once his post. "The Netherworld Core..." he said to himself. He became the distraught being that he was so he could fix the Netherworld. However, since he was partially dead, he wouldn't be able to get access to it. Therefore, his plan was all in vain. "Dammit!" he cursed in his breath, hitting the tree with his fist. He stood there for the longest moment. Finally, he crouched down slowly, sitting against the tree.

Raiden raised his eyebrows, but didn't rush to correct her- after all, maybe it was better letting her go on believing it had just been an outside attack.

 

Will passed them as he headed to the portal, glancing briefly at Eliza and noting she seemed to not be fatally wounded, pretty much what he had pictured. He didn't stop to ask what had happened, if s'Arina had gotten away- in fact, he only spoke just as he entered the portal, not bothering to look back.

"Knew you'd get out JUST in time for MY damn shift."

 

Will didn't wait for any reply before he went through.

Eliza looked over at Will, questioning, "What's his problem?" She simply shrugged and turned around, ready to leave. However, a little figure stood in her way. Her skin was tinted blue. Her two legs led to only one foot bonded by a golden chain. She wore a silver breastplate and hair-shaped helmet, which completely hid her nonexistant eyes.

"Hello, Elizabeth," the child-like creature murmured.

Raiden, who hadn't really been paying much attention, debating inside his head as to whether he should go after Eliza again, or return home, turned and noticed the creature a little later than Eliza did. He pointed, somewhat stupidly, in her direction, asking Eliza, as if she'd know;

"What is that?" He jabbed his finger, tone disgusted.

 

Will strolled through the Faery realm, mindlessly heading towards the post. After all, he was certain nothing would have happened there, as usual. As he approached it, though, he slowed down, narrowing his eyes distrustfully when he saw Evany.

"What are you doing out here?"

The blue girl looked over (if she could see without eyes) at Raiden. After a long moment, she grinned vigorously, slightly chuckling. "What are you?" she mocked. Instantly, standing up straight, having the melancholy look again, she greeted, "I'm Annabelle. I'm aquainted with Mr. Scarecrow and his friends."

 

"Isn't it obvious?" Evany asked with an unnoticed tone. "I'm dead. I'm supposed to be here." He stared up at the violet-tinted sky, getting lost in empty thoughts for a moment.

Raiden scowled, crossing his arms and looking, again, to Eliza. "Scarecrow? ...The creepy-ass spirit from before looked kinda like a scarecrow, I guess. That who she mean?"

He was hoping she would at least remember some of what had happened, although he knew deep down it was very unlikely she would have a clue what he was talking about.

 

"I don't mean here as in here in the Netherworld. I meant as in here, at the god-forsaken POST." Will indicated the tree with an irritated incline of his head. "If you're jacking off here thinking Eliza's gonna come running and find you, come back in the morning, when I don't have to watch you."

"Yeah, that's who she means," Eliza confirmed as she looked at Raiden before looking back at Annabelle. "I've never noticed you with the others before."

"It's alright," Annabelle sighed. "No one does anyhow. Besides, you didn't need me until recently."

 

(( El. Oh. El. :'D Wow, Will. Wow... ))

Deciding to be oblivious to Will's words, Evany said, "Would you like to hear something new? I gave up. I'm sitting at this tree now, awaiting whatever comes along."

"So, you're friends with the creepy things," Raiden said, probably a lot louder than he realised. Scowling, he dropped his gaze from them both, and started picking absent-mindedly at some dried blood and mud trapped under his thumbnail. The scorches and burns on his arm were healing, he knew that- even though it looked relatively the same, he could feel a prickling sensation, somewhat like goosebumps, up the injured arm.

 

Will scoffed, then faked a concerned look, mocking sympathy. "Oh, you poor thing...!" He dropped the act almost immedietely, his lips flattening into a smirk, eyes hostile. "Go angst somewhere else."

"So, have I made you happy?" Annabelle asked.

Eliza stared down at the girl, becoming confused. "Made me happy? What do you mean?"

"You said it oh-so many years ago," Annabelle explained. "You wished that you had friends that would never leave." She looked back at Raiden, looking quite sinister. "I granted that wish just for you. Now all that die will always be here for you."

 

"I have two favors to ask," Evany began. "One, make sure that Eliza leaves the island. Something big is going down, and I don't want her involved any longer. Do whatever is necessary."

Raiden froze for a long moment, not even breathing. He lifted his gaze up from his hands slowly, looking over at Annabelle in sheer stunned silence. Then his eyes narrowed, his hands curling into fists; and he stormed forwards, practically index by rage.

"You little bitch!"

Raiden didn't care if he was powerless there. He didn't even think about it. All he knew was that he wanted to hurt Annabelle, more than he'd really wanted anything before. It was less of a want than an actual need for him by that point.

 

"There's no way she'll leave," Will snapped in response. "And if I force her to go she'll find a way back, you know that. Let her make her bed and lie in it." His scowl deepened. "What's the second request?"

Eliza held her hands up, as a way of stopping Raiden for a moment. She couldn't understand what Annabelle meant. Yes, she claimed that what was happening with the Netherworld was her fault, but what did it have to do with Eliza? She doesn't even remember ever meeting the creature.

Meanwhile, Annabelle hadn't even flinched, even under threat. "Are you unhappy?" she asked Eliza, becoming oblivious to Raiden's existence. "She said that you would be happy."

 

After a while, Evany stood straight up, using the tree as support. He walked over to Will, still appearing melancholy as he was. Then, out of nowhere, he closed his hand into a fist and collided it into Will's face. As he fell backwards, Evany remarked, "I've been wanting to do that for awhile."