Dogura needn't clean his sword, for it hadn't been dirtied. Fighting shadows, or so to speak, didn't leave much of mess where they dissipated. Thankful for this, the ranger sheathed his sword, but kept his dagger in a ready hand, just in case of a surprise attack from a concealed enemy. He looked around, making sure that all was vanquished, however, his eyes came across something that hit him in a sensitive spot. One of his dearest friends was injured, and from the looks of it, it could prove fatal later on, should he be attacked again.The samurai put his blade away, for he would need both hands for this. He obviously hadn't noticed that the nomad was already searching for something to heal himself with, for he was already preparing a technique that had proved successful time and time again. "Goddesses... I know Blank Fireside might not pray to you often. But I do. I'm asking you please, to heal my friend, if not for his sake, then for the sake of all the people that have come to know and cherish him." [Favor of the Goddesses] The ranger had finished his prayer. It was now under the Goddesses jurisdiction. Should they decide to heal Blank, Dogura would be very grateful for their support in yet another jam. Should they decide to ignore the samurai's plea... one would only hope that the nomad's skills in finding useful items would prove successful. Dogura looked over the rest of his team.

They seemed to be in stable condition. Staring back towards Alpha, he watched as the sheikah once again amazed him. Fighting off an entire army... The samurai wished that he had that kind of power. Of course, he did, however, it wasn't his to control. He would only be a mindless puppet in such a state. Alpha however... he held such power. Suddenly, the samurai remembered something that he had nearly forgotten. They were inside the mage's mind. Dogura looked around at the world he was in. Or rather the conscience of his friend. He wasn't sure if he could call Alpha his friend. The man always seemed so... so... so like Dogura was before he found friendship. Cold, secluded, and cynical. He knew the man to be a reliable ally, and good leader. That much he had picked up from the group of wanted men he had been traveling with. He wondered if the mage really did contain such power... or if that kind of strength only existed in this corner of his mind. nonetheless, Dogura approached Tayro, with a question. "Tayro... When these creatures are destroyed... do they disappear without a trace? And if so, how many of them are there?"

As Blank surveys the area around them, his eyes fall on three different items lying about where the various Nightmares had once been. A pair of Small Hearts lie near where the Nomad had sliced through the first Canis and also where Dogura's Fire spell had engulfed its first victim (Find Sustenance: 12+4+5[Roll+INT+L3]). These ought to go a long way towards healing him . . . and a good thing, too, because Dogura's prayers go unheard (5+8[Roll+INT]). One would have to wonder if the goddesses will even consider healing them now that they are in this mental state; after all, these aren't exactly their physical selfs. Then Blank spies the final of the three items: dropped by the first Shade that had fallen, another Sigma Shard lies half buried in the dirt. No telling what these little gems are good for, but they're probably here for some reason or another.

A cry from where the battle rages draws several people's attention back towards teh mass of Hakiems. Alpha leaps high into the air, his gaze appearing to survey the landscape as he attempts to locate the next place that would be best to attack next. Spying a particularly dense region where the Sheikah assassins stand waiting, he quickly draws on his magical powers once more, calling forth a massive sphere of ever-changing energy to his palms. "Elemental Explosion!!!" he cries, hurling the sphere downwards and grinning in satisfaction as the tsunami of water energy rips through his enemies. He lands in the very center of the devastation, twirling around and jabbing his staff straight into - and then straight through - the Hakiem that had been attempting to sneak in a strike from behind.

None of this would serve to surprise any of the adventurers present in the Sheikah's mind . . . unless they had never witnessed a display of his power and prowess on the battlefield, that is. But one thing does serve to shock them, especially Blank . . . as he hears his words being echoed through the air, this time in Alpha's voice.

Since when are there ever purple handkerchiefs in their armadas? . . .
Never . . .
Purple handkerchiefs . . . Never . . .

Four.

This last proclamation running through the Sheikah's thoughts is the only thing Blank had not spoken, but it is indeed pertinent to the source of confusion. Had any of the adventurers had time to count, they'd have seen that only four of the Hakiems present have the strangely colored markers on their arms. It is interesting to note, however, that apparently just as they can now hear the Sheikah's thoughts, it appears that their own words are interpreted as thoughts within the mind of this memory-Alpha.

Never.

Suddenly the entire region begins shaking, and only the beings with the best sense of balance would be able to keep on their feet during this. But it isn't just the ground that shakes, ruling out a simple earthquake. If one looked skyward they'd see the cloud vibrating at the same rate as the ground. And even more interesting, the rumbling isn't having any effect on anything except the adventurers - while the earth may well be shaking, not even a speck of dust is moved by the vibrations. Yet the adventurers feel it quick substantially, and it shouldn't be long before someone figures out that it is in fact the memory itself that is being shaken up.

And in the midst of it all, the four purple Hakiems slowly stop their movements and turn to face the adventurers. As their eyes come to rest on the mental intruders, the world ceases its drastic movement. Frowns appear on each one's face as the Hakiems stride forward, away from where the Golden Battle is taking place and towards the area where the warriors are trying to recover from the quaking.

Blinking as one, their eyelids open up wide to reveal naught but glowing violet lenses beneath. Then the Hakiems' swords are raised as they charge forward, barreling towards the warriors without any trace of hesitation.

Blank gobbled up the hearts with a fury, knowing that the others around him were not in need of replenishment. The healing items lacked flavor or taste, but he could feel the effect on his body almost instantaneously. Immediately, his legs ceased their persistent aching and he was able to walk as normal yet again. All fatigue escaped him in his full state of health, and he was fully able to move on to his next treasure.

Another Sigma Shard! The strange objects, which seemed to appear whenever the shadowy Nightmares were defeated, were becoming quite a commodity. In the last hour - or few minutes; Blank was really not sure - he had accumulated two of the mysterious and seemingly purposeless objects. It made sense that no one present at the moment would understand exactly what the shards were good for, not even Tayro and Elenina. Shrugging in dismay but glad to have found one regardless, the Hylian placed the small shard into a tiny satchel by his waist, which was not particularly noticeable to the naked eye save for the two short drawstrings that were hanging down at his side, which seemed to indicate that the bag can become larger in size. This was Blank's self-named “Shard Satchel,” as before today it had been the safeguarding bag for his Dark Shard. Fumbling with the three shards in the satchel - two Sigma, one Elemental - he wondered if he would need to increase the satchel's size any time soon.

As he turned back to face the group, he watched Dogura focus attention on him. A wry smile came to his face as he waved at the samurai. “Sorry, Dogura, but I'm already good to g--” He stopped and found himself balancing on one foot as the entire world seemed to shake violently. Unable to keep up this half-thought attempt at staying upright, Blank found himself on the ground, clutching the very earth with eyes sealed tight and wishing that he were in a nice inn bed at the moment. When he realized that avoiding the quake was impossible, he stumbled to his feet and planted his feet firmly on the ground, swaying as he watched the four Hakiems turn from their battle to focus on the adventurers standing outside of that time frame. They looked so... surreal and pure evil. The way their purple globes of eyes all blinked at once, and the way they all seemed to have the same unspoken goal almost frightened the nomad. But he had fought Hakiems before. So long as they were all defeated quick before their Avenging Spirit could be called upon, the group should fare quite well. Still... he felt uneasy as he redrew his swords and charged at the left-most Sheikah, thrusting both blades forward in the same eerie unison as the Hakiems had shown.

~Pyre threw himself to the ground, and sat there resting. He didn't particular need healing, but wasn't going to just stand around waiting for something to happen. As Blank was scavenging for hearts, his attention turned to the battlefield, and the first thing he saw was a small group of Hakiems breaking away from the main contingent.... coming right at them.

The ranger blinked a couple of times, trying to ward this vision off. Maybe they just happened to be heading this way, and he even turned to see if there was anything behind them. It turned out that the landscape was quite empty, and when he turned back to the Hakiems once again, and saw them raise their swords, he assumed the worst, and what seemed to be true.

Pyralin leapt to his feet, even as the others were starting to notice the attack. It seemed that the nightmares were rather carefully hidden amongst Alpha's memories, but they were there all the same. It was like a disease. The corruption was spreading throughout Alpha's mind, and if Nightmare Hakiems meant anything at all, it meant that Alpha's time was running short.

Maybe as a result of the desperation that clung to him at this thought, when he drew his blades, a new determination flooded through him. They needed to finish this fast, and cut through whatever enemies presented themselves. There wasn't anytime for messing around, pretending they weren't there. Despite this new attitude, as he settled into a defensive croutch, his scimitar and dagger raised in front of him, he couldn't help wondering how much time they really had left.~

Never...

As the voice kept echoing through the fields of the memory, the four lone Hakiems strode forward to meet the adventurers. Had they time to check, the environment around them was absolutely astounding, albeit a bit scary: The whole battle with all its fierce combatants had stopped, frozen in time and place and slightly greying out. It seemed like a sculpture, with some Hakiems suspended in mid-air from one of Alpha's attacks, the Sheikah Mage preparing to deliver a blow, and one with good eyesight could see Shada and Karunik near the cliff, a fairy supposedly flying towards them yet too petrified in place. All that moved there were the Nightmare incarnations of the Hakiems Tribe and the adventurers, who too prepared an attack on these foul beasts. Accompanying Blank and Pyre's attacks, Tayro too prepares a spell of his own. With the aid of Elenina who was still fluttering carefully besides him, he executes a powerful Elemental Explosion that soars the air, dividing itself into four and diving in on the youth's opponents. The projectile, who has attained the element of Light to the junior mage's fortune, is faster that Blank and Pyralin though, and manage to get near the Sheikah warriors in no time.

Yet, to everyone's surprise, it passes right by them, taking only victim the purple handkerchiefs who are enveloped by the warm light. Losing their odd artifacts, the Nightmare Hakiems quickly start losing their corporeal form and in a few moments, vanish from this realm. The silver-colored fairy flies towards one of the floating artifacts who are still suspended by the light, being sapped of their dark energy. "So that's what it was..." - she mutters, a mix of intrigue and excitement in her voice. Turning towards the mage apprentice and the other adventurers, she proceeds with another of her explanations. "Master Tayro, his companions... this you see here is a Dark Cristalline." As soon as these words are spoken, they notice the handkerchiefs changing form, altering their structure to that of a dark purple-colored jewel which has, by now, started to crack. "According to the book, when a person is infected by the Nightmares' power, a multitude of these are spread in their minds. This is the source of corruption in your friend's memories." - she speaks. Tayro nods in understanding as he notices the Cristallines starting to get more and more cracks. "The amethyst you used for entry, the one located in this Sheikah's forehead is a Nightmare Cristalline, and to heal him, it must be destroyed. However, that is only possible when all of the Dark Cristallines in his mind are destroyed. Please note that they can shapeshift, and change their form to the most convenient possible. The only way possible to know the Dark Cristallines' forms are to be attentive: they seem to fit in the memory, but are not fully correct, like the odd-colored handkerchiefs." At that moment, the crystals finally broke into a thousand shreds, impossible to restructure.

The source of corruption destroyed in this memory, the characters start moving again in a continuous replay of this scene, to be repeated for all eternity. Partly healed, a door starts materializing to the adventurers' left. It seems more memories need purification.

Blank stopped in his tracks as Tayro's Elemental Explosion of light exploded past himself and Pyre. He dropped a sword and held out an arm to stop Pyre, but he knew that the ranger was capable of stopping himself. Awestruck, the nomad gazed back at the boy momentarily. Raising an eyebrow, he silently commended the boy on his magical ability, but soon found himself looking back towards the Hakiems to catch a glimpse of the light's effect. Partially blinded by the whole thing, Blank stepped forward a few small steps and squinted hard at the scene.

What he saw astounded him. Before his eyes, the Hakiems practically vanished, What was left of them was sensible enough; the four handkerchiefs remained on the ground, reminding the group of the nomad's cleverness (or perhaps his knack for pointing out seemingly random inadequacies). Nonetheless, with the threat of the Hakiems gone Blank was at ease. As the purple pieces of cloth transformed into cracking stones before his very eyes, he remained calm and said nothing. He even took his eyes off of the sight and turned back to the others wit ha cheery grin, pointing a thumb behind his back at the Dark Cristallines as they cracked and dispersed.

When the looping memory returned to its eternal motion and the door appeared, Blank couldn't help but feel a little excited. “I'm not waiting for you guys!” he hollered as he charged through its open embrace and into the next memory. Such an act could be defined as either courage or blind stupidity (really, going alone into the uncharted depths of Alpha's mind?). His last sentence before being lost from sight was a muffled “Hurry up, you guys!”

~Pyre could almost feel the energy of the magical attack in the air as it shot past him to envelop the nightmares. To stop himself from meeting the same fate they would though, he had to halt abruptly, and was falling the ground before he managed to spin around, bring his legs around his body and slide to a stop.

Once in a more stable position, he turned his attention back to the attacking Hakiems. It looked like they were being robbed of all form, being reduced to just the purple accesory. Slowly even that faded, revealing a small crystal. Pyre watched it, interested, as it broke apart. What was it made of and how did it spread its corruption. He doubted he would recieve any answers though, and when he saw another doorway appear, the ranger knew it was time to move on.

Even so, Pyralin was tempted to go and pick up one of the shards and keep it, but decided that it wouldn't be prudent. Instead, it was time to keep helping Alpha recover from the nightmares by moving through this next doorway to face what was on the other side, and so he strode forward, and slipped through the portal following the sounds of Blank's voice.~

The doorway opens up the moment Blank's hand touches it, and once again a blinding light sweeps across all those present in the memory - or not present, whichever the case may in fact be. Those who had not been anticipating the sheer brightness will once again be blinded by it, and they can either blame themselves for not being wise enough to cover their eyes beforehand, or Elenina and Tayro. Elenina because she seems to know a lot about this whole place, and Tayro . . . well, Tayro just in case they want to be able to whack someone on the shoulder without seriously maiming them. And along with the luminous shine comes the gale-force winds once again, just like before.

. . . But is it really just wind this time around? Doubtfully so, for within moments of being enveloped by the light, each and ever one of the adventurers will find themselves being scraped somewhere - the cheek, the arm, the leg . . . any part of their body eventually finds itself being nicked by something small, smaller than a pebble . . . dust? Or maybe . . . sand?

Sand would indeed be the correct answer to this conundrum, as the light begins to fade once more. Before it dims enough to see though, once again Alpha voice rings through the air, at first in the spectral sort of tone that the group has probably started to equate with his thoughts, and the last line being spoken words.
Well, isn't that interesting . . . two instead of just one?
I've never seen two here before . . . maybe there really is something worth guarding here . . .
"Hello. Guarding something, are we?"

Finally, the lighting is dark enough to be a natural sort, especially for the area that they've appeared in. Taking a look around, the adventurers will find themselves standing in a desert region, either Tantari or Parapa - and those who have become familiar with both may indeed recognize the landmark mountains. The Parapa Mountains stand before them, indicating the desert of the same name as their current location. They are actually at the base of the rocky formations, standing just before a wall of stone.

Before them stand three more people, one of course being Alpha, and the other two men sporting strange black cloaks, their stances suggesting that they are protecting something along the wall's side. It is quite odd that they would bear such an outfit in the oppressive heat of the desert, as they cover their entire bodies in dark, heat absorbing colors. And yet the two don't appear to have any problem with it, no more so than Alpha is upset by the black cape billowing in the sandy breeze. Although . . . one of the pair does in fact have his hood down.

As the group watches, the man with his hood down steps forward, and the group ought be quite surprised by what they're seeing, primarily one of the group's adventurers in particular. Blank may not be able to remember having ever been in this place before, but he for sure can recognize his own voice and his own face when he hears and sees it. "State your name, purposes and alignment now," the memory Blank says as he raises a dagger with a crimson snake's head for a hilt, pointing directly at the Sheikah. "The alternative is death."

The harsh words likely surprise more than just Blank, as he doesn't seem the type to talk that way, and would probably remember if he did speak in such a manner to Alpha. In fact, the words seem to suggest that this would be the first time that the Nomad ever encountered the Sheikah . . . but wasn't that in Parapa Palace, during the Malvagio's Occupation? Things seem to be making less and less sense, but then, such is the way of things when one stumbles across this place . . . a place once protected by a Cloaked Goron Guard.

(((OOC: HA! I KNEW IT! I PREDICTED THIS ONE!)))

~Pyre watched confused as he landed in this new sandy landscape. In the previous whirlwind-light transport thingy he had been cut up quite a bit by tiny flying pieces of glass, and it had been a slightly unpleasant experience. At first the ranger had been confused, but when their next location was revealed to him, he understood. He had been cut by glass, but glass in its simpler form, before it had been heated to form the manmade see through kind: sand.

However, now he found that he had no clue what he had to do. He knew that he would have to strain his thinking to the maximum to get all the information to complete this puzzle. Something has to be wrong. Just like before with the purple Hakiems. Except this time, its something that's wrong with this situation. The Hylian searched through his memory for any mention of such a happening, maybe in a book or scroll he had read somewhere.

And then out of nowhere, it hit him. This gathering was in fact well known, although he had never imagined that it looked like this. Many many adventurers knew of the famous "Cloaked Goron Guard," and a record of the happening (a locked post to be exact ) had been kept by the Hyrule administration... if only he could remember the finer details. In the end, Pyre decided it would be best if Blank figured this one out. He was the one they were watching after all...~

(((OOC: or not.... ignore my silly mistakes please.....)))

As Blank stepped through the bright portal and into the next memory scene, he squinted hard to catch a glimpse of the new setting. Baffled as he was that such lighting effects were even a part of the dark Sheikah's mind, the Hylian found that the blinding beams of brightness brought new worlds of hope to the cold mystique that he was venturing through.

What he saw was not overly surprising - he had been to Parapa many a time. Never in his days, however, had he seen this exact place. Two hooded men guarding a cluster of rocks at the rough mountain wall, and the caped man who could only be recognized quite easily as Alpha Varaudo. And why shouldn't Alpha be present? It was his memory, after all. Blank felt a pang of sympathy towards the three dark-clothed men (and women?) due to the terrible desert sun. It was so very dry here, and he wanted to jump into the salty waters of the Great Sea.

When that familiar voice rang out, however, Blank disregarded all urges to take a dip in the smashing waves of the beach and turned his head back to the impostor. “Hey, what the--” came a stifled reaction to seeing himself not only in such a horribly hot garb, but also talking so rudely to Alpha. Stupid me, he thought to himself. Alpha would whip you if you acted so egotistically towards him. The nomad laughed aloud and nudged Dogura in the ribs, pointing at the silly cloaked version of himself. “Hey, Dogura, check out the fake me over there. I definitely never took part in any guarding all the way out here.”

It struck him hard, like a brick to the face, or a Warlock Punch to the gut. His head dropped slightly in silent acknowledgment and remembrance of the objective of these broken memories. Find the falsehoods in Alpha's recollection. “No, that's what's wrong with this. I wasn't a part of this memory. The Dark Cristallines placed me in the real man's place,” he spoke matter-of-factly. “And besides... when have I ever used a dagger? And such a pretty, expensive-looking one like that?” he teased as he gestured towards Mizer's stolen treasure of Somaria.

To trained mind-travelers, this would probably a usual sighting, to commune with what others felt or what they thought... and they'd probably assume what would happen when the hidden Dark Cristalline was found. Still, this was no trained group, just a bunch of free adventurers who had carved their own paths to live their life to the fullest - and at times said paths entwining with one another, some of whom were still not properly introduced in life. As such, it isn't a reason of shock to see Tayro startled once more, even drawing his staff forward once more out of fright, just with the words that echoed on their mind. Telepathy was never one of the youth's strong points anyway - never had tried it previously, and it was not a simple adaptation. Just like in the previous room, Alpha's mind apparently reacted to the accusing words, this time Blank's, repeating them out - perhaps due to the mage's incredible learning capability or just to state out the obvious to the small group.

Check out that fake Blank . . .
He wasn't . . . a part of this memory . . .
Never . . .

Mimicking the previous memory, once again the rumblings started, and the footing soon lost, forcing the group into lying down, unable to get up for a bit. In that precise moment, the sands started to slow down gradually, the small sandstorm that was blowing coming into a halt - the sand grains floating in mid air, Alpha and the hooded man stopping in their tracks... and Fake Blank looking towards the group, advancing forward as if the quake wasn't phasing him. Suddenly, the ground shot up, making most of the group just being propelled back towards the sea... yet one member remained near the entry to the Accursed City that few knew about. And thus Blank was looking eye to eye with the fake copy, who sported the mischievous grin the Nomad oft possessed - yet there was something more in this grin, an added element not common to the Grunt: malice. As the earthquake eventually stopped as well, the memory Blank dashed forward, not even allowing one sole movement, and the real nomad did have no time to react, soon finding himself with a serpentine blade next to his neck.

"Blank!!" - Tayro yelled out, watching the man in peril by his own 'twin' self. Running forward, the youth noticed the sand had also hardened, and that no longer did he sink when he stepped forward, much to his joy. He had never liked deserts. Staff in hand, he prepared to deliver a blow to the Cristalline, hoping it too had a mind of its own. "Master Tayro, watch out!" - the silver-hued Faeran cried out, the youth managing to halt his pace just in time, as to actually observe what was in front of him. "A... distortion?" - he muttered as he placed a hand just in front of him, hitting something solid. Although it wasn't exactly easy to notice, there was a slight change of lighting in that area, that wavered only slightly - apparently enough to the fairy's attentive eyes. "A barrier. Apparently preventing us from helping the nomad." - she corrected the youth, she too placing a hand on the transparent seal. Blank was on his own.

Blank grinned smugly as he stood there, waiting for his latest revelation to choke the Cristalline out of hiding. The nomad, clever as he was, had been expecting Tayro to immediately unleash a spell at the replicated Blank. He turned to the child and was about to push a peeved “What's the hold-up?” when the cold sensation of steel against flesh went running down his body, and he shivered with a surprised look on his face. Carefully tilting his head to the side, he could see out of the corner of his eye the warped, malicious grin present on his oppressor's face.

There was but one reaction to this surprise assault - panic. As Blank normally would do when faced by a situation as life-compromising as this, he made an audible gulp and did the only thing possible with such a limited arsenal of options. No weapon, and a very intricate dagger pressed to his throat. He closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and spoke to his evil clone in a hushed tone no louder than a whisper. “You know you can't kill me; There is hardly enough room in Alpha's head for one Blank. You are not he. I am.”

With as much strength as he could exert into his right arm, Blank hammered his elbow into the unprotected, cloaked stomach of the falsehood. Without a thought on the effects of the escape maneuver, he smashed his head back into the face of his foe and slid beneath the height of the knife, and then lurched forward to a more comfortable position a few feet ahead of the impostor. Spinning on his heels, there was hardly a moment's breath between the drawing of his right sword and the fierce jab he poked ferociously at the treacherous pseudo-Blank.

Blank's elbow forces its way into the fake's stomach, causing it to collapse under the pressure as it lets out a startled gasp of exhaled air . . . or whatever it is they're breathing here in the Sheikah's mind. The impostor doubles over in a second, which only ends up adding to the force of the true Nomad's cranial impact. Even as the real Blank is grabbing for his balde, the Nightmare's falsified form dissipates, revealing yet another one of the Dark Cristallines.

Blank's blade is accurate as ever, and the Nomad finds himself adding yet another kill to his already impressive record. The crystal being remains intact for a brief second after the sword plunges into his chest, then shatters into a pile of worthless shards that disappear into the sands beneath the group's feet. Anyone who had been pressing their face up against the barrier so as to better observe the events occurring within would now find themselves stumbling forward as it died alongside its creator.

But now is no time to celebrate. Without warning a mighty wall of sand arises from the desert floor, previously meaningless grains joining together to create a force against which none of them can hope to fight off. The memory beings still remain motionless - this is not a part of the memory at all . . . which means it will -

And then it hits, hurling the adventurers through the air as sand tears into their skin. Gashes open up all over their forms, and it isn't long before darkness comes over every last one of them.

* * *

With a start, you awaken in a forest. It seems quite familiar . . . yes, this is the North Forest! So then, what just happened? Have you entered another memory, and if so, why use a wall of sand rather than just another one of those doorways like in the first room?

The answer to these questions will become quite clear as soon as you realize that Alpha lies on the ground a few feet away, the Dark Cristalline glittering on his forehead. This is no memory . . . you've been forced back out of his head.

* * *

The memory of the event in Parapa abruptly glitches and restarts, this time with the appropriate being, Mizer, yelling the questions at Alpha as he approaches the hiding place of Carock's Apostles. And yet there is now another character present in the area, one who had not been there when the group had first entered this memory and one who had not been present when the memory was first made. Well, he had been there . . . just not where he is at the moment. Standing higher up in the mountains and out of sight stands none other than the caped form of Alpha.

The Sheikah collapses his shoulders in relief as the sand barrage ends, only to raise one hand up to his forehead as the aftereffects of what he's just done begin taking their toll on him. It had been necessary, of course - those weaklings have no idea what they're up against, and are already moving on the wrong path. Their journey must be restarted if they're to do any good, and what's more, they need more than a mere two or three adventurers. Those idiots could never have been any aid to -

"Gah!" Alpha cries as he stumbles down to his knees, his mental defenses threatening to be torn apart by the Nightmares. He stays down like that for several seconds.

And then, slowly, he rises back to his feet. He has won this fight and managed to hide himself once more . . . but they now know he is here. "Din's Fire!" he says angrily as he twirls away from the scene below. Those beings will be along any moment to try and capture him. Much as he'd love to stay and slaughter a few more of these crystals, there are other memories that need fixing . . . plus, he must prepare for those foolish adventurers' return.

A door suddenly stands before him, and the Sheikah swiftly yanks it open to enter into the next distorted realm.

OOC: Well, since Tayro is twisting my poor arm, I guess I better make a post here before he proceeds to biting my head off. >>

IC:
Go find the acorn I marked in North Forest, Sheila thought in mocking tones. What kind of stupid exercise is that? If he wanted me to get out of the house, he could've just told me. She picked up another acorn at random and inspected it. No markings here. She threw it angrily; as soon as it landed, a squirrel dashed down a tree, took it, and hurried back up.

But the young Hylian didn't give the squirrel any thought. She had turned to her left, having received an ominous feeling from that general direction. She began walking and shortly came across a man lying on the ground, a dark crystal on his forehead. Around him was a few unconscious bodies. She went to the closest one, a young boy, and gently shook him. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked, the slightest bit of worry in her tones.

OoC: Finally! A much needed update!

Tayro can only raise his fist in victory after he sees Blank deal the final blow to the Dark Cristalline. Another poisoning entity had been eliminated, so that made two of... goddesses know how many were missing. His prior joy was soon washed away by this realization. These things were said to infect people's memories - or so Elenina had told them - and, seeing Alpha was quite very knowledgeable Sheikah - with perhaps more memories than he desired - as a correspondent, the mage should have quite many memories... which corresponds to more places that might have been infected. He shrugged, as he signaled the Nomad to come back, so that they could come up with a plan of sorts - this wasn't getting nowhere - especially if they did spread, as he feared. He casually glanced around the group - according to what happened in the other memory, a door to the next memory should appear soon. However, as Blank joined the group once more, to the youth's surprise, naught appeared. All remained still, as if the the Dark Cristallines of this memory were still hiding somewhere, spreading their corrosive power. With a curious raise of his eyebrow, he inquired himself if some of those remains of the Nightmares' power still lingered on this memory. He also considered asking the others, but on second thought, refrained from doing so: he knew well none of his companions had the answer to that. Suddenly, the small pebbles of sand that had been floating still in the desert air started to shake slightly, that small vibration soon turning into a slow-paced movement, which then evolved into a complete dash - a heavy sandstorm was raising up. Raising his arms fast in order to shield his eyes, the junior mage gave out a careful glance at the figures of Alpha and Victor - he knew their tale well, seeing he too was a part of the Apostles - who still remained unmoving. If that was the case, that meant the sandstorm wasn't a part of the memory... and no doubt that spelled... "Trouble!" - he yelled out as the sandstorm intensified, of all the wrath of Alpha's mind had gathered on that exact spot, determined to vanquish the invaders... which in this case, were Tayro and his party. The hard grains of sand started scratching and cutting every piece of the boy's skin, the rage of the earthen element becoming clear as it delivered lash-like blows on the youth. In the midst of the pain, Tayro tried to come up with different hypothesis on what was happening. His best bets ranged from a Nightmare enemy to a method of transportation to another memory. As the boy found out, the latter was nearer to the truth.

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He woke up to the gentle sound of birds chirping. He stirred slightly - his body ached all over from the cuts he sustained during the memory sandstorm which, for a mere projection of his mind, were rather painful - he could still feel the stinging sensation all over his body aching and menacing to eat up his skin. Dealing with pain was never his forte. He stretched his arms out wide as if he had awoken from a long sleep and slowly opened his eyes, unused to the light coming from between the foliage atop him. Although tragic events had occurred just a few moments ago, all seemed calm and warm in this day in the North Forest. A few words echoed on his ears, pertaining to a female by the pitch of the voice. Looking slightly to his side, he found the owner of said voice, leaning over him in worry. The boy slowly rose himself into a sitting position, pressing with his fingers on his forehead. It was aching quite a bit - perhaps a side-effect to entering someone's mind. He gazed around him - on the floor laid Alpha, with his Nightmare Cristalline still glowing and menacing to turn the ,age into another of Taro's minions. "What... did just happen?" - he uttered out, his voice failing him somewhat. Upon a quick re-cap - the destruction of the Dark Cristalline, the sandstorm, the pain - and the body of Alpha lying there, he had enough proof of what happened: they had been ejected of the Sheikah's mind.

"I'm fine, thanks... my body hurts a bit, but nothing I can't bear." - he let out, trying to stand. He looked at his body - his suit was undamaged, but his skin had countless cuts from his prior encounter with the elements of nature. So, you retain the damage you suffer during the period you're in someone else's mind? That's not good... - he concluded. A few glances were all it took to notice that his fallen comrades were all beginning to wake up. Upon what he had seen, he was certain of only one fact. We're too few to face whatever horrors those Nightmares have laid for us. They had to go and search for more people to help them free Alpha from his comatose state. Elenina, who had already woken up, was already addressing the boy's fellow companions telling them the plan - he could always count on her: it was like she could always read his mind. He smiled at that notion - it was quite unlikely. He was about to depart to get some aid when another problem came up: they couldn't just leave Alpha lying down there! Mentally scolding himself for going by instinct for a few moments and about to desert his friend in the middle of North Forest, he gazed at what he could do. Gazing at the woman who had just addressed him, he came up with a solution, though it'd be rather awkward asking something like that to a complete stranger. Still, he didn't want her to know much about what was going on - or else the Nightmares could easily prey on her as well. "Say, um... sorry to ask you this on such short notice, but would you mind looking over this man for some time while we get him some help? We can't leave him in this state, and just carrying him around won't do us any good either... would you really mind?" - he inquired. Not even waiting a second to hear the reply, he dashed off towards North Castle, uttering a thanks while the rest of his friends head separate ways to get more recruits.

And in the shadows, a female grinned mischievously at all of this.

OoC: And thus this topic halts for a bit. With most of the participants deciding to abandon HA2 (shame on you guys! ), we needed to get more people in here so that this could proceed. Everyone who would like to participate, please PM me saying so. Let's try and get this thing rolling already - it has been lying dormant for quite a while.