Labyrinth (M-VLS)

[TheResplendent]

[FONT=Tahoma][color=darkslategray]Everyone stopped in their tracks, wondering what it was. It was then Joachim stepped forward a bit our of curiosity, and spoke up.

[b]"Hey, Maya...I was wondering. Since we've all pretty much found out that we have some sort of powers. Mind if i ask what yours is? Everytime you seem to sense something or know something is going to happen, it usually comes true...does that mean your psychic or something?"[/b] he asked.

Maya surveyed the area ahead of them carefully from left to right. It seemed like a clearing but the only thing in clear view ahead of them was a giant stone wall. She closed her eyes and sighed a bit. Joachim looked around at everyone else, they just shrugged.

[b]"Maya...?"[/b] Joachim asked again.

[b]"I don't know...if hearing ominous voices in my head is some kind of power. I'd kindly do without it."[/b] she answered in a low tone.

[b]"Well...yeah I bet that must be annoying, but it's saved quite a few people hasn't it?"[/b] Lita asked, thinking that the time she saved Feng probably wasn't the first time.

[b]"It hasn't saved many as well..."[/b] Maya said, walking up and pressing her hand against the stone wall.

[b]"Well, you can do more than that! Remember that big storm you made to scare off that beast thing! That was huge!"[/b] Feng said excitedly. It was then Janet's face revealed some kind of realization. She put her hand to her chin and started to think, then stepped forward herself.

[b]"It's Seid, isn't it?"[/b] she asked. Everyone just looked at her, puzzled. Maya turned around and looked at Janet as well.

[b]"My children...before waking up in this hell of a place, I was in the middle of reading them a book of Norse Mythology stories. It's a collection...I remember that kind of power explained as practiced amongst certain shamans. I mean...I know it sounds far fetched. But this place is pretty far fetched itself."[/b] Janet continued.

[b]"Hmm, indeed that must be right. I experienced a similar sensation a while back. Someone seemed to be trying to explain quite the same thing to me. But in any case..."[/b]

A rumbling began, cutting off Maya's sentence suddenly. Everyone looked toward the wall as it began to crack and parts of it to crumble. Maya watched as the wall quickly crumbled into large boulders. Joachim, thinking quickly dashed forward and drew his sword and held it close to him. He jumped infront of Maya just as the boulders avalanched on top of both of them, covering them completely in a mountain of rubble. Lita and Janet gasped as they ran over to the pile and began struggling to pick the rocks up and tossing them.

[b]"Oh no! There's no way they could have survived something like that, is there!? These things are so damn heavy!"[/b] Lita said in a concerned tone, tossing away one of the bigger rocks. Feng just casually walked up to them and stopped infront with her head cocked to one side.

[b]"Eh, I don't think something like that finished them off. There's a reason Joachim ran over there ya know!"[/b] she said, as she kicked a small pebble from the wall. Lita stopped and rememberd back to when she had tried to take the sword away from him back at the graveyard.

[b]"Wait...you're right, but how..."[/b] Lita asked, more confused then ever now.

[b]"It seems when they get out, we'll have to ask Joachim about [i]his[/i] power..."[/b] Janet said, still wondering if it was ok to stop picking off the rocks.[/color][/FONT]

[Ellerby]

[COLOR=DimGray][FONT=Tahoma]Suddenly a large trap door opened from seemingly nowhere above everyone. Slowly leaking out was a green cloud that spread across the entire maze. It sifted into every nook and cranny, even reaching inside the mouths of the remaining contestants.

Once the gas had rested inside everything it could, it slowly faded away and everyone was left confused. And then a large speaker attached to a cord lowered from the trap door. From it boomed that all too familiar voice.

[center][/center]

"Ha ha ha," it echoed. "As you may have guessed by it's cliché green colour, what you just witnessed and breathed in was poison gas. It's a concoction I mixed myself that will rests inside your body. Over the next four days the gas will make it's way down your body into your . However, at the end of those four days the gas will have reached your bladder and will react with a chemical in there, instantly turning into a fatal [i]acid[/i]."

Most of the remaining players grabbed their necks and started choking, trying to spit out the gas that they knew was already making its way to their bladder.

"The antidote is at the exit. Have fun!" and the trap door closed.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Sakura]

[COLOR=Navy]Feng coughed and spluttered, horrified at the thought of dying by noxious green gas. She stopped suddenly, realising there was nothing they could do about it besides getting to the exit within 4 days.

She looked at the pile of rocks, getting close to it and hearing Joachim and Maya talking from within the mound.

[B]"Joachim, try using your sword."[/B] Lita advised.

There was a bright flash from within that shone out through the gaps in the rocks, and a few rocks tumbled off.

[B]"I think we should all try."[/B] Feng suggested, holding her hands out in front of her, flames started to dance over her hands as she concentrated her power.

Janet nodded and threw a couple of seeds onto the pile of rocks. The vines grew and sunk into the crevices, widening the gaps between the rocks. Feng let loose her blast of fire, knocking off a layer. Then from within there was another flash, brighter, as Joachim tried again, this time it blew the rocks away, leaving them standing there.

[B]"That took us too long to get out of. We must hurry, we're running out of time."[/B] Maya said.

Everyone agreed and they quickly continued on their path, their pace slightly faster since they now had a time limit and had already been delayed.

They followed the stone walls, winding through the endless corridors, constantly alert incase there was another avalanche or something of the sort. They were somewhat relieved in a way when they arrived at an open area, which just looked like a forest, with trees, grass, dirt and vines everywhere. They were only happy because it meant that they hadn't been going around in circles, that they had made progress...hopefully.

They cautiously moved through the area, ducking under vines and leaves hanging from above. It was quite dark because the thick canopy seemed to block out the source of light, whatever it was. They didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, so they just continued, but just looking, the forest seemed to go on for a long way.

Feng Li stopped in her tracks, sniffing the air carefully. The rest of the group stopped too to look at the youngest member of their group.

[B]"What is it, Feng?"[/B] Janet asked kindly, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

[b]"...Smoke."[/b] she breathed as she detected what the smell was, distinguishing it from the green smell of the plants. [b]"And where there's smoke, there's fire!"[/b]

Everyone snapped to attention and were suddenly running for the other side of the forest. Everything would go up in flames, including them if they stuck around for too long. There was a loud crash and a large part of the greenery behind them were already burning brightly, the flames chasing after them on all sides.

Feng cried out as her foot hit a protruding vine, sending her sprawling as the others kept going. Janet noticed and ran back for her, eyes wide with fear. Feng Li put her hands up and shouted as the flames got close. Suddenly there was a wall of her own fire, and that of the forest. She blinked at it, then came to her senses. She jumped to her feet and ran, grabbing Janet's hand as she went past, catching up to the others who had also stopped.

[b]"Keep going! I don't know how long my wall will last."[/b] she called, and they all raced.

Feng felt her wall collapse, and the caged fire leapt out, consuming more than before, getting stronger and stronger. They were sweating from the run, and the heat of the fire. Feeling like this gauntlet would never end. They all hoped for some miracle which would save them or get them out of there.

[B]"Get me out of here!"[/B] Feng shouted loudly, not at all suspecting herself to be engulfed in a light before disappearing.

Everyone else faultered in their step with wide eyes, calling out to Feng who had suddenly left them in the middle of a burning forest.

[CENTER][IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/Labyrinth/labyrinth-teleportcard2.png[/IMG][IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/Labyrinth/labyrinth-feng.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER][/COLOR]

[Ellerby]

[COLOR=DimGray][FONT=Tahoma]Nobody knows exactly how it happened. All they know is that for one second... [i]one second[/i] a few people turned their backs to her and all of the sudden she was dead. Presumably a large tree trunk had fallen from the side and crushed her body... but the others knew better. That tree was cut down.

Whatever the case [b]Lita [/b]was now dead. And only four players remained.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[center][img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/Labyrinth/labyrinth-deathcard.png[/img][img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/Labyrinth/labyrinth-lita.png[/img][/center]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][I]We?re all going to die[/I], Janet thought with despair. First the poison, then the fire, Feng Li had been taken by a sudden flash of light, Lita had been ruthlessly murdered, it didn?t take a genius to realize that whatever had brought them here had no intention of letting them leave alive. Janet collapsed next to Lita?s lifeless body, sobs racking her body as she thought about her children that she would never see again.

Shaken by Janet?s collapse Joachim reached out and grabbed her shoulder. ?[B]Don?t give up![/B]? He cried as he tried to get her to stand back up. He stopped when a hand touched his shoulder as well. He looked up to see Maya standing there.

?[B]Look around us child. The fires have cut off our escape.[/B]? Maya gestured to the path in front of them. Without Feng Li?s wall of fire to hold the flames back they had literally jumped hundreds of feet in front of them leaving them surrounded by flames and within a matter of minutes they would be burned alive.

Maya let go of Joachim. ?[B]I don?t intend to give up, look at the sky.[/B]? She pointed to some clouds. ?[B]Try using that power of yours to hold the flames back.[/B]?

Joachim nodded and pulled out his sword. He had thrown the flames back at the bird earlier; perhaps he could do so again. He closed his eyes for a moment as if to ask the sword for it?s help and then with a swift swing he sliced the air in front of him from side to side. A gust of wind flew from the blade the force of it nearly knocking him off his feet.

He could hear Maya chanting over Janet?s sobbing but tuned it out. The wind had damped the flames closest to them but it wasn?t enough to put them out and even then they were still closing on all sides. He didn?t dare swing the sword full circle, the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Maya or Janet.

Quickly he moved and repeated the swing in another direction. By the time he had addressed all sides of the approaching fire it was apparent that eventually they would overtake them. He couldn?t swing fast enough to keep up![I] I hope whatever Maya?s up to works![/I] He thought as he continued to fight to keep the flames back.

Just when he thought he would give out from exhaustion he heard the sound of thunder. A cold wind began to blow followed quickly by a downpour of ice-cold rain. Joachim sighed with relief as the flames began to die. He turned back to see Janet standing up.

?[B]Are you okay?[/B]? He asked her.

Janet sighed, ?[B]No, but I guess I don?t have a choice do I?[/B]? She looked over at Maya who was still concentrating on controlling the weather and then back to Lita?s body. ?[B]As soon as Maya is done we should continue if we are going to make it to the exit in time.[/B]? Janet started walking towards Maya.

Exhausted Maya finally stopped chanting. It seemed that for now the fires were finally out. She looked at Janet who seemed to have regained her composure and was walking towards her. Joachim was still holding his sword and standing next to Lita?s body. She breathed a sigh of relief.

?[B]Lets get going.[/B]? She said.

Both Joachim and Janet nodded in agreement. But before any of them could take another step they were blinded by a brilliant flash of lightening which was instantly followed by a deafening clap of thunder, Maya and Janet cried out in surprise closing their eyes in an attempt to protect their eyes from the flash.

Janet stumbled a few steps before opening her eyes again when she heard Maya give out a little gasp of horror. Afraid to look and yet unable to help herself she looked back to see what had frightened Maya. There on the ground where Joachim had been standing were the blackened skeletal remains of his body, his sword still clutched in his hand. [I]Why didn?t the sword protect him?[/I] Janet wondered.

As if to answer that question, mocking laughter filled the air before fading into the normal sounds of the rain that was still coming down. [/COLOR]

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[Sakura]

[B]OOC:[/B] Yeesh, I'm just posting so this is over already. ><
Sorry BK, I felt I had to.

[COLOR=Navy]Maya and Janet ran through the torrential rain, leaving the remains of their fellow contestants behind. The rain chilled them to the bone, making their travels more troublesome as their saturated clothes clung to them and added extra weight to their exhausted bodies.

Janet looked toward the exit, hoping that nothing terrible awaited them. Maya was tired, using a lot of energy to put out the fire, and earlier when rescuing Feng. Their pace slowed gradually until they were just walking. Each of them were trembling from the cold and they just wanted to get out of this strange maze.

[B]"Do you think Feng's alright?"[/B] Janet questioned, thinking of the youngest contestant still alive, having disappeared in a flash of light.

[B]"I'm sure she is. She may be young in comparison, but she can hold her own."[/B] Maya re-assured.

It took them a long time, but they made it to the exit of the forest without encountering another problem. The two women halted as they looked at the expanse of area they were in. They just stood and stared. The two of them were positioned on a thin ledge, and several hundred metres away they could see another doorway, but between them and the doorway was an expanse of nothing but water. They didn't know how deep it was because they weren't able to see the bottom. So who knew what could be lurking in the depths, ready to ensnare them.

[b]"Any ideas on how to cross it?"[/b] Maya asked, trying to think if anything she could do would help them.

[B]"Hmm, maybe just one."[/B] Janet said quietly, kneeling down at the edge and dipping her hand under the surface.

She searched the waters for plant spores and when she found some she started to separate them into species. She lit up when she found some spores for lilypads and looked up at Maya with a smile as she sent power into the spores, encouraging them into a rapid growth, multiplying quickly until there was a trail of lilypads from their ledge to the other side, with a barely manageable gap between each pad. Janet took a deep breath and started across, using long strides to traverse each gap finally arriving on the other side.

It wasn't as easy for Maya because Janet's walk across had shifted the lilypads so they weren't in perfect alignment, and some gaps were larger than others. She took a calming breath and started, making it across the first few with little problem. But she was stuck in the middle as the next lilypad was obviously too far. It started to drift on the water, and when she thought it was close enough she jumped, but her foot slipped on the leaf platform and it slid away from her foot, dumping her in the water with a loud splash. She gasped and floundered at the surface, quickly trying to swim across. There were bubbles from the waters and she tried to swim faster. It was of no use as a leviathan rose from the water, striking forward quickly to grab Maya and drag her under screaming.

Janet gasped as she watched, feeling helpless and she started to sob as the waters turned crimson with Maya's shed blood. She painfully turned away and continued through the doorway to whatever was awaiting her, wondering if she'd see Feng Li again before they got to the Arch.[/COLOR]

[CENTER][img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/Labyrinth/labyrinth-deathcard.png[/img][img]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/Labyrinth/labyrinth-maya.jpg[/img][/CENTER]

[TheResplendent]

[FONT=Tahoma][color=darkslategray]Feng looked up from the dirt she gripped within her hands. It was all she felt when she landed at her destination. The atmosphere was dark and cold, drab and dreary. As Feng's head jolted up she came face go face with an all too familiar sight. Her eyes began to tear from terror and hopelessness, as the gray color from the very grave she had started out in stared her back in the face.

[b][i]'N...no way! Why am I here again!? WHY AM I BACK HERE AGAIN!?'[/b][/i] Feng yelled within her own mind, the feeling of defeat overwhelming her. She was back at the beggining...she didn't know what was in wait for her had she tried taking any direction, she figured it was all different...it just seemed hopeless after getting so far to start over again.

There was something different about the grave itself however, this time there was something else etched into it other then just her name. It now read [i]"Here lies Feng Li"[/i], and right under it it now said [i]"Suffered til her dying day, from a void in conscience"[/i].

[b]"Wha, what in the world? That wasn't there before, what does THIS mean?"[/b] she cried, holding her head between her hands.

It was then, another's hand reached out and touched Feng on the shoulder. Feng felt startled at first, but then assumed that what had just transpired was merely a dream, and that the hand was Maya or Janet trying to get her to keep moving. Feng turned around cautiously, despite being sure it was one of them.

[b][color=purple]"Hello, little girl! Have you lost your way!?"[/color][/b] the voice of the person said. Feng screamed as loud as she could after seeing who was behind her as she fell backwards, a new feeling coming over her. A feeling of one's impending doom.

[b]"A...ayame!? But, you can't be here...can you?"[/b] Feng asked in fright from the state Ayame was in. She was tattered, as if half-decayed. Her face fell half way from her face and her body was in the condition worse off then sandpaper. Puss dripped from Ayame's jaw as she grinned maniacally through the exposed portion of her skull.

[b][color=purple]"Oh, it's me you little *****! YOU made it so far...you...a little **** girl, why?"[/color][/b] Ayame wailed as she dropped to her knees in a reaching position with her skeletal like arm toward the little girl. Feng froze with terror at first but forced her legs to move in one sudden jolt, as if waking up from a nightmare. She could not get far however...

[b][color=purple]"Yes...why? Why did I deserve to die? I thought... I was doing so well for my students...but instead you go on to live in my stead? Does my life truly deserve to be destroyed so much?"[/color][/b] the voice from a broken down Callisto said. Feng backed away from terror, now seeing another undead of the group that were not fortunate enough to make it this far.

[b]"No...no! I'm sorry! You didn't deserve to die, none of you did! It's this place's fault!"[/b] Feng screamed trying to find her way out of the graveyard through the bushes, but this time they were enclosed tightly with vines leaving no entry. In a panic, Feng flared up her palms and shot balls of fire into random parts of the bushes, but nothing made enough consequential damage.

[b][color=purple]"It is your fault...you are fine with us being dead, as long as you save your own skin. Isn't that right? Can you escape this place and dream peacefully at the same time? Or will you see the horrid faces of those you witnessed die for no good reason...tell me Feng Li?"[/color][/b] spoke a tattered body that Feng made out to be Vanna. Her wrecked body's eyes were missing completely, as dried up blood adorned her sockets while she drew closer to the little chinese girl.

[b]"Don't...don't say that!? No, I never wanted any of this! I don't know why I'm still alive!"[/b][/color]
[color=darkslategray]
Feng continued the futile attempt of escape before tripping and falling off of the very stone that read "Nexus" they had all gathered around after their awakening. She rolled and fell directly into the very ditch she had crawled out of. Feng stood still, looking up toward the sky from the six feet she was now underground by.

[b][color=purple]"This is...your punishment. Your punishment for not only reveling in the life you keep at the expense of others...but for failing to help those you would have considered close. May you rest in a state of bliss...child."[/color][/b] the broken down body of Maya spoke as she reached downward with her palm.

[b]"M...Maya, not you too..."[/b] Feng began to say, weeping from the overwhelming feeling of sadness she had from the extreme amount of survivor's guilt that was induced on her.

[b]"I...never meant to hurt anybody...or wrong anybody...I wanted us all to make it out! But...that's impossible now. So fine I guess, if you all really want to punish me...then go ahead."[/b] Feng exclaimed with tears pouring down her cheeks as her heart plummeted through her body. There was nothing left to feel that could be associated with hope or life. She was taken by the cruel tides of fate to what seemed to be a test of her fortitude and mental stability. But the tombstone had depicted her fate accuratley it would seem.

Mounds of earth crumbled down atop her caused from the power emitting from Maya's hand. Feng's last thoughts orbited around the feeling of fear as she initially thought she could accept this. But the earth falling atop her, sealing her away alive created feelings of agony that would have torn her apart...if she could draw one last breath from her body.

[b][i]'Can I rest peacefully now, I wonder?'[/b][/i] was Feng's dying thought as the dust from the bones of the undead members of the labyrinth blew away with the gust of wind.
[/color]
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[Ellerby]

[COLOR=DimGray][FONT=Tahoma]There was a loud, thundering noise and the ground started to shake. The sole survivor panicked and ran as fast as she could, not know where she was going. As she looked over her shoulder, bricks upon bricks collapsed to the ground as the walls of the labyrinth crumbled.

She screamed in terror and looked up ahead again--

*thwack!*

A large rock knocked Janet out conscious. When she woke up, she was not where she expected. Everything was white and a continuous beeping was the only sound in the room. Janet rubbed her eyes a little bit and realized that she was in a hospital. Was it all a dream? Obviously not or else she wouldn't be in the hospital.

She grabbed the chart on the end of her bed and read the name a the top.

"Falle, Sunny?" she pondered. She figured it was the name of the last person to be in the room and realized that person had made it home alright.

[i]Looks like I'm not the only one who won something today.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]