Magical Teacher Professor Landry! - Episode 4: The Lady in White

[Teal Mage]

Most of Q-11 was clustered in the middle and south-east quaderants of the expansive Tower of Honor. Far above, the storm clouds that made up the ceiling were vanishing, revealing the radiant yellow skyline beyond and fillling the air with an intense golden radiance. Once again, eight shadows blossomed beneath the feet of the students, one in each of the cardinal directions. For the most part though, no one seemed to notice this detail. Instead, the students found themselves in a spirited discussion! But, the arrival of Astarte and Dal - both in their true forms of an aqualine-featured and dragonfly winged boy pretty boy, and a tightly bandaged, unhealthily pale, fire haired girl - seemed to have calmed things down.

Or, at least, Diana had stopped talking.

"...I don't think swearing fealty is a reasonable request at the moment." Dal stated, expression serious, as he stood in front of the vine-bound Jay. His green eyes flicked critically over the boy's bounds - thirteen in all, three on each of his arms, one around his neck, two wreathing his midsection, and another two on each leg. They each glowed with faint auras of blue light - enchanted by Hannah, obviously.

"C'mon." Astarte called suddenly, throwing a glance toward Dal over her tightly bandaged shoulder. She sounded a little annoyed. "Let's stop fighting each other and get this over with!" Her green eyes seemed to flash, as her gaze returned to Sean. Amber flames rose around her, as Astarte raised her hand. The sickeningly sweet scent of decay filled the air and she delicately laid a corpse-white hand on one of the vines holding Sean.

Dal sighed. "If we must..." The Fae fixed his eyes on one of the vines holding Jay's arm. Carefully, he slid his rapier into the gap between Jay's limb and the vine in question. A test tug produced only only a shallow nick - and a small burst of brown-red fluid. "...then I suggest -" Carefully, he began to saw at the vine. More of the fluid was leaking out, staining both the silver of his sword and the golden-hued skin of Jay's arm, before dribbling down to the tiles below. A coppery scent reached both boy's noses - was the vine shaking? "- that we follow..."

The vines holding Sean were ablaze with amber light. "Don't squirm, Sean." Astarte muttered, eyes shut in concentration. The vines holding the muscled youth seemed to be shaking a little, as if stirred by a breeze. Tiny slits began to appear along their lengths, each shedding disfuse blue radiance, matching Hannah's aura. The choking scent of decay was even stronger than before, and faint lines of smoke began to fill the air around the pair. "You don't want my hands to touch you while I'm working on this." Astarte elaborated, simply.

"Th-thanks Astarte." Sean offered, a little unnerved. Experimently, he flexed - there was more give than before, but not quite enough to break out.

"...him." Dal's eyes settled on Kohana, and the Fae removed his hand from the hilt of his rapier for a moment. He pointed at the impassive native in question - before resuming his work.

"Wait," Kohana blinked in surprise, recoiling a little, "what?"

The first of Jay's prison vines snapped, spraying brown-red fluid into the air in another short burst. The root collapsed bloodlessly to the ground below. It trembled silently, as more of that strange plant-blood leaked out from its severed top. "These vines are thick," Dal observed with a sigh. He glanced toward Diana, "and while I've no problem freeing all three of our classmates, I don't think we have the time to waste. How about freeing Jack or Sean as a show of good faith in the mean time?"

"Hm? Wha?" Diana blinked in surprise. The girl shook herself, "Oh. Right. Mmm, fine." She cast a longing look at one of Dal's dragonfly-like wings, "But only becuase you're pretty." The dark haired girl added, before shutting her eyes distainfully, she raised her voice a little, crossing her arms over her grass-stained windbreaker. "Though fairy or no, you're the one freeing him. He's your responsibility now. So..." Diana turned crisply away, "Enjoy!" She looked toward Sean -

- who, at that moment, heaved himself out of his bounds. Astarte's aura died away, leaving the pair surrounded by a mass of soggy and shriveled plants. An instant later, the sleeves of Sean's tuxedo slid off his arms, as did the legs of his pants - up to his mid-thigh - and the lower half of his tuxedo, each revealing lines of bruise-colored and unhealthily pale flesh - not to mention leaving him half dressed. Another such-line was visible on his throat, though much darker than any of the others; it seemed to be oozing faintly.

Coincidentally, the lines matched the locations where Hannah's roots had wrapped themselves around his body.

...that last one looked kinda bad!

Diana blinked, then, quickly recalculating, made her way over to Jack. Kneeling beside him, she hefted her sword, "See?" Diana gently pressed the tip into the central mass of vine's growing from Jack's chest - it slid through the green flesh, as if the plants were made of water. "Told you I'd be here soon. Now lemme look here..."

Movements careful, Diana set to work freeing her weakened classmate.

Surprisingly, it was proving very easy.

* * *

"Let me see." Sao murmured, as she gingerly moved Adeline's hands away from her face. A mass of shallow cuts covered the angry red skin near the girl's eyes, each bleeding slowly. From the strong scent of tea, Sao quickly deduced that Adeline had been burned much the same way that Shin had - with tea. Thankfully, it was much more localized. Less fortunately, from Adeline's tense and trembling body, Sao also deduced that the tea had also irritated those cuts on her face.

...now that she thought about it, she thought she detected a hint of lemon in the tea's scent.

Ouch.

"...this will help with the pain." Sao murmured again, raising a hand. Dampness well from her fingertips, before the Undine gently pressed them to Adeline's injured face. The girl flinched, whimpering faintly, as her limbs tensed further. Cool and green, Sao's magic began to spread outward like ripples in a pond. Gradually, tension began to leave the brown haired girl's limbs. Cuts were sealed, burns receded, and soon, Sao was able to draw her hand away, leaving her patient with a fully healed face.

Adeline looked positively stunned.

"I..." She stared at Sao, raising a hand toward her own face, but stopping short of touching it. "...what did you..." A pause, then, Adeline's eyes shut, her hand lowered itself to her lap. She nodded. "...thank you, Sao." She blinked suddenly, then, blushed. Her gaze snapped down and to the left, falling on the floor. "I kinda messed up, I guess." Adeline muttered, "...tea shouldn't be this dangerous; s'not even a proper fighting style." She sighed dejectedly and hung her head, "God, that went badly."

It was true!

Poor girl.

* * *

Inside the pavilion, Jo seemed to deflate. The Jotun's white hair hung around her alabaster skinned face, disheveled from her recent flurry of motion. Her eyes were fixed on the floor, as she listened to Astarte, then Shuyin, and in between both, the fragments of conversation which pierced the tent's curtains. Once she was alone with the bluenette, Jo slowly raised her gaze, fixing it on the man across from her.

And then she laughed.

It was a sound as dead as Jo's eyes.

"...have you really hollowed yourself out that much?" The Jotun croaked, raising her chin, as her hair spilled down her back. Though phrased as a question, it was rhetorical. "Are you really nothing more than a caricature of yourself? You," There was no trace of emotion in her voice - "have scraped out your humanity, and for what?" Her eyes narrowed, and despair-mingled rage found its way into her eyes. "You have no right to drag us into your war, you tea sipping doll."

Shuyin's eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open faintly. There was an expression of outright shock on his face.

The fire in Jo's eyes gutted. "I will not," Jo breathed, chin lowering itself, slightly, her tone became disengaged again. "allow you to do it again." A faint smile appeared on her lips, humorless, yet filled tinged with superiority, "You asked me what I would do faced with a superior enemy. I would do whatever is necessary. No matter what it cost me - me, no other."

"..." Shuyin's golden eyes were fixed on Jo; there was something in his expression now that had not been there a moment ago. Softly, he replied. "...little girl." He murmured, hands arranged in his lap, and his half-full tea-cup on the tiles beside him. "Against a superior opponent." His jaw clenched, and he regarded Jo with an intensity that bordered on feral, "The life of a doll is worthless." A smile split his face, and he looked as though he might go on -

But then Chou threw back the curtains on the west-wall. Shuyin's gaze snapped left, and his mouth shut.

"You." The kimono-clad mountain of blue muscle glared sternly at the bluenette. Jo capitalized on the momentary distraction, shifting her own position subtly to the east – she halted directly to Shuyin’s north. Chou, meanwhile, was advancing; her wicked club held warily before her chest. "I request that you relinquish the talisman that binds us to this place immediate -"

Shuyin's aura flared. His left arm flashed toward Chou, a crisp blur of white. Coral pink energy burst from his hand and materialized into the Professor's, until now, vanished long-sword. Reacting quickly, Chou leapt back and away, landing a pace or so back from the tip sharpened tip.

"I don't respond well to intimidation, Shinobu." Shuyin stated, sharply. "And Jo has thoroughly used up whatever vestiges of good will I had left. A lesson: When you next request something, do it without a weapon, or, at least, outside of weapon-range. Mistaking my own sense of hospitality for weakness and compliance is very unwise."

...a moment passed. Then, the Professor lowered his weapon. He sighed and collected his tea cup once more. He took a slow sip.

"...Shuyin has told me that the two means of collapsing of this place are," Jo began in the momentary lull, "either the death of Professor Landry, to fulfill the condition laid upon the Field, or of Dalbach, because he is the one to have triggered it prematurely." Voice mild, she watched the seated and now armed, Professor. "However he is, of course, a liar." The faintest hint of glee flickered over her face, vanishing as quickly as it appeared. "What talisman do you speak of?" She asked, turning a curious gaze to Chou.

Chou's eyes flickered between Jo and Shuyin. Then, settling on the Jotun, she began. "A space like this is bound to an object and destroying that object allows one to be freed of the space." Her blue eyes moved to Shuyin, "It is possible to bind an individual to this sort of dimensional field." Chou elaborated, holding her club warily before herself, "However," She frowned in Shuyin's direction, "that is not only extremely dangerous, but is considered an idiotic maneuver, unless you do not value the life of the individual you bind it to."

Shuyin heaved a frustrated sigh. He set the cup down again.

"When I first approached Mr. Shuyin and his ally," Chou continued, eyes on Jo again, "I could sense that the source was from one of the two. Therefore," The Oni's expression was serious, "I don't think the other individuals you mentioned are a part of this binding." She concluded, seemingly certain.

"...excellent logic." Shuyin murmured, raising to his feet in a motion that was disorientingly fluid. "I would, of course, love to enlighten you as to the location of the talisman. But," He smiled coldly, in Jo's direction, and flicked the tip of his sword toward her, "as I am viewed as a liar, I shall not waste my breath."

"Leave." He stated flatly, cutting the air before himself with a decisive gesture. "Immediately." Shuyin glanced from one girl to the other, expression serious. "I will make no more warnings; we now work at counter purposes from one another. If you do not comply, I will kill you both."

* * *

"We don't have time to fuck around." Kohana stated firmly, sliding with disturbing ease into the role of the leader. "If you're serious…" Kohana glanced over his shoulder, checking on Hannah and the old lady. Both of the women had sunk to the ground, but little ease had changed - the elderly woman was still protectively holding the younger blond. Both of them were watching him with unreadable expressions. "...then alright." Kohana turned back toward the others, "Let's smash a pretty face."

"As long as we focus on Teacher Shuyin, we should be fine. Wasting any more power here would be stupid, agreed?" He took a step forward and ran a hand through his hair, eyes flicking between Jay, Sean and Jack – who Dal, Astarte and Diana were working on freeing – "We need to get your three freed, quickly. Teacher Shuyin ain't gonna wait forever, and the more time we spend here, the less I trust the fucker." Then Kohana frowned, "Weren't there more of us? Where are they?"

It was around then that Astarte freed Sean.

Kohana's eyes moved toward the pavilion, and after a moment, he nodded. "Let's get over there, soon. If we can force him off his homey little hut, we can rush him. Not even he could stop all of us at once, especially not if he's got a hailstorm to worry about." Suddenly, struck by a thought, the shirtless youth turned on his heel.

Kohana dropped to a knee.

"Honored Spirit, Hannah Iriumi." He stated firmly, addressing the pair, head lowered respectfully. "I would be in your debt if you would be at my side in this fight." A short pause, then, "However, I will understand if you refuse and will remain behind, as I promised," He raised his head a fraction, and then nodded. "if you ask it." Then, he smiled. "I'd rather see this battle finished and our respective groups returned home without further malice or pain."

"Please lend this humble shaman your aid."

Hannah blinked, then smiled softly and breathed a chuckle, eyes shutting. "A 'humble' Shaman, eh?" She shot him a crooked, ironic, smile, and shook her head. "Sure, why not?" A sigh, "I…guess I do owe you one. But," Hannah's smile was sorry, "I'm a little too hurt to help you fight; not that I'm sure I want to." She made to shrug her shoulders, but winced instead. Though the frost covering her shredded cloak had melted, the wounds underneath were still very real.

"But," She glanced over her shoulder toward the silent old woman's face behind her – she was still watching Kohana, but her expression seemed…thoughtful. Hannah smiled, and turned back, "…like I said, I have a few favours to repay." The girl's expression turned sad, before she shook her head, sighing, "I've been in a Barrier Field like this before. The only sure way to get out is to kill Professor Shuyin."

Then she raised her voice, "And hey, Jack!" Hannah shouted, "Stop using magic you moron! You're gonna start blowing blood out of your ass soon!" She blinked, then, remembering who was behind her, blushed faintly. "…sorry Gran."

The elderly woman chuckled. "Don't worry about it Hannah." Gran turned her eyes toward Kohana. "As for you young man," She smiled faintly, "this is not my fight. I will leave matters of this world to the living. But," Her arms tightened around Hannah's shoulders. "I will protect my granddaughter with all the power I have, do not worry for our safety." A warm smile followed, "If you find yourself overwhelmed and in need of either healing or protection, however, come to me. That much, I swear to do."

Hannah snorted. "If you heal Jack, I swear, I will hit you." She shot Kohana a sidelong glance, "Kid deserves everything I gave him. And, even if I knew how," The girl glanced away quickly, cheeks heating, "…I wouldn't remove my curse."

Behind her, Hannah's grandmother sighed.

Hannah sighed in return. "…but I guess I can do one more thing."


* * *

Vexing.

Through Astarte had magically decimated Hannah's vines, neither Diana or Dal was making anywhere near the same progress the mummy had. Dal had managed to free one of Jay's arms and had sawed through one of the vines on his torso, but it was frustratingly slow going – not to mention messy. Both Jay and the Fae were splattered in, what hopefully wasn't blood, and now stood in a shallow and spreading puddle of the stuff.

Diana, meanwhile, was cutting through the vines on Jack like water.

…unfortunately, they kept growing back. She could keep them trimmed, but if she stopped, the vines would quickly rebind the Wizard's limbs.

Suddenly, the vines on Jack and Jay flashed vivid blue. Tension left them as quick as a wink, and they fell limply to the ground surrounding both boys, leaving them free to move. Well, mostly – the vines on Jack, though they no longer were trying to restrain him – were still growing and draining his magic. It looked like he was out of the battle, unless he planned to fight with a lot of dead weight, and no spells, at least.

Across the field, Hannah withdrew her bare hand from the tiles in front of her, and her aura died down. A faint sheen of sweat covered her forehead, as she leaned back against her grandmother's chest.

"There." The blond breathed, shutting her eyes with a sigh.

[Girasol of Chaos]

The tall oni flinched hard. It was less a response to the man's harsh words, or even his threatening actions. Her focus had worked, but only for an instant.

Chou felt like she had slammed into a torrent of wind when she concentrated. Overwhelmed she took another step back and grunted, focusing on the strong exhale to stabilize herself again. Shuyin was standing now, smiling coldly and commanding her and the coal-eyed girl to leave.

Alarmed, the female ogre shot a warning look to Jo. Would she pick up on it? Who knows. Chou needed to retreat. Now. "You're right Shuyin, how rude of me." She smiled wryly. "With all due respect, talisman-holder, I think you have the wrong oni. Doesn't Shin have red eyes?" With that she slipped back out of the pavilion, retreating to the side of Sao and careful to not turn her back on the bluenette.

Confident he would stay put, Chou turned to the pair behind her. Adeline looked much better than when she passed, and was pleased that the healer's efforts were successful. "Glad to see you're okay, Adeline." A brief smile appeared, but rapidly faded as she focused on the undine who repaired the brunette.

"Sao, the torii can be broken, but I can't find the talisman." Chou's hiss between her tusks was out of frustration. "It could be the room itself." Hackles raised the oni turned towards the pavilion again, on guard. "We need to remove him from it, but the auras alone in there were," brow furrowed further recalling the mental slam,"painful. The waves bounced, I've never seen that before." Her stance returned to something more battle-ready with a glimmer of determination. Azure eyes revealed that she knew she couldn't win a fight against him. She glanced over her shoulder, hoping for an answer.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Freedom! Yes!

Pain! OW.

It seemed that Astarte didn't completely think that one through. Or she did think it through and just didn't care. Sean wouldn't hold a grudge though, seeing as how he was free. The clothing damage was a bit uncomfortable though, Sean would have blushed a bit if the bruises weren't irritating him. The worst fo the pain was around his neck though,. He reached towards it and tore off the already thinned and worn fabric of the collar and bow-tie, trying to give the wound some room to air out. Its shame really, he planned on keeping the tux seeing as how it was free. He couldn't see it, but he felt a sense of dripping from his neck as well, hopefully the bleeding, or whatever it was, would cease soon. He was a faster healer than most, but that didn't mean that there was no pain.

Besides, there were others worse off than him.

"If you heal Jack, I swear, I will hit you." Hannah stated with a glare at Kohanna, "Kid deserves everything I gave him. And, even if I knew how," she grumbled a bit, looking away, "…I wouldn't remove my curse."

Anger flared in Sean's eyes, his muscles tense as well. What was up with this girl, for the love of God!? In his years, Sean had known many a hockey player who practically lived in the penalty box, and he'd say they were still more merciful than her. However, he had to remember his previous decision, he just wanted this whole situation to be over, and that meant letting the fight with Hannah end. All they needed to finish now, was Shuyin, and it seemed to involve someone dying.

'It's... self defense right?' That was pretty much all the reassurance he could give himself before he could reach Jack. Ugh, what a mess this guy was. Seeing what happened to the guy, Sean decided he would carry no regrets about attacking Hannah. Were the vines growing from underneath his skin?! The Canadian was at a loss for words or a solution. Hannah threatened to attack if they dared heal Jack, but Sean didn't really care, in fact she was welcome to try. The old lady offered her own aid in healing, but Sean heavily doubted she'd help Jack considering her apparent affinity for Hannah, and Sean was rather uneasy about trying to get help from her for his own injuries.

"Urg," he could only growl in frustration. He tried his best to ignore Diana's close proximity, still unnerved by her overall change in appearance. "I'm at a total loss," he said to no one in particular, "I can't do anything for him. Just... try not to struggle. Don't use magic either if she's to be believed, but I don't know how we could heal it or who could heal it."

He turned his head over to the pavilion that had sprung up. If they could defeat Shuyin and get out, then they could probably get Jack some actualhelp. "So long as it isn't bleeding anymore, then I guess our priority is... getting rid of Professor Pretty boy. Someone ought to at least keep an eye on him I suppose." Well, that was just protocol for dealing with something like a broken leg. Leave someone to watch after the victim. The clothing torn half-human wasn't really sure if the same rules applied to magical plant curses.

Before he could go running to Shuyin though, Sean needed to actually be able to run. That meant getting rid of the decaying effect brought upon him by Astarte. His attention was once again turned to the old woman who was with Hannah... well she did offer. Sean may have hurt Hannah, but its not as though his intentions were different from anyone else. He'd just give it a go. He slowly walked towards the young girl and old woman, arms up.

"Uh, about, er, your offer," he said slowly and uncertainly, not just because of the soreness in his throat, "I'd... appreciate your help." He wasn't completely making eye contact either, maybe a part of him didn't want her help?

[Dracorion]

"... Thanks." Jack mumbled to Diana, as she easily cut the vines holding him with her sword. Unfortunately, they grew back too fast, and she'd have to keep cutting them to keep them from binding him again. Jack sighed, raising his fist again, out of the way of Diana's sword and- "And hey, Jack!" Came Hannah's voice from someplace he wasn't looking, "Stop using magic you moron! You're gonna start blowing blood out of your ass soon!"

"How else'm I going to get rid of it, then?! Y'know any good cursebreakers?!" He called back hoarsely. But he lowered his fist, and just groaned, closing his eyes and lying back. He let out another long sigh, mulling his thoughts. Did Hannah say killing Shuyin was the way to break the Barrier Field? Well, that sucked. Dude was an asshole, but he didn't think anyone would actually want to kill him. They'd have to find another way, probably.

All of a sudden, the vines around him suddenly slumped. Jack opened his eyes, sitting up and looking around.

... Yep, they were still growing and he was still being drained. They just stopped moving. That was an overall improvement, at least. He saw Hannah, rising from holding her bare hand to the tiles, and he suspected she's the one who did it. Kohana had managed to get her to cooperate, he guessed.

As he looked at her, though, the image flashed before his mind. Twelve thin root spears, erupting from the auburn-haired Professor's chest. Blood spurted when the appendages tore through her body, and she fell limp, hanging from her bindings. He felt his stomach churning like it did then. Or maybe that was the vine poking out of his belly button.

... Anyway, no gratitude for Hannah.

Jack sat cross-legged and hung his head. This gave him the opportunity to actually see the state of his clothes. They were torn badly from vines that erupted nearly all over the place, and just hung there. There were some close calls with his underwear, though, but fortunately his modesty was intact, even if he did feel pretty embarassed now.

He closed his eyes again, trying to forget his embarassment, and gather his thoughts. Actually, just rest. He was still tired and bleeding and sore and in a little bit of pain, and he just wanted to lie down and sleep until they were back home. He heard someone approaching, and looked up to see Sean in a similar state of undress, and wounded too, though he wasn't sure when that happened. Though all the Canadian did was say that he couldn't really help him. Then he proposed someone stay with Jack as they all fought Shuyin. "I can sit here with Hannah and, uh... her grandma." That was what Hannah called her, right? "If Shuyin is as dangerous as her, you'll need all hands on deck. You should all get going, really."

He turned to look at Hannah and the old lady again and... well, his question could wait until everyone was gone.

[Overcast]

Jay sat very still as Dal worked on the vine, set as he was not to recieve any injuries before what had to be the final battle. Though as Dal started penetrating the root Jay began to feel a sudden wetness on his arm. It felt nasty against his skin, and he was momentarily worried it was some kind of defense mechanism,

"Hey what is th..."

SPURT! A sudden spray of the strange liquid caught Jay right in the face, making him in a momentary panic that he was going to start on fire or melt or some other evil task! Though it didn't instead it had started covering his nice white outfit, his arm almost completely stained,

"Oh for fucks..."

SHLICK! The copper scent irritated his nostrils as the first vine snapped, spraying him a bit more as the nub left behind oozed more of the strange substance. Jay could swear it wasn't just staining his clothes either, the damn stuff was getting into his skin!

"Dal I'm not sure..."

SPRAY! The vines just kept spraying more and more! His arm was just about free but both he and Dal were being soaked in whatever the hell was in these things and honestly all the liquid was starting to make him nauseous,

"Why is there so much!? It is like it never ends!"

Suddenly a flash of blue came from all that remained and Jay was on his feet again, he stood a moment just dripping in his bloody mess as he tried to wipe down as much of the stuff as he could from his body and stared at Dal faintly,

"Got a towel?"

[SinrXIII]

A lot of things happened in a short time, which was good. Kohana knew they needed to make hurried progress, and hurried progress was just what he'd gotten.

"Thank you both." He stood, bowing one last time to Hannah and her grandmother, then turned towards the pavilion that held Shuyin and Johana.

"The rest of our classmates are that way; if we hurry we should be able to help them. I hope." He walked forward, calmly, Puppy trailing alongside the shaman. "Jay, Sean; I need the both of you focused. Teacher Shuyin will be... troublesome, even without help." The native was at the head of the group now, aura flaring lightly, surrounding him in green light. "We're going to hit him. Hard. Repeatedly. And we can't stop until his face is little more than a spot on the floor." His voice was even, and low. "I don't know what drives him, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let him drown anyone else in that god-awful tea. We're ending this, and we're getting the fuck out of here. -With- our goddamn teacher. Let's go; you too, Jack."

And then, with a flick of his tail, Kohana was moving. His flash step carried him to the side of Shuyin's platform with ease. The wolf-boy stopped to the right of Sao, Adeline, and Chou. Looking over the group, he then turned to the magical gazebo.

"Shuyin's inside still? Pompous ass." The shaman knelt, and ruffled his guardian's fur. Puppy whuffed, and darted forward, slipping quickly past the curtains and bounding to Jo's side, where it turned and crouched, fur bristling as it growled at Shuyin.

Outside, Koh sat and crossed his legs, bringing his hands together in front of him. "Miss Su- Adeline. Blue skin. I need you ready to attack, fast and together." He turned his head to look at them, eyes calm, almost sad. "I will support you as long as I can. Please hurry."

With that, he turned his head to the pavilion and shut his eyes, letting out a slow, deep breath.

[Steel Shadow]

With that, he turned his head to the pavilion and shut his eyes, letting out a slow, deep brea-

Hands dropped onto Kohana's shoulders from behind, and he found himself being dragged around to face an irate looking black haired Director. "What the hell are you doing!?!"

...Maybe Diana had an objection to something?

"That place!" She pointed over Koh's shoulder at the Pavillion, before replacing her hands and starting to drag him away slowly, "Bad! C'mon Koh, isn't that obvious? That thing has 'Evil Lair(tm)' written all over it! You don't just charge into an Evil Lair(tm) head first! You'll fall right into, like, a dozen or so traps that way! Use your head!"

Getting nowhere shifting the shaman, Di reluctantly let go and folded her arms, glaring at the structure and backing up slowly. "That thing is bad news. Don't go in there. Don't let anyone go in there." She shivered. "Really really bad news."

[Krylo]

Dal reached up wiped some of the plant blood off his face, flicking it to the ground, before giving Jay a slight smile along with his answer. "Even if I did, I doubt it'd have fared much better than our clothes," he said gesturing down to his bloody apparel. "And besides," he added, putting on his serious face, "This probably isn't the last blood we'll see today."

As he finished, Kohana was giving orders and flash stepping to the pavilion. Dal was about to suggest that he and Jay follow along when Diana spoke, voicing her concerns.

"I'm sorry," Dalbhach said as he turned to address the recently black-haired girl, "but traps or no I'm going back in, even if alone. Johanna is in there with Shuyin right now, and I won't let her face him alone. Even so, I won't argue with your observations, and I could certainly use your strength to face that man."

Glancing over his shoulder back toward Jay, the fae continued. "And yours as well, Jay, not that I think I need to request YOUR assistance," he said with a slight wink before turning back toward the pavilion and marching toward it, rapier held steady at his side.

[Riin Whitewind]

"... Thank you, Sao." The healer tilted her head in acceptance, examining her handiwork with a critical eye. It appeared that nothing had gone disastrously wrong! Her good cheer partially restored, Sao smiled. "Can't let anything happen to such a pretty face." Standing back, she held her hand out to help the newly-healed Adeline to her feet. "Up you get, come on."

Listening to 'Shin's' report, Sao frowned in thought. Strategy was never her strong suit, but there was nothing short of a mortal wound that would coerce her to enter that gazebo.

The trio was joined shortly by first Kohana, then Diana and Dalbach. Listening gravely to all three, Sao was reluctantly forced to agree with Diana. Or her rider.

"Who is the fastest among us? Or the strongest?" Sao glanced at Shin as she spoke. Pointing at the thin, black pillars holding up the gazebo, she continued, "If some of us can enter from the other side and get Jo out safely, the rest of us could bring the gazebo down around him." The pillars were of some black material unknown to her, but perhaps they could be crushed or dissolved?

She shrugged. "It's not a perfect plan, but it helps Shin get a better read on how to get us out of here," a nod towards her friend, "and keeps us out of the pavillion." This nod was directed to the black-haired Diana.

[Arhra]

Wondering if Shuyin was truly an empty thing had cracked his facade for a moment. But then Jo had provoked something else. Against a superior opponent, the life of a doll was worthless, he said.

Shin had entered here, holding her club and speaking of talismans.

Jo armed herself as Shuyin did, crystalline slabs of ice sliding out of her hands and forearms to become now familiar icy claws she favoured. Shuyin, in what was becoming a predictable response, denounced her bad manners and spoke of intimidation, weapons, lessons and hospitality.

Shin spoke her theory.

"...excellent logic." Shuyin murmured, climbing to his feet in a fluid motion. "I would, of course, love to enlighten you as to the location of the talisman. But," He smiled coldly, in Jo's direction, and flicked the tip of his sword toward her, "as I am viewed as a liar, I shall not waste my breath."

He was a self confessed liar. Jo did not waste her breath pointing this out to him.

"Leave." Shuyin said. His expression was serious and his sword held at the ready. "Immediately. I will make no more warnings; we now work at counter purposes from one another. If you do not comply, I will kill you both."

Shin suddenly pulled out. She apologised, saying she was not Shin, and retreated, not daring to turn her back to the teacher. Jo's eyes narrowed fractionally. Did not-Shin know something that Jo did not?

No more stalling. She had to commit herself. A terrible threat was in front of her and she had to do everything in her power to cut to the core of its existence.

"It is the nature of dolls to try to copy others." Jo said to Professor Shuyin. "But a doll doesn't know what is important." If it was true, as she suspected, and Shuyin had attempted to transform himself to amplify critical traits, it was no surprise he seemed like a caricature of himself.

"If you wanted to make yourself understood, then what were all those empty words for? If you wanted to avoid hurting others, then what is that sword for? In the end, you never thought of anyone but yourself, did you?"

Jo lifted her arms, coal-black eyes watching the transformed teacher steadily. A little puppy darted through the curtains. The little ball of black fluff bounced to Jo's side where it crouched and bristled, growling at the Professor.

"Fight me, Professor Shuyin."