The Village of Fallen Rains

Felix shook his head at the way Serenity sounded. "She looks alive," he said trying to make her believe that Mekko was perfectly fine. "Maybe she's been hiding, or maybe the 'Maddness' doesn't bother with children." Felix wanted to believe that Mekko had survived. He didn't now her, but whenever he saw her, she was always so nice. And he knew how much her parents missed her. "We should take her home," Felix said almost pleadingly.

Serenity looked at Felix as he explained, then looked back at the girl. "How old was she when she disappeared?" she asked. If he answered this question alright for her, she'd have no problems with returning the child to her home. She wasn't cruel, she would not keep the girl from her home if there was nothing wrong with her. Syndryl looked at Serenity. That was a clever question of her, he thought.

Felix looked at Serenity. "What does age have to do with anything," he snapped. "She's a little kid and her parents miss her!" Felix pushed past the blond haired woman. "Mekko, wait," Felix called as he followed the little girl off the path. The young shinobi was upset with how uncooperative the blond woman was being. Was her treasure so important that she couldn't help. "Come on Zane," Felix ordered. He didn't bother looking back at the treasure hunter. "You can find your dumb treasure by yourself," Felix said coldly as he disappeared into the darkness of the woods, no longer bothered by the skeletons around him.

Serenity looked at him. Of course he couldn't see it, he was just a little kid himself! When he pushed past her, she went after him. "Hey, kid, wait!" she called. Something wasn't right, she knew it. Syndryl followed after Serenity. He didn't intend on saving the kid, either one, unless Serenity got in the way and decided to protect either of them. For now he was only tagging along.

Mekko gave a small giggle as she went deeper into the forest. "Want to play," she asked, but she never stopped moving deeper into the darkness, and further away from the light. As she did, she began to sing a song. Her voice echoed through the darkness. As he walked, Felix barely heard Serenity's call, nor did he notice that Zane was no longer behind him. "Wait up," Felix said as he started into a light run. The song was weird, scary in fact, but for some reason, he didn't care. Mekko continued forward until she stopped at what would have looked like the edge of a mountain, but with the darkness consuming everything, Felix couldn't see it. He just knew to stop next to Mekko. The small girl gave a tiny innocent giggle. "I am the Madness that seeks to engulf this puny world. I am the Madness that gives birth to evil." Mekko began to sing her song again. As she did, the endless graveyard of skeletons began to stir, rising from their grave. Felix stood still, staring into the darkness, oblivious to what was going on behind him. Mekko continued to sing as she spun in tiny circles near the edge of the cliff. When she came to the end of her song, she had her back to Felix, despite their height difference. "Is Madness not beautiful?" Felix was far too gone to answer, but he did nod as he watched what looked like see through arms come from the bottom of the cliff and surround him. Before them stood and army of the undead.

(Oh dear god...)

Serenity followed after Felix, and even though she had Syndryl's eyes, the darkness was becoming too deep for her to see much at all. "Serenity! Wait!" Syndryl called after her. She didn't look back. "No, we have to find him!" With a growl, Syndryl ran in front of Serenity, stopping her in her tracks. "Listen to me, this is dangerous. That girl is no girl." Serenity glared at him. "I know that, idiot! Why else would I be going after the kid??" Syndryl paused and looked at her in minor surprise. He shook his head and moved out of the way. "You're making a mistake," he told her calmly. Serenity promptly ignored his warning and started forward again at a run. Then she heard a song. It was the most terrifying thing she'd ever heard, actually, though she didn't know why. When she saw Felix, she immediately called for him. "Hey kid!" She saw the cliff, even if Felix did not. "Seriously, get back from there," she called, starting towards him, though staying wary of the girl. When she got close enough, she stopped, her eyes widened, as she saw what laid at the bottom of the cliff. Syndryl stayed further back though. He did not need to go to the edge of the cliff to know what was down there. His fur bristled uncomfortable. He was never this on edge. Then he paused and straightened, so that he could feel the environment around him. Where had that badger gone?

Felix ignored Serenity. He felt as free as a bird, so free that he took a step closer to the edge and then another as if those invisible looking arms were beckoning him forward. "Succumb to the Madness, and there will lay a better world," Felix said quietly. "There's no need to be scared anymore. No fear, no pain. It doesn't exist in the Madness." Felix took another step. The ground beneath him started to fall away bit by bit. It wasn't able to hold his weight. Mekko smiled at Serenity. "You can't save him," she giggled. "You can't save anyone." As soon as she had finished her sentence, Felix took the final step off the edge.

As soon as Felix started walking towards the edge, Serenity's eyes darted to him. "H-hey kid, cut that out, you're gonna fall," she called, sounding a bit worried. She'd heard what Felix had said. He was only a boy, so of course this 'Madness' would have an easier time taking him over. She looked at the girl Mekko as she spoke. What flashed in her memory was the death of Liora, which made her eyes widen. "No!!" she called when Felix stepped off the edge. Immediately she started forward, catching him by the back of his shirt. But only moments too late, for she'd lost her balance and ended up falling with him. In a sharp breath of fear, Serenity pulled Felix to her, knowing that Syndryl would catch her. Or rather, hoping he would.

Syndryl watched the scene uneasily, moving his feet on the ground restlessly. He felt only a moment too late that Serenity had tried to catch the boy. His reactions seemed slowed, he usually would've felt it as it had happened. Running forward, Syndryl didn't stop at the cliff, jumping off with wings spread as he flew in a circle before catching Serenity and Felix with his front legs under him. "Damn it all you two," he cursed with a growl as he flew back up into the air, heading towards where his ball of light had been. It was weird though. He couldn't sense the light. But he didn't remember having let it extinguish.

As one could imagine, Felix fought fiercely when Serenity grabbed his shirt. "Let me go," he snapped. "I demand that you let me go!" The silver haired genin pulled a kunai and aimed it at Serenity until he felt the two of them being snatched out of the sky. Felix dropped his kunai, but he continued to fight. "I said, let me go!" Mekko watched the scene unfold as she started to spin in circles again, singing her song. The skeletons each picked up a spear and threw it into the air to knock Syndryl down. In addition to their attack, a stone sword came slicing from each side of the dragon.

Despite Felix's fighting, Serenity kept a tight hold on the kid, so that he couldn't move much in terms of trying to attack her. "Calm down!" she yelled at him. She didn't seem to mind much that Syndryl had snatched them out of the air. Syndryl on the other hand, was dodging as many spears as he could. Unlike most creatures, Syndryl's legs and underbelly, as well as the underside of his neck, were his strong points, so when the spears hit, they felt like nothing more than rocks being thrown. However, in order to dodge one rock sword, he had to get hit by the other, which sliced along his side. Holding onto the two humans, Syndryl gave a loud roar, before firing a stream of white fire down to the skeletons. The heat could probably be felt even from where the girl was standing. Which was what Syndryl focused his attention on next after dropping Serenity and Felix away from the cliff. Crouching to the ground, Syndryl charged at the 'child' with the intent of catching her midsection right between his teeth. He had no mercy for when he was in danger. After all, he was a creature of the Unknown. There, in that unholiest of unholy lands, it was kill, or be killed. Funnily enough, this Pass reminded him of home.

"No," Felix shouted as Serenity demanded that he calm down. When dropped off away from the cliff, Felix got to his feet and started towards Mekko who was being attacked by the dragon. As he made his way to her, the remaining skeletons parted and then closed the gap as he passed them, blocking the way for Serenity. Mekko looked at the dragon. "Would you like to play too?" She asked. Her eyes bright and dancing. The arms from the cliff surrounded the young girl in a tiny force field.

Serenity followed after Felix, only to be blocked by an army of undead. She pulled out her dagger, her eyes wide with fear. "Kid! Get back here!" she called after him. She couldn't get past. The kid was going to jump off the cliff. Serenity's shoulders slumped. That girl had been right. She really couldn't save anyone.

Syndryl growled at the small being as the force field repelled him. "I won't play with something called Madness," he growled, pacing back and forth in front of the girl. He had to find a weak spot. He was sure if he could take this child out, that everything else would fall into place. Madness would have to find a new vessel, but...Syndryl stopped walking. The boy. He was already falling into it's clutches. "What do you plan on doing with them?" He asked. He could feel Serenity slipping. She had to stay strong for just a while more, he thought.

Mekko looked almost saddened when Syndryl told her no. "Why do you have to be such a meanie?" She asked as her brown eyes watered with tears. She started to pout when Syndryl asked a question. "Why should I tell you," she asked. "You won't play with me." Felix walked right past Syndryl and then past Mekko. "I'm going now," he said. "You should go help the Lady find her treasure. She doesn't really need a guide, that's not where my destiny lies." He nodded to the cliff. "My destiny lies somewhere in the heart of Madness." He stopped at the edge and looked back at everyone. "Madness is going to take me home."

Syndryl wasn't fooled by the girl's antics. He knew that she wasn't some innocent little kid. Even when her eyes started watering, the dragon only crouched to the ground in defense. He blinked when she said why should she tell him. Suddenly Syndryl stood up and looked at her, tilting his head. "I'm sorry Mekko," he said, his blind eyes seemingly on her. "How would you like to play?"

Serenity merely looked around the undead surrounding her, her eyes a bit hopeless. "If you're going, the least you can do is let me come with you," she said to Felix at his comment. If Madness was going to take him to nothingness...no pain or suffering, and while she had no fears, it would be nice to have assurances. Madness sounded like a place of nothingness. A place she could go to in order to escape immortality. She'd been alive nearly eight hundred years. Maybe it was time to let something else have control.

(No Serenity! Don't fall into Madness!)

Felix looked at Serenity when she asked to come along. "Okay," he said as he held out his hand to her. "We can go together." The skeletons parted peacefully for her to get through. Mekko on the other hand looked at Syndryl and smiled politely when he asked her what she wanted to play. "Hide and go seek," she answered. Instantly the light above them was gone. Everything that had once been was now a wasteland that lead down into a very murky cave. The cliff was gone and so were Mekko and Felix. "We'll hide, and you find us," they both said at the same time, followed by Mekko's memorable laugh.

(Too late.)

Syndryl's head snapped in Serenity's direction as he heard her saying she would go with Felix into Madness. Then back to Mekko as the light disappeared, along with Felix. Serenity still seemed to be there, though. She looked around. "We...have to find them, so they can take us. Right, Syndryl?" Syndryl shook his head and went over to her. "No, not right Serenity. They're not going to take us anywhere. We should cut our losses and leave," he said adamantly. The boy was not his problem. Serenity looked at him and tilted her head. "Leave? Without finding the Madness? Why would I want to do that?" she asked. With an annoyed huff, Syndryl practically glared at her. "You're not going into any Madness." Serenity paused, then blinked. "Hey. There's only supposed to be one person finding the others, isn't there? Huh...that means I should hide too, right?" Syndryl blinked. What the hell was going on here? This wasn't the Serenity he knew! "No, not right," he said, as calmly as he could. Serenity looked around. "Too bad. I want to hide as well," she told him, before turning and running off. Syndryl immediately followed after her, but stopped when everything around him seemed to disappear. The blue dragon seemed to freeze in place. He...couldn't feel anything. Which meant he effectively couldn't see. He could only hear, and even then there was nothing to hear. "...Serenity?" he called, with a slight edge in his voice. This was bad.

Felix and Mekko walked around in silence through the cave. It was dark, but surprisingly, both children could see. Hand in hand, they made their way deeper into the cave. "With Madness as your guide, you can see the world for what it is," Mekko told Felix. The silver haired child nodded, so Mekko continued. "You can know everything." Felix smiled. Complete knowledge sounded fun. "I want to see it all," he exclaimed. Mekko giggled. "Okay, follow me," she said. She was no longer worried about the dragon, for she could see he was just as blind as any normal person in this darkness. Madness was always successful.

Serenity looked around in the darkness. She could only barely see what was around her. Even so, she started in the direction that she thought Felix and Mekko had gone. "Hey kid? Mekko?" she called out softly. She felt the odd need to stay away from Syndryl. Serenity wanted to go into the nothingness, but that dragon was trying to hold her back.

Syndryl smelled the air nervously. He didn't like this. He may've well as been as blind as a human right now. Because the smells in this place were being masked by something, and his hearing seemed as bad as it might've been in his human form. Syndryl paused when something hit him. The little girl knew him only as a dragon. If he turned human, and allowed himself to fall just deep enough into the Madness...well, it was a long shot, but maybe he'd have just enough sense to turn back into his dragon form. Taking a deep breath, Syndryl transformed, almost slowly into his black haired human form. Ironically enough, this form was one of a human that Syndryl had happened to eat in the Unknown some hundred years ago. Swallowing, Syndryl walked slowly forward. He'd have to pretend that he was someone who'd only just wandered into the pass. "Hello? Is anyone here....?" he called out. It was only then that he realized, Felix and Serenity knew what he looked like as a human. It was very much possible that they would rat him out. At a time like this, the only thing I can really do is hope for the best, he admitted to himself silently.

Mekko felt the change in her home and was like any normal child, curious as to what was going on. "You go ahead," she told Felix. "I'll be back." With that she left the silver haired child to his own. "Keep hiding though," she reminded him. When she got to this new human, she was very much amused. "You shouldn't be here," she warned in her innocent child like voice. "This place isn't for travelers, you'll get lost," she spoke.

Felix walked away as Mekko left him on his own. He carefully walked along the dimly lit road until he heard Serenity. Following her voice he found her after a moment of wandering. "Hi Lady," Felix said with a smile. "Are you playing hide and go seek too?" He asked. "Me, Mekko, and the dragon are playing hide and go seek." The young shinobi pointed off in the opposite direction. "Mekko went that way, but I'm going somewhere else. Want to come with?"

(Funny how Madness makes everyone act like children...)

Syndryl paused when he heard the girl's voice beckon to him. While Syndryl had no real practice in acting human, the human he'd devoured had allowed their memories to stay in tact. Which Syndryl had found odd. It wasn't like the man had bad memories. He'd wandered into the Unknown searching for someone, or something, and had just run into the wrong creature. So clearly the memories had not been their to haunt him. "I'm not a traveler..." he stated, almost solemnly. "I've lost someone. I'm trying to find them again. I thought they may have wandered in this direction," he said, looking around. He figured he might as well appeal to the girl's conscious, see if he could pull her through the Madness, and end this whole thing. "My daughter came this way...she's about your age," he said, pretending as if he was not blind. "Would you maybe...have seen her?" Throughout his little speech, Syndryl had been using the human's memories, and he sounded positively worried. Maybe that human had come in handy after all.

Serenity blinked when Felix came up to her, giving a bit of a smile. "There you are." She nodded at his question. She supposed she was playing too. "Yeah, sure. I'll come with," she told him. "Where do you plan on hiding?" she asked. She then looked behind him with a small chuckle. "I don't think he'll be able to find us anyways. I mean, he can't even see. It's not really fair that he has to seek us out," she giggled, following next to the silver haired boy.

(Madness has taken over a smile child, may I remind you.)

Felix looked around. "The water," Felix said. "I think I can hear it coming from that direction." He started off without another word. "I like the water, it's so wild and free. I wish I could be that way." He looked at Serenity. "When Mekko takes us to the heart of Madness, we'll be able to live however we wish. No more sadness, no more pain. It'll all just disappear." Felix raised his hand up to Serenity, as if beckoning her to take walk hand in hand with him, as he had done with Mekko earlier. "We'll go together."

Mekko blinked as the man stated that he was looking for his daughter. For a long moment she was silent and then she spoke, "No, I haven't seen her. Maybe she's following the rabbit like me?" A long paused followed before Mekko spoke again. "Have you seen my mommy?" Her brown eyes were no longer bright and joyful, but filled with sadness.

Serenity didn't seem too phased when Felix said he was going to the water. Following after him, she looked at the boy when he said that the water was wild and free. That he wanted to be just like it (and he gets his wish). She looked down when he told her that there would be no pain, no sadness when they went. That sounded nice. Taking Felix's hand, she walked with him silently. "Is there a pain in this world that you want to escape?" she asked after a few moments. "I never thought that a child would want to go to a place like that...most kids are so carefree. Always with their friends or parents," she said quietly.

Syndryl 'looked' down at the girl when she said that she hadn't seen her, shaking his head when she asked if he'd seen her mother. "I can't say I have. But I bet she's looking for you, just like I'm looking for my daughter. She must be very worried about you...I love my daughter very much, and I don't know what I'd do if I can't find her...I bet your mommy feels the same way," he said solemnly. "I think maybe my daughter has gone to look for the rabbit as well. But she just doesn't know how worried that makes me," he said quietly, his gaze still seemingly on the girl. "Would you like to look for them together?"

Felix paused briefly. Did he want to escape the pain of the world? There had never been anything bad happen to him before. He looked at the blond woman for several moments. "No..." Another pause. "But maybe I can see my dad." Felix shrugged and kept walking. Serenity's question still lingering in his thoughts. "Is there something you want to run from," Felix asked. As he walked, Felix was sure he could hear the water, but he could not see it. It was a disturbing occurrence.

Mekko had paused exactly at the same time Felix did, but no one could possibly be aware of that. When the man with black hair asked if she would like to search for them together, she nodded. "Sure," she said a bit more excited. "But we have to keep away from the dragon, we're playing hide and go seek." She looked at the man as she turned away and started walking. "He's the bad guy."

Serenity looked at Felix in the dim light as he responded. "I suppose." But when he asked his question, there was a long silence. "I've been alive a lot longer than you have, kid, so...I know how cruel the world can be," she told him. It wasn't really all that long ago that she'd had to suffer through the witch trials. It was a pain that she'd never forget. "I guess...I just want to get away from it all."

Syndryl looked at the girl when she said sure. She sounded excited. Maybe it was because she was luring another victim in. It might've been harder to break the spell than he'd originally anticipated. "A dragon, hm? That sounds positively frightening. Aren't you afraid?" he asked.

Mekko looked at the black haired man. "Not with Madness protecting me," she said. "After all, there is nothing to fear." She kept walking, oblivious to the man's true identity and his true intent. Spinning in circles as she went, she looked at her new found playmate. "What is your daughter's name?" She asked, brown eyes wide with curiosity.

"You're pretty young Lady, much younger than my mom, but..." Felix stopped. His mom. Why was he here again? Looking around he peered through the darkness. Where was he going? His blue eyes became a bit fearful and without meaning to, he let go of Serenity's hand a drew a kunai. "We don't belong here." He stated. "We need to get out, this place is making us sick."