darkSpyro

(We are heading back to the shelter, you can join in from that point)

I nodded and followed them back to the shelter

OOC: Yeah, you don't have to worry Prex. Nothing much has happened since we've picked back up from the small hiatus. And, like Austin said, we're now heading back to the shelter.

---

Looking back to the others with a nodding gesture before leaving, I set out to find the shelter again. It shouldn't have been too hard to find it, I mean, that thing was MASSIVE!
Walking for a few silent moments, my gaze swept down back to Blackwing. She seemed pretty content in her sleep as of now, but I couldn't help but feel worried for some reason. Wonder what the kid's dreaming about... -Oh! Whoops.
My expression screwed up a bit as I caught myself off guard there. Did I seriously just call Blackwing a kid? I mean, sure, she was a kid right now, but putting this in mind range sense, I was only thirteen and even though I didn't know her age, it was a pretty good chance she was older than me. Don't know what that was about, but thinking of that small subject wasn't of much importance, so I just mentally shrugged it off.
Looking back up, I slightly sighted something through the trees. The shelter. Seemed like we were getting pretty close now.

I flew around for a bit, letting my mind wander. I looked down as I floated higher, and oddly enough didn't feel scared. It had always been my dream to fly. I'd had a fear of heights, but I'd felt that if I could fly I wouldn't be so afraid. It wasn't being so high I was afraid of, anyway. It was falling. If I hit the ground I had no clue what would happen to me. And with BlackWing's transformation, I doubted my current form was permanent. I also doubted I'd keep my personality, or maybe I would and I'd just feel like I was someone trying to role play a character they knew nothing about. I figured I'd try to control some of the lightning power while I had a chance. I took a deep breath and carefully aimed at an oak tree beside a couple fruit trees. I hit it successfully, scorching the tree bark. So far, so good.

After a while, I found myself regaining a bit of my strength and heading towards the shelter as well. I felt useless to the group now, Chihiro without computers isn't the best character to be. I sighed, would I drag the group down? Only time would tell.

[[So, after debating about some of my characters, I chose to switch the last three around. I'm set now. Hah! No more editing xD]]

I gritted my teath. This dream was plain twisted. I just knew it. Those eyes, if one pair are from a Greninja, and two otthers from Delta, the otthers must be of things or beasts I still had to achieve. At one side, it was a nice feeling, but the truth beheind it all was more tiwsted. The more I looked at them, the more I realized they all had a minor, or even major, affliciation with darkness, doubt or any other negative effect of any sort. Why?

Suddenly, I noticed something. All these... these.... things... They were characters I chose for that DarkSpyro Avatar thing. It began to make sence to me, but this was a dream, nobody would believe me.

"Quit staring at me!" I yelled in my dream, but I got laughter in return.
"You know you're notthing more than a betrayer. Soon Dark will come for you and use you just like that RP..." One voice mocked. The others laughted. It echoed for a bit before it became silent.
"Look at you now! We're notthing but a child! You can't do damage without a ball! USE-LESS!" Another shouted. I felt myself getting pressed in a non-existant corner.
"I-I can make a difference!" I tried to protest, but there's simply no way I could.

I had one lest option.

Lucid Dreaming, or, whatever that is.

I tried to focus as hard as I could, and before I knew it, I was able to bend things around. Straight away, I let myself fal into a pit. I learned that falling in a pit in your dream somehow wakes you up.

Truth to be told, I actually did wake up and quite litterally launched myself out of Starlight's arms. I came down on the ground and took in a few deep breaths, hoping to calm myself down. I gritted my teath.
"You watch it you stupid mind... I'm not a useless person..."

There it was again... That chilling feeling... Were we in the presence of something? Before this thought escalated any further, however, Blackwing jolted right out of my arms. I yelped in surprise and stumbled a bit. Gosh...
I took a moment to regain my composure. Looking back to Blackwing, it seemed she didn't get hurt in the process of that jump. "Hey, what was that? You alright?"

I twirled to face Starlight. "N-notthing! I'm fine! Yes!" I said in a bit of hesitation. "Yeah, totally!" I gave Starlight the best smile I could give, but in the inside I was beating myself up.

"Uh... Okay?" I was generally believing the fact that Blackwing's jitteriness was coming from her avatar. Seemed to be that way when she was Delta. Looking back on the main path, the shelter was in better view.

"Well, now that you're awake, you can walk to the shelter with the rest of us. It's not that far away now. C'mon it's this way." I motioned for Blackwing to follow as I headed near the end of the forest and to the clearing where the shelter stood.

I stared at Starlight and gave a sigh of relief. Luckily, it seemed they didn't notice I wasn't feeling too great. I speeded past everyone and went into the shelter. Ignoring Shade and stuffing myself in the corner. I wanted to rest again, because last time I did... wasn't so great. I turned my back to the open and tried to go back to sleep, but whatever I did, I kept thinking back of what I said in my dreams... I groaned a bit.

I was a little surprised by the sudden burst of speed that Blackwing had. I blinked and about a millisecond later, she was gone. I stopped and just kind of stared. I was starting to question on my interpretation of Blackwing's personality. This couldn't have been just her avatar, could it?
Well, standing around was pointless and Blackwing was back at the shelter, anyway. I made a small sigh through my teeth and walked out of the forest.
Getting back to the shelter, I finally got a chance to rest a bit. All these events occurring drained me. I sat down and pulled my knees to my chest and just took a moment to think about everything that had happened so far. Glancing at a corner, I saw Blackwing, her back turned. Well, at least she didn't wander off... Not making much of it after that, I started to doze a bit myself. I didn't exactly fall asleep, I was sort of half asleep; still aware of surroundings and such. Either way, it was the best rest I'd gotten all day.

I noticed Blackwing rush in an thought it best to leave her be.

I followed her into the shelter "Are you ok Blackwing?" I asked as I sat next to her

I carefully aimed and threw another bolt of lightning. I was getting the hang of it now. My focus was entirely on making sure I could hit one thing without hitting another. Eventually I sketched a few circles in the dirt, aiming to hit one without hitting the others. As I continued to aim and throw lightning bolts, I began to make a game out of it. Each time I hit the circles, I gave myself points or took away points equal to what I wrote there. I began to enjoy myself. It briefly crossed my mind that someone might think I was under attack, but I brushed the thought off. I felt less like I was dangerous to everyone and more confident in myself. I could help the group. I wouldn't just get in the way.

I looked at Austin for a moment, but gave him no answer before looking away again and hanging my head. I stared at the ground, than back at Austin. I sighed.
"Do I look 'ok' to you then?" I huffed before getting up. "Can't rest in silence, can I?" I sneered, then put my hands in front of my mouth. I took a few steps back, then ran out of the shelter.

Trust me, running away was the last thing I wanted to do, but I felt like I had no other choise.

"Oh..." I said as I looked down at the floor "Is there anything I can do correctly!" I yelled before running out as fast as I could, not caring about my injury, which only would make it worse after awhile. I tripped and fell in the middle of nowhere after running for several minutes. I was crying and in pain. I felt like more of a burden than anything

I found myself manoeuvring in the air as showily as possible while still hitting what I wanted to hit. I decided to try something new. Gathering as much electric energy as I could, I practically became a bolt of blue lightning. I zipped around for a while, laughing in delight since I felt more comfortable with my power. This was kind of like a dream to me.

[Gah! Sorry I haven't been very active, everyone, I've been so busy with schoolwork that I just can't get a break. College is such a *****...]
[So, yeah, just hang in there everyone, I think I'll get a good chance to play catch-up in a few days.]

Somehow I knew it was too good to be true.

No sooner had we made it back to camp had BlackWing freak out and run off. Again. And worse still, Austin had taken off after her. And he still had that stupid bad leg. I sighed; we haven't even been here one day and things are already falling apart. Great. Wonderful. As annoyed as I was, I felt obligated to go after them. I mean, what would I do if they got hurt? I quickly explained my intentions to whoever was still there and took off into the twilit forest. Please let them be safe...

I just laid there on the forest floor crying. I didn't know what else to do. I got myself lost, my leg was broken, and I had no powers whatsoever. So I sat there feeling sorry for myself and wishing that there was someway I could go home. I just wanted this nightmare to be over.

A heavy sigh came out of my mouth as I sat down on top of a tree. It reminded me a little of when I came here the first time. I was Greninja, and climbing trees didn't require much effort. Now, with this body, it did.

Another sigh as I laid down on the tree and stared up into the sky. I felt like crashing straight through the wood and ramming on the ground, but it wasn't a bother. I felt like a bother, Thát was the real bother I was having. I felt like I just didn't want to say a word, but I had to.
"Okay, stop thinking." I said to myself jolting up and slamming my head with my own fist. The sound of something hitting metal ringed through my ears straight after that.
"Stupid helm-thing." I growled. At this point I was irritated, at myself, mainly, for even being happy in the slightest I was Neira. Gosh, I was better off being Delta, or Greninja instead of this tiny, childish body. I rammed my head again, but this time, no metal, no pain in my years.

More like pain in my head.

"Auch... that hurts..." I said, only to look up, then wash away the emotion on my face.
"Hey, I THOUGHT it was a better idea to be Delta, but whatever is going on, I didn't ASK to be Delta!" I yelled. Without realisation, I had flopped back to being Delta... again...
"Well, being Neira didn't last for long..." I tried to joke with myself. I sighed once more before shuffing myself in the dark. Maybe being Delta isn't so bad, as many things now didn't bother me. I felt... safer. Safer in the darkness...
As I pulled myself back into the darkness, my eyes emitted their faint glow once again as I sunk back in throughts, trailing off...

While everyone else was dealing with their own unfortunate affairs, I was totally oblivious to all of it. Over time, my consciousness had slowly faded away. Even in this uncomfortable position, I had fallen asleep for a few hours. Although, it hadn't exactly been peaceful, to say the least... Something hadn't felt right. Panic had eventually taken me by surprise and I was launched out of my sleep. I yelped and fell over on my side awkwardly. Why in the world did that even happen? I hadn't even remembered what I was possibly dreaming about... Whatever it was though, it left me feeling scared... Too scared and too worried. I was hyperventilating and I couldn't stop.

I scrambled back to my feet and stumbled my way outside in an anxious mess. I stared straight forward towards the forest. I had no clue what I was doing anymore. I just blindly started running in jagged directions. I didn't know where I was going. At this point, there was no telling what was wrong with me. I didn't put much thought into it though. I just wandered farther and farther into the forest, still not knowing that the others had gone in, too. Everything was nothing but a blur.

I zipped through the darkening sky, illuminated by an aura of lightning. I felt like a shooting star, like a comet. I wondered if someone was mistaking me for one below me. With a smile, I zipped towards the camp and... right over it. I laughed at my own slight inability to control myself at my current speed. I stopped and let my feet touch the ground. A smile was stuck on my face, but I didn't care. I was happy. I wasn't so dangerous anymore. I made my way back to the shelter.

Maybe I shouldn't have tried to go off on my own...
But a promise was a promise.
I had to find Storm.
We were friends to the end.
Friends didn't abandon friends.
"Storm? StormDragon!" I called to the darkening air. The trees were washed in shades of indigo and violet as the sun set in the sky. It was getting later and later, and though the tiny feathers on my wings were standing on end at the thought of wandering around, alone, at night, my determination to find Storm was greater. Once I found her, I figured I'd be able to come back, reconvene with the others, and settle in for a few hours...

That clearly was Shadmė's voice I heard through the trees. I pulled my legs together and curled up in a ball, hoping she wouldn't see me, but as I became a ball, I rolled off my tree and landed in a pile of forest greenery.
"Ai ai aaayee..." I said, getting back up. I held my head for a little. I could feel such an odd headache. Why? I didn't want to find out, so I devided to climb back into the tree, but as I looked up,,I clearly noticed the light of my eyes getting brighter. I guessed it had to do with the setting sun, but I also felt getting stronger, more agile... even more than I was before. I didn't notice the blue streams of unknown magic coming out of my eyes.

I moved far into the trees, hoping Shadmė didn't see me. I wasn't so sure if my Telekinetic waves were hidden for her, however....

I was running farther and farther. Everything felt numb. I had no clue what was going on with me. I felt something... Like it was lost... I wanted- no, I NEEDED to find it. Whatever it was, at least.

I tripped over a branch on the ground and fell over. I mentally cursed myself and shakily stood up. I put a hand to my head. All my thoughts were scattered and I couldn't think much to no point at all. I could've sworn I heard nearby voices, but it didn't come to matter as much in the crazed paranoia I was having.

I ignored the fact of how tired I was and kept running. I faintly felt a presence, but it was short lived as I passed by it quickly. Nothing mattered anymore. I just had to find it... The thing... What... What was it?


After a few blurry minutes of running I slid to a halt. There. Right there. I found it. It was a jumble of red, blue, yellow and black pixels. They gave off a feeling of twisted, destructive distortion. Yet... It felt so calming to me. I wanted it. I had to have it... I blindly stepped forward and reached out to touch them when...

No... NO! Wh... What I am doing? Reality snapped back. I retracted my hand hesitantly. My tension became uneasy... B-but... I... I still... Have to... What did I want? I wasn't sure what I wanted anymore... NO! What even is this? Why did I come here? HOW DID I GET HERE?! I found both my hands on the sides of my head. My legs lost strength and I was left on my knees. I was loosing my mind... I was shivering violently. What was happening to me? I didn't know. Why...? Why do I want you...? Why are you so important? It felt like the entire world was closing in. It was just me and those pixels. I was so scared... I wanted to go home. I didn't want to be like this anymore. I wanted to be ME. I... Want this to end... Red tears streamed from my face. I just sat there for a moment. Then, a thought came... I smiled and looked back up to the pixels. "Heh... Heh... It's not like they'll care. Nobody ever did..."

I slowly reached out my hand again. As soon as my fingers came into contact with those pixels, everything felt like static and all went dark for a full millisecond that felt like a century of pain. I was launched into a tree by a large shockwave of pixels and I cried out. I fell to the ground, hyperventilating. I shivered so hard. All the trees in the area were shaking after the wave.

What had I just done...?

---

OCC: Ow, I think I cut myself on the edge while I was righting that.

Storm rolled over on to her feet. "Oh thank goodness," she sighed. "Where were you guys? I was back at the shelter because I didn't want to look for you. What if some monster vandalized our shelter? We worked so long on it! Well, Shade worked very short on it, but it was hard to make, at least. I think. Using that much power can't be good for the abdominal muscles or whatever."

I sneeze "hmm, I wonder if someone's talking about me?"

The world turned quiet again. I felt like all the noises aside my own breathing had vanished. I looked around, only to notice a small bat hung on the back of my hoodie. I didn't feel like waking it. I didn't feel like moving, so I closed my eyes. As I did so, I noticed my focus had gone to the tiniest sounds available. I heard Stormdragon in the distance, she sounded happy. I heard animals going around... i heard all kinds of things... but something... was off...

So many emotions coursed through my psyche as I scampered across the forest floor as fast as my little fox legs could carry me. Worry, anger, sorrow, fear, annoyance, pain, regret, and so many others. All of those clouding my vision as I frantically ran to find my best friend, dearly hoping nothing had happened to him. I almost didn't even notice when I found him curled up on the ground, weeping his eyes out, his injured leg no doubt broken by now.

"Austin..."

Starlight, you idiot, what did you do?! I scolded myself. That certainly was the question wasn't it? What did I do? I looked around. The pixels seemed to be gone, but where? Could they have gotten... No, that couldn't be the case. I felt no different as of now, but the more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed that I could've done something bad to myself.

I waited for a moment to see if anything was going to happen. Nothing ever did, though.

I questionably let the thought go and stood up. Welp. I was officially lost. I wasn't sure how far I wandered, but surely there had to be some users around here, right?

I decided to go in the opposite direction of where I came from the best I could remember. I recalled possibly hearing voices around during my little moment of insanity, so I decided to see if anyone was close enough to hear me now.

"Hello? Can anyone help me?!"

I listened as my voice echoed off into the distance. Hopefully I'd get an answer.

"Agh! Why is everyone so loud!?" I shouted as I heard a voice blasting into my ears. It was so loud. My scream also had frightnened the animals. "Ooh I'm so sorry..." I tried to calm them down. I sighed...
"I just better sleep or something... I'm inly making it harder and that telikinetic shout was probably hearable to everyone. Great. Now they'd find me..."I complained.

I heard Foxtail's voice, but didn't care as I just laid there crying. I was nothing but a problem for the group because of my injury. That was how I felt at least.

That voice! Was that... "Blackwing? Blackwing!" She didn't sound too happy, I noticed, and... Was she Delta again? Her voice was different, too, yet still recognizable. Well, that wasn't of much importance right now. I had to find her.
I started to walk in the general direction of where her voice came from. Hopefully I'd be able to get some kind of help.

I rolled over a bit to stare up at the sky, but as I did so a small bird sad down on my nose and looked at me. Maybe it was interested in the light my eyes were shining. I smiled. No matter what situation, I couldn't help but tolerate nature, especially animals that could fly. They make me jealous.
"At least you have a free life..." I muttered.

I walked in silence for a while, my only company was a small breeze. It felt kind of nice, actually. Just listening to the sounds of nature. The sky was getting pretty dark, but for some reason, I didn't feel as scared of this place as before. I was so used to it now.
I had been lost in thought for a moment, but I decided to refocus back on Blackwing's whereabouts.

I walked a little longer, leaves crunching under my feet every once in a while. I stopped at some point in an area with more trees, some animals here and there. This is where she should be, right? I think I heard her over here... My gaze slightly shifted around, but I didn't see Blackwing. Then, instinctively, my gaze started to wander up a tree. I mean, she did go in trees when she was Delta, right?
Low and behold, there she was, laying back on a branch. I wasn't really sure what to say, so I kind of winged it, "... Uh... Blackwing...?" I simply tried to get her attention as of now.

"Austin..." I stepped a little closer to the goat-ified user, a little annoyed, a little sympathetic. "Austin, come on, we gotta get back to camp."

I looked up at the sky with a sigh. Although I thought it rather beautiful, I felt a pang of homesickness. I wondered if anyone was wondering where I was at that exact moment. I closed my eyes and lay back in the air. Being Phosphora had its advantages, but I didn't feel right anymore. I didn't want to be someone else, I wanted to be me.

I finally noticed Foxtail as I turned around "Why should I? I can't help anybody like this. You all have incredible powers and abilities and all I have is a broken leg and pity..." I said

I eyed down a little as I saw someone looking up at me. I didn't dare to move. That would scare the bird, so I decided to silently speak. "Who are you?" The bird flew away anyway. I shot up and reached out, but it was too far. I set dowm, a little dissapointed, then turned to the person. "Look what you've done." I said, a little bit annoyed. Luckily, the bird, that being a hawk, came back. I smiled a little, but then turned back. "Who are you and how do you know who I am?" My eyes were glowing with a strong light.

I wasn't sure what made me think it, but I felt like something about my self was changing. I wondered what was going on, and then I hit the ground with a yelp of surprise. I noted with some frustration that my mastery of my lightning power had gone to waste, and sighed. I looked at myself to see a very familiar form. A purple-black robe with pink-purple symbols on it held around me by golden clasps... it was all too familiar. Robin's robe. I sat up and looked at the back of my hand curiously. The six eyes connected by a line stared back at me: the mark of the Fell Dragon, Grima. I wondered if I was a customized Robin, or just the default.

I gave Blackwing a confused and, somewhat, hurt look, "Wh... You... Don't remember me...? It's me, Starlight. You were the first person I met when I came here, remember?" My gaze wandered slightly and I tugged on one of my jacket sleeves a bit, "Gosh... I guess I really am forgettable..." I muttered, mostly to myself.

I let my arms hang to my side and I looked back up again, "But... Uh... I just came because I assumed you might be able help me get back to the shelter with the others? I kinda got lost after I... Uh... Had an... Issue... B-but, you know your way around this forest pretty well, right? I... I hope, anyway."
I was pretty much clinging to a thread of hope at this point.

I sat down by Austin. "Hey, don't worry about it," I reassured him. "Don't beat yourself up over something that you can't control. Even if you can't help, we're all glad to have you here."

I stood up after a moment. I needed to find a way back to the shelter. As I struggled through the forest, I cursed my luck. I had to change in the middle of the woods. I looked up at the sky again before continuing to move. I heard something up ahead. Voices. It sounded like it could be Blackwing and Starlight. I wasn't sure, but I kept moving. "Hello?" I called.

I hugged Foxtail "Thanks buddy... I just wish I could be more useful. Even when I tried cheering people up it didn't work..."

I sighed. "Don't get too torn up over it. You can't please everyone."

I stared at Starlight, a bit confused. My vision must've altered my way of looking, or it was the night. I wasn't sure what to blame excactly, so I just stared Starlight down in the eyes, but then they mentioned the fact I knew this forest pretty well. To be honest; they were actually right. The animals seemed to like hanging around me to begin with, and I really felt like after visiting twice I knew already pretty well were I was.

"I suppose you're right, but I'm in no way interested in teaming up agai.... It may go... N-nevermind. Lets just get you back to shelt-"

I was cut off by the call of someone. I looked up. "Yes? Hello? Somebody called?" I asked.

I seriously hoped these voices weren't just my imagination. When one of them replied I increased my pace, soon reaching the two people, who were, just as I expected, Starlight and BlackWing. "I kinda have no idea where the heck I am right now," I explained. I realized it was likely they didn't recognize me, since I clearly wasn't Phosphora anymore, and added, "It's Fury, by the way. Me, I mean. I'm Fury."

"I guess not..." I said "I just thought maybe she would smile or cheer up if she knew she had close friends here"

I felt a little better as Blackwing came to recognize me. I slightly wondered why she didn't know me in the first place. I didn't let it bother me, though.
Blackwing was about to offer me a way back to the shelter when there was someone that approached. Not really anybody that I knew of. At least, I thought.
The person introduced themself Fury. I guessed her character had changed. What was it with everyone changing all of the sudden...?

"Oh." I said in realization. "Well, hey, Fury." I gave a small wave before turning back to Blackwing. "Well, whenever you're ready, I guess."

I silently got up and stared in the far distance. I could see the shelter in the far end. Odd... Ordinairy people wouldn't see it. Even at day I couldn't, but now...
Shaking my thoughts off, I pointed at the direction.
"There. straight ahead..." I said before turning back to the animals. especially that hawk that kept staring me in the eyes.

"I'm not coming back." I ended the conversation there.

"Hey," I replied to Starlight, waving as well. After listening to Blackwing, I looked in the direction she pointed, narrowing my eyes. I wasn't sure how she knew for sure, but I wasn't going to doubt her. "I'd ask why you're not coming, but that's your business, not mine," I said with a shrug. "Good luck, I guess. I don't know why I'm wishing you good luck, but I am."