Krystal took to the clouds- being a single whistle away if they need a ride to shore or just out of the forest. Michael trailed close behind him, but not too closely.

It wasn't long before before a faint giggle was heard as it ride the faint breeze, causing Ariel to hover close to Michael and Seth. Much too playfully and sinister at the same time. ~Are you here to play with me too?~ A sweet voice intertwined with poison but no image or figure could be seen.

[ ah, you can control the infected spirit girl too if you want ^^ though, i don't know what she looks like yet ^^' ]

[[ never~ it's your character. if anything, Alex 'might' talk to her once, but she's all yours. <3 -- as for looks, do as you wish. ;3 i've got Alex looking like he would if his blood were black-tinted, without the red-tone to his skin, but spirits don't even have blood (do they? xox'') ]]

Seth had begun to leap from branch to branch as he saw the dirt beneath him turn quickly into a mushy swamp like area before it began to look a little sandier with shore-line features to a body of water appearing little by little. His heart jumped when he heard the voice of something darkened. He chose to ignore it, since he thought it was another hallucination, but soon found out that Ariel had heard it too. 'So it's you..' he thought. Seth instinctively reached for his knife and cursed himself mentally when he realized for the second time that it was in another dimension.

[[ ^~^ -- i think i have something in mind, after looking at a bunch of pics ^^' (*shakes head* spirits don't bleed, 'cause they're dead and don't have a blood flow like a living person) ]]

Michael reached for the stone in his back pocket as a voice in the back of his head told him to. The voice giggled sadistically. A black see-through image of a nude girl with only a blanket to cover her not much taller than Ariel with short black hair parted to the left of her slim face and deep, empty, hypnotizing purple eyes with no pupils slowly appeared the ground. She hovered over to Seth and looked directly at him. Her aura alone frightened even Krystal. ~You were infected as well... I can sense it.~ Her sweet like poison voice ringing in Ariel's ears. She thought she going to be sick.

[[ *squee* picturesse are my favorite thing to browse around with. so much fanart->so much inspiration (ah, ^^') ]]

Seth cringed as the scene unfolded. He could feel the spirit stones that Ariel and Michael possessed react strongly with the spirit in front of him. 'It's like a magnet,' he thought. Seth gritted his teeth and glared at the purple-eyed girl. Rudely, he pushed his sleeve up and held his arm out in front of his eyes, right in the middle of him and the spirit's eyes. Markings that resembled flames almost seemed to be lighting his arm on a black flame. Seth began to wonder if Onyx acted with other Onyx the way that Crystal felt when Seth was near it. "Is this what you're referring to?" he asked. He knew he could be a good distraction- Seth only felt like he needed a little more time than he had available. 'If only I could remember!'

The girl giggled again and hovered away fro him as if dancing, clapping her hands together. ~Exactly!~ She moves her gaze to Ariel and grins almost too innocently then Michael, and hovers away from them so she can look at all three of them. ~All of you have a nightmare holding you back, stay here with me and I'll make every bad thought go away...~ She speaks in a soft hypnotic voice that danced with the wind like ice. Michael grit his teeth. "Forget it, return the kids you kidnapped." He growled. She giggles sadistically and shakes her head. ~They no longer exist in this world...~

Ariel narrowed her eyes and glared at the girl. 'What did you do with them?' The girl glances at Ariel and a sly smirk tugged at her grey lips as she hovers towards the 'pure' spirit and gently places her hands on her cheeks. ~I ended they suffering...~ She whispers coldly into Ariel's ear before looking the other spirit in the eyes. ~Let me end yours...~ The girl whispers softly. Ariel could only stare into the empty eyes of the infected spirit, and the life in her eyes slowly faded. Michael hit the infected spirit with his stone, knocking her back. "Keep your hands off of her." He ordered.

Ariel sank to her knees on the branch she was hovering over and held her head, feeling really dizzy and sick at the same time.

Seth laughed when the spirit claimed he had a nightmare she could take away. 'I would be nightmare-free without you,' he thought sarcastically. He was somewhat taken back by the spirit's claims on ending the kids' lives. Seth was questioning whether she actually killed them or turned them to the Onyx. Both sounded equally horrifying.

Seth was locked in place for some reason after the spirit had moved towards Ariel. His mind screamed for him to lunge forwards, thankfully Michael accomplished that deed, but another part held him back. 'You can't kill your sister!' it hissed. It threw Seth into confusion- this spirit was in no way his sister, nor did his sister even look or feel of the slightest. Then it hit him- the spirit was infected, and it would have been like killing a part of himself. Seth jerked himself away from his position and took a step into freedom. "Ariel!" he cried, jumping across the trees and over to her side.

[[ last post~ nini <3 ]]

Ariel stayed exactly where she was, didn't even lift her gaze to see him. 'She's a nightmare herself... Beyond a nightmare... Do not meet her gaze... Whatever you do.' She finally says in a broken breathless voice as she slowly rose to her feet on wobbly legs.

Michael brought the girl in a headlock, she felt relatively solid compare to any other spirit he'd met. "What did you do to her?" He growled, holding the stone close to her bare skin with his free hand. She simply let herself be held by him. ~Nothing too serious~~ She giggled then a sharp painful gasp escaped her lips as the tip of the stone pressed into her skin. "Answer the question." He ordered. The girl slipped from his grip and looked at the burn mark from the stone.

[[ nini nova-chan~ ^^ ]]

Seth's eyes widened in fear as he watched Ariel. He shook his head in disbelief and fell at a loss of words. "I know-" he started to say before he heard the scream of the spirit. He bit his lip at the thought of a spirit stone doing that to himself if he got a hold on one- the thought soon passed, as Seth was usually in close quarters with them anyway and needed to focus on the bigger problem. He clamped both hands down on Ariel's shoulders and held her in place. "Ariel," he said in a hushed, serious tone. "What did she do to you?" It occurred to Seth that he had initially planned on saving Ariel from Onyx before death, but he couldn't bring himself to that conclusion anymore. He wanted the truth to be something righteous, not some insane vortex from hell like it had been.

[ 'ello~ how're you? ^-^ ]

Ariel paused a moment to regather her scrambled thoughts. 'You ever heard of living in a nightmare?' She asked in a quiet voice, it make much since where she was going with this. 'Fifteen seconds I knew what it was like to live in mine.' Ariel added in same quiet voice.

The spirit placed a hand over the burn and stared at the stone in Michael's hand, an idea forming her twisted little mind. A slim dark smile formed across her pale lips. Michael could hear Krystal hiss from above the tree line.

[[ 'morning >w< i'm alright- how about you? ]]

Seth shook his head. "Never- I don't nightmare." he stated flatly, still worried about Ariel. He really did nightmare on the occasion, but nothing was ever too horrifying to the point where he'd be scared for more than a day. He looked over when he heard the sound of a dragon up above to see what the commotion was. A sick feeling fluttered about inside of him and Seth felt his heart sink when he saw the expression on the spirit's face. He had seen faces like that before..

[ ready to shoot myself >< ]

The spirit faded from sight and her sadistic giggle was carried on the wind. Ariel shakes her head a little and looks around. 'Again with the fading?' She thinks to herself. ~You're forgetting that this is my domain, you're out of you're limited here aren't you?~ The spirit giggles too playfully. Michael tightly gripped the stone in his hand.

[[ .x. why..? ]]

Seth fought the urge to squirm and run after the spirit. He was at war with himself for a few moments as the silence kicked in and his heart rate sped up. 'This isn't your domain,' he thought automatically. 'You tiptoe across thin ice, praying that the avalanche never falls upon you..' He put a hand in his pocket and relaxed his posture. "Let's get to the center of the forest," he suggested. Something told him that if things got really bad, the heart of the Crystal would be a safer place.

[[ i live with a physio mama who loves to yell, scream, blame everybody for her problems instead of taking the blame aaannd making me feel like dirt .-. ]]

Michael and Ariel nod in agreement to Seth's suggestion. "Take the lead captain." Michael gestured, moving closer to the two.

[[ sounds a little like my mom lately. ._. yelling, getting all worked up for no reason, taking her anger out for no reason, insulting ]]

Seth climbed up onto the next branch above him with a huff. It was a little smoother and had less breaks where he thought he would need to switch trees and branches. The color of the trees continued to get lighter as he climbed through them while the swampy-ground turned into the quiet hush of a river until Seth came upon the same center clearing he'd been to earlier that day. The trees were immensely high, they wove around one another for a long time upwards and downwards into the sparkly, lit-up water. He glanced around for the Onyx spirit the entire time. Seth didn't realize it, but he subconsciously ended up on the same branch he'd settled himself into previously. He wasn't sure why he was still in the forest. 'Is it because of its beauty..?' he wondered. 'Or something else..' Any option made Seth feel belittled- he didn't like either of them.

[[ my mom's always been like that .-.; ]]

Michael followed him and Ariel stayed close to him, not too terribly close though. She didn't want to intrude on anybody's "personal space". The spirit girl giggled and phased from one of the trees behind the group. ~I like you guys.~ She hovered over to Michael. ~Has anyone told you how beautiful your eyes are? So rare... I don't see many people with your eyes. Deep midnight with meaning but also a hint of warning.~ She says in her seductive sweet like poison voice. "What're you babbling about?" He asked, narrowing his eyes but not meeting her drowning gaze. The spirit girl laughed lightly and moved away from him. ~What do you people want to play? If I win, you have to stay here with me and the rest of the trapped kids. Any one of you win, I'll return the kids and leave the other curious kids alone. Do we have a deal?~ She folded her arms lightly over her chest. Ariel looked between the boys.

Seth shifted uneasily in his position. He watched the spirit practically dance around in the air. It didn't bother him when Ariel did it, but somehow this spirit contaminated everything that was once normal. He sighed and thought about the trapped kids. 'Aren't they already deceased?' he wondered. A pained expression crossed his face when ideas formed in his head. 'We did come here to get rid of it, though..' Seth blinked once and fixed his gaze on the spirit. "We aren't playing for corpses- prove that they're a fair wager or we refuse," he demanded. He felt guilty about calling another being like himself a 'fair wager,' but he needed to get in neutral terms with the spirit. If he pitied them it would make her annoyed- guaranteed.

The spirit girl shrugged and opened a portal behind her where it was sunny, the missing kids played together- though their eyes were blank- but they 'looked happy'. An alternate dimension where the grass was green, sun was high, sky was blue. ~Once they leave they will regain their conscious and return to being normal kids...~ She says quietly.

Seth was shocked to see the alternate dimension open up. It wasn't until that morning that he actually left his own 'dimension' and went into another to fight a dragon, but the one this spirit opened up looked like some messed up version of his own world. Everything had strange colors- it was like the entire hue of Crystal was ripped from its existence. He crossed his arms and glared at the spirit for a few moments. 'Great,' he thought, assuming some sort of trap. If they beat the spirit, she wouldn't open the dimension- at least not to take anybody out of it.. He shuddered and held his ground. "Okay," he said at last. "What game are you so interested in playing?"

She closed the mirror to the AD and clapped her hands together. ~I'll let you guys pick, I don't think you want to play what I in mind... And I'd hate to leave out a member.~ She glances at Seth with a sly smirk. Michael was up for anything and Ariel just wanted to get it over with. Michael looked at Seth. "What 'game' are you best at?" He asked casually.

Seth narrowed his eyes at the spirit. He folded his arms together as he stood with his feet planted on the tree branch. There was a sense of frustration that hummed in a little cloud above his head and Seth felt like it was vaguely familiar. Then it hit him- he'd felt the same uselessness back at the hut where he first met Marcia. Seth thought of himself as cooped up in some twisted game that he technically had no way out of. Obviously, he knew that at any given point they could try to run, but the spirit had a lot of power- even if they managed to escape, Seth would feel like that defeated the purpose of going into the forest anyway. He listened to Michael and decided to turn towards the tree trunk and occupy himself in a task of tracing the glowing-white bark. 'Anything to keep me busy,' he reassured himself.

The spirit girl hummed lightly as she thought. ~I promised I would return the kids and leave others alone if any one of you won... ~ Michael bit his lower lip and looked back at the spirit girl. "How about you and me go on a little one on one? Staring contest. First one to blink looses." The spirit girl glanced at him with a curious gaze. Ariel blinked a few times. 'What're you crazy?!' Michael smirks. "As a matter of fact, I am." ~...or we could have a three on one sparring contest. Last one standing wins.~ The spirit girl says quickly, not wanting a staring contest as it is.

Seth couldn't help but laugh when he heard Michael's suggestion. He hid a small smirk as he pretended to be distracted by something in the distance. His small burst of hysteria was obliterated by the spirit's own game. He looked back at her, wondering what was up her sleeves. Seth put his hands in his pockets and took a breath. He was relieved that there would be no staring- the last time that happened Ariel was practically killed by the other ghost- but sparring would be especially dangerous. Seth knew that if he got hurt somehow and bled, he wouldn't have the same problems as Michael or Ariel did if they got any Onyx near them..

Seth shuddered and looked forwards again. "Alright, sparring it is," he muttered. "What are the rules?"

She opens up a different AD and smirks. ~So it's fair, I'll take us to a dimension where spirits are as limited and solid as humans. No weapons, we wouldn't want anyone dying would we?.. I'll even wear a blindfold if I have to. If you back touches the ground, you're out. Last one standing win. Simple enough right?~ Ariel nods lightly and looks between the boys. Michael agreed as well.

[[ Sounds like Igura~! *squee* ]]

Seth nodded in agreement with the spirit. Somehow, the thought of leaving his own dimension still stirred him up. 'What kind of world makes spirits the same as humans..?' he wondered. Seth clasped his hand over one of his coat-pockets. He was still unused to the feeling of a missing blade. He snickered when he thought of being able to find it someplace. "Okay, deal."

[[ last post >w< ]]

[[ Eh- wha? O.o -- nini Yume-chan ^~^ ]]

The spirit nods and makes the door bigger so they can fit through it. ~Ladies first~ <3~ She gestures for Ariel to go in first. Ariel shivers a little before hovering through the door. When she went through to the other world, gravity almost immediately canceled it out and she landed on the ground and she was solid as a living person. "Holy cow..." She whispered under her breath in amazement. Her breath was warm, as was her soft pale skin and she could actually feel her hair brushing against her skin. These are the things she's never got to see/feel because of her father's 'curse' that was placed upon her as a mere baby.

Michael gestured for Seth to follow her.