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It felt almost as if she could feel his power growing, and it scared Maunet like nothing else. The man among the graves might be building his strength by the moment; building it with every single student who pledged themselves to him. The very thought of being so used made the mummy's skin crawl.

"Mindless slaves. Is that what you think of the dead?" She stepped closer. Part of Mau wondered if the necromancer knew that she was testing him, wondering absently if he could control her like he did the rest of these once-resting souls. Her power came from the realms of those like them, those who used to sleep beside soil, entombed with gods. Was she set apart from magic that allowed them to walk again - and if so, why?

Granted, his words distracted her from that line of thought, forcing her to look over the assembly. Her eyes danced over the werewolf, lingered on a pale boy graced with one of the robed man's trinkets. He didn't look as eager to don it as the girl before him, who had done so and begun speaking words both native and strange. There were others who accepted glady, and one whose defiance made Mau smile - until he accepted. Friends? She didn't know anything about these people, save that most of them were students like her. That didn't make them friends, nor a force she could lend her strength to.

And then Hades' hound broke loose, and Maunet's contemplation was over. Not far from the necromancer, she whirled to hear the scream - seeing the winged monster that leapt from the roof in the same moment. She pointed, voice raising in a yell, to the dark shape against the sky. What was this? Were they being attacked...and why?

"I give you my loyalty and you can't even acknowledge me?" She growled in frustration. "Your dead puppets may be getting attacked but I am worthy of joining your side." Eliza got off the ground and glared at the darkened figure. "If you want me to be part of your little team, give me power now and all of your enemies will fall." The short girl stretched to her full height, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Damon stared, wide-eyed at the gargoyle that had leaped from the old church roof. s**t, that thing was alive? He knew moving to a new city meant lots of strange things, but he had assumed those would be confined to his temporary family or school. But this? He looked at the trinket the cloaked man had offered before clutching it tightly in his hand. Power. He wanted it. He just hoped... it didn't turn him into a monster like the werewolf, or this stone monster. His ears were ringing, the sounds of the battle fading into a hum, and soon all he could hear was his heartbeat.

He felt like his life suddenly became a cliche movie scene. Was everything happening in slow motion? All the undead seemed to move slower, the stone monster, even the girl now in the frilly black and pink outfit were all moving slowly. He was snapped out of it by a searing pain shooting up his left arm. Did he cry out? Damon wasn't sure, what he did know was he tried to drop the charm in his hand, only to realize it was gone. He wasn't holding it anymore. He looked down at his arm and staggered back. His head was swimming from the pain, but he wasn't prepared to see that his left arm was rotting off. He could see his muscles, the tendons, the bones of his fingers.

Yet he could still move it like a normal appendage. What was going on? He looked up, his 'good arm' holding the decaying arm just above the elbow. Was this the price of power? Or was this his power? The hell was going on?




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Gargoyle wouldn't have noticed Black Cat if he hadn't felt the weight as she jumped at him. Black Cat's claws essentially filed themselves against Gargoyle's stone skin. He growled, tail lashing as he tried to throw the girl from his back. "Ye shouldn'ta get yerself involved in this wicked ordeal." His goal was to stop the man raising the dead. He was giving kids these cursed items, like the pink woman had given him. However, with others transforming, could he stop them himself?

(Feywild Location- In a Tree)

Feywild shifted her feet under her to alleviate a bit of a ache in her left leg. She could not help but wonder how many more enemies would be revealed tonight. Her eyes narrowed as a green haired boy would be the next to activate a magical beacon and begin to transform. It would have been incredibly useful right now if one of her powers had something to do with determining the different aspects of her future foes.

Something large and undeniably heavy seemed to descend from the sky. Feywild placed a hand on a branch near her face and pushed it aside in time to watch Gargoyle land within the graveyard. Ah, now what was this? Another enemy? Feywilds purple eyes furrowed under red eyebrows with growing vexation. The winged creature looked like it would be very hard to harm... She supposed her Sear arrow would do some damage but...she only got one of those per transformation. It was best for her to hold onto that until she knew for a fact it would be effective. Her concern seemed to be without reason however. Before she had a chance to really decide what to do one of the new foes leapt to attack. Feywild watched Black Cat attempt to pin the stone creatures wings under her own body.

She supposed that was a cunning move, yet the stone Gargoyle did not seem too concerned with the females assault. That was good. If the stone boy could handle himself, then that would be one less person for Feywild to keep an eye on. It was clearly past the time for mere lurking, as Necromancer's call to battle was clear enough to hear. Well, if it was to come to battle then...she would step forwards. There was at least one clear ally present and Feywild would not shirk her duty if someone else was brave enough to step forwards.

Fey fisted her left hand and magically summoned a longbow of red wood and silver string. At the same time, a pair of long translucent fey wings shimmered into place upon her shoulders. From her perch in the tree, Feywild brought her bow in front of her and casually drew back the string of her bow. "Dart" She whispered softly under her breath. In the empty space where a arrow would normally be notched, a shimmer of glittering magic gathered. Within seconds, a wooden arrow solidified between her fingers.

With her arrow summoned, Feywild cast her eyes over Maunet in consideration. Despite her words to the cloaked figure she was clearly no threat at the moment... the black cat girl was engaged with the gargoyle boy. One of the other girls (Eliza) was still unchanged, so the strange girl gained no more notice from Feywild. The two of them seemed to be ready to accept what tainted gifts the cloaked figure was offering, more so now that there was a fight starting.

While peering down the shaft of her arrow, she caught the very unpleasant transformation of one of the boys. (Sprawl) Ah! She was hesitating too long. At this rate the rest of the kids present would transform and then she and the stone boy would be well over their heads in evil. What one had that one been again? She could not recall exactly which boy this one had started out as, and as she looked over the group she realized that was of little concern right now. The stone boy was being attacked, someone in the cemetery had screamed, and the robed figure was soon to curse more.

Feywild shifted her sights to peer down her arrow towards the robed figure. She could take a shot at the zombies or the skeletons to stop them from attacking anyone, or even leaving the cemetery. The children who had not transformed yet were off limits. Until they transformed and became a danger she would not act against them. So then, that brought her back to the robed boy (Necromancer). Was it not wiser to cut the head off the serpent before it had a chance to inflict it's venom? He was the one heading this gathering. He was the one urging these other children to commit evil acts.

It was decided then. Feywild shifted along her branch until she had a clearer view of Necromancer. Pursing her lips, she released her arrow, shooting it towards the body of the robed figure. Her stomach felt tight and her breath seemed to pause when that arrow was released. Strange, that she would feel such anxiety after shooting the arrow rather then before.

With all the rest of the noise going on, Jayke was finding it harder to concentrate on Crysta's angry words, especially as she continued to buzz like a june bug while so much was already going on and demanding his full attention. Despite her being his friend, he felt his dander going up a little at the bit he WAS catching; it was as though she didn't believe he could take care of himself! He had quite forgotten his little brush with evil thought, but some of it had remained with him as he hissed angrily at her. "I'm not blind and I'm NOT stupid. You don't see me actually going up there and letting that guy do things to me! Besides, it's still safer for me than it is for you; if you're going to come here, you should at least be a size where you won't be mistaken for a bug and be swatted!" He turned suddenly and gasped at the spirit, the same as Crysta. The sudden whooshing overhead as screams rang out in the graveyard caused Jayke to look up. "Crysta! Look at that!" He gaped as what appeared to be a flying monster swoop down among the panicked crowd, and making sure his friend was secured on his shoulder, Jayke turned and dashed behind a large gravestone, peering out at all the chaos.

"Late as always," Lyssa grouched as she stumbled up the hill, the overly large sleeves of her pullover billowing out as the wind picked up around her. It had been all she could do just to get out of the house to sneak over to this thing! She had gotten the flyer and hidden it in her room in a place where not even her gaggle of younger siblings could find it in their daily ransacking through her private things. She had decided right away to see what was going on. For as long as she could remember, she had always felt less than empowered, having both a couple of older siblings who looked down on her and many more younger ones who made her life one long, unpaid babysitting job. Tonight for instance, her sneaking out had been hampered by one of her sisters needing help with her science homework, then she got herself roped into watching two more of them while her mother bathed and put the youngest to bed. It had been forever before things in the house had become quiet enough for her to sneak out without being noticed by either her parents or her over-inquisitive siblings. She could sure use a little something to rise above this suppressing sludge that passed for a life.

As she suddenly heard screams up ahead, she quickened her pace and broke into a run, almost twisting her ankle in a gopher hole for her trouble. What she saw was sheer pandemonium; people were rushing everywhere, some covering their heads with their arms as a huge, gray figure swooped down from the sky. The crowd was dotted with piles of bones and she even saw some other monsters running amok; a huge werewolf, a cat, and a person in a mask that looked like the werewolf might have been at his arm. She looked around and noticed a center of all of the chaos; a strange cloaked man who seemed to be controlling the various undead things roaming around. Trying her best to dodge and weave, she started to make her way towards the figure.

The ghost was still on Flutterby's mind as she attempted to lodge herself down the back of Jaykes shirt. He seemed to be as irritated as she was at the moment.Though over completely different things surely! She was upset he was in a clearly dangerous place and he was...being...a stupid boy! "You may not be going up but your not leaving either." Flutterby retorted with a slight strain in her voice. What if magic was more important to Jayke then who he was getting it from? She recalled so keenly her discussion with Aphrodite. How she had tried to ask on behalf of Jayke to be given a gift like her. But that wasn't how it worked. Not for the good guys anyways. How many stories started out with a good guy with good intentions taking the bad path because he wanted something he wasn't given? Flutterby's eyes looked up towards Jaykes head, then to the chaos erupting all around them.

"Just because I am small does not mean I'm defenseless Jayke." She very firmly replied. Of course, that would have had a bit more of a sense of seriousness to it if she wasn't currently attempting to hide under his shirt.... She was sure she had already explained to him that her magic did not tire her out as quickly if she assumed the smaller form right? Or maybe she just had thought in her head that she did and had not but expected him to know even though she had never spoken the words. Maybe. Her thoughts were starting to race, which made them harder to keep track of now...

Which was bad. "Now's not the time for..." She was going to tell him that they should not argue now but he directed her attention elsewhere. Her eyes widened a bit at the sight of Gargoyle landing among the gravestones. "Whoa..." She replied with a hint of awe. "That's like...a gargoyle. A guardian beast! Oh super cool! He's gunna totally rip the baddies up!" her voice rose in excited pitch as she clung to Jaykes shoulder while he placed some distance between himself and the action. Oh! Action! This was like...her thing!

Flutterby shifted about and began to flutter her wings so as to pull away from Jayke. He was hiding behind a gravestone, and she was supposed to be fighting! There was a dog person and a cat person and a half zombie person! And some others too. Flutterby did not pause to think that perhaps the sheer number of bad guys right now made for a very lopsided battle.

"Jayke, Listen!" She demanded as she fluttered to the top of the gravestone. "You can't stay here anymore. You need to go, and we need to get the rest of the kids not baddies out too." Flutterby cast a glance over her shoulder towards the stone beast with the black cat girl tussling with him. "Someone screamed towards the back, they may need help. So let's head that way before the dog boy there decides you look yummy!" She said with a commanding point of her staff. "You Link! I Navi! Now follow before I annoy you with repetitive single word declarations." She honestly was smiling way too much, she couldn't bring herself to feel the fear she ought to at the moment. It seemed too impossible to be scared!

This power felt incredible! Jeremiah embraced the feeling, as he felt the transformation take place. When it ended he felt a bit chilly, looking down he found out why, this new wardrobe came shirtless. Interesting. he muttered. He noticed it came with a cape, though he didn't have much time to wonder about that absurdity of that though, they were being attacked.

"And the party just got better! This was so freakin cool! Now, he just had to figure out how to attack, until then, he figured a few punches would work. So he made his way into the fray, consequences be damned of simply punching, he'd get the hang of this eventually.

The cloaked man turned to Eliza, reaching out to touch the wave of her hair like a gentle father. "Do not fret, for you, I must give my undivided attention. Your power will be terrifying, your loyalty rewarded." He held out to her the star pointed earrings, so innocent in appearance. But as she donned them, they too showed true form.


The whole graveyard began to rumble, only the spaces between the headstones seemed to hold safe ground, as though all the dead refused to go quietly into the night, as though, despite their hatred for the living, tonight, they could abide slumber no longer. The Necromancer exhaled into the cool night air. "Yes, yes, my new friends, my companions, do not hold back, show these trespassers that we can deal with them. Bring those hiding in the darkness to face our power!" He looked at Sprawl, his cloak fluttering around his ankles, chains creaking softly as he spoke. "It is not always what you expect. But you will find that this is still a gift to be used. This state will not stay with you in human form." No, it wasn't permanent. Ribbons faded, mystical power vanished, but the dead remained.


The skeleton behind Rakurai launched itself forward, jaw clicking with unearthly laughter as its claws reached for him. If it connected, it would send him sprawling.

The Necromancer had two weaknesses in combat, the first was obvious; he didn't engage in such hand-dirtying tactics directly, perfering to lead and proxy from a distance. The second was that he spent more time watching other people's backs than his own. This meant that while he was watching facial expressions, giving rousing speeches and looking for movement in the graveyard directed at his new followers, he had failed to notice a very important development. Feywild's arrow soared through the air, a deadly force that indeed could decide the fate of this night. At the last moment, the Necromancer caught the glint of metal in the darkness, the taste of magic and death on the air. He took a step to the side, intending to dive backwards, but the arrow pierced through the cape on his left side. The Necromancer fell to his knees, for a moment, a pause of breath, it seemed as though he might have died, as though the shot had been fatal. Not a single sound did he make, no shriek of pain, no yell of demise. The graveyard seemed just as frozen, the rumbling in the earth paused- suddenly quiet.
And then the darkness that had whispered around him surged. Figures burst from their coffins, three large droplets of blood splashed against the ground. Each drop reverberated magically through the night, like a shudder of things best left undisturbed. Ghosts let out silent screams, as though he squeezed their essence into dust with a thought. Skeletons chittered and the low moan of the dead rose on the wind. "If it's blood you want..." The necromancer rose, holding his arm blood already smearing beneath his shirt. "Then it is blood you shall have."

He turned to Maunet, showing little sign of fear from the sudden attack, although a zombie shambled forward, a tall meaty man who might have been a basketballer in life, providing a barrier between the archer and her target. The Necromancer was arrogant, not stupid. He pulled out a cartouche, holding it to Maunet. "There is only one way to learn."

His eyes flew to Lyssa, stumbling into the chaos. She had that look about her, another lost lamb, looking to become a lion. He was not surprised. "come seize what is yours by right, child. Do not let others steal it from you."

For some, their newfound powers were an exploration, for others, intimate knowledge. The beacons never chose wrong. The Necromancer's lip twitched at that thought, but the smile quickly faded from the pain in his shoulder. In truth, it was not all that deep. probably a few stitches. Where was a doctor when he needed one? This was not the first time the Necromancer had thought those exact words. Nor, if his life continued down its current path, would it be the last. He had no regrets. He never had regrets. Such thoughts were meaningless. You cannot turn back time.

Two ghouls ripped from the earth in front of Jayke and Flutterby, undead hands reaching for the nearest lifeforms. Hiding behind tombstones was dangerous in a graveyard.