A Hero's Resolve (Phoenix City Chronicles)

No sooner had she had time to catch two breaths than the door flew open, and Knuckles bolted in, Burk right behind, "Kaylea! Are you alright?!"

Stopping dead in his tracks with an audible skid on the wood, Knuckles' face turned three shades of red, making his widened, shocked eyes look all the more comical, "Er... uh... shoulda... knocked, huh?"



"Ahahaha, it's official!," Burk laughed at his companion's reaction, giving him a good thump on the back with his hand, "Sorry for barging in on ya Kaylea. We should let you get back to sleep."



"In the name of Demeter, what has happened?!," Tal came through the open window, still carrying Cellus, "Heard a scream we d-!"

Seeing Kaylea in her birthday suit, Tal's reaction was a greener mimicry of Knuckles'.

Cellus blushed a much lighter shade than the boys, pausing for a moment before gathering herself and turning to face the boys. "All right I'll handle this!" she called, Nurse Cellus taking over once more, as she began to uncerimoniously shooing the men out of the room.

Still paniced over what she saw in that nightmare, it takes her a few moments to recover. As she takes in the reactions of her new comrads she hastily dives beneath her covers.

"Sorry..." she 'eeps' emerging somewhat more apropreatly a moment later wraped in her sheet blushing so intensly that her face almost matches her dissheveled hair.

"Thank you, all of you, for your concern but I-I think I'll be fine." she says almost inudibly, staring at the bed before her still with the same paniced expresion.

Cellus slammed the door behind the men, stepping quickly to the bed and sitting on the edge. She rested a comforting hand on Kaylea's back, taking her turn to comfort her companion, "What happened, Miss Kaylea, will you tell me about it?"

Visably calming at the touch she sighs "You were dead... All of you died and I couldn't stop it." she says wearily

"Whats w-worse... I..." she says taking on the same expression that she'd had a few moments prior "...I was part of the cause of it all! I... I helped them do it! You, Knuckles... Burk and the rest of them, even those others with the anubian that seemed familiar." she says starting into histarics.

"I KILLED YOU ALL!" she shreeked at Cellus and started sobbing, curling to a ball.

Cellus' face softened and she reached her arms around the woman, hushing her and rubbing her back gently, "It wasn't real, dear, it was just a dream," she murmured calmly.

relaxing slightly she whispers "If it was just a dream why did it feel so real? Why did I see people I can't remember meeting and only one of them seem familiar?"

"I do not have a past... But I won't let that be my future." she wimpers huddling closer the girl comforting her.

"Maybe some of your memories from your past have mixed with your dreams," Cellus whispered, still holding Kaylea close, "But you're right, this has nothing to do with what the future has to hold. You have a fresh slate to work off of."

"You cant just wipe away the past." she stiffens as she says "It's still there, I know it is, I just don't know what it is... that's what frightens me..."

"Your past isn't what defines you, dear," Cellus whispered, "It's what you make of the future that tells you who you are."

"I.. I know, its just that... My past has come looking for me, and I don't even know what to expect." she sighs calming and relaxing. "I just wish I knew who I could ask for answers. I wish I knew who I was...."

"Just remember Miss Kaylea, you're not a lone on this endevore," Cellus murmured, "You have plenty of friends willing to help you find the anwers you seek," she said with a smile.

"Thank you." she says returning the smile.

"So." she intones changeing the subject "How did it go...?"

Cellus' blush returned full force and she stumbled over her words, "We-we... danced," she said with a love-drunk smile on her face.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it." she sighed hugging her friend "You'd better go see him. I'll be alright now. I am sorry for ruining you evening."

Cellus gave Kaylea a final squeeze and stood with a smile, stepping quietly to the door. "If you need anything, just give a yell," she said with a giggle before slipping out the door.

"Funny." she chuckles sarcasticly 'Thank you.'

As she settles back down to try and get some more sleep she starts thinking about the anubian from her dream that seemed so familiar, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't place where she could have met him.

'Maybe if I sleep on it...' she thinks as she drifts off once again to sleep.

As Kaylea drifted off again, she heard voices from someplace far away...

The next morning, Cellus awoke to find her bed empty, the indent in the sheets still warm from where Tal had laid.

His root-like scent drifted on the breeze out the window and into the meadow beyond the small town...

Cellus gave a yawn and a stretch before quickly rising from the bed. She looked out the window for a moment before scurrying out of the tavern and towards the meadow she had seen from the window.

Following her nose, Cellus was taken to a nearby lake in the woods. The scent seemed to carry beyond the beach toward a wooded hill.

However, on the beach, something caught Cellus' attention. The sand was unlike any she had ever seen before. It was a bright, burgundy hue, and seemed to sparkle like gems in the morning sun.

Cellus cocked her head to the side and knelt, running a hand over the sand. She grabbed a handful and let it flow through her fingers, pondering the origin of the strangely colored sand.

"You must be Cellus," a silky voice called from just behind her ear, an icy hand resting on her shoulder, "Tal has good taste..."

~~~~~~~
Mysterious Person executes Possession on Cellus (Combines with Enhance Magic)
~ Rolling Magic check; result = 19
~ ~ 19 + Magic 24 + Enhance Magic 4 = 47 total
~~~~~~~

The member 'Narrator' has done the following action : Roll Dice:

'd20' : 19

Cellus opened her mouth to scream, but she didn't even have a chance. Her body slumped as she felt another presense enter her mind.

As her eyes snapped open again, all the fear Cellus had felt was washed away and she knew what she had to do. Tal needed to be punished for all that he had done, and she wouldn't stop until he was a broken husk of what he had once been. But first, she needed allies, surely she could make Burk and Knuckles sympathetic to her plight.

She stood slowly, a mercilous grin spread across her face. That man would pay, and she would enjoy every moment of it.

~~~~
Cellus resists Possession
Roll 10 + Resistance 14 = 24 (Failed)