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Who: Fifi, Shu, Meg, Partners?
What: Their love will bring the world crashing down
When: Feb 15th, evening
Where: Poyi Mountains

Heavy.

The first thought that slid through Fifi's mind as it surfaced from the swirling darkness was that she felt very heavy. She had sunk into something because it was clinging to her skin and clothes.

She was cold...and her face twitched as a drop of water fell onto her cheek cold and hard enough to feel like a pebble that exploded upon contact.

Another, and then another. Little pips of rock hard water peppering her face until her eyes snapped open.

Her mind clawed through the fog desperately as she closed her eyes again to protect from the abrasive water. Her first thought was to be grateful she wasn't as wicked a witch as the one from Oz or she'd be melting a horrible death right now.

Death...

That word brought her memories back in a tidal wave that crashed into her and would have knocked her off her feet if she wasn't already laying on her back. The fight, the panic. A sacrifice, pain and then numbness and then more pain. People...Meg and Shu screaming...

Her eyes snapped open again and dry lips parted to whisper "Shu."

A shot of adrenaline hit her heart and lit up her body like she'd been struck my lightning. She sat up sharply her body making a wet sucking noise as the suction of the mud tried to keep her down. Her eyes wildly scanning the area as the rain continued to pitter patter down irregularly.

She saw...trees. Too may trees too closely together to see for any great distance. A trench had appeared in the mud where she had been laying, sinking and now it was filling up with rainwater.

She felt a sharp pain in her stomach and doubled over arms wrapped around herself shuddering at the sharpness of it. A cold sweat broke out on her supple tender skin and was quickly mingled with the unforgiving rain.

"Shu." She whimpered tears squeezing out from her closed eyes. "Shuuuuuuu!" the second one sounded like a whine. Her eyes opened again and she gulped in some crisp air.

Her powers were at an all time low. She was practically mortal and it was more then she could stand. So she shoved those thoughts aside and took stock of the area. Trees, rocks...and an egg.

Her eyes settled on the egg instinctively knowing who's it was. She had no regret for her minion. Only disappointment that he wouldn't be of use to her in this new situation. Maybe he would be more agreeable in his next life.

A rumbling thunder warned that to remain out in the open was a fools plan and begrudgingly Fifi began to shift her body out of the mud and to her knees. The her hands and knees, then slowly, wobbly and weak to her feet. It was like watching a newborn deer try to stand.

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Shu walked through the forest.

Bare feet blacked with mud. Thin dress soaked and stuck to her shivering form. Her thick, long black hair was saturated and heavy, plastered to her skinny form. But her face was stoic.

Freezing water, hit, slid and dripped all over and off her. Leaves and other plant life stuck to the mud coating her feet and lower legs. Thorns and twigs ripped and cut her calves and the thick, coiling roots of the trees seem determined to make the path as hazardous as possible.

She held a drenched Pagumon in her arms, his fur so wet and heavy it was like carrying a soggy cannonball. And trailing behind her loyally were three, deep black puppies. They glided over the damp floor much easier than their master, but remained behind her at all times, quiet, heads low and ears flatten to their skulls.

And that was when they crossed paths with Fifi. A pup flicked his ears in her direction and raised his head. Another gave a small, single tail wag. Shu’s eyes barely flickered from staring at her imaginary trail through the forest to look at her. She did stop for the briefest moment to look at her, then wordlessly continued walking.

She didn’t speak again. Just focused ahead of her and kept trudging on.

At one point, she stopped and one of the pups moved forward to sniff the air. Shu stood there, slowly sinking into the mud as she waited. The dog didn’t bark, instead, he simply turned his head to look in a direction and began moving towards it.

With a loud noise, Shu freed her feet from the mud and followed him. Heading for what seemed to be a cave.

Fifi starred as the sounds of approaching life gave way to the only person she would allow to see herself in such a state.

She opened her mouth to speak but was frozen cold by the look, the barely existent look that Shu gave her before continuing on. It stunned her so badly that when she shook free and turned sharply to try and follow she slipped in the mud and fell, landing on her hip, her wrist and twisting her leg in a way that combined into a perfect stroke of pain through her body. Her cry was pitiful and short but escaped her lips and fought through the ambiance of the rain never the less.

Shu did stop when Fifi stumbled, but her head barely turned.

Instead, one of the puppies trotted over to her and sniffed her, as if simply inspecting to make sure she hadn’t died.

Satisfied she hadn’t, puppy gave a short bark. A command for her to stand up. Then moved around her to begin pushing her up, trying to assist her in getting up.

The other dogs watched quietly. Waiting to see if she needed more help.

Shu stood. Still facing forward. Back still to the witch.

Fifi grunted and whimpered again, the fall having triggered the pain in her stomach again. But she couldn't allow herself to show just how pathetic she was in front of Shu. Not after she had been too weak to stop Meg from taking them away.

Greatful for the dogs help she managed to get back to her knees. But the effort of that alone and contending with the pain was making her pant. The rain was washing away some of the mud on her back but the chill was cutting through her faster then she could remember it ever doing before. Was it because her resistance was lower without her magic to back it up?

With another grunt of effort she was on her feet again, the one that had twisted was tender when she put weight on it but not impossible to walk on.

Without a word she began to limp towards Shu and the other dogs, focusing as much attention as she could on staying up right, continuing to breath, and not taking her eyes off the girl who so totally dominated her life.

The puppy that had helped her, Rus, remained by her side as she walked.

Shu waited she heard Fifi’s footsteps just behind her then looked down at the lead pup for him to start moving again.

The one in front, Ber, shook himself and continued to lead them in the direction of which he seemed certain of. The final dog, Cer, kept pace just behind Shu as they began to set off again.

The Pagumon stirred in her arms and took in the situation, quickly deciding it would be best for him to keep quiet.

The only noise was that of their feet making their way through the mud, coupled with the constant hum of the pouring rain.

Finally, Shuensha made a noise. A sneeze that caused all of her soaked body to shake. All three of the pups perked their ears towards her in concern for their master, but the dangerously pale girl just resumed her walk unfazed, and loyally, the dogs followed.

Fifi was grateful for Rus, and spoke in soft cooing words to him. "Such a good puppy. Thank you." her own steps uneven as she limped and leaned on the furry assistant.

As she saw Shu sneeze she herself grew concerned. Even if Shu was mad at her, and she was in pain, she wanted to help.

Fifi closed her eyes gently and dug deep to find out if she had any wells of magical power left. Other then the minute amount it took to keep her body looking as she desired she was tapped dry. And that tiny amount wouldn't summon so much as a tissue let alone an umbrella.

Another idea struck her and her fingers fumbled around in her pockets before finding what she was looking for in her hat. The D-comm! It had changed and she studied it curiously, never once taking her other eye off Shu...providing a kind of bizarre lazy eye effect as she tried to look at two things at once.

When had her world become so obsessed around the pleasure of this little girl? Hadn't she been the most selfish powerhouse in her world? Wasn't she ready to sell out everyone she ever knew for the power she craved?

But she had come here...and now she was convinced that she was in love with Shu, and that nothing else mattered.

Was she crazy? Absolutely.

Was feeling this way part of her insanity? That much was up for debate.

But even as she questioned her own motives, she realized she couldn't stop caring and being concerned about the pale shaman who wouldn't look at her.

Scrolling through her D-comm in desperation Fifi tried to find something of use to them. No such luck. It seemed of all the worthless loot she had gathered that she kept just to please her own avarice, an umbrella or rain coat was not on the list.

Rus wagged his tail but as they walked, the pure black puppy seemed to be fading to a grey colour.

No, that wasn’t right. His colour was fading, his being was fading. He was slowly becoming more transparent. The same was true for Cer.

Only Ber seemed to retain some sort of solid form, but it seemed at a cost. His form also began to fade, then it would return, but at the same time, the other two would lose more of theirs. Soon, they were all vanishing at a rapid rate.

After a few instances, Cer and Rus had vanished completely from sight and even Ber was becoming hard to see. When a cave finally came into sight the little puppy seemed on the verge of disappearing completely.

He led them to the mouth of the cave then went ahead first to check for danger, not finding any, he gave a bark and Shu silently slipped into the dark, damp crevice.

Once inside, she sat herself on a rock, shivering and soaked, the dark dirt staining her legs a sharp contrast to her pale skin, a feverish red tingeing her nose and cheeks. Her hair a wet curtain that fell in bangs, sticking to her cheeks and shoulders. Breathing a little heavier than usual, eyes fixed on the floor, as if looking up was too much effort.

Pagumon slipped from her grip to sit beside her, not wanting his wet, heavy body to strain her. Ber laid beside her feet, fading in an out of existence.

Fifi's strained heart was racing now watching the dogs fade in and out. She stumbled when Rus vanished but continued to hobble and limp her way after Shu.

But when Shu slipped into the cave Fifi stopped short and stood on wobbly legs peering inside.

Looking back to her D-comm she found the listing for blankets. While lousy at deflecting rain they would soak it up, and maybe warm up Shu. Feeling light headed she swallowed hard and called "S-shu...Fifi has blankets. And um...fire potion." She held out her D-comm gently, timid in case something else set off her emotional love.

The reply that reached Fifi from within the cave was a loud, unhealthy sounding cough.

Dithering, Shu managed to raise her head enough to look out the cave, even through the blackness her gaze seemed to find Fifi and look at her with… what was that expression?

Whatever it was, Shu dropped her eyes back to the floor and brought her knees up to hug them, curling herself up in an attempt to keep warm.

Ber came stumbling out of the cave. No longer gliding across the floor, or even trotting. In fact, he seemed to find walking very difficult. And when he tried to take the blanket in his jaws to take to his master, he passed right through it.

With a pathetic whine, he put his ears back and looked up at Fifi, pleadingly before turning his head to look into the cave.

Fifi could feel her heart breaking. Despite the pain in her leg and the fear pulsing through her could she really leave Shu like that?

The first step was not a graceful one, the mud on her foot made her fall to her knee. But slowly, with her eyes focused on the floor Fifi began to crawl inch by inch into the cave.

Putting the blanket back into the D-reader she continued, trying to close out the sound of echoing raindrops and her own body sliding along the stone and dirt floor.

Twitching, she made the mistake of looking up and seeing the shadows that loomed out at her from the jagged walls of the cave. Walls that seemed so close. She tried to look over her shoulder but she had come around a bend and could not longer see an exit.

Her head spun and she realized that she wasn't breathing. Tears sprang to her eyes as she tried to remember how. Why had she done this? What madness was causing her to willingly suffocate in this tomb?

Ber stood infront of her, giving an encouraging whine, wagging his tail weakly before turning to look at Shu, then back at Fifi, as if trying to tell her something.

Shu did not seem to be fairing well, she’d resorted to holding her colourless face in her pale, shaky hands and appeared to swaying where she perched on the rock, cold sweat joining the water from the rain as it dripped off her.

Oh right...that was why.

Trembling almost as badly as Shu Fifi brought a hand to her mouth and chomped down hard. Hard enough she screamed through her full mouth and she could taste her own blood. Tears streamed down her face and she let go panting.

The pain had done the trick. She could breath again, albit barely. She felt like her chest was wrapped in that awful straight jacket they made her wear once upon a time.

With what little air she could suck in, and fear weighing in on all sides she continued her shaky trek. What was only maybe ten feet from the entrance felt like miles to the panic stricken witch. But then...she saw the tiny little toes of Shu in the edge of her vision and her head rose to meet the blond girl face to face.

Wheezing and red in the face from her exhaustion Fifi realized the blanket and adrenaline brought her up to wrap it around She gently.

"Fifi's sorry it took so long." She mumbled before everything went white in her vision.

She didn't remember falling. Only that the cold cave floor smelled musty and she was looking up at Shu.

And then, Fifi heard another sound - from deeper in.

"Tiffany? M-Miss Asakura?"

And then, a bit of wall seemed to disappear - an illusion, both could easily recognize now, covering up a fire. Megaera wasn't in sight, but was obviously just around the corner.

And then she walked around - seeing Fifi on the floor, her hand bleeding.

"W... What..."

Shu’s response was to begin a violent coughing fit.

Which caused Ber to finally vanish to join his brethren, wherever they gathered when not in physical form.

The young girl pulled the blanket tighter around herself and looked at Megaera emotionlessly and without a word.

Fifi herself was barely coherent as she curled up into a ball and rolled onto her side. Mumbling in what she thought was a soft voice "Of course she's here." But it was impossible to tell if it was with relief that she spoke or disappointment.

Her breathing remained labored and tight as she continued to sweat. The echoing of the cave was pounding in her head now.

Megaera moved towards the two... Initially, she thought she'd pull them closer to the fire, but... Right. Tiffany was afraid as could be of closed spaces. Moving her further in would inspire anxiety...

"Mage Hand."

Instead, she moved the fire - a plain fire made of some wood she'd collected - towards them both.

"You two... Both of you..."

Megaera was weakened - she'd channeled holy magic through herself, of course she was. But... She could still move.

"... Tiffany... Can you trust me to help you and Miss Asakura?"

Shu didn't say a word or move an inch. She just fixed her gaze on the fire and watched it as if in a trance.

In a weakened voice Fifi managed to hiss through her ragged breath in a voice that betrayed her fear. "The last time you helped Fifi it nearly killed us both." Or at least if felt like it.

Clamping her eyes shut and curling even tighter. "Fifi loves her Shu...and hates Megaera. But Megaera insists on helping Fifi and Shu in her own...annoying way."

All those words seemed to take the wind out of her so it took her a moment.

"Fifi can trust you. Anything to help Fifi's beloved." With her eyes closed it was easier to fight the knowledge of where they were. So instead she focused on the sound of Shu's breathing and using the connection she shared with Megaera to get a sense of what the succubus was doing.

Megaera nodded, moving towards the two.

"I couldn't find any lightposts near here... But we can't move without rest. It's... A good thing I prepared some supplies, and that the cave's empty. I... I think I can get some spells together to make us safe."

She looked at Shuensha, removing a glove... There were burns on Megaera's skin.

Nonetheless, she carefully touched Shuensha's forehead with one of the areas that wasn't burnt to insensitivity. Then, wordlessly, she did the same for Fifi. She was checking for just how cold they were - and signs of cold-borne illness fever.

Shu most obviously was not only freezing cold, but also pretty firmly set in the early stages of fever.

She broke out of her trance long enough to fixe eyes on Megaera, pupils suddenly cold and cruel, tensing at the succubus’ touch.

Fifi on the other hand was overheating for an entirely different reason.

With her heart hammering away and her breath thin her body was sweating buckets, which in turn was chilling in the cave. She sensed Shu's tension which only proved to wind her up tighter.

"Fifi is pathetic...this is like something stupid Tiffany would do! Why can't Fifi stop this?" She muttered to herself.

Megaera looked towards them both, sensing Shu's anger, but not reacting to it. She had to stay in control here. Period.

"You've become ill. You took severe injuries, then ended up... Somehow, ended up in a rainy forest. Frankly? It's pretty amazing - and pretty thankworthy - that you're still conscious."

She kneeled down next to Fifi. "... There's more I can do to help, but... I need your okay. I need to check your body and try and treat your injuries - without more magic. I can also use my powers a little to try and help with..."

She trailed off, but obviously she could sense Fifi's fear.

Shuensha didn’t reply, she sat there, shivering and weak and just watched the two of them, her eyes still strong and harsh, breathing uneven.

"No." Her response was sharp and harsh. "Help Shu. Devote your help to Shu." She grunted and forced her eyes open blinking away tears.

"If Shu is healed and happy then Fifi will be happy." She shifted her glance to Shu and then back to Meg.

Megaera looked at Shu, for a moment...

"... Miss Asakura... Are you hurt, as near as you can tell? I'll work on getting some setup together for rest soon - that'll help with the fever."

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