The pull of the mountain had been occurring since her arrival in the village. It was so great that she was literally uncomfortable in her own skin. She had though, at first, that that was due to the other Niala being locked away, much like Demi locked her other self away - something she had found out quite recently when the Malkavian had commented on her mumblings. But, the more she thought about it the more it made sense; she was uncomfortable because there was something about that mountain, something that she felt she had to go see. It had nothing to do with her own mental cluster fuck that was going on.

She didn't know why, she couldn't explain it. But, she had held off for as long as she could. She was going, it was as simple as that. She had thought of telling someone, but to save herself from looking completely crazy, she hadn't really commented on it, or said a single thing about it. She figured people likely though her pretty crazy anyway at this point, with her explaining how she had two voices in her head, so she wasn't going to make it worse by trying to make someone understand that she felt drawn to the mountain by some unseen force.

Therefore, as evening began to settle on the village she headed out, carrying with her her weapons, which were hidden beneath layers of white and red robes designed to keep Niala warm while on her little journey while allowing for the utmost movement. It was dark naturally at night, but Makurra gave the darkness a whole new definition... it was the sort of darkness that made you unable to see your hand in front of your face without a light: and thankfully she had brought a flashlight, which pierced the creepy darkness as she started her journey...

”Someone is leaving the village. A little girl.”

”Ok.”

” She going out the opposite way, and it's really dark. This place has all manner of beasts hiding in the shadows.”

”I know.”

”...You're really going to let that little girl go off into the dark by herself?”

”Yeah. I don't even know her. I'm sure she knows what she's getting herself into if she's sneaking off like that. Besides, you see how girls get after 5 minutes around me.”

”Then what about Haikyo? From what I see here, she rather quite liked you. What about me, for that matter? Everyone else that came before you, I killed and devoured. You managed to talk me down. If something happens to that girl I will nag you for everyday you live, because you had the chance to do something and refused.”

Jr grumbled. Hi no Seishin was right, it was beyond him to just sit here when some tentacle monster could snatch her off into some cave and...do god knows what to her. The Phoenix-shaped Aura came to life, and Jr took off from the roof of the tower, following the mysterious girl as she headed off into the dark and the fog, where there was growling and the sounds of smething slimy and disgusting lurking about.

The darkness pressed in on Niala from all sides but she didn't allow it to slow her down: she had been in dangerous situations before, had faced pain openly and not given in, so the dark and the beasts that lurked in it could fuck off for all she cared. She had a mission, a quest to complete, and she wasn't about to give in because the shadow to the left was moving and growling, or the fact that the fog felt like hundreds of ghostly hands trying to snatch her up and drag her into the thickest of it, never to be heard from again.

She stepped carefully as she neared the bottom of the mountain. From time to time she could hear what sounded like a wailing sound, and the closer to the mountain she slowly got the clearer and louder the sound came. But, even from her position she could tell she was going to be doing some serious hiking to even be able to reach it.. and even then, who knew if she'd truly find it? Could this even be what was luring her here? What was tugging at her very soul for her to come here?

The growling to the left of her began to increase, and then it broke off, becoming several separate growls. There was some manner of creature, some beast, hunting in the fog tonight... and apparently it had decided on trying for Niala. "Well Niala, see what sort of things you get yourself into?", words spoken softly to herself. The first of the four beasts, something that looked like a mutated wolf, came flying out of the darkness.... to be instantly impaled in its neck by the hidden blade; a weapon she always wore on her. It dropped to the ground with a yelp, its body twitching as blood pooled on the ground.

Weapon:

A glowing kid dropped in from above, with an aura about him that resembled a Phoenix. He dropped quickly to land atop one of the heads of the mutated wolves, shoving his own Hidden Blade into the top of it's head. This produced a loud whine sound. Jr's hand was glowing a red color, and soon after the blade sank into the beast's skull there was a tremendous BOOM, blowing a crater into the ground and the beast into hamburger. Recoil from the explosion tossed Jr back airborne, during which he took a deep breath.

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!

Jr exhaled a huge fireball. It dug into the ground as it traveled toward another one of the beasts, engulfing and dragging it across the ground violently. The fireball finally crashed into something solid, sandwiching the beast between it and the fire, and there was an explosion. The beast was on fire, flailing about desperately. When it stopped moving it was safe to assume that was the end of it. Jr landed a distance away in a crouch, breathing out smoke.

”Guess it's a good thing I decided to come along after all.”

”Good thing I talked you into it, you mean...”

Hidden Blade:

Sky Rocketing Punch:

Great Fireball Technique:

Niala blinked as the kid dropped in from above with an aura that resembled a Phoenix, but she didn't have time to think on it long. The second of the four beasts had lunged in to attack her. She ducked her body low, sliding behind the thing while the hidden blade pivoted ninety degrees. She stuck the blade up into the belly of the beast, allowing its own momentum to do the work for her: the beast being cut from chest to gut a good three inches deep. Niala pulled the blade out, the pivot blade returning to its normal position before sheathing itself.

Seeing that the kid had already taken care of the other two wolves, one by landing on one and causing it a serious head issue, and the other by burning it, all was quiet, the growling having stopped, for now. Niala was sure that there was probably some bigger beast lurking out there somewhere, waiting to catch the scent of blood and devour the bodies of these mutated looking wolves - it would be an easy meal for someone or something that was for sure.

Standing up again she gave a nod towards the kid. "Hey, thanks. I think these pesky fuckers have been following me since I first hit the fog... I'm Niala---", whatever else she was going to say was suddenly drowned out by another agonized wailing of a sound. Niala's head jerked to the side, staring up at the side of the mountain where the sound had come from. It sounded so pained that it caused her chest to constrict. Whoever, or whatever was up there... she had to help.

She turned, and started moving as fast as she could through the fog, only slowing enough not to trip and fall flat on her face, or worse; end up injured out here and stuck.

The girl sliced both of the other wolves up with the same kind of weapon he himself had. These Hidden Blades must have beep pretty popular in this world. She introduced herself as Niala. Niala... why did that name sound so familiar?... His dad's assistant back home. The girl who sat next to him in his office all day, the orphan. Jr had never really got the chance to meet her before today.

He was about to introduce himself next, but he never got the chance. Something was in pain up the way from here, that, or they were being raped. With how dark and creepy it was out here, Jr had no clue. Why would someone else be out here in this shit? Why was she for that matter? He was here now, so that meant he couldn't let her go off to find who or whatever it was making that noise by herself, so he stood up and took off after her, de-activating his aura so that he didn't immediately draw any more attention...

The wailing continued and Niala kept heading up the mountain as fast as she could, using the almost continuous sound as a sort of beacon to follow, something to point her in the right direction. This had to be why she had been drawn to the mountain, why she had been unable to ignore it the entire time she was here. Why, for some damned reason, why had decided that she couldn't wait any longer and had taken off in the middle of the night to go hunt whatever this was done and solve this issue.

After another few moments of heading up the mountain she realized that... well, the sound, which had continued, seemed to be coming from inside of the mountain. From an area right next to her. There was a landing that led to a sheer cliff where she had stopped, a almost perfect circular area of nothing but the side of the mountain, and the drop off. She began to run her hands along the mountain, wondering if it, like the tower, had some sort of hidden entrance, some way to get inside of the mountain.

"Whatever it is is inside of the mountain... but, how do we get in?", words spoken to the kid, since she had realized that he was following her. She didn't know why exactly he'd chosen to, but she would take all of the help she could get at the moment: especially if he could help her get inside of the mountain to help whatever was making that ungodly pained wailing sound.

Jr followed along on this mountain trail. He got a good look at this place on the flight here. A haunted mountain that looked almost as eerie as the village. What the hell was making that noise? He was starting to rather be back in the tower, chilled out in one of those many dozen rooms in a bed, not chasing a girl up a mountain after having to kill a bunch of killer wolves.

”...Uh, you wanna explain why i'm chasing you up a mountain that looks like something out of a horror movie, or my worst nightmare? Most people hear a ghostly sound and run AWAY from it, not TOWARD it, you know. If something happens to you my dad is going to tear me a new ass, so how about we head back now for some hot cocoa, my treat.”

He wasn't scared at all, no, but he didn't want to be out here on some wild goose chase, follow the strange noise mission. These sorts of things had a habit of always ending bad.

"Have you ever felt something that you can't explain? Felt a pull or tug on your soul? Something you just had to do?", she asked as she continued searching along the walls of the mountain. "Well, even if you haven't... that's what I've been feeling since I got here in this village. I didn't feel it while I was living in Niwa. But, almost as soon as I got here I did. I thought it was because maybe there was something wrong with me, maybe I really was going crazy... but now, now I'm sure it's something else...."

She climbed up the side of the wall a bit, and then grasped hold of a thick branch. It looked ordinary, other than the fact that it was sticking out of the cliff wall as if it had been growing there for centuries, and it looked living. As she tugged on it a great rumbling sound started, and below her a door began to slide back into the mountain wall, opening up, revealing itself for the first time in a very very long time.

She watched for a moment before dropping down. She landed kneeling and then stood up. She glanced over to the kid and then back to the opening. The wailing could be heard louder than ever now, echoing out of the mountain. Niala paused for only a moment before she headed in.

Torches were lit on the walls, guiding her way down the slight slope into the mountain. She didn't walk for more than twenty or so feet before the path she was on curved, a bright light shinning ahead. The wailing was almost deafening, but she refused to cover her ears: she didn't want her hands tied up in case something happened and she had to defend herself. She reached the inner chamber within another ten or so feet, pausing in the door way of softly glowing room. In the center was a bright glow, the glow was in the shape of a bird, and it looked like it was locked in a cage of elements. It kept trying to stick a wing out, and kept only getting so far before that wing would touch the bars and harm it, causing another wail of pain.

"Stop, stop! Stop hurting yourself! Maybe I can help you...", she had to help, she couldn't leave this poor creature trapped like this. How long had it been here? It looked like a giant bird... a giant white glowing phoenix.

"Please... please let me out. They locked me in here centuries ago.. please..."

Niala wandered around the cage, looking around for some sort of trigger that might release this hellish cage...

...Okay. Even Jr couldn't argue with that. She had a point; it was the very reason he ended up in this world in the first place. He had to find out if his family was alive or dead, and he found himself unable to sleep or focus on anything back home until crossing the dimensional barrier and finding out for himself. Niala, she was going through the same thing.

”I... I think we should be here too... or rather, I think you should be bringing me here to see this. That noise... it's starting to sound familiar, like something I heard long ago, when I was but a chick...” said Hi no Seishin. Now Jr himself was interested, especially if she was talking like that. Something important had to be inside of this place.

Niala climbed up somewhat and pulled a switch disguised as a tree branch. A very old door opened. Jr looked up at Niala as she looked down at him, probably as if to see if he was willing to go in or not. He'd come this far, no use in turning back now. Jr followed his father's #2 down into the bowels of this secret place, down a torch lit corridor that lead into a chamber... where there looked to be yet another Phoenix. The sight of it made Jr's Phoenix aura come to life and burn a bright orange. Warm winds were produced from his form that cused the ancient dust in this chamber  to rise from the floor in gusts.

”I knew it! I knew that sound was familiar to me, I believe that she is one of my elders! I was too young back then to understand why she just disappeared, but it appears we have our answer. We have to get her out of there!”

Hi no Seishin sounded excited, so Jr felt like this was something they should have been doing. He began to feel like he belonged here as well; he was helping another one of his kind. Assuming the cage was suspended from the ceiling, Jr formed a large sword composed of black Rage Fire, took aim and threw it at the chain the cage was hanging on. The sword easily cut through the old metal, making the cage fall towards the floor. Jr quickly ran underneath it and was able to catch the cage, with aid from Hi no Seishin. Jr put the cage down carefully with a grunt.

”Hey... who did this to you? Why are you locked up in here like this? Where are these clowns at right now?”

Jr looked around frowning while making fists, popping his knuckles. His orange phoenix aura began turning black to signal his rising anger. Where this Phoenix's captors still in here somewhere? He had no problem busting open their heads, probably with hands that would hit like grenades.

Chakra: 470/500

Ikari Kasai Ish:

Ikari Kasai Sōsa:

"Oh, thank you, thank you.", the phoenix spoke as Junior was able to cut the chain of her cage and put the cage down. That was one obstacle out of the way at least, now if only the bars could be got rid of. 

Niala still couldn't believe that the bars were made out of elements, each looking to be as strong as could be; meaning that either one could either instantly burn the phoenix, cut it, or cause some sort of other harm by her touching it. How the hell were they going to get those bars to disappear? Surely something had to be feeding them, keeping them powered up. 

"My captors, or rather their ancestors, come and go from here from time to time. They use another door. There is a switch on the wall behind me that I've seen them use, it looks like a just a piece of rock sticking out. If you press it it will open up another part of the chamber: I believe they always keep a few of those idiots in there at all times, but they sound proofed it so they couldn't hear my cries for help... They likely have no idea you're here."

Well, that was good... it would give the element of surprise. Niala looked from the bars to the symbols she could just barely make out on the floor. There was a pattern to them that repeated itself around the cage... perhaps if she could figure out the first element that needed pressed she could shut the cage down. "When they first locked you in this horrible thing... do you remember the first element that sprang up?"

"Yes, little one. It was water.. hit me right in the face, it's why I remember it." 

Niala's eyebrow began to tick as she heard how the Phoenix Spirit remembered exactly... yeah, someone needed to pay for this. She gave a nod, figuring her first task needed to be to get the phoenix out of the cage. She stepped on the water symbol on the floor. Then to lightning. Then to wind. From wind to fire. A great rumbling started, and then the cage bars all but vanished: the water became nothing more than a trickle before it stopped completely, the fire snuffed out, the lightning fizzled and popped before it too vanished, and the wind simply disappeared. The Phoenix Spirit was free.

The Phoenix burst from the cage, doing a lap around the chamber; stretching her wings. She came to a stop next to Niala after she landed. "Child, you heard my cries and came searching even while everyone else turned their back and ran... you and your friend here. I wish to grant you a gift, similar to the one your friend has... will you allow me?"

Niala nodded, blinking. She wasn't quite sure what sort of gift a ghostly looking Phoenix could give someone, but she wasn't about to argue with the elder sounding female. The Phoenix smiled, Niala didn't quite know how she knew that within all of the glow and brightness, but she just did, all before the phoenix literally moved sideways, joining herself with Niala's body... becoming one with her just as Junior was with his phoenix. Niala's body lifted into the air, glowing brightly for several seconds, before she landed gently on her feet again: the glow vanished all but a small amount, making her look almost angelic.

When the Phoenix told Jr about the chamber behind the cage where the captor's ancestors were, he nodded his head and started walking towards where the door was. He thought of entering the room with a bang, but he thought it better to use the element of surprise for now. While Niala figured out how to open the cage, Jr pressed the appropriate stone in the wall, causing a door in the wall to slide open.

The next room looked like a lab of sorts. Nasty experiments took place here. The leftovers of someone – or something – were strewn all over examination tables. Large glass containers filled with some sort of preservation fluid housed people from long ago; people that had been used as test subjects; guinea pigs. Cages throughout the room contained all manner of mutated man and beast, such as those wolves they'd killed outside.

Someone wearing a strange outfit with a mask and gas tanks on their back ran toward Jr with a long stick. On the end of the stick was a spark of electricity, and Jr thought that maybe it was some sort of Tazer or Cattle Prod. Even with his weights on Jr was still faster than this clown. Another sword appeared in his hand while he too ran towards this individual on a collision course. Jr ran past this person ducking under the swing of the electric stick while making one swing of his own. He slid to a stop and turned to see the top half of his body fall off of his legs. Blood from both ends of his body quickly began to flood the floor, to boil, dry up and vaporize in the heat of his aura. The legs began to walk off on their own, doing something that resembled a dance, while the top half was still alive, trying to pull itself away. Jr shoved his sword down into his back, through his body and into the floor. A loud scream came from the mask.

What the hell was this in here? Had they stumbled into Frankenstein's lab?

Niala looked to the open doorway of the secret chamber Junior had been able to get opened. She stared for a moment as her mind caught up with everything: her and the Phoenix's, who she now knew was called Gosuto, thoughts combining into one giant mass. Gosuto now knew everything about her and vice versa.

It took all of several seconds and then she was walking into this secret room, hearing the sound of blood boiling as she took in the sight of the man who had been cut in half, and then impaled, causing him to scream. She took in the sight of this laboratory looking place: body parts strewn between tables, the stuff that looked like it had been preserved in liquid in jars.. A shudder ran up her spine.

"Oh god, I don't even think I want to imagine what goes on in here...", Niala muttered softly as she took several steps more into the room, being careful to watch where she stepped: this place was likely full of booby-traps, and the last thing she wanted was to end up falling into some pit, or impaled by some weapon that popped out of nowhere, or the hundred and one other things that whoever built this sadistic place had likely come up with.

Just as she was about to take another step a knife came flying out of another doorway: thrown by one of the few people present who had helped to keep the Phoenix Spirit imprisoned: who had heard the screams of his fallen comrade. The knife passed right through Niala where her heart would be, who didn't even have to dodge, and kept on going until it embedded itself into a wall behind her: leaving Niala entirely unharmed.

Niala looked down at herself blinking... "Kay.... So... I'm like a ghost... got it." She then turned her attention back to the guy who had thrown the knife, who at the moment looked as if he were about to piss himself. She stormed over, her fury rising. As she neared him the hidden blade unsheathed, and was quickly impaled into the man's gut. As the man began to double over she pulled the blade free and impaled it into the underside of the man's chin, impaling it right through his skull and brain. She pulled it free once more and allowed his dead body to drop to the ground.

That must have been one of the powers given to Niala by the Phoenix. It made her turn into a ghost, and attacks to fly through her? Pretty bad ass. She then stabbed this person viciously in the gut, then the chin.

Another one of the “scientists” wearing the mask and the tanks came running toward Jr with a knife in either hand. Many swings came toward the child. He dodged, but he didn't really have to. The man or woman - Jr didn't really know with that suit – was an expert with a knife with both hands, but they hadn't counted on going against someone with a fire spirit inside of them.

Both hands were coated in Rage Fire as Jr executed a move he learned from his father called “Rapid Fire.” Every time a fist slammed into the person there was an explosion of sparks. The person's body shook and vibrated behind every punch, and since they were impacting the body in a rapid fashion, they looked like they were dancing; the flashes resembling someone taking a bunch of pictures. A final haymaker came, impacting with a loud BOOM and a bright flash that shattered some of the containers. The person was thrown off of their feet to shatter several more, slamming into the rear wall burnt and on fire.

Yet another ran up behind Jr with a knife, apparently stabbing him in the back. Jr's body disappeared in a cloud of smoke, to reveal a long block of wood with the words FUCK YOU carved within. This person was then stabbed in the back themselves, the Hidden Blade sinking through the spinal cord and into the rib cage to pierce the internal organs within. Jr twisted the blade and roughly yanked it free, bringing with it dark red meat.

Other people in the room began to look afraid, yet another was brave enough to launch some sort of Fire Jutsu toward Niala.

Chakra: 460/500

Rapid Fire:

Body Replacement Technique:

She glanced sideways, watching as Junior began to punch the first person who had attacked him over and over again with fists coated in fire before the final punch, with a loud boom, sent the person flying off of their feet to slam into the rear wall burnt and on fire. Then someone ran up on Jr. with a knife, attempting to stab him in the back... until Junior poofed and turned into a log with the words fuck you carved into it.

It would have amused her had her attention not been drawn off of him by someone who was launching a Fire Jutsu towards her. She ducked and front rolled out of the way, unsheathing as she did so several kunai from her hip pouch. As she finished rolling, remaining positioned on her knees, she sent the three kunai flying straight and true towards the Fire Jutsu user: one embedded into the masked man or woman's face, right between the eyes, one hit the person in the gut, and the third hit the person in the chest, right where their heart would be. The body dropped to the floor, dead before it even got there.

Niala turned her attention back to the remaining people who seemed too piss-themselves scared to do anything. She stared at them for a moment, feeling not only her own fury but the fury of the Phoenix Spirit inside of her. Her eyebrow was twitching, a reaction to her building fury. A wicked thought passed through her mind, she shifted towards them suddenly, as if she were suddenly going to run at them; though she didn't. "BOO!" The people jumped, turned, and as they fell and scrambled over each other, attempted to run, one even going so far as to actually piss himself.

While Niala played pin the Kunai on the random body part, Jr rushed toward some of the fleeing scientists. His aura carried him airborne, while his hands grasped the neck of one of the people running away, one that had a different colored suit on from the rest. He kept going even after grabbing the person, not stopping until he slammed them into the wall, producing a loud yelp. Jr dug a hand covered in Rage Fire into the helmet and ripped it off forcefully, throwing it somewhere behind him.

The person within looked like a cancer patient. He was bald, and had no hair, no eyebrows. Jr couldn't even tell if the person was human. His skin was pale and scaly, like that of leather, or a snake. He was left to assume that everyone in here was like this. What happened to these people? The person stared at Jr hovering before him with wide, bloodshot eyes, making a gasping sound since they no longer had their mask. Jr formed another sword made of Rage Fire with his right hand, while the left was used to keep him pinned against the wall.

”So you wanna explain what the hell this is you freaks have going on in here, or should I just put your lights out right now?”

”We... we are the descendants... of the village of Makkuragakure...” he responded. ”Our people... were attacked, abducted and tortured... used... as lab rats... by Hanagakure scientists... They... destroyed our village... and used our people... as test subjects... “ Jr just frowned, listening to the person. ”What... remained... of our people... and those that... managed to escape captivity... fled here. Over the years... my people... degenerated... into the sad, twisted race... you see before you... We sought... to seek a cure...”

” So you creeps took to kidnapping people and performing your own twisted experiments? You're no better than those Hana clowns!... And the Phoenix back there, then? What was that about? Why did you people have her locked away like that all these years?”

”The phoenix... was just one... of many projects... We sought... to harness the death and rebirth process... that a phoenix experiences... Perhaps it would have cured us... of the sad state we all share... and enabled us... to have our revenge... against Hanagakure.”

Niala didn't bother chasing after the rest of the fleeing mutants. She doubted that they would go very far, not looking like that. They wouldn't survive long in the village of Makurra itself, not un-noticed anyway, masks or otherwise people were going to look and see who they were. So, they would be back, they would return to forever be stuck in this place, likely until they day they all died.

She listened to the man that Junior captured as he explained exactly what was wrong with them: they had been experiments by Hana, and in a means to save themselves or fix themselves they had resorted into doing to others what others had done to them. Sin from sin. Wrong from wrong. It didn't make it right by any means, even if Niala could somewhat understand the cause. They had just wanted to fix themselves, to help themselves. But, they had gone about it the wrong way.

"Ugh, doing to others what was done to you.... never fixes things." 

"We should lock the rest of them up in a cage, leave them there to rot like they did to me...", came the telepathic voice of the Spirit Phoenix, filling the room with her telepathic skill for all to hear. "Leave them to beg and scream for freedom!"

”...I say we kill em all... Just put all of these sad cancer patient-looking freaks out of their miseries, finish them once and for all so they can die and be forgotten... but the nice phoenix lady back here would rather you fucks suffer like you made her do, and i'm for that idea.”

Jr dropped the guy to the floor, and descended himself to the ground. As he started walking back toward the way he came, he formed a large black sphere between his hands. He threw it toward the back halls, which lead to rear exits. There was a tremendous explosion back there, killing several and creating a cave-in, sealing all of the rear ways out. The vibrations from detonation caused other possible secret passage, tunnels or corridors to collapse as well, effectively sealing them inside.

Jr walked out of the secret lab room, back into the chamber where they held Niala's Phoenix. Once they were all outside he'd seal this place off forever, where they'd die in the dark and the cold.

Ikari Kasai Tama:

Niala walked out without waiting, hearing the explosion behind her that Junior had caused with his fire. She glanced backwards after she had exited back into the chamber that they had found the Spirit Phoenix in, noticing the dust and debris from the other tunnels out of the mountain being collapsed. It served those people right, they should all suffer like the Phoenix Spirit did, and now that Junior had collapsed their exits out of their new prison, they would.

"Serves them right...", she muttered under her breath. She threw one more glance towards the cage, or what was left of it, that held the phoenix for so long and just simply shook her head. She didn't want to be in this place any longer. Normally places that held secrets like this interested her, they were the sort of places that she could spend hours in, but right now all she wanted to do was get back outside of the mountain and never look back.

She headed back up the pathway she had walked down, thinking over the fact that the Spirit Phoenix had already got comfortable with sharing her body: she didn't mind, the Spirit wasn't attempting to take control, or order her what to do. It seemed like she was purely content on offering advice and sharing, and offering her power... she already was beginning to feel stronger.

"So, we never did get to properly introduce ourselves before all of this happened. I'm Niala, and the Phoenix Spirit has informed her name is Gosuto."

Outside, Jr pulled on his gloves tighter, preparing to seal this place off forever. Making a fist with his right hand, a punch was launched that hit the wall of the mountain with another BOOM. The passageway they'd used to get in was destroyed; caved in. Whoever was still alive in there wouldn't be getting out. He'd closed the book on a dark chapter of Makkura's nasty past.

”Alec Kane Junior... everybody just calls me Jr. I have a Phoenix Spirit too, she's called Hi no Seishin.”

Jr took his hood off, revealing his white hair and facial features that were the spitting image of his father, except Jr had the red eyes of his mother. He watched the rocks and rubble that used to be a door and a hallway that lead down into a secret lair, certain that no one else would ever find this place.

He then turned to crouch upon the clifftop they were on, wondering if any more of these freaks had secret lairs and hideouts out here in all of this fog and darkness; lairs that they used to torture and dissect innocent people. If he had that radar that his father and sister had, then looking for them would probably be easy. But then again it would probably be best not to get worked up over matters that didn't concern him, or to get too involved in a rivalry between 2 villages that had been going on for a long time...

Landmine Fist:

Niala looked back to Junior as he removed his hood, taking notice quite easily of the features of Alec Kane, only younger. Ah yes, this was definitely his son, whom he had heard about from everyone, but had never had the chance to meet. She grinned and gave a nod of her head. "Gosuto said she could tell... guess it's a phoenix thing, but she can locate others like herself, and recognize them. It's nice to meet you, Jr., I appreciate the help back there."

She rubbed her head, knowing now that none of those people were going to get out. She found herself wondering if there were any other phoenix's locked away like Gosuto had been, trapped and forgotten about. Perhaps she would do a little research: it would definitely keep her occupied until she was needed. Her skills were slowly getting there: she had got a lot stronger on her own in the short period of time she was in Makurra, and was even stronger now with Gosuto resting inside of her. The phoenix was quiet for now, and Niala figured she was likely resting after having been trapped in that cage for so long.

"I guess Gosuto wants to stay inside of me like she is... she can come and go when she wants, but I guess she finds that it's peaceful inside of me... she says it's something about my soul." She shrugged her shoulders, not really understanding it. "Something about it's purity or something because of the other world, but I dunno about all that."

She looked off in the direction of Makurra, up to the night sky, and then back again. "Figure we should probably head back, before someone comes looking for us and ends up running into more of those wolves."

Jr nodded his head when she thanked him for his help. He was glad that he'd finally came along on this trip instead of just staying on the roof of the tower like he originally intended. Hi no Seishin, after having a hand in, or a wing in, with helping to free Gostuo, was too quiet within Jr, having gone to sleep.

So now it seemed his father had 2 secret weapons, depending on if Niala planned on sticking around or not. Jr heard the story of what happened to her, and the threats her brother made to his father. If he showed up out here looking for her, with the intent on taking her back... well. Jr would cross that bridge when he got to it, that is, if his father didn't beat him to it.

“Having someone else live in your body, you get used to it... it's not so bad. This way you'll never really get lonely... but yeah. Maybe i'll see you around the tower or something. Let's get out of here...”

The aura came to life once more, and Jr lifted off, speeding into the direction of Makkura and the Tower of The Dark...

/Exit\

Niala nodded to Junior at his comment about seeing her around the tower. She still hadn't fully decided what she wanted to do: she had family in both villages... but there was something alluring about Makurra. Something she just couldn't put her finger on. Perhaps when the phoenix spirit living within her woke up they would discuss it. She seemed so full of guidance and information, Niala was sure she would be able to offer insight into this situation as well.

Two purple wings burst from Avery's back, see through in nature, like that of a ghosts. But, as they began to move they worked just fine in lifting her up off of the ground. Using the knowledge of the phoenix already within her mind, she was able to fly after Junior, following him back to the actual village and away from the hellish mountain.

-Exit-