The Current Moment 3 as of Aug 17

So this has not been done since the beginning of August so I just randomly decided to do this. If I forgot anyone I apologize.

Niccolo: Somewhere doing a project

Aretha: With Alexis

Trip: Pissed off at Zaf and is in a forest

Emerald: Somewhere

Drew: With Em

Adra: Lost in the forest looking for Trip

Death: Kind of waiting for Alex

Javier: with Zafira in the treehouse

Olivia: sleeping and crawling depends.

Alexis: with Aretha 

Zafira: In treehouse with Javier

Alex: I believe he has been on a rampage as Gauntlet

Sherlock: Still being looked for

Fabi: is a ghosty

Jubi: Is a Jubiosaurus 

Mara: A lot of Haralie happened. 

Zafira Kerias: Nightmares, Pain, and Fear

Setting/Side note: This is set during the time Alastair had trapped Alexis, Aretha, and Zafira in his mind. But to clear things up Zafira was trying to not show her fear to you guys through Justaria but the part of her inside Alastair that was not with Justaria well this is the experience that even haunted me as I wrote it.

One second I was seeing Alastair, the next, I was trapped. Fear was inside me one hundred percent. Where am I? Who did this to me? Why? And then it hit me. Alastair. That bastard did this to me. I cried out fearfully. I was trapped in this small space something I hate, confined spaces. 

"Let me go Alastair!!!!!" I screamed. I could see what he was doing. I was like one of his names, not not Alastair's one of Niccolo's names. This was not Niccolo Croatoan at all but the names I knew where trapped with me, they were Niccolo's. Alastair must have realized by not taking my true name I was going to be able to escape. Justaria was within me and I released her. She would speak to everyone I knew. Alastair must have realized the plan because in the next second I was experiencing the things I feared. 

"You do not want to see my worst." Niccolo Croatoan said as he began to torture Zafira. Her hand felt as if it was frostbitten and her she cried out as the shadow impaled it. Niccolo brushed his fingers across her leg and it became stone. Zafira screamed terrified of being helpless and defenseless against Niccolo Croatoan. He knelt beside her and the knife he had began cutting her face and the warm wet sticky blood she felt against her face. It was agonizing and to make the matters worse Niccolo made her vision go out, she was blind now. Soon she felt the knife go into her and organs were re-arranged. After an hour or so she blacked out only to awaken to the next part of the never ending torture. 

Zafira found herself in Mevolent's dungeons. Javier beside her when none other than the man, Niccolo Croatoan, came to them. Zafira did not need this good god no. Niccolo's words haunted her as they did every waking moment of her life.

"I really wish you hadn't come here. If you make it out alive, and no, I won't kill you- not now, anyway, don't come back. Survive. Your job is to lead, inspire- not fight on the front lines. And make sure you look out for each other." 

Taking the knife he cut the three scratches across her right cheek Zafira screaming. She laughed mocking him but seeing as Zafira was not afraid of pain Niccolo did something worse. The knife drove into her skull, the pain sending her screaming. And darkness clouded her vision. Then light and pain, the calm and darkness. Over and over and over. 

Pain. Fear. Nightmares. The things Alastair set for me were the only thing keeping me  from focusing entirely on Justaria and freeing myself. Until that very moment when the idea came to me, from that once annoying voice inside my head, I can attack him. I can attack him. Mentally. I began attacking Alastair mentally letting Justaria do what she needed. I tried from the inside and tried. But the pain was torture. The nightmares would be back, if I ever got myself out of Alastair's head. 

This is the end. I know it and I'll be damned if I ever get myself out of the damn hell of Alastair. Ever. 

The word's of Edward Hyde stuck in my head,

"You will never get away from me." I sure as hell felt that way. The names Niccolo stole were going to be restless I bet, I wonder if they can hear me? Can they? They must be able to. It is like chaos and I guess Alastair hopes if I get to hear the chaos in his head, he'll stop me. But Justaria has freed herself from me for a bit. She will free me. And the screaming of the names trapped inside this head with me continued. On and on. And when he grew bored the pain came back. I had only one hope, that Niccolo Croatoan could be brought back. The man whom played a huge role in my never ending nightmares was the man whom I needed unless Justaria got me out. 

Fabi: Don't Care, Because If You Do, You'll End Up Dead (Part 1)

((Set during the demon wars.))
((And um, she/I was in a really weird mood through the whole thing, so... Consider yourself warned))
((There may or may not actually be a part two. We'll see.))

Fabi appeared with her knife of halite, which in all honesty was just a fancy word for rock salt, but if it sounded more important, that could only be a good thing, so she kept it as mysterious as possible. 

She took a moment to survey her surroundings, taking in the demoness that had taken over her friend, Sapphire Iota. Another was currently in Ari, and using the mental link to drive Niccolo Croatoan out of his own head. Fabi shivered nervously, but was about to attack him anyway, when she saw Death Rose flung into a tree, and the demon inside Saph start after her. She started towards her friends, knife at the ready, but it was too late. The mix of emotions brought the demon called Rein out of Death. Lovely.
Fabi frowned. She felt something stirring in her, a presence she hadn't felt in a long time, and she knew it was Ophelia's attempt to weaken her using what was already there. Clever, actually. She had the advantage of a rather good mood, all things considering, and she'd just come from yoga class. Meditation works wonders for mind and body, she mused, and was genuinely considering an attempt to lead everyone in a version of the sun salutation when she actually focused for a moment and saw Niccolo Croatoan going insane. Or, um, insaner than he was, she didn't see how he could possibly be anything near sane with all those names in his head. Zaf was trying to kill him, Saccharine was gloating and angering anyone who shipped Nikola Tesla, and oh wait, Saccharine was possessing Ari and controlling Croatoan through their mental link. How delightful.
Oh, and now Hantu Kopek, formerly Saph, was going to do something about her, possibly attack her. Even better.
"Is there a plan?" Fabi called out to no one in particular.
"FABI." Adra, thankfully not a demon, tossed over the bow and arrows. "I hope you have a plan. MageBay better not fail us this time."
Fabi grimaced inwardly as she caught the demon-killing weapon. As much as it annoyed her when no one recognized her strategizing, the fact that there were expectations for her wasn't good. Fabi defied expectations a lot, for good, bad or just weird. And it'd be bad this time, probably. Again, how nice in the most sarcastic way possible.
"Well then," Adra said, having hear Fabi's question belatedly, "No, not really. Revert them to their original forms... Stop Niccolo and MAKE SURE NIKOLA TESLA GOES ON THAT DATE."
Fabi notched an arrow and smiled slightly. "I'll do my best," she said, keeping her pessimistic side tucked into a corner of her mind.
She pointed the arrow threateningly at Hantu Kopek, who turned ghostly, using the ability Saph had ended up with. Yippee.
And then Fabi was flying through the air, clinging desperately to the bow and arrow. She melted her hairpins into a wire, latching it onto a tree and temporarily preventing the hard fall to the ground. She swung precariously back and forth, sending out another wire to an adjoining tree, hoping no one else was dying or turning into a demon below. She was not afraid of heights, not at all, not even a little, nope. And then the package from MageBay appeared at her feet. Only since she was suspended in midair, it fell and landed somewhere below her. Cue more sarcastic delight.
Fabi cursed and stretched the metal wires until she was back on solid ground. Thank goodness. Now to annoy the demons, she thought as she notched another arrow.
Suddenly, Hantu Kopek was flying at her. "I need that bow!"
Fabi shot one arrow quickly and without aim. Then, she tucked the bow into her larger-on-the-inside wallet, and pulled out a knife, which even though it wasn't a demon-killing weapon would be more useful at close range. Besides, maybe the demon wouldn't see where the bow was.
Actually, Fabi sort of believed that Ophelia was rooting around in her mind and could probably just read her thoughts and tell the other demons. So that whole hide-the-bow thing was kinda pointless. (NOTE: It is, as far as I know, uncertain whether Ophelia actually was rooting around in Fabi's mind or if Fabi was/is just paranoid)
She heard a slight gasp and focused again. There was the arrow, embedded in Saph's throat.

No, you're not going to panic, Fabi, because if you do, you'll be weak and the Demoness will come for you. And that is supposed to make you feel less panicky? Just saying. Well, since you're not going to panic, and you're not going to cry, and you can't fix her, you can't heal this... Well, there is a little you can do. You can pull the arrow out of her.

Fabi went into autopilot, melting the arrow out of her friend, and grimacing as Saph collapsed, looking at her with those blue eyes, and then they went blank and Fabi knew her friend was gone.

No time to cry, no time to let that feeling crunch inside you, let another mood take control, draw a line between the sides of you.

"I don't care! I love it!" The song she'd danced to in jazz class some time ago came echoing back, and she tried to believe in it, did the best she could. She turned up the volume of that mental CD player, and it was enough to drown the crunching feeling out. Later, when she thinks about that fact, a wave of guilt washes over her, and she doesn't stop it.
She grabbed the MageBay package from where it had fallen and tore it open. "One invisibility scarf," the packing slip said. She'd ordered a hat!
No time to worry about that, though. Hopefully the scarf would still shield her from all senses and allow her to sneak up on the demons.
She tied it around her neck, and felt the tingle. Time to test it out. She walked over to Saccharine and pulled out the bow, unnoticed. So far so good. When she let the arrow loose, though, it stopped less than a foot away from her, unable to leave the range of the spell. She cursed under her breath, then put away the bow an tried to tear the scarf off her neck. It wouldn't budge.

Zafira Kerias: Emotions

Set when Niccolo and Ari died well I think you'll get where it ends.


Zafira stood facing the whole thing. Niccolo lunging at Adra ripping her throat out. She couldn't bear it but she had no choice. Something had been done to him and he was not himself.
Someone has hurt my friend and this is not what I want. Someone is going to die tonight. She thought.

Fury shot through Zafira as she shot Saccharine.
"DIE DIE!!!" She screamed, the demon laughed and Niccolo and Aretha collapsed to the floor. Aretha was dead...Niccolo was not. She stood and used the sigils to bring Aretha back. She felt every part of her weaken, the sigils draining energy and finally it ended. Aretha was alive. No consious. Niether did Niccolo. Anger boiled inside Zafira.

They took my friends. The demons took them. They took Javier now Niccolo and Aretha. I should never have shot the demon I should have bound her magic before I shot it. Now I will never forgive myself. I killed them. I really did.

Time seemed to slow down. Adra and her argued but to Zafira it was all a big blur. She did not wish to live with the knowledge she basically was responsible of the death of her friends.

I ought to die, I should never have shot her. Niccolo Aretha....they are gone. Gone gone gone.

Tears formed she was crying. Zafira continued crying. She was upset and wantedmore then anything to see her friends again. Alive.

Niccolo appeared behind Adra and Nadir pulling them back,
"I should not have...in this state.." He collapsed.
"NICCOLO!!!" Zafira screamed going to him. Aretha would wake soon.

The world has gone insane, there is nowhere I can turn there is no way to go on. Dead. They all will be, dead. Dead before anyone else. I know it. I should listen to Adra I shouldn't fight. Naamah should have kept me. Then the memory of Niccolo stabbing her saving her from Naamah hit.

I owe Niccolo. I owe it to him to save him and Aretha. I must go on. No matter how insane the road may lead I must go on to save him. I owe it to him.

"I will save you Croatoan." Zafira whispered. Sleep finally came in her treehouse.

Niccolo Croatoan: Home, part 2

The moment Alastair dragged me back into my body, I felt all of my senses had accentuated themselves to the point where I could hardly bear it. I was simply too exhausted to rein them in. The daylight was blinding, and each smell was amplified until I felt surrounded by rancid odor. Everything I felt, down to the familiar sensation of my coat rubbing against me as I moved, became overwhelming. I could feel each of my internal organs individually, and had I not known better I would have guessed they were on fire. The sounds in my head... I would like to say I had learned to filter them out or even become accustomed to them, but I had done neither, and each name was in even more agony than normal. 

I quickly found myself a captive once more of the most powerful name I had stolen. Somehow- mostly through sheer willpower, I would imagine- I found the energy to twist the strands of time once more, and I appeared suddenly in Blogland. My legs gave out almost instantly and I stumbled forward, leaning heavily on a conveniently located chair for support. I could actually feel my body tearing itself apart, and I realized why that sadistic part of me would want me back just as I took control of myself again. Aretha was here- mere feet away from me, in fact- and it would kill her to see me finally come back only to die.

"I-" A violent fit of coughing interrupted my apology, but I had not the energy to speak in anyone's mind and it had to be said, so I tried again. "My apologies... For this..." I was immediately shaken by more coughing, rife with blood, and I lost my grip on the chair, collapsing on the ground. 

"Oh, God, I... I was not expecting this at all... That- that's not Alastair..." Aretha's voice. I decided I was more fortunate than I had ever anticipated if her voice was the last thing I heard. But she was in pain. I tried to speak again- to say something, anything, if only to assure her that I could- but no sooner had I opened my mouth than I found myself hacking up even more blood. I felt as though I might drown between the voices in my head and the unrelenting onslaught of external activity.

"Ok, this is insane," Aretha spoke again, and I wondered how it could be that her voice was like some sort of balm when every other sound drove me mad, "But Alastair must have gone back in time and done exactly what he claimed he would never do. Which is completely mad, because going back in time is hard, but... This is Niccolo. Oh, God." Even though I had my eyes tightly shut against the colors and light of the outside world, I could practically see her digging her fingernails into her arm. "He knew it wouldn't bother us to watch him dying, so..."

More sounds assaulted my senses- people talking urgently, running about, yelling to one another... Someone helped me off of the ground and leaned me against a tree, and I could feel its life force pulsing under my back, its typically gentle aura amplified until I felt as though it was thrashing wildly. And then they gave me RedRays, and I lost all hope of coherent thought. I can barely remember anything beyond screaming, blurred intrusions from the outside world, and sharp, enduring, absolute agony.

Javier Fyreheart: Being Insane

ISetting: I just know it was during Em and E I believe...

Javier stood watching Alexis play, something annoyed him. It was her mother, Zafira Kerias who annoyed him. She was so annoying and he couldn't believe he had actually fallen for her. Smiling to himself he began to plot her death. He would kill her and make it worth the hell he would get. 

Javier attacked the knife plunging into Zafira. He felt satisfaction in hurting her. Nobody really registered in his muddled head except Niccolo Croatoan speaking,

"If you try that again I will kill you." Niccolo told him. Javier simply did not care. He had a purpose and that purpose would be to kill Zafira. Niccolo was in his way and he did not like that. Javier waited a while longer. He crept into the shadows watching Niccolo heal Zafira. Adra was lecturing Zafira too. Typical. Then Javier smiled. Alexis was a way to get to Alexis. He had never felt more alive then today and he did not mind the prospect of possibly dying. 

Javier waited as Alexis and the Cleaver were alone. The Cleaver suddenly was blinded and Javier stabbed him multiple times. He soon took Alexis and began hurting her. Javier soon found himself pinned down. Zafira was angered. Javier took the oppurtunity to torment Zafira. She began screaming and he continued. The enjoyment of watching Zafira in pain was intoxicating. So very intoxicating. He let go of her and soon found out what it was like to be killed. Niccolo came out of nowhere and slit is throat. Javier fell to his knees holding his throat,

"Niccolo watch... Her....she...likes you keep Zafira safe." Javier stammered. He could feel the blood trickling down his throat. He couldn't. He failed his mission to kill. To kill Zafira. Niccolo's voice was quiet and fading to him,

"I never understood her." He had said and Javier formed a smirk before everything went black. Death as it was, was black. 

I tried to kill her, the Grand Mage of America and yet I failed. I never will have the opurtunity again. This is it. Blackness, darkness. I deserved to have Niccolo take my true name. But he would never. Maybe he'll watch Zafira maybe he won't. My life is over. I never can go back. Javier was still in the darkness. Sitting here dead was helping. His mind had become clearer.  He was a fool to have tried to kill his wife. If only he could have realized. He was a fool. 

Javier opened his eyes. He was seeing his wife. Zafira was laying on the ground very weak,

"Zaf! Zafira wake up!" He said panicing. She was pale and weak. He called to everyone and Adra and Niccolo came. Javier watched as everyone was helping her. He was safe and so was she. His wish to see Zafira was granted. 

Niccolo Croatoan: Home, part 1

Everything in italics is set during RedRays and the Almost-Death of Alastair Cruciatus, the rest is from a conversation I had with Adra in between plots much later on.

"So you've always been moving? Have you ever thought about getting a permanent place? I don't know, maybe something on the mundane British countryside?"

"I've never actually considered it. I make an effort not to return to the same place more than once- with the exception of Aretha's place. And I never actually stay there, it's just our meeting point."

"Hm... I can't really see you doing the whole domestic thing. At least, not right now." She shrugged. "I've bought a few houses over the years... One in America, a beautiful island in Greece, in Russia... And one in Ireland. Of course, work was always calling so I only stayed in a certain house for five years, tops, but it wasn't too shoddy."

"I can see the advantage of having places like that. If nothing else, it must me nice to have somewhere you know you'll be safe if you need it. I would even go so far as to say that having your own place contributes to the feeling of having a steady life. At the very least it's a constant. But I've never had any real need for constants. Not the way I live."

She got up to make herself some tea. "Just because it's where you live doesn't mean it's home. And just because it's home doesn't mean it's safe."

"That's true. I suppose some part of me is still stuck on memories from over 500 years ago. It's different for everyone, I'm sure. Aretha certainly views her place as home, but many people don't. What is your definition of home, then?"

She never answered, but the question made me think. It seemed obvious the moment I realized it. But to explain how I came to that realization, I'll tell you the tale of how I came back.

127 years in the past

There is a certain kind of peace that comes from being trapped in time; a kind of deep serenity you feel when you realize that, for you, one moment has become forever, and nothing in that moment will ever change or end, grow old or wither and die. Time, arguably one of the most persistent forces in the universe, has forever come to a halt. I have found, however, that such pleasant feelings begin to fade once you realize that while nothing will ever die in that moment, nothing will ever life either. 

Once I came to understand that, I felt much more like a prisoner than I ever had. At least in that form of entrapment, I was incapable of harming anyone, and free from the influence of my other names. Once I thought about it, I realized that was the first time I had been able to think without them. The lack of endless screaming and murmurs was certainly a welcome relief. All things considered, I would have willingly stayed in that moment, unchanging, for the rest of eternity. I had only one reason not to- Aretha. 

I had instructed her to kill my body before Alastair woke and began to wreak havoc on the world, which was inevitable, yet I knew full well that she would not do so. I had hidden a message in my letter to her that I was certain she would find, however I doubted she would be able to discover it and then follow through before Alastair awoke, which meant the only way for me to stop him from killing her and countless other innocents- not that I had ever been able to spare their lives anyway- was to somehow return. But such a feat is quite impossible for a consciousness trapped in time and unwilling to harm another human. Then again, impossible never stopped Aretha.