Cassia started down at Ash's limp body, the barest hint of emotion flickering across her face. Inwards, her emotions were a mess, each mask fighting for control. Gifre and Sumayah had teamed up against Isabella and Amitte, while Inferno and Summer were battling in the background, practically setting the battlefield on fire between the actual fireballs and the beams on sunshine they used to battle.

     "Ready to go?" Jason's voice broke through her metal fog as he picked Ash up, slinging him on one shoulder like he was a sack of potatoes. Instantly, a black darkness smothered all the masks, sweeping across Cassia's mind like a dust storm in Kansas. They all ceased to speak, or even move, as the suffocating blackness that came with Jason's voice and touch consumed the girl's mind again.

     "... Of course." Cassia shook her head, her thoughts clear again as she looked at Jason with a touch of adoration in her gaze. "We should take Ashton to the Cadaverous Cove, they won't dare follow us past Sirens Sea. Besides, you know how to handle them, right?" Her question held a note of hope in it, as if she wasn't quite sure if she was right, but it would mean so much to her if she was.

     Jason nodded, and opened a black portal with a flick of his finger. The portal hung in the air like a glassy stone, almost reflecting the surroundings, but not quite. Jason motioned towards it, and spoke. "You gather the materials you'll need, and I'll go get the alter ready. The portal will stay open until you pass through, but don't wait too long. Ok, pet?" He gave her a dazzling smile, which was only somewhat dampened by Ash muttering "je suis in ouef homosexual..." in his sleep.

     Cassia nodded, beaming back at him. "Of course. I'll be there soon." She uttered, feeling both hollow and elated at the same time. She watched Jason step through the portal and vanish, and, as soon as he did, the voices came back, freed from whatever hold that boy seemed to have over them. The fighting started back up again, and Cassia let out a sigh as she moved around the room, collecting the supplies she'd need to help Jason brand Ash.

     As she passed the low side table, the glint of the orb Ash had been babbling about caught her eye. She paused, picking it up and holding it at eye level. All the masks fell silent when she touched it, and the sudden silence in her mind caused her to stumble backwards slightly, thought she quickly recovered. Cassia inspected the orb with a detached fascination before adding it to her bag. Who knew if she'd need it?

     Her bag finally full, and the voices of the masks back, Cassia stepped through the portal. A slight headache was starting from all of the din in her mind. On the other side of the portal, which had sealed behind her, was Jason, and he had not been idle. The cave looked nearly ready, all that was left was the items in Cassia's bag.  

     Ashton himself was lying flat on his back, on a large stone slab in the middle of the cave. His shirt already removed, tossed to the side, lay bare the scars of his past. Oddly shaped scarring ran a good part of the length of his ribcage, while knife scars rode above his hips on either side. On his upper right arm, a series of burn scars, focused mainly on the shoulder area. On the left, was a scar that looked like it came from a blunt object, such as a branch.

  And finally, the most startling scar, a cross shaped marking right on the center of Ash's chest.

     Candles surrounded the boy, each one a dark black, the shivering flame atop a startling vibrant blue. It was an unearthly color, associated more with the Underworld than anything on the surface. Multiple crystals and stones lay scattered around the rough stone alter, each one marked with a symbol and giving out a strong energy to bind the magic to Jason's will.

    "Ah, you're here!" Once again, Jason's cheery tones snuffed out the sounds of the fighting masks, something Cassia was grateful for. "I see you brought everything you need, right? If you'll just stand in this circle," He indicated a chalk circle he'd drawn to the left of the sleeping Ash, lined with purple stones and black obsidian. "I can handle the rest of it, I just need you to hand over the supplies you've brought."

     Cassia nodded, handing over the satchel quietly. "I trust you." The single sentence seemed to enrage the masks, as they all surged together to break free for a second, before Jason laid a hand on Cassia's shoulder, silencing them once again. "I know." Jason said with a grin, gently pushing her towards the circle.

     As soon as Cassia stepped in the circle, she stiffened, and her eyes rolled back in her head as she passed out, all the voices crying out once before falling silent to the void. She crumpled to the ground, barely landing entirely into the circle. Her breath rose and fell slowly, it was almost as if she was in a deep trance rather than an enchanted sleep.

     Jason smiled, and began setting up the items around both Cassia and Ash. He hadn't told Cassia what was going to happen, but did anyone really expect him to at this point? After he finished setting up, he walked over to Ash. He drew a pot of blue paint and a brush from the bag, and drew 3 overlapping circles on the upper part of the boy's chest, the match to the one on his upper arm. It would force Ashton into a contract, one where he could only earn his freedom, and his friends' lives, if he complied. 

     On Ash's ribs, he drew another symbol, one he created himself. This one, shaped like a crescent moon with a cross striking across it, was meant to warp the young boy's mind, to turn the headstrong male into a sheep. And, more importantly, it would greatly suppress his masks, almost to the point of Ash hardly being able to hear them, let alone have them take over. It would work over time, but by the time Ash woke up it would already be well into effect. Since it was a runic effect, Ash wouldn't even realize it was there until it was too late, and it was undetectable to all but one kind of magic. And no one else followed the dark magic he did.

     When he was done with Ash, the symbols sunk deep within the boy's skin, only a faint outline of where they had just been moments before. The same happened to the matching circles on his arm, and he shivered faintly as it sunk deeply, a current of magic passing through his entire body.

     Then, he turned his attention to Cassia. He didn't do much, merely traced over the symbols he'd already drawn on his Muse. Of course, at this point he could have done it with her awake, that's how much she trusted him. But, as with most of his spells, they worked better when he'd put them to sleep with his special powder. After he finished, he tried to wake her up."Cassia." Jason said softly, shaking the girl gently. "Time to wake up, petal."  

     Cassia shifted slightly, but something was wrong. Her eyes, opened just a slit, appeared to be black as midnight. Deep in her mind, past the masks, past the soul, past the Tree of Memories, at her very core, a spiral of dark magic faced her down.

     "So you're the girl Jason managed to find..." The darkness practically purred as it circled Cassia. But this Cassia seemed different, she was made all of light, shining brightly against the circling darkness. Her expression was fierce, almost like a warrior going into their hardest battle yet.

     "I am that girl, yes." Cassia snapped, sounding like her old self again. In a way, this was all that was left of her old self, a tiny sliver of herself managing to hide from the darkness deep in the very core of who Cassia was. But it wasn't enough, the darkness had managed to find her all the way down here. "What's it to you, ya evil smoke wisp?" She snarked, smirking.

     The darkness took the shape of a person, yet still made of smoke. Now you could see it's matching smirk. "Evil smoke wisp? My, I'm offended. You started this after all, so why are you trying to hide~?" It laughed, a sound like stones striking flint. "I can see why Jason chose you, you have quite the... spirit.  Why do you keep fighting, little light? Why not just... give in?" It offered. "I could make it worth your while..."

     Cassia just rolled her eyes. "You're pathetic." She muttered. "Offering deals, really? I'm not going to challenge you to a fiddle contest." She laughed a bit at her own joke. "Anyways, thanks, but no thanks. I'm good beating you back one bit at a time, like I've been doing. Shoulda gone for someone with a little less.. spirit." She grinned sweetly in the Shadow's face, throwing it's words back at it.

     The Shadow hissed, showing it's displeasure. "Stubborn girl." It hissed. "I can make your life a living hell if you don't want to do this the easy way, and you know it." It continued to circle her, getting ever darker as it attempted to take her by force. But it was no fool, for someone this strong she would have to willingly give up to let it in. It stopped in front her, ceasing it's circling for now.

     She smirked, looking the shadow figure up and down with a critical eye. "Living hell? Ha! Don't make me laugh, you've already taken my soul, smothered my masks, and confined me to this shelter within my own mind. There's nothing else you can do to make to make it any worse." Deep in her pocket where her hand was, she fiddled with  few spare parts she'd been saving up. If she could stall long enough, she'd be able to make a weapon. "Besides," she added airily. "What's a smokey bitch gonna do anyways? Make it darker? I'm light enough to see in the darkest pits of hell."

     The Shadow scowled, it couldn't argue with that. "Maybe I can't harm you anymore, but what about those precious... friends of yours. A druid, and a witch. So much power, ripe for the taking... Lovely. Would you give yourself up for them? Of course you would, you always want to play the little hero, don't you?" It snickered, already able to taste her fear.

     "No." Cassia stated firmly. "No more. You can't hold people against me anymore, it won't work." Her hand worked faster in her pocket, in just a few minutes she'd be able to break free again. "I'm sick and tired of people thinking they can control me through other people! What do I owe the world anyways?" She snapped, barely blinking back tears. "What has the world done for me to earn it's redemption? " She straightened up to her tallest height, looking The Shadow in the face. "The world can burn for all I care. And you, you can burn with it!"

     Quick as a whip, she threw the mini bomb she'd been building at him, and it exploded into a blaze of light and love as it struck, forcing Cassia's eyes shut from the sheer force of it. The Shadow howled in pain as it was struck, and vanished, leaving a shimmering dust where it had been moments ago. The area around Cassia grew a little bigger, the blackness giving way to a pale grey. 

     She opened her eyes as the light faded, and was startled to feel tears sliding down her cheeks silently. "Just... just a little longer, Cassia." She muttered to herself, looking around at the blackness that still was around her small bubble of light. "I.. I know they're coming for me... Right?" She felt drained, almost all her emotions had gone into making that grenade, and now she was nearly empty. Her light dimmer than before, all she had left was the hope that her friends would be able to save her.

     Back in the real world, Cassia shot upwards, her eyes ablaze with light for a solid second before fading back into their now normal darkened blue. She was panting, and the tears that had fallen before fell again. The masks in her mind were all speaking over each other, louder than before, and the din was deafening.

     But, they all fell silent as Jason hurried over from where he had been looking up a way to wake her in his spellbook, but it was a different kind of silence. A hatred, rather than a stifling darkness. Something had awoken in all the masks, a new bond they all shared, and they weren't about to back down now.

     "Cass!" Jason exclaimed, dropping to his knees beside her. "Are you ok?" He seemed really worried, his normally perfect hair was mussed. He'd clearly been running his hands through it in stress. He gave Cassia a once over, making sure there wasn't any lingering affects from whatever had happened to her. "Cassia..." He paused, meeting her gaze. "What happened?"

     Cassia just looked back at him, blank. "Happened...?" She brushed away her tears as her mind linked up what had happened. It was disjointed, but she remembered enough to know that she should still act like Jason's puppet. "I... I don't know. The last thing I remember was you telling me to stand in the circle, and the next thing I know, I woke up on the floor... How long was I out...?" She really wanted to know the last one, it had seemed to take almost no time at all in the void, but she of all people know how strangely time passed in the different realms.

     Jason gulped, and nearly whispered the answer. "Nearly 2 hours..." Louder, he gestured at his spellbook on the ground behind him. "I was looking for a way to wake you up, but you weren't responding to anything I was doing. I..." He glanced down, his eyes suddenly shiny with tears. "I thought I'd lost you..." His voice was quiet, and quivery. No matter how much magic he'd done to Cassia, he still loved her as a friend. Anything else was just because of what the magic was telling him to do, it wasn't really his fault.

Cassia glanced down, his words adding another piece to the puzzle. So she'd been right... time did flow differently. But... for some reason, the more she tried to think about it, the further it slipped away. She gently lifted Jason's chin to peer into his eyes, and the last of the memory slipped away as they held each other's gaze. "You'll never loose me, Jason." Cassia vowed, feeling an odd pang of loss with those words. She didn't know why, so she merely shook it off. Jason needed her right now, anything else could wait.

     Jason nodded, and furiously wiped away his tears. "Ok. Okay..." He seemed to be talking to himself more than her. "We should leave now, Cassia. I don't know if the others will be here soon, and while we need to leave Ash here for them to find, we can't be here when they are." He didn't add 'Because I know Stephan is coming', because he feared that would just upset Cassia, and he really didn't feel like facing down an Elder Soul quite yet.

     Cassia paused a moment, then nodded. "... You're right." She said quietly. "I can feel Amber getting closer, we should go. But..." Something held her back, as she glanced towards Ash, a strange feeling in her chest. She'd normally be able to give it a name, but for some reason her masks were silent, as if they were holding their breath collectively, waiting to see what she would do. "Can I say goodbye to Ash first?" The words dropped from her mouth like marbles in the following silence. 

     Jason looked stunned for a second, but he quickly recovered. "Of course." He said, gesturing to Ash. "I'll make us a portal while you're saying your goodbyes." Cassia watched him walk away to the other side of the cave, where he began casting the circle for the portal to his dimension.

     Cassia turned, and walked back over to Ash, a strange sadness washing over her as she stared down at his sleeping face. She pulled a small stone from her pocket, and set it to record her words. She'd leave it for Ash so when he woke up he could listen to it.

     "... Ash, I'm sorry." She wasn't sure where the words were coming from, but they poured out of her like a waterfall over rocks. Her eyes were a light, almost startling blue, as if the masks were lending her strength to be herself for a few brief moments. "If... if we both ever get out of this, I promise nothing will happen to you again, because I'll be going far, far away from you and Amber. It... It's too dangerous for me to have friends when people like Jason are in this world. So..." She paused, gulping back tears so she could finish. This would be a last goodbye, one way or another.

     "Thank you, for everything you've given me." A simple phrase, yet nearly broke Cassia to say it. "Tell... tell Amber, and Wanderer, that I'm sorry. I was stupid, you and Amber were right this whole time... I.. After I record this message, I'll be Jason's puppet again. Should we ever meet again..." She paused, trying to think of a way to phrase her feelings. "Just... don't take what I say to heart. I love you like a brother, Ash, so this is my final goodbye. Good luck." Her voice broke, and she ended the recording as tears streamed down her face.

     She stood there for a moment longer, before slipping the stone (marked with a simple cursive C) into Ash's clentched hand. Then she turned back to Jason, and all the feelings drained from her again as her tears dried and the masks vanished. She took the few steps toward Jason, and when she stood beside him again she was back to 'normal', eyes darkened and soul empty.

     "Let's go, Jason." She uttered, taking his hand in hers. "We'll go home, and put this all behind us once and for all." Jason looked at her, then nodded. "Together." The both stepped through the portal, and vanished. The portal closed behind them, and then they were gone.

     Ash slept on, safe from the Sirens in the cove.

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A/N

This is NOT a roleplay starting thing-
It's merely a story I wrote for a Pre-existing roleplay on Skype.

Felt bad I wasn't giving y'all content, so here's a little peek into what I've been up to?

Anyways, hope y'all liked it.

[Ash, Amber, this is not the one I promised for tonight but I will post that tonight as well]