In search of the dark [Sul] [Los Angales, California]

It was easy to find John, but apparently nothing had changed. Sul's smile slowly faded as he once again didn't make any sense. Was he wasting his time with this person? He didn't know for sure. But he had to beat the Necromancer kid in order to find the answer to that question. Once that was accomplished, he could see whether or not that changed anything with John. He didn't want to hurt him again, but it seemed he attacked first, targeting Sean and Aaron. Maybe he forgot that Sul had beaten him just yesterday? Did he not feel pain? Sul was still sore in the shoulder, that much he was certain of.

Aaron and Sean started off on the wrong foot and got knocked around a little, but they recovered quickly. Sul made his move while they were conflicting with one another's manipulative powers. Though he wasn't necessarily a fast runner, the strength of his legs were still enhanced. He took powerful strides in his run, his leaps having several feet in length, closing in on John. Aaron's telekinesis knocked him back, which wasn't enough to incapacitate John, but enough to distract him while Sul closed in. Sul extended his right outstretched hand toward John's throat. He intended to grab him, hurl him into the ceiling, and then jump high into the air and pin his torso to the ceiling with his back.

The attack was successful, though he didn't enjoy it. Bones would mend, he had to keep thinking to himself. Aaron had a theory of a spell being on him, causing him to lack control of himself. For now he needed to get to the bottom of all this, which would sort out these details later. John was out of commission for now, his broken body was laid down while the three of them could move forward. Sul rotated his shoulder muscle. That jump into the ceiling jarred him a bit. Normally it would have been no problem, but his injury was becoming a serious handicap.

While the trio climbed the staircase leading to their next trial, Sul couldn't help thinking outloud. He needed to prepare for what laid ahead. All the kid did before was transport around the room and evade him. What was he capable of? "Do you know what kind of powers your relative has? The dark magic. He used it to block some of my attacks. Kill people. Do you know how to counteract that?"

He could have told himself that much. That was always his strategy. Sul figured these two knew a bit more about magic and its weaknesses that could give him a tip. But the more he thought about it, they did seem weaker than him as far as durability goes. Passing eerie magical heirlooms gave Sul the creeps. Walking past a mirror, he halted for a minute. The mirror reflected his image of his former self. Back when he looked human. Brown hair, brown eyes, caucasian skin. His jaw quivered and nostrils flared at the sight, emotions that were tearing him apart internally. He hadn't seen his former self in years.

He wanted to shed a tear but instead clenched his eyes shut, inhaling deeply. Perhaps it was a mirror that showed the true appearance of a person, he didn't know, he just wanted it to go away. Opening his eyes, his former self returned to the mirror. He hated magic. So much. The other two started to get ahead of him quite a bit, so he speed walked up behind them again to make sure they weren't in any danger.

Every door they encountered seemed to open itself up. The faster Sul got out of here, the more comfortable he would feel. Finally they had entered the room with the Necromancer. Perhaps hitting John that hard was uncalled for. But Sul didn't want to waste the time or injury of him getting inbetween him and his mission. What he really needed was to defeat this kid right here. He had eagerly walked into his trap, and he knew it. But that wasn't something he was afraid of. The door clanked shut and Sul didn't bother to turn around and look. Instead he took off at full speed towards the Necromancer. He was not going to let up.

"You have nowhere to hide!" He shouted, leaping into the air with a closed fist raised high in the air. He planned, not to club the kid over the head, but smash his closed fist into the ground. The shockwave of the blast would knock the kid back and do the work for him.

The shockwave rapidly worked its way to the necromancer, though he blocked it with an equal display of force through his shadow power. A wall had arisen, forcing the shockwave to impact the surface with a thunderous crackle. He couldn't tell whether or not it made an impact on his defensive barrier.

Perhaps he was a bit too predictable. The amount of combinations he had for ranged characters was limited, he preferred a toe to toe scrap over fights with this kind any day. Though, Aaron did say he just had to keep fighting til he hit him, so what else was he going to do? He was all talk, his punch will work. It was just a matter of time before he let his guard down. There was no way a kid like him could withstand a blow so heavy. The plan for Sul wasn't to kill him, but use a certain method of persuasion to force him to let John go free.

A dark shadow spread through the floors and walls. A force that didn't seem like anyone could evade unless they had the power of flight. Sul braced himself as the shadows creeped under his feet with a cooling welcome against his already cold feet. An invisible power made them feel as if they were falling, he could recognize the expression in his allies faces. Sul personally wasn't too afraid for himself, he had fallen out of a plane before and seemed to be able to tell the tale.

Sul knelt and placed a hand on the ground bracing for an impending impact but it never came. The feeling had stopped and the shadows had disappeared, revealing a separate room entirely as if they had just been transported. But he did not know where, how or why. The necromancer had been there the whole time, as a familiar ring was tossed at his feet. Sul swiped his hand at it, snatching it off the ground. Rising to his feet, the necromancer had once again transported himself to another area. A girl had also entered the room, though Sul couldn't put the name to the face. She carried two swords on her back and dressed quite casually for the role.

"I don't think we're dreaming. But I can pinch you pretty hard if you want to remove all doubt." Sul replied jokingly.

Her behavior was confusing to say the least. They had met before briefly, but her intentions were still unclear to him. She threw Sean a sword and a ring, apparently the source to exit the room they had been trapped in. Anything to get him out was a good sign, so they had little option but to trust her for now. But was she just an illusion or another puppet by the Necromancer? That was uncertain. She could still be luring them into a trap.

He knew his injury would slow him down, but he had little choice in the matter but to pursue his current destination of freeing John. He couldn't rest easy knowing he was in this current state. Though on the other hand, his conscious appeared to want to serve. Shadows of doubt cast over Sul, wondering if his intentions were just.

Sul wandered near Sean and mumbled to him under his breath, "Just make sure this isn't a trick by the kid. We don't know where we are, remember." He didn't know what made him question everything. To Sul, it seemed like everything and everyone was a trap, a betrayer, a potential threat. Everyone except Sean, that is. The two of them went through a lot together, and that small bonding made Sul feel safe with him. The more adventurous quests they went on, the stronger that bond felt to him.

From the reaction he gained from Sean, he wasn't sure if he wanted to fight a giant shadow demon either. He had fought demons before, but he was sure they weren't all going to be the same. Their guide seemed a bit too knowledgeable about the area they were in. Once again Sul doubted the girl and was cautious about the situation they were in. The room of mirrors apparently was their next destination. A healthy alternative to fighting a shadow demon, whatever that was going to be.

Entering the room, he passed many mirrors. Once again, one showed him his previous self. Normal. Letting out a heavy sigh he kept walking through, trying to ignore the mirrors to the best of his ability. Though his peripheral vision picked up everything. An old friend popped up in a mirror, it was as if the mirror entered a flashback of his past. On the navy ship he served on as it was going down in flames. His friend raised his chin and was clenching in pain. Flesh peeled off his face and neck, slowly revealing a skeleton with a wide open mouth. Sul's upper lip lifted a little bit in irritation. It had been a while since he had thought back to that traumatic night. He passed by other mirrors, one popped out at him. It was Hurricane, the murderer of his friends. He wanted to punch the mirror but resisted. He knew it would not be real or give it justice. This had to be a test of his mental strength.

One particular mirror stood out, as if it were him in the future. He was welcoming a shadowed figure of a child in his arms, raising him up to his shoulders. Raising an eyebrow, he couldn't make out anything. All he could see the entire time was the back of the kid's head, though the kid didn't have rock hard skin, like Sul did. It was possible these mirrors revealed his life from beginning to end. What he was before, and what he was soon to be. Sul walked past the mirror, since the image seemed to be over. It just showed Sul walking forward with the kid on his shoulders. It made him wonder what kind of father he would be, or what kind of woman he might meet.

The next mirror he passed didn't make any sense though. He leaned in closer, to view himself scarred from head to toe. Deep grooves all over his body. That didn't matter as much as what he was doing in the mirror. The reflection of himself was faced off against several unnamed masked characters, ready to engage him. One opponent was already torn in two at Sul's feet, his blood ran through the street. The character seemed infuriated. The opponents moved in on him, but they wouldn't get within two feet of him. Clenching both fists, his jaw stretched open unleashing a powerful warcry. The reflection of Sul-Fury irrupted into an explosion of flames, disintegrating the flesh off the masked characters. The skeletons were blown apart and slowly disappeared, filling the whole mirror with flames. Was that his future self? It couldn't be. There was nothing that would turn him into something so brutal and violent. Killing others without remorse. All his ideals shattered as if they never existed at all. It had to be a trick, a 'possibility' of what he could become. He didn't even have the power to do that. Or was his power really that much of a danger to his true self?

The mirrored image didn't show anything else but flames, the scene was over. Sul decided to keep it to himself. He wasn't going to let a 'could be' effect his mission here. He scurried up to Sean, passing other mirrors. The few people he knew getting killed by his own hands. Why were they showing these evil images? That wasn't Sul at all, it never will be. His eyes flickered in agitation. He hoped they would be out of here soon.

It didn't seem like he was the only one. Aaron and Sean appeared to be distraught by the images the mirrors had portrayed. Internally, Sul told himself to ignore the images. That his destiny would be up to him to decide, his fate was not sealed by the images in the mirrors. He passed a mirror of his future self throwing his body into the mirror trying to attack him. He looked rabid, as if he had lost all sanity.

At last the door approached in which they could escape this nightmare. Unless that is, they had to exit the same way they came here. That would be unfortunate. As they approached the door, Sul stretched out his hand as if to open it. However, as the rest of the doors did, it opened on its own accord.

Entering the room was simple, however Sul suddenly dropped to the ground. He felt like his body had gained five times his weight. Placing his hands on the ground, he tried to push himself up to get off the ground. Arm muscles shaking, he wondered what this room was all about. It seemed to be just a normal corridor. He could see the doors ahead, it wasn't that long of a journey. If he could reach it. A young 10 year old boy with jet black hair stood inbetween them and the door, as if he were the guardian. Fighting his muscles, he eventually got himself up to the standing position. However, it tested every muscle in his system to stand, let alone walk. Was it the room, or the boy? Sean and Aaron didn't seem to be effected at all. Maybe it was just him that was effected.

The boy finally spoke. "Oh, I didn't think you would notice that quickly. Your powers are useless here. They call me Null, it's kind of my power. I can't really shut it off. Once you get past the door, the effects will go away."

It finally made sense. Sul's enhanced strength allowed him to carry his massive weight. Aaron and Sean on the other hand didn't need enhanced strength to carry themselves. However, they were going to be effected in another way. They couldn't use their powers either, water manipulation or telekinesis. Dragging one foot in front of the other, he tried to reach the door ahead of them. The massive door was too large to open by any ordinary man. Sul would expect the doors to open on their own once they got near it, but they wouldn't budge.

The young boy grew afraid at Sean's reactions, his eyes grew wide as Sean yelled at him. He didn't understand his urgency to get past the door. Sul slowly made his way closer towards the door. However he couldn't put any weight behind his punches, in fact he could barely swing his arms at the door. Impacts just sounded like a knocking on the hard metal door. It seemed impassable.

"I-I don't know!" the young boy cried out. "He... He just told me that to play the role of the Hero, you have to shed yourselves of innocence. That you need to embrace the fact that you are a villain just like him. That you get past your obstacles through any means necessary. The difference between all beings, villain or hero, is based around a certain point of view."

Though the boy didn't understand, Sul did. It was a test, and the boy didn't know that in order to get their powers back, he had to die. He had already mentioned that he couldn't turn off his powers. Children were the essence of innocence, and apparently their enemy found it fitting to make this their next obstacle. "Don't do it Sean." he managed to blurt out. "We can find another way." He said this, yet he didn't know how. They needed strength to open that door, which they lacked with the kid there.