/= ["Dust to Dust" by Final Fantasy XIII] =/
As they entered the cave underneath the mountain, they couldn't help but feel a strange sense of sadness. Erika kept thinking that she was hearing voices of the dead, and Lovino was getting the serious case of the chills. They couldn't see Rizal's face, but even he was taking his time in here.
"Hey, bastard." Lovino spat. "Why the fuck is it so cold in here?"
"Someone else is here."
"Eh? What are you talking about?" The Italian cocked an eyebrow. "Like multiple victims?"
"No…wait, yes?" The Filipino was confused. "I definitely feel multiple presences in here, but only one seems to be in distress."
"How do you know?"
"I just feel it, that's all…oh, Lovino, in case you're curious, this is the reason why Ivan wanted me to fight with him."
"What, for your superb radar skills?"
"Kind of."
Lovino decided not to question it; this bastard was already freaking him out as it was. Rizal continued to lead the way, confused by the lack of Shadows that were around. The Shadows that were here should be alerted by their presence already…either that or Francis wants them here…
"What's going on, Rizal?" Erika walked forward. "It feels…congested in here."
"They're just holding back." He answered simply. "You'd feel tense too if you were told not to punch someone you hated into oblivion."
"Is that what's going on here?" Lovino facepalmed. "Seriously? The Shadows just want to eat us?"
"Why do you think the majority of the younger ones attack with their teeth and tongue?"
Holy crap.
Rizal headed forward, turning every now and then and almost dodging every single dead end they passed. There was one time that they missed a dead end and as they passed the end of the hallway, they heard something crash from behind the wall.
"What the crapola was that?"
"Spiked ceiling, most likely."
"There are TRAPS here?"
"I know, right? Here I thought this guy wanted company."
"How are you so nonchalant about all of this?"
"It grows on you…kind of like war, only not really."
"All right, you're really starting to pour nonsense, bastard."
"Is that so?" Rizal grinned. "My nonsense is sane compared to this realm."
"Since when?"
"That's just the logic of this place."
Lovino stared at him in confusion before feeling the ground shake underneath them. It didn't feel that dangerous, but it was rather worrying. Especially when everything went dark and bright in the matter of a few seconds.
"Ow…" Erika rubbed her eyes. "That hurt…"
"Everyone able to move?"
"We're gonna be fine, no thanks to you." Lovino sighed, standing up and looking at the world. "What the hell?"
Rizal turned his head and noticed that the world had changed around them. No longer looking ordinary, it now resembled a castle painted by a Renaissance Frenchman. Outside, it was raining rose petals in the darkness of the night.
"That…is just messed up."
"The walls feel like a canvas…the entire place feels like a canvas." Erika rubbed the floor. "It's like we fell into a painting."
"Which means a lot of artistic design." Rizal sighed. "I guess that means we're going to be here for a while."
"What makes you say that?" Lovino spat.
"If we're in a painting, that would mean that we're trapped here. Right?"
Lovino stared at him in confusion before charging forward in the hallway. Rizal and Erika stared in curiousness before hearing something collide with a wall and the scream of a man in pain echoing through the area.
"Told you!"
"You SUCK!" Lovino charged back to him. "So now what?"
"Well, we're in a painting…so that would mean that there would be another one around us, right?" Erika looked around. "Maybe we can find one?"
"We could try the window."
The three of them looked out of the windows to see that they could barely see through the petals. After a few minutes of squinting, they finally found one that was close enough: a canvas they couldn't see a few feet away from them.
"All right…so now what?" Lovino spat. "We can't jump out of here, right?"
"Nope. Too easy." Rizal looked at the wall Lovino came off of. "So we go for option two."
The two of them stared at each other as Rizal headed back to the wall, and then watched as he started pushing on it with all the energy he could muster. Lovino found himself cocking an eyebrow in intrigue.
"What in the world are you doing?"
"Option Two." He answered. "Help me push this."
Erika did it without thinking about it, leaving Lovino standing there contemplating how confusing and idiotic this entire thing sounded like. After a few minutes, he decided that he had nothing to lose and started pushing the wall as well. Instantly, they felt the ground twitch.
"Are we moving up or is it just me?"
"Keep pushing and you'll find out!"
Lovino rolled his eyes and continued to push, finally feeling the room tilting to the side. Suddenly, the room toppled to its side, and the three of them watched as the wall they were pushing turned into a blue sky, and then started plummeting through.
"WHAT THE CRAPOLA IS THIS CRAP THIS TIME!?"
The three of them landed safely in a bed of flowers, spread by a warm breeze and a large tree shading them from the sun. From the side, they could still see the windows raining with rose petals. Erika stood, feeling the flowers in her hands.
"Canvas."
"And that's another painting…" Lovino sighed. "So now what? Go pushing more invisible walls?"
"Wait a minute."
Rizal turned his head and noticed that there was another figure a few feet away from them. She looked about average, short blond hair and in a beautiful dress, holding a rose and smiling at the window. It was a strange, happy smile that made him feel oddly sad.
"Who is that?"
"A Shadow?"
He walked forward and checked on the figure. Nothing seemed to be moving in the breeze, and she didn't seem to be blinking at all. Rizal leaned forward and started tapping on her dress, and then her hair, then her skin.
"It's stone."
"Not canvas?"
"It's like she was made differently." Rizal looked at her. "Wonder who she is?"
Suddenly, they noticed a shadow streaking the windows, covering the rose petals. The ground began to shake, and the three of them were flung into the walls. The air began to stink of smoke, and the edges began to burn up in flames.
"This painting's being destroyed!" Erika ran to the middle of the room. "Now what?"
"Charge the windows!" Lovino screamed. "Do something! We just can't stay here!"
"Windows it is. Lovino, you go first!"
He rolled his eyes before charging toward the windows, kicking it open and jumping into the rose-colored storm. Rizal grabbed Erika's hand and started charging forward, seeing that she couldn't keep up. He pulled her forward and carried her in his arms.
"You're good?"
"Yeah."
The two of them ran as fast as they could before charging into the windows.
/=+=/
"Where the heck are we?"
Rizal and Erika looked up to see a gigantic round room covered with paintings. They could barely see the orange paint that was on the wall, and each painting was being covered by the rain of petals. Lovino turned around and noticed the fireplace where the painting they were in had fallen into.
"This place is oddly…cold."
"That doesn't make sense. There's a fireplace here; it should be warm."
"Well, at least it explains that guy over there."
They turned their heads to see a strange man in a weird outfit painting something on an empty canvas. Rizal tilted his head and noticed that it was the same girl that was in the painting they were just in before. What was his fascination with this woman…?
"You are not supposed to be here."
"We weren't. We just fell in. Hope you don't mind." Rizal stepped forward. "Listen, we're looking for someone else like us. Long hair, goatee, kinda smelly?"
"Pervert of a Thousand Names?" Lovino added with a sneer.
The man stood up, holding the paintbrush in his hands, before turning toward them with his head down. Instantly, they felt the air tense around them, and the strange voices seemed to shrink away in fear.
"So this is what they were scared of…" Erika shivered.
"This the leader of the army?" Lovino started grinding his heels into the ground.
"Seems like one…not telling us anything, either." Rizal stepped forward. "I'm guessing you don't have a clue?"
The man tilted his head, revealing bright red eyes shedding shining tears. Suddenly, the water from his eyes surrounded the body and contorted to a different shape, one of a man in a bright blue musketeer outfit and a shining black blade.
"Well, I don't think he's going to tell us anything."