General disclaimer: I own nothing, even Maiyn generally decides her own path.

-----------------------

Irenicus

-----------------------

"That was the Avatar of Bhaal." Imoen's voice was small as they sat huddled around Maiyn's sleeping form. The thief's words were a statement, not a question, and prompted a loud and lengthy sigh from Xan.

"Losing her soul has had a fiercer impact on her than we could have imagined," agreed Jaheira quietly. "If we do not act quickly, we may lose her to her own taint."

"Why... why hasn't that happened to me?" Imoen was frowning slightly, watching as her sister's breathing became slightly erratic in her slumber. Kivan had moved closer to the sleeping elf, taking her hand gently and giving it a squeeze.

"You have been unaware of what you are," reasoned the druid, also looking at their unconscious leader with some concern before returning her gaze to the young human. "Your nature and innocence protected you from it -- the taint had no way to get a hold on you because you could imagine nothing as evil as it existing."

"But I don't have a soul now, either."

"You may find yourself changing," nodded Jaheira seriously. "But I think it will take time to have the effect it's having on Maiyn -- time for your own essence to get established in your conscious thought. Without your soul, however, you will not survive for long -- neither of you will. Maiyn's emptiness is being exploited because she is fully aware of it and has been subjected to it for months. Your own ignorance of your true heritage has protected you for so long that you lag behind as far as the effects go, and your own state will be much different."

Imoen nodded silently. "She's the stronger one... if it can take her like this, what chance..."

Anomen placed his hand on Imoen's arm comfortingly, and she smiled weakly to the knight. Jaheira merely shook her head.

"You are both strong, but in different ways. If you wish me to be honest, you are a stronger person for dealing with this than Maiyn is. The taint... it has found a way to use her, how to manipulate her, even if she is trying to fight it. She has changed, Imoen, in such a short time -- and it is likely she will get worse. Your personality is more likely to help you through the pressure coming from it; Maiyn has little resistance left. I cannot see you so easily allowing it to alter you."

"Maybe," replied the thief doubtfully, and the group fell back into silence.

-----------------------

Maiyn woke up to see Imoen looking down at her. She smiled weakly before realising that it wasn't Imoen at all -- she was in Candlekeep once more, and her sister looked less than happy to see her.

"You came too late," said Imoen firmly. "Didn't I say you would come too late? You will learn to trust me." The girl backed away slightly and smiled but her voice carried the hint of a threat. "Don't be afraid. You are safe here... if you behave. I will show you what fills the void; what is now free."

Maiyn forced herself to sit up. "You are not Imoen. She said she has not had any dreams like these."

Imoen laughed. "I lurk behind your soul, in the very fibre of your being. I am the only thing left when mind and reason are stripped away. I will show you what you can be, what you can do... if you simply let yourself become what you are. I can show you all of this, because I am within. I am what fills the void. I am you." She reached out as she spoke, touching Maiyn and causing her to fall back down. When she next opened her eyes, they'd moved location. Imoen stood behind the lectern that Irenicus had previously used, but her sister in his place was an even more frightening sight. The thief spoke in a formal tone with only a hint of pleasantries.

"You are to be given a gift. It is a valuable prize, one that you had better appreciate." Images of Maiyn's friends faded into existence. They were all asleep, curled into their rolls as they slumbered. Then more appeared... other figures also sleeping. Maiyn didn't recognise three of them, but one was painfully familiar to her.

"Coran..."

"You worry for your comrades perhaps? Leave them, abandon them, and become what you must. You did it before -- you can do it again." Their bodies faded away, and the girls were left alone once more.

"No," replied the ranger quietly. "I need them. I... I cannot walk away from them."

Imoen frowned slightly. "There is great power in your heritage," she said insistently. "Use it, and you will become closer to who you are... what you could be." A wave of the hand and more figures appeared -- these stood before the elf, looking at her with hatred and anger; Sarevok, Bodhi and Irenicus. Imoen walked from her place to approach Maiyn's side. "Feel what is in the void. Use the tools that you are given. Become part of something greater -- I am in you, and I know what is best." The thief reached out, touching Maiyn gently on the arm. Instantly she felt herself changing, her flesh contorting as her shape changed back into the form of the Slayer that she'd only recently experienced. This transition seemed easier -- more controlled, more... natural. It was terrifying how innate it felt. Her sister smiled widely to her and pointed to her assembled foes.

"Each time you use it, each time you accept it, you move a little closer to the evil within," whispered the thief. "Perhaps you lose yourself in the end, but you will go to greater reward than you can know. After all, what does an eternity of nothingness matter, when you can destroy all that would oppose your development as easy as 'one'..."

She felt herself moving forward. With one powerful swing of her clawed hand, Sarevok fell to the ground in a heap.

"'Two'."

She spun around, snarling at Bodhi. A vicious lunge saw her impaling the vampire on her already bloody claws.

"'Three'."

Slavering, she leapt at Irenicus, ripping pieces of his flesh from him with her teeth as she tore into his fragile mortal form. She felt no revulsion at all and only moved away, back to Imoen's side, when she was satisfied he was dead.

"'Four'," said Imoen softly. Maiyn reached out, grasping the thief's throat and squeezing until she went limp. Her slayer form felt no emotion, and she coldly and calculatingly waited until she was sure the death was secured. Then, carelessly, she dropped Imoen's body to the ground, and looked around hungrily for more victims.

"'Five'!" Imoen's final word was more gurgled as blood seeped from her mouth, and wave after wave of pain went through Maiyn's body. She collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony, and her world turned black.

-----------------------

The pain stayed with her as she returned to consciousness. Kivan and Xan were by her side, Jaheira rapidly approaching. She shook her head, shuddering as the agonising feelings swept over her. She knew what was happening -- she had to warn them.

"Get away!" she shouted, but no words came. Her friends looked at her with fear and confusion, then Xan pointed to her arm. The skin was changing, turning darker, breaking out to the hard shell they'd seen earlier. Instantly they turned and fled, shouting for the others to do likewise. She watched as they retreated down the corridor, throwing closed two of the large doors they'd passed through earlier. The remaining part of her conscious thought sighed with relief at their safety, and she slipped past consciousness and fully into the form of her dead father's avatar.

-----------------------

When she next opened her eyes, it was to see Jaheira frowning at her. She had no idea where she was, because all she could see was the ceiling, shrouded in darkness, and the stone walls of a passage. Since all the passages had stone walls, this gave her no clue at all as to where she'd gone.

"Child," came the druid's gentle voice. "We need to talk."

She sighed and nodded, allowing herself to be helped up. One of the first things she noticed was the state of the doors to their right. It looked as if they'd been besieged by an army of bloodthirsty dwarves wielding sharp axes, and rents and tears had splintered the wood. The half-elf noticed her aghast look and nodded.

"That was you, yes. Thankfully you seem to have regained control of yourself before you could get through. We would have had to have drawn weapons against you."

"I know," replied Maiyn quietly.

Together they walked through the arch to the rest of the companions. They all looked to her fearfully as she approached, but quickly enough most of the expressions changed to relief. Kivan was first by her side, giving her a tight hug, followed by Imoen and then, to her surprise, Anomen.

"Boo says that it is not really you," said Minsc seriously as he too reached out to squeeze her hand. "And Minsc and Boo shall do what we can to protect you from the evil influence."

"Thank you, Minsc," she smiled, her heart warming by the berserker's words.

"I've seen a lot of strange things," said Sime quietly from the background. "And, admittedly, this is... one of the most terrifying I've had to deal with, but... well, I'll do what I can to help you. Nothing's changed from my point of view."

Maiyn nodded, her smile turning to the Shadow Thief who offered her own back, nervously. The ranger's eyes shifted to Xan; the enchanter was the only one who hadn't moved towards her or offered a word of comfort. His black eyes were fixed to the ground, avoiding her gaze completely. She sighed slightly and looked away as Jaheira spoke.

"You know what it is you turned into?" the half-elf asked.

Maiyn nodded slowly. "I... I think so. The form of the avatar."

"Do you feel any control over it?"

Maiyn shook her head to the druid. "Not then, no... but I think I know why it happened. With Bodhi, I got so angry... angrier than I can ever remember being."

"Is that due to your lack of soul?" asked Anomen. Maiyn shrugged helplessly and looked to Jaheira.

"I would imagine so," said the half-elf thoughtfully. "And now your taint can harness your anger. You will have to be careful."

"What about when you were asleep?" asked Imoen quietly. "Your mouth moved, as if you were trying to speak, but nothing came out."

"I... I was dreaming," recalled Maiyn slowly. "The dreams I told you about before... the ones I had when he had me in the cage. It was like that."

"I was talking to you again?"

The elf nodded to the human. "But I knew it wasn't you, this time. It said it was me, a part of me that had been locked away. It encouraged me to change, to become the Slayer. It brought Sarevok and Bodhi and Irenicus before me, and willed me to fight them. I did... I tore them apart, then I tore you... the dream Imoen apart. Then I felt pain, and I woke up, feeling the change and the pain."

Jaheira and Kivan exchanged a worried look. Anomen's arm had absent-mindedly gone around Imoen's shoulders as she trembled and she leaned on him for support. Sime was as expressionless as Minsc, sitting quietly and listening to the discussion. Neither of their thoughts could be read. Xan still looked at the ground, unmoving and unwilling to speak.

"We cannot waste any more time," stated Jaheira. "Finding Irenicus and Bodhi are now our main objectives, and we cannot rest until we achieve the reclaiming of your souls. Gather your packs; we are moving on and escaping this infernal prison today."

-----------------------

The sun was a welcome sight for the companions, even if the wind chilled them as they stood atop the flat roof of Spellhold. They'd fought their way on, answering riddles posed by spirits of the long dead administrators of the asylum, but Maiyn had displayed restraint and patience with all her dealings. In the end they'd been proclaimed as sound of mind, and allowed to go. The teleportation spell had deposited them here, next to a flight of stairs leading back inside the compound.

"This is it," said Maiyn quietly, looking around at the others. "Are we ready to face Irenicus if we can find him?"

One by one the companions nodded. Xan had still not said a word to her but as she turned to descend the stairs he appeared by her side, taking her hand gently in his. His squeeze was tight and almost painful, and their eyes met; his look was reproachful, concerned and fond, all in one -- a mixture of emotions he couldn't even begin to understand but was trying to battle inside himself. She offered him a smile and a slight nod, squeezing back and striding towards the stairs.

They emerged into a dark landing, barely large enough for them all to crowd into. Sime pushed gently towards the door, signalling for the others to stay quiet as she eavesdropped for several minutes. Then, quietly, she tried the handle of the door, picking it with amazing skill and ease when she realised it was locked. Maiyn moved forward as she opened the door a crack and peered out to the corridor.

It was dimly lit and almost silent -- the only noise the elf could make out were the soft sounds of footsteps, her keen hearing allowing her to realise that they were approaching. She turned to the others and gestured a warning before throwing the door open and leaping out to face the wanderer.

To her surprise she found herself facing Saemon Havarian, who raised his hands in a compliant surrender. She squinted at him, unsure if it was really him or perhaps Dili using another borrowed face. When he spoke, though, she was left with no doubts.

"There you are! I see that you have weathered the storms of this place with reasonable pluck and health; it does me good to see you alive."

"You have one chance to answer my next question, so I suggest you make it fantastically good," replied Maiyn quietly. "Give me one reason why we shouldn't kill you."

"Such hostility, and I wager it is well-earned," said Saemon resignedly. "It is, however, misdirected -- I do not wish to be your enemy here." Maiyn shrugged slightly and moved forward, drawing her sword as she went. The captain paled slightly and licked his lips. "Irenicus pushes ever forward, though I cannot see how I will profit. The blade he gave me is hardly compensation; better that this place were free for the looting."

"Not good enough," replied Maiyn lightly, still advancing.

"I offer advice to foster a trust, and you may determine the value as you wish," he finished hurriedly. "It is simple enough for the moment, and will save you in the long run."

The ranger paused and raised an eyebrow. "Go on. Make your words count -- they will determine your lifespan."

He let out a deep breath of relief. "Irenicus is a power, indeed. I have seen no chips in his armour of spells and you would need an army to face him. I suggest that there is one to be had."

"We are more powerful than you give us credit for," replied Maiyn slowly.

"Ah, now, I'm sure you are," said Saemon hastily. "But the inmates of this place are a resource to be tapped. Release them and their anger and frustrations will strike at Irenicus."

Maiyn stared at him. "You... want me to use the inmates... as fodder?"

"That's a bit of a mercenary way of looking at it," he corrected. "It is my suggestion, and I leave the workings of it to you -- I am sure they would welcome the chance of revenge just as surely as yourselves, and I have taken steps to ensure the warden will be, erm, absent, for a while."

Maiyn's eyebrow arched higher. "'Absent'?" she asked, the sounds of more footsteps rapidly approaching. Her companions tensed, peering behind Saemon into the gloom and he swallowed nervously.

"Ah, is that the time?" he asked casually. "It's been interesting, I'm sure it will all go splendidly well!" A flash later and he'd disappeared, Maiyn's loud swearing welcoming the emergence of Dili and the other inmates they'd encountered, as well as several others unfamiliar to them.

Jaheira sighed as the prisoners assembled silently, and Maiyn racked her brains, trying to think of a way to persuade them to return upstairs and wait for them to be finished with their captor. Before she could speak, however, a small gnome had pushed his way to the front, and he scowled at them as he spoke.

"Tiax deems that you are worthy to fight alongside him as he battles Irenicus! You shall be the shield which protects Cyric's most faithful worshipper as he takes one step closer to his rightful throne, becoming ruler of the world!" His hands started waving about in an arcane manner, and Maiyn felt two hands grabbing her arms, restraining her sudden lurch forward.

"You surely cannot expect me to work with a Cyrici-" she began to shriek to Kivan and Jaheira.

She was cut off by a blinding light and felt herself being drawn through a void before she regained control of her senses. As her world slipped back into focus, she looked up to see a bewildered Irenicus looking down at her, then surveying the room in amazement as he realised what had happened.

"What is this?" he eventually asked. "You have released all of my test subjects? How wonderfully mad of you! I did not expect this in the least, so dangerously risky it is."

Maiyn was temporarily speechless, risking a brief glance backwards to see that her companions were also amongst the insane who had teleported in to face the wizard. "I am glad I amuse you," she offered, turning back to him. "Now I will end your plans and your life!"

He laughed coldly. "As over-eager as ever, but your boasting is wasted on me. You are no threat, not even with your army of madness. Your fate has been sealed with the curse I transferred to you. I have the souls from both you and Imoen, and they have healed Bodhi and myself. You will die in our place, or worse."

"Healed yourselves? What do you mean?"

"It is pointless to explain to someone destined to die soon enough," Irenicus sneered. "Bodhi tells me you have exhibited a... transformation. With your will slowly fading perhaps the essence of Bhaal will rise to take you; that would be a sight, I am sure, and I am almost saddened that I shall not be able to witness it."

"I'll take back what is mine now!" shrieked one of the inmates behind her. "I'll take it back! You perverted this place and I'll take it back!"

"You tortured those here long before I arrived," replied Irenicus coldly. "I merely had more purpose to do it. Bah, I speak with madmen when I should be at my revenge!"

"Yes!" shouted Minsc loudly as he pulled Lilarcor free. "Revenge! Revenge for precious Dynaheir! Tremble, wizard, for the mighty Boo will have your eyes!"

"Yeah baby!" agreed his sword.

"What revenge do you have, wizard?" demanded Jaheira. "You killed my Khalid with no more thought than one would give to a fly! I shall have my revenge! Nature's fury shall strike you down!"

"You... you used me!" joined in Imoen. "You tore apart my soul and then you ripped it from me! I'll kill you for that, Irenicus! I'll kill you!"

He snorted at them. "Your pathetic whining mean even less to me than Maiyn's! Die! All of you! I have restored my soul and will work my revenge without your interference!"

"Tiax will end it now! You will bend down to lick the floor clean for Tiax to walk upon when he becomes ruler!"

Maiyn swung her sword at Irenicus with little in the way of grace or expertise, but plenty in the way of viciousness and annoyance. Before it even came close to connecting, he initiated a spell trigger, and both mirrors and stoneskin appeared in a split-second, causing a stream of profanities to erupt from the ranger's mouth. Jaheira gave her a pointed glance as she appeared by her side, ready to enter into the fight, and the elf shrugged in return.

"It's all those pirates we were around," she mumbled.

Minsc wasn't far behind, Larry's cries for blood signalling the berserker's approach, and the women instinctively dodged to the sides as the mighty weapon swung at Irenicus, instantly wiping out half of his illusions. He was mumbling his way through another incantation as Xan's breaching spell hit him, taking off his stoneskin, but still leaving him with several mirrors. A soft glow enveloped him as a sequencer went off, and Imoen called out somewhere behind them.

"He's raised his resistance to magical weapons!"

Sure enough, Lilarcor just seemed to bounce from the skin of the mage and he smiled cruelly, finishing his incantation, and the air became almost unbearably hot around Maiyn, causing her to stumble slightly as her throat became parched. Her companions seemed to be suffering too, and both Imoen and Xan' spells had been interrupted by the damage the spell had inflicted on them, causing both to drop to their knees as they hoarsely cried out. Kivan and Sime continued shooting, seemingly out of the range of the spell and both had reverted to their backup non-magical arrows, occasionally managing to hit the mage and cause minimal damage. The inmates were either stricken by the wilting or mid-incantation when a pillar of flame roared down on Irenicus, Anomen's prayers to Helm being heard.

Maiyn managed to find her strength again, but was almost instantly thrown off-balance as time around her seemed to shift. She started, puzzled by the feeling that passed over her fleetingly, and she only just managed to hear Xan's raspy shout.

"One of the inmates... cast time stop..."

She looked back to Irenicus and noticed that he'd suffered an immense amount of damage in the split second that she'd experienced, and he backed away from the onslaught, glaring around.

"Damn you all!" he roared furiously. "Why do I fight over this place when my plans may be laid anywhere? I must start anew!" He whirled to face Maiyn and she paused hesitantly, her blade poised to strike. "Have your victory here then, but know that you are dying on the inside even now and many will join you before I am done! My home will feel my wrath! Fight my mindless assassin that I would sacrifice; I shall find others to serve my needs! This place is yours -- I hope it is your tomb!"

A portal appeared and the mage escaped through it before the ranger could react. It snapped shut in his wake causing her to scream in frustration as she turned back to see how her companions had fared. None of her friends seemed seriously injured, but Dili's body lay prone on the floor. The other inmates were frantically murmuring their own spells to escape from their prison, disappearing one by one. The ranger looked for the Cyricist gnome, but he was nowhere to be seen and she cursed loudly, approaching the fallen girl and kneeling by her side.

"She is better where she is now," said Jaheira softly. Maiyn nodded but sighed, idly sweeping the stray hairs from her face before she stood back up. Her companions assembled around her.

"What now?" asked Sime. "We need to find a way from here, but I have a feeling finding the front door isn't going to be easy, if even possible."

"You are very astute, my friend," came a familiar voice from behind them. Yoshimo quietly strode into the room, smirking at them as he held his katana firmly. Maiyn held out her hand, stopping Minsc from approaching the Kara-tuan and turned to face him on her own instead, stepping forward to meet him.

"Why didn't you tell us who you were?" she asked quietly. He laughed in her face.

"Why don't you tell the world what you are?" he countered. "Because you do not wish to deal with the consequences! Much as you did not with to deal with the consequences of killing innocents like Tamoko!"

Maiyn shook her head slowly. "Tamoko... I did not want to fight her. She insisted on it, for her own honour. She pushed it, she wanted the escape... I had no wish to-"

"No!" the rogue shouted, violently pushing Maiyn backwards. "Your lies will not work on me! I saw you follow her from the Guildhouse when she went after Sarevok! I know you killed her when she was alone, and she fell to your blade! You took my sister from me -- there is no excuse!"

"You are wrong!" stated Jaheira firmly. "Maiyn is correct -- your sister wished to stand for her convictions, despite our unwillingness to have bloodshed. She sought release from her loyalty to her lover, and the only way she could achieve it was in an honourable death."

"You know nothing of honour!" hissed Yoshimo as his eyes glinted at the druid. "But now is your chance to display some, if you can overcome your cowardice." He looked back to Maiyn. "I challenge you to battle, just as you faced my sister. I seek to avenge her in a fair fight with you, to give her the peace she deserves."

"I will not fight you," replied Maiyn quietly. "I saw her... I saw her when we got here -- she was pleading to you, she was sad -- she wouldn't want-"

"You know nothing of what my sister would want!" he snarled. "I challenge you -- either accept my challenge, or I shall gut you as the spineless coward you truly are!"

Maiyn drew herself up and glared back at the rogue. Then she threw her sword to the side and shrugged at him. "Do what you must."

Yoshimo paused and regarded her curiously. "You have no wish to protect your honour? To protect your precious claim that you were not the in the wrong when my sister fell?"

"I am secure enough in my memory of the event," replied the ranger. "You will not be swayed from your misplaced thirst for vengeance, but I won't be party to another falling to my blade when I do not seek a fight."

"Then it is time for you to apologise to my sister," stated Yoshimo coldly. "In person."

Maiyn closed her eyes, preparing for his lunge. She winced as she heard the sound of a weapon ripping through armour, but felt no pain. The sound of a weapon clattering to the floor caused her to slowly open her eyes, watching as Minsc withdrew Lilarcor from Yoshimo's kneeling form. The Kara-tuan gave her one final look of pure hatred then fell to the ground.