Tales of a Journey (Private!)

"Uh, yeah, actually. He's got two rings on right now, last time I checked. Actually, I don't think I've seen him take them off since he got them," Ranma listed, looking up at the ceiling as he counted on his fingers the things he knew about them. "Why? They important or something?"

"Well, Scarlett went to go find Shikiri, so I can only assume two things, kupo. She found him and he's missing his favorite rings, or she found a puzzle door." Monty told the others.

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"Where does it lead?" Kinta asked, approaching the door. It made him feel. . . secure, for some strange reason. Though he couldn't figure out why.

 

"Yeah, he's has two on. Oh, ok. Bye," Lizabeth ended the call before dropping the phone down her dress. "Well, we can just hope that Scarlett finds some answers."

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Scarlett turned off the phone before she went over to Shikiri with a nervous look on her face, "Shikiri, I have some good news and bad news. Good news - I think I know who has the ring, also he has another one with him. Bad news - I have no idea where Kinta went. Oh, and worse news - he has them both on."

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Andre popped back from behind the door as he held up a small key, "This leads to inside Audri's mind. It's been a while since I've gone inside since me and Audri got into a fight about you.. She has various doors all over the universe, they usually appear in worlds she had visited. But this door is the one I created and ran through to get here."

"So, if you don't want to come inside, you don't have to. I do recommend finding your friends if you don't plan on staying with me," Andre said as he put the key into the keyhole before turning the lock.

 

"Wait, did you just say ring?" 'Mama' asked, her eyes widened in fear. "Not good. . . get out! Get out NOW!"
Her tail was bristled like a static shock ran through her, and her eyes were narrowed into slits after she shouted this. It was clear for all to see that the Mithra was truly and royally pissed off.

"Uh oh, she's serious! I'm outta here, kupo!" Monty cried, dashing out the door.

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"Then. . . I must go. Go back to your friends and get out of here. I'm going to go alert the Yin about this. Your friend is a threat to us all, now."

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"There isn't any way I would turn back now. I've got to help Audri," Kinta said, the resolution burning up in his eyes. "So when you're ready."

 

"Us too!" Riri and Ace said as they followed the moogle out. "Uh, this is not looking good," Lizabeth said as she ran out dragging Ranma with her.

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"What? A threat?" Scarlett said about to approach the Mithra before she stopped herself.

"Fine, I'll go, but only cause we might have a chance to get those rings off of him... Well, hopefully," Scarlett said as she made her way back down the passage and ran through the dungeon, making her way to the main floor.

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"Hah, determined? Ok, but I gotta warn you. Altessa feeds off of negative emotions, so we have to be calm as we can when we're in here. One spark from us and she'll be using our emotions and feelings against us - physically and mentally," Andre said as he put the key back in his pocket and grabbed ahold of the handles.

 

Neli stared at the Mithra woman for a moment before her own nerve deserted her and she dashed out. The robot felt something fluttering in her stomach, then sitting like a rock as she left that mad creature behind.

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And then Monty ran into Scarlett, frightened out of his wits.

"Scarlett! Let's get out of here, kupo!" He exclaimed, clearly scared. "That mother is gonna kill us if we don't!"
"What the hell is her problem!" Ranma barked as he joined the others.

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"I'll do my best," Kinta said, gulping.

 

"Ok, what did you learn?" Lizabeth asked as she let go of Ranma and went over to the redhead. "Well, there's a powerful mage prisoned inside Kinta's white ring and he is the most dangerous person ever, to the fact that he could possibly take over Kinta's body.

"Ok, now I'm scared." Ace said as Riri shook her head, "So, what does the other ring do then?" "I don't know! Shikiri was more afraid of the white ring, he says that we should get out of here and that Kinta is a threat!"

"What's a tweat?" A high-pitched voice said as the group stopped for a moment. Scarlett looked behind her to see a small blonde girl with bright blue eyes and wearing a white dress. "Who are..." "Come play with me!" The girl said grabbing Scarlett's hand and dragging her down the hallway. "W-wait a second!" Riri shouted as Lizabeth tried to drag Scarlett back, "Hold on bean sprout! We need to leave this world before we die!"

"Where do you think I'm taking you?" The girl said as she pointed over to a white marble door that was on the left side of the hallway.

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"You better Kinta," Andre said as he opened the doors open. There was a white hallway inside the doorway that looked remotely familiar to Kinta...

"Well, she really knows how to redecorate from her memories," Andre said as he stepped inside the doorway.

 

"Fan-freaking-tastic!" Ranma snarled, rolling his eyes. "Like, could today get any worse? First I get hit on by a redhead, then I find out my brother is a walking time-bomb! What else could go wrong?"

"Don't ever say that, kupo! That always makes things worse!" Monty chided, jumping onto Lizbeth's shoulder as she followed the little girl. Neli was intrigued by the appearance of this girl, and sought to follow as well. Ranma simply tagged along at this point.

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"Wait. . . this looks too fami- oh right, memories. But which one?" Kinta asked aloud, seaching the surroundings for some sort of clue. "What sort of person is this Altessa, anyways?"

 

"Yay, let's go pway!" The girl cheered jumping up and down that white feathers started coming out of her hair. "Er, are you all right?" Lizabeth asked as the girl gave her a thumbs up, "I'm peachy! But let's get out of here before you guys get smushed!"

"Smushed?" Riri asked as Ace sweatdropped, "I think she means smashed.." The girl just went over to the marble door and pulled one of the feathers out of her hair before pushing it into the keyhole. She wiggled it around before it made a clicking noise. "Let's go inside!" She said as Scarlett went over and opened the door leading down a white hallway with colorful scribbles on the walls.

"Come in, come in!" The blonde girl cheered as she pushed Scarlett in from behind.

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"I think this is based from when Audri was sneaking around the Castle Oblivion's floors when she was with the Organization," Andre muttered as he closed the door behind Kinta, "I don't remember if this was before or after you met her though."

"As for Altessa, she was a really nice person, acted childish and did what she could to help others. But one day, she was out with her brother and something in her snapped. She started to become more vicious, manipulative, and bitter to anyone that tries to get close to her. She's kept her nasty attitude since she died," Andre said as he went over to stand next to Kinta, "Shall we head on then?"

 

"What could possibly smash us here? It looks pretty normal to me," Ranma commented, scrutinizing his surroundings momentarily.
"I'd rather not find out, kupo!"

Neli continued to watch the young girl very closely. Something didn't strike her as unfamiliar, but nor did she seem wrong in existing, either.

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"If she's dead, then how is she- wait, nevermind. I just get headaches whenever I try to contemplate the various states of life and death of my friends," Kinta groaned slapping his forehead. "Yeah, lets."

 

"I rather not argue with the girl and just get away from the Mithras for the moment," Riri stated as she pushed the others as she tried to close the door behind her.

"So, thanks for helping us... What's your name again?" Lizabeth asked as she crouched down to the girl's level patting her head. "I don't wanna tell you! But I want your help!" The girl said as she looked at the group with a determined look in her eyes. "What 'cha need?" Ace said as the girl spoke, "I can't find my friend since I ran into this door in another place. I was scared and running from my friend since we were playing hide an' seek!"

"So, what's this friend look like?" Riri asked as the girl shrugged, "He turns into a crow and chases me around!"

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Andre nodded as he walked ahead as they walked along the white hallway, "Her soul was taken from her body from her brother Justis and was store away somewhere safe in the Noah's haven. He also made sure that her blood was stored away apart from the body just in case some type of zombie-case happened to Altessa's body."

 

"Huh, a crow? Crows are annoying. Always stealing coins from you!" Ranma grumbled, remembering an occurrence from long ago. Monty nodded in agreement, remembering similar but worse cases because of his stature.
"What kind of person transforms into a crow, kupo?"

"Little girl," Neli began, approaching the child. "I help. Feather?"

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"The blood that was in the bottle, right," Kinta said with a nod, seeing the connection. "And the blood, since it was hers, woke up Altessa in a prison in Audri's head?"

 

"His name is Blood. He's one of my friends and toys!" The girl said as Riri raised her eyebrow at the girl, "A toy? Since when are people considered toys?"

The girl blinked a few times at Neli's request before she pulled a feather from her hair and handed it to the robot girl.

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"Well, half true. Altessa was first within my mind before she slipped into Audri's. The blood is just having her gain more conscious and gain some power back," Andre explained as he stopped for a second as they heard some type of noise from behind them.

"RUN RUN AWAY!!!!" A terrified Xenlo said as he nearly ran Andre over as he ran past the two men, not even stopping at all to see what they were going there.

 

"This is getting really weird, really quickly."
"It already passed that mark, kupo. Now it's in what the hell territory."

Neli ignored the quips of the other two and took the feather. And then she ate it, cringing for a moment before she left the room, gesturing for the others to- "Follow me."

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"Wait, if he's here that means- GOTTA RUN!" Kinta exclaimed, glancing behind for a moment before chasing after Xenlo. No way was he going to wait around for whatever that was!

 

"Uhh," Riri stood there confused as Ace gave the girl a piggy-back ride, "Let's go find your friend then miss."

"Yay, thank you so much!" The girl cheered as Lizabeth followed after them leaving Riri standing there confused.

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Andre coughed and hacked on some spit as he got up to her feet as he heard footsteps behind him. He looked back and sweatdropped as he looked up into a pair royal blue eyes. "Who the hell are you?" The woman asked as Andre stood there stunned not sure what to say to the blonde woman before him.

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Xenlo glanced back to see if the woman was still chasing after him, but to see Kinta was there instead. "Kinta?! What are you doing here?" Xenlo asked as he slowed down for a moment before coming to a stop.

 

"Er. . . Is it me, or does this place give you the creeps? Does anybody actually even know where we are?" Ranma asked, beginnning to get a little annoyed at the situation.
"Beats me, kupo. Gummi ship navigation is my strong suit, not random doors into random places."
"Well big help you a-"

"Are here," Neli informed them arriving at a door.


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"To save Audri. What are YOU doing here?" Kinta retorted, glaring at Xenlo. "Aren't you supposed to be PROTECTING HER?"

He drew his fan and held it at his side. Something wasn't right here. And he needed to be ready.

 

"Oh, of course he would be in here!" The girl said as she jumped off from Ace's back and went over to open the door. When she opened it, the humidity level in the air started to rise as she went inside the small jungle-like area.

"Blood! BLOOOOD! Are you here?" The girl called out as she stood in the doorway. Riri peeked inside wondering what type of place this was before she saw a white peacock come down from a nearby tree and approach the girl. "Hello Kinny! Have you seen Blood anywhere?" The girl said as she went over and hugged the bird.

The Peacock looked at her before it let out a cry. A few moments later, a man stumbled out of a bush with twigs in his hair. He had jet black hair with red eyes as he glanced at the newcomers.
"Blood! There you are!" The girl said running over to the man clinging to his leg. "Hey kiddo! Oh man, you're mother is going to be PISSED when she finds out that we came here to play," The man named Blood said as he picked up the girl and put her on his shoulders.

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"I was. I was called here because Audri was-" Xenlo was cut off as Andre toppled him over on the floor. "Owwww, oh. Hi Andre. Did you stall your mother?" The Noah asked as he pushed the demon off of him.
"W.... why is she here? Isn't she dead?" Andre said with a panicked look on his face.

"She's from your sister's memory. She has a place where her memories live, apparently a younger version of Audri escaped and her mother is looking for her little girl," Xenlo explained as a blonde woman in a red victorian dress walked over to them with a very annoyed look on her face, "You said you were going to HELP me dad!"

"N-now, hold on Rose... Wait for a minute and I can-" "Just, please stop talking," Rose sighed as she glanced over at Andre and Kinta with a confused look on her face, "Who are you two? Friends of my dad?"

 

"Kinny?" Neli asked, her eyes widening when the name was said. "ID Confirmed. Young Audri."

"You're kidding, right? Since when did we stumble into our past selves? I mean, we've had some weird things happen to us, but c'mon! How stupid do you think I am?" Ranma cackled in disbelief.
"Actually, very stupid, kupo."
"NOBODY ASKED YOU YOU STUPID RABBIT THING!"

"Audri?" Neli asked, approaching Blood and the young girl.

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"Oh dear. This isn't going to turn into one of those awkward 'meet the parents' moments, is it?" Kinta managed to ask before the woman came to them. "Er. . . um. . . Yeah! Sure! He called us here to help! Yes, definitely that!"

 

Blood looked at the group nervously as the girl nodded, "That's me! Audri White at your service!"

"Oh god, I'm terrified on asking how this happened," Riri said as the young Audri looked at them confused, "Who's za what now?" "Ehehe, never mind them Audri. We should go find your mommy before she storms up the place," Blood said as he looked up at the girl on his shoulder.

"Sure! Can my new friends come along too?" She said as she grabbed onto Blood's hair as he winced as he walked past the group, "Whatever makes you happy!"

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"Yes! Just... yes, we'll help you find... your daughter," Andre said as he scratched the back of his head, not sure what to say to his "memory-formed" mother. Rose eyed them suspiciously as she shruged her shoulder smiling, "Thanks. Xenlo gets side-tracked sometimes."

"Thanks you two,"Xenlo whispered to them before he turned his attention to Rose, "So, do you remember where she went off to last?"
"Well, she was chasing after Blood, that dreadful doll of hers, and Andre locked her in this marble door, thinking that it was a closet, to mess with her," Rose said as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

 

"White? But I thought her last name was-"
"Shh! I don't wanna begin to think about that right now, kupo! And how does Neli even kn-"
"Robot, remember Monty?"
"Right, kupo."

Neli stuck as close as possible to Blood, scrutinizing her at every opportunity. This was Audri, right?

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"Marble door, right," Kinta said, turning to Andre and raising an eyebrow. "Then. . . I'll go that-a-way! I'm sure she'll be there!"

He steadily trotted over to the nearest corner, and once he rounded it he launched into a full-on sprint. No way was he staying near that lady longer than he had to.

 

Audri was chatting off Blood's ear as he carried her.

Riri was whispering with Scarlett over the matter with Kinta and the rings.
Lizabeth glanced at Audri with a faint smile on her face before Audri said something to them. "Can you repeat that dear?" Lizabeth asked as Audri looked back at them, "Where are you guys from? I usually don't see people like you here!"

"Where is here actually?" Ace asked as Blood glanced over at them, "Well, to be more specific... ah, I'll explain later. How did you get here Audri?"

"Well, I got locked in here because of my mean brother, and some lady with pretty blue hair found me and played with me in here. But then I got bored and ran away from her!" Audri stated as she pat her hands on Blood's head.

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Andre glanced over at Kinta as he went off as he turned his attention to his mother, "Uh, I think we'll find them for you. I promise!" "Yes, I mean... Yeah, ok let's just get going," Xenlo said as he started pushing Rose and Andre in the opposite direction.

"That man... huh, something about him seemed off, didn't you two think so?" Rose asked as she glanced back to where Kinta had gone off it.