'Vik!'
'Lachlan, buddy, where are ya?'
'For Notch's sake - VIK?! LACHLAN?!'
"Where the fudge did they go?" Rob thought to himself, walking a few paces behind the group with his arms crossed. They'd been walking for what felt like hours, when it was probably just one, looking for the boys that had disappeared without a trace, "They can't have gone too far, unless they got through the... Barrier... Well crap."
'Guys, you don't think Lachlan took him through the barrier, do you?' The Canadian asked, but his voice was drowned in the far louder calls for their friends. Letting out a quiet huff of annoyance he strode forwards and to the side, making his way away from the group and turning to observe said barrier. It was a few metres ahead of them, a soft glow pulsing from the sky downwards as the ancient magic stood strong.

He thought he'd seen... Something.
A pale figure, seeming to be made out of light as the blue glow danced through the trees. It came closer, almost solidifying as it neared the barrier. Whatever it was placed it's hand on the translucent spell, features etching their way onto the figure as they cocked their head and smiled.
Hello, my boy... It's good to see you again, I don't believe we've met since you were a child.
'Mom?' He squeaked, the rest of the world melting away as the spirit nodded. She took a step back, opening her arms and gesturing for the young male to come closer Come, young one, join me through here.
'Mom, I-I thought you-' Stumbling to meet his Mother, he'd ignored the concerned queries of his friends and darted straight forwards; Straight into the arms of a Cupio. Not an Orespawn, but still a dangerous monster.

A Cupio is able to disguise themselves as the form of a loved one (Usually deceased) and lured their victim into a tight embrace before taking their true form and making an attack. Highly risqué, not to be approached at any costs. One downside to the creature's ability is that only it's target can see what they're disguised as, any others in the area will see it for what it truly is.

'Does anybody know who - Oh, no, Rob!' Preston yelled out in alarm, taking a running start as his friend passed through the barrier. His wolffish appendages reappeared, the Canadian letting out a quiet gasp as they did so before barreling into his "Mother"s arms 'Mom, I can't believe you're here! The-The hunter, and the sword, and everything; How are you even alive?!'
It doesn't matter now, Rob, all that's important is that you're going to stay here, with me... FOREVER! In a dim crimson blur, the Cupio took it's true form-
Just for Preston to literally spin around, and kick it in the head.

He could feel his powers returning. Just a slight ping of warmth at first, but soon it flowed to his fingers. A ball of flickering fire settled in either palm, an oddly confident smirk dancing across the brunet's lips as Rob stumbled back in shock 'Rob, get back, this ain't gonna be pretty '
'But you... My Mom... What?' The Cupio roared in frustration at losing it's prey, turning it's focus to the short figure that had stopped it getting it's meal; A human? 'Trust me buddy, go to the group '
'You're nuts!' Jumping over the mob's lashing tail, the Texan shouted a quick 'I know!' before lobbing one of his flames. A sudden wave of intense heat made him stumble back, eyes wide, but he shook it away as a side-effect of slowly regaining his abilities before ducking under the creature's reptilian fist 'Don't you need help?'

'Nah, I'm a tough cookie, this lava mob's gonna be - Heads up!' Shoving the older teenager to the side, Preston took most of the impact of the Cupio's tackle as he was sent crashing back through the barrier. His head swam, but he needed to get Rob out of there 'Preston, stay back, we can just get Rob and duck out. You're in no condition to fight this thing yourself!' Mitch exclaimed worriedly, kneeling by the brunet's side as his fire diminished.
'I could do that... But I'm not gonna ' The Texan grinned cheekily, pushing himself back up and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before jogging back through the translucent wall, feeling his powers once more as he ran for the Cupio. He went for a different tactic this time, choosing to go hands-on instead of simply throwing his fireballs from a distance 'Kamikaze, fudger!'

'Preston, no!'
"Preston yes!"

~~~

'Kenny, you're going to get yourself killed; At least let me help-'
'Nope! I'm doing perfectly fine, thanks very much. Just sit down while I - Fudge - get this thing down there!' Raising an eyebrow at the blond, Choco did as he was told and sat cross-legged in the grass as Kenny attempted - For the twentieth time - to push the Caterkiller into the ravine whilst avoiding it's snapping jaws. He didn't seem to be in any immediate danger, as the Orespawn seemed to be more annoyed than anything, so he just stayed quiet and observed what he was doing.

"This is oddly controlled... He seems to know what he's doing, but I probably shouldn't take my eyes off of him. He probably thinks I'm so stupid, falling down the ravine like that; Ah, Notch, I seriously am a failure " Internally laughing/screaming at his oh-so-amazing personality, the chocobo leant back against a small mound and pushed the sleeves of his cloak up, exposing golden feathers... Along with large gaps where major flight feathers were supposed to be, burnt away all those years ago while trying to escape the inferno known as his house.
Well, that got depressing rather quickly. 'For fudge's sake, just get in the bloody ravine!' Kenny snapped, pushing all of his weight against the Orespawn as it just stood there, as if too lazy to fight back, 'Literally just jump into the bin!'

'You sure you don't need any help?' Choco called out, fully prepared to do so until the blond let out a growl of frustration 'I just don't get why it won't go in the fu-'
'Woah there friend, let's try to keep this thing kid-friendly, there could be young atoms present!' An unfamiliar voice warned, the Caterkiller perking up at the sound before slinking away into the forest as a dim blue-green glow accumulated mid-air, 'Aw, you scared him away, that's rude...'
'Who-Who's there?' Choco started to panic, jumping up as Kenny's head snapped around 'Choco, get behind-'
'I may have power over many things, but I'm not gonna hurt you, no way. You guys are interesting, and the audience would most likely stab me if I even tried. As for who I am, just called me The Author, alright? Now, let's get down to business.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TO DEFEAT.

THE HUNS.

Got to love casual Disney references amirite?

'Course I am.

Heh.

Who do you guys think The Author is? It's not me for once, no self-inserts this time. They're not really a main character, but they're related to somebody from book 1.

(Can we just take a sec to pray for Choco and his self-depracation in this chapter tho like seriously, m8.)

See you all in the next chapter, and have a great Morning - Afternoon - Evening - Dawn - Dusk - Midnight - Paranormal Timezone!