Warping Reality (Open)

[potter_fan122]

((Jonathan in green. Night Drive by the All-American Rejects.))

"You are not of our mind and you were not invited, so who are you?"

Rhyme`s words seemed to echo around her head, and the voice it came from really didn`t sound like him at all. She realized that she was shaking ever so slightly, and her breath was loud in her ears. She closed her eyes and shook her head, taking a few backward steps towards Rhyme and away from the cloud where she knew Jonathan was hiding. A fear was flooding through her, which was unlike her. She was always the strong and outgoing one, she never cowered at the thought of a fight, she embraced it. But for some reason Jonathan brough back a buried, instinctual fear. One that screamed enemy.

Stacey clenched her free hand, opening her eyes. Her irises were flooded black-- her emotions wouldn`t be for all to see if they were just black. The cloud had become even thicker, way beyond being able to see through it. There was just a shadowy figure shaped like a man, and only Stacey knew what he was capable of.

"It`s Jonathan." She said quietly, answering Rhyme`s question, "It`s my uncle." Her voice was flat, no emotion, even though she was scared. It was actually an odd feeling. Feeling fear was just something Stacey didn`t have. She hadn`t even really felt it before; everything she was scared of had ended up in worse shape. Before Stacey even finished speaking, another voice rang out.

"Stacey, Stacey, dear, you mustn`t answer questions that aren`t directed towards you. It is most unbecoming." That is when the man finally showed himself. He stepped out of the dense mist, running his fingers through his dark blond hair. His green eyes were sparkling with mischief. "And dearest Rhyme," Jonathan`s voice was thick with a girl-like tone that was obviously making fun of his niece, "you should know better than to think you can push me out of this little space. And really, I am of Stacey`s mind. I am here because she let me be. If she would have kept her simple shields up, she would have been just fine." He grinned rather evilly, tilting his head to the side.

Stacey shook her head, again opening her mind to Rhyme`s power. She knew that she probably should have just closed her mind, but she didn`t. In fact, all of her shields were down except for her very basic ones. But she was smart enough not to take those vital things down. Her hands tingled as energy flooded into her body and she couldn`t help but return Jonathan`s smirk. Filled with a borrowed energy, her feeling of fear left her. Music started and what sounded like clapping sounded. Ribbons of light surrounded the clearing again. They were lime green, pink, and white, their light filling the space with a sort of kaleidoscope effect. She smiled and waved her hand. The music got a little louder, and she started to sing.

"I know you
so better than the city in the rear view
I drive to
eliminate the ball that I'm chained to

Take me break me
every mile further there's a part of me that slips away
One day you'll see
Even if you go down on your knees you couldn't make me stay

Drive all night
Never gonna get me
Night by night
To get away from it all
You fight fight fight
All you wanna do is hurt me
You wrecked my life
Now I'm gonna have to drive all night"

Stacey was glaring at Jonathan now and breathing heavily. There was a hint of something in her face, something like hunger. Not hunger for any real substance, but for power. She had to beat her uncle. It didn`t register with her that he was much older and much stronger, she was her mother`s daughter, the only female child to an immortal, even if no one knew it. She had the upper hand so far, but she had always been close to a power source. Now she only had Rhyme and almost nothing to hold her mind together. She simply refused to acknowledge the fact that it was her fault Jonathan was here. She could have kept him out, she had to all the time now. But she had been reckless. She knew all of this, but she wasn`t going to admit it.

[~Harry Potter~]

((Grats!  We hit the forth page!))

"You are right," Rhyme alone said as he took a few steps closer to Stacey and put his hand on her shoulder.  "I can't get rid of you as simply as someone like Ginny could." Then his voice changed to that of Artemis "But I can make you wish I could"

Rhyme then leaned down and whispered quietly into Stacey's ear.  "It's okay, he is on our side for now.  Oh...and hold on."

Rhyme tilted his head down and closed his eyes as he focused.  When he did the area grew a bit hazy and any attacks thrown would slow down as if thrown into clear pudding.  Suddenly they vanished with a bang of displaced air filled space and reappeared a good distance away from Jonathan and this time with Rhyme next to Stacey instead of behind her. 

For anyone not used to the warp it would have felt like being on a very fast amusement park line tossing the person upside down and all around with high gravity from the warping of space. 

Rhyme didn't pick up the thing about the guy coming from Stacey's mind but Artemis did.  He noticed it right away and also saw it as being a bit twisted to try and get Rhyme to blame Stacey.  They were just kids, it was absurd to expect them to have perfect control of their powers. 

"Maybe you don't get it" Artemis and Rhyme said in sync "when we said this is our mind.  This is OUR world, you just exist in it."

"You know Rhyme, you should have really paid attention more in your physics classes, that or science in general.  Now let's see what he can do, I'll try a neat little trick you will have to remember" Artemis said as he waved his hands as a black aura began to form around his hands.  It didn't have the same evil aura though.  It changed from uncontrolled evil to that within every person's soul. 

Suddenly with a snap of his hands, the aura vanished and when it did, the area within a foot radius of Jonathan had its gravity turned off and unless he moved or did something to directly counteract it he would find himself floating in mid air. 

((Okay, just to be clear, they can change the rules of the area but can't decide who gets it.  So the gravity field is just a small area or else it would hit them all.  And Jonathan can use any tricks he has to counteract the changes Rhyme/Artemis does))

[potter_fan122]

((Major confuzzling... I`ll figure it out. I`m just slow today. Can you just clarify what you meant by "they can change the rules of the area but can't decide who gets it"? I`ll fix anything if it needs to be.))

When Stacey heard Artemis`s voice her head swiveled around to look at Rhyme, just to make sure he hadn`t become the evil, darker version of himself. She turned back around quickly, though, having almost forgotten about Jonathan. Her nails were digging into her palm as she clenched her hands together, and she couldn`t help but wince. Clenching her hands was something she did rather often, and there were still shallow wounds where she had done so before.

Then she was totally caught off balance when they warped. If his hand hadn`t been on her shoulder she would have fallen over. Stacey did gasp, though, slightly dizzy.

As response to Rhyme and the warping, Jonathan just chuckled lightly. "I think you aren`t the one that doesn`t understand. You did not make this world." He motioned around by waving an arm. "You have just manipulated it beyond the power most people could have. It is still part of the real world, but not quite. I am not part of the real world, therefor I can come and go as I please. I am of the mind, as far as this place is concerned. Thankfully for you, my little Stacey has kept up her little shields and has her mind preoccupied enough so that I can`t take it over." He this he turned his deep gaze to his niece, hatred being more than obvious.

He didn`t move from his little circle of gravity, either, but he could sense it. There was a slight pull from the air around him that alerted him of the lack of certain energy, and he laughed again.

"Do you think that someone who`s lived over seven hundred years can`t notice when someone not even seventy flips gravity?" Stacey realized that that was the first time he head ever told anyone what he was, the first time she had it confirmed by both her uncle and her father. It made her angry all over again at her dad; he hadn`t told her a thing until she was in the worst kind of danger, and she would never forgive him for it. Jonathan shook his head and raised his arm slightly, pulling back on it like he was pulling a rope. The gravity turned again with a barely audible hiss, but there was another noise. Like the sound of a row of explosives burning, the glowing chains that Stacey had produced around the clearing were burning off, starting on one side and quickly continuing until it was all gone. A certain darkness filled the air, one that was aided by the darkness that just came with Jonathan`s presence.

Stacey immediately took a defiant step forward and raised her hands. Her eyes were deep red, her hate of opposition filling her faster than her loathing for Jonathan. Her hands had just barely started moving before her uncle laughed again, and loudly.

"Oh, Stacey, have you not learned by now? Have you not realized that every time you fight against me you make yourself weaker and more vulnerable to me? Especially now, that you had that big long session. I must say, some of your tactics would make you a good assassin, but you really need to work on your form."

Stacey wrinkled her nose as she blushed, but lowered her hands and took a step back. She knew that he was right, but he was right. She did want to fight him. She wanted it so bad that she almost didn`t care about the fact that she would lose herself to him in the worst way. She knew that he would take over her mind from the inside out and destroy her being, turning her into a zombie-like protector. But she wanted to win. It was unbelievably hard to take that step back and do nothing. Sure, he was probably trying to make her angry, hoping she would go off and try to attack him. She knew how to kill him, and he knew it. How could he not when he lived his recent life through her eyes?

That was when she realized she had a problem. How had she not noticed it before? She always had to be the best. She had even tried to beat Ginny, when her chances of winning were probably less than zero. She had always been the best in her class or group in dance, theatre, and magic. She just had to be. Maybe she was more like her mother than she thought.

[~Harry Potter~]

((It meant that Rhyme can't make it so the change only works on Jonathan.  Like if Stacey stood in that spot she would also float))

"She has never had access to this type of magic before sir" Rhyme alone said "Something even older then you, something so intertwined with nature it was once believed to be able to change the seasons.  And there is nothing stopping me from fighting."

Toward the end of his speech his hand clenched a bit harder on Stacey's shoulder and Artemis' voice spoke barely above a whisper. 

"Don't let your anger cloud.  Though you don't like, take my advice, I know anger.  Rhyme's last song was a big hint on how the power works.  We can't tell you out right since it is something that must be learned by each but it may be the key."

They then took a step around Stacey letting their grip go as they stared coldly at the man. 

"Behold" they said in sync "The power of the bards"

Rhyme swung his left leg around leaning back as he did so.  At the top of the arc of his leg his foot began to glow with yellow energy and as he brought it down an arcing blade of yellow energy sharper than any knife was sent at Jonathan.  Then after his foot was back on the ground he straightened quickly and with a blast of dark energy in his fist punched the ground and sent a shock wave of crumbing and cracking earth right after the blade.   

[potter_fan122]

Jonathan carefully watched Rhyme with his emerald green eyes. He realized that the boy was more dangerous than Stacey was. True, his niece did have great potential and deadly powers, but Rhyme knew how to work the magic. The girl had magnificent energies swirling around her, blind to the human eye, and her aura was the pure purple only the most powerful had. But there was always the boy. His aura was also purple, but it was darker, somehow, like he had been touched by an extreme sadness or great terror, he wasn`t`t sure which; it was a bit harder to read people when you weren`t inside their mind all of the time.

Stacey flinched a little when Rhyme put his hand on her shoulder, not expecting the contact. Her mind had been too busy plotting to notice the person behind her, which was a major fighting mistake. She watched as Rhyme stepped around her, her eyes moving to the back of his head and stared at his purple hair.

He was just trying to help, and she knew that, but part of her argued against that. Why had he done that? Why was he putting himself before her? It actually made her angry. She could take care of herself. Did he not know that? Many questions ran through her mind, most making her angrier. She stepped up beside him so that she could see Jonathan, her eyes narrowing.

Jonathan barely glanced at his niece, more worried about Rhyme. and he was right, because as soon as he looked back at the boy a shot of yellow blade-like energy was shot towards him. He lifted one hand and there was a sort of ripple in the air around him. The blade suddenly stopped as if it had hit something about a foot and a half in front of Jonathan. It moved up and out like it was struggling against a dome shape to get rid of its momentum. He lifted his other hand and there was a strange sort of crackling sound, and he was pushed up into the air, standing on a large chunk of earth. Small clumps of dirt were raining down from the pile of soil and torn-up roots.

"She may have never used this kind of magic before, but she gathers all she needs to know from you, whether you want her to or not. But I still like to think I have the upper hand, because while she can only take energy from you, I can take it from both of you." He grinned down at Rhyme, his eyes a sick-looking yellow. "You see, unlike you said earlier, I am of your mind. That`s why I am able to be here. She lets her little imagination get away from her, and I am able to break through her simple but effective defenses. As for you, you might be able to do a few tricks, something I`ve probably seen before, but you can`t control magic like I can. There`s no possible way. You have seventeen years to my seven hundred. You are so young, and yet so powerful. It amazes me." He got a strange look on his face, as if he had realized something. Whatever it was, Stacey could feel it-- he was in her mind, after all-- and gasped suddenly, jumping a few steps forward.

"No! Don`t you dare even think about taking him. You can get in my head, but you can`t get in his. I won`t let you." She yelled.

Jonathan just rolled his eyes and waved his hand forward, like he was catching a little bug. Stacey was thrown forward and a white line appeared on the ground, quickly forming a large circle around her and the floating man.

Stacey hit the ground face first, but managed to land on her arm. She moaned in pain, already telling that it was broken. She rolled onto her back and quickly stood up like the fighter she was, just cradling her arm to her stomach. Her eyes were a lime green again, but there was pain in them. Jonathan laughed, his eyes again emerald green, and waved his hand once more.

It was like she had been shot in the stomach.

Stacey leaned slightly forward suddenly, her irises perfect white, the kind that was obviously not just plain white, but a combination of all the colors, like it was supposed to be. It was a color that she had only very recently realized that her eyes could change to. They never changed white before, but she realized that she had to be feeling an extremely strong emotion. Like now, and the feeling was pain. Pain was shooting through her body, pulsing. She couched hard once, then crumpled onto her side and curled into a fetal position.

"Stay there, my boy, or you`ll just hurt her more." Jonathan said to Rhyme, still atop his high perch. "If you, or anything, passes that white line there, she will hurt much more." Just by looking at her, you couldn`t tell that Stacey was in any pain except for the position and grimace. In fact, there wasn`t anything wrong with her, really. It was all a state of mind.

Jonathan was in a state of Stacey`s mind, that was how he was here. Part of him was attached to her, and therefor he could manage her mind a lot better than anyone else. He could make her think she was in a lot of pain, but he doubted Rhyme would know the difference.

[~Harry Potter~]

((Bravo! Bravo!  Very nice post))

Rhyme was about to take a step when Artemis intervened with what must have been a strong act of will since Rhyme felt a shooting pain behind his eye when the deed was done.  He stared at Jonathan with burning anger in his eyes and as he stared he dug his finger nails deep into his hands to try and keep himself from rushing off mindlessly like a berserker. 

He was beyond frustrated at the moment since he knew of a great song for this time but only Stacey could sing it.  And he couldn't tell her what it was, it was a song powered by pure desperation that gave another person nearly unlimited power for the duration.  He would have laughed at Bonnie Tyler's face if she knew what her song if he wasn't worried for his own life. 

There was something intrinsic about bardic magic that made it hard to teach outright.  At most the teacher could offer guidance to the pupil until the pupil learned it for his or herself.  It came from a special place in the heart that once you located it, it never left you. 

"d**n it" he cursed as he wracked his mind for something, anything that could help him.  He came up with a good number of songs Stacey could use, but again, he couldn't tell her them.  They had to come to her on her own. 

His eyes flamed with yellow and black magic as their anger surged. 

"Even if you live for another seven hundred years you will NEVER! see another person like me.  A person whose mother loves him as much as his father hated him and who has the powers of old and new, sometimes Blues and now even borrowed."

Artemis I need your eyes  You just locked me back up and you want to let me out again?  Wow how rich.  Don't tell me you trust me enough to let me out in this world. I don't got much choice in the matter and we need to help Stacey.  Eh you got a point there Rhymey just don't expect me to be this nice all the time.

"Not sure in your wisdom you noticed, but there are more than just three of us here.  Stacey, if you can hear this, don't worry...'he' is on our side"

Rhyme tilted his head down and let out a long breath and a sigh as he felt the energy leave his body.  Completely opposite Rhyme equal distant from Jonathan Artemis appeared in all his glory but this time he had ribbons of yellow running down his arms torso and legs. 

"Bleh, yellow never did seem to work for me." Artemis said annoyed as he saw the new addition. 

"Well since you made a costume change I guess I should too" Rhyme said as he nodded his head quickly and his hair straightened and he now had a Santa coat on.  At this Artemis just rolled his eyes. 

Rhyme grinned a very evil smile for him which made Artemis laugh out loud since it reminded him of something he would do.  "Oh boy are you in for it now!" Artemis said as he laughed.  But suddenly Artemis gave Rhyme a weird look as La Vie Boheme started.  "This?  Really? Are you sure?" Artemis asked but shut his mouth when he saw Rhyme nod. 

Rhyme was doing it for the pure energy it gave off.  It was all about cutting loose.  He was doing it to try and spark Stacey's revelation on how to use his powers.  As the music played the power built and crackled of energy like lighting were going off in random areas around Jonathan.  This was the perfect song to spark her ability to use his power since bards were always with the Bohemian movements in cities and the arts.

"Please muses of music and arts grant her inspiration" he prayed under his breath for Stacey. 

As the power built his hands were kept tense and if observed space was oddly warped near them.  Not like that of a reality change but that slightly of a black hole.  It was purely empty space where reality didn't exist.  It was in preparation since living with his father taught him everything about loopholes.  Nothing could cross that line, but, he had been working with moving without traveling through space.  It took him a while to do it for his complex body, but something as simple as a knife, could easily be moved quickly.  If Jonathan tried to do anything to Stacey he would find a knife magically appeared right in front of his neck. 

((Few notes.  Didn't post the lyrics for their language and I wasn't using them for anything important.  And if you didn't know the coat reference, he pretty made himself look like Angel))

[potter_fan122]

((Livin` on a Prayer- Bon Jovi.))

Jonathan clenched his teeth when Artemis appeared. He didn`t have to turn around to know he was there; there was a pull in the energy in the air. It was like something popping up on a radar. He rose higher into the air. The white circle turned yellow and started glowing. Energy pushed up into the air, and slowly started to form a visible dome shape.

He turned so he could see both Rhyme and Artemis and smiled. "Odd of you to use another language for that song, boy. And I have seen many of your kind of people, child. Very many indeed. Every one has their own copy of themselves somewhere. Maybe not in this time, but they are there." He grinned happily and crossed his arms.

Stacey managed to open her eyes and look up at her uncle. Her eyes were still white with pain and tears were trying to poke their way out of her eyes. She slowly pulled her arms away from her body and dug her fingers into the ground.

*I`m okay.* She pushed the thought into Rhyme`s mind. *And he`s not kidding. He`ll want you, too, if you show off too much. He`s not going to give up easy. Oh, and the knife won`t do anything except slow him down. You can only kill him by burning his body and freezing his head.* She thought quickly, still wincing in pain. She trembled slightly, trying to push the hurt from her.

*I`ve got to put the shield back up.* She suddenly thought to herself. She looked up at Jonathan again. She knew that he could hear her, he had stronger powers than she did. It was all just inevitable.

With a burst on energy, Stacey pushed herself off the ground and onto her knees. Her eyes were quickly turning red again, the pain fading. Jonathan was too busy thinking about Rhyme and Artemis to force pain into her. After a moment of dizziness she stood up and raised her hands. Carefully she began waving her hands like a conductor to an unheard beat. Slowly music started to play.

With a loud snap the air was suddenly dark, like the color of night. Stacey snapped her fingers and a thousand little stars explodes from her hands, filling the dome she was trapped in. Behind Jonathan was a replica of the girl, just slightly different. The new copy appeared a little transparent, and she glowed faintly. Stacey moved her hand over her front and a black and white electric guitar materialized. The music grew louder and she started to play and sing.

*When I say now.* She pushed to the two boys, her eyes changing to purple.

Jonathan was quickly looking from two copied girl to Stacey, then to Artemis and Rhyme. He was floating higher and higher so he could see all four of them better, but he still had to rotate to have a clear view. His hands were engulfed in glowing red orbs, and the shield around the dome was wavering slightly.

"Tommy used to work on the docks
Union's been on strike
He's down on his luck...it's tough, so tough
Gina works the diner all day
Working for her man, she brings home her pay
For love - for love

She says we've got to hold on to what we've got
'Cause it doesn't make a difference
If we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot
For love - we'll give it a shot

Whoah, we're half way there
Livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Livin' on a prayer
"

Stacey`s fingers were flying over the guitar`s strings, and she somehow managed to play to bass and treble part. Her eyes were a strong purple as she stared up at her uncle. The yellow shield around her was swelling with the music, and was bubbling like it was really hot. Jonathan was frowning, his hands still glowing.

*Now.* Stacey thought, concentrating on only letting Rhyme hearing it. The copy of Stacey on the other side of the clearing was conducting, her hands waving back and forth with the beat of the music.

All of a sudden figures appeared behind Stacey, distinct at first but growing into focus. They were people, and all in the same uniform-- black pants and shoes, fancy red button-up shirts and black hats with red feathers, marching band uniforms. They were all holding instruments, too, and at the start of the next count they all began to play. The yellow shield exploded with a silent whoosh of air.

Stacey stood in front of the girl, her eyes glowing and casting light. The many stars cast a soft light over the metal of the instruments. Stacey started singing again, belting out the words like any pro.

[~Harry Potter~]

It pained Rhyme inside to not be able to help more.  This was Stacey's demon and only she knew how to truly hurt Jonathan.  This was an area built on emotions and wants, and only someone close to another could know how to fight effectively here.  Rhyme and Artemis fought so hard since they knew how each other works and knew which emotional buttons to push.  Rhyme didn't know who Jonathan's mind worked so he couldn't really affect him. 

He could add power to Stacey's song but that wouldn't help her learn and he desperate wanted her to figure out that last little bit.  If she didn't she would only be able to use his power like a dull sword.  It would still hurt but it could be so much more.  It was also like playing a piano with only one hand.  You can play, but there was a deeper level of rich harmonies that couldn't be done with only one hand that needed another. 

Artemis felt the pain in Rhyme's heart and rolled his eyes.  He believed Rhyme to be too emotional for his own good.  A bard needed to be in touch with his emotions but they shouldn't rule him.  It also made him want to gag since it was too touching. 

Swallowing a growing lump in his throat after Stacey singled him he nodded to Artemis and in sync they reached into their sleeves and pulled out the ten kunai within.  The blades dangled from their fingers from glowing strings of energy one yellow one purple.  This time the blades also began to glow with each of their energy. 

This was the first time they did it as a pair but somehow, they knew it would work.  They both began to spin at high speed propelled by their magic and suddenly at the next high point of the song they released and the blades went flying at Jonathan.  Those that went straight by would be caught by the other still spinning and sent flying back.  Those that were deflected would be wound in by the spinning and sent back.  Eventually as well as the blades to worry about a thick net of magic would be wound around the enemy. 

[potter_fan122]

Jonathan looked around, watching, as the marching band appeared and his shield started to waver. He looked up to see the highest part pulling away from itself, slowly melting down.

He looked around, a little confused. What was going on? How was she doing this? He looked over at the boy, and saw him push up his sleeves and reach for something. Instantly he shot back towards the ground on his lump of earth. The chunk landed in the hole it had come from, and the force of it pushed some of the surrounding earth away. Jonathan had fallen forward when the two parts connected, but he quickly stood up again. His eyes were that sick-looking shade of yellow, and he turned them on Rhyme, not bothering to look up. He growled and took a few steps forward, but a knife suddenly whipped past his nose. He flinched back, alarmed.

In on smooth movement his lifted his arm and caught one of the other blades, throwing it towards the ground sharp edge first. It pushed into the ground and Jonathan stepped over it, advancing on Rhyme.

Stacey couldn`t help but smile. It was a little odd seeing Jonathan off balance after being around him so much. He had always been cat-like and graceful, but he hadn`t ever been under attack when she was around, either. She pulled off the guitar she was playing and passed it to a waiting band member. Her copy on the other side of the clearing had disappeared, but she hadn`t really expected it to stay up that long. She was surprised that the marching band was still there. But she pushed those thoughts out of her mind, she had to concentrate on getting her mental shield back up to keep her uncle out. The yellow shield was quickly melting and would be gone a few minutes, and she could see the start of a net coming down over Jonathan. She took a few steps back into the darkness and looked up. Her stars were still there, too, surprisingly. She had always liked stars. They were always so peaceful and calming. Now they seemed to give her confidence in herself.

She lifted her hands up, but didn`t move them. She just held them there and they soon began to tremble ever so slightly. Putting her mental shield back up required her to be focused, and this wasn`t exactly the ideal place for it. She kept getting distracted by different flashes of light or sound, but she knew it was the only way to make Jonathan disappear.

Jonathan meanwhile was dodging the kunai. He would jerk one way then swipe at another. Even though it wouldn`t really hurt him, he never got hit. His reflexes were a little too good for that. He glanced up after a while and saw a net-like material descending over him. He made a sort of growling noise again and tried to walk backwards to the safety of the trees while still avoiding the knives.

[~Harry Potter~]

Rhyme stopped spinning and glanced at Artemis.  Something not exactly telepathic crossed between them, more of an understanding.  Rhyme didn't even try and send it with his mind since he guessed both Stacey and Jonathan would pick it up.  Stacey would try and stop him and Jonathan would try and protect himself. 

"Artemis, protect Stacey." He said simply as he slowly turned to Jonathan. 

Artemis jumped and did a flip as he landed near Stacey.  When he landed he went right into a lotus position on the ground and put his hands together with all but his forefinger intertwined.  With this extreme focus a small bubble appeared over Artemis and Stacey.  Within all sound was muffled not to an eerie calm though slightly disturbing. 

"You are fast, I will give you that, but let's see if you can dodge sound itself." He flinched from the knowing of how he will feel later but hardened his will.  This was one move that would make it hard for anyone to focus. 

His vocal chords shifted and morphed to that beyond any human.  Then, he opened his mouth wide and let lose a horrid sound that resembled a banshee.  This was his ultimate move.  It would leave him hoarse for a week and mute for the rest of the day but it was very dangerous.  It could kill a person hit directly from pure kinetic energy and deafen anyone who got anywhere near the blast.  He pushed his body to its limits.  The direct path between Rhyme and Jonathan had the ground torn asunder sending chunks of earth here and there as the energy tore through the clearing. 

The leaves of the trees nearby shook violently from the motion of the displaced air and if this wasn't a warped area of space every creature for miles around would be running in pain and most likely the windows of Hogwarts would have shattered if he was facing the school even from this distance. 

It could now be seen very easily why Rhyme told Artemis to protect Stacey.  For anyone currently charged with musical energy, their hearing got better and more susceptible to the move.  He could tell she was trying to concentrate and her hearing this wouldn't have helped.   

[potter_fan122]

"Artemis, protect Stacey."

Stacey looked from Rhyme to Artemis, her eyes suddenly purple with confusion. *Protect me? From what?*  She looked to Artemis in time to see him flipping towards her. Surprised, she took a step back. She couldn`t help but tilt her head as he sat down in front of her. She flinched forcefully and suddenly, and she jerked backwards.

"Wh... what`s going o-- oh." She saw the shield ripple around her. Carefully she sat down besides Artemis, running her hands over her arms. There was a cold chill running through her, and she didn`t know why.

She saw Rhyme open his mouth, and although she couldn`t exactly hear him, the hairs on back of her neck stood up. It was like she could feel the sound waves running through her. Her whole body shook, and she clenched her hands together. She didn`t really like the fact that she couldn`t help, but she knew better than to try and take the chance of ruining everything.

"Uh, so... you`re on the light side for now?" She asked Artemis.

Jonathan automatically turned to Stacey when Rhyme first spoke. He lifted his hand, which had started glowing blue, to get ready and create a shield of his own-- one that would keep Artemis from his niece for a while. But right as he went to push the power from him, a shock went up his arm. Stacey felt it too, and that`s when she jerked. He didn`t have time to wonder why, he knew that Rhyme was going to attack, and the boy wasn`t going to wait for when he was ready.

He turned to Rhyme, outstretching his hand again. This time his hand was glowing orange, and the light pulled away from his hand, forming a dense wall in front of him. He moved his other hand in a circle motion. A large bubble surrounded his head just as Rhyme started screeching.

Jonathan turned around suddenly and crouched, disappearing. A cloud of blackness spread out from where he had been, flowing farther and farther out until it almost touched the place where Stacey and Artemis were. Then it stopped.

[~Harry Potter~]

"Not exactly light, just think of me of a nicer shade of grey" he replied.  "Though I will tell you something Rhyme won't.  Only you can beat him here or really hurt him.  This place was built upon emotions and only emotions can really hurt here.  Take what you know he can't take and smash him in the face with it.  I still can't get the taste of love out of my mouth" he said ending with a face of disgust. 

"Oh one second getting a page.  And shush about the little hint." He said jokingly with a wink as he looked down and faded until the ground to be replaced with Rhyme.  The two simply switched places within their own mind.  Rhyme saw the darkness coming and new Artemis didn't really know much about light. 

Muse of music please let her have heard this song when I played it before.  Let it show her what the power of music can truly do

Since Rhyme could no longer speak he gave Stacey a weak and slightly sad smile before he turned and waved his hands as the song that began this whole encounter.  From the thin air came the light and happy tune of "Power of Love" from an old Japanese cartoon.  He did find it very fitting now though he was sure his mother would call it clichéd. 

[potter_fan122]

Stacey stared out of her transparent bubble, eyes wide as they took in the dark cloud. She barely noticed it when Rhyme took Artemis`s place, but somehow she knew he was there. The dark cloud looked heavy, like it had real substance. She found that she couldn`t look away from it, mesmerized by the fact that Jonathan had disappeared.

Only you can beat him here or really hurt him.  This place was built upon emotions and only emotions can really hurt here. Stacey knew it was true, despite how much she wanted it to be different. Because as much as she wanted to be in the middle of the fight, the one in the most action, Jonathan scared her. He was ancient. He was stronger and better than her. It would be hard to make him go away.

Distantly she heard Rhyme sing. She tried to shake off the feeling of being trapped. Slowly she started to sing along, hesitant. She rememered the words from when Rhyme sang it before, but it felt like something was closing in on her.

Then the whispering started.

It was just like she remembered it. The fleeting whispers, cries for help, and moans of pain-- mental and physical. She knew without needing to ask that she was the only one who heard them. Jonathan might have, but he wasn`t exactly there to ask. He was causing them, just like always. He was forcing those horrible things into her head.

"Let me out." She exclaimed suddenly, standing up. "Let me out of the shield. Now." It was a command, not a request. She had to get out from under the shield now and get into that black cloud. She had to get to the center of it. She didn`t know how she knew, but she knew that it was what she had to do to beat Jonathan.

[~Harry Potter~]

Upon her words the shield shattered and faded.  Rhyme was in the process of waving his hand to do the same but stopped mid-gesture and just stared.  He just stared mouth agape.  He wasn't sure if it was Stacey or Jonathan that broke the shield or if it was even Artemis.  He couldn't hear the whispering in her mind so he had no idea what was really going on. 

I swear by the muses if he hurts her he will have to dig pretty d**n deep to escape me.  He may be ancient but music goes back even further. Rhyme thought angrily his eyes burning as he stared at the seething blackness. 

d**n, looks like Rhyme is growing some balls Artemis thought back to him hearing the thoughts. 

The emotions of these thoughts though rippled out shifting the zone slightly.  It was starting to destabilize since Rhyme finally made a decision for himself, instead of working around it or running away, he made a stand against someone that was more than just a figment of himself.  Artemis flinched at the feeling of his eventual death since that same feeling if full accepted and integrated into Rhyme's personality would doom him.  He was spawned from Rhyme's need of help against those who he couldn't face and he was now learning to stand up for himself. 

"Toots if you are going to do something, do it quick, this place won't be around much longer!" Artemis called out after the ripple went by. 

[potter_fan122]

((Italics are thoughts in the mind, italics with the stars are Stacey`s thoughts.))

Stacey stood up as soon as she was the faint waver of the shield pass over her. There was a flash in the corner of her vision, and she turned. It moved, always just out of sight. She turned all the way around, oblivious to everything else.

It`s just Jonathan messing with you. A reasonable voice said in her head. Ignore it, it won`t hurt with you. The voices won`t either. Too bad they weren`t just voices anymore. It looked like a light fog had built up, except some areas were darker, thicker, than others. They slowly took the shapes of people. Oh, so many people. And they were whispering. Stacey spun around, trying to find a spot where she could break free. The whispers were just like they were in her head, saying those horrible, soft things.

Everything else was blocked out. She didn`t hear anything except those voices. She didn`t hear Rhyme or Artemis, and definitely not Jonathan. She lost all sense of direction in the mist. For once, her mind was almost clear. There was just nothing. Nothing there, nothing pulling her in another direction, nothing calling her name.

Except the voices in the mist that only she could see.

She knew that Lavy and Ginny had heard the voices, but they had never appeared before. It scared her a bit that she didn`t know anyone who had seen them. Before, she had always had support, someone who knew what was going on. Her problems were always different from the others. She always had to be difficult and dangerous, even when she didn`t know it.

It`s just Jonathan. Stacey stopped turning, not seeing anything that was in front of her. *Dad?* The voice in her head sounded so familiar and kind. So fatherly.

She looked up to see the fog thicken even more. Faintly she saw a splash of color, and realized that it was Rhyme. She lifted her hand out to him even though she was easily three yards from him. Just as she was going to step forward she felt an arm wrap around her stomach, then another over her chest, pinning her arms to her sides.

"What a touching little notion you had there, my dear."

His voice whispered into his ear. Stacey was instantly paralyzed, completely unable to move. Her golden eyes stared straight out ahead into the fog where Rhyme was. The mist was real now, and it was almost impossible to see through.

*You sick bastard.*