Julian's Hollow Shell (Prime Awakening)

    Satisfied with his handiwork, Jak scuttled back, spitting out bits of powder that had fallen in his mouth as he tore at the doppelganger. He settled on his haunches, content to watch "Caper" stumble around in his incapacitated state. His owner, however, had a very different reaction.

    Julian was still torn. He didn't want to think that this horrible mimicry of his best friend had been something he created. It was just...wrong. Too hateful, too spiteful, too...weak. Flimsy. Far from what the blonde really was like, he knew. But Rita had gone through this before. She knew what was behind these stupid doors. She told him what to expect. Unless there was some horribly complex subterfuge going on, there was absolutely no reason for her to lie about this. So why was this so hard to accept?

    He wanted to turn away at seeing Casper literally fall to pieces. He wanted to shut his eyes, or pick up that arm and somehow reattach it to the body it flopped from. But all he could manage was a slight widening of his eyes while his cheeks began to lose their color.

    Wouldn't you do the same, if someone you cared for crumpled and disintegrated to dust like a rotting corpse right in front of your eyes?

    Julian listened to the copy's works in stunned silence. Once the other's voice faded and the debris from the body long since wafted away, he gripped at Daemon and looked to the floor before turning on his heel and nearly running into Mae. "Whoops. Sorry." His voice was cheery as ever, and a grin sprang naturally to his face. Playing poker for years gave you a good front. "You alright?" But once he received a response from Mae, he'd give her a nod before turning away from her, going back towards the entrance of the room and opening the door. His features instantly flipped to display a more reflective, troubled expression. "C'mon. We've spent enough time here, yeah? I think I'm going to be hacking up dust balls after this is all over." For emphasis he coughed lightly, glancing over his shoulder to give her a playful little smile. As he worked his way into the hallway, Jak at his side, he lapsed into ilence and did away with the jokes and gestures, prefering to mull over the circumstance of this long forgotten, dreary hellhole he'd apparently created for himself.

Movement:

"Whew... I'm glad that's over." Mae looked at the crumbling Casper in front of her... But something just didn't feel right about this. It wasn't that long ago since she last talked to the person that was now slowly falling apart in front of her... Imagine how this must've affected Julian then, who had known Casper for the vast majority of his life... "Hey..." Mae approached Julian, grabbing his hand firmly, looking him straight in the eyes with a worried expression on her face. "You okay?" She wasn't necessarily referring to any injuries he might have sustained during the battle, although that was still a major concern on her part. She was more concerned about his emotional state of mind. How angry he had gotten not too long ago, and now... seeing the color drain from his face completely... It didn't feel right at all. Julian used to be so brave, that seeing him like this... "I... Understand how you feel Julian... And something tells me things aren't going to get any easier from here on out... If there's anything you need to get off your chest, I'm here for you, Okay?" She gave him a comforting smile. Maybe the true purpose of this place was slowly beginning to sink in...

"I'm alright..." Mae smiled back with Qilin standing right next to her.


She asked Mae, who nodded in confirmation. Qilin radiated her green glow which slowly healed Julian and Jak. "I'm ready to move on... Are you sure you wish to face Emmy?" Mae asked carefully... Judging by his reactions to Casper, the last one might just push him over the edge... But then again... What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right? Mae followed Julian out the door, etching a large 'x' on the door to Casper's room with her naginata. If they should get lost, at least they would know which doors they have gone through... If The first clone's words were to be trusted, then there was only two major obstacles left... The Fragment of Emmilene, and Shadow Julian himself. Finally, the light at the end of the tunnel was finally within reach. Just one final effort was necessary... And Mae would not give up, no matter what horrors awaited them on their way... "It's almost over, Julian... Just a little bit further before we can escape this nightmare..." Mae said, giving Julian a comforting smile, before turning to face the shadows just ahead of them... "Well... Are you ready?"

Movement and Actions:

    He had just opened the door, intent on leaving this godforsaken parody of Cas's room, when he felt Mae snatch at his hand. His first instinct was to push her away, give her a scowl, or frown, or something along those lines. Instead, he forced himself to turn and give her a soft, mildly quizzical smile. "Mae, I'm fine. Can you let go?" A part of him hated to do this, but if it would make her get off of him faster...so be it. He gave her a teasing, wry little smile and raised an eyebrow. "Unless you just really want ot hold my hand? Hopefully she'd be embarrassed enough to distance herself. From what he'd seen at the amusement park, he had almost zero doubts she'd do so. If she let go, he'd give her one last smile before heading out at a brisk pace. If she clung on still, he'd give her a sugary smile before leaving, offering no more protests but silently growing more irritated as time went on.

    "Okay. I'll keep that in mind." was all he said on her words of comfort. He highly doubted she quite understood just what was going on in his head, but the little voice in the back of his mind witheld him from voicing his disagreement. She was just trying to help. Why should he get angry with her over that? It's the thought that counts and all that jazz.

    Julian gave the girl a light nod after she'd made her mark on the door. No sense in dawdling in this place. He was getting pretty sick of it already. Might as well get it over with fast. "Might as well. No sense in leaving her here." He shrugged. Casper had been the worst thin so far, and he doubted seeing his closest friend and the person he trusted most in the world shatter before his eyes could be topped by whatever the other fake had to offer. // Let's just get this over with... //

    His persona had loped ahead, seemingly disinterested with the current topic of conversation. The demon, however, froze and crouched, cocking his head to the side curiously. "I...hear something." He murmured, looking back at the threee figures. Julian froze in turn, giving his persona a short nod. It was possible that this was another false alarm like the other instance had been, but there was no point in being careless. This could very well be another enemy; why charge in blind?

    Jak nodded in turn before sprinting forwards and down the hall, turning the corner sharply and vanishing before their eyes. If Mae had let his hand go earlier, Julian would signal with it for the girl to stay back; If she still held onto him, he'd stop, forcing her to do the same. After a few seconds had passed, he glanced at her, then hurried forwards towards the bend himself and hurried to Jak's side, glancing for the possible enemy they'd encounter.

Movement:

"Oh... I'm sorry..." Mae turned away, letting go, somewhat distraght... It certainly didn't seem like he was fine... But who were she to argue against it? "I guess I'm just a little worried about you, that's all... What we saw back there..." Mae fell slient, looking down at her own shoes, ashamed of going too far into personal space. She wouldn't do that again... The last thing she wanted was Julian being mad at her... He was better off left alone to struggle with his own thoughts... But she would always be there, ready to support him, just in case he needed it. "If you n-need to talk about it... I'm always willing to listen..." Mae wasn't completely sure that she would understand, but what kind of friend would Mae be if she didn't at least try to understand? Not a very good one, that's for sure...

"You know... I'm at least trying... I'm not saying I understand completely, but..." Mae bit her own lip before continuing. "I don't know him quite as well as you do... But it still hurt watching him crumble like that... I spoke to the guy not too long ago..." Sure, it wasn't quite the same, but still, Mae was still shocked by it... She couldn't even imagine how he must've felt seeing that... "I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm doing my best to understand you, okay?" Which brought up another question that had been lingering in the back of her mind for quite a while now. "Why me?" Wouldn't someone who was closer to Julian be more qualified for this? She wouldn't back down now... But it somehow didn't feel right for her to be helping Julian through this personal ordeal... "I'm not backing out, don't worry. I'm just curious is all..."

"Alright then... Let's get going. We can't keep her waiting for us much longer, now can we?" Mae smiled lightly as the two progressed through the club. The end goal was finally within sight... Just a little further, and they would be at the very end... This personal hell of Julian's wasn't going to torment him much longer... If she couldn't help him deal with this emotionally, the least she could do was help him fight off the shadows and the remaining fragments. Was that all she was good for here?

Mae stopped by Julian's side, peeking around the corner... Were there any shadows there? Hopefully not... But it never hurt to be careful...

Movement:

Forgot the numbers to miss so rerolling:

1 for both

Miss Chance:

Miss Chance: