An old, derelict log cabin, abandoned years ago by its owner. There's nothing really special around here...

::Blaze and Luke approach the strange abandoned cabin. Blaze knocks on the door, expecting an answer::

"It appears that nobody's home, huh?"

::He pushes the door ajar, entering the cabin::

"Damn, this place looks as if it wasn't visited for years..."

::Blaze looks around the cabin, trying to spot anything of interest::

"What now?"

"We call the police. Or maybe a park ranger. Now where is the phone?"

::He looks around the cabin, eventually finding a phone. He sighs, realizing what Blaze had said regarding the environment of the cabin. Luke throws the phone out the window, watching the glass shards propel outward onto the porch::

"Ok, then. Plan B. We leave this place because it won't do much good if we stay in a derelict cabin with no means of nourishment or communication to the outside world."

::Luke steps out of the Log Cabin and heads back into The Forest::

[Suddenly the door of the log cabin slams shut, with a thunderous crash which resonates through the entire forest. Birds scream from the trees and their fluttering and calling takes several moments to die down. Within those several moments, the door is jammed tightly shut and the windows smoothly lock themselves, the reinforced, grubby glass somehow impossible to break.

Blaze and Luke are separated, Blaze trapped inside the Cabin, Luke stranded out...

But who is the worser off?]

::A small blue light glows in the corner of the dark cabin. It streams from the ceiling into the middle of the room, several feet away from Blaze, and slowly fills out to form a woman: young, pretty and desolate. Gently, with mournful eyes, she steps towards him and outstretches her hand. She is utterly beautiful, somewhat irresistable.::

"Help me, Blaze..."

::On the outside of the cabin, there is a rustling amongst the bushes. A huge black panther calmly slinks out of the darkness and stalks over to Luke. Sitting on its haunches, it regards him coolly, before a rippling growl rumbles from deep within its throat. Narrowing its eyes, it bares his teeth and suddenly roars viciously, standing once more and taking a step forward, tail swinging, preparing to pounce.::

::Blaze looks panicly around the cabin::

(The hell?!)

::He walks a bit closer to the door before turning around. He watches the beautiful ghost appear before him. "Help me, Blaze..." Her voice echoes inside his head::

(She wants my help? My help?)

::Feeling strangely dazed by the encounter, he just looks at her, waiting for her to speak::

"Holy shit!"

::He gapes in response to the door slam and the equally vicious beast before him.::

"Nice kitty..."

(Wow...that was really clichéd.)

::Luke sidesteps, trying to distance himself from the panther.::

(My Clone seems to be more confident than me. Maybe I can summon him to distract the damn thing.)

::His nostrils flare as he cracks his knuckles. With that, he attempts to summon the Clone through concentrating his energy, breathing heavily while doing so.::

::Floating forwards, her long hair flowing behind her, barely touching her shoulders, the ghost glides towards Blaze, keeping her sad, anguished eyes on him. Misery transmits from her pale, barely visible form into him. She casts her feelings into him, and despair flits through his body like melancholic flies.::

"Blaze..."

::She whispers, her voice a tiny sound carried by the breeze which has no source. Her hand still reaches out to him, her anguish still residing in him, pulling him down, pulling him down into the desperation and the grief...::

"Let it take you, Blaze..."

::The clone once more steps out of Luke's body and shudders against the cold. It takes him a moment to register that there is a gigantic black panther about to kill them both.::

"Oh yeah right!"

::He shouts, panic in his voice.::

"What the fuck do you want me to do, get a bloody chair and a whip? Christ! I'm a freakin' clone, not a lion tamer!"

::As the panther utters another low growl, he grins nervously and steps back, holding his hands out.::

"I mean, lovely big black cat. Lovely. Just... lovely..."

::Blaze, as if in a trance, reaches his hand to her's::

(Wait! What the hell am I doing?)

::Blaze, looking as if he just woke up, jerks his hand back towards his body::

"What do you want from me? Who are you?"

::Patience finally coming to and end, the panther lets out a gutteral roar again, stands up, leans back onto its hind legs and leaps through the air, smacking into the clone and thudding him into the leaves on the ground. The clone disappears immediately, looking as if he's simply fallen straight through the cold, damp ground. The death of his other half sends a sickening jolt through Luke. The panther stops, confused, wondering what happened to its prey.::

::The ghost stops moving. Her hand is still reaching for him, but no longer does it grasp at the air. She remains, as if frozen. A lethal silence falls over the cabin.

With a placid face, the ghost begins to hover backwards, slowly, into the shadows. Eventually she is no longer visible. Quiet sinks through the walls and floor, filling the cabin with subdued air, anticipation, fear.

The ghost is gone, though.

Or so it appears.

Suddenly, quickly, a huge apparition appears from where the ghost went and screams up in Blaze's face. It is the ghost, horrific, distorted, ugly and terrible! She shrieks horribly, the wailing filling up the whole forest and terrifying all animals and people around. Her eyes are black sockets, her face deranged, her fingernails hooked claws reaching out for him, scratching at him.

Her body becomes a snake's and winds around Blaze, choking him and squeezing him, all the time the horrendous scream filling his ears and his mind.::

::At the sound of the ghost's awful shriek, the panther leaps into the air, turns tail and flees for the woods, terrified.::

::Luke tumbles to the ground, landing near a tree. He holds the back of head firmly with both hands, feeling the "death" of his clone::

(What the hell was that? Nothing hit me...how the hell? Nevermind that. How am I supposed to leave?)

::He inches over to the tree, resting his back on it, as he sat between two roots.::

::Stands up, exiting Luke's body, and turns to face him.::

"The hell with this, man! What the hell are you gonna do? There's some... thing in that cabin with that guy you were hanging out with, wild beasts trying to eat us, and you're sitting on your ass doing nothing? Are you gonna help him or what? Actually, let's make a run for it. You don't know this guy - he could be a mugger or something. And besides, maybe that banshee in there isn't like... attacking him. Maybe they're screwing or something. Come on. Let's go. Pronto!"

::His eyes widen, looking to the Clone leave his body.::

"Wait a minute! How the hell did you get out? I thought I had to concentrate to let you out."

::He looks over to the cabin and then to the Clone.::

"So...you wouldn't have happen to know where the CW Apartments are? I was told that we can get a place there."

::Blaze attempts to clutch his ears to the horrible sound, but can't move his hands close enough::

(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!)

::His manages to get his right hand out of the snake's grasp. He attempts to throw the snake to the ground, yet his hand can't reach it.

He swings the hand to the left, attempting to hit the snake, but unsuccessful. His hand hits something hard in his jacket. As he reaches inside, he pulls out the athame he took earlier.

With a tremendous pull, he frees his body enough to stab the snake. He swings the dagger at the beast, aiming for it's head.::

::As the athame slides into the neck of the creature, the hideous shrieking becomes even louder than before as a jet of blue liquid, ectoplasmic blood, shoots from the intangible flesh and sprays across the room, including all over Blaze. For several moments, the snake's grip tightens, and it seems that all is lost for Blaze, until suddenly, without a sound, the ghost lets go and flops to the floor, slithering into the blackness of the shadows.::

[The ghost defeated, the locks on the windows click open and it seems as if the cabin gets a little lighter. Gently and slowly, the door shudders open with a long, lingering creak which sounds like a yawn. Calm softly restores itself.]

::Blaze stands there, shocked from the encounter::

(Ugh. That's not the best shower, if I say so myself)

::Still panting from the experience, he wipes some of the blood from his face

As he recovers, he sees Luke outside the window. He goes behind the wall, so as not to be spotted, and shimmers out, leaving all the blood in a puddle on the floor

After a moment, he shimmers back in again, making sure not to step in the puddle of goo.::

(I wonder what that witch is doing?)

::After he shimmers in, he feels very weak. He realizes that the snake hurt him badly. Some of his own blood drips to the floor, mixing up with the goo to create a strange purple color.

He attempts to keep stable on his feet, but fails. With a final glance, he falls unconcious...:

::He uses the tree to help himself up, no longer feeling the energy jolt from earlier. Luke looks straight into his eyes, pulling out the lighter from his pocket::

"I need a light."

::He plucks the cigarette pack from his Clone's shirt pocket and slides one out, placing it between his lips. Luke holds the flame to the end of the cigarette, lighting it up. He offers the cigarette and lighter to his Clone::

"How about you?"

::Blaze, to the strong cigarette smell, wakes up::

(The hell?!?!)

::Remembering what happened, he spots Luke, calmly smoking a cigarette. Enraged, he decides to act.

An energy ball appears in blaze's hand. He throws it at the wall behind him, screaming at the same time and leaping aside.He pockets his knife and waits for Luke to act.::

(If he won't come, not only is he an extremely bad witch, but will also get killed in... Another fashion...)

::Leaping into the air in fright, the clone spins around and faces the cabin.::

"What the holy shit was that?"

::Grabbing his "lesser" half, he shoves Luke into the cabin to check it out, waiting outside and shaking slightly while lighting his own cigarette.::

"What's in there? Is that guy still alive?"

"Wimp."

::Once being forced into the Cabin, Luke looks for Blaze. He smells the smoke from the scorch mark caused by the fired energy ball.::

"Kevin?"

::He briskly walks to Blaze, kneeling to his side. He turns his head to the front door, increasing the volume of his voice to allow his words to be heard by the Clone.::

"Kevin's still in here. There's a mark on the wall and it looks like he may be hurt."

::He turns his attention back to Blaze.::

"C'mon. Speak to me. Tell me that you are alive."

(Play along or move in for the kill? I'll play along...)

::Blaze opens his eyes, his view sliding back into focus::

"I would if I could... What the hell happened?"

(At least he's not dead.)

::He stares at Blaze, choosing his words carefully to conceal his secret about being a witch.::

"I was hoping you could tell me. I heard you screaming on my way out and I went to get some help. I managed to get my twin brother, Lenin, over here to help you. He's out on the porch. Do you remember anything at all?"

(Lenin? Communism?)

"I... I don't seem to remember much. Just a hooded figure appeared out of nowhere. And... I don't remember what happened next"

::Still outside, "Lenin" begins to feel light-headed.::

"Uh oh..."

::His time over, he disappears.::

::He offers his hand to Blaze so that the man could be brought back to his feet.::

"Need help getting up?"

(Well, that potentially could have come out a lot dirtier than I imagined.)

(It's now!)

::As he takes Luke's hand, he focuses on shimmering out to the hallway, CW apartments::

:: Prieto walks in ::

(A perfect moment for a big bad cliché )

"Hello? Anybody home?"

(Wham.)

:: Prieto looks around in the cabin ::

(This place makes me feel oh-so-alone...)

:: After a while of loneliness Prieto decides to leave ::

(I need a life, yo. Did I just think...yo? Yo. )

:: She walks out of the Log Cabin, and heads for The Clearing ::

:: Seeing the Log Cabin, Shinji wonders if there's anyone inside that can help him. ::

"I just hope I don't freak them out if there are..."

(Yeah, a naked kid turns up at your door step, would you freak out or give him a cup of hot tea especially if that kid is dripping wet and shivering? Oh, don't forget he's a total stranger as well. They'll so just say:

"Oh hello there Strange little naked and wet kid. Come in and have a cup of tea by the warm fire!

As if. And it looks empty anyway from the outside...)

:: Shinji, still shivering, walks around the building to see if there are any signs of live within. ::

(Looks like it's empty... Maybe there's something in there to get me dry... Ah, wishful thinking.)

:: Shinji walks up the door and knocks several times, after not hearing an answer, he opens the door and peers inside. ::

"Hello?"

::As Demerous approaches the cabin, he notices a young man standing in the doorway.::

(Is he… naked!?)

::He rustles the plant beside him in a hope of getting the man to look his way.::

(His nakedness is making this situation rather awkward…)

:: Hearing the rustling behind him, Shinji spins around just to catch Demerous looking at him before stumbling through the doorway and into the cabin itself. ::

(Okay, freaky person looking me. Very awkward and sooo wrong. I need to get out of here... But how to get out of this forest? And I certainly can't get into the urban jungle without a stitch of clothes on...)

"Err... Hello?"

:: Shinji calls to the man outside as he scrambles to his feet. ::

"Okay... how long were you there?"

(This isn't right... This is sooo not. Maybe I can spell out some clothes... Oh gawd! This isn't my day! At least I'm not dead... He better not be evil! What if he is? The first person I met is evil, and a bitch. Maybe he isn't evil and not a bitch. Only time will tell...)

::Demerous begins to move toward the cabin while unbutton his shirt.::

�Long enough… unfortunately.�

::Pulling his shirt off, he enters the cabin and throws the shirt at the kid.::

(This is really for my benefit)

�Tie that around your waist… or something�

::He looks around the cabin, as an alternative to the person in front of him.::

�I guess I'm going to ask the most obvious question... What the hell are you doing out here, naked?�

:: Staring at Demerous with a surprised expression when he takes his shirt off for him. ::

(Err... Right, Mr. Stranger: I'll just give his kid my shirt so I'll go walk around half naked as he's a total stranger. Thanks alot mate.)

:: Tasting the words of sacasm in his mind, he quickly takes hold of the shirt and wrapped it around his waist, so Shinji's *ahem* parts isn't visible as the shirt is large enough for cover. ::

"Before that Mr. I'm going to ask the much more obvious question that would surely preceed in importance then yours...

Who are you?"

(Oh yeah, a seventeen year old speaking to a man as if he's his equal? Oh man... There will be some tongue slashing going on...

Well, see if I can. He can lash all he wants and blabber all he wants... All I want is answers... Is that too mcuh to ask?)

“You can call me Demerous…�

(Hmm, this kid seems a lot younger than I first assumed.)

�..and to whom do I have the pleasure?�

(I can definitely sense he is magical…)

(Whom he have the pleasure? I'm sure he didn't mean it in the sick way...)

"My name's Shinji... Mr. Demerous."

:: He feels something trigger a slight sensation in him. Something about this man that he's unsure of. ::

(Something's not right... Maybe it's just that my gut hurts from all that running.)

"And the answer to your previous question, I'm lost."

:: Leaving it at that, Shinji wonders what this man will do next. ::

(An older man is in a... log cabin with a seventeen year old boy. Oh joy... Must be my lucky day. First a beautiful hot demonic chick who tried to killed me earlier, and now a man that I'm unsure of... Maybe I should thank him for his shirt and leave, but what other options do I have?)