SB'S POV

"Go, now!" I shout, as Vivi finishes tying Custer to the toilet (Those are words I'd never thought I'd say in that order).

We quickly escape, but we hear the alarm near the Golden Palace.

"Soldiers are on their way, no doubt." Solasta said, her eyes now yellow and teal.

"We gotta get outta here!" Inanna exclaimed, as we ran for our lives.

We dashed through the alleys, through the shortcuts in the city, until we arrive at the warehouse. Vivi bolted the door, and the four of us stopped to catch our breath. I ran my fingers through my hair, which, unbelievely, was still black! I sighed, as I looked at my now coral-red skin, wondering how much longer until the curse took over me and Solasta.

'Samuel Brown, you fool! You touched her, and now she's infected with the curse!' A voice in the back of my mind said.

'Yeah, but that's because I forgot!' I thought back.

'Well, now she might--' The voice was back.

'Hey, you're not the one that got the curse inflicted on yourself! Oh, wait, you are, because you're part of me, whoever you are!' I thought angrily.

Little did I know what that voice was...

Solasta

"I am so not part of you!!" says Inanna, who's been arguing with SB for the past block or so. 
"Listen, save your breath, OK?" Vivi asks. "We need to get back to the warehouse." 
"We have the antidote anyways," I add.
"So apologize," says Vivi.
"Fine, fine, fine," says Inanna. "Peace, SB?" 
"I guess," says SB. "I mean, I thought you were in my head." SB clutches at his hair.
"Eventually," I say, "you start to hallucinate because of the curse." I remember my parents, during the last weeks of their lives, screaming at the bananas, the washing machine, me, believing they were only thinking what they were saying.
"Now let's keep running," says Vivi.
We manage to evade the police, although by the time we get to the warehouse I'm tired from carrying the box. When we arrive inside, we sit down on the bare floor and Vivi, clutching it by the string, brings over the cursed box.
"Okay. Solasta, SB, care to put our newest acquisition inside the other box? They look about the right size for that," says Vivi. 
I pick up the cursed box.Things can't possibly get much worse, after all. Then, carefully, I open it and slide the new box inside. 
This is the moment I've been waiting for. 
Hopefully, this will bring us what we're trying to get. 
And it will also bring us something to cure the curse.

Oooh, this sounds cool! Can I join?

SB'S POV

I couldn't believe it. Solasta put the cursed box in the cure box, and...

Nothing.

Literally, nothing happened!

"Wha-- what's going on here?! It's supposed to cure SB and Solasta!" Inanna exclaimed, as we all stared at the box.

"Hmm... maybe..." Vivi murmured.

"What? What's wrong?" I said, as she gasped.

"The box! It must've been a replica! A fake!" She exclaimed.

"Like someone made a 3D print of it?!" Solasta replied, as Vivi nodded.

We all stared at the fake box, knowing that someone other than Peter Custer had the actual thing; The only thing that could cure Solasta and I.

-------------------------------------------------

Yep, it's a twist in the story!

Solasta

"Oh dear." I start running my hands across my face and through my hair. They're red now, unfortunately. "Where's the real box?" 
"I have zero idea,"says Inanna.
"Nobody has more than that," Vivi adds. "Unless SB...?" 
"Nope," says SB. "Why don't we just go to bed?"

----------------

Peter Custer

Very, very early the next morning, I am awoken by someone pounding on the door. 
"Custer!" yells the person. "Wake up!"
"Unff," I mumble. I probably went to sleep at eleven or so last night; it took me forever to hack apart that dental floss with my nails. I get out of bed and let the person in. It's Sahara, the new guard. 
"Um, hello, Sahara," I say. I don't know who I was expecting and why I didn't get some sort of bathrobe on; I'm standing in my nightshirt. 
"I heard that some outlaws came to your apartment last night," Sahara says. "We have some news to break to you: The outlaws didn't steal the curebox." 
"What? But...I thought..." My thoughts are jumbled. 
"We swapped it out for a fake when we recovered it." 
"Who's we?" I ask, starting to be annoyed. That box was entrusted to me! And me alone! 
"Me, actually. Well, me acting in the stead of my partner, Dune." 
"Where is the curebox?" 
"It's in the very capable hands of the City of Museia. Actually, the Palace of Museia. That did actually turn out to be the right move." 
"When did you get it back?" I know the answer, of course: when I let Sahara steal the box back. Yes, she's inexperienced, but I'm fond of her, you know? Was fond of her, I correct.
"When we took back the box. Anyway, Sergeant Fish told Dune to tell me to tell you that. So that's it. Bye!" And Sahara leaves.

She and the police are no worse than the outlaws. 
And I really want that box back, back, back.

Here goes!

Name: Nyxie Polo :)

Nickname: Nyx

Age: 19

Gender: Female

Personality: Very mischievous and silly, but serious when needed, does her work quickly and can be a good secret-keeper, is smiling more than not and does cute things when she is thinking

Appearance: slim figure, strong in a girl sort of way, highlighted muddy blond hair, bright sky-blue eyes, tannish skin and freckles, blue braces, usually wears tall leather boots and faded blue jeans, either wears a t-shirt or a rag-tag sweater, and has a locket with her dead parents' picture inside (but more about that later)

Likes: LOVES peanut butter, enjoys reading, playing around and riding on the backs of motorcycles or driving one herself

Dislikes: green grapes and trashy brands of peanut butter

Guard or friend of SB and Vivi: Friend ;D

Powers (Agility, enhanced fighting, nothing too OP:) Agility and, (if this is okay), has a photographic memory

Shipping (Girls with guys only, please): Doyle Parks, her bestie from third grade

Preferred Weapons: her fists

Other: n/a

Name: Doyle Parks

Nickname: Doyle

Age: 20

Gender: Male

Personality: Happily quiet, mostly, but will speak up if he has something important to say, mildly has anger issues, very good at what he takes to doing

Appearance: black hair and dark brown eyes, slightly muscular, even smile, pale skin, usually wears red sneakers with gym shorts and school sweat-shirt,

Likes: Red grapes, reading, driving his motorcycle and kicking a soccor ball around and drawing

Dislikes: losing something, killing something, and singing

Guard or friend of SB and Vivi: Friend

Powers (Agility, enhanced fighting, nothing too OP:) Enhanced fighting

Shipping (Girls with guys only, please): Nyxie Polo

Preferred Weapons: a knife

Other: n/a

Nyxie's POV

~~~~ 

I sniff the city air with vigor and look at the dark sky.

"Ahh, isn't it good to be back, Doyle?" I ask my best friend as he steps out of the bus.

He smiles and nods. I link arms with him and we start down the street towards the old warehouse. We had just come back from a trip to a neighboring country town to visit my uncle.

When the warehouse came into view, my mouth broke into a smile and I walked into the rusty door. 

Vivi sat up and looked over at me with confusion. She gasped and ran over to give me a hug. I hug her back and she waves to Doyle.

"We missed you," She starts, "The others are asleep--" then her eyes cloud and she starts to cry. "Um, you should probably know that SB and Solasta are cursed and I'm not sure what we can do..." She starts to sob quietly and Solasta walks up to us.

Except. Is that Solasta?

~~~~

Is it okay if Nyxie and Doyle live here as well? If not that'd be fine, just wanted to be sure. :)

Nyxie and Doyle living in the warehouse is fine with me!

-------------

Solasta

"Nyxie and Doyle are here," Vivi tells me. 
"I am aware of that," I say to her. "Hi, Nyxie and Doyle. Welcome back!" 
"Solasta?" Doyle asks. "Solasta Duvail?"
"Um, yeah, that's my name," I say.
"Last I saw you your hair was whitish, not auburn," says Nyxie. "And did you get a sunburn?" 
"No," I say. There are no mirrors in our warehouse, but I can tell that it's the curse. "Cursed box, remember?" 
"Okay, then," says Nyxie. "Let's wake up SB and Inanna and have a strategy meeting." 

Five minutes later, we are all sitting on the floor in a circle. Vivi and Inanna update Nyxie and Doyle on everything that's happened so far.
"He might know about the location of the real one," Inanna says.
"Who's he?" Nyxie asks.
"Peter Custer," says SB.
"How'd we get him to tell us?" Vivi asks. 
"We wouldn't have to, really," Nyxie suggests. "People could go into his house and spy on him." 
Vivi points at Nyxie.
"Great idea," she says, nodding. "Nyxie should go since she suggested and she can pick one other person, I guess, since it would be good to have a team. 
"Um..." Inanna looks around. "I pick Solasta. 

Nyxie and I return to 654 Avenue Street, late enough in the morning that Custer should be guarding the Palace by now. We have food in our backpacks, enough that if need be we can stay in the apartment for 24 hours. I hope we won't have to, though. 
Vivi, Inanna, and Doyle are here to see us off. SB said he didn't feel so well and stayed at the warehouse. I hope that this not feeling so well isn't part of the curse--I don't want it to happen to me.
"Bye," says Doyle as he hugs Nyxie. Vivi and Inanna wave to both of us and then turn around to go back to the warehouse. Me and Nyxie walk up to the door of the apartments.
"Into the mouth of the lion," says Nyxie, and she pushes the door open and ushers me in.

SB'S POV

I was asleep, while Nyxie and Solasta were infiltrating Custer's apartment, until suddently, I felt searing pain on my arms.

"AHHH!!" I screamed, as I bolted up.

I looked at my arms, a cold sweat forming on my back. My arms had cracks all across them, and that was the source of the pain. I wasn't bleeding, but it hurt a LOT.

"AHHH!! NONONONONO!!!! This--THIS CAN'T HAPPENING!! VIVI!! INANNA!! ANYBODY!!! AGHHH!!" I howled in agony, as my arms continued to feel like they were on fire.

I felt tears of pain run down my face, as the pain continued. I started sobbing, wishing that somebody, anybody, was here to comfort me. I curled up into a little ball, each movement of my arms beinging searing pain. I remembered when Vivi and I were 6 years old, playing on my gravel driveway.

"Vivi... Viv, wait up!" I called out to her.

"SB!" She answered, as I handed her a smooth, glass-like rock.

"I found this. Want it?" I asked her.

"Yeah!"

The next day, I noticed that she had turned it into a necklace, one that she had kept all those years. Every time I saw her wear it, I felt something... warm and strange. My heart would flutter once or twice--- or a few times-- and I would get nervous. All my life, I'd wondered what I was feeling, until that moment when my arms started hurting again.

"LOVE!" I exclaimed to myself, bolting up yet again.

"That's what that feeling was! I was feeling LOVE for Vivi! Oh, SB, why did it take you so long to figure that out, you-- AHH!!" I yelled in pain, as my arms throbbed.

I felt the tears come back, and I curled up into a ball for the second time that day, softly crying myself back to sleep, wondering if Vivi loved me too.

----------------------------------------------------

Sorry for the long chapter, I just got a wave of inspiration :)

Nyxie's POV

I took a deep breath and smiled to a passerby. They stared at Solasta. 

"Did you happen bring a hoodie?" I whispered. Solasta shook her head, wincing. Her firey red skin had begun to crack. I grabbed her hand. "You can do this!"

Solasta and me walk up the stairs inside the apartment building, with Solasta in the lead. She points to a blank doorway with the number 2 written on it. She got ready to open the door when she paused.

"Hey, are you--" I began, but Solasta shushed me sharply and indicated to listen.

A man was shouting inside the door, and a someone screamed. My eyes widened and I reached for the knob. Solasta grabbed my hand.

"You don't understand," the man, who sounded really frustrated, "I need that box."

"No, you don't understand," retorted a female voice. "I don't have the box in my possession anymore." Someone screamed again. "Get that gun away from me!" the woman shouted. The man cackled.

"Fine," the man was talking again, "I'll give you one more chance. Tell me where you put the box, and I'll let you go." Someone heaved a big sigh.

"I don't know where it is, but I can take you to the last place I saw it." The woman said wearily.

"Great. Let's go." Footsteps sounded and came nearer.

Solasta gasped and pulled me to the nearest doorway. We squished inside the indented area just as we heard the door open and shut with a click. The two people walked the other way and their footsteps faded.

We both sighed with relief. 

"Let's follow them." I say finally, after many moments of silence. She nods and walks down the hall. I follow and we go out onto the busy morning streets. There was no sign of a man with a gun or a woman with a man in her wake.

"Well, at least we know that he doesn't have the box and whoever that woman was, knows where the antidote box is." I say positively. She nods.

We head back to the warehouse. No one greets us or anything. In fact, it's like no one is here. then we heard it.

Soft, yes, but it was there. A growl, of some sort, coming from SB's corner... 

@all, I don't think I am very good at RPs, and I would like to offically back out. You are welcome to withdraw Inanna completly from the story as if she never existed, or go ahead and continue writing her in. I will continue reading, and do whatever you want with Inanna. Thanks! 

Hawkstar, my personal preference would be to keep Inanna in the story, but it's everyone's (and your) decision, not mine. 
Nyxie, if you'd like we can ignore the grabbing or we can not ignore it and have it become part of the story. Once again, your decision. 

-----------

Peter Custer

Sahara had the nerve to come back to my screaming apartment. Bringing tea biscuits. For goodness's sake, tea biscuits!!!
So I did the only reasonable thing: I tied her hands behind her back and her feet to each other, then brought out the only weapon-looking weapon in the house. Well, it wasn't a weapon. It was a cardboard version of the musket that my great-great-great-grandfather, Guard Jonathan Custer, had allegedly used to defend the Golden Palace in the Great Wars of 1853. It looked real, though--real enough for Sahara to start screaming. However, when it became clear that she didn't know where the box was, I took her down to the street myself and let her go. 
I go back upstairs and put the cardboard musket away, then find the file folder where I keep all the results from the guards' background checks. It takes me only a moment to find Sahara's, and then, after looking through the results for just a moment, I come across Romantic Attachments. There is only one name listed there, which is Dune Greyson, her boyfriend. 
Deputy Dune Greyson, the trainee police officer. 
Now I know where the box is.
I just need to learn how to rob the police station.