"Get offa me!", Gaius cried, yanking his cape from the wolf. He hissed again, this time baring his sharp teeth. "do that again and I'll send you back to the lake in a body bag, ya mutt!" His mood was really unstable after Cheza's little hair pulling stunt. If the wolf knew what was good for it, it would mind its manners around him. Gaius glared at the canine once more then whirled around to face Angel. "You said secrets? Yous aid its not merely dumb?", Gaius said moodily. "Then why is it chewing on my cape and licking people! Sounds like regular dumb dog behaviour to me!" He angrily turned away from everyone.
Angel: Blind Angel's cobalt gaze flickered, flaring gold for the briefest of moments. "You see merely what you want and expect to see. But there is much to which you remain blind. You judge before you look, casting others in the rolls you think they play. Had it not been for the others, you would have seen me put to death for what reason? Merely my appearance." The fledgling darkkin turned away, fury building in her throat. "I might be just a crippled girl, but I know truth when I see it. I know how to look beyond the surface." Her cane clicked rhythmically against the stones as she moved closer to the mouth of the cave.
Gaius, Perturbed "Oh, poo-hoo", Gaius said, rolling his eyes. "Haven't we been through this before? I didn't want you dead solely based on your bewitching face, although that was a factor. It was just suspicious, is all, coming upon a frail girl...all alone in the woods...with looks like yours. Seemed to me that you were a classic backwoods devil-witch preying on lost travellers. I've dealt with scum liek that before--you can't blame me for coming to that conclusion, I see what I have learned to see. All the evidence was against you. Now will you stop holding that over my head?!" The Immortal was beginning to swell with power as he did before in Eleria's earthen room. He seemed to grow taller and more imposing without intentionally trying to. A ghostly breeze whipped his cape and his dark, lustrious brown-gold hair.
Cheza growled, matching the energies vibrating from the Immortal's body instinctively. She glared at him through the mask; the crack in it showing a small portion of a high cheekbone as her scalene emerald eyes glowed. "Know what -forget throw pillow; you're gonna be my lunch if i get this mask off!" she hissed, showing the truly threatening power of an enraged dragon. Unbeknownst to her, her back began to sprout twin spines that poked through the fabric of her shirt. Pure white scales spread over her body, and as the spines began to reshape and grow transparent membranes, it became clear what they were: Wings. "You may think that everyone is guilty of some heinous crime that makes them liable unto punishment of death Gaius the Immortal." she said, chewing on his name, "But that does not make them who you think they are. You are trapped in a world of shadows and suspicions -you are scared of finding out that there may be no truth to your words!" Her wings flared out behind her, making her seem even larger than what her tiny frame should have encompassed -but then something passed over her right wing, and it began to shrivel and blacken, poisonous strands of darkness trailing over the right half of her body until they reached her eye; which turned a blood-red. "I have been through what no being should have suffered -but i deserved every minute of it." she said, pulling the skeletal remains of the once velvety wing over her torso; the burned membrane crumbling under her fingers. "because i made one mistake that i should never have made, but I am going to fix it!" Quivering with anger, her fingers changed into long, deadly talons and her teeth snapped together in razor fangs. "If you must know who is the most dangerous one in here -you looking at the one being that can prey upon anything Gaius. And i will show no mercy when i must." Cheza whispered into his ear, then strode into the darkness of the cave. Her mind whirled as a small portion of her true power awakened within her, and she sensed the mind of the wolf as it watched them curiously -clearly more than what it seemed.
Gaius flinched at Cheza's violent outburst. "Uh, Cheza, dragon girl?", Gaius said, one brow raised. "I already know Angels innocent, its become quite apparent. You on the other hand possess a volatile temper. Don't they teach their young to control themselves where you are from?" He scowled.
"They did, and they didn't." she responed. "But i no longer belong to a Tribe -and as such my... animalistic side grows more in control of my humane side. I want to turn back; but as you can see.." She flourished her wings, revealing her glowing red eye. "- the more i tap into my true power, the more my beast comes into control." She grinneed at him, walking into the dark recesses of the cave.
Angel: Whispers of Legend Angel's eyes were dark with an emotion akin to terror as she glanced over at Cheza. The beast struggled against its shackles, but the young darkkin forced it back down by sheer will. Angel's own control was beginning to fragment and she knew what would happen when it snapped. The beast, her true face, would be revealed to the world. "- the more i tap into my true power, the more my beast comes into control." "Take care not to lose yourself, Cheza." Angel said softly, working to keep up with the other girl. "Primal power is as addictive as it is destructive. The weakness of emotion is the only thing that keeps it in check. I have seen madness, pure feral instinct in action, and the devastation that follows in its path. It is one of the oldest legends of my people; it is why we are as we are now...No longer like your kin."
Midnight, far from useless. The girls was suspicious but the tasty meal feline-man was swallowing her bait raw. Guess it was true then, girls were smarter than guys. The dragon-girl's power was awakening, better watch out for that one. The alien was obviously hurt, the damage seemed old but Midnight figured she would try to heal it. Better show the feline-man that she was far from useless, lest he might try to get rid of her. Midnight approached the alien-girl, pressing her forehead against the injury. Soft warm light shone at the point of contact, if the damage could be healed, now would be the time. If not, then the girl would at least walk without pain for a while. When done Midnight rubbed her head against the girls side as an early 'your welcome'. The mind reader had still to answer her question. Midnight had grown up hunting, she could be patient. Let the vampire tell her when he felt it right.
The group had gone in the cave, but Eleria and David stayed behind not traveling into the entrance. David had told Midnight at the last second about Alukard's rising and they must develop the skills and experience to battle him. There were many mysterious beings around the world he had been searching for in order to combat the black king. Some would help, many would ignore him, it had been so long since the black king had been here that he was forgotten, but now the whole world must sense the terrible darkness. Already three gates had been open, Azriel, Pirufos, and Dedimus. Three of the seven ancient trees hunted, only four were left until the moment of contact would erupt. Now the four of the chosen fighters were to enter this dark cave, powerful foes await them, and the strange insanity that stirs within.
Angel: Balance Angel allowed her fingers to thread through the dense black coat of the wolf as she pressed close. The deep burning ache of her left leg eased significantly, but it would never truly be whole again. She gave the wolf a fleeting, broken smile. "Thank you. The pain is less, but the leg will never be hale and stout again. The bone was shattered when I was a very small child and never healed properly. It reminds me that I am still human..." Her voice trailed off as the darkness of the cave enshrouded her. Her cobalt eyes flickered, shifting to molten, burning gold and probed the darkness. Her senses were running hot. Somewhere up ahead an enormous spirit pulse glowed, it seethed with the pent up fury of a volcano.
Cheza growled as a powerful stench hit her nose -but then she remembered what Angel had said and struggled to keep herself under control. Her wings faded and dissapeared, and her eyes ceaced to glow as her scales retreated back under her skin. Sighing in sudden releif, she gave Angel a small smile, walking beside her. Idly; she scratched the wolf's ear and back, finding an odd comfort from being with an animal that also would normally live in a pack. "Sorry, Gaius." she said quietly, "My temper got away from me then... but i will not admit to being impatient to finding Alukard. If i am to be restored, he must be destroyed." she shuddered as a dark memoery came up in the back of her mind -what had caused her banishment, but she stifled it and continued following Angel, her footsteps making soft pat-pat noises on the stone floor.
Gaius Gaius didn't respond to Cheza's apology, just nodded curtly. She had admitted that her self-control was slipping. Angel had shared an anecdote about similar beings who'd allowed their primal sides, their base instincts, to govern them. If Cheza became like that, then there would be no other option but to subdue her. And if her animal side was as powerful as Gaius intuited, then he wasn't sure who would win that fight. And what would Angel do? Would she sit idly by if Cheza went insane? Gaius wasn't sure--Angel would probably deny that anything was wrong, even if Cheza bit off her head. Gaius shook his head to clear his mind and focus o the now. They had a monster to cage. "Let me lead", he said, and he conjured a ball of light, a werelight, that bobbed in front of them. They pale blue light illuminated that cave floor and the walls, but the ceiling was lost in shadow. Then Gaius noticed that disgusting dogbeast pacing alongside Angel. Whelp, I tried to warn it, he thought. Not my fault if it becomes some creature's snack...
Midnight Both girls were petting her now, they seemed to take comfort in the fact that she, a wild animal, was walking among them. She could still feel the man's hatred of her. It was basically rolling of him. To hell with it, at least I can help the girls. She thought to herself. Rubbing her head against dragon-girl's hand, she enjoyed being petted. Suddenly she became aware of a scent, a scent she had been sure she would never smell again. Midnight stopped dead, the hairs on her back standing on edge. A deep growl sounded from her throat as she bared her teeth. When the mind reader had mentioned training she never thought they would encounter this.
Sniffing again, Cheza entered the cave and noticed four passages leading off deeper into its recesses as the wolf growled behind her. "Four of us, four of them." she said, "Which of us goes where?" Her hair bristled as she neared the third tunnel -one of the two largest which had deep claw marks scoring the sides as if something had clawed its way into its depths. She caught a very faint whiff of something familiar, but was unable to identify it as she neared the tunnel's entrance. "I'll go in this one." she said, not waiting for the others to reply as she trotted inside, her eyes beginning to glow as she was swallowed up by the darkness.
"Cheza, wait! We can't split up, you don't know what's in there!", Gaius cried, but the masked dragon-girl was gone. "Oh gobshite", he cursed. He lifted his cloak and used Agility to sprint ahead after Cheza, his golden-brown hair flying behind him.
Angel: Voices in the Dark A sweet, singsong voice whispered blackness. "...Angel...Angel...Come, this way...this way." The fledgling darkkin's silvery blonde curls ignited as her songs began to rise, casting an eerie moonlight glow off the cavern walls. The whisper was coming from the far left tunnel. Something hidden in that mass of blackness called to her like a lodestone. Angel's footsteps were silent as she disappeared into the dark, following the lure.
Midnight, battling herself. Midnight mentally shrugged her shoulders and strode into the cave with the familiar smell. She at least thought she did, the wolf inside her refused to walk another step. The wolf told her to honor tradition, better not risk breaking it. She tried to persuade herself forward, it had been so long, she might just have smelled something else. The wolf mentally shook her head, couldn't possibly forget such an important smell. Better that she fought it than the others then. The scent was strong here. There were strands of hair littered in the cave opening. It had obviously been here awhile. Midnight, get your fucking ass over to that cave right now! Abandoning reason she used her willpower. Were you this cowardly last time? Was it just dumb luck that kept you alive? A steady growl building in her throat. Lets show them what a big mistake they made in making us their enemy! She released all her built up fury and ran forward, a high roar announcing her presence. Let them now that she's coming! Let them prepare themselves! She would be ready. Still roaring she disappeared inside the cave.
"Cheza! Wait!" Cheza turned as she heard Gaius call after her, then heard his rapid footsteps. Turning, her eyebrows raised in surprise as she realized he was the only one who had followed her. "Gaius; you don't want to follow me." she said quietly as she headed deeper in, walking beside him as he caught up, "Look at these..." Waving her arm, a small flame flickered to life in the palm of her hand to reveal deep claw marks scoring the stone walls and floor, "Only two creatures could make these; and only a dragon can kill the both of them." Tilting her head back to sniff again, she felt her hair bristle. The first smell kept masking the second -and she was so sure she knew it... Crouching, she looked at the remains of the many stalactites that had been simply crushed into dust by the passing of a heavy body. A heavy, armored body. "Don't you think you should go back and protect Angel? With her kind of magic, i can imagine that she needs time to cast -and without someone to do all the physical work of keeping the enemy at bay, she is just about helpless-" A deep rumble suddenly shook the floor and small bits of stone and dust fell from the roof. Cheza looked ahead in alarm and saw a dense mist beginning to rise out of the tunnel, heading towards them. "Fire-Shield!" she yelped and enveloped both her and Gaius in a ball of flame that burned away the mist before it could touch them. What is this...? she thought as another rumble shook the tunnel, backing up unconciously until she was uncomfortably close to Gaius to keep from touching the mist.
Angel: Downward Spiral The tunnel wound down in a tight spiral, its loose, uneven covering of stones making the going rough. The clatter and bounce of the tumbling rocks gave Angel pause. Curious, she stooped, studying the ground beneath her feet. It looked more like a beach or a lake shore than a cave, the countless stones were all smooth, rounded. There were none of the usual stone formations she had seen in the sea caves around Abbotts Hollow and Oban. Senses running open and hot, she sniffed the air, knowing it should be dank and heavy. Instead it was tinged with fresh air and...She sniffed again, just to make sure...Brine. Decidedly odd. "Angel..." The voices sang again. "Angel..." A memory stirred. A story told by firelight in the common room of the Broken Bird. "They sing to the sea, luring men to their doom. Thousands upon thousands of souls lost their lives upon those shores, drawn by the songs. The sirens, as fair of face and form as that angel faced waif." The tar said, pointing at Angel. "It was because of their songs they survived the Fading that claimed so many others. Some say it was their voices that lured the first Starchaser from the skies, brought her crashing to the stones. They are the voice of the sea, the soul of the storms and the laughter of the brooks, streams, and burns." "Impossible." Angel muttered, pushing the memory away. "Daughter of the Starchaser..." The ghostly sweet voices sang. "Child of the broken hearted, wing and talon bound. Poor lonely child, stranded upon the ground." "You know naught of what you speak!" She whispered, pressing her hands tight to her ears. "You know naught. I am nothing to you." "Child of the Starchaser...Wing and talon bound. A soul too heavy to fly, binding her to the ground." The haunting soprano refrain began. "No!" Angel screamed. "I am not a monster." "Smoke and mist and flame and ice. Wing and talon bound. A broken heart, binding her to the ground..."
Gaius "Whatever a dragon can do, I can do too", Gaius said firmly. "I am not leaving you alone." And then there was a monstrous roar and a huge dragon loomed out of the dark cave. Some sort of mist attack came at them, but Cheza protected them in a fire bubble. "Our turn", Gaius said with a grim smile. The Immortal's hands blazed with lightning and he burst out of Cheza's Fire Shield and flew up to the high, high ceiling. He clung to a stalactite like a oversized bat and aimed two fingers at several other large, sharp stalactites that could crush a house. A highly concentrated lightning-beam burst from his fingers and severed over twenty stalactites and they went raining down on the dragon.
Cheza charged forwards as her father roared, turning his head up at Gaius to open his maw -about to bathe the Immortal in flame when she crashed into him and knocked him away even though the dragon was many times larger than her even in her true form. "He's a Mirror Dragon Gaius! Don't hit him with any magical attacks, they'll just be absorbed!" she yelled as the black dragon turned on her, red eyes gleaming. Cheza; you sure know how to defile your race. he growled low, his voice booming through the cavern. You deceive others of your kind; would that petty Immortal know the difference if you told a lie or the truth, Child who awakened Alukard? Cheza felt as if she had been given a solid punch in the gut as she stumbled back, the dragon slowly turning and batting away the falling stalactites with his paw as he lowered his head until it was level with her. No...No... Gaius is it? Cheza's father said, speaking to the Immortal though he did not look at him. You apparently trusted her -and yet you do not realize how far she had deceived you. This is the reason she was banished from our tribe; for bringing the Dark King back. You do not even see her for what she is -for she has cast a spell over her body to deceive your eyes. Do you think you should trust her for that? The dragon backed up into a far corner of the cave, waiting for a response as he gave Cheza a cruel grin. In fact, it is my job to come here and finish her off for good -since the fall from the sky did not- but i will give you time to do with her as you wish if this is a surprise for you. You have two minutes. Cheza choked back a sob, covering her face with her hands as she looked up at Gaius. She could not deny what was the truth -she had released Alukard. A mistake...a mistake.... a stupid mistake... she thought hopelessly, shaking as tears fell to the stone floor with soft plinking noises.
Gaius Cheza...freed...Alukard? It was hard for Gaius to process this information. He should have been overjoyed--all his suspicions were being confirmed. He had always suspected somethign was up with Cheza, and he wouldn't be surprised if Angel turned out to have alternative motives too. Gaius dropped fromt he ceiling and hovered in slow-motion to the ground, landing lightly on the ground. As he paced closer to Cheza, he concider his next plan of action. Would he disintegrate Cheza for keeping this huge secret to herself, or remain her steadfast ally? Gaius raised one hand and it crackled in an orb of electricity. His hair and cape billowed behind him fromt he force of it. And then he lowered his hand and the lightning fizzled out. "I...I'm giving you a second chance", the Immortal told Cheza. His face was stony and his usually warm brown eyes were hard. "Do not waste it." And then Gaius turned to the Mirror Dragon and opened his arms wide. "Immortal Basilisk, I summon thee!", Gaius cried. Nothing happened for a moment. "Uh...", Gaius said, looking nervous. Where are you, you old kook?! But then Gaius' mouth snapped open and the Basilisk's spirit projected in front of him. It was a long, sinewy elegant lizard that stood on its hind legs, taller than any man. It gave Gaius a sharp look, flicking its forked black tongue. "Thissss is the only time I will help you, Gaiussss, son of Henric", the Immortal Basilisk hissed. "I was in the middle of reading a scroll on communicating with the heavenly stars..." Gaius merely nodded. He was thinking, What's the point of studying that? When will talking to stars ever come in handy?! But he held his tongue. The Immortal Basilisk nodded and turned to the Mirror Dragon. It levitated to eye level with the ancient beast and started to screech. The cave echoed his haunting wails and the stones trembled. the Basilisk was using his unique power of turning things to stone with a earsplitting scream. The air became hazy and the Mirror Dragon found his legs slowly turning to solid granite, and it spread quickly up his body. "Now I'm done", the Basilisk snapped, and it disapeared in a shower of gritty dust.
Ha! Try turning me to stone eh? Well I've hunted basilisks before -this won't be any different! Dragneel's voice boomed through the room as his chest began to change to stone, his nostrils filled with yet unbreathed flame. Why do you think dragons are so hard to kill? This is merely a change of form -and one i have experienced before! Cheza snarled, snagging her father's attention suddenly. "Yes -you are right father -but you forgot that I know as well the process of stone-turning." she said lowly, then speaking to Gaius: "You cannot kill a dragon even if you incinerate his entire body -for nothing can burn the flame that lives within them -which is the heart and soul of every dragon. The only way is to devour their soul -and then there is only a slim chance that you will live from such an event. Anyways..." Striding slowly forward, her emerald eyes glowing into blood-red just like her fathers', Cheza watched the fear suddenly bloom in his eyes and he reared his head back, bathing her in a pillar of flame. "Obfirmo." she hissed, scales crawling over her body as her talons grew and her wings spread. The fire suddenly blasted apart around her in many-colored threads -as if locked into tiny cages. Heat shimmered over her body, and as she continued to walk forward her father released an awful scream meant to deafen her -the focused sound waves able to easily cause a human skull to burst apart. "Scutum." she whispered, and the sound suddenly vanished as if it had never been as the spell protected both her and Gaius from its effects. "I will not have anyone else bear the guilt of my family's death." Cheza said coldly, and Dragneel roared in rage as he was finally encased in stone. Raising a hand, palm shimmering with a light that sparked like ice, she felt her body suddenly fade away as her spirit pulsed and grew, consuming her in a ball of pure white flame. "Dealba." she whispered. Purify. A blast of light filled the cavern, and Cheza screamed as agony tore through her -fire so hot that her body could not stand it. The stone monolith of her father groaned and cracked, crumbling into dust as the white flames revealed a ball of yellow-red flame tinged with black. Her father's soul. "Devoret." And the soul dissapeared -was torn apart by itself in its attempt to escape the purifying flames of judgement which even Cheza could not escape. The flames faded, and Cheza felt ice-cold air fill her lungs again as she breathed. Collapsing to the ground, she crumpled into a ball. She had been hiding her true form she realized -for she now no longer had dark hair but silver, no longer had green eyes but lavender, and no longer was in the shape of a scrawny teenager but of a young woman. "Guess I'm double screwed." she chuckled faintly, passing out, having no chance to tell Gaius that she hadn't even remembered changing her form -that it must have happened when she fell from the sky.
Gaius "Cheza!", Gaius kneeled by the girl--or the young the lady who used to be a girl. She was nearly grown up now. Gaius checke dher heartbeat and said, "Cheza--awake! You saved us both!" He breathed his warm breath across her chest, hoping to wake her with a healing wind, or at least soothe her. He cradled her in his strong arms and carried her out of the cave and into the main chamber once again. There he laid her on a smooth, flat-topped rock. Angel was nearby, her small figure barely visible in the gloom. "Angel...?" Gaius stepped tentatively forward. She seemed transfixed by something he couldn't see or hear. "Angel, Cheza just passed out. Angel! Do you hear me!"
Cheza winced, groaning as she raised her hands to her head in a moment of confusion. What happened? Cheza --awake! You saved us both! She jumped as Gaius's words ran through her mind; but she had been unconscious then -how could she have heard him? "First you spare my life -then you say i saved you! Make up your mind!" she yowled, clapping her hands over her temples, trying to shut out the sudden sense of foreboding that cut through her senses like ice. Or more like a flash of lightning running down her spine. "Angel, do you hear me?" Gaius was saying, looking at the turned back of the other girl. Cheza sniffed the air and stiffened, her silver hair spiking up slightly as her lavender eyes grew wide with fright. "Siren..." she breathed, just on the edge of hearing. The soft, lulling sound of the monster's music was coming form the cave in front of Angel -and she was transfixed as if made of stone. No no no no! Cheza thought quickly and ran forward, grabbing Angel and yanking her back and wrapping her arms firmly around the girl's head, covering her ears. "Gaius! Find some way to plug your ears! Sirens lure their prey into their domain by singing!" she yelled quickly, then began chanting lowly: "Scream morientium draco / carmine canticum quod sufflantem ventus / Scream morientium draco / inrita quod lenit et deflorescat!" The words built up as a hot wind began to flow and turn around Cheza and the others -filling the room until the stalagmites seemed to scream like dying animals -but one could be recognized above the rest as Cheza continued to chant, trying to block out the siren's song with her own as every dragon learned when trying to hunt other mythical beings. The scream of a dying dragon. She was bringing back the memory of her father's final roar.
