The bushes parted with a quiet rustle, and Larxene slunk through the gap to proceed onward through the dark forest, Mortica in tow. "We should be getting close," the Savage Nymph murmured to her companion. She heard Mortica grunt, and the lightning wielder straightened herself just as the leaves behind them shook. Her head snapping to the direction of the sound, Larxene flashed out her knives, ready to attack, but instead saw a single brown wolf. A rather familiar one at that...
"Stok?" Mortica inquired warily, eyes blinking nervously. "What are you doing here?"
The Beta's golden eyes flickered with mild surprise as he looked from Mortica to Larxene. "I didn't expect to find you two here," he said, confused as his ears lay flat. "Strafe, Creena, and I are here looking for two Pack members."
"Missing?" Mortica asked, before Larxene stepped forward.
"I believe it would be best if--" The bushes rattled noisily as an energetic young wolf burst through and nearly tackled into Larxene, who cut herself off to receive the Cub Prince. An ebony panther crept more silently after the wolf's entrance.
"Larxene!" Strafe exclaimed, tail wagging furiously. "I didn't know you were here! How'd you find us?"
Larxene rubbed the wolf's blond head. "I had no idea you three would be here, actually. Which is the gist of what I was getting at." Her blue eyes flicked to Stok again. "Perhaps if we exchanged our stories, things would make a lot more sense."
Stok nodded as Creena padded up beside him; Mortica seated herself in such a quiescent manner that it was hard to believe that she had even moved. Strafe clumsily curled himself in Larxene's lap as she sat cross-legged on the ground, beginning her and Mortica's tale as to why they were infiltrating the dragon ranch up ahead of them.
Axel swam at a rather fast pace as he high-tailed it after his son, who was clearly absorbed in trying to entangle himself in the seaweed. Once the pyro caught up to the giggling boy, he sighed and said, "Let's get going now, Rox, hm?" The Flurry Of Dancing Flames reached forward to untangle his son, when suddenly Roxas wiggled out on his own; Axel looked up to see the boy watching two sea creatures at a distance from them both. Two dark teal eels, to be exact, and before Axel could grab his child's tail fin, Roxas shot off after them, curious.
Swearing mildly out of humor and exasperation, Axel swam off after the child. "How many times do i have to tell you? We need to talk to your mother!"
Roxas, however, was preoccupied in chasing the strange eels, who were swimming slowly away from him and into darker waters.
Axel felt a prick of ice along his spine as he felt a slight drop in temperature. "Rox, get back here," he called, aware of the large grotto they were all approaching; its entrance opened like the jaws of a sea creature, smoke and heat rising from the holes that served as eyes and nostrils. The pinkish glow emanating from the mouth seemed to swallow up the eels as they swam forward and into the cave, Roxas in silent pursuit.
The pyromancer grit his teeth as he tried catching up to his child, keenly noting that somehow now was not the time to be making any noise. He stopped abruptly when he swam deeper into the grotto, seeing the tunnel that was the neck widen suddenly to surround a large cave.
There were two reasons that had caused the pyro to stop: the first was that he had nearly crashed into Roxas, who was hiding behind a rock; the second was the sight of the sea-witch before him, in the center of the cave and in front of a bubbling, glowing cauldron.
Axel tilted his head as he slid his hands over the boy's shoulders carefully; the pyro observed the woman's human-like upper body, then the bottom half, which was composed with the black body of a sort of octopus. Her short white hair flowed behind her as she looked up at the two eels whom Roxas had followed.
"Did you find it?" she asked, her deep voice strained with anticipation.
One eel shook its head regretfully. "No," he croaked sadly, "perhaps they are not growing at this time?" he offered helpfully.
She pounded her fists on the rim of the cauldron, and both eels flinched. "Idiots!" she cried scornfully. "How hard is it to find me a batch of the seaweed I require?!" She scoffed loudly as she threw her hands up in the air. "Why couldn't you two be more like Flotsam and Jetsam?! They knew how to get a job done! They were resourceful and cunning! They had never-ending loyalty to me! But no, they never truly went to the darkness; they only served me, that was all. And that's why they're not here!"
"But Ursula...," the other eel said despondently, his voice trailing out to a meek plead.
"Don't 'But Ursula' me!" the sea-witch yelled, shaking her clenched fist in front of both their faces, making them cringe where they were.
Axel's eyes widened, somewhat appalled at not only the manner at which she treated her servants, but also that this was the same Ursula he had heard of during his time in the realm of the living. A cruel sea-witch banished from the city of Atlantica, who had more than once tried stealing the throne; smooth and calculating, one who didn't know her would hardly know whose side she was on. Taking his hold on Roxas to quietly pull the child away and further into safety, he was unprepared for the next comment.
"I need that seaweed to further complete my concoction!" Ursula shouted, tentacles writhing angrily. "It will help me overthrow this world's king, so that I may take his place! But instead you two bumbling idiots bring me intruders!"
Axel's blood flowed cold as the last part hit his ears.
The next thing he knew, Ursula was grabbing Axel's arm in an irritated fashion and hoisting him up roughly. Roxas cried out in surprise, and his green eyes widened when Ursula shook his father. "What are you doing here?!" she snapped. "Don't you know that this is my grotto? You'd have to be a fool to trespass here!"
"We were wandering and wound up here on accident," Axel growled in retort, tail fin writhing as the eels circled him and Roxas.
"Hmph!" Ursula examined Axel with a critical eye. "I'd like to see a better lie!" She turned to the eels. "Take them both to that anemone over there!"
Out of second nature, Axel tried retaliating with his fire, but all his hands could produce was heat. Swearing, he was reminded of the water that was all around him. Ursula shoved him forward, slamming him into a sort of sea anemone, which wrapped itself around him, briefly stunning him. The pyromancer struggling furiously as the eels wrapped their tails around Roxas, who was crying out and wriggling to get free. Ursula uttered a low cackle as her pets flung the boy into the small space of her sleeping chamber on Axel's right side.
Roxas looked up at the purple-and-black sea creature with pleading eyes, and Ursula feigned fondness. What an adorable little creature!" she crooned. "I won't kill you." She gave a flat frown. "Well, not all of you anyway. I think I just might need your youth, now that it's laid itself before me. And I have just the thing for that," she purred, a slow grin curling her red lips.
Axel's eyes narrowed with blazing indignance; he thrashed in the anemone, but he was bound tight and fast, blood seeping from the cuts that he was receiving. "Roxas!" he commanded, but he was cut off with a limb in his mouth, making him scream in muffled pain.
Roxas whimpered as Ursula drifted away toward her potions shelf, which was on the other side of the cave. The eels were still wound around the boy, and the boy thought frantically of anything that could help him. For some strange reason, he thought of Strafe and Jink in their animal skins; inspired, Roxas bit down hard into an eel's slimy skin. When it screamed, Roxas moved to the other's body nearby. Instantly they unwound themselves in a panic, and Roxas darted away and toward Axel.
Ursula heard the cried of pain, and she quickly turned to see Roxas biting down on the base of the sea anemone. "Not so fast, you!" she called out quickly, swimming toward the boy.
But Axel, thanks to Roxas' painful distraction on his prison, was already unbound. Green eyes flicking in anger, he propelled himself into the sea-witch's stomach, making her fall back with a startled grunt. Seeing the eels still in preoccupied indulgence for their bite marks, Axel moved to Ursula's boiling cauldron; seizing the rim, he pumped his tail fin until the contents were spilled out in a flurry of sizzling steam and flooding chemicals.
Ursula's eyes widened and she cried out in anguish. "No!"she screamed, fists clenching and unclenching in horror. "You!" she addressed, pointing a plump finger at the smug pyro. "I'll skin you, you ignorant guppy!"
"I'm so frightened," Axel replied flippantly, scooping Roxas into the crook of his arm. "Let's see you overthrow anybody with that." He pointed to the wasted concoction on the floor, now useless.
Ursula's eyes flared, and she reached behind her to grab a potion from the shelf; what it was, even she did not know, and Axel's shoulders prickled.
"You'll regret this!" Ursula snarled, flinging the potion between them, shattering the bottle. Instantly, purple smoke billowed out and bloomed all around the cave, causing the eels nearby to choke unceasingly and Ursula cry out in frustration.
"Bye now," Axel cried out smugly as he swam into a portal before his child could be placed in any more trouble.
Har held Paddin protectively in his arms as his golden eyes trained themselves on the hound passing back and forth in front of their small iron cage. The Pack cub narrowed his eyes as the creature lowered its head in front of them, gas-flame eyes flaring with impatience and disgust.
Stupid children, Lust growled arrogantly to herself. What are you worth keeping for?
Har shot back the glare. "How should I know?" he retorted, still holding the sobbing Paddin. "You guys are the ones who took us!"
Lust's head snapped back, eyes blinking in poorly hidden surprise. You can understand me?
Har bared his teeth in hostility. "Of course I can!" he retorted hotly. "I'm part wolf, and so's my brother here!" Letting go of Paddin, Har leapt at the bars separating him and Lust, flying into his black wolf skin, teeth bared in a snarl.
Lust recoiled in surprise once more, eyes flickering with masked worry. Silence, child, she snapped, regaining her haughty composure, she said, You are no match for any of us. Step down and remember your place.
"I know my place!" Har snapped. "And it's not with you or below you!"
Lust snapped and snarled, but light poured into the dimly-lit chamber. Looking back, she realized it was one of her brothers. Wrath, she addressed, blinking.
Wrath nodded his black-and-silver head. How are the children?
Hush, Wrath, Lust said, slight urgency creeping into her voice. They can understand us. They are part canine. Shape-shifters, from the likes of this.She motioned with a flick of her bushy red tail toward the wolfish Har, who was leering at the hounds in a threatening manner.
Wrath blinked. Interesting, he conceeded. Stray was the only other one we've known who could understand us, other than the dragons, who can establish a communicative link with any creature.
Lust nodded in agreement.
Regardless, Wrath said dismissively, it is of little consequence. Steel has summoned you, me, and Greed to attack the intruders on our grounds.
The fox flicked her tail again, this time in irritation. I'll bet my name it's the same ones from before.
Wrath smiled cruelly, however, as his yellow eyes flashed with bloody anticipation. Let us feast once more, dearest sister.
Jester pounded on the door with clear urgency, hoping hewas home. "C'mon," he breathed loudly. "Open up, I need help!" The werewolf had set out a few hours ago after finding that he had somehow recovered himself. For the first time in quite awhile, he recalled his love for Mortica, and felt an uplifting take off from his shoulders, confusing the young man. His lust curse was gone, yes, but so was Mortica. In a panic, Jester had searched their entire mansion, and upon finding no Mortica, jumped to the conclusion that she had abandoned him on account of his terrible behavior. Jester had howled in extreme lament, until an idea came into his mind. A desperate idea so outlandish to him, that he was hesitant to put it into action. However, his desperation for Mortica was more piercing, and here he was, in a dark and foreboding world reeking of gothic woe and decor, banging on the massive, polished wooden double-doors of the black mansion. "Open up!" he cried once more, and bats flew up from the man's disturbance.
Finally the door creaked open, and Jester found himself face-to-face with a man he had broken connections with many, many years ago. "It's me," Jester pleaded quietly, shoulders sagging. "Jester. I need your help."
The broad-shouldered man snorted in surprise. "After all these years," he said, voice deep and powerful, "you show up begging for help, right off the bat?"
Jester's tri-colored eyes glittered with mounting panic and urgency. "Please, Monty," the werewolf begged, voice sagging with meek begging. "I'll explain everything! You've got to help me!"
The man called Monty sighed and closed his stark golden eyes in deep thought. At last, he opened them. "Come inside, little brother, and we'll talk."
A/N: Whoo, my hand is pretty much all better now; the scars just need to heal now. Thanks for the condolences! More than once the wounds got infected, but I managed to fix it. Now I can write more often hopefully and not have to worry about any pain!
