Disclaimer: I do not own Perfect World (international or otherwise)

yeah, so, college is annoying. you can blame college for the reason it took me so long to update.

yepyep.

cough.

Well shit.

Jewelscalen was holding me in its talons, flying further and further away from Arcon. I saw him struggling to fly after me; drops of beaded red were falling from his wings like crazy.

His wounds had reopened.

The beating of the the Boss's wings was uneven, causing us to lurch up and down each time they moved. Arcon grew smaller and smaller before my eyes, the air colder and colder.

Even if I managed to struggle from the talons around my waist, I would only meet death when I dropped to the ground below. The only thing I could do was pray that Arcon would come save me.

I frowned; Oh great, I'm relying on a damn Elf.

I braced myself as a sudden lurch occurred and Jewelscalen was descending.

There was no way Arcon would get to me in time.

There was nothing he could do.

There was nothing I could do.

Or...was there?

I had no idea how to use magic, but it had aided me before.

Fighting against the wind currents I raised my hand, balled a fist, and flung it towards the talons around my waist.

All that happened was I really hurt my hand on the hard nails.

"Dammit!" I shouted into the sky.

I was more frustrated with how pathetic I was then with the fact that I was about to become dinner.

Lightening blazed past me in a flash, scorching the side of the purple dragon.

Did I do that?

Another bolt shot past me, inches away from my face, and hit Jewelscalen's leg. Although the attack didn't look strong, it was enough to cause the talons around me to momentarily release, freeing me from their grasp.

Of course, now I was freefalling to my death.

Oh joy.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" I opened my eyes and noticed that I wasn't falling. I was in Arcon's arms. He was obviously in a lot of pain from his wounds, but he had still come to my rescue.

I frowned, "Dammit Arcon! I could have handled it on my own."

The air rolled its eyes.

Arcon swerved as a wave of fire came directly towards us.

"Hold on to me," he folded in his wings and began diving to the ground; it would be easier to escape if he fought from there, without worrying about holding onto me.

Something hit us, scraping and tearing across my back. I was wrenched apart from Arcon and thrown with force in the opposite direction. As I spiraled towards the ground, I could see Arcon regain his flight and fire off a bolt of lightening.

It grazed the Boss's shoulder.

That's when I noticed the air. It wasn't the same feeling as when Arcon's emotions manifested around me, it was more of a feeling that the air itself was alive. That the air itself was puffing and rolling around me, caressing me, slowing my fall.

And I was falling slowly.

Arcon was busy fighting against Jewelscalen...had he saved me?

Or did I do it myself?

Arcon dodged Jewelscalen's next attack, then stilled his flight and traced two fingers across his chest, to his shoulder, and out from there, shooting another bolt of lightening. The monster released flames to meet the attack mid-air, and when the two collided they stopped, sending sparks spiraling down around them.

Suddenly, the Elf and Boss before me were growing.

No, they weren't growing...

I was getting...closer?

I was shocked; flames were lapping around my feet and ankles, propelling me forward. Combined with the air which was holding me in place, I was flying. Flying right towards Jewelscalen.

And I had no idea how I was doing it.

Although, I was vaguely aware that I wanted it to happen.

Was that all it took?

I furrowed my brow in concentration and thought of nothing more then getting to Arcon's side and helping him fight off the monster.

Arcon raised his hands, forming a glittery outline of an invisible bow. He knocked an arrow that wasn't there, and as he let it fly I could see the air currents spiraling around it, leading it to embed itself within Jewelscalen's scales.

And then I was there.

Or maybe I wasn't.

It was a weird sensation; I physically felt as though I was paralyzed, and my mind felt dreary and dream-like. Yet, here I was.

Without meaning for it to happen, the fire around my ankles enlarged, coiling and curling up my body. My hands stretched forward on their own, and after a few moments where the flames billowed and ebbed around me, the fire followed their bidding. The attack soared past Arcon, who had dropped out of the way just in time.

As the attack struck Jewelscalen, the monster roared, throwing its head back in rage.

Had I done that?

I couldn't be sure.

And then my mind cleared, wakening from its dream-like state. Suddenly I regained feeling in my body; the wind was so cold, but the heat of the flames was still in the air.

Fatigue and pain shot through me; my body ached and my mind burned. I wanted to scream in agony at the fire inside my head, but I couldn't. I had no energy to scream.

I was falling.

The air had stopped holding me, the flames had stopped propelling me.

I could see Arcon diving towards me, arm outstretched, but I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

So I closed them.

"Xeria?"

"Five more minutes."

The air laughed.

"You did well, Xeria."

Whoever the hell was talking really needed to shut up. I was trying to sleep here.

"Your attack drove the Boss away, but we need to keep moving. He may decide to come back for revenge."

I couldn't focus on what was being said to me.

"I have healed you."

I tried to force my eyes open.

"I know you are tired, but you must wake up now."

I managed a, "Why?"

There was a moment of silence, "It took a lot to heal you. I have no energy to carry you the rest of the way."

I frowned; guess I had no choice but to get up.

"What happened?" I asked, pushing myself into a sitting position and squinting against the sunlight.

"Your attack," Arcon waited until my face showed recognition over the attack I had managed, "it scared the Boss away. However, it did not do much damage, so he may return. We must keep moving.

"Yeah, I know, I mean," I rubbed my eyes and Arcon helped me to my feet, "How did I do that?"

"I have mentioned to you before that the power of a Mage tends to manifest itself in times of certain strong emotions. Yours seems to be in times of fear or threats."

"But," I coughed, "I didn't know what I was doing. I had no control. I wasn't even sure of what was happening. All of a sudden I was flying, and all of a sudden I was shooting flames, and then all of a sudden I was falling."

"Yes," he helped me take a few steps forward, "that is how it feels when your Magic takes over."

I frowned, pushing him away, "I can walk on my own."

The air smiled in amusement.

"Incidentally," he continued, looking at me from the corner of his eyes, " you experianced an extreme state of your Magic taking over. You have used Magic without realizing it a few times by now, yet I assume you never experienced a feeling of paralysis and dreaminess before?"

"No, I didn't."

The air caressed my face, but his remained emotionless, "That is a dangerous level of uncontrolled manifestation. Usually, that is the experience a Mage has right before they are destroyed by their own power."

I stopped walking, "You mean I could have self destructed or something?"

The air was amused, again, "Yes, you could call it that."

"I almost died..."

"Almost."

I frowned, "Yeah, and you seem like you totally care."

"Are you not still before me, alive?"

I rolled my eyes and pushed past him.

He placed a hand on my shoulder, "Xeria, you must be more careful. If you are ever in a situation like that again, there is a chance you may not being able to pull yourself back. You are lucky you merely passed out after using Magic, instead of passing away."

"It's not like I can control it."

"Therefore, you must avoid those situations until you can learn from a master."

I furrowed my brow, "Avoid those situations? Uh, it was kind of your fault."

He chose to ignore me.

"So what happened after I passed out?"

I had to wait a few minutes before he answered, "I tried to catch you, but did not make it in time."

"What does that mean?"

Another long pause, "You hit the ground, hard."

An image of me going splat popped into my mind.

"Did you resurrect me?"

He stopped walking and looked at me; a dangerous aura prodded at my own.

"Do not speak of such a thing."

I rolled my eyes, "Okay, but then how am I alive if I went splat?"

He started walking again, forcing me to follow.

"You did not go splat," (I couldn't help but laugh at how he sounded saying that) "I am lucky you were still alive after the impact. As long as you are even the slightest bit alive, a Cleric has a chance at Healing you."

"Oh," I bit my lip, realizing that if he hadn't Healed me, I'd be dead, "well, thanks."

He tipped his head in a silent You're Welcome.

That's when I noticed what he looked like. How the hell did I not notice until right then?

His skin was deathly pale, his eyes sunken and circled with dark bags. His body looked like skin pulled taught over bones, allowing the veins in his arms to be seen. Bloody cuts and purple-blue bruises covered his body. His one arm was badly burned. I could actually hear him breathing, and the usual regal aura that surrounded him was replaced by one that chilled my bones. He no longer floated as he walked, and the feathery horns jutting out of his head were almost drooping. He wasn't bothering to waste energy concealing his wings, and as my eyes skimmed over them I saw bloodstains and missing feathers.

"Arcon," I placed a hand on his shoulder, "we need to stop. You need to rest."

"No," his face remained emotionless despite the condition he was in, "it is not safe to rest here. We must travel further; I will rest at nightfall."

"Arcon." I frowned, standing in front of him and blocking his path.

His eyes asked me, What?

"You look like shit."

The air didn't even laugh; it sighed.

I let my hand slide from his shoulder, "Can you heal yourself?"

He pushed past me and started walking before I received an answer, "No. I used up the last of my energy on Healing your wounds; I only have enough to make it far enough away from here to rest. Therefore, I would appreciate if you would not stop walking again. You waste time that way, and I really must continue on while I still can."

His voice had a bit of an edge to it, but I ignored it; after all, he was in this condition because of me. The cuts, bruises, and burns were from fighting Jewelscalen, but the color of his skin and condition of his body and aura was due to the effort needed to Heal me.

I followed him in silence, feeling horribly guilty.

If it wasn't for him, I would have died.

But if it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have been in this mess to begin with.