Hi everyone, thanks for your patience with my slow updates. I hope you enjoy this one.

Chapter 25: Madness and the Kiss of Silence

"I'm coming… I'm coming!" Lina panted.

"Hurry up, I can't take it anymore," Davion groaned.

"Just a second more! I can feel it... my body… aaaaaahh…" Lina squeezed her eyes shut with a shudder as intense waves of sensations swamped her body, threatening to burst out like a volcano.

"Ugghh!" Davion let out a strangled growl, contorting his face.

"Oh yes… oh yesss it's here…" Lina cried in between gasps. "LAGUNA BLAAAAADE!"

An earth-shattering crack, and the world flashed blindingly bright before Lina's eyes as a blast of lightning ripped through the Bane Elemental. The white-hot bolt instantly fried the alien into a charred husk. At the same time, Davion was released from its grip, falling to the ground clutching his neck. "You finally mastered it huh," he muttered in between coughs.

The air continued to crackle with energy for a good few seconds. Lina lowered herself delicately to the ground, catching her breath as the ashes of Atropos were swept away by the wind. "Yes, I did it! But you still haven't figured out how to turn into a dragon," she wagged a teasing finger at the teenage knight.

"And this is all you can say after all the beatings I took for you." Davion griped, sounding unamused. Lina went over and examined him a bit. Although she couldn't see his face as much of it was covered, he did overall look rather bashed up; his armor was damaged in some places and through the cracks she saw blood running down his side. It set off a twinge inside her. Back in school, she'd never thought of him as anything other than a skirt-chasing, obnoxious jock, but here, he seemed to have changed. Or perhaps he was simply revealing a side of him that she never knew existed.

"Let's go back." She took his arm and helped him to his feet.

"Nah, I'll be fine in no time," he grunted, steadying himself.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'm going shopping," she announced and released his arm. He nodded and she swirled around heading back to base, still basking in the satisfaction of having executed a perfect first Laguna Blade. But she had not gone far when a terrifying chorus of shrieks behind her made her stop in her tracks. She turned around and stiffened at the sight.

A black cloud of ravens had darkened out the sky, hundreds of them were tearing Davion into shreds. Lina opened her mouth in a wordless cry. Hovering in their midst was a winged figure that looked like a piece of hell, pulsing with lava and spewing unearthly smoke, its hollow red holes boring into her soul.

"No!" Panic erupted, and she tried to calm herself. It's okay, Dave's coming back, he's coming back.

The demon's wings shrank, the ravens and their eerie screams had dissipated. Nevertheless the black smoke oozing from the lava monster continued to rise, shrouding the sky and the surroundings.

Lina put on her most defiant gaze. "It's - it's just the fucking Shadow Fiend", she huffed to herself, though she couldn't help staring in a mixture of terror and awe. The demon widened its molten jaws and belched out low noises that sounded like the tortured moans of a thousand fallen soldiers. Lina flinched backwards, plugging her ears.

"Where are their souls? Atropos and Carl?" She tried to sound demanding, but her voice came out as a croak.

In response the Shadow Fiend began to burn its way towards her. It was getting near enough such that she could feel its choking heat - it was too much even for her.

She narrowed her eyes and answered her own question. "Oh, I know what you did to them. They're in the ancient."

A massive, jet-black talon raised towards her and she knew it was time to run. "I'll kill you some other time," she spluttered as she turned and fled for her life. The explosions followed.

Gold pieces of various sizes and shapes poured out of the bag onto the blacksmith's work table, glittering in the sun that filtered through the window. "Is this enough?" Traxex looked at the blacksmith expectantly as she emptied the remaining coins.

The smith scooped a handful of the mound of shiny metal and shook his head. "I'm afraid this isn't even worth half a Daedalus."

Traxex sighed. She had spent the entire day acquiring all that gold - or what Lina called 'farming' - and had been looking forward to finally getting her hands on her dream bow. The blacksmith's response took all the wind out of her sails.

Sensing her disappointment, the beefy man said with a wink. "A gold medal from Earth would be a good enough substitute."

She raised her brows. "A gold medal? As in a sports medal?"

He nodded solemnly. "If you can prove yourself worthy, young lady, you can have my finest bow."

"So you want me to bring you a gold medal back from Earth," Traxex repeated, not quite believing what she'd heard. That would be easy, she thought. One good reason not to miss the upcoming Youth Archery Championships. "But how about all this?" she pointed at the glistening pile on the table. "Surely I can exchange them for something?"

"Of course," Lina's bright voice broke in, and the redhead startled Traxex further by shoving something into her arms. Traxex looked down at the object – it was a red, creepy-looking mask with horns, kind of like a Halloween devil mask. She had no idea how Lina had gotten it, perhaps she had grabbed it off one of the shelves without asking for permission.

Traxex frowned as she placed the mask on the table. "Not funny, Lina. I don't need this... ugly thing. I need a better bow."

"Oh, this is one of the artifacts dropped by the aliens," the shopkeeper commented. "I'm not sure what it does. You can have it, though."

"I know what it does," Lina said. "Trust me, girl, you'll like this. It will help you shoot really fast, almost as fast as Lyralei does."

"Oh really?" Traxex eyed Lina sceptically. She would love to have Lyralei's speed, but how on earth was a Halloween mask supposed to help her do that?

"Yeah, it's like a steroid boost," Lina insisted, impatience taking over her voice as usual. "Go on, have some fun with it."

It was late afternoon when Traxex reached the oak-brown forest, but there was just enough light coming through the knotted arms of the trees. The teenage archer traipsed through the trails, drawing deep breaths of the organic, moist air, searching for wildlife. Her heart fluttered with the excitement at the thought of bowhunting with a strange new gadget. There was a particular area that, according to Lina, was relatively safe, so Traxex took care not to wander too far off.

At first there was nothing but the chirping of crickets and crunching of twigs under her feet, and then she reached a clearing, and the sound of birds screeching made her slow down her footsteps. She glanced around to make sure she was alone. Mr Nortrom had better not see her with the ridiculous mask, or she would probably die from embarrassment. Hope Lina's not pulling my leg about this. She didn't know why she trusted Lina so much – perhaps it was because the redhead was smart, being one of the top students, and besides she seemed to know this planet like the back of her hand.

And so Traxex readied her bow, and strapped the mask to her face.

Through the eyeholes, everything looked the same at first. And then her vision whirled.

Come sweetie let's play a game… you go inside…quick… stay in there okay? Count to one thousand. Shh. Don't come out until I say so okay sweetie? Mom's voice was a little shaky. Okay Mom… but Mom… what's taking you so long? I hate it here…

Flashes of her past seized her, filling every capillary of her body with ice-cold dread.

Mom…what's going on? Mom! Answer me… why aren't you talking? Dad…wake up! Please wake up… somebody talk to me please!

She trembled as dread turned to rage, gripping the bow so tightly her knuckles ached. I know! They're in there! The ones who killed Mom and Dad!

The sudden loud flapping of wings startled her. Three enormous bird-like creatures around her size, with purplish feathers and ribbed wings, swooped around her. Bird-like, because they wore human faces, their glinting eyes taunting her. She stared closely at one of them. The features reminded her of her mother's - but that couldn't be possible.

"Why did you take my mom away?" She barked at the harpy. Her sanity was disintegrating. She shot an arrow through the winged beast; it shrieked and fell with a thud. "You killed my parents! It's you, I know!" She was no longer Traxex, but a figure ravaged by grief. The faces, the grinning faces of the harpies were taunting her cruelly. "You too. I'll kill you, you and you, I'll fucking kill all of you!" Rage fuelling every inch of her, she shot at the other harpies and they fell limp one by one until there was nothing but dead silence.

A sudden pain under her collarbone made her gasp – something sharp had pierced her chest. She found herself dragged through the overgrowth, stopping only when she slammed against something soft. Her mask was ripped off, and she found herself face to face with something bloody, wet and slick. Like ropes of sausages. It took a moment for her to realize they were entrails and guts, exposed through a burst-open belly held together with large, crude stitches.

She screamed.

The belly rumbled with a deep, carnivorous laugh. She glanced up to see a somewhat familiar display of deformed teeth. P-Pudge? She recalled his smile and hello at the shop where he'd bought the thumb drive, back when he was just a fat kid who was bullied in school. What happened to you? The pain in her chest took her breath and her ability to speak. Her skin prickled as she stared at his bloated face. Those bulging, clouded-over eyes seemed to see nothing.

"Ah…" Pudge opened his mouth, drool dribbling from his decayed teeth. He didn't want friendship, he wanted food and he wanted it right now; this she realized as she noticed the meat cleaver poised above her head.

Her heart thumped like an animal trying to escape its cage. "No!" She shrieked.

Whether it was due to her cries or something else, Pudge hesitated, cleaver frozen in his grasp in the middle of its downward arc, his other hand scratching his head and sending flies buzzing around his mottled skin. The stench made her retch.

She snapped out of her dazed horror. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the meat hook and wrenched it furiously until it dislodged. The pain was unbearable. She stumbled away in the direction of gurgling water, clutching her chest, blood seeping through her fingers. Every breath she took drove a knife through her lungs, and slowly the grey-blue river came into view. The whiff of rot lingered behind, sending a wave of sickness through her. The faint jangling of metal chains echoed behind.

Keep going, keep going.

Splashing into the stream, she tripped over the rocks and fell. She picked herself up and dragged her legs forward with no clear idea where she was heading to, except to get away from Pudge.

The sound of chains could no longer be heard. Her muscles cried out in exhaustion, but she couldn't stop. Halfway through the river, she found herself succumbing to dizziness. Through blurred vision she saw Nortrom reaching out for her. She collapsed into him.

He helped her out of the woods, and she teetered on the brink of unconsciousness as the surroundings passed by in a haze. When she opened her eyes she was sitting against a tree, inside a thick cluster of woods. It was nearly completely dark due to the impenetrable canopy above. Unlike the other stretch of forest she had been in, this was serenely, almost deathly still with no sign of life around. It was so quiet she could hear her still racing heart, her mind still reeling from experiencing one horror after another.

Nortrom knelt beside her and held a vial of liquid to her lips. She sipped it, wincing as he dressed her wounds. Soon, her breathing settled, the pain subsided into a dull ache, and she felt her energy return. She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the dim surroundings.

Nortrom seemed satisfied about her recovery and stood up. "Just rest here for a while," he said, leaning against the tree. She stood up as well and noticed his uncomfortable expression.

"What's wrong? Are you having a headache again?" She scrutinized him with concern.

"A little. This thing's making it worse," he muttered, removing his helm. "But I'll be fine in a moment."

Traxex reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, attempting some sort of a massage. She almost had to tiptoe since he was much taller. "You saved me, didn't you?"

He gently pried her hand off. "I heard you scream."

"How did you do it? You were so far away."

"I can't explain it, but I sent a signal to stop whatever was attacking you."

It was probably dusk now, but she had no idea what it looked like outside this leafy enclave that seemed to belong to only the two of them. She pressed herself closer to Nortrom while the last few strands of the insanity clung on to the fringes of her mind. He was the only one who could soothe her when she was distraught.

"If I could stay here forever with you… I wouldn't mind being hurt," she whispered.

"Don't be silly." He sounded like his usual rational self again, only slightly gentler.

A lump rose in her throat. "Silly? Is that all you think of me?"

He made no reply, and dismay ate away at her heart. It had been wishful thinking on her part all along. She turned away, tears sliding down her face. "Of course it's silly of me to ask for you to love me back. You despise me… for being an orphan…"

"No – I - "

"So that's why you wished me happy birthday that day... because all you ever felt for me was… pity."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "No, what I meant was, it's silly to –" he seemed at a loss for words; it was the first time she had seen him like this. She met his gaze, expecting admonishment, but saw only a heavy wistfulness in his eyes. "It's wrong."

"I don't care if it's right or wrong, I just want to be with you," she clutched his arm stubbornly.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

A fresh torrent of emotions rushed through her, indignation mixed with longing. She glared at him through a haze of tears. "You don't know anything! Do you have any idea how I felt when Krobelus told me you were going to die in a year?"

Nortrom's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "She said that?"

"…how those prophets made a fool out of me while I ran around in circles trying to find out the truth? Yes, you were right to call me silly!"

"Please, don't cry," he said softly.

"Do you have any idea how I felt after the Shadow Fiend killed you?" She was sobbing uncontrollably now. It hurt too much that she was so close to him, yet she couldn't have him in the way Krobelus did. But like a moth drawn to a flame, she couldn't help herself; she had fallen too hard.

"Stop crying," he repeated, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"Do you have any idea how much you mean to me?"

He tilted her face up to his, leaned down and sealed his lips against hers. She was so stunned she stopped breathing, and then plunged into the unexpected kiss that set every nerve of her body was alight. She felt herself blossom like a flower. Somehow, by some means, the previous unbridgeable chasm between was being bridged. Closing her eyes, she focused on the feel and movement of his lips and all the sensations they brought, committing everything to memory. He withdrew and brushed back the hair from her face, ever so gently, as if she was a porcelain doll.

"There, you've stopped," he said. His eyes had turned a warm blue.

"Hey, I know why I haven't managed to turn into a dragon yet," Davion said, walking with Lina past the barracks. Reluctant as she was to admit it, Lina had been on tenterhooks waiting for him to come back and was tremendously relieved to see him alive.

"Why?" She looked at him.

"Because you haven't kissed me."

Lina frowned. "I was going to tell you how impressed I was with your bravery and all… but you had to ruin it with this bullshit."

"I'm serious," he protested. "You know, when I was having that nightmare that Atropos gave me, there was this fat guy who came up to me."

Lina rolled her eyes, and Davion continued.

"He said he wanted fresh meat and then he turned me into a piece of bacon. It was awful. I thought he was going to eat me, and then… you came and kissed me and I turned into a dragon."

A laugh escaped Lina's lips and memories of her dating him came back – the way he made her angry and amused at the same time. "Dave, this sounds like your usual bullshit, only dumber. Why would anyone want to kiss a piece of bacon?"

"I don't know! It just happened – in my dream!" Davion said defensively. "Why don't you just try kissing me? I swear it works!"

"No way," Lina pursed her lips and folded her arms willfully.

"How am I supposed to turn into a dragon then?"

"It doesn't work like that. You can't activate someone's skill by kissing them."

"Well how would you know if you don't try?"

Okay that's all for now. Looking forward to your reviews. Oh and I wonder how many of you got misled by the first few sentences - sorry if it wasn't what you were expecting!