Finally, the thing collapsed, and Drago was on it.
He picked it up in his massive hand, and flung open the cloak. He staggered a little, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
It was...Fabia. Except...she was dead. Or, at least it looked like she was. Or she should be. You could clearly count every one of her ribs, her eyes were sunken in, there wasn't an inch of skin that wasn't covered by blood, and worst of all, her limbs looked as if they were twisted in the wrong direction.
"F-Fabia!?" Drago asked.
She looked up at him, then screamed, as if something was coming at her in the distance, and slowly disappeared, as though she had never actually been there at all.
Drago jumped back, and shouted, "Whaa?"
He put a huge boulder on the spot he had found her, then flew back to the Royal Castle.
(On The Strange Planet)
"Aaahhhh!" Fabia screamed. She had found out what was after her.
It was a huge mammal of some sort, with dripping fangs that had managed to pierce her body a few times.
Its enormous claws helped it grip the ground as it sped after her, grunting as it ran.
It was catching up to her, running about 25 miles per hour.
She couldn't keep up the pace for much longer. Even with the adrenaline in her body, there was too much stress for it and her mind to take.
Finally, she tripped over a root, and went head over heels into a rapidly flowing river, which carried her downstream.
She struggled against the waters flow, trying to make it back onto dry land. The creature didn't hesitate to jump in after her.
It let itself drift closer to her, and she screamed then, a raw, powerful scream, which startled it, causing it to lose control and smash into giant rocks. Fabia was too small to fight against, the current, and she ended up smashing into them as well.
Unlike the creature, which was flung over them, she was hurled at the rocks, then reclaimed by the water every time it lapped at the boulder.
She nearly lost consciousness as her head was smashed into a giant, sharp spiral of rocks, and her head started bleeding. Tasting the salt in the water from her blood, an instinct for survival kicked in and she fought desperately.
Then Fabia heard the roar. She was being drawn over the edge of the biggest waterfall she had ever seen.
She fought until the very end, when she went over. Water filled her lungs, and her vision went black.
(Back on Neathia)
"Whaaa?" Dan looked incredulously at his battling partner. "Whadyou mean? Fabia's-Fabia is...dead!"
He rose up from the chair he had been sitting in angrily, and slammed his fists on the table. "We were too late to save her...I don't even know where her body is...She's...gone..."
"Dan. Calm down. I'm only telling you what I saw, not necessarily what was." Drago said to him gently.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dan asked, his anger steadily rising.
"It means that-" Drago never had the chance to finish.
Elright struggled into the room, bruised and badly scratched up. But even with one eye swollen shut, he grinned. It was more than a little bit terrifying.
"I found something, something incredible!" He said, staggering as he crossed the room.
He fell, and Dan grabbed him and sat him down.
"Found what?"
"Where Princess Fabia is, and something even better!" Elright was to the point of passing out now from all his injuries, yet he still continued on.
"So...What is it?" Asked Dan, getting frustrated.
"I found something that will keep us alive-well, at least for some time longer!" He opened his palm, and a flower sat there. Even though it had been in his hand, it was still perfectly uncrumpled, and filled the air with its sweet scent.
As soon as Dan inhaled the air, his body started to glow. This happened to all of them. Elrights wounds closed up and healed, without so much as a scar to show the extent of his former injuries.
"What is that?" Drago breathed.
"It's a...Well, I'm not quite sure. But the Shadows who captured me thought it quite important!"
"What Shadows?" Dan asked.
"I was captured by...something. Something that looked like a shadow, hence the name. They shook me up a bit. But, in...wherever I was, there was something glowing in the middle of the room. Something beautiful." He grinned, and tested his legs.
They withstood his weight, and his grin widened.
"So, how can we get this to everyone?" Drago asked.
"We can pump the scent into the air, and everyone will be...better." Elrights smile looked a little more like a sinister smirk, but Dan shook it off. He was probably imagining things.
They set to work and did just that. Everyone was, miraculously, cured-at least for the time being. They didn't know if the effect would last or not, but they would try. Everyone was fighting fit. Even Marucho and Linus, two of the worst, were back to normal.
Sort of.
The scent masked a secret.
(Unknown)
"The weapon worked better than expected. The agent is in, and has successfully infiltrated the Castle. He has released the weapon."
"Yes. And soon, they will all be our slaves."
Whatever had been talking stopped, and Elright was visible. The Commander of the Castle Knights was tied up and gagged. He looked up at his captors with murder in his eyes. They shocked him, and he went limp.
(Back on the Planet, wherever Fabia was)
"Cli! Clika! Plianka monika chanka!" Fabia heard something strange. It sounded like a language, but it was unlike any language she had ever heard. Made up of clicks and pops, it was very..strange.
Something prodded her, and she groaned, rolling over.
She immediately regretted it. Sharp pain stabbed through her entire body. It felt like she had been smashed by rocks and crushed by an elephant-whatever that was. It was something Dan had said once.
Humanoid life-forms stared back at her. They were much, much larger than she was, at least five or six feet for the larger ones. They had various shades of green or blue colored skin. Their eyes were incredible. They were round, black, and looked as though they had stars in them. Their fingers looked sort of like long sticks, but were long and agile.
The largest one, though, kneeled over her. He-obviously a male, considering the deep sound of his voice-put his head right next to hers, and made a sound that sounded suspiciously like approval. He reached for her face, and she screamed.
It was too much for her to take. She tried to stand up and run away, but her legs couldn't take her weight. So instead she scrambled backward, then fell over and tried pulling herself away from him.
He held up his hands in some sort of surrender.
(In the mind of the 'man')
'Why is she running? I do not mean any harm. She is injured and must be taken care of. The child is afraid of me.'
(Universal)
Fabia reached a large stone, and pulled herself up. When he came toward her, almost pleadingly, she jumped, fell, and hit her head against the rock. Hard.
The last thing she saw before her eyes slid shut was the shocked face of the man.
As she lay there, the man started to issue orders.
(Translators On)
"Galil! Take the child to the sick-hut!"
A motherly, rather large, but caring woman, scooped the small creature up. She put it onto a large leaf that was strong and useful for carrying the wounded and ill. A strong boy came with her to help her with the weight.
Although the creature hardly weighed anything. Galil barely felt the weight at all.
"Mother, are you sure?" Her son, the strong boy, named Garranos, looked at the creature suspiciously. He had to admit, though, she (the strange creature) was beautiful.
Fabia had, when smashed against the boulders, lost control of her transformation into a human, and reverted back to Neathian form. Her hair was longer than his species' hair could grow, and an incredible shade of blue, just like the Inkalia, a large, dangerous, but beautiful creature that haunted the jungle he lived in.
Her fingers were long, thin, and her skin was the most delicate shade of lavender.
They stepped into their hut, which was attached to the sick-hut. Galil was the village's healer. Garranos was learning the trade from her. He blinked when the sunshine suddenly stopped.
Galil laid the girl down on the hut's mattress, stuffed with feathers and various soft grasses. It was bundled into cloth. Usually it was too small for the occupants of the hut, but it was too large for this strange creature.
Galil harrumphed, and Garranos realized he'd been staring. Drooling, more like it. He blushed, and hurried out of the hut, nearly tripping over the steps.
Galil laughed heartily, and the creature started to stir. Galil whispered, "Child. How are you feeling?"
Garranos was back in the hut before he realized it. Galil cast a look at him, but went back to caring for the creature.
She stirred, and moaned. She was obviously in pain. Garranos winced as he saw the cuts and bruises all over her body.
It was incredible she was still alive. No one had ever survived going over the Kaluna Galana. Well, except for one person. But she was long gone.
Garranos watched her anxiously, ready to jump if she needed anything. Usually he hated being in the sick-hut, but he felt like he couldn't move unless he saw her eyes open.
Galil kneeled next to her, and dabbed some cream onto one of the cuts on the creatures beautiful face.
The cooling sensation erased some of the pain, and Fabia opened her eyes.
(Fabia's World)
The creatures loomed over her. One of them was kneeling next to her, dabbing something that cooled and nearly erased all of the pain from the cuts.
Then she saw someone standing at the doorstep, and her heart raced. He was huge.
Much taller than the man who had scared her before, and lanky. But his skin was a pleasing shade of turquoise, and his eyes were bright and full of stars.
The thick ropes of muscle on his arms weren't grotesque, but rather just emphasized how hard he worked.
He had a kind look on his face.
The fact that he was staring at her brought her back to her senses. All of a sudden she realized that she had no idea where she was.
Startling the...woman...who was taking care of her, she did some rolls and a flip to get out of the bed.
Her legs couldn't hold her weight, and she grabbed the wood of the hut to keep herself steady. She tried to run outside, but fell, nearly falling ten feet.
In preparation for the yearly floods, the people put their houses on stilts. That way they wouldn't drown and didn't have to constantly move.
Before she fell headfirst, a pair of arms grabbed her.
She stiffened, and was panicked.
Then suddenly she realized how hopeless everything was. She had no idea where she was, she couldn't understand the people who were taking care of her, and she didn't know if Shun was alive.
Worst of all, these kind people who were taking care of her must have been offended when she ran away from them.
Tears slipped down her face as she thought of the Brawlers, and Shun.
(Garrano's world)
Her eyes. They were incredible. The most unusual, stunning shade of green he had ever seen.
Then he realized something...she was crying.
The beautiful stranger was crying. Why was she crying? He only meant to save her.
But then she stopped struggling.
Slowly, hesitantly, he brought her closer to his chest.
She sobbed and turned her head into his chest.
He gazed down at her.
This was the only girl who had ever captured his interest. Plenty of girls from his village had been interested, but he was never interested back.
When he felt the tears soaking his clothing, he sat down next to her on the bed. She looked exhausted and frightened. He reached for her face, and she drew back.
He shook his head at her, and reached for her face again. She slumped and allowed him to.
His fingers explored her face. She definitely had some bad cuts. They were deep, too.
Garranos had a gift for sensing how to treat injuries. He stood up, and took some leaves from a bowl, and ground them up. Then, he added some water and some sort of creamy substance. He added something that smelled like mint.
Then, asking permission with his eyes, dipped his long fingers in it, and gently spread it on the cuts. She sighed with relief.
He grinned.
Finally she was trusting him, at least somewhat.
After finishing the bowl, he took something that looked like a needle, and some thread, and motioned towards her face.
She turned pale, but nodded bravely.
He smiled gently at her, and, in one quick motion, started sewing the flesh back together.
She hissed, and he glanced at her. Skin on the face was the most difficult and the most painful to sew back together.
She was sitting stiffly, and her eyes were clenched shut. He felt very guilty about what he was doing, but he knew he had too. Otherwise infection would set in.
Finally he was done. She slumped against him with relief, and he grinned back at her.
She smiled up at him, and his heart almost stopped. She was so incredibly beautiful.
He lay her down, ever so gently, and put a pillow under her head. She yawned, and his heart almost burst. She was too adorable.
Drawing a blanket over her, he set up a cot in the same hut, and lay down on it. Tonight he would watch over her.
He blew out the lamp.
(Back On Neathia)
Shun was outside somewhere, alone except for Hawktor as he had been since regaining his strength. He was too angry and hurt to deal with anyone.
The Brawlers could respect that.
Dan tried to convince him to do something, anything, but Shun would just shake his head and disappear into the jungle.
He would stay there for hours, until night fell. What Shun did there Dan didn't know. But he had noticed Shun losing weight.
He wouldn't-or couldn't-eat anything and it was making him sick. Even with the flower's effect, he became sicker and sicker.
Still, he refused medical attention.
Dan decided to go find him.
Hey, guys! How are all of you? Ugh, I had quite a shocker when one of my family members went missing for a couple days, but he's all right now! I try to update as much as I can, but I can't update every day (although I wish I could)! Believe me, I'm trying my best! But I love all you guys! Thanks to ALL of my reviewers out there-I love you guys! 3
Fabia: Get on with it.
Me: Sheesh. Okay, okay. Please read and review, folks! :D
~EmberAmberFirdausXD