A Troubled Soul

by Idiocy01

What if at the Well of Souls something else came through the the portal with the Dark Master? A human to be exact, one who is given powers he does not want and is sent to a world he never wished to be in. Now he is being pursued by the Dark Master for the power he holds. But can the Dark Master control him if this human can't even control himself? First fic yippe do da.

37. A Heated Skirmish

A/N: Here we are again… I take waaaaay to much time to write these…

Chapter 37

To say I was a little on edge would be an understatement. I mean – I was just about to fight what looked like a really powerful cheetah, who happened to be wielding a scythe of all things. Not to mention there was a small army consisting of dragons, cheetahs, and grublins as well.

'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…' I thought as I took a step back.

'Oh don't wuss out now…' Psy groaned.

'For once I actually agree with this idiot,' Sane spoke up, 'It's a little late to back out of this.'

I frowned, 'Why do I always get myself into these situations?'

"Come on shorty!" Baron spoke up, and I turned to see him giving me a smirk, "Let's wipe the floor with these whelps!"

I sighed a bit, 'Looks like we're doing this…' I thought, 'If I do decide to run then this guy would hound me for it.'

So, I quickly got into a fighting stance, preparing to strike against the cheetah and his allies.

Venor snorted a bit, "Arrogant fools," he spoke, "Prepare to meet your end."

The cheetah then motioned his hand forward, before all of the grublins charged at us, weapons drawn and prepared to strike.

I was about to strike at them, but Baron suddenly charged forward, taking me off guard. Baron lowered his horns as he charged into the pack of grublins, sending a couple of them flying back as he rammed into them. He then quickly brought up his axe and swung it in front of him, managing to cut through a decent number of foes with it.

I watched him for a second, somewhat surprised by his battle prowess, until I felt a certain "jolt" in my head. I quickly leapt backwards as a massive club hit the ground where I once was. I looked up to see that a somewhat large grublin was holding that club, and it was glaring daggers at me.

The grublin roared as it swung its club at me again, just barely missing me as I leapt back once more. I then took my chance, thrusting my sword forward at the grublins chest. My sword easily pierced through it, making the grublin scream in pain as it fell to the ground.

I then pulled my sword out of its chest, ready to face anything else that came my way. But surprisingly there weren't any grublins nearby, at least, none that were still standing anyways. I looked over to see that Baron was now hacking away at the group of grublins, a large grin on his face as he swatted them aside like it was nothing.

I stared at him in awe. 'Holy shit…' I thought.

'Maybe he'll be of some use after all,' Psy remarked.

Suddenly, I felt the "jolt" in my head again, and quickly leapt to the side, something slicing through the air where I once was. I had little time to think, since the jolt went off again and I quickly ducked, just barely avoiding getting decapitated by a scythe. I realized that Venor was the one behind these strikes, managing to catch a glance of the cheetah as he continued to swing at me.

He was fast, so fast in fact that I wasn't sure how long I could keep up with his swings. I brought my sword up, managing to parry a couple of his strikes, but they just kept coming.

'Block with your left arm!' Sane shouted in my head.

It was as if it was instinct that I did what he said, not thinking of what may happen if I block with my exposed arm. I brought my arm up and I felt the scythe bounce off of something, and I looked up to see a green bit of energy coming off my arm in the shape of a shield.

I also managed to spot that Venor was staggered by the block, assumingly surprised by the fact his scythe didn't amputate my arm.

I took my chance and slammed my shield into him, the shield giving off a wave of energy as it connected, sending Venor stumbling back a bit. I then leapt forward at him with my sword raised, swinging it down at him.

Venor quickly brought his scythe up, blocking my strike, before I felt his knee collide with my stomach. I stumbled back a bit due to this, holding my gut in pain. I felt the jolt in my head once again and I quickly brought my arm up, blocking Venor's scythe with my energy shield. I then swung my sword in my right hand at Venor's exposed belly, hoping to slice it open.

But Venor expected this, quickly bringing his torso back to dodge the swung, he then brought his scythe back, and swung its hilt forward. He did this so swiftly that I didn't have time to react, and the hilt crashed into the side of my head, dazing me.

I brought my head back as I cringed in pain, unable to focus too well due to the blow. I did feel the jolt once again, and I tried to bring my right arm back. But I was too slow this time, and I felt Venor cut into the side of it, making me grunt in pain.

He managed to get a good cut on it, so much so that I had to drop my sword since the pain was too great in my arm.

I stumbled back a bit, quickly holding my arm in pain, feeling some blood coming from it. Venor then leapt forward and swiped his scythe at me. I quickly leap back and out of the way of the blow before bringing up my energy shield and slamming it into him, making him take a couple steps back.

I then felt a rush of energy, and sprinted forward, slamming my shield directly into Venor's chest. The shield gave off a green flash as a wave of energy was released from it, sending Venor flying back a little way.

I felt another rush of energy and shot my injured hand forward. A large wave of energy was cast out from my hand and it slammed directly into Venor, sending him back even further. Venor hit the ground hard with a grunt, staggered from the blow.

I then leapt forward and lifted my arm up, the sword I had dropped now appearing in it with a spark of fire. I brought the sword up as I was in the air, and plummeted it down, letting out a roar as I aimed to cut Venor in half.

But, Venor suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving me to strike at nothing. I felt a rough pain in my injured arm as I swung at nothing. I gritted my teeth in pain as I quickly looked up, a bit disoriented as I tried to spot Venor. I then heard a "puff" behind me and caught a glimpse of Venor standing behind me with his scythe raised.

I just barely had enough time to swung around and raise my shield up to block his strike, but I managed to lose my footing in the process. I fell to the ground as I kept my energy shield up, feeling Venor's strength as he pressed down on my shield with his scythe, a cold look in his eyes.

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed in that moment, but I then felt the ground shake a bit, before hearing a mighty roar to my left.

I looked over to see Baron charging straight at Venor with his horns down, preparing to ram into the cheetah. Venor had little time to react giving Baron the opportunity he needed to slam into Venor, sending him flying to the side and off of me.

Venor fell to the ground once again, seemingly dazed by the blow. Baron didn't wait for him to recover, and charged at him once again, this time with his massive axe raised. He then brought the axe down upon the cheetah, prepared to crush him. But Venor once again disappeared into a puff of smoke. Baron became confused as his attack missed, before Venor appeared behind him and slashed his scythe on his back. The strike left a nasty wound, but it only managed to piss of Baron as he roared in pain and swung his arm back, managing to whack Venor straight into a bolder.

I managed to get up at this point, and was about to help, but a large club slammed down in my path. I jumped back out of surprise and looked up to see another large grublin glaring at me with the club in hand.

'How many of these things are there?' Sane spoke up.

'Enough for us to tear through!' Psy replied.

The grublin lifted his club up and swung it at me, aiming to knock my head off. I quickly hit the deck and ducked under the club, feeling the wind of it as it flew over my head. I then quickly got up and charged forward, slamming my shield directly into the grublin's chest. The grublin fell to the ground due to this in a daze, and I quickly leapt on top of him. I then brought my shield up and slammed it into the side of his face, knocking the grublin out cold.

But, right as I got that one down, I felt another "jolt" go through my body. I then leapt forward, managing to get out of the way of a large dragon as it charged passed me. I was about to retaliate, but the dragon then used its tail and slammed me in the chest with it. I flew back a bit due to this and landed flat on the ground, losing grip of my sword as the wind was knocked out of me.

The dragon then leapt on top of me, before it breathed in, and I saw some green gunk forming in its mouth. I quickly shielded my face with both arms, and the energy shield I was wielding became a big larger. The dragon then launched the green goo at my face, but the shield managed to block most of it, but some of it did manage to get onto my arm. I felt a sharp pain in my arm as some of the gunk fell onto it, before I felt a little woozy.

'Damn poison!' I thought as I cringed in pain, still shielding the onslaught of green goo.

I shook my head as my body began to feel weak, the poison taking its toll. Though I managed to shoot my arms forward, and slammed the dragon in the face with my shield. The dragon brought its head back in pain, spiting out a little more goo along with some blood.

I then felt some power in my legs, and kicked the dragon in the stomach, sending it flying off of me. I quickly stood up, before holding my head in pain, my stomach churning a bit.

'Of all the things why did it have to be a poison dragon!?' I thought as I held my stomach.

'At least it wasn't a fire one that burnt you to crisps!' Sane shouted.

I was about to retort, but something rammed me straight in the back. I flew forwards, and slammed into the ground hard, crying out in pain. I then felt something land on top of me and give out a mighty roar, making me cover the back of my head with both hands in fear.

But, everything twisted out of existence for a moment, before it all came back. It took me a moment to realize that I had just warped out of danger, probably due to Psy. It didn't really help my stomach out, as it now felt like there was an entire typhoon in there.

'Get up!' Psy shouted in my head, making me wince.

I managed to get up to one knee, but that was about as far as I could go without passing out.

'You need to move!' Sane shouted.

'I know!' I thought, 'It's kind of difficult right now though!'

'Just move!' Psy shouted, 'There's some power crystals not too far from you!'

I winced as I continued to rise, trying to steady myself. Something green then flashed before my eyes, until some more sludge slammed into a green shield in front of me.

'I can't hold these guys off for too much longer!' Sane shouted. 'We need more energy!'

I looked to my right, and saw a couple green crystals extending out from the ground a couple yards away. I then looked in front of me to see three dragons and a couple cheetahs all rushing towards me.

My eyes widened at this, and I quickly made my way to the crystals, stumbling a bit as I did so. I cringed in pain, but I kept going, knowing that I had to reach the crystals or I would be beaten to a pulp.

'Come on!' I thought as I kept pushing myself forward, almost in touching distance of the crystals.

I heard the pack behind me getting closer, and knew that it was now or never. I then dived forward and outstretched my hands towards the crystals. My hands then gripped two of the crystals, and I felt the power course through me, making me tense up a bit. I knelt down, though the power in these crystals wasn't much, it was still giving me a lot of energy. I felt – strong – like I could practically level a mountain with one blow. I gotta say it felt pretty nice.

I then heard Con's voice in the back of my head, 'Get em.'

I turned around, looking to see that the group behind me was preparing to strike, a large orange dragon being the lead. I glared at the dragon, feeling an immense heat in my right hand, before I lunged forward. I then slammed my fist directly into the dragon's face, the dragon's head snapping to the side from the blow. The dragon then fell to the ground in a heap, knocked out from my attack.

I felt energy rise in my chest and I quickly shot my hands outward, a wave of energy being released from both of them. The wave managed to send the rest of the group flying away from me, a couple of them slamming into the ground.

I then stood to my full height, feeling the energy flowing throughout my entire body. I then looked down at my right hand to see that it had morphed into a metallic form, making my eyes widen a bit.

'This feels good…' I thought.

'You're welcome,' Con spoke up.

I frowned a bit, 'This isn't gonna turn out like last time with you is it?' I thought.

'As long as you don't get overconfident…' Sane spoke up, 'and I can help with that.'

I grunted in response as I looked up, observing that some of the beings were getting up. I glared at them as I got into a defensive stance, prepared for them to strike. A couple of the beings looked at me in awe, seemingly surprised by my new appearance, while the rest simply shot glares back at me.

I felt a jolt in my body, before I turned to my left to see an earth dragon building up a bolder in his maw. The dragon then shot its head forward, releasing the boulder and sending it hurtling towards me. I snorted, before I brought my fist back and shot it forward. My fist slammed directly into the boulder, shattering it into pieces as my hand remained unscathed. I then brought my other hand forward, feeling energy rise in it, and launched a small beam of light at the dragon. The beam hit the dragon directly in the chest, making him fly backwards and slam into the ground hard.

I had a small grin on my face as I saw this, feeling an intense heat in my chest. The power I felt inside was amazing, making me feel as if I could tear down a building with my bare hands.

'Having fun?' Con asked.

I nodded a bit, 'This feels awesome!'

I felt another jolt in the back of my spine, before leapt forward, hearing the 'CLANG' of a sword hit the ground where I once was. I turned to see a cheetah glaring at me, a large two-handed sword in his grip. I glared back at him, before I lunged forward and slammed my fist in his face. His head snapped to the side before he fell to the ground, a little blood oozing from his mouth.

My body then tensed up, power growing in my chest immensely. I clenched my fists and arched my back a bit, gritting my teeth as the power continued to rise. I looked down to see my arms were completely covered in a metallic shell, and that my chest was glowing a brilliant white, nearly blinding me.

'This is what I can really do!' Con shouted.

I smiled at his words, letting my muscles relax as I leaned forward a bit. The group in front of me was starting to form up, some of them giving me looks of fear or worry, while others just glared. I decided to make the first move, feeling a large amount of energy build in my arm. I then gave out a mighty shout before I kneeled down and slammed my fist on the earth below. The ground shook and cracks of light spread across the ground towards the group. Light then erupted from the dirt below them, sending them flying in different directions once again.

I then lunged towards what was left of the group, slamming a green dragon directly in the gut. That dragon fell to the ground in a heap, and I quickly brought my arm up and blocked a sword. The cheetah who held that sword stumbled back a bit, and I took my chance. I collided my fist directly into his chest, sending the cheetah hurtling back. I felt something large hit me in my back, making me grunt in pain. I then whirled around, knocking a large club out of a decently sized grublin's grip. I was about to retaliate, but an arrow pierced through the grublin's skull before I could do so.

Surprised, I looked up to see a cheetah with its bow drawn riding on a dragon. I soon recognized the cheetah to be Relia and my jaw dropped a bit.

'Doesn't she hate dragons?' I thought.

'Keep your head in the fight!' Con shouted.

I then shook my head to clear it, 'Right!'

I turned towards the rest of the group with my fists up, prepared to fight them off. Though less then half of the group was left, most of them either knocked out or had arrows in their skulls. I was about to attack them, but something suddenly burrowed out of the ground beneath me. Before I knew it, a mole grabbed onto my back and began to repeatedly stab at my chest with a small blade. But, it proved ineffective, the dagger simply making a small "clang" each time it collided with my metallic shell.

I grunted and outstretched my arms, letting out another shout as I felt energy release from my body. A small wave of light then came off of me, sending the mole flying off my back and into a bolder.

'Little shit!' I thought as I glared back at the unconscious creature.

Suddenly, a large grublin charged forward into me, making me stumble back a bit. The grublin then lifted up a large sword, prepared to strike me down. I was about to retaliate, when the grublin suddenly reared up and howled in pain. I then managed to catch a glimpse of Relia on its back. She held a sword in her grip as she used it to repeatedly stab the grublin in the back. The grublin then fell to the ground in a heap, before Relia quickly got up and off of it. I spotted another grublin behind her though, as it charged straight at Relia with its weapon raised. I flinched a bit, before I leapt forward, slamming the grublin in its face with my fist. The grublin flew backwards, tumbling to the ground a little way away.

I snorted, before I looked over at Relia, "Wanted in on some of the fun huh?"

Relia kept her gaze on the enemies around us, "Seemed like you could use some help."

I shrugged a bit, before turning around, back to back with Relia now, "Wouldn't hurt."

I glared at the group surrounding us, prepared for any of them to strike. But, my eyes landed upon a skirmish behind the group. I saw Baron locked in combat with Venor, with Venor seemingly having the upper hand. Baron was glaring at Venor, blood oozing from his cut up and battered body. While Venor simply held a calm gaze, seemingly preparing for the Minitour's next move.

'That isn't good,' I thought.

'Do not worry for him! Focus on our own battle here!' Psy growled.

But I ignored him. A little caught up in the moment, I sprinted over towards Baron, prepared to strike at Venor. Though as I did so, a felt something slam into my side, sending me flying to my left. I tumbled to the ground, grunting as I held my side. I then managed to bring myself up to a kneeling position, before looking up to see a white dragon charging towards me with its horns at the ready.

I brought my hands up, and grabbed the dragon's horns, the dragon managing to push me back a couple feet. My feet skidded upon the ground as I held the dragon's horns, gritting my teeth as I tried to fight against the dragon's weight. I managed to come to a complete stop eventually, the dragon and I now pushing against eachother with as much force as we could muster. I then grunted before I wrenched the dragon's horns to the side, managing to throw off its balance. The dragon tumble to the ground, and I quickly brought my foot back, before slamming it into the dragon's face. The dragon's head snapped upwards due to the blow, before it fell to the ground, unconscious.

I panted a bit, feeling somewhat drained. I then looked down to see that the metal on my arms was starting to fade, and my eyes widened.

'We're running low on energy!' Sane shouted.

'I can see that!' I thought, 'Is there any crystals around!?'

Suddenly, a loud "CRACK" sounded from my left, the noise creating a ringing sound in my ears. Then, before I knew it, my muscles locked up in pain as I felt a sharp pain crackle through my body. It took me a moment to realize I had been hit by a bolt of electricity, but I had little time to think on the matter, as I was suddenly struck in the back with a very large object. I was then hurled forward by the blow, flying through the air a bit, until I tumbled to a halt on the ground.

I was about to get up, but another "CRACK" rang out, and I felt another jolt of electricity torment my body. I only managed to get up to a kneeling position, the electricity not relenting as I looked up to see a yellow dragon breathing shocks at me a little way away.

'Damn it!' I thought as I gritted my teeth in pain, my body locking in place.

I spotted a large grublin rushing towards me to my left, its massive club raised as it prepared to strike. But, an arrow suddenly pierced through its skull, its body hitting the ground hard as it laid motionless. I looked over to see Relia with her bow out, a bit surprised at her accuracy. But she soon drew her sword and fought with a small group of attackers.

My eyes widened at this, 'I need to help her!'

'Focus on what's in front of us first!' Sane shouted in my head.

I grunted, looking back to the yellow dragon as it continued to barrage me with electricity. I clenched my fists as a couple tears fell from my eyes, the pain crackling through my body starting to become unbearable.

'Hold…' Sane spoke.

I groaned in pain, trying to remain standing, 'How can I! I need to do something before this thing kills me!'

'I know it hurts!' Sane shouted, 'But your body's absorbing it.'

I looked down at my arms, seeing that the metal had formed back. I raised an eyebrow at this, before I realized that I felt an intense heat burning in my chest, and it was starting to spread throughout my body.

I felt the strength to stand. Though my muscles were still locked a bit, I slowly rose from my kneeling position, standing to my full height. The dragon's eyes widened at this, before he reared up a bit, and thrust his head forward, creating a more intense electrical shock. I cried out in pain at this, but my strength didn't falter. My head shot up to the sky as I continued to cry out, feeling the heat in my chest grow to an intense level. My entire body then lit up, as I felt the energy travel to my hands. I then brought my gaze back to the dragon, giving him a fierce glare as my hands lit up with energy.

I gave out a fierce roar as I shot my hands forward, a large beam of light bursting from my fingertips. The beam then connected with dragon directly, launching him backwards as he slammed directly into a wall. His body then laid limp on the ground, motionless as a bit of steam rose from the place of impact. I stood to my full height, feeling the energy run hot throughout my body. Though it still ached a little bit from the volts that went through my body.

'That's one way to get some energy back,' I thought as I looked down at my metallic hands.

'Keep your head in the game!' Con shouted.

I decided I should probably listen to him, since a whole new wave of enemies was now surrounding me. As I looked around though, I saw that Relia was still being attacked. I was about to go and help, but I realized she was just cutting through her foes with ease.

I then heard a loud cry of pain and looked over to see Baron on one knee. He had even more cuts and bruises than before, making me flinch a bit. I saw that Venor was standing a little way away from him, a glare on his face as he held his scythe.

My eyes widened, 'I've gotta help him!'

I gave out a bit of a roar as I charged forward, slamming into a cheetah that happened to be in my way. The cheetah was flung backwards, giving me a clear shot at Venor. I then brought my hand back, feeling energy rising within it, before I shot a beam of light towards Venor. The larger cheetah barely had any time to react, just managing to dodge to the side, the beam grazing his ribs. He then looked over at me in surprise, raising his scythe up defensively.

I was about to attack, until I felt something collide with my back, slamming me into the ground hard. I wheezed, the wind being knocked out of me as I turned my head back to see a larger grublin behind me. The grublin then raised its club, and swung it downwards. I just barely managed to roll out of the way, quickly getting to my feet. I then jumped forward, and slammed my shoulder into the grublin's ribs, making it stumble to the ground. I took my chance and kicked the grublin straight in the face, seeing some weird looking liquid spit from its mouth. The grublin then fell limp, and I turned to the rest of the group.

Though the numbers had thinned a little bit, there was still a lot of foes surrounding me. I caught a glimpse of Relia once again, seeing that she was a bit overwhelmed, fighting a grublin and two cheetahs at the same time. She was holding her own though, which surprised me a bit, since even I had trouble with a three on one.

I heard a battle cry, and my attention snapped back to the fight, seeing a cheetah charging at me with its sword raised. I snorted at its display, before I charged forward at the cheetah, and slammed my shoulder into them, sending them flying back. I then brought my hand back, feeling energy flow through it, before I shot it forward at a group of grublins. The beam connected, piercing through a couple grublins in the group, before it exploded, sending the rest hurtling in different directions.

'I need to thin out this group before one of us gets overwhelmed!' I thought as I glared at the rest of the enemies around me.

'Then we should-' Sane began, before I heard Baron cry out.

My head snapped over to the noise, before I was met with a terrible sight. Baron fell to the ground, a large gash in the middle of his chest, and I saw the Venor's scythe had cut through him like butter.

My eyes widened at this, "NO!"

I felt a lot of energy rise in my chest as I clenched my fists, my body tensing up. I then felt something grab onto my back, before I heard its dagger bounce off the metal formed on my back. I looked to see that a cheetah had grabbed onto me, trying to whittle me down with its dagger. I then looked forward to see that the rest of the group was closing in, some of them charging with their weapons raised.

There was an immense heat in my chest at that point, and it felt like my entire body was on fire. I then swung my head up in the air and gave out a fierce cry, feeling the energy being expelled from my body. A huge wave of light exploded from my chest, creating a shockwave around me. All of my attackers were flung back by the explosion, freeing me from the assault.

I brought my head back down and glared at Venor, the cheetah showing a face of shock as he took a couple steps back. I then gave out another battle cry before I leapt forward at him with my fist raised. He was about to step aside, by I was too quick, and slammed my fist into his waist. This sent him soaring backwards through the air, before he hit the ground hard. I leapt at him again, poised to strike directly into his chest.

But he was prepared this time. The cheetah quickly rolled to his side, and my fist connected with the ground. I was about to take another swing at him, but he extended his hand forward and grabbed the side of my head. I then felt an immense pain in my mind, my vision becoming foggy as my head was surrounded by a bit of black smoke. I reared up and held my head in both hands, dazed by whatever he had done.

But through my foggy vision, I saw him take out some sort of crystal that glowed a dark purple. The crystal then emitted a small bolt that struck the ground, before the ground began to glow with a dark purple hue. A large patch of dark crystals then burst from the ground in front of me, and I felt the energy from them assault my body.

Anger, frustration, and overall confusion then overtook me. I screamed in pain as I fell to my knees holding my head tightly in my hands. I didn't know what to think, and all I could hear was cries of agony in my head, along with the deranged cackling of Psy.

'Such power!' Psy shouted in my head.

'No!' I thought, 'Stop it!'

I tried to move, to stand, to do anything that would fight it off. But there was just too much energy, and I couldn't fight it. I then heard another somewhat familiar voice in my head.

'Drink in the power…' The voice said. 'And annihilate all in your path!'

I cry out once more, my muscles tensing up, just barely able to fight off Psy's grip on me. But I knew I was going to last much longer, and I tried with all of my will to stand.

Suddenly, I heard a large "CRACK" come from the crystals, and in my foggy vision could just barely see a sword going through them. The crystals then shattered, creating a small explosion of energy, sending me flying backwards. I hit the ground in a heap, my muscles in agony as I groaned in pain. I coughed and shook my head, trying to lift myself off the ground.

'What happened?' I thought as managed to pull myself up to my knees, my head spinning.

'We need more power!' Psy shouted in my head, making me wince.

'Don't listen to him!' Sane spoke up, 'Don't let him take control!'

I shook my head once again, holding my head in pain. I felt energy rise within me, but it wasn't like before. It felt – angry, distorted, but at the same time it felt good. But I knew what it would lead to, I knew I would lose control if I let myself be consumed by it. My body tensed up as I gritted my teeth, trying to force the distorted power down, managing to keep a level head.

'Do not repress it!' Psy growled. 'Let us destroy our enemies!'

I shook my head once more, 'No!' I thought, 'I won't let you take control again!'

"Seth!" a distressed voice shouted, and I looked up to see Relia rushing over to me.

The cheetah quickly knelt down next to me, putting her paw on my shoulder as she gave me a look of concern.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

I nodded, still wincing as I tried to push all the power down, "Yes, I just…"

Relia patted my shoulder a bit, "You can fight it, I know you can."

I looked into her eyes, they showed such genuine concern for me. I was a bit taken aback by this, since she wasn't one who showed emotion too often. However, her actions were helping me calm down, as I couldn't help but feel relaxed as I looked into her eyes.

I then took a deep breath, and exhaled, feeling my body relax completely as I looked down.

"I'm okay…" I spoke up in a low tone.

I felt Relia pat my shoulder a bit, "Good…" she said in a warm tone, "But we need to aid your friend before his wounds become too severe."

My eyes widened at this, remembering the devastating blow Baron had taken. I looked up and spotted him writhing on the ground a little way away from us. I quickly stood up and ran over to him, Relia following close behind. I then knelt down next to him, frowning as I saw his wounds.

The Minitour was covered in his own blood, many smalls cuts oozing red. But, the blood was mostly flowing from the large gash across his chest.

I was about to say something, but Baron spoke up first with a weak chuckle.

"Don't look so worried shorty…" Baron said as he looked over at me with a smile, "I've – ack – had worse…"

I frowned as he said that, looking over his wounds, "I don't know if there's much worse than this…"

The Minitour weakly waved a hand, "I'll survive…"

I looked over his wounds for a bit longer and was about to reply, but Relia interrupted me.

"Get up Seth, and be on your guard," she spoke suddenly.

I perked up a bit, looking behind me to see a couple dragons flying towards us. One happened to be large, but the other two seemed a little smaller. I quickly stood up and readied myself for an attack, though I began to recognize the dragons as they approached. I saw the larger one to be Terrador, and the smaller ones were Segregoth and Emerald.

'What are they doing here?' I thought as I stared up at them.

'Hm, I dunno, maybe fighting for the survival of their world?' Sane remarked.

I rolled my eyes, 'Smartass…'

The three dragons then landed a couple feet away from us, Emerald having a distressed look on her face as she rushed over to Baron.

"What happened!" The dragoness exclaimed as she looked over the Minitour's wounds.

Baron coughed a bit in response, "You should see the other guy," he replied, pointing to a cave a little way away from us, "The little bastard fled into that cave with his tail between his legs…"

I looked over to the cave, 'I'm gonna have to chase that guy down…' I thought.

Though as I looked over there, I saw that Relia had her gaze fixed on the cave as well, a look of anger on her face.

"We'll deal with that one later," Terrador spoke up, "Spyro and Cynder managed to break the damn, the water is stalling the Destroyer in this gorge, but we don't have much time."

My eyes widened a bit, 'The Destroyer's stuck down here?' I thought.

'Well he clearly didn't climb up the other side of the gorge,' Sane pointed out.

'Guess I didn't notice with all this stuff going on,' I thought.

"Spyro and Cynder are attempting to go for the heart as we speak," Terrador spoke up once again, breaking my train of thought, "We need to get off this thing before it goes down!"

Baron chuckled a bit, some blood trickling down his chin, "You gonna carry me off this thing old friend?"

At that moment, I saw something from Terrador I didn't think I'd ever see. A genuine smile stretched across his face as he walked up to Baron.

"Only returning a favor Baron," he said warmly.

Emerald looked up at Terrador, "Let me get some crystal shards for him first! Some of his wounds need to mend before you move him!"

I then felt something tap my side and looked over to se Segragoth standing next to me with a curious gaze.

"Where's your cheetah friend?" he asked, "She was here a second ago."

My eyes widened a bit as I looked around in search for her, only to see that she was nowhere in sight.

"Damn it!" I thought as I looked over to the cave that Venor retreated into, "She must have took off after Venor!"

I frowned a bit, knowing that she couldn't hope to take on Venor by herself, not after what he did to Baron.

"I've gotta go help her," I stated as I began to walk towards the cave.

"Let me help you!" Segragoth spoke up as he began to follow.

I shook my head, "Its too dangerous!" I replied, "Stay here and help these two."

"No, you're gonna need all the help you can get in there," The dragon replied stubbornly.

"This isn't something-" I began, but was cut off by Terrador.

"Let him go with you if he wishes," The earth dragon spoke up and I looked to see him giving me a stern look, "Like he said, you're going to need all the help you can get."

I frown at the guardian, giving him a skeptical look, "I'm surprised you don't want me to just die in there."

"Don't take me for some petty hot head!" Terrador shouted as he glared at me, "I may not trust you, but I trust Ignitus. And when on the battlefield, it is better for us to fight our mutual enemy then fight each other."

I was a bit taken aback by his outburst, realizing I hadn't given him much credit. Sure, he wasn't too fond of me, but right now, when his world was at stake, he would put both of our differences aside in order to save it.

"All right…" I spoke up as I nodded to him, "Just make sure you get Baron out of here!"

Terrador gave a nod back, "Be careful in there you two."

I looked back to Segragoth, sighing a bit, "You can come with me, but for god's sake if it gets too dangerous then just run!"

Segragoth frowned a bit, "No promises, I'm not just going to leave you behind."

I frowned as well, 'I can't argue with these guys…' I thought.

'That's because you're weak…' Psy growled.

I rolled my eyes, 'Yeah yeah…'

"Let's get going," I spoke up as I began to walk to the cave, "We've gotta get in there before Relia gets hurt."

Segragoth nodded, and quickly followed behind me, the both of us heading towards the cave. I felt a pit in my stomach as we approached it, knowing that this could lead to a tough battle.

But, I what I didn't know – was that this would be the toughest battle I had yet faced…

A/N: FINALLY DONE WITH ANOTHER CHAP! Its here, it's almost been a year this time… and I am so very much sorry for that.

As some of you may know, I started up a new fic, but I swear I haven't given up on this one yet. This probably would have been out sooner, if it wasn't for classes… and essays, like, a lot of essays.

I wish I could just sit down and write my heart out sometimes (and some days I can) but when life gets to you, and stress, then it's just difficult.

But, at long last, here's another chapter, and let's hope the next chapter will be on its way soon.

I am, astonished with how popular this fic has gotten, and just how many people wanna see it keep going. It really does mean a lot to me to see that some strange idea in my head actually got to entertain this many people, just… thanks, to all of you.

Also getting very… well… "interesting" comments here. One from the mustache man, and a guest who voted 10 times on the poll (I'll count 1 for that… not 10).

Last thing, the mystery poll has ended, and Volteer won it. What was the mystery poll for? Well, just couldn't decide on whether or not Volteer would be the fatherly figure to Seth, or if Cyril would be.

Thank you all for reading this chap… and I hope I'll be able to get a new one out soon.

Romance Poll

Seth x Cynder: 28

Seth x Shelia: 17

Seth x Relia: 3

Seth x Ember: 6