Part 10: Eyes...
Mew and Adrian slowly begin to materialize. Adrian lands on his feet and looks around. His eyes began to adjust to the darkness.
"A church?"
"Yes, this is the last place that is safe to be teleported to. There are no other spots on this island." Adrian walks toward the front pew to his left. Deep scratches and dust cover it. He then turns around and sees a small depression in the floor.
"An alter went there." he pointed. Mew nodded. A large cross was fixed to the wall in front of them. There seemed to be eight slots cut across the horizontal plank; slots small enough for a small square object. 'Cards?' Adrian thinks.
"You must travel the rest of the way on foot. This is a place on earth that has no human inhabitants. Here, humans once lived, but have abandoned. This is also a place where failed cloning experiments are held."
"Failed cloning experiments?! You mean, they actually tried?"
"Yes, all the undesirables are kept here."
"Undesirables...."
"Adrian, a guardian will guide you to the other true humans. Follow him, he knows this land well. My strength is very limited here due to all the counter-measures the old scientists left in place. Only those physically strong can really survive here. I wish you good luck." With that, Mew teleports off the island. Adrian is left alone in the church.
"Gah, it's getting really hot." Adrian takes off his heavy coat. Something falls from a coat pocket: a strange square card. Strange black and white design cover both sides. "Maybe it'll fit on that cross." The front door of the church opens without a sound. Adrian steps toward the cross, card in hand. A figure enters through the door and begins running. It was still very dark inside the church. Adrian was about to place the card in one of the slots when a large, scaly, three fingered hand grasped his wrist.
"Not yet."
Adrian nearly jumped out of his shoes, but he sensed something familiar about the figure that stood before him. He was dragonish, having the tail, legs, claws, and head of a dragon/charizard, yet having a more 'muscle man' sized torso, arms, and neck. He had something strapped to his back; a long handle stuck out. He had no wings.
"Wh-who are you?"
"My name is Dregon. I am your guardian here on this island." His voice sounded like a war-hardened general.
"Oh, well I'm Adrian. You gave me a fright."
"Yes, but you were about to place a card on the cross. You should not do that yet. There is a certain order to them."
"What is the order?"
"You will have to find that out after you get to your destination."
"Hmmm, well I guess we should get going." Adrian tied the arms of his coat around his waist. Dregon walks toward the entrance with Adrian following. A sword was bound to Dregon's back.
"You should know that it will take us at least a day to get there. There are many creatures here that hate the sight of humans, so they will try to attack you. Emphases on try."
"Thanks." They exit the church. Adrian shields the bright sun light until his eyes re-adjust. He takes a good look around. Dregon had deep crimson scales.
"We're in a jungle? A church in the middle of a jungle?!"
"It was not always jungle. This is a very old church." Dregon reaches toward his sword's handle and pulls it out. "....I can feel it; something is coming."
"What?" A large cat-like creature jumps from the trees aiming at Adrian. Dregon jumps and knocks it out of the sky. Adrian runs back into the church, leaving the door slightly open to watch. It lands on its feet and lunges toward Dregon. With his sword in front of him, Dregon dashes toward the creature. Adrian turned away in time to miss a horrible scene. Something splattered on the door of the church, but Adrian did not want to see it. There was no more movement except for a slow panting.
"Dre-Dregon?"
"Yes? ...*pant*..."
"Is it over?"
"For now, yes." He blew fire on the blade to clean it up. He then picked up and threw the larger parts of what was left of the creature into a patch of high grass so Adrian would not have to see it. Adrian stepped out of the church and walked toward an opening in the jungle that did not have a trace of red near it. His head was down. Dregon began to follow after he sheathed his sword.
"Adrian?"
"Yeah?"
"I had to defend you. You would have been dead by now."
"I know."
"Then you should know that that dead body will attract more. We must get running." Dregon started to run and scooped up Adrian in his arms. His high arched feet allowed him to sprint through the thick jungle. Over large roots. Through muddy areas. Over rocks. He began to pant. "I know where a river is not to far from here."
"Okay, let's go to it." Adrian felt the huge muscular arms begin tensing. Branches crackling and leaves rustling could be heard behind them.
"Something has followed us! Hang on." He jumped high in a clearing and spun around. He saw a boar-like creature tearing up the ground stampeding toward them. When he landed he immediately jumped again and put Adrian on a high tree branch. "Don't move."
"Don't worry."
"I will deal with him." He pulled his sword out and dashed toward the beast. It saw the blade, and used its tusk to deflect Dregon's attack. The boar seemed to catch all of Dregon's sword slashes with his tusks. Adrian saw how the boar almost seemed to be faster than his guardian. He concentrated on the boar, trying to lift him off his feet. Nothing was happening. Adrian began to panic; Dregon was tossed from his opponent by a mighty blow. The boar began to charge the guardian. Adrian's eyes turned red.
He jumped down.
"What are you doing?!" Dregon yelled from his fallen state. Adrian's hair grew very long as he caught the boar's tusks in his small grip. He then flung the boar toward a tree with enough force to shatter the trunk. The boar hit and remained motionless. Adrian was panting and twitching, and then ran toward the boar. Large claws seemed to replace his fingers. He began to rip into the boar, tearing skin and slicing bone.
"Adrian, stop!" Dregon lifted himself up and walked toward the mess.
"Hmmm?" Adrian questioned with his mouth full of boar muscle looking at Dregon. His red eyes started to fade and his hair and hands began to return to normal.
"Adrian, snap out of it!"
"Wha-ph..... Phoo- AAHhh!" Adrian spit out what was in his mouth and stepped out of the boars rib cage. His arms were completely covered in the boar's blood, as was his shirt, part of his pants, and his shoes. Dregon sheathed his sword and picked up Adrian.
"How did you do that?" Adrian, shocked, blinked several times.... then fainted.
Dregon cradled him in his arms and strode off to the river. 'At least we will be safe there.' he thought.
'He has done it. He has taken a life and feasted. I hope it is his last.' Black stirs from his slumber inside his orb. 'Just a little further and he will change. Just like his father. Just like the men of his kind.'
"He sure has been out there a long time." Adrian's mother worried. She sat at the table idly poking her food with a fork.
"Don't worry 'bout him, Tiff. He didn't really need the coat, you know." Lucy comforted.
"Really?"
"Well, yeah. I've been meaning to tell you about an incident he had while you were at work a few days ago." Charla said while finishing her meat lump.
"Tell me what?"
"He seemed to have lost his mind. He actually ripped out and ate the ribs from a kill I brought home."
"What?!" She was in shock. "My baby did that?"
"Yeah, he then asked me to flame the blood off his body. I knew that if I breathed a low flame any normal human would run away slightly burned, but he wanted me to turn up the heat."
"How? How could he have withstood that?"
"When I stopped the flame, he stood there completely unharmed, and without clothes of course."
"Well, of course, clothes would burn, but still how....." Adrian's mother thought a second. She knew why, but did not want to admit it to herself. "Well I'm still worried. Is there any way we can know if he's okay?"
"I can check if it will put you at ease." Mewtwo offered. "You should be relaxing. It has been some time since you last had a vacation, has it not?"
"Yes, I suppose you're right.... Wait, how'd you-" Mewtwo pointed to his head. "Oh, right, I completely forgot." Mewtwo walked to his door's barrier. He put his hand slowly through it. He continued until he was completely past his barrier.
"Such a serene white, is it not?. It has been some time since I saw you last."
"Wha-what happened...?" Adrian slowly came to. Dregon was kneeling beside the river rinsing his face. Adrian looked for a minute, trying to remember what had happened. He blew fire while facing down and the water quickly evaporated. Bright golden eyes stared back at Adrian.
"We are at the river. A small clan has control of this area of land, so we will be safe." Adrian sits up and notices that he was not wearing his original clothing. A large hide covered him.
"What happened?!" Dregon stood up and walked toward Adrian.
"Your clothes were covered with so much blood that I had to get rid of them. How did you become so violent?"
"I.... I don't know. It's happened once before, but not like that. I remember.... I was trying to lift the boar up with my mind so you could get a clean hit, but when nothing happened, I-"
"You were trying to do what? Lift the boar?"
"Yeah, I've done it before, only it was with sand and snow and plates."
"Hmm.... I did not realize you had psychic powers. This island has many hidden machines and barriers that prevent most psychic actions, like teleporting or mind-reading."
"It sure seemed like it, but when I started to worry about you I must've lost control." Adrian stood up. The hide wrapped around him like a toga. "So, where is this clan?"
"I will take you to them. We are headed there anyway." Dregon started walking down the river.
"What are they like?" Adrian asked while following.
"They are the failures of many experiments, but are strong enough to exist here. The scientist had one goal, but the results of their experiments were undesirable. They succeeded only once to create what they wanted, but their desired creation destroyed them."
"Their desired creation...." A large gray creature could be seen in the distance.
"We are almost there. That's the gate guardian." The huge creature of muscle began to stare at Adrian with deep purple eyes. Sweat started to come from the creature's sculpted head, which had a what seemed like a pipe of flesh connecting the back of his head to his lower neck. He seemed to be afraid of something.
"HIM HUMAN?" Dregon nodded.
"He is the real human."
"ENTER." Adrian looked up at the gate guardian. He did not understand what was being said.
"Hi. I'm Adrian."
"GREAT KING, PLEASE ENTER."
"Huh?" Dregon put his hand behind Adrian's head and guided him across the gate.
"Come, we have to talk to the clan master." Dregon lead him across the small village of creatures that had a feature similar to that of the gate guardian in the back of their sculpted heads. Each creature looked at Adrian as he walked by. They were whispering to each other.
"Dre-Dregon, why are they staring at me?" Dregon looked around while walking.
"I am not too sure." Some of the creatures were black colored, others were light purplish, and others pinkish. All their eyes were deep purple. There were a few tall trees and small trails here and there, some of which hides hung and tents were made.
"Is that where the clan master lives?" Adrian said while pointing at an especially strange looking hut. Dregon nodded.
"Oh." They entered the hut.
"Dregon, I'm glad to see you're alright. How has the hunt been going?" The voice had a very sly tone to it and Adrian could understand it. He stepped out from behind Dregon. The clan master was wearing black colored plated armor with shoulder pads that extended. A whip was tied on his right, a large carved tooth that resembled a dagger on his left, and a long rod on his back. He, himself, was dark purple. "....A human child? Where did he come from? You know he shouldn't be here! Is he an off-"
"He is the real human." The clan master's deep purple eyes widened. Adrian smiled.
"I'm Adrian."
"Uh, he-hello, uh, A-Adrian. I'm the clan master. I'm Sixteen."
"Sixteen? Why not choose a real name, like Mason or Michael?" Sixteen crossed his arms.
"I am not human. Those are human names." He pointed his nose up to the ceiling.
"Enough. We need some supplies for the journey ahead. Will you help us, Sixteen?" Dregon interrupted.
"Yes. You have the great REAL human with you. Of course I'll help. What do you need?" Dregon talked softly to Sixteen. Adrian looked around. Many skulls and weapons lined the walls.
"That all? Simple enough. Ask Thirty-One for those, I'm sure sure she has them." Dregon walked out the hut with Adrian following.
"I.... I can't believe that child really exists. All Hell's gonna break loose...." Sixteen said under his breath.
"What kind of supplies do we need?"
"We need some medical supplies just in case you get hurt. You never know what's going to happen out there."
"So, you know where Thirty-One lives?" Dregon nodded.
"I have visited her before. This clan knows me because I saved a group of their members from a deadly fight. She was one of them. She was sent to restock the supply of healing herbs with three guards. She is a very needed part of this clan; without her most here would have died from wounds and poisons."
"Wow; can't believe she was an undesirable." They were nearing a small clearing with a small hole with three trees surrounding it.
"She lives in there."
"Should we go in?"
"We don't have to. She can tell when someone is over her front entrance." Dregon stepped up to the hole. A voice called from below.
"Wait just a minute!" Adrian could not understand what was actually said. It sounded very old and screechy.
"What did she say?" Dregon looked up and remembered that Adrian would not have known what was said.
"She said to wait a minute." Dregon folded his arms. He began to tap his foot silently.
"That won't make me any faster!" Sounds of things moving and footsteps left the hole. She poked her head out and rested her arms on the dirt.
"Dregon! My it's been a while. What do you need?" Her skin was dark purple in color. Dregon knelt down and told her softly. "I've got plenty I can let you have, but it's a mess down here. It'll take me some time to find them." She glances over at Adrian. "Who's this?" Adrian looked confused.
"His name is Adrian. He is the real human." Her purple eyes widened.
"Oh, well, let me find those for you." She dipped back under and more sounds of movement could be heard.
"So, what was the conversation about?"
"I asked her if she had some supplies. She said that she has what we need, but her place is a mess and that finding them will take some time. I also told her your name."
"Hmmm, well, can I ask another question?
"Yes."
"Why do you call me 'the real human?'" Dregon hesitated.
"Because that is what you are." Adrian remembers what Black had told him about the past.
"Well, how can you be sure?"
"It is what I was told by the mew that brought you here and that asked me for help." Adrian sat on the ground and thought a little. Dregon decided to sit as well.
"So you decided to help?"
"Yes, out of duty. My grandmother told me once that mew are like living gods: they control many different elements of nature. So if one needed your help, you give it to him or her."
"Wait a minute.... your grandmother? What happened to your mother?" Dregon seemed a little surprised by the question.
"She.... went away and left me in the care of her parents. I think it was to fulfill an old prophecy made by the eldest of her time. His name was.... was Ashton." Adrian's jaw nearly dropped.
"No way! That would mean that you're.... you're-"
"Found 'em!" Thirty-One yelled out from her hole. Adrian and Dregon stare at the hole. A bag flew from the hole and landed with a clink.
"Thank you. I hope it was not too much trouble for you."
"Naw, they were in a cabinet for once. See ya 'round, Dreg." Dregon got up and picked up the sack. He tied it to the belt of his sword's sheath.
"Ummm.... translation?"
"Oh, she said that she did not have to look very hard and I thanked her. Now what was it you were about to say?" Adrian hesitated, thinking it through.
"I know who your mother is. Her name is Charla."
"Yes, that's correct."
"And your name used to be White Flame."
"That is correct also. I had to change it when I changed. As you can see, I no longer have a tail flame."
"Well, this brings to me another question: how did you become what you are if she left you as a charmeleon?" Dregon stared into Adrian's eyes.
"I.... I can't tell you. At least not yet." He turned away.
"Seems like the little one has you figured out, Dreg." Thirty-One called from her hole. Dregon started walking toward the entrance.
"What did she say?"
"She bid us farewell and good luck. We have to go now." Adrian followed Dregon out the entrance.
"Well, I hope we have good luck."