Oh! Important tidbit! These ######### signify flashback breaks. ^_^
There's also a poll on for y'all to vote on which Harem Guy you'd
like to see in the next fic. True, at the moment Blackwargreymon is in
the lead (yay) but it worries me that Xellos is a close second. All this
does is prove that you're all just as insane as Telca and I *hehe*
##############
"Nuuuugh....."
"Hey. Hey, wake up." Telca leaned over the Elf and lightly slapped her, grinning down into the dazed blue eyes that blinked up at her. "Welcome back!"
"No!" Lashana leapt to her feet and grabbed Telca's shoulders, shaking her roughly. "You have to send me back! They're going to kill him!"
"What? Kill who? Did you hit your head on something during re-entry or something?" The other sorceress swatted her away and backed up a few steps. "You can't go back, I barely managed to find you this time! You've been gone almost an entire week! I can't--"
"I don't care! That bastard sorcerer is going to kill him! Open the damned portal, Telca!"
"Sorcerer? You went and had fun without me, didn't you?"
"TELCA!"
"Alright, alright! Give me a few minutes to weave the spell again! Yeesh. Elves."
Ignoring the last mutter from her friend, Lashana spun and bolted into her room, frantically getting changed into black jeans, black boots and a navy blue tank top before pinning her hair up and grabbing her magickal talismans from her jewellery box. You want a fight you bastard? I'll give you one! "Telca! Hurry up!"
Power flickered at her fingertips as she rose her head and screamed in the general direction of her friend's bedroom. "I'm hurrying already! Don't get your knickers in a wad!"
The Elf growled under her breath as she placed the two blood red talisman bracelets onto her wrists, then pulled the pendant's chain over her head and attached the belt buckle to the clasp of her jeans. She frowned then and rose her hands, sighing when she realised that she was shaking. Gotta calm down else whatever spell I weave is gonna go out of control. Knowing that it'd take Telca another moment to open the portal, she took a wide-legged stance and grounded herself, breathing deeply in the way she had been taught, forcibly calming and centring her mind and body.
"Got it!"
Lashana let a smirk spread over her lips as she opened her eyes and rose her left hand, staring into the depths of the blood red talisman jewel. Payback time.
~*~
Malcho hissed and twisted in his bonds to try to take a bite out of one of the humans, crying out in pain when all he got for his efforts was a hard punch to his wounded wing. Unable to move as the agony spread through his entire spine, he could only watch as the sorcerer walked around him, tracing lines and sigils into the bare dirt. Oh, carumba, this is High Black Magick. Whatever he plans on doing... I don't think I'm going to overly enjoy it.
"I have to admit, I wish there was another way," the sorcerer told the quetzacoatl when he saw it watching him. "You're a magnificent creature, and intelligent to boot. Unfortunately, you're also the only being on this world that can grant me the power I so deserve. I hope there wasn't anything important you had planned."
"Only to sink my fangs into you and flood you with venom, gringo," Malcho hissed. "Step closer and we shall see how well this spell of yours can hold me."
The dark mage laughed. "Defiant to the end, hmm? I'm impressed. All the others that I killed were begging for mercy by now."
"I do not beg."
"So I see. So I see. Good for you. Now, since I'm not planning on giving you any last requests, let's just get this over with, alright?" The sorcerer rose his gaze to meet that of the snakes and grinned when a shudder went through the creature. "And please. Feel free to scream in agony all you want."
"YAAAAAAHOOOOOOOO!!!!"
"Huh?!" He spun and rose his gaze to the sky, his eyes widening when he saw a form free falling towards them. "It's the Elf! Shoot her!"
Lashana grinned as she dropped, making a mental note to talk to Telca about how inconvenient it was to have the portals open fifty feet above the ground as she took quick stock of the situation below her. Of course, I have to hope that I survive this.... Spotting one of the three humans shooting at her from directly beneath her, she couldn't help but cackle in amusement at their stupidity. Yay! A crash mat!
Malcho winced and looked away as she landed on one of the poachers, driving him deep into the ground before she rolled to the side and hopped to her feet. That had to hurt. Knowing that she was still outnumbered, he could do nothing but watch as she dodged the punch that one of the remaining poachers threw at her, pride welling up in him when she bared her fangs in a feral grin and knocked the human out with a quick punch/kick combination. She came back!
"YOU!"
Lashana spun at the infuriated yell and threw herself aside in time to avoid the fireball that flew past her. "Awww, you didn't miss me? I'm deeply, deeply hurt. Really." Smirking, she dodged another fireball and retaliated, snapping her fingers to activate the spell. "MEGA BRANDO!"
"Amiga!" The quetzacoatl strained in his invisible prison and just managed to brush his muzzle against her side as she ran over to him, her hands tracing the magicks that held him while the sorcerer screamed in fury and pain. "Lashana, I--"
"No time. Hold still and let me see if I can break this." Narrowing her eyes slightly, she reached out with her Elven senses and 'looked' at the threads of magick that were tied around him. Wow. This is pro stuff. Luckily I know how to cheat... Now where's the main thread.. Aha! She sliced her index fingernail across the air, using a bit of magick to 'cut' Malcho free, then turned and rose a hasty shield to deflect the dozens of fire bolts the sorcerer had launched at them. "Now go!"
He froze in mid-stretch and looked at her. "Que?! If you think I--"
"Malcho, this isn't a frakkin' debate! I'm going to have to go all out to beat this guy and I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire!"
"Amiga--"
"LY BRIEM!" She knew it was a dirty thing to do. His fear and hatred of the cold was something she had sworn to herself that she would never use to her advantage. But if it meant saving his life, then so be it. Even then, his bellow of shock and pain sent a shudder through her that had nothing to do with the ice water spell she had thrown at him, and while her gaze never left that of the sorcerer, she clearly heard the quetzacoatl back away from the spell's effects until he was well into the forest. I'm sorry, Malcho. But I don't want to end up accidentally killing you.
"I see that I should have given you more credit. You're far more of a nuisance than I thought," the sorcerer growled as he gathered power to himself and crafted it into a lance, using it to shatter her shield and send her stumbling backwards.
"What can I say?" she drawled as she crafted a lightning spell, smirking as red and black bolts of electricity converged on him. "I aim to please."
With a sneer of contempt, he slashed his arm through the lightning surrounding him, effortlessly breaking the spell. "You think these parlour tricks will stop me, little half-blood? I have more power than even you can imagine."
"Actually, I can imagine a lot." But she took a step back anyway, panic rising within her as the sorcerer spread his arms wide and rose his face to the sky. Black clouds gathered in seconds, swirling like a tornado above them as it feed dark power straight into the mage before her. Oh crap. I really am going to have to go all out to beat him... even then... I don't know if it'll work....
"Amiga! Run!"
She spun at the yell and watched in horror as Malcho struck out at the sorcerer, her heart sinking when she saw the mage start to turn towards the oncoming quetzacoatl, a black spear of magick forming in his hands. No! Instinct to protect her own threw her into action, making her sprint into the space between the sorcerer and the snake, her arms rising to cross themselves over her chest as she pushed her aura outwards, a scream of pain and defiance leaving her when the black magick spell slammed into her.
"I'm impressed. You actually managed to save him. Not yourself though. I'd imagine that that hurt a lot, hmm? Especially since you were stupid enough to deflect the brunt of it with your aura." The sorcerer chuckled softly as the Elf dropped to one knee, her eyes closed in a grimace of pain. "Amateur. Did you really think you could stop me? And you, quetzacoatl. Why try to protect her? She's nothing compared to you."
Malcho growled softly and coiled himself around the Elf, his cold glare never leaving the mage. "She is mi amiga. My friend."
Lashana grit her teeth and slowly forced herself to her feet, seeing Malcho move so that he was blocking the sorcerer's view of her. "Malcho," she whispered, "keep him talking." Receiving a soft nudge on her thigh with a plumed tail as response, she closed her eyes and concentrated, pulling on every ounce of magick that her talismans possessed. If this doesn't work, we're both dead... Words to the most powerful spell she knew of flowed into her thoughts like water as her hands started going through the gestures that accompanied the incantation. Here we go.
"Your friend? That half-blood? Oh, you can do so much better."
Hissing softly in hatred, Malcho half-spread his wings, ignoring the pain as he blocked the sorcerer's view of Lashana, shivering at the sensation of a warm energy filled wind that washed over his back. Que? What is she... His eyes widened moments later when she leapt over his outermost coil and slowly walked in front of him so that she was facing the sorcerer, an eerie aura of blood red magick swirling around her. Carumba!
"Darkness beyond twilight. Crimson beyond blood that flows, buried in the flow of time..."
The mage chuckled cruelly. "What do you think you're doing? Haven't you learned yet?" He stared at her in amusement as she rose her hands, obviously gesturing in cadence with the spell's invocation.
"...In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness! Let all the fools that stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess!"
"What.... No!" Panic welled up within the sorcerer as the Elf's Black Magick spell started pulling on his own power to fuel itself, using the store of energy within the clouds above them to grow stronger. This is impossible! She's just an amateur! He grabbed at threads of the magick and tugged them back to himself, trying to cut her off from the power that she was using to strengthen her spell, and when it didn't work, he turned to desperation and sent three dozen soul-shattering black magick spears at her.
Malcho slithered backwards in shock as the pulses of energy that emanated from Lashana sent shudders of instinctual fear through him, trying to make him run. But his gaze never left the Elf, seemingly mesmerized by the power she had managed to call upon as her hair was suddenly tugged free from the clip, letting the wind lift it clear off her shoulders. This must be the spell she told me of. The one she was afraid to use!
Moment of truth. Here's hoping that this spell doesn't decide to kill me. Pushing aside the drugged sensation of power she was feeling, Lashana cupped the sphere of red magick that had formed and lowered her hands so that she was pointing directly at the sorcerer, worry seizing her when she saw his own attack coming right for her. "DRAGON SLAVE!!"
The sheer magnitude of power that she released sent her staggering backwards, and she was dimly aware of Malcho catching her in his wings as she struggled to keep the spell's blast on course as it slammed into, then overpowered the black magick spell that was aimed at her, hitting the sorcerer head on. The resulting explosion must have shaken the very Earth to it's core, and she inwardly cringed as dirt and debris rained down on both her and Malcho, a testament of how powerful her spell had been.
Luckily, she was unconscious before the air cleared, so she was saved the sight of the sixty foot crater that had replaced the clearing and a large portion of the surrounding rainforest.
Malcho however....
"¡Mi dios!!"
###############
"So you're the reason behind the uprising against deforestation."
Lashana rolled her eyes, then threw a stale muffin at Nightcrawler, grumbling when he merely teleported out of the way and reappeared on the other side of the Kitchen. "It was the first time I had woven the Dragon Slave. I didn't know how destructive it was!"
"Hmpft. And you left me alone to discover that too, amiga." Malcho smirked as he reached out to playfully nudge her in the ribs with a pinfeather, chuckling when she swatted at his wing. "My state of mind after seeing that was not all that stable."
"I was unconscious. It's not like I had a lot of choice."
"And naturally you hadn't read up on the spell to learn of the side-effects, did you?" Tvashtar mused as he looked over at her, chuckling when she winced. "I'll take that as a 'no'."
"It's a miracle you've survived this long," Kadrith snickered, grinning when his brother tried to smother his own laughter.
"Oh, har har. Veeeery funny," Lashana muttered as she folded her arms over her chest and gave the audience an annoyed look. "Y'know, I think I just forgot the rest of the story."
~Liar. Someone hold her down, I'll telepathically hack the rest of it out of her.~
"Don't even think about it." Blackwargreymon growled, fixing the Pokemon with a scathing glare.
Beast chuckled and looked at a sulking Mewtwo. "Besides, my friend, do you truly wish to delve into the insanity that is Lashana's mind? I would think that such a mental venture would leave you with many undesired side-effects, would it not?"
"I resent that," the Elf grumbled sourly, eliciting a low chuckle from the quetzacoatl.
"If you will not finish the story amiga, then I shall. Now, after witnessing the destruction of a portion of my Homeland, I was understandably upset. But not as much as to not be worrying about mi amiga, who had now been unconscious for the span of three hours. My concern for her grew to such a point that as soon as I found a safe place to rest, I was forced to resort to rather.... desperate measures...."
###############
Lashana drifted in that lovely space between full sleep and wakefulness, perfectly content to merely ignore the world as a whole and let the darkness that was blissful unconsciousness continue to wrap her in comforting waves of total relaxation.
Unfortunately, while her mind wasn't in a state to take in the events going on around her, her sense of smell was still functioning. Hence the fact that it was strongly protesting to the sharp scent of a plant of some sort that was being waved directly over her face. The protest was sent into the darkness that was enveloping the coherent part of the Elf's mind, amplified itself, and basically dragged her screaming and struggling back into the land of the awake.
"Ugh!" Her hand shot out and smacked the foul-smelling thing away from her face, a grimace of disgust spreading over her lips as she opened her eyes and glared up into the greatly relieved face of a rather large snake.
"Mi amiga!"
Any protest she could have made was cut off by the wings that wrapped around her and pulled her against a scaled chest, the powerful hug momentarily driving the air out of her lungs before she was partially released and held at arms length... wings length... whatever. "Malcho? What the--?"
"Are you alright? Por favor, muchacha, answer me!"
"Shh, not so loud. I'm fine... I think. Except for the fact that I have this sudden hatred of plants..." She rose a hand and gently massaged her aching temple, hearing a low rumble of worry leave the quetzacoatl before she was lifted and placed on a bed of coiled muscle. "What happened? Is the sorcerer--"
"Gone. Completely destroyed." He shook his head slightly and looked at her. "Along with a large portion of the rainforest."
The colour drained from her face. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry, I didn't know...."
"The forest will reclaim what belongs to it in time, amiga. No worries. I'd imagine that after the next couple of monsoons that we'll have ourselves a brand new lake."
"Lake?!"
"Well, perhaps 'lake' is too much. At the very least a new pond...." Malcho trailed off at the look on her face and mentally hit himself with something blunt and hard before he lowered his head and gently nuzzled her left shoulder. "Mi amiga.... It's alright. Calmarse, Lashana. All is well. Though I'm not too fond of you for throwing that ice spell at me."
She growled softly. "I was trying to get you out of the line of fire, you big stubborn snake! And what were you thinking trying to attack him like that?! You could have been killed!"
"I was trying to keep him from killing you. Besides, I am not the one who passed out after dabbling in the Dark Arts, amiga."
Sighing in defeat, she glanced away and grimaced. "Yeah well... let's just say I don't think I'll be using that spell again anytime soon. Not only was it way to powerful for me to fully control, but I feel horrid." She rose her right arm and frowned when she saw the shattered talisman jewel. "Looks like I destroyed my only talismans too. Dammit."
Silence fell over them then, broken only by the sounds of the rainforest around them. It was another minute before Malcho moved closer to her and wrapped his wings around her, daring to hug her to him. "I owe you my life, mi amiga. Gracias. Muchas gracias, amiga. I thought for certain when the portal dragged you into it that you were never to return...."
"I would have gotten back sooner if I hadn't gotten knocked out in the process," she murmured as she leaned against him, letting him lightly flick his tongue over her face as he tested her scent. "I'm alright, Malcho."
"Si. But...."
"What?"
"You have to return home now, si?" He released her and pulled away, trying to make sense of the emotions rolling through him. "I... I do not wish to never see you again, amiga."
"It's not like I can bring you with me. Giant snakes aren't exactly common place in my world. And there's no way you'd fit in my apartment...." At his crestfallen expression, she sighed and lightly trailed her left hand over his good wing. "I'll see what I can do about getting Telca to portal me back here once and a while. Say... once every week or so?"
"Really?!"
"Why not? With the stuff I put up with at work I need a good vacation every couple of weeks and I love the forests. Besides I --ack! ....Malcho.... Lashana.... need.... air.... urk....."
"Sorry! Sorry!" He loosened his coils and wings from around her and waited until she had finished gasping for breath before hugging her again, more carefully this time. "Gracias, amiga."
#############
"Awww, that's so sweet." Nightcrawler drawled as Malcho leaned down to gently nuzzle the Elf's left shoulder. "So you two have always been in contact since then? But... you never told Telca, right?"
"Would you? She probably would have used him as a moving target," Lashana pointed out, blinking when she saw that Kang, Tvashtar and Kadrith were slowly backing away from the island counter. The reason was the twitching Digimon that was sitting there, and she rolled her eyes as she hopped onto the counter and lightly whacked him. "Blackie, you're my Bonded and I love you, but one of these days, if you don't get this idiotic jealousy of yours under control, I'm gonna hit you with something. Like a two-by-four."
He blinked at her for a moment, then smirked and shoved her off the counter, letting her fall back into Malcho's coils. "I'm not jealous. Kang just dropped a steaming taco on my lap."
"Oh." She blushed slightly. "Sorry?"
Kadrith chuckled at her embarrassed tone and walked over to her until they were pretty much eye to eye. "Here's another question for you." He jerked a thumb over his right shoulder, pointing to Blackwargreymon. How'd you end up with him?"
Lashana chuckled and lightly tapped him on the end of his muzzle. "Sore wa himitsu desu!" she grinned, cackling when the entire audience, Malcho included, did a unified facevault that shook the Palace down to it's very foundations.