Chapter 10
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Notes: There are several.
Yeah, Bullfrog owns it. You can tell, really, because if *I* owned it, there would be a romance factor in the game and a lot more pretty guys and... ::trails off drooling:: Anyway, don't sue me.
Slash. Yes folks, there *is* guy-on-guy action in the world of Dungeon Keeper. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
If you haven't yet, read the first chapter now.
Even though the game is not mine, the story is, and I would appreciate it if you did not use it without my permission. Ask and ye shall probably be allowed to archive.
Thanks to my beta reader Vagabond! ::huggles Vagabond::
Pronunciation Key:
Kaelay: [KAY-lay]
Seiat: [SAY-aht]
Tarkasas: [Tar-KAH-sas]
Ramasha: [Ra-MAH-sha]
Mortagui: [Mor-tah-GUY]
Evain: [Eh-VAIN]
I think that's all, so on with the fic!
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Kaelay
I meet him at the appointed time and place, prepared for the worst. All Keepers have what we call astral projections; a form that is a physical projection of our mental selves visible only to other Keepers and the Darknesses. The hand we use to direct our minions works on the same principle. Evain has chosen a form that is non-threatening, but nevertheless suits his style. It appears to be a nearly draconian lizard in a warlock's robes, with large feathered wings protruding from the back. My chosen form is similar; a black cat-like dragon with large reptilian wings sporting blood red membranes. Along my backbone travels a long ridge of tall spines, thinly connected by a membrane similar to that of my wings. I stand upright, but walk with a feline grace. I choose not to wear clothing.
Kaelay. He greets me calmly and with little formality. This is good. At our last meeting he was a simpering fool, taking every opportunity to kiss up to one of higher rank. He may have gotten a spine since then.
Evain. So you are here to be my apprentice.
Yes. It is an honor.
And already using double meaning. He *has* gotten bold. So much the better for him. Do you understand why I am not allowing you to build beyond this point?
Well... He hesitates, apparently unsure of how far he can push me, but then seems to remember himself and exudes only confidence. I'm liking this more and more. I'm not entirely certain, but I'm sure you have a good reason. The Darkness hinted that you may be having some difficulty with another Keeper in the area.
The Darkness spoke to you?! He is silent, and I curse him mentally. He managed to throw me off. A small victory perhaps, but one that doesn't go unnoticed. I bow my head slightly in acknowledgment of this triumph, and then go on.
I have an alliance with a green Keeper here, one Mortagui. The truce is shaky at best, and if it blows up I might need to fight. I would appreciate if he didn't know about you, in order to gain the element of surprise. And to keep you out of my way if it does come to a fight.
Of course. That is wise. I will respect your boundary and stay within the energy point.
Evain is referring to the little present I sent him when I learned that he was coming. It's a simple point of energy, like a beacon, but it carries a plain warning that one who passes beyond will be interfering with something not meant to be tampered with. It is sometimes used by Keepers who are well established in a land in order to let enemies just entering know that the space is taken. Not that it usually stops the stronger ones, but it saves the weak ones their lives and the Keeper who set it up the annoyance of having to deal with every single invader. Evain recognized this one as my message and stopped to wait for an ambassador. Good for him.
Good. I will inform you if I need you, or if there is something important I think you need to learn. Consider your field training begun.
To my surprise, I sense his intense anticipation. Could it be I've underestimated him?
Seiat
I've finally found her again. She wasn't in the Lair, but I eventually met up with her in the Training Room; she left the Temple soon after I met Ramasha. Elseena the Spider looks at me in surprise. I don't think she expected to see me again so soon.
"Elseena," I say hurriedly, "I need to ask you a favor."
She blinks her many eyes. "Seiat. What's wrong? You seem distressed."
I wring my hands a little, a nervous habit I've acquired very recently. "I've found out something bad about one of the creatures in this Dungeon. He's hurting one of my friends. I need someone to tell keeper Mortagui for me. I can't talk to him on my own. Please help me Elseena."
"Hmm." Her mandibles click twice. "I can try, but I suppose it depends on which creature we're talking about."
"He's a Dark Angel. His name is Ramasha. I think one of the creatures in my Dungeon may have some feelings for him, and he's causing Ta- ...that creature pain."
She skitters backward in alarm, almost stumbling into a Vampire behind her. "What? I can't tell Mortagui that! He'll be furious!"
My heart sinks. "Please Elseena. You're my last hope. I don't know what I'll do otherwise. My friend... I've known him for a long time. I hate seeing him get hurt."
"Well..." She frowns. "I've heard many things about Ramasha. I don't believe them all, but there are enough rumors that he's painted as a pretty despicable character. I don't like seeing people I care about get hurt, and he's a friend of a friend. He obviously means a lot to you, so..."
I jump toward her and give her a big hug. "Thank you! Thank you so much Elseena!"
She laughs a little, and we leave for the Heart. It doesn't take very long to get there, as it's only three rooms away, but by the time we arrive I've worked myself into a state of nervousness worse than any I've had before.
I pause outside the door to the Heart Chamber, then sink down to the floor against the outside wall. It's painful to be so close to the enemy's Heart; the beating is overwhelming my mind, and I feel a sudden urge to flee to Keeper and tell her of the danger. I overcome it as best as I can and watch Elseena skitter into the chamber.
She walks up onto one of the short stairways between the arches of the Heart and kneels down on her three front pairs of legs. Her very front legs dip down into the Heart, just above the membrane. Suddenly I hear her wordless summons echoing through the Heart Chamber.
In a moment she receives her reply. A horrendous voice descends into the Chamber, loud and penetrating and so very *wrong*. I can't stand it! It's too much. I can't hear my heart!
What do you want Spider? You're interrupting something very important.
I labor to control myself and listen to her response.
"My Lord Mortagui, I have just received word from a Red creature. It seems your Ramasha has stolen the affections of one of their creatures. He is suffering from it greatly, and they are concerned."
There is a moment of horrible silence, and then a wordless roar envelops the entire room. I myself have to move a few yards away, or risk being overcome again. And then suddenly all is silent again.
I tiptoe forward, peering once again into the doorway of the Chamber. Mortagui is gone; his presence has completely vanished from the place. I scan the area around the Heart for Elseena. Where is she?
My eyes finally land on a small heap halfway between the door and the Heart. Her legs lay tangled and broken in many places, and her eyes, which are facing me, are cold and dark. I notice the black blood seeping to the floor from her head, which is nearly a foot away from her body.
I back up slowly, not really believing what I'm seeing. She's dead. Just gone, just like that.
I have to get out of here. I run backwards towards the Red Dungeon. I have to leave. Now.
Tarkasas
I step into the green Dungeon with the beginning of an attack of nerves. Sure, all I have to do is get him to come to our Dungeon, but will he want to?
I'm not really thinking about where I'm going, and eventually I find myself in a disused hallway that I recognize. I know what's at the end of it.
I am suddenly angry, and I quicken my stride. Mortagui has no right to do this to one of his own creatures. Ramasha deserves better than that. So much better.
I burst into the Lair at the end and am surprised to find someone there. I was expecting it to be empty, but instead I've found what I was looking for. What are the odds?
Of course he's heard my entrance, so he turns around and stares at me. To my surprise, the look of pain that is normally there is gone, replaced by cold hard determination.
"I've decided." His voice is soft, but I hear every word. "I want to come with you. I want to be a Red creature."
For a moment I am speechless, but he rises and walks toward me, grabbing my arm and pulling me along down the corridor.
"Come on, we haven't much time. He was summoned away, but he'll be back soon."
That gets through to me. I speed up my pace to match his and together we race down the corridor. In a few moments however, he stops.
"This would be faster, but..." he blushes. "May I?" He spreads his wings and makes a gesture, and I understand what he means. I nod my assent and feel him lift me up gently. He flaps his wings twice to get us off the ground, and then we're gliding through the air at top speed. It's exhilarating.
We're in sight of the Red Dungeon now. "Stop," I tell him gently, and he complies quickly, setting me down.
"Is something wrong?" he asks, and I can feel how worried he is. This poor Angel. He's so hurt.
"No, nothing is wrong. It's just... I had Kaelay put a set-spell in so that if you walk over the border with me, your color will change automatically. I don't know how it will work, so we had better be careful. Also..." I trail off, not quite sure I want to ask this question. Not quite sure I really want to hear the answer.
"Are you sure Ramasha? Are you sure that you really want to do this?"
He meets my eyes slowly, and I can feel the determination rising off of him in palpable waves. Deliberately he reaches a hand toward me and I take it. He turns toward the Red Dungeon and begins to walk.
I follow, of course. I don't really have a choice seeing as how he has an iron grip on my hand, but I would anyway. This is big for him, and I think the hand is as much for comfort as to activate the set-spell.
What's going on finally manages to sink into my brain. He's made the choice. He will be one of Kaelay's creatures. One of us.
Ramasha
I cannot believe I am actually doing this. All the green energy in me seems to know what's coming and is rebelling. I feel almost sick at the prospect of betraying my Keeper like this, but it has been a long time in coming and I squash that feeling quickly.
No more than a few feet separates me from freedom, and the distance is rapidly diminishing. All at once I am right at the border between the green and the red, and I have stopped.
I take a few deep breaths to calm myself. Tarkasas squeezes my hand comfortingly, and I look up at him. He's not wearing his helm, and I can see his hazel eyes quite clearly in the torchlight. There is a tenderness there that I'm not used to seeing. Keeping my eyes on his, we step over the border together.
A red light flares at my feet, and when the light fades, the color is still there. It starts to move upward into my body, but a similar green flare stops it. The two war for a moment, but we are standing on Red soil, so that color has more power to draw on. Fighting all the way, the red inches upward. I feel a small pain, not much more than a sting really, at the point where the colors border each other.
It continues upward, and I am fine until it gets to my chest. There is all of a sudden a knife-sharp pain as I feel my heart stop beating. I try to scream, but there is no air. Blackness creeps in at the corners of my vision and for a second I think I might faint or worse, but the glow rises above my chest, and my heart begins to beat again, to a different rhythm. I collapse to my knees as the color spreads quickly over my head. The green has stopped fighting it ever since my heartbeat changed, and it is over quickly.
As I gasp for breath, I feel Tarkasas kneel down beside me. He seems different somehow, and it takes me a moment to pinpoint what it is.
His heartbeat is in sync with mine. I can't exactly hear it, but I can feel it. A hostility towards him that I never knew I had is gone, and he feels... like home.
Without really thinking of it I reach for him, catching him in an embrace. He is unprepared, but quickly recovers and hugs me back. It feels so right, being with him, that I wonder how I ever doubted it.
Our communion is cut short by the sound of an enraged howling coming towards us. I can't see him, but I can feel his presence now. He's come for me. Mortagui. A slight wisp of fear moves up my spine.
Ramasha. His voice is painful. Everything about him is painful. What are you doing Ramasha?
I can't bring myself to answer. I've never been so afraid of him. To my immense shame I feel myself cowering into Tarkasas' arms, shaking. Why must I always be so weak?
Tarkasas holds me a little tighter then pulls away and stands up, facing the disembodied presence that is Mortagui. "He's not yours any more. You can't hurt him."
I can feel Mortagui's anger and I wince. But this time it is not directed at me.
You dare to tell me what I can and cannot do, creature?
"I dare to tell you that you had no right to hurt Ramasha the way you have, and that Kaelay has now taken the responsibility to care for him." I am amazed at how confident his voice sounds. Is he not afraid?
You will not take him away from me.
"May I remind you Lord Mortagui, that any act against either of us now would be a breach of the treaty we have established and will cause war." The title had a sarcastic ring to it, but I'm not so sure of Tarkasas' bravado. I know what Mortagui knows, and the alliance was never going to last much longer anyway.
That is correct Mortagui. A new voice comes in, one that feels right and perfect. How could I have never known what I was missing?
I can feel Mortagui's momentary uncertainty as he weighs this new development.
Kaelay continues. I hope you were not thinking of harming my creatures. I wouldn't want you to do something you'd regret.
But what about what you have done to Ramasha? Mortagui is regaining his confidence.
But Kaelay is smooth as ever. There was nothing in our pact about the changing of a creature's allegiance. I have done nothing to harm him.
Well, if that's the way you'll have it- I feel a sudden wave of dread wash over me, -then so be it.
A bright green light flares in the area where Mortagui currently resides, and in a moment it is a black ball of energy with a pulsing green aura. He seems about to throw it at Kaelay as a challenge, but at the last moment he changes his aim and throws it towards me.
I scream as it hits me. Though the energy itself hits me in the chest, the pain is all in my head. I feel as though a dozen sharp blades are attacking my brain, each cutting away a piece of my soul. I don't know what he's doing, but it hurts! I can't take it! Please, make it stop! Help me!
And suddenly my wish is granted. The pain cuts off abruptly, and I fade into oblivion.
Oh God, that was hideous. Take me back.
or
Oh God, that was hideous. Let me complain to the author.