Chapter Three: Battle in the Mists
A light rain was falling outside the cave. It was creating tiny puddles, and rivulets of water ran down the side of the mountain. Inside the cave it was dry and warm. A figure stood at its mouth, gazing out into the storm.
"Sigh. I wish I could go out there. So much fun could be had." Said a voice, distinctly female. "So many things to hunt that would be off guard. So many unsuspecting victims." She Smirked at that. "All this beautiful water and I'm stuck inside this dank cave. Stupid rules." She scowled as she spoke this. The woman walked forward slightly, just enough for the rain to hit her front. She closed her eyes, enjoying the wetness. At only five feet five inches high, she was far from tall. She wore a blue dress that had a blue dragon trailing along it. In the middle, at her stomach, was a large Chinese symbol. Next to her a large axe was leaning against the cave wall.
From behind her an arm snaked out of the darkness. Before she had realized she was in danger, the arm had forcefully grabbed her by the neck, lifting her off the ground and turning her around. "I thought, Momiru, I had forbidden you from leaving the cave?" Came a voice. A figure emerged from the darkness. It was a man. He glared at Momiru coldly, his eyes framed by a strange dark purple color. Black hair fell over his shoulder and down to the middle of his back in a ponytail. He was taller, at over six feet tall, and wore a light purple vest over a darker purple kimono, seemingly in the style worn by royalty. On the sleeves were golden dragons wrapping around them. He wore very baggy pants the same shade of purple as his kimono, held on by a golden belt, and on his feet he wore sandals. "Did I not?"
Momiru gurgled a reply, but due to the pressure on her throat it was impossible to understand. The man glared at her for awhile longer before letting her drop to the ground, gasping for air and clutching her throat. "Do not step outside without my permission again or you shall not be so lucky." He hissed. He walked back into the darkness, becoming completely invisible. Momiru turned her back on him. She was grimacing from the soreness of her neck, but also at the other being.
Outside? I wasn't outside at all you ass. Momiru thought venomously. She hated him. He was always controlling her and ruining her fun. Outside would be me running in the rain, drenching myself in it. She looked outside again, and her expression changed to sadness. I wish I could…so badly.
"WHEEEEEEEE!" Zia yelled as she ran about in the rain. Incubis shook his cloaked head in dismay. He had been trying to get her to put on some kind of waterproof clothing, such as he had done with his cloak, but she had simply stuck her tongue out at him and continued to run around, getting soaked. Anytime thunder or lightning had been seen or heard she fell to the ground whimpering. But as soon as she thought it was safe, she yelled and took off. She seemed to have an infinite supply of energy, but she was wearing Incubis out.
"Onee-chan, please put on some waterproof clothes!" He wailed. Zia seemed not to hear him. He sighed, giving up for good. He trudged on through the muddy ground. "Bleh! Mud." He said to himself.
"Yep. It's kinda muddy here isn't it?" Zia said from directly behind him. Incubis gave a yelp of surprise and leapt into the air again. Luckily he didn't have a flute to choke him. When he landed he whipped around to glare at Zia.
"DON'T DO THAT!!!!!" He yelled. Zia just smirked and shoved a cookie into his still open mouth.
"Enjoy!" She laughed as he chewed the cookie grudgingly.
The rain had become a downpour, obscuring the vision of anyone who looked at it. Not Momiru though. She could see outside clear as crystal. She hadn't turned her back on the water once since her near strangulation. I hope he got all his throttling urges out of his system she thought darkly. She absentmindedly rubbed her neck, which had swollen some from the event.
"You want out badly, don't you Momiru?" The man asked from the darkness. Momiru didn't spare him a glance.
"Of course I do." She replied icily. A chuckle came from the back of the cave. He new perfectly well she wanted outside more than anything. If he denied her that, she always became intolerable. However, he put up with her. Her…gifts…were very useful. Though she stood no chance against him, for several reasons, she was capable of defeating armies on her own. Plus, if he controlled whether or not she was allowed outside, he could guarantee her assistance.
"Maybe….I'll let you out." He said. Momiru laughed at that.
"Oh really.....What's the catch" She asked. He laughed himself at the question.
"Nothing much. I just want you to do what you do best. I want you to kill some people."
Momiru finally turned around at this. She was grinning with utter delight. "Who?" She asked anxiously.
"Two authors. Well, an author and an authoress actually. They are headed this way. I don't know if they know we're here or not, but I'd rather not take the risk." He said. He smiled at the look on Momiru's face.
"Thank you, Master." She said. Momiru uttered a squeal of delight as she grabbed her axe leapt out into the drenching rain.
"Will…you…please…STOP?" Incubis yelled. Zia just grinned and continued to do what she had been doing for the last half hour. This happened to be poking him. "PLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASE?" He asked desperately.
"Nope." Zia replied, and poked him double speed. She had grown bored of running around in the rain and decided instead to just walk with Incubis. This had grown boring very fast. Thus she had started poking him, knowing he wouldn't stop her. This had been going on for an hour now. "Why are we going this way again?" She asked.
"I sense something not so pleasant. Evil, but kind of hard to pin down just where it is. I only get a direction. Nothing much at all. Don't you sense it?" He asked.
"Nope."
"Figures." Incubis sighed in exasperation. He cared about Zia a lot, yeah, but she sometimes...well, she played the part of Mihoshi fairly well. He couldn't really say he didn't do the same sometimes though.
"So what are we gonna do when we find it?" Zia asked excitedly. She was pretty sure there was going to be a battle, and she was wanting to sharpen her claws some. She looked down at her hands, inspecting the so called claws. True, they weren't very sharp just now, but when she got into battle, there would be a very messy end to anything on the wrong end of those.
"Well…I haven't thought that far." Incubis admitted with a grin. Zia nearly facevaulted.
"And you complain about me?"
"Sometimes."
"Baka." Zia sighed. She looked up ahead. There seemed to be a valley not too far away. "Lets take a nap up there." She said, pointing. Incubis looked up and thought a second.
"Sure." He said. Zia smiled and leapt ahead of him, skipping around again. He frowned some but quickly returned his face to neutral. That girl is gonna be the death of me. He looked to the sky and noticed it had lightened on the rain. "That's nice. At the least Z will dry up."
Momiru sat idly on the boulder, looking into the lake. She had found this valley after charging over miles and miles of landscape. She stuck her axe into it and swirled it around, casting large ripples on the already rippling surface. She could sense them coming this way. They were much closer than she had expected. She was hoping to be able to hunt too, but killing alone was nice.
She was in no hurry however. The longer this took, the longer she could be in the water. However…they were very close now, and she didn't want them to know the secret and ruin the game.
Momiru picked up her axe. "Let's go."
She put the axe in a holder on her back. Sticking her hands in front of her, she started making different symbols, like hand puppets, at high speed. She continued for several moments before coming to a sudden stop. The lake behind her seemed to glow for a moment, and then mist started to rise into the air. It floated in every direction, covering the valley floor and mixing with the rain.
"Whoa." Zia stated as she came to the valley ridge. The whole thing was covered in mist so dense she couldn't see but a few feet in front of her.
Incubis walked up next to her and peered out through his hood. The rain had picked up again somewhat, and with this mist added on, the valley was impossible to see through. He realized it was entirely possible that the mist was natural, but he sensed something about it.
"Odd. This mist is really, really thick. And it feels kinda weird, don't you think?" Zia asked him. The humor she usually talked with seemed to have ebbed somewhat.
"Yeah." Incubis replied. Zia was helpless against the blinding mist. She could sense all sorts of things, but her right eye was normal. His was special, and the mist was not a problem. "Watch your back." He said.
"Easy for you to say." She looked at him with a slight scowl, then back to the mist. "Well, shall we?"
"We shall."
They walked down into the valley. Almost instantly their sight was obscured by the mist. Zia whined a little, but otherwise walked without event. He still had the feeling of something not right. It was stronger.
They walked for about thirty minutes before Zia finally gave in. "Are we there yet?"
"No."
"How close?" She asked.
"About midway." He replied.
"But I fear you'll go no further."
Zia whirled to face behind them, from where the voice came. Incubis stopped walking, but did not turn. He smiled. "Hello. May I help you miss?"
The woman smiled. "Oh, I suppose you can. I would like to ask you a favor."
"Which is?" Zia asked suspiciously.
"I'm here for your lives." She said.
Incubis's smile faded. The woman didn't look dangerous. She looked like a doll actually, with high cheekbones and alarmingly pretty pale blue eyes. Her hair was done in hoops on the side, black like night. Her lips, also seductive, were a blue that reminded him of the ocean. "You're sure about that miss?" he asked.
"Most definitely. Now, why don't you face me sir?" She asked. Incubis finally turned to face her. She smirked. "Oh my, you look quite mysterious. A billowing cloak, your head hooded, and a headband covering your left eye barely visible. Charming."
Zia didn't like this. This woman was evil; she knew that before her request for their lives. She also could sense a lot of suppressed power. But worst was if they had to fight, this mist would be damn annoying.
"Why not take it off. That cloak will hinder you in battle." The woman asked.
Incubis smirked. "Fine then." He reached up and grabbed the cloak. In one swift motion he had it off. Underneath he wore a tight, black, long sleeved shirt. On his hands were brown fingerless gloves with knuckle holes. His pants were white and puffy. His footwear was a pair of black boots. At his hip was a sheathed sword, its hilt golden with a hand thin guard curving over it. "There, happy?"
The woman smiled. She reached behind her and pulled off her axe. Zia hadn't noticed it before somehow. It was huge, seven feet long at least. The head wasn't too special. It was oblong with a curved blade that was connected by three metal rods. At the base of each rod was a hole on the head.
"Oh, how rude of me, I completely forgot to introduce myself. My name is Momiru. You two would be…?" Momiru asked.
Zia continued to glare, while Incubis smiled pleasantly. "I'm Incubis, and this is my good friend Zia." He extended his hand for her to shake. "Nice to meet you, miss Momiru."
Momiru didn't make a move. "Well then…I suppose we shall begin?"
Incubis lowered his hand. He no longer smiled, but instead shared Zia's look. "If you desire so strongly to forfeit your life, then so we shall."
Momiru smirked, lowering herself into a crouched fighting stance. "It isn't I whose life will forfeit."
Zia sighed in exasperation. "Can we just get to the killing you?"
Momiru didn't reply. She instead jumped up suddenly, raising her axe above her head. She brought it down, smashing into the ground and sending a bulge of blue energy towards them. Both leapt aside, Incubis going left and back, Zia right and forwards. She flew at Momiru, her fist cocked back, ready to take off the witch's head. Just as she reached her, Momiru vanished, leaping out of the way and into the mists.
Zia landed and looked around. Momiru was nowhere to be seen. She growled in frustration. "Damn it."
She looked every direction, but the mist was horribly disorienting. Finally she took a deep breath and listened instead. A thud sounded from in front of her she looked forward at once. As soon as she was distracted, Momiru struck. Zia turned in time to duck, the axe narrowly missing her head. Momiru leapt away again, a kick Zia threw missing by inches.
"Hold still!" She yelled.
Incubis stood his ground as Momiru approached. She smirked, her axe held at the ready in front of her. She suddenly darted forward, swinging her axe sideways to cleave him in half. Incubis leapt up, the axe going underneath him. Momiru was quick however, and she altered its course in mid swing, the axe again aiming to halve him.
He spun around and made a quick movement, bringing his hand in front him. The axe impacted with a dull metallic clang. Incubis was flung back, skidding on the ground. Momiru smirked. He was far too easy to kill. She had expected a better fight, and some blood spray…
Blood.
There was no blood.
She looked around at him. Incubis sat up and smirked at her. He held out his hand. In it was a small blade, only four inches long. At the end of the blade's hilt was a small hoop. In total it appeared to be seven inches long.
"My Kunai knife. One of many, many, many more." He said. He stood up and stuck the blade back into a holster at his hip. "Until it's gone, the holster is empty. Then it creates a new one. Infinite supply." He pulled it back out again. "Actually, I may need this."
Momiru gritted her teeth. This could be trouble.
Zia was mad. No, not mad. Furious.
Momiru had repeatedly appeared and attacked, only to leave before she could hit her. Zia had several cuts and bruises, all from Momiru's surprise attacks.
"This…is…getting…old…" She hissed.
Momiru rushed towards Zia, her axe already beginning to swing. Before she could swing fully though, Zia arm shot out, grabbing her neck.
"I'm done playing." Zia said. With a quick flick of her wrist, she broke Momiru's neck backwards.
Momiru's eyes were surprised. Only for a moment however, because she quickly exploded in a shower of water.
Zia looked at the ground with an expression of surprise. "What the….?"
Incubis was getting bored. Momiru had been a bit of a challenge earlier, but now that he knew her fighting style, she wasn't getting anywhere near him. Her attacks were becoming wild, and all she did was attack him head on.
"Come on, this can't be all." He sighed.
Momiru growled in response. She charged and swung, missing as he leaped up and landed on the outstretched axe.
"You know, this might work if you weren't so predictable." He taunted.
Momiru screamed in frustration and kicked at him, missing as he again leaped away. As he landed, he brought up the Kunai.
"Bored now."
As she turned to attack, he charged forward, stabbing her in the heart. She gasped in surprised. Incubis smirked. A clear liquid splashed from the wound, wet and cold…almost like…
"Water?" He asked in surprise. Momiru's body came apart and splashed down to the ground.
Zia stood staring at the ground for several minutes.
What is going on? She thought. She broke Momiru's neck…and Momiru became water?
Zia continued to think as a shadow approached from behind.
Zia felt the air to her right shift and ducked low, something swinging over her head. She jumped forward, twisting around in mid-air. She now faced the mists the thing had come from. "Who's there?" She asked.
"Heh heh…you foolish human girl."
Zia was slightly surprised to see Momiru emerge from the mist. But she was very surprised to see two more come and stand beside the first.
"What, you haven't figured it out? We are something special." The first to emerge said.
Zia grimaced. This wasn't what she expected. But she had figured out what it was.
"Yeah, you aren't Momiru. All you are is…"
"Clones." Incubis said.
Incubis looked around at the several clones of Momiru that surrounded him.
"So the original Momiru…"
"…made clones of herself. But these aren't just clones. They're…" Zia spoke.
"…ki clones." Incubis said. He looked again at the clones. He looked at the ground.
"So, are you ready to die?" One of them asked. Incubis just stood there. Then, he slowly raised his head. He smirked at the one that spoke. He pointed at here, and then turned his hand over. He gestured to them in a slow "Come hither" motion.
"Just…"
"…Bring it." Zia said. The clones charged, all of them raising their axes.
Author's Notes: Yay! I remembered to do the authors notes! Well, here we go…er…
Zia: Why don't you thank people for reading and reviewing?
Oh yeah! Good idea!
Dragonheart: Wow. My first review on fanfiction.net ever and it's this. THANK YOU! This really helped me go ahead quickly. I was pretty concerned the fic wouldn't be liked. I guess maybe I'm wrong. The description thing was cool I guess. I try.
Ash the Wanderer: Yes. Listen to the man! He knows what he is talking about. Just don't get him unhappy with you. His dragons are hungry. *Hears roaring behind him.* Er…I gotta go!
Risen-Corruption: Aka Zia. Yes, I will be continuing the fic for awhile. And yes, you will be cool…sometimes.
Super Hurricane: Er…what's a chronoshifter? Sorry, that's not the secret. Thanks for the help though!
JustRere: Thanks. This would be the next chapter. And in a few weeks, there will be another!
Which is why I needed to make sure and have Author's Notes! I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow…which would be the fourth. Of July. I don't have anyway to get on a computer or internet, all five of you guys will have to wait for it. But don't worry! I'll be brainstorming a lot. Also seeing neat landscapes! And bears!
Zia: NOOOOOOOO! *Latches onto his leg.*
Ack! Don't worry Z-chan. It only two weeks! Same to you Mia. Only two. It'll fly by and I'll be back before you miss me!
Zia: But we already miss you!
Oh…that's unfortunate. *reaches down and pats her head.* There, there little fox.
Zia: *Jumps up, angry.* SIT!
AH! *Sploot* XD
Zia: *Looks at the unconscious form of Incubis. Grins evilly and picks him up. She starts running off with him.* Mwa ha ha ha! Now you'll never escape! He would like everyone to please review! Until the next chapter…
Buh bye!
