Author's Note: Why are you people still talking about Rayen? He's gone.
History. Remember, the Red-Eye Spirit moved on to Nieva. Which means that
the Dragon knows Rayen's not coming back. Period.
OK, the next couple chapters are the much-requested character development. The only reason I waited until now is because they now have several days to wait until the portal fully opens, releasing whatever the hell is on the other side. Therefore, they have a chance to reflect on their past while they sit around the Divine Tree waiting. There will be a little segment on four characters: Shade, Oraeus, Dawn, and Kyra. K? Good.
Losing my originality? Oh, I don't think you'll have to worry about that. This will get VERY original pretty soon...
Chapter 44
Shade sat with his back against the massive trunk of the Divine Tree, his swords and Dragoon Spirit at the ready, although the portal was still very small, and it had been less than an hour since its opening. Rayen was gone now, but the Dark Dragoon could not stop thinking about the boy and how much the Red-Eye reminded Shade of himself, many years ago. Shade knew what it was like to be caught in a vacuum. However, when forced into a situation against his will, the Fire Dragon Knight had handled himself much better than Shade had.
In an ultimate twist of irony, Rayen had been punished for his success rather than rewarded. Rayen did not give in to the forces seeking to overwhelm him. Shade had, and he had paid the price. He had walked the dark paths of Endiness a great deal before he had been tortured and turned into the abomination he now was. But unlike Rayen, he had accepted his fate, and in doing so, failed. He had failed his family, his home, but more importantly, Shade had failed himself by consenting to walk the underbellies of Endiness rather than challenge the forces that had hurled him there, as Rayen had. Looking back on his deeds of the past, Shade supposed he deserved his twisted, accursed inhuman form...
***********************************************************************
Shade sat in the bar silently. To a casual onlooker, he would have looked like any man of twenty-six, but they knew who he was. By reputation, at least. The group sat down in the seats around Shade. He did not look up, and made no notice that he had even seen them, but they seemed to be expecting that as well.
The largest of them, who stood well over six feet tall, spoke first. "This is the guy they were talking about? He's just a kid!"
Shade said nothing. Being called a kid did not bother him, despite his true age. They could call him whatever they wanted; it made no difference to him. He waited until they decided to outline whatever they wanted. But the giant did not appear to be finished.
"Why even bother? He's an upstart, he probably can't fight worth..."
He was dead before he finished the sentence, his throat slit by Shade's longer blade. The others gaped at him, amazed by the speed of the strike.
Finally, one of the men gathered enough courage to speak. "You killed Joe..."
Shade responded in a cold, sharp tone. "I do not work for fools. The world has no place for idiots. They waste oxygen."
"You bastard! Get him!"
In a few moments, four more lie dead at his feet. The only other people in the bar were unconscious, and the bartender appeared used to this sort of thing. In fact, he started to drag the bodies away and clean up the bloodstains on the floor. Shade wiped the blood from his swords, then returned them to their sheaths before walking out of the bar. In his arrogance, he failed to notice that one body was not accounted for.
The sixth man stood outside, at a payphone. "You're right. He's good, very good. He's exactly what you're looking for. He killed all the others without breaking a sweat."
He listened intently to the instructions buzzing through the receiver, and then spoke again. "All right, but I better be getting good money out of this. This man is dangerous."
He hung up the phone and smiled mirthlessly. "The world has no place for idiots, huh? Well, when they're done with you, the world won't have a place for you either."
A few hours later, Shade had fallen unconscious. How they had done it, Shade still didn't know. He suspected his drink had been drugged, but he didn't know for certain. All he knew is that he had awoken in that hellish lab, that squat building of horrors. They had tortured him there for months, twisting and maiming him without mercy. Shade didn't know why he had expected mercy; he had never given any of his own. Nevertheless, he hated these people, despised them with every bone in his body that they hadn't already broken.
He had awoken one morning, chained to the wall, as always. How long it had been, he couldn't remember. He had lost track of the days by then. He went into a coughing fit, hacking up bodily fluids. The door opened, and a scientist in a contamination suit walked in. Shade sneered in contempt. The weakling was afraid he was contagious.
The man's voice became a monotone as it passed through the suit's voice filter. "Well, Project Shade, we have a special experiment for today."
Shade could not find sufficient words to express his hatred, so he settled for spitting at the man's face. The scientist merely wiped the glob of phlegm from his visor, and delivered a vicious kick to Shade's abdomen. Shade snarled like a beast, but relaxed in the chains, subdued.
"I think it will be in your best interest to cooperate. If this experiment succeeds, we will grant you your freedom."
Shade tensed up immediately. Never once had they mentioned releasing him, except in malicious jeering. The man held out a black stone, regarding it warily, as if fearing it would suddenly explode. Shade gazed at it with suppressed interest, but said nothing. This man was not in charge; Shade did not consider him important enough to be worth speaking to. Besides, he wasn't even sure if his vocal chords still worked.
The buzzing monotone became angry. "What are you waiting for? Touch it!"
Shade reached out to it, at it did explode, but into deep purple light. The man turned at shouted excitedly to the people watching from behind the glass observation window. Shade suddenly felt a surge of power, and with a primal roar; he burst forth from his manacles. The next moment was a blur, but his vision cleared, at the man in the yellow suit lay dead at his feet. He reached down and picked up the stone, and it burst into light once more. Black lightning crackled around his body, and he felt a rush of ecstasy.
The transformation ceased, and Shade examined himself. Somehow, the scientists had managed to find a Dragoon Spirit, and it had reacted to him. He looked towards the observation window, and sneered as he saw the onlookers gazing in horror. He picked up his weapons, and in another flash of purple light, they were transformed as well. He burst through the reinforced glass pane as if it were balsa wood and the onlookers were destroyed in a flash of black magic.
Shade went on a rampage throughout the lab, destroying all the scientists and freeing their victims. He killed all the monsters that attempted to attack him. He did not consider the ones that shrunk away cowardly; he viewed them as intelligent. They recognized his mastery and did not seek to challenge it. Eventually, his armor faded, but not before he had completely laid waste to the building and everything in it. He finally got a chance to examine himself in a mirror that had survived his fury, and he grimaced in disgust at his twisted visage. Tearing black strips from his clothes, he wrapped them around his nose and mouth, hiding them from view. He pulled up his hood and examined himself again. His eyes were the only visible part of his body. Good, that would do.
As he left the building, he heard a pair of voices. Turning the corner, he whipped his blades at their throats. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
One of the two boys spoke. "I was about to ask you the same question."
************************************************************************
The vision faded from Shade's mind, and he audibly sighed. How much becoming a Dragoon had changed him! The quest had taught him a great deal, and even if it were to end now, and take his own life with it, he would never forget the way Rayen and the others had opened his eyes. They were his friends, the only ones he ever truly had since a childhood that seemed so far away now. They had taught him that the world was not such a bleak and hopeless place as he had once believed. If his death were to come soon, Shade wondered if Rayen was waiting for him at the gate of the void.
Author's Note: Whee, that last paragraph was surprisingly nice, especially for Shade. That was a lot longer than I had expected it to be, I thought I was going to do a chapter for two characters, but Shade's was long enough to get its own! I don't know how long the others will be yet, though. OK, there's your character development, so review!
OK, the next couple chapters are the much-requested character development. The only reason I waited until now is because they now have several days to wait until the portal fully opens, releasing whatever the hell is on the other side. Therefore, they have a chance to reflect on their past while they sit around the Divine Tree waiting. There will be a little segment on four characters: Shade, Oraeus, Dawn, and Kyra. K? Good.
Losing my originality? Oh, I don't think you'll have to worry about that. This will get VERY original pretty soon...
Chapter 44
Shade sat with his back against the massive trunk of the Divine Tree, his swords and Dragoon Spirit at the ready, although the portal was still very small, and it had been less than an hour since its opening. Rayen was gone now, but the Dark Dragoon could not stop thinking about the boy and how much the Red-Eye reminded Shade of himself, many years ago. Shade knew what it was like to be caught in a vacuum. However, when forced into a situation against his will, the Fire Dragon Knight had handled himself much better than Shade had.
In an ultimate twist of irony, Rayen had been punished for his success rather than rewarded. Rayen did not give in to the forces seeking to overwhelm him. Shade had, and he had paid the price. He had walked the dark paths of Endiness a great deal before he had been tortured and turned into the abomination he now was. But unlike Rayen, he had accepted his fate, and in doing so, failed. He had failed his family, his home, but more importantly, Shade had failed himself by consenting to walk the underbellies of Endiness rather than challenge the forces that had hurled him there, as Rayen had. Looking back on his deeds of the past, Shade supposed he deserved his twisted, accursed inhuman form...
***********************************************************************
Shade sat in the bar silently. To a casual onlooker, he would have looked like any man of twenty-six, but they knew who he was. By reputation, at least. The group sat down in the seats around Shade. He did not look up, and made no notice that he had even seen them, but they seemed to be expecting that as well.
The largest of them, who stood well over six feet tall, spoke first. "This is the guy they were talking about? He's just a kid!"
Shade said nothing. Being called a kid did not bother him, despite his true age. They could call him whatever they wanted; it made no difference to him. He waited until they decided to outline whatever they wanted. But the giant did not appear to be finished.
"Why even bother? He's an upstart, he probably can't fight worth..."
He was dead before he finished the sentence, his throat slit by Shade's longer blade. The others gaped at him, amazed by the speed of the strike.
Finally, one of the men gathered enough courage to speak. "You killed Joe..."
Shade responded in a cold, sharp tone. "I do not work for fools. The world has no place for idiots. They waste oxygen."
"You bastard! Get him!"
In a few moments, four more lie dead at his feet. The only other people in the bar were unconscious, and the bartender appeared used to this sort of thing. In fact, he started to drag the bodies away and clean up the bloodstains on the floor. Shade wiped the blood from his swords, then returned them to their sheaths before walking out of the bar. In his arrogance, he failed to notice that one body was not accounted for.
The sixth man stood outside, at a payphone. "You're right. He's good, very good. He's exactly what you're looking for. He killed all the others without breaking a sweat."
He listened intently to the instructions buzzing through the receiver, and then spoke again. "All right, but I better be getting good money out of this. This man is dangerous."
He hung up the phone and smiled mirthlessly. "The world has no place for idiots, huh? Well, when they're done with you, the world won't have a place for you either."
A few hours later, Shade had fallen unconscious. How they had done it, Shade still didn't know. He suspected his drink had been drugged, but he didn't know for certain. All he knew is that he had awoken in that hellish lab, that squat building of horrors. They had tortured him there for months, twisting and maiming him without mercy. Shade didn't know why he had expected mercy; he had never given any of his own. Nevertheless, he hated these people, despised them with every bone in his body that they hadn't already broken.
He had awoken one morning, chained to the wall, as always. How long it had been, he couldn't remember. He had lost track of the days by then. He went into a coughing fit, hacking up bodily fluids. The door opened, and a scientist in a contamination suit walked in. Shade sneered in contempt. The weakling was afraid he was contagious.
The man's voice became a monotone as it passed through the suit's voice filter. "Well, Project Shade, we have a special experiment for today."
Shade could not find sufficient words to express his hatred, so he settled for spitting at the man's face. The scientist merely wiped the glob of phlegm from his visor, and delivered a vicious kick to Shade's abdomen. Shade snarled like a beast, but relaxed in the chains, subdued.
"I think it will be in your best interest to cooperate. If this experiment succeeds, we will grant you your freedom."
Shade tensed up immediately. Never once had they mentioned releasing him, except in malicious jeering. The man held out a black stone, regarding it warily, as if fearing it would suddenly explode. Shade gazed at it with suppressed interest, but said nothing. This man was not in charge; Shade did not consider him important enough to be worth speaking to. Besides, he wasn't even sure if his vocal chords still worked.
The buzzing monotone became angry. "What are you waiting for? Touch it!"
Shade reached out to it, at it did explode, but into deep purple light. The man turned at shouted excitedly to the people watching from behind the glass observation window. Shade suddenly felt a surge of power, and with a primal roar; he burst forth from his manacles. The next moment was a blur, but his vision cleared, at the man in the yellow suit lay dead at his feet. He reached down and picked up the stone, and it burst into light once more. Black lightning crackled around his body, and he felt a rush of ecstasy.
The transformation ceased, and Shade examined himself. Somehow, the scientists had managed to find a Dragoon Spirit, and it had reacted to him. He looked towards the observation window, and sneered as he saw the onlookers gazing in horror. He picked up his weapons, and in another flash of purple light, they were transformed as well. He burst through the reinforced glass pane as if it were balsa wood and the onlookers were destroyed in a flash of black magic.
Shade went on a rampage throughout the lab, destroying all the scientists and freeing their victims. He killed all the monsters that attempted to attack him. He did not consider the ones that shrunk away cowardly; he viewed them as intelligent. They recognized his mastery and did not seek to challenge it. Eventually, his armor faded, but not before he had completely laid waste to the building and everything in it. He finally got a chance to examine himself in a mirror that had survived his fury, and he grimaced in disgust at his twisted visage. Tearing black strips from his clothes, he wrapped them around his nose and mouth, hiding them from view. He pulled up his hood and examined himself again. His eyes were the only visible part of his body. Good, that would do.
As he left the building, he heard a pair of voices. Turning the corner, he whipped his blades at their throats. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
One of the two boys spoke. "I was about to ask you the same question."
************************************************************************
The vision faded from Shade's mind, and he audibly sighed. How much becoming a Dragoon had changed him! The quest had taught him a great deal, and even if it were to end now, and take his own life with it, he would never forget the way Rayen and the others had opened his eyes. They were his friends, the only ones he ever truly had since a childhood that seemed so far away now. They had taught him that the world was not such a bleak and hopeless place as he had once believed. If his death were to come soon, Shade wondered if Rayen was waiting for him at the gate of the void.
Author's Note: Whee, that last paragraph was surprisingly nice, especially for Shade. That was a lot longer than I had expected it to be, I thought I was going to do a chapter for two characters, but Shade's was long enough to get its own! I don't know how long the others will be yet, though. OK, there's your character development, so review!