Author's Note: Finally, I finished my third chapter! Sorry this one took so long, but I've been busy moving. It took awhile to get everything into our new house, since my parents didn't rent a Moving truck. Anyway, I've been working on this in my extra time at work and at home; mostly handwriting it, until we got our computer set up. Things are getting more interesting in this chapter. And there's an actual battle scene! *gasp* But just wait till you see what happens to my and my friend, Nikki's, character during this chapter. I'm not giving it away though! You just have to read and find out. ^_~
Disclaimer: For the third time, no, I don't own DBZ. *huffs* But I do own Pure, Korroc, and any other non-DBZ character, except for Vivian. She belongs to Nikki (aka Vivi, author of "In Scott's Protective Eyes").
"…talking…"
...thinking…
Alteration
Chapter Three
Stars and darkness loomed overhead, rough grounds and the occasional surface tides of water laid below. Each passed so swiftly, it could only be made out as a blur of motion. The two seemingly young travelers had been making good timing during their trip to the large islands of Japan. They could sense that dawn was nearing and the sun was waiting silently to be greeted back into the morning sky.
The only problem was, flight progress wasn't on Vivian's side at the time. Flying a quarter way across the world, which seemed like much more, was wearing down her energy. Normally, she'd use her fused scepters as a flying mechanism: sitting and relaxing, as they would travel. Her teacher had recently been enforcing her to use more of her inner ki to fly, rather than an object to transport her from one place to another. She was told that in battle it would be more to her advantage as well.
"Sensei? How much further is it?" Vivian called from behind.
"We should be there before the sun rises," Pure confirmed, and then glanced over her shoulder at her pupil. "You're not getting worn out already, are you?"
"Yeah right. I can take more than a little trip like this."
Pure raised a questioning brow at her student, sensing that her energy level was indeed lowering at a steady rate. She wondered how much longer Vivian would choose to push herself and if she'd bother to confess that she was tiring at all. It wouldn't surprise Pure in the least if her student continued to deny the weakening state she was actually in. Vivian's personality and attitude had become a second nature to her now. Her reactions to certain things were almost easily readable.
"Good. A couple hundred more miles and we should be there."
Vivian's shoulders sagged at the information. A couple hundred? I don't know how much more of this I can take, she whined to herself. Taking a breath, Vivian gathered more of her inner ki to keep up with her relentless instructor in the cool night sky. She watched her closely, hypnotized by the glow and essence of her mysterious aura, and was puzzled by what her true potential held.
As Pure returned her attention back to the eternity of darkness ahead of her, a sudden movement caught her eye. Narrowing her dragonesque pupils, she focused on the multiple shadows that were suddenly darting around her and her student. Looks like our plans are going to be delayed, Pure commented mentally. She halted abruptly in the air, hearing Vivian almost run into her.
"Whoa!" Vivian yelped, stopping herself before she slammed into her instructor. She regained her composure in the air and tried to see why Pure had stopped all of a sudden. "Hey, Pure, what's the deal? We're not going to make it there before sunrise if we—"
"Quiet," Pure interrupted, "We've got company."
Vivian blinked in bewilderment and glanced over her shoulder for any possible followers. Seeing nothing conspicuous, she turned back to her instructor; her attention was elsewhere. What's going on? She's not expecting me to sense anyone, is she? I can't sense people's life energy like she can. She never taught me how to yet. Pure should know... Her thoughts were unexpectedly cut short when her instructor spun around and sent an energy orb racing right by her head, missing her by millimeters. She widened her eyes in absolute shock: the side of her neck burning slightly from the rocketing orb. Shaking her head, she came back to her senses, and then was pushed forward as the orb had struck its intended target.
"What the hell are you trying to do?! Kill me?!" Vivian burst out as she looked up at her instructor. The explosion from the blast lit up her face; visibly showing the look of total alarm upon her features. "A little warning would be appreciated next time you try to do that!"
Pure lowered her extended arm and responded to her student's outburst with a cold stare. Her Elvin ears twitched slightly as she listened to the dozen other movements around them. The shockwave from her blast had settled quickly, causing her long hair to whip across her face, then rest back onto her shoulders.
"Demons," Pure spat, bile rising in her throat at the mere mention of the creatures. She glared over her pupil's shoulder to the blood red eyes of one of the demons. Then, all hell broke loose.
The dark shadows circled around the two young women and commenced diving at them from every direction. Their true features could not be distinguished; only the dozen or so menacing eyes could be seen through the dimly lit sky. Night clouds concealed more than half of the moon that hung above, making it harder to spot the creatures. Their main target had turned to the most vulnerable and unarmed woman: Vivian. Noticing that her eyesight wasn't as keen as her mistress', five of the demons raced straight toward her.
"Vivi! Five at twelve o'clock!" Pure warned, then spun around, round housing one of the demons that targeted herself. These damn creatures never learn. Reaching her right hand out beside her, she opened her palm, blue sparks dancing about her fingertips. The sparks then began to rotate hastily, taking on the form of a small rod. She gripped the rod firmly as the blue sparks solidified, raising it horizontally in front of her as it suddenly elongated into a six-foot staff, made purely out of diamond. The ancient designs that were carved along it glowed intensely, as did the transparent orb that was placed atop it.
Hearing her teacher call out, Vivian immediately moved aside just as the first wave of demons dove by. "Shit!" she cursed, then pulled out two scepters from under the top layer of her garments. "Just great! You guys picked the worst time to throw a surprise attack on me!" Vivian growled in annoyance, her eyes darting back and forth as she searched for the creatures. Perfect. How am I supposed to fight something I can't even see? This is crazy!
Another group of five demons took their turn diving down upon Pure, whose aura was now in sapphire flame. They spread their torn wings and soared over her head, aiming their claws at her eyes in hopes of blinding her. Aware that this woman was not to be taken lightly, they continued their assault of lunging at her from the treetops and murky clouds. What the creatures were met with was no less than a brutal counter attack; which had been a long-range blast of pure energy, eliminating three of the five demons to a pile of charred flesh.
Before the last two demons could regain their bearings in the air, the woman had already disappeared from sight. She quickly reappeared behind them, followed by a bright violet-blue net that had been cast out of her staff. Holding her free hand out, she smirked and balled it into a tight fist. The creatures only had enough time to screech in alarm as the net ensnared them like a bubble, and then constricted until it vanished, passing through them completely. Pure turned around and flew over to her struggling pupil as the last two demons she attacked fell in bloody portions onto the ground below.
Meanwhile, Vivian was striving to keep the creatures at bay. Her energy nearly spent, she swung her scepters wildly at the diving shadows, knocking one or two demons away for a moment. "Get the hell away from me, you maggots!" she snapped, batting another demon into the trees. She held her scepters over her head and conjured up one of her elemental skills. Pulling her scepters apart, she sent out a hastening mix of ice/water directly at the two demons that were racing toward her. "Get lost!"
Both creatures bellowed in protest as the wave of ice/water slammed into them, crystallizing and shattering them to pieces. The frozen remnants fell from the sky, followed by the four remaining demons that unexpectedly dove out of the clouds above. They soared downward, wings tucked back and claws outstretched, shrieking like mad. The leading demon held its jaw open as a dark ball of energy began to form in its mouth, then repetitively fired several of them down upon Vivian.
After she had cast her elemental attack, Vivian heard cries from above and looked up in time to see the leading creature spitting out several black orbs in her direction. She yelped in surprise, jumping aside as the first orb rushed past. Her eyes widened when she realized the orbs were homed in on her energy signal and the one that had raced by her quickly shot back. Not good. Taking a quick glance around, Vivian let herself lower close to the treetops as the multiple dark orbs followed close behind. Lifting one of her dormant scepters directly in the air, she channeled what was left of her energy into a thin beam that pierced the night sky, striking a few of the orbs and killing one of the last four demons. She watched as the final three creatures rapidly descended upon her, along with the handful of dark orbs that continued there tracking. Panting in exertion, Vivian held her two scepters level at her sides, getting into a defensive position. This is it…I'm spent. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea…
Her body finally gave out, causing her to lose flight, and plummet downward into the trees. She only had enough breath to scream when her eyes caught the sight of something worse than death below her: a creature that took on the form of a living nightmare. Rotting flesh and blackish-red blood enveloped its entire body. Its eyes flared crimson as she peered into their depths; ominous reptilian pupils narrowed as they gazed upon their falling prey, salivating jaws opened wide.
Vivian scrambled to grab onto passing tree branches or anything else she could possibly snag. Please, not like this. Don't let me die like this, she pleaded mentally. Before the horrid beast had a chance to devour the flailing woman, she was suddenly lifted back into the safety of the night sky. Her rescue was soon followed by a small shock of power that suddenly transferred into her body through her wrist from whoever was holding onto her, giving her enough energy to hover. Gasping for air, Vivian glanced over her shoulder to her savior: her teacher. She realized they had stopped just above the treetops, Pure now glaring downward where the being was and released Vivian from her grasp. Vivian began frantically searching the sky above for the hunting demons and homing orbs. When she spotted them closing in from behind, she started to cry out in warning to her instructor, but Pure was already a step ahead of her. She had placed her left foot back, along with her arm, which she held straight out behind her, aiming for the oncoming attackers. A blank expression masked her face as she opened her palm, releasing five blue ki orbs from the tips of her fingers and one intense white energy blast from the center of her hand. Vivian's jaw dropped as she observed three of the orbs engulf the remaining demons, vanquishing them into nothingness. The remaining pair of spheres had fused into the white blast, causing the end to explode outward, sending over a dozen beams of light through the night sky and obliterating the pursuing dark orbs.
Vivian snapped back to her senses when she remembered the creature that was still sitting below them. She gazed down through the trees and tapped on her instructor's shoulder as her face paled. "Sensei, it's moving…"
Pure turned her attention to the hovering beast below them. Her mouth curved into a vindictive sneer as she glowered down at the monster. "What business do you have here, filth?"
The beast made a short, deriding snarl at the woman, then finally spoke in an abnormal, unfathomable voice. "Same as always, my dear. You are well aware of this. I require your services."
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your invitation this time. I'm through with that profession."
"You really don't have any choice now, do you?" His tone lowered to a sinister growl. "It is something of which you can never escape. Not even in death."
Pure snorted and folded her arms beneath her robes. "Don't toy with me, Korroc. I'm in no mood for this. Now, I believe I've made myself clear when I said I was not interested in your offer. So could you leave us be?"
At this time, Vivian had already hovered back, putting as much space between herself and the beast as possible. She made sure that her instructor was in front of her, lest the beast suddenly turn its attention onto herself. The conversation they were inevitably having at the moment had been confusing her to no end. Her teacher undoubtedly knew the creature personally, but the biggest question was how. In Vivian's point of view, her teacher might as well been a prostitute who misguidedly took this monster as a customer of some sort. Oh my god, that's so disgusting! Pure would never do anything like that, especially with that…that thing! She couldn't possibly mean that kind of profession, it's just not like her. But then again, she never really talked about her past, her thoughts wandered. Well, I don't care how she knows him. I so don't want that monster hanging around here any longer.
"Why don't you slither back into whatever filthy hole you crawled out of, you repulsive creature!"
The discussion between Pure and the beast entitled Korroc came to an abrupt halt. Both turned their eyes onto the lavender-hair woman and had the look of astonishment upon their faces. They had forgotten that Vivian was there since the start of the conversation, until now. Her teacher stared at her for a moment until she broke out of her stunned state.
"Vivian, what are you doing? Are you out of your mind?!" Pure lectured in a low tone, attempting not to be heard by the creature.
Korroc's eyes narrowed at the outspoken woman, irritation clearly evident in his voice as he spoke. "I would have thought you would take in a less foolish student, my dear. Her insolence could get her killed." His reptilian eyes traveled back over to Pure. "More or less yourself."
Pure's head snapped forward, glaring intensely at the beast. She immediately took on a defensive position, her sapphire aura flaring wildly around her body. The grip on her mystic staff tightened as she balanced it beside her, free hand itching from the elemental fire that was sparking off her palm. "Are you challenging me, Korroc?!"
His tone altered to that of an eager maniac in front of an all-you-can-eat buffet as he grinned anxiously at the feisty woman. "Let's find out, shall we?" With that, Korroc lunged upward at the two women, dark fire igniting on his claws. As he expected, Pure had leapt out of his path, only to let him have full access to her greatest weakness: her companion. The sound of a terrified scream filled the night air, causing the monster's bloodthirsty cravings to heighten even more, his deathly gaze locked on his sworn enemy's comrade. I'll have her at my mercy yet! the beast declared in his mind.
Pure spun around in the air upon hearing the scream of her student. Her eyes grew wide in realization of what her dire mistake had caused her. "Korroc, no!" she cried out in despair, but her cries fell upon deaf ears. Without thinking, Pure vanished from the spot and reappeared in front of Vivian just before the demon reached her. She grimaced in pain as Korroc's lethal claws tore down her left shoulder as he struck, leaving behind scorching trails of black fire that tortured her flesh. Gods, that hurts…. Lifting her unharmed hand, she placed it against her wounded shoulder, her shirt all but torn in half. She struggled to keep a hold of her staff, which was slowly slipping from the weakened grasp of her left hand. Pure had been well aware of the fact that the beast would have undoubtedly killed Vivian, if not for her intervention. Both Korroc's intentions and motives made psychotic human killers seem like mere kittens. This was child's play.
The traumatizing scene before Vivian caused her mouth to open in silent scream. She saw a flow of thick, red blood trailing down her instructor's front side; which now had been pouring down into the forest below them. Oh no…Pure…. She tried to speak, to cry out to her instructor, but no sound came from her lips. Her body was frozen in suspended animation from the sight of so much blood and the demon that was hovering just a few feet in front of her.
"Foolish wench! Spare me your pitiful emotions, it makes you weak," Korroc sneered, revolted with the persistent woman. "Although, I could be generous enough to exchange her life for yours, seeing that you've done such a good job of taking your companion's fatal wound onto yourself. Such a pity. I had hoped your body would be fresh for the taking. It seems now I might have better use of your friend here. What use do I have of a battered-up carcass?"
A deep snarl escaped Pure's throat as she glowered up at the demon before her. The torn flesh and muscle where Korroc had struck her was already halfway mended, her healing abilities doing their laborious work. "Keep your filthy claws off her, Korroc. You won't get a second warning." Her breath came out in short rasps and she glanced over her shoulder at Vivian, then in one fluid motion she lifted her staff and slashed it vertically in the air to her left. An intense violet light tore through the sky, followed by a surge of lightning that cracked up and down the entrance of a portal. A shock of wind caused her hair to thrash across her face and Pure hovered a few feet back from the monster and clasped her free hand on Vivian's arm as she stopped next to her. "I'm the one you want, so leave her out of this," Pure demanded as she slowly guided her student near the portal, watching the fiend sharply.
"Pure…" Vivian suddenly whispered, her voice wavering. "…Do you know what you're doing? You've already been injured…." She gazed along her teacher's front left shoulder and saw the three deep slash marks embedded in her flesh. She could hear as well as smell the burning of raw tissue within each lesion. It made Vivian's skin crawl.
"My wounds will heal, so don't worry yourself, Vivian. Your safety is more important right now," Pure answered inaudibly, then paused momentarily, watching Korroc continue to stare them down. Her shoulder screamed as if it were on fire as she prolonged her therapeutic healing just a few minutes longer. "…Take the gateway."
"What?" Vivian looked at her teacher in bewilderment, and then she caught sight of the glowing portal beside them. "But I—"
"You try my patience, wench! If you are so hasty to take your friend's place, then do so now. I will not tolerate waiting for so long," Korroc snapped, cutting Vivian off.
Both of the women looked over to the impatient demon, then back at each other. Pure placed her staff against Vivian's back and quickly shoved her into the blinding portal before she had a chance to object. This is for your own safety, Vivian, she stated telepathically to her student before her mind and scent vanished from the world. I hope it lasts…
As Vivian disappeared from sight, the demon let out an earsplitting roar that shook the entire forest. Pure turned her eyes onto the furious beast with a face marked with seriousness. She held her injured arm up beside her, and placed her staff horizontal in order to close the portal if necessary. "Your fight is with me now, Korroc."
"I'm growing rather tired of your attitude, sorceress. Your constant disregard for me will not go without punishment," the demon growled.
"Why; is it a sin? How ironic can you get?" Pure spat.
"Silence! Perhaps you might learn to respect me once I've destroyed all that you hold dear to you; starting with your friend!" Korroc held his right claw at his side and gathered a dangerous amount of dark energy; condensing it ten fold to the size of a tennis ball. He let out another blood-curdling roar as he leapt toward the portal, intent on destroying it.
Pure placed herself between the demon and the portal, acknowledging the verity that her student would perish if it were destroyed. "Your efforts will be in vain, demon filth!" she yelled and let her arm fall to her side, causing the portal to shrink. Resorting to a defensive position, Pure quickly formed an emerald-lit energy shield in front of her to take in most of the impact of the demon's grotesque body. She felt her muscles ripple and her wound scream in agony, as Korroc slammed full-force into her shield, using his own to overpower her.
The unexpected happened next, catching Pure off guard as the demon had a sudden change in plan and drove the condensed dark energy through her barrier. He sent her flying backwards, slipping into the portal with her just before it sealed shut. They were met with a blinding white light that flashed over them, and then quickly vanished as the sun took its place. Pure felt herself fall a short distance, until her body finally collided into the rough ground, knocking the wind out of her as she landed on her chest and slid to a stop; dry dirt billowing up around her. Her senses were filled with the scent of foreign lands, and she heard the faint sounds of conversation nearby. Wherever they were, she knew they would be discovered. It would only be a matter of time.
The familiar words she spoke from earlier, only this time coming from an unfamiliar person, reached her keen Elvin ears like a far-off echo as she slipped in and out of consciousness. "…We've got company." Then, her vision slipped into darkness….