Chapter 25:: The Dralgoln
Karina crashed onto the ground, feeling her body bruise, her ribs crack. She moaned in pain, barely being able to open her eyes because of the hot, searing pain. "Bi..lly.." she managed to utter, tasting blood coming from her lips. She managed to sit up, screaming from the pain. She opened her eyes, seeing what it was that had caused the chaos.
In the lake was a gigantic, almost 100 ft. long serpent-like creature. It was almost 15 ft. wide. The creature had two fangs about as long as a human arm each, and millions of tiny rows of sharp, dagger-like teeth. It had three eyes, each blood red, with a glowing red pupil. It was a deep shade of green, with many tiny iridescent scales. It was facing her, saliva coming from its teeth and pooling on the dock, burning holes in the wood. It gave another scream-like hiss, its eyes aflame with rage.
Karina moved backward slowly, not able to move very much. She hissed in pain, grabbing her ribs as the serpent neared her again. The snake moved up out of the water, moving towards her rapidly. It lunged forward, grabbing her with the tip of its tail.
"What the hell is that?!" Bart screamed as the entire group stared at the large serpent that had emerged from the water.
"Son of a bitch!" Brad snapped. "That thing is enormous!"
"Billy and Karina are over there!!" Elly cried out, placing her hands on her mouth. "Oh my God!" She whispered.
"Come on, guys, hurry!!" Fei yelled, running past them as fast as he could. The rest of the group followed. In the trees above where they had been, Erich was sitting on one of the high branches.
"A baby Dralgoln, only half grown is their weapon? Heh. Pathetic." Erich whispered, pulling out a seven foot long black scythe. The blade was almost three feet long. He straightened, smiling darkly. "Time to greet our little lizard friend.." He whispered, jumping from the tree.
"Aghh.." Billy moaned, sitting up. He had not been thrown far, only a few feet. He had received the weak part of the blow. He stood up, his knees weak. There were bruises lining his body, but he still stood, despite the pain. He looked at the serpent, his heart turning to lead as he saw that it had Karina in its tail. And she was limp. "Oh God.." He whispered, wishing he had his guns with him. He tried to think quickly, think of something he could do.. But he could find nothing. He heard a yell from behind, and he turned quickly, seeing his father and his friend running towards him.
"Billy!! Catch!" Jessie yelled, throwing a pistol at Billy.
"Dad! What is this thing going to do to THAT thing?!" Billy snapped, gesturing at the serpent.
"Distract it from your girlfriend, boy." Jessie hissed, pulling a large rifle out of his trench coat.
"Right.." Billy whispered, aiming the pistol. He fired the pistol as Jessie fired the rifle, the two shots hitting the serpent dead on in its right eye. The serpent screamed shaking its head; it whipped its tail, throwing Karina into a tree trunk.
"Karina!!" Billy screamed, beginning to rush to her, but was cut off by the serpent rushing in front of the group. Karina was now out of view. It screamed in anger, swiveling its gaze at Jessie and Billy.
"Oh.." Billy began.
"Shit.." Jessie finished. Sierra looked at Billy, then at Sigurd, then at the serpent.
"I've got an idea!" Sierra yelled as the serpent began to advance on Billy and Jessie.
"What?" Kajumei asked, her eyes demanding.
"Part of its body is still in water.." Sierra began.
"And?!" Bart snapped.
"Do you know why they tell you not to use electrical appliances around water?!" Sierra yelled, running towards the water's edge.
"Sierra?!" Sigurd yelled. Sierra held her hand above her head, a small light forming at the tips of her fingers, she moved her hands down, the tips barely touching the water. The water darkened, and a few sparks of electricity flowed from Sierra's fingers and into the water.
"Juno's.. Lover!" She shouted, the electricity intensifying and spreading through the water. The electricity shocked the serpent, ribbons of energy surrounding it, causing it to shriek with fury once again.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Sigurd yelled, recoiling as the serpent recovered, barely fazed by the attack.
"Aw, that sucks! It could have at least acted hurt for awhile!" Sierra snapped.
"What are we gonna do?" Fei asked, stepping back as the serpent began to coil up, preparing to attack.
Karina groaned, writhing in pain from the second collision. Her sight was obscured, fuzzy and split. She believed she saw two people standing over her. One of them looked down, and his gaze chilled her to the bones. The cold, gray gaze of that person..
"..I-..it's you.." She whispered in pain as he smiled back.
"Hello, Little Angel. Having Fun?" He asked gently, looking up. "I am having fun watching your friends flounder.. Ohh, that must have hurt them quite a bit.." He said as the sound of the Dralgoln's scream filled the air.
Another young man stood next to him, but he resembled Fei. Karina groaned as he came closer, touching her face, then gripping her chin in his hand. "Did you enjoy playing with my Dralgoln? You know the name 'Dralgoln' means 'Demon of Lucifer' in your native tongue?"
"..Who.. a-are.." Karina whispered, her gaze shifting, another shock of pain filling her body.
"I am.." The young man began, smiling, "The clone of your dear little schizophrenic friend, Fei.." He said, tapping his head. "And I think tha-" He began, but was cut off by a roar of pain emitted from the Dralgoln. "What the hell?!" He snapped, standing up.
"He is here!" Another voice yelled, this one resembling Bart's voice.
"Shit.. Not again!" The Billy clone growled.
"..B..illy.." Karina whispered again before the world went dark again.
"Erich!" Fei cried out as Erich landed. The boy had shot a large ether lance into one of the serpent's eyes, blinding another one of its eyes.
"I saw that you all had gotten into more trouble.. Again." Erich hissed, twirling his scythe around and planting it on the ground.
"We have this under control, Erich.." Billy hissed, reloading the pistol.
"Yes, and that is why you are using that little pea shooter in hopes of hurting it." Erich smiled, gesturing at the pistol. "I always knew you were an idiot." He said, Billy glaring at him. Erich looked back up at the serpent, seeing it beginning to recover. Erich gritted his teeth, looking back at Citan. "This serpent must be attacked from behind. The way its eyes are placed allow it for full peripheral vision, but it is blind to anything behind it. I need you all to distract it."
"Great.." Fei began, stepping back at the serpent turned to face him. "So we're distractions now.."
"I'm the only one who knows where its weak spot is!" Erich yelled. "Trust me."
"Jessiah Black don't run away, kid." Jessie growled, placing a shot in the shotgun. "You go do your thing, but I'm not running away from an overgrown snake." He said, aiming the shotgun and firing a blast at the serpent.
Erich looked at Billy, then at Jessie. "You could learn from your father." Erich hissed, smirking at Billy, who growled.
"I'm sick of that kid.." Billy muttered. The serpent gave a roar, shaking its head in frustration, preparing to strike again. Sierra jumped back, pushing Sigurd out of the way.
"Get out of the way, Sigsipoo! You're too old to fight something like this!" Sierra snapped. Sigurd sighed, holding up his hand. A small flame kindled in his palm, and he ran past Sierra, throwing his hand up at the serpent. An orb of flame shot from his open hand, colliding with the serpent's face. It yowled in pain, recoiling. Pools of saliva poured down from its jaws, dropping to the ground and burning holes in the grass.
"Miss Sierra, I believe you are underestimating what tricks I still know from my days as an Element." Sigurd said softly, brushing his palm with his fingers. Sierra raised her eyebrows, smiling.
"I guess so, Sigurd." Sierra smiled slightly. Before she could turn back to the serpent, it charged at the two of them, moving with blinding speed. Sierra jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being clamped between its jaws, but not fast enough to avoid being scathed by the fangs. She felt the fangs slice across her arms and stomach, a burning pain filling her body. She landed rather ungracefully at the edge of the water, kneeling down and keeling over her knees.
"Sierra!!" Sigurd cried out, but she couldn't see exactly where he was. The poison from the serpent had already begun to take effect.
"Better sooner than later, Erich!" Bart yelled, turning to Erich. "Most of us don't have our weapons with us!"
"Your weapons would do nothing to that beast. Only perhaps Citan or Sierra's swords may cause some damage, and possibly one of Jessie's guns.." Erich hissed, lifting his scythe. "I need you all to keep it facing this way.. Don't let it rise up, no matter what." Erich snapped, and was gone.
"OK, no letting it get up high, guys!" Bart shouted. Elly and Emeralda ran up next to Fei, holding out their hands.
"Our ether and Jessie's shotgun are the only thing that's going to hold that thing back, Fei!" Elly said to him, Fei straightening.
"Elly?" Fei began.
"Fei, I need you guys to take care of Sierra, and try to find Karina! God only knows what the thing did to those two." Elly whispered, smiling. Fei nodded grabbing Bart's arm.
"Come on! We have to find Karina!" Fei said, turning toward where they had seen her last. "This way!" He said, and the two ran in the direction that they had last seen her. Billy watching them leave, and turned to Jessie.
"Come on, Dad!" Billy hissed, aiming the pistol.
Sierra winced, groaning from the numbing pain of the spreading poison. She felt someone kneeling next to her, and a soft voice whispering to her.
"Don't worry, Sierra, it will be all right.." The voice said as she began to lose consciousness.
"Hy..Hyuga?" She whispered, and collapsed into Citan's arms. Citan blinked, looking at Sigurd who had a rather jealous look in his eye.
"Um.. perhaps you should take this." Citan said, handing Sierra over to Sigurd. "I shall use my ether to keep the poison from taking full effect. I can only treat her when we return to the Yggdrasil where I'll have access to my medications.."
"Hurry, Hyuga.." Sigurd whispered, holding Sierra in his arms.
"Where is Erich?!" Elly yelled, her flow of ether energy beginning to ebb. She winced, the muscles in her arms tightening as the ether flow began to pulse again.
"He'll.. he'll be here.." Emeralda whispered.
"Brad!! What are we going to do?!" Kajumei cried out, her fists tightening. "I don't know any ether.."
"..I.. I don't know, Kaju.." Brad whispered.
"What if we fail, Brad?! That thing will kill us all!" Kajumei whispered, backing up. In all of the years that he had known Kajumei, Brad had never seen her backing away in fear from anything. He turned to face the serpent.
"That kid.. he is supposed to be able to kill it.." Brad hissed, tightening his fists and he hoped that Elly and Emeralda's powers could hope it back long enough for Erich to finish it off or for the group to come up with a more resourceful plan.
****
Meanwhile, Erich lingered on his perch momentarily, gazing at Elly and Emeralda's attacks on the monster. His grip on the scythe's handle tightened, and he gritted his teeth. "OK, then.." He hissed, pulling back and then springing off of the tree branch. He raised the scythe over his head, summoning his ether into the blade. "This is for you, hell scum!" He shouted, twisting and throwing the scythe in the direction of the back of the serpent's head. Before he could make sure his shot made its mark, he felt a wall of heat slam into him. Electricity surrounded his body, and he was flung back towards the trees, his scythe twirling past him and embedding into the trunk of one of the trees. He gained his balance and managed to land safely, hissing in frustration. "Another block, I see.. Damn.." He muttered. Just as he looked up at the serpent, a soft laugh filled the air. The snake stopped its attack, straightening as if it were in a trance.
Sigurd tensed, looking around. "..Erich couldn't finish it off.. and now it seems we have a new guest.."
"This seems to be a rather bad day for us, isn't it, old friend?" Citan whispered, frowning and searching for the source of the voice. As he said this, the voice spoke again.
"Having fun, mice?" It said, a small chuckle at the end of its statement. Fei and Bart returned from the woods, empty-handed.
"We can't find her! Whoever the hell that freaky-ass sounding person is must have her!" Bart shouted. The laugh began again, and the group continued to scan for the source. Billy growled, lifting the pistol his father had given him.
"Show yourself! If you have Karina, you'd better let her go!" Billy yelled, reaching and grabbing a few more bullets from Jessie's belt. He reloaded the pistol, and spun around the cylinder, pushing it back into the pistol.
The laugh quieted and there was a momentary pause before a different voice replied. "And what will you do, Black? Attempt to kill yourself like last time?" It added coldly. Billy's eyes widened, and the memory of the pain from the gunshot wound to his side returned momentarily.
"..You.." He whispered, lowering the pistol momentarily. Citan stood, stepping forward and placing his hand on his chin and his other arm under his elbow in his trademark way.
"Ah, so I assume that you are in control of this beast seeing as how it stopped its advance when you began your glory speech, young man?" Citan asked, raising one eyebrow. There was a rather long pause between his comment and the speaker's reply.
"..No.. he doesn't deal with animal taming.. the serpent is mine.. Doc.." The first voice said, spitting out the last word. Citan recoiled, his usually calm expression changing to that of confusion.
"..Doc?" Citan said softly, looking at Fei, then at Billy. He looked up at the trees, yelling, "So I assume the animal trainer isn't too afraid of showing himself to his audience seeing as how he seems to enjoy boasting about his pet so much." There was a shuffling of leaves, a brief flash of light, and then silence. Citan frowned as he looked at the new figure that was standing on one of the coils of the serpent, a hand placed on its scales.
"..Oh.. my.. God.." Fei said softly, feeling his knees weaken from surprise. The person who stood there was almost an identical twin to Fei, except his eyes were a cold black, his hair was the same shade as the eyes, and he wore a deep scarlet and black Chinese-style top, black armbands, and baggy black slacks and black shoes. He smiled coldly, giving a slight wave in Fei's direction.
"How are you, brother?" The clone whispered a chuckle in his voice. He turned to face Elly, nodding. "Hello, love." He added, Elly paling. Looking at each of the faces, the clone noted that each person looked to be dumbfounded by his arrival, aside from Citan and Billy, who he suspected must have had a hunch that it was him all along.
"Where is Karina?!" Billy shouted. The clone smirked, tilting his head.
"She's in good hands, Dear William." He whispered, running his hand along the scales of the serpent. Brad growled, stepping forward and pointing up at the clone.
"You'd better give her up, or else!" He shouted, tightening his hand into a fist as the clone giggled in response. "Dammit, I'll rip your lungs out if you laugh one more time, you prick!" The clone's eyes flashed, turning to face Brad.
"Headstrong oaf, you are." The clone hissed, squinting. "Do you wish for her to remain safe?" Brad clenched his teeth, growling between them.
"Don't you lay one damn finger on her, you damn fairy.." He seethed. Just as he said this, a third young man leapt up, carrying Karina in his arms. She was covered in scrapes and bruises, her hair was matted with blood, mud, thistles and leaves. Her skin was unusually pale, and she was not moving. Billy felt his heart turn to lead, his sweat turn cold as he saw this. Along with that, the young man carrying Karina, though a long cloak covered his body, and there was a hood up over his head, was undoubtedly another familiar face. Shocks of sunlight blonde hair protruded from beneath the hood and one shockingly blue eye shone with a sort of malicious mirth, the other one covered by a dark patch. Citan turned to face Bart, who was staring upward, his mouth agape.
"Place your weapons on the ground.." The new arrival hissed, clenching Karina. "Just make things simple for us.. and none of you will die today." As he said this, Billy winced, looking at Jessie. Jessie growled, lifting his rifle and aiming it at the arrival's head.
"I'm giving you to the count of three, kid.. and I'm only countin' odd numbers.." Jessie growled, twirling his rifle to load a new cartridge.
"..Threatening me..? Would you like the crown prince's head to be blown off? You did see what the mirror wave effect did to your son only a few months ago, did you not?" The man replied, grinning.
"Hell no, I don't give a damn. By all means, the whelp can die." Jessie shouted. Bart made a weak squeaking noise at this, and he stepped away from Jessie rather slowly. The Billy clone laughed at this, holding up his head.
"I pity you, William, for have to grow up with this uncultured ape." He said, smiling. Billy squinted, and elbowed Jessie. Afterwards, Billy slowly set his pistol on the ground, and looked up at his father, as if telling him to do the same. Jessie stared at Billy for a moment.
"Aw.. damn it!" Jessie snapped, throwing his rifle down to the ground. The rest of the group didn't have any weapons, aside from Emeralda, who couldn't really drop her own limbs to the ground. Billy straightened, lifting his hand and pointing at his clone.
"You lay one dirty finger on her, and I swear to God, I will.." Billy hissed.
"..Swearing to God, are we? There is no God, William.. there are those with power.. and those without.. Which side are you on?" The clone replied.
"Shut your trap, you bastard! Tell me now!! What do you want Karina for?!" Billy yelled, the rest taken aback by his use of more powerful words than his usually chose to use. The Fei clone's eyes flashed.
"..The grace of She shall allow us to complete the Divine, boy." The clone whispered, and then faced Brad. "The glory of He shall support the Pillar." And then he lowered his head, smiling. "The darkness of Three shall make way for the rise of Death."
"That's some glory speech you got there.. if you needed her in the first place, then why did you let her escape?" Brad snapped. "I thought your 'immense power' could control her and any other living thing, for that matter.."
The clone of Bart growled at this. "That was not a mistake made by any of us.. but only by two of the simpletons that worked for us.. You see.. They are mere humans.. selfishly desiring power and fame over all else.. And thus.. They could not see our dream.. so they wished to harness the girl's powers to use them as a weapon.. to take down the Aveh empire.. And any who stood in their way.. Mainly the well known.. –Contact-.." He paused, turning to Fei, who glared back at him. "..And thus.. They took her.. Manipulated her senses.. And sent her to your ship.. Where her conscious mind took over again.. And she was free from us.."
"..Just think, Black.. Her finding you was an accident.. just like your parents having you was an accident." The Billy clone said, smiling maniacally.
"Shut up!" Billy yelled, rolling to the ground, grabbing his pistol and shooting not at his clone, but at the left arm of Bart's clone. The bullet grazed his arm, and he winced, but to Billy's dismay, he did not drop Karina. Bart hissed in pain grabbing his arm.
"Thanks a lot, Billy!" Bart snapped, hitting Billy on the back of the head. The clone of Bart was looking down at the grazed wound, and then he looked back up.
"..Ouch." He said softly, smiling.
"..Son of a.." Billy began, growling in frustration. He tightened his sweaty palms around the handle of his gun, wincing. The clone of Fei growled, running his fingernails along the scales of the serpent.
"That was a dumb mistake, Black." He growled, tightening his hand into a fist. "I will see to it that not only your little tramp of a girlfriend gets what's coming to her, but that every one of your little orphans, and your mute little sister, gets every fingernail, every finger, every part of their bodies ripped apart slowly.. And I want you there.. I want to hear you scream so.. I want to make you beg me to kill you at the end."
"Shut up!!" Came from not Billy, but Brad. The clone turned to look at Brad, smiling.
"..Oo..Big brother starting to defend his brother-in-law.. how cute." Fei hissed, raising a hand at Brad.
"Hell no I'm not defending Billy! But you're pretty damn screwed in the head if you're talkin' about doin' sick stuff like that to poor little kids! Just shut your damn mouth, you bastard!" Brad yelled, clenching his fists.
"What are you going to do? Attack me? Hah.. I don't think you'd stand a chance.." He responded, placing a hand on his hips. Brad growled, his blood boiling at the sound of the three young men laughing coldly.
"Shut UP!!" Brad yelled, grabbing a fist sized rock. The stone began to glow with a midnight blue aura, and the center slowly grew lighter as his grip on it tightened. He threw the rock, it speeding at an unimaginable speed, a flash of light following its path. The clone of Fei held out his hand just in time, forming a barrier. The rock shattered, but several sharp chunks zoomed across the clone's face like razors. After a moment, the clone lifted his hand, running his fingers along one of the many bleeding scrapes. As he looked at the blood, he looked in amazement at Brad, then at Fei, who did not have a scratch on him.
"You.. bastard! How did you break the mirror effect?! It is.. invincible!!" He cried, his voice shrill with anger, his face livid. Brad, though shocked as he himself was, managed a cocky smile, as if he knew exactly what is was he had done. The clone snarled, ripping Karina away from the clone of Billy. Karina seemed to react to this, and gave a shrill cry of pain as the copy Fei grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. He smiled vindictively, running a callused finger along her face, picking up some of the blood from the open gash on her cheek.
"Stop it!" Elly cried out, covering her ears. "You're hurting her!!"
"..Like she isn't already.." Bart muttered through his teeth, sweat dripping down his furrowed brow. Billy cursed under his breath, but he made his point rather blunt as to what he was saying.
"Hmm.. so sad.." The clone of Fei giggled, his chuckles laced with insanity and malice. "Do you think she will die quietly.. or shrilly?" He said suddenly, jolting his hand up at her throat. He took a strong hold of her neck, his muscles obviously tensing as he clenched his hand. Karina gave a silent gasp, her eyes suddenly shooting open. Not only was the group shocked, the clone's allies seemed to not find this action to be wise. The Bart copy made a move to grab the Fei copy's arm, but he jolted away before he could. Brad's muscles tensed at the sight of his baby sister's torture, his teeth about to crack from the pressure of his gritting.
"I'm warning you.. one last time.." Brad hissed. "Let.. her.. go.." The Fei clone's eyes flashed wildly, and he smiled coldly, his eyes glistening like cold winter ice.
"..No." He said simply. He stepped back, his grip on Karina still firm. "We will be taking our leave now.." He remarked, hopping off of the serpent. The other two followed him, and as they did, he made a soft whistling sound.
"Don't you dare! Get back here!!" Brad yelled, kicking off from his perch and sprinting towards the three young men. He body seemed to glow with an eerie blue shade as his pace quickened.
"..Dralgoln.. Kill them." The Fei copy said simply, smiling one final time before he disappeared behind the suddenly striking form of the serpent demon. Just as the Dralgoln made a sweeping strike motion, Elly made a move to summon her ether abilities once again, but something stopped her. The air suddenly turned icy, and a deep fog settled over the lakefront. The air was laden with a perfume of winter, and the air felt heavy in the group's lungs. The snake roared in confusion, and the entire front became silent.
"..What.. the..?" Billy began, looking around, squinting in the dense fog. He felt a figure bump into him, and recognized the harsh leather and smell of gunpowder as his father. "..Dad.."
"What the hell is this creepy fog?" Jessie muttered. As he said this, an intensely bright light burst through the fog. "Whoa!" Jessie cried, throwing his arm up in front of his eyes to protect himself from the light. Suddenly the fog blew away, and the rest of the group was visible to them, as well as the bewildered, snarling face of the serpent. In front of the serpent, where Brad had been standing, was a glaring white-blue light, which seemed to be emitting the icy air.
"How is he.. err.. WHAT is he doing?!" Cried Bart as he held his hands up to shield his good eye. Fei stood beside him, a bewildered expression on his face, his left arm hung over his brow.
"I cannot see, young ones! However, whatever he is doing is having some sort of effect on the polarity and the ratio of positive charges to negative charges in the air!" Citan stated, gesturing at a small lightning crackle shooting over the water. Small sparks of diamond white lightning fizzled around the ground. "Generally one does not see lightning under the rapidly decreasing temperature conditions!"
"My sweat's freezin' as soon as it comes out, so I think we ALL know it's cold, Doc!" Bart shouted.
*
On the other end of the clearing, Erich perched lightly on a branch, his scythe dangling precariously from his nimble fingertips. "I do not believe it.." Erich whispered, his eyelids shutting halfway. "..It seems too early for this to happen.. but perhaps.." He trailed off, leaning back to observe further.
*
"Young ones.." Citan began, stepping back on his heels. "There is a drastic change in the atmospheric pressure, and I believe that it would be wise if we took cover as soon as possible!" He finished, grabbing Fei's wrist and pulling him back. The serpent gave a low growl as he gazed down at the brightening swirl of light below him.
"..What.. is going on..?" Fei whispered, his eyes fixed on the light. Citan sighed in frustration, yanking at Fei's arm.
"There is no time to wonder, but based on my guesses something very bad is about to happen.." Citan snapped, yanking harder at Fei's arm. As he said this, the glow faded, another wave of icy air blowing from the light. The glow slowly dissipated, and a large figure was left standing in a small rim of ice. The figure was nearly seven feet tall, much taller than Brad, with very pale skin, almost with a blue glow to it. His hair was wild, spiked, with deep blue shades at the roots, paling to almost white when it reached the tips. He was robed with deeply ornate gold bands around his arms, and elaborately decorated cloth pants. He wore no shoes, and no shirt, but he let off a very regal air. Expelling from his wide shoulder blades were two silvery, barely noticeable bird-like wings. Light feathers, colder than ice, surrounded him in a constantly rotating loop. His feet hovered nearly a meter from the ground. Hovering around his slender fingers were light, thin shards of diamond-like ice.
The figure motioned at the serpent, shutting his eyes as he did so. "Dralgoln ven Kascha.. Kuloxx.." He hissed in a voice that chilled the viewer's bones, and made their hair on the back of their necks stand straight up. The serpent screamed lividly, acidic saliva expelling from its jowls as it made one final lunge at the figure. There was an infinite hush, as time seemed to stop. The serpent seemed to be lunging almost in slow motion, as if some force were holding it back. The figure gave a high whistle, and all in a blinding second, the world seemed to explode in a cacophony of screams and ice.
Fei tackled Elly, trying to protect her from the chaos. He looked up to see if his comrades were safe, but clouds of billowing frost and ice shards were blocking his vision. He felt his face sting as small shards of razor sharp ice stormed past his face. He tried to breathe in, to call out for his friends, but could find no air to fill his lungs. He heard screams of pain, horrible twisted screams that sounded like men and women and children being brutally murdered. Then, as if some force blew it away with a mighty wind, the chaos was gone.
"..W..ha..?" Elly murmured from underneath Fei. Fei turned down to face Elly, his face still burning from the ice that had been bludgeoning his skin just milliseconds ago. He then turned his gaze upward toward the lakeside terrain.
"..Ah?" Fei breathed in shock, his eyes bulging. The lake had returned to its normal state, there was no ice, no snow, nothing to leave the slightest hint that a veritable blizzard had just ravaged the very ground he now knelt on. Where the serpent had been coiled, only a bloody rubble of yellow, red, and black fluids, scraps of scales, and shattered fangs and skeleton bits remained. A familiar stench, that of death, filled the air. Fei covered his mouth, trying to let as little of the sickening fumes into his lungs as he could.
"Fei!!" Came Bart's voice. Fei turned to look upward, seeing Bart hanging precariously from a tree branch nearly directly above his head. Bart stared down at him, his grip faltering momentarily. He gasped as he regained his grip on the branch.
"Bart? How did you get up in that tree?" Fei asked as Elly ran past him to search for the rest of the group. Bart smiled weakly, his skin pale, obviously from fright.
"What can I say? We Fatima's always find the best hiding places in case of emergency!" Bart chuckled, but he swayed a little too much, lost his grip, and plummeted from the tree branch and into a bur bush. Fei rolled his eyes, and turned away from the bush, where Bart was struggling to free himself from the leaves and masses of burs.
As Fei walked away from the pitiful sight that was Bart, Billy slowly approached him. Billy had clearly taken quite a beating from the ice storm, his face and arms were covered with varying sized scrapes not only from his fall after the serpent's initial attack, but from speeding ice crystals. Billy looked at him silently, running a hand through his matted platinum hair. Jessie could be heard in the distance helping Bart out of the bur bush, and by helping one means he was laughing and pointing.
"I am going to help Elly find the others." Fei whispered, touching Billy's shoulder and turning to run in the direction Elly had gone. Billy nodded, turning his gaze toward Sigurd, Citan, and Sierra, who was crumpled in Sigurd's arms.
"..Her poison is spreading quickly. We must get her back to the Yggdrasil where I can give her proper treatment." Citan whispered, adjusting his scraped glasses and squinting to see correctly through the damaged lenses.
"Right." Sigurd nodded, looking briefly at Billy. He grimaced, standing with Sierra in his arms. "..I.. am sorry, Billy.." At this, Billy looked down, clenching his fist. Sigurd continued, slowly, as if he were wary of Billy's reaction. "Karina is in their hands now.."
"..I know.." Billy whispered. He jolted forward as something flew up from behind and hit him in the back. It was a small rock. Billy turned swiftly to look for the source of the stone.
"Faithless, stupid Billy Lee Black.." Came Erich's soft, venomous voice. Erich appeared in the treetops, and jumped down silently. He straightened, tossing his platinum violet hair with his hand. He folded his slender arms, adjusting his cold gray gaze at Sigurd. "Look across the beach front, idiots.." He muttered, raising a pale hand to point past Billy and Sigurd, to the small beach outcropping across a small span of lake.
Billy squinted across the span, seeing a small bright light on the corner of the beach Erich was pointing towards. "Ah?.. What is that?" He asked softly. Erich moved silently to his side, tilting his head a little to the right.
"It is an angel of mercy.." Erich muttered almost silently, shuffling past Billy as he did. Billy looked at Sigurd for a moment, and then followed Erich.
"What do you mean?" Billy asked, walking briskly to catch up to Erich's surprisingly quick pace. "..Angel of mercy?" As he said this, Erich made a disgusted noise in his throat to reply, ignoring Billy from that point. The two moved over a shallow bed of water, Erich hopping lightly onto the soft grass. The pale, icy figure stood on the blades of grass, and in his arms he held Karina, gazing down at her gently. He slowly looked upward, revealing blindingly bright silver eyes. He spoke in a soft, yet chilling tone, his numerous transparent wings folding around he and Karina.
"Ori felle ka reuin.. ori hel ou Lucifer shin tsa.. Terr kou tzen ta ure, naimeen ou Gaia." He murmured, reaching his arms outward to Erich. The young man stepped forward and took Karina into his arms, nodding at the new figure.
As he did this, a soft voice rang in the back of Billy's mind. It was hushed, childlike, and sent cold shivers through his nerves.
*The girl is safe.. the demon of Satan hath been slew.. My visit here is spent, children of Gaia..*
"..Ah..?" Billy blinked, looking around, as if he expected to see the source of the voice. All he could see was the calm lakefront, Erich and Karina, and the graceful, pale figure. "..I.." He began, but fell silent as the pale figure turned to face him.
Billy now realized that the tall figure was not simply a man, yet not a woman. 'It' held a rather masculine figure, yet had very feminine features in basic body movements, voice, and facial appearance. He felt his cheeks flush slightly at the sight, and averted his gaze downward so as to break the eye lock. He felt goose bumps raise on his skin, realizing that he was still being stared at.
"..Erich.. What has happened?" Billy asked slowly, clenching his sweaty palms and looking slowly at Erich, yet not raising his gaze toward the androgynous figure. Erich rolled his eyes, clutching Karina in his arms.
"He saved us from the Dralgoln.. and took back Karina from the clones." Erich said gently.
"..All in the span of a few seconds..?" Billy murmured, blinking. Erich shook his head.
"I will explain it all later.." He replied. Billy nodded in agreement, looking hesitantly upward at 'it'. The creature smiled slightly before his figure began to fade, and just a quickly as he had arrived, he was gone, leaving only a few swirling feathers. After a moment, another figure emerged from the light mist of feathers, one more familiar to Billy. Brad reappeared, his clothes intact, looking just as he did when he disappeared. Billy gasped, falling forward to catch Brad as he fell to the ground.
"B-Brad?" Billy blinked, shaking him lightly, his arms aching under Brad's weight. At this, Citan approached, blinking behind his spectacles. He brought his hand to his chin, tapping his foot indecisively.
"..Mind boggling. Absolutely mind boggling." Citan said matter-of- factly. Billy nodded, looking from Citan to Erich. Citan sighed in frustration, reaching up to adjust the bridge of his glasses. "But.. Most importantly, those men did not take Karina, and everyone is safe. I think we are at an accord that the best thing to do would be to discuss this in more detail at the orphanage. I managed to make a poultice for Sierra's wound, and it should slow the poison, but we have no time to be standing here wondering." Citan mused. He faced Erich, raising an eyebrow. "I trust you will come and explain yourself, young one?" He murmured. Erich's dark eyes narrowed in disgust, but he turned away and made a sort of grunt that sounded like a 'yes'.
Fei approached, carrying Emeralda on his back. He blinked at Karina, then at Brad. "..This is.. Way too confusing." He muttered, rolling his eyes. Citan smiled, nodding.
"Agreed.. Fei, would you please tell Sigurd to take Sierra straight to the Yggdrasil, I will meet him there. Erich, you come with me to the Yggdrasil as well, Karina looks to need much medical assistance, and Billy, you need to wash up those scrapes. The rest of the group will return to the Orphanage and tend to the children." The older man stated, Billy and Fei nodding in response and heading the way they were instructed to head. Erich squinted at Citan, disliking the older man giving him orders, but rather than argue, he simply gave an annoyed grunt and made a gesture for Citan to go on ahead.
"Let us hurry.." Said Citan, stepping forward, down the path.
"But.. Doc, what WAS that thing? What just HAPPENED?" Fei whispered, jogging to catch up with the older doctor. Citan sighed, shaking his head is despair.
"I do not know.. However, now is not the time for questions. When everyone is safe and sound, then we can ask questions." Citan replied, looking at the rubble of tissue and blood as he said this. "Not now.." He said.
::Two hours later, at the Orphanage::
"..Sierra, are you comfortable?" Sigurd asked, resting Sierra on the couch. She brushed him off, shaking her hands as she did so.
"Lord, Sig, stop mothering me. I'm fine. Citan gave me a couple of antitoxin shots and bandaged up my leg and it's all good, so settle down." Sierra muttered, adjusting her leg on the cushion. "The worst part of it all was having to listen to him talk about his daughter's birth and not being able to escape the room."
Sigurd smiled, looking to the side. "Yes, that is a problem Citan has dealing with. He has a rather large mouth.. and assumes everyone wants to hear every little word he has to say." Sierra snorted at this, nodding.
"I hear ya." She replied as Jessie and Citan entered the room, Jessie carrying a bottle of beer. Sierra pursed her lips. "Oh, Jessie, you saint. You brought me some miracle potion!" She grinned, wiggling her fingers at the bottle of beer Jessie held in his hand.
"Psh, this ain't for monkeys, Monkey Woman." Jessie muttered, bringing the bottle to his lips and taking a large gulp of its contents. Sierra growled, folding her arms and resting back against the back of the couch. Sigurd smiled, taking a seat on the chair next to the couch.
"So what exactly was it that we saw today, Citan?" Sigurd asked, turning to the ex water element. Citan leaned forward on his knees, rubbings his temples with his fingers.
"It seemed to be a primitive dragon, almost.. before they developed forelimbs and wings. But that is just because of its startling resemblance in the facial structure.. However, aside from that, I do not know." Citan answered, his eyebrows knitting in confusion.
Jessie leaned back in the armchair he had seated himself in, placing one large booted foot on a footrest. "Made me think a lot of those basilisks they'd dig up and make us fight in BT back when we were at Jugend." He added, tilting his head back to take another gulp of beer.
"True.. that it did." Citan nodded in response, sighing. "I am afraid the answers lie within those replicas of the young ones that enjoy popping up at the least convenient times." He said.
"So how do you propose we get answers out of them? Hunt them down and strangle their scrawny necks until they talk?" Jessie blinked, reaching his arm up and clenching his fist. Citan shook his head, smiling.
"Perhaps we could just.. make sure that next time we confront them, we do not let them leave.." Citan replied. Sigurd nodded in agreement, turning to Sierra.
"Sierra.. you were hired by the men that wanted Karina. Does this mean that they were also connected to these clones?" Sigurd asked, curling his fingers around his arms, which he had folded in front of his chest.
"That's right." Sierra nodded, leaning her head back. "..that's right."
"Well? Did you ever hear anything about them?" Sigurd said gently, touching her shin with the tips of his fingers. Sierra gently brushed his fingers away, shaking her head.
"No.. but.." Sierra began, looking down at her lap. A haunting voice rang in her head, waking distant memories from the back of her mind.
~..Back when we were the Elements, our DNA was taken as well. Why shouldn't our powers be used to help as well?..~
"But what?" Jessie asked as Sierra became silent for a moment.
"But.. I did see something the last time I was on the ship.. something I never wanted to see.. and I learned something.. I didn't want to know." Sierra replied, clenching her fists.
"Yeah, about that.. Hyuga, why didn't you ever shoot her for betraying us? You usually enjoy throwing the shooting threat around." Jessie asked, looking sideways at Citan, whose eyes widened. Citan smiled and gave a small cough.
"Well, you see.." Citan began in a light voice, before Sierra cut him off.
"..you don't understand, guys.." Sierra muttered, pulling her sweatshirt up over her mouth.
"Dead people?" Jessie asked, snorting.
"...Incidentally, yes. But that's not what I'm talking about.. I saw.. Sigurd.. they have clones of the ex-elements.. he told me so.. So basically.. they have everyone.. it's.. possible they might have more, too.." Sierra said. Jessie paled.
"Oh.. dear.. god.." Jessie said slowly.
"Afraid of your past, Jessiah?" Citan asked, smiling.
"I had a bad haircut then." Jessie said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"You have the same haircut as you did back then." Sigurd said softly from behind.
"And you know what else I just realized? If they can clone us and stuff.. then that means.." Jessie trailed off.
"What?" Citan asked.
"..They could be pumpin' out an entire army of Billies!! Do you know how horrible that would be?! They'd all be bitching at me at once about drinkin! One boy with female hormones is enough for me, thanks!" Jessie snapped.
"I am glad to see you are serious as ever about things, Jessiah." Sigurd muttered, his eye slitting into a squint.
"It is clear that we must investigate this further.. perhaps an infiltration of the Infinity- that is what it was called, am I right?- Should be on our list of things to do." Citan mused, rising to his feet.
"Good luck finding it." Sierra muttered. Sigurd smiled, shaking his head.
"All we have to do is request the documents of port stations to see where it stopped last for fueling.. They will gladly give them to Lord Bartholomew's ship.. That and we could provide substantial evidence by providing video recordings from the attack on Cimerion to make a case of the Infinity being involved in hostilities on the city." Sigurd nodded, smiling.
"Well, hot damn, what a plan.. Hey, that rhymed." Jessie grinned, taking another gulp of beer for a reward. As he did this, the door swung open and Ziggy entered the room.
"Yo, mons and babe!" Ziggy grinned, placing his hands on his hips and throwing his head back in laughter. He shut the door behind him as he cleared the doorway.
"Dude.. Ziggy when did you get here?" Sierra asked, sitting up. Ziggy shrugged.
"I haven't been seen for nearly a chapter, so we need to have me for some comical relief, mon!" Ziggy shouted, giving Sierra a thumbs up.
"I thought you were busy assaulting Rico." Sigurd asked gently. Ziggy paled and looked over his shoulder.
"You know, mon, I am beginning to think that Rico-mon doesn't like me much. He's always knockin' me out and stuff." Ziggy mused, placing a finger over his lips. "I just wanted to give the big green mon a buddy!"
After Ziggy's line, the door swung open unexpectedly, smacking Ziggy in the head and once again, knocking him out. He collapsed to the floor as Rico entered the room.
"There you are." Rico said gruffly, stepping on Ziggy as he entered the room. "Billy was fretting about looking for you. He wanted news on Karina's condition." He muttered, gesturing behind him, where the fret lines were wafting clearly from a figure behind him.
"Boy, I see your fret lines, get in here!" Jessie snapped as Billy squeezed past Rico and he rushed over to Citan.
"Citan! You were supposed to find me when you got back! Where is Karina? How is she doing? Is she—"Billy began, clenching his pale fingers together. Citan gave a small laugh, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Billy, to be honest, I did not think she would make it when we got to the Yggdrasil.. but as I was repairing her wounds, her vital signs punched back up. She is resting in the infirmary now, and it is just a thing of time. But from what I saw.. which was a little strange, in fact, I believe she should be alright, though I do not know if her wounds will impair her in any way. She had multiple wounds to her spinal column, and many of her ribs were bruised or cracked. Luckily she didn't sustain too many injuries to her head. To be honest, Billy, you were extraordinarily lucky to get out of it all with just a few scrapes and a wounded wrist." He said softly, tapping one of the many bandages that were on Billy's face. Billy winced, shutting one eye.
"I suppose.. but.. when can I see her, Citan?" He asked, looking out the window in the direction where the Yggdrasil was parked. Citan smiled in his usual carefree manner, placing his hands in his pockets.
"I think we should let her rest for now, but you could go visit her tomorrow, if you wish." Citan answered. Billy nodded in response, and paused for a moment.
"What about Brad?.. He woke up just a half an hour ago, and he doesn't remember anything that happened." Billy murmured, gesturing out the door, where Brad was sitting at the kitchen table, his head in his hands.
"..That I do not understand. Erich said he wanted to check up on a few things, and that he would be back within the night to explain everything, so we will most likely have a better understanding of it then." Citan answered.
"Do you think Erich will stay for a while longer this time?" Asked Maria, who was standing in the doorway. Citan and Billy turned to face her.
"I cannot say, Maria. That young man is very.. strange." Citan said gently. "He seems to go wherever the wind takes him. He is one of those people who would rather work alone than spend his time with a large group. You know, I knew someone like that back in Jugend.. He was the most stubborn lad you could ever meet, and.." He began.
"Everybody out before he bores us all to sleep!" Jessie cried, hopping up and exiting the room quickly. Citan frowned as the rest of the people in the room left after Jessie, until the only remaining people in room were he and Ziggy.
"Oh my." Citan sighed, shaking his head. "People these days have no respect for their elders.." He murmured.
****
"Brad.. please, you have to calm down and think this through.." Kajumei said gently, walking up to Brad, who was leaning against the kitchen door. He groaned, slamming his fist on the wooden frame.
"Kajumei, you don't get it! I'm awake one second, I'm trying to save my sister, and then the next, I'm in the Orphanage and everyone is giving me these looks like I'm a monster or something! I want to know what happened!.. They said that.. that I turned into something.. and totally decimated that thing.." Brad said in a low voice, gritting his teeth. Kajumei placed a hand on his shoulder.
"..Brad.." She whispered, bowing her head.
"..I know somethin's happening to me.. I..I've been having these nightmares.. they don't just come to me when I sleep anymore.. they happen all the time.. especially when I look at the people I love.." Brad whispered, turning his head to look at Kajumei. "..I have these dreams that.. everyone I love is.. being killed.. just.. slaughtered.. by some unseen force.. and I'm bound in some way and I can't help any of you.." He said, stretching out his fingers for a moment and then contracting them once again.
Kajumei pursed her lips, tapping his back gentle. She smiled comfortingly as she turned to leave the room, telling that Brad wanted to be alone at that moment. Before she exited, Brad, turned around, holding out his hand.
"..Kaju.." Brad whispered. She blinked, turning round to face him. "..I love you." He said gently, smiling. Kajumei smiled in return, nodding.
"..I love you too." She said gently. "And it'll be okay."
"..I wish I could be so sure. I mean.. when Billy was shot.. I was concerned, yes, but.. it didn't really affect me all that much.. but then.. my home was destroyed, and now my sister is critically wounded.." Brad said, his voice shaking. "..Sure she's caused a lot of problems for me.. what with the way she always was when she was in her early teens.. but she's still my baby sister.. and I'm afraid that now that her life is now looking upward.. she's gonna lose it.. and I'm afraid that you'll get hurt as well.."
Kajumei approached him once again, reaching up and placing a hand on his stubbled cheek. He turned his gaze up from the floor to look into her eyes. "..After everything Karina went through as a child.. after all the things we all went through.. we're not gonna go down so easily.." Kajumei said tenderly, smiling. Brad sighed and leaned forward, taking Kajumei into his arms tightly.
"..I just wish that little twerp knew how much I loved her.. and I wish I understood.. everything that was happening to me.." Brad hissed, burying his face in Kajumei's hair.
"She does, Brad.. and don't worry.. we'll figure this out." Kajumei said reassuringly, tapping his back in a rhythmical motion.
****
Maria sat on the couch in the living room, a book open in her lap. She leaned back, sighing as a small gust of wind came in through the window, blowing the curtains ever so gently. She looked upward out the window at the full moon. She gave a soft sigh, looking back down at her book.
There was another small puff of breeze, and suddenly a gentle fragrance filled the air. The scent of roses and ivy filled the air around Maria. She looked upward once again, nearly falling back in fright when she saw Erich perched on the windowsill. He was gazing down at her with his blank gray eyes, his light violet hair pressing against his slender pale face. She blushed slightly, placing her fingers on her cheeks. "Oh.. Erich, you startled me." She said gently.
Erich looked to the side. "I'm sorry.." He said quietly, jumping off on the windowsill and onto the floor. "What are you reading?" He asked softly. Maria paused, blinking.
"What?" She said gently.
"Your book. What are you reading?" He said again, pointing a pale finger at the book.
"Oh.. oh right." Maria said, smiling. "I am reading 'Seven Sins' (read footnote)." She said quietly.
"..I have never read that." Erich said softly. "Where is Citan?" He asked, folding his arms. As he said this, Citan entered the room, rubbing his scraped glasses on his loose shirt.
"My.. I have to repair these.. it is really impairing my vision.." He said quietly, placing them back on his nose. He smiled when he saw Erich, approaching him. "Good evening Erich. Did you finish your errands?" He asked, placing one hand on his waist.
"..Yes." Erich answered softly. He looked downward, running his fingers along the wooden side table. "Please.. bring everyone in so I may speak to them." He requested, swiping his finger along the rim of the lampshade.
Billy entered the room as he said this, getting one look at Erich and rushing over to him, grabbing him by the collar. "Erich! Where have you been?!" Billy snapped, shaking Erich slightly. Erich sighed, taking hold of Billy's hands and slowly pulling them off.
"Don't touch me, Billy." Erich growled. Billy pulled back, frowning.
"..Tell me everything you know about what happened today.. tell me what that.. THING was.." Billy said softly, bowing his head.
"Didn't you know?" Erich answered loftily, casting his eyes upward in annoyance. "It was a Dralgoln. Now if you'll sit down and shut up for five minutes, I'll explain everything when everyone gets in here.. I hate to repeat myself."
Billy frowned, but nodded in response, taking a seat on the couch to wait for the rest of the group. Bart entered the room, followed by Fei and Elly. Bart folded his arms, giving a look of mistrust to Erich before sitting down.
"I see you're here again.." Brad said gruffly, entering from the kitchen door. He pressed his arms to his chest as Kajumei followed him in, blinking at the sight of Erich. "So what do you want?" He asked. Erich bowed his head, his pale hair glinting in the light.
"..To bring some of your questions to light." Erich replied quietly. He turned to face the door Fei had entered through, waiting for any more arrivals. He turned his head slightly to the side, gesturing at Citan. "Is anyone else coming?" He asked as Jessie, Sigurd and Sierra came into the room. Sierra leaned against the wall, resting her weight on her good leg. Jessie sat on the couch next to Bart, and Sigurd stood near the door with his arms folded behind his back.
Emeralda scuttled in as well, gripping onto Fei's arm and peering at Erich curiously. A few moments later, Rico entered the room, dragging a half conscious Ziggy after him. He tossed Ziggy into a corner, and sat down on Ziggy's back before straightening and folding his arms in his usual manner.
Erich sighed in annoyance, raising a hand and placing it on his forehead. "Are we done now?" He asked in an irritated tone, opening one eye. Citan smiled pitifully, nodding. The young boy rested his hands on his hips, tilting his head slightly downward, but looking upward at the group. He scanned the room for a moment, before beginning in his quiet, venomous voice.
"The creature you all faced today was a Dralgoln, an ancient demon that had long been sealed away deep within the earth." Erich said, holding up one hand as he explained. "It managed to come loose and escape its prison because of the turbulence the Rise of Gaia has caused the world."
"You're saying.." Bart began, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees. "That the thing we saw managed to come here because of that old chick inside the earth?"
"..Not exactly caused by Gaia.. it was caused by Kuluxx. The Dralgoln is a demon of Kuluxx. Kuluxx is sealed within Gaia. With the Rise of Gaia, Kuluxx's powers are beginning to stir, and his demons are waking and coming to the surface." Erich replied, flipping his long bangs out of his sight with his fingers. Citan nodded silently, raising his curled fingers to cover his mouth in contemplation. Erich stared at Citan for a moment before continuing. "The clones managed to take control of the demon by capturing it when it was still very young. They manipulated it and forced it to follow their will, and tried to use it to kill the Anima chosen and take the girl."
"The Anima chosen.. you mean us?" Fei asked, blinking. Erich nodded his head, turning to face the window.
"But.. you see.. the Anima chosen cannot die.. not now.. Gaia knows this.. Gaia wakened one of her guardians prematurely to protect you all." Erich said, looking sideways at Brad, whose eyes widened.
"What?" Brad whispered.
Erich smiled, nodding. "The dream you had, Brad.. Last night, I believe?" He said, his eyes glimmering knowingly. "It was a message from Gaia.. warning you to accept who you were.. so you could save your friends.. and whether you knew it or not.. that message triggered the waking process of your true powers. You woke to protect both the Anima chosen and your subordinate.."
"My.. subordinate? Karina?" Brad asked lowering his eyes to the ground. "I don't understand."
Erich sighed, looking at the ceiling. "The answers are all written in the ancient texts of the Kiuma Brium."
"The Kiuma Brium?" Citan said quickly, almost as soon as Erich finished his sentence. Erich nodded quietly, squinting his eyes as if to ask 'why do you ask'. "..The language written on your gear's wings is from the Kiuma Brium, is it not?" Citan asked.
"..Yes, it is. I am surprised you are familiar with the language." Erich said softly.
"Doc's an overachiever." Fei noted, grinning at Citan.
"I took a course on Dead Languages at Jugend." Citan added, smiling. "There was a small unit on the cultures of ancient people in the northern hemisphere of the world, and the Kiuma Brium was mentioned. We studied the language, and if I recall it was a very complicated one that followed something of hieroglyphics, and that the language really had no root, there was one word for each thing."
Erich smiled slightly, bowing his head. "Yes, that is true."
"How exactly are the people of the Kiuma Brium connected to this?" Citan mused, tilting his head to the side.
"Well.. It was believed that the Kiuma Brium existed around the time of the Zeboim Era.. however.. that is not accurate. The translation of the records of the civilization were incorrectly deciphered.." Erich murmured, running his fingers along the windowpane. "So.. the students have been misguided as to when the civilization actually existed."
"So damn frickin what?" Brad snapped, pushing off of the wall. "What does messed up filing have to do with this? This shit means diddly to me!" He growled, approaching Erich. The young man recoiled, his dark eyes flashing.
"It.. Means that all information was incorrect. All research into the civilization was stopped early on, since most scientists believe that any part of the Kiuma Brium civilization was destroyed with the shifting of the earth as Zeboim sunk to the bottom of the sea.." Erich paused, looking up. "But they were incorrect. The Kiuma Brium in fact existed nearly 200 years before that of Zeboim.. and nearly halfway across the world, as well. The original translation, the incorrect one, states that Kiuma Brium was at the same time of Zeboim, and it was destroyed in the same cataclysm that ended Zeboim. In truth.. Kiuma Brium was destroyed by something entirely different." Erich turned and rested his palms on the window frame. "Before the Kiuma Brium, there were their ancestors, the Kyoukongeki-niir. They were said to be the first empire, as least in the records that were correctly translated, in existence. Their emperor was a man by the name of Karnish Bakru.. he was what modern people would call a madman. He would perform unnatural experiments on slaves, believing that he could speed up evolution.. that if he could fully evolve, he could replace God. He would perform dark sacrifices to the Demon Lord Miryuu, in exchange for this knowledge.. it is said that Miryuu granted him the power to become a God.. and sent forth a dark gift.. Immeasurable power.."
"So we're dealing with some old timer polytheistic SOB basically, right?" Bart muttered. Erich looked at him coldly, not bothering to stop.
"At first, his power was a Godsend. His abnormalities of the mind seemed to be cleansed. The people flourished, and evolved slowly into the Kiuma Brium. But as all good things, this one slowly began to warp itself into a catastrophe. His power began to grow out of control, and the darkness of the gift was finally revealed. Like Pandora's Box, he opened up the maximum extent of the power, and the punishment was grave not only to his people, but to the entire world. It took control of he and his people, and the Demon Lord Miryuu took over the body of the emperor, and the civilization, the people, the emperor, rotted to nothing, merging together into Miryuu to form the great demon.. Arelian Kuluxx. God saw that the demon was destroying his world, and sent three spirits to destroy Kuluxx.. They were the Seraphim, Oganimi , the Cherubim, Sensheyen, and the Throne, Megsuun. The spirits managed to weaken Kuluxx in a great battle, but they could not destroy him. As they fell, they used the last of their power to seal Kuluxx away in a great crystal known as the Divine Light, in the center of Gaia, the Mother Earth, where he would be sealed away forever."
"Then what's the problem? He's sealed away and he ain't coming back." Bart said, gesturing with his hands in the way of a prison. "Why is all this stuff happening if he's sealed away forever?"
"..Because.. in the Bible of Nisan, it is said that Gaia rises every 10,000 years, and since that time that Kuluxx was sealed away was the first recorded rise, it was nearly 10,000 years ago that it last happened. Gaia is going to rise again, and the divine light always shines to purify the earth.. When it shines, Kuluxx will be released. It was the only fault in the plan of God. To fix this, He made it so every 10,000 years; three will rise with power that like the power the three spirits had. He stores this power within three vessels. The Spirits and the Vessels must join to unlock the powers of the pillars to destroy Kuluxx once and for all. It is a year long process.. Translated by early archaeologists as 'The Year of Death'."
"..So..? Elaborate." Citan said quietly.
"..Karina.. and Brad.. are two of those spirits. These people who are trying to capture her want to use her powers to manipulate them to take control of Kuluxx, rather than destroy him. So it all boils down to the thing that manipulates nearly all men with the ability to do so.."
"World domination.. the sad end to far too many stories.." Citan whispered.
"Shit.." Brad muttered, saying nothing else. Billy looked up, breaking his long silence.
"..So what's going to happen to Karina?.." Billy asked softly, rubbing his bandaged arm.
"..She will be forced to face her fate, and follow her path. She must, or it will mean the destruction of the world. Everyone must face their responsibility sometimes.. and it is more cruel at times than it should be.. but that doesn't mean we can just avoid it." Citan said gently, looking down at Billy, who winced.
"Kari.." He murmured.
"..Some heavy stuff is going down, Fei.." Bart said quietly, placing his hands on his hips. Fei nodded, putting a hand on Elly's shoulder.
"I cannot and will not ask you all to help in this.. It would not be right.." Erich said softly, his face grave. There was a long pause here, and the sound of crickets chirping in the outdoors filled the air, the scent of the crackling fire permeating the senses.
"..I have to help." Billy whispered. "..I'm in too deep, guys.." He said as the group turned to face Billy. "These guys will come after us eventually, too.. so we might as well be on the good side, right? ..Plus.. I have my own reasons I have to help.." He added shyly, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. Elly smiled, nodding.
"I agree.. When I needed help.. when Fei needed help, as well.. we had all of you to help us.. and now it is my turn to help someone.. This is bigger than all of us.. But we can make a difference.."
"That's right!" Bart cried, grinning. He threw a fist up in the air.
"Hold on just a minute." Rico said, making Bart falter.
"Whaaaaaaaa~aat?" Bart whined.
"..Ah.. well, if you guys are in.. I guess I'm in too.. someone has to keep you all from walking into a pit or something." Rico muttered.
"Yeah!" Maria smiled. "I want in too!" She said, Chu Chu squeaking happily as she said this.
"If Fei's Kim and Elly need help, I'll be there! I have a lot of new friends to help now, too!" Emeralda said quietly, smiling.
"Agreed. Then it is settled. We will help you.. no matter what." Citan said, smiling. Erich blinked, and Brad grinned.
"..Very well, then." Erich said slowly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I will give you the details in the morning.. until the-" He began, but the door to the other room swung open, slamming against the wall. The group turned to see what had caused this, and each was taken aback by what they saw. Karina was standing in the doorway, her nightshirt wrinkled, her legs, arms and head still bandaged. Her eyes were filled with pain, but it was amazing in itself that she could even stand, let alone walk.
"K-Karina!" Billy cried, standing.
"..Cimerion! It's in danger!!" Karina cried out suddenly. "They're coming back!!..the clones.."
Footnote: 'Seven Sins', the book Maria was reading, is actually me and my sister's as of yet unposted Saint Seiya fanfic. Look for it and drop me a nice note if you want! ^___^
Karina crashed onto the ground, feeling her body bruise, her ribs crack. She moaned in pain, barely being able to open her eyes because of the hot, searing pain. "Bi..lly.." she managed to utter, tasting blood coming from her lips. She managed to sit up, screaming from the pain. She opened her eyes, seeing what it was that had caused the chaos.
In the lake was a gigantic, almost 100 ft. long serpent-like creature. It was almost 15 ft. wide. The creature had two fangs about as long as a human arm each, and millions of tiny rows of sharp, dagger-like teeth. It had three eyes, each blood red, with a glowing red pupil. It was a deep shade of green, with many tiny iridescent scales. It was facing her, saliva coming from its teeth and pooling on the dock, burning holes in the wood. It gave another scream-like hiss, its eyes aflame with rage.
Karina moved backward slowly, not able to move very much. She hissed in pain, grabbing her ribs as the serpent neared her again. The snake moved up out of the water, moving towards her rapidly. It lunged forward, grabbing her with the tip of its tail.
"What the hell is that?!" Bart screamed as the entire group stared at the large serpent that had emerged from the water.
"Son of a bitch!" Brad snapped. "That thing is enormous!"
"Billy and Karina are over there!!" Elly cried out, placing her hands on her mouth. "Oh my God!" She whispered.
"Come on, guys, hurry!!" Fei yelled, running past them as fast as he could. The rest of the group followed. In the trees above where they had been, Erich was sitting on one of the high branches.
"A baby Dralgoln, only half grown is their weapon? Heh. Pathetic." Erich whispered, pulling out a seven foot long black scythe. The blade was almost three feet long. He straightened, smiling darkly. "Time to greet our little lizard friend.." He whispered, jumping from the tree.
"Aghh.." Billy moaned, sitting up. He had not been thrown far, only a few feet. He had received the weak part of the blow. He stood up, his knees weak. There were bruises lining his body, but he still stood, despite the pain. He looked at the serpent, his heart turning to lead as he saw that it had Karina in its tail. And she was limp. "Oh God.." He whispered, wishing he had his guns with him. He tried to think quickly, think of something he could do.. But he could find nothing. He heard a yell from behind, and he turned quickly, seeing his father and his friend running towards him.
"Billy!! Catch!" Jessie yelled, throwing a pistol at Billy.
"Dad! What is this thing going to do to THAT thing?!" Billy snapped, gesturing at the serpent.
"Distract it from your girlfriend, boy." Jessie hissed, pulling a large rifle out of his trench coat.
"Right.." Billy whispered, aiming the pistol. He fired the pistol as Jessie fired the rifle, the two shots hitting the serpent dead on in its right eye. The serpent screamed shaking its head; it whipped its tail, throwing Karina into a tree trunk.
"Karina!!" Billy screamed, beginning to rush to her, but was cut off by the serpent rushing in front of the group. Karina was now out of view. It screamed in anger, swiveling its gaze at Jessie and Billy.
"Oh.." Billy began.
"Shit.." Jessie finished. Sierra looked at Billy, then at Sigurd, then at the serpent.
"I've got an idea!" Sierra yelled as the serpent began to advance on Billy and Jessie.
"What?" Kajumei asked, her eyes demanding.
"Part of its body is still in water.." Sierra began.
"And?!" Bart snapped.
"Do you know why they tell you not to use electrical appliances around water?!" Sierra yelled, running towards the water's edge.
"Sierra?!" Sigurd yelled. Sierra held her hand above her head, a small light forming at the tips of her fingers, she moved her hands down, the tips barely touching the water. The water darkened, and a few sparks of electricity flowed from Sierra's fingers and into the water.
"Juno's.. Lover!" She shouted, the electricity intensifying and spreading through the water. The electricity shocked the serpent, ribbons of energy surrounding it, causing it to shriek with fury once again.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Sigurd yelled, recoiling as the serpent recovered, barely fazed by the attack.
"Aw, that sucks! It could have at least acted hurt for awhile!" Sierra snapped.
"What are we gonna do?" Fei asked, stepping back as the serpent began to coil up, preparing to attack.
Karina groaned, writhing in pain from the second collision. Her sight was obscured, fuzzy and split. She believed she saw two people standing over her. One of them looked down, and his gaze chilled her to the bones. The cold, gray gaze of that person..
"..I-..it's you.." She whispered in pain as he smiled back.
"Hello, Little Angel. Having Fun?" He asked gently, looking up. "I am having fun watching your friends flounder.. Ohh, that must have hurt them quite a bit.." He said as the sound of the Dralgoln's scream filled the air.
Another young man stood next to him, but he resembled Fei. Karina groaned as he came closer, touching her face, then gripping her chin in his hand. "Did you enjoy playing with my Dralgoln? You know the name 'Dralgoln' means 'Demon of Lucifer' in your native tongue?"
"..Who.. a-are.." Karina whispered, her gaze shifting, another shock of pain filling her body.
"I am.." The young man began, smiling, "The clone of your dear little schizophrenic friend, Fei.." He said, tapping his head. "And I think tha-" He began, but was cut off by a roar of pain emitted from the Dralgoln. "What the hell?!" He snapped, standing up.
"He is here!" Another voice yelled, this one resembling Bart's voice.
"Shit.. Not again!" The Billy clone growled.
"..B..illy.." Karina whispered again before the world went dark again.
"Erich!" Fei cried out as Erich landed. The boy had shot a large ether lance into one of the serpent's eyes, blinding another one of its eyes.
"I saw that you all had gotten into more trouble.. Again." Erich hissed, twirling his scythe around and planting it on the ground.
"We have this under control, Erich.." Billy hissed, reloading the pistol.
"Yes, and that is why you are using that little pea shooter in hopes of hurting it." Erich smiled, gesturing at the pistol. "I always knew you were an idiot." He said, Billy glaring at him. Erich looked back up at the serpent, seeing it beginning to recover. Erich gritted his teeth, looking back at Citan. "This serpent must be attacked from behind. The way its eyes are placed allow it for full peripheral vision, but it is blind to anything behind it. I need you all to distract it."
"Great.." Fei began, stepping back at the serpent turned to face him. "So we're distractions now.."
"I'm the only one who knows where its weak spot is!" Erich yelled. "Trust me."
"Jessiah Black don't run away, kid." Jessie growled, placing a shot in the shotgun. "You go do your thing, but I'm not running away from an overgrown snake." He said, aiming the shotgun and firing a blast at the serpent.
Erich looked at Billy, then at Jessie. "You could learn from your father." Erich hissed, smirking at Billy, who growled.
"I'm sick of that kid.." Billy muttered. The serpent gave a roar, shaking its head in frustration, preparing to strike again. Sierra jumped back, pushing Sigurd out of the way.
"Get out of the way, Sigsipoo! You're too old to fight something like this!" Sierra snapped. Sigurd sighed, holding up his hand. A small flame kindled in his palm, and he ran past Sierra, throwing his hand up at the serpent. An orb of flame shot from his open hand, colliding with the serpent's face. It yowled in pain, recoiling. Pools of saliva poured down from its jaws, dropping to the ground and burning holes in the grass.
"Miss Sierra, I believe you are underestimating what tricks I still know from my days as an Element." Sigurd said softly, brushing his palm with his fingers. Sierra raised her eyebrows, smiling.
"I guess so, Sigurd." Sierra smiled slightly. Before she could turn back to the serpent, it charged at the two of them, moving with blinding speed. Sierra jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being clamped between its jaws, but not fast enough to avoid being scathed by the fangs. She felt the fangs slice across her arms and stomach, a burning pain filling her body. She landed rather ungracefully at the edge of the water, kneeling down and keeling over her knees.
"Sierra!!" Sigurd cried out, but she couldn't see exactly where he was. The poison from the serpent had already begun to take effect.
"Better sooner than later, Erich!" Bart yelled, turning to Erich. "Most of us don't have our weapons with us!"
"Your weapons would do nothing to that beast. Only perhaps Citan or Sierra's swords may cause some damage, and possibly one of Jessie's guns.." Erich hissed, lifting his scythe. "I need you all to keep it facing this way.. Don't let it rise up, no matter what." Erich snapped, and was gone.
"OK, no letting it get up high, guys!" Bart shouted. Elly and Emeralda ran up next to Fei, holding out their hands.
"Our ether and Jessie's shotgun are the only thing that's going to hold that thing back, Fei!" Elly said to him, Fei straightening.
"Elly?" Fei began.
"Fei, I need you guys to take care of Sierra, and try to find Karina! God only knows what the thing did to those two." Elly whispered, smiling. Fei nodded grabbing Bart's arm.
"Come on! We have to find Karina!" Fei said, turning toward where they had seen her last. "This way!" He said, and the two ran in the direction that they had last seen her. Billy watching them leave, and turned to Jessie.
"Come on, Dad!" Billy hissed, aiming the pistol.
Sierra winced, groaning from the numbing pain of the spreading poison. She felt someone kneeling next to her, and a soft voice whispering to her.
"Don't worry, Sierra, it will be all right.." The voice said as she began to lose consciousness.
"Hy..Hyuga?" She whispered, and collapsed into Citan's arms. Citan blinked, looking at Sigurd who had a rather jealous look in his eye.
"Um.. perhaps you should take this." Citan said, handing Sierra over to Sigurd. "I shall use my ether to keep the poison from taking full effect. I can only treat her when we return to the Yggdrasil where I'll have access to my medications.."
"Hurry, Hyuga.." Sigurd whispered, holding Sierra in his arms.
"Where is Erich?!" Elly yelled, her flow of ether energy beginning to ebb. She winced, the muscles in her arms tightening as the ether flow began to pulse again.
"He'll.. he'll be here.." Emeralda whispered.
"Brad!! What are we going to do?!" Kajumei cried out, her fists tightening. "I don't know any ether.."
"..I.. I don't know, Kaju.." Brad whispered.
"What if we fail, Brad?! That thing will kill us all!" Kajumei whispered, backing up. In all of the years that he had known Kajumei, Brad had never seen her backing away in fear from anything. He turned to face the serpent.
"That kid.. he is supposed to be able to kill it.." Brad hissed, tightening his fists and he hoped that Elly and Emeralda's powers could hope it back long enough for Erich to finish it off or for the group to come up with a more resourceful plan.
****
Meanwhile, Erich lingered on his perch momentarily, gazing at Elly and Emeralda's attacks on the monster. His grip on the scythe's handle tightened, and he gritted his teeth. "OK, then.." He hissed, pulling back and then springing off of the tree branch. He raised the scythe over his head, summoning his ether into the blade. "This is for you, hell scum!" He shouted, twisting and throwing the scythe in the direction of the back of the serpent's head. Before he could make sure his shot made its mark, he felt a wall of heat slam into him. Electricity surrounded his body, and he was flung back towards the trees, his scythe twirling past him and embedding into the trunk of one of the trees. He gained his balance and managed to land safely, hissing in frustration. "Another block, I see.. Damn.." He muttered. Just as he looked up at the serpent, a soft laugh filled the air. The snake stopped its attack, straightening as if it were in a trance.
Sigurd tensed, looking around. "..Erich couldn't finish it off.. and now it seems we have a new guest.."
"This seems to be a rather bad day for us, isn't it, old friend?" Citan whispered, frowning and searching for the source of the voice. As he said this, the voice spoke again.
"Having fun, mice?" It said, a small chuckle at the end of its statement. Fei and Bart returned from the woods, empty-handed.
"We can't find her! Whoever the hell that freaky-ass sounding person is must have her!" Bart shouted. The laugh began again, and the group continued to scan for the source. Billy growled, lifting the pistol his father had given him.
"Show yourself! If you have Karina, you'd better let her go!" Billy yelled, reaching and grabbing a few more bullets from Jessie's belt. He reloaded the pistol, and spun around the cylinder, pushing it back into the pistol.
The laugh quieted and there was a momentary pause before a different voice replied. "And what will you do, Black? Attempt to kill yourself like last time?" It added coldly. Billy's eyes widened, and the memory of the pain from the gunshot wound to his side returned momentarily.
"..You.." He whispered, lowering the pistol momentarily. Citan stood, stepping forward and placing his hand on his chin and his other arm under his elbow in his trademark way.
"Ah, so I assume that you are in control of this beast seeing as how it stopped its advance when you began your glory speech, young man?" Citan asked, raising one eyebrow. There was a rather long pause between his comment and the speaker's reply.
"..No.. he doesn't deal with animal taming.. the serpent is mine.. Doc.." The first voice said, spitting out the last word. Citan recoiled, his usually calm expression changing to that of confusion.
"..Doc?" Citan said softly, looking at Fei, then at Billy. He looked up at the trees, yelling, "So I assume the animal trainer isn't too afraid of showing himself to his audience seeing as how he seems to enjoy boasting about his pet so much." There was a shuffling of leaves, a brief flash of light, and then silence. Citan frowned as he looked at the new figure that was standing on one of the coils of the serpent, a hand placed on its scales.
"..Oh.. my.. God.." Fei said softly, feeling his knees weaken from surprise. The person who stood there was almost an identical twin to Fei, except his eyes were a cold black, his hair was the same shade as the eyes, and he wore a deep scarlet and black Chinese-style top, black armbands, and baggy black slacks and black shoes. He smiled coldly, giving a slight wave in Fei's direction.
"How are you, brother?" The clone whispered a chuckle in his voice. He turned to face Elly, nodding. "Hello, love." He added, Elly paling. Looking at each of the faces, the clone noted that each person looked to be dumbfounded by his arrival, aside from Citan and Billy, who he suspected must have had a hunch that it was him all along.
"Where is Karina?!" Billy shouted. The clone smirked, tilting his head.
"She's in good hands, Dear William." He whispered, running his hand along the scales of the serpent. Brad growled, stepping forward and pointing up at the clone.
"You'd better give her up, or else!" He shouted, tightening his hand into a fist as the clone giggled in response. "Dammit, I'll rip your lungs out if you laugh one more time, you prick!" The clone's eyes flashed, turning to face Brad.
"Headstrong oaf, you are." The clone hissed, squinting. "Do you wish for her to remain safe?" Brad clenched his teeth, growling between them.
"Don't you lay one damn finger on her, you damn fairy.." He seethed. Just as he said this, a third young man leapt up, carrying Karina in his arms. She was covered in scrapes and bruises, her hair was matted with blood, mud, thistles and leaves. Her skin was unusually pale, and she was not moving. Billy felt his heart turn to lead, his sweat turn cold as he saw this. Along with that, the young man carrying Karina, though a long cloak covered his body, and there was a hood up over his head, was undoubtedly another familiar face. Shocks of sunlight blonde hair protruded from beneath the hood and one shockingly blue eye shone with a sort of malicious mirth, the other one covered by a dark patch. Citan turned to face Bart, who was staring upward, his mouth agape.
"Place your weapons on the ground.." The new arrival hissed, clenching Karina. "Just make things simple for us.. and none of you will die today." As he said this, Billy winced, looking at Jessie. Jessie growled, lifting his rifle and aiming it at the arrival's head.
"I'm giving you to the count of three, kid.. and I'm only countin' odd numbers.." Jessie growled, twirling his rifle to load a new cartridge.
"..Threatening me..? Would you like the crown prince's head to be blown off? You did see what the mirror wave effect did to your son only a few months ago, did you not?" The man replied, grinning.
"Hell no, I don't give a damn. By all means, the whelp can die." Jessie shouted. Bart made a weak squeaking noise at this, and he stepped away from Jessie rather slowly. The Billy clone laughed at this, holding up his head.
"I pity you, William, for have to grow up with this uncultured ape." He said, smiling. Billy squinted, and elbowed Jessie. Afterwards, Billy slowly set his pistol on the ground, and looked up at his father, as if telling him to do the same. Jessie stared at Billy for a moment.
"Aw.. damn it!" Jessie snapped, throwing his rifle down to the ground. The rest of the group didn't have any weapons, aside from Emeralda, who couldn't really drop her own limbs to the ground. Billy straightened, lifting his hand and pointing at his clone.
"You lay one dirty finger on her, and I swear to God, I will.." Billy hissed.
"..Swearing to God, are we? There is no God, William.. there are those with power.. and those without.. Which side are you on?" The clone replied.
"Shut your trap, you bastard! Tell me now!! What do you want Karina for?!" Billy yelled, the rest taken aback by his use of more powerful words than his usually chose to use. The Fei clone's eyes flashed.
"..The grace of She shall allow us to complete the Divine, boy." The clone whispered, and then faced Brad. "The glory of He shall support the Pillar." And then he lowered his head, smiling. "The darkness of Three shall make way for the rise of Death."
"That's some glory speech you got there.. if you needed her in the first place, then why did you let her escape?" Brad snapped. "I thought your 'immense power' could control her and any other living thing, for that matter.."
The clone of Bart growled at this. "That was not a mistake made by any of us.. but only by two of the simpletons that worked for us.. You see.. They are mere humans.. selfishly desiring power and fame over all else.. And thus.. They could not see our dream.. so they wished to harness the girl's powers to use them as a weapon.. to take down the Aveh empire.. And any who stood in their way.. Mainly the well known.. –Contact-.." He paused, turning to Fei, who glared back at him. "..And thus.. They took her.. Manipulated her senses.. And sent her to your ship.. Where her conscious mind took over again.. And she was free from us.."
"..Just think, Black.. Her finding you was an accident.. just like your parents having you was an accident." The Billy clone said, smiling maniacally.
"Shut up!" Billy yelled, rolling to the ground, grabbing his pistol and shooting not at his clone, but at the left arm of Bart's clone. The bullet grazed his arm, and he winced, but to Billy's dismay, he did not drop Karina. Bart hissed in pain grabbing his arm.
"Thanks a lot, Billy!" Bart snapped, hitting Billy on the back of the head. The clone of Bart was looking down at the grazed wound, and then he looked back up.
"..Ouch." He said softly, smiling.
"..Son of a.." Billy began, growling in frustration. He tightened his sweaty palms around the handle of his gun, wincing. The clone of Fei growled, running his fingernails along the scales of the serpent.
"That was a dumb mistake, Black." He growled, tightening his hand into a fist. "I will see to it that not only your little tramp of a girlfriend gets what's coming to her, but that every one of your little orphans, and your mute little sister, gets every fingernail, every finger, every part of their bodies ripped apart slowly.. And I want you there.. I want to hear you scream so.. I want to make you beg me to kill you at the end."
"Shut up!!" Came from not Billy, but Brad. The clone turned to look at Brad, smiling.
"..Oo..Big brother starting to defend his brother-in-law.. how cute." Fei hissed, raising a hand at Brad.
"Hell no I'm not defending Billy! But you're pretty damn screwed in the head if you're talkin' about doin' sick stuff like that to poor little kids! Just shut your damn mouth, you bastard!" Brad yelled, clenching his fists.
"What are you going to do? Attack me? Hah.. I don't think you'd stand a chance.." He responded, placing a hand on his hips. Brad growled, his blood boiling at the sound of the three young men laughing coldly.
"Shut UP!!" Brad yelled, grabbing a fist sized rock. The stone began to glow with a midnight blue aura, and the center slowly grew lighter as his grip on it tightened. He threw the rock, it speeding at an unimaginable speed, a flash of light following its path. The clone of Fei held out his hand just in time, forming a barrier. The rock shattered, but several sharp chunks zoomed across the clone's face like razors. After a moment, the clone lifted his hand, running his fingers along one of the many bleeding scrapes. As he looked at the blood, he looked in amazement at Brad, then at Fei, who did not have a scratch on him.
"You.. bastard! How did you break the mirror effect?! It is.. invincible!!" He cried, his voice shrill with anger, his face livid. Brad, though shocked as he himself was, managed a cocky smile, as if he knew exactly what is was he had done. The clone snarled, ripping Karina away from the clone of Billy. Karina seemed to react to this, and gave a shrill cry of pain as the copy Fei grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. He smiled vindictively, running a callused finger along her face, picking up some of the blood from the open gash on her cheek.
"Stop it!" Elly cried out, covering her ears. "You're hurting her!!"
"..Like she isn't already.." Bart muttered through his teeth, sweat dripping down his furrowed brow. Billy cursed under his breath, but he made his point rather blunt as to what he was saying.
"Hmm.. so sad.." The clone of Fei giggled, his chuckles laced with insanity and malice. "Do you think she will die quietly.. or shrilly?" He said suddenly, jolting his hand up at her throat. He took a strong hold of her neck, his muscles obviously tensing as he clenched his hand. Karina gave a silent gasp, her eyes suddenly shooting open. Not only was the group shocked, the clone's allies seemed to not find this action to be wise. The Bart copy made a move to grab the Fei copy's arm, but he jolted away before he could. Brad's muscles tensed at the sight of his baby sister's torture, his teeth about to crack from the pressure of his gritting.
"I'm warning you.. one last time.." Brad hissed. "Let.. her.. go.." The Fei clone's eyes flashed wildly, and he smiled coldly, his eyes glistening like cold winter ice.
"..No." He said simply. He stepped back, his grip on Karina still firm. "We will be taking our leave now.." He remarked, hopping off of the serpent. The other two followed him, and as they did, he made a soft whistling sound.
"Don't you dare! Get back here!!" Brad yelled, kicking off from his perch and sprinting towards the three young men. He body seemed to glow with an eerie blue shade as his pace quickened.
"..Dralgoln.. Kill them." The Fei copy said simply, smiling one final time before he disappeared behind the suddenly striking form of the serpent demon. Just as the Dralgoln made a sweeping strike motion, Elly made a move to summon her ether abilities once again, but something stopped her. The air suddenly turned icy, and a deep fog settled over the lakefront. The air was laden with a perfume of winter, and the air felt heavy in the group's lungs. The snake roared in confusion, and the entire front became silent.
"..What.. the..?" Billy began, looking around, squinting in the dense fog. He felt a figure bump into him, and recognized the harsh leather and smell of gunpowder as his father. "..Dad.."
"What the hell is this creepy fog?" Jessie muttered. As he said this, an intensely bright light burst through the fog. "Whoa!" Jessie cried, throwing his arm up in front of his eyes to protect himself from the light. Suddenly the fog blew away, and the rest of the group was visible to them, as well as the bewildered, snarling face of the serpent. In front of the serpent, where Brad had been standing, was a glaring white-blue light, which seemed to be emitting the icy air.
"How is he.. err.. WHAT is he doing?!" Cried Bart as he held his hands up to shield his good eye. Fei stood beside him, a bewildered expression on his face, his left arm hung over his brow.
"I cannot see, young ones! However, whatever he is doing is having some sort of effect on the polarity and the ratio of positive charges to negative charges in the air!" Citan stated, gesturing at a small lightning crackle shooting over the water. Small sparks of diamond white lightning fizzled around the ground. "Generally one does not see lightning under the rapidly decreasing temperature conditions!"
"My sweat's freezin' as soon as it comes out, so I think we ALL know it's cold, Doc!" Bart shouted.
*
On the other end of the clearing, Erich perched lightly on a branch, his scythe dangling precariously from his nimble fingertips. "I do not believe it.." Erich whispered, his eyelids shutting halfway. "..It seems too early for this to happen.. but perhaps.." He trailed off, leaning back to observe further.
*
"Young ones.." Citan began, stepping back on his heels. "There is a drastic change in the atmospheric pressure, and I believe that it would be wise if we took cover as soon as possible!" He finished, grabbing Fei's wrist and pulling him back. The serpent gave a low growl as he gazed down at the brightening swirl of light below him.
"..What.. is going on..?" Fei whispered, his eyes fixed on the light. Citan sighed in frustration, yanking at Fei's arm.
"There is no time to wonder, but based on my guesses something very bad is about to happen.." Citan snapped, yanking harder at Fei's arm. As he said this, the glow faded, another wave of icy air blowing from the light. The glow slowly dissipated, and a large figure was left standing in a small rim of ice. The figure was nearly seven feet tall, much taller than Brad, with very pale skin, almost with a blue glow to it. His hair was wild, spiked, with deep blue shades at the roots, paling to almost white when it reached the tips. He was robed with deeply ornate gold bands around his arms, and elaborately decorated cloth pants. He wore no shoes, and no shirt, but he let off a very regal air. Expelling from his wide shoulder blades were two silvery, barely noticeable bird-like wings. Light feathers, colder than ice, surrounded him in a constantly rotating loop. His feet hovered nearly a meter from the ground. Hovering around his slender fingers were light, thin shards of diamond-like ice.
The figure motioned at the serpent, shutting his eyes as he did so. "Dralgoln ven Kascha.. Kuloxx.." He hissed in a voice that chilled the viewer's bones, and made their hair on the back of their necks stand straight up. The serpent screamed lividly, acidic saliva expelling from its jowls as it made one final lunge at the figure. There was an infinite hush, as time seemed to stop. The serpent seemed to be lunging almost in slow motion, as if some force were holding it back. The figure gave a high whistle, and all in a blinding second, the world seemed to explode in a cacophony of screams and ice.
Fei tackled Elly, trying to protect her from the chaos. He looked up to see if his comrades were safe, but clouds of billowing frost and ice shards were blocking his vision. He felt his face sting as small shards of razor sharp ice stormed past his face. He tried to breathe in, to call out for his friends, but could find no air to fill his lungs. He heard screams of pain, horrible twisted screams that sounded like men and women and children being brutally murdered. Then, as if some force blew it away with a mighty wind, the chaos was gone.
"..W..ha..?" Elly murmured from underneath Fei. Fei turned down to face Elly, his face still burning from the ice that had been bludgeoning his skin just milliseconds ago. He then turned his gaze upward toward the lakeside terrain.
"..Ah?" Fei breathed in shock, his eyes bulging. The lake had returned to its normal state, there was no ice, no snow, nothing to leave the slightest hint that a veritable blizzard had just ravaged the very ground he now knelt on. Where the serpent had been coiled, only a bloody rubble of yellow, red, and black fluids, scraps of scales, and shattered fangs and skeleton bits remained. A familiar stench, that of death, filled the air. Fei covered his mouth, trying to let as little of the sickening fumes into his lungs as he could.
"Fei!!" Came Bart's voice. Fei turned to look upward, seeing Bart hanging precariously from a tree branch nearly directly above his head. Bart stared down at him, his grip faltering momentarily. He gasped as he regained his grip on the branch.
"Bart? How did you get up in that tree?" Fei asked as Elly ran past him to search for the rest of the group. Bart smiled weakly, his skin pale, obviously from fright.
"What can I say? We Fatima's always find the best hiding places in case of emergency!" Bart chuckled, but he swayed a little too much, lost his grip, and plummeted from the tree branch and into a bur bush. Fei rolled his eyes, and turned away from the bush, where Bart was struggling to free himself from the leaves and masses of burs.
As Fei walked away from the pitiful sight that was Bart, Billy slowly approached him. Billy had clearly taken quite a beating from the ice storm, his face and arms were covered with varying sized scrapes not only from his fall after the serpent's initial attack, but from speeding ice crystals. Billy looked at him silently, running a hand through his matted platinum hair. Jessie could be heard in the distance helping Bart out of the bur bush, and by helping one means he was laughing and pointing.
"I am going to help Elly find the others." Fei whispered, touching Billy's shoulder and turning to run in the direction Elly had gone. Billy nodded, turning his gaze toward Sigurd, Citan, and Sierra, who was crumpled in Sigurd's arms.
"..Her poison is spreading quickly. We must get her back to the Yggdrasil where I can give her proper treatment." Citan whispered, adjusting his scraped glasses and squinting to see correctly through the damaged lenses.
"Right." Sigurd nodded, looking briefly at Billy. He grimaced, standing with Sierra in his arms. "..I.. am sorry, Billy.." At this, Billy looked down, clenching his fist. Sigurd continued, slowly, as if he were wary of Billy's reaction. "Karina is in their hands now.."
"..I know.." Billy whispered. He jolted forward as something flew up from behind and hit him in the back. It was a small rock. Billy turned swiftly to look for the source of the stone.
"Faithless, stupid Billy Lee Black.." Came Erich's soft, venomous voice. Erich appeared in the treetops, and jumped down silently. He straightened, tossing his platinum violet hair with his hand. He folded his slender arms, adjusting his cold gray gaze at Sigurd. "Look across the beach front, idiots.." He muttered, raising a pale hand to point past Billy and Sigurd, to the small beach outcropping across a small span of lake.
Billy squinted across the span, seeing a small bright light on the corner of the beach Erich was pointing towards. "Ah?.. What is that?" He asked softly. Erich moved silently to his side, tilting his head a little to the right.
"It is an angel of mercy.." Erich muttered almost silently, shuffling past Billy as he did. Billy looked at Sigurd for a moment, and then followed Erich.
"What do you mean?" Billy asked, walking briskly to catch up to Erich's surprisingly quick pace. "..Angel of mercy?" As he said this, Erich made a disgusted noise in his throat to reply, ignoring Billy from that point. The two moved over a shallow bed of water, Erich hopping lightly onto the soft grass. The pale, icy figure stood on the blades of grass, and in his arms he held Karina, gazing down at her gently. He slowly looked upward, revealing blindingly bright silver eyes. He spoke in a soft, yet chilling tone, his numerous transparent wings folding around he and Karina.
"Ori felle ka reuin.. ori hel ou Lucifer shin tsa.. Terr kou tzen ta ure, naimeen ou Gaia." He murmured, reaching his arms outward to Erich. The young man stepped forward and took Karina into his arms, nodding at the new figure.
As he did this, a soft voice rang in the back of Billy's mind. It was hushed, childlike, and sent cold shivers through his nerves.
*The girl is safe.. the demon of Satan hath been slew.. My visit here is spent, children of Gaia..*
"..Ah..?" Billy blinked, looking around, as if he expected to see the source of the voice. All he could see was the calm lakefront, Erich and Karina, and the graceful, pale figure. "..I.." He began, but fell silent as the pale figure turned to face him.
Billy now realized that the tall figure was not simply a man, yet not a woman. 'It' held a rather masculine figure, yet had very feminine features in basic body movements, voice, and facial appearance. He felt his cheeks flush slightly at the sight, and averted his gaze downward so as to break the eye lock. He felt goose bumps raise on his skin, realizing that he was still being stared at.
"..Erich.. What has happened?" Billy asked slowly, clenching his sweaty palms and looking slowly at Erich, yet not raising his gaze toward the androgynous figure. Erich rolled his eyes, clutching Karina in his arms.
"He saved us from the Dralgoln.. and took back Karina from the clones." Erich said gently.
"..All in the span of a few seconds..?" Billy murmured, blinking. Erich shook his head.
"I will explain it all later.." He replied. Billy nodded in agreement, looking hesitantly upward at 'it'. The creature smiled slightly before his figure began to fade, and just a quickly as he had arrived, he was gone, leaving only a few swirling feathers. After a moment, another figure emerged from the light mist of feathers, one more familiar to Billy. Brad reappeared, his clothes intact, looking just as he did when he disappeared. Billy gasped, falling forward to catch Brad as he fell to the ground.
"B-Brad?" Billy blinked, shaking him lightly, his arms aching under Brad's weight. At this, Citan approached, blinking behind his spectacles. He brought his hand to his chin, tapping his foot indecisively.
"..Mind boggling. Absolutely mind boggling." Citan said matter-of- factly. Billy nodded, looking from Citan to Erich. Citan sighed in frustration, reaching up to adjust the bridge of his glasses. "But.. Most importantly, those men did not take Karina, and everyone is safe. I think we are at an accord that the best thing to do would be to discuss this in more detail at the orphanage. I managed to make a poultice for Sierra's wound, and it should slow the poison, but we have no time to be standing here wondering." Citan mused. He faced Erich, raising an eyebrow. "I trust you will come and explain yourself, young one?" He murmured. Erich's dark eyes narrowed in disgust, but he turned away and made a sort of grunt that sounded like a 'yes'.
Fei approached, carrying Emeralda on his back. He blinked at Karina, then at Brad. "..This is.. Way too confusing." He muttered, rolling his eyes. Citan smiled, nodding.
"Agreed.. Fei, would you please tell Sigurd to take Sierra straight to the Yggdrasil, I will meet him there. Erich, you come with me to the Yggdrasil as well, Karina looks to need much medical assistance, and Billy, you need to wash up those scrapes. The rest of the group will return to the Orphanage and tend to the children." The older man stated, Billy and Fei nodding in response and heading the way they were instructed to head. Erich squinted at Citan, disliking the older man giving him orders, but rather than argue, he simply gave an annoyed grunt and made a gesture for Citan to go on ahead.
"Let us hurry.." Said Citan, stepping forward, down the path.
"But.. Doc, what WAS that thing? What just HAPPENED?" Fei whispered, jogging to catch up with the older doctor. Citan sighed, shaking his head is despair.
"I do not know.. However, now is not the time for questions. When everyone is safe and sound, then we can ask questions." Citan replied, looking at the rubble of tissue and blood as he said this. "Not now.." He said.
::Two hours later, at the Orphanage::
"..Sierra, are you comfortable?" Sigurd asked, resting Sierra on the couch. She brushed him off, shaking her hands as she did so.
"Lord, Sig, stop mothering me. I'm fine. Citan gave me a couple of antitoxin shots and bandaged up my leg and it's all good, so settle down." Sierra muttered, adjusting her leg on the cushion. "The worst part of it all was having to listen to him talk about his daughter's birth and not being able to escape the room."
Sigurd smiled, looking to the side. "Yes, that is a problem Citan has dealing with. He has a rather large mouth.. and assumes everyone wants to hear every little word he has to say." Sierra snorted at this, nodding.
"I hear ya." She replied as Jessie and Citan entered the room, Jessie carrying a bottle of beer. Sierra pursed her lips. "Oh, Jessie, you saint. You brought me some miracle potion!" She grinned, wiggling her fingers at the bottle of beer Jessie held in his hand.
"Psh, this ain't for monkeys, Monkey Woman." Jessie muttered, bringing the bottle to his lips and taking a large gulp of its contents. Sierra growled, folding her arms and resting back against the back of the couch. Sigurd smiled, taking a seat on the chair next to the couch.
"So what exactly was it that we saw today, Citan?" Sigurd asked, turning to the ex water element. Citan leaned forward on his knees, rubbings his temples with his fingers.
"It seemed to be a primitive dragon, almost.. before they developed forelimbs and wings. But that is just because of its startling resemblance in the facial structure.. However, aside from that, I do not know." Citan answered, his eyebrows knitting in confusion.
Jessie leaned back in the armchair he had seated himself in, placing one large booted foot on a footrest. "Made me think a lot of those basilisks they'd dig up and make us fight in BT back when we were at Jugend." He added, tilting his head back to take another gulp of beer.
"True.. that it did." Citan nodded in response, sighing. "I am afraid the answers lie within those replicas of the young ones that enjoy popping up at the least convenient times." He said.
"So how do you propose we get answers out of them? Hunt them down and strangle their scrawny necks until they talk?" Jessie blinked, reaching his arm up and clenching his fist. Citan shook his head, smiling.
"Perhaps we could just.. make sure that next time we confront them, we do not let them leave.." Citan replied. Sigurd nodded in agreement, turning to Sierra.
"Sierra.. you were hired by the men that wanted Karina. Does this mean that they were also connected to these clones?" Sigurd asked, curling his fingers around his arms, which he had folded in front of his chest.
"That's right." Sierra nodded, leaning her head back. "..that's right."
"Well? Did you ever hear anything about them?" Sigurd said gently, touching her shin with the tips of his fingers. Sierra gently brushed his fingers away, shaking her head.
"No.. but.." Sierra began, looking down at her lap. A haunting voice rang in her head, waking distant memories from the back of her mind.
~..Back when we were the Elements, our DNA was taken as well. Why shouldn't our powers be used to help as well?..~
"But what?" Jessie asked as Sierra became silent for a moment.
"But.. I did see something the last time I was on the ship.. something I never wanted to see.. and I learned something.. I didn't want to know." Sierra replied, clenching her fists.
"Yeah, about that.. Hyuga, why didn't you ever shoot her for betraying us? You usually enjoy throwing the shooting threat around." Jessie asked, looking sideways at Citan, whose eyes widened. Citan smiled and gave a small cough.
"Well, you see.." Citan began in a light voice, before Sierra cut him off.
"..you don't understand, guys.." Sierra muttered, pulling her sweatshirt up over her mouth.
"Dead people?" Jessie asked, snorting.
"...Incidentally, yes. But that's not what I'm talking about.. I saw.. Sigurd.. they have clones of the ex-elements.. he told me so.. So basically.. they have everyone.. it's.. possible they might have more, too.." Sierra said. Jessie paled.
"Oh.. dear.. god.." Jessie said slowly.
"Afraid of your past, Jessiah?" Citan asked, smiling.
"I had a bad haircut then." Jessie said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"You have the same haircut as you did back then." Sigurd said softly from behind.
"And you know what else I just realized? If they can clone us and stuff.. then that means.." Jessie trailed off.
"What?" Citan asked.
"..They could be pumpin' out an entire army of Billies!! Do you know how horrible that would be?! They'd all be bitching at me at once about drinkin! One boy with female hormones is enough for me, thanks!" Jessie snapped.
"I am glad to see you are serious as ever about things, Jessiah." Sigurd muttered, his eye slitting into a squint.
"It is clear that we must investigate this further.. perhaps an infiltration of the Infinity- that is what it was called, am I right?- Should be on our list of things to do." Citan mused, rising to his feet.
"Good luck finding it." Sierra muttered. Sigurd smiled, shaking his head.
"All we have to do is request the documents of port stations to see where it stopped last for fueling.. They will gladly give them to Lord Bartholomew's ship.. That and we could provide substantial evidence by providing video recordings from the attack on Cimerion to make a case of the Infinity being involved in hostilities on the city." Sigurd nodded, smiling.
"Well, hot damn, what a plan.. Hey, that rhymed." Jessie grinned, taking another gulp of beer for a reward. As he did this, the door swung open and Ziggy entered the room.
"Yo, mons and babe!" Ziggy grinned, placing his hands on his hips and throwing his head back in laughter. He shut the door behind him as he cleared the doorway.
"Dude.. Ziggy when did you get here?" Sierra asked, sitting up. Ziggy shrugged.
"I haven't been seen for nearly a chapter, so we need to have me for some comical relief, mon!" Ziggy shouted, giving Sierra a thumbs up.
"I thought you were busy assaulting Rico." Sigurd asked gently. Ziggy paled and looked over his shoulder.
"You know, mon, I am beginning to think that Rico-mon doesn't like me much. He's always knockin' me out and stuff." Ziggy mused, placing a finger over his lips. "I just wanted to give the big green mon a buddy!"
After Ziggy's line, the door swung open unexpectedly, smacking Ziggy in the head and once again, knocking him out. He collapsed to the floor as Rico entered the room.
"There you are." Rico said gruffly, stepping on Ziggy as he entered the room. "Billy was fretting about looking for you. He wanted news on Karina's condition." He muttered, gesturing behind him, where the fret lines were wafting clearly from a figure behind him.
"Boy, I see your fret lines, get in here!" Jessie snapped as Billy squeezed past Rico and he rushed over to Citan.
"Citan! You were supposed to find me when you got back! Where is Karina? How is she doing? Is she—"Billy began, clenching his pale fingers together. Citan gave a small laugh, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Billy, to be honest, I did not think she would make it when we got to the Yggdrasil.. but as I was repairing her wounds, her vital signs punched back up. She is resting in the infirmary now, and it is just a thing of time. But from what I saw.. which was a little strange, in fact, I believe she should be alright, though I do not know if her wounds will impair her in any way. She had multiple wounds to her spinal column, and many of her ribs were bruised or cracked. Luckily she didn't sustain too many injuries to her head. To be honest, Billy, you were extraordinarily lucky to get out of it all with just a few scrapes and a wounded wrist." He said softly, tapping one of the many bandages that were on Billy's face. Billy winced, shutting one eye.
"I suppose.. but.. when can I see her, Citan?" He asked, looking out the window in the direction where the Yggdrasil was parked. Citan smiled in his usual carefree manner, placing his hands in his pockets.
"I think we should let her rest for now, but you could go visit her tomorrow, if you wish." Citan answered. Billy nodded in response, and paused for a moment.
"What about Brad?.. He woke up just a half an hour ago, and he doesn't remember anything that happened." Billy murmured, gesturing out the door, where Brad was sitting at the kitchen table, his head in his hands.
"..That I do not understand. Erich said he wanted to check up on a few things, and that he would be back within the night to explain everything, so we will most likely have a better understanding of it then." Citan answered.
"Do you think Erich will stay for a while longer this time?" Asked Maria, who was standing in the doorway. Citan and Billy turned to face her.
"I cannot say, Maria. That young man is very.. strange." Citan said gently. "He seems to go wherever the wind takes him. He is one of those people who would rather work alone than spend his time with a large group. You know, I knew someone like that back in Jugend.. He was the most stubborn lad you could ever meet, and.." He began.
"Everybody out before he bores us all to sleep!" Jessie cried, hopping up and exiting the room quickly. Citan frowned as the rest of the people in the room left after Jessie, until the only remaining people in room were he and Ziggy.
"Oh my." Citan sighed, shaking his head. "People these days have no respect for their elders.." He murmured.
****
"Brad.. please, you have to calm down and think this through.." Kajumei said gently, walking up to Brad, who was leaning against the kitchen door. He groaned, slamming his fist on the wooden frame.
"Kajumei, you don't get it! I'm awake one second, I'm trying to save my sister, and then the next, I'm in the Orphanage and everyone is giving me these looks like I'm a monster or something! I want to know what happened!.. They said that.. that I turned into something.. and totally decimated that thing.." Brad said in a low voice, gritting his teeth. Kajumei placed a hand on his shoulder.
"..Brad.." She whispered, bowing her head.
"..I know somethin's happening to me.. I..I've been having these nightmares.. they don't just come to me when I sleep anymore.. they happen all the time.. especially when I look at the people I love.." Brad whispered, turning his head to look at Kajumei. "..I have these dreams that.. everyone I love is.. being killed.. just.. slaughtered.. by some unseen force.. and I'm bound in some way and I can't help any of you.." He said, stretching out his fingers for a moment and then contracting them once again.
Kajumei pursed her lips, tapping his back gentle. She smiled comfortingly as she turned to leave the room, telling that Brad wanted to be alone at that moment. Before she exited, Brad, turned around, holding out his hand.
"..Kaju.." Brad whispered. She blinked, turning round to face him. "..I love you." He said gently, smiling. Kajumei smiled in return, nodding.
"..I love you too." She said gently. "And it'll be okay."
"..I wish I could be so sure. I mean.. when Billy was shot.. I was concerned, yes, but.. it didn't really affect me all that much.. but then.. my home was destroyed, and now my sister is critically wounded.." Brad said, his voice shaking. "..Sure she's caused a lot of problems for me.. what with the way she always was when she was in her early teens.. but she's still my baby sister.. and I'm afraid that now that her life is now looking upward.. she's gonna lose it.. and I'm afraid that you'll get hurt as well.."
Kajumei approached him once again, reaching up and placing a hand on his stubbled cheek. He turned his gaze up from the floor to look into her eyes. "..After everything Karina went through as a child.. after all the things we all went through.. we're not gonna go down so easily.." Kajumei said tenderly, smiling. Brad sighed and leaned forward, taking Kajumei into his arms tightly.
"..I just wish that little twerp knew how much I loved her.. and I wish I understood.. everything that was happening to me.." Brad hissed, burying his face in Kajumei's hair.
"She does, Brad.. and don't worry.. we'll figure this out." Kajumei said reassuringly, tapping his back in a rhythmical motion.
****
Maria sat on the couch in the living room, a book open in her lap. She leaned back, sighing as a small gust of wind came in through the window, blowing the curtains ever so gently. She looked upward out the window at the full moon. She gave a soft sigh, looking back down at her book.
There was another small puff of breeze, and suddenly a gentle fragrance filled the air. The scent of roses and ivy filled the air around Maria. She looked upward once again, nearly falling back in fright when she saw Erich perched on the windowsill. He was gazing down at her with his blank gray eyes, his light violet hair pressing against his slender pale face. She blushed slightly, placing her fingers on her cheeks. "Oh.. Erich, you startled me." She said gently.
Erich looked to the side. "I'm sorry.." He said quietly, jumping off on the windowsill and onto the floor. "What are you reading?" He asked softly. Maria paused, blinking.
"What?" She said gently.
"Your book. What are you reading?" He said again, pointing a pale finger at the book.
"Oh.. oh right." Maria said, smiling. "I am reading 'Seven Sins' (read footnote)." She said quietly.
"..I have never read that." Erich said softly. "Where is Citan?" He asked, folding his arms. As he said this, Citan entered the room, rubbing his scraped glasses on his loose shirt.
"My.. I have to repair these.. it is really impairing my vision.." He said quietly, placing them back on his nose. He smiled when he saw Erich, approaching him. "Good evening Erich. Did you finish your errands?" He asked, placing one hand on his waist.
"..Yes." Erich answered softly. He looked downward, running his fingers along the wooden side table. "Please.. bring everyone in so I may speak to them." He requested, swiping his finger along the rim of the lampshade.
Billy entered the room as he said this, getting one look at Erich and rushing over to him, grabbing him by the collar. "Erich! Where have you been?!" Billy snapped, shaking Erich slightly. Erich sighed, taking hold of Billy's hands and slowly pulling them off.
"Don't touch me, Billy." Erich growled. Billy pulled back, frowning.
"..Tell me everything you know about what happened today.. tell me what that.. THING was.." Billy said softly, bowing his head.
"Didn't you know?" Erich answered loftily, casting his eyes upward in annoyance. "It was a Dralgoln. Now if you'll sit down and shut up for five minutes, I'll explain everything when everyone gets in here.. I hate to repeat myself."
Billy frowned, but nodded in response, taking a seat on the couch to wait for the rest of the group. Bart entered the room, followed by Fei and Elly. Bart folded his arms, giving a look of mistrust to Erich before sitting down.
"I see you're here again.." Brad said gruffly, entering from the kitchen door. He pressed his arms to his chest as Kajumei followed him in, blinking at the sight of Erich. "So what do you want?" He asked. Erich bowed his head, his pale hair glinting in the light.
"..To bring some of your questions to light." Erich replied quietly. He turned to face the door Fei had entered through, waiting for any more arrivals. He turned his head slightly to the side, gesturing at Citan. "Is anyone else coming?" He asked as Jessie, Sigurd and Sierra came into the room. Sierra leaned against the wall, resting her weight on her good leg. Jessie sat on the couch next to Bart, and Sigurd stood near the door with his arms folded behind his back.
Emeralda scuttled in as well, gripping onto Fei's arm and peering at Erich curiously. A few moments later, Rico entered the room, dragging a half conscious Ziggy after him. He tossed Ziggy into a corner, and sat down on Ziggy's back before straightening and folding his arms in his usual manner.
Erich sighed in annoyance, raising a hand and placing it on his forehead. "Are we done now?" He asked in an irritated tone, opening one eye. Citan smiled pitifully, nodding. The young boy rested his hands on his hips, tilting his head slightly downward, but looking upward at the group. He scanned the room for a moment, before beginning in his quiet, venomous voice.
"The creature you all faced today was a Dralgoln, an ancient demon that had long been sealed away deep within the earth." Erich said, holding up one hand as he explained. "It managed to come loose and escape its prison because of the turbulence the Rise of Gaia has caused the world."
"You're saying.." Bart began, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees. "That the thing we saw managed to come here because of that old chick inside the earth?"
"..Not exactly caused by Gaia.. it was caused by Kuluxx. The Dralgoln is a demon of Kuluxx. Kuluxx is sealed within Gaia. With the Rise of Gaia, Kuluxx's powers are beginning to stir, and his demons are waking and coming to the surface." Erich replied, flipping his long bangs out of his sight with his fingers. Citan nodded silently, raising his curled fingers to cover his mouth in contemplation. Erich stared at Citan for a moment before continuing. "The clones managed to take control of the demon by capturing it when it was still very young. They manipulated it and forced it to follow their will, and tried to use it to kill the Anima chosen and take the girl."
"The Anima chosen.. you mean us?" Fei asked, blinking. Erich nodded his head, turning to face the window.
"But.. you see.. the Anima chosen cannot die.. not now.. Gaia knows this.. Gaia wakened one of her guardians prematurely to protect you all." Erich said, looking sideways at Brad, whose eyes widened.
"What?" Brad whispered.
Erich smiled, nodding. "The dream you had, Brad.. Last night, I believe?" He said, his eyes glimmering knowingly. "It was a message from Gaia.. warning you to accept who you were.. so you could save your friends.. and whether you knew it or not.. that message triggered the waking process of your true powers. You woke to protect both the Anima chosen and your subordinate.."
"My.. subordinate? Karina?" Brad asked lowering his eyes to the ground. "I don't understand."
Erich sighed, looking at the ceiling. "The answers are all written in the ancient texts of the Kiuma Brium."
"The Kiuma Brium?" Citan said quickly, almost as soon as Erich finished his sentence. Erich nodded quietly, squinting his eyes as if to ask 'why do you ask'. "..The language written on your gear's wings is from the Kiuma Brium, is it not?" Citan asked.
"..Yes, it is. I am surprised you are familiar with the language." Erich said softly.
"Doc's an overachiever." Fei noted, grinning at Citan.
"I took a course on Dead Languages at Jugend." Citan added, smiling. "There was a small unit on the cultures of ancient people in the northern hemisphere of the world, and the Kiuma Brium was mentioned. We studied the language, and if I recall it was a very complicated one that followed something of hieroglyphics, and that the language really had no root, there was one word for each thing."
Erich smiled slightly, bowing his head. "Yes, that is true."
"How exactly are the people of the Kiuma Brium connected to this?" Citan mused, tilting his head to the side.
"Well.. It was believed that the Kiuma Brium existed around the time of the Zeboim Era.. however.. that is not accurate. The translation of the records of the civilization were incorrectly deciphered.." Erich murmured, running his fingers along the windowpane. "So.. the students have been misguided as to when the civilization actually existed."
"So damn frickin what?" Brad snapped, pushing off of the wall. "What does messed up filing have to do with this? This shit means diddly to me!" He growled, approaching Erich. The young man recoiled, his dark eyes flashing.
"It.. Means that all information was incorrect. All research into the civilization was stopped early on, since most scientists believe that any part of the Kiuma Brium civilization was destroyed with the shifting of the earth as Zeboim sunk to the bottom of the sea.." Erich paused, looking up. "But they were incorrect. The Kiuma Brium in fact existed nearly 200 years before that of Zeboim.. and nearly halfway across the world, as well. The original translation, the incorrect one, states that Kiuma Brium was at the same time of Zeboim, and it was destroyed in the same cataclysm that ended Zeboim. In truth.. Kiuma Brium was destroyed by something entirely different." Erich turned and rested his palms on the window frame. "Before the Kiuma Brium, there were their ancestors, the Kyoukongeki-niir. They were said to be the first empire, as least in the records that were correctly translated, in existence. Their emperor was a man by the name of Karnish Bakru.. he was what modern people would call a madman. He would perform unnatural experiments on slaves, believing that he could speed up evolution.. that if he could fully evolve, he could replace God. He would perform dark sacrifices to the Demon Lord Miryuu, in exchange for this knowledge.. it is said that Miryuu granted him the power to become a God.. and sent forth a dark gift.. Immeasurable power.."
"So we're dealing with some old timer polytheistic SOB basically, right?" Bart muttered. Erich looked at him coldly, not bothering to stop.
"At first, his power was a Godsend. His abnormalities of the mind seemed to be cleansed. The people flourished, and evolved slowly into the Kiuma Brium. But as all good things, this one slowly began to warp itself into a catastrophe. His power began to grow out of control, and the darkness of the gift was finally revealed. Like Pandora's Box, he opened up the maximum extent of the power, and the punishment was grave not only to his people, but to the entire world. It took control of he and his people, and the Demon Lord Miryuu took over the body of the emperor, and the civilization, the people, the emperor, rotted to nothing, merging together into Miryuu to form the great demon.. Arelian Kuluxx. God saw that the demon was destroying his world, and sent three spirits to destroy Kuluxx.. They were the Seraphim, Oganimi , the Cherubim, Sensheyen, and the Throne, Megsuun. The spirits managed to weaken Kuluxx in a great battle, but they could not destroy him. As they fell, they used the last of their power to seal Kuluxx away in a great crystal known as the Divine Light, in the center of Gaia, the Mother Earth, where he would be sealed away forever."
"Then what's the problem? He's sealed away and he ain't coming back." Bart said, gesturing with his hands in the way of a prison. "Why is all this stuff happening if he's sealed away forever?"
"..Because.. in the Bible of Nisan, it is said that Gaia rises every 10,000 years, and since that time that Kuluxx was sealed away was the first recorded rise, it was nearly 10,000 years ago that it last happened. Gaia is going to rise again, and the divine light always shines to purify the earth.. When it shines, Kuluxx will be released. It was the only fault in the plan of God. To fix this, He made it so every 10,000 years; three will rise with power that like the power the three spirits had. He stores this power within three vessels. The Spirits and the Vessels must join to unlock the powers of the pillars to destroy Kuluxx once and for all. It is a year long process.. Translated by early archaeologists as 'The Year of Death'."
"..So..? Elaborate." Citan said quietly.
"..Karina.. and Brad.. are two of those spirits. These people who are trying to capture her want to use her powers to manipulate them to take control of Kuluxx, rather than destroy him. So it all boils down to the thing that manipulates nearly all men with the ability to do so.."
"World domination.. the sad end to far too many stories.." Citan whispered.
"Shit.." Brad muttered, saying nothing else. Billy looked up, breaking his long silence.
"..So what's going to happen to Karina?.." Billy asked softly, rubbing his bandaged arm.
"..She will be forced to face her fate, and follow her path. She must, or it will mean the destruction of the world. Everyone must face their responsibility sometimes.. and it is more cruel at times than it should be.. but that doesn't mean we can just avoid it." Citan said gently, looking down at Billy, who winced.
"Kari.." He murmured.
"..Some heavy stuff is going down, Fei.." Bart said quietly, placing his hands on his hips. Fei nodded, putting a hand on Elly's shoulder.
"I cannot and will not ask you all to help in this.. It would not be right.." Erich said softly, his face grave. There was a long pause here, and the sound of crickets chirping in the outdoors filled the air, the scent of the crackling fire permeating the senses.
"..I have to help." Billy whispered. "..I'm in too deep, guys.." He said as the group turned to face Billy. "These guys will come after us eventually, too.. so we might as well be on the good side, right? ..Plus.. I have my own reasons I have to help.." He added shyly, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. Elly smiled, nodding.
"I agree.. When I needed help.. when Fei needed help, as well.. we had all of you to help us.. and now it is my turn to help someone.. This is bigger than all of us.. But we can make a difference.."
"That's right!" Bart cried, grinning. He threw a fist up in the air.
"Hold on just a minute." Rico said, making Bart falter.
"Whaaaaaaaa~aat?" Bart whined.
"..Ah.. well, if you guys are in.. I guess I'm in too.. someone has to keep you all from walking into a pit or something." Rico muttered.
"Yeah!" Maria smiled. "I want in too!" She said, Chu Chu squeaking happily as she said this.
"If Fei's Kim and Elly need help, I'll be there! I have a lot of new friends to help now, too!" Emeralda said quietly, smiling.
"Agreed. Then it is settled. We will help you.. no matter what." Citan said, smiling. Erich blinked, and Brad grinned.
"..Very well, then." Erich said slowly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I will give you the details in the morning.. until the-" He began, but the door to the other room swung open, slamming against the wall. The group turned to see what had caused this, and each was taken aback by what they saw. Karina was standing in the doorway, her nightshirt wrinkled, her legs, arms and head still bandaged. Her eyes were filled with pain, but it was amazing in itself that she could even stand, let alone walk.
"K-Karina!" Billy cried, standing.
"..Cimerion! It's in danger!!" Karina cried out suddenly. "They're coming back!!..the clones.."
Footnote: 'Seven Sins', the book Maria was reading, is actually me and my sister's as of yet unposted Saint Seiya fanfic. Look for it and drop me a nice note if you want! ^___^