I thank all again who have written reviews, it really keeps me going, and
I'm sorry for not updating in a while. I was dry out of ideás. Forgiveme! I
promise to do better (Falls on my knees and clapping my hands together
above my head) Anyway, enjoy chapter 3!
Chapter Three: The Power Resting Within Him
Gallows in another log into the fire when it showed signs of exhaustion. The moon had taken its place high on the vault of heaven and its light lit the ground several kilometers away from the Maxwell group, giving Gallows a good chance to spot enemies or monsters in time. He glanced over to his sleeping comrades. He saw the fragile smile on Jet's face and then turned to the sleeping leader. She was turned against the silverhaired boy, and Gallows made an accurate guess of the origin of the smile.
He sudeenly heard mumbles to the side of him. He turned to Clive. He shivered and moved his hand slightly in a sweeping move over the ground, like he was trying to hold something away from him. Curious of what the sniper was saying, Gallows came closer to him and bend down his head next to his fellow.
"No. Catherine... Kaitlyn... Not you too..." Clive mumbled and twisted his body a little bit. Gallows threw up his head before Clive's elbow could hit him beneath his chin and give him a bruise. Clive became still again, breathing slowly.
"It sounds like he's having a nightmare. He can handle it. I'll just let him sleep"
Gallows went back to his spot next to the fire, and stared into it. It danced before his face, and the heat smacked his face over and over. The cold got more intense around them and he pulled his blanket harder around his body, without any effect. He threw another log into the fire to make it bigger, but that also proved unfruitful. The air that he breathed out was still the same, it didn't turn into fog like it would in this cold. It got him confused. The others started to shiver too from the cold, but the one who was shivering the worst was Clive. He turned back and forth on his blanket, the mumbles got more intensed and louder. He had forgotten to take his glasses off before he fell asleep, and Gallows got worried that he would crush them.
"No! Leave me alone!" Clive mumbled. His arm flew wildly over the ground, and dust came up around it.
"Looks like I need to wake him up, before he hit himself or something"
Gallows approached Clive with his blanket still tight around his body. But the air was getting colder and colder around him, as he approached the sniper, and the blanket wasn't helpful. He stopped next to his friend.
"Wake up, buddy. You're having a nightmare..." But when Gallows laid a hand on Clive's shoulder, the same feeling that the guardians once used to warn their bearers overwhelmed him, his hand became icecold from the touch, and he pulled back his hand. He quickly pulled out his golden medium Aqua Wisp from the pocket of his vest. It shone brightly in his hand, and warmed up his hand to body temperature, his fingers tingled from the sudden rush of blood running through them.
"What's going on here!? He is icecold and the guardians reacted at the same time I... The guardians are afraid of Clive!?"
Disregarding what happened just a few seconds ago, he put back his medium in his pocket, and laid a hand on Clive's shoulder again. He lost the feeling in his hand, and the guardians reacted again, but this time he didn't pull back his hand. He shook Clive hardly, while he tried to keep Clive still and prevent him from hitting Gallows by mistake.
"Come on, wake up! Something's up here! Wake up!" The sniper moaned but didn't wake up. Gallows shook him even harder, so hard that even an extreme heavy sleeper would wake up from the brutal force, and called out Clive's name once again. No response came from the green-haired sniper. Gallows put two fingers on Clive's throat. He didn't feel any pulse, his fingers were too frozen too feel it. He turned Clive to his back and put his ear close to Clive's mouth. His breath was strained. Gallows pulled his head back up.
"Leader, Jet, wake up!" Gallows exclaimed out to the persons behind him. Virginia yawned and blinked a few times to get the dizzy vision that covered her eyes more clear. Jet groaned and looked for something to pull down over his ears with, his hand swept the ground three times over. His rucksack was just out of reach and Jet forced himself to open his eyes and stare on the Baskar priest.
"What is it Gallows? Is it a monster?" Virginia asked with a sleepy tone. She looked around them. The sun was not visible at the horizone. It was harder to fight monsters at the night than in the light from the sun, that she knew from six months experience of battles in the wasteland. Jet sat up, yawned and rubbed his head, pulling his fingers through his silverhair.Virginia watched him, but turned away when he looked up at her.
"Or perhaps he's afraid of the dark" Jet grunted.
"Something's terribly wrong with Clive! He's freezing cold and he's not breathing normally!" Gallows replied and turned his gaze at Clive. Virginia got awake in a instant, jumped off her blanket and joined Gallows by Clive's side, her heart beating fast as she expected the worst. Jet came up behind them. Because he was a android, he wasn't bothered by chilly nights as much as his comrades in normal cases. But the cold surrounding them now was unnatural, and even made the hair on his skin stand straight up.The familiar feeling of fright overwhelmed him, the feeling similar to the fear of the guardians. But he didn't need the guardians to tell him that something was very wrong at the scene. Very wrong.
The fluid was slowly crawling over Clive's waist, his arm and shoulder was copmpletely covered, and the pulsing sound was getting louder in his ears. He made one more attempt to get out from the ring that threatened to swallow him, but the demons only laughed and pushed him back in, before they returned to watch the scene before them. Steadily losing strength, and the feeling in his body, he fell on his knees. He felt like the air in his lungs was being pressed out of him and he breathed hard to compensate the loss. The pain inside in his head made it difficult for Clive to think straight, and he barely saw the black ground under him, his vision was too blurry. The voice giggled.
"She's trying to separate my spirit from my body. I must take action now, or else I'm done for. I need to synchronize my spirit into a single, powerful spell, and hope it have some effect" Clive thought.
He took a deep breath and forced himself back up on his legs. He shivered of exhaustion, but held himself up, refusing to give in to the shadow that wanted to swallow him whole. He was covered up to his throat. He focused his mind, feeling the light of the Ark specter swirling around inside of him, climbing down his left arm in a wild stream and assembled in his palm. He moved it to his right side, feeling the energy in his hand intensify, and moved it across his chest until it stood straight out on his left.
"Vortex!" He exclaimed and threw his hand up in the air, releasing the massive energy stored in it. The demons around him jumped back away from him and looked around, to see which one he had attacked. A tornado shoot up around Clive and engulfed him. He didn't feel anything because of his wind medium Gale Claw's protection but the fluid shivered and the voice cried out in pain, like Clive had hoped. The fluid let go of its grip on Clive and moved away from him. He was cold and rubbed his hands over his arms to gain some body heat, but he got back his vision back and the pain in his head was bearable, and his strength slowly recovered. The demons made room for the fluid as it stopped between them, forming itself into a puddle and a shadow rose up from it. It took on the shape of a woman and it fixed its green eyes on Clive. It started to shimmer, different colours floated over its body. After a few seconds, it stopped, revealing the woman he had been seeing for six months. Her clothes moved slowly around by themselves, althought there was no wind blowing through them.
"Good strategy using magic, Clive Winslett. I guess strategic thinking runs in the family" She said as camly as she could. The voice in the air had combined itself with the woman before him She bore no marks of the attack he had newly comitted, but her voice still had the tone of surprisement, and her eyes was tightened in a silent rage. She also held a hand over hr mouth, as not to show him how upset she was.
"Strategic thinking is something you gain through experience in battles, and what others share with you. Mind control however, is another story. As I can recall it, it is an ability that only dream demons posses. I take it that you are one?" Clive replied, while he adjusted his glasses.The woman let down her hand, and gave up a evil smile, confirming Clive's suspicions.
The demons approached him, their arms stretched out after him. He held them off with smooth motions of his right hand and backed away from them.
"You like your creations?" She asked lowly. She had a childish tone in her voice. She was taunting him. Clive decided not to answer her question and give her a poossible advantage over him. He needed to know what was going on, why he was experiencing this, and the only one who could provide him with answers was her.
"I've been trying to comprehend this entire situation ever since it started six months ago, but I have been unsuccesful so far. I assume that you are the one who keeps sending me back here, am I correct? And this woman these demons have been speaking off is you?"
"Yes, that is true. I'm their leader" She answered. When she didn't say anything further, Clive decided to continue.
"I fail too see the point in sending me to this place, forcing me to watch this scene over and over, and claiming that it's all my doing? I do not have the power or the knowledge to transform humans into demons" She slowly shook her head, . Clive watched her with confusion in his face, and she enjoyed it deep in her heart. For her, that was a victory over the all- knowing Clive Winslett.
"You wonder why I keep sending you to this place? That's obvious, isn't it? To make you loosen your mind, and make it easier for me to control you. Even if it took me six months to reach this point. And just to let you know, the woman you have been seeing in wake state was only a illusion I created of myself, to test your mental defence. The more you saw it, the more weakened was your mind. But that's not the important question here. You should rather ask why a six months old nightmare still scares you that much. That's because you DO have the power to create demons, and that's what scares you, not the nightmare itself. That too runs in the family"
"What are you talking about?"
"That mark on the back of your left hand" She replied, holding up her left hand. Automaticly, he held his gloved left hand before him. His instincts yelled at him not to pull it off, that he shouldn't trust what the woman was telling him, but for the first time in his life, he decided not to take notice of it. Slowly, he pulled off his glove, revealing his bare hand. On the back of his left hand, a mark was now visible to his eyes. A mark he slightly remembered to have seen somewhere before. It was a black orb, with a purple water drop in the centre. He rubbed his right hand over the mark several times. It was still there, etched to his skin.
"The curse of the Omni orb" The woman said lowly, pulling down her hand. The demons were now close to Clive, and he had nowhere to escape.
Virginia searched franticly in her pouch for anything that would be helpful for Clive. Her eyes were wet and she had to rub them before she could see clearly, and continue her search. She was hiding her anxiety the best she could, thinking over and over that Clive wasn't dead, that he had just slipped into a coma or something. Gallows held up Clive's head slightly with one hand to make it easier for him to breathe. He had also placed his orange blanket over Clive's body to keep him warm. Jet listened to his breathing, his body was shaking from the cold, but he was not the only one. Gallows and Virginia were shaking too.
"Found something yet, leader?" Gallows asked Virginia without taking his eyes off Clive, fearing that the moment he did, Clive would stop breathing and die. But Clive's chest continued to go up and down, even though only slightly.
"Here!" She suddenly exclaimed and pulled out a Holy Root.
"That's the last one he have left. We might need it later" Jet warned.
"I know, but if it can help Clive, then I think we should use it. Beisdes, Florina cultivates them, we can get new ones later" Virginia replied, while she was trying not to show Jet how worried she was. She handed over the Holy Root to Gallows, who crushed it in his big hand above Clive's head. Juice from the root was slipping through his fingers and landed on Clive's forehead. The group waited expectantly for any response from the sniper. Jet bend down and listened. Clive's breathing was still strain, and he didn't move from his spot.
"It didn't work, and now we're out of Holy Roots. Great" Jet said sarcastic. He couldn't keep his frustration inside him any longer, he had to let it out or he would explode.
"So what do you suggest we do then, huh!? Just sit here and let him die!? Just so that you know Jet, I won't let him! I won't let him die! I promised Catherine and Kaitlyn that we would look after him, we all did! Think of them for a second, will you!" Virginia yelled, unable to hold in her emotions any longer. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she was to cold to feel them. She put her face in her palms and sobbed out of despair.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me" Jet said lowly, feeling guilty for making her cry. He felt that he had to make it up to her, and the only way to do that, was to save Clive. He looked at his hand, thinking for a few seconds, before he laid it on Clive's chest and synchronized his spirit. The familiar light came up again, the green light that came up everytime he used his hidden power. The area under under his hand started to shine too.
"Whoa!" Gallwos exclaimed. Virginia looked up. Her eyes grew wider at the sight, and she held out her hands at Jet. It looked like she tried to stop him, but she didn't make any attempt to reach him.
"Jet, what are you doing?" Jet looked at her. He had a resolution in his lavendel eyes that she had not seen often.
"I'm trying to save his life" He replied. They gazed into each other's eyes under complete silence, then Virginia slowly nooded. She clapped her hands together, praying that it would work. Jet turned back to look down at Clive. One small mistake and he could deal permanent damage to Clive's mind or body. When he rewrote Leehalt in Deus Ex Machina, he didn't try to control his power, he just wanted to kill Leehalt in pure rage and let it out of control. But this time, he concentrated the hardest that he could, trying the find the cause of Clive's unconsciousness and rewrite it out of existence.
Clive to late discovered that the demons had closed in on him. Datson, the demon dog, grasped Clive's left shoulder, and pinned him to the spot. Clive dug his elbow into the demon's stomach, and with his entire weight, he pushed Datson backwards in a powerful body blow. Datson hit other demons standing behind him and they fell down into a pile of flying arms and kicking legs. Another one sent at fist straight at his face, Clive ducked just in time and sent him flying with a roundhouse. He reached his hand after his Gungnir, only to discover that it wasn't in place. Looking down on the sheath strapped to his left leg, he saw his knife was gone too. He knew that his magic couldn't take on several demons at the same time, and his only hope was that summon would work in the dream world.
Before he could do any other movements, he was overpowered by the rest of the demons. He was forced to the ground, dust flew inside his mouth and made him cough loudly, and the weight from the demons pressed the air out of him. He twisted and struggled to free himself, but their combined powers exceeded his. Several hands grasped his arms and pulled him back up. The woman came up to him, and laid a hand on Clive's cheek. It felt cold to his warm skin, and he wanted to back away, but the demons held him in place,and somebody was holding a claw behind his neck, threatening him to cut him if he did a unwanted move.
"Ironic, isn't it?" She said lowly,while she dug her nails deep in Clive's skin. "The Omni orb is the only thing left that can help me get my revenge and my desired world. And the only way to get to it, is through you. The man I want dead more than anyone else, and which I can't kill because of that fact. Well, I think explaining time's over. Once you've completed your task, I will end your miserable life, and reveal your true beauty. Make no false hopes" She placed her other hand on his forehead and the pain shoot up inside Clive's head once again. He cried out in pain, and tried to tear himself away from her, only to again discover that the strong hands of the demons held his head in place, and he couldn't move. He felt his mind slipping away, his memories, and the names of his friends along with it. His vision was getting darker, and his body wouldn't listen to him anymore. Her mind was simply stronger than his when it was weakened, and he waited for the moment when his mind would leave him totally, and be hers to control. He closed his eyes to ease the pain, until it would bother him no more.
He waited. Nothing more happened. A sudden screech filled the air, and the pain lifted from Clive, along with the demons hands. His knees and hands met the cold ground beneath, he shook his head and opened his eyelids. The woman held her body in a tight grip and shivered, while she was screaming out in pain. The demons stared at her, not knowing what they should do.
"Aaaaaah!! I-it cannot be!! Is it that Filgaia Sample!?" She roared. Clive was stunned and didn't understand who she meant at first.
"The Filgaia Sample?... Jet?" His memories of his friends slowly came back to him. The woman's body started to shine in the same light Jet always called when he used his powers. Her body began to fall apart, pieces of her disappeared as they left her body.
"I... must... retreat..." She stammered, lifted up her hands and vanished in a dark ball. A light ball similar to the sun appeared on the sky and grew larger. The demons screamed out in fright, and started to ran for the houses, leaving Clive alone in the field. He stood up and watched as the ball grew even larger. The ball suddenly bursted wide open and the light coming out from it made Clive throw one arm over his eyes. It became lighter, until the vision of the twisted Humphrey's Peak was completely engulfed, and vanished. He heard voices inside his head, but these were friendly. One of them belonged to his leader, Virginia. They were begging him to wake up, to return to them. A smile came up on Clive's face, before he woke up.
Confused? Good! Then I have succeded! The identity of the woman and the maeaning of the mark on Clive's hand will beexplained in future chapters. So stay tuned! (Which means, continue to read!)
Chapter Three: The Power Resting Within Him
Gallows in another log into the fire when it showed signs of exhaustion. The moon had taken its place high on the vault of heaven and its light lit the ground several kilometers away from the Maxwell group, giving Gallows a good chance to spot enemies or monsters in time. He glanced over to his sleeping comrades. He saw the fragile smile on Jet's face and then turned to the sleeping leader. She was turned against the silverhaired boy, and Gallows made an accurate guess of the origin of the smile.
He sudeenly heard mumbles to the side of him. He turned to Clive. He shivered and moved his hand slightly in a sweeping move over the ground, like he was trying to hold something away from him. Curious of what the sniper was saying, Gallows came closer to him and bend down his head next to his fellow.
"No. Catherine... Kaitlyn... Not you too..." Clive mumbled and twisted his body a little bit. Gallows threw up his head before Clive's elbow could hit him beneath his chin and give him a bruise. Clive became still again, breathing slowly.
"It sounds like he's having a nightmare. He can handle it. I'll just let him sleep"
Gallows went back to his spot next to the fire, and stared into it. It danced before his face, and the heat smacked his face over and over. The cold got more intense around them and he pulled his blanket harder around his body, without any effect. He threw another log into the fire to make it bigger, but that also proved unfruitful. The air that he breathed out was still the same, it didn't turn into fog like it would in this cold. It got him confused. The others started to shiver too from the cold, but the one who was shivering the worst was Clive. He turned back and forth on his blanket, the mumbles got more intensed and louder. He had forgotten to take his glasses off before he fell asleep, and Gallows got worried that he would crush them.
"No! Leave me alone!" Clive mumbled. His arm flew wildly over the ground, and dust came up around it.
"Looks like I need to wake him up, before he hit himself or something"
Gallows approached Clive with his blanket still tight around his body. But the air was getting colder and colder around him, as he approached the sniper, and the blanket wasn't helpful. He stopped next to his friend.
"Wake up, buddy. You're having a nightmare..." But when Gallows laid a hand on Clive's shoulder, the same feeling that the guardians once used to warn their bearers overwhelmed him, his hand became icecold from the touch, and he pulled back his hand. He quickly pulled out his golden medium Aqua Wisp from the pocket of his vest. It shone brightly in his hand, and warmed up his hand to body temperature, his fingers tingled from the sudden rush of blood running through them.
"What's going on here!? He is icecold and the guardians reacted at the same time I... The guardians are afraid of Clive!?"
Disregarding what happened just a few seconds ago, he put back his medium in his pocket, and laid a hand on Clive's shoulder again. He lost the feeling in his hand, and the guardians reacted again, but this time he didn't pull back his hand. He shook Clive hardly, while he tried to keep Clive still and prevent him from hitting Gallows by mistake.
"Come on, wake up! Something's up here! Wake up!" The sniper moaned but didn't wake up. Gallows shook him even harder, so hard that even an extreme heavy sleeper would wake up from the brutal force, and called out Clive's name once again. No response came from the green-haired sniper. Gallows put two fingers on Clive's throat. He didn't feel any pulse, his fingers were too frozen too feel it. He turned Clive to his back and put his ear close to Clive's mouth. His breath was strained. Gallows pulled his head back up.
"Leader, Jet, wake up!" Gallows exclaimed out to the persons behind him. Virginia yawned and blinked a few times to get the dizzy vision that covered her eyes more clear. Jet groaned and looked for something to pull down over his ears with, his hand swept the ground three times over. His rucksack was just out of reach and Jet forced himself to open his eyes and stare on the Baskar priest.
"What is it Gallows? Is it a monster?" Virginia asked with a sleepy tone. She looked around them. The sun was not visible at the horizone. It was harder to fight monsters at the night than in the light from the sun, that she knew from six months experience of battles in the wasteland. Jet sat up, yawned and rubbed his head, pulling his fingers through his silverhair.Virginia watched him, but turned away when he looked up at her.
"Or perhaps he's afraid of the dark" Jet grunted.
"Something's terribly wrong with Clive! He's freezing cold and he's not breathing normally!" Gallows replied and turned his gaze at Clive. Virginia got awake in a instant, jumped off her blanket and joined Gallows by Clive's side, her heart beating fast as she expected the worst. Jet came up behind them. Because he was a android, he wasn't bothered by chilly nights as much as his comrades in normal cases. But the cold surrounding them now was unnatural, and even made the hair on his skin stand straight up.The familiar feeling of fright overwhelmed him, the feeling similar to the fear of the guardians. But he didn't need the guardians to tell him that something was very wrong at the scene. Very wrong.
The fluid was slowly crawling over Clive's waist, his arm and shoulder was copmpletely covered, and the pulsing sound was getting louder in his ears. He made one more attempt to get out from the ring that threatened to swallow him, but the demons only laughed and pushed him back in, before they returned to watch the scene before them. Steadily losing strength, and the feeling in his body, he fell on his knees. He felt like the air in his lungs was being pressed out of him and he breathed hard to compensate the loss. The pain inside in his head made it difficult for Clive to think straight, and he barely saw the black ground under him, his vision was too blurry. The voice giggled.
"She's trying to separate my spirit from my body. I must take action now, or else I'm done for. I need to synchronize my spirit into a single, powerful spell, and hope it have some effect" Clive thought.
He took a deep breath and forced himself back up on his legs. He shivered of exhaustion, but held himself up, refusing to give in to the shadow that wanted to swallow him whole. He was covered up to his throat. He focused his mind, feeling the light of the Ark specter swirling around inside of him, climbing down his left arm in a wild stream and assembled in his palm. He moved it to his right side, feeling the energy in his hand intensify, and moved it across his chest until it stood straight out on his left.
"Vortex!" He exclaimed and threw his hand up in the air, releasing the massive energy stored in it. The demons around him jumped back away from him and looked around, to see which one he had attacked. A tornado shoot up around Clive and engulfed him. He didn't feel anything because of his wind medium Gale Claw's protection but the fluid shivered and the voice cried out in pain, like Clive had hoped. The fluid let go of its grip on Clive and moved away from him. He was cold and rubbed his hands over his arms to gain some body heat, but he got back his vision back and the pain in his head was bearable, and his strength slowly recovered. The demons made room for the fluid as it stopped between them, forming itself into a puddle and a shadow rose up from it. It took on the shape of a woman and it fixed its green eyes on Clive. It started to shimmer, different colours floated over its body. After a few seconds, it stopped, revealing the woman he had been seeing for six months. Her clothes moved slowly around by themselves, althought there was no wind blowing through them.
"Good strategy using magic, Clive Winslett. I guess strategic thinking runs in the family" She said as camly as she could. The voice in the air had combined itself with the woman before him She bore no marks of the attack he had newly comitted, but her voice still had the tone of surprisement, and her eyes was tightened in a silent rage. She also held a hand over hr mouth, as not to show him how upset she was.
"Strategic thinking is something you gain through experience in battles, and what others share with you. Mind control however, is another story. As I can recall it, it is an ability that only dream demons posses. I take it that you are one?" Clive replied, while he adjusted his glasses.The woman let down her hand, and gave up a evil smile, confirming Clive's suspicions.
The demons approached him, their arms stretched out after him. He held them off with smooth motions of his right hand and backed away from them.
"You like your creations?" She asked lowly. She had a childish tone in her voice. She was taunting him. Clive decided not to answer her question and give her a poossible advantage over him. He needed to know what was going on, why he was experiencing this, and the only one who could provide him with answers was her.
"I've been trying to comprehend this entire situation ever since it started six months ago, but I have been unsuccesful so far. I assume that you are the one who keeps sending me back here, am I correct? And this woman these demons have been speaking off is you?"
"Yes, that is true. I'm their leader" She answered. When she didn't say anything further, Clive decided to continue.
"I fail too see the point in sending me to this place, forcing me to watch this scene over and over, and claiming that it's all my doing? I do not have the power or the knowledge to transform humans into demons" She slowly shook her head, . Clive watched her with confusion in his face, and she enjoyed it deep in her heart. For her, that was a victory over the all- knowing Clive Winslett.
"You wonder why I keep sending you to this place? That's obvious, isn't it? To make you loosen your mind, and make it easier for me to control you. Even if it took me six months to reach this point. And just to let you know, the woman you have been seeing in wake state was only a illusion I created of myself, to test your mental defence. The more you saw it, the more weakened was your mind. But that's not the important question here. You should rather ask why a six months old nightmare still scares you that much. That's because you DO have the power to create demons, and that's what scares you, not the nightmare itself. That too runs in the family"
"What are you talking about?"
"That mark on the back of your left hand" She replied, holding up her left hand. Automaticly, he held his gloved left hand before him. His instincts yelled at him not to pull it off, that he shouldn't trust what the woman was telling him, but for the first time in his life, he decided not to take notice of it. Slowly, he pulled off his glove, revealing his bare hand. On the back of his left hand, a mark was now visible to his eyes. A mark he slightly remembered to have seen somewhere before. It was a black orb, with a purple water drop in the centre. He rubbed his right hand over the mark several times. It was still there, etched to his skin.
"The curse of the Omni orb" The woman said lowly, pulling down her hand. The demons were now close to Clive, and he had nowhere to escape.
Virginia searched franticly in her pouch for anything that would be helpful for Clive. Her eyes were wet and she had to rub them before she could see clearly, and continue her search. She was hiding her anxiety the best she could, thinking over and over that Clive wasn't dead, that he had just slipped into a coma or something. Gallows held up Clive's head slightly with one hand to make it easier for him to breathe. He had also placed his orange blanket over Clive's body to keep him warm. Jet listened to his breathing, his body was shaking from the cold, but he was not the only one. Gallows and Virginia were shaking too.
"Found something yet, leader?" Gallows asked Virginia without taking his eyes off Clive, fearing that the moment he did, Clive would stop breathing and die. But Clive's chest continued to go up and down, even though only slightly.
"Here!" She suddenly exclaimed and pulled out a Holy Root.
"That's the last one he have left. We might need it later" Jet warned.
"I know, but if it can help Clive, then I think we should use it. Beisdes, Florina cultivates them, we can get new ones later" Virginia replied, while she was trying not to show Jet how worried she was. She handed over the Holy Root to Gallows, who crushed it in his big hand above Clive's head. Juice from the root was slipping through his fingers and landed on Clive's forehead. The group waited expectantly for any response from the sniper. Jet bend down and listened. Clive's breathing was still strain, and he didn't move from his spot.
"It didn't work, and now we're out of Holy Roots. Great" Jet said sarcastic. He couldn't keep his frustration inside him any longer, he had to let it out or he would explode.
"So what do you suggest we do then, huh!? Just sit here and let him die!? Just so that you know Jet, I won't let him! I won't let him die! I promised Catherine and Kaitlyn that we would look after him, we all did! Think of them for a second, will you!" Virginia yelled, unable to hold in her emotions any longer. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she was to cold to feel them. She put her face in her palms and sobbed out of despair.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me" Jet said lowly, feeling guilty for making her cry. He felt that he had to make it up to her, and the only way to do that, was to save Clive. He looked at his hand, thinking for a few seconds, before he laid it on Clive's chest and synchronized his spirit. The familiar light came up again, the green light that came up everytime he used his hidden power. The area under under his hand started to shine too.
"Whoa!" Gallwos exclaimed. Virginia looked up. Her eyes grew wider at the sight, and she held out her hands at Jet. It looked like she tried to stop him, but she didn't make any attempt to reach him.
"Jet, what are you doing?" Jet looked at her. He had a resolution in his lavendel eyes that she had not seen often.
"I'm trying to save his life" He replied. They gazed into each other's eyes under complete silence, then Virginia slowly nooded. She clapped her hands together, praying that it would work. Jet turned back to look down at Clive. One small mistake and he could deal permanent damage to Clive's mind or body. When he rewrote Leehalt in Deus Ex Machina, he didn't try to control his power, he just wanted to kill Leehalt in pure rage and let it out of control. But this time, he concentrated the hardest that he could, trying the find the cause of Clive's unconsciousness and rewrite it out of existence.
Clive to late discovered that the demons had closed in on him. Datson, the demon dog, grasped Clive's left shoulder, and pinned him to the spot. Clive dug his elbow into the demon's stomach, and with his entire weight, he pushed Datson backwards in a powerful body blow. Datson hit other demons standing behind him and they fell down into a pile of flying arms and kicking legs. Another one sent at fist straight at his face, Clive ducked just in time and sent him flying with a roundhouse. He reached his hand after his Gungnir, only to discover that it wasn't in place. Looking down on the sheath strapped to his left leg, he saw his knife was gone too. He knew that his magic couldn't take on several demons at the same time, and his only hope was that summon would work in the dream world.
Before he could do any other movements, he was overpowered by the rest of the demons. He was forced to the ground, dust flew inside his mouth and made him cough loudly, and the weight from the demons pressed the air out of him. He twisted and struggled to free himself, but their combined powers exceeded his. Several hands grasped his arms and pulled him back up. The woman came up to him, and laid a hand on Clive's cheek. It felt cold to his warm skin, and he wanted to back away, but the demons held him in place,and somebody was holding a claw behind his neck, threatening him to cut him if he did a unwanted move.
"Ironic, isn't it?" She said lowly,while she dug her nails deep in Clive's skin. "The Omni orb is the only thing left that can help me get my revenge and my desired world. And the only way to get to it, is through you. The man I want dead more than anyone else, and which I can't kill because of that fact. Well, I think explaining time's over. Once you've completed your task, I will end your miserable life, and reveal your true beauty. Make no false hopes" She placed her other hand on his forehead and the pain shoot up inside Clive's head once again. He cried out in pain, and tried to tear himself away from her, only to again discover that the strong hands of the demons held his head in place, and he couldn't move. He felt his mind slipping away, his memories, and the names of his friends along with it. His vision was getting darker, and his body wouldn't listen to him anymore. Her mind was simply stronger than his when it was weakened, and he waited for the moment when his mind would leave him totally, and be hers to control. He closed his eyes to ease the pain, until it would bother him no more.
He waited. Nothing more happened. A sudden screech filled the air, and the pain lifted from Clive, along with the demons hands. His knees and hands met the cold ground beneath, he shook his head and opened his eyelids. The woman held her body in a tight grip and shivered, while she was screaming out in pain. The demons stared at her, not knowing what they should do.
"Aaaaaah!! I-it cannot be!! Is it that Filgaia Sample!?" She roared. Clive was stunned and didn't understand who she meant at first.
"The Filgaia Sample?... Jet?" His memories of his friends slowly came back to him. The woman's body started to shine in the same light Jet always called when he used his powers. Her body began to fall apart, pieces of her disappeared as they left her body.
"I... must... retreat..." She stammered, lifted up her hands and vanished in a dark ball. A light ball similar to the sun appeared on the sky and grew larger. The demons screamed out in fright, and started to ran for the houses, leaving Clive alone in the field. He stood up and watched as the ball grew even larger. The ball suddenly bursted wide open and the light coming out from it made Clive throw one arm over his eyes. It became lighter, until the vision of the twisted Humphrey's Peak was completely engulfed, and vanished. He heard voices inside his head, but these were friendly. One of them belonged to his leader, Virginia. They were begging him to wake up, to return to them. A smile came up on Clive's face, before he woke up.
Confused? Good! Then I have succeded! The identity of the woman and the maeaning of the mark on Clive's hand will beexplained in future chapters. So stay tuned! (Which means, continue to read!)