Spiral: A NEW CHAPTER! ((don't kill me cause I haven't updated my other ones..)) enjoy, R&R!
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Silently, Rath slipped out of his bed, making sure that all the other children were sound asleep. He lighted a candle, striking the match against the bureau, and silently made his way to the door, which, to his luck, was slightly ajar. He wedged himself through the crack and continued on down the hall. It was pitch black, with the exception of his candle, and a small light coming from downstairs.
'Hm?' thought Rath, making his way silently down the stairs, 'I wonder who's awake?' ((well why is he awake? But that's not important. . .))
"-Lord Nadil is getting angry, the beast residing in him is hungering for more."
"If we keep this up, there'll be no more children to sacrifice! How much hungrier can that thing get!"
"Do not question the master, Shyrendora, we must do what he says, no matter how many he wants."
"You're right Shydeman. . .who's turn is it tonight-"
Rath held his breath as the voices of Shydeman and Shyrendora filled his ears. They were standing at a table, facing each other with stern faces. He tried desperately to still his beating heart, afraid that with every "b-bump", they'd find him.
'Come on. . .keep talking. . .' he thought to himself, standing along the wall of the door, 'Who are you gonna take next?'
"-the pink-haired girl. . .Hana Kusuku, was it?"
"Oh, yes, her. . .hard working girl she is. It'll be a shame to get rid of her," snickered Shyrendora.
"A shame indee-"
"HEY! YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" came a shout from across the hall.
Rath spun his head around to come face to face with-
"SHYDEMAN! SHYRENDORA!" yelled Garfakcy, "We have an eavesdropper. . ."
"Is that true. . ."
Rath stepped forward and spun around again as the door swung open. Light flooded out into the hall as Shydeman and Shyrendora stepped out of the room. He took a step backwards, only to bump into the bully Garfakcy.
"Damn," cursed Rath to himself. This was not good. Without his powers or even a sword, he was helpless. In this child's body, there was no strength, and who knew what magic the Shy's possessed?
"What do you think, Shydeman?" questioned Shyrendora, once again connecting a silver string of pain to the helpless boy.
"I don't know, Shyrendora," replied the man sarcastically, "Garfakcy? Do you have any suggestions?"
Garfakcy smirked and glared evilly at Rath. "I say give him away with her," he answered, stepping to the side.
Rath stared in horror as his violet eyes stared at the person before him. Garfakcy's stepping to the side allowed Rath to view what he had been bringing to the caretakers of the orphanage.
Hana Kusuku stood there, hands at her sides; pink hair turned a sullen gray. All her clothes, skin, and everything else were a sulking gray. She was like a figure out of a black and white T.V. And her eyes, her once beautiful golden eyes were a dull gray, consisting of no pupils. They were empty, completely soulless.
"Marvelous idea, Garfakcy," sneered Shyrendora, giving a flick of her finger.
"AGH!" Rath yelled out as the pain once again spread across his chest. But this time, it wasn't only his chest. The burning pain spread throughout his whole body. Chest head, arms, and even his mind. He fell to his knees, clutching his aching head with his hands, shouting out in pain.
"Feh, pathetic loser," smirked Garfakcy, taking this chance to torture the poor boy further. He swung his fist and Rath fell to the floor, blood streaming down his lips. "No one's here to help you," Garfakcy took his foot and placed it on top of Rath's small hands, and then, he began digging his sole into the young boy's fingers. "All the other children can't even hear us thanks to Shydeman and Shyrendora. Tomorrow morning, all they'll know is that you've disappeared like the rest."
"AAAAAGH!" yelled Rath, cringing as Garfakcy ground into his fingers ever more.
"Garfakcy, enough fooling around," snapped Shydeman, waving his hand in the air.
"Yes, I think he's had enough torture before his death," cackled Shyrendora, releasing Rath from the silver string.
The older boy's foot instantly backed away from Rath's bloodied fingers. Garfakcy frowned at the man and crossed his arms. "You guys are no fun."
"Lord Nadil is here," was all Shydeman said before returning inside the room which he had come from. "Bring the children in."
Garfakcy grabbed Rath by the shirt and dragged him into the room. Shyrendora motioned at the gray Hana Kusuku with her finger, and the girl walked slowly into the room at her command.
Rath rubbed his fingers with his other, undamaged ones. He couldn't feel anything. The fingers that Garfakcy had so brutally stepped on were all broken. He let his useless hand fall to his side, as he saw the scene before him.
Someone, or was it a something, had entered the room without the use of the door. It appeared to be a man, but. . .there was something floating around in him. The thing's form created an outer layer of body for the man. The man himself was a quite handsome, with deep purple hair and dark, evil, magenta eyes. The form surrounding him was unreadable. It's motion kept anyone from telling what it was. Nadil grinned and held out a hand.
Rath's eyes switched from the demon lord, to the demon lord's hand. On the palm. . . was a small hole? It was. . .a mouth? Embedded into the man's palm was a fanged, blood-lusting mouth. Its many jagged teeth clanged together. It licked its lips as Nadil turned to face it towards the two children.
Rath slightly jumped as someone approached him. He looked to his left to see Hana Kusuku walk pass him. She was heading straight towards the mouth in a daze.
"N-no. . ." murmured Rath through bleeding lips. Hana Kusuku. . .the shy girl who had tended to his wounds, the girl who had been the first to treat him with kindness in his new life. . was about to die. "Ha. . .Hana Kusuku. . .d-don't. . ."
But the entranced girl was deaf to Rath's pleas. She continued to slowly make her way towards the devilish mouth.
"Argh," he groaned, trying desperately to get up. There was something. . .something inside him, not the pain, something was. . .burning. . . "Ha. . .Hana Kusuku. . .stop. . ."
The girl was almost to the demon lord. Almost to the devilish hand. . . .Almost to her death. . .
"S. . .stop," pleaded Rath, forcing himself up, only to be forced down again by Garfakcy, "Please. . .stop. . ." The burning sensation within him grew worse. This feeling. . .it had happened once before. . . "Stop. . .H-Hana Kusuku. . .stop. . .STOP!"
Garfakcy made a shield for his face with his arms as the boy before him burst into flames. The fire engulfed Rath and took the form of fiery wings. Shydeman and Shyrendora, too, watched as the flames formed into a great red dragon, outstretching its great flaming wings. Head, mane, all the way down to flaming tail was formed by the flames, topped with a shining, silvery horn jutting out from the center of its forehead.
"Fire!" exclaimed Rath with joy. Now he remembered why the burning sensation had felt so familiar. It had happened once before. Finally, his power had returned to him. Now he could act. "Fire, get the girl!"
The great dragon answered his master's command. It flapped its blazing wings and swooped to grab the girl of gray out of the devilish mouth's way.
Rath stared in astonishment as his wounds, cuts, and broken fingers healed themselves. Flames blazed inside and out of the cuts, sewing them together and leaving not a single scar. The same flames swirled around his broken fingers, mending the bones and placing them back in their correct positions.
"Ha!" Rath grinned and held his hand out in front of him arm's length. Red light shimmered and glowed. It flowed in and out and finally formed into a long, red, dangerous sword. It was quite a amazing sight to see such a young child wielding such a dangerous weapon. "If you die. . ." he said, pointing the glinting tip of the sword at the Demon Lord, "No more children will have to be sacrificed. . ." The joy of slaying demons returned to Rath. "Die!" He ran straight towards the Demon Lord, sword in position.
But, alas, the Demon Lord vanished in a whisp of black smoke before Rath's eyes. THE Demon Lord, Nadil, would not be killed that easily.
"Feh, I'll get him later," muttered Rath under his breath, once again talking as his old self. "Now. . .where did that dragon go. . ."
"That Dragon" was over in the corner, in his small form, and resting upon the shoulder of the still gray form of Hana Kusuku. He held up a piece of white paper high in the air. :She's not waking up:
"I'll deal with that later," replied Rath, noticing Shydeman and Shyrendora running out of the room followed closely by Garfakcy. "Where do you think you're going!"" he shouted, blocking the exit with a wall of fire. More pillars of fire erupted all around the room. "I'm going to burn this place to ashes!"
"Oh really," sneered Shyrendora, shielding her face with her arms, "What about all your friends? The other orphan brats."
The fire burned out in sync with Rath as he suddenly remembered the other children in the building. If he burned down the building, they would be burned down, too.
Shydeman took Rath's pause as the moment to act. He lunged at Rath, a swirling white light forming in his outstretched hand.
Rath didn't have time to react. He held his sword out in front of him to embrace the attack.
"Beating on a little kid, are we?"
"Indeed, someone did not teach you manners."
Rath opened his eyes to see Shydeman back to his spot next to his twin, clutching a bleeding shoulder. Two forms stood with backs facing the young boy, guarding him with their bodies and their swords. On each person's shoulder perched a small dragon. One of them, the one with short, messy brown hair, had a dragon that looked as if it were carved straight out from rock, the other, the one with long, blonde hair which went past the waist, had a dragon that was a shade of light blue, with a flowing blue mane and a gem embedded in its forehead. By the looks of it, the brown-headed one was the one to pierce Shydeman with their blade. Rath knew these two. He had known the blonde particularly since he was a child. The trio had been on many missions together, and had traveled in the lands of Dusis for a long time.
"Thatz. . .Rune?" murmured Rath, letting his sword and himself drop to the floor. For a long time, he had not seen these two. And now, they would not even know who he was, and something, a force controlling his newborn tongue, would not let him reveal the truth.
"Hm?" Thatz turned to face his comrade of Water, "You say something Blondie?"
Rune also stared at Thatz, slightly confused, "No, I thought it was you. . ."
Both Dragon Knights ((and dragons)) turned to face the mysterious raven-haired boy whom they were guarding.
Rath hastily tried to redirect the signs of suspicion away from him. "W-wasn't me!" he mumbled, waving his hands in a very child-like manner.
'Hopefully, they'll think they imagined it. . .' thought Rath to himself, slumping back to the ground, obviously tired. He had forgotten that a child could take on less excitement for one day than an adult. He sighed as the two Dragon Knights before him shook their heads in unison, then went back to beating the heck out of the bad guys.
The younger boy blinked and looked up as a card floated into his lap. The small red dragon had appeared on his shoulder, nudging him to read the message. "Oh, r-right," said Rath, quickly flipping the card over in his hands.
:Let them take care of the demons, shouldn't you attend to the girl: Was written on the card.
"What can I do? I don't have healing powers like Rune does!" complained Rath to the dragon.
Fire blinked in confusion and quickly scribbled a less legible card. :You. . .sound familiar. Like my old master, who are you:
"I am your old master, dolt!" was what Rath planned to say, but the words didn't come out. He opened his mouth once again, but the sentence didn't come. Something was blocking him from telling the truth. And so he continued on with his other reply. "My name is Zoma," said Rath, fully understanding that he would have to live with the name for the entirety of his life.
:And. . .: came another card.
"And. . .what?" questioned Rath, yet again redirecting suspicions.
:Don't you have a story or something? Like, why you are here, and what happened to your parents: The dragon cocked his head to the left as he wrote out his questions.
"My. . .er, story?" Rath hastily managed to organize frantic thoughts in his mind. He needed a story to supply to questions. Surely the Dragon Tribe was going to interrogate him, right? 'I need a story. . .' thought Rath to himself.
As those whispers of thoughts flowed out into the channels of his mind, a small voice, his own, echoed throughout his mind. 'You want my story? I'll tell you. . .' As the voice echoed on, the cross of which was attached to the silver chain began to glow a steady, sparkling glow. Then, like the film of a movie, the history began to play by the light of the cross.
A woman's high-pitched scream, a man's plea for hope. . .these were the sounds going through Rath's head. And then. . .he heard his own voice. Slightly more childish, tone wise, and filled with. . .fear. . .
"Mama!" cried out the young boy, clutching at the ends of his mother's dress. Tears were streaming down his face. He nudged his mother more as she refused to respond. "Mama, wake up!"
"Z-Zoma. . ." a man practically dragged himself with his two hands to lay on the ground close enough to the boy to have him hear his whispers. "I'm. . .I'm afraid mama won't be waking up. . .and. . .and I won't be waking up. . .either. . "
"No. . .no, daddy, please. . .don't. . .don't close your eyes. . ."
The four-year-old Zoma let the tears stream down his face as he watched the men dressed in black run off into the fading darkness. They had done this. They had ruthlessly murdered his parents. . .and they had taken away his happiness.
And with a last cry of pain from the young boy, Rath snapped back to the present, feeling a sharp nip in the shoulder. "Ow! That hurt!" Rath swatted the small red dragon on his shoulder. After a moment's pause, he took in his surroundings. How long was he in remembrance? Shydeman and Shyrendora seemed to be long gone, and there was no trace of Garfakcy either. And also, the light of the cross had long faded out. Oy, did he zone out for that long? Then, the sharp nipping came again.
"CUT THAT OUT!" he yelled, this time instead of just swatting, he started to strangle Fire.
"Oy, shrimp, you better cut that out or he's gonna die!" smirked a voice of cunning and humor. The brown-haired Knight of Earth, Thatz, plopped down onto the floor, cross-legged, to be face to face, ((not to mention height level)) with the young boy before him. The former thief smiled, eyes half closed, and put his hand on top of the boy's head, ruffling up the hair. "Heh, you're a lot smaller than Rath. But I'm sure you'll be a good replacement."
Yet again, Rath's voice was cut off as he attempted to remark, "I am Rath, stupid!" So instead, once again, he proceeded with the answer, "I'm Zoma."
"Well, Zoma," said Thatz happily, clapping Rath on the shoulder, almost knocking the boy down, "Glad to have you on the team!"
"Who. . .who are you guys?" asked Rath falsely, trying desperately to keep the act up. Geez, was this getting annoying.
This time, it was Rune who spoke. "We're from the Dragon Clan. The Dragon Knights, to be exact," said the Water Dragon Knight, seeming more grand to Rath now than he had before. Rune's princeliness was very obvious. "We have come to get you and take you back to the Dragon Castle." Rune smiled at his own words. He was remembering when the same scene had happened to him, only he had been a faerie at the time, and was living in the Fiori Forest, not stuck in an orphanage.
"Why?"
"Why?" asked Rune to himself, repeating the boy's words, "Well. . .uh. . .because. . .Thatz, help me out here."
"BECAUSE YOU'RE SPECIAL!" shouted Thatz out loud in happiness.
"That did not exactly help. . ."mumbled Rune, sweating slightly.
"Still an idiot. . ." said Rath, blurting out words he did not mean to.
"Eh?" Thatz and Rune gave the boy "Zoma" stares of question.
"I mean-" Rath searched his mind for an excuse, "I. . .I'm an idiot!"
"Er. . .why?" asked Rune. This boy was very. . .odd. . .
Rath breathed in deeply, ready to break his pride. He had to do this, he couldn't let them figure out who he was. And then-
Thatz and Rune stared as the boy before them broke into sobs.
Rath covered his face with his hands. God, it was actually quite fun pretending to cry. Memories of his own past life played in his mind. He remembered when he had done the same act years ago when he had gotten himself into trouble in the castle as a child. It most definitely had worked on Ruwalk and Kai-Stern, but never on Tetheus or Alfeegi.
"Blondie. . ." mumbled Thatz under his breath, "Do something! Where's the off button on this kid?"
"I don't know! I have never taken care of a child before!" snapped Rune, frustratingly getting a headache. "Okay. . .let me try. . ." he shook his head for a moment, then knelt before the boy. He put a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled almost a little too kindly. "Okay, why do you feel like an idiot?"
Rath smirked a little, then continued on with the act. He sniffed and pointed to the gray form of Hana Kusuku in the corner. "B-b-because, even though. . .th-the Shy's are gone, she's still like that!" whined Rath, rubbing his watering eyes with the ends of his sleeves.
"Oh, is that it?" Rune smiled a real smile this time around. This was a problem he could fix. "Don't worry, I can get her back to normal." He hastily stood up straight and strode over to the girl of gray.
Rath ceased the sobbing act to watch as the elfin prince began to let his faerie healing power flow through his fingers, golden strands of light waving this way and that. The golden string flew from Rune's fingers to entwine themselves around the girl, then the string plunged deep within her, making her glow with the same soft light as the threads.
Color immediately returned to the girl. A rose-colored pink returned to her cheek, gold returned to her eyes, and life returned to her soulless body. She had regained what was lost, and looked around, confused.
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Spiral: all for now…