Chapter 6
Evander's eyes shot open as he saw the large skeletal hand, but it couldn't pass through the forcefield!
"You cannot enter, monster," Evander growled out.
"T-This is a nightmare," Adeline groaned, now seeing the ancient creatures rise up and roar.
"Come, Evander…where is our show?" Another growled out.
"You know my conditions, monsters; you all tried to eat those that have passed through and I do not entertain murderers," Evander said, now eyes widening as the Golden Moon rose in the sky and he shouted as his power increased, but it was becoming painful.
"Yesssssssss, the mighty Evander has a weakness," the leader of the skeletal ghosts laughed.
"Evander, don't give up!" Colossus called.
Adeline was getting even more scared, but she noticed her cat came to the side where she could see it. It looked at her with concern and she told it to stay back. But at the mere, but hidden, presence of the cat, Evander began to sniff the air.
"Something is different," he said, now eyeing his performers. "Who is here that shouldn't be?"
Everyone froze, but no one said anything. His senses were temporarily high and his eyes glowed as he looked around the area.
"What is wrong?" Shell asked warily.
"There is a strange presence here; one that I did not sense before," Evander said. It was almost as if the cat understood because the cat retreated below deck, making Evander narrow his eyes. "It is gone now, but I will get to the bottom of this later."
The others gulped, knowing that Evander was frustrated when the rules were broken. But as Adeline turned to Shell and Marina, both mermaids screamed in shock as two more hands reached for the ship and began to shake it hard!
"I'm getting scared!" Shell cried out.
"This is terrible!" Marina added.
"How will we ever survive this?!" Shell said, now placing her face in her hands. Colossus walked over and cuddled her.
"Easy…we will make it through this, you guys," he said, now growling at a nearby skeletal hand.
"But the Gashadokuros will…OH, NO!" A fairy gasped, realizing her error.
"YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!" The monstrous leader shouted happily, now tearing a small hole into the forcefield. "I'M HERE!"
"BELOW DECK! NOW!" Evander shouted, now letting the Golden Moon shoot through his veins and he shot golden beams at the monsters, keeping them back.
"Evander!" Adeline shouted in horror, seeing he was outnumbered.
"GO! Get to safety now!" Evander said, now seeing Colossus change into his giant size and shove a skeletal being off the ship.
"You must run, Adeline! Get below with the others!" Colossus demanded.
"I don't want to leave you all," she said, now getting concerned about the whole situation. The skeletons were trying to dig into the ship, but Colossus and Evander were fighting to keep them off.
"W-We need help," Adeline thought out loud. She then shouted as one reached for her, but Evander snapped its hand off and ran in front of her.
"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" He shouted angrily, now bearing his fangs.
Adeline was shocked at how savage Evander was being in terms of protecting her; he was definitely becoming more protective lately. But as a giant skeleton hit Evander against a pole, Adeline angrily used her giant strength, the strength she had left from Colossus, and snapped one of its fingers off!
"Get away and stay away!" She hissed, now shoving it away further from Evander. As the ringmaster stood up, his eyes widened in terror as more appeared and one grabbed Adeline and pulled her from the ship! Evander and Colossus immediately ran into action but they were blocked in!
"Adeline!" Evander shouted in horror.
"EVANDER! EVANDER, HELP!" She screamed, now seeing the large beast run with her into the brush. She heard an angry roar, knowing that Evander was beyond angry with this kidnapping. Within a few moments, he placed Colossus over the ship.
"She is in danger; watch over the ship," Evander commanded.
"Evander…," Colossus said in concern.
"Do not worry; I will save her," Evander reassured him, now taking off and dodging more beasts. The others then came from below deck to help save the ship. They were going to work as a team!
Meanwhile…
Adeline was fighting to get free of the beast that ran beside a swampy, but beautiful lake. He was planning on draining her energy and making her his slave.
"Once I brainwash you, you can help me to lure other people here. I need a new human slave," the beast growled at her.
"Let me go!" She hissed, now shoving hard on his hands that held her.
"Oh hush; I'll train you because that will make it even better when I show you off to Evander," the skeletal monster laughed out, making Adeline shout in anger. She then briefly remembered Octavius' words and she shouted at the top of her lungs.
"LOKI! LOKI, HELP ME! LOKI!" She screamed. The Gashadokuro's eyes widened in horror; how did she know the secret of Loki?
"How could she call him?!" The monster said in shock. "Humans don't know about Loki."
"No~, but this one does. Dear monster…why have you come into my midst," a low and seductive voice purred through the wind. The monster would have been sweating if he was able. For Loki was a sight to behold.
"S-Show yourself, Loki!" the skeletal monster demanded, now pulling Adeline tighter to him.
"Oh, I intend to…," the voice continued. Soon the water began to ripple and soon waves began to appear. Adeline watched in wonder and awe as a giant dinosaur-like creature slowly began to emerge but as she got a closer look, the figure changed to a half-humanoid and half-snake-like being. He had navy dark skin on his tail and fingers to upper arms and lighter blue on his chest. His eyes were a piercing yellow and his hair was a deep, mossy navy-blue and almost black. His long thick-like tail seemed to be endless. "Now that I'm here…I want to see who called me."
As his eyes rested on Adeline, he smirked and wiped his long mossy hair from his face. He then let his sharp teeth gleam into the moonlight.
"Oh, how beautiful you are, human~. You are like those of your kind on Earth. The ones that think I am a Loch Ness Monster," he chuckled.
"B-B-B-B-B-B-But you look like a dinosaur in your other form." Adeline said, now choking out the words in fright. Her face turned pale and she actually fainted the moment Loki leaned more towards her.
"Oh, my…I seemed to have frightened her to death," Loki pouted, now easing out.
"That's close enough!" The skeletal monster hissed. "She's mine!"
Loki only chuckled because he was just as large as the skeletal monster; he then got a dangerous gleam in his eye and slithered closer to the monster.
"I'm afraid that is untrue; she belongs to me since she called my name…therefore, you have to give her to me," Loki said, his eyes glowing. "You have until the count of 3."
"W-What?" The skeletal monster said, now becoming concerned.
"Time's up," Loki said, now savagely lunging at the monster and within seconds, there was nothing but bones scattered everywhere, but Adeline was safely put to the side for safety as Loki took her from the other beast's hands.
"L-L-L-L-L-Leave me alone; YOU WIN! I YIELD I YIELD!" The skeletal monster begged, now only his skull was talking.
"Fair enough. It will take you at least a full moon to put yourself back together; have a nice evening," Loki smirked, now turning and picking up Adeline and taking her with him.
Within a few moments later, Evander burst into the clear and sniffed the air. He ran in the direction of Adeline, but paused as he saw the large rubble of bones scattered.
"What happened here?" he asked the skull who was trying to will his body back together.
"Loki is what happened! He's a menace!" The skull growled.
"Where is he?! Where is the young girl you took?! Answer me now!" Evander snarled, now letting his hands glow.
"NO! Don't blast me!" The skull pleaded.
"Then answer me!" Evander hissed.
"Loki took her! He headed north with her! That's all I know!" The skull said in truth. Evander's eyes widened in surprise.
"Loki? She called for Loki?! The trickster?!" Evander said in a low and concerned voice.
"Yes…," The skull said.
Evander quickly turned and fled in the direction where he saw large snake tracks; Adeline was in the hands of Loki and he was unsure if this being would be friend or foe.
Meanwhile…
Adeline groaned as she slowly sat up. Once her vision slowly adjusted, she looked around and saw that she was in a cave that was covered in jewel-like glass and bottles. It was absolutely beautiful.
"Well, well~, the beauty is awake; I was hoping you would wake up soon," came a soothing purr. Adeline froze, remembering that voice all too well. Once she slowly looked over her shoulder, she saw the large being leaning back and he was drinking from a chalice. "Wakey, wakey, human…,"
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed, now turning and trying to make a run for it.
"Nope…not yet," he chuckled, now letting his tail wrap around her and pull her to him.
"LET GO! LET ME GO!" She screamed. "Why did Octavius tell me to call you?!"
That made Loki pause for only a second and then he smiled as he pulled her up on his snake-like lap.
"Now, now…will you relax; it's going to be alright," he chuckled, now letting a clawed finger touch her face. After a second or two, she looked back at him and he gave her a wink. "So you know my relative?"
"Only a little," she said shyly.
"Well…I am pleased to meet you; I am known as Loki, but in your world, I have another name," he winked.
"The Loch Ness Monster?" She asked.
"Well…that is one of them," he chuckled, now letting her caress the scales on his lap. His face then turned into a devious smile. "Now then…you owe me something for rescuing you."
"I-I have nothing," she said, now looking away in fear.
"Oh come now…I only ask for one thing," he purred, now turning her face back to him. "You owe me a kiss."
"W-What?!" She asked, now confused.
"Come now…what is a kiss between me and you; I did, after all, rescue you," he said, now leaning down his giant face near hers. "Come on…," he whispered.
"I-I don't even know you…," she said, now seeing him get closer and closer.
"You know I mean no harm~, remember, you owe me a favor, my dear," he soothed, now puckering out his lips. Adeline's face turned bright red and as she leaned slowly forward, Loki moved fast and kissed her. She squeaked as she moved back, scared he made such a sudden move and then he placed her down. "My, what a good kisser you are…I am sure my lips will be trembling for hours."
But before she could say anything, Evander burst through the water. He was drenched because they were in an underwater cave, but he managed to find her! He landed strongly on a boulder and eyed Loki.
"Evander! Thank goodness!" Adeline screamed in glee, now running to him. He jumped off the rock and pulled her close, eyeing her for wounds.
"Did he hurt you?" He asked.
"No…he-he saved me…," she said, now feeling him cuddle her more.
"Loki…," Evander said, now eyeing the beast.
"Evander…," Loki replied.
Adeline gulped as she could see the two of them sizing each other up. Within a second, Loki was the first to speak.
"Remain calm, Evander…I did not harm her; I saved her," Loki said, now letting his coils flex comfortably.
"So I have been told; what did she need to give you in return?" He asked, now concerned.
"Only a kiss; it was her first time calling me, so I made the favor simple," Loki winked. Evander only rolled his eyes.
"I see. Well then…those skeletal monsters will be trying to get the ship. We must leave; which is the fastest way out?" Evander asked.
"The way out is towards the southern portal; I will take you there. But…," he paused as he saw Evander's eyes glowing gold. "You are being even more affected by the Golden Moon."
"I am fine…," Evander replied. Loki gave a disbelieving look; he knew that enchanters and fairies were unpredictable around this time.
"I see. Well then…I will show you the way out," Loki said, now leading the way out of the cave. Adeline was given a spell to breathe under water and they soon followed him.
A few hours later…
Once everyone was safely back on the ship and heading out of the Gashadokuros' realm, Colossus made his way over to Adeline after seeing Evander.
"Adeline…he's getting worse…," Colossus said.
"How?" She asked.
"His power is increasing quickly and he needs to go into a sleep stasis to make sure his power remains stable." Colossus said. "But he won't go…,"
"Why?! If he needs to go, then why won't he?!" Adeline said in horror.
"Because, Adeline…he knows Oberon is near and he feels that he needs to be awake to protect you," Colossus said. As they spoke, they headed towards her room. Once they entered, the large cat came out and began purring against Adeline. Colossus frowned at the large beast and it hissed at him, making him snarl at it.
"Whoa! You two need to calm down," Adeline said.
"Adeline…something is different about this cat," Colossus said, now eyeing it. The cat only hissed and rubbed against Adeline. Colossus was about to reply, but it soon began to rain. He then eyed the cat, who seemed to smirk at him. "I have to help them get through this storm, but I am coming back for you."
The cat only growled at him and Adeline noticed that the two of them were definitely not getting along. Once Colossus left, Adeline let out a shout of shock as the storm appeared to get even more intense.
"I don't like this…," she whined in fear, now getting on her bed and curling up in a nearby blanket. As she did, the cat jumped up behind her and laid down. For a second, she felt as if arms were wrapping around her.
"No need to fear if I'm here," a voice soothed in her ears. She let out a shout of shock and turned around, but it was only the cat! It was laying on its side and looking at her calmly.
"D-Did you talk?!" She asked. But the cat only stared. Now confused, she turned back and cuddled back in the blankets. "No, that is impossible."
But what she didn't see was the cat glance at her over its shoulder and give a small smile.
"Is it?" It said lowly. So low that she could not hear.
guestsurprise's words: Okay, guys; things are heating up!
To guestsurprise: That it is! :) So, Loki can turn into a Naga. Interesting. Wonder if he's the cat too. If the cat was Oberon, wouldn't he have just kidnapped her when the Gashadokuros attacked? Hmm, mysteries upon mysteries. You've got me and several others hooked, Amiga. :) Also, I got your request and I'd be happy to do it for you. ;)
To everyone else: Please leave guestsurprise a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418