Outrun the Flood

Kamui squinted his eyes upon awakening while sunlight poured through the tent flap. He shifted his head upward off the pillow it rested on, but a pair of hands wrapped tightly around his chest strained his movements. He placed his head back on the fluffy sleep-aide and gazed to his left, which revealed Caeldori, who rested on her side directly next to Kamui.

Her arms were coiled around his torso and her head buried itself into his shoulder. She let out a tiny grunt as her grip lessened. Kamui began to remove her hands from his chest, which caused Caeldori to raise her head slowly whilst opening her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She asked while looking at her hands, which Kamui was firmly gripping.

"Removing your hands from me." Kamui sighed as he let go of her warm fingers, and promptly stood up. He was still fully clothed, which he couldn't say the same for her. "We should get going soon."

"Just give me five more minutes," Caeldori muttered while rolling onto her front. Kamui walked through the tent flap into the outdoors; a thick fog was rolling through the forest.

"I'm gonna dedicate the rest of my life to forgetting this." He thought while a sour taste built in his mouth. He couldn't tell Caeldori that he wasn't interested in her, because that would crush her heart. However, his mind began to race on how to solve his dilemma. "If I could forget this happened, then it wouldn't be awkward!" He slammed his fist downward into his open palm as he smiled. "Nyx probably knows something about memory removal, so I can ask her when I get back." He muttered aloud as Caeldori came out of the tent.

"What?" She asked while adjusting her white hairband. "What did you say?" Caeldori looked to him, then began to remove the wooden stakes that kept the tent upright. After she had packed everything into her bag, Kamui noticed that said bag was about to burst from how full it was.

"Nothing. Let's be on our way." Kamui held out his hand.

"Alright. I can't wait to tell my parents about this!" Caeldori smiled as she clasped his hand; her fingers were wrapped around his. Kamui closed his eyes as he began to mutter the incantation to return to his castle.

"Sdrawkcab egassem!" Kamui yelled the incantation and a bright flash of blue enveloped both of them. Moments later, they found themselves in the central courtyard of the castle.

"What the heck were you saying?" Caeldori raised her eyebrow as Setsuna, who was carrying two buckets of paint, walked by.

"I don't know. It was just on a card that Lilith gave me." Kamui shrugged his shoulders as he began walking towards the central castle. "See you later." He waved to Caeldori.

"See you later as well!" Caeldori smiled as she waved.

Five minutes later, Nyx was interrupted from her studies by a knocking on her door. She sighed before getting off her bed and walking to the door, and opened it to see Kamui looking down to her eye level.

"Hi there, Nyx. I was wondering if you could help me with something." Kamui smiled in an obviously fictitious manner. Nyx rolled her eyes and shut the door, but was stopped by Kamui's foot.

"Gods damn it." She placed the palm of her hand to her face and slowly dragged it downward in anger. "Fine. Invade my privacy with your petty troubles." Nyx walked away from the door and sat on a very tall chair. Kamui stepped into the dimly-lit room and noticed that every piece of furniture she had was painted black, save for a section of the wall.

As if on cue, Setsuna entered the room and set a bucket of paint next to the wall.

"Here you go Nyx. I hope this makes us even now." Setsuna noticed Kamui and waved to him; Kamui noted that her clothing was stained with the tar-like mixture.

"It does. You may go now." Nyx gazed to the bucket, then to Setsuna.

"Really? Not even a 'thank you', or anything?" Setsuna sighed as she exited the room.

"So what is it you need?" Nyx watched as Kamui sat into the chair opposite her table, which was barely off the ground in contrast to her incredibly tall recliner.

"Can you erase a specific memory from my thoughts permanently?" Kamui leaned forward in his chair.

"Yes. In fact, I did that to your brother three weeks ago. Ryoma was his name."

"What did you erase from him?"

"Surely you remember the grief he was in after that Scarlet girl died, yes?" Nyx stood up from her chair and paced around the room.

"How could I forget? He spent that week in his room crying, then he spent the next week as if nothing had happened."

"That's because I made him think nothing had happened. I hexed his brain because he requested it, and I can do the same for you." Nyx began filing through drawers with labels on them.

"So that's why he didn't remember her!" Kamui's eyes beamed.

"Precisely. What exactly do you need to be forgotten? Did you watch your parents have sexual intercourse?"

"Ew, no!" Kamui felt as though a rock had smashed into his stomach; he also forgot that both of his parents were deceased. "I just need to forget last night."

"Alright, and what do you wish to replace last night with?"

"Why do you need to replace it?" Kamui raised his eyebrow in an inquisitive manner.

"Because a removed memory needs a substitute, or else your subconscious will go mad trying to figure out what transpired."

"Okay, so in that case, how about you say that I spent the night hanging out with Hisame?" Kamui felt giddy inside. Finally, he wouldn't have to remember that horrible night.

"Now, that I can work with. Seeing as you're the owner of this castle, I won't charge you for this. Regardless, It's a relatively mundane spell, so…" Nyx stood in front of Kamui and waved her hand slowly as Kamui stared at it. A purple mist emanated from her palm while Kamui began to feel very tired. He shut his eyes and began to snore as Nyx walked to her bookcase.

She filled through all her tomes that started with D until she found what she was looking for. After pulling her copy of 'Dreams, and How to Manipulate the Subconscious' from the shelf, she stood at the sleeping prince's side. Nyx looked through all the pages until she settled on one that contained a picture of a spider. A detailed list of poses and chants was listed underneath the image, with archaic writing complementing the lists.

"I summon thee! Maerd redoops!" Nyx yelled while raising her hand as a purple mist-like substance began to materialize in her palm. She lowered her arm, looked to her hand, and watched as the mist assembled itself into a spider the size of her fingernails. She moved her hand to Kamui's ear and lowered her head before blowing the spider into Kamui's ear canal.

Nyx went back to her chair, given that her job was done, and waited for half-an-hour until Kamui began to stir.

"Wh-where am I?" Kamui looked around the room in a panicked manner.

"You passed out after I showed you my collection of shrunken heads. Now, where were you last night?"

"Uh, I was playing boulder-parchment-shears with Hisame for six hours," Kamui answered as he stood up. "Thanks for showing me your… head ensemble." He stated with a nervous tone before walking out of Nyx's room into the hallway.

"You're welcome." Nyx's voice was dry and coarse as Kamui shut the door behind him.

An hour later, Subaki walked through the training yard as a warm breeze complimented the shining sun above. His focus turned to Orochi and Odin, who were both clutching yellow books.

"Hello, Orochi and Odin. What are you two doing?" Subaki asked with a smile while waving.

"I'm trying to teach Orochi how to harness the almighty destruction of tomes!" Odin spoke in his usual over-the-top voice; Subaki rolled his eyes.

"What Odin is trying to say," Orochi gave her 'friend' a glare before looking towards Subaki. "Is that he's teaching me how to use Nohrian magic."

"Ah, I see." Subaki was one-hundred percent positive that someone was going to be struck by a stray fireball. "Well, by all means, carry on." He began to walk away from the two magic-users, and his gaze was drawn to his daughter, who was sitting by on a bench underneath a sakura tree. "Hello, Caeldori!" He waved his arm in an energetic manner as Caeldori noticed him.

"Hello, father!" She smiled and patted the empty space at her side; she was seemingly beckoning for him to sit next to her. "I need to discuss something with you." After Subaki seated himself on the comfortable bench, Caeldori explained the events of the previous night.

"So you kissed him underneath the pale moonlight after you saved his life, yet he still does not love you?" Subaki tilted his head sideways.

"Exactly. I even snuggled with him this morning, but to no avail." Caeldori sighed while looking to the castle. The figurative cogs in Subaki's head began to turn as she gazed longingly.

"Wait a minute. Avail. Fort Lansdale." Subaki beamed.

The sound of spells and magic going haywire filled the air.

"Everyone hit the deck!" Odin yelled out while a large bolt of electricity soared into the air. Subaki looked over the back of the bench and saw that Odin and Orochi were now huddled together; half of the ground around their feet was singed and the other half was frozen. "Sorry, we got a novice tome user here."

"Called it." Subaki thought before getting back to the problem at hand. "You know that decrepit fort near the Woods of the Forlorn?"

"Yes, Fort Lansdale. I've heard it was abandoned many years ago from mass paranoia within the troops. It's more of a maze filled with traps now." Caeldori leaned forward in her seat.

"We could set you up in that fort, and you could pretend to be a damsel in distress. I'd send Kamui to rescue you, and you can literally make him fall for you in a fort, at night." Subaki's tongue felt parched, and he began to crave a beverage; he could probably ask Selena for more tea after this.

"I like it." Caeldori checked through the possible scenarios in her head. "What would happen if Kamui was unable to rescue me?"

"Hmm. What if I sent somebody to extract you through the back door?"

"Why the heck is there a back door to a maze?!" Caeldori held her forehead in disbelief at whoever constructed the fort.

"There's a back entrance to a secret room, which is where you would be dropped off, so there's no real danger for you." Subaki couldn't care less about answering that question about the back door. "Will you go with this plan?"

"Absolutely. Let's leave tonight before everyone goes to bed." Caeldori answered as she stood up.

Later that evening Kamui rested in his quarters, and was currently reading some crummy romance book about swashbuckling adventures on the high seas that Caeldori recommended to him.

Subaki burst through the front door and into Kamui's room.

"Kamui, come quick! Caeldori's trapped!" A frenzy was in his eyes and mannerisms while he panted for breath.

"Dear gods, does anyone here knock?!" Kamui groaned and threw his novel to the wall before getting off of his bed. "What happened to Caeldori?"

"She got lost in Fort Lansdale and can't escape! She'll die if you don't help!" Subaki scrambled to the space before Kamui and got on his knees. "Please, save her!" His hands were clasped together as he bowed.

"Alright, alright, but I'm bringing Hisame." Kamui watched as Subaki's expression shifted from begging to anger at the mere mention of Hisame.

"Hi-Hisame? Why on earth would you bring that lousy, ugly, rotten, dirty, cow-stealing, vegetable-loving moron?" Subaki stood up and grabbed Kamui by the shoulders.

"Because I can trust him to help me out. Let me go get him and we can depart." Kamui brushed Subaki's hands off his shoulder and walked out of his room while Subaki followed. The red-haired knight watched as Kamui strode to the central castle.

"This simply will not do at all," Subaki mumbled as Setsuna walked by.

"Hey, Subaki, could you help me get this paint off my clothes." Setsuna was wearing a blue kimono, and her regular attire was folded in her hands.

"Not now, Setsuna, I'm thinking." Subaki shooed her away with his hands but stopped when a thought crossed his mind. "Wait, do you have any arrows that can put one to sleep?"

"Um, why yes, I do." Setsuna fumbled with her bag until she pulled out a single arrow. The inscription '寝る' was scrawled on its shaft.

"Deal, I'll get the paint off your armor, and in exchange, I need you to follow Kamui and Hisame. They're going into a fort to rescue Caeldori, and there's a window into the room where she is. Watch that window, and if you see Hisame enter the room, shoot him with that arrow." Subaki firmly gripped Setsuna by the shoulders, who had a frightened look in her eyes.

"O-Okay?" Setsuna glanced nervously to the side as her muscles tensed.

"Thank you. I think that's the pair of them approaching." Subaki released Setsuna from his grip and pointed to the oncoming duo.

"Well, operation Rescue Caeldori, is a go!" Hisame's enthusiastic tone was made abundantly clear to Subaki, and he did not like one bit of it. Setsuna was hidden behind Subaki, which she wasn't sure was on purpose or not.

"Let's get going already!" Kamui held out his hands, one of which Hisame clasped while Subaki held the other. Setsuna continued the chain with Subaki's other hand, which he outstretched behind him. "Egassem adrawkcab rehtona!"

Another bright flash of blue enveloped Kamui and the gang, who now found themselves in front of a derelict fortress, illuminated by the pale moonlight. They stood in a forest of dead trees, and Hisame swore he heard a wolf's howl in the distance.

"Alright, you two better get going and save Caeldori. I'll stay here and guard the entrance." Subaki pointed to the large, imposing gate before glancing behind him. He had to make sure Setsuna wasn't lost in transit, after all. She was still in one piece, although she looked slightly frazzled.

"We'll be back before long." Hisame tore off towards the entrance to the fort while Kamui followed suit. Setsuna stepped from behind Subaki; both of her eyebrows were raised while she shivered.

"See that door over there?" Subaki pointed to an entrance that was camouflaged behind an overgrowth of vines. "Watch that door, and if you see Hisame enter the room... Put him to sleep."

"N-Now, when you say 'put him to sleep', do you mean-" Setsuna's head was titled as she raised her eyebrow.

"Don't kill him! gods, that would be horrible!" Subaki strode to the door, pushed the vines away, and opened the entrance to reveal a torchlit room. Sitting inside the area was Caeldori, who was busy reading a book. "Psst. Caeldori, over here." Subaki leaned through the doorframe while Caeldori looked up from her tome.

"Is Kamui on the way?" She asked as she stood up.

"Yes, but he's bringing that ingrate, Hisame, with him." Subaki spat onto the floor in disgust. Setsuna leaned in the entrance next to him. "My friend here is going to put Hisame to sleep if he enters the room."

"Strange, but if you insist." Caeldori shrugged before sitting down.

"Try and make yourself look more helpless, as in you should feign crying when Kamui enters." Subaki stated before pulling his frame out of the door and leaving it open. "I'm going to the nearby pond to wash the paint off your clothes. Holler if you need me." Subaki calmly walked into the forest; Setsuna's folded attire was clutched in his hand.

Setsuna let out a sigh as she was left wondering what exactly she had just gotten herself into.

"I just wanted to go to bed. Is that too much to ask?" She thought as she searched the trees for a comfortable perch. After finding a good spot, she clambered up an old oak tree and sat on one of its branches. She was presented with a decent view of the room Caeldori was in, and she trained her focus on the brown door, where either Kamui or Hisame would enter.

She delicately pulled the special arrow out of her bag; its tip was green in coloration. She grabbed her bow out from behind her back and nocked the arrow into place.

Now came the long, uneventful waiting.

Kamui stood at the entrance to a pitch-black maze while Hisame at his side.

"Man, this place is dark," Kamui stated the obvious while Hisame went back outside. He returned with a pair of torches in hand, and gave one to Kamui. "Thanks." The two began walking through the maze for a short while until the relatively small corridor they traversed was molded into a branching path.

"I'll go left, you go right," Hisame stated bluntly as he walked to the left. Kamui began walking to the right. After several moments of walking past chained skeletons in a path that one could describe as 'uneventful', Kamui felt a metallic clinking sound after taking another step, and his foot sank slightly into the ground.

He looked behind him to see a portion of the wall lowering into the ground, and behind it was a row of holes.

"Pressure plates." He groaned as arrows began to shoot out of the openings. Kamui ducked instinctively while the volley continued overhead. He crawled along the ground, and made sure to keep his torch away from his head until he reached a corner. He stood up when he was certain he would not get shot, dusted himself off, and continued along his way.

Hisame, however, had a horrible time going through the maze, seeing as around every corner there was a bony cadaver waiting for him. It's not like they were alive or anything; it's just that he really detested skeletons.

"I swear to the gods, if there's another frightening cadaver around this turn..." He mumbled to himself as he approached another corner. His suspicions were confirmed when a skeletal body fell from the ceiling and collapsed into a pile at his feet.

Hisame's shriek was so loud Kamui mistook it for Caeldori's as he heard it. The sound of footsteps ensued as Hisame let out another yell. "Get me out of here!" He dropped his torch in his panic while he sprinted in the opposite direction he was going, through the maze, and out the front door.

Now that Hisame had exited the maze, his heartbeat was given some time to slow while he leaned against the wooden gate. Hisame did not, however, realize that he had just abandoned Kamui to the horrors of that gods-forsaken maze.

Fortunately, Kamui was standing before a large metal door, which he assumed was the entrance to where Caeldori was. He entered to see his red-haired friend lying on the floor; a helpless look was in her eyes.

"Nngh!" Setsuna grunted as she awoke, and loosed the arrow from her bow. It took her a moment to realize that she had just fired her weapon at Kamui, and not Hisame.

"Ow!" Kamui felt a jolt of pain, then he looked to his shoulder. An arrow had lodged itself deep into his flesh.

Caeldori rushed to his side before embracing him while tears streaked her face. She failed to notice the arrow, Kamui's expression of pain, and the fact that the green sphere tied to his necklace was now glowing brightly.

"Thank you for rescuing me." She mumbled into Kamui's shoulder before he pushed her backward.

What felt like liquid fire coursed through Kamui's veins. His vision became distorted and shaky as his inside felt as though they were being crushed by a chest. He had felt this before; this was word-for-word what he had experienced when he watched his mother pass away before his very eyes.

Setsuna watched as Kamui got down on his arms and knees, and his head began shifting and growing antler-like appendages. Only now did she remember that the poison worked only on humans, and not dragon-folk like Kamui.

Unbeknownst to anyone watching this transpire, the chemicals from the projectile had the opposite effect on dragons and other reptiles. Essentially, Kamui's body was now generating more energy than it could burn through, so it's natural defense mechanism activated.

Caeldori stumbled back and watched in awe -with some mild terror mixed in- as Kamui's hands and feet were replaced with black talons, while a long tail sprouted out of his backside. The prince now resembled an incredibly lanky horse, save for the wings he had grown.

Kamui reared back on his legs and boomed an ear-splitting roar before striding towards Caeldori.

"Get on!" His voice was garbled and twisted; barely recognizable, but Caeldori still complied. She sat on him like she would her pegasus, while her legs dangled on each side of his body as she hugged his neck. After Kamui was certain that Caeldori was secure, he placed his left arm forward.

A clinking sound ensued, and his hand sunk into the ground.

"I hate pressure plates!" He grunted while Caeldori looked behind her to the back wall that held a painting.

She watched as the wall lowered automatically, and revealed a massive amount of water.

"Go!" She screamed as Kamui began galloping into the maze while a torrent of water rushed behind him. He lowered his head and smashed through a stone wall of the maze; his head throbbed in pain as dust flew around him. He charged through another wall and another after that.

Caeldori held onto his back tightly, and gazed behind to see water enveloping everything behind them. The sound of stone cracking and falling to pieces filled her ears.

Kamui could just make out the exit to the maze, but his speed was simply not fast enough to outrun the water. His hands slipped from the liquid, and was sent into a tumble as the water enveloped him. Caeldori yelped as everything around her went dark. She couldn't see, and all she could hear was the sound of rushing water and her heartbeat.

"Hold on!" Kamui attempted to reassure her as he wrapped his wings around her, which protected her from drowning.

Unfortunately, his dragon form had many abilities, but owning gills was not one of them. Water clogged his mouth as the current sent him careening towards the front gate.

Hisame's ears perked up as he leaned against the entrance to the fort; he heard the faint sound of rushing water approaching closer and closer. He dove to his left and looked behind him to see a torrential flood crash through the wooden gate.

Kamui tumbled onto the ground and instinctively relaxed his wings, which released Caeldori to the outside, who rolled through the dirt. Kamui, however, was still pushed by the rushing current, and smashed into a tree.

A cracking sound came from his back. "Ah!" He let out a twisted screech; his voice cracked as his back felt as though it were aflame. Caeldori coughed dirt and soot before scrambling to his side; her expression was panicked and frenzied as he kneeled over him.

Caeldori watched as Kamui shrunk back into his human form and wasted no time in pressing his chest rhythmically.

"Stay with me Kamui! Don't go into the light! Stay! With! Me!" Her voice and expression had only one emotion: fear.

Kamui coughed a copious amount of fluids -including water- before Caeldori attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Hisame and Setsuna rushed to his side. Kamui's vision became faded and distorted as he felt Caeldori's soft lips press against his own.

His eyes closed as he lost all sense of consciousness.

Truth be told, this entire chapter was kind of an excuse for me to incorporate Terminal Velocity - Act 2 into this story.

Which makes it even more ironic now that the virtual soundtrack element is gone because that was stupid.