Chapter 12: The Forbidden Ruins

Danielle stared at the three symbols on the door as they flashed rapidly in synchronization. Her eyes drifting to the red symbol, she felt something akin to a cold hand wrap around her mind. Everything seemed to slip away around her. Rico was no longer by her side, the world falling away to darkness with those symbols flashing. Something was there with her, caressing her, holding her in an icy embrace. A voice whispered in her mind, a voice that had no gender and was ancient and alien. But it wasn't a cruel voice. It felt comforting, even though each word made waves of cold wash over her.

Motavia. The burning fire of my rage. It shall engulf everything, consume flesh from bone, burn away my opponents.

The red symbol glowed steadily now before fading away. That icy presence grew stronger, and she could feel something right there behind her.

Dezoris. The icy void of death. All shall enter it, none shall leave. It shall drain their souls away, shall leave a void in their bodies for my darkness to enter.

This time the blue symbol vanished. She could feel strange arms slide around her, holding her close. Danielle felt numb now. She wasn't scared, she wasn't calmed… She just felt empty.

Palma. The eternal life that I carry. I shall reborn, a phoenix from the ashes, no matter how many times I may be slain. The lives that I devour live on inside of me, suffering for eternity.

The final symbol vanished now, plunging Danielle into total darkness. The presence was the strongest she had ever felt it so far, drawing her in. She felt lost now. She felt like she was losing her identity, drifting away in that sea of cold and the arms of the dark figure that held her. It was pulling her out of her body, drawing her in to it.

Set me free… I want to evolve… To grow, to be free… Give me new life…

Danielle felt a cold seeping through her body, pulling something out of her slowly. That was when she felt hot pain in both of her shoulders, something gripping them painfully tight, burning her flesh…

"Wake… Danielle… ke up…!"

Become me…

Danielle winced, that burning pain overcoming the cold within her. She was dimly aware that she was lying on the stone ground, something gripping her shoulder painfully tight. Her vision was clearing slowly, the shape of Rico hovering over her. Every inch of her body felt icy cold, her throat constricted and her lungs unwilling to take in any air. Rico was still shaking her somewhat, pressing both of her palms to her chest in timed motions. Danielle barely felt it, her glazed eyes staring straight up. It felt like her whole body was lightweight right now, and she just wanted to sleep.

Warmth poured down her mouth and into her constricted throat. Even in her barely conscious state, she realized that Rico was performing CPR. Rico pulled her head back and pushed against her chest again, speaking frantically to Danielle, telling her to wake up.

As Rico blew air into her lungs again, Danielle felt the warmth manage to penetrate the cold, her lungs suddenly beginning to respond and work. She gasped weakly, trying to take in as much air as she could. Rico's warm hand pressed against her back and pushed her up, allowing her to breathe a bit more easily. She felt so cold, so scared, as she struggled to inhale and exhale, her body not wanting to respond. Rico's arms wrapped around her as she spoke softly, trying to comfort Danielle.

What… What have we done? What have we unleashed?

Rico's hand stroked her forehead slightly, brushing the loose strands of hair out of her face. "I'm here Danielle. Don't worry, I'm here. Just keep trying to breathe."

"In… Inside… Rico… It's inside…" she whispered frantically, barely able to make herself talk.

She could barely make out Rico's face, but she could tell it was filled with worry and dread. Whatever had happened to Danielle had scared her out of her wits. "What? What's inside?"

"A demon…"

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It had been a while since Danielle's sudden collapse and her near-death experience. Rico still sat with her, watching over her like a hawk. The teen's condition had barely improved, her entire body freezing cold. Rico couldn't understand what was wrong. Other than the few incidents when Danielle encountered the monuments, she had displayed no real affliction of any type that matched what symptoms she was showing now. A very perplexed Rico was trying to come up with some answer, some way to help, but nothing came to mind.

Her father was a biogeneticist that worked with Dr. Osto. Dr. Osto had always showed interest in the D-Factor that was found on the meteor that hit Coral. Experiments with it on both living and artificial lifeforms showed that it was able to infect, fuse, divide, transmit, and interfere with the normal functions. I never read the report on the actual effects and results, but I heard it was bad. The mines here are being used to extract more of this D-Factor, and that lab was obviously used to some degree for experimentation on the local lifeforms, possibly humans. Could her condition possibly be because of this? Did Dr. Sterling inject his own daughter with D-Factor?

Rico held Danielle a bit tighter, feeling a deep anger for the government that she served. She had trusted them, had sacrificed time and blood to protect and secure their interests. Yet now, here at the heart of their deepest secret, she discovered just how much of a fool she had been to so blindly trust them.

And how involved in all of this was Heathcliff? Was my teacher a part of this whole dark conspiracy? He died of mysterious circumstances, and his body was never revealed to the public that wished to mourn a hero of the previous generation. Just how deep does this all go?

Danielle groaned a bit in her arms, Rico immediately looking down at her. She was immensely relieved that Danielle was starting to come around, but she was still concerned. "Hey, how're you feeling?"

"Really cold… my chest… it hurts a lot, too…" Danielle managed to whisper in a strained voice. Her pain-filled blue eyes slowly went over to that open door that revealed darkness beyond it. "How… long have I been out?"

"About half an hour, give or take. I really thought I had lost you for a second." Rico bit her lip, not making any mention of the tears of sorrow and worry she had cried as she held that fragile young teen in her arms, trying to warm her up and get her to respond. "What… What happened? What can you tell me about it?"

Danielle slowly looked up at Rico now. There was a fear in her eyes that Rico knew had to be rooted deep in her soul. "I… heard this voice… I can't remember what it said, but I remember… feeling so cold. And I felt like I was being pulled, but not by any part of my body… I was being pulled… from the inside."

Rico considered this, her mind working on overtime to put all the facts that had been gathered together. The runes on the door had made mention of something being sealed. Was whatever had been sealed inside of the ruins before them what was afflicting Danielle? Considering the evidence thus far, it seemed likely.

And then there was what she had said about what's inside of the ruins.

She noticed that Danielle was weakly gripping her hand now. "Rico… Whatever's in there… You have to stop it."

A shocked expression crossed Rico's face now. "Wait, what? You're in no condition to be moved right now. We can't go into the ruins, plus it's too dangerous even if you do manage to recover a bit within a few hours."

Danielle managed to shake her head somewhat now. Her voice may have been weak, but she was adamant in her stance. "I didn't mean me… I meant you, Rico. Without me slowing you down… I think you'd be able to get through to whatever is in there… and kill it before it comes out."

Rico swallowed hard. She had considered going into the ruins, but it was just too risky. Leaving Danielle here left her at risk to be attacked by either machines from the mines or whatever was waiting inside of the ruins. If she brought Danielle with her, then she would have to work to protect both Danielle and herself. "I can't just leave you here, Danielle. You can't even defend yourself."

"What's more important, Rico…? My safety… or stopping whatever's in there? Besides… if you don't… then the next time this happens to me, I may not wake up."

Rico stared into those blue eyes that now showed maturity far beyond Danielle's age. Rico had a decision to make, and she knew she didn't have much time to make it.

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Danielle was trying not to shiver from the intense cold she felt right now, staring right at the older hunter. Yes, she was afraid of being left behind, but she knew that whatever had reached out to her from the ruins was even worse. "Please, Rico… If it's my time, then it's my time… Nothing I can do will stop that. But you… have the strength to walk in that place on your own two legs… and get to the bottom of this."

Rico let out a defeated sigh, her shoulders slumping now. "I hate the fact that part of me agrees this is the best course of action right now. But… I can't bring myself to just leave you here on your own."

"I'll admit it… I'm terrified of being here by myself… but I know what has to be done, Rico… If you don't stop whatever's in there… then next time, I may not wake up."

Rico's eyes were glossy with tears now. Gone was that strong and courageous hunter who had bravely fought against all manner of enemies as they delved into the depths of the planet. Rico looked scared and worried, not for herself but for Danielle. "I… I'll go… But I'll come back, okay? I promise you I will."

Danielle forced a weak smile, not bothering to hold back her own tears. "Alright… Be careful, Rico." She managed to lift her arms and wrap them tight around her friend, shutting her eyes as the tears came full force. She felt the older hunter hesitate before holding her back just as tightly. Danielle didn't want to let go, didn't want to see her friend walk through that door and vanish into the darkness, but she knew this had to be done. Slowly, after a few minutes, she pulled away from Rico and looked up at her tearstained face. "I… I'll see you again, okay?"

Rico didn't bother wiping away her tears as she slowly rose to her feet, staring at the entrance to the ruins that was before her. "Yeah, okay… And Danielle?"

Danielle looked up at her now, still too weak to stand on her own feet right now. She sniffled a bit, wiping at her face with her right arm. "Yeah?"

Rico glanced back over her shoulder now, smiling just a bit. "I'm proud of you. I really am." With that sad smile on her face, Rico nodded to her before looking forward, stepping into the darkness.

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The ruins had been unlike anything Rico had expected to see, but they weren't uninhabited. Nightmarish creatures of darkness hunted her, driving her further and further into the ruins. She had been fighting almost nonstop, getting just a few minutes of reprieve to catch her breath and examine the occasional obsidian monument encased in crystal that had golden runes carved on their surfaces. The entire time she had been worried about Danielle, especially since she had come across extremely dangerous creatures. If any of them exited the ruins and found the young teen, then she wouldn't even stand a chance. But the creatures weren't letting her go back, blocking the entrance to the previous rooms with overwhelming numbers each time she cleared an area.

It's no wonder that the military suffered so many losses their first time here. Even I'm having trouble with them.

She sighed, running a hand through her red hair as she crouched in front of one of the obsidian monuments. She had made quite a number of discoveries so far as she proceeded deeper and deeper into the ruins. The most shocking of all had been a massive hole in the corner of one of the rooms. A huge shaft of immeasurable depth and height was present, and upon closer examination she determined that the too-smooth stone sides had been made by a type of energy blast. Water had cascaded down into that deep darkness, the shaft quite possibly reaching up to the surface. The best theory she had regarding it right now was that whatever had caused the explosion that wiped out everyone from the face of the planet other than her and Danielle had come from within these ruins.

And whatever has the power to make an explosion of that magnitude is definitely a dangerous foe.

Rico finished translating what she could from the monument, relieved for the quick breather. As she placed a message capsule at the monument's base, she glanced around to make sure nothing was there before she began to speak. "Those strange characters were found here and there. I think I have enough samples to decipher the meaning of the monument. 'Light makes darkness, a pair exists, but it doesn't always exist. Reincarnation goes forever. The rule is here. It should be sealed. MUUT DITTS POUMN.' …Does it make sense? I wish I had enough time to study these unknown characters."

But I don't have much time to sit and study, Rico thought as she stood up straight and stretched a bit. These things are everywhere, and the longer I wait, the higher the chance of the creatures finding Danielle.

The alien cries of the monsters reached her ears, Rico's head snapping sideways as her relaxed muscles tensed up. It seemed they were already here. She took up her Red Saber as her hunters appeared in the room. It was a group of Dimenians, La Dimenians, and So Dimenians. They resembled Evil Sharks somewhat, but they had considerable differences. The Dimenians had dark-brown flesh, the Photon blades on their arms and the lines on their torso teal in color. The somewhat smaller La Dimenians had black flesh and pink blades and lines, while the larger and more powerful So Dimenians were dark green with yellow blades and lines.

Rico stepped back as the La Dimenians rushed in, all going to attack her at once with their Photon blades. She sidestepped a strike that nearly hit her shoulder, reversing the Red Saber and sending it backwards into another of the Dark creatures that was trying to hit her from behind. Ripping it out sideways, she kicked at the one in front of her to knock it back while gripping her left hand into a fist. "Gifoie!" she shouted, flames wrapping around her before spreading out in a circle. The cries of the monsters made her wince as they fell and dissolved into black dust, the Dimenians and So Dimenians now reaching her. Narrowing her eyes, she took out her Red Sword now and tensed up.

Come on, line up just right…

When they began to clump together somewhat, she brought the heavy blade around in a horizontal strike that cleaved through the weaker of the creatures and left behind the three So Dimenians. One of them managed to get in close and attack her, but Rico brought her shield unit around to block the strike in the nick of time. She winced, the monster pushing its blade against her shield while the other two closed in, determined to take her out.

"Grr…" She shoved forward with all her strength to throw the So Dimenian off balance, quickly swapping weapons for her Red Mechguns. She pulled the trigger, letting the yellow Photon bullets slam into the two approaching monsters. As soon as they had fallen, she brought up her leg to kick the final So Dimenian back a few feet, giving herself room to fire right at its head. She watched as it fell to the ground and dissolve just like every other creature she had faced so far in these ruins, Rico trying to keep her breathing even as she kept a sharp eye out for any more of the monsters.

Several seconds passed by in silence before Rico finally lowered her weapons. "All clear," she murmured to herself, but she couldn't bring herself to relax completely. Letting her guard down right now would be a fatal mistake.

The hunter turned away now, walking towards the next door once more. This was a place that she couldn't rest in, couldn't stop until she got to the bottom of all this and discovered the source of the living nightmare on Ragol.

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Deep within the dark heart of the ruins, something ancient stirred once more. It sensed the two humans it had chosen. One was continuing in deeper while the other hid just outside of the ruins in the section where the humans had stationed their equipment. It had come close to taking the child, but the woman had managed to break its hold. It could easily take the child now, but it was interested. Far too long had it been sealed. It would toy with them, test them… And it knew exactly how.

The time quickly drew near. After a thousand years of being trapped in its infernal prison, it was ready to be free. And it was very, very hungry. The petty imperfect humans had been a mere appetizer. The true feast had yet to begin.