Well, Here goes!

Fire Emblem Redux: Dragon's Blood

Mission 6: Blood of Pride

We came into the town peacefully. I was trying to forget last night, and I was hoping that the pulsing heaven seal was just a lie. But I knew it wasn't. Kent had ridden ahead to talk with the marquess of Araphen, whom he had said would surely help. I was ridding beside Lyndis. But we were all worried about Ariana and Garnet. I remembered the early morning conversation.

"WHAT?! NO! NONONO!!!!"

"Ariana, Please. We have to go into the city to get through. Going around would take a day longer. We're running short on time, Ariana."

"NO! I won't take Garnet into some haven of thieves and murders!"

"For the last time Ariana, this is a Lycian city, not a Bernian city. They will see your wyvern and be scared, not greedy. You don't have to be afraid!" That was Sain, trying to console her. "Come now, just take a breath and come with us."

"No. We're flying around the city. That's final."

Hiiro growled. "Alright, come on then guys. If the preppy princess of the pretty pink sky flyer wants to waste her time and fly around Araphen, then so be it. If you don't catch up with us at the south gate, we're leaving you here."

Dorcas too nodded. "You really have nothing to fear. But you shouldn't fly around the city." He sighed, and patted Garnet on the head, who merely looked at the axe man with distaste for the gesture but did nothing more. For the first time in a while, we heard Garnet speak. Well, kind of.

'Look, Ariana, the risk of being separated from the group is too much. Do we really want to go back to being alone? Especially after what Kai has done for us?'

Ariana gave in. "Okay… but only if you carry me the whole way. And we're not to leave Kai's side, got it mister 'curiosity killed the wyvern'?"

So here I was, walking beside a Wyvern-rider, as I still hadn't decided on what to call her job. So we generally just called her the Wyvern Princess, or Wyvern Rider. Truth be told, Garnet was probably feeling a bit Degraded by it all. I Semi-phased as I walked with the pair of them, and began a conversation with Garnet. 'So, Lord furry the flametastic…'

Garnet laughed a bit, that same strange hiccupping sound. 'Furry the Flametastic? I like it. It has a certain… double meaning to it. You're both insulting my furriness, and complementing my breath. Thank you, I do try to keep the shreds of brigand out of my teeth.' He mentally laughed a much more healthy sound that his strange hiccups.

I both physically and mentally sighed. 'Well well, I just wanted to talk to you about something…'

Ariana decided to chime in. 'What's going on? What're you doing Kai, you're supposed to be guarding me damnit!'

Garnet huffed. 'Ariana, please stop using me as a telepathic cipher. It feels weird. Very weird. Like wet wily weird. Like sloppy salmon weird. Like hock a loogie and it sticks in your throat and when you spit it just stretches out for a mile weird. Like penis in your ear weird.'

I sighed. 'I may have botched up the binding ritual then. Naturally, the bond is very loose… I kind of went overboard…'

'What?' they had said it in unison, making a very harmonic singing voice. At least, I thought it was nice sounding.

'Look, every person has a number of soul-strings, ready to grasp out onto something. Something they are addicted to, or has great sentimental value. Their wife, their Husband, their children… it matters not who, but how. Marriage is a ritual much like what I did to you, only much more subtle. The bonds are weaker, and easier to break. Yours is much more lasting.'

'SO basically, we're what, married now?' Ariana was the one to speak up there, though Garnet did chime in a moment afterwards. 'So now she's my wife, sort of?'

'Kinda-sorta. She's part of you, just as much as you're a part of her. I didn't take the time to identify the strings when I did the ritual; I just started matching them up. Color coded, kind of… they're all a hazy white, but they do have a tint. Garnet had a few without color-coded matches, as did you Ariana. I just kind of… matched them up.'

'I'm not feeling so sure of this, all of a sudden.'

'Neither am I,' said the half-dragon, 'I'm not so sure being your bitch is a good thing.'

'Ladies and gentle… dragons, be calm. Don't worry, I didn't match anything dangerous. Of course, you had the main one already attached.'

'The main one?'

We had stopped in the square. I stopped my phase for a moment to issue orders. "Wil, Dorcas, you're in charge of the supplies. Hiiro, Florina, you take the pawn duty. Serra, Sain, You two handle tonight's lodgings. Kent's trip to the castle is going to hold us up for god knows how long. Lyn, Erk, you're on defense detail. And Erk? Stop brooding so much, it's depressing." I completely phased, seeing as my heaven seal was pulsing like an up-beat folk song.

'Yes, the main one. Humans and Wyverns alike have a certain soul-string. This one string is as black as pitch, but it signifies happiness. You two have always been happy around one another, because Garnet had purpose, and Ariana was warm. So really, all I did was marry you two, and balance you out.'

'Balance us out? We're having trouble knowing who's thinking what!' That was Ariana. Garnet too, had a complaint.

'Aye. Thinking of Sain's massive pecker about four times a day is not what I call 'enjoyable' Kai.'

'Look, it can't be helped, but these things tend to sort themselves out. Have either of you experienced any NEGATIVE side effects, aside from seeing floating wangers and dripping women?' I was being sarcastic.

'Well, when you were doing it, I did remember seeing Lyn in all her vulnerability.'

'What? No way, I was thinking about the river…'

I felt animosity, and they suddenly clammed up. 'Uh… guys? Hello?'

There was a full minute of me being left out of the situation. 'Uhm… You guys?'

Suddenly, the conversation cut back in. 'Look, Ariana, I'll agree, you do think some dirty thoughts, and so do I, but we're just going to have to deal with it. I'll try to keep my perverted instincts to a minimum, if you'll keep yours to a minimum.'

'Fine, but in return, keep your thoughts color coded, mister imagination!'

'Alright, I will. I'll be red, and you can be blue.'

'NO WAY! Red is my favorite color, that's mine damnit. You be blue.'

'But… I'm red anyway!'

'And you'll be pink if you don't watch it mister. I have paintbrushes!'

'Fine, I'll be orange, you can be deep red.'

'Nah, I'll be orange. Orange is flameier anyway.'

I sighed. 'I can see that you'll be at this a while. I'll leave you two too it.' When I came back from crazy dragon and teenager fantasy colors land, I was surprised to find Lyndis staring at a dress a guy was pedaling. Erk, of course, was reading a book. I sighed, and smacked Ariana on the leg, while booting Garnet in the ribs. I pointed at Ariana. "You're Orange, he's red, that's final, now help me keep watch."

Matthew sighed as he sat in the back of the wagon with his hands tied, looking at the two who leaned on the larger than most others, juvenile wyvern. He wanted to be free, to taste the wind! (And more importantly rob someone of their pants so sneakily they didn't know they had been pantsed.) And more importantly, report to house Ostia that Mark was a deserter. But what did he mean when he said 'My name is Kai now.' That bothered him. And he huddled over as if in pain at the mention of Mark's name. His hand had shaken too. Did Kai kill Mark? What was going on with this guy?

I looked over and saw Matthew struggling with the ties on his wrist; he even bit on them, to no avail. I nodded to Ariana, who in turn, nodded to Garnet. A few quick steps later, and I was in front of Matthew. He looked at me with a smirk. "Hello Mark."

I smirked right back, stilling my hand quickly. It was a Side effect of Elimine's enchantment. Mark was still very much alive, only held in stasis within his body. I acted for the both of us, and used his knowledge of the world. In turn, I kept his body running, so that when this stint was over, I could go back home. "Hello Matthew." I grinned a little more. "Where are Luke and John?"

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "I'm not at liberty to say." I wanted to fall on my face and die of laughter right then and there. Double entrandas had such a literal meaning here. I shook myself mentally, I was thinking about home too much. I needed to have another chat with Mark again soon, but he was always aggressive when I woke him up. He wanted me OUT. And badly. "Who are you?"

"Look, let's just say Mark had an accident before he was with house Ostia. You'll notice I'm still pretty much the same guy. Had you been a TRUE threat to me, or Mark, I would have gutted you against that tree. Or let Garnet have his way. Either way, you wouldn't ever want to think the name Mark again."

"I don't care; I want to know why a House Ostia assassin suddenly turned coat and fled!"

"I'll tell you why. Because I was needed elsewhere."

"So there was a higher bidder?"

"This is for free. I'm not going to do this for the money. I don't care about the gold. I used Ostia to learn how to kill in silence, should I need the art. I am not Mark, as far as you knew me, I never was. Mark is a 13 year old soul trapped in stasis because he died, but didn't fulfill his destiny. I'm his Stand in, Kai. You will address me as Kai, are we clear?"

"Yeah."

"If I order you to steal from someone, you will do it. Are we clear?"

"Sure."

"You are not to lift your blade to an ally. By answering yes, those ropes will come unbound, but you will feel a bit funny. You will be bound to Lyndis Caelin, and Subject to either of our wills, for as long as she is in need of your services. Is that clear?"

"Not a damn bit."

"Let me put in thieves terms… You're a slave, but not really. You are now under an unpaid contract to do what Lyndis Caelin, or Kai, asks of you. Weather it be steal from House Ostia, or Murder a Caelin official. This contract is also an agreement to go to war, and any act of treason will be predicted and stopped, by execution, if necessary."

"Basically, I do what you tell me, I stay alive. If I try to kill anyone who is in the Service of Lyn, I die, instantly?"

"Vaguely."

"Yes. I agree."

The ropes fell of his wrist and I smiled. "Welcome to Lyndis's Legion. Be warned, you will be tested, probably in the next thirteen minutes. Or so, I'm just guessing. Anyway, go gather some information."

He jumped out of the back of the wagon and stretched. "Now, you do understand, that I WILL Report any breach of contract to the Ostian officials, correct?"

"Yeah yeah, but we better make good time. I've got a rendezvous to make."

"We'll be there so you can speak to Hector."

"WHA?!"

"The standard thief's contract says 'No questions asked.' That's the format, kid. Ask me no more questions, and I shall tell you no more truths."

"Fine. I'll get some information."

"Go to the seedy parts of town; gather any information on these things. Brigands with a grudge against the Araphen Marquess, and Rath, a Kutolah Nomad. Find out why he's working for this Racist marquess. If you happen to see him, tell him to be on watch for a Sacaen woman in a blue dress."

"Fine. I'll do it."

"And be silent about it. We don't need the Marquess knowing Lyndis is Sacaen. We're going to bamboozle this guy quite well."

"You know, I could begin to like your style, Kai. Nothing like Mark's cold demeanor."

"You have no idea just how 'cold' I can be, Matthew."

He dashed off, though Lyndis raised her eyebrow. "Your past… is a lot darker than you let on."

"Think of it as a Loaner." I quickly clamped my mouth shut.

"What?"

"Nothing at all."

"Whatever. I don't like this town, people look at me with funny eyes."

"You're Sacaen, Ariana." I winked at her. "Lyndis over there is a Beautiful Caelin Noble. These Araphen people have been taught to hate the Sacaen Barbarians, yet Embrace anyone from Eturia, Bern, or the other Cantons. They are Racist pigs, and if that merchant knew, he would never sell that to you."

Lyn's eyes took on a darker hue as she heard me speak. I leaned over closer to her. "It's a well known fact that the Araphen Marquess is a Racist, though he has a Sacaen man working for him. You'll probably meet this man, and you are not to tell him your name is Lyndis. Yet. He'll know in due time."

I motioned to Ariana, who patted her dragon and walked over. "What's going on, Kai?"

I kept my voice barely above a mumble. "Ariana, you're going to have to respond to the name Lyndis while we're in this town. You're going to have to be Lyndis' cover story. You don't look a bit like a Sacaen, so if we're going to bamboozle these guys into thinking you're a Noble lady, Ariana," I looked at Lyn, then back at Ariana. "We're going to have to change you two out." I motioned into the wagon. "Switch clothes, you're vaguely the same size. And Lyn," I stared Ariana in the face. "You're going to be a good distance away from your Dragon for a while." I patted the both on the shoulder, and walked towards Garnet.

Garnet huffed. 'You work in mysterious ways, you know that, right?'

'Matthew recognized me. Damnit. I don't know shit about the past I've made here… Vague memories and timestamps on them, a truly slop shod job.'

'What the hell are you talking about?'

'… Nothing. Don't worry about it.'

'When you stop reading my mind, I will. Ariana does that enough already.'

I stopped short. Things were starting to go haywire. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. First, Garnet set off a nuke. That was mistake number 1. Mistake two was the damnable curse. The third was last night with Matthew. I had a bone to pick with Elimine, and I guarantee, she wasn't going to like it. Suddenly, I felt a massive pain in the back of my skull, and I heard screaming. 'GET OUT OF MY BODY DAMNIT!'

Garnet looked it me in shock as I held the bridge of my nose. "Damn…" I said quietly. "Garnet, I trust you will be capable while I'm gone?"

'What?'

'Just do me a favor, and keep everything running. Get the details of the plan from Ariana. Help Rath. That's all I can say. I've got to go find a temple.'

'Fine. Just don't be too long. I don't like cities. At all.'

I nodded, and turned away, shutting my mind completely off. Lyn poked her head out. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Ariana. I'll be back in a bit. Don't do anything stupid, and keep Garnet calm. We don't need a berserk wyvern."

I Continued walking, ignoring her worried thoughts as I felt the seal slip up a bit more. The same head splitting pain, and once more, that damnable voice. 'I said get the hell out.'

'I will in a moment, but we're going to have a talk with a certain goddess.'

'What?' Mark was still straining against me, and I was being forced aside. I took off at a run towards the temple, and began to stumble, though I had thankfully managed to get inside. And then, we both were standing in front of Elimine. Mark stood to my side and winced. I merely just stared at her. This was the third time I had seen her.

"Damnit. Kai, what the hell are you doing?!"

"What do you mean? You didn't have the brains to know the implication of what you trained my body to do?"

"You're the one who requested the training!"

"But not in Mark's body!"

"What's going on?"

"Shut up Mark." I said it, and then turned back to Elimine. "I asked for three things. A Half-breed Dragon, a Girl he had befriended, who was ready to be trained, and training for the body I would be in. You agreed, and I was left to rot in silence for three weeks in a damnable COMA while you prepared it."

"I'm a goddess. I don't shove my foot down someone's throat; I ask them if they will accept me."

"I am the one who was chosen to fight whatever it is that's throwing your whole world off kilter."

"Yes, but I didn't choose you. You were picked by the Gatekeeper."

I snarled. I leapt at her, and grabbed her by the robes, ignoring her mate, Roland. "You listen to me. It was your mistake to put me in mark's body. Felix killed him, and it was your choice to put me in his body and him in stasis so that he could recover. You couldn't slow his recovery one bit, so that we could make it into Caelin, and get Lyn on the throne?"

"YOU WERE BEHIND SCEHDULE!"

"THEY HAVE STRATEGISTS!"

She was silent. "What?" she finally said. I sighed. "No, it can't… dear me… Those were the stray prayers!"

"What?"

"Stray prayers. Prayers to me with no hope or honor or emotion of anything. Just a small piece of a soul, given up as tribute. A sacrifice like that, I have to fill. It's a piece of a SOUL for crying out loud…"

It suddenly hit me. "You can see living CREATURES, correct? But humans you can only see the soul of?"

"Er… Yes. That's correct."

"Son of a bitch, those other strategists are morphs."

Mark was officially lost. Roland was trying to translate, but he was pretty lost too.

"What do you mean, Morphs?"

"You mean… Christ, I'm looking at this completely wrong. I thought this had gone through correctly once before."

"What?"

"Damnit, damnit damnit!"

"What's wrong Kai?"

"Felix is the Anomaly. That's what he is; he's the force that is upsetting the balance. Deaths on the rise, but not enough souls to account for it. You yourself said you knew something like this was going to happen."

"Correct. That much was predestined."

"And then comes along free will, and Felix, and he completely skullfucks the whole damn matrix. HOT damn Felix, what have you done now?"

"What? You know Felix?"

"We used to be friends. He made the mistake of trying to kill me once."

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you think I was chosen? I was a damn vegetable. In a Coma, with no chance of revival. They didn't pull the plug because there was a spike in brain activity."

"What?"

"Damnit… Look, I don't have time to go through the whole damn story. Just figure something out. We have to get back to the same moment when the seal was broken, with the same plan in place."

"Free will…"

"FUCK FREE WILL! They were all alive, plus two more who were not even supposed to join with the group. I started earlier, but went a lot slower, still arriving in time for Hiiro to be alive, and rescuing Ariana, who you said would still exist. I've gone slower for one reason."

"Bandits aren't smart, but a morph is. It has Lifetimes of knowledge at its disposal. It is much more cunning than a damned Bandit leader. These are also Strategist morphs. These guys are not only stronger, faster, and smarter than normal humans; they can take a lot more punishment."

"Basically, those spare soul fragments you've been granting the prayers for has made my life a living hell. Mark would have lost someone by now. I have had nothing to do but PLAN for the next move I KNEW would come for Months at a time beforehand. But they're getting smarter, and things are changing."

"The wheels of fate are turning, and there's not much you can do about it now. Felix is here by some amazingly fucked up force, and I am a sitting duck. Right now, He could find a way back, and kill my body, and it would bone both ME and Mark."

"The way I see it, you have two choices. Seal Mark up again, or give me my own body to use."

Elimine was silent as I finished my rant. She seemed to be thinking hard. Quietly. "Fine." She finally said. "The events will go on as planned, and Mark will know your entire plan for this battle beforehand. You will not speak of your world, or anything in it, again, Understood?"

"Sure, why the hell not? I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't. There's no Galdarn reason to bloody NOT humor the bitch who has completely ANHILATED anything I had resembling a life before I came to a world full of fucking dragons, magic, freaky half-alive-never-quite-dead assholes, a guy with an actual super villain complex, and another who's apparently, dead set on annihilating every gods damned thing I've ever been. Bloody fucking hell, WHY the FUCK Not? Why the fuck is it me that got picked, I've got no effing clue, and now I'm stuck with some dipshit thirteen year old who, although he has been trained by the bloody super villain in the first place doesn't know how to bloody stop his father from stabbing him in the back. For goddess sake, I'm so far beyond boned; I might as well be a skeleton. AND boned, fifteen more times. If I go back, I'm in a coma, twiddling my nut hairs while I wait for some merciful soul to pull the damn plug and get me the hell out of that rotting bed, and make me stop pissing all over my damned self while my fucking paraplegic body rots! FUCK!" I panted harshly, trying to regain control of my temper. Felt rather good to explode in the face of a goddess though. Somehow fulfilling. Like pissing on a Satanist while you sat on the pew at church. Not really, but similar.

"Felix is only to pass your lips to those YOU have chosen. The world will turn as it was foretold, and I will MAKE it happen. But you will have COMPLETE free will. The world's path is vaguely written in stone, and I will help it adhere to this path…"

"Sounds good. Sounds bloody good. When do I effing get a body so that I don't have to listen to this whiney bitch try to change the way I do things?" I jerked my thumb back towards Mark as I said it. He and Roland probably felt like little piss ants standing beside two big ass Tennessee Barking spiders as they bitched over who got to drink the horse fly dry.

"But, you will also bend to my will here. You will have your own body, but with a catch. You're going to be a trainee."

"What, you stupid little cunt?"

"You're going in, younger and frailer. The lowest of the low. You're a maggot, begging to be crushed when you go back in. But YOU will find a way to deal with Felix."

"You're fucking kidding me right?"

"Not a bit. Mark, go back. Your quest awaits you."

And Mark was gone, but I could see one thing. He knew my plan. He was going to bamboozle the hell outta that marquess, and I smiled. It was the one fucking light in my fucking shithole of a life right now. I was pissed. I was so bloody mad I could not see beyond my own nose without everything being a blurry red color, probably because my eyes were bloodshot, and I had tears rolling down my face. I was so mad, my body HURT from the adrenaline.

Mark shook his head. He could remember everything that had happened before five minutes ago. He shook his head harder, and groaned, as the priestess patted his back. "You'll be just fine." He smiled, and nodded. "Had a bit of a Spiritual crisis it seems. I'll be alright. Thank you so much." He stood up, and walked back towards the waiting caravan.

I tapped my foot. "I'm waiting, woman."

"Fine. Then back you go, and guess what… your plan? I changed it."

I blinked my eyes. "What?" I reached out with my telepathy, trying to figure out what was going on. I couldn't feel ANY other voices. Damn, she had REALLY Boned me. I guess that had been all Mark. Damn, that was a blow to my ego as well. I nicked my finger with my thumbnail, and said a basic fire incantation. "Elfanim Crimson"… and nothing. I growled. I couldn't even use blood magic fire bolts. That was gonna suck even harder. I looked to my side, and saw a slim lance. I picked it up, and it actually felt HEAVY. I looked around, the ringing in my ears finally diminishing. MY eyesight once again focused. My body was still sore from being mad, and nothing in the world would have made me happier than a cigarette, a woman, some booze, and Elimine's head on a stick. DAMN that woman couldn't have fucked me over more if she turned me into a she male whore and stole my life. Bloody hell. I decided to relax a bit and try to forget the whole damned reason I was here. Effing Felix…

I was in a locker room, and there were no other men, save for one, a man in light chain mail with a rather short bow on his back. "Rath."

He looked at me. "Yes Kai? Aren't you going to finish getting ready? Lord Korstad does not like his pages to be late." I took me as a shock. I was THAT part of the plan now. Oh shit. "Uh… right."

I finished lacing up the leather boots on my feet, and sighed. I was in simple garb, and I had a slim lance. This was all up to my speed now. I flexed my shoulders, and picked it up, before kicking the door wide, and I began to whistle, my favorite tune as I walked towards the front gate of the castle. I knew what was going to happen. The bitch could change my body, but she couldn't change my mind, and now, I was free to kick some ass, and take some names. Hooo boy, this was gonna be fun.

Mark sighed as Kent came riding back. "Looks like he has agreed to give lady Lyndis some aid."

"Good, now, let me tell you of the plan."

I stood at the front gate as the first brigands came marching up. I saw the shadow dart off to the side. Two more quickly followed it. "Rath!"

He ran up rather quickly. "Those are… Brigands! Marching on the town!"

"Wrong. On the castle. From the looks of their yellowish garb, they're Taliver Bandits. There's a Sacaen woman in a Blue dress in the town square. I suggest you go take a look."

"I must defend the castle!"

"Wrong. This is written in the books. You go check and make sure the town is safe, and raise the alarm. I'll stay here and keep them at bay for as long as I can."

"You're just a page, what do you know about combat?"

"Sword beats axe, axe beats lance, lance beats sword. Anima over Light, Light over elder, elder over anima. Staves and bows exist outside of this triangle. Mounted units have the ability to move twice provided they do not attack." I yawned. "Really, I could go over this with you all day, and not give a damn about it. But there's one problem. Without you, an innocent Sacaen woman will die. She's from a very… VERY valuable bloodline."

"You don't mean…"

"Ask me no more questions, and I'll tell you no more truths, my dear nomad. Now go save that girl."

He ran like someone had lit a fire under his ass. Nothing like telling him some famous girl from the Lorca to get him moving. I smirked. "ALRIGHT YOU BRIGAND BASTARDS!" I snapped my still bloody fingers, feeling the blood sizzle and crack before weakly igniting. "COME AND MEET YOUR MAKER!" While I held the fireball steady, I vaguely thought of the reason he would go charging off so madly. Then I remembered.

Ah, Flashbacks. They always come to me right before I get into some deep trouble, and always about some nonsensical thing. This time was no different. I Remembered it clearly. "Where can I Find the Lorca?"

The men in the tavern burst out laughing. "Those people would break you in half, boy!"

"I have a reason to find them."

"Alright. We warned you kiddo. Lorca Tribeswomen are… shall we say, rather free, but loyal. They only respect strong men, but they are intensely loyal to the man they choose. Lorca men are all about the strength and the power. They're built like Castles with legs."

"This means what to me?"

"If you're looking for some of that Famous Lorca Booty, You're out of luck. You're way too puny!"

By the time He had started to laugh, I had Katar at his throat.

I Held my lance at the ready, and flung the small fireball at the advancing ranks, before biting down on my index and middle fingers to get a generous supply of blood going. The man that it hit seemed to explode. I paled. "Shit. Damnit Felix…"

They were morphs. This was a diversion force. HE KNEW THE PLAN!

Felix cackled as the half of a face closed its eye and stopped it's hissing. No body but the prefect one would befit his Mistress in this world. "Demoness Akasha, Come when you are ready, but keep your eyes tuned on my foe… he escaped your wrath once due to my folly. I shall not fail you again. You information is a blessing." He looked back at the two other malformed Morphs he had first created, animating them with lesser fragments of his own soul so that they would be bound to his will. Every day they were less malformed. They had been sifting some of the quintessence for themselves. They were as devious as their father. He grinned quietly, and continued molding the violently resentful quintessence into the perfect face for his mistress. Beautiful and foreboding. She was not to be the breeder that he had requested, but the vileness of certain quintessence seemed to be quite like his Mistress. He wanted her to feel at home. His servants continued to form lesser morphlings to do his, and the wretch Nergal's, bidding. But he was busy working on his masterpiece, all for the glory of Akasha, his mistress.

I grunted as the blank eyed morphs clumsily swung their axes. Slit pupils. I could see some with round pupils, but those were humans, and they were breaking off, going to fight the True knights of the castle. I was slow, slower than I had anticipated. I wiped the blood from my fingers along the shaft of my lance, and took another sidestep, narrowly avoiding yet another axe strike. I stabbed outward, feeling the head of my spear gleefully pierce the flesh of the less-than-well-manufactured golem. My blood ignited as bit into the morph's flesh, singing the body of my foe. I heard armor clanking down the hall, and a sharp rebuke.

Duke Korstad looked at his two pages. "KADAN! ROHAN!" They gulped lowly.

"Sir?" They answered in unison, and stood tall, waiting on his orders. "What are you doing, following me around instead of helping my other page down there?"

"Page Kai? But sir… he's…"

"A freak, I know, but he's getting swamped by those creatures. Most of these bastards aren't humans, and they're rather flimsy. You two should be enough to hold the main entrance with him. I've got to reinforce the west flank. They've got mages out there."

"But…"

"Disobey my orders once more, either of you, AND YOU ARE BOTH OUT!"

They nodded. "SIR!" and they ran down the hall.

I took a step back, holding my bruised shoulder. A Human was in their ranks, and he was grinning like fire. The bruise began to bleed, Red liquid that was rather thin flecked with gold. I stared at it. I felt a growl rise in my throat, and I jammed my lance forward, running the bastard through. I laid my hand on his now bleeding torso. "Eldaris Elfanim, Queza malchior!" The massive bolt of thunder lanced straight through him, leaving him a bloodless, smoldering human-rind. I snorted, and held my shoulder tightly as it began to bleed worse. I examined it, and found that indeed, I was flimsy as shit. From the yellow blood that the morphs bled, and the yellow flecks, I could draw a few conclusions. One, I was now a Half-morph. Two, I had none of their gifts, and all of their weaknesses. Hell, what a damn day. The two other pages leapt to my defense as they arrived, one brandishing a rather miniaturized version of an iron axe, and the other, an iron sword.

Kadan and Rohan. I had heard their names. Kadan, the sword wielder, spoke up first. "Hey, Freak, We're here to save your ass."

I smirked. "Fine then, asshole." I smirked, and ran through the opposing swordsman who leapt over the now not so small pile of corpses at the door. I had run it right through his sternum. Morphs are flimsy. This was bad. The Chest cavity popped open like a chest of treasure, and I paled, looking at the disjointed bowels of the creature. Kadan promptly lost his lunch, and I jerked my lance back, stabbing it through the beast's heart, which stopped it's erratic jerking on the end of my spear. Rohan was doing just fine. His axe was whirling quickly through any that dared near him.

"Spend less time taunting me…" I said, and brought the spear around to the side harshly, spilling another morph's guts across the floor. "And more time helping me, if you're here to help!" I stepped back, and charged one more time, impaling one through the head, and feeling the tip bite into another's brain as it sunk through his rather… gooshey eye. Rohan was silent, but he was swinging his axe without tiring, the exact same motions as one would use to pull a chapel's bell, or swing at a ball when playing a game. He was even combining them into two stroke combinations, first pulling the bell, and then swinging the stick. It was horrendously effective. The first would fall in two just as the second would come over, and then come apart at the waist, and he would take a step back, waiting on the next to come over the hill of corpses at the entrance.

Kadan was holding his own as well, perhaps more effectively than the other two of us. He would step back, and hold his sword in the most basic of stances. Then, when his foe charged at him as it slid on the wet liquid of the pile of blood, he would whip his sword down with his wrists, and come back up with blinding speed, cutting the guy clean in two. Then the next would slide down while his sword was still over his shoulder, and there would be a splash of yellow blood sprayed anew across the mountain of corpses as the head of his foe rolled off, and yet a third would come over, and he would come down from his stance, cutting apart the ribs of the creature with little effort, and his sword would always end up back in the basic stance.

I on the other hand, was using as many different tactics I could think of. From simply impaling my foes, to ripping their soft and supple guts wide, I was just doing my job. I began to use it like a bo-staff when I realized I had broken the head off of my spear. The light, hollowed iron weapon was amazingly ineffective, but surprisingly nice. It still had a sharp end on it, though the point of the head had broken off, a simple side of the blade remained. This 'Nagimaki' style weapon was quite effective in dispatching my foes. Unfortunately, the wound in my shoulder was getting wider, and my blood was becoming less than adequate for throwing out fire spells. Or even thunder spells. I dipped my fingers into the blood at me feet after a wave of twelve, which had been the norm. Three enemies in four ranks would advance, usually containing a human in the back row. The humans fell easily once I had bleed them once, and took a bit of blood from my spear, and threw together a basic spell-series. This of course, raised eyebrows from my allies, as even then, some of the spells simply did not function correctly.

I looked at the blood and felt of it quietly. We could hear the morphs moving bodies aside. "They're going to move aside the bodies, and open a path, then charge full force." I said this quietly, and my allies looked down as I rubbed the sticky fluid between my fingers, trying to think of a way I could use it.

"How do you know?"

"It's happened before."

"Oh. How long have you been here?"

"Since the attack started. I was the one who told Captain Cairo Falxs where the REAL attack would come from."

"You know, the Duke was pretty pissed at you…"

"I couldn't leave. There was, and still is, a Bishop using Morphlings blood to fuel a shield incantation just as the group enters the Battlement archer's range. This gave them free entry, since we have no portcullis that they couldn't simply blast down. Humans went to the east and west, while a group of morphs massed outside of the main gate. The east and west gates probably have bishops as well. Is the North gate under attack?"

"Aye, but the Squires have that side. More humans, but just as many morphs. By the way, what are you doing?"

I looked at what I had been drawing. It was a prayer circle. "A Prayer circle."

They raised their eyebrows. I placed my hand in the middle and it briefly glowed. "Elimine, Saint of all Saints, if you can hear me, please, Bless these souls for the pain they have endured. I wish them mercy in the afterlife. Give me the peace of mind that I require to fend off these beasts from this castle." I closed my eyes, but continued to pray. I was thinking directly too that wench now. 'If you can hear, me, I just want to say, Fuck you, you cold hearted bitch. I'm half morph now. And by the way? Use some divine influence to get a Cleric over here soon. My bloody shoulder HURTS.'

The circle glowed brighter, and then completely vanished; a good amount of blood surrounding it vanished as well. The corpses glowed blue, then it diminished quickly, making the other pages raise their eyebrows. "Who the hell are you, Freak?" That was Kadan. Rohan finally spoke. His voice as soft as a whispering wind. "He just joined today, and he's much older than a normal page. He's had a hard life, if you can't tell. He knows his way around magic too."

"Amen." I said it, and stood up, but not before picking up the head of one of the humans and shaking the yellow blood off. I stuck my finger in his jugular vein, and pulled it away, satisfied at the blood that was on it. I gathered up a tinder box one of the morphs had dropped, and said a Fire incantation. "Elfanim Ifriti." The blood my finger sizzled and began to burn into a fire ball, which I used on the tinder box, and I gathered up my fragmented spear head. I took the back of an axe, and placed the pieces together, on top of the flaming tinderbox. IT was magnesium tinder, great for what I needed it for. I lifted the axe in my left hand as the iron heated to a glowing white, and hammered the pieces of metal together. They sparked as I had poured a bit of magic into the axe to strike, and I pulled my spear off of the fire. I looked at the cooling blade, and smiled. "Not as good as new, but good enough."

I stood up, and took out a knife I had been careful enough to tuck away in my shoe. By now, I had no lunch to hurl, so I jammed it into the red bleeding body infront of me, and cut it open, looking for something, and I found it. Heart blood, and a lot of it. Perfect for my plan. "Alright. Both of you, find human corpses, cut them open to the heart, and force the blood into this clean spot." These morphs had basic items on them on occasion, and I had picked up three things that helped me make this plan. The first was a trio of empty vials. The second was a small vial of magic powder, which I had no idea how the beast got a hold of. The third was a rather nice knife.

I slit open the bag of magic powder, and poured it into the chest wound of my corpse, and then wrote in the yellow blood with it, "Elfanim Eldaris, Infernum Tiamus."

Kadan said so and scratched his head. "What's that mean?"

"Elder Animal Spirit, Flare Dark-dragon."

"And this is what?"

"A spell for dragon's breath. Acidic dragon's breath."

"Huh?"

Rohan was the more intelligent of the two. "It's an old spell, scouring Era. IT summons the breath of Tiamat, the leader of the Dark-dragons, to its caster."

"Breath of her direct children, but none the less… It's powerful as hell. This would be a fourth clutch spell."

Kadan scratched his head. "Fourth clutch?"

"Tiamat laid clutches of eggs, with no father. Each was a different breed. This is done with human Heart-blood, so it would be a Fourth clutch, or 'Black' Clutch. First is Red, second is Blue, and third is White, fourth black and fifth green."

Rohan nodded. "Some scrolls speak of Magic like this. But how are you going to chant the words and not die?"

"I'm not. Since the breath will erupt from the heart blood of these three men, I'll use this Magic powder to do the chanting for me. It will burn the blood, sending it into smoke, which, because of the magic powder, will trace the words. The wind will speak it for me." I sighed. "It's difficult to explain. Magic powder of most varieties has the ability to speak words when burned. Basically, while this is burning, it'll be chanting the name of the spell. As you may guess, a chant is FAR more powerful than a simple incantation."

"I'm half morph, so my spells are… pretty week."

"You're… part Yellow-blood?"

"Look in my eyes. Do you see the slit pupils? The yellow flecks in the blood oozing from my shoulder? The fact that a simple bruise erupted into this wound?"

Kadan looked, but Rohan nodded. "It's logical. Their eyes are slit, but you're far hardier than they are. Though your eyes are slit, and Gold, I might add…"

"Trained under a mage?"

"In a chapel for Marquess Araphen. I was the bell ringer and the floor scrubber."

"I see…"

"And I was trained from birth, by my father, Duke Korstad!"

"That explains the skill you have with a blade."

"I detest the lance and the Axe."

"Coward's weapons?"

"Brutes or cowards. Yes."

"Ah. Typical."

I sighed, as I had finished setting the trap. The corpses seemed to collapse a bit as the morphs began to move them fully away. The trap was set, and I motioned for them to get back as I struck the flint into the magnesium tinder I had used. As I ran back, I stopped to get the severed head I had used to fuel my first fire spell. I sat down with the other two on the steps of the edge of the hall, standing up a few steps above them. The raised their eyebrows.

"Three corpses, three amounts of heart blood, which has thoroughly soaked the powder, which will CHANT the words, and also, eat the rest of the blood from those bodies to fuel those spells. It's Elder Anima magic. It has an Appetite." I smirked as they sat down beside me. I began to cut the head open and pour the blood into the vials I had collected. Each would hold enough for maybe ten fire spells. Or five thunders.

The morphs broke through and walked forwards towards us with their slow zombie like gait. The magic powder began to burn as their second rank entered the hall. By the third rank's entrance, it was on the last letters of the words. It began to burn the magic circles. Kadan looked over at me as I continued milking the skull's blood.

"That's disgusting… and the spell isn't working."

I stood up, and walked a few steps higher. They raised their eyebrows. "Magic circles for consistent results and same time detonation…" They hurriedly scrambled up beside me. Two files of morphs were advancing on us, and I had filled the second vial. My two allies began to get nervous. Rohan spoke first. "Did you misspell it?"

"Nope. Give it a mo-"

The acid washed out of the bodies with a great blast of sound, obviously a roar. The morphs were almost instantly eaten alive by the caustic yellowish-green liquid, and it washed out over the lawn, devouring countless more morphs and not a few humans. I smiled, and threw the flesh of the skull into the river of slime. I continued to talk after that. "Ment to do that."

"We'll be safe for about three minutes. And then, the acid will vanish, allowing morphs to enter the castle again. IF there are any left alive, that is…"

Kadan was just sighing. "You do realize, that was beyond overpowered, Right?"

"What?" I looked at him blankly. He sounded just like me, before this had happened. "I just got lucky." There was a sharp whistling sound.

Suddenly, my head started hurting again. I grabbed hold and fought back tears. I realized the smile was coming towards my face quickly. But my eyes were blurry...

Lyn slapped me in the face and I opened my eyes. Matthew was bending over me. Garnet and Ariana too. "What the hell?"

I said it to all of them and sat up quickly. Garnet responded first. 'You were dreaming.'

I looked around. "What happened?" we weren't in Araphen.

"The Marquess' Castle came under attack, and a Kutolah Tribesman saved Lyn. However, another assassin bonked you in the head fairly hard. Matthew saved you."

I shook my head vigorously. "But… Mark… Elimine, the Castle, Kadan, Rohan!"

"Who the hell is Mark?"

"Huh?"

"Who's Mark?" It was coming from Matthew's mouth.

"Huh? What's… going on?"

Ariana walked up and smiled. "Look who's awake? Nice. The Marquess gave us two pages to aid us in our quest. He didn't like it, but Thankfully, Lyn had a brief flash of genius. She stated that she was just the Chamber-maid of Lady Lyndis. Lady Lyndis had been wounded in the fight, and was unable to attend." She smiled, and held up the arm where she had been cut. "Yeah, I got nicked by an arrow pretty badly."

I was so confused. "But… but…"

I finally stood up and groaned. "I've…… I need a Cleric, or a Monk. NOW."

"Right-O."

Matthew dashed away quickly. Serra was still tending to the wounded. Kent came up slowly and sighed. "Well, we've got most of the injuries healed, but there are a few Serra's Staff is too busted to heal. No casualties and no permanent injuries." I Looked around, and leaned against Garnet. "I need a Smoke-stick…" I sighed heavily, and grabbed my head. "SO I got knocked out?"

"And had a hallucination apparently."

I growled. That was no hallucination. My fingers were wounded, and my shoulder had a massive bruise. Erk walked up slowly, and sighed. "Kadan and Rohan are giving me trouble again."

"Tell Kadan he can kiss my ass, and tell Rohan that if he doesn't keep Kadan in line, we have a very young dragon that's very curious about human anatomy." The all looked at me strangely. "It wasn't a hallucination, damnit."

I grumbled, and looked over as Hiiro pulled out a cigarette from a pack and looked at it. "Give me one of those Hiiro."

He looked at me and shrugged. "I found them laying on the ground over here."

I looked at them. Phaerian. "Well shit." I pulled it out, and snapped my fingers, and took a LONG draw off of it. "God it has been WAY to long…"

My head still throbbed, but I smoked my cigarette, and thought about what happened. "Bloody…"

Suddenly, I smelled something. Everything around me began turning green. I heard Sain Sigh. "I LOVE BEANIE WEENIES!" he yelled. After that…. I passed out.

Elimine and Roland were sitting on a precipice when I fell up into the sky. "AHHHH!" I missed the ground, and then came back down, making a not unsizeable crater. I groaned, and Elimine looked at me calmly. I sat up slowly. "WHAT THE HELL?"

I rubbed my temples. I was SOOO damn confused. And seeing Elimine just served to piss me off again. I needed booze. Nah, I needed a margarita. That was the kind of drink to really knock me on my ass. Personally, I had always liked the Salty and Sweet flavors it had. Straight vodka was nice too, but it wasn't what I wanted. And a woman. Nice, shy looking girl with glasses and a skirt, and a book held close to her chest, but come hither lips. A nice but wouldn't hurt either. Tall, with mile long legs, and brunette. The librarian type. That would be too good to be true, however, and it seemed to calm me down a bit as I looked at Elimine. She wasn't that far off from the image I had in my head, and was only missing the glasses and the book. I shook myself out of the slight trance as Elimine sighed.

"Mark broke loose… but something is wrong with him."

"What?"

"It wasn't Mark, earlier."

"What do you mean?"

"The guy I swapped you with was not Mark."

"What?"

She sighed. "It wasn't a dream Kai."

"So I really did kill about two hundred morphs…"

Roland looked at a little scroll. "Including the acid bomb, your total is four-hundred sixty-three. Not including it, it's eighty three."

"Damn. Well… what the fuck is going on?"

"Roland and I did a bit of Research. I figured out that someone is MASS PRODUCING MORPHS. I have it on good-standing that morphs should be VERY rare right now."

I raised my eye brow. "But these morphs are WEAK."

"Exactly. Whoever is doing it is simply making cannon fodder. Minions, if you will. No mind, no free will. Just eleven morphs, soul bound to a bandit, or whatever. That's why I cannot spot them. They're… non-existent almost.

I felt… something red. I turned around, and saw a red shadow dart into an ominous looking part of Elimine's sanctuary. "Who was that?"

Elimine blinked. "Probably just some devil."

"No… That wasn't a Devil…"

"Who cares? The point is, Mark's gone. His Crystal-shell is gone, and HE isn't to be found."

I turned back to her. "What's that mean?"

"It means… You're now in that body. Fully. No more Mark in your head. I found shards of the crystal."

"Wait, what?"

"You're alone in that body."

I blinked, and Realization dawned on me. "Where's the Gate-keeper?"

Elimine blinked. "Right this way…"

I followed her slowly, as Roland continued to look at some… strange scroll… I noticed it to be a Magazine. I shrugged it off.

Roland turned a page. "So that's where I left it!"

I stood before the massive iron bars with a thousand portals beyond, and sighed. "GATEKEEPER!" I yelled beyond the bars, and a cloaked figure walked up to the gate.

"Who seeks the Keeper of the Gate?"

"I, Kai Arimadios, do."

"The Namesake? Humph. You're not cleared to return, Imposter."

"Imposter?"

"Kai Arimadios' Dead soul just passed through these gates moments ago. Bloody and broken he was."

I reached through the gates effortlessly, much to Elimine's and the Gatekeeper's surprise. "Only those not of this world may freely pass these gates."

"Then you are Kai…. Interesting."

"What? Why." I was demanding an answer now.

"Because your body just died."

"WHAT?"

"You were just carried through to your world by a man named Felix. He said Elimine wanted you to rest in your home."

I nearly shit. "FELIX HAS MY BODY?"

"No, Felix brought you to your portal, and Rather ungracefully, tossed you, or rather, whoever that was, through. Your body then stopped functioning."

I sighed as I felt tears well up in my eyes. I was dead…

But I was still alive, here in this world. I scratched my head. "Oh shit." It hit me like a ton of bricks.

Mark and I actually look like twins, really. My face was a mirror of his. "Felix… Killed Mark, and my home body…."

Elimine suddenly realized it. "… Oh my me…. So… Oh my…"

I sighed. "Weather you want me or not…" I looked at Elimine. "You're stuck with me."

She said simply one word. "Fuck."

Felix sighed as he came out of his trance. "Ah, there we go…" he held up the small vial of white liquid. "The perfect Catalyst. Quintessence from the one man who thought he could defy the will of Madam Akasha." He smiled. He poured the quintessence out, and then pissed on it with glee. "Feel that, Kai? That's the best thing I can offer you. Bask in it, you wretch!"

The other two morphlings that were bound to his will cackled his exact laugh, though one was slightly deeper, and the other was higher. "Son, Daughter, Come here. Father wants to show his pride."

I wanted to gag. Felix had killed ME, twice now. "That's it." I said it to Elimine's face. "I don't give a rat's ass how long it takes… I will follow Felix to the ends of hell if I have too. I'm going to rip that bastard to pieces."

"What is your quarrel with him?" We were walking back towards a nexus point, since I was having a near-death experience right now.

I sighed. "Back home, on Earth, We used to be friends. But I decided to create an order of men who knew how to kill, and how to save lives. Policemen, Firemen, Assassins, Soldiers… We were Men. We knew what was right, and wrong. We believed in God, and we hated corruption. Felix was corrupt to the bone. He was, at one time, just a simple rapist. Then it escalated. He escaped, and went on a killing spree. He targeted Paladins, the Order I had founded. So, we decided to strike back. Every paladin began to hunt him. But he targeted our Families."

I sighed. "Felix killed my family, and paralyzed me, completely. Then he… I don't want to think about that. Suffice to say, it was the worst torture imaginable. Then he shot me in the head. I didn't die, I went into a Coma. A few years ago, I Began to have Brain activity spikes, AKA, I was beginning to finally die. But the spikes were made by Visitors. That's how I came here. Somehow, Felix found a way here before me. He's the reason this shit is happening." I rubbed my hair back. "That damn dark-lord…"

"Dark-Lord?"

"The counterpart to the Paladins. We were trying to right wrongs, and bring justice. We were Vigilante. We found rapists, and brought them into a dark room and put a bag over their face. We tied them to a chair, and recorded it all. Then we sent it out to all the mob-bosses. OR Murderers. Or corrupt politicians. We played mind-games to keep them in line." I sighed. "But the Dark-lords protected these people. It was becoming a War." I sighed.

"I see… Well, go back to your body. You have my blessings."

I Nodded and dove back down into the faint blue light. I woke up gasping for air. "OH! HOLY GODDESS!!!!" I smelled a stench so utterly foul…

Sain sighed. "I'm sorry… I'll be farther away next time."

"Damn right you will. Those things… I just had a Near-Death experience!"

"SORRY!"

I sighed.

"Hey, Wait? Where did Hiiro and Florina go?" They weren't anywhere near us. I scratched my head.

"Dunno… Everyone else climbed a tree…" Ariana waved from up above and I quickly scrambled up it. "HELL NO! You stay down there. You dealt it, and now you must smell it until the damn things are gone, got it?"

Sain sighed quietly. "Yes commander… but this REALLY stinks." He lifted a leg, and let off another fart, shaking the trees around. People were camped out in trees all around us.

Alright, that's that! More coming, so please hold on to your underwear.