Chapter 13

Wolowix stepped to square up to the watery portal as he swallowed, "He's lost all his humanity. He's no longer Sheldor… he's the Chimera… a damn DEMON. How are we supposed to save Penelope when we have to save the HERO first?"

Onar growled then snorted as his telepathy joined the two close to him, "He has no heart… he has no filter for the demon's magic that courses through his veins. He knew the dangers… we all knew the dangers, but the witch needs to be stopped before any more suffer under her rein. If a crazy, demonic Sheldor can achieve that… then I say it's well worth it."

Pryna shook her head, "That's not true… he could very well turn against us… then what? We must get into the castle… my brother can show us where his heart lies."

Wolowix didn't turn around as he stared at the reflective water of the portal, "If he knew where Sheldor's heart was… the witch would have it by now." He reached out and touched the reflection of his own hand, narrowing his eyes, "Besides… what will we do if Demon Sheldor doesn't WANT it back?"

Before the two behind him could answer, he slipped into the portal with the other two behind him a few moments later.

The three were dropped into a vast, shallow lagoon whose surface was plagued with vines and reeds. The water was too murky to see anything within it even though the water was only knee high. Wolowix looked around in every direction but saw nothing but a horizon of leveled water. He swallowed and bowed his head and mumbled. He rose his hands in the air before him and a ledge humped out of the water underneath the three's feet. Onar sniffed the air and couldn't find a trace of scent from either Sheldor OR anything else.

He shook his head and walked to stand beside Pryna and Wolowix and spoke to them with telepathy, "There is nothing here. Has Sheldor destroyed everything?"

Wolowix was staring out the horizon while Pryna looked straight up. Her eyes bulged out in shock as she patted at Onar's fur until she got to his fluffy ear then tugging it to get his attention. The nerk whimpered a little at the pressure then looked up and his ears went to the side, "Ummm… Wolowix… you might want to take a look above."

Wolowix turned to the two staring straight up with one brow down, "Wh… y…Whoa." He stared up and his jaw loosened at the site of a jagged rock upon a beach that was surrounded by water right above them with white pristine sand. It was as if they were looking out of an airplane window at the little island. Wolowix spun until his body was facing the other two and he spoke, "Let's say that jumping is probably off the table. I don't want my blood to ruin the pretty white sand."

Pryna smiled, "A wizard with no faith in magic… you've been with the witch hunter far too long." She stretched her wings and looked to her two companions, "I'll go first… if you plummet to the ground I'll swoop in and save you. Does that make you feel better?"

Wolowix smiled, "Actually… yeah it does."

She gave a wink and the two men stepped back to give her wings space. She squatted down and, with all her might in her hamstrings and wingspan; she launched herself into the air and towards the island below… or is it above? The boys watched as she turned into a blur of speed and she was merely a 'M' down by the beach's sand. The two looked at each other and swallowed.

Wolowix spoke, "Well, buddy, if we're going to die… I want you to know… though you're the smallest nerkanine I've ever seen; you're the damn bravest of them."

Onar looked over at the innovagygr and their eyes met. Onar opened his jaws while talking to him with his telepathy, "Wolowix… there is no one else I would want to plummet to my death with than you. Hop on my back… if all else fails, I'll hit the ground first."

The two men shared a 'bro moment' as Wolowix hopped on Onar's back and mumbled. The ground underneath launched them up towards the island, there was a huge rush as if they were falling, and then Onar was flailing in the air for two seconds then his stomach hit the sand in a soft fall. Onar whimpered in confusion as he stood up with Wolowix still on his back. They looked up at the sky of blues and greens before just laughing. Wolowix patted Onar's fur and sung out, "MAN I love magic!"

There was a loud thunder above and a few rocks fell from the tall, sharpened rock structure that seemed to guard the beach from the jungle behind it. The two jerked their heads up to see a silhouette of a creature push off the tip of the structure with a cloud of dust and a little rock debris trailing after it. The shadow dove down in a weird flash and there was a crashing noise all around as if metal was colliding with metal. Before either of them could question, Pryna swooped from the jungle oasis in a fast roll to the side until she straightened out and flapped to a brisk landing.

She jogged to them with a fear upon her face, "There might be a slight problem in achieving access to the last arc."

Wolowix looked down at her with a raised brow, "Such as?"

There was a horrid shriek echoing from beyond the tree line that made all three look in that general direction. Pryna gripped her bansuri as her accent rang out, "Such as a much more resourceful demon being the guardian of the arc."

Wolowix and Onar snapped their eyes back to her as she slowly turned her head back, "His name is Dennikim and that was all I got before Sheldor started to attack without a plan or any insurmountable thought. He blindly lashed out and Dennikim calmly countered his moves."

Onar gave a snort as his thoughts reached the Garuda, "How do you know this Dennikim is a demon?"

Pryna's grip on her bansuri was tighter at the question, "Because his kind… EAT our kind, Dennikim is a Naga, or Snake-Shifter, and is an Uttari Koriya prodigy who was recruited by Kncaltek, the Rhumba Nesters, to become the next Hydra recipient… the demon of Regeneration. He is only 15, but he is much more powerful than Sheldor. If he kills your friend… we will most certainly perish."

Onar growled, "If we TRY and help Sheldor… Sheldor will kill US. We can't win no matter which side we choose."

Wolowix shook his head, "I'm not dying until I see that witch gritting in agony… COME ON! Let's go and at least say hi."

Onar took a few steps and looked over at Pryna, she took off running with her wings flapping the sand in a torrent of power and soon she was in the air. Wolowix gripped the fur of the nerk's back and Onar took off running towards the jungle.

The arc was mass of vines twisted and waved into a perfect bridge; there were white and purple flowers adorning it as well as a long emerald boa wrapped around it. Sheldor's Bazinga form was panting madly at the 15 year old Koriyan boy who stood right in the center of it with his arms folded across his chest and a cocky grin on his lips. Demon Sheldor threw everything at the brat, but nothing seemed to be strong enough to get through. The Chimera was becoming impatient and a gallant roar echoed through the island.

Dennikim shook his head, "You are new to this whole demon thing aren't you? I can tell, you are far too arrogant to be anything BUT an amateur."

Demon Sheldor snarled, his arms molding and stretching; one elongated to a scythe blade on the end of a chain and flung around to tie Dennikim up and the other arm shifted to a big bladed axe and swung down into Dennikim's shoulder. The Koriyan boy screamed and then gritted his teeth, his pupils expanded to cover the entire eye until a yellowish-green orb glowed and formed as his eye. A skinny slit formed in the middle and he smiled with a thick fork tongue darting out and slipping back in. Suddenly, Demon Sheldor's formed arm was ripped to shreds, his body went flying backwards; the momentum of the force sent him through rows of trees until his body finally angled down to where he finally hit the jungle's floor with a few bounces.

Dennikim's laugh echoed through the trees as Wolowix and Onar moved to where the demon finally rested. Wolowix shuddered at the path made by the force of power that was used to chuck Sheldor through that thicket of trees. Onar carefully circled the downed demon then noticed that the black mass that surrounded his body was now smoking off and revealing pale skin. Wolowix hopped off Onar and ran to the face-down, butt-naked witch hunter and knelt down. He placed two fingers on his neck and shot a look up at Onar, "He doesn't have a pulse."

Onar's ears went down as Wolowix stood up and bowed his head. He muttered a prayer as Onar let out a howl for his fallen comrade. Wolowix sniffed a bit as they had a moment of silence before Sheldor let out a huge groan and the dirt around his mouth shot out like a cloud. The two men watched in horror as their friend pushed himself off the jungle floor and finally stood completely nude. The two averted their gaze as Wolowix shouted, "You… You were DEAD… You didn't even have a pulse!"

Sheldor, almost completely ignoring the Wolowix, looked down and raised his hands up to look himself over, "Why am I naked?"

Onar tilted his head as Wolowix snorted, "Really? THAT'S your question… not, 'Why am I in a jungle' or 'Why do I not have a pulse' or even better 'Why have I been a demon and trying to kill all my friends'…"

Sheldor looked over at them and they both jumped at the deep symbol still burnt upon his left cheek and his blue eyes, "Of course I wouldn't have a pulse… hard to have one when you have no heart, wouldn't you agree?"

Wolowix slapped his forehead, "Totally forgot about that."

Sheldor turned his head back at the powerful aura towards the path that was cleared by his body being launched. He narrowed his darkened blue eyes and swallowed, "You're a man who does not possess a doctorate... It's quite understandable. On another note, where are we?"

Onar sniffed and spoke with his telepathy, "We are in the second realm headed to the third arc that will lead us to the witch's castle. Dennikim, the Hydra demon of Regeneration, is the final guardian and he just pretty much threw you in here with a lot of force."

The sounds of wings flapping made them all look up just as Pryna glided down and landed behind them. She jogged up with her eyes on Onar then looked over at a very bare Sheldor, gasping as she averts her gaze, "You're back? What happened?"

Wolowix began to explain, but Sheldor cut in, "Chrsnyght… I wish to speak with you."

The three looked at him like he was crazy until a static ball of red and black the size of a marble seeped out of his pupil then slowly unraveled into the form of the horse footed, long eared demon form but more translucent. She smiled at the three shocked faces then looked over at the very naked man before her, "Now, when you said you wanted to talk to me… did you want the top or bottom because… meeeOW."

Wolowix, despite confused by the incident, gave a laugh and Chrsnyght looked over at him and gave him a wink. She let out a sigh and looked into his blue, not so amused, eyes, "Guess it's just business, then? What can I do for you my heartless compadre'?" She flicked her wrist and Sheldor had a long black rectangle covering his front and back.

Sheldor looked down and rolled his eyes as Wolowix stepped forward, "Ok… I have a question… WHAT are you?"

She kicked off the ground and her hooves made a crushing noise and sat cross legged and smiled at the three confused people, "I am a half demon… the demon of Chaos… someone who wants to rip the face off of the Fowler daughter… you can consider me a friend."

Onar with his ears back and he shot his voice at her, "How are we supposed to believe you are a friend if you're the one who turned him into that… Chimera thing? You believe that just because you want to kill the witch that we are just going to accept you as a 'Good Guy'."

Chrsnyght slowly dropped to the ground with her blackened eyes and white pupil slit dangerously, "I didn't turn him into anything. HE'S the one who allowed the demon to overtake him. But… can't really blame ol' Moonpie… Demons are a BITCH to fight off when you don't have your heart to sort them out. I'm just an Addendum or a Dodatek… I am just an addition… bound to him until his promise to me is fulfilled. Till then, I'm just a whisper in the back of his head that he keeps ignoring. AND… who the hell wants to be a GOOD GUY anyways… too much work and not enough fun! I mean... look at all you... all frowns and pouty faces. Being good is overrated."

Pryna looked back towards where Dennikim was still guarding the arc and looked back, "Dodatek's have no power until they are released from their bondage. Even if she wanted to possess him… she couldn't but they still merge. Her essence is HIS essence. Manifesting and providing insight is all she can really do and most Dodateks don't even do THAT. I do have a question, though… why is he no longer possessed by the demon?"

Chrsnyght gave a big smile, "That's a great question bird face… It's because Sheldor's demon is maxed out. It was challenged and defeated so… it's… how would you say… 'licking its wounds'. It'll be back… It'll keep coming back stronger and more dominant than before."

They all looked at Sheldor and he swallowed deeply, he was afraid… as he listened… he had a fear, a fear that he would kill the witch, but then find that it was too late to become human again… he'd kill his friends… he'd kill Penelope. He shut his eyes tight trying to burn the images of her screaming and being ripped apart by HIS hands. His thoughts, then, were turned into a black fog misting around him. He looked around and everything was going dark. A huge shadow was blocked out by the black smoke, but small flashes of lightning revealed a gargantuan lion figure with horns and a huge tail with hood at the end of it. Sheldor swallowed and stepped back… the eyes were burning blue and looked down at him then straightened proudly and let out a thundering roar.

Sheldor snapped out of his thoughts with his own course and took a few steps forward, "Friends… I… I want to apologize… I want to say that… whatever happens… whatever may arise from this… I am so very sorry. I… I'm just not… strong enough."

Chrsnyght frowned as she faded away to nothing leaving the other three staring at Sheldor's back. They couldn't see his pupils expanding until it covered his entire eye then leeching out and webbing all over his body, he bent over as if he were in pain. Onar's ears shot straight up in the air and he began to growl low. Pryna and Wolowix looked back at him and saw every black hair on the nerk's body began to quill and stand on end, Pryna leaned in, "What is it? What's happening?"

Onar's eyes lit up and he looked to both her and Wolowix, "Wolowix… get on my back… Pryna… get in the air! NOW!" As his mind screamed, both jumped and did as they were told. As soon as Wolowix got on his back, Onar took off running towards the arc on the long path that was cleared. Wolowix looked back and his eyes shot wide open, "Holy SHIT! What is that?"

Where Sheldor had been standing was an ever expanding globe of quivering blackened flesh that started to drain into the ground. The ominous mass crept along the ground and enveloped everything in its hungry caress. Wolowix watched the huge sphere begin to take shape and saw two ice cold eyes begin to shine and form. He took his eyes off it to see that the trees covered in the mass were being melted down underneath the shady blanket and he spun around and screamed in the nerk's ear, "RUN FASTER! FASTER!"

With a side glance of the crepuscular landscape being swallowed down, Onar obliged and turned on his speed to full max. Wolowix looked back at the huge creature he could yet distinguish for a brief second before looking down at the noxious haze nipping at the nerk's paws. He shifted and gripped the nerk's fur tightly, "Onar… it's gaining… O… ONAR!"

Wolowix screamed as Onar kept running faster as they cleared the tree line. The mass formed a giant wave and began to crash down upon, but a scream from the sky and talons ensnaring the nerk took them both off the ground and into the sky in the capable grip of Pryna's Garuda form. She circled the air as far as she could, hovering in one spot to see the entire island covered in complete blackness. The only things not covered were a small dot where Dennikim stood and the arc itself. Everything else was engulfed.

After the initial shock of NOT being dead, Onar and Wolowix looked out to where their friend had given his apology. There, standing as tall as a mountain was an enormous red lion whose long canines pointed down from its cheeks. Its vibrissae were stark white and flexed in the air. There was a white circular smudge on its chest with a yellow lightning bolt shape dividing the smudge. It had two pairs of horns where one pair stuck straight up and curved backwards a little and the other wrapped around its pointy red ears and looped wide and downwards twice. The cat's body looked almost shiny as if it were painted with a glossy sheen. The back of the lion's legs began to go a deep slate gray, rhe tail was thick and swayed behind the cat. The tail soon formed into a very large and boding hooded cobra. It opened its mouth and revealed tiny, needle like fangs oozing with venom. It closed its mouth and darted its pink tongue as it danced in a smooth lean.

As Pryna flapped her wings hard and slow to staying adrift, Wolowix felt a powerful surge in the opposite direction of the Chimera… he looked down and swallowed hard.

Dennikim's body molded and shifted into a monstrous three headed snake. The middle head was the biggest but looked identical to the other three. The scales were colorful and bright, the three heads were a bright orange while the top of the body was a smooth black. The sides of the snake were a cerulean blue and seemed to seep into the underbelly of the snake; the tip of its tail was the same color as the heads and looked almost razor sharp.

The three heads seemed to stay in an alert form as they were only a few feet shorter than the towering Chimera. A pale blue tongue zipped out of the middle snake's lips as it swatted away the obliterating fungus. The Hydra's demonic voice hissed in a laugh that rang out loudly, "You're finally taking thisss ssseriousss. Good… I wasss hoping I'd get to kill you in your demon form. Ssso… Sheldor… let'sss ssse what you got!"

The Chimera moved to be only a few yards from the Hyrda, the Chimera's whiskers tensed and flexed as the cobra behind it rippled in place. The Chimera snorted and clicked in its throat as it stared at the Hydra with its piercing blue eyes. It slammed its paws into the blackened earth and it let out an electrifying roar that Wolowix could feel sparking in his chest and the three in the sky let out a dismaying breath as two demons issued war against one another.