Chapter 2 - New Place, Old Friends
He woke up in a dark place. It smelled of disinfectant and blood. Looking around he saw that he was in some sort of hospital. There were many beds in the hall-like room where he lay, and a few beds over a injured elf like himself was sleeping. He started to sit up but stopped as he looked at himself. His skin was still black.
"Thats weird. It usually changes back." He puffed his right bang out of his face. "My hair is still black too." He smiled, even though he liked his original orange hair. "I look cool."
He got up and looked at himself, wearing the same torn clothes, which were completely ruined. He had many bruises that were an odd mixture of brown, green, blue, and purple. Some scratches were on his body as well as some stab wounds.
"Nothing that'll kill me though."
Suddenly the memory of what happened hit him full force. He failed his village. He wasn't there to protect his family, his friends, the people of his village. He started to tear up again but quickly banished the wetness.
"No. I will not cry. The best think I could do is." A sudden look of determination appeared on his face. He finally got it out. "I will avenge you all. Mother, Father, everyone." he would do it. He would honor them by stopping the Drow and their nefarious ways. Cris would definitely help him.
He finally realized that he had no idea where he was.
"That girl. Did she take me here?" he wondered.
His wounds seem to be in the middle of treatment and had been cleaned and bandaged. He might've have a small concussion. Or a huge one. He started to walk towards the door at the end of the hall. As he did he got a closer look at the elf. Her green skin was rare among elves and it really brought out her blue hair. Strangely a bandana covered her mouth, obscuring half her face. The calming aura around her made him feel safe and warm. "Must be a life elemental. They have weird effects on us.
Ignoring her for the moment he made his way to the door but cringed and dropped to his knees. Some blood dripped onto the floor from a reopened wound.
"Well I guess I could stay. Whoever these people are, they obviously don't want to do me harm. They want to heal and help me. One of them probably saved me." Comforting himself with the thought he made his way to the closest bed before collapsing.
It was a bright evening, which annoyed Roller Brawl. As a vampire she got uncomfortable in days like this, and so did most of the other Undead elementals. She wanted to check on Stealth elf and that boy her and Spyro had brought back. He was odd. She sensed Undead magic on him but it seemed to be mixed with Tech and a faint drop of something else. He was therefore of the Shadowgear subtype, as far as she could tell. She was interrupted from her thoughts as she bumped into to somebody. Looking up she saw it was Flameslinger.
"Good morning Roller Brawl. You heading to the hospital bay too?" he asked while rubbing his head.
She nodded and and continued on. That elf though reminded her of a old friend. It saddened her a bit, remembering him. He was a great friend to her and her brothers and was loyal to the bitter end, which came to soon in the form of Kaos. Purging the dark thought from her mind she skated into the medical bay. Whirlwind was there, tending to Stealth Elf's wounds while the elf was up in his bed looking around. As she moved toward him he gaped and suddenly a look of pure joy crossed his face. Before she knew it he grabbed her and started to nearly hug her to death.
"Roll it is so nice to see you! It's been what, a year?" he exclaimed joyfully before she hit him on the head and he fell down on his butt. That pouty look on his face was exactly like...oh elementals it was him!
"Dim? Is that really you?" A smile overtook her face as well. He may have looked different but this was unmistakably her lost friend. She leaned down to rubbed the spot on his head where she hit him. "Oh Dim.. A lot of things have happened since-" Appearing to have realized something she punched him in the face with so much force that he was launched into the wall, cracking it. Good thing she didn't have her claws on…
Whirlwind tried to calm her down but the deadly aura she was giving off kept her away.
"What the hell Dim Flame! I thought you were dead!" she screamed in his face. "You could have at least dropped by, let me know that my best friend was still kickin after the Drow assault!" she was tearing up now, and the hurt she was feeling filled itself with anger.. "I thought you would care about me. I didn't want to believe you died but I thought that you would have AT LEAST SEND ME A LETTER! Hey Roller Brawl it me Dim. I survived but can't meet up right now. I am at this place so please drop by. - Love Dim Flame." she mocked, tears streaming now. Looking back at Whirlwinds and now Stealth Elf's shocked expression she bolted out the door. "Dim. Youre alive. Youre alive. "
Stealth Elf had no idea what just happened. Roller Brawl the fun loving, calm, fearless, positive, and sometimes snippy vampire just had a breakdown. That guy, Dim as she called him, was looking at the floor, looking incredibly guilty. He eventually got up to follow her leaving them both in shock. She thanked Whirlwind for her help and rushed to tail them. She wanted to make sure it was safe to let Dim Flame walk around the Citadel. Going into Stealth Mode she started to tail him. As they passed Chop Chop and Ghost Roaster a look of happiness (or at least as much happiness a robotic skeleton could show) and fear appeared on their face helmet and face respectively. "It has been a long time Dim Flame." the arkeyan greeted in his usual deep voice.
Chop Chop too? He and the arkeyan swordmaster went way back, back when he was still in the Underworld. While happy to see his brother in arms he looked at Ghost Roaster with pure to disgust. That monster deserved way worse than being chained. Giving Chop Chop a respectful nod before going back after Roller Brawl. She...was precious to him and he didn't want to lose her. He remembered that fateful day they met, many years ago...
Shaking his head he decided to focus a the task at hand. She was fast, and his teleportation powers didn't work with this much light. Wait a second. Why is she, Chop Chop and Ghost Roaster even here? What is this place anyway. He thought all these things while trying to chase down his best friend. He was guilty yes but he had his reasons. He always knew that Roller Brawl was impulsive and what she felt, she felt deeply. But that was just one of the many things he liked about her. He finally caught up to her, sitting on the edge of the island. He sat down next to her." "Roll." he started but was cut off. "No Dim let me speak. I'm sorry for doing that to you. It's just, so many things had happened while you were gone. Maybe the thing you would be most interested in, is the curse that everybody here bears, including me."
"Roll? What curse? What are you talking about? Are you okay?" Before she could reply a bright light engulfed them both.