Nothing witty to put here, after all I kinda fell asleep typing this. Anyway, hope you enjoy while I go get some aspirin for my aching head.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted things I use; I do own my OCs and this story.
Extra Disclaimers: Stardust and Dax belong to Alec the Dark Angel, Arana belongs to Shining Darkness Dragon, and Serenity belongs to phoenix firewing. NOT ME.
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Chapter 9: Loose Ends
Jacy was unable to keep the shock off his face, his jaw dropping at her words. He quickly closed it, however, and stood up slowly. He began to pace back and forth in front of Kera with one hand in front of his mouth, assuming his look of deep thought.
She watched him do so for several minutes, petrified at the thought of him angry at her, and softly begged, "Say something, please."
He stopped and looked over at her, removing his hand to reveal he was grinning, before he picked her up and kissed her passionately. Kera was caught off-guard for a moment, but quickly melted into it as her worries faded away and her hands found their way behind his neck to hold him in place. After a few minutes, he placed her back on the ground and broke the contact, but their lips remained a hairsbreadth away and his arms wrapped around her waist to keep them pressed against one another.
"I don't know what to say," He whispered lovingly, his green eyes looking deeply into her blue, "but this just gives me another reason to do this."
"Do wha…" she trailed off as she watched him slide down to one knee and look up at her, his hand going into his coat pocket to pull out a small black box.
"Kera," Jacy said, opening the box to reveal a silver ring inlaid with an emerald at the top and two smaller sapphires at its sides, "Will you marry me?"
"It's so beautiful…" she breathed dreamily, tearing up, "Of course I will!"
Jacy took the ring out of the box, throwing the now-empty case behind him, and slid the ring onto the ring finger on her left hand. Afterwards, he stood up and wrapped his arms around her again while she placed her arms around his neck before they kissed once more.
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Cain, Nite, and Fian entered the temple and were immediately hit with a sense of unease. The stone the temple was made of had darkened to black while the cracks and separations between the stones glowed a dull red color, giving the building an ominous feel.
The three were unnerved by the lack of sound, though none spoke to break the silence, either. The only noises came from their footfalls and breathing, and the only light came from the glow of the walls and the crimson crystals hanging on them.
As they walked through the deserted corridors, they watched alertly for any sign of movement from both friend and foe. The only signs they found that showed anyone had even been in this hallway were the pools of blood in the wall and dripping from the walls. When they finally caught sight of something, they weren't expecting what it was.
It was Arlyn, and he was hurt badly. He had several wounds covering his body, but the worst was a large gash that went down his underbelly that nearly had his organs out on the floor. He was lying on his side, making his labored breathing obvious, in a pool of his own blood and had several stone arrows sticking out of various places on his body. His tail was missing a good chunk near the tip and it looked like one of his back legs was broken as well.
When the severely injured dragon saw them approaching, he spoke weakly, "Don't any of you dare try to help me; I'm far beyond it making a difference."
"We can't just leave you here to die!" Cain protested as his group came to a stop next to the Water Dragon.
"You can if you want to stop them from bringing Ragnarok back from the dead and using him to kill everyone," Arlyn said softly.
Cain wanted to argue, but knew it would be a pointless venture. The old dragon before him was right in saying that any attempt to help him would be for naught; the life in his eyes had already begun to fade.
"May the Ancestors reclaim you warmly, my friend," the red dragon said, warm tears falling down his face.
"Don't waste your tears on me, Cain," Arlyn breathed, a weak chuckle escaping his throat, "I died a hero once before, not many get the chance to do so twice."
The dying dragon took one last, ragged breath before his body fell limp. The three, dragons and elf, bowed their heads in silence, honoring the fallen Water Dragon. After a moment, they looked up with determined looks on their faces.
"Let's move," Cain said softly, "We won't find the others by standing around here."
Fian and Nite nodded in agreement and the three continued down the hall. A few moments later, the hazel young head of Serenity peeked around a corner and saw the three and hurried towards them. Cain heard the pawsteps and turned around to see the young one running towards them. He came to a halt, grinning, as she caught up with him and climbed up on top of him.
"Good to see you're okay," he said calmly, "Do you know where Arcaein is?"
She nodded and said, "Down this hall and a little ways into the one to the right."
"Alright," Cain said, resuming walking with Nite and Fian at his sides, "We've got a General to rescue."
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"You alone must change this past, your present, so that my present, your future, doesn't come to be," Stardust told the little Annabelle. She looked back at the Celestial dragon with wide eyes.
"I-I don't know if I can do it," she said nervously, shaking her head, "Daddy, he…he hates that other purple dragon for what he did to Mommy. And he said it was his fault that…that Nguyen is gone."
Her voice faltered at the last part and she shivered with unshed tears. Stardust's own doubts began to resurface, but he pushed them away in honor of the Annabelle he knew.
"Listen," he said confidently, "You can do this. You knew you could do this, and I have faith in you. Your father is wrong; Malefor is a good dragon, your mother sees this, but you have to show Spyro this. Open his eyes to the truth, Annie."
"I-I'll try," she murmured, nodding.
"Don't try, succeed," he told her, grinning. And then he winked out of sight with a black flash, the world resuming its movement as he did. Annabelle looked over her shoulder and saw Dex was still unconscious. She readied herself before hurrying over to where Spyro, Deryx, and Malefor were climbing out of the finished grave.
She came to a stop in front of Spyro and spoke rapidly, "A Celestial Dragon named Stardust from the future stopped time and told me to tell you that you had to trust that other purple dragon or everyone is going to die!"
"Easy, sweetheart, easy," he said gently, leaning down so he was at her height, "Now say all of that again slowly."
Annabelle did as she was told and repeated herself, though this time she spoke slowly. When she was finished, Spyro wanted to scold her for lying, but the seriousness in her eyes made him stop. He was struck speechless at that realization, Deryx and Malefor faring no better.
Before any of them could respond, however, a groaning sound came from behind Annabelle. They all looked to see Dex stirring. He quickly jumped to his feet and spoke in panic.
"We have to get back to Warfang before something really bad happens!"
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"How did you survive?" Kain questioned the young telepath as she took the glass of water away from his lips, "Everyone there saw you ripped apart!"
"I'm…not exactly sure," she answered slowly, placing the glass on the table next to her, "The last thing I can remember is that fight with Merikh, and then I just woke up in a building a few blocks away yesterday."
"That's it?" he asked, "Everyone thought you were dead for five years and you can't even recall where you were for all that time?"
"I wish I could remember," she sighed, resting her cheek on top of his head, "Really I do. But, I just can't."
Kain felt her arms rest on his shoulders while her hands were clasped together over his chest. He brought one of his up and patted hers comfortingly. As he did, he felt s brush against his mind just before he was pulled into a memory that wasn't his own.
He was looking through another's eyes at a dark, empty room. He could feel the chains holding the wrists of the person he was seeing through above their head as if they were around his own. He was merely a spectator and was unable to control when the memory's owner began to struggle against their bonds and look about wildly.
There was a loud clanking noise followed by the sound of a large metal door opening on hinges badly in need of oiling. Kain felt his own muscles clench as the owner of the body turned their head towards the sounds.
He saw a familiar man standing in the open doorway and heard a voice that was unmistakable for anyone else come from his lips, "Hello, Hanna. Are you ready to go help your precious Kain out of his never-ending nightmare before he and all your friends die?"
"Merikh…" Kain and she murmured at the same time. Then, just as suddenly as he was pulled into it, he was yanked out of the memory and found himself back in Hanna's arms, panting.
"Are you alright?" she asked him concernedly, "You passed out for a few moments and started mumbling and fidgeting."
"I'm…fine," he answered cautiously, "But I think I just got a glimpse of where you were. And I think we're about to be attacked as well."
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"You…won't get away with this," growled a chained, bleeding Arcaein. He was shackled so that he was standing and facing Mara, but a collar made of Dark Crystal prevented him from using his element to obliterate her.
He was covered in cuts and bruises, a scratch above his eye dripping blood down his face and causing him to keep it shut to keep the blood out of it. His remaining eye, however, glared at the High-Priestess with the intensity of two.
He had no idea where she was keeping the Guardians and his fellow Generals, but he did see the portal she'd opened to Cain's realm and watched her bring Cain's brother Gabriel through. The green dragon was now patrolling through the temple for any intruders with several of the Death's Embrace members. Now he watched as she prepared to use the Dark Magic of Necromancy to return Ragnarok to life.
"No one is coming to keep me from my goal, dragon," she responded calmly as she drew a circle with several sigils on the ground with a red liquid that looked and smelled suspiciously like blood.
"Can you honestly say that you didn't see this coming?" asked the sarcastic voice of Cain from the doorway. Mara and Arcaein turned to look at him as he and his two comrades walked into the room, Cain carrying the young Serenity on his back.
"I can, old friend," said a voice that brought back memories, both wonderful and horrible, to Cain's mind and sent chills down his spine, "You were always so predictable."
He watched, frozen in his tracks, as a familiar black dragoness stepped out of the shadows she'd been using as a veil so she could watch in secret. Her amethyst eyes zoned in on the stunned red dragon with malicious intent. However, Fian and Nite stepped in front of Cain and doing so broke whatever hold she'd had on him.
"Maybe I was, Arana, but many things have changed since we last saw each other," he said softly, "But you're every bit as devious as you were then."
"You're too kind," she said with mock-gratitude, "but that won't stop me from dragging you to my master."
Cain smirked at that and commented, "In all the time I've known you, I never marked you down as one who recognized a master."
The two of them had continued walking, leaving their allies behind, and met in the middle of the room. When they stopped, their faces were inches apart.
"I recognized one before," she breathed, "but Merikh promised me more than you ever could."
Fian leaned over and whispered to Nite, "Were they together or something?"
"Something like that." He grunted in response.
"Whatever he promised you, he lied, Arana," Cain told her, "Don't be a fool and fight me."
"The blood-thirsty Cain trying to avoid a fight?" she asked with poorly-faked shock, "My, my, you certainly have changed. What happened?"
"I found myself with the help of my friends," he said, his crimson gaze locking unflinchingly with her purple, "And, if you'll let me, I'll help you do the same."
"This is me," Arana said, shaking her head, "There's nothing left to find."
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So, yeah, not as long as some of my chapters, but still pretty decent in my opinion, though I'm still open to any criticism that tells me anything I need to improve on. On a side note, to those whose OCs I'm using, if I got their personalities wrong I apologize. Let me know and I'll try to fix it in the future.
Review please, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy.