Jacy: Not much to say, really…
Wolf: Why wasn't I mentioned in this chapter? *growling*
Jacy: You were, uh, in the background being too much of a badass to write. *sweat drops*
Wolf: That's right… *grumbling incoherently*
Jacy: I'm gonna start the disclaimers before I get mauled…
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 11: Reunions and Separations
Hanna followed Kain, who seemed to have made a miraculous recovery, back out of the infirmary as they had seen Kera and Jacy run by them not too long ago. The two found themselves surrounded by various beasts from the darkest corners of myth, neither sure of what to do. Before the creatures could harm them, a wave of electricity hit them, shocking them with thousands of volts before they fell to the ground, likely dead.
They glanced to where their help had come from to see Jacy standing there, one hand on a sword stuck into the ground while the other held one near his side. He glanced at the two out of the corner of his eye, nodding slightly in acknowledgement, before he ran towards another crowd of monsters.
"Looks like we owe him one," Kain noted off-handedly, turning to look at Hanna, "C'mon!"
He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along, pausing a moment to grab a discarded hand gun. After checking the ammo and finding it to his satisfaction, he handed it to Hanna. Almost immediately after he gave it to her, she fired it, the bullet whizzing by his head at a blinding speed. It pierced the skull of a zombie that had tried to attack him unawares, the blood and bits of its head spattering onto the two of them.
"Nice shot," Kain commented, smiling at her, "but next time, try to warn me first."
She nodded, grinning sheepishly, before the two took off towards where Marie was trying to fend off a large group of them. They could see she was visibly tiring from using so much of her ability in so short a time, without getting a moment to rest. They got to her side just before a giant, two-headed snake lunged at her.
Kain intercepted it and stabbed it in one of its heads, causing it to fall to the ground, writhing as it tried to get him off. He held on tightly, however, and twisted the blade inside its skull. He felt that head go limp and turned his head just in time to see the other head fly at him. It knocked him off, causing him to let go of the blade while it was still stuck in the dead one's skull.
He rolled for few moments before coming to a stop at the feet of a chimera. The dragon head took in a breath to breathe fire at him, giving him the chance to move out of the way just as it let it loose. He got to his feet just as it tried to stomp on him with one of its feet. He jumped onto its back, using the goat head as a hand hold, and then grabbed the snake tail. He made it bite into the lion's head, allowing the beast's own venom to begin to kill it.
As it began to collapse, he jumped off of it and hurried back to where Hanna and Marie were trying to fend off the huge snake, the one head hanging limp with his sword still stuck in it. It caught Hanna off-guard as she was trying to fend off a hellhound that came over as well, about to bite her in half at the waist. Kain got there just in time, though, and tackled her to the floor so its jaws clamped down on air.
"Now you and I are even," he said, grinning as he held himself over her with his arms beside her head.
"Not yet we're not," she told him before grabbing the back of his neck with her hands and pulling him towards her, while she brought her lips to his. He was surprised for a moment before closing his eyes and pushing even further into the kiss.
"Not that I'm not happy for the two of you or anything," Marie's voice shattered their private moment, "but I could really use your help right now!"
Kain pulled away and the two looked over to see the Elemental Marked One doing her best to keep the horde of monsters back with a wall of fire while also trying to fend off the massive snake. He got to his feet, after looking at Hanna apologetically, and ran over to the enormous serpent. He jumped onto its still moving head, using his sword to get there and pulling it out once he flew past it, and stabbed it in one of its eyes.
It hissed in agony and began to shake its head back in forth to dislodge him. The movement nearly did knock him loose, but Kain stubbornly held on with gritted teeth. He managed to pull his blade loose and was about to pierce it through the skull when he felt something go through his chest. He looked down to see a hole in his torso, beginning to leak his crimson blood.
His grip on the snake slackened and he fell off the side of it. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion to him as he dropped. He heard Hanna scream his name, but it seemed like it was miles away from him. Everything went black before he felt his back hit the floor.
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Dex and Annabelle ran alongside Talea and Cynder as they hurried through the halls in search of the Guardians and Generals. They had separated from Spyro and Malefor after going through the portal in the caverns under the black citadel that let them out in the room with the Vision Pool as the two went to go find Arcaein while Deryx had been drawn outside by something he couldn't place. None of them spoke a word of argument to this and Deryx followed the strange feeling.
They'd come across a Death's Embrace member here and there, but they were no match for the four of them. As of yet, they'd found all of the rooms they had come across so far weren't holding anyone they were looking for. They had found Arlyn after a while of wandering through the halls, and waited a moment to pay the old water dragon their respects. They resumed moving after they were finished. They had slowed down to a slow walk just as they heard groaning and struggling from a room not far away.
They hurried over it to see a shocking sight. Inside there was a cloaked Death's Embrace member, who was wearing a butcher's apron over the black cloak, walking towards a bloody, beaten, and chained Ixenra with a sharp blade while a restrained Edarin was forced to watch. He was struggling against his bonds and vainly trying to use his element in an attempt to stop the person from harming her, but it was all useless.
Acting quickly, Dex and Annabelle went over to the large, green General quietly, while Talea and Cynder went over to the cloaked being. The two dragonesses merely disarmed the man, despite their want to rip him to shreds, while the two younglings freed the chained Edarin. Once he was loose, he charged towards the Death's Embrace member and mercilessly began to tear him to pieces. The two children looked away in fear as blood and gore began to fly about the room. Talea and Cynder proceeded to free Ixenra, who fell to the ground in a limp heap with hardly a groan.
Once Edarin finally stopped, all that was left of the would-be killer of the red dragoness was a crimson mess of blood, organs, and mess. He looked down at the pile for a moment, a look of regret on his face, but it vanished in a moment as he turned his attention to the still-unconscious Fire General. He walked over and began to nudge her awake with his muzzle. As he did so, Dex and Annabelle ran over to their mothers and hid underneath them.
Ixenra stirred for a moment, her eyes opening to see the bloodied face of Edarin and weakly teased, "You really are a messy eater."
"What can I say," he said, smiling and showing the crimson liquid was on his teeth as well, "Something about madmen trying to kill my mate just turns me into an animal."
"Well, I'm not kissing you 'till you wash it off, mister," she told him humorously, "Now do you mind helping me up?"
"Not at all," he said, placing his head under hers so she could use him as a counterweight when she began to stand. It took her a few minutes before she was able to stand, as well as several amusing failed attempts as she fell back down, but she still had to lean against the green dragon to remain on her feet.
"Now we've got to go find Kepesk and Arlyn," she said, turning to look at the others. The two dragonesses and younglings looked away in silent regret as they knew something the other two did not.
"We…already found Arlyn," Talea said softly, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes, "He's gone."
"Damn fool," Edarin cursed, shaking his head, "I told him not to stay behind while we tried to escape, but he wouldn't listen!"
"It's not your fault," Ixenra comforted him, nuzzling his cheek and getting a bit of the blood that covered his face on her, "We all tried to change his mind, but we all knew it was a useless attempt. He always put his friends before himself, as we all do."
"I know, I know, but mourning will have to be saved for another time," Edarin said quietly, "Kepesk is waiting for us to find and save him like you four did us."
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"Let me go!" Arana ordered as she continued to try to break the pin Cain had put her in.
"Not until you listen!" he shouted, getting her face with their muzzles touching and his crimson eyes boring into her purple, "Deep inside of you, I know is the truly caring person you are. And I intend to find it!"
Before she could respond, something hit Cain's side and knocked him off of her. Cain skidded on his side for a few feet before stopping and shaking his head to clear it. He looked to see what had hit him to see Gabriel walking over with a malicious grin on his face. Cain glanced behind his brother to see that Arcaein was being swarmed by Death's Embrace members.
"Hello brother," the green dragon said darkly, "How wonderful it is to see you're still alive. That gives me the chance to kill you myself!"
"Gabriel," Cain growled, getting to his feet, "It's funny, I was thinking the SAME THING!"
The red dragon let out a roar before charging at the green dragon. The two collided and began clawing and biting each other in a frenzy of rage and fury. After a few moments, however, they backed off from each other and began to circle like how Cain and Arana had done previously.
"You were holding back against Arana," Gabriel commented, "Do you plan on doing the same with me?"
"Not a chance," Cain said bluntly, "Arana can still be saved from the darkness. You cannot. You've embraced it, joined with it, and now there is nothing left of the brother I grew up with."
"Now that's not true," he said, feigning hurt, "I still look like myself, don't I?"
"Only slightly," the crimson dragon said, "but the marks of the Vredranx Ritual stain what was once the Gabriel I knew. I'm not sorry for what must happen, but I do hope you find peace in death."
Unbeknownst to Gabriel, Cain had kept talking to buy himself time to regain some of his strength. As well as this, he had also put himself in front of a cluster of green crystals and being in close contact with it restored even more of his power. And now, he was ready to use it.
He once again touched down deep within himself and found the ability he'd used earlier. He activated it, but this time he poured every last bit of his power into it. He knew the dangers of doing such a thing, but knew that it was the only way he'd be able to stand a chance against his brother.
The flames that engulfed him were blue this time; however his eyes still turned crimson. His brother, having only seen this ability once and even then it had been red, was shocked beyond belief. He didn't show it, though, and pooled together the last of his power and doing so caused the red marks on his body to glow darkly.
"This is the showdown that was always meant to be, Cain," Gabriel said, "Our entire lives have been leading up to this moment. And only one of us will be walking away with our lives. When you greet Mother and Father, be sure to give them my regards."
Both of them looked into one another's eyes, waiting for the other to blink. The staring contest continued for a few moments before they both took deep breaths simultaneously and prepared to launch their final attacks.
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Blane used the horn he'd broken off the Minotaur as a spear as he stabbed it at any of the creatures that came close. Finally, after one of them grew bold enough to charge, he threw it and grabbed one of his discarded handguns and replaced the clip. The horn impaled the grotesque, gargoyle-like creature and sent its black blood splattering onto its comrades. He then proceeded to shoot at them as he felt something climb onto his back. He glanced over his shoulder to see a silver dragonet looking at him with wide, differently-colored eyes.
Ignoring her for the moment, he looked back to the advancing beasts. He saw the winged-people he'd met earlier, Aingeru and Rosangela if he remembered correctly, fly over and begin to grab the children to move them to a safer spot. He was about to tell them about the youngling on his back, but felt her claws dig into his shoulders and preventing him.
"Ow!" he shouted, glancing at her, "What was that for?"
"I have to find Kera!" she told him, "She brought me here and I need to help her!"
"Look," he told her, shooting a small troll that came too close, "I can't watch you and fight off these things! I need you to go with them!"
"No!" she said firmly, "You're going to help me find Kera!"
"Thank the Ancestors that Dextran wasn't like this…" Blane groaned under his breath, "Fine! Just hold on!"
The dragonet nodded, smiling about getting what she wanted, and held onto him tightly. He grimaced at the feeling of her claws digging into his shoulders again, but remained silent as he made his way over to where the red-head that had fallen into his arms was fending off a small group of goblin-like creatures. Once he was standing next to her, she noticed him.
"Need something?" she asked, roundhouse kicking one of them one of the green monsters as it got within reach.
"You know where Kera is?" he asked her, "The hatchling on my back is refusing to go anywhere without her."
"Last I saw my sister was when she and Jacy came out of the infirmary after all this happened," she told him, causing him to look at her in surprise.
"You're Kera's sister? Fera?" he questioned, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
"The one and only," she answered, grinning, "But I never caught your name, handsome."
"Blane," he said, murmuring a soft curse as he once again had to reload his gun. Meanwhile, it was Fera's turn to be shocked. If this was the Blane that Jacy had been so adamant about bringing here, then he had a mate and child waiting for him back in his own realm. And she'd kissed him, on the cheek, but kissed him nonetheless. Boy did she feel bad.
"Jacy told me a lot about you, Blane," she said, keeping her tone level.
"Well, he and Kera told me a lot about you, too," he said, disarming a goblin of its wicked-looking blade and then stabbing it in the gut with it, before quietly adding, "And your brother as well."
"You wouldn't happen to know if he was okay, would you?" she asked hopefully, looking over at him as he pulled the sword from the green creature with its purple blood staining it.
"The most I can tell you is that he's alive," he said, reluctantly holding back on the fact that her brother was being controlled by a malevolent force that was once his uncle, "and that you might see him soon."
"Sooner than you think, even," said a voice from behind the two that both of them recognized. They turned around to see a man standing there. He had dark blue hair that was tinged red at the edges and electric blue eyes. He wore a blue coat with a red shirt underneath as well as a pair of faded jeans. He carried a sword that Blane recognized as his own over his shoulder.
"Aidan!" Fera squealed with joy, wrapping her arms around her brother while he tossed Blane his sword, who caught it with his free hand as he stabbed one of the monsters with the one he'd 'borrowed' from the goblin.
"Your dad said to give that back to you," he said, grinning, "And to say that he and your mother are always watching over you."
"Thanks," the half-dragon said, "I take it you're shadow dragon free?"
"Yeah," Aidan said, nodding, "but we have bigger things to worry about."
They all looked back to the crowd of horrid beasts that were waiting to get close enough to rip them apart. The three took up fighting stances, Blane tossing Aidan the goblin's sword, and prepared to fight off the horde of creatures.
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Deryx walked out of the temple to find his mentor, Ignotus, kneeling next to the body of an apparent Death's Embrace member. What was odd, that he could see, was the silver mark on her forehead. It looked oddly familiar, like he'd seen it somewhere before, but he pushed it out of his head for the moment.
Also there was the Avalarian cheetah, Hunter, the unconscious Athkor, and another Death's Embrace member that was tied to the rope with what he could tell was charmed rope. The restrained woman was struggling violently, throwing out curses left and right, but his teacher and Hunter paid her no mind.
"Master Ignotus!" Deryx called, running over to where the older magic user was kneeling. The gray-haired man looked up and, upon seeing his old student, smiled and stood up. The two hugged briefly before Ignotus returned his attention to the Death's Embrace member he had been looking at previously.
"Why isn't she tied up like the other one?" Deryx asked, kneeling down next to his teacher.
"Because she's been unconscious for a while and it doesn't look like she'll be waking up anytime soon," the older man said, "and she has the Sigil of Rebirth on her forehead, but it's been altered somehow. I need to figure out a way to reverse it."
"That's a Sigil of Rebirth?" Deryx asked, surprised, "But I have that exact same mark on my back!"
"I know, though yours is much larger," Ignotus said, "You've been reborn several times, actually, but you don't remember because you forfeit your memories to do so. However, slight personality traits from each life remain with you."
"How many times have I been reborn, exactly?" the curious man asked.
"I don't know, exactly, but I'd have to guess somewhere in the forties due to the size of the Sigil," he answered absently as he placed his palm over the mark on Elana's forehead and murmured something under his breath.
"You know something you're not telling me," Deryx said pointedly.
"And I do so with good reason," Ignotus told him, glancing over at his apprentice, "There are some things that you don't need to know."
"I have a right to know my past," the younger one said.
"And I have a right to keep things from my students," he said firmly, "Besides, it isn't your past. Each time you chose to be reborn, you became a different person. You maintained a few similarities, yes, but each time you lived a different life."
Before Deryx could argue, Elana began to speak in her sleep, "Cain…Where did you go?"
The two magic users looked at one another, silently agreeing on something, before the younger spoke, "He's helping his friends. Who are you to him?"
Elana smiled, her eyes still closed as if she was slumbering, "I'm his mate, Traeia."
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Nothingness. That's all that surrounded me, all I could see. Empty, black, nothingness. I couldn't remember who I was, how I got here. Then, it all came rushing back to me as a bright light pierced through the black.
I am Ragnarok, King of the Darkness, Leader of the Lost Darkness Army, the Black Dragon that all fear. I fought two of the fabled Silver Dragons, and two of the legendary Purple Dragons. The first of the Purples I corrupted with darkness, and the first of the Silvers died of his wounds after sealing me away.
The second Purple and Silver. They stood up to me, alongside their allies. They fended me off on multiple occasions before I took their precious loves with me to my castle between realms. They followed me and managed to break the hold I had on their dear ones. The Silver, merely a half-breed, fought me one-on-one and he…killed me? It's a blur, but yes I think he did kill me.
Then where am I? What is that light?
"Ragnarok…" a feminine voice came through the empty silence.
Who is she? How did she get here? What does she want?
"Ragnarok…I offer you another chance at life, a chance at ending the lives of those that have wronged you, so long as you serve me." The voice said, it seemed to be coming from the light.
Why would I agree to that? I serve no one. I am the King of the Darkness! But, what she said proves it. I truly am dead. Wait, she offered me life and the lives of the Purple and Silver ones. Maybe I wouldn't mind serving this mysterious person if I can have my revenge.
"Come to the light, Ragnarok," the voice whispered, "Your foes try to stop me from bringing you back. If you do not hurry, you will lose your chance."
Yes, I must go to the light. I will accept the offer, I will serve you if I may have my revenge. I must move towards the light, to end the lives of all who have wronged me that remain alive. I am Ragnarok, King of the Darkness, Leader of the Lost Darkness Army, the Black Dragon that all fear, and I am the killer of the last of the Silver and Purple Dragons!
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Jacy: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
*Several guns are pointed at me while several blades are put to my neck*
Jacy: Eheheheh, maybe I should've thought this through… *rubs back of head*
Wolf: You think?
Jacy: Review to let me know whether you liked this or not!
Wolf: And make sure you put in very graphic detail how much you want to kill him!
To be honest, I REALLY wanted to get this chapter out yesterday but I kinda fell asleep writing it… *sweat drops* so, anyways, Happy Late Fourth of July! (For those that celebrate it, anyways) Here's hoping that you're enjoying your Summer Break as much as I am! (Once again, for those who have it)