A/N: If you're a fan of 'Tainted', I'd suggest you check out CoolCuttz's story - 'Tainted: The Unexpected'. It's a parody/spin-off thing and it's pretty awesome. Anyways, to the story~
The revelation shocked the group into silence. Xephos: the rebel, their close friend and brother... the King's older twin?! Xephos sat down, his eyes focusing on nothing in particular. It was a bit much to take in; exactly why Smith stayed quiet. How he found this all out, nobody really cared at the moment. All that mattered was that they knew now.
"So..." Honeydew started, his cautious gaze moving over to the Mage. "Xephos...should be King?" He asked. Smith nodded.
"Technically, yes. But...he can't just take the throne from Ross now." He replied. "The only way he'd be King now is if Ross dies." He shivered at the thought. One of his best friends dead...he couldn't bare the thought of it! Smith saw the look in the dwarf's eyes, growling lowly as anger flashed in his own. "You dare lay a finger on him and I'll tear your heart out." The dwarf flinched. The Mage seemed similar to Rythian, in certain ways. His calm demeanour snapped in an instant because of one simple action. Xephos shook his head, looking up at Smith.
"I wouldn't kill him. Not by choice, anyway." He replied. "There's no point killing for something like that. I don't want to rule this kingdom until I absolutely have to." He pointed out. "If the people will accept me..." Xephos blinked as Rythian and Smith scoffed in unison.
"Are you being serious?" Rythian asked.
"You're like their messiah right now." Smith replied.
"Of course they accept you!" The two added in synch, their gazes glancing at each other for a split second. They were more similar than either dared to admit. Xephos blushed a little from embarrassment, glancing away. His eyes landed on Lomadia, who nodded with their statement. Xephos shook his head, still trying to deny what should be his. He didn't want to be a King. He just wanted to be with his friends. He rest his head against his pulled up knees, closing his eyes.
"Speaking of the King, what are we going to do?" Lalna pointed out. "We can't just let him continue in this crazed way." He had been tending to Sips, who was still unconscious. "This magic, Blood Magic, is way too powerful. Especially now that we know he has this special blood." He explained. "So...what do you suggest we do?" Eyes shifted from Xephos to Smith. The green man simply let his eyes wander, taking in the surroundings. The trees were beginning to turn brown and lose their leaves as the season changed from summer to autumn. The flowers that grew in the clearing were beginning to wilt, excluding the ones which grew in autumn. So, every now and again, there was a burst of colour from between the deep red, orange and browns. His eyes glossed over slightly as he began to lose himself in the colours. It began to remind him of a dark time where he used to only see fire. Fire and the Nether itself, and all the creatures within. A shake of his shoulder quickly brought him back to reality; yet his eyes didn't quite lose their glossy-ness. It was almost like he hadn't fully returned yet. He could still hear the crackle of fire, and voices that only he could hear, beneath the other noises.
"What's wrong with him?" Honeydew asked, as the other's watched the Mage with curiosity. "Why are his eyes glossed over like that?" He waved his hand in front of his eyes, receiving minimal response. "Xeph, do you have any idea?" Xephos shrugged, standing up slowly. He placed his hand on Smith's shoulder, and he felt the tingling again. Gasping, he suddenly saw what he was seeing. Fire, creatures, Nether... Quickly pulling his hand back, he saw the familiar glow in his hand, along with a slit of blood on the outer edge of his palm. Smith shook his head, blinking several times. He seemed back to normal.
"Did you...cure him?" Rythian murmured. "What happened, Xephos? Did you see something when you touched him?" He glanced at the male, who was just staring at the blood on his hand. Blood... had he been using Blood Magic without even realising it? Maybe not to the same extend as Ross, but his hands HAD been bruised after the first incident with his glowing hands. Had he been absentmindedly using it?
"..." His eyes shifted to meet the Mage's. They both knew what they had seen, but decided to keep it to themselves. "...We need to go back to the palace." Xephos replied, glancing at Lalna. "We need to find Ross and help him. If we can, we'll get Trott to help us too." He explained. Lalna nodded, and Lomadia placed a hand on his arm.
"I should stay here with Lalna. He can only just stand on his own." She suggested. "I don't think I'll be any more help going with you rather than staying here." She explained. Xephos moved over to her, taking her cheeks in his hands. He kissed her gently, his hands soon falling to around her waist. The two broke apart after a while, eyes gazing lovingly at each other. "You be safe, my silly spaceman." Lomadia tapped Xephos' nose gently, both smiling.
"You know I will." He slipped his hands from Lomadia's figure, glancing at Lalna. The scientist nodded, knowing what he was saying. Xephos glanced at the rest of them; Honeydew, Rythian, Smith, Sjin and the unconscious Sips. "Do you want to stay here with Sips, Sjin?" He asked, his gaze settling on the farmer. "Or..." Before he could talk anymore, the pale man interrupted him.
"You're not leaving w-without me, silk-shirt boy." Sips groaned, sitting up with Sjin's help. He had a thing for giving people weird nicknames. "I'm going to face that motherfucker just like the rest of you." He ran his hand over where the wound had been – completely healed. Not even a scar. No memory of the wound apart from mental and internal. Two things that cannot be seen.
"You're in no state to be coming with us." Xephos pointed out, unaffected by the grey man's glares. "You're just in the same state as Lalna. Just stay here with Sjin, at least for now." He explained. Sips grumbled something to himself, probably including offensive language. Sjin hushed him, placing a kiss on his cheek. He nodded to Xephos, his arms wrapping around the grey man. Xephos walked behind Smith, unlocking his chains. "I guess you're on our side now?" He murmured in his ear.
"...As long as that side doesn't hurt my friends." Smith replied, rubbing his wrists absently. The chains had been similar to the ones Xephos had been put in; enchanted by Rythian's magic so he couldn't use his own magic. "I want to help them, not hurt them. The moment you try, you'll find me a powerful enemy." He cautioned. Xephos nodded, watching the Mage stand.
"I don't intend on hurting them." He glanced at Honeydew and Rythian. "Ok? No hurting them." Rythian nodded understandingly, but the dwarf was a little miffed. He wanted to get his hands on the bastards that made people's lives hell; for now, he'd just have to go with it.
Trottimus paced nervously in his room. He knew what Smith had done, and so did Ross. He was now just waiting for the inevitable; a war. The hybrid regretted teaching Ross what he did. Not only had he changed him as a person, he had created a monster. His friend was a monster and it was HIS fault. He suddenly fell to his knees, his head in his hands. Why did he do this? Why did he betray one friend and change the other into a monster? Their lives could have been better if he had just done one thing different. One simple thing. He could've diluted the potion. He could've tried harder to get the real Ross back. He could've told Smith the truth. He could've refused to help Ross find this dangerous magic. With each choice, he chose the wrong answer. Trott felt his body freeze when a hand was pressed onto his shoulder. He didn't dare move, not wanting to see anyone.
"Do you regret what you did, hybrid?" That voice...that wasn't Ross. Even knowing that, he didn't want to look at the person. He was too ashamed of himself to face anything.
"...Yes. I regret it all." He replied quietly. "I could have prevented this. I could have made it better." Trott sighed.
"Maybe. Maybe not." Curiosity sparked in Trott. Maybe not? "Fate and destiny have strange ways of acting. This war...maybe it could have been prevented. Maybe it could not. You will never know what other paths may have been taken, and you should not dwell on that. Live in the moment, not in the past." The hand lifted from his shoulder. "If you really want to stop the war, then do it. Make the right choice now." The hybrid heard footsteps, until they reached the door. "Oh, and say 'Hi' to Xeph for me." This tempted Trott too much, as he turned to face the person. He winced slightly, blinding light surrounding the person. He held a hand over his eyes, being able to make the figure out from that.
"Who are you?" The person grinned; his coat shimmering slightly in the sun, or what the hybrid presumed was sun.
"Only the best demi-god there is." He replied, before he suddenly vanished. Trott blinked as the light faded; definitely not the sun then. He wondered what that last statement meant, but he felt like he finally knew what to do. He knew what choice to make now. He would no longer stay in his regret; instead he would live in his resolve. The hybrid picked himself up, moving over to his bed. His hand easily found his precious blade under it; he only used this blade on special occasions, yet he kept it in top condition. He had a feeling he'd need it.
They hadn't even exited the forest before they saw the flames. The group of four stood on the nearby hill, just outside of the forest that hid the house, watching the terror below. Soldiers clad of iron and steel roamed around the town, capturing or killing people depending on what fit. If you tried to fight them, you would die. They were not made from flesh, but instead blood. Even from this vantage point on the hill, a while away from the town, the shouts and screams were still audible. Xephos saw two figures a little down the hill, each in the other's embrace. He recognised the two, sliding down the sloped side to see them.
"Martyn! Kaeyi!" He called, and the two glanced over. The male was blonde with a green shirt on baring the symbol of the forest and simple blue trousers. He wore a headband around his head, and his eyes were bright blue. He had no shoes, preferring to be in contact with nature; the only shoes he would wear were geta if they were absolutely necessary. The girl had long pink hair running down on her front with a panda hat on her head, similar to how Lomadia wore hers. Accompanying the panda hat, she wore a red shirt - mostly hidden by her hair - and a brown jacket over the top. The brown trousers matched the jacket she wore. Their hands were interlinked as they held each other close. The forest sprite shifted his arms around his partner as he turned to face Xephos.
"Thank Notch you're ok! I wasn't sure whether you were caught up in that madness or not!" Martyn replied. "Everything's going crazy. Those soldiers, they're not even human. They may look it but they're definitely not. I can feel it. They're not part of nature." He explained quickly, but still coherently. Kaeyi pressed her face against Martyn gently, mumbling to herself.
"When did this happen?" Xephos asked. Such a large scale thing to happen so quickly... "We only just left the town a few hours ago! How did this happen in those hours?" Martyn shook his head. He didn't have the answers. Xephos sighed, glancing at his team. "We'd better get going. This is probably Ross' doing, and who knows what else he's planning?" He went to move, when Martyn grabbed his wrist.
"Y-You're not serious about going down there, are you?" He asked, the surprise clear in his tone. Xephos nodded. "T-That's madness. You..." The blonde paused, sighing. "...You're always a bit stubborn aren't you?" A small smile formed on his face. Xephos nodded again, also smiling. "Look...can you try find Toby? He... got caught up in it all. I have to stay here with Kaeyi, and protect her. But...just keep an eye out for him, alright?" Xephos put a hand on Martyn's arm, nodding once more.
"Definitely, friend. We'll make sure he's alright." The four then took off down towards the town, hoping to save at least something from it. Martyn sighed as he watched the four, pulling Kaeyi closer as she cried softly. Their home...gone in an instant.
A/N: I was going back through reviews when I was writing this, and saw that three people were mentioned that I hadn't yet included in the story. So, here they are. Ridgedog (the self-proclaimed greatest demi-god), Martyn and Kaeyi~ (...Ok, ITLD wasn't specifically asked for, but they were mentioned so I got the idea in my head)