Hi! From this chapter out, there will be fight scenes galore! I know you guys love blood'n'guts! I do, so under the Queen they go, dun, dun, dun.
Please enjoy this chapter, and remember Assassin Author is awesome!
-O-
They were flying, Ayla was unhappy. As always, she hated flying, she hated hights, she hated Panic Plunges. At least she was on Jinx so she could chat with her, but she was disturbed, something was not right, Ayla just couldnt place her finger on it...
"So, then Gregor bonded with Ares to save him from banishment, and it did work, after a while, Gregor came back and he argued with him Ares, and all that crap, several quests later, Ares was killed by the Bane in battle," Jinx said up to her in a whisper, fearing Gregor would hear, "I miss him," she purred sadly.
"Miss him? Was he your dad or something?" Ayla asked, creeping closer to Jinx's ear.
"No, far from it, he was my older brother. I remember when we were little, we would play in the Arena, and sometimes he would play pranks on me. Good times they were," Jinx sighed.
"Oh. I'm an only child, I enjoy it like that, well, Zeva's kinda like a sister, but not quite. Hey you know what?" Ayla asked, blowing a little in Jinx's ear.
"What?" Jinx said, shaking her head a little.
"We need to play a game, I'm bored," Ayla sighed, rolling onto her back.
"What kind of game?" Jinx asked, doing a small corkscrew, causing Ayla to free fall a little, she yelped before being caught.
"Telephone, that's what. And will you stop that? You know how much I hate falling!" Ayla exclaimed.
"Then will you stop blowing in my ear?" Jinx asked.
"I suppose. Anywho, if we get the others to play it'll be even better! C'mon, let's see who wants to play!" Ayla laughed as Jinx sped up.
-O-
Soon they were all playing, laughing and enjoying the time passer.
Zeva whispered in Ayla's ear.
Ayla leaned down to Jinx's ear "How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood? Pass it on!" Ayla smirked. Jinx flew over to Aurora and relayed the message, the golden bat whispered it to Luxa, Luxa leaned back and whispered the message to Gregor, Gregor looked confused, but he said the message out loud, "How much tool can a Dool dunk and fill for food?" he said. Ayla, Jinx, Zeva, and Aurora guffawed loudly.
"It was 'How much wood can a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood!" Ayla laughed, rapidly firing off the rhyme.
"Oh, man, who screwed that up?" Gregor asked.
"I have no clue!" Luxa said obviously.
"Oh tee hee, so funny," Gregor laughed, throwing his arms around her, lacing his fingers together. Luxa leaned back a little, tilting her head back to look into his eyes, she smiled and poked her tongue out a little.
"That's just too cute," Ayla thought, watching the two from the corner of her eye.
"So, how long until we reach the Queen?" Zeva asked, looking a little green around the gills.
"In a few days, perhaps three," Jinx said.
"Ugh, that long? Talk about car sick," the rat muttered, "I can't even throw up! Bah, this is going to suck," Zeva laid her head down in Jinx's thick fur.
-O-
And in three days fastforward, they were in the Scorched Lands.
Gregor looked across the volcanic rock field, gazing at the Queen in all her dormant glory.
"Okay, we're here, now what?" Gregor asked, looking at the volcano with furrowed eyebrows.
Ayla walked forward examining a pit before them, "Hey look, there's something in the bottom!" she said, hopping down into the hole.
Zeva looked uncertain, she let Gregor and Luxa go, first, then climbed down.
"These are some kind of animal bones, they were fossilized here awhile ago, but look at the condition! Perfect! What are they?" she asked, poking at one with her dirk blade.
"Mice, most definatly mice," Gregor said, frowning, another memory...
"Huh, giant mice too? Right, I'll be on the lookout for a twenty foot horse and a cat to go with it," Ayla muttered, tapping a dome shaped bone, there was a hollow thunk, "Hey! It's hollow!" she exclaimed, jamming her dirk blade under the bone, it shifted a little, then a little more, "Come on! Help me push this, I think I see a hole under it!" her head buzzed, stupid Rager sense thingy...
Zeva came over and begand pushing with her head, Gregor joined in along with Luxa.
Soon it was uncovered, a hole, big enough to fall into, sat gaping up at the questers.
Ayla leaned over it, clicking a little, white vapor seeped up from it, pulling on her, she stumbled and fell.
"Ayla!" Zeva gasped, reaching out with her tail to catch her, "Ayla!" she yelled.
Ayla screamed and was swallowed by the darkness. Zeva jumped after her, and went right down the hole, 'Off to Wonderland, and down the rabbit hole,' she thought.
Her ears picked up shouting and yelling from above her.
Thump! She landed on her paws.
"Ayla! Ayla, where are you?" she yelled into the darkness.
"I'm unner here!" came the muffled answer. Zeva backed up to reveal Ayla.
"Cheese and Rice rat! You could have squished me! Gah, and you say I'll be dumped..." she fumed, "Wait, where are we?"
"Under the Queen... she will hold another for you... a secret..." the wispy voice was back, and out loud.
"Under the Queen? But we we're a good half mile away from her!" Zeva said.
"Hmm, tell that to the Currents..." it said, "Now, I must leave... much tired..." it faded again.
"Well... now what?"
"Um, try not to die?" Zeva suggested.
"No shit,"
-O-
"So, it talked to you?" Gregor asked, they were in the hole, which turned out to be a tunnel.
"Yep, it was all gloom and doom," Ayla said, suppressing a yawn.
"What are we going to do next, I mean, you fell, the bodies showed," Silkfur said. Ripred and him had been flown down into the hole by the bats.
"Yeah, you have a point... well, we keep going! The Night of Light is soon, we need to get to the end of this before it, keep going!" Ayla said.
"I second her, we time is of the essence," Jinx said.
So they packed up, and began walking, everyone was tense, something wasn't right.
Twice Ayla pulled her dirk and stabbed a wall, or slapped out at something with the flat of the blade. Ripred and Gregor were equally jumpy.
They walked into a large cavern, a huge lake of crystalline water sat in the middle, the bones of rats, bats, mice, and Lord knows what, lay scattered about like so many sticks in a field.
"I don't like this," Ayla said, gripping the hilt of her dirk, turning her knuckles white.
"Huh, you're tellin' me," Zeva muttered.
The water in the center of the lake seemed to boil a little, a dark shape began swimming up. With a great spray of water, and an defining roar, a huge dragon shot out of the water, teeth bared, wings flared in a battle stance.
"Well, shit," Ayla said, readying herself for a good fight.
Zeva nodded.
-O-
Okay, I lied. :( No fights this chap, next one, I promise! Once again, give Assassin Author a round of applause, and read her stories! You're too awesome! ;)