Mutants Misplaced

Chapter 28

Living Nightmare

Sitting at the edge of the camp, Tyroth's mind was plagued by the what had happened the last day. He had fought and killed a dragon, a feat that many would consider cause for celebration, but not Tyroth. While there were some that deserved death, he took no pleasure in killing anyone, let alone celebrating it. Sure, there were some that he was glad that they were dead, such as Overlord and Xazalh, but not even their deaths was something that he took joy in.

But the thing that truly troubled him, were the fact that he had taken the dragon's soul. He didn't even know how he did it, but it happened, of that there could be no doubt, not with all the memories of the dragon floating around in his mind. And it wasn't just the memories, it was everything Lokdrogyol was, had been, his very essence.

Tyroth was truly shaken to the core, the mere thought of taking someone else's soul made him sick, it was a crime far worse than murder, only a real monster would do something like that.

Was that what he was? A monster? Something equally horrible to the heartless fiends and demons that he had fought? He wasn't human, not anymore, that much he knew, but then, what was he?

"Tyroth?" he heard a gentle but concerned voice behind him. Turning his head, he saw Sephie standing there. Her now red eyes were filled with worry.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. Tyroth looked away and didn't say a word, not at first at least.

"Why? Why did I do it? Why did I take his soul?" he asked, hoping for answers that he didn't have.

"He was going to kill Mona, and probably Raph as well, and who knows how many other, you had to kill him, for their sake."

"But at what price? We never found any signs of Raph and Mona. And I might have lost my own soul by taking his."

"What makes you say that? Your soul is still yours, and you're still you." said Sephie as she sat down next to her lover.

"But what am I? Who steals another's soul? I would never do it and yet I did. I can't tell if I'm doing the right thing anymore, can't tell what I am, other than a monster."

"That's not true!" Sephie snapped and positioned herself so that she was face to face with Tyroth. Looking into his eyes, she took his hands and held them gently. Tears fell from her eyes as she spoke to him.

"You are not a monster! All your life you have stood up and fought for those that couldn't defend themselves, never backing down, even before you mutated. You are the kind of person that others can trust to always help if they need it, someone that cares deeply for others. You have risked your life to protect not only a few dozen people, but the entire world!

And most importantly, you are the man that I love with all my heart, you have always been there for me, giving me strength when I needed it the most. You even brought me back for the dead with your love. No monster would have done such things as you have. Please, you've always helped me, now let me help you, let me give you my strength."

Being pulled into a big hug, Tyroth felt Sephie's cold body against his, but there was still warmth coming from it. Not normal heat, but the warmth from her heart. Feeling like a weight was lifted from his shoulders, he began to cry, hugging her tightly.

"You are not alone, I will always be here for you, my heart. No matter what happens." Sephie whispered softly.

"Thank you… my love..."

Meanwhile, Devina and the turtles watched the couple from the camp.

"Poor guy." said Mikey "First he gets controlled by that succubus chick, and now this. Do you think he'll be alright?"

"I think so, but this must be really hard on him. At least Sephie is here for him, he sure needs that." said Leo.

"What's a 'succubus chick'? Some kind of bird?" Devina asked.

"No. 'Chick' is a form of slang that Mikey uses, in this case it means 'girl' or 'woman'." Donnie explained. "And a succubus is a kind of demon that can take control of your mind. We fought one before and she took control over Tyroth and forced him to try and kill us."

"That was so not fun. It's a good thing that he was able to break free before anyone was hurt, or worse." said Mikey.

"Yeah, but I have never seen him so broken before, not until now." said Leo, looking at Tyroth as he and Sephie still embraced each other.

"Let me get this straight. You have fought a mind controlling demon? Even knowing that you are from another world, that is actually a little hard to believe." said Devina, curious about their adventures. And Mikey was happy to abide.

"Yep, one mind controlling, a few shapeshifting ones, one that could turn himself into hundreds copies and a few others. And we haven't fought only demons. You wouldn't believe half of what we've done. Heck, I don't even believe it all, but I can tell you if you want to. If that's okay with you guys."

"Just don't go giving her nightmares, Mikey." said Donnie. "Not everything we have experienced will make much sense to people here."

While Mikey told stories about some of their adventures to Devina, who listened closely and took notes for future use, Tyroth and Sephie rejoined the group. Tyroth was still upset and tired, his eyes betrayed him, but it was obvious that he felt a little better, and that was at least something.

After eating some food, Leo decided that they should take an hour or so to rest properly, especially Tyroth, who he urged to try and get some sleep. Once they had rested, they would continue the search. By that time, the rain over the former forest should have cooled down the area enough for Sephie and Devina, not to mention that the sun would have set.

But, while Tyroth did manage to sleep, it was far from peaceful or pleasant.

"Where… where am I?" Tyroth asked. "What is this place?"

He couldn't see much as there was a thick fog covering the area wherever he looked. But he knew that he wasn't alone, he could feel a presence nearby.

"Hello? Who's there?" he asked, but there was no response. "Sephie? Leonardo? Anyone?"

Still nothing, yet the presence lingered.

"I know that you're there. Where are you?! Show yourself!"

"Where am I, you ask. I am everywhere." said a dark voice filled with malice and arrogance.

"That voice… no, it can't be..." said Tyroth. His stomach started to turn in discomfort.

"You do not believe what you hear, then maybe seeing is believing." the voice chuckled.

A black mass appeared and it grew and shifted until it took a familiar shape. A dark dragon now stood before Tyroth, and his eyes went wide with horror.

"Lokdrogyol! It can't be… You're dead, I killed you."

"That you did, Dragonborn. Killed me and took my soul. After your hand pierced my heart, my soul flowed into your own. I thought that my time had come, but I was pleasantly surprised when that was not the case. Instead of you absorbing my soul like a real dragon, somehow you imprisoned me within your own. So while my body is dead, my soul is very much alive."

"So… we're in my mind, my soul. But how, and why now?"

"A fair question. As you are now asleep, your mind and soul are relaxed and nearly unprotected, allowing me to manifest to this degree."

"If that's so, why didn't this happen when I fell unconscious after our battle?"

"At that time, I was scattered. It is only recently that I managed to… collect myself."

"So, now what? Are you going to haunt my dreams from now on?"

"Do not worry about that, in a short time, you will not exist any longer."

Before Tyroth could ask what Lokdrogyol meant, the large dragon let loose a torrent of fire at him. Tyroth didn't care about moving, he was fireproof after all.

Or so he thought. As the flames flowed over his body, he felt a sharp pain from it.

"What the hell?!" he said once the fire stopped. Looking at his body, he saw burns all over it. "Fire has never hurt me before, why now? What's going on?!"

"Your physical power is of no use in this plane of existence." said Lokdrogyol with a fiendish laughter. "My fire will burn you as anything else. And once I kill you here, I will absorb your soul instead and take your body as my own. With your unique powers added to mine, I will take Odahviing's place as lord Alduin's second."

Attacking again with fire, Lokdrogyol smirked when Tyroth evaded the flames.

"Prolong you torment if you wish, it will not change anything." he said.

Tyroth continued to dodge the fiery attacks, while trying to think of a way to deal with the whole mess he was in, but he wasn't having any luck.

Jumping over a breath of fire, Tyroth found himself right in front of another attack, and he didn't have time to evade it. Bracing himself and fearing the worst, he felt the heat from the fire, but not the flames themselves. Looking up, he was surprised to find a large metal shield hovering in midair, the fire had been completely blocked by the shield.

"What now?!" he said, getting more confused by the minute. Noticing that Lokdrogyol looked very annoyed, and even a bit worried, that his attack was blocked, Tyroth realized what that had happened.

"Now I understand, this is my soul, my mind, and here, my will is law!"

"I do not abide to your so called laws!" the great dragon roared.

"Maybe you don't, but this plane does, and that's all I need to fight you!"

Focusing his mind on his surroundings, Tyroth could feel the area changing after his will. With a thought, a giant spire of rock materialised above Lokdrogyol and pierced his back as it fell, nailing him to the ground. But despite the wound and the shriek of pain, Lokdrogyol was still alive.

"Attack me all you want, Dragonborn. You can not kill me, not any more."

"Then I have to make sure that you can't cause any trouble." said Tyroth. A huge metal cage appeared around Lokdrogyol, with mighty chains binding him to both the cage and the rock.

"Do not think that this will hold me, I will be free and I will claim your power. Whenever you fall asleep, I will be here, waiting, until the day when your strength runs out."

Everything started to fade around Tyroth, and he awoke with a jolt, finding himself in the camp again.

"Are you alright, love?" Sephie asked when she saw that he sat upright and was breathing rapidly and sweating.

"Yeah, just a nightmare..." he said. "...no… not a nightmare. It was him."

"Him? Him who?" Sephie asked, causing the others to take interest.

"The dragon. Lokdrogyol. He's alive." That statement confused everyone, surely it had to be dead.

"Are you sure, dude? He looked pretty dead to me." said Mikey.

"His soul lives on within me, trapped in my soul."

"What?! How is that even possible?" said Leo.

"I've never heard anything like this." said Devina. "His soul should have been absorbed into your, but it shouldn't have been intact. This could be very serious."

"It gets worse. When I'm asleep, he gains power, enough to attack me from within. And if he kill me… he'll absorb my soul and take over my body."

"No! That can't be possible! Can it?" said Sephie.

"I honestly don't know." Devina replied. "But if it is, then Tyroth can't go to sleep without risking to be attacked, no matter what we do."

"And without sleep, who knows what effects he might suffer." said Donnie. "Granted, some could be beneficial, but if you weaken in your waken state, there is a high risk of the same happening to you when you fall asleep."

"We have to get to the Greybeards as fast as possible. If anyone knows what to do, it's them."

"But what about the search for Raph and Mona? We must find them." said Mikey.

"I know, but if that dragon wins, we will all be in big trouble." said Leo. "They will have to take care of themselves until Tyroth has gotten help."

"No, I can keep him at bay. We'll find them, then we can deal with this." said Tyroth.

"Out of the question! I won't let you take the risk!" Sephie objected. "And don't you dare argue against me!"

"We'd better get going them, it will take us at least a few days to reach them." said Devina. "First we need to head to the village Ivarstead, and then we have to climb the seven thousand steps up to the top of the mountain."

"Seven thousand steps?! My legs cramp up just by thinking about it." said Mikey.

Seems that Lokdrogyol is still around, what a bastard. And Tyroth is in serious trouble. Wonder just how long he can go without sleep.

This will make it harder to reunite with Raph and Mona, who got problems of their own. Check in next time to find out.

Again, thanks for all the reviews, you people are the best. :) Keep them coming, they are such great motivation.