Angela
was kneeling beside the pedestal, shaking a boy that looked like her masculine
version of her. He was bruised and battered and half his robe was torn away,
revealing the white clothes he wore within. Like with Phantom, the other half
was twisted and wrapped around his neck, tightened with a bind, but the bind
was so tight his neck had to be merely a strip now. Lania could already tell he
was dead.
“Michelangelo! Michael, wake up!!” Angela shrieked at the boy, who,
other than his face and his upper torso, was mutilated beyond recognition.
Lania looked away and the thrumming behind her brain grew into steady beat of
pain. Evan almost threw up beside her and faced the other way. Mercedes tensed,
and Phantom muttered swears words under his breath. Aran gaped in shock and
fear and her axe slid out of her hands, wedging into the floor beneath her.
Angela had tears in her eyes and
she stood up, her hands clenched into fists by her sides. Her palm rested on
the empty pedestal, and she choked back tears. “That…..that….that sadistic
maniac,” she sobbed. “He killed my brother and took the book. If he manages to
harness it’s power, the world and reality itself will crumble. We…we have to stop
him.”
Angela walked towards a single dark corner and wrapped her fingers
around something in the darkness. When she pulled it out, Lania saw it was a
giant, inky-black machete. On its glossy black surface shone thousands of
blinking white stars. The machete seemed to sneer at her, and she shuddered,
taking a few steps back. Angela choked back sobs and traced her fingers across
the blunt edge of the knife. “He will suffer the punishment of stealing the
book…” she pointed the sharp end of the knife at the ceiling, like a warrior
challenging a battle. “…..the death sentence by Zathura, the sword of Time.”
“Wha…?” Lania stuttered, a sudden vision of her father being chopped in
half by that dangerous weapon flooded her mind. She raced towards Angela,
putting her hands in front of her like a police officer stopping the traffic.
“Hold on! Hold on, hold on! Isn’t there a more…..I dunno, PLEASANT way of
handling this situation?” Angela cocked and eye at her, and she heard Phantom
muffle out a snicker. Her hands clenched into fists and she resisted the urge
to KILL HIM.
“He stole the ápeiri̱ vivlío,” Angela said, her
tears disappearing and she stood up straight, her face became a mask of
ferocity. She swung the Zathura down at Lania’s feet, its blade cracking the
marble floor with ease. Bits of rubble shot up from the impact and Lania shrieked,
jumping back. “This is the most pleasant punishment for that kind of
violation.” Angela yanked the machete out of the ground, and Lania tried to
breathe steadily to calm her thrashing heart. If she had been any nearer, she
would be in two pieces now.
“Now, now,” Aran said cheerfully, jumping between the two girls, waving
her hands about, doing her best to cheer up the situation. Lania heard Mercedes
sigh, and Evan was still covering his mouth with his hands, his eyes straying
to the body, then shooting back up. Obviously, the body of the dead boy was
making his attention on the current situation hard.
“Yes, I’m sure it is hard to
forgive a guy who murdered your brother,” Aran said, gesturing to the dead boy.
Angela flinched and looked away, letting her arms fall limply at her sides. The
Zathura which was still clasped in her hand smacked the floor hard and drew a
huge gap in the ground. Evan shuddered. Aran’s smile vanished and she gestured
to Lania, who was still breathing raggedly from being THAT bit close to the
sneering black blade. “But killing another’s father is NOT going to bring him
back; it will only cause more pain and suffering.”
Angela turned to Lania and narrowed her
eyes. “You are his daughter? Why-”
“Angela!!” Aran said urgently, and Angela stopped talking abruptly. It
seemed Aran could be serious when she wanted to be. Aran reached for the blade
and grabbed it, pulling it out from the girl’s limp fingers. She lay it back on
the ground and said: “If it’s for that damn book you wish to kill, then WE
shall hunt it back for you. We’re already hunting for the man anyway, so it
shall be easier for all of us.”
Lania swallowed. She didn’t really want
to help someone who wished her father dead.
Angela still looked like she wanted to TEAR LUMINOUS IN HALF, but forced
herself to stand up straight and nod. If she left the library, it would be left
unprotected anyway, so let them do the dirty work if they wanted to. The only
thing she feared is that THEY were in LEAGUE with that double-crossing man, and
that trusting them would only make things WORSE than they already were.
“If you are in league with him,” she muttered, and Phantom smirked, like
that was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. Angela bent down and her
fingers wrapped around the handle of the machete. She pointed the glaring tip
at them, the blade sneering at them in the bright light that filtered down the
ceiling. “I shall hunt you ALL down, no questions asked.”
“So be it,” Mercedes stepped in, and Angela nodded, stabbing the blade
back in its place in the corner, hidden from sight in the shadows. Evan
and Lania watched in horror as Angela
kicked the side of the dead body, and it
disintegrated into little pieces of dust, like a smashed porcelain figure. Aran’s mouth was pursed
into a straight line and she walked back to the entrance to receive Maha.
Angela nodded to Mercedes, which nodded back, both expressions equally grim.
Mercedes put a hand on Lania’s shoulder and ushered her out the massive door of
the chambers of the ápeiri̱ vivlío, Phantom and Evan
following behind.
“W-will we really find Luminous, Mercedes?” Lania stuttered nervously.
Mercedes squeezed her shoulder in a reassuring fashion as they followed a steps
behind Aran, her ponytail whipping her back with each step. The spellbound
people stared blankly at their books as they passed, trapped deep within the
curse that was set on them. Mercedes looked down at the nervous and frightened
girl and smiled, saying: “Yes. Do not worry, Lania. Your father couldn’t have
gone far.”
Lania nodded but did not look convinced, but she figured it would take a
lot of words to make her feel reassured. The five strode out of the massive
doors of the hidden library, the two doors shutting silently behind them, the
dark hall greeting them with darkness. Lania shivered, and Mercedes rubbed her
shoulder to warm her. As Lania gazed into the pitch blackness of the world in
front of her, wondering if this was the path to her father, the path to light.
*****
Angela gazed as the five unusual people stalked out the door without
even a second glance her way. She walked towards the door and smashed it shut,
causing the room to reverberate for awhile. As everything settled down, Angela
walked towards the dark corner where the Zathura stood, glinting in the bright
light. She wrapped her fingers around it and yanked it out of the ground.
“Michelangelo….” She breathed, tracing her finger across the blunt end
of the blade, the corners of her mouth curving up into a smile. “I shall avenge
your death, even if it means my own….or other’s.”
With that, she turned on her heel and
strode out the door.
*****
“I cannot BELIEVE you alerted DODO!!”
“Hey, I’m thirteen years old with NO STEALTH
practice!!”
“Shut up, you fools, and RUN!!”
The heroes scrambled from room to room, Dodo, a boss of the temple of
time and a giant flying air whale hot on their heels, bawling out things
unintelligible to the human ear. Evan had earlier alerted it by unintentionally
stepping out from the shadows and into the open to grab a meso left on the
floor by another adventurer, only to straighten back up and stare into the
milky white eyes of Dodo, the multiple trinkets dangling from its helmet
clinking together in unison.
Evan had long since scrambled up Mir’s giant
scaly back, but with their limited time and a giant whale flying VERY CLOSE,
there had not been enough time for all of them to scramble aboard, so they took
their chances on the ground. Mercedes had long since given up trying to bring
it down with her crossbows, but there had been NO AFFECT WHATSOEVER.
Lania had tired out after running awhile and therefore was now sitting
atop Aran’s back, her ponytail whipping her in the face. She glanced behind her
shoulder and was met with a huge bloat from Dodo. She turned her gaze back in
front of her, her eyes wide in fear as another bloat from Dodo rang the air,
bouncing off the marble walls of the Temple.
“Shove over! I’m coming,” Mercedes said, leaping up onto the dragon’s
back. Evan was startled and jolted over to the side, almost falling off the
dragon before she grabbed back onto a scale and heaved himself up. Mercedes
turned to face the wall and peppered it with arrows, which just seemed to
bounce off the whale’s rubbery skin, scattering over the Temple’s shiny white
floor.
Aran swore and shifted Lania to a more comfortable position. Even the
warrior lady was tiring out, so Lania could tell how Mercedes wanted to leap
onto the dragon’s back. Phantom was leaping across the ceiling like the
stealthy thief he was, the blue scarf tied around his hat flapping in the wind
with each leap. Dodo was right behind them now, and they couldn’t afford even a
minute of rest.
“We have to lose him somehow!!” Aran shrieked to Mercedes, still trying
to inflict damage on the high-leveled monster. Mercedes pursed her lips and
shrieked something to the dragon that was lost in all the chaos. Mir nodded and
swooped into the air, Evan nearly falling off, only hanging on by the dragon’s
black scales. Dodo bawled and flapping his fins, attempting to follow the
dragon to his amazing height.
Lania was currently focusing her gaze on the two flying beasts until
Aran suddenly took off, shocking her so much she let out a yell which was later
silenced by Aran hissing: “Shhhh!!!” She coward behind the warrior’s back,
sneaking a glance at the two flying monsters, Mir soaring in the air, Evan
yelling, kicking and screaming while Mercedes focused ahead, Dodo flapping his
wings frantically, his mere flippers no match for the powerful beat of a
dragon’s wing.
Aran ran behind a wall and collapsed against it, letting Lania leap off
her back. Lania moved against the wall, peering over the edge. She only caught
a glance of what was happening outside when Phantom yanked her back into the
shadows, hissing in her face: “No, you idiot! What do you wanna do, let Dodo
notice you and make us noticed again!?”
An image of Dodo charging full front at her tore her away from the wall.
She relied on her ears to get a clear view of what was happening outside, which
wasn’t very clear as she just heard Evan screaming and the flap of a dragon’s
wing occasionally. She strained her ears to listen for Dodo but heard nothing. It’s
like the mythical air whale just disappeared, for all she knew.
Aran’s ragged breathing was the only sound now. Phantom seemed as
curious as her as to what was going on outside and leaned against the wall,
listening to all he could. Lania resisted the urge to peer over the edge. She
was tempted to, JUST to see Phantom freak out again. But as much as she
disliked the man, he was right; peering over the edge was SUICIDE. So she
stayed, pinning her ear to the wall and straining to hear what was happening,
praying that Evan, Mercedes and Mir were alright. Everything seemed quiet now.
Even Evan’s constant scream had been cut short.
“Perhaps…we should see if they are alright,” Aran said, getting to her
feet. Phantom pondered over this idea for a moment……to go or not to go? Until
he realized the kid was already heading for the edge of the wall. He grabbed
her by her collar and she tried to pull
away, but as the weak thirteen year old she was, even Phantom could stand up to
her. She grumbled in annoyance and could see why her father held distaste for
the thief, like Mercedes told her he was.
“We should check out if they’re alright,” Lania grumbled and yanked out
of Phantom’s grasp as soon as he weakened his grip. Her braid slid over her
back and she stared at the thief, his violet eyes sharp and challenging. Lania
stared right back at him, determined not to lose this staring competition. “Do
you even CARE about your comrades, Phantom? Or is this some sort of revenge for
leaving you when you got BEAT UP by Luminous?” Lania teased, but there was no
humor in her voice. Phantom flinched a bit, then laughed.
“You truly ARE the daughter of
Luminous, aren’t ‘cha?” Phantom mused.
Lania didn’t know what to say to THAT, so she kept quiet. She was sure
that was some sort of insult in Phantom’s book, but she was determined not to
be fazed by his remarks. She tore her eyes away from his stare and walked out
of the shadows. Phantom didn’t grab her this time though, so that felt like a
little victory. From behind her shoulder, she heard the scrape as Aran picked
her axe off the floor and sling in over her shoulder, following behind her.
Phantom just gazed at them in some sort of amused interest.
“Evan?” Lania called out in a whisper,
peering over the wall. The whale was gone, but Mir was flat out sprawled
against the ground on his belly, breathing heavily. Evan was rubbing gently at
his dragon’s nose, muttering something to him too soft to hear. Mercedes was
patting the dragon on the back as she looked across the room, half expecting
the whale to materialize out of thin air.
Lania leapt out from behind the wall, the fear of the whale from earlier
on vanishing, replaced by worry for the dragon. What happened to him? He looked
totally worn out. Evan glanced behind him and smiled, waving back to her but
not leaving his dragon’s side. Mercedes nodded to them and Aran walked towards
her, chatting about something as she got closer.
Lania strode towards the boy and the dragon and could see a scar
stretching across the dragon’s side. It wasn’t TOO deep, but it still looked
pretty bad, and she stopped abruptly, shocked by the sight of it but also
slightly creep out. Evan gave a joyless laugh at her reaction and sighed,
motioning her forward. She did, slowly, like she did the first time she
approached the dragon.
“Wha….what happened?” Lania asked as she neared, peering at the dragon’s
face. His eyes were half closed, and he looked like he was sleeping. Evan stood
up and smiled at her, then said: “Well, he got hit by one of Dodo’s attacks.
Just one, but enough. He still managed to remain in the air though, until Dodo
lost interest and flew away. He crashed to the floor then, exhausted. He’s not
going to die; that’s considered ‘shallow’ for a dragon,” he gestured to the
scar. “but he’s still young, in dragon age, and he’s not used to this much
combat. He just needs to rest, and he’ll be fine.” Evan patted the dragon’s
nose softly, and Mir’s breathing grew steady; he was asleep.
Lania lay a hand on Mir’s massive
forehead, and he opened an eye and regarded her with his giant golden eyes.
Lania felt an ache in her chest. His golden eyes reminded her of Penny. She
wondered whether the cat was doing okay, and immediately thought of Luminous.
Where was he? She was suddenly determined to find him and bring back her
family.
“Phantom!!” Mercedes suddenly called out, determined to get the thief
out of the shadows. Lania heard a mumble behind the wall, and Phantom stepped
out from behind the wall, his cape billowing in the breeze. He cast a glance at
Evan, and he smirked. “Well, it seems little Mir got caught up in something,
hmmm?”
“Shut up, Phantom,” Evan mumbled.
“Relax. Kinda looks like some sort of
battle scar, hmmm? Finally, the dragon can actually LOOK like one,” Phantom
grinned.
“Enough, Phantom,” Mercedes said, and Phantom shrugged. She gestured to
the slumbering dragon. “Making fun of others will not earn you ANY favors,
Phantom. I know you hold distaste for Luminous, but there is NO REASON for you
to be a jackass all through the search.” Phantom bit his lip, and Lania
grinned. She couldn’t help it. Finally, someone put the annoying thief in his
place. Aran slung the axe over her shoulder and placed a hand on her hip as she
looked out into the beyond. Her eyes flitted across the room; there were
MILLIONS of doors. Luminous could be ANYWHERE. She wondered if they were just
trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Maha, the soul of her axe
drifted beside her, his long, red-blonde hair tied in a long ponytail down his
back. He sat on top of the axe, looking at the world in boredom. Aran resisted
the urge to toss the axe across the room, him with it. That way she could see
the look on his FACE. They had never TRULY got along, but Maha insisted they
DID, when she was a true HERO other than the IGNORANT FOOL she was now.
Mir’s
voice drifted into their minds: “I….I’m okay now, my lord. We may continue.” To
prove his point, the dragon shifted to his feet, his claws digging into the
marble. Evan told him to lie back down, and that they had PLENTY of time to
rest, but Mir downright refused to rest. He told them that he sensed a dark
force somewhere near and they should get going.
As if to prove his point, Luminous stepped
out of the shadows.
*****
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