The Forgotten Zodiac

The crowd was gathered around a large circular indent that took up most of the floor. SLUs were waiting, scythes in hand, ready to slice the glitch and vessel into ribbons the second the bell was rung. The cage was thrown roughly into the ring, and a spell was called; the cage and ropes vanished, mostly. Rush found that his feet were still tied. Same with Kazue's. What did these people want them to do, hop around desperately?

"Ten seconds until the round starts," OO called, taking his seat, a horrid smile on his face.

Kazue got up, trying to hold onto his balance. He looked to Rush. "Fly away from them," he suggested, seeing the look of panic on the boy's face. "You don't need your feet to run," he nodded.

Rush nodded shakily, flapping his wings quickly. He only got a few inches off the ground before he landed again, wincing. It was next to impossible to get into the air...his wings felt like lead, they were stiff and it was hard to move them...

"Sorry, vessel. We disabled your wings on the way here." One of the SLUs chuckled. "That was all the pain you felt. Mild paralysis is remarkably easy, but so very effective."

Well, Rush was definitely panicking now.

Kazue was breathing deeply and evenly, trying to get up the energy to pull off a transformation. "Don't worry, Rush. I'll dessimate them," he growled at the SLU's.

Rush just scooted backwards behind Kazue, his fear very obvious. "Three, two, one, fight!" OO called, watching with excitement in his eyes. Two of the SLUs surged forward, both going for opposite sides of Kazue, slashing out with their scythes.

Kazue transformed as best he could. Only a halfshift, but it was better than nothing. He gained wings and claws. He scooped up Rush and lifted into the air, blowing fire over the SLUs.

The two SLUs rolled out of the way of the flames. The other two proceeded to throw their scythes at Kazue, aiming for the wings again. Of course; take out the wings, Kazue would have to land, then they'd have the advantage of weapons. They already had the advantage of numbers.

Kazue pulled away with a jerk. He continued to blow fire at them, trying to get the ropes off Rush's feet with his claws in the meantime. He flew higher, then looked over his shoulder for a breif moment. WEre the others coming?

Rush wrapped his arms around Kazue, trying to hold on. Maybe...maybe if he allowed himself to fall, they'd kill him and be done with it? The Library would stop waging war on itself...right? He remembered what VPS had said. The others would be able to take care of the problem, wouldn't they? Of course they could, Verolen and Bermuda could do anything...

Rush relaxed his grip, pulling his feet away from Kazue. He could only hope that it would be painless...

Kazue gripped tighter. "Stop! What are you doing!?" he asked.

"I-I'm sorry, Kazue!" Rush cried, pushing himself away from Kazue. He dropped to the ground, wiping his eyes (as he had been crying) in time to see a scythe flying at him. He let out a cry as the point slammed into his chest, the momentum sending him backwards several feet before he slid to a stop. He was now on his back, the scythe sticking out of his chest. The SLU that had thrown it walked over, pulling his weapon out of the vessel's chest.

The SLU was then thrown backwards several feet as what looked like a mostly-transparent shield appeared out of nowhere, slamming into him. "RUSH!" VPS had arrived, screeching at the top of her lungs. Several more shields appeared to protect the vessel, while blood spread around him steadily. AO was busying OO with hovering blades.

"Bermuda!" Verolen said suddenly, sitting up. Blood was pouring out of Rush's chest. "Bermuda, heal him now!" He screeched, standing quickly.

Bermuda came running, the healing spell already halfway out of his mouth while he was still in the doorway. The magic found its target quickly, the wound closing about three seconds after it was inflicted.

Kazue landed on the ground near Rush, still blowing fire. He was mentally cursing himself... he should've held on tighter. BUt it seemed that Rush was going to be alright... the would was already gone.

"As long as I'm alive, the Vessel is not to be harmed! Is this not Law of Conduct? 134! Look it up!" VPS shouted angrily, jumping into the ring and running to see if Rush was okay. Indeed, the wound had closed and Rush sat up shakily, tears running down his face again. Bermuda...even Bermuda was doing all he could to keep him alive...what was the point in trying to die if Bermuda would just heal him? Rush had forgotten...

"Law of Conduct 372," One of the SLUs growled, rolling away from the flames. "Orders from the OO overrule all laws!"

"That's not a law! There are only 350!" VPS shrieked. "OO's been adding laws, hasn't he? He's manipulating you so easily, and you don't even know it! Burn them to a crisp, Kazue, these guys are too corrupt to be saved!"

Kazue let out a roar and transformed, exhaling hotter flames than before. He would kill them all for trying to kill his firstborn son. He lashed out with his claws. "Break your weapons against me!" he hissed, taunting them into a fight with the dragon. NOt that they needed luring.

Indeed, the SLUs were quick to attempt to retaliate. VPS focused on keeping the shields up around herself and Rush, protecting both of them from the heat and anything else that might come their way. Rush watched with little interest, just wanting to be back in his own body at this point.

Up above the ring, AO had somehow managed to get OO...uncoscious. AO had pinned the 'boy' and drawn something on OO's forehead; the spell to remove Lydia's influence. Before coming here, AO and VPS had cornered a PLU that hadn't been with his group; it had taken awhile, but they had managed to get the Unit to talk. The spell was simple, surprisingly, but AO wasn't sure if the PLU had been lying or not.

Well, it had certainly forced OO into a state of unconscousness, that was close enough.

Verolen was busy pacing while Sylas was cleaning up the spilled blood. "Can't you just use an awakening spell on him, Bermuda? Would that have any negative effects, Arachne?"

"I don't know." Arachne blinked. "I want to go pick flowers."

"No. Stay here."

"Why not? Flowers are pretty!"

"Too many bees." Verolen answered, sounding grumpy. "Now, can we or can we not use an awakening spell?"

"Hmph." Arachne pouted. "I don't know."

((Noooooooo Bun))

Kazue continued to hold the Units back as best he could, protecting Rush with all he had.

Bermuda shook his head slowly. "I don't think it works that way," he said. "I mean, Rush is fully conscious in there somewhere, the Galdr of Awakening wouldn't work on someone who's already awake," he pointed out.

((Harumph. Next time, next time...))

"VPS! Get Rush out of here, now!" AO snapped, standing up after checking OO's vitals. "We can go all out without him here, we're able to fix the library now, there's no reason he should stay!"

"Alright, alright!" VPS nodded, taking Rush's hand. "Stay out there, okay? VCF will keep you updated on the Library's status, but don't come back until it's completely fixed, alright?"

"A-alright...but..." Rush stood. "Dad! I have to go! Don't die, okay? I'll come back as soon as I can!" He called over the noise of the fighting.

"I suppose..." Verolen sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

Kazue turned slightly, smiled, and gave a wave in Rush's general direction before turning back to the fight.

Bermuda nodded. "So that won't work. Any other ideas? Arachne?" he asked, turning to the mentioned person. At that point, though, Gabe came barreling into the room and tackle-hugged the little demon girl. "Found you!" he said.

"A-alright, I'm ready..." Rush nodded, looking back at VPS. She quickly took his hand, and started rambling off the spell.

"No, I--" Arachne said before she was tackle-hugged. "Oh, darn. You found me." She giggled, ruffling his hair.

"Ugh..." Rush mumbled, opening his eyes. "Mm...guys?"

"Rush? Are you alright? What's going on?" Verolen demanded, helping him sit up.

"Dad, he's..." Rush rubbed his eyes. "The library...Lady Lydia is in there, she was controlling a good deal of the Library, they were trying to kill me...I'm okay, though, thanks to VPS and dad..."

"Dad?" Verolen blinked in confusion.

"Oh, yeah. I used to be a Manakete. Kazue is my father."

Bermuda looked to Arachne. That was right, she'd said something about Rush's heiritage to him before, had'nt she. Bermuda had been wondering what to do with the information, but it seemed Rush had figured things out on his own. "So, you're a Manakete Prince?" he asked, looking back to Rush. He shook his head. "More importantly, are you okay?"

Gabe giggled, clinging to Arachne. "Now it's my turn to hide," he said.