The Forgotten Zodiac

Manny started to scream, but he bit down on his tongue and held it back. He had to be strong. He had to fight his way through this, for his sake, and for Eve's. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again, deciding to focus fully on Eve. "Mo-ommy..." He whimpered out, then shivered and trembled. He almost pulled his half-formed hands out of her grip, but barely managed to sit still until she was done. When she was done, he hugged her harder and wept against her shoulder, sniffing and trying to calm himself down.

"Shh, it's all right, dear," Eve said, wrapping her arms around Manny's shoulders. "It's all right. Are you feeling better, honey? Didn't hurt too bad, did it?" she asked.

"N-no..." Manny sat up and pressed up against bars. He strained and struggled, then finally melted down into a goopy Dark Matter pile. He pulled himself together on the other side of the bars, still crying a bit. He scrambled around, searching the walls for the keys. He finally found them, snatching them off a shelf and hurrying to unlock Eve's cage. "Come on, come on," He said desperately, holding his arms out to his mother.

Eve took Manny's hand and stepped out of the cage, looking around. She bit her lips, wondering where they should go next but having no idea how to get around the castle. SHe half-hoped Rush would appear and aid them, but she knew that that wasn't likely.

Manny looked around, then crept towards the door. He opened it, peering around before stepping out, still holding Eve's hand. "Let's go," He said quietly. "Let's try to...find a window, or something..." He murmured softly, holding Eve close as they crept down the hallway.

Eve kept an eye on the shadows, watching for guards as Manny lead her down the hallway. She kept quiet, not wanting to attract the attention of... anything. She clasped Manny's hand tightly in her own, glancing over her shoulder every so often to make sure they hadn't been spotted.

Manny peeked around a corner, inching forward a few steps. He suddenly ducked back, and motioned for Eve to look; in the other hallway, there was the Phantom. As Manny and Eve watched, he reached up and pushed on the chest of an armor statue; the wall opened next to it, and he vanished through the opening.

When he was gone, Manny swept Eve up in his arms and darted forward, past the wall and to the next intersection. No windows...this place was like a fortress! No windows anywhere, no labeled exits...Manny peered down the next hallway, frowning slightly. Then he smiled. Waiting there were the thick wooden doors that had to lead to the outside. Manny was quick but careful in getting Eve in front of them. "Help me push," He murmured to her, though he really didn't need very much help. Despite its large size, they opened rather easily.

The two of them were pushed forward by unseen hands. They tumbled together the short drop into a large, round pit. A stadium of some kind...this was obvious. There were a few people in the stands, most notably the Phantom. Smiling and laughing. "You're quite early!" He chortled. "But no matter. I have everything prepared for you, just as planned. Any questions?"

((Spite. Foiled again.))

Eve got up quickly, brushing herself off as she glared at the people in the stands, each in turn. Her gaze settled on the Phantom as he spoke, and she frowned deeply. "Any questions?" she reiterated, rolling her eyes. "I believe your expectations are quite obvious. Where is Rush?"

((Did you have a plan? xDD))

The answer was not what Eve expected. "Dead." The Phantom shrugged. "The Rush you once knew no longer exists. Naturally." He shrugged. "This is what he was before the Library landed on him. I've put that into sleep mode, per say, and released him from the kind personality that held him fast. You don't know the real Rush, after all. Heck," He laughed. "I bet you don't even know WHY his name is Rush. Either way, my pet is on his way..."

"Wh...why? Why is his name Rush? I thought he gave himself that name..."

"No. His real name was quite different. You'll have to ask Kazue, when you see him." The Phantom shrugged, then grinned. "I named him Rush because that's what he does. I tell him to attack...there's no hesitation. He rushes to the kill." Verolen Krow Senior seemed to find his own dull humor absolutely hilarious. But he shook it off as a growling came from behind barred gates that stood fixed to the wall below him. Next to the Phantom was a lever that would lift the gates, releasing the thing that would maul both Eve and Manny. "Oh...look at that, he's here already."

Eve tensed, preparing for whatever was behind the door. "Manny, you stay close," she said, taking hold of his hand. "Whatever happens, it'll be all right, okay?" she tried to assure.

"Okay..." Manny murmured, still holding Eve's hand as tightly as he could. "Stay close..."

The snarling from behind the gate was heartbreakingly familiar. The Phantom let Rush claw at the bars for a moment before pulling the lever, freeing the beast. Rush only looked worse than before, but only because he looked...well, beaten up. His non-dragonlike eye was bruised and swollen shut, his skin cut and burned, and...as he hissed, Eve could see that they had split the tip of his tongue to make it forked.

"Hold," The Phantom grinned. Rush only stepped out, not attacking yet. "Look at this. So easily, your dear friend has fallen to rage and fear altogether. Try to talk to him. Go on, try," He smirked cruelly. It was obvious that talking to Rush would do no good.

Eve's expression softened as she turned to face Rush. Though she knew the chances were slim, she decided to call out to him. "Rush! It's all right! Look, it's Eve, and Manny. We don't want to harm you..."

Rush panted, staring at Eve. "He won't...listen..." Manny murmured.

"Only to me. He won't even attack until I say so." The Phantom purred.

"Good," Manny nodded for a moment, then drew knives from seemingly nowhere. In a flash, he knocked Rush flat onto his back, then promptly thrust the short blades into Rush's ears.

The screaming was noisy and scratchy, Rush's throat already raw. He clawed at the bleeding holes, snarling and writhing about on the floor. When he discovered the horrid truth, he wailed and wailed in utter misery. Manny had deafened him. He couldn't hear a thing, he could barely see through the black and red in his vision, at that.

"Well," The Phantom blinked. "I didn't think you had the guts to do something as preposterous as that..."

Manny swallowed hard. "I will protect Eve. No matter what."

((RUUUUUUUUUSHHHHHHH! 0.e IS HE GOING TO SURVIVE?))

Eve jumped, taking a step back and drawing in a sharp breath. "W-well... one problem down," she murmured, mostly to herself. She directed her gaze to the Phantom before allowing her form to shift, turning into the large snake form that served as better protection for her.

((Sure. xD You can have things stuck in your ears. It only wrecks your ears, really. And your balance. Manny didn't put it deep enough to stab his brain.))

Rush rolled back and forth on his back, wailing and crying out in terror and pain. He couldn't hear, and if he couldn't hear, how could he get his orders? Rush looked blearily up at the Phantom, but his head kept lolling to the side. He couldn't keep himself straight. He tried to stand, but only collapsed onto the dirt floor and wept where he lay.

"You won't be taking Eve from me," Manny snapped, holding his knives at the ready. He looked at the Phantom dead in the eye, but didn't expect the next strike. The Phantom vanished, then suddenly appeared behind them. He grabbed Manny by the hair and forced his head back until they were staring at each other.

"Overshadow," The Phantom hissed, his voice echoing around the room.

Dark Matter is not something so easily taken control of. It completely rejected the Phantom's magic, turning it away. But then there was no place for that power to go. It exploded in the air around Manny, ejected forcefully and suddenly, blasting most everyone, the Phantom included, off their feet. Manny himself was blown skyward, his weakened arm torn off by the blast. He hit the ground and fell still. No crying, no wail of Eve's name, nothing. Just silence and stillness.

Eve darted forward, grabbing onto Manny's shoulders. "Manny! Manny!" she cried, her voice hushed with tight alarm. "Manny, speak to me! Move, we have to get out of here!" she said, glancing up one at the Phantom to find out what he was doing.

Manny groaned and slowly stirred, opening his eyes slightly. The Phantom slowly picked himself up off his feet, brushing himself off. He started to advance, but Rush barreled into him. The Chimera-thing was hugging the Phantom, not showing any signs of letting go.

"Get off me!" The Phantom screamed, his voice lost to deaf ears. Rush didn't know the meaning of his gesturing, and just stared at him with tears in his eyes. Rush hugged his master even tighter, afraid of the silence he had been immersed in. The screaming of the Phantom only served in helping Manny wake up a little more.

"Mm...wha...?" The Dark Matter slowly sat up, looking around. His eyes fell on Rush and the Phantom first, then on Eve. "W-we've gotta get out of here," He said, looking up at the crowd watching. Most everyone had cleared out after the explosion, panicked at the turn of events. The few still behind were busy laughing at Rush and the Phantom. "Let's go, let's go," Manny pulled Eve towards the gate Rush had come from. The large doors were barred, there was no way to get out from there. Their only chance was through that tunnel...

Eve, seeing where Manny was going and what little hope they had left, picked up the pace and ran for the door. "Let's go!" she echoed the mannequinn's words, holding tight to the one hand he had left.

Manny stopped. Before them was a window. Beyond the window was a three-story drop. There didn't seem to be any guards below, but...

"Eve..." He said quietly. "We have to take this chance. You've taken care of me for so long, and...well...now it's my turn to take care of you. Like I said. Do you trust me?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her tightly, ready to pick her up.

Eve hesitated, seeing what Manny was about to do, but knew that she could make any... repairs... later. "...yes," she replied, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I trust you."