The Forgotten Zodiac

Forin didn't smile or even nod at her, too busy watching the alleyway entrance. Diana gasped as Seria eased the knife out; she released another short scream, tears streaming down her face. When she was completely healed, she clung to Seria as though the healer would save her from death himself. She whimpered quietly, hugging her middle tightly.

Finally, the orb of shadows melted away along with Forin's shadow claws. Diana tore away from Seria and threw herself at him, sobbing wretchedly. "Yes...I know. I'm here now." He said, cradling her gently as she quickly relaxed in his grasp, falling unconscious in a matter of minutes. Forin cleared his throat, looking over to Seria. "You've saved her again...I can't thank you enough. She's alive. My Mistress Diana..."

Seria scooted over and gently gave him a hug, saying "Then don't thank me. I would've done it no matter what." She pulled back, putting a hand on Diana's forehead to give her a bit of energy. She glanced up when Cynyr suddenly jumped down from a roof top, Werr clinging to his back with a shaky Jagat behind him. Ophile followed with Nate, and a few seconds later, Luen stumbled into the alley in deer form, having been forgotten by them. Seria stood up and darted over to Cynyr, taking Jag from Werr and setting to work on his hacked-up back.

Luen's eyes lit up when he saw Forin, instantly regaining all of their normal gentle brightness. "Forin!" he said, trotting towards him. "Oh, thank goodness!"

"Luen," Forin smiled tiredly. It looked like he hadn't slept in ages; not since he had been jailed. Nightmares came too often for any sort of sleep. That, combined with his saving Diana, had drained him. His smile faded at once, though, his grip tightening on Diana. He made himself relax, though, sighing heavily. "It's good to see you again. Even if this is just some crazy dream..."

"Dream? Have you lost your marbles?" Werr frowned at him.

"Oh, yes. I left those in jail. Set them aside and didn't pick them up again."

"Er..."

"It's the dungeons. They're fed a gas that clouds rational thought. He'll be okay eventually. At least he's aware that we're friends, although he believes to be hallucinating at the moment." Ophile chortled. "Here, watch. Forin, can you count to ten?"

"Sure. One, two, three, ten. Why?" Forin said simply, not noticing any thing odd.

"See? His mind is skipping over crucial facts. It's a bit amusing, but slightly worrying. Sometimes, they don't snap out of it. Exactly how Cern went down."

Luen slowed to a stop when he got close. He blinked down at Diana, then slowly backed up. "I..." he murmured. "I hurt her..."

Seria looked over at him, her gaze filled with a small trace of fear. "...You didn't do it on purpose, right?" she asked, flicking her tail.

He shook his head instantly, then said "I didn't want to. Of course I didn't. But...but...I still...I nearly...k-killed..." His delicate jaw quivered, then he said "I almost killed Diana." He took another step back, his eyes filled with horror and unshed tears. He said the sentance again, slower and quieter, in a voice filled to the brim with heartache. He was right there on the verge of reaching his final limit. Losing Forin, all the trauma, losing his arm, then this with Diana. Everything that had happened to him was threatening to boil over into one sharp break. He was the smallest inch away from not being able to hold back his sheer depression anymore. From being able to hold back his memories.

Forin looked dully up at Luen, blinking slowly. "Yeah. You did. Some dream, huh?" He laughed a bit, going back to brushing Diana's hair back away from her face and kissing her lightly on the forehead. "It's alright, dearest...Mistress Diana..."

"Uh, oh." Werr looked from Forin to Luen, expecting something to happen. Something quite serious.

"Uh oh, indeed." Ophile snorted.

"Forin..." Luen said softly, gulping quietly. "It...it wasn't a dream."

Silence.

"I...I really did hurt her," the kirin continued. "I still d-don't kknow why. But I did. I almost k-killed her. Forin, it wasn't a dream! It wasn't a dream!" He took another step back, his hooves making a light tapping sound against the ground. He normally would've wondered why he was telling Forin this. But he knew, deep inside.

He wanted to see what Forin would say. What would he do upon hearing a horrible truth like this?

Luen sniffled, then moved to touch Forin's cheek with his soft nose, whispering incoherent things.

"Yes, it is." Forin said, pushing Luen's nose away. "This is all a dream. Nothing more. I'm dreaming, or hallucinating. I have to be. I have to."

"Why do you have to be dreaming?" Ophile sniffed, curious. Could it be that Forin was forcing himself to remain in the foggy haze of mental insanity for some reason? "What makes it impossible for this to be reality, Forin?"

"It has to be a dream...I don't want it to be, but there's no other explanation." Forin muttered, hugging Diana close and rocking forward and back slowly, tears starting to roll down his thin cheeks. "I'm dreaming. That's all."

"Forin..."

"I'm dreaming. I know I am. Because the real Luen...would never hurt Diana. So this is just like last time. It has to be. A dream. Dreaming. One, two, seven, three, ten."

"Forin!"

"SHUT UP!" Forin suddenly roared. He dropped Diana (surprisingly roughly, though Diana didn't even stir) and rounded on Ophile, clawing at his fellow Tartaran. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! Go away! I hate you, I hate all of you. There, I said it! Are you going to attack me like last time, or vanish like I want you to? Go away!" He started clawing at his own arms and face. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" He screamed, then collapsed into a heap in front of them, bleeding profusely and groaning as though he was sick.

"...okay, I'm a little concerned now." Ophile said while Werr watched in stunned silence.

Luen flinched sharply, stumbling back on his three legs like he'd been shot. He stared in horror at Forin for a long moment, then he gave the faintest of quivers as his last tiny shred of reason snapped.

He squealed out a painful note and bolted, tears pouring down his narrow face. He didn't look back, nor did he stop.

Because the real Luen...would never hurt Diana.

Forin's words had burned. Because Luen HAD hurt her, though he couldn't for the life of him remember why. And then Forin had said he hated them and wanted them to go away. It hurt so badly...

It was for the best, Luen decided, that the kirin left. That was all he ever did, from the moment he met them. Caused pain and heartache. Most of it to himself because he was too attached. Was having friends really worth all of that pain?

He vanished from sight of the others, resigned to a really long run.

((We forgot Luna. ;D; We'll say that she had slipped off to do...something, and was captured by Caldir himself. We can have a character suddenly be like "Derp, hey where's Luna?"))

Forin sighed heavily, retreating to the back of the alley and rubbing his head unhappily. "Why?" He spluttered, starting to cry. "Why won't I wake up? Why, why, why?" He squirmed uncomfortably, wiping away his tears and glaring at all of them.

"Seria, might I suggest rendering him unconscious for the time being? His wounds need treated, and both he and Diana require rest." Ophile said, taking a step towards the healer half-cat.

"Don't you dare!" Forin snarled, but apparently he had mistaken their words. "Dream or not, NO ONE is going to be hurting Diana. No. One. Back off! Why don't you all just go away?!" He stood over Diana protectively, as though he thought the others would try to hurt her, too.

Seria nodded quietly to Ophile, then extended her hands towards Forin and began murmuring softly. Within a few seconds, drowsiness began to overcome him. Less than a minute later, he had slumped to the ground in a daze, which was enough to allow Seria to walk forward and touch his forehead, right in the center of his Tartarus mark, and murmur "Sleep." He was knocked out instantly in a quick wave of exhaustion. Seria sighed, then turned away to help Nate with his injuries, Cynyr padding after her. The healer paused near Ophile and smiled softly at him, bending down to hug him around his thick, furry neck. "Mmm..." she sighed, then pulled back.

Once she was out of the way, Cynyr ran his fingers over Ophile's head as he passed by.

Ophile fluffed his fur out, shaking himself out once Seria had gotten Nate off of his back. "Sometimes, it seems like you're smarter than me," Werr scratched the back of his neck.

"Surely not! You're as sharp as a tack, smartest human I know." Ophile snorted. "The difference between us is experience, you see. I have years and years of wisdom tucked into my mind. Almost 400. You...have 19, almost 20. Not to mention, I've been locked in a jail cell myself for disobeying my summoner's orders before. I saved her life at the cost of her estate, and...well, you know that old story."

"Yeah," Werr nodded, moving forward when he saw Diana stir. She sat bolt upright, then eased herself back down into a lying position, curling herself into Forin's limp arms. She didn't say anything, just laid there numbly. A girl and her summons, tucked into the back of an alley, reunited once more.

"Seria," Nate rasped, his dragon blood proving most resiliant as he forced himself to regain consciousness. "What happened?"

"We're trying to figure that out ourselves," Seria said, leaning in to kiss his cheek gently. Though both of them were in married or to-be with other people, they had still remained very close friends. She wouldn't give him up for anything. She healed his wounds, then said "I'm hoping you can tell us what happened to you. Did you see anyone? Anyone at all?" She flicked her tail, glancing back at Diana. She would check on her next.

Nate thought long and hard. "Before I passed out...I saw Ophile fall unconscious and figured out what happened. They put stuff in the food, there's no other explanation for it. I tried to fly out the window to catch up to you three, and...I'm pretty sure I crashed in a bush and blacked out. I..." He frowned, thinking hard. "I remember waking up in the bush. My leg was broken, but my wings were okay, so I flew up to the window to find it shut and locked. I saw you walk in...but before I could do anything, they threw a net on top of me. My wings were caught in it, so I fell again and that's how my arm was injured. I tried to get back up again, but then they hit me with arrows. I didn't have much of a choice but to let myself be dragged off, lest they kill me with their relentless attacks. It was the castle guards, all of it. I saw...someone else, but I don't know who. I didn't get a good look."

"They have to be planning something," Werr said thoughtfully, starting to pace. "This doesn't seem to be the Silver Tornado at work here, although it's clear that they have the Artifact. I think...I think we should rent a room at the inn and let those who need rest, do so. As for anyone else, I need to investigate Caldir's personal guard. I wouldn't mind a helping hand."

"Certainly." Ophile nodded once or twice. "Say...I can't say I've seen Luna since she arrived here. Where did she go?"

((Can't she communicate through mind? I think it would be creepy/interesting if Werr heard, all of the sudden, a scream of pain from Luna. Like Caldir wants Werr to come running so he can try to kill him. The rest of this was just to incapacitate his friends, mayhaps?

Unless you had other plans, in which case, I'll just shut up now. xD))

((Yes, to people she's be-smooched. And I didn't have any other plans, so we do dat.))

Seria glanced up too, blinking. "Oh, that's right. She was with me during lunch, but then she said she wanted to go for a walk in the garden. I haven't seen her since. I forgot all about her in the hurry to find you all. I hope she's okay..." She shook her head, then went back to work on Nate. What happened next was only heard by Werr, as Forin and Jag were both unconscious.

A sharp, sudden scream echoed out in Werr's mind, achingly familiar. Luna's scream, high and terryified, full of pain. "Help me!" she cried, her voice weakening by the second. "He's-"

She cut off suddenly, going quiet. The connection snapped instantly.

((Otey.))

Werr let out his own sharp cry of pain. Luna...her voice had shot through his skull like an arrow. He stumbled out into the road and fell, but was quick to recollect himself and push himself up, using his staff to help him up. He leaned heavily against the metal rod, wincing as he glared up at the castle.

"Werr? What happened?" Ophile said, blinking at him.

"I have to do something. Don't follow me. Cynyr...stay here and protect the others. That's an order." Werr said, starting to stagger towards the castle. He had put it together rather quickly. Forin and Jag were unconscious. They were the only other two that Luna could communicate mentally with. They had discovered Luna to be missing, and seconds later, she screams into his mind. They were being watched, for one. And Danbo obviously wanted Werr alone. All of his friends had been hurt, one by one. Incapacitated. Brutally, even.

If it went on, his friends could be killed. They were already vulnerable...Werr had no choice. They wanted him by himself, and if it meant saving his friends and those he considered family, he would do whatever it took. Cynyr had Welk, so he had nothing to worry about in that regard. He didn't think he would die, though. The Silver Tornado could have killed him off all too easily at this point.

A sharp "OUCH!" suddenly rang out behind him, then Cynyr stumbled out, dropping a burning hot teddy bear to the ground. "Welk! Welk, what's wrong?!" he said desperately, trying to carefully pick up the erratically flashing bear that held the soul of his little brother. He hissed in pain and was forced to let go after a few seconds, stalking in circles around the bear. "Welk, what are you doing?" he asked, worried. "What's wrong?"

The bear continued to flash, until finally, the person trapped inside mustered up the energy to speak. "Werr...take...with!" The words were halting and broken, but desperate. "Take...me...with you!"

"Welk, he'll be fine," Cynyr said, moving to pick up the bear again.

A small burst of fire shot out, encircling the bear in a short-lived shield that singed Cynyr's fingers. "Noooo," the fire mage moaned in a rapidly-turning-sick voice. "I...have...to..." He sounded like he was going to cry, and a moment later, he did.

((Take hiiiiim. He'll be helpful.))

Werr turned and looked back, biting his lip. "Alright, alright! Welk, please...don't cry." He turned and walked back, picking up the teddy bear. "Don't cry. No more of that. I'll take you, just...don't cry." He looked up at Cynyr, then sighed and turned back to the castle. Up the road and up the stairs. Through the doors and down the halls until he reached the throne room, feeling as though he should apologize to Asmodius first.

He heard Welk sigh softly, sniffling as he stopped his tears. He squeaked suddenly, however, as Werr pushed open the doors.

Asmodius was laying in a growing puddle of his own blood, Danbo standing over his limp form. He had a sword raised above the king, prepared for a killing strike.

The muscular guard jerked his head up when Werr opened the doors, his eyes widening. Then he narrowed them and growled "You're early." He stalked forward, swinging the sword at his side. Luckily for Asmodius and Werr, it wasn't the Artifact. "Early and late at the same time," he growled. His boot crunched down into one of the books Asmodius had been reading and he spat "And to think he was reading these to help you."

((He's not dead yet.))

((I guessed as much.))

Werr froze, shoving Welk into his bag at once. "Danbo...that's far enough. Asmodius...Asmodius, I'm sorry. I thought...I don't...help me?" He blinked at the books, confused. Asmodius had been trying to help him? He knew that Asmodius hadn't been behind all this, but...trying to help? Werr shook his head. "What do you want from me?" He demanded, moving forward with staff in hand.

"Yes, trying to help YOU," Danbo said, unceasing in his stalk towards the king. "He has a sneaking suspicion about me, you see, so he decided to learn all he could about poisons and sleeping draughts on the off-chance that I used some on you all. Unfortunately for the poor king, I burned the book that held the cure for the one substance we used to knock out your friends. He got far too close, however. Far, far too close. He would've guessed at it if not for my...visit. Plus he knew too many cures already. We couldn't risk slipping you poison with him overflowing with knowledge. He kept his personal guards near you at all times, making them watch for any signs of foulplay. You see, he really did like you. He saw something in you that he just couldn't let go. He wanted to make sure you were safe. You and all of your friends. His deepest, most heartful desire was to make up for what he had done wrong." He snorted, then said "To answer your second question, we want your Artifact. And your life. With you as a hostage, we can easily barter for control of Alastor. We already have control of Storaph."