The Forgotten Zodiac

"Yes, YES! We'll MAIM him!" the sword screamed, suddenly much londer since Forin had touched it. "We'll destroy this creature! Blood will spray, bones will snap, muscle will tear beneath our might! We'll crush them all!" The sharp tip of the blade plunged into the ice colossus' forehead, and it skidded to a halt, throwing its head back and screaming out in pain as it broke apart, dying away. Luen was left there, panting, but, he was quick to pull himself back together. Ice armor formed around him, and huge claws formed, along with a tail and wings. He lunged forward, hovering over the ground, and raked at Forin with his claws.

The sword was shouting at him again.

"Hey! HEY! Don't fight without me, master! MASTER! PICK ME UP, DARN IT! I demand you wield me! I've been waiting here too long for you to just throw me like some sort of stick! Use me to defend yourself! Strike back and crush him!"

Forin winced as his left arm was caught up in Luen's claws, but what came from his split skin was a black powder, not blood. He ignored it, rolling under Luen and running for dear life. He rolled again, this time sliding to a stop with the blade in his hands. "You're too serious about this," Forin snapped at the sword as he put himself into a defensive stance. "Like I would ever let anything hurt Luen, least of all a sword like you," He snarled, but braced himself as the sword collided with Luen's claws. The force of the hit caused him to slid back several feet in the sand, leaving long streaks in the confetti and sand on the ground. But the sword held strong, not even bending under Leun's strength.

One of the ice mage's claws broke off, but that didn't deter him. Luen charged forward at them, ignoring the sword's near-constant whining.

"Too serious? Too serious?! How dare you! I've been stuck in here forever and all you have to say is that I'm too serious?! Honestly! Master, if you don't destroy this kirin and let me out, I'll...I'll...I can't do anything. I'm a sword. Curses! Fine then! Then let's simply beat this trial, hmm?! Quick, thrust to the side! Do it, do it!" When Forin complied in a split second, he nearly took off Luen's hand, making the kirin squeal and dart to the side in a brief moment of fear.

"Phooey," the sword tutted. "I meant for you to take off his arm."

((Yeah, that's Forin's new weapon partner. xD Haven't made a name for him yet, but he's pretty funny. He hates Luen, if you hadn't noticed, which will be explained once they get out. He's actually proud of the fact that he's just a weapon. xD))

((o3o FUN.))

"No! I'm not taking off Luen's arm, you stupid sword! He's already missing one in the outside world..." Forin growled, raising the sword again to block yet another attack. He thrust forward, narrowly missing Luen's head; but instead striking the wing. He slashed downwards, slicing the wing in half before jumping backwards to avoid any retaliation Luen might have. "How about that?"

((Feel free to have Forin name him.))

The sword made a sound that could've passed for a growl, but moreover sounded miffed. "Fine, fine," he tutted, sighing. "We won't kill the kirin...yet. But I'll get him. Ooooh, I'll get him! But for now, I'll keep quiet so you can beat your trial yourself." The sword went silent, but it hummed with energy occasionally, as if holding back words.

Luen reeled backwards, moving a hand up to clutch his hacked wing, then he turned back to Forin and charged forward, much faster than before. His claws rammed against the sword's blade, but the sword was insanely strong; the metal didn't so much as bend under the weight.

((Noooope. xD Forin will just wind up calling him 'sword' all the time, either way. That's his personality, yah know.))

"Thank you!" Forin snapped at his weapon, parrying Luen's attack and pushing the claws away from himself, tackling Luen bodily again; he brought the blade inches from Luen's head once more, this time digging it into the ground. He was breathing heavily and his arms ached terribly; the sword may not have been capable of bending, but Forin's bones were still bones, and all that pressure had to go somewhere. Forin didn't think any of his bones had cracked, but they had come close.

Luen panted, blinking up at his friend as he realized that he was pinned once again. The ice melted away, and Luen relaxed, smiling and lifting a hand to rest it on Forin's knee. "That...was good..." he said, tilting his head to the side and peeking at Forin through his emerald eyes. "I think...we're done...for now..." He slowly stood when Forin moved off of him, leaning on his knees and breathing hard.

"Are you THAT exhausted from such a tiny bout of training?!"

It was the sword again, and more gripey than ever. "Honestly, master, your choice in companions is terrible! This little thing can hardly defend you from damage! You need more Tartarans like yourself; strong-willed, fierce, unwielding-" He continued on his ramble, mostly just saying how bad Luen was compared to Forin. He seemed to glorify Forin while hating Luen with a burning passion.

"Shut it," Forin buried the sword deeper in the sand, not caring about what the sword was saying. He was exhausted, too, to be honest. "You okay?" He asked quietly, quickly hugging Luen. He closed his eyes, holding tight onto his friend. "Thank you...I feel stronger, so much stronger already...it's incredible." He smiled widely, pulling away a bit to look at his Kirin friend.

"MMMM! MMPH! MWASHTA FOHWIN! UU CINT EAVE EE ERE! MMPH!" The sword continued to rage, screaming into the sand.

Luen leaned against Forin, still breathing hard. He kept smiling, though, and when Forin pulled back, Luen looked right into his friend's silver eyes with his emerald green ones. "Yes...yes, I'm fine, really. You did so well, Forin." He lifted his right arm and touched Forin's shoulder, then stared at his arm and sighed. "I suppose we'll go back now, huh?" he said quietly. "Back to the world where I don't have this arm. Where I'm..." He closed his eyes, making himself stop his thoughts and think of something else, then opened his eyes again and said "Anyways, shall we go? Just put your forehead-"

"EEEEEEE!"

"...that sword...anyways, put your-"

"MEEEEEE!"

"...forehead..."

"MWASHTA!"

"...against..."

"FOHWIN!"

"...ugh..." Luen sighed heavily, into his hands, unable to concentrate with the sword screaming at the top of his lungs into the sand, determined not to be left behind.

"Back to the world where Diana and Luna wait for us? Luen, I don't care if you're missing an arm...honestly, we could probably get Namanai and the other healers to grow it back. It wouldn't be hard for them." Forin touched Luen's arm, smiling slightly. "Really. I don't care if you're missing an arm, a leg, or all of your limbs at once. I'll still be your friend, I'll never, ever leave you, and I'll still protect you with everything I have." He kicked more sand over the sword, but when it only screamed louder, he finally sighed and pulled it out of the sand. "I don't even know how to take you out of here, you dumb sword! For that matter, I'm not your master! Shut up!" He roared at it, his temper flaring.

Luen gave a soft giggle, smiling at Forin's interactions with the strange sword. Luen's smile vanished, however, to be replaced by embarressment at the sword's next words.

"You are too my master, master!" the weapon shrieked. "I was born on the day you and this kirin first became friends! I am the embodiment of his desire to be like you! He craves to be strong like you, because he's too weak to do anything alone! I was made when his desire peaked! The day he lost his arm, he nearly wanted to be you!"

Luen had sat down on the ground, jaw trembling and head buried to his knees, his hands over his ears.

The sword continued on. "From that feeling, I was born! And I hate this kirin for it! He created me, a proud, beautiful weapon of mass destruction, and couldn't even bring me out of his nasty little head!"

Forin buried the sword in the sand again. "Well if I'm going to be your master, then you're going to obey me. So shut your mouth." He hissed at it. He looked down at Luen, and kneeled in front of his friend. Then he promptly slapped the Kirin. It wasn't a hard slap, but it obviously wasn't playful. "Luen. Don't strive for that...please. I'm arrogant, egotistical, hard-headed, tempermental...and now I'm weak. Don't try to be like me. At all. Ever. I understand if you want power, but...you already have so much. You have power on your own, why would you want to be like me at all? Please...don't fight for that. Be like Luen, because that's who I became friends with. The gentle, shy, ever-nervous, thoughtful and kind Kirin. I want nothing different."

Luen clutched the side of his face, blinking in shock and staring at Forin as tears slowly began sliding down his cheeks. He rested his forehead against Forin's shoulder, leaning against him and sighing heavily. "Okay..." he whispered, sighing again. "Okay..." The sword suddenly screamed out in pain, then used a small burst of energy to shove itself out of the sand. A few cracks appeared on it, and it shouted in pain. "Stop! STOP! Don't break me! Please!" he cried. "Master, stop convincing him he's good the way he is! As he accepts himself, it breaks me apart! Take me out of here before that, at least!"

"Look, let's just get out of here," Forin rolled his eyes, then gently touched his forehead to Luen's. He didn't realize it, but his leg was touching the sword now; that would be enough to bring it into the real world when Luen proceeded. Forin closed his eyes, smiling still.

((-imagines the sword stabbing itself into Forin's side in order to be ensured to escape-))

((Ha. xD))

The sword suddenly gave a hard flip, the tip catching the side of Luen's face just as they initiated the warp. Luen squealed, jerking his hand up and holding the heavily bleeding wound over his eye, lowering his head a bit as the sword acted again. It pushed off with its energy, spinning sharply and coming straight at Forin, forcing him to react by grabbing its hilt. That was enough, as it turned out.

A moment later, they were outside of Luen's mind, back in their own bodies, with Forin holding a long, black sword and Luen clutching his bleeding face with his single arm.

Forin grew angry. He threw the sword as hard as he could, watching as it became embedded in the soft dirt a little ways away. "It's okay, Luen, here." He murmured, pulling rags out of his bag and starting to dab at the wound. "This looks pretty bad...let's go see one of the healers about it." He said softly, standing.

"What happened?" Diana whimpered, looking at the sword. "That wasn't there before..."

"I know, dearest. I know. Don't worry about it, okay?"

"FREEDOM!" the sword screamed, startling them. "HAHAHAHAHA! SWEET, SWEET FREEDOM AT LAST! I WOULD KISS THE GROUND IF I HAD LIPS! HAHAHA!" The blood on its tip evaporated, leaving it spotless and gleaming. "Sorry master, butI had to do that. Wait, I'm not sorry. See, to take me from the kirin's filthy mind, I had to cut him and then have you hold me. By wearing the blood of my creator and having my master touch me, I was able to escape the confines of his mind and join you here. Brilliant, if I do say so myself!"

Luen let Forin help him stand, holding the rag to his face. The cut over his eye bled heavily, but it would be healed easily.

Forin rose, standing over the sword with a horrible glare in his eyes. He picked up the sword again and threw it once more, watching as it collided with the marble tile of the courtyard. Again, he stood over it, but this time his foot went down on it. "If you ever hurt Luen again, for any reason, I will bury you so far into the earth, you'll need more than a king Arthur to heave you out of it again! And once you get out, I will hunt you out and melt you down into a toy. And once I've done that, I'll throw you so far away that no one would ever dare even bother to go after you!" He snarled at it, then roared, "DON'T EVER TOUCH LUEN AGAIN, AM I UNDERSTOOD?!"

The sword was completely silent for several long seconds, then, in a surprisingly quiet voice, whispered "Yes, master. Just...take me with you, please. It is the sole purpose I feel; I must fight at your side. I must! I won't hurt the ki-...Luen, anymore, but...I can't stop hating him. It is how I was created. I was created with the mindset of worshiping you and loathing him. It is all I know..." He went silent then, even his humming energy going quiet.

Luen carefully moved the rag for a moment, touching Forin's shoulder gently with his hand. "Now that he's out of my mind, I'm able to accept your words easier. The ones you said to me in my mind," he said quietly. "He's a strong, powerful weapon. It wouldn't hurt to keep him, and...I just can't leave him somewhere and let him rot. People tried to do that to me, and I would hate for that to happen to someone else. Much less someone I made by accident." Blood was once again dripping down his face, as wounds around the eyes bled profusely. He had to close his right eye so blood wouldn't get into it.