The Forgotten Zodiac

Tasia was continuously tugging on her chain, sobbing quietly and trying to go to her precious husband. "Stop, stop hurting him!" she wailed, feeling as though every cut they made on him was made on her as well. "Nate...Naaaaaate...!" She sounded like a dying animal, moaning to be put out of its misery.

It brought even more tears to Lexi's eyes, how strong the bond was between the two. She wondered, if she even lived through this, if she and Werr's would perhaps be that strong... She shook herself, starting to quietly pull rocks off of Toro, her only instinct to help the others over herself.

A weak grunt from the side made her look up. Luen had slipped a bit, too weak from trying to fight. The chain was pressing under his chin, making him cough as he righted himself. His legs shook with pain, however; he couldn't keep standing for much longer.

Nate could only let out small noises, grunts or moans at best. He had screamed himself dry long before Lexi had come to. He tried to look up at Tasia, but the Things kept forcing him to look down at the work they were doing.

Toro jerked, looking up at Lexi with pain in his eyes. Eventually he managed to move his hand, slipping it into hers before she picked up another rock. He just held it tightly, desperate for comfort. He heard all the sounds, but he had no idea what was going on.

Diana watched Luen through tear-filled cracks in her eyes. Without warning, she suddenly jerked upwards, stifling a cry of pain as she did it over and over again until the nail stuck through her hands came loose. She slid backwards at once, slipping behind Luen and sitting on her hands and knees, forming a seat just tall enough for Luen to sit on without strangling himself. Diana didn't object when one of the Striders came over and nailed her back down where she was.

"D...Diana, no..." the kirin said softly, forcing himself to stand for as long as he possibly could now, determined not to make Diana support him. She shouldn't have to, he decided. I...I can't be that weak! Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes, ashamed of himself for being so...utterly...weak.

Lexi rubbed Toro's fingers, continuing to push the rocks away with her other hand. When there were no more to move, she still could only hold just his hand. She held the rabbitzen's hand close, crying into his silver hair, wishing she knew what to do.

She didn't.

*

"-rr! Werr! WERR!"

The frantic voice sounded in the boy's ears, followed by a quick push at his arm. "Werr, get up!" Welk said again, touching the boy's face and coughing softly between calls.

"Welk, hush." Cynyr's voice, quiet and full of pain, but better than it had been before. "He's alive. Be quiet, please."

Welk whimpered, dabbing at the blood coming from Werr's ears with a tiny hand.

((Dear Bun,

I really do love you.

~Trin))

Werr stirred, then jerked his arm, opening one eye a bit. He pushed himself up enough to shift closer to Cynyr. His ears were ringing badly, it was hard to hear anything. But the young healer was working on that, judging from the hand he saw moving towards his ear. He moved his hands up first, taking ahold of Welk and bringing him down to where Werr could look at him.

"His eardrum was split by those monsters," The healer said quietly. Judging from the blood in her hair, she had suffered the same. She had just finished healing Ophile's ears. "The girl...Lexi. I don't see her," The healer frowned in concern. Werr twitched again, fear filling his eyes at the news. The healer finished with his ear in time for the first thing for him to hear;

"What happened here?" The owner of the quiet voice was Forin. He and Luna had gone back to the guest house, only to find absolutely no one there.

"Taken." The next was Obelisk's, from the other side of the hallway. "Taken and carried off to goddess only knows where. There are others missing, too...I thought I could find them before anyone important was taken. But a guard, Nate and Tasia, Toroph, Spy, and a castle guard...and now Luen, Diana, and Lexi."

"Important...are you saying...th-that Nate and Tasia...Toroph and Spy...they aren't important t-to you?" Werr struggled to sit up, wincing with the movement. It felt like he had been kicked several hundred times while he had been unconscious.

Obelisk was silent for a short moment, then he decided to ignore Werr's question. "I tracked them as far as I could, but they went out of my range somewhere out to the west. They just...dropped."

((And I would die if you didn't, 'cuz I love you too~

Also, Toro is below the rock surface where Lexi is. Down in a crack. Even if it's not a very deep one, Lexi is still above him, so holding him close would be impossible. Holding his hand is the most she can do. Also his lower spine is broken. 939))

((-hugs-

A'right, I'll fix that around a bit.))

Welk whimpered and leaned against Werr's cheek, saying the boy's name deliriously.

Cynyr had still barely said anything, but now he spoke completely. "Dropped, eh?" he said slowly, quietly. "It should be obvious, then... We've got only one choice. They went...down." He shifted to human form and gave a slight twist, then the air wings formed. Merely a second after they had sprung loose, the panther had vanished. Now heading downwards, no. Off to the Eternal Garden. To Naybrin.

To the Gauntlet.

Footsteps suddenly approached from a different hallway. To their shock, Seria approached, her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and her outfit cleaned up and neat. With her tight, brown leather outfit, she looked ready to fight for something. Her healer bag was slung over her shoulder, but when she neared, they saw a dreadful emptiness in her blue eyes. Like there was no life there anymore.

Obelisk straightened up to his full height once more, no longer slouching. He was mad, and it flowed off of him in thick waves. "Let's move now. Cynyr will catch up to us. Werr, Welk, I suggest that the two of you remain here. The same with you, Forin."

"No," Forin shook his head. "I'm not useless, I have a weapon." He frowned up at the eternal being. "What's your plan?"

"Well, I suspected it from the beginning. They're under the Eye of Ka'ael, where the fire burns too bright for me. So what we must do is simple; walk down the stairs." Obelisk shrugged.

((Oh the rant that sword is going to have when he's woken up to fighting. xD))

Welk whimpered and clung harder to Werr, rubbing up against his neck before sliding down into his shirt, peeking out at the top and resting his head against the boy's throat.

Luna frowned, then looked up as yet more footsteps sounded. Zephyr walked regally down the hallway, coming to rest near the Tartaran and the Amnairian. "I hope you didn't wish to leave without me," he said, putting his head on Forin's shoulder. "I want to offer my strength in help. Vaira wanted to go, but mothers must stay with their offspring and she refused to take Boko somewhere dangerous. So here I am." He nibbled at Forin's shoulder in a quick, light gesture (one that didn't hurt in the slightest), then said "Shall we be off, then?"

"We won't turn down help." Obelisk shook his head. "Let us be off. Werr, we will escort you to the throne room, where you can be certain you will be safe. Not even the most foolhardy of Things would venture there."

"Right..." Werr nodded, standing and following.

Underneath the eye, Nate's condition was worsening. When his chest, most of his legs, his arm and half of his face had been stripped of skin, the Things clearly thought it was enough. They let go. Nate fell to his knees, his breathing already changed to match their painful rasp. They did nothing as Nate crawled foward, taking Tasia's hand in his. He just sat there like that, a gentle hummed tune escaping his lips. When it became obvious that Nate wasn't about to attack, the Things got angry. They grabbed him and dragged him away from Tasia, ignoring his struggling and snarling.

They forced Nate in front of Luen. Nate moved at once, pressing the skin-covered side of his face against the Kirin's. It was obvious, far too obvious, that Nate's mind hadn't changed yet, and the Things were furious. He was supposed to attack them, not show affection! They tried to feed him Spy, they forced Diana into his arms, and he had done nothing but hugged them both.

Finally, Lexi. Nate didn't move towards her. The Things had to force him to look at her. He didn't know her as well; finally, the poison had found something to target. A weak point in his show of affection rather than hate. He didn't know Lexi as well as he knew the others. He didn't have a strong bond with them. But Nate fought it with everything that he had. He didn't move foward, he didn't move to attack. The Things had to force him closer to her.

And then they forced his teeth into her shoulder. They didn't have to force him after that. They didn't have to force him to dig in, to tear into her flesh and start drinking up the blood that leaked out of the wound he was making.

Lexi screamed. Oh how she screamed, pushing at Nate with her legs, trying frantically to get him off of her. She wailed and screamed for help, screamed for anyone that could hear her. Werr's name tore from her lips, followed by Obelisk's and even Cynyr and Forin's. Tasia was begging her mate, tears streaming down her cheeks, to stop, to fight it harder. She pulled harder against her chains, but they had no hope of breaking. "Nate!" she cried. "Don't leave me like this! I can't live without you! I need you!" She wailed, then screamed, sounding like a feral dragoness.

The sharp rattle of chains, followed by frantic gasping sounds, signalled that Luen had fallen down while trying to force his hand loose. He had pulled as far to the side as he could, trying to wrench his hand loose, and his knees had buckled under him, resulting in him falling just to the side of Diana. Blood bubbled up in his throat, making his gasps turn to sickly gurgles, then Diana managed to shift enough to get under him and stop his strangling. The damage was done, though; he could barely breathe now, even with the chain at a looser angle.

Nate hesitated. He pulled away from Lexi for a moment, turning his eyes towards Tasia. Then he looked at Luen, worry in his eyes. His eyes met with Lexi for a second, and she saw his worry melt back into a dead sort of hunger. He bit down on her other shoulder, using his claws to rip through the skin on her arms. It was obvious that he was fighting it; he would stop now and again, hesitating. A small whine would rise up from his throat, but then he would go right back to his meal.

The other Things looked on, obviously wanting to eat, too. but the waited. They held back. Most of them went back to working on getting the Rift open. The rest of them went back to dining on the castle guard. They left Nate alone with Lexi, an act they knew would kill the girl and seal Nate's new fate as one of them.

Lexi sobbed, still begging for someone to save her, each breath hitched and shaky. She wrapped her arms around her neck, trying to save herself, then flinched when Luen screamed. The kirin had ripped his hand loose from the wall, grabbing frantically onto the chain attached to the collar and pulling on it with all of his might until it came loose from the ceiling. He whipped the chain around in circles, ignoring the nails still embedded in his fingers, and fought his best, knowing his magic was blocked by the chain around his neck. It halted his magic, preventing him from using them in the slightest. Blood continued to drip from the edge of his mouth, and he was breathing harder than ever, barely able to get enough air to function.

That had been the distraction Nate needed. He pulled away from Lexi, pushing her aside and watching Luen. The Things were on his Kirin friend in an instant; Nate reacted badly to this. He still had his tongue, too. He pounced on Luen, screaming at the Things that attempted to move in for an attack. He screamed at them, hissing for them to back off. Then he twisted around, putting his torn up face mere inches from Luen's. "Stop. Stopstopstop. No good. Be still. No moving."

When they saw that Nate was not eating, the Things grew even more angry. They forced him back towards Luna, where his mental state shattered again, and he started digging into her left leg, starting at the ankle.

Luen panted, laying still for a moment before slamming his fist into the ground angrily. No! he thought, gritting his teeth together. What does it matter if I survive, if Nate dies here? If Diana is torn apart next, if Lexi is eaten, if Tasia's little one is pulled from her lifeless womb? What does it matter if I live while they die?! He kicked out at one of the Things as it lurched past him, feeling the leg snap. He grabbed the chain around his neck, scrambling up and throwing it around one of the other Thing's neck, taking both ends into his hand and giving a sharp pull. He kicked out with his leg, sending another flying backwards into the fire of Ka'ael.

The Things swarmed. There were perhaps 20 of them; it didn't take much time at all before Luen was on the ground, enduring painful swipes and kicks.

Nate fought. He hesitated twice, but he didn't have the strength to stop himself completely again. He continued eating, but he quickly grew annoyed with the noises Lexi was making. He curled his claws under her chin, already starting to break through the skin to where he could easily tear out her throat. Tiny amounts of blood leaked out of Lexi's neck.

That was as far Nate got before Obelisk arrived.

The entire room full of things practically exploded. There was panic, joined with the sounds of screaming and hissing and fighting as they all tried to find an exit. Fear filled Nate, and he found himself over Tasia next. Not biting or attacking, but protecting. Obelisk's form stuck to the shadows, unable to tread into the blinding light that the fires cast. But Forin and Luna weren't so restricted.

Tasia clung to Nate, sobbing.

Luna swept in like a bolt of white lightening, rescuing Diana as quick as she could and leaving the weakened Luen to Forin. She pulled up the nails holding the girl down and scooped her into her arms, flying up towards the exit.

Zephyr leapt down, bellowing his challenge, and landed in front of Nate and Tasia, snarling at the Things. He turned and tore up the ground concealing Toro, gently picking him up by his collar and sitting him on his back. "Hold on tight with your arms," he said, then scooped up Nate and Tasia in his paws, along with poor little Spy, and leapt for the exit, wanting to make sure they were safe.

Zee appeared, frowning. "This chaos has gotten boring." He waved his hand, and the eternal flames began to recede. The Things attempted to attack him, but their claws just bounced off of him. He vanished again eventually, but by then, it was dark again, the flames closer to the surface world. And Obelisk stepped forward, hatred flooding off of him.

He emerged again with Lexi in his arms, both of them dripping in blood that (mostly) didn't belong to either of them. There hadn't been much of a fight. Obelisk had torn all of them up to the point where even if they did manage to somehow survive, they would merely die in seconds again.

Lexi sobbed into his arms, endlessly thanking him for saving her. The bony arms around her couldn't have felt better.

Luen screamed as teeth chomped down into the back of his neck, threatening to break his spine. The Thing crouching over him bit down harder, shaking the kirin back and forth violently until he went limp, blood dripping between the creature's jaws. The Thing pulled back for a moment, licking its lips, but it didn't take something into account as it moved it to feast on the kirin; something angry, dark, and best friends with the kirin being attacked.

Forin drew his weapon and with a flash of black steel, sliced through the Thing. The last of them. The monster screeched and turned to attack, but Forin was quick to bring his sword up to block. The clashing of blade and claw proceeded for about a minute before Forin realized there were two Things remaining, one of which had survived Obelisk's initial attack by hiding. Forin kept both of them away from his Kirin friend, determined to save Luen no matter what. Diana was safe, but Luen...

His weapon suddenly hummed loudly, signaling that Vorpal had woken, and the air was filled with the sound of shouting.

"What the HECK?! First off, I'm woken to master making-out with his girlfriend, which I immediately went back to sleep for, but THIS?! Master Forin, WHY can't you wake me before charging into something like this?! Don't you know that I work better awake?" Red flames suddenly licked down the blade, igniting it into blood-flames, which burned through the Things like a normal fire, but this one was demonic. The flames responded to Forin's thoughts; they burned only the Things and nothing else. The blood-flames leapt to his bidding, lighting anything he wished on fire.