The Forgotten Zodiac

The great dragon nodded once and then moved forward, searching through the thick white mist. Finally, he extended a wing and gave a soft flap, clearing away the mists.

Two figures were there, one of which was laying limply on the ground. The one that was not unconscious gave a cry as Naybrin cleared the mist, then turned and ran to hide behind a tree, not even daring to peek out. The other figure didn't move, wounded and unconsious.

Welk, once again in his own body, but with one major change. His blonde hair had returned and though his skin was pale, it had color again. The biggest difference Werr saw now was the large pair of blonde wings stretching out behind the half-cat, laying limp and bloody on the ground. Blood trickled from the half-cat's mouth as he lay there on his front, one hand curled under him while the other was extended forward.

Werr slid off at once, staggering over to where Welk was. "Welk, can you hear me? Welk?" He turned his friend over, resting his forehead against Welk's chest to check for a pulse and breathing. Luen approached, Forin with the knowledge that Welk wasn't dead. Yet he hadn't felt the death of Malice, either.

"Werr, we're not finished here," Forin said, turning his eyes on the human king, then back towards the tree. "Malice, are you really so cowardly that you hide now?"

There was a whimper from behind the tree, but nothing happened. Naybrin growled, then turned and lashed out with his tail, slicing the tree perfectly into pieces and watching as it fell away. But even the dragon king had to pause and stare at what was standing there.

It was a tiny six-year-old boy with a small pair of black horns jutting from either side of his head, standing there with tears pouring down his cheeks as his sniffled and whimpered and sobbed. He had dark black hair and solid white skin, just like before, but his eyes were a different color. His were a soft light purple, nearly white in color.

"A-are...you g-going to k-kill me?" he squeaked, sitting down in a small heap on the ground, slowly rubbing his tears away. More just kept coming, however, and they didn't seem like they were going to stop.

"Probably." Forin snorted. "Someone get Obelisk out here so he can explain what the heck just happened."

"How should I know?" Obelisk's voice came from the shadows. "Don't think I haven't been watching. Maybe Werr thought to turn Malice into something less dangerous? Perhaps the Goddess had a hand in this. I honestly have no idea."

"Great..." Forin sighed. Werr hadn't moved his forehead away from Welk's chest, comforted by the steady heartbeat and slow breathing.

The child burst into more tears than ever, saying "D-don't kill me! I-I don't even kn-know wh-who you a-are! I w-want to g-go h-home!" He sobbed into his hands, continuing to try and wipe away his tears.

Naybrin stared at the child for a moment, then brought his nose forward and bumped him gently, listening as the little boy cried all the harder. "It is Malice," the dragon reported. "But...he has no memories or powers anymore. It is as if he has been reborn into a human body."

"I-I w-want a h-hug..." the little boy whimpered, sniffling and hiccupping pitifully.

Naybrin chose not to say anything, looking up as Lexi trotted out, meaning to stay close to Obelisk. She looked up when she spotted Werr, breaking into a run and calling his name. She fell to her knees next to him, touching his shoulder gently.

Werr dragged himself upright, then leaned against Lexi, Welk's head still in his lap. He didn't look at Malice. He didn't want to. He wanted no part in what had become of the freak; he knew that he would have the wrong judgement on anything the now-child said, due to what had happened only minutes before.

"A hug? Of all things?" Obelisk frowned, crouching near the boy. "I don't see how this could have happened without the Goddess playing a part. She still looks upon you with mercy, boy..." He sighed, looking down. "Very well then, Cici. If you really want me to." He moved forward, picking up the child-Malice and pulling him into his bony arms. "What's your name, young one?"

The little boy sniffled, staying completely still in Obelisk's arms as he choked out "I-I-I...d-don't kn-know. I...I think...it's M-Malice? But...I-I don't know f-for sure..." He pressed his face into Obelisk's bandages, sobbing.

Lexi kissed Werr's cheek gently, then took her heal staff to Welk, trying to heal him as best as she could. Finally, he let out a soft moan, one wing giving a sharp twitch, then he opened his bright crimson eyes, blinking slowly.

"Welk?" Werr questioned, hanging over his dear friend, though still holding onto Lexi so as not to fall on top of the half-cat. "Welk...can you hear me? Are you...back?" He questioned, reaching a hand down and putting it on Welk's chest.

"It's alright," Obelisk said gently, looking up at the others, then around. Finally, he put Malice down again. Without even moving, his face still turned down at Malice, he spoke again. "Alright, Cici. Malice's threat has been removed. Remove me from this life already." There was dead silence for the longest moment, before a shimmering light emerged from Obelisk's chest.

"I'm sorry, Remor. I'm so very, very sorry." The tinkling voice of Cici said as it floated upwards, towards the heavens. She sounded rather upset. "I lied to you. I'll just...be going now..." And then she was gone, leaving Obelisk to stare after her.

((If this chapter ended right there, it would be epic. So I leave this long break in case such a thing is possible. xD))

You could have heard a glass break from a mile away. Obelisk just stood there, his mouth slightly open. When he finally did move, he sat down next to Malice, staring numbly at nothing at all. Finally, there was movement; one of Obelisk's bandages slid around and scooped up the Artifact, causing Werr to attempt to stand. He couldn't, of course, his legs having long since given up on movement. "Lexi, get that away from him," Werr pleaded with the girl, his voice fearful. Dreadfully fearful.

((Aww, poor Obelisk. I'm just going to let him have the Artifact, because Lexi knows he just wants to get into the new body, right? Tell me if that's absolutely not what I should do.))

Lexi blinked, tears dripping down her cheeks, then she held him a little closer and said "I trust him, Werr. Please trust me. Please..." She sniffled, cupping her hand over the one of Werr's on Welk's chest. The second touch caused Welk to blink again, then slowly try to sit up. He couldn't manage, far too weak to move, but he was able to focus on the boy sitting next to him. "Werr...?" he said weakly, lifting a hand and trying to comprehend the movement. "Am I...dead?"

"No, Welk." Werr smiled. "You did good. We're all alive...very, very much alive." He smiled, but it was obvious that he was still nervous about Obelisk. He could give it back to Malice, and Malice could remember who he was, and all of this would start all over again...but Obelisk wasn't moving still.

Finally, the Eternal being spoke. "Lexanna...I need you." He said softly.

Lexi looked scared for a moment, then she kissed Werr's cheek and said "I'll be back, okay? I love you." She stood, watching as Welk pushed upwards with everything he had and wrapped his arms around Werr's shoulders, hugging him weakly. Lexi then walked over to Obelisk, her expression melancholy. She knelt down next to him, noting silently that the little boy that was now Malice shied away from her, hiding behind Obelisk. "Obelisk?" she asked, moving closer and giving him a hug. "Oh Obelisk, I'm so sorry for you. I know how much you wanted that... I'm so sorry..." She gently kissed the top of his head, knowing her friend was upset.

Obelisk leaned into Lexi's hug, welcoming it fully. "She...lied. Cici lied to me..." He murmured, then suddenly pulled away. His voice trembled ever so slightly and his hands shook with anger, yet he still said, "But it's not worth...crying about. Lexi," He turned his face up to her, shoving the Gauntlet into her hand. "Please...use this on me. Destroy this wretched form of mine so that I may have my new body. It won't be hard, just destroy me where I stand. Get rid of this body, and I'll leave. Simple as one, two, three...heck, I'll even take Malice with me! You lot wouldn't treat him kindly anyways..."

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she said "I don't want you to leave... You're a good friend to me, Obelisk, and I love you." She hugged him again, then whispered "Always remember me, and I'll always remember you." She stood up and slid the Gauntlet onto her hand, pointing it to him. Nothing happened for a moment, and it seemed like she had lost her nerve. Then she slowly extended the powers, wincing in pain, her soft brown eyes fixed on the dear friend she had made in Obelisk.

"You have my word." Obelisk nodded once, watching with a twisted smile on his face as he literally fell apart. He was dissolving into dust; it was oddly painless. Obelisk regretted nothing. It was high time for this corpse to leave him. Before Remor's body emerged from shadows to take on Obelisk's soul, a curtain of darkness shielded them from the gaze of the others.

And as the last of Obelisk's old form faded into nothing, the new body, modeled perfectly off of what Remor once was, opened its eyes. He sat up, staring at his hands. Staring. Obelisk found it hard to adjust; he had eyes again. Working, physical eyes. He, however, chose to ignore that fact, and continued to use the shadows as his eyes. As usual. It was...more comfortable.

With his eyes closed again, Obelisk stood and stretched. He turned to Lexi. "Thank you...thank you, so much." He then looked down at Malice. "Dear boy," He said gently. "Would you like to come with me? The people behind this curtain will not treat you fairly. They'll want you dead, or worse. But with me...together, we can make a new life for ourselves. Go about our ways as far away from them as we can manage. Please...come with me." He offered his new hand, the smile on his face looking...normal.

Malice slowly stopped crying, staring up at Obelisk with a slightly awed look on his face. He looked at the hand being offered to him, thinking, then lifted his arms up in the typical 'pick me up' gesture. Once he was safely settled in Obelisk's arms, he fell asleep, feeling comforted and secure.

Lexi sat down, watching them quietly, then lowered her head and cried quietly into her hands.

She slowly stopping crying, wiping her tears away and wrapping her arms around him in return. "Alright," she whispered. "When I think of you, I will remember that you are happy now and I will be happy as well. And believe me, I won't ever stop thinking of you." She spied a bedraggled strand of his old bandages and bent, gently picking it up and tying the strip into her hair. She formed a neat, small bow in her hair, then hugged him again and said "It's never the end, Obelisk. There's always something to look forward to out there, no matter how dark it seems. I know you're probably upset with Cici, but...please, I only want you to be happy now." She reached a hand up and stroked Malice's little back, feeling how bony he was. He shifted a bit, the tip of one horn bumping Obelisk's chin lightly, and yawned softly, exhausted from the ordeal he had no memory of. From inside his tattered clothes, Lexi could see the X shaped scar in the center of his chest; where Welk had tore him out. The power had been so great that it scarred Malice's new form as well.

She exhaled, closing her eyes for a moment and feeling a soft, gentle breeze blow past her, then smiled and looked over to Werr, saying "Yes. He's gone. But I sense...that we'll see him again someday." She smiled to herself, then moved over as Welk slowly stood, his entire body shaking. He fell over, landing solidly on his back, and yelped out loud in pain. He just laid still after that, trying to breath properly.

That didn't stop him from pushing upright again and hugging Werr with everything he had in him. "I missed you," he said, closing his eyes tightly. "I mean, I know I was there with you and everything, but...I missed you..."

Werr couldn't even make the attempt. He pulled the Gauntlet off of his hand, revealing the sung red color of his hand. "Cynyr...where is Cynyr? He needs to know..."

"I believe Naybrin still has him." Forin said quietly. "I'm going back to collect Diana and the others. I'll let them know that victory is ours."

The realization of this hit Werr like the sweet scent of freshly baked cookies. It filled him with warmth inside and gave him great relief unlike any other. They had won. All the fighting, death, horrors, all of it was over. They were...well, done. And they all had done well.