The Forgotten Zodiac

Sylas frowned a bit. "I haven't seen him like that since...a couple of years ago, actually. I guess that means he's mad. But he's right...we've got to correct our wrongs." He carefully lowered himself onto Leo's back, making sure that he wasn't hurting his old friend before taking his weight off the ground and putting it on his friend. "Let's go, and quickly. We're running out of time."

Leo took off at once, bounding along smoothly. The massive black panther was hard to miss as he cantered down the streets of the town. Lerloches in animal form were always so much easier to distinguish from regular animals of their species simply for one reason; lerloches grew much, much bigger. Leo was no exception. He had lived a very long life, and was roughly horse-sized. Just a bit under.

He slowed as they approached the spot, glancing around warily.

Sylas held on tightly, narrowing his eyes as they approached.

"Psst," A voice hissed from somewhere. Under the bridge. Sylas urged Leo forward and peered over; there was a man there. No sign of Dark. "Hey there." The man grinned. "You gonna come down here so we can talk business?"

"No," Sylas frowned. "Where's the boy?"

"Not here. He's alive, though. Trust me. I have a job for you two, see..."

((FIXED)))

Leo snarled and bristled, saying "We're not interesting. What kind of sicko would kidnap a boy just to get things done? I'll tear you apart..." If not for Sylas sitting on his back, he would've jumped forward and tackled him right then and there. Even now, Sylas felt power surging through Leo's body, shifting and churning. Wind was forming, ready to pierce the man through.

"Drop your magic, stupid," The man chortled. "You think I can't sense that? Believe me...if you weren't interesting, I wouldn't have taken the boy in the first place. But I have a job for you to do. A very, very important job."

"Who's giving it?" Sylas demanded, frowning pointedly.

"Me. You don't need to know names."

"What do you want?"

"A certain set of gloves...gauntlets, I believe you call them. Artifacts of fairy magic. You're Sylas Krow; I know for a fact that you know where they are." The man grinned.

"I'm not giving them to you! Never!" Sylas snarled.

"Bah! If I wanted them, I'd take them myself. But...no. I want them...moved. Their destination is a place I can't really go. But you, on the other hand..." The man chuckled.

"Where, then?" Sylas frowned angrily.

"Amnairus. I read about it in a book...it's the perfect safe place for such a thing." The man nodded thoughtfully. "Out of the way, to say the least."

"Who says the Temple-- the place where it already is isn't safe?" Sylas frowned.

"It's not, okay? Trust me. And just do it, you idiot. Or that little boy of yours..." He dragged a finger across his neck, signaling that Dark would be killed. "You've got three days. Get it done, or that little kid will pay for your foolishness." He turned and walked off, humming a low tune.

Sylas sighed. "It's...not a hard task. And he's right, they really will be safer in Kaislun..."

((Aaaaand you can see how things are starting to come together.

The Lexicon, taken from Boko's mind and gotten rid of (so no one, not even Boko, knows about what the volcano has hidden inside it). The Temple of Stars, put on a demolish list. Sylas and Leo moving the artifacts so that when the Titan comes forth, (which will actually close the gate between Kaislun and this world, due to Resu and her 'safety operatives' that will block off the Eternal Garden altogether) he can't be stopped so easily.

Ohhhh, Snider...>w<

Oh, and he actually can't touch the gauntlets. Ancient magics forbid it; if any one being becomes too powerful...heh...

Das why Sylas and Leo have to move 'em.))

((Poooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop.))

"Fine," Leo snapped. "We'll do it. Keep your pantaloons on." He nudged Sylas' leg and turned, loping off with his friend still securely seated on his back. "Something's not right about this," he said. "Can't we just leave him?" At the look on Sylas' face, Leo said "Sorry, sorry, just wondering!" He shook his head, then said "It still stinks. Something just isn't right."

"I know, Leo...I've been thinking that since we started this little adventure." Sylas frowned unhappily, but he schook his head. "We've got no choice, though. We have to save little Dark...especially since Obelisk..." He shook his head unhappily. No choice in the matter, at all. "We can talk to Cyprus about getting us there and back."

Leo grunted his answer, heading steadily back towards Obelisk's house. "Except for one thing," he said. "Cyprus sort of left with Galai and the others. I've no idea where they are." He shook his head, saying "Maybe Zephyr can take us. He's still at Obelisk's house, with Airlia." He shrugged, saying "I'm not sure what else we can do."

"Right. We'll get Zephyr to take us. Makes sense." Sylas shrugged. "Surely he won't mind, if we explain himself...Firestorm is his brother, isn't he? Firestorm likes Dark. We can use that to help convince him, if he needs the extra push...and Airlia. Sweet little Airlia. Ha, she's a cutie, that one. Kinda makes me wish I had a daughter, too..."

"Yeah, right," Leo scoffed. "We don't need any more children. Trust me. Especially not us." He sauntered along until they got back to Obelisk's house, where they petitioned Zephyr to take them to where they needed to go. The king was hesitant at first, but he finally accepted at their insistance. After saying goodbye to the others, the dragon allowed the two up onto his back and took off.

Obelisk twitched in an odd manner. Werr...Werr was finally fading away. But Cyprus wasn't here...

Perhaps, Obelisk thought, he could use what Remor had learned. Perhaps...Obelisk concentrated and reached deep into himself, trying to find what Remor had used. Soul Manipulation was...tricky. Obelisk had done it before; wiping the memories and scars off of a set of souls in order to make Dark and Light. But that was memory removal and soul transfer. Not pushing souls out of himself and healing them...

---

Dmitry had paused for a break. Werr was lying on the ground, Welk next to him. Isslia was humming and braiding tall grasses together, her floppy ears perked as she happily worked. When she was done, she tied off the bunch and started working flowers into it. She then put it around Welk's neck, smiling. "There. For good luck." She smiled slightly, then blinked as she realized something. "W-Welk, look. His eyes are open." She pointed at Werr.

The human king wasn't moving. He was hardly breathing. But he was indeed breathing. Slowly blinking.

Alive.

Welk, who had been slowly deteriorating, jerked his head up and stared at the boy. He moved forward and leaned over him, staring intently down into his eyes. "Werr?" he creaked, his crimson eyes searching endlessly. "Werr..." His voice broke and he scooped Werr into his arms, beginning to sob very softly. He stroked the boy's hair, saying "He's back, he's back, thank the Goddess..." He nuzzled Werr gently, giving him a small shake. "Werr? Werr, I'm here. I'm alive, and you're alive, and Isslia is here, and so is Lexi..."

The black-haired girl moved over, tears leaking down her face. She took Werr's hand, searching for a sign of life in his eyes.

Werr's eyes finally started to focus. He first looked at Welk, then up at Lexi.

Then he sat bolt upright, gasping for air. "Oh, Goddess, what the--" He swallowed hard, looking at the green grass and the crystal-clear lake. "Are we...dead? Is this heaven or something?" He stared down at himself.

"No," Isslia shook her head, smiling a bit as she looped her second grass-braid around Werr's neck. "We're very much alive. It's a bit perplexing, but...we're alive."

Werr blinked, looking down at himself for a long moment before pulling Lexi close and kissing her firmly.

Lexi made a soft squealing sound around the kiss, sighing through her nose. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and closing her eyes, finally parting after a moment. Her cheeks were red and she was panting slightly, but she looked so overjoyed. "Oh, Werr...I love you," she murmured, kissing him again before nuzzling down against him, pressing her face against his neck and letting her tears fall.

Welk wasn't letting go. His arms were still firmly clasped around Werr's middle, and his tail was flicking crazedly behind him, and he was purring very loudly.

Werr leaned his head against hers, then switched sides and leaned into Welk's hug. "You silly half-cat...if you weren't dead, how could I be? Gosh...I feel dead, still..." He rubbed his chest. "I was...miserable. You all were dead, I was caught in a great, black, crushing expanse of some kind...I..." He trailed off, smiling a bit. "But it isn't so. I'm alive...we're all alive. R-right?" He looked around for the others, and started to look upset...

"We're all just a bit spread out right now," Welk said quickly. "But we're all alive, every single one of us. We all made it back. We're fine!" He purred, watching as Lexi gently began rubbing at Werr's chest, trying to make him feel better after his comment about still feeling dead. She slipped her slender hand neatly down the neck of his shirt, placing her hand flat against his skin at the center of his chest and generating a calming spell.

Cynyr padded over, having been sitting alone nearby, and wordlessly flopped down with his back against Werr's leg. Welk purred louder and smiled as the panther flicked his tail, wrapping it once around Werr's arm and brushing his skin gently before pulling it back.

Werr smiled at Lexi, then moved his leg to rub up against Cynyr. "Hey there," He smiled a bit, closing his eyes. Then he opened them again and looked at Welk. "What happened while I was out?"

"We had to take your body to the warcamps," Isslia murmured. "Otherwise, Alastor would have marched against the wrong people..."

"Oh...what happened from there?"

"Nothing much. We...took care of Izan. With him gone, control of Bulliete should go to Alastor..."

"We'll give it to Herrace. It's their land. The Peacekeepers have proven themselves to be nothing but honorary. They deserve the peace they've been working towards. I might actually get something similar working in Alastor...so the war is coming to an end?" Werr blinked. Isslia pointed, and he looked; in the distance, there was a pillar of black smoke rising into the clouds.

"They've been fighting since yesterday. Bulliete is putting up a fight, but from what we saw, Alastor is easily winning." She smiled a bit. "They're angry...they think their king is dead, after all. Killed by Bulliete's hands..."

Werr chuckled a bit. "Yeah...they do have a bit of a temper..."

When Werr put a hand on his back, the familiar scratchy, grinding purr starting up in Cynyr's throat. He rolled over, laying flat on his back, and rested his head on Werr's leg. One large paw came up, touching gently on Werr's knee.

Welk bent his head and nuzzled his brother, then said "Werr, I'm so glad...that you're back..." His jaw trembled and he pressed his face into the boy's chest, shivering. With his other arm, he pulled Isslia close, kissing her forehead.

"H-hey, don't cry..." Werr pulled Welk close. He touched his cheeks, frowning slightly. "I...thought I was crying, myself. I guess not..." He rubbed his hands together, then ran his fingers through Welk's hair, then Cynyr's fur. "I...I'm all numb. Why can't I feel you?" He frowned.

"Ah...so that's what I missed..." Obelisk's voice sighed heavily from the shadows underneath Dmitry. "I'm sorry, Werr. I messed up. I'm not Cyprus. He wasn't around to revive your soul completely, so I had to do what I could. I was lucky I managed to do anything at all, to be perfectly honest. But because of my shoddy job, your senses are starting to drop. I wouldn't worry, though. Cyprus can fix it easily. You're in no danger of dying, we just have to wait for that Demigod to get back."

"Right...but I'm alive still," Werr blinked.

"Yes. You are indeed alive, and that's not to change anytime soon."

"Good...thanks, Obelisk."

"You're quite welcome."

Welk tilted his head back, staring at the shadows for a moment before slowly standing. He walked over to the shadows and gently placed his hand in a patch on it. He stroked the dark grass, saying "Thanks, Obelisk. Your help...it...it means a lot to me..." He flicked his tail lightly, sighing, then stood up and gave the shadows a bow before scurrying back to Werr, latching onto him fiercely.

Cynyr, still laying on his back, began to gently lick Werr's fingers. He knew the boy couldn't feel it, but the gesture was still there. And the trust he held was evident as he nosed under Werr's hand, putting the boy's fingers right over his scarred face. The ripped, savaged spot where his nose used to be was a gaping hole in his face, but he hardly flinched as Werr's fingers gently brushed the spot.