The Forgotten Zodiac

((What's with Diana? How old is she right now?))

Finally, once they were ready, they turned to Dmitry and Marion, who had come with them this far. They seemed hesitant to leave them, especially Dmitry. "My father and sister are staying here," he said, holding Marion's hand tightly. "They seem to have made up. But...I'm still pretty much shunned by all of Bulliete. There's nothing this land has for me." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, then said "Can we come with you? I'll gladly submit to your rule, Werr, if we can just make it to Alastor. This land isn't mine anymore. ...I don't want to be here."

((Right now, where we are in the RP, she's about 10. She'd be 12 then, but she hit a growth spurt.))

Werr smiled. "I would be a fool to deny your company, Dmitry. You are free to stay in my castle not as a subject, but a friend." He held out a hand to shake with the forsaken prince. "Or, if the castle is not for you, you can choose any town or city under my rule that you want to live in. Anywhere. I'll see to it that your needs are satisfied."

"That's very kind of you," Marion murmured. "But I think we want to lie low for a little while. Do you have any rural counties in Alastor?"

"Plenty." Werr chuckled.

((So she goes from a little girl to a woman/woman-sized at the age of 12?))

"That'll suit us just fine, then," Dmitry answered, grasping Werr's cool hand tightly in his warm one. "It'll be good to finally have a normal life." He smiled, snugging Marion close, then they mounted Naybrin and the king took off. He flew for a long time, then headed down to the surface of the water to swim on the surface for a while, needed to rest.

((No. xD Did I portray it as such? Didn't mean to. .3. I was tired last night. xD))

Nate...well, he wasn't too happy about that. Forin wound up blindfolding him to make him shut up. Poor Nate clung tightly onto Naybrin's back, muttering unhappily and...well, generally being absolutely terrified.

"You alright, Naybrin?" Werr frowned, feeling his friend's aches and pain. "You don't seem too well..."

((Yeah. But okay. xD))

"Yes, just getting old," the dragon puffed, snorting as he floated through the ocean, his long light blue tail swishing behind him. "Nate, stop hyperventallating. Even if you were to fall off, I wouldn't let you drown. Don't worry about it." He smiled at the dragonian, then suddenly grew still. He paused, just bobbing up and down in the water, peering into its dark depths.

Then he suddenly lunged forward, spreading his wings and trying to get skyborne as fast as he could as a huge dark shape barreled up from the water at them.

"Isslia!" he shouted, quickly grabbing her hands and pulling her up into his lap, curling her close as Naybrin slammed his wings against the water, finally lifting just in time to avoid the giant shape as it came ever closer, finally growing in size until it was bigger even than Naybrin in his largest size. Even if Zephyr, Naybrin and Mithor combined.

It looked like some sort of odd sea dragon, with a long, distended muzzle full of sharp teeth, all surrounded by slimy scales. It had black, beady, evil little eyes set back in its head, and as Naybrin frantically flew upwards, it sank back suddenly into the water.

A moment later, it leapt free from the water with a huge jump, and came crashing down on the dragon, plunging them into the water.

The ocean waters were cold and unforgiving. They crashed against the few members of the group who did not know how to swim, locking them under the violent waters. Carlyle was the first to emerge, swimming with an inhuman strength. He was dragging with him Nate, who had been lucky enough to avoid ingesting any water. The Dragonian immediately lifted into the air, gasping for breath. "Car-carly--" He blinked in alarm as the human dove back underwater without waiting for a word of thanks.

He emerged again, this time holding a coughing and hacking Diana. Forin found air a moment later. "Wha-what the heck WAS that?!" The Tartaran screeched loudly, glaring around before spotting Diana being pushed into Nate's arms. "Thank the Goddess..." He coughed up a bit of water, frowning at Carlyle. His brow furrowed, but he didn't have time to ask questions before Carlyle dove again.

It had been hard to notice before through the dark hair the soldier had, but the human...seemed to have gills. And the way he swam so quickly...there he was again, bringing a waterlogged Spy to the surface, dragging an unconscious Werr with him. "Carlyle! Get Luen, he can make us a platform of ice!" Forin shouted over the ocean's roar as he took Werr from Carlyle. The odd man dove yet again.

Indeed, he was no mere man. He was a form of Lerloch - or in his language, Nethini - that was aptly named Aquaticas. There were few well known types; they were almost as rare as Kirin, and preferred to stick to the water rather than land. Mermaids, creatures of legend, did actually exist. But they stuck to the water and avoided humans at all cost, for whatever reason. The most well known kind was the feral and barbaric Octi, which he had no affiliation with. Those canniballistic freaks could suffocate themselves on land, for all he cared.

Carlyle himself was merely a...well, a Manfish. There was no other name for it. The water washed away paint and makeup, revealing dark blue scales that covered his feet and hands, as well as his neck and cheeks. Most of his face was still the same, though. As he glared around the dark ocean waters, able to breathe just fine, he snarled and tore out the contacts he wore to disguise his ugly solid-black eyes (the salt was destroying them and making it hard to see). The dye in his hair was the only thing that didn't come off; his black hair was actually a pale green, like seaweed. He had ripped off his boots, showing the webbing between his toes. If one looked closely, they could see scars between each of his fingers, where he had carefully removed the same thing from his hands, so he could get away with living in Bulliete.

Hiding wasn't his priority, now. There were those here that couldn't swim, those that couldn't weave through the riptides and currents like he could. Some could have been knocked unconscious by the force of the attack, like Werr had. He had to do whatever he could to save whoever he could.

With a jolt of alarm, he spotted Zelana - not Luen, unfortunately - weighed down by waterlogged feathers and unable to swim. He darted forward and brought her to the surface, pausing to question her. "Are you okay? Are you alright?" He gurgled through the water in his throat, pushed in and out through the gills on his neck.

((PLOT TWIST. Carlyle the fishy man~ eue))

((Cooooooool. Zelana's Attracted-To Levels have increased.))

Zelana spat out a mouthful of water and gasped, staring at Carlyle for a long moment before replying with "Y-yes, I'm fine!" She was clutching Blossom to her chest with one arm, using the other to cling to the young man.

Suddenly, the water nearby churned and frothed, and a moment later, Cynyr exploded out of the water, flinging it everywhere. Seria was clinging to his waist, her expression shocked and concerned as she coughed. Luna was also there, hanging onto the panther's tail as he flew up over the water, finally locating them and flying over. "What happened?!" he spat, glancing around to count heads. His single eye widened, then he cried "There!" and pointed as the huge, dark shape moved up through the water again, circling them.

((x3))

"Where's Naybrin?!" Forin snarled, twisting about. "That thing could eat us alive!" He did a swift head-count. "Lexi, Luen, Isslia...there are still people under there, Carlyle!" He'd swim down himself, but he was supporting Werr at the moment.

"I'm on it," The Manfish dove once more, swimming furiously down. He paused for only a moment; it was very strange to hear singing that seemed to come from the water itself. It was an eerie sound, that told of imminent doom. Did the waters obey this monstrosity? Carlyle tried not to think about it, kicking harder to fuel his descent as he searched for his drowning companions.

He barely had time to get out of the way as Naybrin barreled up from the dark depths, releasing a strangled roar as he broke the surface, his wings hitting the water as he gasped and snarled and thrashed, clearly panicked. Even when the others called to him and tried to calm him, he just ignored them, snarling and hissing as he thrashed in the waves. Nate was reminded of the time when Zephyr had been hurt, resulting in him losing his sense of sanity and falling into a feral state of mind. From the lifeless look in Naybrin's eyes, the First King was also suffering from this.

Clinging to his scales, though, was Lexi, who was struggling to hang on as he thrashed in the water, too stricken to think properly enough to get airborne.

"Lexi, let-let go of him!" Forin yelled, struggling to stay afloat in the churning waters, caused by Naybrin himself. The waves pushed him back, and he screeched as he felt the scaly beast brush past his feet. The screaming started Werr into waking up--which only started more screaming. Werr was hurting just the same as Naybrin, but he didn't have a feral side. He just...screamed.

"This is fun, so much fun!" Standing above them on an invisible platform was Snider. He had Cyprus, who looked even more brutalized than before, holding the timid Demigod by the hair. Snider was grinning away. "That there...that is the great Titan Neathor. Ruler of the seven seas, creator of all sea life, maker of islands...and destructor of many a continent." Snider laughed away, jerking on Cyprus' hair, which resulted in a pained cry. Blood was starting to spread over the platform, dripping over the sides and into the water below.

"The Titans are dead!" Forin screeched.

"That's what they wanted you to think!" Snider laughed and laughed. "Do you really believe that pathetic fairy folk could destroy the forgers of the universe itself?! Preposterous! Laughable! Hilarious!" He grinned menacingly. "They merely captured their souls and destroyed whatever bodies they could. But there was one, OH there was one titan corpse that they could not destroy. Neathor! So what did they do? Buried him under the ocean and locked his soul in the Temple of Stars with all the others. But..." He purred. "The temple is broken now. Zephyr saw to that, in exchange for this one's," Another pull on Cyprus' hair. "Sanity. The only objects that could possibly reverse this damage are now locked tight in Kaislun. Sylas and Leo saw to that, in exhange for their beloved Dark.

"Oh! And let's not forget, Forin...you killed the last of the fairy folk's descendants."

"I did no such thing!" Forin hissed.

"Really? REALLY? Cute little Alexander, bent on the destruction of Bulliete, his mind corrupted by darkness and insanity? That little fairy boy could have harnessed ancient power to seal the Titans once more. BUT WAIT, HE'S DEAD NOW." Snider threw his head back and roared with laughter. "I used you all! If you hadn't come to Bulliete, this never would have happened. But here we are! Because of you, this world will be remade! I suppose I should thank you...but it'd be more fun to watch you die!"

Carlyle surfaced again, this time holding an unconscious Luen, who slowly stirred as Luna rested her hands against his cheeks, rousing him with her healing powers. As Lexi was finally thrown free of Naybrin, Luen woke and was able to use his powers to create floats of ice, which everyone climbed up onto.

Then a voice rang out, strong and powerful.

"There's just ONE problem with that!"

Welk lifted up into the air, holding Isslia tightly in his arms, his golden wings spread wide. "And that's the fact that we're not gonna die!" he shouted, flapping his long wings expertly as he swept overhead, carefully depositing Isslia onto the float and rising back up to face Snider.

Snider grinned. "But you are, Welky-poo. If not here, than somewhere else. EVERYTHING is going to die. You think Neathor will have mercy upon those who soil his realm?" Carlyle sobbed, trying to make Snider let go of his hair, but that had little use. He was beaten and broken, even his clothing torn and tattered. His eyes were red, and Welk could feel a drain on his magic energy; Snider felt nothing because while Cyprus was absorbing his life force, Snider was also taking it from Cyprus' pain. It was a null-and-void effect on him, really.

"Best keep your distance, Welky-poo. You could die if you stick too close to Cyprus here. He's not feeling too hot." Snider giggled, then jerked on Cyprus' hair again as the weaker Demigod moved suddenly. Chaos' son neglected to notice the thick, old looking book that Cyprus pushed over the edge of the platform, allowing it to drop.

"Catch it, Welk!" Cyprus wailed.

Welk flared his wings at once, arching downwards as his reflexes worked overtime. He curled his wings, spreading the tips widely, and snagged the book in his arms, racing into the sky. He turned several quick loops, then sped down to the ice float and depositing the book in Cynyr's arms. He flew towards Naybrin, then, waiting for his chance before diving in, landing on the dragon's nose and grabbing the edges of his flaring nostrils to hang on. "Snap out of it, Naybrin!" he shouted, kicking the dragon's thick scales. "You're hurting Werr! Enough is enough!" He freed one arm for a moment as Naybrin flung his head this way and that, trying to get him off, and formed a fireball, which he threw at Naybrin's ear. It scorched the tip, and the pain seemed enough to finally make the dragon stop thrashing about.

Werr finally stopped screaming and just clung to Forin, hyperventilating. Snider had stopped laughing, too. "That book...where did you get that?!" He roared, dragging Cyprus up to eye level. "Where WAS that?!"

"Ob...Obelisk...had it..." Cyprus moaned. There was no point in lying. Snider would know.

"Tch...that Obelisk, always foiling plans...meddling in affairs he's not supposed to go near...! Gah! Whatever. It's not like you can use it," Snider sneered. "Only the purest of hearts can even hope to grasp the power locked in that book." He watched as Carlyle emerged again, dragging up an unconscious Dmitry and a flustered Marion. "Ha, a useless attempt, little merman," Snider sneered. "Neathor will just knock you underwater again!" He laughed, then glared down at the dark shape circling the group. "Do it, you big oaf!"

The huge shape circled again, sending a low hum through the water that they knew was a growl, then it leapt high and came crashing down at Snider and Cyprus. It clearly still wasn't on Werr's side, but it was still smart enough not to like being made fun of.

Naybrin calmed further and shook his head, swimming over to deposit Welk on the shifting ice float. "I...I'm sorry..." he panted, lowering his head. "We...we should go now...quickly, before Neathor returns..."

Snider screamed his rage, but vanished, leaving Cyprus to drop from the platform. He hit the water with a splash, and didn't surface again. Carlyle wouldn't just let anyone drown, though; he was very quick to save the Demigod from the water's clutches, dragging him back to the others. "We need to get out of here, now!" The Manfish snapped, teeth bared in annoyance.

((So where does Welk's death come in at?))

A low rumble echoed up from the water, signaling that the huge monster was returning for another go. Welk jumped into the air, flying low and sending a stream of fire from his hands, creating steam against the surface. "Hey ugly! Come this way!" he called, and the huge shape followed, sending a growl up from the water.

The others quickly moved to Naybrin, who was trembling in the water, waiting patiently for them to get on his back.

((I honestly...don't really know. I don't know how we should go about killing this thing, either. xD I planned really poorly. But Only Lexi can use the book, so...I guess that means you get to be creative. o3o Neathor sushi, anyone? xD))

"Come on, you overpowered man," Carlyle gurgled as he pushed Cyprus onto Naybrin's back. "Let's go, we've gotta get out of here," He panted, turning to help the others on. When they were loaded up and everyone was on, Werr stammered, "Let's go, Naybrin! Fly!"