The Forgotten Zodiac

Zex's new apparel was mostly black, and it did a good job of covering his wounds and scars. There were fingerless gloves that concealed the marred skin of his palms, and a mask that went over his mouth and nose to hide the nasty saw wound there. He no longer smelled of dirt, but instead of soap and fresh flowers, a scent that Valley had insisted he wear, in order to cover up the nasty scent of death.

"Is that my new playmate?" Ink tilted his head to the side, smiling a bit.

"My name is Zex." The younger male stepped forward and bowed low. "It is a great pleasure to meet you, Ink."

((-coughcoughTitanscan'tliecough-))

((Cool story.))

Riordan watched the interaction quietly from his place against the wall, then finally spoke, lifting his voice up to where it echoed neatly throughout the room.

"Are you planning on using my sibling against me? Are you going to turn him into some sort of...weapon for your own cause?"

When there was silence, he raised his voice slightly. "You know I'm speaking to you, Titan of Ages. Answer me now, or leave us completely."

Zex straightened and turned to look at Riordan. He took a step back, so not to be between the king and the Titan's vessel. Ink stared at Riordan for a long moment, then smiled. "You have my word that your older brother will be untouched by me. If my plans go well, I will leave him untouched in every aspect. If they do not go well...you can be rest assured that it is not my hand by which your brother is harmed. Nor would I turn him against you, O' king of the mountains. If he is to revolt against you, it would be your own actions that cause it. I personally would advise him against it. Your brother's mind is safe in my hands." He stood and stretched. "I am not an evil Titan. It is as I said it would be; I will work with you. I can make you great. But...you must accept this. If you do not, I will go elsewhere...and you and your people will perish. There is another prospective vessel I could take over...a king in the land of Alastor, his mind broken by grief. He would graciously accept the gifts I have to offer...would you prefer I take my power there?"

Riordan stared into Ink's face, knowing he was looking at Veros. When he spoke, it was with the first smile he had given in a long time. "No, I would be very grateful for your help, Titan of Ages. Forgive me for my behavior. I'm known for being overly-cautious. I just want what's best for my kingdom, something I imagine you can understand. But as I said, I would enjoy having your wit on our side. Our goal is a gleaming prize waiting to be taken, and with your help, I have no doubt that we'll acheive it."

Veros' smile looked as genuine as Riordan's. "But of course. Alastor itself will be naught but a...a nasty blemish on the land by the time I'm done. But to do that...we must be rid of Alastor's prized champions and defenders. Soon, they will be together again...we must strike before they do. King Werr is the priority, and I have a plan..."

Zex listened in silence as Veros explained. All in all, it was a good plan. And Zex has no doubt that it would work one way or another. The Titan seemed to have thought of everything; every loophole their targets could use, he had a way to stop it.

He wasn't sure whether to be impressed or frightened.

"There it is. Storaph." Forin swallowed hard. He would have liked to find some reinforcements, but it was too late for that. Dawn was hot on the horizon by the time Luen's hooves met the road leading up to the castle. The usual guards standing at the doors were gone; all of them were obviously distracted by the war being waged inside.

((Okay, you have to look at this icon on dA.

:icono3oplz:

It's so beautiful. -sniff-))

"Let's hurry. Be careful," Luen called, charging forward with his antlers bared, already forming defenses of ice to protect himself and his riders.

In the castle, the king of Storaph, Samuel Finnigan, was putting up a valliant fight. Despite his inexperiance and age (just around how old Cynyr was), he was a good king, and his strength showed in his fighting of the Things attacking. He sliced through them with expert skill, cleaving one in half while disarming two more. His dusty-blonde, slightly-curly hair was limp and soaked with sweat, and his red-maroon eyes were narrowed in determination.

((Okay. xD Also, I kinda want Sam to beat Diana up. 936))

One of Sam's guards was covering his flank, and it was evident that the fight had only started recently; reinforcements were just arriving, fighting their way through the ranks to help protect their king. Still, the number of armored bodies on the floor was well over twice that of the skinless bodies. "Luen, get a shield around Sam! Get him--" He was cut off when he witnessed what happened next; the Things shifted their ranks, forming a circle and pushing the guards back and away from Sam.

A small shape pushed her way through the swarm of Thing bodies. She was dressed in a frilly black dress (complete with gloves and stockings) that didn't suit her at all. She finally pushed herself free of the Striders, falling forward with a small sob. The guard at Sam's back ran forward at once, pulling her into his arms. What happened next was a surprise to the guard and Sam, but not to Forin. The young girl drew a short, gleaming black blade from seemingly nowhere. The guard fell in instants, his neck sliced clean open.

It was wrong, all wrong. Diana's usual gait had been replaced with a shuffling, hunched limp that told of nothing but fear and pain. And her eyes...her eyes were as black as night, so much so that it was impossible to tell where her pupils were without close examination. Impossible to tell where she was looking. But from the tilt of her head, it was easy to tell that her focus was trained solely on Samuel now. The tip of her sword, which barely fit into her small hands, dragged against the floor as she approached the few paces she could. "I'm sorry...I have to kill you now." She said, her voice barely audible over the din of fighting.

Forin slid off of Luen's back. "Luen, Luna, I want you to stop her. I have to go after Remor. Do...do whatever it takes." He turned and ran off down a side hallway, trying to ignore their cries of protest. He had to leave. They had to be the ones to stop her, because it could take hurting Diana. He couldn't watch that and linger by, even if it was for the best. Hurting Diana was an offense to his Guardian status; he couldn't even be in the same room. If he witnessed Luen hurting Diana, he would have to hurt Luen in return, and he couldn't do that. It was complicated, but...it was the reason Remor wasn't in the throne room. He wanted Forin to come. He wanted Forin away from the others. It was the only way it would work.

((p3p Forin will hate Sam for that.))

Luen bit his lip, his emerald eyes flashing from Diana to Forin, then he pushed at Luna and said "Take Luna with you! I...I can manage down here, Forin. I promise, I'll save Diana. But you should take Luna. She...she's your mate. You go together in ways me and Diana never will. Just...be careful." He pressed his nose gently to Forin's neck, then Luna's. With a flash of his white tail, he plunged into the fighting, his sharp antlers gleaming as he created ice armor along his flanks.

((Forin will understand. He already expects Luen to maybe have to hurt Diana, so. Sam needs to protect himself, or he gonna die.

Also, he had already run off, so make sure you erase the line, "He turned and ran off down a side hallway, trying to ignore their cries of protest." in your files, okay? :3 I like this better, so. xD))

"Let's go," Forin took Luna's hand and ran, struggling to not look back as he tore down a side hallway.

Diana turned her head ever so slightly, seeing Luen easily. She moved forward another pace, raising the sword over her small frame. She swung out viciously, with a strength that didn't belong to her, in a side-swipe that could have taken Samuel's arm off if he hadn't blocked in time.

((Oh. Then it's fine. xD

It is done. -bow- ))

The white kirin dodged a charging Thing, his gaze fixed worriedly on Diana as Sam was forced to defend himself. "Don't kill her!" the ice mage cried, catching the young man's attention. "Please!"

Sam jerked his head around to blink at the kirin, then nodded and lunged forward, sweeping his longsword across the ground, attempting to disable Diana's legs with a quick wound so she couldn't run from them.

((o3o))

A quick jump. Just like jumprope. Diana's feet rose above the blade, and slammed down on it. She immediately felt the blade digging into her feet, but the whole longsword was ripped from Samuel's hands. Poor Diana couldn't even advance one pace before a much larger shape charged at her. The conflict lasted about two seconds; Diana's sword ripped through the man's armor like it was paper, burying itself deep in his chest. He, however, managed to land a knife in her shoulder.

Diana tugged at the sword in the fallen guard's chest, finding it to be stuck fast. After a short moment of frustration, she lifted her hand and ripped the dagger from her shoulder with a small whimper of pain. But she was quick to advance on Samuel again, quite done playing around. She ran the few paces forward, stabbing her weapon towards the king.

Sam threw his arm in the way, taking the blade deeply into his skin, them clamped his other hand over the spot and gave a sharp jerk backwards, ripping the blade from her hands. As soon as he pulled the weapon free from his arm, he felt ice seep into the wound, holding it closed, courtesy of Luen. Wheeling about with the knife in hand, he threw it at Diana, his red-maroon eyes tracking her as she leapt clear. As soon as he saw the direction of where she was moving, he snatched up his sword and hurled it at the spot where she would land.

Diana saw the oncoming sword and attempted to avoid it by stepping back; it cut into her side, causing a wound that made her stagger and sink to her knees. She held her hands over the fresh cut, letting out a wail of pain. One of the guards moved in to catch her. His grip was like iron, and Diana let out a full scream as he jerked her up; he felt her arm break under his grip, her bones brittle due to malnourishment. Not to mention the fact that she had always been more fragile than most.

Well, that scream alerted the whole of the Things in the area. It immediately became clear that their new goal was to protect her; a Soulless Strider tore the guard away from her and threw him clear across the room; many of the Striders continued to fight, but a vast majority of them formed a protective huddle around the wounded girl.

Sam was unable to get in close again, but Luen charged the creatures, rage lending him strength. He leapt high over several Things, clearing them with inches to spare, and landed with a sharp clack on his forelegs. He galloped forward, ramming into several Things and sending them flying. "Diana!" he cried, dancing sideways quickly to avoid a rush of monsters. "Diana, why are you doing this?! What's he done to you?!"

Diana stared at Luen for a long moment, then let out a wail and crawled to the nearest Soulless Strider. It took her up in its arms, and she hugged it desperately, crying. Her tears only spurred on the throngs of Things. She didn't recognize Luen. It was as Forin guessed; Remor had utilized his soul manipulation abilities to destroy her memories of them. Tearing up the diary had only cemented the process, leaving no evidence of what things were before.

Luen reared onto his hind legs, squealing and pitching from side to side as he bounded around between Things, desperate to get to Diana yet not be hit. He flung his head from side to side, tossing monsters away, then shifted forms as to make a harder to hit target for a moment, though now it required greater dexterity to get away from them. His ice armor proved helpful here, and he twisted and turned, flipping backwards and forwards to escape from his attackers.

"Diana!" he cried, his voice full of pain. "We're your family, not those monsters! You're a bright, beautiful little girl, not something to be used like a weapon in war!"

"No, stay away from me!" Diana wailed, clamping her hand over one ear and pressing her other ear against the Soulless Strider's chest, not wanting to hear a thing out of his mouth. She continued to cry, her weak and frail sobs just the same as before--but obviously filled with pain and distress unlike any other.

Luen hesitated for only a moment, every fiber of his being wanting to run over, scoop her up, hold her close, and say reassuring things to her in order to soothe her and make her feel better.

It was in this brief moment of hesitation that he was injured.

A Thing raced in and lashed out at him, ripping sharp claws through his side. He let out a high-pitched squeal of pain, stumbling backwards with his hand pressed to the wound. With his mechanical one, he flung ice around himself, forcing his body to cope with the pain by sealing it with red-stained ice.

"That's quite enough," Remor's voice called. He entered the room, tugging a chain along after him. Seria, in cat form, was forced to step in after him. Caught in her jaws was Forin's arm; he was being dragged along beside her, the obvious victim of her attacks. From the looks of her, he hadn't tried to fight back, but Remor had a nice bruise on his face, along his upper cheek, and a gash in his side, where Forin had attacked. Luna was crawling along beside, clearly hurt as well, but much less than Forin. Vorpal was hanging above them, suspended by shadows and ready to plunge into Forin the moment he made the wrong move. So he was limp and accepted being dragged along.

"Diana...Samuel is not dead," Remor said quietly, his tone dangerous.

"I-I'm so-sorry..." She sobbed, trembling now.

"Hm. Well," Remor snorted. "As you can see, Luen...your Forin is defeated. Luna is defeated. Samuel, your entire guard force is ruined. The only reason you haven't been killed yet is because of Diana's crying; you haven't tried to advance on her, so you're not really seen as a threat to those Striders...oh well. I'll be rid of you myself."

Seria looked weak and disheveled, and tears dripped down her furry cheeks as she pulled the limp forms of her friends into the room. She limped heavily on a hind leg, and when Luen called her name, all she did was give a feeble "Meow," in his direction.

Luen gave a shudder, staring at the down forms of his friends in shock. His emerald gaze leapt between Forin, Luna and Diana. He wanted to save them all. But he was too weak, far too weak, to shoulder this on his own. If only he was stronger...

"Just let them go," he begged, wincing and clutching his wound. "Please...they're all I have left..."

Sam stood up from where he had fallen, panting heavily, then leapt at Remor from behind, enraged by the destruction and pain he saw around him. This evil fiend had to die, there was no way around it.

((Feel free to hurt Sam with that move or whatever. Not too bad, but if you wanted, to a point where he could die if he didn't get help soon.))