The Forgotten Zodiac

"They're behind us now," Manny frowned, puzzled. Where had the trail gone? It had suddenly just dropped...

"It's too dark to see," Sylas grumbled, not liking it one bit.

"Do you fear the dark?" Persha chortled.

"I fear not being able to see what's in front of me." Sylas retorted.

"Already you lack one eye, what's another?"

Sylas bit back a snappish reply, choosing to look down instead, not wanting to make an enemy here.

Eve began to walk in ever-widening circles, her frown growing deeper. "It is faint," she said. She glanced skyward. "If he flies... perhaps he went up," she mused.

"That's not good," Manny frowned.

"Ugh...that's the one thing we lack," Sylas sighed in frustration. "People with wings...how are we going to get up there?"

"Perhaps we can lure him?" Persha suggested.

"With what? It already has its next meal."

"Does it pause to consider this?"

"I don't think it will," Manny frowned. "It doesn't seem to bear any kind of logic...it's still quite young, so perhaps Persha has a point..."

Eve nodded. "I believe it will come, if we attract it. But, how to do so..." she gave the question some thought, then turned to the others.

"One of you needs to start bleeding," she said. "The scent should draw him in."

"...well, it's my fault," L'arc said, drawing out his sword and resting it lightly on his open left palm. Before anyone could protest, he sliced it open and clenced his fist around the wound, letting the blood from his hand drip onto the ground.

Sylas hit him over the back of the head with his open palm. "L'arc, you can't keep punishing yourself for this." He snatched the weapon from him and put the same cut on his own hand. "You're going to work to fix it. That's all the punishment you need, and that's all you're getting, got it?" He frowned stubbornly.

L'arc, irritated, mouthed Sylas' words in a un-kingly show of mocking. "I'm trying to make it better, Sylas. Deal with it, and give me back my sword," he said, pulling Lisben back with his good hand. "And you shouldn't have done that, your bow requires both hands, what are you going to do now?" he asked, the faintest tone of concern in his voice.

"I'll live." Sylas shrugged. "Making it better doesn't involve hurting yourself every time you get the chance. Honestly, L'arc...you make me mad sometimes." He smiled a bit, though.

"Oh gods..." Manny gasped, looking up. "E-Eve...he's...already here," He pointed up, though Eve could sense it. The Dark Matter had spread itself so thinly, it was as though he wasn't there. But since the blood had started flowing, it was slowly gathering itself back up, forming a black mist. From the ground, the clouds high above, the air around them. It was slowly bringing itself back together, into a shapeless mass of pure terror.

That they were currently inside of.

Sylas and L'arc were the first to feel the effects of oxygen starvation, the hungry Dark Matter targeting them for their spilt blood.

"Nngh," L'arc groaned, tightening his hold on his sword. "Looks like we attracted it," he said, looking around. "Now, how do we kill it?" he asked.

The air around Eve was clear as she grit her teeth, focusing on weakening the mass of Dark Matter. "Manny, step close to me," she said. "L'arc, Sylas, get over here now."

"It's...calling to me," Manny muttered, tilting his head slightly. Then he shook his head quickly, frowning as he stepped closer to Eve. "Mommy, he's trying to eat me! Wh-what kind of mindless monster is he?" He said, his voice filled with obvious fear.

Sylas drew his bow, but there was nothing to shoot, It was just slowly growing darker, the mist stinging his eyes. He stumbled towards where he remembered Manny and Eve being, bumping into the girl after a few staggered steps."A-ah...sorry," He panted. "Where's the girl? What about her?"

"She's somewhere in this mess. Probably asleep somewhere, without a clue about what's going on." Manny looked about, frowning. "What are we gonna do, mom?"

L'arc grabbed onto Persha and Verolen's arms, dragging them over to Eve. The girl was frowning, but she nodded.

"I can handle this," she assured. "Stay close to me, all of you," she added, making an arcing motion in the air with her hands as she pushed back the Dark Matter and searched for the missing girl.

"How are we to destroy this thing? I cannot allow it to continue terrorizing this land," Persha frowned, furious. "I will do no such thing!"

"Shut up and keep moving!" Verolen hissed. "You alright, Sylas?"

"Y-yeah, I think I...inhaled some of it," Sylas coughed, gasping for breath. Manny steadied him and hit him with an open palm, straight on the small of his back. Sylas coughed again, but this time, the Dark Matter poured out, forced out by Manny's hand and Eve's powers combined. No matter how the mass of Dark Matter outside tried, it just couldn't seem to get through. And whenever it did find a hole in Eve's powers, she was able to push it back easily.

Manny looked over at L'arc. "Need it too?" He offered, raising his hand.

"Probably," L'arc said, looking half-dazed as he followed after Eve. She was moving them gradually towards the edge of the mass; it was getting slightly brighter the further they walked. Eve kept her pace slow so that the others could easily keep up, and to keep her focus on getting them out.

The ground trembled beneath their feet unexpectedly, and a wall erupted from the ground in front of them. It quickly grew darker again, as the Dark Matter closed in overhead once more. "Eve," Manny frowned, upset. "I don't think it wants us to leave. Should I...should I absorb it?"

((Doing so will hurt him and probably set his learning skills back a few years due to the sub-consciousness the giant mass has already gained. In other words, he'd be like baby Dark Matter again, himself, though still confined to his current form.

You can accept that, or figure something else out. -shrug-))

Eve seemed to give it some thought, looking for another way out, but she nodded. "Yes, Manny, but not all of it. I'll tell you when it's down to manageable size," she instructed.

"Okay..." Manny walked a short distance away from Eve, holding his arms out. "You were pretty stupid for trying to eat me. I know you want more for yourself, but...I think I'm too much for you. That's okay, I'll...take you in, in...stead..." He said kindly, though his voice strained towards the end. Before long, Sylas could see the moon again, peeking out from the dark clouds that the Matter had formed. The twinkling stars greeted them not long after. The silver light bathed them, setting Sylas a little more at ease.

Eve watched Manny go sadly, holding her arms out to keep what was left back. Finally, she called "Manny, enough!" and made a sweeping motion with her arms. "Banishara," she whispered, causing the rest of the monster to dissolve away.

It dissapated quicker than it had come. Manny sank to his knees, clearly very tired already. He coughed and spat out a good amount, but Eve and Verolen both realized that he'd have to work with either dissapating the remaining excess, or merging it with himself. Both being tedious processes, and potentially harmful.

"Right...now that the...thing...is gone, let's find that girl." Sylas nodded, stowing his bow and starting forward again. "Spread out, guys, let's find her quick so we can get back to Tinyville."

Eve rushed over to Manny to aid him while the others looked for the girl. L'arc sent a worried glance their way, but merely continued the search with the others.

"Persha, what's her name?" he asked after a bit of searching.

Persha shook his head. "The tribe has not yet given her a name. She is only eight years of age. Next week was to be her naming ceremony. For now, she responds to 'filly'."

"Filly. Right." Sylas sighed, then started calling as they hurried along with their search. It took several long minutes and a good distance to cover, but finally, they heard a response to the calling.

"I'm here! I'm here, please help me!" She was in a hole, scrabbling desperately to get out, but she was too short to reach the upper edge. Sylas followed the voice and looked down at her, not surprised when she let out a yelp of alarm and reeled away from him. "P-please get me out of here, sir...I'm scared," She whimpered.

"Sure." Sylas nodded, looking back at the others. "I found her! She's over here!"

"Coming!" L'arc called, running over. He offered the little girl a reassuring smile, then swept his hand through the air, and vines grew down towards her. "Here, I'll help you," he said, lowering himself into the hole next to her and pulling the vines towards her. "Are you all right?" he asked.