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Post by YFWE on Dec 21, 2007 13:58:48 GMT -5
“Great, our group is dropping like flies,” noted Kay. “Wonder who’ll be next…” “Let’s try not to think about that right now,” Kate said. “We have to help Laura!” “But what about Raffi?” “That can wait, Shade!” Ash exclaimed. “It’s gonna have to. Now, where were you guys, Jay?” “The first room we were in,” answered Jay breathlessly. “Come on!” He led the way, the remainder of the group following behind intently. Upon entering the room, the found that Laura was exactly where Jay had left her—face up on the floor next to the table-bed, her eyes closed and her forehead and mouth bleeding. (She had collapse face first; Jay had turned her over to see if she was conscious.) “Oh my…,” Kay started. “Did you try to awaken her?” James asked Jay. Jay nodded. “Yeah, but she was completely out. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so I came to find you guys…” “Why is she not in her dragon form, though?” Ash asked aloud. “That happened when I turned her over,” replied Jay. “Maybe it was the trauma or injury that caused it…” Kate knelt down beside Laura, who was still unconscious despite the commotion. “Lord, if only I knew how to use these healing powers that I supposedly have…” Kay came forward, now also in her human form. “I had a napkin in my pocket,” she explained, showing it around. “It’s never been used before.” Kate took the napkin, and set it against Laura’s face, sweeping quickly to wipe off as much blood as possible. “The gashes don’t seem too deep, so I think she’s done bleeding for the most part. We really could use some water, though… it would help was the cuts and wake her up.” She was right in the sense that the bleeding had stopped, at least for the most part. But since there was no water around, they were unable at that moment to cleanse her abrasions rightfully. This made completing their mission even more vital—her wounds could quite possibly become infected if they did not act quickly. After a long silence—“Do you think we should try waking her up again?” suggested James. “Worth a try,” shrugged Kay. She (being the only conscious person in human form) laid her hands on Laura’s shoulders, and began to shake her lightly. “Laura, Laura..,” she said softly, “can you hear me?” Laura began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open, and she coughed a few times. Immediately, her hand went to her head. “Ohh… what on earth happened? Why am I bleeding?” “You passed out…,” said Jay, “and hit your head on the table and the floor. It was weird…” She sat up, propping herself up with her left arm while her right hand still assessed her injuries. “Is that what happened?” She stared around at her surrounding comrades. “So… where is the other boy? The one that was on the table?” This was followed by a prolonged silence. “Um… boy?” asked Ash, confused. “Laura, it was just you and me in here…,” Jay said. “There was no boy… there was no one else.” “But the two men in the white robes…” “White robes? Like the Reich?” questioned Shade. “Yeah!” Laura exclaimed. "So you saw them?” “Er… no,” replied Shade. “I saw nothing. Did anyone else?” The rest of the group shook their heads. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he continued. “There was no one else here, Laura. Maybe it’s something you imagined while you were passed out…” “No!” countered Laura defensively. “This all happened, and then I remember blacking out!” Visibly frustrated, she buried her face in her hands, not acknowledging the nearly-dried blood that then stuck on her hands. “I know it happened. I know what I saw…” Jay, his expression turning, crouched beside her and laid his claw on her shoulder as lightly as he could. “Laura, I’m sorry… maybe you should get back into your dragon form so we can continue…” Laura sighed and looked up at her boyfriend. “Fine,” she said shortly. She stood up, with a bit of help from Jay, righted herself, and turned to the group. “Alright, I’m good. Let’s go.” “Great,” nodded Shade. He lurched out of the room, obviously intent on searching for a new passageway, one that had gone unnoticed by their group. But he was not five feet from the door when Laura’s voice was heard once more. “Wait!” the girl exclaimed. This was all she said, although it was an exclamation of surprise and discovery, of something dawning on her that was all-important. Her hand was pointed toward the table—or rather, underneath it. “What now, Laura?” asked Jay. “Under there…,” she started, “there is a cabinet. One of the robed figures was getting in there. There were all these boxes inside, and syringes inside them. The robed figures used the syringe to give the boy a shot… or something like that, I guess.” “C’mon, Laura…” sighed Jay “Open it, then!” Laura said. “Open it, and see for yourself!” “I’ll do it,” said James. He fell onto his knees and gripped the cabinet handle. After a moment of slight hesitation, he pulled, and the door swung open. Everyone peered inside, not a sound reverberating in the room as they did so. James gasped. “Guys, look…” he whispered. He had reached inside and taken out a small box. “Open it…” Kate said anxiously. James did so, and inside, as Laura had predicted, was a glinting syringe, never before used. “Now do you believe me?” asked Laura, a smug smile painted onto her face. Everyone appeared stunned. What Laura had claimed was coming true!—or, at least, was strikingly accurate. But what she had claimed to have happened could not possibly have happened! Unless… “I wonder…” said Shade suddenly, “is it possible for a dragon to have more than one elemental power?” “What do you mean, Shade?” inquired Ash. “Well, I mean… suppose a dragon might have powers over both fire and electricity?” “It’s possible. Rare, but possible,” James said. “LaGuardia spoke about it in her third lecture. But why would it matter here?” Shade paused and swallowed. “Well,” he started again,” think about it. Laura has power over electricity—” “I do,” nodded Laura. “What would that have to do with fire, though?” “Nothing, necessarily,” Shade replied. “But the possibility is there!—a dragon, although it is rare, could possess two powers. “Now, here’s what I’m getting at—do you all recall the teaching of the ‘dragon elements’?” “Yeah, I do,” answered Kay. “It was in the same lecture. Basically, the elements that are in relation to a dragon’s abilities are not necessarily inclusive to the elements that most imagine. Like, for instance… there could be the ability of snow, or of shape-shifting, or psychic ability…” “Psychic ability. Right,” Shade said. “And while the details of a single person’s psychic ability can be wide-ranging, it could include levitating objects with the mind, or reading the minds of others, or perhaps seeing more than what is presented on the surface. Allowing one to discover what others wish to hide…”
(A/N: If anyone can tell me what movie/book that last line was an allusion to, you get a stale cookie.) “So… are you saying that Laura has some sort of psychic ability?” asked Jay. “It would appear so, wouldn’t it?” Shade answered. “Laura, was there anything that happened that might’ve triggered this vision you had?” “Well,” Laura replied thoughtfully, “yes, now that I think about it, there was! I had just laid my hand down on the table…” “So you touched the table?” “Yeah. And that’s when I saw the boy.” “That’s it, then!” exclaimed Shade. “What happened here in the past… the memory of it was so strong that it must have effectively attached itself to this room, and more specifically, this bed. This memory must have unlocked this ability, awakened it to yourself, allowing you to see what truly happened.” “So if the memory of an event occurring at a certain spot is powerful enough,” Laura said, “I could see it? I could find out what happened?” “Actually, perhaps it was the nature of this memory that awakened your ability,” James said. “It is possible that you could find out just about anything, even the slightest memories.” “Only if I touch something, an object?” “Only then, people included, I would imagine.” For a few moments, Laura was silent, apparently contemplating the extremities of the situation she was in. Finally, she said, simply, “Sounds cool, I guess. I just don’t want to use it that often—obviously, I passed out last time.” Shade nodded in agreement. “Yes, it probably would be for the best—use it only when you need it the most.” “But wouldn’t that be kind of unavoidable?” asked James. “I mean, she merely touched the table, and this happened. Ideally, she could touch just about anything and have it activated…” “Actually, I’m not completely sure about that,” Jay said. “When she touched the bed, she actually wanted to discover something. So really, I guess it gave to her what she was asking for. We’ll just have to see, I guess.” Ash yawned. “You know, this is pretty informative and all, but I think that the best thing to do now is continue our search… and have Laura avoid any physical contact with… well, anything.” “I’m fine with that!” Laura said suddenly. “I hate being the center of attention, yet I’ve played that part for the past five minutes. Enough is enough. I’ll just… try to cut off these abilities for the time being, you know? If you guys are correct, I can avoid it if I don’t think about it, right?” “Hypothetically, yes,” James said. “But yes, you’re right. We must continue…” And so, they did. The group left the room behind them, and pressed on, on towards the end of the hallway. It was here that they stopped, unable, it was obvious, to go further. They had checked all of the rooms. They had scrutinized every fiber of the hallway from whence they came. It was not a good sign, this—perhaps the place really had been a diversion, distracting them from their true target. But if this was the case, then what clue had they missed? Shade, who had been at the head of the group once more, sighed and turned to the rest of the group, which was now comprised of six other dragons, as Kay and Laura had revisited their dragon forms. “Well, what now?” he asked. “There’s nothing else here…” “Well, maybe we really did miss something back in the stairway,” Kay said. “D’you think we should go back there…?” “No,” said James. “Not yet. There’s one place we haven’t checked yet…” He looked over at the nearby ‘connector’ hallway, the one that connected the hallway they were at the end of and the hallway that was juxtaposed with the one they were in. “But there’s no doors there, James,” Ash observed. “It’s just an empty hallway…” “True, but wasn’t the warehouse on top of this whole place empty as well? Things are not always what they seem…”
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Post by YFWE on Dec 21, 2007 14:00:53 GMT -5
“Well, if there’s one thing that we do know,” said Jay, “it’s that if there is something hidden, like another room or door or stairway, it will be on the right side of the hallway, because else it would interfere with the rooms from the last hallway if it was on the left.” “Yeah, good call,” Shade said. “Everyone, keep to the right. Take in the wall and the floor. There has to be something here…” The connector hallway was not long, perhaps the length of a school bus. Thus, there was not much to search, yet still all seven were involved, and all seven lined up along the wall and on the floor, searching desperately, bemusedly, in hope that they had not been fooled by the Reich in this maze of a place. “I hate to say it, but it’s just like any other wall in this place,” Kate sighed, “which is bare and dull. How about the floor?” “Nothing either,” replied James shortly. “Um… well, I’m not sure if it’s much, but you guys might wanna come have a look at this,” piped up Laura. “It’s definitely an aberration from the norm, that’s for sure…” She was staring at her section of the wall, which was not exactly mid-hallway but nearly. Her gaze was fixed at an eye-level area of the wall. The others in the group crowded around her, as she pointed to the spot she was looking at. It was a symbol—small, yet noticeable. At a sideways glance, one might think it to be a smudge, no less, but there it was, upon further and closer observation—this symbol, this red symbol. Yes, it was a red symbol. And it had the shape of a flame—or, at least, that was the form that was most indicated. “It’s a flame…” Ash whispered, “isn’t it? Is that what it looks like to you guys?” “Yeah, it does,” said Kay. “I wonder why, though… what could it be for, if anything at all?” “Hmm…” James had set his hand on his chin as he eyed the peculiar symbol. “Maybe… it has something to do with the elements again. D’you think so?” “Oh, you mean, like… the symbol stands for fire, as in the elemental power of fire?” asked Ash. “Yeah,” he said, and then turned to her, “so, in that case, I have an idea. Do you think you could set a flame up against the symbol?” “Sure, I can do that,” replied Ash. The others cleared a path for her, and she walked up to a spot as near to the wall as she could. She held out a claw and produced a small orange flame on the tip of her index talon. She held the flame to the symbol, as close as she could without actually touching it. At this, the symbol brightened, until it was glowing radiantly. “Look…” Kay whispered. “What’s it doing?” “It’s activating something…” James said, “just like I thought it might. But… what?” Once the symbol was at its brightest, a white light appeared around it. The light then traced away from its origin, fleeting across the wall for a few feet, and then veering upwards. It continued to trace along the wall, until an obvious shape had been made—the outline of a door. The symbol expanded outward, becoming a doorknob. The white light then settled, and the outline filled in—and there, before them, was a wooden door, hidden in times prior, but now visible. “Well, this works,” Jay said. “And it’s convenient, too,” added Laura. “This has GOT to be the place to go…” Shade exclaimed. “Why else would they hide it?” He turned to the whole group. “Well, this is it. Are you guys ready to go in?” “Whenever you are,” said James. In response to this, Shade gripped the door handle tightly, unsure whether or not it would be locked. To his surprise, it turned easily. He opened the door, and stepped inside.
(end)
The initial thing Raffi noticed when she awoke was that she had reverted back into human form, which was probably to be expected, but still caught her by surprise nonetheless. Nothing on her body ached, either—a good sign. Her memory was slightly foggy, but she could still remember some small details from times prior—from her separation from the rest of the group to where she was now—wherever that was. She had, she supposed, fallen through a hole in the floor—like some sort of trap door. It was obviously large enough to admit her larger dragon form, yet it was small enough to not be noticeable when it turned—thus, she figured, no one had noticed it. If they had, they would already have found her. What had ensued was a flight down a particularly long chute, culminating with a drop into a bedded room, akin to one that might be found in an asylum. She had hit the floor rather hard, but it didn’t knock her out. So she had stood up and approached a nearby door, the way out, after gathering her thoughts. And then, then it happened—the last thing she remembered, actually. Upon touching the doorknob, she was administered some sort of electric shock—a safeguard, as one might infer, against a prisoner leaving. The shock coursed through her body, first a bit dull, but then growing in intensity as the duration of her holding on the knob increased. Finally, she blacked out, and it was all she had remembered before that point, when she awoke. She wasn’t in that padded room anymore, though. She was in a much different place, rather—one with stone walls, stone floors, but no ceiling—at least, not a ceiling that met the walls. She figured that there was a ceiling somewhere, but it was not visible—instead, there was a dense fog above her. Where this fog had come from, she did not know, but it was there nevertheless. She was laid out on a stone bed. It was in the center of the room she was in. The bed was not too high up, but more so than a normal bed might be in relation to the ground. There were four breaks in the stone walls around her, which apparently led off onto paths that went elsewhere. At each wall there were two separate poles, each with lightning bolts on top of them, giving off light onto the room. “What is this place?” Raffi asked aloud to no one in particular. “It’s like… some sort of maze.” She stared up again, at the fog blanketing the space above the walls and herself. “I wonder if I could fly up there and figure out what’s going on…” She concentrated and shifted into her dragon form. Shortly after, she leapt into the air and beat her wings once, readying herself for a rapid ascent into the air. This, however, was short-lived—for, at the exact moment that she reached a height that was the equivalent of the height of the walls, an unforeseen and powerful force field bounced her back to the ground. “Ugh…” she grunted. “No use. There’s no getting above it.” She sighed, and looked over at the nearest break in the walls. “Well, I guess that the best way to find out where I am is to play by the rules… and try to find the others. I have to try to find a way out of here.” And with that she walked off, knowing not where she was going or what to expect. She could merely guess, and what she guessed was that she was in a maze, a labyrinth, and whoever had put her there did not necessarily want her to get out…”
(end)
Once Shade had opened the door and had gone inside, he found that there was a slight descent, but after a few steps he would be in a more open room—or, at least, that was what it appeared as to him. He rushed down the steps, the others in tow, and they spilled out into a somewhat-open space, although it was not without its enclosing characteristics. “Where are we now?” asked Kay. They were standing at, it seemed, the foot of something much larger—although they could not see it clearly. Before them sat stone walls, with a small break in the center—an entrance of sorts. There was no visible ceiling, though—above them was a fog, one that seemed to cover the space over them for as long as they could see. “It’s some sort of maze…” James said. “Don’t you think? I can see other stone walls just barely over the ones right here… and they’re not all connected.” “But there’s no ceiling…” said Ash. “Wouldn’t that mean we could just fly over the place?—or at least fly up and map out the best directions to take?” “Check it if you want,” Jay said. “But somehow I don’t think the Reich would be that stupid to allow such a loophole.” Ash ignored these last words and flew up suddenly. She was promptly returned to the ground by a then-activated force field. “Ow…” she whined, rubbing her head. “That ain’t gonna work…” “Then we’ll just have to go through,” Shade said. “With the seven of us, it couldn’t be that hard… and maybe Raffi’s inside here, too!—looking for a way out as well. Maybe we’ll encounter her, and then we’ll all be together. Then, we can go find the captive dragons. That’s what has to be at the end of this…” “Well, we’ve got no other leads,” Kate said. “Let’s do this, then. Y’think we should split up, Shade?” “Yeah, of course! It would increase our odds of finding the exit, and if anyone finds anything, they can yell out and everyone can follow each others’ voices.” “Sounds good,” said Kay. “We ready?” “Yeah,” Shade replied. “C’mon, guys… this maze can’t be that big… let’s go.” And as they ventured towards the entrance, and into the labyrinth, one might feel slight pity towards Shade’s final, understating comment—for, if they could have risen above the stone walls and have seen what they were up against, they would’ve found that the stone walls went on for miles, and that there was no obvious exit anywhere—it seemed as if one could go in, but one could only come out the way they came. And maybe, just maybe, if they could’ve evaluated their surroundings, they would’ve viewed the various dark figures that stalked the corridors of the maze, waiting for an unaware passerby to fall into their clutches…
END CHAPTER
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Post by The Pantheon Dragon on Dec 21, 2007 17:39:27 GMT -5
Um,FINALLY XD Took'em a while to figure out it was a labyrinth (which I love(labyrinths that is) but anywho,hope to see an update from you soon.Though this easily quiches it for the time being.I'll be writing more soon as well.H&H's!
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Post by Chaos on Dec 21, 2007 18:41:07 GMT -5
THE GOLDEN COMPASS! That movie rocked. *steals stale cookie and throws it at enemies* It's like a frisbee. This chapter did seem filler-ish, but it was very suspensing and creepy. I don't like the whole Raffi being gone thing, for obvious reasons, so don't mind that. I think that if we get past this giant laberynth, we will be in a giant battle, or learn some history about the Reich. I'd LOVE to see that. And it was good to see some Fred Nerk stuff in there, very interesting. Kinda reminds me of some kind of brainwashing technique or possibly a way to turn them evil, a dragon-removal syrum, something along the lines of that. You chose the perfect time to update as well, claps for you! You're too good at building so much suspense, I want to rip your head off in all of the anticipation. I'm worried about Raffi, nothing bad better happen to her, or Shade will be all crazy or stuff. And that's all I have to say! Yep, semi-long reply. You're welcome.
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Post by charles finley. on Dec 21, 2007 20:23:59 GMT -5
coughfinallycough. XD
LONG CHAPTER. gsjklsgdljkdg. ;__; XD But long chapters are good!
OMG. FRED!! FRED!!! AHHH!!!! *dies* I love you for that Kevin. I freaking LOVE you. XD
Yes, a lot of mystery. But mystery = GOOD. Yeahhhhh. Awesome chapter, like always. Update soon!
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dreamcatcher
Young Warrior Dragon
._.[ss:American Dragon | Season 1]
Posts: 1,892
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Post by dreamcatcher on Dec 22, 2007 21:32:12 GMT -5
*reads waterbender's comment* OH OH THE GOLDEN COM-darn the cookie is taken >.<' ooooo.... poor Nerk 8( NO DUN GO INTO THE MAZE THING D8 AHHHHHHHHHH!!! awesome CHAPTER! 8DD UPDATE SOON!
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Post by ADJLFanatic on Jan 7, 2008 17:25:05 GMT -5
Yeah, yeah. I know that TDC has been updated while I was gone; you didn't need to tell me. But thanks anyway. I read it yesterday but had no chance to reply, so here comes my super late response. :] By the way, The Golden Compass was a killer wicked movie. And novel; I reread it before going to the theatres to watch it.
Anyway, this chapter was extremely suspenseful. The chapter didn't give me exactly everything that I wanted to find out about. But duh, I wouldn't know cos I'm not the one writing. ATN, on the other hand, is something that I do know more than any other person in the whole world. So that will be on the works in just a few minutes. I have to reply to Ewan's story, too, so after that, I'll do my SERIOUS major ATN updating thing since I seriously lost everything again after getting our computer fixed for the billionth time.
Um, getting side-tracked, so anyway. I know I already read ahead from the part where Laura gets her awesome psych-a-delic powers, but who says you can't enjoy that scene for the second time? You did leave me in suspense when you sent me what you had done, so you can be sure that I was seriously excited that you updated (well, you told me you were going to update the weekend before Christmas, but I mysteriously disappeared without a trace). But even now, you still manage to leave me (better yet, us) on the brink of... MORE SUSPENSE! There's so much I still want to know about, which is why I really wish you didn't end this chapter. HOW DO YOU DO THAT?
Anyway, I also liked how my part came along after there was the whole opening the door with fire thing. For some reason, that moment reminded me of Kingdom Hearts when Sora had to open some funky door in Traverse Town with Fire magic he got from Donald. So then they could go to Merlin's magical housey thing. XP But either way, I like how the Reich is SERIOUSLY pissing me off right now (and that's total irony). I mean, for the past two chapters (this and the last being), I've been wondering when the heck we'd ever run into anyone part of this seriously crazy, wacked up group.
All we've been pretty much doing is looking around and slowly picking up things that are coming from inside their so-called headquarters whatchamacallsit. BUT THAT'S OKAY! Cos even the greatest story plots (or um, EXCITING PARTS I'D EXPECT TO COME UP SOON) take some time to actually end up in the storyline itself, I guess. Bahaha. But that's just you, cos I just usually go wah-bam and go right to the interesting parts when I write my stories. Or, um... try. I'm bad at timing when it comes to writing, so pshh, you keep on going with yo thangity thang and pissing me off.
And um, yay. That is all I have to say. *scrolls up* I appreciate you a lot for making it all the way down here. :] And um, so I don't seem Mexican to you, CIAO! *shot by Ewan*
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Post by YFWE on Jan 7, 2008 19:09:51 GMT -5
As I said, I still don't understand how it's a filler, because a filler doesn't push the storyline along and doesn't contribute to the story overall, and of course this chapter does. This chapter's been like every other one, so I suppose every chapter's been a filler, eh? Is it because there's no action yet? xD No action doesn't mean filler.
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Post by YFWE on Jan 27, 2008 17:27:12 GMT -5
Firstly, a very happy birthday goes out to my Raffikins.
Second, a very happy early birthday goes out to the rest of you all.
And if anyone dares call this a filler, I will kill you.
The Dragon Chronicles Pt. 2- The Rescue Mission Ch. 4- The Labyrinth
“Is everyone okay with exploring the place by themselves, then?” was Shade’s initial query as he and his fellow dragons neared the entrance of the large labyrinth into which they would be venturing momentarily.
“Yeah, as long as at least someone can hear you, should something go wrong,” replied Kay. “I really think we should still stay somewhat close…”
“I still don’t see what could go wrong,” James said. “It’s a maze, for God’s sake… the only reason anyone’d need to yell is if they find the exit.”
“Let’s hope that’s all it comes to,” said Shade. They were right against the mouth of the labyrinth now, about to head in. Before them there was merely a long stretch of a path, the stone walls on either side of it. Strangely enough, there did not seem to be any other paths leading off from the main path—rather, it seemed to stretch to another wall. Of course, their current vantage point did not allow them to see much, but this was what they saw nevertheless. Without another word, Shade stepped forward, and the others followed. As if on cue, once the last dragon stepped inside the labyrinth’s boundaries, there came from the ground another massive stone wall. It rose quickly, until it was at the height of the rest of the labyrinth’s walls. It looked, afterward, as if there had never been an entrance present in prior times.
“Well, there goes our way out,” sighed Ash. “Guess the only way to go now is forward, eh?”
And it was, but still there was an aura of uneasiness brought upon by the closing of the entrance. It was more and more evident, it seemed, that the Reich had constructed some sort of fun house for anyone that dared to trespass on their grounds. And they surely were not having fun.
On they walked. The stone walls surrounding them almost seemed to be deteriorating, some sections covered in what looked to be moss. It was as if the place had been there for centuries, and upon finding it the Reich had made the area their base and had built around it. It made them wonder—if this was the sort of thing they were encountering, what else could there be?—or was this it, the climax of it all? It was unlikely, in that respect. They doubted that, should they make it out of the maze, the Reich would be laying on the ground in surrender already, with the captive dragons applauding gratefully. No, it wouldn’t be that simple. Ideally, this was merely the tip of the iceberg.
At about midway down the “entrance hallway,” as it seemed to be, there came a small gasp from the rear of the group—it had come from Kate. “Laura, what are you doing?” she asked slightly thereafter. “Why’d you go back to human form?”
This she had done—Laura now walked amongst them, a David among Goliaths. She simply shrugged in response, “It’s only a maze, right? It’s not like we need to fly, or fight… unless it’s each other, of course,” she added with a laugh.
Apparently, this was reason enough for all others to follow suit. Thus, in seconds, what had been six dragons and a teenaged girl now was a small group of teens instead. “Feels good to be out of that body,” Ash sighed happily, attaching a yawn to the end of her statement. “How long’s it been?”
“Since this morning, so a couple of hours,” Shade replied. “At least, I’d imagine… there’s no indication of time in this place—weird. I don’t see how the Reich could ever get anything done in this place.”
“Of course, having a huge labyrinth doesn’t help matters, I’m sure,” added James.
“Unless there was another path we missed,” said Jay. “But of course, there’s no way we can go back and look—gotta press on, now.”
They had reached the end of the path. And now, there were two paths leading off from either side. “Fork in the road,” muttered Kay. “Wonderful.”
“Time to split up, then,” said Shade. “Three head left, four head right. We can continue branching off from there.”
“I’ll head left!” Ash said. Jay and Laura followed.
“Guess it’s right for the rest of us,” Shade motioned to Kate, Kay, and James—they departed as well—and thus, the group was further broken down.
The group consisting of Ash, Laura, and Jay had not gone but a few paces when another split in the paths occurred—this time, however, there was one path that continued to lead straight ahead, while two others branched off to the left and right.
“Three paths, three of us,” Jay said. “I suppose it’s time to do some exploring solo. Chances are, all three paths will meet back together eventually, anyway…”
“Eventually, yes,” replied Ash. “Someone yell out if they find something, alright?” The other two nodded. With this, Ash continued down the central path, while Jay took the left; Laura, the right. “Good luck, Jay…” called Laura to her boyfriend. But he did not answer. He soon rounded a corner, out of her sight. And soon after, her path took a turn as well. They were alone.
Shade’s group was still together. In taking the path to the right, they had yet to come across one alternate path. “Some maze this is,” James commented. “I wonder if the others are in the same situation.”
“Probably,” replied Shade. “And somehow, I don’t think it’s going to stay this way. I can’t imagine the Reich making such a simple maze…”
Light continued to radiate from the central eight columns, the columns with the lightning bolts etched onto their surfaces. All but one of the group had yet to see it, but still, all knew that wherever this light was coming from, it must be from the center of the maze.
This one member of the group was actually walking in a direction that would soon have her in contact with Shade’s group, granted that the paths they both were on kept their current directions. Raffi did not know that her fellow dragons had entered the labyrinth, and nor did they know she was inside, but she knew that the exit to the place had to be somewhere away from where she had been, as she had initially awakened in the central chamber of the maze, and there were no helpful clues there—none, at least, that she could recognize.
But despite this lack of full knowledge, the lights shone on—as hope, as an indication that the group was still alive, and still searching—searching for an exit, or searching for one of their own, who was closer than they thought. And, unlike their future, the light remained constant, chronic, unchanging. It was this light that would keep their hopes alive. And they would need it.
(end)
Lao Shi wheeled out of the elevator, knowing not what to do next. His path was shrouded in uncertainty, but he did not feel at that point that he was threatened in any way. He was there to see Atticus Stevenson. Nothing more.
But, having never ventured into the basement of the academy, he did not know where Atticus’ exact location was. He looked ahead. There was a dimly-lit hallway, leading from where he sat. It was the only way he could go—that is, unless he turned and went back the way he came. This was not an option. He wanted to speak to Atticus before the children returned.
So on he went. He determined, as he went along, that the hallway was merely a hallway and nothing more—it was as if it was a connector hallway to another part of the academy’s basement, as there were no doors visible at first. But in time, he came to the end of the hallway, where he found two doors—one at the very end of the corridor, and another very near to the end, but off to the left. The left door was made of maple wood, but with no other indication of anything—like, for instance, what the door was for. The other door was slightly different—it was a white door, with a porthole window three-fourths of the way up. Through the window, Lao Shi could see a white ceiling, with white walls, also dimly lit. He imagined that this was the door to go through, as the other door seemed far less important—a closet, perhaps. Thus, his hand reached for the large doorknob on the white door.
But just as he did this, the wood door swung open, to his surprise. It was LaGuardia, one of Atticus’ female associates. She gazed at Lao Shi with a look of discontent, of wariness, and of annoyance. “May I help you, Mr. Shi?” she asked sternly, putting an overemphasis on the word ‘help.’
“I’ve come to see Atticus. Is he down here?”
“You know that you are not to be down here, Mr. Shi?” asked LaGuardia, completely ignoring his question. “This area is designated for academy personnel only…”
“But I am a teacher, aren’t I?”
“A temporary teacher. And quite a disposable one at that…” she said this last sentence rather darkly.
“Well, I apologize for having inconvenienced you,” said Lao Sho—pleasantly, so as to mask the growing discontent that was boiling inside him. “I merely wished to speak with Atticus…”
“This is such a pity,” LaGuardia sneered, “isn’t it, Mr. Shi? For unfortunately for you, Atticus stepped out an hour ago, and left me in charge.”
“Stepped out? I was not aware that Atticus ever left the academy! What did he leave for?”
“Disciplinary purposes,” replied LaGuardia, and it surprised Lao Shi that she had actually answered him. “With Falco.”
“Is Falco assisting in the discipline, or is he the one being disciplined?”
“I have told you enough, Mr. Shi. Be grateful for what you know—you’re not even supposed to be here!”
He paused. “Then is there a time that he will return?”
“Of course there is a time at which he will return!” snapped LaGuardia. “But you will not be around to greet him when that time comes. I will be sure to have him send for you later, when he is not busy. Am I clear?”
“As rain,” muttered Lao Shi. “Thank you for your assistance.”
“Do go back the way you came,” she replied shortly, and slammed the door quickly. Lao Shi wheeled around, and readied himself to venture back down the hallway from whence he came. But before doing so, he glanced aside at the white door once more. What was behind this door? Had it been mere coincidence that LaGuardia had opened the wood door just as he was about to enter whatever was beyond the other door? And what were Atticus and Falco doing outside the academy? He knew that, in some way, all these questions would be answered if he opened the white door. But he couldn’t—he could not risk another encounter with LaGuardia. And furthermore, she was right—it was not his place, being down there.
One thing was for sure, though—Atticus, Falco, LaGuardia, and everyone else at the academy were hiding something, and it had something to do with what was beyond the white door. He would need to consult with Atticus on this later. But for now, he would leave—after all, LaGuardia had said that he would send for him when Atticus got back, whenever that was. He could wait.
(end) (A/N: Another chance for a stale cookie, y’all—if you can tell me what title of a Weezer song was used during one of LaGuardia’s lines of dialogue)
Shade’s group had split up, much to the dismay of its members. As they had walked, the maze had become darker, and the moss covering the walls had become far more substantial—creating an effect far more eerie than it had been previously. And then, they had been presented with a new decision, for while the path they were on continued on and beyond, another path veered left—towards the center of the maze, likely. Given this newfound eeriness, the group was much more reluctant to part, but they did—Shade and Kay moving to the left, and Kate and James remaining on the same path.
“It’s so dark out here…” whispered Kate nervously. “And it keeps getting darker the longer we walk.’
“There’s gotta be a light towards the center,” James averred. “That’s what I think, at least. We must be on the outskirts of the maze.”
“You say it like it’s a good thing…”
“It is!” exclaimed James. “Think about it—the exit’s gotta be on the outskirts of the maze… I don’t think I’ve ever heard of any maze that deviated from that.”
“I guess. It’s just really creepy out here... I just wanna find the exit and get outta here…” Kate shivered.
However, the opposite was occurring on the new path, where Shade and Kay had ventured—it was, in fact, getting lighter. “Do you see that?” Shade asked Kay, pointing ahead of him. “Just over the wall…”
“No, I don’t—you’re just a bit taller than me. What is it?” replied Kay.
“I think it’s a light!—no, more of them! I see these columns, and the tops of them appear to be glowing. I’d guess that’s the center of the labyrinth, wouldn’t you?”
“Shh!”
Kay came to a halt, and so did Shade. She was holding him back, one arm in front of his waist, and the other raised, a finger pressed to her lips.
“Wh—”
“There’s something up ahead,” said Kay in a hushed whisper. “Around that corner.”
They looked up the continuing path. Just ahead, the path made a turn to the right. And Kay was right—there was something ahead. They heard the faintest of footsteps moving down the path in their direction—whatever it was, it would be around the corner in mere moments.
“Get ready,” Shade whispered, lowering Kay’s arm down to her side. “It couldn’t be any of the others—there’s no way any of them would’ve gotten to this point.”
“It could be someone from the Reich…” whispered back Kay, “a patroller, or something. Should we fight?”
“Yeah, we will,” said Shade definitively. “Here it comes…”
The shadow of the approaching ‘thing’ appeared, as the figure itself stepped around the corner…
(end)
Laura had reached the center of the labyrinth, in some way. Her path had been rather straight-forward—no alternate paths had appeared, and there had been only one turn before reaching her current spot. When the lit columns had come into view, she had moved more rapidly, in hope that she had discovered the exit of the maze. And, while she was disappointed when she realized where she was, she was not completely put off—rather, slightly amused.
“Wow…” she said, awestruck, “look at this place. And these columns—it’s so…”
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Post by YFWE on Jan 27, 2008 17:27:42 GMT -5
She was at a loss for that last word. She strode around the room, her eyes glancing at the columns, the walls, and the ceiling—which, despite the light, was still thick with fog and brought about an inability to see distantly. Her gaze then came to the stone bed. “Another bed,” she muttered, recalling the table-bed in the last series of rooms they had encountered before discovering the labyrinth. Yet, this bed was more enticing, intriguing—around the stone bed were jagged symbols-lightning bolts, much like the ones that were giving off light atop the columns. But the most interesting part of the bed was not in actuality a part of the platform itself… rather, it was atop the bed.
“It’s a pen…” she said, walking over to pick up the small blue object. “…it looks like one that Raffi had.” She paused, though, right as she was about to pick it up. “Maybe this thing has a memory attached to it, a clue as to who it belongs to…” She sighed. “As much as I don’t want to, I’ll have to try to read it… maybe, if I concentrate hard enough, I can keep from passing out.”
She paused for just a few more seconds, gulped, and then grasped the pen. The picture around her faded away once more, and then her vision returned, to show the room again—and with a girl atop the bed. She had been right—it was Raffi. And she was just waking up, as it appeared. As she sat up, Laura noticed that the pen slipped out of her pocket. Raffi looked around, leapt from the bed, and walked off, out of one of the spaces in the walls.
The vision ended as abruptly as it had begun. Laura’s eyes fluttered as she refocused. She hadn’t passed out—that was good. It must’ve been her determination on focusing on the vision she was getting, or it could’ve been that the vision had been so minimal that it hadn’t had an extreme effect on her.
“So, Raffi’s in the labyrinth somewhere…” she said thoughtfully. “And she’s left the room in that direction as well. I just wish I could know how long ago this had happened…” She turned toward the exit out of which Raffi had gone. “Guess I should go this way, then. And if I meet her, maybe I can contact the rest of the group—or, at least I could tell the others about this room. It seems to be the hub of all activity here…” And, with these words, she left, in pursuit of Raffi and of more answers to their questions—and ultimately, the exit of the maze.
(end)
Ash had reached what she gathered to be the edge of the maze, as her path split into two other paths going left and right. What puzzled her, however, was that she was alone—just a few paces back, there had been another path to the left, a path that Jay should’ve come out on. What had happened to him, and why had he not alerted the others if he was lost? She hadn’t expected Laura to be at the end of the path, but she gad expected Jay. And now, she stood alone, with a choice of two paths. She imagined that it would be best to go right, as Jay would have to be searching somewhere on the left. Frankly, the place had really begun to creep her out, and she wanted to find the exit as quickly as possible—and going right would be the fastest way to achieve this.
(end)
It was all working out, Jay’s plan—he had made it to the edge of the maze. But he had, up to that point, found nothing, no one—and this was slightly unsettling. Still, he knew it to be his duty to patrol this area, so he would remain.
But up ahead, something caught his attention—something that made him grin. He walked ahead, brimming with anticipation…
(end)
“Now!” Shade yelled.
At these words, he and Kay sprang forward, shifting into their dragon forms effortlessly. The figure had come completely around the corner, and it now witnessed two imposing dragons soaring in its direction. But the figure was not wholly intimidated. Its shape changed, and it rushed at its attackers thereafter.
But suddenly, Kay slowed. “Stop!” she called to Shade, who had a bit more trouble reacting and thus took longer to slow. The figure did not slow, and reached out a long blue claw, slashing at Shade’s face. Shade howled in pain, clutching at his face as a small amount of blood seeped through his talons. The figure halted quickly, spinning around and returning to Shade.
“Shade, are you alright?!” Kay exclaimed, rushing to his side.
“Do I look alright?!” growled Shade, his eyes squinted, his face still partially covered. “Why did you stop?”
“Because… it’s me, Shade,” came another voice.
Shade’s eyes snapped open. He spun around, taking his claws from his face as he looked to find the body that the voice belonged to. And there before him stood Raffi, in her dragon form, a look of embarrassment spread across her face.
“And… I’m sorry about your face.”
(end)
Ash did not see the red eyes immediately—she couldn’t have. They were behind her, and she hadn’t looked back since taking her new path—not necessarily the best move that could have been made, but a justifiable one nonetheless. She had been walking quickly, in anticipation of finding an exit, and yet the red eyes had not only kept up with her, but had actually gained distance on her.
And when she stopped, the eyes stopped, withdrawing into the shadows that the stone walls cast. Whatever the eyes belonged to was waiting for the most opportune moment—most likely when the red eyes were close enough to stare daggers into the back of the girl’s head… and when she turned around…
“Nothing,” growled Ash in disgust. “It feels like I’ve been walking for miles, and I’ve found nothing.” She sighed. “Maybe the exit’s not on this side… maybe I should try to find the others, and go from there…”
She stared up ahead. “Problem is, I don’t know where to go, exactly. Should I press on? Or should I go back the way I came? Maybe I could find Jay back there, and then we could find the others…”
The figure with the red eyes came closer, noting that the girl had not moved in quite a while—and seemed in no hurry to alter her idleness, for that matter. And Ash heard it—the patter of footsteps, but not of the two-legged variety—no, there was something walking behind her that was walking on four legs.
“Hello?” she said weakly, not wanting to turn around; hoping that it was one of her friends. But it couldn’t be—none of her friends walked around on all fours.
There was no answer to her question, not that she had expected one. Gulping noticeably, she turned, preparing herself for what she might face…
(end)
“It’s looking better…” discerned Kay. She was staring at Shade’s face, which had since stopped bleeding. However, there was still a large gash below his right eye, which ran all the way to the side of his cheek.
“It’s feeling a little better as well,” Shade added, wincing as he stood up from where he had been sitting, to evaluate his wound. “Maybe it’ll heal itself if I go back to human form…”
“I don’t know…” Kay said. “I got hit in the head one day at examinations, and still had a headache for three days afterward, even when I was in human form. So I doubt it—still, though, you should go back to human form now. We all have…”
“We…” Shade repeated, with a tone of bemusement. But then his face softened. “Oh!” he exclaimed, and leapt forward and shifted to human form in one swift movement. He spun to his left, and then to his right, at which point he found what—or, rather, who—he was looking for.
Raffi glanced at Shade with a look of discomfiture, the same look that she had had when she initially realized that she had accidentally hurt him. It hadn’t left her face since.
Shade walked over to her, his eyes not leaving hers. In moments he was directly in front of her, saying nothing.
“Hi…” Raffi said awkwardly.
Shade answered this with, once more, not a word—rather, a more silent show of his feelings. He threw his arms forward and around her, encompassing her in a tight embrace. With an exasperated sigh, Raffi returned the embrace, and Shade kissed her forehead lightly. “I’m so glad you’re okay…” said Shade exuberantly. “I thought I’d never find you!”
“Yeah…” Raffi nodded, her eyes perusing the ground before her.
Shade’s arms left her. He stared down at her. “Raffi… what’s wrong.”
Raffi shook her head, wincing. “You shouldn’t have come…”
“What?”
“Oh, Shade… it must be a trap—they laid me down here so that you could find me… and now you have.” “What do you mean?”
“They couldn’t have just captured me and set me down here if they had no ulterior motive. They wanted us to come down here. And they’ve succeeded.”
She paused. To this, Shade replied, “How do you figure this?”
“I’ve been thinking about it ever since I found myself down here. I knew that if you found me, they would only be getting what they wanted. Don’t you see, Shade? The Reich wants us ALL down here.”
“And we are… but we’re all spread out, now…”
“Then they’re going to kill us all,” Raffi stammered, looking into Shade’s eyes. “One by one.”
From the distance there came a piercing scream, one that caused the blood to run cold. It was followed by a roar, of something definitely not human.
Raffi gasped quietly, tears filling her eyes. Shade’s mouth was hung open slightly, looking from Raffi to the distant reaches of the labyrinth, where the scream had come from.
“G-guys…” stuttered Kay. “That was… Ash, wasn’t it?”
(end)
“Did you hear that?”
“Of course I did… sounded like a scream.”
James and Kate had stopped at these words, listening off into the distance. But this did not last long, as soon after, James began to walk once more.
“Wait!” Kate exclaimed, pulling at James’ arm. “It sounded like Ash. It sounded like she was in trouble!”
“Jay probably jumped out from the shadows or from behind a corner at her,” replied James. “Don’t worry about it. She’s fine.”
Kate fell silent, and stayed slightly behind James as they continued to walk. A few moments later, James sighed in annoyance. “Still nothing. I’m beginning to think that this maze has no exit.”
“No exit? Then what’s the point?”
“To keep us in,” said James quietly.
Kate gazed at him, trying to determine whether he was joking or was, in fact, remarkably serious. He glanced aside, his eyes wandering to the area behind him. His eyes widened.
“What is it?” asked Kate nervously.
“Get behind me,” he replied through gritted teeth.
Kate obeyed without a question, although there were many rotating in her mind. She poked her head around his right arm, trying to find what had caught James’ attention.
What appeared to be a shadow without a body was sliding among the right wall, in their direction. When it was about twenty feet away, it paused, and the shadow quite literally extracted itself from the wall—and in the process, gaining a new form. The shadow shifted and distorted, doing so until it had a noticeably-human shape. It then lightened, and other distinct qualities began to appear.
“Lord, no…” Kate whispered, witnessing the final product. James hands shook, his eyes not leaving the figure before him.
It was dressed in white from bottom to top, and its head was covered by a white hood. The Reich member crossed its arms, and laughed heartily. While they could not see its face, James and Kate knew that it was staring right at them—they could feel it.
“Greetings, my children,” said a dark male voice that came from the darkness under the white hood. “I am Marcus Feisley.”
“One of the Sovereign’s right-hand men,” whispered James.
“You know of me? Why, you would find me to be flattered, my children, if you could see my face…”
Feisley’s arms unfolded. “I do thank you for venturing down here yourselves… it made it so much easier to capture you. Then—had it not been for my ingenious scheme of capturing one of your own, you would never have been down here in the first place!”
“What do you want?” James snarled.
“Why, I want what is best for my people—something that, from what I hear, my colleague Mr. Harrelson is already carrying out with one of your most unfortunate friends.”
“And what’s that?”
“The extermination of our principal threat,” Feisley said darkly, “of course.”
END CHAPTER
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dreamcatcher
Young Warrior Dragon
._.[ss:American Dragon | Season 1]
Posts: 1,892
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Post by dreamcatcher on Jan 27, 2008 17:51:36 GMT -5
O.o.......OMG!! SUCH AN AWESOME CHAPTER!!! NOOOO AAAASSSHHHHH!!! D8 Poor Shade got hit by his girlfriend ouch XP I hate mazes! ARG THEY ARE SO HARD!!! UPDATE SOON!!!
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Post by Chaos on Jan 27, 2008 18:00:12 GMT -5
That was scary. o-o
Great chapter beyond words in my opinion, just so astonishing with the suspense and stuff. I should have know that it wasn't a real maze, it was a real maze... WITHOUT AN ENDING! So crazy.
And how sad of Raffi to hit me. Oh well, I probably could have healed it... maybe. Anyway, it was a great and amazing chapter, ANOTHER cliffhanger! Cliffhanger... now I need to work on CU because you made me want to do cliffhangers.
Anyway, in short, it was an amazing chapter that was definitely NOT a filler and I loved it. =D Continue soon.
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Post by charles finley. on Jan 28, 2008 0:54:11 GMT -5
Oh, I see how it is. Where's the love, Kevin!? XD
lolz @ Raffi hitting Shade. XD;
Suspense. Damn your cliffhanger.
You know what?
Update soon. lyk nao please.
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Post by ADJLFanatic on Jan 28, 2008 8:59:34 GMT -5
Aha! I knew something was amiss from the time you told me I'd reunite with the rest! xD And I was right... But even then, my character knows more than my actual self. Well, uh, duh. Hah... and you know what's funny? Ewan told me that you updated TDC the exact time I left to go hang with my friends for my birthday. Oh, and uh, thanks for that, by the way. x] I can always be 'your sevvie,' if it makes you happy.
Anyway, ahem... now THIS was what I've been waiting for; the excitement, the suspense, the craziness, THE INSANITY, and uh... part with the killing! Well, no, more like, eh, what's that word? You know what I mean. :] I've got admit, this is seriously the best chapter yet. It's not that nothing has happened, it's just that really, nothing THIS excited really happened yet. xD And now it has. AND from what you've also been telling me on AIM, there are even awesomer parts that we have yet to see. So, amen to that.
I also forgot to mention another thing; it's mysterious. Well, uh, that's kinda mixed in with suspense, but I'm talking about that Lao Shi part. And LaGuardia! No, I did NOT find that Weezer song. *steals stale cookie anyway* x] To be honest, I never truly thought they were an 'open arms' type of people and just tell completely everything from the start. Not that they'd even tell what lies within, but... yeah, a bit hard to explain. Let's just leave it to, I've known something has been conspicious about them that I just don't know about.
Well, uh, I don't think I'm getting through much. So, uh, let's finish this up. Okay, I already said the chapter, as a whole, was completely fantastic. And I feel about Shade. SORRY ABOUT YOUR FACE. x] The part when Ash gets, uh, I don't know exactly what it is yet (whether it's killed, knocked unconscious, kidnapped, etc.), but... WHEN SHE DID WHATEVER SHE GOT HERSELF INTO, it was just completely unexpected. I mean, I knew we'd run into the Reich eventually, but I didn't think it would happen THIS soon. And yay! (More like, uh, boo for them funky characters) We finally run into Marcus Feisley! The person who capturededed Jake Long! Well, uh, Kate and James saw him, presumably. But you know what I mean. :]
OKAY, well, I'm about to be late for the bus, so I'd better end this with "update soon," keep up with your thangity thang, and stay pretty. x] IS IT CAN BE HUGS TIEM NOW PLEES?
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Post by YFWE on Feb 12, 2008 19:14:16 GMT -5
The Dragon Chronicles Part 2: The Rescue Mission Chapter 5: The Reich’s Secret
She didn’t know exactly what it was that she was facing, but Ash believed it to be some kind of large wolf—one significantly larger than what she knew wolves to usually be. And then, of course, there were the red eyes—once more, not a normal characteristic of a common wolf. It was the red eyes that she had first viewed, and thus had caused her to scream in surprise—thereafter, she noticed the rest of the creature’s figure as it came into view.
The wolf had begun to growl menacingly shortly after, letting out the long roar that had followed Ash’s scream (it hadn’t howled, another way that this wolf differed from others). Its red glare pierced Ash’s eyes, and she felt powerless to move—even though she wanted to more than anything. The wolf inched closer, one step after the other, its tail wagging back and forth slowly and anticipatorily. And then, it jumped—
When she saw the wolf leap, the connection that had been present between Ash’s eyes and the wolf’s eyes were broken, and Ash quickly darted to her side—but not before one of the wolf’s extended claws nicked her right ankle. “Uhh!” grunted Ash, rolling onto the ground and propping herself up with her arms. At that moment, she wanted more than anything to address the wound she had just received, but she couldn’t—the wolf was back on the offensive.
The wolf lunged for her again, its dagger-like fangs bared and its front claws outstretched. But this time, Ash was ready—or, at least, as ready as she’d ever be. She dashed to the side again, sliding across the floor just as the wolf passed her. The wolf was unable to stop in time, and thus it smacked into the stone wall in front of it, dazing the wolf for a few moments. Ash recognized this as her best chance to catch a break in the action, and jumped to her feet. “I don’t appreciate you catching me off guard like that…” she said, trying to sound as confident and unwavering as possible. “Now it’s time for a little payback—courtesy of Lao Shi’s Soldiers.” At these words, Ash leapt forward, shifting into her dragon form quickly. With a singular beat of her wings, she rushed towards the wolf, which seemed to have recovered from its aforementioned daze. But it hadn’t any time to react, and Ash, her right shoulder lowered, slammed into the wolf forcefully. The wolf went sprawling—and Ash, to an extent, did as well. But to her surprise, the wolf recovered quickly, giving Ash a feral side glance as it cam to it feet.
Ash growled in frustration. “Still standing, eh? We’ll have to change that, won’t we?” She lunged once more, readying herself to send a ball of fire at the wolf, hoping that it would have a more adverse effect on her opponent.
But then, the wolf did something highly unexpected and extremely paradoxical. It leapt vertically, and then seemed to disappear—or, so Ash thought at first. “Where did it go?” she said aloud, spinning round and round in search of her enemy. “C’mon, show yourself!”
Ash was then knocked aback by some sort of unseen force. It slammed into her jaw, but she was able to stay on her feet, although the blow itself was still numbing. “Where are you?!” she exclaimed once she had regained her composure. There, of course, was no answer, but soon after this, Ash finally found the wolf—only it wasn’t a wolf anymore. It was small, and brown and white, with a beak and wings…
“An eagle?! What happened to the wolf?”
Then she realized it, although she didn’t have much time to really think fully. “You’re a shape shifter…” she whispered, and then dove out of the way as the eagle soared at her head. Once she got back up, she paused. “Kenneth Harrelson, one of the Reich’s leaders…”
But unfortunately for her, Ash hadn’t paid as much attention this time, and therefore when the eagle returned, she wasn’t prepared for defense. Talons first, it slashed at the back of Ash’s head, and Ash cried out awfully, clutching the back of her head to feel a few large gashes, all of which were oozing blood. Pain throbbed through her head, causing her to wince and drop to the ground, one arm propping herself up and the other still at the back of her head, trying in vain to cease her bleeding.
Her vision began to blur and darken. She looked up ahead of her, where she found the eagle to have landed (A/N: I crack myself up) about ten feet away. Suddenly, the eagle’s feathers began to recede, sucking up into her body. The eagle began to grow in size, its shape contorting and twisting into a new one. The beak softened, melting into its face, and its wings shriveled and reformed into slightly more familiar arms—those of a human.
The figure continued to fill out, taking a noticeably human shape. Through her failing vision, Ash could see that the figure seemed to be completely white—dressed in white, perhaps? Yes, that was it—fully white, from head to toe. There even appeared to be a white hood pulled over its head…
A wave of realization came over her soon after—she had been right, it had been the Reich. The figure began to walk toward her, and desperately she wanted to jump up and surprise it. But she couldn’t—the darkness overtaking her eyesight had become more abundant, and it felt as if all her strength was leaving her…
The Reich member known as Kenneth Harrelson knelt beside her, eying the dragon amusedly. “Sweet dreams,” he whispered sinisterly. But Ash never heard him.
(end)
“How did you know we were coming?” demanded James.
Marcus Feisley shrugged. “It was a hunch, I suppose. What—did you honestly believe that we wouldn’t expect someone to come and try to free our captives? Especially their fellow dragons?
Feisley took another step towards Kate and James. “But, of course, discovering that someone had decided to come through our front door assisted in our discovery as well. But, does it matter now?—you’re here, I’m here… now, tell me, what is there to do now?”
“Someone will come eventually,” Kate said defiantly. “Atticus Stevenson sent us, and he’s got even more powerful people with him! More powerful than you!”
Feisley laughed heartily. “Oh, Atticus Stevenson, that man is a joke. If only you children knew…”
“No, you’re wrong! Atticus is a good man!”
“Good man or not, he is still weak, and not without his faults. In fact, you would be better off coming to work for my leader, the Sovereign—I think you’d find a few similarities in their methods. Unfortunately for you, there are no current job openings…”
“We don’t need any job from you!” snapped James. “We’ll never abandon Atticus!”
“Then perhaps it is about time that I finish what I came to start,” Feisley said plainly. He took another few steps towards the two teens.
“Don’t you come any closer!” Kate cried.
“Or what?”
“Or we’ll fight!” growled James. Kate nodded in agreement.
Feisley reached up at his hood, and slowly pulled it down and around his neck. He had short, fiery red hair, spiked to the tips, and a face with a vilifying grin and deep blue eyes that appeared to have emotions of their own. “Now, that’s the silver lining I’ve been searching for!” he exclaimed brightly. “Not only an excuse to take off that damned hood, but… dare I say it, a challenge?”
“That’s right,” Kate announced in reply. “We’ve been trained by Lao Shi, one of the greatest dragons in the world!”
“Lao Shi? I thought we killed that bloke…”
“Lao Shi survived the Dark Dragon, the deadliest magical creature of all time. What makes you think that you would pose more of a threat?”
“Well, the common conception is that the blast created at the Isle of Draco was to kill about ninety-nine percent of all living things in its vicinity—a smaller number than normal, because of the great size of the area covered. I did know that there were a few survivors… I simply did not expect Lao Shi to be one of them.”
“You’d better believe it now!” exclaimed James. “What—are you scared of him?”
“Of Lao Shi? Young man, you do know how to make one laugh,” Feisley snickered. “No, I am not scared of Lao Shi. We will just have to finish him off next time around…”
“Next time around?”
“Oh dear, I’ve said too much—clumsy me,” said Feisley. “Don’t you worry about any of that, though—you shall not be among the living when that time does come.”
“That’s enough!” James yelled. In a swift motion, he shifted into his dragon form and soared wildly at Feisley’s idle figure. The man merely grinned, staring straight ahead, unwavering, as the black dragon at him. Kate looked on, not entirely ready to join in with the fight just yet. She saw James flying at Feisley, and in seconds it seemed as if they would collide… but instead, James halted quickly, having passed the spot where Feisly stood—or, at least, had stood.
“How rude of you!” Feisley’s voice came from behind James. “You didn’t even give me fair warning of our start!”
James whirled around, to behold Feisley, standing with his hands placed on his sides and a smug grin on his face. “But wait, perhaps I was wrong in my aforementioned statement. Tell me—is our combat to be turn-based?”
James lunged forward again, even more wildly than before. But once more, he was met with an empty space where Feisley had stood.
“My turn.”
Feisley had appeared behind James again—he was teleporting! “Look out, James!” Kate called quickly, but James had no time to react. Before he could turn around, he was flying involuntarily into the air, and then stopped, as if he was being held there by some invisible force—or, perhaps, magic.
Kate stared in shock at James, and then slowly averted her gaze to Feisley. Both of his arms were outstretched forward, and surging light radiated from the tips of his hands. “This’ll keep you from going out of turn again.”
Slowly, James’ body, which had now been rendered immovable by James himself, began to float toward Feisley. “You see, I have been called an assortment of dishonorable things in my life—and, as it might be said, for good reason—but I am a fair fighter nonetheless.”
“No, you’re not,” grimaced James, his mouth and eyes the only parts of his body he was able to move. “You’re crazy.”
“That’s nothing I haven’t heard before,” replied Feisley. “Now… shall we choose to await our turn before trying to attack next time?”
“No,” James said. “I say we have a free-for-all, no turns—unless that’s out of your nature.”
“A rules change?” asked Feisley. “Hm… I think I could acquiesce that.” He paused. “Then, in that case… let round one commence.” And with this, Feisley threw his arms out in front of him in a sideways motion, and James was hurled to his right, smashing into one of the stone walls and collapsed in a heap.
“No!” Kate blurted. She shifted into her dragon form on the spot, and sent a group of thick vines hurtling at Feisley’s figure. But Feisley, who had merely glanced at this unfolding occurrence, put up his right hand and produced an invisible force field, against which the vines smacked and writhed to the ground.
James blinked, trying to shrug off the daze that he had been put in by his impact against the wall. He stared up at Feisley, who was still standing in his exact-same spot, but was now eying Kate irately. “I was not aware that you were a part of this,” said Feisley. “But if you insist…”
In a split second, Feisley vanished, but reappeared moments later… right behind Kate’s unknowing figure.
“Kate!” James exclaimed as loud as he could. “Behind you!”
But Kate had no time to counter, as Feisley quickly threw an arm around her neck, holding her at her spot. “Had I not made it clear that this would be a moral conflict?” he whispered into her ear. “I am quite sure that I did. Now, what will we do about this…?”
“Please…” Kate cried, her eyes squinted in fear and her voice faltering.
“Perhaps…” whispered Feisley thoughtfully. “you shall be the first to join your friend in the afterlife.” From his robe, he produced a small dagger, which he soon held against her neck. A few drops of blood trickled from the spot where Feisley held the dagger. “And, oh yes, I am certain that Mr. Harrelson has already finished off your friend… Ashleigh, is it? He always gets his prey…”
He paused, and then whispered even more quietly, “As do I…”
(end)
“It came from this way; I’m certain of it!” exclaimed Kay, as she rounded a corner rather sharply. “C’mon, we gotta hurry!”
Shade and Raffi followed closely in tow. The trio had reacted to hearing Ash’s scream speedily, and had taken off in what Kay presumed to be the direction from whence the scream had come. But, with all of the twists and turns, she could’ve been wrong…
But she was right, they had to hurry—time was of the essence. A second wasted could prove fatal for Ash, or for any of the others.
Up ahead shone the bright columns at the center of the maze, a place where Kay and Shade had not yet been—but where Raffi, however, had been. “That’s the center of the place right up there!” she called out as they ran. “It’s where I started at. It’s like a hub—there are paths leading in all directions there.”
“Good,” replied Shade. “Then that can be a meeting place from now on, especially if we can get to Ash in time…”
And he left the last part of the sentence off, as he did not know, and nor did others, what had happened to Ash, what had caused her to scream. They couldn’t know if the situation she was in was deadly, or if it had been some sort of false alarm. They sure hoped it was the latter. But even so, they were in no position to make assumptions—they had to know for sure.
After rounding another corner, Kay found there to be a figure up ahead—could it be Ash? “Ash?” called Kay uncertainly as she continued to run. “Is that you?”
“No, it’s Laura!” called the figure back. Upon nearing it, Shade, Kay, and Raffi were able to determine that it was Laura, who had apparently been venturing in their direction. “I heard someone scream—it sounded like Ash. What’s going on?”
“We don’t know,” huffed Kay. “That’s where we’re headed…” She sprinted past Laura without the slightest hesitation, and thus Laura began to trot slowly after her. Soon, Shade and Raffi caught up to her. “Raffi!” Laura exclaimed. “I was just looking for you… I got a vision while in the central chamber that you were here, so I had come to look for you…”
“A vision?” asked Raffi curiously.
“I’ll explain later,” Shade replied shortly; then, turning to Laura, whispered, “I thought we said not to use that power anymore.”
“I was fine, Shade!” Laura said. “I saw Raffi’s pen, and I knew how much we needed to find her, so I just concentrated really hard and… I didn’t even pass out!”
“Still, let’s not make it a habit,” whispered Shade in return. “We can’t risk what happened last time.”
“Okay. D’you think you could slow Kay down? I know where Ash was last, or at least the general area, so I can get us there the easiest without getting lost, I think.”
“Yes, good point,” Shade said. Then, calling to Kay: “Slow down, Kay. Let Laura lead—she has a better idea of where she’s going.”
“Good, because I don’t,” said Kay with a sigh of relief. She dropped back, and Laura pulled out to a slight lead.
In moments, they were at the central chamber of the maze. Laura did not stop, however, so Kay and Shade were given only seconds to survey the room’s contents—the stone bed, the lightning bolt—inscribed towers…
It was about a minute later when the group reached the same long corridor that Jay, Laura, and Ash had split up in. “Ash went straight…” said Laura thoughtfully. “So she’s gotta be down around the corner somewhere… either to the left or to the right.”
They moved again. They neared the end of the corridor soon after, rushing out into the middle of the path that traversed their former path. They looked to the left… and found nothing. But of course, Laura thought, Jay would’ve gone that way; Ash wouldn’t have as well. But it made her wonder nevertheless—where was Jay during all this? Had he reacted quicker to Ash’s scream and was already on the scene? Hastily, they turned to the right… and off in the distance, there appeared to be a figure—maybe more. But it was dark, and the supposed figure was rather far way, so mere assumptions were the object of the game.
Without a word, the group began to run again—quicker, this time, for finally they had found something that might be of interest. As they ran, it did not become darker (luckily), and the figure did become more distinguishable. Suddenly, Shade, who had been out at the front of the group at that point, began to slow. The three others followed suit, although they did not know the reason for the hindrance of speed. Finally, Shade had come to a stop. They stared ahead—and found why, exactly, he had been so hesitant.
A white-robed humanoid figure was faced away from them, knelt down onto its knees. And now, given their close proximity, they could make out another figure—a dark-bluish dragon, sprawled out on the ground…
“Ash!” Kay cried out, unable to maintain the silence. She clasped her hands over her mouth agonizingly thereafter, horrified at what she had just done.
Slowly, the robed figure began to arise. It turned once it was at its full height, and although they could not see the face of the figure because of its large white hood, they knew now what it was…
“The Reich!” growled Shade.
There was a short silence that followed Shade’s statement, but then, the figure spoke in a low, dark tone: “I expect you’ve come to join your friend?”
“Step away from her!” Laura yelled. “You’re not going to hurt her—we won’t let you!”
“Hurt her? Well, I think you’re a bit late to prevent that, my dear,” replied the robed figure coldly. “For if you’ll notice, she appears to be slightly indisposed at the moment…”
Ash’s frame had not moved since they had reached the Reich member.
“I don’t care what you’ve done to her…” said Shade, “‘cause now, you’re gonna have to fight us…”
“Four against one, eh?” shot back the figure. “I do like a challenge, especially when, it seems, the odds are stacked against me.”
“Yeah, and you’ve got none of your Reich cronies to help you out!” Raffi taunted.
“You’re a smart one, aren’t you? Yes, you’re right, I am all alone. But you’re unaware of one aspect of my being… and a highly key facet, at that.”
“And that is…?”
“Patience, my dear…” said the Reich member.
“God, I’m tired of this!” Shade exclaimed. He rushed forward, shifted into his dragon form, and sped swiftly at his opponent. But to his surprise, the Reich member essentially disappeared in front of him, taking some sort of new form…
“He’s a shape shifter, Shade!” Raffi yelled, and then paused in thought. “Kenneth Harrelson!”
“Thanks, I think I’ve got that!” barked Shade as he spun around to find Harrelson, who had, as with his battle with Ash, taken the form of an eagle. But this was only for a few moments, as shortly after, Harrelson changed into a new form—a non-flying one, at that.
“He’s a bull now!” shouted Laura in warning. “Look out!”
Harrelson, now a bull, rushed at Shade, a mad gleam in its eyes. But Shade was ready, at least partially, and, using what strength he had, gripped the bull at the head, planting himself as firmly as he could on the ground. But still, the impact of the bull against his body caused Shade to skate backwards, although it was apparent that he had been able to disrupt some of Harrelson’s momentum.
“Guys, I could use some help over here!” yelled Shade through gritted teeth.
“He’s right!” Kay exclaimed, turning to Raffi and Laura. “There’s no way he can take all four of us!”
The others nodded in agreement, and together the three girls morphed into dragons and hurried in Shade’s aid. “Y’all wanna try a sideswipe?” Laura asked.
“A what?” asked Raffi timidly.
“Kay, you remember, right?”
“Do I?” smirked Kay.
“Raffi, just hang back,” announced Laura. “Leave this to us.”
Laura and Kay soared through the air, two abreast, in Harrelson and Shade’s direction. They separated slightly, so that the space between them was tantamount to the width of Harrelson’s bull form. When they were mere feet from the warring duo, Laura and Kay stuck out their claws—Laura, her right; Kay, her left. They flew past the bull, slashing their claws against Harrelson’s rough skin.
The bull roared in pain, its legs buckling underneath it. Laura and Kay kept their claws set against Harrelson all the way to his neck, at which point they peeled away, so as to avoid crashing into Shade’s stature.
Shade’s struggle against Harrelson was finally able to cease. He stepped back vaguely, surveying his debilitated enemy. “Laura! Kay!” ordered Shade. “Go tend to Ash; make sure she’s alright!” Then, he turned to Raffi. “Raffi, let’s finish him…”
Raffi nodded, although she was unsure what, exactly, Shade had in mind. Quickly, Shade grabbed the bull by the horns (A/N: Oh lolz there I go again…) and, his face clenched as he attempted to utilize as much vigor as possible, spun Harrelson around and tossed him into the air. “Kick it!” called Shade to Raffi as the bull came careening toward her. “We learned this in training one day, remember? Kick him back to me!”
Raffi did remember—it had been about halfway through their stay at the academy, and Lao Shi had worked with them on ‘volleys,’ wherein they would either kick or punch an airborne object back where it came from. Granted, Raffi knew that this would be rather hard to do, given the bull’s large mass, but it was worth a try. “Comin’ back at you, Shade!” she exclaimed, with a hint of indecisiveness in her voice, although not enough to be fully noticed. She flew into the air and, when Harrelson was in her vicinity, threw out her right leg in a kicking motion. And, although it moderately hurt her leg to do so, she was able to connect with the bull, and thus Harrelson was sent back in the opposite direction, although not as high as he had been.
This did not give Shade much time to react, but he had already planned out his course of action prior, so he was ready. He sent a long stream of ice at Harrelson, one wide enough to encompass his entire being. It took a few moments, but soon, Harrelson was covered from head to toe in a solid block of ice. Shade then moved swiftly, so as to avoid Harrelson’s incoming figure. And finally, Harrelson’s frame thudded against the ground, ice scattering all over, although the sheet of ice surrounding Harrelson was so thick that not all of the ice was broken, and thus he was still rendered immobile.
Raffi rushed to Shade’s side. “Amazing!” she exclaimed brightly, embracing him in a tight hug. “Was that your plan all along?”
“Yeah, actually,” replied Shade. “But I didn’t expect the ice to hold like it did. I figured it’d break on impact.”
“So… does that mean we’ve won?”
“Yeah… it looks like it,” nodded Shade.
(end)
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