Topic: Survival Instincts - Life on Marta

Lyndra

Date: 2009-04-04 12:48 EST
Survival is what drew Alex and Lyndra here.

A new facility on Marta was built. The building on the outside appeared like a small mansion, three stories high. Below the ground it dropped two basement levels.... then it dropped down for over two hundred feet down where it was nearly four times as large as its surface counter part. This part was spread out with two levels and nearly encompassed a large cavern. There were tunnels that would eventually lead to the surface not far from the main upper building. It opened up into a large cave that was naturally hidden within the landscape.

Alex had sensed the fear in the dragons of Exodii and it was almost overwhelming. It had overwhelmed Lyndra for a time after he first told her. It explained several things. He soon convinced Lyndra and she realized it too .... They were a dying species.

While Sha'uri had been slowly going insane, other dragons had approached Alex.. good and evil alike, although not all of the good and evil dragons came. The rest were too stubborn to even think anything was wrong and they certainly would never agree to breeding outside their own. It was one factor to the dwindling numbers. No one was certain about the other reasons they numbers were falling, though all had noticed a very low survival rate in the eggs that hatched. It is what prompted a few to approach Alex for aid in determining why and what could be done.

There were only a handful who approached Alex: one male black, a blue female, a green female ... one opal male, an amethyst female ... a platinum female, a bronze male and a copper female. The fact that they came together lent to the severity, moving both factions into a truce with one goal. Survival.

After several grueling debates, it was finally agreed that breeding was the only way for any of them to survive. That meant Alex and Lyndra too, which made six females and four males. This meant two females were free per batch to help in the care of the pregnant females and any hatchlings that might be around.

Alex saw the logic and soon convinced Lyndra to agree. Even they were a rare breed. Alex had convinced them all they needed each other to survive. Uncanny as it seemed, they all agreed. It was like they were all under some kind of peace spell, but there was no magic involved that could be detected. Perhaps some unseen force?

Together it was agreed, since no one knew what would happen in this, that they would each breed together once and remain together peacefully as a group until the youngest batch had learned to fly. By then personalities would have formed. Then from there they would evaluate the situation.

Lyndra

Date: 2009-04-04 12:56 EST
Lyndra lay in her dragon form, which she?d been careful to keep herself in, there with the other three females whose bellies were growing larger by the day. They had all gotten pregnant within a few weeks of breeding and they would soon begin to set the eggs into the incubation lines they had made up. The temperatures determined male and female, and the lines were set to create more females. One male could breed with several females at a time.

She patted her stomach with one taloned claw and smiled feeling sated. She could tell the others were feeling similarly. Though the first night of breeding had been awkward at first, even frightful. Once the process started it had been euphoric. She had kept that euphoric sensation ever since and so had the others. It was an amazing thing, one that the others had said was not like things had been before.. that somehow something was different, even better.

The choosing of the mates had been done in a more natural tone this first round. Lyndra had been mated with the Bronze. Alex took to the Blue. The Opal one found favor with the Copper. However, the most interesting icebreaker was that of the Black with the Platinum. They had been the first ones to breed. It started out as a verbal debate turned swiftly to a fight and nearly brewed into an actual physical altercation, though that quickly turned into a very intense mating scene between the two, who showed no care that they were right there infront of everyone. Lyndra was half embarassed yet...it felt so natural. It spurred the others to pair off and follow a similar friendlier cue.

Breeding took place in the lower cavern over a period of a couple of weeks until they were successful. There is where the pregnant females would stay. They were protected keenly there. The cave entrance had been fitted with force shields preventing both magical and physical entrance. The whole complex was protected as such, preventing unwanted entry. One would be hard pressed to bypass that security.

?I feel like I need to dump.? The Blue commented with a grin. ?Except out the other one.?

They all laughed, except the Platinum one. ?Are you craving grass or grass like substance? I?ve got this metal taste in my mouth I?m just dying to rub out.?

The blue nodded soberly.

?Oh! You two are going into labor!? the Amethyst clapped and quickly moved to prepare for the event. She at least was experienced in this.

Lyndra was amazed how everyone was getting along. It was like they had always been a family. ?Hey, how long did you have that taste in your mouth??

?Uh.. maybe a few days.? The Platinum replied.

The Blue nodded, ?More like four I think for me.?

?I just got it!? Lyndra exclaimed.

The Blue female sucked in her breath, this surprised expression on her draconic face. ?Oh no! Not? uh? uh?? She seemed to clinch with a contraction, held frozen with that odd look on her.

Forty seconds passed while everyone stared at her intently. Then she finally seemed to breath. ?Oh that was close.? She took the opportunity to head for the birthing area. The platinum one followed close. Soon the two were both set and dropping their eggs while the two helpers moved them in place.

Lyndra glanced to the Copper one. Soon it would be their turn. It all felt so right, as odd as that might've seemed. Part of that bothered her only because of her upbringing. The others seemed more relaxed with all of this, of course none of them were related to each other in any way. She wondered just how she would be when it came time for her and Alex to mate. It was something she knew she would have to talk to him about.

"Don't worry, Lyndra." the Copper replied, knowing what Lyndra was thinking. They all had been forming a bond of sorts. "I know.. and it's okay. It happens sometimes. My great grandfather mated with his mother. Dragons have been known to mate even with their siblings on occassion. It doesn't matter. We're not bound by other laws in this. It's just our way."

Even though the Copper tried to ease Lyndra's tension, which it did a little, she still remained reserved about it. She needed to talk to Alex...

AlexArrowny

Date: 2009-04-18 09:57 EST
Several months down the road, a second batch had been successfully hatched with most of them. Lyndra, however, was still working on laying the eggs of her second. It seemed the gestation for hers was longer and so while the others were already gearing up for a third mating session, Lyndra still had some time before she laid her second batch, let alone the incubation period before they hatched.

Alex could feel her sense of disappointment, even her feelings of inadequacy, which were totally unfounded as far as he was concerned. There was nothing wrong with her offspring, infact healthier then the rest had been. She was, for some reason, just slow to process them... perhaps for a good reason.

They'd been avoiding each other, but it was time they had a talk. He headed for her usual place, which was soaking in a hot spring pooled at the end of the cavern.

"Lyndra?"

Lyndra

Date: 2009-04-19 19:32 EST
His voice echoed slightly in the cavern chamber. She could already tell he wanted to talk. She'd been avoiding him as much as he was avoiding her. So she was surprised by the bold move to come now. She coudl sense his need, though and knew he was right. They needed to talk and now was the time.

"Over here, Alex." she splashed from behind a clump of stalagmites. It was a good spot, not too hot... and the rock formation in the water fit her perfectly to sit on. Her tail swished in the water contentedly.

AlexArrowny

Date: 2009-04-20 18:22 EST
Good, she seemed to be contented by the water, which was why Alex was being so bold right then. She was about as relaxed as she was going to be. So there he was. His form shifted into his dragon form and he slipped into the water, carefully moving so as not to shift her around too much as he slid into a position next to her. He regarded her carefully for a few moments.

"I can see why this is your favorite spot. It's the first time I've been in and I admit, this is really nice. How are you feeling?"

Lyndra

Date: 2009-04-22 15:53 EST
Lyndra lifted her head and focused on him more pointedly, eyes shifting slightly wider as he slid in next to her. At first, she felt .. embarassed, but that seemed to ease away quickly enough as he settled in beside her.

"I'm fine. It's very relaxing here, which I'm surprised to see ye here at all. Ye never relax." she chided lightly.

Alex grinned. He supposed he deserved that one. It was true, Alex had never taken a vacation in all his life. He was always working on something, doing something, planning something else. "True that. I'm trying to relax now. doesn't that count?"

That drew a chuckle from her. She nudged her snout just beneath his chin, a gesture of gentle playfulness.. and trust.

"Ah.. so she trusts me?" He was half teasing, yet serious.

She regarded him a moment, thinking about it. "Aye. Even though ye've got me here doing things I hadn't thought I'd do. Yes. Ye saw this coming, didn't ye."

He knew what she was referring to, his mother. "Yes I did, I felt it and had nightmares about it. Always a different circumstance but the insanity was there and the isolation. I knew we had to come here." His tones softed but filled with conviction, "Just like I know that you and I need to have children between us."

That wasn't the first time he'd said it, but it was the first time she realized how much he believed it. Still, she struggled. "I know, but..."

"If we don't, dragon kind will perish in this system. That's why, Lyndra. Ever since the Change, we've struggled to adapt. At least admit that much to yourself. I know I have."

Lyndra sighed. He was right. She needed to accept that as truth, and she did. He was trying to save them all.. including his mother. She found herself admiring him. It was wierd, but she finally had just found a good thing in her creation.. something good that had come from something evil, which Erique had originally intended her to be used for. Now though, Alex had given her a purpose, a real purpose though it was not without sacrifice. If he was willing, why couldn't she be?

Nodding, she nudged him under the chin again.

"Don't think for one moment this is being done without Love, Lyndra. You're my family. I need you now more then I've ever needed someone before. Please... understand." He gently placed his head atop hers, leaving himself totally vulnerable to her. "I'm not going to hold you down here. When it comes our turn, if you just can't find it in you to go through this, I won't force you. I will beg, but I won't force. It isn't about true love, or happily ever after... it's about loving each other enough to help each other survive, and continue on."

The beg part had a grin form gently on her draconic visage. But it did bring some comfort to her. "All right. Ye win. I'll stay, Alex. I should go to RhyDin some time, send a message to Bri. No.. I should go an give it myself. It's been too long he's probably not going 't forgive me. But I have to try at some point."

"Well if he doesn't, then let his pompus arse rot in Hell." He blinked rather surprised. Then he laughed. "Wow, I just sounded like my grandpa..Ha! ...er...great grandpa Woodshadow. Heh. I miss that old koot."

"I wished I had a chance to meet him. Ye and Sha'uri .." she bit her tongue. "Sorry.. just... I can't wrap my head around her, or what's going on with her. Any time I try, it hurts."

"Neither can I. I just know we're in danger from her. Maybe I should've killed her instead." Yet even he was unsure how to do that himself... or even if he could bring himself to do that.

"We'll work it out. Someway, we'll work it out even if we have to do it all on our own." Although it was a good attempt to assure him, she herself was not so sure how to do that either.

Alex nuzzled her reassuringly, and then again with a more loving touch. In that respect, he was like his real father... had a way with that gentle persuation. He often thought of him and what he was like. His mother always said he was that.. gentle, honorable, loving... so where was he now? Alex didn't even know what he was. He nudged Lyndra again one more time. "I have to leave now. You know, I keep sensing a darkness growing at the Citadel. If she gets out..."

Alex didn't have to say anything more. Lyndra knew. All hell would break loose. They only hoped it wouldn't be before they had at least gotten through this next batch. Even then, it would be some time, hopefully, before they were discovered here. Still, Alex wasn't taking chances... he'd already set up a portal to another place. He was sure that Knite wouldn't mind.... Lyndra was sure of that.

It had been some time since she'd seen Knite and wondered if he had moved his home there. She hadn't been there, but Alex had and explored the place with Knite. It sounded like a Dragon's paradise...

Lyndra watched Alex leave. From that point on, she felt better about the situation. It wasn't so wrong to do this to survive. Sometimes it was needed and she would have to be willing to sacrifice a little personal comfort. It wouldn't be so bad, would it? She watched him go and couldn't help thinking, nae ... it won't be so bad. At least he's got a nice sway in his backside... a little skinny but nice movement. Grin.

Several minutes later, she became aware of a disturbance... distant but nevertheless disturbing. She got out of the water and moved to her belongings. Sure enough, the Academy pin was doing some strange things. And she could feel it even more keenly when the item came into contact with her. Something was wrong there. It would not bode well for her either, especially if she didn't try to do something.

Her trip to RhyDin was not going to wait. Shifting her form, she got dressed and headed for.. well... there was no portal there. All the others there gave her incredulous looks that she was going anywhere and pregnant... with the Black's no less. He was not happy, but one look to him kept his mouth shut. Not even he would risk battle at a time like this.

"Teleport." Yes, she teleported herself and soon arrived in RhyDin .... At the Ravensheart Academy.

Lyndra

Date: 2009-04-22 17:39 EST
She wasn't gone but maybe twenty minutes tops. The confusion boiled in her... not just for what happened at the Academy, but for what was going on here. As she stepped back into their stronghold on Marta, she collapsed to her knees and held her head, crying. Even here, she could feel it that darkness and evil as Sha'uri sucked those souls out of existance. Lyndra didn't understand that this is what it was, but she felt that painful confusing effect it had on her. It was probably a good thing she wasn't on Exodii..

She shifted into her dragon form as the others surrounded her. None of them understood what she felt, didn't understand why. All they knew was that she went into RhyDin. The Black spoke his mind. "You're not going back there, not while you have my offspring in your womb."

"Agreed." she said no more and became oddly quiet. It wouldn't be that long before the eggs were out of her anyway.... she beginning to get that taste in her mouth again.

Lyndra

Date: 2009-06-06 16:14 EST
None of them had ever seen any dragon deliver eggs so quickly, or so many. It took them all to help. Even Voec, the black, stepped in to help and in fact was the first one to do so. Perhaps Alex would've if he had been there. As it was, he was gone to Exodii City.. and still hadn't come back....

"You should eat." Voec told Lyndra as he dragged a fresh kill for her and set it near the water's edge. He looked at her expectantly.

She lifted her head, trying to have interest, but the interest was gone. She couldn't have been more depressed. She set her head back down on the edge and wallowed into the warm murky water. She gave a sharp snort to clear water from her nose. "I'm not hungry."

"I don't know why not. I've never seen a batch with so many before. You should be starving!" Voec was only trying to cheer her up after he all but bit her head off earlier. He actually regretted it, which was a new thing for him. Gently he got into the water and laid down beside her. "I"m... sorry, Lyndra. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"Ye had every right, Voec. Ye were just concerned is all. Ye didn't know wha' was goin on, an neither did I. It was stupid of me to go there. I should've asked Alex 't deal with it."

"That's not all is it.." he stated.

"No. Sha'uri ... she.." Lyndra found it hard to describe.

"We sensed your distress. What was she doing?" he prompted.

"I don't know. It hurt.. it felt wrong... I don't know how else to describe it but it wasn't a physical thing. T'was a spiritual breach.." The memory caused her to lean to him, nuzzle closer as if seeking protection just from the very memory.

"Shh...Don't think about it anymore. Our children are safe, you're safe. I'm proud of you." He consoled her and asked no more.

Lyndra

Date: 2009-06-07 22:15 EST
Safe. Such an easy word to say. Yet so difficult to uphold. Even in one's own domain. One could never truly be safe... such an easy illusion to believe, to lie to yourself with. Some things just weren't always the way you'd expect.

There she was laying next to and seeking solace in the embrace of a Black Dragon... a creature she rivaled not a year ago ... and he was giving it to her. His neck laid protectively over her and his snout nuzzled gently to the underside of her chin.She closed her eyes and allowed herself to be comforted, to feel secure and.. yes... safe. She even felt loved.

"My scales are getting pruned. Are you awake?"

Her eyes opened at the sound of his voice genlty prompting her. She soon realized she had fallen asleep, laying there with him for over an hour. He got her to shift to humanoid form while he did the same, picking her up in his arms as they did so. Voec carried her out of the water and to a special room Lyndra had made to accomodate her in this form. It was complete with a very large bed. He laid her down and crawled in to lay like spoons with her, and the two went back to sleep.

Yet her dreams turned to nightmares, tainting her slumber. She had visions of Bri dead, of Sha'uri embracing evil .... and a part of Sharilis that was supposed to be in Kadorasil. She watched as D'Shara was destroyed swiftly and without remorse by her own daughter. It was so real to her, she woke in a pool of sweat, hand clutched to her chest and the other hand to her throat. It woke Voec up and once again he was consoling her. It almost seemed ironic as she thought of those visions with Sha'uri embracing evil... while something that had been considered evil with embracing her. There was something significant in that thought, but Lyndra wasn't putting it together just yet.

Shaken, she easily curled back into Voec's arms and found peace again...

Lyndra

Date: 2009-07-06 14:47 EST
While the sun was setting for Exodii City, the day had dawned new for Marta, again. Cycles were naturally faster on the moon and eclipses were far more frequent. Today was one of them as the morning was suddenly plunged back into darkness. No one witnessed this as all of Marta's occupants were below ground in the compound either sleeping, eating, or playing.

Lyndra was laying in her bed with Voec just a few hours after she had laid her eggs. She could hear the chatter, squaks and squeels of the first batch of children playing in the play area they had set up for them. Voec's breathing gently caressed her ear as she listened. She felt at peace.

There came a sudden rush of closeness to a depth she had not experienced with Voec before. Lyndra wasn't force sensitive, but her psionics, as all dragons were psionic, allowed her to feel the connection Aquil had briefly accomplished, that energy that was both invigorating and draining. It drew her soul to his....

She turned around to face Voec and the psionic connection with him was already there drawing them together with that surge of intensity to keep that connection. It was a good thing dragons were resilient, for only a few hours after dropping those eggs, Lyndra and Voec were working on their own second batch it seemed, except this time in humanoid forms. He took her tenderly in is arms and with such compassion and restrained intensity for fear of hurting her.... that for the first time in his life, as the two of them came together, Voec wept quietly, happily and she along with him.

In the other chambers, some of the other dragons were bonding in other ways with the offspring they were playing with. It deepened them as parent and offspring regardless if they were naturally so or not. Even though Aquil's connection to everything lasted only a few moments, the effects lingered in the connections that resulted from it, from lover to lover, parent to child or even adult to adult in friendship. It was an experience that while they didn't really talk about it, it was felt and remembered.

Lyndra

Date: 2009-11-23 22:34 EST
Morning crested on Exodii City... Life on Marta found Lyndra waking in Voec's arms. For several moments, she didn't think about anything else except that she was in Voec's arms. It was nice while it lasted.

A peel of laughter rang as one of the children ran by the room followed by the cackles and snorts of several children giving chase.

"That boy's gonna be trouble." Voec opened his eyes and stole a kiss from her.

Lyndra laughed. "Aye...Wasn't that Cing an Alex's oldest?"

Voec nodded. Lyndra leaned in and stole a not so quick kiss.

"Mmm... you need to get out of this bed or I'll never let you leave." his deep voice rumbled.

She purred and rubbed her nose against his cheek, but he was right and she knew it. She did need to get up. Still? they had time, didn?t they? She didn?t exactly get out of that bed?.

Lyndra

Date: 2009-12-29 09:23 EST
An hour later??.

"Tell her things are not good on Exodii. Sha'uri is out of our control... not that we ever really had it. You all need to stay hidden there on Marta. Tell her not to even risk a trip to RhyDin through our portals. And be ready to transport to Zed. In fact, if you all decide to go there now, it might be best. Talk about it and let me know."

Even as he nodded to Alex, Gindel knew he'd forget all that. He ended communication and made a copy of the conversation, holding it back to show Lyndra later.

Later came sooner. Gindel was chasing the young ones in a game of hide and seek. Alex's oldest ran into Lyndra's room, waking the couple as he dove into the covers at the end of the bed. This awoke the couple into a flurry of chaos. Lyndra flailing, getting tangled in the covers while the young one tried to entangle himself further. And Voec had the reaction of falling out of bed, grabbing part of the blankets to cover himself with one hand while the other reached into the covers and yanked the young one from his hiding place.

The baby dragon was merely the size of a medium dog, wiggling and squirming in the elder dragon's grasp. "Lemme go! He'll find me! Lemme go!"

Voec watch the young one squirm before he growled softly and caught his gaze with the younger one. "You have to find another place to hide or I will tell your father how you've been misbehaving..... and if you don't do it quietly...." Voec lowered his voice and pulled the young one closer, dark gaze intensified as did his baratone voice. "I'll tell your mother."

The young one's eyes grew wide, his mouth dropped open and he became as still as a rock. He was too frightened to speak and just nodded emphatically to agree.

Voec finished untangling the boy and then let him go, chuckling darkly as the young one scampered away... very quietly. "He's going to be trouble."

Lyndra finally managed to get her head untangled from the covers, blowing a fair sized lock of hair from her face. "And ours won't be?" She chuckled and started to reach for Voec as he made his way back into bed.

They were in the middle of a very passionate kiss when Gindel darted into the room. "Is he still in here? I saw him come this way. Sorry..." he was looking around the room frantically.

Voec cleared his throat. "He just left... as you should. Very fast and very quietly."

Lyndra grinned as a blush rose to her cheeks, pulling up the covers over her shoulders.

Gindel finally realized what he just walked in on and a bit of color rose in him as well. "Oh! Sorry!... I'll just..." he started to backstep to the door, hands gesturing with his thumbs pointed towards there.

"Goodbye Gindel..." both Lyndra and Voec said in unison.

"Um... yeah... sorry... I'll go chase him down... out there... away from you... and.."

Gindel disappeared round the opening... for all of 1.3 seconds before he popped his head back in. "Oh! I almost forgot. Lyndra.. Alex called. He wanted me to tell you something but I don't remember what it was. I got a recording of it. You should watch it... like asap."

"I'll take a look in a bit. Now goodbye Gindel...."

Gindel darted away again.....

Lyndra

Date: 2010-01-04 13:57 EST
Twenty minutes later?

Chatter abounded on the subject as Lyndra was meeting with the other adult dragons. Some wanted to go hide in the mountains of the north regions of Exodii. Others into the desert. Some wanted to teleport into RhyDin. Finally Lyndra spoke up.

"I think we should do as Cedrik suggested.... get supplies an equipment to Zed. Then we can take another look at the situation. We should be prepared to leave, yet let's not leave until we have to. Aye? Sha'uri is most likely unaware of our presence here. As long as it stays that way, we're safe. If things go south, we'll use transporters to get to Zed. I remember Alex telling me about his time there with Knite. He told me about a cave they stayed in."

"Is there another way outta there?" Gindel asked.

"I'm sure there is or Alex wouldn't have suggested it. What say ye all?" Lyndra asked.

Most agreed. Preparations for the move were underway.

Within the hour, a week's worth of supplies were gathered. The only thing missing were the coordinates to transport to. They were no where to be found. A quick call to the Exodian Forces had that information. As instructed, the communication on it was deleted from all records. The only place they were found was in the transporter mechanisms themselves.

After gaining co-ordinates, the supplies were quickly sent, appearing in the cave that Knite had claimed for his own. It was the only place Alex really knew to send them.

"So who's going to stay behind as suggested by Exodian Forces?" Cedrik asked as they all gathered again.

"Yeah, somebody's gotta delete the info from the transporters." Gindel piped up.

"That's if we have to go." Lyndra interjected.

"I will." Voec spoke up before anyone else could say any more. The tone had a finality to it, especially aimed towards Lyndra. His gaze was firm. "I'll be the decoy and use the transporter after you all are gone. I know where to lead her to on Exodii... somewhere she is most likely unfamiliar with. My stomping grounds."

Her gaze locked with his, a flood of emotions within them. Even for all the pleading within them, she knew there was no changing his mind. She couldn't argue, and wouldn't argue the point. He was the best candidate out of the rest of them. "All right then. If ye have yer mind set. Let's pray it doesn't come down to that."

They all agreed.

Lyndra

Date: 2010-02-14 18:49 EST
Lyndra turned from the group as they all left the room. She stared at nothing in particular, thinking about nothing. Voec had only gone as far as the door, sensing his mate's hesitation.

Yet as Lyndra turned from the group to contemplate all this, to let her mind catch up with her thoughts, she had the strangest feeling slowly wash over her. It was a foreboding sense that slowly crept in and suddenly launched into a rush of panic, a feeling that something was there lurking above them just watching, waiting, vulturing there... somewhere above them.

Her first thought was that it was Sha'uri.

"What is it?" Voec asked her, sensing the panick within his mate. His voice easily relayed the worry also shown in his gaze.

"I don't know..." Perplexed, she quickly went to the console and began to look over the scans, double checking the readings like Alex had taught her, taught them all. Yet nothing showed any glimmer of anything out of place. "I don't get it. There's nothin there. Ye'd think sOmething would've shown up. I'd swear I felt... something.. like someone trying to watch us. Did ye see anything?"

He had been right beside her, checking over the scans himself. He was just as perplexed and sensed nothing of the kind himself. "Maybe you should go rest. You've been through a lot these last couple of days."

She shook her head. "No... I know something is up. I just don't know what. Maybe I should go uptop. Alex gotten this place shielded so tight ye couldn't get a hair out the door if yer life depended on it. Okay, maybe that's a good thing.. but, I think it's interferring with what I'm sensing... I think. I just wanna peek, Voec. Stop lookin at me like that!"

His gaze flared round draconic pupils while he gave her a level stare. Her hazel greens gave him one right back. He could see that this was going to bug her until she became uncontrollable, and he had to admit, if only to himself, he didn't want to let it get that way. So he relented. "Only if you let me go with you."

Lyndra nodded slowly and called Cedrik in. After letting him know where they were going, Lyndra and Voec headed for the surface....

Shauri

Date: 2010-04-26 17:00 EST
The Number One copy of Sha'uri had arrived through Time and moved around the surface of the moon getting a good feel of the place while flying over head in draconic form. Something in the message she recieved let her know when and where to come here and all she needed was to find Lyndra. It was clearly in her mind as sure as if the Original had chisiled it into her brain. It felt like it.

The mental war waged by Sharilis was a match Sha'uri would normally have fallen to, if it weren't for the power of the Abyss. It was the only thing that allowed this copy to be here, now capable of doing what it was sent to do.

Although she had sensed her death from another time while doing this, she was also armed with the knowledge of who had killed her. This time he wouldn't be capable of defeating her...

A few hours went by while she prepared a few things, a few traps and used her abilities to probe the lower levels and attempt to telepathically nudge the target into motion. She'd lure them up as before and wait for them to spring the trap, unlike before when she forced her way through.

Finally, she sensed the target in motion, rising through the levels on their way up.....

Lyndra

Date: 2010-04-27 11:40 EST
It would be a long winding slow journey up the way to the top, especially if they moved cautiously through the maze looking for any traps or ambushes. It would likely take them four times as long as a normal walk up.

A quarter of the way up and Lyndra felt a pang of guilt. She stopped moving and tugged on Voec's shirt to alert him of her pause.

"What is it, Lynn?" he asked as he turned around to face her.

"Maybe we should've told them to start moving the children. I mean... worse case scenario... if we get up there and find trouble, how would we let them know?"

Voec nodded but wouldn't let her go back alone or visa versa. He wasn't letting her out of his sight. So the two went back and relayed the direction. It delayed their trip up but it gave them some more time to prepare. Whatever was up there wasn't coming down.

Several hours later and everyone but Lyndra and Voec were transported to Zed. The memory was wiped and replaced with several other transports to various locations on Exodii, all of which consisted of a few rocks to closely match weight transported to make it seem believable several humanoids were transported out to these locations. Then the transporter was set for a location in a swamp land area south of Exodii City nearly six hundred miles, about a hundred mile north of the City of Leeds. The swamp lands stretched through the forested area between the north/south flow of three rivers. The area was mostly unpopulated and a good place to have a show down fight with another dragon.

Once the plan was set, Lyndra and Voec started up on the long journey uptop again. They took a few more hours to reach the surface. No traps were found on the way up while inside the shielded area. However, once nearing the edge of the field, Voec slowed their progress taking extra caution. Both took time to scan the area with their senses, searching for that presence they knew, with each step closer, was most definitely there....

Shauri

Date: 2010-05-04 10:34 EST
Patience was a virtue....

Number One waited up top after finding the hole to the cave, which she was sure would go down to where they were hiding. She could sense souls, many souls, down below. And then after a few hours, as they disappeared one by one, she could tell it was down to two. Lyndra was one. She could feel it on the edge of her senses, as she was sure Lyndra could feel her.

And so she waited, stayed hidden in the thick foliage and watched for that right moment when the two would come out of the hole and wander beyond the shielded barriers. Or at least where they had been. She noticed they went down enought that she could've gotten through. She knew it as a trap to lure her in. She would not follow it. Not this time.

When the two finally emerged far enough beyond the cave, Number One's spell was triggered causing a globe of deeper darkness over the two. Sha'uri was quick to shift her stance, intake a breath and exhaled a mass of electrical breath....

Lyndra

Date: 2010-05-04 10:57 EST
The trap had worked perfectly. Although Lyndra sensed who was waiting for them as they came closer to the top, she wasn't about to back down now.

Try a she might, neither she nor Voec could tell where Sha'uri was. They came further out. It was a mistake as the trap was sprung the deeper darkness surrounded them, blinding sight and slowing their movements. They both heard the shift of a large form, the intake of breath and then the piercing icy/hot shock of electrical barbs wracked over both their bodies.

While Lyndra was only hurt minorly, Voec took a hard blow from it. Lyndra was able to swiftly cast a spell to counter the darkness. Meanwhile, Voec shifted into his draconic form and charge fully toward the area where he heard the form moving around before. By the time darkness was countered, Voec was right on Sha'uri.

Teleport out, Lyndra. Get out of here! He tried to warn her as he continued to attack Sha'uri, jaws snapping, claws racking at her scales. He was trying to give Lyndra time...

Nae...nae 'til I do somethin first.... And Lyndra began to cast again.

Shauri

Date: 2010-05-04 11:08 EST
Sha'uri tried to counter the snapping jaw, but it was at the cost of a few scales being raked up and even goudged underneath them, One good scale was totally ripped from her side. Blood trailed from the somewhat serious wounds. She also heard Lyndra begin to cast. It didn't matter what was being cast, Sha'uri wasn't going to let her finish it. In two swift moves, she had dodged Voec's attack to her neck and gained an advatage to his. She took that opportunity and lunged at his neck while shifting her back half slightly with a powerful swing of her tail at Lyndra, who was still in human form. She was aiming to knock the avatar into the side of the rock wall.

Lyndra

Date: 2010-05-04 11:14 EST
Lyndra's spell was sucessfully disrupted by the blow and her body went flying back into the rock wall beside the cave opening. The side of her head cracked hard against the stone and Lyndra flopped to the ground unconscious.

Voec felt his love go.. .and rage burned swiftly within him. He was in not much better situation, with Sha'uri's teeth sunk into his neck. Shifting his back legs and moving his body next to hers, he clamped his back talons into her scales and rolled the two of them over in an attempt to get her dislodge her teeth and to give him the advantage for his own breath weapon to be used. As he got to the top of the roll, he shifted his head, took a breath feeling the vile fluid rise and shot out a stream of acid over her scales...

Shauri

Date: 2010-05-09 20:44 EST
Sha'uri realized she was up against someone older then she, seasoned in battle on a level for survival of the fittest not just during battles of conquest but as an almost every day way of life thing. The acid poored down over her scales and dripped down into her opened wound even before her natural healing ability had a chance to close it. The pain caused her to open her mouth, which lost her grip on Voec's neck, rear her head back and let out a draconic roar.

While her teeth left gaping holes in Voec's neck and his blood gushed from those wounds, the rip - to open up the whole side of his throat that Sha'uri had planned to do - was ruined. So the attack had not been as sucessful as she had hoped. This angered her even more and she rolled away from him. Acid on an open wound would only serve to keep herself from healing while the acidity did its damage to counter it. She had to counter the acid.

Prepare yourselves for a little trip when I get back. Number One, kick ***! But you might have company this time. Bring Lyndra if you can, but you need to get out alive!

No wonder Number One was beginning to feel a sense of dread. Gaping hole in her scales filled with acid... sense of D?j? vou as thoughts of her past death against this one began to flash in her mind.... magical things she didn't know about (even though it was only harmles to her vampiric magic) compounding the situation.... the fact that she was in a fight potentially two against one, even though one was knocked out, were not good odds for her. It was merely a sense of sarcastic acknowledgement that she sent back to her original. Although, her own sense of preservation was wholely agreed on. She wanted to get out alive.

Tapping the side of a tree, Sha'uri created water which gushed out from a crack in the bark and washed the acid from her wound. Taking advantage of her heightened abilities, she turned away from him, spread wings and sprang into the air for flight. It was a ploy to lure him away from Lyndra.

Lyndra

Date: 2010-05-09 21:18 EST
He felt the throbbing in his neck as his hearts pumped his life's blood out over his neck. However, Voec felt no pain. His rage was building the turmoil of chaos in his thoughts so that the only coherent voice in his own mind guided him to his enemies in the protection of Lyndra. ThAt was the only thing on his mind.

The Great Black rolled away from his enemy to get his bearings for another attack. By the time he righted himself to all fours and turned to face her, she was extending her wings and leaping for flight. Once agian he used his advantage and leapt for an attack rather then jump into flight to follow her.

With her back turned to him he aimed his maw to her tail, snatching it in his teeth firmly. Powerful wings were extended, not for his flight but to harness the counter pull to her flight. He fully intended to pull her down and backwards and roll her to the side, bracing his hind legs forward of himself as leverage.

Lyndra! Wake up! Lyndra! Voec tried to rouse her to consciousness.

Lyndra heard his voice as if it were in a tunnel far, far away. Her mind struggled to get closer to it, to reach consciousness while the blood continued to flow from her head wound, though her natural healing was begining to slow it down as it worked to close the wound. But for now, consciousness wouldn't come.

AlexArrowny

Date: 2010-06-21 21:23 EST
At about a thousand feet above, the transport beam converged to deliver the live cargo from Exodii

Alex felt his form coelesce and immediately begin to fall through the atmosphere. His stomach churned slightly as his body fell, and his form surged through yet another transformation into his draconic form which had a dark purple base with reddish scales and an opalescent silvery hue to the tips.

His wings spread to catch the feel of the currents of air and to look around. His draconic sight picked up the forms down below. He could see them clearly.

He could see Lyndra laying in a pool of blood by the wall to the cave opening and Sha'uri trying to fly off with a very pissed off and injured black dragon, who'd gone into a rage, yanking her tail in the opposite direction.

That's gotta hurt.

His wings stroked the air to gain momentum before he dipped and arced his move to change directions, spinning into a controlled dive. His wings were then tucked in as he dove hard and fast for the surface.

Lupinius

Date: 2010-06-22 01:51 EST
The sensation of being transported by means other than his own is...strange, and yet not at all dissimilar to how he teleports himself. Still, he knows which he likes better, and won't be needing it for the trip back.

Ebon wings spread and catch the air as he appraises the situation below. If he hadn't seen Valeria do something similar once, he might have been shocked at Alex's transformation. As it is he's surprised - the young man looked as if he had great potential and power within him, but he never would have guess at anything like this.

The sapphire eyes spot the others below in the same moment, the great black dragon and the other...

It's the other that really catches his attention. He's sure that Alex's relationship to this Sha'uri had been mentioned at least once, but he's still shocked at the similarities between their appearance. In this form, it's much more readily apparent.

The last dragon, female, unconcious...lying in a pool of blood.

All of this goes through his mind in mere seconds. A small part of him reflects with a wry sort of humor the position the black is in.

A dragon has another dragon by the tail...

He watches as Alex tucks into a dive, following suit in the same moment, angling head-first and tucking his wings, letting gravity do its job, the wings unfurled just barely enough to allow him to steer if he should need it, a sleek, silent, black shape plummeting towards the trio on the ground...

CM

Date: 2010-06-22 22:53 EST
The urge to vomit hit her hard, vile stomach acid began to rise up within her throat. Cadence concentrated with everything she had to force her throat muscles to tighten and push the acid back down. Over and over she swallowed, taking the medic's advice about what to do during the transport. At about the third swallow, she realized the ground was no longer beneath her feet and the air was catching her wings, which naturally spread into flight.

She had never seen Alex turn into a dragon, never had witnessed him doing this before. All she thought when she opened her eyes and saw the strange dark purple dragon was that it was someone she didn't know. And it was diving fast.... Lupinius was above it. Below the two were two more dragons and then a humanoid by a rock wall. Cadence narrowed her gaze and focused further, barely making out that it was female. Somehow she sensed it was Lyndra.

A moment later and she knew it was Lyndra. She could feel the injury in Lyndra's head.

Her gaze quickly darted to the diving purple dragon and Lupinius and she finally realized the dragon was Alex.

Three against one... Get 'em boys. I gonna takes care of Lyndra. her thoughts reached out to Alex and Lupi.

She reached out a hand as her wings tucked in. A door appeared in the middle of the air. She caught herself on the door, which stopped her from falling any more. A hand swiftly turned the knob and Cadence fell within the safety of her dimensional home.

"Ahhh!!!" she screamed as she fell and the door shut.... and she was gone with no trace.

Inside her room she managed to throw the door shut while she was falling through the doorway. Gravity was still pulling her down, which the direction had changed the moment she passed from the outside of the door to the inside. She fell sideways through the door for about a foot until the new gravity took over and dropped her to the floor. She rolled along the ground for a few feet until she crashed into the table.

Flailing a bit, she managed to get up and dart to the door once again. The door was flung open and Cadence stepped out of the wall right beside the fallen female. She could clearly see who it was now.

"Lyndra!!"

The little fae quickly grabbed Lyndra and with wings beating, latching to the door frame with the effort, she dragged her back into the room with her. The door was swiftly shut and disappeared leaving behind the pool of blood where Lyndra had been. The two were safe inside Cadence's little realm.

Cadence had gotten so caught up in concentrating to get Lyndra that she forgot all about swallowing. She'd forgotten all about feeling sick. She'd forgotten about the sea sick sensation all together. She didn't even think about it after they were safe inside her home. Lyndra's head was bleeding and to Cadence it looked really bad all smashed in as it was. Well, to Cadence it looked all smashed in.

She moved to the cabnet and flung open the cupboard, pulling out a vial containing a full healing potion. Spinning back around in one fluid move, she darted back to Lyndra's side while uncorking the bottle along the way. Kneeling down, Cadence slipped her hand under Lyndra's neck, lifting her head slightly so she could get her friend's mouth to open. Cadence poured the entire contents of the bottle down Lyndra's throat, though making sure not to choke Lyndra in the process.

"Come on Lyndra... .wakes up! Yous gotta wakes up!"

Cadence had done all she could do for Lyndra. She waited and watched.

Shauri

Date: 2010-06-23 00:16 EST
A roar of rage escaped her as she felt the tug, one strong enough to pull her back from the attempted flight. She felt herself falling backwards and to the side, her wings were ineffective no mater how hard she tried, and she felt the tree pierce between her scales and impale her along the side. Swinging her tail, she flung it out of Voec's mouth and came back with a lash of it to his face.

Voec managed to scratch up Number One's tail with his teeth even though the tail was yanked from his mouth. He rolled with the swat to lessen the damage. Coming up, he needed a moment to right himself back on all fours.

She felt the rage build within her as she rolled back to her feet, snapping the excess of the tree from sticking out of her side. Pain shot through her and she roared once again.

That's gotta hurt...

"Alex!" Exasperated tones of rage as her gaze snapped upwards and a spell was quickly uttered.

A cube of force was put in place that would thwart the coming attack from Alex and Lupinius. Number One fully recognized him and a ferral draconic smile was set in place, hoping the two would smash right into it.

The cube was set to encompassed a two hundred and fifty square foot area. It was intended to keep Voec and Lyndra right where she wanted them and keep the others away. She failed to notice that Lyndra was not on the ground where she had been a few moments before.... Sha'uri never noticed the presence of the fae. Her focus was too much on Voec and the others.

She started after Voec once again.

Voec recognized the spell for what it was. He also didn't need to glance up to know Number One was not bluffing. He could feel Alex's thoughts in his head. Although the one with Alex was someone new, he sensed Alex's trust for him. The third one he'd heard was a puzzle to him. Where she went to, he couldn't even begin to guess. He, too, had been wrapped up in the fight to notice....

Three against one indeed. Watch your faces, boys. You're about to smack into a shield! he tried to warn them. It was all he could do in that moment since his injury was severe enough to effect his movements.

Though Voec wasn't fast enough to stop this spell, or to charge his opponent, it didn't stop him from attacking Number One. Another stream of acid shot at Sha'uri aiming for her square in the face.

She dodged it from hitting her face, though the stream found the newly made wound, as it were. Number One then charged at Voec, uncarring of any of her own vulnerability. She totally focused out the pain and attacked him without mercy, latching onto his neck and racking him with front and back claws. Her head visciously shook back and forth, pulling a huge chunk from Voec's neck.

Voec gurgled as he tried to breath, tried to attack Sha'uri. He managed to rip off another scale, furthering her injuries. But because of his own injuries, he could no longer use his breath weapon. He was dying, his breathing was fading fast..

Number One was ready to come in for the kill....and then she noticed Lyndra's body was gone.

"No!!!"

Shoving Voec away from her like a rag doll, she then moved over to where Lyndra's body had been just moments before. She immediately saw the drag marks as if the rock wall had just opened up and swallowed Lyndra. Rage filled her even more as she screamed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Her mission was done. She had failed.. yet if she could get out alive... it would not be a complete loss as it had been before. Someone had moved Lyndra. She didn't know who that was. Voec was as good as dead, as far as she was concerned. She took a severe chunk out of his neck and the dragon wouldn't be able to heal himself fast enough.

Then there was Alex and Lupinius to deal with. Taking stock of her own injuries, she could anticipate her own death from an encounter with those two on this trip. She also had to take down the cube of force if she were to teleport herself out of there.

Quickly moving to the center of her cube, she focused herself, sending a message to all her other selves telling them to lower the shield. Then she took the cube down that surrounded her. The teleport spell was then cast and Sha'uri Number One was gone back to the Citadel.........

Lyndra

Date: 2010-06-23 00:25 EST
She felt the liquid flowing down her throat. It awakened her reflexes and Lyndra began to cough, pulling her to consciousness. The wounds were instantly healed as a wave of warmth rushed through her, reversing the damage inside her head.

For several moments while this was happening, Lyndra didn't know where she was, who she was, or why she was. She didn't even remember her name and Cadence looked like no one she'd ever seen before. All she could do was stare at the fae with a dumbfounded expression, trying to dig up the memories inside her own head. Hazel green hues were filled with worry and confusion.

"Hi..." it was all she could say for the moment.

AlexArrowny

Date: 2010-06-23 00:52 EST
A wry grin touched his visage at Lupinius' comment. It was his only reaction as his comment was distracted by hearing Cadence. He glanced back in time to see her disappear through her door. He knew where she'd gone.

Alex returned his attention to the ground and dove faster, and faster and ...

"Alex!"

His gaze narrowed as he picked up the speed.... all he could think about was ripping that woman into shreds, as if to disect her and prove to himself she wasn't his mother. If it weren't for Voec's warning, he would've been disected himself all over the cube of force. Instead, he reacted without question and snapped his wings out, steering him up hArd from the dive. Luckily for him he was able to pull up in time and skim only inches above and parallel to the cube while his flight leveled and he stared at the almost unnoticeable shimmer of the cube's surface. He could only hope that Lupinius could manage to divert himself from injury.

His gaze searched for a way around the cube. He could see the viscous attack below and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest watching his mother pull part of Voec's neck off.

Alex immediately landed on the top of the cube and began to dig at it. He didn't know what else to do as he knew his attempt to dispell it would've been for nothing. Sha'uri was too powerful that way compared to himself.

As luck would have it, the cube was suddenly gone and Alex found himself falling once again. He had just enough time to spread wings and bring himself to land before he would crash to the ground. But by then it was too late to stop Number One. She was gone before his feet hit the ground.

He didn't waste time in thought about it. His attention went right to Voec. In the blink of an eye, he was at Voec's side, nudging him with his snout.

He and the Black didn't always agree on things, but at least Voec was loyal, far more then Alex would've anticipated. The Black was also dying. He knew what this would do to Lyndra, and that alone pierced his own heart. Before Alex realized what he was doing, he suddenly felt his own breathing getting heavy, wet and gurgling... Indeed, Alex' own throat was suddenly forming a gaping hole, spilling his own blood, while Voec's throat was beginning to heal and close up....

Lupinius

Date: 2010-06-23 03:56 EST
He senses the strange spell - some sort of shield, it seems - as he is plummetting to the earth. He catches the edge of a thought from Cadence, but there's no time to pay it any heed - he can see that the battle below between the black and the female dragon is going badly, and in response he tucks his wings closer, eliminating as much drag as possible.

Faster he falls towards the shield below, heedless as always of the danger. It is at the last pssible moment that he tucks and rolls, bringing his fall feet first, raising both hands above his head. In their clenched fists appears a scintillation of brilliant violet light as the sword Angelis appears, held ready to be brought into the barrier point first. There is a moment when his eyes look over the scene below, hearing a scream of pure frustrated rage, noting that something is suddenly missing...

He braces for the impact, bringing the sword down with a single, powerful thrust, the ebony wings snapping outward to catch the air at the last possible moment...

...only to realize he's still falling.

And that Sha'uri is suddenly vanished.

He tumbles through the air for a moment, the power of that thrust enough to throw his flight off, before he pumps his wings and manages to stabilize himself, gliding ina wide circle, looking to be sure that the dragon isn't going to pop out of thin air on top of them.

Angelis vanishes with a flash of that same violet light as he turns and dives for Alex and the black dragon, gliding down to earth.

His sapphire eyes take in the wounds of the black dragon's fight. Strange - he's run into black dragons before, and as a whole they tended to be a rather unsavory bunch. This one had fought heroically to defend the other wounded dragon, and had taken mortal damage. And speaking of that, where did the wounded female go...and what happened to Cadence...?

The questions have no more than just occured to him when he sees it - the black dragons wounds closing, and with gruesome suddenness similar, terrible wounds appearing on Alex.

Oh, what in the name of the Holy Isle...

Of course, he's never tried this with a dragon. A couple of times on other, much smaller animals, and more times than can be counted for humans.

He sets down next to Alex, shaking his head slightly. "You could have waited...I'm not sure I mentioned it before, but I have a gift for healing. I've never tried this on a dragon before, so you'd better hope it works."

His tone is good-natured enough, the berating an older man might give to an erring apprentice whom he is fond of when their mistake is an obvious one...and yet, under it can be heard a note of worry and anxiety. The wounds are serious, the kind that kill quickly and yet in great pain.

Walking over to him, he stops next to Alex's neck, stretching out his hands to the places the wounds can be seen to be growing. As he touches them, there is a steady, strong glow that seems to envelope his hands to the wrist, a shining, brilliant light that is echoed by the amulet at his throat, as he closes his eyes and focuses, hoping the healing energies pouring through him and into Alex will work...

AlexArrowny

Date: 2010-06-23 11:36 EST
He could feel the energy leaving him, draining him as it flowed into the Black. He'd seen his grandmother do this a few times, but he'd never thought he could do it himself. It took him a moment to realize that he was doing it and that was why he wasn't breathing so well. He was absorbing the wound and passing his own healing ability on to Voec. It was only then as he gasped for air, that he understood how he could very well die by trying to heal wounds this severe. And yet, his own feelings for Lyndra kept him right there. Whatever doubts Alex had about Voec seemed to be quelled after today. It was clear to him he'd save Voec at the cost of his own life, for Lyndra because he knew the Black would die to protect her.

"You could have waited...I'm not sure I mentioned it before, but I have a gift for healing. I've never tried this on a dragon before, so you'd better hope it works."

The voice was a welcome tone over the situation, even though it rubbed in the perceived mistake Alex had made. Still, Alex was unable to speak and too afraid to let go of his concentration to even think for fear of losing that concentration, that feeling he was experiencing to give Voec his healing energy. A gurgled snort was all he could accomplish.

Of course, he wouldn't try to stop Lupinius. In fact, it's what would save him. The angels healing helped to counter the effects of the wounds while Alex took them from Voec. As Voec was being healed by Alex, Alex was being healed by Lupinius until Voec was healed and the healing energy from Alex was channeled back into himself. AT that point, Alex lifted his head to the sky with relief and the healing on Alex increased until it was done.

Voec was the first to stir, shifting himself once his own healing was done. He turned back to his human form and slowly stood to look about. His gaze narrowed on the place Lyndra had been before returning to Alex and the other.
"Thank you, Alex. And to you as well." he nodded to Lupinius. "But where's Lyndra?" The tone when he asked this seemed to deepen with an edge. He didn't wait for an answer, nor introductions. He turned from them and moved to the other pool of blood now soaked into the ground and gazed over the odd drag marks that disappeared into the wall.

Alex got up at this point, giving Lupinius a nod of thanks. His gaze went to the Black. "I think Cadence has her. But I'm not sure what to do to contact her. She's got an inter dimensional place. Maybe we should wait for a few moments."

CM

Date: 2010-06-24 00:45 EST
"Hi..." it was all she could say for the moment.

Cadence beamed a wide happy smile. "Heyas! Yous okay now."

Lyndra nodded all the while staring at the strange fae before her. She was unsure what to say or how to say it until it finally came out with a soft stutter. "Um... dun mean t..to alarm ye but ... um... wh..who are ye and where are we?"

Cadence's smile froze and a look of concern washed in. "Yous dont remembers?"

Lyndra simply shook her head.

"Ooooh." Cadence replied slowly. "Um... well, yous was just in a fight and got yous head all smashed in. I just pulled you into my home... its a actually a different realm, and healed yous with a potion. So, yous must've hit yous head really hard cause I think yous not really healed right or something. You sure yous don't remember?"

The voice, the speech, the pretty blue eyes. Lyndra stared into those azure orbs for several moments. The woman felt familiar, sounded familiar, but the name simply illuded her memory. She shook her head again. "No.. sorry. What's my name.. and yours?"

It was worse then Cadence thought. "Lyndra. Yous name is Lyndra. I'm Cadence. Don't yous remember?"

Lyndra shook her head. "You seem familiar but I can't place it."

Cadence's eyes widened with realization. A flick of her wrist brought a feather duster into her hand. A snap of her fingers produced a broom in the other. "Maybe this gonna help. Yous had a bump on the head so... maybe yous just need something familiar. Remember me now?"

Lyndra tilted her head one way then the other staring with wide eyes while Cadence pretended to dust some invisible object. Her mouth dropped open as some flicker of memory came back to her. "Ravens... or something... Heart. A Ravens Heart? A place.... I think I remember something. Cathedral like ceilings and ye were up at the top dusting. Did ye do that?"

Cadence squeeked happily. "Ah! Yous getting it! I was so worried yous lost 'em all. Maybe the rest will come with time.... like yous just need a few minutes. Yous really had yous head smashed in good."

"I'm afraid to know the details, but what in nine hells was happening?" Lyndra ventured.

"Oh... it's a long story. I try to make it short. Our friend, Sha'uri, has been ... well... she got infected and it makes her bad. And she tried to kill yous I think. An yous like her mother, er... no, yous look like her mother.. and her son came to fight her. I was with him and so was Lupi."

She stopped and sucked in her breath. "Oh my gosh I forgots about 'em! Oh yous stay here, Miss Lyndra. Yous just stay put and I's go check on them. Theys may need help!"

Lyndra didn't know what to think except that the little fae seems very sincere. And urgent. And Lyndra didn't ask who Lupi was because Cadence seemed really concerned about whoever they were. So... She nodded, agreeing to stay put.

Cadence darted for the door, quickly grasped the handle and then slowed down to open it very carefully just a crack, just enough to peek out the door to see what was going on. The door opened slightly right in the same place she'd taken Lyndra from. The structure of the door was right in the rock wall.

She saw Lupi and Alex, who was still in his draconic form ... and a guy she didn't know standing a few paces from her door, staring down at the place where Lyndra's blood trails stopped at her door. They all looked fine to her and it seemed in that moment that they were all just standing around .... just gabbing, except for the one.

Her gaze darted briefly around the area searching for signs of Sha'uri. When none seemed apparent, her pretty blues came to rest on the trio once again. Her first thought was why wheren't they doing anything?

"Psst!!" she threw the feather duster at Alex.

"What happened to Sha'uri? What if she comes back?"
Her free hand went to her hip and the other hand pushed the door open a bit wider. Her stance straighted and she signalled them in. Her tones were filled with exasperation and concern, just like a little mother hen. "Yous should get in here. Whys yous didn't knock on the door 's beyond me.... An hurry up!"

AlexArrowny

Date: 2010-06-24 23:43 EST
He saw the movement in time to catch the feather duster. Once caught, he chuckled as his gaze caught with Cadence?s.

?Calm down? she was pretty beat up. I doubt she comes back. And I didn?t knock because I didn?t know where to knock at. Otherwise, I would have. You?re right, though, we should come inside. Oh, and Voec? this is Lupinius. He and his group of Guardians are here to help against Sha?uri. And the one trying to impale me with a feather duster is none other then Cadence.?

Lyndra

Date: 2010-06-24 23:48 EST
Voec was about to ask who Cadence was when he heard the prompt from just ahead of him along the rock wall. He naturally stepped to the side to allow the tossed feather duster to arrive unhindered to its destiny. He moved closer to the rock wall while eyeing this new one and giving the other two better access to view her

He was about to speak up when she cut him off, prompting them all to get in there. He would have but the sight of his beloved came into view and stole his full attention. She was alive and well. Whatever introductions were being made, Voec totally missed them.

Lyndra was too curious and couldn?t just keep sitting there. She wanted to know who the fae was talking to and what was going on. Coming up behind her, she could easily see over Cadence?s shoulder, it was only her wings that gave her a little rivalry. So Lyndra stepped around and in front of her since it didn?t seem anything battle like was going on at all. Her attention was immediately caught by the closest one ? Voec.

Their gazes locked and Lyndra was stunned by the familiarity.. the intimacy of it caused her to take a step into the doorway and yet go no further. ?Do I know ye??

Voec was taken aback, literally taking a slight step backwards as the realization hit him that she really didn?t know him. ?You don?t remember??

?Oh?? she could see his confusion, feel his pain. For some reason, she wanted nothing more then to ease his pain and came to the conclusion that they were indeed very familiar to one another. ?No. I?m sorry? I ? Cadence said I hit my head and might need some time. I kinda remember her, but it?s still mostly fuzzy. Maybe ye should say something?..it might jog my memory.?

It almost seemed like an urgent plea to him. Voec could feel her confusion. He knew she wasn?t lying, knew she couldn?t remember him and he? could only think of one thing to say to her, one memory to share with her.

His gaze was intent upon her as he shared one simple memory with her, a moment of tenderness when they had been the most intimate together. Only two words came out of his mouth with solid gentle assurance and such tenderness.... ?Olive Juice.?

A life of memories came back to her, rushing through her mind in a few short seconds. Her hands went up to the side of the door frame to keep her steady. Most of them that she was aware of were of him, of their children?and the other children. Her gaze darted briefly to Alex ? and she remembered him too. But her gaze didn?t stay there, shifting back to Voec. Tears welled in her eyes as she smiled relief. ?I love ye, too.. Voec.?

Voec took a step and hesitated for just a moment, wanting to commit that look to memory.

Shauri

Date: 2010-06-24 23:59 EST
As Voec stared at Lyndra, a curtain of time opened beside him. The others were naturally looking between Voec and Lyndra, and most likely didn?t notice the shimmering curtain of time. Number Two knew Alex might feel it, though she hoped he was too distracted by the love birds to notice where the time shift opened up at. All she needed was two seconds.

One?? the count began as she reached forward and caught Voec by the throat, Her hand simultaneously shifted into a draconic claw, wrapping securely round his throat and pulling him to look at her. The gaze of those amethyst hues sought the feel of his soul, pulling on his essence like a magnet.

Two?. Securing her hold on his soul, it was being pulled from his body and towards her swiftly in a very painful way. Her free hand activated the teleport ring and the two disappeared.


Two minutes later? Two hearts entwined were teleported just above the place where Lyndra?s blood soaked the ground. They fell to the ground with a soft splat. It was clearly a dragon?s heart? a very dead dragon?s heart. Any tests done would prove the hearts to belong to Voec.

Lyndra

Date: 2010-06-25 09:27 EST
One moment he was there, she could almost feel the embrace that was sure to come... and then the next moment felt like her own heart was ripped out as the hand appeared and grabbed Voec by the throat.

"NooOOOooo!!"

She felt herself scream as if in slow motion and she suddenly became aware of a sickening feeling. She could feel Sha'uri take hold of Voec's soul, as if it were her own. She could feel Sha'uri's evilness, the thick darkness that encompassed her friend.... yes, she remembered in that moment the woman Sha'uri had been before but this was nothing like her now.... watching her feed off of Voec's soul as Sha'uri began to consume it. All Lyndra could do was watch frozen with horror and fear, and Voec helpless to defend himself. Lyndra felt his pain in those two seconds, enough pain that it felt like her own hearts would stop beating.

Her legs buckeled beneath her and she dropped to her knees, silvery locks of hair falling round her angelic face. She barely managed to keep from falling further to the ground, holding onto one side of the door frame. There was nothing she could do but watch as Voec was swiftly taken away. Lyndra could only stare at the empty spot, unblinking, unseeing but she felt every rip in her Love's soul while Sha'uri consumed him, even in another world away as they were. A stream of tears began to fall from her eyes. She was totally unresponsive to anyone.

The window opened and the hearts dropped before her. The splat drew her attention to the spot and it was the first time she shifted her gaze from the place Voec's face had last been. She didn't need tests to know that the two hearts before her were the proof of Voec's death. A silent rage began to build within the once hazel green hues which were now tainted with a slight sapphire glow.

One might have expected the scream of rage to come out, but it didn't. Lyndra internalized it and used it. The Goddess wasn't seeking the Avatar. The Avatar sought the Goddess. She seemed unresponsive, or passively so, to her surroundings. She wouldn't answer when talked to, but if nudged to move, she would go with.

And all the while sofly whispering, "Avenge my Love, avenge his soul. Goddess take me and control. Mine for his, rend the darkness. Avenge my Love, avenge his soul."

She almost seemed like a zombie, monotoned and dazed.

AlexArrowny

Date: 2010-06-25 09:44 EST
Indeed, Alex was too distracted to notice the shimmer. He was too focused on Lyndra getting her memory back, at least in part, and to see and feel the recognitions come to light within her. In that moment, he felt pretty proud of himself for having managed to help save two of his family and all he really did was show up.

Could it really be so easy?

As if in answer to his foolish question, he felt the ripples from the loop in time as the hand reached out and snatched Voec by the throat. Being a soul dragon, he could feel the pull of Voec's soul in towards Sha'uri. His stomach lurched with the sensation, the rush of power, the stench of evil suffocated his nostrils. He could smell the tainted sludge upon Sha'uri's soul while she consumed Voec's soul.

And he dropped to his knees and vomitted.

By the time he was done, he looked up in time to see the heart drop out of thin air and splat on the ground before them. He wanted to vomit again, but he held it back. The look on his face was sorrow, defeat and pure disgust. He wanted to scream, but as his gaze saw the look about Lyndra, he respectfully held it in check. He wanted to hold her, but now wasn't the time.

After a few moments when he had gotten up and was able to talk again, he touched his com badge. "Arrowny to... ground base. On my mark lock on my signal and beam everything in a five foot radius to the med lab. It's evidence for investigation."

Signalling everyone else to get inside Cadence's place, he waited until they were all in before he stepped to pause in the doorway, send the signal and dropped his comm badge onto the heart. He watched as the area was transported to the surface. Only then did he step inside and shut the door.

CM

Date: 2010-06-25 11:41 EST
"Awwww... yous remembers him!" she whispered softly watching Lyndra and Voec's exchange.

She had stepped to the side without question letting Lyndra ahead of her. Alex's response had put her at ease if only for a few short moments.

Sha'uri's appearance took her by suprise as well. Well, Lyndra might not have screamed but Cadence did! She sensed the evil and felt something that she couldn't explain, though it reminded her of being transported only on a larger scale. She was too sickened to even puke, driven more by instinct to fight then anything else.

She tried to move around Lyndra to get to Voec but by the time she had gotten there, the two had vanished. Catching herself along the rock wall, she turned round trying to search for them but it was all in vain. Frustration made her scream in anger as she moved away from the wall several paces.

"Yous time's coming, Sha'uri!!! I'll see yous end this! I'll see you destroyed!! I swear I wills!"

Such anger from the little one, but it was a promise she would keep. Nostrils flared as she breathed heavily for a moment or two while she got herself under control. The starburst around her eyes had never been brighter, almost glowed as she forced herself to move back to the door and to Lyndra.

Cadence gently helped Lyndra get up and move inside and she took the shattered avatar to her couch to sit down. She didn't know what else to do but try to make her comfortable and to get Lyndra to lay down and rest. It bothered her the way Lyndra was whispering, and what she was whispering, but no amount of prompting could get Lyndra to say more or even seem to acknowledge anything around her. Cadence tried anyway, waving her hand, poking gently, saying wierd things just to get Lyndra's attention but they all failed.

After a several tries, Cadence gave up and just tried to made Lyndra as comfortable as she could. She put a blanket round her friend and at least prompted her to lay down.

With that done, she turned to the others to take stock of what was going on there. She was glad to see her door shut. It meant Sha'uri couldn't get in.

Lupinius

Date: 2010-06-27 23:42 EST
In all of the chaos, it seemed, he had been somewhat forgotten. And, indeed, he had been somewhat consumed with healing Alex, and, it seemed, this black dragon through him.

He recovers from it quickly - the amulet around his neck sees to that, and for a moment, it seems, everything is all right.

And from there, it went straight to hell in the time it would take the average man to blink.

Two seconds. He sees it all happen far too fast for anything to be done about it. The warrior in him, the part present since his creation, notes this in a clinical sort of way that shocks the rest of him far more than the blatant advertisement before him does...as if she were saying, 'so you messed me up...just look at what I can do to you whenever I want.'

He's seen this sort of thing too many times before, and he feels now what he has felt nearly every other time - anger at the wasteful death, the act one of a child showing off after being upset that it didn't get what it wanted.

It's hard to be shocked by it, though, and the intensity of all those around him tells him something more is going on, something they can feel that he can't. In the moment, though, his attention is suddenly captured by one single person.

Cadence.

Of them all, she alone reacted in a way that he might have expected of...

...something, perhaps, worth considering...

It is Alex's reaction that surprises him perhaps the most. It, perhaps, is what convinces him the most of something more going on. Surely the man doesn't have a weak stomach...

And in that moment, the displacement of air brings the scent to him.

In another day, another time, that scent - darkest corruption, blood lust, and power - might have called to a part of him he had held as burden for too long. But more than that, the scent triggers in him a memory of something else.

A bottle in pale hands, and protruding from it, a single, long, broad, ebon black feather...and a scent from it...

A message, perhaps?

As the others retreat to Cadence's doorway, he waves them on. He knows where he needs to go, and has a faster way of getting there. As the door closes, he is enveloped in a sudden flurry of violet-white lights which coalesce on him, then burst outwards and fade to nothing, carrying him to the compound.

AlexArrowny

Date: 2010-07-10 11:38 EST
So Lupinius went another path.... Alex thought it just as well. Someone needed to relay what happened and Alex was still too stunned and sickened by what had just transpired.

He shut the door and glanced at Cadence trying to get Lyndra to calm down. Then his gaze looked around and noticed the kitchen sink. It hit him hard the acidity still clinging to his throat and the desire to wash it down was overwhelming. He quickly made his way to the sink and began to freshen himself up a bit, splashing water on his face and swallowing down the cool cleansing liquid. He needed a moment.... several moments to get his thoughts and emotions in check.

He needed some moments to just stare at the blank wall behind the sink and ... quietly weep.

CM

Date: 2010-07-12 19:39 EST
A frown formed not seeing Lupinius there. It occured to her, though, that perhaps he didn't feel so comfortable with them since he didn't know them and just went another way back to the base. For whatever reason, she hoped he was okay.

Pretty blues glanced to Alex, all hunched over the sink staring at the wall. She couldn't see his face but didn't have to know he wept. One could never hide the sound of a sniffle no matter how hard they tried to muffle it.

Looking down at Lyndra, she stroked the hair from her friend's face, tucking the long silvery lock behind the ear. The woman was still unresponsive, but perhaps a little calmer. Then Cadence wiped her own tears from her face and moved over to Alex.

She never said a word, simply tugged at him gently and moved in for a heartfelt huggle.

Lyndra

Date: 2010-07-14 00:37 EST
Numb...

Ice cold numbness...

Every part of her tingled with prickly stabs of ice, knuckles white and fingers clenching, grasping to her clothing round her stomach. It seemed the warmth of her body could not bring any comfort to those extremeties.

She felt the stroke of foriegn fingers across her cheek, saw the whisps of blonde round scarlet bursts and pretty blues lost in the depths of their saddness. Cadence's face was familiar but Lyndra couldn't acknowledge it. She sought the Goddess but was blocked from the realm. All she could see... was Cadence.

Even when Cadence left to go stand beside Alex.. Lyndra still could only see Cadence. It confused her even more. And it calmed her, too. The chanting stopped, continuing only as a faint thought in the back of her mind.

Yet her mind calmed with the lull in the chant and before long.. the chant fadded, too. Finally she closed hazel greens, and all she could see was Voec.. the children... Alex...

"Alex.." she whispered.

Lyndra focused her senses and felt his presence and a measure of reality came back to her. Alex is alive. I'm alive. Cadence is alive....was that an angel I saw? Heaven and Hell came today, and then my love was taken away. The Gods help us all.

"The Gods help us all.." she whispered while her lids grew heavy and consciousness gave way under the burden of her grief.

And Lyndra slept.

AlexArrowny

Date: 2010-07-14 11:36 EST
How could he have let things get this far? Was he doomed to a similar fate as his mother? To become a gross negligence of the very thing their race protected against.... the irony tore at his heart, his soul and plunged his spirit into such a depth of despair he had never experienced before. To have watched his friend die in such a manner, just when he would've given his life, and almost did, just to save Voec. It was another irony to contend with. If Lupinius hadn't been there to heal him, Alex was sure he would've died healing Voec. Or would he have?

Just what are Soul Dragons capable of? I never imagined... After today, I can't fathom a limit. And for the first time, I'm terrified of it.

His thoughts were distracted by the tug on his sleeve and his tear soaked gaze shifted to the small hand upon his arm. Such emotional strength in that little touch of hers. It showed him how weak he was, how broken and torn inside by what he'd seen today.

Cadence was the pillar of strength he needed in that moment and he found himself turning to her, kneeling down and letting himself be pulled into that hug, wrapping his arms around her holding her close. A rush of emotions welled up inside, rising and spewing to the surface with new tears and a deep cry escaped. Alex wasn't prone to crying. The last time he cried this hard, he was a small boy sobbing in his mother's arms. In that moment, he felt like that little boy again.... helpless, confused and filled with despair. He cried for several moments until the tears finally subsided.

"Alex.." she whispered.

Lyndra focused her senses and felt his presence and a measure of reality came back to her. Alex is alive. I'm alive. Cadence is alive....was that an angel I saw? Heaven and Hell came today, and then my love was taken away. The Gods help us all.

"The Gods help us all.." she whispered while her lids grew heavy and consciousness gave way under the burden of her grief.

And Lyndra slept.

He almost didn't hear Lyndra call his name, but her thoughts touched his with a sobering effect. He took a deep breath and let it out in a rush, sniffing back the tears as he pulled from Cadence enough to look at her, emerald hues laced with a gentle warmth. He lifted long fingers and wiped the tears from her cheeks with a tender caress, bringing his hand round to cup her face.

"Thank you. I really needed that. But don't tell anyone I cried. I have an image to uphold and I'll never live it down as the Admiral who cried." Alex smirked with a bit of sheepishness and gave a flash of a wink. "Come on, we have to get back."

Alex gently let go and got up, turning once more to the sink to wash his face again. He toweled off as he moved to the couch, kneeling once more beside Lyndra. He didn't want to disturb her.

"Sleep, dear Lyndra... rest, for you will need it." he softly whispered stroking the hair back from her face.

CM

Date: 2010-07-17 11:18 EST
She grinned at his comment about crying Admirals and put a hushing finger to her lips. "What else is friends for? Yous secret safe with me. We's all needs to cry at some point. Yous gonna be just fine, Alex Arrowny."

Nodding to his comment about getting back. "Let me worries about that. YOu just take some time and get youself presentable. Take whatever time yous need. I get us back."

She left him at that point, watching a moment while he moved to Lyndra. Cadence could only imagine what fears were going through him or even Lyndra at this point... she imagined it wasn't too different from her own. What has Sha'uri become? Could it happen to Alex? What should be done about it?

She knew to do anything too rashly would end up being a huge mistake right now.

Turning for the door, she opened it up and stepped out, closing it behind her......

CM

Date: 2010-08-30 15:26 EST
Cadence paused by the door and glanced to the spot where that other man had been. She remembered how he was taken and the way his heart was left. The memory brought tears to her eyes and she began to take a few moments to contemplate the progression of things and where they might be headed.

Standing outside her room her thoughts carefully considered Lyndra, Alex, Shauri and Sharilis?.the way Sha?uri had seemed to form split personalities ? and how some people had been totally split, like the goddess Sharilis?. and how one connects the other and the darkness that is closing in on Sha?uri and Sharilis?. and Lyndra?s connection to the two.

A frown formed as thoughts of Bob began to surface. She was angry with him for his part in all this, in what was happening to her friends and the whole of Exodii. Nothing is ever free?. She remembered him telling her that the day he gave her that pretty purple robe. Was all this the cost?

A sigh escaped her, drawing the sadness from her heart into a note of heartache that broke the silence in the air around her. Her gaze went to her door again. Bob had done good things. He had done bad things. Mostly, Bob let people do what was gonna happen to themselves. She considered the room he?d given her and how she?d used that so far. How she made it hers? how she used it for good things.. and how it..

?? it?s powered by dark?.? The realization hit her right between the eyes, gaze widening as the thought was silently finished. ?Oh Bob, you genius? I gets it now! You knew this was gonna happen? That mean you neededs me, too. I not let yous down, not let my friends down. No matters how long it takes, I gonna saves yous all.?

A new confidence came over her, knowing it was the best place to hide Lyndra. Her confidence grew as she nodded and touched the communication device from the Exodians.

?Hey, yous Exodian Forces. This is Cadence. Can yous beam me into the complex or someplace close or something. I needs to get in right aways.?

There was a bit of a pause and Cadence almost hit the button again when the voice finally came back at her with reserved tones, as if holding back the humor.

?Uh, yes this is Exodian Forces Main transporter room, I?m the chief of transportations. We have your coordinates and will be beaming you to the surface. Our orders are to get you to the conference room as soon as possible but we can?t beam you into the room. We?ll have to beam you twice, first near the guard shack, you?ll have to go inside and then we can beam you down into the complex just outside the meeting room. Understood??

She was nOt looking forward to the trip back but knew there was no other way. A big sigh escaped her as she begrudgingly relented.

?Oh, great?well, then? Hurry up with it! I hate those transporty things.?

Swallow? she felt the strange sensation wash over her and she swallowed as fast as she could keep doing so while her form disappeared from the surface of Marta to rematerialize beside the Exodian Forces guard shack.

AlexArrowny

Date: 2010-09-01 11:11 EST
It wasn?t a deep sleep. Although Lyndra was not fully aware of most details, she sensed the people around her in the room, heard the familiar voices and felt the gentle touches which soothed her. Even in her resting state, her subconscious thoughts still reached for Sharilis. At this point, Lyndra was not aware of a lot of things. She had not quite made the connection of the Goddess? predicament. She only knew Sha?uri had turned to a darker side, which was why they were hiding, and had just found them and killed the love of her life. Lyndra wanted revenge.

As Alex looked down at her, he began to realize how Lyndra?s subconscious screamed within and instinctually knew to whom those pleas were directed.

?No, Lyndra?? he whispered in deep soothing baritones, ?It?s not safe. What has taken over Sha?uri has a grip on Sharilis. Let go??

His emerald hues held such sorrow and pain and yet deep within them were a resolve. He had been able to stop his mother for short stints, he needed to be able to do it again with Lyndra.

The voice came naturally to him. Perhaps it was a special connection he had with other dragons, or just anyone that he was close to. Perhaps it was something else or a combination. All he knew was that when he felt the meaning keenly and projected it towards another, it worked most of the time.

On many occasions he used that projection to command his mother to silence. It had worked for a time until it had grown in strength, this thing that had influenced and taken over her. He had noticed the strength rising in her and knew there would be a time when he couldn?t stop her. That was when he decided to leave her in the arctic north and try to figure out a way to help her. He knew instinctually that if Lyndra connected with Sharilis, she might distract the goddess and Lyndra might not be strong enough to help them both from being taken over. It was a chance he didn?t want to take.

He remembered those times when he had been into a deep sleep, the kind that made him unaware of his surroundings and even seemed to keep him from dreaming, or at least remembering those dreams. He kept that sensation in mind while his hand stroked Lyndra?s cheek? and his thoughts projected that sensation while his voice took on a mesmerizing vibration and commanding tone.

??.Sleep.?

The numbing effect washed over her subconscious like a warm blanket placed over cold skin. There was no debate, no thought of any kind, just the melting sensation of her will giving into his and the weight of emotions and thought lifted from her. Lyndra?s sleep was turned into a coma like state.

Alex watched over her for a while with no clue or thought for the time. He even allowed himself the luxury of closing his eyes and resting lightly there by her side. It seemed like hours could?ve flown by, and for his reality within Cadence?s room, it had. Eventually his eyes opened.

After sensing that Lyndra was still in a very deep state of sleep, he moved to the mirror on the wall, fixed his hair, splashed some water on his face and got a glass of water to drink. As he sipped the water, he wondered when Cadence would be back and decided that maybe he should at least venture to open the door. This little room of hers was a strange anomaly to him. He wasn?t sure where he?d be if he did open it up.

As he reached for the handle, thinking about the conference room and how he should be there with everyone else, something caught his attention near the door. Along the wall was a pedestal like table and something about the size of a small dog sitting atop of it. Over this was a covering of dark cloth. Even though it was a curious thing why something was covered up there, this wasn?t what caught his attention the most.

Something shimmered ever so briefly beneath it, as if a dark light came on beneath the cloth. Alex could sense the magic about it and that it was exceptionally strong, pulsing with a life of its own. It pulsed with a negative energy yet he was not repulsed by it. This made him all that much more curious and he almost moved to remove the covering.

His feet never left the floor; frozen with the thought to remove the cloth ? he stared at the item for several moments. Finally his mind seemed to move with thoughts again and the first thought was? What if that cloth was protecting us?

His thoughts suddenly raced, as if the grip on them had been released. Alex thought of his mother, his grandmother, the abysmal evil that gripped the two? the insanity, the darkness?. And the friend Cadence called Bob.

Did she say he gave her this place? She did say he wasn?t all bad. What?s he up to? I trust Cadence, but can I trust Bob? No, not with what I?ve heard about him? but can I trust his relationship with Cadence?

ThAt was something to ponder.

A plan was forming, a new plan he hadn?t thought about before?. He needed to speak with her, with all the others. They had to take the fight to Sha?uri and do it soon.

With his thoughts on Cadence and the others, he moved to the door and opened it up. Before him was the familiar construction of hallway deep in the Exodian Forces Compound below the ground. He was right where he wanted to be?.