Clang.

Jaina’s eyes fluttered. Her bedroom was dark, the candle on her nightstand had long died out, probably shortly after she fell asleep. She blinked, and looked up to where the loud noise had come from. The curtains around her windows were drawn, as it was a cloudless night, and the moon’s light was very bright. Outside, hanging just in front of the mirror, Jaina could swear that a man was standing. “I must be seeing things,” she murmured softly, and rubbed her eyes. She sat up in her bed, and drew her sleep clothes around her body to warm herself. It was a chilly night, and she had more than one blanket covering her.

She stifled a yawn and stood up from the bed. The figure outside wavered slightly in the curtains. She took hold of the soft fabric, and drew them away to expose whoever was waiting for her. “Are you a Domerii?” she asked the figure, unsure of whether she was still dreaming. “What are you doing here so late?”

The figure lowered himself to eye level with the lady. “I am not a Domerii, young Jaina,” he replied suavely, and bowed his head. “I am here to escort you to the Dark Eye. My name is Elrick of Red.” The figure smiled, and held out his hand. Jaina noticed that it was covered in an odd gauntlet. “You are needed for a mission. Don’t worry.” He looked up, and his azure eyes noticed that she was having doubts. “I won’t harm you. I promise.”

Jaina was still very sleepy and, thinking it was a dream, willingly opened the window to the calm, seductive voice. She took the hand of the man, and saw to her surprise that he stood suspended in midair aboard a simply massive sword colored red. “Don’t worry,” he said, as she stepped onto the sword. “You won’t fall. I promise.” Elrick of Red smiled, which turned into a grin, and retrieved a small letter from the insides of his cloak. He set it on the windowsill and closed the glass shutters before he left. Beneath him, the Bloodsword began to slowly move downward.
***
“Now, if you will come through this door, I shall take you to where you are to wait.” Still holding her hand, Elrick gracefully opened the door to Laboratory #3 and allowed her to enter before he did. The blood master, ignoring the bodies that littered the lab, took her to the back, where the master of the laboratory was waiting. “But first, my friend here wants to say something.”

Jaina looked around in slight confusion. “Who is here besides us?”

Elrick smiled. Out of the darkness, Elrick could see the hulking frame of the iron giant himself. The Dark Eye introduced himself physically before he did so verbally. Jaina’s eyes grew progressively larger as the monster emerged from the shadows. Chronos entered the dim light of his laboratory’s experiments, which caused the young lady to shudder slightly. “Do you know who I am?” he hissed to the girl. “Answer.”

“Aren’t you Mesfido’s and my teacher?” she asked. “We had Kenjin, but you replaced him. You’re the Dark Eye.”

“Yes.” Chronos relaxed as well as he could so as to not frighten Jaina. “I am not going to hurt you, but I do need you for something. The Red here will take you in the back to a comfortable, soundproof room, where you may resume your night’s sleep. You will not remain there for more than forty-eight hours, but it is important that you do this.” He reached into his coat with his right hand, and retrieved a syringe. “This will place you in a hibernation state for that length of time.”

Chronos tossed the needle to Elrick, who grabbed it by the handle. “Come on, let’s get you back to bed. He’s just going to bore you right back to sleep.” Jaina was already yawning again, and nodded eagerly. Elrick obeyed, and stuck the syringe into her skin. The girl’s eyes fluttered, and eventually closed. The blood master caught her just as she fell, and carried her into the back. After a few minutes, he reemerged.

“Are her vitals fine?”

Elrick nodded. “No problem, tough guy. She’s sleeping like a baby, and I’ll keep track of her blood from right here,” he answered, and knocked lightly against his head with a knuckle. “All these big machines and stuff can’t compare to my magical blood.”

“I doubt that. I could remove your powers right now.”

Elrick shook his head. “You take away my powers, I die. And you can’t kill. Impossible paradox. I win.” He heard Chronos shuffled back into the dark, and sighed. “Hey, big guy, why are you always hiding in there? We kidnapped her five minutes ago. There is no way that he comes in here so fast.”

“I have to prepare something.” From the darkness, Chronos placed a few vials of liquid onto a tray and scooted it into the light. “Do you know what these are?”

“If I say yes, will that save me the hour-long lecture that might follow a negative answer?” Elrick joked. Chronos did not answer, and began to arrange the compounds into different groups. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the big plan?”

“I am testing these chemicals under combat circumstances.” With his one hand, the Dark Eye grabbed a vial of purple liquid and placed it in the center of the tray. To the left of it were test tubes containing yellow and green compounds, respectively. “The purple liquid is my negation serum. The original compound is a viral infection, and any supernatural powers are negated and the body is reverted to a standard being. However, there are exceptions. If the compound is directly liked to DNA, power will be retained, as the power is directly linked to genetics. It will instead be lessened to the most basic form of power.”

Elrick yawned loudly. “What’s that got to do with this one? What’re you planning to do with this stuff anyway?”

Chronos opened the vial containing the purple liquid, and set the lid down before reaching for the yellow tube. “The compound I use is a bacterial alteration. It infects the body quicker, and when the antidote is given, the compound can be used again and again, as opposed to the original version, which was a one-time agent, a last resort. The bacterial agent is weaker, but its repetitive uses outweigh the lessened strength.” He poured the yellow compound in, and the liquid began to swirl. “I developed a new agent that should reverse the abilities of this compound. It will give enhanced powers to anyone who takes it for a time until an antidote is provided.”

“So that’s why you’re testing it this way. You want a good fight, huh?” the Red asked.

Chronos nodded. “It should allow for that, but a ‘good fight’ is not what I am looking for.” He placed the tube next to the green one to take the second into his hand. “Instead, I hope to be able to create a new compound to suppress powers. One that I will be able to ingest and react to.” The vial transformed into a deep orange for some unusual reason Elrick did not want to know, as it would involve more scientific theory that he wouldn’t understand.

“So…you’re going to make him and me stronger for the fight, because you want to get weaker. I got that right?”

Chronos did not answer, and the Red did not press the issue. “When Mesfido arrives, I will circulate the activation serum in the ventilation system. This will greatly enhance yours and his abilities, so be prepared for the additional power. After I have seen enough, I will enter and cease the conflict, as well as give you both the antidote. I do not believe that circulation of this drug will be very safe after roughly five hours, its half-life. Understand?”

Elrick nodded. “Yeah. I can’t be here for too long. Nenet will probably want me to return to the mountains soon. I can’t leave her alone for too long, she’s been acting kind of strange lately.”

“Help me clear the room. I do not want the fights destroying my experiments. I will prepare my circulation system.”

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Signature by the Sinfully Delicious Lady Knives