Ry-san's advanced class

OoC: Gah... My CJs are suffering.

Crap, we’ll never get over there at this rate! cried Blitz silently in frustration. A stallion stopped momentarily in front of him then, slightly shorter than the rest. A thought came to the swordsman, and he turned to Aurora. “Stay here, this could get pretty dangerous.” Before the harpist could even blink, the swordsman’s feet left the ground, striking the furred creature’s back once, and catapulted him into the air. Seeing the center of the camp leap forward, he went into a dive and rolled across the ground skillfully, coming to kneel on one knee. In one fluid motion, the Supernova slithered from his sheath.

The centaur was standing only a meter ahead, holding his spear in a defensive stance. “Get back,” he said firmly to the ancient warrior, eyes set on the adolescent as he retrieved his spiked weapon.

“What?!” cried the man-beast indignantly, thoroughly insulted. But then, he caught sight of the look in Blitz’ eye; a twinkle of anticipation. It was not that the swordsman thought only he could handle Ren, but rather that Blitz wanted to fight. Indignation fled, and Chetarren nobly took a step back, though said nothing.

Blitz rose to his feet, letting flames encompass his sword. He could see a katana sheathed at Ren’s waist; his own double-edged sword would not be terribly wieldy against such a weapon. A glow encompassed the Supernova’s blade, and Blitz gave the furious youth a grin of firm determination. Now to find out if he’s as good as he makes himself out to be.

Shing! Clang!

Blitz had hardly enough time to guard as Ren’s katana leapt forward. Now the boy was forcing against Blitz’ sword in a fierce deadlock, eyes radiating hate. The Supernova had transformed just in time. Incredible! He draws even faster than I do! Unable to gain an edge, both the combatants jumped away, only to lunge at each other once more. Suddenly, the swordsman relinquished his strength ever-so-slightly, and Ren slipped forward, completely off guard. Taking advantage of the moment of weakness, Blitz delivered the boy one well placed slam in the back of his head with the pommel of his Flare blade.

He may be quick and strong, reflected the swordsman as his opponent toppled limply to the grass, but he lacks any discipline whatsoever. Too bad, I was looking forward to this.

So soft that it was nearly inaudible, a sound reached his ears. Blitz whirled around to deflect the projectile, but…

Oh sure, be all macho and leave the woman behind 'cause she can't defend herself!

Aurora grated her teeth, a vexed expression marring her features. Although she wasn't a proclaimed feminist, she was annoyed by Blitz's obvious archane gallantry, as much as she appreciated the gesture.

Why else do you think I'm here in a warrior's Dome?

With a little shake of her head, she started forward. The horses blocked her way, shying from the ensuing fight below. Deftly picking a switch out of the ground, she yelled fiercely and slapped one or two across the rump smartly. The two offenses jigged slightly, rolling their eyes in fright at this new threat, and started moving out of her way. Being herd animals and therefore incessant lemming followers, the others trotted after them. She cracked the stick once more, just to keep them going. Soon, the way was clear.

She advanced down the hill, dropping her harp and pulling her ashwood bow off her back. She plucked an arrow out of her quiver and sited the two combatants, now Blitz and Ren. Choosing carefully, she marked a space right between the two, closer to Blitz's eyes and let fly. Fighting the enraged teenager was not going to solve anything. Surprising, the knight saw or heard it coming, and dodged, slicing the projectile out of the air.

However, this DID break the concentration and momentum of the fight. All eyes turned to her, standing about seven paces from the camp at the base of the hill. The horses thundered behind her; by now the entire herd was in flight, at least from the immediate region surrounding the fight. The effect was extraordinary; a sea of colours swirled behind her as she challenged the members of her party.

Karaza snapped out of it first, lunging for the white-haired half-dragon in an attempt to take his chain away. The two combatants crashed to the ground, rolling and throwing punches every which way.

Not knowing what else to do, Aurora lowered her bow, though notched another arrow loosely. The wrestling continued, and Chetarren looked ready to intervene, but suddenly Zolf...

OoC: Ok, Shade, this is for you, but someone else could post I guess, if they've got more imagination than me as to what Zolf could change into. ^__^

Stop! Dear god! You guys have been totally taking over my character's actions. You could at least wait for me to respond to a direct interaction with my character and yours! I'm disappointed. Ever heard Ry-san's rule? Never take control of another person's character without permission.

Now, will you all wait for me to actually have a say in what Ren does ? I was gone for two days and now look what's happened. *grumbles and sets off to write post*

EDIT:
OoC: First, I would like to apologize for snapping. It was just a bit annoying to be grounded for only two days and to come back to find my character has been doing all these things without my knowledge. I doubt you all would like it if it had happened to one of your characters.

Even though Ren is not acting entirely like himself, it does make this VERY interesting. So I’ll work on what you guys have put in so far.

BiC: Karaza locked his arms around Ren’s elbows and pulled them back to restrain the raging half-dragon. He felt his flesh stretch with the effort of tugging against the man’s strength. Blitz’s arm wrapped underneath the youth’s jaw, in a sort of head lock. The Retuson grounded the bawls of his feet into the earth. His legs pushed against the warrior’s encasing grasps. He could feel the heat of his rage, his frustration, burning so profoundly in his chest he thought it was going explode. He could feel his heart boiling in those deadly acids. His teeth gritted down so tightly it felt as if one might chip.

“Calm down!” cried the red-haired warrior, tightening his grip around Ren’s neck.

He was forced to his knees as the swordsman applied more pressure. But everything in the teenager resisted relaxation. Everything in him that had been building up slowly all seemed to blend together and rushed forth, feeding his enraged state. A new tingling sensation along his insides and he felt it burst inside him. But I don’t need Tejison! But it had activated itself. His dragon’s blood worked too quickly for him to monitor.

Pure light erupted abruptly from his back, blinding the two who held him. It filled the air around them, making the proximity seem as if it were day in that one spot. They didn’t let go, even though they weren’t sure of what was occurring. Ren felt his wings beginning to grow and sprout outside of his back. Two, white lights sprang up and knocked the two warriors back so hard they were forced to the floor. The two shapeless masses of energy took form quickly. They twisted and molded themselves into two identical dragon wings, covered in pearly white scales.

Ren remained on his knees, his chest fell and rose rapidly, and his hands were clenched tightly at his sides. The Retuson panted to regain his breath and his reason. What am I doing? Why was he doing this? All just because Karaza—or whatever his name was—bumped into him? This was the last straw. He was regressing—slowly forming back into the assassin he used to be. An arrogant bully that he so much despised. Look at me … I’m nothing more than a wild animal. A nasty voice rang through his head: Who said dragons were ever well tempered?

The young Teijson’s hands pressed against the disturbed grass that had been torn form the earth and flattened against the ground in their struggle. He slowly pushed himself up to his feet. Silence laughed at him, and he could feel their eyes lick his back. Their looks almost stung. His hands shook at his sides as he glowered at his boots. Great … really nice way to make friends, Ren. Think you’ve made enough mistakes? His crimson eyes shut slowly for a moment and then he opened them again. His wings glimmered with a familiar blinding light. They melted back down into his back, hiding inside once more. Darkness fell around them like black rain drops. Only the fire was the remaining source of light.

His scarlet gaze stared forward across the fields of grass that were shadowed by the night’s cool veil. He could feel the tension in his eyebrows and all over his face, sinking deeply into his flesh. The Retuson turned his head up to the sky, the stars and moon winked and almost smiled back at him; it felt more like they were mocking him. He returned his attention to the land in front of him. Slowly, he picked up one boot and stepped forward, walking away from those at the camp fire.

Should he say anything? Perhaps an apology? He felt his stomach muscles tighten. No … I can’t even look at them. His head sagged down in his shame. He thought he had learned better than this. What was he without the people he cared for? Nothing but a senseless bully.

OoC: There we go. Short, but hell it’s something. If there’s errors give me a break. It’s 1:50 a.m. I wanted to get something posted. Definitely not my best work but I’ll make up for it later.

"Very good, young one," Yang said from behind him, as he wandered away from the fight. "It takes a braver man to walk away from a fight than to fight in one."

"Shut up," the Teijson muttered, he was in no mood for a lecture.

"You should not fight unless needed, that is one of the keys to becoming a great warrior."

"Listen old man-" he spun around, but Yang had vanished. All that was behind him was landscape.

Yang took the time to notice what was happening among the other students. He never fought, unless needed, but the three, Ren, Zolf, and Aurora, seemed eager for each other's blood.

The centuar that Dark Kenjin hated had stayed out of the fight. A good thing too, for Kenjin could sense vast powers lying in the warrior's aged body. Yang found it ironic that while one side of him respected Chetarren, Dark wished for nothing but to end his life.

Dark, had retired to his own thoughts, now that the fight seemed to have ended. Ren was alone, amist his own thoughts, but Aurora and Zolf were still near the battlefield. Yang hoped that they would not fight, as the group would need to work together to face what their teacher had planned for them.

Yang walked over to where the wise centuar was sitting by himself. "These young ones seem to have a great love of battle, perhaps a greater one than necessary."

OoC: Ok, so we'll just ignore my cut-off and imagine that Zolf turned into some other bizarre element of the known physical world and wait for Shade's input. ^_^

IC: Irritably, Aurora released the tension on her bowstring and put her arrow back in her quiver. The embers of the fight died to ashes when Ren departed. She unstrung her bowstring, clipped her bow back into its case, and walked back up the hill and retrieved her harp.

Stupid really. Men! She snorted in disgust. Without another word she stalked back over the hill, too disappointed with their splintered beginnings to stay with her other equally silent and subdued partners.

She neared her stone again, sat, and set the harp once more in her lap, but the chords would not come. She looked at the full moon rising, wishing for Kei, but knowing he was light-years and many dimensions away. A tear misted her left eye, but she brushed it away.

It was only a stupid, childish fight. Nothing to cry over.

So she sat, staring at the sky, wishing for morning.

OoC: Any more bright ideas?

While Half-Elf Aurora had been trying to push the horses away from the fight, the weird chemist was shifting wildly between vials in his jacket. He hadn't had any inkling of what a half dragon creature could do, so his mind was drawing a blank. While Karaza and Blitz were trying to supress the odd madness that was filling the adolescent Retuson, here he was, just letting it happen.

Stupid vials...gah...no..phylexderase...Icy...WHATEVER! He poured several vials of miscellaneous fluid on his arm, and a sensation of numbness consumed his appendage. He felt the skin over his arm harden and thicken. He couldn't move. No one seemed to notice until after the conflict was over what was wrong with Zolf.

Blitz, of all the students, saw the arm and jumped back with confusion. Zolf felt his raw flesh under the metal being crushed, and he fell to his knees. The arm was digging into the ground, and the fingers of it were growing into sharp claws. Unstable points of the metal were coming out and jabbing into his skin in other parts. It was unrefined Rediron, created by three of the chemicals Zolf poured, and then restricted to one point of his body by the fourth concoction. Moaning, the psuedo-human fell, and his arm bulged and exploded with new shapes. Sharp ones that threatened to stab through the others. Random elements were being focused inside the metal, and getting ready to explode out of it. Trying not to panic, Blitz thought of the only sure way this all too familiar metal would stop growing.

"Aghh....hah...hah..." Zolf was bleeding, and the metal was digging into him further. Sweat was trickling off of him in thick drips, and his chest was heaving. Air wasn't coming. Why was this metal so toxic to his body?

OoC: I would like Blitz to respond to this post in particular.

OoC: Told you Zolf wouldn't like it, Shade.

BiC:

Zolf was on his knees, gripping the throbbing, pulsating arm in agony, face contorted in pain and terror. His body was shaking at the unnatural reaction happening within him, unable to handle the strain of such an unrefined mineral congealing along his left forearm. The fear in the chemist’s face was all too clear, but none of the other students knew what to do. Exchanging confused looks between one another and the shuddering pseudo-human, they attempted desperately to understand what was happening.

Blitz had no idea how the alchemist could have formed rediron from a motley bizarre chemicals; the metal was a molecular cohesion of iron and rare clays, and under normal circumstances the substances would take several days to properly compound. But that did not matter now. The swordsman had not yet released the tension in his blade, which was still in its lengthened katana shape. Without a moment’s hesitation, Blitz did the first thing that came to mind. He snatched Zolf’s arm with his free hand and held it straight up. The pseudo-human stared in disbelief as Blitz gripped the Flare blade and delivered a clean sweep just below Zolf’s elbow. There was a sickening pop as the limb suddenly broke free, and the purple-haired man let out a scream of unbridled agony, clutching the bloody stump tightly.

Blitz tossed aside the still pulsating limb, and Cheterran, who was standing where it landed, backed away in disgust. “You,” demanded the swordsman, “go find Aurora and bring her here. She will be able to heal him.”

The centaur gave the human an apprehensive glare, but wisely decided now was not the time to question the boy’s command. He turned and hastily galloped away, clutching his spear tightly. The swordsman watched as his fellow student bolted across the landscape, wondering silently if he honestly knew where he was going.

That done, Blitz quickly returned his attention to Zolf who was whimpering, holding back tears of pain. “It’s alright; Aurora will be here soon to heal you. Do you have any chemicals that can numb the pain?”

Struggling to focus, the pseudo-human took his remaining arm and reached into his overcoat. Blood flowed unrestrained from the stumpy wound, staining the white coat. When his hand reemerged, the blood-stained gloves were shakily holding a vial of puke-green liquid. Blitz seized the vial, flicked off the cork with a pop, and took Zolf’s halved arm. As he emptied the substance onto his patient, the man flinched noticeably, but then relaxed very slightly after only a few moments. Laying the vial on the ground, Blitz turned his head to the nearest remaining student, who happened to be Yang. “You, give me part of your sleeve.”

The odd man immediately reached for his sleeve, but then stopped. Eyes flitting to the side, as if looking behind him, he muttered a silent, “Quiet.” Then, he ripped his sleeve and tossed it to Blitz who snatched the fabric out of the air.

“Thanks.” Working quickly, the swordsman folded the fabric and pressed it against the wound. Then he ripped off a section of his own sleeve and tied it around Yang’s offering. Almost instantly, both scraps of cloth were covered in syrupy blood. “There,” he said to Zolf, “that should hold you until Aurora arrives.”

Gripping his stump instinctively, the pseudo-human gave Blitz an appreciative glance. “Thanks… I think.”

The wound was growing, Yang could notice it. He recognized the symptoms for an infection, and noted that, for some reason, it was starting to form. He was amazed at the rapid scale of the wound, it was beginning to pump more blood to heal. Aurora was who-knows-where, Yang hadn't seen her for a while, since before the fight.

"Young one, perhaps it would be better for me to treat that," Yang said, pointing an old finger to the bloody stump that was left of the arm. "I can heal that faster."

Zolf did not see anyone coming up, Chetarren probably wasn't even aware of where the Ominea was, not a very good sign. By the time he would find her, the infection would have reached an unhealthly dangerous level. Why is this spreading so fast? Yang thought, looking over the arm.

"I will help you, give me your arm," Yang said, the younger student obeyed. Yang reached out a disgusted arm and grabbed the severed piece of Zolf's arm. "I should be able to fix this."

"Lie down and relax," Yang said soothingly, laying the boy onto the earth. "This will only take a moment."

Yang felt his light energy flowing through him, coursing through his immortal veins. Light began to flow from the Master of Light to the severed limb and to the piece that was still attached to Yang's classmate.

"Healing Force," Yang whispered, as the two broken pieces of flesh intertwined together. Both sides melted to form one whole arm.

"That should do, just don't do it again Blitz," Yang finished, before sitting back down.

Blitz was sent into a frenzy at the action. When Yang said that he was going to heal Zolf, he had not expected the odd man to reattach the limb. "What have you done?!" cried the swordsman, observing as the limb suddenly began to tremble.

Yang noticed the odd movements within the appendage as well, just as Zolf's eyes bulged in surprise. Once more, a metallic ooze secreted from the pale limb, this time more strongly than before. A sickening pulse went up the pseudo-human's arm as the limb suddenly began to turn a shiny shade of grey. Moving quickly, Blitz gave another sharp slice of his sword, and the appendage dropped at Zolf's feet.

Ignoring the exasperated whimpers of his patient, Blitz turned and shouted at Yang. "There's a reason I chopped off his arm in the first place! That flesh is permanently damaged, and the mere touch of it will infect anyone!" He pointed purposefully at the hideous growth as it shuddered, releasing a greenish-yellow steam.

Yang gave the swordsman a look of surprise, and quickly bowed in apology. "I was not aware," he said softly.

Blitz' expression softened. "It's alright; just don't do that again." He turned back to the pseudo-human who was gripping his twice-made stump and staring up at the two in disbelief. "Sorry, but the nubmness should still have an effect." Blitz knelt next to Zolf and quickly redressed the wound. Upon finishing, he gave the two fabrics a sharp tug to secure the knot. "All we can do now is wait for Aurora. Hang on until then."

Zolf gulped, but nodded cooperatively.

The swordsman was more than aware that the wound would be beyond grotesque by the time their teacher arrived. However, even if an infection did manifest itself, this Kenjin character could deal with that problem when it arose. Until Aurora returned to the camp, Zolf would merely have to endure.

Gritting his teeth together, Zolf began to quake involuntarily, and the lids of his eyes fluttered. An icy feeling from the stump was making the pre-angelic being want to throw up. He began to retch, and a thick stream of orange goo splattered onto the grass. The pseudo could barely keep from falling into his own sludge; his remaining arm weakly held him. Blitz carefully pulled the chemist away from the mess. The remedy wasn't working like it should have.

Zolf saw Blitz and Yang looking down at him concerned, and when he blinked the next second, he saw them as if through heat-vision. Outlined in a blue that made Zolf think of the Ominae's eyes, the layers they were made of became warmer and warmer, coated at the center with deep red.

Blitz is brighter, the youth thought randomly. Sick waves of heat ran up to his head. Blitz's brows raised with fear as the veins across Zolf's visible parts became red and visible. The pseudo humanoid contorted his eyes together, then talked in a hoarse rasp:

"I'll be okay...Don't you worry, Sonia. It's all just for fun...don't cry...." The Tear realized he was becoming delusional. Not only was he not Sonia, but he wasn't crying. Blitz's second thought was how much Sonia must have meant to him to pretend to be okay when in pain so severe. Or, maybe it was just a random rant. Either way, it was making him feel sick himself.

OoC: Sorry about the delay, all. I have to say, I am disappointed that you would choose to use some one else's char to advance the story without their permission. But, at least you all occupied yourselves while I was gone, and that's more than you did last time.

BiC: Aurora the Ominae strolled silently through the tall grass, moonlight shining off her silver robes, giving the ageless summoner an almost ethereal appearance. She had to admit she was less than satisfied with the lack of communication between her pupils. She was hoping that as their journey became more ardorous, they'd be forced to interact. Just as her mind drifted from her musings, back toward reality, the sound of fighting reached her ears over the rise.

She watched through her mind's eye as the small struggle unfolded. She sensed many of the other students part ways as the scuffle ended, and guessed that she'd be seeing Ren again in the near future.

Just then, an agonized scream rent the night air, making the hair on the youthful woman's arms stand on end. Zolf...

She broke into a run, meeting Chetarren halfway, nearly barreling headlong into the centaur at the crest of a small hill.

"It's the psuedo human, my lady..."

"I know." Aurora called over her shoulder as she barely paused in her flight. "What happened?"

The old general seemed at a loss for an exact explaination as the two raced on. "He was mixing chemicals, I would assume to aid in the fight somehow, and he reacted poorly to the result, my lady."

"Poorly is an understatement, Chetarren," she retorted coldly as they skidded to a halt just inside the camp. "Can YOU tell me just what the hell happened to your classmate, Blitz?" she demanded, perhaps more than asked, of the red-haired man as she knelt beside Zolf's whimpering, huddled form.

"I can't tell you what his original intentions were, ma'am," Blitz explained as the Ominae examined her student, "but he has inadvertenly created a substance known as rediron, and he bonded it to his body somehow. Problem is, that's unrefined rediron, which is extremely toxic."

Aurora's brow furrowed as her concern grew. Zolf was going into shock. The veins near his skin bulged and showed painfully as his eyes rolled with the hallucinations encroaching on his now fevered mind. "Zolf, Zolf can you hear me?" He seemed not to hear her, then suddenly, his eyes snapped wide, focusing on her face for the briefest of moments before he flew into her arms, holding her, clinging to her as a drowning man would.

"Aurora... Aurora is that you?" His eyes bulged and his now pale, translucent skin glistented with the cold sweat streaming from his pores. "Aurora, please help me..." A gut wrenching scream tore itself from his throat as he slumped to the ground convulsing wildly.

The summoner knew her time was short and tried to soothe the purple-haired man, but Zolf had slipped beyond reason or thought. His hands clutched at nothing as his back arched and his white eyes rolled fitfully. He couldn't be still long enough for her to concentrate and place her hands on him, so she did the next best thing. She dove onto his seizureing form, stradling his chest, with her knees holding down his upper arms. She held his face as gently as she could between her hands as the power welled inside her, making her eyes glow brightly. The glow spread slowly, engulfing both bodies in an azure aura.

The Ominae worked feverishly, chasing the infection from the young psuedo human's body while trying to maintain her precarious constraint. This isn't natural. I don't know what this infection is, but it's like nothing I've ever seen. Gradually, Zolf's thrashing subsided, letting her work more freely. She pushed toxins from his body until they pooled in a steaming, greenish-yellow puddle of sludge around the bloody stump that was once his arm.

His white eyes fluttered as they opened, looking up into Aurora's blue ones. A small, weak smile parted his lips. "I knew you couldn't resist me forever."

Aurora smiled good-naturedly as she slid from her perch, ruffling his purple hair with one hand. "Whatever, Zolf," she chuckled softly.

Zolf very slowly sat up, fingering the stump that was once his arm gingerly. The bleeding had stopped, and skin had already begun to grow over the wound.

"Do you remember what happened, Zolf? What went wrong?" his teacher asked softly as she sat regarding the severed limb lying nearby, still steaming and bulging grotesquely.

The psuedo human shook his head tiredly. "I just knew I had to do something, and the next thing I knew..." He shook his head, mind still reeling.

She placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. "It's okay... Well, the way I see it, we have three options. One, I can simply finish healing you, and you can spend the remainder of your life with one arm," she saw Zolf grimace painfully at the proposition. "I didn't think you'd care for that one. Two, I can try to purge the rediron from the limb and then reattach it. Or, three, I can try to refine the rediron, leaving it bonded to your flesh..."

"That's not possible."

Aurora gaze shot upward to the red-haired swordsman. "Beg pardon?"

"It requires WEEKS to refine rediron to a useable, non-toxic state. Not to mention difficult processes and chemicals that no longer exist naturally. There is no possible way you could..."

The Ominae guffawed, shaking her head and smirking mysteriously. "You have definitely chosen the wrong person to dictate to upon what is and is not possible, Blitz Keir." Then, she turned to her now healed student. "It's up to you, Zolf. What do you want me to do?"

OoC: Okay, I want Shade to post next with Zolf's answer, then I'll handle the execution of whatever choice he's made. Others may feel free to write in with their char's perspective on the action, or if their char is not currently present, with whatever is happening elsewhere.

"It's okay... Well, the way I see it, we have three options. One, I can simply finish healing you, and you can spend the remainder of your life with one arm," Deep within his mind, Zolf felt a wave of depression coarse through him. He tried to hide his dislike for this option. It was unsuccessful.

"I didn't think you'd care for that one. Two, I can try to purge the rediron from the limb and then reattach it-" This sounded very, very good. But how? The Rediron, so grotesquely toxic and unstable...how could Aurora, despite how mighty, convert it back to a normal arm? The DNA once present in the arm was gone. The atoms were so riddled and changed by so many factors: the oxygen and nitrogen in the air, those four chemicals, etc. It seemed like a lost cause. "-Or, three, I can try to refine the rediron, leaving it bonded to your flesh..."

Interest sparked in the chemist's eyes, neck and neck with the expression of pain. This new metal, whatever it was, seemed to be amazingly strong. Thousands of ideas, too cloudy to make out at the moment but still recognizable, swirled in his aching head. He decided he wanted to get this over with quick. He wanted to sleep.

"Ruh...Refine...and bond...Please."

Ren was still stomping off until he heard a scream shudder through the cool night air. He twisted around quickly and stared back at the camp behind him. What now? thought the white-haired boy, his crimson eyes staring over at the fire in apprehension. His sight was sharper than a normal being’s and he could see clearly that Zolf was down on his knees clamping the bloody stump of his arm. It felt as if all of his insides had evaporated. What in the name of Akasha?

The Retuson rushed back to a closer proximity to the camp. As he swept over his gaze caught Yang grasping Zolf’s arm from the ground and bind it back to his arm. Blitz yelled something, grabbed the poor man’s arm again and sliced it off. Zolf let out another shriek What the ****! Why did the Blitz do that! He was close enough now to hear what they were saying. Falling down to his knees, he lowered himself onto his belly to keep from beginning noticed. There, he laid in the tall grass and hidden from view to watch his class mates.

“There's a reason I chopped off his arm in the first place! That flesh is permanently damaged, and the mere touch of it will infect anyone!” cried the swordsman. His blue eyes were full of alarm and sweat trickled down the side of his serious complexion.

“I was not aware,” gasped Yang, looking abashed for his decision.

“It’s all right, just don’t do it again,” said Blitz. He kneeled down next to the pseudo human, who was staring wearily at the two speaking. “Sorry, but the numbness should still have an effect.” The red-haired man wrapped two cloths around Zolf’s stump. “All we can do now is wait for Aurora. Hang on until then.”

Zolf nodded weakly and cradled his arm after Blitz finished dressing it. What in the Dark Realm happened? wondered Ren, staring through the blades of grass. The pseudo was a ghostly pale, he was nearly drenched in his sweat. His skin was gleaming in the yellow glow of the camp fire and his whole body was trembling. Still clenching his stump of an arm, Zolf bent forward and a ghastly orange fluid poured from his mouth making a horrid noise. This is bad … really bad. Ren pushed himself to his knees, his eyes were wide as he stared at the sick man. He wanted to help. He wanted to do something about it. Of course, he knew he couldn’t. He had no healing powers. The young man wished Aurora would get there soon. Blitz pulled Zolf away from the strange liquid, his eyes were tensed with fear and worry.

“I'll be okay ... Don't you worry, Sonia. It's all just for fun ... don't cry ...” rasped Zolf, still shaking. Ren stomach tightened and he began to feel as if all the fluids in his middle were turning and twisting together, making him feel sick. He bit down on his bottom lip. Zolf wouldn’t … die, would he? But to his great relief, Aurora the teacher came rushing into the camp site with the centaur behind her.

“Poorly is an understatement, Chetarren,” said the Ominae, her tone was unlike anything he had ever heard out of her mouth. It was harsh, cold, and stern. “Can YOU tell me just what the hell happened to your classmate, Blitz?” she demanded as she swiftly kneeled down next to Zolf.

“I can't tell you what his original intentions were, ma'am,” answered the swordsman. “But he has inadvertently created a substance known as rediron, and he bonded it to his body somehow. Problem is, that's unrefined rediron, which is extremely toxic.”

Aurora’s eyebrows knitted together as she continued to study Zolf. Her eyes were a midnight-blue and full of a sort of fear. It was a fearful concern. Please … don’t let him die, Ren pleaded silently to himself.

“Zolf, Zolf can you hear me?” whispered the Ominae to her ill student. Ren couldn’t see his face because Aurora was in the way. For a few moments there was silence. But he saw Zolf wrap his arms around Aurora like a frightened child.

“Aurora ... Aurora is that you?” said the pseudo human. It sounded almost as if he was going to burst into tears, which Ren wouldn’t have blamed him for. “Aurora, please help me...” He let out another shriek like before. It sent chills down the Retuson’s spine, making him quiver from head to toe. Gods no … he’s going to die … The boy’s mouth hung open in a silent gasp of horror.

His teacher tired to hold Zolf still but the man was sent into violent convulsions, jerking on the ground. Aurora straddled his chest and her knees pushed his shoulders to the ground. Her gentle hands held his head. In a few still moments they were both covered in a radiant blue light. Zolf slowly began to become still, his shaking subsided. Pulling around the stump of his arm was a large puddle of a greenish-yellow fluid that Ren could smell from his hiding place. It smelled like a combination between a decomposing body and rotten onions. It was enough to make his eyes water. The liquid sent vapors of steam into the air. When it all stopped, Ren heard Zolf say something, “I knew you couldn't resist me forever.”

The Retuson’s muscles relaxed. If he had the energy to flirt than he had to be fine. He let out a breath he had been holding in his lungs. That scared the s*** out of me … However, he heard Aurora speak and he looked over. She had gotten off the pseudo and was sitting next to the wounded man. Zolf sat up slowly, still holding his arm.

“Do you remember what happened, Zolf? What went wrong?” asked Aurora. Ren leaned forward to hear better.

“I just knew I had to do something, and the next thing I knew...” Zolf shook his head as he spoke.

Had to do something? About what …? The blood in Ren’s face drained as his skin turned pale. He felt his heart and stomach drop, leaving him empty. Don’t tell me he was … trying to stop me? Was that what happened? He was going to help stop him from attacking everyone and he had mixed the chemicals wrong? Ren pulled his legs up to his chest as his hand ran through his soft, white hair. Was it my fault? His scarlet eyes burned as he hugged his legs.

He could hear Aurora tell Zolf his options for his arm. The boy looked over, wiping his eyes. Zolf was going to be okay at least … He shrank back down onto his knees and backed away from the glow of the camp fire and back into the dark field. The Retuson would be sleeping under the stars tonight.

Yang moved out of the way to allow Aurora to assist the young warrior. He had failed miserably to help because of his lack of information about the chemicals that Zolf carried with him. It was best for him to remove himself from the paths of people that were capable of aiding the recovery.

When it was finished, they still had much that needed to be done, the arm was still severed. Though Aurora was able to help cease the infection, Yang could still feel that it needed more attention.

"Ominea," Yang said, approaching her. "If it would be all right, I would like to look after this young one. My fused healing powers might be capable of aiding him to ease the pain. I cannot stop the infection by myself, but I can help make him comfortable."

His Healing Force would be able to help him through the night, but together with Dark, both Kenjins would be able to help Zolf recover a second arm. He turned to Blitz, asking, "Could it be possible to regenerate his arm without causing more damage? With the Element of Life, I can return him his arm if I have a copy of it."

OoC: Okay - I don't know about anyone else, but I want to at least wrap this up rather than simply abandoning it. Otherwise, we'd have a story without an end. So if anyone else is interested, then here we go.

BiC: Chetarren stood at the edge of where the dying fire shed it’s light, staring off across the plains and listening to the activities within the camp itself. The old centaur didn’t interfere with is teacher or the other students and stood still as stone, knowing that there was nothing that he could do to help the situation. Eventually, once he knew that the pseudo-human would be alright under Aurora’s care, he tuned out the sound of conversation and Zolf’s pain-filled moans, focussing instead on the natural sounds of night. He closed his hazel eyes to better listen to the things around him.

When something disturbed the pattern of sound, the tracker opened his eyes carefully and looked towards where Ren was moving carefully away from the camp. The Retuson’s body was slumped, making him appear miserable or unhappy, but Chetarren suspected that guilt and worry were more to blame than anything else.

Letting out a long, slow breath, Chetarren lowered himself to the ground and settled himself down for the night. Clearing his thoughts, the old centaur relaxed his body, lay his weapons over to one side, and surrendered to a deep, soothing sleep that washed away the tension that had gathered during the day.


The first rays of the early morning sun woke Chetarren from his slumber. Squinting against the sudden glare, the old centaur stood slowly and stretched his limbs, giving the sluggish flow of blood time to quicken and warm his body. After several long minutes spent this way, he stooped, picked up his old weapons, and turned back towards the camp behind him, where most of Aurora’s students had yet to stir.

The Ominae was sitting before her tent, cross-legged, staring off into space. The leather-bound book in her lap lay open near the middle, but she didn’t read it or turn the pages. A tear ran down one of her cheeks, and fell to splash onto her grey robe near where the book rested.

Chetarren waited nearby, standing as still as he had the night before. He knew that something was wrong and had changed for the worse, something that affected his teacher and friend greatly. What it was, he had no idea, but the old warrior was content to exercise patience for the time being until the summoner could tell him and the others together.

OoC: I can't apologize enough for leaving you all the way I did. All I can say is it was for the best. I think the least I can do is finish this, delayed though it may be.

BiC: Aurora felt all attention upon her as she knelt beside the steaming, convulsing limb. She had to admit to herself that it was one of the most grotesque things she'd ever laid eyes on. She knew Blitz was incorrect in his assumption that she was incapable of refining the rediron. But, she also knew she didn't have the expertise, either.

Zolf, the summoner thought, I'm going to need your help.

She could feel the dazed young man stir behind her. "Huh? Did... Did you... say something?" he murmured.

Don't speak, Zolf. Conserve your energy. I need your help to do this, so I'm communicating with you telepathically. It saves time and effort.

She felt his surprise. You can do that?

Only with those I'm very close to, or who are especially chi sensitive.

Oh, are we close, my teacher? She could sense the flirtatious smirk behind his words.

Well, I know you too well anyway. Now, let's get down to business. I'm guessing your body will have an innate memory of the toxins that were running through it a few minutes ago?

Unfortunately.

I'm guessing that by eliminating those same toxins from the rediron...

Sure, that would make sense. Alright, I'm game.

Good. We need to be in physical contact for this to work, so lean against me for now. The psuedo human gladly obliged, leaning against his teacher's side, resting his head on her shoulder trustingly.

The Ominae set to work, taking the deformed arm in her hands. Soon, the same greenish-yellow sludge was running from the severed end of the arm. As this happened, the convulsing slowly subsided as a change occurred. It started at the fingertips, spreading slowly but surely, as the dull, rusty color of the unrefined rediron gave way to a deep, gleaming silvery sheen, like mercury or quicksilver. She could tell, Zolf could barely keep himself conscious, and really his curiosity was all that kept him tied to her as she struggled to separate the harmful chemicals from the young man's elastic DNA.

They seemed to work for hours together, Zolf gradually regaining some of his strength through contact with her and the freely flowing majic. Eventually, he was even able to help, giving her suggestions on what substances could be eliminated and which could be compounded to become safe. She was glad of the chemist's aid.

"There, we're finally done." Aurora pronounced at length. Blitz examined the limb carefully.

"I don't think it's actually rediron now," he eventually concluded. "It's... I think it's almost TOO pure."

"Exactly. Hopefully, I've retained it's durability, but we've created a substance that's more malleable, and therefore better suited to Zolf's... talents. Uh, Zolf?"

The psuedo human gave a little half snore. "Hmm...?" he muttered, mostly asleep. His head still rested on her shoulder, but his good hand was tracing idly along her thigh.

"Wake up before I break your good hand."

Zolf sat bolt upright to the sound of a few amused chuckles around the campfire.

Aurora quickly reattached the now shining arm, and sent the young man to a much needed rest.

------------------

Later that night, Aurora felt a restlessness. It felt as though she had been forgetting something important, something she should have attended, needed to attend, but had somehow forgotten. What could it be? She could no longer sleep, so decided to take a walk until her head cleared. She emerged from the tent to feel her foot strike something very heavy and solid. She bit her lip as her big toe throbbed painfully.

It was a book. An ancient and heavy tome, leatherbound, and embossed with the silver figure of a great, twisting dragon covering it, both front and back by its sheer size. Aurora dropped to her knees as she recognized the volume. Her hands carressed the binding, like seeing an old friend for the first time in many years, she pulled it close to her, opening it finally, though she need not read it. She knew all the words by heart. It was the Prophecy. The copy she herself had scribed by hand from the ancient texts. Written in the old tongue, the words described her destiny, and the life of her world, past, present, and future. Unbidden, words came to her mind. It was now clear to her what her restlessness meant.

A tear rolled down her face. It was time, and she had more than accomplished her goal here, but still, her heart ached at the thought of leaving the place she had made her home, and the people she had come to think of as friends, and even family. She took several long minutes composing a few short letters, folding them carefully, and writing a name on each.

One for each student, they were private letters, saying goodbye to each, and giving a final bit of sage advice. All but one.

Finally, she left the letters before the tent and rose, turning to the one student she hadn't written a note for. "Thank you for waiting, Chetarren." She said as they crested a hill to the east of the camp.

"You aren't going to wait for the others to wake, my lady?"

Her eyes held an infinite sadness, one of a thousand such goodbyes. "No, it only makes things harder. It's hard enough leaving one of the few places that has ever felt like home without making more tearful goodbyes than necessary."

"Then, you are leaving." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I must go back to my world. I am needed there more than here."

She spoke for several more minutes, telling him the things he needed to know, like she'd written to the others. He could feel her grow more and more agitated and sorrowful as she spoke until finally it seemed she could bear it no more. As her words died away, she did the only thing she really wanted to. She leaped up, wrapping her arms around the centaur's strong neck, and let the tears come as her feet dangled above the ground.

The old warrior did the only thing he could. He wrapped his muscular arms around her small frame and held her as her tears ran down onto his battle-scarred chest, taking in her clean, magical scent, and feeling the aura of his friend and teacher for what he felt would be the last time.

She began to feel lighter in his grip, alarmingly so, and the centaur looked to see that she was beginning to fade. He could actually begin to see the dawn shining through her form. He subconsciously held her more closely to him as he felt her fade away. She looked at him. Her tears were gone, and only a resolute sadness, and something else he couldn't name, shone back at him.

She touched his face gently and left a chaste kiss on his weathered cheek. "I'll miss you, Chetarren."

The last thing she saw was a brief struggle on his face.

"I..."

But, she was gone.

OoC: Okay, that's it for me. I'm out of time, so forgive the typos. If you want to know what the letter to your char said, or in Chetarren's case, what she said to him, PM me.

Alright, since the adventure has been beautifully ended, and Ry-San said that questions would be answered via PM, I'm going to lock this thread so that it does not become cluttered with posts saying "Oh, wow, that was awesome. So inspiring. Clap clap clap, way to go Ry."

If Ry-San doesn't want the thread locked, then she can PM me and I'll happily unlock it. But until then...

*Lock-eth*