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Exsors; chapters posted weekly, please comment
Topic Started: Jun 12 2009, 08:38 PM (800 Views)
DarkAngel013
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Haha, the invisible part would have probably scared me too.

xD I can't wait to read more. :3
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^Clicketh on thy picture. =] Call me Niko-chan~
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Marian Frae
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CHAPTER SIX
     “It’s been there for a while... but it hasn’t made a move yet, so I think we need to flush it out. Got any experience?” Rai replied, glancing away from the bushes slightly only to address Zen.
     Zen made a subtly sarcastic reply, “Flushing? Yeah, sure...” Rai looked at him out of surprise, “the toilet.”
     Rai’s mouth twitched upwards but he didn’t make a sound, “Alright then... here’s what we’ll do. First we should just keep moving until we find a nice clearing, then one of us can sneak around it and scare it out. Hopefully it’s just an animal.”
     “Okay... Which is least dangerous... or arduous... or both?”
     Rai looked unsure for a moment, “Arduous... ah...” he swore under his breath. “I forgot about this stupid thing.” He shook the magical chain which connected them and looked around. Suddenly, he was hit with an idea, “Ok, so... new plan. Can you create something like a flash bomb?”
     “A flash... bomb?! What the hell? No I can’t make a bomb! I can barely restart a dead battery or a car with this! How am I supposed to make a bomb?!”
     Rai sighed slightly, “Not a real bomb... just the effects of one. Like a sudden flash of light, or something.”
     Zen calmed notably, “How big?”
     “Big enough to scare any intelligent predator out of the cover.”
     Nodding, Zen replied, “Sure. Close your eyes. Last time I did this someone went blind...” Rai closed his eyes but braced for anything moving. Zen, keeping his eyes open and trained on the bush, brought his pulsing hands forward. He tried to focus all of the energy in his body into his hand then aimed at the bush. Suddenly lightning shot from his fingertips and into the bush. He jumped back, emitting a loud cry, “What the hell?! I can't do that!”
     Rai opened his eyes as a pop from the impact sounded. He stared at the bush, “Apparently you can!”
     “But- I- I-” he stammered for a while longer then ceased to make noise and looked at his hands, mouth still agape.
     “Save your ramblings for later. We still have company.”
     Zen glanced from Rai to the bush, “You sure I didn’t kill it?”
     As if in reply, the bush began to rustle again, only louder. A few seconds later, a cat-like creature stumbled out from under the trees and collapsed before the two. Zen took a step toward it, warily picking up a stick. He prodded it with one hand, building up energy again in the other one. The creature suddenly snarled and took a swipe at Zen.
     Rai created a wall of wind and yanked Zen back in one motion. Zen shot the creature once more with lighting, this time dealing a direct hit. A section of fur sizzled as the lighting made its mark. Rai watched warily as the creature fell once again and didn’t get up, “Hmm... only one? That’s not a good sign for the future.”
     Zen shot him a sideways look, “Do we even know if... whatever this thing was... travels in packs? For that matter... do we even know whatever this thing was? More importantly... can we eat it?”
     Rai cocked his head and returned Zen’s look, “Never assume anything you kill in a strange place travels on its own unless you can identify it. As for eating it... well, frankly, I dunno.”
     “Oh...” Zen looked back at the creature, kicked it, and shot it again. “How do you want your furred-creature?”
     Rai grinned, “Let’s have it burnt to a finely-charred crisp just in case.”
     Zen returned his grin, “A shriveled crisp? Or a crispy but still has its figure crisp?”
     Rai laughed, “Let’s keep a little figure so I know I’m not eating a dung heap.”
     “Good. I was worried you were going for the taste of ash. Through right now, I’d even handle SPAM!” Zen grabbed the creature and shoved a stick into it, “Rotisserie random creature. My favorite.” He grinned and grabbed more sticks, shooting lighting at them to set them on fire.
     Rai nodded approval, “Nice to see I'm not the only one who can make a fire now.”
     “Yeah. Nice to finally understand why you like it so much. Two guys in the woods, practically unsupervised, with magical fire starting powers... this might actually be somewhat fun.”
     Rai chuckled through his reply, “Don’t get too trigger happy no. We are standing in the middle of a bunch of living firewood, y’know.”
     Zen grinned mischievously, “I’ve held myself back so far. I think at least half the forest will still be living at the end of this. You can’t deny you’re a pyro too.”
     “This is true, it comes with the born ability to create and control flame. But thankfully, I’ve only gone as far as setting an innocent tourists hair ablaze.”
     Zen’s grin grew larger and more mischievous, “Welcome to the dark side. The next level is tourists’ shoe soles. That’s a riot.”
     Eyes wide with surprise, Rai asked, “And how would little Zenny boy know that?”
     Now grinning broadly, “Oh, just a little fun in the sixth grade with a living blowtorch called my best friend.” Zen lowered his voice so Rai could not hear, “Well... my now dead best friend.”
     Now roaring with laughter, Rai managed to say, “Who knew Mister ‘I hate magic’ could be such a riot?”
     Now basically back to his normal mood, Zen replied, “Yeah... guess we might be able to allow each other’s breaths still by the end of this thing. No girls to take care of or be glared at by,”
     “I still don‘t get what you don’t like about the girls. What do you have against them?”
     “Meh... nothing really... it just weirds me out.”
     Rai grabbed a thoroughly cooked piece of cat flesh and took a gigantic bite. Talking around the bite, he continued the conversation, “Funny, I kinda enjoy their company. It’s neat to watch Kayle latch onto you like that.”
     “That is exactly what weirds me out. Something’s off base with her... both of them really... but mainly her. I mean... I'm me.”
     “And? I’ve seen stranger pairs than you two.”
     Blushing, Zen burst out, “Whoa! Pair? No. I'm single and plan on staying that way! I’d never go out with Lithe!”
     Rai spluttered and choked on his meat, “Whoa now! I was talking about Kayle!”
     Zen blushed even more and looked down, grabbing a huge chunk of the creature for himself, “Oh....”
     Rai grinned and playfully elbowed Zen, “So... what’s this about Lithe, eh? Taken a liking to her have you?”
     Completely red in the face, Zen stumbled over his words, “No... I just thought you were referring to Lithe... I mean... Kayle flirts with EVERYTHING. I saw her flirt with a freaking squirrel the other day so...”
     Rai started laughing again at the look on Zen’s face, “Lithe’s totally on your mind, man. You can’t deny it.”
     “It doesn’t matter. Nothing would happen there anyway.”
     Rai sobered, seeing Zen’s mood fall considerably, “How do you know that? It’s not like she’s repulsed by you.”
     “Everyone’s repulsed by me. I'm the computer geek Magi son of an anxious normal and an absent normal who lives in the worst part of town.”
     “Don’t say that. Kayle absolutely loves you and even I can stand to hang around you now.”
     Zen looked up slightly, only to give Rai a look, “Rai, Kayle loves everyone.”
     “Or so you think.” Zen raised his eyebrow, “People like that are hiding a lot more than they let on.”
     “So then how do you know she actually loves me? She latched onto the first guy she could... like a little kid latching on to the nearest non-scary grown-up.”
     “Dunno... sort of a gut feeling, I guess. It’s not like she’s switched off to me so she must like you at least a little.”
     “Meh... I guess... long as she doesn’t try to get on any bases, I'm fine.”
     Rai laughed and started walking, accidentally pulling Zen along with him, “Hey look! I think that might be the middle!”
     “Of the forest or my embarrassment?”
     Rai conked Zen on the head, “The forest, you idiot! At least relax enough to enjoy your accomplishments a little more. You don’t need to worry about the girls any more until we get back.” Rai stared upward and spoke with awe, “I can’t even see the top of that tree!”
     “Dude... I was kidding! I'm no stereotypical emo here, k?”
     Rai looked down from the tree to face Zen, “Ha! So you finally admit it.”
     “Admit what?”
     “What you classify yourself as: emo.”
     “No. I'm not emo. I already said: I'm the computer geek Magi son of an anxious normal and an absent normal who lives in the worst part of town. I don’t think ‘emo’ was any part of that sentence.”
     “Yes, but most of that is just your status. The only part of that that was classification was ‘computer geek’, and I hate to break it to you, but you don’t come off as a geek to me.”
     “Wait until you see my room... and my grades... and most of my homework.”
     “I’ll hold you to that invite.” Rai’s eyes gleamed over for a moment and he turned back to the giant tree, “But for now, I just wanna climb that tree!”
     “Wait- I didn’t- but-” Zen sighed resignedly, knowing he wasn’t gonna be able to change Rai’s mind on the subject. Looking up at the tree, Zen’s eyes grew wider, “How are you gonna climb that? There aren’t even branches for like a mile and it’s far too thick to shimmy up it. Don’t tell me you can make knots in the tree for your hands and feet? You’re not an avid,” he stifled a laugh and continued, “tree climber are you?”
     Rai glanced back at Zen, “It’s quite simple really, though I'm not sure you would enjoy it as much as I would. I simply concentrate the air pressure around our feet, then release it when it’s powerful enough to send us soaring to the lowest branches. Mind, you would catch yourself on a limb or we’re both screwed.”
     “You launch us? Like out of a canon but without the thrill- I mean threat- of possibly catching on fire?”
     Rai grinned, “Basically.”
     Zen grinned back like a little boy on Christmas, “Awesome. Let’s do it.”
     Rai was stunned, “Seriously?”
     “Yeah. Probably won’t be as fun as the canon... but, hey, whatever.”
     “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, man, but I'm liking it. first of all, though, I need to set our positions,” Rai pondered for a few minutes, glancing back and forth from the ground to the nearest tree limbs. Finally he turned back to Zen and pointed to the ground next to him, “Alright, you stand here, right next to me. I’ll channel the winds so we can’t fly away from each other. I don’t care what limb you hit, just make sure you DON’T FALL, got it?”
     “I can make a small force field... so we’re cool. But I won’t try to fall.” Rai nodded, then they both took their positions at the base of the tree. Rai forced the air under both of their feet, creating a powerful kind of suction. Suddenly, the ground exploded away from their feet, and both Rai and Zen were sent careening toward the lowest branches of the tree. Zen slammed into a tree limb and climbed on, laughing so hard he was red in the face again. Rai, being the one behind the whole thing, exhibited more grace while swinging himself around and sitting on the limb right above Zen. Zen looked up, “Oh God. Not a nice view. Hopefully it'll be better up top. Say, what do you think the girls are doing?”
     “Get used to it, man. I can out-climb you any day.” Rai thought for a second then cocked his head at Zen with a silly grin on his face, “Strange, you asking about the girls though. I thought they weirded you out?”
     “Shut up and climb.”
     “Yes sir!” Rai started scrambling up the tree, looking oddly like a squirrel, always staying one step ahead of Zen.
     Back in the labyrinth, Lithe groaned while struggling to keep her sense of direction, “Ugh... left or right? How can we even know we’re going the right way?”
     “I don’t suppose we can,” Kayle replied, airily as if it didn’t concern her in the least.
     Lithe muttered to herself, “If we came in going that way...should be left...north...” she kept pointing in random directions, getting more confused all the while.
     Kayle cocked her head at Lithe, “Why are you so uptight?”
     Lithe stopped and turned on Kayle exasperatedly, “I can't just relax. Not when we're totally lost in some strange maze that's certainly going to attack at any moment.”
     Kayle laughed, “Silly. The maze isn't going to attack. What gave you that idea? Something in the maze is going to attack.”
     Lithe sighed, “That's close enough for me.”
     “Well, we'll beat it. It's like that minotaur story. Just less disturbed,” she smiled and heads down the eastern corridor, skipping and humming a light tune.
     Lithe followed Kayle without even thinking, “I'm glad you're so confident.” She stopped suddenly, “What the—?”
     Kayle turned around, head cocked to the side, “What is it?”
     A dark sense of something approaching sent shivers down Lithe's back, “Something's here. I don't know how I know...I just do.”
     Kayle looked around and stated a little less confidently, “I don't feel anything...” Something roared in the distance, “but I heard that.”
     Lithe whispered, “That's not what I felt...that's something different.”
     Kayle replied hushedly, “It's a Nothing. What you felt. I think it's a nothing.”
     Lithe was confused, “A nothing?”
     “Like what I fought in the labyrinth in the shack. Except— It was only a shiver- chills right?”
     “Yeah, I guess.”
     “Good. Get— wait no... you have my powers.... Ok. We have to figure out where it's coming from.”
     “How do we do that?”
     “Get the strongest memory or emotion opposite of what made you turn invisible.” Lithe instantly thought about her greenhouses, and being surrounded by beings she had nursed back to life. She started to blink rapidly and confusedly. Kayle smiled encouragingly, “Don't worry. Your perception has been altered. It's supposed to happen. You should be able to see trails you couldn't before. They'll glow. Green for humans, purple or blue for nothings, and orange for other.”
     Quietly, Lithe nodded, “There's...a lot of them. Two green trails leadin to us, that'll be ours I'm guessing. I can just barely see an orange one through the walls...and...there's a purple one...coming right for us!”
     “From which direction?”
     “I can see it in the corridor to the left, through the wall, there,” Lithe indicated the left turn ahead.
     “Is it bigger than ours?”
     Lithe squinted, attempting to gauge the size, “I don't think so...if it is, then not by much.”
     Kayle nodded, “Good. We'll have to fight. As long as it's smaller than 3 times our size, it'll be fine. They leave larger trails since they're not supposed to exist.”
     Lithe asked hopefully, “If it's not supposed to exist, why do we have to fight it?”
     Kayle looked at her oddly, “Because it does. There are rifts- tears. These- nothings- either come from another dimension or time or they come from a nightmare or stray, demented thought. Either way, it exists just as much as you and me now.”
     Lithe sighed, “I'm beginning to really miss my own powers now.”
     Kayle smiled, “It's ok. This one shouldn't be too bad.”
     “So...how do I defeat it? It's not exactly moving slowly.”
     Kayle nodded, “Put up a force field around me. I can take care of you if you get hurt but you aren't going to be able take care of me if I get hurt. When it rounds the corner, imagine the worst thing you could ever imagine happening.” Lithe gulped and nodded back, momentarily closing her eyes. A shimmering barrier appeared around Kayle, and Lithe stepped just outside of it. “Try to shrink the barrier a little,” Kayle instructed. Afraid speaking would ruin her concentration, Lithe simply tried to do as Kayle told her. The force field flickered, but shrunk and grew solid again. Kayle nodded, “Good job. It'll take less energy. Nod once if it's about here.” Lithe nodded, and kept her eyes on the spot where the "nothing" was about to appear. Kayle braced. Suddenly, an eardrum shattering wail broke the silence and Lithe was thrown back a couple of feet.
     A massive eruption of darkness shot from Lithe and hit what seemed to be absolutely nothing. The nothing was utterly engulfed and blew up into ash. Kayle looked at Lithe, dazzled, “That was a powerful memory.”
     Lithe smiled weakly back at Kayle, “You tend to get them when your whole life is devoted to saving others’.”
     As Lithe spoke, the barrier around Kayle disintegrated. Kayle ran up and glomped Lithe, “That was great! Oh, how are you feeling?”
     Lithe nearly fell over from the sudden, if affectionate, attack, “A bit lightheaded.”
     “Oh, sorry. Can I help?” Kayle asked, sobering slightly.
     “Yeah, just put your hand on my head– contact with patient always helps, it’s not necessary though- and concentrate on transferring your energy to me. Not too hard, though... it’s not that bad.”
     Kayle nodded and closed her eyes, placing her hand on Lithe's head. There was a light glow which transferred from her hand to Lithe's head then faded. Biting her lip slightly, Kayle pulled away, “I do it right?”
     Lithe gave a sort of grunt and gave her head a light shake, “Yeah, that was good.”
     Kayle hugged Lithe again, this time more carefully, “Ok. Look around and make sure nothing else is coming our way.”
     Lithe blinked her eyes, giving herself the strange mist-vision, “No...there aren't any other immediate dangers. There's still that orange trail on the far side of the labyrinth, but it's a ways away.”
     Kayle nodded curtly, “Good. Come on then.”
     As Kayle headed the direction the nothing came from, Lithe laughed feebly under her breath and walked beside Kayle, “Right.”
Edited by Marian Frae, Dec 8 2009, 12:10 AM.
Never doubt my weaseling abilities, Shadowhunter, for they are epic and memorable in their scope.
Any dolt with half a brain would have to see the human race has gone insane.
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DarkAngel013
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omfg.

Zen.

I love you.

xDDD

I wants more. >:
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