FSE

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This chapter took a while... Mostly because it's a bit longer. But. That's about it. If you care to, enjoy the reading!

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I'm in the black room of my dreams with the familiar figures. Wait... Prothero seems different. His wings are almost twice the size of his own body! He's crouched over someone... Celeana?! I rush up to them and kneel next to Prothero. Celeana is beaten up?! Her delicate figure is distorted, her arms spread limply against the jet-black floor. She doesn't seem to be conscious.

"Prothero! What happened?" I ask with sheer terror. I couldn't imagine what could've hurt anyone so badly.

He doesn't answer.

"Prothero?" I look into his eyes. They're shimmering with a very creepy red. He seems calm but I see that he's disturbed. "Tell me! Please!"

"I... I couldn't..." He manages to speak before his eyes fixate on me. "It's your fault... It's all your fault!" His tails launch at me and I hop over them with little difficulty.

"What? I didn't do anything!" I throw myself on the floor, as his arms flail at me, turning into giant whips.

"Exactly! You did nothing to help!" He can't seem to be able to control himself. I see only rage in his dark-red eyes.

"Help from wh-" I'm interrupted by a wing hitting my face, followed by two tails pounding me into the ground. I'm pinned down and he knows I can't do anything. He keeps me down with his tails and walks up to me, containing his wrath.

"When we were at the tower, we met someone. Remember?"

I struggle to remember but then it hits me. "The Seventh?"

"Yes. He told you to do one thing to a person, who sleeps right down the hall from where you are now"

"I don't see what that has to-"

He slams into my face with his wings and grins. "Me neither. But ever since we met that... Thing... She" He points at the lying, near distorted figure of Celeana. "She... She's been getting weaker" He drops to his knees and starts sobbing again. I get up, gasping for some air and sit down next to him.

"I don't think that it's possible for these to have a connection" I place my hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him while also keeping at bay. I don't know what this Shadow might do.

"I don't know for sure, now do I?" He gives me a homicidal glare. "Besides" He sighs. "She wanted me to 'protect' you... I can't do anything against her wishes..." His eyes seem to relax, as they start changing to a less-shiny red.

"Look. I'm here to help. If you need any-"

*****************

Suddenly I'm a wake. I hear a loud crash and smell fire. I dart towards my swords, pick them up and look around.

Prothero. You still with me?

Yeah... What the hell was that?

I don't know. Maybe Raven burnt his breakfast?

Heh... Doubt it.

Same here...

I see nothing in this room. Not even Draco. I hear people shouting in the streets and look outside.

That's not...

Possible?

What I see, doesn't make any sense. The Zero Division HeadQuarters is in flames! But none of the other buildings near it are on fire? How's that possible? The cube-shaped building seems to be half-blown up. The other half is going up in flames, as I look. I run to the living-room and meet up with Raven and Draco.

"Hey. We were just about to wake you up" Raven looks at me with a serious face. Something's going on here... "Come. We need to go. Jack went ahead of us"

"Look Raven... I don't think that we should meddle with technician matters" Draco is obviously trying to persuade Raven from doing something stupid... But what? He couldn't be thinking of going in the middle of that?

"I'm going there. Jack wanted me there, so I'm going. End of discussion. Ryu" He looks at me again. "Are you with me?"

I think for a moment. But only a moment. Any longer would be wasting time. "Yes"

"Good. Let's go"

Draco lets out a groan but follows. We run outside and see people running away from the massive, burning building. We run towards it.

Raven leaps on a low building's roof and keeps climbing, getting higher ground to see better. I just run. I run so fast with these legs... Feels almost like cheating!

I turn at an intersection that's full of panicking people, pointing towards the burning HQ. There's a loud crack and a piece falls down, smashing into a group of technicians, struggling to put out the fire. I stop and stare at the chaos, almost enjoying it, in a sick way.

What's wrong pretty boy? Can't bare to look at 'em?

Shut up.

Ooh but I'll do no such thing. To your right. Jack. Go to him.

I look to my right and see a lions mane. Jack! I run up to him, forgetting Raven and Draco. He's shouting orders at the technicians and doing his best to keep order.

"Damnit! Someone put out that fire!" He seems scared but he does his best to hide it. This fire can't be normal and he knows it. I look at the flames and see them being put out by a torrent of water but it does nothing. Moments later, the flames lick their way up the building's wall, like nothing had happened. It had to be a mage. No fire can re-start itself like this.

"Jack! I need to tell you som-"

"Ryu?!" He whips his head towards me, glaring angrily. "What the hell? Get out now!"

"I need to-"

"You and everyone else! Now go away before you get hurt!" He extends his giant staff and shoves my chest with it. "Now"

"The Jackal will want to talk with you!" I yell out, frustrated for not being listened. His expression freezes and he's no longer even trying to cover his fear.

"The... Jackal?" He almost whispers, teeth nearly clattering louder than the raging fire.

"Yes. What does that mean?"

"It means that you need to get out before anything bad happens" He clicks the staff and it turns to it's hammer-form. He yells out at a technician, as he pushes me aside. "Listen! This is no longer an accident! Get everyone armed as soon as possible!" The technician simply nods and starts repeating the general's orders.

I step back and look into the fire. It's destroying everything... The fire is consuming everything...

Beautiful, eh? Prothero's voice almost laughs out, in obvious pleasure.

What could be beautiful about this?! Prothero must be mad... Insane for seeing his mate suffer so much.

Hehe... The fire... The people... The chaos... All so perfe- What's that? He cuts himself off mid-sentence.

_What?_I look around, trying to find what he was talking about. I see nothing, besides the roaring flames.

There's... A very strong mage in there... Wait. Ryu. Get out now! I can hear sheer panic in his voice. I look into the fire but see no one.

All of a sudden, the technician closest to the flames, drops dead. He just... Dies. I look at Jack and his expression turns almost disgusted. Like he knows what's going on. Then I see a figure approaching from the flames. It's... A bunch of robes?... Seventh?! He just laughs and walks out with his cigarette. He walks up to Jack, who seems frozen with fear.

"My my my... Jackson Blacksteel. Been a while, eh?"

"You... You are dead..."

"Hm? Oh you mean this thing?" He draws his hood down... That's not possible... All I see is a jackals head but it's... It's stitched up! Five long scars running along the muzzle and all around the scalp! "Yeah... Dying sucks. But I get used to it" He smiles and lifts the cigar to his lips and casually puffs out a white trail of smoke. "You should try it sometimes. It gets kinda fun, you know what I mean?"

"You sick son of a-"

"Now now. No need to be rude" His dark eyes fixate on me and he signals for me to come towards him. "Hey. You should join in on the fun too" He smiles with a huge grin, teeth flashing against the fire behind him.

I walk up to him, shaking from fear. "You are the Seventh?"

"Haha. Hell no! I just killed him to get this-"

"You what?!" I hear Raven landing behind me. He shoves me aside and throws a chain at the grinning, smoking jackal.

"What did I say about being rude, hm?" The chain stops midair. The jackal simply smiles, snaps his fingers and the chain shatters in the air. "Now that you are... Less encumbered, shall we talk like adults and forget the fighting?"

"You started a fire!" Jack shouts out in pure horror after witnessing Raven's broken chain. "You want to be civil?! Then let us take you in right now!"

The jackal only laughs and smiles at Jack. "No. I don't think so. That'd put a nice little dent in my plans"

"And what exactly are your plans?" Raven yells at the smoking figure, after gathering enough courage to speak up.

"Oh? It'd be no fun to tell!" He jumps and claps his hands together. We all step back, afraid of what this powerful mage might do. "Hehe! See? You're afraid of me! And I only hopped! You should see what happens when I stomp!" He laughs for a moment.

"What is your name?" I speak up, trying to put everything together. Jack seems to know this dog and Raven must have some understanding. But neither of them is talking to me!

"Ooh! You DO have a voice after all! Very good, very good! Well" He bows. "I walk by many names but most simply refer to me as..." He keeps a dramatic pause and gets up, grinning widely with his stitched up, scarred face. "Graverobber"

I swallow. Hearing such a disturbing name from such a disfigured person... It's upsetting, to say the least. "And why is that?"

"Oh you'll see. Believe me" He snaps his fingers and we all jump back again. His robes burst out in a puff of smoke and they reveal a canine body. It's more unsettling than the face. Every piece of his body seems stitched up together, one way or the other. He has dark brown fur and... The same pattern on his right shoulder, as I do on my left?! It runs like a flame, licking it's way up to his jaw line. He's not wearing a shirt, so I see his body fairly well. He seems muscular but not bulky. There was a slightly lighter patch of brown running over his stomach, up to his neck. He's wearing long black pants that hide the body, so I can't tell much, besides the fact that judging from his height, he must be double-jointed.

Then. Suddenly. A sword flashes out of nowhere. It glides right through the Graverobber's left arm. Cuts it clean off right below the shoulder. I hear a dull thud and notice that River had appeared out of thin air. He had his massive sword pinned against... Smoke? The white smoke circling Graverobber had wrapped itself around River's sword, leaving it harmless. Two other swords were going to stab through him but they were also stopped by the same white smoke.

"Miss me?" The jackal grins at River, seemingly ignoring the fact that he has no left arm left.

"Could've used a few more centuries in between, if you ask me" River replies with strained sarcasm. He's obviously very pissed off. Three more swords are hurled towards Graverobber but they're all stopped by the white smoke.

Graverobber sighs and then huffs loudly. The smoke seems to almost explode, as River is thrown back, along with his swords. "Well. You seem to have improved" He smiles, brings the cigar up to his lips and puffs out another strain of white smoke. "But it's still no good, Crimson River" He smiles, blowing smoke at us. We pick River up and he coughs out.

"Don't call me that!" He yells at the laughing jackal.

Did he just call him Crimson River?

He sure did. Now get the hell out. I don't wanna hear this guy any longer.

"Tell Prothero 'hi' from me!" The jackal keeps on laughing. Then he puts on a glare that could almost kill a person. "You didn't tell Jack earlier, did you? Ya know. This" He throws his left hand up, framing the raging flames behind him. "This. Could've all been prevented. Oh. One more thing" He locks his eyes on Jack, then towards his stump of an arm. "I'm missing one. And you'll do just fine" He grins and snaps his fingers.

Jack falls to the ground, writhing in pain, struggling to breathe. All the technicians raise their weapons at the smiling jackal. Jack waves at them.

"Put them down damnit!" The soldiers hesitate. "Do I need to repeat?!" All technicians lowered their weapons simultaneously. Then he screams out in pain and his arm... It... The white smoke rips it off?! There's blood gushing out from his arm and he falls to the ground, crying in pain. The smoke lifts the arm up and brings it to the Graverobber. He smiles and takes the arm in his other hand. He places it next to his stump and it gets stitched back together. In a moment, his arm looks just as good as it used to, even if it's mismatching with the other.

"Now. Where was i... Oh! Right! Well" He pauses and looks at Jack for a moment, then pretends to whisper. "Guys. I don't think that this one is listening" He laughs at his own joke and goes on. "Anyways! Now that we have successfully... Eliminated the all-mighty Zero's HQ, we can use the tower for what it was meant to be used for" He holds another dramatic pause. "Amplifying"

River gets up and looks at Jack. He seems to almost throw up but pulls himself together. "That's only possible with the Councils order. You can't do that"

"Ooh! But what if the all-knowing Council would be all dead?" He grins.

"Then... You could claim to a seat in the Council..." River looks down, forming the plans in his mind.

"Eeeexactly!" He does a little dance and claps his hands together. "One more thing. Ryuuu!" He calls out for me. I look at him, very scared. Nobody should be this strong. Not even a mage. "You're one of my kind, so whaddaya say? I wanna teach ya!" He offers his... Jacks hand.

"No" I answer quickly, slapping his hand away from me.

"Oh? Now why would you be so mean?" He takes back his hand, faking hurt feelings. "All I wanted to do was to teach!" He starts walking towards the fire, waving his hand in the air, as if hurt.

I don't say anything. He stops, back against everyone. Every person in the area freezes. An opening? He's deliberately giving an opening?

Let me at him! Prothero's voice almost screams out in rage.

I can't. I'm not allow-

Up yours. I'm going to beat this guy to next year! I feel a sudden rush of power. The pattern on my left arm seems to swell and push its way through my scales. I scream out in pain. The last things I see are Jack's bloody stump arm and a set of wings pushing from behind me. My left arm is covered by a jet-black layer and it forms into a huge claw. My tails grow twice their length, turning into the whips I saw in my dreams.

I'm not in control of my body?! I dash towards the laughing maniac and slice at him. A sudden blast of air throws my back but I catch my air with the wings on my back. I climb higher and fold my wings against my back, dropping towards Graverobber. My left arm's claw turns into a blade. I spin once in the air to gain momentum and try to slice at him, again.

He steps to the side, calmly and grabs the blade-of-a-left-arm and twists me down on the ground. I flail at him with my tails but manage to do nothing. He laughs at me.

"You know. There are only a few, who could teach you! I mean look at yourself! You're a monster, are you not? How many people could teach you, hm? I'm offering to help you out here. Why not take my offer?"

I can't speak. I can only feel Prothero's rage clouding his mind. My tails launch at the jackal again but don't seem to be able to touch him. He pulls his face closer and whispers.

"Fine. There's one teacher. Although she wants me dead... But! She's a good one and her passion will only teach you more! Taught me a lot of stuff. She should be in the tower, so I'll send her your way as soon as I empty the Council chambers. Okay?" He pats me on my shoulder and puffs white smoke on my face. As soon as I breathe in, I feel weaker. I collapse on the ground, the black scales turn into the old, crimson-red scales. My wings shrink back and the rage in my eyes recedes. River dashes up to me and pulls me away from Graverobber, who only huffs in his cigar.

"You're insane" River whispers towards Graverobber.

"If I weren't, this wouldn't work, now could it?" The jackal laughs. "Just protect him, okaaaay?" He almost giggles, trying to cover it. He starts walking away, snaps his fingers and suddenly he's wearing a costume that looks like it's from a bad western. He snaps again and a cheesy cowboy hat appears in his hands. He puts it on and nods at us. "Until later"

All the technicians open fire. Nobody even thinks. Everyone is just shooting. The only thing their bullets manage to hit is the same, white smoke. Graverobber vanished into thin air.

One hour later.

The fire had settled. Medics were doing their best to help out the injured. A young technician had sat down in front of Jack and was setting up a mechanical arm for him.

"Tell me if this hurts" The young medic said calmly.

"Of course it hurts! What do yo-"

"Please. Only if it hurts. And even then, where it hurts. I can't do my job, if you're not co-operating"

"Fine. Shoulder. The connections must be wrong or something. You're not doing this right" Jack huffs out frustratedly.

"Give me a sec..." The technician fiddles around with the arm and then clicks it into place. Jack is in pain but doing his best to hide it. "How's that?"

"Ugh..." Jack takes a moment, then seems to relax. "Better... Thanks. Now help me up" He tries to stagger up.

"That's not really the smartest thing to do. You've lost a lot of blood and you lived through a shocking experience"

"Fine" Jack lets the rest of the medics pull him up on a gurney and he's taken to a hospital. I stay back and go up to the technician.

"Hey. Thanks for helping him out" I extend my hand and do my best to smile at him. He's a tiger. Maybe a year older than me, at most. He's wearing a black t-shirt and cargo's, just like me. He extends his clawed paw at me.

"No problem. I'd be a crappy medic, if I didn't help people out" We shake hands. "I'm Shin by the way. You?"

"Ryu" I smile back at him.

"Ooh! You're the one Jack was talking about! Nice to meet you!" His handshake turns faster and he lets go. "You're a mage, right? I saw what you did earlier. That kinda stuff makes me want to be a mage too!"

I look down at my left arm. More specifically, the dark pattern running over my scales. I sigh and give my thanks to him again. I walk up to River.

"Ryu. The Council won't be happy that you broke your promise to them so soon" He grins a little bit but turns serious. "This isn't a good thing. Some mages tried returning to the tower but the Circles are closed. We can't get in"

"Where's the rest of the Council?" I ask, worried about the plan Graverobber was talking about.

"The Council hasn't been in the tower for many years" He lets out a chuckle. "To prevent something like this from happening, in the first place"

"I don't understand..." I'm confused. If the Council hasn't been there, then who did I speak to?

"I'm not the real Fifth. I'm just a distraction. They say that the Seven are all powerful mages. That's not true. They are old and wise, yes. But they choose the most powerful mages to represent them. Even if that mutt kills off those seven, he won't be able to do anything with the tower"

I hear running behind me. Raven appears. He looks at River, then at me. "Are you insane?! You should've waited!"

"It's no use now. Besides. I know who he was talking about. The mage that could teach Ryu. She's not too far away. I'll go get her and bring her here" River gets up and starts walking away. "You two go find a place to sleep for the night"

Raven thinks for a moment, then almost shouts. "Damn! That guy broke my chain! I'll need to find a new one..."

As he rants on about how amazing his chain was, we start walking towards the hotel, we spent the night in. People seem to be calming down and by nightfall most people have almost forgotten the events of the day.

Raven sits down and switches on the news. There's a pretty brunette on the screen, telling about an... Accident in the Zero Division's HQ...

"Idiots really don't know what hit them, eh?" Raven laughs annoyed.

"Guess so... Hey. Where's Draco?" I ask after walking around for a moment. There's no sign of the raptor in the apartment and I lost him while running around town.

"Must've gone to make sure Shay's ok... He is quite obsessed with my sis..." I can't tell if Raven is amused or pissed off. I let him be and head to bed. Wait. Damnit! I dropped my swords?! No no no! That's not possible! I couldn't have... No!

Relax. If you need to, I can easily make into a few swords. Hell. We can even do the same as River, for that matter. I hear Prothero laughing inside my head.

I don't need your help with... Hey... How's Celeana?

She's... Better.

I hear some relief in his voice. That's good... If she's better, she can help me out with understanding everything. I head to Draco's room and almost collapse on the huge bed. I'm so tired... Nothing makes any sense anymore... And... Was this all my fault? I should've told Jack earlier... Maybe he could've stopped it... He wouldn't have lost an arm... I sob silently, as I fall into my dreams... Nightmares...