Pashnirix watched with mild annoyance as RaXi and Tanex disappeared into a void. He didn't take very nicely to being ordered about, but as the situation was, RaXi needed to feel like she was in control. He turned to Rexikat.
"Are you alrigh...
Read the full post »
I banged my fists against the cold, hard ice that encased me, but it was no use. I was trapped, like some weak mouse. I growled, vamped up my element to my Final form, and clawed at the ice. Little flecks came off, but nothing happened. I could see the cloudy images of RaXi and Pashnirix fighting, fighting over me, like some…prize. It was pathetic, demeaning.
I saw the spikes of ice shoot from the ground, and Pashnirix leapt into the air…higher than he should have been able to with the limited clearance in the room. Hovering with light flaps of his wings, we all looked to where Marlex had appeared, apparently to retrieve Pashnirix. I couldn’t do anything but watch as Pashnirix dealt with his problems…
-------------------------------------------------------------------
He stayed in the air, watching the situation from above. “Marlex,” said Pashnirix dryly, “how nice of you to show up. Am I hosting a party here, and someone forgot to tell me I handed out invitations?”
Marlex turned to the dragon, snarling. “Answer the question, VI. Do you or do you not understand the repercussions of your actions?”
Pashnirix smirked and crossed his arms. “Of course,” he responded. “Serix was trying to keep me from my treasure. Even a child knows not to come between a dragon and his treasure, Marlex.”
The pink haired Nobody brandished his weapon with a gust of wind. “Don’t play games with me,” he said seriously. “Serix was on orders from the Leader. You deliberately disobeyed. You will be punished for your actions.”
Pashnirix alighted carefully on the window sill in a crouch. “First of all, you as well as the Leader need to understand that I am the dragon, and as such, cannot be held to orders I do not wish to obey,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “Second, if the Leader wishes to punish me, he will see to it himself, not delegate to a weakling like yourself. And thirdly…Serix should learn not to touch my things,” he finished, raising an eyebrow.
Marlex growled and rushed towards Pashnirix, his Gwan Dao aimed straight for the dragon’s heart. Pashnirix leapt into the air, over the pink haired Nobody, and landed behind him. He drew his scimitar and placed it at the back of the other’s throat.
“I will not tolerate this behavior any longer, Marlex,” he said, all joking aside. “You have interrupted my fight with the Frozen Duplicity. If you honestly wish to be defeated, at least wait your turn.”
Marlex snarled, sending a gust of wind around himself that knocked Pashnirix into the air. Turning a somersault mid-air, he managed to hover for a moment before landing on the ground beside RaXi. “I do apologize for his behavior, my dear,” he said to RaXi without ever taking his eyes off Marlex. “He obviously has no regard for the rules of a duel.”
“And you obviously have no regard for rules at all,” shouted Marlex, darting forward with his Gwan Dao outstretched. Pashnirix whipped around his tail, catching the other Nobody in the knees and sending him sprawling to the ground. He pinned him through the shoulder with a copy of his scimitar, saying, “Yes. I believe that is quite obvious.”
“The only obvious thing I can see here is your imminent deaths,” said a new voice.
RaXi, Pashnirix, Xyta, Setxune, and Rexikat all turned to the sound of the new Nobody. “Tanex,” said RaXi.
The blond Nobody smiled wickedly. “Marlex,” he practically purred, “you seemed to be having some difficulty apprehending our renegade.”
Marlex scowled, turning his face towards Tanex. “Then don’t just stand there,” spat out Marlex, “help me out.”
With a wave of his hand, Tanex opened up a void beneath the pink-haired Nobody, sucking him through. Marlex appeared moments later, the scimitar gone from his shoulder and an angry look on his face.
“Tanex. What are you doing here?” Pashnirix turned to the newcomer.
Tanex tossed his head. “Our Leader…foresaw that Marlex would have a few problems dealing with you all alone, so he sent me…along with some new orders.”
“Which would be?” RaXi stepped forward, glaring angrily.
“We are to eliminate everyone here,” Tanex said sadistically, glancing at Marlex, “the traitor, as well as the members from Oblivion.”
A tense silence draped the room as everyone processed this information. “No objections?” Tanex drew his ring blade. “Well, then, I suppose I’ll—”
“W-wait,” said Marlex. “RaXi…”
RaXi looked sharply to Marlex. “Marlex, I’ve already spoken to you about us. I can’t.”
“But—”
“RaXi,” said Pashnirix. He had been watching Tanex with an uneasy stare, his instinct telling him that this Nobody wouldn’t hesitate at all to murder them, and in gruesome fashion. “RaXi, please, consider my words. You must free Rex. It’s the only way we can fight these two off, as well as protect your charges.”
RaXi turned quickly to Xyta and Setxune, who stood uncertainly behind her. “We can fight,” said Setxune confidently.
“I don’t doubt you,” said Pashnirix, “but these two are far beyond your capabilities. I have no misgivings with either of you, and by association…I feel compelled to make sure you are taken care of.”
RaXi glanced between Pashnirix and the ice-covered Rexikat, trying to decide whether this was just another trap.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry it took me so long! I've been busy (Camelot is over, thank God!), and I had a bit of writer's block. :p
Have fun, RaXi!!
I was conflicted. I was glad that it had been RaXi sent to find me, but unsure how to proceed with it. I didn't want to fight RaXi; if I fought with her, no doubt Pashnirix would get involved, and things could get very bad in a hurry. But I doubted that Pashnirix would be willing to simply let me go so easily.
I could feel the weight of both of their stares on me. Either I would submit to Pashnirix and defy the Organization, or submit to the Leader and...I couldn't even begin to imagine what Pashnirix would do.
"Tigress," I heard Pashnirix say.
Finally, I spoke. "Listen, RaXi. I wasn't lying earlier. I came here of my own free will. No, Pashnirix, be quiet." The Dragon has started to speak in protest, but I silenced him. "There's a lot more to this than you understand. I owe him this, as do you."
"Me?" RaXi was incredulous. "What could I possibly owe that...that dragon?" she spat angrily.
"The lives of your silly friends, perhaps?" said Pashnirix coolly.
"Pashnirix, be quiet," I hissed. Surprisingly, he did. I wondered how I was getting away with this, but continued anyway. "RaXi, if you truly want to make the right decision, and you are honest in saying you don't want to kill me, then you will hear the full story."
RaXi looked from me to Pashnirix. "Fine," she said, finally relaxing her stance and motioning for Setxune and Xyta to follow suit. "Fine. I'll hear the story. But don't expect me to change my mind. I'm here on a mission."
Pashnirix smirked. "Very well," he said, "then I suppose we'll cross that bridge when it comes."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Back at the castle, we all convened in a study room, and Pashnirix brought out a plate of pastries and some tea.
"Danish?" He offered the plate to RaXi, but sent me a glance. "I'm rather partial to the lemon ones myself," he said with a half smile.
I growled loudly, and everyone in the room looked at me with a question in their eyes. I tried to refrain from braining the dragon with the expensive looking lamp on the table.
"Um, thank you," said RaXi, taking a pastry off the plate. "So...where does this all begin?"
I sighed. "That night when Organization Zero came to attack," I answered. "Pashnirix and I fought, and...he's the only other Nobody with my type of element I've ever met. I was curious."
"I suggested that we meet again some other time, a week, to be precise. Danish?" The dragon offered the plate to Setxune, who declined, and Xyta, who eagerly chose a couple of the pastries. He set the plate down on a table. "A week passed, and--"
"He kidnapped me to Destiny Islands," I cut in.
"It wasn't kidnapping," I heard him mutter, "you could have escaped at any time."
"ANYWAY," I continued loudly, "after he kidnapped me, we talked, and we agreed to arrange weekly meetings with each other, to better train with our elements."
RaXi's jaw dropped. "You...you arranged to have secret meetings with a member of the enemy organization? How could you?!" She rose quickly from her chair and moved her arm in preparation for an attack. I dropped my chains to the ground and brought them up around her before she could attack, wrapping her tightly. Setxune and Xyta moved to attack me, but Pashnirix held them both at sword point with copies of his blade.
"RaXi," I said quietly, moving closer to her. I could see the anger in her eyes. "You promised you would listen. In no way were either of us plotting against our respective organizations. We had an agreement. If I had gotten an order to kill him, I would have."
"And I the same," said Pashnirix, watching RaXi carefully. "We knew what we were doing, RaXi."
RaXi snarled and fought against her restraints. "I'm not letting you go until you calm down and listen, RaXi," I said.
She looked to the ceiling. "Very well," she said quietly. I waited a few more moments, and then released her, drawing my chains back to myself. Pashnirix let the other two go and resumed his position against the wall.
"So, after that, our first meeting would have been here, but the moment Pashnirix kidnapped me here, I was called back for a meeting. At that point, the Leader let me know that he knew about my secret, and wasn't exactly...pleased," I said sourly.
"I think that's around the time you were kidnapped, and the Leader wouldn't let me go to help rescue you," I said. "I didn't think that sending Xemmsur was the brightest idea, so I did what I had to. I went to Pashnirix for help."
"And that's how we've come to this lovely situation," interjected Pashnirix. "You see, she asked me to observe the battle between your friends and Marlex, and should they have lost, she asked me to overpower Marlex and keep you myself."
RaXi looked angry once more. "You asked him to take me?" she said.
I rolled my eyes. "Not permanently," I answered. "I figured I had a better chance of getting you away from him than the Leader of Organization Zero. If I fought Pashnirix and won, then you'd be safe. But if I lost, chance were that he'd have been so happy to fight me he would have given you to me anyway."
"Your friend speaks true," Pashnirix agreed. "A rather risky assumption, but accurate nonetheless. I would have given you back no matter what."
RaXi shook her head. "I still don't understand why I owe him anything, Rex," she said. "Nyx and Xemmsur won. They got me back safely."
I shook my head. "Xemmsur threw Marlex into a portal. He would have come right back and finished them off, had Pashnirix not prevented him."
"It was to my benefit," said Pashnirix, "as well as yours. That girl was sloppy, and I very well prevented their deaths."
RaXi fell silent, so I continued. "And in return for his help, I promised to come here for an amount of time. Unfortunately, he tricked me into wearing these armlets which keep me here for as long as he wishes," I explained. "So really, if you want to take me back, you'll have to go through him."
"And I," said the Dragon, "do not let go of my treasures so easily."
"And herein lies the dilemma," I muttered. "I can't leave--"
"But you're not a traitor," cut in RaXi, looking at me. "I understand now, I think."
After a pause, Xyta spoke up and asked, "So, what do we do?"
Yes, that was the question on all of our minds.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Continue, RaXi! ^_^
I followed Pashnirix to a door at the back of the castle, which opened up to a lavish garden. He quickly switched to his Final form, spread his dragon wings, and flew straight up to one of the highest towers.
"Show off," I muttered. I switched to my Final form, and with a series of leaps and bounds, managed to jump my way up to a neighboring tower. I look out onto the landscape, a beautiful scene of forests, lakes, fields, and mountains.
"There," he says so quietly I almost miss it. He silently swoops from the castle and into the sky. I follow his path beneath him, jumping down from the tower and into the trees. I follow him for about a minute, before he alights in a tree just ahead of me.
Before I could ask him what was going on, he noiselessly dropped to the ground. I dropped down behind him into a crouch, my mouth open to ask exactly what the hell--
"It would appear we have some company," he said coldly, his voice all business, like he'd spoken during our fights. His arms were crossed and he looked bored, but I knew his looks were most certainly deceiving.
I peered around him at the three who'd stopped in their tracks. Nobodies... I frowned as I recognized one of them.
"RaXi?"
--------------------------------------------
^_^ Just a short post to set RaXi up! Continue, Support KIRA!
After that little...stunt Pashnirix pulled, I was beyond furious. I was ready to hunt. I paced back and forth, having gone back up to my room (but not without taking a few pastries with me!), and tried to see where I had gone wrong.
I had let myself be swayed by the promise of good food. I had even forgotten to keep my chains on me! Letting your guard down like this could get you killed, I thought bitterly. I quickly grabbed my chains from the table beside the bed and started wrapping them, but then a little voice in the back of my head said, But the reason you let your guard down is because you trust him.
"No," I growled, "I don't." I wrapped my chains tighter and clenched my fists.
You do, and it's because you to are destined to be mates, said the voice.
But how could that be true? We were Nobodies, beings by their very nature unable to feel. Anything that Pashnirix thought he felt for me was nothing but the instinctual stirrings of a dragon.
"And this once," I said aloud, "I refuse to bow down to my instincts."
"And why is that?" I whirled around to see Pashnirix lounging in my doorway, a frown on his face. "Why will you not allow me to court you as is proper?"
"I--Pashnirix, we are Nobodies," I said. "We can't fee-"
"Don't," he said sharply, turning his head. I fell silent as he looked away. Finally, he said, "It seems you truly do have a lot to learn, Tigress."
"Look," I said, "if you're going to try to teach me that 'there are other ways to feel than through a heart,' save your energy. I have no use for feelings, and they have no use for me. Those were for my Other, and look where she is now." I turned away from him. "She entrusted her heart to someone else after keeping it hidden for so long...and he broke it."
"But we don't have hearts," he said after a while. "Anything we feel is through our souls, our wills, much stronger than mere emotions that come with a heart. To feel...isn't always a bad thing, Rex."
I said nothing, only sat down heavily on the bed. I had heard those last words before...even if only in a memory.
"I need a mate," Pashnirix said suddenly. "My last mate was killed. She was irresponsible, foolish, and weak. Tell me, Rex, why would I chose you as my new mate if I thought that you were as weak as she? That you could ever be as weak as she?"
He walked over to me with long strides, sat next to me on the bed, and grabbed me by the shoulders. "You are stronger than that, I know," he said urgently. "I knew from the first time we fought that you were different, better, the only one I could ever truly respect." He turned away from me.
I contemplated his words, and came to one conclusion: "I really wish you hadn't said that," I said lowly.
"Why?" Pashnirix said dully.
"Because now I have no choice but to face the truth," I muttered, "my instincts."
Pashnirix raised an eyebrow. "And your instincts...?"
I covered my face with my hands. "Are telling me to submit," I mumbled. I peeked through my fingers to see his reaction.
He smirked. "Good," he said, "it's about time. I've been fully acting on my own instinct to dominate, and I must say, you've resisted quite nicely."
My jaw dropped. He...he what? "You...you arrogant jerk!" I beat him with a pillow as he laughed and fought me off. Suddenly, he paused, grabbing my wrists to stop me.
"Hush," he said sharply, ears pricking to attention, nostrils flaring. Then he let me go, quickly striding out of the room. I followed him.
"What's going on?" I asked, hurrying behind him.
"Someone's near this castle," he said angrily.
