Shadow of Death

[Azure_Ghidorah]

The vessel from Tenkyanon touched down at the lake, dropping off its three passengers. Myrr bade a farewell to the droid as it piloted the ship back, before turning to Xe and supporting her, the hybrid standing on unsteady legs.

"Daedalus..." Xeno started, looking over to the redeemed dragonkin. "... Thanks... for being there... You didn't have to stay for me... but it means a lot that you did..."

Myrr sighed, glancing between the two, before an invisible glint appeared in her eyes. 'Now that I can finally get a good look... these two go together pretty well... just like Shive and I...'

She started plotting secretly. Xe needed a new love in her life since she had started to stand on the sidelines.

[Talon]

Daedalus gave a silent nod with the traces of smile on his face as he replied,

"Ahh, it was no trouble... it's good to see you're recovering, though. Are you sure you can make it back to the city in one piece, though? You're not in any condition to fly, or fight, should the need arise... you sure you don't want a bit more help? I've got nothin' else to do..."

He gave her an uncertain scowl, arms folded over his chest as he awaited an answer.

* * * * * * *

Meanwhile, hundreds of feet in the air, a single, massive entity stared down at the trio, arms dangling at its sides. Its hateful red eyes narrowed at the trio as it muttered,

"Hmm... those two have no decent abilities as I recall, and the Hybrid's even lost her Phazon... dissapointing. However, her mutation seems... interesting. And the larger one... his new abilities seem quite promising! Let's wait a bit, though... let them get moving before I move in." The Scourge Elite muttered to himself.

[Azure_Ghidorah]

Xeno waved, "I'll be alright... Ciao..."

With that, for the first time in quite a while, she melded into, and effectively became, Myrr's shadow. The half dragon in question sighed to herself.

"She acts strong, but she'll need a lot of time to recover..." Myrr answered.

She shuddered slightly, and glanced around, "Do you get the feeling we're being watched?"

[Talon]

Daedalus shifted from foot to foot, muttering,

"Now that you mention it ye-"

A large handful of blood forced its way out of his mouth as a large black claw burst forth from his stomach, a massive black shape looming behind them.

"... Gotcha." Khimera rasped.

Daedalus gave a single convulsion as Khimera's mandibles parted further in a foul grin, then the Scourge promptly blasted the dragonkin off with a surge of telekinesis, ravaging Daedalus's interior further as the redeemed Warlock smashed through several trees on the beach's border. Khimera gave a dark chuckle, then held his clawed hand up as it was enshrouded in his own eldritch energy, a fiery, red-and-black power that freely flared and dimmed. Khimera snuffed it out with a clench of his fist, then looked back to Myrr, growling,

"I suppose you'll let the hybrid back out, won't you...? Or will I have to force her out myself?"

Energy freely crackled and arced across his frame, creating a sudden burst of wind that knocked Myrr off her feet as he rumbled,

"Because as you can see, I'm league of my own..."

[Azure_Ghidorah]

"damn you..." Myrr hissed, scrambling to her feet again.

"Aside from how powerful you've become... its the same deal. I won't let her out, she won't come out on her own, and killing me to get her out will just kill her before you can take what you want..."

'Looks like this is it, Xe... It was nice knowing you...'

'Sucks that we're gonna get thoughtlessly murdered, all for a little extra power...' the hybrid replied in her mind.

"I know I can't out run you, so I'm not gonna bother... but I also know I can stop you from getting what you want... Either way I lose, but at least you won't win in all of them..." Myrr hissed, staring down what would soon be her imminent death, if she knew Khimera well enough.

[Talon]

Khimera shook his head and gave a booming, hearty laugh before lifting Myrr in the air by her entire head.

"Then I'll just absorb you completely, and by doing so, absorb you..."

He paused, then a surge of telekinetic energy sent a wounded, charging Daedalus sprawling backwards again as the Scourge barked,

"I won't hesitate to kill you off, wretch... now, where was I? Oh yes, EATING YOU!"

He turned back to Myrr, mandibles parted in a grin before he abruptly stopped, then looked about with an air of curiousity.

"What... is this I'm feeling?" He mused aloud, dropping Myrr carelessly.

He then whirled toward the trees as another dragonkin strode through them, a massive sword in its hand with the blade resing on its shoulders. Shive openly glared at Khimera as he paced down the beach toward him, and Khimera laughed,

"Oh! It's just you! I thought I'd sensed someone worth giving a damn about... hmph. Still, your physical prowess may give my own a hefty boost, so why not?!"

As Khimera tensed his legs, getting ready to leap at Shive, the dragonkin was having his own mental conversation... one with-

He's clearly a threat to everyone here, and if he keeps assimilating the abilities of the other fighters, then his power will keep climbing... to the point where he'll be unstoppable, even by my hand. He'll keep moving onto stronger and stronger targets before his sheer energy will start tipping the cosmic scale... so please, release the limiter while he's still at this level. Besides, you know I can't let these three get harmed, so I'll either use the form you granted me, or die trying. And I know you don't want to go through the process of finding another Avatar...

[glow=red,2,300]... Very well, Avatar.[/glow]

[glow=teal,2,300]So be it![/glow]

[glow=brown,2,300]Your request has been granted...[/glow]

[glow=limegreen,2,300]Go forth, and do our will![/glow]

AND SO I SHALL!

"YOU'LL MAKE AN EXCELLENT FEAST!!" Khimera roared, charging at Shive.

Shive glanced up at the Scourge just as Khimera reeled his fist back, already just several feet from the dragonkin. Everything seemed to slow down as Shive outstretched his own arm, as if to catch Khimera's incoming fist...

Then everyone there went temporarily blind.

A massive, horribly bright funnel of multicolored energy erupted from Shive's locationas Khimera's eyes widened before he too, was enveloped by the cyclone. The Scourge staggered back, his hand smoldering as the regeneration took care of it, and the airborne sand started to settle.

"You've been judged, Khimera... your sentence is DEATH! AND I..."

The dust then settled to reveal the true form of the Urathear Avatar...

Shive’s overall shape was about the only thing he retains from his previous forms. His body was now composed of prismatic, shimmering ’solid’ energy (appears much like the ‘flames’ of his previous form), and bore a row of thin, blade-like spines running down from the base of his neck to the start of his tail; the edges of his wings appeared slightly hazy or fire-like. Over this form there were multiple sections of shimmering, chrome-colored, jagged ‘armor’ practically grafted onto the outer surface; each (non-digit) section was made of two halves, allowing a slight gap of Shive’s true form to be seen between them; the armor covered his elbows to his claw-tips, his feet-claws to his knees, his entire chest/upper-back and shoulders, his pelvic and hip regions, segments over his tail (each bears a metallic ‘spike’), his wing-bones, and even most of his head (there are gaps for the eyes, but again, no eyes are visible, and the jaw can open, complete with metal ‘teeth’; the hair is let out freely). There were triangular, shield-like plates hanging off of each hip, and each shoulder-plate extended past the shoulders in a similar fashion.

"... AM YOUR EXECUTIONER!" He finished.

He swept his slimmed-down (yet still large) sword to the side as a dumbfounded Khimera stared at Shive's final level of ascension, raw elemental power crackling around his form.

[Azure_Ghidorah]

"S-Shive?" Myrr asked, cradling her head as it throbbed from Khimera's grip.

'So THAT'S the power he was so desperately training for... That guy tops Solranous for sure...' Xeno remarked, flabbergasted.

The half-dragon winced, whimpering slightly as she pulled herself to her feet. At least... she tried too... She collasped soon after, clutching her head again.

'I... I can't... move like this... it hurts too much...' Myrr mentally whimpered, wincing.

(OOC: Blah post so we can move on...)

[Talon]

Khimera finally got his senses back, and worked his mandibles at the sight of Urathear Shive.

"Upgrade all you want, it's simply more energy to pilfer from you!" He roared, flaring his aura.

Shive simply narrowed what passed for his eyes, and the two rocketed at eachother, fists reeled back to strike. The two impacted, a wave of sand went up from the force of the strike, yet surprisingly, Khimera was the one to fly back from the cloud!

"What?!" The Scourge exclaimed in surprise.

The energy composing Shive's inner form was now a steely brown in color, with both feet firmly rooted to the ground, despite the fact a section of plating on his face was now badly cracked. His maw opened to allow several shards of metal, stained by some sort of thick, prismatic ooze, to fall from his jaws.

"That all you got...?" He rasped.

Khimera snarled, then sent a powerful wave of telekinetic energy at the Urathear, only to glare as he.... missed? No, that wasn't it... Shive had just.... dissapeared. The Scourge whirled in time to block a sword strike from Shive with his own high-frequency blade, the dragonkin's energy-coloration now a wispy lime-green in color. With surprising speed, Shive unleashed a flurry of sword-swipes at Khimera, the Scourge hissing as flecks of his chitinous armor shot through the air with every hit. Khimera lashed back at Shive, only to have his arm pass through air as Shive teleported to the side. The Urathear's coloration then flared to an angry red-orange in color, and the air around him automatically shimmered with heat. Khimera screamed as his arm caught ablaze, the chitin melting the closer it was to Shive, until the Scourge himself teleported backwards several dozen feet, growling.

"Interesting... you're rather varied now, aren't you?" The Scourge rasped, eyes glinting.

Shive said nothing as his coloration turned a semi-transparent, shimmering gray as Khimera attempted to crush Shive with a telekinetic grasp, only to find the opposite was in effect- the telekinesis was forcing itself away from Shive. Khimera's eyes narrowed in sheer rage as he muttered,

"I know I don't need to use force to break you..."

He abruptly appeared next to the downed Myrr, and issuing a horribly loud scream of rage, abruptly smashed his hand into her chest, clawed hand wrapping around her heart as he hefted her entire body into the air, blood running down his arm in copious amounts as he rumbled,

"Well what do you know...?! It's a two-for-one!!"

A large amount of the blood seeped into Khimera's limb as Shive stared on, numb from horror as Khimera casually dropped the half-dragon, then the Avatar's arms began to shake. His fists snapped shut as he stared at Khimera, who was now licking the blood off of his claws with a thin, sinuous tongue as he muttered,

"Huh... didn't think I could get both of them at the same time, but I did..."

Khimera slowly raised his head, smirking as he noticed Shive was gone. He then whirled around and caught the steel-brown Urathear's fist with minimal effort, then roared,

"GOTCHA!!!"

Shive's arm literally exploded in a spray of shrapnel and prismatic ooze as Khimera filled it with a sudden rush of telekinesis, then whirled around and delivered a powerful kick to the dragonkin's head, sending the Avatar flying through the air with half of his facial armor broken off. Khimera then followed up with a combination of teleportations and punches/kicks, sending Shive flying all over the lake's surface before the final blow seemed to end it- as Shive flew at Khimera, the Scourge's right arm suddenly crackled into life with white, chaotic energy, then slammed it into Shive's gut, causing a violent spray of the energy to wash over Shive, and tear through him, at the same time. The attack left a gaping, 'cracked' crater in his torso as the dragonkin fell back onto the beach with a powerful 'thud', the glowing, multicolored blood seeping all over the sandy surface as Khimera muttered,

"I can't get your DNA at the moment, it seems, because that form has none... but I'll be back for you later, when you're not in that form..."

With that, the Scourge left all three draconic entities in their horribly mangled conditions via a Flash Step, the air distorting with his leftover power. Daedalus choked back another surge of blood as he feebly crawled over to the face-down Shive, of whom had lost his energy's glow. The elder of the two then slapped a hand weakly onto his sibling's shoulder, and weakly shook it, wheezing,

"Hey... Shive... wake.... up... we need... your help... ... Myrr.... needs your help..."

There were several more moments of silence before Shive's glow weakly returned, and his coloration turned a deep, shimmering white in hue. Daedalus groaned in surprise as the sudden bright light emitted from Shive began to heal his wounds as the younger brother feebly rose to his feet, staggering in a doubled-over position to the fallen, bloodstained Myrr before crumpling at her side, shaking gauntlet grasping her hand weakly as his light washed over her, and he wheezed,

"Stay... with us.... Myrr... please... ... PLEASE..."

Shive's nonexistent heart skipped several beats when Myrr didn't respond, and he started to shake once more, but it was with the pain of grief now. Daedaus could only watch with a sorrowful expression as he stood, swaying slightly, at the edge of Shive's light, his stomach wound almost completely healed now.

[Azure_Ghidorah]

It was already too late... despite the restorative light's presence, Myrr's gaping chest wound didn't show any signs of closing. The half dragon winced, eyes opening slightly as she looked up at Shive. Her hand clenched his lightly for a second, and she appeared to be trying to say something...

But again... it was already too late. Before a single strained syllable could be uttered, her body gave out out on her, the damage was to extreme in such a short period of time.

[Talon]

"NO! STAY WITH US! DON'T GO, MYRR! DON'T GO!!" Shive practically screamed, emotion overtaking him.

As he felt the pulse in Myrr's hand dwindle down to nothing, Daedalus looked on with a heavy chest, and finally gave a pained sigh, muttering,

"Shive... I'm sorry... ... she.... she's gone..."

Shive's large torso loomed over Myrr's body as his featureless eyes clamped shut, and he doubled over, still clutching her seemingly lifeless hand as he choked out a pained sob, whispering in panic,

"No... no... you can't be gone... you can't go... not after all we've done... please... don't... don't leave me... ... ... damnIT MYRR, LIVE!!"

When no response came, Shive's shoulders sagged, and he simply stared on in disbelief. His eyes became distant and faded as Daedalus stepped up next to him, clasping a hand on his armor shoulder. He couldn't muster up anything to say to his brother, for seeing him like this, seeing someone who was almost a friend die, it... took a toll on his senses. The only support he could manage was a reassuring hand on the shoulder. Shive collapsed, inches from Myrr's corpse as he began to issue agonized, tearless sobs, drawing his arms under her and pulling her to his chest as he did so.

She... she's gone... oh gods no... ... ... why? Why didn't I do something?! WHY DIDN'T I KILL HIM WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE?! KHIMERA!!!! YOU'LL SUFFER FOR THIS!!!

Shive's coloration slowly turned a haunting pitch-black as he began to release Myrr, and slowly began to rise to his feet. However, against his will, his coloration reverted to its original state, and he fell fully back to his knees, Myrr still in his arms as he grunted, unable to move.

[glow=red,2,300]Don't be a fool, Avatar.[/glow]

[glow=teal,2,300]Alone, you cannot defeat that abberation.[/glow]

[glow=brown,2,300]He is far too powerful for you, even in this state.[/glow]

[glow=limegreen,2,300]Acting on such an impulse will simply get you killed.[/glow]

Shive growled, retorting to his elemental masters,

But he took her life! SHE WAS ALL I LIVED FOR! SHE WAS THE ONLY REASON I ACCEPTED TO TAKE THE TRIALS! WITHOUT HER, I'M NOTHING! REVENGE WILL BE MI-

[glow=purple,2,300]AVATAR, YOU WILL BE SILENT! Allow us to speak before your blithering ends in YOUR death as well![/glow]

[glow=white,2,300]Please, Avatar, you must reconsider... we understand the pain of your loss, but you mustn't destroy yourself with this course of action![/glow]

I'LL LIVE IN SHAME OR DIE TRYING TO AVENGE HER! AND I REFUSE TO GO WITH THE FORMER! UNLESS THERE IS A WAY TO BRING HER BACK, I-

He paused, eyes wide.

Wait... you can... you CAN bring her back! You are the Urathear, the voice of the elements! Nothing is beyond your reach!

[glow=gray,2,300]You ask us to waste our power on one insignificant life, Avatar? We do not take kindly to such requests...[/glow]

Shive steeled himself, rage and sorrow flowing through his veins as he delivered the terms of his request:

Either you revive her, or you lose your Avatar... I will give up the abilities you granted me, and refuse any more orders from any of you... and I damn-well know you don't want to go through the process of finding another Avatar.

[glow=red,2,300]...[/glow]

[glow=teal,2,300]...[/glow]

[glow=brown,2,300]...[/glow]

[glow=limegreen,2,300]...[/glow]

[glow=gray,2,300]... very well. We will accept this one request... however, she is almost beyond even our reach, we must act quickly.[/glow]

[glow=purple,2,300]This mortal is of the Wind element, is she not?[/glow]

[glow=white,2,300]Then she must be infused with the essence of a Wind elemental...[/glow]

The other six fell silent as the Wind Urathear took the point of the conversation, stating,

[glow=limegreen,2,300]There is one who is willing- a greater elemental, one of the Aeons... Valefor. She has heard your plea, and wishes to assist your fallen mate. However, you must summon her in order for her to assimilate into this woman. I believe you know the means to do so?[/glow]

Shive nodded, then looked back to Myrr. He brushed a lock of stray hair out of her face as he set her back onto the sand, shifting into his llight-green form. He spread his arms, then the Wind Urathear stated,

[glow=limegreen,2,300]The task lies on your shoulders from here, then...[/glow]

Shive nodded solemnly as Daedalus looked on in confusion, not understanding the five minutes of silence with Shive's varying facial 'expressions'. Shive paid him no heed as he began etching intricate, neon-green 'runes' into the very air itself, forming a large circle of the glowing energy as he did so, muttering under his breath the entire time. The circle then pulsated with power as a sudden gust of wind tore through the area, and the hazy outline of a large, bird-like entity shot out of the portal, zooming through the air before coming to a stop on the other side of Myrr's body. Though transparent, details were definately there- this 'Valefor' appeared to be a cross between a bird and some form of airborne reptile, with bat-like wings, six curving spikes near its head, scaled legs and a tail, and a mouthless, beaked head. It looked down at Shive, and a wispy voice stated,

[glow=white,2,300]"Though I am among the dead Aeons, I may bestow unto a fallen my essence... it is my wish to do so, after seeing how you cared for this woman so. This is your wish as well, is it not...?"[/glow]

Shive gave a single nod to the elemental spirit before him, choking,

"Y-yes... it... it is... please... I would give my own life to save her if I could..."

The bird-like entity nodded its spike-like head, then muttered,

[glow=white,2,300]"So be it... I sacrifice the remainder of my life to ensure the life of another... ... she is much like another I once knew... perhaps she will one day, learn to unlock the potential now given to her..."[/glow]

The spirit then threw its head back and gave a warrbling cry as its began to disintegrate, particle by particle. The glimmers of green light filtered down into Myrr's body, giving it a halo of lime-green light as well, and Myrr's gaping wounds rapidly closed. As Valefor and the particles fully dissipated, Myrr's body was once more fully intact, the only signs that there had been an injury being the blood that stained her clothes. Shive and Daedalus looked on with hope, the former praying that it hadn't been too late to act...

Come back to us, Myrr...

[Azure_Ghidorah]

For a few seconds, nothing happened, the half dragon remained still. It appeared that Shive's last hope had failed... until Myrr managed an airy hiss.

"... Shive...?" Myrr asked weakly, eyes cracking open. Her voice was faint, she was still recovering from the shock of such swift transitions from life to death and back again.

[Talon]

Shive had already collapsed next to Myrr, having shifted into an aqua-blue form without knowing (most likely the Urathear's doing), and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Oh thank the elements... I... I was afraid I'd lost you for good this time..." He wheezed.

He gave one last stifled sob, and muttered,

"I'm sorry... I should've done something sooner... I should've stopped screwing around and taken him out... should've kept him away from you... I'm so sorry... gah... I'm just happy you're alright...!"

As he wept, it was noted that Shive's own horrendous torso wound was closing at a decent rate, the Urathear of Water musing to an ignorant Shive,

[glow=teal,2,300]Wouldn't want you to join the deceased as well... your worry does not improve your wounds![/glow]

Daedalus simply watched the scene with a slight smile, glad that his brother's reason to live hadn't become a thing of the past...

Heh. So this is a 'heartwarming moment'... he thought to himself.

[Azure_Ghidorah]

Myrr choked back some tears, hugging back the currently aquatic avatar. "It's... it's alright... we're together again..." she whispered.

'Ugh... somebody mind informing me what the HELL just happened!? Once second we're dead and heading up to the realms above, the next we're getting yanked back and revived!' Xeno yelped from within Myrr's mind, not having a body to be tired in at the moment.

"I... I have to ask... how'd you pull it off this time? How'd you get the means to revive me for a second time?" the half dragon asked of her mate, blissfully unaware of the power that currently dwells within her.

[Talon]

Shive sighed, shifting back to his original form as he replied wearily,

"Well, I gave the Urathear an ultimatum: Either they bring you back, or I quit. They gave in, and sent down the spirit of an Aeon, a form of an elemental. She volunteered to give up what was left of her life to bring you back... and well, you know the rest."

Daedalus blinked, dumbfounded by the response, then muttered,

"So that's what that was all about... huh."

[Azure_Ghidorah]

"... That's twice you've indirectly brought me back to life..." Myrr quipped, remembering way back, before Xeno was her own being. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Shive's neck, kissing him.

"Thank you..." she whispered into his ear, hugging him. Xeno reformed, smiling at the two before back pedalling away from them, unknowingly stopping only a few feet away from Daedalus. She didn't seem to care, though, as her attention was on the love the two draconic beings in front of them shared.