The Coming Darkness

She felt so small in his grasp, taking comfort in his warm embrace and sweet kiss. His touch was soft, but still as passionate as she expected him to be. Unknowingly, Eos spell that she adapted to be triggered by her kiss was setting off at that very moment - the power of her heart, and the power of the ring increasing the ability's affect.

But that wasn't the only thing altered by the kiss, with every passing second that Eos' heart, mind and body was aflutter, a strain was placed on the stone around her neck - finally, causing the stone to crack and chip along the center, a small piece of stone falling astray onto the bed.

Eos pulled away reluctantly, gasping and trying to catch the breath that he had taken away. She pushed the hair from his face and leaned her forehead against his, smiling. "I didn't want to waste another second..."

He smiled while peering strait into her eyes. He caressed her cheek with his index finger, letting it slide down he side of her cheek to her jaw and back up again. He pressed his body close to her and held her a little tighter, also rubbing his thumb in the palm of her hand. "Why waste a good moment, Eos?"

“Hey,” JD responded rather quizzically back. He had expected some deeper reaction, but apparently he could only scratch the surface with this one. “Look about earlier- I uh- honestly have no idea what is going on. Who is who, and what exactly is happening. Why didn’t you end him?” He stated shortly. “Maybe it was just a poor childhood on my part, but I was always taught that you remove all obstacles in your way- especially ones that could kill you- and I don’t know all of your friends.” He tugged a bit on the pendant in absent thought- the new ring on his finger clacking against the metal on the necklace.

Enzo looked down for a moment. "Enki is.. my best friend.. though I don't remember most of it." He looked back up to JD. "I promised I would protect him. His actions were only enforced by the corruption in him."

“A best friend you don’t remember? That is rather- um- hm.” Honestly JD didn’t have a word for it. In his entire expansive vocabulary he could only just form his lips into a thin line and before glancing downwards. “Right. Well. I don’t pretend to know everything here, and I’ll be the first one to tell you when I don’t.” It was the last part that JD seemed interested in, and his brow piqued in interest shortly afterwards. “And what corruption? I’m assuming magical of course unless your friend Enki has a terrible terrible gambling problem.”

Enzo laughed. "No, I don't think Enki gambles at all. It was Darkness, supposedly. He tried to get Enki to kill me." Enzo stood up. "He's fine now, though. And, i'm sorry about Eos. She didnt take any physical damage, from what I saw." He had a feeling he was still very much concerned about her condition.

Here Silver was again, what a shocker. This same black area with nothing around. She felt a chill go down her spine as she remembered what happened last time, and she took a step forward, only to end up falling through the ground. There she was, falling. Yep, she sure was falling. And she kept falling. After a minute or so she got really tired of it, but what could she do?

Suddenly she hit the bottom. It didn't hurt as much as she expected, considering she landed on her back, but it did hurt quite a bit. She sat up slowly and shook her head.

"What's that on your finger, my dear?"
Oh, no...
"Did I ever allow you to use something like that? No, I don't think so. I really think you should take it off."
She quickly stuck her hand under her leg, not responding to the voice.

"I said, take it off." Before she could reply, her entire body was in pain. A sharp pain, as if someone was stabbing her repeatedly all over her body. She keeled over on the floor and grabbed at the ring on her hand, ripping it off and throwing it far away. "I'm sorry! Stop, please!!" The pain stopped. She sat up again, staring at the ground next to her trying not to look up in case someone was there. However, a hand came down and grabbed her chin, tilting it up so she could see the other, face to face. It was him.

"My, my. Been a while, hasn't it, Silver?"

Silver woke up in her own bed again, panting. She looked around the room, clearly a bit shaken. She sighed a huge sigh of relief once she realized she was alone. Slowly, she got up out of bed, deciding it would be a good idea to check on Enzo while it was likely he would still be awake. She walked to his room, to see the door only cracked open. She heard voices inside, so she knocked before entering. "Enzo, hey I-" Upon entering, she saw Enzo and JD in conversation. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you guys were talking..." She looked at Enzo, who seemed to be in decent shape except for a cast on his arm. She frowned.

Sasha collapsed back on the bed, as all the water deformed and splashed against the floor. She'd reached her limit.

Godammit, I'm so fucking weak...

She sighed, rolling over.

I should have lasted another thirty minutes...

Sasha sighed, looking around the water drenched room. She slowly brought her arms up, levitating the water in the air, then closed her eyes, concentrating. Slowly, a steam began to fill the room. Sasha clenched her fists, and all of a sudden, no water was there, only mist. She'd sent the water back where she pulled it out from; the air.

“Darkness,” JD repeated with a much more pensive tone. Well that was insanely unfortunate given everything else that had happened; pitting friend against friend with some ‘corruption’ lodged square within them. “Ah E is fine. She was just exhausted from healing blokes- it is an unfortunate drawback to her power- much like mine.” Or at least JD assumed given the fact that he hadn’t seen her today. He hoped to all that was holy that something else wasn’t going on around here- especially considering there was a blatant lack of Voltaire’s form as well. It was then he rammed his hands in his pockets and glanced at the other.
“Look I am not of the mind to keep folks alive that have tried to kill me- sort of a family motto. But I guess Enki really couldn’t help it and the problem is resolved now. Not that I uh- am challenging your decision or anything. Doesn’t mean I’ll trust him though.” It was then JD sighed, “well that was it- unless you had anything to discuss Enzo- I’ll get out of your spikey hair.”

It was then Silver entered, and JD glanced down at his pendant before clearing his throat. “ Good day Silver- glad to see you are doing well. I guess I’ll leave you two to it; three’s a crowd as they say.”

As expected.. Nobody will trust Enki.. Enzo sighed, and before he knew it, JD was leaving, and Silver was entering. "Hey! Uh, bye!" He was too late, JD was already out the door. "Silver... What's up?"


"It's no problem." Kenji looked around the garden, quietly observing the others that were passing by and or enjoying the maze. "I get lonely at times myself." He said, looking down a bit to halt his observations.

Maya wrapped an arm around him and hugged him lightly, smiling. "Look at you, Mr. Bodyguard with feelings." She said jokingly. "I'm glad that you at least like me in some form, seeing as you haven't killed me for messing with your hat yet." She used her free hand to push his hat down lightly so that he could no longer see. Maya's other hand that was around Kenji slowly dropped, feeling as if she was making him uncomfortable. She looked away and blushed.

Kenji laughed a little at that. "I have spares." For once in a lifetime, Kenji actually felt at ease with someone. Was Enzo's phobia really just his problem? or was it something the girls knew about, and were capitalizing it? Either way, it made Kenji feel the same way in the slightest. "I don't mind what you do."

"I was just coming to see how you were doing..." She glanced to his arm again. "How's your arm?.." Silver looked pale, and he could probably tell that she was. Her dream had shaken her and she couldn't stop thinking about it, which is why she went to see Enzo. She figured if anyone could help distract her from it, it would be him.
She walked over to his side and sat in a nearby chair, waiting for his answer.

"Then you shall be my pillow." She said plainly, pulling herself closer to him and hugging him tightly. She leaned her head down on his shoulder and hummed quietly, adding, "If you really don't mind, that is." She closed her eyes and nestled herself deeper, maybe enjoying it a little bit too much.

"It feels better, thanks to the tea Eos made." Enzo looked down at his makeshift cast, and adjusted it alittle. He noticed Silver wasn't looking too well. "How are you holding up since the fight?"


This.. familiar feeling.. Kenji sighed. He didn't resist. In a way, he felt the same as her. Though he was a bodyguard, he was also human. Instinctively, he wrapped his arm around Maya. "Yeah, yeah."

Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours and Eos could barely tell time was passing. It was as if the moments she spent entwined with Volitaire froze the two in time, shielding them from the outside world. Their relationship was moving faster than any other, perhaps because they were simply meant to be. Or perhaps because they both knew that time was fleeting - and tomorrow may in fact not be in their grasp. And if not tomorrow, perhaps the next day.

She laid beside him, twirling a finger around the center of his chest - hovering over his heart. It was late, and she had little reservations about staying put and sleeping under his covers. But unfortunately, it was probably best kept secret for now, and someone coming in to check on Volitaire's state the following morning only to find Eos curled up beside him would more than likely cause a ruckus. "Hmm..." She peered over him to see the few teacups left on the platter. They were still piping hot due to a fantastic spell the Innkeepers chef knew. "I still have to go deliver those remedies to the others... I completely forgot." Her voice was soft, and a little bit tired as she offered Voli a content smile.

Silver smiled; Eos seemed to be very good at what she does. "Oh, I'm fine. I could do it all again right now. I feel top notch. Probably because I've slept too much today." She tried to play it off by jokingly flexing her muscles, which she didn't actually do because she was a bit sore. She grinned, and let her hands fall back to her lap, sighing.

Maya was surprised when he put his arm around her. She opened her eyes and sighed, just watching as people went by for a bit. Kenji was... interesting. Maya knew she could not have him, but something drove her even further.
"Kenji," she paused, biting her lip, "do you think you could ever have a real relationship with someone, even though you're a bodyguard?" Maya tried to play it off as a simple question as best as she could. She was glad that he couldn't see her face.

Enzo tilted his head a little, in confusion. He could of swore she was tired not too long ago. "Really? Weren't you just.." Enzo stopped himself, he'd rather leave it alone then to push it. "You look like you could last in a fight for about.. 5 minutes. Are you sure you aren't sick?"


"That depends solely on the situation at hand. In dire situations, the relationship can be a weakness. And, i'm not one for having weaknesses." Kenji looked down a bit. "If things were at their normal state, then yes, perhaps I would."

"Well, I think I could," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. Silver looked to Enzo, who looked confused. She looked away and sighed. "Okay, well.. Maybe I'm not feeling top notch.. Maybe I haven't actually been sleeping enough.. But I blame the nightmares for that." She nodded. She didn't want to just come out and say that she probably wasn't sleeping enough simply because she didn't want to. Oh, wait. Maybe she shouldn't bring up the nightmares. She looked back to her friend, an almost concerned look on her face.

Maya was not affected by his answer. Instead, it pushed her to pursue things more, but she remained silent. "Hmm, okay." Maya smiled, even though Kenji could not see. She began to wonder if he'd be the same once they returned to Sorcerers. This brought up the memory of Ryuu, the dragon she had been entrusted with. Maya worried about him often. She wondered if he would be able to survive on his own, and if someone had tried to hurt him. Maya's thoughts returned to the man who had given her Ryuu. I miss both of them. She sat up and loosened her hold on Kenji, feeling as if she was betraying the one who had given her the dragon, the one who she was once in love with.

"Nightmares?" Enzo perked up at her saying that. Maybe she's having some kind of fever. He was never good with treating sicknesses, let alone identifying them. "Gee, I wish I could help you, but I don't know how to rid anyone of nightmares." He chuckled.


"And there you have it. Let's head back to the Inn now." Kenji said, grabbing her hand and walking back towards the Inn.

Meanwhile, Enki had passed out again, but awoke to a few doctors leaving his room once again. His body felt more refreshed, perhaps they gave him some of Eos's tea? Enki sat up, and stretched, then, laid his hands on the bed. I don't want Darkness to find out that i've failed.. We have to leave the Gaze now. He stood up. There were rips in his clothes due to the fight, but he didn't care. He left the room, and started walking towards what he presumed was Enzo's room.

Silver smiled and shrugged. "It's alright. It could be worse." He could actually be here instead of just in my dreams.
She slouched back down into the chair, closing her eyes for a brief moment. His mind again flashed through hers, so she opened her eyes and looked back to Enzo. "Say, this place is where dead people go, right?"

She stood up, a bit bored now that she'd finished her little 'training.'

Sasha sighed; there wasn't much to do at the moment, and she was fairly certain that people were preoccupied with other things. However, her boredom got the best of her, and Sasha slipped outside.

To her surprise, a head of red hair was heading towards Enzo's room; Enki. Sasha narrowed her eyes, " What do you want?" she snarled.

He giggled at Eos' finger twiddling over his chest, keeping his smile. He took a brief look at the teacups when she mentioned having to pass them out. "I don't mind. Go do what you have to do. I won't be going anywhere. You're welcome to come and go as you please." He twirled his finger in her hair and made a more softer smile. Thoughts of having to leave Gaze soon didn't come to him immediately, but he knew time with her could be short. He hasn't enjoyed himself with someone like this before and he tends to forget the shortcomings of it. "Hey, I could help you..I think I'm well enough of move on my own."

"Yeah." Enzo looked out the window, which his bed was near. "It's really a mystery, though. I wonder how my mother would react if she saw me now." Enzo continued looking out of the window, as if he was playing out that scene in his mind.

Enki saw the girl, and lowered his head. "I'm looking for Enzo's room." He said straight-forwardly. He didn't plan on socializing with anyone he had beaten not even a day ago. He looked to his side, a door was there. "This is it, isn't it?" He said, with a depressing tone to his voice. He opened it, and found Enzo and Silver talking.

Enzo looked over to the door and saw Enki. "Ahh, Enki! Do you feel better?" He greeted him from afar. "Y-yes, but we're in grave danger if we don't leave now."

She quirked an eyebrow. Somehow the boy didn't have the murderous aura he had possessed from the day before. Sasha shrugged; he seemed to be on good terms with Enzo, at least.

Hearing Enzo's voice, Sasha felt that unfamiliar awkward feeling run through her again, and turned to go back into her room, until she heard Enki's comment, freezing in her place, " Whaddya mean we'll be in grave danger?" she half yelled, concerned.

"I'd love that!" Her eyes perked, and if she were a cat, her ears would have too. She climbed over him and stopped above him, giving another quick peck before hopping out of bed.

Walking over to the mirror she situated herself; fixing her hair and her dress. She still didn't mind the clothes the Inn had around, they were girly and lacey just as she liked. "Hmm, I still need to hand one out to JD, Silver, Maya and..." Eos trailed off, she made an extra one, unsure of whether or not to offer it to Enzo's friend. Eos had mixed feelings about him, but if Enzo could have compassion for him - so could she.

Picking up the tray she turned to Volitaire, "Ready?"

Silver sat up as Enki came in, still unsure of what to think of him. Suddenly he said they were in grave danger if they didn't leave soon. "Grave danger?.." she questioned as she looked at the boy curiously.

Enki's head sunk a little into his shoulders. He disliked how he was automaticly the center of attention, or so he thought. "Darkness.. The one who corrupted me. If he finds out that we're all still alive, he'll come, and he'll kill us." Enzo stood up quickly, and clenched his fist. "I'll get everyone ready!"

Corrupted...?

It vaguely reminded Sasha of what happened to her brother, but she shook it off, concentrating instead on their imminent danger, " Let's go!" Her eyes were narrowed; she didn't want any more trouble. Not now.

She ran back into her room, scanning it for any possible things she might've left behind. Finding nothing, Sasha was about to run back out, when she spotted a small bookish object that seemed to catch her eye. Picking it up, Sasha smiled, " I'll keep this for later."

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He slowly got up out of bed and straitened his outfit out. He was smiling with a mild blush on his face and placed his hands in his pockets and stood beside her ready to follow. "Mhmm.." He nodded.

Silver sighed. Just how were they going to get out? She glanced at Enzo as he stood up, noticing his clenched fists. Standing up, she looked back to Enki. She noticed how he seemed to shrink back a little, wondered if he had been corrupted this entire time, and frowned. She felt bad for him, knowing herself what it was like to be controlled.

JD hadn’t meant to just walk out on Enzo, but their conversation wasn’t exactly a public affair. Either way he wandered about and looked for his sister- not quite sure where she had hidden herself. “E! E~! WHERE ARE YOU~!” And then he grumbled, “I swear if I find you with Voltaire…” JD didn’t mind if the other hung around his sibling in hopes of protecting her when he could not, and they could share sweet words if that only reaffirmed it. JD wasn’t going to squelch all of Eos’s happiness; but he swore if they got intimately physical without a pledge of marriage or some sort of commitment of that level- JD was going to feed Voltaire his teeth.
Well- that may have been a bit of an overreaction, but he wasn’t going to be cordial.

“Bugger.”

Maya and Kenji walked into the Inn, and up the stairs. As they got closer, Maya could hear the voices of Enzo and Enki a little more clearly. She heard Enki say "...he'll kill us" and frowned at the thought of another fight, squeezing Kenji's hand. She pulled Kenji along towards Enzo's room. She immediately heard JD shouting for Eos, and glanced over to get a look at what was going on.

"What's happening exactly?" Maya leaned into Enzo's room. She realized she still had Kenji's hand and let go.

Enzo ran up to his door, and saw Maya. "We need to leave the Gaze, and fast." He said to her before running to Volitaire's room. He stopped at the door and knocked. "Voli? Voli are you in there?"

Suddenly, she heard a commotion outside. "Something isn't right..." Many voices were bustling in the hall, opening the door and holding the tray with one hand she peered out. Out of all the voices she could hear JD calling her name. Enzo was calling for Volitaire.

Everyone is out here... She suddenly felt a bit nervous. "What's going on?"

Silver got up and walked past Enki, who was still standing in the same place he was before. She let her hair fall in front of her face as she looked down, pausing, and speaking to him.

"I'm sorry."

With that, she went out the door, and decided to wait outside instead of getting in the way while Enzo was trying to gather everyone up.

He heard Enzo at the door, knocking and calling out to him. He frowned and felt a little tension. It didn't look any better that he heard JD yelling for his sister. He went to open up the door and saw Enzo standing in front, looking like he's in a rush. "What's wrong?"

Enki's first reaction was to be surprised, but he smiled as she left. Maybe there is redemption.

"We have to leave here. If we stay longer we may be in danger." He told Eos.

Somewhere far from Anvil...

Darkness paced back and fourth. This is becoming troublesome. He had been awaiting Enki's return for a while, and could no longer sense him. Seems like I will have to do this myself, after all.

Spoiler

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Darkness sunk into his own shadow, resurfacing outside of the castle like building, and standing infront of a large port. At the port were warships, but they held the ability to fly, thanks to the War flamed engines. "Ready the fleet!" He shouted at the human workers, corrupted by him. Darkness himself stepped onto the biggest warship, and the the crew prepared to leave dock. He materialized a corrupt scythe.

Spoiler

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"I'll kill anyone who stands in my way."