Bastard!! Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Macross Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of Humanity ❯ Chapter 9

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter 9

Freedan looked at Nerouki as she lay sleeping in his arms. She looked
so beautiful snuggled against his chest. He sighed, breathing in her
Scent. I can't believe she chose me over Ice! I wonder if I should
have given her permission to take him as a lover? What if I get
jealous and end up ruining two friendships? She muttered something and
he loosened his arms around her. She rolled away and stretched,
yawning. She opened those beautiful eyes and they slowly took in the
room, and then him.

"Good morning," she said softly.

"Morning," he said, his voice hoarse from disuse and crying.

She stood and ambled over to the bathroom where she slammed shut the
door and took a shower. She came back out, wrapped in a towel, her
short hair hanging limp and wet. He lay sprawled on the bed, watching
her. She gave him a look and he grinned before rolling over on his
stomach, turning his head towards the door where he wouldn't be able
to see her. She quickly dressed in blood red velvet shorts with
thigh-high black suede boots and a black tank top. She grabbed her
duster from where it lay draped over a chair and pulled the luscious
black velvet on and tied it at the waist. Then she walked over to
Freedan and began to massage his back. He closed his eyes and sighed,
his body going limp beneath her skilled hands.

"Nerouki?" He asked quietly after a moment.

"Yeah?" Her eyes traveled over his muscular back, his rippling muscles
as he turned over to look at her.

"Why haven't you told me?"
She blinked. "Told you what?"

"You're sick."

"I..." She froze and then her eyes narrowed. "Did Truisch tell you
this too?"

"No..." he said with a slight smile. "I can sense it."

She stood and walked towards the door, grabbing her three weapons on
the way. "Rhiannon wants to speak with us. Hurry up and get dressed,
will you?"

Why don't you trust me?

~>|<~

Rhiannon looked as if she hadn't gotten that much sleep. "I'm so happy
all of you came." She said in a soft voice. "Something very important
to me has been kidnapped and held prisoner in the caves of Mercadia in
the eastern port of Mercade. I can only bring five people with me, and
one will become F'Kor. You all risk the chance of losing your emotions
if you decide to come with me, but the Original Ban'nin de Morte said
this and I have no reason to trust him."

Freedan tensed. "I'm going."

"Me too." Nerouki chirped.

Ice and Airiad exchanged looks before they too agreed.

"That leaves three of you to choose who will come with me." Rhiannon
said.

"Why not Joseph?" Flaem asked casually.

Rhiannon fixed him with a glare. "Because I refuse to let him get
dragged into this anymore than need be. Will it be you then, Flaem?"

"Why not?" He shrugged before grinning at his two friends. The two
women who he had been sitting with smiled dimly, their eyes worried.

"Thank you. I wish to leave as soon as possible."

"We should leave now," Freedan said, looking furious.

"We're not in our battle armour!" Airiad whined.

"Then don't get hurt," he said as he stood. "Just go get your swords
and hurry back here. I need to go to Foresta for a moment."

"Can I come?" Nerouki asked.

"No!" Freedan gave her a vicious glare. "But I want Rhiannon with me."

"Me?"
He grabbed her arm and began to drag her out of Geria. "Yes, you."

They entered Foresta without hitch. "You and Elliott came in here last
night, didn't you?"

"How do you know?" Rhiannon asked curiously.

"Foresta is a part of me. I made it all that it is. You came across
the Seven, didn't you?" He looked down at her, those black eyes
glittering dangerously; warning her not to lie or she would regret it.
She took a deep breath and nodded.

"I see you've brought the High Lord with you this time," Raptor said,
materializing from the shadows. "I too, have brought some friends."
Alucard and Richter stepped forward and offered their hands to the
High Lord, who shook them briefly.

"Raptor, what the hell is going on here?" Freedan snapped impatiently.

Raptor gestured towards Rhiannon. "Please, I'm not one of the Seven,
I'm just their playmate. I believe your anger should be directed
towards Gemara."

"Gemara?" Rhiannon asked.

"Death," Freedan muttered as he started after Raptor.

"We're going on a journey, aren't we?" Richter asked softly.

Alucard, who was dressed in beautiful Victorian clothes with a deadly
looking scimitar at his side, rolled his pale eyes. "Obviously, you
fool! We're going to destroy Gemara and Mercadia, if I've guessed
correctly."

Gemara was talking softly with Denis and Eve. He turned when Raptor
led the group into the clearing. His eyes widened and then he grinned,
sweeping into a bow. "Freedan! So charming to see you again. What can
I do for you?"

"Where's the map of Mercadia?" Freedan snarled.

"I gave it to the girl."
"Yeah, I have it in my pack," Rhiannon said.

"Freedan, I feel as if you're harbouring some deep, psychological
hatred towards me and it really hurts my feelings." Gemara said,
feigning sorrow.

"Nothing could hurt a bastard like you," Freedan seethed. "Where's
Teddy?"
"In Mercadia."
"Where in Mercadia?"

"Second level, dead end number L."

"Thank you." Freedan's hands, which had been behind his back casually,
were glowing black with his Magicks. Now he thrust them forward and
unleashed the Magick and it began to engulf Gemara. Gemara let out a
roar of anguish and hatred as he slowly became smaller and smaller
until he was merely a star-shaped fragment, lying on the ground. A
black chalice appeared above Gemara's remains and rotated until the
star shaped hole was visible. Gemara was slowly fitted in that hole
and then it was sealed up. Freedan smirked triumphantly before passing
out.

~>|<~

"What could be taking them so bloody long?" Flaem was grumbling.

Rhiannon burst through the door, as if on queue. She gave them a
wobbly grin. "Ok, let's be off!"

"Where's Freedan?"

Rhiannon frowned. "He's in Mercade..."

"How in the Nine Worlds did he get to Mercade in an hour?"

Rhiannon looked troubled. "We should head there and find out, don't
you think?"

"Guys?" They turned to see Phoebe standing there. "I heard about what
was going on from Freedan. I've prepared some horses for you and a
little bit of food to last you down in those caves."
"Wait wait wait wait wait!" Flaem held up a hand. "How the Hel did you
`hear from Freedan'?"

"We have a telepathic link as well as a physical link. I can feel what
he feels and vice versa. And right now he's scared. Scared of what, I
don't know. It's blind terror. He's roaming around the caves of
Mercadia. You should go."

"Well, I guess questioning her won't get us anywhere." Ice sighed. He
turned to Nerouki who was pulling at her short hair. "Shall we?"

"We shall," Rhiannon said with determination.

Joseph Elliott was standing by the horses. Nerouki, Flaem, Ice and
Airiad saddled up and then walked a bit away so they could talk
privately.

"Rhiannon? I stayed up for the rest of the night having this amulet
made for you." He held up a beautiful heart shaped pendant with a
glittering emerald (of high quality) stone inside. The stone was
outlined with glittering diamonds and he explained it was a necklace
of protection, as he fastened the necklace around her neck and tilted
her head up. He looked deep into her eyes, admiring how absolutely
beautiful they were. "Rhiannon, you be careful, you hear me? I'll be
very upset if they come back without you."

She blinked back tears and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll be
fine."

He gently kissed her lips and she felt as if the entire world stopped.
It was just Joseph and herself. She leaned into it, wrapping her arms
around him and hugging him tight. He returned the hug before giving
her arm an affectionate squeeze and helping her mount the horse. Then
he watched as she and her group rode off into the darkness, leaving
him all alone.

~>|<~

"God damn it! I said I didn't want to have to do this!"
"You're friends with him. You cannot live."

"And I told you, Ice and I aren't even that close so this is
completely unnecessary!"

The winged spider glared down at him, its six eyes narrowing. "Listen
little man-"

"Little?! No, you listen!" He struggled against the wet, sticky
substance that had engulfed him up to his hips, pinning his arms at
his sides.

"Shut up!" The spider roared. Freedan immediately did so, deciding his
pride would be fine until he was free from this wretched demon.

"A few months ago, this man named Ice who wields the Ice Scythe, came
here and destroyed our Queen, Tatiana. He managed to use some sort of
shield to block our guardians and we were not able to avenge her
death. I will let you die slowly if you tell us where to find this
Ice."

"What makes you think I'd betray him? He and I are best friends, like
brothers!" Freedan snarled, twisting his head from side to side as the
wet stuff began to wrap around his chest, severely restricting his
breathing.

"You're pathetic. You're so desperate to not get killed that you will
mingle lies with truth. You're a lost soul."
"Lost my ass, I'm just having a hard time breathing. Tell me, o mighty
one, what's your name?"
"What's yours?" The spider countered.

"Freedan Freno."

The eyes seemed to widen. "The High Lord, eh? Well, it's an honour to
kill you. My name is Jax."
"Well Jax, can't say it's a pleasure..." Freedan muttered. But then
teeth sank into his neck and the room blurred. He groaned before
passing out. Not again...

~>|<~

"This is it?"

"We were wondering when you'd get here." Out of the darkness, Alucard
and Richter came. Alucard carried a sword with intricate carvings in
the blade, and Richter held a whip as if he were born holding it.

Rhiannon dismounted and eyed them warily. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" Richter smirked. "We're here to save our master!"

"And what about Gemara?" Rhiannon asked pointedly.

"Gemara?" Nerouki frowned. "He's the Original..."

"Be a little bit more trusting of the rest of us. We're good guys.
Let's go down and explore!" Richter said, heading towards the entrance
enthusiastically. They stood before a huge onyx cave, the opening
blocked by a slate of granite. Richter pushed against it, his muscles
bunching beneath his light clothes. Rhiannon helped Nerouki tie up the
horses and then dug through her pack until she produced the map.
Richter let out a deep whoosh of air and sat back in a crouch. Alucard
stood next to him, hands on his hips appraising the rock.

"It won't budge," Richter said to Alucard.

"You don't say?" Alucard raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.

Alucard pushed back his hair and braces his feet in the dirt before
giving it a try. His pale features reddened with the exertion and he
grunted as he gave one final push. Then he stepped back and wiped the
sweat from his brow. The door had moved a little.

Ice stepped forward and engulfed the door in an ice crystal and Flaem
proceeded to melt it. The door destroyed, a flurry of winged spiders
as big as cars flew from it and disappeared into the night sky.

"What the hell was that?" Rhiannon gasped.

"They're called galias." Ice said darkly. Their lords were captured
inside crystal flowers by Darien Stone of the Shadow Dynasty. I came
in contact with their queen and since then, they've been wanting
revenge on me, I'm sure. Needless to say, the queen is dead." Ice
looked up and placed a hand on his hip. "I doubt we're in trouble, or
anybody else. They'll be powerful as long as their king is alive."

"How do we know which is the king?"

Ice shrugged. "The queen was twice the size of the galias you just
saw. I'm assuming the king is that large too?"
"No, the queen is only that large because she gives birth. The king
will be a normal sized galias, but it will be much smarter." Nerouki
said.

A scream of absolute terror erupted from the cave. Without another
word, they dashed down the stairs. The stairs seemed to go down
forever, and by the time they finally reached the bottom of the
spiraling steps, the screams had long since stopped. Ice walked down
the hall and the torches began to blow out. Annoyed, he turned to
Flaem.

"I can't stop that."

"Nerouki can use fire. She can go in front, I'll go in the back,
you'll be behind Airiad who'll be behind Rhiannon."

They struggled to get into formation, the tunnel being very narrow,
and then they started forward, Ice and Airiad blowing out the torches
only to have Flaem relight them. Rhiannon kept glancing at her watch.
Where could Teddy be? My poor baby, he must be so scared.

No, not really. Kinda hungry though. Where are you?

Teddy?

Momma?

"Teddy!" Rhiannon cried joyfully.

They stopped and stared at her.

"What's the matter with you?" Ice asked blandly.

"I can hear my little bear! He can talk to me now!"
"Must be one of the experiments..." Flaem muttered.

"Can he tell us where he is?" Nerouki asked, casting Flaem a worried
look.

Bear, where are you?

In Mercadia.

We are too. Are we close to you?

Yes, you're above me!

I'll be there in a little while. Take care, my little bear.

"He's on the lower level." Rhiannon said, raising her green eyes to
the pale blue ones of Ice. Ice nodded and gestured for Nerouki to
continue. An hour later they came to an opening in the wall to their
left. Rhiannon looked at the map. We go in there and take the left
fork. If we go straight the road gets blocked off by something. This
is a short cut."

They nodded and continued along their path. Nerouki screamed as the
lights suddenly blew out. Flaem found his Gyft cut off and could hear
Ice and Airiad swearing at each other, angry that their powers were
gone. Flaem had never seen Airiad angry, as he rarely became so, but
figured he didn't want to. He turned around and began to ran back the
way they had come. When he came to the opening her went left and
hurried along towards the `blocked road' which was blocked by a huge
spider web. In the center of the web was a body wrapped in a cocoon.
Flaem wrinkled his nose and touched the web. His hand became stuck and
he cursed himself for his stupidity. He could hear the scraping of a
spider scurrying towards its web. It was the other side.

Flaem searched for that peaceful spot where his Gyft lay and found he
could use it again. Something inside told him not to burn the body so
he engulfed everything except it in flame. The spider shrieked and
came at him. Flaem's powers weren't cut off this time so he sent a
blast of heat towards the spider. The acrid smell of burning fur
filled his nostrils. He pulled free his staff and held the burning
stick aloft, waiting for the winged creature to come near. It did and
Flaem began to attack in a flurry of physical and magical attacks,
keeping an eye out for the body. At one point the clawed foot of the
spider came crashing down on the body's head and it erupted in a spray
of red blood and brains. Flaem tasted bile in his mouth but managed to
fight on. That same bloodied claw shot through his left shoulder at
the same time he drove his staff through the creature's head. Green
blood washed over him and he burned it before it could actually touch
his skin. Then he began to peel away the sticky strands that covered
the small body. He looked down at it and frowned.

"What the hell is Raptor doing down here?" He whispered. Flaem stood
and rushed down the hallway and found himself presented with a tunnel
on his right. He could hear screams and the crash of battle. He rushed
down, unleashing his staff. When he got close enough, the fire died
out but he managed to see his enemy and he leapt up on its back. He
positioned the staff and drove it through the creatures chest, this
time getting drenched in the green blood as it spouted up.

"You will not live!" The spider was hissing.

"What are you?" Flaem could almost Nerouki as she fought with her
sword. She was covered in the green blood as well as her own and some
from Rhiannon, who lay unconscious in Airiad's arms, who was
attempting to back away.

"I am the guardian of the king."

Flaem ripped his staff free and jumped down, managing to drive it
through the beast's head. The spider roared and its body crashed down,
pinning Nerouki underneath it. She let out a grunt as it crushed her
legs and then everything was numb.

"Oh shit!" She began to cry.

"What's wrong?" Flaem watched as Ice knelt by her, showing an
interesting amount of concern.

"I can't feel my legs," she whispered.

"Is anybody a healer here?" Ice asked sharply. Ice lay down Rhiannon
and woke her. She blinked at him groggily.

"Are you a healer?" Airiad asked casually.

"No..." she wheezed, sitting up and feeling her tender side. "Why?"

"I'd have to say no," Airiad said, looking up at Ice. Their matching
eyes startled Rhiannon and they could have been brothers, she thought.
But then Ice was hacking away at the body, Airiad helping. Flaem was
dragging chunks of the body down the hall and off to the side. When he
had dragged the last piece and returned her saw Ice and Airiad staring
at the bloody remains of Nerouki's legs. She had passed out by this
point and Flaem smacked a hand to his forehead.

"The damage is pretty severe," Ice mumbled.

"Gee! Ya think?" Airiad snapped irritably.

"We should cauterize the wound and carry her." Ice said, glaring at
Airiad who shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"Do what you think it best, doc. I'm here for the ride, remember?"
Flaem quickly did as Ice had mentioned and then watched as Ice hefted
her into his powerful arms. He looked upset about this and as Rhiannon
led the way, he started talking to him quietly.

"Ice, what's going on?"
"What do you mean?" He asked, walking behind Airiad who was obviously
listening in, as Rhiannon probably was too, if she wasn't too worried
over Teddy.

"I'm concerned."
"You're overly concerned!" Flaem pointed out.

"I'm also in love. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Ice snapped.
Airiad stumbled, plowing into Rhiannon who pushed him away angrily.
Flaem stopped and his mouth dropped open.

"You're what?"
"Ice, you're one of the coldest, uncaring, unfeeling people I know!"
Airiad stammered as he climbed to his feet from where Rhiannon had
knocked him over.

"Thank you, everybody, for forgetting the fact that I'm human like you
too."

Rhiannon stopped and turned around.

"Does she love you back?" She asked.

Ice blinked. "Not in the way I wished she would."

"That sucks." Airiad said, watching out for any more attacks from
Rhiannon.

Ice smiled faintly. "No... not really..." Flaem looked as if he were
about to question the dreamy look in his eye when Ice responded
coldly, "Don't you think we should get going. Nerouki will be fine for
the moment, Phoebe will help her when we get back. Aren't we on the
trail of some - of Teddy? We should hurry up!"
"We also need to find Freedan."

"That reminds me," Flaem said as they began walking again. "I found a
spider web. It was absolutely huge and there was a body in the
center."
"Was it human?" Rhiannon almost yelled.

"Was it Freedan?" Airiad yelled at the same time.

"Shut up!" Ice yelled.

"No, it was Lord Raptor," Flaem said. "Isn't that curious."

"Speaking of curious, where are Alucard and Richter?" Rhiannon asked.

They came to the end of the tunnel and were assaulted by the acrid
smell of the corpse Flaem had left down aways. Flaem took the lead and
had been walking for a little over three hours when he stopped and
signaled for everybody to remain silent. He crept forward into the
darkness and then lit the torches around a small area. Alucard and
Richter looked up, startled. They were hovered over Denise's body.

"What are you doing and where have you been?" Flaem asked, standing
up, the others following suit.

"Um..." Richter said, looking down at Denise.

"We fought a winged spider and found Denise wrapped up in some kind of
cocoon. We were mourning, obviously."
"You know, you're so cold you could get along with Ice." Rhiannon
seethed as she shouldered her way past and continued down the
corridor. Eventually they came to a huge room, brightly lit. Nerouki
had awaked at this point and was flying alongside her companions like
some sort of hideous beast. (What with her lack of legs and all)

A huge spider web spanned across one section of the room, blocking off
a corner. Standing before whatever was in the cocoon was a spider, a
little smaller than the rest. It turned around and they gasped. It had
six eyes but an oddly human face and twelve legs. It scurried towards
them and stopped before a horrified looking Nerouki.

"What's your name?" It hissed.

"Fuck you!"
The spider glared at her, before turning to Rhiannon.

"I'm Lady Rahl, and I demand to know where my dog is being kept."
"Hm, what will you give me in return?"
"What do you want?" Richter asked.

"Well, winter is drawing near and I only have one little capsule of
food to feed off of. I could use another one..." The spider grinned as
it looked Rhiannon up and down.

Disgusted she gestured towards Ice. "Take him."

"Hey!" Ice swore as a claw whipped out and grabbed him with lightning
speed.

"Rhiannon!" Nerouki gasped in horror.

"I saw something that looked like a dog downstairs in the room at the
very end of the hall on the left." The spider smiled dangerously.

"Thank you." Rhiannon said, but she frowned, noticing the spider web
blocked off the stairs leading downstairs. The spider saw her look and
cackled maniacally.

"Shit," Rhiannon drew her sword and assumed a fighting stance as she
glared at the spider.

Nerouki watched the battle, her own sword in hand as Alucard,
Rhiannon, Richter, Airiad and a disconcerted Ice began to attack from
all sides. Flaem had run for the web and Nerouki followed. The cocoon
was woven tight around a human body but Flaem carefully burned the
web, only causing minimal damage to what could already be a mummified
corpse. The spider screeched and turned around, heading towards its
mangled web. Whips of it flew out of its mouth and pinned Nerouki to
the wall. She grunted as her back slammed into it hard, her head
hitting a second later with a wet thwack! Flaem rolled forward,
dodging the sticky strands aimed at him. He rolled to his feet and
plunged his sword into the spider's underbelly.

The others were attacking with a fury, except for Airiad who had lost
an arm. Clutching the wound with his remaining hand, he ran towards
Nerouki. He freed his knife and began to hack away the sticky strands.
When she dropped into his free arm and she began to sob. Airiad held
his wound shut and they both turned to see Rhiannon go flying off to
the side and out into the corridor. Flaem was lying unconscious and
Alucard was defending Richter, who was nursing his broken leg. Ice was
the only one left fighting. He sheathed his sword and gathered balls
of ice in his hands.

This attack proved how unusually agile the spider was. It dodged the
majority of Ice's rapid-fire attacks. The spider thrust a claw out and
Ice rolled to his left, counter-attacking with another stalagmite if
frozen fury. Rhiannon poked her head in, saw things looked
particularly grim, but noticed the web was down. She lowered her head
and made a mad dash for the stairwell. Ice was hurled in her way and
they both went sprawl-ing. Rhiannon saw pale eyes staring into hers
before he gathered his legs in a crouch between them and propelled her
off him, kicking into an upright position in the same sweeping motion.
Rhiannon, who was not so fortunate, a nasty fall down the steep, dark,
very narrow and sharp stairs.

Ice spun around in time with a flailing leg and got caught right
upside his jaw. He stumbled backwards and when he regained his
footing, Alucard had joined back in the fighting. But what really
surprised Ice, was that his longtime friend (or so it seemed like
forever, these last two months) was fighting alongside Alucard, a
tourniquet tied expertly around his bicep. Ice stood, mystified.
Airiad had always been an every man for himself sort of guy,
completely arrogant about his (albeit) cold good looks. Now he was
risking an arm, just to save Rhiannon's dog.

Rhiannon! Hah! We met her but a week or two ago, and this is what
happens. We get dragged into somebody else's emotional escapades and
end up putting our asses on the line! I don't want to be here! I want
to go home to quarrel with the High Lord and hit futilely on his
sister! His pale eyes had been circling the room, looking for possible
exits, when they fell on Nerouki, who lay still. He walked over to her
slowly, and heard a disgusting sucking noise. He knelt by her and put
a cool hand to her feverish forehead. Her eyes flew open and locked on
his. He gave her a reassuring smile before standing and unsheathing
his sword again. It wasn't until he had taken a step back, that he
realized she had regrown her legs. Oh my god...

Nerouki lunged forward, a little wobbly, and lashed out with her whip,
taking out two of the spider's eyes. Ice, refueled almost by her
relentlessness, followed suit, helping her blind this awful beast. The
spider began to morph before their eyes. It threw off a powerful force
field all around its body, hurling the group back. Richter was slammed
farther back, his back cracking the stone walls. He dropped,
unconscious. Ice had been flipped in mid air and as he was heading
face first for the ground, he saw a fierce beast erupt from the
stairs, Rhiannon riding it proudly. Ice landed on his face, too
stunned to brace himself. The last thing he saw was Rhiannon and the
strange beast, attacking the morphing spider, breaking through its
shield and going for what would probably have been his throat.

~>|<~

She groaned, rolling over on her side. Her eyes opened and she stared
into soulless black eyes. She tried to scream, but nothing was coming
out. Only small wheezing sounds. She pushed herself to her feet and
looked at the mass of debris and destruction all around her. There was
no movement. The spider-thing lay splattered across the room and a
mass of what looked like its sticky web stuff and pus covered Ice, who
lay facedown. Something nudged her hand but for some reason, she
didn't jump. Something tentative, comforting, and wet licked her hand.
She looked down and smiled.

"I'll told you I'd come get you my little bear."

The dog seemed to smile. It was rather small, but when it morphed into
it's alter-ego demonic side, it was large and deadly, fast and agile,
a force to be reckoned with, much like Rhiannon when she wasn't
getting her ass kicked.

"I knew you would." Teddy replied contentedly. His keen eyes surveyed
the area. They were the only part of him that remained supernaturally
intelligent. "What happened here?" He asked curiously, settling down
to scratch behind an ear. Rhiannon knelt beside him, rubbing his
entire little furry body, just happy to have him back.

"You protected me, of course." She said softly.

"I did this?" He sounded decidedly revolted.

"No, this was a group effort. You just finished the beast off."

There was a soft moaning from somewhere within the room and to her
horror, she saw the cocooned body wiggle out from underneath a fallen
pillar. She stood there, open mouthed, Teddy curious at this odd
movement, when arms suddenly blasted through the thick web. Hands
began to claw at the face and Rhiannon felt paralyzed by fear and
horror. The body began to spasm and then it went still. A blinding
black flash that could be felt and heard engulfed the room. When her
eyes cleared, the creature was struggling again. Rhiannon pulled free
her sword from a pile of rock in which it had been embedded in the
ensuing explosion. She took one step towards the creature and it
froze, its head slowly turning towards her. She gulped, clutching her
sword in a sweaty hand.

You idiot! You just destroyed a giant metamorphosing winged spider!
How can you be scared of anything now?! She slipped in the puddle
surrounded Ice and landed painfully on her back. The cocooned creature
was scrambling towards her, moving like a worm. She began to scream,
and then she black out.

~>|<~

A piercing scream right by his ear woke him up. He squinted. He rubbed
his face and sat up, looking down in disgust at the mass of white
gooey liquid he was sitting in. He stood and shook himself off, taking
a quick survey of his wounds. Then he knelt by the cocooned creature
that was clawing frantically at its face. Ice impulsively grabbed on
of the arms and studied it curiously. He felt a powerful bicep,
tensing beneath his cold hand. The strong forearms were lightly
covered with golden hairs, but the hands were what puzzled him. They
were large, with long slender fingers, and longish, black tinted
nails. The creature let out a muffled cry before falling still. A
blinding black flash resonated throughout the room and in a flash, Ice
was prying away the thick, almost solid mask around the creature's
head. Aware of what was happening, the creature lay still. Ice reached
forward, over the body and snatched up Rhiannon's dagger, originally
Gypsy's. He cut a long line where he judged the mouth to be, if his
guess was correct. A moment later there was a huge gasp of air, and
the creature rolled over on its side and vomited blood. Black, acidic
blood.