Kilroos (Rise of the Guardians)

Cassie clapped looking at Zayne as he shifted back into a human. “Well… I wish I could change into a kitty. It’d make things a lot less weird.” He then got so close to her lips she cringed and blushed a dark red. “I-I… uhm… heh…” Cassie fidgeted with her feathers draping over her shoulder laughing softly and nervously. Esti galloped over to Zayne leaving Edon alone. “A book! Do they have pop-ups? I like poppy books.” She took Zayne’s hand as Cassie took his other. That was what she really wanted. Couldn’t really hold a paw. Yeah. That was it. The princess was going to go upstairs. She pointed to Edon. “He has the map. All I know is that the second story was the section destroyed.” Snuggling with Mahlo Q felt a little better but still had a whirling feeling spinning in her gut. “We can go upstairs with the princess.” Cassie narrowed her eyes at Q “We can go with the drunk map man then. I’d like to know where we are at all times. Lynn looked back at Gannon. “I can go with Gannon upstairs with the Princess! I’m sure we can find some books up there worthy of automail engineering!”

It was settled. The smaller group of: The princess, Lynn, Gannon, Mahlo and Q were to go upstairs. The bigger group of Edon, Julius, Xerxes, Zayne, Cassie, and Esti were to go find Sasha and Roy. In the animal room the mist seemed to be depressed as Sasha’s hands went right through it. Roy now glared at Sasha. This harsh look was that of a very upset father looking at his badly mannered daughter. “No matter how much you want to help this woman, there are rules Sasha. There is a reason those memories are locked away from them. They are here on their own accord and will be punished for it. As much as you want to Sasha, we cannot by any means help this… Teacher.” Roy spoke through clenched teeth looking at her. “Not everything can be fixed. Sometimes things are broken on purpose to live a better life! Things might just stay forgotten Sasha.” Looking at the Mist, Roy’s eyes burned with a furious rage. “Things. Are. Better. Off. Sasha.” Rolling his neck he let out an exhale. Those forest green eyes hardly got that fierce as he cooled himself down. “Let’s… look at the Rainbow Cove collection.” The mist looked at Sasha. “Do you still want to look at it miss?”

Outside the group had split off. Q glared at Edon as his snarky attitude left with him. Once out of her sight she smiled slightly and tightened her grip around her wielder. “Ever since this whole City Unknown thing, I really want to know more about it.” Gannon looked back at her. “The elf city?” Q nodded in response. Gannon smiled. “Only you and Roy can go in that city as far as I’m concerned. If we take the dead man’s path route, you can learn a lot about your past. Your people.” Quinn let go of Mahlo and walked a bit slower. “I’m with Mahlo so much I sometimes forget I’m even an elf, but when Zayne calls me ‘Elfie’… I feel way too different than the group. An outsider.” The group went in through the door and towards the stairs. Gannon laughed. “That’s because you are! Elves have been dying out for years. You and Roy are two different Elf species! It’s astonishing that I get to see you two every day! What I would have given to see your kind when I was exploring. I could have gotten so much information out of the Elf ruin.” Lynn looked back at Mahlo as she smirked seeing the love birds arm in arm. “Well, Q. You and I are always outsiders. Race or not. You have a brand on your shoulder marking you an outsider. I have my entire arm missing AND a brand where that stump is. Since the cold season is coming, it’s going to get harder for people in armor to stay warm…” Moving up the stairs there was books all over the floor and the princess sighed. “This is the Oridune and Quirelan section… I have a strange feeling I know something has to do with them and this whole Champion fiasco.”

Sasha looked at Roy, thinking that he'd want to help her as well. But his eyes said otherwise. Her expression changed as he stated how angry he was, Sasha stood up and brought her hands onto her chest. She stared at him and each one of his words boomed on her ears, she has never seen or heard him this angry. His tone... and eyes .. reminded her of her parents... As he yelled the last words, the girl found herself back on her room, her dad yelling at her and just like an illusion, she saw his hand in the air ready to smack her head. Sasha panicked and covered her head using her arms and instinctively surrounded herself with a thin forcefield; pactically sobing she said "Don't hit me dad!".

Then, she opened her eyes and realised it was just the library. She slowly steped back a bit and placed her hands on her sides. Staying quiet for a few seconds, she looked at the mist and tried to clean a few tears from her face with one hand. Kneeling next to the mist she said with a shaky voice "I'm... I'm so sorry... before we go... may you show me the cove's animals? I promise I'll visit you later...". She gave a faint smile and waited for the mist to move. Huging herself without turnig she said in a lower tone "I'm.. sorry Roy... Don't pay attention to what I said..."

The one time Roy stands up to Sasha for her decisions and he’s met with this. Roy placed his hand on the bridge of his nose as he turned his back to her. He stood there in silence and kept his back to her. The mist seemed to look at the girl and then to the man. Rolling on the ground it finally got enough momentum to lift off the ground. “Surely!” The mist tried to get it’s spirits back up as Roy mumbled to herself scrunching his nose and forehead with his hand. The mist floated over to a rather small animal that was in a position that it seemed injured. “This is the chappachira. It is a small animal with a very sinister way to attract prey. If anything approaches it was it cries it will bite the prey. The animal will not know it was poisoned until it bleeds out from its wound. Leaving a trail for the Chappachira to follow. It is like playing opossum, but in a more offensive way!” The mist floated to a few birds and began to speak of them, however none of them seemed to be any kind of importance. Roy stood silently thinking out loud as he gripped his forehead with his left arm. His golden hair was in his face as he swayed slightly back and forth.

Mahlo glared at Edon with the intensity of a heat ray. The old bastard was really staring to get on his nerves. He didn't say anything, choosing to let the drunk walk off--He didn't expect others to actually follow him in their quest to find Sasha and Roy. It was in that moment that he realized the rest of the wielders and their mentors went with Edon--Mahlo was the only wielder that had chosen to go upstairs. 

"Tch," He said with a frown, "I didn't wanna go with that homeless asshole anyway." 

He enjoyed Quinn's body on his own; He was able to feel that her tension had gone down, she was relaxing within his grip. He couldn't help but smile, even if Edon had rubbed him the wrong way, she knew how to bring him back. The two of them walked upstairs, following the princess along with Lynn and Gannon. She let go and began to talk of the 'Elf City'. Mahlo was always shocked to hear Quinn be referred to as an Elf--He sometimes forget just as much as Quinn did. In his eyes, she wasn't any different than him, save for the difference in gender. 

"You're not an outsider," He replied simply, looking up at her, "Not to me, anyhow." 

As they went up the steps, Mahlo took notice of Gannon's intelligence that he usually kept hidden away. He tilted his head, "You explored the Elf ruin? What exactly is that, anyway?" 

His thought process was interrupted as they ascended the steps. He took notice of the books sprawled all over the floor. He listened to the princess, his arm still wrapped around Quinn's. The wielder nodded slowly. "I want to go see the Quirelan section first--The name sounds interesting enough."

The young boy walked and looked around at the immense shelves that soared to the roof. The collection varied from leather bound books, paper bound together by thongs of leather, and scrolls. He wondered if he would be able to instantly tell which one was Mist Mountains, as if the writing would call out to him or if he'd feel some type of familiar aura coming from the pieces of work that'll draw him in. He knew that they were supposed to find Sasha and Roy but there were enough of them that he could split off on his own right? He was sure that he wasn't going to be needed in the search. So he began trying to find out how he would discover the Mist Mountains section, sniffing silently and trying to use some type of sixth sense to feel it.

Sasha followed the mist, she felt terribly bad... for a lot of things. Even when she's not at home her parents make her life miserable. And now probably Roy feels bad as well, all because of her?. Maybe it wasn't entirely her fault but her parents blame her for everything, leavig that guilt feeling inside her chest. The girl lostened to the explanation the teacher was giving to them, she smiled faintly as it finished "That's... cool" she said to it "Thanks for your time, but I think we should go back with the others..." then in a much lower tone she said to herself "Not like they're worried or anything...".

The one thing that appears to trigger Sasha's traumas with her parents is when she gets yelled at, along with an angry stare. It always reminded her of when her dad tell her how worthless she was, how he wished he could put her inside a cage and leave her there to rot to death, but sadly they needed her status to keep their life as "royalty". Even her mother said she didn't even want a daughter. Sasha just wants to forget it all, leave it in the past and keep going, but how? It like trying to run away from your shadow. It'll follow her everywhere and she has no idea how to make it go away. The girl turned to Roy but kept looking at the ground, "Let's find the others..." she said in a low tone, enough for him to hear. She stayed a few feets away from him waiting for him to move. She'd follow without speaking up a word.

Zayne happily took Cassie and Esti's hands in his. He laughed at Cassie's response to his boopidy doops. "Yeah Esti, we're going to find pop-em-up's while Cassie reads her books. She's waaaaaayyy smarter than us!" The group had split, and Q wasn't coming with Zayne's gang, which worried him. The thought of her getting hurt was almost as bad as the thought of Cassie or Esti being hurt.

Gannon chuckled softly as they moved through. "No, no dear boy. I COULD have gone into the city, but I would never exit. I said 'what I would have given to' meaning I would give anything to see inside that city. I wish I did though. Too many things I haven't seen. " Gannon frowned looking down as Lynn skipped forwards picking up a few books. "Most of these aren't exactly useful. Like... this one here says something about F-" Lynn broke through the floor and screamed as she gripped onto the floor Her torso was ripped from the weak floorboards as creaking ensued. Q left Mahlo's side and ran towards her flinging a rope to her she had on her hip. Q didn't get close to her not knowing if the floor would give out on her. "Grab onto it and hold tight." Lynn grabbed the rope but it wasn't as if she fell, but was instantly pulled down Q screamed holding onto the rope for dear life. "HOLD ON LYNN!" The princess put down her books and went to go help her, whether Mahlo went or not. Q instantly felt the rope had become light. Q quickly pulled the Rope up and crawled across the soot covered floor to look down. Nothing was there. Lynn had vanished into thin air. "W...where'd she go?" Q got back and then sat up looking for Mahlo to instantly get up. "There was blood drops on the floor down below... like the floor cut her up as she fell.." Q looked at the rope. It was not frayed, but cut clean. "What... what happned?"  looked around. "Lynn?!" The princess felt a gut sinking sensation run over her. "My partner is gone..." She looked around... "I need a partner!" She was actually the one that made the team an odd number. "Wait...we're an odd number group..." She rushed towards Gannon and grabbed him by the arm. "I can't die here! We need to get our information and get ou--" A golden spear was driven through the back of princess 's skull, through her rib cage and right through the floor. The spear had vanished as a man clad in armor had come into view as he materialized. Someone was in his hand as he drug the body behind him. It was not Lynn. "Hm. A power hungry princess never looks good on anyone Gemini. You can't ruin what we've already started." A glowing halo finally came full circle around the man's head as he looked at the group. It was Zenith. "Sirius. I'll trade you... One. For the other." Zenith pulled the body of Valkyrie up showing her to the group. "She is a traitor to me. I no longer want her service. However I hear the red head is quite loyal." Valkyrie was out cold as Zenith used golden spears to pierce her shoulders and into the wall. These spears emitted light from them keeping any kind of shadows from them. Moving towards the group he summoned more spears. "Only one wielder with an old man and an Elf. Hm." Mahlo felt something missing. His obsidian poles had been taken. Behind him and Q was Skye absorbing them into his arms, breaking them down into the lava it was before. Gannon stood between Zenith and Skye as the two champions became silent.

Skye: http://sta.sh/01me0ndbd5ht

Mahlo could feel that something was wrong the very moment they went up those steps. The atmosphere felt...off. He gripped Quinn much more tightly than he normally would have, his eyes alert and darting back and forth. He barely processed anything that Gannon had said, instead looking to Lynn as she skipped across the floorboards happily. She seemed to stop cold at a shelf, grabbing one of the books. Mahlo narrowed his eyes, "Lynn--You should be more carefu-"

And it was in that moment that he was interrupted by a loud crack. It was also in that moment that everything went to shit. 

The floorboards practically fell apart underneath the woman as she fell through the ground. The terrible sound of creaking was heard as she screamed for help, only to be ripped further down through the torn apart floorboards. Mahlo knew right away that this was not the work of a rickety library, it was something much more sinister. Quinn took herself away from Mahlo's grasp for a moment as she grabbed a rope and threw it to Lynn. Lynn had grabbed it, but was struggling even more than before to keep herself up. The princess soon ran over as well, gripping the rope--Hopefully together they would be able to pull her up. Maybe they would need help.

Before Mahlo could even consider walking over and grabbing the rope, Quinn pulled it up only to find it empty. Lynn was quite literally gone, and the rope had been cut clean. His hand fell to his scythe, glaring around with a sudden alertness, reaching over and bringing Quinn to him, "We need to get the hell out of here--Like, now," He said frantically.

The princess, however, had done the one and only thing you should not do in a situation like this; She panicked. As soon as she panicked and gripped Gannon fretfully, she was met with an untimely death. The cause of her pain was not up for debate, a glimmering spear pushing its way through her skull and ribs and into the ground. Just as quickly, the spear vanished, and the princess was allowed to fall forward in a pool of her own blood and gore. As the culprit materialized, Mahlo could see the halo wrapping itself around the top of his head, and he could also see he was holding someone--Someone who was not Lynn.

"Zenith," Mahlo mumbled, instinctively taking his scythe out from his side and spinning it around a few times for good measure. His free hand wrapped around Quinn, keeping her close to his person. He had never seen the man before, but he'd heard enough stories to know it was the leader of the champions. In his grasp--Well, not anymore, considering he speared her shoulders to the wall--Was Valkyrie. He couldn't help but shiver at the sight of everything: The princess lying dead on the floor, Valkyrie unconscious and pinned to the wall, and the man, summoning spears around his person and looking condescendingly to the Dark Swamps wielder.

"God dammit," Mahlo grumbled, "You couldn't have gone for the downstairs group?!" He moved to grab his poles as well, however as he felt for them on his back, he suddenly realized they were missing. He turned over his shoulders to find another champion, a being who looked to be made of liquid metal and orange substance. He was holding his weapons, and he was causing the poles to revert back into the lava they had originally been. Mahlo growled, "Hey! What the fuck is this?!"

He turned back to Zenith, "What the fuck do you even want. What's your end-game? Just killing the wielders for fun?" Mahlo was attempting to mask his stress and anxiety with anger, although it wasn't working all that well. He opened his mouth to say something else, however he was silenced. A chill ran down from his neck to the base of his spine. It was a familiar chill, one from Jycer.

Movement, and the creaking of floorboards as the room suddenly grew much darker than it was previously. The light around Zenith and his spears kept Mahlo's vision intact, acting as torches in the night,however the rest of the world seemed to be suddenly doused in a myriad of shadows. The wielder suddenly felt the urge to vomit, "Not him too."

Zenith.

A yelp was heard from the old wise man who had the misfortune of being in the midst of everything. The next noise was the thump of his head falling to the ground, his eyes wide as saucers, mouth wide open. The rest of his body followed suit after a few moments, copious amounts of crimson sprinkling onto the ground.

So we finally meet. 

A gust wind of chilling air and darkness came with such strength that they even Zenith's bright lights dimmed for just a single moment. The pitch black wrapped into a concentrated ball that slowly made its way to the ground of the second floor, just in front of the bloodied hole where Lynn used to be. The ball dissipated, and all Mahlo could see was the back of a thin red coat, a head of pitch black hair, and an elongated sword of a similar color. However, Zenith would be able to see his face--The face of an absolute mad man. His pitch black eyes were wide and filled with rage, however his lips were curled into a deranged smile with his fangs bared. The scar running down his cheek seemed to pulsate. 

"I only wish it were on better terms," He said in a soft, whimsical voice akin to a sinister whisper. It filled the room like a tumor, and Mahlo suddenly grew dizzy. Sirius scoffed, putting his sword back in its respective place. If he had actually seen Mahlo and Quinn, then he personally didn't give a damn at the moment.

"So," Sirius said, his feet shifting back and forth, "You think you can come around, kill some people, take my bitch and now you're the best?" 

He chuckled, "You're funny, I'll give you that," Shadows rose around him like bubbling volcanoes, ready to be used for anything sinister. His devilish smirk was replaced with a deepened frown, his voice coming in the sound of a snake prepared to strike at the heart, "But I'm sorry to say that I'm not one for negotiations. I make my own rules."

Mahlo looked behind him at Skye, and suddenly he realized the predicament that they were being placed in. Darkness had surrounded both him and Quinn, and they were ironically being saved by Zenith's light.The Dark Swamps wielder had no clue who to root for--Both options would lead to their death. " I reject your trade, but I certainly won't allow you to leave with Valkyrie. She isn't your property anymore," Sirius said with a snarl.

Mahlo sighed jaggedly, running a trembling hand through his hair. It seemed as though there was nothing they could do except wait for an opening that would grant them an escape. "I guess we'll just have to watch," Mahlo said with a soft scowl, only Quinn could hear his nervous voice.

As the wielder paid attention to the battle preparing to unfold, he saw Sirius' shadows swirl around himself, the shadows that were even darker than the pitch black Mahlo and Quinn were surrounded by. He witnessed Sirius' lips moving, however he felt as though his words were being screamed straight into his ear drums as the shadows pulsated akin to a beating heart. He winced at the shattering noise of the shadow manipulator's scream.

"Shes MINE!!!"

Edon kept moving as a group gathered behind him; he had to keep moving. The old man was silent, glancing to the occasional wraith that floated past. Each new blob of shadow caused uneasiness to resonate in the pit of his stomach. He needed to find the girl and the elf, regroup, and leave. When he thought over the plan in his head, it seemed so simple and easy. Edon glanced back at his band of followers, counting heads and noting faces.

Julius, Big Guy, Idiot Boy, Cassie, and Little Girl. A dream team if nothing else.

The drunkard imagined the layout of the library and where everything was, including The Librarian. His recollection wasn’t perfect, though it would suffice. He was more focused on the fact that The Librarian was after him. It could also phase through walls, which didn’t help Edon’s situation.

It was then that Edon realized the group had practically no idea about the current predicament. He addressed them without turning or stopping, “The Librarian is coming to kill me.” The man paused before speaking again, “The guy can fade through walls so he can travel faster. We must stay silent and keep our ears open. If you hear any weird noises, say so. No stopping for anything. No leaving the group until we find the others and meet up with the princess.”

With that, Edon lead the group back into the library and into the Jycer/Skyline section. It seemed like an appropriate starting place. It was far away from the map room, which contained The Librarian, and it was large. The openness of the space would decrease the severity of The Librarian’s advantage.

Julius wasn't aware the situation was so dire. He remembered faintly that the princess had said the Librarian didn't like Edon, and he didn't blame the man for wanting to avoid him. Originally due to how scary the Librarian looked, and now that the old man's life was on the line, not meeting him was all the better. He wondered if they could pass by the Mist Mountains section as they go to find Sasha and Roy. He wondered how the princess' group was doing, he was separated from Lynn and hoped she was doing well. She hadn't talked to anyone besides him and Sasha so he hoped she got along well with the others. He looked around at the section they were in and wondered what was hidden in the pages. It's a pity they were planning on leaving as soon as they could. Where was he anyways? Was he even close to the Mist Mountains section? He wanted to speak up but he was too scared to attract the Librarian so he silently walked behind.

As the smaller group made it's way down the hall, a dark cloud began to form in Zayne's mind. Before he could even take notice of this veil, a massive pulse attacked his head, causing him to stagger and slam against the wall. With a large thud, the wielder crashed into the ground and began to tremble uncontrollably. Blood leaked through his crimson eyes and dropped onto the ground. One arm clenched his chest, ripping at his shirt as Zayne's veins began to bulge, the other arm grabbed desperately towards Cassie while Zayne screamed out in horror. The skin on his fingers began to scrape off as he clawed desperately at the ground in front of him. Zayne peered at the group through eyes so large they could hardly stay in his head, and then he was met with a second pulse that left him limp on the ground.

A moment passed before Zayne finally kicked himself back to life. His eyes were a swirl of black and crimson, both of which were draining down his pale white face. His body jerked several times and struggled until it finally stood up. He took a moment to stretch as if Zayne needed to get readjusted with his body, and then returned to his glare at Cassandra. With a swift motion, the sword was unbuckled from his waste and tossed over at the Clear Seas Guardian. "Zayne won't be needing that anymore." With a sinister smile, Zayne gazed at Cassie and Esti. Zayne jerked his head to the side, before looking back at his family. This time his eyes rested on them with a sad expression. "I-.. I'll come back for you...." The beast that had consumed his flesh seized control once again. A loud screech echoed throughout the library as Zayne's body dispersed into the light and shadows of everything around him. A new Clear Seas wielder would be born, as Zayne's heart and soul vanished from Kilroos without a trace.

Upstairs, Zenith smiled looking at Mahlo hold his mentor so close to him. How foolish. Zenith’s feet clunked on the floor above the second group below. “If I explained it to you, I’m not too sure how much you’d understand Wielder.” Zenith looked at Mahlo like a Tiger does at its fallen prey. The Champion had smiled crooked as the princess’ soul was visible in this library. The woman turned to look at Zenith and narrowed her eyes. The princess looked just as she did on the floor. The back of her head bleeding ectoplasm onto the floor. Her chest dropping chunks at a time. Her voice was hoarse and shrill as she tried to talk looking at Zenith. “Why?” Zenith moved towards the princess as if he was being sultry. “Dear princess. Your mouth is too big for your own good. You should learn from your mother more. Kilroos will love to have your soul, unlike this Librarian.” Zenith gripped the soul before his suit began to absorb her into him.

The hulking man glared at how Mahlo was protecting someone who was supposed to be throwing her life on the line for his. Not the other way around. It wasn’t too long until Sirius had come into play. Zenith’s halo gave off a veil of light along with his spears keeping his treacherous follower in place. Gannon was instantly cut down to size by Sirius and light seemed to burn brighter from Zenith. “Such an old soul. You put him to rest much faster than I would have.” Quinn was shaking trying to hold herself. She had killed many people in her lifetime, but she had never known the feeling of how she might be next. Seeing the soul of the princess, and the body of her laying on the floor completely terrified her. Just seconds ago they were talking about finding things, helping themselves to help others. Gannon. Quinn covered her mouth having the death surround her, but she saw something terrible next. Gannon’s soul was white coming out of his beheaded body. His soul was holding his head and looked at the two practically in each other’s arms. He spoke only two words. “Live on.” His soul was ripped apart in front of them as he seemed to wisp away in the darkness. He now belonged to the library. That’s if the library lasted that long.

Zenith didn’t want Gannon’s soul. He was too pure for his tastes. Sirius began to pace back and forth, however Zenith was oddly dissatisfied with how he spoke to him. “Your tastes are highly sour, shade.” Zenith readied more spears in his hands and looked at the cloaked man arrogantly talking to him. “Last time I’ve heard, I’ve been here for over a few thousand years. I have slaughtered countless people with ease, I have been doing so since I was created upon this planet. The best? No. Kilroos is. Summoning him will be our ultimate appraisal. He has spoken to me telling us it is time to ga—“ Zenith widened his footing. “I do not need to explain anything to you, shade.” Zenith slammed a spear into the princess’ body one more time hearing Sirius speak of rules. “You think rules apply to the Planet’s commander? Especially your rules? You have no rules. You are nothing here. Just empty guidelines for lost children to follow.” Zenith motioned to Valkyrie and then held the distorted body of the princess up to Sirius. “She didn’t listen to the order of the Champions. She has gone under our wing to try and help the 5 learn of their reasoning being here. I will not have that. I can no longer have you on our planet, you parasite.” Flinging the princess away she fell down into the room down below with a sickening and wet thud. “You’ve already infested one of my Champions. I require another. If I do not get her, then Kilroos will.”

Q moved closer to Mahlo and began to whisper in his ear. She oddly smelled like the shampoo in the Jycerian home. It smelled like the flowers from the trees. “I know we need to leave, but there is information we have to get from here. We need to get as many books as we can. I can survive any drop. Remember my training? I dropped from one of the elder trees with not even a muscle strain. She smiled as her eyes reflected Zenith’s halo. “Let’s go grab some books. Quickly.” She turned back to look at Skye. “I’m starting to feel… dizzy…” Skye smirked as it looked like a heatwave was coming off of Skye. The man made of Mercury was giving gaseous fumes off and the more the two of them stayed near him, the more likely both of them would die. “You tell me what you want to do. I will follow.” Skye let a long polearm slide out of his arm like he was melting and created an actual halberd from scratch. It was burning red and instantly cooled in the room temperature air. “I’d like to see you both try.”

Zenith instantly bolted forwards towards Sirius with spears in hand. More spears seemed to form in the air around him, as if he was going to use them after those in his hands. Zenith moved to hit his spear of light against the shade with enormous strength. Zenith said nothing as he didn’t fight for the hell of it, he fought to kill, however he quickly came to a stop hearing the shrill scream of Zayne dying. “Hmph. We’ll postpone this… Take your slut… I have something to go get. Come, Skye.” Skye nodded and hopped out of the room and the gaping hole. Zenith vanished in a flash of light, along with Skye. Now Quinn and Mahlo were left with Valkyrie passed out on the ground and Sirius on the second floor.

The group downstairs seemed to move through the Jycerian and Skyline area, and the princess fell down the large gaping hole in the ceiling. Cassie gasped and covered her mouth looking in the direction of the body as it fell. “What the hell! That looked like the…” Cassie then heard Zayne fall and hit the ground. “Zayne? Zayne!” Cassie moved over to him and slid onto her knees shaking him before picking the back of his head up cradling him. “Hey! Are you okay!? Can you speak?” Cassie started to shake as he finally went limp. “Zayne, you’re scaring me! Quit playing around!” Cassie began to cry as Esti’s eyes shifted golden watching her brother convulse. Cassie felt him come back, and she smiled gripping him a bit. “Zayne! Zayne, oh, what’s wrong?” She then watched him throw his sword to the side as if it was nothing to Cassie. “What do you mean?! Zayne! You need to get up! We need to get out of here!” Cassie was going into hysterics as Zayne seemed to tell her and Esti he’d come back for them as he literally vanished in Cassandra’s arms. “Wh—What…” Esti narrowed her eyes. “Such a shame.” The small girl spoke softly trying to mask her voice. Cassie gripped his sword and got up. “Zayne! This isn’t funny!” Cassie was quite an ugly crier. Her lip quivered as she turned. She was faced with Zenith as he ripped the sword from her hands. “Such a pathetic girl.” Gripping her head with one hand he launched her into the room next door and glared at little Esti. “Hurry home. We need to prepare.” Esti nodded, and her eyes went black. Falling over, Xerxes grabbed the girl to make sure she didn’t fall, in awe at Zenith. Cassie had blown through the wall and practically into Sasha as Roy stumbled back looking through the hole in the wall. With that Zenith vanished one more time in light with Zayne’s sword in hand.

Sirius was prepared for a fight. He was prepared for an all-out war of juggernauts, something that Kilroos himself would marvel at--Allowing him to finally understand just how much of a threat Sirius Nightshade was.

He listened to Zenith's words, however, ironically enough, he didn't like listening to people talk as much as he liked to speak. He briefly heard something regarding the summoning of Kilroos himself, and suddenly he grew extremely interested. A lopsided smirk appeared on his features. He didn't even pay attention to Gannon, nor the princess--No, his eyes were on Zenith himself. This self-proclaimed elite that thought he could run the world alongside Kilroos, that nobody would eventually stop him. 

As Zenith came rushing to him with various spears of light, the deranged maniac replied with the shadows that surrounded his entire body. He didn't move--He simply waited for Zenith to rush at him. However, Zenith came to a sudden halt. Sirius' smirk turned into a deep frown. He heard the scream as well. 

Just as the fight was about to begin, Zenith retreated in search for the source of such a scream. The other champion followed suit, leaving Sirius within the darkness. As the light of the spears went out, so did the remaining lights in the room, save for one lantern resting at the top of the book shelf Lynn had fallen through. He stared at where Zenith was, his shadows immediately around him dissipating as he began to breath in and out heavily. 

Meanwhile, Mahlo listened to Quinn quietly. The spirits of the princess and Gannon unnerved him a great deal, considering how they had just been alive and members of his group less than a minute prior. He had become lightheaded and dizzy, stumbling as Quinn held onto him nervously. He barely heard Skye, and simply stared at Zenith and Sirius. However, at the snap of a finger, both champions had left, leaving the duo in nigh total darkness. Mahlo scowled under his breath--At least the mercury gas had mostly dissipated in its wake, although it would be dangerous to stay in the dreadful air. 

Quinn was right--They had to get some books on the Quirelan and Oridune, that way they would learn much more about the champions' reasoning. However, with Sirius now alone with them, it seemed that much more dire to even move a muscle.

Sirius stood in the light of the lantern, his shoulders heaving up and down as the shadows seemed to pulsate upon his command akin to a heartbeat. His anger had grown immensely. He slowly walked over to the slumped figure of Valkyrie, and it was in that moment that Mahlo found it most opportune to tip toe toward the book shelves. He took Quinn with him as the lightness of his feet kept him silent. He grabbed two books on the Quirelan and two books on the Oridune--The ones he thought looked most important. 

"I see you." 

The voice in the pitch black caused Mahlo to jump. He shivered, clutching the books tightly to his chest. He turned to the lantern, and Sirius was there now, staring at the duo with pitch black eyes as he held an unconscious Valkyrie over his shoulder. A faint smirk appeared on his face as shadows seemed to wrap around Mahlo's throat. Before he realized it, he was suffocating. 

"You're very lucky," Sirius' voice was like broken glass; Smooth, but also jagged, "My anger doesn't happen to be aimed at you." 

There was a heartstopping moment where Sirius seemed to stare deep into their souls and pick out both of their fears. Mahlo moved wildly, trying his best to get out of the grasp of the shadows. Sirius' smirk grew as he scoffed, "Take your books and leave, wielder. However--I'd be quick...I won't be able to contain my anger much longer." 

He dropped Mahlo as he gasped for air, stumbling into Quinn. Before she could even check if he was alright, he turned and grabbed her hand, walking quickly down the stairs (Walking because he didn't want to fall through any floorboards).  Once they were down to the first floor, the light around him nearly blinded him. He grunted, turning to his mentor and lover, "We have to find the others, NOW" 

Just as he spoke, darkness seemed to seep all over the library, pulsating like before. The whole structure was beginning to throb as random bookshelves started to fall to pieces. Whatever the shadows touched would wither away--The shadows were at the edges of the rooms for now, however they would eventually start to consume everything and destroy the library. Mahlo knew there was no longer any time to waste. Even as he tried to recover from being nearly strangled to death, he continued to run in the direction Edon went, hoping to catch up with him.

Sasha was ready to walk along with Roy but she started to hear weird sounds in the room next to theirs. She stoped walking and paid attention to the noises "R-Roy...?..." she still felt it wasn't the time to say a word to him, but she got worried. Followimg the sound her eyes ended up in the wall next to them. After a few seconds Sasha felt how something was getting crushed to the wall and it'd come through it afterwards. Sasha instinctively pushed Roy back slightly, making him stumble, then Cassie came right at her colliding with the small girl. It was an actually hard impact. She could only cover them both with a forcefield as both of them hit the ground in order to don't receive more damage. A few drops of blood fell from the girl's forehead, tho with the adrenaline of the moment she couldn't feel a thing. She immediately turned to Cassie. She figured it was useless to make questions about the current situation. She hoped that she was okay, "Roy we must find the others, bring Cassie with you" she said to him, not looking at his face. She stood up, her legs and probably arms too will have some bruises out of that hit, but right now they needed to group up again.

Running towards the hole in the wall she jumped through it and yelled as loud as she could "WE'RE HERE!!!!", she then thought to herself smiling faintly "Damn I've always wanted to yell in a library".

The young boy covered his ears, trying to shut himself away from all the madness. The sound of Zayne screaming, the rumbling and destruction of the library, the sound of Cassandra crying, and the sound of Zenith's voice. He averted his eyes away from the Champion in front of him, he waited for the light to disappear before he looked up again. Everything was so sudden and he just wasn't prepared for it all. He didn't understand what was happening and his helplessness made him scared so all he could was cower until Zenith disappeared. He looked up finally to Sasha yelling running through a hole in the wall, Roy behind her carrying Cassandra. He looked back at up at the hole in the roof that the princess' corpse had fallen out of and feared for Lynn. He hoped she was safe and okay.

Q growled at Sirius as he choked Mahlo. She couldn’t do anything to stop the shadow man from doing such petty things. Q grabbed Mahlo by the arm to support him before slinging it behind her neck just in case he or she stumbled. Quinn pulled Mahlo towards more books grabbing the first 6 she could get her hands on. Quinn could see in the dark thanks to her race, but she wouldn’t let Mahlo pull her downstairs. They needed more than two books. She then finally let Mahlo pull her down as she slid her hand down into his. Q kept her eyes on Sirius as they left the room. Going downstairs she looked around nervously. “They went through there.” She spoke as Mahlo was already dragging her into the room. Mahlo and Q walked in as the aftermath was already done. The princess’ blood was splattered on the wall from falling from the second floor. Edon was standing with Xerxes with Julius crying in the fetal position and Esti seemed to be in a daze.

Roy had tried to grab her and pull her out of the way, but instead she pushed him and he stumbled back. Cassie was thrown at Sasha at a blinding speed. “Oh! Holy… What’s going on?!” Cassie was a sobbing mess as Roy picked the priestess up and threw her over his shoulder. He followed Sasha out through the door instead of the wall and looked at the group. Mahlo and Q came down and Roy was even more confused. “Where is Lynn? The princess… Gannon? Roy seemed scared. “What about Zayne?!” Cassie began sobbing more as she heard Zayne’s name. Xerxes turned. “The princess is dead. She was thrown from the second story. Her corpse is over there… Zayne… is no longer with us.” Quinn shook nervously. “We don’t have time to chat! We need to get out of here! Gannon is dead! The princess is dead! Zayne is dead! Lynn is missing! She fell down that hole and vanished!” Quinn pointed to the hole in the ceiling as she looked at Mahlo getting behind him. “What was the plan you were thinking of?” Xerxes leaned down onto one knee and placed his hand on Julius’ back. “It’s okay Julius. You’re going to be okay. We’re going to need you to relax. Nothing good will come out of panicking.” Roy made sure to keep an eye on Sasha and now picked up Esti as her lower lip quivered looking at where her brother vanished. “Brother isn’t here anymore?” She looked over at Cassie and then at Q. “What happened?! Where’s my brudder!? Where?! WHERE?!” Roy sneered a bit knowing now was a very bad time to have a child complain. “Esti he just went to go visit Valkyrie. There is no problem. We’ll see him soon.” Esti gripped on Roy. “Cassie! Tell me he’s telling the truth! TELL ME!” Cassie had soaked Roy’s backside with her tears as she couldn’t even respond to the small girl.

"Relax?" Julius looked at Xerxes with anguish. "Xerxes, Lynn is gone! Lynn disappeared... and I couldn't help her at all!" He ran his fingers through his hair and tugged at it. However Xerxes was right, he needed to relax, he didn't have time to break down while everything else was breaking down around him. He got up and began running for the exit. Lynn fell through the hole? Why didn't we see her? What happened to her? But at least she disappeared and didn't die like everyone else... oh please let her be okay. If she died then it would just fortify Sirius' jabs that the boy was powerless. However would it truly be my fault? For trusting my teammates perhaps... He shook the misnomers out of his head as he kept running, he couldn't let such ideas weigh on him, it would simply ruin his future interactions. He had to focus on staying alive and escaping the library, then he could focus on how to save Lynn.

Mahlo wasn't keen on grabbing more books, however he allowed Quinn to grab more before they both ran down the stairs and back to the room. Blood splattered unto the wall from the princess' terrible fall. He looked over to Cassie, tears rolling down her face as she clutched Roy tightly. All in one moment, he realized that they had lost Zayne as well. Watching all of their eyes brimmed with shimmering tears did nothing to cease his inward smile. He didn't want to be happy that he was gone--Yet he couldn't help but feel a weight ascend from his shoulders. 

On the outside, his face remained an expressionless mass. He turned to Quinn, "Oh, yes, the plan." Mahlo turned to the others, handing a couple of books off to Xerxes, "Hand those to Cassie and Edon to hold. We're going to split up one more time."

He raised his hand to the sky to stop any objections from the group, "Xerxes is going to take Esti, Cassie and Edon down the stairs and to the outside," He continued, "Meanwhile, the group of myself, Roy, Quinn and Julius will run around the first floor of the library, grabbing any books we can--We should be no more than two minutes. Sasha has the choice to go with whatever group she wants to, since she'd be useful in either one." 

There was a rumble in the ground akin to an earthquake, Mahlo took notice of the darkness that had begun to lash out at the library, knocking over foundations and breaking holes in the rickety ground. There wasn't much time.

Sasha's focus seemed to change completly looking at Mahlo and hearing Quinn's explanation. Regardless of the horrible news they came with they had time to do only 1 thing... "Let's get the freak out of here!" Sasha yelled, "Give me those" she used her powers to take the books from Mahlo's and Q's arm, keeping them safe from the falling debris allowing them both to run as fast as they could. Taking a quick glance at Roy the girl followed the group towards the exit, one of her hands made sure that the books were still with her while the other made a small forcefield above their heads in order to block any rock or debris that may fall upon them

Xerxes staggered slightly and watched the books get handed off to him then to Sasha as she told them to get out of here. Xerxes handed off Esti to Q and picked up Edon again whether he wanted to be or not. “Agreed.” The giant man looked at Julius and frowned. “Lynn is a strong woman. She will survive.” With that, Xerxes moved with Sasha and looked back. “I can’t carry Esti and Edon. I hope you understand. We will meet you at the bottom.” The group of Sasha, Xerxes, Julius, Edon, and the too distraught Cassie to head down first. The chain was shaking and ringing as the stairs were mostly visible. The chains were random and the stairs under their feet could give out at any second. They would need to be careful. The giant would see them about halfway down and help them get out.

The second group was Mahlo, Quinn holding Esti, and Roy. Roy watched Sasha leave and knew he needed to get some books on his city. Quinn looked at the map and pointed. Right back through here we can go and get our things.” She let go of Mahlo’s hand to hold the now sobbing Esti. The group made their ways through doors and noticed that each section actually looked like each area of the 5. The High Clouds had trees in its section, the Red Sands had… sand… The Mist Mountains had snow and even a small Mountain. The Clear Sea was a small little island while the darkest area was the swamps. The bookshelves were actually in the water with cattails. Roy spoke up. “I will get some clouds books along with the mountains.” Quinn looked at Mahlo. “I’ll help get some Clear Sea and Red Sand books while you get the Swamps.”

Sasha kept running with the main group ignoring that the rest were up to go back to that crumbling library to grab some books, she was more focused on the things falling from above and the books she was already bringing with her.

Everything seemed to go well as the group split up between the fast ones and the slower ones, such that they would be able to grab the books with minor ease. However, suddenly they were handed with a sobbing Esti and a semi-sincere apology from Xerxes. Mahlo sucked his teeth, glancing to the sniffling little girl in exasperation. A bad feeling was resonating in the pit of his stomach, and he began to consider just going with everybody else. 

However, the other two made the decision for him, guiding him back around the first floor until they came across the books regarding the five sections. Roy moved toward the High Clouds and Mist Mountains while Quinn went off to the Clear Seas and Red Sands (Kilroos knows how'd she do it with Esti in her arms). Mahlo hesitantly branched off on his own, walking to the books regarding the Dark Swamps. 

He sloshed through the murkey waters and grabbed any that could fit atop his arms amongst the constant shelves of books upon cattails. He grabbed any that seemed significantly important, walking back toward the others as there was another large rumble in the library. The stairs the other group walked on fizzled a bit, however remained solid this time. The shadows of the Dark Swamps seemed to lash out at Mahlo, one cutting his cheek. He watched crimson red blood trickle in the water, making a spot before dissolving in the darkness. 

"Yeah, I'm done with this place." He turned on his heels, walking out of that room with a good six books in his arms and going toward the Red Sands and Clear Seas to check on Quinn.

The boy looked back at the three running back into the library and wish he could follow with but he had to help Xerxes carry down the others. As Sasha carried down the books, Julius let Gairon enclose around him and he picked up Cassandra. Hoping she held on tightly, he began making his way down the stairs behind Sasha, cautiously jogging as he stared at the ringing stairs, looking out for any patchy stairs.

The group hurrying down the stairs made it half way and the giant turned seeing them coming down the chain. Bringing her sword back she hit the chain hard and the stairs were now completely visible. Xerxes was now starting to take his time as he grunted through a growing stitch in his side. Cassie was now quiet and limp as she bounced slowly against Xerxes’ skin. Her dark blonde hair was all tangled from the wind blowing it around. Her voice now soft, mumbling. The group came towards the last 5 steps and Xerxes jumped, sticking his landing. Xerxes grunted and set Cassie down by a tree and then Edon down. He looked at Julius and Sasha and then to the library.

Still in the Library Esti had three books in her hands while Q had 3 as well. She could only handle three from each city and Roy came back around and snickered. Q was actually drenched from having to swim to the Seas book area and growled at Roy. “What, high elf?” Roy smirked. “Nothing. Dark elf.” Quinn rolled her eyes. “Tch… Mahlo… we’re ready.” She jogged to him and looked around. The place was extremely dark and wraiths were quietly crying zooming around. “Let’s go.” Quinn couldn’t hold his hand now but motioned towards the door as Roy followed Mahlo and Quinn.