Saga: Pivotal Momentum

[kihaku]

Several hours later, the sun was beginning to set over the gently rolling hills of Rues, the grass and boughs of the stoic trees wafting softly a sincere farewell to the golden honeyed light that would soon return on the opposite horizon. As stars twinkled brightly in the quickly bruising sky, a dark-clad figure stirred against the bark of a trunk that bore the scars of recent battle. Sap was leaking down the side of the wood, like blood seeping from a set of open wounds, or perhaps tears from the grieving of one who'd lost a loved one in a fight.

This still figure had passed out from exhaustion, that very fight having drained him of all his energy. His eyes flicked open, as if a switch in his mind had been flicked on. Blood-red eyes glared straight forward, no immediate movement made to assess what was going on around him. Why? Because nothing was going on, absolutely nothing, despite the fact that his apprentice, who'd been growing in strength so rapidly, was now on his back, passed out, a rather nasty burn on his leg the probable cause of the fainting.

After a few bracing breaths, Kihaku stood up on a briefly wobbly pair of legs. Out of a nearby field of wafting brown grass, a black staff shot towards him, slapping against his palm just in time for him to use it to steady himself. His gaunt features betrayed nothing of his annoyance at being thusly impaired, though his piercing crimson eyes would have burned holes in the ground if they'd been capable. A moment passed before he could walk of his own power, and when he did it was with a confident, powerful stride, the previous weakness banished as if it were a passing nightmare, gone without a trace.

Upon reaching the young man, he examined his vicious wound, the blackened skin smelling a sickly sweet, and causing his nose to wrinkle. An already well-enchreanched distaste for fire was only enhanced now that the only person who'd ever cared for this heartless mass of dark power was so terribly wounded.

Without even thinking, he pulled a singularly unique tool from a pocket on his belt, the one bit of color he ever had that he might use: the Ying Talisman. Though he'd hardly ever used it, perferring the Yang Talisman for combat, he'd kept the small, pure white glass oval, if not to keep a certain amount of surprise and power, but a balance between light and dark.

Even the darkest night has stars to twinkle and a moon to shine.

Grasping the glass in his right hand, he used his index finger to draw a circle around his protoge's leg, the only break where his thigh interrupted the perfect ring. Placing the Ying Talisman at the base of the circle, Kihaku placed his palm against the glass and concentrated on the wish to heal, the wish to mend, the will of an emotion contained within the gloomy depths of his spirit that only Cham would ever evoke.

Warmth flowed up his arm, and his irksome eyes beheld the circle glowing a pure white, the limb slowly being consumed by the light. What came next was a surprise: where the circle was broken, white light turned a bright green, flowing into the limb, intermixing with the white, the gradiation so subtle it was impossible to dertermine where one began and the other ended.

Two minutes later, the glowing ceased, and the wound was completely healed. Kihaku stood back, surveying the limb to ensure it wasn't deformed upon completion. Nodding satisfactorily, he turned to the tree nearest the boy and gave a mightly leap into it's limbs, grabbing hold of a blade that had buried itself into the wood up to the hilt, and giving a stiff jerk before replacing the Nirana in it's sheath with a soft sigh and click. Kihaku sat upon the thick branch to watch as the light finally died, leaving the pair to rest in a warm blanket of night, pinpricks of light dancing merrily above.

[chameleon]

Cham's eyes shot open a few minutes after the light faded and his eyes shot around. "huh?" he said gingerly touching his legs that was once black and burned. "Was that just a dream?" He said poking them, then moved them slightly. He stared around not looking into the tree to see Kihaku. "Am I alone?" he said to himself under his breath and closed his eyes for a moment, using the training Kihaku taught him to seek out his aura. His bright green eyes, almost seeming like two lamps in the darkness, looking in the direction of the tree.

"Kihaku? Are you there? I'm not sure... but were we fighting a little bit ago or was that a dream?" he said feeling his legs again. If it wasnt a dream, how did his legs get healed? Kihaku couldnt use Channeled Force and Shizuka, even if she could change in front of Kihaku, was gone, and he didnt feel her aura anywhere.

It was a well known fact, at least to his people back on Elicoori, that Channeled Force could not be used on oneself for healing. To put it in simple terms, once can not, as gross as it may sound, eat his or her own fecal matter and expect to be healthy and never die of starvation, the body just didnt work that way, and neither did Channel Force, otherwise he would use it on himself more often.

Right now his worry wasnt for himself, it was for Kihaku. He remembered Kihaku passed out before Cham loss his energy and feel, but he still wasnt sure if it was all just a dream. If Kihaku was still hurt, Cham could now heal him, his body felt like it was in perfect condition, why, he didnt know.

[kihaku]

Kihaku heard his young apprentice stand, sensing his obvious confusion at being healed from what had to have been excruciating pain. When he voiced his fear of being alone, Kihaku, still slightly hazed by the feelings he’d allowed himself to feel, almost spoke up to say that Cham would never be alone, but the feelings dissipated just as soon as the words were about to part his lips. He didn’t move from his leafy perch, though he did shift to allow his right leg to hang down towards the earth, his eyes, pin-pricks of fire in the gloom, stared down at Cham with an unblinking, unrelenting gaze. His voice slithered out; soft, velveteen, “Yes Cham, we were fighting, and for our very lives. You were badly injured during the fight, but I healed you. Please don’t ask me how… I don’t know myself.”

The Nirvana hummed lightly against his hip, which Kihaku quelled with a light brush of his gloved fingers. “You fought Cerberus, the mighty Flame of Chaos, and mythic guardian of the gates of Hades, alongside you were Xaphael, a supposed angel, and Shizuka, our fr-… companion. For now, they’ve gone, supposedly to recouperate in a plane unattainable by either of us.”

Kihaku sighed inaudibly and placed his right hand over his chest, beneath all of the dark cloth a mark sat against his skin. It seemed, with the arrival of allies now enemies Kihaku had believed forever gone, it was time to reveal what little the Spirit knew of his past to his apprentice, the time to fight drawing near.

“Chameleon… There are a few things that you must know, and you must accept them without question.” Kihaku dropped down to the ground and leaned against the tree, motioning for the boy to come and sit near him.

“The very existence of Dragonia depends on it.”

[chameleon]

Cham watched Kihaku in the tree. He could make out the rough outline of him but not much more. Cham simply listened to Kihaku, though he took a moment to mumble 'what's new?" when he got the news that Shizuka took off again, a slight about of bitterness was still in his voice.

"Yes sir," he said when Kihaku told him to accept what he was about to say without question. Chameleon stood up, though his legs felt a little wabbly, he wanted to stretch them.

[kihaku]

Taking a deep breath, he filled his lungs with the clean, crisp air that only Rues could procure, the fundamental lack of advanced technology and the subsequent absence of air pollution rejuvinated his mind and cleared his senses. Raising his right hand, his index finger trailed across his brown as he itched a spot on his temple. Where exactly to begin? Perhaps... from the start?

"Alright... first off, you know that there are two major forces in the universe: good and evil, yes? Please don't respond boy, we don't have much time." Cham was very obviously about to speak up and acknowledge but the sudden admonishment quelled the impulse. "However, like I've already told you and Shizuka, there are dozens, probably hundreds of different kinds of energies that people and spirits are capable of calling their own and controlling. How exactly can so many different kinds of power branch of from these fundamental two?

The truth is, they didn't. Good and evil have been combining and amalgamating ever since the dawn of time, creating shadows, grey areas, neither light nor dark, and from those two extremes, in essence, grew an entire spectrum. Your channeled force is on the lighter side of the spectrum, while your channeled lightning is fairly center, neither good nor evil but depending on who and why it is used. Shizuka and Xaphael, on the otherhand, are almost entirely Light and holy, though Currently our little girl slight inched towards the middle by corrupting herself with this 'human' side."

He gave a few breaths as he tried to collect his thoughts. He had a tendency to go off on tangents whenever he tried to explain something, and he'd just come dangerously close to another. Trying to get back on course, he started again.

"Basically, what I'm trying to say is: there is only very rarely true good or evil. Sometimes, good can harm, and harm can do good, just as you very well know. Now, my specific brand of energy is extremly rare... rarer even than your channeled force and those webs of yours. Only a select few of your planet can use this force... only four beings in the entire universe can use the magics of Black Chaos.

On my journey, the breif period where I had to leave you on your own, I learned a bit of my past and my reason for being. I'm still a little sketchy on the details, but I can give you a basic overview."

Sketchy doesn't really cover it. He'd learned very little, but what he did learn managed to piece together a puzzle that'd been slowly falling into place in his mind, connected certain assumptions he'd made over the last century or two. Taking this opportunity to voice his musings, he stood and began to pace back and forth, his right hand on his chin, stroking the smooth, pale skin as he vocalized his thoughts. "I am one of four beings, Chaos Spirits, and each one of us are like this for different reasons. We are classified as four quarters of a greater whole, as well as four individuals serving a greater purpose. The Eye, Hands, Heart, and will of Chaos are the four quarters. You've seen my tattoo? I very highly suspect myself to be the Eye.

Still, that leaves three more Chaos Spirits out there, and I have no idea where they are. Our goal, for now, needs to be to find those other three Spirits, and hopefully use what they know to find out who sent those creatures after us."

The Spirit finally paused in his steps and dropped his arm back to his side, where it hung limply until he needed use of it. Turning slightly, the brother weapons against his body hummed a haunting melody, something barely audible, yet significant all the same. "Are you with me?"

[chameleon]

--- "Are you with me?" ---

Cham watched him for a few long moments and realized that this wasnt a hypothetical question. "Y-Yes, sir, I'm with you so far, I'll help out in any way I can but... how can we find these other 3 spirits?" He said, his eyes illuminating slightly brighter for a moment. Cham turned his head slightly as if her heard something but then it dissapeared, the sound was bearly audible but he swore he heard it, he shrugged it off, if it was something bad, Kihaku would have been able to sense it.

Cham's eyes were seeming to flicker in and out of brightness and darkness. He brought a palm to his eyes, though right before his palm came up his eyes seemed to have flashed an eerie purple, but then he rubbed, when he removed his palms his eyes seemed to have gone back to normal. Cham didnt know what just happend, though it would have been noticable to Kihaku.

For some strange reason he thought about the planet he once called home, and what they would say about him now. If they knew he was fighting more, acting out in violance, they would be gravely dissapointed in him. He didnt care for that past anymore, it was no longer his life, he was no longer an Elicoorian. He was Chameleon, apprentice to Kihaku.

Ever since he started training under Kihaku, Cham felt something inside him change. He was happier, yes, and he was getting very much stronger, using Channeled Energy in ways that his people only knew about in fairy tales.

[kihaku]

Kihaku looked pensively at Chameleon, assessing his abilitites and personality for reasons known only to him. He'd grown stronger over the last month and few weeks, it was true, but he was growing in other ways as well. He was blossming as an individual, he was more confident, sure of himself, and was learning to take charge. Perhaps he didn't give the boy as much credit as he should...

Come to think of it, under his care or not, Chameleon was growing at an exponential rate. He learned undying loyalty, reliability, and was even experimenting with his own powers to develop new techniques that his people could hardly dream of. He'd taken on a monster, and nearly had him beaten, coming away relatively unharmed, which in it'self was an acceptable loss, considering his companions could heal such wounds.

After some soul-searching, he'd decided to build on their successes, and push his apprentice forward one more step. "Cham... I think it's time I taught you certain strengths that Chaos Energies can provide." Taking purposeful steps forward, he put his hand on the boy's shoulder and looked deep into his eyes. "You are changing, Chameleon. It's only right that your powers change as well. Would you like to learn what Chaos is truly capable of?"

[chameleon]

Cham looked at him for a moment, unsure of what to say, then, all at once, he blurted out, "Yeasurei'dlovetolearnaboutit," he shook his head. "I mean, yes sir, if your willing to teach me, I'm ready to learn." he said putting his hands at his sides, standing at ready attention.

His mind was wondering somewhat to Shizuka, where she was. He couldnt get that shaking feeling from his mind. He didnt like that boy, that Xaphael. He randomly shows up and wants to protect Shizuka, though chivalrous in it's own respect, it made no sense. Why would he go out of his way to protect her above all others? It was like he needed her for something and that Cham and Kihaku were just scraps of meet that he could take or leave. He wanted something from Shizuka, he just knew it, and he didnt like where that was going.

Cham concentrated back on Kihaku. "Where do I start sir?"

[kihaku]

Kihaku gave the boy's shoulder a squeeze before responding, a slight glint of hesitation in his normally cool and reassured features. Finally, after a few moments of steadying breaths, he placed his other hand on Cham's shoulder. "There are only a few steps, but they are difficult. Close your eyes..." When his apprentice had done just that, Kihaku's aura began to mist from his body, like smoke from a smoldering fire.

"Take steadying breaths... you need to be able to be completely zen. No worries, no jealousies, no hopes, no dreams, nothing. Live for the here, live for the now. Be glad for the gift of life, be sad for th inevitability of death." When he judged this youth to be ready, he charged up his arms full of as much energy as they could handle, and without warning, flooded the boy's frame with dark energies whose only purpose was destruction. Only as good or evil as its user, the energies obeyed their commands and simply explored.

Cham would find himself feeling as if he'd been plunged into an ice bath, yet a perfect warmth spreading through his core. The knowledge that all returns to dust and ash, that decay is inevitable, that Ying and Yang are forever spinning into eternity, hit him with the force of a bullet-train into a brick wall, smashing through whatever convictions he'd once had about morality, right and wrong, good and evil.

Destruction is the work of an afternoon, and therefore is simple and clean.

Creation is the work of a lifetime, and is therefore worth the effort.

As the chaos coursed through his system, Kihaku was shuddering with the feeling of invading the boy's spirit, an unfamiliar sensation of privacy tugging at his mind. Finally, after another instant of searching, he found it: the core of Chameleon's spirit, where the web's energy came from, where his life continuously flowed, basically what the heart is to the body, this is to the soul.

Now in came what Kihaku had learned about Cham: the knowledge of webs. A door opened may be traversed in either direction, and just as the boy was gaining knowledge of chaos and perfect neutrality, so was Kihaku about the nature of webs, their delicate yet necessary lattices and supports. Grasping that knowledge, he began to weave his own web about Chameleon's core. If envisioned, it looked as if a perfect sphere of glowing green light was slowly being worked about with deep, dark indigo threads, similar to a spider web.

It took all of two minutes for this exchange of experience to occur, and when complete, Kihaku pulled back, watching as the boy's body gently misted a purple aura, similar to his own. An instant later, it was whisked away, and before him stood Chameleon: new and improved. "Are you alright Cham?"

Was that... worry in his voice?

[chameleon]

Cham felt the icey bath of warmth rush through him and could feel Kihaku's presence throughout his body. Information about Chaos Energy flooded through his mind, the workings, the possible devestations, the strength, webbing itself around his inner mind and soul, rivaling his Channeled Energy now was his Chaos Energy, seperate and different, yet equal and the same, yin and yang.

--"Are you alright Cham?"--

Cham stood for a moment, still lost in his mind, then, as if the wrong piece had just been pulled from the janga tower, many things seemed to be crashing down around him.

Cham swayed a few steps, his aura turning from green to purple, back to green then back to purple. Cham crouched low to the ground as if he were trying to catch a breath, his eyes darted upward and what was once his bright, loving, carefree green eyes were now purple, full of violence and hatred. Teeth barred, Cham looked as if he were abotu ready to trike at Kihaku, then, his body turned back to green, almost as if his body couldnt handle what was happening, like it was rejecting this foreign matter.

Cham's hands glowed a bright green, triggering a web pattern, then, turning purple, Cham's hands went rigid as if they were suffering from untold pain. Cham, eyes now green, buckled down to his knees looking up to the sky as if pleeding for help. Going back to purple, his body convulsed, a look of murder passed over his eyes.

Bright green and purple flashes came quickly, flickering in and out at high speeds until finally, it completely stopped, Cham closed his eyes. The green and purple aura's around him dissapated and he fell back to the ground, onto his back.

A few moments later, Cham's eyelids flickered. "Dammit... what rock hit me?" he said slowly sitting up, holding his head a little dizzy. "Kihaku? Sir, are you... what happend?" he said his eyes finally opened. One eye, his right one, was it's normal bright emerald green, while the other, strangely, was a bright purple.

[kihaku]

Now that was certainly strange... Chameleon swearing. Normally he was such a nice boy, but then again he was just laced with a near lethal dose of Chaos Energy, so he would let it slip for now. In all reality, no other person would have been able to survive such an influx of energy, the only reason Cham was still alive was due to the knowledge pilfered by the Spirit during the transferrence of energies. "Well boy, for starters we just experienced a miracle... you're still alive. But interestingly..." he leaned forward to gaze into his apprentice's face, "Your left eye is purple."

He pressed his right hand against the boy's chest, just above his heart, and felt the pounding to be strong and regular, his pulse firm and constant. However, pressing deeper into his body, he found the Chaos web encircling the boy's spiritual core, surprised at it's motions within his frame. If envisioned, it would look as if his core was spinning one way, while the web spun the other. If such motions would be made in water... the swirling would be... "Violent."

His eyes were drawn back to the boy's face and he took several steps back. "You're not in any danger, but we need to meditate immediately. Your Core and Chaos Web are spinning in opposite directions. They need to spin in harmony, like Ying and Yang. Sit."

He immediately crossed his legs and placed his palms face up, resting his wrists on his knees. "Sit as I do."

[chameleon]

Cham put a finger up to his eye as if he could see it but immediately took it away when Kihaku got real close and put a hand on his cheast. He muttered the word 'violent' which struck him as odd.

Upon the order, Cham sat down like Kihaku, placing his hands, palm side up on his knees, and closes his eyes. He awaited further instruction from Kihaku.

But was he really being serious? It was a miracle Cham was alive... does that mean he could have just been dead and Kihaku didnt tell him... Kihaku must have been joking around... though Cham couldnt think of the last time Kihaku EVER joked around. Chameleon just sat there with his eyes closed, silent and awaited a response from Kihaku.

[kihaku]

"You need to find that place inside you where all of your feelings and energies flow from. You'll notice that you can't get a complete grasp of it. That's because the Chaos Web that I put into you to tune you into the Energies is moving in the opposite direction." Cracking an eye, he noticed the boy with a grimace on his face, struggling with the problem he was facing.

"You need to stop the web completely, and spin it in the same direction as your core. Can you do it?"

[chameleon]

"I'll try..." Cham said and began looking within himself to find the webs and starting turning them in the proper order. It took him a couple minutes but he finally found it, the place where all his emotions and energies flows from. He found the webs, his own and the new Chaos web around it. He took a grasp at the web. Everything went white and Cham lost all thought, all function, everything...

---snap---

Cham's body went rigid and convulsed for a moment as he swung his head back, his body blasting up in a bright purple aura. Then, as if everything was perfectly fine, Cham stood slowly, no emotions displayed on his face whatsoever. It was wierd to see it, then, even wierder, Cham's face split into a nasty and horribly evil smile and his eyes finally opened exposing two bright purple eyes.

Cham's eyes darted to Kihaku. He didnt say a word but began walking towards him, a look of murder in his eyes, his horrible sneer sticking.

Cham brought up his hands and blasted off at Kihaku, letting loose savage onslaught of punches and kicks, a few of his blows were aiming for his eyes, in hopes to pull them out of their sockets or to simply slash out at his skin. Still, Cham made no sounds or grunts, just kept the horrible air of violence and evil around him.

[chameleon]

(( Sorry dude, I've waited a week for you and you havent posted... where are you? ))

A few of Cham's punches must have taken Kihaku by surprise, connecting, though in his rage, quite a few of them missed. It didnt seem like Cham was entirely caring about how many strikes struck him as long as Kihaku was going to hurt. Cham's body convulsed in mid-swing and his hand went haywire, as if it were aiming for the air around him. A few grunts escaped his mouth as a small tinge of green lined the outside of his pupils.

"G-Get this... out of me... Kihaku..." he said not entirely soundling like himself, though what parts of his actions said anything about himself. "Kiha... help me..."

Cham dropped to his knees, an internal struggle was taking place deep in his mind and body. All the sudden, across his arms and the side of his head erupted in what seemed like pinpricks of blood, as if some kind of thin needle pierced his skin 3 times.

"AAARRRRGHHH!" Cham yelled at the top of his lungs. He looked down at the ground seeming to try his hardest to keep himself from exploding into millions of pieces. "I... Dont... want... this... anymore... stop it... please......."