What Happend? (Saga Help Too?)

[chameleon]

Chameleon stared over the vast wasteland that inahabitted Rues. This was the first place in which Cham landed when he first arrived on Dragonia, and now... it was... destroyed. He had seen other places in Dragonia looking like this and couldnt understand what was happening. What was causing all this destruction?

Cham watched the ground beneath him, pulling back the strands of his black hair. Cham had recently gone through was some would refer to as a breakdown. He, however, thought of himself as free now. He no longer cared about many things. He gave up being a healer and a nice person, everyone either just took advantage of that or he was simply pushed to the side. If he wanted to be heard, he had to bite back. His bright green eye watched the land for life, the other, purple, watched for death, but they could see nothing in this area.

He stayed floating in the sky, since he didnt feel like dealing with the constant earthquakes that he heard all the time. Where was everyone? He hadn't heard from Kihaku in some time, and was going to go back to him but figured that Kihaku didnt need someone like him tagging along. If Kihaku or Elena needed him, they knew what to do, and they hadn't tried or did so he never went back.

Cham pretty much wandered the planet as a ghost now. But since this happend... everything was different. What could have caused this mess? Should he care, should he just go along with his every day like he had been doing? Should he even try to protect the planet again? Where were the others who fought with him against Dramanius? Did they care? Were they dead?

"Kihaku... where are you?"

[kihaku]

"Is everything sorted out for sure this time?"

"Yes, for the sake of all that is holy, YES!"

"Your vehemence inspires little confidence."

The perfect blackness that surrounded the pair seemed to absorb the sounds reverberating from their throats. Even the rustle of the inky dark clothing didn't make it any farther than the small spot of illumination the pair of figures stood in. One was far taller than the other, heavily armed, and powerfully built, a hood covering and hiding any facial features or identifying marks. The other was of average height, but of beyond average curvature, with long, flowing black hair, porcelain skin, and liquid brown sugar eyes. The bigger was obviously displeased with the smaller.

"Dude, seriously, if you're so nervous about leaving me and Rayray alone here, how about YOU stay here to guard the infinite space of the OtherRealm for a few months, and I'LL go and hang out with Camcam." She crossed her arms under her voluptuous chest, a point of arguement conspicuously addressed.

"Well, since you put it that way... then no. I know your feelings for the boy, but right now, he is my responsibility to check up on, his growth into a powerful individual entirely upon my shoulders. If I deem it safe, then I shall return early, and you can have your time, plus whatever was left from my shift, deal?" Bouncing up and down immediately, she clapped her hands and squealed with delight.

"Oooooo! I wubs mah Kiki so!" Just as she tried to flying-tackle-hug the hooded figure, he was gone in a puff of smoke, leaving her to flop on the solid blackness. "GAH! Bugger."

In the dead, stale air of Rues, an island country normally teeming with life, dust particles floated in shafts of sunlight, small motes of existence fighting against a breezeless world to survive. A true testament to the will of the ancient planet. How sad that the earth, such proud, stable earth, had been worn down by the passage of time, churned up by sometimes unbearable winds, wracked by quakes, and impacted by the powerful of Dragonia, had finally succumbed, slowly releasing pieces of itself to be tossed about by the will of the breezes, the winds, and the gales.

Are souls not so different?

In a particularly dense pocket of dust, a sudden breeze twisted the cloud about, followed by a bright flash of indigo light. There was an immediate concussive blast, like thunder without sound, and in the midst of the mini-maelstrom, floated a dark-clad figure, a staff strapped on his back, a wickedly curved sheath carrying an equally wicked blade hung loosely at his right. With gloved hands dangling at his sides, he raised his burning red gaze to peer about the desolate wasteland.

With a deep inhale, the scents of destruction, both past and ongoing, reached his nostrils with an earthy tang. The pungent odor made him wrinkle his nose in disappointment, the exhaling sigh carrying breif words of berration.

"I'm gone for only this long, and everything goes to hell. Fanfuckintastic."

Without so much as twitching an eye, his sixth sense exploded in all directions, feeling for any signs of life, finding nothing in his immediate area, until it pinged right off a life signal not all that far away. It was a strange feeling, like an old favorite food that a new chef had suddenly changed a key ingredient. "Hm."

It wasn't all that far away, whoever it was, so he shifted out of his immediate area to the left and on level with the floating individual. Getting a cursory look, he was forced to do something he'd never done before: he had to give a double-take. Was... was that really...?

"Chameleon... for Christ's sake, what the hell did you do, raid my wardrobe while I was gone?"

[chameleon]

Chameleon looked in the direction that the voice just came from, almost startled, though half of him was really pissed that someone had just snuck up on him. Ready for combat, Cham's body seemed tense until he saw him.

"You... you're here..." Cham said staring at him blankly. The smile that always came by looking at Kihaku didnt arrive, just a cold, hard stare. A painful one, full of saddness and dispair. "What happend to you... I couldn't find you guys anymore..." he said almost sounding hurt. But then his eyes narrowed.

"The planet has died, I don't know what happend," he said looking around. "Everyone is dead, I can't find any other survivors, I thought that maybe you and Elena were..." Cham stopped watching Kihaku closely.

"Who did this master?" Chameleon spoke with a fierce growl, his hands clenched tight at his sides. The aura surrounding Cham now didnt seem like his. It seemed darker, more dangerous. The look in his eyes plainly read that he was tired of being backed into corners repeatedly, it was his turn to strike. "We have to fight again"

[kihaku]

"What happend to you... I couldn't find you guys anymore..."

Cham sounded saddened, almost betrayed by the fact that he'd disappeared with Elena. Still, it could have been worse, there could have been anger-

"The planet has died, I don't know what happend. Everyone is dead, I can't find any other survivors, I thought that maybe you and Elena were..."

Kihaku shook his head in exhasperation, knowing that a long explanation was long overdue... and that for now it was going to have to be condensed to a quick three sentence summary. "Elena and I had to go back to the OtherRealm to make sure things would remain safe. Now, I come back to find all of this crap, while Elena is sulking back in the spirit world. That'll have to do for now."

"Who did this master?"

Kihaku took a bit of a pause, running through a possible list of perpatrators, and coming up with absolutely nil. Still, true to his style, without an answer, there came no words from his mouth, only a brooding silence. When the sudden change came over his young ex-apprentice, was when his interest in the boy was unexpectedly re-ignited.

"We have to fight again."

Again, silence, the transformation almost mezmerising in its intensity. From the somewhat meek, powerless individual that the young Elicoorian had been from the start of his journey on Dragonia came this new, dark, powerful individual. It seemed that a person really does imbibe some of the qualities of their environment in order to improve... to survive.

"That's a given. The only question is: if everyone but us are dead, then who or what exactly is there to fight against? I don't exactly see an attackable or addressable threat around here. Care to fill me in on what I've missed thus far?" Kihaku began to float down to the ground, expecting Cham to follow him, considering that he addressed him as "master," after all.

[chameleon]

Cham followed obediently, as he had done for so long before. He began filling him in on all the information that he was able to gather, which wasn't much.

All the seas had been emptied, though Cham couldnt find the source, that would most likely be where they should start looking. They should also find any of the others that may have survived and try finding out answers from them. Every continent, it seemed like, had been ravished and devistated by one thing or another, leaving all of them lifeless and dead, just like Rues.

Cham looked at Kihaku, his green eye seemed to flicker once again, which it had been doing, though Cham still hadn't seen the reaction. Something, deep inside, seemed to be going out, as if Cham was starting to lose the very essence of who he was. His power that made him who he was, his Channeled Energy. He had started to resent the webs that he was a pro at creating now. He was far greater at it than any Elicoorian back on his home planet was now. He went farther than any had. He had discovered Channeled Lightning, as well and a way to combine Channeled Energy and Chaos Energy. But all that now seemed to be dead for him. He hadn't cast a single web for a couple weeks now, never wanting to. He had come to resent it.

"I can't seem to sense even you right now Master," Cham finally admitted watching him. "You dont seem to be giving off any energy." he spoke as if saddened by this fact. He touched the sword at his side breifly, to make sure it was there, for comfort, not for expecting combat. The sword had been the only thing he's relied on for a while.

[kihaku]

Kihaku listened intently to the ghastly descriptions the once proud planet had now been forced to display. The very thought of the deep oceans being drained of their salty, blue life was almost too much to comprehend. How in the name of Heaven or Hell could such devastation have been wreaked in such a short amount of time, without the warriors of Dragonia taking a stand? Surely there were those with power enough to resist, even a little bit?

Touching down with a puff of dusty soil, the Chaos Spirit leaned forward and crouched on his haunches, taking time to carefully remove his right-hand glove, the supple, gleaming leather almost skin-tight, yet yielding to the touch as if it were a second skin. Pale, almost dead-looking skin, a clammy, greyish, deep-set palor almost radiated from his hand, though blood flowed through his veins. A single finger stretched forth, and dragged slowly through the dust. After perhaps three inches, he stopped and pressed stiffly against the dry, baked earth. It did not yield; it was just as dead as the air about them.

As he stood, he quickly drew on the glove, as if contact with the diseased terra were somehow contaigeous and required immediate defense against it. "You say this happened all across the planet? This brings forth questions, but the most pressing are these: when did it happen, how did it happen, and why?" When his back was straightened once more, the blade at his hip and staff on his back both shuddered softly, visibly noticeable.

"Well?"

[chameleon]

Cham almost exploded as he watched Kihaku. "What do you mean, 'well'?" Chameleon shouted looking as if he were just slapped. "You dissapear and you expect me to know what happend? I can't tell you. One moment, everything's fine, then, I fall asleep when I wasn't even tired, then, when I woke up, everything was like this. It's hard to even tell which continent you are on now because there are no more oceans! Why are you looking to me for answers!?"

Cham was huffing and puffing, his frustrations finally being able to vent. "I dont know what happend Kihaku, I dont. I traveled for days and days, found nothing living. I can't even..." He raised his hand toward Kihaku and it glowed a green color, though it was very faint, nothing like what he used to create from his Channeled Energy. "I can bearly use it anymore master. I can feel it leaving by body and I can't tell you why. Why are you looking to me for answers!? You're supposed to tell ME what to do!"

[kihaku]

The dark individual continued to look at the young man, only now it changed from an inquisitive glance, to an intimdating glower, one filled with disappointment and ire to a degree the Elicoorian boy had never been given. The Oblivion practically danced on Kihaku's back, while the Nirvana seemed almost afraid to move. The spirit turned slowly on the spot, already drawn up to his full, impressive seven foot height, he radiated an oppressive aura.

It was like being screamed at by a child who hadn't had his math problem explained to him in a way that would help him understand. Only thing was, Kihaku had no patience for tantrums, and though he kept a cool appearance for everyone else to avoid confrontations, he was not about to be put into place by this youth before him, no matter how bad life had been.

"Funny. I could have SWORN," the word slid from his mouth like a swear, "that solitude was what you wanted. Forgive me my absence, boy, but I've been busy making sure the fabric between two realities didn't rend itself in two, which thereby unleashing hordes of evil spirits far worse than the Chaos Minions upon this planet. So, pardon me for seeking answers from someone who's been here the whole time."

His aggravated emissions were abating, but one could clearly tell he was still slightly miffed. "I'm not supposed to do anything. You left my counsel to find yourself, which you've obviously yet to succeed in, but nonetheless, I am not your master anymore. We work together now. If you happen to learn something, that's your fault, not mine."

[chameleon]

---"Forgive me my absence, boy, but I've been busy making sure the fabric between two realities didn't rend itself in two, which thereby unleashing hordes of evil spirits far worse than the Chaos Minions upon this planet. So, pardon me for seeking answers from someone who's been here the whole time."---

"Well, you failed at that," Cham said holding out his hands to gesture around him. The light in Cham's green eye flickered and turned off. This time though, unlike all the other times, it did not turn back on.

"You know I just wanted to figure out my place in this world, to find out who I am and what I should be doing. I never left your counsel, I just wanted time that you didnt care to give..." Chameleon paused, his purple eye seeming to glow darker, the other, now a dead gray, stared blank for his angry eyes. But they seemed somewhat distracted by something, as if he were listening.

A smirk came to his face, one that could shake the defenses of even the Chaos Spirits. This was a look that Cham never had before. He looked demented. Blood lust.

"You're right... he never cared about me..." Chameleon said quietly, as if to himself. "All you were ever looking for was someone to gaze at your abilities with awe. Someone who would constantly tell you how great you were. You never cared to help me get stronger." Cham shook his head raching behind him.

"Now we will see!" The dark Elicoorian drew his sword from his back, the scabbard had been covered with black cloth, as if to hide the green. The blade drew and Cham flew fowards, his speed alarming and strong though no match for Kihaku's own.

Everything about Cham's body didnt seem up to tier to what he was normally like. His power was stronger, much stronger, but he wasn't anywhere near what his agility was. Before Cham struck out at Kihaku with his sword, Kihkua might spot a slight orange color for a brief moment in his pupils.

[kihaku]

The young man had indeed grown in ability since his crash landing on the planet, but right now he seemed to have forgotten, or was ignoring, every bit of advice that Kihaku had ever given him when it came to fighting with a weapon. He was being careless, striking out with blatant disregard for the inevitable counterattack, the maddened look in his eye betraying the level of commitment to the assault. Kihaku did notice the flash of orange in his eyes, but said nothing, not even moving. To the spirit, it was clear that the boy was not in his right mind.

The talking to himself notwithstanding.

The blade came in, whistling as the tip sliced through Kihaku's chest, but drew no blood, not even a rip of fabric. The momentum of Cham's charge would have sent him careening into the man, but instead it sent him barreling through him, the area impacted parting like smoke.

Kihaku turned on the spot, not even blinking with the effort of maintaining his wraith mode. "So, on top of being thoroughly ungrateful, you've gone thoroughly insane as well?" There was a sudden whooshing sound, like air being displaced from a large area. Out from beneath the Chaos Spirit shot three darting shadows, each leaping from the dusty earth and quickly gaining form and thickness, forming perfect copies of Kihaku. "If you've got issues with me, take out your frustrations on dummies, not me. You will talk to me like a civilised individual, not attack me like some tantrum-throwing brat, you psycho."

[chameleon]

Cham sneered at him, this wasnt Cham in his eyes anymore, it was something else. "Chaos Spirit, you dont belong in this world!" Cham cried flying himself upwards, his sword outstretched arcing upwards with him. He was going quick, but it was possible that the clones could catch him pretty easily on his way towards Kihaku.

[kihaku]

The clones, originally sent out to help defend Kihaku, now did exactly as he had mentally commanded and stepped out of the way, Chameleon sailing past them with death in his smile and an instrument of war in his hands. The whistle of the blade indicated its quick ascent to cut the warrior from the legs. The hissing was suddenly off-set by a very loud, harsh clang as the sword impacted the side of the Nirvana, throwing sparks from the boy's inferior metal.

Kihaku's right hand was simultaneously in motion, and grabbed the boy's shirt front in a vice-like grip, heaving him off his feet to look the Chaos Spirit directly eye to eye. Burning crimson bored into violent indigo and dead grey. "Neither do you, Elicoorian."

With a hard shove, Chameleon was pushed back a good two feet through the air before he started to fall. Whether he landed on his feet, butt, or back really didn't make any difference to Kihaku. Something was very wrong with this boy, Kihaku very seriously starting to suspect that he was either posessed by some sort of dementia, spirit, or was just plain going nutso. Either way, this was not the healer he'd left behind, and it was a very saddening thought that, right now, the healer was trying his damndest to be a killer.

[chameleon]

Chameleon hit the ground on his back, which shouldnt have happend with Cham's skills. He laid on the ground for a moment before his voice spoke up, dark and unnerving. "Get up you!" he yelled. Before his body actually lifted from the ground, it looked as if something exited, though Cham was following it as it entered back into Cham's body.

The slightly visable aparition, if Kihaku was paying attention, would have looked almost human. A dark orange hat on his head, greyish blue hair that covered one eye, the other was open wide, eyelids were red. The was all that could really be seen for a half of a second before Cham rejoined the spirit as it entered back into Cham's body. It was as if it were pulling Cham up with it.

Cham shot upwards once again, his sword streaking with him, almost as if nothing had even happened, the smirk still on his face. "It's time to die Kihaku!" Cham said in a sneer as he let loose a blast of Ki energy upwards towards the chaos spirit

[kihaku]

To see Cham fall to his back was not so surprising, what with his skills in fighting so terribly decreased it wasn't much to expect his recovery skills had so fallen into disuse. However, to see the faint outline of another spirit posessing the same space as the young man was a starteling revelation, and added another grain of salt to take with what was supposed to be a sweet homecoming.

"Wonderful. Spirits and death threats."

As soon as the ki blast was airborne, Kihaku raised his own hand and created a sphere of pure blackness, the telltale rush of air into the dark announcing the creation of the Spectresphere. It ceased growing in size just as the attack impacted it, the sphere shrinking as the two energies negated one another. Using this sort of shield, Kihaku dodged to the side, his Shadow Forms dashing in to grab at Cham's arms and hold him steady. The third leapt in front of Kihaku, but just to the side so as not to impede his view of the scene.

[chameleon]

Chameleon was about to lash out again when the copies grabbed his arms stopping him from moving. "What is this!?" Cham said looking to both sides trying to yank his hands free.

"What, you're not going to fight like a man!?" He said looking up at kihaku in anger. "C'mon and fight me like a real man!"