Elicoori (Cham, Kihaku, Atsuko)

[chameleon]

It felt as if he had been pulled into many pieces and then re-arranged back together, only now it didnt feel right. His joints ached quite a bit and he still felt a little drain and he sat himself up. His eyes opened to see the scenery around them.

Lush, green vegetation, almost as if it were a jungle spread out around them. The only differences is that the trees were covered in what looked like moss, completely, no bark showing, and the plants were, for the most part, a green color, whether light or dark, but no other color stood out with the exception of the sky that could be seen in cracks above the trees, and a few patches of red and yellow on the plants. The ground in which they sat was spongey, feeling a lot like moss but looking a lot like short grass. The only difference in green this one had was it looked to be mixed with brown, earthy color, though green was still the primary color here. It was the kind of environment that made people crazy by seeing so much green.

"No..." Cham said scrambling to his feet, wabbling a little as he stood but he still managed to keep his feet under him. "No, this can't be..." he whispered again. "Kihaku, Elena, Atsuko, wake up!" he said turning to them, a look of fright on his face.

"We are on Elicoori."

[kihaku]

The trip getting to their final destination had been supremely taxing on the two Chaos Spirits. Despite having only half of their energy drained in the process, they weren't used to bending the laws of time and space to move anywhere or any thing, and since using their energy didn't fatigue their body at all, to be transported in such a manner was unfamiliar and horribly unpleasant. Elena, the physically stronger of the two, was the first to begin to recover.

Sitting up, she rubbed her head and looked about groggily, every joint in her body protesting even the slightest movement. Her eyes felt like they had lead weights attached to them, and her only want in the entire world was to curl up in a little ball under some blankets and rest, but she knew that, wherever they had landed, could not be even remotely assumed to be harmless. She of all people was always prepared for the hostile and eager to maim, so if Cham got the drop on the enemy she would be highly embarrassed.

"Geh? Wha? That dun scare me! I'll take on whatever this Emma and Cory and throw at me! Who're Emma and Cory?"

Kihaku, on the other hand, wasn't even remotely as hardened against the trip as Cham or Elena. Granted, with Chaos Energy coursing through his veins, he was more than a match for anyone, but at half energy and a fully physical strain put on his body, he was at a disadvantage. A little slower on the uptake, he struggled to get to his feet, and as such, his mood soured at an exponential rate. By the time he had collected his wits about him, he was on the border of annoyed and pissed.

"God-dammit! What the fuck was that? Why is everything so green!?"

[Shei'ki\Agatha]

Atsuko, unlike any of the others that were her friends, was completely unphased by the whole ordeal... after all, she had no powerful warrior spirit, and pleanty of divine energy to keep her safe from the rigors of the travel. It had been easy on her indeed, like being yanked in a direction she had no idea existed. Unlike the others, her body had not been broken down into millions of particles.... her energies would simply not allow that at all, and she was simply *hurled* through the portal.

That said, while it had been easy on her energies and gentle with her spirit, unlike the others, it was far from gentle with her body. The goddess had managed to brace her fall from the forced launch she'd gotten, but she had still struck her head and landed, once again, in a tree. Thankfully, trees here were soft and warm, so no real damage was done.... well, sorta.

"owwww... oww oww oww my head!" she groaned, and once again, fell from a tree with a heavy thud, her body heavy with the blow she'd suffered. Strangely enough, the world did not quite stop spinning once she'd sat there for a moment, her eyes clearly showing how dazed she was. Truthfully, she obtained a concussion from this whole ordeal, but it could have been a lot worse: she could have broken a leg, or an arm, or worse. "Gaaah... The stars sing and daaance..." she murmured, and squirmed a little on the ground, her head throbbing in pain.

[chameleon]

Chameleon walked to Atsuko and kneeled down, probably more for himself then to get eye-level with her. He placed a softly glowing hand to her forhead, the concussion that she recieved, or just horrible crack to the head, would be mended, though it wouldnt have been as quick and easy as Cham would have liked, he felt drained of energy as well.

"Not Emma and Cory, Elicorri," he said standing up again, shaking his head, trying to brush off the feeling. He was starting to feel a little better, even if he were back here. "This is the planet where I came from," he said looking grave as he stared at the forest around him.

"And by the looks of it, we are in the Evergreens, and that would be the answer to your question Kihaku," Cham said sitting down on a mossy stone.

"How on Dragonia did we get here?"

[kihaku]

Kihaku was forced to blink several times before his eyes managed to adjust to the sudden shock of green. He was used to the cool, gentle pastels and occaisional bright colors of Dragonia, as well as the darkness that pervades his favorite time of the day: night. Still, if he was in a part of the planet where green was the prevailing color, then he'd just have to get used to it. Jerking his hood over his head, he growled and crossed his arms over his chest, doing his best not to start ranting and raving about not being in a place dark enough, open enough, or even on the right planet for that matter. "I'm sure it had something to do with that stupid new web you tried to use on me."

"Or it could be that you interrupted his web, dumbass!" Elena tried to swat the back of her big brother's head, but missed when he leaned forward slightly, as if he knew what she was doing despite not looking at her.

"Regardless... Cham, Atsuko, I don't know about you two, but Chaos Spirits can travel from the mortal realm to the spirit world without hardly even trying, so long as we know where where we're going." He looked at the two young peoples, with Elena looking sheepishly at them as well.

"He means... you're stuck here unless we can figure something out. But we'll stay with you!" she added quickly, eyes wide, especially for Cham. "Look on the bright side, you can say 'hi' to all the family you've been missing!"[/color]

[Shei'ki\Agatha]

Atsuko's eyes fluttered a bit as Cham's healing energy swept over her, and drove vigor once more into her from the blow to the head she'd suffered. It wasn't instantaneous, but it was quick enough that she did not feel the urgentness of a wound that was slowly being healed, like a doctor giving a shot, not at all. Sitting up, the pink-haired girl felt a tiny weight in her locks, and moved it around in front of her. It was Mwin, that much was certain, the poor creature clinging terribly to her hair in a deathgrip, letting her know that it was terrified.

Smiling, Atsuko gently brushed her hand against the spiderling's little face, and he looked up at her, meekly offering its little forelimbs up toher, which she took and tugged him gently from her hair. He was unharmed... and thank god for that. Atsuko sure would have felt terrible if the little guy had gotten hurt or something. Chitering, he was obviously glad to be in his mother's arms rather than hanging in her hair or some other such nonsense.

Looking around, Atsuko drank in the green-ness of the forest around her, and actually... found it rather beautiful! It was otherworldly, that much was sure, but it was without a doubt one of the lovliest things she had ever seen.

Smiling and wowing silently, she stood and spun once to drink it all in, eyes the size of fifty cent pieces. It was gorgeous! So green, so lush, so... so....! She spun to Chameleon, and bounced up and down a little on her heels.

"Ohh wow, Cham-san! Your homeworld.... its beautiful!" she said. Coming out of her mouth even a few months ago,she'd have thought herself nuts:this was, after all, pretty new to her, this whole chaos spirit and alien thing. Before all of this, she was just a normal girl, and now she was traveling to alien worlds?! Who says people never have fantastic adventures anymore!

[chameleon]

"This isnt my home," he said somewhat harshley, looking a little scared too. "And I can't see my family, I dont have one here anymore, I am a Forsaken. My family wouldnt look at me nor claim me as one of theirs for that matter," he said looking away, almost hurt, but resolved swept over his eyes. "I dont care, this isnt my home, Dragonia is my home and we have to get back to it." he said moving off towards a path. He seemed to know where he was going.

"There is a village called Surf... up ahead about two miles, by the look from the sky, it's morning here. Everyone should be up so I'm going to have to wear this," he said reaching into his bad, for a moment he looked wabbly, a little more so then before. He pulled out a very dark green cloth and threw it around his shoulders and over his head. His bright green and purple eyes were the only thing visable under the dark cloak he now wore. Without the mention on height, Cham's overall appearance seemed almost identical to Kihaku's. His stance seemed exactly like his former masters. The only weapon he had with him, though, was the green sheethed sword at his side.

"It'll only be a matter of time before... they know it's me who's under this cloak... and when that happens we'll have no hope of getting someone to... speak with us. I'm not sure of the exact way to get to Alexander, the capitol city, from here." he said looking down. A look was on his features as he watched the ground, it was one that seemed almost that he longed for it, but knew it wasn't possible. The look was gone as quick as it had come. When Cham looked back up at the group, his green eye was completely gray, no hint of green anywhere on him.

"I... we..." he said beginning his words but trailed off. He collapsed to the ground and his hood fell from his face. The sides of his cheeks were rimmed with dark green, as if his veins had turned dark. It seemed to be creeping very slowly. It looked as if he had just been poisoned.

[kihaku]

Kihaku didn't know something was wrong until after the young man collapsed for no apparent reason, and only just turned in time to see him fall to the ground. Elena, being closer, called out his name frantically and leaped to catch him so he wouldn't sustain injury from impacting the ground. Setting him down she couldn't do anything except watch as the darkness continued to snake through his system, outlining the capillaries and veins in his face like some grotesque face painting. She looked to Kihaku with pleading eyes, but was repulsed when she noticed that his own, burning from within the gloom of his hood, were dulled with a helplessness that she had never seen before.

Neither of the Chaos Spirits had ever visited Elicoori, and as such were not familiar with its effects on humanoids and mortal beings. For all they knew, this could be a natural thing that simply happened, but taken from the fact that Chameleon never warned them that this might take place, they were certain he was in some sort of trouble.

Elena turned her brown sugar eyes on Atsuko, her golden orbs misted and shining with concern and agitation, "Suki, please, tell me there's something you can do to help him?"

"Anything at all?"

[Shei'ki\Agatha]

Frowning and furrowing her brow at the two concerned chaos spirits' questions, her mind started popping through several scenarios, through many situations in which this might work out right... Was it a poison? Was it the air? Was it magic? Gods if she knew... she would figure something out, and she'd have to... quick.

She'd already done a little work today... but for some reason, she felt vitalized, refreshed... like new. These two people needed her! They needed her to do something... or Chameleon would die! She then started to thinking... what made any poison work? Metabolism. Human metabolism made that kind of thing work... and because she had no idea at all how this poison worked, whether it was inhaled... a dart or something... but she had no clue. He was fading! Breaking a sweat, Atsuko nodded and lifted her hands.

Chameleon was her friend... as far as having known someone for perhaps an hour... she had healed her twice, and now it was her turn to return the favor... so she did the only thing she could think of: she would create life. As she visibly exerted a burst of her divine energies, two great hands appeared around her own, then split into many... until it was but a mass of energy. "I can help him." she said, and got to work.

She would create life again... a new life. The weight of the responsibility of that did not even cross the budding goddess's mind. As she bent, and physically touched Cham with her hands, she was molding twigs, moss, and dirt itself... she was encasing him... and at the same time, considering what this suit would do. She was definately making him an organism suit. He needed to breathe, see, hear, feel... but to stop the poison, she had to stop his metabolism. This suit also had to take over his primary and secondary bodily functions... and put his body into stasis while his mind and personality remained fully active. The creature would not have a normal life cycle... it would draw out toxins, prevent decay of the body with its stasis of the normal body... and it would derive energy from these things. It would use even sunlight and water for a power source.

This next part... would hurt, however. As the suit took root in Chameleon's body, she knew her craetion would have to eventually come off... or be able to retract into a dormant form. Regardless, it needed to save Chameleon's life. Once it was finished, it would have to a)shut down Cham's body, and b) immediately keep him sentient and alive. Bending over him, and her creation, Atsuko pressed her lips to Cham's and exhaled. Just like that, Cham's body went into stasis... and the suit that now covered every inch of his body became flesh and exoskeleton, invading every function of its symbiote. Feeding off of the poison in his blood... the suit hummed fully to activity, and supplied Cham's sentience with controll of his (temporary) new exobody suit... She modeled it after him, and by her estimates, it would work much the same. Same strength and everything.

Once completed, Atsuko immediately collapsed to the side, panting and gasping for air, completely and utterly exhausted.

[chameleon]

Cham's body somewhat lifted upon her completion of his new somewhat exo-skeleton. His mouth opened and he let loose a horrible groan, somewhat agonizing. His body seemed to beging glowing a purple color, though this time, it no longer held any of his green Channeled Energy as is aura normally did. His eyes shut and his face contorted as if he were straining really hard to accomplish something. At that point, his body exploded.

A shatter of twigs, moss, and dirt fell to the ground in a lump. In the middle of a swirling power of purple energy Cham kneeled. As he looked up, his eyes were angry. One gray, one purple.

"WHAT THE HELL DIDJA DO THAT FOR!?" he screamed, the purple aura dissapated around him. Cham's face seemed to calm itself, though the dark veins showed up stark against the sides of his face, his eyes seemed somewhat sunken, skin still a pale color. He looked as if her were the living dead.

"I'm sorry, Atsuko, I didnt mean to yell at you," he said falling to his butt and brought a hand to his face. "That just really hurt you know? Sticking all those things into me." he said and gave a sigh. "I told you guys, I'm a Forsaken here," he said as if they were to have understood simply.

By their blank stares he gathered that they really didnt understand what he meant. "Do you not have Forsaken on Dragonia?" he said standing up slowly, still feeling a little wobbly. "I guess not. You guys should have said something earlier when I said that I was a Forsaken dammit." his voice almost sounded exactly like Kihaku there.

"I've heard about it here in Elicoori, though I thought it was just a tool for scaring children into behaving." he said. "Forsaken is people who have been denounced from their race. Outcasts that no longer belong. The planet refuses me." he said rubbing his neck and then reached into the back of his cloak and pulled out a long twig, he simply discarded it to the side. "I didnt think that it would go this far though..." he said looking down at his hands as if he expected them to do something.

"I can't feel Channeled Energy," he said finally looking up. "The planet took it away from me. I can get it back once we leave here," he said looking to Atsuko. "That's why I healed you so quickly. The side effect takes a few moments to come around. I was able to tap into Channeled Energy for that short amount of time." he said pulling his hood over his head again. Now, only a single purple iris stood from within the cloak. "That's also why I look like this."

"I can't believe Dragonia doesnt do this. I thought it would. I was always taught that when a resident of a planet no longer accepts you, you are marked, power drained from your body." he said looking at them. "I look like I've been dead. The elders said all planets do this. I can, it seems, still use my Chaos Energy," he said, his head shaking. Truthfully, he hated being separated from his Channeled Energy, but it happened when he was banished. That short while that it took him to travel from his village to the port town to be completely banished, this happend to him. He was a Forsaken and no villager anywhere would acknowlege him in the least bit. The moment he left the planet's atmosphere, he was able to tap Channeled Energy again.

[kihaku]

Elena was almost shocked by the transformation Cham's appearance underwent, the face she had come to enjoy looking at had come to seem dead and almost a completely different person. She wanted to reach out and touch his cheek, but with his reaction to Atsuko doing her best to, what she thought, save his life, she decided that it would be best to just hang back.

Kihaku on the otherhand, was absolutely FASCINATED. He couldn't take his eyes from his former student's changed appearance, the dark veins, the sunken eyes, the whole event was simply macabre. He moved forward and leaned down to get a better look at Cham's features, the loss of Channeled Energy, the rejection of his spirit by the very planet itself, it was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

"Dragonia is so ancient and experienced so many different energy types, I don't believe that it recognizes any one kind as its own. The very essences of alternate dimensions as well as Heaven and Hell course through it." He used a single gloved finger to tug at Cham's hood, peeking again at his face. "Your elders obviously do not wish for your people to find out that freedom lies just beyond the stars."

[Shei'ki\Agatha]

Atsuko could only watch in horror as Chameleon snuffed out the life she had only just given birth to, the innocent creature exploding into a million pieces, spraying not twigs, moss, and brances, but blood and viscerra, all over the place; it was already a living thing, even if so briefly. For the first time in her life, she watched one of her own children be killed for no good reason. Hell... she had only been trying to help him, trying her hardest to do so, and what thanks did she get? He threw it in her face.

With a shudder, Atsuko began to lose conciousness; She had spent whatever was left of her energy on her attempt to aid Chameleon, and it was wasted effort appearantly... meant absolutely nothing at all. The life of her creation meant nothing at all: It had only existed for a moment, after all... but that single moment... that precious moment... was enough for Atsuko to have developed an attatchment to it. It was like giving birth... she had put a great deal of thought and effort into its creation, and she was not pleased that Cham had no respect for that.

"You..." she wheezed between breaths, she forced herself to speak, and forced herself once more to her knees, clenching her breast as she did her best to try to sit erect, but she was failing. "Noo..." she whimpered, shaking like a leaf, more and more by each passing moment.

Even when he apologized, she sat there, shaking and gasping for air, head bowed and tears rolling down her cheek, bits of her creation all over her and him, and everyone else near where he'd sat. "H-he could have... let go... b-but you... you killed..." she managed, looking up, her eyes flooded with sadness and anger. Her gaze then could freeze a man's blood to the state of molasses on the spot. With that, her eyes drooped, followed by her head, and then, over she fell with a thud.
The rest of what he said fell on unconcious ears.

[chameleon]

Cham watched her, mouth agape in confusion and slight anger. "Stop this right now Atsuko," he said sounding impatient. "There's no need for tears, what you did cut into my body, it hurt, you should have checked to make sure I was actually dead before you started that. I wont apologise for causing death to something that was causing me a lot that much pain." He looked to Kihaku for support.

Chameleon was normally very kind hearted and understanding, and it took a lot to anger him or make him impatient. He hated when people blamed him for doing something to protect himself, it was like living on this planet all over again. Everything he said fell, however, on unconscience ears.

"I think she had a panic attack, I'm not sure, we're going to have to take her into the next village. I know someone there who could help her." he said scooping her up in his arms.

"Elena..." he said looking to her. "I..." he started but didnt know what to say. "I'm sorry I didnt tell you what was going to happen, I didnt mean to make you worry."

[kihaku]

When the boy looked to Kihaku for support, he nodded in agreeance. Cham had really no way of knowing what Atsuko was attempting, nor did she have any idea that his condition wasn't at all life threatening. Either way, there was no way to really blame either of them for their actions. Kihaku turned away to brush a small piece of meat that had fallen on his shoulder without him realizing it, and checked himself quickly for any remaining pieces of... thing.

It was just then that Kihaku realized something that might create a bit of a problem for their group: though Cham knew where things were, and the three of them were more than able fighters if they needed to defend themselves from... wild creatures? The natives were all too pussy to attack them, so nature was really the worst thing for them to worry about, but the truth was that Cham, minus the sick-looking veins, didn't look all that different from his teacher anymore. The gaunt features, sunken and oddly-colored eyes, he wouldn't be surprised if the Elicoorians thought he too were a Forsaken.

Elena, on the otherhand, was preoccupied with other thoughts. The blood had been such a small part of the whole ordeal that she hadn't really noticed the crimson spray and gore until Atsuko had shown the strain the recent events had put on her. Elena, though not one to shy away from blood and such, was a little bit put off by Cham's already cadaverous appearance and the addition of the rivulets of sticky red liquid didn't help matters.

She nodded to Cham, about to pat his shoulder but stopped before she touched some of what was left of the organism Atsuko had created. "S'alright Chammy... just so 'long as you're okay, that's all that matters to me right now." She turned with a small, sad smile, and strode over to Kihaku. Though she cared deeply for the young Elicoorian, Kihaku was literally the only family she had besides Reiaz, and right now she needed that comfort. She slipped her arm around his, hugging his arm to herself and nuzzling against his black-swathed body. His familiar scent filled her nostrils, battle and serenity, life and death, security of familiarity, and the tang of sorrow. Really, it was more an alegory for his life and soul, but those were simply the images his scent conjured in her mind.

Her furiously pumping heart was calmed when she felt his arm relax, and his chin breifly touch the top of her head. It was hardly anything, but it was the most intimate and vulnerable the Persecutor would ever allow himself to be. It seemed only a moment before he drew his head away, yet allowing her to cling to him in such a manner. "Lead on."

[chameleon]

Chameleon began to walk with Atsuko in his arms. He glanced back at the two Chaos Spirits. "Elena, we are going to Surf Village just a mile or so away. We are looking for a woman by the name of Shota. She is talented in Channeled Energy and in herbs, I believe she can help Atsuko, but..." he seemed to hesitate, "You'll have to do the talking, no one in the village will acknowledge me or Kihaku for that matter," he said looking to Kihaku.

"Sorry Kihaku, but I doubt the villagers will want to speak with you, they are wary of strangers and you dont look the part of someone who is nice to all living things. And we have to really mind our manners around Elena, she's a woman and here women are above men." His eyes looked back to Elena.

"If you speak with a woman, touch the palm of your hand over the middle of your chest," he said with a nod. "It is customary for women to do this before speaking with new females, it shows respect. If it's a man, you shouldnt do it, it would be a form of courtship and would cause problems since you are not promised to anyone here."

"Kihaku, if you greet another man, put a fist to the left side of your chest. It's disrespectful not to. If they dont return it, they most likely think you are a Forsaken, so dont take it personally. They just dont acknowledge the Forsaken. Atsuko and Elena are the onely two that look normal, not to mention they are women, they have a higher standing."

The sun was higher in the sky by the same they met the end of the woods and came upon a dirt road. Not far away looked like a small village town. All the little houses had straw thatched roofs and clay walls. Cows and chickens (or what looked a lot like them) grazed in large fields on the side of town. People looked to be busy.

"Elena, you'll have to take the lead from here. Woman are expected to walk in front of men. It's best if we dont make too big of impression. The house we are looking for is the 3rd house in. There should be a wooden sign hanging from it with a picture of a circle within a triangle, that is the mark for the villages medic." He said with a nod. "The woman we are looking for is Shota. She will know me, but wont acknowlege me, so dont worry. Just tell her that we have someone that needs help." he said with a nod and waited for Elena to continue down the dirt road.