An Evil Beyond Lavos Chapter 7
By Kaeru
The first thing Marle noticed in the cave was the amazing stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the cave. Stram walked ahead, but Marle and Ti'ana stayed behind and talked privately.
"What's the deal with this guy, Ti'ana?" Marle asked.
"Just call me Ti," she replied. "He's my best friend. Him and I are good friends. One day, a year or so ago, he was out in the cursed woods. Some bad guy, Kao, I think..."
"Kao?!" Marle gasped. "He was the one who posessed our friend, Gaspar! He's the one we have to fight!"
"Yeah, well anyways, this Kao guy attacked him. Stram defended himself. Basically, Kao kicked his butt. But..." Ti'ana was interupted by Stram.
"He's a monster. Instead of finishing me off, the loser turned me into a werewolf. The only way I can get rid of the curse..." he paused, and looked at his feet, "is to defeat him. But it's getting better. Now I can control when I become a wolf. My parents won't have me back. Everyone's afraid of me. That's why I live near the Cave. The only human who's still my friend," he looked up, and into Ti'ana's eyes. "is Ti."
Ti'ana and Stram looked at each other for a long time. Suddenly, Marle cried out, and fell to the ground. Ti'ana took out her daggers, and Stram his whip. The platoon of Henches that attacked Marle faced Ti'ana and Stram. Stram's face began to elongate, and his clothes turned into fur. His bones in his legs grinded together, creating backwards ankles. Much to his surprise, Ti'ana became a wolf, as well. They attacked two henches standing beside each other. The Henches spewed blood from their stomaches, and fell to the ground. There were 5 left.
Becoming human again, Stram lashed at one of the Henches with his whip. It hit in the temple, causing the Hench to fall to the ground. Ti'ana charged two of the remaining Henches and shoved her daggers into their heads. They slumped to the ground, dead. The remaining two Henches both attacked Ti'ana at once. Their claws seared through her arm and leg. In anger, Stram turned wolf and ate the last two.
"Are you okay?" he asked Marle. She smiled weakly and gave him the thumbs up sign. He then walked over to Ti'ana. She was swallowing an Elixir. Her flesh wounds were healing instantaneously. But Marle was too dazed. Glenn replaced her.
"Come on!" Stram yelled to the other two. "They're onto us! Let's get this overwith!"
Stram, Glenn, and Ti'ana sprinted through the dark corridor. They heard a bunch of footsteps beind them. As fast as the team ran, the footsteps kept gaining. Glenn stopped in his tracks. "C'mon!!" yelled Stram.
"We need'eth to get them off our tail!" Glenn shouted back. He caused a tidal wave to rip through the corridor behind them. When the water stopped making a sound, they listened. No footsteps. Glenn looked forward. The sight in front of him made him gasp. A humongous pillar of light, lime green in colour. The pillar was full of moaning spirits. A microphone was hanging from the wall.
"From there," Stram began, "You say some things that make the soul you're searching for unique. If the soul emerges, then you... win. If not, well, you're in for an ultra mystic fest."
Glenn thought to himself. Then he said, "Old man, living beyond the reaches of time." Nothing happened. He waited. A white spark emerged from the pillar. "Do you wish to ride to the entrance of the cave?"
Ti'ana shrieked happily. Glenn smiled and nodded his head. Gaspar brought them to the cave entrance. They all entered the Epoch, and went to the end of time.
* * * *
Terr's condition turned for the worse. His scratch began to swell and infect. The Hench's poison caused him to gasp and wheeze. His eyes were sinking in his head, and his skin and hair were drying up. If he went back to his time, the press would be all over his 'strange claw mark'. He had to stay where he was, where Mystic attacks were just the brutal truth. Chinook stayed with him, at his side day and night.
"Chinook..." Terr whispered.
Chinook sat up. Her fallen friend hadn't been able to talk for days. "Yes?"
"Go help the others. I'll be fine. Honest. I feel better already."
She shook her head. "I'm staying right here."
The nurse walked into the room, with another bottle of elixir. She carefully poured it down Terr's swollen throat. He sputtered on it, but swallowed it. "If you won't do it for them, do it for me. Beat Kao for me. After all, they were his Mystics, right?"
Chinook smiled at Terr, and kissed him tenderly on the forehead. "Get well soon," she whispered to Terr. Then she set off to find the others.
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