Malion: Up In Flames

Transportation

"Congratulations, Anthony. I'm sure you'll make an amazing dad." I told him and pulled him into a hug. Suddenly I was grabbed my my upper arm and pulled away from the embrace.

"We don't have time. I need to send you to the temple." Herross muttered as he dragged me away. I stumbled after him backwards and dispite my protesting and slight panic, he didn't let go. He finally stopped at the entrance to his manor, after having me trip and fall over rocks and steps I couldn't see. He let my arm go and I shoved him hard. He glared at me.

"What in The Beneath is wrong with you?! Why wouldn't you let go?!" I yelled at him through the burning of the wound on my shoulder. He barged forward and loomed over me.

"You are the one who so desperately wants to get that Gaian back. I need to send you now, otherwhise she will suspect it and you'll be caught. Go get Alex and meet me back here as quickly as possible. Understand?" He demanded. I shrunk slightly and slinked off towards Alex's cabin.

I knocked on the door and recieved no answer.

"Alex, I need your help to get Michelle back." I told her through the door. It was ripped open to reveal the disheveled form of Alex as she stood before me.

"Alex...?" I mumbled. She opened her arms and I immediately went in for a tight hug.

"It's ok... don't worry. I had a few really bad thoughts. Thanks for inviting me on your rescue mission. I could really use the distraction." She mumbled.

"When we get Michelle back, we need to hang out for a while, ok? I'm not going to stand by and watch you feel like shit when I could help you." I explained, only to have her melt into my embrace.

"I think it's time you get ready. I need to get my gear together too. Meet you at Herross' manor." I said and we parted ways.

I ran up to Herross' manor equipped with my shortsword, my bow and quiver, as well as my hatchet. That's when I saw Alex bearing a shining claymore. She was certainly strong enough to wield such a massive weapon. She grinned at me with sharpened teeth. When I ran up to her, she pulled me into a one armed hug.

"Let's go get Michelle." I said before Alex knocked on the door. The door slowly creaked open and Herross peaked out, scowling.

"Good. Now let's get you to the temple. I can't rip between dimentions. The temple is the best I can do." He hissed.

"Hero, you ok?" Alex asked. He glared at her.

"I'm fine." He barked and swung the door open, nearly hitting her. She glared back, a suspicious glint in her crimson eyes.

"Come with me. I've already set everything up." He growled and placed a heavy hand on both our shoulders. Suddenly we appeared in a dark, dank room made of stone. He turned away from us and towards candles layed out on the ground. He stood on one side and told Alex and I to stand on opposite sides of the circle. The mark lit up a deep purple as it travelled all along the circumfrence until both ends met and a deep, opaque pool of black opened before us.

"Once you step onto the portal, you'll be transferred back to the temple. I'm sure you can find your way through that yourselves. I cannot come with you." He said.

"Listen here, Hero. What in the Nine Realms is up with you today? You're never this grunpy, even when you're angry. Spill the beans!" She growled, smoke starting to pour from her eyes and mouth as her anger broiled up. Before he bothered to answer, both Alex and I were shoved towards the portal with a flick of his finger. We had appeared about an hour's walk away from the temple, in the still icy desert.

When the sun finally made an appearance in the partly cloudy sky, we watched the individual rays beam down from the blue, marking specific spots in the sand, creating a dappled pattern all over the massive canvas. We waked through the sand until we finally reached the disheveled temple housing the door to the Realm of the Banished. The dark cacti cast a heavy shadow upon the temple and the black flowers lacing the outside of the building seemed to now be making the shadow inky and black that looked like it could have crawled away. I was the first to enter the temple. I stumbled through the rubble carpeted rooms with Alex in tow. Deapth perception was still difficult to gage without the perspective of my second eye. Elliott had urged me to at least bind it before I left.

We found the hallway Orin had taken us down. We ran down the stairs, dodging massive boulders common on the steps.

When we reached the doorway, I closed my eyes and stepped inside. For a moment, hundreds of screams blared in my ears at once, but they all faded evenly across the colourless planes when I appeared on the other side. I turned around and couldn't see Alex anywhere. A jolt of pain shit through my arm and my whole face. I swung my backpack off my shoulder and grabbdd the small tin and popped it open. I scooped up two small herb balls and threw them into my mouth.

I started to run in what I assumed was the direction of the gateway while chewing the bitter balls thoroughly. I had near to no way of knowing, aside from the strangely shaded rocks that covered the infinitely flattened landscape, all exceptforone large cliff face. From there, I knew my way. That was also when the herbs started to kick in and my pain lessened. It wasn't the bliss I was accustomed to, but it was better.

When I reached the "cube" it was already warped into the doorway. I hoped silently that Alex had found it before me. I hesitantly stepped through and ended up in the same Castle-like structure as before. I ran through the faintly melodic halls as I tried to tune out the piano music drifting quietly in the air. When we got there, I pushed the huge doors to the throne room open, but it was empty just as before. We ran into the centre of the room and looked around. No one seemed to be in the magnificent room. Not even those spindly dark creayures were to be seen and the piano music had faded out of earshot. Alex let out a painful grunt and I heard her struggle with breath. I turned to watch her fall to the ground, unconscious.

"What? Who's there!? Show yourself!" I demanded, panic rising. I hadn't even noticed her arrival. It was good to know that she hadn't lost her way.

I ran up to Alex but something stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Hello, my dear." I heard Orin's voice. I whirled around, aware of all of my surroundings. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a swirl of shadows from the ground and jumped around to see it form into Orin.

"What do you want?" I yelled at her through gritted teeth, barring an arm between her and Alex. She giggled.

"I could ask you the same thing. It's quite rude to barge into someone's house." She remraked smugly. I snarled at her and claws grew from my nails. She waltzed up to me and I noticed the faint glisten of makeup on her left cheek. Four vertical scars barely made themselves notable. I wondered whi she didn't bother covering up her burn scars too. I huffed, amused and smugly grinned at her.

"What'cha got there?" I said, pointing at her cheek. She bared her sharp teeth and kicked my shin. I grit my teeth and grinned at her.

"Your little shit over there gave me a little souvenir. Speaking of which, I'd like to take my own souvenir." She grinned widely and then punched me square in the face. She did it with a vicious left hook to hit the right side of my face. Darkness consumed my vision.

I woke up, dazed on a small table in a dank room only lit by a single orb of light above me in the centre of the ceiling. I tried to pull myself into a ball but was kept apart by something clutching my wrists, ankles and neck. I tried to lift my knees but was stopped at my thighs. I muttered beneathean curses under my breath as I tried to pull myself loose, only ending up convulsing and struggling. I tried to transform, but once my wings wanted to appear, it felt like they would be crushed between me and the table. I didn't notice how I could feel them moments before they appeared in the fire until then. The feeling of their presence disappeared and I cursed again.

I resolved to looking around the strange room. Shelves covered the wall paralel to the heavy wooden door. They were filled to the brim with bottles, vials and small unsettling tools. On the wall paralel from the table that I had been bound to, there was a cupboard made with dark wood. Something seemed to be rattling quietly within it. I looked to the wall on my left, the one with the door, and saw a few racks stocked with more tools. These were bigger. I couldn't look at the wall behind me and when I tried, whatever was looped around my neck started to cut into my skin.