Continued from metal man

The Nurse looked up from her book as something flowed into her infirmary. She thought she recognised it... or at least a part of it and it didn't look that badly damaged. Even so, it would be a challenge to heal. The patch of darkness moved into a corner and seemed to just glare at her.

Really... creatures these days, they were worst than 'that man'!
*********

Can I help you?

need light... need soft light... gentle, caressing, tasty...

*********
The Nurse nodded, and moved towards one cupboard. On a closer look she had seen some small cuts on the creature, and few rips which seemed secondary. She pulled out a lantern, and old oil lamp that still had a little fuel left in it. She only had it here because occasionally she feed the dark in return for it to lull her to sleep away from the memory of 'that man'.

She brought it over towards the dark smudge in the corner, placing it on one of the closest bed before lighting it.
*********

sss... too bright...

*********
The dark smudge hissed.
*********

Opps, sorry.

*********
The Nurse resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she lowered the flame until it was a soft, gentle glow... really... she was doing her best, it didn't have to be so finicky and it wasn't in any danger of dying... it reminded her of 'that man'.
*********

No, I'm better off without him.

*********
The darkness surged forward, surrounding the soft light of the lamp. It was strange perhaps but it was the way of dark. Hard light could hurt, but soft light, so gentle, so calming could heal as it was consumed.
*********

thank you

*********
The shadow continued to watch the Nurse but after she muttered a few words under her breath she returned to her book, waving one manicured hand towards the dark smudge.
*********

Don't eat too much. That stuff's not good for you.

the shadow surged around the light gently. the physical rips and tears had long gone but the scratches the coppery coloured armored being had made were only now beginning to heal. the shadow looked over at the nurse but she appeared to be engrossed in her book and it hissed softly trying to distract itself... right now it needed distractions...

darkness had gone to sleep again and felt, in as much as a mindless body could feel, content. when it awoke it would be stronger, both for the rest and its meal

the book...

it appeared from the dark mass and was rotated back and forth carefully - how it had gotten to be in the pit was questionable and it could be dangerous - it had a two on the spine but was fairly featureless apart from that. figuratively speaking the shadow took a deep breath and opened it...

nothing happened... no light, no gas, no poison, no trap, no nothing...

the book just lay there innocently

because it was far better than contemplating memory as it healed the shadow turned the pages with some interest, looking at everything carefully.

after a few moments of intense examination the shadow hissed... the book appeared to be in two parts... and one part was written in a language the shadow didn't understand... it would have to find his highness or someone else who could read it... or maybe it was the translation of the first part... the shadow had seen books like that but their layout was usually different, alternating each language per page...

still, nothing here was what it seemed.

the first part of the book was interesting and seemed to be laid out like an antomy book, with each part given it's own section... there was an odd picture here and there but the shadow didn't recognise the creature depicted... but it was the first few pages that truly interested the shadow...

they depicted... diagrammatically a large shell like device... a device similar to the one the shadow had seen before and one that was currently, it presumed, still safe at the shadows small lair... the knobs and and dials were labelled, although the shadow didn't understand all their functions...

what did the 'ssenlufreehc' dial do for example... but that was quite a prominent feature...

still, the information should be enough for the shadow to begin to experiment... there was one last part, almost at the very back that intrigued the shadow... it potentially explained why the creatures were so loyal... there would only be one way to test that though...

the shadow seemed to blink as the lantern guttered, flickering as it ate the last of the it's fuel before dying... experimentally the shadow moved a little and was pleased to find it's wounds healed. as the book disappeared back into the darkness the shadow looked over at the nurse but she had fallen asleep.

silently it picked up the lantern and flowed towards the cupboard, putting it away... it was a small token of thanks but perhaps one more was in order...

the nurse was flesh...

the shadow shook it's head... it was contemptible to attack the one who had healed it, especially now. the nurse was flesh, meaning that she probably ate... the shadow flickered through the infirmary, looking through the rooms and cupboards before until it found what it wanted... some cupboards were locked but that had not concerned the shadow since it understood the security behind drugs...

food though... that was different and was not usually stored locked... it might have been better if the shadow used it's own supplies, a better gesture of thanks but it did not have anything suitable for that...

it has some things but they'd probably kill... maybe not... it didn't know but it wasn't going to take the chance...

carefully the shadow laid out a floral patterned plate and lay a few biscuit like items it had found on the plate before it placed a glass of water beside it.

*******

thank you

*******

it hissed once again, flowing towards the door before looking back to check that all was in order...

the glass and plate were prominent and everything else seemed okay...

that was all it could do... and it had been away from it's base for too long and needed to return to move it... it could not afford to wait to thank the nurse properly...

with that it flowed back towards the pit... and the only way out of the palace that the shadow currently know without showing off everything...

it would have to get around to searching for another way soon if it was going to stay here....

Continued in The Metal Man









^level 26.

The Nurse opened one eye after the shadow left. She had learnt early never to be truly asleep around patients' you never knew what they would do, much like 'that man.' And there had been a moment there when she had doubted the shadow's intentions.

Still the shadow was cute, leaving her, in as much as it could, a token of thanks' like 'that man', it could be a considerate creature, cleaning up and getting her a snack' but it hid it well.

She absently picked up a cookie, bitting into it as she looked at the clock'
**********

I wonder if the human is feeling the side effects of that injection yet'

**********
She shrugged' the human reminded her too much of 'that man' and in the long run, those effects would help him, much like thay had for 'that man'' if he survived.

Xeravil looked down at the egg in her hand before sighing.

This was one of her favourites and she didn't really want to give it up. She supposed she could just summon another, and if things progressed she might have to but it wouldn't be the same. The first creature of any type you summoned was always the most special. She known this feeling before, known the loss of one of her firsts, and known it in a worse way than this, through their death but even so...

*

Aleo, protect her well.

*

Xeravil gave the order before walking into the infirmary.

The Nurse looked up and was a bit surprised to see her here but said nothing. S-gard would no doubt already know about Xeravil's presence and if he was content then there was nothing she could do about the Summoner.

*

I have a gift for you.

*

The summoner lay down the egg on one of the beds.

*

His name is Aleo. He'll help you.

An Aleo?

An Aleo, one of my favourites. I figured you'd need something like him soon enough so I thought it better to give him to you now. Just don't leave him here when you need him although he's keyed to you. No one else should be able to use him.

Why are you here?

*

The Nurse asked pointedly still accepting the egg like object and moving it back to her desk. She'd have to see about getting some quarters made for Aleo soon since she knew it would need a place to live and she wasn't about to do away with such a useful gift, no matter who gave it.

*

The game. S-gard isn't the only one who's bored.

*

Xeravil vanished after looking at the egg one last time. She really didn't like giving away her summons but this would be for the best.

Continued from Metal Man

The Nurse walked back into the Infirmary. She hadn't been able to find either His Majesty or Xeravil and she needed to speak with them about creating quarters for Aleo although she wasn't sure she would have asked the summoner even if she had found her. Although the Nurse was sure Xeravil would love to interfere with the workings of S-gard's palace, she wasn't sure she wanted to deal with the fall out.

She sighed and walked over to the egg, placing one hand on it comfortingly.

****

Sorry, Aleo. I couldn't find either of them but we will work something out.

****

There was a flicker of ascent as she sat back down, looking around.

The alien was still here. He appeared to be meditating by his posture and controlled breathing. He was restful and she was almost surprised that he was still here but then he'd probably taken the easy way to find his friend and decided to wait for him to come back.

He would be back...

****

ALEO~!

****

The Nurse was struck with the feeling, almost like a blow and she was giving the instruction before she knew she had shouted. Someone needed her badly.

The alien jerked out of his meditation but just watched her carefully.

****

Go, Aleo. Bring him back here now, quickly. He's just outside.

****

There was a crack and quickly, almost too fast to follow the egg shattered and from it emerged a winged lion that couldn't have possibly fitted within the egg, but that was the nature of a summon. The lion, Aleo growled softly and then ran silently, wings tucked in close as he raced through the corridors.

The Nurse frowned. There was another echo of need. Something... someone else needed her... but their presence was fading... almost as if they didn't want her help. She shook her head. Probably someone like that man before she turned back to the present, moving to the cupboards to pull out bandages and drugs. She had a feeling she would need them all.

The alien just continued to watch, a fact for which she was thankful. She didn't have the time to deal with random questions at the moment.

****

Aleo raced through the corridors. The fact that the castle reconfigured itself every now and then was not a problem for him. He instinctively knew the most efficient way. One of the advantages of his species and of being a summon was that when his master told him to go some where, he could get to that place easily.

He bounded through the pit, heading outside before skidding to a halt at the destruction he could sense.

There was a human lying in the centre of it, almost peacefully, save for the cuts and scratches and blood that was one him. But he was in the direct centre of the destruction and it almost smelt like he was the source of the destruction but human's couldn't do that, could they?

There was a small depression in the ground, scoured, like a tornado had touched the ground there, ripping everything away. The edges though were very clean, very definite and that was not natural. Also the tornado had gone no where.

The black winged lion shook his head, padding forward. That was not the issue here. The human needed healing. Gently he placed one paw on the human's back, and transferred some energy into him. The human's mind was a mess and almost seemed to be in shock but there was nothing that could be done about that now. He had fallen face down, on his wounded arm, which had stemmed the bleeding somewhat, but the very rough amputation would need surgery. The energy Aleo had given him would stabilise him for the short trip back to the infirmary where the Nurse could do other things. He would help but that would be more to provide energy to ensure everything was healing correctly.

Gently he clasped his jaws over the humans almost armour like clothes and hauled him up, rather inelegantly flipping him on to his back. He only did that because he could feel that the human had no spinal or neck damage. It wasn't the best for the human's broken ribs and other abrasions but he didn't have time to be gentle. The human needed to see the Nurse now.

Aleo pushed his wings upwards, forming a safe guard so that the human wouldn't fall. He turned back to the palace, trotting smoothly with the wounded human. The blood from the wounds trickled down his fur, tickling but his energy had stemmed the flow to an acceptable level.

The human wouldn't die. Not today.

The sound of Aleo's return disturbed his meditation he was about to about to leave hoping to find somewhere quieter to continue when he notice Espylacopa unconscious and bleeding on Aleo's back.

*****
Adun kyorl phor uns'aa 'zil Usstan ragarrl whol tarthe rath ulu ussta lodias.
*****

Templar watched as the nurse ran over too espylacopa to inspect the damage before running into her office to collect the equipment she was going to need to heal him. He moved closer to get a better look at the extent of the injuries.

*****
Qualla dro waelin uss ol orn jiv'undus uns'aa deeply ulu noa ussta er'griff abbil wun nindol k'lar
*****

All Templar could do was stand there and watch as the nurse began to work on healing Espylacopa, he could tell from the extent of the injuries that Espylacopa was lucky to be alive, and from his experience with human warriors he knew that Espylacopa was going to extremely depressed when he awoken.

****
Xun naut eszak waelin uss dos zhal inbau vharcan pholor vel'bol rin'ov xunus. nindol ulu dos.
****

The Nurse looked down at her patient. There were wounds everywhere. From his breathing she could tell he had some broken ribs but they could be bound easily enough. The abrasions could be treated as well, and a bath would be beneficial for him.

No, the main wound was his hand... or the lack of hand.

The wound there was not clean. It was as if the flesh had been ripped away. The resulting wound was jaggered and still weeping blood although Aleo's energy was doing much to stem the flow.

That was the most the most serious injury and she would have to deal with it quickly. It wouldn't get infected for a day or two if left along but it would if she did nothing. His friend had said something to him but she didn't bother wonder about the language. Right now, so long as he stayed where he was, then it would be fine. She just needed to work without interference.

****

Aleo, hold him down.

****

The black winged lion responded by placing his paws on the soldiers shoulders, exerting a rather gentle pressure. The Nurse pulled out her syringe and quickly filled it with a cocktail of drugs, barely hesitating as she injected them into the human. They should dull the pain somewhat, as well as keep him docile until she had finished working. She could heal the physical, she'd always known that, but healing the mind was so much more difficult. Her interactions with that man had shown her that.

She pulled out a small saw, looking over towards the soldier's companion.

****

I have to neaten the wound, else this will never heal. Whoever took his hand, didn't do it cleanly, so this is the only way.

****

The alien nodded and she set to work, sawing through more flesh, letting the blood flow begin again. She didn't worry about that. Right now, it was more important to let the wound bleed to clean it. Aleo's energy would replace his blood.

She continued working, using various instruments and drugs, sewing, bandaging and generally making use of Aleo's energy. She was thankful that Xeravil had given her the summon. It would have been a lot more difficult without him.

Finally she pulled back, fastening some final bandages in place.

She had done all she could. Now it was up to the human to heal himself, as best he could. She hoped he'd have the strength.

****

Thank you Aleo. I think we can rest now.

****

She said, slumping back into a chair as the lion jumped nimbly on to one of the beds, curling up before sleeping.

Now all they had to do was wait.

Templar blinked as he came out of his mediation. He looked over at the bed where young Espylacopa was resting. The human was still asleep, and he didn't think that was normal, even with the beating his friend had recieved, he'd always bounced back easily. Was the loss of a hand that unsettling to the human psyche?

He didn't think it should be but he wasn't a doctor. The Nurse didn't seem overly concerned though, and was instead working with Aleo to give the lion a comfortable place to rest.

Espylacopa's mind was quiet though. Almost tranquil which was a change although one that raised some concerns for him. There was some mental movement though, just not as much as he expected. His friend wasn't dreaming but was in such a deep rest that it seemed as if everything was shut down. He'd only ever seen humans in such a state for brief times before.

"He's just adapting to the changes," the Nurse said, looking over briefly at him. "He'll be fine."

"Changes?"

"Changes," she confirmed but didn't seem to want to speak further and he couldn't pry into her mind with the dangerous look Aleo sent towards him.

Instead he sent a flicker of mental energy towards his friend, scanning the dull surface mind. There was a responding flicker of motion from Espylacopa's mind and Templar smiled as it felt like there was a consciousness rising through the layers of the humans called their mind state.

He'd be awake soon. Then Templar could truly see if there had been changes and what their extent was from either the battle, or something else.

Too those in the infirmary it would almost appear as if he was dead, the only signs of life in Espylacopa was the slight rising of his chest as he breathed. It had a long time since he was brought to the infirmary after his battle with Revyug Kcirevam; in that time his un-conscious mind went over the battle repeatedly trying to figure out where it went wrong.

For days his mind was in an almost dead like state, but the surge of power from an un-known location caused the mind to spring to life causing Espylacopa to awake from his comatose state. The sudden spike in his mental activity alerted Templar to the fact that he had regained consciousness.

*****

'Ah man my head is killing me'

'Glad I am to see you've finally awaked '

'Templar you wouldn't happen to have any of those regenerators on you would you?'

'Yes but they were never designed for use on humans'

'Neither were those neural implants the conclave gave to the us Ghosts and those worked fine'

'Very well young one I'll give you one of the Regenerator units"

'Great' How do you use it?'

'Simply crush the capsule over the severed limb. The Liquid should cause a massive re-growth on missing bone, flesh and nerves, but like I said it was never intended for human use so it may not work.'
'Well there's only 1 way to find out isn't there.'

*****

The Blue liquid from in side the capsule slowly got absorbed into the healing stump that used to be his hand, for a short time nothing happened when suddenly a sharp pain formed in the remains of his right hand. The pain continued to grow as bone, nerves and flesh began to grow back into the shape of his former hand

The regeneration process took about 15 minutes during which Espylacopa nearly passed out due to the pain several times. Even after the process finished it took almost an hour before the pain began to subside.

*****

'Templar why didn't you tell me it hurts like hell'

'I've never had to use them before so I was unable to tell you what I didn't know.'

'Oh your finally awake'
*****

Espylacopa and Templar looked over to the Infirmary entrance to see the Nurse walk in followed by Aleo.

*****

'Templar what the hell is that thing that followed her in?'

'that's Aleo it's something one of the rulers of this place left here'

'oh'

'How do you feel?'

'Remove the major head ache I've got right now and the extreme feeling of hunger then I feel great'

"Now if you'll excuse me I really need to eat"

*****

Continued From: Metal Man

The Nurse looked up as other Aleo trotted into the Infirmary. It growled softly at the one Xeravil had given her before dropping off an injured passenger and it was then that the Nurse could see the streaks of blood on it's hide, all from it's passenger.

"What happened?" She asked, coming forward.

There was a snarl in response and as she saw the wounds she recognised the man as the one who had been with Xeravil earlier but also the damage as something that was done by an Aleo.

"You did this?"

The second Aleo nodded, unconcerned.

"Oh... I see, he attacked Xeravil?"

The lion nodded again apparently unwilling to speak with her.

"It was bound to happen eventually I suppose," the Nurse said as she gathered some splints and bandages. "I'll patch him up," she added, "and tell him a little about this world."

The second Aleo nodded again before curling up and licking at his fur to clean it.

"You're not injured?"

The Aleo seemed to laugh but shook his head and continued licking at the blood.

"Ah..." The Nurse dismissed the second summon as she continued to work. She was so over worked.

He came back, not to full lucidity though. Which was unfortunate for the one in his path. He saw the back hair, the familiar but imagined mocking smirk, and reacted as anyone who had known him in the past would have expected of him: not very well.

Extending the claws on both hands, he kicked the one who had been standing next to him back far enough to give himself at least some fighting room. 'I am not as helpless as I was then, Caerleon. I will not let you kill me.'

Slashing with both sets of claws, he suddenly found himself off balance and falling back into the bed. That was when he realized that the damage to his body had been more extensive than his enhanced healing faculties had been able to deal with as yet. Knowing that he would be all but helpless if he fell into hibernation now, he tried to stave it off. He knew that Caerleon would take the opportunity to murder him while he slept.

But in the end he could not stave it off. As his body shut down in preparation for the healing process, he only hoped that his father would come in time to help him'

The Nurse winced slightly as the one the Aleo had dropped off kicked her. He was dreaming but he wasn't as quiet about it as the other had been but at least he was better than 'that man'. It didn't hurt and it hadn't damaged her but she would have to be careful with this one.

Her Aleo, the one Xeravil had given her had looked up as she had stepped back but had quickly assessed that there was no danger and had gone back to sleep.

The Aleo that had brought the man had left a while ago after looking longingly at the man, the obvious intent to kill it its eyes but the Nurse had reminded it of what she assumed were Xeravil's orders and it had reluctantly left, disappearing back into summon space, presumably to rejoin its mistress.

The Nurse went back to rolling bandages and checking her stock. She could feel that there was something coming and she felt she needed to be ready. Xeravil must have been tense not to bother healing the wounds she had allowed to be inflicted herself or rather not to allow Aleo to heal them and there was in the air as sense that something wasn't right.... it had been this way only once before...

She didn't know what to think but she would be ready. Although she still had to try to talk to her patient when he woke up. She wasn't sure how well he'd listen but perhaps he'd be better than 'that man' and actually listen...

The sound of his own heartbeat and the rushing of blood through his body were the only sounds that kept him company while he hibernated. The feeling of wounds repairing themselves was not something that he was accustomed to, since he was usually deeply unconscious while healing. This was one of the few times that he had not been close enough to Chronos for one of their retrieval teams to pick him up and take him to a processing-tank to recover.

Either that, or Caerleon had interfered and made sure that none of them had come for him. That was the more likely scenario, even as much as he hated to admit it. Feeling his Zoacrystals start to pulse with energy, he knew that his hibernation was just about to come to an end. He also knew that Caerleon would know this as well, since all Zoacrystals gave off light when they were activated. The fact that there were thirty-one glowing points on his body would not go unnoticed.

Feeling a hand on his forehead, just over his Control Zoacrystal, he knew that his time was over. Having his Control Zoacrystal ripped out while he was hibernating would destabilize the energies of his body. He would die in a very painful manner after that had happened, unable even to call for help'

The Nurse could sense that her patient - she really needed to know his name since it was getting bothersome continuing to say the patient but as most of her jobs were like that she had come up with a numbering system. A name though was much preferred - was agitated and from the way he was glowing he was probably close to waking up so she went to check his temperature. The way his muscles tensed and the slight frown appeared on his skin around the crystalline form now protruding from his forehead was enough evidence of that.

"Aleo, hold him down," she ordered the winged lion and was happy when it obeyed and placed its paws on her patient's chest and dipping his wings on the arms as he settled into position over the patient. She wasn't about to be kicked again.

It almost looked like the lion would crush the man but Aleo's were very practiced at their job and so could restrain a patient with ease. The winged lion though licked at the man's face, its rough tongue rasping over her hand as he almost seemed to be tasting the man...

It took her a moment to realise what the summon was doing but she sighed in relief. He was taking the excess discharges of energy, literally eating them. An Aleo could drain its opponents but it could also harvest energy in a much safer way, one that benefited patients like this... Some didn't like it. 'That man' had hated it but it was for the best.

This one would wake up in a bit, feeling refreshed and healed, none the worse for the loss of the excess energy which was clouding his mind. He was a rapid healer naturally and he'd probably be hungry when he woke but once that was past, then things would get interesting. Things always got interesting when people woke up. Would he be one to listen though? Or would he be like 'that man?'

There was something rubbing against his face, something harsh and wet. His first thought was that his father had found him somehow, but then memory made itself known. His father was not here. He had been used and then cast aside like a broken toy, a failed experiment, by those who he had once trusted above all others. That still hurt.

But the pain had been dulled somewhat by his time in this world. Oh, the female's cruel use of him had reawakened it, which had been the only real reason that he had attacked her. He was not one to make the mistake of giving his trust so lightly again. But now, now there was the matter of finding out just where he was.

Opening his eyes, the first thing that he noticed was the large, winged lion sitting atop his chest, stretched back over his body and holding him down. His first instinct was to transform and fight, since the last time he had been restrained in this manner' things had not gone well for him. Still, at least this time there was no-one standing over him holding a syringe.

That helped, since the only memories that he associated with' those devices were painful and often terrifying. Out of the corner of his right eye, he noticed someone standing by his bedside. Someone who bore a startling resemblance to his father. But, she also resembled' someone who he would have preferred to forget ever existing.

'Who are you?' he asked, for some reason not feeling as detached and disoriented as he usually did when he woke up from hibernation. The hunger was still present, though.

'Why don't we start off with who you are,' she said.

'If you need something to call me,' he said, only then noticing that his sunglasses were missing. The strange woman did not seem to be surprised by his felinoid eyes, however. 'You may call me M.'

The Nurse smiled slightly as she wrote the letter down on the file. A single letter was better than the number she'd previously assigned him.

"All right then, M, as you are no doubt aware you have just recovered from multiple fractures and lacerations inflicted by an Aleo summon belonging to Xeravil. The fact that she had the summon bring you here would suggest that she bears no ill will towards you but I would suggest that you stay out of her way for a little while. Or at the very least, out of the way of her summons as they are very protective. Now... eat these," she said handing over a plate of cookies. She hadn't yet had time to go visit the cafeteria to replenish her stocks so he'd have to make do with them for now. They were nutritious enough... mostly.

M picked up a cookie warily but relaxed only slightly when she bit into one. She sighed slightly... he was just like 'that man.' "I'm not here to hurt you or poison you or otherwise do you harm, quite the opposite in fact. I'm here to heal you and all the other's that have fallen into this place."

"This place?"

"This Kingdom..." The Nurse took a deep breath. "You are in the world of Draobrev Yugeth in the Kindgom of S-gard, ruled by his Majesty S-gard.. This is no doubt unlike anything you have ever experienced, so do you have any questions? If you don't, you're healed so you are free to go, but if you do I will answer them... those that I can to the best of my ability."

Sitting up, since he had always felt weaker when lying down, he watched as the winged lion moved back and away from him.

"That woman, you called her Xeravil? What is she?" after he had finished, only then did he notice that he was rubbing his hand.

From palm to fingertips, and then back again, slowly. The way that his father had done, whenever... but such times were over. And he did not want to think about them anymore. Folding his hands in his lap hurriedly, he noticed that the woman was watching him.

"What were you doing?"

"It was a nervous habit," he lied. "Nothing more. And, you have not answered my question yet."

"Heh, Xeravil huh?" The Nurse mused. "What is she? She's a Master Summoner. If you're asking about her species, or if she's human, I don't know. I don't even know if she's native to here It's odd but I suspect if you go back far enough nothing is native. All you really need to know is that she's a predominantly neutral force. Her domain is ... actually I can't remember where she makes her home, his Majesty would know though."

"About the summons then?"

"You'll have to ask a summoner about them and they are awfully tight lipped about their sercets. They are very real and they vary in power. Where they come from varies, I think but I'm not a summoner."

"Yet you have a summon."

"A gift to help me in my duties," the Nurse shrugged watching as her patient forced his hands to stillness once again. "You're still worried about her, aren't you?" She sighed. "If you are still curious, speak with her then but be prepared because she'll only speak on her own terms."

"She took something from you," M asked suddenly, reading reluctance in the Nurse to talk much more about the other woman.

"Long ago... she did... But I cannot look back. Now, were there any other questions?"

'I have sensed a great deal of strange mental energies in this place,' he said, folding his hands and squeezing his fingers together to stop them from moving. 'Something seems oddly familiar about some of them, however I have not been able to sort through all of the energies as yet. Can you perhaps tell me why this is? Why there seem to be so many telepaths gathered here?'

'Some of that was actually my work,' the woman said.

'Yours? You are able to improve the mental abilities of other beings?'

'Not just the mental, but also the physical.'

'Could you perhaps do the same for me?' he folded his hands in his lap again, after noticing that they had been moving. 'I feel' unsure of myself in this place.'

The Nurse looked at him carefully, apparently assessing his abilities, her lips pursed in concentration. Experimentally she reached out slowly and poked his arm. He would usually have objected to that but he'd seen it coming and it wasn't a threat. Medical staff had some weird ideas though.

"I suppose I could," she said slowly, "but anything I did would be a step down," she added. "I think you've got the abilities already, they just need to be developed or awoken or something. Besides, you aren't human, are you? The process never works well on those who aren't, even if you once were.

"At the moment, you're confused by all the energy you can feel, aren't you?"

M nodded, not sure if he should be angry that she couldn't help him when she'd apparently helped others or if he should be thankful that there was, at least for now, no more meddling to be done to his body, even if it had been by his own request.

"I thought so. Well, they aren't going to go away and you will get used to them in time. Conditioning ensures that if nothing else but if you change your frequency a little, if you can, then that would help and you'd probably feel much more comfortable."

"Frequency?"

"Just a little shift in your mental energy will make you much more in tune with the others. They'd probably appreciate it as well since you might be clashing with them." Really, he was so like 'that man' with his questions. All telepathic beings had a particular frequency, a pattern to their thoughts but not all patterns agreed with each other. It lead to fights but if you could adjust a little, it was a much nicer solution; at least from her perspective. Diagnosing injuries from telepathic battles was not something she enjoyed. There were so many things that could go wrong.

"I think it's time for a little more information about this place. You are currently in the Infirmary of his Majesty S-gard's palace. If you are hungry, there's a cafeteria around somewhere which I suggest you visit at some stage. The cookies will not provide all the necessary nutrients you require but I didn't have anything better. There is also a library which may help, if you can read the books, a lot are encoded. Don't worry if you can't find the things since they move around a lot. You'll probably be able to find what you need, but maybe not what you want."

"I have another question. You didn't seem surprised by my healing or my eyes, why?"

The Nurse looked confused for a second before she laughed, the sound genuinely happy. "Self healing on your part simply makes my job easier," she said, "so why would I be surprised? It's something to be happy about. As for your eyes... at least you have eyes. Some of the other things I've seen have not been nearly as familiar. This is a strange place M, you will fit right in. I'll see what I can do though about mixing up something..."

A large crash sounded in the distance and they both looked towards the noise.

"But not now," the Nurse said. "I get the feeling that things are heating up."

A sudden pain, not physical but mental, caused him to almost double over on the bed. Feeling the nurse guiding him back down to rest on the bed, he tried to pull his attention back to her. It was not easy.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I thought that I sensed one of the others, but not one of the ones I know," he said, feeling disconnected and separated from everything. "They... they are in pain... I... I should..."

"You're in no condition to leave," she said, seeing the dazed, disoriented look in his eyes.

"It has returned," Aleo sent to the Nurse telepathically.

"What?"

"It has returned," the winged lion repeated. "He felt the back lash from its attack."

The Nurse turned back to her patient. "Not only are you in no condition to leave," she said, "but even if you were, you would be in no condition to face it."

"It?"

"It... I don't know what it is. I only know that it is pure evil. Both S-gard and Xeravil will..." she shivered. "I don't know what they will do."

"Mistress is delaying it now, S-gard is here," Aleo said to them both. "You should wait here. You should both wait here... Others will come."

The Nurse nodded, and turned towards her supplied. As much as she'd like to help M further, he was in no danger of death and if it had returned, she'd need to be ready to treat as many as possible. She'd only read the histories... but they scared her enough... so she had to be ready.

"You can stay here, M, if you'd like. As Aleo said, other's will unfortunately come. Probably even the one Xeravil wanted you to meet. If you do go though, remember that not everything is what is seems here."

"Aleo, could you get me some supplies from the Cafeteria? If I'm expecting company I will need food supplies."

The winged lion nodded and rose, looking pointedly at M before it walked towards the door.

"Very well then," he said, laying his head back on the pillow. "If you think it best, then I will stay here."

Closing his eyes, he could not quite keep himself from falling into a deep sleep. Hibernation was good for healing his body, but it was not at all restful. The nurse noticed his breathing change as he fell asleep, and pulled up the blankets over him.

Templar got up from the corner as the Aleo began walking out. He nodded to the Nurse. "I will help carry things," he volunteered. The feeling of fear from the woman had been real. She was truly afraid of whatever this thing was and her over all feeling had changed from relaxed to highly competent even with her fear. She would do her best and so he would help her.

Besides, if everything was as bad as she seemed to think it would be, young Espylocapa would no doubt return here at some stage so waiting was the best tactic. In the mean time though, there was no reason not to be useful.

"My name is Templar," he telepathically sent to the summoned lion.

"I am Aleo," it returned to him.

"Do you know about it?"

The lion shook its head. "Only what I can feel from the others... even then it's not much. Mistress doesn't want us worrying."

"She cares a great deal for you."

"She does but that's not the issue. While if Mistress instructed me to, I would attack S-gard, I would regret it perhaps... but when it comes to this thing... the world reverberates with its evil. They will put aside their differences. They did that before, so they will do it again. It is that dangerous."

"What is it?"

"A summon.... At least it used to be."

"Like you?"

"Never like me. All summons are associated with an element - Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Death and Healing. Higher level summons are associated with more than one element but that thing... that thing is pure death. There is no thought in it but that. Usually when we are defeated here, we don't die... we go back to where Mistress summoned us from... but against that thing... I dont know... She'll be afraid. We will be afraid but we will answer her call."

Templar nodded but before he could ask anything more they found the cafeteria.... It looked okay but there was blood on the walls.

Aleo growled and jumped forward but Templar knew the winged lion was already too late. The lion probably knew that as well. The body was cold.

"Why didn't you hide?"

"We have to get food," Templar said sympathetically. "There is nothing we can do for her now."

The Aleo nodded. "It's over there."

Together they gathered the food, stuffing several bags with food stuffs which should keep for quite some time. Templar placed them on the lions back and picked up his own food packs before they turned away. The Lion had drawn the waitresses apron over her face and he offered her a small salute. He didn't know what had happened but a civilian shouldn't have had to die. The small regard was the least he could do.

The doors of the infirmary shuddered akwardly open as if something was failing to get through.

As Chan failed to push the heavy doors open with his back, still trying to juggle the bowls as to not spill a drop of his precious wine, two travellers were returning up the hall to the infirmary.

Chan looked over to them as they cautiously continued towards him looking somewhat confused as to this strange man's actions.

********************
Uh hmm... You know I am over 800 years old which technically classes me as an oap even in this world and despite the fact that I understand you must be wondering who this strange old timer staggering around with his bowls is but... I'D APPRECIATE SOME HELP IF ITS NOT TOO MUCH TO ASK!!
********************

The two looked at each other in shock and then quickly ran over to Chan to help him in with his wine.

After some struggling and near tumbles the three made it in to the infirmary and set the wine down beside one of the beds.

********************
Well that wasn't too hard once we got the whole team coordination going was it... I am Drunken Chan and I've come to help.

Help with what exactly?

Ohh you don't know do you... Well nurse is away I see so I'd better allow her to explain when she returns... Hmhmhm We haven't spoken in a long time and I'm sure she'll be surprised to see me here.
**********************

Aleo and M looked bemused by the withering old man still unsure what to make of him. He was completely void of any curiosity about either of them and sat cross legged on the bed next to the wine and pulled some cups out of his pocket. He stacked them up two rows six cups high each. and began to remove three cups from the top of the two stacks.

********************
Emergancy supplies... Never leave home without them. Why without wine the whole universe could just implode.
********************

As Chan removed the third cup the remaining nine toppled and scattered to floor around him as he ineptly thrashed around trying to catch them.

********************
Bah the late arrivers can pick a cup up off the floor as they enter... Yes that'll work. Kinda like a buffet but with less funiture.

I have plenty of wine if you wish to join me friends. We may be here for sometime while those strong enough decide all our fates.
********************

Chan popped the cork from one of the bowls and poured a cup seeming completely unfased by such morbid talk.
The two still looked shocked by this strange man and slowly walked up to the bed where he sat sipping at his favourite wine.

He looked at the strange human who had entered the infirmary while practically juggling his 'precious' cargo. He did not understand the human fascination with intoxicating substances. From what he knew, they played hell with one's higher cognitive functions, and judging from the way this newcomer was acting, that assessment was correct. He noticed then that the human was staring at him, and had a brief moment to consider whether or not to go back to sleep.

He was not at his best right now, having just been awakened in a rather ungentle manner by this man.

'You, the boy with the cat eyes, why don't you come and share some of this delicious wine with me?'

'If it is all the same to you, I would rather not,' he said calmly.

'Nonsense! It's not good for someone your age to be so uptight. I insist that you have a drink with me!'

He turned away, annoyed with the human and wanting more than anything to return to his interrupted sleep. His danger-sense went off a little too late for him to avoid being pulled down onto the man's bed. Opening his mouth to tell the annoying human to let him go, he instead got a mouthful of sake. The combination of the alcohol, tiredness, and his own nonhuman physiology combined to make him rather pleasantly tipsy. Pleasantly for the other man, at least.

As the man poured another measure of wine into his mouth and down his throat, he found himself making a strange sound. A sound that his pride would never have allowed if he had been in his right mind.

'Oho, so the cat boy purrs, too,' the strange old human laughed.


M gains a level < Level 18

The Nurse woke up from her nap at the sudden noise coming from the Infirmary. She didn't think it was anyone else needed her help because she would have felt that but the room was far too noisy. There was a laugh and a babble of voices and while there was some tension there didn't appear to be any true concern. It was all fairly sociable.

She got up, stretching slightly and picked up a cookie as she went to investigate.

It was a strange sight. Aleo was directing the alien Templar as to where the last of the food supplies should go, her patient seemed to be amiably drinking with Chan... and Chan was happily pouring wine with cups scattered around him. He'd seemed to have bought his entire stash but if he was here... She hadn't been mistaken about it. Although... she wasn't sure she was happy about that drunkard being here.

The Nurse walked out of her office and greeted the old man. "Chan."

"Nurse."

"At least you remembered not to call me by name," she said, helping herself to a cup and pouring a little wine. before sipping at it.

"At least you remember you have a name," he said, unusually serious as the cat eyed man continued to drink his liquor. He'd have a headache probably, unless his healing took care of that but he'd be fine with it, mostly else she'd have insisted that he not dirink, although that would leave her to help Chan consume his wine.

"Come, drink, drink!" he invited Aleo and Templar as they finished stocking the shelves.

The alien seemed to smile, sensing no threat from the man but he shook his head. "I can't drink," he said while Aleo politely accepted a bowl and lapped at it surprisingly daintily for what should be considered an animal.

"Hahaha!" Chan laughed, gulping down his cup before pouring anohter. "Now the party is complete!"

"There's still a few more," the Nurse said looking over at the door.

Two figures stood there watching it and behind them was a large Gryphon Aleo, Chan and the Nurse recognised as one of Xeravil's summons. One was female, seemingly etherial but stronger that she looked while the other was almost completely metal of a coppery tone. He seemed to have spikes all over him and he was injured but not in danger of dying.

The Nurse immediately put down her cup and motioned them in. "Come, let me see those wounds."

"Yes, come in, come in," Chan crowed happily. "We can all wait for this to be over!" He seemed inordinately happy given the gravity of the situation but the Nurse couldn't help but be somewhat pleased. If everyone was gathered, it would be easier to defend themselves, if that was even possible.

Kavor blinked as he awoke. He still felt tired, but he felt better. That was something. His head hurt though and his body ached but his wounds were... they were dressed and wrapped and appeared to be healing, he realised, touching gauze. He'd fallen asleep on the ride to whereever here was.

He looked around, resisting the urge to groan as he examined everything. There were lots of beds lined up and there was a lot of noise coming from behind him... A sick room, he realised suddenly. That Gryphon had been as good as it's word and had taken him to an Infirmary.

He hadn't been here long, at least he didn't think so because Kitsune was still introducing herself but when she glanced over in his direction she smiled, seeing that he had awoken and walked over.

"You're all right!" Her voice was happy.

"Yes," he said, although his voice was somewhat raspy. He hadn't had anything to drink in a long while.

"Splendid!" Another man, an older man said. "Come now, drink!"

The entire group seemed to have moved over to his and he found himself plyed with a sharp smelling liquid... Alcohol... not the best for the healing but it would take some of the physical pain away, temporarily, and it might dull his anger at obviously being back at the palace. The whole place reeked of S-gard and that was putting his nerves on edge. He downed the cup in one gulp.

"Atta-boy! Much better than your companion or cat boy here! Have another!"

The man was obviously intoxicated but seemed harmless and saying no didn't appear to be an option. He accepted the refill and drank slower this time.

"Why are we here?" He asked.

He could feel the heat in his cheeks, and knew on some level that he had to be blushing somewhat deeply by now. His 'companion' poured another measure of wine down his throat before he could summon up the clarity of mind to protest. It was annoying, but then he wasn't really in a position to leave at the moment. The strange looking, spiked creature was staring at him with interest.

He wondered why that was for a moment, but as the old human poured another cup of wine into his mouth, he forgot what he had been thinking about.

Kavor drank easily, the liquid burning his throat. But it was better than just sitting there. He hated being in the palace. Although... he whistled low and there was a skittering and from the darkness and through the door spiders came to him. The other's watched curiously as he allowed them to crawl all over him. They were what he used to be, and so they viewed him as their master and he had said that he would keep them safe.

The Nurse was puttering around the cat eyed one, and was admonishing the older man for making him drink so much. It was almost comical but the injection the Nurse gave him would probably help the cat eyed man sober up.

Kitsune sat with him. "Kavor," she said softly. "Do you think Nizalb's okay?"

"He's fine," Kavor responded with a surety he didn't feel but to comfort her he would.

The spiders whispered the news to him, telling him of what they had seen and he listened only with half an ear as he remembered... He had remembered his past in that Temple, now that was gone again. There had been a woman, a woman he would have died for but one who had died in his arms.

Kavor shook his head. No. He wasn't going to let that, whatever it was happen again. Just as he was never going to be trapped again. S-gard had a lot of explaining to do but S-gard wasn't here, according to the spiders. He had left earlier.

Kavor sighed, and turned himself to face the others.

"How long will we be here?" he asked.

The older man laughed. "For as long as it takes."

"Ah... In that case... " He was loath to do it, but maybe in the long run it would help. "My name is Kavor and I'm pleased to meet you."

The cat eyed man blinked almost owlishly at him and the Nurse and older man just nodded.

"If we are going to be here for a while, we can at least talk."

"That's true. There will be other's coming. I'm almost sure of that."

"What would you like to talk about?"

The spiked creature, who had introduced himself as Kavor, was looking at him almost expectantly. So he decided to oblige the other's curiosity.

"You may call me M."

"Just M? Don't you have a name of your own?"

"I did," he said pointedly, and left it at that.

"We all used to be different things," Kavor said as one of the spiders skittered. At least the human hadn't started screaming at them but even so for the brief answer he was tempted to send them in to see if the human was one of those who didn't like spiders. Although the human felt familiar... not human but... familiar, like someone else.

He would have said more but was interrupted by the arrival of some thing else.

"Oh my god!" The Nurse shrieked, and raced to the door. The Aleo raised it's head but then dropped it back down as the Nurse fussed around the large bird that had appeared in the doorway carrying something. The winged lion's reaction was odd though but the Nurse soon drew back and Kavor looked at the thing that was being carried.

It was a body and it was most definitely dead.

"Wade!" Kitsune cried.

It was that other one and the bird carried the corpse to one of the other beds, laying it down gently before stepping back.

"Phoeni! Do something!" The Nurse said.

The bird shook its head and Aleo responded for the other summon. "Phoeni can't until Mistress gives permission."

"What is there to do? He's dead. He just needs to be buried."

"Phoeni, was this one killed by 'it'?" Chan asked shrewdly.

The bird nodded.

"Ah... there are things that can be done then," the old man said before promptly falling asleep again, leaving the rest of the watchers infuriated at his vaugeness.

Kitsune went over to him. "I'm sorry Wade. You helped us and we couldn't help you. Rest well, Zoalord."

He bit down hard on his tongue in an effort not to say anything. This was the other presence that he had sensed, this Wade. Another Zoalord, like him. He wondered for a moment if Wade had taken his place within Chronos, then decided to forget the matter. There was no point in concerning himself with the affairs of a dead Zoalord. Turning away from the body, since he did not like to think that one of his kind could be destroyed so easily, he suddenly realized that he was rather hungry.

"Would you perhaps know where I could get some food?" he asked of no one in particular.

The Nurse blinked at the question, sensing that it covered something else but she pointed towards the cupboard where Aleo and Templar had stock piled the supplies. Like all men he reminded her of that man at times. "Over there. Anything in particular you'd like?" She asked before walking over to Wade's body with a sheet.

Gently she covered the body, smoothing his facial expression so that he appeared asleep.

"You can't save them all," Chan mumbled, still feigning sleep.

She looked over at him as she finished before nodding sadly and turned back to her office. The other's could talk amongst themselves.

"No, just something to fill my stomach, really," he said, walking over to the cupboard.

He could not get the image of Wade's corpse out of his mind. Zoalords were the most powerful beings in existence. At least, they were in the world that he had formerly been a part of. Shivering slightly, he opened the cupboard and took out some food and water. He did not particularly care just what he would be eating, he only wanted to take his mind off what he had just seen.

The old drunk continued mumbling away to himself, as his body slumped further across the bed, before finally and with one last slip he awoke with a shock to find himself balancing on two fingers with his legs sprawled into the air and his face inches away from the floor.
Noticing a collection of feet around him Chan quickly leapt upright to his feet and brushed himself down while looking around curiously.

*****************
Well now I see we have visiters... Come and introduce yourselves while we share a drink friends.
*****************

The gruop looked around at each other shrugging there shoulders as they all questioned wether they hadn't already done this before.

The nurse sighed at seeing Chan's lack of any change in his manner as she walked upto his adopted bed and picked up the cups he'd knocked back onto the floor.

*********************
You're still the forgetful old drunk you were when we last met I see... We've already had this conversation Chan and I don't see how you getting everone drunk will help us.
*********************

Chan could sense that the nurse was resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at him and he chuckled to himself as he watched her attempt to stiffle a giggle.

*********************
Chan this is M, Templar, Kitsune, Pheoni, Aleo and Kavor... I believe the dead guy behind you is Wade.
*********************

Chan stumbled back and fell over a motionless body behind him. Still predictably landing in an acrobatic stance over the deceased man.

*********************
Argh!! Ooh that was bad wasn't it? Didn't mean any disrespect my departed ally. I know of Aleo and Pheoni they are Xeravil's companions yes? Hmm M and Templar seem strangely familiar but I don't know maybe we drank together once... What about Kitsune and Kavor? You seem familiar to me Kavor but I don't know how exactly.
*********************

They all looked at each other unsure of what to make of Chan's display but he didn't wait for an answer as he reached over for another bottle of wine and tipped it to his mouth.

*********************
Ahhh! Anyway who wishes to come and drink with me. I've got plenty here although I'm sure its less then I had when I left the cafe.

Thats cause you've been drinking since you got here you old fool, and probably before that judging by your breath.

My Breath?! My dear I assure you my breath is as fresh as the mountain dew *hic* oops I do beg my pardon... Whats made you so hetchy these days nurse? Why you use to drink most fully grown men under the table at times and still had the sense to talk...?... sense?!?

Then my dear old Chan I saw what my future held when I looked at you. Now stop causing a commotion and keep away from that body.

Of course dear far be it for me to distruct you from your nursery duties... Nursery...?... Is that the correct term?

*sigh* Just get back to your drink Chan.
************************

Chan responded with a big swill from one of the bottles and sunk slowly back into the matress of the bed.

He glared at the old human, but continued to eat his meal in silence. There was no point in trying to argue with a drunken human, he knew. So he just made sure that he was out of range of the human's hands. He did not want to have any more of that vile liquid forced down his throat.

It was annoying enough that he had let that human do such a thing to him once. His father would never' No! Father is gone! They are all gone. I no longer care what any of them would think. They abandoned me. I will not forgive' father' Why?

He could feel a burning, stinging sensation in his eyes. he would not give into the urge to break down, however. That would be a weak, human thing to do.

Reinhart was searching but she could still look as well and assuming that some of the piles of books in the library weren't the clues then the books had been transported out. Reinhart would find those that hadn't been found, she would probably have to find those that were with the others.... so she had best visit them.

Where were they?

Xeravil closed her eyes, focusing on the energy she could feel. There was a congregation in the Infirmary... that would be the first place to look. Further out it seemed two were confronting an elemental in the Valkyrie cave... That was odd but she was sure they had their reasons. One was flying, and another was sheltering from the Leviathans on the island. Safest thing he could do but... he'd have to move soon probably before he ran out of supplies. She reached out further... the last two were near S-gard and Darkness... and...

What was that?

He had...

This was going to be very interesting indeed. Darkness and S-gard were one again... Xeravil shook her head. There was enough power there to fight but... she'd have to work out something. The other two near him though appeared calm but there were little flashes that she recognised as the beacons of life and they were blinking out. She'd never much liked Handefu but... There were probably reasons. One of them though... there was an energy wave and Xeravil's eyes opened. One of them had a book. She'd have to go collect it from them at some stage. It was safe enough for the moment and now that she knew where it was, she would collect it when she needed it. Or perhaps one of the summons would. They had instructions to bring everyone in. Eventually they would find those ones.

She continued walking. Now that she knew where everyone was it seemed the logical thing would be to start with those closest and work her way out. Besides, maybe one of the ones in the Infirmary knew where a book was.

It was a short walk and she looked into a sombre mood. A mood that was quickly explained by the presence of a sheet covered body. Phoeni was perched near it. Ah... that one.

"Xeravil!" The nurse saw her first. "Do something!" She pointed towards the corpse.

"Why?" The summoner returned the challenge. She was going to do something about that corpse. She was going to more than make sure he understood the enormity of his actions but she was not going to do it at the demands of the Nurse.

"Because he was killed by it."

Cold eyes looked at the Nurse callously. "He was killed by it for releasing it. If it hadn't killed that creature, I would have," she returned.

"He... what... he released it?" That had taken much of the Nurse's righteousness.

"He did."

"But did he deserve to die?" One of the other's asked, drawing Xeravil's attention to them.

"Does any creature deserve to die?" Xeravil walked into the Infirmary, stalking up to the body and drawing back the sheet. The Nurse had done her best for the Zoalord, and had made it seem like he was just asleep but the wounds to his head were severe. Even if Phoeni had of gotten him to her while he was alive, he had been going to die.

"I will fix this," Xeravil said softly. "Not because you want it, not because he was killed by it, but because I'm not finished with him yet."

"No!" The Nurse shouted. "You can't just kill him again!"

"Why not?"

"I won't let you do this just to kill him again."

"Heh... do you really think I'd invest that much energy just to kill him again, no matter how much pleasure I might derive from that? I will fix this and he will be free to go but I will have words with him at a later stage. He's not going to escape that."

The Nurse nodded somwhat placated and sat back down. "Do you need anything?"

She'd never actually seen Xeravil or Phoeni do this so she wasn't sure what was involved. The Summoner shook her head. "Just leave me alone for this."

"You're... you're going to do what?"

Xeravil looked over at the one who had followed her before and was here because he had attacked her. He appeared none the worse for wear but there was something bothering him. Whatever it was though he had buried it for now and was focusing on the distraction she was causing. "I'm going to heal him, then Phoeni and I will bring him back to face me."

"You're going to resurrect him?" There was a cry of disbelief.

"Yes."

"You can do that?"

"Yes."

Xeravil waved off further questions, creating a barrier between her and the rest of them with the sheets and such that were around the Infirmary. The curtains around the bed drew themselves and she ensured that they could not peek as she set to work. Phoeni trilled softly and she nodded to the bird. It was time.

"Basil," she called and the little level eater appeared beside her. "Tell your master, I want it back."

Phoeni could resurrect by itself but it was far easier with help. This was not something all summoners could do. In fact Xeravil wasn't entirely sure if she was the only summoner who could do this. S-gard could probably do it as well, with Phoeni's help but she doubted he'd bothered to meet the Keeper of Souls and challenge them to the right of possession. She remembered doing this many years ago.

The basilisk blinked at her before nodding and vanishing. He'd bring back the soul of the departed and then Phoeni would be necessary to join the soul with the body. Which now meant she had to work.

Extending her power with Phoeni's, Xeravil levitated the body slightly before the tendrils of energy seeped inwards, feeling and copying everything. The first thing she felt was this was a multiformed entity. His human form was a base for something else. It was a little more challenging to copy but it was easy enough. The next thing she knew was that the fabric of his pants... they weren't alive but it wasn't just fabric. She'd return them to him later because this was obviously something that someone else was playing and it could prove interesting to watch.

Skin peeled back, revealing muscles. Muscles were striped to reveal veins and white networks of nerves. His intestines coiled themselves and hovered in mid air and the organs followed as Xeravil deconstructed the body. Finally the skeleton was revealed and she looked at it, assessing the damage. Both the brain and the skeleton had been damaged.

Slowly Phoeni shook its head, indicated that it would be more efficient just to start with the raw materials. Resurrection was very much like alchemy and this was the reason they had copied everything with the initial touch.

With a crushing motion the skeleton was squashed with the combined powers of Phoeni and Xeravil. Everything else was then pushed into the pile that was the bones and watched as the mashed together in no semblance of order.

Then Xeravil opened her hands, willing everything to reform in accordance with the copy. A humanoid shape appeared, rough and bumpy and the bumps moved and churned as everything reformed. It was an exact copy, created from the materials of the original and so it was the original. It would have all the powers of the original, all the abilities but now it was healed and ready to accept the soul.

Phoeni jumped on to the body's chest, looking down at the face and trilling softly.

Basil reappeared, a bright ball in his beak and he gave it to Xeravil who placed it on the corpse's chest.

Phoeni nodded and placed one claw on the ball and Xeravil closed her eyes, thanking Basil as the basilisk disappeared.

There was a flash of light and a thump as the body fell back on to the bed where it drew a shuddering breath. Xeravil had never seen that last section of the process. That was down to Phoeni alone the secret of binding the soul back into the body before giving it enough energy to live. She was curious but it was one thing that was denied to all. Even her master had insisted that that was the case. Phoeni was tired though and with a nod towards her Mistress the bird vanished, leaving Xeravil alone with the newly resurrected Zoalord.

"You should be thankful I don't have time to question you now," she said softly, taking down the barrier and allowing the curtains to push themselves back.

"It's done," she said to the Nurse softly before looking around at the others. "Now, to thank me, has anyone seen any books?"

His senses again overwhelmed by the strange energies that the woman, Xeravil as he recalled, had been manipulating, he stumbled back against the bed and sat down heavily. Having enhanced sensed could sometimes be far more trouble than it was worth.

'Will you at least warn me the next time you plan to do something like that?' he muttered, annoyed. 'What did you do, anyway?'

He could now sense the mind of the other Zoalord, which he would have not though possible after literally having felt the other die. Even if it had been from a distance, Wade's mind had reached out for his own almost instinctively. It had taken a great deal of his own willpower to stop his own body from dying when the connection had been severed so suddenly.

Gains 1 level < level 19

wade sat up almost istantly and watched xevavilly intently for a moment.
"wheres metal minny?"
was the first word tha come from his mouth.
he lookede around and blinked at everyone once.

then he addressed each and every person in order
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
"who are you?"
he probably asked them more than once but he didnt care he was a bit confused as to why he was here and not outside playing slam with molten manda.
he got up fro the bed and jumped onto the curtain. he hung there glaring at kavor before whooping and jumping onto another bed.
"I AM WADE TREMBLE IN FEAR!!!!!!"
he was standing in a pose much like a body builder would i a show.
a bowl of rice winee was shoved into his hand.

wade looked down at the liquid.
then poured it into his eye.
"AARRGHHH"" he jumped down in front of drunken chan and screamed i his face. he then jumped to the other side of mairgni and started pulling at his hair.

Standing and turning quickly, he put a restraining arm around the other Zoalord. Uncurling Wade's clenched fingers from around his hair, he slowly sat the brown-haired Zoalord down on the bed next to him.

-Calm yourself, please. Wade, is it not? We are both Zoalords. For now, you may call me M. I would wish to speak with you, but later when there are not others around us to overhear.-

The Nurse frowned at Xeravil's request... it seemed familar. She ignored the way the newly awoken Zoalord was tearing around the place with restless energy although from the sounds of things, the Summoner might have an interesting time having that 'talk' with him... Oh, that could be amusing to watch... but right now that wasn't her concern.

"Books?" She questioned to herself. She had a lot here, mostly medical but... Ah... that was it.

"I've got one," she said to Xeravil, bringing the summoners attention to her.

"I don't mean medical books."

"Yes, I know," the Nurse agreed. "But the alien had one with him when he visited a while back and he left it here. I just hadn't gotten around to returning it to the library yet. It's probably one of the one's you are looking for. Now where'd I put it?"

The Nurse looked around. She'd cleaned up since then and had restacked everything and she didn't know where she'd put the book. It was around here somewhere....

There was a crash from her patients and she looked over, not really sure that she wanted to see...

"SLAM!!"

wade was jumping up and down on the stretcher with a crazy grin on his face.
mairgni was (lying?) in a pile of twisted metal and sheets that used to be a bed.....

after a couple of seconds wade looked down at the cat man.
"aww you're no fun..."
M was obviously a little dazed, but before he could regain his senses, wade had jumped down, almost knocking chan over.
he ran full pelt out of the door yelling "UZI!!!"

The old drunk woke up with a jolt as Wade whizzed past him, with arms flailing around, and he sighed as he caught a toppling bowl with his foot and propped it back up.

******************
No respect for there surroundings these days... Why in my day we err... *hic* err... Ahh we have visitors I see...

NOT NOW CHAN!!!

Oh yes... of course. I believe we've all already met haven't we *burp*
******************

Chan rubbed his stomach as he looked over at the inhabitants of the room through half closed eyelids and noticed the nurse looking sternly at him. She had obviously been annoyed by his temperament but Chan was, as usual, oblivious to others perceptions bar his own... Not that they were all that clear to him either.

******************
Well I don't know about any of you but I'm getting pretty hungry. So what is there to eat nurse?

Lets see... We have Gregole scratchings, Valkyrie fried wing, Leviathan eggs...

Hmmm I haven't had Gregole since I use to frequent the palace... Fry me up some of that right away my dear' There's a good girl.
********************

The nurse fumed at the order she received and she stamped her foot as her face went bright red. To think that Chan had the nerve to give her commands after all this time.

********************
My duties include caring for the sick and helping the needy Chan' They do not include listening to your incoherent ramblings or PLAYING HOUSE WIFE!!!

Very well dear no need to *hic* get all flustered. Ah ha! I know how about I cook up some of my famous quagmire haggis' Twelve people have died from consuming it that I know of but I'm sure we're all strong enough here for it... I do hope nobody minds a bit of flatulence of course.
**********************

The nurse stood in disbelief for a moment but then quickly weighed up her options and decided that keeping Chan away from the kitchen was a priority. She walked over to the store cupboard and removed some supplies before walking over to a back room and disappearing around the corner. She wouldn't take orders like that from him but if she could keep Chan sat down at least then might fall asleep again. She'd heard tales of Chan's so called 'famous' Haggis and she was sure that it was in every bodies best interest to keep it out of sight and out of mind.

a noise was heard from the corridor.
It went something like this.

RUMBLE bump "wheeee" RUMBLE bump "wheeee"

it was quite faint but momentarily it was accompanied with a big
BANG CRUMPLE "WOOHHOOOO"

a couple of seconds later when they were all looking out of the door, they saw a rock roll past.
it was about the size of a small car and had some pink blur attached to it.

RUMBLE bump "wheeee" RUMBLE bump "wheeee"

it faded off as it passed the door and continued.
crunches of wood could be heard.
the minions pit ws just out there so that must have been tables getting crushed.

then the wood noises stopped.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE

silence. maybe the shouting cliff....?

"UZI!"
wade had appeared at the door.
he had a rucksack attached to his back and he was holding aloft in his hands what looked like a human firearm of the 20th century.
he then took one step forward and pointed the 'uzi at kavor.

" GAME START!!"

sudddenly fire burst from the barrel of the weapon.
small pieces of metal flew out of it as wade proceeded to run around the outside of the room still firing at kavor.
he jumped and flipped in mid air and disappeared behing nurses desk.

kavor started to peel the flattened metal off his body.
wade peered over the edge of the desk, looked at kavor and with a small "nice one", he stuick his nose up in the air sniffing.

"mmmm... gregole...."





wade gains a level < level 50

He stared at the crazed Zoalord that was even now using a human firearm to damage the room. There was no way that this creature could be his replacement in Chronos. Perhaps the processing had driven him mad, but still, this one was clearly unsuited to have the power of a Zoalord. There was really only one thing to do in a situation such as this.

However, this Wade was still the last and best connection that he had to Chronos. Even if he was mad, perhaps there was still a way to get through to him.

wade looked over to M momentarily.
he could sense that M's intentions were less than friendly..

"listen cat face, I don't know what you are up to, but remember, I am super uber KINGLY POWERFUL."
he pulled the bottom eyelid down in a rude gesture adn then ran for the pile of food.

Xeravil gave the newly ressurrected Zoalord a long look as he literally bounced about the room before she resisted the urge to rub between her eyes in frustration. He appeared to have forgotten everything he had learnt... er had beaten into him... A not unheard of side effect of Phoeni's power but not one particularly welcomed in this situation. Still, if he remained here, then she wouldn't have to deal with him.

She looked back at the nurse, a pleasant smile on her face, bot it was a smile that indicated her pleasure in the expected discomfort those here would be facing. "The book?"

"Ah... here," the Nurse handed it over, not liking Xeravil's smile but knowing there wasn't much she could do about it. She looked back at her patient before shrugging and deciding to retreat to the office. She'd clean up the mess later - either the wounds or what ever else... Aleo would keep it from going too far.

Xeravil calmly surveyed the Infirmary one more time before quietly leaving the patients to their entertainment. It was only a pity she couldn't watch.

She was part of the way down a corridor when she felt it and stumbled, shuddering into the wall. It had broken her barriar over the temple, she realised, and had fed the energy back at her painfully... She blinkd, clearing the stars and gathered herself, standing once again as she manipulated the power. At least it wasn't moving fast.... That was something and it would no doubt continue to move slowly so that it could fully savour the death of the world around it.

That would give enough time... to do what? She wasn't quite sure what yet, but it would give enough time to find something...

"Mistress, please...." the voice was echoing, and was a multitude. "Don't be afraid." Her summons comforted her. "We stand with you."

She nodded, feeling the affirmation of the summoning agreement from even her few death summons. "I stand with you," she gave them the response feeling reassured before she continued walking.

The surge of strange energy, energy that felt so very wrong even in this strange place, nearly knocked him off his feet. Turning one last look on the mad Zoalord, he hurried out the door of the infirmary. Following Xeravil's trail before the energy signature could degrade to the point of nonexistence, he came across the woman apparently just as she herself was recovering from the energy surge.

'I am coming with you,' he said, taking her arm and supporting some of her weight while she regained her equilibrium.

'No,' Xeravil said sharply. 'It's too dangerous.'

'Be that as it may, I will not be a simple bystander in this battle. I will decide my own fate.'

He caught her looking at him then, staring in an unnerving fashion that he did not particularly like.

'What?'

'Trust came so easily to you, once.'

'Can we not discuss that?' he snapped, pupils narrowing in annoyance.


M gains a level < Level 20

wade sat and ate.
he loved gregole.
yum yum yum....
he looked up to see M leaving.

DAMN!! he wanted to share the gregole with M.
he thought maybe he could cheer up mr cranky pants...
maybe if he got M to eat some gregole, he would see sense and start playing slam?
or maybe some other games like skin the goat, or dislocate the bones or something??

he walked over to kavor.
"gregole?"
he offered the food to kavor.
he then walked around some more.
thats when he spotted aleo.
eyes widened as the possibilities dawned on his frantic mind.

Looking back in the direction of the Infirmary, he tried to shake off the sensation that someone was calling to him. He knew that it had to be that mad Zoalord, and he had no desire to associate himself with Wade any longer. Turning away, he continued after Xeravil.

Chan Tore the last remaining flesh from his Gregole Leg While drearily watching Wade. He picked him self up off of the bed and began to stretch his legs out as he chewed on the bone. He'd noticed the zoalords eyes widen at the sight of the Aleo and Chan knew that a confrontation such as that, no matter how playful, would result in disaster.

****************
Well Wade my dear boy you're a spritely one aren't ya?
****************

Startled Wade leapt quickly around to face the old man, who was picking at his teeth while rubbing his ample stomach, and poised his gun at the drunks position.

****************
You bet I am old timer... I'm the super strong ULTIMATE FRAGGER!

hehe Well lad what say we have a little game? You pick the rules and weapons and all you have to do is hit me.
****************

Chan began to move some beds aside at the far end of the room and beckoned to the fidgety zoalord before marking a line on the floor with the remaining disused cups.
****************

Now Wade one more thing we must stay in this line so that the boring party poopers don't get in our way right?
****************

Chan glanced over to the nurse who seemed thankful that Wade's attentions were diverted to the far side of the room and quickly winked in accetance of her silent thanks.
Wade walked up to the line and scratched his head as Chan continued clearing an area.

****************
Aren't ya gonna fight back tubby?

Hehe I will always try and avert violence lad but if you're good enough to leave me no choice then we'll see.
****************

Wade stepped over the line and pointed his gun at Chan's round belly that stuck out to wade like a jelly filled target marker.

****************
Alright Dungkan Chong! Lets play... 3... 2... 1!
***************

I entered the infirmary to hear some guy talking about a game. 'Wonder what they are gonna play?'

I turned the corner and notice how everyone is fidgety and watching some fat guy and a skinny guy all the way in the bak of the room.

"Um, excuse me. Can someone tell me where I can find some food around here?"

wade droped to the floor.
he lay flat on his belly with his uzi right out in front of him.
he aimed down the sights as though he were using a sniper rifle.

"are you READY DIRK TRAM!! FIRE!!"

RATATATATAT uszi bullets flew past chins nimble body and hit the wall behind.

"CHEATER!!!!" wade screamed at him. then jumped into exactly the same postition chan was in.
one foot on his face, while the other foot was resting on his thumb. the thumb was suspended by the rest of the hand which was balanced on a wine cup.
wade found this position a little undonfortable.
he quickly jumped out and trhrew a kick down towards chan.
chan was gone in a second and was drearily laying on the floor as if he had been sleeping for hours.
wade was now stood like a gorilla and looking under his left arm at the sleeping form behind him.
"trinket jam, what are you doing?? you can't throw me about like that...." he flipped backwards and RATATATATATAT
bullets tore into the floor underneath him at the position where chan had previously been.
chan was now leaning against the wall.
wade got up from the crouching position that he had landed in.
he held his hands out in front of him.
his finger formed a strange symbol as he chanted
" I HAVE YOU IN MY SIGHTS, YOU MUST BE GOTTEN BY MY SUPER ATTACK, YOU MUST NOT DODGE LIKE A DRUNKEN MANIAC WITH THE POWER OF KIIKIKKIKKIKKI YATA!!"
ONE HAND SHOT UP INTO THE AIR AND THE OTHER HELD THE UZI IN A STRANGE POSITION. THE TRIGGER WAS BY HIS THUMB AND THE NOZZLE WAS POINTING AT HIS FACE.
"ARE YOU READY TRINKET JIM!!!!"
RATATATATATATAT
wade was on the floor.
his face was a little bloody...
it seemed he had shot through his cheeks and missed anything vital.
he got up
" TREJJERGKKGAE WEA⩻LRGA ELRLWQ !!!!!!!!!!!"
he seemed angry although it was hard to tell.
he shook his face showering blood everywhere. then he ran forwards and punched the wall where chan had previously been.
"DAMN YOU GREENWARD BOB!! "
he crouched down and wiped the blood from his now almost fully healed face...
draunken chan was now in a ball sort of position.
wade roled up into a ball.
"beat ya at your own game..." came the mumbles from his now muffled face.
a knotted mess of arms and legs then rolled idly across the floor and bumped into tram .
trinket jam fell over.

"YEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!
I GOT YOU!!!"
wade jumped up with his arms up in the air...

'Oh my god, I've walked into a mental hospital. Reminds me of Creedmore for some reason.'

'I know why. That stupid fool acts like whats-his-face.'

'Let's not talk about him, remember what you promised me all those years ago. Or do I need to remind you of that blood-pact?'

'Relax, I won't go against my word. Just go get something to eat. Your hunger is driving me crazy. '

I started to walk toward the what I thought was the food cabinet. Much to my delight, and disgust, there was gregoles parts among other zoa-delicacies around. 'Ugg, am I supposed to eat these? Are they even edible?'

"Hi, I guess your new here? The food is edible if you want it."

I turned towards the speaker and noticed her for the first time. 'Why didn't I notice the nurse before?'

'You were watching crazy man fight the tub of lard. It was a nice fight while it lasted though'

"Um, thanks. Your right about the new part, though. I'll eat some of this then head back to someone who owes me information about this place."

I sat down to eat and noticed that the crazy man was ontop of the big man. 'The big man looks kinda drunk. Wonder who would've won if he wasn't drunk?'

'Most likely the drunk guy, he wasn't even trying to hurt the crazy guy but he was fast enough to hurt him if he wanted to. The speed reminds me of somebody though.'

'Shut up and let me eat in peace. We'll talk later when we head back to Hiyashita's house.'

Chan uncurled himself and sighed as he lay on his side facing Wade.

******************
Hahaha... You really are rather unstable aren't you. Fair enough Wade you did after all manage to make contact with me although not in exactly the way I was thinking... Tell me have you ever tried Sake?
******************

Wade looked up and wiped the last few splatters of blood away from his jaw before shaking his head and looking around inquisitivly.

******************
Why this just won't do my boy. A growing lad such as yourself needs to sample the finer things early so that you can become somewhat of a expert in the subject as I am. Why don't you come and drink with me? I'll tell you what I'll pour the wine and you find us some more grub from the store room. How about you traveller... Care for some wine?
******************

Chan beckoned to the new arrival to pull up a chair as Wade wondered off into the back off the room. Posibly to find more food but probably to stir up more mischief.

the beetle crawled steadily along the floor right next to the wall.
it had been going steadily in this direction for a while.
every so often it would stop as a giant pink object suddenly appeared in its path. it did not know where this object came from, probably above somewhere, but the beetle was not concerned. it would just go about its business stopping when the pink object appeared and then carying on.
it had never encountered pink objects before.
it actually made for quite and interesting day.
as it continued along its path, the pink object came more frequently.
it may have been interesting at first but the beetle was slowly becoming frustrated.
what on earth was this thing?
and why was it just appearing right in front of it.
it was quite infuriating now. perhaps it was some giant or deity playing games with it?
the beetle thought to itself as it passed the 3rd great crack in the wall.
if this thing doesn't stop then it will take action. it decided that it would charge and try and break through this pink object.
if the object was breakable or soft, then the beetles horns would no doubt help.
it walked a little further.
a big pink object decended.

"OUCH!!! IT BIT ME" wade jumped up and pointed down while waving at everyone.
kavor looked over with a nonchalant epression.
"what bit you wade?"
"damn beetle...... damn... kill you, kill you you little termite headed sparrow feet garbage face..." the words wandered off into a mumble as wade crouched down in an awkward posture and seemed to study the floor as if looking for a contact lens.

he then stood up.
walking around he stopped in front of each person and stated to each and every one "i'm bored" he then went and picked up some more gregole and chewed slowly.
kavor stood up stretching his arms above his head.
he then looked around
" I don't know about you guys, but I kinda agree."
he kicked his toes for a bit and then went to the cupboard to search for food.
he yelled back while looking in the cupboards.
"do we have any cheetos?"
the nurse stuck her head out of the office.
"cheetos? what are they?" she had a puzzled expresion and her hair was all stuck up on one side.
wade ran towards her and started pulling at it.
kavor mumbled some more. he then shouted again.
"what about mountain dew?"
the nurse tried to pick herself up from on top of wade who was now rolling on the floor with her hair in his teeth.
"NO!! NO MOUNTAIN DEW!! ARGGH WADE GET OFF ME!!"
Wade found himself in aleos mouth being carried across the infirmary. he watched kitsune's face float by, then chan.
then he found himslef in aheap on a bed.
he sat up. a hand narrowly missed closing around aleos ear.
as kavor returned he couldn't help feeling that it was a very good job the hand had missed.
the nurse was now sitting at her desk with a brush.
"I felt something happening people" she said as she was brushing.
"It may have been better to stay here before, but now there are more creatures in this world. creature that follow the command of IT. I am unsure how many ther are, but I can feel something very similar to IT if not a lot smaller in power...."
she placed her brush in the drawer and looked up at them all.
"I noticed you said you were bored.. well now you don't have to be."
wade jumped up and ran towards his uzi.
he fiddled around with it chekcing ammo and other stuff.
the nurse continued.
"they feel like they are over on the plains towards handefu. you will find it is quickest to go through the ravines past the valkyries.
you should not have a problem with the valkyries if you stay in groups."
wade didn't hear this last part as he tore through the door.

************************
Err *burp* perhaps I should go with him... Those Valkyrie can be bothersome little wretches.
************************

Chan picked himself up and walked towards the dor of the infirmary before tripping over one of his half full bottles of wine and collapsing face first with a thud to the floor.

************************
Don't panic I haven't lost my knack... I'm err... Balancing on my nose?... Yes thats it balancing on my nose.
************************

Chan picked himself up again and quickly checked his nose for bleeding while sheepishly looking round to ensure no one was watching him.

************************
AAHHHHHHHHH of course wine... How could I possibly leave withut taking atleast some of my life blood?
************************

Chan quickly scurried around the room picking up several bottles of sake before bowing and proceeding to the door. As he went to go through he turned back to the remaining group inside.

************************
Though I'd advice us all to stick together those that are staying are welcome to have as much of the left over sake as they like but what ever you do under no circumstances do u ever EVER throw any of it away... Good day my friends
************************

Chan quickly bowed again before vanishing behind the door and then just as quickly reappearing.

***********************
Ahhh that'd be the medical supplies closet then... err... Just testing.
**********************

Chan briefly mimicked what he imagined a door tester to look like while testing and desperately tried to hide the fact that he was blushing before headng towards the door the other side of the room bowing once again and then finally vanishing from site.