Juuban Land (Open)

[BlueSlime]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Though her elemental control is not powerful enough to summon lightning powerful enough to be anywhere near as effective as her Senshi attack, the shock that Tempestas sends out hits the blade wielding king at just the right place to enervate its wrist, causing it to spasm and drop the dark blade just as it begins its descent. The end result is that Chalbys is saved from what might otherwise have been a gruesome blow.

With an audible "eep!" She springs into action and runs for the throne in front of her while the king beside stumbles awkwardly and fumbles for its weapon.

Both remaining scouts reach the shadow wall and the thrones ahead of their pursuers with only moments to spare, but the technique for defeating these monsters is now apparent, and both Chalbys and Tempestas join Enceladus and Volcanis on the thrones.

With a flash of the same swirling light and darkness, the remaining kings shred to pieces. Then, with all four thrones occupied, the entire hallway begins to unravel, as if it too were simply a manifestation of this shadow-stuff. As the walls fade away, the girls can see around them four other spheres of shadow among a sea of purple fog. Each of these spheres is starting to crumble in a chain reaction, and within each can be seen some sort of nightmare scenario where the other victims of this sick and twisted game have been captured and toyed with.

In one space, a storm seems to be lashing away at a crumbling tower to which the young male student has been manacled by chains. Beyond him, the young woman is seen garbed in some sort of fetish garment made of shadow that leaves nothing of her decency to the imagination. She is in some sort of shadowy stockade, and grinning shadow creatures seem to be playing some game of fortune with a spinning wheel to see which of them will get to 'play' with her next.

In the sphere beyond them, the "coupled that was not a couple" is blindfolded, stripped naked, and in some form of extreme bondage where they seem to be forced to copulate with one another, though by this point it looks as if both of them have given in to the situation somewhat.

Just after them, the college student is shown to be hanging by his ankle over a great abyss, with flying female demons of shadow swirling about him, cutting him with their talons, while at the same time fondling him sexually.

Finally, in the sphere next to both the scouts and the hanging man, Silucite can be seen in her true form, naked and suspended in the air by a mass of tentacles that coil and slither along her body. The green nega-shard embedded in her chest so that it pierces her heart shines brightly with its evil energy. The fortune-teller stands before her, his one hand stretched out and grasping one of her breasts tightly while the other seems to be leeching energy from the nega-shard into its palm. Silucite appears to be grimacing both from the discomfort of being drained and the violation of her body.

However, the fortune teller, whose true face is scaly in patches of blue and black that make him look at once both absurd and menacing, is not looking happy at all with what is happening. His entire dream realm is falling down in front of his eyes, and in a matter of seconds, everything fades away.

The scouts and the other victims open their eyes. They are standing once again in the center of the circus tent. The crowd has vanished as though they had never been. The only thing that remains besides them is the fortune teller himself, who falls to his knees as though drained of all his might. If they look at one another, they will notice that they have maintained their transformations, and will therefore be receiving some odd looks from the other humans, albeit those looks will be nothing compared to them seeing the true forms of the two denizens of the negaverse.

Silucite, who no longer has her glamour up, is revealed to have pointed ears, silvery hair, and slightly reptilian eyes, marking her as unmistakably inhuman.

"You insolent worm!" Silucite growls and with a wave of her hand, five discs of crackling blue energy form from her finger tips, grow in size and then fly forward, entrapping the fortune teller's limbs and neck. "For your absolute failure here today, the only hope remaining to you is a quick death, but I will make certain that that does not happen! You will suffer for ages, your soul energy stripped from you as you watch, piece by piece, for a thousand years!"

The energy discs appear to tighten, causing the fortune-teller to gurgle and choke, his eyes bulging as he receives a taste of his own torment.

The young woman in her mid twenties, who has been shaking and hugging herself makes to move away, but the Silucite stops her with a shout.

"Stay right where you are! If you go outside of this tent, your life is forfeit."

This stops the young lady for a moment and she turns to look warily at Silucite, then at the four sailor scouts, who obviously look quite different from their normal appearances.

Silucite turns to face the four scouts. As she does so, her scowl only deepens.

"There are others like this pathetic creature who exist to hunt down witnesses to events like this. They will only be safe if their memories are erased. I can do this. For a price."

 

[Rathuris]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Sailor Tempestas cringed as she watched the various spectacles and situations occuring to the other card holders. Giving a guilt inducing thankful prayer it wasn't herself in such a position. Finding herself once more in tent she gave a soft relieved sigh before collapsing onto her shapely bottom. Her lacy purple panties on display due to his unfamiliarity with the female body and female modesty.

She looked up at the silvery haired woman in suspicion. Wincing in pain as she releazed her chest and ribs were beginning to hurt. She decided to let Sailor Enceladus take point. She seemed eager to lead eager and decided to et her queston the angry woman.

 

[xivvix]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

As the two sailor scouts arrived at the thrones in one piece, Sailor Enceladus let out a cheer of happiness and relief. Her cheer continued as she watched the remaining shadowy monsters dissolve into familiar whirlwinds of light and darkness. "We did it," she intoned softly, her whole body collapsing back into the throne as the entire area seemed to fade away. That feeling didn't last long, however, as she quickly began to tense up, staring at the myriad scenes of perverse torture being inflicted on the other people they had been abducted with. "What is this?" she asked, her voice a mixture of confusion, disgust, and anger.

Suddenly, Enceladus found herself and the other scouts standing in the circus tent again, surrounded by the victims, thankfully now released from their plights. What truly grabbed her attention, however, was the sight of Silucite and the fortune teller. Though her appearance had changed drastically, there was no mistaking that the silver-haired woman before them was the one who had helped the sailor scouts figure out how to defeat the fortune teller. Now she stood, focusing dark powers against the monstrous magician, though her words sounded as if she held something in common with him. Even her sudden warning to the trembling woman sounded sinister. Stepping forward slightly, Sailor Enceladus asked, "You... You and he are the same, aren't you? Both of you are monsters, with powers over the dark."

Silucite's revelation about the danger to the victims stopped Enceladus short. Looking over at the assembled humans, people without powers to save them from dark monsters that might hunt for them, she saw the fear and confusion in their eyes. At the same time, she could see them staring at her and the other sailor scouts in recognition and distrust. Obviously, they understood that the strangely clad women before them were here in place of the more normal girls they had spoken to them only moments before. Not only were the victim's still in danger from shadowy creatures, the sailor scouts themselves were in danger of being revealed, their identities exposed to the world.

Biting her lip, Sailor Enceladus turned back to look at Silucite, before asking, "What creatures? We can destroy any dark creatures that show their faces." Despite her bravado, she wasn't sure just how she and the other scouts could protect these people. They still barely understood their own power. Still, she couldn't simply give in to this monster's demands. Perhaps she could trick the dark powered woman into revealing her intentions without agreeing to her terms. "You're going to save these people, but only for a price?" she asked incredulously, stepping towards the woman. "I think you're just as pathetic as him," she continued, pointing at the fortune teller, writhing in pain from Silucite's energy discs, "Trying to convince us you're powerful, but you're really just hiding behind some scary words to trick us." Once again taking her 'heroic' hands-on-hip stance, Enceladus asked, "What kind of price would we have to pay a dark monster like you to save us from other dark monsters?"

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

The corner of Silucite's mouth curled upward and her posture straightened, as though Enceladus' incredulity and burgeoning anger at her were a source of pride. The gurgling fortune teller was suddenly forced flat on the ground by the energy discs, his arms and legs forced apart in cardinal directions, his body an X with a bulbous growth on it that was his gecko-skinned head.

"The same? Hardly. This one is an idiot who thought his illusions could stand up against true power. His overconfidence and actions today are treason to the masters that he serves, and he will soon pay dearly for it.

"I am Silucite, a mighty servant of a great and powerful being. You may not realize it yet, but I am your only hope for true co-existence with your future overlords. Your pathetic world has been chosen for assimilation into the Negaverse, and arrayed against you is an unstoppable army. You think you are powerful enough to stand against us?"

Silucite's laughter was dark and dripped with derision.

"You could no more stop us than these weaklings here could stop an earthquake, or a meteor shower. I am not offering to spare them or any of you from this fate. I am merely allowing you to save their lives now, so that when the time comes, they can accept their place willingly. My price is a taste of your soul energy. Just a small sampling from each of you - and you will recover from it completely. I have no reason to lie to you, so certain am I of your fate. But if you cooperate with me, you may have time to mount something of a defense. Something to amuse my master and his fellow Dominators. But if you refuse me, I promise you that I can do nothing to save them. They have each of them been defiled by the touch of the Negaverse, and the stain upon their souls can be sensed by our hunters. If they are lucky, a conqueror shard will find them and kill them outright. If they are unlucky..."

With a flick of her fingers, the fortune teller was dragged forward by the energy discs so that his head was next to Silucite's heeled boots. She lifted her foot and dug the stiletto into the flesh behind his ear.

"Then they may have a spot next to this one in a tormentor's dungeon, and the horror they were exposed to today will seem like a memory of a summer day in the arms of a lover."

Her expression soured once again. "The choice is yours. Submit some energy to me now, willingly, or have their suffering on your conscience."

 

[xivvix]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Though she had spoken confidently and dismissively of the dark warrior, Sailor Enceladus found it hard to remain so in light of Silucite's words. She was new to this whole super powered monster fighter business, after all. As the fortune teller was dragged across the floor and his face ground under the woman's heel, Enceladus stared uneasily at them for a moment before turning to the side, looking back at the other sailor scouts. She stared at them, the timid and fearful Chalbys, the fierce and uncontrollable Volcanis, and the quietly enigmatic Tempestas, wondering how the four of them could fight off an army of monsters when they could barely defeat the fortune teller's illusions.

Still, they couldn't just give in to Silucite's demands so easily, could they? Enceladus had received her powers just in time to fight off the dark monster that had attacked her, without any further knowledge of how she should use it, and she doubted the others had either. Even so, there must have been a reason they were given these powers, and what other reason than to protect the people of the world from the very monsters that threatened them. But how could they protect them from a threat they didn't understand? If Silucite was telling the truth about the 'Dominators' abilities, then the last thing they could do was allow the innocents who had been tricked by the fortune teller to die from their own pride.

Turning back to Silucite, Enceladus steeled her expression, though her trepidation at the words she heard had left her visibly shaken. "So we give you some of our power, and you erase these people's memories so they won't be hunted down?" Enceladus asked guardedly. "And just what would a powerful woman such as yourself want with our feeble energy?" she asked sarcastically, growing a bit more confident as she spoke. "Surely you don't need it to help them, since you're such a mighty servant," she continued, putting an extra bit of derision on the word Silucite had used to describe herself. "As great and powerful as you say your master is, he didn't seem to be capable of stopping this one," she said, grinning as she motioned to the fortune teller, "from going off on his own and messing things up. Why should we fear these 'Dominators' when they can't even control their servants?" Once again coming to a semblance of courage, Enceladus put her hands back on her hips dramatically. "How about you tell us how to erase their memories," she offered, giving a quick pleased smile back at the other scouts before turning back to finish, "And I'll let you have as much of a taste of my energy as you want?"

 

[Rathuris]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Sailor Tempestas listen quietly as she thought about the dark warrior's offer. Though she agreed with the other sailor attitude, she thought it was doing very little to intimidate her. She gave a small frown as she heard the other sailor offer herself to Silucite. Wincing as she slowly got to her feet. Looking unsteady as she stood, and about ready to lay back down from the pain. Wincing more as she spoke. "If you are offering someone, offer me. I likely have the largest amount of energy of us. Plus I can recover some of it back with my powers." Speaking both to the other scouts and to Silucite.

Speaking more then she had during the rest of the encounter. She turned to the dark warrior to see if she had been correct in her assumption of having the most energy. After a few moments she spoke softly only to the other sailor. "Plus if something goes wrong, you three can fight back. With my ribs, I can hardly stand." Hoping it made sense to the other sailor scouts to have them in fighting form should Silucite decide to not hold up her end of the bargain.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

"The positive soul energy of your universe is like food for denizens of the Negaverse. It can also be stored and used as currency. And for those adept at such things, it can be used as fuel for our dark powers. Every one of you... humans... has it. But you four, you happen to have it in higher concentration. As I said, given time, you might learn to do some spectacular things with your powers and put up an amusing defense. But other warriors of light have tried to withstand the Negaverse."

The green gem embedded in Silucite's chest shimmered suddenly, and the woman seemed to wince as though in slight pain. She turned away quickly from the scouts, her hand moving to her chest as though she were nursing a wound.

"... Their efforts were futile. Most died. Some wished they had."

Her head raised slightly, her shoulders set themselves again, and she turned around once more. The green gem had returned to a dull, matte state, and Silucite's reptilian eyes seemed to be somehow darker and more chilling to look upon.

"My master does not need to concern himself with the comings and goings of his pawns. We are but the heralds of the Negaverse. When he and his like arrive, your world will change forever. Now. Allow me to drink of your souls - all four of you - and in return, I shall cast a spell to remove the taint from their spirit."

Though Silucite had heard Tempestas speak and offer herself, she moved forward to within arms' length of Enceladus, her hand moving forward slowly with the seeming intent of touching the lead scout's shoulder or neck.

"We've no guarantee that anything you say is true. You could be bluffing." Volcanis stepped to Enceladus' side, giving a scathing look.

"W-why would you even want to do any of this? Why is this Negaverse attacking?" Chalbys waved her hands, as though she were still confused and not processing this information well.

"Um. If it's all right with everyone, you don't need to make me forget. If there's some army coming, seems to me I'd rather be ready for it." The high school aged boy spoke up. Funnily enough, his body didn't bare the marks that they had seen forming on him briefly at the end of his tortures. He looked around at the other human victims, most of whom nodded along with him - the only exception being the twenty-something girl, who was still looking completely traumatized.

"Besides. It looks like we'd have these ones here protecting us," he added, pointing over to the scouts.

Silucite looked around her at everyone speaking up and scowled. "Fools. You know nothing! Take the deal, or you'll regret it!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind tore the flaps of the tent open to reveal that evening had come, and upon the wind a spiral of cherry blossoms fluttered through the air. A chime hung in the air as though a tuning fork had been struck, and then something flew in from above, hitting the ground just in front of Silucite's feet. It seemed to be some sort of metallic circle, almost like a shurikan, only with a square cut out in the middle in the manner of an old coin.

"No," proclaimed a masculine voice, "Run to your master, now, or you'll regret it!"

A figure had appeared up in the rafters, wearing a broad hat woven of golden straw, a white uniform that seemed like something out of a prince of persia film, with a cloth scarf covering his face from the nose down. The most elegant and bizarre part of his outfit was his cloak, which seemed as though it were literally made from white shimmering light. It was like nothing found on earth.

"Who are you?!" Silucite stammered, backing away.

"I am Ronin Pure. Defender of Earth. Your chicanery and dark magics are over, Silucite."

"Kuh... Nothing is over. Whoever you think you are, you can't defend Earth. This world is doomed! If you're intent on deluding yourselves then you can all suffer the consequences."

Silucite began to mutter under her breath and waved her fingers through the air, creating faint glowing traces of blue light in the air. A portal opened behind her leading into darkness.

 

[xivvix]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Despite her dismissive words, Enceladus listened pensively to Silucite's response. Her explanation of the dark beings' intents for their energy was at once both terrifying and enlightening. As she continued, however, Silucite seemed to grow wistful, empathetic to the idea of resistance. The malevolent woman even withdrew, seemingly in pain, as though remembering some past regret. Surprised, Enceladus' eyes took on a worried look before the dark warrior turned back, her voice once more arrogant and derisive.

With how bold she had felt in her devious plan to trick Silucite into revealing her powers, Sailor Enceladus was shocked at the reactions her 'generous' bid had engendered. Sailor Tempestas, beaten and nearly broken, offering to sacrifice her own power, while Volcanis and Chalbys denounced the idea. Even the afflicted humans, whose lives hung on the dark lady's nefarious desires, rejected the proposition. Their words bolstered Enceladus' courage, weak despite her confident words, and lent strength to her resolve. "Everyone..." she said softly in admiration, before turning back to the dark warrior with a smile. "So that's our answer!"

Silucite's scornful response brought a quick tensing of Enceladus' posture, her heroic stance shifting to one ready to fight. Before anything could happen though, a sudden flash of wind, flowers, metal, and sound stopped everyone in their place. Looking up into the rafters, Enceladus stared awestruck at the impressive figure above them, and his decisive command of the situation. "Ronin... Pure?" Enceladus asked, repeating the figure's name in amazement. The way he stopped the sinister woman short, even caused her to back away in fear. Ronin Pure...

The sudden appearance of a black swirling void behind Silucite broke Enceladus' shock. "Stop! Come back here!" she yelled, lunging toward Silucite. Maybe she wasn't thinking clearly, but after everything that had happened, Enceladus was loathe to let the dark being escape.

 

[Rathuris]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Sailor Tempestas watched the dark warrior quietly as she continued to talk. Her frown growing at Silucite's words and threats. Hearing and seeing the man suddenly appear made her sigh. She was glad they had some sort of back up. Seeing the dark warrior open a portal however made her worry once more.

Reach her and up to the sky with a wince. "Tempestas Nimbus!" A bolt of lightning blasting up above her and forming a darm and angry cloud. Bringing her finger down she pointed at the portal. "Strike!" The cloud unleashing a bolt of lightning as it cracked through the air. She silently prayed that it found the mark and either closed the portal or persuaded anything that might go through it not to.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

The next few moments were punctuated by blurs of motion.

Enceladus moved first, launching her body forward and successfully grasping Silucite by the upper arm and shoulder. The forward momentum smashed their bodies into one another, and together they fell, with Enceladus ending up on top momentarily as they fell to the floor. Silucite grunted as her head smacked with the floor of the circus tent and the concrete beneath it.

As soon as this occurred, the discs of energy pinning the fortune teller's limbs in place dissipated and the creature immediately scrambled to its feet, as if it had been playing dead all the while, but waiting for its moment.

Simultaneously, Sailor Tempestas funneled a significant portion of her remaining energy into forming the Nimbus above her and sending a tremendous bolt of lightning forward into the pitch darkness that loomed beyond the threshold of the portal. There seemed to be no immediate effect as the bolt disappeared into the absence of light.

"Enjoy your stay with your new friends, Silu-slut!" The fortune teller laughed with glee as he sprinted towards the door, vaulting past the outstretched hands of both Ronin Pure and Sailor Volcanis. He paused at the threshold, looking down at the fallen Nega villain. "I'll be sure to let the Defiler know how one of his whores interfered with my ritual, united the warriors of light, and got herself captured! Uwuehehehehe!"

Then there came a flash of light from the darkness, unseen by the fortune teller. Following upon this was a great and bone-chilling howl, difficult to describe in earthly terms, though it had the approximation of a great and eldritch thing roused in sudden anger, with a resounding voice that devolved into a chittering of carrion birds, slithering serpents, the great grinding of teeth and the bubbling of a fetid swamp all compounded into a horrific din.

Silucite paled, and then with a sudden tenseness, found the strength to roll Enceladus to one side and reverse positions, the reptilian, fae like woman now straddling the dark haired scout's hips, the two of them now conveniently more to the side of the portal than directly in front of it, where the fortune teller still remained, stunned perhaps into inaction.

"Fool, you've aroused it!" Silucite said, fear mingling with anger on her features.

As she said this, a burst of thick, dark, slick tentacles massed together with all sorts of protrusions and nubs and suckers, spilled forth into Earth's reality from whatever dark nightmare lurked beyond. The majority of them connected instantly with the fortune teller, and in their initial rage, wrapped around him so quickly and so mercilessly, that it was possible that he died from the initial crushing impact before he was torn in half a second later, ripped limb from bloody limb by the divergence of the tendrils.

Silucite muttered words of power and the portal began to shut itself, but it seemed as though the tendrils, and whatever dark entity controlled them, was resisting and forcing the doorway to remain open.

"It's too strong! We need to beat it ba--!" Silucite was silenced as a sucker tendril smacked into her, sending her unconscious onto her side, with her ankle now suspended in the air by a purplish black tentacle dripping in slime and covered in puckered suckers.

The tentacles were upon them all, scouts, guardian, and humans alike. The most eager targets seemed to be the women within the tent, and all four senshi were quickly entangled in at least one or two slimy, outsider limbs. Ronin Pure was likewise targeted, but managed to somehow sever a tentacle with a bright flash of a glowing, handheld blade that did not look much longer than a knife.

Nearly every human was quickly entangled. Only one, the high school boy, was able to dodge aside, though he seemed to be at a loss as to what to actually do with his freedom.

The situation had most certainly gone from bad to nightmarish.

"You must get free and run!" Ronin Pure said, directing his words at the scouts - primarily at Enceladus, who was closest to the portal.

Spoiler

Okay, so some good rolls and some horrible ones. I don't know what it is about Tempestas and rolling double sixes, but that's at least three times now.

All sailor scouts are at the first stage of entanglement. The tendrils are pulling at several limbs, but don't have a perfect grip. If the tentacles succeed at another grapple test, it will start to majorly affect your ability to perform actions. At a third level of entanglement, you're basically tentacle bait.

I haven't been keeping the best track of Energy Points, but every time you have used Elemental Control, it has cost you 5 EP, and every Senshi attack costs 10 times the level of the attack, which if you bought at level three means it's 30 EP each strike. I'm guessing you both might be nearing empty?

 

[Rathuris]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Sailor Tempestas gave a gasp as she saw the tentacles burst through the portal. She was now regretting watching that tentacle scene the other night. Feeling the tentacles grab her she gave a small yelp and began to struggle trying to get free. Seeing it trying to trap everyone else, she decided on a different course. She concentrated and tried to electrify her body. Using her elemental control to try and shock the tentacle grabbing her. Hoping the shock would carry to the thing's body and stun it for a few moments for people to get free.

Spoiler

Yeah, your dice seem to be hating me. XD

Also After the senshi attack I have used up 30 Ep and have 15 remaining. Well 10 Ep after using Element control after this post.

 

[xivvix]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Grabbing Silucite's wrists as the two of them fell to the floor, Sailor Enceladus grunted when she landed atop the woman. She winced as a peal of lightning streaked through the air close to her, the spot where Silucite would have been had she not caught her. "You see that?" she growled at the stunned woman beneath her, "Next time I'll let Tempestas fry you!" Despite looking so fragile, the silver-haired woman was proving rather difficult for Enceladus to pin down, but she grunted with effort and shoved her wrists against the circus tent floor. "Stop fighting me! We won't hurt you if you'll help us!" Even if her pleas fell on deaf ears, Enceladus felt the need to offer the woman an alternative to simply destroying her.

Just then, the fortune teller sprang up and vaulted past the assembled heroes, throwing out some rather off-color taunts at Silucite as he leaped into the portal. Enceladus looked up at the retreating reptilian figure, gritting her teeth at the thought of the monster who had already caused so much torment escaping. Her expression paled at the sudden roar from within the swirling void, and she stared into it, merely gasping in shock as Silicute used her lapse of concentration to roll the two of them over. Now underneath the dark warrioress, Enceladus looked on, her mouth agape, as tentacles burst from the portal and began attacking everyone. She gasped as Silucite was thrown from atop her, then screamed as two of the tentacles clasped onto her arms.

Still on her back, Sailor Enceladus began to frantically tug at the tentacles, her heeled boots swiping at the floor, trying desperately to find purchase. It wasn't until Ronin Pure, who had managed to keep himself from their grasp, called to her that Enceladus collected herself enough to do something more. Straining against the tentacles at her wrists, she did her best to pull herself to her feet, at the same time trying to push forward against the horror holding onto her. She had to get free! They all did! "K-keep fighting... everyone!" she yelled, struggling to move towards Ronin Pure, who she was sure could help them defeat this thing. "Don't... don't give in!"

Spoiler

Enceladus EP depends on whether her last two actions in the Shadow King fight counted. She used an Elemental Control and a Rejuvenation, but you didn't post anything about them. She is at 15 of 55EP if they weren't used, and 30 of 55EP if so.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Spoiler

I failed to mention it because she was effectively out of the fight, but yes, she's at 30 EP then.

Tempestas' bid to use herself as a shock generator worked, with her body naturally resistant to her own element she managed to enervate the tentacles wrapping around her, causing them to whip wild and erratic and fall away from her.

Enceladus struggled toward Ronin Pure, with the tentacles still holding to her with their slimy suction cups adhering to her skin. Her feet found the ground and yanked with all their might against the tearing tendrils. For a moment her ankles were free and she could take a few steps away from the barrier, but her wrists were tugged behind her body, pushing her chest forward. An onlooker might have thought it was her pulling the great monstrosity through the portal, the way she was straining against it.

Ronin Pure glanced about him, then with a swirl of his cape and a twist of his body he sprung into the air, his hand flying out and three gleaming discs spun out in separate arcs, each disc sliced through the air and sunk into the tentacles that were threatening to bind Enceladus, Volcanis, and Chalbys.

*thwish!*
*thwish!*
*thwish!*

Severed tendrils dropped to the ground, spewing black ichor. A roar of anguish and rage echoed from the depths of the darkness and all of the tentacles began to retreat, dragging with them the prey they still had caught.

With wails of anguish, the young couple, the male college student, and the young woman who had looked so traumatized earlier, were sucked through the portal in the blink of an eye.

A dazed Silucite opened her eyes just as she was about to be dragged through the threshold, and with a shout, she cast a spell, summoning a large energy disc to clamp down on her body and hold it fast to the ground. She screamed in pain as the tendril pulled at her leg, but with a final outstretched hand, she made a twirling motion with her wrist, and the remaining portal spiraled shut, cutting the remaining tendril in half as the dimensional gate closed.

The scouts, Ronin Pure, Silucite, and the high school boy remained in a silent and bloody tent. The dark tendrils, cut off from whatever being they had been attached to, began to disintegrate and wither away into nothingness.

Silucite groaned and then closed her eyes, the spell pinning her to the ground petering out as her energy ran out and her consciousness left her.

"My god..." the high school boy breathed, before sitting down, exhausted mentally and physically. Volcanis and Chalbys didn't say anything, but their fatigue and numbness at seeing what had just occurred so quickly was evident in their stance and expressions.

Silence stretched out between the those remaining until Ronin Pure approached Enceladus.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

 

[xivvix]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Pulling with all her strength against the monstrous appendages, Enceladus grunted in effort, focused only on getting herself free. Despite her struggle, the creature refused to let go, clinging to her with it's slimy suckers and pulling her arms behind her as she slowly inched away from the portal. With her mind so fixated on escape, though, she didn't notice Ronin Pure's attack, and when the shining discs severed the tendrils holding her, the force of her struggles threw her forward to the ground. Enceladus gasped in shock as she thudded back onto the carpeted floor, turning back with a confused look to see the wounded tentacles slipping back into the portal, dragging the unfortunate humans still in the grasp with them.

"No!" Sailor Enceladus yelled, one hand reaching towards the terrified captives as the portal closed between them. Her eyes opened wide as silence descended upon the tent, severed tentacles flopping about as the lucky survivors stared at each other in shock. "Why did you do that?" Enceladus cried, breaking the silence, her face aghast as she glared at Silucite, "We could have helped them!" Turning away, Enceladus slowly pulled herself to her knees, then looked up as Ronin Pure approached her. "Y-yes, I'm fine," she said, her cheeks reddening as she stood, unconsciously straightening out her sailor outfit. "T-thank you," she added sheepishly.

For a moment, Sailor Enceladus stared at Ronin Pure, unsure what to say to him. The way he came in and took care of Silcuite, and then that monster, it was like he was an action hero from a manga or a video game. After a few seconds, she realized how silly she must look standing there, and repeated, "Thank you," albeit a bit more calmly this time. For once, the vocal girl was at a loss, completely unsure how to talk to the incredible figure before her. Deciding that shifting her focus was better than staring goggle-eyed at him, Enceladus turned to Silicute and said sternly, "Don't do that again." Keeping her eyes on Silicute, ready to react in case the dark warrior attempted to escape again, she called out to the others, "Is everyone okay?"

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

"I don't think she's going anywhere at the moment," the high school boy said.

He was right. Silucite looked as though she were sleeping, thought fainting would probably a more apt word. The dark warrior looked completely spent and lay on the ground, quite vulnerable and defenseless.

Ronin Pure looked off to where the gate had been. "I've never seen them that big before. Wherever that gate led, it must have been deep within the Negaverse. I'm sorry for your friends, but I do not know of a way to help them."

"What exactly were those things?" Volcanis asked.

"Extensions of a great evil. Something that lurks at the heart of the Negaverse."

"W-what is the Negaverse?" Chalbys piped up, wringing her gloved hands nervously.

"Another dimension, a place of anger and fear and suffering. Its power is based off of negative emotions and dark energies. Its denizens seek out worlds to feed from, to siphon fear and despair from its victims."

Ronin Pure knelt beside Silucite.

"There's no prison in Japan that could safely hold someone like this. I'll have to take her away before she wakes up."

"H-hey, you can't just go and leave us!" Chalbys squeaked.

"Yeah. We've got a lot more questions," Volcanis added.

"I'm sure you do. But I don't have time to answer them. Daigoro!"

"Woof!"

An arc of light materialized behind Ronin Pure, and suddenly through this sudden rift, spinning into three dimensions as if from nothingness, a fluffy white dog with small curled ears, leonine shape, and a strong, muscular body appeared and leaped down to land beside the caped guardian.

"You called?" the dog said, much to the amazement of everyone there, except Ronin Pure of course. He seemed not at all surprised that the dog would talk.

"I've a Nega minion as my prisoner. How can I make sure she doesn't escape?"

"Hmmm," the dog growled thoughtfully, then sniffed along Silucite's body.

"This minion, whomever she is, isn't originally from the Negaverse - though her body, mind, and most definitely her spirit have been warped by it. See the gem here. That's pure corrupt energy. Eyuk... it stinks. Anyway, because she was born from a universe of positive energy, there's a chance that a wellspring of it could bind her dark powers enough to make her relatively harmless."

It was at this point that the dog, licking its chops, spied Enceladus, and then the other three sailor scouts. Immediately, its curled furry tail began to wag excitedly.

"Oh hey! Are these who I think they are?" He padded up to Enceladus and sniffed around her. "Yes! They must be. Four elemental guardians of earth! Hello! I'm Daigoro!"

"They're tired, and new to this. I need you to walk them through the basics, just like you did for me in the beginning."

"I'll do my best, I suppose, but where are you going?"

"To the nearest wellspring. It's either that or I kill her while she's defenseless, and that's the sort of thing that the Negaverse does." Ronin Pure stooped down beside Silucite and put one arm beneath her neck and another underneath her thighs, cradling her. He looked as though he would be going without saying much else, unless someone were to try to stop him.

 

[Rathuris]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Sailor Tempestas gave Encheladus a small nod. "Yeah. Just a few injuries here." She watched the exchange quietly while she cradled her injured side. Though she gave a shocked look as she watched the talking dog enter the tent and start speaking. She listened intently as the dog spoke about the the dark warrior, worrying a little that normal humans can be turned into evil beings.

She frowned when she heard him mention killing Silucite. She thought to herself that giant tentacle horrors were okay to kill, but not converted humans. She approached the man and carefully looked at him. "We are heroes and the good guys. We do not kill people, we save them." Glaring at him a moment. "So don't kill her either. Or we will likely have a problem." Looking to the other Sailor Scouts to see if they aggreed with her.

 

[xivvix]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Spoiler

/facepalm at missing the unconscious part

As Ronin explained more about the Negaverse and it's monsters, Enceladus listened raptly, eager to learn something about the strange powers and stranger beings that had made themselves part of her life. She was about to add her own shaky voice to Volcanis and Chalbys pleas against the white robed man leaving with Silucite, only to hang her mouth open in shock as the strange dog creature began to speak to them. When it approached and sniffed her, Enceladus backed away slightly, not exactly trusting of strange creatures after her previous encounters, though it's pleasant demeanor kept her in place. "H-hello, Daigoro, I'm Sailor Enceladus," she said, blushing as she introduced herself to the dog, reaching down to pet it softly. She didn't have much experience with animals, but she had always thought small dogs were cute. "Good doggy."

Enceladus looked up sharply at Ronin's easy statement of possibly killing Silucite. After Tempestas spoke against it, she stepped forward alongside the injured scout, and added her agreement. "Tempestas is right! If Silucite is not originally from the Negaverse, then maybe we could help her!" she said, certain the possibility must exist. "If the wellspring can subdue her powers, then maybe it could reverse the energy that corrupted her!" Gesturing down at the unconscious woman, Enceladus stared at the gem Daigoro had mentioned, wondering if there was some way to remove the offending object. For a second, her gaze shifted to Ronin's hands wrapped around the woman, and she shifted nervously before clearing her throat and adding, "Maybe we should go to the wellspring with you." After a few seconds, she awkwardly waved to the boy who had managed to avoid being taken by the tentacles, "S-Silucite said the people here had been marked. What about him? Can the wellspring remove the mark?"

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Daigoro panted and wagged his tail back and forth as Enceladus patted his head. Though he could talk, it appeared he was pleased in all the traditional ways that most dogs were. Daigoro was a large dog, roughly the size of a labrador retriever, though he did not look anything like one. Perhaps someone who knew more about dogs would be able to help her out in identifying him, if she cared to figure it out.

Ronin Pure lifted Silucite's body up and held her without any sign of strain on his part. Her platinum-silver hair cascaded like a a waterfall down beneath her, and in this gentle repose, without the harshness of her gaze, the dark sorceress seemed quite beautiful. Certainly her body was in excellent shape, ignoring the unsightly gem that protruded slightly from her breast bone.

"If either of you listened carefully, you would realize that I never intended to kill her," Ronin Pure said with a note of steel in his voice. "Ending the life of a defenseless being is murder, and it's not something a warrior of light does. However, when the four of you have fought and seen the despicable acts that the minions of the Negaverse are capable of, your feelings on this issue may waver."

"Evil exists on Earth without the aid of the Negaverse," Daigoro added. "If someone from our world already has evil in their heart, and then joins with the Negaverse, the result can be something far worse. After all, the Negaverse does not know about love and compassion. Imagine then what sort of a person from a world like ours would choose hatred and darkness, even knowing about the alternative."

"She d-didn't sound like she was that sort of person," Chalbys timidly offered.

"Even if she were once a noble soul, the Nega shard embedded in her can control her completely," Daigoro said. "It's hatred and despair made into physical form, and it has pierced and fused to her heart. I'm afraid I don't know of any way to remove it that wouldn't kill her in the process." The dog's tail had stopped its wagging and drooped as it relayed this information.

"How awful," Chalbys murmured, rubbing over her own heart reflexively as she stared sorrowfully at Silucite.

Ronin Pure had begun to turn away from the group when Enceladus' question about the boy stopped him in his tracks. The masked warrior turned his head to appraise the boy now, giving him his full attention perhaps for the first time. For several long moments he stood, silent as a mountain with his eyes like spears, until at last his spell broke and his words sounded as iron bells at a funeral.

"Better that he forget, as this sorceress said. What the soul has seen, cannot be unseen. If he forgets, at least his knowledge will not send him into dark places."

"But why couldn't a wellspring of positive energy remove darkness in him?" Volcanis asked with some irritation in her voice and her hands rooted to her hips.

"Light or dark, hope or despair, if his soul is touched by either, he will see things, notice energies and displacement, see spirits and deadlier things. He would give himself away simply by remembering to notice. The things she alluded to, the hunters of the Negaverse, they move among humanity even now - no one is truly safe - but they are not at the point where they would slay indiscriminately. It would take time to explain. Time that, as I've said, I do not have. I must move fast, and to do so, I cannot take you with me. Don't worry. I will leave Daigoro with you, and he knows how to contact me and can tell you everything that I could. You are different from me. The four of you are Senshi, princesses of the elements. Your powers are different from mine. You will need to learn your own paths. But I will do my best to help you, when I am able."

He nodded to the four of them. If there was anything else they wished to say to him, now would be the time, judging by the look in his eyes. Daigoro simply stood beside Enceladus' boot, watching Ronin Pure prepare to make his departure.

 

[xivvix]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

With Daigoro cheerfully appreciating her attentions, Enceladus smiled down at him. Ronin Pure's sharp response to her agreement with Tempestas, though, brought a quick flinch to her features. "I-I wasn't saying that you would..." she said, ashamed of having insulted the man who had saved all of those still on this side of the portal. "It's just... even considering it seems wrong." Ronin and Daigoro continued their explanation, however, painting a dire picture of the Negaverse and it's corruption. Feeling further shamed by her naive attitude, Enceladus fell silent, unable to raise any further protest. She stared at the shard embedded in Silucite's chest, unnerved by it's apparent wrongness and wondering what, if anything, could be done about it.

A more pressing concern at the moment, though, was the young man they had saved. As with Silucite, Ronin Pure seemed unable to help him. While Enceladus shared Volcanis' frustration, the dark haired girl couldn't bring herself to question the man again, though she couldn't hide her pained expression at his indifference. Silucite had mentioned removing his memory, and Ronin Pure echoed the suggestion, though Enceladus wasn't sure how they would achieve this. Though she wanted to ask Ronin Pure, as well as question him about so much more about everything that was happening, it was clear the man felt the need to leave. "We understand, Ronin Pure, and thank you for your help," she said, her voice sincere and sad, though she tried her best to keep it calm, "Please hurry back when you can. And be careful with her. I think she is more powerful than she looks."

Watching quietly as Ronin Pure left the scene, Enceladus took a moment to look at the other sailor scouts in turn before regarding the young man. "Don't worry, we won't let anything happen to you," she said, a smile on her face despite her uncertainty. Looking down to Daigoro she asked the dog, "Do you know of any way we can alter his memory?"

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Juuban Land (Open)

Ronin Pure closed his eyes and offered the slightest of nods, acknowledging what Enceladus had said about even considering the notion of killing.

"I don't enjoy the notion; but we are an embattled world, outnumbered by a hideous foe. Whether you like it or not, your new powers will come at a price. Stay true to your virtues and take care of yourselves. I will see you again."

Ronin Pure's cape of light began to sweep back of its own accord, despite a lack of wind within the tent, growing in width and filling their collective vision with a dazzling radiance. Like the wings of a great bird, the sides of the cape flapped forward; twisting in on the figures within, who, in a singular step backward into that shimmering field, faded from all sight. The cape collapsed in from either side, closing together into a fine vertical line, and then winked out of existence, leaving the tent once more in shadows, with Ronin Pure and Silucite nowhere to be seen.

"You'll have to forgive him," Daigoro said to break the silence. "He's been fighting on his own for a while."

The young man, who had been looking on the conversation with Ronin Pure as though he were stunned, gave a start when addressed by Enceladus. He cast his eyes down to his feet, his arms resting by his side, and his face set taut.

"I believe you would try," the boy said. His arms crossed, putting him in a defensive posture. "But I don't want to forget this. After what was done to me and done to the others - this idea that our world is under attack by creatures and dark magic - and that there are people like you and him around to defend us. I'd rather know what's going on. Maybe even help in whatever way I could."

"You're brave for thinking like that," Daigoro responded. "But without an innate connection to the powers of our universe, someone like you would be defenseless against the Negaverse. Even a physically powerful warrior would be susceptible to a simple spell, and you'll forgive me for saying, but you don't exactly look like a trained warrior."

The boy looked down at himself. He wasn't unfit by most standards, but neither was he particularly muscled considering his thin frame. Slightly taller than the average japanese teenager, with fussy unkept hair, he seemed the sort that would not make the cut with a jock crowd, but might in a pinch be popular among a theater clique perhaps. He was certainly cute, and perhaps with some work he might even be handsome, but his appearance did not scream out 'future defender of the realm.'

"Even so," he declared, finding some boldness in his voice, "There must be a way for me to be useful beyond just having my memory erased. I, Iesada Kousuke, am willing to take the risk! I will take full responsibility for my own safety. I want to do my part to prevent more deaths and... whatever else these Nega creeps intend to do to us."

Daigoro seemed to wine a bit, and his ears drooped. "Well... I don't know... but I guess it can't be helped. Altering his memory would require some pretty specialist powers - or traditional hypnosis - to work the trick. So for the time being, he'll have to stay like he is. Speaking of which... you may want to revert back to your regular forms. The Senshi transformation can be reversed at will, and you'll need to do it to keep your identity's hidden."

Volcanis and Chalbys shared a look with each other and with Tempestas and Enceladus, then with a nod and a squinting of her eyes, Chalbys transformed back into her street clothes' appearance, where she looked slightly younger and less filled out than she had while being Sailor Chalbys.

She walked over to Daigoro and stooped down beside him to pet him. "My real name is Koga Miki. I've only just moved to Tokyo. Today was my first real taste of the city. I think maybe I've gotten more than I bargained for coming here. But there's so much that I don't understand. How did my grandmother's pendant allow me to transform into Sailor Chalbys. And why do I even know to call myself that? I don't eve know what Chalbys means."

"It's something to do with metal," Kousuke offered, seemingly out of nowhere. Miki gave him a funny look, to which he just scratched his head. "I don't know how I know it, I think I've just heard it somewhere. I'm like that with a lot of things. I do really well in trivia quizzes."

"O-oh," Miki said, blushing a bit. "It makes sense I guess. You must be quite intelligent."

Kousuke waived both his hands. "Oh, I'm not, I swear! I just have a knack for remembering silly things."

"Can't be too intelligent if you're dead set on making yourself a target for evil creatures," Volcanis said as she transformed back into her own stylish, non-sailor self. Unlike Miki, she mostly retained the gorgeous appeal of her senshi form, lacking only that celestial aura of fiery radiance that seemed to follow her when she was in her battle mode.

"I'm Yamauchi Akane. A senior over at Grass Valley High, although I'm intending to work for my mother's fashion line once I graduate - assuming the world doesn't end first."

There would be time for Enceladus and Tempestas to revert forms and introduce themselves and ask further questions if they wished. After they got through with that, Daigoro suggested that the group find someplace else to talk about things. Knowing the Negaverse, this area might be under watch very soon, as they forces of evil were bound to investigate such a large clash of light and dark energies...

***********************************************

Meanwhile, somewhere in the depths of the Negaverse...

***********************************************

Olna's toes pinched painfully together in the ridiculously towering pair of high heels that clacked against the checkered, green and black marble floor of the throne room. Her neck also itched behind the obsidian collar that she wore as a sign of her current position on the rung of servitude. She dearly wished to hook a finger underneath an satisfy the tactile annoyance, but her wrists were bound by chains to the silver tray that she was holding aloft, upon which rested a platter of dark ulma-grapes, a specialty of her home region on the world of Toblaia.

As she crossed the throne room, heading for the occupied seat, the living dress that covered her body - and she could only refer to it as 'covering' her in the loosest of definitions - tightened itself across her bountiful chest and clung tightly to her curvacious hips and thighs. The top became so form fitting as to not hide a single contour on either breast, her nipples being exposed in all but their natural color, and the loin cloth of silky, organic material revealing with every sashay, how the material pressing against her lower mound was moving of its own accord, dividing the folds of her labia and teasing and flickering against her vulva. Olna grit her teeth in defiance of this further humiliation, and was thankful only in the sense that the originator of this torment was currently preoccupied with someone besides her as he lounged on the grand seat at the end of the room.

Olna clicked and clacked and then at last clip clopped to a halt, proffered the tray of grapes to her master, and silently prayed that this would be the end of her performance for the day.

Her master's attention was not upon her at the moment, but rather upon the sinuous, slightly green-skinned female with pointed ears and reptilian eyes that was grinding her nude and lustful form eagerly upon the master's loins. Like Olna, she shared the same green gemstone buried unapologetically through the center of her chest, the tip no doubt slitting neatly into her beating heart. Olna noticed that the stone was dull, but that the young woman's eyes seemed alive and eager. She had the appearance of being in the throes of bliss. She clutched at her bosom, sighed and moaned in a way that was obvious to both Olna and the master as being an over-the-top theatric. Her hips moved back and forth, a wetness had pooled in the place where their crotches met, and the woman began to utter small phrases such as "oh yes, oh yes..." and "It's so good. I'm going to cum!"

Idly, her master's clawed hand reached out and plucked a couple of grapes from Olna's tray and popped them noisily into his mouth. For her part, Olna tried to look beyond the scene and think of a better time and place. She thought of Toblaia, and her home kingdom of Cracea. Of lazy afternoons spent on the grand lawns of the summer palace, of her fiance Prulo pushing her on a swing and telling her stories of his old racing days, when he risked life and limb against the stern dictates of the queen mother just for the right to prove his worth as something other than a future king.

Unbeknownst to Olna, the gem upon her chest had begun to gleam brightly. This fact did not escape the one sitting upon the throne however, though at that moment, the woman straddling him threw back her head and exulted in a shattering orgasmic display.

"Please, master! Cum in me!" She whimpered and begged with a wistful sigh on her face.

The reaction was swift and sudden, and it shocked Olna out of her reverie. One clawed hand grasped the woman painfully by her hair, the other clutched at her hip.

"Is this the general who swore she would see me dead?" The master growled thickly, his voice a deep bass, his arms thick and powerful, giving the woman no room to move. "Is this the hero of Yablizs? Where has your hatred gone? Where now is that pride that willed you to fight on in the face of overwhelming odds? You no longer despair at the sight of me. You no longer recall what it was to have hope."

With great heaves, the powerful arms picked the woman up slightly, then slammed her body down upon him. She cried out, but he repeated the process a moment later, impaling himself upon her cruelly as he spoke.

"I can see into your heart, o concubine. All these years, you yearned to see the day where you might slay me. You wished to sink a dagger between my ribs, crush my skull beneath a mighty rock, strangle me!"

Here, the claw that had been gripping her hair now moved to her neck and squeezed. Olna flinched from where she observed. The woman shook her head and gurgled small protests, which only agitated the master further.

"Don't lie to me! I can taste your hate. I know every flicker of resentment that has crossed your mind since I made you my own, and I have savored your fall. Every strip of your defenses, all these years as I maintained your form, your youth, your beauty... I wanted you to remember how you were, your failure, your knowledge of what you were and what you had become. And now... now you have fallen so far that you do not remember even that. You have found peace in your misery. You think that your acceptance of your status will make you safe. You think that you know what it is to serve the Negaverse unquestioningly."

"Pl-please, master," the woman struggled to speak. "I serve you willingly. My life is yours! I pledge myself to the Negaverse! I do not wish to go back!"

The claw released her windpipe and joined the other to hold her by the waist. For some minutes, there were no words spoken in the chamber, just the violent thrusts of wet sex as the two copulated vigorously on the throne, with Olna watching. The living dress began to work itself faster against her, and a part of it began to protrude inside of her, making Olna involuntarily horny in the presence of this disturbing debauchery.

The scene worked its way towards a crescendo, as master, servant and voyeur all reached their climaxes at once. Olna struggled mightily not to let the platter slip off the tray as her juices ran freely down her upper thighs.

After he had bottomed out inside of her, the master heaved the girl off of him, letting her drop to the floor beneath his feet. She landed on her side, exhausted, but also confused at how swiftly the pleasure had given way to her being dumped onto the tiles. The master stood above her, flexing his form mightily, looking his most horrid as a claw pointed at her in condemnation.

"You believe that you have fallen as far as possible. You believe that in your surrender there will be an end to your suffering. Know this. There is no end to how far you can fall."

The pointing finger fell to the side, and as it did so, the woman contorted and spasmed suddenly, as though she had been shocked. Her enervated body slowly stiffened, her thighs, covered in the aftermath of sex, met with one another, followed by her knees and ankles. Her skin began to glimmer, and her fingernails began to extend.

"I set you aside as my concubine. The submission of your body no longer amuses me. You will now have another form, more suited to your wish to serve the Negaverse."

The woman screamed aloud, showing all but her canine teeth retreating up into her gums, while the remaining enamel thinned into fangs. The tongue elongated, and began to fork at the tip. Her two legs, now covered in the beginnings of scales, started to fuse together, her feet morphing and her toes disappearing.

Olna wanted to look away, desperately, but the shock of what was happening before her was too awful not to bear witness to.

"You will relearn to hate. You will relearn despair. Revel in your new form and know that your corruption has only just begun!"

The master sat down upon his throne, and beneath him, the new naga slithered and shakingly rose up, her lower snake half coiling beneath her. Her new body was covered in scales, as were her arms, neck, and parts of her sides and face. She regarded her new body with shock and growing terror. The green gem in her heart flickered brightly for a moment.

"Ah yes. Now you remember," the master chuckled.

The naga wailed and trembled with rage. With a snap of his fingers, tendrils rose from the floor, encircling the reptilian woman, and dragged her into a newly formed dark pit that Olna knew led to another realm of the Negaverse - one of pain and torment.

"I will give you time to contemplate your new fate," the master said, before the pit swallowed the naga up and closed in on itself. Once more there were only marbled tiles.

The hand reached out and plucked a few more grapes, popping the morsels into its owner's mouth, which chewed them thoughtfully. Olna knew that his eyes were upon her now.

"Princess Olna, isn't it? I have heard good things from your trainers. They report that your entry into service has improved morale among my legions. You know... a position for a new concubine has just opened up."

A clawed finger traced its way along Olna's arm, from her shoulder down to her elbow. In that moment, she could no longer avoid looking at him. Her teeth clenched, and she fought not to shake with anger and fear as the yellow and black orbs of his eyes surveyed her body. The silver tray rattled in her grip, and she thought of how this creature had ruined her life, stolen her destiny, raped and slaughtered her people and her family - and most painfully of all, how he had turned her Prulo's mind against her. She wanted to obliterate this fiend. To cut him up in a thousand pieces and fling each one into a separate star, so that his evil would never rise again for the rest of time.

The emerald gem in her heart was gleaming, and a single, hot tear rolled down her cheek.

The Defiler pinched her chin between his thumb and forefinger and lifted her defiant face up to his own, extending a long, prehensile tongue to swipe the tear away from her cheek.

"Yes, my dear," he said with relish. "You'll do nicely."