darkSpyro

When it came to illusions he could see through most of the non physical ones due to his predatory nature and senses well accustomed to finding out live or dead prey, it was the physical illusions that use power and half of the elements to disguise as a life-form that really messed him up and the only way to know for sure was to touch and feel the body of a illusion.

This Scarlet wasn't the the real one but he had to admit was a impressive remodel of her, of course that simply meant the more real an illusion was, the closer the caster was too so they would need to be in a radius around him. He made sure only to use his physical body skills as magic or elements would no doubt get him detected.

As the others seemed to disappear from Nitro's point of view, he tried to sense their location. Just as he was about to locate someone, something pounced on him. It was one of the Aretis clones. Before Nitro could do anything about it, the light beams hit his eyes, blinding him. He cried out in pain and frustration. Now he would be vulnerable with his vision gone.

Nitro created three shadow blades. One of them became an extension of himself, coming out of his back to kill the clone on top of him. The other two were fired at the clones that had just blinded him, basing their location on where the attacks had come from.

Then suddenly, his premonitions warned him of an oncoming attack. In his vision, it appeared to be the aura dragon. Only now, he wouldn't be able to see the attack coming, but he still knew he was in danger. Nitro then teleported away to dodge the attack.

He tried to relocate to perch on another statue, but he ended up beside the courtyard fountain. He knew he was there because he could hear the running water. His lack of vision and lack of memory of how the courtyard looked caused him to miss his target. He didn't have the whole castle memorized, like Scarlet did.

Nitro stayed by the fountain and turned himself invisible again. His arrogance and confidence was decreasingly quickly. With his vision gone, he no longer felt so safe and secure about being able to survive out here with so much going on at once. But he did know one thing, whoever blinded him was going to pay dearly.

Scarlet grinned at their success in blinding Nitro. He did retreat like a coward, but he would be easier to confuse now. He didn't have the time to escape all the attacks against him, which meant this plan would work. They just needed to keep up with all of his new hiding places. She took a moment to concentrate, and found him by the fountain.

She fired a fireball at his new location. Nitro predicted another attack. Then, instead of teleporting, he used his shadow element to hide in the shadows of the fountain. The fireball missed completely.

The clone on top of him was stabbed straight through and fell limp as dying. However, it wasn't shaken off when he teleported. In fact, since it was just a clone, and not even flesh and blood for that matter, it still moved. The clone's claws tried to grab Nitro's ears and pull them back, and try to bring him out of the shadows.

The other two Aretis's dodged the shadow blades with relative ease. One was nicked though.

The last Scarlet clone turned to face Zen.

Aretis concentrated as hard as he could to control the clones. The two energy dragons beside him fed him the energy needed to cast spells, but as they fed him, they were also decreasing in size as he drained the energy. Not to mention, he wasn't very efficient with his energy usage either. In other words, he didn't know how to control the flow very well and he was always using up excess energy that didn't affect the battle.

Retreating his tendrils from underground he slowly walked out of his cover and clapped his claws. "It seems that blinding attack was made to burn and pierce the flesh, such a shame it's nearly impossible to heal that certain body part...but I could, give me that orb Nitro and I will restore your eyesight giving you a chance at revenge" As he walked closer and closer he was pacing towards Scarlet or rather the one he could see. "You should consider aiding me instead of her kiddies, did you know I have legions of horrors all below that school of yours, why with a simple flick in my mind I could tell them all to kill everyone in that school and all it's nearby villages or cities".

Emerging from the ground came a adult dragon sized ape monster of some sort, it's muscles were huge and it was clear it was formed by the mass of dead bodies, fused Swarmlings and hunks of flesh, it's purpose was to be hit and take punches. "This is only a fraction of what lies below that school, the result of nearly 200 years of intense and careful experimentation"

Despite be charged and hit he recoiled with a grumpy tone and went to grab Icestorm by the neck.

"Attacking the entity who has a trigger to a piston at a school's head is such a smart idea"

He was knocked back alright, but Icestorm was still in his grasp as the blast had caused his grappling arm to stretch as his body was pushed back. Regaining posture he decided tighten his grip and retract the arm back to him, with his victim now close to him he positioned his other arm complete with pointy sharp claws that seemed to have been enlarged near a lethal blank range.

"Do anything right now and I'll end his life without a second thought....Now then about those offers I gave the both of you whelp and bastard child of a excuse of a king"

Nitro emerged from the shadows. He reached back with his claw, and grabbed the Aretis clone that was on his back. He pulled it off of him and tossed the clone aside. He then teleported again, and perched atop a different statue. He felt the cold stone beneath his paws, and knew he had teleported where he wanted to be.

"I don't care if you kill that hatchling or not. I don't even care if you destroy the school. I don't need you to fix my eyesight, and I'm certainly not giving you the Ziel Gem. You don't seem to understand that my quarrel is with Scarlet, and you're just getting in the way." He snarled.

Nitro then took a deep breath and let out a solid black beam of pure dark energy that was heading straight for Zen and Icestorm. The beam would also hit anything in it's path between Nitro and the others. It was a powerful blast that would, at the very least, knock them off their feet if it hit.

He grinned as he saw the blast upcoming, swinging his arm he threw Icestorm away like a ragdoll towards the buildings on the side to quickly clutch his hands together, energy was swelling from the claws as he seemed to be yelling words before releasing the blue like beam that collided with Nitro's beam. The result however was unexpected as the two beams hit a powerful shock-wave erupted from the point, sparks were flying around the impact zone and raw the clash of beams each struggling to push the other back would depend on the user.

Zen upon seeing he was loosing some ground sent surges of power, forwarding his beam however he had to consider Nitro had the upper-hand as he was using his element whilst Zen was using a magical technique used by chi users which spent double the amount of energy, sensing this he sent a signal to his Ape spawn that everyone had nicely ignored to sneak up on the rear and grab the gem...or if the gem wasn't on him...order the spawn to smash Nitro and distract him as now whoever controlled this beam had now the power to utterly destroy or damage whoever was caught in it's fire.

"You have no chance! No Chance!"

ooc: Well, I'm just going to say be careful guys.

The Aretis clone got up shakily, still intact well...with a hole through it. It looked like it dissolved as it sunk back into the ground. Moments later, it came back, reformed and started darting around with the others. Aretis had been watching the Ape, but didn't see it move until now. Now was the time to make a counter move. He had a clone shoot beams at where Nitro was on top of the statue during the beam battle. The other two were hiding and climbing the walls, surrounding Nitro and where the Ziel Gem was.

Nitro sensed danger heading his way, but he couldn't pinpoint it's exact location, and he couldn't just run away because of the beam battle. He was stuck there until the battle was decided, unless he wanted to quit and sustain injury.

So he created a shield of dark energy around him, only leaving an opening for his dark beam to continue. He figured that should at least buy him some more time while he battled with Zen. However, creating a dark energy shield while using the beam weakened the beam itself. Realizing this, Nitro focused his energy on making the beam stronger, which in turn weakened his shield.

The dark energy shield was strong enough to protect him from a few blasts, but there was no telling how much longer it would hold up, what with the focus on the beam making the shield weaker. Nitro certainly couldn't keep his focus on both at the same time.

Blue had been following the battle and just dodged everything that happen to come his way (he was pretty much aside so there was not so much to dodge really). Now he started to walk closer to the middle of the battle " This thing is not going anywhere, i guess that i have to do something by myself then?" He jumped up and turned his head towards the floor. When he hit it his body turned to water and soon there was a whirlpool. It started to get bigger and faster, and with that there soon was very powerful suction towards the middle of the whirlpool. A voice from the whirlpool shouted " I will drown you all if i have to!"

Seeing an attack developed for the purpose of exterminating cells arising right for him he decided to let his grip on the beam down to allow himself to be pushed, it worked alright as he had been pushed out of the dark matters way however now Nitro's end of the struggle had gained much ground over his and now he had to work not to get blasted to oblivion. As a whirlpool begun to arise from the ground he decided he should hover via his wings to not be dragged into the abyss forming.

Aretis's brow furrowed and he winced as if something hurt quite a lot. Blue! UGH! Bees–and–thorns! You idiot! Okay okay, quick. Think Aretis think. One of his clones was sucked into the whirlpool and was being smashed and torn to bits. As that clone was being shattered, the dead Scarlet clone was also being torn up. Aretis gripped the individual pieces of the earth shards and connected his energy with them. If Blue was at the center, and he had to be considering he was creating this stupid water fiasco, he'd also be at the center of a lot of damage very soon. The shards spun faster and faster. That combined with the centripetal force of the whirlpool allowed for devastating results as it spun closer and closer to the center. Anything touching those would be sheared to shreds! Even armor wouldn't have a chance at this rate.

Aretis focused on Nitro. He had even more limited options now. But Aretis realized he was wasting way too much energy. This had to end. Now.

Aretis attempted his move now. Creating 6 poles of light with sharpened ends above one of the Aretis clones, he shot them towards Nitro. They weren't directly aimed, but they stopped as they either passed through the side of him or next to him. The goal was to lock him in just long enough for Scarlet to issue a final attack and steal Ziel Gem. After the poles were created though, the clone went lifeless, and even it's color faded back to rock. Aretis realized he'd almost drained all of himself. It was getting to strenuous to hold on to the energy and it was tiring him out really fast. "Scarlet! Finish it!" He screamed, a sound that reverberated throughout all of the room.

Aretis also anticipated that Zen had other motives, directing his other clone to leap into close range with it and do basically the same thing. Except this time, it was webs of light, both blinding and constricting shot out from the clone against Zen. The clone also died out, using up all it's energy in that attack and Aretis used the remaining power to have it encase Zen's mouth and the joints in his limbs. The rock almost melted like clay instead of hard cold stone. If he could just immobilize Zen long enough he wouldn't have the chance to use his own malicious plans.

And with that, Aretis fell from his remote control trance, landing his face on hard ground. He coughed horribly, some blood spilling out. There was still all that excess energy, but directing it with his little body was just too much. It was draining his life force! Aretis curled up. The whirlpool was actually almost directly above him. He could feel it. The small enclosed cave he'd made was pitch black. He couldn't see a thing. Aretis shivered silently and, racked with fatigue. He needed to recover, just for a moment. Just.....for a moment......And Aretis fell into the land without reality.

Blue got the bolt "Damn you!" Blue Shouted. When he saw what Aretis was doing he jumped out of the whirlpool before the center was hit, that made the Whirlpool go away. He was almost attacking against Aretis to revenge. But then he noticed what he had done to Nitro " Okey lets be a team then!" He shouted and he flew towards Nitro. When he was at the range he made his usual drowning ball of water around Nitro, But this one was not meant for that. The ball of water which Blue had turned to was not trying to drown Nitro.... it was preventing his moving or at least try to. " This is your opportunity Scarlet, use it!" Blue shouted

Red did try to find his way towards the battle, but instead he had found more guards. He had killed many of them already, mostly because non of them did take him seriously and he was able to get close whitout problems.... But he was starting to get tired "Well i guess that it is my luck that those guards are not taking me seriously, but these 7 guards to kill have took my energy even whit that..." Then he heard a voice behind him. "You are the one behind of all this? Impressive, but it ends now." It was another guard, but this one had seen the dead ones, which meant he was not going to underestimate Red like the ones before ..... and Red totally was not at his full strength any more.....

He could barley move now or use any action other, against a common foe this was a perfect capture or containment ability however he doubted this was ideal against someone who created limbs or conjoined his physical body unlike a shape-shifters to his extent. With the whirlpool seeming gone he decided to morph his wings into another pair of arms just to continue the beam battle which had by now taken more ground due to allowing it to gain foot to escape nuisances or support the surge, the binding web itself didn't seem like it would take long to break but for now most of his limbs were stuck and creating more limbs would only drain more power thus he had to modify current limbs.

Nitro was encased in the light poles and ball of water that had formed around him. he was too focused on the beam battle and zen to pay too much attention to his surroundings. Even the absence of his shield went ignored as he drained every bit of it's dark energy to power up his dark beam. He was surely trapped now, locked in his current position. There was nowhere to run to.

Knowing this was the perfect time to strike, Scarlet moved in for the kill. With the poles and water there, it would be kind of hard to close to Nitro. She would have to teleport to him and become trapped with him as well. It was now or never. It was time to finish this.

Scarlet teleported right on top of Nitro and held on tight to him with her claws. Nitro knew she was there, and he would have to deal with her now. But if he ignored Zen, he would lose the beam battle, and they both would be hit in the blast.

Nitro then channeled his energy once more, and turned his powerful beam into a tough and durable dark energy shield. The shield surrounded both of them, as well as the poles and the water. Nitro and Scarlet were now stuck in their own little world, but at least they weren't likely to be disturbed by anyone else.

Scarlet was still on top of him and she transformed the end of her tail into a sword. She held it to his throat, nearly breaking the skin. "Where is the gem?" She hissed. "And don't lie to me. I know you have it on you. So tell me where it is!"

Nitro paused in answering. If he wanted to survive this, he would have to think of a clever way out. "A gem so rare and powerful?" He smirked. "Why, of course I would keep such an item close to my heart. But you'll never get it!" He growled. He then created a blade out of shadow and made it as an extension of himself. It shot up out of his back, piercing through Scarlet's stomach.

Scarlet gasped as she felt the blade pass through her, but she was determined to finish her mission. She thought about what he had just said, and realized where the gem was. She moved the tip of her tail to Nitro's chest. "Close to your heart? Hmph. You don't have a heart. But lucky for me, I can hit two birds with one stone. Say hello to Dad for me." She whispered in his ear.

Then she pierced his heart and the Ziel Gem with her tail-blade. Nitro had kept the gem right next to his heart, using his shadow element to get it in and out without any difficulty. The gem was broken, and her father's spirit was free. A white wisp of smoke came out of Nitro and floated up out of their imprisonment. Just as it appeared onto the battlefield, it seemed to vanish into thin air.

As Nitro's life slipped away, Scarlet could feel her own life slipping. She was weak from his attack and the likelihood of her survival was growing dim. However, she had succeeded in her mission and could rest peacefully knowing she had won. Nitro's body lay lifeless now, and she rolled off of him, collapsing beside him. The shield, of course, was gone, and Scarlet could get one last glimpse of the battlefield. She then sighed as she closed her eyes, not caring one way or another how the battle ended now.

Anger, it truly was a emotion he was feeling right now. Well after the shield had been created he knew breaking it would take too much effort an with two valuable assets in the fray ceasing the beam was his only option. Seconds later from ceasing the attack he was greeted to the outcome as the shield broke out, the gem was no doubt gone as Nitro and Scarlet were both on the verges of death.

Feeling the web break from his limbs his second arms reverted back to wings as he slowly made his way to Nitro, passing the unconscious Ice-Storm and giving a light kick to his gut for the inconvenience. The Ape like creature from before was now right next to Scarlet and was hovering around her since it's previous task had failed.

"Attack me and my minions asleep under the school decide to coat the place red with your friends and sisters blood" As he moved closer to both Nitro and Scarlet he was slowly coughing.

Aretis moved out of his little hovel after digging (with a little earth help) his way out. "Touch either of them and face my judgement." He threatened Zen and the Ape. He padded slowly and shakily as if he was weakened and had muscle aches all over. However, the two energy dragons stayed beside him, yet had diminished by quite a lot. They were barely half his own size in proportion. He sat and tried his best to stand upright, so strange for such a physically weak thing. Aretis watched as Scarlet and Nitro's final moments reached a conclusion.

Aretis touched his chest, and it glowed faintly where he touched it. He opened his mouth and pointed towards the sky. Something shot out of his mouth, almost like a star, yet it definitely was neither light, nor earth, nor any other element. Especially not an attack or anything as it passed through the roof slowly. Aretis whispered quietly to himself in what looked like some sort of prayer, yet in a language incomprehensible.

The dragons that had worked at the castle, the ones still alive and well enough to fly, left in a bit of a hurry. With the gem broken, and the owners of the castle all gone, the servants were now free. There was nothing tieing down down anymore, no reason for them to stay. They had no one they were forced to work for. They could finally move on and live in peace. Perhaps the king's daughter wasn't so bad after all, as they did owe her their thanks. Still, there was nothing they could do for a dying dragon.

"They are dying, unless you can heal wounds or experienced in biology I'm afraid your role is over, I'll heal Scarlet but that is the extent of it before I finish up business with this dirt-pile of a city....Help me heal her or go home kid because pestering me more will result in making your life a hell"

He stood towering above the both of them now, his claws and tendrils out to mimmick the many medical tools the two legged creatures of the world use to aid their wounded, it seemed he was waiting on Aretis response before starting. "Well will you aid in healing or decide to fight with your light show summons, they do not have much time for an answer"

Little did he know that the Swarm or what was left of this invasion force that hadn't joined in the absorbing of the larger creature that was morphing into a gigantic hatchery were now setting up barriers of patrol routes or marks to begin the second phase of this cities fate.

"There spirits have already left their bodies. There would be no use in healing a dragon without a soul." Aretis simply replied, smiling as the glow faded. "And if you don't want me pestering you, why don't you just leave? There's nothing left for you here—nothing you have to gain. You've lost and even your school threat is useless. What would you want with a school that's about to be shut down or at least put on hold until a new principal is found? What use would you have with hatchlings?" He asked Zen. "So, if you don't mind, I have some long enough awaited business I need to take care of. If you have a bone to pick with Alazandor, come along. Otherwise, I will kindly ask you to leave." Aretis said to Zen, then looked at Icestorm and walked over to him. "Icestorm, are you okay?" He asked concerned.

He had finished tending to Scarlet's wounds, however it was all up to her now as nothing else could be done as he had tended to her injuries and repaired her broken flesh by melding it, the body was fixed but the soul on the other hand only time could tell, Nitro or rather his corpse would make for a nice experiment once he finally choked it on the other hand.

"Tsk Tsk Tsk you have much to learn, there is much to gain here and much to exploit, why right now I do believe my wonderful minions are harvesting and mining the many riches those grounds feature below and what better place to send it all to then here because i think I just proclaimed ownership of this place" As he said that the feeling of being watched became more obvious, a trio of the strange reptilian like creatures stepped out from the shadows. "I lied when I said my minions were at your school....they moved quite awhile ago so your school should be safe, now please go or my friends will make a counter to your argument"

Scarlet's body had indeed been healed, but had it been enough to save her? Only time could reveal the answer, and so far, there seemed to be no signs of change. Scarlet's body lay still, seemingly lifeless. There was no clear sign of breathing or a pulse. Her body grew cold and her scales turned a pale pinkish color. She certainly looked dead, but was she really? Was her soul truly gone for good?

Aretis frowned. "Alright. I have a last thing to do, so sit tight and I'll be back soon. Have either Red or Blue help you." He told Icestorm, and then looked at Zen. "I will leave. I still have one more thing to do. Please don't interfere..." He stopped for a moment and looked at Scarlet's body. Something wasn't right. Was that....a light, he saw? Well, not an actual physical light but.....did......did he see something in her? Aretis didn't hear a pulse though. He blinked, and shed a tear. There was hope. He padded over to Scarlet and closed his eyes. His chest glowed again, right where the Luosambiat was kept. His father's words came back to him. Feel them. The spirits. The souls of people. Do not be quick to judge.

Scarlet's body had not changed any, yet there was still something odd. It could not be seen by the naked eye under normal circumstances, but there was a small orb of light floating around the body. It was faint and weak, but it still emanated energy and life. It's slight presence could be felt a little by those sensitive enough to sense it. Despite the body appearing lifeless, this orb of light seemed attached to it still, as if it couldn't move on just yet.

Aretis could feel this orb. Scarlet was still there, barely hanging on. Mentally, he reached out his conscious and softly touched the orb, connecting with it so he could communicate with her. Scarlet. He said in a voice that passed through like a whisper.

Aretis? Scarlet answered in a whisper. Her tone sounded confused. She seemed somewhat lost. I don't understand..... Why am I not moving on...? I'm seperate from my body, and yet I still feel attached to it.... It's like I can't completely break free... I completed my task, I should be able to move on.... So why can't I...?

His minions slowly converged however Zen gave a mental stop sign for them to halt, he could see Aretis was doing something to aid Scarlet. Through he wouldn't admit it his emotions right now were out like a child's book, he was deeply concerned and worried for her despite she was clinical and selfish beyond the point of not acknowledging or caring he existed. Anger was beginning to swell and he had one person to vent for causing her current state...the dying Nitro. He slowly walked towards his form and slowly his claws were growing...he was going to make mince out of him or worse.

I don't know either. Aretis truthfully responded. But, do you really want to move on? Are you really finished here? He asked. As much as I hated you before, I don't want to see you go....And well..... he shrugged. Living just for the sake of revenge is a pretty sad tale. Don't you want to do something with your life? Scarlet, you're still young. This.....this isn't the end. I think you have a choice here. You have the choice of dying. I'll guide you quickly and safely to the realm of dragon spirits. Or, I think the reason why you aren't leaving....is because you have a choice to still live if you want to.

There was a short pause before Scarlet replied. I suppose you have a point. I am still young and did not have much a purpose in life before. I have essentially been given a second chance, or at least an option. Perhaps my story doesn't have to end here, and I can actually make something of my life. I don't know what I would do, and I thought I would be satisfied with the simple victory over Nitro's death, but..... I don't know..... It doesn't seem as.... Satisfying and fulfilling as I would have thought.....

There was another pause as she thought about her options. To simply give up on life and move on from here would seem like a waste. I will move on past my desire for revenge, but instead find a reason to live. I just need to find a new purpose in life.

And with that, the orb of light began its descent towards Scarlet's body. As it drifted closer, the light seemed to dim as the orb seeped into the mass of flesh. It orb entered the body, bringing back life to it. It took a moment, but her heart restarted with a slow pulse at first. Her body twitched slightly and her scales steadily started to return to their ruby red color. With a slight moan, Scarlet's eyes fluttered open.

ooc: Not really important, but I just thought I'd point out the irony that I happen to be listening to Awake and Alive by Skillet as I type this. It's just kinda funny that the song sorta fits the situation.

His claws latched and gripped Nitro's form by the throat, he was barely alive and the sooner he died the faster he could absorb the body and improve himself, his tail slowly bent before positioning for a impaling strike to finish him off...."You weren't even worthy".

Aretis opened his eyes and then gasped at Zen. "Zen, that's enough!" He cried out. "What do you think you're doing? He's already dead!" Aretis was padding briskly over to where Zen was.

Blue saw Scarlet waking up " Ou my ...... i thought this all had been for nothing..... but now when you are awake ...... you will be able to pay me. And what comes to Nitro, you should at least give him some respect.... i have seen much worse opponents then him, but i do not really care so do what ever you want to" Blue said and smiled while looking at what would happen next.

Red saw the guard fly away and that made him realise "Nitro got to be dead, why would those guards leave if that have not happen"
Red walked forward and soon he saw the group. " I see that you have been successful" Red said, then he saw Icestorm "hey are you alright?" He asked

Ooc: Like you can see Red has not been in the fight with Nitro, in my earlier posts i said he has been fighting with guards. There is no problem about it, but just wanted you all to notice that.