Methuselah's return

[phoenix]

(Part 1)

Methuselah opened his eyes.

His vision was blurry. He was seeing double. He blinked once, then twice, up at the stone ceiling above him. The albino quickly shut his eyes again. Where was he?

He heard whispers around him.

“Are you certain that he’s the one?” whispered one voice.
“Yes.” Another voice whispered. “The Great Jewel is reacting to his presence. It has never reacted, before.”
“But it glows darkly…”
“Do you have any other ideas?” the whisper coming from this person was hissed, rather dangerously.

Methuselah didn’t like where the conversation was going. He opened his eyes once more. His vision was still blurry. Still doubled. The albino frowned and raised a hand to his eyes. The sound of a chain moving caught his attention. He paused in his movements, and the whispers ceased. Methuselah tried to sit up.

He was laying in a large circle, his wrists and ankles bound, surrounded by cloaked figures. Methuselah tried to blink away the blurriness.

“You’re awake.” Came a familiar voice. “Good.”

Xiu walked toward him, her bare feet climbing the stairs and stepping into the circle. Methuselah looked over his shoulder at the woman in red scale armor and growled. He then lashed out at her- causing the surrounding cloaked figures to gasp, stepping back- but the red dragon woman didn’t even flinch as she chains stopped the man, holding him steady to the ground. The woman tilt her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Temper, temper…” she tutted.
“Release me, Dragon!” Methuselah growled.
“Not yet.” She said to him, finally moving again, kneeling down to be at his level just out of reach. “You see, I brought you here initially for my clan to exact revenge and kill you…”
“Comforting…” Methuselah glared, cutting her off.
“… Yes, well…” Xiu smiled coyly. “You see that gem out there?” she asked, pointing to it. “It’s reacting to you. We’ve never seen it react, before. So you’re going to help us.”

Blood red orbs glanced about. He was in a stone tower, with arched windows all around. Outside of one of the windows to which Xiu pointed, he could see another tower with a large Gem atop of it. The Jewel pulsed a dark color. Methuselah looked back to Xiu and lashed out again.

Once more, the surrounding cloaked figures took a step back. The dark-skinned woman did not move, even when Methuselah’s fingernails came inches away from her face. She smirked.

“I willst never aid to thyne cause!” He growled.
“Oh, you will…” Xiu said, standing to her full height.

Methuselah was hit in the head with something hard. He fell back down to the ground, unconscious. Xiu looked to the cloaked figure whom hit him, then back down to the vampire.

“We’re not giving you a choice.” She said to him, even if he was passed out.

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

It had been weeks since Methuselah had arrived to the Great Realm of the Jewel. He had not been cooperative at all with the cloaked figures, and, as a result, was whipped as punishment on a regular basis. But the vampire did not say a word. He took his beatings in silence, his glare and hatred for the cloaked figures darker and more intense with each lash of the whip.

The albino’s skin was filthy, covered in welts and dried blood and sweat. His hair was no longer white, instead grimy and dusty and dirty. When Xiu descended into the chamber, he stood, hunched over slightly due to his height at the fact that the chains around his wrists weren’t long enough. Head hung low, he glared at the red dragon scale woman.

With her were four cloaked figures carrying a stone bench. They set the bench down before Methuselah and stepped back. Xiu sat upon the bench, with one leg crossed over the other. She watched him for a long time before she finally spoke.

“Methuselah.”
“Dragon.” He growled. It was the first words he had spoken in weeks.
“This is how it’s going to work. That protective aura of yours has got to go.”

Methuselah’s gaze dropped from the woman before him down to his hands. He hadn’t noticed, but his aura was up. It wasn’t as bright or as vivid as he could normally make it, but it was still up, however slight. Blood red orbs raised back to the Dragon woman.

“The Jewel can’t give you its power with your aura up. We tried waiting for you to sleep, we tried beating you, we’ve tried… Well, we’ve tried a lot, Vampire, and, surprisingly, your aura remains up. So we’re going to… try something else.”

At her last words, Xiu jumped up and stepped aside. Methuselah saw multiple cloaked figures approaching him. He tried to fight them off, but his movement was limited by the chains. Xiu kicked the stone bench until it was directly in front of the albino. The cloaked figures shoved him down onto it until he was on his stomach, spread eagle. A chanting began, and something tore into Methuselah’s back. The albino cried out in pain.

For hours, the chamber echoed like an authentic torture chamber. Methuselah had symbols carved into his back and his calves. He lay on the stone bench, weak, his throat sore, but his aura remained, however dim.

Some of the cloaked figures knelt by his wrists, attempting to remove the bracers. Methuselah panicked. He began thrashing with renewed adrenaline, trying to keep his wrists away from the cloaked figures.

He was afraid of what was going to happen if his anti-berserk bracers were removed. He would have no control. Methuselah suddenly stopped thrashing. It was actually a wonderful idea: allowing the cloaked figures to remove his anti-berserk bracers. They knew nothing of his berserk abilities. Xiu knew nothing. With everything that they put him through, he didn’t care if he unknowingly and unwillingly hurt them or not.

Xiu looked at him with a raised brow and cautious expression.

His anti-berserk bracers were removed. Gritting his teeth from the pain, the cloaked figures carved symbols into his wrists as the chanting continued. Xiu examined the bracers casually. When they were done, the symbols glowed red, and Methuselah’s aura shattered like glass.

“Finally…” the red dragon woman said, tossing the bracer she held to the ground.

There was a loud rushing sound. The cloaked figures all looked around, nervous. Xiu glanced up at the ceiling, then to the stairs that lead up from the chamber. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.

Suddenly a dark energy rushed into the room. The cloaked figures fell to their knees, covering themselves, protecting themselves. Xiu jumped out of the way, landing on her arm, crying out in pain. The dark energy rushed and swirled around Methuselah before it entered him. Methuselah cried out in pain. His cries were barely audible amidst the rushing of the dark energy.

When the dark energy was fully inside of the Vampire, the silence that followed was deafening. So much so that Xiu had to cover her ears for a moment. She looked to Methuselah, who did not move at all. Was he dead?

Slowly, she approached him. With the deafening silence, she could hear every movement of her body; every vibration as her bare feet touched the stone floor; every blink of her eyes; every beat of her heart; every inhale and exhale that she took. She stopped before the Vampire’s limp body. And she watched him for a long moment.

“Methuselah…”

Methuselah’s eyes shot open. They were no longer blood red, but black. The albino jumped up from his position on the stone bench. The chains about his wrists and ankles shattered. Xiu’s eyes went wide and she jumped back. The cloaked figures scrambled to their feet in an attempt to escape.

“Put the bracers back on him!” Xiu ordered. Nobody listened. They were too busy being slaughtered.

Xiu barely made it out of the chamber. She ran up the stairs two at a time, only to come to a skidding halt at the top:

There, before her, were strange and dark creatures. Many cloaked figures lay dead, on the ground. She watched the destruction before her, and heard the chaos from the berserker behind her, rapidly approaching. She was trapped.

With a growl, she lunged forward, her body shifting into that of a large, red dragon. Part of the castle collapsed about her, falling atop of the dark creatures. They scratched at her, but she fended them off and launched herself up in the air, escaping just as Methuselah reached the top of the stairs.

The Red dragon watched as the Vampire destroyed the dark creatures about him as if they were nothing. What were they? What was going on?

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

It was like living in Hellsgate all over again: But instead of Vampires, she and her kind were at war with these new dark entities. And then there was Methuselah, in an eternal berserk state, who, like in Hellsgate, fought everything and anything. Dragons and Darklings were his enemy. It didn’t matter.

Years went by. The Jewel grew eternally darker, and as did the sky. The lavish fields of the Great Realm of the Jewel turned to dust and rocks. Xiu had returned to the castle and grabbed the anti-berserk bracers. For years, she had tried to put them back onto Methuselah without getting slaughtered herself, but with no luck. Each time, she would narrowly escape. He was strong. Too strong for even her, which she hated.

One day, Xiu found Methuselah by a blood-colored stream. He was kneeling, reaching into the red water, and washing himself with it. The red dragon lady figured that it would be her best bet. Slowly, quietly, and cautiously, she approached. One step. Another step…

At the third step, Methuselah spun around. Xiu’s heart sunk. How? How did he know?

They stared at each other for a long moment. Xiu then noticed that the Vampire’s eyes weren’t black, as they had been for the past few years, but, rather, blood red.

“Vampire.” She said, out of habit for the creature he had become, then corrected herself. “Methuselah.”

Methuselah did not say a word. He remained where he was, frozen, on his knees by the bloody stream. Xiu attempted to approach him again. She took one step. Then another.

Something caught Methuselah’s attention. His head swiftly turned to his left. He growled and leapt after a darkling. Xiu cussed and ran after him. The time to put the anti-berserk bracers back on him was now or never.

She raced after him, and found him slaughtering a few Darklings. The red dragon woman jumped on Methuselah’s back and put one of the bracers back on Methuselah’s arm before she was flung off of him, landing on her own back. She grit her teeth from the pain, but Methuselah did not move. She jumped back up and put the other bracer on, before jumping back. Still, Methuselah did not move. He simply looked at her with blood red orbs.

“Well that was a little too… easy…”

Methuselah’s arm struck out at her, grabbing her by the throat before she could even finish her thought, pinning her to the wall of rocks behind her. He then lift her off of the ground.

“These doth not work.” He told her.
“Because… you’re not… Berserk!” Xiu tried, kicking at the Vampire, both of her hands scratching at the one hand Methuselah had around her throat. “It’s… the darkness!” she choked.

Methuselah threw the red dragon woman against the wall of stones. It exploded upon impact, and Xiu fell to the ground in pain. She tried getting back up, but Methuselah reached her first. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up as if she were a rag doll.

Xiu winced, her legs wobbly once she was on her feet. Methuselah slammed her hand down onto a rock, and pulled out a hidden blade. The dark-skinned woman’s eyes went wide.

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

Methuselah stabbed the blade through his hand, and into Xiu’s. She cried out in pain and surprise, and the cry became a screech as Methuselah began carving a symbol into both of their hands simultaneously while chanting something in a foreign language.

When Methuselah was done, he pulled the blade out of both of their hands and released Xiu. She fell to her knees, and crawled away from the Vampire in fear, stumbling each time her injured hand touched the ground.

“What have you done? What have you done!?” she said, panicked.
“We art now linked.” Methuselah said, looking to his hand as it healed quickly, thanks to him being a Vampire and an Ancient.
“Why…? Why would you do that?” Xiu whispered, horrified, holding her throbbing hand. The blade only carved into the surface of her hand, unlike his own hand, which had gone all the way through.
“Now, one cannot die without thyne other. And now I hath an army of Dragons at mine disposal.” He said, walking away. Xiu growled and Methuselah paused in his steps. He looked over his shoulder, and his expression was almost sad. “And because I needst thou to be mine voice of reason.”

Methuselah turned back and continued walking away. Xiu had been glaring, but at his last words, she blinked, confused. She got back to her feet and followed the Vampire.

“Wait… Did you let me put the bracers back on you?” she asked.
“Aye.”
“Did you get rid of the darkness?” she wondered.
“Nay, I hath it contained, t’is all.”
“What happened to you…?” she said.

Methuselah spun around, causing Xiu to skid to a halt. The Vampire’s eyes flashed from blood red to black, and back again numerous times.

“I asketh thou the same, Dragon, for the runes carved into mine skin art thy magic, not mine own.”

Xiu watched the Vampire carefully, before he turned around and continued walking off. She rubbed at her aching hand and followed, in silence, the rest of the way.

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

It had been many years in the Great Realm of the Jewel since Methuselah and Xiu’s forced partnership. They had destroyed many Darklings, but for each one they destroyed, it seemed that two more sprouted forth from the gem up in the tower.

Methuselah and Xiu eventually made it to the gem in the tower. Methuselah was eventually able to open a portal back to Hellsgate via the Jewel.

“It worked.” Xiu said, almost amazed.
Methuselah smirked as he opened a portal back to the Loch Ness. “Thou doubtest me, always.” He said.
“Because I never know when it’s you or the darkness talking.” She replied, as she followed the Vampire through the new portal, to the placed called Loch Ness.

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

Dark eyes opened, and a gasp escaped his lips. A dark, clawed hand quickly grasped at the necklace about his neck, which pulsed darkly.

“Phobos! Deimos!” the being croaked.

The large doors opened, and twins with long black hair walked toward him. When they saw him in distress, they rushed over to him, one on each side. The twin in the long red dress removed the being’s hand from about the necklace, while the twin in the purple dress placed a delicate hand on the gem about her master’s neck, filling it with energy.

“It’s here.” The being gasped.

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

Methuselah stepped out of the portal into the Loch Ness, followed by Xiu. The albino had spent years in the Great Realm of the Jewel. The Vampire was broader with muscles, his hair longer. He had watched the Great Realm of the Jewel die into nothing but a waste land. But, strangely, the Loch Ness did not appear to have changed much if at all from his last memory of it.

Methuselah glanced around. He parted his lips to speak, but another voice sounded, instead.

“That’s um… That’s mine.”

The Vampire and the Red Dragon woman spun around. There stood a weak being, held up by two beautiful and identical twins.

“That darkness.” The being said. “It’s mine.” He weakly pointed to the gem around his neck. “See? You can feel it pulsing. You can feel it calling to you, can’t you…”
“I know not what thou speaketh of…” Methuselah said, his blood red orbs on the being’s necklace.

With each pulse, Methuselah’s eyes changed from blood red to black, and back to red again.

“Methuselah…” Xiu said, cautiously. “Voice of reason, here. Snap out of it…”

The dark-skinned woman was unable to reason with the Vampire. Methuselah growled and lunged at the feathered being, but the twins raised their free hand simultaneously, and Methuselah hit a forcefield. He growled darkly, his eyes now black. He scratched at the forcefield, almost getting through. Xiu tried to stop him, but was flung away.

The feathered being grinned weakly, licking his lips. “Ohh, I feel it.” He whispered to the twins. “I feel it, and it feels wonderful. I need it. I need all of it…”

The twins did not reply, focusing on keeping the barrier up from the Ancient. The feathery being wiggled free from the twins, standing to his full height, a rather evil expression on his face. The being licked his lips once more and shot up into the sky before dive bombing onto Methuselah.

They did not hit solid ground, however. A portal formed beneath Methuselah as he was pushed down into it. Xiu scampered to reach him, but it was too late. Her eyes darted to the twins, who shattered the barrier before them and turned into ravens. They crossed paths and dived into the portal after their master. Xiu growled.

“Why am I always saving you?!” she hissed, before jumping in after them all, the portal shutting behind her.

[Shelly D. D.]

Damn IT SETH NOW WHERE IS HE LOL

[phoenix]

(Part 2)

Methuselah shot out of the portal. He landed on solid ground and rolled a few times from the force. The vampire quickly lashed out a hand with long, sharp claws that dug into the ground beneath him, finally bringing his body to a halt.

The Realm was dark. Wherever they were there was a strong wind that whipped Methuselah’s long white hair in every direction and ruffled the dark being’s feathers as he stood, unaffected by the portal.

Xiu tumbled out of the portal, and Methuselah snatched at her to stop her right before she fell off the ledge of wherever they were. Two ravens flew out from the portal- which finally shut behind them- and landed next to their master. The ravens shifted back into human form, and the beautiful twins stood next to their master, protectively.

They were at the top of a tower. Methuselah could see other towers around them, but that was pretty much it. There was nothing but a void below them, and dark, swirling skies above them.

“Who are you?! Why have you brought us here?!” Xiu hissed, ready to attack at any moment.
“I did not bring you here, Daughter of the Dragon Lord. I brought the Ancient One. You came here on your own.”

Xiu’s eyes went wide at the title that the feathered being used in order to address her. She looked to Methuselah, but the Vampire seemed to be hypnotized by the pulsing of the feathered being’s necklace.

I’ve had so many names” The feathered being said. “Old names that only the wind and the trees can pronounce…”

He was getting weak, again. His knees buckled, and the twins at his side each held him up from collapsing. When he deemed himself alright, with a motion of one of his dark clawed hands, the twins released him. He took one step toward Methuselah and Xiu, then another. Finally, he bowed at the waist in excessive motion.

“For now, you may call me Fiskar the Thunderer. ‘He Who Causes Clouds And Storms’. ‘Lord Of The Misterious Region’. Etcetera, etcetera.” He said, standing back up, seemingly distracted.
“How do you know my father?” she glared.
“I know many things. I have friends in high places. The Realms whisper to me.”

Fiskar collapsed again. The twins aided him back to his feet. His dark blue eyes were shut, seemingly in pain, and when he opened them again, he looked at Methuselah, then to Xiu.

“Look around you.” He said. “Every single tower is supposed to have a gem. There should be twelve gems. But there are only two.”

Xiu slowly stood up. The wind whipped her long black hair about. Her red eyes glanced about, and she saw that what the feathered being said was true. There seemed to be twelve towers- they were standing on one of them- and two of them held a large gem like the one from the Great Realm of the Jewel. The red dragon woman glanced down at the Vampire, who still seemed entranced. She looked back up to Fiskar, frowning.

“What do you want from us?”
“From you, nothing.” He said, simply. “From him, however…” Fiskar said, pointing to Methuselah, “… I need that darkness. I need that power. I need him to bring me to my gem.”
“That power is not yours to take.”
“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, daughter of the Dragon Lord. It is mine to take, because it was mine to begin with. This is my Realm. My Realm was attacked, and my gems stolen, scattered to far Realms that I’ve never even heard of. The gems keep my Realm alive. They keep me… alive…”

Fiskar’s knees buckled beneath him, but he did not fall far, thanks to the fact that the beautiful twins were still holding on to him, still keeping him steady.

“Who attacked your Realm?” Xiu asked.
Fiskar shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know…”
“You don’t know who attacked your Realm?” Xiu repeated, bewildered.
“It put us to sleep. When we awoke, the gems were gone.”

Xiu watched Fiskar and the twins longly. She was processing the information. It was hard to swallow, hard to believe. Finally she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Fine. What do we do?”
“I need him to take me to that Realm.”
“There’s a portal in Hellsgate…” she started, but was cut off.
“No, there’s a simpler way than that. All Realms can be readily accessed once they’re unlocked. And the Ancient One unlocked it.”

Fiskar wiggled free from the twins and approached Methuselah. The twins followed their master closely. The trickster removed the necklace from around his neck, and placed it around the Vampire. Almost immediately, a burst of energy shot out, surrounding everyone on the tower. When it was sucked back into Methuselah, everyone was gone.

The same burst of darkness placed the party atop of the circle in the tower where Methuselah had first awoken. Xiu was awake. Everyone was, except for Methuselah. Xiu heard noises, and when she looked, she glared, the flame in her eyes visible.

“We’re surrounded by the Darklings!” she hissed ready to attack.
“Darklings? Is that what you call them?” Fiskar smirked. He raised a hand in the air. All of the Darklings stopped and turned into a black goo. Fiskar then sucked the goo inside of him, his iridescent dark feathers glistening from the feat as he shut his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, they were as black as the void. The black dissipated until they were dark blue once more. And then Fiskar’s eyes shot wide in surprise.

Methuselah attacked. The Vampire had awoken. Fiskar dodged by sliding from side to side, backing away with each lash from the Vampire. The twins tried to protect their master by casting spells, but Xiu would not have it. She lunged at them. The twins turned into ravens and flew out of the tower. Xiu rushed after them and jumped out of the tower. Within seconds, she transformed into a large, red dragon.

Both ravens merged into a larger, black feathered beast, and they fought in the skies. Fiskar backed away from the tower until he, too, was in the air. Methuselah growled, as he was the only one who could not fly.

Fiskar, his wings keeping him steady, watched as the Vampire used his claws to climb up the tower wall to the top of it, and lunge out at the Trickster. Methuselah missed, and began falling.

Xiu tore herself away from the twins and dived after the Vampire. She caught him in her clutches and was flying back up when Methuselah dug his claws into her. She let out a mighty roar of pain, and snapped at the Vampire. He was either berserk or the darkness had taken over again, she wasn’t sure. Xiu looked to the Vampire’s wrists. No, the anti-berserk bracers were still on him, meaning that the darkness had taken over. With an angry growl, she flung Methuselah back into the tower, but the Vampire quickly clung to Xiu’s claw. Xiu transformed back into a human just before her large dragon form hit the tower, causing her and Methuselah to tumble from the effort. Xiu’s back slammed into the arched wall, and Methuselah landed against her, quickly impaling her shoulder with his long, Vampiric fingernails.

Xiu screeched in pain, and clawed aimlessly at the Vampire, accidentally ripping Fiskar’s necklace off of Methuselah.

“That’s enough.” Fiskar’s voice boomed as he stood close to them.

Methuselah’s eyes shifted from black to blood red, and his eyes went wide upon realizing what he had done.

“Well that can’t be good for your skin…” Fiskar mused, tilting his head some, looking at the glowing red marks on Methuselah’s back and calves.

Fiskar approached Methuselah and placed a hand atop of the marking carved into Methuselah’s back. The twins did the same with the markings on his calves. Suddenly Methuselah hollered out in pain.

Xiu had a hard time breathing. She was still pinned to the wall by Methuselah’s claws, and the feathered being was doing something rather painful to Methuselah. It felt as if gravity had given out around them. Their hair and the twins dresses floated without the air of even a breeze. Xiu’s hand began to burn. She looked down at it, at the mark that Methuselah had carved into them both. It was glowing. Fiery. Xiu screamed.

Fiskar’s gaze was intent on the markings on Methuselah’s back. There was almost an evil look upon his features, as if he was making things worse. But soon, Methuselah’s painful cries ceased, and Fiskar and the twins removed their hands. Fiskar’s hand smoked, as if he had gotten burned. He shook it slightly, then closed his hand. He then shut his eyes and the twins quickly caught him before he collapsed.

Methuselah continued to stare into Xiu’s fiery eyes. His eyes were blood red, as they had been the entire time of his torture by Fiskar. Finally, the Vampire retracted his claws, causing Xiu to cry out in pain once more.

“Apologies, Xiu, I…”
“It’s okay…” she winced, trying to scoot away from being pinned in between the Vampire and the wall. “You weren’t yourself…” she added.

Methuselah pulled away from her and turned around, glaring at Fiskar.

“What hast thou done to me?” he demanded.
“I removed the curses.” Fiskar breathed heavily. “Well.” He added. “Some of them, anyway.”

Methuselah looked to his calves. There was no longer markings carved into them. His hands went to his back to feel what he could. Nothing. Methuselah slowly stood up, eyeing the feathered being cautiously.

“Thou hast mine thanks.”
“Not yet.” Fiskar said. “I have to remove the rest of them, and then we need to go… there.”

Fiskar pointed out the window to where the large gem sat in the tower. Xiu raised a brow then frowned. She stood up and walked over to the window, looking out to the gem in question. Instead of pulsing darkly, the gem seemed divided. It pulsed darkly, then there was a glimmer of light. Again it pulsed darkly, like a heartbeat, before another glimmer occurred.

“I’ve never seen it do that, before…” she said.
“It’s reacting to him…” Fiskar started. “And me. Shall we try this again?” Fiskar said, looking at Methuselah. “Bring me your wrists…”

The twins gently released their master and walked toward the albino. They both reached for his arms, but Methuselah pulled his arms away, protectively.

“I advise caution.” Methuselah warned, eyeing the twins for a moment before he looked back to Fiskar. “I doth not know mine own strength and actions whilst berserk…”
“Then just don’t get angry.” Fiskar smirked as the twins removed the anti-berserk bracers.
“Easier said than- AHH!”

Methuselah cried out in pain as the twins removed the markings etched into his wrists. Weakened, Methuselah dropped to his knees. Fiskar approached and kneeled before him. Dark blue eyes eyed the etching in Methuselah’s hand as the twins put the anti-berserk bracers back on Methuselah’s wrists.

“I need to remove that one, too. For liability reasons.”
“That one stays.” Xiu cut in.

Methuselah turned his head to look at the red dragon lady. She seemed angered by her own words. She was rubbing at the mark on her own hand as if it hurt her. Methuselah knew that she did not want to be a slave to the Vampire, that she did not want any part of the forced partnership that he imposed upon her. But there was something else in her that made her decide such, and Methuselah couldn’t quite put his finger on. Pride, perhaps?

“I’m his voice of reason.” She added.
“You don’t need a curse as a contract.” Fiskar said, shaking his head and reaching out for Methuselah’s hand. “I’ll give you another marking later if you really want one, but right now, I must insist that the Ancient One be curse-free for the next part.”

Xiu didn’t have time to ask what the next part entailed when both she and Methuselah cried out in pain simultaneously.

Their markings were removed. Xiu was no longer bound to Methuselah. She rubbed at the phantom pain of the carving in her hand, eyeing Fiskar suspiciously.

“Meet me at the gem, Ancient One.” The feathered being said to the Vampire. He spread his dark wings and flew off to the tower, followed by the beautiful twins, who turned into ravens.

Methuselah watched them for a moment, before he looked to Xiu. The red dragon lady rolled her eyes and darted for the window, jumping through and down. When she returned to the window, she was in full dragon form. Methuselah jumped out of the window and Xiu caught him. She then flew off toward the gem.

“Don’t you dare stab me this time…” she growled deeply.
“Doth not allow the darkness to consume mine self.” Methuselah warned back.
“Containing the darkness is your job. I’m just the voice of reason, remember?”

Xiu released Methuselah near the gem atop of the tower. Methuselah kept his arm outstretched and grabbed onto Xiu’s arm as to not allow her to fall once she turned back into human form. With the large gem, there was not much room left to stand atop the tower.

“What now?” the Vampire asked.
“We touch it.” Fiskar answered. “Together. At the same time, or else this isn’t going to work.”
“T’is that all?” Methuselah asked.
“Yes. For this part.”
“And the next part?” Methuselah questioned, a brow raised as he and Fiskar timed their touching of the gem together.
“Keep a sharp mind.” Fiskar simply said.

Fiskar and Methuselah touched the gem simultaneously. The gem vibrated so intensely that the air around them did as well. It made Xiu sick to her stomach. Fiskar slowly removed his hand, and Methuselah followed suite. Their physical forms released the gem, but something was still connecting them to the gem.

Bright white strands connected Fiskar, and black, smoky strands connected Methuselah. The Vampire snatched his hand back, trying to disconnect, but to no avail. He took a step back, then another, and found his heel hanging off of the ledge of the tower. He looked to Fiskar.

Fiskar was fully detached from whatever came out of him. He stood before a wispy figure made entirely of white energy. The wispy white figure tried to touch Fiskar’s forehead with a finger, but there was a force field up, which blocked the wispy figure. It screeched, displeased. It then turned to Methuselah and flew toward him.

Methuselah brought his arms up to protect himself. There was a large explosion of energy, which sent both Fiskar and Methuselah flying back. Fiskar landed on his rear end dangerously close to the ledge. Xiu had prevented Methuselah from falling over.

When Methuselah looked, the wispy white figure was battling with a shadowy dark figure.

“Keep your wits!” Fiskar called out to Methuselah.

The white figure flew back toward Fiskar as he was down. It tried touching him, but each time that it did, its touch bounced off of a force field. This angered the figure dramatically each time. The figure screeched, but before it could do anything else, the shadowy figure attacked it. Methuselah watched as Fiskar took the opportunity to grab for the dark shadowy figure and grabbed it by its wispy tail. The shadowy figure flailed as it turned to a black goo. It melted onto the tower, and was sucked into the feathered being.

The wispy white figure turned around and darted toward Methuselah. The Vampire thought that it would hit a force field as it had when it tried to touch Fiskar, but Methuselah was sorely surprised when it flew inside of him.

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

It felt like he was falling. Everything was white. There was no up, no down… In a way, it kind of felt like the starry void in which he often met with Asuna.

“Asuna…” he whispered.

He hadn’t spoken her name in years. How he missed her…

He heard an echo in his mind. Blinking, he glanced around. The echo was distant. Fragmented. And, for a moment, it sounded like a woman saying Asuna’s name.

Suddenly there was a flash before him. The image of Asuna appeared, and quickly vanished. What the hell was going on?

Methuselah didn’t have time to ask any more questions. His whole body burned as if he had been lit on fire. He cried out in pain and writhed his whole body. There was an absurdly loud shriek that was louder than his own cries of pain. Methuselah clamped his eyes shut and covered his ears.

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

Everything stopped.

The shrieking. The burning sensation. Everything.

Methuselah opened his eyes and saw Fiskar standing above him.

“I said are you alright?” he asked, apparently once more.

Methuselah blinked and glanced about. He was atop of the tower and the gem no longer pulsed. The twins stood next to a collapsed Xiu. Methuselah looked back at Fiskar as the feathered being offered his hand for the Vampire to take.

“What hath happened?” Methuselah asked, accepting Fiskar’s hand to aid him to his feet.
“Well… You see…” Fiskar sighed. “I really don’t remember.”

Methuselah eyed him curiously. The feathered being tapped the gem with his hand, then rubbed his hand over the surface almost affectionately.

“Time to get this back to my Realm.” He said, more so to himself than to Methuselah. “Can I take you anywhere?” he asked the albino. “Hellsgate? Union City?”
“The Loch Ness.” Methuselah said. “Please.” He added.

Fiskar nodded and looked to the twins. They nodded in return and kneeled before Xiu. When they touched her, all three of them vanished. The feathered being looked to Methuselah and smiled. He then raised a hand and snapped his fingers.

When Methuselah blinked, he was standing on the edge of the forest in the Loch Ness, which a vanishing image in his mind that Fiskar’s smile seemed more like a mischievous grin than anything.

“Methuselah?” a familiar female voice spoke behind him.

The Vampire quickly spun around to see Xiu standing next to a tree. Her arms were crossed and her fiery eyes watched him intently for a moment. Methuselah’s own blood red orbs glanced about the Loch suspiciously. Xiu finally moved and began walking away.

“So this is the Loch Ness, huh?”
“Aye…” he said, following her.
“Well, I suppose that as long as there are no pulsing gems, I could get used to it.”

Methuselah rubbed his temples. They hurt. But he was home.

Sort of.