The Monster Multiverse

=====================
The World between Worlds:
=====================

-------------------------------------
The Fairy and the Wasteland
-------------------------------------

The sun hung in high in the sky over a vast, white wasteland. Frigid winds blew across the frozen terrain, chilling all but the most hardened of creatures to the bone. Snow fell from the sky in a steady, constant stream, blanketing the bleak landscape with more of the cold, white powder. Off in the distance, massive mountains of ice towered over the landscape, their ancient surfaces covered in cracks, caves and canyons attained from thousands of years of standing strong against the harsh winds. Nothing moved in this white expanse and everything seemed still and silent, save for the constant whistling of the icy winds.

----------

With a small groan, the creature began to slowly awaken. She was still sore from last night's ordeal, and during her unconsciousness she had apparently become buried under a quickly growing snow drift. She felt chilled to her very core, but knew that it wasn't from the falling snow or icy winds as she thought back to the previous night. With a grunt, she forced herself to stand and rise up out of her soft, cold resting place.

Snow fell off of her feminine form and any clinging powder was brushed off with a casual pass of her hands. The frost sprite looked out over the frozen landscape, her long blue hair whipping in the wind as her alert, golden eyes traced across her surroundings. She wore nothing; her nude body was completely exposed to the harsh elements of the wasteland. The cold and the wind did not bother her though, she was a frost sprite after all, and this was her element. It was her home, as it always had been, its harsh conditions as normal to her as breathing.

Her antennas twitched as they searched for any useful information they could glean from the winds. There was not all that much to take in though; the wasteland really did seem to be as dead and lifeless as it initially appeared. The woman stretched and let out a yawn, and then with a flicker of her blue, transparent wings, she was off, streaking though the air across the cold desolate landscape.

----------

Life passed slowly on this frozen wasteland, never changing except for the wildlife, which seemed to be becoming harder and harder to find. All the prey had been moving on for quite some time now, leaving the predators to fend for themselves. Nearly all of the frost sprites that once called the wasteland home had already moved on as well, spreading out to find new homes with more reliable food supplies and slightly more hospitable conditions. This lone female was one of the only ones left now, and her life had become one of solitude and uncertainty. While the prey had all but disappeared, it seemed that more and more predatory animals kept turning up, new beasts she had never encountered before, and in their hunger they were becoming increasingly violent and unpredictable. She almost never went out anymore without a good reason.

She spent most of her time in the small cave she had carved out for herself with her magic. It was small and simple, but it did the job. She was only really interested in survival at the moment, and was too concerned about making her meager food reserves last to worry about much else. She tried to stretch her meals out as best she could, and had even begun using her magic to enlarge the food in her stomach to make a more filling meal out of it, but she knew that no matter what she did, her supplies would not last forever. Several more weeks passed and the frost sprite kept to her usual routine, watching with growing concern as her food reserves started to run dangerously low.

She let out a sigh as she stood up and walked towards the entrance to her cave. She took a few moments to get her thoughts in order and with a flutter of her wings she was airborne. She flew aimlessly over the seemingly infinite expanse of ice and snow, wondering what exactly she was going to do when she finally ran out of food, and where exactly she was supposed to go. She made her way over to a large snow-covered hill, landed, and then dropped to a sitting position before she pulled her knees up to her chest. Her eyes vacantly stared across the white expanse as she started to lose herself in thought, the sound of the wind becoming a distant drone in her mind as she focused on other things.

After a while, she began to think that she heard a new sound being carried on the wind, something that sounded active, and alive. Her antennas perked up as she lifted her head, spying a speck of movement in the distance. She stood up and buzzed into the air, carefully making her way closer for a better look.

----------

The man ran full tilt across the snow, occasionally turning his head to glance back over his shoulder. His nose and throat burned from the freezing cold air, and he panted harder and harder as he forced himself to keep running. He could feel his feet going numb, and knew that his physical exertion was probably the only thing keeping his entire body from doing the same. His light-grey jacket flapped behind him as he ran, it had been perfect for cool weather, but it just was not made to handle anything like this. No matter how he looked at it, he was totally unequipped to deal with this kind of cold and this type of terrain.

For the moment though, he had more pressing concerns to worry about. Something was chasing him, several of them by the look of it, and he still had no idea what exactly he was dealing with. They had started following him almost as soon as he'd arrived in…wherever the hell this place was. He couldn't see them, but he knew they were there. Two trails snaked their way through the snow behind him, giving chase and zigzagging here and there. The displaced lines in the powder, and the occasional puff of snow being blown into the air were the only things that gave away their positions. He could see them closing in, they almost seemed to be toying with him, and he knew he was reaching the end of his endurance. How he'd even kept this pace up for as long as he had still kind of amazed him, he imagined it was the fear and panic that had been helping him along.

Deep down, he knew he didn't have much left in him, and so, his pace began to slow. He came to a stop and finally turned to face his pursuers. "Persistent little buggers, aren't you?" he panted as he watched the approaching lines in the snow. "Alright the, if you want me, you're going have to earn it."

He reached a hand into his jacket and withdrew the pistol he kept holstered near his chest. He pulled back the slide, not particularly liking the stiff, scraping noise it made. The man groaned a little, but decided that it would just have to be good enough for now. He raised the weapon, pointing it in the general direction of the creatures that had been chasing him. "So, who's first? I'll be damned if I make this easy for you two."

He stood there, wind whipping past him, his brown hair blowing around, and his clothes rustling from the movement of the icy winds. His deep, blue eyes scanned the snow in front of him, his full attention focused on the two trails slowly moving towards him now. They were taking their time, and seemed to be stalking him. Finally, a loud screeching noise signaled the first creature's attack. A burst of snow flew into the air as the creature lurched into motion, a trail of powder shooting up in its wake. The human backed up a couple steps and steadied himself, wondering what the hell was attacking him, and looking for the right moment to make his move.

A loud whooshing noise blasted through the air, and the ground in front of him seemed to explode. A geyser of snow and steam blew up in all directions, and a dark blur soared out of it. He pulled the trigger of his pistol, sending two sharp cracks echoing across the wasteland. He didn't have time to see if he'd done any damage though, as he had to throw himself to the side to avoid the creature. The car-sized animal shot right past where he had been standing, leaving a trail of shimmering hot air in its wake. It streaked through the air like a missile, and let out a screech before it plunged back into the white powder once again. He saw a patch of snow near where it had landed was now stained orange ….he really hoped that was its blood.

"Okay, what the hell was that thing?!" he blurted out as he quickly got back to his feet, his head turning to look for the second creature. He started to raise his pistol again, but noticed a serious problem as soon as he went to aim. "Oh, come on. Not now, not now!" he said as his hand worked across the slide of the weapon, the whole thing now seized up by a round that had failed to eject properly.

"Crap!" he yelled to no one in particular. He had just started to look over the weapon when another explosion pierced the air. He turned to see one of the creatures rocketing straight at him, and although he didn't have time to make out many details, he knew he saw teeth…and lots of them. He threw himself on the ground again, the creature barely missing him before plowing back into the snow and submerging itself once again. The human scrambled to his feet, tossing his currently useless firearm to the frozen ground below. He then quickly removed his backpack, tossing it unceremoniously to the ground as well. He let a small glimmer of hope pass through his head as his eyes locked onto what was strapped to it.

The man reached out, his hand wrapping around a familiar handle of wood. He undid the strap and pulled the large utility knife free from his pack. He'd originally kept it in case he needed to chop wood, or vegetation or something, but he figured it might do a decent job of chopping up monsters…at least he hoped so. The human stood all the way back up and edged away from his pack, looking once again for the tell-tale lines in the snow. He gripped the large knife tightly, and he knew he'd only have a split-second to make his move when the opportunity presented itself.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned just as the creature began to erupt from beneath the snow. He side-stepped as fast as he could and lifted the blade above his head. Everything seemed to move in slow-motion as he watched the monstrosity fly past him. He chose his moment, and let out a yell as he brought large knife down in an arc with all his might.

A wet crunching noise rang out from the creature as his blade buried itself into what the human hoped was something vital. The creature let out a pained squeal as it spasmed and tumbled to the ground, ripping the knife from the human's hands in the process, and nearly dragging him down to the ground with it. Instead of a graceful dive back into the snow, the pitch-black monster landed in a heap on the ground. The human rushed forward, his hands quickly wrapping around the knife's handle once again. He pulled it out of the creature's flesh, the blade covered in a thick, orange liquid he assumed to be its blood. He let out another yell and brought the large blade down again, and once more for good measure, only stopping when the creature finally went limp and silent. He breathed heavily as he stood over it, his knife and pants legs splattered with the orange liquid.

He let a smirk cross his face as he looked down at it, and started to think that he may just make it out of this alive after all. Suddenly, an all too familiar explosion came from behind him, and he felt his blood run cold. The human turned around, already taking a step back to try and get out of the path that he felt the second creature was going to take. He let out a yelp as his leg hit the corpse of its partner and he tumbled backwards. It was at this point that he knew he was done for. The thought that he'd gone down fighting was a little comforting, but he was still terrified of what was to come. He closed his eyes and prayed it would be quick.

But his death never came, only the sound of the second monster screeching out in pain. The human slowly opened his eyes and righted himself, dropping his knife as he took in the sight before him. The second creature hung limply in mid-lunge, its body skewered on half a dozen icy shards more than twice his height. Its bright orange blood flowed down them, staining the snow below. A million questions ran through his mind. What the hell was this thing? Where did that ice come from? Where the hell am I? He may have gone over these questions again and again, had his thoughts not been interrupted by a soft feminine voice from off to his right.

"That was a close call" she said calmly.

The man slowly turned his head towards the source of the voice, and when he saw the speaker he started to wonder if he'd actually lost his mind. Standing in front of him was a woman; she looked to be about his age, mid-twenties or so. She stood completely naked in the snow and the wind, but he didn't see as much as a single shiver running through her fit, healthy form. Her bright, gold eyes looked at him, and her long blue hair fluttered gently in the wind. His eyes focused on what was coming out of her back though, growing out of her back, in fact. Two pairs of pale blue, transparent wings, like the wings of some kind of insect.

He turned and looked at the dead creature, and then back at her "…D…did you…?"

She nodded and took a step closer, her antennas twitching slightly. "Are you alright?"

He just kept staring at her, still in disbelief "I don't even know anymore. I mean…." He gestured to the creatures that lay dead, to the icy wasteland around them, and then to her "What the hell is going on?"

She hmm'ed and moved in closer, looking him over. "You must be a new arrival then. That explains a lot. You don't appear to be injured though. You are a very lucky guy."

He looked down at her, the winged woman only coming up to a bit past his shoulder "L…lucky?! I wake up in…well, wherever the hell this is, and then get chased by two monsters for miles, and I'm lucky?"

A small smirk crossed the woman's lips "Yep. You're still alive. Around here, that is a pretty big accomplishment, believe me. Anyway, it will be dark soon and things only get more dangerous at night." She looked up at him, a friendly, welcoming expression on her face "My home isn't that far from here and you're more than welcome to stay the night."

He looked around, shivering and wondering how much more dangerous this place could get. Then he turned back to her and nodded "Thanks, that's really nice of you."

She giggled a little at that "Oh, it's no problem. I can't just leave you out here. You wouldn't survive the night out on your own. …and besides, I haven't had any company in ages. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to again." After another small smile, she turned and pointed across the white expanse "It's just over that way, umm …what should I call you?"

The human quickly went over to his pack, sliding his knife back into place before slinging it onto his back. "I'm Dillon, nice to meet you."

"I'm Zephyr" she said before giving him a small nod. With that, she started to walk off in the direction she had indicated before. "Just follow me, it really isn't that far. We should be able to make it there just before dark."

Dillon squatted down, picked up his pistol and holstered it. He then stood up and set off at a quick pace to close the gap between him and the winged woman, and soon fell into a comfortable walk alongside her after he had caught up. He couldn't help but turn his head and glance at her from time to time. Her beauty, her wings, she was just such a bizarre, yet welcome sight. There was one thing nagging him that he just couldn't push out of his mind though. "Umm …Zephyr?"

"Hmm? What is it?" she asked curiously as she looked over at him.

"Well, I was just wondering. How are you not freezing to death? I mean, you're naked…in this kind of weather. You don't even look like you're cold."

She giggled a little at his questions "I'm a frost sprite. We're made to live in places like this. The cold doesn't bother me."

He nodded slowly and continued walking with her. It was becoming increasingly clear that he was on a very alien world. Huge monsters that dig through the snow, naked, blue-haired girls with wings, and who knew what else. The main thought that kept repeating itself through his head was, 'Where the hell am I?'

After a little while, they came upon a small cave that was carved into the side of an icy hill. "Well, here we are" Zephyr announced. She entered the cave and he followed just behind her. They moved down a shallow incline and into a large chamber. The floor was covered in a thin layer of powered snow, and the walls, a mix of ice and stone, stretched high above his head. In the middle of the ceiling, there seemed to be a large, circular hole carved into roof, with a sheet of semi-transparent ice covering it, letting in light from the outside world.

Dillon rubbed his arms to work some feeling back into them. It was still cold inside the cave, but it was much more bearable without the freezing winds blowing across him to chill him to the bone.

"It isn't much, but it's home" Zephyr said as she sat down. She patted the ground near her, motioning the human to come and sit as well.

He removed his pack, letting it plop down onto the powder below, and then moved over towards the fairy. He sat down across from her, and his eyes looked over her for a second before he caught himself and focused on her face. Her bright, cheerful eyes were staring right back at him.

"So Dillon, what's your story? How did you end up here?" she asked, her voice full of genuine curiosity.

"Well, honestly it's all still a little hazy" he said as he brought a hand up to rub his head. "I was with an expedition, and we were sent out to go investigate some ruins that had been recently discovered. We…picked up some kind of weird energy spike, and then, it all goes hazy. I woke up in the snow, and next thing I knew, I had those two…things chasing after me."

She nodded. It was an all too familiar story, really. Usually new arrivals like him never lasted long; she had preyed a few in her time herself when other food had been scarce. He seemed nice enough though, and the way he had stood up to those snow shadows had been very brave. It just didn't seem right to eat him after all that she'd seen and heard, not that she'd ever been that big on eating humans to begin with. "Well, you're safe for now" she said with a smile. "Good thing I was around to find you before anything else did."

He gave her a small smile of her own "I really appreciate this. I mean, we were told to pack for chilly weather. Those ruins were up in the mountains, but this? This is just ridiculous."

"Yes, the wasteland can be pretty unforgiving if you aren't prepared for it" she said as she leaned back, propping herself up with her hands "This whole world is like that though."

He leaned forward a little. "Oh? …and which world am I on, exactly?"

"Everyone calls it Felarya, although I've never met anyone who seems to know why. Those snow shadows are just the beginning. Lots of bigger, smarter things than them out there" she said, as she stared up at the fading light coming through window in the roof of her cave.

Dillon nodded slowly, as he started to realize just how big of a mess he'd gotten himself into. "Well, at least I have you around" he said as he flashed her a smile. "You actually live here? You must really know what you're doing to have survived out here."

"Hehe, well I do alright for myself. It can be really hard though. Food has been becoming harder and harder to find around here, and all the predators out there just keep getting more aggressive."

The two of them talked for a while as the light continued to fade. Dillon was starting to get a little more comfortable around his host, and she seemed to be doing her best to help him adjust to his new environment. When the light was almost completely gone, Zephyr decided that it may be a good time to get some rest. Dillon was not about to disagree, he was tired, sore, and exhausted mentally and physically.

"Just pick a spot and get comfy for the night" Zephyr said as she laid down in the soft powder that lined the floor of her cave.

Dillon looked over at her and then laid down as well, resting his head on his backpack. He could feel the temperature in the cave dropping with the setting sun, and he curled his body up a little, still shivering lightly despite his best efforts to keep warm.

Zephyr opened her eyes and turned to look over at where Dillon was laying. She could hear his clothes rustling and the snow below him crunching lightly as he shivered. She couldn't just let him lay there in the cold like that.

"Hey. Dillon. Are you still awake?" She called out softly to him.

The human sat up and looked over at her "Yeah. What is it, Zephyr?"

She looked down for a second before looking back towards him. "I just want you to keep calm, alright? Please don't freak out."

Dillon nodded, completely unsure what she was talking about. He just kept watching her, wondering what exactly was going on. As he looked on, she started to grow right in front of his eyes. She sat on her knees as she grew, looking down at him the whole time. Even in her sitting position, she still loomed higher and higher over him. She had to lean forward and bow her head a little to avoid hitting it on the roof of the cave as she went, and then finally her sudden growth spurt began to slow to a stop.

He edged away from her, shaking a little more now, although not entirely from the cold. "Wha… Y…You… Zeph…Zephyr, what's going on?" he stammered, now at a loss for words as he looked up at the massive, winged woman.

She looked down at him, a little disheartened to see how nervous he'd gotten all of a sudden, but she couldn't say that she blamed him. She gave him a reassuring smile and leaned in a little, reaching out and placing the tip of one of her fingers against his chest. "Shhh, it's going to be alright. I'm a fairy. We can change our size. It's still me though, so please calm down."

He continued to stare up at her, as he reached forward and placed a hand on the massive finger. It was easily as long as his entire body, but surprisingly gentle as it pressed against him. He gulped and nodded slowly, his eyes never moving off of her "A…alright. You've done nothing but try to help me so far. That's enough to earn my trust." Not like he had any option but to trust her, he thought silently to himself. It isn't like he was about to run away someone so massive, especially since his only other option would have been to face a frozen, monster-infested wasteland.

She smiled and started to lie down, the floor of the cave rumbling a little under Dillon's feet as she did so. Zephyr filled up a lot more of the cave at this size, and even had to curl her body a little bit to fit comfortably. She looked at the now tiny human, and motioned for him to come closer.

Dillon stood up shakily as he looked her over before he finally took that first step forward, moving in closer to his now massive companion. After he had moved in a little, one of her hands reached forward and he felt a couple of the massive fingers curl lightly around him, scooping him up and depositing him carefully next to her stomach.

"There, now you shouldn't have to shiver the whole night" she said in a cheerful tone. One of her fingers patted him lightly on the head before her hand moved away. She shifted a little as she got herself comfortable and then closed her eyes.

He looked on as she seemed to settle in for the night. He could feel a little warmth coming off of her body. It wasn't much, but in an icy world like the one the human had found himself plunged into, it felt almost comforting, and inviting. He reached forward and placed a hand against the wall of skin, letting his hand move across its smooth surface for a moment. After a short while, he pulled his hand away and settled down onto the ground down near her. The only sounds to be heard were the constant in and out rhythm of his new friend's breathing, and the light howling of the wind as it rolled across the icy world outside. Soon, the exhaustion of the day's events finally caught up with Dillon, and he drifted contently off into the embrace of sleep.

----------

Many hours later, Dillon began to slowly regain consciousness. He let out a yawn and looked around from where he lay on the floor. Zephyr was still sleeping soundly; her massive form seemed to have barely shifted during the night. Light filtered in through the icy window in the ceiling, and while he figured it must be early morning, he knew he had no way of reliably telling time on this alien world. He was just content to lie where he was for now, as he continued to wake up. It was still nice and warm next to Zephyr.

As he rested his head against the snowy floor of the cave, he began to notice another sound. He cleared away a little more of the snow, pressing his head against the ground harder now. It was a faint creaking, rubbing noise, like something heavy sliding along a rough surface. He listened to it for a while, until there could be no doubt that whatever it was, it was getting louder, and getting closer.

The human jumped to his feet, and quickly slipped on his pack before he started to jog alongside the giant fairy's body, making his way towards her face. As he passed by one of her arms, he began to hear the sound again, now loud enough to be heard without his head needing to be pressed against the ground. He started to run, nearly tumbling over as he climbed over one of Zephyr's wrists. He quickened his pace as he crossed the last bit of distance between him and the fairy's face. As he got there he reached his arms out and pressed them against the soft skin of Zephyr's right cheek. He then put his weight into it, as he began to push against the wall of skin. "Zephyr! Zephyr! You might want to wake up!"

One of the fairy's massive, gold eyes slowly slid open, the eyelid still heavy from drowsiness. "Wha? ..Huh?" she mumbled.

"Zephyr!" The human called out to her "There's this noise. I don't know what it is, but it sounds like it's getting closer. It's coming from under the ground!"

She brought up a hand to rub one of her eyes, let out a small yawn, and then tensed up as she noticed the sound as well. The fairy slowly rose up into a sitting position and her eyes darted across the floor of the cave as her sensitive ears tried to zero in on the noise.

Dillon looked around as well, his unease only growing as the sound got louder. "Zephyr? What is that?" He started to ask another question, but stopped as he felt a small rumble run through the ground beneath his feet.

The rumbling continued to grow, until the floor of the cave began shaking enough for Zephyr to notice as well. She looked around, a nervous look on her face as she listened to the creaking and cracking coming from below. Suddenly a realization hit her and she quickly leapt into motion. She reached down with a hand and scooped up Dillon, holding the tiny figure tight against her chest.

He let out a startled yelp, but forced himself to keep calm as she held him close, close enough to where he was able to clearly hear the rapid beating of her heart. The fairy raised a hand towards the ceiling and the icy window embedded in the roof started to shift and morph, creating a passage up through the rocks.

Zephyr tensed her legs and jumped up towards the opening, fluttering her wings to propel herself upwards as a massive crash came from below. The fairy burst out of the hole in the rocks and into the sky above. She looked down as a geyser of snow and ice erupted from the opening she had passed through just seconds ago. The rocky outcropping she had built her home inside started to crack, and implode on itself, quickly becoming little more than a pile of rubble.

Dillon stared down as well, his mind racing. "W...what the hell just happened down there?" he asked as he looked up at the fairy. Zephyr kept quiet though, still staring down at her former home. He opened his mouth to ask another question, not sure if she heard him or not over the blowing winds, or the buzzing of her wings, when an all too familiar noise interrupted him.

A massive explosion rocked the ground below, sending up a huge cloud of snow and ice. Dillon watched in horror as a massive, black shape launched itself out from the explosion, powering through the air on four huge jets of steam. There was no doubt that it was the same kind of monster as the two creatures that had attacked him yesterday, but this one was much, much bigger. It was easily twice as long as the fairy that carried him, the top of its diamond-shaped body was covered in smooth armor plates, almost like some kind of insect. It was thicker in the middle, but tapered down to a thin edge as it went out, with spines and ridges jutting out from all over its body. It also had several pairs of scoop-like openings along its underbelly. His eyes then focused on its mouth. Its five-sectioned maw unfolded like some kind of horrific flower, and each of its segments were lined with multiple rows of wicked, razor-sharp teeth.

Zephyr went pale as she watched the monster rise up out of the snow on a collision course with her. She jerked herself to the side, barely getting out of the way as it rocketed by, leaving a trail of shimmering, hot air in its wake. The fairy turned and took off over the snow-covered wasteland, flying as fast as her wings would carry her.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Dillon called out to her, having to yell just to be heard over the buzzing of her wings.

"It's a snow shadow…a…an adult one. I never knew they could grow that big though."

He could sense the nervousness and fear in her voice, and that just made him even more frightened. "What do you mean, an 'adult' one?!"

"The ones yesterd-" she began before an explosion erupted from off to their side as the monster once again rocketed out of the ground with a screech. Zephyr rolled her body up and over it, feeling the tips of her wings scrape along its armored hide. She stopped in mid-air, and watched as the beast crashed back into the snow. The fairy raised her free hand, pointing her palm towards where the creature had just disappeared underground again.

"What are you doing, Zephyr?! Fly! Fly!"

"It's okay, I know what I'm doing" she replied, trying to calm him down. A ball of concentrated ice magic formed in her hand, mist rising off of it as it grew colder and colder. The fairy cocked back her arm and hurled the icy projectile at where she estimated the creature to be. Snow blasted into the air as the ball of magic impacted with the ground and spires of ice spread out from the point of impact in all directions, rising high into the air, and digging deep into the ground.

They both watched for any sign of the creature "Did you get it?" Dillon asked nervously.

"I…I don't know. I-"

Before she could finish her next sentence that familiar sound once again rang out over the wasteland and a column of steam and snow rose up right underneath the fairy. She twisted in place, barely getting out of the way as the snow shadow launched itself out of the ground. It let out a screech and fell back to earth, twisting its body to plunge suprisingly smoothly back underground.

Zephyr gulped as she turned towards the distant mountains, and took off at full speed again, her senses on high alert for the beast's next attack.

"What are we going to do about this thing?" she heard her tiny companion call out to her.

"We need to get to the ice fields. They can't dig very well through ice. It would slow down to a crawl, or just turn away completely."

"Why don't you just fly higher than it can jump?"

"The winds get too strong higher up. Fairies aren't really built for high attitude flying."

Dillon nodded and gave her hand a pat. He could hear her heart beating at full tilt, and her body had begun to break out in a cold sweat. "Full-speed ahead then, let's try and lose this thing!"

Zephyr nodded as she increased her speed and took off across the snowy wasteland.
The creature was on them the entire way, launching itself out of the ground from a different angle each time, and often passing far too close for comfort. Dillon could not believe the speed of this thing, both in the ground and in the air. He didn't think that anything that big should be so quick…although, he figured he should be saying the same thing about his companion. At least she had a good grip on him. That helped take one worry off his mind.

"There they are!" the fairy shouted, as she pointed ahead with her free hand. The icy mountains loomed closer than ever, and just a short distance in front of them, the ice fields began. "Dillon….hold on tight, I have an idea."

Zephyr flew to the edge of the ice fields and began to slow down, her eyes fixed on the direction she had come from. She could see the snow shadow approaching, its massive bulk sent up puffs of snow and steam wherever it went. She watched as it increased speed and charged straight at her, and with another explosion of snow, it was hurtling through the air towards her again. She smirked as she realized her plan had worked, and quickly jerked to the side.

The creature landed in a heap on the ice, sliding another hundred yards before finally coming to a stop. It bashed its head against the ice again and again, letting out a screech of frustration when it could not find a way back underground. Its sensitive hearing caught the buzzing of its prey, and it turned to look up at it, staring right at it with its lifeless, tiny, compound eyes as it lay helpless on the ice. Steam was billowing from the creature's mouth, and from four spots along the trailing edge of its body, as if its insides were all one big furnace.

"Ha! That worked like a charm, Zephyr! The damn thing is stuck high and dry!"

Zephyr let a smile cross her face as she watched the now helpless monster. It soon faded, however, as the creature's body began to shift.

"Hey, Zephyr….w...what's it doing?"

"I…I, honestly have no idea."

The beast below was writhing on the ice, its body pulsing and shifting. Its maw clenched open and shut, a high-pitched screeching noise pierced the air. It let out one final wail before its head fell to the ice and its body went limp.

"Did it just….die?" Dillon asked as he peeked over the side of the hand that was holding him to Zephyr's chest.

"I…I don't know. I mean, it looks like it…wait…no, it's still moving."

The creature's seemingly dead body jumped a few feet off the ice, landing with a loud thump. It's back started to contort and swell, like something was pushing against it from the inside. With a wet crunch, some of the armor plates along the creature's back began to peel away, the skin underneath ripping and tearing. Orange blood was starting to seep out of the wounds and paint the ice below. The pair kept watching on in horror as the convulsions got worse, and with a final push, a segmented leg ripped its way through the upper surface of the snow shadow, digging into the ice next to it. Soon, another leg ripped its way out of the carcass, as it continued to pulsate and crunch. Steam billowed out of the shredded body of the snow shadow, its heat already starting to melt a small crater in the ice sheet the beast was lying on.

"I…I really think we need to get out of here, Zephyr" Dillon said as he looked on at the disgusting sight below.

Zephyr formed another ball of ice magic in her free hand, and flung it down towards the bloody, steaming mass that used to be the snow shadow. The projectile flew true towards its target, until it hit the column of steam. The heat of the escaping gas dissipated the ball of ice magic before it even had the chance to reach its target.

"Yeah, I agree" the fairy replied after she watched her attack completely fail. She looked over at the flat, white expanse of the wasteland and then shook her head. "We'll head for the canyon maze. There are plenty of places to hide there." With that, she turned and buzzed off towards the icy mountains, wanting to put as much distance between herself and that monstrosity as possible. They had been flying for several minutes with a high-pitched, alien wail rose up from the direction they had just come from, making their blood run cold. Zephyr beat her wings even faster, and managed to put on a little extra speed.

After a short, high-speed flight, they finally came upon the great canyon maze. This massive natural wonder looked like the remains of a mountain that had been torn to shreds long ago, creating a large network of caves and canyons where it once stood. Zephyr looked down at her companion, checking to make sure he was still alright, before banking and descending into one of the canyons. She flew aimlessly for a while, taking a random, zigzagging path through the canyon network. It was then that she saw what she was looking for, a small cave set within a canyon wall.

The fairy turned and buzzed into the cave. Once she was deep enough inside, she landed and sat down, leaning back against one of the cave's walls, and carefully sat her tiny companion down on her knee. "Well, good luck finding anything in this maze, right?" she said.

Dillon looked her over; it was pretty obvious that the massive woman was exhausted. All the flying, dodging and near-misses had taken their toll on her. Her body was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and she was still breathing hard from all the exertion. "Yeah, it's like a needle in a haystack, that's for sure."

She cocked her head a little "…a what?"

"Nevermind. We are going to be hard to find, that is what matters" he said as he offered her a small smile. "You did great out there."

She smiled back and rubbed his head with a fingertip "Thanks. Now…I think we'll just hole up in here for a bit, while I rest up."

The pair talked for a little longer before Zephyr leaned her head back, let her eyes close, and entered a light sleep. Dillon looked up at her, amazed at what this woman was capable of, and thankful that she had been nice enough to help him. He had no doubt that would have been dead several times over by now without her. He gave her one last look before rolling over onto his stomach and lying down across her knee as he rested his head on his arms. He still couldn't believe any of this was real, it was all just so insane…but there was no denying it at this point. He let out a sigh and let himself get comfortable, the warm skin beneath him made for a surprisingly comfortable resting place.

---------

Dillon snapped himself awake when he felt the knee he was laying on begin to move. He sat up and looked over at Zephyr. The fairy was wide awake as well. Her bright, golden eyes looked up towards the ceiling of the cave. As he turned to her, she brought a finger to her lips in a 'shhhh' gesture. He nodded and mimed zipping his lips, and then followed her gaze up towards the ceiling.

He quickly realized what she was so concerned about. A light scratching noise could be heard from above, likely from the top of the canyon. Something was moving around up there, pacing back and forth, like it was searching for something. After a while, it seemed to just disappear, and the both of them let out a sigh of relief.

A loud BANG rocked the canyon wall and the entrance to their cave darkened. Before either of them had time to turn and look, an armored, segmented leg thrust itself into the cave, thrashing around and leaving deep gouges in the ice with its wickedly curved talons.

Zephyr let out a scream and snatched up Dillon, she scrambled towards the rear of the cave. A red-hot bolt of pain shot through her as the monstrous limb reached out and ripped three deep gashes into her left arm. A pained yelp escaped the fairy's lips but she held her composure. She reached the back of the cave, which seemed to be just out of the claw's reach, and placed her hand against the icy wall. The frost sprite focused hard, and began to shape the wall to her will, forming a passage ahead of her until she could see daylight. She took a deep breath and ran towards the light, holding Dillon to her chest as she jumped away from the canyon wall and into the empty space beyond. The pair fell for a few seconds before Zephyr's wings buzzed up to speed and the fairy began to shoot ahead through the canyon maze once again.

A high-pitched screech tore through the air behind them, and Zephyr turned to look, getting a good look at the creature as it crawled back over the edge of the canyon and into view. It was hard to believe it was the same creature at first. Is body was thin now; almost delicate looking compared to before. It moved along on four long, segmented legs, each one tipped in a set of razor-sharp talons. A long, finned tail trailed behind it as well. Four long, leathery wings extended out from its body, the membranes of them almost completely transparent as the sun shone through them. The head was a dead giveaway though. One look at the head and there was no doubt it was the same creature that had been chasing them all day. It still had the same five-segmented maw, filled to the brim with enough teeth to tear anything to bits. The head sat on a flexible snake-like neck, with a flattened ridge running down each side. Its flesh was a deep maroon color, with black, bony ridges running all along its form, giving it an almost skeletal appearance. It let out another of screech, and steam rose from its mouth like its insides were boiling. With a flap of its powerful wings, it was airborne, and gave chase to the pair once again.

"Oh come on! It can fly now?!" Dillon yelled as he caught a glimpse of their pursuer's new form. "What the hell is this thing?!"

Zephyr flew through the canyons at full speed, trying to keep ahead of it as she zigzagged her way through the maze. It was still larger than her, and it was fast…so fast.

It matched her turn for turn, slowly gaining on her the whole time. They rounded a corner into a new canyon, and Zephyr dove to try and gain more speed. The creature opened its mouth, letting out a rasping noise as a highly pressurized jet of boiling liquid and steam erupted from its mouth. Zephyr only barely got out of the way, and watched as the attack slammed into a canyon wall, hissing and burning a deep groove into it.

"It spits acid too?!"

"No" Zephyr corrected, letting out a yelp as another boiling stream of the liquid barely missed her. Both of them could feel the immense heat coming off of each of the attacks. "It…I think that was water"

The fairy banked and rolled through the air, dodging stream after stream of boiling water and scalding steam from her pursuer. She changed her path multiple times, zipping from canyon to canyon as she sped through the maze, but the creature kept on her tail the entire time.

Dillon was focused on just hanging on. Even with Zephyr's hand supporting him, he could still feel the powerful g-forces tugging on his body, pulling and squeezing him with each maneuver. All of a sudden, a loud, scream of pain pierced the air, and he could feel Zephyr's entire body seize up. He struggled to look down, and then he saw it. One of the boiling streams had grazed her, leaving a patch of burned skin along the outside of her right leg.

Zephyr gritted her teeth and forced back tears as she struggled to regain her composure. She barely got out of the way of the next stream, actually feeling a couple small droplets of the burning liquid dot along her right shoulder.

"I am so sick of this thing!" she yelled as she twisted around in the air, and pointed a hand at the creature. She focused her magic and fired a ball of ice magic at it. The monster banked hard to the left, and the spell plowed into one of the canyon walls behind it, a cluster of icy spires erupting from the point of impact.

The beast fired back with another stream of boiling water, this time aiming for the fairy's wings. Zephyr dodged the jet of liquid and fired another frigid blast. She knew there was no way the creature could get out of the way in time. As the icy projectile closed in on it, the beast opened its mouth and let out an ear piercing screech. Zephyr let out a disappointed groan as she watched the heat of its roar dissipate the incoming projectile.

She glared at the monster. The fairy was starting to become extremely frustrated, and a little desperate. "Dillon! You trust me, right?"

Dillon looked up at her, seeing the seriousness in her eyes. He nodded "Yeah, you haven't given me a single reason not to."

Zephyr smiled at him, before having to dive to avoid another attack. "Look…I…I'm going to try something, but I need both hands free. Please just trust me." With that, she squeezed him between two fingers and brought him up to her mouth.

Dillon stared ahead as he put together what she planned to do. He gulped, and just hoped she knew what she was doing. The hand moved forward as her lips parted slightly, and he soon found himself lying on her tongue. Zephyr's fingers pulled back and her lips closed behind them, plunging Dillon into darkness. His heart was beating even faster now, and he was scared. Something primal, something deep inside him was freaking out, but he forced it under control. The hot, wet muscle beneath him rose and pinned him firmly to the roof of her mouth, helping to cushion him from all the movements her head was making. He could already feel her saliva starting to soak through his clothes. It certainly wasn't pleasant, but if it meant surviving, he could deal with it for now.

After she made sure her passenger was held safely in place, the fairy put on all the speed she could and angled herself almost straight up. She could feel the air around her cooling as she rose higher, the snowy winds hammering her body as she continued to ascend. She looked down and saw the creature was following her every move, and was thankful that its rate of climb did not seem to be quite as good as her own.

She focused her magic once again, and her eyes turned a light shade of blue as she increased her magic output. When she felt satisfied, she raised her arms up, and brought her hands together, closing her eyes to increase her focus. She thought about bending the cold to her will, commanding the ice and snow in the air, and she could feel it responding. Zephyr opened her eyes and smiled as she saw the long, icy spear that had formed in her grip. She looked down at the creature and tightened her grip on the spear before closing her wings and entering a free-fall.

Her eyes locked on the monster as two giant creatures drew closer and closer on their collision course. She held the spear close, trying to gain as much speed as possible from her dive. Everything seemed to be going in slow-motion as she got closer to the monster, and all her attention was focused on the task at hand. Then, she saw it, her moment to strike.

Zephyr flicked her wings, putting her body into a spin as she raised the spear and cocked it back. As her body spun back around, she jabbed the spear forward, and heard the satisfying squelch of it piercing into the creature's flesh. The projectile pierced through the creature's neck near where it joined with its body, passing just between two pieces of its natural armor. The beast let out a pained shriek as the icy spike dashed through its internal organs and orange blood poured from the wound. Zephyr heard a crack as the part of the spear she was holding onto snapped off, leaving the bulk of her weapon still lodged within her dying foe.

The fairy looked down as the canyon maze rushed up to meet her. She stretched her body out, and tried to slow her fall enough to where her wings wouldn't tear to bits as soon as she opened them. She aimed herself towards the top of one of the canyons, covered in what looked like a deep layer of snow. The fairy streaked in like a missile, fluttering her wings just before impact to try and slow herself down some. Zephyr hit the ground hard, throwing up a cloud of snow as she slid and rolled along.

The fairy groaned lightly as she worked her way to her hands and knees and watched with some satisfaction as the corpse of the creature plummeted down into one of the other canyons, a trail of steam and blood marking its path through the air. She brought her fingers up to her mouth and plucked Dillon out, carefully looking him over for any injuries. "A…are you alright?" she asked, her voice full of quite a bit of pain.

Dillon stared up at her, his head spinning from the ride, and his clothes soaked. "Yeah, I'm fine. So, is it…?"

"Yes" she said with a smile "It's dead." Zephyr carefully set him down on the soft powder before she shrank herself back down to human size, and let herself fall into a sitting position.

The human rushed over to her and kneeled down as he looked her over. He took off his pack and opened the largest pocket. Thankfully, he'd bought a waterproof pack, so all of its contents were still dry. "Okay, you have a few bad cuts; some burns, and a small rip in your left wing. Don't worry though, I'm a doctor. I'll fix you up as best I can" he said with a smile.

"Doctor?" she asked curiously.

"Umm…I'm a healer. You know what a healer is, right?"

Zephyr nodded, and let her body relax a little bit. "Well, that's good. I think I might need one."

Dillon quickly got to work on her, treating and bandaging up the gashes on the fairy's arm, and the burns that ran across her leg. "There we go. That's the best I can do with what I have. You really need to try and take it easy for a while."

She gave him a small smile as she looked up at him. "I'll be fine. Felarya has a way of healing the people who live here. This definitely helps though. I feel better already. …Thanks, Dillon"

He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder before standing up, and taking his pack with him behind a pile of snow. Once out of view, the human started to strip down, exchanging his wet clothes for a fresh set out of his pack. He turned and looked over his shoulder as he pulled on a new pair of pants. "So, what do we do now?"

Zephyr looked towards where his voice was coming from, and then off towards the horizon. "I've been thinking about heading south."

"Hmm? Any particular reason for that?" Dillon asked as he came back from getting changed, stuffing the last of his old clothes back into the pack.

"Like I said, food around here has been getting harder to find lately. …and, well, I'm tired of this place. I've lived here all my life, and I'm just tired of it. I'm tired of the wind, tired of the ice, tired of being the last of my kind in this whole region. I want to go someplace warmer, someplace full of life."

Dillon walked over next to her and sat down, looking off into the distance with her. "Sounds like a good plan to me. You lead the way, and I'll be right there with you. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to find some clues to getting back home along the way."

Zephyr smiled, and let her head rest on his shoulder. She could feel herself starting to doze off already, the absolute exhaustion from today's events finally catching up with her fully. The frost sprite absent-mindedly placed a hand over her midsection as she stared off at the horizon, staring off towards the south, towards a fresh start in a new home far away from the wasteland she had grown up in.

=====================
The World between Worlds:
=====================
-------------------------------
The Reunion and the Caves
-------------------------------

The pain had been all-encompassing. From the moment he had crashed down to earth at the base of that mountain, his life had been nothing but pain and fading glimpses of the world around him as he fell in and out of consciousness. His limbs were broken and battered by the fall. Even with the haze clouding his mind, he knew the broken bones needed to be set, and the dislocated ones to be popped back into place. He had never known such pain in all his life, and welcomed the numbing grip of unconsciousness as it washed over him again and again.

He still wasn't sure exactly how he'd survived not only the fall and the pain, but the hunger and dehydration that followed. He imaged that his species' natural hardiness was the only thing that had kept him tied to the land of the living. Part of him had wanted it to end, to just drift off and not wake up, but the other wanted nothing more than to heal, to get back on his feet, and to find the red-headed bitch that had done this to him.

----------

The man groaned as he started to regain consciousness once again. His body was still sore all over, although he counted himself lucky that he was still alive at all. His body had been healing fairly well in the seven weeks since the fall. He'd finally removed his make-shift splints last week, and despite a still noticeable limp in his left-front leg, everything seemed to be working again. With a grunt, he hefted himself to his feet and slowly made his way over to the water's edge, the long claws on each of his toes digging deep gashes into the soft mud. He sat down by the water and leaned forward to take a look at his refection.

"Jack, you look like shit" he grumbled to no one. His messy, rust colored hair hung around his head, stopping just above his shoulders. His once muscular, healthy body had gotten thin over the past few weeks. The giant had barely been able to scrape together enough food to sustain himself, his injuries making him far too slow and clumsy to do any serious hunting. He leaned in closer, running a finger across the scarred remnants of a burn that ran across on his left cheek. He thought back to the day of his fall, to the naga that had caused him all this pain and inconvenience. He let out a growl and struck the water with a fist, breaking up his reflection and sending up a large splash.

Jack turned and looked over his shoulder, his eyes locking onto the distant mountains. He knew that was the way home, back to the desert and his comfortable life as the hired muscle for a group of human raiders. He wanted nothing more than to get back to his free food, free water and dancing girls, but he still had business he needed to handle. He hefted himself back onto his four short, muscular legs and began to make his way through the jungle once again. He had caught faint traces of her scent along the way, and not once did it turn back towards the mountains. It seemed like she'd been stopping regularly on her journey, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he found her again. The gears of his mind were already grinding away on what he'd do to her when he finally caught up.

----------

The naga let out a yawn as she sat up on the tree branch and stretched. She ran a hand through her smooth maroon hair as she looked around. It was sometime in the late afternoon, going by the position of the sun. She smiled as she turned to the side and her back gave out a satisfying crack. "Such a nice nap" she said contently as she let out another yawn.

Renita was quickly beginning to enjoy her time in the jungle. It was a lot cooler than the desert, and there was more food and water around than she had seen in her whole life. It was still somewhat unnerving to see the sky blocked out by trees, after living under the wide-open desert skies for so long, but she was getting used to it. It was a small price to pay for what seemed like an easier life. She chuckled a little to herself, that scaly jerk had ended up doing her a favor by chasing her over the mountains.

She was mulling over what she wanted to try and find for supper when she caught movement
out of the corner of her eye. Renita barely managed to dive out of the tree before the huge chunk of stone smashed through it, splintering branches and sending pieces of wood
and stone flying in all directions.

Renita hit the ground, rolled and quickly righted herself on her tail, her alert, maroon eyes scanned the forest in the direction the rock had come from. Her eyes went wide, and her tail started to feel weak as her attacker emerged from the trees.

He had definitely seen better days. The once fit and muscular gilataur now looked thin, almost deflated compared to the last time she had seen him. His torso had several new scars, and the pale remnants of an old burn slashed across his left cheek. Despite all this, he was still just as imposing as before. He still towered over her, and his orange and black lower body still looked as dangerous as ever with its short, powerful legs and long, sharp claws. His eyes were what bothered her though. They bored straight through her and she could tell just by looking at him that he was probably still a little upset about getting thrown off a mountain.

"Damn, I missed" he said as he looked up at the tree the naga had just been relaxing in. He turned his gaze down to her, a small smile spreading across his lips "I mean. Long time no see, Renita. How ya been? Small world, isn't it?"

The naga composed herself and glared right back at him. "A bit too small, if you ask me."

The larger creature moved in closer, a noticeable limp in his left foreleg. "Aww, and I was hoping you'd be happier to see me."

She slowly began to slither sideways, keeping her distance from him. He was thinner than last time, but she knew he was still much stronger than her. "Sorry to disappoint you. Having someone try to kill you twice tends to do that. Personally, I was kind of hoping you'd died during your little trip down the mountain."

He chuckled a little. "Well aren't you just as charming as I remember. To be honest, I was kind of hoping for that at first too. Falling down a mountain hurts like a bitch, and actually surviving it hurts even worse."

"How did you even survive this long? I guess not even the scavengers wanted a piece of your sorry hide, huh?"

He smirked a little "Oh, a quite few tried. I'm just too tough to end up as something else's meal though."

"Well, there's always next time, huh?" she replied. "So now what, Jack? Are we going to do the same song and dance all over again?"

He looked down at her, absently cracking his knuckles "What's going to happen, is that I'm going to kill you. I still owe you some pain and suffering for what you did to me."

She glared back at him, a sly smile appearing on her face. "Do I really need to hand you your ass again, Jack? Aren't you tired of getting beat up by a girl half your size yet?"

"Oh, I am going to enjoy shutting you up." He said as he stepped forward and extended his hand, causing several chunks of rock to erupt from the ground and streak towards the snake-tailed woman.

Renita let out a small yelp and threw herself out of the way. She could feel one of the rocks scrape against her tail, but she had managed to avoid the rest of them. The naga quickly got back upright and started to put some distance between her and Jack. "You still have to catch me first, Jack. Come on, hobble faster, I know you can do it." She said with a laugh as she slithered off full-speed into the forest.

Jack let out a groan as he took off after her, his freshly recovered leg sending small jolts of pain through him as he forced himself to run. "Why are ya running?!" he yelled after her. "What happened to all that talk about kicking my ass again?" The gilataur extended his hand again, sending another volley of rocky projectiles zipping through the air after her. He let a satisfied smile cross his face as he heard a pained noise from up ahead.

Renita let out a yelp as the rock smashed into her back, knocking her over and sending her tumbling to the ground. She could already hear the larger demi-human as it crashed through the brush, coming at her in a full run. The gilataur reached out with a hand, and a stone spire pushed out of the ground in front of him. His hand wrapped around the top of it and he ripped it out of the ground on the run, holding it like some kind of club.

Renita could feel genuine fear flow through her as she watched him close in, his face twisted into a terrifying smile.

The naga reared up to a crouch and reached out, fire flaring up along her arm. A fiery projectile leapt from her hand and streaked through the air at her attacker. The smile faded from Jack's face as he skidded to a halt. He swung the pillar of stone, hitting the fireball in mid-flight. A small explosion erupted as the two weapons impacted, shattering the stone club in the process.

Jack looked down at the remnants of his weapon and tossed it aside before continuing to close in on the naga. Renita tried to work her way to a standing position, but before she could start slithering again, a powerful hand wrapped around her throat and lifted her off the ground.

She found herself staring straight into Jack's eyes. She could practically feel the hate radiating out from them as the hand around her neck started to squeeze, closing off her throat and leaving her gasping and thrashing in his grip. She glared at him and lifted her upper lip, starting to flex the muscles to the two small sacks of venom tucked away in her skull.

Jack's hand shot up in a flash and clamped over her mouth. He chuckled as the venom leaked between his fingers, dripping harmlessly to the ground below. "Hehehe, not this time. You aren't spitting that shit into my eyes ever again."

Renita held her hands open and started to bring both her arms up, flames dancing along them. Her attacker's eyes went wide as he realized what she was doing, and he threw her forward as hard as he could. Her hands came together as she flew backwards, fire erupting from them as they made contact. She hit the ground hard on her already injured back with a yelp of pain. She rolled over and started to lift herself up, glaring up at Jack.

He held up a hand as he wiggled a finger. "Nope, none of that fiery shit this time either. I've already been burned enough by you for one lifetime." The larger predator took a step forward, and raised an arm in an upward motion.

She heard the ground rumble beneath her and threw herself to the side as an earthen spike speared its way out of the ground where she had just been. She barely had time to think before he made the motion again, sending another spike up from the ground at her.

Jack couldn't help but smile. He had her where he wanted her. She was all about sneak attacks and tricks, and she was starting to tire out. He lifted both arms, sending three spikes shooting out of the ground near her. She managed to throw herself out of the way once more and slowly began to rise up to a standing position again, panting and sweating from the exertion.

"Heh, you're a tough one, I'll give you that. But this ends no—." Jack was cut off as the ground beneath him began to crack and sink. He could only let out a startled yell as the ground opened up, sending them both plummeting into the darkness below.

----------

Both of the massive creatures hit the ground hard. They laid there, groaning as they each tried to work their way back to a standing position and get a bearing on their surroundings. A massive cave stretched around them, extending up high above their heads. A beam of light poured in though the hole in the ceiling, casting a dim light across the
chamber. Off in the dark corners of the cave were other openings that lead into the pitch black underworld beyond.

"What is it with you?! Why do I always end up falling down something whenever we get together?" Jack groaned in frustration.

"Maybe you're just clumsy as all hell?" Renita replied, a twinge of pain coming through her voice as she stood up to her full height and turned to glare up at Jack. "Besides, this is all your fault!"

Jack turned and glared down at her. "My fault?!"

"Yes!" she yelled back, before gesturing up at the ceiling. Around the hole, the dirt and stone was torn up and warped. "Your earth magic is what made the ceiling cave in!"

He looked up towards the ceiling and back to the naga. "Oh come on! How could I have known?! If you would have just died, I could have been halfway back home by now!"

Renita rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Great. Now what? …No way either of us are climbing out of here."

Jack just continued to glared at her, and took a step forward. "Now what? I'm going to kill you, that's what. I thought I made that pretty clear already!"

She turned to him, smiling a little. "Well, about that. Killing me might not be such a great idea, Jack."

"Oh? Why not? It seems like a great idea to me."

"Well, you see, Jack. We aren't climbing out of here. So that means that the only way out is try and make our way through this cave system and search an exit out." Her smile widened as she continued "Aaaaaand, unless you can see in the dark, killing off the only person capable of creating a light source would be a very stupid idea."

She lit a fireball in her hand to emphasize her point, its orange glow piercing the dim darkness around them. "I mean, I guess you could just stumble through the dark for who knows how long… and look on the bright side; if you happen to run into something big and mean down here, you won't even be able to see what's eating you!"

He glared down at her, grinding his teeth a little as she continued on in her cheerful, smug tone. She had him where she wanted him, and she knew it. "You're going to want something in return, aren't you?"

"Hehe, you better believe it. No free rides, Jack."

Jack weighed his options as he looked up at the hole in the ceiling. Finally, the gilataur let out a groan and looked back to the smaller predator, his shoulders slumping
a little. "Fine! I'm going to hate myself for this, but fine! What do you want?"

A sly smile spread across Renita's lips. "Glad to see you aren't a totally unreasonable asshole, Jack."

She moved in closer, looking up at him with the confidence of a creature three times her size. "To put it simply, I want to be left alone. When we get out of these caves, we go our separate ways. I go off into the jungle in peace, and you…well; you can go back to being those raiders' pet again, or something. I really don't care."

Jack looked at her, grinding his teeth a little in frustration. "Alright… whatever. I just want to get out of here. I'm sick of falling down, I'm sick of this jungle and I'm sick of dealing with you!"

"Heh, well believe me, the feeling is mutual." The naga turned and looked around the chamber, on the edges, three smaller tunnels branched off, their paths drenched in complete darkness. "Now which way to go…?"

Jack crossed his arms, looking around as well. "You really have no idea which way we should go, do you? Want me to just pick one for you?"

"Hah! No. I'm sure your amazing sense of direction would just lead us right to another vertical drop."

The larger predator glared down at the naga, grinding his teeth a little. "Fine! Just hurry up and pick one. It's going to be dark in a few hours, and I'd like to make some
progress today."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get your tail in a bunch."

She kept looking between the passageways, mumbling lightly to herself. Finally, she reached an arm out, pointing to one. "That one! I have a good feeling about that one."

Jack glanced down at her, clearly not as confident in her sense of direction as she was. "…a good feeling based on what?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing really. But we have no idea which way to go, and we have to pick one of them unless we just want to wait here until we starve to death."

He sighed "Alright… lead the way then. You better be right. If we die down here, I'm going to kick your tail all the way to the afterlife."

Renita chuckled a little at that. "Oh, stop being such a big baby."

She started slithering towards the pitch-black opening, and stopped at its entrance. The naga took a deep breath, and lifted up her right hand. With a snap of her fingers, a small flame sparked up in her palm, its light driving back the darkness, at least enough to see a short distance in front of them. "Well, here we go" she said as she glanced back over her shoulder. "You better not fall behind; I'm not coming back for you if you do."

Jack rolled his eyes and gave the naga a shooing gesture with his right hand. "Let's just get going already."

Renita turned her gaze back to the passageway again, and started to move forward. The two predators made their way slowly along the tunnel, Renita's flickering flame serving as their only light source. It wasn't much, but its dim, orange glow helped them at least see each other, and despite their intense mutual dislike, they both were secretly glad that they were not stuck down in these caves alone.

They continued on aimlessly for what seemed like hours, although neither of them could tell for sure. Both creatures were clearly not at ease. Renita kept her alert, maroon eyes focused dead ahead, silently praying for any sign of the surface, light, a breeze, anything. Jack limped behind her, occasionally glancing around behind them at the darkness. His species were burrowers, but even he was not comfortably with this kind of claustrophobic darkness. It pressed in all around them, and he half expected it to snuff out their flame at any instant and take them completely.

"So…" Jack started, his voice piercing the eerie silence that they had been wandering through. "What do you think made that cave, and these tunnels?"

She just kept her focus ahead of them, wishing that this tunnel would start to slope up, or at least open out into another wide chamber. "Personally, I'm really hoping that
nothing made them, and that they were just here naturally."

"Hmm? Why's that?"

"Because… I really don't want to meet whatever can burrow through this much rock and dirt, and make a tunnel wide enough for both of us to walk through."

Jack nodded. For once, he actually had to agree with her. He glanced into the darkness behind them again; still unable to shake off a feeling of dread he'd had since they'd started down this tunnel. He couldn't place it, but something didn't seem right. His heart was beating faster than normal, and for the first time in ages, he was genuinely nervous.

After a while, the naga stopped. She looked up at the ceiling, mumbling to herself. "The sun has to have gone down by now. I think we need to stop for now and rest up."

Jack looked down at her "Stop!? Here? We need to keep moving so we can get out of here."

Renita turned and looked up at him. "Jack, we have no idea where we're going. Our best bet to find an exit is to look for light, and we aren't going to do that if it's the middle of the night up there. We could completely miss an exit and end up even more lost than we already are."

He let out a small groan, his shoulders slouching a little. "Yeah, you're right, I guess." He turned and looked back at the darkness again. "…I want us to sleep in shifts though."

Renita looked at him curiously. "Hmm? Why's that? Don't tell me you're scared of the dark."

He shook his head, oddly calm and serious for a change. "No, it's not that. Something just doesn't…feel right. It hasn't felt right since we started down this tunnel."

She turned her gaze towards the darkness as well. She had been feeling it too, although she wasn't about to voice her concerns aloud. Something about the darkness was bothering her more than it should have. Something didn't feel right. "Alright, Jack. We'll sleep in shifts." Her eyes looked him over, his scarred, thinly muscled frame flickering in her firelight. He was still favoring that leg too. "I'll take the first watch. Get some sleep."

Jack moved a short distance away, making sure to keep within the dim light of Renita's flame, and folded his four thick limbs under him. He gave the naga one more look before laying his torso down on the cold, dark dirt that ran along the floor of the passage. He folded his arms, rested his chin on them, and closed his eyes.

Renita coiled her tail close to herself and hunkered down. She dimmed her flame slightly, to conserve her magic a little, and stared into the darkness ahead of her. She could hear the larger predator settling in behind her and after a few minutes, the change in his breathing signaled his descent into sleep. After she was sure Jack was completely under, the naga began to lightly hum a tune from her childhood. Her surprisingly soft, gentle voice was the only sound to be heard, as it drifted along the pitch black darkness that hovered at the edges of her flame.

---------

The sun was setting on another day in the vast, barren desert. A swift breeze blew across the dunes as the burning disk of the sun sunk into the horizon, painting the sky a wild mix of orange and gold. The young predator slowly made its way forward on his four thick, clawed limbs. His dark, reddish-brown hair rustled in the breeze and he held his arms around himself, shivering slightly as the temperature began to fall. He was moving towards a massive, black and gold wall that towered, still and silent, high above him. The child looked up as he approached, and then nervously reached his hand out. His fingers came into contact with the surface, pebbly and smooth to the touch, and cold… so much colder than it should have been. He pressed his other hand against it, pushing against the surface with all his might, his lips parted to speak one nervous, unsure word as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"M… Mom?"

----------

Jack's eyes snapped open, his bulk stirring as he slowly lifted himself up to a sitting position. He was breathing heavy as he stared down at the dirt covered floor of the tunnel.

"You alright?" asked a familiar feminine voice from off behind him. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and turned to face the naga. The dim flame flickered in her hand as she looked up at him. It was obvious she was exhausted, he could see it in her eyes, and hear it in her voice.

"Y... yeah, I'm fine. Anyway, it's about time for my shift, right?"

Her eyes trailed off as she tried to work out how much time had passed. "It should be. I was about to wake you up soon anyway."

Jack hefted himself to his feet and stretched, giving out a small groan. He moved over near her and folded his four stubby legs up under him again, his scaled underbelly landing with a small thud on the dirt floor of the tunnel.

"Get some rest" he said to her as he stared into the darkness of the tunnel. "You look exhausted."

She gave him one more look before she slithered a short distance away and laid down, curling her tail loosely around herself. She looked at the dim flame still burning in her hand, its light now dull and orange. "You going to be alright without the light for a bit?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just get rested up. I want to get out of this place before tomorrow night" he answered, never glancing back at her.

She looked over at him, and then returned her gaze to the flame. She let her concentration slip, and looked on as the light source shrunk, grew dimmer and finally disappeared, leaving the two of them surrounded by absolute darkness. Renita coiled her tail closer around herself, and let her eyes slowly close. Soon, the exhaustion of the day caught up with her, and she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Jack could hear the falloff in the naga's breathing as she finally fell asleep behind him. He looked off into the darkness, unable to see anything. Even the low-light vision his entire species had was useless in a place where there was no light at all. It wasn't so much the darkness that unnerved him though, it was the silence. There was no sound in this tunnel other than the breathing of himself, and of Renita. Even in the desert there had always been ambient noise. The insects, the tiny creatures scurrying around, the humans he had worked for. There had always been sounds of life, but not in this place. It was dead quiet, like a tomb. There was the smell too, a subtle, almost imperceptible scent that he wasn't sure was even really there or not… but he didn't like it.

----------

Time passed slowly in the darkness, leaving Jack alone in silence with nothing but his own thoughts. His mind drifted back to the desert, now so far away from the cold, dark tunnel he now found himself in. He thought about his earlier meetings with the woman he shared this space with and the pain he had been through because of her. A brief ember of rage popped up in his mind as he glanced over to where her breathing was coming from, but with a sigh, it was gone. He had bigger concerns than revenge right now and he didn't need to kill the only source of light and warmth he had in these caverns.

After what seemed like hours, he couldn't help but think that he heard something. It was a faint, skittering sound, barely perceptible over the sound of his and Renita's breathing. He wasn't even sure if he was really hearing anything, or whether the noise was just a trick of his mind or the acoustics of the tunnel. That scent he had caught since they'd entered this tunnel was still around too. It still seemed faint, and almost undetectable, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that it had gotten stronger. He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right with these caves. Whether it was just the isolation playing tricks with him, or something real, he couldn't be sure of though.

Jack turned and looked over towards where he remembered the small woman laying down to sleep. "Renita… Renita, wake up" he called out in a hushed voice. He heard a light groan, and the shifting of her tail against the dirt floor as she responded to his voice.

"Mmmm?" she mumbled lightly as she sat up in the darkness. "Is it morning already?"

The giant crawled over closer to her, still speaking low, and with a hint of concern in his voice. "I'm not sure. It might be close. Anyway …I think there's something down here with us."

Renita's eyes looked into the darkness, her senses on alert now. "What do you mean? We haven't seen any sign of, well, anything since we've been down here."

"Just listen. Its faint, but I know it's there."

The naga closed her eyes and listened. After a few seconds, she began to hear a small noise. Like something skittering along, slow and steady. "I… I hear it" she said, her voice lowering to almost a whisper now as she started to form a small spark in her hand, keeping it covered with the other. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know" he responded honestly. "Alright, when I say to, I want you to turn up that flame. If the light doesn't scare it off, we can at least see what's there."

She nodded, the tiny light of the spark just barely allowing the movement to be seen.

Slowly, both of the massive beings started to stand and Jack moved slightly ahead. He stood in the darkness, facing back towards the direction they had come from, facing towards where he thought he had last heard that sound. He brought up his hands, readying himself for whatever may be hiding in the darkness. "Okay, Renita. Now!"

The maroon-haired naga lifted her free hand away and concentrated. The small glow in her palm expanded into a mighty flame, peeling back the darkness in their immediate area, and down a short distance into the tunnel that extended in front and behind them.

Jack looked out ahead of him, his eyes scanning for, well, anything. He saw nothing
before him except the earthen walls of the tunnel, and he slowly let down his guard. "I guess we were hearing thi—" was all he got out before a small clod of dirt fell on his shoulder.

He turned his gaze up towards the ceiling of the tunnel, barely catching a glimpse of the dark shape before it lunged for him with a screech. Jack dodged to the side, barely getting out of the way as it crashed into the ground next to him. With lightning quick speed, the creature skittered along the ground and up another wall before it coiled up and leapt at Jack again. This time though, he was ready for the creature. Jack raised his arms and felt his hands wrap around something hard, and smooth, and like armor.

The creature writhed in Jack's grip, its armored, centipede-like form easily as long as one of Jack's arms. Dozens of small legs beat futilely in the air as it struggled to get free. The giant had to adjust his grip to keep its head from reaching out and clamping onto his wrist as it tried to damage him in any way possible. It seemed to have no eyes, and its head split open into a mouth made up of five different parts, each of them lined with a set of sharp, wicked-looking teeth. Thin tendrils trailed off of its head, and from various parts of its long body, the ends flashing in bright patterns as it thrashed and screeched in the giant's grip.

Jack looked at the creature in disgust before throwing it to the ground and bringing one of his huge, clawed forelimbs down on it. He stomped on it two more times before it finally stopped screeching, and its body went limp. Jack took a couple steps back from the creature that now lay half-crushed and with orange blood seeping from its corpse.
"What… The hell is that thing?" he said aloud, still panting a little as he worked to calm himself.

Renita slithered closer and looked down at the creature as well. "I have no idea. Guess you were right about us not being alone though."

"Yeah, and it was a mean little critter to—" Jack started to reply, stopping in mid sentence as an audible hissing noise started to emanate from the darkness behind them.

Renita and Jack both turned their gaze slowly in the direction of the noise, and all through the darkness ahead of them, lights began to appear, flickering and flashing along the walls, floor and ceiling of the tunnel. Their combined light revealed the dim shapes of more of the same type of creature that had just attacked them, many more. They crawled slowly, but with purpose along the tunnel, making their way directly for the two giants.

"Th… there must be dozens of them" Renita muttered as she took in the scene. "We need to get out of here. Like, right now. We need to move."

Jack stared at the oncoming swarm of the creatures and nodded in agreement. "Y… yeah, let's go. Move, move, move!"

With that, the two of them turned and took off down the tunnel, Renita lighting the way once again with her flame. The hissing and skittering noises of the creatures grew louder in their ears as their pursuers picked up speed.

"We can't outrun them forever!" Renita called back over her shoulder. "You have any bright ideas?"

Jack glanced over his shoulder, seeing the oncoming swarm of glittering lights and snapping jaws, and he quickened his pace a little more. "Not yet! Just focus on running for now!"

Jack and Renita scrambled through the dark, winding tunnel, the sound of snapping jaws growing louder the whole time. Finally, they emerged into another large chamber, similar to the one they had found themselves in when they first fell into the caves. Jack skidded to a stop and looked at the tunnel they had just come from.

"What are you doing?!" Renita hissed as she looked over her shoulder. "We need to keep moving!"

Jack didn't respond as he raised his hands out in front of him. He focused on his magic, a rumble reverberating through the dirt and rocks in front of him. He stared at the glowing lights rushing at him along the tunnel's walls and willed his magic to work faster. With one last rumble, the tunnel entrance caved in on itself, a chorus of smashing sounds and angry hissing erupting as the creatures ran into the wall of earth. The gilataur turned back towards his companion, wiping some sweat from his brow and letting a cocky smile cross his face "Problem solved."

Renita slithered back towards Jack, her eyes looking over the collapsed tunnel that now sealed the swarm of creatures off. She looked up at him, and gave a small nod "That…was actually a pretty good idea. Nice one, Jack."

"Thanks" he replied. "Not too shabby, if I do say so mys—" He stared down at the ground as a hiss rose up from his feet. One of the creatures was skittering towards him, gnashing its jaws. He instinctively lifted up one of his powerful, clawed feet and brought it down hard on his attacker. The small beast let out one final, wet hiss as a loud crunch reverberated through the cavern. "Heh… I guess I missed one."

Renita nodded, and the two of them started to allow themselves to relax a little. Their moment of rest didn't last long, however. A deep, rumbling hiss filled the cavern and the sound of crunching rocks could be heard from high above their heads. Both of the giants tensed up, and they slowly craned their heads up towards the source of the noise.

"Oh shit…" was all that Renita could muster as she looked up at it.

It was massive, stretching across the roof of the cavern. Whip-like tendrils began to light up along the creature's form as it stirred. It let out a loud hiss, and began to crawl along the ceiling and down one of the cavern's walls, its path heading straight for the two demi-humans below. As it moved, dozens of the smaller creatures skittered and crawled off of its back, fanning out along the chamber's walls in its wake.

Jack glanced down at the creature lying crushed under one of his feet and then back up at the nightmarish beast making its way towards them. "S…so, those things are the babies… an…and that must be the m-"

He was interrupted as the massive creature lifted its head and let out a powerful, hissing roar, its mouth splitting open into five wickedly sharp segments, just like those of the smaller beasts.

Renita looked over at Jack, who was still staring blankly up at the horror crawling towards them along the cave wall. She grabbed his arm, shaking him. "Jack! We need to move. Now!!!" She looked around the chamber, spotting another tunnel opening on the other side. She shook Jack again, raising a hand to point towards the tunnel. "There! That's the only way out. We need to move!"

Jack looked down at the naga, nodding as he followed the direction of her finger. "Y…yeah, let's go."

The two predators took off across the cavern, running like mad for the tunnel at the far end. More of the juvenile creatures scrambled down the walls to block their path, but Jack and Renita just kept on running, the gilataur occasionally ripping rocks out of the ground with his magic, and using them to knock back any of the little beasts that got too close.

As the naga and the gilataur finally reached the entrance to the tunnel, the adult cave monster finally reached the floor of the cavern. It looked towards the two fleeing creatures and let out another hissing roar before starting after them. Its many legs propelling it along and its bulk shaking the ground as it moved.

Renita looked back over her shoulder as the massive beast entered their tunnel, completely filling it, but moving along just fine. "Well, I think we figured out what made these tunnels!" she said.

"I really, really wish it would have just stayed a mystery!" Jack replied.

They ran through the tunnel, the path occasionally branching and twisting as they went. All the while the hissing and rumbling continued from behind them.

Jack's eyes shot open as they ran for their lives. "Wait…" he said, sniffing the air and letting out an excited laugh.

His naga companion looked over at him, wondering if he'd finally snapped from the stress. "What the hell could possibly be funny right now?"

"Fresh air!" he replied. "I smell fresh air!!" Jack increased his pace, pulling out in front of Renita. "Just follow me and try to keep up! I think I can get us out of here!"

Renita nodded "You just better be right" she said. She did not like their chances if he turned out to be wrong.

They continued to run down the tunnels, Jack sniffing the air and turning this way and that through the tunnel system. As they turned a corner, a point of light shone in the distance. "It's the exit!" Jack yelled. "Haha, we finally found the exit!"

Both of the predators picked up speed, running towards the light and to the exit of the caves.

The massive cave beast turned the corner as well, letting out a roar of frustration as its prey continued to elude it. It banged its head against the ceiling and let out another roar before starting to give chase again.

Renita heard the crashing and roaring coming from behind her, but she remained focused on the light, on getting out of these caves and away from that monster. She let out a pained yelp as something landing hard on her already bruised back, knocking the naga on her stomach and sending her skidding to a stop on the ground. She worked her way up to her hands and tail, her eyes going wide as she looked at the massive creature barreling down on her. She knew she didn't have time to try and run. Renita reached out a hand and sent a jet of flame washing over the monster's head.

It let out a startled noise and stopped in its tracks, but as the fire receded, it was clear that no real damage had been done to the monster's armored body. It soon began to move forward again, moving slowly now, like it was stalking the strange creature who had just tried to attack it.

Jack skidded to a stop and turned as he felt the heat on his back. He looked at the small naga, as she slowly hefted herself back on her tail. She stared at the oncoming monster, knowing it was too late to run. Jack turned to look at the exit, and back to Renita. He turned again towards the exit, and took a step. Images flashed through his mind of escaping while the beast was busy eating Renita, of finally being rid of her, and of finally having his revenge.

He closed his eyes, and clenched his jaw, letting out a small groan of frustration "…I just can't do it" he said softly.

Jack turned and started running back towards the naga and the monster. He raised his arms and thrust them both across his body to the left. A huge chunk of dirt and rock shot out of the cave wall, smashing into the cave monster's head, and pinning it against the
opposite wall.

Renita just stared at the trapped monster, until she felt a powerful hand wrap around her arm. She turned her head, and looked up at Jack's face, genuinely surprised he, of all people would have tried to help her.

"Come on. That isn't going to hold it for long" the gilataur said as he turned around and began running for the cave's exit with the smaller predator in tow.

Renita nodded, and followed Jack's lead, slithering as fast as she could towards the
exit. "Why'd you save me?" she asked as they ran.

"Are you complaining?" he responded.

"N…No, it's just…" she started, her thoughts interrupted by the angry roar of the beast as it burst free from the dirt and rock that had been keeping it pinned. She could hear its legs thundering against the tunnel as it propelled itself at them. "Nevermind! Just run faster!"

They could practically feel the monster chomping at their tails as they burst through the opening and into the fresh air of the outside world. Jack dodged hard to the side, pulling Renita with him. The monster shot past them landing on the ground with a heavy thud. The two predators turned to look at the beast as it began to writhe and shriek. It began to sizzle and smoke, as if the light of the outside world was burning it. It quickly backed up into the opening to the cave, and retreated deep into darkness where only the faint glow of its bioluminescence was visible to the outside world.

Renita let out a sigh of relief as she pried her arm free from Jack's grip. The naga looked back at the cave, panting from the exertion of the last few minutes. "It doesn't look like that thing can stand the light" she said, a small smile crossing her face.

"Yeah…" Jack replied, breathing hard as well. "We should probably try and be far away from here by nightfall though."

Renita nodded, ready to put as much distance between herself and those caves as possible.

The two predators began making their way away from the rocky face that housed the entrance to the creature's tunnel, but they both stopped and turned when a wailing screech assaulted their ears. As they looked into the darkness of the tunnel, the beast's lights began to flicker, and finally go out, followed by a series of crunching noises. The creature let out one more screech before it fell silent, save for the wet, crunching noises. The strange noises seemed to only intensify, and soon, a small river of a thick, orange liquid began to trickle out of the tunnel's entrance.

"What the hell is that thing doing now?" Jack asked, his voice full of confusion.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Whatever it is, I doubt it's good" the short naga
responded. "I think it's time to get out of here, Jack."

Jack agreed and the two of them once again set off deeper into the jungle. They were both unnerved and on edge after the events in the cave, and of the way the monster had behaved just before they left. Although neither of them would admit it, they would rather have each other as company right now, than split off and be alone. They continued through the forest, making occasional small-talk as the sun dropped lower in the sky. When nightfall finally began to set in, they found what they considered to be a good place to rest, and each found a spot to lie down in. Both of them quickly began to drift off as the stress of their ordeal began to catch up to them, and soon, both fell into a deep sleep.

----------

Renita stirred slowly from her sleep, her body sore, bruised and tired from the ordeal in the cave. She shifted around a little where she laid, but refused to get up. Suddenly, her body went still and an eye opened halfway. Something wasn't right. She couldn't quite place it, but her instincts were yelling out for her to be on alert. She heard a strange humming noise, and caught a flash of light out of the corner of her eye. The naga instinctively rolled to the side; barely getting out of the way as a bright beam of light sliced past where she had been laying, leaving a path of scorched earth in its wake.

The naga was up on her tail in an instant, looking over at Jack, who was just getting to his feet now too, awakened by the noise, and by the smell of something burning.

"What the hell is going on now?!" he asked as his eyes scanned the trees around them.

"I don't know. I just woke up an-" she stopped in mid-sentence as her eyes caught another flash of light from the trees. "Look out!"

Jack ducked as Renita yelled out to him, barely avoiding the beam of light that shot through the air where his head had just been, smashing into a tree a short distance away and cutting its trunk in half. He could feel the intense heat coming off the beam wash over him. He knew he did not even want to get a glancing blow from whatever that was.

Renita followed the beam back to its source in the trees and lifted up both hands. A jet of fire shot out of each of her palms, engulfing the treetops in front of her in flames. She kept the fire pouring into the area the beam had come from, not wanting to leave any chance of the source of that beam staying alive. She heard a strange, hissing roar, and something large shot out of the fire and smoke, passing by too quick for her to get a good look at it. She followed it with her arms as it seemed to leap from tree to tree, tracing the fiery streams through the treetops until she lost sight of, whatever it was she was trying to kill.

"Did you get it?" Jack called out to her, not taking his eyes off any of the trees that escaped being scorched.

"I…I don't know" she replied, scanning the trees as well. "I think so. It seemed like it stopped mo—" she began. Another beam of light, barely dodged by the maroon-haired naga, gave them both a clear answer to Jack's question.

Jack looked towards the source of the attack and brought his hands forward, causing dozens of pieces of rock to rip free from the ground and shoot into the trees, shredding branches and snapping trunks. Once again, the sound of a heavy form leaping from tree to tree could be heard. Jack kept sending rocks flying after it, but none of them ever seemed to connect.

Renita slithered closer and once again began shooting jets of fire up into the trees out ahead of where she thought the mysterious creature was. She brought her flames back towards Jack's attacks; intent on trapping whatever it is was attacking them, and killing it.

As their two attacks joined together, a pained screech could be heard from the trees along with the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground, cracking and breaking branches along the way.

"Hah! Looks like that got it!" Jack said.

They both just stared into the forest, looking for any sign of the creature that had attacked them. The sounds of something heavy moving towards them was all they heard, and finally the beast came into view. It seemed to appear out of thin air in mid-leap. Its body was squat and broad, like some kind of giant toad or frog. Its skin was black, with armor-like places running along its back in two rows. Small tendrils hung off its body here and there, with small, lighted bulbs at the ends of them. It was the head that got Renita and Jack's attention though. Its bony maw split open as it roared, opening up into five wickedly toothed sections, just like the beasts from the caves.

'No wonder we couldn't see it' Renita thought to herself as she watched the creature materialize out of thin air. 'It can turn invisible'.

The creature landed hard on the ground and immediately jumped again. It hooked its claws into the truck of a tree as it landed and turned its head to look at the two demi-humans. The armored plates on the beast's back rose up, the tissue on the undersides of them glowing brighter and brighter. After a few moments, the plates fell flush with the creature's back once again, and it opened its mouth.

Renita threw herself out of the way as the beam of light shot forth from the creature's mouth.

Jack reacted almost immediately, ripping a large chunk of dirt and rock from the ground, and sending it rocketing through the air at the monster. The creature hopped down from the tree as the rocks impacted its trunk, breaking the tree in half. Just as the beast's clawed feet hit the ground, it leapt into the air once again, this time straight towards Jack.

All the gilataur could do was put out his arms to try and catch the monster that was flying towards him. It collided with him hard, sending the giant falling over backwards. Jack found himself barely able to hold back the thick, heavy creature that now writhed on top of him. It kept leaning in, trying to rip his face off with its powerful, snapping jaws and he had to use all of his strength to hold back its attacks. For a moment, the creature seemed to become still, before lowering its head and opening its mouth wide.

"Oh no you don't!" Jack said as he pushed up with all his might, causing the beam of light that erupted from the creature's mouth to pass harmlessly overhead, scorching the ground just a short distance away from his head.

Renita hurriedly slithered over to Jack, arriving just after he narrowly avoiding having his head blown off by the creature's beam attack. She knew she wasn't strong enough to pull the heavy monster off of Jack, and if she just tried to burn it, she probably would have hurt the gilataur as well. She thought for a second about what to do, and then it hit her. She pulled her lips back, and began to spit her venom at the creature. She spat again and again, shooting venom out of her specially designed fangs each time, and only stopping when she felt her venom sacks empty. She looked at the beast, its back now glistening from the light coating of her venom, and she formed a small fireball in her hand. Almost casually, she flicked it at the creature and the venom on its back instantly ignited.

The creature let out a pained cry as the flames spread along its back, quickly engulfing most of its upper surface. Jack could feel its attention shifting and used the opportunity to push the beast off of him, sending it rolling onto the ground.

Once the creature was clear of Jack, Renita raised both her hands and completely engulfed the creature in her flames. It writhed and screeched and thrashed, but refused to die. It once again turned its gaze to the two of them, and began to crawl towards them, its mouth still snapping even as it was consumed by fire.

Renita turned her head as Jack walked past her, holding a pillar of dirt and rock in his hand like a club. He hefted it above his head, and brought it down on the beast. He brought it back up and smashed it against the beast's skull once again, repeating the process until the burning creature finally stopped moving.

Jack let his makeshift club fall to the ground, and the two of them decided to put a little distance between them and the still smoldering monster. After walking for a few minutes, they both laid down in a small clearing, still panting from the fight. They didn't talk much during this time, both of them not entirely comfortable with owing their life to another person, much less a person they'd hated the day before.

The silence was broken however, as they both became aware of the sounds of something small moving around between them.

Both of them sat up and turned to look at the source of the noise. It turned out to be a small, red-headed human child in a black dress, who was now standing next one of Jack's clawed feet. The child looked up at the two giants and then turned to the massive claw sitting near her. She walked up to it, and ran her hands along the smooth claw, and the pebbly scales near it. She looked up at Jack, back down to the claw, and then up at Jack again.

"Umm, excuse me sir, but are you a dinosaur?" she asked, her voice quiet and polite as she looked up at the giant with curious eyes. "You don't really look like the one I saw when Mother and Father took me to the academy in Philadelphia."

"Wha… Huh?" Jack said as he stared down at the tiny human, genuinely unsure what she meant, or how to respond.

Renita let out a small snort and then started laughing and how absurd what she was looking at was. She couldn't help but keep laughing as she looked between Jack and the small, human child. After a few moments, the naga fell onto her back, the sound of her laughter echoing throughout the nearby forest.

======================
A World Between Worlds side-story
======================
-------------------------------
Just another day on the job
-------------------------------

It was a hot and muggy afternoon in the forest. Water dripped down from the leaves of every tree, and the ground was still soft and moist from the long rain shower that had occurred earlier in the day.

The small group of people was clustered around a pair of jeep-like motor vehicles. All but two of them wore similar green uniforms. They were clearly military, with various pouches and belts hanging off of their uniforms. All eight of these soldiers paced and milled around the vehicles, seemingly waiting for something.

"What's takin' her so long?" one of them said with a groan as he sat down on a fallen log. "I'm sure it's nice and cool up where she is, but I'm boilin' down here."

An older soldier made his way over to the one that had spoken, and gave him a small whack on the back of the head as he passed by. "Oh, stop complaining. If the rest of us can suffer quietly, so can you, kid."

"Hah, go easy on him sir. I think this is Mullens' first time outside the walls!" A red-headed, female soldier called out from the other side of the two vehicles. "The big, bad jungle probably just has him nervous, without The Eye keeping him safe."

The younger soldier shot a glance in the direction of the voice, and then turned his gaze down to the ground as he leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs. He kept quiet, not wanting to make himself appear any more like someone out on their first mission, which he was.

The older man that had whacked him on the head came back and gave him a rough pat on the shoulder. "Hah, don't let Shelly bother you too much. If she had people-skills, she'd probably be in another line of work" he said, a small grin crossing his bearded face.

"Love you too, Captain!" she replied as she blowed the older man a kiss.

The captain looked back down at Mullens and gave him another pat on the shoulder, nearly knocking him off the log. "You're in The Fist now. You couldn't be out in the wild-lands with a better group of people. You'll get used to being away from The Eye eventually"

"Yes sir" Mullens replied.

"Just try to cut out all that complaining, alright?"

"Yes sir" he replied once again, raising an arm to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"Good lad. You might just make it in this line of work after all, kid" the captain said in his usual loud, cheerful tone, before walking off to begin his pacing once again.

The party continued to wait for several more minutes before movement could be heard in the canopy above them. A human-like figure burst through the leaves, spreading her wide, feathered wings to slow her descent as she neared the ground. With a few last, mighty flaps, the creature finally touched down, her long, curved talons digging into the moist ground. The harpy wore a similar uniform to the other soldiers, although cut differently in places to accommodate the non-human aspects of her figure.

She quickly turned and made her way over to the last two members of the party. They were dressed drastically from the rest of the group. Each was clad in a white, hooded cloak. A small, shield-shaped piece of metal sat on each of their chests, engraved with intricate markings, and the symbol of an open, staring eye. This, along with the markings on their cloaks, denoted their status as battlemages of the Isolon Fist. The harpy looked between the two of them, an inu woman with dark blue hair, who was currently sitting on the hood of one of the jeeps, and a human man with brown hair that was leaning against the side of the same vehicle.

"Alright, listen up" the harpy began. "We gotta dirty belly-dragger about te—" she started, and then suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, clearing her throat as a slight blush briefly came across her cheeks. "Sorry, I mean, I've spotted the target. A lone naga, female, laying in the middle of what looks to be an abandoned campsite, about ten miles northeast of here."

The human battlemage smiled and stepped away from the vehicle, giving the harpy a pat on her feathered shoulder. "Nice work, Heather. It's so much easier tracking these things down now that we've got someone like you in the squad."

Heather couldn't help but smile a little at the compliment. Being a non-human within the Isolon Fist wasn't exactly an easy thing, so getting a compliment like that, from a battlemage of all people, meant a lot to her and filled her with pride.

The human removed his hand from her shoulder and turned to look at the captain. "I think it's about time we got moving then, captain. We'll drive as close as we can, and then walk the rest of the way" he said.

"Yes sir" the captain responded before looking around at the other soldiers milling about. "Alright ladies and gentlemen, you heard the man. Load up so we can get a move on!"

"Yes sir!" they all responded as they began to jog back towards the vehicles and quickly piled into them. Once everyone was loaded up, the two battlemages got into the lead vehicle, and Heather once again took to the air.

The magi-tech engines of the two off-road vehicles whirred to life as the ignitions were turned, and then they were off, speeding deeper into the jungle.

----------

The two machines bounced and bumped over the rough terrain as their drivers sped through the wilderness. After driving northeast for a while, the order was given to stop, and both vehicles slowed down and pulled to a halt.

The battlemages and soldiers exited the vehicles, and Heather swooped down through the trees, making a graceful landing on top of one of the jeeps' roll-cages. "I just made another pass over the target. She looks like she's still asleep" the harpy reported.

The captain nodded, and walked over to the two mages "So, how do you two want to handle this?" He asked.

"Hmmm…" the human mage said "Since we have the jump on her, I think we should give the diplomatic option a shot first. What do you think, Alicia?" he said as he turned to look at his inu companion.

"That didn't exactly work out as planned the last time we tried it, Garreth..." She replied, crossing her arms and letting her tail sway slowly back and forth as she weighed their options.

Garreth rolled his eyes "Hey now, we got the monster removed though, didn't we?"

"Yes, but the end result was hardly what I'd call diplomatic, or easy, like you said it would be"

"Minor details, minor details" he replied.

"Heh, minor…whatever you say, Garreth" she responded. "But, yes, if it gives us a chance to get this done without too much of a hassle, we should probably try the diplomatic approach first."

He smiled and nodded "Well that settles it then." Garreth then shifted his gaze back towards the older man standing in front of him "Alright then, captain. You and your men will keep back a ways while we try and persuade our…guest, to leave. If things go poorly, Alicia and I will try to handle it. If it looks like we won't be able to chase it off, that is your chance to engage and bring it down with the rockets. Got all that?"

"Got it, sir" the captain replied before turning around and walking over to brief his soldiers.

Garreth looked up at the harpy perched on top of the jeep "Oh, and Heather. You are still our eye in the sky. If you see any sign of another predator showing up, dive down into earshot and start screaming about it."

"Will do, sir" she said before leaping up from the jeep, flapping her way above the tree line and out of sight.

"Alright, hop to it!" the captain bellowed to his soldiers. "Full anti-giant loadout. You know the drill."

The soldiers were gathered around both of the vehicles, tossing their assault rifles inside and hauling out several large crates that had been stored in the back of each jeep. The clinking of metal filled the air as the crates were opened, and four of the soldiers assembled their rocket tubes and strapped on the backpacks that contained their extra rockets. All the while, the other four soldiers were checking and loading their belt-fed light machine-guns.

The captain looked over each of his men and women, and then turned back to the two battlemages. "We're all set here. Ready when you are."

"Alright, let's get a move-on then" Garreth replied "Just remember to keep your distance at first. We don't need to spook this thing if we don't have to."

The captain nodded, and the group set off into the jungle. The soldiers made sure to lag behind the two mages, opening up a large gap to give them plenty of room. It wasn't long before the mages neared the edge of a thin area in the trees. The massive bulk of the naga could be seen through the trees ahead of them.

"So…" Alicia started "You want to do the talking, or should I?"

"You know me, I have a certain way with things like this" he responded.

"Well, I guess that's one way to put it" the inu replied with a playful grin.

"Hah, fine then. If you want to start us off, go ahead" he said with a small chuckle.

With that, the two mages emerged from the tree line and stepped into the small clearing. They walked past several abandoned tents, some of which had clearly been ripped out of the ground and then left to fall back to earth. Whether this was the work of this current naga, or was something that had happened years ago was difficult to tell though.

They approached the massive woman's body. It was still, aside from its slow, constant breathing. Clearly still asleep, just like their harpy scout had reported.

Alicia looked over at Garreth and then back to the sleeping bulk of the naga. She cleared her throat and then spoke up "Hello! Hello there!"

They waited for a moment, but the naga did not seem to respond, not even shifting a bit in its sleep.

Garreth took a step forward, deciding to give it a try as well. "Heeeeeeey! Wake up already, we need to have a word with you!"

This time, the naga did seem to hear them. She shifted slightly in her sleep, one eye opening and sleepily looking at them. "Hmmmmmmm? Look…. I'm… kinda tired. Help yourself to whatever's left in the camp, alright? …Goodnight then." She then closed her eye and seemed to be once again drifting off to sleep.

Alicia looked over at Garreth, and then back at the naga. "We aren't scavengers, or looters. We are here for you."

Once again, the eye opened and looked over at them. "Huh? ...For me?"

Alicia stepped forward and nodded. "Yes, we are battlemages of the Isolon Fist, and you are trespassing within Negavian territory. You need to leave."

An audible snort escaped the naga, following by a small giggle. She opened her other eye as she seemed to be slowly waking up now. "…Isolon, whatnow?"

Garreth let out a small groan, already starting to get frustrated with this naga. "The Isolon Fist. We are charged with protecting this region, and its people, from…well, things like you, and-"

"...and like I said, you need to leave" Alicia finished, in a much calmer tone.

"Leave, huh? Well, why should I? This is a nice little area. Humans coming and going all the time, and its outside of all the nasty magic that big city puts out."

Garreth let out a sigh "Our job is to remove you. Whether that gets done by us being diplomatic about this, or by you ceasing to be, doesn't really matter to us."

"Hah. Haha. Did…did you just try and threaten me?" the naga chuckled. The massive woman then pressed her hands against the ground and started to lift herself up. She slowly reared up to her full height and placed her hands on her hips, looming over the two small people who now found themselves in her shadow. "…and just how do you plan to back up that threat, little snack?"

Alicia let out a sigh and looked over at the human. "Weren't you the one who suggested diplomacy in the first place?"

He looked down at the ground and nudged the dirt with the toe of his boot. Already, he could see the moisture being drawn out of it, the moist dirt turning lighter as its water was removed. That was one of the things he liked about Alicia, she was always thinking ahead. Garreth looked up, and over at his partner "Yeah, but I honestly expected it to go better."

"So, what's the plan?" the Inu asked.

"I still would prefer to just try and drive her off. So try not to kill her." He replied.

"Oh, what are you two going on about now?" the naga said impatiently as she started to bend over, reaching forward with one of her hands. "Either way, time for a snack. I think I'll start off with the rude one first."

Garreth looked up at the approaching hand, widening his stance a little, and readying himself. "Ready?"

"Just say when" the inu replied, her lowered ears and stiff tail confirming her seriousness.

Garreth let a small grin cross his face as the naga leaned in closer and closer. He thrust a hand out from inside his cloak and raised it up. The ground rumbled as a huge chunk of dirt and rock ripped its way free and flew straight up into the naga's face.

She let out a startled yelp as she straightened up and reeled backwards clutching her chin. "Oww! Wh...What was that?!" She yelled as she wiped the tears from her eyes and turned her gaze back to the two tiny cloaked figures. The inu woman was running away from both her and the human, and that rude human was just looking up at her, a small grin on his face.

"I tried to warn you. You've just bitten off more than you can chew, lady" he said.

What shocked the naga the most was what she was sensing. The amount of magical power coming off of the two small people was enormous, greater than anyone else their size she'd ever encountered. She didn't know what exactly these two 'battlemages of the Isolon Fist' were, but she knew one thing, she was mad now and they were still only the size of one of her fingers. "That's it! I'm going to make sure you regret…whatever you just did to me a second ago!"

The naga whipped her tail around. It swept across the ground like a steamroller, flattening the remains of the camp, and ripping up chunks out of the ground.

Garreth looked at the approaching wall of scales, and focused his magic beneath him. The piece of ground he stood on ripped itself free from the surrounding earth and rocketed upwards, causing the naga's tail to pass harmlessly below. He extended an arm to either side and soon two chunks of dirt and rock, each bigger than the naga's hands ripped out of the ground and rose up on either side of him. He brought his hands forward, and the two earthen masses shot forward at the massive woman.

The naga hopped sideways on her tail, and the two chunks of rock streaked by. "Hah! Missed! Now you're mine!" she said as she began to move forwards towards the human floating in front of her.

Garreth pulled his still outstretched arms back towards him, and the chunks of rock changed course in mid-flight, streaking back in the direction they had come from and smashing into the back of the naga's head. The massive creature let out another pained yelp and lurched forward, her hands smashing into the ground as she barely avoiding falling flat on her face.

With the naga taken to the ground, Garreth turned to check in with Alicia "How's it coming down there?" he yelled down at her.

Alicia had her hands held above her as she focused on her magic. Water droplets streamed in from all directions as they flew off of every leaf in the surrounding area. More water was pulling itself free of the dirt below her feet as she used her magic to keep drawing in all the water she could. "I'm working on it!" she responded. "This is a bit more difficult when we aren't near a water source." All of the water was converging on a point high above her head, and the resulting sphere was already over ten feet in diameter. "Still needs to be bigger" she muttered to herself as she kept trying to will the process to go faster.

The naga didn't know what the dog-girl was up to, nor did she really care at the moment. All she wanted to do was get her hands on the human that kept hitting her in the face with rocks. She let out a yell and lunged forward as soon as she got back upright, but the human darted out of her range. She saw his hand move, and instinctively ducked, feeling another fist-sized chunk of rock shoot over her head. Remembering what had happened the last time, she turned her head to track the rock's progress, whipping out the end of her tail to shatter it as it began its return trip.

She then turned to face the human again "Hah! I'm on to all your little tricks no—" she was interrupted once again as another piece of rock hit her square in the mouth. "Gah! That is getting SO old!" she yelled, a small trickle of blood now coming from her lower lip. The naga let out a frustrated, angry yell and charged at the human, her arms flailing wildly in an attempt to swat him.

Garreth's eyes went wide as the massive woman charged straight at him. He knelt down and gripped tightly onto his rocky platform as he maneuvered it through the air, trying to avoid the naga's wild swipes at him. He let out a startled yell as one of the naga's fingers connected with the platform he was riding on, ripping a chunk out, and causing the rest to crumble out from beneath him. "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" he yelled as he fell towards the ground. He forced his mind to concentrate on the ground below, loosening and softening the particles in the soil. He let out a small, pained noise as he impacted with the ground, sinking into the soft, loose soil as he used his magic to manipulate it to better cushion his fall.

Garreth breathed heavily as he lay in the crater-like indentation in the ground. Soon, his view became blocked by the naga as she slithered up to where he lay. She glared down at him as she brought up her hand and clenched her fingers into a fist. Things seemed to move in slow motion as the Naga brought up her hand, and then bend forward, intent on crushing him with her fist like some kind of bug.

A burst of gunfire erupted from off to the naga's right as four light machine-guns opened up on her. She let out a scream of pain as dozens of rounds peppered right side and arm. While not lethal, the rounds pierced deep enough to draw blood and cause intense pain. The massive woman turned to face her new attackers, and only barely ducked in time to let an incoming rocket streak over her head, its explosive warhead and secondary magical charge nearly cutting a tree in half on the other side of the clearing. With a roar of frustration and pain, the naga held out her hand, flames starting to spark up in her palm.

"Oh no you don't" Alicia said softly as she sent the now massive sphere of water streaking forward through the air. It impacted the naga square in the chest, sending her tumbling backwards, shaking the ground as she crashed down. Alicia started walking forward, still keeping her concentration as the giant woman attempted to pick herself up.

By this point, Garreth had finally climbed up out of his crater in the ground, smiling a little as he saw that the naga was exactly where they wanted her. "Nice work, everyone!" he said as he turned to look at the soldiers emerging from the tree-line, and then at other mage.

Alicia flashed him a smile, and turned her attention back on the naga, which was starting to get back up again, propping herself up on her hands and tail. Alicia extended a hand out towards the her, getting ready for the next step in their plan.

The naga groaned as she propped herself up "Great… They're both throwing things at me now." She then noticed a strange feeling creeping along her body. She looked down and saw streams of water crawling and coiling along her form. "W…what's going on?!"

She swatted at the water, but it just kept moving up along her body. It finally reached her neck, and shot forward, encapsulating her entire head. Bubbles escaped the naga's mouth as she looked around in shock and fear from inside the water bubble. She thrashed her head from side to side and clawed at the bubble of water, but it did no good. As her air began to run low, she grabbed at her neck and fell forward onto her stomach.

The two mages walked in closer to the drowning naga, and now stood near her face. She stared at them pitifully through the water, pleading with her eyes.

"Alright, Alicia. Let up for a bit. Let's see if she's more cooperative now." Garreth said as he stepped in a little closer.

Alicia made a gesture with her hand, and the water bubble retracted itself from around the naga's head, flowing slowly through the air above the massive woman.

She gasped and coughed as the water receded, letting her finally breathe again. She propped herself up on her hands and tail, glancing up at the water hovering ominously above her, and then down at the two humans.

Garreth looked up at the naga, the giant woman's face now full of fear and uncertainty instead of the confidence it once had. "So, think you're a bit more willing to listen to us now?" he asked.

The naga didn't respond verbally, only giving him a small, frightened nod.

"Good" Garreth said. "Alright, now where were we before you decided to cause trouble? Oh yeah. We were talking about you leaving."

Alicia piped up from her place a few steps behind the brown-haired human. "Just leave now and never come back, and we won't have anymore trouble. Refuse, or try to come back and prey on any of the people here, and…well…we go back to what we were doing."

The naga once more glanced up at the water hovering above her head, and then back at the two mages. "A…alright then. I'll go. No amount of food is worth all this trouble" she said.

The two mages watched as the massive woman lifted herself up onto her tail. She slithered away from them, glancing over her shoulder at them one last time before bolting off into the forest at full speed, intending to put as much distance between herself and those two freakishly strong mages as she possibly could.

Garreth let out a sigh and turned to his partner "So, I think that went relatively well" he said with a smile.

Alicia let herself relax as well, causing the water she had been holding aloft to fall to the ground. She turned and looked at Garreth "Well, except for the part where you nearly died."

"Hah, me? Not even close" he responded with a cocky smile.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Garreth" Alicia said with a small chuckle as she gave him a smile of her own and patted him on the shoulder.

By now, the group of soldiers had made their way over to the two mages, clearly excited by their victory as well. Soon enough, Heather swooped down through the trees and landed near the group.

"She's high-tailing it out of the area, heading northeast. I don't think I've ever seen a naga move that fast" the harpy said.

"Hah, you should have seen the look on her face. I don't think she'll be bothering us again any time soon" one of the soldiers said cheerfully.

"Hehe, yeah. The big bitch probably won't even go near a human for weeks" Shelly said as she slung her gun over her shoulder.

They all shared a round of congratulations, and pats on the backs as they calmed down from the stress and excitement of the encounter. After a few minutes, they all turned and began the trek back to their vehicles; Heather once again taking the air to make sure nothing got the chance to sneak up on them.

Mullens walked near the rear of the group. He looked around at everyone and then spoke up. "I was just wondering. …Why didn't we just kill it?" he said, gesturing towards the two mages as they turned to look at him. "I mean, you two had her beat."

Garreth slowed down to walk alongside the inexperienced soldier. "Mostly, it is about convenience" he started. "You see, if we had killed her, then the body would have to be hauled off to one of the dumping sites and buried or burned. We'd also have to keep alert for any scavengers that might be attracted to it. Not to mention the paperwork. Oh, gods, the paperwork."

Mullens nodded as he listened to the mage.

"So, what we prefer to do, is simply rough them up a bit and drive them away" Garreth said. "It's a whole lot easier than killing every predator that shows up near our borders."

Alicia nodded "Yep. Plus, these predators tend to have friends, and if they go around telling their friends how dangerous it is to stray too close to Negav, then they might be motivated to stay away too."

"Ahh" Mullens said "I get it now. That…actually makes a lot of sense."

"What I don't get is why they placed such a priority on this op. All that fussing and putting us back on rotation early over one naga" another soldier said.

The captain brought up a hand, and seemed to be counting something on his fingers for a moment, muttering under his breath. "Aren't they collecting the Nekomuran tribute in a couple days?"

"Hah! That explains it then" Garreth said with a sarcastic laugh. "Gods forbid something should happen to the tax collectors."

The whole squad shared a small laugh at that, before arriving back at their vehicles a short time later. They loaded all of their gear back up, and the two machines soon turned around and sped off through the jungles, back towards the city of Negav.

----------

After about twenty minutes of speeding through the wilderness, the two vehicles finally emerged from the trees. Ahead of them, the towering walls of Negav stood, gleaming as the sun reflected off the water that still clung to them from the morning's rain. Garreth tapped the driver of his vehicle on the shoulder as they neared the city's northern bridge, and both of the machines slowed to a stop.

"Better report in, now that we're back in range" he explained as he hopped out of the jeep. Garreth reached around in his cloak for a second before pulling out small mechanical device. After pressing a sequence of buttons on its surface, he pushed one of the two large buttons near the bottom of it, and brought the device up to his mouth. "This is Garreth Ethix, battlemage of Isolon Fist detachment 16 reporting in."

After a few moments, a female voice crackled out of the speakers on the device. "Reading you loud and clear, battlemage Ethix. What is the status of your mission?"

"We successfully located and drove off the target. No casualties. The mission was a success."

"Great to hear" the voice responded over the radio. "Return to base to make your official report, and then you and your men can go back off rotation. It looks like you all have…" the woman paused for a moment, the sound of rustling papers faintly coming through the speakers. "Ahh, there it is. Yes, you all will get your remaining four days of leave before returning back to full rotation."

A chorus of cheers rose up from the soldiers still sitting in the two vehicles upon hearing that.

"Haha, it sounds like your men liked that bit of news" the voice said.

"Definately" Garreth agreed. "I think we were all a little disappointed to get yanked off of leave and sent out on a mission so suddenly."

"I bet" the woman on the other end of the radio agreed. "Alright then, just be sure to make your report. Congratulations on the successful mission, and enjoy your leave."

"Thank you kindly" Garreth replied before pressing the button to end the connection. He returned the device back to its place inside of his cloak, and turned back to the two vehicles. Heather had come down to join then as well, and was currently perched atop the lead vehicle's roll-cage. "Well, you guys heard the lady. Alicia and I have to go make our report, but all of you should be able to get back on leave as soon as you return to base and check your gear back in."

He looked towards the city for a moment, and then back to his team. "You guys go on ahead in the off-roaders. Get checked back in, and get back to relaxing. Alicia and I will take the long way back."

"You sure, sir?" the captain asked from the lead vehicle.

"Yeah, yeah. Get on out of here" he said with a smile. "Try not to relax too hard though. I don't want to have to bail anyone else out of jail this week."

"Hey!" a soldier piped up from the second vehicle. "Like I told ya, it was the other guy who started it! Some damn fool offworlder."

"Haha, I know I know. Just try not to beat down any more offworlders for a little while, alright?"

"Yes sir. No promises though" the soldier replied with a chuckle as he settled back down into his seat.

"Well, I guess we'll be going then" said the captain.

"Yep, see you and the guys in a few days" Garreth replied.

The captain gave the mages a nod, and tapped the driver on the shoulder. With that, the two vehicles began moving, rolling along the massive bridge that lead inside the great fortress city.

"So, any reason you're so intent on walking back?" Alicia asked as she moved up alongside the other battlemage.

"Are you in any hurry to go file a report?" Garreth asked with a small smirk. "Besides, I am starving. I figured we could grab something to eat on the way back."

Alicia's ears perked up at that, her tail swishing behind her. "You know, that sounds like a good idea to me."

Garreth nodded and then the two mages were off. They walked along the massive bridge, the Motamo river flowing far below them. Humans, inu and nekos were coming and going along the bridge, some walking towards the safety of Negav, and others heading off the other way, either off into the jungle or to the nearby town of Nekomura. Several enterprising merchants had set up their carts along the expanse of the bridge, selling everything from fruit, to drinks and survival gear to anyone who would stop and take a look at their merchandise.

As they neared the massive northern gate, the two mages angled off to the side a bit, heading towards a much smaller gate, flanked on either side by an armed guard. As soon as the guards saw their white cloaks, and the silvery piece of metal that sat on each of their chests, they immediately opened the gate, letting the two battlemages bypass the main gate, and the always crowded checkpoint that lead into the city.

They walked through a small corridor carved through the thick wall, and passed through an identical gate at the other end, finally entering the city itself. Massive towers could be seen rising high above in the distant skyline, getting larger towards the center of the massive city. A small, twinkling could be seen atop the city's highest tower, as the pale purple crystal of the Isolon Eye reflected the sunlight starting to peek through the clouds.

The two mages began to move further into the city, entering into the sea of people making their way through Negav's busy streets. Most people made sure to keep out of the way of the two mages, occasionally giving them a courteous nod, or smile. Alicia couldn't help noticing a few odd looks cast her way, the same kind of look she'd been getting from humans for most of her life, but she pretended not to notice them. It wasn't worth getting upset over, especially after a successful mission.

After walking for a while, the low tier began to transition into the middle tier. Buildings became sturdier, more permanent and more advanced. The crowds of rough-looking figures with swords and pistols on their hips gradually became a more casual looking group of people. Middle-class people who lived and worked permanently in Negav, instead of being offworlders and transients just using the city as a staging point for their next expedition.

"So, you got any ideas on where we should get something to eat?" Garreth asked as he looked over at the other mage.

"Hmmm…" Alicia said, her ears flicking a little. "Actually, I do have an idea. It isn't too far from here either." The inu's ears perked up as she increased her step and took the lead, guiding Garreth to their destination.

Soon enough, they came up to a small diner nestled between two larger buildings. The two mages stepped inside, a small bell ringing as the door slid open. It was nice and cool inside, and the air was full of the smell of hot, freshly-cooked food. Nearly every patron in the diner turned to look up at them after the bell rang, not used to seeing battlemages in this kind of establishment. They all quickly glanced back to whatever they had been looking at before though, not wanting to risk being perceived as rude.

It wasn't long before a short, dark blue-haired Inu woman walked up to them, her gaze shifted down as she focused on getting her pockets and apron sorted out. "Hello and welcome. How can I help y—" The woman stopped in mid-sentence as she looked up and saw them. She stood there for a moment, just eyeing them. After a short while, she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Alicia. "Alicia! What a surprise! How have you been? I was just wondering the other day about when you were going to come visit again."

Alicia blushed slightly at the affection, but eagerly returned the hug. "Hehe, nice to see you too, Mom. …and I'm sorry, things just get busy at work sometimes. You know that."

Garreth just looked between the two for now. Sure enough, there was a resemblance. He probably would have mistaken them for sisters, had he not just heard them greet each other. Given how young she looked, it was immediately obvious that Alicia's mother was a native-born Negavian.

Alicia's mother released her hug, looked over at Garreth, and then back at Alicia. "Oh, and who is this? You should have let me know beforehand that you would be bringing a guest with you, especially a battlemage" she said.

Garreth brought up a hand to scratch the back of his head "Oh, there's no need for that." He extended a hand towards the shorter woman "I'm Garreth, your daughter's partner. It is very nice to meet you" he said with a smile.

Alicia's mother took his hand and shook it "It's nice to meet you too. Alicia always speaks highly of you…well, when she pops in to visit, that is."

"Oh, mother really" Alicia said with a slightly embarrassed chuckle "It hasn't been that long since the last time I came to visit."

"If you say so, dear" her mother replied, giving he daughter a playful smile. "Either way, we can't just stand here all day. Come, come, I'll get you two a table!" With that, the woman was off, and the two mages followed, finally stopping when she gestured towards an empty table.

The two battlemages took a seat, and after departing for a couple minutes, Alicia's mother returned with three glasses of water and took a seat across from them.

"Sooooo…" Alicia's mother began "What have you two been up to today? Judging by all the dirt on your cloaks, you must have been busy. Was it anything you can talk about?"

"Oh, nothing too serious, Mom" Alicia began. "It was just some lone naga hanging out a few miles from the northern border. We just had to go and persuade her to leave and never come back. I'm pretty sure she got the message. Just another day on the job, really."

The inu mage's mother nodded. "It's still so hard to believe sometimes. My little pup is all grown up, and off fighting monsters." She glanced over at Garreth again "You just make sure to keep her safe, alright?"

"Heh, honestly, she ends up being the one to bail me out half the time. Your daughter is a very tough and resourceful lady" he replied.

Alicia blushed a little as the two talked about her. While Garreth and her mother made small talk, the inu mage felt something bump against her and something drape over her shoulders, wrapping around her neck.

"Hah! Got'cha sis!" a young male voice said from behind her. The young inu leaned his head over Alicia's shoulder, playfully sticking his tongue out at her.

Alicia just looked over at him and gave him a mischievous smirk. She made a small gesture with her finger and some of the water in her glass shot out, squirting her little brother square in the face. "Hah, and it looks like I got you too, Adam" she said with a laugh.

"Aww, well it's no fair when you start using your magic" he said with a pout. "Hehe, just you wait, sis. One of these days, when my magic is stronger, I'm going to get you good."

With that, he gave his sister another hug, and pulled up a chair to sit next to his mother, across the table from the two mages.

"Speaking of magic…" Alicia said as she leaned towards her brother. "How is yours coming along? You find time between slacking off to practice some?"

"Hey now" he said, leaning in as well. "I don't slack off nearly as much as I used to. …and yes, I've been practicing." A proud smile then crossed his face "I can power a light bulb now! I can make it light up real bright!"

"That's great to hear, lil brother!" Alicia replied, smiling now as well. "You'll be slinging lightning, and zapping bad guys in no time."

The boy's smile only beamed brighter with his big sister's approval, and their mother smiled as well.

Garreth couldn't help but think about what a nice little moment this was. He knew the story about how Alicia had lost her father to the wilderness, and how it had devastated her family and motivated her to join The Fist. It was just great to see them so happy, and so tight-knit. It was touching to see a family interacting like this, something he'd never really gotten to enjoy in the orphanage he'd grown up in.

Alicia's mother looked over at Garreth, and brought up a hand to give herself a small thump on the forehead. "Oh, I'm so sorry. You two were out on your mission earlier, and must be hungry after all that. I haven't even taken your orders yet." She stood up from her seat and pulled a notepad out of her apron. She cast a quick glance down at Adam, poking him on the shoulder with her pencil "Hey, don't you have some dishes to get to cleaning, young man?"

"Awwwww, but Mom…"

"No buts. If you do them quick, you can probably come back out and visit with your sister a little more before she has to go."

The boy nodded and jumped up from his seat, rushing through the doors that lead into the kitchen to try and complete his tasks.

Alicia's mother took the two mages' orders, and after a short wait, their food arrived. The food was hot, and tasty, and had a home-cooked charm to it. It was so refreshing after a morning spent out in the hot, humid, post-rainstorm forest. Eventually, the two finished their meal, and after a little more small-talk with Alicia's mother, and promises of coming back to visit more when she was off rotation, the two battlemages finally stood up, and walked back to the entrance of the diner.

They emerged back into the humid, bustling streets of Negav and both looked at the massive towers of Negav's high tier that loomed in the distance.

"You about ready to go make that report?" Alicia asked her partner.

"Yeah, I guess we've put off doing it for about as long as possible" he responded.

"It was a pretty simple mission. Maybe this won't take that long?" she asked in a hopeful tone.

"Heh, when has it ever not taken much longer than it should?" he responded.

"True" was all the inu could muster. She let out a content sigh, her stomach happy and full of a good lunch. "Well, about time to get going then."

Garreth nodded, and the two mages began walking. They stepped out onto the busy street, and merged into the crowd of people going about their daily activities. The battlemages moved at a steady pace, through the crowds, and towards Negav's high tier, towards the heart of the massive fortress-city.