The Dawning Night: Chapter 25

Chapter 25: One's Trash is Another's Treasure</u>

"Well this is a fine mess you've gotten us into!" Cyle's voice sounded from outside.

Shade opened his eyes and groaned. He felt awful. The ridgedor was no longer paralyzed but, after sleeping in a strange position, his back started to ache. Shade walked over to the window and looked down to see Cyle standing near the door, meaning the hole.

"I thought you said you wouldn't go near Drax's house," the ridgedor yelled down at Cyle.

"I said I wouldn't go in his house!" he shouted back. "I told you he was a jerk!"

"Yeah… I know that now but we need his help…"

"No we don't! I think we can find Alpha on our own!"

"Look around, Cyle!" Shade swept his arms to show the endless trees around them. "If you think you can navigate through all this, then you're crazy! If you want to, I won't stop you, but I think it's stupid."

Cyle shook his head and turned away, dismissing the matter.

"Shade!" Wynia suddenly came running into the room followed by Cezial. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Shade retorted, rubbing his back.

"I don't know maybe because this whole journey you've been chased, attacked, and who knows what else the entire time!" the girl put her hands on her hips.

Shade gave her a wry grin, saying playfully, "Good thing I always have people to save me."

"You can't permanently rely on others to struggle in your own brawls," Cezial whispered sullenly.

"I don't!" Shade yelled back, receiving only a shrug from the frost ridgedor.

"Look… I feel… remorse for what…" Cezial began, twirling his tail around shyly.

"Drax turned out to be like?" Shade offered.

"Correct…"

"Don't sweat it Cezy! We'll figure it out."

"I hope your optimism brings amiable results …"

"Uh… yeah…"

The frost ridgedor turned away and walked back to his room. Wynia stared at Shade and started to say something then grunted and bit her lip.

"Yes?" Shade raised an eyebrow.

"About Wujaru…" Wynia looked down at her feet. "I… lost him…"

"How?"

"Well, when I was going to the Gate of Griffin Forest, I was suddenly attacked by a FLET. I was so surprised that I didn't realize the FLET hadn't swallowed me, but it managed to snag Wujaru… I'm sorry Shade."

I'm in some creepy-crawly's belly?!

Heh, this just gets better and better.

"Hmm…" Shade tapped his tail against his side. "Wait! If Izzodiac and the others were taken just like Wujaru was… then does that mean Wujaru went to the same place they did?" the ridgedor smiled broadly.

"Possibly…" Wynia considered the option. "It's highly probable."

"Yes! Then that means we can go to Alpha, beat Rayzord, find Izzodiac and the others, and get Wujaru!" Shade exclaimed happily.

"Yes, but we don't know –"

"Let's go, Wynia!" Shade shouted as he blasted past the girl and down the stairs. The ridgedor was running so fast he collided into Drax, both of them falling to the floor from the impact.

"Watch it!" Drax yelled angrily. He stood up and growled, "Crazy lunatic!"

"Sorry," Shade muttered, leaping to his feet and continuing to run outside.

"What's the big hurry?" Drax shouted after him.

"I have to –" Shade started to yell but disappeared to outside, his voice becoming muffled.

"Oh… well… whatever bird boy," Drax rolled his eyes.

Shade stopped near the place he had last seen Cyle.

"What is it?" the broad shouldered man came up from behind a tree.

"We have to get everyone and go to Alpha!" Shade replied and then grabbed a small rock from the ground. Lightning padded up to Cyle and Shade, jaws wide in a yawn.

"Hey, where's the fire?" he asked absently.

"ALPHA!" Shade shouted, making the chequick's fur stand on edge.

Shade looked for Cezial's room's window. He saw the frost ridgedor reading from inside and chucked the rock at the window. Cezial yelped in fear and fell over; the rock rebounded off the windowpanes and came back down. Lightning and Cyle both looked at each other, thoroughly confused by Shade's urgency.

"Cezial!" the ampithere ridgedor yelled.

"What?" Cezial popped up suddenly and pushed open the window.

"Get down here!"

"Uh… were you the one who threw that piece of granite at me?"

"Yeah!"

"You almost gave me a heart attack, you galling charlatan!"

"Sorry it was the only way to get your attention… and I'm going to assume that 'you galling charlatan' means I'm awesome."

"Hardly…" Cezial muttered.

Shade turned to Cyle and said, "Hey, why don't you go get Wynia?"

"Fine but you get Drax out first," he answered.

"Ugh… okay."

"I'll get him," Cezial grunted, already walking downstairs.

Cyle quickly ran to the side of the house and when his brother and Drax came through the hole, not noticing him, the Western Dragon ridgedor raced inside.

"What is it now, miniman?" Drax growled.

"We're leaving," the ampithere ridgedor replied, ignoring the reference to his size.

"I do not grasp your comments on Shade's mass, for he is about the same –" Cezial began to explain when Drax suddenly pulled him into a headlock and started to ruffle his hair playfully.

"Don't worry, brainiac, Shadey here doesn't mind," he smiled broadly, his grin wide and somewhat sadistic.

"Yeah, whatever," Shade rolled his eyes. "I just want to get on the move again."

Lightning sat down and began licking his paws nonchalantly. Drax looked down at him and asked, "Who's the cat?"

"Ah, this is another companion of ours, Lightning the Chequick Prince," Shade introduced his feline friend.

"Alright, we're ready," Cyle's voice interrupted and he came out, followed by Wynia. Cyle gasped when he saw Drax.

"Hmm?" Drax spun around, eyes growing wide and losing his grin. "What are you doing here!?"

Cyle merely made a sound that was a cross between a growl and a moan. He suddenly shot forward and smashed his fist against Drax's jaw. Shade winced as he heard the crack the blow made. Drax cried out but somehow managed to shake it off. Cezial had retreated to stand behind Shade and was watching his brother with a mixture of awe and fear.

"What was that for?" Drax shouted angrily, wiping blood from his mouth viciously.

"For stealing my life, you idiot!" Cyle snarled.

"Brother!" Cezial stepped forward. "Please stop your futile retribution duel! We have more pivotal matters to heed."

"Stay out of this, Cezial," Cyle replied.

"I'm afraid I must contradict…" Cezial continued.

"Cezial, move!" Shade cried as Drax suddenly ran forward. Cezial barely had enough time to leap out of the way, and colliding into the shocked Lightning as he did, when Drax barreled into Cyle.

"Give me it!" Cyle growled as he managed to catch Drax's head in one hand and spin the thinner opponent around.

"I don't know why you care about that piece of trash!" Drax squirmed away and pulled out a wickedly sharp dagger out. He lashed out at Cyle, who instinctively brought out Quill and parried the blow.

"It's my treasure and you can't have it! Not now, not ever!" Cyle continued to slash at Drax but the smaller ridgedor was too fast. Shade stared at Drax's wings and would have thought that the unbalanced weight would make him slower… apparently not. Drax was somehow managing to lift his wings high enough and was using them to propel himself back and forth, each beat of the wings giving him extra speed. Every time Drax went forward, he gave a ferocious stab into Cyle's thigh. Shade could see the blood pouring from the puncture holes but it seemed like a minor irritation to Cyle, he continued to fight angrily.

"You can't beat me Cyle!" Drax taunted as he sidestepped a punch sent from Cyle's other hand. "Not without your little gun! It's useless in my opinion but I suppose that's why you have it… or did anyway!"

"Shut up!" Cyle snarled and was able to get a slice along Drax's side with Quill. Drax shouted something Shade couldn't make out. He leaped backward and clutched at the wound, growling at Cyle. Shade blinked and suddenly smiled. Even though Drax was faster, he was still smaller and therefore easier to hurt.

"Shouldn't we try to halt their inane clash?" Cezial whispered to Shade and Wynia fretfully.

"No way! I hope Cyle kicks his tail in!" Lightning said excitedly.

"That's not exactly my most feasible outcome…"

"Don't worry, Cezy… I don't think Cyle would… you know… kill him… would he?" Shade flinched as he saw Cyle slice toward Drax. The smaller ridgedor was able to dodge it but Shade saw that it was aimed at Drax's head. Not a good sign.

"It's highly foreseeable…" Cezial replied shakily. "Seeing that my brother is seething with choleric ambition to succeed in his attempt at ending Drax's existence. Certainly, his infelicitous buoyancy is a perturbation, correct?"

"Umm… sure?"

"I cogitated the possible aftermaths to this battle… they are not tremendous…"

"Hey, you guys, stop!" Shade ran forward and pulled out Delwia as Cyle and Drax both swung their blades at each other. Using Delwia's superior size against the sword and dagger, Shade was able to block both of them. He pulled down on Delwia, instantly destroying Drax's measly dagger. Cyle was thrown backward with Quill in hand and Drax was sent flying the other way. Shade raised an eyebrow and stared at Delwia.

Oops… maybe I applied more force than necessary…

You think?

Ah, who am I kidding? That was great! Let's do it again!

No, you're done.

What? Come on, I want to fight!

Shade slid Delwia into its sheath, ignoring the outraged buzzing of the sword. The ampithere ridgedor looked at Cyle and Drax. They had gotten up, despite their bleeding wounds, and approached Shade.

"That was really stupid," he growled.

"Yeah whatever," Drax riposted frostily and then pointed at Cyle, growling, "He started it."

"Now I'm going to end it!" Cyle shouted and he stepped forward to punch Drax. Just as his fist was about to hit the other ridgedor's face, Cezial, astonishingly, went up and caught it. Cyle was also surprised and stared at his brother.

"Please don't…" Cezial muttered.

Cyle sighed, stood silent for awhile, and then muttered, "Fine…"

Wynia smiled at Cezial and immediately the frost ridgedor's face went light pink, almost matching his scales.

"Alright… now that you guys have stopped fighting… let's go to Alpha," Shade said brightly and began to walk forward with Wynia and Cezial following close behind.

"WHAT! I am not going ANYWHERE with him!" Drax shouted and furiously flung his hand toward Cyle.

"At least we agree on SOMETHING!" Cyle yelled back.

"I don't have time for this!" Shade managed to make himself sound braver than he felt. "We need to get to Alpha and I don't care if you come willingly or if I have to drag your miserable hides there myself!"

Cyle and Drax stared at each other, brown and dark blue eyes both brimming with hatred, and reluctantly nodded to Shade. The ampithere ridgedor smiled and continued on in the direction he thought Alpha was.

"It's the other way," Cezial muttered as he held the map out in front of him, eyes dark with determination.

"Right… I knew that," Shade waved his hand and turned around. "Onward my friends! To… umm… our destiny!" he yelled, thinking rapidly for some good words to inspire his companions.

Cezial and Lightning walked next to Shade as they went through the forest. Wynia was keeping pace behind them next to Cyle. Drax lagged behind, trying to keep as far away from Cyle as possible.

The group continued to go through Griffin Forest, each hour making them grow more tired. Shade figured that they would soon reach Alpha's main city, Verdalatt, in about a day or two at this pace. Soon, after each ridgedor was gasping from walking, they settled down in a clear circle of grass that was shadowed by extremely tall trees that made a ring across the sheltered clearing.

"This is a good place to rest…" Shade looked around and then quickly walked over to the nearest tree, settled himself below it, lowered his hood over his eyes, and said, "Let's camp here for tonight."

Cezial went over to another tree and curled into a tight ball at its foot while Wynia climbed into the tree's branched and managed to find a spot that formed sort of a hammock under her. She pushed some leaves along her 'tree-bed' and quickly fell asleep. Cyle sighed and just fell to the ground, not caring where he slept, while Drax slept near a large rock ten feet away from Cyle. Lightning leisurely stretched and fell asleep next to a bush. Hearing all of his companions' breathing as they fell to sleep, Shade smiled to himself and followed suit.

***

A high-pitched scream cracked through the silent night. Shade's eyes instantly snapped open to see Wynia standing a few feet away, eyes wide with terror and finger pointing at something. Shade pushed himself up and walked over to where Wynia was. Cezial was crouched by a figure that Shade couldn't make out in the darkness but he saw that the frost ridgedor's eyes were filled with tears. Lightning came up behind Shade and then gasped. His sharp feline eyes were able to see the body and he crouched down angrily, tail bristling.

"No…" Cezial whispered to himself constantly, as if it would undo what had happened.

"What is it?" Shade asked and leaned forward to see what they were all staring at. He gasped and instantly recoiled at what he saw.

It was Cyle.

He was leaning against a tree, mouth wide open in a silent scream. Cyle had five long gashes through his chest that looked as if it had been raked with sharp, pointed claws. Blood caked the area around it and cascaded down his sides and onto the grass like rivers of tainted, crimson water. Cyle's arms hung limply down and his fingertips touched the stained grass, making the bloody liquid quiver.

"How… who…?" Shade stammered, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Wh- Why?" Cezial gasped between his tears. "Why!" he suddenly stood up and violently kicked one of the trees. "Why am I losing all the things I love!?" the frost ridgedor screamed.

"Cezial…" Wynia whispered. "We'll find out who did this."

Shade bent down to look at the five gashes on Cyle's chest. "They look… like claw marks."

Everyone looked toward Lightning. The chequick's tail bristled in shock and his ears went back. "You guys... don't think it was me... do you?" he asked.

"Well, you do have claws," Shade said.

Lightning held up a paw. "Does this look like it can make marks that big?!"

Shade saw that Lightning's paws were way too small and shook his head. Lightning's fur began to lay flat again and his mouth opened in a sigh. Shade suddenly gasped when he  had a sudden thought about Serin.

"It... could have been a hilock..." he muttered.

"My brother would not be beaten by A STUPID HILOCK!" Cezial shouted, stressing out the last three words.

"It makes sense though –"

"Sense?! Don't you DARE talk to me about sense!"

"Cezial, please be reasonable," Wynia calmly said.

"NO!" Cezial whipped around, choking on his tears. "It was Drax! He did it I know he did! Drax killed my brother over a gun!" Shade could see the frost ridgedor was biting back harsher words and trying not to punch something.

"Don't you think it's a coincidence he's NOT here?!" Cezial went on.

"Who's not here?" Drax came up from behind Shade, stretching his arms and yawning.

"YOU!" Cezial shot forward and Shade and Wynia had to quickly hold him back. "You killed him! How dare you?!" the frost ridgedor shouted at Drax, trying to rip himself out of Shade and Wynia's grasp.

"What are you talking about?"  

"You know very well what! You… you… you insane, spiteful, brainless, delinquent!"

"Cyle… is… dead…" Shade slowly said to Drax.

"Oh…" Drax blinked but Shade could see a strange emotion glow in his eyes. What was it? Hatred, triumph, or… fear?

"You did it!" Cezial continued to yell.

"Sorry about this, Cezial," Shade suddenly brought his elbow down on Cezial's head, hard. The frost ridgedor gave a startled yelp and fell over, unconscious.

"He thinks you did it," Lightning told Drax perfunctorily.

"WHAT! I hated the guy but I wouldn't kill him!" he replied loudly.

"You seemed willing to kill him yesterday," Shade muttered.

"That was just a little… argument… you know, blowing off steam. I swear I didn't kill him!"

Wynia sighed. "He's right, Shade. Cyle died from those claw marks and they're too big for a ridgedor to make."

"So… a hilock killed him…" Shade shook his head. Even to him, it didn't sound right.

"Maybe it was something larger… but we have to move on…"

"What about Cezial?"

"I'm sorry but… he'll just have to cope with it… we have no other choice, Shade. I don't like it either but Cyle would want us to continue… we have important things to accomplish…"

Shade nodded and quickly picked up Cezial and tossed him over his shoulder. Wynia grabbed the map and led the way, Shade, Lightning, and Drax following her. The ampithere ridgedor looked back at Cyle, almost bursting into tears as he saw the shocked expression on his unsuspecting friend.

***

Pain… such pain… it was all combined. Suffering, anguish, so many unhappy feelings overwhelmed him. They washed into each other, making a wave of negative emotions that ripped at his soul. Everything had been taken away from him. All his precious memories… whisked away by some horrible wind. And he didn't even ask for any of this! He paced around the dark, forbidding trees. The large plants had once been comforting but now were a hideous reminder of failure. They surrounded him in an unpleasant circle, making him feel claustrophobic at their menacing presence. But they were just trees! Why did they make him feel this way?

He lashed out at one of the trees, raking at its bark with his fingers. Tears sprung from his eyes as he took out all his feelings on the tree. He suddenly stopped and felt something… a light tingle in the pit of his stomach. It began to grow and it was tugging him toward something. He followed it to where a glowing rapier sat… it was calling him. No it wasn't the sword it was… something else connected to it.

He reached forward and picked it up. The rapier gave him a calm feeling that washed away all the others. He felt good. He inspected the sword, searching for the source of the power that filled him. Whatever it was, he would keep it. He hooked the rapier onto his belt loop and pulled his cloak around to hide it.

Even though he trusted them, he didn't want the others to know he had it. Maybe… maybe it was special… maybe it could help. With these thoughts he felt a strange feeling come over him. Suddenly he cried out as the feeling grew, smothering everything else. He felt himself change.

He wasn't himself anymore…

***

"The sword! It's gone!" Wynia yelled. Shade groaned and reluctantly opened his eyes. The group had settled in another clearing the night before when Cezial had woken up and threatened to tear Drax's wings off. He had referred to Drax's wings as 'horrible, unbalanced, torturous, tools of vile.'

"What sword?" Shade asked Wynia as Drax was beginning to awake as well. Cezial was already up and staring out into the sky as if there was a gigantic flying machine there.

"The other sword I had!"

"Wujaru?"

"No, the other one!"

"Panrel! You never told me you had her!"

"Sorry, slipped my mind…"

Shade sighed and shook his head. "You said you lost Wujaru to a FLET right? Well maybe you accidentally lost Panrel too. That means they're both with Rayzord. This only makes our journey more important!"

"Right…"

"Come on, Cezial," Shade turned to the frost ridgedor and shook him. "Are you coming?"

"Hmm?" he turned to Shade, a vacant look in his eyes. "Oh yes, of course."

Shade raised an eyebrow when it seemed Cezial's voice had raised an octave higher but shook it off and said, "Let's go guys."

He walked next to Wynia and Drax as Cezial followed. Lightning had gotten up as well and was waiting for them a little ahead. The chequick padded beside Cezial, in effort to cheer him up.

Shade hoped that they would reach Alpha soon. Time was short and they hadn't even thought of a game plan yet. Shade sighed. He didn't even know what the dragons and he had gone to Alpha for in the first place! He figured it was to beat Rayzord but Shade was feeling doubtful. The ampithere ridgedor remembered how good a fighter Archariss was and he was only Rayzord's general! Shade could only imagine how powerful the tyrant was…

This is really turning out bad, Shade.

I know…

Ya can't forget me!

Of course not, Wujaru… It's just…

What if you can't beat Rayzord?

I don't know, Delwia… I just don't know anymore…