Xibalba, The Place of Fear (For Silus/Ouro)

(Okay... you started this title thing.... I regret nothing.)

GURL YOU ACTIN' SO CRAY CRAY!...

"If we kill them now that gives them a reason to use it against us! We can drive them out! Nobody needs to die! I remember wishing that I was as brave as you once... against The Hunter. But I know that killing is wrong and I won't do it... but if I'm not willing to fight and protect the lives of others...then I'm just a coward." Silus said as he clutched his hand, the gauntlet shimmering and now glowing with energy. "I'll shut the drill off and go back to that creature. If he doesn't like it... tough. I'll break us through on my own... but no more killing." Silus said. In his mind he was beginning to question the friend he had...one of the only friend he had. Yancey's connection with Silus told him of his worries and Yancey looked down to the Knight Commander.

"Hey...what were you guys here for anyway? Why attack us right as soon as you saw us?" He posed the question to the Knight Commander before looking back at Silus, worried for his life. If that girl hurt him, it could very well be the last mistake she ever makes. Yancey's healing concluded he awaited action to break out between Diana and Silus. Silus of which looked to the men nearby, the ones pleading to not kill the Knight Commander. "I'm not going to let her die...I won't let any of them die either. I won't be a coward anymore..." Silus said, almost as if to reassure both the men begging for their commander's life and to reassure himself. If Diana wanted to fight...Silus would fight. If she wanted to try and go after them men, Yancey was ready with superior reflexes to put a sphere of light around her, preventing her from moving against them. It was just a matter of how she was going to react.


THE WHOLE REASON USELESS ZELL IS EVEN HERE!!!!

Zell found himself before the place he wanted. The Black Vault was it's name supposedly. How fitting. The place was truly a place of fortune and fear. A Dark chest of wonders, dropped from the abyss itself. The wonders of this place knew no end, some things emptied... some still filled and still sealed away. Of course there was what he was looking for. But it was in the furthest vault, yet to be unsealed. He could feel it... calling to him. It was a little chitter, it was a little call or cry...a siren of sorts. So it is you The voice was in his head. He knew it. He wasn't a fool. He walked over to the farthest, most centered vault. The stone tiles beneath him firm and well, but the vault too heavy for he himself to move... or so one might have suspected. Zell looked around the vault, finding several runic markings and strange symbols of a more supernatural sense. This particular vault was sealed away. For good reasons. Zell looked to the cane. "It's behind this door. It's been sealed....I need in. If I destroy the seals, what opposition will this place throw at me, what guardians?" He asked the cane. The vault was being opened regardless, but the confines of this vault were meant to be confound for all eternity.

I've been waiting for so long. To meet you... The voice echoed. Zell was befuddled and confused as to the reasoning for this voice. But he closed his eyes and his mind was invaded. Sleek black lusterous with orange and red eyes, A metallic looking Chitin plating across the thing's mouth, no exposed openings, two appendages in the back with talons the color of midnight. The Insectoid (Basic drawing) like being looking to Zell...but when he opened his eyes...it was just him in the vault, awaiting the cane's response.

FEELS
“This place is filled with nightmares from hell. For us, all the horrors in the darkness lunged at as, and we resisted them in every form. We had thought you yet another form they took to deceive us.” The commander said, weakly.

It was at that moment, when she saw a friend step between her and an enemy, Diana’s mind snapped back to reality, the blood haze momentarily lifting from her eyes. It was like waking up from a dream. For the first time in a long while, Diana felt tired, felt the Blood Sword’s weight. It felt heavy, coated in gore and violence as it was.

“Do not stop...” The faintest whisper escaped from somewhere and yet nowhere, a slightest chill descending on the area.

She let it fall to the catwalk. The sword fell like a dead weight, without clattering.

She went over and gave Silus a great big hug. “I’m... I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. You know what; Stinky can go back to whatever toilet he crawled out of. Let’s just go find stuff on our own then.” She looked at the engineers inside. They were clearly non-combatants, hardly the murderous Black Knights Diana fought all the time. Such a massive undertaking required specialists.

“So... you guys aren’t all metahuman hating fanatics then?” Diana asked, her demeanor significantly changed without that malevolent sword in her hand. There was still a girl behind the killer.

The Gatling Knight stepped forward, speaking on their behalf as their commander was now drifting into unconsciousness. The one who lost an arm, meanwhile, did not even seem bothered. “The Black knights have been absorbing many mercenaries into their ranks from around the world. I know of the worse members who would execute a child for the crime of bring born... We were told there was gold here. All we have seen is nightmares and death. Perhaps it was what they wanted us to find.”

“Well... I guess you should go. This isn’t a place to bring normal humans.” Diana said, matter of factly, as the Knights slowly took their commander with them, to take the quickly assembled diagonal lift back to the surface.

“You would know, wouldn’t you. Knights... let us be gone from here.” Said the knight, carrying her commander with her.

“So... still friends?” Diana asked Silus, of all questions. Her tone was that filled with regret over her actions, her gaze unfocused, her stance uncomfortable. She felt... tired and weak really, and it wasn't long before her attention went back to the Blood Sword.

"...Do not forsake me..."

JUST GO ALREADY

Nuknuk’s skull looked left and right, communicating in silence with the powers of the place. “Hmmm yeah, none really. We’ll just write it down and bill you later in the underworld for extended use.” The cane said.

Silus' heart leapt when he heard the question "Still friends" a smile made it's way to his face as his fist unclenched as he walked towards her, eyes lighting up like little indigo christmas trees to find that his friend had come back to her senses. He's even let out a childish little laugh as he threw his arms around her. He was a kid who was excited his friend wasn't a bad person anymore. But one could ask the question "for how long?". Though Silus would not ask that. He had firm faith in his friend and former team-mate. A smile was plastered onto his face as he listened to Diana's suggestion of finding their own way. Silus nodded as if he were whole-heartedly convinced she was back to her old self and that once again she was the boss. Yancey didn't trust her. Moreover actually he didn't trust the fact that in an instant she could reveal she was still all evil and hurt him. Yancey looked back to the other wolves who seemed to let down their guard at the pleasing sight that Silus was happy again. "Oh so no one else is like worried sword lady is just gonna say "loljkbro" and stab him in the throat?" He asked, almost as if he couldn't believe the wolves trusting of the situation. "Don't be ridiculous Yancey..." Hocus said as he looked back to Diana and Silus. "From that positioning she would have to stab his back, or his side. He's too close for her spaghetti arms to reach his throat directly." Hocus said casually. "She dropped the blade numb-sack. She'll just snap his neck like a real woman." Kaisses said with a hyena like cackle as he rolled onto his back. While the wolves bickered and argued, Silus was happy, and that was what mattered. Kaisses snorted before it was finished though and seemed to turn and walk away, muttering disheartening ill-wishes on Silus for almost getting them killed again. Even as a humanoid Yancey growled as he heard the comments with his own ears. Hocus just scoffed and turned back to watching over Silus once more.

   You are Harbinger. You bring the Vanguard to release me. Come brother free thy kinsman that we may return to the mother's fold. The voice echoed within Zell's mind. He had no idea what was happening, but he knew what he had to do. He held up his left arm and the tattoo upon his chest began to glow, the ouroboros dragon tattoo bled like glowing green water as it snaked and slithered as a serpent to his shoulder, where it traveled down to the tribal sweat-band like tattoo on his bicep. That tattoo began to glow as well and then suddenly the tattoo disappeared. The air around his hand cracked as the stoned of the earth lifted, a strange surreal and sublime green color danged as lightning sparking the rocks and turning it into living tissue, forging it tighter than steal and flooding the area with a mystic energy as Ragnarox, The Vanguard of the end-times manifested, the blade in all it's glory illuminating and driving back darkness. With a simple flick of the wrist, shards of the blade flaked off, the living and BREATHING blade regenerating to substitute for lost scale and tissue. The shards illuminated and disintegrated into a fine and faint glowing mist that reflected an ocean breeze... until this ocean breeze began devouring the vault door as if it were battery acid on a sugar-cube. Within a manner of seconds, the entire vault door was devoured away and a rather strange sound was heard. It was almost like a creaking of sorts. Zell's eyes narrowed a silhouette appeared just out of sight, a tall figure to be sure, but no traits apparent. There was a noise to follow. It was chittering, and an almost cute little higher-pitched curdling noise. Zell's eyes widened when the figure stepped through the door way and it stood at least nine-foot tall.

    The creature was slender, lithe almost but it's torso appeared to be the shape of a perfectly fit and muscled human being, save for the fact that a sleek deep grey chitin shell coated over it, lustrous yet durable. It's head was an arrow-head like wedge-shape in design, Reptilian slits within glowing blood-orange eyes, the only exposed tissue on it's face being a portion where the Chitin had broken off, leaving an outline of a "lower eyelid" and a slit down to a "cheek" that was also covered by Chitin. It's mouth was even bound by Chitin, and the source of it's auditory chittering and gurgling were enigmatic. The creature was head to toe in this chitin armoring, leaving to exposed muscle, but somehow being clad enough to the form that it had full range of motion. It's forearms were larger than expected though. They looked like grey Polygon(The Pokemon) heads with four hole, three at the outer brim and one off to the side. Half-way in the bludgeoning like forearms there was this large sideways V like thing that appeared to be all chitin plated cartilage and tendon. The Creature's feet were strange as well. It's shins were the same as the forearms, except it had three toes in the front, each adorned with a black talon, and then it had a fourth "digit" in the back, from the way to walked and stepped it was apparent that this offered superior grip on multiple surfaces and also acted as a thumb of sorts, meaning that this creature had fierce, talon-covered prehensile feet. The thing stepped forward again it's eyes narrowing at Zell, but as it stepped forward Zell stepped back, now looking at another portion of the beast that was revealed. It has two extra arm-like appendages sticking back and up from it's shoulders going a good head over the creature's height before shooting down to it's mid-calves and then earning the same talon's on it's feet to tip each one off. These "pseudo-wing" appendages moved and displayed amazing flexibility, and they even looked very lace like until the creatures chittered and they stiffened.

    So YOU are Blackened? How can this be? You cannot understand our species song! You look like a human. Have you not undergone your metamorphosis young one? The creature's voice echoed in his head. Zell's eyes narrowed as he pointed Ragnarox at the one speaking into his mind. It's eyes scanned Zell and then narrowed. It's extra appendages stiffened and twisted one hundred and eighty degrees that the talons point out at him. The V shaped thing on the forearms snapped and collapsed down into the forearm now leaving a smooth area and three shelled fingers and two thumbs, all with fearsome talons appeared in each hand. Do not threaten members of your own Hive child! The creature spoke to his mind once more, runic markings glowing all over it's body and then snaking down it's body, the exact same way as Zell's marking had, and all these runic markings converged into one beautiful sword. A chilling blue fire, an adolescent dragon-skull mounted to the hilt, the blade protruding from it's mouth as a blade with bright blue fire and a chilling mist radiating from it. The blade itself was at least ten foot, bigger than the creature itself even, and wide enough for the creature to hide behind it if it wished. The Creature arched it's arm and held the blade in both hands, the sword out, its one leg out and exposed, a fighting stance of a typical variety. The Blade itself ignited once more and the actual blade itself splintered and spiked out, not appearing as if the man were holding three thorn-like blades covered in blue fire.

    "Well I'll be damned...there actually is something scary down here." Zell said as he called forth Ragnarox to it's fullest power, the energy permeating the area. A sudden loud chattering noise could be heard. It was a loud, echoing reverb as if a call of some sort. The creature's blade extinguished and returned to blue tattoos that settled on it's chitin before fading away. Why do you not heed the mother's call!? Have you never heard her voice before? Regardless. The Queen compels us back to the hive. Come, or do not. Either way we will finish this later. The creature's words echoed out of Zell's head as the creature moved with astounding speeds... speeds even Zell couldn't reach. He could feel his heart seize. If that creature had used THAT blade and moved THAT quickly, then there would have been issues. Zell shook his head and looked back to the cane. "Nuknuk, would you kindly lead me to my son and his friend? Or just my son.... which ever is more plausible." Zell said as he dismissed Ragnarox, the thing becoming tattoo's once more as he walked along the path the cane would take him. He wanted to find the artifact left behind by the creatures... but to find a creature itself was "enlightening", for lack of a better term.

LET THIS THREAD END

Diana blinked and stood still for a few moments, her thoughts taking awhile to refocus. She seemed tired, fatigue setting in. She motioned Silus and his canine guardians towards the ladder down, but abruptly stopped and went back to retrieve her sword. The Blood Sword... the King of Murder... Diana held it in her hands, the sleek black katana and sighed. She sheathed the weapon and followed after (or lead on) her 'friends.'

"...I am all you need..." A whisper in the mind, Diana tries to ignore it, but it is always there. She and Silus walk the now empty streets of Xibalba, the living and the dead scattered about, filling the dank, dark cavern with a great stench. The towering demon of pestilence stalked the streets, indifferent to his young guests as he collected the decaying bodies, and placed them in a morbid sack that slowly grew with the bulk of the dead.

It would not be long before Silus and Diana would be found by Zell, his assistant knowing the streets well.

Thanks to Nuk, Zell quickly found his way back to his son, and his little friend, though she did in fact look a little "bleh" if that were an appropriate answer. If not he didn't care, there was a realm somewhere where it was an appropriate answer so screw the rules. Silus was just glad that he had Diana back to her regular self again, though he wasn't entirely sure what had happened to her. Yancey, and Hocus were all too cautious of her, even though Silus seemed fully trusting of her once more. Yancey was waiting for her to make one wrong move, but apparently she didn't. Silus ran up to his dad who seemed to have a bit of a wound on his cheek, that was really just the skin reforming from when he dropped his guise against the former-Lord of Arthritic Pains. That Zell was now apparently the reigning overlord of. "Well shall we be heading off my little scamp?" Zell asked as he picked up and held Silus. They both looked at Diana, Zell smirking as if he were trying to read Diana's mind.

   "Well... I hope that you decide to return to your mother at some point. Life is far too short to be so far apart. In a couple seconds...it's gone. Thank you for keeping an eye on him by the way. I don't know what I'd do without him." Zell said looking to Silus who cocked his head to the side. [colot=#0066ff]"W-woah hey now. I took care of HER!"[/color] Silus could be heard saying after Zell let him down, he was obviously trying to sound tougher than he was. Zel just smiled and turned to walk away. "S-she took care of me too I guess but that's what it means to be a team right!?" Silus asked with his typical child-like jovial voice squeaking, causing Zell to wince at the pitch it reached. The father just rolled his eyes and smiled. "It was nice to meet you. I pray everything finds itself to your favor." He said to Diana before Silus turned into a little tangent. "H-Hey don't roll your eyes! We kicked YOUR butt too! Bye Cheo!!!" Silus called bac in the middle of his little rant, all before seamlessly going right back into harping at his father. It was causing Zell to roar into laughter at the moment as they both walked off towards the way they initially came.