Tempest proved to be somewhat saddened that most of her guests had vanished, so she showered Zechs and Duo with baked goods. At first, they were a bit skeptical, but Chion's maid proved to be an excellent cook. Zechs sipped at an unfamiliar wine, quite pleased with it. Duo was doing plenty of justice to the various cookies and scones the dragoness had brought.
Pleased that at least these two of her guests were not going to fade away, Tempest bustled out of the room to resume cleaning, leaving Zechs and Duo alone. Duo kicked back and rested against Zechs, idly munching on a delicate confection that he couldn't actually name. "You think Q is going to be alright?"
"Physically? I'd say so," Zechs responded after a moment. "I cannot say how this might affect him mentally or emotionally."
"I guess I just feel weird letting some stranger chop him up," Duo frowned, poking at a stray dot of icing. "But Darian was right...there's no way the babies would have survived in our world, and if he says this Chion guy is the only one that can do it in this world...kinda limits the options."
As if on cue, a portal opened and Rook strode through. He was carrying Ayrchad, who beamed happily at the sight of Duo and Zechs. Shaiyra stalked after him, and it was clear even at a distance that he was fuming. Duo eyed him uneasily before glancing at Zechs. Zechs had tensed as well - both of them knew from long experience the look in Shaiyra's eyes, the gleam of battle-lust.
Both of them were distracted after a moment by Chad's cheery greeting. "Hi! I'm so happy to see you!" Rook set him down in one of the chairs and Duo hopped over to give him a hug.
Zechs smiled and nodded in greeting before standing and walking over to look at Shaiyra. "I do not believe I've met you conscious before."
Shaiyra's gaze was cold and murderous, and he seemed very distracted. "You didn't."
Duo moved to stand in front of the silver-haired boy, eyeing him warily. His voice was quiet. "You're spoiling for a fight, I can tell." Shaiyra's icy gaze snapped back to Duo, and for a moment Duo thought he was going to be attacked on the spot. "Look here. I don't care if you got a problem with that Chion guy or whatever. That's your business, pal. But right now, he's the only hope my friend and your brother's kids got of all surviving, and if you fuck that up, so help me, I'll make you regret it. So you better just hold your breath on your vendetta."
Shaiyra twitched, then glanced at Ayrchad. Chad's eyes were wide as he watched the confrontation. Shaiyra visibly swallowed his rage, though his voice was still tight. "I will wait until the operations are over before I make a move. If you then choose to interfere, I will kill you."
Duo snorted. "Talk about grateful. We saved your ass and got you back here..."
"This predates your involvement, mo-..." Shaiyra paused and scrutinized Duo for a moment. "You are no mortal, nor are you human."
"Yeah, I know, I got a little dental change-up and decided the whole living thing was a waste of effort."
Shaiyra narrowed his eyes a bit, but Rook intervened. "Shaiyra, sit down. I didn't bring you here to act on your foolish quest for vengeance." Rook continued before the suddenly bristling boy could continue. "Yes, foolish. You refuse to listen to the whole story so you can cling to the purpose that's fired you for so many years. The fact of the matter is, even if Ar'Chion did choose to abandon you, there is nothing you could do about it. You are a candle in a tempest compared to him. If you threw everything you had at him, he would still crush you. Whether or not you choose to accept any of what I've told you in warning, heed me now. That man...your father...has suffered enough, through more than you could possibly imagine. I do not believe killing his firstborn child would brighten his mood."
Shaiyra blinked, looking a bit taken aback. "What does he know of suffering? Here in his little castle with servants and wanting for nothing!" Shaiyra's righteous fury was shaken, however, and it was obvious in his tone.
Rook eyes him for a long moment. "I know only parts of the story and it is NOT my place to say. Now sit down and behave or I will force you. I know you are a dragon, but I am not weak and you have no weapon against me. So...SIT....DOWN!"
Shaiyra glared viciously but slowly lowered himself into a chair. Things were tense but silent for a long while before Tempest poked her head into the room with a wide smile. "Ah, Lord Ayrchad, Master Chion desires to see you. I will help escort you to him." So saying, the dragoness hurried over to help support the boy as he stood. Shaiyra started to rise as well, but at a sharp glance from Rook, he stopped.
"Relax, man..." Duo said with a faint grin. Shaiyra muttered something under his breath and looked fixedly at a spot on the wall. "Hrm...wonder what's goin' on in there..."
Tempest brought Chad to Chion's laboratory and helped him to a chair that was waiting, before quickly excusing herself. Chion strode over after a moment, his gray eyes fixing on the boy. He was silent for a long moment.
"Father...?" Chad ventured hesitantly. Before he realized what happened, he suddenly found himself the victim of a very tight hug. Chion eventually released him.
"I'm so sorry I lost you...and your brother and sister. I could not find you. I was bound under a spell from Lycavilana. Whatever you may think...I did not abandon you." Chion looked away and blinked hard, forcing down his emotions as best he could.
Chad flashed him a sunny smile. "Well, its over now."
Chion nodded and then gave Ayrchad a serious look. "You...do realize why Dei'Khisanth brought you here?"
Chad flushed and looked down. "I...I heard. I didn't know...didn't realize..."
"You had no way to know. Your brother knew but apparently didn't see cause to give you warning. The operation was successful, of course. Your...mate...is still sleeping. Hang on a moment." Chion wheeled about abruptly, then came back a moment later. Snuggled in his arms was a tiny pair of wyrmlings, each barely longer than his hand.
Chad took them wide-eyed, staring in complete awe. Chion couldn't help but smile slightly, a flicker of amusement lighting his eyes. "Don't worry. You won't break them."
"They're...wow..." Chad was too overwhelmed to really speak. Chion let him bask in his enjoyment for a moment before the boy suddenly shot his gaze up. "How is Quatre...?"
"Sleeping. He is well and will be fine, but he needs his rest." Chion was quiet for a long moment. "What will you do? You can't live in his world as you are, nor can the wyrmlings. And from what I've gathered, he is an important figure in his own world and cannot leave it."
Chad frowned deeply. "I...I don't know. Wait...you said as I am. Can you change me? Could you make me stay in this form? I don't care if I'm not a dragon anymore, if it meant....I mean....I know you changed my...er...other parent...into a dragon."
Chion sighed. "I did. But its not so simple. I won't get into details, but Gabriel was easy to change because I made him into a dragon. Dragon genetics are very powerful, and it was easy enough to overwhelm his system and change things. To overwhelm dragon genetics and turn you human is not something I can do. There is no spell that would affect you, either...you are immune."
Chad blinked. "I'm immune to magic?"
Chion smiled faintly. "Your brother HAS told you nothing. Yes. You're immune to magic. And yes, most physical damage. Your scales are shadowstone. Shadowstone can only be cut by itself. However, your injuries are a testament that your bones are not so resistant." He frowned deeply. "Your leg is long healed improperly. There is no spell I could cast, nothing I could do to alleviate the pain. I have no way of stripping your consciousness. You are stronger than you realize."
"Pain...? What sort of pain?" Chad asked warily.
"I would have to shatter the improperly healed bones so they could be reconnected, and then you would have to spend a terribly long time rehabilitating yourself. Several of your muscles have atrophied from disuse. However...if you WERE human...fixing you would be a far simpler task."
"I thought you just said you couldn't..."
"True, but that doesn't mean there isn't a way. I will...make arrangements. For you and your children. If that is what you wish."
Chad beamed at his father, wishing briefly that he could leap up and hug the man. Chion had trailed off in his explanation, the puzzle captivating him, his eyes lit up at the various possibilities. "Can...I go sit with Quatre? I won't wake him up, but I want to be there when he does..."
Chion nodded, snapping back to reality for a moment. "Of course."
The woman slowly looked up from the red wine swirling in her chalice as S'sira was thrown at her feet. A pair of bloody and splintered black wings trailed uselessly behind him. His face was shrouded by his long fall of wispy, straight black hair. He was naked to the waist, and the loose black pants he wore hung in tatters. Blue tattoos covered his chest and back, snaking down his arms. The pattern seemed to be almost tangible, and yet it slid away right before one could comprehend it's intricacy. The patterns were marred, though...smeared with the blood of his rent flesh. He was laid open in uncountable places by lash and claw.
Slowly S'sira's head lifted as he looked at the woman sitting in her throne with her icy, self-satisfied smirk. His green eyes held the slightest flicker of defiance in them, despite his pain, and were utterly filled with hate. As he moved his head, the heavy collar around his neck made a slight clinking noise, dragging on the chain that bound him to the manacles on his wrists.
"You know how much easier it would be, my dear S'sira, if you did not resist me?" the woman purred softly, her warm and sensual tone sounding like the hiss of treacherous serpents in the torn demon's ears. "I have offered you such pleasure and reward if you would willingly submit to my commands. You know you will serve me in the end regardless."
"Go to hell," S'sira mumbled weakly, spitting out the blood that accompanied his words. He was abruptly yanked to his feet as the woman grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up as if he weighed nothing, ire crackling in her glacial glare.
"You were a much more agreeable servant when you were still possessed by my wraith! They did you no favors in setting you free."
S'sira closed his eyes, wincing at the truth of her words. Not long ago, he had been under the possession of a wicked undead wraith. It slowly fed on his life force and his soul, destroying his memories bit by bit and utterly controlling him. Eventually, the wraith would have consumed all of him and left his empty husk to rot. Under the wraith's possession, his memories of what had happened to him was fuzzy, at best.
In an act of defiance, one of the other beings the demon goddess had enslaved had found a way to defeat the wraith that had possessed him and driven it out. He had been grateful to be back to himself...if back he was. His mind was a broken thing.
He knew he had not always been a demon. He knew he had once had a name, and it was not this one. He knew he had loved, loved deeply and truly...enough to sacrifice his life, his body, even his very soul...but he could not remember her name or see her face. Everything that had ever been dear to him had been stolen from his mind until he couldn't even remember what those things had been...only that they HAD been.
He was drawn out of his thoughts by the cold chill of the demon goddess' will seeping into his mind through the terrible collar he wore, slowly stealing his resistance. He knew with a choked internal sob that he was powerless to deny her at the end. He was dropped to his knees, and his forehead fell forward until it nearly touched the cool marble of the floor. His voice was a flat, broken whisper.
"What would you have me do, my Goddess?"
Lycavilana's lips twitched in a wicked grin as she looked at the broken creature kneeling at her feet, and she gave S'sira Shalli his orders.