Chad smiled and rested his head on his hands, his elbows propped up on the side of the bed he was sitting next to. Quatre was sleeping heavily but peacefully after the surgery. The two wyrmlings - one male and one female - were currently wrestling playfully near Chad's elbow, making the most adorable little cheeps and chirps.
Chad grinned at them and made a curious sound - a half growl, half coo - that no human throat could make. The wyrmlings blinked glowing blue eyes at him and cheeped happily before attacking some errant strands of his hair. Chad chuckled quietly and carefully extricated the silky strands from grasping claws and tiny pointy teeth, giving them a corner of the sheet to play with instead.
Chion nodded quietly to himself from the doorway before silently heading off down the hall, his stride purposeful.
Chion strode into the room without preamble. Duo jumped in surprise as the door flew open. Rook glanced up at the shadowgod's abrupt presence, and Zechs turned. Both the pilots wore vaguely expectant expressions, curious about Quatre.
Shaiyra leapt to his feet and stared at Chion. His hands clenched and unclenched slowly at his side. And a dozen expressions crossed his face at once. Chion didn't move, his expression revealing nothing as he eyed Shaiyra levelly.
Shaiyra let out a roaring howl and abruptly leapt forward, vanishing. His form reappeared a split second later as he crashed into Chion, tackling him out the window.
With a curse Rook jumped to his feet and ran to the window, Duo and Zechs right on his heels. The three of them were just in time to witness the confrontation.
Shaiyra had already transformed to his full draconic glory, throwing back his head with a loud roar, his long whip-like tail lashing angrily. Chion was still standing there in his human form. The dragon roared again and snapped in Chion's direction, claws dragging deep furrows in the black, barren soil. There was no mistaking the challenge in Shaiyra's voice.
Chion's eyes narrowed, and that was all the warning his son or the onlookers got before his form rippled and burst into a dark ball of shadow which expanded rapidly, hugely. The growing orb suddenly exploded in black tatters of shadow-stuff as Chion's wings snapped outwards. Dark wisps of dissipating shadow trailed along their indistinct edges.
A roar that shook the ground and the foundations of the very castle came from the shadowgod's throat. Shaiyra's eyes had widened despite himself. He was a powerful creature, true...but Rook's words rang painfully true to him at that moment. He was nothing compared to the awesome majesty that was Chion.
Chion was fully four times his size. His scales shimmered like a dark rainbow, blacker than the lightless dark around him. He was nearly three hundred feet from nose to tail. His ridged horns swept back from his head. As his jaws opened, they revealed rows of countless razor-sharp and wickedly curved teeth. Heavy frills and whiskers graced his fierce and regal head. Powerfully corded muscles flexed and stone crumbled between massive claws. Chion's molten eyes blazed like bloody flames.
Duo stumbled back against Zechs, his eyes impossibly wide. He had been intimidated at the fierce power of Chion's children in their true forms, but now... // Hell, its like being terrified of a puppy and turning around to see a giant, rabid wolf... //
Shaiyra hissed and shifted his weight back and forth, grinding his teeth. Chion let out another rumbling growl and twitched his wings, taking one step forward. Shaiyra twitched and then slowly bent his forelegs, dropping to a kneel and stretching out his neck in submission. Chion eyed him for a long moment before giving him a dismissive growl and then lunging at the wall of his castle. Powerful talons dug into the stone and he crawled up towards the window, his form shrinking as he did so. When he finally hopped into the window, his dragon form was no taller than Zechs.
Chion calmly strode across the floor, changing to his human form as he went. He slowly paused, turning and taking note of Duo's shell-shocked expression. "...What?"
Duo blinked. "Oh...er...n-nothing, you're just...all like...big and...teeth and...rawr..."
Chion arched one elegant eyebrow. "Hn..." He was silent for a moment. "Your friend's operation went smoothly. He now has two children, one of each gender. I have...spoken with my son. He wishes to go back to your world. To do so, he will have to be made human, as will the wyrmlings...but I feel this would be for the best regardless."
Duo blinked. "Wow...thanks, man. And you can do that? Just...y'know, zap Chad human?"
Chion frowned slightly. "No. Given enough time I could probably modify his genetics myself to effect the change. However, there are far faster ways. I am..." Here Chion paused, a long-suffering wince flicking across his face. "I have arranged for a guide to bring you to an alchemist, along with several supplies. This alchemist...Shrade... is singularly gifted and will be able to make a potion that will effect these changes properly."
"Wait, you want us to go?" Duo blinked.
Chion nodded. "It is imperative I remain here."
Rook frowned. "Not to interrupt, Ashir...but I cannot go with them. With the return of my goddess, I have clerical duties to attend. The temples must be rebuilt, amongst other things.
"They should not be in much danger. She does not seek them. She doesn't even know to seek them."
"Who is their guide?" Rook asked with a concerned frown.
Chion growled low in his throat. "Who else? The only damned creature I know capable of tracking down something as slippery as a magi-dragon. Kerashimati."
Rook nodded, and then gave Zechs and Duo a reassuring smile. "You'll be in good hands, then."
As if on cue, the door opened and an amused female voice rang out. "Honey, I'm home!"
It was completely dark in the hanger at Zechs' island residence. The building had no windows and was mostly underground. However, the lack of light didn't bother S'sira.
S'sira stood at the foot of the mostly-reconstructed Epyon. He eyed the machine for a long time, idly rubbing his swollen wrists. He had pulled brutally against his unyielding manacles as his wings were shattered and smashed. His raw flesh ached painfully, even if it was nothing compared to the screaming and torn remnants of his wings.
The intricate blue tattoos that covered his bare, lacerated torso glowed a faint blue with stored magical energy. S'sira briefly considered what it might be like to run out of energy here. Would he become human? Would he simply cease to exist? // Ah, you fool... you know the collar binds you to your home world. Even if you cannot use your own power, you will not run out of it any time soon. Escape is not that easy. //
S'sira eyed Epyon again, remembering the instructions he'd been given regarding the machine. // So this is it...the dragon-trap. If an imp can work this....thing...I don't see why she needed to send me. Although an imp probably can't channel the energy I'll need for this rift. // S'sira slowly headed over and began climbing the scaffolding set up next to the mobile suit. Every step he took upwards strained his aching muscles, but he didn't pause to rest.
He finally reached the cockpit, which sat conveniently open. He eyed the machine distrustfully as he crawled in. It took him a bit of situating and a good deal of pain to arrange his broken wings enough to allow him to sit in the seat. // So I control it from here. But how?... //
S'sira murmured softly, a spark of energy flaring in his fingertips as he brushed them against one of Epyon's monitors. The spark leapt into the machine, and Epyon shuddered to life. // Well, that seems easy enough... //
S'sira rested his hands on the control panels of the machine. He wasn't bothering to press any of the unfamiliar buttons - he had no idea how to run a mobile suit, or what running one would even entail - he was instead sending questing tendrils of energy into the machine to find the seed of power hidden within.
His head jerked up with a start and he suddenly found he couldn't move his hands. His emerald eyes flicked around in panic and froze at the image on the monitor.
He saw a woman with wavy, golden-blonde hair and a beautiful smile. Her vibrant blue eyes seemed to radiate sunlight and joy. S'sira felt his heart tug violently as some fragment of broken memory tried to surface. He knew that he should know this woman...but he couldn't remember her name, or what she was to him.
Images began to flash before his eyes. Freedom...flying...a quiet, cozy little house. And then everything erupted into violence. The beautiful woman lay on the floor, bleeding. The house was in flames. And standing over it all, laughing, was the demon he was forced to serve. Things started to spin wildly out of control, images flicking through his mind with increasing speed. They shuttered through, faster and faster, until suddenly everything seemed to explode in his mind. S'sira saw nothing but darkness then, his eyes vacant. Ever so slowly, he slumped over, unconscious.
Epyon's eyes glowed for a moment longer before the mobile suit slowly powered down, and all was dark again.