The Land of Chaos: Part II

Boreas had fallen silent, his eyes trying to find Cross's light again. No, it was way too deep to jump down. He'd break every bone in his body trying. That was, unless he turned into his larger form, but his true form wouldn't fit down that hole, despite how large it was. "They're not dead," he snapped at DK. "Don't be so quick to judge them. If they weren't capable of a task like this, Silence wouldn't have picked them, just like he wouldn't have picked us if we weren't capable." He had no idea where that had come from. Maybe Jasper had rubbed off on him more than he'd thought.

Once Cross started getting deeper, he could hear the scuffle going on below. He continued to let himself fall without spreading his wings to slow himself down. Batsu and that thing had fallen for quite a ways. Once the noises were closer, Cross let his wings spread, slowing his descent as he pulled out the same glowing white sword of light he'd used on Oblivion. However, the moment he landed on the thing's back, he thrust the sword downwards, one hand gripping the sword and his other holding onto the fur of this giant creature. After a moment, darkness started swirling inside the sword until he started becoming black with the Madness it was pulling from the beast. He was sure this creature wouldn't feel too kindly about Cross doing this, but he was determined to finish this quickly. Once the sword had too much Madness within it, it turned white again, the Madness instead flowing into its wielder.

DK blinked in surprise when Boreas snapped at him. "I'm sorry," he said in a tiny voice. He looked down at the ground, tears welling up in his eyes before he turned away and looked down into the hole. "Take it easy," Hunter said with a frown. He glanced down into the hole. Where are they?

Batsu unfolded his wings and started after the creature, but it reared up again, causing the small tunnel to collapse in on itself with the Batsu inside. The winged creature shook his head and flew out before he could get trapped. He was surprised to see the creature was wrestling with Cross, slamming its back into walls to remove the other male. Batsu decided to use this to his advantage. He latched onto the creature and pulled on the Madness as well until he felt like he was going to lose it. This isn't impossible, we just have to hang in there. As he thought this, the white and red wolf seemed to grow exhausted until it gave up on fighting and fell to the ground. The red and white fur disappeared, leaving a small wolf with sparkling green eyes.

Cross continued to hold onto the creature, pulling as much as he could, even as his wings burned from being crushed into the walls. A shard of rock might've gotten stuck in the main bone, but he couldn't be sure. Even when the thing started calming down, Cross continued pulling on the Madness, only pulling the sword out when the thing was completely devoid of Madness, just before it changed to a small wolf. Closing his eyes for a moment, Cross let his sword disappear and put a hand on one of the walls. He no longer cared for this feeling. Not since Oblivion had pumped him so full of Madness that he'd actually started losing it. He hoped that not every creature would have been driven this insane. Slowly opening his eyes, Cross swallowed. "We should get all this back in to Silence," he said, his feathers ruffling on his right wing almost non-stop. Yeah, there was definitely something stuck in his wing. He looked up the hole. It was gonna be one hell of a task getting back up there.

Boreas fell silent when Hunter told him to take it easy, but couldn't help the slight glare he cast at the purple eyed male. He looked away after a moment though. Wasn't DK really old? Why the hell did he act like a child if he was so old?

Batsu looked to Cross and nodded when the guy said they should get back to Silence. Batsu slowly walked over to the other winged male and searched his ruffled feathers for whatever was bothering him. He hoped Cross didn't mind too much. As he found a shard of rock lodged in the feathers, he pulled it out and tossed it aside. He then turned to the wolf. "Come on," he said as he picked the creature up. "Back to the Unknown you go." He looked upwards and then sighed. "Are you going to need help getting back up there," he asked Cross. His grey eyes were mixed with hints of red.

DK couldn't help that he acted like a kid. As a dragon he'd been stuck in one form for a very long time and his breed of dragon took ages to age. He guessed that the Unknown had slowed down the changing process and it was probably why Silence had turned him into a child. He could act like an adult if he was one, but it was whatever. He'd decided to get over it. He was just glad to have his final form. He looked down into the hole. What was taking so long?

Cross nearly turned at Batsu when the guy moved towards his wing, but instead his eyes just followed the guy for a moment. If there was one thing that bothered him, it was people touching his wings. However, right now it was necessary, or else he wouldn't be able to get back up. Both his wings shook out once the shard was gone and the raven haired male gave a light sigh. "Thank you," he said, only shaking his head at Batsu's question. He'd be fine. He waited for Batsu to pick the wolf up before he shook his wings up once more. "Are you?" He didn't normally ask such things, but it seemed like all of them were going to be stuck together for a while.

With a small sigh, Boreas finally sat back instead of craning his neck over the hole. So much for purpose. He felt useless. He'd sent Batsu and that thing tumbling down into the hole. He glanced at DK. He wasn't sure if he should credit himself with saving the kid or not. Usually he would be all over taking credit, but not now. Now he just created an ice crystal and let it float idly above his hand, while his other hand propped him up. No use looking down the hole constantly. It wasn't going to change anything happening down there.

O(Poor Boreas. Er, do you remember what DK's name stood for?)

DK had taken to walking around the hole trying to see it from a different angle each time. He finally paused when he saw the little ice crystal that Boreas was making. "Hey that's cool," he said as he turned into his smaller form and flew across the hole to Boreas' side. He sniffed at the ice for a moment before pawing at it with round yellow eyes. He then paused a bit embarressed. He turned back and sat cross legged. "Sorry, I'm being a bit childish." He rubbed the back of his head. "And thanks for saving me back there."

Hunter was laying down on his stomach. He felt sort of bad for sitting around doing nothing. Batsu and Cross were down there fighting off Madness and they were sitting around doing nothing. With a sigh he glanced over the edge for the hell of it. "Look," he said with a smile. "They're coming back up," he pointed out.

Batsu shook his head. "No, thank you for helping me," he replied. He then spread his wings and flapped them once. "I'll be able to make it," he replied. He then pushed off with another flap of his wings and started upward. He wondered if all the changed souls would be this large. Maybe this little guy had just been given an extra dose or something. Batsu came out of the hole and looked to the others. They seemed comfortable enough.... "We're back," he replied. He set the wolf down and looked to Cross. "Let's go find Silence," he said with a tilt of his head.

(We never gave his initials a name. We just started calling him that for no reason and it stuck.)

Boreas blinked when DK flew over to him, almost flinching when the kid pawed at the crystal. He seemed a bit confused when the little white dragon didn't immediately start freezing over. Confused, but relieved. "No worries kid." He wondered if his hands were no longer dangerous to living things, since his ice didn't freeze them on contact. He wasn't about to take chances though. He let the ice crystal melt when Hunter said they were coming back up, taking his gloves from his pocket and slipping them on. He hurried to his feet to see, just as Batsu flew from the hole. His orange eyes shined with relief upon seeing the small wolf. "Damn. That little thing did all this? You guys okay?"

Cross nodded when Batsu said he'd be fine, his wings flapping down almost impatiently. He waited for the red haired being to go up first before he followed. When Batsu was up about halfway was when Cross flapped his wings down, shooting straight up. He didn't like taking things slow. He only slowed down when he knew if he didn't, he'd accidentally crash into Batsu. He landed on the ground outside the hole, nodding at Batsu's suggestion. Only a second later Alice ran up to him and he gave her a small nod, to which she smiled in reply. She knew they could do it! As soon as Alice had come back out of the Unknown, Fara had flown back over to Boreas, landing on his shoulder.

Batsu seemed to notice everything that wasn't directly affecting him. For instance, Cross had Alice, Boreas had Fara, and in a way Hunter had DK. What exactly did he have? Nothing. His wings rattled at the thought and then he looked to the wolf. "We're fine. Now you see what Madness is capable of," he replied. "Me and Cross will be back, we've got to get rid of this." He then motioned for the wolf to follow and headed for the Unknown. Thankfully Silence was there waiting for them at the entrance. He gave each of them a meaningul glance and then guided the wolf into the ever changing woods after withdrawing the Madness. Once he was gone Batsu looked at Cross for a moment before speaking. "You don't seem like one to hang with a big crowd," he started. "So you don't have to travel with us." Silence hadn't given him an ordered to do so, so Batsu wanted to give Cross and chance to speak on his own behalf.

DK was glad to see them all okay. He remained seated, but looked to the wolf. That thing was pretty tiny. He wrinkled his nose when Batsu said they were going to the Unknown. "I'm staying put," he said with a nod. Not like anyone had asked for his opinion to began with. The little dragon looked down at the scratch on his side. "It ripped my shirt...when we go to the village can I get a new shirt," he asked no one in particular.

Hunter sighed with relief. "Glad you're both okay." He looked to DK as the kid spoke. "And I'll stay here and watch him." DK was even a trouble maker when he had his own body. Standing up he stretched and watched Batsu and Cross leave. "So, that little thing was a changed soul. I'm afraid to see what the others look like." He'd ignored DK's questions, for he was sure the boy was just trying to get attention.

Cross nodded towards Silence once the guy looked at them. He was relieved to have the Madness extracted so quickly. He looked towards Batsu when the guy said it was fine if he didn't want to travel with them. Emerald eyes blinked several times before he answered. "Alice wants to go with you all," he told him. He didn't know if Batsu would understand or not, but he had to go wherever Alice went in order to protect her, especially when it came to things like this, and even more especially when the world was crumbling around them and turning mad.

Boreas watched Batsu and Cross go into the Unknown and turned his attention back to DK as the kid complained about a ripped shirt. "You're worried about a shirt?" He shook his head and laid back on the ground with his arms crossed behind his head. "Never you even mind the fact that you got cut. Ya even stop to think about the fact that most of us probably don't even have any money?"

Batsu was silent for a moment. "But you don't want her to get hurt," he spoke. His grey eyes were focused on the male in front of him. "You and I both know this is a dangerous task, you shouldn't have to get caught in the crossfire." Batsu had meant more than the recent events. He felt responsible for Cross getting dragged into this mess. He'd used this guy's body for twelve years, he should be able to live his own life.

DK peered at Boreas through narrow purple eyes. "Yeah, I did get cut! And it hurt too!" He marched over to Boreas. "So why won't you buy me a shirt?" He then blinked when the guy spoke on money. "Oh yeah...I forgot about that...." Hunter sighed at DK's lack of thinking. Where are Cross and Batsu?

Boreas's eye gave a small twitch at DK's complaining, sitting up and grabbing the kid's head under his arm, twisting his fist on the top of it. "And whose fault is it that you got cut, eh? Certainly ain't mine, I'm not the one who rushed straight outta the Unknown," he said in annoyance, giving a light 'tch' and letting the kid go after a moment. He only crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, laying back one more. What an annoying kid.

Cross looked at Batsu, almost tilting his head as the guy stated the obvious. "She's a bit spoiled, so she'd take off with you guys whether I come with or not." He paused and looked off to the side. "And I can't bear seeing her upset. Whether I'm in the crossfire or not has no relevance." Now that he realized what he'd been made for, he was starting to realize also, that he'd never really had a choice. He wasn't sure if that bothered him or not.

(This is cute)

DK blinked when Boreas suddenly took him by the neck and started to tease him. "Hey, it wasn't my fault! Alice ran out there too." As if that justified his actions. He tried to move away, but Boreas clearly had the upper hand. When the guy let him go, he huffed. "No fair...." He looked at the orange eyed male as the guy laid back down. DK found this to be the perfect opportunity, so he jumped right onto Boreas' stomach. "HA!"

Hunter shook his head. And to think Boreas had called DK a child. He really didn't care to babysit those two so he got up and took a short walk to the edge of the hill. He wanted to see if he could spot the Thunder from here. When he saw nothing but landscape, he started back for the group.

Batsu smiled lightly when Cross stated that Alice was spoiled. His smile involuntarily softened when Cross said he couldn't bear to see her upset. That was kind of cute. "She's lucky to have you," he said. There was a brief pause before he spoke. "I'm sorry that I took you away from her for twelve years." Another silence. "I know you told me not to apologize because I didn't regret it, but I do. I didn't mean for things to get so out of control, I just wanted to live....and now that I can...I-" Batsu shook his head. "It's not your problem....let's get back to the others." He bowed his head lightly and started back towards the group.

"Yeah, well she has Cross to protect her, who you got?" Boreas countered. His eyes widened as the kid knocked the wind outta him by jumping on his stomach, and he let out a small cough. "You little brat," he growled, sitting up and grabbing DK before he could get away. He'd learned from Jasper that the best way to get back to a kid is to tickle the hell out of'em. And that's exactly what Boreas did. He'd get this kid back for jumping on him like that.

Cross's gaze remained to the side, and his mouth twitched into a momentary expression of embarrassment before returning to normal. He was probably more lucky to have Alice. Without her, he probably wouldn't even exist. His emerald eyes finally looked back at Batsu when the guy apologized. He guessed it would be too late to tell him not to bother, since the guy had already said sorry. He shook his head lightly. "I didn't mean what you think I meant. Because of all that happened, you have your own body and things worked out well enough. So you shouldn't regret what you went through." He paused and started walking towards the entrance. "Everybody does the best they can, all the time. You just did the best you could back then," he stated simply, before falling silent again.

But he did regret it. He'd killed thousands of innocent people and for what? To be put in charge of returning changed souls? Souls that he'd wanted to save and now he ran the risk of having them destroyed. Batsu didn't like this new responsibility. Didn't like the fact that he had no one to speak to about his feelings. He didn't want to be a burden when it felt like everyone was depending on him. He'd never asked to be a leader and yet he was. Some things in life just wasn't fair. Was this supposed to be his punishment for the wrong he'd done. Maybe so. Batsu continued his walk out of the Unknown until the exited. He looked up to the hill where DK, Boreas, Hunter, Fara, and Alice were all waiting for them. If one of them gets hurt, am I responsible? DK already got injured, what if he would have died?

DK laughed triumphantly when Boreas was winded. "Gotcha!" He said with a smirk. "And I've got myself. I don't need you or Hunter or Batsu to protect me," he said indignantly. He then got up to run, but Boreas was faster. The purple haired kid started into a fit of laughter as he was tickled. "Hahaha! Let me up," he begged. "Let me up, I promise I won't do it again." DK honestly had never had this much fun before. Or at least it had been a very long time since he had. "I give! I give!"

"That worked out well now didn't it," Boreas grinned, tickling the purple haired boy, even as the kid tried to squirm away. "Not a chance," he chuckled when DK told him to let him up. His grin widened once DK said he gave up, his orange eyes shining triumphantly as he stopped. "Good, hope you learned your lesson short stuff. Don't mess with the best," he nodded, chuckling lightly. Fara was off to the side, giggling silently at the two. She'd never seen Boreas smile so much. He looked to Cross and Batsu as the two came out of the Unknown and gave them a wave, getting to his feet. "Hey, you two good?"

Alice ran up to Cross, looking up at him expectantly in her little cat form. When the older male nodded, Alice mewed and trotted around his feet, rubbing against his legs. She seemed to have given up on the blue butterfly, so he picked her up and looked to Boreas with a nod as well at his question.

DK was too busy laughing to answer. If it was up to him he would have said he'd had it until Boreas interferred. Besides that thing had caught him off guard. The purple eyed male had tears in his eyes by the time Boreas had let him go. He gave a sigh and tried to catch his breath. "You jerk," he panted. "I'm not short." He looked back to Batsu and Cross. "You're back," he said as he scrambled to his feet.

Batsu looked at the group. "Let's head to the Thunder," he said as he started down the hill. Behind him his wings spread in a stretch. It would have been easier to fly. While he walked he let his mind wander. How many creatures were out there? He could feel their Madness, but small traces could be hard to pick up. He looked over his shoulder at the others. None of them could pick up Madness, so it was pointless to rely on them. He'd just go out at night and search. He didn't need sleep. He wondered where they would stay. He hadn't asked if anyone had money and DK needed a new shirt. It would attract attention to see the kid with ripped clothing. He stopped when they got to the end of the valley. "DK, until we get you a new shirt, take mine." He pulled off his sweatshirt and gave it to the hyperactive child. "I know it's too big, but it will have to do." Batsu had a black undershirt underneath so it was all good. He only had two shirts because that was what he'd been given when he changed. It didn't bother him though. He didn't feel temperature.

"You're very short. You're the shortest of the short," Boreas teased with a grin. His grin turned curious though, when he didn't get an answer from Batsu. Wasn't Batsu more communicative than Cross, most of the time? Oh well. The orange essence shrugged at his own thoughts. He had to admit it. It was lonely inside his head. Normal creatures wouldn't understand something like that, so he'd never say it aloud, but he missed Jasper a bit. He didn't regret getting his own body, but if Jasper had stayed here, he would have had to stay with the guy, considering the gray eyed human would've been useless without him. Boreas blinked when Batsu gave DK his jacket, but chuckled a little after. That was a good idea. Walking into a town with an injured kid with a ripped shirt would get them questioned pretty badly. Now that he thought about it... "Hey, uh. Guys? What do we plan on doing exactly, once we get to the Thunder?"

Cross glanced back at Boreas when the guy spoke, Alice resting happily in his arms. "I'll take care of our lodgings, if that's what you mean," he said, his voice back to being devoid of most emotion.

DK smiled. "Thank you," he said with a smile. The shirt was a bit big for him, but it did the trick. He then shot a glare at Boreas. "And I'm not the shortest here. That would actually be Fara," he said as he stuck out his tongue. The child gave a huff and moved ahead to walk next to Batsu. "So, are all the souls gonna be that big," he asked. "If so it's going to take forever," he groaned. His purple eyes lit up when he saw the gates of the Thunder. "Hey! Look, we're here!" He looked to Batsu. "Can I?" When Batsu nodded DK took off running. "Yay!"

Batsu watched DK run down the hill. He then looked over his shoulder at Boreas when he asked what they'd do. He went to speak but stopped when Cross said he'd handle the cost of lodging. "Thanks." Now they had another problem. Money. What did Silence expect them to do, live in the woods and hunt for their food? "Once we find a place to stay I'm going to see if I can find a map and mark down any places that have sighted creatures of the Unknown. From there we'll start hunting them in an organized pattern." If need be he'd take down the smaller ones by himself so he didn't exhuast everyone else. His eyes blinked once and then he looked ahead. He was also worried about how they'd get rid of the Madness. He didn't know every exit and entrance to the Unknown, so it was possible that him and Cross would have to deal with the Madness for a very long time. Batsu glanced at the seemingly emotionless soul. And then it hit him. Souls. He could eat souls to keep the Madness from getting out of control.

Boreas glanced to the little gray haired fairy on his shoulder before looking back to DK. "At least she has a reason," he told him, mirroring Fara's apparent thoughts, as she'd puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms at DK's words. He gave a nod to Cross when the guy said he'd take care of their housing. "Cool, thanks." He looked at DK when the purple haired brat started complaining. "Hey, look at it this way, the longer it takes, the longer you get to stay out of the Unknown," he pointed out. The orange eyed male glanced down to the gates of the Thunder. He was not looking forward to sleeping in a human infested village tonight.

Cross gave a nod to both Boreas and Batsu when they thanked him. It wasn't like he didn't have the money to spare. He watched DK run down the hill, then glanced to Batsu. He wondered if that guy could handle all this. His body wasn't built to hold the amount of Madness from one of those creatures, letalone from several, and even if he would be there to take half of the burden, it would still be hard on the red haired being. Cross returned his gaze to the gates before closing his eyes and giving a small sigh. He would have to take more than half of the Madness out of the creatures they were hunting if he wanted to avoid Batsu going mad.

(I like Batsu and Cross think alike.)

Batsu was watching DK carefully to make sure he didn't get attacked again. He was sure it wouldn't happen, but still. When they got to the gates and were let inside Batsu paused for a moment to address the group. "Alright, since Cross is using his funds, we should let him choose a place." He looked to the emerald eyed male. "Should this be an extended stay for the time being while we get the souls in this area?" His grey eyes were curious. He wanted to get this over with. And on top of that. What were they gonna do about rooms. There was him, Cross, Fara, Alice, DK, Boreas, and Hunter. That was seven people. Of course Fara wasn't going to need an entire room to herself though, and Alice would probably stay with Cross, and he could sleep on the couch because he didn't need sleep.

DK looked around. "It's loud here, no wonder they're called the Thunder." He looked to Batsu and Cross. He'd never though about it until now, but where those two brothers? "Hey Boreas," he spoke lightly as he beckoned for the male to lean down. "Are Batsu and Cross brothers?"

( They might as well be brothers.)

Cross glanced around at Batsu's question and took note of how many people were in the group. Not including the small fairy, there were six. She'd probably stay with Boreas. He waved the group forward as he started walking. "I know a place." He glanced to Batsu. "That depends on the number of infected creatures in the area," he said quietly.

Boreas was visibly annoyed, walking into the Thunder. It was loud and it wreaked of human. He gave a small huff through his nose, looking to DK when the kid called him. "Sup short stuff," he asked, leaning down. He glanced to Batsu and Cross at the question. "Not that I'm aware of," he said with a shrug, following after the raven-haired male. "It's probably just a really weird coincidence."

Batsu nodded when Cross said it would depend on how many creatures were lurking around. He'd take a moment to scout the area later to see for himself what was out there. Wings came in handy for stuff like this. Batsu followed after Cross, his eyes blinking once or twice as he looked around. It really was loud here. He couldn't think straight like this.

DK smiled. "Oh, okay." He started next to the ice manipulator and walked in silence. He'd talked enough for a week, so he'd give everyone's ears a rest. The little dragon looked to Hunter who had been awfully quiet. Hunter was staying back for the time being. He was only there to finish what Batsu couldn't.

Once they closed in on the hotel, Cross glanced around. He'd only been here a couple times, yet still people seemed to remember him. Funny though, he hadn't been here in thirteen years, and he still had a couple people wave to him. Some of them didn't look older than twenty. Who knew he'd had such an impact on the kids around here? He'd only been here with Alice for a festival. She liked the loud noises. He didn't understand why, but it was whatever, because she'd enjoyed herself. She'd introduced a lot of little kids to him that she'd met only that day, telling them that he was her best friend ever. He almost smiled at the memory. Instead he turned his gaze back to the hotel. It wasn't five star, but it also wasn't some crappy motel. It was nice enough. Once they entered, Cross walked up to the desk after waking Alice up and telling her to return to her human form. Most hotels didn't allow animals. "Three doubles," he said simply, pulling the money from inside his jacket. "Two nights for now. We might be staying longer," he told the desk clerk. Once everything was taken care of and he had the keys, he turned to the group. "Alice and I will take one room. I'll leave it to the rest of you to figure who goes where."

Boreas blinked as he saw people wave to Cross. What the hell? That was weird. The sight of the hotel they were staying in also left him confused. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but this place was fairly nice aside from the smell of humans. He shrugged. "I don't care who I room with," he said, scratching his head and looking off to the side with a bored expression.

Batsu also found it strange. Cross didn't seem like a people person yet people were waving at him. The grey eyed male followed Cross inside the hotel and then looked around as he waited for the guy. When Cross came back with keys and said he'd let them choose what they wanted. He looked betwen the others when Boreas said he didn't care who he roomed with. The grey eyed male blinked DK hoped up and shouted, "I'll room with you!" Batsu looked to Hunter who shrugged. "Alright, it's settled. Hunter, you'll pretty much have the room to yourself, I don't need to sleep." Hunter nodded and then Batsu rustled his wings. "We can all just rest up and meet tomorrow morning about what we're going to do." Batsu was hungry so he was going to get something to eat.

Boreas raised an eyebrow at DK's sudden eagerness. Oh boy. This was going to be...interesting. He took the key when Cross gave it to him, giving the guy a quick thanks. Now that he thought about it, none of them had any luggage either. Oh well, he was at least glad to get a shower. He wasn't as conscious about his smell as humans were, but he wasn't going to let himself go unbathed. He was still an animal, and cleanliness was part of health no matter which way you looked at it. "Alright, come on short stuff, I'm tired," he said, pausing when Cross spoke.

"Feel free to order whatever you want from room service," he said simply. He wouldn't have minded sleeping more, but Alice was wide awake, and had just told him that she was kinda hungry. Cross nodded and gave everyone a wave after handing Hunter his key, and getting an extra to hand to Batsu. "We'll be heading out for a while. See you all tomorrow," he said, turning to exit the hotel with Alice.