The Village of Fallen Rains

(WOOT! Go Felix, you beat that nasty old Madness!)

Syndryl looked at Mekko when she mentioned... "Madness?" He then fell silent as if contemplating the thought. He only took a moment to answer her next question. "Mekko." Yes, he had this all planned out. Sure, the girl always asked about her mother, but how much did she remember of her father? Even if she remembered that he looked nothing like her father, that was fine too. Maybe she'd start remembering her past life a little bit. Syndryl was finding it easier than expected to keep a hold on his sanity. He liked that. But in order to save Serenity and Felix, he was worried about sacrificing said sanity. Still pretending as if he could see, Syndryl followed the sound of the girl's voice and footsteps. By her voice fluctuating in and out, he figured she was probably spinning or something.

Serenity merely smiled at Felix when he said she was young. But it was a slightly sympathetic smile. He didn't know of her curse. So she would not inform him. She tilted her head when he trailed off, blinking when he pulled his hand from hers and took out a weapon. "What...what are you doing?" she asked, almost fearfully, as if she thought he was going to turn and attack her. "...sick? What do you mean?" She blinked at him a moment. "Get out...? But I thought we were going to the water," she informed him curiously.

(Lol)

Mekko stopped spinning, in fact she almost fell over. The little girl caught herself and looked at the man closely. "Mekko?" She asked. "My name is Mekko." The little girl rubbed her arm uncomfortably. He didn't look like her dad. Or did he? She didn't remember. "Are you my Papa?" Her brown eyes filled with tears. She took a step towards the dragon. "Is it time for supper? Am I late for supper?" The little girl's voice quivered. "I want to go home and see Mommy now."

Felix couldn't figure out what had broken him lose of the Madness. How had he gotten here, and where were Mekko and Syndryl? Felix looked around and then stepped from Serenity. The water? What was at the water? Felix could hear it, but he couldn't see it, and a breeze was on the stale, dry air. Felix turned in the direction of the water. "Lady, wake up!" Felix said as he walked right up to her and slapped her with the opposite hand. Felix wasn't sure what he could do to make her see that they were falling into the Madness of this place. Then, out the blue a sharp high pitched whistle sound came to Felix's ears. "W-what is that?" Felix put his hands to his ears. "I-I don't understand what's going on?" It was driving him insane and had he not been sane, he would have thought his ears were bleeding. Felix was on the brink of tears when the noises suddenly stopped and where replaced by the sound of several female voices. Felix looked at Serenity. "Do...do you hear that?" The voices were soothing compared to the high pitched noises from earlier.

(I just realized...the Madness is leaving Mekko...and Felix is perfectly fine. But it still has a vessel in one other person.........)

Serenity's head turned to the side as the silver haired boy slapped her, her eyes wide with shock. After a moment, she blinked and her eyes narrowed as she looked back at Felix. "What the hell was that for?" And before the kid could respond, there came a sound that was far more than just harsh. But some how...Serenity found it okay. A sound like that could drive a person mad. And maybe that's why it didn't bother her. Certainly, it had made her flinch at first, but it wasn't long after that the sound had stopped anyways. When Felix asked her if she heard it, Serenity was silent for a long while. One of those voices sounded familiar. She looked at Felix. "They're calling us," she said, her head tilted. She seemed like she sincerely wanted to go on, but also looked like she wanted Felix to go with her. Not because she didn't want to go alone, no. It was because even if the boy hadn't experienced true pain yet, she wanted to save him before he did.

Syndryl gave the girl a light smile when she questioned if he was her father, nodding lightly. The dragon in disguise knelt when Mekko took a step closer to him, his arms open for her. "We'll go get supper," he said. "But don't you want to invite that silver rabbit you were following? I'm sure Mommy wouldn't mind you bringing a friend," he said with a smile. Finding that so-called silver rabbit would bring them to Serenity as well. Syndryl paused when he heard a slight whistling noise, though it was high pitched and rather faint. But when he heard what came next, he nearly had a heart attack. Sirens. And Serenity could've been in danger. His face nearly paled a shade, and Syndryl picked Mekko up gingerly, as if she was his own daughter. The dragon realized that the man whose body this had once belonged to may have been looking for his daughter in the Unknown that day. He almost felt bad. "Come on Mekko, let's go find that bunny," he said, starting at a quickened pace in the direction the Siren's song was coming from. I can't be late...I have to protect her. If I'm late...

(Do not be too worried. Things are about to get a lot more hectic and better in the next few post.)

Mekko willingly let Syndryl pick her up. When he asked if she wanted to bring home the silver rabbit she nodded. She liked the bunny. She was so glad to finally be going home. It had seemed like forever since she had seen either of her parents. "It's dark here," she said when Syndryl told her that they were off to find the bunny. "I wonder if it's scared." The small girl wrapped her arms around Syndryl's neck and closed her eyes. "I'm sleepy," she said quietly. "I think I'll just take a nap."

Felix remained in place, knowing this was not a good idea. Even when Serenity asked him why he'd slapped her, he didn't say a word. Those voices, he'd never heard them before, but all the same, they were calling to him as well. Felix grinned. "Let's go," he said as he started for the water without waiting for Serenity. In the back of his mind, his mother's voice was constantly repeating to him, Stay away from the water. However, Felix couldn't help the feeling that he needed to go to the water. That there was something he needed to do, or see. Felix was in a mental battle as he headed for the water. His blue eyes becoming dull as he got closer to the water. When they reached the water, it was no longer dark, but foggy. In the middle of the water, Felix saw what looked like several women resting on the rocks as they sang. Felix started for the water at a very slow pace, as if cautious. He'd always felt drawn to the water, but never like this.

(Awww, Mekko is so cute...)

Syndryl blinked, a bit surprised, when the small girl wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. Human children were so vulnerable, weren't they? Syndryl left the thought in his head, continuing to head towards the one sound that made the dragon fear for his life. He almost smiled when the girl said that she'd take a nap. "You do that," he said, as softly as he could as he hurried towards Serenity and Felix. "I'll find your silver rabbit friend." The more he ran, the closer he heard the sound getting, until he was sure he was right on top of them. But even so, he didn't hear Serenity and Felix. Until...

Serenity followed instantly behind Felix. She wanted to go to those creatures that made such beautiful sounds. The creatures that called to her. For...she was sure that she heard Liora's voice somewhere in the chorus. The blond woman also started towards the water. "How beautiful," she said softly. I wonder...if she's there, waiting for me with Jake, Serenity thought as she approached the water.

"Serenity, Felix, don't!" Syndryl called, panting lightly. He knew the child had fallen asleep, but this was far more important. The dragon in human form approached them from a distance. "They're Sirens, they're dangerous, don't go near the water!" Serenity was sure this was the first time she'd ever heard Syndryl worried like this. But still, she turned her gaze to the water longingly.

(Thank ya kindly)

Felix had seemed to tune out the world. Syndryl's warning was nothing more than a whisper on the wind. The silver haired shinobi stepped into the water. It felt icy cold. He kept moving forward until he was waste deep in the water. Three of the Sirens had already slid off the rocks and had gone into the water, swimming below the surface as they made their way to Felix. The twelve year old took no notice of the missing Sirens as he made his way to the ones still singing. When Felix was deep enough in the water that he had to start swimming, the Sirens in the water surrounded him. "Hello small child," they whispered. "We will guide you to your wildest dreams." Felix looked at them curiously. His blue eyes glossy. "Follow us and there you will find, the answer to all the questions you desire. You can know everything." Felix was liking the promises they were making, so he continued forward, that however didn't stop them from making even more promises. "You can even see the father that you never met, would that not be great?"

Syndryl swallowed when he heard someone wade into the water. He couldn't tell which one it was until the Sirens made their last promise. The boy had gone in. The dragon stood completely still, though he was far enough away from the water. He could save Serenity now while the Sirens were busy. While their attention was elsewhere. But Serenity would never allow him to see the outside of the Unknown again. Hell, she might even have resorted to breaking their contract. Syndryl stepped forward until he was next to Serenity. "Don't let him do it, Serenity." While Syndryl could take Serenity's eyes and go himself, he wasn't sure he'd be able to face the Sirens as easily as a human would. As easily as Serenity would.

Serenity looked at Syndryl in surprise as he told her to go get him. If he was afraid of those things, why would he tell her to go in! It was then she noticed two things, one was that the dragon in human form was carrying the little girl from earlier. And two...well, Syndryl looked positively frightened. His eyes were wide and his already pale face was a shade whiter. Serenity finally nodded. While she wanted to see Liora...Serenity paused. Yes, she did want to see Liora. Her face scanned the water. She didn't see her yet. And instead of going in to stop Felix from proceeding, Serenity went in for her own selfish reasons: she was going to find her sister.

Felix was halfway to the rocks when one of the Sirens on his side suddenly pulled him under. It was so sudden that small child didn't have time to scream or panic. Water filled his lungs immediately as he fought against the woman who had a firm grip on his ankle. With the water muffling the their singing, Felix was fully aware of what was going on. The water was far to dark and murky for him to actually see, but he pulled a kunai and slashed through the water, attempting to get lose. When his kunai hit something, he was momentarily released. Felix started for the surface, breaking through the water he took in a all the oxygen he could before coughing and looking around. The blond lady was on her way to the Sirens and Syndryl was just standing there like a deer in the headlights. Felix looked around. The other Sirens were dead ahead, and a few of them had slithered off the rocks and where heading for Serenity.

Felix felt like he was at a loss. They would all be dead if he didn't do something. Pulling his arm out of the water, he threw it directly at Syndryl, but instead of hitting him, it landed in front of him. "Snap out of it! The lady needs you! You promised to protect her, did you not!? Fire straight ahead!" Felix looked towards Serenity and began to swim towards her. The Sirens were already making false promises. "Won't you come with us to see your sister? She is waiting for you. She misses you very much." Felix had to stop them before they dragged her under as well. He wasn't sure if he could rely on Syndryl to help them out of this. Felix was almost to Serenity when he heard the water ripple as if something had just jumped out of it. Turning he spotted two Sirens flying through the air at him. Reaching for a kunai he threw it at the first one, but missed. A moment later they were dragging him under the water at high speeds.

Their claws scratching at him, he could defend himself from the both of them. They went deeper and deeper into the water until they were at the bottom. Felix was genuinely surprised that he was actually capable of holding his breath this long. Thinking quickly, he reached for a explosive tag. He knew the chances of it working in water was slim to numb, but he didn't care at the moment. It was all or nothing, and he planned on surviving. Madness had tried to take him, but he'd come back. Now these Sirens were trying to kill him. I don't plan on dying this way! The blue eyed genin ripped the tag and shoved it directly into the Siren's mouth. The blasted thing bit right into his arm too, but Felix kicked her back and began to swim away. When the tag exploded, so did the Siren. Trying to make it to the surface, Felix was praying that the explosion would prove to be a distraction for the others.

Serenity slowly fell under the Siren's spell, walking further into the water. It was only moments after her feet were no longer touching the ground, only moments after she started swimming, that she was pulled under, a short scream escaping her before she was cut off. The cold water around her head brought her back to her senses, as well as the fact that she could no longer hear the singing clearly. Why had she thought that they'd had her sister? How could she possibly have thought so? Her sister was dead! Serenity struggled to get back to the surface, but the Sirens had a tight hold on her. Reaching for her belt, Serenity pulled out her dagger, slashing at where she felt the claws around her legs. There was a short screeching sound as she felt that she hit something. Through the murkiness, Serenity could see a tint of red blood. But she was still getting pulled under. Further and further, until she started feeling light-headed from the lack of oxygen. Just how deep could one little lake go?

Syndryl heard Felix's words, and he knew that the boy was right. How could he have let Serenity go into the water, after warning her not to? Shaking his head, the dragon set the small girl down, far away from the water's edge, before returning to his true form, where he found that his 'sight' had returned. He could feel everything around him once more. As convenient as it was, he had no time to wonder upon it, for he heard a short scream of which he was sure was his ward's. Wasting no time, Syndryl dove into the water after Serenity. Acting on instinct, the dragon snapped at anything that dared touch him. He ended up with a large following of Sirens as he got to Serenity, taking the back of her shirt in his mouth as he swam his way back to the surface. While the Sirens couldn't hold him down, they could certainly injure him, which they did. Serenity was out cold by the time Syndryl made it to the surface, but, being confident she wouldn't die, he placed her down not too far from Mekko, and started back in for Felix. If that boy had been able to keep his wits about him to begin with, none of this would have been happening!

As Syndryl got closer to Felix, he gave the boy a single command. "Hold on to me." And while Felix might've already assumed he'd been going insane, now would've almost certainly made him fear for his sanity. For the command Syndryl had given had been one sent through telepathy, something the dragon rarely ever found himself in need of using. Assuming Felix listened, and grabbed on, Syndryl started for the surface once more, leaving Syndryl's fangs free to snap at anything that came his way. When Syndryl's wings came above water, he immediately flapped them down to take flight, several Sirens hanging onto his legs as he did so. "You're going to have to jump off," Syndryl told Felix, once more through telepathy, once he'd flown over land. He'd stayed high enough up so that the Sirens wouldn't be able to easily drop down. And yet, he was telling Felix to drop. Of course Syndryl had a reason for making such a request...right?

Telepathy? He had to be dreaming, or still coming down from the madness. There was no way he was hearing Syndryl's voice in his head. Regardless, Felix took a firm grip to the dragon's fire as they shot out of the water. Felix didn't even feel like he needed to take a deep breath. However, he did turn to see the Sirens that had also taken it upon themselves to keep a grip on Syndryl. When the dragon told him to jump off, Felix frowned. "Are you mad? That's suicide!" There was no way he would be able to jump down and survive without injury. Felix grabbed a shuriken and threw it at the closest Siren, knocking the watery creature down into the water. Felix also knew that as long as those Sirens were still singing, he wouldn't be able to function properly. It would be a repetitive task. This is crazy!

Syndryl elicited a growl as Felix refused to jump off. The dragon wasn't entirely sure if the Sirens could come on land, nor was he willing to wait and find out. So instead, Syndryl flew back over the water as Felix threw a weapon at one of the Sirens, causing it to fall. Growling once, Syndryl looked down, shooting out a stream of white fire that seemed to slither like a snake before striking down those Sirens that still clung to him. Gliding to the ground where Serenity and Mekko were, Syndryl reached his neck around to take Felix's shirt in his teeth as he none too gently pulled the boy off his back. "Stay here, and ignore the singing as best you can," he said aloud, rather than through telepathy.

Turning back towards the water, Syndryl walked to it, his movements almost looking like they were being hindered by something. A moment later, Syndryl let out a loud roar, that would've momentarily deafened anything that heard it. Crouching down slightly, Syndryl dug his claws into the ground before firing off a white ball of fire, that grew in diameter with each passing second as it engulfed the top of the lake. What Felix and Serenity didn't know was that a Sirens' blood was very much like a strong toxin to a dragon, no matter where the creature had come from. And Syndryl had dug his fangs into many Sirens while trying to save Serenity and her silver haired companion. So there was only so much left that Syndryl could do for them before he became too weak to move. With that being said, he wanted to take out as many of the Sirens as he could with this single shot.

Felix nearly yelped when the dragon took him off by the shirt and put him down. Looking at Serenity and Mekko, he was surprised to see that the younger girl was...not unconscious, but sleep? What had happened to the Madness? Felix didn't have time to ponder over it, because he noticed that Syndryl was moving funny. Standing up, Felix looked at the girls and then back to Syndryl. When the dragon roared, Felix felt like he'd just gone deaf. He could barely hear anything. The fire was blinding as well. As it engulfed the lake, Felix watched to see the aftermath. The Sirens were no longer singing on the rocks. In fact, most were floating dead in the water, or sinking to their watery graves. "Nice work," Felix cheered.

Syndryl stood panting for a few moments after he heard the boy's cheer. That was enough to tell him that he'd at least gotten a good few of the Sirens. And hopefully any that he'd missed that had been underwater understood not to come up by the sight of their dead sinking to the depths. Walking slowly back over to the three, Syndryl sat heavily on the ground next to Serenity before turning back into his human form. Almost immediately the clothes that he was wearing began sticking to him as blood flowed from the cuts the Sirens had placed on him.

"Watch the lake," he told Felix, as he turned Serenity onto her side. He began patting her back, and a moment later, Serenity suddenly coughed up whatever water she had swallowed while trying to escape from the Sirens. Once she was done coughing, and had properly woken up, Syndryl slowly pushed himself to his feet, his breaths heavy and maybe even somewhat pained. He walked over to the edge of the lake, knelt down, and put his hand lightly on the surface of the water. While he could feel air waves, he had a harder time knowing what happened underwater, unless he could feel the water itself. Syndryl's head was bowed, his black hair dripping water as he stayed still in order to feel if he'd missed any Sirens.

Serenity sat up, coughing lightly by the time Syndryl had gotten up. Blinking the water from her eyes, she slowly looked around, to see a sleeping Mekko next to her, and what looked to be a mostly unharmed Felix not too far away. And then...and then she saw the lake. Dead Sirens floated on the water, and Syndryl was right at the edge, with his head bowed, as if waiting to be pulled in. "Syndryl, what'r-" she started, to which she was answered with a prompt "Shh!"

(I picture this to be the coolest effin scene ever.)

Felix looked at Syndryl with concern as he turned into his human form and began walking towards them. He was more wounded than any of them. The young shinobi nodded silently when Syndryl told him to watch the water. Kunai in hand, he watched it carefully. It was very much unmoving. When Syndryl went back to the water's edge, Felix remained watching it, although he had moved a few feet closer. What exactly was the dragon doing? When a Siren popped up out of the water, singing her tunes, Felix tensed. His blue eyes narrow. The Siren was being rather caution as she spoke to Syndryl. "Don't you wish to return home? Back into the place called the Unknown? Where you can spread your wings and fly free." She came right up to the water's edge. "Follow me and you can see, the place you call your home," she beckoned as she reached up to the pale man that had only seconds ago been a dragon.

(It totally is the coolest effin scene ever! ^^ )

Syndryl froze in place when he heard the singing of a Siren so close to him. He should have known better. After all, what was to stop the creature from pulling him into the water right then and there? And yet...it still seemed to want him to go willingly. Syndryl slowly withdrew his hand from the water's surface, his unseeing eyes wide at the beasts promises. He could return to the Unknown any time he wanted. But...he had to protect Serenity. That was the deal. He couldn't go home until she was safe.

Syndryl should have known better than to go to the water's edge in his human form for two reasons. One, his human form was weak, vulnerable. But the poison spread less quickly. And two...well, his mind as a human was much more open to being manipulated. He felt the air waves as the Siren reached up to him. For a moment, Syndryl hesitated. But it was not out of indecision. It was more out of fear. Even having faced all those Sirens, it was his natural instinct as a dragon that led him to fear Sirens. Swallowing, Syndryl slowly stood, taking a step back. "Take it out," he told Felix, his 'gaze' still on the Siren. He couldn't afford any delays. While he knew better than to go with the Siren, his mind was slowly progressing from fear, to indecision.

Felix watched in silence. His blue eyes carefully watching the Siren's movement. What was Syndryl waiting for? When Syndryl finally spoke, Felix raised his kunai and went to throw it when something knocked him to the right. The silver haired shinobi rolled to the right as something swiped at his face. Claws? The Sirens were out of water! Felix defended himself with his arms. On the other hand, Mekko's hat rolled to the waters edge. The little girl was gone and a Siren was making it's way to Serenity. Felix gasped. "Behind you!" He yelled. The Siren was approaching with a dagger in hand. As for the Siren in the water near Syndryl, she had risen out of the water to swipe sharp claws at the dragon's throat.

Syndryl froze when he realized what had happened. The Sirens had ambushed them. While he'd taken out most of them, they were still outnumbered. The dragon in human form fell backwards in an attempt to avoid the Siren's claws. A moment later, and the thing would've torn his throat out. While his blood flowed faster in his dragon form, Syndryl had no choice but to change if he wanted to be of use in this fight. So he changed, and took the Siren's arm in his fangs before hurling it towards the Siren that was heading for Serenity. He'd noticed that the girl was gone, but he had no time to worry about that. He was feeling faint, and his movements were growing sluggish. He took a moment to steady himself before shooting a white fireball at a Siren in front of Felix. He then turned to go towards Serenity, who had gotten to her feet, using the throwing knives that she'd bought the day before, as well as the 'throwing sticks' she'd made that very morning. On the bright side, she had no fear of running out of weapons anytime soon.

The Sirens were swarming out of the underbrush. Several had made their way to the dragon. The claws outstretched as they screeched in anger. The dragon had killed their sisters, and they would kill it. Three made their way to Serenity as the blond woman threw knives at them. They screeched at her as well. Clawing at her as they surrounded her, they no longer bothered with promises. Felix on the other hand had gone on the offensive as Sirens came from both land and water. His main focus was the ones on land. With Apollo's Arrow in his hand, he shot of fiery arrows at the evil creatures. As they caught fire, Felix turned to the water. There were so many of them! They were outnumbered! How do you stop Sirens?

Syndryl crouched slightly as the Sirens started swarming. His blood was rushing from adrenaline, spreading the 'poison' faster, causing the dragon to start feeling woozy. He fired several balls of white flames at his attackers, though after not too long, started feeling a bit overwhelmed. The Siren's claws were digging into his flesh, and he could only take out so many at a time.

Serenity, on the other hand, was making due with slashing at the creatures as they came, her dagger being sharp enough where it actually took off a Sirens arm once in a while. Despite having been relatively useless before, she showed surprising fighting prowess. If anyone needed help at this point, it seemed like it was Syndryl.

They all seemed to be fighting off the Sirens, but like Serenity, Felix had noticed that Syndryl was not holding up too well. The young shinobi sighed. He knew what he had to do. "Lady, there's something wrong with Syndryl," Felix stated. His blue eyes wide he aimed an arrow into the sky, shooting it off, it burst into millions of tiny flames. The Sirens paused briefly. Felix used it to his advantage. "Hey, you Sirens aren't so bright are ya?" He taunted. "In fact, you're rather dumb. You think you can take us with some fake promises and horrible songs, think again!" Clearly pissed off, the Sirens left Serenity and Syndryl, leaving behind only a few of their kind. Felix knew this was probably suicide. "Go," he yelled to Serenity, giving her a chance to check on Syndryl. Felix on the other hand dove into the water and swam for the rock in the center. The Sirens were instantly flowing into the water. I hope I know what I'm doing.

Serenity looked a bit worried about the dragon, but her eyes widened as she saw what Felix was doing. Was that kid suicidal?! Serenity quickly took out the few that Felix had left behind, but not without getting cut a few times. She noticed that almost as soon as Syndryl's Sirens had left his side, the large blue dragon had collapsed to the ground, causing the blond to rush to it's side. "What's wrong Syndryl?" she quickly asked. That was before she realized how injured he actually was. "S-stay still," she told him, putting her hands on with looked like the worst of the cuts. Syndryl slowly shrugged her away, pushing himself to his feet, though his breathing was still labored. "It's not those," he said heavily. Serenity glanced to where Felix was, then back to Syndryl. "Then what is it?"

Straightening up, Syndryl stumbled forward a step. "A Siren's blood is like poison to me. I foolishly tossed many aside with my fangs while saving you from their clutches," he spoke, his pants becoming light growls. "I'll survive. But that fool of a child will not. Not if we don't do something."

Serenity, despite Syndryl's protesting, seemed irritated at the dragon's lack of willingness to cooperate with her. "Well he'll have a better chance if you could at least move easily!" she told him angrily, making Syndryl turn his head towards her in surprise. He'd never heard Serenity yell before. That made him snort and sit down. "Do as you wish. You're only wasting time," he told her. When he got a smack in the back of the head, he gave her a light growl.

Putting her hand on his back, Serenity started healing whatever cuts she could. While she knew it was the poison slowing him down, she could at least dull some of his pain. It didn't occur to her that him bleeding might've been the best way to get the so-called poison from his bloodstream. Even as Serenity worked, Syndryl felt his consciousness starting to fade, and he laid his head down. "Stay with me, you hear me," Serenity said, trying to swallow the worry in her voice.

"Don't think I'll go down so easily," the dragon snorted.

Felix made his way onto the rock. Looking at Serenity and Syndryl, he was glad that his distraction had worked. Now he had to get a move on. He could see a ship farther back, but wasn't sure he would be able to make it that far. "You keep moving forward until there's nothing left," Felix whispered. From where he stood he shot off the arrows at the Sirens. However, he was oblivious to the one approaching from behind. When something knocked his legs from under him, Felix grunted and turned to see what it was. The Siren had her claws inches from his face. Felix's eyes widened as he turned the opposite way, arrow and explosive tag in hand. "Bam!" Felix yelled as he shot the arrow off. The explosion tore a hole in the Siren and knocked Felix back into the water. The Sirens surrounded him instantly. I'm running out of ideas. The genin looked around as he was surrounded. "Young Shinobi of the Village of Fallen Rains, you are safe." Felix blinked. Syndryl? "Listen for the Call of the Sirens." Felix didn't understand, he was surrounded by Sirens that wanted to shred him. He couldn't even hear them singing anymore, they had stopped. I'm going to die.

Syndryl didn't wait until Serenity finished healing him to stand back up. Clearly shocked by the blue dragon's sudden movement, Serenity took her hand from him. "What are you doing?" she asked. Syndryl peered down at her for a moment through unseeing eyes. He'd heard the call. He had one chance to save them all, and though it would cost him, he wasn't going to waste it. He said nothing before he disappeared, and in his place was a very soaking wet 12 year old boy. And where Felix had been, Syndryl now was. It always took a moment for Syndryl to regain his focus after switching places with someone. And once he regained it, the dragon curled up slightly. From outside the water, a white light could be seen shining, and the surface of the lake seemed to start boiling. Only a moment later there was a large explosion from the center of the lake, sending water splashing out in every which direction, as well as the bodies of the Sirens' that had remained. When all the smoke had cleared, and everything that had happened became clear, the air was deathly silent, and the blue dragon was laying on the rock that Felix had been not so long before.

Felix blinked when he was suddenly on land. "What just happened?" He asked. His blue eyes looked to the water as it began to boil and then there was an explosion. Felix shielded his eyes and as he looked up, his heart sunk. "Syndryl." Felix stood up and ran towards the water. Since all the Sirens seemed to be dead, the young shinobi swam out into the water. He wouldn't admit it, but he was almost in tears. The water was thankfully washing away any evidence. Swimming to the rock, he climbed onto it and shook Syndryl. "You'd better not be dead," he yelled. "I swear I'll never forgive you if you die!" Felix looked at the mess. "You're a healer aren't you," he called to Serenity. "Come heal him!" I was surprising how close he felt to Syndryl despite the fact that they had just met.

Serenity sat frozen on the ground as everything cleared and she realized what Syndryl had done. What he had done for them. She shook the thought from her head. He wasn't head. Couldn't be! Serenity scampered to her feet and after Felix, to that rock that Syndryl was laying on. If the dragon had been cut up before, it was nothing compared to how torn up he was now. Serenity wouldn't even try to hide her tears. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if he died like this. As quickly as she got up onto the rock, she'd done just as Felix had stated, and started healing him. She wouldn't allow him to die, couldn't. "Don't you die on me dammit," she nearly whimpered.

And then there came a response that made Serenity nearly jump, for it was said to both of them through telepathy, and the dragon's eyes had still been closed. Syndryl gave a light snort. "Didn't I tell you I wouldn't die so easily...?" The response sounded forced, and very much pained, and his body was not moving at all. But despite that, it seemed the dragon could at least force himself to communicate with the two humans, if only a little.