At first opening, his vision was blurred; only being able to make out fads of light and dark images in the room. His eyesight strengthened and his focus then came upon a great joy. A beautiful painted scenario of cozy fiery warm torches burned on cave settled walls and appearing to his immediate location was a bed setting. He was wrapped in a red satin sheet and his heavy rested head was nursed upon to big white fluffy pillows, the bedding was laced with a bed made of oak wood and had a canopy draped with fresh cut Orchids’ and roses to scent the air. His back was resting on warm water skins of water that made up the mattress of the bed, and to his right sat a woman with a familiar but ever stunning renowned look with red shiny hair. She had an amber glow surrounding her and as she reached for a cloth in the steamy water bowl to lie to his forehead he smiled.

“Somehow I knew you would be waiting for me” he said to her

“Your awake” Sephinroth replied with a spark as she rose to her feet beside him, combing her hair from out of her face she leaned over to check his skin temperature on his head.

“How long was I out?” Rain asked shifting his eyes from the view of cleavage she exposed through the middle of the robe she was wearing to her elegant sculpted face.

“Four days” Sephinroth replied “How do you feel, your wounds were severe from the battle”

“I’m fine now” Rain said smiling to her “Although I have to say this setting is not what I had in mind for the afterlife” Rain said looking around in his bed, looking again to Sephinroth he saw a heavy thought dwelling upon her mind. “Eve? Is something wrong?” Rain questioned her

“Sore throat” she said touching her neck wrap was scared short term from the ice blast he shot at her, and turning away from his face she went to re dampen the cloth and ringing it out she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Rain there is something you need to know; first you’re not dead I brought you here after the battle for you were near death”

“Not dead! Eve what are you talking about of course I’m dead I mean you’re here and sorry to break it to you but so are you if from all this time you are unaware” Rain says with a smirk and a smile but seeing no return laughter Rain grew serious again.

“Rain, I’m as alive as you are…I…I never…died in that fire you saw me blaze away in” and going to reapply the cloth to his head he stops her hands from the action,

“What, Eve your alive!” Rain said exploding with puzzlement and confusion “How, how is this possible?” he rambled to her

“God this is so hard to say to you Rain” she said lowering her head but raising her chin with his hand Rain spoke to her in an inquiring look,

“Try” he said to her

“Rain I’m not Eve I never have been, she never existed at all”

“What?”

“You’re in a lair Rain, I brought you here after the battle, I had to save you” she said getting to her feet and walking away from him. Rain sat up from his restful state and putting his elbows to his knees placed his head cradled in his hands to think.

“Lair…you mean Dragon lair…you mean Sephinroth’s Lair” Rain said out loud thinking.

“Yes Rain, I’m Sephinroth” she answered him turning to see his face, “Please Rain you must underst….”

“What!, understand What! Sephinroth works with…you work with Colossus, the enemy YOU’RE THE ENEMY SEPHINROTH!” said Rain rising to his feet but away from her he shimmied away from her area to put distance between them, “The stones…your aid with us, was that all a plan?”

“Colossus couldn’t figure out how to find them so…”

“He sent you to infiltrate our ranks and get me to solve it when he sent you, all this time it’s been you! My god…Maylor…all those lives lost at the battle just made, they’re dead because of you! This is your entire fault!”

“Rain, please this wasn’t supposed to happen” she pleaded to him trying to get closer to him but he keeps backing away,

“What wasn’t supposed to happen? All of this?” Rain shouted

“No me falling for you, falling in love with you” she wept out to him

“Oh please. As if I am supposed to choke down that line willingly; you don’t have feelings for me that was all a rouse to gain my trust!” Rain barked to her and bringing a cold chill to his hand and in glowing an intense bluish tinged he looked harsh to her face “I should end you right now; you deserve nothing but death for what you did to me, to my clan…my FAMILY! I can’t believe that night that you were injured I interfered, I should’ve left you”

“But you didn’t Rain you saved me” she cried to him

“Yeah, and a lot of damn good that did” he bolted back

“Maybe not in you, but it started something in me, for after that night when I started to fall for you. I wasn’t in control of how the plan was to unfold either” she barked to him

“Everyone has a choice Sephinroth, right up until they lose the will to do what’s right we all have a choice”

“Not when your child’s life hang’s in the balance, when you have children Rain and their lives are in mortal danger, then you can preach to me about having a choice!” she snapped at him “I watched as my youngling’s neck was snapped like a thin stick by Colossus’s hand, her life long life full of freedom and freewill was cut to nothing right in front of me. That was my leash being tugged on from when Logan ratted me out about having my allegiance being swayed”

“How” Rain responded

“From not finishing what I started, I was going to tell you everything about my infiltration and acting performance, but before I could my child lost her life to keep me in line” Sephinroth spitted to him

“So you lost a child big deal, you can have more that’s what dragons do”

“Not in my case” she said to him

“You reptilian bitch, I worked with you, I trusted you…I loved you”

“Rain everything I have said to you has been the utter truth, about me, my past, my losses…my love to you; it is all real I swear upon my soul, just my presentation was false”

“With half a mind Sephinroth I should kill you right now!” Rain blasted out to her, she then walked slowly to him holding out her arms extended.

“Then save me the torment of waiting for your mercy, do it and be done with it…I won’t move; between loving my child and you I have made my choice, and for failing to report back after the battle to save your life I have surely doomed my other child’s rebirthing”

“Awe common Sephinroth do you think me so heartless of a person to do that to you” said a voice from a shaded cave area and moving to the torches light Colossus showed his presence “After all you have held your end of the bargain in bringing me the mage as agreed”

“What Colossus how did you get in here! I made no such pact I swear to you Rain this was not my intention”

“Please Sephinroth don’t lie to the boy any longer, he has gone through enough as it is”

“No! Rain this wasn’t agreed please believe me” she pleads to him as she looks to his once again defeated look of betrayal,

“I think he has heard enough of your useless words Dragon” Colossus smiled

An evil glare comes to Sephinroth’s face as she stares at Colossus “I don’t know how you got in here but you’ll be barbecue when I’m through with your corpse”

“An unlikely outcome for I only came to trade him for this” Colossus finishes holding the scroll in his grip and tossing it to the ground he summons Rain’s body to his hand, not being ready Rain flies to his monstrous grasp and Colossus with him firmly held disappears.

“RAIN!” she shouted as he was taken away, and glowing her face red with a heated anger she moved to the scrolls resting place and picked it up, “This is the last time you cross me Colossus, this act is not going unjustified this time” she says fading away into burning flame.

Appearing into his towering homeland Colossus tosses Rain from his grip to two of his zealot’s caring hands. Rain threw as he stumbled toward them his chilling readied attack that as he seen it coming toward him was batted away with ease, Colossus redirected it hitting a wall that Logan was near. Rain then was taken but tried to fight his way free when Logan came to his sights and backhanded him to a half awareness state.

“You almost hit me with that spell” Logan snapped at Colossus

“Oh relax Logan it was cold based, you wouldn’t have been hurt” Colossus waved off to him.

“And as for you, I really don’t believe we have had the immense pleasure of a proper introduction” said Colossus going up to him and kneeling to his level

“I know who you are” muttered Rain “The beast that killed my parent’s, my friends and gave me no normal life…and I do promise that your end will be by my hand” Rain finishes weakly raising his head to meet Colossus’s eyes

“Do you even know why I’m doing this task?” Colossus inquired to Rain

“Save your unpleasant disreputable dialogue Colossus, I don’t want it nor do I have use for its power”

“Ah but there you are wrong for you being the type you are, your thirst for such explanation and better understanding, and so you shall have it, but first a question to you. If you were given the army from my grasp I’m curious? What would you be pressed to do?”

“I’d send it back against you for the ultimate insult, to be destroyed by the very thing you instrumented for as its purpose” barked Rain gaining his focus back more and more

“Rain you have no idea how similar you and I are”

“I’m nothing like you, you demon breed infectious insect” spitted Rain to him

“The only one who has a demonic parental background here is you, try not to get the history between us backwards, my heritage is strictly from the light side for my parents were both celestial beings” Colossus barked back at him

“Celestial…but wouldn’t that make you…”

“The same, I am celestial as well” Colossus added interrupting Logan’s statement

“That’s why you had such a problem getting the demon army to follow you it’s not that you weren’t of sufficient power” Logan said

“No, only my background prevented me from entering the lower levels with ease and swaying control over evil beings was even less than promising” Colossus continued

And throwing his hands to the air Logan shook his head “All this time I’ve been fighting for the wrong side, how confusing, you really need to get your priorities straight Colossus”

“They have never been changed only mislead to your eyes” Colossus looked to Logan

“You don’t want to get to the throne of hell to take command, you want to reach the haven celestial land from above” said Rain

“Very good Sorcerer, and with your help I can achieve the goal we both want to see in the end sooner”

“My help!” said Rain

“His Help!” cried Logan looking as shocked as Rain from the implication

“Join me Rain, I can teach you things you couldn’t learn from the bound limitations of your present masters”

“To hell with you Colossus, I’m not being swayed to your retarded spin on what you call a noble act, not while my friends and family are alive and in your path to success”

“And there lies your only weakness, do you really think a small band of lives matter in the great design of the world’s evil deeds, you would place the lives of those you love over the populated world of goodness, the balance is not even” Colossus explains

“No it isn’t but I have now learned that everyone can’t be made to see the light, and even if they do; they shouldn’t have to give up their free will and souls to do it” Rain proudly stated

“So be it, Drow! Guards take him to the prepping room; it seems the young master has chosen the path of plan B!” Colossus smiled watching him as he was taken by the Zealots away kicking and screaming down the hall.

Arriving in a flaming flash just as Rain’s last belly scream was sounded out Sephinroth dodges behind a pillar to avoid being seen, looking around for her own personal mission to break Rain out of his uncomely getaway she begins to sneak around covertly to locate him.

Nearly being seen on a couple of occasions she passes by a hall where Colossus went down himself, he stops as he passes her hidden shaded hiding stop and feeling an untimely power house presence near him he orders that extra guards be placed where Rain was being kept. And waiting for his awareness to lose its effect she moved on as soon as he was out of sight.

“Rain, where are you” Sephinroth said closed mouth as she moved through the lower levels searching spots she figured he’d be but always coming up empty.

She moved passed a room guarded by two guards outside with the steel door closed, seeing torches being lit by the two of them she closed her eyes and made herself disappear. Hoping that her assumption was right she appeared only as twin eyes in the fiery flames of torches burning on the inner side of the door, looking around to survey the room’s interior she saw two more guards on either side of a pillar holding a scroll.

“An infectious curse scroll! What is Colossus planning to do with that” she says identifying its authenticity, and hearing the door open to the room she sees three mages approach the guards.

“Leave” they command to the guards who obey and move out of the room. Waiting till they depart the three say they need to hurry to finishes this before the young mage regains his full spellbinding strength, for it to be imbued upon him at that state would pose to be difficult.

“They’re going to put the spell on Rain. But what for, what purpose; why not just kill him, unless” she says laughing to herself “he never got the stones, oh no! Colossus is going to trade Rain for the stones, and with the curse attached he’ll give him back to the clan letting Rain spread the infection and killing the rest of the clan” she then returns to her form outside the room and continues to move through the hallways “I have to find Rain and free him before the end comes to his group, they are the only ones now that can stop him now” she rambles to herself during her on going search.

She finds a heavily guarded corner area in a lower level of the tower’s super structure and using her fiery eye ability again to scope out the area she finds that which she was looking for, Rain was chained up against the wall of the tower with a full company of men to watch his safety, Sephinroth knew that in that close of a space her dragon form wouldn’t be able to be shown, and to fight a force like that in her human form would prove to be suicide.

“Oh Rain! What has that bastard done to you my love” she said looking from where she could at his helplessness. She then reverts to her form from the fire and thinking around a shaded corner she comes to one conclusion.

She moves back up to where she was before to the room with the scroll and waits till the guard shift change. Sitting down with her knees bunched to her chest she finally after some hours later hears the sound of a second set of guards coming down the hall, she sneaks a peak to see that it’s the set of men sent to replace the first and dusting herself off she gets ready to attack. When the first group leaves the sight of her eyes she attacks the newly brought guards, and being unaware and taken by surprise Sephinroth quickly over turns their position outside the door, trying to keep it as quiet as possible. But failing to do so resulted in the mages coming out of the room, she then used magic against their own to take out the spellbinding mages and when the smoke had settled only she remained on her feet.

“Well that was fun” she smiled but looking at the scroll turned her victory to a short willed win, she moved toward the scroll and interlocking her hands to quickly crack her knuckles she then fluttered her fingers while thinking of what to do.

“Now let see if I can undo what has been done here in a manner that Colossus won’t know or see till it’s too late” and shutting the door and locking it she went to work.

As the sharp winter wind blew through the camp during the rebuilding phase scouts came back from the southern post with haste and barring a grate discovery.

“That’s it men just a few more pulls, that’s it one more; there stop! You three secure that rope there to stabilize the support” issued Straud to some men when the scout’s horse rode right to his location.

“Captain Straud, Captain we’ve found her”

“Who scout?”

“Lalandra Milord she’s alive” said one scout as a concerned look fell to the other scout looking at the first one

“Show me!” Straud commanded mounting his steed summoned and following the scouts.

They arrived in a short time to the southern mountainous passage, the two scouts, Straud with Dawn on his mount, and Cloud on his own as well. But what they found was traitorous to all their eyes that were in the guarded care of two Drow left to its side.

Battered and bleeding silver blood from all parts of her body they saw the great Dragon lying in an open area barely moving. Her eyes were slashed to a point beyond her to see a thing from them, and Dawn clearly noticed and pointed out to her left wing stem which was missing half of its structure. Her tail had parts greatly ripped and bitten from it, and from the great pain she bared softly to herself she rolled to her side to show the massive gapping slits of raw flesh hanging from her underbelly. Almost all of her horns that were a divinity of her great beauty were cut, broken and bleeding the silvery sap of life she had in her from their rooted sockets, and hearing the moans from her defeated voice caused all to be put in a shocked silence. Dismounting first Straud followed by Dawn went to her side slowly; a rush from the forest came to their sights. Alisianna covered her mouth at the first sight of the horror; Cloud then dismounted and went to her side shielding the view of the beaten creature.

“Lalandra, what happened” asked Straud

“Uncle her jaw line is broken, I don’t think she can talk” replied Dawn in a diagnosis of the damage done to her.

“Perhaps I can help” said Alisianna “I can commune with her and share her thoughts”

“You can do that, I only thought that Elanee could” replied a scout

“She can do it to all but I can do it with neutral based creatures of nature, and dragons fall under that title” Alisianna then approaches and looking for a dry spot to touch she placed her hand to her body and closed her eyes. “She was fighting Sephinroth when she was warped by her from a recall stone to the underworld of hell. There she was met by demons that were drawn to her arrival, and this had all been planned. She fought them off but through the unending battle and time was she eventually overwhelmed, Lalandra was beaten and battered by the beasts until she could summon only enough strength to teleport away”

“But she has been gone for five days, where has she been?” asked Dawn

“In the underworld dominion hiding until she could gain enough energy to make the teleport to here on the surface, but having little strength she could not risk teleporting to her home for the miscalculated rocky terrain could send her to her death” Alisianna finished and then got another request. “Dawn, she asked that you stand at the foot of her mouth to look for something”

“What is it” Dawn said going to the position, and struggling to her feet Lalandra coughed and heaved from her throat yet even more silvery blood and sticky saliva that brought about a stench that made Dawn almost vomit right there, and covering her face while Lalandra waiting for the investigation to end, Dawn and Cloud helping her shifted through the muddy goop for anything that she had in her.

“Alisianna I don’t know what I’m looking for is it a weapon, stone or…” she then stopped at the sight of an egg shell. Bending down and picking it up she knew it had broken, looking around she saw more pieces of the shells making more than one egg scattered in the muddy substance and falling to her butt and sitting in the blood.

“They’re dead! Her young are dead” Dawn repeated to Cloud who looked over and saw the shells shattered and broken.

Alisianna looked to the mess and dropped her head in shame,

“Is there a way to bring them back” she asked Dawn “Surly a potion or spell can restore them”

“If they were hatched yes but, they weren’t fully developed yet” Dawn answered

“What should I say to her?” asked Alisianna

“The truth, for however painful it is, it’s all she ever wants to hear” responded Straud and nodding she closed her eyes and communed with her again. Lalandra let out a belly aching grown of a cry that shuttered the ground and brought sadness to all in her presence. At first the great dragon was too weak to move but as time and healing from Dawn’s hands went on throughout the day Lalandra eventually got enough movement and strength to return home. She then had a request that only Dawn could grant to her which was the use of her wings and body again. At first Dawn said that it’s not possible for her to do it, but having Lalandra after her jaw was healed taught her the ways of regenerating flesh and bone as well as some encouragement from her family and friends, she gave it a honest try. Trying for the first day proved to be useless and as heavy frustration and mistrust in her abilities set in Dawn struggled greatly. Dawn could repair the tissue damage to Lalandra’s underbelly and horns as well as all the scales but for the tail and wings she was at a loss.

“I can’t, I just can’t do it”

“You’re getting closer Dawn please try again”

“NO! This is pointless, look I want to help I really do it’s just that…”

“You feel you’re betraying Maylor from learning advanced magic from me, is that right” she looks to Lalandra and nods her head,

“Dawn he would have wanted you to keep going and learning from another is not an evil deed especially to Maylor, now please from the extensive time I have known him he has always strived for his peers to seek knowledge from the sources that help them best learn the task, he can’t teach this to you anymore but I can Dawn please…try again” she thinks for a second and knowing what Lalandra says to be true she nods to her for yet another instructed attempt.