His crystal coated body erupted into dust that wrapped around my body, soaking into my cells until even they were crystal. I closed my eyes as my body started to go numb while I felt the transformation happening from the depths of my soul.
My body stretched and grew, my legs and arms getting longer and lithe. My features becoming more fox-like with each passing second. Two large fox ears sprouted from the top of my head, my mouth and nose elongating into a snout, my eyes getting larger and more almond shaped. Black fur erupted all over my body from the tips of my ears and down to my toes.
Ten tails sprouted from above my tail bone, fanning out delicately in the wind. The tips of each tail getting decorated with a crystal orb. Similar crystals formed on the pads of each of my hands, as well as on the tips of my ears.
I felt a soft thrum in my chest and a warm feeling spread throughout my body. It was the feeling of my own farm crystal merging with Obéron's mana crytal core and nine mana crystal core fragments. The thrums becoming pulses that clashed within my body. With each pulse I felt the mana inside my body strengthen, multiply, and wash over me until pulses synchronized and a new resonance was achieved between all sources of mana.
Finally I felt Obéron's consciousness fill my mind. His strong sense of self-being, his integral code of right and wrong, and the respect he felt for me for trying to get to know him and sticking with Chase. I felt our consciousness start to meld with Obéron's, our every experience, our every memory, breath mingling together to become something different. Becoming someone powerful, becoming….
D'Artagnan
"D'ARTAGNAN! WE ARE UNITED!" We bellowed as the crystal chrysalis that surrounded us shattered into dust.
The dust whirled around our body and turned in a musketeer's tabard, leather tilly trousers, and a leather Cavaliers hat with a exaggeratedly large feather stuck in the brim. The last of the dust condensed and turned into traditional French rapier with a swept hilt above my head. We reached out and caught the blade, giving it a practiced flourish before we landed gracefully on top of the carriage.
"Be warned, schemers, betrayers, and heartless worms! You will find no mercy here! For we are D'Artagnan of Sho'lajah Artifact Company."
"The crystal genesis spell? That Kingston and queen Viola cast two days ago? Damon could cast it!" Damon's uncle exclaimed. We chuffed and pointed our rapier at him.
"If you thought that Master Kingston would not find a way to make that spell accessible to all his employees then that only shows how hasted this assault on Sho'lajah is." We mocked him.
"Doesn't matter of he's merged with a evo! It's still only Damon DeCharles! He's no Chase Kingston!" Duke Withers exclaimed and pointed a finger at us. "Kill him! Kill him now!"
The splicers all started casting offensive spell sigil, launching fireballs, lighting bolts, and ice spears at us once again. We rolled our eyed at the splicers and flared our tails, channeling mana into our first tail. A invisible telekinetic barrier formed in front of us, taking the hits from our enemies spells.
Despite the smoke that blanketed the area we could still see our enemies thanks to the power of our eighth tail: Clairvoyance. It allowed us to know information about anything in the direction we were looking at, including the location of enemies shrouded by smoke. This tail had a very low mana cost and could be used for long periods of time.
"Guess its time we stopped being a wallflower." We said as we flourished our rapier. We aimed it towards the splicer at the back of the crowd and channeled mana into our fifth tail, its power: teleportation.
We teleported to the space behind the splicer and jabbed our rapier into the splicer's back, expertly piercing his heart. He died instantly, only managing to let out few startled gasps before he collapsed. We didn't stop there, with a quick twirl on our paws we spun and slashed the throat of the splicer next to him.
It was at this moment that the smoke cloud blanketing the top of the carriage where we had been dispersed and revealed that we weren't there anymore. Damon's uncle and the rest of the splicers were shocked and quickly looked to where we had gone and it was only then that they noticed that two of their numbers were taken out.
We channeled more mana into our fifth tail and teleported to the space beside the leader of the splicer soldiers. Then switched to channeling mana into our seventh tail, its power: pyrokinesis. We held our left hand out to the splicer's head and a bright purple flame erupted from our fingers and launched a torrent of flames that quickly engulfed the splicer.
"You monster!" We heard a splicer yell behind us.
We instinctively channeled mana into our first and third tails, activating: telekinesis and recoil. A blade slashed at the invisible barrier, breaking the blade but also activating the recoil effect. We glanced over our shoulder and saw a deep slash suddenly appear on the splicer's chest. He stumbled back, confused and startled.
"This is futile." We sighed as we turned and drove our rapier into the splicer's chest, piercing his heart.
"Get some distance between it and ourselves! Summon your evos! Call for reinforcements!" Duke Withers ordered his forces.
We chuffed at them as the splicers all started to put some distance between us. The world might see Damon DeCharles as a joke and a fool but he was far from that. He was an actor, a malleable ghost, able to become whatever he needed to survive in any situation. Most importantly of all he was a part of our base and core and he was tired of playing the fool.
"Bring to bear the full might of your numbers, swell these docks with chuck and carrion. The end result will still be the same…!" We bellowed as we channeled mana into our tenth tail, activating it's power: duplication. Our shadow swelled and expanded, perfect copies of ourselves emerging from it by the dozens. We all raised our rapiers to the air with a dramatic flourish and with a flick aimed them at a enemy before us. "…You will fall to our blades, your plans ripped to rot! Master Kingston will escape this island and we will ensure nobody is lost doing it! FOR WE ARE SHO'LAJAH ARTIFACT COMPANY! WE ARE UNITED!!!!"
Suddenly the sky lit up as if the sun had risen once again. Blinding everyone momentarily. Before anyone could recover beams of energy shot down from the sky and pierced the chests of many of the splicers around, most were in the middle of summoning their evos.
"Such bold claims, subordinate of Sho'lajah." A voice said coyly from above. We looked in the direction the voice came from and was stunned.
A humanoid evo was flying above the docks, obviously female by their frame. She had bright red fur covering most of her body except her hands and face. Four wings were attached to her back that flapped her lazily to keep her afloat, shimmering red feathers that seemed to almost be made a crystal. A large wolf's tail swayed softly by the breeze. Her hands had four inch curved claws, she also had large wolf ears atop her head which was nestled in a main of flowing crimson hair.
"I am Arka Sol of Sho'lajah Artifact Company and I have come to clear a path for Sho'lajah!" Arka Sol proclaimed then swept a glance at the rest of the docks. "I will secure the rest of the dock fellow subordinate of Sho'lajah, you handle this riffraff."
With that Arka Sol flew off towards the center of the docks leaving us to deal with the remaining splicers. We were stunned by her audacity but at the same time there was no room for us to wait. We turned our attention to the remaining enemies and pointed our rapier at them.
"En Garde!"
Nate
"COME ON! FASTER!" I yelled as I held onto Bizarro. I urged him to move faster as he jumped from tree to tree.
"Going as fast as I can. Almost there!" Bizarro replied then jumped across a large gap between two trees. He landed on the trunk of the tree, not sliding in the slightest thanks to his ability to stick to walls and climbed deftly through the branches until he could jump to the next tree.
I had long been able to hear gunfire in the distance, which as morbid as it sounds terrified me but also filled me with hope. While my son and Indy were still in danger it also meant that they were still alive.
"DAD!" A shrill voice called out a split second before something flew smack into my face and clung on.
"OW! WHAT'S ON MY FACE?!" I cried out.
"Dad! Dad! Big brother in trouble!"
It took me a second and several tugs on the creature on my face to realize that it was Gadget in his true transcended form. I stopped trying to yank him off my face and focused on holding onto Bizarro.
"Gadget? I know he's in trouble!" I replied. Gadget skittered around my head so he was hanging onto the back of my head.
"They in house beyond trees!" Gadget informed everyone and pointed his hand past the side of my head to point to a group of tree ahead of us.
"I already know." Bizarro replied then jumped onto the tree trunk of another tree and climb down to the ground.
The sound of gunfire was deafening now. There were short breaks between rounds of firing that I assumed was them reloading. Every paternal instinct I had was telling me to run out and get my son but I knew that would only end with me getting filled with hole and possibly Bo as well.
"Little Shadow has told me the soldiers have their hut surrounded. Beyond trees is road. They are in village beyond road." Bizarro said.
"We cause trouble and you get big brother!" Gadget added. I nodded and dismounted Bizarro.
"No I will cause trouble while you will go with the progenitor. How will he know where to go unless he has guide?" Bizarro correct Gadget.
Gadget chittered angrily at Bizarro but didn't move from my head.
Bizarro vanished from sight. Activating his camouflage and dashing through the bushes. I stayed low to the ground as I ran, I had to cross a dirt road with no cover but the few soldiers that were on the road were looking in the direction of the shooting. Probably to make sure nobody managed to sneak away. It was thanks to this that I was able to get into cover and make a short arc through the forest to the village Bo and Indy were holed up in. Gadget directed me by pulling on my hair on either my left or right side to tell me which way to go.
Once I reached the village's edge it was easy to find the one Bo and Indy were camped in, even without Gadget I could have picked it out. It was the hut on the outer most edge of the village that was surrounded by soldiers. I gritted my teeth, every muscle in my body tense, waiting.
Suddenly one of the soldiers was swept off his feet and pulled swiftly into the woods. His screams echoing into the night and alerting his compatriots at the danger. A couple of them turning to find the doomed soldier's position vacant. I watched as the soldiers scrambled after their snatched comrade, breaking their formation.
'Not yet…' I told myself. I gripped my knee tightly to keep from springing up and rushing towards the hut. I watched as another soldier was swept off his feet and dragged from the opposite side of the hut. This caused the soldiers on that side to break rank and rush after their comrade.
One man barked orders to soldiers, trying his hardest bring order and keep everyone united. Against the fear the soldiers were feeling from seeing their friends and fellow soldiers dragged off, his orders rang hollow.
I waited until I saw that man, an obvious leader rush over and grab one of the soldiers in his squad and shook him. Without another thought I dashed forward, clearing the treeline and the distance between the treeline and soldiers in a single step. My hand outstretched, grabbing the side of a surprised soldier's head. My momentum carried us forward and I slammed the soldier's head into the side of the hut. Sending him partly through the wall while partly crushing his skull. He was not a problem anymore.