Emental: the Series [Work in progress]

Part 26: Depression

The bartender guided Ken, who was consoling Danny, into the Inn and locked the door.

"Thank you." Ken said to the bartender, who bowed his head and left the room. Ken sat Danny down at the bar and rested his hand on his back.

"Danny, I just want you to know that I'm here for you."Danny said nothing. His eyes no longer had any shine to them and appeared dull. His energy was completely gone and even his hair seemed a lot less vibrant.

"We should turn in for the night. We can leave first thing in the morning for Cryoria."

Danny looked at Ken, and then returned his head to it's original hung position. Ken let out a sigh and walked away to the corner of the room. He grabbed a few stools and made a makeshift bed out of them.
"Good night." He said. Danny stood up and walked over to Ken, and lied down near him.

Ken awoke to the bartender gently tapping his face.

"Hey, I'm gonna need you and your friend to move. You can set your things in my office until you're ready to go." He said.

Ken rubbed his eyes and gave the bartender a thumbs up. Ken stood up and noticed Danny, his eyes wide open staring at the ceiling. Dark circles were under his eyes.

"Did you get any sleep?" Ken asked, concerned. Danny shook his head lightly. Ken sat up and placed the stools in their original spot he then sat down next to Danny.

"Do you want to stay another day before we get on the road?"Danny nodded lightly. Ken smiled and patted Danny's back. He picked up their bags and carried them down the hall to the very end where the bartenders office was. When Ken returned, he noticed Danny sitting at the bar with his head on his arms. Ken poked at his side.

"You want to walk around the city?"

Danny looked at Ken for a few seconds, and then stood up.

Izzi's eyes slowly blinked open behind her mask. She let out a low moan and sat up from what appeared to be a squishy bed. She suddenly realized that she was in Necrosse's arms, who was leaning against a back scale on the Hellific Dragon. From her view, she could see Necrosse talking to Zaneth, but her ears were ringing to much to understand anything. Necrosse suddenly turned his head to her.

"Aw, look who woke up." He said in a soft voice. Izzi let out another moan. "I just want to apologize for hitting you with the door like that. I hope that you can forgive me."

Izzi said nothing, she just continued to look at Necrosse from behind her mask.Why am I still in control? she thought. She suddenly felt Necrosse move his hands to under her arms. He presented Izzi like a little puppy to Zaneth.

"Look how cute she is!" He remarked. Zaneth laughed and poked her belly. Izzi strained not to flinch.

"I don't think they have anything this cute on Vularkia." Zaneth said. Necrosse nodded.

"I agree. I'm actually kind of glad Sencrosse forced me on this mission. I would have never thought Ementals in real life were like this." Necrosse cradled her back in his arms and gently stroked her ears. Izzi purred softly, to her dismay.

"That must be a reflex for ementals. They're just like cats." Zaneth said. Necrosse smiled and booped her mask's nose.

"That's even cuter!"

Necrosse looked up at Zaneth.

"You know there's something I'm curious about." He said casually.

"What's up?" Zaneth said, stepping down from the dragon's neck and walking over to Necrosse.

"How does Hellific work? It's always been a big grey area and no one ever talks about it."

Zaneth clapped his together.

"I'm glad you asked. You see, the disease is managed through these masks and interrupts the nervous system. You know so far that Hellific puts the body in a limbo-like state. But that's not really what it does. It actually siezes control of the vital organs and brain, where it infects the Cerebellum. From there it controls what electro-pulses go through the brains system and modifies them so it acts like a mind control. The host of the disease still retains their personality and ticks. They just go under my command, which I have hormonally programmed in the first mask I made. Additionally, each mask has another brain that acts like a radio for mass communication. Allowing me to give new orders for the hosts. For the rest of the body, the disease actually cloaks the organs in a hormone that speeds up their process. While it does speed up the organs, it also repairs any damaged tissue and enhances their functions."

"What would happen if you take the mask off?" Necrosse asked.

"The host would be free of the virus and would be in perfect shape."

Izzi's eyes widened behind her mask. She sat up in Necrosse's arms and looked at Zaneth, who smiled at her.

"You are a lot cuter under that mask, but we need that on you so you don't run away."

Izzi reached her hand out to Zaneth.

"Out of curiosity, what command did you give Izzi?" Necrosse asked.

"Act like your servant. Why?"Black electricity sparked off Izzi's hands and exploded in Zaneths face, repelling him off the Hellific Dragon. Izzi then extended her wings propelled herself by hitting Necrosse with another attack. She hovered in front of Necrosse for a few brief seconds. His face was in complete shock. The Hellific Dragon suddenly turned to catch Zaneth as Izzi made her escape below the clouds.Izzi fell past the clouds and looked at the world below her. She was so high up she couldn't make out any details and was unable to see where to land. Suddenly, the Hellific Dragon descended from the clouds above her and roared. Izzi tucked her wings in and rocketed downwards away from the dragon. Necrosse, standing on the dragon's head pointed an alien-like gun at Izzi, who suddenly extended her wings again and veered sharply away from them. He pulled the trigger and a long white laser shot out, piercing through Izzi's right wing. Izzi screamed in pain and tucked her wing in, where she spiraled out of control. She was still more than 500 feet in the air and was starting to see the details of treetops come into view. From there, she found a tiny clearing where she managed to gain control of herself and tucked in her other wing. The Hellific Dragon extended it's own wings, stopping it's descent.

"What are you doing!?" Necrosse exclaimed at Zaneth, who was holding onto the dragon's scales.

"Keep the mission in mind. She's not worth it right now."

Necrosse groaned, and put his gun away.

As soon as she was only about 50 feet off the ground, Izzi extended both her wings, but hesitating on her damaged one. Wincing in pain, she covered the hole with her hand and shakily glided down where she crashed into the ground.

Izzi lay on the ground, her right arm fractured and her right wing with a hole. Her vision was extremely blurry. She suddenly spotted a blue figure run towards her and pick her up. It's touch was as cold as ice. She looked at the figure, but her vision was too blurry to make out any details. Her eyes closed and her body went limp.