Tara's Tall Tales

Chapter 6: Corrupt

Tara's head had just touched her pillow when the first few symptoms of corruption appeared.

'Ouch......' Tara moaned as she sat back up. Her head was aching, and her arms felt numb.

Just then, Tara realised that her arms weren't just numb.

Her hands were already a weird blackish-purple, which went all the way to her wristbands. The golden accessories were also turning black.

'Holy crows!' Tara screamed as she jumped up and ran to the other rooms. Her violet hair dangled loosely until it reached her shoulders. 'Gene! Mortis! WAKE UP!!!'

Tara skidded to a halt as Mortis and Gene appeared right in front of her, their faces full of worry.

'What happened- Oh god.'

The first sign of corruption. Gene whimpered.

Tara nodded her head weakly. 'It's starting,' She whispered.

'And lots of the stronger Brawlers are either dead, or else they've went on the expedition,' Mortis mumbled. The bringer of bats and fear looked quite scared himself.

Bad. Gene mumbled under his breath. Very bad.

'How did you guys stop the corruption last time?' Tara asked. 'I was knocked out throughout the whole process, and you two were the only ones who managed to heal me.'

'It was quite close,' Mortis informed her. 'Darkron had almost fully managed to kill you and rise. Gene and I nearly died when we were trying to stop him too.'

He was strong. Gene recalled. It took me all of my magic to neutralise him, and even then Mortis nearly failed to call his bats down on him. And now-

'He may be stronger,' Tara finished. She looked up. 'You two told me that he fell asleep again. Did that mean......'

'He entered your blood and had never woke up again. That is, until now,' Mortis muttered gravely.

The temperature in the air seemed to drop by a few degrees.

Finally, Mortis spoke again. 'It's almost 12 a.m. now,' He murmured. 'That's the time when dark magic is at its strongest. Maybe the corruption would temporarily go away in the morning.'

Tara's eyes glowed with a weird indigo. 'Perhaps,' She agreed. 'But not completely.'

C'mon. Gene yawned. We'll figure this out as soon as we survive until sunrise.

______

'It's so...... Quiet,' Sandy murmured as he woke up. He'd completely forgotten the fact that most of the Brawlers were either gone or unconscious. 

Sandy immediately remembered it all when he realised that no brawls were being held at all.

'Sister Tara?' Sandy called. His voice echoed through the empty and quiet Robo City. The neon lights on the billboards and signs seemed to make the city even more desolate. And probably haunted.

A few distorted noise rang through the air. Sandy turned around but saw no one.

'Sis? Is that you?!' Sandy tried to shout, but drowsiness caused his voice to sound rather soft and silent.

More distorted noises.

'Where on earth are you?!'

A black hole the size of a portal appeared in front of Sandy, and before the young boy could even react, Tara leapt out of the shadowy portal, her head well bandaged.