Episode 5

Ash and I went to the clearing. We were both holding our knots in between our scissor blades. “Oh, so you actually came, what a surprise,” rasped a voice that seemed to be coming from all around us. I kept my face blank. Mom stumbled out from behind a tree, bound and gagged, and collapsed as she tripped on her confines. I remained where I was. This could be misdirection. Meant to distract me while I was literally stabbed in the back. I continued to listen and watch for any sign of movement. Ash was at my back, doing the exact same thing.

“Well? Aren’t you going to get your precious mother?” Asked the voice. I didn’t reply. With some of the aura that leaked out of the knot, I created a sort of tentacle and pulled my mother to my right. She was unconscious, from what I could tell.

Everything suddenly turned dark. Even the moonlight was hazed over. This meant that the shadow spirits were here. I had heard from my father that they could obscure light. Since I couldn’t see anything, I closed my eyes and listened for any sign of an enemy. My aura tentacle was severed, but I heard nothing as my mother was taken once again. Not even the whisper of footsteps in the grass or the crunch of leaves. This entity must have been one of the shadow spirits who Excelled in obscuring all senses. I cut my knot and reached out with my senses. As I did, I felt nothing. No trees. No grass. No ground. Nothing. Either this guy or girl was incredibly skilled at messing with senses, or I was in some sort of dimensional rift where there was literally nothing. I doubted that last option. I lost track of Ash. She was no longer at my back, or, at least, I couldn’t feel or hear her there. I was pulled into a chokehold and I started gasping for air. A cloth was once again pressed against my lips, but I didn’t go unconscious at this one. I was only paralyzed. I remained in the darkness for at least 48 hours, paralyzed, and I eventually fell asleep.

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When I woke up, I was in a very large cage in a likely very large building. I could tell from my size that I had turned into my dragon form. Likely while I was asleep. I actually felt pretty good, a little weird though. Ash was in lion form asleep in a much smaller cage next to me. There were no other guardian spirits. I then inspected the bars of my cage and realized that they were wide enough apart that if I turned into human form, I would be able to walk right through them. They were also thin enough that I could likely crush them easily. They looked to be made of rusting cast iron. I considered my options, inspecting the rest of my surroundings. I realized that there was a large pair of doors below Ash and I. I was not sure where they led. I was not sure I wanted to. I found no cameras, and only a single door, human sized on one wall. The rest looked identical. It was a dark room, and didn’t seem to be very sanitary to be here. I shrunk into human form and tried to go to Ash’s cage. There was something that zapped me as I tried to go through the bars. I turned back into my dragon form.

“Ash,” I whispered. My voice was still loud.

“Where…” She asked as she stood up and inspected our surroundings.

“I don’t know, I just woke up myself. What happened to you? I was paralyzed in some weird darkness,” I replied. She stared at me in astonishment. “What?”

“You… your scales are grey and your aura is a little purple,” Before she finished replying, I looked at one scaly arm. My scales were barely tinted, same with my aura. The scales could just be explained as dirty, but the aura couldn't get “dirty,” something was happening.

“Uh, any Idea what’s going on?” I asked.

“I heard that some guardian spirits can get a disease that messes with their forms and auras. It’s really rare, and if you don’t get it in your first 20 years of life, you will ever get it,” She said, inspecting herself, “I might be wrong, but that’s all I’ve heard of anything that can mess with your aura like that. It doesn’t look like anything’s wrong with me though.”

Wherever we were had a little shudder. Then the doors started to open. I laid down and pretended to be asleep. Ash did the same, taking the hint.

I used my aura to look at the floor so I could see where what was under the doors. My cage was pulled along with the doors to one side until we hit the doorframe and the door slid under me. The same happened to Ash. My cage fell onto a platform that was below the doors. Likely only a foot. After the doors were completely open, the platform started to go down. It seemed to be a motor vehicle meant to move those of us who are larger. As it turned out, we had been in an airplane. A monstrous one that I couldn’t even believe was able to fly. The place where I was seemed gloomy, and something was wrong. I felt some sort of aura, but not of the guardian spirits. That meant that it was either the Shadow or Neutral Spirits. I really hoped it was the Neutral ones. We were in a cave, so I was unable to see-or feel-much else.

As more of my surroundings came into view, I saw a city. It was made of mostly black and dark grey materials. There was also some red here and there. Then I saw it. A castle. Black and red with pointy spires and an overall menacing look to it. I was afraid. I thought I would be brought back to one of those human laboratories, but instead, I was in my enemy’s home. Why was I here? I suddenly preferred those accursed labs to… this place.

I was wheeled through the city with Ash. everyone seemed nasty. To each other, and to us. We were going towards the palace. I felt like I recognized it somehow, yet I could not tell how. I started to feel more relaxed as we got closer, which was totally weird. We were wheeled into the main entrance of the palace. It truly was gigantic. The fact that it fit me was already a feat. to be sure. I couldn’t understand how I was so familiar with this place I had never been here. Oh. Suddenly, everything clicked.

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