Welcome to Gaia! ::

Zik ran down the hallway, determined to see what was at its end. Suddenly, the path was no more, and he stood in a large, circular place inside of a forest. There was a large, green, moss-covered pond in the middle. The whole place stunk to high heavens. "ZIK!!", cried a familiar voice. "ANK?!? IS THAT YOU?!?"
"No. It's Skelegar. Of course it's me, you numbskull!"
"You stay right there, I'm going to get the rest of the group, I'll come back, I promise!", and Zik ran back into the tunnel.
After he left, a large, mossy head rose out of the pond, and said to Ankaara:
"How preciousss. Your little friend Zik is going to get the rest of your shrimpy, puny little friendsss. I'll love to sssee the look on your faccce when I kill them all!" Ank looked at her father in sheer and utter disgust. "What a monster you've become. Slayed some of my people and enslaved the rest. I don't remember you being this way, Pa. But just wait until Zik, Sigilos, Josh, Lex, and me kick your big, fat tail!"

Sigilos stared at the doors a moment, then stood up and laid a hand on the center one. As soon as his scales touched the glass, his mind was ripped from the inner universe and tossed back into his body, the result being a large shock wave of blue energy radiating from his body. The bubble he was contained in burst as if it had never existed, and a wave of power swept the passage clear of anything in front of it, knocking out loose stones and throwing the other people in the tunnel down onto the unforgiving granite. Sigilos landed on his feet, then opened his eyes. Each of them glowed a color so pure it had no name, but seemed to be every color at once, swirling within his sockets.

*Bloody hell, that feels, great!*

Sigilos stretched out his hands, feeling power and magic coursing in his veins. He didn't know what happened, but apparently he had found his name. Suddenly, he grinned. It was the sort of grin you would find on a hungry wolf when it cornered a lost lamb. It was the feral grin of hunter with helpless prey. Sigilos took in a deep breath, then let out an earth shattering roar. Pieces of tunnel burst into dust around him as they shook lose from their ancient moorings. He took another breath, shouting loud enough to echo into the far mountains.

*SKELEGAR! You kept me imprisoned long enough, now, I must pay back the debt I owe! I will pay my debt with your BLOOD!*

Sigilos strode calmly down the tunnel, the shear power coming from him causing the stones to groan and moaning protest in their places. He left the tunnel, and saw the pond.

*This is where it started, this is where it ends.*

He lifted a hand and made a small motion, as if he was brushing aside an annoying insect. The water exploded outward, coating everything in slime and muck. The slime evaporated as it touched the sphere of energy surrounding the gold, foul steam rising into the air. At the bottom of the pond a large skeleton of a dragon lay curled, moss coated and covered in writing creatures. It reared it's head and gave out an evil hiss. Sigilos looked unconcerned, simply looking at the large rotting mass that tried to menace him.

*Tell Skelegar that I'm awake, and I'm on my way.*

The foul thing struck at him, stopping short of the energy that came from his body. Sigilos made a small twisting motion with one hand, and the thing disappeared. He turned to see the rest of the group exit the tunnel. Ankaara was still wrapped in the chains, now covered in a foul layer of muck from the pond. He took a few steps closer to her, the energy sphere dissolving the slime from her as she passed through it. The heavy chains smoked lightly from the contact. He reached out a claw, sliding through a few links as if they where thin as leaves. The now melting chains clanked and fell to the ground.

*The Lich is gone, but Skelegar is not here. I know where he is, if anyone wants to follow. I sent the Lich back to him. As of right now, Skelegar is mine.*

He glared around, waiting for one of them to challenge his claim.

The thing smiled eerily, green fumes pouring out of its mouth.
"Well done, little Ankaara, Daddy Dearest is mine to control, and there is nothing you can do to stop us from ruling the world! Now, Skelegar, would you be a dear and get me her Shadowstone?"
The thing, which had a distinctly feminine voice, had no wings, but bloodied stumps where the had once been. Suddenly, out of the shadows of the forest, Skelegar appeared. The collar that Ankaara had mentioned, that was made of gray steel with a red gem in the center of it, gleamed around his gray scales. He looked very shabby, as if he had just happened to find his way out of an industrial paper-shredder. He had large chunks of flesh missing, and a few of his bones gleamed white. His ivy-green eyes glinted, and he lumbered off towards Ankaara.
Before he could even reach her, Zik came screaming out of the tunnel with a strange weapon, half-sword, half-axe. Ank looked at him, and he nodded, as if he recieved a message from her. He charged at Skelegar, and jabbed the axe-half down by his throat, which would ensure a certain kill if that was his intention.
But it wasn't. Zik instead shattered the red stone on the collar to bits. It fell off of Skelegar's neck, and landed on the ground. He was now free from the Great Demon.
"My apologies, daughter.", He said, in a gravelly voice. He turned to the rest of the group. "Know now that you have made a powerful ally. I will fight to the last breath against Banaaka'n'asa. I am in your service, Shadow Queen," He bowed to Ank. ", And not in the counsel of this false ruler." He rose, and spat at the ground near Banaaka'n'asa.

((Okay. We're gonna miss you, though.
But by all means, read on, we're getting to the climax. :3 ))

Ankaara sighed. Sigilos didn't hear her, did he? Well, he was sure as hell going to hear her now...
"SIGILOS!! SKELEGAR IS FREE FROM THE COLLAR CURSE! HE'S GOOD! HE'S MY DAD! HE'S ON OUR SIDE!! DON'T KILL HIM!!"
The sound was so loud that even the Great Demon screeched in pain. She quickly got over the large sound, and growled:
"Rrrgh, that hurt! I didn't know you were capable of a screech of that magnitude, but ,unfortunately, you won't be doing that anytime soon. I doubt you'll be making any noise at all! Heeyah!"
The cruel claws lashed out at Ankaara. She was too bust yelling to dodge the attack, and her middle was rent open, and she was knocked to the floor."ANK!!", Zik shouted in dismay. He ran over to her. Ankaara, with little effort, propped her head up and stared at the gash, which was now oozing red. "Well, that's problematic." She said, never losing her sense of humor. Zik rushed to her side, paw glowing blue.
"Save your strength, kid. A...Hm..." Ank stopped, thinking of a word. "...Er... Ah! I know! ...Laceration!" She paused to gloat silently on her knowledge of words. "Well, a laceration like this can't be healed by magic..." She said unhappily. Zik sullenly looked at the ground for a few seconds, and then his head snapped up, eyes bright and a big smile on his face. At this point, Skelegar had begun to approach, but Ank was quick to stop him. "Dad, I'm sure he knows what he's doing. Leave him be. Why don't you go to fight Bana?" Skelegar bowed, and attacked the demon.
" I remember that I took a course in field medicine, way back when, near fifty years ago...Maybe I'll be able to help!" Ank smiled. "Do what'cha gotta do, dude."
Five minutes later, a few sloppy stitches ran down Ankaara's chest, Zik's handiwork. Ank smiled at him, but, started to cough up blood.
"Ah, POOP! I'm dying..." Zik's eyes went wide as saucers. He whimpered. "Hey, you did all you could. There's just no hope now...So, let me tell you who you really are..."

Ank closed her eyes and coughed again as she told Zik's story. It turned out that he was not an alien after all: he was a dragon, and had been spirited away in the middle of the night by Bana, who brought him to that forsaken planet, where he was kept for the first 159 years of his life, until returning here. All through the telling, time seemed to slow dramatically so that they could not come under attack by the looming, purple demon. Ank coughed up more blood, and said:

"The light is fading now, dear friend,
It is time for me to end.
But know now, Little One,
You are my one and only Son."

And then, she sighed, and closed her eyes.
Ank had died.
Zik's red, emotionless eyes filled with tears as he collapsed, he had only fainted.

Zik woke up, or seemed to wake up, in a bright valley, underneath a large knoll. He sat up, and, remembering what had gone on that day. If it wasn't for him decoding those runes, Ank wouldn't have died...
The very thought of it made him burst into tears and bang his head against a nearby rock. He paused when he heard insane laughter coming from the top of the hill, and somebody shushing the voice. Zik stared up into the light, and hesitantly said: "Hello? Is anybody there?" A black dragon's head poked out from over the hill.
"HAI!! WHO IZ JOO?!", the dragon screamed. "Ugh, you're so painfully STUPID, Rakkai!" By now, five regally robed dragons had appeared on the grassy knoll. Zik didn't know who they were at first, but now, he seemed to recognize them...They were the Five Supreme Elders!
Rakkai was the black dragon who had spoken earlier. He carried a large scythe, and spoke in short bursts, usually proclaiming something random. He was the Elder of Death, Shadows, Ignorance, Night, and Bliss.
Was'sha-na was the one who had screamed at poor Rakkai earlier. She was the Elder of Water, Intelligence, Sadism, and Cynicism, and was the color of a shallow tropical sea.
Ra'basshi-nii was the Elder of Fire, Comedy, Emotion, and War. She was a fiery red, and had a temper to match.
Mountai'inos, as his name suggests, was the Elder of Earth, Judgement, Family, and Entertainment. He had scales of every type of precious gem ever imaginable, and they gleamed brilliantly in the ever-present daylight.
And finally, in the center of them all, was Laikos, The Grand Supreme Elder. He ruled over Light, Seasons, Day, and Rulers Of The Dragon Kingdom. Zik looked up at them in astonishment, and Laikos spoke in a gravelly voice: "Zikar'naofos-Ayaamfia of the Royal Family of Ankaara'saiimi-Ayaamfia, I welcome you to our realm of light. Zik bowed, and raised his head to the Elder. "I have a question. Am I dead?" All the Elders laughed, and Rakkai said: Noez, you's not dead. I know. Trust meh. But yur BFF Ank is, though. Rakkai spoke in a weird accent. "He's probably been reading too much LOLcats.", Zik thought.