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The crystals at her feet continued to grow up her legs, and try as she might she could not cut them off. For every one she cracked, three more took it's place. She was getting tired, closing her eyes for a few moments before opening them again, renewing her struggle to escape her prison. She didn't want to go out this way.

There was so many thoughts whirling through Astra's head at that moment. So many memories to review, and so little time to do it. She thought of Yuki back Amityville, and Riley whom was still in quarantine. But they were safe, and she was relieved at this. There was a twinge of regret though; she wouldn't get to see them again, and that regret soon grew and grew. She wanted to hug Riley again, tell her how happy she was that she was still here. She wanted to hug Yuki as well...maybe even kiss him. Spend more time with them both.

And what about everyone else who was still here? There were so many students here, she was worried about them all. What if they were trapped like she was?

But the main thought she had at this moment, was that stupid jerk. She remembered when she had first saw him, using his head as something to stand on so she could see everything in christmas town. He had told her to get off. He always seemed so grumpy, and she didn't like that. She had tried to steal from his cave, gotten on his bad side again and again, and she was angry about that. Why couldn't he be nice to her like everyone else? Then they had gone to the island, and that anger had been mixed with total fear. She had realized she was wrong, and the visions had showed her just how angry a dragon could get. There was also the fear of seeing him die; the island had shown her just how close he was to Riley, and it had torn at the fairy to watch them torn to shreads.

She had spent months in terror that he would come and hurt her, but he had never did. And she finally got tired of it and essentially bribed him to be nice to her. It sorta worked, but he still got angry at her at times. But she had gotten a cool nickname out of it. 'klefairy'.

Her association with the dragon had been chaotic at the best of times, and she always seemed to have mixed feelings. She still hadn't gotten over her terror at being roasted alive. Her dreams showed her that much.

Watching the great beast soar through the fog though, completely engulfed with insanity, she felt a little sad that she hadn't done more. She should have visited him when Riley was gone, should have talked to him more. Maybe he wouldn't have resented her so much, and maybe she would have grown used to him?

Maybe they could have gotten along better.

Right now though, he looked more like Red then she could have imagined, and it terrified her. Because he might end up the same way, a giant stone creature, leaving Malodore and Riley behind forever...They would be devastated.

She gasped, the crystals enclosing around her, locking her arms and legs in a sheet of beauty that was deathly enchanting. Literally. Gritting her teeth, she tried to call out to the dragon once more.

"Jericho! Please don't die, I beg of you!" She called out with a strangled sob. "I know you've never liked me, and I've never been that nice to you. I know I shouldn't have stolen from you, or called you names, or laugh at you when I beat you in that game. But...I still don't want you to die!"

Only her head was left now,

"Riley told me you were her family! She really cares about you! You can't leave her alone!"

Why did she bother. Did he even realize who she was? Did he even care?

"I don't want you to be like red! Don't give up Jericho! You're really strong, and brave, and loyal! "

"I'm...I'm so...r....."

Her voice tapered off as she was consumed entirely.

It was all happening so quickly. Another shard stabbed at her front leg, and the blood oozed down her arm and quickened the process. Poke tried to shake the crystal off. She thrashed, bit, tore at them, but they wouldn't budge. Her wings had been sealed along her back by the crystals, preventing her from escaping to the air.

"No..." She growled out, quickly tiring from her efforts to remove the crystals "I can't...let it end...like this..."

White washed over the lands. What was this? This was not a part of their homes. Letting out a thunderous roar, the dragon lashed out at them, aiming to break the shards. He would protect his home from this strange affliction. This strange magic. Fear. As large as they were, they could not destroy the crystals faster than they were forming. Their tail thrashed against the land. Their claws swept over the skies. And their flames danced all around. It was no use. The crystals would shatter, but there were always more where they had come from. Nothing kept them back for long.

It was frustrating. It was enraging. WHY were these things intruding in such a way?

They could feel a rage that was not their own, though it only added to what they felt. This foreign thing going across their home, taking it over inch by inch seemed to be the cause. No, there was something else. The taste of revenge was in the air. Revenge for what? They didn't care. All they had was home. Home. HOME! Little by little, Jericho felt as though it was getting more difficult to move their great body. The crystals were overtaking even the largest creature on the island. There was simply no escape.

Even the fog did not save them. They tried to move into the mists, but the crystals did not relent. Pretty soon, one great claw was fastened to the ground completely. They could not lift it no matter their strength. Another roar sounded, and they thrashed about in place, trying to destroy what fragments they could. It was no use. Even ants could kill a far larger creature if there were enough. That was the case here, as the fragments continued to take over their body, aiming to leave nothing behind. It was all useless. Completely and utterly useless. The home would be taken over... and then what would be left?

They didn't know. They just wanted to protect the home. They wanted to be home. And now they supposed they would die at home.

A final cry rang through the lands before their gargantuan form grew still. The once grey body now gleamed white.

Insanity encased in a crystal prison.

Perhaps. For eternity.

((Allowed to auto crystal due to having 70hp. ))

The shards cut into his skin, clustered around his feet and pulled.

His entire body seemed to shake, something deep inside of him caving to the magnetic tug the crystals seemed to have. No, He fought back, tooth and nail, the sounds in his throat foreign and carnal. The voices whispered and crooned in his ear, overwhelming thought and emotion to the simple task he needed to accomplish.

Red bloomed in his vision, the world around him dissolving into a background of white.

Don't take this away from me.

The crystals rose, grew, encased him, a few shattering over his head, but Mengyao had lost both thought and reason, moving forward without ceasing, ignoring the blood that fell down the side of his face.

This belongs to me.

He was tired.

But he was never tired. Irritable, certainly. Annoyed and exasperated, constantly. But never tired, never exhausted like some got to be. It was mostly because Mengyao did not tend to put himself into situations where he was made out to be tired, preferring to let others handle the more strenuous work - so why was he tired now?

The whispers rose and fell, drifted in and out of his mind; a constant buzzing that was difficult to overlook, impossible to ignore. Menygao closed his eyes briefly and tilted his head to the side, as though attempting to clear it.

Nothing would clear it.

The tiredness sank into him like a stone, sliding through his veins. He lifted a hand, reaching for something - something, just out of reach, he could feel it, he could see it -

- dark hair, dark lips, red rouge streaked over a pale face -

- his fingers froze, stopped moving -