Axel, Audi, And The Dragon

Dreamstorm

“…Flesh…Blood… Three, it smells them, this monster within…” he panted while breathing out smoke through his nostrils, halfway morphed between man and beast. Thick mist of Scotland’s forest barely hid his features as he gradually paced nearer toward their scents… “It won’t be…” he said slowly. Then his voice dropped abnormally lower. “Coiled… William I am no more, only this bloodlust, only the hunter!” The now gigantic dragon roared, bursting into full metamorphosis. With its muscular long neck jetted forward, the dragon harpooned through temperate wilderness, mowing over trees, smashing completely through their dense green moss covered trunks as this mist played no role in blocking its keen sense of smell, slitted eyes not needed.

“Axel! Axel!” She screamed out into the woodlands. “Oh please, please answer.”

“Layla, settle down,” her husband said calmly. “The lad couldn’t have wandered off that far at all. Remember, he’s not alone, he’s with Audi, and you know how protective that dog is,” Landon said assuringly, turning to face Layla. “Listen, lets just focus on finding them…” That’s when they both heard it… The strange sound of barking mixed with howls that trailed after each. “Audi,” Landon said, facing forward.

He rushed onward, pursuing the sound as Layla followed closely behind him. Neither knew what to expect, it wasn’t often that either heard Audi howl. Landon peered to his left as he came around a tall standing tree, and there stood their loyal german shepherd, both ears completely raised.

“Something’s wrong,” Layla said, turning her fearful gaze at her husband.

They raced toward Audi, who whined while pointing his nose downward, and there both Layla and Landon saw Axel, laying sprawled near a huge fallen branch. Layla rushed, falling on her knees beside Axel’s small vulnerable figure. Droplets of blood slid down the top of his forehead underneath thick parted bangs. The boy’s blue pants that cuffed around his ankles were ripped at his left knee, while his tiny buttoned blue jean jacket presented no damage. Kneeling down, Landon quickly pulled out a black bandanna tied around his own arm, then applied pressure to the injury. Axel’s eyes slightly opened.”Axel honey, mommy’s going to lift your head,” Layla said. “You have to stay awake, and tell me if this hurts.”

Layla placed one arm between the ground and Axel’s head while using her other to reach across Axel’s upper torso, gently elevating his cranium atop her lap. Landon then tied the bandanna tightly around Axel’s head onto his wound.

“We must get him into town,” he said calmly.

“Audi…” Axel called out weakly.

“Silly boy,” Landon said, smiling as he looked down upon him. “Audi’s just fine, it’s you we’re rather worried about.”

Audi howled once, twice, then thrice, each moan growing longer every interval. Their faithful pet’s howls continued, now growing louder as birds scurried from treetops above. Landon kept staring in the exact direction that Audi did, then he felt earth beneath his feet vibrating. A faint aroma of burning smoke and sulfur began overtaking the nearby atmosphere. Audi’s howls now turned into loud yelps as he faced toward his owners. Then… trimmers on the ground stopped while Audi’s yelps and whining intensified.

“Let’s move Axel now, even though he’s hurt,” said Landon.

As he hurriedly paced near them, Layla’s features twisted with absolute horror while her eyes peered upward pass him. This caused Landon to attempt turning but before he could…

BARK… WHAM… SNAP… SCREAMS…CRACK…BLOOD…Crimson splattered droplets slid down Layla’s petrified face, her once clean clothes now stained. She’d seen everything that happened…. Right before her husband could turnaround, a gigantic dragon swooped in from the skies above, wrapping Landon almost completely within its thick tail just before landing down, recklessly smashing surrounding trees, sending bark in every direction … Wham went Landon’s body slammed to the ground violently all the while being bound tightly, snap went many of his bones as he hollered out in pain. Crack shattered all of his frame as the pressure of this monster’s powerful tail instantly crushed… Blood went in every direction, spilling out of his orifices and skin as it ripped…The dragon loosened its tail, then began feeding… Awe struck, Layla helplessly watched her disfigured limp husband being devoured, but still, no scream could surface from her mouth. Only within her wildest child fairytale stories could something like this even exist… Survival instincts finally clicked inside of her while onlooking Landon’s final remains being eaten, then she realized her and Axel would be next. Layla cradled Axel, scooped him within her arms frantically, and sprinted through the forest clumsily.

THUMP…THUMP…THUMP….THUMP… Nearby forest grounds vibrated with each pacing step from the weighted monster. Thickets yielded, trees sizable and small fell over, nothing around could halt this creature from its hunt. While panting desperately, Layla’s hair-raising fear intensified as she gazed back and saw a figure behind her…

“Audi,” she said aloud, neither stopping.

In all Layla’s disoriented worries, she’d somehow completely phased Audi out of her mind after the dragon appeared. Though miraculously, they’d made it back onto the trail, which led them into more of an open field. Suddenly, from unclear skies dropped down the heavy dragon, reverberating the earth. Terrified, Audi jolted to his left, and became entangled underneath Layla’s feet, causing her to trip. Axel went forward out of her arms as she tumbled face first on Audi, who whimpered on impact, keeping on all fours between her and Axel.

Audi raced to Axel first, who lay on his back. Dazed and exhausted, Layla slowly got to her knees…Whip… the dragon’s thick tail swung, knocking her several feet away from both Audi and Axel. Movement from her ceased, and there she died. Afraid but loyal, Audi lay down on his belly, attempting to wrap around Axel, his nose on one end and his tail on another.

The dragon drew near, peering downward at them both, pupils slit, eyes wild. Not sensing a trace of panic from the incapacitated boy, combined with Audi’s stillness pacified this monster. The beast dropped down from all fours mimicking Audi, only its massive frame completely encompassed both Audi and Axel. The dragon rested its elongated nose on the ground, pointed toward Axel and Audi. Once ferocious, it now breathed out warm air through its nostrils without even a hint of miasma for the rest of the cool afternoon while resting…

As dawn came round, white snow coated everything within the forest and fields, everything except for Axel, Audi, and the Dragon. Even Audi fell victim to sleep through the long hours and comfort of warm dragon’s breath that night, this reptile’s belly heated like a furnace as it inhaled and exhaled deeply. Axel stirred, then opened both eyes, raising up slowly without Audi waking. He saw its elongated nose pointed directly toward them, and a single sharp fang protruding out of the dragon’s closed mouth on one side. The boy walked nearer, recognizing the beast for what it was even without having a full scope of its entire body. Wanting to touch, he closed in nearer, the dragon’s breath getting stronger and warmer as he approached, which made him stop.

“Dagon…” Axel said softly.

His head throbbed from the injury, so Axel placed one hand on the bandanna tied around his wound, then he fainted, falling on his back. Audi raised his head, eyes wide open. Getting up on all fours, Audi loyally paced to Axel, licking his face, trying to awake him. Nothing worked… no movement, only breathing persisted… so Audi curled around him once again, and lay his head down as well.

Suddenly, the dragon’s eyes opened, revealing yellow irises with slit pupils. Audi raised up and howled… Staring directly at Axel and Audi, the beast arose its towering neck, looking downward. Its colossal form then evaporated, everything outwardly about this beast instantly becoming human, and there appeared a seven foot tall muscular man on one knee, long blonde hair hanging over his face. Audi quivered, watching him raise upright unclothed. Outward pointed his arm, then within his closed fist materialized a heavy brown cloth caped garment that he wrapped around himself for covering from neck to toe. He stared at Audi and the sleeping child… Still harboring some of his dragon amplified senses, William could smell the night old cold corpse of a woman nearby buried beneath snow, but couldn’t understand why the kid and dog were still alive. This wasn’t at all like his inner beast, leaving a trace of life behind.

William sensed supernatural phenomena, so he turned, facing in that direction, then a dark portal opened. Out of this passage came a veiled assassin draped in pure white garments, only his stone cold eyes being uncovered. Though being a foot shorter than William, he approached without fear, standing only a shoulder length away. William glared down at him just as aggressively, neither shifting eye contact even with Audi barking continuously.

“The businessman sent me with a message,” the assassin said, his deep voice penetrating straight through his mask. “He’s requested your attendance.”

“How much does he know,” William asked sternly.

The assassin turned his back on William, gazing at Audi so harshly that the german shepherd stopped barking, now only standing idly in front of Axel. Winds picked up as an aura thickened around him. “Everything,” he answered, his drapes flapping like sheets while William’s hair swept across his own eyes.

The assassin paced toward the opened passage, and as he closed it from behind after going inside, the atmosphere calmed. William turned away from Audi and Axel, opening a portal of his own which displayed the inside of a hidden elevator. Without hesitation, he made way to leave, but inner turmoil stirring pulled him from abandoning with a violent pulse.

“What, this beast inside clinging,” he said lowly. Body turning, he now again faced Audi and Axel. “It’s them, it wants them…”

William materialized a gigantic sword within his right hand that stretched from his waist to the ground. Fine tip pointed downward, he dragged this cold steel blade through the snow nearer to Audi, which set the german shepherd off. Audi rushed forward, but William partially metamorphosed, stretching a portion of dragon’s tail out, wrapping it around the dog’s torso, then lifted Audi up helplessly while continuing to pace toward Axel. Audi whined, howled, and struggled to no avail. Wielding his large weapon, William plunged it into the snow, penetrating hard dirt so it would self stand.

“…But not dead,” William breathed out.

He knelt, cradling Axel, then switched his tiny frame over to his left arm and arose. Audi barked, howled, and squirmed adamantly, wanting nothing more than getting to Axel. William aggressively swung Audi around in front from up high, tightening his powerful tail’s grip.

“QUIET!!!” He roared loudly, his blue eyes piercing.

Fear stricken, instincts broken, Audi coiled up within William’s tail, ears hung back while trembling as they all entered the open portal. William turned away from Audi, facing the double doors of the elevator as his passage closed from behind. He pinned the dog against the upper corner with his tail. Refined and decorated was everything within this oversized elevator; the wooden lion carvings from end to end on each frame perfectly offset soft embedded red padded walls. William pressed a single button that took them upward as rich classical piano music played on elegantly… Ring, the elevator sounded, then golden double doors opened, revealing a private loft.

William walked forward inside of a Marie Antoinette style living room of white and gold. One porcelain blue and white steaming teapot along with matching sets of cups rested upon a small decorated table underneath a royal chandelier. Pass this structure he stood with perfectly trimmed jet black hair, fixated more on himself than William, staring through a large rectangular mirror surrounded by golden frames. White and black suit astute and proper, the businessman noticed the german shepherd hanging helplessly, high as the chandelier, then sighed as he rolled both eyes while tightening his tucked in tie.

“You sent Abbas,” William said, his deep tone unwavering. “So I’m assuming you know enough already.”

“A crushed and devoured step father, slain biological mother who suffered broken ribs, broken neck, dislocated shoulder, severely punctured lungs, fractured spine with several contusions,” Yuki continued getting angrier with each listed detail. “A roughed up pet hanging underneath my ceiling, ahhh…” he went on, white teeth clenched while flinging his right open palm out toward the porcelain teapot, shattering it with a streamed shockwave of power from a distance. “And a boy injured prior to these attacks sleeping snug within your arm. What is wrong with you? Not only you are being watched, but we’re all being monitored,” Yuki stated, withdrawing his right arm back to dust off one shoulder.

“The beast within wants them alive,” William explained.

“So with all the predatory instincts of that thing, you couldn’t get it to crush or gobble them up too,” said Yuki, calmness returning.

“It wavers toward their direction… but this disposition could certainly change abruptly,” William answered.

“Have you forgotten that we’re all members of Faction,” said Yuki, eyeing William through the fancy mirror. “Might I tell you that there are no rivaling alliances anymore.”

“What…. What’s happened since I’ve been… you’re telling me…” William paused nervously.

“Yes, Tenskwatawa, once closest to the door has been eliminated, deceased, dead.” Yuki said ominously.

“But how, when…”

“Yesterday, somewhere between your raging escapade terrorizing normal people and sleeping,” Yuki replied, still unturned from his vanity. “Perhaps this is why your strange behavior maybe went unnoticed. Either way, this kill changed everything, Faction’s only achilles heel is no more, which means its upper syndicate now run this entire show and the shadow world, get it.” Yuki smoothed over each eyebrow with one index finger. “We’re now twelve years until the dreamstorm’s completion, and we all know the rules decreed. Only one survivor will be chosen or once again it will sleep dormant. Progressions within it will proceed much more rapidly without Tenskwatawa holding it still against…”

“Lord Pisano,” William said, his eyes narrowing.

“Indeed,” Yuki assured him while adjusting both sides of his own blazer’s collar. “Someone who resides so deeply within the storm that no one can touch, now has no rival. According to relayed rumors, Pisano’s found some way for all Faction allies to survive while also becoming its chosen. So do nothing suspicious…” The businessman look at the cradled boy’s reflection through the mirror. “Like harboring captives… You’re to proceed with your orders given down, killing off any newcomers that the dreamstorm adopts. The storm will reach its maximum of thirty picks before the thirty fifth year is up. Remember, we are currently at twenty three picks with thirteen deceased.”

“That leaves ten with seven newcomers still to be,” William said ominously. “But what about those two that allied with Tenskwatawa, have they assimilated with the syndicate as well?”

“No,” Yuki replied. “Nanu and Wah, have yet to surrender, but neither of them have the power to rival Faction’s upper members, though their abilities do allow them to go virtually undetected consistently.

“Then Asani betrayed amongst them?” William asked, catching on.

“It would seem as so,” Yuki answered. “But apparently for Pisano’s plan to work, Faction must have zero resistance, and its members must be in complete synchronization. William gazed down at the boy within his arm momentarily. “ One hour, that’s all that I can give you in this place undetected without it becoming suspicious. Twenty four hours is all I’ll give for you to get that child away from us or murder him.”

“Why give me any options,” said William, gazing at Yuki.

“For goodness sake, even a ruthless businessman knows to keep his karma somewhat clean,” Yuki said snootily. “Killing small children is just bad juju.” Yuki paced to the private elevator, opening double doors with the push of a button. “And please, if you’re not gonna outright kill it, put that damn dog down!” William placed Audi gently on the symmetrically designed rug. Upon entering, through his peripheral vision, Yuki vaguely spotted the white veiled assassin standing. He looked over completely at the back corner, then turned, facing both doors as they closed. “Can you keep this place undetected for another hour?”

“If required,” said Abbas.

“Good,” Yuki uttered. “Trusting Faction completely would be simply irresponsible and lacks selfish ambition. They’ve ramped up on spying, so there must be something Pisano doesn’t want us subordinate members knowing.”

“Certainly,” Abbas agreed.

“You know for sure?” Yuki posed, the private elevator speeding downward.

“Only bits and pieces,” the assassin answered. “But from what I’ve gathered, it could be game changing, perhaps polar shifting balances of power.”

“Keep me informed,” said Yuki. “Working together is absolutely necessary.”

Abbas opened a portal by pressing his palm against the corner frame, then walked backwards into scrambled darkness just before the elevator stopped, his portal closing in front of him. Quite annoyed, Yuki sighed, then walked out of both double doors after they opened.

Still a bit fatigued from his prior full metamorphosis, William sat down on an elegantly padded wooden white chair. Directly across on a couch where he’d placed him, slept the child his inner beast chose to spare. Very much still shaken, Audi only lay down timidly, nose touching the carpet, quiet as a mouse. William knew he had to get the boy to another close family member, as his inner dragon not only wanted this child alive, but also safe and sound. This stipulation very much being a requirement, William closed his eyes, then focused his mind while a green aura surrounded his body. He opened files by communication with the supernatural dreamstorm, using his mind’s eye to image the boy and match his face to a profile… which read… Axel Buchanan, age three, son of Layla Gordon and ex-husband Michael Buchanan. William stopped on Michael Buchanan as the astro library profile listing only went into more detail. He honed in on Axel’s father, finding that he currently resided within downtown Seattle, Washington at a high-rise apartment complex.

William’s aura gradually faded, and he opened both eyes as he sensed Axel stirring from his sleep. William sat, watching as he got up, feet not near touching the floor as he turned toward the only person before him. “Dagon, where’s Dagon,” he asked frantically, climbing down from the three seater couch.

As Axel approached William, this suddenly gave Audi enough courage to get up and swiftly move beside the child protectively, attempting gently to guide Axel away from William with his pointed nose.

Axel continued. “Where’s Dagon,” he repeated, looking up at William, who had no idea what the boy meant. Then, William’s pupils shifted from circular into diamond formations, irises yellowing intensely, bloody red engulfing whiteness of eyes as Audi shook. Axel stared into them as William’s face started to green. “Dagon,” the boy uttered in recognition, reaching his arms up.

“So you saw it as well as it saw you,” William said, taken aback. He turned, then lifted Axel up, placing him on his large thigh. “This beast inside rumbles so ecstatically with you that it answers back.”

“Dagon, Dagon,” Axel called out innocently. “If we are here, where is mommy…”

William paused, recollecting his beastly sense of smell in the woodlands where a feminine cold corpse lay sprawled out under fresh snow. He felt sympathy for this boy, who he accounted for as a victim of circumstance. Audi timidly made it over, timely placing his head on Axel’s lap. William peered down at the animal as it stopped shaking after being continuously stroked by Axel’s touch. Audi’s head raised as Axel placed each hand on William’s leg, attempting to climb down. William placed both hands underneath Axel’s arms, then put him feet first on the floor near Audi.

“Dagon,” said Axel excitedly, staring up into slitted eyes. “As heroes… we must find mommy.”

These words hit William hard, though the dragon only felt excitement, for this was the first time it had ever been liked instead of feared.

“Then we shall go find her,” William played on, getting up from the chair he sat on.

“Yeah,” Axel yelled with excitement. William raised his hand, then materialized a large battle sword that reached from his stomach to the wooden floor, striking the surface with its tip. Audi’s heart plummeted with fear while Axel and the inner dragon’s raced for adventure. “Wow, wow!” Axel said, mesmerized at this power. A suit of knight’s armor appeared underneath William’s heavy brown cloak, then he ripped off excess outerwear, tossing it upon the chair. “Me next, me next!”

“And of course,” William complied, forming a small open pocket knife within his large left hand. He reached down, handing this to Axel, who grabbed the hilt then turned and pointed its tip outward with Audi by his side. “Careful, for that is a real weapon.”

“Okay,” said Axel, pointing toward the next room. “This way!”

Just before they marched through the doorway, William opened a portal to Michael Buchanan’s apartment room. He closed off this passage behind them, very aware that they could be tracked now by other storm warriors. The one room apartment wasn’t at all spectacular. All lights were on, and in the tiny kitchen along a counter, William noticed a photo of a small girl, looking exactly the same age as Axel. William used astro storm files to identify her, which quickly profiled her as Sandria Buchanan, twin sister of Axel Buchanan.

“This is sissy’s house,” Axel said, making his way forward to the bedroom. “Daddy… Sandri…”

“Wait lad,” Willam said, instinctively reaching out to halt the child from proceeding. Axel’s face riddled with questioning at this. “Remember, heroes have to be careful for villains at all times, right.” William’s inner dragon and Audi could smell it through their animalistic senses, a fresh male corpse. Axel nodded with an adventurous playful smile. “We may have to rescue them from evil.”

William paced through a single small hallway, his sword in hand. Axel trailed behind with his pocket knife, along with Audi at his side. William was first to reach a corner turn where he sighted the bathroom, and there he lay dead inside his own tub, Micheal Buchanan. None of this should have been right, the storm files didn’t list Micheal Buchanan as deceased, yet there he lay, blood spilled from his wrist. Audi growled, then William turned around before Axel could reach this cruel murder scene.

“Fee, fi fo fum, where did Audi, Axel, and dragon run,” a sinister voice sounded off from the living room. “Come on over now, or do you not want to save sissy.”

Armor chinking, William hurried, gently placing his palm on Axel’s head as he passed him and Audi to reenter the den. And there stood a toned man dressed in a white trench coat and pants. William profiled him quickly as Jake while noticing that he had Sandria, roughly gripping the back of her frail neck until she moaned in pain.

“No Audi,” Axel called out.

William glanced down, spotting Audi, who stood in front of Axel to stop him from proceeding forward, then peered back up in anger. Afterwards, William witnessed the unforgivable as Jake materialized a katana inside his free hand, then plunged it completely through Sandria’s abdomen. He released her neck and she fell in front of him on the floor, blood pooling from her injury while also dripping from her mouth. Axel yelled, tears pouring, his hand reaching out though Audi kept firm. William couldn’t understand why… why so much tragedy constantly rained down on the boy he and his inner dragon came to care for… first his mother, then father, and now he’d witnessed Axel’s twin sister ruthlessly slayed right before them. Anger seethed from inside, triggering his violent predatory beast within, blindness blinding rage, teeth clenched … then…

“ROAR!!!!!” William sounded, semi transforming, claws spawning and tail bursting forth at Jake as he charged, knocking the storm warrior completely through the corner wall. Sword clenched tightly, William’s serpent yellow blood shot eyes glared down, facial structure changed, greening skin scaled over. Instincts close to taking over, he knew… “Can’t let it spin,” he growled, choking down irate rage and fury for the sake of Axel and Audi not getting caught in a completely uncontrolled rampage. As he gazed down at Jake’s sprawled out body, William’s vision instantly blurred then returned, and where Jake’s body once was, there he saw the bloody corpse of Axel’s twin, Sandria. “No!” his gravelly voice echoed at the sight of this… then… CLAP, CLAP.

William turned his eyes to the sound’s source, and there Jake stood unharmed… CLAP, CLAP again went Jake’s hands, then William saw the entire apartment room cross dissolve into a hidden spacious high ceiling facility.

“Petty trickster, when!” William snarled.

“From the moment you opened that portal from Paris to Seattle, I simply switched it with my own,” Jake retorted calmly. “Such a temper, committing an egregious crime attacking an upper echelon member of Faction, treasonous I would say.”

“What do you want here!” Asked William.

“It’s the boy of course,” Jake answered. “What would make that unpleasant thing residing inside you spare him… Lord Pisano must know.”

“Die!” Yelled William, hurling his blade airborne at Jake tip first, the sword spearing through his chest cavity.

“No,” William heard after witnessing Jake fall. He quickly peered further right and there the upper Faction member stood, motioning his index finger. “You die.”

From the ceiling rained stalactic sickles, four of them piercing into William’s shoulder blades, and down he went on all fours, blood dripping profusely. As he approached, Jake materialized a long pointed spike within his right hand. Then an aerial portal behind him opened, and out came the assassin upside down, his open palm aimed at Jake. Intense waves shot forth, but before they could reach Jake; out came another man with dark hair dressed in a white trench coat, holding both hands out, absorbing the blast as Abbas flipped and landed on his feet.

“Timely as always, Tint,” said Jake.

The assassin raced toward William, and as he did, Tint began glowing in a purple aura, then shot a wave three times more intense than the assassin’s. Abbas tried to defend, launching a wave back, and as supernatural forces collided, his became engulfed, then both he and William were thrown back like rag dolls skidding across the floor. William’s resilient reptilian body allowed him strength to raise upon his knees while the assassin lay helplessly conscious, his left arm broken.

“Execute them both,” ordered Tint. “I’ll grab the boy.”

Tint materialized a double edge sword inside his right hand, raising it overhead after reaching near Audi, who cowered to Axel after witnessing everything these men were capable of. Tint swung his sword downward to decapitate Audi, but Axel held his pocket knife upward, then a blue dome forcefield clashed against Tint’s blade.

“That’ll be enough,” said Axel, grinning malevolently. Jake turned around from approaching Abbas and William as Tint jumped back completely on guard. Axel folded the pocket knife, placing it inside his pants pocket. “I guess playtime is over sissy.”

Axel clapped his hands twice, looking to Jake as he imitated him, then the entire scenery changed again into something neither William, Jake, Abbas nor Tint had ever witnessed. The floor which supported them turned into vast dense dark solid clouds where lightning flashed in intervals, followed by rumbling thunder. Above them all were shining orbs that revealed to be the only true light sources.

“Where have you taken us,” Tint asked authoritatively.

“Inside secret inner walls of the storm,” Axel answered, his voice still sounding innocent, but his consciousness elevated to an adult level. A metallic ring formed inside Axel’s closed right hand, on the opposite side of his fist the object formed an obelisk that connected to the ring, glowing blue on each corner while absorbing much of the surrounding light. Axel gently tapped Audi with the side of the pointed device, then a sequence of zeros and ones burst in the air, light surrounding them as Tint back peddled some more, and everyone watching idled in shock at what they saw. Audi became Sandria, and the girl murdered by Jake became Audi. “Great acting sissy, we fooled them all, just look at their faces.”

A smile washed over Sandria’s countenance, her ponytail hanging down her back. Axel tapped her head lightly with the obelisk, changing her hair color to pure snow white. She noticed this, looking at her long bangs.

“So you possess it then, the data dream, an ancient storm relic,” Tint said while frowning.

Axel stepped in front of Sandria, leading her along with him by his free hand toward William. He wielded the data dream, slashing it downward at an angle. From a distance away, blood poured from Jake’s face as he screamed out in pain, clutching his wounded visage.

Axel giggled. “That’s for killing Audi.”

They stood facing William, who could barely keep himself up on all fours eye level with them.

“Hi dagon,” Axel said happily. “No worries, I’ll heal you, but I need something first.” Axel placed the point of the data dream against blood from William’s shoulder, then this obelisk shined red on each corner. “Good, storage completed, now the injuries.”

The sickle spikes turned numerical as Tint neared Jake, and all of William’s wounds healed instantaneously along with the assassin’s.

“Now, all unwanted trespassers be gone,” Axel pronounced, then Jake and Tint found themselves inside their hidden hideout, and Abbas inside the businessman’s private room. “Okay, away we go sissy.”

Data dream raised, Axel opened a dark portal ten feet away, and as they marched onward, William stared at them from behind, trying to profile them again within the astro library for answers… access denied… is all he found on everything.

“What about Audi,” Sandria calmly reminded Axel just before entering.

Axel turned around, then pointed the data dream at Audi’s corpse. “Fibonacci resurrection,” he called forth, and sequences of numbers poured upward from the dog, and he stood up alive.

“Here boy,” Sandria said softly.

Audi paced over, licking her cheek while she pet his head.

“You planned all this,” William growled hostilely. “What in god’s name are you!”

Axel smirked mischievously, red light from the obelisk shining on his visage, reflecting off his eyes. “A demon.” Sandria gasped, covering one hand over her mouth while she stared wide eyed at Axel. “Just kidding sissy, I’m not really a demon.”

Sandria smiled, then entered the passage along with Audi at her side. As Axel halfway entered…

“And what does a demon seek,” William posed.

“Alignment to misalignment,” Axel retorted while gazing over his shoulder. “Figure that one out human… or should I say beast of the field… Also, I granted you a hidden gift when I healed you. Let’s just call it inner peace. After I leave, you’ll be phased out of this dimension of the storm like those others, but I shall collect for dagon.”

Axel entered his portal, and as he did, everything around William cross dissolved, and there he found himself back in the woodlands of Scotland, alone once again.