04-01-2009, 10:55 PM
Zena had not been surprised with how the events pursuing Sebastian and his precious emblem had turned out. She knew right from the point that she had been reunited with her sister that she would be responsible for her. Sage depended on her; had since for seven years, so therefore she had expected that there would be more than one occasion where she would have to come to her sister’s aid. Although Sage was a burden unto her sister, Zena did need her. Whether the cerulean haired girl realised it or not, her dependableness, her wellbeing, was what gave Zena her strength. After all, it was the welfare of her sister, which had caused the young princess to transform into a Super Saiyan. She knew Sage would put the group in danger, so therefore, she was not angry with her sister when her aimless wondering had caused them to fall into a trap so early through their venture in the jungle.
As much as Zena hated Kai, she had to give the mastermind credit for reconstructing the jungle into an impressive and well planned death trap. Even herself, who she considered a young mastermind (probably not as smart as Kai Demolic, but very insightful nevertheless) had succumb a second of his discreet traps. A clever scheme by Kai, involved the ground forming a downward slope, which had caused her to tumble downwards into the water where the other two girls had soon joined. She knew that there would be a lot more traps she would have to look out for. She just hoped that the girls would not fall prey to them. She did not care for Ashe, but she assumed Sage did and Zena valued her sister’s happiness almost as much as her own, as selfish as it seemed. Despite the obstacles Kai had laid out for them, she believed that her diligence as a natural leader would get herself, Sage and Ashe through his underground terrain and lead them to the emblem she needed.
======
Ashe was the first to make her way into the dark room. That was exactly who Zena had hoped to go in first, just in case the door was wired with a trap, although it was not. A part of her wished it had been, in order to prove that acting without thinking (just as Ashe had done by walking into the dark room without caution) could result in severe consequences, in the worst case scenario, death. Zena was certain that she could easily get over Ashe’s death as the pink haired girl had no sentimental value to her, but then again, what kind of effect would the death of the pink haired girl have on her twin?
Sage rubbed the arms of the hooded jumper, which had been provided to her by her dear friend Ashe. Water easily found its way out of the fabric as she rubbed her arms more vigorously.
“What’s wrong with you?” asked Zena from behind, placing a hand on her sister’s shoulder, before she had a chance to enter the room. It was as if Zena was a cure, because the moment she felt her sisters hand on her, her trembling ceased.
“Nothing,” replied the smaller girl, making an effort to smile and then slowly, she stepped into the room. Zena would take a different approach, carefully examining the seals around the door for any signs of danger, just in case.
All clear, she said to herself, finally stepping inside.
“Sage…? Zena…?” the twins heard Ashe call from ahead. It was so dark that all the student could make out were a couple of figures.
“We’re here, behind you,” the blue haired girl who could barely identify the curvaceous figure of Ashe, replied.
They all heard a buzz sound, which made them grow suspicious. The buzzing stopped with a thud and then flames emerging from four corners brightened the room. Zena’s instincts led her to duck and then spin around. They could all see clearly in the room now. The door behind them was closed and more so, to all of their surprises, the room was completely empty. There were four walls with fire lamps attached to each wall, and the floor was covered with orange dust.
“The door’s closed!” Ashe panicked.
“I admire your observation skills,” Zena replied sarcastically, gazing at the door.
Ahead of them, there was a stony staircase at the northwest end of the room, which led to a closed, stony door identical to the one they had entered through.
“I know I’m not Zena,” she mocked, glancing at Sage and then to the door at the top of the long staircase, “but even I know something’s not right.”
Zena wanted to believe Kai had purposely arranged for an empty room, which was designed solely to make the three of them suspicious, but this was Friend or Foe, a place with nonstop action and she had learned the hard way that Kai Demolic was a maniac. She would have preferred to enter a room with dozens of gunmen aiming their weapons at them, than an empty room, because with this empty room, she did not know what to expect and situations were more dangerous when you did not know what to expect, as there is no way to prepare for them.
“We should make a break for the door ahead, before the floor splits apart,” Ashe suspected. Sage nodded in agreement, but something seemed to be bothering Zena, who did nothing but stare blankly into space. Sage knew that expression of her sister’s all too well, which was why she smiled rather than share Ashe’s puzzled expression. That was the expression Zena used whenever she was trapped in deep thought.
“No, stand still, all of you,” said the superior intellectual of the trio, snapping out of her trance with a blink from both of her sapphire coloured eyes. “Whatever Sebastian has planned for us, it will appear in this room.” She stared sternly at Ashe. “Move or even make a run towards the door… and you might regret it.”
“Better than standing still!” Ashe retorted.
Zena sighed. “Do what you-”
The sound of a vibration under the floor caused her to cut her speech. Now they all moved, Sage scampering about in fear with quiet huffs and puffs, while Ashe stepped back and forth with worry, Zena with suspicion. They all turned their heads to the staircase simultaneously, all agape as the ground just in front of the staircase opened up, while orange dust began falling into the rectangular shaped hole, which moulded. They all continued to watch with anxiety, wondering what would arise, until their eyes caught sight of a wooden coffin. The rumbling stopped, but the thumping of hearts began, especially Sage’s. A chill ran down Zena’s spine.
I’m not nervous…I’m not nervous…I’m not nervous, she kept reciting, but as much as she tried to convince herself that she was not, she actually was. Without the union of Zasha, Sage’s safety was not the only thing Zena feared. The blonde haired princess feared a number of things, and this coffin was one of them. She had a gut feeling that it was not empty and dreaded the thought. Sage was trembling. “Zena,” she called softly, but knew not to expect her sister to hold her; instead, it was Ashe who wrapped her arms around the blue haired girl.
If not for Sage’s heavy breathing, the room would have been silent. All eyes were still fixed on the coffin, which then it popped open, causing the trio to flinch, while Sage whimpered like a humbled dog. A monstrous head emerged from the coffin. It can’t be Zena denied, while a body emerged afterwards. A low and haunting murmur escaped its mouth as it turned its square head towards the trio. Sage and Ashe ejected a loud and long shriek. This was worse than a horror movie. Frankenstein was here in front of them, in the flesh. Its face was familiarly old and pale green in colour, with many creases. Its hair was jet black and slick, and visible, was the monsters most distinctive feature, the iron pole sticking through the side of its neck. The beast dressed in black, made its way out of the coffin sluggishly.
“I-Is that really Frankenstein? The Frankenstein?” Ashe spoke. She was not holding Sage with comfort anymore; she was gripping the blue haired companion with fear, as it slowly advanced towards them.
Zena gazed at the door behind her. It lacked a handle and even though it seemed like an automatic door, she knew it was locked. The same could not be said for the door ahead of them however. Whether it was or was not, they had to find out. In order to get to the staircase, they needed to outrun Frankenstein. She would have smiled, if she were not nervous. She found the courage to speak boldly though.
“Outrun him,” she stated, her eyes not moving off the monster. With her next sentence, her confidence retuned. “It’ll be easy.” She was much faster than this pale green monster, not to mention that she had her trump card, her combat teleportation. As scary as Frank appeared, the realisation that she was superior to it filled her with confidence and caused her to smile. It was the return of her confidence, which washed out the fear in her. “On the count of three, let’s all split and make a run to the staircase. One…” Frank continued his snail like pace towards the two girls huddled together. His motive to approach two individuals rather than one was likely due to the fact that he was feeding off Sage and Ashe’s fear. “Two…” It took two more slow steps forward, its black boots thumping hard against the ground with each step. “Three.”
Wasting no time, they all ran, Sage and Ashe towards west and Zena, east. Shockingly, Frankenstein took off into an unprecedented sprint, impressively, matching the speed of blue and pink haired girls. He managed to increase his speed, making it seem as if he had been toying around. Now he was faster than they were, and began catching up to them.
No.
Zena would not allow it to catch them. If it was as destructive, as powerful as she knew it to be, then it would tear the girls apart if it caught them. In a flash, the blonde haired princess disappeared and then reappeared, diving behind Frank and taking him to the ground with her.
“Zena!” Sage cried, spinning around.
“Go!” Zena cried, struggling to pin him down. “I’ll catch up to you.”
“Zena!” Sage cried once more. “I won’t leave you!”
“You’d only get in the way! I won’t tell you again, now get out of my sight!” she growled aloud, pressing the monsters head down, almost to the ground.
Ashe did not like Zena’s attitude and how insignificantly she treated her sister, but she did respect the immense dosage of courage she possessed. It was admirable. She knew she could not let Zena’s act of heroism be in vain. “Your sister is strong…and a vag,” the teen uttered with sincerity to the blue haired girl, taking her arm and dragging Sage along with her towards the staircase, which led to their exit.
As much as Zena hated Kai, she had to give the mastermind credit for reconstructing the jungle into an impressive and well planned death trap. Even herself, who she considered a young mastermind (probably not as smart as Kai Demolic, but very insightful nevertheless) had succumb a second of his discreet traps. A clever scheme by Kai, involved the ground forming a downward slope, which had caused her to tumble downwards into the water where the other two girls had soon joined. She knew that there would be a lot more traps she would have to look out for. She just hoped that the girls would not fall prey to them. She did not care for Ashe, but she assumed Sage did and Zena valued her sister’s happiness almost as much as her own, as selfish as it seemed. Despite the obstacles Kai had laid out for them, she believed that her diligence as a natural leader would get herself, Sage and Ashe through his underground terrain and lead them to the emblem she needed.
======
Ashe was the first to make her way into the dark room. That was exactly who Zena had hoped to go in first, just in case the door was wired with a trap, although it was not. A part of her wished it had been, in order to prove that acting without thinking (just as Ashe had done by walking into the dark room without caution) could result in severe consequences, in the worst case scenario, death. Zena was certain that she could easily get over Ashe’s death as the pink haired girl had no sentimental value to her, but then again, what kind of effect would the death of the pink haired girl have on her twin?
Sage rubbed the arms of the hooded jumper, which had been provided to her by her dear friend Ashe. Water easily found its way out of the fabric as she rubbed her arms more vigorously.
“What’s wrong with you?” asked Zena from behind, placing a hand on her sister’s shoulder, before she had a chance to enter the room. It was as if Zena was a cure, because the moment she felt her sisters hand on her, her trembling ceased.
“Nothing,” replied the smaller girl, making an effort to smile and then slowly, she stepped into the room. Zena would take a different approach, carefully examining the seals around the door for any signs of danger, just in case.
All clear, she said to herself, finally stepping inside.
“Sage…? Zena…?” the twins heard Ashe call from ahead. It was so dark that all the student could make out were a couple of figures.
“We’re here, behind you,” the blue haired girl who could barely identify the curvaceous figure of Ashe, replied.
They all heard a buzz sound, which made them grow suspicious. The buzzing stopped with a thud and then flames emerging from four corners brightened the room. Zena’s instincts led her to duck and then spin around. They could all see clearly in the room now. The door behind them was closed and more so, to all of their surprises, the room was completely empty. There were four walls with fire lamps attached to each wall, and the floor was covered with orange dust.
“The door’s closed!” Ashe panicked.
“I admire your observation skills,” Zena replied sarcastically, gazing at the door.
Ahead of them, there was a stony staircase at the northwest end of the room, which led to a closed, stony door identical to the one they had entered through.
“I know I’m not Zena,” she mocked, glancing at Sage and then to the door at the top of the long staircase, “but even I know something’s not right.”
Zena wanted to believe Kai had purposely arranged for an empty room, which was designed solely to make the three of them suspicious, but this was Friend or Foe, a place with nonstop action and she had learned the hard way that Kai Demolic was a maniac. She would have preferred to enter a room with dozens of gunmen aiming their weapons at them, than an empty room, because with this empty room, she did not know what to expect and situations were more dangerous when you did not know what to expect, as there is no way to prepare for them.
“We should make a break for the door ahead, before the floor splits apart,” Ashe suspected. Sage nodded in agreement, but something seemed to be bothering Zena, who did nothing but stare blankly into space. Sage knew that expression of her sister’s all too well, which was why she smiled rather than share Ashe’s puzzled expression. That was the expression Zena used whenever she was trapped in deep thought.
“No, stand still, all of you,” said the superior intellectual of the trio, snapping out of her trance with a blink from both of her sapphire coloured eyes. “Whatever Sebastian has planned for us, it will appear in this room.” She stared sternly at Ashe. “Move or even make a run towards the door… and you might regret it.”
“Better than standing still!” Ashe retorted.
Zena sighed. “Do what you-”
The sound of a vibration under the floor caused her to cut her speech. Now they all moved, Sage scampering about in fear with quiet huffs and puffs, while Ashe stepped back and forth with worry, Zena with suspicion. They all turned their heads to the staircase simultaneously, all agape as the ground just in front of the staircase opened up, while orange dust began falling into the rectangular shaped hole, which moulded. They all continued to watch with anxiety, wondering what would arise, until their eyes caught sight of a wooden coffin. The rumbling stopped, but the thumping of hearts began, especially Sage’s. A chill ran down Zena’s spine.
I’m not nervous…I’m not nervous…I’m not nervous, she kept reciting, but as much as she tried to convince herself that she was not, she actually was. Without the union of Zasha, Sage’s safety was not the only thing Zena feared. The blonde haired princess feared a number of things, and this coffin was one of them. She had a gut feeling that it was not empty and dreaded the thought. Sage was trembling. “Zena,” she called softly, but knew not to expect her sister to hold her; instead, it was Ashe who wrapped her arms around the blue haired girl.
If not for Sage’s heavy breathing, the room would have been silent. All eyes were still fixed on the coffin, which then it popped open, causing the trio to flinch, while Sage whimpered like a humbled dog. A monstrous head emerged from the coffin. It can’t be Zena denied, while a body emerged afterwards. A low and haunting murmur escaped its mouth as it turned its square head towards the trio. Sage and Ashe ejected a loud and long shriek. This was worse than a horror movie. Frankenstein was here in front of them, in the flesh. Its face was familiarly old and pale green in colour, with many creases. Its hair was jet black and slick, and visible, was the monsters most distinctive feature, the iron pole sticking through the side of its neck. The beast dressed in black, made its way out of the coffin sluggishly.
“I-Is that really Frankenstein? The Frankenstein?” Ashe spoke. She was not holding Sage with comfort anymore; she was gripping the blue haired companion with fear, as it slowly advanced towards them.
Zena gazed at the door behind her. It lacked a handle and even though it seemed like an automatic door, she knew it was locked. The same could not be said for the door ahead of them however. Whether it was or was not, they had to find out. In order to get to the staircase, they needed to outrun Frankenstein. She would have smiled, if she were not nervous. She found the courage to speak boldly though.
“Outrun him,” she stated, her eyes not moving off the monster. With her next sentence, her confidence retuned. “It’ll be easy.” She was much faster than this pale green monster, not to mention that she had her trump card, her combat teleportation. As scary as Frank appeared, the realisation that she was superior to it filled her with confidence and caused her to smile. It was the return of her confidence, which washed out the fear in her. “On the count of three, let’s all split and make a run to the staircase. One…” Frank continued his snail like pace towards the two girls huddled together. His motive to approach two individuals rather than one was likely due to the fact that he was feeding off Sage and Ashe’s fear. “Two…” It took two more slow steps forward, its black boots thumping hard against the ground with each step. “Three.”
Wasting no time, they all ran, Sage and Ashe towards west and Zena, east. Shockingly, Frankenstein took off into an unprecedented sprint, impressively, matching the speed of blue and pink haired girls. He managed to increase his speed, making it seem as if he had been toying around. Now he was faster than they were, and began catching up to them.
No.
Zena would not allow it to catch them. If it was as destructive, as powerful as she knew it to be, then it would tear the girls apart if it caught them. In a flash, the blonde haired princess disappeared and then reappeared, diving behind Frank and taking him to the ground with her.
“Zena!” Sage cried, spinning around.
“Go!” Zena cried, struggling to pin him down. “I’ll catch up to you.”
“Zena!” Sage cried once more. “I won’t leave you!”
“You’d only get in the way! I won’t tell you again, now get out of my sight!” she growled aloud, pressing the monsters head down, almost to the ground.
Ashe did not like Zena’s attitude and how insignificantly she treated her sister, but she did respect the immense dosage of courage she possessed. It was admirable. She knew she could not let Zena’s act of heroism be in vain. “Your sister is strong…and a vag,” the teen uttered with sincerity to the blue haired girl, taking her arm and dragging Sage along with her towards the staircase, which led to their exit.