| Gundam Wing: Legend of Mystiks Chapter 12 <No, not thousands,> Duo thought. <Just a few hundred. But with two heads and four tails and all those spikes they look like there�re more of them than that. Man, they�re ugly.> � So what�re the stats for these things?� Duo shouted over the wind. [They�re built for ground assault since, despite their wing size, they can�t fly. All they can do is glide. If you look close enough, you can see that there�s hardly any muscle for them to operate their wings. The flaps are weak and help keep them up, but after a while they get so worn out they can barely move. Otherwise, their stamina is incredible and their patience infinite. They can outrun just about everything and outwait just about anything known for its unusual patience.] � Are they natural?� [Iie. They were created several millennia ago by jealous or frightened wizards in an attempt to thin out the growing ranks of Mystiks. They broke the control over themselves and rampaged everywhere. Instead of just killing the older Mystiks and those with no family, they killed any Mystik.] � So why were most of the females killed?� [Let�s put it this way. All female Mystiks were �enjoyed�, but pregnant ones were delicacies.] Duo felt sick. <They were gutted. Like . . .> His mind conjured up images of Cosmos sprawled on the ground, her stomach area completely ripped open and devoid of organs. He held back the strong urge to throw up. � Why didn�t females just change to their third form and run? Weren�t the males backing them up?� [Hai, but at that time, females didn�t have any other form. Only as a result of the Ferals� appearance did they learn to bond with animals to assume that creature�s being completely.] � I see how females were special, but why males?� [Everything in the human body, even the brain, appeals to a Feral�s tastes. If they couldn�t get a female, a male would do just as well. To get through the skull, they use their beaks to crack it open like an egg.] <Oh gross. Did you have to describe it in such detail?> � What about regular humans?� [There are some attacks, but they�re rare. Ferals prefer the insides of things that have magic because they �taste better�.] � How do you know all this?� [I was attacked by one a few months ago. Luckily it was just one. I relocated anyway, just in case, but I made sure it died slowly so I could question it. It was very helpful. Very . . . informative. I know loads more.] She shrugged. [If you�re interested.] � Maybe later.� Cosmos landed gracefully on the sandy lake bank. Duo slid off and stood watching as the Ferals focused completely on him. It was unnerving. They were so quiet. Nothing moved. [Be alert, Duo. They can sense your power. Don�t panic, just stay behind me. They don�t know I�m a Mystik too, they just think I�m a female dragon because they can only sense my power as a dragon. They�ll go for you before they�ll come after me.] Duo stood still, barely breathing. His nose suddenly began to itch and he sneezed. When he looked up, a Feral was above him in the sun�s path, both mouths open and drooling. He could only stare in surprise. Then a slightly smaller shape butted the Feral into the lake. The Feral thrashed, then sank under the surface. Cosmos faced the rest of the Ferals. [Oh yeah. They can�t swim either.] � Want me to go out there?� She shook her head. [Not worth getting wet. Any Feral would willingly drown just to get a chunk of Mystik flesh. Stay right there. I�m not going anywhere.] � Can�t we call the others? They can�t be far.� [Far isn�t the problem. I�m not going to drag them into this mess even though they would do so willingly. We can handle it without putting them in danger.] Her crest rose in challenge and she arched her neck as a Feral stepped closer. She flared her wings suddenly, making them all jump back, and roared. They hissed and retreated another few steps. �We do not fear you!� �Then you shall perish!� Cosmos snarled. One whirled suddenly, hitting her in the head with its tails. She was knocked off her feet and rolled. She slowly phased back to her first form and stood. � Oh no,� she whispered. � Not now.� She seemed to be concentrating for a moment, but nothing happened. � Shimatta! A concussion!� The Ferals stood in surprise, then they all closed in on her. Duo ran to stand in front of her. � Over my dead body,� he muttered under his breath. � Don�t give them ideas!� Cosmos snapped, pushing him back. � You just stay there and don�t talk!� � What are you going to do?� � Take them on a picnic! What do you think?! They can�t be allowed to live! I�m going to massacre them all!� She closed her eyes and drew her arms back, forming �dragon wings� with her hands, then raised them over her head so her fingers were only a few inches apart. She brought her arms down forcefully to stomach level as she swung them to either side of her to form a circle. � Utter Annihilation!� The area containing she and the Ferals was engulfed in darkness. From nowhere, bolts of black lightning struck down and touched as many Ferals as it could before it was sucked back into nowhere. Duo cringed at the silent attack and the severe drop in pressure and had to swallow several times before he could hear correctly and make the pain in his head recede. The pressure grew and he held his ears so they could adjust on their own. When he looked around, three hundred of the Ferals were dead. The two hundred left were seriously injured. Cosmos walked around, making sure the dead ones were dead. She unknowingly got too close to an injured one and it desperately reached out with its tail and hit her legs, breaking them and sending her down. It promptly jumped up and set upon her, the rest, though all wounded near death, not far behind. Duo stared in horror momentarily, then dashed forward without thinking. He reached the clustered Ferals, some even standing on others, and grabbed the tails, pulling them out and throwing them to the sides. He fell to his knees by the bloody, still form of Cosmos. A frantic feel for a pulse turned up nothing. |