~~~~~~
There's a large room covered in vines where Miranda and "Conal" are sitting in now. The room was lit up with a green jewel in the middle of the room, surrounding it was eggs covered in a slimy green substance that were as big as basketballs. Miranda had her legs against her chest with her back against the wall, she was watching "Conal" laying on the ground with his front side being lit up by the green jewel. The vines and roots was quickly healing his hole in his stomach when Sssesthanag had stepped in.
Miranda:You're back...
"I had to check on my brother. I handled everything well with Daniel so the removal of his life source was a success"
Sssesthanag didn't have a change of expression as he approached to "Conal" and helped him sit up. "Conal" laid against his arm and he glances down to see his stomach quickly recovering. Sssethanag pressed his thumb and pinkie against the temples of "Conal" and a faint glow had lit up, "Conal" had opened his eyes to see a blurry figure in front of him with blond hair.
"Sssesthanag?"
*he asked with a low and raspy voice, Miranda ran towards his side and grabs his hand*
Miranda:You're alright! Thank god...
"Where is...?"
"Daniel is dealt with. Now that you're healed, we should continue the next step of our plan and gather the H'ylthris"
~~~~~~
Davos:He's gone! He's gone...god!
*he cursed as he punches the ground and Sparrow looked as if she was in a trance. She glances at Danny's pale face and touches his cheek, he was cold and felt his cheek bone*
Sparrow:He's cold...what will we...say to his friends?
*she asks with a soft and shaky tone as she kept her hand against Danny's cheek, she slightly turns to Davos for an answer but Davos looked to have ignored her as he abruptly stood up*
Davos:We have to do something! We're not letting him die that easily!
Sparrow:Davos...
Davos had already left from her sight as he began to frantically look around towards the direction of the pods. Sparrow just fell silent and looks back at Danny with her swollen glistening crystal blue eyes, her eyebrows arched and drawn together in between. Her fingers locked together with Danny's boney hand as he arm began to shake with her chest feeling numb as she glances down to their hands together. Her sorrow expression change instantly to her eyes widening when a faint glow was fading in and out from the tips of his fingers. Sparrow released his hand and turned it around for her two fingers to press against his wrist.
Her eyes sparked when she felt a faint beat under her fingers and called from Davos who quickly ran towards her and knelt down on one knee.
Sparrow:I can sense a heartbeat...
Davos:He's alive?!
Sparrow quickly nodded hidden excitement in her smile that she tried to hold back. Davos gasped to himself in shock and crawled towards the other side of Danny and shook his shoulder slightly.
Davos:Danny! Wake up! We need you alive!
When Danny didn't give a response, Davos stopped and removed his hand from his cold shoulder. His hand drooped down with slight disappointment in his tone, his expression was hard to describe if he was sad or annoyed.
Davos:Why isn't he waking up...?
Sparrow:His heartbeat is faint and slowly beating...it turns out that they didn't ended up removing his chi from Shao-Lou
Davos:So it's keeping him alive? How is that possible?! It never done that before...right? How can it even survive without his life source?
Sparrow just remained silent so Davos just took her silent answer as having the same question as him.
Davos:Didn't his heartbeat stopped a few seconds ago?
Sparrow:It did...it's quite odd. He must've died but came back a few seconds later with his chi bringing him back but...the chi from Shao-Lou can't bring people back to life, can it? If so we might have known about it from our father
Davos slowly nodded in agreement and looks back at Danny, whose face was as white as a bone. Davos then casts his eyes towards the vines that connected to the pods in front of him. Then his face brightened as he stood up and began to peak his head inside the two pods he was looking.
Sparrow:What are you doing?
Davos:That tree took his life source. He won't be getting better if he doesn't get it back...so I thought, if the H'ylthri can remove someone's life source then can't the Iron Fist do that as well?
Sparrow:Davos!
*she was flabbergasted to the idea. Her eyebrows were furrowed tightly together as she yelled at him, Davos didn't pay much mind and continued to explain*
Davos:If Danny can take in at least a few life sources for him to move and use his fist again then we can defeat the H'ylthris
Sparrow:Then what about the people's life sources that you're sacrificing for Danny?!
Davos:Sparrow this is all we can do for him to come back! We can't wait for Danny to get better at his own pace since his chi might not be able to handle it and would die on him and our home will be gone! We have to do this!
Sparrow:Would he be able to contain it?! He's on the verge of dying and this amount of force and energy will kill him instantly!
Davos:We don't have a choice! We can't wait around while our city is falling apart!
Sparrow was turning red at this point but still tried to remain calm as she rubs her forehead with a sigh. Davos was also silent and turns back forward to the vines connecting to the pods. He looks at the unconscious 2 people inside the pods; one was a woman and the other was a young teenager who looked to be a bit younger than Danny. Davos felt a surging feeling rise in his chest as he clenches his fists and looks downward.
Davos:Sparrow...I don't want to give up people for Danny to live as well but...do you think we have a choice? Our home was ambushed while Danny was away...our father is in here trapped with the rest of the soldiers and mother is still hidden in the city. We can't just give up and run head first towards the H'ylthris, they're more stronger than we are now there are too many of them...we need Danny. He managed to harm the imposter Conal that not even his abilities was able to heal it...and they weren't able to remove his chi since he still has it
Sparrow:Davos, this idea of yours is too dangerous...we don't know what it might do to Danny. Danny might not be able to accept it since it's the life source of another person and gotten accustomed to the one removed from him...he might even get worse
Davos:...that might be true but what about his boyfriend? Do you think he wouldn't try to murder us if we go back and tell him the news that Danny is brain dead at the moment?
Sparrow:Won't he act the same if Danny ends up dying for your experiment?
Davos:He might either die or survive...we have a 50/50 chance if we do this Sparrow, shouldn't we take this chance?
Sparrow stared at Danny with her eyes narrowed. She was still unsure of this choice but she knows that they're running out of time. She stood up and stepped beside Davos as she kept her eyes on Danny, then she turns at Davos.
Sparrow:How do we do it? We haven't seen the H'ylthris take life sources or hand it to someone else
Davos:It's possible that they can remove a life source by their vines and roots, and if you look behind the pods they're connected with their vines as well. Maybe the vines are stabilizing the people in here to hold their life source together
Sparrow:Seems likely but where does the vines lead to? If the vines are holding their life source together then if we cut them, won't they die instantly?
Davos:The vine are heading into the stone wall...but without the iron fist we won't be able to break through
Sprrow:Then we should keep looking. The other pods might have vines as well so we should look where they're headed
Davos gave a short nod and walked to the other pods ahead of Sparrow. She turns to Danny with her eyes turning moist, then she followed Davos.
~~~~~~~
It was still the early hours of the morning and the dark hospital still had few nurses who worked overnight, the halls were silent but Ava's room wasn't. She was tossing and turning without having the urge to sleep and always come face to face with the very lit amulet on the desktop. The beeps from the room beside her that belonged to her sister was ringing loudly in her eyes, as if she was standing beside it. Ava covers her ears tightly as she hides under the blankets, until the beeps from the other room had stopped. Chills ran down her spine as she loudly breathed in the extremly silent room, her heart echoing her ear drums. In panic she removed the blanket over her head.
Ava was met with brightness shining in her eyes, she blinked a few times to get used to the blurry and burning vision in her eyes. Once her picture came to view she raises her eyebrows as she sat back up then they narrowed back down with suspicion. She was in her old room back in Manhattan. Ava looks down and realizes that she was wearing a pink cotton tank top with black sweats as her lower clothing. Out of instinct, her hand reaches to her neck but just felt her neck, then her hand slide on the bed beside her. She began to frantically pull the blanket off her and threw the pillows to the floor, she opened her small drawers between the bed and didn't see her amulet.
Ava just remained silent and slowly looks around her 'room' with unease. Her eyes casted towards the floor and her heart jumped when she saw blood and her family's bodies scattered in front of her. After a quick blink the scene was gone. Ava was struggling to breath and snapped her neck towards the door. She jumped off the bed and ran out of her room, ignoring the cold from under her feet.
"Mami! Mami! Estas bien?!"
(Mom! Mom! Are you okay?!)
Ava called out with frantic in her voice, her heart was beating like a drum. She stops at the top of the staircase as her heart drops. Her eyes widening to the scene before her; she saw her mom in the living room with her apron. Her mom looks up to Ava and a smile appeared on her face that made Ava's eyes water.
"Hija, ya estas aqui...¿tienes hambre?"
(Sweetie, you're already here...are you hungry?)
Ava ran down the stairs and jumped over the railing. This surprised her mom when Ava tightly wrapped her arms around her, nearly suffocating her. Her mom softly smiled and softly hugs her back.
"¿Qué pasó hija? ¿Te sientes mejor?"
(What happened sweetie? Do you feel better?)
Ava:Mami...te extrañe. Yo estaba sola...
(Mom...I missed you. I was alone...)
Ava choked on her tears as she spoke, she sounded hoarse.
"Estoy bien hija. Todos estamos aqui..."
(I'm well sweetie. We're all here...)
Ava:...t...todos?
(...e...everyone?)
She withdrew back with her hands on her mom's shoulders. Tears escaping her eyes she tries to hold back a smile but it didn't work, she was feeling hopeful.
"Ellos estan en la cocina hija.."
(They're in the kitchen sweetie...)
Ava lets out a small gasp with a wide smile and ran past her to enter the kitchen. More tears ran down when she sees the kitchen being lively; her sister, Awilda, was standing in front of the stove with a pot as her kids were being chaotic by running around the dinner table. Her aunt was placing plates and organizing the table, her brother, Filipo, was taking out a soda from the fridge. He looked so healthy, he looked like how she saw him as she was a little girl with his skin clear and bright. Her aunt and brother notices her and forms soft smiles, greeting her.
"Te dormiste bien Ava?"
(Did you sleep well Ava?)
*her aunt spoke before she continued to finish organizing the table*
"How do you feel?"
Filipo asked with the soda can in his hand, his back against the fridge. Ava just smiled without knowing what to say as her tears was drying up on her cheeks. Then, Awilda spoke with her back facing her.
"Hmp, asking that when she's crying. Are you dumb Pito?"
Awilda had a snarky tone in her voice as she glances at Filipo with a smile. He simply rolled his eyes to her comment, his smile present on his face. Ava ran around the dinner table and hugged Awilda's back tightly, it nearly made Awilda fall into the pot on the stone.
"Ava! You nearly pushed me into our food! Do you want me to be cooked alive?"
Awilda's voice was dramatic with a small pout. Ava lets out a small giggle and a tear slid out of her eye again. Then her mom spoke from behind so she freed Awilda from her tight grasp and wipes her eyes.
"Hija, ¿puedes llevar los niños afuera a jugar? Necesitas descansar...tu abuelita esta afuera"
(Sweetie, can you take the kids outside to play? You need to rest...your grandmother is outside)
Ava:Si mami...
(Yes mom...)
Ava said between her wide smiles and reached her hand out to the kids and Angela was the first to grab her hand. The kids and Ava quickly walked out of the kitchen to head to the backyard with excitement and laughter. When Ava first slid open the door to the backyard, the three kids instantly ran out and chased each other on the bright green grass. Ava softly smiled trying to hold back tears, then she turned to the side to notice her grandmother sitting on a bench with a light pink poncho with red roses being knitted at the tips, her hair was grey and tied in a bun, strands of grey hair would stick out. Her grandmother spoke in a raspy tone without turning towards her.
"Ava...siéntate conmigo hija..."
(Ava...sit with me sweetie...)
Ava sit down as she was told with a bright smile and wiped her eyes again from tears forming.
"¿Que paso hija...?"
(What's wrong sweetie...?)
Ava just slowly shook her head as she removed her hand from her eyes. She watches her nieces and nephew still running after each other and Ava took a deep breath in relaxation, it's been a long time she had that.
Ava felt like taking a break now that her family are safe and unharmed. She was feeling a bit unsure if she was dreaming or not since everything feels a bit too real. Her amulet wasn't with her so maybe before was just a big dream. Ava felt as ease and satisfied.
Ava:Nothing abuelita...I'm just tired...
~~~~~~~
Sparrow and Davos were following the vines that belonged to a section of pods towards a stone wall. The stone wall had cracks with small holes inside to peek in, it also had a hole in the bottom right where vines were entering in. They look at each other and began to push the wall forward and the huge rocks rolled to the ground. They continued to push the huge rocks and rolled it back from the path as they stepped inside before they looked around. They saw the vines curled up into a ball with a bright yellow glow to it, it was placed in a small room in the corner of the room. The two slowly walked towards it and could already feel the strong heat that was letting out so they stepped back.
Davos:That's...
Sparrow:...will it be enough for Danny to handle?
Davos:Maybe. We'll calculate if he took too much life sources and drag him away from this
Sparrow and Davos walked out of the room and brought back Danny who was still unconscious and frail as a feather. Davos was holding Danny as he was giving him a piggy back ride then bent down, Sparrow grabs under Danny's arms and pulls him away from Davos. They both sat Danny beside the ball of vines as his back was against the stone wall. Sparrow stood still when Davos had grabbed Danny's wrist, he gave a glance up to Danny and bit his lower lip. Davos places his hand over the vines and quickly ran back beside Sparrow as they watched this take fold.
Danny's fist was glowing and could see the yellow glow rise up his arm with his veins popping. This quickly made Danny's eyes shot wide open from feeling a fire starting inside his body. The yellow glow was rising up his neck and could see his veins glowing, his other hand began to glow as well. Danny felt like he was getting electrocuted and didn't have the strength to remove his hand, as if, it was glued to the vines. His veins were about to burst, his blood boiling as his hand began to sink inside the vines as if it was pulling his hand in. Danny's screams were even louder when his entire body turned into a glow yellow, it revealed his skeleton while a dragon mark appeared at his chest.
Tears would be evaporated from the blazing heat around his body and he turns towards Sparrow's and Davos's direction. They both gotten back when Danny had slowly took his arm out towards them, it was shaking terribly as his body trembled in pain. He was desperately reaching his hand out to them but both wouldn't reach their hand out to grab his, in fear of burning their hands off. Danny saw the frightened expressions on their faces and started to force his arm out of the vines and try to reach closer to them. From this action, the light in the vines were shining brighter and sparks were flying from outside the room. Sparrow and Davos turned to the entrance and saw sparks flying over the pods.
Sparrow turned white and turns to Davos to yell at him.
Sparrow:Remove him!
Davos:I can't! I'll die if I touch him!
Sparrow looked around frantically as Danny kept shrieking in pain as reaching for them. Sparrow looks down to Davos's ankle and took out a small dagger that was hidden under the ankles of his pants. She swings the dagger against the vines that connected to the pods and cuts it, the glow instantly faded away. The vines covering Danny's hand had withered and set his hand free, gasps were escaping from their mouths and their widened eyes stared straight at Danny. Danny's arm was already down from the vines being cut, and the intense glow from his body had slowly faded away. Sparrow and Davos crawled towards him in worry and Davos grabs his wrist but quickly lets go from its heat still remaining on his body.
Smoke was escaping Danny's hands and his shoulders. Both siblings jumped when Danny suddenly shot his head forward and opened his eyes. His eyes were glowing a bright yellow like before, the siblings felt goosebumps when Danny looked like he was staring into their souls. They both watched Danny starting to get up but looks like his body went stiff so he would fall over. They continued to stare at Danny after few struggles to stand, he finally managed to properly stand up and ignored the siblings. Davos and Sparrow both pushed themselves up and chased after him. Danny was already a few feet from them despite walking as a zombie and nearly stumbling over his own feet. Danny wouldn't turn back to look at them when they called his name, he kept walking forward, ignoring them.
Davos:The hell is wrong with him?! Did we turn him into a walking corpse?
Sparrow:...I'm confused as well
Davos slightly shook his head and continued to chase after Danny but Sparrow stopped him by holding his arm and pulling him back. Davos turns to look at her but he froze when he saw the pods, his face dropped along with Sparrow's.
Every single pod in the section were open with cold smoke escaping at the bottom of the pods. The smoke had exposed their withered corpses still standing in the pods. They bodies were thin and could see her bones, their skin would barely be attached anymore from seeing their teeth and black eyesockets. They all still had their hair and clothing on that looked large on them. They were all women, men, and teenagers. Davos felt his stomach spinning and looks away as he covered his mouth and nose with his hand, trying not to smell anymore of the decomposing bodies. Sparrow just froze with the bones of bodies starting to implant her brain while Davos began to force himself to speak.
Davos:L-let's go after him...w-we'll figure this out
Sparrow didn't gave a response, barely moving, so Davos grabs her wrist and drags her. Davos was pulling her as he ran towards Danny's direction, he swallows his saliva from his mouth as Sparrow looked dazed. The decomposing bodies still lingered in Sparrow's nostrils and bit her lip and tightening her grip in the hilt of the dagger from tears escaping her eyes.
~~~~~~~~
Ava's mother was calling for her from inside the house and opens the slide door. Ava looks up to her with a bright smile and she quickly stood up to her feet from the bench beside her grandmother.
Ava:¿Que paso mami?
(What happened mom?)
*she had a gentle tone as she cups her hands with her mom's*
"Estoy bien hija. La comida esta lista!"
(I'm fine sweetie. The food is ready!)
Her mom spoke loudly towards the direction of the kids playing, once they heard her say 'food is ready' they stopped playing and ran up the porch and ran inside the house past them. Ava lets out a small laugh that her mome smiled to, but she had a faint look of sadness on her face with her eyebrows lowering and smiled drifting away. She smiled again as she spoke.
"¿Puedes ayudarme a llevar a tu abuelita adentro?"
(Can you help your grandma to go inside?)
Ava:Si mami...
(Yes mom...)
Ava happily helped her grandmother stand up from the bench and softly held her arm and allowed her to walk in front.
"Gracias hija..."
(Thank you sweetie...)
*her grandmother spoke in her raspy and faint voice*
Ava's mother turns to her again and her smile had a small frown to it as she spoke.
"Ava...¿estas bien?"
(Ava...are you okay?)
Ava slightly tilted her head to this. Ava smiled at her without a slight bit of worry, she thought, why wouldn't I be okay?
Ava:Estoy bien mami!...porque?
(I'm fine mom!...why?)
Her mom just stared at her with her eyelids trembling so she glance away. Ava was now getting worried so her smile fades.
Ava:Mami...que pasa?
(Mom...what's wrong?)
Her mom just slowly shook her head and forms a soft smile again.
"Nada hija...ven..."
(Nothing sweetie...come...)
She grabs Ava's hand and both walked inside the house. Ava still looked concerned before they both arrived at the dinner table, everyone was sitting around the table with food and plates in front of them. It felt like they were all waiting for Ava to arrive when her mom suddenly released her hand and stepped back to allow Ava to walk to her chair. Ava glances at them awkwardly and sat on her chair, then her mom sat on her own chair beside her.
"Are you feeling better Ava?"
Ava looks up to face Awilda after she spoke, then she slowly nodded.
"That's good. I don't want to be the one wiping your tears"
Awilda joked before their mom cleared her throat and stood from her chair, she grabs Ava's plate and places it beside a tray of tacos then places them on her plate. Her mother began to speak as she poured red sauce over the tacos to make them a bit soft.
"Hicimos esto para ti antes de que despertaras. Queríamos hacerte sentir mejor..."
(We made this for you before you woke up. We wanted to make you feel better...)
She places the plate in front of Ava and sat back down. Ava tilts her head down to the food while everyone else began to fill their plates with small chatters. Ava faintly smiles to herself then glances back towards her mom's concerned expression.
Ava:What do you mean mami?
"Did you forget what happened Ava?"
*Filipo spoke as he poured coke in his glass cup*
Ava faintly squinted her brows together and was about to speak but her mom interrupted her.
"Esta bien hija...come primero"
(It's fine sweetie...eat first)
Ava nods and grabs the fork beside the plate to cut the soaked taco but stops when she began to think. She thought, why are they acting weird? Did something happen to me? I was...what was I doing actually? I was at a hospital and talked with Sam and the others before night...Was I just dreaming that? Have I gone crazy...if not, then where is the amulet? Papi isn't here so this must be after he passed but where is the amulet? Why aren't they asking about it? It feels a bit weird sitting in a lively table when most times we would be in bickers about my amulet...we haven't had a nice dinner like this in a while
Ava then mustered up the courage and then opened her mouth, everyone looked at her.
Ava:Is...my friends okay? My team...?
Her eyes were serious with red at the corners. Everyone looked at each other cautiously and were hesitant to talk. The table went instantly quiet but Awilda was the first to break silence by letting out a scoff, then pouring sauce over her tacos on her plate.
"Did your dumb little brain forget Ava? You left the team and SHIELD remember?"
"Awilda"
*her mom spoke sternly*
Ava:I-I did but I was in a hospital...they were there waiting for me to wake up...after...
"Hmp! Do we look like your team Ava? If you even end up in a hospital, I'll prepare the coffin"
"Awilda!"
Ava:W-what do you mean? What happened to my team?!
Awilda gave her a malicious glance and began to drink from her cup of soda. Ava turns to her mom with an upsetting expression, her eyes widening.
Ava:Mami...what happened...? Where are my friends?
*her voice was trembling as her mom just lets out a sigh and turns forward, avoiding her face*
Ava:Mami...!
*she began to plead but her mom refusing to answer*
"Ava...did you forget that you gotten the news of your friends' deaths yesterday? You fainted from hearing it..."
Ava just froze. Filipo was the one who spoke and his voice was soothing, Ava was trembling with her skin turning white.
Ava:I...impossible...I just saw them, they looked fine...They didn't die! You all did!
Everyone at the table went silent with their eyes widening along with their brows. Awilda spoke again in a calm tone as she places her cup of soda down, her dull brown eyes stared at Ava.
"Shouldn't you be happy that they're dead Ava? Wasn't it you who wished for them to die?"
Ava:...I-I...n-no...I didn't meant it...I-I was just...
Ava was stumbling over her words as her shin was crawling with goosebumps. She felt like throwing her heart out from her chest with her eyes down. Ava gasped when she looks back up when blood was splattered everywhere. Her family were staring at her with blood on their chests, showing the bullet wounds. Ava felt her stomach turn from this sight and covered her mouth from the possibility of vomiting. She noticed her hands being covered in blood and it had smudged her mouth. Ava's mind was chaotic with her throat burning and mouth going dry; she jumped when a hand touches her shoulder. When her eyes slowly looked in her right, her mom was looking at her with tears forming in her eyes and a small smile. Ava was iced on the spot when her eyes caught sight of her mom's bullet wounds on her chest and one in her throat.
Ava:...m...mami...p-por que...
"What do you think Ava? You gave up the amulet remember? You gave it up for us and now your team had paid the price for it...are you regretting it now? A bit late isn't it?"
Awilda spoke again but Ava kept her attention to her mom, ignoring the sound of a click from a gun behind her. Awilda stood up from the chair to approach Ava as she spoke.
"Listen hermanita, the amulet did this to us. Why are you still holding onto it? All it does is ruin lives...what good does it do? The amulet killed us, killed papi, killed your friends, and will kill you soon...You'll end up alone. Is that what you want?"
Ava:T-the amulet did...this
"It did Ava. Will you completely give it up or will you wait till it kill everyone else?"
Ava:...I can't...it belonged to papi...I-I-I shouldn't...they might need me...
Awilda was silent and slightly shook her head and spoke, she was talking towards their mom.
"Te lo dije mami...es terca como papi"
(I told you mom...she's stubborn like dad)
Ava was about to speak but heard two shots rang out and the smell of blood with flesh from her back. Her eyes rolled up and felt her head falling forward against the dinner table. Ava's eyes popped open and was met with darkness. The blanket was covering over her body causing her to sweat and breath heavily, her chest was beating up and down. Tears had soaked her pillow and her cheeks. She laid still trying to catch her breath and clenches her shirt. Minutes had passed when she finally removed the blanket and instantly gotten fresh air on her face. Ava turns to the amulet beside her, seeing it glow, then she turns back forward when she could hear the machine beeps from Awilda's room beside her. A sigh escaped her lips.
~~~~~~~
Miranda stood beside the stone throne that belonged to the two cosplayed H'ylthris. Sssesthanag was currently standing in front of the throne since it was bigger than he was now by cosplying at Danny. Miranda couldn't stand looking at him over a minute from reminding her of her brother who possibly died by him. Looking at his malicious grin and expression made her skin itch, she thought, is that what Danny would look like? It feels weird seeing him wear Danny's looks and act completely different from him...
Sssesthanag glances at her and Miranda instantly looks away from being caught as she tighted her grip on the hilt of the katana hanging beside her hip. Sssesthanag scoffs with a grin and spoke as he pushes his hair back.
"What? Do I remind you of your brother?"
Miranda:...it's odd to see you still looking like the guy you murdered
*she spoke coldly as she stood still, not giving him a glance*
"Haha! Shouldn't you applaud me? I killed the Iron Fist! He didn't even put up a fight! Tell me, why did they pick him again? He died so easily and here I thought he would kill me!"
Miranda squinted her eyes in disgust from Sssesthanag's sudden excitement. She then spoke again after a small cough.
Miranda:Weren't you afraid that he would have used his fist? From Conal's state it seems like he would have killed you instantly if he used it...did you do something to his fist?
"I did! He went insane when I tried to remove it and gotten free from the pod, but sadly it didn't last long and his fist just powered off"
Miranda:It did?
"It did. I suspected I would get something that powered his fist like our life sources from humans, turns out I was wrong..."
Miranda rolled her eyes from Sssesthanag's disappointed tone of voice as he spoke.
Miranda:He died then?
"He did. I listened to his heartbeats and it was so faint and was already turning into bones...he should be a decaying corpse now"
Miranda just silently nodded. "Conal" had walked in and Sssesthanag formed a smile.
"Brother. Are the others prepared?"
"They are. We're waiting for you to arrive. You took the Young Dragon's identity so we should catch them offguard"
"Ahh I see! This'll be fun..."
*he jumped down to "Conal's" level and approached him while Miranda did the same*
The three were walking together past plants and trees, but both "Conal" and Sssesthanag stopped. They looked around rather uneasy and Miranda turns to them.
Miranda:What's wrong?
"Hm...I sense some steps but I'm unsure who it belongs to"
"It sounds light...let's check on the army"
"Conal" sounded frantic and they both nodded in agreement. Sssesthanag and "Conal" were running faster than Miranda as if their feet were gliding against the grass, but Miranda stops when a figure suddenly appeared in front of her. Miranda was catching her breath and her brows furrowed when she sees Sparrow standing in front of her with her dagger in her belt. Both brothers stopped and looks back, "Conal" was about to help her but Sssesthanag stops him by placing an arm in front of him.
"Don't. Your lover can handle herself, she doesn't need our help. The H'ylthris are more important...if the little fighter is out then so is her brother, expect us to get warmed up before we invade the outside world"
Sssesthanag grinned. "Conal" nodded and both continued heading towards the H'ylthris, without sparing a glance back at Miranda. Sparrow's short hair was blown in the wind as she stood in fighting position.
Miranda:Sparrow...the Iron Fist is alive isn't he?
Sparrow:If he is? Do you think you can be able to beat him?
Miranda:I'll try...
*she grabs the hilt of her katana from her waist and slides it out its sheath*
Sparrow:A fighter doesn't require assistance from their weapons, it's merely a tool
Miranda grips the hilt and forcibly slides it back into its sheath. Both had their arms up with their hands formed into fists, then Miranda raised her leg to swing it towards Sparrow's head.
The H'ylthris were armed and notices movement in the bushes. They all stood in position when a bright glow had escaped past the leaves. They saw a figure stumble out of the bushes. Danny had stumbled forward and stood in front of the H'ylthris then slowly turned his head towards them, his glowing eyes widening up. He slowly turned his body around to face the plants as they raised their weapons and the ground began to shake.
Danny was unfazed by his dazed expression and in a split second, had dashed towards the first two H'ylthris with vines and roots crawing out of the ground, then with a swing of his arm the two H'ylthris were beheaded and collapsed on the ground while Danny stood behind them. Their life sources were on the palm of his hand and crushes them when he clenches his fist. The life sources had absorbed into his wrist and crawled up into his arm, a light breath had escaped his mouth and staggered forward. He could feel the ground rumbling under him and a rush of heavy air coming towards him from behind that was vines and roots.
Sssesthanag and "Conal" kept approaching towards the H'ylthris once they felt the ground shake. They both went faster as a dagger flew towards "Conal" from behind. The dagger had stabbed into his shoulder that made him stop, Sssesthanag stopped shortly after. "Conal" grabs the hilt of the dagger and took it out, his shoulder was quickly covered with roots so he tossed it to the side. Davos had jumped down from a tree and landed in front of them with a dark expression.
"Sssesthanag, go ahead. If they're both here then Daniel is most likely alive as well...you should be able to handle him alone"
"Conal" spoke as he turned his head towards Sssesthanag, he looked hesitant from his brow slightly wrinkled and frowned. He gave a small nod and kept heading forward, leaving his brother to handle Davos. Davos didn't have a weapon in hand as he tightly furrowed his brows, his eyes red with a clenched jaw. "Conal" was calm and then spoke with his hands behind his back.
"Daniel is alive isn't he? I knew I shouldn't have thought less of him, he is the Iron Fist after all"
"Conal" spoke with a small scoff and smile that made Davos furrow his brows even tighter. Davos clenches his fist and swung it towards "Conal" who had dodged to the side.
Sssesthanag kept moving faster once the footsteps from the distance had faded. He gritted his teeth at the thought of Danny still standing straight and alive to ruin his plans. This was planned for weeks and yet a blonde kid was going to mess it up for them, he thought to himself, I should have ripped his heart out instead!
By the time Sssesthanag arrived, he widened his eyes in shock with his furrows knitted together when he sees the figure in front of him. Danny was standing over the withered vines and roots that belonged to the H'ylthris, his head was down so when he faced forward dazed at Sssesthanag, his eyes were still glowing along with his fists. Green liquid was splattered on his cheek and knuckles, it even dyed his hair along with dried blood from earlier from his healed wounds. The ground was beginning to rumble behind Sssesthanag the more he tightened his fist, once he freed his fingers huge roots and vines began to crawl out and flew past him, heading directly towards Danny.
Danny, still looking dazed, had moved side by side to dodge the vines' and roots' from trying to touch him. Seeing this, Sssesthanag's eyes widened even more that his pupils shrunk, his green eyes was faint surrounding the black dot in his eye. His eyes traces down to the withered vines and roots in front of him, his face turned instantly red. He and "Conal" grew up with the withered plants in front of him, they were all close despite some of them acting like robots without an emotion. Sssesthanag felt a burning fire starting in his chest the more he watches Danny using his iron fist to punch the vines and roots after him, they turned withered the minute he touches them.
Sssesthanag remained still in flaming anger after Danny was done destroying the vines and roots. He stood over the withered plants with his head still down, his arms were lazily dragged down his sides. Sssesthanag kept his eyes locked on Danny's glowing yellow eyes when he looked at him, waiting for movement. Sssesthanag looks at Danny's glowing arms and noticed close details of Danny's current state. Glowing yellow like veins was crawling up Danny's neck and reached to his jaw, at each thump the veins would make the glow would be brighter. Danny's fingertips were twitching as smoke came out of his shoulders.
Sssesthanag was slowly changing his expression to calm and then forms a cold forced smile to contain his anger from glancing at his siblings' withered corpses. He slowly clapped his hands with a voice that sounded astonished and amazed.
"Good! Good good! I had underestimated the Iron Fist yet again! Not even death can take you to Hell! Care to explain to me how you managed to escape death despite your life source taken away?"
He asked as he slightly turned his foot on the ground to feel the vibrations under Danny. There was something weird that made Sssesthanag tilt his head slightly, he began to question himself.
(Weird...his heartbeat is faint as well as his footsteps. How did he manage to survive without his life source? Did he managed to hide the iron fist from me so I wouldn't detect it or remove it? He must have paused his heartbeat as well to completely be vulnerable to the fist...it is Shao-Lou's life source after all. What a smart boy)
Sssesthanag just scoffed to Danny's silence as he began to think some more.
(Even if he was depending on the fist then he shouldn't be acting the way he is now. He seems to be attracted to life sources since all of my siblings had life sources of their own and somehow, managed to kill them in less than a minute before I arrived...Young Dragon is acting strange and his siblings are fine...did they do something to him?)
Sssesthanag jumped back with vines supporting him before the glowing fist from Danny's arm came into contact with his face. Sssesthanag just lets out a laugh as Danny lifted his dazed head up to his direction.
"HAHA! Impressive! I've been feeling sad for not having a worthy fight with you before removing your life source, I'll be having my fun then!"
A wide pleased smiled was formed on his face once Danny had ran towards him and swung his glowing fist towards him. Sssesthanag slid back with a wall of vines crawling out of the ground to block Danny. Danny's glowing arm had punched through the wall of vines and began to tear it down, more vines were summoned towards his direction. He leapt up from the ground as he moves swiftly between the gaps of vines and roots that reached out to grab him. Meanwhile, Sssesthanag began to cloud his head with questions and a plan.
(He looks off yet still manages to move like a fairy. His wounds healed and doesn't look to be at a disadvantage...those brats did something to him back when he managed to set them free. Did they...?)
"Hahaha! What luck!"
Sssesthanag slide against the ground away from Danny into the forest and shoved his fingers into the dirt and closed his eyes. Danny slowly turns to the direction he was headed and swung his fist at the vines. Sssesthanag's fingers had turned into roots once dug into the dirt, he could feel his head slightly throb from the roots of his fingers quickly rushing into the room where the pods were in. Despite his eyes still closed, he could see the inside of the location of the pods from the roots crawing out through the cracks of the ground. The roots were crawling out and sees a large section of pods opened, the cold air was still rushing out which showed a clear view inside. His vision went blurry when he sees the bodies of skeletons inside the pods with their ripped clothing and hair still intact.
Sssesthanag could hear his own heavy breathing that his vision went black and roots quickly crawled back to his fingers. He removed his hand out from the dirt and opened his eyes. His eyes were widen and his pupils shrunk by remembering the scene of skeletons, his throat was burning and something dripped down his cheeks. Tears were rushing down his cheeks that landed on the dirt. Sssesthanag places his fingers on his wet cheeks, his brows furrowed in shock when he sees his fingers being wet yet sticky. He was completely baffled when he sees this and tears continued to escape his eyes.
Faint laughter escaped his mouth from the weirdness of starting to cry then his laugh grew louder and louder, nearly giving his lungs out. He continued laughing as tears continued flowing out making him choke, unknowingly he kept saying the same thing over and over again.
"I'm sorry...! I'm so...sorry! I didn't mean to...It wasn't my fault...! I'm so...so sorry..."
His voice went faint and his face went pale, small laughs would still slip past his lips with the corners of his lips barely forming a smile. His fingers twitched and he stares at the dirt and back at his hands, then remembering the amount of corspes. Then unexpectedly, a wide grin crawled on his face.
"He took their life source...hahahaha, he took it from them. No...he couldn't have been able to move. They did it...hahahaha! They did it...if I remove it from him then I'll be able to be stronger...hahaha! I never knew it could be possible..."
Danny approached near him in his dazed state and Sssesthanag turns his head towards his direction and stood up. He walks towards him now that Danny stopped walking and came out from the trees. Tears weren't wiped from his cheeks with his eyes still red, his grin was still creepily formed on his face.
"Young Dragon. You're here so soon...I needed a moment to compose myself and had to warm you up before fighting m-"
Before he could finish his sentence he dodged to the side a split second before Danny's fist collided with him. There was a moment of surprise in his eyes when Danny was mere inches away from him that he felt the burning chi in his arms melting his skin off. Once he was away he didn't bother to finish his sentence now that Danny was exchanging moves with him. Sssesthanag kept dodging from being touched by Danny's raging chi, he was feeling anxious from the fist trying to punch through his throat. Sssesthanag kept his attention to Danny's throat despite moving alot from his attacks. His eyes slightly squinted with his brows getting wrinkled when vines began to creep behind Danny, attempting to reach towards his neck.
Danny of course, sensed this and turned his body around to swung his fists towards the vines. Sssesthanag saw the chance from Danny's distraction and reached his left hand out towards his neck, his hand was going green to reveal the vines from getting closer to his neck. Then his eyes grew huge when he saw a yellow glow across his eyes and Danny's dull glowing eyes with his usual cold expression. Sssesthanag stumbled back when he looks down to his left arm to notice that his entire arm was ripped off, roots were peaking out from the shoulder. He was trembling in fear when he saw his arm quickly turning into withered vines from the corner of his eye at the bottom of a tree.
Danny's hand was filled with his green blood dripping from the tips of his fingers as it still glowed, he was staring coldly at Sssesthanag who was taking small steps back. He was getting terrified. He didn't expect Danny would actually rip his arm off. Sssesthanag spoke trying to hide his trembling voice.
"Young Dragon! Clearly you should take a breath!"
(Damn it!)
Sssesthanag glances down to the ground as he kept walking back, then he stomped his foot with a faint rumbling in the ground that went past Danny. Sssesthanag gritted his teeth, refusing to back down deapite how terrified he was at the moment. His arm wasn't able to heal so moves his fingers for vines to come out around them, and start reaching for Danny like hands. Danny spun to destroy the vines with his fist as Sssesthanag controlled a thick root slowly crawl out of the ground and wrap around Danny's ankle, then tightens its grip. Danny turns his head down towards the root then more roots began to wrap around his arms from behind. His arms were pulled back but forced to break free from his chi burning the roots, then vines wrapped around his lower body and up his waist.
Danny kept furiously trying to get free by ripping the vines from his legs but that failed once vines from the trees reached out and wraps itself around Danny shoulder and pulled his arms up. He kept trying to break free that sweat was dripping down his forehead, the vines from his legs had dug itsef into the dirt. Danny was unable to take his legs out and kept pulling his arms from the vines but their grip would be tighter, making him unable to move with his arms spread out. Sssesthanag was still cautious from Danny's sudden tantrum by still moving his upper body to get free.
Sssesthanag could easily laugh at Danny's stubbornness and his enraged expression that his brows furrowed tightly. His hair was in front of his face and messy while his head was tilted down. Danny shot his head up with his glowing eyes glaring deeply at Sssethanag and kept trying to move forward to rip his head out. Sssesthanag finally remained calm and began to smirk at his attempts.
"This brings back some deja vu doesn't it Young Dragon? I'm amazed! You managed to land a hit on me! You even went as far to remove my arm! How smart of you! Clearly the Iron Fist has some...tastes in handling your abilities. I had my fun! Even I was scared by you! I can't believe I thought you could be able to kill me...as someone who is wearing your image. Hahaha! We're the same person Young Dragon! Can you even manage to fight yourself? Or your "brother" Conal? How optimistic..."
Danny kept trying to get free once Sssethanag stepped towards him with his usual cold grin. Sssesthanag extanded his uninjured hand to grabs Danny's chin and forces his head up to look at him. Danny had a scrowl on his face when Sssesthanag moves his head left and right to look at the thumping glowing veins up his jaw that had reached his cheeks. A scoff was let out by Sssesthanag.
"See you in hell Young Dragon...You've done great service for us today, your death won't be meaningless"
Sssesthanag's hand from Danny's chin had moved up to his cheek as he himself, knelt down in front of him. They were both inches away from each other as Danny kept getting feral and more hot tempered. Before Sssesthanag's finger can turn into roots, he gotten headbutted by Danny against his forehead that forced him to fall back. Sssesthanag was about to yell but fear rose on his face that a wall of vines instead appeared in front of him, but that didn't stop from being punched in the chest feet away that he flew against a tree. Danny's left arm was free from the vines and the smoke from his shoulders was rising, his face was red from anger. He managed to free his other arm and gotten his lower body out from the ground. Sssesthanag was gasping when his felt cold air go through his chest that revealed a hole.
Sssesthanag was in the stae of shock from the state he was in that when he noticed Danny approaching him, he couldn't left a finger. From the distance, it looked as if flames was escaping Danny's fists from the glow getting brighter and brighter along with his eyes. He could see Danny's expression of pure resentment so clear from afar.
"Conal" was exchanging moves with Davos when he heard the ground rumble from behind, where Sssesthanag was headed towards earlier. Suspicion rose in his chest while still exchanging moves with Davos but stops when from the distance, heard the rustling of a tree from afar. He knitted his brows when he simply raised his hand and vines grabs hold of Davos's ankle and around his neck then pulls him back against the tree. The vines wraps around his neck making it impossible to breath, then vines wrapped around his body along with the tree.
"Conal" didn't give him a glance and instead quickly slid towards the direction of the trouble to help his brother. Fury began to cloud his mind and his moved faster, he arrived under a minute. His eyes widened when he sees Danny standing in front of Sssesthanag with his fists tightly clenched. "Conal" approaches them along with a moutain of roots and vines crawling out of the ground and forest. Danny looks back and his expression changed from seeing "Conal", he didn't noticed the vines and roots over him that had landed ontop of him, pinning him against the ground.
"Conal" helps Sssesthanag up and places his arm around his shoulder, then he took him away deep into the forest. Danny punches the vines over his body then after three punches, his arm gotten free and felt the air when he opened his fist from punching through. He continued to punch out a hole big enough to crawl out of. A loud breath was let out from Danny's mouth once he was out from being buried alive from the vines. Danny sits up then the glow from his fists had faded away, along with the glow in his eyes, revealing his dull green emerald eyes that was red on the corners. His face was pale as he continued to catch his breath with his face turned to the direction "Conal" took Sssesthanag, his chest was pounding and had a sour taste in his mouth once he bit his lip and softly clenches his fist.