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[Gabe Puratekuta]

"How have you be--"
Motoko interrupted her. "Who is this. Father?"
Gabriel only smiled. "That's Husky. She's a very good friend of mine. Husky, this is my daughter, Motoko."
"Hajimemashite." the emerald-haired teenage girl said and bowed her head

[Chukchi Husky]

Husky was confused, but nuzzled Motoko to greet her. Husky then asked Gabriel, "How did you become a father?"

[Gabe Puratekuta]

"Well, it's a bit complicated. All I can say at the moment is that it involved the Kami-Dau and my blood." she answered, not wanting to explain the event again. "Nevertheless, she is my daughter and a grown woman and needs to be treated as such."

[Chukchi Husky]

Husky was still confused, but happy for Gabriel for having a daughter. She then hugged Gabriel, something she never done to anyone for a long time.

[Gabe Puratekuta]

Thank you.... Gabriel thought as she closed her eyes and smiled.
Motoko, not knowing why Husky hugged her father, joined in. Ai shiteru, otou-sama....

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Ken had been lounging on deck, trying to rest up as much as possible. He looked to the mainland when he heard some commotion.

"So, we're almost there." he muttered to himself.

Ken got up and looked over the sea. Awhile ago, seeing the sea was one of the things he only dreamed of.

The boy's thoughts then drifted to home. Ken had spent most of his time in the past years just wandering the continent, seeing things he had heard stories about in his village. But he never wandered back, no matter how close he would be.

Maybe I'll try to find my way back someday... he thought to himself.

He shook off the homesick feeling eating at him, and brought himself to the front of the ship, taking another look at the mainland.

[Steel Samurai]

Draco rowed the longboat closer towards the shore with long, powerful strokes, his chocolate skin glistening with the sweat from the effort. Steel turned his head towards the newcomer, Perseus. The young man's had a strange feel to him . . . He exuded light energy as almost as brightly as the Kaze-Dao itself, and yet Steel could sense thin, spider-like threads of dark energy coming from a soul that was still in battle against darkness . . . No matter. The longboat crunched onto the gravel which comprised the beach. They had arrived at the mainland, the glistening mountains of Taj Nar lay ahead of them.

[Gabe Puratekuta]

"Well, it's time to--" Both Gabriel and Motoko sensed a familiar dark presence heading toward the mountains.
Z.... His destination is the same as ours. they both thought in unison and scowled

[Chukchi Husky]

Husky looked at Gabriel and Motoko. They looked upset about something. "What's wrong?"

[Gabe Puratekuta]

"A dark presence. I fear we might be too late...." Motoko said and tears trickled down her face
"Let's not dilly daddle any more. If Z's true purpose is to kill him, then we'd better hurry." Gabriel said as she walked toward the foothills

[SL the Pyro]

Z quickly ran out of his house after dropping off his money, in the direction of the Taj Nar mountains. He then stopped abruptly upon sensing some energy from back at the port. "Gabriel and Motoko... the others can't be far behind. I also sense the presence of others... including the pirate samurai from the cave..."

Z got lost in thought for a moment. "The pirates from the Forsaken Fortress have somewhat been at odds with Laz... and the old man in the mountains seems to have information or something about Laz... perhaps I should leave them be. Spy on them while they talk to the old man." he thought, looking in the direction of the port.

"As much as the concept turns my stomach, if they are against Laz, then perhaps it would be better if I allied with them rather than trying to eliminate them... we will see when they get to the mountains."

Z continued on his way to the mountains, slowing his pace and thinking about this new development.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Ken climbed out of the longboat and onto the beach, following the others. He had been keeping a fair stride to keep up with the others, and looked up at the Taj Nar mountains.

This should be interesting. he thought to himself.

Ken then heard Gabriel's comment.

"Let's not dilly daddle any more. If Z's true purpose is to kill him, then we'd better hurry."

The hair on the back of Ken's neck raised, and he picked up his pace. He sighed as he reached a hilltop. He was lagging behind, the weight of the Wolfen weighing down steps. The boy quickly went over his options and decided to go with his most efficient form of travel. He stopped in place and put his hands together.

Silver Wolf, please give your form, that I may run with haste to save another...

A few seconds passed before Ken was covered in a glow as before, and changed into his wolf form--the morphed Wolfen hovering above his back. He opened his eyes to a new stamina, and tensed himself before taking off, heading past the others at a moderate run.

[Steel Samurai]

OOC: DL, we're not at a port. At all. We're a few hundred miles south of you just leaving a deserted beach, closer to the Taj Nar than you.

Steel sensed Ken's change and smiled. He thought about each individual member of the party. All of them were fit and in good condition. Good. It was likely that this trip into the mountains would be taxing. He called Gabe to his side. "My eyes are . . . not what they used to be." He handed Gabe the map. "Will you navigate for us?" Steel handed Gabe his compass.

[SL the Pyro]

(Gah! My bad.)

Z had suddenly sensed something... from a different direction. The light from Lena's previous attack must still be hindering his senses; they were previously at the southern beach, not the port! He remembered the energy from not too long ago; it was the same energy that enveloped Ken when he morphed the last time.

"Hmph. He must be trying to get there before me... I can't allow that. If they start their little chat with the old man ahead of time, I will miss out on vital information. I need to catch up to him; from the speed Ken's moving now, he'll make it to the sensei long before me." Z thought. "Time to pick up the pace."

Z turned into his Shadow Form and sunk into the ground, moving much faster now. "Perfect. They won't be able to sense my energy in this state, either."

Edited by Dark Link, 17 October 2006 - 07:30 AM.

[Gabe Puratekuta]

"Sure." Gabriel said and took the items in hand. She then scanned the map and looked up at the Taj Nar mountains. "This way. I sense a strong aura from there, too." She then walked northeast and onto a mountain path

[SL the Pyro]

(Just wondering, but where on earth have P.A. and Billy Goat been?)

Edited by Dark Link, 17 October 2006 - 12:12 PM.

[Chukchi Husky]

It's been a long time since Husky been to any mountains, but these mountains were new to her. Maybe she'll like it here, at least until they have to leave.

Ken's transformation really surprised Husky. She hadn't seen or smelt another wolf in many years.

[Ransom]

Perseus gently glided off on the ship and landed on the beach, gazing up at the Taj Nar mountains.

The others followed behind, stopping next to him to have their own gaze at the huge summits.
Perseus turned to look at the group, throwing out a question,

“So… ummm… what are we doing here? I think I missed something…”

[SL the Pyro]

(Okay, I may have to PM Billy Goat and P.A., and perhaps even Light Goddess; haven't seen her for a while, either.)

Z was having a bit of trouble navigating the terrain in his Shadow Form; he could only really see straight up, and the several bumps and hills long his path didn't help. "Okay, this is getting irritating. I need to go above ground for a minute." he thought.

He left his Shadow Form and became human again, if only for a moment, although his timing was very bad; while others couldn't sense his energy in the ground, he couldn't sense anyone else either when he was like that...

...so he didn't notice the wolf-morphed Ken in his path. They both collided hard, each flying a fair distance. "Augh! That wasn't supposed to happen!" he said before hitting the ground.

Edited by Dark Link, 18 October 2006 - 07:43 AM.

[Gabe Puratekuta]

Suddenly, Motoko sped off past the rest of the group.
"Motoko! What're you doing!?!" her father shouted.
"It's Ken. I can feel that he's hurt." She kept on running up the mountain until she came across both Ken and Z

[SL the Pyro]

Z sat and and rubbed his head; sliding for have of the stun distance on it didn't help. His vision cleared up in time to see Motoko in the distance. "Oh, I do NOT need this right now..." he muttered. He then yelled to Motoko.

"For the record, I ran into him by accident!" Z said before turning into a shadow and going on his way again.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Ken yiped when he hit Z, and and was sent directly to the ground at a tumble.

Damn it...

He brought himself back, the fur on his body now dirtied over with splotches of dirt. He did not have any bleeding wounds, but he was bruising, and the pain was there.

He shook off any excess dirt and growled at Z as he turned to his shadow form. Ken barked a few times and began chasing after Z's shadow.

Your not getting away that easily!

(OOC: Just so you guys know or have any doubts, Ken can't speak while in wolf form. Any english coming from him would be his thoughts.)

[Gabe Puratekuta]

"Ken, wait!!" Motoko shouted at the wolf. She then wrapped her arms around him. "Let him go. We'll see him again."

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Ken stopped as Motoko grabbed onto him. He glared at Z, the fur on his back ruffled, but he backed down.

He looked over himself to look at Motoko. The Wolfen had slid out of the way to let her grab onto him, and was now hovering by his side instead of over his back. He let loose a heavy breath that seemed close to a sigh, glad that the spirit sword knew the correct course of action without him directly intervening.

[~Light Goddess~]

OC: Sorry I haven't been involved lately, but I'll see if I can get myself back in as the next part begins onto it. I'll be on my toes!

[Steel Samurai]

Diel. Steel had not anticipated them running into Z so quickly. He must've been too lost in thought to sense him approaching. And he didn't want a fight. Not yet anyway. "Ken!" he said to the wolf a few yards ahead of him "Let him be. We'll worry about him later." Steel cursed under his breath. He wasn't sure why the dark bounty hunter was there, but he had a nagging suspicion that it had something to do with the reason they were, heading towards the the old man the stranger had spoken of. He spoke to the group. "We're going to pick up our pace. Does everyone think they can jog for a few miles today?"

[SL the Pyro]

"Whew... okay, that was too close..." Z thought.

CRACK!

He slammed into something-- in his Shadow Form. He couldn't tell what... but it hurt badly. He went into his human form to see the problem; a barrier. A small barrier, put in his path just now. It shone with white light, which would explain what was hurting him; electricity-like energy was surging around where he hit the barrier.

"What the...!? This... wasn't here before..." Z said in a strained voice. He tried to trace the source; it came from atop the mountains. "This must be the work of the sensei!"

After an agonized scream and a flash of bright light, the barrier rejected Z, sending him flying right back to where he was before and hit the ground hard. That barrier totally drained his strength; speaking of which, the barrier had gone as quickly as it had appeared. It was fortunate that it was nighttime because Z could heal faster, but rather unfortunate that he landed beside the others...

He cursed under his breath, unable to put up a fight thanks to the barrier.

[Ransom]

Perseus still didn’t know what was going on, or where they were, or why they were there. He just sort’ve… was there.

I guess that means im here to stay if I would blindly follow them everywhere they go…
man… I thought I was more independent than this…

He looked on as a swift but fierce battle suddenly occurred between ken and Z. An energy sucking barrier appeared shortly leaving Z disabled and helpless on the ground next to the group.

Perseus stepped over in Z’s direction uncomfortably, waiting for someone to do something…
There was silence as a group of confused, blank faces stared at Z… who began to curse under his breath.

“So…” Perseus started, “We gonna kill him now or what?”

It seemed to make the silence more uncomfortable.

Edited by Ransom, 19 October 2006 - 09:45 AM.

[SL the Pyro]

“So…” Perseus started, “We gonna kill him now or what?”

Z knew that was coming. He absorbed what dark energy he could from the night before anyone tried to do anything. Then quickly, he slipped the ends of his spike chain out, curving some of it as makeshift ends. The chain drove into the ground and he used it to make a huge leap to safety. He began walking with the cahin now, like some sort of arachnid.

"This is embarassing... being forced to flee..." Z said to himself, but it wasn't like he could defeat anyone thanks to that light barrier draining his strength.

Z eventually stumbled over due to a lack of strength, hitting the ground hard. He began to take more energy. "A light barrier... it's the first time I've seen one... maintaining one take an incredible amount of will and magical skill... dark barriers take the same amount of strength, and even I haven't mastered them yet... the sensei must be known for more than just his skills with a blade..."

Z decided to rest as he was, taking what dark energy he could get from the night. Hopefully, the others were too focused on their goal to chase after him.

[Gabe Puratekuta]

Motoko slowly stepped toward the barrier. She extended her arm to touch it. The surface was definitely solid. And smooth. It almost felt like glass to her. Suddenly, she fell through and almost lost her footing on a few of the rocks