Aurora had been put far behind them by the time the sun set. Both were more than happy about that. Gabe had left immediately, taking the satchel and the large red gem with him. The journey to the Dead Zone and back would give him several days to think and the others to rest. He noted that the wind whipping past him was slowing. Boulder started grumbling, pulling his wings in and losing altitude as he became tired. Unfortunately they were over a thick forest with no clearings in sight. Gabe sighed, feeling bad for putting him through this flight again. "Need to keep goin' a little more, bud. No place to land here," Gabe patted the dragon's side and nervously clenched with his knees. But still Boulder continued to drop. The tops of the pines were coming within a dozen feet of his belly. "Hey, what're you doin'? Pull up!" The first tree snapped against his stony hide. He tucked his wings in tightly and spread his talons ready for a rough landing. "Ah, dammit!" --- Sitting next to the fire and tending to his bumps and scrapes, Gabe looked up at the jagged dragon-sized gash that had been torn through the forest canopy. It lead downward into a long stretch of torn up earth and ended in a deep pit and a tall mound of dirt and branches. Boulder had padded it down and nestled into it like a bed, rather proud of his accidental creation. However, making it resulted in his irritated rider being thrown several yards into the trees. He was considering the training Anna had suggested but, how does one train a dragon anyway? Did he even really need such a thing? With a sigh he stood up and moved to slump down against Boulder's belly and rubbed it for a second. The dragon didn't move but made a deep thumping in his chest like purring. It took all of the next day and part of the one after that to reach the dead zone. Finally they were flying over the island where this whole mess had started. They swept in low far from where he remembered the camp of prisoners being. However, he couldn't for the life of him remember where the river was nor did he know how to get to this mysterious cave from there, but Boulder seemed to know exactly where they were going. He landed in the shallows of the river as smoothly as his huge body would allow, placing them directly in front of the opening in the damp rock face. Gabe felt chills running down his spine as he stepped into this place. It almost felt as if the atmosphere itself was trying to repulse him. The deeper he went the worse it got. By the time he reached the pedestal and the door at the end he was well ready to be far far away. A cursory glance at the doorway and he knew exactly what to do. He reached into the satchel and pulled out the large star gem. Actually touching the thing made him uncomfortable. Quickly he reached up and put it into place in it's slot above. It slid in easily and had a seem-less fit with the stone around it. After getting it set Gabe tried to wriggle it around to make sure it was secure. It didn't budge what-so-ever. With that it was time to leave again. He stepped back slowly, still looking at the door and was startled by a viscous roar that echoed up the tunnel behind him. Gabe sprinted blindly out of the caves and into the sunlight. Boulder was gone. A patch of trees by the river was on fire. A large swatch of trunks stood where their tops had been melted off in an upward slice. Covered in a foul, caustic slime they steadily continued to dissolve. Gabe looked around frantically before more screeching and roaring up above got his attention. Three dragons tore through the sky above. Boulder trying to outrun two smaller, sleeker creatures who mercilessly blasted him with flames and raked at him with their talons whenever they were close. They dropped below the tree-line with a loud crash and more roaring and screaming. Gabe bolted through the trees. Just before he reached them he pulled his sword only to hit the switch and remember that it wouldn't work here. He leaped off a large rock and into mess of shredded ground and splintered wood where they were fighting. Boulder was back in his element on the ground, spitting acid, bearing his teeth and keeping his neck, wings and stomach tucked. The other two came down on top of him regardless of their own well-being. For a second he froze, not sure how to stop this horror. Then one of the beasts, a large red snapped his gaze over to him and snarled. Its eyes were unfocused and crazed with pupils dilated to no more than thin lines. It bounded up over Boulder and its partner and charged at him. Gabe couldn't move out of the way. It caught him around the torso with a massive claw and slammed him into the ground, pinning him in place, broken and breathless. He put both hands on the dragon's scaly flesh. It opened its mouth, sucking air and beginning to drool flammable liquids. Then it froze perfectly in place like a statue save for quivering and shuddering that ran through its body. "Don't... fight us," Gabe managed to spit through his teeth. The red's snout darted down a few inches before being stopped dead in place once more. "S-stop..." he gasped for breath and begged, "I don't want this." Again its head snapped down and froze, chemicals now pouring out of its mouth as it continued to try and spit flame. The air was no longer flowing either, its lungs had stopped. Suddenly the dragon's head flipped violently to the side and the shuddering and twitching grew erratic and more wild. Sickening, fluid, gurgling came from its throat first. Then its eyes glazed over, fogged and became dull gray orbs. The drooling from its mouth became tinged pink, then red, then was replaced with a heavy flow of blood. Dark red, nearly black, streams sputtered out of its nostrils, ears and eyes next as the seizures continued. Next spots of flesh opened, festered and oozed as wide sores. The once magnificent creature was helpless as its blood boiled out of its veins and pooled in the dirt. In moments it was dead. Gabe released it and it crumpled heavily to the ground. Boulder thrashed and tried to claw his foe across the face with a desperate blow. The copper dragon snapped out at him in time to catch a wing in its mouth and started ruthlessly throwing its head back and forth, shredding the tender membranes in its teeth. A long, red, crystalline spike pierced through its neck before liquefying out of existence. Enraged it wheeled off Boulder and writhed, swiping and biting at an enemy it had yet to locate. Another spike went through its clavicle and melted away like the first. Then it spotted Gabe, standing in the bloody mess from the first dragon, the liquid somehow running up his legs, torso and shoulders and down his arms to his hands where it collected into amorphous, shifting, lashing tendrils waiting to be shaped. The copper wasted no time in spitting its flames. With a smooth twist of the wrist one of the red tendrils under his control snapped out and crystallized, withstanding the flames and piercing through the dragon's mouth and through the back of its skull. The flames stopped and so did the chaos. The mercenary dropped smothering the flames that clung to him. Fresh burns patched his skin. On his knees he struggled to breathe and wrapped an arm tightly around his torso. The blood under his control laced his body and began to sink into his flesh. More misted out from the two corpses and gathered in droplets on him. It was wrong. He felt sick. But it was necessary. Slowly the burns began to clear and stitch themselves together. There was a crackle and he winced and gasped as his ribs were forced back into place. The disgusting act continued until he was able to rise to his feet and was completely cleared of wounds. Like it had never happened. After, the remaining fluid was allowed to drip away. He backed away from the corpses. Beautiful, legendary forms twisted and crushed and broken into a hideous mockery of their race. He wanted to vomit. Boulder thrashed and groaned behind him. No longer able to face what he had done he turned away and walked toward his friend. The rocky beast recoiled away when he reached his hands out. Boulder was covered in lacerations and burns and one wing hung limp at his side. Gabe stepped in again and tried to touch him but again he snapped back and this time hissed. He sighed and hung his head, "Not gonna hurt you... A'right? I can fix ya' and if you want, when I'm done, you can take of an' leave me here. Gods know I deserve it." Boulder was still and silent, eyeing the man cautiously and fearfully. Gabe sat down on the ground and scratched his head. It took several minutes but slowly Boulder limped over to him and nudged his shoulder with his under-bite and rumbled a sympathetic whine. Gabe smiled weakly, pulled out a pocket knife and pressed the blade into the palm of his other hand. "This is gonna feel weird, bud, but you'll be good as new," he said while slicing through his flesh. Gabe placed the wounded palm on Boulder's neck and closed his eyes. The wounds and broken bones began to knit as he threaded his own life into the dragon. --- Brooklyn strolled back to the inn with a few groceries, supplies and some spare parts she had scrounged up from the market in hand. Her eyes and the veiny red marks on her skin had cleared up, but the dark splotches on her hands and spine still remained. Any spare time she had the past several days were spent at Sebastian's side or trying to find errands to run or tasks for herself to do. Really anything to get away from SEV. She shuddered. Once she thought Sebastian was foul and rude and forward, but compared to that robot he was an absolute prince charming. She entered the street that lead back to home base and looked down the other way toward the hanger and parking garage where they had left the dragons. A frown crossed her face and she wondered if she should go check on Aurora. Gabe might show up today too. He should have been quite some time ago if all he was doing was taking the star gem to the cave. She had grown worried, but the others seemed to think everything was fine. A tap on her shoulder startled her and she nearly dropped her bags and parcels. "Ah!! What!? Hi! I'm sorry--" she stammered, "... Oh! You're back! I was starting to get... You don't look..." The corner of the blond mercenary's mouth turned up slightly. He looked disheveled, pale, slightly thinner and had dark circles under his eyes. Brooklyn fooled around with her words trying to regain some tact, but there was no nice way to say it. "You look really... bad," she finally said. "Jus' tired," he shrugged, "Long flight an' everythin'... Ya' need help with any o' that?" She smirked rolled her eyes, "So tough. Here take these. I was just on my way back. Anna has gotten a lot better since you were gone and Sebastian is well... He's being Sebastian. They'll be glad you're back. We're all kinda starting to go crazy just sitting around like this."