Leaf and Poison looked around from the view point of a high tree branch panting heavily. "That's them in this area... Leaf can you find anymore of them?" Leaf closed his eyes. "Trees, point to the next group of taint." He felt the branch move and opened his eyes. He looked far into the distance and pointed.
"Great... Did they say how many?" Leaf shrugged his shoulders and prepared to jump. "Wait... Leaf. I am exhausted. We have killed many of these beasts, I need to take a rest... Please?" Leaf turned and looked at her body and heard her panting heavily behind the mask. He nodded and took of his mask looking around for a place to rest.
"What are you looking for?" Mouse looked and pointed to ruins in the distance. He looked back as Poison took off her mask and started to sign at her. "Tofana we can rest in the ruins. It will be safer, just in case the taint catches our smell or something."
"Fine... Lets go. I am tired of being in the swamplands for days. Nice to have some firm ground under my feet... at least for a while." Mouse looked at her and sighed as he jumped. "How did you become a shadow?"
"Me... You are finally wanting to know more about me? Wow... has your brain died or something?" Mouse shook his head and waved his hands at her. "Forget it..."
They landed on the firm ground and stood looking at the ruins. "Finally some firm ground. I smell like swamp... I can't complain I know, we have been in the swamplands for weeks now." Mouse nodded and let out a deep breath. "It has been a long time here. Lets enter the ruins and get some rest. I also need to sleep for a while."
They walked up to the door of the ruins and noticed claw marks all over the door. "It seems the beasts tried to enter here, but something stopped them from entering. That is a good sign for us then." Mouse looked at Tofana and nodded. "It is a good sign. Let's get this door open and rest inside."
"Ccccccrrrreeeeakkkkkkkkkkk!"
Mouse pushed against the large doors, and smiled as it slowly opened to him. "Lets go. I will close it behind us." He watched as Tofana slipped through the ajar door and he pushed it closed behind him.
"Crrrreeeakkkk!"
"This place looks comfy for now... I think we can rest here a few days. We should not be troubled by anyone or anything here." Mouse nodded and looked around the room they were in. "It seems there is a door over there, but it leads down deeper into the ruin."
"Mouse..."
He looked at her. "Don't leave me here alone. Lets just rest here, and than we leave. We are not here to explore ruins. We are here to clear the taint and leave." Mouse nodded and sat at the fireplace starting a small fire.
"Ooouch..."
Mouse turned around and looked at Tofana take her top off exposing a colored wound on her side. Mouse ran up to her. "What happened? Why didn't you tell me?"
"It is not your problem... You are not my family. This is what gave me my body... It hurts a lot, and makes me tired easily." Mouse went to touch it. "Don't touch it... You are an idiot. There is enough poison in that wound to kill you just by a tiny sniff."
Mouse took a step back signing. "How can I help?"
"You can help by minding your own business. Let me deal with this, just as I have always done." Mouse looked on as he watched her use a water battery to clean the wound. "It looks like many bites at the same place..."
"Doesn't matter... Ooouch... I need to..." He jumped and ran to her side catching her before she hit the ground and carried her body closer to the fire. He watched the wound as it started to sweep a yellow substance.
He went to touch it...
"Sapling what do you think you are doing?" Mouse looked around in surprise and stood in front of the pulsating object. "Hello there. What has happened to her?"
"She was bitten by many poisonous insects at that point at her side. She is just exhausted. Her body is weak, and she doesn't have long left. When she awakes her current body will be at its limit." Mouse looked at Tofana laying on the ground. "What do you mean her body will be at its limit?"
"Those bites came from the inside of her body... She is training her body to keep them inside her, but she is only keeping poisonous insects. Once they calm down her body will be a very dangerous weapon, however in her case. Her body is at its end." Mouse sat in silence looking over her body. "Why would someone go through that... never mind." He looked at his legs and touched his throat. "I understand completely why she did that."
"Now you know about her, what will you do? Ourselves, we find her determination interesting... Constant pain daily, and she is doing her best to keep up with you, even with no energy left. She must have a reason to do so... Don't you think sapling?"
Mouse turned and looked at the pulsating object. "There is nothing I can do. Even she said so herself. All I can do is wait until she asks for help when she has a mission to finish."
"Her mission is almost complete. However, there is another way... but we don't think you will like it very much." Much turned and stared once again at the body of Tofana. "What is it?"
"Take her burden, and pain. Than she will live forever, and you will carry her task... She is not long for your world. Her body has rejected the insects inside her."
"What do you mean?" He touched her face with his hand. "Is she dying?"
"She will, which is why she is here to complete her mission. Those marks are the final stages of rejection. If she doesn't complete it before it fades and crumbles into nothing, all the animals inside her body will rush out, causing it to explode in a giant ball of poisonous mess."
"What do you mean? You didn't answer my question."
"Take it from her, and let her live with us forever... It is not a difficult thing for us to do. All you have to do is say the word."
Mouse looked at the pulsating object. "What would it cost me?"
"Hohohohoho... He is learning... The cost will be steep... Are you still interested in saving her life?"
"If we do that, will she still be a shadow?"
"No, if you did that, she would lose that side of her, but she would live a long life with us."
Mouse shook his head. "No... She chose this life... She has a reason to carry this burden herself. I have enough on my plate as it is."
"Are you willing to let her die in your arms than sapling?"
"If she fails, than she will die... Just as you said, from death comes life."
"Hohohoho sapling is learning, and starting to become wise. That is good to hear. Than I shall tell you something that will help complete her mission, and will help both of you."
"What's that?"
"Unite with her... She will have completed her mission and you shall have... shall we say a more poisonous nature."
Mouse's face turned red. "Do you mean what I think you mean?"
"Since we are connected, the answer is yes... If you don't unite with her she will die..."
"What does she get from me?"
"She would get the chance to never fade and be with us forever... Well until all is gone." Mouse frowned. "There has to be another way..." He looked at the pulsating object. "There has to be another way... Tell me!"
"In the past long ago, there was a shadow warrior who did a similar thing to her. They were able to complete the training on their own, but... in the end they also failed."
"What do you mean? You said they were able to complete it, but failed?"
"I mean they were able to finish the last step and become one with what is inside, however, that didn't last, as someone came along and ripped them out of their body one by one... All for science... if our memory serves us correctly."
Mouse cursed. "There was someone that monstrous that would do something like that?"
"Yes... They paid a price for learning all that knowledge... What about you? Aren't you the same as them? Willing to pay any price, just to get stronger?"
Mouse sat on the ground in thought. "What should I do?" He looked at the top of the pulsating object frowning. "You are really saying I should take her ability, and leave her here?"
"You do mention that she is quite annoying and troublesome to you... Think about it. Once you have come back to us. We will be here waiting."
Mouse stood up and watched the dark world fade from his view, and once again he was in the room looking over the unconscious Tofana. He turned around and stared at the large door they had come through.
"What... Where am I?"
Mouse turned and saw Tofana slowly sit up and sat across from her. "I carried you near the fire... I didn't touch your wound, but I know more about it... How many are living in you?"
"Hahaha... Mouse you don't really understand. I am one with those inside me. We have a symbiotic relationship. They feed and I provide the food. If I call on them, they come and do what needs to be done, and I gain immunity to many poisons and toxins... But..."
"But what?"
"Well... How to say this in a way you would understand... My body is no longer strong enough, and it is fading... Hence they are trying to leave."
Mouse's eyes opened. "You are dying?" He watched Tofana nod slowly. "I have a secret, that only the old man and current master know of, and now you will too."
"Which is?"
"My body..."
"Your body what?"
"I died a long time ago..."
"What do you mean you died a long time ago. I see you sitting right there in front of me, and when I touch you I can feel your touch."
"Yes... Maybe I need to explain a bit... I was a shadow guard long ago... There was some door I was supposed to open, but I didn't have the ability to do so. Because of that I failed the guard and was hunted down by people." Mouse nodded in silence listening to her every word. "After I was eventually caught, someone pulled each animal I had inside of me out one by one... Than they drained my body of its blood and threw my body away."
"Than what am I looking at now?"
"You are looking at a weak body that can't handle my spark... That's what. As a spark I entered this new body, but it isn't able to contain me, and because of that I spent a lot of my energy to keep it alive and moving."
"So those bites?"
"They are from new insects I put in this body, but since the body is unable to feed them, they want out before it falls apart and dies."
Mouse nodded. "So what is the solution? If you have lived so long, why don't you let your spark fade?"
"Because... I am scared, and also because there is a mission that I must complete."
"Cough...cough... See my blood is black... I don't have much time left in this body, and I am very tired. Especially chasing around a potential shadow guard."
Mouse frowned at her and rolled backwards away from her. "You want to take my body?"
"Hahaha... idiot. I want to give you my knowledge, and let my spark fade... But, you must promise me something."
Mouse nodded. "What do you ask of me?"
He watched as she rose two fingers in the air. "The first thing is to kill the Supreme, and destroy the jewel around his neck."
"And the second thing?"
"Kiss me... Let me fade while I am in your arms, my little mouse."
Mouse scratched his head and smiled. "This is not usually how women ask me to kiss them, but I won't say no to you about that."
"The... first... request?"
"If he is my enemy. I will cut him down."
"Than come here and kiss me... Let me feel the touch of being loved and wanted one... final... time."
Mouse sat next to her, wrapped his arms around her gently and kissed her deeply.
"Thank you Mouse... I will sleep now. My knowledge is... yours... Farewell."
Mouse sat up and watched as a small glowing orb appeared in front of him, and faded from sight. He turned and watched as Tofana's body crumbled into dust."
He wiped a tear from his eye, and his world went black.