"Ow."
Takabi stood on his feet, brushing his arm, noting the pain coursing through him. It had been a short while since he left the hospital, but he still felt sore. His activities since then had been light, and he didn't push himself as hard as he wanted to.
Not because of inability, but because he focused on what Nana told him. His mind had been so driven to go forward, to settle things as soon as possible regardless of what happened to him. It made him fight recklessly, take hits he didn't need to, get him in situations many could and would avoid.
Now that the threat of the Gems is in full force, he had to be careful. The Gems mana, that was foreign to his own body, would prevent him from healing, and only his Gems could undo the effects.
In the most literal sense, it takes a Gem to fight a Gem.
His room door slid open, and out he stepped into the Bunker hallway. As always, the place was bustling with excited Mystics. Young to old, human to inhumane. They felt fierce today, the overflowing presence of mana in the compound growing more and more intense.
"Everyone seems so lively. Wonder what's up," He spoke to no one in particular.
The door behind him opened up slightly. Out came a tired eye. Fingers curled, reaching out slowly, until they gripped his shirt. Looking back, the door swung open fully, and Raia pulled Takabi in faster than he could react, before shutting and locking the metal frame. She looked at him with wide eyes, face drenched in redness and sweat. She looked crazy, something Takabi wouldn't tell her.
"What? What happened?"
"Did you not hear?! Garuga's gone AWOL!"
He blinked, before chuckling at her words and standing back up. "Right, and I'm the prince of England."
"I'm serious," She said in a stern tone. "I overheard Nana when I was feeding. He hadn't come back in days." She walked past him and sat at her desk. Running her fingers in an unreadable pattern, a holographic screen came up. The image on the monitor was present. Garuga's back faced the camera, hands reaching out to speak to him. Once he turned, Takabi's eyes went wide and his heart dropped.
Garuga's eyes were completely black. Half of his face was covered in black dragon scales, and his fangs were on full display. With a woeful cry, he released the shadows after the cameraman, the darkness quickly consuming him until the feed went dead.
"This was sent to us a couple hours ago. Everyone isn't sure what to think." Raia crossed her arms. "Nana's up in arms, Porrelth is swearing up a storm, and just about everyone else is silent and on the hunt for him."
"He sounded hurt," Takabi muttered.
Raia looked up at him, the boy slowly gripping his chest. "... The pain in his voice. I could hear it."
"Pain? From what?"
"I don't know," He said dryly. "I haven't seen him in a few days. Not since the Kult attacked."
Raia fell silent for a moment, looking at the monitor again. "I don't know. I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary."
Takabi felt the venom in his voice before he spoke. "He's hurt! He wouldn't attack anyone innocent for shits and giggles!"
"Not unless he gave into his dark desires."
"Don't joke like that."
"Am I though? Everyone has them, even you." She faced him again, looking him directly in his eye. "Keep in mind, I'm a succubus. I'm a pro at diving into someone's subconscious and acting on what they want. I can tell something set him off, just not sure what."
"I'll find out then. Where was that video recorded?"
"A run down cemetery. Doubtful he's still there though." The metal door slid open and closed loudly. Raia sighed, leaning back in her chair, adjusting her top. "As always. Rushes in head first."
--------------------------------------
Takabi sped through the trees, his bare feet crunching grass and twigs. The air was crisp, sun rising slowly overhead. Half the sky remained dark under the rays, giving the blanket above a mixture of green and pink. His body roared at him, aching and muscle tensely locking up as he leapt over bush after bush.
Takabi pushed it from his mind. His nose was locked firmly onto Garuga's scent. He didn't give it much thought before, but the fact Garuga didn't come back for days on end sent a worrisome chill down his spine.
He knew the Shadow Dragon. He would never do anything without good reason. Takabi was sure of it. He had faith in his mentor, faith in his friend.
Faith in a man he knows is hurting.
Over the hill he came, slowing his steps to gather his breath. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and his eyes glossed over the rusted metal gate. Men and women in suits, white, black, blue, red and the like. All sporting a badge on their coat pockets, all unconscious but breathing.
With a heavy breath, Takabi took his steps through the gate. Tombstones lay scattered about, some intact, others smashed to pieces. Dust was in the air, and the ground was shaking silently.
Shadows danced, twisted and bent in the air. The atmosphere felt thick. Death was looming over someone's shoulder, and he was not subtle about it. Takabi's stomach was in nervous knots, even more so as he approached a big black ball on top of a small hill. He craned his head, violet eyes glowing faintly, the world in his vision becoming dull and grey.
There was a heat signature inside, and it was moving. Stirring, until it whipped around and faced him. Takabi jumped back from fear, a fear he didn't know he was capable of holding.
"G… Garuga?"
His voice hung in the air. The shadows rejected the name, lurching at him, before shooting towards and slicing his side. Blood oozed in a bright red, but the wound closed up. Not fully healed, but better than it had been previously.
"Garuga! It's me! It's Takabi!"
The shadows swirled, and launched at Takabi again. This time, the boy willed his flames forth, the shadows hissing at the light before diverting their course and planting themselves firmly into the soil around him. With a hollow breath, he took steps forward.
"Come on. Let's get you out of here before you do some serious damage."
His fingers reached forward, Shadows bending back to avoid his touch.
"Garuga?"
Again, the name made the darkness stir. A roar shattered the heavy silence around them, scaled arm shooting out and gripping itself around Takabi's throat. The sphere of dark began to shrink, dark eyes greeting Takabi's. The face was covered completely in black scales, wings stretched out from his back. Blood dripped down his chin, in heavy amounts, to the point it was heartbreaking and enforcing a new fear in Takabi's chest.
With a cry, Garuga threw Takabi, the boy slamming into the metal gate and hitting the soil below in a weakened heap. He was given no time to recover, Garuga bounding after him like an addict. Slowly standing, Takabi grit his teeth, ripping the bandage and gauze from his body. The air grazed his bare torso, sending a warm heat through him.
His eyes hardened, and he dodged Garuga. Ducking under, he came up with a flaming uppercut, connecting with enough force to rupture the ground around them. Garuga lowered his chin, grinning at the ineffectiveness of his attack, before gripping his arm and flipping him over so Takabi was face first in the dirt. Willing his mana to boil in his body, Takabi released a small explosion between his palm and Garuga's face. It knocked the Dragon back, smoke rising from his teeth.
Standing and coughing, Takabi held his ribs, blinking and feeling around.
"Oh.. One of them was broken."
The pain subsided as it healed, and he stood up. Facing him, his eyes began to glow, right eye turning white as white tattoos rushed up his right side.
"Sorry. Can't have you doing any more damage."
Light danced around his palms. Exhaling, he thrust his palm forward, beam of bright rushing ahead and striking Garuga dead center. Smoke rose from his chest, but his attack left little effect. Blinking, Takabi took his stance, before dashing ahead, throwing fist after fist at the Dragon. Upon the tenth strike, Garuga caught one of his knuckles, slamming his forehead against Takabi's, dazing him, before kicking him hard into the air.
Shadows danced around his arm, a massive palm of darkness forming, and Garuga swung it. Striking the boy, Takabi flew through the air, slamming face first into the small hill. Vision blurry, he picked up his head, eyes blinking at the name on the tombstone.
"Jessica of Shadow?" He muttered with a hoarse voice. It took a moment, as the name Jessica never registered in his mind before. Looking between the other two gravestones, pieces slowly began to etch into Takabi's skull. "No way… This isn't…"
He snapped his head back, leaping aside and landing on a branch. The shadows that charged at him stop short of the tombstone, bending back and avoiding all contact. That act alone confirmed it.
That grave was of someone close to him.
Sister? Wife? He wasn't sure which, but he knew he had to at least reign him in. Make him calm down.
"Garuga! Take it easy!" He leapt down from the tree, landing just aside the Shadows. Garuga glared at him, darkness rushing forward. Takabi side-stepped, shadows piercing his thigh, and took cover behind one of the tombstones. "It's okay! You're not alone!"
He roared, shadows ripping through the stone, each one barely missing him. He sucked in air sharply, slowly standing up, releasing his Gem's form. Wary, exhausted, he approached Garuga, hands raised.
"Garuga… It's me. You're not alone." He snarled at his words. Takabi moved closely, inching his foot enough that the soil formed a small mound at his feet. "Jessica… She was your wife… Right?"
"Je.. Ssi..Ca…" He gripped his skull, snarling, howling, roaring loudly.
Takabi reached forward, touching his shoulder, whispering, "It's okay. You're not alone, Garuga. You never were."
"But… I…" His sanity slowly eased back into his brain. "Jessica… She died… Without me there… It's all my fault…" He broke into a heavy cough, dropping to his knees, blood spewing from his throat. Takabi knelt at his side, holding him.
"HEY! GARUGA!"
Nothing came. The Dragon faded, passing out in the boy's arms. Takabi looked around the scene around him, and upon spotting Jade and his unit rushing up the hill and through the gate, nothing but questions plagued his mind.