Astrid and I crept as silently as we could to the edge of overlook of the cavern. Sun light filled the cavern from a hole in the ceiling. It shined down on the Ascended sonic viper showing just how damaged it was. Its body was covered in a multitude of wounds and most notably a massive wound on its head that gouged out where it's eye would have been.
"We can kill it now." Astrid whispered in my ear. I turned to her and shook my head.
"That evo is the only thing controlling all the other sonic vipers in the country. If we kill it now the tens of thousands of others across the country will be uncontrollable." I whispered back.
"Then why was it okay to try and kill it the other day?!" Astrid hissed in my ear.
"The village was getting attacked and our lives were in danger." I replied then turned to look at the injured evo. "I'm going to try to control it again."
"But that didn't work last time." Astrid said.
"I wasn't expecting it to already be controlled but I can work around that now." I replied with a devious smile. Astrid gulped then looked down at the hundreds of sonic vipers around the ascended.
"What do you need me to do?" Astrid asked. I arched a brow at her.
"You're not going to argue?" I whispered. She shook her head.
"Easier to just go along with whatever you have planned." Astrid sighed. I smiled then pointed at the smaller sonic vipers.
"Do you know a utility spell that can put all of them to sleep?" I asked. Astrid nodded but looked down at the swarm below.
"I don't think I have enough mana to put all of them to sleep though." She said.
"What if I give you some of my mana?" I asked. Astrid looked a little concerned by that question but sighed and nodded.
"I can do it with some of your mana." She replied. I nodded and placed my right hand in her farm crystal and started channeling mana into it. Her crystal started to glow red and Astrid winced. She held a hand up and started casting a utility spell sigil. The sigil grew larger and larger until it covered the air above them sonic vipers. The sonic vipers noticed the spell sigil at this point but it was too late. Astrid cast the spell and a shimmering fog flew out of the sigil and blanketed the evos below. From our perch we watched as all the evos collapsed.
The ascended tried to fight the effects of the spell, swinging it head left and right however it soon succumbed and its massive head crashed to the ground below with a massive thud.
I stopped channeling mana into Astrid's farm crystal and started channeling volt attribute mana into my legs. Letting go of Astrid's farm crystal I ran and jumped down into cavern below, landing onto the head of the ascended I channeled mana into my farm crystal and placed my hand right on its snout.
Time stood still and soon everything else was washed away as if swept by the tide, leaving nothing but darkness. I wasn't alone however, Bone-lasher floated in the black expanse with me. It seemed at peace floating around in the nothingness.
"Bone?" I gasped, my voice echoed in the dark.
Bone-lasher growled, which echoed as well. He swam over to me and nudged my hand with his snout. It was trying to get back into my farm crystal.
"Sorry big guy, I don't think you're here physically. I think you're a manifestation of my imagination or your mind got sucked in here with me." I said. Bone-lasher swam around me a few times then swam under me so I was riding on top of its back.
Below us a scene started to materialize like it did when I went into Bone-lasher's mind. A school yard in the village formed below us, it looked smaller and not as modern as the one in the village.
As Bone-lasher and I descended onto the yard children started appearing around us and the sounds of laughter and happy screams filled the air. Bone-lasher paced around the yard while I scanned the area and found a odd child huddled in a corner by the small school building. I nudged Bone-lasher over to the child.
As we got closer I noticed that the child was fussing over something on the ground. Bone-lasher towered over the child and I glanced down at him. I saw the young boy was fussing over a small evo. It was a sonic viper, it was slightly larger than any of the vipers we'd seen to this point. It hissed quietly and tried to slither around the boy but he kept it hidden behind it.
"Hush Alpa, it's not tike yet." The boy said quietly. A young girl around the same age as the boy walked up to him; her form becoming intangible as she passed through Bone-lasher; she stood over the boy and playfully flicked his ear. The boy jumped and spun around to face the little girl.
"Whatcha doing Tarrika?" The little girl asked with a chuckle.
'That's him, the one behind the attacks. This must be how the school looked decades ago…' I thought.
"Lulu'nala! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Tarrika gripped.
"Grandma?" I gasped. My eyes widened as I looked down at the little girl. She was definitely my grandmother. She looked a lot younger but she had the same kind look in her eye, same mischievous smile. "So he did know her…."
"Tarri! How many times have I told you to call me Lulu!" Lulu'nala huffed, puffing her cheeks in mock anger.
"My names Tarrika! Not Tarri!" He griped, now standing to full height. He was lanky but tall and at least head taller than my grandmother. Despite this she looked up at him as if he was smaller.
"You'll always be Tarri to me. Now enough trying to distract me, what are you messing with?" Luna'lana peeked around Tarrika and saw the sonic viper that he was trying to hide.
"By the star! Did you splice that?!" Lulu'nala asked nearly pushing Tarrika out of the way. She knelt in front of the sonic viper, her eyes sparkling with glue. Tarrika blushed and looked away.
"Yeah…" He said bashfully rubbing his hands behind his back.
I heard a group of angry feet stomped toward us and Bone-lasher and I turned to see a small mob of mad looking tots making their way over to Tarrika and Lulu'nala.. The kid at the front of the group stopped a few feet in front of the two of them then stomped his feet.
"O'ye! What are you looking!" He asked cockily. Tarrika visibly tensed when he saw the other boy and his pack of friends. Lulu'nala looked over her shoulder at the boy and scowled.
"I'm playing with Tarrika's evo.." She said curtly then turned back to the sonic viper and smiled. "Oh my stars you're so cute!"
The boy frowned at Lulu'nala. He walked over and pushed her out of the way to look at the sonic viper, Tarrika rushed over to Lulu'nala's side. The viper hissed at the boy and flared its wing hood. The boy didn't look afraid despite the sonic viper being almost a third his size.
"You made that?" The boy said pointing to the sonic viper. "Impossible! A talentless idiot like you wouldn't be able to make a sonic viper this big!"
The boy looked back at his little posse and laughed. All the kids around him started pointing and laughing too. It was obvious that kids was only stunting and preforming for his little friends. Picking on who he perceived as the weakest kid.
"Leave it alone Dwarm'mumu!" Lulu'nala exclaimed jumping to her feet.
"Wait that's Dwarm'moo!" I exclaimed.
Tarrika rushed between Dwarm'moo held his arms out in a protective manner to keep Dwarm'moo from getting close to his evo.
"Leave it alone Dwarm'moo!" Tarrika exclaimed. Dwarm'moo frowned and started casting a offensive spell sigil. A blast of wind flew from his hand knocking Tarrika back into the wall behind him. Tarrika slid to the ground and gasped for air.
"Tarri!" Lulu'nala screamed and rushed to Tarrika's side. The sonic viper screeched, letting loose a loud sonic blasts that knocked Dwarm'moo and his little friends back. Dwarm'moo lost all of his bravado and confidence and started screaming and crying. Compared to the sonic blast that launched Damon into the air the one that sonic viper gave Dwarm'moo and his friends was a love tap.
The scene faded into dust and a new one took its place. Bone-lasher and I were inside what looked like a classroom. Tarrika was sitting in a small chair turned to face the wall while Dwarm'moo and who I guessed were Dwarm'moo's parents were seated in front of a teachers desk. A lone woman sat opposite of them looking tired and wholly apologetic. Behind the teacher's desk stood a tall elderly looking man, about the same age Dwarm'moo would be now.
"Sai'essi do you kn why we have called you here?" The teacher asked the lone woman with a stern look on his face. Sai'essi shook her head and looked back at Tarrika.
"If you had let me talk with my son I might have a clue." She said. The teacher's lip curled up in distain.
"Your vile little thug attacked my precious Dwarm'moo!" Dwarm'mom's mother exclaimed pointing a accusatory finger at Tarrika.
"It's bad enough he's a disgrace to the while village but now he attacks the our Dwarm'moo who people are already saying is this generation's strongest spell caster!" Dwarm'mom's dad exclaimed.
"That's a lie! He attacked me first! Alpa was just defending me!" Tarrika exclaimed from his chair.
"Silence boy!" The teacher snapped. "Bad enough you're claiming that sonic viper is your own when it's obvious that you couldn't splice such a unique creature but I will not tolerate outbursts!"
"But I'm telling the truth!! Lulu'nala was there!" Tarrika exclaimed.
"I SAID SILENCE!" The teacher roared. He pulled a cage out from under his desk, inside was alpa, the sonic viper that Tarrika had created. It thrashed and hissed at the metal bars, spewing venom. Glowing runes surrounded the cage and kept it any sound and venom from escaping.
"Alpa!" Tarrika exclaimed and jumped out of his seat.
"Tarrika! Calm yourself!" Sai'essi said. "Don't make things worse on us…."
"I want that thing destroyed!" Dwarm'moo yelled.
"No!" Tarrika yelled.
"Naturally it would be." The teacher said then started casting a offensive spell sigil.
"He wouldn't…." I breathed.
A stream of fire spewed from the teachers hand, engulfing Alpa. Tarrika screamed and rushed the teacher's desk, stopped only by his mother who grabbed him and held him close. Alpa's screams were muffled by the runes on the cage.
I felt Bone-lasher's rage swell as it growled and lunged at the teacher, the rage grew even more when the teachers form vanished like a puff of smoke. The last thing I saw before the vision disappeared entirely was the look of absolute glee on Dwarm'moo's face as he watched Tarrika cry desperately.