As a dreary silence descended over the motley group, broken only by the tearing sounds of the time void, preparing to rip apart and hurl its denizens back into the hostile outside world, each reflected on the words that Moonal had uttered.

With a shuffling of hooves, Count Vladislau stepped forward. All through the angry exchange between the birdman and the fire-conjurer, he had remained aloof. He had seen that kind of anger before, in no other place but himself. And what had happened then had not been pretty. Now, before things got out of hand, he had to speak up.

“People, all this bickering, this fighting will solve nothing. I, for one, believe this Moonal. It is clear that the creatures on the outside want to destroy us for some reason. However, I don’t think we want to destroy any of us, except maybe through misplaced anger.” The centaur’s beady eyes wavered in the general direction of Zanaria, Issac and Sedusa who was slowly coming to. “If we do not band together, we will be overcome. I know how this feels, to work with a bunch of strangers.” This time he gestured clearly towards the Angel, Sedusa, Mike and Crexnettle. “When we first met each other, we fought the exact same way. But we have learned to work in unison to achieve…our objective. That’s what we have to do now.” Vladislau exhaled heavily, strangely conscious of having spoken so much. A moment’s silence, and then the Angel spoke, “I agree with Count Vladislau. I can sense the evil outside this …time void or whatever it is you speak of, but not in any of us. We are the good guys, however hard that might be to believe.”

Zanaria sneered, “Easy for you to say, Angel. You don’t have to live with what I did.”

The Angel snapped back, “Well, you won’t have to live with it for very long either, if you keep up with this.” Zanaria fluttered his wings in protest but kept his mouth shut.

The Angel continued, “Now, it seems to me, that to avoid further incident, we should take Moonal’s advice and split into groups more …compatible with each other. I will of course prefer to work with Sedusa, Vladislau, Mike and Crexnettle. Issac, I’d be honoured if you could join us.” Issac nodded in agreement, his eyes still on Zanaria’s talons. The Angel kept on talking, “Zanaria, you and this young man in the jacket seem to get along well. And clearly, you…” the Angel pointed at London, “You seem to know this poor girl, Autumn as well as the other unconscious girl.” He gestured towards Anna lying groggily on the ground. “Perhaps, you can work together maybe?”

London looked briefly at Zanaria, but he seemed disinterested with the proceedings. Eventually, he said, “That doesn’t suit me at all.”

A twitch in the eye.

“I mean, I think that ought to be fine with me.”

Moonal interjected, “Autumn is a lot weaker than she was when she brought you here. She needs protection and shelter. I cannot leave her …so fragile. I will come with you.”

London shrugged his jacket to indicate that it was one and the same to him.

The Angel finally spoke, in a tense tone, “So, that’s settled then. We fight together in our respective groups and regroup when we’ve learnt something new. Is that understood?” There was a general murmur of assent. And with that, the two groups slowly walked further away from each other. As they stepped away, Sedusa brushed past Zanaria, and snarled at him real softly. Zanaria merely grimaced and walked faster to keep pace with Moonal. Ominously, both groups noticed the hole in the time void growing larger. And then…

Black lightning rent the white peacefulness asunder, cracks of vermilion fury slowly streaking across the periphery of the protective globe. The cracks widened, and the black night sky of the outside slowly spread across, overtaking the two groups. And with the creeping darkness came the creatures of the shadow.  

RATE THIS CHAPTER!

Author guidance for This story

TEAM PROTAGONIZE

Team Protagonize is about introducing your characters, from other stories you have written and placing them in a new story together. Currently there is only this story - The Darkness - but I will be thinking of new stories soon!

THE STORY SO FAR

The motley crew - Team Protagonize, are nearing an end, Issac has strange powers, he's a gateway? Will Vade, the Phoenix make an appearance? Where have the team from Silicon valley gone? What is Zanaria up to? Who is Mercuria? Will the team manage to defeat Kaos?

To find out, keep on reading The Darkness!

THE GOOD

Autumn 17 - - - (ElzuWolfe)
Currently, her soul is trapped inside of Lisle's being, so she acts as a second mind.
Autumn is from a Novel in the making – Chaos

Isaac 14 - - - (ChaosBeing)
Isaac is pyrokinetic and has lived his life mostly as an outcast. He has good instincts on who to trust, and if he thinks you can help you're bound to become friends eventually. He is from the story "Where The Embers Glow"

Lisle 9- - - (Traxisk)


Lisle is a stray soul that had been granted a body in Ezin's realm; she was an Elemental able to control darkness. Lisle's body has since been seized by her twin, and her spectral form is severely weakened, but it's unknown whether she remains an Elemental. - Lisle is from a short story called "Twinned", not available on Protagonize.

Mike Craw 83 - - -(Craziantix)
A piecemeal raptor, very intellectual but prefers saving his life over doing the right thing.
From "Quest Of The Datateam"

Moonal - - - (ElzuWolfe)
Moonal is the immortal guardian of time, he is a pacifist at heart, but cannot stand failing in helping others… Moonal has some rather large secrets… – Moonal is from a Novel in the making – Aeon

Sedusa 24 - - -(Craziantix)
A mermaid who was thrown out of her colony and nurses a grudge against her family.
From "Quest Of The Datateam"

Silver 3.8 Billion- - - (ElzuWolfe)
Silver is a renegade angel with an extremely dark past, he fights for all the right things, but is often blinded by his anonymous master. – Silver is from a Novel in the making – Chaos

The Angel of Torn Skirts - - - (Craziantix)
An angel recently fired from his post at the Ministry. Essentially good in all his dealings but nurses secrets.
From "Quest Of The Datateam"

THE UNSURE

Alastor - - - (Mike_itong)
Once arrogant and ruthless, Alastor thought he was the most powerful of all demons, however as events come to pass his alliance with those set out on a mission of good has become more tempting.

Count Vladislau Rokkhans 32 - - -(Craziantix)
A Rushyan centaur and landowner who was once very rich but has since lost his wealth and his wife, Lyra. A moody but pacifist fellow.
From "Quest Of The Datateam"

Crexnettle -3 - - -(Craziantix)
An undead bird who is truly neutral about good and bad, but will do anything to himself out of trouble.
From "Quest Of The Datateam"

Mike Craw 83 - - -(Craziantix)
A piecemeal raptor, very intellectual but prefers saving his life over doing the right thing.
From "Quest Of The Datateam"

Zanaria circa 17 - - - (buddy123002)

Zanaria is an eagle human. He has a quick temper and is also quick to pull out a weapon. He doesn't know what side the is on, he is in a constant flux between Good and Evil.


THE BAD

Alix 9- - - (Traxisk)

Alix is human, though at the moment she's controlled by the Darkness through those bugs. She can dissipate her body at will to become sheer darkness. - Alix is from a short story called "Twinned", not available on Protagonize.


Kaos- - - (ElzuWolfe)
Kaos is the immortal guardian of death, however he lost all hope and goodness when his heart was broken by a mysterious female immortal. Kaos is now a highly intelligent, cruel being, the very epitome of evil. – Kaos is from a Novel in the making – Chaos

updated Aug 27 '09 by PaulMacklin