Hydrox glanced back, his voice was soft, "Sakuya, why don't you move back with the others. It'll be safer there. I'd say make a beeline for the water…but ugly 1,2, and 3 are currently blocking the path for ya. If it comes down to it, try to get them back to the Inn. Miriam should be awake."
The female gave a nod, starting to limp back. Her crippled left leg was really acting up for the poor woman. She nearly tripped, but caught herself, moving as quickly as she could, following to the side.
As for Hydrox, his gaze shifted back forward. Sure, this wasn't his fight, had nothing to do with him, but what with these weirdos showing up on his 'doorstep', so to speak, he wasn't gonna let it slide. This was all happening too close to the village, the place he came to call home.
Should these weirdos draw too close, he would then step in…
Wolf sketched a spell on Alex's skin. "There. A protection ward. You should be fine with this."
"You're what?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
((How about some mind control, where he actually does take some of them down. Not kill, but injure, obviously
"Kay, I'm gonna take that as a maybe." She scampered off.
Agdrin tilted his head innocently. "My, whatever do you mean? Don't you recognize your dear ol' daddy?" A slow grin started to snake across his lips.
The royals glanced at Runner warily, stepping back from him. Cinthia managed to keep her true form from emerging, but its leash would only hold for so long.
((Would he actually turn on them?))
"What the actual hell are you stalking about?" he asked.
((That would make sense of Agdrin's range of abilities. He can get into people's heads–figuratively and literally))
Kali, the deceased woman next to Agdrin, flopped her head to the side. "My, he really doesn't remember us, does he?" She grinned, exposing rotten stumps for teeth.
((This is another way to finally get into Runner's head, since he couldn't before
His chest began rising more and more aggressively as he took bigger and bigger breaths. "Start talking," he said, pointing at them with the pan. "Now!"
Hearing the conversation, since he was right there, the man couldn't help but release a groan. He lifted a hand, rubbing his temples. Hydrox seemed unnaturally calm, if you could call it that. He was more so slightly frustrated. So much for a nice, quiet night.
"Oh for fuck's sake…now we have 'family matters'. Nothing will come good out of this…damn't."
He moved his hand, arms coming to cross his chest. Hydrox's eyes continued to shift from blue to yellow. The muscles along his arms bulged slightly, steadily gazing forward as event slowly started to unfold before him.
Ketu, the man on Agdrin's other side, chuckled. "Ah, I see the spell was a little too strong. Pity."
Rhydar glanced between Runner and the three demon generals, emerald eyes wide. "And I thought Tess's relationship with Kasi was… odd."
He shook his head, taking a step back. "No, no, no, no…" A creeping, horrid feeling began to grow in his chest.
Agdrin grinned. "Yess, yess, yess, yess! How nice to see you again…..son." His magic speared forward, unseen and undetected, and pierced Runner's mind, ripping open the void that had hidden all memories regarding Agdrin and Runner's upbringing. Being raised by these three; playing with his pet demon; another woman–Kasi–teaching him how to fly with the bat wings he could manifest; playing with helfire with no injury to himself; learning the names of the prophesied 'heroes' of the universe, the names of the people seeking to destroy Chaos, who he had considered a great-grandfather; dreaming of the day he could tear them down.
The only sound coming from Hydrox was a low rumble. His gaze shifted to those around, senses on high alert. Already feeling he was going to have to shift soon should shit hit the fan, a forked tongue flicked past his lips, testing the air. There was something…wrong. He could sense it in the air.
His body shifted a bit, once again his skin seeming to ripple to scales. The male continued to rumble, the area around him seeming to vibrate slightly.
Each and every memory hit him like a punch in the gut, forcing hit to retreat as he shut his eyes tight. Slowly, the back of his shirt began to bulge outwards, then ripped, two bat wings spreading out wide as he fell to his knees. His hands were covering his face as his chest heaved with each breath he took. But he said nothing.
The royals took more steps back, some getting ready to shift into their true forms if need be. None were sure if they could trust Runner. All remained suspicious. Malaki landed next to Cinthia, a rumble from deep in his throat directed towards the kneeling Runner.
Agdrin simply waited, face impassive. As did the other two.
Slowly his hands lowered, his eyes still shut tight. "What did you do to me…?" he whispered in a trembling voice.
Agdrin clasped his hands behind his back. "Oh, I did nothing. I simply opened your eyes to your past. You were my pawn–willing pawn, I might add–to get close to the Vanguard. And you've succeeded. Well done."
He began shaking his head. "No, no, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO! I WON'T! THEY'RE MY FRIENDS!" Runner shouted, still resisting the mind control.
Agdrin released his hold on Runner's mind, but the memories continued to surface. Every night he swore to the stars that he would destroy the Vanguard; the day he met Theresa and had to resist strangling her; how happy he was with Kali, Ketu, and Kasi growing up; and many more.
"No! These are FAKE!" He shouted desperately, knowing they weren't and nearly in tears because of it.
Agdrin remained smug, but the two other generals shifted uneasily. "Kasi is here," Ketu mumbled.
