Cryth and Jokan both looked impressed. "Pleasure to meet you, Siren. I'm Cryth. This is Jokan, and the girl behind me is my sister, Amelia. Thanks for coming in when you did. What can we do to repay you?"
Jokan walked up to the automaton and studied it. "I know you can hear me," he said quietly. "You did us a service there. If you can understand my words, react."

"What a terrible shame..."
Mawthrough was now gently tilting her against the fountain, so the very tips of her hair gained a few droplets of water. "I would take you far beyond the stars!" he grinned, whirling her around so now he was the one getting wet. "I've been to mighty halls, drunk with kings and queens, seen the lights in the north and the darkness in the south, lived a hundred lives, died a lot less deaths, been to vast seas of gold and stood in mighty waterfalls." He shook his head like a dog, his grin never fading as he got her outfit a bit drenched. "Forgive me, let me cool you off." He (again, very gently) pressed himself to her chest in a waltz that was essentially them standing very close to each other.
"Why must you be forbidden?" he said, very quietly.

Cam simply nodded to the man's words. It would have to suffice. Maybe she could begin to work on communication. The humans had something called sign language. Perhaps it could be of some use. The sound of bat wings flapping rapidly echoed behind her and she turned her head. A sewn together bat or imp type creatures swooped down and settled itself on her metal shoulder.
Stretching its arms and wings it took a look at the people gathered around it. It gave a little bow and then cleared its throat.
"Hi." It said in a staticy voice.
Cam regarded the small creature. Armin?
Armin put a hand on Cam's head. "This here is my master, Camshaft. She's been sent by Devin the Puppet Master. I'm her familiar, Armin Artemis."

---------------------------------------------

"Alright, follow me." Newi said leading the way into the stone corridor. She walked quickly taking turn after turn in the labyrinthine city. "We used to live here a long time ago. The Grey, I mean. This was our capital so to say. But now everyone has moved off somewhere else and it sits alone."
She seemed to be musing to herself as she didn't turn when Decoda or Tybalt spoke.
Newi paused before a metal door. "I'll be out in a moment." She said to the two of them and disappeared into the room. Warm air wafted out as fog close to the ground and billowed before dissipating. Stepping into the cloying humidity, Newi walked to the incubator and stared at the large egg that sat there.
"A rather impressive specimen." The frog stated from her pocket. Flannigan hopped onto the table. "What species is it, if I may ask?"
"It's a dragon. Or it's going to be." She replied with a smirk.
AT that moment the egg began to rock slightly and then started glowing in with pulsating rhythm. Flannigan moved towards the egg and put it's front hands onto the warm surface.

---------------------------------------------

The dreams had become nightmares. The calm scenes she had been viewing before suddenly warped with alien landscapes with physics that defied the reality she knew. Colors reversed and mixed. Behind all of it the unstoppable heat and the dancing flames.
Lela woke with a start. Fear crushed her as effectively as the hard surface that enclosed her, liquid rushed into her lungs cutting off her oxygen. She thrashed and flailed until an eardrum rupturing Crack! dazed her. She felt herself being washed out onto a solid surface and felt a bizarre rush of consciousness and energy surging inside of her before it vanished, creating a hollow feeling inside of her being. Then she opened her eyes.
Her scream of confusion and terror turned into a blast of fire as it left her mouth, filling the small room with incinerating flame.

--------------------------------------------

OOT Note: For those familiar with Maplestory, Lela resembles a female character of the dragon hybrid nova race. They have small wings, little horns. They are cool. This is kinda what they look like. http://orangemushroom.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/idol-angelic-burster.png?w=595
Newi stumbled backwards from the incubation chamber batting a few small flames from her coat and wing. She'd been lucky to get the ward up in time. The flame died down and she cautiously peered around the corner of the doorway.
The girl stood in the center of the scorched room, her scarlet wings shone in the dim light. Her entire body had a slight reddish hue as her skin hardened into armored scales. Along with the pair of wings on her back she had a pair of small horns on her head and a tail. Her fingers and toes ended in sharp claws that shrank back into finger nails. Her sulfurous yellow eyes flashed to Newi and another blast of scorching fire burned a hole in the rock where Newi's head had just been. With an enraged shriek, the young dragon girl charged towards the hallway.

When Jokan pointed out that he'd heard the name Uriel before, Sauriel's face turned grim.
"It would take some time to explain. But if he is involved, then...I suppose I will have to tell the whole truth very soon. But not yet. Not while we might still be in danger."
He then looked at the shapeshifter.
"As he said, we are in your debt. Thank you for risking your life to protect them. If there is any way we could repay you, we would be more than willing to help."
Saying this, he turned to the automaton.
"And you...I sense a faint life energy coming from you, which tells me that you are not entirely mechanical."
When the familiar arrived and introduced itself, he turned his attention towards it.
"Armin, was it? And this is Camshaft? I see. My name is Sauriel, pleased to make your acquaintance. It seems we are in Camshaft's debt as well."


Tybalt looked at the dragon girl, unsure if he was awestruck or horrified. He could hardly believe that Newi could..."make" a dragon, even if it didn't seem to be a complete dragon. He had simply gotten used to the fact that he might very well be the only dragon left; seeing another one born before his very eyes made part of him happy but it also left part of him a little shaken. What else were the Grey capable of? This was just one of many questions on his mind, but he was still worried about Noise and Rail so he decided to ask the most important question of all.
"What should we do about her? We still need to find Rail and Noise...is there any way we could calm her down quickly?"

There was the fluttering of more bat wings, and Maraud was examining the bat-thing.
"Most impressive..." He raised an eyebrow at both Camshaft and Siren. "If I'd known we were going to get visitors, I would have asked RaVage to tidy up."

Cryth and Jokan remained silent. This sort of thing was a bit out of their depth.

"So what brings you both here?" Maraud politely inquired. "I hope we haven't transgressed against you or your master in any way."

There was a very loud and deliberate cough, and Fallsbane stood behind Mawthrough tapping his foot.
"If I could have her back now?"
Mawthrough stuck out his tongue and cheekily spun her away from him, starting a small but hilarious chase across the dance-floor that ended in Fallsbane slipping on the water and falling flat on his face.
Unable to hold in a laugh, Mawthrough noticed that an older hunter, alongside some acolytes was coming over.
"Guessing that's your dad," he said quietly. "I best make myself scarce - for now."
He stole a soft kiss from her, barely a touch of lips. "Adieu, my darling." He winked, then was off into the crowd before anyone could accost him.
Her father moved up to Chastity and glared after the stranger. "Chastity, who was that?"

Decoda looked at the dragon like creature then to Tybalt and back again. She wondered what else the gray were capable of.
~~~~~~
Siren raised her brow slightly. "It was nothing, really." Most people would recoil at the sight of her shapeshifting in front of them....scream and ran away...however, these humans seemed curious by it, not fearful. She then looked at Maraud and tilted her head slightly. "I have no master. I have no use for one either." She spoke. "I was sleeping in that tree, over there," she pointed to the tree; "whatever that thing was...it seemed dangerous."

"That thing," Armin spoke up, "I haven't felt anything like it before. What was it?"
Cam nodded to double Armin's question. She scanned the group, her gaze lingering on the young girl standing with the other humans.

------------------------------------------

"Mister Tybalt," Newi said as she threw up a ward to block another gout of flame from the child's mouth. "I believe you are the most qualified to calm her down. Miss Decoda, we should continue." Newi dropped the ward and sprinted past the newly birthed dragon girl.

-----------------------------------------

Lela let out a screech of rage and spun to attack the being that had forced her to be frightened.

-----------------------------------------

Noise looked up when Fenrir came hurrying back to their small group by the heavy iron door. He had a worried look when he saw the large dent in the door. She was resting against Rail while Fonn and the shadow version of herself looked for things to reinforce the door.
"I have informed Mistress Newi of our predicament. She will be here shortly with your companions." He said.
"Sooner is best." Rail said as Fonn came back and dropped a large wooden bench in front of the door just as the large creature smashed into it again creating a distorted ring in the metal as it was slowly broken down.

"You would have to ask Sauriel," Maraud addressed the bat thing. "That would be the angel. However, you still have not answered my question. What brings you here? Thank you for the aid, then -" he said in an aside to Siren - " - we are in your debt."

Her father wrinkled his nose.
"I don't know him, but even the name sounds like trouble. I'll have him removed from the party. You keep your hands to yourself, you're engaged - as I'm about to inform the party."
He took her hand and led her to a podium that was brightly lit, turning to address those gathered.
"It is my great joy to announce the engagement of my daughter to her most esteemed and heroic suitor, Fallsbane." Fallsbane took her hand and squeezed it hard enough to hurt as the audience clapped and cheered. "It is my sincere hope that together they will lead us to a great and glorious future of slaying demons across the world!" Fallsbane raised Chastity's hand at the heightened celebrations. "And in order to celebrate tonight, I have given Fallsbane my blessing as a father, and we have decided to have the wedding right now!"
Fallsbane gave Chastity a swift look that could only be described as evil as the audience lost themselves in whoops. "I shall marry you both right here, as a licensed pastor," her father smiled, withdrawing a holy bible. "We are gathered here today, in order to unite these two souls in the eyes of God in order to further his cause of love and trust in our hearts. May He watch over you, protect you, and show you the path to the truest of light. Fallsbane."
The spotlights converged on Fallsbane, so only he was visible.
"Do you take Chastity to be your lawful wedded wife, until death do you part?"
Fallsbane grinned charmingly. "Of course I do, father-in-law."
"And do you," her father said a little more sternly, "take Fallsbane to be your lawfully wedded husband, til death do you part?"
"Oh of course," Chastity's voice gushed. "Of course I do, now kiss me you beautiful man!"
Both men looked taken aback, but Fallsbane's smile grew wider. Bitch thinks she can be cheeky... As long as I get her pregnant, doesn't matter how much punishment she takes.
Her father recovered slightly later. "Then... Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Fallsbane puckered up, moved in for a smooch - and the crowd gasped as the spotlights moved onto Chastity.
Fallsbane had, in his haste, fastened his lips securely around the anus of a rather large and warty pig, who looked rather relaxed considering he was now tossing it's salad. It oinked contentedly, satisfied with the proceedings.
As Fallsbane proceeded to vomit over his polished shoes, her father exploded. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?"

"Oh, father," Mawthrough called in a flawless imitation of Chastity's voice, "I'm only giving my dear husband exactly what he deserves!"
Then he took Chastity's arm. "Lead the way to your room. Take what you need, I don't think they'll see the funny side for quite some time." His eyes were shining, his face flushed. "Oh, but that felt SO GOOD! Come on, let's go."

Sauriel looked slightly distracted until he heard his name mention. He turned to Armin.
"That was undoubtedly a specter, brought back from the dead by the dark, forbidden arts of necromancy. I believe that none of us noticed it until now because it had focused all of its power into concealing itself. In such a state they are very weak, but their energy is almost undetectable until they release their full power again. That is why they make ideal spies for the necromancers that summon them. I have never seen one myself, but what I've heard matches the description of what we just fought."
He hung his head slightly.
"And...unfortunately, I know exactly who summoned it. But you need not concern yourself with that. It is a matter that I must attend to personally."


Although he wasn't sure what he could do, Tybalt did as he was told and stood in front of the dragon so that Newi and Decoda could get away. Rather than being frightened by the rampaging dragon girl, Tybalt had a look of pity in his eyes.
"You poor thing. You must be so frightened right now. This might make it even worse, but...I don't know how else to make you stop. I hope you'll forgive me when you come back to your senses."
Light surrounded him and he shifted into his dragon form in front of the dragon girl. He was very careful not to make any aggressive movements, staying low to the ground and keeping a fair amount of distance. He wasn't sure how to interact with her since he had never seen another dragon before, but he decided that the best thing to do right now would be to act as an elder mentor figure for her. He spoke in a soft, calm and composed tone.
"Calm down, little one. There is no need to be frightened; you are not alone. I am Tybalt, will you tell me your name?"

"You know a bit about necromancy. Right master?" Armin asked Cam.

-------------------------------

Newi stared at the door as the large creature slammed into the door again.
"What on earth."

-------------------------------

Lela stared at the golden dragon that stood before her. Terror flew through her and she launched herself at the dragon, claws flashing. "Leave me alone!"

------------------------------

The small dragon hovered in the air looking down at the fight below it. Well this is interesting. Flannigan thought.

Mawthrough listened to her passionate plea without any change in expression.
When she had finished, he promptly spun her around, tied her hands behind her back before she could react and lifted her over his shoulder. "Now I should warn you, loud noises are probably not a very good idea."
He then walked out of the front door with her still helpless over his shoulder. "Your concern for my well-being is very touching - allow me to repay it by not letting you get your lovely feet dirty." As they approached the guards at the front door, Mawthrough's eyes glowed purple. The guards paused, then slumped, grinning like happy children. "Night night," Mawthrough said under his breath as he walked straight past. He reached a horse and carriage, opened the door, placed his not-entirely-unwilling captive inside, then clicked his fingers. A fluffy tentacled demon about the size of a chimp materialized out of nowhere, and upon Mawthrough's pointing took the reins and set the horse going at a comfortable trot. Mawthrough opened the door and got inside with Chastity.
"Now then," he said brightly as though they were taking tea together and not fleeing an army of demon hunters, "what were you about to say about your erstwhile hubby?"

Mawthrough again listened to her without saying a word.
Then he reached up and tapped on the roof of the coach. Immediately, in the middle of deserted woodland, the coach stopped. Mawthrough reached over, undid her bonds, opened the door of the coach and held it for her.
"Three options here, and I'm sorry that you're upset for a start, that was never my intention. Option One - your house isn't very far away, I will escort you back if you so desire. Back into the arms of your apparently-conniving father and your brutish lump of a fiance. Option Two - you can make a break for it, into the woodlands by yourself. But a girl like you, who's never left the comforts of her home in her life, striking out alone against the world - if you're lucky, you might last the month. Less so, and you might not last the night."
He didn't sound threatening. On the contrary, he sounded soothing, encouraging and apologetic all at the same time.
"Or there's option three - I close the door of this coach, you stay in here, and I get you as far away from your entirely messed up situation as possible. I swear on Balog that I have not lied to you, and I swear on Balog that if at any time you wish to leave I will not stop you. I want to get a bird with such a beautiful song out of so tight and ugly a cage," he said simply. "I have no ulterior motive. I am a man who saw a damsel in some distress and could not resist. Do you wish I had not taken you from your home?"

Siren tilted her head slightly. "No debt is needed." She said. "I was only doing the right thing." She added, as she folded her arms. "Safety in numbers, right?" She looked over at the humans, then back towards the angel, whom seemed distracted. "Is something wrong?" She asked the angel.

~~~~~~

Decoda, not knowing what else to do, backed away slightly, as Tybalt tried to calm the dragon-girl.

Armin regarded Cam's metal form for a few moments. "Well... a long time ago she knew a gifted being named Devin. The two were together for some time before he vanished one day. So she looked for him, found him... and then he tore her soul from her body and chained her in this metal golem."

--------------------------------------------------

Newi tapped Decoda on the shoulder then gestured with her head that the two should really leave it to Tybalt. "Rail and Noise are waiting. I'm interested in these vampire hamster bats."

--------------------------------------------------

"We should probably be leaving." Fonn said as she saw the damage to the door. The others nodded in agreement. Helping her sister to stand, Rail supported Noise as the small group retreated towards where Newi had been entertaining Decoda and Tybalt.

-------------------------------------------------

Lela spat a ball of fire into Tybalt's face then while he was distracted, slipped underneath him to try to slash at his belly. Her claws left gashes in the scales, but no obvious damage to the flesh underneath could be discerned. After being dragged out from under him, Lela lay restrained once again. A small winged form settled onto her stomach. The green eyes looked into her own from the mass of brown-yellow scales.
Stop! The little dragon commanded. Lela looked at it in confusion. It's eyes began to glow until the emerald light dominated her vision and there was nothing else. Then she was looking up into the golden dragon's face.
Lela nodded weakly at the larger dragon's question and was released. Standing up she stared uncertainly at the older dragon as the small one settled onto her shoulder.

Sauriel let out a small sigh as he turned to Siren.
"Many things. But nothing that you would need to concern yourself with. I may have fallen from grace, but I have not fallen so far that I would lay my burdens on someone I have just met."
When he heard Camshaft's story, a look of pity crossed his face.
"I am sorry to hear that. If I had the time, I would help you find your body, however...I have some problems of my own to deal with."
He looked up to the sky, at nothing in particular.
"I still need to find my daughter, Decoda. And...it seems I will need to deal with Uriel as well."


Tybalt looked at the small dragon on Lela's shoulder with intense curiosity.
"Hmm? Interesting...where did you come from, little one?"
Seeing that Lela had calmed down for now, he shifted back into his human form and approached Lela, still looking at the tiny dragon.
"You look like a dragon, but...smaller. Ah...some kind of familiar, perhaps?"
He moved in closer-- probably a little too close for comfort-- as he leaned in to get a better look at him.

"Mister Tybalt," Flannigan said to the dragon man, "You are getting a bit too close. You're making her uncomfortable."
Lela looked up at the man who had just been a ferocious dragon. She took several steps back, widening the gap between them again.

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"I believe she's growing to enjoy being as she is." Armin said a little crossly. "She's even forgotten what her mission was. Devin told her if she could complete it, then he'd give her her lovely body back. She was a rather vain being. Being a succu..."
Cam smacked the small patchwork creature with one of her metal hands, shutting it up.

-------------------------------------------------------

Newi, seeing that the situation was well under control, took Decoda's hand and led the angel off towards the great hall. They bumped into the group coming the other way and hasty explanations were fired back and forth.
Finally coming to the end of all stories, the band turned as the hinges set into the rock gave way with a clattering bang. The sound of leathery wings filled the corridor along with a loping, shuffle-step gait. Preparing themselves, the group prepared to face the oncoming horde as Noise slipped to the back of the group and sank gratefully to floor floor. Her body was struggling to replace all of the blood that the vampsters had taken.

Maraud's head turned - until now he'd not been very much involved in the conversation, but the hint of the word "succubus" had sufficiently intrigued him. He circled the automaton, examining it in much closer detail.
"Fascinating... she used to be a succubus, you say?"

Mawthrough patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't look so depressed. Honestly, you'd think I hadn't done you a favor. I could go back, explain everything, let them kill me and you can be their princess again. Or would you rather I keep you away from them? I'm not your enemy, I'm your friend. I swear on Balog, and I don't know if you know much about Balog but let me tell you something - if a demon swears on Balog, then they really really REALLY mean what they're swearing."
He paused.
"I didn't tell you I was a demon, did I?"