TLoS: World at War Ch. 48

Lenin and Zoidius drifted across the sky to the Well of Souls.  Zoidius had been very apprehensive about going back after all these years, but he was determined to rescue Cynder.  His hatred for her has died down alot.  Dempsey was still asleep, but Nikolai remained vigilant.

"Comrade," Niklai began, "Back in the village, what did you do? The moment Dempsey was about to be torn to shreds, you did something.  If I wasn't sober, I would've dismissed it as a fantasy made by the vodka."

Zoidius sighed.  He knew they would ask, he just didn't know when.  

"Well, do you remember when I was telling you guys about my past when we were on the pirate ship?"  

Nikolai nodded in affirmative.  

"When I killed the ape overseer to stop him from hurting me, they tortured me by shooting dark electrical energy at me.  The torture lasted an entire day and it brought me close to death.  Despite the pain, the dark energy created another persona inside me.  It was like another dragon with me, only much more evil and almost uncontrollable. It became a curse that I have had to live with. Even though I don't want it inside me, I do acknowledge that it has saved my life more then once.  This cursed being, though it likes to cause harm if left on its own, does not follow Malefor.  When active, it increases my power.  I used it on Cynder at one point back in my early years.  It also has rendered me immune to any forms of corruption that they ever might try to force me through."

Zoidius glided down a bit as a gust of wind came down from up top.  

"Now the downsides: I have little control over it.  It darkens my thoughts as it causes me to want to do things that no sane dragon would ever consider doing.  I Also, I have to be careful about my emotions.  Any thing too much, especially anger, will trigger it to go off.  When it is active, it's like I'm being pushed away and I can only watch.  However, at the same time, I feel like I'm doing it myself, instead of being forced to.  I can't explain it.  Another downside is that it exhausts me.  Every time it has been activated, it has drained my of all energy and I pass out."

Zoidius then glided back up next to Lenin.

"That's it.  That's the story behind the cursed form."

Nikolai had been listening very intently.  Zoidius watched his blank face with some worry, as he was unsure what Nikolai was thinking.  After a few minutes of silence, Nikolai finally spoke.

"I see.  Well, it is good that you didn't try to kill us and Toran back in the village.  We probably would have had to try and kill you if you went too far.  I know I can't stop it comrade and neither can the others, so we will have to learn to accept it."  Nikolai smiled a bit, and Zoidius sighed with some relief.  He was expecting a more hostile reaction from the Russian.  

"I'll do my best to keep my emotions in check, but remember, I can't promise anything." reminded Zoidius.

"As I said, we will have to accept it as a part of who you are.  Now then, let us abandon such topics and drink vodka!"  Nikolai reached into his pack and pulled out his vodka bottle.  He took a long draught and then capped it again.  

Zoidius had always been curious about it, believing it to be some sort of magic potion.  

"What does the potion do? Is it healing? Maybe strength amplifier?"

"Nyet comrade.  It is simply alcohol!  Very good alchol from Mother Russia!" Nikolai laughed.  

"Alcohol? You mean that same stuff that is in the wines that many dragons and moles drink?" asked Zoidius, a bit disappointed.  

"Yes! Though I have never seen any of your wines, I assume it is the same.  Except vodka is made of potatoes and is much more potent."

"I never really tried the wines or this 'vodka' as you call it.  May I try?"  

Nikolai looked at the bottle, reluctant to part with it.  However, he relented and opened it.  ZOidius came by and grabbed it.  He took a quick sip.  His eyes went wide with disgust and he immediately tried to spit it out, shooting out some plasma in the process.  After he was done spitting, he handed it back to Nikolai who quickly capped it.

"Ugh! Disgusting!" Zoidius spat again.

"I am glad you think so.  That means I won't have to share!" Nikolai laughed again.  

--
*Three hours later*

The Well of Souls soon came into sight.  However, they had gotten some forewarning as the skies had blackened unnaturally long before they could see the mountain.  Dempsey was already wide awake at this point and he held his BAR at the ready.  Zoidius began his descent and landed in a dead forest about a mile away from the mountain.  Lenin did the same and landed beside him.  Nikolai and Dempsey jumped off and remained vigilant.  

"Alright, we're here." Zoidius shuddered. "I never wanted to come back.  This place holds many bad memories, and yet here I am."

"Cheer up!  We'll break Cynder free then we can leave this hellhole." Dempsey said, patting Zoidius on the shoulder.

"Easier said then done, I'm sure." replied Zoidius, still cynical about it.  

"Hush up, both of you. We have company." whispered Nikolai.  He quickly dove into a dead bush with Dempsey jumping in after him.  Zoidius grabbed Lenin's wing and turned them both invisible.

"What is it? What are we..." Dempsey began.

"SHH!" urged Nikolai.  He held his Scoped Mosin-Nagant out and watched the area.  Dempsey could soon hear guttural voices.  Soon, he could see bodies to match the voices.  There was a patrol of six apes, five foot-soldiers and one commander.  They were surronding a small train of cheetahs in chains.  The cheetahs looked miserable as the chains dug into their wrists and their clothes were torn and covered with dirt.  

"Keep moving!" growled the commander and he kicked a cheetah that was falling behind.  The cheetah yelped and did his best to move up.  

"Those sons of bitches!" Dempsey growled.  Without thinking, he opened fire on the group.  Three of the foot-soldiers fell while the others quickly turned to the source of the gunfire.  

"Dempsey you fucking idiot!" Nikolai growled as he stood up and fired one round into the head of another foot-soldier.  The Commander and the last foot-soldier charged to the two humans, but they were stopped by Lenin and Zoidius.  

Zoidius leaped onto the commander and stabbed him with his tail-blade.  The blade went in and he was about two inches from piercing the heart.  Lenin had pounced on the remaining foot-soldier and quickly dispatched him with a quick swipe.  The Commander grunted as he pulled out Zoidius's tail and punched his snout.  Zoidius reeled back in pain as blood poured from his nose.  Lenin then jumped onto the commander and bit the throat.  Very quickly, he tore it out with a fountain of blood following suit.  The commander grabbed his own throat, gurgling.  Eventually, he convulsed and then lay still.  

"Damn!" whined Zoidius as blood was pouring out of his nose.  He quickly healed his nose and then wiped the blood off by rubbing it against the clothes of the commander.

"Dempsey! What were you thinking?! You could have killed them!" Nikolai shouted.

"That was what I was going for you idiot!" Dempsey shouted back.  

"Not the apes! Them!" Nikolai pointed to the cheetahs, who were wide-eyed with fear.

"Are they dead?! No! So shut your mouth before I stich it closed you drunken waste!" The two men were close to blows until Zoidius placed his wing in between them.  

"Now now, we have more important things to worry about." growled Zoidius.  The two humans growled back and moved to the group of cheetahs.  Zoidius approached the one the commander had kicked and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Dragon..." the cheetah said. "Why are you helping us? Your kind and ours have nothing but contempt for each other."  

"How about a 'Thank you' you fucking prick?" Dempsey shot at him.  Nikolai had searched the body of the commander and found the keys.  He went to each cheetah and then undid the chains.  

"Hmmph." said the cheetah as he rubbed his wrists. "Don't think this changes anything. Your kind, dragon, are still a bunch of murdering tyrants." With that, he ran off with the other cheetahs.

"What the fuck? We save his furry ass and he has the cast iron balls to fucking insult us? I should've shot the asshole." growled Dempsey furiously.

"Pay no attention.  The cheetahs and dragons have long held distrust against each other.  This has been happening for quite some time now." said Zoidius, unfazed by the hostile reaction from the cheetahs.  

"What? How?" asked Nikolai.  

"Mainly due to Cynder.  At least, when she was corrupted.  Many bad things have happened, including the slaughtering of entire villages.  Most of them were cheetahs and instead of blaming the Dark Master for the atrocities, they blamed every dragon for it.  It is sad, but hopefully we can fix that later."

After a long pause, they silently went to the giant mountain.  

"Lenin, keep watch from a distance.  Only come when there is danger." instructed Nikolai.  Lenin screeched and then flew off to higher ground.  

The three of them eventually made their way to the mountain.  There were massive groups of apes going into the mountain and patrolling the perimeter.  

"How are we going to get in?" asked Nikolai as he watched from the hiding place.  

"Jump onto my back." ordered Zoidius.  Both humans hesitated at first, but then jumped on.  Zoidius almost collapsed from the weight, but managed to hold his ground.  He soon activated his invisibility crystal and made his way to the mountain.  After about fifteen minutes of weaving in and out of ape patrols, they finally manage to reach a small outpost that looked seemingly abandoned, save for cages with some inhabitants inside them.  Zoidius dropped the invisibility and the humans jumped off.

"By the ancestors, you are very heavy..." Zoidius panted.

"Sorry..." said Dempsey.

The three looked around the outpost.  They looked in each of the cages, but all they found were moles and cheetahs.  Zoidius wished he could help them.  Even had he melted their bars with plasma, they would never get far.  They continued to scour the outpost, but could not find Cynder's cage.

"Well, she is of great importance, so I doubt they would leave her out here." observed Nikolai.  

"So, I wonder if there is a way inside." wondered Zoidius, looking up the mountain.

They were alerted by the sounds of apes that happened to walk by the outpost.  Zoidius grabbed onto Dempsey and Nikolai and quickly made himself invisible with them.  He couldn't fly, at least, not with Dempsey and Nikolai on him, but he didn't want to leave them.  He had hoped, with the humans, that they apes would just pass by, but instead they stopped at the outpost and settled there.  

"Alright, take position you lazy maggots!" ordered a commander ape. The others soon did so and they surronded the outpost.  Zoidius was caught between two of apes, so he couldn't move.  He could feel that the humans were tensing up.  To their dismay, the commander soon walked right toward them.

"Now I want this placed cleaned up in time for...AHH!" The commander tripped over Zoidius and he fell.  Zoidius lost his grip on the humans and they quickly became visible.  

"Seize them!!!" cried the commander and the other apes charged at the humans.  The two humans opened fire and killed many of the apes, but with now most of the base on alert, they began to flock to the outpost.  Zoidius became visible again too and shot plasma at the incoming groups, but they did little to stop the horde.  

"Shit! Last clip!" cried Dempsey as he loaded his last magazine.  They continued fighting, but soon, they were facing the hordes of thousands.  Without warning, Lenin came down and did his best to fend the groups off.  Zoidius continued releasing plasma.  He quickly realized that they need to escape.  

"Guys! Go! I'll follow!" cried Zoidius as he then swiped at some of the apes.  He beheaded two of them with a single slash.  Dempsey and Nikolai quickly jumped onto Lenin and he took off from the ground.  

"Come on Zoid!!!" cried Dempsey.  Zoidius opened his wings, but the ape commander managed to grab hold of him.  Very quickly, he knocked Zoidius out and cried out triumphantly.

"NOOOO!!!!!" the humans yelled.  Lenin was about to swoop down, but archers set up and began to release arrows at them.  

"We have to go Dempsey!" urged Nikolai.  Lenin flew up to avoid the arrows.

"No! We're not leaving ZOid!"  

"There is nothing we can do comrade!  We must get out of here before they kill us!"

Dempsey was furious, but he knew Nikolai was right.

"GOD DAMMIT!!!!" Dempsey cried furiously into the sky.  Lenin then flew up and away.  After reaching a high enough point, he flew quickly the direction they came from before any of the ape's Dreadwings could be mobolized to give chase.

The commander watched them go.  He then looked down at Zoidius.  He gave another laugh and soon dragged the unconscious dragon inside the Well of Souls.