Fanfic: Elena vs Anakaris

Scene 1: Down the mummified rabbit’s hole.

     

    High above the dusty land of Northern Africa Elena sits in her first class accommodations aboard an airliner headed for Egypt. She crosses and re-crosses her blue slacks covered long legs as she waves her head smiling thinking about her up-coming fights in the African preliminary matches for the up-coming World Warriors Tournament. One wouldn’t guess that beneath her slacks and red-tank top she was already wearing her strap fight clothing ready for the fights, even though the preliminaries don’t begin for two more days.

 

     Upon arrival she is quick to get settled in her hotel room, and get some food shopping done. As she sits her in her small modest room chomping on an apple watching the local new programs announcing the preliminaries and other local events a strange hum catches her attention followed by a yellow light that engulfs the entire room seeming to consume the walls, floor, and everything else even sound as it closes in on her. She stands to run just as it engulfs the very floor beneath her and the chair she was just sitting on.

 

     As the light clears Elena finds her self standing in a very strange place, the only familiar thing remaining from her room the apple in her hand. She stands on a sandstone walkway that looks to be floating above a bottomless expanse filled with red and yellow clouds. She can see in the distance that the walkway is a road that crisscrosses the area leading to stairs and large structures that look to be buildings like something out of ancient Egypt sitting on top of floating islands of rock. Even weirder are the Pyramids floating out in the open expanses with out any roads leading to them, however unlike normal pyramids she has seen in Egypt these look to be two Pyramids each, with their bases connected, like floating geometric diamonds.

 

    As Elena stands in awe gaping at this scene and even looking up at the statues of Horus and some Pharaoh with a hood crown she doesn’t recognize she has yet to notice the two very short creatures by her feet.

 

    A small choppy like chattering teeth with each word speaks, “miss, miss, welcome, welcome.”

 

    Surprised Elena looks down at the weird things like two dwarf mummies in bright white bandages and sandy brown faces like spoiled bananas. Elena laughs a little behind a bright smile at how funny they look standing on their stick thin legs and stick thin arms waving as they speak sticking out like toothpicks from their almost square marshmallow like mummy wrapped bodies.

 

    “Uh, hi.” She says leaning over smiling, “what a funny dream am I having, you are too cute.”

 

   “Miss, miss,” says the chattering creature, “This is not a dream, you have been selected by the Great Lord Anakaris to join our people in paradise. Here you will live amongst other chosen ones as part of the Great Lord Anakaris’ people, as part of his great plan.”

 

    The other small mummy hands her an envelope and says, “miss, miss, in here is your new address, look around, explore, this is your home now. We know you’ll be happy, yes, yes. Miss your old home you will, yes, but things will be better here. Happy you will be.”

 

    Elena scratches the back of her head in an exaggerated pose, “uh, sure. I’ll just look around. This place does look really neat I guess I can visit. But I really must be getting home at some point.”

 

    Elena walks away waving at the little creatures saying to herself, “wow, this place really is huge.” She looks at the paper in her hand and thinks about her family back home and the preliminaries, “I’ll just look around a little, those little guys said I was supposed to stay here. Na, they must have the wrong person, I’ll just talk to that Lord Ana…what’s his name when I’m ready to go home, I bet it’s just some mis-understanding, as the guy in charge he should understand.”

 

     Elena spies a complex lined with shops, “Oooh, but first things first. Let’s check this place out!”

 

     As she eyes a few nice items in a few shops she realizes that she doesn’t have any of the money the locals are using. The lady behind the shop counter says to her, “Poor dear, you must be a new arrival. They leave all your new arrival money at your new home, and are even so kind as to have a job assignment waiting, and of course you can always open a shop on the side if you want.”

 

    Unbeknownst to her another figure was watching her from above through a magical golden caldron. Standing over this pool in the shadows of an ancient crypt this figure speaks in a deep commanding voice, “This one has great potential power inside her, much more than is normal for a human. With her potential power, and beauty, she would make a great addition to my harem. Yes, as my concubine she will do well to provide me with a son fit to rule the fallen corrupted world of mortals. So speaks Lord Anakaris!”

     

 

 

Scene 2: The Rebels:

      Hours have passed; Elena had found the small modest apartment she was assigned, a simple stone room with only a bed and window overlooking the streets with the floating pyramids in the distance, as well as the local money. As she walks through the shops looking for some souvenirs before she heads to the palace to speak with Anakaris, intending to trade the cash she was given with the equivalent back home to pay them back. She still can’t believe she was given paper money, and occasionally cracks a smile as the front of the money shows a muscular Pharaoh with a hood crown and on the back a large mummy with the same hood and pyramids on either side of him.

 

    She sits on a bench at the end of the plaza looking over her basket of goodies she takes out something that kind of resembles a strawberry, except that it is sky blue, has little lumps instead of seeds, and is about the size of a pinecone. As she is enjoying the unbelievable juicy taste of this fruit was told is called a Twilight Strawberry she is approached by a man who whispers to her, “Are you Elena? The new arrival?”

 

    Elena looks up at him with her mouth full saying something muffled and nodding her head.

 

    “I heard from some of the shop-keepers you were looking for a way back to Earth, correct?” he says.

 

    Elena swallows her food and says, “Yeah, I was just going to go by the palace and talk to the guy in charge about it later.”

 

    The man shakes his head, “Pharaoh Anakaris hand picks the people he brings here, that monster would never let anyone leave. I came here just a few weeks ago, I know you are Elena I saw you fighting in last year’s African championship Tournament. I know you don’t want to stay here, but I don’t think you fully understand what is happening with this place. But we can’t talk about this in the open.”

 

    He waves his arm for her to follow him. She shrugs her shoulders and takes a bite of some delicious honey bread as she gets up and follows him.

 

    Back in the rebel base they explain to Elena that Anakaris has been taking people into this strange world for millennia. Supposedly choosing only souls he finds worthy to keep the population of “his” people going.

 

   “Okay,” says Elena, “well, I can dig that he’s immortal. This place is too cool, and with all the magic stuff and wonderful food, yeah I can see the whole immortal ruler of a magic kingdom thing going on here. So what are you guys, like the secret rebels guys?”

 

   The man that led her there walks between her and the leader of the rebels that had been talking about the history of this land, “I’m sorry sir, Miss Elena here just arrived, and is one of the greatest warriors in the world. I told you she had a cheerful outlook on life. I just think she just doesn’t know the real depth of this situation.”

 

   “uh, I am right her you know.” She says, “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I’d like to be friends okay? So go on, you were saying something about the big magic guy who rules this place pulling in worthy souls.”

 

    The leader coughs, eyes the man that brought this strange woman to their base, shakes his head and continues, “Yes, he was bringing those he called worthy souls to this place. However recently he started to bring in many more people than normal, a lot more, we have even seen people from Earth’s other than our own come here. In fact our spies with in the palace tell us he has even been bringing over monsters, giant snakes, living armor, walking skeletons, and all manner of strange beasts and demons. He has been speaking with his generals lately. Anakaris is planning on invading Earth, he is raising an army. Our sons, and brothers, all able bodied men and women are being drafted into training for his army, some even augmented to have supernatural powers. And then there are those like you, who have super-human abilities and are brought here.”

 

    “Uh not really.” Says Elena, “I mean, yeah I’m strong and fast yeah, but you should see my friend Sakura, she can throw fireballs from her hands. Oh yeah you should see some of those guys, like this guy who can fly, this green guy was all electric, this one guy could spit fire, and these blond guys who had like this sound blades from their hands, and this other guy was running this one tournament he was like half red and half blue and could throw fireballs and ice balls…”

 

    “Can I continue please.” grunts the man.

 

  “Oh sorry.” She says.

 

   “As I was saying,” he says, “Our spies have discovered that Anakaris has a direct interest in you, in fact we tried to get to you before his creatures did. Apparently Anakaris wants you to join his forces. You could be of great help to us, and why we had to get to you first. Only Anakaris knows where the portal back to Earth is, or the mechanism he uses to bring people here. You could help us find it and get back to Earth to warn them, or better yet help us escape this damned place.”

 

    “Well,” she says, “I don’t want to be part of some civil war, but I’ll see what I can do okay. If he really is planning to invade the world, I’ll go back home and warn them. Or better yet...”

 

     She stands straight proudly, “I’ll show this Pharaoh that the only true path to power is friendship, and if I have to I will show him that in a fight.” She kicks the air high with her long strong leg *hiyah*. She waves and says, “bye now, I got a mission.” leaving the rebels in stunned silence.

 

 

      Back at her apartment she finds the same, or at least two of the same kind of creatures that she saw when she first arrived waiting for her.

 

   “Miss, miss” they say, “we have great news for you; you have been invited to dinner to dine with the Great, All Mighty, Lord Pharaoh Anakaris!”

 

Scene 3: The Pharaoh’s Offer.

      Elena was treated like a princess, the palace servant girls had even waited on her in a massive lavish marble bath. And now she sits on the far end of an oddly medieval styled table, standing out in the otherwise Egyptian styled palace, save for other odds and ends such as the bath which was Grecian in style. Now she is wearing noble Ancient Egyptian robes given to her after the bath and sitting across the table from a man she can’t help but gawk at.

 

   From what she had been told, and the way the rebels had acted she was expecting some giant ogre, or snake monster, or something other than this bronze skinned god of a man sitting before her. Even with her often upbeat and outgoing personality she can’t help but blush, especially as this man who looks to be sculpted out of stone is only wearing a yellow and blue stripped weighted loin cloth, giant anklets, and yellow and blue stripped Pharaoh’s hood crown.

 

   Waiting on them as the eat are numerous palace servants, mostly young girls, the same ones who had helped her with the bath earlier, and those same small mummy dwarf creatures. The man across from her is Pharaoh Anakaris who had been speaking for some time now about the glories of his kingdom, typical rich guy behavior to Elena.

 

    Elena nearly spits out her salad when Anakaris abruptly says, “I want you to join my Harem.” in his deep echoing voice.

 

    “uh”, says Elena, “I’m always looking to make friends, but that’s a little friendlier than I was looking for.”

 

    Anakaris holds up his hand, “Its alright, It’s a heavy choice I’ll admit. To become a wife, to a god, you of course won’t have any of the responsibility as my First Wife. You will be treated to all the luxuries of my palace, immortality would even be yours if you wanted it.”

 

    Elena staggers trying to think of a nice way to decline when he holds up his hand again, “Its alright, I will give you until tomorrow to make your choice. Until then you are free to move about the upper floors of my palace, explore all that could be your home, be waited on for what ever you need at anytime tonight. My servants are at your disposal. I will leave you to the palace in peace, for I will be heading off to my private rooms.”

 

    Far off in the depths of the Palace in a crypt like labyrinth lighted by floating orbs of dim light above unlit torches Anakaris walks to his tomb, to his sarcophagus. As he approaches the hidden chamber a shadow moves along the walls, detached from light and darkness in an unnatural manner. The shadow looms off the wall as a massive torso with an elongated dome for a head and long arms that flow back into the wall. The thing that would be the head on this shadow twists like a sock puppet towards Anakaris, two red glowing slits for eyes appearing on it.

 

     Anakaris stops and speaks to this apparition as normally as he would any one in his palace, “Shadow, watch my guest, keep her safe if need be. I will not have those traitors in my kingdom interfere with my plans.”

     

Scene 4: Finding a way home

     At first Elena walked about the upper-levels enjoying the sites of the palace. However as the day wore on, longer than any normal day, as by now despite the ever continuous golden light it had to be close to midnight. However Elena knew she had to find a way home soon, other wise she might have to take up Anakaris on his offer, not that she wasn’t tempted, but she has no intention of staying in this weird place forever, she has a life, family, and friends to return home to.

 

     Elena is surprised at the lack of security in this lavish palace as she sneaks her way down some stairs, the few servants she has come across being very informative about how to find her way around. She guesses this is because Anakaris ordered them to do what ever she asked. However here in the depths of the more labyrinth like halls she hasn’t seen any people. She leans on the wall next to a giant stone face with giant white pupil-less eyes and a strange stone twirl mustache.  

 

     “I’m starting to think that guy was wrong, I don’t see anything that looks like a portal back to Earth anywhere. Maybe I should just ask someone.”

 

    “That would not be a good Idea.” Comes a large grainy voice causing Elena to jump back.

 

    “Huh? Who was that?” she asks looking around.

 

   “Me.” Says the giant stone face moving as though the stone was skin and very large wedge shaped teeth.

 

   “Who and what are you?” asks Elena walking up to it looking around the edges to see how it works.

 

   “Who I am and what I am is the same thing.” answers the face, “I am a Tableot.”

 

    “A tablet-a lot?” she says puzzled.

 

“No.”, it says, “a Tableot, I am a holder of information. I am tasks with knowing all there is to know about this palace”

 

 “Oh.” She says, “So you’re like the information center for this place?”

 

  “Yes,” it says, “I am here as a keeper of the palace secrets and basic outline, I can guide one back to the upper-levels or anywhere with-in this kingdom they want to go. Or answer questions for those down here.”

 

   “Okay and why would someone trying to keep secrets have someone like you hanging on the wall in a hallway?”

 

   “With so many new arrivals to the Pharaoh’s army and to his servants who must pass through the palace it was predicted some would get lost from time to time, so a Tableot has been placed in several key locations to redirect the lost back to where they need to be.”

 

    “Oh.” she says, “hey, what was that you said first though? About not asking people where the way back to Earth is?”

 

    It answers, “To ask such a question amongst Anakaris’ loyal servants could only lead to being caught, and as I am what I am I can not stand to see a foolish thought go un-answered regardless of who or what has summoned me.”

 

    Drawling out her words and rolling her eyes she says, “Yeeeaaaah, okaaaay.”

 

    “Soooo,” she says, “So there is a portal right?”

 

   “Yes.”

 

   “Okay and can you tell me where it is?”

 

   “No.” It says bluntly

 

   “awww, why not?” she ask giving puppy dog eyes.

 

   “While I will not stand a foolish thought go unanswered I can not intentionally betray my summoner.”

 

    “Maybe I can help Miss Elena.” comes a soft female voice behind her.

 

    Elena turns to see a young Egyptian girl with stark black short hair standing there, she recognizes her as one of the girls who had waited on her as she bathed earlier in the palace.

 

    “Oh hay, you were…sorry I forgot your name.” says Elena embarrassed.

 

   “Shara.” Says the girl, “I heard you were wandering around and followed you to see if I could help you Miss Elena. Those Tableots are well known for giving straight forward answers on things that are considered common sense, but can be a really pain when it comes to anything specific. I heard of one even being cryptic about a cake recipe once.”

 

    “Ah,” says Elena as she claps her hands together, “Will you help me? Please.”

 

     “Of course,” says Shara, “I did just say I could help.”

 

    “Sorry,” says Elena.

 

   “Huh?” says Shara, “oh, I didn’t mean to sound…mean.”

 

   Elena grabs up Shara into a massive hug lifting her off the ground before setting her down, “Great!, now were friends. Now lead the way. Let’s find that magic portal. Oh, this is going to be a great adventure!”

 

   Elena follows behind as Shara leads her down the halls, not once stopping to double check that she is going the right way, as if she has the entire map in clearly in her mind.

 

   Elena stops, “Uh, Shara, I don’t mean to sound all pessimistic and all, but you don’t have a map, and we have to have made like twenty turns by now…”

 

   “Huh? Oh yes,” says Shara, “Don’t worry; I have been exploring these passages for some years now. I know my way around perfectly. In fact right past this door we will be outside again.”

 

    “But we’re like really far underground aren’t we.” asks Elena.

 

    Shara giggles, “What underground? This whole place floats in the skies of Oblivion.”

 

     She opens the door to the golden light outside to an odd court yard with a stone bridge going across a walled in area with what looks be black mist below. As they carefully cross Elena sees shapes slithering in the darkness below, she sees strange yellow brown snake like creatures with wedge shaped heads filled with oversized white square cartoon like teeth propping the mouths open. And to her what look to be cloth black garbage backs strapped to the back of their heads. As one rears up over the black mist she can see that they also have short monster movie type dinosaur three clawed hands.

 

    “Be careful.” says Shara, “the Ka-Vipers also have a claw on the tip of their tails, and can bite through stone. It’s best they don’t think there is an easy meal up here or we’ll have a very dangerous fight on our hands.”

 

   They silently make their way to the other side and back into the dark halls that make one think the palace has an underground.

 

 

   “So,” says Elena looking around, “This Anakaris guy actually built this place to give the illusion of looking like its underground when its all really floating in the sky?”

 

    “Yes,” says Shara, “He wanted a feel of an ancient cursed crypt to deter anyone from going this way.”

 

    “cool,” says Elena, “They really had me fooled.”

 

    As they turn down another flight of stairs Shara shushes Elena, “we must be silent here. You see the lights this way are brighter than the rest of the passages? Well that’s to make the shadows behind trespassers darker as well as any other objects. That way no one is focused on motion in the darkness so the Ba-Vipers can sneak up on people in their own shadows.”

 

    “Uh,” says Elena, “you mean those giant things we passed.”

 

  “No,” says Shara, “those were Ka-Vipers. Ba-Vipers look like dark black slithering shadows no bigger than a normal viper, they become solid only right before they strike, their venom, which is more like a virus, can even infect zombies. So keep to the center of the hall and don’t let your shadow touch the shadows of the lamps the snakes are hiding there.”

 

     Elena and Shara silently walked down the bright hall carefully watching every shadow, Elena even saw some slithering in the shadows below the lamps. Near the end of the hall pillars had been placed so their shadows criss-crossed the floor, making it impossible for one’s shadow not to touch them as jumping over the shadows so one’s own shadow doesn’t touch them is techniquelly impossible.

 

    “Hmmm,” hums Shara, “well,” she looks back at Elena, “heh, I guess they added this when I wasn’t looking.”

 

      Elena looks around and says, “I think I can make, those snakes aren’t any faster than a normal snake right?”

 

     “Uh, yes” says Shara.

 

 

 

    “Well,” says Elena, “I could make this jump by jumping off the faster than any snake could strike, but I won’t leave you behind. This is going to be very hard carrying you too.”

 

   Shara looks worried, “then go with out me, the Portal room is through the doors at the end of this hall. All you have to do is put your hand on the dial device in front of me and say the name of your world; it’s Earth CCSFRF. I will…go back.”

 

    Elena sees the sad expression on her new friend’s face, “Do you like it here?”

 

   “Huh?” she says with a look that seemed to say the thought never crossed her before.

 

    “Do you like it here? Do you have family, friends?”

 

    “Well,” she says with a pause, “No, actually, I am contracted to obey Anakaris…I am a slave here.”

 

    “Then come with me.” says Elena, “We’re friends now, and I’m not leaving my friend behind.”

 

    Shara looks at her sincere expression and gets a smile on her face, “You have friends with all sorts of weird powers back home right, like throwing fireballs and such correct?”

 

    Elena a little confused says, “Um, yeah.”

 

   “Well,” says Shara, “then I guess showing you wont hurt our friendship. Don’t worry about carrying me, and in fact I’ll protect you from the Ba-Vipers. All you have to do is carry me in your shadow.”

 

    “What?” asks Elena.

 

   Shara stands behind in Elena’s shadow and phases down into it. Elena hears a whisper in her ear says, “Now hurry.”

 

 

 

    Elena leaps off the wall flipping through pillars, upon landing she hears another whisper, “quick through the door, they are not restricted to the shadows and are coming out.”

 

   Elena sees the shadows slithering from the shadows of the pillars as she turns and runs through the very tall double doors that slid easily for their size, into a very large room lit with electric bulbs. It was if she had stepped through time from ancient Egypt to the 21st century. The room was almost military in design with a large ramp leading up to a black circular device large enough to drive a bus through and a pedestal with a blue orb on it like some lawn ornaments she had seen before.

 

   Elena says, “Shara, are you there?”

 

   Elena sees a female form rise from her shadow, but its not the girl she had been with, its…herself, only made of shadows. The shadowiness fades away quickly and there stands an exact double of Elena.

 

     In her own voice this new Elena says, “Its me, when I move in someone’s shadow I typically come out as their exact double. If it makes you feel weird I can also change to who ever I want whose shadow I had been in before.”

 

   She turns back into a shadow and morphs into the shape she had before of the young Egyptian girl. “Okay,” she says, “Confession time I guess, I wasn’t the girl you met at your bath. I only took on her form so you would have at least a somewhat familiar face helping you out. But I did make the name up myself, I think the servant girl had some name like Quitzy..laba..something or another.  Don’t worry she’s perfectly fine. You can see yourself I don’t have to hurt someone to look like them.”

 

    “Shhh.” says Elena, “You’re my friend right? And you want to leave with me right?”

 

    “Um…yes and yes I do.”

 

    “Okay!” says Elena happily, “Then let’s go home.”

 

   She puts her hand on the orb and says, “…uh, what was the thing I was supposed to say again?”

 

    Shara starts laughing hysterically, as she calms down she says, “By Lord Belial, I haven’t had this much fun in…ever. Its no wonder the queen likes to go to your world so much. After Lord Belial banished Demitri Maximoff to Earth I would have thought it was some horrible place. But you…you are too cute and funny. Guess its not all bad. But between the sheep Anakaris keeps here and the lunatics from Earth I have seen go to my world I had thought it some place made of tyrants and slaves.”

 

    Elena genuinely confused says, “Uh, well, I guess some places are like that. But there are also a whole lot of nice people too. It’s actually a pretty fun place to live.”

 

    “Okay,” says Shara, “say Earth CCSFRF.”

 

    As Elena begins to speak pillars of light appear all around the room, from them walks out Skeletons wearing sparse barbarian armor and holding scimitar swords. They appeared just as Elena finished speaking causing a pool of swirling blue light to appear inside the black circle portal device.

 

    “Now get going,” says Shara, “I’ll hold these low class guards at bay.”

 

   Shara’s arms turn into long tendrils of shadow slashing three of the skeleton guards into boney bits with just a few quick slashes. Share looks back to see Elena has leapt into action kicking one Knight’s head clean off with a hand stand kick before knocking its rib-cage apart with another.

 

   As Elena fights she yells out to Shara, “I said I’m not leaving you, so I’m not leaving you.”

 

   As Shara creates more tendrils from her body to slash the growing number of Skeleton Knights as more pour out of the light pillars she yells out to Elena, “Don’t worry about me, they can’t actually hurt me. I’m not a physical being, and besides I don’t need this portal to get to Earth, I can travel to any world I want when ever I want through the world of shadows and mirrors.”

 

    She sends out a long tentacle grabbing up Elena and yells to her, “I’ll see you on Earth someday I promise!” before flinging her through the portal.

 

 

    Elena finds herself in the desert outside of Cairo with the sun just staring to rise. She looks around trying to find Shara and says, “I am going to hold you to your promise Shara.”

 

    Back in the depths of Anakaris’ palace, the one who was calling herself Shara says to the skeletons, “With my friend gone its time I stopped playing nice with you automaton corpses.”

 

    With a wicked smile her body transforms into shadow that looms out of the ground like a twelve foot tall waving blob of darkness with two long arms that reach to the ground with solid claws for hands, with the only semblance of a face on the smaller part above the arms that serves as the head being two red slits for eyes and a darker ridged opening for a mouth.

 

   As black lightning begins to form between its hands the deep voice of Anakaris yells out from all directions, “Cease this nonsense at once!”

 

    Anakaris appears from a purple pillar of light that emanates from a golden circle that appeared on the ground and vanishes just as quickly. He holds his hands out in a posture of attention as he surveys the carnage, “Knights of the Necropolis return to your crypts.” He commands.

 

    He turns to the shadowy being, “Shadow, why…how could you betray me. Your kind is bound to contract. We made a contract; you had to obey my every command.”

 

    “Your every command so long as it didn’t lead to my own destruction.” Spoke Shadow using Elena’s voice.

 

   “Don’t do that!” screams Anakaris in rage, “and answer me demon of Makai’s lower world. How did you betray me!?”

 

    “I didn’t,” speaks Shadow in Anakaris’ voice, “You said to protect her, you didn’t say anything about preventing her escape. I also could have interrupted your command to me to protect her emotional as well as physical well being and escort the girl back to her own home safely.”

 

    “But you wouldn’t do that!” screams Anakaris, “demons of shadow may twist commands when able, but never to aid someone other than themselves.”

 

    Shadow begins to laugh, with the voice of a young girl that Anakaris does not recognize, “Silly little mummy man. I am Shadow; I am the dark reflection of all who walk in light. I have sampled the powers of numerous powerful beings and their dark emotions. I am hated, I am used, I am despised, and viewed as evil. Yet today I sampled something new. Yes When I copied that cat-girl Felicia I sampled joy and happiness and ever since I have held it in my memory as my secret pleasure, however today I sampled an extension of it, friendship. I would keep that for myself. I would not allow even you to rob me of it.”

 

    Shadow transforms into Anakaris’ mummy form, “Would you like to fight me as punishment? Although now I strangely feel like fighting can be done to make friends…I must have gotten that when I sampled Elena’s shadow.”

 

    “I don’t have time for some insane demon’s ramblings.” Says Anakaris, “Our contract is void, you are released I have no use for a demon who will circumvent me so easily for something as useless as the friendship of a little girl.”

 

   Shadow reverts to its true form, “Very well Anakaris, so easily you have broken what it took your sorcerers years to accomplish, summoning and making a pact with me…Shadow. I promise you Anakaris, go after the girl Elena again and I will show you how powerful I really am. Is loosing this kingdom of yours really worth it?” Shadow vanishes in a red glow that emits intense heat into the room. It reappears floating like a cloud above the red soiled lands of Makai thinking, “Sorry Elena, I saved you from living as a doll only to be used to sire a son for that creature stuck in his past glories, but getting to your world as I promised is not an easy matter even for me. But I am Shadow, a promise is a contract, you will have your friend Shara back.”