Curse of Jade

[Bulbasaur4]

Curse of Jade

Chapter 1

The underbrush of sticky thorns and wiry branches claws at his bare shins as he ran. Occasionally a clawed leaf would snag at his forearm as he held it up to block his face from falling victim to the forest. The trees in the northern part of the Jade forest were more wicked than he remembered, but perhaps it was the Emperor's hostile will that commanded them this night.

Thunder growled above him as lightning streaked across the sky. Hesitating for a second, Yuar dug his bare feet into the ground and stumbled to a halt. Peering up at the sky through the covering of the trees was enough to give him flashing glimpses of the illuminated clouds.

"Yuaaaarrrr...." The thunder rumbled, calling his name as a brilliant bolt of lightning crackled outwards like a newly branching tree in the sky. It had been a quick moment, but Yuar had seen the figure flying through the clouds- a snake like tail disappearing back into darkness.

"They know where I'm going..." Yuar frowned, biting at his lip absently as he looked back to the forest which surrounded him. The air was foggy thick with moisture and the forbidden sense that told his body to not venture farther. Normally Yuar would have listened- he would have ventured back and retreated - but not this time.

"If this makes me selfish... then so be it." He swore lightly under his breath as he took off again.



In the lost time of a minute or an hour, Yuar broke free of the forest and found himself in a clearing. The sky above him was clear, revealing the spiraling stars and two sparkled multi-colored moons. Clouds surrounded the clearing and seemed to glide around the space of sky that was directly above the clearing- as if some magical force was protecting it. The clearing itself was filled with mossy ground that felt cool against his feet. With each step forward, the moss gave in slightly to Yuar's footsteps like a cushioned pillow.

"This can't be it..." Yuar uttered as he scanned the small clearing. All he could see was the mossy ground and the darkness of the forest which surrounded the area. "... it was supposed to be here!" He clenched his hands into fists as he collapsed down to his knees into the moss.

"It is here." A smooth, sultry voice rose came from behind him. Yuar whirled around swiftly, smoothing away the tendrils of his own fiery red bangs away from his eyes. Two violet eyes stared at him from the forest before stepping out into the twin moonlight. Yuar paled instantly as he felt his body become stiff with cold.

"J-justicar..." He stammered, watching as her natural form came fully into the light. She stood on hoofed fours with delicate legs like that of an elk. Yet her skin was covered in glistening scales that mirrored the color of a sparkling river. Her head however was like that of a dragon- equipped with strong jaws, a powerful snout and demanding gaze.

"You seem surprised, Yuar." She said again, her tongue sliding over her muzzle. Within the middle of her head was a large antler with sharp, dagger-like splintered ends. She also had deer-like ears and a tail that reminded Yuar of a lion, but all of her features were shrouded in a white, silvery flame that flickered about her neck like a flowing mane of fire. It was also around her hoofed ankles as well and surrounded her tail, making her moonlit appearance seem more of a ghost than real.

"I didn't know they'd send you," he said. He found strength in his voice again as his eyes of sunset orange met her own violet gaze. She let loose a soft hum of amusement, taking a few steps at him before simply leaping over his kneeling figure. Yuar turned back around to follow her with his gaze, watching as she landed gracefully in the middle of the clearing.

"Of course they'd send me. You're as valuable as all the jewels within the Celestial Realm and then some. Everyone is out looking for you-"

"If you're here to bring me back, I'll have you know I'm not leaving willingly." Yuar interrupted as he rose weakly, fighting the screaming protest within his tired legs. She looked away from him as she dug at the ground with her front hooves, scraping away at the moss.

"You, Yuar, fighting? You really must have thought this over for a while."

"Lifetimes, actually." Yuar added with a glare, taking a step forward. "What are you doing?"

"Helping you, what else does it look like? Ah, here we go..." Scraping away a large spread of moss, revealed a strange gold-encrusted symbol in the ground. Stepping firmly upon the symbol with her hoof, she narrowed her eyes and mumbled a few words. Instantly the ground beneath the two of them began to shake, a low groan vibrating through the earth as cracks formed through the rippled moss.

"Behold, the answer you were looking for." She leapt away from the symbol and landed nearer to Yuar, as the two of them raised their heads from the ground to the sky.

Two pillars of golden light burst through the ground and arced up towards the sky, disappearing into the night. The sound of crackling embers spit into the air as a glowing, snake-like light of blue spiraled around the pillars before freezing in place. As soon as it froze, an eruption of white light flooded the air and temporarily blinded Yuar and the Justicar.

"Th-that's it!" Yuar rubbed at his eyes swiftly, blinking away the dark blotches from his eyes as he inhaled sharply. Before him were two golden pillars, embroidered in sparkling blue jewels to imitate two dragons snaking around each pillar. Between the pillars however, was a swirling liquid-like pool of silver. It looked metallic - like the color of silver when melted and it reflected a distorted image of a nighttime sky with one pale moon.

"This is it Yuar. The portal to the mortal realm." The hoofed Justicar took a step towards the portal, regarding it with a curious gaze.
"How did you know this is wh-"
"You were searching for it, correct?" She swiveled her head around to look at him sharply.
"Well, yes, I jus-"
"Then it doesn't matter. The Emperor found out about your plans to escape and spread it to everyone under his command. It's only a matter of time befo-"

A thunderous roar split into the air, causing both Yuar and the Justicar to wince as a lightning bolt crashed into the forested earth near to them.

"Long knows you are here and soon the others will too. Get going!"
Yuar nodded and swiftly ran up to the swirling portal but hesitated just as he was a mere foot from the liquid pool. Looking back at her, he tilted his head to the side in question.
"Why did you help me?"
"Don't forget to find your balance once you enter the other realm. If you don't find it in time, you may not die but you will arrive back here. If that happens, the Emperor will lock you up forever."
"I know all that, I've thought of all the outcomes before I decided to leave. But Xiao Tian, you didn't answer my question. Why are you helping me?!"

At that name, she let out a hissing growl and charged at Yuar. His eyes widened as she reared up in front of him and smashed a hoof down into his chest with enough force to knock him back off of his feet and into the portal. His body stuck like a fly in a web upon hitting the silvery shimmer of the portal and then slowly began to sink into the pool.

Xiao Tian watched quietly as Yuar's fingertips disappeared beneath the liquid sheen of the portal. The earth beneath the portal began to rumble again, the pillars beginning to crack as the liquid pool seemed to begin to evaporate away.

"You have given me a reason, Yuar." She whispered quietly, glancing up to the roaring sky.

~*~*~

The rain drizzled harshly against the muddied ground, making it difficult to patrol the grounds of the academy. Usagi continued to trudge along the edge of the grounds despite the slippery footing, a calm expression of contemplation upon his face. He liked the rain a great deal and didn't mind staying out tonight on duty. While having two part-time jobs didn't bother him, they certainly kept him busy and a late-night patrol in the rain was the perfect mundane task to gather his thoughts.

His black jacket that covered over his button-up white shirt proved to be thick enough to keep him warm, although his ebony pants were soaked along with the edge of his shirt that was longer than his jacket near his waistline. A red band around his left arm was also soaked, although the stitched markings, "RDA" still visibly showed upon it. His boots were covered in spattered mud and as Usagi turned the last corner of the grounds, he lost his footing and almost fell for the third time that night.

"Guess it's time to call it a night." Usagi thought as he scanned the grounds one last time as he began to turn back. A splash of red in the darkness froze him in place however, as his eyes narrowed.

"What the hell?" He noticed something pale spread out in the darkness, near the graveyard of the academy. Feeling the slight rush of excitement, Usagi dug his boots into the mud and ran towards the pale object. Wiping a wet sleeve against his eyes, he began to tell the pale object was actually a body. A body with medium-length, bright red hair.

Usagi slid to his knees as he kneeled over the body and immediately checked the pulse. The body was male and wore heavily embroidered pants and a shirt of various shades of black. No shoes, no identification... but he was definitely still alive.

"He... doesn't even feel cold." Usagi muttered in confusion, looking around the area for anything else that could be a clue as to who this guy was, but there was nothing. No identification, no objects of possession... not even footprints in the mud.

A low moan escaped from the guy's lips as his body stirred and immediately Usagi leaned over him again.

"Are you okay? You awake?" Usagi's low voice questioned as he watched the guy's eyes slowly flutter open. Immediately the guy tried to sit up but Usagi quickly grabbed his shoulders and held him down briefly.

"Woah there, you can sit up but take it easy." Slowly Usagi helped raise him into a sitting position, the rain pattering against the both of them. "Are you alright?"
"Uh... ungh... yeah, I think so." The guy absently rubbed the back of his head, feeling the mud that was stuck to his hair.
"Well let's get you out of the rain. There's a building not too far from here. Can you walk?" Usagi asked. The guy nodded, slowly rising to his bare feet as Usagi rose with him. "Alright, we can figure things out there then. "
"Thank you... uhh...?"
"Usagi."
"Ah, well thank you for your help Usagi. I'm Yuar, Yuar Huo."