A Quest of Evil (Xaro) FINISHED

[Xaro]

Dreadwing's mouth twitched up in a fang-filled smile, and a ritual circle appeared beneath Dark at that moment, as if on cue. Several of them floated up from their original shape on the floor, moving up and down in a wave motion. She extended both her wing arms and her normal arms toward him, and a sudden jolt of power went through the clawed tips, in the forms of red and purple lightning bolts.

The power...all that power...it felt nice... but there was a price to all that power.

"I will give you power, but in exchange, I will be immune to whatever you throw at me. Killing me will be impossible without someone else doing your dirty work. If it's power you want...IT'S POWER YOU GET!"

The circle had gotten bigger, as did the bolts.

[Dark Link]

Again, Dark felt a twinge of distaste. He didn't like the idea of there being anyone he could not kill. It ment that there was going to be someone more powerful then him. On the other hand, it may still be enough to give him the edge he needed to kill the Link. Besides, if he didn't like the deal he could always back out right?

The circle and bolts grew bigger, and Dark Link stood there waiting.

[Xaro]

"This part of the ritual is very painful."

Soon, the circles were glowing white, and all the power that they had absorbed was transfered into the one who was standing in the circle, directly. So much power...all at once?! That could make a man explode!

As soon as the circles did their work, she put her arms and wings down, letting them do the rest.

[Dark Link]

Power flooded through Dark at an alarming rate. It felt amazing...and wrong somehow. The pain made him shed tears, but Dark began laughing histarically as he felt the power fill him. Surely it would be enough...

[Xaro]

The ritual circles compressed, and exploded outward, their absorption spent. The entire room shook with the force of the backblast, and although it washed over the bat-woman, she didn't budge. Not an inch. Now the endowed would be practically, and literally, glowing with the power.

"Try them out."

[Dark Link]

Dark looked down at his glowing fingertips with a puzzled expression. "How am I suppose to use this-" Suddenly, purple lightning bolts lanced out of his hand, passed harmlessly through the bat/snake/woman and destroyed a small section of the wall behind her.

[Xaro]

"Try using your weapons."

She waved a claw and three training dummies popped up in a flash of red smoke, each one dressed to look like Link. Dreadwing smirked, rubbing her dagger-sized fangs up and down, feeling their serrated edges and incredible points. Although...they were a little dull, she would have to re-sharpen them again.

"The more complex the power, the more devastation you can cause."

[Dark Link]

Dark raised an eyebrow, confused by what she was trying to say. With a shrug, he charged at the Link dummies. The first one he swiped with his sword in a sharp arc. The second one, he hit with a three-slash combo. Still attacking the second, Dark tossed his black boomarang at the third dummy.

[Xaro]

"Good. Here's how the power works..."

Three living hylians appeared, scared out of their wits. The last thing they saw were several balls of raw magic, crackling in random spurts like condensed lightning. They weren't even given time to run. The magic caused them to combust, then have their flesh explode and melt off, turning them into bleach-white skeletons. The skeletons grabbed a ruined sword and shield nearby, and left the room.

"There's the power."

[Dark Link]

Dark was furious. THIS was what she had given him? Now instead of commanding an army, it seemed like he was actually raising one for her. And a weak one at that. Link could hack at skeletons all day an not get tired. They were weak creatures. How were the suppose to help...

The anger disappeared in Darks mind in an instant as a possibility occured to him. Yes the skeletons would be no threat to Link, but what about the rest of Hyrule? Link cared about the others there, especially the princess. Could he protect them and fight off an army at the same time? And more importantly, might it make him more vulnerable to Dark's attacks?

Dark's twisted smile returned as he considered the possibilities.

[Xaro]

"Now... They only animate when they are within the Shadow Temple. Anywhere else, they just melt and dissolve into skeletons. You can do plenty of things with this power. Such as shadow walking, which is how I got in the Water Temple in the first place."

She then smirked, and sent a mental spike within his mind, "Do not doubt my powers. I cam smell doubt off of you. These undead get MUCH worse! Take a look at my soldiers."

A soldier, clearly undead, prowled into the room, the single eye twitching and moving rapidly and in random directions. It had taloned hands and feet, good for ripping flesh and shredding armor. The teeth were pointed and large, and by the way it moved, it was already ready to jump to the attack, or jump away from an attack. It is...WAS...a hylian, no doubt about it.

"Now...try to attack it."

[Dark Link]

Dark cringed at the mental spike. He should have expected this. After all, his previous master had done something similar to merit control over Dark. It irritated him even more, but power was power.

Pushing his doubts aside to focus on his target, Dark lept forward and attacked fiercly with his sword.

[Xaro]

As soon as Dark jumped up, the creature swiftly moved sixty degrees to Dark's left, and immediately pounced while he was still in the air. It was going to tackle him right out of mid-jump! Dreadwing was pleased at the training "programs" she had embedded into her soldiers' thick skulls. Well, everyone learns from mistakes, and this is no different. The wisest thing to do was NOT try to jump these ghouls. Of course...she was doing trial and error at the moment.

[Dark Link]

Dark blocked the tackle with his shield. The impact still sent him flying back, and he landed on his feet with a grunt. Hewas no longer thinking. Every move was on instinct. He swung his sword in mid-air. A bolt of black energy lashed out, but it's aim was off and it landed between him and the ghoul.

Dark held himself in check now, slowly watching his opponent, waiting to see how he would next strike at him.

[Xaro]

The ghoul skittered back and forth, then bounced forward in a wild zig-zag pattern, not letting up on it's attack and making itself harder to hit. The thing was unnaturally strong! It made redeads look like mindless toys! If Ganondorf got his hands on these things, he would most likely get his way soon!

Dreadwing smirked, "You're lasting longer than the previous fighters I've had."