Kitra's senses were sharper than most, but she could see nothing, hear nothing. To all sides was darkenss. Even as she looked down at herself, there was nothing. She felt detached from her body.
For several minutes Kitra was suspended in this gloomy darkness. She felt depressed and sad for every second that ticked by, as if seeming to be dragged.
At last, a red flash of light marked the entrance of Esacus.
The demon was suspended in mid air. Esacus had two yellow, pupiless eyes on a fox like head. Two long ears protruded from a read mane, one of which had two ear rings. Esacus had a basically humanoid appearance otherwise. The demon had grey fur along it's body, and meager leather clothing along his chest, waist, elbows and knees. The leather chest plate had the Cancer Zodiac stone engraved on a corner. One of Esacus' hands was a long fingered, taloned hand, while the other was a crab-like pincher. Esacus' feet were exaclty like goats feet. His tail, ending in three tips, helped him keep his balance.
"Kitra..." Esacus growled. "Do you know who I am?"
Kitra felt her head shake.
"I am Esacus. I am the Zodiac Brave of Cancer. I am you!"
Kitra's throat froze, and for a while, could not talk.
"Kitra, we are destined to be one! But for that to happen, the first steps have to be made. You must find my Zodiac Stone. It is here."
Instantly, a map was engraved into Kitra's mind, from where she was in Skan's house, to the exact location. Just like that.
"I... won't..." she said slowly.
Esacus pretended not to hear. "I can help your... little dilema. With the power of my stone, with the power of my magic, you can destroy Tirkul without killing his host body."
Kitra gasped. She somehow knew that Esacus was telling the truth. She knew.
"You will know how, Kitra Rivan. All you will need is my stone, and you will know. Now go. Find it, and kill Tirkul! After the first two steps are fulfilled, we can become one!"
Kitra awoke at once. Her eyes snapped open at the sudden realization that she wasn't dead.
Where am I? she asked, sitting up in her bed. Bed? What happened?
Suddenly, the realization of what happened hit her. Like a hammer. Skan, as Tirkul. Both her and Thom's defeat at the hands of the Zodiac Monster. It took up all of her healing powers to save Thom, and it wasn't possible for her to save herself. Then why was she in such good shape, and in a bed no less?
On a table next to her were several bottles. Two of them were tipped over, there contents empty. They were all labelled "Elixer". Obviously someone had spilled these elixers of health onto her, healing her wounds. It was not as good as drinking it, but it still did the job. Kitra took one of the bottels and began to drink it's contents. After the entire bottle was emtpy, Kitra felt much better, if a bit tired.
Obviously someone was here to put her in a room with a soft bed and pour these potions on her. So, perhaps Thom had done well in her healing. Either that, or he had drinken on of these elixers himself.
As if on cue, Thom came in the room, looking at a newspaper. He noticed Kitra awake and smiled. "Well, it's about time you got up!"
Kitra frowned. "About time? What do you mean?"
"Well, after Tirkul nearly killed you, I woke up and carried you here and bought you these potions. With, um, Skan's money. But he's got a lot, so it's not important! Anyway, that was about 4 days ago."
Kitra shot forward and grabbed Thom by the collar. "Four days!? Who KNOWS what kind of havoc Tirkuk could be wreaking! We have to-"
Thom knocked Kitra's hands off irritably. "Hey, listen. Nothing has happened. What do you think I've been doing for the past four days?"
"Reading," said Kitra, glancing over to a pile of books at Skan's desk. Thom flushed.
"Well, that, too. I read as many books on the subject I could get. Not many. According to the books, there are several symptoms which show that there is a force trying to possess you. One, a normal dream that seems real. It usually either has the demon talking to you, or something urging you to do what it wants. Two, you hear it's voice at times. It's not your sense playing tricks, it IS talking to you. Through something. In this case, it would be through the stone. And the final symptom, is that you see the demon where ever you go. Skan doesn't have numbers 2 or 3 in his journal, so perhaps neither happened to him."
Kitra shook her head in numb disbelief. Was Esacus trying to possess her, or was she just dreaming because of all this madness?
Thom either didn't see her head shake or ignored it. He sat down and began reading the paper. Kitra picked up on of Thom's books and began to read, and for a half hour, the two read in silence. Finally, Thom leapt to his feet.
"Look at this!!" he said. He shoved the paper into Kitra's face.
"That's Skan!" said Thom.
Kitra nodded. "He fought against Tirkul, if this is true."
"What?" asked Thom.
Kitra looked Thom in the eyes, fully serious. "If a person is possessed, several times, they fight back mentally while being controlled. Some win, some lose. But at EVERY mental battle with the possessor, the person being possessed has a chance of winning. But there is also a smaller chance that he will gain the control of his body at a price: his sanity."
Thom was sileny for several moments. "You mean... Skan is crazy now? Forever?'
"No," said Kitra. "No. The demon who possessed him can easily take over such a weakened mind in hours, days at most. Tirkul probably already has control of Skan."
Thom made an exasperated sigh. "Then what do we do!?"
The mental map was still in Kitra's mind. She stood up. "I have an idea. Thom, get Skan's airship. I have the keys, you drive."
Thom blinked. "Wha-what?"
"We're going to get Cancer."
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