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The red wind tore across the flesh-coloured sky, the raptor standing before the Dremora Kynreeve. Indomitably the most powerful-looking thing he had ever fought. A longsword with the appearance of lava in one hand, a violent-looking shield with bloody tips in the other. The horned helmet stared at James with blood-red features. James had to admit to himself he was scared, but he had jumped in too far now to run, no matter how much his feet wanted to. He held his scissors up in both hands like a broadsword, and charged. The Dremora officer dodged to one side, sword low-handed as he bashed James across the face with the shield, the tips of it scarring his cheek as he fell back. James tried once again to slash, but his foe merely countered and swung down his longsword right on top of the scissors, trapping him before another shield bash. The raptor fell backwards but quickly got up before he could be caught out, rolling to one side before charging once more, aiming this time for the legs, but blasting a fire spell upwards to throw off the opponent. It seemed to work, the fire distracting him somewhat from the fact that James plunged his scissors straight into the leg, or tried to considering the thickness of the armour. At the very least, he weakened it somewhat. A hefty kick sent him away and James readied his blades once more, the Dremora swinging his longsword down, forcing James to deflect them. Rolling the longsword off his scissors one way, he strafed quickly to the side and slashed upwards along the waist's side, a small grunt coming from the officer. "Fool," mocked the Dremora. "Your rusted toy is no match for me." "Toys are still dangerous dumbass, can't you read the warning?! Not suitable for FUCKHEADS LIKE YOU!"

Despite his arrogance fuelling such mockery, he soon felt a comeuppance in the form of a spinning slash, deflecting the longsword but not the shield that battered his side with a good short stab into it that made him falter and clutch himself. Dar-Ma whimpered fearfully as she clutched herself to the tower's wall, silently hoping for James to win as he got back up and gasped in a lungful of air. The Kynreeve walked towards him, unflinching in his walk as he forced James back with long swings. Every slash he made, the raptor deflected, but with every guard he was pushed back closer to the edge. James knew this, and waited for his chance, feinting at one more swing by blocking it awkwardly. With an unexpected break in the guard, James strafed with his scissors hung low, cutting through the greaves' weakening points to cut enough of a wound within them.

The Dremora did not buckle, and he merely stood strong while the raptor moved around further, scissors thrusting into the back. James knew the foe would try to swing once more, so he dodged slightly away and underneath the sword and shield, thrusting upwards into the breastplate. He managed to score quite a strong hit, stabbing partway through the armour enough to scar the chest within. But despite the groan of pain from the Dremora, James received a hefty headbutt to the face from the helmet-covered beast, making him fall back with a strong headache. His vision blurred as his face bruised slightly, but he kept on the defensive until recovery by shooting out different volleys of fire, water and ice, anything to keep him off. Sadly they did little to distract the Kynreeve, who merely walked forwards and swung his sword down hard, forcing James to roll. The demonic officer expected this and kicked him hard in the middle of it, throwing the raptor off to the side with a wounded chest, the spiked tips of the boots having dug into his skin. "Your pathetic act of battle only infuriates me mortal." "Hhh-hhhh...f-f-fuck you." _ "Is that the only word you can say? Do you really desire that to be your last words?"_ James shivered as he got up once again, forcing himself through the pain with gritted teeth and charged with desperation towards the Dremora, slashing his scissors everywhere he could. Arms, stomach, even trying to grab the shield between the blades, which soon gave him an idea. Attempting to grab the longsword within his scissors however did not work out well, the enemy too strong to allow such a thing as he twisted it to make James go down, before beating his face in with the shield. The raptor cried out as the tips stabbed into his face, desperately trying to move away.

The strength of the Kynreeve was impossible to overcome, so James tried another desperate trick. Trying to focus while avoiding the shield, he laid down a watery ice right at the feet of the armoured demon. "What's this? You think you can rust my boots, urchin?!" "Nah uh...I thought you might like to go for a spin." Swinging with all of his might, he forced the Dremora to spin on the spot, the ice working well to remove all traction from the thick unearthly boots. He kept his balance well, but James knew how to stop that soon enough. Releasing the scissors from the longsword, he reversed the grip on his scissors, holding the middle so the handles acted like a mace, and bashed straight into the Kynreeve's side, toppling him with the sheer weight, forcing him to roll towards the edge. Wasting no time, James readily slammed away the shield to remove his extra armour, stabbing straight into the shield arm to cripple his hand, a roar of anguish coming from the demon. He stabbed through the other hand too, now that he had even more opportunity to attack, forcing the longsword to be dropped over the edge, the raptor standing beside his defeated foe, scissors aimed downwards. "Good night BITCH!"

With a triumphant plunge, he speared straight into the throat, aiming between helmet and breastplate, rewarded with a gurgling roar of dismay as black blood spewed forth. The raptor did not stop, continuing to plunge his blades in again and again until he was absolutely certain that the demon was dead, despite the occasional spurt of blood that stained his body. Panting heavily at his hard-earned victory, he shoved the corpse over the edge of the bridge. Watching it fall to soon crumple upon jagged rocks, he turned with wounded chest and punctured face back towards Dar-Ma. "Okay, let's go." "You...you killed him." "Yes. Yes I did." "I can't believe you...you could be able to defeat a Daedra as strong as him." "Yeah, but right now we need to get outta here, let's go back in." The inner sanctum of the tower had been cleared out somehow, far less busy than it had been upon the two reptiles' first entry. Perhaps their commander had ordered them away to deal with the intruders. Then they saw the bodies on the upper floor. Climbing up the final stairway, a terrible construction of red horns and blackened bones, they saw a most awe-inspiring terrible sight. An orb, glowing radiantly upon an altar, shining like a miniature sun. James was enraptured, and softly walked towards it among the bodies of fallen Dremora. Dar-Ma was scared but kept close to his back, looking all around the most terrible place. "James, please be careful." "Alright but...what is this?" "A sigil stone."

The voice who answered their question came from the wall, making the two quickly turn. In the shadows of the tower's peak, was a dark winged Argonian. James recognised her easily now, as she walked towards the two dominantly. "You found the girl." "Yep. You found more Dremora." "Yes." "James, who is that?" Dar-Ma was understandably frightened. "I have never seen such a creature before." "Your life will be better for it." Replied the mysterious being, though this tempted James to ask: "Okay, who ARE you?" "That is not important. What's important is that stone." "Yeah? What's so special about it?" "It is a sigl stone." She walked towards it, her thin chainmail slinking with every step. "It is the source of power for this plane of Oblivion." "This plane?" "There are many planes in this dimension. All of them like this. Yet each one of them is powered by this stone. The only way to destroy it, is to take this." "And here I've been looking for one of these. Maybe I can find my way home!" "Home?" Asked Dar-Ma. "How will that help you get home?" "It will, just trust me." The winged Argonian chuckled and shook her head. "What? What's so funny?" "I can tell your home is very far away...are you sure such a little stone will get you there?" "I have to try, don't I?" "Then by all means...take it." Feeling as if he were an archaeologist uncovering a booby-trapped treasure for the first time, he braced himself and grabbed the stone, strongly warm to the touch in his claws. At the moment of obtaining the stone, everything went to hell. Literally. The tower began to crumble, sounds of destruction coming from everywhere. Creatures began to scream unearthly laments from beyond the horizon. Dar-Ma cried out and held James tightly. He held her close in turn.

The world suddenly began to turn white, blinding all three of them as James soon felt the same feeling he had experienced upon entering this realm, closing his eyes instinctively. The next time he opened them, he found himself back in Cyrodiil itself, the very same place he had entered Oblivion. The sky returned to an overcast night time. The gate had disappeared. Dar-Ma was unconscious in his arms, the sigil stone in his hand. The winged Argonian stood beside him, indomitably tall, perhaps at least 7 feet to his guess. "And so," she said aloud, "the kingdom of Hell turns ever smaller." "Wh-what?" "You have banished but one realm of Oblivion. There are more out there to destroy." "Woah woah woah, I don't care about Oblivion or whatever, I just came to save her." "Yes...I can tell you would not care about our affairs." "What you mean?" "I know you are not from this world...your aura...I noticed it when we first met." "Lemme guess." James rolled his eyes having heard this before. "An aura of violence?" "Yes...but there is also a darkness...a great power in you. You just need to learn to use it." "Well that's great but right now I really need to...to...nnngh..." James suddenly felt tired, but not physically. He felt as if his mind had been drained badly, rather similar to when he fought the Starmen in the last world. "Where is your destination?" "Ch-chorrol...shit..." "You are not that wounded, you can walk." "No it's not that, it's...my head, it feels all blurry. Like, mentally exhausted." "Hmm...Skingrad is not far from here. Take that road to the west, you will arrive there soon enough." "Don't suppose you can help me a li'l more?" "No." "Fine, busy I guess...at least tell me your name." "I will tell you...next time we meet." Without another word, the dark Argonian walked off into the woods, her silver hair rustling softly within the night wind. Within the shadows of a copse, she disappeared. "Weird...girl. Least you're safe now Dar-Ma...hhhh...god damnit." Exhausted but relieved at both of their survival, he walked his way to Skingrad, taking careful steps to not drop her, only doing so once in order to put the sigil stone into his satchel. Despite the exhaustion he felt in both body and mind, the warmth in his heart at seeing the maiden's face, despite her bruises and slight puncture wounds, kept him going. He only started to collapse when he reached the gates of Skingrad, thankfully seen by the town guards who rushed over to assist. "By the Nine, what happened citizen?!" "Oblivion...rescued her...need...Chorrol..." He said nothing more as he soon passed out himself, kneeling upon the Gold Road before lying prostate upon it, holding Dar-Ma against him, far too tired to care about anything else.

Upon awakening, he found himself within an unfamiliar but comfortable room, despite being small and rectangular. Two beds with butter-coloured sheets and a single set of drawers. James' bed was right along the left wall. The other contained Dar-Ma, sleeping peacefully in the rays of the morning light, through a sweet little window. James sighed at feeling more rejuvenated, but he felt a stiff twinge of pain when he tried to get up. Falling back into bed, he examined himself to find he had a few stitches in his chest, clearing up his previous wounds nicely. He smiled softly at how badass he must look by now with all these little stitches. Course he could also look like a Frankenstein-style monster. Letting himself rest until someone came, he looked over to Dar-Ma, wanting to talk to her, but not wanting to upset her sleep. The poor girl had been through so much already, kidnapped and abused even within a hellish prison for at least two days. The raptor sighed softly as he stared at her sleeping form, hoping she would wake up soon. 12 minutes later, a human female in silk green garments walked in with two trays of food. "Ah, you're awake." "Hehe, yeah...um, where am I?" Dar-Ma slowly roused from her sleep at the sound of words. "You're in the resputable West Weald Inn, the finest establishment in Skingrad. The guards found you unconscious outside the city gate, so they brought you in, even paid for the room." "Wow that's...real nice of 'em." "Indeed. Here are your breakfasts, help you recover quicker." The trays were a mixed assortment of bread, cheese, fruit, salted beef and wine. James eagerly began to make a sandwich out of them, while Dar-Ma tenderly began eating an apple. "Mmm...thank you." said James, before Dar-Ma's first words of the day were: "Yes, thank you so much madame." "Not a problem. But the guards only paid for one night, so I hope you'll be well enough to leave after breakfast?" "I feel well rested, how about you James?" The raptor gently rubbed his chest. "Same here. Well...kinda got a few stitches in me." "Oh yes, you'll be fine so long as you do not do too much other than gentle walks." "Right...uh whoever fixed me up, thank them for me okay?" "I shall. Anything else?" "Nnnnope, give us a few hours and we should be out of here." "Alright, enjoy your breakfast."

With a curtsy, the innkeeper left the two reptiles to their own, letting them enjoy their breakfast in bed. Dar-Ma was already bubbling up with gratitude. "James?" "Mmhmm?" "Thank you for saving me. I am forever in your debt, as is my mother." "I'm just glad you're safe Dar-Ma. Even more glad we got out alive." "I can't believe this...we managed to survive Oblivion. Truly the Nine have blessed us!" "Unless I was one of those Nine I dunno about that." "Do you...not believe in the Nine Gods?" "Well...I wasn't raised about them so not really." "Oh..." She blushed awkwardly as she tried to think other topics. "What gods do you believe in?" "Ahhh none really, I grew up in a kind of place where we don't believe in any. We just rely on ourselves and good friends...and family." "Do you have family?" "Just a mother...well, adopted mother." "Oh..." She didn't even dare apologise, moving away from the potentially harmful issue, James doing the same. "We go back to Chorrol soon as we're done resting, your mum doesn't know about you coming back yet." "She doesn't!? Oh I hope she's alright!" "She'll be fine another few hours, don't worry." "...OH, Blossom! What about Blossom!?" "I found her before I went into Oblivion, a guard took her back home." "Oh thank the Nine...I...I don't know what happened." "Yeah, how did you get in there?" "I was making my way back from Skingrad, when I was suddenly ambushed by strange creatures. They knocked me off my horse, and she ran away in fear. I did not get a good look at them, they knocked me unconscious and next thing I knew, I had woken up in that terrible prison." "Well...I'm glad you're safe now." "Me too...I..."

Dar-Ma softly put her tray to one side and climbed out of her bed, gently moving over to James' side and softly nuzzling him, hugging him tenderly. James blushed, embracing her warmth and sighing at her smooth scales. She gently lifted the blanket off of him, just revealing the scarred chest. "Uh...what are you doing?" "I wanted to see if you were alright...oh my, such terrible wounds." "I've had worse, don't worry." "Heehee...my hero..." She bent her head down and softly planted a kiss upon his belly, the raptor sighing shakily at the sight, her amber eyes gazing up to him. He kindly returned the favour, pulling her up slightly to kiss her on the cheek. Before they could realise what was happening, their lips met. At first it was the softest touching of lips, one that made Dar-Ma simper with a growing romanticism in her for her otherworldly hero. For James, he was torn. He relished the maiden's kiss, lips closed before she began to open her mouth and allow his tongue inside. At that point, the raptor panicked, gasping as he tried to forget the last time he had kissed like this. Was this betrayal to her? Even if she was dead, it felt wrong, her presence forever clouding his romantic thoughts, unable to pull himself away from her. Eventually he firmly moved Dar-Ma away. "Dar-Ma." "Y-yes, James?" "Listen...I know I saved you and everything but...is this just a kiss to reward me?" "I...I don't know...you've done so much for me." "I don't want to disappoint you but...if you want to be more than just this..." "Yes?" "I have to refuse...for your sake." "W-why?" "I won't be here forever. I'll be gone, far away, very far away from you. I don't want to leave you longing for me, I-" "I'll write! I can still keep in touch, who knows, one day I might want to go to Skyrim-" "No! Please..." Despite his excuses, Dar-Ma sensed something else. Whether it was her instinctive good nature or feminine instinct, she could tell from James' pleading expression that it was not just that. "It's...something else, isn't it?" "What?" "Is there another reason you don't want to risk this? Perhaps...a promise to someone?" "I...n-no. Not a promise...but there is someone." "Oh...you have someone else?" "I did...once." "What?" Her earfins pricked up in curiosity.

"More than three years ago. A woman I loved, the one you remind me of. Her name was Daisy, she was the purest, sweetest girl I ever knew. I loved her for a year when I stayed in a village far away. One night in a blizzard...someone killed her." The Argonian gasped, unable to say anything as she continued listening. James started to cry, for the first time in a while over remembering this. He felt he could do so around the non-judgemental Dar-Ma, even with words turning sour against his will around the sweet maiden. "She...she was the most wonderful girl I knew then...and s-some bastard just choked her to death...hhhh...I hunted him down, over a week or something, and killed him...I made sure he was DEAD. I didn't even go to the police, I...I made him know what he did, I made him suffer every single twisted piece of agony I vowed to do to the one who killed Daisy." "Oh my goodness..." "And you know what?" "What?" He turned to her with steel-cold eyes. "I don't regret it. I don't regret killing him. He deserved every little bit of torture I gave him, I made it last until he was screaming, I choked him at the end of it all JUST so he would know how Daisy felt. And if I could go back, and if I still couldn't save her...I'd do it again." Despite his snarling at revelling within his dark memory, and the burning anxiety within Dar-Ma now at seeing her hero have a wounded past, she asked him: "If you say such things...then why are you not able to move on?" "What?" "It has been so long since all this occurred...and if you do not regret what you have done to her killer...then why are you not able to move on?" "I...I don't know." "Maybe there is regret elsewhere from you?" "Like?" "Well, being unable to save her." "Well...obviously I wish I had been able to. But what the hell is there to say about it now? I...there's so many ifs like in every single bad memory we have. If I had stayed in, if I hadn't gone to the post office, if that packaged hadn't been delivered, if I hadn't gotten my foot trapped in a pitfall but no. I can't regret it, it's all his fault, HIS fucking fault, not mine."

The Argonian became tearful for James, cuddling him close in a friendly manner and nothing more to soothe him. "I'm sorry James..." "It's alright...doesn't matter anymore...what matters is you're safe. And long as I'm here..." He held her hand firmly to his chest. "I will never let anyone hurt you. Ever." "Then...thank you." She held him closer, nuzzling warmly, trying to comfort the raptor who hugged her in turn, sighing together within the warmth of the late morning light. They finished up their breakfast and rested for another couple of hours, moreso because of James and his stitches. Feeling better-rested, the two departed from the inn and out onto the streets of Skingrad. A colder city, but not uncomfortably so for the two, they wandered past the Mages' and Fighters' Guild immediately opposite the West Weald Inn. Passing a trading store as they made their way east, nothing of particular note intrigued them among the houses other than a place called Summitmist Manor being closed off as the scene of a crime. Reaching the gates at the northeast section of the city, the guards smiled at the two approaching. "Ah, you are both up and about! Good to see." "Were you the guys who picked us up yesterday?" asked James. "Not us, the night watch was. We'll let them know you are well." "Yes please, we're both very thankful." "From what I heard, you mentioned you rescued your lover from Oblivion, correct?" "Yeah I-wait, uh she's not-" "It's true." Dar-Ma took the chance to be playful and hugged James tightly. "When I did not return home, he went out to save me. I could never ask for a more wonderful mate." "U-um...it was the least I could do?" "Now James, don't be so humble, you achieved such a great feat to save me!" "She's right," said one of the guards. "One does not simply walk into Oblivion and live to tell the tale. Whatever possessed you, love, madness or courage, it was certainly strong enough to save you both." "Yeah...hehe, I guess it did. Uh, can we get a carriage back to Chorrol? I don't fancy walking with these wounds." "Of course, the ones who found you had one arranged to be used when you woke up." "Wow, awesome!" "We are forever in their debt," added Dar-Ma, as the guards took them outside of the gates towards a carriage that had been covered by a tarpaulin. One guard became driver as the other stayed to guard the city gate, horses bridled in as they trotted off along the Gold Road.

The morning was somewhat pleasant, some overcast clouds but not over the entire sky. The gate to Oblivion remained absent from where James remembered it, much to his pleasure as they soon skirted past the bridge to the Imperial City. A while later along the Black Road, Chorrol was in their sights. Smiles grew as they were dropped off, with hearty thanks to the driving guard. They immediately headed towards Northern Goods and Trade, entering eagerly with Dar-Ma knocking. "Dar-Ma!" The blissful cry of Seed-Neeus came from the stairs, the older Argonian rushing down to embrace her daughter with tears running down her face. Dar-Ma hugged her mother just as tightly, nuzzling against shoulders. James was soon hugged by Seed-Neeus just as tightly. "You found her, I can't believe you found her!" "You know what happened?" "The guard informed me when he returned with Blossom. I could only assume the worst, even when he refused to." "Hehe, same here. Good thing I did otherwise I wouldn't have gone in." "I...you really DID brave through Oblivion for my daughter?" "He did mother!" Cried Dar-Ma jubilantly. "He went through hell itself to save me! He kept me safe through it all." "I...I am forever in-" "-your debt, right, it's okay really." James chuckled at how often he heard that from them. "But it is true nevertheless! You are always welcome here, my dear." "No problem...you okay now Dar-Ma?" "I am..." The daughter smiled and hugged James once again, before returning to her mother's side. The two kept Seed-Neeus company, answering all of her questions at what truly happened, with James and Dar-ma chipping in ahead of each other to add more details. The mother smiled, tears in her eyes as she overflowed with joy. With nowhere else to go, James had nothing else to do but talk to them, long into the night, even sharing a meal with them which Seed-Neeus felt ingratiated to do as some small reward for saving her daughter. After that, there was little else to do but sleep, the mother and daughter having talked and rejoiced all night long, with James joining in eagerly and allowed to sleep in the same bed he had slept in upon his first night in Cyrodiil. For now, everything seemed to be fine, and he planned to leave truly tomorrow, tiring of this world. The next morning however, offered two new terrible problems awakening from the previous events. The first occurred within Chorrol, the second outside of it. Seed-Neeus awoke James with a start, her face frozen in panic at something. James immediately knew it had to be Dar-Ma. "What happened?" "Dar-Ma...she collapsed." "What?!" "She just collapsed, I don't know why but she suddenly turned weak and fatigued!" "Oh god." Rushing out of bed, he ran towards Dar-Ma's room with her mother, fearing the worst despite half of his mind trying to fight against paranoia.