//-------------------------------------------------------// The clock strikes midnight -by shaderai- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue //-------------------------------------------------------// Prologue My Clock had fallen apart, my plan a failure, Twenty minutes, that's all I could think, two hundred years, and it all ends like this, I laughed weakly, but it was hollow, I cried to think what I became, only to fail. The Sadida army closed in on me, the Eliatrope child and his dragon brother looked at me, they all looked at me with hateful eyes, but the Eliatrope, his gaze softened as I continued to laugh, does he know my pain? No, how could he even know. Then the Sadida king spoke, "In the name of the Sadida kingdom, it's time for you to pay for your crimes." Those words, they rang in my soul, the time did come, the soldiers advanced from all sides, but suddenly the child jumped down in front of me, causing them all to stop. "Stop everyone! It's over," He said, they all looked at each other, unsure of what to do. I stood, gasping as pain pierced me, the child and all the others looked at me, "Farewell Yugo the Eliatrope," and with that I teleported away, leaving that blasted cube, no longer would I plague this child's kind soul, or the rest of the world. ~~~ Being hunted is not as fun as it may sound, and I would know, I made sure to leave no trace of every stop I made, I kept my hood on and kept every stop short, living this way suited adventurers better than me, before my mistake I may have well loved to do something as this, but now I merely hoped not to be found out, just to rest before setting out again, I did this for three weeks. Soon news had been sent that I had escaped, every village would know now, so I avoided them when possible, after traveling alone for so long, I had found a suitable place to stay, a lone mountain, surrounded by the desolation I brought, not a village for miles, how fitting, to seek solitude among the ruins of my work. For nearly a month I had made my home in that desolate mountain, surviving day to day, waiting for my Wakfu to run out, everyday I felt weaker, each day it was harder to move, but I could manage, "Now let's see what I found," The whole time I hid I was researching a way to restore my natural Wakfu state, hopefully then I could go out and live a life, leave behind this monster and become a person again, but the results of this test were no different, failure, but this did not irk me as it would have, "Hmm, another failure, perhaps I'm using the wrong magic style." "Maybe you are," The voice of a familiar person says from behind me, instinctively I jump up and prepare for the attack, it's Yugo, how did he find me? "Hello again Yugo the Eliatrope, finally come to capture me?" I ask, taking everything in stride. "I don't want to fight," He said, his dragon brother walking in behind him. "Believe me, I don't intend to resist," I said, still working at my experiment. "No, I mean I don't want to fight at all, i'm not here to capture you or anything," Yugo and his brother stood there, so I decided to make tea. "Then come, sit, I'll put on a pot of tea," I gestured, they were hesitant, but sat, so i went and put on some tea, oh how it calms the nerves, "How is it you found me anyway, I was rather careful not to leave any evidence." "Your Wakfu, it has a really unique signature," Yugo answered, Adamai nodded as he sat, arms folded. "I see, so why have you come here if not to capture me," I asked, may as well get comfortable too, so I sat and removed my mask, they both seemed rather shocked, "Hmm?" "You, look like a regular person," Adamai spoke first, oh how kind, but I just laughed. "Yes, the mask allows me to sense the time flow, and is rather handy for spell analysis," I just smiled and laughed again, "I never really had much reason to remove it before now." "But the reason I came is to tell you something," Yugo spoke, but before he could continue the tea whistled. "Ah, done, here let me pour you both some," I said as I offered them both a cup. "Thanks," Yugo readily accepted. "Sure thanks," Adamai grabbed it and took a sip, his look told me he liked it already. "So what is it you wanted to tell me?" I asked, rather curious he wasn't with his friends. "Oh yeah, well, come to find out, there is a way to go to another dimension," Yugo said, taking another sip, "One that may be in the past." I stopped all together, one dimension where that cursed cube never entered his life, where they were still alive,  where maybe they could forgive him, but he didn't let the excitement overwhelm him, "That's rather amazing, i'm guessing it has to do with your portals?" "Yeah, another Eliatrope named Qilby taught Adamai, and he taught me, now we can do it without the Eliacube," Yugo said, I almost frowned at it's mention, and Qilby, why did that name sound so familiar? "I see, he must be a wise and kind Eliatrope," I said. "Yeah, but I don't trust him," Yugo's expression twisted into a frown. "Why not, is he not one of your people?" I asked, why did he not trust him? "Yeah, he seems like it, but I think it's all an act," Yugo shifted. "An act?" I asked, both brothers seemed to nod, "So you and your friends find him suspicious, Yet I fail to see, hmm." "No, the others.....," Yugo stopped, he sniffed and fought back tears, Adamai comforting him, "They didn't believe me, they said it was absolutely ridiculous." "Then they do not understand how you see him," I said, it may be true, "Perhaps they don't understand how you can tell." "I don't really understand though," Yugo still sat, nearly crying, "I just get this feeling, like he isn't who he says he is." "Perhaps you knew him in the past," I said, remembering a legend I had heard, " It is said that the original Eliatropes and Dragons were immortal, that they were reborn every time they died, perhaps you knew him before, and saw what he did." "That's what I was thinking," Adamai said, "but anyway, we came to see if you were interested by finding another dimension, with whatever you were looking for." "My family," I said quietly, "I wanted to be reunited with my family." "You wanted to find your family too?" Yugo asked, brightening a little. "Yes, they were my life, but the cube, it corrupted me, and I lost them," I hung my head, but Yugo's hand grabbed my arm, causing me to look up. "Then let's find them," He had a determined look in his eye, "Now we know what to look for." ~~~ The world around me came in to focus, the forest sounds reached my ears, I sat up slowly, perceiving my surroundings a little at a time, it reminded me of the forbidden forest, dark, overgrown, and teeming with activity, the next thing I realized was that I was wearing my mask, it helped me realize on last thing, this world was absolutely overflowing with Wakfu. So doing what I could, I tried to recharge my Wakfu without harming the surroundings, which would be easy enough, but to my surprise, nothing happened, I couldn't absorb Wakfu, then it hit me, I was producing Wakfu again, I had been healed! "Hey, are you alright?" A young voice asked from a little off to my right, turning I saw it was a young purple and green dragon, hmm I wonder what his Eliatrope brother looked like. "I am fine young dragon, merely a small headache," I replied, I noted that he tensed up at the sound of my voice, "Could you tell me where I am?" "Y-yeah, the edge of the Everfree Forest," He said, "My name's Spike, What's yours? "I am Nox," Plain and simple. "Oh, I could take you to Ponyville if you want Nox," Spike suggested. I thought this over for a moment, may as well, nothing better to do, "That would be much appreciated young Spike," He waved me to follow, being back at full power made it much easier to think, so I thought my situation through as I walked. The walk was rather silent, he must be intimidated, "This ponyville, what country is it a part of?" "Um, Equestria," He responded, "Are you sure you're alright?" "Hmm," I thought, was I?, So I tested my powers by teleporting just past Spike, it came easy and simple, but startled Spike, "My apologies, just testing out my abilities." "You're a mage too huh?" Spike spoke with a note of awe in his tone, "You must be really powerful to teleport so easy." I stopped, I wasn't the most powerful, there were plenty far more powerful than me, and what did that mean, teleporting was the first thing I had learned, "Actually I am a Xelor, and you surely even at this young age wield unimaginable power." "What's a zealot?" Spike asked, "And what do you mean, I'm still just a baby dragon," I laughed, apparently that was intimidating as well. "A Xelor, it's the race I am," I said, we were coming up on the forests end, "And as for your age, you need only learn to use and sense Wakfu, you have the power there, you just need access it." "Huh never heard this Wakfu stuff, wonder if it's anything like magic, cause maybe I------" The rest was lost on me as a sudden flash showed me what had happened, the portal worked, I could see them! But then it grew unstable, and he had been caught in it's explosion, but does that mean they are here somewhere? "Nnh!" I nearly collapsed, causing Spike to stop and turn to me, but backed up when he saw me, what was he doing, had I offended him? Blackness overtook me as I fell over, but what sweet dreams I had.