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Unexpected Detour (Razgriz x Wingshadow)

"I have a feeling that things will work out just fine in the end," Undie gave Sam a playful yet hopeful wink, "I wouldn't really mind if I have to act as your gardening maid, just be sure to spend some quality time with me from time to time, alright?"

The water spirit giggled and sat down on the edge of the spring, watching Sam as he tried to follow her instructions and guide the elemental energies. However, she could tell that he was putting too much effort into it and his mental safeguards prevented him from fully accepting the state of Clear Mind. Gnome could feel the changes as well, but as her own energy was quite different from Undie's it merely confused her every time she tried to decipher exactly what was going on.

Undie stood up and calmly approached Sam, hugging him from behind and pressing her body into his back in a soothing manner, "Its alright, Sam... When you accepted me, you accepted all of my being... It won't consume you, so don't be afraid of it. I know its hard, but its something you have to learn to recreated if you wish to continue down the path you have chosen."
 
Sam felt Undine hug him from behind; he knew that he wasn't in any real danger, but the amount of information just pouring in unchecked was too overwhelming for him to handle. He also knew that he had to master this, else he would have no chance of rescuing Rachel. "I know, I know....This is all just so new to me....I'll get the hang of it eventually"

Sam breathed out once more and tried to clear his mind; he felt the energy pour in. "Don't freak out, just let go" he told himself mentally, trying to lower the safeguards of his mind. Soon, he could see the flow sharpen around him; energy became increasingly defined, but the strain was growing as well. His brows twitched and furrowed, his teeth grit somewhat as he fought to keep the channels open.

And for a few moments he succeeded; he could feel the flow of the world around him, enveloping his entire form as he let go of his conscious mind and let the energy flow around and through him. However, he could only maintain it for a second or two before it became too much to handle. His eyes then snapped open, his brow glistening with sweat as he recovered from the rather intense experience.
 
"Very good," Undie praised him for his minor succuess, although he would have to work harder to fully embrace the state of Calm Mind, "But you are still struggling a little too much with integrating my energy with your own... Perhaps if we bonded a bit more it would come more naturally to you."

Gnome instantly caught onto the meaning of her words and objected, "W-wait, Sam needs to rest for now... There isn't any need to push him too hard or he will simply pass out with exhaustion. I know you must be excited to have a contractor... I was too when I first met Sam, but you need to take his limits into consideration."

"Oh, alright," Undie put on a pouting face and slid back from Sam, "I'll try to be more considerate in the future, but I'm only trying to help... Besides, its not like you have anything to worry about, Gnomey, as your contract is much stronger than my own at this point. Just how often do you two... do it?"

"Ahem... That's none of your concern," Gnome turned a deep shade of red.
 
Sam was indeed feeling exhausted; though Undine was probably right to a certain degree. He and Gnome had shared a lot of energy between them, and he did have an exceptional amount of control over her powers now. But he felt most of that was due to Gnome's abilities being through force of will, something that Sam could easily wrap his head around. This whole 'feeling the flow' business when it came to Undine's powers was still largely out of reach for him. Though Undine was a surprisingly blunt individual, especially when she straight-forwardly asked Gnome how often they 'did it'. A question Gnome unsurprisingly deflected, not that he blamed her.

Giving a small cough, Sam interjected, "I think it's best if we just relaxed for now, let the tension dissolve........" With that, Sam sat down and resolved to go through the new WristComp he'd acquired back in Nexus. He didn't really get a chance to look through the entries that had been compiled, so he figured now would be as good a time as any. He used a small portion of his strength to create a backrest to lean against before bringing his arm up and going through the various screens. He'd noticed earlier the absence of several profiles for the species of this planet; this led him to believe that there were others that even the original creator hadn't heard of.

He looked through Undine and Gnome's profiles first, admiring the rather generously complementing nature of the descriptions and holographs. Beeps and clicks could be heard afterwards as he scrolled through, looking through the others. Red Slime seemed fairly accurate - intelligent, kind, respective of boundaries to a large degree. Sam found the Blue Slime next; this iteration seemed more aggressive, having succumbed to its carnal desires and instincts. He was fairly glad he hadn't run into one of those yet; he prayed he never did. While having Gnome and Undine around would likely help in driving such a being off, he'd rather not have to. He was still largely troubled by the lack of information surrounding either the Pharaoh or Succubus; the only mention of the former was in the profile of the Sphinx, and it was only by name. He didn't even want to know how they managed to find out this much about the humanoid 'temple guardian'. "A charm curse, huh? Sounds fun" Sam said sarcastically, feeling exasperated at the potentially daunting task ahead of him.
 
It took several weeks of traveling for the three of them to make their way back down from the lofty mountain peaks where Undie had made her home for so many years that even she had difficulty remembering a time in which she had not resided in those interconnected sister springs. Undie was not one for extended periods of travel away from sources of water, as she quickly became lightheaded (at least according to her own estimation). For this reason, Gnome and herself spent most of the trip in spirit form, chatting back and forth in a reasonably friendly manner. It helped stave off the boredom of the ongoing travels as they slowly made their way toward the Pharaoh's sandy domain. Granted, they were still a good ways off but with each step they drew ever closer to the first obstacle toward their ultimate goal... With the Goddess released, she would doubtless have advice and guidance that would prove invaluable when confronting the Succubus.

At the time being, however, they were wandering about in an old, thick forest... Unlike Dryad's forest, this one was much more wild and dark, with huge gnarled roots covering most of the ground as the trees themselves seemed to glare down at them with unwelcome gazes. Their branched arms spread out to form the canopy, blocking out the sun and only breaking through with momentary dappled fragments of light. Even as they slowly made their way through the undergrowth, Undie and Gnome's conversation dwindled to slow, idol chatter... They could both feel it.

Some was watching them, and waiting for the moment to strike.

"One being, to the left... About two meters away," Undie whispered, her eyes closed in concentration, "I sense a strong presence, filled with determination... But-"

From out of the underbrush stepped a tall figure. Her body was covered with scales which glistened with every movement her muscled form made. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a samurai-like ponytail which hung down her armored back. With each of her carefully placed footsteps she carried an air of pride and silent elegance. At her hip hung a sheathed long-sword, the blade intricately carved with strange lettering, doubtless the language of her people, the lizardmen. Her reptilian eyes gazed into Sam's back with intensity as her lips parted to speak.

"Human... I have been tracking you for nearly a week now," she spoke with firmness yet without even a hint of anger, "I commend you on your ability to move swiftly and while leaving little trace of yourself as you travel... It will serve you well on your journey. However, I have a request that I will not allow you to deny... Please, allow me to have a match against you. I have no personal quarrel with you, but as a fellow warrior I ask that you not refuse me this one favor."

"Oh... So that would explain it," Undie giggled, "She's so adorable, don't you agree, Gnomey?"

"Don't call me that, please," Gnome groaned, "We really don't have time for this... Then again, Lizardmen have a reputation of being very tenacious, so I think it would be better to get this over quickly so we can continue on our way."

"I don't think that is what they mean by th-" Undie was interrupted by Gnome gently popping her on the head.
 
Sam had updated his WristComp's onboard map of the continent with the location of the Pharaoh's lair; it was in a wide expanse of desert aptly named the Deadlands. A real inviting title, was his initial though, but then he realized that it was just a name. As he traveled, he found his body having largely adjusted to the strange solar cycle of the planet. The sun was an intense source of heat; however, Sam's skin had tanned quite nicely from its originally near-pale shade of white, and when combined with the relatively thin layer of earth he'd grown accustomed to wearing as protection from surprise attack, it rendered the heat a non-issue. He'd stopped at several small streams along the way, filling a small gourd he'd crafted from rock to help Undine stay hydrated. He knew they still had a long way to go, but was glad that he finally contracted the water spirit; he now had the two spirits necessary to seal the Pharaoh and release the Goddess from captivity. As he traveled on and on, he wondered just what awaited him.

The rather abrupt change in scenery startled Sam, as they had been traveling over a large-grassy expanse for the majority of the journey. Checking his map, he found their location: Ztir Grove. This forest was fairly large, but not large enough to deter him from going through it. As he traversed the jungle-like forest, he was careful to watch his step so as not to trip over the system of bulky roots poking up like gnarled fingers from the ground. If he weren't on such an important journey, he would gladly stop to admire the rather serene environment. What sounded like tropical birds chirped and squawked overhead, their wings rustling as they flew off after his movements scared them from their perches. He looked up to see a two-tailed, red-furred monkey staring down at him with its dewey, intelligent eyes and its head cocked in a curious fashion. Then, before Sam could do anything, something startled the alien primate....Sam's head turned sharply to his twelve-o'-clock to see a rather strange creature appear from the brush.

Aside from scales covering her arms and legs and claws where her hands and feet should be, she seemed strangely human. But her request was what really surprised him: She wanted to fight him? Simply because? Well, he certainly wasn't expecting that; how did she even know he was a warrior in the first place? Could he even be classified as such? Sure, he'd fought several beasts, but that made him no more a warrior than turning a screwdriver a few times made someone a repairman. Looking at his WristComp, he checked for this 'Lizardman' in the Mamono database: Sure enough, she was in there. Easily offended, proud, strong and quick-tempered. Great. And from what he overheard from Undine and Gnome's little banter, it seemed like the best course was to accept her challenge, but Sam would rather not waste the energy on a fight against an opponent he knew little about.

"Sorry, I have somewhere I need to be. Besides, I'm no warrior" was the contractor's reply, thinking that his appearance as a normal human would pass him as just that. Her profile did say that she didn't attack humans unless they declared themselves as a warrior, so his thoughts were that she'd leave him alone. Little did he know that his status as an Elemental contractor was something that all monster girls could see, giving him an unintended status as a rather-powerful individual.
 
"No, you are a warrior... I know this to be true," the lizardman insisted, stepping toward him with renewed determination, "You do not need to be so modest, Sam. Your fame and deeds have spread abroad across the surface of this planet, as not only have you survived an encounter with the nefarious Leviathan, but you have defeated a mighty Minotaurus in hand-to-hand combat. I would not have believed the stories had I not found you in person... You have contracted not one but two noble spirits of the mighty elements, Gnome the young daughter of the earth and Undie, the noble queen of the life-giving waters. I am awed by your very presence and yet I am compelled to insist that you cross swords with me. I will not rest until you have answered my request."

Her eyes burned with passion, not of the lustful sort but of her desire to prove herself, "I am a proud warrior of my people, and I request that I try my strength against your own. I have no ill will toward humans, but one of your strength has never before walked this planet, at least to my knowledge. I would not give up an opportunity to challenge you for my very life... I can see the power of the elementals flowing through you, so do not deny it."

"I guess we were found out, huh?" Undie sighed, "Just let the kid have her fun, alright Sam? I mean, she even knows your name... Besides, its not like she is trying to kill you or anything. Humor her, will you, then we can be on our way again. I love the forest, but such thick praise makes me weary."

"What doesn't make you weary?" Gnome shrugged.
 
"Son of a bitch...." Sam uttered mentally as she pointed out his lie, his eyes narrowing in frustration. He figured the news of the Minotaurus' defeat would easily spread, but how did she learn of his encounter with the Leviathan? And how did she know he'd contracted Gnome and Undine? What is some kind of sixth sense that the Mamono had? All these questions and more buzzed through his head before he shook himself clear of those thoughts, realizing that he needed to focus. She clearly was going to hound him until he accepted her challenge, so he breathed out a sigh of contempt and aggravation. If anything happened to Rachel because he got held up here, she was going to pay for it.

"Fine.....I accept your challenge. But know that I will not go easy on you......" Sam replied, then mentally saying to Gnome "Alright, Gnome, let's do this......Let's show her she picked the wrong time to challenge me" This was certainly a rather dramatic change from his previous attempt at passiveness. But he realized that the only way she might leave him alone was to try and beat her in combat. Soon, his toned body was engulfed in the familiar green fire of the Earth, his robes billowing out around him from the intensity of the output. This was further evidence of the strength of his contract with the Earth Spirit herself; the insignias on each of his palms burned a fluorescent green, charged with the energy necessary to combat this reptile-woman.
 
"Alright, Sam... I'll channel some power to you but lets not overdo this. We need your strength for the journey, after all," Gnome closed her eyes and began to glow, their souls linking together through their contract as her energy flowed into him.

The lizardman nodded as a silent response, pulling her sword out in front of her as a similar, albeit much smaller aura burned around her with the flames of her own soul. She lacked any distinct elemental affinity, but her speed and skill with a sword could not be denied...However, with the defenses and power training that Sam had built up to this point, it seemed unlikely that she could land a single good hit on him. Even so, she was determined to try.

She first widened her stance and circled around in front of him, then pointed the tip of her sword downward slightly and made her opening move an upward slice across his chest, followed by a broad, sweeping slice down toward his knees. She was trying to test his footwork and draw him into taking the offensive, wishing to meet his strength full-on.
 
Sam managed to jump back to avoid the upward slice across his chest, feeling the point of her sword drag across the earthy exoskeleton he'd become rather skilled in crafting. He knew he couldn't waste too much time here, but at the same time, he needed to defeat her in such a way that she would be satisfied with his challenge. He couldn't just give up; one, she wouldn't accept and two if she did, her profile stated his life would be in danger. And now was not the time to be taking pointless risks, not when his journey had essentially only just started.

The bladed weapon connected with the side of his left thigh, biting a considerable depth into the earth skin he'd laid over himself just above where his human flesh was; guess those muscles weren't for show. She was stronger than he'd initially guessed; this would just strengthen his resolve not to hold back. A concentration of Earth energy gathered on his right hand as it was slammed into the ground, his voice crying out, "Earth Spike Wall!" as the titanic rocky spikes exploded from the ground, shaking the trees around them and causing the various birds and animals to scatter from the battle site.
 
The Lizardman pulled back from him as he slammed his palm against the ground in front of her, the jagged spikes flying out point-first toward her. She swirled her sword in the air, concentrating her power into the sword itself as the edges of the blade glistened with a thin layer of fire. She pulled her sword back for a large wind-up, her eyes gazing directly at the barrier between herself and her opponent as she sliced across the freshly formed rocks.

"Sword Technique: Rising Flames Slash!" she shouted loudly as she managed to break through a few of the spikes from the mere force of her swing, cutting across the stone with a clean slice which ended in an explosion. She jumped through the small break in the barrier to try to close the distance between them once again and possibly land a proper blow on him, but her next attack had quite a wind-up much like the last.

"Sword Technique: Descending Tremor!" the lizardman jumped up into the air above him, trying to land on him and drive the point of her blade through his armor with tremendous force. However, this all-out attack had some rather clear drawbacks, not the least of which being the ease in which one such as Sam could avoid her attack completely while she was left relatively quite open in the process.
 
Sam was quite surprised at the ease at which this Lizardman sliced through his Earth Spike Wall; she was indeed quite the impressive warrior, but he couldn't afford to fool around much longer. He raised his arm in front of him, blocking the small bits of debris that flew back at him as her Rising Flames Slash reduced a significant portion of his defensive technique to little more than a pile of rubble. But as fate would have it, she would give him the opening he needed to potentially end this fight in one shot, something that he was all too eager to jump on.

Perhaps a little too eager; small black arcs of electricity could be seen mixing with the green fire around him, and his demeanor became a bit more....violent. His mind regardless flashed back to his fight with the Minotaurus; this was nearly the same scenario, minus the layer of flame on the blade of his opponent. "Sorry, but I can't afford to play around any longer" was Sam's rather cold reply as he sidestepped her attack, feeling the heat wash over him as her sword became buried in the ground.

Some of the destroyed rock from his Spike Wall gather on Sam's fist, building rapidly to form what appeared to be a column extending from his elbow. "Earth Technique: Mass Driver!" Sam called out as he threw his weight behind the blow, burying the steel-hard fist into the Lizardman's gut; the column at his elbow then seemed to rapidly shoot into his arm, dealing a massively damaging physical energy attack into her body and sending her flying backwards into a tree.......Hard.
 
The force of the Lizardman's attack caused a small indentation in the earth and slight, momentary tremor to shake the ground beneath them. However, this merely left her open to Sam's next strike which struck her clean in the stomach, which happened to be one of the least protected areas on her body. She flew backward from the force of the blow and slammed into a nearby tree, the ensuing shock-wave destroying the bark from right off the tree as her body impacted the hard wood and came to an abrupt stop. She let out a low groan of pain, falling to her knees while propping herself up with her sword. Her eyes which she slowly lifted up toward Sam's showed clear signs of discomfort and surprise.

"Y-you are... Even more powerful than I could have imagined. The stories themselves do not do you proper justice," she managed to pull herself back up to her feet, but her head was bowed in submission, "I concede, this is your victory... And as is proper given the circumstances, I will submit myself to you. Great and noble warrior Sam, please do me the honor of marrying me."

Her cheeks turned a dark shade of red as she spoke, turning her face away slightly and avoiding direct eye contact with him as her legs rubbed together in a shy manner. She sheathed her sword and timidly approached him, only occasionally glancing up at his face in order to gauge his expression. Gnome was shocked beyond words, but Undie couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, this is a strange turn of events... Who knew Lizardman social interactions applied to humans as well?" the water spirit seemed more amused than concerned.

"Your strength alone makes my heart pound in my chest," she reached out and gently took his hand, placing it upon her breast just above where her heart was, "Can't you feel it? I have never met a human like you before... You are strong and kind, well beyond my abilities in terms of strength and skill. Allow me to stand beside you and bear your children, my beloved."

"Wow, isn't it great to be popular, Sam?" Undie smirked, earning her a reprimanding smack from Gnome.

"Why is it that I have a slight suspicion that you knew this was going to happen?" Gnome mumbled.
 
Sam's Earth energy began to dissipate as the Lizardman conceded her defeat to him; this fight was over. He knew she was a strong opponent, but perhaps he'd been underestimating just how powerful he'd become. Though her next words made him stop in his tracks and made him worry a bit.....His eyes then widened in surprise momentarily: Marry her? Where the hell did that come from? Sam just stood there, blinking several times in quick succession at her as she slowly approached him; his legs felt like they were made of lead from her words alone. Where the hell did that come from?

In fact,he was so stunned that the Lizardman was able to place his hand over her heart, asking if he could feel her heartbeat. And indeed he could; her description of her heart pounding was bit of an understatement. He feel each thud of her vital organ, even through the armor she wore. Sam knew he shouldn't be surprised, but the way she just....well, gave herself over.....was a shock in and of itself. Who would expect someone, especially one so clearly skilled with a sword, to just bow to the one who defeated them like that. And her profile said nothing of marriage! He read it carefully; all it said was that the Lizardman species were proud warriors who were quick to anger and very skilled with their swords.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to refuse......Like I said, there's somewhere I need to be" Sam replied, a rather pronounced firmness in his tone; this was probably the first refusal of a monster girl's advances on him since he arrived on this planet, forced or otherwise. But then again, this was before he found out Rachel was in the precarious position she was in. With that, he pulled his hand away and started to walk off, thinking that their business was concluded. But like Gnome said, a Lizardman was a tenacious creature, and one that would prove very difficult to get rid of.
 
"Don't be like that, love... You have to take responsibility for me now that I have been defeated by you," the lizardman called out to him, seemingly unfazed by his straightforward refusal of her approaches. It was almost as if she expected him to play hard to get. She made no effort to force him to concede to her demands, but her constant persistence even as Sam walked away from her without even a word in reply was quite something else indeed.

"She will just keep following you, you know," Undie rolled her eyes, "She's completely taken with you, Sam. Perhaps I should have mentioned this before, but it is a commonly known fact that lizardmen have duels as a part of thier mating rituals. The females only accept strong males as their husbands, which must defeat them in combat. Afterward, marriage is assured. I think its their way of promoting strength."

"But how does that apply to Sam?" Gnome objected.

"All of the lizardmen males have died out, that is how... Suitable mates are hard to come by, especially one that is strong enough to defeat a seasoned lizardman such as this one. Its no wonder she's so insistent on marrying him," Undie shrugged, "She's just doing what she thinks is proper. She doesn't mean anything bad by it."

"You could have mentioned this earlier..."

"But this way is so much more interesting!" Undie laughed.

As they continued on their way, the lizardman continued to follow them, calling out to him as if to make sure that he knew that she was still there, unrelenting and firmly insistent that he reconsider his decision.
 
"And you choose now to tell me all this?" Sam replied to Undine's comments, feeling a bit peeved; the last thing he needed was an amorous monster girl trailing him because he'd managed to beat her in one single duel. This was going to make things a lot more difficult; he had to leave too many other wives behind. His journey continued, part of which now included trying to lose his Lizardman follower. She was apparently a skilled tracker as well as a warrior; no matter where he hid, she always found him. And it seemed like 'No' was not in the Lizardman vocabulary; no matter how many times he told her he didn't want to marry her, she still followed after him.

Then one day, a thought came to him. "Wait a minute...." Sam said as a slight smirk crossed his features; maybe this would work out to his advantage! Many of the monster girls he'd seen were extremely monogamous; maybe if he told her he was already taken, she'd leave him alone! "Sam....You're brilliant!" he congratulated himself, but at the same time feeling a bit stupid for not trying this sooner. He turned around to face his "Number One Fan", as he came to call her in his mind, and said, "Look, I know how you must feel about me.....But the fact is I can't marry you....Because I'm already taken! So....yeah. Guess we can't marry. So sorry." Little did he know just how hard of a failure his plan was going to be.
 
"I don't mind if you have other lovers," the lizardman told him bluntly, her calm, collected expression showing that she was being dead serious, "It is common for powerful males to have several females, both wives or otherwise. As you have already contracted both Gnome and Undie, I know that you do not disagree with this principle either. I promise not to be a trouble for your other wives, love, simply allow me to stand by your side throughout your journey. That is all that I ask. I would fight and die for your sake, my love. I love you with all of my being... Please, let me go with you on this adventure as your dutiful and faithful wife."

"Well, that wasn't the answer you were expecting, now where you?" Undie laughed, "I don't think she's going to let you talk your way out of this one, honey. It would probably be best just to accept your fate, you little Casanova, you."

"Sam's not like that," Gnome quipped.

"I know... I'm merely teasing," the water spirit smiled.

"You really are enjoying this, aren't you?"
 
Sam mentally face-palmed; of course she wouldn't mind him having other women. The look on her face was enough to convince him that she was dead serious; though the remark about his contracting both Undine and Gnome seemed to be stretching the truth a wee bit. The fact was he couldn't have any more 'wives'; he felt bad enough leaving them behind, not to mention betraying Rachel over and over again. He couldn't afford anymore; he didn't know if he'd be able to take it. Even with Vivian's advice ringing in his head about 'sharing his heart', he had a feeling that didn't mean sleeping with every monster girl that offered themselves to him.

"L...look, I'm sorry, but I can't marry you......" Sam replied, ignoring the little conversation Gnome and Undine were having in his head, "I don't care how common it is.....That's not me......." Of course that was kind of a lie; he'd already gotten several females pregnant with children while on Deseus and he had a sinking feeling there would be more to follow whether he liked it or not. But dammit he would try to avoid it if he could. And with that, Sam took off once more, attempting to leave his amorous stalker behind.

And for a short while, it would seem like he succeeded; soon enough, they found themselves at the bank of a rather slow-moving stream. Seemed like a good opportunity to practice some water manipulation. "Well, Undine, any ideas to help improve my proficiency?" he then asked; of course, there was always sharing energy through intercourse, but that was more to increase the amount of power he could utilize.
 
"I'm not really sure..." Undie appeared beside him, reclining beside the stream in her typical fashion, "The control of water isn't something that you learn from practice. I know I have told you this dozens of times before, but the flow of the water only responds to your guidance. You can't bend, force, or command it to answer your call. Its just something you have to learn to accept as it is, and it will help you."

"You know, every time you explain it, I only get more confused," Gnome sat down under a nearby tree.

"I suppose you could try entering the water without getting wet," Undie suggested, "Instead of trying to directly influence the water, let your mind enter the water and let the water enter your mind. As you step toward the edge of the stream, try to imagine it as an endless flow of water rushing beside you, and the banks of the river can slide over time. The water goes wherever it desires, but it is constrained by the banks of the river. You are those banks. You are part of the river, but you guide rather than force."
 
Sam nodded; he knew what he needed to do, but for the life of him he didn't know how to do it. He knew Undine was trying her best to help him understand such an abstract concept, but it was really all on his shoulders to learn the proper method of water influence. Heaving a sigh, Sam made his way toward the edge of the river and stood at it; the stream itself was slightly deep -around five to five-and-a-half feet - luckily its movement wasn't all that fast. Nor were there any large boulders that he could potentially bang his head on should he attempt this; though if there were, it was likely he could just move them out of the way.

Sam closed his eyes and tried to imagine the flow of energy in his mind; he'd gotten a little better at it, but he was still so very far from mastering it. Sam focused for a few minutes, trying to read the flow and concentrate it near his feet. Once he felt he was ready, he took a hesitant step forward, letting the energy support his weight. Testing it, he found that his foot didn't sink; he then cautiously lifted his other foot from the bank to place it on the surface. Once he did that, however, his connection to the flow faltered and he plunged straight into the chilly mountain run-off. He rose back, sputtering slightly as the water ran around him at chest-level, shaking his head like a dog would when its fur got wet. His matted locks flung about wildly, his teeth chattering as the nippy water chilled him; though he did admit it was nice, as it was fairly warm out.
 
"No, no... You won't get anywhere with something like that. You need to be completely relaxed... Let the water flow under you as if you are not even present. Its water, after all, not a bucking horse that needs to be tamed," Undie tried hard not to laugh at Sam as he plunged into the frigid water after having merely placed both his feet onto the surface, "Try thinking about something that calms you and allows you to focus. It could be a really good poem, or perhaps even a memory. It could allow you to anchor yourself a bit better and perhaps get some headway... We aren't that far away from the desert after all, and we won't have many chances to train."

Gnome giggled, leaning back and looking up at the dappled light that the leaves spread out all around her. She couldn't really help much with this particular training session, after all, and learning to control both earth and water element wasn't something Sam could possibly be ready for yet. During their journey, Gnome and Undie had gotten along reasonably well, although Gnome would admit that she still felt moody when she knew Sam and the water spirit were having sex. The little earth spirit tried not to let it put a damper on her happiness, however, and merely used the extra time to spend more time with their daughter.
 
Sam managed to crawl out of the river, listening as Undine tried to nail into his head that he couldn't force the water to move. He knew that, but he had no idea how to actually make it happen for any appreciable amount of time. He'd managed to (somewhat) allow himself to get lost in the flow of the world, if only for a short time. He realized by this point that he indeed needed to have 'an empty head', one devoid of thought and fear in order to properly utilize Undine's power. But it would still take him some practice to be able to perform efficiently; he knew the desert was getting closer, as he'd checked his WristComp several times to locate the desert and his current position.

Though he wondered how it was able to map his location; there were no GPS satellites in orbit, as he clearly recalled being unable to use the feature when he abandoned his IPV. He shook his head of the thoughts, realizing that it wasn't important for the time being. He had to focus on learning to master Undine's power; his eyes then wandered over to Gnome, who sat with Terra carefully cradled in her arms. The little Earth spirit baby had grown quite a bit since he first saw her, and seeing her like that with Gnome made him smile and strangely enough, he felt himself calming down. He then thought of something that made him.....joyful. The thought of helping to father the children he did, and the reactions their mothers had upon receiving the little bundles of joy.

Sam then realized that this was the answer he was seeking; how sad that it was right in front of him all this time and he only just realized it now. He was doing all of this not just to get back to Rachel, but to help restore the planet and give everyone a better existence by returning the males to the planet itself. This seemed to hone his determination; Sam's energy became more focused, more 'in-line' with the flow of the world. And it was like a switch flipped in his body; the archaic symbol of water appeared on his forehead and his body was surrounded in a blue aura. He could feel it, the power flowing through him felt.....immense. Limitless, and it invigorated him like he did when he developed the second-stage contract with Gnome.

He held his hands out to the water, feeling its flow go through his body as his instinct seemed to take over; he had no idea what he was doing, but he didn't think about it, lest he break the flow. His arms moved in strange fashion, making twin water serpents out of the river itself and having them dance. He felt incredible; though there was still something he needed to do before his mastery could reach its fullest, it was clear that he was beginning to get the concept of 'going with the flow'. How ironic that one slang phrase from Earth actually had some real-world significance.
 
Undie merely smiled as she watched Sam successfully accept the flow and allow it to take control of his actions, resulting in their wills resonating and answering to his call. There was no force involved. The water merely accepted his lead and fell into place, each existence guiding the other in seamless harmony, hence its embodiment in the form of twin serpents. Intelligent, wise, elegant, and free-flowing, the twin serpents themselves carried a lot of significance but the secret was in the way that they moved. Their dance was that of one fully infused with Clear Mind, each movement calculated yet impossible to anticipate, making them for practical purposes impossible to attack.

Gnome was shocked beyond words at Sam's success. With power such as this, defeating the pharaoh would be a cakewalk if he could manage to maintain the state in the din of battle. Little would she know that doing so was the most difficult part of the technique, as summoning the clarity of mind while safe and distracted was relatively simple and easy. Yet, Gnome began to wonder if her own lax behavior toward Undie would have to come to and end at this point, so that he could work toward combining both elements to flow together. After all, the sealing spell that he received from Poseidon required both elemental energies and it seemed unlikely that the spell could be successfully performed with elemental focus changing in the middle. Such a precise spell had to be performed with as little delay as possible, especially considering that the Pharaoh would not simply let him seal her and would be doing everything in her power to destroy him.
 
Sam continued to let the flow run through his body, the glow of the water aura around him not dimming in the slightest as the twin serpents continued their intertwining and fluid movements. Soon, however, Sam's water serpents seemed to merge into one - it was like they had a will of their own. And in a sense, they did; the flow was an omnipotent, omnipresent force that allowed only the truly strong to bask in its glory. And for Sam to be 'in the zone' for as long as he did was a remarkable improvement considering he couldn't even make a hot spring so much as ripple five days ago. The combined serpent then seemed to just....disappear. Its form collapsed back into the river from whence it was created, vanishing as if it never even existed in the first place.

And with that, Sam's eyes opened, his mind back into the realm of reality. He felt so strange; it was like he went to sleep, but at the same time was awake. He could 'feel' everything around him, the trees, the river, even the air had a 'presence'. It was weird, but at the same time, a rather fascinating experience. He looked down at his hands, disbelieving that he'd managed to do that. He then looked at Undine, the same expression of confused elation on his face as he asked, "Undine.....Is that....Was that......The Flow?" It wouldn't be surprising that he didn't believe it just happened; he didn't expect to feel so....alive.
 
"Yes... It is wonderful, isn't it?" Undie smiled, sliding up behind him and hugging him from behind as she often did when she spoke to him, "That was but a glimpse into the world that I experience every moment of my life, in varying degrees, that is. If I were fully immersed into The Flow, it would be hard for me to even carry on a conversation, after all. Its not something that can be properly described in words, as the experience itself is beyond them. Try to explain the phenomena of existence itself while you are at it... You will probably be just as successful if you were to try."

The water spirit caressed his sides, letting her fingertips press into his robe ever so slightly. This was her way of showing him non-sexual affection as she knew there were more important things to consider at the time but she still wished to give him a reward of sorts for his rather remarkable success.

"If you can recreate this in the midst of battle, no one can touch you... The Flow molds itself around all forms of danger, rendering you essentially invincible. If you can perfect it and utilize it at will, not a single person could lay a finger on you... Not even myself," Undie giggled, "Although, I have a feeling you wouldn't like that very much, now would you?"

"Yay!" she let go of him and turned toward Gnome, a proud grin on her face, "Did you see that Gnomey? Our darling Sam is so wonderful, isn't he?"

Gnome blinked, unsure what to say in the face of such an accomplishment. Before, defeating the Pharaoh seemed like a distant goal at best, but if he could continue this progress at his current rate, they might just be able to pull it off. Gnome could feel the determination within her rise and she nodded to the water elemental.
 
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