Unexpected Detour (Razgriz x Wingshadow)

The journey up was certainly trying, both physically and mentally. The higher he went, the colder it became and the harder it was to breathe. By the time he reached the summit, he was more than just a little out of breath and his muscles burned from the effort and relative lack of oxygen. Thankfully, his contracts would allow his body to survive at an otherwise inhospitable altitude. He never even bothered to look down, knowing his acrophobia would probably make him pass out.

Though when he reached the summit, he was pleasantly surprised to see who could only be Sylph herself standing - or more accurately, floating - before him. Her cheerful greeting only confirmed what he had learned of her from Gnome, Undine, Ignus and Braun. She seemed the playful sort, never having been constrained in her life. And if he were truthful, he could see how that might get tiresome if it were kept on for any appreciable length of time.

Before he could reply, she started to wander away, breaking his little aside; and before he could call to her, Gnome stepped in and began explaining her situation to the Elemental of Wind. He was a little miffed at being interrupted, but then he realized that it was probably better to have Gnome say these things herself. She was a gentle steady spirit, exactly the one who could help rein such a chaotic element in.

And what came next surprised him even: Her words seemed to work, Sylph even proferring her hand in acknowledgment. He was speechless, not entirely sure what to say. He was certain she meant exactly every word of her inquiries, and really it was more the clarity of speech that held his tongue. "She's...more well-spoken than I believed. I thought she would be running around like a child who'd eaten too much sugar." he thought to himself, his words audible to the contracted spirits.

Not wanting to potentially scare her off, he reached out gingerly with his left, gently encasing her dainty hand with the thick digits. "If you'll allow me, I would very much like to try." was his response, a smile of his tugging at the corner of his lips. Patient, he just needed to be patient, that was all.

The water elemental did not seem particularly impressed, the natural tension between the two apparent in her speech. "You probably just caught her during one of her more sane moments," Undine remarked, "Even so, something seems a bit off about her... Perhaps even someone as airheaded as her managed to pick up on the gravity of the situation?"

Sylph, however, gave them little opportunity to ponder the situation as she took hold of his hand firmly and tossed him upward into the thin air with a flick of her wrist. She held him there, her figners still holding his hand as a sphere of wind surrounded both of them, holding him aloft amid the concentrated swirling mass. "In that case, be sure to hold onto my hand... We will play a simple game, a game even a young child could succeed at. Just keep a hold on me, no matter what." The wind around them intensified, pushing the pair into a circular motion with their hands at the center and their legs outward. Sylph gave him an unconcerned smile, even as the speed of their rotation began to increase rapidly. Softly and cheerfully she began to sing:

"The wind is a mysterious thing, is it not?

It cannot be held, neither be fought.

The wind is a spear and an arrow.

The autum winds bring winter snow.

From wence it comes, one cannot know.

The wind is full of vigor and sorrow..."

Well, that's disconcerting, Sam thought to himself. Was Sylph really so extreme in her personality changes?

Though he had little to dwell with, for soon he found himself catapulted yelling into the air, already much higher off the ground than he was originally. But he did not begin a treacherous and long descent, no he was held in place by buffeting currents, much like the 'freefall chamber' attractions on his world. She did not need to tell him twice, for as soon as he instinctively looked down, his face blanched, his head felt woozy and his once-light grip strengthened immensely out of reflex. There was no way in hell he was letting go now.

But things only got worse as she then began to spin them, the pair now reminiscent of a twin-blade rotor in full burn. Even the soothing nature of her nursery-rhyme style song, coming across quite clearly despite the howling and otherwise ear-shattering roar of the winds, did little to quell the stomach-churning reality of his fear of heights.

"S...Sy...Syl...Syll....Sylph!" he finally managed to stammer out her name as they spun with unbelievable speed, his eyes tearing up from holding them open for so long of fright, his voice shaking in desperation, "What exactly is the point of this game?!"

Faster and faster they swirled, the wind gripping at the edges of his face and clothes, pulling snagging at him even as the tremendous force pulling him backward continued to build. The world around him became stretched into thin strings of light, with only Sylph herself in plain view. Even still her hands continued to grip his, the strain upon his hands increasing as his arms burned with pain. Even her melody began to fade in and out, as it became quite impossible to focus on any particular imput outside of the fear, pain, and outward pull.

Sylph then leaned forward and whispered, in a clear yet distant voice, "...The wind will flow as it wishes..."

Sam could feel his grip slipping, the centrifugal force threatening to wrench him from the only thing keeping him from a miles-high fall. His muscles grew sorer and sorer with each passing second, the mere thought of falling such a distance enough to break his once-steady concentration. She was not going to listen to him, though; it was becoming more clear to all that Sam had not yet been ready to go after the Wind Elemental. He had been too set on the other more 'concrete' nature spirits, ones whose paths to contracting were more defined, more objective.

And as she whispered her final words into his ear, his eyes went wide and his grip faltered, the tremendous power of the wind tearing him away and sending him plummeting below. Even should he harden himself with Gnome's Earth mastery, it was more than a certainty that he would have multiple broken bones and a serious concussion. The only thing he thought before his mind switched to survival was: Is how it ends? I fail to contract Sylph and lose the chance at saving Rachel? At saving this world?

His Herculean body fell through the air, the wind howling in his ears as it ripped past his naked form and the chill threatening to give him frostbite as he broke through the cloud layer, leaving an impressive puncture in the nimbi above. "Rachel..." he whispered, tears streaming to fly above him before the chilled winds froze and shattered them, leaving a trail of glimmering light in his descent.

And just before impact, he remembered to strengthen his defense; the crash caused the Earth to groan and splinter, his heavy and tired body leaving quite the dent in the ground as rocks flew up in broken shards and clouds of dust like a geyser. And for a few moments, Sam's numbness muted any pain signals, his eyes empty and shining from his shed sadness. Even as the semblance of agony from structural damage awakened, his ribs broken and bruised along with the back of his head and portions of his extremities, he did not cry out in pain.

He could not...The pain in his heart, the mere thought of having forever lost the chance to save his beloved, to fulfill his divine promise threatened to break his spirit and all he could do was weakly slam his fist and mutter 'Damn it'. Again and again he did this, even now he knew that Sylph was gone...Where would he find her now? How could he find her?

For some time, his contracted elementals remained silent. What could be said to hold back the floodgates of sorrow before such a failure? The other trials had been ones of life and death as well, yet none of them had such a spirit as Sylph. Bits of rock and dust drifted downward, a cloud that slowly fell about him like a thin blanket of snowfall on a soundless night. Gnome was the first to appear beside him, sitting upon her legs as she rested her gentle hand upon his left shoulder, "Sylph's test was not of your abilities, but of her own willingness. Persistance is the lifeblood of success... Impatience is the death of many a good man."

Undine stood on his other side, her hand extended over his body as she worked to mend his shattered body, a dull blue glow shimmering in the darkest place, "No matter how many times you fall, we will be here to hold you back up... When I first saw you at the spring, I knew that if you succeeded in contracting me, it would result in my life changing, yet even at that time I doubt I fully understood what your journey would do for me... For us. Sylph's lack of common sense frustrates me to no end all the same. Apparently she hasn't changed a bit since the last time we met."

"Next time, just punch her right in the face!" Ignus growled, her form appearing in a spurt of flame, "Hell, step aside and I'll do it for you!" She granted her contractor a smile and a confident pose, hoping that her enthusiasm would work to pick him back up onto his feet. However, the only one who could truly pick Sam up was himself...

Sam's eyes stared blankly at the heavens, the dust falling away to reveal the shrouded peak. How it stood before him, taunting him, forever hidden by the clouds...Just as his chance was hidden to rescue Rachel from herself. Even if he did manage to track down Sylph...Who was to say that she would try and help him that time? Or the time after that?

Would he really be better off just sticking with the three he had now? They were strong enough, right? But deep down in his heart...He knew he was stuck. The promise he made to that bastard Kratos, the one to save Nami from his perverted ways. That alone made it impossible to not try and contract the Fourth Elemental, and time was running out. Something such as this, however, did nothing to hasten his rise.

Even as his elementals appeared before and spoke their empowering words to try and inspire him, he did not respond to them at all, the kind speeches falling on deaf ears. His teeth grit weakly together, his heart heavy with despair as he muttered, "I didn't even get to tell her why I needed her power..." He'd been played and he knew it. She saw something in him, something that made her not want to contract with him. And as much as his current situation demanded it...He could not find it in himself to force her. By any means.

"Sam, Sam, Sam...Time's getting a bit thin for you, isn't that nice! Better be moving or your dear Nami will pay the price!"

The sing-song rhyme in his head seemed to snap him out of his stupor a bit, but only to make him less empty-eyed. "Gnome..Undine..Ignus" he finally whispered, adding in a hushed voice "Where did I go wrong? What part of the game did I not understand?"

"Hm... If I had to guess, it is somthing rather basic to the entire contract formation," Undine spoke up first, sliding up against his side in a reassuring manner as she allowed her voice to flow to his ear, "Your easiest contract was with Gnome, since both of you came to a mutual bond and understanding. With both Ignus and myself, we both desired to form a contract, but you needed to either accept the terms or prove yourself worthy in each case. With Sylph... Things are a bit different."

"She has met other humans before, doubtless, but she does not seem to understand them in the slightest neither does she have much interest to understand them," Undine continued, "She is self-content in all the wrong ways, as she sees no need for a contractor. That, and most of the humans she's met before she's probably unintentionally killed. If you show her some persistance, perhaps she'll take a genuine interest in you..." She sighed and shook her head, "Honestly that sounds pretty darn terrifying, now that I think about it."

"Let's find her again and prove to her that Sam is worthy of her consideration," Gnome nodded, placing a gentle kiss on his shoulder.

"If she fucks it up again, I'll smash her face in myself," Ignus smirked, tightening her right hand into a fist, "She's got some nerve, thinking she's so damn self-sufficient or whatever!"

Despite their attempts to soothe his woe, he still felt crushed. And even as they recounted the conditions of his contracts with them, it did not do much to soothe his pain. Maybe he'd gotten too complacent; never did one of them run away from him, and never did they subject him to his own personal fear. Something that he was more angry at himself for than Sylph, but the agony of defeat was harsh. Especially since failure meant Nami would become a 'pet' for that sick dog Kratos.

He still didn't understand how the Pharaoh's energy manifested itself into that; but then, was now really the time to be worrying about such things? Probably not, though it still troubled him since it all happened so suddenly.

But it was their continued efforts to cheer him up that made him realize that it wasn't over yet; time was winding down, but he could still do it. He just needed to keep going after her until she acknowledged him as one worthy of contracting her. Giving a slight grunt, he tried to sit up, only barely managing to succeed before a twinge of pain went through his head; he gingerly touched the back of the cranium, another twinge made him groan mutedly in pain. "I don't even want to know how far I fell down..." Sam muttered; truth be told, his body hurt only a little. Though he could only imagine the amount of pain he would be in if the fall hadn't killed him in his original human body.

"I'm sorry, you three....I don't want to sit here and mope. That's not going to help...But it was hard seeing her just, throw me away like that." he then admitted; while he wasn't expecting it to be easy, he wished she would have at least spent a little more time trying to hear him out. "But I guess we'll just have to make a stronger case next time. Won't we, Gnome? Undine? Ignus?" he then stated with a touch more confidence, already feeling a good bit more energetic thanks to their words of confidence.

"Undine..." Sam then said, trailing off as he then asked, "Could I ask you to give me a look-over? I feel like I might have bruised a few things."

"I doubt anyone could present a string of words that Sylph would wait around and listen to, unless you give her a good reason to sit down and listen," Undine replied with a smirk, "Of course, that's exactly what we intend to do this time." She slipped behind Sam and slid her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder, "Of course, Sam. I think you're sturdy enough to take a fall like that without much trouble, but it never hurts to be careful." She pressed her hand against him, brushing her fingertips across his chest around to his spine before tracing with a single finger up toward his neck. Sparks of blue energy flowed through him, extending outward from his core to the tips of his limbs.

"There," Undine smiled, "That should take care of the soreness." She slid back from him, placing her hand on her chin in a thoughtful manner, "Perhaps I could find a way to rejuvinate your body during combat too, as a way of countering Kratos' abilities. I'll have to look into that, but it might be possible."

"Might come in handy later," Ignus nodded, "Assuming I don't simply blast him to pieces myself when I meet him. From what I gather from the shared emotions that keep sparking up each time he's mentioned, I'm guessing he's had more than just an occasional annoyance."

"Trust me, once you see more of him you'll wish you could see less," Gnome chimed in as well.

The sensation of Undine's healing technique felt like a giant cold compress had wrapped around him, reducing the swelling and repairing a number of the fractures his body had sustained from the fall. Tough as his new form was, it was still somewhat vulnerable; not nearly as much as his old form was, but still a good degree. And with Undine repeating that creep's name, he knew that the pervert was all too eager to finally meet Sam to get all four Elementals.

"Thanks, Undine..." he trailed as Ignus readied herself quite well to just reduce his counterpart to ash. "Truth be told, it's my fault he's even here...And that we're even in this mess. But I'm sure we'll figure something out, right?" Sam added on; the problem was still that he had Nami on a very short leash. Though there was that orb that Kratos held, the one that had the same appearance as those disgusting veins that coursed through his daughter's body. What if he snatched it away somehow? No, he was still too slow; Nami would be converted before he even took a single step. And with his constant intrusions, Sam knew that Kratos must have been able to read his mind.

"Feeling bolder, Sam? Already plotting to kill me? How delightful"

That voice rang through his head, and soon enough a portal opened up; and out stepped Kratos. The purple hue on his body was almost completely gone, it was almost like there was an exact replica of Sam standing right in front of them. He even wore nothing, a pair of 'underwear' what could only be assumed to to be the doppelganger's own skin - doing a poor job of hiding a massive bulge. "Ignus, stand down..." Sam then spoke up, afraid that prematurely attacking him would only result in Nami's death or even him just taking her.

"What, still afraid for dear Nami? What a caring father you're trying to be, even though it was you that let her get in this situation in the first place." Sam's clone mocked, wagging a finger in fake disappointment. "Why are you here...Again?" Sam then asked, to which Kratos responded playfully, "Tick tock, Sam, the longer you spend jawing with me, the less chance you have of getting Sylph," Giving a short chuckle, he then added on, "Now then...Seeing as you failed in getting her in the first time, we need to get you moving again. So tell you what...I'm going to give you a hand."

Sam's eyes narrowed in suspicion, his body tensing as Kratos laughed, "What? That's how you treat someone who's only trying to give aid from the depths of his most pure heart? No wonder you couldn't get through to Sylph; you're treating it like it's a mission. Far too serious, far too rushed. The wind doesn't appreciate being contained. Play the game, Sammy boy, don't let it play you." Sam's stance relaxed; that seemed....oddly relevant. "What the hell do you know about the wind?" he then demanded, to which Kratos laughed again, "See? You're taking it too hard. Weight like that will never let you soar. Let it go, Sammy boy....Just. Let it. Go."

And like some crazed magic stunt, his body began to hover, as his arms outstretched, a heavy gust whipping about him. "You think that's supposed to impress me? You could just be using your mind or something!" Sam shouted, to which Kratos smirked, "Believe what you will. But since I'm feeling sporty, I'll let you know the direction you should head in. Go east until you reach the Ishka Plains; you'll find something that will help you out. Trust me." And just like that, Kratos vanished again in an instant. "The nerve of that bastard...." Sam grumbled, letting out a somewhat relieved sigh that Kratos had just come to gloat as usual.

Though the question remained: Should they listen to him? The majority said no, that it was just another diversion. But something else nagged at him, like a smaller part of him wanted to believe everything he just said. "Hey, Undine...I'm probably going to sound extra stupid right now, but do you think there was any truth to what he was saying?" he then asked his elemental; her power of perception was unrivaled amongst his three, and if anyone could tell if he was lying, it would most likely be her.

Ignus remained silent throughout the discussion, although her brow nitted together tightly and her hands flared up into blasing fists until Kratos had vanished back into the silent void from which he had appeared. Something about the man prompted her to become immediately aggressive, her stance and glare speaking more to her intentions than any words could hope to convey. Even so, she remained loyal to her contractor, making no overt effort to attack him whatsoever.

"However much it pains me to admit it, I believe that Kratos is telling the truth," Ungine replied with a heavy sigh upon her lips, her shoulders sagging as she spoke, "He wants you to contract all four elementals, right? What benefit would he gain by distracting us from that? If all he wanted was Nami... He'd just take her whenever he felt like it." She grit her teeth together, tension building in her for a moment before she let out another sigh, allowing the aggression to fade from her body. She doubtless felt a great degree of frustration. Her own daughter was being held captive by a depraved clone of her own contractor. Nothing about the situation made sense, but even so she carried a deep-set sense of responsibility for allowing such a terrible fate befall her beloved daughter yet remaining powerless to rescue her from his grasp.

"Why would Kratos know where to find Sylph?" Gnome inquired.

"I doubt his powers are in any way related to the wind elemental," Undine shook her head, "However, he has a way of... Getting around quickly, so it his highly likely he has found some way of tracking her whereabouts."

"How do you track someone who literally leaves no traces and has no meaningful pattern to her travels?" Gnome blinked.

"There are certain locations that the elemental spirits have natural affinity for... For me, it is natural, pure springs or lakes. for Ignus, it is natural volcanic activity... for Sylph, high locations or locations with a predisposition to wind are likely places she frequents," Undine explained, "He would not have to be able to keep up with or track her, but merely notice what direction she is heading in to predict her next stop."

"I see... But why the Ishka Plains?" Gnome inquired further.

"That's the tough part... He never said that Sylph would be there. In fact, his words would imply otherwise... It is merely something that will supposedly help us find Sylph," Undine shrugged, "He'll likely show up again when we find out what he meant."

"Sounds like fun..." Gnome sighed, "Let's get going before something else disturbing and depraved crawls up."

*Ishka Plains*

It had taken a number of days, as this location was in a completely on this massive world, but Sam made it with the help of the Elementals. Having decided to go with Undine's reasoning, this was a chance he was taking. But what awaited him, he could only guess; little did he realize just what it was he was going to find here.

His last jump landed him square at the edge of Sheiru Forest and the Plains; he still didn't know what this place exactly was: It was like any other in the sense that there was a lot of grass and plenty of small hills, snow-capped mountains looming in the distance against the still blue backdrop that was the cloudless sky. Were the situation not so dire, he probably would have taken some time to enjoy the serene landscape; however, he still had a mission: Find whatever it was Kratos wanted him to find. Supposedly it would help him, at least that was what he thought Kratos was getting him to do.

"All he gave me was a location....I don't even know how big this place is." he grumbled as he started running deeper into the wide open fields; little did he realize who it was that was watching him. Someone that had anticipated his arrival and prepared accordingly.

"Help...Please help us...This madman has us trapped"

That was the first telepathic shout Sam received after running only a few miles, making him stop dead in his tracks. "The hell...." he muttered, looking every which way while listening for the voice to say something else. After a few moments, he was about to chalk up to an auditory hallucination and keep going when he heard it:

"Says Braun did this...Will make the geezer pay"

Braun? "Kratos...Did you lead me to the assistant for something?" he then wondered aloud, changing direction and headed to where he thought the messages were coming from; soon enough, the group arrived at an oddly pristine hemispherical building. Something he hadn't seen in a while; it was almost like it was remodeled somewhat recently. "Even the Chroma-coat's been redone" Sam mused, placing a hand on the surface and running it across, only to feel almost no friction whatsoever. Just as it would have been since the coating was designed to reflect heat away from the building and back into the atmosphere. Just then, he heard another message, but this one more foreboding:

"Turn back now. Only danger and death await you; no one here is safe, all are beyond salvation."

This, however, only inspired Sam further, making him look for an entrance and finding one on the north end. Upon approach, the door automatically slid open, beckoning him in and the man heading inside, cameras along the wall watching unseen.

Just beyond the walls sat a single man, his aged body showing signs of wear but seeming to be in good health. His once lustrous brown locks were flecked with gray, a pristine labcoat covering the white button-up shirt and blue pants. He watched the monitors with hooded gray eyes, seeing the newcomer come in and approach the central elevator. "Yeees...You will be the key, my friend. Your sacrifice will finally let my dream come to fruition...So "Will you walk into my parlor?" said the spider to the fly; 'tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy. The way into my parlor is up a winding stair, and I have many pretty things to show when you are there."