The Taste of Seduction

"My child," Gwen spoke to Meredith, who stared clueless, watching her with speculation, "Do not let the enemy take what is yours." With that, Gwen levitated upward and charged towards the direction of the dust clouds, summoning an army of chimeras to aid her.

She had not gotten too far when she realized to her utmost horror that Austin and his army of evil had already caught up with them.

"Run, Meredith!" She screeched, waving her arms in his direction, commanding the chimeras to attack him and his minions. The chimeras charged towards his army, clashing in a fierce battle.

"It's too late," His shrewd voice pierced through the valleys and boulders, malice and hatred vibrating in every word. He spun his arm around before him, forming what looked like a black hole and began to chant in ancient tongues.

A loud, roaring and screeching sound erupted from the black hole, rocks and gravels vibrated in its wake, alerting the group to impending doom.

"That sounds like," Marcus said as he turned to face Atlas and Meredith who were already staring up at the black space above them. Everywhere went still, and in the dead of the silence, the head of what looked like a giant dragon protruded out of the hole, another followed, and then there was a deafening tearing sound as the black hole widened.

"It most definitely is," Atlas added, "A dragon." Meredith completed the statement, reaching her hand over Atlas's back and willing him to back up with her and Marcus. He turned to face her and noticed the lifeless glow of white light in the depths that once held her eyes.

"Meredith, what are you doing?" He asked, seizing her wrist in firm grasp while Marcus took hold of her other, staring up at the gigantic beast that had now let one foot into earth grounds, and then the other.

"We need to get out of here." Marcus whispered. Suddenly, as fast as lightning, Meredith was out of their grasp. Atlas stood wide-eyed, staring at the empty space where Meredith once was. "Where – where did she –" Marcus stammered as he turned in the direction of the beast.

"Meredith!" Atlas exclaimed with a loud cry as he watched her leap towards the heads of the beast with her hands held against her forehead. Austin paused in his attack, watching the dramatic display with delight while Gwen held her breath, at the brink of instant breakdown.

Meredith let out purple waves of magnetic energy from her mind; the resulting effect was a piercing sound that affected not just Austin's entire army, but Atlas and Gwen as well.

"What is that?!" Atlas asked, his words were dragged due to the pain he was experiencing. Marcus noticed that his ears were beginning to bleed, with his lightning speed reflex, he charged forward, reaching the neck of the three-headed beast, and smashed the column of its back with such force, the impact caused its skull to get smashed.

Gwen smiled and turned in the direction of Austin who still beheld the scene with shock. "Surprised? Well don't lose your ground." She said to him as she let out balls of flames from her palms and raged towards him. Austin turned his attention to the light that was closing in on him. He evaded the attack with a shield of magic and began to shoot dark tendrils of black magic towards her direction.

Meredith moved with nature's gift of fluidity and the poise of a skilled sorceress. Equipped with the speed and foresightedness of a vampire and the immense strength of a werewolf, she was able to gather large forces of each power she dispelled in the direction of Austin 's minions.

It was easy to defeat his opponents with the level of power she wielded, but she hadn't imagined being involved in a battle that would favor her this much. Confidence coursed through her being as she minced every creature under his control.

During his battle with Gwen, Austin realized to his dismay that his actual enemy was not Gwen, but Meredith. Somehow, she had come about a power that was unimaginable, and he had overlooked it until it was too late. How it happened, he wasn't sure, and now she was on the battlefield with him. The chances of him being killed were much higher than in any other battle he had ever had .

Through his peripheral vision, he noticed that his army had lessened significantly. Somehow, through his numerous distractions, Gwen had managed to gain control of the minds of his dragons turning them against him.

The resulting effect of the overpowering was a desperate Austin, doing all in his might to defeat them. His gaze locked with Gwen's, and then he broke into a smile and turned to face Meredith, who was wading off a spectral beast, summoning stems of destruction with her dryad powers.

"Meredith, no!" Gwen shrieked, watching powerlessly from a distance as he conjured dark energy from his being. He clasped his hands together, one atop the other, interlocked his fingers, and began to chant. Atlas ripped out the heart of an Ipotane and turned in the direction where the shriek had come from.

He watched with horror as a rift began to form, first as an enclosed black dot, and then, in the blink of an eye, it became a wide wormhole, sucking up everything in its path.

"Join your stupid father!" Austin yelled, summoning dark energy in the form of tiny black balls vibrating with energy. He unleashed the energy towards Meredith, who finally turned, facing the attack head-on.

Atlas, who watched everything happen, charged upward on his paws with a speed like none he had ever conjured. Luckily, his projection was perfect as he crashed right into Meredith, pushing her out of the way and getting hit by the energy instead. The impact of the force made him lose his grip on something, and he got sucked into the portal. As if on cue, it closed up immediately after taking him in.