Waking up became easier and easier with every day, especially when a scaly creature poked Noir's leg, the little one shaking as it looked upon its creator.

"S- Sir, the big monkey is dying, and I think it should be used before its death, If you so wish."

Noir blinked awake, jumping at Tuckers news as he quickly did his best to save the silverback.

He knew that the day before him would be the most troubling one yet, the barely healed gorilla slowing them down as they guided him, the creature not even resisting at that point.

It took them hours of dodging other apes and searching until they found a nearby lake.

A situation that almost ended up killing everyone until his knight in furry hide saved everyone by barking them to a stop.

"Something is foul here" he grumbled, just in time for everyone else to jump up and escape the suddenly shifting green scaled mountain before them.

"What in the Hell's is that?" Tucker asked, the gigantic form of their foe stopping everyone in their tracks.

"This is perfection. Don't worry, if all of you manage to occupy that beast for a while, I will be capable of controlling it."

Noir promised, drawing upon both his familiars and jumping behind cover.

"Just throw the silverback when I tell you to."

He explained, both Gazer and Warper getting into position, the first of whom settled in the river dragon's scales without being noticed.

Warper however wrapped his tentacles around the silverback as the Grafter began to adjust both creatures, the silverback falling under his control within seconds, while the larger monstrosity would take quite a bit longer.

The fight started right, as Noirs control extended to the scales of the four legged behemoth.

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Then, his other allies went into action, both storming the crocodile as it started to sprint towards the party.

Scales bounced off scales, and bites went nowhere, stings did nothing as it closed in on the weird smelling magician.

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Draca did not care for the maggots, but it smelled power from its prey, its urge to fight him and gain his body was strong.

It was just about to clash into the man when the furry one began tearing at its eye, its skin and scale seemingly troubled by the increasingly violent force behind the beasts rage, enough that it had to throw itself to the side and roll around to get rid of it, the mission a failure as the dog didn't even flinch once.

Thus, it decided upon the only reasonable action and ran away, hoping to find prey better suited to its abilities, the dog not leaving until he ran. The danger became obvious the longer he ran, a strange feeling coming from his scales as the seconds passed on, the nerves on its skin growing numb.

Like winter, the weird coldness creeped inside his body, further spreading with every second.

Its nictitating membrane flashed upwards, forcing the furry beast to relinquish its grip on his eye and allowing for it to continue its mad dash.

The numbness spread further and deeper with every minute, and after about an hour, it realized that there was only a single solution to its suffering.

It jumped into a lake, where both of its opponents finally let go, and it could use the most important power it had ever developed.

Like the snakes that plagued him so often, he shed his infected skin, disappearing as it disappeared beneath the waves.

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Noir screamed in rage. He had done everything right, a real titan just in reach, if he had managed to tie it for a measly day.

He felt a villain's defeat, the most humiliating kind, which prompted him to further improve.

A flesh shapers Improvements were never in tactic or moral though, thus making him do the most predictable thing he could think of, and meld himself with the gorillas body.

There was a lot of screaming involved as he made the beast shed his fur and took its bulging muscles upon himself, his own biology melding to make him look like a crippled hulk, making sure to keep his face the same.

"This was an absolute failure, let's get home. Tucker, spread your genes and I shall reward you once your people can join the war effort.

If you happen to meet people, I would love for you to bring them to me, no reason to have them wander around all lost and desperate."

Then, Noir shited his head towards the warg.

"Now to you, Will you join the dark crusade, and if yes, will you take a new name?"

He asked the warg, who simply nodded. "My Name shall be Fenrir, after the Wolf that will consume the moon. And as the first among the Warg, I shall join you in the dark crusade."

Thus, they began the long track home, the darkness within growing ever so slightly, where resentment has already grown all encompassing.

"Why the hell is this city so empty anyway?"