The Change of Sides - OUTTAKES

Heyoooo! So by now you guys probably found out that I'm quitting dA. It's not a big deal, it's just I've got a lot of work with school and stuff and I won't have time, so while I'm still helping to write out these chapters, Thalia is going to post them on her account.
Oh yeah, and this is Krysten guys! GrandioseGamer. Lol, don't worry, I don't think Thalia's leaving anytime soon.
So yeah, as a sorry for the inconviencé present, I decided to share some outtakes from the story with you; scenes Thalia and I decided not to put in.
So without further ado, here they are!

1) A Game of Sacrifice
     Thalia and I had trouble at first when choosing whether Duncan or Rythian should sacrifice themselves for the bomb (of course we settled on Rythian) and in the beginning we weren't sure if we even wanted to put the bomb bit in at all. But in the end, we decided it would be kind of necessary in building the brotherly relationship between Seto and Rythian and sort of revive Seto's adventurous spirit.
    This first exert comes right after the part with the Rythian trying to persuade Duncan to let him defuse the bomb with the whole "Yogscast is family" bit, except this time, Duncan temporarily knocked Rythian out.
    This bit is a little more intense and actually shows what it would've been like to defuse the bomb, as well as let Rythian show off his use of the Ender-bomb-sucker-spell-thing.
    And at the end, when Seto comes in, we weren't sure yet what he would've been doing before then and we assumed he possibly could've had his magic back by then - but we never EVER expected him to go on a journey with the chicken who clung to his head during a battle with a massive mutated undead monster.
    ...It was Thalia's idea.

    It seemed like no time at all had passed when Duncan was down to that final decision. Either cut the red wire, or the green wire. There was no way to figure out which one. No manual, no mathematical equation, no voodoo, nothing. Just luck.
   Duncan took a deep breath and raised his wire-cutters. He closed his eyes and cut through the red one. For a moment, there was nothing. Then a mechanical voice spoke out of the nuke.
    "Demolition in five seconds."
    Duncan sighed and lowered his head.
    "Four."
    He closed his eyes and smiled to himself.
    "Three."
    "Guess I've got my work cut out for me..." He said quietly to himself.
    "Two."
    "IDIOT!"
    "One."
    Duncan spun around just in time to see a flash of purple before he was shoved hard to the ground. He landed hard on his back and looked up in alarm to see Rythian creating a small purple forcefield around the nuke. "Rythian, no!" Duncan shouted. Suddenly, within the forcefield, a blinding white light erupted, followed by an ear-shattering BOOM. Then, only a few seconds later, it was gone. Rythian closed the still erupting explosion in on itself within the forcefield and it disappeared from time and space.
    Duncan stared at Rythian in fear. "Y-You idiot!" He shouted. "Why did you do that?!"
   Rythian just smiled weakly. "Family..." He said quietly. Then he collapsed to the ground.
   "Rythian!" Duncan knelt by his side and shook his shoulder, but the Ender-Born didn't stir. "Rythian, you idiot, wake up!" Duncan shouted. His eyes filled with fear as he realized the weight of the situation. "Rythian... Don't die..." He whispered.
    At the entrance to the room, Seto skidded to a halt, panting from his long run. He took in the scene quickly and his eyes widened. "I'm too late...!" He gasped.
   Duncan heard him and looked up. "D-Do something! I-I think he's dying!"
   Seto ran over and knelt on Rythian's side opposite Duncan. He rested a hand over his friend's heart and closed his eyes. Duncan watched him with wide, terrified eyes.
    Seto stayed that way for a full minute at least. When at last he finished, he sighed and pulled his hand away. "Extreme head trauma... He pushed himself way, WAY further than anyone ever should. He should be dead. And if I'd been any later, he would be."
   "Is he gonna be alright?" Duncan asked.
    "There's nothing else I can do..." Seto replied. "I can keep his body in stasis but I don't know how else I can help him. This is Ender magic. It's always been lost on me. I... I can't do anything for him..."
   Duncan looked down at Rythian. "How... How long does he have...?" He asked, his voice breaking.
    "Until his brain stops functioning entirely?" Seto sighed. "I'd give it a few days. A week, maybe."


2) Flirty Glowy Xephos
     I made this one out of boredom when I read a Headcanon that Lewis's eyes glowed in the dark and later sent it to Thalia to perhaps use later on, but we never really found a good opportunity to add it in.
    This exert features Lewis (sorta) flirting with Hannah and ends up telling her a little about his home, and Seto and Duncan decide to make a bet on whether or not they'd kiss.
   I decided this scene as worthy of being an Outtake because it sort of stabilizes a friendship between Duncan and Seto, as well as shows the romantic relationship clearly shared between Lewis and Hannah.

    His eyes glowed. Literally. They shone bright blue. Hannah blinked in surprise. "Whoa! Why're they doin' that?"
    "Doing what?" Lewis cocked his head to one side, then realized what she meant. "Oh, my eyes!" He laughed nervously and looked away. "Well, my people... Our eyes will glow whenever we feel some strong emotion..."
   "Strong emotion?" Hannah asked. "Like what?"
   "Well... Let's see." Lewis put his arm around her shoulders as he looked up at the stars in thought. "Fear, embarrassment, anger... Love." He smirked at her.
   She just raised one eyebrow. "So why were your eyes glowin' just then?"
   "Oh, I dunno..." Lewis looked away as his cheeks flushed and his eyes started to glow again.
    In the background, sitting side by side under a tree, Duncan and Seto watched the two boredly.
    "I wish they would just kiss." Duncan muttered.
    "Mm hmm..." Seto thought for a moment before looking at Duncan. "Twenty bucks says Lewis makes a move."
    "Oh, you're on." Duncan replied with a short laugh.

3) Nightmares
    To be honest, the only reason we didn't put this one in is because we couldn't seem to find a good place for it. Plus it was fun writing Seto confident again. But yeah, I thought this would be a cool exert

  Zoey pulled away from the hug and kissed him lightly. Suddenly, she looked away, pulling her lips from his. "Did you hear that?"
    "Meh, I'm sure it's nothing..." Rythian replied mildly.
    "No, I don't think so..." Zoey climbed out of the bed and pushed open the flap of their tent. She stepped out into the cool desert night and looked around. She'd heard a skeleton noise, she was almost certain. But there didn't appear to be one in sight. Suddenly, she heard a swishing of sand behind her and spun around just in time to see a skeleton pull back its arrow. She gasped and took a step back, squeezing her eyes shut as she realized she wouldn't be able to flee or defend herself in time. Then came the solid 'Twang-Thwap!' ringing through the air; the sound of an arrow striking its target.
    Zoey jumped, but felt no pain. She opened one eye to see the skeleton collapse into a pile of bones in front of her, an arrowhead stuck in its skull.
    "What the hell was that?!" Rythian pushed his way out of the tent as the archer who'd shot the skeleton grinned at the two from where he sat crouching on the fence.
    "Am I interrupting something?" He asked mischievously.
    "Oh shut up, Sorcerer." Zoey rolled her eyes as Seto hopped off the fence.
    "You okay?" He asked.
    "Fine. It didn't get me." She replied.
    Seto shot Rythian a smug grin. "Lucky I heard you two messing about. Otherwise I wouldn't have been up."
    The Enderborn's cheeks flushed purple but Zoey just laughed. "Don't be silly, Seto. I know why you weren't asleep and it's not because we woke you up."
    "Oh... Well..." Seto blinked in alarm, caught off guard, and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "N-Nevermind that. Go on back to doing your thing, I'll let Tee know he's starting to become a bit too heavily of a sleeper..."
   Seto turned away and started to walk off to Teep's tree, when Rythian suddenly recognized his aura. "Nightmares?" He asked. Seto stopped, visibly wincing. "You're having nightmares again?"
    Zoey smiled sympathetically. "I'll leave you two alone." Neither Mage responded as she returned to her bed inside her tent.
    For a moment the two remained quiet, both waiting for the other to speak. Finally, Seto sighed and hung his head. "It's not a big deal, Rythian... Everybody gets bad dreams."
    "Yeah but not like this." Rythian replied, shaking his head. "Not every night."
    "Can you not read my mind?" Seto snapped, rather harshly as opposed to the empathetic Sorcerer's normally gentle nature. "I don't like it when you just go into my head and look around, it drives my bonkers!"
   Rythian smiled. "I didn't read your thoughts, Seto." He replied. "The circles under your eyes were obvious enough."
   Seto scowled and looked away. "I don't wanna talk about it, okay? I'm fine."
    He once again started to walk away, and was once again stopped. Rythian watched him go with wide, almost hurt eyes. "What happened?" He asked softly.
    Seto sighed and stopped again. "What do you mean?"
    "What happened?" Rythian repeated. "What on earth have I done to cause you to put up every barrier you knocked down when we became friends?"
    Seto hesitated for a moment, resisting the urge to say, 'Nothing' and further deny his depression. Finally, he gave in and turned around, shaking his head slightly. "It's not you."
    Rythian walked over to him. "It's them again, isn't it?" He asked quietly.
    Seto stared at him for a moment as he came to a stop by his side, then lowered his head. He finally let out a quiet sob and practically fell into a sitting position in the middle of the base camp.
    Rythian sat beside him, rubbing his back comfortingly. "It'll be alright, Seto... You have us now." He pulled the Sorcerer into a hug, resting his chin on his friend's head. "It's been months, Seto... You gotta let this go."
   "I can never let it go." Seto replied bitterly, pulling away. "They were my family... Imagine Zoey and Teep and Nilesy and Ravs kicking you out of their Blackrock group. Imagine how that would feel."
    "Tuh." Rythian smirked thinly. "I'd like to see them try."
    Seto laughed quietly, resting his head against his friend's shoulder. "You suck..." He muttered.
    "I know." Rythian replied with a smile. "That's what I'm here for."

4) The Commander's Lament
    Now this last one is interesting. We wanted to show how Sky felt about kicking Seto when they ran into one another in the Captive Creeper, but as we wrote it out, we realized we wouldn't be able to give Sky much of a speaking part. So we had to boot this part out.

   The two stared at one another in silence for a moment, then Seto cracked a small smile and placed his hands behind his back like the recruits did. "Commander." He addressed respectfully.
    Sky's eyes filled with grief behind his sunglasses. "Oh, shut up..." He stepped over the line and hugged the Sorcerer, taking him by surprise. Seto blinked in alarm as his hands lifted off his back as he lost his concentration. He instantaneously sensed what his old friend was feeling; guilt, sadness, and even a little anger at himself.
    Seto smiled sadly and hugged him back. "Adam, it's okay."
    "No, it's not," Sky pulled away and looked Seto in the eye. "I am so sorry, Seto."


    So that's all! Again, I'm sorry for leaving but I really just gotta focus on my homework! But don't worry, The Change of Sides updates should be much more frequent now
I love you all!
~ Krysten, the Grandiose Gamer