Luminous Blade

by Kokojin

After being sent back in time by the evil Gnivil, Two brothers gather their forces to combat the darkness that threatens their world.

Luminous Blade

Chapter 1

"AJ you're gonna have to run a whole lot faster if you're going to stay in this race" said my brother Patrick. "And who are you to tell me how to run?" I asked coming to a complete halt. "As your younger much faster brother, I'm just running my mouth as usual" he replied. As we came into seeing distance of our house we saw our mom standing outside with a man. "Yo Pat, look who's here "I said nudging him. "You know I see him way too much for comfort" He spits, "I no longer feel comfortable watching porn in my room anymore" he joked. "When do you find time to do that" I asked jokingly. "I have my ways and that's all you need to know" he replied a little too seriously. We walked up to the house laughing and our mom smiles at us. "Hey ma" we said in unison. "Hey boys" she said as sweet as ever. The thing about mom is that her voice is so beautiful. Honestly, between me and you, I love when I get in trouble, but that's a story for a different day. "Have a nice walk boys?" asked the man. "It was cool, but what's it to you?" I replied very rudely. "AJ is all that even necessary?" scolded my mom. She looked at me with anger in her eyes. "No ma'am" I replied looking off to the side. "Come on AJ let's go get something to eat" said Patrick grabbing my elbow. Just as I took a step… or tried to better yet, I was sent flying into a tree. "AJ!" yelled Patrick. He turned around and gave the man a confused look as he grabbed our mom. Patrick tried to throw a punch at the man, but failed and was also sent fling into a tree as I was. I coughed up a large amount of blood. "That hurt… a lot" a said wiping away the blood from my mouth. "I…I can't move" I finished, trying to stand up. "I think I'll keep you fools alive…for now. Just not in this time period" said the man with an evil grin on his face. He threw his hand in our direction and two black spheres came toward us, as the darkness surrounded us, our mom snatched her arm away, and she ran toward us, but time itself had stopped. The time that we know, began to flash before us. "Who are you?" asked Patrick. Everything went black. "The name is GNIVIL!" said a harsh whisper. I don't understand… what's going on?

Chapter 2

As I began to regain my consciousness I heard Patrick arguing with a girl about paying for something. "If he's lying in the bed you have to pay, this IS a hospital you know" said the girl. "Listen…" he looks at her name tag" Netta, I am not paying for my brother lying down!" yelled Patrick. "Yo Pat, I got it man" I said rubbing my eyes. Even though I think he heard me, Patrick continued to argue. "And on top of that you're asking for way too much" said Patrick. Funny thing to me is that, this I'm laying on my stomach this whole time, so I doubt that Patrick did hear me. Pushing myself into a sitting position, I gained both of their full attention. As I glanced over at Netta she blushed. "Um, Jay you mind coverin up a lil?" Patrick asked turning away. I smiled and looked at Patrick in confusion. He kinda tossed his downward. I looked down and said, "Oh crap! I am so sorry" I said trying my hardest to cover myself up "How much did I say the price was again?" Netta asked. "675 gams" said Patrick plainly. "I think I got th-""No, it's free" said Netta cutting me off. "HELP!" someone screamed in terror. We ran outside to see what was up. After adjusting to the light we saw a girl being chased by a man with a sword. I looked over at Patrick who had this goofy smile on his face. The thing about Patrick is that he love, but hates to see a girl in trouble. He loves it, because he can save her, but hates it because he hates to see her in trouble. "Please don't smile like that Pat" I said holding my head, "just go and save her" I finished. He began to walk in their direction… very slowly. "Uh...now!" I yelled. He smiled and sprinted while cracking his knuckles. Not seeing Patrick coming their way, the guy continued to pester the girl. "Where is it you filthy we-"He was cut off by Patrick's foot in his chest, which knocked every ounce of air out of him, right along with sending him flying into a tree. "Just one kick?" asked Jade in confusion. "Actually it was barely that" I said. "What do you mean?" asked Netta. "Patrick's foot never touched him, even though to us it looked like it did" I explained. "Try hurting another girl and see what happens" said Patrick with and angry glare. "Lord Gnivil will make you pay for this. You just wait and see" said the man getting up and running. Patrick's glare faded as did my smile. My eyes widened at the name, "GNIVIL!" I growled. Netta looked at me with a worried face, the man was long gone, but his words stayed with Patrick and I like the obvious look on our faces. The girl that Patrick helped walked over to him. "Thank you for saving me, my name is Angie" she said. "Um… no problem I couldn't just stand by and watch a pretty girl like you be in trouble" said Patrick smoothly. "Thank you. I can tell by the look on your face that you're going after that man, huh" asked Angie. "Yea we have to. Oh and my name is Patrick" he replied. "Netta my brother and I have to go" I said. She gave me this look, I kinda knew what I meant, but some part of me really didn't know. The funny thing to me is, is that I only meant to look at her for a quick second, but… that didn't work out to well. I ended up staring at her instead. I mean she had the prettiest fake eyes ever, they totally went with her face… she was beautiful. She smiled this beautiful smile and I promise I heard a chorus of angel behind me… it was great. "Um c-can I ask you a question?" I asked scratching my head. "Shoot" she replied in a perky tone. "Do you have a –""AJ" Patrick yelled. My head jerked in his direction. "I have a question for you, so would you mind coming over here and get out of her eyes for a second" yelled Patrick. I looked at Netta and shrugged my shoulders. As we walked towards him, Netta grabbed my hand. I looked at her and smiled. "Angie do you think you would want to come with us… I mean I could protect you all the time and you would never have to worry about something like this happening again" said Patrick all in one breath. She looked at him and giggled," Sure Patrick that would be very nice… if it's ok with your brother" "Who cares what he thinks even if he says no you'd still be coming" he said shrugging his shoulders. "Do you mind if Angie comes with us?" Patrick asks as Netta and I walk up. "Um who is Angie, Pat?" I ask. They all look at me with raised eyebrows and retarded looks. "This is Angie you retard" said Patrick putting his hand on her shoulder. "Oh that's Angie... hahaha. Yea she can come" I said. With that we walked towards the town gates to exit the town. As we get to the gate I realize something. "Um we have no idea of where we're going right now do we?" I asked. "There's a town on the other side of this forest" said Netta. Well we have our first destination to Gnivil; let's see how this turns out.

Chapter 3

We've been walking in the same damn direction for three days and I've gotten to know Netta better… a whole lot better. First off she's 17, about 5'5, and she has a very bright skin-tone, and plus to top it all off she likes me a lot. Now, Angie she's into Patrick a little more than she should be I think. She's 17, about 5'5, same color as Netta, and if what I said earlier wasn't enough for you to understand…she's in love with Patrick. "So how long until we reach Gnivil," I asked. "Yeah, when do we go see the scaly bastard?" asked Patrick. "Do you actually think that at this point you can defeat Gnivil?" asked Angie. "Yeah" said Patrick bluntly. "How weak-minded are boys?" Netta asked. "If the world is dependant upon these two… we're doomed" Angie said holding her head. My jaw dropped… these girls are blunt about everything, nothing is sugar coated. I think it's time to do a little kissing up. "So Netta, what made you want to come with us all the way out here?" I asked. She looked at with that beautiful smile again and slightly bit the corner lip and then she responded, "I just wanted to know what it feels like to be saved… like Angie was, you know? I want to experience that at least once" she said looking off into my eyes. "So what you're saying is, is that you want to be a damsel in distress, huh?" I asked. "Yeah something like that" she said with a smile on that pretty face of hers. "Well, I'll see what I can do about that… wait why?" I said. She laughed showing all her pearly whites and then she shrugged her shoulders. We continued to walk for about another 3 minutes before I accepted the fact that we were being followed by 2… no 3 intruders. "Yo, Pat" I whispered. Patrick turned around and said "What's up." "We got 3" I said. "Where?" he asked. "In the trees… but don't look though" I said. We continued to walk and the 3 were getting closer. "Netta, we got trouble" I said. "I'm already 3 steps ahead of you, pretty boy" she responded. I laughed a little. "Pretty boy?" I asked. "Ooh… Ooh… Ooh I have to go tee tee" said Netta holding herself. "WOW! Did you just say that you have to go tee tee hahahahahahahahahaha I haven't heard that in years" I said laughing now realizing what she was doing and laughing because… I mean think about it tee tee. "How about you go over there in those bushes" I said. "AJ, I am not a boy "she said letting herself go and walking towards the bushes. "Yet you still walk towards the bushes." I said laughing. Netta gave me the finger as she walked into the bushes. "This is either going to take a while or kill time. It depends on how you want to think about it." I said with a smile. The 3 continue to "sneak" up on us not thinking that we know they're, there. They stopped and all sat upon the same branch. I saw Netta creep up behind them, very slowly. I started walking that way very slowly and started to smile at the thought of the trouble she's going to be in. Out of no where Netta just jumped on the branch thinking that it would break… but of course it didn't. "Oh crap… that was not supposed to happen" she said laughing to herself a bit. The 3 turned around towards her. Patrick, Angie, and I ran towards the tree and we scaled up it as quickly as possible. When we got to the top we were met face to face with 3 girls. "You know my mama always told me not to hit a girl, but push and I will" I said. "I'm the only girl of the 3" said one. "Haha ok so you other two are just some fags then huh?" Patrick asked a little too seriously, but was still about to laugh right along with me. They tackled us off the branch, kicking our ass while in the air. When I hit the ground, it broke underneath me. "Man ya'll some hoes" I said barely standing up. One of the guys vanished (behind me) and the other guy ran at Patrick with all that he had. He rapidly threw punches and kicks, but I caught and blocked every one of them. While I was doing that Patrick and I were backing up into each other. We both were kicked in the chest and we hit each other. Meanwhile, in the tree the girls were flying from tree to tree trying to catch the other girl. Netta jumped onto another branch of another tree and cut the girl's escape path off. Now, with Netta on one side and Angie on the other, the girl gave up. "I think this is far enough to tell you." She said. "To tell us what" asked Netta. "I need to tell where Gnivil is and how to defeat him." said the girl. "Go on" said Netta. It goes to Patrick and me. These guys are kicking our butts… only because we're letting them. I think after I got hit in the face, punched in the balls, kicked in the chest, and a bunch of other stuff, it was then when I finally got mad. Once again Patrick and I were sitting on the ground back to back… laughing for some odd reason. We stood up and looked back at each other one last time before we did what we had to do (no homo.) The two guys charged at us with the largest get a life stares we've ever seen. But of course we weren't paying attention which made them think we were off guard. They came at us with the same barrage of punches and kicks, once again it didn't work. The only difference about this time and last time is the fact that we attacked. "Flare Strike!" I yelled. My fists became engulfed in flames and I gave him a little barrage of my own. "Shadow Strike!" yelled Patrick who also gave the other guy a barrage of punches and kicks. Each hit feeling like rock and each one hitting harder than the previous one. He finished his little combo with and uppercut sending the man flying into the air. Now, when I say that Patrick sent this guy high into the air I mean he sent him HIGH into the air. I held the other guy whose face was badly bruised and burnt. "You know I think that it's going to hurt when he hits the ground Pat" I said plainly. "yea it probably will" he replied with a chuckle. When the man finally came back down he broke every bone in his body making him quite immobile if you ask me. "Wow that looked like it really hurt… a lot" I said with a laugh. The guy in my hands started to cry and plead to me for some oddball ass reason. "Sir please don't kill me it is obvious that we underestimated you. We are very sorry, I beg of you show us mercy!" cried the man. "Hmm uh NO!" I said giving it no thought what so ever. I threw his ass in the air and waited. When he came down he too broke every bone in his body. We picked the two up and walked to the big gap we were previously at. It goes to the girls. "You know that you have to explain that to the boy's right?" said Netta. "Will it be hard?" asked the girl. Netta and Angie looked at each other and smiled. "It will be with one of them" said Angie, "but Netta will tell you about that." "Well let's go!" said Netta. "Now where exactly did the go?" I asked myself. As I finished my question the girl came down from the trees…all three of them. Not really thinking about what I was saying, I was kind of mad for some reason the words just spilled out. "You better tell us something or your bones will be broken also and considering the fact that you are a girl, I highly doubt that you will live once you hit the ground" I snapped. The girls looked at me with the biggest "F YOU!" stares I have ever seen. Netta's expression changed and she was looking at me with a cold stare. "AJ" she growled. "What?' "She's a girl" "Your point is?" "Break her bones AJ?" she asked as she eased over by me and snatched me by my ear. "Ah! AH! AHHH!" I screamed in pain, "OK! OK! I won't… AHHH! DAMMIT! Fine I won't break her bones" I screamed because she started yanking and twisting. Patrick started to laugh…HARD UNTIL Angie glanced at him and he said,"*Ahem*! M…my throat *ahem*! Something was in my throat." With and "I thought so" she smiled and turned around towards the girl. Netta rolled her eyes and said, "Please proceed." "We are the Deadly Trio_" I laughed loudly and obnoxiously. "Deadly Trio! Aww man you guys couldn't take out four teenagers… oh, and you two" I said pointing at the guys with the broken bones, "are still some fags. "We were sent by Lord Gnivil to destroy you, but it seems we underestimated you," she continued. "You know destroy is such a powerful word, you know instead of using kill, and your fag of a friend here already told us we were underestimated. Tell us something that we don't know. You know like why have you been following us for 2 days and decided to attack now? Or why does my butt itch? Nothing makes sense anymore" I said frantically. 'I was trying to hold off the two of them because I want to put an end to Gnivil" she replied. "Yeah right" said Patrick. "You-" "My name is Netta bi_" Ok ok no need to make it rated AO now is it" I said. "Sorry! Netta please tell them what I explained to you is true" said the girl. Netta looked at me and crossed her arms. "Do I really need to explain anything AJ?" she asked my with a raised eyebrow. "Nope nothing at all" I said quickly. They all laughed at me, Patrick a little bit harder than the girls. ""I still don't like you though" I said. 'Be nice" said Angie the she turned to the girl, "My name is Angie." "Hi, my name is Jasmine" said the girl. "I'm Patrick." They all looked at me and crossed their arms. "NO!" I said. "Well someone is sleeping all by himself tonight" said Netta. "I'm AJ!" I yelled quickly. Netta smiled triumphantly." So what now?" asked Patrick. "Time for the 4 of us to-" Netta pinched me by the shoulder blade." Let her come with us" I said in pain. "We need supplies for our trip to Gnivil, do we not" said Angie. "There's a town about a mile out from here" said Jasmine. "Wait what's your name chick?" I asked. "Didn't we already go through this" said Patrick. "Let's go" said Netta rolling her eyes and walking off. Everyone else walked off leaving me there. "Was it Jessi? No, Ashley? No. Aha it's Jasmine." I said, yet still questioning myself. I did a little dance and ran after the others. After getting close enough I picked up Netta as if she were a baby. She looked up and I smile at her, she smiled back. Man she is so beautiful. "Were you really going to make me sleep by myself" I asked. "No, I wouldn't dare sleep by myself without YOU AJ" she said very sexy-like while stroking my chest. "Cool" I said.

Chapter 4

While walking to the town, Jasmine was telling us about herself. She's 18, 5'4 or 5'5, nice soft brown skin, and on top of that, she's a monk. "Why would a monk be working for a bastard like Gnivil?" I asked rudely. "You could say that I was a stupid mistake" replied Jasmine. "That it was" I said. Netta, still in my arms, hit me in my stomach. "AJ why are always so mean to her?" Netta asked. To be honest I really don't know why I'm so mean to Jasmine, I just am. I mean she didn't do anything to me, hmm; maybe I need to rethink my life…bad. "I'm sorry. I just like speaking my mind and I forget that it can hurt people's feelings and- what the hell am I saying" I said all too quickly. "Yeah he is the weirdest one I've met so far, Netta you got your hands full with that one" said Angie. "That's not cool" I said and we all started laughing. As we continued to walk the town became more and more clear. After a while, I set Netta down, and we all run for the town. Entering the town I noticed all kinds of things such as: different stores, vendors, a bum, and a couple of gay dudes-WAIT! "Now that's just wrong!" I exclaimed. "What is?" asked Netta. "Those fags are over there just holding hands and being…GAY!" I said. "You know you should just let them do them and be cool with it. As long as they not coming on to me I say" said someone behind us. Everyone except me turns around. "Now those words didn't come out right at all, and to top it off I used to know someone that talked like that…what was his name again? Oh yeah Marcus" I said sarcastically. "The one and only" he said. I smiled and gave my old friend a hug. "Man what are you doing here?" I asked. "Long story" he replied. "How about we talk about this tomorrow, because I don't know about you, but I'm tired and I haven't slept well in a few days" said Netta. "Sounds good to me" I said. "Tomorrow it is then" said Angie. "I already have 3 rooms reserved" said Marcus. "So who do I sleep with?" Jasmine asked. Netta came to me and Angie went to Patrick. She looked at Marcus and frowned. "If you try anything I'll cut your balls off and fee them to you" yelled Jasmine. We walked into the hotel and got our keys, as I reached for the keys Netta snatched them from me and jumped on my back and yelled, "Giddyup horsey!" "Well it looks like he won't be getting any sleep tonight" laughed Patrick. "Yea and neither will you cowboy" said Angie grabbing him by his shirt pulling him upstairs. Marcus looked at Jasmine and asked, "Ready to go?" She nodded and they began to walk. Now keep in mind that one of Angie's favorite abilities is mind reading. "I'm sleepin in a room with a girl this fine and I don't even know her name" thought Marcus. She smiled and slightly bit the corner of her lip and said, "Angie" "What?" asked Marcus. "My name is Angie" she said as they reached the hotel door. "Wow that was weird. I know she is too fine not to have a boyfriend" Marcus began to think as he unlocked the door. "Marcus!" "Yea" he said. As he turned around Jasmine tackled him into the room and the door closed behind them. Meanwhile, Angie and Patrick were laying down in bed. Angie reading a book and Patrick eating chicken and rice. As Patrick got up Angie asked him, "Do you think we can do a little something tonight Pat?" Patrick never answered. Instead he threw his bones in the trash and walked into the bathroom to wash his hands. She huffed and crossed her arms. Patrick walked out of the bathroom and looked at Angie. "What's with you?" he asked. "You complete ignored my question" she said with her lip poked out. "Did you want to smell like chicken grease Angie?" he asked bluntly. "No but-" "Okay then so what's the problem?" he asked. He laid down beside her and they looked at each other. "You don't have to if you don't want to" said said climbing on top of him. "Who said I didn't want to?" asked Patrick with a big smile on his face. Keep in mind that during this time Angie has on one of those super big white t-shirts. She leans down and they begin to make out. Patrick using his hands to touch every part of her body. They stopped after a few moments and Angie snatched off her shirt. And at that instant Patrick flipped her over and... well you get the point. Meanwhile in my room Netta is in the shower singing and I was lying in the bed just thinking about nothing in particular. Then I heard the water cut of in the shower and I rose up. Netta's voice no longer muffled by the water called out to me, "I'll be out in a minute babe". When she said that I scooted to the foot of the bed and rubbed my hands together. Moments later Netta appeared in the bathroom doorway. She had a towel around her hair and one around her body. In which I could see her sexy body frame. She slowly walked towards me and gave me a kiss. "Nice!" I said with a big goofy smile on my face. She climbed onto my lap and we began to make out. She pulled back and asked "Are you ready?" She gave me another kiss and I asked "Ready for what?" She rolled over onto the bed, began to laugh and said "Ready for bed silly" The look on my face completely dropped. I was pissed as she laid there laughing in the bed. "So what you just gonna sleep naked tonight" I asked with so much anger in my voice. "Nope" she said as she stood up" I have clothes on". She ripped off her towel and she had on a halter top and some really tight booty shorts. I scowled and rolled over in the bed. She began to laugh even harder. Not as hard as I was , but still pretty hard (don't get it... think about it). Tomorrow we leave and find our way to Gnivil. That bastard's going to pay for everything that he's done…that's a promise.

Chapter 5

Everyone woke up nice and happy today. I mean those big Kool-Aid smiles that are hard to get rid of. I mean even I have one. "Hey Marcus, where's the weapon shop?" I asked. "Next door to that restaurant over there" he replied pointing. "Cool because I'm tired of fighting with my hands" I said. We all walked into the weapon shop looking around and mumbling. I walked straight to the sword section and scanned closely. Patrick followed behind me, Marcus went and found some guns, and the girls went where ever. I picked up two swords that I found interest in and walked over to the counter, and everyone followed. Patrick had swords, Marcus had guns, Angie had a staff, and Jasmine had daggers, and Netta bow and arrows. "Ya'll do know that I am not going to pay for all of that you betta have some money" I said a little too seriously. They looked at me like I was retarded and just stood there. "Would that be all for today" asked the storekeeper. "Unfortunately yes it is" I said gloomily. "It is free for the young heroes" said the woman. "Cool… I guess. Thank you… wait are you sure about this?" I said all too confused. "She's giving us the weapons for free why are you complaining?" said Marcus. "I am very sure. Fore, you are the ones to defeat the evil one" said the woman. "Uh what is this broad talking about" asked Patrick. The woman glanced over at him with irritation. "Before you go to the evil one you must first travel to the different elemental towers and collect their powers" explained the woman. "After finishing the puzzles or mazes that the towers withhold, you will have to fight the tower's guardian, who will join you if it feels you are ready." Hmm you know getting more power does sound better than going to Gnivil just the way we are. I highly doubt we get anywhere like that. "So exactly which one of the towers comes first?" asked Angie. "The closest and easiest tower is the Earth Tower also known as 'Jagged Mountain' "the woman explained. "So is there a specific order that the towers go in or something?" asked Jasmine. "Yes, the order goes Earth, Wind, Water, Dark, Light, and Fire. That is the order in which you must travel to the towers from easiest to hardest" said the woman. "Well thank you for the information ma'am, but we must be going now. OH, and thank you for the weapons again" I said. The woman nodded and smiled as we all left the shop. Just as Netta began to leave the shop the woman stopped her. "You must watch out for the one you love" said the woman. "What do you mean?" asked Netta. "The one you love possesses the ability to become a dragon" said the woman. "He what?" exclaimed Netta. "Do not be scared of him that will only make it more painful for him" "What do you mean?" Netta asked. "He needs you to be there for him" said the woman. Netta had a stern look on her face and she pursed her lips as she thought. "Are you not the one who possesses the holy power?" asked the woman. "I am" replied Netta. "Then you are the one that must tame the dragon with in him" explained the woman. Netta nodded and walked out of the shop. As she walked outside we all looked at her with strange faces. "WHAT!" she said. We all turned around and said nothing. Netta ran up and jumped on my back and wrapped her arms around my neck. "AJ promise that you'll never leave me" said Netta in a sorrowful tone. "Why would I ever leave you?" I asked. "AJ just promise me ok" she said. I just continued to walk and tried to think about what she was saying. "I promise" I said plainly. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and said "Thank you."

Chapter 6

"Hey Pat why do you think moms was always hanging around with Gnivil?" I asked just out of nowhere. "That was so random Aj" said Patrick. I laughed at the comment my brother, "Yea, but still even you said you were getting a little uncomfortable watching your p-""Well what is that" said Patrick interrupting me. I looked at him and laughed. He turned red as I did. Suddenly I had had a flash of scales and reptile-like eyes in my head; I jerked back and shook my head. Everyone looked at me and laughed, except Netta, she kind of looked worried. Then, there was a flash of talons and razor sharp teeth. I shook my head again and rubbed my eyes with my palms. I felt sick for some odd reason. My teeth began to sharpen, I had two that seemed to grow longer and thicker than t he rest, but the rest were sharp. "Uh, AJ a-are you um I don't know ok?" said Patrick. "I- I don't know I feel kinda funny" I said holding my head. All of a sudden there was a sharp pain to my head and I fell to my knees. "AJ!" yelled Netta. My head was throbbing, everything was blurry, and it seemed like I was going to die. But, just as soon as it all started it all ended. I felt like normal in like 3 seconds, it was great. "Um AJ. What did you do?" asked Jasmine. I just looked at her and said nothing. Marcus put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "What wrong with ya'll?" I asked walking closer to them. Everyone backed up, except Netta. She walked closer to me and said, "So the dragon transformation begins. I didn't know that it would begin this soon." "Why are ya'll afraid of me?" I asked scratching my head. "Um, have you seen yourself within these past two minutes?" asked Patrick sarcastically. I looked at my hands and jumped a little to myself. "What is wrong with me?" I asked myself. I would have kept on moping, but I smelled and unfamiliar smell in the air. "Hey, do ya'll smell dat?" I asked. They all looked around and sniffed the air trying to smell something. "Um, what are you talking about AJ?" asked Jasmine. "Yeah man I don't smell anything" said Marcus. I scratched my head. "It must be your dragon senses" said Netta. "Yeah it must be, because I can't smell anything" said Patrick. "Do you know what it is?" asked Angie. "No, I just know that they're evil" I replied. "They're? You mean that there is more than one?" asked Jasmine. "Yeah" I said plainly. I took another good whiff of the air and then I knew. "Marcus, have you ever fought demons before?" I asked. Netta, Angie, and Jasmine all looked at me like I was crazy. "First, you want to fight Gnivil, now you want to go and fight demons?" asked Angie. "What is wrong with your man Netta?" asked Jasmine turning around to see Netta, who already had pulled out her bow to fight along with me, as did Marcus and Patrick. "Are ya'll serious?" asked Jasmine. Angie and Jasmine glanced at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and pulled out their weapons. There were two sets of demons: flying demons and infantry demons. Netta, Patrick, and Jasmine jumped up into the trees. Marcus, Angie, and I stayed on the ground in a single file line. I gripped my sword tightly in both hands as I ran at full speed. Patrick's team was the first to run into trouble. Netta got to the very top of a tree and picking off demons one at a time, Patrick jumped up through the demons slicing his way up, jumping off of the previous one he sliced, Jasmine did the same. It was raining down blood on us. "I'm glad I decided not to wear white or I would be so screwed right now" I said. We all laughed, but the laugh was only short-lived. "Well it would seem that we have company" I said. "Sounds like you got something in mind AJ" said Angie in a pleased tone. "Ya'll two fade out and come in and attack him on my signal" I said. "First I'll signal Angie, and then Marcus I'll signal you." They nodded. They ran their separate ways and I stayed running the same direction. There was a stupid, but muscular, demon running our direction leaving the rest of his allies. "Sucks for him" I said to myself. I continued to run eyes narrowed on the demon. 5…4…3…2…1, "NOW!" I yelled. Angie came in and twirled her staff above her head and brought it down against its back, "BACK GONE!" she shouted. The demon fell to its knees and almost fell over, but I caught it with my sword in its head. I did a front flip over it and sent it flying into the air and then I yelled, "Marcus!" Marcus ran towards me and I gave him a boost into the air he shot many bullets and each one connected with the demon, ripping off parts of its body. Angie ran off towards the other demons. I jumped in the air as Marcus was descending. He grabbed my hand and gave me a boost into the air. As he landed on the ground he ran the same way that Angie did. I quickly cut the demon into pieces. How many pieces exactly? I don't know. As I landed back on the ground, I took off the same way that Marcus and Angie did, but I was also trying to avoid the blood and guts that were falling. Meanwhile, as Patrick looked down he was higher than he thought. "Patrick! There's only 1 left and Netta has shot it constantly and it won't die" Jasmine yelled up to him. "Roger!" he yelled back down. The demon flew right under him as he began to descend. Somehow he landed on the end of the bird-demon and held on tight. When the three of us got to the group of demons, it was like a war. We decided to end this rather quickly. Angie made her way to the middle of the group and yelled "WINDSTORM!" All of the demons flew into the air, "FLAME WEB!" I yelled. As Angie kept blowing wind, the demons became engulfed in flames. The demons became reduced to ash and the wind carried them off. "Well that didn't last long" Marcus laughed. His laughter ceased as something or someone scudded through the trees. Even with my dragon senses I still couldn't identify it. "AJ!" shouted Angie. "Um you know… I really don't know" I said scratching my head. As Patrick was hacking and slashing at the bird-demons head, he took notice to a red cross on the demon's head. "Hey do ya'll see dat blue rock shaped mark on what I think is its chest!" I asked. The thing stopped running and began to walk. "Um is that bad?" asked Marcus. "UH YEA!" exclaimed Angie. "Jay!" Patrick yelled down to me. I look up and say "What's up?" "I need you to switch places with me" he yelled down. "Gotcha" I replied. "AJ what's going on?" asked Marcus. "IT" was getting much closer to us. There might be a way to slow it down until Pat gets here, but how? "AJ!" screamed Angie. "Why the HELL do you keep screaming my name?" I yelled at her. "I think she likes the way it sounds coming out her mouth man" laughed Marcus. "Wow bro that was completely random and it sounded so wrong. Haha yo Marcus cover Angie, I'm going up" I said. Marcus nodded and cocked one of his guns and bit his bottom lip in this extra nasty disturbing way. "Dat was so uncalled for" I said laughing to myself as I scaled up one of the trees. I think there's something that I'm forgetting… Nah couldn't be. I jumped from one tree to another trying to find Netta and Jasmine. On my way up I passed Patrick and Jasmine. Hmm, well looks like its just Netta then. Something doesn't feel right, "LIGHT BANE!" Netta yelled, she shot an arrow and it exploded, releasing light energy. The light from the attack blinded the demon. "What's up Pat?" said Marcus. Patrick looked at the demon and studied it, and a few seconds later he came up with his conclusion. "Jasmine when I say when I need you to use an ice attack and Marcus you use and earth attack… okay?" Patrick said. "Okay" she replied. I found her! Still something doesn't feel right. "Now!" Patrick yelled. "STONE GLACIER!" Marcus and Jasmine said in unison. The ice rock ran across the ground and as the demon jumped, it hit it dead in the chest. Then demon was pinned to a tree and it turned to ash. "Two different elemental attacks made into one… how beautiful" teased Patrick. "Yea now AJ and Netta have to do one on that bird-demon" said Patrick looking up. I finally got up to same branch as Netta and jumped on it. "How's it going for ya" I asked. She nearly fell off the branch because I scared her; I laughed a little as she regained her balance. "I got something for you… don't you forget dat AJ" she said. "You know what we doin cuz I'm so clueless right now." I said. "We both have to both use and elemental attack and they will combine." explained Netta. "So its weak point is that red cross on its forehead" I asked. "Yes, little black person" said Netta in irritation. "Well I'm ready when you're ready Christie" I said. "OK first of all, let's learn to say my whole name. Come on, say it with me: Netta" she said with that little black girl attitude. You know with the hand on the hip and the neck rolling. "OK fine I'm sorry. Netta are you ready?" I asked. "That's better. And yes I'm ready." "Well, attack on the count of three then?" I asked. "Sure why not" she replied. "1…2…3..." I said quickly as the demon-bird swooped down. "BURNING CROSS!" we yelled in unison. A cross of holy fire hit the demon in the head, it swerved and crashed into the tree that we were in. "It looks like everything goes down hill from here, huh?" I asked with a chuckle. "Dats not funny AJ!" said Netta. I picked her up and jumped off the branch. Something just doesn't feel right… *URP!* I tossed Netta when we were at least a meter above the ground. When I landed I ran behind a tree and threw up. So that's what it was the whole time. "What's with him?" Netta asked. "Heights got to him" said Patrick. "AJ is afraid of heights. I did not know that" said Netta speaking to herself out loud. "Dat nigga is petrified" said Marcus. I came back with a drunken smile on my face. "Okay, even though I'm becoming a dragon I'm still afraid of heights" I said. Netta walked over and grabbed my ear. "You mister, we are going to have a long talk tonight, do you hear me?" she said angrily. "Well not really because you kinda have my good- AH AH AHHHA! YES MA'… AHH! DAMMIT WOMAN" I yelled in pain. "Damn was that the same ear as last time?" Jasmine asked. "I think so" replied Angie. "I swear you ain't getting no birthday present girl!" I yelled. Netta yanked extra hard on my ear and sent me down eating nothing, but dirt, then she walked off with a smile, and said "Bet!" "AHH DAMMIT! I think she broke my ear" I nearly cried while getting up.

Chapter 7

We finally got out of that damned forest, everyone is tired, and we came across our first full blooded demons back there. I mean up until this point we've been fighting nothing but wild animals and such. They weren't as strong as the girls said they would be, hmm maybe Gnivil won't either…MAYBE. "I have come up with a conclusion" I said thoughtfully breaking the silence. "And what is the Sir-Think-a-lot?" asked Netta. I looked at her and grabbed my ear. "I hate demons… with a serious passion" I said. Netta gave me a funny look, "What did you do that for?" she asked me. "Do what?" I asked back. "Why did you grab your ear?" "I don't know you might grab it again!" I exclaimed. "Awww… Did I hurt the wittle baby's ear?" she asked as if she were talking to a baby. And in a way she was because I was her baby, so hey why not respond. "You know you did" I said. She laughed and jumped on my back, "Awww I still love you baby" she said. I chuckled to myself a bit, "I bet you do Netta". We continued walking a little while longer in silence and Jasmine broke the silence by saying, "Look there's the tower. It looks like a castle in one of those scary movies". The tower had an eerie, uninviting presence about it. I looked at it in dismay, considering the fact that we are about to enter into an enormous tower, that looks like it could have possibly been standing here for a few hundred years, and then to top it all off, we have to fight some creature. "Well I guess there's no turning back is there?" Jasmine asked. "Um no… no I don't think there is" I said looking up at the tower. "Well let's get going shall we" said Netta in an extra perky tone. We followed behind her, being sure that she didn't get too far ahead. Marcus ran ahead and kicked the door down. "Well go and do you thing Marcus" I said. Upon entering the tower several things caught my eye, such as: there were a few people sitting around praying to statues, and there were six mini sandstorms in front of us, blocking what looked like six different paths. Marcus walked up to the sandstorms and just scratched his head. "Yo Angie can I talk to you for a sec please?" asked Marcus. She shrugged her shoulders and walked over towards him. "Whatcha need buddy?" she asked in a really happy tone. "Um, do you think you can read the guardians mind from here?" he asked hoping for a positive answer. "I can try, but everyone has to keep their mind clear of all thoughts" she said looking directly at me. "What?" I asked laughing a bit. When someone reads a mind from a distance everyone in a 100-yard radius gets their mind read also. During the time when reader is trying to read a mind, everyone in the area can also read each others minds, because their all intertwined. So, basically what Angie hears we hear. "Okay Patrick why are you thinking about pie? I swore I said keep your minds clear." said Angie sternly. "I love pie" he pleaded. Angie really couldn't play mad at Patrick, so she smiled and turned to Marcus. "Anything?" he asked. "Nope, but I can reveal which path we need to take" said Angie. "Cool" he said putting his hands in his pockets. REVEAL!" yelled Angie. Everything went black and white, the sandstorms disappeared, and to my surprise there where five paths that had nothing in them at all, but the last one had a pile of Gams (money) sitting in it. "So do you think it's a trap" I asked. "What part? The pile of Gams or the five empty paths?" asked Jasmine. "I say we each pick a path and find out" I said drawing my sword. Since there were six of us we each got our own path. We all looked at each other and then they all looked at me "What?" I asked in annoyance. "So who's going to go first?" asked Jasmine. I crossed my arms and said, "Not me!" Netta looked at me and put her hands on her hips. "Ay woman you don't run me!" I said with half seriousness and half jokingly. "Um, ok now let's try this again" said Netta. "Okay, okay, I'll go. Dang you gone quit tryna run me!" I said walking towards my path. Well I walked until I came to a complete halt and turned around. "Um guys can I come back now?" I asked like a little kid. Netta looked at me with a cold stare. "AY! What did I just tell you!" I yelled at her. Then the ground behind me shook and everyone's eyes shot open. "Wait what ya'll lookin like dat for?" I asked. "Imma just go stand up over her- OMG!" yelled Netta. We all looked at our paths and there were Sand Lizards. "Um do we have the choice of running?" I asked backing out of my path. "DEFEAT MY LIZARD AND COME TO ME!" boomed that voice. I stopped and scratched my head. "What's with you?" asked Marcus. "Clearly there're six lizards and not one. Marcus I think you're guardian is numerically ignorant" I laughed. At that moment the lizards one by one walked to the center of the room, walking into the lizard before it. "Um did those things just become one big thing?" asked Netta. "Yeah I think they did. Man that thing is huge." said Jasmine. "I've never seen one dat big before. Do ya'll think we can take it?" asked Angie. "As turned on as I am right now I think ya'll need to stop talking" I said scratching my head. "Naw let them finish expressing their fears" laughed Patrick. "I'm with Pat on that one AJ" said Marcus. "Ya'll are so damn pervert-"I never got to finish because the enormous Sand Lizard launched me into the wall. "I would laugh but that looked like it-"the Sand Lizard stepped on Patrick before he finished. "So we have to fight this thing?" asked Jasmine. "Unfortunately" said Angie. "Actually WE don't HAVE to do anything. Marcus is the one that HAS to do everything" I said brushing myself off. "Let's just do this and get it over with" said Jasmine. Patrick and I went straight for the frontal attack. "DRAGON STRIKE!" I yelled. I kicked the lizard in chest and did a series of slashes. "SHADOW BLADE!" yelled Patrick. He ran at the lizard and jammed his sword into its chest. He tried to pull it out, but failed. Leaving him with only one option, to jump up and split the Sand Lizard in half. The two pieces fell over and broke apart. "Are we ready to go now?" I asked walking off with my sword on my shoulder. Everyone looked at each other and followed. After a while we came to a big room with two spiraling stair cases. One set leading up and one leading down. "So do we split up or something?" asked Netta. "As much as I hate to acknowledge your white moment, I think we do." I said with my arms crossed. She looked at me with a cold stare… and I think she growled at me. "What? I didn't mean it like dat Netta!" I exclaimed. "Well while ya'll discuss that, me, Angie, and Jasmine will go down stairs" said Patrick. "Uh no! Not even on yo life buddy boy!" said Marcus. "The girls are goin down and we goin up" he finished kind of yelling a bit. "Wow Marcus you worded dat so wrong" I laughed. We all laughed at Marcus's bad wording. "What were you thinking about?" asked Jasmine. "You know… I really don't know" he replied. After out little fun moment we split up and went our separate ways. As we went up the stairs Marcus and Patrick were having the strangest conversation about whose girlfriend has the bigger butt. I just simply laughed. Meanwhile the girls ran into a dead end, "So do we like turn around and catch up to the boys?" asked Jasmine. "What do you think is behind this wall?" asked Angie. "I don't know another room probably" said Netta. "WINDBLADE!" yelled Angie. A gust of wind knocked down the giant wall in front of them. The girls walk into the room in front of them, "Now what?" asked Netta. "Okay, now uh… what do we do exactly?" asked Marcus holding up a rock that he just found. "Hell if I know, throw it or something" I said. "Look over there! It's like a podium thing" said Patrick. We walked over to the podium and Marcus read the words on in. "'Place the stone upon its alter and one shall reveal thy own power.' Well what does that mean?" asked Marcus. "I would say it was that alter over there behind that big rock dude, but who knows right" I said with so much sarcasm. "Hey I hear the boys" said Netta. "Where are they?" asked Jasmine. "Listen it shouldn't be too hard, I mean you can hear pooh bear's screams" said Netta. "Aww man dats not even cool, I got dirt all in my shoes." I yelled. "I am Golem, you shall NOT pass" roared the rock thing. "Well, I don't think it'll be easy to get rid of us" said Marcus. "My baby sound so strong" said Jasmine. "Girl, get over yourself real quick, ok" said Angie. "So how do we get to them?" asked Netta. Jasmine and Netta looked at Angie. "WINDBLADE!" yelled Angie. "It seems like rock-head here isn't going to let us pass without serious injury to its health" I said pulling out my sword. "Yeah, I guess we have no choice" said Patrick doing the same. "We all know how this is going to end" said Marcus.

(We fight Golem…Just the boys)

"It seems I have really underestimate humans this time. You are much more powerful than you look, I have not seen such power in a long time. What is it that you wish?" asked Golem. "We wish to use you power to defeat Gnivil." said Marcus. "As you wish" he replied. "You are now my master and I obey your every command." Golem transformed into a light brown crest that floated its way over to the clip of Marcus's gun. A light brown light flashed and we were outside of the tower. Everyone except Marcus that is. "Where is Marcus?" asked Jasmine. "So I guess I pit this right here and now what?" said Marcus putting the stone on the alter. "The room began to shake. "You have now learned the secret of JAGGED MOUNTAIN… the skill STONE HEAVEN!" said Golem. "Stone Heaven you say huh?" said Marcus. In a flash Marcus was with us, outside the tower. "Well look who decided to join up with the family" said Patrick. "Well if that isn't strange… I don't know what is" I said. We all laughed. "We're all done here so let's go before it gets dark" said Netta, grabbing my arm. "I have a question" I said as we began to walk. "What is that AJ?" asked Netta. "Where were ya'll at?" I asked. All the girls looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Trying to find ya'll" Netta replied. "Just say you got lost, it works better for everyone dat way" said Marcus. "It would huh?" said Jasmine stroking his chest. "Yeah it would, Jasmine" said Patrick. "Well you wanna know something?" asked Angie. "What you got to say beautiful" asked Patrick. Angie smiled at Jasmine and they just looked at Marcus and Patrick. "Well I know what that look means" I said laughing. "Looks like ya'll sleepin all by yourselves tonight" said the girls in unison. I laughed even harder and Netta walked off and said, "So are you AJ." "Netta…Netta… baby you just playin right? Netta… baby you can't sleep by yourself…right? Netta… AY girl! Awww man" I said in a panic.

Chapter 8

Netta has been acting really weird lately. I mean personally I like it because she's all over me, but then again when don't I like it. "Yo AJ, I have a question for you" said Jasmine. "Okay, shoot" I said. "Are you and Patrick really blood brothers?" she asked. "Well I guess you could say that" I said scratching my head. "What do you mean you guess?" asked Netta. 'Well it's kinda hard to explain, really." said Patrick. "Well try to exp-" "Look there's the tower" I said cutting Angie off. As they all looked in the direction that I was pointing in, Netta had removed her arms from around my neck. "Wow! This is gonna be a tough one" said Marcus. "Ya'll do know I'm afraid of heights, right? So uh, I'll wait down here while ya'll go up" I said. "I thought we already got over your fear of heights" said Netta. "I know, but dat right there is a lil bit too high" I said looking at her. Everyone else had already begun to walk towards the tower. "Fine, have it your way" she said. "And don't you dare tell me I'm sleepin by myself" I said. She looked at me and rose and eyebrow. "And if I do?" she asked. I smiled and went to get a hug from her. She walked away. "I feel so hurt right now" I said standing there by myself. Netta finally caught up with the others and they were already talking about something. "So we're entering a tower without AJ, never thought I would see the day" said Jasmine. "I miss my pooh bear" said Netta. "Aww how sweet" said Patrick sarcastically. Netta looked at him and rolled her eyes. As they entered the tower they were hit by a strong gust of wind. "Who dares enter my domain without my permission?" said a voice. "I don't get dat. How do these thing know we here and they ain't even seen us yet?" asked Marcus. "Well, Windy Peak's guardian does have the power of wind, so maybe she can sense if someone is entering her domain" said Angie. "How do you know it's a she?" asked Patrick. "Pat did you hear that voice just now? Dat was a female voice" said Marcus. They all laughed and continued to walk ahead. Because they were being constantly hit with strong gusts made it hard for them to climb through the tower. "Angie can you do anything?" asked Netta. "No, the guardian is too upset and she won't calm down until we defeat her" said Angie. They continued to walk up the stairs and soon after Netta realized that they haven't moved from the 12th step. "You will never find your way to me, you puny mortals" said the voice. "How are we going to do this exactly? We haven't even moved anywhere this whole time" said Jasmine. "I think I have an idea, but I may be wrong" said Angie. "Listening" said the others. "REVEAL!" shouted Angie. To their left they all could see another set of stairs. "How do we know it's safe to walk?" asked Netta. Patrick put his foot on the first step and found that it was sturdy. "Let's go" he said. They followed him up the stairs and repeated the same process. "When are they gonna be done in there, because I'm ready to leave" I said. Even though I know I don't want to go in there, deep down I know that I have to. Once again I saw a flash of scales then, there was a flash of teeth. I dropped to my knees holding my head. My back felt as if something was trying to come out of it. "AHH… AHHHH!" I screamed in pain. My back felt like it was being torn in two and it gave me a major head-ache. My eyes felt like they were being snatched out of my head. Is this the dragon transformation? Is this what is to become of me? I have to do this. I have to bare the pain. A pair of scaly wings, of a large size, shot out of my back. At the same time other parts of my body were going through the same change. All my teeth became razor sharp, my hand became claws with razor sharp talons, my eyes were all white, and I'm a whole lot taller. "WOW! I guess it's finished. Now to go help the crew" I said flying towards the tower at full speed. I went straight to the top with no hesitation. My fear of heights has vanished completely vanished altogether. As I landed on the roof of the tower everyone had just reached the top. "I…is that the guardian?" asked Marcus. I turned around to face them. "Who are you" asked Patrick. I didn't have time to answer because of the winged lady that was flying downward. "Do you think you've accomplished something by climbing my tower" asked the guardian. I draw my sword and glare at the guardian. "You shall die by the hand of Harpy!" screamed the lady. "Who is this guy?" asked Patrick. "Who cares it looks like he's an ally" said Jasmine. Netta looked at me and thought, "That can't be him… can it?" Angie glanced over at her, "You know it could be, Netta" she said. They looked at each other "NAW!" the girls laughed and ran into combat with Jasmine, Marcus, and Patrick. Harpy screeches and then she takes flight.

(WE FIGHT HARPY)

"Well it seems the human race is not really that worthless after all" said Harpy. "What is it that you wish my master?" she asked looking at Angie. "I wish to be the most

beautif- " "Angie!" said Patrick. "Oh sorry, I wish to use your power against Gnivil, the evil one." said Angie. "As you wish" said Harpy as she transformed into a crest and floated over to Angie's forehead and disappeared. A strong wind blows and we're all outside, except Angie, looking confused. As she looking at the ground, Angie saw a green stone lying on the ground and she picked it up. "So what do I do with this?" she asked herself. She looked up from the stone and saw an alter. Walking over to the alter Angie tripped, the stone flew in the air, and landed on the alter. "Oh my gosh! Did I break it?" The stone fell in the alter and it sounded like something had been unlocked. "Angie, you have learned the skill of Windy Peak… the skill Piercing Winds!" said Harpy. In a flash, Angie was outside with the rest of us. Everyone is still trying to figure out who I am. "So are you a friend or foe?" asked Marcus. "Well I'm not a foe" I said plainly. Netta just looked at me and I looked back. She smiled… SHE KNOWS it's me! "Hey sharp tooth, dats my brother's girl. And I'm quite sure he don't want you droolin all over her" said Patrick. "Yea whatever dog" I said brushing past him towards Netta. "A little scared?" I asked Netta. "What are you talkin bout, boy you is nowhere near scary" she said playing with my hand. "She moves on quick don't she" said Patrick. "It's AJ you dumb ass!" said Marcus walking off with Jasmine. "Oh ok… wait how do you know?" asked Patrick. We all laughed. Angie put her hand on his shoulder and continued to laugh "You can tell by the way he walks. Even in his dragon form he's still pigeon-toed!" They all continued to laugh, but I stopped "HEY dats not cool man" I said over their laughter. I turned back to my normal self and looked at my feet "Damn!"

Chapter 9

You know it really sucks; every monster we've been fighting lately has been annoying on every level. There are these dragonflies, mind you these are not regular sized dragonflies, that Patrick, Angie, Jasmine, and I can't hit,( actually I can I just refuse to because I'm lazy) and they have this spell that puts everyone to sleep. I hate anything or anyone that hides behind magic because they have no combat skill. That's just plain cowardly. My train of thought was broken when Marcus farted… LOUD! "Bro dat was nasty!" I said holding my nose. "Man shut up… I ain't even done yet. When I'm done then you complain" said Marcus. We all laughed as expected. "So the next tower is the water tower?" I asked. "Yup" replied Netta. "Has anyone else noticed that after a few more towers we're gonna be done with our mission?" asked Marcus. "Not even close. After the 6 towers, we have to hope we beat Gnivil. And after that we have to find some kind of way to get home" said Patrick. The girls looked at each other and then back at us. I've been thinking about us getting back and I've been thinking about it a lot, and now that I have, I don't really want to go back to our time. I glance over at Netta, who is looking at her feet as she walks. Looking at Netta I realized what I wanted to do… what I needed to do. Once again my train of thought was broken "Look there's the tower" said Jasmine. "Well let's waste no time and let's get this over with" I said sternly. The boys continued to walk, as did the girls, but they walked much slower than we did. "Netta guess what AJ was thinkin about" said Angie. "Girl why is you eavesdropping in my man's head?" asked Netta with a smile. "You know you wanna know, Netta" said Jasmine. Netta bit the corner of her lip a little with a nervous look on her face. "Okay, fine. Angie what was he thinkin?" asked Netta. "From the way that her was lookin at you and the fact that he was thinking it… he is thinking about settling down" said Angie with a broad smile. Netta looked as if she were about to cry. "AJ when do you and Netta plan on settling down?" asked Marcus. I smiled to myself at the thought of marrying Netta. The girls finally caught up with us, and they were smiling. "I don't want to know why ya'll are cheesin' like dat" I said. "Long story" said Netta. I shrugged and we continued to walk. Jasmine let down the water force field. As I walked, I nearly fell into the rapids, but Netta caught me by the shirt. "Who daressss to enter my domain" said a voice that sounded like a whispering hiss. My eyes shot wide open because that voice sounded too much like a- "SNAKE!" yelled Jasmine. "Yea dats exactly what it sounded like" I said not looking behind me. "You sssssneaky ratssss, you ssssshall die" said the voice, but this time it sounded way too close. I turned around little by little. When I turned around fully, my eyes met the under belly of a snake. As my eyes moved upward they were met with those of the snake. "AJ!" said Angie. "He can't hear you. Fear has completely clogged his ears" said Marcus. "What fear?" asked Netta. "Snakes" replied Marcus plainly. I shook with fear, no way possible that I could move. The snake flicked its tongue and darted into the water. It went through a cave; you could see the outline in the water of the enormous snake zigzag through the water. "AJ you okay man?" called Patrick. "Uh…" I shake my head "Yeah I'm cool." Let's go to it before it comes back to us" said Netta. I gathered back my senses and noticed a raft floating to my left. Normally I would have told the crew, but it was in pieces so what's the point, right? So, now we have to swim in rapids… this is going to be fun. Jasmine's puzzle was to get us on the right water path. Once she got us on the right path, Jasmine had to let down another water force field leading into the snake's lair. "Yessss enter my lair. SSSSerpentine isss hungry" said the snake. I chuckled to myself as I saw the yellow eyes of the snake in the dark. "What'sss sssso funny?" asked Serpentine. SSSSerpentine isss the gasyesssst name alive" I said mimicking the snake. "Watch your mouth, you puny human" scolded the snake. "I don't know about ya'll, but I'm kinda tired of being called that" I said going into my dragon transformation. "Die!" hissed the snake as he slithered toward us at full speed.

(We fight Serpentine)

Serpentine coiled up in itself and flicked its tongue several times and smiled. "Now dats just nasty bro. Snakes don't smile at all… at least I don't think they do" I said in deep thought. Everyone rolled their eyes at me. "I now sssserve you, what isss your wissssh masssster" asked Serpentine looking as if he was ready to attack… again. "I wish to use your power to defeat Gnivil" said Jasmine plainly. He nodded and dashed forward at Jasmine. She put her arms up in the air as Serpentine turned into a blue bracelet and wrapped himself around her wrist. A flash of blue light sent everyone, except Jasmine, outside. Jasmine saw a bluish stone floating in the water and walked over to it. Seeing the alter Jasmine put the stone on the alter. "Jasmine, you have learned the ssskill of Flooding Rapidsss… Frosssst Bite!" said Serpentine. In a flash she was outside with the rest of us. "Well time to go ain't it" I said walking away. They all looked at each other and shrugged.

Chapter 10

You know it's harder to travel t night, especially when you can't see. I mean think about walking around with your eyes closed...tight. Well at least we all have someone to hold onto in the dark. "How long have we been in this time?" I asked. "5 Years" Patrick blurted out jokingly. "Yeah right" said Marcus. "Actually he's not far from the truth. Ya'll have been here for a while" said Jasmine. "And exactly how long is a while?" I asked. "About 2 and a half years... give or take a few months" said Netta. "What the hell! You telllin me, I missed my senior prom!" yelled Patrick. "Man, that is a terrible thing to put on a brothas shouldas "I said. "Anybody got the time by any chance" asked Netta. Patrick looked at his watch" 4:30" "AM?" I asked. "PM" he replied. "Then, why the hell is it so dark?" asked Marcus. "I would say it's because of the tower, but what do I know" I said. "Oh… good point" said Angie. Now, this is a tower that has an uninviting presence about it. You know that whole Dracula setting. "Hey! I think this guardian decided to meet us at the front door" said Marcus. "You know he looks familiar" said Jasmine. "Is that 'Diablo the Devil' "said Netta. "Ya'll know him…it?" I asked. "Yeah, and he's a legendary creature" said Angie. "Yeah, and he's a legendary pervert." said Harpy. We laughed (well the boys did anyway.) Suddenly there was green flash and a strong wind. "Angie-""Harpy" said Angie in her defense. On Angie's shoulder sat a miniature Harpy. "We weren't laughing as you… we was laughing because Pat told a-" "Don't be putting me in more trouble" said Patrick. "Let's get going" said Jasmine in an annoyed tone. "Yea, cuz he owe me 5 gams" said Marcus's gun as we began to walk. "Since when did yo gun talk, Marcus?" asked Patrick. "It's Golem you retard" I said looking at him in disgust. Everyone laughed extra hard at my look. "AJ why do you look at people like dat?" asked Marcus laughing. "Man I don't know what you talking about" I said with a smile. "Why are you so mean to your brother?' asked Netta hitting me on my shoulder. There was a brown flash and the, there was a miniature Golem sitting on Marcus's shoulder. "Are we done… wait Serpentine, you got any conflicts with Diablo?" I asked. "Nah, I'm good" said the snake coolly. As we approached the tower, Diablo disappeared. Golem jumped off of Marcus's shoulder, the ground shook when he landed) grew a good 4 feet, then, knocked the door off the hinges, and shrunk back down. "Yo, Golem, we don't need no dramatic entrances man" said Marcus picking up the earth midget. "Weren't you gonna open it anyway" asked Golem as we entered the tower. "Good point G" I said. As we looked around the tower I noticed that there were mirrors all over. "Does that mirror make my butt look big?" asked Netta. "Yo butt is gonna look big regardless, Netta" I said laughing. "You like it though" said Jasmine. "Damn skippy" I laughed. "Wow Jay, you never cease to amaze me" said Marcus. Patrick found a door and kicked it open. "Diablo is thinking about Netta's comment, about her butt" said Harpy as we all walked through the door. "That pervert" said Angie. "He's got a butt whooping coming... big time" I said cracking my knuckles. "Well she do got a donk" said Golem. We all laughed. "No I'm serious" I stopped, but everyone else continued to laugh. the whole tower was dark, but we seemed to know where we were going. "Hey who's hand is dat?" asked Netta. "I am so sorry I just got a little frustrated" I said. "You were just touchin me wrong dats all babe" she said holding my hand. "I'm surprised ya'll ain't had sex yet" said Jasmine as we approached another door. "Come in" boomed a sinister voice. "Patrick, Marcus and I kicked the door off the hinges. "What the hell man, now that's three doors I have to replace. Why do you black people always have to break stuff?" said the demon. My smile completely faded and I could barely get my words out, "W-what did you just say? What did you just say you racist son of a bi-" "AJ chill out man" said Patrick. "You know what" I said going into my dragon transformation, "I think I will break my foot off in his ass!" "Not quite my black friend" said Diablo. As he said this black vines wrapped around Patrick, Marcus, and I. "I prefer to fight someone with much less of an anger issue" he finished. "Then you shouldn't be fighting-" "SILENCE!" screamed the demon. "Aight man whatever you say" said Marcus sarcastically. "This fight ain't gonna last long at all" I said plainly.

(The girls fight Diablo)

The fight actually lasted longer than I thought…by 6 seconds. Not much of an accomplishment for Diablo is it? "You know that felt great" said Harpy. "Angie, you used Harpy in battle…6 times. Was there a bit of a grudge there?' I asked. "Hey, that was her not me. And it was 10 times not 6, but I only called upon her twice, the rest was all her" said Angie. "Wow Harpy! A little harsh don't you think" asked Patrick. "I now serve you …and blah blah blah… let's get this over with." said Diablo as he looked around for his master. "So which of you is it?" he asked looking at the girls. "That would be me" said Patrick as Diablo slapped Angie on the butt and ran off. "You perverted son of a bi-"Angie cut herself off as she jumped on Diablo. They both screamed as they rolled off the back of the platform. Angie came up with Diablo in a choke-hold. "Master what…is you *cough* wish?" asked Diablo unable to breathe. "To use your power against Gnivil" said Patrick. Angie fell forward as Diablo transformed into a crest. The crest floated toward the necklace Patrick had on and combined with it. Darkness surrounded us and we were all outside. Patrick picked up a black stone and put it on the alter. "Patrick, you have learned the skill of Shadow Tower… Demonic Fist!" said Diablo. In a flash Patrick was outside with us. "Well if this wasn't the weirdest of all the towers we've been to" I said walking off with Netta. Everyone laughed and followed behind us. "Two more towers to go" said Marcus. Then all of a sudden there was a black flash. We all looked over at Patrick and there was a mini Diablo sitting on his shoulder. "I prefer to be out in the open like this" he said. I rolled my eyes and continued to walk.

Chapter 11

"Okay, how about this, just a boy and a girl" said Patrick. "Wow, Pat thinking about kids already" said Marcus. "I'll be 19 in no time, gotta think about the future man" he responded. We all laughed at the comment that Patrick made. "AJ what about you and Netta?" asked Angie. I laughed at the statement and said, "What ever happens, happens." Netta looked at me and smiled. "I don't know what it is about you two, but ya'll are too weird for me" said Marcus. "Hey you do ya'll see the tower… it looks as if it were glowing" said Netta. "WHEW! I had to make sure it wasn't just me that saw that cuz' I would have felt all kinds of strange" I said with a laugh. "So is the guardian of this tower like a sheep or something?" asked Patrick with a smirk. "No, actually it's an angel" said Jasmine. "How exactly do you know this, Jasmine" I asked. "Well it is in the legends that have been told for the past few hundred years" said Netta. "So the guardian at my tower must be like a dragon or something, right" I asked. The three girls just laughed and walked into the tower. I stopped and looked at my brother with a confused expression on my face.

You know for some reason this tower seems to be the darkest tower we've been to so far and we just left the actual "DARK TOWER". Its sounds about right to me, I mean think about it, Netta's dark on the inside just like Heaven's Peak. Sounds like a perfect match if you ask me. "Once again nobody even asked you AJ" said Netta, pushing my head. "Hahaha I think you might need to learn to keep your thoughts to yourself from now on" said Marcus laughing. "Hahaha what I'm just sayin it makes perfect sense when you actually sit there and think about it. Baby on the outside you beautiful, but you can be a lil evil at times" I said with a broad smile on my face teasing Netta. "AJ I'm gonna hurt you one day" she said with a vindictive tone. "Ok love birds lets cut it out" said Angie. We all laughed as we walked toward this light in the middle of a room. "You know I would have expected for there to be some lady in some white robes sitting in the middle of the room playin the harp or something like that" I said scratching my head. "Hahaha where did you even get that idea from AJ?" asked Marcus. "I honestly have no idea" I laughed. Which was short-lived because feathers began to fall form the ceiling. We all looked up to see a middle-aged man floating in mid air above us.

"LEAVE NOW OR PREPARE TO PAY THE CON-" "Ah shut up Seriphum!" said Golem rudely. "Dang it Golem. Why do you always have to ruin my speeches?" yelled the man in anger. "Are you the guardian of this tower?" asked Netta. "Yes, I am Seriphum the guardian of-" "Aye man we didn't even ask you all dat. Now shut up and get down here so we can beat you down and move on" said Marcus. Seriphum looked completely shocked at the comment. "No one has ever spoken to me in this manner in my life. Nor will I allow it now!" said Seriphum raising his voice. "What did we just say bird man? Get it down here so I can break my foot off in it" I exclaimed. "You all shall DIE!"

(Seriphum charged at us in complete anger.)

"You puny humans will die by the hand of-" "Aye didn't we tell you to shut up and fight!" exclaimed Marcus. "You imbeciles do you have any idea of who I am?" asked Seriphum with a prideful look. "You I think I'm starting to see a problem" I said. "Why what ever do you mean boy?" asked Seriphum in a teasing manner. "Aye man boy ain't m name" I said going into my dragon transformation, "and secondly I don't think you understand the fact we want you to SHUT UP!" For some odd reason I was angry and to be honest I have no idea why. "Well since you won't listen to reason, I guess I just have to show you through power" said Seriphum. We all readied ourselves, but he charged at me. I dodged his first attack and as hard as I could I slapped him with the broad side of my sword. "Wow I know that hurted" laughed Marcus. "MY FACE! LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO MY FACE!" exclaimed Seriphum. "I'm sorry let me fix that for you" with that I brought my sword against the other side of his face. "AJ stop!" yelled Netta. "Thank you for showing me mercy" said Seriphum crawling on his knees to her. "You just got lucky that's all" said Marcus. "Master what is your wish?" said Seriphum. "To use your power to defeat the evil, Gnivil" she said plainly. "As you wish" said Seriphum turning into a crest and floated towards her bow. There was a white flash and we were all outside including Netta. Everyone looked at her with confusion on their faces. "Uh, Netta why aren't you still in the tower?" asked Jasmine. "Well, I guess it's cuz im not really a fighter and I don't really need any more skills" replied Netta too smoothly. With that statement slight tension was made in the others. Netta walked off and said, "We have one more tower to get to remember?" We all reluctantly followed. "This is the end I suppose" I thought to myself.

Chapter 12