Chapter One: Trouble Arises
The darkness surrounded the area. The only thing that the average onlooker could see would be the faint glow of the full, midnight moon. However, if one were to pay a little closer attention, they would be able to see the faint outline of two shadowy figures, gliding along the dirt road. On the left side, wild, untamed hedges, which looked as if they hadn't been trimmed for over a few years, and the right was no different. All that could be heard was the faint crackling of the autumn leaves that littered the old, dirt road.
The figures silently moved across the dirt path, at a brisk pace. Suddenly, right underneath the beams of moonlight, they stopped moving.
"Do you know what happened specifically? Because you haven't told me anything of significance, Magnus," the first figure said, suspicion ringing out through the voice.
"You know as well as I do, Tempest, that I can't say anything until Draconis shows up," replied the other, this time the voice filled with annoyance and impatience, "At any rate, he can't be much too longer."
"Yeah, you're probably right..." the voice trailed off, apparently the speaker had gone deep into thought for a moment, then continued, "I still can't believe that Alex..."
"He's a traitor, Tempest, leave him. He's get his when this is all over."
"Yeah, but even so..." Tempest stopped for a moment, "Anyway, Draconis is late, we're on the run, and we have no idea where the other Guardians are. And to top it all off, we could be attacked by those damn Daejims at any moment!" Just at that moment, however, the leaves of the wild hedges on either side of the duo began to rustle.
"Are you doing that, Tempest?" asked Magnus, slightly whispering.
"Nope, that's not me. Think it's..." But before he could finish his sentence, two giant figures, both equally identical, jumped out from the hedges and landed in front of the duo.
"Well, speak of the devil... Daejims," started Magnus, "This just isn't our day, is it?" And with that, he leapt into the air, unsheathing his sword, preparing to strike.
"You know what to do, cover me while I'm casting," commanded Tempest, some form of magic sigil appearing underneath his feet, slightly green in colouring, "This is about to get messy!"
The two Daejims shrieked their ferocious battle cry, then pulled out their giant stone axes. Magnus landed, impaling the blade of his sword in the chest of the first Daejim. He pulled the sword out of the monster, and his sword glowed slightly. The now-dead Daejim shook for a second, then disappeared, the wispy trail of energy left behind was immediately sucked into the sword.
"So much for not using that spell, huh?" asked Tempest, eyeing the sword carefully before resuming his incantation. Indeed, the sword had begun to glow a bright red, shining like a beacon in the night. Magnus rolled his eyes before turning to the remaining Daejim, before noticing that said Daejim had disappeared.
"Crap! Where'd he go!?!" exclaimed Magnus, wildly looking around. Tempest started to look around as well. The dirt road was clear of all evidence that there was anything there. Tempest stopped the incantation, "He can't have gone too far... LOOK OUT!!!"
Magnus looked up in alarm, and sure enough, there it was rapidly falling to the ground below. Magnus raised his sword just in time; the stone axe barely missing his neck. The Daejim leapt from its position to the ground, and started ferociously swinging its axe, Magnus barely meeting its swings in time. After a few minutes of this, the axe finally knocked the sword out of Magnus' hands, when...
"AEROGA!!!" Out of nowhere, mighty winds pierced the midnight air, and started to slash the Daejim apart, its howls of agony ringing clearly through the air. Magnus turned around to see his ally, the mystic sigil underneath flashing fiercely underneath him. The wind spell died down, and a similar trail of energy remained.
"Might as well not let this go to waste..." started Magnus, but as he turned around, a glare of disapproval met his eyes, and the realization that maybe, just maybe, taking that energy wasn't a good idea.
It didn't matter anyway, because as Magnus turned around, the energy was travelling upwards into the lance of a mysterious figure, covered from head to toe in what appeared to be armor made from the scales of a dragon.
"Nice timing, Draconis," said Tempest, rolling his eyes in sarcasm, "Yeah, but next time, maybe you should show up before the bad guys attack us. Sound like a good idea, hmmm?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," replied Draconis, "So Magnus, what did the master say before... what happened?" he asked, a tone of sadness overcoming the last of his question.
"Apparently, he wants us to get those who saved this world before to return and help us restore order. As if we need their help, we're the Guardians!"
"Yeah, but I highly doubt that the master reached the social status that he did if he didn't know what he was doing," answered Draconis, kicking a small stone on the road before continuing his trail of thought, "Besides, these are the kids that defeated Lucemon, they can't possibly be more of a hindrance than they would be help..."
"Yeah, but that's the point: they're just kids!" replied Magnus, anger starting to become evident in his voice, "At any rate, Orphanimon removed all contact with them, and she probably won't be willing to put it back in place for us. According to her, you and Tempest are just as bad as Lucemon, just 'cause we didn't help when she called, and according to her, I'm supposed to be dead!" The air began to fill with slight tension. Before anything could happen, however...
"Draconis has a point, Magnus, they could be of some help, but as you said, they are just kids."
"Tempest, you've got to be kidding, you won't take the advice that the master has given?" started Draconis, now anger starting to overcome his voice as well.
"That's not what I meant," he replied, impatience clearly evident, "What I meant was than they could help, but we'd have to keep a close eye of them is all. Not to mention that we have to find their spirits again..." his voice trailed off. After a moment, he continued, "It matters not, the master has spoken. I guess now the only question is how to get them here."
The trio became quiet, thinking of that very problem. The winds around them started to pick up speed, and a chill was upon them.
"Damn, we don't have time for this..." muttered Magnus, "How did they manage to find us?"
"Gee, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you two idiots used the forbidden spell, and now they know where we are?" Tempest offered, sarcasm evident and Magnus imagined a smirk was on his friend's face.
"Now's not the time for fighting, we have to go. Now," Draconis said, "I'll take you up to the Dragon Fortress for the time being. Grab a hold of me." As he said that, the hedges began to rustle again, but before anything could jump out and ambush them, the trio had disappeared in a flash of light, leaving nothing but crushed leaves where they were standing just seconds before...
- - - - - - - - - - -
I promise, there will be some Takumi later, so don't attack me yet! Reviews and constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated, while flames will...not. Please R+R!
