Thanks for the reviews, guys! I loved the constructive critisism, and you should find this one easier to reas.
So... here ya go!
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"Ya know," said Aaron, as he threw his winter jacket over his red tee-shirt "in the mission briefing, they never said anything about cold."
Trey, who was forcing his foot into a pair of black boots, looked up at Aaron with a look of pity on his face.
"They said we would be going to the top of the Rocky's in northern Canada." he said, as if he had explained it a thousand times "It was kinda obvious that it would be cold."
"That's what I'm sayin'!" said Aaron, as if he was trying to prove a point "They shouldn't rely on common sense!"
Trey chuckled, looking back at his boots. "Or, they could make a 'special' program for dorks like you."
Aaron made like he was going to punch him, his face breaking into a look of mock-rage.
Cody, who had been ready for the past five minutes, stepped in between the two as he tried to contain his own laughter.
"C'mon guys." he said, recovering from his fit of giggles "We've got a lot of distance to cover."
Zeke groaned, joining the rest of the boys at the mouth of the cave fully decked out in a blue winter coat, gloves, and a pair of red gloves.
"Ah, c'mon, squirt." Said Aaron playfully, rustling the boy's blond hair "It'll be fun!"
Zeke rolled his eyes, pulling his backpack higher on his back. "I'm not five anymore." He said defensively "This is gonna be exhausting, you know it just as well as I do."
"What ever happened to the optimist we brought on this mission?" Trey asked, slipping on his grey backpack.
"Optomism doesn't work when you're in an arctic tundra 10,000 feet off the ground." Zeke said with a smile, glancing at the fresh layer of snow outside the mouth of the cave.
"Uh, guys?" Cody said, making his way to the entrance of the cave "We gotta go. Like, now."
The boys groaned collectively, but they still followed Cody into the freezing desert. And the second they got out there, Cody's face was fit by a freezing wind, making him feel like he had just stick his head in the freezer.
"It's gonna be a long walk." He muttered to himself, taking another step forward "Way too long."
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By nightfall, all four of the boys felt like they had walked around the world and back, with their legs aching in protest with every step.
"Ya know, *gasp* I've never been, *gasp* this tired before." Zeke said, forcing himself to take yet another exhausting step "I can't take much more of this."
"You won't have to." Said Cody, stopping abruptly.
"What is it?" asked Trey, trudging up to Cody's side with a look of confusion spread across his face.
"We're here." Cody said bluntly "This is where our mission gets a whole lot more complicated."
"I don't see anything." Aaron said with a shrug, as he tried to get a better look over the snowbank.
"Look closer." Cody said, to himself as well as the others "Focus. The mist is powerful here."
As he said this, the danger began to reveal itself before their eyes. The snowy plain began to dissolve, the snow seeming to disappear into the ground itself, leaving no sign of ever being there.
"Holy Zeus." Zeke muttered, staring at what now stood in the plain.
As if by command, a mountain sprouted out of the ground, growing to 50 feet tall in less then a second, and what stood on top of the mountain turned the boy's blood to ice.
"Welcome, young heros." Came the scraping voice of the demon Melinoe from atop the hill. Her voice alone could have been enough to terrify all four of the boys, but it was her face that caused them to freeze in shear terror.
It was twisted, mangled, as if she would have liked nothing better then to devour all four of them. Her face was contorted into an evil smile, revealing pointed shark-like teeth tipped with a suspicious red liquid.
But the strangest part was the coloring. The demon's body seemed to be cut in two, being perfectly one half bone white and one half pitch black. She laughed, a sound that could've sent an entire village running in terror. "Now, which of you shall be the first to die!"
Cody felt his knees buckle in total horror, as if he had totally lost control of his limbs.
"Don't give into her magic!" came Trey's voice "If you do she'll eat you alive!"
Cody quickly forced himself to look away, and he breathed a sigh of relief as feeling returned to his limbs.
The battle's not over yet! He reminded himself, as he pulled his sword out of it's sheath "It's time to end this."
"Squad, get into formation Zeta!" He said, keeping his eyes averted from the she-demon.
There was a chorus of "Yes sir!"s as the other four took out their swords, pointing them directly at Melineo.
"Isn't that cute." The demon said in her raspy voice "You think you sand a chance."
Suddenly, with surprising speed, she leaped into the air, sailing 10, 20, 30 yards! She lunged at the boys with a double-ended celestial bronze sword, forcing them to jump in different directions, breaking the formation.
Before Cody could recover from his fall, the demon was holding him by the throat a foot off the ground.
"You have failed, little hero!" Melineo said ominously "You cannot defeat a demon of my caliber!"
Cody struggled to free himself of the demon's grip, but it was of little use. Her hand was was like solid iron.
"Yo, ugly!" Came the voice of Aaron, causing Melineo to turn around in surprise "Say goodnight!"
Melineo screamed as a pouch of greek fire exploded on her chest, forcing her to drop Cody.
Cody scrambled to Aaron's side as Melineo hit the ground, roaring in outrage.
"Thanks for the help." Cody said, readying his sword "But I think you just made things personal."
Melineo picked herself up, ashes spread across her chest and her face contorted into a look of absolute fury.
"You have chosen the wrong opponent." She said, her voice quiet with built up rage "Now you shall all die."
She lunged at the boys again, but that time they were prepared. As she flew within 10 feet of them, Trey and Cody stepped aside to let her pass between them. She screamed as she slammed into the rocky ground, her face skidding across razor sharp pebbles. But she still stood up, her face more angry, if that was possible, and now cut up and bleeding.
Cody winced at her appearance, which was now more terrifying then ever, as he ran over to regroup with the other three.
"What now!?" Zeke cried out in desperation, his sword shaking with his hands "She's not dying!"
"Cody." said Aaron, his face deadly serious "Do you have your bow with you?"
"Always." He said, taking his bow and arrow out of his backpack.
"Try the inferno maneuver!" He said, tensing as he saw Melineo recovering "It's our only chance to win this!"
Cody nodded hesitantly, readying his bow. "Are you sure it'll work?"
Aaron grimaced, showing a bit more doubt then Cody needed to see.
"Never mind!" he said, cocking an arrow "Let's finish this!"
Aaron nodded, and ran at Melineo with Zeke and Trey.
Cody cocked a second arrow, and a third, waiting for the signal. He winced as he saw the she-demon swipe the duel ended sword at his friends.
"Wait for it..." He muttered to himself, bringing the bow to his eye level "Wait for it..."
Suddenly, Cody saw Aaron jump onto the beast's arm as it swung once again at him.
"NOW!" He yelled as he dangled from Melineo's pitch black arm.
Cody, nodded, firing the arrows. Now, three arrows are deadly enough, but to add to it, as the three deadly projectiles flew through the air, the tips burst into uncontrolled flame.
"AHHHHGGGGGGG!!!" Melineo screamed, as the three flaming arrows dug into her spine "Too... much... pain...!"
The demon began to fall down, and exploded into a thousand rats as she hit the ground.
The four boys just stood there for a second, taking in what just happened. It was as if they had fought death itself, and come out on top.
"Well," Aaron finally said after a moment of silence "We did it. We killed Melineo."
Cody stared at one of the rats who was stumbling through the snow. "I can't believe we actually made it." He said, breaking into a smile.
"Believe it, my friend!" Said Trey, who had suddenly gotten giddy with joy "Mission accomplished!"
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Yeah... well, you guys know the drill. See ya on the review page!