Some time later, I slowly opened my eyes, finding my body feeling better than it had earlier. I was not quite healed, but the redness of my skin had faded down to a pink color and I was able to move a bit easier. I stretched and sat up, seeing that night had fallen and the only light in the room came from the fireplace. Chimitsu was nowhere to be found.
I stretched again and laid back down, my arm brushing against something soft and warm next to me. I paused and lowered it, turning to see who it was. There, curled up beside me was Chimitsu, lying on her back. She was sound asleep, but she looked weaker than she had when I had fallen asleep.
Her pale skin looked even more pale and she was breathing shallowly, her pulse weak. The moment I lifted her hand from the pillow, her eyelids fluttered open and she looked at me. She smiled and she seemed to brighten when she saw me, her breath becoming more stable.
"Jack..." she said.
"Chimitsu, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, just a bit drained. Haven't repaired injuries this bad in quite some time."
"Perhaps you should rest, then. I will be fine for awhile, thank you. Rest and recover."
"I shouldn't. You're not fully recovered yet."
"It can wait. It is not worth draining your health for."
She sighed heavily and laid back against the pillow, looking at me.
"You almost didn't survive, Jack. It took every ounce of my power to keep you alive and bring you back to this point of recovery. I haven't done that in centuries."
"Please, Chimitsu. Rest. I will be all right until you recover your power enough to finish your work. You have done enough. More than enough."
She sighed again and nodded, lowering her arm to her chest as she rolled onto her back. I sat next to her, watching her, wondering if it was at all possible for an Elemental to die. She seemed so frail and not once had she said that she had the powers of a goddess.
"Chimitsu?" I asked.
"Yes?"
"How badly was I hurt that it took so much of your power to repair the damage done?"
"Badly enough. I was quite surprised that you had even survived. If not for your rocket pack, you wouldn't have. You broke nearly every bone in your body and had massive internal injuries. No doctor alive could have saved you, even if they had wanted to."
I frowned, watching her eyes full of compassion and even a bit of what seemed to be sadness.
"I remember my skin feeling as if it was on fire as I fell from space down into the clouds. What happened?"
"Second degree burns, some third degree in places."
I did not understand her words completely, but the memory of how much it hurt gave me an idea. I shuddered at the memory of feeling as if I had been immersed in fire, helpless to stop it. Chimitsu's eyes showed her sympathy, knowing that it had to have hurt me.
"Where is my kimono and the rest of my clothing?"
"I will make new ones soon as I have the strength. Your kimono and most of your clothing had melted into your skin from the heat of the atmosphere as you reentered it. There's only bits and pieces left, falling off when your burns healed. Don't worry. It will be here when you awaken. Sleep, Jack. Rest and let your body heal."
I sighed and laid back down, curling up on my side next to her. I felt her warm hands upon my back and instantly relaxed under the warm touch, closing my eyes. I felt myself begin to drift and soon, I was sound asleep once more.
When I opened my eyes again sometime later, sunlight streamed through the window and across the bed over my body. I stretched and then curled up under the blankets again, feeling warm and content. I did not want to leave such a soft, comfortable bed, but my body felt healed and I knew that I had to go about my quest.
Slowly I stretched and rolled onto my back, looking up at the stone ceiling before realizing that the bed seemed oddly empty. I looked to my side and found that Chimitsu was not there. I sat up and looked around, finding the room equally empty with no sign of her anywhere. Perhaps she was in another part of this castle.
I sighed and looked to my other side, finding a new kimono and obi folded neatly on a chair beside me. Across the top lay my katana, the scabbard cleaned and polished. I pushed the blankets aside and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, standing and dressing. On the floor were my wooden zori, also appearing to be either new or repaired.
Slipping my katana into my obi, I walked over towards the door and headed out, looking for Chimitsu. The hallway I stepped into was stone, lit by rows of candles along the wall amongst tapestries depicting sky scenery. I continued down the corridor until I came to a winding stone staircase. It did not look as if there were any other ways out, so I headed on down, heading into a large, open room lit with candlelight chandeliers.
I looked around for any sign of Chimitsu, finding none. There did not seem to be anyone else around, either and I wondered if she had gone outside. I headed through the heavy wooden doors and was greeted with a breathtaking mountainside view. Trees grew sporadically on the mountainside amongst the cloudy mists shimmering in the sunlight.
Stone walkways filled the mountainside for some distance, looking like a small city high above the clouds. A fitting place for the elemental of Air to live, of course. Now if only I could find her, finding it odd that she had left me alone. True, I had healed, but I had expected her to at least be in the castle somewhere.
I walked along the stone path, looking around for her, hoping that she was all right. She had been quite weak when I had last seen her and I did not know how long it would take before she would be able to regenerate her powers back to full capacity. A cool wind blew at my back and I shivered, beginning to get the feeling that something was wrong somehow.
I continued along the path, the castle disappearing back into the clouds behind me, the wind rustling my kimono. Far below the stone city was a valley filled with trees, a waterfall sounding nearby. I looked over, seeing it shimmering in the sunlight through the clouds, trees growing nearby. I leaned against the stone railing and sighed, closing my eyes, trying to think of where she could be.
The breeze died down for a moment, then seemed to switch directions, coming from the way I was headed. I paused and looked over towards the waterfall, catching a peculiar scent, one that did not seem to belong here. It was not anything like the smell that permeated Aku's lair, but smelled of a foul presence, perhaps another demon or a monster.
The wind blew again and this time, the odd scent was accompanied by the light scent of nature that seemed to always accompany Chimitsu. I straightened and hurried down the path towards the waterfall, wondering if the wind had not been sent by her as a warning. I did not know what she was warning me of, but if she was in any sort of trouble, I was not going to leave her behind to face it alone.
My sandals clattered against the stone walkway as I neared the waterfall, the breeze ruffling my kimono as I ran. The scent grew stronger the closer I came and soon I could hear the roar of the falls. I could feel it now, the tension and danger in the air. I was very close now. Soon I could hear Chimitsu's screams and I ran even faster towards the falls.
When I finally reached them, I could see Chimitsu in her white robes, in the grasp of a nine-headed, nine-tailed hydra. One of its tails had coiled around her body, squeezing tightly. She struggled, but did not seem to be having any luck. No wonder, if she was as weakened from healing me as I thought she was.
I hurried over, looking up at her, seeing her pale face reddened with the effort of trying to break free.
"Chimitsu!" I cried.
She opened her eyes and looked down at me, feet kicking over her head as the hydra flipped her headfirst down towards me.
"Jack!"
"How did a hydra get here?"
"They're native here, usually in the valleys. Rarely do they come up the mountainside."
I furrowed my brow, trying to think of what to do. I had heard of hydras while training in Greece as a teenager, most of them fearsome creatures and usually very aggressive. From what I knew, they could not be killed except by cutting off the heads and searing the wounds with fire. That would prove to be a difficult task, particularly with Chimitsu caught in its tails.
"I'm sorry, Jack, I must have surprised it here. They don't usually give me any trouble, knowing I'm an Elemental." she said.
"Still, I am going to have to get you down from there."
"Don't worry about me, Jack, I'll be fine! Not the first time I've been caught up by a hydra."
"But is it the first time you have been caught after a long healing?"
She struggled again and then sighed, relaxing, her robes and hair hanging in her face. She said something unintelligable and squirmed again, only to have the hydra tighten its grip around her. Two of its heads coiled from the group and down to look her over.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" one of them said.
"It looks like a tender Elemental." the other said.
Another head wound down to look at her, shaking at the other two.
"I say we throw her back. There's hardly enough meat on those delicate little bones to make a meal for us." it said.
"Well, she can be an appetizer then."
A fourth head wound down, eyeing me hungrily.
"If the little Elemental's our appetizer, I say we make this one our main course!" it said, licking its lips.
The other three stopped arguing over Chimitsu long enough to look over, each looking me over. Chimitsu struggled again, only to be stopped with a tight squeeze from the tail that was holding her. The four looked at each other, then to their five remaining heads.
"What do you say, brothers? Is he enough for a meal?" one said.
"Looks rather small..." another said.
"Yes, but just look at him. There's bound to be more meat on his bones than hers."
"Pah! Between the two of them, we'll still be hungry!"
"Then what do you suggest?" a third asked.
"We can bring them both with or eat them now and go searching for more food."
"Have you gone mad? I've seen gladiators and wrestlers bigger than the two of them combined!"
The heads rose up and began to argue loudly, entwining around each other as they fought. I looked at Chimitsu and she looked at me, seemingly forgotten for the moment. She could no longer move save for her feet and head, looking as if she needed more air, her face turning a grayish tinge.
The creature continued to argue and I took the moment to unsheathe my katana and spring into the air, swinging down at the tail that held Chimitsu. I had expected to cut clean through, but instead I merely bounced off, slamming hard into the stone walkway. This was not good, not by a long shot.
The arguing stopped and a few of the heads unwound from their brothers, leaning down towards me.
"Now just what did you hope to accomplish, little swordsman?" one of them asked.
"Please, release the Elemental. She has done nothing to harm you."
The heads looked at me before they all broke into laughter, the tails behind them flailing about.
"Oh, that may be true, but what makes you think we are going to release our food just because you asked?" another spoke.
"Please. I do not wish to harm you."
"You? Harm us? I must say, after that pitiful attempt to slice off our tail with that little butter knife, I highly doubt that you will be able to harm us."
"Are you sure that I do not know the way to defeat a hydra?"
The heads stopped laughing and leaned down in a circle around me. They watched me carefully for a few moments before rising back up high above us. One coiled down around the tail holding Chimitsu, grinning nastily.
"So what if you do? There are nine of us and only one of you. You're outnumbered, you know." it said.
"That does not matter."
The creature watched me and then looked to Chimitsu, giving me the opportunity to hold my blade over the railing, heating the metal in a torch hanging on the side. I held it behind myself, never taking my eyes from the creature.
"You must be a fool to think that one head is better than nine." another said.
"I never said one head was better. I merely said that the number of heads against one lone samurai did not matter."
At that moment, I sprang up and onto the tail that held Chimitsu, plunging my heated blade into it. This time, my katana sank into the creature's flesh, drawing a roar of pain from it. Its grip on Chimitsu loosened and she began to slide out of it as the tail flailed about.
Suddenly, she dropped out of the coil and towards the edge of the mountain over the railing. I withdrew my blade and slid down to the walkway as she grabbed ahold of the tip, hanging on as tightly as she could. The hydra gave another roar and several heads came down at me, snapping rapidly. I quickly hopped out of the way, the sharp teeth catching only air.
The only problem was, the creature was chasing me away from Chimitsu and I was not sure how long she could hold onto the end of its tail. I leapt over the fourth head and sprang forward, bouncing from the third to the second to the fifth to the first, leaping for Chimitsu as she lost her grip on the thrashing tail. I rolled to the stone walkway as she fell over the railing, the tail swinging overhead.
I wasted no time in diving for her, hoping to catch her before she was out of reach from the walkway. My hand closed around her wrist and she dangled there, high above the valley and certain death. I held on as tightly as I could, knowing that the hydra was right there behind us, but I could not let her fall.
"Fall and die!"
One of the tails lashed out, striking me across the back and knocking me over the railing as well. I held on tightly to Chimitsu's hand, reaching down to pull her closer to me, trying to think of how we could stop our fall. She could not have saved me from one fall, only for us both to die in another so soon after.
But there was no possible way for us to stop, nothing for either of us to grab onto. Chimitsu hung tightly on my back, her arms crossed about my chest under my arms tighter than I expected she could. The wind whistled by us as we raced towards the ground, howling in my ears.
Suddenly, our descent began to slow and then stopped altogether. I could hardly believe it, but it was true. I was hovering in midair with Chimitsu on my back, yet neither myself or Chimitsu had a rocket pack. Neither of us could fly that I knew of, so how could we be hanging in midair? Had the hydra caught us?
I looked up at Chimitsu and what I saw was more than I could have ever believed had I not seen it with my own eyes. A pair of white, glimmering wings extended from her back, flapping not unlike a bird's would. She held me effortlessly as she flew us both back up to the castle, over the railing, and back onto the stone walkway. There was no sign of the hydra, yet I knew it could not have gone far.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"I think so. How did you do that?"
"The wings? They come with the territory, dearie."
I reached out and gently touched one of the wings, finding it soft and warm, yet very strong. It had to be to carry not only her, but myself upwards as well. She giggled at me and lightly swatted me upside the head with the other wing, the feathers ruffling my topknot.
"Why did you not do this earlier?" I asked.
"It was not necessary to reveal all my powers until it was needed."
"Then you were not weakened by the healing?"
"Oh, I was, when you last saw me before falling asleep. I recovered in that time."
"Then why did you not use your power to escape from the hydra?"
"That, dear samurai, was all a part of your test."
"You..."
She smiled innocently at me and I chuckled as her wing swatted me again.
"Then there was no hydra at all." I said.
"Nope! It was an illusion I created. There are hydras in the valley, but they rarely do come all this way up here, let alone bother me. They know better than to try and harm the Elemental who allows them to live on her mountain or those she chooses to protect. You did well, samurai."
"Then, I passed the test?"
"Of course! Did you ever think you wouldn't?"
"No, but I did not know that the hydra was part of the test."
"Of course not. You weren't supposed to know when you were being tested. We want to see the real you at your best without even trying to do well at such a thing. The Infinity Gem is yours, Jack, guard it well."
She held up her hands and a small, diamond-shaped green stone appeared in them. I gently took it and looked at it, feeling a warm power rush through my body from it. I placed it in a small black bag Chimitsu gave me and tied it to my obi beside my katana.
"Thank you, Chimitsu, not just for the jewel, but for helping me as well." I said.
She smiled and took my hands in hers, her wings settling down and folding against her back.
"Of course. If anyone is worthy of the Star of the Elements and the powers it holds, it is you. Now, go to the south. My sister, Fire, awaits you there."
"Very well. Take care, and be careful around hydras."
She laughed and lightly swatted me with her wings again.
"Of course. Be careful, Jack, do not let that jewel fall into the wrong hands. Aku is clever and dangerous and there's no telling what he would do with the power of the Elements."
"Understood. I will not fail you. Sayonara, Chimitsu."
"Farewell, dear samurai."
She smiled and guided me to a long, winding, stone staircase that lead down the mountainside. I paused a few steps down and turned back to look at her, seeing her watching me from the walkway above. She smiled and waved to me, looking stronger than she had in days. I waved back before turning and heading on my way down the staircase, disappearing into the mists.
One trial had now been completed, the trial of Wind. Four more awaited me and I could not waste any time lest Aku catch on to what had happened here in this mountainside castle. With my katana and the Infinity Jewel at my side, I began to head south as Chimitsu had said, towards the home of the Elemental of Fire.