Chapter 2


Beginning of the End


Aklase stared out into the distant island numbly as Jawwie sent a message to War and Npm telling them to get to Yanille as fast as they could.

"You ok?" Jawwie asked with concern. If even Aklase showed fear then she knew they were heading into danger.

Aklase turned to her at once and nodded. "Of course…it's just that it's a long way from here to there. At least a two day journey."

Jawwie shrugged, suddenly feeling more like her old self. "Then we better get moving. We're finally getting closer to fulfilling our destiny!" With that, she jumped up to climb down the grappling hook Aklase had hooked to the wall.

With a moment hesitation and a deep breath, Aklase followed Jawwie down onto the ground. This was her chance to be a leader! She wasn't going to let fear get in her way.

Just as they reached the bank, War and Npm came running toward them.

"What…did…you…find?" War gasped between breaths of air.

Aklase quickly pushed her fear aside and let leader mode take over. "A flaming ball of…something crashed onto Ape Atoll. We think it might be one of our elements, or at least a sign. " She reported.

"Great!" War smiled. "So we just grab our monkey devices and go there. Easy."

"Yeah…just one problem with that." Jawwie began.

"We don't have the monkey sticks dude." Npm frowned.

War glared at them. "You all sicken me."

"Be that as it may, we still have to go there. It will be at least a two day journey so let's pack for the worst, including anti poison." Aklase added, remembering being poisoned her first time to Ape Atoll.

For once, none of them argued to her bossy attitude, only headed for the bank. Aklase sighed as she followed them, her hands automatically grabbing the most needed items and putting them into her backpack. She suddenly wondered if she should bring Sniper.

Sniper was Alaska's pet baby cockatrice. She had rescued it as an egg after Npm had killed its attacking mother. After Alaska had brought Aklase back, Aklase continued raising the baby cockatrice and fixed its eyes so it could no longer have a killing stare. It was now the size of a cow, almost full height for it. Aklase had been teaching him to fly the best she could but had not attempted riding him yet. She hoped to one day fly alongside War as he rode his bird Zammy who was getting older and could not hold the weight of four people very well anymore.

"Do you think I should bring Sniper?" She asked her friends.

"Nah. If you need him just use the whistle like I do with Zammy." War advised.

Aklase nodded. Once every pet bird was old enough, the pet store owners gave the owners a whistle that, when blown, summons the bird to the owner; No matter how far it may be.

"Everyone got a mobile army teleport?" Jawwie asked. "It's already getting dark so using the spirit trees would make the trip go a little faster."

Everybody nodded as they used the teleports as one. Aklase secretly hated using the spirit trees…the sucking feeling as she gets dragged underground…the feeling of no air for a few seconds. But she had to go through with it, just like any other person that lived in this land called Runescape.

As she saw her world quickly change from a bank to a castle wall with people yelling inside, Aklase turned to the tree by habit.

"Four for the Gnome Stronghold roots please." Aklase told the tree. It always seemed weird to talk to a tree…and weirder yet when it replied "Any friends of the gnomes are a friend of mine. Hold on tight."

Aklase shut her eyes as the roots opened up from the ground and clung to her form, before opening a hole in the ground and sucking her inside. As fast as it begun, it was over and Aklase opened her eyes again to feel the roots letting go and sucking back into the dirt.

She looked around to see Npm dusting off his robin hood hat, Jawwie shivering slightly, and War trying to get his gaze to focus again. Clearly she wasn't the only one that disliked the ride.

"Right." Npm was the first to talk. "Which way to the big ass tree?"

"I'll tell you when I stop seeing three spirit trees." War replied in a dizzy tone.

"Oh for God's sake!" Jawwie muttered. "It's this way!" She began to head north.

Aklase followed, looking back to make sure the guys were following. She smiled when she saw Npm leading War north. Though it never occurred to her before, Npm and War must be as close as Jawwie and she were. Jawwie and Aklase were like sisters, did War and Npm think of each other as brothers?

"Stop leading me like I'm a level 5 noob!"

"You were stumbling around like you were drunk."

Yes…she was sure they did.


A few minutes later, they were on Crash Island. Aklase rubbed the back of her head, suddenly feeling less confident getting so close to Ape Atoll and was relieved when Jawwie suggested they set up a tent and rested there for the night.

As she helped her friends set up the tent, she couldn't help but think of the scare Alaska had gone through with this. For some reason, a reason that she couldn't even probe her mind for, she was extremely uncomfortable with sleeping in the same tent as the guys. Though Aklase didn't quite like the idea herself, she would put up with it.

As they settled inside, a few minutes later she heard the soft breathing of her friends as they fell asleep. She lied there awake, staring at the roof of the tent. She sighed and slowly got up to get out of the tent. She wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon, so she might as well get some fresh air.

She crawled out of the tent and headed downstream, keeping next to the water. Once she was sure of a good place, she sat on a rock next to the water. The air felt fresh, the stars were glittering above her head, and the moon reflected on the surface of the water. A light breeze swept through the air and Aklase breathed it in. How could everything be so peaceful, when a war was on the edge of breaking through?

She heard a twig snap behind her and she whipped around, only to relax as she saw Npm heading toward her. "What are you doing up?" She asked him.

"I could ask you the same thing." He replied to her as he sat down next to her.

"Couldn't sleep, now what's your reason?"

Npm shrugged. "Felt it get a little colder and woke up to see you gone." He turned to look at her. Her eyes seemed to reflect the sparkling stars in the sky…how could someone like her choose this dangerous path of an adventurer?

Seeming to read his mind she smiled. "Npm…there are two kinds of woman in this land. The kind who choose to be the damsels in distress, waiting for their princes to come and save them…or the kind that choose to make something of themselves and fight their own dragons."

Npm blinked. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

"I've known you long enough to be able to read your eyes like a book." She looked at him closely, silently beginning to hope that he could feel the intensity of her passion.

He smiled and closed his eyes. "Can't read them when their closed can you?"

She smiled and pushed him playfully.

"I finally got some real smiles out of you didn't I?" Npm suddenly said.

Instantly her smile vanished. She had no idea she was actually…enjoying herself. She should be thinking about their next move! Not closing her eyes to reality and pretending everything was ok.

He seemed to notice her vanishing smile. "I didn't mean anything bad by it. I like your smile. I love your smile."

She got up. "We should get some sleep." She muttered before beginning to walk away but was quickly thrown back as Npm grabbed her arm and pulled her back into sitting.

"Aklase, you've been really tense. All you've been doing lately is training and worrying and training and worrying." He reached to move a strand of hair covering her eyes and rested his hand on her cheek. "You don't have to be in leader mode all the time." He urged her.

She looked into his eyes, wishing what he was saying was true. But they really needed a leader now…and a leader never put her needs before anyone else's. "I'm sorry Npm. But right now I think I do."

"NO!" He barely stopped himself from screaming. "No, you don't. " He took her hands. "You weren't always like this and we got along fine then."

"We didn't have the prophecy over our heads then!" Aklase's voice was beginning to rise, willing him to understand.

"And you don't think that we can take care of ourselves?" Npm challenged her.

She stopped short. "That isn't what I'm saying."

"Well it looks like that's exactly what you're saying." None of them liked where this was going. This romantic setting was quickly turning into a war zone.

"You know what? Forget it. You wouldn't understand anything about being a leader would you?" Aklase's anger suddenly got the better of her and she fumed. She got up and stomped back to the tent, leaving Npm still sitting on the rock.

"Where are you going?" His voice sounded more concerned than angry but Aklase forced herself to ignore it.

"Where do you think?" She snapped back over her shoulder. No way she was going to get any sleep now…

She suddenly thought of an idea. It was dangerous and downright stupid but right now she didn't care. She was going to prove to Npm that she cared about her friends more than anything and was a true leader.

Once back at camp, she stomped over to the small paper lined plane and turned to the gnome sleeping inside it. "Wake up!" She snapped.

The gnome nearly toppled over with surprise. "Who-sa-what-now?" It looked around wildly.

"Calm down. I need you to take me to Ape Atoll now." Aklase ordered the gnome.

The gnome blinked at her. "Buh..I thought there was four of yous. And ain't it the middle of the night?"

"There is and yes it is, are you done asking questions? I just need to get there. Now." She glared at it.

It blinked. "I guess it is how it is. Climb on board." The little gnome quickly scrambled into the boat tied in the water and Aklase followed it in. "Hold on." It warned as the boat left shore and it began rowing toward the island that seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.


After what seemed like hours, they had finally reached the island. Aklase, still in fuming mode, jumped right out and began heading into the poison infested jungle.

"Wait, young lady!"

She sighed in frustration and looked back.

"You realize of course, I'm going to have to row back to your buddies?" It said to her.

She nodded. "Yeah, sure. Do whatever you want." With that said, she walked deeper into the jungle.

At every corner she seemed to hear a twig snapping or a growl, but she ignored it carelessly. How could he even suggest that she thought that they couldn't take care of themselves? Just because she wanted to be a good leader, didn't mean that she thought her friends to be weak. They just needed some…guidance every once in a while. Why did he care? She hadn't heard the rest of them complaining. She seemed to be the only one to be calm in a moment of crisis. Isn't that what they needed? A calm touch when everything seemed lost?

She suddenly let out a gasp as something tripped her and she landed on her face. She let out a yelp of pain as a twig scraped where she was wounded by turoths. She turned to look at the wound, still on the ground, and frowned as she realized it was cut open and bleeding again. She sighed and just lied there, only now realizing how exhausted she was.

She suddenly heard a growl that seemed too close for comfort. She sat bolt upright, groaning slightly as pain shot from her arm. She began realizing how much trouble she was really in. She didn't have her backpack, she could hardly move without her arm throbbing, and she was in a position where she was about to be attacked. She truly was screwed.

She gasped as the leaves rustled next to her head…something was coming….closer…and closer…

A tiny snake slithered out.

She let out a breath of relief. This baby snake was too young to have a poison bite. "Hey little guy." She whispered to the snake. "Where's your mother?"

Suddenly she heard a hiss right behind her. She slowly turned around to see the biggest snake she ever saw, at least the size of a fully grown cockatrice…and it looked angry.

"Oh sh-" She began, only to be silenced by the snake opening its mouth and letting out a monster hiss. She lunged forward just as it clamped toward on the ground she had once sat on. She ran forward as fast as she could, suddenly hearing threatening hisses coming from every leaf. And her arm was beginning to hurt more than ever. She was sure it was infected.

She suddenly felt herself drop, letting exhaustion take over. How could she think she could find the element herself with no sleep and no help? The wound was burning now and the snakes were in view, slithering toward her, all huge.

She gasped as she suddenly felt a flashback. Except then she was frozen, and demons were closing in. She had died that night and it seemed she was going to again. Except this time…she had high doubts that she would get a second chance.

She shut her eyes, waiting to feel the same pain that had cut through her before except this time she had no friends close to her to warm her heart before she let her last breath escape her.

She heard a few slashes and then a couple of hisses cut off. What had happened? She suddenly felt warm hands pressed around her as she felt herself being lifted. She groggily opened her eyes to see she was in the arms of the one person that she loved…Npm.

"What are you doing here?" She rasped.

"Shh." He shushed her. "Just sleep. I'll get you back to the camp in one piece. I promise."

She sighed with this thought in mind and, too tired to argue, let herself fall into an uneasy sleep in his arms.


~To be continued~


I was on fire tonight! XD Hope you guys enjoyed…sorry for all the fluff. R&R!