Kairi: We're…
Winx: …BACK!
Kairi: Screaming wasn't necessary.
Winx: I don't care! We don't own! READ!
Kairi: -sighs- Who gave you sugar? -looks over chapter- Gods, I am so SICK of the Cheagle Woods...
(Echo's POV)
I woke up the next morning on board the Tartarus and stretched, then rolled over and promptly fell out of the bunk. I growled, as this was the second time I had woken in this way in a week. Then I stood up and got my act together. Anise ran in as I was slipping my wing pack into my bag.
"Echo, help! Ion ran off this morning," she cried. I sighed.
"Alright, alright, I'll go looking… Now shoo," I told her, still not completely awake. I headed out into the hallway and then left the Tartarus. I figured that Anise had already checked it completely, so the green-haired Fon Master had to be in Engeve or near it.
Then the conversation about the cheagles from the previous day found its way into my mind, and I sighed, remembering the look that had been written across Ion's face.
"Huh? Hey, you're still here?" a familiar voice asked. I turned and saw Luke and Tear walking up to me. I nodded.
"Yes… I'm looking for Ion. He ran off this morning… Actually, you two wouldn't happen to know where the cheagles' home is, would you?" I replied. Tear crossed her arms.
"Their forest is north of this village. We're going there right now. Luke wanted to clear something up," she told me. I smiled.
"Well then, why don't we all go together?" I asked. She nodded.
"Alright," she agreed. Luke didn't look too happy though.
"Wait, what?" he whined. Tear and I rolled our eyes.
"Come on, whiny," I grumbled at him before grabbing his arm and dragging him out of town, then pointing north. "That way," I said. Luke knocked my hand away and glared at me.
"Forget it! I'm not going anywhere with you until you apologize for what you said yesterday!" he told me. I smirked, knowing exactly what he was talking about.
"Why should I apologize? You set yourself up for that one," I countered, only the slightest teasing tone in my voice. Tear looked a little exasperated. And Luke, it seemed, was having trouble coming up with a good comeback. "Come on, we're wasting daylight… and Tear's patience, from the looks of it," I told him, happily skipping away toward the forest.
Luke scowled and followed me, and Tear… well, Tear looked like she was trying to figure out what to do with me. That would take her a while; Whisper still hadn't figured it out yet.
We found the forest pretty easily, but we had just stepped in when we saw a small pack of monsters.
"Hey, isn't that Ion?" Luke asked as my eyes fell on the pale shape in the middle of the monsters. I pulled out my shuriken quickly, but Ion beat me to it. An all-too-familiar silver-white-violet glyph appeared around him and the wolves, and the next thing we knew, white light shot up from it and killed all of the wolves. Ion tried to stand then but lost his balance and fell.
I was at his side in moments, and Tear and Luke followed me quickly. "Hey, are you okay?" I heard Luke ask. Ion looked up and nodded.
"I-I'm fine. I just used too strong a Daathic Fonic Arte… Hello Echo… Oh, you're the two from Engeve yesterday," he said as I helped him to his feet.
"I'm Luke," the redhead said. Ion turned to look at him.
"Luke… that means 'light of the sacred flame' in ancient Ispanian. That's nice name," Ion said. I rolled my eyes. 'His name may mean light, but he's really not all that bright,' I thought to myself.
"I'm Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants, 1st Platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division, under Grand Maestro Mohs' command," Tear introduced herself. Ion smiled.
"Ah, you're Van's younger sister. I've heard of you, but this is the first time we've met, isn't it?" Ion asked. Luke, however looked shocked.
"You're Master Van's sister?! Then what was with you trying to kill him?!" he asked. I raised an eyebrow, and Ion echoed my thoughts.
"Kill him…?"
Tear bit her lip. "Sorry, it's nothing, just something between us," she said. It seemed that Luke wasn't going to let it go though.
"Don't try to avoid the question! If you're his sister, why are you trying to kill him?" he repeated. Tear was extremely flustered, and started stuttering. Then I spotted a yellow ball of fur.
"Hey, isn't that a cheagle?" I asked, pointing to it and saving Tear from Luke.
"So they do live here! Come on, we're gonna catch that thing!" he decided, running off. Ion turned to Tear though.
"Would it be best if I don't inquire about you and Van?" he asked. Tear sighed.
"I'm sorry. It relates to my homeland. I'd prefer not to get you, Luke, or Echo involved…" she told him. I shrugged and opened my mouth to say something, but Luke beat me to it.
"Hey! It's gonna get away!" he yelled from up ahead. I rolled my eyes and headed after him.
"You know, if there are any more nearby, they'll all be heading back to their home tree now after all of that yelling of yours," I told him. He scowled at me.
"Shut up!" he ordered. I smirked.
"You're not my boss," I told him as Tear and Ion walked up to us.
"Please tell me you two aren't going to be arguing the entire way," Tear muttered. I shrugged, then followed Ion, who had already started walking ahead. I actually wanted to get him alone for a minute to talk about something, but with Luke's impatience and Tear not wanting the group too split up, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be getting any chances any time soon.
The first group of monsters that attacked us consisted of two large birds and three floating snails. I drew four shuriken and took up a defensive stance for a moment before running forward. Two fifth fonon-infused shuriken went flying toward a snail, ripping through it cleanly and killing it. I raised an eyebrow and sighed when I realized just how much stronger I was compared to these monsters.
I wiped out the three snails in moments while Luke and Tear finished a bird each. I slipped my shuriken back into their pouch. "That was boring," I stated. Tear looked over at me in surprise.
"Those weapons… Those were shuriken, weren't they?" she asked. I nodded. "But… I thought only ninjas carried those… and…"
"The Ninjitsu Artes were passed down through my family. I'm the last ninja," I told her. "Although I'm planning on abandoning family tradition and passing on the artes to others," I added. Luke looked utterly baffled, however.
"Wait, Ninjitsu artes?" he asked. Tear put a hand to her forehead.
"I'll explain later. Let's go find those cheagles," she said, as if feeling that Luke and I would start 'arguing' again if she didn't push us back on track.
We started walking again, and for a while, everything was quiet. A few monsters attacked, but usually no more than a few, and, aside from Luke being competitive, the others were happy enough to let me kill them. I think after a while they decided to stay away from us.
Then, finally, Luke got fed up with walking and growled. "You see, it got away! Could you three be any slower?!" he grumbled to us. I shrugged.
"I could, but I don't feel like it," I replied. Tear sighed.
"Don't worry. Their nesting ground should be up ahead," Ion said. Luke's irritation faded a little.
"How do you know?" he asked. Ion bit his lip.
"Oh, um… Actually, I was curious about the thefts in Engeve, and did a little looking. Cheagles are intelligent and peaceful creatures. It's not like them to steal food," he explained. Luke huffed.
"Looks like we're headed to the same place then," he muttered. Ion looked from him to Tear.
"The two of you came here to investigate the cheagles too?" he asked. Luke crossed his arms.
"I'm not just gonna let people accuse me of things I didn't do. And you're coming with us," he said. "Unless Echo decides to take you back to Engeve," he added a moment later. I shook my head.
"Really, you two don't mind?" Ion asked.
"How can you think of taking Fon Master Ion somewhere so dangerous?" Tear asked, a little incredulous. I sighed.
"I could take him back to Engeve, but if there's something I've learned about Ion in the short time I've known him, it's that once he's put his mind to something, he'll see it through to the end. He'd probably try to sneak off again, and I'd rather he not try to come back through this forest on his own," I told her.
"I'm sorry, I just have to know. Cheagles are the sacred beasts of our order, after all," Ion said. Luke nodded.
"See? Besides, he looks really pale. If he collapses and one of us has to carry him, at least then we'll still be able to defend him," he said. I crossed my arms.
"Oh, thank you so much! You're such a nice person Luke!" Ion cried. Luke's face flushed red.
"N-no I'm not! Now quit saying stupid stuff and let's go!" he said quickly. Ion agreed happily. Luke turned to start walking again, but stopped and turned back. "And don't use that weird arte again. You damn near passed out. We'll take care of the fighting," he added.
"You're gonna protect me? Sir Luke, I'm so moved," Ion said. I copied Tear's action from earlier, pressing a hand to my forehead.
"Th-that's not what I meant! You'll just be in the way. Don't get all worked up over it. And it's just 'Luke,' got it? Now let's go!" I head Luke stutter out. Ion agreed happily and followed the redhead while I turned to Tear.
"Talk about easily flustered," I muttered. She sighed.
"Well, it's nice to know that you're at least somewhat sane," she said. I laughed.
"I have my moments," I told her, skipping ahead to join the boys. She followed quickly, though jogging rather than skipping as I had. We hadn't been walking long before a small, pink, bunny-like monster walked out of the bushes in front of us.
"Mieu, mieu mieu mieu, mieu!" it cried upon seeing us. I knelt and smiled at it.
"So that's a cheagle?" Luke asked. I nodded.
"It looks like it's still a child," Ion observed. Tear's face was lit up as she carefully walked closer. She didn't get far before it ran off with a squeal, causing her face to turn a light shade of pink.
"Hey, it ran away!" Luke grumbled. I stood up.
"Well, it is a wild animal, after all," I told him. Then I looked up at the big tree nearby. "This is probably the cheagles' nesting area," I added.
"I do hope we can find some proof they stole food from the village," Ion said. Luke scoffed.
"Those stupid things probably left proof all over the place," he said. I rolled my eyes.
"Apparently you weren't paying attention when Ion said that cheagles are peaceful and intelligent creatures," I told him. He looked like he was about to say something in response, but Ion got between us.
"Why don't we explore a little?" he suggested. I smiled and nodded, then followed Tear as she made her way closer to the tree. I spotted the red lying on the ground as we approached what appeared to be an opening in the tree's trunk.
"Hey, isn't this the mark of Engeve?" I asked Ion, picking up one of the apples and showing it to him. He nodded.
"So these guys did do it!" Luke said. Tear looked at the opening in the tree trunk nearby.
"I think I hear something inside this tree," she said. I nodded.
"Yes. Cheagles live inside tree trunks. The tribe is probably inside," I told her. Ion nodded and headed in.
"Fon Master! That's too dangerous!" Tear cried, following him. I sighed.
"This kid is hopeless," Luke muttered as he and I followed to two of them.
"You're hopeless," I informed him. "Besides, cheagles are peaceful and intelligent creatures. I doubt they'd harm Ion," I added once Tear was within hearing range again.
When we entered the tree, our eyes were assaulted by a mass amount of color. Cheagles of all colors and sized stood in front of us, barring the way. "Please, let me through," Ion requested. One of the cheagles in front started mewing.
"Like the monsters are gonna understand you," Luke scoffed.
"The Order's founder Yulia Jue made a pact with the cheagles and gained their aid… or so I've been told," Ion told him. From the back, another cheagle started mewing.
As the cheagles barring the way parted to let us through, the cheagle in the back spoke. "Are you of relation to Yulia Jue?" it asked.
"Whoa, that monster talked!" Luke cried in surprise.
"It is the power of the ring we were given as part of our pact Yulia. Are you of relation to Yulia?" it asked again. Ion stepped forward.
"Yes, I'm Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei. Am I correct in assuming that you're the cheagle elder?" he replied. The cheagle nodded.
"Indeed I am," it replied. Luke stepped forward to stand at Ion's right side, while I moved to Ion's left.
"Hey, monster. You guys stole food from Engeve, right?" the redhead asked. I rolled my eyes.
"I see now. So you've come to exterminate us," the elder said.
"Humph. So you don't deny it," Luke grumbled. I frowned.
"Aren't cheagles herbivores? Why would you be stealing human food?" I asked.
"To preserve the cheagle tribe," the elder answered. Tear and I exchanged looks.
"It doesn't look like you lack food," she said after a moment. "There's plenty of vegetation in this forest." The elder looked depressed, honestly.
"One of our members caused a fire in the Northern region," it explained. "As a result, the liger pack that lived there moved down to this forest, in order to prey on us. If they aren't sent food periodically, we cheagles are captured and eaten."
"That's horrible," Ion mumbled.
"And totally not our problem. If you're weak, you're food. That's how it works. Besides, I'd be mad too if you torched my land," Luke said. I couldn't help it, I smacked the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for?!"
"That was for the attitude. And while that may be true, this is hardly a normal food chain," I told him, crossing my arms. Tear sighed.
"Luke, we've confirmed that the thieves are cheagles. What do you want to do now?" she asked. Luke scowled.
"What else? We're gonna drag these guys down to Engeve and-" he started.
"But if we do that, the ligers will likely attack Engeve next in search of food," Tear interrupted him.
"I don't care what happens to that stupid village," Luke told her, earning another smack upside the head from me. "Hey!"
"That's not acceptable! Engeve is a farming community. Food from that village is probably shipped throughout the world, not just the Malkuth Empire," I told him. He stared at me, probably shocked at exactly how much venom had slipped into my voice.
"Why don't we try to negotiate with the ligers?" Ion suggested.
"With monsters?" Tear muttered. Luke turned to the green-haired boy.
"Can those liger things talk too?" he asked. Ion frowned.
"We can't talk to them directly…" he started, turning back to the cheagle elder. "But could we take one of the cheagles with us as a translator?" he asked. The elder nodded and came forward.
"I shall lend this Sorcerer's Ring to the one who shall be your interpreter," he informed us before mewing. A small cheagle bounced forward, it's fur a shade of light blue.
"What the-?" Luke cried. I rested one arm across my chest and propped the other elbow against my wrist.
"This child is the ones who caused the fire in the North. I want you to take him with you," the elder explained. The elder then turned to the child and raised the Sorcerer's Ring, apparently intending to slip it over the child's head. It bounced off of the smaller cheagle's ears and knocked both small animals onto their backs. Another cheagle, this one a light gray-silver with a black crescent-moon shape on its forehead, meiued a few times, gesturing from the child to the ring on the ground.
The larger child stepped into the ring and pulled it up around his belly. "My name's Mieu. Pleased to meet you," it said. The other cheagle turned to us.
"And my name is Varian. I will be accompanying you as well," it… no, she told us. Varian was definitely female, and I was thinking that Mieu was male.
"Something about these things is really annoying…" Luke muttered. Mieu immediately started apologizing, and Luke got annoyed. "Argh! You're gonna drive me nuts! I should just roast you and eat you right now!" he grumbled at the male cheagle. Tear, Varian and I sighed.
"Hey, do you guys mind if I go on ahead?" I asked. Tear frowned.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," she said.
"Echo can take care of herself against the monsters, and you and I can protect Ion fine. I don't see why she can't," Luke argued, probably just trying to get rid of me. Tear sighed.
"Well, alright. But be careful, alright Echo?" she said. I nodded and walked off, exiting the tree and leaving Luke, Tear, Ion, and the two cheagles behind. Then I hopped up into the big tree's branches and pulled out a gray smoke bomb, focusing on my cabin on the Tartarus before throwing the bomb to the ground.
Once the fonons dissipated, I opened my eyes and raised an eyebrow at Jade, who looked sufficiently startled. "Do I want to know?" I asked. He sighed.
"I came in here to ask if you'd seen Ion, but you weren't here. I was just about to leave when you teleported in," he explained. I crossed my arms.
"About that… Come on. Ion got himself wrapped up in something, and I'm worried. From what I know about ligers, his little negotiation attempt isn't going to end well," I told Jade, already on the move. He followed me quickly, his long stride easily keeping up with my shorter but fast-paced one.
"I think you'd best explain the entire thing to me," he suggested. I nodded and started talking, explaining everything from finding Ion to agreeing to negotiate with the ligers. By the time I finished, we were walking through the forest. Anise had caught up about halfway through the explanation, though she was having trouble keeping up to the two of us. Once I was finished talking, the two of us set off running.
I spotted the river before I even realized that there was a tree crossing it. I had already pulled out a 'port-bomb, and I ended up a few hundred yards ahead of Jade. I saw the tree when I hit the second river and used it this time, running across and then jumping over a distinctly cat-like monster. 'Some sub-species of liger,' I realized, running into a hole that led underground.
"Dammit! It's not dying!" I heard Luke curse.
"It's too strong," Tear commented. Luke turned on her for a moment.
"So- so… Do something!" he yelled. I was already collecting first and sixth fonons.
"Why don't you let me?" I suggested, a fonic glyph glowing around my feet. "O raging spirits who would seek sanctum, gather here… Ghost Drive!" I chanted, attacking the liger queen and putting my full strength behind it, not holding back even a little like I had with Jade.
"Want some help?" Speaking of Jade… "O roar of the earth, bring forth the fangs of the mighty dragon… Ground Dasher!" As I back-flipped to get out of the way, I noted with satisfaction that the liger was now dead. "Well, that was pitiful," I heard Jade comment. I chuckled and turned to look back at Luke and Tear.
"Wh-whoa…" the redhead muttered. Tear, too, seemed in awe.
"Echo is most certainly a ninja, and he's definitely not an ordinary fonist…" she commented. I gave Jade a two-finger salute, then ran over to Ion.
"Hey, you okay?" I asked him. He nodded as Jade called Anise over. I noticed Luke and Tear to the side. Luke looked rather unhappy about something… probably the broken eggs in the liger queen's nest.
"You're quite kind, or perhaps just soft," I heard Tear say. Luke glared at her.
"…And you're cold!" he countered. Jade walked over to them.
"Oh, dear. Lover's quarrel?" he teased. I giggled at the looks on their faces as they denied his statement. "I'm joking. And please, call me Jade. I'm not accustomed to being called by my family name," he said after a moment. Ion walked over to him.
"Jade, I'm sorry for running off and doing this," he said. Jade's attention was redirected to the green-haired boy.
"It's unlike you t do something like this when you know it's wrong," he commented. Ion nodded.
"Together with Yulia, the cheagles are the foundation of the Order of Lorelei. I felt I had to take responsibility for any trouble they had caused…" he explained.
"And that's why you used your power? Didn't the doctor tell you not to?" Jade asked. Ion apologized and Jade looked back down at Tear and Luke. "And you've involved civilians as well." Luke rolled his eyes.
"Hey, old man, he's apologizing, right? Give him a break," the redhead grumbled. I raised an eyebrow.
"Wow. Didn't expect you to start defending Ion there…" I muttered. Jade and Tear looked like they agreed.
"Yes, I expected you to complain about being dragged into this. I'm a bit surprised," Jade said. The he sighed. "Well, we don't have much time anyway. I'll stop the lecture at that."
"The letter arrived, didn't it?" Ion asked. Jade nodded.
"Yes. Now, let's go ahead and get out of this forest," he said. Mieu hopped up onto Luke's head.
"No. We have to report to the elder!" he argued. Jade looked surprised.
"…A cheagle speaking a human language?" he wondered.
"It's the power of the Sorcerer's Ring, for Mieu. It's an ability I was born with… though no one knows why," Mana told him. Ion and I looked up at Jade.
"Jade, could we stop by the cheagles' home?" Ion asked. Jade sighed.
"Alright. But please don't forget that we haven't much time," he conceded. Ion smiled and looked at Luke, who was in the process of kicking Mieu.
"Luke, thank you for your help. Please, join me for just a little longer," he requested. Luke sighed.
"Well, I've come this far. Might as well," he decided. I crossed my arms.
"You all go on ahead, but there's something I need to talk to Ion about," I told them. Jade raised an eyebrow at me, but shrugged it off and left. Tear, likewise, seemed suspicious of my intentions, though Luke didn't seem to care. Finally, Ion and I were left alone.
"What is it, Echo?" Ion asked me. I looked down and smiled at him.
"I wanted to inform you that I have every intention of continuing your training as far as your physical endurance will allow," I told him. He smiled.
"Thanks… Echo, you saw me collapse from the Daathic Arte earlier, right?" he asked, smile still in place. I sighed.
"Akashic Torment is a Ninjitsu Arte, Ion. I know about how much strain that puts on my own body, so if that caused you to collapse, then I've got a very good idea of just how much you can handle," I said. Ion sighed.
"True, but if I hadn't stood up so fast, I would've been fine," he told me. "And that's new. All Daathic Artes drain my strength, but that's the first time I almost stood up right after using Akashic Torment."
I raised an eyebrow. That was definitely new. "Hmm… It may just be the training strengthening your stamina," I told him. Ion shrugged.
"Either way, I'd like to continue," he said. I chuckled.
"Oh, don't worry. We will."
Kairi: Well, as you can see, not all of the Ninjitsu artes belong to us. When we were making the eighth tier, we were think of an arte that we realized was really similar to Akashic Torment, so rather than trying to create a whole new arte, since we still needed to make the ninth tier arte, we just stuck that in there.
Winx: Hooray for laziness!
Kairi: Well, we're finally past the Cheagle Woods. OMG, next chapter is in 3rd Person POV!
Winx: And then we get Whisper back?
Kairi: Yup. Actually, we get Whisper back next chapter. And the chapter after that is in her POV.
Winx: YES!
Kairi: -sighs- Please leave a review on your way out…
