OPENING NOTES: To Whammbamm: Rosemary's baby? Never heard of it.

To Kermit the Great: Again with the lewd comments...

Chapter Four: Christie's Ailment

Christie was never told about what Zackwell said about her. Such a notion that she would unleash a monster would terrify her, so they all kept it silent. They didn't believe it anyway.

However, as the year passed, month after month, they began to wonder. Zackwell had said that something would happen on the date of his imprisoning, which was the 13th, go figure. Every month, the Dragoons would tense up on that day, but nothing would happen.

They kept up their daily routines, training as hard as they could to stay in top shape for the next threat, whatever it may be.

Sean and Melissa's little bundle of joy was growing fast. Eric was still too young to even consider his parents not telling him everything, of course. He was extremely obedient for a three-year-old and always spread a smile on his father's faces after a long, hard day of work. But the couple constantly feared for his life, not knowing what other dangers were a dormant, waiting for the right moment to strike. They kept their guards up, waiting for evil try and overtake them.

Ben and Christie were never closer, of course. Ben always kept his eye on her, slightly fearful off Zackwell's threat, but her charming personality allowed him to forget. After all, how could a monster come from the bearer of the White-Silver Dragoon spirit?

Brad and Brittany wondered if they were next for a short while, but it quickly escaped their minds. Their relationship had always been pretty stable, and not much bothered them. But now they were on their guard more than ever to make sure evil didn't make the first move this time.

Jenn wanted to go back to Ulara, but Mike kept having to say no, much to her dismay. She always wanted to see the Dragoons in action, fascinated by them. At one point, she told Mike that she wished a dragon had chosen her so that she could help him out. Mike told her that he admired her spirit, but he felt that she was safer as she was.

Robert also heard such a comment from his wife, but hers was a different story. She simply wished she was more powerful with her magic. She had been born naturally weaker than most winglies, but she was sick of it. Over the past couple years, she had been stretching her magic a bit and being in Ulara for a bit allowed her to undergo some extreme training. Even though it was for only a day, she felt like her limits had been stretched greatly and how she was trying to fill the gaps. Robert was supportive, but at the same time, he worried that she might wish to help fight at some point. He wasn't sure if he could take that.

It was a time of peace too short-lived.


Nine months later...

WHAM!

Christie's attempt at walking through the doorway failed...again. She found her aim off by a foot or so and slammed right into the glass wall right next to the door. Darn that coffeehouse construction!

"Ow..." She whispered.

"You pulled a Ben." Brittany smiled. "You okay?"

"I don't know how he does it all the time..." The girls laughed. Christie, Brittany, and Melissa were out and about, enjoying their girl time. Well...one wasn't so pleased.

Christie pulled out her chair and sat down beside the chair.

"Missed again." Melissa sighed, helping her friend up. "Are you alright? You've been out of it the whole day."

"I know." Christie groaned. "I'm just so darn tired."

"Well," Brittany said, "We are at the coffeehouse. All the caffeine you need is right here."

"It's not just that, Brit." She rubbed her face. "These past few days I've been feeling...different. Kinda...irritable...less conscious of others...I've tried to hide it, but Ben's noticed a change I know."

"Ah, you're probably just menstrual." Brittany offered, too loudly.

Christie's eye twitched. "Thanks, Brit! But you know, maybe you should say it louder! I don't think that guy in the back heard us!"

"I heard it!" He replied.

"Shut up!"

"Will do!"

"You see what I mean?" Christie pointed out. "Anyhow, no, that's not the reason. I dunno, maybe it's a virus or something."

"Think you should see a doctor or something?" Melissa asked.

"I don't know. I don't think it's that serious. And if it gets that bad, I'll just heal myself, you know?"

"True." Melissa nodded.

"So can we order now?" Brittany asked. "My caffeine level is dropping!"

"You two go ahead and order. I have to use the restroom first. Get me a double-shot of mocha, okay?" She walked off. The instant she was out of sight, Brittany grabbed Melissa's shirt and pulled her in.

"What's today's date?"

Melissa scanned her mind. "The twelfth?"

"Kind of an odd coincidence, don't you think?"

"Huh?"

"Zackwell said that on the date of his imprisoning, which was the 13th, Christie would unleash a monster. He also said it would happen in under a year and there are only two more thirteens after this one that add up. If she's acting like this right now, maybe tomorrow's the day!"

"Brittany, look. A prolonged daze? Irritability? Hardly the symptoms of monster release. Zackwell just wanted to scare us, remember?"

"Christie sure is scaring me now."


After a major caffeine rush, Christie was feeling much more energetic. Now, all three girls needed something to burn it off. For these three Dragoons, training seemed like a good idea.

They made their way to the clearing. It was the famous spot where their training had begun about fifteen years ago. It had practically become a second home to the Dragoons, seeing as they saw about as much of it as their own houses.

Even though the world knew about the Dragoons and their identities, outsiders had still not found the clearing. Only the Dragoons, Marian, Jenn, and Sean's father Hank knew about the hidden location. The Dragoons preferred it this way.

Melissa, Christie, and Brittany pushed their way though the thick underbrush, fighting against branches and thorns just like every other time they came. As soon as they emerged from the wooded madness, a tomahawk slammed into the tree next to Melissa. She looked at it, then at her brother.

"Sorry!" Mike apologized. "Didn't see you there."

"Nice shot." Jenn said, watching him.

Melissa grabbed the tomahawk and yanked on it, but it was imbedded deep. She tried several more times, but couldn't remove it. Mike walked over to her and tore the tomahawk from the tree with one hand.

"Showing off your strength?" His sister asked snidely.

"No, this is showing off." Mike grabbed the end of his axe, which was as tall as he was, swung it over his head and threw it away. The giant axe spun like the tomahawk and rammed into a tree.

"Ha!" Melissa laughed. "The tree is still standing."

Mike trotted over to his axe and yanked it out. When he did, most of the tree simply fell over.

"Show off." Melissa muttered.

"Impressive." Jenn retaliated.

Mike had to grin. "So what are you three doing here?"

"Coffee buzz." Brittany said. "Gotta burn the energy. Swinging around deadly objects sounded entertaining. Out doing the same thing?"

"Yeah, I got bored."

"Exerting your strength to impress the misses?" Melissa mocked him. Mike shrugged it off.

"If you got it, flaunt it." He kissed his wife.

"That's it." Melissa drew her blade. "Now I have to fight him."

Christie touched her shoulder and pulled her back. "Now, Melissa, it's not Mike's fault that he has the arms of a yeti." She laughed. "I'm sure Sean does the same thing just to impress..."

Her voice trailed off and then she fell to the ground, unconscious. Everybody looked at one another.

"Is she okay?" Jenn finally asked.

Melissa knelt down next to her. "She's been loopy all day, so this doesn't surprise me all that much." She shook Christie a bit, but she wouldn't wake up.

"I'm telling you guys." Brittany said. "It's the date."

Mike suddenly remembered what day it was. "You really think so?"

"No." Melissa sighed. "People pass out, that's all. How do we wake her is the question."

"I'll do it." Brittany's spirit shone, granting her aquatic powers. Brittany extended her hand to the lake. A bubble of water lifted into the air. Brittany moved her hand and the bubble rushed across the clearing and splashed Christie in the face. Still nothing.

"She sleeps like...Ben!" Brittany marveled.

"Now what?" Mike asked.

"I don't know. Christie's spirit is the one that wakes people up."

"Can't you activate it through another spirit?" Jenn asked, testing her knowledge.

"The girl knows a lot." Mike gave her.

"Too much." Brittany said. "She's making us look inferior!"

Mike rolled his eyes and held his Dragoons Spirit over Christie's his glowed golden and hers reacted with white light. Then, the day got even stranger.

Christie's Dragoon spirit was suddenly surrounded by a black force, which quickly traveled across the woman's body. Christie's eyes opened up. Normally blue, her eyes were now completely black, pupil, iris, and all.

"What the?" Mike exclaimed.

A black flash was the last thing he saw.


"One! C'mon, Sean, keep it up! Two!" Sean and Ben were lifting weights in Sean's basement. Sean was currently trying to beat his bench press record. Ben was spotting and coaching. "Alright! Whoa! Careful, man! Okay, three! You're doing good, Sean. Keep it going, keep it going. Ffffffour. Almost there, man! C'mon, Sean! Push!" A coy smile suddenly spread across his face. "Push, Sean! Push! I can almost see the head!"

Sean's tightly clenched lips erupted in laughter, causing him to drop the bar, which Ben quickly caught. Ben put the bar back on the rack and Sean sat up.

"You dropped it! You're done." Ben said.

Sean was still laughing. "You idiot! I almost had it!"

"I know. What? Did you think I was going to let you beat my record? No way! Put another five on each side and watch the master work." Ben lay down on the bench.

Sean was tempted to put larger weights on, but he knew better. He put on the requested weight and his cell phone rang.

"Hello?...What?...I can't hear you. Hang on." He moved about the room, trying to get better reception. "Can you hear me now? Good...Melissa! Hey, what's up?"

"Sean?" Ben said. Sean waved him off.

"She passed out?...okay...huh?"

"Sean!" Ben called again. Once more, Sean ignored him.

"Hang on. I didn't catch that part. Something about black eyes?...What! How!...today? Uh...hang on." He lowered his phone. "Hey, Be-WHOA!"

Ben was flailing his legs, trapped under the weight of the bench bar.

"SEAN!" He screamed. "I'M STUCK! I'M GONNA DIIIIIEEE!"

Sean ran to his friend and helped pull the weight off of him.

"What were you benching without a spotter for?"

"I was trying to show off, okay?"

Sean sighed. "Ben, do you know what the date is today?"

"Uh...twelfth, why?"

Sean seemed to ponder something. He got back on the phone. "It's the twelfth...yeah, it makes sense..."

"What does?" Ben was suspicious.

"Are you guys okay?" Sean continued with Melissa. "Yeah, he's right here...you'd better explain it to him." He handed the phone to Ben.

"Melissa?" Ben said. "What happened?"


The word got out pretty fast about the incident in the woods. Everyone was okay, but Christie was still out cold. The Dragoons rushed to the woods.

Brad was the last one to rush through to the clearing. "Okay, tell me again what happened?"

Melissa rolled her eyes, explaining for the millionth time. "Christie passed out and Mike tried to wake her, but her eyes got all black and a dark wave blew us all away."

"But we don't know how?"

"We have a theory." Brittany said. "Seeing as tomorrow would be the nine-month anniversary of Zackwell's defeat, there could be a connection with this and his threat."

"But there's no way of knowing for sure." Ben pointed out, unwilling to believe it. "Right now, I just want to know what to do about Christie."

"I saw we take her to Ulara." Sean said. "Whether Zackwell was telling the truth or not, something weird is happening. The winglies might know what to make of it."

Nobody disagreed. Jenn and Marian were to stay behind, this was Dragoon work. They transformed into their Dragoon selves and flew to Ulara.


"There it is." Sean pointed to the remains of a wall with an inactive teleportation pad. Only winglies could enter at any time, but the Dragoons could enter by shining their spirits. Lookout winglies could see the signal and deactivate the cloak. With a flash from Sean's Dragoon Spirit, the cloak vanished and the city appeared and the teleported hummed to life. The Dragoons stepped on it and were warped into the city.

Ben rushed his unconscious wife to the home that now belonged to Caron. They told her the whole story and she got right to work on figuring out the problem. She worked on Christie personally as an apology to Ben for her lack of haste last time.

No matter how diligently she worked, Caron could get absolutely nowhere. Caron needed to scan Christie's body to find out just what the issue was, but every time she tried, a dark shield would surround her body that Caron could not bypass, nor could she destroy. Christie was isolated behind the black barrier that no one could describe.

As usual, the Dragoons stuck around until the situation was fixed. They all hoped that they would find out what was going on before the thirteenth rolled around, but with that dark shield, Caron could do nothing.

The next morning, Caron made her way into the room in which Christie was sleeping. She also saw Ben, face in his arms, leaning against her bed, holding one of her hands. She smiled and woke him up.

"Mm. Wha? Caron! Any progress!" Then he saw his wife's still-sleeping body and sighed in disappointment.

"Ben, go to your room and rest. You look exhausted."

"I could hardly sleep until just now. I kept thinking about her."

"You care for her very much."

"Of course! I married her for a reason! But something else was really on my mind."

"What's that?"

Ben was hesitant. "Do you…do you think that…Do you think that Zackwell had something to do with this?"

"I'm not sure. It is the date of his defeat, but he said she'd unleash a monster. I don't see that happening, do you?"

"No. It can't happen. If anything did, I'd-"

"You'd help her through it." Caron interrupted. "Don't blame yourself for things you can't see coming."

Ben looked back at his wife's face for a moment, then back at her.

"Could you try once more? Please?"

"Of course." She stood on Christie's side and Ben stepped back, in case she fired another black blast. One never knew. Caron held her hands over Christie's body. She was going to try to scan her again to find the source of the problem. But as soon as her hands glowed, Christie's body was surrounded in a black shield.

Ben sighed. "I don't get it! Why isn't the White-Silver Dragoon Spirit stopping this?"

"Perhaps it is too powerful."

"We gotta wake her up! Holding a Dragoon Spirit up to her almost worked, but then she emitted a black blast. Wait a minute." Ben said, getting an idea. "If we can stop that, maybe…WHERE'S MELISSA?"


Melissa wasn't very happy about being dragged out of bed, but came anyway, Sean following.

"It's perfect!" Ben explained as they ran. "Any black energy emitted will be stopped by your Dragoon spirit!"

"Sounds like a plan. But what it she emits white energy?"

"I think the White-Silver Dragon is still awake. She'll take care of that." Once they arrived, Ben anxiously began telling her to try it out.

"Okay! Okay! Chill out! Yeesh!" She stood over Christie and held her Dragoon spirit next to her own. Both began glowing. But before long, Christie's began trying to shoot out black energy, but it was all absorbed, just as Ben said.

"It's working!" Melissa said.

"See?" Ben said. "Told you!"

"Dark Dragon, how are you holding up?" Melissa asked. The dragon replied in her mind.

It's going very well. I'm helping someone out and getting a lovely energy boost.

"Good to hear it."

Wait a second. The Dragon suddenly said. Something is amiss...

"The dragon says something's up." Melissa reported. "What is it?"

The darkness around Christie's body began to ripple, not a good sign.

The Dragon suddenly broke out in panic. MELISSA! PULL BACK NOW!

"What!" Melissa began. She didn't have the time to finish. A dark ray fired at Melissa and surrounded her with dark energy. Surprisingly enough, Melissa was transformed into a Dragoon.

"The darkness activated her Dragoon spirit." Caron observed.

"I don't think that's all!" Sean said.

Melissa's head turned to them, her eyes pure black. She extended her hand and blasted them all out of the room.


Brad sat up in his bed. Brittany was already out and about. She was an energetic sort, even in the morning, and often got bored of waiting for her spouse to awaken. Brad got out of bed and changed. He was about to go out the door when Sean came crashing through the wall and rolled across the ground until he hit the opposite wall.

Brad's eyes were wide open now. "Where did you come from?"

Sean pulled himself up. "Melissa's gone haywire!"

"Huh?"

They suddenly heard another blast and the sounds of screams from outside. Brad and Sean ran to the balcony and looked outside. Melissa was hovering about, firing dark blasts everywhere. Stranger still, Christie was mysteriously floating behind her.

"What is going on around here!" Sean demanded to no one in particular.

"I'm not sure." Brad shook his head. "You wake the others. I'll fend her off."

"Why you?"

"Because I don't think you want to fight your wife."

Sean gave him that one. "Good point." He took off.

Brad jumped from the balcony, his Dragoon Spirit shining. Electrical currents flowed throughout him, gathering and concentrating into armor. The armor spread from his Dragoons spirit across his chest and around his back. His wings finally sprouted and Brad flapped them, catching his fall. The power continued along his body, creating armored gloves, boots, and the signature headband. Melissa saw him and Brad struck a pose, electricity swarming around his fists.

"Let's go. You and me. We'll see if darkness triumphs over thunder."

Melissa gave a dark grin and lunged at him.

"Thunder Kid!" Brad commanded, extending his hand. A dozen small electrical orbs flew from his hand and surrounded Melissa. Each one shot out an electric bolt, but she deflected them all. Melissa flew at him again. Brad was thankful that they had spent most of their time fighting each other, so they were all familiar with one another's fighting styles. Brad slid slightly to the side to avoid Melissa's stab and then backflipped in the air, catching her jaw. He flipped fully and kicked her away while she was still stunned.

Melissa regained herself and attacked.

"Astral Drain!" She threw her sword at Brad. As soon as he heard the attack's name, Brad gathered as much power into his hands as he could. As soon as the rapier was close enough, he fired a great electrical bolt at it. The blade hovered in the air for a moment, then dropped to the ground. It floated back into Melissa's hand afterwards.

"Thunder God!" Brad shouted. He flew high into the air, swarming with electricity and dropped, crashing through the ground, leaving behind an electrical current. He flew back up through the ground on Melissa's other side, then crashed through again, making a perfect triangle. Finally, she shot straight up through her, striking her with all the power he could. She looked up at him, unaffected.

Nothing fazes her! Brad said to himself. Melissa wasn't this powerful on her own, he knew this. Something was up. He looked closer. Why was Christie hovering in the air behind her? Suddenly, it struck him.

Brad flew right at Melissa. Just as she was about to strike, he flipped over her head and landed behind her, but right in front of the demonized Christie.

"Sorry, Chris." He said. He extended his hands and an electrical current flew from both hands, wrapping itself around her. Christie cringed and twitched, crying out in pain, for she was completely unprotected by any armor. Brad turned his head and found Melissa suffering in the same way. They were connected as such, it seemed.

Christie's body began swarming with dark magic, protecting her better. Brad cranked up his powers, shooting her full of more electricity.

This was the point when Ben was finally ready to join back in the fight.

"Christie! Brad! What are you doing!"

"Trust me!" He hollered back. As long as Christie was unable to make a move, Melissa would be dormant as well. Christie was controlling Melissa and something was controlling Christie. Hopefully, this would kill it.

Through the outcries, Christie made her move. Her eyes began glowing, seeming to gather power. Then there was a bright flash so powerful that it knocked her head back like a whiplash. There was no ray, no beam, no blast, nothing except for that flash. A chunk of the armor on the left of Brad's chest exploded.

"AARRRGHHH!" He bellowed. He clutched the exposed flesh. Then he saw Melissa getting up. He quickly got back to shocking Christie, but she was already powering up again. Another flash. This time, a piece of the armor around his waist was blasted off. He winced again, but kept shocking. Christie wouldn't give in and neither would he. She kept shooting, flash after flash and he kept shocking, bolt after bolt.

"Give it up!" Christie hissed in a voice that was not hers.

"Let her go!" Brad commanded. He lifted his hand up high. Dark clouds gathered and swarmed with violet electricity. "Atomic Mind!" Brad swung his hand down and a monstrous bolt struck Christie right on the head. She cried out and the darkness surrounding her suddenly dissipated and Christie fell to the ground, dazed. Brad just fell in exhaustion. Sean and Ben ran to their wives while Brittany ran to Brad.

"Don't worry, Ben." He panted. "I didn't juice it up enough to kill her, just wake her up."

Christie sat up straight and looked around, totally confused. "How did I get here?"

Ben sighed. "Christie, we have a lot of explaining to do."


With the darkness lying dormant, Caron was finally able to scan Christie. The Dragoons all had to wait outside for the results. Finally able to get some answers, Ben paced back and forth anxiously.

Suddenly, Caron walked through the door, an odd look on her face.

"Come in, all of you."

They all walked into the room and found Christie curled up on her bed in a ball of terror.

"Christie!" Ben exclaimed, rushing to her. "What is it?"

"Well..." Caron rubbed her head, seeming just as troubled.

"What! Is she okay?"

"Well...yes. She should be fine, theoretically."

"Theoretically?" Ben repeated.

"Well, this has never happened before, so it's hard to say what will happen."

"Caron," Sean said. "What's going on?"

She hesitated. "It's hard to say."

"It'll be a lot harder to say with no teeth in your mouth!" Ben threatened. "Now what's going on!"

Caron gathered up her wits and told him plainly. "Christie is nine months pregnant with Zackwell's child."