Chapter 4

New Heroes

Fionie stared at the monster that stood before them. It was definitely one of Eo's creatures; it had a similar dark energy to Fionie, which she knew was the same as Eo's. She altered her grip on the Master Sword, casting a furtive glance over her shoulder. Vincent was ready with his own sword, which he had named Soldote, Pent was already muttering an incantation, and Connie was stood in her battle pose. Rune was off to the side, watching. It wasn't surprising, because Rune thought that fighting was bad, and she hated doing bad things. Relieved that her friends had been thinking the same thing as her, and were ready for a fight, Fionie turned back to face the monster. The first thought to enter Fionie's mind was that of a cat. It was certainly a feline beast, but it was like no cat Fionie had ever seen. It had six legs, rather than four; the second pair of legs were forelegs. It's head was definitely feline, though it was hard to see from the ocean of spikes covering its' face and ears. It's body was the most obviously feline part, despite a row of spikes and two pairs of small wings. The tail looked like one big razor-edged blade, but it somehow flexed and bended with ease. The beast had six claws on each paw, and its' mouth housed four rows of teeth; two on the top, and two on the bottom. This lethal package was concluded with blood-red fur, and death-white eyes. The simple sight of this monster made the four New Heroes tremble. The beast raised its' haunches, ready to strike.

-

The beast leapt forward, aiming directly Fionie, who stood at the front of the group. Fionie gasped, not expecting the speed with which the beast had moved, and rolled to one side, turning to see Vincent in front of her swinging Soldote at the beast. The beast swatted it away with ease, then with its' other 'spare' paw, it swiped at Vincent. It stopped and moved, a moment before Connie impacted the ground, fist making a small crater. Pents' spell whizzed past the three, and grazed past the beasts' face as it turned it's head away at the last moment. This beast was fast, and smart. The look on its' face proved that it was contemplating its' next move. Which followed less than a moment later. The beast dashed to one side, running in a wide arc, before charging full-speed at the three. It was a barely visible blur as it charged, then stopped suddenly and lashed its' left forepaw at Fionie, its' right forepaw at Vincent, beside her, and swung its' sharp tail at Connie. All three managed to evade, and a bolt of fire shot at the beast, which leapt into the air, avoiding it completely. Vincent placed Aurora over his face, then leapt into the air, flying after the beast. Fionie copied, placing Umbra over her face and following Vincent. The dark magic of Umbra told Fionie that the beast was called a Cabuna, and it had access to magic. Umbra then warned that the reason the Cabuna was in the air was because it was charging said magic. A hundred bolts of black lightning rained from the sky around the Cabuna, striking Fionie and Vincent, slamming them into the ground. Connie shot past them as they fell, fist drawn back to strike. The Cabuna had obviously not expected Connie to be able to jump so high, as it failed to evade the kick that swung at its' chin, followed by a punch to its' now exposed neck. The Cabuna roared hoarsely as it span backwards through the air. It quickly corrected its' spin, and flew back toward Connie, who was already falling back to the ground. The beast flapped its' small wings furiously, picking up speed that should have been impossible for a such a large creature with such small wings. It dove at Connie, all four of its' forepaw stretched forwards, its' fangs bared. A metal spike suddenly sank into its' side, dragging it away from its' flight path. At the same time, it dragged Vincent into the air. He had fired his Longshot. He soared at the Cabuna, sword held in spare hand, drawn back to strike. Another spell from Pent was already soaring at where the Cabuna would be, and Fionie was flying toward it, too. Meanwhile, Connie had landed, and leapt again in one fluid movement. The spike returned to the Longshots' base, and Vincent swung his sword with all his might. It left a gaping hole in the beasts' side. A bolt of fire then engulfed the Cabuna as Vincent flew away. Fionies' sword then left a gash down the creatures' neck and left foreleg, Finally, Connie appeared above the beast. She flipped over, bringing her heel down on its' head, rocketing it back to the ground. The four New Heroes landed before the felled beast, waiting to see if it would rise and attack again, or succumb to its' injuries. The beast growled in pain, opening its' eyes and staring at them. The four prepared to counter its' attack. However, the Cabuna released what seemed to be a sigh, then disappeared in a dark flash. The flash confirmed Fionies' theory that it was one of Eos' beasts. The four New Heroes sighed in relief, sheathed their weapons, and fell to their knees. Such a short fight, but it had been tiring. As Fionie thought to ask Taea if she could see anymore beast nearby, Vincent crawled to her side.

"I get the feeling that that isn't the only beast we'll have to fight." He gasped, pushing Aurora up to the left side of his face. Fionie mirrored him, and sighed.

"No, probably not." Her response was slow; Umbra had drawn strength from her in order to help her fight. It was strange, as Umbra hadn't drawn strength when she had been training, nor had she drawn strength during her and Vincent's 'mating flight'. The very thought of that wonderful flight drew colour to Fionie's cheeks, and she hurriedly pulled Umbra back over her face.

"That doesn't help, Fionie. Your neck and ears turn red, too." Vincent told her, sounding thoroughly amused. Fionie whimpered in embarrasment, tucking her chin against her chest and covering her ears. "That makes it more obvious."

"Shut up!" She cried. "Leave me alone!"

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry." Vincent sighed. "You okay?"

"No... I'm really tired, Vincent. Umbra took energy from me, and he's never done that before."

"Yeah, I got the same thing from Aurora. I asked her, but she wasn't sure why she did it."

"I'd say we should ask Adi, or Lakitu, or someone, but we can't reach them here." Fionie sighed. "And we won't see them for ages, either. Why'd they make us walk all the way there? Why not just let us teleport, or teleport us themselves, near Eo's castle?"

"I don't know, Fionie." Vincent replied, shuffling closer to her, and pulling her into a hug.

"It's obvious." Connie's voice said from behind them.

"Wh-what is?" Fionie asked, surprised, as she turned to face her friend.

"Why we have to walk." Connie smiled.

"Then, tell us." Vincent encouraged her.

"To get strongerer." Connie's smile widened.

"Stronger? What do you mean?"

"Eo will try to stop us. Send monsters to beat us. We beat monsters, we get better, and strongerer."

"So... we're supposed to fight our way to Eo, to improve our strength?" Vincent pondered this.

"Yes. Fionie, Vincent, Pent, Connie, get strongerer."

"You're smart, Connie." Fionie grinned, patting Connie on the head. "Very smart. Thank you." Connie hummed contentedly to herself as Fionie patted her head.

Rapas

"You again?" Rapas gasped, as That Person, Lakitu, entered his mask shop. "Surely not... you don't..."

"I'm sorry, Rapas." Lakitu sighed. "But you're right."

"Lakitu, please... must I?"

"Fate decreed it, Rapas. I'm very sorry. I know how you hate it."

"Lakitu..."

"Make another Mask, Rapas. Two Masks."

Nina

The young purple hedgehog toddled around the room, marvelling in everything. Suddenly, she could walk, and move her hands. Suddenly, she could understand things, and identify things. It was amazing for her, and she made sure to see absolutely everything she could see. Nina finished taking in the chairs, she turned to find something else to look at. However, as she turned she bumped into someone, and fell over. Her mouth flew open as she tried to scream, but no sound emerged.

"Are you alright, Nina?" Papa's voice called from above. Still, Nina tried to scream, to voice her pain and surprise, but still no sound came. Tears poured down her face, and Papa took her into his arms, cradling her against him. "Ssh, shh... it's alright, Nina." He whispered. Nina loved Papa, and Momma, and they loved her, too. But, no matter how much she loved them, she'd never be able to tell them. She needed a voice for that, and she had no voice.

Maybe if I was older, She thought, I'd be able to talk. Or show them I love them. As she thought this, she felt her body changing, and her mind warping. Before she could panic at what might be happening, it stopped. Instantly, she could tell that her body had grown, and her mind had matured. She turned to look at Papa's face, and realised that it was almost at the same height as hers. Not only that, but she was now stood on her feet. She had grown to an age that put her almost level with Papa's height. Her mind muddled over this for a moment, then calmed.

"...Nina?" Papa asked quietly. "Are... are you alright?"

I'm fine, Papa. Nina thought, nodding, all the while wishing Papa could hear her. She knew that her Papa had understood, but he still looked worried. Realising that she now knew how to write, somehow, Nina scrabbled around on the table for some paper and a pen. After finding both items, she quickly scribbled 'what's wrong' on the paper, and showed it to Papa.

"Oh... nothing, Nina. I just need to go talk to someone, alright? I'll be back soon." Then he disappeared, like Nina had seen many times before. Only now, she knew it to be teleporting. Nina sighed silently, and sat down on the sofa.

"I can make it so you can talk to people, Nina." A voice said from behind her. Nina leapt out of her seat and turned to face the speaker. It was a girl, with white skin and dark blue hair with light blue streaks. The girl wore black denim jeans, a black sleeveless shirt, and thick black boots. She grinned, flashing pointed teeth. "My name's Adia, by the way. Want me to teach you how to talk to others? You won't be able to use your voice, but there's another way. Interested?"

Yes! Nina nodded vigorously.

"Then take my hand, and we'll go somewhere nice and quiet to practise." The girl, Adia, held her hand out. Without hesitation, Nina took it. A flash of colours suddenly appeared in front of her, and the living room exploded into blackness.

Lakitu

"Nina grew again?!" Lakitu gasped. "Not possible!"

"It happened in my very arms, Lakitu." Shadow said to the orange tortoise. The two stood in Lakitu's study at the University. "She grew to a teenager right before me."

"Not... not possible..." Lakitu whispered. "No... no way... after the vision we saw..."

"The sand stopped being able to see good things, remember?" Adia's voice said quietly. "I could ask Sandara to take a look, but..."

"No, no need." Lakitu said to her. Adia nodded, then turned and left the room. "I need to see her, Shadow. Right now."

"Alright, let's go." Shadow nodded, and the pair teleported to Shadow's house.

-

"Where is she?" Lakitu asked.

"I don't know. She was here when I left, and that was barely two minutes ago." Shadow looked confused.

"I'll scan for her." Lakitu sighed, beginning the magical scan as he spoke. He sent the magic all over the house, and the nearby area. "She's... gone. Not here, gone..." He frowned. "Teleported? But how? No... no!" He stopped the scan. "Adia!? But how??" Without so much as a word of explanation to Shadow, he teleported away, following the energy of the teleportation spell.

-

Something solid impacted Lakitu's feet, and colour returned to the world. He looked around, and saw himself in a house. In what seemed to be a living room. A small red sofa sat to his right, facing the other way, and an array of empty pop bottles were scattered on his left, besides the wall. Looking ahead of him, Lakitu saw a young human boy, aged in his early twenties sat at a table, in front of a computer, typing furiously on the keyboard. The boy paused in his typing, and looked at Lakitu. Lakitu froze, wondering how this boy might react. The most worrying thing was that Lakitu could not sense anything from this boy at all; no magic, no strength. Not even his presence. It was as though the boy wasn't there at all. The boy grinned briefly, then resumed typing. Suddenly, Lakitu was back in Shadow's house, at the exact point where he'd left. He felt as though he hadn't teleported at all, but he knew he had. He had definitely seen that human, and he had definitely been sent back to Shadow's house, somehow. Then a thought, that definitely wasn't his, sounded in his mind.

Sorry, but you're not ready to do that yet. The thought said. I think we'll have to take it back a little, to make sure.

Make sure of what? Lakitu asked.

-

"Nina aged, Lakitu." Shadow said to Lakitu. The pair were in Lakitu's study, where Shadow he suddenly appeared, looking alarmed, confused and worried.

"Nina grew again?!" Lakitu gasped. "That's not possible!"

"It happened right in my arms, Lakitu." Shadow sighed. "She grew to teen years as I held her. And, she suddenly knew how to write, because she wrote down 'what's wrong' while I was in shock."

"That's... most odd." Lakitu said thoughtfully. He desperately wanted to go and see Nina, but something told him he shouldn't. "I'll look into it, okay?" Something told him that he should've said something else, but he couldn't quite place it. He had no time to ponder this, however, as Adia walked in.

"I sensed my energy at Shadow's house, Master." The girl said. She had an odd smile on her face. "I'm glad I can still sense magic and energy, even though I don't have any anymore."

"Your energy? But how?" Lakitu frowned. "I need to investigate this." He teleported to Shadow's house.

-

He could sense Adia's energy. And Nina's energy. Whoever had Adia's energy had teleported, taking Nina with them. Lakitu decided he had to get to the bottom of this, and teleported, following the Adia's energy.

-

He appeared in a room that looked oddly familiar. He recognised the red sofa, and the scattered pop bottles. Lakitu looked ahead of him. A young, twenty-something year old boy sat at a computer, typing slowly on a keyboard, as though carefully deliberating every word he put down. Lakitu couldn't sense this boy at all, however, which alarmed him. The boy stopped typing then, and looked at Lakitu. The tortoise froze. The boy sighed, running a hand down his face.

"Again?" The boy groaned, reaching for a cup, and taking a cautious sip of the hot liquid within.

"Again... what?" Lakitu asked the boy.

"Is there no way to stop you following that energy?" The boy sighed. "That's twice you've done it."

"Twice? What... what do you mean? Who are you?" Lakitu felt vulnerable, which was odd. Lakitu never felt vulnerable. Perhaps it was because of this young man, who he couldn't sense at all?

"It's not for you to know, Lakitu." The young man replied, taking another careful sip of his drink. "You don't need to know who I am, and you most definitely can't follow that energy. You're not ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Lakitu, I love you and all, I really do, but I just can't tell you."

"You... you what me? How do you know who I am?" Lakitu frowned, and hovered closer to the person. Then he turned his head to look at the computer's monitor. The youg man turned the monitor off before Lakitu could see what was displayed on it.

"I don't literally love you, Lakitu. It's just a saying. Now, I'm gonna have to send you back. I guess rewinding won't change the fact that you'll follow the energy. Just forget about this. About me."

"Who are you?" Lakitu asked again. "How do you know about me? And the energy?"

"It doesn't matter, Lakitu. I'm not involved. I'm just someone who knows a few things, is all."

"If you know things, then help me! Tell me what you know, please!" The final word shocked Lakitu. Even the boy seemed mildly surprised. Lakitu rarely said 'please' with such sincerity.

"If you're that desperate, then alright. What do you want to know?" The boy lit what Lakitu identified asa cigarette.

"Do you know what's going to happen? In the future?"

"I can make educated guesses." The boy smiled. "But I don't know for definite."

"Then... do you know why Nina aged so suddenly, and so much, despite that not supposed to be happening?"

"Why Nina aged, huh?" The boy exhaled a large amount of smoke. "Hmm... we thought it'd be a good idea?" He chuckled.

"What? You made that happen? Who's 'we'?"

"I was joking, Lakitu." But it sounded like he wasn't. "I'm a watcher, not a doer."

"I... don't understand."

"I have no influence, anywhere. Well... some. I make suggestions, but nothing more."

"What're you talking about??" Lakitu screamed. "Make sense!"

"I can't. It won't make sense, no matter how much I explain things. Just... hmm..." The young man frowned in thought. "Think of it this way. In this reality, things are perceived very differently."

"I don't understand."

"I told you you wouldn't."

"Just tell me a few things about my world. About what could happen."

"Nina's going to scream. And very soon. You'll miss it, if you stay here grilling me."

"I'll risk it. I need to know things. Badly."

"I can't tell you much more than The Author can."

"Then tell me what you know that he doesn't!" Lakitu snapped. Then, he gasped. "You know The Author?!"

"Ah, jeez..." The boy sighed. "Lakitu, please leave."

"Not until I know what I need to know!"

"Fine!" The boy roared. No change happened, but Lakitu suddenly felt afraid. Why, he didn't understand. The boy had no aura to flare, no presence that would smother Lakitu, no power to crush him with. So why was Lakitu scared? "I'm just a normal person, Lakitu, I don't have the abilities you do, so I can only learn so much."

"You sent me back, didn't you? Undid something? You know The Author. I think you're more than normal. Now, please, tell me."

"Alright, alright." The boy groaned. "You know about TiDE, right? The Time and Dimension law Enforcement? Well, I'm part of that. Just a desk man, who watches events over certain TimeWorlds. I alert the officers in charge of those TimeWorlds to any unusual-"

"Liar."

"Alright! I'm not TiDE, and I'm not 'normal'. I can't tell you what I am. Just listen, okay?"

-

"Nina will scream. Any minute now, in fact. We'll even feel it here. Fionie will cry, Vincent will shatter, and Connie will flee. Umbra and Aurora will gain two new siblings. Adia will return, but that's much later. Nerra will forget. Unexpected allies will appear, as well as unexpected enemies. Majora will experience three visions, and one will be wrong. Another Destined Child will be born. Friends will be lost, only to be seen in the darkest hour. The princesses will rise to their destiny, and fall to their fate. Two magics will clash, and a third will ease their anger. The Dark Lord will once again take up his dark mantle. The Old Heroes will stand against the darkness once more. The Koopa Lord will change the darkness' course. Another World will join yours. The Maidens' true nature will be revealed. Those who change their face will have their masks torn away." The young man took a deep breath. "In no particular order. Now, listen closely. I have a prophecy that I've got to tell you."

"A prophecy? Who foretold this?"

"Me. Just now." The boy closed his eyes, then spoke again. "Two becomes four, four becomes three. One is lost, and then another. Three is also one, while one is also three. The lost will soon be found again, but too late. The lost one will be sent away once more, never to return." Lakitu stared at this young man, awestruck. He spoke with such confidence that Lakitu had no doubt in the truth of his words. A sudden rumbling snapped him from his awe.

"What was that?" Lakitu asked. "I couldn't sense anything."

"That was Nina." The young man sighed. "Anyway, I told you all I can."

"What about the energy? Adia's energy?"

"It's a different Adia, alright? Different TimeWorld, way in the future."

"So we will learn how to cross TimeWorlds!?" Lakitu gasped.

"Not for a long, long time. Not until after you've returned to the Spirit World."

"But then... how will we bring Adia back?"

"TiDE is working on it."

"You... you know so much. Who are you??"

"It doesn't really matter, but go ahead and call me En."

"Can I visit you again, En?"

"No." En smiled. "I'm too busy. I shouldn't have talked to you so much. I'm way behind now. Off you go, and be careful with what I just told you. Only tell people you think need to know."

"I'm... in your debt, En." Lakitu bowed. "Thank you so much."

"Then, pay me back by forgetting about me, and never coming back here. I'm not involved, and I've already put myself in too deep. Leave now." He turned the computer monitor back on, and continued to type. Lakitu briefly saw a small part of what En had been writing before he was suddenly back in Shadow's house. He'd seen only one phrase on the computer screen:

Kill them off, as discussed.

So, now that my writer's block seems to have gone, things are finally kicking off in this story. Don't worry too much about this En guy. He's just a tool I used to bump things along. Give the story a kick-start, if you will. If he shows up again, it'll only be once. This story will jump around alot, as I'm sure you can tell already, and it won't focus on the New Heroes as much as I maybe should. I'm going to do my best to wrap everything up in this story, because I don't think I'll be able to write a fifth. I'll try to answer some of the mysteries and weird things in this stories, but I might leave one or two for you to think about ^_^ Also, I hope you enjoy figuring out the prophecy, and what En's statements meant.

-

I'm going to aim for at least 20 chapters in this one. I know I'm going to struggle, and I might not be able to write as much as I did in the previous stories. If I get into it enough, I might be able to go past 20, but who knows? Here's hoping.

-

Also, a random question. Nothing to do with the stories. I know that a single story is just a 'story', and three stories is a 'trilogy', but what about two stories, or four? Or more? Does it go 'story' for one, 'duet' for two, 'trilogy' for three, 'quartet'/'cycle' for four, and then 'saga' for five or more? If anyone knows this, please let me know. It's been bugging me for a while. Thanks.