A/N Alright here's some more of Chapter 4. Oh, sorry for that wait. I was actually thinking of never updating again, but I guess Death-Scimitar talked me outta it. Enjoy! More coming as soon as I can. Sports and school is getting really hectic.
Chapter 4
Kai gasped when they finally reappeared. He clutched his chest, knowing that just a moment before it felt as if a knife pierced there. He rubbed his arms, still being able to feel the needles puncture his skin.
"You aright?" Kai looked over at Amara, her connection now severed as well. She was one her hands and knees and her forehead was covered in sweat. Her breaths became in quick intervals as she seemed to clutch on to consciousness.
"A lot better than you it seems." Amara chuckled slightly at his statement. "Rei!" Kai then noticed Rei's motionless form.
"Relax, he's just exhausted."
"But I thought you said only I'd feel the pain."
"Yeah, but I didn't say there weren't after effects."
"Great…"
"Dear God!" Amara and Kai turned. A brown-haired and green-robed man came running in their direction. "Amara! And where's-" He stopped and gasped. "Michelle!"
"She was stabbed in the side." Amara winced as she got to her feet. Kai quickly got up and helped her, having her lean on him.
"I see, and who are these two lads?" The man looked from Kai to the unconscious Rei.
"Two friends, you could say, that came." Amara winced again once she tried to take a step towards him.
"You, Amara, need some rest. I'll take care of these two."
Amara nodded and pointed over to a hut across the way. "Help me over there would ya?" Kai nodded and they slowly made their way over.
The man, named Mannix, called over a nearby onlooker and carried Rei and Michelle in the other direction.
§§
Amara stared up at the ceiling, her right forearm across her forehead. "I did it again." She sighed and rolled onto her side. She looked across the hut to see Kai in the other room seated on the floor, asleep. She shook her head with a smile.
"He never left," Tiamat said, a slight hint of humor in his tone. "It looks to me as if you wanted him to stay."
"You know, If you were solid I'd slug you."
Tiamat laughed, "I know you would. Thank goodness I'm not."
There shared a small chuckle at that before Michelle popped back into her mind. "I did it again, Tiamat. I lost it."
"We lost it." Tiamat confirmed. "We're in this together, remember?"
Amara sighed and rolled back onto her back. "It's not your fault though. It's my trait, not yours."
"Your trait? Why do you think I'm called the Wings of Chaos?"
Amara sighed, "Fair enough."
A long silence passed between them. Amara's eyelids began to grow heavy, but she forced herself awake.
"You should get some sleep."
"I know, Tiamat, but I think I'll check in on Michelle first." She grimaced as she rose and slid off of the cot.
"Bad idea. I'm sure she's fine. Don't over exert yourself."
"I won't. Don't worry." She limped slightly as she walked over to the hut entrance and pulled back the blanket covering it. She glanced at Kai and smiled gently before leaving. She took a deep breath and looked up at the starlit sky. She smiled to herself, missing the peaceful days that she had here. That all changed though, on that one day. She shook her head, not wanting those thoughts to come into her mind, not now.
Her attention was drawn around the village, the one known as Tirlend. This place wasn't like the normal cities that now overran every continent. It was more like the Indian villages of old. Since Tirlend didn't reside near any big cities, or any cities at all actually, it stayed with the old mood of things and the old ways. There were no modern technologies, no electricity. Campfires generated the heat and lamps provided light. It was simple, but sweet. She loved it here. Outdoors in the wild, away from the civilization that she was getting used to, but still hated.
Her attention was drawn to the hut to her left, having seen the last of the lights put out. The blanket was drawn aside and Mannix quietly stepped out. When he looked up he noticed her and smiled. He walked over. "You should be asleep, Amara. But then again we could never keep you in one place for long."
Amara smiled, "Yes, that is true." She paused. "How's-"
Mannix held up his hand to silence her. "She's fine. The balm is working well. She should be awake by morning, but not yet in moving condition of course."
"That's never stopped her before," Amara mused.
"True, true. The other lad that was with you is going to be fine as well. He just needs some rest. Not used to the traveling I guess." He offered a smile at that statement. "You can go see them if you'd like, but mind you, they need their rest." With that said he gave a small bow and left, retiring to his own hut.
Amara watched him go before walking to the Healing Hut, as it was called. She hesitated at the entrance, afraid to continue. She took a deep breath, gathering her nerve and pulled away the blanket that covered the entrance. She stepped quietly inside, her leg muscles loose enough now that she could walk plainly.
The first one she noticed was Rei. He was sleeping quietly on the cot next to Michelle's. Amara knew he was doing fine so she moved on to her comrade. She walked up to the cot and watched Michelle for a while. Blood stained the bandages that were cleanly put over the wound, but it had slowed tremendously from when they first arrived. "Good, the healing balm is working fine," she thought with a sigh of relief. Not that she knew it wouldn't, of course she knew it would. That been put on her many-a-times and she always came out good as new.
She sat down on the floor, hugging her knees and resting her head upon them. "I'm sorry Michelle. Once again I've failed you." She chuckled slightly, imagining Michelle's response and it wasn't a pretty one.
She watched her for a while, reminiscing on the days of old. She chuckled at a few memories and shook some others ones out.
After a while she rose to her feet. "I'm sorry," she whispered again before she exited the shelter and into the night air once more. It had grown colder since she last came out. She went to draw her cloak around her when she realized she wasn't wearing it. She looked down and noticed that she was in her traditional tied up tee-shirt and jeans. She sighed and rubbed her arms.
Thoughts flowed into her mind at that moment, almost bringing tears to her eyes. Kai, standing at the entrance of her hut, caught her sight. Tears rimmed her eyes now, but she didn't have the nerve to cry in front of him so she turned and fled into the forest.
She didn't know how far she ran, but it seemed like miles. She clumsily tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground. Tears came freely now, everything that she held up inside flowed out of her like a wave. He tough façade left her in that moment , becoming 'weak', as she liked to call it, even though she didn't want to.
Kai stumbled upon her, having heard her sobs. "Amara…" He took a step towards her, but she, having heard him, got to her feet and moved away.
Amara didn't know what came over her that moment, but she just felt that she had to tell someone what was tearing her up inside. Someone besides Michelle and Tiamat. Someone who didn't know her as well. Someone who could give her a different answer besides "It's not your fault" or "Stop blaming yourself".
"It's all my fault." She managed to say it clearly, though tears were still stinging her cheeks.
"What is?" Kai asked, keeping the distance between them.
"Everything. Michelle's injury, Zeo's pain. Everything." Her hands clenched tightly at her side. She looked away from him, not able to look him in the eye.
"That doesn't sound like a lot to me. Can you really call that everything?" Kai asked gently. "If you ask me none of it was your-"
"No! Stop! It is! Can't you see! It's all because of me! Because of me and my anger! Because of me and my want for a challenge!" Tears flowed softly down her cheeks again as she hiccupped a sob. "Michelle said that I surpassed her? Hah! Doesn't she see? She clearly surpassed me. She has so much control over herself and her power it's unbelievable. What's so good about have a great amount of power if it can cost you the only friendship you've ever truly had in your life?"
Kai looked down at the forest floor, shaking his head. "That's why you can't get control."
"Huh?" The tears stopped as soon as he said the words.
"The reason you can't gain control is because you keep telling yourself that you can't. You're giving up. You're accepting a fate that can be changed, that is supposed to be changed." Kai sighed and turned to go. "Just think about it," He added quietly before disappearing.
Amara watched him go, one last tear running down her cheek. She brushed it away idly.
"He's right, Amara. You know he is. You and I can conquer this new foe, but we have to do it together. If you keep taking all the blame for yourself then we will never get past it. If you allow me to share the blame then we can break through, together. We work as one, Amara. We succeed as one and we fail as one."
Amara nodded grimly. She looked at the place Kai was just standing and shook her head. She felt so weak at that moment and helpless. She hated feeling like that. She sighed and wiped the remaining wetness off her cheeks before making her way back to camp.
§§
"I'm sorry Amara, but Michelle's gone… Her injury was too much for her." Amara stumbled backwards at the words. "Again, I'm sorry. There was nothing we could do. You should've been more careful. It's all your-"
"No!" Amara screamed, darting up into a sitting position on her cot. Her face was coated in sweat and her heart was beating fast. She swung her legs around and got up in a flash. She bolted out the door and to the Healing Hut. "Michelle!"
"Huh?" Michelle and Rei turned to see Amara come rushing in. "W-what's wrong?" Michelle asked, noting the worried expression on her face.
Amara sighed of relief and sunk to the floor. She laughed sheepishly. "I'm so stupid." She got back onto her feet after a few more chuckles and walked over to them. "I'm glad to see you're alright."
Michelle looked at her strangely before nodding. "I may look alright, but feeling okay is a totally different matter."
"True enough." She then turned to Rei who was sitting up on his cot as well. "And you're looking better too."
"I feel better, thanks." He smiled.
"I'm glad to hear it." Amara bowed a small good-bye before exiting.
"That was… weird," Rei commented.
Michelle chuckled slightly and only had to agree. "Tirlend tends to bring out the best in her you could say."
"Tirlend? So that's where we are." He paused for a second. Michelle looked at him with an amused look on her face, knowing his next question. "Where's this?"
"We're out in the middle of nowhere you could say."
"Like…" Rei bade her to continue.
"Well, let's just say no one can reach us here." With a groan and a small wince she swung her legs around the cot. "You wanna go check it out? I can show you around if you'd like."
"But aren't you suppose to stay in bed? The doctor said you're bed-ridden for at least a weak."
Michelle got to her feet with another wince of pain, but ended up falling back down anyway,
"Michelle…" Rei sighed. "You heard what he said, I know you did."
"What?" She asked innocently then shrugged. "I must've missed that part. C'mon I'll show you the place."
Rei sighed and shook his head before rushing over to catch Michelle as she fell again. She smiled and offered a nod of thanks and allowed him to help her to the door.
They sheltered their eyes when they threw back the curtain, the sunlight blinding them for a few seconds. "What! It's almost evening!"
"You expected different?" Rei asked. "You've been out for a while, and for good reason."
"When did you wake?"
"Around morning."
"Morning? Then what have you been doing this whole time?"
"Nothing," he replied simply.
"Nothing?"
"Well, I ate and rested some more. Nothing."
Michelle suppressed a small laugh at that. "Whatever you say."
"I'm glad to see you're on your feet."
Michelle and Rei turned to see Kai in he middle of the clearing, poking aimlessly at the fire. Rei helped Michelle over and they sat down next to him. "Where's Amara?" Michelle asked, wincing as she pulled her knees up to her chin.
"She said she'd be back later. Oh, here. She told me to give this to you." Kai reached into his pocket and pulled out a blade.
"What!" Rei shouted. Michelle's blade was sliced almost in two and Bahamut was cracked.
Michelle sighed as she took the blade from him. She looked at it for a moment then chuckled slightly, "I expected it to be worse." Kai and Rei looked at her strangely, but she said no more on the matter. "I'm going to find Amara."
"What!" Both yelled simultaneously.
"Relax." She got to her feet slowly, but surely, "I do this all the time."
"I'd believe it," Rei muttered under his breath.
Michelle cast him a half-hearted glare before walking into the forest outside of the village.
§§
"Amara, you should take a break. You've been training for a while now." Tiamat urged, but Amara just cut him out. She jumped to the side as a projectile sped past her, just missing. "You're going to get hurt. You aren't in the right mindset right now."
"When am I ever in the right mindset?" Amara shot back as she tumbled to the side once more. The projectile, moving on it's own because Amara put some of her energy into it, did a quick double back and nicked the Corrupt on the shoulder as she was trying to get to her feet. She grasped at her shoulder and followed the dart's path until it came in range. She drew her right sword and cut it down the middle, severing the connection.
"It's not like you to get hit like that. Something wrong?" Amara turned to see the outline Michelle standing in the entrance to the cave. Michelle limped in further and stopped in front of Amara so that they could see each other clearly.
"You shouldn't be out. Mannix said that you wouldn't be in moving condition for at least a week more."
Michelle shrugged, "Point?"
Amara shook her head and got to her feet. "The point is, the Light energy could still be coursing through you and you wouldn't even know it."
"It'd be the same risk in the Healing Hut anyway. You know just as well as I that I hate that place."
"Yeah, 'cause you've been there so much."
"And you as well." They shared a small laugh at that, even though it wasn't a laughing matter.
"Did you get the blade?" Amara wondered aloud, taking a seat once more. She looked at her new wound as she waited for an answer.
"You should be practicing with Tiamat, not separate from him." Amara ignored the comment and waited. Michelle sighed solemnly and pulled out her beyblade. "Yeah, I saw it."
"Any chance you can fix it?" She tore off a small part of her shirt and wrapped it around the wound.
"I can do some things to it, but it won't be back to the way it was. It might be easier to just make a new blade."
"Remember the last time you did that? The blade shattered in a matter of seconds after I merely tapped it. You had to come back to this one anyway."
Michelle nodded grimly, "Yeah, perhaps it'll just have to do."
A long silence passed between them. Michelle redid her bandages with some spare that she had brought. Amara helped as much as Michelle would allow her to. "You never answered my question before." Michelle mumbled, tearing the bandage with her teeth. "Are you alright? You seem distracted."
"Distracted?" Amara scoffed, "I think the pain's gone to your head."
"If it does work like that then you're worse off than me. You're not exactly a "healthy" one either."
"You have to thank my stupidity for that…"
"Ah, I see now." Michelle observed. "That's why you're not going to full power."
"If I did who knows what'll happen."
"But if you don't then you'll never overcome it. Yes, I know. I can't even imagine what you're going through, but I know this. You aren't one of those people to run away from things, but at this moment you are. You're letting your fears cloud your mind. You didn't get me hurt, Amara. In fact I was careless and got hurt myself. I never was good at an arm lock and because of that she easily slipped through it and stabbed me. Stop blaming yourself when I probably would have done the same thing."
Amara blinked, not prepared to hear that. "So you think they only way to get stronger is to overcome it?"
"Yes," the Black Wing confirmed confidently.
Amara sighed and got to her feet, "Alright. We'll have another go."
§§
"None of this makes any sense." Rei turned to Kai at the assessment. He put out the fire on the tip of the poking stick before placing it next to him. "Something's not right here. Look around. Everything's dated back to the Middle Ages it seems."
Rei nodded, "They don't have modern technologies, but I like it. The medicine isn't that advanced either, but in a way it is. The ointment they used on Michelle and the potion they used on me was… different. It was like magic in a way."
"I doubt 'magic' is the right word to use but I agree. The people seem to be getting along quite well. It seems that it'd be a crime to change it."
"Yeah… It's all so confusing though. Just when you think one question's been answered one more shows up."
"In our case many," Kai remarked with a defeated sigh.
"Would you like some dinner gentlemen?"
They turned to see Mannix with a small platter of fruit and another with two slices of meat. They nodded their thanks and Mannix left them to eat.
"And the only one I've ever seen around here is that man. No one else." Rei merely agreed with a sigh.
§§
"You think we should tell them?" Michelle asked just after Amara sat down from her practice session. "No doubt they're curious."
"Well, wouldn't you be?" She took a deep breath and broke her connection with Tiamat, returning to her tied up shirt and jeans. "We can't though. Now isn't the right time."
"After what they saw and went through? It's going to happen again. It's only right to have them be prepared."
"We can only hope that it won't."
"Hope it won't! Amara, they want to stop us from finishing our mission at all costs." She winced when she moved wrong and looked down at the wound. She winced again when she saw fresh blood.
"Come. We should be getting back. The sun set an hour ago."
Michelle nodded and Amara helped her to her feet. They walked out of the cave with little trouble, but it was clear that Michelle was struggling. "What are we going to do next time?"
Amara looked quizzically at her friend as they were descending down to the village. "What d'you mean?"
"The Light Dragon's after us. He's the only one-"
"I know. We just have to stay in control." A shadow seemed to cross her eyes at the statement, something Michelle never missed. She knew how her friend felt about her other self and she felt sorry for her. Amara hated pity and sympathy but Michelle felt it anyway. How could she not?
They walked for a few more moments before Michelle began to feel lightheaded and dizzy. "Hold on. Let's take a break."
"A break? You never-" She stopped, noticing the blood soaking through Michelle's shirt now. "You reopened it didn't you?"
She smiled sheepishly, "It would seem that way."
"I can't carry you, you realize."
"But I can," Tiamat offered.
"Must we do it this way? Isn't there anything else?"
"Do you want her to leave her here or something?"
Amara sighed, "Of course not." She closed her eyes as darkness enveloped her. She reappeared in her armor. "Tiamat'll take us."
Michelle agreed weakly and looked up just in time to see the dragon descending. Amara helped her on and Tiamat took flight.
§§
Mannix heard a gasp escape one of the villagers and turned his attention to where he was pointing. "Does she always have to show off?" He asked himself and rose to his feet. He had joined Kai and Rei soon after they finished their meal and had a lovely conversation with them. Hopefully it made them feel more welcome.
"What is that?" Rei asked bewildered.
"That would be Tiamat and his knight."
Tiamat touched down in the middle of the village, knocking over the logs and ashes in the fire pit. The villagers covered their faces from the force of the wind and took steps back. "Honestly Amara, must you be so reckless sometimes?" Mannix asked with a small smirk across his lips.
"Reckless? You call bringing Michelle back to you alive reckless?"
"What?" Mannix's voice turned to panic for a split second when he heard her words. "What do you mean?"
"This." Amara jumped off Tiamat's back and touched lightly on the ground. She turned back and gently slid Michelle off his back as well.
"Ah, now I see." There was a slight hint of amusement in his voice. He walked over with a sigh and took Michelle from Amara. "Healer!"
"Yes?" An elderly man hobbled over, supporting himself on a cane. Rei and Kai both turned to regard him and was surprised when they saw a spirit type thing hovering near him. It took the shape of a warrior angel. Wings spread out from his back and golden armor covered his body completely. His blonde hair blew even in the absence of the wind.
"Please come with me."
"Yes sir," he complied and followed Mannix to the healing hut.
"That was Saga our sage. Apparently you two saw his bitbeast Elixir next to him, seeing your mouths agape and all," Amara explained as she walked over.
The BladeBreakers closed their mouths quickly and turned to Amara. "His bitbeast? You mean it's out of his blade?"
Amara looked at Rei awkwardly when he said that then pointed a thumb back at Tiamat. "Are you telling me that you thought Tiamat always roamed freely around here?" Amara sighed then looked over at the moon as it rose to take its place in the sky. "No time tonight for me to explain. We'll inform you on a few things tomorrow." With that said she made a small bow and walked off towards the Healing Hut to see Michelle.
Rei and Kai watched her leave before making their way over to their new sleeping hut.
§§
"How is she?" Amara asked when she pulled back the tent flap and entered.
"She's fine, like she always is," Mannix replied with a small shake of his head. "You should really watch out for her more."
"Why? You know she can take care of herself."
Mannix sighed and walked over to Amara. "Seriously, Amara." They both turned to Michelle when they heard her groan across the way. Saga helped her into a sitting position. He took a deep breath and Elixir flowed out of him and retook his position next to him.
"I'm glad to see you're alright at least." Mannix motioned Amara to follow him over and she quickly complied. Mannix took a chair and Amara took the one next to him. Saga bowed before leaving. Mannix waited for him to be a good distance away before beginning. "You two should be careful from now on. There's no telling what's going to come after you next. If Shringard found you more likely than not the others are out there as well."
"He mentioned something about stopping our mission, but I don't understand. Why would they want to stop us? We're protecting the Sacred Bitbeasts aren't we?" Michelle nodded her agreement, but grimaced afterwards. Mannix and Amara gave her a stern look when they saw.
"Apparently the long years of sleep have changed their train of thought. Perhaps the Copper Dragon wants them gone. The Sacred ones have grown very powerful since they've last encountered him and he's probably scared of them," Mannix explained.
Amara and Michelle thought about that for a second and nodded, thinking it plausible. Mannix smiled and left the tent. "I'll see you two tomorrow. You should probably be off. I doubt the village has liked your long visit. Oh, and Michelle, don't think that me letting you out of here so soon means you can go off and get yourself hurt again. You should be feeling that thing for a while, a week perhaps more now that you reopened it. I'll give you some herbs and ointment for you and I expect you to use them."
The girls nodded and watched him leave. "He's not telling us something," Michelle observed and lied back down on the bed, placing her forearm across her forehead.
"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it now. Just get some rest and we'll talk some more about it tomorrow." Amara got to her feet and stretched, but Michelle caught her before she could go too far.
"We're going to say something right? Show them? They've seen so much already."
"I was thinking we should wait until we have the whole group. It's something Tyson should probably see anyway."
"Oh yeah. I forgot about him… Must you remind me of him?" Michelle smirked and yawned.
Amara let out a small chuckle before leaving. "Just get some sleep."
§§
Rei stretched and sat up. He looked over at Kai's cot, but already knew he was gone. Rei merely shook his head and rolled off his own cot and walked out the tent. The sun was just rising and he had to cover his face as it stung his eyes. He blinked a few times until they focused again and walked towards the fire pit. It was still glowing a soft red so he poked at it, soon making some fire return.
"You can't be serious!"
Rei jumped to his feet and turned towards the shout. The sound lead him over to the Healing Hut. His conscience told him to just walk away, but his curiosity won and he stayed to listen.
"I am very serious, Michelle. The light energy is still coursing through you and if it was to come in contact with Bahamut… Well, you know the outcome." Rei recognized the voice to be that of Saga, but he had no idea what he was talking about. The silence that followed allowed him to realize the importance of what the elder was saying.
"So, you're telling me to "play it safe" when there's those out there trying to attack us and the BladeBreakers? You can't tell me to just sit back and let them get to them! I have a duty, Saga, and you know just as well as I that I must fulfill that duty." Rei cringed at Michelle's tone, never hearing her so angry.
"Yes, Shadow Wing, you have to, for your own safety."
"Damn my safety!" Michelle shot.
"Silence! You risk getting Bahamut seriously injured and maybe even destroyed. Is this what you want? Do you want to be blamed for his death too?"
Rei could hear the frustration in Michelle's voice when she muttered "No." Questions flashed through his mind; Who else's death was she blamed for? What is this light energy that's threatening her? He had to stop himself and hide when he heard Saga coming. "That was close," he muttered softly and crept into the tent when Saga was a long ways off. "Morning," he said as cheerfully as he could.
"Hey." Rei could tell that Michelle was putting on her best façade as well. "C'mon. We promised Mannix that we'd be out of here by noon."
"Okay," Rei replied and helped her to her feet. "This looks like Dejavu to me."
"Very funny," she replied with a sigh, but one followed by a smile.
"Where the heck are we?" Rei and Michelle stopped and looked at each other at the voice.
"It can't be…" Michelle said startled.
"It has to," Rei followed and they both rushed as fast as they could out of the tent.
"Rei! Michelle!" Max ran over to them with a bright smile on his face. "I'm glad to see you're alright."
"Kai!" All of them turned to the edge of the forest to see Kai walking into the area. Tyson ran over to him. "Kai! We've been looking all over for you guys!"
"Um guys? Where are we?" Kenny asked, panic slipping into his tone.
"You're in Tirlend, friends. I'm sorry to if I intruded on anything important when I brought you here."
"What!" Michelle turned to Mannix as he spoke. "You brought them here?"
"Of course, Michelle. Now where's the other Corrupt. Amara?"
"Here…" Amara walked out of the cover of the forest and over to the group. "Mannix what were you thin-"
"Well, it's time for me to do some other things. Amara, Michelle, please give them a tour okay?" Mannix turned quickly and disappeared into his tent.
"Why that little…" Michelle muttered.
"Where's Hilary?" Rei asked, bring Michelle back to the situation at hand.
"D'know. We were having practice at Max's mom's place and then we were here." Tyson shrugged. "I d'know where she is."
"She's back in the U.S.." Amara confirmed. "Mannix told us to give you a tour so I guess we will." She made eye contact with Michelle when she said this and the Elemental sighed.
"Yes, let's get going."
"Going? Where?" Tyson asked.
"You'll see," Michelle merely replied and followed after Amara. She had refused Rei's help, not wanting the others to see her injured in any way.
Kai and Rei chased after them first followed quickly by the other three.
§§
"How much further?" Tyson complained when he stopped to lean against a tree.
The girls sighed and turned around, coming back to the group. They had been in deep conversation and not noticed that the others were lagging behind. "There's not much further and we must keep going." Amara looked up at the sky as she spoke.
"Why does it matter? We have all day?" Max asked, seeing the worried expressions now crossing both of the Black Wing's face.
"Never mind. C'mon, we can't linger no matter what you think. It's just up ahead," Michelle urged.
Rei walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. "No, Michelle. We're not used to such traveling like you are. We've been climbing for a long time now. Please, just let us have a small rest, okay?"
Michelle sighed and turned to her partner. "Well…?"
"Do we have a choice?" Amara replied coldly and leaned against a nearby tree.
Kenny took that as a definite yes and fell to the ground in exhaustion. Tyson and Max followed his lead and plopped down next to him.
Michelle walked back over to Amara while Rei and Kai joined their team. "We can't stay here much longer. We'll disturb-"
"I know, I know!" She shouted, but then added more calmly, "But we don't have a choice." Michelle sighed and leaned against the tree next to her and closed her eyes. "Hmpf, you going to sleep? This is hardly the time."
Michelle opened her eyes and looked at her strangely, but when she saw Amara's smirk she knew the ruse. "I never knew you to lighten the mood."
"Who said I was lightening the mood? I was just trying to piss you off."
"M'lady?" Michelle looked up to see Bahamut hovering above them. Since he spoke aloud everyone else looked up as well. Bahamut was the same size as Tiamat, but with a few different features. He had a silver outline and icy blue eyes. There was one thing that caught Michelle's attention. Bahamut looked worn and tired. His flying wasn't as smooth as it usually was and his eyes lost some of their radiance. Without saying another word he gently touched down on the cliff next to them. Everyone shielded their heads from the sudden gust of wind that came from him when he slowed enough to touch down.
"Wh-what i-is t-that!" Tyson exclaimed, pointing a finger up at Bahamut.
"I-it looks like-" Kenny stammered.
"A-a dragon!" Max finished, just as surprised as the other two.
Michelle ignored them and went straight to the cliff and began climbing. "Michelle, you're not suppose to-" Rei tried to warn but she just waved him off and kept climbing until she reached the top and her bitbeast.
"What are you doing here?" Michelle asked calmly, but you could still see the anger etched on her face. Bahamut was taken aback by the question, as well as Michelle's attitude. The Corrupt could now see the damage that Shringard had done to him and she had to look away at the thought. "You shouldn't be out. Not in your condition."
"You know, I could've said the exact same thing" He paused when he saw Michelle turn back to him. " but I didn't because I knew you wouldn't listen. Why did you think I'd be any different?"
Michelle shook her head with a smirk. "True, true, but in all seriousness you shouldn't be about. The light energy effects you more than I."
"What are they doing?" Max asked once he regained his bearings.
"Talking," Amara replied shortly. "Michelle! Get down here! We're ready to go!"
"What! Who said we're-"
"You're up aren't you? And you clearly have enough energy to shout so walking should be no problem." Tyson scowled at her response to his whining, but joined his teammates anyway.
Bahamut took flight again and flew in the opposite direction. Michelle watched him go before climbing back down and running after the others.
§ §
"How?"
"What?"
"When?"
"But why?" Max, Kenny, Tyson, and Rei all asked when they saw the damage. It was shortly after noon and they had finally reached their destination, although there wasn't much of a destination left. Houses were nothing more than rubble, scorched and black like the ashes surrounding them. Smoke was still rising from ruins and some flames were glowing nearby, though they did no more damage. Scorched marks littered the ground and the footsteps showed the signs fleeing people and animals. The BladeBreakers could only imagine the pain and chaos that had happened here. It made them shiver at the thought.
"Guys? What happened?" Kenny asked and everyone turned to the girls when they didn't answer.
"Actually they've been quiet the whole way here," Kai thought when he too looked over.
Their eyes were clouded over, as if they were lost in some memory. By their expression it didn't seem to be a good one.
"Guys?" Rei repeated.
"This is the aftermath of a battle gone wrong. A battle that should've been won." Michelle clenched her fists as she talked.
There was a short pause before Amara walked over to one spot in particular. There was nothing there, only scorch marks. She bent down and touched one of them.
"We were attacked and there was no other option."
"What are you talking about? What happened here? And when?" Max asked.
"Come. We will show you." Amara rose to her feet and walked out of the village and back into the forest. Michelle followed after a brief moment.
"Should we?" Tyson asked.
"You want to know don't you?" Kai stated more than asked and went after them, the others close behind.
§ §
They stopped at a cave, the same one that Amara and Michelle were at the previous day. The girls waited for the BladeBreakers before entering. Everything instantly turned black, a deep black, it seemed, that light couldn't even penetrate. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Amara and Michelle knew that Tiamat was speaking to them, but the boys didn't know. That clearly made them uneasy.
"Yes, we are sure. Please, bring some light in as to not make our guests any more nervous then they already are." Tiamat complied with Amara's request and everyone began to glow, including Tiamat and the now seeable Bahamut.
"Oh no, not them again," Kenny muttered silently, recoiling away form the two beasts.
"They won't harm you. They are here to share their memories."
None of the BladeBreakers knew what Michelle was talking about, but they knew better than to ask.
"Take us back. Back in time to where it all began, and where it all came to an end." Both Elementals chanted at the same time. There was a sudden flash of light and then there they were, back in the town that was just ruins minutes before.