Chapter 7 – Alice
Before I realized it, the vicinity went dark under the cover of a white fog. All too naively, my legs had forgotten their way home at such a late hour.
Cayden appeared in front of Leaf and Gary aimed his spear at him. He pulled back his right arm, preparing to throw while Cayden chuckled and disappeared. It was too late for Gary to stop his throw, but he used the force of the throw to spin on his heels instead of releasing the spear.
He spun until he was facing the opposite direction and he then threw his spear. Cayden reappeared right in the spot that the spear was heading. Unfortunately for him, it was going too fast for him to even think about teleporting away and it stabbed him through the heart.
"Gah! Hhuh…" He sank down to his knees, clutching at the spear. Gary walked up to him and pulled out the spear without a moment's hesitation. "Argh!"
Cayden fell to the ground, breathing heavily and bleeding profusely from his chest.
"How...did you know where I would…teleport…to?" he asked, panting.
"Not that you deserve to know, but I knew that if I mentioned Leaf again you would go near her to piss me off like you did before. Then, obviously you saw me ready to throw my spear at you, so I figured you would want to teleport away and laugh as I threw my spear at my own friend. I knew that it would take exactly two seconds for you to reappear again because I counted all the other times I saw you teleport and it took you two seconds every time, so I threw my spear accordingly," Gary stated calmly.
"What?! …I didn't take you for…a smartass…" Cayden managed to mutter.
"Whatever. That's what you get for underestimating me," Gary said, glaring at him. He sent Dawnbreaker back to his pocket dimension and walked over to Cayden. He grabbed him by his collared and narrowed his eyes. "Where did you take Ash and May? And what happened to that kid that came here earlier?"
"Ha! You'll have to get them yourself from my partner, but you don't look like you're in any condition to fight him..! Ack!" Cayden coughed as Gary tightened his grip around his neck.
"I don't care what condition you think I'm in. Where are they?" he demanded impatiently.
"They're in the basement! Now let me go!" Gary loosened his grip and then let go, letting Cayden fall to the floor once more. He walked over to Leaf and picked her up bridal style.
"Teleport us to the basement," Gary demanded.
"Why the hell would I help you?!"
"Unless you want to be in even more pain than you are right now, I suggest you do it," Gary threatened.
"Fine! I hope you enjoy walking in on Byron torturing your friends!" Cayden shouted angrily. He used his magic and teleported Gary and Leaf the lowest floor of the building.
They appeared right in front of the stairs. The sign on the wall read, "Floor B5 – Storage." Before them was a large room, large enough to be a warehouse. There were tall shelves scattered around the large room making almost like a maze.
"I guess we'll start looking," Gary said. Leaf was still in his arms and he clutched tightly. "Don't worry, Leaf, we'll find them."
"…Gary..." Leaf's small, shaky voice surprised him and he looked down at her. Tear began to run down her scratched and bruised face. "I'm sorry. I'm only a burden to you…"
"Leaf, you're no burden. Trust me, I've never looked at you as a burden." Gary smiled. "Please don't cry. You shouldn't be apologizing. I'm sorry for getting separated from you for so long."
"Gary…" Leaf's tears slowed as she slipped back into unconsciousness.
As Gary explored the aisles he began to quicken his pace. He was tired and felt like he could join Leaf in unconsciousness at any second, but he knew that now was not a time to show weakness.
Once he got to the back of the room he came across a hallway. He noticed that it was lit by torches and he immediately made a dash for it. At the end of the hallway was a wooden door. A sign that read, "Records Office," was on it in bold letters.
"Gary…" Leaf's quiet voice only barely reached his ears. "Put me down. You have to leave me out here."
"What?! I can't do that, what if he comes after you?" Gary exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down.
"It's okay, I'll protect myself. If you carry me in there, how will you be able to do anything?" Leaf said. Gary slowly let her down and she sat leaning against the wall. Gary gave her a worried look. "Don't worry, I think I have enough strength to use magic a bit."
Having a vague idea of what Leaf had in mind, Gary reluctantly nodded. He helped her limp out of the hallway so that she would have more room for her spell and then reentered the hallway and opened the door.
Leaf slumped against the stone wall just outside of the hallway but had a determine look in her eye.
"Sequoia Shell." She called out the name of her spell with as steady a voice as she could muster.
Below her, the stone floor crumbled apart and a tree began to grow up and around her. The Sequoia tree grew until its tallest branches almost touched the ceiling. Leaf remained still inside the tree. Its warmth enveloped her entire body and she felt the healing begin. The toughness and sturdiness of the Sequoia tree protected and acted as a shield.
"If I want to be of any use to my friends, I'll have to heal my injuries quickly this time…" she said. She breathed out in relief as the warmth of the tree reached her left leg, where the wolf had bitten into earlier. "I'll just need a few more minutes. Please, hang on, Gary!"
Gary slowly walked through the door, not knowing what would await him inside the room.
It was a relatively small room, lit entirely by torches that lined the walls. Gary immediately noticed the tied up forms of Ash and May at the far end of the room and he ran toward them. He untied them, though they were unconscious. He also removed their blindfolds and was relieved to find that they were uninjured.
"Did you regain some hope after seeing your comrades alive and well?" A deep voice came from the left side of the room and Gary turned toward it. He took a fighting stance.
"Relax, boy. You and I shall not be fighting today." The figure walked closer to Gary and Gary could now the little boy that the figure carried in his arms. "Apparently his name is Liam. He's a pathetic looking thing isn't he? But despite that, he actually had some magic power inside him for me to take. Imagine that."
"You…took his magic?" Gary said, shocked.
"Oh, don't worry. He will regain his power after a few days of rest. I made sure to stop soon enough so as to not permanently hinder him." The man gave the boy to Gary. Gary was at a loss for words. "Now I'll be feasting on the magic of your friends over there, so you can leave now to bring that boy back to his family or something. Oh, and make sure you take the girl with you." He gestured to the door so Gary knew he meant Leaf.
"As if I'll leave without Ash and May!" Gary exclaimed.
"Boy, I don't think you understand the fairness of the deal I just offered you. You are in no state to fight me. I'm letting you off the hook. If we were to fight now, you would surely die. I won't hold back even if you're just a boy," the man said, smugly.
"There's no way I'd abandon my friends just to save my own life. You can count on that." Gary rested the little boy against the wall next to Ash and May and then walked over the man, ready to fight.
"How honorable. However, I'm warning you, I won't show you any mercy once we begin."
"Longsword of Oblivion, Doomseeker." Gary had a serious and determined expression on his face but on the inside he was terribly nervous. He was already at his limit and he didn't even know what this guy's magic was. Despite that, he kept on a solid poker face.
"Requip magic, hm? That is quite an impressive longsword."
Gary tightened his grip on Doomseeker and then charged at the man with full force. He dodged every one of Gary's swings. He put his hand on Gary's shoulder and Gary instantly felt what was left of his power begin to fade away. He fell to his knees and panted.
"You have a larger magic supply than I thought. Interesting…" The man then froze and smiled widely, seemingly having realized something. "Wait just a moment. Requip magic? I don't suppose you have the Spear of Divinity in your pocket dimension?"
Gary's eyes widened and the act answered the man's question.
"Of course! You're related to that wretched woman who forced our guild, Titan Fist into hiding. That damned Sherilyn!"
Gary smirked.
"Hm. If mom took you guys down, it was probably because you were causing trouble, right?"
"Shut up." He tightened his grip on Gary's shoulder and Gary winced as he felt even more magic leave his body. He felt a weight begin to leave his arms and he looked down to see Doomseeker begin to fade away into his pocket dimension.
Gary cursed and the man lifted his hand from Gary's shoulder.
"It would appear I have taken my share of your magic." He smirked. "My name is Byron, Byron the Swindler. I feel it would be fair for you to know the name of your killer."
Gary glared at him but couldn't hide the worry in his eyes any longer.
Suddenly a flaming fist flew toward Byron's face and Byron grunted upon impact.
"May!" Gary exclaimed. He had never been happier to see the red bandana-wearing fire mage in his life.
The punch cause Byron to stumble a few paces where he met Ash's lightning-charged uppercut. Byron was knocked off his feet. Ash smiled smugly at Gary and normally his pride would have prevented him from doing so, but Gary smiled brightly at his two, now conscious, friends.
"Happy to see me?" Ash gloated.
"Took you long enough, sleeping beauty," Gary replied.
They focused their attention back to Byron who got back to his feet without a scratch on his face despite the two punches.
"Wha…there was no effect..?" Ash was baffled at the man's lack of injury and May looked at him with shock.
"Allow me to ask the both of you a question. Ash, was it? If you were hit by a lightning attack, how would it affect you?" Byron asked calmly.
"Obviously it wouldn't inflict any damage on me. My own magic can't hurt me!" Ash stated.
"Of course. And you girl, you're May, I presume? If you were attacked with fire, would it hurt you?"
"Of course not!" May exclaimed.
"There you have it. I wouldn't have had you captured for so long without having a taste of your magic while I had you. I said it already, but I'm Byron the Swindler. I steal, it's my thing. That that and hallucination magic," He stated matter-of-factly.
"So, you stole our abilities?!" Ash was shocked. 'How do we attack him if he's impervious to all our attacks?! And hallucination magic…that must have been the cause of the "ghost sightings" that Madeline was talking about!' he thought, worriedly. He shared a worried glance with May and they both seemed to have the same thought.
"It seems our only option is a purely physical battle, fist to fist, since our magic will not work on each other," Byron stated. He assumed a fighting stance. "Though, I'm quite well-trained physically, you know. I'm fully prepared to fight without magic, are you?"
Ash and May were both taken back by his words, but they knew he was right, they couldn't use magic on him.
Ash was definitely confident in his fighting skills, but looking at Byron shook that confidence. He was tall and burly and Ash could tell that this wasn't a fight he or May could win.
May realized the same thing that Ash did and gulped nervously. 'Even if we can't win, we have to try!' she thought, trying to encourage herself and shove her doubts away.
As Ash and May mentally prepared themselves for what was to come, Byron began the extremely one-sided fight sending a kick Ash's way and a punch toward May. He smirked confidently.
Leaf felt the pain in her body disappear and she sighed with relief. 'Now I have to go and help!' She put her Sequoia Shell spell to a stop and the tree began to diminish until it faded away completely.
Leaf stood with a look of determination in her eyes. She could hear a struggle happening in the room up ahead when she began to tiptoe down the hallway. She then realized that she had the element of surprise and how useful that could potentially be. 'I have to sneak in,' she thought.
"Lithops Seed," Leaf whispered. She opened her hand, palm facing upward. A small flower sprung forth and bloomed on her hand. It resembled a daisy but with longer and thinner petals. The pollen in the center of the flower gathered together and formed a seed, though it resembled a stone. Once the seed was fully formed the flower wilted away into nothing.
Leaf popped the seed into her mouth and once she swallowed it, turned completely invisible to the naked eye.
She slowly walked into the room and made sure to stay light on her feet. She almost gasped at the sight, but made sure to stay quiet.
Gary was passed out against the far wall next to a little boy who was also unconscious. To the left side of the dimly lit room, Ash and May were being beat up by a rather muscular looking man. They were both lying on the ground as the man kicked their bruised and battered forms mercilessly.
Leaf glared at him and quickly thought of how she could save her friends.
"Valerian Taraxacum," she said with the quietest voice she could produce.
The dandelion grew onto the palm of her hand and she softly blew the seeds toward Byron. One latched onto his cloak and Leaf rejoiced. His kicks began to stop and he fell to the ground. He snored loudly and Ash and May looked at him with confusion.
As soon as he fell Leaf ran over to him and immediately used her magic.
"Angel Oak Chamber!" She held her hands forward, pointing them at Byron. A large oak tree grew and encased Byron's sleeping form completely.
Ash and May looked at the source of her voice with even more confusion.
"Leaf?" Ash asked, looking around.
"Yes, it's me!" Leaf said, dispelling the magic of the Valerian seed. Her invisibility faded away and she became visible to Ash and May.
"Whoa! You were invisible!" May said, surprised to see Leaf suddenly appear.
"And you trapped Byron! Nice!" Ash gave her a thumbs up.
Leaf smiled. A smile that faded away once she noticed their injuries.
"I have to heal you everyone right away!" she exclaimed. "Wisteria!"
Once Leaf called out its name, the violet petals of the wisteria tree took form and flew around the room. May gasped as each spot on her body that was touched by one of the petals was instantly healed.
"Leaf, this is amazing!" May called out, impressed by her friend's abilities. Leaf smiled gently at her.
"Thank you, but this is nothing," Leaf said.
The petals swarmed around the room and reached Gary and Liam. As he was healed, Gary slowly opened his eyes to see Ash, May and Leaf crowded around him.
"Took you long enough, sleeping beauty," Ash said, mocking Gary earlier comment.
Gary grimaced but then decided to let it slide. He then noticed the petals.
"Huh? Leaf, you used Wisteria?" he asked.
"Yeah, since everyone was so injured," Leaf replied with a smile.
"But Leaf, isn't this using up a lot of your magic? Are you okay?" Gary worried.
"Yes, I'm fine…" Leaf said, but slowly began to lose consciousness.
"Leaf!" Gary called out. She fell forward and he caught her in his arms. He sighed, but smiled. "Jeez, what am I going to do with you?"
Ash and May began to snicker and Gary looked at them only to see their wiggling eyebrows. He felt his cheeks get warm and he glared at them.
"Anyway, what do we do about that guy?" May asked, pointing her thumb at the oak that consumed Byron.
"That's Leaf's Angel Oak, right? It'll keep him trapped for a couple days so we should tell Madeline to contact the magic council so they can take him into custody once he breaks free," Gary replied.
"Hey, you awake, little buddy?" Ash said to the little boy sitting next to Gary who had now opened his eyes.
"Ah, where am I?" Liam said, still scared.
"Don't worry, we're the good guys!" Ash patted him on the head and ruffled his brown hair. "We're going to bring you home now!"
Liam's eyes shined and he smiled brightly up at Ash.
"Thank you, mister!"
They then left the tower. Ash held Liam's hand as they trekked back to the village. Ash and May also enjoyed snickering at Gary who was carrying Leaf on his back. His cheeks were red the entire way back.
"Liam! You're safe!" Madeline cried out when she saw the mages return with her son. She embraced Liam with one arm and held a sleeping Harriett with the other.
Once they got the pleasantries out of the way, the team of four explained the situation to Madeline.
"Apparently, they were both Titan Fist members who were using the tower as a hideout. I've dealt with Cayden, but the one named Byron is still alive, trapped inside the Angel Oak tree in the back room of the lowest floor, so please alert the magic council as soon as possible," Gary said.
"I see. I'll give one of the council members a call right away. I can't thank you four enough for all your help. I didn't think it would be something as serious as a dark guild, so I'm very sorry for the trouble!" Madeline replied.
"Please don't worry about it, miss! Besides, Gary and Leaf practically took care of those guys on their own," Ash said, proud to have such reliable friends.
"Hm, I guess so. You shouldn't slack next time, Ashy-boy," Gary teased. Ash grimaced at the old nickname.
After receiving their 10 000 Jewel reward, the team of four began the walk back to the train station.
"Hey May, I'll race you there," Ash challenged.
"You're on!" May replied.
The two took off, leaving Gary who was still carrying Leaf on his back. Ash and May's loud voices were enough to finally wake her up and she noticed that Gary was the one carrying her. She smiled and held onto him tightly in a hug.
"Huh…Leaf, y-you awake?" Gary said, embarrassed by the embrace. He started to blush and he turned his head back to see Leaf smiling at him while resting her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you for carrying me, Gary," she said with a kind voice. Gary's blush deepened.
"Y-yeah, no problem…" He looked away, his face as red as a tomato. "Just…don't overdo it next time…okay?"
"Sure!" Her smile widened and Gary tried to walk faster to catch up to Ash and May.
As the sun began to set, Leaf had many thoughts swirling around in her head.
"Gary…I'm sorry I was so useless back there," Leaf said. Gary knitted his eyebrows.
"Leaf, you definitely weren't useless. Without you, we would've lost to that Byron guy for sure. If anything I'm the weak one for passing out at such a vital time," Gary replied. Leaf sighed and patted his head.
"Gary, you're not weak. You're just as strong as the oak tree that captured Byron. You're last name is even Oak!" Leaf said reassuringly. Gary chuckled.
"Heh, yeah, I guess." Leaf smiled brightly.
"Oh, and Gary?"
"Yeah?"
"You can put me down now."
"Right! Of course!" Gary blushed and slowly let Leaf down.
She laughed and he smiled at her. The setting sun brought out the red pigments in her brown hair which swayed in the light breeze. Her kind, brown eyes had a warmness to them that he hoped would never go cold.
When I'm a little more grown up I wonder how I will be different. Well, it's not like the footprints you left on my heart will disappear.
AN: *New chapter gets posted out of the blue after a million years*
and it's a chapter full of cheesy cheese.
pls forgive me! It's been way too long! I plan on posting a little more often now though, so hopefully I'll be able to find some kind of schedule to stick to..? (that's just wishful thinking, really)
In the meantime, I've descended into sports anime hell and have been completely obsessed with Haikyuu lately so, I'll let that be my excuse.
Please review!
