The Connection of Four of the Crystals

"What the...?" Echo said as the sky lit with fire. Not paying attention to the training, Echo found himself flat on his back. "Wiz!"

"Sorry, you were supposed to..." Wiz helped Echo up but his sentence was cut off by a loud roar.

"That can't be good." Andy looked at Grim and then at the twins. They knew what the fire meant. "Let's go!" The four Generals started running towards the entrance of the Colosseum. The others were close behind.

They reached the edge of the Training Island where they met Liber and Bane. "Prepare for battle. Joy and Celtic are in trouble." Liber said, before he was finished all of the dragons were already taking flight.

"I hope they get here soon." Celtic said, she was struggling to stand. "Not sure how many more hits I can take."

"Just hang in there." Joy had formed metal barriers to block some of the energy blasts. She was feeling the blasts as well.

"Give up! You can't win!" Justin shouted while his men continued to attack. "Give me the crystals and I'll let you go."

"Forget it!" Celtic stood on shaky legs and then sent a fire ball barrelling at Justin and his men.

"Then die!" Justin was furious. He made his way closer to the Mistresses. "This is your last chance, hand over the crystals or die."

"I think you're forgetting an option, Justin." That voice eased Celtic and Joy's fears.

"Liber..." Justin hissed when he noticed Liber and the rest approaching. "This is nowhere near finished!" He signaled for Shadow and the others to fall in line.

"Are you two alright?" Liber asked Joy and Celtic when he reached them.

"I've been better." Joy said as Grim came over to support her.

"I don't think I've ever been worse." Celtic laughed a little. It was very evident that she was struggling to stand. She leaned against Frost when he got close enough. "The bright side..." Celtic winced a little. "The bright side is that we managed to get the crystals."

"That is good..." Liber sighed a little in relief. "Now if we can only get you out of here."

"You will not leave until I get those crystals back!" Justin shouted.

"He likes repeating himself, I see." Pickle said. "Can we get out of here already? This isn't the best battle location..."

"I'd have to agree on that one, Liber." Nate said, the rest of the Generals and the dragons had been fighting for a while now. "We might be able to bide some time so you and Bane can get Joy and Celtic out of here."

"No! We're staying!" Celtic tried to stand on her own.

"No, you are getting out of here. You are in no shape to continue fighting." Frost said as he nudged Celtic towards Claddagh.

"Come on, Celtic." Heat grabbed her by the elbow and nearly threw her up on her dragon. "Claddagh, get her out of here."

"Joy, you too." Andy and Grim helped her onto Helios. The two Mistressess were joined by Liber and Bane. As they were about to take flight the Malachite, Ironwood, Frostfire, and Blue Fire dragons fell into a protective line.

"This isn't over!" Justin shouted when he realized that Celtic and Joy had gotten away. And with them were the crystals.

"Good to see you back on your feet." Echo greeted Celtic and Joy as they entered the banquet hall."

"Hiz." Wolfie looked up from his plate. He smiled at the women and then went back to eating.

"Celtic! Joy!" Wiz rushed at the Mistresses and hug-tackled them.

"Wiz..." Frost shook his head when he walked into the room.

"Well, it's not like I haven't been laying down for the past week or anything." Celtic remarked sarcastically as Frost helped her to her feet.

"Sorry." Wiz replied sheepishly.

"No worries; it's good to be moving about again." Joy said, Celtic nodded.

"You said you managed to get the crystals, but we've only place three of the five..." Argyos mentioned.

"Well..." Celtic looked at Joy as she tried to figure out how to explain what happened.

"I wonder..." Bane, who had been standing in the background, spoke up. "The two that are missing are the Island of Plant and Metal and the Island of Fire and Cold, right?"

"What are you getting at, Bane?" Nate asked.

"Maybe the crystals aren't missing." Bane looked at Celtic and Joy. Murmurs spread through the room as everyone thought about what Bane had just said.

"They're not." Celtic spoke. The room went silent. She explained what happened when Justin had led her to where the crystals had been kept.

"Then how do we return the crystals?" Wiz asked. Wolfie nodded.

"We don't." Frost said. "As long as Joy and Celtic live, the two Islands will float."

"Huh? What?" Echo questioned. "How does that work?"

"We have taken the crystals into ourselves... or rather the power of the crystal. As long as Joy and I live, our Islands are safe." Celtic thought for a moment. "Maybe when the threat of Justin is over will the crystals reappear..."

"What about the islands?" Latias asked. "Could Bre and I do the same as Joy and Celt?"

"It's possible, Latias. There's one way to find out..." Grim replied.

"Erm..." Bre thought for a minute."But do we want to? Is that not one more thing to worry about?"

"It's as easy as breathing, Bre." Joy replied. "I don't have to focus on it but I know it's working."

"Argyos, can you explain any of this?" Dt asked. Everyone gathered around the table as Argyos thought about it.

"It's possible that the connection each Mistress has with her island is strong enough that they become the crystals..."

"What?" Pickle asked.

"The unique power the crystal has-the power to keep the islands afloat-had now manifested itself in the two Mistresses. I'm thinking that the crystal reacted to the pendant." Argyos explained. "It makes sense that the other two crystals will react the same way."

"Should we try it?" Latias asked. "What would it hurt to at least try?"

"I don't see any reason not to." Echo agreed.

"Can we at least finish breakfast first?" Wolfie asked. Everyone laughed.