Disclaimer: I own the Guardian of the Fang and Chrysoprase.

A/N: Another horrifically long update period. This is the second to last chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.

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Tyson stroked a finger down Dragoon's neck, smiling when the small drake curled into a tighter ball. It was still early, the sun painting the very tops of the mountains fog still obscuring the valley. He'd left Max in their room, the blonde warm and asleep in the bed. They'd been up late getting everything ready for Rei's departure later that morning and his partner had been going harder than anyone.

He picked a small piece of meat off the table next to him and fed it to Dragoon, gaze fastened on the fire. Early mornings were his favorite time of the day. He was always up before Kenny and Max and made breakfast and left it near the stove to warm before settling into the big chair in front of the fire.

A warm hand settled on his neck and his head dropped forward as Max's fingers stroked his spine. "I thought you were still asleep."

"I was until you left the bed." Max slid his fingers under the neck of Tyson's shirt, warming his fingers against the navy haired man's skin. "That and I wanted to make sure Rei has everything he needs. This is going to be the longest part of his journey."

Before Tyson could reply Kenny burst into the house, his cat right behind him. "Tyson, they're almost here! Rei has to leave now."

Max caught the smaller man as he tripped on the carpet. "Who is Kenny?"

"The Enchantress' minions. They'll be here soon and if they capture him everything is going to collapse." Kenny shook the blonde's arms off him and straightened up.

Tyson shot to his feet, ignoring the indignant squawk from Dragoon. "Crap. Max, get Wolborg and Driger harnessed, I'm going to go get Rei ready. Dragoon, Draciel, Dizzy go distract them."

He took the stairs two at a time, Max following close behind. Not taking the time to knock they burst into the room. Wolborg and Driger were already on their feet and Rei was staring at them from the bed with sleep clouded eyes.

Tyson pulled the neko-jin out of the bed and stripped his nightshirt off before grabbing a sleeveless tunic off the chair. "Don't question. Some how the Enchantress found out you're here and her minions are on her way. You have to leave now."

His words galvanized the smaller man to action and he stripped and redressed faster then Tyson had ever seen anyone move. He had just finished braiding his hair when Max tightened the last strap on Driger's harness.

The five of them ran back downstairs and out the front door into the street. Dragoon, Draciel and Dizzy were standing at the corner of the house, staring towards the center of town tension radiating out of them. Wolborg had his muzzle buried in the snow and was casting around, his fur bristling. Driger was staring at the forest, tail swishing back and forth in agitation.

Tyson grabbed Rei. "Remember to find the Guardian of the Fang the moment you get to Valerin. Without what he has to offer the Enchantress will make you her slave. And no matter what you may hear, do not look and don't even think about coming back to help." He picked the neko-jin up and practically tossed him on Driger. Rei was forced to make a mad grab for the harness when both Driger and Wolborg started running, heading for the forest.

A strange keening sound filled the air, slowly rising in pitch, causing the hairs on the back of Rei's neck to stand despite the fact they were rapidly leaving the small village behind. They crossed into the forest and the sound stopped just as suddenly as it had started.

-----

Driger stopped and Rei slid off the tiger's back loosening his cloak as he did. Tyson, Max and Kenny were several hours behind them and he could only hope that they hadn't been hurt. He knew that the three men were in tune with the Princes' powers and could use them but the thought did nothing to crush the guilt he felt.

He rolled his cloak up and fastened it to Driger's harness before unlacing the neck of his tunic. "I don't suppose either of you know where we're going because there isn't a map anywhere."

The two animals shared a look before Wolborg whuffed in acknowledgment. He moved to stand in front of two huge upright boulders. With a low growl he started digging at the bottom of the bushes between the stones, kicking back wet dirt with vicious movements of his paws. Within seconds the bushes were gone, torn out of the ground by the wolf.

With a glance over his shoulder Wolborg bounded down the path, leaving Rei to scramble onto Driger's back before the tiger could move. The moment Driger crossed on to the path the sounds of the forest died around them and even the steady cadence of Driger's feet on the ground was missing, giving the impression that they were floating above the dirt path.

Rei lost track of how long they had been moving. The sun seemed to have crossed the sky nearly thirteen times by his count although there was a chance he had miscounted simply because he'd never seen the moon. Driger was still running, faster then a normal animal and Wolborg was a white streak ahead of them, the distance between the wolf and tiger never changing.

As abruptly as their journey had started it came to an end, in a small clearing. A large stone was embedded in the loam in the center of the clearing, a hollow carved in the center. Rei slid off of Driger's back and dug through the packs until he located the flask he had received from Lei. He uncorked the bottle the poured a small amount of the thick brown liquid into the hollow, nose wrinkling when the fumes reached his nose. He drew back slightly, not knowing what was going to happen but with everything he'd seen as of late he decided it was better to be safe.

After several minutes with nothing but the wind ruffling the tree leaves he turned to look at Driger and Wolborg who were sitting several feet from the rock, watching him with intent eyes. "You two knew how to get here. I suppose it's too much to ask that you know how to summon the Guardian?"

The two animals exchanged a look before a deep, throaty voice seemed to echo through his mind. Blood.

With a sigh Rei took the knife from its scabbard and pressed it to the ball of his thumb, the keen blade slicing into his skin with ease. A drop of blood welled out of the cut, bright red against his thumb. For a moment the droplet clung to his skin before it succumbed to gravity, falling into the hollow.

The moment the blood touched the brown liquid a reedy, pulsing sound filled the air and the wind picked up whipping the trees around. The sky blacked for a moment before everything fell deathly silent. Rei's grip on the knife tightened and he took a step back as the air in front of him shimmered before resolving into a figure.

The man in front of him was huge, easily topping seven feet. He was covered in muscle and was wearing nothing more then a black loincloth. His hair was varying shades of grey and pulled back in a knot at the base of his neck to revel sharp features and feral green eyes. "I am the Guardian of the Claw. Speak."

Rei resheathed his knife and stepped forward. "I was told you had what I needed to defeat the Enchantress."

The Guardian looked startled, eyes darting from the neko-jin to Wolborg and Driger who were watching the entire encounter and back to Rei. "Finally it has happened." He bowed to the guardians. "I welcome you Spirit and Ice, but you know five must be present before I can hand over Chrysoprase."

Before Rei could answer Galleon appeared by Driger, golden eyes fixed on the Guardian. Dranzer and Falborg each landed on a tree, bowing the branches slightly under their weight. "Fire, Wind, Earth. You are welcomed here." His eyes went back to Rei, who was surprised to see the other three guardians. Evidently the Princes hadn't been lying when they'd mentioned the prophecy.

"And the Prince on whom the fate of the entire Immortal Realms rests on. Only the one who swears on blood may take Chrysoprase. Will you give yourself to it? By accepting Chrysoprase you remain bound to it until death."

Rei fought the urge to turn and look at the five guardians, knowing he had to make the decision on his own. Part of him found it impossible to believe the Enchantress was as horrible as everyone was making her out to be, but a larger part of him wondered why she had felt the need to kidnap Tala.

Taking a deep breath he stepped forward, golden eyes meeting the Guardian's. "I will."

A predatory smirk twisted the Guardian's lips and before the neko-jin could he found himself pinned against the muscled body. An unbearably warm hand pulled aside the neck of his tunic and sharp fangs pierced his shoulder, drawing a short scream from him.

Warmth pooled at the wounds and Rei found himself relaxing against the Guardian as the sharp pain faded away. He whimpered when the Guardian pulled away, leaving him feeling empty and alone.

The Guardian wiped the blood from his lips, humming low in his chest. "Bound to Chrysoprase you are. Accepted your sacrifice on the Magic's behalf I have." He turned to the five guardians, eyes glowing. "Return to your wards and tell them the Realms shall be saved."

As suddenly as Galleon, Dranzer and Falborg had arrived they were gone, leaving Rei alone with Driger, Wolborg and the Guardian. With tentative fingers Rei raised his hand to the spot where the Guardian had bit him, expecting to find blood. He was surprised when his fingers brushed over scarred flesh. "How?"

"The Magic heals those it binds to." The Guardian held his hand out to Rei, palm up with the fingers closed. "I present you with Chrysoprase, the only thing that can destroy the Enchantress' power."

He opened his hand and Rei gasped in shock. A long crystal rested in the massive hand, one end bound in thick black leather. It was vaguely knife shaped with the bound end serving as a handle but that's where the similarity ended. Instead of a single blade the other end had been left raw and ragged, reminding him of a cliff face.

"Remember the Enchantress must never get her hands on Chrysoprase. Itis made of raw Elemental Magic and her touch will break the Magic." The Guardian glanced at the sky before thrusting the blade into Rei's hands. "The Enchantress' tower is close. You must get there before the eclipse or her tower will be impossible to find for the next three days and I fear the Ice Prince is running out of time."

Rei tucked Chrysoprase up the sleeve off his shirt, holding it in place with several pieces of extra leather straps from Driger's harness. He climbed on to the tiger's back, hands tangling in the straps. "What if I can't get to the tower in time?"

The Guardian shrugged as he started to fade away. "I cannot say what the Enchantress might do to Tala, but I will use all of my power to bend the forest so your trip is as quick as possible. For this to work all five Princes need to be bonded to the Magic and the Enchantress knows this. She took Tala because of your attachment to him. Good luck."

The neko-jin leaned low over Driger's back and with the sound of feet on ground the three of them were gone, heading east.

-----

Rei had no problems sneaking into the Enchantress' tower. It seemed even in her domain she relied more on seeing spells then on living things and Bryan's ring protected him despite the fact he was probably only feet from her. He glanced towards the stairs at the end of the small room he was that lead upwards, quickly disappearing into darkness as they rose.

A small door was to his left and without thinking he headed for it, knife held tightly in one hand. To his utter surprise the door was unlocked and behind it were stairs that led down. Casting one last look over his shoulder he carefully stepped into the darkness, silently praising his heritage. The stairs were pitch black and he would have broken his neck if not for being a neko-jin.

At the bottom of the stairs was a second door, also closed. He stopped for a moment, ear pressed to the door. When nothing reached him he slowly pushed the door open. This hallway was short, with one last doorway at the end. With the door open he could make out the faint sound of breathing and he had no doubt who was behind the metal door at the end of the hall.

With lightning speed he dashed down the short hallway and unlocked the door. Without warning it swung outward and he found himself pressed against the wall, head held against the wall with a strong hand on the back of his neck. "Tell your mistress I've had enough."

Rei's eyes widened in shock at the sound of Tala's voice, harsh with disuse. "Tala it's me."

He was whirled around and pulled against a warm lean body. Hot breath puffed against his neck. "Gods Rei, I never thought I was going to see you again."

Ignoring how good it felt to be touching the redhead again Rei pulled away from the Prince, golden eyes sweeping over the other male. Dark smudges underlined the icy blue eyes and a bruise graced the pointed chin. Long scratches trailed down his left arm and he looked a little thin but in the end he didn't look as bad as Rei had been expecting. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Tala scrubbed a hand over his face, wincing slightly when he touched the bruise. "Mostly to make sure you and Driger would bond. We feared taking you away from him when you were so young would inhibit the growth of your bond but we quickly realized that we didn't have to worry. I was going to tell you the next day and we were going to bond you to us and the land but the Enchantress made her move sooner then we had anticipated."

"And what about this Prophecy I've heard so much about?"

The Prince shot a glance at the open door before he looked back at the neko-jin. "There's actually a long story before we even get to the Prophecy. Nearly a thousand years ago a Death Priestess realized that by using the energies released at death she could increase her powers. She left her temple and turned to Blood Magic. Blood Magic is not normal and every time it is used it destroys the flow of nature and of all other Magic."

"Part of our charge when we became the Elemental Princes was to find a way to destroy the Enchantress. She found out about our plans and used her magic to curse me. From dusk to dawn I would live as a man but from dawn to dusk I was doomed to run as a pack. Luckily Wolborg and Firn were there to stay with me."

At Rei's gasp Tala smiled slightly. "Yes. I'm Zev and I spent nearly ten years living with her curse. When you had come of age we decided we would bring you back to the Immortal Plain so we could teach you how to use your powers."

Rei rolled his eyes, fingers brushing lightly against Chrysoprase, the feeling of the cold crystal against his hand oddly reassuring. "That still doesn't tell me anything about the Prophecy. Why am I so important?"

The redhead caught Rei's left arm and pushed his sleeve up to bare his wrist. He rubbed his thumb over the soft skin. When he pulled away a small dark spot that looked like a feline footprint graced the tan skin. "Because it was said the one baring the mark of the Tiger would save the Immortal Realm. Kai was actually the person who saw the Prophecy." Tala closed his eyes as though it would better help him visualize the words. "A Prince of the Blood will return from unknown exile-"

"To rid the world of the Blood Queen. I'm touched that you remembered the Prophecy so well Prince Tala."

In the blink of an eye Tala was in front of Rei, sharp eyes fixed on the figure in the doorway.

Rei had been expecting a gaunt, cadaverous person that looked like the dead she used in her magic. Instead he was faced with a neko-jin with bright pink hair that matched her robes and nails perfectly.

She caught Rei's eyes and bowed, a bright smile curling her painted lips. "Rei Spirit Prince, I am pleased to finally meet you and I hope you are ready to start the Apprenticeship you were denied years ago."

Tala took a half step forward, his power swirling around him like a cloak. "I won't allow you to have him Mariah. We know what you've done with your other Apprentices. How you've trained them before killing them and absorbing their power into yours. You will not have another innocent victim."

With a quick movement of her hand she slammed the redhead against the cell wall and held him in place as she stalked forward until she was standing in front of Rei who was watching her with wide eyes.

The Enchantress cupped Rei's cheek with one hand, thumb brushing across his cheek as she stared at him. "I did what I had to so my Apprentices wouldn't get out of control, but I would never do that to Rei. He is of my blood." She glanced at Tala, smiling at the horrified look on the redhead's face.

"He's my son."