((Quick Recap: Leigh defeated the master of Serpent Fang. Chikvu then vowed to become much stronger so he can protect his family))
A couple weeks had passed after the Serpent Fang incident, and the Jade Lion guild were putting the finishing touches on the repairs of their guildhall. Chikvu walked out of the front door, wearing a white T-shirt and a black leather jacket with a green Jade Lion symbol on the back. He reached into the T-shirt and pulled out his necklace so it was visible
"There you are" Leo said
"Aren't you almost done? I'm ready to put this behind me" Chikvu sighed
"Don't get your scales in a twist, we're almost done" Leo smirked
Chikvu walked over and saw G.R. using a concentrated beam of energy to carve some metal into a specific shape
"Huh, no wonder it's taking so long. You've got Cosmos-for-Brains on the job" Chikvu smirked
"Back off, Dust Breath" G.R. growled
The two Dragon Slayers got in each other's face, forcing Leo to separate them
Zinnia walked out and blew the boys apart with a current of shadows "Can't you two idiots shut up for five minutes?"
"Watch it, Zinnia!" Chikvu and G.R. yelled
"Make me!" Zinnia countered
All three of the wizards got ready for a fight
"Easy, all of you!" Leigh demanded as she entered the area
The three backed away from each other. Shorty flew out of the guild and onto her partner's head
"Chik! I have a job that's paying a lot!" the cat smiled
"Cool. Get whatever you need, we'll head out in five" Chikvu responded
"Yeah" Shorty nodded started to fly only to be pulled back down because of Leigh grabbing her tail "Yow!"
"Sorry" Leigh apologized and took a look at the job request paper "But I could use your help here, Shorty"
"Huh?" Shorty questioned as she hung upsidedown
"Chikvu, how about you and Zinnia go?" Leigh smiled
"Why me?" Zinnia asked
"No reason" Leigh shrugged
Chikvu scratched his head in confusion "Well, if there's no reason then why doesn't Zinnia stay here and Shorty-"
Leigh stomped her foot and shook the entire town "I said, Shorty is needed here..."
"O-Okay..." Chikvu and Zinnia gulped
"G.R., you should join them" Leigh said
"What?!" G.R. gasped
"No way! I refuse to be stuck with him throughout this!" Chikvu growled
This time, without even moving Leigh shook the town as her eyes glowed. Chikvu was about the say something but the fear of his mother getting angry stopped him. The three got the information for their job and left as Shorty and Leigh saw them off
"Mrs. Mom, why'd you send them of all people?" Shorty wondered
"A job like this could really help them grow closer" Leigh answered
"Really?" Shorty asked
"I hope..." Leigh sighed
Chikvu's group headed to the train station and got on the train, much to Chikvu's dismay. The second the train started to move, Chikvu almost passed out
"You're pathetic" G.R. smirked
"Up your's..." Chikvu groaned
Zinnia rolled her eyes and ignored the Dragon Slayers. She read over the request sheet so she'd know what they were in for. The job was stopping a heard of monsters in a mountain
"Sounds easy enough" Zinnia smiled
"The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can get home" G.R. said
"I couldn't agree more" Zinnia nodded
"Agreed..!" Chikvu added
After about an hour, the train finally came to a stop and Chikvu rushed off of the deathtrap
"Ugh... I thought I was gonna die..." Chikvu sighed
"Wouldn't that be a treat?" G.R. mumbled
"Let's just get this over with" Zinnia scolded
Chikvu stood back up and took a couple steps forward. He suddenly got the feeling that he was being watched. There was a little girl with red hair standing in the door of the train, staring at Chikvu. The Dragon Slayer quickly turned around but saw no one there
"Hm?" Chikvu hummed
"Chikvu, come on!" Zinnia hollered
Chikvu put the feeling out of his mind. The group went to the town and got any information they could about where to find the monsters from the request. They were directed to the largest mountain that reached through the clouds
"Of course..." they all sighed
Chikvu had no problem scaling the mountain and laughed "Come on, slow pokes!"
Zinnia and G.R. growled "Shut it!"
Chikvu reached a high peak and decided to wait for the others "So, where are these things? I swear, if I got on that damn train for nothing, those people are gonna have another thing to worry about"
"I always meant to ask you about that. What's with that motion sickness anyway?" Zinnia asked "You were never like that when we were kids, you just sorta started getting really sick when you got on trains and boats and stuff. What gives?"
Chikvu shrugged "I don't know... Like you said, it just happened one day. But Shorty's by my side, most of the time, so it's cool"
"But why don't you get sick when she flies you?" G.R. asked
"How should I know? I stopped asking questions a long time ago" Chikvu replied
When the last two Slayers reached Chikvu, the ground started to rumble
"What's that?" G.R. asked
Multiple rhino-like beasts rounded the corner and stampeded at the group
"I love it when money just comes running at you" Zinnia smirked
Chikvu went ahead and took a deep breath "Earth Dragon... ROAR!"
Chikvu fired his breath attack but it was completely ineffective against the heard
"What?!" Chikvu gasped
G.R. laughed stepped forward "Let a real man give it a shot"
Chikvu brushed him off "By all means"
"Space Dragon... ROAR!" G.R. roared but his attack had the same effect as Chikvu's "The hell?"
"That's what I thought" Chikvu smirked
The group jumped out of the way of the stampede. The rumbling caused an avalanche. Giant boulders fell and rolled towards the village that hired them
"Dammit..." Zinnia groaned and looked at Chikvu
"What?" Chikvu shrugged
"Giant boulders... Earth... Kinda your go-to" Zinnia glared
Chikvu sighed and dove off of the mountain. He landed at the base of the mountain and face the falling boulders. The Dragon Slayer turned his arm into a spiked mace and smashed the ground with great force, creating a huge crater that the boulders fell in
"Show off" G.R. grumbled
"Well that was easy" Chikvu said as climbed back up to the others
Zinnia and G.R. gasped "He's fast!"
"Now I see why they needed help, this is a real problem" Chikvu concluded
"I expected you to... y'know" Zinnia smirked
Chikvu put his hands in his pockets and shrugged "What can I say, I wasn't hungry"
"What are we gonna do about those... things?" G.R. asked
"I just need another shot, I'll take care of it" Chikvu answered
"Chikvu, you saw what happened. Neither yours and G.R.'s magic has any effect on them. And I doubt mine will be any different" Zinnia explained "These creatures, they have a high resistance to magic"
"Probably why they're still here" G.R. assumed
"They've been taking everything that's been thrown at 'em" Chikvu added
"So what's the plan?" Zinnia asked
One last monster came rushing in
Chikvu stepped forward and cracked his knuckles "Well, if magic doesn't work, that only leaves one thing"
"And what's that?" G.R. wondered
When the creature got close, Chikvy punched the rhino, causing it to weep and go back the other way
"Oh punching, no one gets the job done like you" Chikvu grinned
"So these things can take a magic blast but not a fist?" G.R. sighed "Pathetic"
"At least we know how to piss 'em off, that's gotta count for something" Chikvu said
"Not really, unless you feel like boxing a heard of monsters" Zinnia commented
"What's your point?" the boys deapanned
"I'm not fist-fighting a damn rhino!" Zinnia yelled
"Fine. But luckily, I just came up with another plan" Chikvu smirked "First thing's first, I need them hyped"
The herd was still running along the side of the mountain. Out of nowhere, a huge amount of shadows shot up from the ground and stopped the stampede in it's tracks from fear. Zinnia walked out from the shadows and used them to create a swirling dome around the beasts. The herd got startled and burst right through the dome
"Your turn" Zinnia said as she turned into a shadow and vanished
G.R. dropped down from above and used his breath along the ground, carving a path on the side of the mountain that made the beasts change course. The herd ran downward at Chikvu who was waiting at the base of the structure. Chikvu was humming a song and staring at his necklace. He noticed the one leading the herd was bigger than the others. He took a breath and took off. Chikvu took the beast head-on and delivered a powerful punch to the leader. The rhino wailed in pain and tried stab Chikvu with it's horn but he caught it and lifted the creature in the air
"Ugly basturd!" Chikvu growled and used the leader as a weapon to beat a bunch more of the monsters
"Physically beating someone with with someone else. Gotta say, this is the only one of Chikvu's plans that actually amuses me" G.R. chuckling
Chikvu threw all of the monsters off the mountain and they ran away
"Who's next?" Chikvu growled
"Easy, killer" Zinnia smirked
"Big talk Chikvu, beating up a bunch of animals" G.R. grinned
"Say that again, you freak" Chikvu growled
"You think you can take me, asshole?" G.R. glared
"Please don't start..." Zinnia sighed
"Y'know, everytime I try to kick your ass, someone from the guild breaks us up" Chikvu stated
"But no one's here now" G.R. added
That instant the entire mountain shook as the two Dragon Slayers started fighting. Zinnia ducked to the side to evade being caught in the middle of the duel
"Earth Dragon Mace!" Chinvu yelled
"Space Dragon Gauntlet!" G.R. countered
The two attacks collided and they both kept up the assault
"Hey! That's enough, you two!" Zinnia called out
When Zinnia tried to break them up but Chikvu and G.R. knock her back
"Back off!" the boys yelled
Zinnia flew back into a rock and fell down. The Dragon Slayers were so focused on their fight, they didn't notice Zinnia slowly sitting up as her eyes glowed white
"Hey" Zinnia whispered
Chikvu and G.R. felt the energy coming off of her "Huh?"
A loud bang went off and Chikvu and G.R. came crashing into the town
"Ah! Dammit!" Chikvu winced as he pulled himself off the ground
"That hurt!" G.R. growled and saw Zinnia walked up to them
The boys took Zinnia's angry expression as a challenge. Without thinking, they all began attacking each other, demolishing buildings as they fought. Later when they returned home, they were deeply scolded by their guild master
"Unbelievable..." Leigh sighed
Chikvu, Zinnia and G.R. stood in Leigh's office, covered in bruises
"This was supposed to be a simple job to teach you about teamwork!" Leigh glared
"What, it worked" Chikvu shrugged
"For all of five minutes" G.R. mumbled before Leigh whacked him over the head "Ah!"
"I'm very disappointed in all of you" Leigh stated "An entire town wrecked. The magic council is trying to rip my head off!"
"Eh, those guys suck anyway" Chikvu said
"Well, to be fair... some of the blame is on you, Mom" Zinnia said "You were the one who made us go together"
"Yeah, this woulda gone way better if you just let me go with Shorty" Chikvu nodded
Leigh said nothing as the everything started to rumble
"B-But... we could've handled that differently. You're completely right..." Zinnia chuckled
Leigh sighed and grabbed her head "Just go... I'll deal with you later"
The three left Leigh's office
"Can't say I didn't see that coming" G.R. said
"Well we kinda deserved it" Zinnia frowned
"But in all seriousness, what does she expect? She knows we don't see eye-to-eye, why make us go together?" Chikvu wondered
"You heard her, teamwork" G.R. shrugged
"We gotta make this right. I don't like her being mad at us, or at the very least me" Zinnia said
The Dragon Slayers sighed and nodded. Hours later, Leigh finally exited her office after being scolded by the Council. She looked around but didn't see anyone. The entire place looked surprisingly clean, much cleaner than it normally looked at the end of the day. There was some noise coming from outside the building, peeking Leigh's attention. She walked through the front door and saw that all of the repairs of the guildhall were complete. Chikvu, Zinnia and G.R. were housted above the door, hanging something over it but Leigh couldn't see what it was because of a sheet they had over it
"What are you doing?" Leigh asked
"Mom!" Zinnia smiled and jumped down "Check it out, we cleaned the whole guild and finished the repairs"
"We did? Just you three?" Leigh wondered
"Yeah. We sent everyone home hours ago" G.R. explained
"We gotta take care of our home, right? That's one thing we can agree on" Chikvu smirked
"Mom, we're sorry. Really" Zinnia frowned
"I know" Leigh smiled "By the way, what's under that sheet?"
"A peace offering" Chikvu answered
"But I already forgave you" Leigh said
"Then call this a freebie" G.R. added
Chikvu and G.R. pulled the sheet down as they jumped down, revealing a large Jade Lion emblem made out of light green metal
"Oh my..." Leigh smiled
"You got good timing. We just got done welding it up there" G.R. said
"It's perfect" Leigh stated
"Yeah, all thanks to my leadership" Zinnia smirked
"What?!" Chikvu and G.R. growled
That instant sparked an argument between the three which lead to a fight. Leigh sighed and shrugged, not being surprised by the outcome. Not too long later, G.R. took his leave and the Falconers went home where Shorty was waiting. Instead of calling it a day, Chikvu decided he needed some fresh air so he just sat on the stairs of his porch and relaxed. Chikvu closed his eyes and leaned back
"Hello"
Chikvu opened his eyes and saw a girl with red hair standing in front of him "Uhh... hello"
"How is it?" she asked
"I'm sorry?" Chikvu asked, confused by the question
"Your guild. Is it good? Is it bad? Do you hate any of the people?" she followed up
Chikvu was still confused "What? Who are you, kid?"
The girl smiled "Aqua"
Chikvu nodded "Okay. I'm-"
"Chikvu Falconer" Aqua said
"Have we met?" Chikvu wondered
"Yes. And no" Aqua answered
"I'm lost, which is it?" Chikvu asked
"Both" Aqua stated
Chikvu sighed and stepped off the porch "Okay, well I'm starting to get a little freaked out"
Aqua tilted her head "Really?"
Chikvu held out his hand and the girl smiled and held it
"How about I take you home and we let your parents figure out what's wrong with you? Sound good?" Chikvu offered and nodded "Alright"
"My... home?" Aqua asked
"Yeah" Chikvu comfirmed
"No!" Aqua yelled, shaking herself loose and running away
"Hey! Wait!" Chikvu called out and chased after her "Aqua!"
Aqua rushed down the street and around the corner. Chikvu rounded the same corner not even a second later and lost sight of her
"The hell..." Chikvu mumbled
Chikvu was surprised to see Aqua disappear, considering the street was a dead end. Chikvu attempted to pick up her scent but couldn't seem to get anything
"No scent? How's that possible?" Chikvu asked himself
"Chik!" Shorty called out and flew to Chikvu's side "I saw you running, what's going on?"
"I'm not sure" Chikvu replied
Chikvu turned away and walked off with Shorty, unaware that Aqua had reappeared at the end of the road
"Oh well... Maybe next time" Aqua frowned and vanished in a flash of red mist
((Next time, Chikvu takes Rex on a job. Questions, comments and concerns are expected and accepted. Thanks for reading!))
