A/N: Well, I got this chapter out quick, didn't I? It's so hot here, man. HOT! D:
It wasn't even that hard to type up. But yeah, I've written 19/50 chapters now, and I've killed my last year's goal. The only thing that's keeping me writing are my reviews... Well, nah. XD;; It's not my reviews, but I do like to hear about my awesome from time to time... It's my PLOT! Yes! D: There are things that I would KILL to be able to write right now, and I can't write them unless I get all this boring, pointless stuff out of the way. XD;;
But I do care about my reviewers. XD;; *pat*
But as a writer, I'm obligated to serve my plot. *nod*
Also. Someone please. Kill Aysel. Thank you very much. XD;;
"Summoner Sayuri, all of this persistent fighting will mean nothing. It's all useless," Macarius says, drawing his sword. Sayuri stands her ground, wiping the blood off her lip.
"Bah, so you say," Sayuri answers back. "While my friends might be off fighting other clones of you and protecting the village, I know there's one of you that controls them all. When I find him, I think I'm going to have a long conversation with him." She puts her hands on her hips, triumphant. In her heart she knows that her other teammates are okay. Nina is too strong to die. Leyiko's fire burns too bright for it to be extinguished. Riona's scythe shines with the light of one thousand moons, and Jessica has a steady-beating heart—wings to carry it with.
"But all of your power is gone, Summoner Sayuri," he answers back. "You don't even have your Magic Wand anymore—did you forget you destroyed it?" Yes, that is a problem. She looks to her left. She has a plan, however. She always has a plan. "But you figured out how my clones work. Very smart girl. However, I'm done with all of these words. It's time to fight now."
"Heh, bring it on," Sayuri challenges. "I don't think I can be beaten anymore. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain!" He looks at her, his expression unchanging.
"You can only warp time two times before you can attack again, Summoner Sayuri. If you miss twice, that's the end of you. And you won't have anymore power to do it a third time. You'll lose. I won't give you a second chance, and if you miss, I'll beat you to death and take you prisoner." Sayuri resumes her stance, holding her sword and putting her freehand in front of her. She is determined to win, and that's something that he cannot take away from her.
"Then I have no choice but to fight you!" she exclaims. "I'm going to find the real you!" With that said, she runs towards Macarius with full speed, time magic amplifying her steps and sending her flying across the field. She reaches for his sword and successfully grabs it. Once she has a secure grip on it, she comes strong with her left foot, kicking her foe in the stomach and effectively breaking his sword in half as he flies into a mountain. The mountain cracks—he leaves an imprint in it. Subsequently, he falls towards the ground face-first, taken by full surprise.
"Here goes nothing..." she says, sticking what she holds of his sword in her hand into her shoulder. She winces at the pain—but swears to herself that she doesn't feel anything. She closes her eyes, staggering a little. "If I can turn the energy-sapping power around... I'd say that I can trace and pinpoint where the real you is at." Smiling, she pulls it out of her shoulder. "And guess what? I've found you!" Macarius pulls his face off the ground, frowning at her.
"Bastard..." he mutters, trying to get off the ground.
"Ha, ha! There's no getting away!" Her hands start to protrude purple lightning as the ground starts to crack in front of her. "I'm going to split time... And split you right along with it!" she yells. Macarius arches a brow, standing up. She now holds a purple lightning bolt, power pulsating through her veins. She throws it at him, but he's prepared.
"You can't hit me that easily," he says, extending his hand. He stops the raging lightning bolt in its tracks. Sayuri takes one hand off her hip, smirking.
"Now you of all people, Macarius, should know my time magic doesn't turn into lightning." Macarius is taken aback, his mouth open wide. Sayuri raises her other hand up to reveal her wand—looking as good as ever. "The Magic Wand is composed of Essences. If it breaks, the Essences are set free, correct? You want to know why they haven't attacked me blind yet?" She pauses, swinging her wand around. "It's because they're all loyal to me. They came back and fixed themselves together, repairing my wand." She swings it again, making another lightning bold attack him. He barely got to extend his hand in time to stop it. She nods, determined. "He has a five second wait time before he can do that again. I can do this!"
Before he can dodge the next one, Sayuri raises her wand in the air. "Mirror Essence!" she shouts, two of her appearing on the sides of him. He stabs both of the replicas in their stomachs with two swords, and she watches from afar as the lightning bolt almost cut him in half. He makes an impressive jump, dodging it and watching it decimate the rocks behind him. "Four seconds," she says to herself. "Just four." He stands in front of her and notices she's panting.
"Three seconds," she says.
"Your time bombs were your mirror Essence clones in disguise," he says. "That was two, and you missed both times. It's over." Her wand starts to glow as she lifts it into the air, a whole entire field of purple lightning dancing above his head. He looks up, confused. With dark eyes Sayuri simpers as the lightning starts to get closer to him. He can't escape his destined fate.
"Two seconds."
The lightning wraps around him—rendering it useless for him to move. The only thing he can do now is extend both of his hands. He is almost fully charged. It won't take long now. With enhanced speed Sayuri dashes towards him, her sword drawn. She lifts it up in the air and it acts like a lightning rod, sucking in all the lightning around her. He grunts. "If you don't have an answer, give up!" he yells. He has enough power to shoot her again, and shoot her he shall. The wind picks up and he thinks she should be dead, but she still stands there, her sword dancing with lightning.
"What the...? You withstood it? You weren't in Trance Mode!"
"No! You give up!" She takes off on her right foot, grasping her sword with both of her hands. "Eat this!" Her sword, both with lightning and time magic imbued inside of it—howls at the sight of him.
"Five seconds left... She can touch me at this point..."
"I'm going to send you back to the Stone Age!" she shouts, stabbing him in the stomach. A huge explosion results after that, his body twitching from the lightning surging throughout his body. His eyes boil, the liquid spilling from his eye sockets. Blood spews from his mouth as his right arm and leg burst into flames. His ligaments disappear in the fiery eruption.
She watches him fly across the wilderness. He hits the ground and Sayuri runs to his side. But for some reason, as she looks at his body, her eyes start to water. She shakes her head, cutting a hole in the air.
She knows where he is at, and plans to end it all.
She jumps into the darkness, and there he stands. A broken puppet. "Do you want your revenge?" he asks. Sayuri looks down at the ground, closing her eyes. "You can't even do anything anymore. You didn't even give me an answer. You can only be the sacrifice that will help me bring peace to the world." She balls up her fists, remembering everything that he told her. He shoots another one of his swords at her, which makes her step back as it impales her chest. "I can easily control you now with that thing in you. Don't worry, I haven't killed you. You're very important to me now, after all."
She glances at him—her wolf eyes piercing into his soul. His eyes widen as she snarls at him, growling. "You can't control me. I came to talk to the real you. You said if I understood your pain that it wasn't enough... That we could never come to an agreement. I wanted to see you. And you know what?" she said, pulling the sword out of her. "I thought I would change." She looks up at him, smiling. She lets out a laughter before clutching her sword. "I want to kill you so badly now, Macarius, that my fingers want to jump in front of me and pull your neck away from your body!"
She walks towards him, but her smile fades away. "I—I can't."
"Love and forgiveness can't be handed to a person..." Macarius says.
"You're right..."
"You said you'd kill me and bring peace to the world, correct?"
"If that's your justice, you're fine. You're not God, Macarius. And I still hate you... For everything you've done..." She pauses, balling up her fists. "You killed Isleen and... And... I can never forgive you for that." She looks back at him. "If I didn't sense my friends jumping to Hiroyuki's aid, he would be dead right now. Count yourself lucky—but I still hate you!" Tears stream down her cheeks. "For killing Isleen..."
"So then kill me."
"...No. I'm not going to. That's my answer."
He sighs. "You're an odd kid, you know that? You remind me of myself when I was your age. Never giving up... Never faltering. But you choose the right path... So I will... I will..." Sayuri looked down at the ground. She knew what he was going to do. "You'll bring peace to this world at my death. Sorry, Summoner Sayuri. You had a plan all along... One greater than mine."
"You're... You're crying..." Sayuri says, frowning. She notices the hot tears pouring out of his eyes.
"War brings death… Wounds and pain to both sides. There's nothing harder to accept than the deaths of those you love—so you believe they could never die. Especially those who haven't known war, like your generation. Dying like trash. Never ending hatred. Pain that never heals. That—is war. Summoner Sayuri—this is what you must face." He takes his sword and holds it in front of him. "You try to find the meaning in death, but... There's only pain and hatred. You don't know what to do with it after a while."
He drives it through his throat, falling down on one knee. Sayuri watches, clutching her heart. "My time is... Done, Summoner Sayuri. I'm counting on you..." She hears that all around her as he falls towards the ground.
-: Chapter Thirty-Seven: Wonder Drug Wonderland :-
When I took the blame we layed in ruins trying to quote your phrase
We're yelling, "Someone's got the answers, but I'd rather think there's nothing to be found."
If you knew I was dying would it change you?
So when you see me falling backwards down the wall that says I'm still alive,
Don't be cautious when I'm cautiously approaching on the other side
Everybody has their reasons, that's the reason we're all going to die.
Because if seeing is believing,
Then believe that we have lost our eyes.
When I fly solo, I fly so high
Don't touch me now.
We all deserve something
— "I Can Barely Breathe" — Manchester Orchestra
I waved my sword across the air, looking outside of the castle. So this was it? This was the war we had been anticipating for the past few days? I was expecting war to look much more deadly than this. I was expecting the sky to be a dark shade of orange, stretching out for miles. I was expecting the grass to be tainted black—flames dancing across the sky. But I guess an old man like me thinks too hard on those kind of things. I knew what war looked like—but for some reason I expected it to look different this time. Princess Renata had given us all cloaks, and each and everyone of us wore it with pride.
It had the emblem of the kingdom on it—a new one that Summoner Chio had designed herself. It was the shape of a diamond. That was what kept us together. Diamonds were what the Summoners wore on them—Guardian Miyuki said it was to show how strong their wills were, and how they wouldn't break to things or lose battles. Just like the old saying, she said that the soul is placed in the body and it's like a rough diamond. It must be polished within or the luster of the soul will never appear. All the Summoners had some sort of diamond on them.
Summoner Sayuri wore a small diamond on the edge of her corset—and her wand was made up of a diamond. Summoner Kokoro had a diamond patch strapped to his arm. Summoner Morta had a keyhole cut on her dress in the shape of a diamond. Summoner Chio's ring was a diamond, and she had a tattoo on her hand of one. The diamond is a symbol of clarity, ascension and wisdom. It represents a butterfly—and they fly back home in groups. They'll always come back to their homes. That could also be translated as the soul's journey home.
The Summoners leave a legacy behind them wherever they journey. The diamond also stands for rebirth, revitalization, and metamorphosis. From egg, larva, pupa, and butterfly, all of these things are a step they have to take to reach the enlightenment of their immortal conclusion. For if one leaves a legacy behind, they will live on in the hearts of others. I glanced up at the sky. Diamonds are invincible minerals—they can't be broken with regular force. It takes something special. It also stands as a symbol for dawn—new beginnings.
They have started this journey, and it won't end until they claim this darkness. In alchemy, the diamond symbol represents the "ultimate truth", awareness, and connections to all things. If only Summoner Sayuri were here with us now—because a diamond's complimentary elements are time and space... The wind started blowing as I walked through the castle's doors. Everyone followed behind me—their hopes in their hearts. We all wanted one thing—we wanted to end this war and find out what was going on with this world.
Once we were all out and standing on the moist grass, we all stood in a straight line, awaiting Princess Renata's orders. She stepped outside with Queen Aysel next to her. She held both of her hands, looking fairly serious. She was so strong for someone her age. She had seen more horrors than I had, that was for sure. And I felt horrible because I let her see those things. I was supposed to be her knight now—and I couldn't even do that.
"Everyone," Princess Renata said. "You are all accounted for and ready to go and defend this kingdom." She nodded as she looked at everyone. I looked down at the ground but she nodded her head at each and every one of us. "Those emblems that Chio created can be charged by my amulet, so I will never be too far from you guys. I cannot believe... I cannot believe I am sending my whole entire guard to fight a battle across the world..." She looked down, but she looked back up. "Each of you will go down in history for this. You are not only my guard, but you are my friends..."
"Dearest daughter, friends were made to protect you!" Queen Aysel said, swiping her arm across the air. She smirked at us, as if she knew we were going to run into battle and win this war. It took a strong heart and a strong mind to fight a single battle. How long would this war go on? How long would we be out there? I didn't like this and it was written all over my face. If I had my way, I would have stayed with Princess Renata. The only reason I chose to become a part of Aysel's guard was because I wanted to protect her—not the broken country that Queen Aysel had made and the one King Saivan abandoned.
Princess Renata was the reason I breathed—the reason I slept at night and the reason I was still standing on two feet. She had saved my life more times than I could ever save hers. "You will all be heroes to this kingdom when you come back with victory! For I am Queen Aysel, and whatever I say will happen! I used to think that you Summoners were nothing but vile creatures, but now you have proved to be efficient vile creatures! I never imagined the day when Enlightened and Summoner would band together to save this kingdom." Aysel put her hand on her chin—but she had forgotten that I was a Nocuous. Still, that didn't bother me.
The thought of fighting someone else because they opposed her—it made me think of the Nocuous back home and how they were on the brink of fighting her because they couldn't live with Queen Aysel's choices. If I wasn't there, things would have gotten violent. What were my people doing down there without me now? What if I... Died? I couldn't handle the thought. "Adel, the schematics, if you would," Queen Aysel said, snapping her fingers. Adel, under his dark eyes, pulled out a scroll and began to inspect it. We had been over the plan thousands of times before, but we had to make sure that there was not a flaw in it. Anything could have happened. I glanced at Princess Renata and she saw me—which made her flinch and look the other way.
Either she wanted to come with us, or she didn't want me to go. I couldn't say anything now. I belonged to the cause of... Fighting. Only to fight and cause more fighting throughout the land. I was no different from King Saivan himself. But he wasn't my king, and neither Aysel my queen. This wasn't the land that I lived in, and I was being forced to fight for it. I closed my eyes. I had my own reasons for fighting, no matter what Queen Aysel wanted me to believe. Everyone standing before me had their own reasons for fighting in this war. "Tell me—each of you—what do you hope to achieve in this epic struggle?" Queen Aysel asked. It wasn't like her to care about the feelings of others, so we were all—in a way—confused.
Guardian Miyuki was the first to speak—her large, roseate eyes twinkling with determination. She was the one that guided the Summoners... And I feared that she would need all the help she could get without Summoner Sayuri being here to guide her friends. "Is that an honest question?" Guardian Miyuki asked, tilting her head. "Even if I wasn't in this war—even if my Summoners and I weren't in this war—we are always, always, always in a constant war with The Wickedness. We were made to take that down. Lucky you it world-hops. This is nothing new for us, Queen Aysel. Please don't take it like we want to do this for you." So this was nothing new to them...
"Such a tongue you have, Guardian Miyuki..." Aysel said, trailing off. "Such words are only those belonging to a warrior! It does my heart and soul wonders to know that warriors such as you and your Summoners are here to protect I, Queen Aysel!"
"Did you hear her?" Summoner Morta said, crossing her arms. "We're not here to protect you, Queen Aysel. We're here to protect this world. There are more people than just you in it. And like Miyuki said, we can't let people in this world die—because our job is to protect them. That is why I'm fighting, anyway. And I'm sure Kokoro and Chio feel the same way." She paused, switching her footing. The wind caressed her hair as she put on a slight frown. "And anyway, why are we wasting our time telling you why we're going to fight? Shouldn't we be heading for Saivan's castle?" She had a point. I looked down the line we were standing in and glanced at everyone else.
I think it was time I said something too. "Yes, she's right." I paused, nodding my head. I turned around, looking at the sky and how blue it was today. It had always been a bright blue—but for some reason I appreciated its color more today. It could have been the last thing I would ever see in this kingdom. "I fight for the Summoners, of course. I promised them that wherever they went, I would follow. And then of course, there is Princess Renata..." I smiled, scratching the back of my head. "I know she's going to miss us when we're gone—and the last thing I want to do is cause her pain..."
"It is okay, Chase, honestly," she replied, smiling weakly. No matter how much she said she could handle all of this, I could tell that she was breaking. I had been her friend for a while now—she couldn't lie to me like she could to the others. We had a special bond that even the worst storm couldn't hope on weathering. "I know that in my heart you'll all come back—safe and sound. Because you'll all fight together and leave no one behind." Lucrecia yawned, closing her eye and stretching her arms. That woman always made me think. I didn't know what the reason was—but there was something about her that never sat well with me at all.
"Who said were fighting together?" she said, opening her eye. "I don't have time for that shit. If I see something I'm going to take it out by myself whether these bastards follow me or not. I don't know whether or not you remember it, Renata, but I get paid to protect this place—and I'd like to keep a steady stream of money coming in." She paused, rolling her eye. "All of this talking is unnecessary. Adel, tell us where we're heading so we can at least get started on going there. This is a bunch of bullshit—all this banter." Her father didn't hesitate. He took two slow steps forward, reading the map.
"Well, if what Zed has down here is correct—it's going to take us a while to get there." He turned around, looking at Queen Aysel and Princess Renata. He was thinking the same thing I was thinking. "Are we going to leave Summoner Sayuri here? From what she's told and showed us, she really wanted to participate in this war." That tickled me. Summoner Sayuri was truly something else. She was the only person I ever knew that wanted to fight in a war. Most people were forced into it—like I was. But she wanted to fight. She wasn't afraid of all the dangers that were ahead, and I don't think she cared if she had gotten hurt.
"Let's leave the bitch, we don't have to think about it," Lucrecia said, waving her hand. "It's her fault thinking she can train in like a day. Dumb bitch brought it on herself. We don't have time to sit here and wait for her ass. You hear about what's going on in Austere?" True. That was all my fault. Because if I would have been down there... How did all of those children get so sick? They were all turned into monsters like—like Aline was. Luckily, Aysel's lesser-soldiers were dealing with the problem. Still, I couldn't help but think that all of this could have been avoided if I never joined Aysel's guard in the first place.
I was just one man—but I could change so much.
"Don't talk about Sayuri like that!" Summoner Kokoro exclaimed. "She'll be here when we get back, Adel. I think it was a good idea that she not go with us. She's still a little shaken up about what happened on Earth—so I don't think she'll handle all of this..." The boy was lying; he was just afraid, and he didn't want to admit that they were doing Summoner Sayuri injustice. Why couldn't she join the rest of us? What was stopping Queen Aysel from going to get her? It all sounded like a game to me... But I would play it—just to win a prize for Summoner Sayuri and show her what we would accomplish after we came back.
"I'm not going to argue with a scary bastard," Lucrecia spat. "C'mon, we're wasting so much time talking about a bitch and her desire to go to war with us. She's not here. End of story. Renata, Aysel, we'll be back before you know it. I plan on giving Saivan a nice gift when I see him." Miyuki turned around and started to walk, and the rest soon followed her. Chio smiled—bouncing behind Zed as she tried to catch up with the others. She had a funny way with walking—like she had a permanent pep in her step. I waved my hand towards Renata, which made her lift her head.
"See you later!" I yelled, saluting the two of them. "If Summoner Sayuri gets out of that place early, tell her she can come and chase us if she wants to!" That was horrible of me to say, but Renata knew I was just joking around. She chuckled under her breath, waving back. Once we had made it out of the court yard, two soldiers had shut the gates behind us. This was it. The world ahead of us needed protecting and we were the only ones able to give that protection. From this point on, we were in a war with the world. I looked down at the ground as we all resumed walking forward.
Guardian Miyuki started to sniff the air and abruptly stopped. "I don't believe it..." She put out an arm. I was expecting the worse to happen. I was expecting that the enemy was closer than we thought they were. I grasped the hilt of my sword and I almost pulled it away from my back.
"What is it, Miyuki? What do you see?" Chio asked, stepping on her tip-toes and looking around. "I don't see anything that would make us stop like this... Maybe it's just your imagination?" I agreed with Chio. I couldn't see anything either. Lucrecia didn't stop with the rest of us. She kept walking forward and looked angry. She always looked angry—but now it was some type of anger mixed with impatience. She looked like she was looking for something... Maybe she was looking for someone? Whatever it was, she was going to have to wait. We had to act like a team. Miyuki twisted her nose, looking back.
"It smells like it did when we were fighting Aline. Either there are people infected here, or Aline's near us, and I definitely doubt the latter." But everyone looked so calm around us. I didn't get what Guardian Miyuki was getting. "This is bad. I fear that people here have the same thing Naira and Defina did. I can smell that rotting smell—we've got to get moving and find out what's happening here before more people start dying." So what would happen? We'd leave the kingdom and everything would fall into anarchy? Could we afford something like that happening? I didn't want to leave Princess Renata here if she was in danger.
"Sayuri's here," Morta interjected. "Maybe we'll make her clean up this mess if things get out of hand. She's always talking about how she's so much of a hero."
"Hey! Come on! Let's keep moving!" Lucrecia yelled. She was standing at the edge of the palace, looking down into the clouds. "We're not going to get anywhere if we keep fucking standing around! Let's go, people!" Impatient as always. We eventually met up with her and Chio looked over the edge, her eyes wide. "Why are you just standing there looking at it kid? Yeah, it's exactly what you think it is." Lucrecia paused, smiling. "You're going to have to jump! How fun is that?" Lucrecia kept her toothy smile, but Chio stood a few steps back.
"No, no... I don't want to jump. Can we take the stairs?"
"Do you see fucking stairs anywhere?" Lucrecia answered. "It's not even that scary. You jump, you prepare your feet to land on the ground, and you're fine." Lucrecia took a step back, extending her hand. "Do you want someone to fall with?" That was an odd question to ask--even to a Summoner. "Or are you just scared shitless of heights, girl?" I couldn't tell a lie myself—I was afraid of heights as well—but the past weeks in Aysel's kingdom made me learn to love the clouds. Lucrecia probably didn't fear falling because she lived up here for her whole life. But Chio lived on the ground. Adel closed the scroll, putting it in his pocket.
"We jump from here, walk through Austere, walk through the badlands—and there is going to be some sort of castle and that is when we will know for sure that we have reached where Saivan is." He paused, scratching his head. "Or have I made a misconception, Zed?"
"No, you are quite right," he answered back, amused that Adel would even say something like that. "I am more interested in what Austere really looks like. I have not been there for... Quite some time now. Ever since the Summoners have graced us with their presence." I nodded my head. Lucrecia grabbed Chio's hand, taking three steps back. Chio's eyes widened as she looked at all of the clouds passing by in front of her.
"Do we really have to j—jump?" she asked, shaking her head.
"How many times have I told you?" Lucrecia answered back. "Yes! Fuck yes we have to jump. Now get ready—and don't fucking puke on me!" Chio yelled and pleaded for Lucrecia not to jump, but she didn't listen to her. After a couple of seconds of hesitation, Lucrecia ran forward, somewhat dragging Chio with her. They both left the palace and were shrouded in the clouds. I couldn't hear Chio scream—but that was because I thought she was too petrified to scream. Now that they were gone, Miyuki stood close to the edge and looked down.
"What are you looking for, Miyuki?" Kokoro asked, putting his finger on his chin. She glanced back at him.
"I'm trying not to hit any birds." How nice of her to look out for the creatures. That proved that she cared about nature, and that was always a factor for having a good heart in my book. "On Spectra, Shirogane has this big thing about birds. I could kill one-hundred people, but if I lay my fingers on a bird, he'll never let me live it down. And he can tell when I've hit one. He can smell it on me. He's part cat too, you know. He might not look it but it's there." I never really understood what any of the Summoners were talking about when they talked about matters from their own worlds.
Miyuki jumped off the edge arms-first, as if she was grabbing something. She went straight through a cloud, I saw. There was no doubt in my mind that she would be wet when she hit the ground. Kokoro smiled, looking at me. "Well Chase, I'm going to try to go down backwards since Miyuki did that flippy-trick." That boy always did something to make me smile. I gave him a thumbs up, but not before I threw him a fresh pair of glasses. He caught them with ease, but when he looked down to see what they were, he frowned. "More... Sunglasses, Chase?"
"Yep! They'll help you fight, plus they'll make you look like a man!" I flexed my muscles and he sweatdropped. He must have never seen a man's muscles before! I'd help him get his own when we came back from this war. "Now go on Kokoro! You're holding us all up by just standing there." He give me a head-nod before he fell backwards. Adel walked up to the plate and didn't waste anytime. He jumped off, and then I decided I would go. Summoner Morta and Zed were still up there, but I didn't want to be the last one coming down. When I left the palace, I felt weightless.
Everything looked so different as I fell.
I had seen the kingdom in a new light. This was what we had to protect, and so many great people were in it. The castle looked warped—like there was a hidden evil about it as I fell. It seemed to be a quick fall, because after that I fell closer towards the ground. I thought I was going to hit the ground with a strong force, but a blue light surrounded me. I came towards the ground slowly, and I looked to see Adel easing me down with his focal energy. Chio looked dazed, walking around in random directions. She looked like she wanted to puke. I wiped my face, rubbing my eyes. What was it that I had saw just a couple of seconds ago?
"Yeah, Chase!" Kokoro exclaimed, raising his hand in the air. "You made it! But I don't think I need these glasses..." I wasn't paying attention to him, and I was really sorry for that. I was too busy looking all around me... Looking at how flowers had grown. This was the spot where we had battled Shiva, but it looked different now. Where did all of these flowers come from? Flowers were unheard of down here... Princess Renata would have loved all of these flowers. Miyuki sneezed, rubbing her nose with one finger. I scratched the top of my head.
"This place looks so beautiful now. It's different from when we were first here," I said. I had to let the others know. This was no coincidence. Flowers just didn't grow for no reason in Austere. I took two steps forward, and I felt the wind pick up around me. I had been taken off guard! I reached for my sword, but Guardian Miyuki acted quicker. She held some kind of weapon in her hand that I had never seen her wield before. The beast in front of me let out a roar—it was an Earth Eater from the looks of it, and it had been waiting to reveal itself.
"Reborn—" Miyuki began, holding the weapon with both of her hands. She had said it with a blank expression. The thing that she held started illuminating a pink light. "Strawberry Check!" Something shot out of the bell of hers—I couldn't tell what it was—but it had been super-effective in making the tall beast fall on its back. That's what we wanted it to do. Earth Eaters were weaker when they were on their backs. I unsheathed my sword, ready for combat as our other two comrades joined the fray. Actually, Guardian Miyuki had hurt it a great deal.
"Come, Shiva!" Summoner Chio exclaimed, her Aeon showing up by her side. Lucrecia folded her arms, switching her footing. "Do any of you guys need our help?" I smiled at her, shaking my head. I really thought Guardian Miyuki had already hurt it enough. All she needed to do was hurt it again.
"No Summoner Chio, I think your Guardian has got this one," I replied. "You should be able to beat it if you hit it once more, Miyuki." At first she just stood there, staring at the weapon she had in her hand. Right before my eyes it vanished without a trace—like it hadn't been there before. She looked at me, as if she was telling me to end its life.
Even if the creature was a monster, I didn't want to wound it. That was inhumane... Something I was incapable of doing. I shook my head, and that's when Summoner Kokoro took the lead. He threw both of his hands in the air, pointing at the Earth Eater. He wasn't intimidated by its size and its growling. "This time I'll get this guy!" he yelled, his hands sparking with a bright flame. "Fire!" He had enough of it to eat the Earth Eater whole. Chio flinched at the sound of the monster's voice as its skin boiled. Kokoro dusted his fingers off and looked at us, giving us a thumbs-up.
The fire had disappeared from the Earth Eater and it was completely charred. I walked over to Kokoro. I felt the appropriate praise was needed in this situation. "That was impressive!" I said. I looked towards Miyuki, who kept looking at her fingers.
"That's weird," she said. "I thought it would be good for at least a few more attacks..."
"That's okay, Miyuki!" Chio said, her frosty friend behind her. "It'll come back before you know it. That Strawberry Bell-Bell is a really neat-o weapon... It shoots out pretty light." So it was a bell? I felt something and I looked all around me. I didn't think that was all we had to worry about here. Lucrecia shot something in the air and something similar to a bird fell. I was right—it looked like one of those Wicked Spawn we faced earlier when we were here.
"This is not a good time to be having a damn conversation!" Lucrecia said, shaking the hand she used to shoot that blue energy from. "This place is swarming with nasties." She took a couple of steps forward, her lab-coat trailing behind her. She still wore that even when she knew we were heading towards the badlands when we made it out of Austere? Still, Austere was a large town—no matter how run down it was. "I don't know why all of these monsters decided to put themselves here—but it's almost like someone knew we were going to—"
"Midnight Wind!" Summoner Morta yelled, swinging her scythe behind us. She hit a row of regular Wicked Spawn. All five of the things flew back and disappeared upon impact. "Yeah, I think we should get moving now. We can't stay here. They know we're here and they're attacking us because they don't want us getting any closer to Austere."
"Which means there could be some kind of trap at the entrance of it, could it not?" Zed inquired. He was right. We weren't going to be fools and walk into our pursuers hands. "However, I do not think we have another way of getting inside of Austere, unless the Nocuous here knows one." I didn't get angry or mad at that comment. I was proud of what I was and I wasn't going to change. I closed my eyes and walked in a circle. He was right about one thing. There was only one way to get into Austere and one way out.
"What are we being bitches for?" Lucrecia muttered. "If we get ambushed then we get fucking ambushed. We'll just make sure we kill every bitch that dares to come and try to kill us. Goddamn, it's like working with a bunch of school kids. Like I'm babysitting or something. You guys are supposed to be trained to fight, right?" She paused, smiling a toothy grin. "Oh, I forgot, I'm talking to the dumb-ass Nocuous and he-who-doesn't-know-how-to-fight-but-came-along-anyway." She rolled her eyes, taking a seat on a rock. "Well, you guys are fucking boring me. Tell me when we get some real people to fight." How could she act like that?
"Well Doctor, there were plenty of opportunities for you to fight. I fail to see why you should be so angry about not fighting."
"Who said I was, you bastard?" Lucrecia replied, standing back up. "I said you two make me fucking sick. Let's hurry up and go! We're wasting time!" Adel looked at the scroll again—it looked like he had never been in Austere before.
"We've got more trouble," Adel said. All of us tensed up. Now where would it come from next...? At any rate, I thought we should have all moved up... We could at least fight while moving. I started walking ahead, my sword ready for any and all conflict. My sword dragged behind me as I brought it up. Where were they? Were they hiding? I looked at the others, signaling them to follow.
"Let's go! The entrance is not that far away now!" I yelled, motioning them all to come near. But I don't think I was ready for what jumped out in front of me. Debris flew in my direction and I tried to shield my eyes. Everyone else did the same, except for Lucrecia, who didn't have much to lose as far as her eyesight went. I looked back up and I saw some kind of monster—it wasn't an Earth Eater or an Essence. Truthfully, I couldn't tell you what it was. It looked more like an Earth Eater if you asked me—but it was a bigger and more vicious. It had razor-sharp teeth and its arms were even longer.
"What is that thing?" Kokoro said, jumping back a little. Zed started walking towards it, looking at it like it didn't pose a threat.
"It is an Essence Eater," he said. Essence Eater? Was there a such thing as something like that? "It goes around eating them—very straightforward, one would say." While he was talking, it had been trying to get closer to us. "Lucky you, its weakness if fire—but it has an overwhelming amount of heath and it isn't lacking in the strength department either. If you are going to fight it," he said, glancing at Kokoro. "I suggest you start now." I didn't even know where to begin. Would my Zanmato work now? My one-hit KO technique? Or was it too late to use something like that? I had to do something. I just couldn't stand there.
"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Lucrecia shouted. "This'll be a nice workout before we get to Saivan and his group of pawns. But you know what? I've got to ask—why do you know so fucking much about this thing?" She got into a stance, but the monster still over-towered her. She pointed her mechanical index-finger at it and shot a powerful explosion, but it didn't even flinch. Lucrecia put her hand down to her side and started chuckling to herself. "Ah, so it is a stronger version of the Earth Eater." She couldn't stop herself from grinning. I didn't know what was so funny. Miyuki's deck of cards appeared in her hand and she threw them all at him—a popping sound erupting from the deck but they fell limply towards the ground.
"Oh, that would be because I study them, Doctor," Zed replied, standing and watching the monster persist on pushing us back. I wouldn't tolerate this any longer! There was a cliff right behind us and if we didn't do anything we'd fall of the edge of it! We wouldn't make it to Austere at this point. Kokoro was nervous, but he was going to try something.
"Conflagration Orb!" he shouted, his orb appearing in his hands. "Solar Flare!" He threw it in the air and even managed to kick it in the monster's face. It fell back, but it had got right back up again. I was hopeful for all of five seconds. Once an Earth Eater is on its back, that's usually the end of it. Was there anything we could do to stop this monster?
… I'd have to do it. I closed my eyes, standing my ground. "Zanmato!" I exclaimed. This would do it. This would knock it out for good. One slash was all it took, and the monster fell towards the ground in a goopy green mess. I panted, standing up straight again. I wiped the sweat off my forehead, exhaling. "That was close... Zed, you said it was weak to fire attacks, but even Kokoro couldn't manage to do any damage to it. It must have been very powerful to withstand his flames." I took a look behind me, and if I would have waited a second longer, we would have all fallen off the cliff.
"You cannot put an estimation on fate," Zed replied, looking in the direction that would take us to Austere. "You can sway it, however. Fire, in this case, could sway it—but unfortunately it was not enough to make it turn." I rubbed my head. I would take that for now. I nodded.
"We lost a lot of ground, so we should start walking. I know a lot of people in Austere, so I could get us a place to stay and everything." I paused, looking at the sky. How many flowers had we just stepped on? It felt like a sin—because Aline always told me not to step on flowers.
How would Austere look when we finally made it there?
A/N: *wipes tears* They grow up so fast. Lookit all my children marching to war... XD;;
But no, seriously, I did start crying... Poor me. XD;;
See how fast it took me to type the next chapter? Not long at all, guys. Not long at all. XD And this week, I'm going to be pumping them out because I get out of school. Hahaha. I have finals for three days and then I'm out. Then I start Behind The Wheel, which means I'mma be getting up at like... Five in the morning and stuff like that. Who else here is mad that they didn't take Sayuri with them? Because I'm kind of mad, but we can all blame it on Mima. XD She lied to Sayuri! Of course it was going to take a couple of days.
Chase doesn't really want to fight, guys. XD But what'll happen if he suddently has a real reason to fight? I mean a real reason. You'll see, guys. It's all starting to come together. How many people are going to miss Isleen? I don't care if she was only in the flashbacks, she was a true original gangster. Macarius went out the bad way. I would have forced Sayuri to kill me or something. I couldn't kill myself like that. XD;;
But she did eff him up! Right guys? XD; I'm so proud! XD
I need to start working on my monster skills. *rolls back shoulders* It took me a moment to come up with that there Essence Eater. XD;; It's eating people from Suzuki's world! That SUCKS. Who would make such a thing? D: Nero, of course. Because Nero makes ALL the monsters. I mean sheesh, give this guy an award for being so smart... Lucrecia's wish to fight will not go on deaf ears. You hear that Lucrecia? Your author sees your flailing, and you should be careful of what you wish for! XD;;
Okay, I think I'm pretty done here. XD