Hey guys, thanks so much for all your reviews and messages.
Once again sorry about the wait, I've been re-writing the end of this chapter several times over. I'm still not very happy with it but I didn't want to hold up the story any longer. If anyone as any suggestions as to how I can make it a little more interesting please let me know.
This chapter marks the end of the first part of the story. Just to be clear I will be continuing with chapter 53 but this sort of wraps up the introductory stuff. If there is anything that isn't quite clear let me know and I'll sort it out. The story will definitely pick up with more fight scenes and the like from the next chapter onwards but till then I hope you enjoy this one.
Chapter 52
Day's End
Tryst took a step back as Marsed's usually pale features increasingly turned into a furious shade of red. Bullzone and Elico knelt before her with their heads bowed low awaiting her wrath. They had failed their mission and returned empty handed with no trace or knowledge of their comrade. They assumed that she too had faced the knights and had either fallen in battle or succumbed to Marsed's wrath.
"You failed," she said in a voice laced with fury. "What do you have to say for yourselves?" her voice echoed across the room terrifying the two before her.
Elico and Bullzone shared a look silently arguing over who would answer her. The powerful warriors flinched as they felt the fury emanating off the beautiful commander.
"Forgive us, my Lady," Elico spoke finally. "We were unprepared and were thus overpowered by the knights, it will not happen again."
"That it shan't. Now get out of my sight while I figure out what to do with you."
She slammed her hand down on the console with a feral growl before turning away as the two warriors scurried away.
"You know for a moment there I thought you were going to blast them," said Tryst after giving Marsed a moment to calm down.
She in turn clenched her fists as she tried to reign in her anger, if Brazier hadn't made her promise not to destroy their warriors after every failure those two would be nothing but scuff marks on the floor.
"What are they doing here?" she finally spoke as she began to regain her composure.
"They were ordered to come…you know…terrorize the people…capture samples…that sort of thing," Tryst supplied wondering why she was asking such a silly question.
"Not those imbeciles you idiot, the knights. They shouldn't have been able to follow us here so soon."
"They always did have a nasty habit of showing up when they weren't wanted"
"Still it is way too soon, they responded far too quickly something is just not right," she ranted as she walked down a dark corridor that led to a large room alight with a greenish yellow glow and filled with row after row of green pods large enough to hold a single person.
"We weren't even able to collect a single sample," she said wearily as she placed her hand on the nearest pod.
"Well technically we were able to capture one," Tryst supplied as they walked over to the sole occupant trapped in one of the pods. Through the translucent covering they could make out the figure of the fierce warrior they had only recently sent into battle. Leonora stared back at them with glazed eyes unable to move or comprehend what was going on around.
"Foolish Feline," said Marsed as she traced a finger over the covering. "I warned them not to use the crystals unless they had procured the samples and to use them only for that purpose only. It's a pity she was a good fighter."
With a sigh she turned and walked towards the door with Tryst in tow. Just as she was about to leave she turned back and fired a powerful blast of dark pink energy at the pod destroying it completely and with it the warrior trapped inside.
"Clean up this mess," she ordered and at once several tiny plant-like people with mottled green skin, delicate leaf-like arms and legs with a crown of rotting branches on their heads who were tending to the pods gathered around the shattered pod.
"Let's go," Marsed turned to Tryst. "We must inform my brother of those accursed knights."
"Not to mention we need some new recruits," he added as he hurried after her.
"That was…was… well it was just something," said Conner as the four knights made their way back through the woods.
The three girls laughed at his antics and Madison let out a quiet sigh of relief as she looked at each of her new friends. When her eyes rested on Ronny for a second and a question popped into her head.
"Hey Ronny, how did you know the drizzards were attacking and how did you find us so quickly?" she asked bringing everyone's attention to the tall blonde.
Ronny pursed her lips for a moment as she tried to explain what had happened to her that day.
"This is gonna sound weird but…"
"Ron we just fought monstrous lizards and a crazy lion chic in armour from another world, it doesn't get weirder than that," Conner quipped.
"Oh believe me it does," she replied giving the boy a pointed look before continuing. "So I was driving back from the airport when I sort of… I think sensed would be the right word… yeah, so I sensed the drizzards attacking but it wasn't like a hunch or something it was… I mean I could see them in my head and then it was like my instincts took over and I was driving down here, the next thing I know I'm slamming right into one of them."
"I don't get it," said Kira. "If we can sense the drizzards like that then why didn't something like that happen to the rest of us."
"Maybe it's a light thing," Conner suggested.
"Or maybe you guys were already close enough," Ronny supplied
"I dunno it seems a little fishy to me," said Madison.
"We should definitely ask the Princess about it the next time we see her," Kira suggested
"And maybe check in with the others, see if they know something," said Ronny as they reached her car.
"So what are you going to tell your friends when you get back?" Conner asked Madison who instantly froze.
"Ohmygod, the guys! Toby! Phineas! I gotta go, I'll catch up with you guys later," she said before racing down the street back to the store.
"Bye," Conner waved as Ronny shook her head in amusement.
"So do you guys need a lift?"
Shane, Hunter, Dustin and Blake collapsed onto the sand by a lifeguard post as they rubbed the bruises that were the result of their brief battle with the creatures.
"We suck," said Dustin as he plopped down onto the sand
"Did you ever think that those creatures were way too strong," said Hunter
"Or the fact that we had to hold back or risk drawing too much attention to ourselves," said Shane
"I agree with Dustin, we got our asses handed to us big time. If those guys in freaky armour hadn't shown up we'd be toast," Blake mumbled.
"Who were they though? They can't be new rangers, can they?" Dustin quizzed
"What are you geezers moaning about?"
The four ninjas looked up to see the remaining members of their team walking towards them.
"Tor, Cam, what are you guys doing here?" asked Dustin
"Kelly said we'd find you here," Cam replied.
"Something about you four running off to play hero," said Tori with a grin. "What were you thinking? You're not superheroes you know?" she quipped.
"Not funny Tor," Shane scowled as he rubbed his bruised bare arm.
"C'mon then," said Cam as he offered a hand to Shane and Hunter while Tori did the same for Dustin and Blake.
"Yeah let's go get something to cool you hotshots down," she smiled as she linked her arm though Blake's and pulled him along with Cam, Shane and Hunter following behind her.
"C'mon guys, isn't anybody curious about those dudes in armour," Dustin whined.
"Guys?...hey guys?... c'mon wait for me…."
Dana and Ryan strolled back to the café where a furious blonde stood waiting for them outside the door. She took one step towards them when she saw them approach and opened her mouth to say something before immediately shutting it and turning on her heel stormed down the street in a huff.
Dana and Ryan shared a look before shrugging their shoulders and silently following after her. They were far too exhausted to take on their raging sister but both knew sooner or later they would have to get back to the subject of why she was back in town, but for now it could wait.
Eric carelessly threw his keys aside as he stepped into his apartment and slumped down on his couch. The moment the monsters fled he and the others had to dodge a cheering crowd to find a place they could power down before he and Wes had to double back and take control of their squad. It was definitely a crazy afternoon and the paperwork took even longer as he and Wes had to come up with a suitable excuse as to why they were MIA when the armoured warriors showed up to take on the monsters. But at the same time he couldn't help but let out a happy sigh, the thrill of fighting monsters was so much more than catching bad guys that a part of him was still jumping for joy.
As his eyes fell shut he was just barely aware of the key turning in the lock and soft click of his door opening. There were only two people who had the keys to his apartment one of which was currently in his own home probably being interrogated by his wife about the 'mysterious knights' that the reporters had dubbed them. And the other was more than welcome especially after the day he'd had.
"Looks like you've had one hell-of-a-day"
His eyes remained shut but a small smirk made its way on his face at the sound of the familiar voice. His smirk only widened when he felt the couch dip beside him and a warm body lean against his side.
"Must've been some killer paperwork," she said with a smile. It was a quiet joke between the two that doing paperwork tired them out more than anything else.
"That is was," he replied as he shifted his arm so that he could wrap it around her shoulders. "Throw in the monster attack and you've hit the nail on the head."
"You too huh?"
That was not the response he was expecting when he mentioned the monster attack. True he never expected Taylor of all people to shriek or shout about it and it was probably all over the news by now so she might have been prepared to hear about it but…
"What?" he exclaimed sitting up, his eyes going wide.
Taylor reached out and squeezed his shoulder before explaining what she meant.
"The drizzards attacked the beach this afternoon with some creepy fish-guy."
Eric instantly calmed down her cool tone reminded him that she was a knight too and fighting these monsters was just as much her responsibility as it was his. But while he knew she could hold her own in battle and totally kick ass there was something that was bothering him.
He pulled her to his chest and hugged her. "Are you alright?" he asked
"I should be the one asking you that," she said with a smile as she pulled away slightly. "As things stand I'm the last person you need to worry about getting hurt."
"That makes me worry even more"
"Eric…"
"Listen Tay… did any of you use your powers before you suited up?"
"Tori did."
"And was she okay after?"
"She was pretty drained but…"
"Exactly," he exclaimed without giving her a chance to finish what she was going to say. "The same thing happened to Dana, she barely used her powers but she was exhausted."
"Rick," she said softly using the nickname she rarely used as she understood where their conversation was going. "I'm fine," she assured him.
"I can see that but please be careful, your powers will kick start with the smallest scratch. You can't afford to be exhausted when the monsters attack again."
Her smile faltered slightly when she heard him say when and not if. It emphasized the reality and the seriousness of their situation. But for the moment she pushed it out of her mind.
"Hey, I get that our powers work differently here, we'll just add it to the list of questions for our next meeting with Princess Peach. I also get that my powers are slightly wackier and a little out of control where healing myself is concerned but you can't expect me to live in a bubble. I'll be careful but I'm not going to get paranoid about it and neither should you. You're enough of a worry wart as it is."
"I'm dating you aren't I?"
"You're the one that goes running into danger every second day," she insisted as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest.
"Yet you don't even bat an eye," he said with a teasing smirk
"That's because I know you too well"
Cole yawned and stretched as he walked towards his bedroom window. It was late but he was still buzzing from the day's excitement. True his body was sore and exhausted but he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. Battling the drizzards in his home world somehow made the problem seem even bigger than before.
He cast a glance behind where Alyssa was fast asleep on their bed. It pained him to not be able to tell her everything but he would not take that risk. He was thankful that there were so many familiar faces going along for this wild ride and was especially glad that he had Taylor. At least there was one person he could talk to about all of this. She had driven him around town for hours after they got back to the city just so that he could calm down before he went home to Alyssa and even tried to answer all his questions. But the fact of the matter was there were too many questions that only Princess Amerith could answer for them.
He wished he knew how to go back and forth from Azelia, wished it was as easy as going to and fro from the Animarium, wished he could talk to all his new teammates, see if they were alright and ask if they had to deal with drizzards too. He continued to stand at the window staring up at the stars above whishing and hoping, however he failed to notice his new watch transform into its crystal form of its own accord and light up with a faint glow. It was only when its glow intensified that his face took on a shocked expression as he turned around using his other hand to try and shield the glow from his sleeping wife. But the moment he turned around completely he came face to face with towering plants growing beyond a veranda under a starlit sky.
"Nice jammies"
He whipped around shock and surprise still apparent on his face as he looked around at his teammates, all eleven of them. A bright smile replaced his shocked expression as he realised where he was – back in Azelia where the twelve of them had first gathered. Conner was grinning down at him and he immediately looked down at his attire and blushed as he recalled he was still in his pyjamas, red with gold lions emblazoned on them – a gift from Alyssa. Conner himself was dressed in tracks and a red T-shirt while the rest donned similar attire revealing that they were all winding down for the day with the exception of Eric who was still in his uniform though he had discarded his jacket and Taylor who still wore her outfit from earlier that day but was missing her boots.
The veranda was lit up with several glowing orbs and shined down on them like lanterns bathing the twelve knights in their gentle glow and lighting up the relief and was apparent on all their faces.
"Knock it off," Kira scolded her friend. "It was really late back home," she added in Cole's defence.
"We're back," said Madison stating the obvious.
"It's about time," said Taylor with a small scowl on her face.
"What? Get tired of home already?" Wes teased and was thus rewarded with a fierce glare that although he would never admit it, terrified him.
"So, you don't want to talk to Amerith about the monsters you fought today?" she questioned
"Whoa, you guys fought monsters too?" asked Connor looking over at Wes with wide eyes
"I think we all did," said Taylor judging from the look on everyone's faces.
"Well apart from the drizzard horde we had to deal with a flaming feline," said Ronny. "Man was she annoying."
"I'm all about the water, but the dude in fish armour we had was way too freaky," Tori informed
"At least you weren't hanging in the air wrapped up in tentacles," said Cam with a shudder as Cole nodded in agreement.
"Beats fighting a giant axe swinging dog in the middle of the street, surrounded by Silver Guardians might I add," Ryan contributed.
"How did you manage that?" Madison asked Eric as she sat down on the ledge beside him.
His reply it seemed would have to wait as almost immediately the entryway lit up and a beautiful young woman in a flowing green dress climbed up the stairs.
"Princess!" Conner and Cole exclaimed as she joined the knights.
"Good evening knights. I believe congratulations are in order. You all fought very well today."
"How did you know about the drizzards?" Cole asked.
"As you have seen before the screen below alerts us to the Groudon's attacks this holds true for other worlds as well. I was also thus able to witness your battles."
"Was it you then?" asked Ronny. "Did you lead me to Maddie and the others?"
"No Ronny I did not. That particular ability lies within all of you."
"What ability?" asked Taylor as she shifted slightly on the cool marble floor.
"Uh…well…," Ronny began but the princess came to her rescue
"You each have the ability to sense when your enemies are in your world. Not just feel them but able see them in your minds as your instincts direct you towards them. Ronny became aware of this ability as she was farthest away from them and her mind was relaxed. In due time it will become second nature to all of you," she explained.
"And you didn't feel the need to tell us all this before you sent us home," said Taylor with a raised eyebrow.
The princess looked at her and sighed sadly before continuing.
"It is true I sent you home with far too many unanswered questions. But I did not believe that they would penetrate your world so soon let alone launch an offensive. However the twelve of you rose to the occasion nonetheless proving that you are indeed worthy of the title of knight."
"And you brought us here because…?" asked Cam
"You have questions and I have the answers so go on ask away."
"Okay so what's up with the whole time difference thing?" Conner jumped in.
"Ah, that was a part of the spell that was cast on you when you first came here. While I was forced to repress your feeling and memories for your home I did not want you to miss out on any time with your loved ones and so you returned to the moment that you left. However, bear in mind that it was a onetime thing from now on whatever time you spend in this realm you will lose in your own."
"In other words time will flow normally from now on so when we go back it's going be an hour so later that when we left," Cam summarised.
"Yes," she confirmed.
"That's gonna cause a few problems," Wes mumbled as he thought about how he and Eric would balance being guardians and knights and while as commanders they had some leeway the others had jobs too, jobs that wouldn't allow them to run off at will. Then there was the other problem…
"Are you trying to say you're just going to whisk us away anytime there's a problem even if we're standing in the middle of a crowd and send us back hours later to deal with it," Ryan voiced what several of them were thinking.
"I do apologize for the unceremonious way you were brought here but it is the last time I assure you. From now on you shall be able to come and go as you please."
"How?" asked Kira
"Your crystals. Just concentrate on them and on where you want to go and it will transport you there. This will also work within your world. And as your crystals are what connect you to Azelia they will also allow me to communicate with you and alert you to any trouble that you are not able to sense."
"That's fair enough I suppose," said Dana. "But why do our crystals transform when we go home?"
"They simply adapt to the world that you're in. I believe I am right in presuming that crystal necklaces and armbands are not every day wear in your world."
"You definitely got that right," said Tori.
"What about our powers though?" Madison asked. "Why do they take so much out of us when we're not in our armour?"
"That is a slightly more delicate and complicated issue…"
"We have time," Eric insisted.
"This is important I suppose. Your powers come from the natural elements which when fused with the cores that reside in your crystals allows you to channelize them. So when in Azelia your powers are…immense, it is only your physical limitations that keep them in check. However while the elements of your world are similar they are also very different. You could say that they function on different…uh…frequencies," she paused and looked at Cam to see if she got the right word and continued when he nodded.
"Your crystals are not used to your world and hence continue to channel the energies of this world which in turn takes a toll on the person using them. However with time you will learn to draw in the energies from not just your own realm but any world that you might have to visit while on this mission. You will grow stronger and be able to control them better but till then please be careful when using your powers."
"How do our armours make a difference?" asked Cam
"Your armours and your weapons amplify your crystals' ability to channelize energy and thus allow you to fight longer. But I must warn you, you cannot stay in them constantly, there will be consequences.
"Wow, who knew saving the world came with a rule book," Conner sighed
The princess smiled as some of his teammates shook their heads
"You should return now, it is late and you have lives to live. If you have any more questions for me you can contact me through your crystals. I will do whatever I can to help you."
"She's right guys, let's call it a night. We'll pick this up later," Eric took charge
The other nodded and stood closer before turning to the princess and wishing her a goodnight. Then following her instructions they each closed their eyes and one-by-one they disappeared in a pillar of light.
"Goodnight my dear knights," the princess whispered as the last one disappeared. "Rest well"
Hope you enjoyed this. Please review and let me know what you think.
