January 27, 2020:
Author notes:
Another week, another chapter ready.
I do have to say that its getting very close to what I have writed right now (Im on chapter 16 on my computer), so seems like I need to increase the pace on my own.
Oh well, hope you like this :3
Chapter 12: The Maiden of the Water.
-Location: 850 kilometers east from the Kuribohria-
It was deep in the night. However, in this world, even the night wasn't as dark. Regno Tenebrae has 3 moons; one blue, one red and one yellow, each one representing one of the three Ancient Gods that legends said guided the spirits into this world thousands of years ago.
The presence of the 3 moons made it impossible for this world to have a true dark night, unlike on Earth, when the 'new moon' phase of Earth's moon made the night something to fear. Each time one of the moon shows in the night sky, it's color gave the world an interesting glow: the yellow moon, Rahaa, made the night brighter than normal, with a yellow tint; the red moon, Oseriz, gave the night a red, blood-like glow; and the blue one, Oberisk, made the night blue, and it was the closest the night sky can become truly dark. Right now, both Oberisk and Rahaa were in the sky, although Rahaa was lower in the sky, so it's effect weren't as big as normally. For someone from Earth, like Alan, this would be an awesome event… if he wasn't running like a maniac.
It was 4 am, and in an hour or so, the sun will start to raise. It's been almost 16 hours since they left the Kuriboh Village, and they have been running nonstop since then. Well, actually Alan was the only one running, as the rest of his monster friends can actually glide. They have been following the river upstream, hoping they could reach the Temple in time. However, this was way more tasking for Alan than for his companions. Since they can glide, their bodies don't have to suffer the constant contact with the floor each time their feet touch it, and the constant action to move their legs. Sure, gliding needs more mana, but they were spellcasters and a flying beast girl. They are used to it.
He doesn't know how the Kuriboh floats, though.
That, combined with the relatively low amount of Aura Alan can use, it was taxing him... and hard, to the point that he was about to give in.
"Duncan! I can't run anymore! Go on without me!" Exclaimed Alan, forcing the others to turn their heads to watch him. It seems that they didn't noticed how tired he was.
"Alan, are you ok?" Asked Kristal with concern.
"What wrong, meatbag? Getting tired?" Asked the Kuriboh in a mocking tone, but the human didn't respond. "Geezz, you ARE tired."
"I was afraid about that." Said Duncan, his face still stoic, but showed some concern. "The action of running is taxing your body so bad, unlike us that could float. Seems you need rest."
"But we can't rest, master!" Expressed Steve. "If we do, we don't know what would happen with the Sage of Water!"
"That's why I said continue without me!" Exclaimed Alan, feeling his legs ready to give in.
"Are you sure? I can take you with my wings, Alan." Suggested the Harpie Girl, who wasn't actually floating, but flying with the wings in her arms.
"Thank you, Vivian, but we know I will only slow you down too. You won't be able to carry me and fly at the same speed, unless you use your wind magic, and that will tax you in the end."
"Oh… I understand…"
"Are you sure, Alan?" Questioned Kristal again, now more concerned.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Responder Alan. "I only need to follow the river and I'll reach the Water Temple, right? I'll only take 10 minutes and maybe eat some sandwiches and then I'll continue!"
Duncan looked at Alan, seeing how he was truly about to fall. They only have a few potions and Elixires, so they can't use them right now. The plan was to use them once they arrive at the Temple of Water, and they are 3 to 4 hours away from it.
"Alright, Alan, you take a break, and then follow us." Said the Dark Magician, accepting Alan's rest.
"Yeah, yeah I will…" said Alan, almost falling on his feet, so he started to slow down.
"Don't be late, bro!" Exclaimed Steve. "Or we'll take all the fun!"
"See ya meatbag!" Expressed the Kuriboh.
"Bye, Alan! Take care!" Commented Vivian.
"I'll– eh… We'll be waiting for you!" finally said Kristal, looking at him with more concern.
"Ok, everyone!" exclaimed Duncan, getting everyone's attention. "Max power! Let's go!"
"Yes!"
And with that, the 3 spellcasters, the Harpie Girl, and the Kuriboh speed up, while Alan slowly went into a stop, drop his aura, and began to pant heavily, sitting on a nearby rock.
"Geez… that was so intense." Said Alan, immediately taking a small crystal from his pocket and touching the tip of it. In a small bright flash, a portal opened, and from it his backpack appeared in front of him. "Thank god for spellcasters." He said, remembering something that happen a few weeks ago.
It was a few days since they left the town of Nimb. They were making dinner, when Kristal approached him.
"So… you said that's a backpack, right?" Asked Kristal with curiosity, looking at the bag in Alan's back.
"Oh? Yeah. You don't use them?" Questioned Alan with intrigue.
"It's not that we don't use them… we don't need them."
"What? Why?"
"Magic!"
"Oh, right… spellcasters…"
"You repeat that phrase many times, Alan."
"Still not used to magic, Kristal."
"I understand."
"I see that you guys summon stuff from tin air. Is that where you put your stuff?"
"It's a small magical dimension we have inside these crystals." Said the blondie mage, showing Alan a crystal the size of a finger. "In here we put our stuff."
"Can I have one?"
"Sure! I was actually going to offer you one, especially since wearing a backpack could slow you down, or get lost or destroyed. Also you don't need magic to summon it. You just imprint your aura in it and it will open a portal for you. Easy, right?"
"Yeah… as easy as magic is."
"Well, it's easy for me, so it must be easy for you… right?"
"… do you know how to send an e-mail or make a phone call?"
"Eh?"
"Exactly." Said Alan, taking the crystal that… Kristal offered him. She didn't understand what he meant with that… but she looked a little angry at it. "Anyway, thanks, and sorry if it was a little mean. It's just that this magic business is not easy for me, as technology shouldn't be easy for you."
"I understand, don't worry about it. We can help you with that magic stuff."
"Thanks!"
Since then, Alan don't use a backpack anymore… at least in the mortal realm. He has all of his stuff inside the backpack, inside that magical dimension the crystal creates. So, he took out his backpack, took some sandwiches and some juice to recover his stamina. After resting for a few minutes, almost 15, Alan was ready again.
"Alright! It's time to go!" Said the young man, tossing the backpack back into the portal, and ignited his aura. "Let's go!"
With it, he began running again, trying to catch his companions…
…however, he INMEDIATELY had to stop as, in his way, someone just crossed by, actually jumping from the river.
"Woah! Watch out!" Exclaimed Alan, hitting the brakes and hard. The other person, who didn't notice him speeding up, looked back at him in surprise. It does seem like he would be able to stop before reaching that person…
…if it was not for the red and black metal bar, the size of a small remote control, that was in his way, and when his feet bumped into it, it forced Alan to tumble face first into that person's chest… very big and bouncy chest.
"Ahh!"
"Kyaa!"
Alan's remaining speed forced him to topple over the person, and both fall on the ground. They stood like that for a few seconds, before Alan started to move. It was… soft. Lifting his face, he saw the face of a female… a VERY embarrassed female. And of course, because as he moved his face a little, he discovered why his face and both hands felt so… soft.
"Ah!" Exclaimed the young man, quickly rising up from the female's breast, that jiggled a little at his movement. "I-Im sorry!" He said, pointing at something behind him. "I tried to stop but I tumbled with a…"
However, when he looked back at that metal rod, it wasn't there… just some red dust, dissolving into nothingness.
'Wait… what the heck?' Though Alan in confusion. 'How did that…?'
'Hehe…'
He then heard another voice… or though he heard something.
'Was that Chaos?... or Earth-chan?... Am I hearing something?'
"Uh… excuse me…c-can you remove your hand?"
Looking down, Alan discover that he DIDN'T remove his left hand from the girl's right breast…and for a few more seconds, he STILL didn't remove it… until he eventually did, in a fast motion, like it was burning.
"Ah! Sorry! It wasn't my intention!" Expressed Alan, completely getting up from her.
"Ah, n-no, I'm sorry. I didn't saw you were running." Said the woman, also getting up.
Alan was about to say something else… but then he saw the girl again. She was tall, probably as tall as he (1.78 cm), pale skin, and black hair, that normally should reach her shoulders but is combed in a way that looks shorter. Her clothes were a one-piece suit, starts on the top half of her breasts and reaches the middle of her thighs, her boots were blue, and has a light blue vest that covers only the upper half of her back and leaves her chest exposed. It also has puffy sleeves, with the same color, and some gold details in it. The exposed top half of her chest and thighs were covered by a fishnet.
After seeing all the details of her clothes, Alan couldn't help but to stare at her breasts for a few seconds. Why? Because they were huge! Probably bigger than Kristal's, and those were already big. But he had to stop, as he shook his head to remove all those pervert thoughts and looked at her blue eyes, who were looking at him with curiosity.
"Sorry again, is just that I didn't saw you were there." Said Alan, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Wait… where did you come from?"
"Oh, from the water." Said the woman, pointing at the river.
"Oh? Were you swimming in it?" Asked the human, looking at her clothes. "But… you don't seem wet from the wate-… wait a second!"
Alan took the store crystal out again and summoned his backpack. He roamed into it until he saw his deck of cards and quickly looked at it, until he found one card. He then looked at the girl, and then at the card several times.
"uh… is everything ok?" Asked the girl in confusion.
"I KNEW I recognized you!" Exclaimed Alan in excitement. "You are a Maiden of the Aqua, am I right?"
The girl blinked in surprise for a few seconds, before letting a small smile.
"You are correct." Said the girl, placing a hand over her chest. "My name is Sapphire Oceana, and I am a Maiden of the Aqua. And you are…?"
"My name is Alan, Alan D. Hernandez."
"…what does the D. stands for?"
'For that pair of beauties…' He instinctively though, before he mentally slapped himself when he smirked, causing the girl to look at him confused. "Sorry, it stands for Domingo. Also, I'm a human."
"Oh? A human? You don't look that much different from myself."
"Yeah, stuff happen and well, I'm here." He said, before he remembers why he was running. "Sorry, Sapphire, but I am in a hurry!" He said, jogging in place. "I need to reach the Water Temple and warn the Sage of Water about danger."
"Eh? Warn me about some danger?! What do you mean?" Asked the girl with concern.
"Some shadowy creatures will soon attack the temple, so I have to… wait…" He said, before he stopped jogging. "Maiden of the Aqua… warn her… are you…?"
"I am the Sage of Water, yes."
Alan looked at her intensely… before he grabbed her by her shoulders.
" . !" expressed the human.
"What do you mean by that?" Questioned Sapphire in confusion.
"I came from Kuribohria, where their scouts told us that Heartless, shadowy figures that take the hearts of people, are approaching the Water Temple en masse."
"Eh… those shadow people?" Asked the girl, pointing around them.
Alan looked around them and he saw that, from the forest, small shadowy figures began to emerge from it, looking at them with hungry, yellow eyes.
"Yes, those are the Heartless." Said Alan, releasing Sapphire from his grip and facing the Shadows, summoning his Keyblade. The girl looked at it in surprise.
"The Keyblade…" said Sapphire with curiosity and awe. "You are the chosen champion of the Keyblade?"
"I suppose I am. Look, I need to fight these shadows. Can you fight?"
"Of course." Said the woman, immediately summoning a trident, grabbing it with both hands.
"Excellent. Then let's get them!"
The Shadow Heartless lunged at them, but both were ready to defend themselves. One after the other, the shadows attacked them, but were cut by the Keyblade and Trident of both young ones, who weren't afraid of them. Alan used some of his Blizzard spells, although he didn't wanted to use all of them, as he knew the battle in the Temple will require all of it. He saw, however, how Sapphire used Water spells, blasting those Heartless with shots and slashes of water from her trident, and moved gracefully each time she attacked.
She was a better fighter that him, that was for sure, as his own movements were still sloppy and slow, but enough to face the heartless. After a few minutes, the Heartless were destroyed, and both could relax again. However, Sapphire, who dispelled her trident, looked at Alan… or specially, at his hand.
"So… you are the chosen champion of the Keyblade, eh?" asked the water maiden, gaining the human's attention.
"Oh? Yeah, I am." Said Alan, showing her the Keyblade. "This is the Chaos Keyblade."
"So the legends are true: When the Crystal shatters and darkness looms over the land, a champion of the Keyblade will appear and in golden light the shadows will vanquish." Said the black haired woman, looking at the Keyblade intensely, before looking at the human. "Please, Sir Alan, could you tell me more about yourself?"
"Uh? Why?... also, you called me Sir?"
"You see, in the kingdom of where I am, we are very familiar with the legend of the champions of the Keyblade. My father and his father befor him told me that those champions are honorable, have great courage and won't give up until they save everyone in need. They look for everyone, and will even sacrifice themselves to protect them. I heard those legends since I was a kid and always wanted to meet one, but I knew that was impossible. But you… you are here… It's an honor, so I have to call you like that, a title fitting for the champion of the Keyblade."
"Oh, please, I'm not THAT important. I just got this key like 2 weeks ago. Still try to get the hang of it."
"Still, I want to know more of you, Sir Alan." Said Sapphire… getting awfully close to him, and grabbing his hands.
"Eh… well, I mean… I am…"
"Yes?" She asked, her eyes shining in anticipation of what he was going to say.
Alan looked nervously at her, as she was awfully close. However, his mind remembered his mission, so he closed his eyes and sighed, before stepping back and releasing her hands.
"I'm sorry, but right now, it's not the time." Said Alan, looking at her… before looking away. "My friends are right now on their way to the Water Temple, and they will need my help. I can't let them fight this alone, especially if they are to face a great danger. I must hurry."
Sapphire looked at him, first feeling a little dejected, but after hearing his reasoning, she smiled.
"I see." She said. "So it is true: Keyblade Champions are honorable and will think first of the others before themselves. I'm glad I have meet you, Sir Alan."
"I… don't feel that much honorable…" said Alan, scratching his cheek.
"Really?" Asked Sapphire, blinking in curiosity. "Why is that?"
Alan just looked at her yes… and yet, his sight ALWAYS go down to her large breasts, before he had to look away.
"… a couple of… reasons… big ones…"
"I see..." Said Sapphire, not understanding what he was talking about. "Ok… so… shall we go, Sir Alan?"
"Go?" Asked Alan with confusion.
"Well, I am the Sage of Water, so I need to go to the Water Temple to try and stop the Crystal from shattering. I was going there, but my bodyguards said it could be dangerous, so I should wait in here first while they scout the area. However, they are already late, so I was planning to go to the Temple myself when… we crashed into each other." She blushed a little when she finished that, remembering how they meet.
"Oh… yeah, I see." Alan said, scratching his neck again. "Ok, we must go."
"Great!" Exclaimed Sapphire, summoning her trident again, and walking toward the river… and walking over the water. "I will use the river to travel. I suppose you can fly over there?"
"Not fly, but I can run really fast." Said Alan, his aura igniting once again, and getting ready to run. "Ready, Sapphire?"
"Ready!"
"Then let's go!"
Alan began running once more towards the water temple like he did before. Sapphire, however, used her staff and created a large wave behind her, and she was pushed by the wave while she was standing still over the water. It was something interesting, because even though they were traveling upstream, the water coming from the river doesn't add to the wave from Sapphire that pushed against it. It's like Sapphire's water wave was completely disconnected from the water of the river, even though it uses that water.
'So that is why she is the Sage of Water, eh? Interesting. Her control over water is amazing!' though Alan for himself, looking how Sapphire matched his speed easily. 'I wonder if Vivian will be able to do the same too…'
And so, both of them continue running towards the temple of water, a few hours way.
A few hours later, Sapphire and Alan were still running towards the Temple. Alan wondered how much far away they were, but Sapphire reassured him.
"We're about to reach the temple. You can slow down." Said Sapphire to Alan.
"Finally!"
Both stopped. Alan saw that the river have ended, to give away a large lake. Huge lake, so big he could almost don't see the other border, that was approximately 10 kilometers (or 6.2 miles) away. But on the center of the lake, he could see a very small island, with a small temple in it, and from it, a pillar of blue light, the energy of the crystal itself.
"Wow… this is a big lake." Said Alan with intrigue.
"You are correct, Sir Alan." Commented Sapphire. "The Lake of Aqua is the most important lake in the world. It's pure waters came from the Water Crystal itself, and it fills the oceans of the world."
"Lake of Aqua? That's their name?"
"Yes. It follows the names of the other Crystal's locations: Ventus Forest for the Wind Crystal, Mountain Glacia for the Ice Crystal, Fulgur's Valley for the Thunder Crystal. And for the other two, its Ignis Volcano for the Fire Crystal, and the Terra Mountain for the Earth Crystal."
"Ah, latin names. Interesting."
"Hey, Alan!"
Looking to his right, Alan saw a group getting close to him.
"Hey, guys!" Exclaimed Alan, seeing his friends again. "Glad to see you are all ok!"
"You are late, meatbag." Said the Kuriboh, looking at him indifferently. "Though some monsters ate you already."
"But instead, you came here with a beauty." Commented Steve, seeing at Sapphire, obviously checking her out, although she didn't catch that.
"Why was that, Alan?" Asked Kristal, looking dangerously at the human. "Were you bothering this girl?"
"What? No! I just crashed into her when getting here!" Exclaimed Alan in surprise.
"Are you sure? You didn't do anything perverted to her, right?"
"No!... not really?"
"Not really?! What does that mean?!"
"Oh boy, she angrey…" commented the Kuriboh, taking a step back.
"Miss Kristal, calm down." Commented Vivian, looking nervously at the blondie spellcaster.
While they were discussing, Sapphire noticed that Duncan looked at her intensely. She was going to ask him why he was looking at her like that… when he spoke.
"You… you are the Sage of Water, right?" Asked Duncan, causing Kristal to stop her interrogation with the human.
"Oh, yes, yes I am, mister…?" Started Sapphire, looking at the taller man.
"Dark Magician Duncan. I am the leader of this group." Said the taller spellcaster. "And there are my apprentices, Dark Magician Girl Kristal, and Skilled Dark Magician Steve."
"Pleasure to meet you all." Said Sapphire, smiling sweetly.
"The pleasure is all mine!" Expressed Steve, getting in front of her and kneeling, grabbing her right arm. "I should have known such a beauty like yourself MUST be the Sage of Water. It's an honor!"
"Uh…thank you?"
"Steve, you're bothering her." Said Kristal, not amused. "Besides, I know WHY you are trying to act like that."
"Act? Of course not! I just want to show my appreciation to this…" he started, rising his eye sight… but instead of looking at her face, it centered on her breasts… because of course, Steve. "…this beauty in front of me… that I must say, I love y-"
He tried to hug her, but Sapphire effortlessly evade him, and he fell on his face to the ground. Sapphire just laughed nervously.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Steve." Said the black haired girl, now looking at the rest. "My name is Sapphire. I am a Maiden of the Aqua and yes, the Sage of Water."
"Hello." Said Vivian, gaining the attention of the girl. "My name is Vivian, a Harpie Girl. I am the Sage of the Winds… well, in training one."
"Oh? The Sage of the Winds? I should have known: your aura feels differently."
"Yeah, so does yours…"
"I REALLY need to learn how to feel auras…" said Alan, a little jealous over the ability of their friends.
"You don't know how detect auras, Sir Alan?" Questioned Sapphire… and this gained everyone's attention.
"Sir Alan?" Questioned Kristal with confusion.
Alan just sighed.
"Sapphire, I told you that you can just call me Alan. No need for the Sir." Commented Alan with a little of frustration.
"But you are the champion of the Keyblade, Sir Alan." Responded Sapphire. "If I don't call you like that, it would be like an insult for someone as yourself."
"What is going on?" Asked Vivian with confusion.
"Oh, is something about the kingdom where she comes from." Said Alan. "Seems in their kingdom, the legend of the Keyblade is so important their chosen warriors are seen as champions of justice. Because of that, Sapphire here calls me Sir because I am important… or something."
"Ohhh, I am jealous." Said Steve, getting up. "A cutie calls him Sir? Damn it, Alan, you are lucky."
"Am I?" Asked Alan, arching an eyebrow.
"Anyway…" said Duncan, finishing this conversation. "…how did you meet her, Alan? We though she'll already be inside the Temple by now."
"Oh, well… I crashed into her…"
"You mean you meet her in the forest?" asked Vivian.
"No, like… LITERALY crashed into her. Was running again when she jumped out of the river and crashed into each other."
"Ouch, must have hurt." Commented Steve.
"Yeah… not that much." Said Alan, scratching the back of his neck, Sapphire blushing a little. Kristal and Vivian caught that and, for some reason, felt jealous.
"I was getting here with my bodyguards." Started Sapphire, looking at the group. "But they decided to scout the area first, and return when they were clear. That happen hours ago, and I stayed inside the river for safety. I decided to come here myself when I crashed into Sir Alan."
"How long ago was that?" asked Duncan with intrigue.
"Probably 5 or 6 hours ago? They were getting late."
"Well we haven't seen them." Said Vivian. "We arrived here an hour ago and found no traces of other people."
"Did you find something in here?" Questioned Alan.
"We found a large group of Heartless and fought against them." Said Steve, his arms crossed. "Took us a while, but we finished them. You arrived when we finished them off."
"And you didn't found a DeepSea Warrior or a Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness?" Asked Sapphire with concern.
"No, I'm sorry, we didn't found anyone in here." Answered Vivian, feeling sorry for the girl, as she passed for something similar. "We don't feel anyone close by."
"Think they got defeated by the Heartless?" Asked Alan with seriousness, looking at the lake in front of them.
"Probably." Answered the Kuriboh. "Is that, or they went into the lake. The magic of the water could confuse our ability to sense auras."
"Then we shall go into the temple." Said Alan, getting pumped with energy. "How do we get in? Should we fly to the center of the lake? Should I use my keyblade again?"
"That is not necessary, Sir Alan."
Sapphire walked towards the border of the lake, and summoned her trident. She focused, and the trident started to glow, before she smacked the bottom of the trident on the edge of the lake. Almost on cue, a line appeared over the water and, to the surprise of the spellcasters, human, kuriboh and harpie, the water began to split, revealing a set of stairs that go deep into the water.
"Ohhh, nice trick!" Exclaimed Steve.
"The waters of the lake will stop anyone to enter the temple." Said Sapphire. "As the Sage of Water, I can open a path to the Temple. My guards could be on the bottom, so we must go."
"You heard the lady! Let's go!" Exclaimed Alan, following the girl.
And so, the group began walking down the stairs, deep into the lake… not realizing that some shadows followed them from behind.
The group went down the stairs. They were surprised that they could see many water creatures on the water walls created from the opening of the waters.
"I feel like I am in a movie…" expressed Alan, causing confusion in the group.
"What is a movie?" Asked Vivian.
"Oh, well, it's like a TV Show: a play where events that happen in a script or in a book take life behind a screen. It's hard to explain, you need to see it."
"Your world is very strange, meat bag." Said the Kuriboh with disinterest.
"It's not strange: it's advanced. Sure, the air is not as pure as in this world, but we have many neat stuff."
"How is your world, Sir Alan?" Asked Sapphire, who was in front of everyone.
"Advanced, I think. We have so much stuff it's hard to think where to start."
"Maybe we should have that conversation later." Commented Duncan with seriousness. "We are here."
They eventually reached the end of the stairs, and into the door to the temple. Sapphire got close to it, and touched the door with her trident. Immediately, the doors opened on their own, letting them pass.
Walking inside the temple, they discover it looked similar to the temple of the Wind, only with some pillars resembling waves instead of wind like in the other temple. They eventually reached the Crystal room, where they found the Water Crystal, on top of a pedestal on top of a pyramid-like structure in the center of the room. They walked towards it, and even from the distance, they could see the cracks on it.
"We are on time." Said Sapphire, walking towards the crystal. "It's cracked, but I can still fix it. I will probably take me a day or so."
"Before you start… I need to ask a question." Commented Alan, his face completely serious.
"What is it, Sir Alan?"
"Tell me: you won't die in the process, right?"
"uh? What do you mean?"
"Well, since I arrived here, I feel like I am in one of those adventure animes and stuff. And if I am certain of something, is that when something as important as the crystal needs fixing, it normally takes the life of the caster. So I'll ask again: you won't die in the process, right?"
Sapphire looked at him with confusion and intrigue, before smiling sweetly.
"I appreciate your concern, Sir Alan, but don't worry, it won't take my life." Confirmed Sapphire, removing Alan's doubts from his mind. "Will take some of my energy, but that is all."
"That sounds great!" Expressed Alan. "Glad it's not one of THOSE situations."
"Well, then we can begi-"
-FLASH!-
Suddently, everyone, even Alan, felt a powerful darkness approaching and FAST to their location. When they look at the door, they saw… a large sphere of darkness going in their direction and FAST.
"Watch out!"
Duncan's warning forced everyone to jump away. Since Sapphire was looking at the Crystal, she didn't react on time, so Alan had to tackle her out of the way. Same with Vivian, who since she was still learning, didn't react on time, so Steve had to tackle her, out of the path… of the powerful orb of darkness that passed by them, and impacted HARD on the crystal… or more exactly, on the crystal's aura shield, that buckled under the stress of the orb, trying to contain it. More cracks began appearing on the surface of the crystal.
"What the hell…?" Asked Steve, getting up from the floor. Since he was on full alert, he didn't even register he was on top of Vivian a second ago, or else he would have looked at her.
"Where did that come from?" Asked Alan, getting up too, helping Sapphire.
"It was an orb of darkness…" said Duncan, feeling something familiar in that attack. "… I know that attack… it's from her."
"Exactly, Dark Magician!"
The group looked at the entrance of the temple, and they saw her: long black hair, pale skin, revealing clothing worthy of a mistress of darkness, big bouncy breasts, wide hips that she shakes with every step, and a long red and black cape that swings behind her. The Dark Sorceress… Exia.
"We meet again, 'heroes'." Exia said, her mocking tone easy to identify when she said 'heroes'.
"Wow… who is the voluptuous dark thot?" Asked Kuriboh with indifference.
"Her name is Exia." Said Kristal, not removing her eyes from the woman that just arrived. "She is actually a powerful spellcaster, and the one who destroyed the Wind Crystal with her own powers."
"Ohhh… so a powerful thot of darkness, got it…."
"Ah, I see that your numbers have increased since the last time." Commented the Dark Sorceress, looking at both Vivian and Sapphire. "Seems you became friend with the Sages of Wind and Water…" then she looked at the Kuriboh with armor. "…and a fur ball."
"I'll kill her." Commented the Kuriboh, rising his tiny sword in defiance.
"Ha! I'll like to see you try!"
"Are you here to destroy the crystal?" Asked Alan in defiance.
"No… I actually came here to make out with you, human." This cause Alan to raise an eyebrow in confusion, while Kristal, Vivian and even Sapphire looked at her shocked.
"What the…?"
"OF COURSE I came here to destroy the crystal, you idiot!"
"And here I though you came here to actually surrender."
"As if! I was actually just waiting for you to came here."
"What do you mean?" questioned Vivian. However, it seems Duncan figurate it out.
"…the water…" expressed the older man with surprise.
"Of course, Dark Magician!" Expressed Exia, smiling maliciously. "You are a smart one. That is why I like you the most. The sacred waters that cover this place stop any darkness from entering here, so I was unable to get inside the temple. I would easily wait for a month for the crystal to break, but since you are here, I waited until you open the gate of the temple, AND LEAVE IT OPEN, so I could pass and destroy it now." Said the sorceress, looking at the Crystal. "Although I'm surprised it didn't break with that attack. Seems it's healthier than the Wind Crystal when I destroyed it. Oh well, I guess with 2 or 3 more attacks and I'll destroy it."
"Like we will let you do that!" Exclaimed Kristal, summoning her staff, while the rest of the group got on guard. "You won't be able to defeat all of us!"
Exia looked at them, and just laughed at them, while placing her hands over her hips.
"You must be idiots if you think I am alone."
"What?!" Asked Duncan. Exia just pointed back, outside with her thumb.
"You must have detected the large swarm of heartless that was getting here." Commented Exia with malice. "Who do you think call them here? They must be close by."
"Even if an army of Heartless came here, we'll close the door and the crystal will be fixed. You will lose!" Exclaimed Sapphire in defiance.
"That will be… if I came alone…"
Suddently, a pond of water that was behind Exia began to shake, and from it, raised a figure… a TALL figure, someone that looked like a water beast.
"That… that is an Amphibean Beast!" Exclaimed Alan, having recognized that monster.
"Indeed, human." Expressed the beast. "My name is Letav, and I am in command of the Fish class monsters under control of lord Exus. I will defend mistress Exia with my life."
"Ah, that's how I like them: loyal to me." Commented the Dark Sorcerer with malice.
"And I came here with some… companions." He said, rising his arms to the sky. "Raise, creatures from the deep!"
Suddently, several ponds around them began to shake and some creatures emerged from them: two Terrorking Salmon, two 7-Colored Fish and two Deepsea Shark. The 6 monsters looked at the group with anger… and hunger, forcing the group to get on their guards.
"Well, this looks hard." Commented Alan.
"Let's be careful about them." Said Duncan. "I'll fight Exia; Kristal, Sapphire and Vivian, can you take care of Letav?"
"Consider it done, master!" exclaimed Kristal with determination.
"We will do our best, Mr. Duncan." Said Sapphire.
"We won't fail you, master!" Exclaimed Vivian.
"I know you won't." Said Duncan, looking at the rest. "Steve, Alan, Kuriboh. You take care of the beasts."
"Why do I have to take on the small fries?" questioned Steve, whining about his situation.
"Don't complain! We have job to do!" Exclaimed Alan, getting on guard.
"I agreed with the meatbag. We need to focus." Said the Kuriboh, getting his sword and armor ready for battle.
Exia looked at them with malice, before something came to her mind.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Commented the voluptuous dark sorceress. "Human, I see you have become stronger. I think you could give Joeler a good battle now… you will still lose, as you're still weaker than him."
"Yeah, I don't care about that. I will just fight for my friends, family and the people who want to have a quiet life!" exclaimed Alan with determination.
"Family, eh? … well, I bring you a gift: Exus new apprentice!"
Suddently, a dark portal appeared, and from them, a new figure emerged. He was approximately 1.80 mts in tall, wearing a black cloak, and wielding what looks like a Gunblade… no, it WAS a Gunblade, dark like obsidian, with a graving of a dragon in the blade itself.
However, Alan didn't care about that. His eyes widen when he saw his face, a face he though he will never see again…
"Hello… cousin…"
…a face filled with malice and darkness…
"…Reed…"
End of Chapter 12
Chapter 13 Preview:
Alan: Hello! Alan here! Reed! Why are you with here?! What is going on?!
Reed: Alan! You are being lied too! Open your eyes?!
Alan: What the heck are you talking about?!
Don't miss the next chapter of The N-Warriors: Shadow Realm Saga: Battle at the Water Temple.
Please, friends... resist!
Author Notes:
Well then, what do you think of it? I hope you all liked it.
Sapphire was a character that appeared in the original version of the fanfic, but she actually appeared WAY later in the fanfic. Since I'm rewriting this, I decided to appear earlier.
Also, her hair color is different to the original Maiden of the Water, as the original has blue hair, instead of black hair, like I use in the fanfic.
So... Exia is back. And she just told us why she appeared just when the heroes appeared on site: the Temples are sealed for anyone with evil energy, so unless the Crystal's energy is extremely low, she and the other dark creatures cant enter on the Temple, and will NEED that the heroes arrive and open the gates from her. So, she and the other evils just wait for the heroes.
And Reed is here! ... but why? Oh, you will see in next chapter.
Well, that's all for this week. Hope to see you next time.
See ya!
-SaiyanX logged off!-