Now things are finally beginning to happen! Hooray!
I also have an important note to make. Remember the visions Will had in chapter twenty-nine of version two? Well, I added and removed a few of them. So I highly advise going back to that chapter and rereading that section so that you aren't confused about later parts of the story!
Tragic1987: Thank you. I hope you enjoy this chapter too.
Demon Fan: You'll have to wait to see what deck he uses. No, he will never have Ruecian as a Deck Master, because Ruecian is not his Soul Monster. Zack didn't get one because he's a cyborg. That means he wouldn't be able to sign up to Teknisk Wereld to get one without suspicion. Not to mention he doesn't really want one. Thanks for the compliment, late Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to you as well.
John: You two are brothers? Holy cow. I never would have guessed. And what are the names? You'll just have to read and find out.
Chapter 15: The True Villains
They appeared inside the forest once more. There were no signs of anyone else, but this did nothing to settle them.
"One of them could come at any minute," Draken warned as they brought out their Soul Monsters. "Be on guard."
"True. But they could also be over the mountains, sea, or in the sky for all we know," Gaston stated. "Caution is good, but let's not get overly tense."
Without further words, they set off. The woods were silent today, which made them even more on the edge.
After about thirty minutes, they had left the forest and were walking towards the lake. But they had barely left when Fell stiffened. Daine sniffed the air and then growled softly. Malon froze, his teeth bared in a silent snarl.
"What's wrong?" Draken asked.
"I heard someone…" Fell responded, turning.
They looked over to see something standing behind them. It was a machine that had a humanoid appearance that stood about five and a half feet tall. Part of it was covered in black armor-like material, while where its skin would be was dark gray. It had no visible weapons, but it didn't need them to look menacing. One thing that made Hope nervous was the fact that it had nothing like eyes. Instead, a black visor of some sort seemed to cover where its eyes would be, if it had any.
"What on earth is that thing?" Draken muttered.
"A machine of some sort?" Brandi said tensely.
It stood there for a few seconds, as though pondering what to do. Then, without any warning, it lunged at the group.
Almost instantly, Zack leapt at it, switchblade out. However, he had not reckoned at how fast the machine would be. It easily avoided the slash and slammed its fist into him, sending him crashing to the ground.
Fell jumped forward with a snarl, ready to tear the machine apart. But before he could even reach it, a black blur collided with him. When the dust cleared, they saw that Fell was being pinned down by another humanoid-like creature. There was no creature that looked like this and could be called a human though. The man wore black clothes, which matched his black hair that was long enough to go to the floor. He had wickedly sharp fingernails, and yellow eyes that betrayed no intelligence; instead, they were those of an insane creature that existed to slaughter. It gave a savage howl, showing sharp white teeth that were more like fangs.
A similar creature with gray hair had Daine pinned as well. Others, with hair colors of black, gray, brown, red, and white, had come as well. Three of them leapt in front of Larka, blocking her. One had seized Malon by the collar, ignoring his yelps. Hope stepped back nervously as three others came for her. Draken was in a situation much like hers. Brandi tried to attack one, but the creature grabbed her arm, halting her. Gaston and Darche had their swords out, but were in a defensive position. Mana did not try to attack either, knowing her magic would not hit the swift beings. Zack tried to rise, but the machine pinned him down as well, blocking his switchblade with one of its well-armored hands.
Then they heard someone laugh. "Alright. You can let them up now; I want them to see who we are."
The machine allowed Zack to stand, but kept a tight grasp over the area where his switchblade had slid into, so that he could not have it emerge again. Fell also stood, but the creature kept his arms forced behind his back. The creature restraining Daine kept a tight hold on his collar, as did the one holding onto Malon. The other creatures spread out a bit, keeping a careful watch on the other group members so that they would not try anything.
They all looked over at where the voice had come from. And they stared in shock.
It wasn't as though they had any suspicions on who the voice had belonged to. However, the last thing they had expected was to see the one that they did. They all recognized him, even Zack, Draken, and Darche, who had not seen the news the night the others had; they had seen him at other times. It seemed impossible, but the man that stood there, flanked by two people in hooded black cloaks, could only be one person.
"Surprised?" Vlad smirked.
Brandi was the first one to respond. "Vlad? What is the meaning of this?!"
"It means exactly what it seems like," Vlad responded. "You've placed your trust in the wrong people, Ms. Driger."
"What do you mean?" Hope asked. She gave Vlad a hard glance, bringing forth his aura. It was black, and spoke of death, and a love of power. He was one who wanted complete control, and enjoyed other people's pain.
"Think it over, Ms. Gales. I happen to run Macina Corp, one of the largest industries in the world. It wasn't hard for me to do what I needed to do to take over the world."
"Take over the world?!" Gaston exclaimed.
"Correct." He began to circle them, pacing slowly. "You should have an idea of how I began this. My first step was to take over Macina Corp. This wasn't very difficult to do. You see, Jason was searching for his two step-children, Max and Brandi, at around this time. But he could not find them. Tell me… why do you think this was? He had control of Macina Corp and its inventions… it should have been easy."
Brandi caught on instantly. "You interfered."
"Exactly. Every time he had nearly found you, I would be one step ahead. And I would get rid of the information he needed." He thought for a moment. "Of course, when the Generals of Hell gave me an offer to join them, I said no. I was already too busy fulfilling my own plans, after all. However, I passed the offer along to Jason. He quickly agreed, and soon he was out of the picture."
"That was the first step… but there is much more to it than that. To take control of the world, I had to start somewhere… so I guess that procedure began with the virus."
"The virus!" Hope gasped. "You made it?!"
"Well… I didn't make it, but I did spread it." He held out his hand, and something landed on it. On his palm was a small object, which looked no bigger than an insect. Actually, when they took a closer look, they realized that it looked exactly like an insect.
"What is that thing?" Mana asked warily.
"A robotic mosquito. You see, this virus, called the Black Snake Sickness, is transferred through blood. So what better way to transfer it than through mosquitoes? Real ones would not be able to spread it quickly enough even if they could. But they can't, due to the fact that the Black Snake Sickness would kill them first. So these robotic ones take care of the job nicely."
"So you have control over a virus that can take out almost all of the population in less than a day… you are such a sick bastard," Draken said in disgust.
"Why thank you. I did think it was quite clever," Vlad smirked. He whispered something, and the robotic mosquito flew away. "But that is just the beginning. You must remember, I also have these new soldiers to assist me. They do not really have names yet… I just call them mechanical soldiers and wolf soldiers."
"Wolf soldiers?!" Larka said in shock, staring at the one next to her. "Then that means…"
"Yes. You and your brother were prototypes for these wolf soldiers," Vlad stated. "But these ones are much more improved. They are stronger, faster, and they are very obedient, unlike the two of you. As for the mechanical soldiers… their prototype was you," he directed to Zack. "What did we call you again? Cyborg #0001? I remember that #0000 did not even operate correctly… you were our first step towards getting the mechanical soldiers to work."
"So you're the one that ordered to have me be a test subject? You're the one responsible for bringing me back to life?" Zack growled.
"That's right. I'm also the one responsible for the deaths of your family, and for sending your own best friend after you. Isn't it infuriating? The one behind all your misery is standing right in front of you, and you can't do a thing to be able to have your revenge."
A horrible screeching sound interrupted his speech. Zack had tried to bring out his switchblade once more, but the mechanical soldier holding onto his arm had prevented the blade from coming out. Although he was still enraged, he gave up trying to bring it out, glaring at the amused man.
"See what I mean? I enjoyed watching you… and even though you were not one we could use as a soldier, at least you still served a purpose."
"What?"
"How do you think we knew where you and your friends were, what they were planning, all these times?" Vlad brought forth a device that resembled a hand-held radio. "When your new body was being built, I implanted a device that allows me to hear anything that you can hear. Even if you are unconscious-which you were, for a long time-I was still able to pick up your friends' conversations."
Zack froze. "So… that means…"
"Basically, it means you were our spy. It's how we knew where to find you, so that Thanatos could attack at certain times, and that we could find you and your friends. A prime example of this would be when Brandi was tortured."
"So you were the help that Thanatos had…" Brandi snarled.
"Yes, we were. I am deeply sorry that you had to be in such agony, but it was part of the deal Thanatos made with us," Vlad sneered, not looking regretful at all.
Zack clenched his hands. "Then all of this was my fault…"
"Oh, you could say that," Vlad shrugged. "We probably would have found these things out anyway, but not nearly as quickly or efficiently as having you be there. So I must thank you for your help."
"Damn it…" Zack muttered, unable to bring himself to look at his companions.
"It made things so much easier, after all…"
"What gives you the right to play god with their lives?!"
Everyone stared at Hope, but she did not notice. She was shaking with fury, glaring at Vlad. The cloaked person to Vlad's right shifted slightly. The person to the left turned their head towards the other, and the other one stopped.
"You used Thanatos, meaning that you were controlling Max. You tortured Fell and Larka for most of their lives. You also took over Zack's life! You killed countless people with your virus… and you sacrificed other innocents just to get your superior soldiers! You have no right…" she spat.
Vlad's response was to laugh once again. "I don't have any right to do that, do I? So I gave myself the right to do it. After all, once I am in control of the world, I will have the right to do whatever the hell I want to. And nobody, I repeat, nobody will be able to do a thing about it." He looked over at the two cloaked people. "Of course, I wouldn't have been able to do it alone. I think you'll recognize my two helpers here… they're old friends of yours."
The one to his left stepped up, removing his cloak. Malon let out a strangled yelp while Daine snarled viciously. Larka was paralyzed, while Fell's normally expressionless eyes shone with hatred.
"It's impossible…" Larka whispered.
"Viken," Fell growled. "So you're still alive."
"That's right," the scientist sneered. "You seem quite thrilled to see me."
"But how? You died; we saw Fell kill you," Zack stated, his guilt pushed aside by this astonishing new development.
"It was quite interesting. I did indeed get injected with the poison, but all it did was put me in a death-like state for a few hours," Viken shrugged. "I have tested several different things on my body… chemicals and the like. They probably had something to do with the poison not affecting me fatally. Well, the condition of the duel was that if I lost, I was injected, right? So I technically didn't break the rules."
"That explains how Vlad was able to make these wolf soldiers…" Draken realized, looking at the one by him warily.
"Correct. I also took part in a few tests with seeing how to pass around the Black Snake Sickness," Viken stated. "Although our boss was the one who had the idea to use robotic mosquitoes… an excellent idea indeed." He looked over at Fell. "Listening to you was rather entertaining. I found it amusing that you finally seem to have some sort of a heart. The outside world certainly has changed you and your sister… it is a pity I will probably not have the chance to run any more tests on the two of you…"
Larka suddenly felt the pain in her palms. She looked at her hands and was surprised to see that her palms were bleeding. In her astonishment, anger, and fear, she had not felt her claw-like fingernails digging into her skin.
"But I can't take all of the credit, can I?" Viken looked over at the other cloaked figure, who stepped up. "I think you in particular will be happy to see this person once more, Hope."
The other one removed the cloak. Hope froze, her heart feeling as though it had stopped.
"Good lord…" she whispered.
"Is that all you have to say to me?" Malady smirked. "After all we've been through?"
Nobody responded as they stared at her in shock. While Viken had his normal lab coat on, Malady was wearing a different pair of clothes. She had black pants and a black t-shirt, revealing her arms. And coiled around them were black snake tattoos. They also went up to her neck, the head of the snake showing on her left cheek.
"How can this be?" Draken said in astonishment. "I can see Viken living, but you? Your Soul Monster was burned away, and we saw you fall…"
"But you never found a corpse," Malady stated. "Here is how I survived. I had used Black Snake Sickness in several duels, many in which it almost killed me. My body began to build up its immunity system to the virus. When it should have killed me, my immunity system managed to halt it. It still pains me relentlessly, but I am alive." Her green eyes began to glow a slight red. "And I will have my revenge… on the one who did this…"
Vlad glanced at her. "Viken, get her to calm down. We don't have the time to deal with her insanity."
Viken brought out a syringe, and before the others in the group could guess what he was about to do, he stabbed Malady in the arm, injecting the fluid into her. After a few seconds passed, the red tinge in her eyes faded away.
"Another annoying side effect," she said to the watchers calmly. "The virus can also cause me to go a bit… crazy, at times. This is especially true when I feel deep emotions. But Viken made a medication of sorts, to help me keep my head. Very useful, I must admit." She paused to see their reaction to this. When they remained silent, she went on. "I did not mind giving our boss all of the infected blood he needed from me. It comes with many benefits, after all… one being that I will most likely have another chance to slay you, Hope."
Hope, still stunned by what was happening, brought up Malady's aura. She let it fall almost instantly; it was filled with so much hate that she could barely stand to look at it. She turned to Viken. His was much milder; he desired revenge on Fell and Larka, but at the moment, he was more curious as to what would occur next. To him, everything was an experiment.
Letting his drop as well, she looked at the wolf soldier next to her. To her surprise, the result was much like when she had tried to see Masque's; there were no hints of an aura at all.
So their souls are already gone… Hope thought sadly. They're beyond saving.
Just to make sure her theory with the mechanical soldier was correct, she tried bringing up its aura as well. Once more, nothing came up, but that wasn't really a shocker.
"That's pretty much all that I have to reveal," Vlad stated. "In a time period of exactly twenty-four hours, I will have taken over the world. That is how long you have to surrender to me; just twenty-four hours." He brought out another device, which looked like a small remote controller. "Of course, you cannot stop me. Any plans you make I will overhear through the cyborg. As you can see, he's more of an enemy to you than a friend…" He pressed a button on the controller, and made a gesture. The mechanical soldier let go of Zack's arm, and the wolf soldiers released Fell. Unsure whether to attack or to wait and see what would happen, Fell kept his wary gaze on Vlad.
Zack, on the other hand, brought out his switchblade instantly. But then he turned to Fell.
He barely had the time to shout a warning. "Fell! Get back!"
Without thinking, Fell jumped to the side as Zack landed where he had been, his switchblade slashing empty air. However, Fell was still not ready for an assault from his companion. Zack lunged for him again before he had the time to register that he was coming. In less than a second, Fell once more found himself on the ground, this time stomach first, with his hands secured by Zack's free right hand and with the switchblade pressed against his neck. Turning his head carefully, he managed to look up at the cyborg. Zack's eyes betrayed that this was something he had no desire to do, but that he had no control over it.
"It's an emergency override code," Vlad explained to the horrified viewers. "So, as you can see, you are basically helpless…"
That was when Larka snapped. Before he could continue, she suddenly leapt away from the wolf soldiers nearby her. But she ignored Zack and Fell, going straight for the cause of the problem-Vlad himself.
He seemed surprised; however, he did not seem concerned. He simply made another gesture.
When Larka was just a few feet away from him, something sent her crashing into the ground. It turned out to be yet another creature's fist that had halted her. However, this one looked even more threatening than the mechanical and wolf soldiers. It looked like a machine as well, but was much taller than the mechanical soldier; it looked to be about seven feet tall. Its bottom half was a light blue, while its more bulky, armor-like top half was darker. It stood upright, like a human would, but that was where any resemblances ended. Its hands had three gold razor-sharp claws, and it had a spike coming from each of its kneecaps and its shoulders that were dull silver. Its eyes, if it had any, were concealed by a visor as well.
"You must realize that I am unlike those other idiots you have met that didn't have Soul Monsters," Vlad smirked. "Meet Grendel. He's a Metal Devilzoa, who will do anything I ask of him. He is, of course, much stronger than any of your Soul Monsters could hope to be."
That gave Brandi an idea. She began to pull out a card from her pocket, but was interrupted by Vlad.
"Do not attempt whatever you are trying to do, Ms. Driger. You forget that both of your specimen friends are at my mercy."
At these words, Fell felt the switchblade lightly cut into his skin. A small trickle of blood ran down his neck.
The last time he had been at the mercy of another had been when he had been in Viken's lab, where he had first learned to hate this feeling of complete helplessness. It was something he despised more than anything else; being powerless to do anything because of his weakness…
He did not have much time to think about that, for Larka was faring far worse than him. She tried to rise, but Grendel had other plans. The machine moved surprisingly fast for its size. It brought its foot down onto her before she could get up.
Hope didn't know what was worse to hear; her scream of pain or the harsh snap that rang through the area, telling them that her back was broken. Fell snarled, and tried to get out of Zack's grasp once more. The cyborg's grip had not faltered though, even though Vlad seemed more interested in watching Grendel crush Larka to death than the two of them.
Viken watched the scene with amusement. "You know, I would have preferred to have my original specimens back in good health. At this rate, you'll kill her."
"I wouldn't worry about that," Vlad stated. "Grendel is rather careful at how he attacks. She'll probably be crippled for life, with a broken spine like that, but nothing more."
"That doesn't exactly make me feel better," Viken pointed out.
"Why do you still care about them anyway? You have so many other specimens to test on now."
"True. But these ones in particular intrigue me. If I have the chance to obtain them once more, I will take it."
Vlad shrugged. "If that's what you want." Then he raised his voice over Larka's cries. "Grendel, you can stop now!"
Grendel instantly went over to Vlad, hissing at the group.
"Remember, you have twenty-four hours to surrender," Vlad told them. "If you do choose to, you will get to live… although Malady will want to have a 'talk' with you most likely, Hope. Viken will indeed want his two specimens back, and I would be most curious to look into the cyborg's structure for a last time. But at least you won't die." He sneered. "If you don't surrender… I believe you can draw your own conclusion. So, until that time." He made another gesture to the mechanical soldier and the wolf soldiers. They instantly left the group, running over to the forest. The ones restraining Brandi, Malon, and Daine released them as well before following. Viken and Malady went as well, after Malady gave Hope a last hate-filled glance.
Vlad began to go too, before turning to Fell and Zack. "Oh, I almost forgot that you were still under my control. That would probably not be a position you'd want to remain in until we next meet, hm?" He pressed a button on the controller, and Zack instantly let go of Fell, jumping back to let him stand up. "Enjoy your last day of freedom while you can," Vlad said as a farewell before heading into the forest, Grendel following.
They ignored him, watching Fell as he ran over to Larka. They went over as well, but stayed at a slight distance so that Larka would not feel crowded.
Larka looked up at her brother, eyes shining with tears of pain. "Fell… I... I think I'm going to die… I can't endure this much pain without dying… I don't see any… any way I can…"
Malon whimpered quietly as Daine closed his eyes.
Fell just stared at his sister, unable to accept what he was hearing.
Brandi looked over at Mana. Her Soul Monster nodded, and Brandi went over to them.
Seeing that everyone was watching her curiously, she explained. "I know of a way to help Larka recover. If you all can just wait here, we'll be back sometime soon. Please trust me-it's the only way to save her."
Zack was the first to respond. "Do what you must. We have no other choice."
"I agree," Hope said, and Draken nodded.
Fell still did not move at first. Then he suddenly leapt up, running towards the forest.
"Fell! Where are you going?!" Hope called. But he did not give any sign of hearing her.
"I hope he isn't thinking of pursuing Vlad…" Gaston muttered.
"I doubt it," Zack responded. "Let me go after him. Brandi, you should help Larka now. Hope and Draken, please wait here for us to return." With that being said, he ran after Fell.
"You're not going?" Gaston asked Daine.
"No. This is a matter that I will leave to Zack. I think he can help him more than I could."
"I see," Gaston responded.
They turned back to see Brandi lift Larka gently. Even though she was being as careful as possible, Larka still yelped in pain. Malon whined, and then went over to Brandi.
Mana confronted the puppy. "Sorry Malon, but you can't come with us."
Malon blinked at her, and then snarled.
"I told you I'm sorry… yikes!" She leapt back as Malon tried to bite her leg. "I knew he'd be upset, but this much? Daine, a little help would be great!"
Daine barked fiercely at Malon, who shrank down, whimpering. Then he went over and pressed the puppy down with his huge paw before looking over at Mana. "I will take care of him. Please help her."
"Of course," Brandi said, walking towards another section of the forest. Mana came after her.
Hope sat down with a sigh. "It's too much to take in at once…"
"Yeah," Draken agreed, joining her. Gaston, Darche, Daine, and Malon came over as well. "I'm having a hard time believing it. But this is a huge problem. We're helpless… any plans we make they'll overhear, because we'll have to tell Zack eventually. If we tell him to stay out of hearing range, then they'll know we're planning something. So what can we do?"
Hope glanced around. "While Zack is gone, we'll decide. We'll figure out a way to tell him later… somehow…"
"Alright," Draken agreed. "So, any bright ideas?"
-----
Fell continued to run deeper into the forest, trying yet failing to outrun the feeling clawing at him. He finally leapt up into a tree, climbing up as far as he could. He stopped when he was a few limbs away from the top, and sat on one of the firmest ones he could find, digging his fingernails into the bark of the limb.
Zack had followed as best as he could, even though it was difficult since Fell was much faster than he was. At long last, he heard him climb up a tree. Zack came over to the one he had heard the noise from, and gazed up into the leaves.
"Fell! Can you come down for a minute?"
He received no response.
"I need to talk to you, but I can't while you're up there!"
Still, Fell did not say anything.
"Fine… I guess I'll have to go after you," Zack muttered, pressing one of the buttons on his left wrist. Since he knew he would never be able to climb up the tree on his own, he was resorting to the device that allowed him to hover for a short amount of time.
He leapt, going straight up until he landed on a branch near the top that could support him. For a few moments, he just sat in silence; it wouldn't take long to get his energy back, but it was taxing for a few minutes.
Then he looked over at the limb next to him, where Fell was. He was tense, as though he was considering whether he wanted to run away once more or to stay.
"Please stay here," Zack requested. "I must speak with you, and I won't be able to keep up with you for much longer if you run off again."
Fell hesitated, and then leaned against the tree trunk, eyes closed.
Although Zack was relieved that they were getting somewhere, he did not rush it. Instead, he took a handful of the leaves from the tree, cleaning his switchblade of the small amount of blood it had been stained with. "I'm sorry that I injured you. I tried to resist Vlad's commands, but it was no use… my body was completely controlled by him."
Fell absentmindedly felt the back of his neck, bringing forth a hand with a bit of blood on it. The cut had not been deep at all, and the bleeding had already stopped.
Zack let the leaves go, watching them drift back to the ground. "You can't run away from your emotions. I know that better than anyone, because I've been trying to do that for a very long time. You'll have to face them eventually. You might as well do it now, while you have the chance."
Fell considered his words, before drawing out his Soul Card and looking at it. "…The only thing that stands between me and becoming an insane monster is this card. I wonder if that would be the most painless alternative for me..."
"You wouldn't do that," Zack responded. "For one thing, you would be killing Daine. Also, you would kill innocents until you died. That is not something you could bring yourself to do."
Fell gave the Soul Card a last glance before returning it to his pocket, and closing his eyes once more.
Zack continued speaking, still gazing at the forest. "You never talk about your emotions, but I know that much at least. I know how it is, when you want to hide your feelings. I've done that as well. But you can't do that forever. You have to realize that these feelings will not go away, and the best way to deal with them is to talk about them. So tell me… what is plaguing you now?"
Fell thought over this for a minute. He knew that this whole conversation was probably being overheard by Vlad, Viken, and Malady, but at the moment he could have cared less. So he finally decided to speak.
"For most of my life, Larka is all I have had. I would not have been able to go on without her. Any part of my soul that I still have, any light that I possess, comes from her. But when she was being tortured, I was helpless to stop it… hearing her cries were much more painful than anything Viken could do to me. When we finally had a chance to escape, I was still not able to prevent her from being hurt. If we had not been found by Hope, then we probably would have been captured again… and now, she could die, while I could do nothing once more. I despise that feeling… of wanting to be able to do something, but being powerless…"
Zack listened to him silently. When Fell did not say anything else, he began to speak. "I can see why you love your sister. She is… pure is the only word I can think of to describe it. It is very rare to find someone as pure as she is. After being experimented on for as long as she has been, it's even more amazing… as for being helpless… you aren't the only one who has had to go through that. I think, in one way or another, we have all had to do that. I can name several occasions I have, along with our companions."
Fell turned his gaze to the ground again. "That is another thing. I am still not used to knowing anyone besides my sister. Who can I trust? Is it even possible for me to trust anyone? My sister usually can tell who she can trust, but I am suspicious of everyone… I think they will end up hurting me eventually, which makes me want to be alone."
"Pain…" Zack looked at the one leaf he had held onto, which was still stained by blood. Then he let it go as well. "It is something that we will all feel, one way or another. It's an emotion we have to experience. One of the reasons we can call ourselves human is because of feelings we have and acknowledge. Pain is one, but there is also joy, sorrow, guilt, regret, hope, love, and others… some of them we never want to experience, but others we wish to keep all the time. But we have to deal with all of them. I think that is why we can truthfully say we have a soul; because of the emotions we have." He turned to Fell. "And you don't want to lose yours, do you? That means you will have to quit hiding from your emotions and learn to accept them."
"…You say that as though it is an easy thing to do," Fell stated.
"If it was easy, people like your sister would not be as rare as they are," Zack said. "It will take time. But you have the time to learn it, do you not?"
"…Yes."
"You've already made the first few steps in that direction. You are learning to trust us, aren't you? I doubt you would tell me all that you just did if you didn't have some sort of trust in me… so you probably trust the others as well, right?"
"…Perhaps."
"Well, think over it." Zack got up, pressing the button on his wrist once more. "We should get back to the others. Maybe Larka and Brandi will be back soon." Then he leapt off of the tree branch.
Fell remained in his position for a few more moments, to consider what Zack had said, before leaping off after him.
-----
Larka could barely manage to stay conscious. Her chest hurt terribly, but her back was far worse. Every step Brandi took was another flare of unbearable agony for her. She kept her eyes closed throughout the whole trip, but tears of pain still dropped.
"It's alright… we're nearly there…" Brandi whispered to her as she and Mana walked down the tunnel they had gone to.
Larka's only response to this was a soft whimper.
Finally, they had reached the end of the tunnel. Brandi leapt out of it, landing on the grass carefully. Then she went towards the middle of the island.
When reaching the Elemental Spring, Brandi went to the edge of it. Then she threw Larka into it.
Larka had not even realized where they were; the fiery pain had consumed her. But now that relentless agony was fading away, until nothing remained. Hardly daring to hope, Larka opened her eyes.
Even though her first sight was the clear water, she did not panic. She could instinctively feel that this was one of the safest locations she could be in, and that drowning was certainly a worry she did not need to have. So she just lay there, relaxing as the water healed her.
Brandi waited by the side of the spring, Mana next to her. Coming here had reminded Brandi of something important that she had forgotten to ask.
"Mana? Did you hide Obelisk here?"
Mana's eyes widened. "Oh no! I completely forgot to tell you that!"
"Big surprise," Brandi muttered.
"How did you know that it was here?"
"Max said that he wanted you to hide it in a location where only I would look. This was the only place that came to my mind."
"Well, he was right." She led Brandi over to a rock. Behind it was a small wooden box. Brandi carefully opened it, revealing Obelisk.
"It's the best hiding place we could have," Brandi stated, closing the box and putting it back into its original location. "At least the enemy won't get their hands on it."
"What about Katrina? What if she finds it?" Mana questioned.
"Even if she does, I don't think she will do anything with it," Brandi replied. "She just doesn't seem like the type who would steal it, you know? Besides, she'll probably assume it's ours."
"Yeah, you're right," Mana agreed.
Brandi seemed to be thinking about something. "Mana, could you go back to the others and tell them that Larka and I will be back in a few minutes?"
"Ok," Mana said, and then walked away as Brandi went back to the edge of the spring.
Larka felt the last traces of pain vanish. She could not recall the last time she had ever been at this much peace, but she knew the moment could not last. They only had a day to find a way to stop Vlad, so she could not hold up the others.
But she could at least remain a little bit longer, right? Deciding she would just examine the bottom of the spring before leaving, she swam down.
As she went, she caught sight of something at the base of the wall. Curious, she went closer to it.
She stopped and stared, amazed at the sight. It was a section of the wall that was not rock, but actually clear crystal. Inside of that crystal was a woman. She laid there, eyes closed and arms crossing over her chest. But even though the crystal was clear, it was hard to see the figure inside. The light reflections from the water made it impossible to make out any features of the woman.
Larka lightly touched the crystal. Who are you?
Of course, she did not get a response. But even though the woman would not have done anything but remained where she was, Larka felt reluctant to leave.
Reminding herself that the others were waiting, she finally forced herself to take her hand away from it. Maybe I can come again someday… and maybe I will get to meet you…
She finally emerged from the spring, shaking her hair out of her eyes.
"Brandi? Where are you?" she called.
"Over here."
Larka swam to where Brandi was, getting out of the spring to join her.
"This is just amazing! When did you discover this place?"
"The first day Mana and I came here. Mana got injured by a Cave Dragon, but this spring healed her. Ever since that day, we've considered it a secret place of sorts." Brandi looked into the water. "I've never shown it to anyone else, until now."
"I'm honored," Larka replied. "And I'm very grateful. That pain… I was sure I would die. Thank you for saving me."
"Thanks for being my friend," Brandi responded.
Larka gave her a confused glance. "Huh? Why would you say that?"
"Well… when I was younger, nobody ever acknowledged me. They only saw me as Max's sister, never thinking that I was a unique person with their own feelings. Besides my family, the only person to ever recognize me as a person was Matt… but you never saw me like that. You actually talked to me, and have tried to help me. That's more than most people have ever done for me… so thanks."
"You're welcome… I'm glad you see me as a friend," Larka smiled. "I never had any friends when I was younger. Fell and I never made any before we were taken. And after that… well, you and the rest of the group have been enough to make up for the sixteen years I lost. To be able to talk with others… and to help them… and to have them help me… to even be trusted is something I have wished for. I'm really happy that I finally had it granted."
"Then I'm happy for you," Brandi said, standing up. Larka got up as well, giving the spring a last glance.
"Can we come back sometime?" she requested.
"I don't see why not," Brandi replied. "But remember not to tell anyone of this place, alright?"
"I wasn't about to," Larka assured.
It was when they were in the tunnel that Larka decided to ask her two questions. "Where did Mana go?"
"She went back to the others."
"I see." Then she asked what had been on her mind. "Who was that woman?"
"Huh? What woman?" Brandi asked.
"The one in the spring."
Brandi shook her head. "Sorry, but you've lost me. Can you explain whatever you're saying later? We need to focus on stopping Vlad at the moment."
"Yeah, you're right," Larka agreed. Although she was still puzzled by what she had seen, she pushed it aside for the moment.
-----
Amy picked up her phone and quickly dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"Ms. Gales?"
"Oh, hi Amy! Did you want to talk with Hope?"
"Yes. Is she around?"
"Actually, she left for South Carolina a few days ago. Her friend was ill again. Do you want me to take a message?"
"Hm… no, that's ok. Thanks anyway. I'll try again later."
"Alright. Talk to you soon."
"Bye."
Amy hung up, thinking over the situation.
"What's wrong?" Sakura asked. She had been sitting on the couch, watching her friend.
Amy sat down next to her. "Hope's in South Carolina again. Last time this happened, she was almost killed by the Generals of Hell…"
"So you're worried about her? Well, you have a good reason to be, at least."
"Yeah…" Amy thought it over for a few more minutes before making a decision. "Alright. I think we should look into this."
"My thoughts exactly," Sakura grinned.
To be continued…