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Author's Note: Hey there my fellow readers, I'm sorry to keep you guys waiting for so long, but lately, my life's just been crazy and I'm trying to keep up. XD Hopefully, the next chapter will be up faster. Happy Valentine's Day to those who believe in it and those who don't (like me). And this chapter contains more fighting than usual. YAYZ! Hope you all like, it's another dark day for Ithildin. :P But hey, at least I left Enrique alive. ^____^ Plz review, I'll be looking forward to that! ~_^ Feedback! Tell me what you think is gonna happen! ^_^
Answer: Okay, due to most objections, XD, I won't change the rating, after all, it's not like I'm going to dissect someone's organs or something. (Ew) :P I'll just put a note by the rating that it "may contain scenes of violence". XD *patz everyone who was worrying* Sorry about that. XD
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Chapter 10: Mass Curse
Enrique's eyes widened in horror as the weapons zipped towards him; he could hear Carly's voice ringing in his eyes.
"For Lanthir!!" a blast of water from the skies slammed right into the center of the fountain where Johnny was standing and vibrated to all sides of the gardens, creating a spasm of water vibrations. Enrique leaped to one side to prevent being attacked again, drenched in water, but unharmed as the weapons that were thrown at him fell motionlessly on the ground, stopped by the giant water attack.
"CURSE!" Johnny spat, staggering back, holding the fountain for support. His head was pounding from where the water has shot down to blast him and his body was giving off shivers of pain at the impact of the attack. He barely dodged to one side when an arrow pierced near him.
Carly had her arrows and bow ready, looking determined to take him down. She too was splashed with water, as was Michael who was behind her, but they were both unharmed as they only received the minor impact of the attack.
Johnny angrily got his axe ready, "ATTACK!!! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? Leave the blond boy to me, attack them, Gurtha!!" At his command, the mutant soldiers instantly zoomed out in a heartbeat and surrounded Michael and Carly, clicking their weapons emotionlessly, waiting for a first move. Johnny spun back to Enrique, glaring at him with intent dislike, "I only know one person with that kind of aquamarine power. Tell your girlfriend to come out or else."
Enrique's quick eyes flickered around until he caught sight of Aquana stand on top of the garden wall, looking down at him expressionlessly. He felt a small flicker of guilt, //She should be resting, not out here saving my butt.//
Johnny's eyes followed Enrique's until he too caught sight of the sorceress standing unflinchingly a distance away. Without word, he dashed forward towards Aquana, producing black fire easily from his palm and hurling the flames at the garden wall, which burst into an explosion, tearing down the whole wall.
"Aquana!" Enrique yelled.
Aquana gasped and leaped in the air, landing wobbly on the tree nearby, swinging on the branch to ensure balance, "Nen Hithoel!" She produced a watery misty from her hands, dimming the surroundings with a thick fog.
"Pathetic," Johnny grumbled, launching another blast of fire from his hand and throwing it in the air. The fire blast exploded in midair, burning even the fog until was it raining specks of hot fire. The specks of fire landed on the trees, causing them to erupt into flames until almost everything green was on fire.
"Aquana!" Enrique rushed as close as he could to her, "Aquana, get out of there!"
Aquana coughed, nearly falling off the tree, trying desperately to avoid inhaling the smoke of the burning tree she was standing on, "Enrique!" She doubled over coughing, "Where are you? I can't see you!"
Enrique was about to answer when Johnny swung his axe at him, forcing the blond knight to deflect with his sword, "Not now…" he growled.
"Too bad," Johnny said with a sneer, pushing Enrique back forcefully, "Let her burn. You have more important things to worry about, like surviving me!"
"I…won't let her…burn!" Enrique yelled, trying hard to push back. Sweat trickled down his face as he struggled just to stand his ground, definitely in no position to gain ground.
Johnny smirked and reached for the dagger in his belt, holding up against the gleaming sun, "I should kill you now. But I have to let you see her die first."
"WHY YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Enrique roared, anger blazed in his eyes as he forcefully shoved Johnny back a few inches, snarling like a wounded animal.
Johnny looked slightly surprised as his opponent seized the chance and grabbed the tree branch above him, swinging onto the tree and leaping as fast as he could towards the sorceress. "Hmm." Johnny sheathed his dagger with a slight careless shrug, his lilac eyes following the blond knight's movements, "What a fool. All right, let him save the girl, a fat lot of good that'll do him." He walked slowly towards the fountain, his eyes intent on the Purity Orb.
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Michael gulped slightly, counting their numbers nervously while drawing his two-headed spear quickly, his other hand on his dagger in his belt. Standing back to back with Carly, he murmured softly in her ear, "Princess, what about Enrique?"
Carly was in attack position as well, locking her bow with an arrow and drawing out a cutlass, "Enrique is an experience fighter, he'll take care of himself. Stay close, don't make any sudden movements, we are not making the first move. Ugh. What are these things? They're not human, I'm guessing."
"I don't know," Michael whispered, "I've never seen anything in all my traveling years like them." He wore a disgusted look on his face at the gruesome sight in front of them.
One of the Gurtha grunted and pointed at the princess, mumbling gibberish while the others nodded their heads rapidly, tightening their hold on their weapons.
Carly tensed, her emerald eyes sparking, "Come and get me, you filthy, slimy, stinking lot of junk!"
"Um…………" Michael said in a hoarse voice, licking his lips nervously, "That's not the best thing to say."
Another one of the Gurtha muttered something and they all raised their weapons in unison and slowly starting closing in. Grabbing hold of the tree branch on top of her, Carly swung on, kicking one of them in the face before steadying herself on top of the tree, Michael followed suit and they both leaped off either side and started to attack the monsters, deflecting blows and doing damage themselves.
"What are these things?" Carly cried as her cutlass was flicked away and landing carelessly on the ground, "My dagger! Never mind, I've still got THESE!" She pulled back and fired an arrow into the advancing Gurtha's chest. To her horror, the monster merely pulled it out, not even flinching as dark red blood streamed out of the wound and started advancing again. "What the hell –" Carly muttered, somersaulting back a few meters, "How do we kill these things???"
"I – Don't – Know…" Michael gasped as he fought to keep from being surrounded, "They're too strong, we need help. He locked his spear with an advancing Gurtha, meanwhile, drawing out the dagger from his waist belt to stab another. "Whew…that was close – OW!" He stumbled on the ground, winded as the blunt end of a Gurtha's spear rammed him in the stomach. "Ow…"
"Michael!" Carly dove for her cutlass, but to her frustration another Gurtha had interfered, stepping wickedly on her weapon to prevent her from getting it. "Man!" Carly said irritably, "Curse you all." She was nearly kicked in the stomach by the Gurtha and rolled to one side. "MICHAEL!" She drew an arrow from her quiver and fired it at the mutant near Michael, stumbling quickly to get up on her feet again.
Kicking out angrily, Michael grabbed the Gurtha's spear and cut it in half with his own, then smashed his weapon hard on top of his opponent. "Carly! There are too many, we're completely outnumbered!"
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"Aquana, JUMP!" Enrique yelled, trying to see her over the flames, "Aquana!" He felt his voice die; his throat was getting hoarse from all the yelling.
"Are you crazy?" Aquana shrieked down at him, "I'm NOT jumping." She drew back at the licking flames, the glowing fire illuminating the fear in her eyes. She looked down at the ground with dazed eyes, coughing as she breathed in the smoke.
"You have to!" Enrique shouted desperately, "Aquana, please jump! I'll catch you, I promise!"
Aquana shook her head frantically, wanting to use her powers, but knowing that it wouldn't be enough to get her of this mess. "No…I can't…" Sweat trickled down her face, for it was getting unbearably hot.
"Aquana!" Enrique roared, "I'm going to tell you one more time, just jump! You've saved my life twice now, and I'd never live it down if you died because of me! So WOULD YOU JUST JUMP ALREADY????!!!!"
Taking one last desperate look for a way to escape and finding none, Aquana squeezed her eyes shut and jumped out from the flames, letting the hot blazes brushed quickly past her armored clothes. With that she landed smack into Enrique's arms and they both landed hard on the ground.
"Ooooof," Enrique grunted, as his eyes met Aquana's and they both blushed. "I'm sorry," Enrique mumbled, looking at the ground shamefully, "I didn't mean what I said."
"Oh Enrique," Aquana said softly, clasping her hands together, "I know –"
They were interrupted by a yell from Michael a few feet away and they both scrambled up and rushed over to Carly and Michael. Enrique swung his sword around, slicing a Gurtha hard on the shoulder, away from Carly while Aquana managed to slam a Gurtha in the head with a fallen shield.
"It's about time," Carly grumbled, grasping her longbow tightly, "Any later would've been my funeral."
"Sor-ry," Enrique retorted, standing back-to-back with his best friend, "I was preoccupied for the time being."
"Whatever," Carly said, firing another arrow skillfully while ducking another direct blow, "While you and Aquana were staring deep into each other's eyes, Michael and I would still like to keep our heads screwed on, if that's possible."
"Give me a break," Enrique complained, beating another mutant back with his sword, "This is the thanks I get? Cut me some slack, I can't be in two places at once!"
"Less talking and more fighting!" Michael and Aquana exclaimed at the same time from either side.
"There are only 6 of them!" Carly complained, "Then why the hell haven't we defeated one yet?? I'm tired of going on the defense, there must be a way to –" Carly stopped short as her eyes adverted to the fountain, "Oh NO! There's no water coming out of the fountain!" She caught sight of Johnny slamming his axe hard into the stone carving of the fountain. "You guys handle this!" Carly cried, leaping away, "I've got a score to settle!"
"Carly!" Michael yelled as the princess zoomed away and the Gurtha closed in on the three fighters once again.
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"Oh no you DON'T!!!!" Carly yelled, pulling her cutlass from her belt and raising it high enough to strike the Nonda`Konaste on the head.
Johnny whirled around and blocked it furiously with his axe, his lips curling into a wicked smile when he saw her, "So…you're still alive."
"You can bet your life on it that I am!" Carly snarled, "Not that your life it much USE!" Her eyes widened when she saw the gleam in the Nonda`Kanoste's hand and stumbled back, gasping. "Oh no! Give that BACK!"
"You mean this?" Johnny bounced the Purity Orb in his hand, "No way Tariena, this little trinket is coming back with me. Purify water? What-ever. I'm going to take down Ithildin piece by piece until it can barely stand up!" Whipping his axe up to deflect the blow, he leaped backwards, "You don't know the least of it. I despise your father for exiling me…exiling me for no reason…I despise you for protecting this weak land…"
"You killed people," Carly snapped, "My father had every right to exile you. Actually, he should've just killed you and be done with it! Like I'm going to do now!" She threw out her cutlass with all her might, trying to lay stunning blows, "And for your information…you fool, my father is dead!"
"Don't tell me you're self-pitying yourself?" Johnny snarled, quickly ducking to avoid a harsh head smash from Carly's cutlass, "There's really nothing more pathetic…"
"Self-pitying? You wish!" Carly hissed, "You are pathetic, I'm sick of your whining, so you were exiled – why don't you STAY exiled????" She gasped when Johnny's axe came hard down on her cutlass, striking it in the air and letting it land a few feet away. With her pride aching at the smirk on the Nonda`Kanoste's face, Carly rubbed her sore wrist quickly before immediately getting back down to business.
"I wish you would just DIE," Carly snarled, beating the knight back with her longbow furiously, "You pathetic, sniveling, little –"
"Less talking and more fighting Tariena," Johnny drawled, almost lazily deflecting her blows.
"You think you're all that," Carly growled, her emerald eyes raging like a violent storm, "You need a total reality check, I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do. I'll kill you, slice your head off and –"
"Tariena," Johnny said with a slight smirk, "I love your eyes."
"You!" Carly gasped, nearly tumbling over in shock, her eyes sparking in anger as she quickly regained her composure and struck back hotly, "How dare you - I'm not playing a game with you, you sick minded –"
Johnny laughed coldly, flicking his sword lazily to deflect blows. Carly pulled back, flickering her eyes towards her fallen weapon, breathing heavily. "Anger isn't a bad thing. Hate me, the darkness feeds on the hatred, the despise, the contempt… Oh Tariena, aren't you sick of losing all the time?"
"Give it back," Carly growled, she knew she was on her own, Aquana was still injured, and Enrique and Michael had their hands full with the Gurtha. "It doesn't belong to you."
Johnny pocketed the Purity Orb, "Give it back? I don't think so, Tariena. This is just the beginning of Ithildin's downfall. I think you should be ready for more. I'm done here, I'm a busy guy, I don't have time to stick around and listen to this junk."
"Why you!" Carly fumed. She was so angry that she grabbed her arrow and didn't even bother to put it in her longbow. In her fury, she merely ripped the arrow point past Johnny's face, cutting his cheek.
Johnny was so shocked that he only stared at her for a short moment before flames of anger began to burn in his eyes. Ignoring his stinging cheek and the slight trickle of blood dripping down from his wound, he glared at the princess in hot anger. "You'll pay for that. Amin khiluva lle a' gurtha ar' thar!" (I'll follow you to death and beyond!)
"What?" Carly gaped at him, breathing heavily, surprised at her own actions, "What the hell did you just say?"
"I'll kill you," Johnny snarled, "Let me give you a demonstration of my powers, maybe, then you'll learn to fear me!" Even the wind seemed to be picking up as fire burned around Johnny's body, illuminating his face in a deadly glow. The fire that was burning in the trees and grass was spreading even more rapidly as the wind howled, Johnny clenched his fists, a burning orb of fire increasing in size in his fist.
Carly stood; gasping as she watched the power in his hands grow more immense by the second. //What the hell is going on?// Even though it was only mid afternoon, the sky seemed to darken and soon everything was as black as night except for the eerie glow of burning fire.
"CARLY!" Enrique yelled, trying to run forward, "Hurry! Get out of there!" Michael and Aquana watched in horror as the fire raging in Johnny's hands was burning out of control.
"Thangarim yassen templa!!! (Mass Curse!!!)" Johnny roared, throwing down the compressed firepower from his hand onto the ground in front of the princess.
The impact was shocking, the ground shook as violently as an earthquake, and everywhere the ground cracked was lit with blazing flames. Carly gasped as the ground beneath her tore up, since the impact was so strong there, rocks and chunks of the stone fountain were thrown everywhere. Carly was blasted ferociously into the air and landed unconscious on the ground as flames licked around her. Enrique, Michael and Aquana all shakily grabbed the closest, sturdiest object for safety.
"Princess!" Michael yelled, "Princess!"
Johnny laughed, the sound of his ridicule shattered through the chaos of mass destruction. "Come on Gurtha, there's no use for us to stay here anymore. I'll be back, don't forget that." And with that, the Nonda`Kanoste disappeared over the kingdom walls along with his 6 henchmen.
Michael was the first to take charge, recovering from the shock as fast as he could, "Go get help! You have to put out the fire before it burns to the city! Enrique, go get help! Aquana, go get a carriage from the palace, get a healer, the princess is hurt!"
Enrique and Aquana both nodded and sprinted away in opposite directions – Enrique, heading downtown as fast as he could to get help putting out the fire, and Aquana, running to the palace for medical help.
Michael leaped down beside Carly from a tree and carrying the princess to safety, he kneeled down beside her, gasping for breath, "It's okay, you'll be okay, just hang in there…" He drew in his breath sharply when Carly stirred, pressing her down firmly, "Don't move. You're bleeding again and you've got bruises everywhere."
"Where is he?" Carly whispered, her eyes smoldering and boiling in raw hatred as she ignored the burning pain of the wound on her side which had burst open in the process of the attack, "I'll kill him…just you wait…"
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Silver Eyez: ^_^ I don't think I've seen you around. ^_~ Ah! Welcome to my realm of reviewers. XD Yes, I'm very happy right now. ^_^ But this chapter was full of action, ne? ^^
whisper*2*imaginary: Are all Williams jerks? O.O Lol, I guess that's where I get my stereotype from. XD Michael!!! He's so kawaii though, how can you *not* like him? ^_~ Rape???!!! O.O!!! No way! I don't think any girl's that powerless in my fic to let that happen. :P
Star_Blizzard: *sticks out tongue* Phffff!!! Memory flash! ^_____^ YAYZ! Hahaha, no Tala in the chapter. XD Of course William's ugly, he thinks he's gorgeous and that equal's ugly! XD
kai-cutie-angel: *hugz Enrique* Noooo, I can't kill Enrique. @_@ You should have no problem finding Kai fics, they're everywhere!
Silver Swiftness: O.O What luck. O_o I'm sooooooo busy too ;_; and I don't think I did so well on my exams.
Insane Kawaii Mew: *sweatdropz* Yeah…why the heck would I think that? …well…for starter's the knife is a very good clue. O_O
Saffron: I must've tried to kill Enrique at least 5 times in all my fics, but he's still alive and kicking, that's a good sign right? Yup, Carly's furious at everyone, which is a good warning to stay away. XD You know, I would like to kill William too, but *laughz* I've got plans for him. XD
Magical Soul: I don't wanna kill you! O_O I love reading your reviews. ^^ Oh no! *squealz* You're getting it! *meep* But your theories are soooooooooo close, how careful do you read? When I read your review, I was like, oh wow! You're a genius! XD
Unigirl: I hate fangs, they're creepy. XD YAYZ! You take it back, she's not perfect!!!! ^______^ I'll go celebrate, but really, she's anything but perfect. XD Sorry for taking so long! ;_;
Eleine Cyra: No way! XD The first part of your name is REALLY similar to my real name. XD
Reicu: @_@
I like the chipmunk laugh, it's cute!
^_~
RBMIfan: Don't worry, ^_~ I won't change
the rating. XD I'm not about to lose you as a reader. Besides, there's nothing here that a 13
year-old isn't able to read, there's just a lot of blood sometimes and my
sister reads it, she's only 11. XD
Yin: *hugz* No heart attack. *patz* Yayz! Carly's reaction was priceless! XD It was, huh? She totally lost it. Come to think of it, _, they all have tragic pasts. XD
Cry Of The Red Phoenix: *pokez* Wait, you're invincible. *frownz* Hmm…well, you had better reappear so you can review! ^^
Spitfire_Sae: *hugz tightly* You're here! XD I thought you stopped reading cuz I was boring you. :P I get REAL happy when I see your reviews. XD Lol, I know what I read, tho I'm 16, I read what I like, so I skip the parts that I don't like, but I *love* your fic, it's soooo cool! More Johnny! XD I love Michael too, I made my new siggie with Michael in it. *shoves Johnny back into the box* Stay. XD I think that I might make Kane show up for a bit, sssssssssh!
ChRiSTiZ: Diola lle means "thank you" in Elvish! ^^ Draco/Hermoine? O_O Guess it could be a possibility, I would *love* to see that really happen. XD Oh no, he's not William's dad, he's just a palace Royal Advisor… and a jerk. XD Oh and you didn't miss the correction, :P, I added it in after @_@, ooooopz.