Chapter Nine: The True Enemy
Adam's head was ringing and he couldn't focus. His body stung and felt rather numb. Still, he was able to bring his hand to his head and roll it to the side. When he opened his eyes and his vision came together, he saw Sean walking towards him, sword in hand. He quickly felt his energy restored.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Adam crawled backwards a little. "Time out! It's me! It's Adam!"
"I know." Sean said. "I've destroyed the Black Dragoon Spirit. You needn't worry about it any more."
"Oh…" Adam was relieved, but a bit drained of energy. "That's good."
"Yes." Sean pointed his sword at Adam. "But you're going to answer some questions for me, okay?"
Adam stared at the blade's tip, and then nodded. "Got it." The other dragoons gathered around to hear this.
"Where did you get that Dragoon Spirit?" Sean asked him.
"Well," Adam scratched his head. "It's kind of a long, complicated story, but here goes. A month or so ago, I was out of the country, staying with my uncle for a bit. He's an archeologist and let me come along to one of his digs. There wasn't much for me to do, so he let me ride around on a dirt bike. Well, the dig was in the middle of a desert, and before I knew it, I was lost. I don't even know if I was going in circles or what.
"Soon enough, I saw something that looked promising. I drove there and found some ruins, but they were nothing like the stuff my uncle was digging up. This place was really creepy and looked real dark, even though it was in the middle of the day."
Adam looked around himself. "This was the place I found."
"Mayfil." Sean told him. "Of all the places to stumble across…then again, I would not expect an evil Dragoon Spirit to be found anywhere else. Continue."
"Alright. Well, it gets really hot out in the desert, so I came in, looking for shade. Heck, the place was dark enough. Of course, I got curious. I began walking around, examining the place. The whole city had a strange vibe to it. And then…I heard a voice."
"What did it say?" Sean asked.
"It said, 'A human? Here?' I don't know about you, but cryptic voices in dark places scare me. I of course asked who was there. The voice just laughed. I asked again and he said his name was not important. The voice was kinda faint. I pointed that out and he said to follow his voice. I don't know why, but I did."
"Smart move." Brad scoffed.
"Anyway," Adam continued, "I follow him to the remains of some building-kinda different from the others, but I don't know why. The voice was clearer there. He asked my name and I told him. It was really strange. He just began trying to small talk with me. I finally asked who he was again and he said again that the name wasn't important, but he said he was a being of great power. I asked him to show himself, but he said he couldn't. Something about being trapped."
"Trapped?" Brittany asked.
"I'm not sure how it works, but he actually asked for my help. I didn't like the feeling I was getting from this guy, so I asked him why I should help. He said he could make my dreams come true in return. Again, I was skeptical, but curious." He hesitated.
"What happened next?" Sean asked.
"He, um…he asked what my greatest desire was."
"And you told him what?"
He hesitated again.
"Spill it."
"I told him…my greatest desire…was to have Melissa O'Riley at my side…"
All eyes of course turned to Melissa, who wasn't sure what to feel anymore.
"What did the voice say?" Sean inquired further.
"He said, 'You speak as thought that desire cannot be fulfilled.' I said, 'Not really.' He asked why and I said 'Because she has a boyfriend, Sean McMann.' Then he got all weird."
"Weird?" Sean repeated.
"Yeah. I just suddenly felt this chill run up my spine and the guy got real silent. He asked your name again and I repeated it. Then…he started laughing. Well, chuckling, really. He said he couldn't believe it."
"Believe what?"
"I'm still not sure." Adam shrugged. "He was real mysterious, but it was obvious he knew you or something. He said you were a bigger threat than I realized and he told me all about the Dragoons and stuff. Then, he told me to wait a minute. I heard a sound…it was like somebody straining really hard. Then, a column of black smoke came from out of the ground in front of me. When the smoke settled, there was the Black Dragoon Spirit. He told me to pick it up, so I did."
"If he told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?" Christie had to ask.
Adam shrugged. "I dunno. Anyhow, the thing shimmered in my hand and transformed me into a Dragoon. The voice told me all about my powers and stuff and said I could use it at my will, for whatever I want. He said I would find a way to make my dreams come true."
"And you listened to him." Sean finished.
Adam nodded. "I figured I had nothing to lose. I asked him why he did this for me and he said 'because I believe in a potential for humans.' Whatever that means."
"It means he believes in a potential for humans to abuse power."
"That makes sense…"
"Who do you think this guy is?" Mike asked.
"I don't know." Sean said.
"Do you think…" Melissa offered. "Maybe…Melbu Frahma?"
Sean sighed. "In this place, I wouldn't be surprised." He looked at Adam again. "What did you do next?"
"Well, I used my flight ability to find my uncle, then I drove there on the bike and just told him I got lost. I went back home a few days later, and you know the rest."
"What about the wingly spire?" Ben wanted to know. "Why did you steal that?"
"I began using my powers randomly, seeing all I could do. Finally, I came back here to talk to the voice again. I told him how fascinated I was with my powers and all that and he seemed pleased. Then, he asked for a favor. He wanted to come back to this world, but he couldn't do so on his own. He needed wingly power to bring himself back. He said that a wingly device of sorts could help. For some reason, I felt compelled to help him. Probably the Black Dragon messing with my head."
"It was no real dragon." Sean said. "It was a way of getting into your head. The voice you keep talking about used it to have a vessel to do his bidding. That vessel was you. I think that 'dragon' was a fake created by that mysterious voice. A real Dragoon Spirit wouldn't shatter like that under my power."
"That would make some sense." Adam said. "Anyhow, I told him of Ulara after my encounter with you guys and he told me to steal two spires so that he could draw power from them and restore himself."
"But you were only able to steal one spire." Christie pointed out.
Adam nodded. "Yeah, but…" Suddenly, his eyes shot open and he jumped to his feet. "The wingly!"
"Marian!" Rob spoke up. "What about her!"
"Wingly?" Sean asked.
"Marian McKain." Robert said. "Wingly girl disguised as a human. Kidnapped by the Black Dragoon. Nice girl, great looks, hair smells like strawberries-WHERE IS SHE?" The last part was directed at Adam.
"We have to hurry!" Adam said, seeming panicked. "I knew I couldn't steal another spire, so I talked to the voice and I kidnapped the wingly girl instead. He's drawing power from her to create another spire for his escape!"
Robert shook his head. "But he can't. Marian doesn't have all that much power!"
"He'll find a way to draw out everything she's got."
"He'll kill her!"
"That's why we have to hurry. Besides, I really don't want him to be released from wherever he is. C'mon! I'll show you the way!" He turned and bolted. The Dragoons followed on foot and wing.
Adam didn't have to lead them too far. "In there!" He said. "That big tower."
Sean and Ben looked at each other. "This is where we fought Melbu last time." Sean said.
"Then it could very well be him." Ben noted.
"C'mon!" When they got near, they could see that some strange activity was going on inside. They ran into the tower and made their way to the main room, a great room with a device at the far end for pulling in souls. In front of his device, there was the wingly spire. Floating on the other side was Marian, unconscious and being sapped of her powers.
"Marian!" Robert flew over to her, but before he could get to her, something suddenly forced him backwards and into the opposite wall. A few seconds later, the sapping stopped and Marian's body was tossed away. Robert extended his hand and his Dragoon Spirit glowed. A gust of wing blew up from the ground, allowing her slow descent to the ground. He then rushed to check on her.
"How is she?" Brad asked.
"Alive." Rob sighed in relief.
Sean then turned his head back to the main attraction. The second spire took on physical form from Marian's magic and was set in place near the first spire with the curved spikes facing each other. Magic began to sparkle and glow in the spires and with an unseen black force, magical rays came together and reacted brilliantly. Power swarmed around the site and a sort of portal globe began forming.
"Here he comes!" Adam warned.
"No he doesn't!" Sean replied. "All we have to do is destroy the spires." His Dragoon Spirit glowed and filled him with power. Sean extended his hands and fired a beam at each spire. A black force field surrounded them and his power couldn't go through. Sean fired even stronger beams and began pressing hard against them.
Sean…
Sean stopped his power flow, startled at hearing his name, yet not knowing who said it.
"That's him." Adam informed.
Sean…
Sean decided to respond. "Who are you?" He demanded. "And how do you know me?"
The voice let out a low chuckle. Don't you recognize my voice? I was sure you would have it memorized by now…
Realization began to dawn upon Sean as he put a face with the voice. His body seemed to tremble.
"Sean?" Melissa noticed him. "You okay?"
The voice laughed again. I knew you remembered me…I can taste the fear in your heart.
Melissa ignored the voice, though each word sent a shiver up her spine. "Sean, who is that?"
My, my, Sean. The voice continued. How you have grown! Not just in body, but in power as well! And then, the tone seemed to grow darker. But have you grown enough?
The spires glowed again and the portal began reacting.
Have you gained enough power?
A black spirit began to slide from the portal. It grew larger and larger as it took on form. The creature's voice became more audible.
"Can you finish what Anna could not?"
The figure's form was complete. It was the upper body of a humanoid figure. Its skin was midnight black. Its chest seemed to be armored, but then again, the armor seemed to have melded in with the creature's body. Large shoulder guards sat on either side of the creatures head, a sinister, twisted face with glowing red eyes and a malicious grin. Two horns poked out of the sides of the creature's head and curved such to appear as a jester's hat. His arms with thick and muscular with more armor along his forearms leading down to clawed hands.
"Can you defeat me?" The creature asked. "King of Death! The Mighty Zachwell!"
Evil power surged through the atmosphere at the mentioning of his name. Melissa looked at Sean.
"That's him?" She asked. "THAT'S Zachwell?"
Sean's jaw was clenched too tight to answer.
"Not exactly." Zachwell answered for him. "Unfortunately, this realm of light has grown to like me and will not easily let me leave. It will take some time for me to fully emerge, but for now, this is my form."
Sean knew Zachwell was not this large in real life. He was about the size of a tall man. This was just a large projection of the fiend. Even so, Sean recognized the demon. This was the creature that destroyed his life by killing Anna, his wingly stepmother who taught him about being a Dragoon.
Zachwell looked down at Sean and laughed.
"You have been running from me, but you haven't been running from me. I have pursued you, yet I haven't pursued you." He laughed again at his own riddle. "I have not left your mind, have I? A memory so terrible is not easy to lose."
"You took away everything I had…" Sean whispered.
Zachwell crossed his arms. "Indeed. Granted, it didn't end how I expected, but it was a simple side track. For ten years, I have been fighting, trying to escape and I was able to speak to that human." He pointed to Adam. "Speaking of which, Adam, we had a deal. You helped me escape…and I gave you power." Zachwell extended his hand and a black ray lanced from it and struck Adam's chest. A deep, dark power swelled within him as a dark red light shone on his chest. When the haze cleared, he was the Black Dragoon once more.
"Keep the others at bay!" Zachwell commanded him. "But Sean is mine and mine alone."
"Go on." Sean told Melissa. "Fend him off so I can deal with Zachwell."
She nodded and joined the others in combat. Zachwell loomed over Sean in the sky. "I see your mind…you are terrified." Sean would not respond, for in truth, he was. "I don't blame you. Few encounter me and live. You can guess the odds are of surviving the second encounter."
Sean brandished his sword. "I'd say they're pretty good."
"Feisty…how entertaining." He let out a low chuckle. "Come then…show me how far your powers have taken you."
Sean thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright." He put his sword away.
Zachwell raised a brow.
Sean extended his arms and fired a great beam at each spire once again, forcing power upon them. The spires glowed black and didn't falter.
"Ha, ha!" Zachwell laughed. "You didn't really think that would work, did you? My power is far too great for that. Only black magic can touch those spires."
"Is that so?" Sean asked. "Melissa!" She heard his call and flew to his side. "Attack the spires with your magic."
Melissa nodded and fired a black ray from each hand. The darkness blended in well with the black power surrounding the spires, but nothing happened.
Zachwell snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah! That's the other thing. Your black magic won't work; the spires will just absorb it." He snickered and swung a massive hand, smacking Melissa away. More dark light began surrounding Zachwell and he breathed it in. "Won't be long now. Once I'm free, you can I can have a little contest, Sean."
"I'm afraid I can't wait for that." Sean said. His Dragoon Spirit glowed brightly and his full Dragoon armor covered his body. He pointed his cannon at Zachwell. "Divine Dragon Cannon!" A great beam shot out and struck Zachwell right in the chest. "I'll send you back to where you came from!"
The black gem on Zachwell's chest glowed and a black force repelled Sean's attack, preventing it from doing any real damage.
"Ha, ha, ha! My turn!" He declared. He shot out his hand and a black beam shot from it. Sean ducked down and curled his six wings around himself for maximum protection. The attack collided with his dragon armor and pressed hard against it. Sean felt the great pain of the attack and could do nothing to stop it. Zachwell finally pulled his hand back and Sean got back to his feet.
"I won't fall so easily." Sean wheezed.
"I know." Zachwell said in a low tone with a grin on his face. "That's what makes this so interesting." Power swarmed in his hand again and he fired another black ray. Sean fired his own cannon once more. The attacks collided and pressed against one another. Zachwell's was winning, but then again, it couldn't get past a certain point. Sean's powerful cannon was barely succeeding in keeping the beam away from his body, and he wouldn't last for too long.
Meanwhile, the other dragoons were dealing with the Black Dragoon. They executed their plan perfectly and distracted him while Christie powered up. When she was ready, she nodded to the others.
Brad swung a great kick, knocking the Black Dragoon back and spinning him through the air. Christie drew back her arrow, took very careful aim and fired. The arrow stuck into the black eye in the middle of Adam's armor and released a powerful white magic into his body.
"AAAAHHH!" He cried out in pain. With a white flash, the attack ended and he fell to his knees. His armor was still intact, however and the Dragoons prepared for the worst.
The Black Dragoon stood to his knees, pained by the attack. He gripped his head and seemed to struggle for a second. Finally, he yanked off the helmet and breathed deeply.
The darkness has weakened greatly. The Dark Dragon said. Adam has control of his own body.
Melissa floated down to him. "Adam? You okay?"
Adam nodded. "Other than the burning sensation flowing through my body."
"Good. We have to help Sean!"
Adam looked at the situation. "The spires. If just one is destroyed, the portal will close and Zachwell cannot get out."
"Then let's break one!" Mike suggested.
"Not so simple." Adam shook his head. "Nothing can even touch them except for dark magic."
"I tried that." Melissa said. "It had no effect."
"Maybe your magic didn't," Adam said. "But mine will."
Melissa cocked her head. "How can you be so sure?"
Adam lifted his hand and a dark force surrounded it. Not only dark power, but what seemed to be fire as well.
"My powers are slightly different from yours." He put his helmet back on. "This is my chance to set things right." His blades appeared in his hand. "Here goes!" He shot forward, aiming for the left spire.
Sean and Zachwell were still going at it. With a burst of energy, both beams stopped, neither touching the other. In the corner of his eye, Zachwell saw Adam rushing at the spire.
"TRAITOR!" He bellowed and sung his hand. A black force suddenly knocked Adam backwards. He hit a column and fell to the ground. He began getting back up.
Zachwell created a black spike in his hand and through it. The spike impaled Adam through the stomach and stuck him to the pillar.
"Gotcha!" Zachwell laughed.
Adam found himself frozen more in shock than pain. Breathing never felt so hard…
Christie instinctively rushed to his side to heal, but Sean called her over to him. "I have to help him!" She protested.
"There's nothing you can do for him! Get over here!"
Zachwell's status was improving by the second. He saw himself becoming whole again and his true body began edging itself out of the void. A clawed hand reached out from the portal.
"COME ON!" Sean commanded. Christie ran to him. "Give me your hand!" He snatched it in mid sentence. "Hang on tight. This may sting." His Dragoon Spirit glowed and hers did quickly after. They held their joined hands up and a blinding white ray shot from it, striking Zachwell square in the chest.
"DAH!" He roared. This one actually hurt.
"It's working!" Sean said. "Push harder!"
Zachwell hissed, and then smiled. "Do you think I could live in the light realm for ten years and NOT develop a resistance to the element!" He held both hands up and swung down releasing an enormous amount of black energy. Christie and Sean turned their attacks to repel the evil energy flowing from Zachwell's hands.
Melissa was beside the injured warrior.
"Adam?" She said. "Can you hear me?"
His breathing was labored and short. Blood flowed from his belly to the ground and along the spike imbedded within him.
"The spire." He was able to whisper. "The spire…"
"Is there any other way we can destroy it?"
"No other way…" Adam whispered. "I gotta do it now…" He lifted his shaking hand. A black fireball began forming.
"Can you?" Melissa asked him.
His hand shook uncontrollably. "Help me…" He whispered. Melissa took his arm and helped to hold it steady. He guided it to the left spire, completely unguarded. The fireball grew to full power and waited for release.
Melissa could feel his pulse from her grip. It did not beat steadily at all. He would die soon. And yet, he hesitated.
"Adam." She said. "What's wrong?"
"Wait."
Melissa saw Sean and Christie struggling against the black power of the great demon. The other Dragoons fired their magic rapidly, but to no avail.
"Adam! You have to shoot now!"
"Wait." He repeated.
Melissa looked again. Zachwell's true upper body was already pulling itself out of the void. He laughed vilely and the projection mimicked him. He kept one hand outstretched, pressing black evil magic against the two Dragoons. In his right hand, he drew his weapon: a long, black scythe with the blade coming out from a human skull atop the staff and a secondary blade at the base pointing the opposite way. The giant image of Zachwell spun the weapon in his hand, savoring the moment.
"Adam!" Melissa begged. "Please, SHOOT NOW!"
"No." he responded.
Melissa turned her head to stare at him. "What?"
"The other one!" He turned his hand to the spire on the right.
"What does it matter?" She was frantic.
"You want the wingly to live, don't you?"
Melissa didn't understand, but she steadied his hand again and waited.
Zachwell raised his scythe and let out a long, evil laugh, reeling his head back and cackling at the top of his lungs.
Adam shot the black fireball. Zachwell didn't even see it coming.
The fireball struck its target and exploded on contact.
"What?" Zachwell turned and saw the spire crumbling. "NO!" He bellowed. While he was distracted, Sean and Christie fired at him again, pressing him back into the light realm, which was already pulling him back in.
Zachwell fought against the white magic, but without the spire holding the portal open, he was being drawn in once again. The real Zachwell was pulled back in and the projection writhed in pain. He looked at Sean with an evil grin.
"I won't be in her forever, you know this! One day I will break free, I promise you!" He chuckled. "Who will save you then?" He cackled once more as the projection flickered from the lack of Zachwell's power. Even as his powers waned from the world, he laughed his hardest. "I'll be back!" And with those final words, the projection vanished and the portal closed. Sean and Christie fell onto their faces and the Dragoons rushed to meet them.
The remaining pieces of the destroyed spire glowed and dissipated. They became little flickers of light floating in the air. The lights joined together and flew to Marian's unconscious body. Robert rushed to her side and saw her eyes slowly opening.
Melissa turned to Adam, who could barely hold his body up. His hand still gripped hers.
"Adam?" Melissa asked.
"I…am…sorry." He wheezed. "For everything…"
She shook her head. "You saved us."
"I…had to. I had to…make up for what…what I did to all of you…"
Melissa lifted her hand up and slid the helmet off his head. He looked at her with sad eyes, but smiled faintly. Melissa touched his face and kissed his lips, allowing Adam the one thing he wanted most, just before he left the world. When she parted the kiss, he gave a very weak smile. His hands quivered, holding his weight up on the spike.
At last, they gave way and he fell onto the spike.
A second later, the foundation of the tower began crumbling.
"The city is dead." Sean told everyone. "We have to get out of this place!"
The Dragoons took to the skies and burst through the rubble as it fell. The tower collapsed as a signal that once more the Death City Mayfil lay sleeping.
Everybody hovered over the city. Everything was frighteningly silent. In their last battle, the Dragoon had rejoiced in their victory. Now, they stood silent in remorse.
Sean's face was solid. "Come on." He said. "Let's go home." He flapped his wings and took off. The other Dragoons did the same thing, leaving the memory behind them.
The next day was Saturday. The final game was that night. Robert wasn't nervous. He had bigger things on his mind. Today, he was going to meet Marian's parents.
Marian noticed his pace was a bit slow. "C'mon now. Don't lag behind."
"Can you blame me?"
"Don't be so nervous!"
"I have to be."
"Why?" Marian gave him a look. "We're not dating or anything." There was a bit of silence afterwards. "Just…think of it as a dragoon meeting a wingly."
"I still feel like Gaylord Focker and I'm meeting the parents."
Marian laughed. "You'll be fine."
They entered the house and both parents were in the living room, waiting. Robert noticed that Marian's parents both had their hair dyed blonde also, thought the father's was darker.
"Hi guys." Marian said. "Mom, Dad, this is Robert."
He gave a sheepish wave. "Hi."
"Don't look so nervous, Robert." The mother politely said. "We don't bite."
"I do." Marian's father from his chair said with a grin. "A Dragoon, eh?"
Robert nodded and his spirit shimmered a bit to prove it.
"So they're being called again, are they?" her father continued.
"That's right."
"When exactly did this happen?"
Robert told all of them his many stories. About meeting Sean, the virage attack, Melbu Frahma, The Black Dragoon, and Zachwell. Time flew by as his stories were told.
"Sounds like you've had quite a few adventures." Marian's mother said when he was finished.
"Uh huh." Rob nodded. "It's a whole lot of crazy, but I don't think I'd rather have it any other way." They all nodded. "What about you guys? What are you all doing here?"
"It is not all that uncommon for winglies to enter the world of the humans." Marian's father explained. "We were one of the families that decided to immerse ourselves into the human culture. In order to avoid complications, we've had to move many times due to one of us revealing our powers."
Marian pulled her hood over her head and pulled the strings tight, drawing a laugh from everyone.
"Yes." He continued. "Usually, it was her doing. It was ironic that the many moves took the biggest toll on her."
Embarrassed, Marian ducked her head down between her legs.
Marian's mother spoke up. "She ran into her room one day, just like that. Hood up and all. We all thought we'd have to move again, but to find that you were a Dragoon! Quite a strange fate indeed, wouldn't you think?"
Robert shrugged. "Winglies and Dragoons are kinda tied together in that way."
They all had to agree. Marian's mother had been folding laundry nearly the whole time they'd been talking and now picked up a pile of clothing.
"Marian, these are yours. Why don't you put them up?"
Marian nodded, took her clothing and went to her room.
"Now that she's gone," Marian's father said. "We can talk about her!" He chuckled.
Robert laughed too, not knowing they were serious.
"Marian has gone through some tough times." Marian's mother explained. "She was forced to hide her powers constantly. Humans wouldn't understand, you know? One difficulty led to another to the point where Marian could make little to no contact with anyone. And if she finally would make friends, we would have to move again.
"Marian has been very lonely for a long time, you see. She felt like she was being punished for being different. She became reclusive. You know the hooded sweatshirt she always wears, right? It was her way of showing how she had to hide herself from the world."
Marian's mother smiled warmly. "We're very glad you've met our daughter, Robert."
Rob cocked his head. "Oh?"
She nodded. "As you know, she could not let her powers be known at all because no one would understand. But now that she's found you, someone who also suffers the burden of a secret, she has someone to talk to, someone to confide in."
Robert nodded. "She started freaking out when I told her that I told my friends-also Dragoons-until I told her what I was. She seemed very relieved."
"It's a large weight taken off her shoulders." Her father said with a nod. "Speaking of which, I have another important thing to tell you."
"What's that?"
A wingly symbol glowed on his head and a white light glowed from his hands. Suddenly, Robert was lifted from his seat and levitated over to a few feet in front of him.
"If you should expose her, or any of us, I will kill you, Dragoon or not."
Robert blinked. "Okay."
"It has taken years to see a smile on my daughter's face and I will burn in Hell before I see it stolen from her."
Robert nodded, too afraid to say anything else. That was when Marian walked back in and stared at the scene.
"Dad, what are you doing?"
"Ensuring your happiness." He said with a wink.
"Well…you can start by letting him down."
"Of course!" He let Robert down.
"Thanks, um…we gotta go now." She pulled Robert along. "C'mon."
"Yeah…" His eyes stayed fixed upon those of Marian's father even as he walked. Once they were out the door, the wingly man laughed.
"You are pure evil." His wife shook her head.
He chuckled all the more and put his hands behind his head.
"Was he threatening you?" Marian asked Robert outside.
"No, no. He was just letting me know that exposing you is bad for my health."
Marian put her face in her hands. "Agh! My parents!"
"They're just overjoyed that you're happy again."
Marian's eyes went wide and she stood in front of Robert to stop him.
"Happy?"
"Yeah."
"What did my mother say?"
Robert chuckled as he conjured a fib. "She told me that the first day you came home after meeting me, you were giddy and couldn't stop smiling and that you nearly cried your eyes out at the thought of leaving me."
Marian's hands flew to her mouth. "She told you that?"
Robert's eyes widened now. "No…I made that up."
Marian's face went pale. "Oh God…"
"Wait…so…that was true?"
She pulled her hood over her head and pulled the strings again, embarrassed beyond belief.
"It is true!"
The hooded head nodded.
Robert scratched the back of his head. "Wow…I, uh…wow."
"Oh my God…" She muttered, staring at the pavement.
Rob chuckled. "Here." He loosened the hood and pulled it off her head. "It's okay." He chuckled.
"No it's not." She wouldn't look at him, but Robert saw that her cheeks were beet red.
Rob bit his lip. "Would it help if…I told you that the day we met, when I fell into the locker room, it was because I couldn't take my eyes off you?"
She looked up a little. "So I wasn't imagining it?"
"Nope."
She gave a small smile. "That helps a little."
Robert's hand hadn't left her shoulder. He still seemed to be fiddling with the hoodie, although there was no more to do with it. When he finally admitted he didn't need to continue, he still didn't remove his hand. His fingers took a few locks of her long, platinum blonde hair. Marian only smiled.
They stared at each others eyes for quite a bit. Robert couldn't help being mesmerized by hers. The wingly shimmer in them was very captivating. Before he knew it, he found himself being draw into her gaze. Their bodies leaned closer to one another. The distance between them decreased in size.
The Jade Dragoon spirit suddenly shimmered, catching Robert's attention. The dragon said something to him and Robert looked at Marian.
"Was that a spell you cast on me?"
She blushed a little. "Yes…"
"Why?" She didn't answer out of embarrassment. Robert shook his head. "You don't need a spell, Marian." He moved in to merge his lips with hers. She was startled, but welcomed the kiss and wrapped her arms around him. A second later, she broke the kiss and laid her head on his chest.
"It's like a dream come true."
Rob couldn't help but smile. "Why so?"
"I finally met a guy I can actually be with…and he's not just a regular guy, but the star basketball player…he could've had any cheerleader but he chose me."
"Ah! Speaking of that, the cheerleaders have an opening and I heard winglies are very graceful and…"
Marian shoved him.
Ben lay on the park bench, his head in Christie's lap as she stroked his hair. Brad and Brittany sat near them. Brittany's hand was also in Brad's hair.
"See?" Brad said. "People like my hair long."
Ben shrugged. "I really don't care. I still think you look dumb."
"Watch your mouth around my man." Brittany said, wrapping her arms around Brad's neck. Ben scoffed.
"You're just jealous that your hair isn't long and sexy." Brad mocked.
Ben rolled his eyes.
Christie soothed the situation by giving a light tug on Ben's hair. "Mm."
"What?"
"Perfect length."
Ben smiled. "I knew there was a 51st reason I dated you." Christie laughed and kissed him.
"So," Brittany said, "Authority is no longer in your hands. How does that feel?"
Ben let out a heavy sigh. "It feels great! Thanks, by the way, for nominating me in the first place." Ben gave her a dirty look. She stuck out her tongue. "Being leader is hard." Ben continued, "Every decision must be made by you; everyone turns to you for everything. I'm just not that kinda guy."
"You did fine." Christie said. "At least you rose to the occasion."
"By popular vote, not choice."
"Who else would we have chosen?" Brad had to ask.
"I know, I know, my Dragoon is a bit more powerful that all of yours."
"Not only that, but you're Sean's best friend, so you're with him a lot. You know the way he works and his strategies, so you're most likely to make a decision that he would make."
Ben had to give him that. "So, what, am I like the Dragoon Vice President now?"
"Yep." They all agreed.
Ben groaned. "I hate responsibility."
"Speaking of that," Christie looked at Brad's watch. "We'd better get going to the basketball game."
"Race!" Brittany jumped up and took off. Brad ran after her.
Ben took to a slower pace with a grin. "Now they'll be out of breath and I will enjoy myself on this casual stroll."
Christie put her arm around Ben's waist. "Sounds like an idea."
Melissa struck twice with her rapier, but the thin blade deflected off the flat side of Sean's bigger weapon. He pushed her back and she quickly caught her footing again. Sean swung, just as she'd hoped. She ducked and spun into him. Her elbow stopped an inch from his gut and Sean instinctively froze. Melissa reached back and pulled Sean in for another kiss.
Sean pulled back with a smile and a sigh. "You keep getting distracted."
Melissa stared at him. "And?" She kissed him again, longer this time.
"Okay, stop!" Mike finally protested. "Get a room or something, cuz this is getting ridiculous."
Sean smiled. "You're just jealous you can't find yourself so fine a girl."
Mike's face turned sour. "Dude, that's my sister."
Sean and Melissa just laughed.
"So," Sean changed the subject. "Ben took charge in my absence?"
"Mm…kinda." Melissa said. "Took charge isn't the right word."
"We kinda just put him in that position." Mike added. "He tried getting out of it, but we wouldn't let him."
Sean nodded. "In honesty, Ben was my choice to take responsibility in my absence."
"So it worked out." Melissa said. "Ben's still a little bit iffy, though."
"Hmm?"
"He doesn't think he did a good enough job." Mike answered. "Perhaps you should talk to him about it."
Sean nodded.
"However," Mike looked at his watch. "We should get going. The game is in a bit."
They put their weapons away and walked to the game.
The seats were packed with fans, all with high energy for the championship game. In the fourth quarter, everybody was squirming in their seats.
"He's doing well, considering the situation." Sean said. "But the opposing team has also gone a great job in preparing…"
"Shut up!" Ben said, eyes wide and fingers crossed. "No negativity!"
Sean raised a brow. "Sorry."
"We haven't won a championship in years. WE GOTTA WIN THIS ONE!"
Brad laughed, a bleacher below Ben. He turned to Brittany. "Hey, hand me some popcorn."
Brittany put a piece into her teeth and kissed Brad, giving him the popcorn that way.
Brad parted the kiss and ate the piece. "That was cool."
Mike kicked him from behind. "Sealing my idea."
Brad pointed to Brittany. "She did it!"
"But I can't kick her. You I can."
Brittany smiled innocently, yet mockingly.
Mike shook his head and looked at Marian to his left, who was practically bouncing in her seat.
"You and Rob are pretty serious, eh?"
She blushed. "You could say that, I guess."
Mike turned to Melissa on his right. "Rob got into a serious relationship before I did. That makes me very, very sad."
Robert had received encouragement left, right, up, and down. This was the biggest game of the school year and everyone was rooting for him.
Still, he could not get his head wrapped around the fact that he was a teammate short.
The Dragoons reported the murders of Adam's parents to the police. They began a search for the murderer and for the missing Adam. They spent most of the day answering questions for the police, but were finally released that evening.
When Robert had arrived, he looked around the locker room at the other players and thought the room seemed a good deal emptier than it was. The coach was frustrated at Adam's absence, but simply made a few adjustments and that was it. Everyone heard about Adam's "missing" status and couldn't be angry, but they knew Adam was a good player.
Before the game, one of the players lightly hit Robert's shoulder and told him he'd have to play extra hard to make up for the absence. Robert took this to heart and used it to fuel himself the whole game.
And so, it came down to the last seconds. Rob's team was down by two. The coach called a quick timeout and gave one last speech to the team about how far they'd gone for this. Robert looked at the clock and saw that there were very few seconds left. This would be very close. They needed a 3-pointer and they needed it now.
Robert squared off with the opposing player at center court. They were of equal height, so it was a matter of who got there first. The ref threw the ball into the air. Robert jumped. Both hands smacked it and the ball barley moved at all. Both players landed and Robert jumped again, used to quick landings and jumps from flying so much.
He grabbed the ball and turned as he did to throw the ball to a teammate and block the opposing player. When the opponent jumped, he hit Robert, knocking him forward a few feet. Robert's teammate saw he was in trouble and looked for someone to throw the ball to. The first person he saw was Robert. He threw the ball.
Robert jumped to get the ball and saw that his blocker was just getting to him. Upon landing, Robert pushed hard off one foot to jump to the side and quickly put his other foot out to catch himself and shoot forward. The opposing player couldn't turn in time and Robert was free for a second.
Rob looked at the clock and saw that a second was all he had left. He took one long stride and, standing at full court, jumped. He put all of his strength into the outward force. As a result, the ball flew far from his hands, but Robert fell right onto his face. Rob heard the buzzer just before impact. He quickly looked up and watched the basketball swish in the net.
Fans jumped from their seats in a tremendous uproar. Rob's eyes were glued open and he could not move. His teammates grabbed him and lifted him onto their shoulders in celebration. He looked at the cheering fans and smiled.
"YE-HEAH!" He laughed, launching his fist into the air.
Sean had already invited everyone over to his house to stay the night and celebrate their victory in Mayfil, but now, they had a second reason to celebrate. They all had a lot of fun and stayed up late into the night.
Sean and Ben were the only ones able to stay up all night. Now, they stood outside on Sean's balcony, watching the sun rise.
"So that demon in Mayfil," Ben brought the subject up. "That was Zachwell? The guy who killed your stepmom?"
Sean nodded, solid-faced. "Yeah. That was him."
"Must've been weird for you."
"It was."
"What did he mean when he said you were running, yet not running and he was pursuing, yet not pursuing."
"It was a metaphor. I had been running from the memory, trying to erase that portion of my past. Zachwell knew this."
"How?"
"Like he said. That kind of memory is hard to put aside."
Ben didn't have the understanding to give an opinion.
"Somehow," Sean continued, "I never thought I would come face-to-face with him. I suppose I figured he would always be trapped in that light world. I never really thought about what I would do if he was to escape."
"Other than try and kill him?"
"Well, of course, but it isn't that simple, as you saw."
"Yeah. He was a tough guy. It's a good thing you fixed things before he got free."
"But there is something that still troubles me."
"What's that?"
"Adam said that Zachwell had been talking to him for a good while…this was before Zachwell even began his plan for escape with the wingly devices."
Ben raised a brow. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that somehow, Zachwell was beginning to escape on his own. Adam just helped him along."
"How could he do that?"
"Zachwell is an incredibly powerful creature. He even was able to give Adam his Dragoon Spirit. Zachwell is fighting tooth and nail to get out of that world of torment."
Ben hesitated, but knew he had to ask. "Do you think we'll ever see him again?"
Sean shook his head. "I don't know. I really don't know…and that is very troubling."
"Well…if he does, we'll fight him. We gotta, right? We're Dragoons. We may not win, but we'll fight to the end either way."
Sean nodded with an approving smile. "You're learning well."
Ben chuckled. "I learn from the best."
"So I have heard."
"What do you mean?"
"You were unanimously voted Dragoon Leader in my absence, weren't you?"
Ben groaned. "Oh yeah."
"Why did you resist?"
"Because I'm not cut out to be a leader."
"I think you are. That's why I've been discretely training you to be a leader, to take place in my absence."
Ben blinked. "You have?"
"I have. I wanted you to take my place, should something happen. You've got the potential."
"I don't think I do."
"Why not?"
"Well, under my leadership, Christie, Brad, Brittany, and Mike were badly hurt, and Robert and Melissa lost their Dragoon spirits."
"And that was your fault?" Sean chuckled. "Hardly. Christie fell in battle, far from you."
"But I sent her out there."
"She volunteered to go, and at that point, no one knew what we were facing. Mike was ambushed when he was alone. Brad simply overcharged himself while trying to escape from a mission he volunteered to go on and Brittany, I hear, was the victim of an accident.
"As for Robert's Dragoon Spirit, you couldn't have prevented that because you didn't know who the Black Dragoon was. Melissa was also out of your reach. Most of these attacks were sneaky and stealth-like. I don't blame you for one of them."
"I still think I could've done better."
"Ben, the best weapon you can enter a battle with is knowledge. Not having it is one thing, but having it taken from you is worse. For a time, you didn't even know what you were fighting. When you did find out, what you knew was tossed out the window."
"What do you mean?"
"You thought your Dragoon Spirits could spot the Black Dragoon, but they couldn't because his dragon wasn't a real dragon, which you didn't know. You also tried the Dragon Buster, which should have worked from what you knew, but it didn't."
"Yeah…"
"But you know what? Even without the weapon of knowledge, you bravely stood against your foe, and you know what? You won. You're not only intelligent, but strong. I am impressed with your progress."
Ben smiled a little. "I guess it wasn't so bad."
"And experience only helps." Suddenly, he swung a punch, bashing Ben on the side of the head.
"OW!" He shouted in a stage whisper, as not to wake the others. "What was that for?"
"Proving a point."
"What po-" Before he could finish, Sean swung again. This time, Ben ducked.
"You see? You're already learning from the past." Sean smiled.
Ben groaned. "Your object lessons suck."
"But they always have a point, don't they?"
"Yeah, I guess-so!" On that last word, Ben swung a punch at Sean. Sean shot his arm up and blocked the punch.
"I've been a Dragoon longer than you, remember?"
"Yeah…" Ben chuckled. They leaned on the balcony and overlooked the scene. The sun was peaking above the trees, lighting up the newborn day.
Ben took a deep breath and exhaled. "Well…a new day rises."
Sean looked at him. "Nice metaphor."
Ben gave him a look. "Metaphor?" He scoffed. "I was just being observant! It's way too early to be getting that deep, man."
Sean chuckled. "So you're groggy in the morning?"
"Yeah." Ben sighed, feeling the lack of sleep.
"Well," Sean picked up both of their swords, which he'd laid down nearby. He tossed Ben his katana. "It sucks to be you."
Sean jumped off the balcony-landing with ease, thanks to his Dragoon-drew his sword, and waited.
Ben groaned, drew his blade and jumped as well. He had a feeling that he was going to come out of this with more than a few bruises.
Then again, it was a bit of a relief to know that Sean was the only one that he was afraid he might lose to.
THE END
AUTHORS' NOTES: And that's how it was. So, there is our brand new story. How was it? Did you guys like it?
So then, Sean came face-to-face with his past, Ben rose to a challenge, and Robert found his softer side. Quite a few accomplishments, but the adventure of the Dragoons is not over yet. Spike has finally finished "Cataclysmic Reunion," his original sequel with several new twists that I think you will all love, if you like our series. He'll be putting it up on the net relatively soon, I assume.
Now, technically, Cataclysmic Reunion is the last chapter in our story. However...Spike has made me an offer. Long ago, I created another part to the story: TLOD: The Next Generation: Prince of Darkness. Spike and I got into a few arguments over putting it up on the internet, but in the end, I let it stay unknown. Now, Spike has agreed to let me put it up on MY name, not the joint name. That story takes place AFTER Cataclysmic Reunion and is kind of a "Lost Story," if you will. What do you guys think? Should it go up when Cataclysmic Reunion has ended?
Please Review one last time and vote your opinion. Otherwise, I am Archangel and I am taking a friggin' break. Thanks to all of our reviewers-we love you all and thank you for your wonderful support. Ciao!