Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Chapter 16: Destroying the Flute!
"Is he going to be okay?" Cy asked. Aundren and Hufanse didn't reply. They ran their hands over Svrion, looking to see where his wounds were and to what extent the damage had been done. Celton peered over their heads, worried for his sister's friend. Cy was the most concerned, biting her nails and hoping they wouldn't say he was beyond hope…
"I do not know," Aundren concluded, pulling back and sitting on his knees, his shoulders slouched in defeat. "I believe this is even worse than when we found Celton, and at that time we had another, more powerful witch at our side. Now, it is just the four of us. And I doubt any of us knows a good healing spell."
"I'm a warrior," Celton said. "I was not trained to heal more than minor bruises."
"I've only learned stuff that I discovered on the adventure," Cy explained. "I've never healed, even though Celton and Svrion have been hurt many times."
"Aundren and I don't heal anything besides Dragons." The four of them looked back at Svrion. He looked like he was peacefully sleeping if one ignored the many bruises and the odd coldness to his skin.
Cy looked down, tears forming in her eyes. She fingered Spellblade absentmindedly and accidentally cut her finger. She yelped and sucked her pinky.
"What is it?" Aundren asked.
"Silly me, I cut my finger," Cy said. She pulled her finger back. There was a small scratch on the side of her smallest finger and it was starting to bleed again. Cy winced as she watched a small drop form and fall off her finger, right onto her precious sword. It hit the blade and vanished, sending waves throughout the silver metal. Cy narrowed her eyebrows.
"What the…?" She touched the blade and it started glowing a light blue. Before she could pull back, the blue spread up to her hand. When the glow faded, Cy gasped. Her finger was as good as new.
"Oh wow, talk about convenient," Hufanse said. Cy didn't need any hints; she knew what she had to do.
Crawling over to Svrion, she used the blade to make a small cut across his cheek. Three drops of blood immediately fell upon the blade. Cy then touched it to the fallen teenager's hand.
"Spellblade Heal!" she whispered. The sword turned blue once more. Glowing furiously, the aura spread to Svrion and enveloped his whole body. Slowly, it died down. When it vanished, Svrion looked like he was fast asleep in the untouched Witty Phantom clothes that looked fresh out of the laundry.
"Svrion…" Cy asked softly, her face near his. Everyone held their breaths, not knowing they were doing so. Slowly, Svrion opened one eye, then the next, until he was fully awake and looking around at everyone. He moaned and sat up, rubbing his head. He looked at his hand.
"Hey…I'm…okay…" At those words, the other four cheered. Cy was so happy that she threw her arms around her boyfriend and kissed him, and when he kissed back, the others found the time convenient to figure out that staring at the floor's design really hard made you dizzy.
Cy pulled back, grinned, and buried her head in Svrion's shoulder as her rubbed her back. "You did it, Cy," he whispered.
"I couldn't have without your help," she replied.
"Look at that," Celton muttered to Aundren and Hufanse, pretending to be angry. "She didn't make half the fuss for me…and I nearly got eaten by Dragons."
"I heard that!" Cy snapped.
"Oh, come on, Celton," Aundren said. "Cy has another man in her life. You, as her brother, must deal with that."
"I was afraid of that," Celton sighed.
"Besides," Cy added. "I know who's going to make a giant fuss about you back home, and I'm thinking after that you won't ask for any for another year."
"Our parents will be too busy praising us for saving the world," Celton said.
"No," Cy said, grinning. "I'm talking about someone else…"
"Before we digress further," Aundren intervened just as Celton was going to shoot something back. "We must decide what to do with the situation. I have figured out some key problems." His tone worried the others and they looked at him with questioning glances. "First of all, Cosmo Queen said she channeled her power through you, Cy. What did she do?" Cy thought for a moment.
"I don't know…I mean, I felt her power. But it just vanished through to the castle."
"Okay," Aundren looked at Hufanse, who shrugged. Celton repeated the action. Svrion and Cy looked at each other. "Second question. What did Cosmo Queen mean by being buried in the rubble of this Castle? It is still standing…err…floating."
"Maybe something will happen to it in the future," Svrion said. "Maybe…she just wanted to…"
"Wait a minute," Celton interrupted. "You guys are thinking about these two questions separate. Didn't Cosmo Queen say she wanted to be buried in the rubble and then channel the power through Cy? They're probably connected. Maybe as soon as we leave, her power will destroy the Castle."
"Let's hope it's after we leave," Cy said. "Or we will have problems."
"Now one more thing," Aundren said. He pointed across the large chamber to the place where the Flute lay, glowing and unharmed. "What shall we do with the Flute now that we have won possession of it."
"Destroy it, of course," Cy said. "We know it is making the Dragons evil." She got up, reluctantly though, since she didn't want to leave Svrion. She hurried over to the Flute and picked it up, running a hand over the jewels and the shape of it. "It's pretty, though." The others also got up and joined her.
"Well, how do we destroy it?" Svrion asked.
"I've already destroyed one before," Cy reminded them. "Maybe I can do it again."
"It's worth a shot," Hufanse said. Cy nodded, looked at the Flute once more, and turned it so she was holding the end of it in her palms. Then, with all her strength, she lifted it and smashed it against the floor.
However, it didn't break right away. Cy waited, as still as stone, as the others held their breaths for the second time. Finally, they heard an assuring crack. Well, assuring until they figured out exactly what was cracking.
"Wait a minute," Svrion said, taking the Flute from Cy and ignoring her cry of protest. He fingered it and ran it his eyes over it. "The Flute is unharmed."
"Then what cracked?" Celton asked. Suddenly, the answer dawned on them as they all remembered the same words associated with the only other thing that could crack at that impact.
…the rubble of this castle…
They all looked down at their feet, dreading the worst. Sure enough, there was a crack as large as the Flute on the Castle floor. And it was spreading.
Before they had time to react, the Castle started to shake. Lightening bolts flared up again as the Castle, in pain, realized what was happening. Cy, Svrion, Celton, Hufanse, and Aundren were almost knocked off their feet. Only Aundren was calm enough to make a plan.
"Svrion! Take the Flute! Cy, take your sword! Hufanse, Celton…we must get Cosmo Queen's body!" The other struggled to their feet. The crack beneath them got wider, forcing them to rush away. Cy rushed to the steps to retrieve her sword, but a crack formed in front of her and pulled away, cutting off her access to the throne. Her sword lay helplessly on the three steps. She held out her hand, hoping her plan would work.
"Spellblade…to my hand!" The sword quivered, rose, and flew towards her. She caught the blade and immediately ducked out of the way as the ceiling began to collapse.
Meanwhile, Hufanse, Aundren, and Celton began to rush to Cosmo Queen, but chunks of the ceiling fell down in giant slabs of blue stone, blocking their path. As they watched in horror, the floor caved in and Cosmo Queen went with it. The three men ran backwards in order to avoid getting sucked in.
"She wanted to be buried there anyway," Celton said. "We must leave her!" The others nodded. They ran, joined Cy, and rushed towards the door. Svrion was already there, Flute in hand. He opened the way and the others raced out. Svrion let the doors go and they slammed shut.
Unfortunately, the tremor caused the Castle to fall apart faster. Just as they reached the entrance, the front doors creaked, shimmered, and crumbled along with the rest of the ceiling.
"Look out!" Almost at the same time, Celton, Svrion, Hufanse, and Aundren had this sudden idea to protect Cy. They pushed her down and covered her as the rocks rained down upon them.
"We need to get out of here!" Cy called out as the clash of rocks grew louder, the pounding assaulting their ears. The Castle lurched to the side, moaning, indicating that it was getting ready to fall out of the sky.
"That is evident, but how?" Cy couldn't answer Aundren's question, even though she was deep in thought. She looked at her sword, Spellblade. She considered transforming it into some sort of aircraft, but that would take even more power than it was needed to conjure it up in the first place. But, she had to try to get that power.
"I have an idea," Cy shouted. The other four crouched around her, ears ready to listen. The other side of the Castle started to fall. In moments, the falling stones, the crash of the wall, and the deafening roar would cease and the Castle would plummet to the earth. "But I need more power…Svrion. You need to kiss me." Svrion blinked, and the others gaped.
"What the…?"
"Kiss me or die!" Seemed like a good enough reason. The others knew this was a good time to see if counting the falling stones was pointless or not.
Svrion, slightly confused, put out his hand behind her neck and pulled her forward. Cy put her hand that was not on Spellblade on Svrion's shoulder as she reached out and touched his hand with Spellblade and her own. Their lips met and the sword sparkled. But Cy knew even this was not enough power. It was growing in strength, but there just wasn't enough.
"Forty-three…"
"Fifty-nine…"
"Sixty-two…"
Cy pressed harder, craving for more. She was enjoying, yes, but the point was also the sword. It was glowing slightly more furiously, and she could feel that pulse within her grow stronger. It was getting there…
The Castle lurched.
The other three counted.
Time slowed to a trickle…
Cy pressed her palm against the sword, nearly cutting her hand. Her plan was failing. They had a grant total of a few seconds in which to save themselves…Svrion sensed her urgency. He let his tongue slip over her lips and inside her mouth, battling with hers when they met…
The sword was about to burst. It glowed so blue it turned red from the effort. Cy pulled away immediately, blushing nearly as red. Svrion wanted to protest, but she stood up. The others looked at her. She had an unnerving twinkle in her eye, suggesting that she had more power than she could ever imagine having…and was about to use it…
The Castle fell just as Cy raised her sword into the air.
"Spellblade Magic Rush…Phoenix!" She drove the blade into Castle. The others gave a yell as the structure dropped so quickly they felt like being sick.
Suddenly, they were all filled with an emotion that made them feel like they were floating. The sword grew, doubling, tripling, quadruplingin size, and getting bigger every moment until it finally exploded into a large bird with flaming wings. Celton, Svrion, Cy, Aundren, and Hufanse held onto its fiery feathers desperately as it clawed at the air, lifting into the sky just as the Castle crashed into the forest. The floor seemed to vibrate from the impact.
Svrion clutched the Flute, amazed as he looked down. Cy felt like fainting. Whether it was from the effort or that wonderful kiss…she had no idea. Celton and Hufanse hugged each other and broke out into uncontrollable sobbing, which was very unlike them. Aundren rolled his eyes, but he had a huge grin on his face anyway.
Svrion looked back at Cy. "You know…we should finish that sometime." Cy blushed furiously.
………
"Your Highness, you mean…you've sent them on their way? But the lightning…"
"Don't worry, I simmered it down. I just hope that final thunderbolt didn't shock them. It was quite big." Faiya rushed down the streets of the Dark Kingdom, returning from gathering up all the members of COLD. Unfortunately, they only numbered a pitiful seven.
The one who had spoken to Faiya was one of the older members, a Dark Witch named Equora. In fact, Faiya had been her apprentice ever since she ran away from the Castle. The others were all men, mostly Lords of Dragons and one Dragon Master Knight. Returning from the sendoff of Celton, Aundren, and Hufanse…this combo made Faiya uncomfortable even though she had never felt anything against it before.
This group of seven looked oddly out of place. The other residents had gone inside their homes once the lightning had flared up, and these people were the only ones out. They pressed forward with a strange determination on their face.
The seven reached Shadow Town rather quickly. They looked up and saw the Castle floating above the forest. It looked dangerously close from this Town, yet it was still quite far away.
Just as COLD prepared to get some aircrafts to use, a band of Witty Phantoms and Lord of Dragons blocked their paths.
"It's you…" one of them said, the one Faiya recognized as the Lord she had seduced. "I knew there was something strangely familiar about you, Princess…"
"So, you know," Faiya stated calmly, though on the inside she was anxious to get up to the floating fortress as quickly as possible. She shot them an annoyed glance that a princess might give her lower advisors.
"It's obvious," another Witty Phantom continued. "We compared the pictures of when the princess first escaped and sure enough, it was remarkably similar. Besides, we've been sensing the movements of COLD for a few months now, having spies that have figured out about its existence. I'm sure this whole thing was planned out by your 'clandestine' organization."
"Actually," Faiya replied. "It was not." She stopped as she noticed the Witty Phantoms were giving her group a nasty, hostile glare. She knew if there was any chance of them getting to the Flute, they would have to fight their way through.
Faiya summoned her sword, and the others followed suit. The Witty Phantoms, expecting this, got ready for the battle as well. However, they had an advantage. As soon as the residents of this town realized what was going on, they joined the battle on the Dark Kingdom side. Soon, COLD's opponents ranged from not only Witty Phantoms but also other Dark Witches, Dragon Humans, and even young Blue-Eyes White Dragons in training. Faiya cringed.
Suddenly, a resounding crack split the air as a giant thunderbolt raced across the sky. Faiya looked up, horrified. She had cast a spell to calm the Castle…what was getting it to act up again? The Shadow Town warriors also looked up, confused.
Suddenly, a sickly black wave shot down from the Castle and swept through the Town. Faiya recognized it immediately as traces of magic from the tiara her mother always wore. The wave disappeared after a few seconds, and COLD braced themselves for the worst.
Instead of what they feared, they got a surprising reaction.
"What's going on?" asked the same Witty Phantom who had spoken earlier, looking around. The other residents moaned and grabbed their heads. Suddenly, one of them noticed Faiya.
"It's the Princess!" he shouted. All eyes were on her as all of the hundred warriors bent on one knee and bowed to her.
"Your Highness," they chorused. Faiya blinked, stepping back. The COLD members looked at each other with puzzling expressions.
"What…the…you…all…" Faiya looked at Equora for the older woman could probably handle the situation a lot better than the surprised princess.
"Stand up, everyone," the Dark Witch ordered. The Shadow Town residents got to their feet, bowing their head slightly to who seemed obviously the Princess's second-in-command. The Dark Witch raised her eyebrows. "What is the meaning of all this?"
"I beg your pardon," the Lord of Dragons said. "But the last thing I remember is the crowning of King Jinzo and Cosmo Queen and being at their ceremony. How did I get here…how did we all get here?"
"The wave!" Faiya announced and everyone looked at her. "Equora…they've all been under a spell!"
"Yeah!" Equora muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. "A spell that made them fight against you and harm you." The Shadow Town residents all looked surprised.
"We fought against the Princess?" some of them whispered.
"I offer my most sincere apologies," the Witty Phantom said, kneeling once again. Everyone behind him did the same, mumbling apologies with their heads bowed.
"Okay, get up all of you!" Faiya said, sick of this sudden treatment. Equora and COLD never treated her like royalty because she had ordered them not to. The Shadow Town residents seemed so eager to please her she was ready to vomit.
"Tell us what we may do to serve you," the Lord of Dragons said. Faiya rolled her eyes, mentally being sick.
"You can start by telling us if the Dragons were cursed too." The Lord of Dragons looked at his mount and communicated telepathically, something only the Dragon and its owner could do. After a long period of silence in which the beast and the warrior stared at each other, the Lord looked back at Faiya.
"It appears that the Dragon was in fact under the spell too, but since its memory works differently than ours, he can actually remember some things."
"Really," Faiya asked. "Like what?"
"Well…" the Lord paused for more conversation with his Dragon. "It appears that before the crowning of the queen, only a select few of the Dragons were bred as 'beasts', but as soon as they came into power, every Dragon was somehow 'transformed'."
"So…" Faiya interrupted, "You mean to say that it's the spell from the tiara that was controlling both the people and the Dragons?"
"Apparently," replied the Lord. "Why, what else do you think was controlling the Dragons?"
"The Flute…" the Princess answered meekly, hoping that the Flute wasn't doing something other than that.
"Oh no, you've gotten the facts slightly mistaken," the Lord said. "The Flute controls the Dragons, yes, but it merely keeps them tame and lets them talk to us. Without it, we cannot communicate telepathically. And also, without its power, the Dragons will lose the 'human' mental abilities, the ones we tend to use to separate 'civil' from 'savage'."
"So…right now everything's okay, right?" Equora queried. "The tiara spell is gone, and the Dragons are safe as long as the Flute is still kept in that Castle safely."
It was almost as if her words had cursed the Castle. Suddenly, there was a whoosh of air. The Shadow Town residents and COLD just noticed that the Castle was falling apart. They hadn't had the time to look up at it before. But now, it was tearing down to the earth. With a sickening crash, the castle collided with the forest before it exploded, shaking the earth and sending blocks of hard rock into the air.
"RUN!" The large group ran for their lives as giant pieces of debris destroyed the first few buildings of the Town. Faiya looked up and saw a giant phoenix, or some other bird that resembled it, soaring through the sky and landing on the other side of the Town. She narrowed her eyes.
So right now everything's okay, right…the Dragons are safe as long as the Flute is still kept in that Castle safely.
"Damn it!" Faiya muttered as she started apart from the other running residents, taking a path that would lead her towards what she thought was Celton, Aundren, and… Hufanse.
Hufanse…what the heck am I saying? I don't have time for that now. I just hope they don't get the crazy idea to destroy the Flute…
………
"So, this is it!" Cy exclaimed, hopping off of the phoenix. The others dismounted just as quickly. When all five of them were safe on the earth, the giant bird screeched one more time before shrinking. When it was a sword's length, it shimmered blue and turned back into Spellblade.
"Wow, thank goodness," Aundren remarked. "We must be thankful that Cy had learned to acquire such power." Cy grinned.
"So, what about the Flute?" Svrion asked, holding out the item. Cy took it in her arms, ran a hand over its jeweled surface one more time, and set it on the ground.
"Spellblade still has a tiny bit of magic left…" Cy explained. "Enough to destroy it. But are you sure we should?"
"I think we have to," Hufanse said. "It's for the good of the Dragons, cause it's controlling them and making them evil."
"Alright then," Celton said. "Cy…do it." Cy nodded in agreement and brought the shining blade above her head. Just as she brought it down as hard as she could, they heard a rustle in the trees nearby.
"NO!" Faiya exclaimed, running out from the path in the small group of trees. It was too late. The sharp sword made contact with the Flute with a crack that the group knew was definitely the Flute. A bright light formed on impact and spread along the item until it formed a line splitting the Flute exactly in half.
With one small groan, the two sides of the Flute fell apart. Faiya's heart sank to her knees.
Oh…no…