Hi! Please read and review . . . the chapters get better as it goes along.
It's a really complex story.
A New Beginning
They had been walking for days, attempting to seek the abandoned city of Najida. Najida was a city that had supposedly been destroyed during the Mage war, but now, the abandoned and secluded area was the perfect place for the headquarters of the government resistance group that Cat was talking about. Cat had a friend there whose name was Vincent, and he was one of the organizers.
"Where is the #$%^&* city?" Zack grumbled. He sighed loudly to accentuate his remark.
"I'm trying to find it, okay?" Cat shot back in a wearied tone as she scanned the horizon.
"Then try harder!" Zack returned, exasperated. "Or else go jump in the lake, midget!" Cat opened her mouth to retort when she saw Zaria's facial expression and stopped.
Zaria shook her head gently. "Please stop quarreling. I don't need to be hearing any of this right now."
Cat turned to Zack and rolled her eyes. "Zack, if you think you would do a better job finding it than me, why don't you go find it then! Now you go do that while I go jump in the lake!" she declared, glaring at Zack. She stuck her tongue out impertinently. Zaria chuckled to herself and turned away.
Cat stomped over to a nearby lake and waded in to prove her point. Zack angrily threw his belongings down on the ground and plopped down in a huff, and Zeth, Zaria, and Breanna sat down as well.
"Zaria, do we have a time limit as to how long we have to build the barrier?" Breanna asked, for that moment forgetting her nastiness towards Zaria.
Zaria looked surprised and then seemed cogitative for a moment.
"The prophecy proclaims that when the planets are perfectly aligned is when evil will befall the earth and all who dwell on it unless the eight Mage warrior descendants manage to create the barrier in time. I don't know when that is, but when all the warriors are assembled then I can calculate it then by using numerology. I think that at the time, the stars will also be able to tell me," she explained.
Breanna sighed. "And here we are, wasting precious time because Princess Cat is having a temper tantrum."
"Bree, you seem to use the word 'princess' as a negative connotation rather often," Zack observed.
All of a sudden, a terrified scream cut through the air like a knife. The strident sound resounded from Cat's direction. Everyone turned their heads and saw a water serpent, one of the largest predators in the sea. It was hovering over Cat's head, about to strike.
"Eeeeeek!" Cat screamed, otherwise immobile.
"Oh @#$%, I'll never make it!" swore Zack, picking up his spear.
The serpent struck, all was a blur, and Cat was gone.
"Cat!" Zaria cried, and she started running towards the lake, but was held back by Zeth.
Zaria looked down at the ground and she saw a shadow forming, and it grew larger and larger. She turned around and shrieked when she saw a winged man carrying Cat and setting her down on the ground. Cat had fainted and was just lying there, motionless. The winged man landed and took a step towards the party.
For a moment, they all simply stood there, but then Zaria bravely took a step forward and said, "Who are you?"
"Yeah, and what the hell are you doing, sneaking up like that?" Breanna demanded crudely.
The man looked at Zaria and then at Breanna. "My name is Adrian and I'm sixteen years old, so I'm not old enough or smart enough to assault anyone," he replied humorlessly in an almost human voice.
"It can talk!" Breanna screeched, scrambling away in fear.
"Shut the #$%^ up, Breanna," cursed Zack, rolling his eyes and giving her a jostle.
Zaria slowly extended her slender hand to Adrian. He had sanguine eyes and silky raven hair that hung over his eyes and was all tousled up on his head, and he would've been very handsome with nice hair if only his face looked less threatening. However, his skin was paper-white, which gave him the appearance of a vampire.
"Hello Adrian," she replied clearly. "I'm Zaria Locke, and these are my friends Cat Chere, Zeth Lanier, Breanna Cole, and Zack Strife. Thank you for saving Cat's life."
Adrian slowly began to smile, and his whole appearance literally was altered. His wings shrunk into his back and then completely disappeared. His eyes became hazel with flecks of gold, and his hair turned into a silky rust-colored honey shade, almost the same color as Zeth's. His skin also darkened into a tanned golden shade, a normal human being shade, in contrast to the stark off-white color it had been before. His elven ears rounded themselves out, looking like normal ears. The small fangs in his smile disappeared. Overall, he was a normal good-looking human being with an impish smile. He took Zaria's hand and shook it.
"Hi, Zaria, nice to meet you. I'm Adrian Wingheart, a descendant of the Mage Wingheart warriors. I morph from a human state to a cross between a vampire and a harpy state. What are you all doing in a place like this?" he politely asked. "It's quite perilous in these plains."
"We're trying to find Najida, wherever that damn town is," Breanna inserted rudely.
"Oh, Najida!" Adrian exclaimed. "That's only a mile or so from here! I can show you the way if you wish, for I'm on my way there."
"Yes, please do," replied Zaria.
Adrian looked at Zaria and then looked at Zeth, then moved his glance to Zaria again, and then went back to Zeth.
"Are you two descendants of Link Lanier?" he inquired.
Zeth was bewildered. Who was Link Lanier? Zaria's face looked completely emotionless.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Adrian. You must be mistaken," Zaria replied quietly, trying not to broach the issue between Zeth and herself.
Adrian just looked perplexed and simply shrugged.
"Well, all I know is that my mother - I mean, grandfather told me a story about his comrades in arms, Zaria and Zeth, who fought on his side during the Mage war, and one day Zeth fell down a cliff, yet Zaria never lost hope that he was somehow alive," he said. "Later on, Zeth's brother Link tried to court Zaria, but he never achieved success, so he married another continent's princess named Lara, and they had children. Since Link had fancied Zaria before, it would make sense for him to name one of his children Zaria," he explained to Zaria, and then turned to Zeth. "I've seen portraits of Zeth and Link, and you look exactly like them," he said pointedly.
"Well, I am Zaria Locke, and this is Zeth Lanier," interjected Zaria with a clipped tone. "I'll explain everything later, because the truth will eventually be known to all. I really don't feel like talking about it now."
Zeth stared at Zaria. There was a truth? He didn't know that there was a truth. He had Zaria had a past? Why hadn't she told him?
* * *
"Let's go already!" complained Cat, rubbing her eyes.
"For once, she's right," exclaimed Zack, looking even more exasperated than usual.
Adrian nodded. "All right, let's go. I'll show you the way. Follow me."
He morphed into his winged form and began flying slowly and everyone followed him.
"Hey Adrian, are you a crossbreed?" asked Cat curiously, peering at his wings and then shifting her gaze to study his gentle yet chiseled features.
"Yeah," he said. "I'm half human, one fourth vampire, and one fourth harpy."
Cat looked at him in perplexity. "Harpy? What's a harpy?"
"An bird-human crossbreed," Adrian replied. Breanna wrinkled her nose in distaste. He looked good enough in normal human form, but in her opinion, that kind of cross between species was awfully abnormal.
"That's awesome!" Cat exclaimed, getting stimulated. "Are there any more like you?"
"A whole lot," he replied. "In fact, the ancestors of my village can be traced back to the Mage war," he continued.
Zaria's head snapped back in his direction, and she gave him a probing look, but didn't say anything.
"So, why do you people have to go to Najida? Do you have some business there? Because I work there . . ." Adrian trailed off.
"You do?" Cat asked with interest. "How come I never saw you there?"
"You work for Arrow too?" Adrian asked, looking astonished.
"Of course." Cat rolled her eyes. "I'm one of the first they consider for any important spying missions."
Adrian nodded, the doubt written all over his face.
"Then how come you don't remember where Najida is?" he asked slyly, in a teasing tone.
"DON'T TEASE ME, YOU FREAK!" screamed Cat, and she ran over to Adrian and started pounding on him.
Zeth exchanged a look with Zack, raising his brow. That girl seemed to have a lot of energy, even after a near-death ordeal.
* * *
Half an hour later, they reached the entrance to the city of Najida.
"Yeah, we're here!" exclaimed Cat, jumping up and down, excited as usual.
Zeth looked around. "It looks so deserted and abandoned here," he observed. "Are you sure we're in the right place, Adrian? Cat?"
Cat shook her head, giggling. "Don't worry, we are. Follow me."
She started walking towards the direction of a halfway decent looking building and everyone followed her quietly, no one uttering a word. They entered the building and went up the stairs. As soon as they reached the second floor, the whole atmosphere of the building changed. It was clean and nice, and there were people busy at work at desks, going through paperwork, dissecting bombs.
Cat walked up and talked to someone who was sewing a badge on a white lab coat that that said "Toki" on it.
"What's Toki?" Breanna asked Zeth, moving slightly towards him.
"It's the government's name," he replied promptly.
She nodded, keeping her eyes glued to his profile. "No wonder it sounded so familiar."
Cat turned back to them and said, "Follow me," again. She led them over to a small room, and when they entered, and young man with rumpled, long black hair turned around.
"Cat!" he exclaimed, smiling warmly at Cat. "You're back! Good job on the Kankino case! The government had to completely shut down operations in that area. Although you could have been more lenient with that bomb," he berated.
"Vincent!" Cat yelled. "Looky here! I got the famed Zaria Locke with me! The person the Toki are after, remember?"
The young man craned his neck and looked around Cat and saw Zaria.
"Zaria Locke?" he asked her, his eyes wide in amazement. Zaria nodded demurely. Vincent held out his hand.
"Hi, the name's Vincent. Well Zaria, I'm sure that by now you are aware that the government is after you, but if you affiliate with us, we can help you. We are the largest resistance faction in the continent, called Arrow," he said contiguously. "We can offer you all a unequivocal amount of protection from the Toki government if you join us."
Zack perked up with interest. "I've heard a lot about you people."
Vincent nodded, and smiled at the group.
"I take it that all of you here are adept fighters to end up here with Cat. We could use some experienced fighters . . . would you be willing to join us? We're interested in you folks and want to work with you all, especially Zaria," Vincent continued. "We believe her divinations about the Toki black hole project are quite accurate."
Zeth looked at Zaria, and then stepped up and said, "Yes. We will join Arrow, if you can help us keep Zaria safe."
Breanna and Zack nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Cat and Adrian were watching with little grins on their faces.
"Whoopee!" Cat cheered. "Zaria, you guys are part of Arrow now!"
Vincent smiled affirmatively and continued talking, which obviously seemed like something that he enjoyed doing. "Zaria, I think you should go to the city of Mage, because I know you have spiritual powers, and there, the spirits of the planet are all around. I think that you can probably communicate with some of the spirits there, and they can tell you about what the Earth is feeling and what we need to do to prevent the government from carrying out their black hole opening project."
Zaria nodded cautiously, her eyebrows furrowed.
"I'll go with her," Zeth swiftly volunteered. Breanna threw a covetous look in Zaria's direction, but Zaria kept her eyes cast down.
"The rest of you, come with me," Vincent instructed. Everyone nodded and followed Vincent out of the room.
Zack paused for a moment, winked at Zeth and then followed the others out.
Zeth turned around to look at Zaria. "I guess we should go now, Zaria," he said quietly.
Zaria looked up. "Yes, I guess we should," she replied, not really thinking about that.
* * *
"We've been on the road for two days afoot, and we're still not there yet, Zeth," Zaria complained. "Can't we find some sort of transportation?"
Zeth squinted and looked into the distance, ignoring her remark.
"I see a city moderately imminent to our current location. It's getting dark now, we should stop there for the night," he stated.
Zaria looked at him austerely, but trudged on after him, lugging her two swords and the rest of her belongings in her small tote.
They walked for another fifteen minutes, and they were both very quiet. Finally Zaria spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Zeth, how come lately it seems like you detest me so much?" she said, her eyes looking faraway and melancholy.
Zeth looked up into the sky, and saw a shooting star. He stopped to watch it travel across the blue-black diamond sky. Then he turned around to look at Zaria. She looked so beautiful in the silver luminescence of the moonlight, strands of dark cinnamon brown hair, almost as black as the night, whipping across her face, her glimmering emerald eyes boring holes into his aquamarine eyes. She had an overcast expression on her face, clouding her features.
He didn't detest her. What a ridiculous question to ask. How could she not know how he felt about her? He hadn't actually known her that long, but the longer he was around her, the longer he was getting these flashbacks, which he thought was safe to presume was his memory returning. She was in every single one, although the images in his head were never comprehensible. He felt sure that before he had lost his memory, he had known her, but how was that possible? Mentally, she was almost sixty years older than he was. There was no way he could've known her. But he just couldn't shake off the feeling . . . there was so much he wanted to ask her, so much he wanted to explain, but he couldn't bring himself to say any of it. All he simply said was, "I don't detest you, Zaria. I couldn't, even if I tried."
Zaria quickly cast her eyes down.
"But you don't have affection for me like you used to," she murmured to herself, so that Zeth didn't hear her.
She turned away. How she wished that she could turn back the hands of time to sixty years ago. How she wished that on that day she hadn't let him run ahead of her. How she wished that he hadn't fallen. If none of this had happened, they would be living blissful old age in Mydele right now. But fate had not favored her, and had taken him away from her for sixty years.
Sixty years, she had been left waiting, wondering what had happened to her friend Galen and her beloved, Zeth. Zeth's twin Link had tried to offer her solace and had aspired to replace Zeth, but no one could ever substitute Zeth in her heart. Zeth finally had been restored to her, but he didn't remember her. He didn't remember anything. She figured that was better for both of them, but she couldn't help wishing that he would remember, and they could retire to a life of peace and happiness in Mydele.
Yet she also knew that the world was at stake, and her happiness was nothing compared to the lives and happiness of all the people on the planet. Zeth. He meant the world to her, and she would gladly sacrifice her life for him if she had to. She loved him, even now. She would always love him. But it was wrong. She must keep her feelings hidden. She turned back to Zeth.
"I . . . I . . . care about you in a way you'll never know," she whispered sorrowfully, so quietly that he couldn't hear, and ran ahead of him, tears streaming down her cheeks. How could she face him? Yet she had to.
* * *
Ten minutes later, Zaria had calmed down, and they had reached the town of Werin. They slowly trekked through the streets.
"I heard that this is not a very good town for proper women to be wandering around in at night," Zaria whispered to Zeth.
Zeth looked at his surroundings. The bright neon signs, the dimly lit bars, all the inebriated men wandering around . . . there was also a lot of women wearing scanty clothing as well . . . women who had chosen their debauched way of living. It was not a pleasant spectacle. Unconsciously, he developed a grimace on his face. Zaria inched a little closer to him.
"Hey, pretty boy," a voiced slurred, obviously addressing him, for he had been called that many times in his childhood because of his distinctly perfectly proportioned features that made him stand out from the other boys. Zeth turned around to the direction of the voice and saw a very intoxicated man who was practically falling over. The man gripped his shoulder for support, and Zeth tried his best to keep himself from pulling away in disgust, in fear of what the man might try to do to Zaria if he was angered or annoyed.
"Yes?" he replied in a nasal tone, trying not to breathe in the stench of liquor.
The man put his other clammy hand on Zaria's shoulder and she shrunk back with fear. She gripped one of her swords but Zeth pulled her aside and whispered the importance of not making a scene with any weapons involved. She reluctantly released her sword. They began to walk away but the man persevered in following them.
"How much this one cost for the night?" the man slurred, hissing in Zeth's ear.
"What?" Zeth asked in stupefaction, his eyes widening.
"This one here!" the man pointed at Zaria and reached for her.
Zeth immediately caught the man's arm in an iron grip and held it away from Zaria, now too rampageous to feel any of the consternation and abhorrence he had experienced just seconds earlier. "Don't you dare touch her," he warned, fury blazing in his eyes. He threw the man's arm aside.
The man shrugged and precariously staggered away.
"Stay very near me," Zeth informed Zaria with clenched teeth.
They made their way to the inn, and while Zeth walked over to check in Zaria decided to go wait in the lobby.
"Two rooms, please," he informed the manager.
The manager looked at his computer and shook his head. "Only one room with a double bed left, sir. All other rooms are occupied."
Zeth considered for a while, and then decided to just use that room. He would sleep on the floor. He got the keys to the room and walked over to the lobby to go get Zaria. The lobby had random people lounging about, but Zaria was not there. She's probably in the ladies room, he thought, flopping down on the sofa.
He sat and waited, but after half an hour had passed, Zaria still hadn't appeared. Zeth was getting very anxious. Where could she be? He cautiously walked out of the inn and went out into the street. He looked around. No Zaria. He unwillingly stopped a drunkard and asked if he had seen a girl with dark hair and green eyes that happened to be wearing armor.
"I've seen her," the drunk slurred, and then he pointed in the direction of one of the bars. Zeth ran into the bar and scanned the place for Zaria. She wasn't there. He went up to a bartender and asked if Zaria had been in there. The bartender's eyes widened.
"You mean that girl is Zaria Locke? She's in trouble for sure. She was dragged in here and was spotted by the severely intoxicated son of the President Toki, who demanded that she be handed over to him. He's just a young man, about your age, but he took the girl and left the bar. Although she did put up quite a fight, her swords were no match for his infamous gunblade. I reckon that she's with him in his mansion now. Are you her young man?" the bartender asked, nodding at Zeth.
Zeth flushed. "Sort of," he said, tilting his head. "I'm supposed to take care of her."
The bartender shook his head, looking at Zeth skeptically. "You didn't do such a good job, sorry to say. Every woman who's not purposely looking for trouble, if you know what I mean, needs protection in this town. I suggest you get moving before Richard Toki does anything to her. Especially since his father's the President Toki, he gets everything he wants."
Zeth hurriedly thanked the bartender and dashed out of the bar, running towards the mansion that the bartender had directed him to. It was a very large mansion, and there were guards surrounding it. The only way in without with out alerting any of the guards was through the small pond and through the side door of the mansion. He leaped over the pond, barely making the three-meter jump. He ran to the door and twisted the knob and charged in. There was no one in the mansion. He didn't know where to go. Zeth stood there, listening for any sign of human life, and then he heard a scream from upstairs. Zaria! He dashed up the stairs and threw open the first door he saw. No one was in there. He ran to the right and checked all the rooms and ran back to the left side, where there was only one door left to check. He was about to go in, when he heard Zaria's scream again. It was coming from the ceiling. He ran up the stairs to the top floor, and saw that there was only one door. He sneaked up to the door and forced it open.
Zaria was in there, tied onto the bed. Her swords lay at her feet. She saw Zeth and cried out.
"Zaria, are you all right?" Zeth cried. "Did he do anything to you?"
Zaria had a terrified trapped-rabbit look in her eyes. She shook her head timorously.
"Not yet, but he will soon!"
Zeth took out his sword and hacked at the rope that was tying Zaria down. He picked her up and slung her on his back and carried her away from the bed.
"Thank you, Zeth," she whispered from behind his ear, and buried her head into his shoulder.
Zeth didn't know what to do or say, but he just stood there with Zaria on his back. Then he heard a shuffling noise behind him and turned around, and then the last thing he saw was a large metal object flying in an arc coming down towards his head.
* * *
"What are you holding, Adrian?" Cat asked as she lifted his arm to see the bow and arrow he was holding. It had a small fiery red orb embedded in it.
"It's my weapon," he said defensively, pulling it back. "One of the magicians of my home village made it for me so I could use and combine it with my fire magic."
Zack looked at him with interest reminiscent to Zaria's.
"You can use fire magic?" he asked. Adrian had a lopsided grin on his face.
"Yeah, pretty cool, huh."
Zack nodded. "I think you might be one of the eight warriors."
Adrian shrugged, his reaction similar to Cat's. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Quiet down, everybody," said Vincent. "There's someone I want to introduce you to. She will take you on your first mission."
He walked over and opened the door to the next room, stuck his head in, and yelled, "Fuuko!"
He then back away from the door and a girl emerged from the room. She had the most radiant sapphire eyes that Zack had ever seen, and her long hair was sable-colored. She was tall, but not quite as tall as Breanna. Fuuko was wearing clothing suited for fighting, with knee supports that she moved around in with ease.
"Hey Fuuko," Cat greeted cheerfully.
"Hey, Cat and Adrian," Fuuko said with a smile on her face. She turned to Zack and Breanna.
"How do you do. I'm Fuuko Takano."
Zack smiled at her. "I'm Zack Strife, and this is Breanna Cole."
Fuuko shook his hand and then turned to Vincent, leaving Zack in a state of bliss.
"Vince, where are we going this time?" she asked.
Vincent looked at Fuuko soberly. "Fuuko, in your hometown, the Toki officials have taken over. You have to go to Nakano and destroy the city hall so no more negotiations can take place in that area."
Fuuko's eyes narrowed. "But the townspeople need the city hall," she said with a hint of besetment in her voice.
Vincent nodded sadly. "I know that, Fuuko. But Nakano is where a lot of the planning for the Black Hole project is going on. We really have to get rid of it. Once the town is free of any Toki scum, the townspeople can start anew. I'm really sorry, but it is obligatory."
Fuuko turned her back to the group so that no one could see her facial expression, the tears that stung in her eyes.
"All right, let's go already then," she said in a muffled voice. Zack was sure that he could detect a note of sadness in it.
She strode out of the room and they followed her.
"What transportation are we using?" Cat asked.
"I'm not carrying anyone," Adrian declared.
Fuuko sighed exasperatedly. "We can ride on my wind vortexes," she reminded Cat, and hopped down the stairs, leaving Zack staring at her, eyebrows raised. Wind vortexes? Zaria would be very interested.
* * *
"Zeth!" Zaria cried. He slumped to the floor, his blood trickling off his dank honey tresses onto his forehead. She looked up and saw Richard Toki standing above her, a victorious grin on his chiseled face.
"Found you at last, Zaria Locke," he sneered. Richard brushed his blond bangs out of his face and grabbed Zaria by the arm and threw her down on the bed, and then pointed his gunblade at her. What he didn't notice was that Zaria had her swords gripped in both hands. Terrified, she looked up at him.
"Stay away from me, you creep," she said, her voice trembling in fear.
Richard pointed the gunblade at Zaria's cheek.
"Wouldn't want to scar a sweet face like that, but if you don't cooperate, Miss Locke, I'm afraid I'll have to. I've been looking for you for awhile, and I don't intend to let you get away."
Zaria sprung up and held her twin swords in a cross configuration in front of her face to block the gunblade.
"Stay away from me, Richard Toki," she said, narrowing her eyes into slits.
"Want to fight before we get down to business? All right, if you wish to, Miss Locke," he smirked, putting his gunblade in battle position.
"You're despicable! Do you always have to hold people against their will to get what you want?" Zaria shouted as she lifted her swords up to fight.
Richard laughed cruelly, his eyes flashing with scorn. "You really think I can't get any woman I want? I'm the handsomest and wealthiest twenty-year old bachelor on the planet! You're a lot stupider than they say you are, Zaria Locke. Don't act so important when you know I'm the main act here."
"Main act?" Zaria exclaimed incredulously. "Richard Toki, you're nothing but a degrading miscreant who doesn't know what's truly valuable, and you never will!" she cried. "You have no conscience!"
"Don't think that just because you are from the Locke clan that you can defeat me, one of the genuine Toki descendants," Richard said calmly. "If you by some chance happen to, then where will you go? This mansion is surrounded. You're trapped, face it."
"Don't try to postpone the inevitable, you procrastinator!" Zaria said fiercely, clanging one of her swords on his.
They started dueling with their swords and neither of them faltered, both being equally skilled in sword fighting. Zaria finally managed to make a small cut on his arm, but then he retaliated by hitting her head with the hilt of his gunblade. She almost fainted and crumpled down to the ground, and then Richard picked her up by the collar. Zaria tried to counterattack, but her body felt too weak and faint to do anything of the sort. Her vision was blurring and the world seemed to be turning white.
"Got you now," he muttered, and aggressively threw her down on the bed.
She moaned in pain, her eyelids fluttering shut. I can't die, she thought. Not when Zeth didn't know the truth yet. At the thought of Zeth, she could feel her strength returning. Using her last ounce of strength, she silently used her own healing magic on her body, revitalizing herself. Yet she kept her eyes shut, so Richard could be taken by surprise so she could effectively counterassault.
All of a sudden, her eyes flew open and Zaria leaped off the bed, turning around and kicking Richard in the stomach. He yelped in pain and fell on the ground, moaning. She stood over him looking down at him with a gaze full of hatred, and then finally she snatched his gunblade out of his hands, swung it onto his head and knocked him out.
When she was sure that Richard was knocked out cold, she knelt down over Zeth.
"Oh, Zeth," she whispered, and put her hands on his head, concentrating. She shut her eyes and let the curative magic wash over her hands onto Zeth's wound but it wasn't enough, so she bent down and buried her face in the mass of his soft dark strands of honey-colored hair. She put her lips to the wound and let the higher level healing magic flow from her mouth onto his wound. He was completely healed now.
She sat up and took his hand and put it on her cheek. It felt so good to have his hand there, the same way it was sixty years ago . . . she closed her eyes.
Zeth woke up to find Zaria holding his hand to her cheek. He slowly sat up and then she opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Zeth, I-I.!" she stammered in dismay, dropping his hand. She appeared to be appalled.
Zeth looked at her and smiled softly.
"I never said anything, Zaria."
He got up and saw that Richard lay quiescent on the ground. He felt chagrined. This time Zaria had ended up protecting him. The roles were supposed to be reversed.
He reached up to touch his wound from the gunblade. It wasn't there. He looked at Zaria. "Did . . . you?" he asked. She nodded timidly and turned away.
"Um, Zeth, how are we going to get out of this mansion without attracting any guards?" she asked in a muffled voice.
Zeth looked around the room and saw a window. He walked over and peered down, and saw a lake right by.
He pointed to the window. "We jump." He opened the window and stepped over and scooped Zaria up. He then stepped up on the windowpane, braced himself and leaped off. They fell through the air and landed with a large splash in the lake.
* * *
Cat sighed. She was very airsick, so she could do nothing but sit there and concentrate on keeping her lunch in while the others discussed their plan. Fuuko was piloting the plane, staring straight ahead with a hard look in her eyes.
It must be so hard for her to do this, Cat thought. She sympathized with Fuuko. She had known Fuuko for a long time, but she had only known Zack, Breanna and Adrian for a short time. Zack seemed loud and annoying enough, but for the past few hours he had shut up considerably. Breanna was amusing to talk to, but she was sort of aggressive. Adrian was . . . she didn't really know. He seemed very nice, and she loved how he could morph from one form to another. She wished she could do that.
Sigh. How she wished she knew her origin. Adrian was probably one of the eight warriors Zaria was mentioning, and so was Fuuko. That's why Vincent had put them together with Zack and Breanna. Fuuko's ancestors in Nakano had played an important role in the Mage war, and most of them were warriors. But why had Cat been put with these special people? There was no guarantee that she was a warrior, because she didn't even know who her ancestors were. She was a rejected child. Anyway, who in the world had purple hair? She was not a normal human being. She was a freak, which was why her family didn't want her. Who would want a freak for a child? Cat felt so alone. No one really understood her, and no one ever would.
Breanna glanced over at Cat. What was that girl thinking, anyway? She looked so lost. Breanna looked at Zack with annoyance in her gaze. He seemed smart and all that before, (almost as good as Zeth) but as soon as he saw that girl Fuuko he had turned into a simpering idiot. Oh well. She glanced at Adrian. He looked pretty good when he was normal, but in his morphed mode he was way too weird and pale for her liking. For anyone's liking. Sigh. It seemed like she would never find someone. Zeth was the best option so far, but all he seemed to think about was Zaria, Zaria, and Zaria. Zaria was nice enough, but she was mentally OLD, and she was taking up all of Zeth's precious attention. What did Zeth want with the old harridan anyway? She turned to Fuuko. The girl looked so angry and disturbed. Breanna felt bad for her, but there really was nothing she could say to make Fuuko feel better. She wondered if Adrian or Fuuko were one of the eight warriors or not. They could be. Oh well.
"Wonder how Zeth and Zaria are doing now," Zack said.
"I think that between the two of them, there's much more going on than meets the eye," remarked Adrian, leaning back in his seat and settling his hands behind his head.
Breanna glared at him. Why did he have to remind her?
* * *
Fuuko landed the plane and they all got out. They were at the entrance of Nakano. Fuuko turned around to address all of them.
"We have to pretend to be regular travelers just passing through Nakano," she commanded, "and under no circumstances will you take out your weapons or use any magic unless absolutely necessary."
They all nodded, and entered Nakano. It was a pretty town, and the houses looked very luxurious. Fuuko headed straight towards the local bar, while everyone else went to the hotel to check in. Zack saw Fuuko going alone, and decided to accompany her. He ran to catch up.
"Um, hi, Fuuko," he began.
"Why are you following me?" she asked bluntly. Her voice sounded hostile.
Zack didn't even blink. "Because I can tell that you're not happy, and you need someone to talk to," he replied.
She spun around to face him.
"What would you know, spiky head? You're not the one who has to destroy a place that holds so many childhood memories for you . . . you're not the one who has to betray your own family!" she cried, and started running off.
Zack ran up to her and caught her arm. "Whoa, Fuuko, how are you betraying your family? Isn't this for the good of the village? The Toki . . ."
Fuuko glared at him. "So losing the city hall and having innocent people being killed is good for this town? That's what you think? Anyway, you know nothing about me and all the crap I've been through, so just stay out of it!" she cried, turning her head away, trying to avoid his gaze.
Zack shook his head. "I don't think I can do that, Fuuko," he said. "I want to help you. Contrary to popular belief, some men do care."
She looked at him, her eyes watering. She stood there looking at him for a long time, like she was searching his soul, trying to figure out how sincere he was. It seemed like he passed the test, and a tear spilled out of her right eye and slowly dripped down her cheek. She quickly reached up and wiped it away.
"My family has been the leaders of this village for many years, so they have major influence on the welfare of all the people. A few months ago I had a fight with my father. I ran away from home and joined Arrow. My father was a supporter of the Toki, and to this day my family is still a staunch supporter of the Toki government, and all my life I have been the only one in my family to realize the fatal flaws in this government, yet I still love them all. I don't want them to be hurt."
Zack gazed at her. "I understand."
Memories of his life flashed through his head. His mother. Although many times during his childhood he had hated her and secretly had wished for her to die, when she was actually shot by a Toki military official for no particular reason, he had realized how much he loved his mother. He had almost killed the officer, even at that young age.
He took Fuuko's hand. "Fuuko, we can find a way to destroy the city hall without blowing it up and causing damage to entire town. We can use magic. I can use my Apocalypse, Cat can use her Thunder, Adrian can use his fire, and Breanna can use her Earth magic."
Fuuko looked up at him through her tears. "And I can use my Claw of Wind. But things are not all solved. I still feel so alone."
Zack gazed at her tenderly. "You have Arrow, and you have us," he said. "Let's go back to the others now."
Fuuko looked at him with a balmy expression for a long time, and then she broke into a grin. "Don't you want a drink, Zack?"
Zack grinned. "You know me so well in such a short time."
* * *
"Do you know what time it is?" Zaria demanded. "We should have just come back to the hotel right away instead of letting our clothes dry first!"
Zeth sighed. "But Zaria, coming in sopping wet would have been very suspicious. And don't forget, tomorrow morning we leave at the crack of dawn. Richard Toki will probably wake up around then, and if we're still here, we're in trouble!"
Zaria nodded. She took the key to the room and opened the door. She stepped in ready to flop down on her bed, but then stopped short.
"Zeth, why does this room only have one bed? One small bed?"
Zeth's face reddened. "They only had this room left."
Zaria lifted her brow. "Well then, we can both sleep on the bed then. We're both very tired. Just do it and don't make a big deal of it, Zeth."
"But, Zaria," Zeth protested.
Zaria lifted her hands up. "I don't want to hear it," she said, cutting him off with a tone that left no room for argument. She climbed into the bed and scooted over to the edge, barely keeping herself from falling off. "Just sleep," she ordered.
Okay, so that was it for the second chapter! Hope you liked it better than the first, trust me, as the character development starts setting in and you get into the story, you will like it more so please keep on reading! Oh, and I'm not updating all my finished chapters so far until I get some reviews so please review! As of now I've finished about half my story but posted only about a fourth.
A New Beginning
They had been walking for days, attempting to seek the abandoned city of Najida. Najida was a city that had supposedly been destroyed during the Mage war, but now, the abandoned and secluded area was the perfect place for the headquarters of the government resistance group that Cat was talking about. Cat had a friend there whose name was Vincent, and he was one of the organizers.
"Where is the #$%^&* city?" Zack grumbled. He sighed loudly to accentuate his remark.
"I'm trying to find it, okay?" Cat shot back in a wearied tone as she scanned the horizon.
"Then try harder!" Zack returned, exasperated. "Or else go jump in the lake, midget!" Cat opened her mouth to retort when she saw Zaria's facial expression and stopped.
Zaria shook her head gently. "Please stop quarreling. I don't need to be hearing any of this right now."
Cat turned to Zack and rolled her eyes. "Zack, if you think you would do a better job finding it than me, why don't you go find it then! Now you go do that while I go jump in the lake!" she declared, glaring at Zack. She stuck her tongue out impertinently. Zaria chuckled to herself and turned away.
Cat stomped over to a nearby lake and waded in to prove her point. Zack angrily threw his belongings down on the ground and plopped down in a huff, and Zeth, Zaria, and Breanna sat down as well.
"Zaria, do we have a time limit as to how long we have to build the barrier?" Breanna asked, for that moment forgetting her nastiness towards Zaria.
Zaria looked surprised and then seemed cogitative for a moment.
"The prophecy proclaims that when the planets are perfectly aligned is when evil will befall the earth and all who dwell on it unless the eight Mage warrior descendants manage to create the barrier in time. I don't know when that is, but when all the warriors are assembled then I can calculate it then by using numerology. I think that at the time, the stars will also be able to tell me," she explained.
Breanna sighed. "And here we are, wasting precious time because Princess Cat is having a temper tantrum."
"Bree, you seem to use the word 'princess' as a negative connotation rather often," Zack observed.
All of a sudden, a terrified scream cut through the air like a knife. The strident sound resounded from Cat's direction. Everyone turned their heads and saw a water serpent, one of the largest predators in the sea. It was hovering over Cat's head, about to strike.
"Eeeeeek!" Cat screamed, otherwise immobile.
"Oh @#$%, I'll never make it!" swore Zack, picking up his spear.
The serpent struck, all was a blur, and Cat was gone.
"Cat!" Zaria cried, and she started running towards the lake, but was held back by Zeth.
Zaria looked down at the ground and she saw a shadow forming, and it grew larger and larger. She turned around and shrieked when she saw a winged man carrying Cat and setting her down on the ground. Cat had fainted and was just lying there, motionless. The winged man landed and took a step towards the party.
For a moment, they all simply stood there, but then Zaria bravely took a step forward and said, "Who are you?"
"Yeah, and what the hell are you doing, sneaking up like that?" Breanna demanded crudely.
The man looked at Zaria and then at Breanna. "My name is Adrian and I'm sixteen years old, so I'm not old enough or smart enough to assault anyone," he replied humorlessly in an almost human voice.
"It can talk!" Breanna screeched, scrambling away in fear.
"Shut the #$%^ up, Breanna," cursed Zack, rolling his eyes and giving her a jostle.
Zaria slowly extended her slender hand to Adrian. He had sanguine eyes and silky raven hair that hung over his eyes and was all tousled up on his head, and he would've been very handsome with nice hair if only his face looked less threatening. However, his skin was paper-white, which gave him the appearance of a vampire.
"Hello Adrian," she replied clearly. "I'm Zaria Locke, and these are my friends Cat Chere, Zeth Lanier, Breanna Cole, and Zack Strife. Thank you for saving Cat's life."
Adrian slowly began to smile, and his whole appearance literally was altered. His wings shrunk into his back and then completely disappeared. His eyes became hazel with flecks of gold, and his hair turned into a silky rust-colored honey shade, almost the same color as Zeth's. His skin also darkened into a tanned golden shade, a normal human being shade, in contrast to the stark off-white color it had been before. His elven ears rounded themselves out, looking like normal ears. The small fangs in his smile disappeared. Overall, he was a normal good-looking human being with an impish smile. He took Zaria's hand and shook it.
"Hi, Zaria, nice to meet you. I'm Adrian Wingheart, a descendant of the Mage Wingheart warriors. I morph from a human state to a cross between a vampire and a harpy state. What are you all doing in a place like this?" he politely asked. "It's quite perilous in these plains."
"We're trying to find Najida, wherever that damn town is," Breanna inserted rudely.
"Oh, Najida!" Adrian exclaimed. "That's only a mile or so from here! I can show you the way if you wish, for I'm on my way there."
"Yes, please do," replied Zaria.
Adrian looked at Zaria and then looked at Zeth, then moved his glance to Zaria again, and then went back to Zeth.
"Are you two descendants of Link Lanier?" he inquired.
Zeth was bewildered. Who was Link Lanier? Zaria's face looked completely emotionless.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Adrian. You must be mistaken," Zaria replied quietly, trying not to broach the issue between Zeth and herself.
Adrian just looked perplexed and simply shrugged.
"Well, all I know is that my mother - I mean, grandfather told me a story about his comrades in arms, Zaria and Zeth, who fought on his side during the Mage war, and one day Zeth fell down a cliff, yet Zaria never lost hope that he was somehow alive," he said. "Later on, Zeth's brother Link tried to court Zaria, but he never achieved success, so he married another continent's princess named Lara, and they had children. Since Link had fancied Zaria before, it would make sense for him to name one of his children Zaria," he explained to Zaria, and then turned to Zeth. "I've seen portraits of Zeth and Link, and you look exactly like them," he said pointedly.
"Well, I am Zaria Locke, and this is Zeth Lanier," interjected Zaria with a clipped tone. "I'll explain everything later, because the truth will eventually be known to all. I really don't feel like talking about it now."
Zeth stared at Zaria. There was a truth? He didn't know that there was a truth. He had Zaria had a past? Why hadn't she told him?
* * *
"Let's go already!" complained Cat, rubbing her eyes.
"For once, she's right," exclaimed Zack, looking even more exasperated than usual.
Adrian nodded. "All right, let's go. I'll show you the way. Follow me."
He morphed into his winged form and began flying slowly and everyone followed him.
"Hey Adrian, are you a crossbreed?" asked Cat curiously, peering at his wings and then shifting her gaze to study his gentle yet chiseled features.
"Yeah," he said. "I'm half human, one fourth vampire, and one fourth harpy."
Cat looked at him in perplexity. "Harpy? What's a harpy?"
"An bird-human crossbreed," Adrian replied. Breanna wrinkled her nose in distaste. He looked good enough in normal human form, but in her opinion, that kind of cross between species was awfully abnormal.
"That's awesome!" Cat exclaimed, getting stimulated. "Are there any more like you?"
"A whole lot," he replied. "In fact, the ancestors of my village can be traced back to the Mage war," he continued.
Zaria's head snapped back in his direction, and she gave him a probing look, but didn't say anything.
"So, why do you people have to go to Najida? Do you have some business there? Because I work there . . ." Adrian trailed off.
"You do?" Cat asked with interest. "How come I never saw you there?"
"You work for Arrow too?" Adrian asked, looking astonished.
"Of course." Cat rolled her eyes. "I'm one of the first they consider for any important spying missions."
Adrian nodded, the doubt written all over his face.
"Then how come you don't remember where Najida is?" he asked slyly, in a teasing tone.
"DON'T TEASE ME, YOU FREAK!" screamed Cat, and she ran over to Adrian and started pounding on him.
Zeth exchanged a look with Zack, raising his brow. That girl seemed to have a lot of energy, even after a near-death ordeal.
* * *
Half an hour later, they reached the entrance to the city of Najida.
"Yeah, we're here!" exclaimed Cat, jumping up and down, excited as usual.
Zeth looked around. "It looks so deserted and abandoned here," he observed. "Are you sure we're in the right place, Adrian? Cat?"
Cat shook her head, giggling. "Don't worry, we are. Follow me."
She started walking towards the direction of a halfway decent looking building and everyone followed her quietly, no one uttering a word. They entered the building and went up the stairs. As soon as they reached the second floor, the whole atmosphere of the building changed. It was clean and nice, and there were people busy at work at desks, going through paperwork, dissecting bombs.
Cat walked up and talked to someone who was sewing a badge on a white lab coat that that said "Toki" on it.
"What's Toki?" Breanna asked Zeth, moving slightly towards him.
"It's the government's name," he replied promptly.
She nodded, keeping her eyes glued to his profile. "No wonder it sounded so familiar."
Cat turned back to them and said, "Follow me," again. She led them over to a small room, and when they entered, and young man with rumpled, long black hair turned around.
"Cat!" he exclaimed, smiling warmly at Cat. "You're back! Good job on the Kankino case! The government had to completely shut down operations in that area. Although you could have been more lenient with that bomb," he berated.
"Vincent!" Cat yelled. "Looky here! I got the famed Zaria Locke with me! The person the Toki are after, remember?"
The young man craned his neck and looked around Cat and saw Zaria.
"Zaria Locke?" he asked her, his eyes wide in amazement. Zaria nodded demurely. Vincent held out his hand.
"Hi, the name's Vincent. Well Zaria, I'm sure that by now you are aware that the government is after you, but if you affiliate with us, we can help you. We are the largest resistance faction in the continent, called Arrow," he said contiguously. "We can offer you all a unequivocal amount of protection from the Toki government if you join us."
Zack perked up with interest. "I've heard a lot about you people."
Vincent nodded, and smiled at the group.
"I take it that all of you here are adept fighters to end up here with Cat. We could use some experienced fighters . . . would you be willing to join us? We're interested in you folks and want to work with you all, especially Zaria," Vincent continued. "We believe her divinations about the Toki black hole project are quite accurate."
Zeth looked at Zaria, and then stepped up and said, "Yes. We will join Arrow, if you can help us keep Zaria safe."
Breanna and Zack nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Cat and Adrian were watching with little grins on their faces.
"Whoopee!" Cat cheered. "Zaria, you guys are part of Arrow now!"
Vincent smiled affirmatively and continued talking, which obviously seemed like something that he enjoyed doing. "Zaria, I think you should go to the city of Mage, because I know you have spiritual powers, and there, the spirits of the planet are all around. I think that you can probably communicate with some of the spirits there, and they can tell you about what the Earth is feeling and what we need to do to prevent the government from carrying out their black hole opening project."
Zaria nodded cautiously, her eyebrows furrowed.
"I'll go with her," Zeth swiftly volunteered. Breanna threw a covetous look in Zaria's direction, but Zaria kept her eyes cast down.
"The rest of you, come with me," Vincent instructed. Everyone nodded and followed Vincent out of the room.
Zack paused for a moment, winked at Zeth and then followed the others out.
Zeth turned around to look at Zaria. "I guess we should go now, Zaria," he said quietly.
Zaria looked up. "Yes, I guess we should," she replied, not really thinking about that.
* * *
"We've been on the road for two days afoot, and we're still not there yet, Zeth," Zaria complained. "Can't we find some sort of transportation?"
Zeth squinted and looked into the distance, ignoring her remark.
"I see a city moderately imminent to our current location. It's getting dark now, we should stop there for the night," he stated.
Zaria looked at him austerely, but trudged on after him, lugging her two swords and the rest of her belongings in her small tote.
They walked for another fifteen minutes, and they were both very quiet. Finally Zaria spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Zeth, how come lately it seems like you detest me so much?" she said, her eyes looking faraway and melancholy.
Zeth looked up into the sky, and saw a shooting star. He stopped to watch it travel across the blue-black diamond sky. Then he turned around to look at Zaria. She looked so beautiful in the silver luminescence of the moonlight, strands of dark cinnamon brown hair, almost as black as the night, whipping across her face, her glimmering emerald eyes boring holes into his aquamarine eyes. She had an overcast expression on her face, clouding her features.
He didn't detest her. What a ridiculous question to ask. How could she not know how he felt about her? He hadn't actually known her that long, but the longer he was around her, the longer he was getting these flashbacks, which he thought was safe to presume was his memory returning. She was in every single one, although the images in his head were never comprehensible. He felt sure that before he had lost his memory, he had known her, but how was that possible? Mentally, she was almost sixty years older than he was. There was no way he could've known her. But he just couldn't shake off the feeling . . . there was so much he wanted to ask her, so much he wanted to explain, but he couldn't bring himself to say any of it. All he simply said was, "I don't detest you, Zaria. I couldn't, even if I tried."
Zaria quickly cast her eyes down.
"But you don't have affection for me like you used to," she murmured to herself, so that Zeth didn't hear her.
She turned away. How she wished that she could turn back the hands of time to sixty years ago. How she wished that on that day she hadn't let him run ahead of her. How she wished that he hadn't fallen. If none of this had happened, they would be living blissful old age in Mydele right now. But fate had not favored her, and had taken him away from her for sixty years.
Sixty years, she had been left waiting, wondering what had happened to her friend Galen and her beloved, Zeth. Zeth's twin Link had tried to offer her solace and had aspired to replace Zeth, but no one could ever substitute Zeth in her heart. Zeth finally had been restored to her, but he didn't remember her. He didn't remember anything. She figured that was better for both of them, but she couldn't help wishing that he would remember, and they could retire to a life of peace and happiness in Mydele.
Yet she also knew that the world was at stake, and her happiness was nothing compared to the lives and happiness of all the people on the planet. Zeth. He meant the world to her, and she would gladly sacrifice her life for him if she had to. She loved him, even now. She would always love him. But it was wrong. She must keep her feelings hidden. She turned back to Zeth.
"I . . . I . . . care about you in a way you'll never know," she whispered sorrowfully, so quietly that he couldn't hear, and ran ahead of him, tears streaming down her cheeks. How could she face him? Yet she had to.
* * *
Ten minutes later, Zaria had calmed down, and they had reached the town of Werin. They slowly trekked through the streets.
"I heard that this is not a very good town for proper women to be wandering around in at night," Zaria whispered to Zeth.
Zeth looked at his surroundings. The bright neon signs, the dimly lit bars, all the inebriated men wandering around . . . there was also a lot of women wearing scanty clothing as well . . . women who had chosen their debauched way of living. It was not a pleasant spectacle. Unconsciously, he developed a grimace on his face. Zaria inched a little closer to him.
"Hey, pretty boy," a voiced slurred, obviously addressing him, for he had been called that many times in his childhood because of his distinctly perfectly proportioned features that made him stand out from the other boys. Zeth turned around to the direction of the voice and saw a very intoxicated man who was practically falling over. The man gripped his shoulder for support, and Zeth tried his best to keep himself from pulling away in disgust, in fear of what the man might try to do to Zaria if he was angered or annoyed.
"Yes?" he replied in a nasal tone, trying not to breathe in the stench of liquor.
The man put his other clammy hand on Zaria's shoulder and she shrunk back with fear. She gripped one of her swords but Zeth pulled her aside and whispered the importance of not making a scene with any weapons involved. She reluctantly released her sword. They began to walk away but the man persevered in following them.
"How much this one cost for the night?" the man slurred, hissing in Zeth's ear.
"What?" Zeth asked in stupefaction, his eyes widening.
"This one here!" the man pointed at Zaria and reached for her.
Zeth immediately caught the man's arm in an iron grip and held it away from Zaria, now too rampageous to feel any of the consternation and abhorrence he had experienced just seconds earlier. "Don't you dare touch her," he warned, fury blazing in his eyes. He threw the man's arm aside.
The man shrugged and precariously staggered away.
"Stay very near me," Zeth informed Zaria with clenched teeth.
They made their way to the inn, and while Zeth walked over to check in Zaria decided to go wait in the lobby.
"Two rooms, please," he informed the manager.
The manager looked at his computer and shook his head. "Only one room with a double bed left, sir. All other rooms are occupied."
Zeth considered for a while, and then decided to just use that room. He would sleep on the floor. He got the keys to the room and walked over to the lobby to go get Zaria. The lobby had random people lounging about, but Zaria was not there. She's probably in the ladies room, he thought, flopping down on the sofa.
He sat and waited, but after half an hour had passed, Zaria still hadn't appeared. Zeth was getting very anxious. Where could she be? He cautiously walked out of the inn and went out into the street. He looked around. No Zaria. He unwillingly stopped a drunkard and asked if he had seen a girl with dark hair and green eyes that happened to be wearing armor.
"I've seen her," the drunk slurred, and then he pointed in the direction of one of the bars. Zeth ran into the bar and scanned the place for Zaria. She wasn't there. He went up to a bartender and asked if Zaria had been in there. The bartender's eyes widened.
"You mean that girl is Zaria Locke? She's in trouble for sure. She was dragged in here and was spotted by the severely intoxicated son of the President Toki, who demanded that she be handed over to him. He's just a young man, about your age, but he took the girl and left the bar. Although she did put up quite a fight, her swords were no match for his infamous gunblade. I reckon that she's with him in his mansion now. Are you her young man?" the bartender asked, nodding at Zeth.
Zeth flushed. "Sort of," he said, tilting his head. "I'm supposed to take care of her."
The bartender shook his head, looking at Zeth skeptically. "You didn't do such a good job, sorry to say. Every woman who's not purposely looking for trouble, if you know what I mean, needs protection in this town. I suggest you get moving before Richard Toki does anything to her. Especially since his father's the President Toki, he gets everything he wants."
Zeth hurriedly thanked the bartender and dashed out of the bar, running towards the mansion that the bartender had directed him to. It was a very large mansion, and there were guards surrounding it. The only way in without with out alerting any of the guards was through the small pond and through the side door of the mansion. He leaped over the pond, barely making the three-meter jump. He ran to the door and twisted the knob and charged in. There was no one in the mansion. He didn't know where to go. Zeth stood there, listening for any sign of human life, and then he heard a scream from upstairs. Zaria! He dashed up the stairs and threw open the first door he saw. No one was in there. He ran to the right and checked all the rooms and ran back to the left side, where there was only one door left to check. He was about to go in, when he heard Zaria's scream again. It was coming from the ceiling. He ran up the stairs to the top floor, and saw that there was only one door. He sneaked up to the door and forced it open.
Zaria was in there, tied onto the bed. Her swords lay at her feet. She saw Zeth and cried out.
"Zaria, are you all right?" Zeth cried. "Did he do anything to you?"
Zaria had a terrified trapped-rabbit look in her eyes. She shook her head timorously.
"Not yet, but he will soon!"
Zeth took out his sword and hacked at the rope that was tying Zaria down. He picked her up and slung her on his back and carried her away from the bed.
"Thank you, Zeth," she whispered from behind his ear, and buried her head into his shoulder.
Zeth didn't know what to do or say, but he just stood there with Zaria on his back. Then he heard a shuffling noise behind him and turned around, and then the last thing he saw was a large metal object flying in an arc coming down towards his head.
* * *
"What are you holding, Adrian?" Cat asked as she lifted his arm to see the bow and arrow he was holding. It had a small fiery red orb embedded in it.
"It's my weapon," he said defensively, pulling it back. "One of the magicians of my home village made it for me so I could use and combine it with my fire magic."
Zack looked at him with interest reminiscent to Zaria's.
"You can use fire magic?" he asked. Adrian had a lopsided grin on his face.
"Yeah, pretty cool, huh."
Zack nodded. "I think you might be one of the eight warriors."
Adrian shrugged, his reaction similar to Cat's. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Quiet down, everybody," said Vincent. "There's someone I want to introduce you to. She will take you on your first mission."
He walked over and opened the door to the next room, stuck his head in, and yelled, "Fuuko!"
He then back away from the door and a girl emerged from the room. She had the most radiant sapphire eyes that Zack had ever seen, and her long hair was sable-colored. She was tall, but not quite as tall as Breanna. Fuuko was wearing clothing suited for fighting, with knee supports that she moved around in with ease.
"Hey Fuuko," Cat greeted cheerfully.
"Hey, Cat and Adrian," Fuuko said with a smile on her face. She turned to Zack and Breanna.
"How do you do. I'm Fuuko Takano."
Zack smiled at her. "I'm Zack Strife, and this is Breanna Cole."
Fuuko shook his hand and then turned to Vincent, leaving Zack in a state of bliss.
"Vince, where are we going this time?" she asked.
Vincent looked at Fuuko soberly. "Fuuko, in your hometown, the Toki officials have taken over. You have to go to Nakano and destroy the city hall so no more negotiations can take place in that area."
Fuuko's eyes narrowed. "But the townspeople need the city hall," she said with a hint of besetment in her voice.
Vincent nodded sadly. "I know that, Fuuko. But Nakano is where a lot of the planning for the Black Hole project is going on. We really have to get rid of it. Once the town is free of any Toki scum, the townspeople can start anew. I'm really sorry, but it is obligatory."
Fuuko turned her back to the group so that no one could see her facial expression, the tears that stung in her eyes.
"All right, let's go already then," she said in a muffled voice. Zack was sure that he could detect a note of sadness in it.
She strode out of the room and they followed her.
"What transportation are we using?" Cat asked.
"I'm not carrying anyone," Adrian declared.
Fuuko sighed exasperatedly. "We can ride on my wind vortexes," she reminded Cat, and hopped down the stairs, leaving Zack staring at her, eyebrows raised. Wind vortexes? Zaria would be very interested.
* * *
"Zeth!" Zaria cried. He slumped to the floor, his blood trickling off his dank honey tresses onto his forehead. She looked up and saw Richard Toki standing above her, a victorious grin on his chiseled face.
"Found you at last, Zaria Locke," he sneered. Richard brushed his blond bangs out of his face and grabbed Zaria by the arm and threw her down on the bed, and then pointed his gunblade at her. What he didn't notice was that Zaria had her swords gripped in both hands. Terrified, she looked up at him.
"Stay away from me, you creep," she said, her voice trembling in fear.
Richard pointed the gunblade at Zaria's cheek.
"Wouldn't want to scar a sweet face like that, but if you don't cooperate, Miss Locke, I'm afraid I'll have to. I've been looking for you for awhile, and I don't intend to let you get away."
Zaria sprung up and held her twin swords in a cross configuration in front of her face to block the gunblade.
"Stay away from me, Richard Toki," she said, narrowing her eyes into slits.
"Want to fight before we get down to business? All right, if you wish to, Miss Locke," he smirked, putting his gunblade in battle position.
"You're despicable! Do you always have to hold people against their will to get what you want?" Zaria shouted as she lifted her swords up to fight.
Richard laughed cruelly, his eyes flashing with scorn. "You really think I can't get any woman I want? I'm the handsomest and wealthiest twenty-year old bachelor on the planet! You're a lot stupider than they say you are, Zaria Locke. Don't act so important when you know I'm the main act here."
"Main act?" Zaria exclaimed incredulously. "Richard Toki, you're nothing but a degrading miscreant who doesn't know what's truly valuable, and you never will!" she cried. "You have no conscience!"
"Don't think that just because you are from the Locke clan that you can defeat me, one of the genuine Toki descendants," Richard said calmly. "If you by some chance happen to, then where will you go? This mansion is surrounded. You're trapped, face it."
"Don't try to postpone the inevitable, you procrastinator!" Zaria said fiercely, clanging one of her swords on his.
They started dueling with their swords and neither of them faltered, both being equally skilled in sword fighting. Zaria finally managed to make a small cut on his arm, but then he retaliated by hitting her head with the hilt of his gunblade. She almost fainted and crumpled down to the ground, and then Richard picked her up by the collar. Zaria tried to counterattack, but her body felt too weak and faint to do anything of the sort. Her vision was blurring and the world seemed to be turning white.
"Got you now," he muttered, and aggressively threw her down on the bed.
She moaned in pain, her eyelids fluttering shut. I can't die, she thought. Not when Zeth didn't know the truth yet. At the thought of Zeth, she could feel her strength returning. Using her last ounce of strength, she silently used her own healing magic on her body, revitalizing herself. Yet she kept her eyes shut, so Richard could be taken by surprise so she could effectively counterassault.
All of a sudden, her eyes flew open and Zaria leaped off the bed, turning around and kicking Richard in the stomach. He yelped in pain and fell on the ground, moaning. She stood over him looking down at him with a gaze full of hatred, and then finally she snatched his gunblade out of his hands, swung it onto his head and knocked him out.
When she was sure that Richard was knocked out cold, she knelt down over Zeth.
"Oh, Zeth," she whispered, and put her hands on his head, concentrating. She shut her eyes and let the curative magic wash over her hands onto Zeth's wound but it wasn't enough, so she bent down and buried her face in the mass of his soft dark strands of honey-colored hair. She put her lips to the wound and let the higher level healing magic flow from her mouth onto his wound. He was completely healed now.
She sat up and took his hand and put it on her cheek. It felt so good to have his hand there, the same way it was sixty years ago . . . she closed her eyes.
Zeth woke up to find Zaria holding his hand to her cheek. He slowly sat up and then she opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Zeth, I-I.!" she stammered in dismay, dropping his hand. She appeared to be appalled.
Zeth looked at her and smiled softly.
"I never said anything, Zaria."
He got up and saw that Richard lay quiescent on the ground. He felt chagrined. This time Zaria had ended up protecting him. The roles were supposed to be reversed.
He reached up to touch his wound from the gunblade. It wasn't there. He looked at Zaria. "Did . . . you?" he asked. She nodded timidly and turned away.
"Um, Zeth, how are we going to get out of this mansion without attracting any guards?" she asked in a muffled voice.
Zeth looked around the room and saw a window. He walked over and peered down, and saw a lake right by.
He pointed to the window. "We jump." He opened the window and stepped over and scooped Zaria up. He then stepped up on the windowpane, braced himself and leaped off. They fell through the air and landed with a large splash in the lake.
* * *
Cat sighed. She was very airsick, so she could do nothing but sit there and concentrate on keeping her lunch in while the others discussed their plan. Fuuko was piloting the plane, staring straight ahead with a hard look in her eyes.
It must be so hard for her to do this, Cat thought. She sympathized with Fuuko. She had known Fuuko for a long time, but she had only known Zack, Breanna and Adrian for a short time. Zack seemed loud and annoying enough, but for the past few hours he had shut up considerably. Breanna was amusing to talk to, but she was sort of aggressive. Adrian was . . . she didn't really know. He seemed very nice, and she loved how he could morph from one form to another. She wished she could do that.
Sigh. How she wished she knew her origin. Adrian was probably one of the eight warriors Zaria was mentioning, and so was Fuuko. That's why Vincent had put them together with Zack and Breanna. Fuuko's ancestors in Nakano had played an important role in the Mage war, and most of them were warriors. But why had Cat been put with these special people? There was no guarantee that she was a warrior, because she didn't even know who her ancestors were. She was a rejected child. Anyway, who in the world had purple hair? She was not a normal human being. She was a freak, which was why her family didn't want her. Who would want a freak for a child? Cat felt so alone. No one really understood her, and no one ever would.
Breanna glanced over at Cat. What was that girl thinking, anyway? She looked so lost. Breanna looked at Zack with annoyance in her gaze. He seemed smart and all that before, (almost as good as Zeth) but as soon as he saw that girl Fuuko he had turned into a simpering idiot. Oh well. She glanced at Adrian. He looked pretty good when he was normal, but in his morphed mode he was way too weird and pale for her liking. For anyone's liking. Sigh. It seemed like she would never find someone. Zeth was the best option so far, but all he seemed to think about was Zaria, Zaria, and Zaria. Zaria was nice enough, but she was mentally OLD, and she was taking up all of Zeth's precious attention. What did Zeth want with the old harridan anyway? She turned to Fuuko. The girl looked so angry and disturbed. Breanna felt bad for her, but there really was nothing she could say to make Fuuko feel better. She wondered if Adrian or Fuuko were one of the eight warriors or not. They could be. Oh well.
"Wonder how Zeth and Zaria are doing now," Zack said.
"I think that between the two of them, there's much more going on than meets the eye," remarked Adrian, leaning back in his seat and settling his hands behind his head.
Breanna glared at him. Why did he have to remind her?
* * *
Fuuko landed the plane and they all got out. They were at the entrance of Nakano. Fuuko turned around to address all of them.
"We have to pretend to be regular travelers just passing through Nakano," she commanded, "and under no circumstances will you take out your weapons or use any magic unless absolutely necessary."
They all nodded, and entered Nakano. It was a pretty town, and the houses looked very luxurious. Fuuko headed straight towards the local bar, while everyone else went to the hotel to check in. Zack saw Fuuko going alone, and decided to accompany her. He ran to catch up.
"Um, hi, Fuuko," he began.
"Why are you following me?" she asked bluntly. Her voice sounded hostile.
Zack didn't even blink. "Because I can tell that you're not happy, and you need someone to talk to," he replied.
She spun around to face him.
"What would you know, spiky head? You're not the one who has to destroy a place that holds so many childhood memories for you . . . you're not the one who has to betray your own family!" she cried, and started running off.
Zack ran up to her and caught her arm. "Whoa, Fuuko, how are you betraying your family? Isn't this for the good of the village? The Toki . . ."
Fuuko glared at him. "So losing the city hall and having innocent people being killed is good for this town? That's what you think? Anyway, you know nothing about me and all the crap I've been through, so just stay out of it!" she cried, turning her head away, trying to avoid his gaze.
Zack shook his head. "I don't think I can do that, Fuuko," he said. "I want to help you. Contrary to popular belief, some men do care."
She looked at him, her eyes watering. She stood there looking at him for a long time, like she was searching his soul, trying to figure out how sincere he was. It seemed like he passed the test, and a tear spilled out of her right eye and slowly dripped down her cheek. She quickly reached up and wiped it away.
"My family has been the leaders of this village for many years, so they have major influence on the welfare of all the people. A few months ago I had a fight with my father. I ran away from home and joined Arrow. My father was a supporter of the Toki, and to this day my family is still a staunch supporter of the Toki government, and all my life I have been the only one in my family to realize the fatal flaws in this government, yet I still love them all. I don't want them to be hurt."
Zack gazed at her. "I understand."
Memories of his life flashed through his head. His mother. Although many times during his childhood he had hated her and secretly had wished for her to die, when she was actually shot by a Toki military official for no particular reason, he had realized how much he loved his mother. He had almost killed the officer, even at that young age.
He took Fuuko's hand. "Fuuko, we can find a way to destroy the city hall without blowing it up and causing damage to entire town. We can use magic. I can use my Apocalypse, Cat can use her Thunder, Adrian can use his fire, and Breanna can use her Earth magic."
Fuuko looked up at him through her tears. "And I can use my Claw of Wind. But things are not all solved. I still feel so alone."
Zack gazed at her tenderly. "You have Arrow, and you have us," he said. "Let's go back to the others now."
Fuuko looked at him with a balmy expression for a long time, and then she broke into a grin. "Don't you want a drink, Zack?"
Zack grinned. "You know me so well in such a short time."
* * *
"Do you know what time it is?" Zaria demanded. "We should have just come back to the hotel right away instead of letting our clothes dry first!"
Zeth sighed. "But Zaria, coming in sopping wet would have been very suspicious. And don't forget, tomorrow morning we leave at the crack of dawn. Richard Toki will probably wake up around then, and if we're still here, we're in trouble!"
Zaria nodded. She took the key to the room and opened the door. She stepped in ready to flop down on her bed, but then stopped short.
"Zeth, why does this room only have one bed? One small bed?"
Zeth's face reddened. "They only had this room left."
Zaria lifted her brow. "Well then, we can both sleep on the bed then. We're both very tired. Just do it and don't make a big deal of it, Zeth."
"But, Zaria," Zeth protested.
Zaria lifted her hands up. "I don't want to hear it," she said, cutting him off with a tone that left no room for argument. She climbed into the bed and scooted over to the edge, barely keeping herself from falling off. "Just sleep," she ordered.
Okay, so that was it for the second chapter! Hope you liked it better than the first, trust me, as the character development starts setting in and you get into the story, you will like it more so please keep on reading! Oh, and I'm not updating all my finished chapters so far until I get some reviews so please review! As of now I've finished about half my story but posted only about a fourth.