Birthday Chapter time

/*-*/

Yugo rolled on the icy ground as Carl slammed his sword into the ground. Yugo dropped a portal at his feet, and dropped behind the beast, before raising his hands to fire a Wakfu beam. Before the portal, opened however, Carl's tail wrapped around Yugo's arms, binding them together.

"HIYAH!" Nora shouted as she jumped out from behind an ice crystal and punched Carl's left ribcage.

"WYRAH." Carl laughed, before grabbing Nora's arms and slamming the two of them together. Carl then threw Nora into the ice crystal she was hiding behind, before throwing Yugo.

Yugo soared through the air, recovering at the last minute and opening a portal to catch himself. He looked behind him to see Nora stuck in a shattered crystal, "Why aren't you using your portals?"

Nora coughed, "Why aren't you using- shut up. Not all of us have crazy powers."

Yugo, rather than getting mad, asked, "What do you mean, Qilby could use portals, and Chibi has the basics."

Nora turned red with embarrassment, "Yeah, well I don't."

Yugo was so caught up in the conversation he failed to notice thee hand reaching through the portal at his feat, "Of course yo-" He felt his leg get jerked to the side as he was thrown through a portal into Carl's fist.

Asis shouted from his desk, his quill in his right hand, and the shrunk book in the left, "Stay focused! The slightest loss of concentration can be more deadly than any sword."

Yugo picked himself up off the ground, "Easy for you to say, why don't you try fighting him?"

Carl suddenly jerked his hands, shaking his horned head.

Asis looked up for a brief moment from the book, "Pray you never see me fight seriously, because your world is surely doomed if I have to."

Well that's pretty gloomy Yugo thought, kind of concerned by what he meant from that statement.

Asis returned to the book, writing another note on the paper, "Continue."

Yugo stood side by side with Nora, passing her a glance, "You wanna try a one-two combo."

Nora glared at Carl, " Sure, your portal and my fists?"

"I'm pretty sure that's all we can do." Yugo said with a laugh.

"Go." Nora said, surging forward, leaving Yugo to try and catch up. He opened a portal in front of Nora just before Carl's sword struck the ice, and opened the exit above Carl's head, dropping a confused Nora who flailed in between Carl's spikes on his back.

"What the heck Yugo! We didn't agree to drop me on his head!" Nora shouted as Carl began to shake himself, throwing Nora off.

"We didn't agree on anything except to attack, I didn't kno-" Yugo felt Carl's fist go through a portal into his stomach. Yugo spat up saliva and what he was pretty sure was left over breakfast. He crawled to his feet, and got in a fighting stance as Nora was launched onto the cold floor in front of Yugo.

Carl let out a howl before surging forward with his sword drawn.

"That's enough!" Asis shouted, standing up.

Carl stopped dead in his tracks.

Yugo lowered a hand to help Nora up, which she took. The two walked over the Spring of Life, the silence and tension between them was growing. Yes it was nice to have an Eliatrope to train with, but at the same time, the two were butting heads so much that a rivalry was more likely than a friendship.

Yugo dipped in the water, and the bruises and cuts began to heal. Unfortunately his outfit was not part of his body, and the tears were starting to show. Heck, Yugo was missing the shoulder strap to his vest. Yugo climbed out of the bowl, and Nora climbed in.

He quickly dried off, feeling pure as could be. The only problem was he felt like he was being watched.

Yugo turned around to see Nora whistling off into space. Her dark skin began to close the cuts on her face. She was pretty, he couldn't deny that, but a little too viscous for Yugo. Her eyes glanced down at Yugo with a bit of disdain, before she crawled out of the bowl. If things kept up like this, they would kill each other before the world could be saved.

Nora walked past Yugo, glancing over her shoulder to look at him, still not saying a word. What was her deal?

Yugo finally decided for himself to mend what ever rift was building between them, "Hey Nora!'" Yugo called out, running up to her.

"What do you want?" Nora asked, slightly exasperated.

Yugo had to stop for a moment, and think, "Uh could you hold out your hand for a second."

Nora took a step back, "Uh, no thank you."

Yugo looked her dead in the eye, "Please, hold out your hand."

When she saw he was serious, she complied, "Ok, now what?"

Yugo grabbed her elbow, and straightened her arm out, causing Nora to tense up, "What are you doing?"

Yugo pressed his hand against hers to flatten out Nora's palm, before walking beside her, "Ok, now run Wakfu through your arm."

Nora growled, "I don't have time to-"

"Just do it." Yugo said in an unyielding voice.

Nora sighed, breathing in, as Yugo held her arms straight. Nothing.

Yugo pushed up against her, straightening out her arm even more, "Come on, try again. Run the Wakfu through your palm."

She did so, and ag-

For the briefest moment, a pink portal flashed open. She let out a laugh, "Ha ha, I did."

Yugo nodded with a smile.

"So history repeats itself." Asis said walking into the hallway.

Yugo asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Asis smiled, "Nothing. Yugo, Nora catch."

He tossed them both clothes that were almost identical to the ones they first wore here.

"When did you-" Yugo started.

Asis smiled, "Oh, I've been working on that since day one of training. It's a little hobby of mine. You'll find the cloth is weighted, to ensure extra muscle growth, and resistant to cuts and burns."

Yugo stretched the vest out with his hands. It was a little darker yellow, like a dandelion color, than his original vest.

Asis scratched the back of his head, "I couldn't get the color right, I tried for four hours mixing dyes, but I got it as close as I could."

"When did you learn to knit?" Nora asked, spinning around in her dress, which was actually identical to her original one.

"A long time ago, the same time I learned to smith, but after I learned to garden." Asis smiled, placing his fists to his side.

"Aha." Nora nodded nonchalantly, "Well, thank you very much for the new clothes."

The vest certainly felt heavier, bit it was better than going bare-chested against Carl.

Asis clapped his hands, "Alright, now come with me."

Yugo and Nora followed Asis into a room with several dragon-like creatures. They had various colored scales, ranging from brown to green to white and gold. They walked as bipeds, with talons resembling human hands, but with the claws allotted to dragons. Their heads were like Adamai's, but narrower and more defined, with a snout that stretched out several inches. Their chests were bulky and muscular under a layer of a scales.

Asis called out, "Chino?"

One of the creatures, having green scales, stretched wings out of his back and flew in front of Asis, before kneeling.

"Yes, my lord?" Chino fiercly stated, "How may I be of service?"

Asis smiled, "I want you to get these two to strong enough and fast enough to deal with a Faceless."

Chino paused, before his body began to rumble. He then let out a roar of laughed, "These two, a faceless. You sure are an excellent comedian, my lord."

His laughter continued as Asis maintained his smile.

Chino's laughter became more forced and less enthusiastic as Asis continued to stare at him.

Finally, Chino gave up on the laughter, "You're serious?"

Yugo wasn't sure what was so funny.

Asis nodded slowly, "I am deadly serious." His unwavering smile was eerie, like He had foreseen Chino's reaction.

Chino's eyes looked a little fearful for some reason, "I will work right away, come on eliatropes!"

Yugo followed Chino, looked back at Asis who grinned, giving a helpful wave.

Chino called out to Yugo, "Training begins now!"

Yugo turned as a boulder about Yugo's height and width was tossed at him.

Chino shouted as Yugo barely managed to avoid getting crushed by it, "Hold that up for Four hours!"

Yugo turned to Nora, who appeared to be having an easier time. His mind quickly forced him to not focus on anything but the boulder.

/*-*/

"SO there you have it," Otomai bowed his head in sorrow, "The raids have been getting worse."

Evangeline and Percedal glanced at each other.

Dally had fierceness in his eyes, "So what you are saying is that there is a weird shadow monster causing havoc with other shadow monsters, and Amy needs our help."

Otomai looked up to see Percedal's darkened face, "I mean, I guess if you want to simplify the situation, then yes."

Percedal jumped up, "Haha, I was getting tired of all this lazing around. Hear that Eva, we get to be legends again. Legends! Legends! Legends!" He kept repeat that word before saying, "I can't wait to tell Elely an-"

Evangeline cut him off, "Now, hold up. I understand that Amalia needs our help, and no amount of reasoning is going to stop us from going, But the kids will stay here! This is too dangerous for them, and I won't let them get hurt just because you wanted a family adventure."

"But Eva-" Dally started.

"No buts!" Eva stamped her foot down, "I don't care if you beg me, I won't have our kids get hurt."

Percedal sighed, "Oh fine, you're no fun. But because you're no fun, you get to tell Elely."

Eva's face looked panicked, she'd forgotten about Elely. Floppin would be a good boy and understand, but Elely was too much like her father in his younger years. Telling Elely ' it is too dangerous ' wouldn't deter her one bit. It might even bolster her resolve.

Dally stood with a happy face, thinking he had won. Eva would be a Iop's uncle before she let that slide. "Elely, Flopin!" She called outside.

The children stopped chasing each other, and ran up to the front porch, Ogrest in tow. The thought that such a cute little creature would be the cause of the world's disasters would be playing tag with her children was far too humorous to ignore.

Sir Pere-fool was sitting there with his smug smile, thinking Elely was going to come with him.

"Mommy and Daddy have to go see Amalia, ok?" Eva said calmly.

Elely immediately jumped up, "OH, what's up, is it monsters?" Technically correct. "Or disasters?" Also not wrong. "The World at Risk?!" She must have really good ears.

Eva looked at Dally, who's face said Go on Evangeline, tell her.

Eva smiled back, "Amalia is having trouble deciding on a dress for her birthday ball, and she wants her closest friends to help her decide. Nothing too big, although, We do need someone to help carry the luggage."

Elely recoiled in disgust, "Uh, no way, can I stay here?"

Eva smiled, "I don't know, you might have fun."

"No thanks mom, you can have all the fun." Elely waved her hand dismissively.

Evangeline shrugged, her victorious smile plastered on her face, " Well then you'll have to stay here with Otomai and Ogrest."

Otomai jerked his head to look at her, "What?"

Ogrest, on the other hand, jumped for joy, " Haha more play time."

Otomai looked at Evangeline, "I have deliveries to make-"

"Which you can do after we are done." The Cra demanded.

Otomai sighed, "Oh well, I was meaning to spend more time with Ogrest any-"

The kids were already gone, playing in the fields once again.

Dally looked at Eva in horror, "that was cheating."

"No it wasn't. Come on Dally." Evangeline said. The two drank their recall potions.

They were transported to the throne room of King Sharam Shar, with Amalia standing to her father's left, and Armond standing to his father's right.

Ruel teleported beside them, a look of trouble on his face.

Amalia let out a sigh of relief, "Oh thank goodness Eva, Percedal, Ruel and…." No one else teleported in.

Ruel sighed, "Alibert told me that the village was attacked by a strange masked creature several days ago. People described a person looking like Yugo fighting it to protect the village. No one has found any trace of him since that night."

Amalia looked shocked, horrified, hurt, "What are you saying?"

Ruel looked up, "I think the monster got him. That's why I'm here, to help out while I still can, and do one last adventure in his honor."

Amalia's horror intensified as she closed her eyes, tears threatening to spill out, before opening them with determination, "He's not dead. The Yugo we know wouldn't die to some monster. He's alive, and He might need a little rest, but Yugo will join us when the time is right."

Amalia needed some comfort, so Eva stepped forward, "That's right Amalia, and we will help in anyway we can until he gets here."

Dally groaned, "That lucky guy got to fight the monster before me? Oh I am so giving him a hard time for that."

"Aye, And the fact that he's still making an old man like me work, is absolutely ridiculous, I'll actually charge him this time for making me wait!" Ruel growled.

Amalia stood up, "Thank you all, now lets go out and save the world again!"

Armond spoke up as they left, "I didn't approve this!"

King Sharam Shar placed a hand on his son's shoulder, "Let them go, they aren't children anymore, are they."

Armond watched as his sister, who had turned into a fine, strong young woman, went with her friends to save the kingdom, once again.

/*-*/

"Come on Nora, you got this." Adult Yugo encouraged, watching as little Nora's hands began to glow.

She grit her teeth, and flexed her arms, but nothing came out. Nora let out an exasperated growl , before throwing her arms down.

She looked up at her new mentor, "I'm sorry, I just can't. I'm just a stupid little girl who got lucky. Glib was right."

Yugo sighed, "Glib is right about a lot of technical things, but when it comes to practical knowledge, He's the dumbest there is."

Nora looked shocked as Yugo approached her, that he would talk in such a way about a member of the council of twelve.

Yugo could see she was exhausted, so he looked at the rock pile that he had asked her to move with her portals, and opened one palm. A beam flew out and blew up the rocks, leaving an awestruck Nora.

"That was so cool!" She cried out.

"You can do it too, but first you need to get making portals down pat." Yugo explained, before coming up with an idea, "Adamai!"

His dragon brother landed with a loud thump, "Yes Yugo?"

"Lets go for a fly." Yugo asked, grabbing Nora and dropping the both of them on the back of the great dragon. Efrim joined them.

Adamai soared off of the ground, rising higher, and Nora watched with awe as town and forest began to shrink from view.

They climbed higher, and Nora saw the beautiful clouds, which looked like she could nap on.

They soared even higher, until Nora saw the stars.

So beautiful, each of them shining so bright, surrounded by wispy colors and what looked like space clouds.

Nora could have never imagined such a beautiful world existed.

Yugo smiled, "I guess this is high enough."

Nora looked up as Yugo rose to stand on Adamai's back, wrapping his arms around Nora.

"What are you doing?" She asked, panicked at the thought she had.

"Come on, we got to get aback on the ground somehow." Yugo stated, walking over to the side of Adamai's neck, "Let's take the quick route."

"Wait no please!" She shouted as they plummeted head first downward.

They fell past the clouds, and Nora shouted, "Yugo help! Please!"

No response and they continued to plummet. She was going to be a grease stain on the ground.

"Yugo, Please stop this!" She shouted, and He moved a little, but she couldn't hear what he was saying.

She stretched her arms outs, desperate to soften the fall, and closed her eyes waiting for the inevitable.

She felt a sudden jolt, and opened her eyes, to find herself sitting right side up, with Yugo still having his arms wrapped around her.

She jumped out of his arms, "What was that, I was scared, and…and worried…and-"

"Thrilled?" Yugo said with a smile.

Nora stopped. Indeed, the that was an amazing rush that filled her body.

Yugo smiled, "I told you that you could do it."

Nora was really, really mad now, "You were going to kill us both to prove that?"

"No, If I started to have doubts, I would have caught us." Yugo said with a smile.

Nora took a deep breath, "I guess that was…kinda fun."

Yugo smiled, "Of course it was. I love those thrills in life, Adamai and I live for them."

Nora frowned.

Yugo stood up, "Well, I got you started, now you get to discover the full extent of your powers." He teleported away, Adamai following with his wings.

This left Nora, both proud and lonely.