Mark stayed in place on that thin, high pillar in the sky, above all the clouds with the hot, blazing sun right in his face, his whole body perspiring. Barely would he get a breeze that comforted him as he stood straight up, afraid to move because of the fragile pillar he was balancing his weight on. I need a way to get down, he thought. But how?
All of a sudden, there was a loud rumbling below. Oh god, please don't let that be the pillar. Lucky for him, it wasn't. The rumbling became closer and closer to him, until Mark saw the Earth Council, Kanadou rise up on a large, rocky platform that seemed so much more comfortable than the sliver of ground and rock Mark was standing on.
"Hey, how're you doing up there?" Kanadou asked, his face covered in that black-white mask, the eyeholes of the thin mask piercing like an arrow.
"Hmph," Mark scoffed. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, closed his eyes in disgust and faced the other direction, his spiky front of his brown hair swaying softly in the hot, humid air. "What's it to you?" he mumbled grumpily.
"Sorry if I'm giving you a hard time. Why don't you deal with it like every other bad thing that happens in life? This is just a fraction of what I could do to you, boy," Kanadou said in that high, rising platform of his, his arms crossed as well, his devious stare tricky and untrustworthy.
Mark reopened his eyes and turned to face Kanadou again. "Oh, shut up, I don't need a lecture from someone like you," he told him, grumbling his words out. "In fact, I don't need you at all," Mark stated as he had a brilliant idea, looking at the wide space Kanadou had right now to move around.
Mark shifted his weight on that rocky skyscraper above the clouds, ready to jump off that slender tower and onto the platform where he had more space to move around once he knocked Kanadou off of it. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kanadou said, reading Mark's movements. "This platform I'm standing on has only enough strength to hold my weight. An ounce more and it'll crash down to the floor."
Mark rebalanced his weight and smirked with another brilliant idea in mind. "Is that so?" he asked, rummaging through his pockets to find a balled up paper napkin he had forgotten to thrown out a long time ago. Using the least amount of energy required, he dropped the paper ball onto the platform, trying to force Kanadou to fall all the way back down the rocky plains.
At the same time of Mark's trick, Kanadou leaped off the platform, the paper ball replacing his weight and his body in midair. But all was not lost, since another earth platform from below raced up to support Kanadou, new and more capable.
No longer needed, the first platform crashed down below, first bits and pieces of it falling off, and the whole thing collapsing, making dust fly in every direction. "Yeah," Kanadou told Mark with his arms crossed tighter, his council robes swaying freely in the air, his body not as sweaty and hot as Mark's was. The sun soon became blinding, and Mark soon became tired. "If you really think that you can beat me by solely relying on your physical skills in hand to hand combat, you're wrong. Don't underestimate your enemy. You think White Cloak will fall victim to your kicks and punches? No," Kanadou stated truthfully, his voice strict and loud enough for Mark to hear. "So now, come at me like the Earth Minor that you really are!" Kanadou declared.
With one motion of his hands, Kanadou sent three whipping pillars from the back of his platform and knocked Mark off the pillar in the sky, pushing him downward and crashing into the ground with a loud clatter.
Kanadou jumped off his place on the platform which began to sink down into its place below again. His robes fluttered loudly in the uprising air as Kanadou fell back down on his feet, his shoes landing with a click. The loud echo of his shoes' presence on the floor sent two more pillars flying towards Mark's direction, his body surely flat on the floor with crumbled crags of rocks with his limbs tired out and his chest bruised thanks to the downfall the first attack caused him.
Far away, Mark stood up, surprised that he could even move after falling from such an altitude. He saw two more pillars in the distance stretch closer, ready to cause more pain for him. Well, it's not going to happen this time, he thought. He pounced his hands against the ground, and with a large echo, clay from the rocky floor began to surround him in a half sphere, also covering him in darkness. The peaceful ebony that surrounded Mark felt cold against his skin, cooling the sweat off his body. He breathed heavily, the sounds of inhaling and exhaling echoing off the spherical dome around him and bouncing back to him to ring in his ears repeatedly like a whispering ghost.
Outside, the rock pillars inch closer and closer with great force and broke into the dome easily, making the still wet clay fly everywhere like sand and grabbing after Mark, breaking his only shield like it was a paper shell.
In order to dodge the attack, Mark jumped up from the clay, dodging the wild rock snakes with no heads. "You want more earth? You've got it!" he declared, punching his fist into the ground. In reply, the ground shook wildly for two seconds and rising pillars about five feet tall began racing and emerging like missiles, staying in their place like a silent, sad monument for every sorrowful and grieved memory every person on earth had to carry on their back for the rest of their life. They rose up with such force; it shook the ground with every rising.
The attack inched closer and closer in Kanadou's direction. They were only one pillar away when Kanadou stopped the attack in its tracks, breaking the pillars closest to him one by one like a line of exploding dominos. "Come on," Kanadou pleaded. "Where's your sense of creativity? Let me tell you something. There's nothing more to the Earth Element tan creativity and how you use it by your side in certain situations," he lectured.
Mark stood up on his feet, knowing that his attack failed, he listened carefully but reluctantly. "So let me make you a deal," Kanadou continued. "I'll say that you've won this fight if you can survive this one last attack."
"Really?" Mark asked with wide eyes and disbelief. "No way," he muttered under his breath. "Okay, this'll be easy then, no problem," Mark scoffed with a snobby smirk, happy to have an opportunity to get the fight over with.
He's overconfident, Kanadou thought in his mind as he gathered up the energy for the attack in his body. Ha, reminds me when I was young. Kanadou finished the energy preparations and clasped his hands together loudly, the echoing smack of the two palms impacting together bouncing off every rock and stone. Soon, rocks began to come from the ground, large ones and small, tiny ones. They arose from every direction thought possible to the human mind and merged together in front of Kanadou a few feet away from him.
They placed themselves into each other easily, like they had the plan all figured out on what to build, as if they were a Lego set. It absorbed more rocks and dirt like a magnet, the clattering of stone pieces and rocks together the only thing that could be heard in the desert. "Get ready…!" Kanadou yelled in an uprising voice. Mark watched carefully, shifting equal amounts of his weight to both his legs, ready to run in any direction.
If I at least dodge it, then this will be over. All over, Mark thought with too much self esteem, watching the rocks form carefully. They made a sort of dog-like figure. A huge one at that. It was at least forty feet high and sixty feet long with its width exceeding fifteen feet. As the very last pieces of rocks piled into it, Mark could finally see that it was a wolf made of rock, cracks spread throughout its body, showing the distinction between each rock used to make this half animal, half earth thing.
"What…What is that?" Mark mumbled under his breath in awe and fear.
"Chuuko Sabaku Gikou: Hakaisha Daichi Ookami! Old Desert Technique: Destroyer Plateau Wolf!" Kanadou shouted loudly, declaring the attack, if it could be considered one.
"That…That thing is the attack?!" Mark cried out as he stared up wide-eyed and wide-mouthed, staring at the gigantic beast that shone its presence in the rocky plains, growling with its cragged teeth made of triangular stones, its eyes glaring red like a demon of the rocks. It laid its shadow upon Mark, who continued to stare in fear, never glancing away, its humungous body blocking even the sun's light, the insolation framing the monster with a holy glow.
As Mark felt his hopes sink down to the depths of his body, he took a big gulp, trying to swallow down the panic. Boy, am I in for it, he thought, his body and limbs seeming frozen.
PoVS
Marissa and the Sound Council, Dirondo, were in the grassy plains with the hot, blazing sun casting its blanket of warmth around them as they fought rigorously, only using hand to hand combat combined with screeching sound as they made attacks on each other.
"You're pretty good," Dirondo said in her high, girly voice, brushing her long brown hair away. Dirondo's hair was pure brown, and two almost invisible strands of it hung from the front that was decorated with two beads on each one that rattled every time she made a sudden movement.
She blocked as the blonde girl made move after move on her, every contact with body parts echoing in a sound wave with elevated volume, each attack trying to deafen the opponent. "No, you're pretty good," Marissa complimented, attempting a sweep kick but missing.
No, really, you're good, Dirondo thought in her mind, knowing that Marissa could not hear her. She's mastered all the concepts of the sound element all ready. Everything out of everything. It's amazing how much she grew in such short notice. Wow…
"Sound Spinner!" Marissa declared as she held two spheres of circling sound waves a few feet away from Dirondo, merging the two balls together and forcing them out in a sort of twister.
"Volume Cutter!" Dirondo declared, stopping the attack in its tracks. "Listen," Dirondo said, stopping her readied movement, as if to call a tie.
"Huh? What? Don't you want to keep sparring? Its fun," Marissa told her excitedly, taking small breaths to recover it before she got tired.
"No, that's not it. The point of this exercise was to make you realize how the Sound Element works and how you can use it. But you all ready know all of it, so there's not much I can teach you now. All that's left for you is to develop your own attacks in your own style in whatever way works for you," Dirondo told her, causing Marissa to stop her readied pose as well, both of them finally relaxing only after a short while.
"Oh, I see," Marissa told her, looking disappointed that she couldn't show off a little more.
"Hah," Dirondo laughed. "I didn't realize you grew so much in your little time here," she told the blonde one. "So in that case, let's call it a tie, all right?" she asked with a friendly smile, Marissa giving one back. She reminds me so much of when I had my powers for the first time and learned how to use them. I think she'll do fine against White Cloak, Dirondo thought as she nodded her head to one side, sitting in the swaying grass. I wonder if she's the first one done. That'd be great if she were.
PoVS
He's really going all out on me, Walter thought, the surrounding, cold water filling every aspect of his clothing, his body slowly sinking into the pitch blackness everyone called deep underwater. And I'm pretty sure he's not going to let me get away from this lake, so what now? What can I do? Walter thought as he felt his lungs lose oxygen, about to burst, releasing tiny bubbles of air into the water.
Suddenly, Tsukansu came a few feet away from Walter, standing in the water as if he was being supported. His clothes swayed in the water and his face showed nothing but comfort in the cold, overtaking water. "If you going to beat me, you're going to have to learn something," he told Walter, who was listening but showed no reaction, his eyes half closed.
"And…what might that be?" Walter mumbled slowly, feeling the water drown him, his brain beginning to fill with the cold liquid.
"Why don't you figure it out? I'm sure you can. I know you're not going to give up on your life now," Tsukansu said, relating to something Walter didn't know he knew about, which is why Walter's eyes went wide witch shock. "Marine Snakes!" Tsukansu declared, his voice echoing through the water, his body seeming completely dry even though he was completely underwater.
As if out of nowhere, long, barely visible aquatic snakes raced towards Walter, who didn't seem like he cared whether or not what happened to him now. I never did care about myself and where my path of life lead, Walter realized. It's time to start caring then. First, I need a better way of getting around in this water. But what? Swimming is pointless.
All of a sudden, the idea came to him out of nowhere, causing his eyes to expand and dilate to half their size on their own. Got it! Walter thought. Just as the snakes were inching towards him, he flipped himself up in the water, the liquid bubbling around him. I have to get out of this water, he thought. The first snake missed him by inches and Walter places his foot on it, and then jumped off it with great force.
He used the Marine Snake as a jumping supporter! Which means… could he really have learned what I was talking about all ready?
Outside, Walter emerged from the blue green waters, still flying sky high like a missile, feeling the cold, fresh air rush through his freezing, soppy clothes. Also popping out of the lake like a missile, the last snake came at him, hissing its transparent tongue crazily in hunger.
It caught up to Walter's speed as gravity began to bring him back down, his body now crashing downward and back into the water, meeting the snake's body at some point. This is it. Now! he called upon himself. In midair, his body racing down like a raindrop, he turned and put his leg out until it made contact with the snake's long body, the shoe strongly striding down the slim body of the aquatic length, water rushing outward. "Marine Shatter!" he cried out as his hair fluttered against his forehead, touching it with its cool touch.
Soon, the shaft of the dangerous snake began to freeze and turn more solid-like. The whole thing began to turn into an ice sculpture and cracked wildly. At the same moment, Tsukansu rose from the water, his clothes and skin completely dry and warm, his eyes upon the falling body of Walter and the freezing pillar of his attack. "Maybe you have really learned the move after all," he mumbled as he stood carefully and fragile on the swaying lake's waters.
Just as Walter crashed into the water, he flipped around his body again, placing his feet on the water and taking the time to regain his energy from the hard fall. He strained to stand back up, his feet placed on the water just like Tsukansu's were. At the same time, the frozen snake shattered louder and louder, its body piecing off and falling into the water behind Walter.
The ice pieces plopped wildly like raining large pieces of hail. Walter stood there, arms crossed in front of him with a hard stare. "Is this what you were talking about? The thing I had to learn in order to beat you here?" Walter said, referring to his stance perfectly on the water, not stumbling or falling over like he would usually do before the fight.
"Fast learner," Tsukansu said, a bit proud, both of them facing each other as more of the ice crashed down into the water, plopping like a big water drop.
"Not really," Walter told him, his presence rushing away, his whereabouts unknown now. Tsukansu looked around for any sign of his position, but couldn't find one. This one could become trouble, Tsukansu thought in his mind as he continued searching frantically. "It wasn't that hard," Walter's voice reappeared along with his body, right next to Tsukansu, giving him a hard punch to the right side of his cheek, making him fall over and fly a few feet away.
Walter cracked his knuckles as he stood in place this time, making no attempt to go for another attack. "Only godly beings can walk on water, and neither you nor I are godly," Walter clearly stated. "But, on the other hand, any live thing can stand on ice. So by freezing the area of water covered by my feet, I can 'stand' on water. But when my feet move away, it quickly melts back into lake water."
"Then there's really not much I can teach you now, is there?" Tsukansu told Walter, standing back up on his feet, the hot sun slowly being covered up by the blue white clouds above. Tsukansu sent a blast of water to Walter's position, who dodged it easily by disappearing and reappearing quickly into the air.
As Tsukansu saw the chance, he breathed a whole thing of air and sent it out in an aquatic stream like he did when he was fighting White Cloak. I don't think White Cloak will take Walter down easily as long as he keeps practicing.
In midair, the attack came closer to him, but Walter inched away from it. "Marine Shatter!" he declared again, turning his body in midair and kicking the water, freezing it, then breaking it to little ice shards. "Nope, not much you can teach me now," Walter said, standing on a patch of ice he had frozen, standing up on it as it lifted him back to the ground gently and gracefully.
PoVS
Teresa hid behind a tree that barely gave her any support as she gripped the sides of her head tightly, her heart in panic and fear. Dust clouds surrounded everything behind her and branches and rocks flew in every direction. Her eyes shook as her heart felt like it was about to implode. I... I don't want to be here… Why am I here? Teresa asked herself over and over again.
Inside the cloud of dust and dirt, Minoa stood proudly against the sun's light wondering what to do with Teresa. Looks like we'll have trouble with this one, she thought in her mind as she appeared in front of the scared teenager, casting her shadow over her, flash jumping. "Why don't you use your powers?"
Teresa looked up to find the silver haired woman with pale, white eyes staring right at her, her hands still at her head's sides. "I…I can't," she replied, her voice shaking and trembling in fear.
"Yes, you can. Or else I'll force it out of you!" Minoa demanded, gathering her telekinetic energy into her finger and placing it on the girl's forehead, right away the girl being pushed back with a great force, crashing through the tree she desperately hid behind and pushing her all the way into the dusty middle of the forest.
She's resisting it, Minoa realized. She doesn't want it to take over her. But if she doesn't even use it a little, she's dead. "Force Wielded Whip!" Minoa declared as she gathered her force field energy into her right hand and making a thin whip emerge from it, slashing everything surrounding Minoa on its own. Minoa threw it in the cloud of smoke, the whip's hold gripping Teresa tightly so she wouldn't escape, and wrapping around her arms.
"Don't try to resist it. It'll cut you otherwise," Minoa told Teresa as the smoke cleared and revealed the struggling teenage girl with the violet hair. Teresa followed, but had a reluctant and angry expression tightened on her face. "So, I heard that you went on an outburst before with your powers," Minoa began a topic of conversation.
"So? How would you know?" Teresa grumbled angrily through gritted teeth, her hair disheveled and in front of her face.
"Because, it's happened to me before as well. Plus that's probably the reason why your arms are wrapped up in bandages. Using the force field power to an over-leveled extent will rip your skin off. That's why you have to learn how to control it. You want to pay back the lives you accidentally took at the mental institute incident, don't you?
Her eyes immediately went wide in shock after she heard that. "You…You know about that?" she asked, her body feeling weak.
"I know almost everything about you. Especially your ability to see spirits," Minoa told her, the whip still connecting the two people.
Teresa put a disdainful face on and stared hard at Minoa and gritted her teeth harder. "What…What would you know? What would you know about being locked up in a cage? What would you know about how I felt for the past three years and the hell I had to deal with because of my spirit sight? Huh?!" she yelled in despair, half crying, about to break down, her voice loud and angry with the emotion bottled inside of her she was forced to keep inside for so long.
Along with the strong emotion, purple energy began to outline her, her gritted teeth became empowered with more pressure, and her stare became narrow and glowed purple, a stressed look all over her body. The purple energy was overtaking, and with telekinetic force, Teresa knocked the constriction of the whip made of the same material used for the force field defense away from her, the whip drawn back in and disappearing.
"I know…" Minoa said softly, closing her narrowed eyes, as if gaining energy, her pale white stare being locked up. "Because I have it too!" Minoa declared as she reopened her eyes with much force, a black traced pentacle engraved in her eyes now, showing proof of what she was saying.
"W…What?" Teresa asked, confused, her voice cracking up and her eyes tearing with confusion.
"Let's see," Minoa began to explain, putting her five edged star engraved eyes away. "If you're the one right after me, that would make…" she paused for a minute as she did easy math in her head. "Ninety seven generations," she said as she put he stare on Teresa who was standing there, breathing hard, still confused.
"What…What are you talking about?" Teresa breathed heavily, unable to comprehend what Minoa was telling her.
"I'm saying that every ninety seven or so generations in your family has one child that has been given the power of spiritual sight. Because each one is so far apart, the past ones never get a chance to tell the one after them because they die by the time the next one is born," Minoa explained, making a few things clear to Teresa now, who was listening with wide eyes as the older woman explained everything to her. "So as a result, sometimes when they let the secret out, others call them crazy or something and they eventually get locked up in mental institutions, and sometimes, they believe it, since they don't know the truth. But because I am a Council Member, and I have been given eternal life, I can tell the next one. Which would be… you.'
"N-No way," Teresa replied in a stumbling voice and slanted eyes, ready to cry and break down.
"Now that you know the truth, get rid of the weakness in stability in your state of mind. It's only because of that is the reason that your powers can control and take over you so easily. You're not crazy. You're normal. So get it through that thick head of yours. Now, fight me!" Minoa declared. "Force-Wielded Lightning!" Minoa called upon, force field energy surrounding her hand, blasting and chirping towards Teresa like a claw.
"No," Teresa mumbled under her breath, somehow causing the lightning to stop in its tracks and get traced with telekinetic energy, then breaking apart, exploding from the inside. Teresa's eyes began to show no emotion and began to glow purple, just a slight indigo mixed with blue. That was all. "No…" she repeated. "How can I believe that… how can I believe that I am normal… when I can see spirits? Huh?! Tell me! How can I be normal!?!" she cried in despair, her voice roaring to the skies above.
She shut her eyes as she gripped her temples again, her body getting a major headache. "Tell me…!" he rasped out. When she reopened her eye, they were dark, neon purple, as if pure evil. Her hair began to defy the laws of gravity and float up in the air due to telekinesis. Everything around her began to get traced with purple and float up in the air. A large force field began to surround her and expand, slowly at first, but then wildly like back then when Jeremy was there to take it down. But now, Jeremy wasn't here, and there was no one who could save Minoa except herself.
"Shit!" Minoa cried out, creating one of the few times she cursed. Minoa made her own force field expansion around her. The two force fields fought each other with equal strength, not giving up. Her attack… it's as strong as mine, Minoa realized. But that's not supposed to happen. Minor's Powers are supposed to be one-one millionth (1/1,000,000) of the power of their original Free Spirit. Could it be… that they have the power to expand their limit? No way. That would mean that she's empowered her limit at least million-fold all ready. And that can't happen so fast. So what's really going on? Now, the only way to stop the force expansion of hers is…
Without finishing her thought, without closing her eyes, her stare began to glow wildly purple as well, the seal she put deep inside the corners of her mind cracking. No! Not good! Minoa thought as she felt her hold on the power release.
The two opposing forces continued to fight each other, trying to push each other back but failing. Bits and pieces of rocks and dust and branches began floating around them. I've got to…. Minoa thought in her mind. I've got to… before I lose control…!
Minoa's hair soon began to defy laws of gravity as well, and everything in the scene was outlined with purple. Even the purple outlines were outlined with purple. Slowly, inside Teresa's dome, a slab of rock began to lift with Minoa's telekinesis, and then swung wildly at the side of her head, knocking Teresa out, causing her attack to finish. She lay on her side now, her eyes closed and mind unconscious.
Minoa cancelled her attack off as well, sitting on the floor, trying to deal with the cracked seal in her head. Damn it, I have a headache. Not good… Minoa thought as she took deep breaths, in and out, in and out. At this rate, we can't continue on with the match, Minoa realized in her mind, her head feeling woozy, forcing her to close her right eye, her left eye squinting at Teresa to make sure she was unconscious. We can't have another outburst like that again...
PoVS
In the hot, half desert, half plains, the giant of a wolf growled loudly, its voice echoing off everything it could find, Kanadou, the creator of it right by it, ready to give command. "Deal is a deal, right, Mark?" Kanadou asked wistfully as the brown earth wolf growled hungrily.
Mark, who was still standing there, gulped another panicked knot down his throat. Damn… I'm in deep trouble now, he thought. "Fine then," Mark said, closing his eyes, getting rid of the fear. "Let's try this," he said, forcing his hands down on the ground. "Hell stabber!" he said as he leaned in towards the ground, putting more pressure on it through the palms of both his hands.
As a reaction, large spikes of rock and clay emerged from the ground, making it uneven, stabbing the whole area of where the wolf was. The spikes stabbed into its chest, its legs, and even its head, but in the end, all the wolf had to do was step on the pointy spikes and the attack would be over.
"Damn," Mark muttered under his breath. The wolf, angry and disturbed, leaped into the air and tried to land right into Mark. Mark, being cautious, jumped away from the attack as the wolf's shadow came in closer and finally crashing with a loud boom, blowing dust in every direction, Mark having to cover his eyes with his arm just so he wouldn't get anything in his eye. How do I do this? Mark thought in his mind. Then, all of a sudden, he remembered Kanadou's words.
"There's nothing else to the Earth Element than imagination."
Imagination, huh? Then let's start from scratch about what I can do with my element. Mark closed his eyes, pushing away all worries in his mind and developing a new, fresh idea he could call his own.
"What's the matter? Give up all ready? If you're going to be like that, you're not going to last five seconds when White Cloak comes after you to take your life," Kanadou provoked, disturbing Mark's thoughts.
"Shut up," was all Mark told him with his eyes still closed, his mind focusing. When Mark reopened his eyes, his glare shone with a sense of a brilliant idea that lay in his hands, ready to be used. He clasped his hands together and charged up his energy. Soon, brown glowing energy surrounded him, overtaking his whole body with constant release of earth control.
Looks like he finally understands, but it looks like it's going to be too late now, Kanadou thought. "Go, wolf!"
The wolf growled and roared in its throat, the echoing cry bouncing inside it. With a forceful leap, the gigantic wolf jumped up in the air, blocking the sunlight, the bright light framing its body. The animal made of earth cast its shadow upon Mark, who was still focusing and pouring more energy out that surrounded him.
Soon, dust began to surround Mark like a growing shield. The dust seemed to spin and churn, and then turned into a sort of tornado. It gathered dust along with it, and sand as well. The tornado grew and grew around him until Kanadou could no longer see him, and the hot, dry air swirled around it. It grew so big, that it towered into the air like the widest, tallest building ever known to man.
With its shadow painted on the swirling, thick, brown tornado, the wolf closed in on it, falling right into the tornado and seemed to fit perfectly in it. "That's not going to stop my attack!" Kanadou yelled, his voice swirling into the air, having to yell over the howling winds.
Inside the tornado, the demonic wolf roared and cried out, the cracks in its body covering it like a paint job or design. Earth spikes began to protrude from it that were made of clay, protruding out of the tornado's outside, stopping the swirling and rotation a little. The tornado, being to weak to stop the wolf, fell victim to its falling inertia as the wolf covered in completely, crashing into the floor as stones clattered upward, the sand and dust weak now and laying limp on the floor.
I guess he was better off dead, Kanadou thought as the howling winds stopped and his clothes fluttered back to a normal pace. The other Minors will be disappointed though, now that one of the Base Element Minors has been killed by its own Council Counterpart. "Let's go, wolf," Kanadou said as he turned around to face the direction of the Inner World's Center Building, otherwise known as the place where the Council and Jeremy lived. When Kanadou's "pet" didn't answer him or give any reply, Kanadou became worried and wondered what was wrong. He turned back around to find the earth wolf staying stationary, giving no reaction whatsoever and as if it was becoming weak in power. "What's going on? What's wrong?" Kanadou asked, his voice a little panicky and worried.
"It can't move," a familiar voice came into the picture.
"Wha- you!" Kanadou mumbled, surprised in a forced, choked voice as he looked to the side of the Wolf and found Mark, standing right next to it as if not worried that it was going to do anything at all to him. "You're still alive?"
"Yeah. I'm not stupid, you know," Mark told Kanadou, leaning on one of the wolf's legs, the giant monster still trembling as if it were scared, its face frozen in a narrowed stare, now weak and looking like it was about to hurl.
"What did you do to it?" Kanadou demanded, his face underneath the mask looking panicky.
"Take a closer look, and maybe you'll find out," Mark told him, pointing towards the spot underneath the wolf where it had landed. Kanadou followed Mark's direction and found a hole in the ground and sand spilled all over the place. There were also bits and pieces of gray stone that were formed into body parts. Kanadou could find an arm, a leg, and a head.
"What's the meaning of this?" he asked as he continued to stare at the darkened objects, all shaded in tone thanks to the wolf's shadow. Then he took a look at the wolf, which was still trembling in pain. Then, Kanadou saw it. Coming from the cracks in the wolf's body, was sand. It spilled out in a rush, landing on the floor from the cracked openings of the earth-molded dog. "S-Sand?" Kanadou muttered out in disbelief, still a bit confused.
"Yeah. If you still can't figure it out, let me tell you," Mark said, deciding that for a council member, he was taking too long to comprehend even a simple trick. "The purpose of my sandstorm from before wasn't to take apart your wolf. It was to fill it up with sand through the cracks in its body. If I did that, I knew the sand would fill up its joints, and as a result, it will no longer be able to move. But even after that, I wasn't safe from its attack. So I used Lesson One. You remember it, don't you? You told it to me, anyway."
"W-What?" Kanadou replied, still pretty much shocked.
"You see those bits of rock over there?" Mark said, pointing to the bits of statue lying beneath the wolf. "While you couldn't see me because I was enveloped in the tornado, I punched a hole in the ground and got in it, then made a stone copy of myself to continue the rest. But even more important, now that I beat your attack, I guess that means I win, does it now?" Mark asked with much pride.
"Hmph. Fine…" Kanadou replied, trying to pretend that he didn't care. Kanadou began to walk back to the Inner World's Center Building as Mark cheered because of his victory, jumping up in the air like a wild rabbit.
PoVS
Jeremy was completely surrounded in darkness. He sat on his bed, his back against the wall with his body curled up into a ball. He looked at the gold, brazen locket and thought about what Tsukansu had told him that day.
"It can do so much more than just track the whereabouts of Minors."
I wonder what… His thought was interrupted. "Agh!" he cried out as he felt a sharp pain in his mind, the hurt overpowering. He dropped the locket onto the floor and it clattered on the plaster ground with a clink, Jeremy unsure of whether it was broken or not, the lid of the shield-like jewelry wide open.
Jeremy gripped his temples tightly, feeling a huge migraine come towards him, hearing something roar deep inside the depths of his emotions and his mind. What…What is that? He thought, his mind struggling to get any thoughts out. The migraine continued and the roars and fearful cries echoed continuously. This headache… it's so intense… it's not…normal…! Jeremy continued to struggle out his thoughts.
He fell over to his side, his forehead feeling hot and feverish. He cried out in despair and agony as the headache began to take over him and the deep echoes and roars took over his hearing. Then, it soon began to wear off and die out, as if it were nothing to a kindled flame. The migraine and mind pain died away and Jeremy's thoughts became clear again. The roaring deep in his mind killed itself, the overpowering screeches gone now.
Jeremy took deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling over and over again, and picked up the locket from the floor weakly. Thankfully it wasn't broken, but if the locket could really do anything, Jeremy hoped that it would tell him just what was going on with his body lately as he held it against his chest, trying to find some hope. What the hell? He thought. His breaths were getting heavier and heavier. He didn't know whether or not to be scared of himself or not now. Am I going crazy? Just…who am I?