Chapter 9
Icy Tragedy
Shocked. It was the only way to describe the faces of everyone, after Aklase had finished her story of the strange place with the strange dark her.
Aklase looked at all their faces. "You guys know something that I don't. What is it?"
Jawwie cleared her throat. "The person you described sounds a lot like this…thing that was happening to Alaska."
"Thing?"
"She turned into that dark thing you're talking about whenever we were in trouble and kicked ass." Npm explained.
"So it DID help her, though?" Aklase pressed.
War and Npm nodded while Jawwie made a face.
"Well…", She began, "Alaska had some doubts about turning into that thing because it used dark magic but as far as I saw everything went ok."
"You said it ran away right before you were brought back here." War said thoughtfully. "Why did it run?"
"You think it had to do with Jawwie's power?" Npm raised an eyebrow.
"Why would it be afraid of my power?" Jawwie asked, a slightly smug tone in her voice at finally becoming Jawwie the Healer.
"I don't-" Aklase stopped. She was staring at the hospital wall. Her friends looked at her strangely and followed her gaze.
Ice was beginning to form on the wall. How? They were in a very hot desert. So why was there ice forming on the walls?
The ice was only forming in one place, slowly turning into an ice circle. It finally finished, a perfect circle of ice that could fit into the palm of her hand.
The four friends stared at it. Aklase knew exactly what this thing was. She felt the exact same feeling she felt when the first element shot across the sky. This was the next sign to get to the next element.
"Touch it." War looked at Npm who made a face.
"I'm not touching it, you touch it."
"This is coming from two guys.." Jawwie rolled her eyes.
Aklase looked at her legs and then looked back at the thing with a frown. "I would touch it but…"
"I'll touch it then!" Jawwie snapped at them in annoyance. "Bunch of babies…" She muttered under her breath.
Aklase watched as Jawwie walked up to the object and slowly touched it lightly with her index finger.
The thing immediately lunged for her and gripped itself on her hand, slowly beginning to freeze it.
Jawwie let out a surprised shriek and slammed her hand against the wall. "Get it off!" She demanded to no one in particular. "Kill it!"
The two guys began to crack up laughing and Aklase had to stop herself from laughing at how stupid Jawwie looked right now too.
War finally stopped laughing and walked over to her. "Ok, ok, hold still." He ordered her through an amused tone, grabbing her to steady to her. He touched the thing trying to get it off and it attached to his hand.
His eyes widened and he let out a high pitch girly shriek. "IT'S BITING ME! DUDE, GET IT OFF!" He yelled as he stumbled over to Npm, flailing his arms.
"Ok, hold still!" Npm grabbed his arm and the ice thing jumped onto his arm next. "OH MY GOD! GET IT-"
"Just bring it over here!" Aklase snapped at him. This was getting old. Npm stumbled over to her and she let the thing jump onto her arm. She didn't panic as the thing spread out on her arm. She only whispered, "Hey there. Do you have a message for us?" She asked the…ice.
The other three looked at her as if she just got up from the bed and did a jig.
The thing suddenly leaped from her arm and landed on the ground, causing War, Npm, and Jawwie to jump back in alarm.
The ice began to spread out, bigger and bigger, until it started to form letters. Aklase looked at it closely from where she sat on the bed and squinted as she tried to read it. "Ice…" She began.
"Cave…" Jawwie continued as she read the ice words.
"Ern." Npm finished.
"Ice Cavern!" War shouted.
"It wants us to go to the Ice Cavern under Mudskipper Point." Jawwie realized.
"Great! Let's go." Aklase said enthusiastically.
The three looked at the ground at her words. She looked at them in confusion. "What?"
"Well…" Npm muttered.
"You…" Jawwie scratched her head.
"Your ass is broken." War said bluntly.
She looked at him in surprise. "My ASS is?"
"No!" Jawwie snapped, shoving War into a wall." He means you can't walk right now because your leg is broken. Nurses orders."
"But what about the element?" Aklase's voice came out in a whine.
"There's three of us. We can get it." Npm shrugged.
"What if it's MY element?" She raised an eyebrow.
"…" He didn't reply.
Jawwie sighed in defeat. "She's right you know. There needs to be the four of us. We aren't called The Three anymore. Besides, Aklase can sense where the element is better than we can."
"Be that as it may, how do you expect we get her there?" War turned to Jawwie. "I'm not carrying her on my back."
"I'm not a cripple you know." Aklase snapped at them. "I can walk." She tried to get off from the bed but Npm quickly barred her way.
"The nurse said to stay off your feet." He said firmly. "You may act like a leader in everything else that goes on, but this time you have to listen to me. She said to STAY OFF YOUR FEET."
She glared at him. "Npm, I came back to LIFE. I experienced the pain of murder and I'm here now. Do you really think I can't handle a scrape on my left leg?" She stared steadily at him, daring him to object.
He held her gaze for a moment before looking away. "Did you really have to bring that up?"
Aklase shook her head fondly. She knew that Npm still beat himself up for leaving her to die without him giving any help whatsoever just because of a fight between them. "So you understand?"
"Yes he understands, we all understand, can we just move this along?" War said impatiently.
Npm nodded and backed off as Aklase slowly heaved herself on her feet. She clenched her teeth in slight pain as she tested her leg but the pain quickly subsided as she began walking on it.
"See?" Aklase looked up at them. "The nurse did a good job. I can walk fine." Just as she finished the sentence her leg buckled from beneath her and she stumbled to the ground, which made the other three quickly lunge to her side to keep her from falling. But she regained her balance in the same instance and stopped them. "I'm fine! Really."
Npm ran his hand through his greasy black hair. "Aklase, you're going to turn me into a nervous wreck." He muttered.
"Just wait till you two are married." War nudged his best friend. Npm looked at him in fury and Aklase had the idea that she wasn't suppose to hear that.
"Well, are we going to get the next element, or what?" Jawwie tapped her foot.
"Right." Aklase nodded. "Let's go."
"Put. Me. Down."
"No. You nearly fell flat on your face going past Port Sarim."
"I tripped over a rock!"
"Likely story."
"SHUT UP!" War snapped at the bickering couple. Npm was now carrying Aklase over his shoulder like a naughty child with Aklase pouting and complaining all the way.
"Seriously." Jawwie rolled her eyes. "How are you guys going to deal with walking on ICE?"
"At least she'll have a reason to fall then." Npm shrugged.
"I had a reason to fall NOW. I tripped on a rock-" Aklase insisted.
"Ok, seriously. When I get my element I will PRACTICE ON YOU BOTH." War growled.
"Someone's on their time of the month…" Jawwie muttered under her breath, receiving a glare from War.
Npm finally put Aklase down as they trudged up the hill to the ladder that led down into the tunnel to the Ice Cavern.
Once they reached the top, Npm and War were breathing heavily.
"Damn…hill…" War muttered between breaths.
The girls watched with amusement dancing in their brown and blue eyes. "Are you girls ready to go down yet?" Jawwie teased them.
"Sure." Npm nodded, puffing out his chest. "That climb wasn't that bad. So how are we going to get Aklase down-"
"Down here?" Aklase called from the bottom of the ladder smugly.
Npm raised an eyebrow and Jawwie matched Aklase's smug smile before climbing down after her.
Once the two guys joined them, they trudged through the dark tunnel. A few level 5 thugs and different level pirates walked around but none of them made any sign that showed that they knew they were there.
The four ignored them and continued to walk to where the Ice Cavern icy part started.
Instead of feeling pain in her leg or arm, Aklase was clutching her head. For some reason she had a really bad feeling about going down here. But why? There was no doubt that this was where they're supposed to go. So why did she have a nagging feeling that something terrible was about to happen?
Aklase had lagged behind and Jawwie dropped back to match her pace. "You ok?" She asked her best friend. "Does your leg need a little healing?" Aklase saw a twinkle in her eyes as she made a reference to her new healing abilities.
"No, it's not my leg. It's just…" Aklase looked at Jawwie and then looked away. "Nothing. It's stupid." She didn't want to worry Jawwie with her paranoid mind.
Jawwie gave her a long look before muttering to her, "You know, you can tell me anything."
Aklase nodded. "I know that." Aklase tried to give her a convincing look before Jawwie sped up to catch up to the guys.
Aklase took a deep breath. Her life had been spared for a reason. She had to start acting like a leader and not like a scared level 3.
She sped up to match her friends pace. They were in front of the snowy area now. Aklase watched as the ice warriors marched around. She remembered going here to train when she was a low level and nearly dying. War had offered to train with her here after that. She turned to look at him to see memories dancing in his brown eyes too.
She cleared her throat, "The element should be in there somewhere. We should spread out." When her friends agreed to this, they stepped into the snowy area and split up.
Aklase stood well away from the ice warriors even though she was a much higher level than them now. Something about them still gave her the creeps.
She let her other senses drift away and let her sense that told her where the element was get in control. She could tell that it was near here somewhere, yet far away. It was like a wall was blocking the way between the element and her. Wait…a wall…
Aklase turned her attention to the icy wall in front of her. She walked in front of it and casted her sense to it. She was right. The element was right behind this wall!
"Over here!" She called to her friends. "I think I found it!"
War and Npm immediately ran to her side, War sidestepping an ice warrior who swung its ice sword at him. Aklase looked at them both before asking, "Where's Jawwie?" Her fears were suddenly sprung back to her before she heard an angry grunt from a little bit away.
"Damn ice giant…GET OUT OF MY WAY." Jawwie yelled. Aklase cringed as a giant crack followed and Jawwie walked toward them, rubbing her hands together.
Npm stared wide eyed at her. "What happened?"
Jawwie shrugged. "An ice giant wouldn't let me pass it so I chopped it in half. No big deal. So you said you found the next element?"
Aklase blinked a few times before getting her senses back. "Right…the element is behind this wall."
Her three friends looked at the strong icy wall before looking back at her in annoyance.
"How are we supposed to get through here?" Npm asked her.
"Jawwie could throw an ice boulder at it." War suddenly said, turning to Jawwie. But Jawwie was shaking her head.
"It doesn't work like that. I can only move rocks and earth. Ice doesn't work with my powers."
War sighed in frustration while Aklase looked back and forth at them. She knew they must be talking about what went on when they were separated. Jawwie had refused to give her a lot of details but Aklase knew that she had gotten her powers to work when they were trapped in a cave. Aklase was amazed that they didn't kill each other in that cave.
Aklase thought for a second. "Well…" She began, "we could ram into it-"
Npm's battle cry cut her off as he rammed his body in the hard wall and collapsed on the ground with a groan. "Ow…" He muttered.
"…using ice giants…" Aklase finished awkwardly.
Npm let out a cough. "Now you tell me…" He rasped.
It didn't take long for the four to defeat enough ice giants and line them together in front of the ice wall.
"Ok…on three." Aklase told the ice giants, half wondering if they could even understand her.
"No!" War stopped her. "On four." He smiled.
Jawwie raised an eyebrow. "That was the worst comical bit I ever heard."
War glared at her. "Like you could do any better."
"Like I would want to." Jawwie snapped back.
Aklase rolled her eyes. "And they say we act like a bickering couple all the time." She muttered in Npm's ear.
Npm laughed. "At least we actually ADMIT that we're a couple."
"I heard that." Jawwie snarled at him. "And you're lucky there's no earth here or I'd bury your ass."
"Ok!" Aklase stopped them before this could go any further. "Three!" She yelled at the ice giants.
The ice giants rammed their hard icy bodies against the wall and Aklase noticed with hope rising in her the cracks in the wall.
"It's working!" Jawwie said happily. "They're actually breaking a hole into the wall."
Aklase matched her beaming look. "After this, only two elements left."
"Who do you thinks going to get this element?" Npm asked them.
"Not me." Jawwie said proudly. "My element isn't as bad as I thought. I can hurl boulders at people who annoy me."
"Like you didn't do that before…" War muttered under his breath, rubbing his head.
The ice giants finally broke through to the other side and after a few more thrusts, the hole was big enough for three ice giants to go through.
"Thanks guys!" Aklase waved them off as they marched away.
The guys ran in first with the girls following in more slowly. "They're going to get themselves killed just running in like that." Jawwie pointed out.
Aklase shrugged. "Do you think they'd listen to us if we told them?"
"Hell no." Jawwie laughed.
As Aklase got a good look at her surroundings, she saw…a whole bunch of ice. Even the ground they walked on was made of solid ice. In the middle of it all was a tall jutting piece of ice. It still looked climbable and on top of it was an object encaged in more ice. Aklase felt a strong pull to it and knew that it was the giant rune that was the next element.
Aklase pointed up to it. "Up there! That's the next element."
The three friends looked up at it and frowned.
"So, which one of you is going to climb up and get it?" Jawwie asked them. Aklase figured she was silently glad that she didn't have to do it.
"I'm the best climber." Npm pointed out proudly.
"But I'm the best at balancing on ice." War argued.
Aklase looked up at it before backing off. "There's no way I can climb that. One of you guys is going to have to get it."
"I'll do it." War offered and jumped onto the ice before Npm could object. He grabbed any loose piece of ice and slowly began to climb up the ice.
"Be careful!" Jawwie called up to him. Then quickly added when she caught Aklase's eye, "I don't want to end up carrying you if you fall and break your legs!"
War made a saluting gesture indicating that he had heard. He was almost to the top and Aklase held her breath.
He reached out to the ice and only just grabbed it. Just as he grabbed it, it began to melt.
"Yes!" Aklase smiled. "He's got it!"
"Uh, Aklase?" Npm said in a whimpering tone.
Aklase looked at Npm and Jawwie to see them looking at the ground in horror. Aklase looked below her feet to see that the ice was melting at lightning speed!
"Oh crap…" She whispered just before the ice melted all together and she went under along with Jawwie and Npm into the icy water. Aklase tried to do whatever she could to go back afloat, but the thing was…she didn't know how to swim.
Aklase held her breath and kicked frantically but she knew she wasn't getting anywhere. Suddenly, she felt two different hands grasp both of her outstretched arms and begin to pull her up to the surface.
She let out a long breath of sweet air as she broke to the surface. She looked around to see Jawwie and Npm had both worked together to help her. Jawwie let go of her arm and Aklase let herself lean on Npm for floating support.
She felt numb and extremely cold. She looked up to see that they were floating closer and closer to where War was due to the rise of water. The rune was almost melted but Aklase still couldn't tell what kind it was. She barely even felt consciousness as the icy water froze her bones. She willed the rune to melt faster.
Just as her eyes began to droop, the rune finally melted. It rose into the air and Aklase saw that it was a giant fire rune. She looked over to see War was glowing an orange, red color. The rune suddenly lunged for him and it disappeared.
War closed his eyes and lifted his hands up. Aklase gasped as his hands began to form large flames.
War opened his eyes again and let out the forest fire like flames right into the water. Aklase gaped at its fierceness and was even more astounded as the water level began to drop.
"The water is evaporating!" Jawwie exclaimed. Aklase only now just noticed that her hood was down, revealing her short, soaked black hair wrapped in a band.
The water finally dropped altogether and Aklase sighed in relief as they dropped onto the drenched ground. She stood up and examined the damage to herself and everyone else. Everyone seemed alright, just soaked to the bone.
Jawwie was squeezing water out of her woodcutting cape and Npm was ringing out his robin hood hat while shaking water out of his hair.
"At least you finally got a bath…" Jawwie muttered to Npm.
"So did you." Npm snapped back.
War jumped down to where they were. Aklase saw pure excitement in his eyes as the red outline he once had dwindled away. "Did you see that? My element is FIRE! Woo hoo!" Aklase watched in amusement as the dry War danced around them like a level 3.
Jawwie rolled her eyes. Aklase figured she was angry that she didn't get to use her element right away like he did.
Aklase looked around. "So…if you got your element…where's Merlin?"
War suddenly stopped dancing and looked around with her. "Maybe he's busy…" He muttered.
Npm scratched his head. "Didn't he say he would be here every time we each got our elements?"
Jawwie shrugged. "Maybe he'll meet us outside?" She suggested, pulling her drenched hood back over her head.
Aklase nodded. "Maybe. Let's go outside and see if he's there."
"Can we make a fire and roast ourselves on it first?" Npm asked, shivering.
As the four friends walked out of the room and headed through the room with the ice warriors and ice giants, Aklase noticed that War was snapping his fingers and every time making little or small balls of flames.
"Be careful." She warned. "Remember, we're still in an icy place."
War rolled his eyes and said in a retarded voice, "Thanks for the tip mom. I'll be careful when I play with fire."
Just to contradict what she just said, he made a large ball of fire in his hand and shot it, but apparently not on purpose because he muttered. "Oops…"
Aklase rolled her eyes in annoyance. "What did I just tell you?"
She suddenly heard a loud CRACK. She turned around to see that the fire ball had hit an ice pillar. She gaped it horror as the bottom of it began to quickly crack and melt away and it began to tilt and fall…right…in her…direction.
Aklase stayed frozen to the spot. Her mind was screaming at her to get out of the way, but she couldn't move or feel for that matter. It was like her body had completely shut down. She vaguely heard the frantic screams of Jawwie and War a little ways ahead of her to run.
"Oof!" She let out a grunt as something suddenly pushed her aside and she rolled along the ice. She came to a screeching halt on the ice and, feeling her senses rushing back, quickly scrambled to sit up and looked over to see what had happened.
Her blood went as cold as the ice beneath her and her heart practically stopped as she saw the horrible scene in front of her. She only just saw the outline of Npm, her boyfriend, getting crushed under the 10 ton icy pillar.
"NPM!" She screeched as loud as her lungs allowed her until it echoed across the icy walls.
~To be continued~
*Receives glares from angry fans*
O_O…what?...ok fine I know your probably all mad at me for abandoning you but…I'M HERE NOW…with a cliffhanger. That doesn't help does it? . Yeah it doesn't help.
R&R!
