Episode 7: Em'bracing Hope

It had been probably twenty minutes since the three were attacked by Shadow Knights. They had been running for who knows how long. By this time, the group had finally managed to escape the city, and the ones that were after them. They had entered the city, which appeared to still be somewhat dark due to the smoke that filled the sky. After a while, they stopped for a moment to take a break. No matter what the army was capable of that was chasing them, they knew they had lost them...for now.

"Is everyone...alright?" Zack asked, breathing exhaustedly. Brace breathed heavily a bit before she replied.

"I'm fine...what about you Matsu?" Brace asked, seeing how he was resting on his back, breathing hard.

"Let's just say...rock and running...don't really go together..." Matsu said, wiping his head with his hand.

"I think we should...spend the night here." Brace said, looking around. Zack gave her a confused look.

"What?! That's practically suicide!" Zack stammered.

"Actually, we'll be completely fine...at least from the dark knights." Matsu relpied, looking around. Zack looked at him a bit confusingly.

"How is this suppose to be safer?"

"Remember the other day about the will-o-wisps? They have hatred over most things that are alive, but their biggest anger goes towards the dark knights. The dark knights would be swarmed if they went around here." Brace commented, leaning on a tree.

"Well... I guess. But if the will-o-wisps have hatred over all living things, won't they attack us too?!" Zack said, bringing up a point. Brace just shook her head, with a grin a bit.

"It's times like this, I'm glad I was born of a light balance." Brace said, pulling out her sleeves to reveal her bracelet. As she closed her eyes, the bracelet began to shine a bright white light. What was more interesting though, was that Brace's own veins were glowing with a white light. From the white silver crystal in the bracelet, a small ball of light dropped down, and went into the ground. Zack's eyes widened as he saw a strange white sphere growing around him, engulfing him, Matsu, Brace, and everything else within a twenty foot radius. Weird shining dots appeared to have evaporated from the ground as they descended up into the top of the sphere continuously.

"Woah..." Zack said, in amazement.

"Ohh..." Brace moaned, as she suddenly collapsed to her side.

"Brace!" Matsu and Zack shouted worriedly. Zack leaned her up in order to see if she was ok.

"Are you alright?" Zack asked, a bit worried. Brace winced a bit as she slowly opened her eyes, smiling a bit.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine." She said, stuttering a bit. "It takes alot of energy to form a barrier around more than one person, and that ten mile run we just had didn't help either." Brace said, as she pulled herself up into a sitting position against the tree. Zack looked back though as he saw that Matsu was looking out of the barrier. He seemed to be glaring at the empty forest in anger about something.

"Hey Matsu, what's wrong?" Zack asked.

"The army came from Kelika's direction. What if they already destroyed the city?" Matsu yelled, glaring back at the other two.

"Look, Matsu, I know it looks back but don't worry. I promise that everything will be fine." Brace said, sounding confident.

"Yeah. I mean we just took down three of the dark knights after all. I'm sure we can handle whatever else is..." Zack started, before Matsu grabbed him by the collar of his shirt harshly.

"Alright? Alright?!" Matsu stammered. "The hell we will be alright! We got our butts kicked, and they weren't even trying! If it wasn't for you and that weird light thing, we'd be dead!" Matsu shouted. Zack and Brace could easily tell that Matsu was more upset about the army attacking his home more than losing to the army, even if he didn't show it. Zack wondered what it felt like to have to worry about something. Starring at him sternly for a bit, Zack pushed Matsu off.

"You act like your home is already dead. At least you got to think about the slim chance that it is alive!" Zack shouted back. Brace and Matsu looked back at Zack a little curiously as Zack walked away, leaning against another tree.

"Zack, is there something wrong?" Brace asked, a bit concerned.

"He's acting like he has already lost his house. At least he gets to have a small hope that it's still alive!" Zack shouted. Brace looked at Zack a bit more curiously.

"What do you mean, "at least he gets too",?" Brace asked a bit curiously. Zack just turned his head to the side, not wanting to even look at her. "Zack, if something happened, you can tell us." Brace said, putting her arm on Zack's shoulder. Zack just looked at her hand for a second before he sighed, pushing it off of her as he stood.

"Thanks but no thanks. What happened in my past is long gone. And nothing is going to change it." Zack said, walking out of the portal. Brace and Matsu looked at Zack a bit worried as he just continued walking.

"Wait Zack! Get back in the portal! It's dangerous out there!" Brace said, worried.

"I said leave me alone!" He shouted, not even looking back at them as he disappeared into the dark night.

"Wait!" Brace said, about to run towards them. She was stopped though as Matsu laid his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't go out there Brace. Just give him some time." Matsu said, a bit calmer than before.

"But Zack..." Brace said, looking back in the dark woods.

"Trust me. I know he's stronger than he looks. He'll be fine." Matsu said, a bit confidently. Brace just sighed as she knew that Matsu was right. It would be dangerous for a pacifist to go into the woods during the night. But Zack remained on her mind a bit, worried as to whether or not he would be ok.

Zack just grunted to himself as he stomped off into the woods, his hands in his pockets. He actually envied Matsu for the fact that he gets to have hope, while Zack never could in the past. Hope didn't give him time to react when he saw the giant boulder crashing into the side of his car, and hope didn't stop Zack from making his own decisions in life.

He also pitied Matsu for not being glad about hope. Matsu acted as if he didn't have anything to hope for at all, while he appeared to be the one to have hope over everything. And yet, Matsu treated it as nothing more than garbage that didn't even have it's worth, and that's what angered Zack a bit. As he looked around his surroundings, he saw that he was near a giant lake, that cut him off from travling for about fifty yards, stretching about fourty feet as well. Zack traveled towards the lake, wanting to talk to at least someone he didn't care about. As his reflection grew, he saw that Jeris appeared to be floating a bit as a reflection.

"Someone's a bit moody today. I love the feeling." Jeris said, who appeared to simply have his eyes closed as he floated. Zack just glared at him.

"I wanna know something Jeris!" Zack yelled. Jeris raised an eye brow, a bit surprised that he was as angry as he was, although Jeris relished the feeling of anger.

"What's it now pipsqueak?"

"Did you have anything to do with the army that found us?" Zack asked. He grew even more angry than before as he just saw Jeris smirking.

"Maaaybe!" Jeris said, sarcastically a bit.

"Tell me what you did!" Zack shouted.

"I told them where you were, that's what." Jeris answered, causing Zack's eyes to widened. He couldn't believe that his other soul was actually betraying him as well. He knew that Jeris wasn't exactly what you would call the friendliest of types, but he never expected him to be the one that would try to kill him as well.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Zack stammered, blasting fire towards the lake. Steam evaporated from the last as the fire clashed. As the water began to still again, Jeris reformed.

"Hey, don't look at me. I don't like being in your body anymore than you do." Jeris replied.

"Then why kill me? Won't you get killed as well?!" Zack stammered. Jeris was about to protest something, but stopped as he left his mouth gapped open. He never really thought of the part where he could get killed as well. He had thought that he was safe for the time being, but didn't consider the fact that if Zack died too then maybe he would as well.

"Huh...you know I didn't even know about that." Jeris started, causing Zack to fall to the ground in regret about having an "evil" counterpart that wasn't really that smart.

"Then why did you even bother telling them?! Better yet, how did you tell them?" Zack asked, curious as to how he could if he was stuck in his body.

"Zack Zack Zack..." Jeris started, swaying his head with a grin and sarcastic disoppointment. "The world of darkness is always connected. I may be trapped in your body, but nothing keeps the darkness from talking to one another. It's like a whole nother dimension!" Jeris yelled in excitement.

"However..." Jeris started, causing Zack to raise an eyebrow. "Shadow specters like us don't get to..." Jeris started, before Zack interrupted.

"Woah woah woah..." Zack said, shaking his hands as if to tell Jeris to slow down. "What the heck is a shadow specter?"

"Where the hell have you been? Us specters are pure souls of darkness, who were simply born of darkness and thrive in it. But we really don't get our own opinion in the matter." Jeris answered, causing Zack to look a bit surprised. Zack had no idea how it may have felt about being told what to do, and what to think. Now that he thought of it, he wondered if Jeris had any idea what he was getting himself into.

"Do you even know what'll happen if I die while your still in me?" Zack asked. Jeris just shrugged.

"I don't know. To be honest, they never actually told me that little detail as to what will happen if I die while in you." Jeris said, rubbing his chin as he thought.

"Look, for both our sakes, I think that we should just cooperate with each other for the time being, and figure out a way to get each other out of here. Deal?" Zack said, raising his hand, even though he knew that Jeris wouldn't be able to. Jeris just looked dumbstruck as he starred. He never really knew someone that would help him in a situation like this, then again he was only in a few bodies while he was created. He grinned a bit as he decided to himself.

"Deal!" Jeris yelled. To Zack's surprise, Jeris' hand actually popped out of the water, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into the water. Zack had assumed he was in the lake, but when he looked around, he realized there was darkness all around him. The only light that appeared was the one coming from the top, as he could see the lake. He wasn't even in a lake as far as he was sure. His eyes scanned the area though as he looked around, hearing a maniacal laughter from around, echoing everywhere. Zack also realized that his bracelet was gone.

"Jeris! Jeris!" Zack shouted. All he knew was that he was floating in darkness, and he could breathe. His clothes were the only thing that assured him that he was pulled through the water, seeing how he was drenched.

"I'm over here..." Jeris echoed, causing Zack to look in the direction of the sound. As he looked, he saw Jeris' yellow glowing eyes. Because of the darkness, he could tell that Jeris was in a form of a human now, although it was hard to see since the only light was from the top of the lake. But he could definitely tell that Jeris was coming towards him. He glared at Jeris as he took a stance as he saw his counterpart appear into the light. It looked an awful lot like Zack, except his eyes were flashing yellow, and he was completely purple.

"What is this about Jeris? Tell me now!" Zack yelled. Jeris just chuckled to himself.

"What is it that your gettin so upset over? You wanted to make a deal, so I'm keeping it." Zack looked at Jeris confused over what he just said.

"What do you mean "keeping it"?" Zack asked.

"Poor poor stupid Zack. You still don't get it do you? This body is for the both of us as of now. And here's the deal that we're going to make. We'll race. If you can get to the top of the lake before me, you get to keep your body. But if I get there first, I'll take control of this body, and you'll be the soul trapped forever here in darkness." Jeris said, smirking. Zack glared at him in anger for the stupid idea Jeris was trying to do.

"Jeris, will you cut it out already? I'm being serious and there's no way I'm going to give you my body." Zack yelled, as he began to swim to the surface. Jeris just chuckled as he clicked his fingers. In an instant, the gravity in the area shifted, and Zack fell to his back as he landed. He rubbed his head from the shock he felt from falling to his back, and looked around confused.

"Hey, I control this place as of now, so you should do as I say." Jeris warned, walking up to Zack's side, and kneeling into a running position. Zack grunted as he saw no other option, and decided to accept Jeris' little 'race' game.

"Oh, and I should mention one thing..." Jeris commented, causing Zack to look at him a bit curious. "If you do lose, your soul won't be able to last down here since you aren't part of a darkness balance. And you'll be food for my friends..." Jeris said. As Zack looked around, his eyes widened as he saw glarin red eyes all around the darkness of the place. Zack could hear them breathing, wanting their precious meal.

"Why are they just standing there?" Zack asked.

"Because unlike me, they can't stand actual light. And they'll die if they entered." Jeris answered, pointing to a direction. As Zack looked, he saw a demonic tentacle from a creature try to come into the light. But as it did, Zack grew surprised as he saw that the beast's flesh began to burn, and steam could be seen coming off of it. The beast immediately retreated it's arm back into the darkness. Zack gulped a bit, nervous about being chow for the beast.

"Go!" Jeris shouted, immediately running towards the light. Zack blinked, a bit angry that Jeris got a head start.

"Hey wait a minute!" Zack shouted, running after him. Zack breathed bit by bit as he dashed for the finish line, attempting to get to the light first. As Jeris looked back, he grinned as he saw Zack running up to him at equal speed. With the simple snap of his fingers, a giant pillar appeared right in front of Zack, blocking the way.

"That's cheating!" Zack shouted, running around the pillar.

"In a land of darkness, everything is cheating!" Jeris shouted, snapping his fingers again. Next thing Zack knew, two different black pillars appeared from the side of the walls, about up to Zack's shoulders. Zack grunted to himself as he quickly slid under the pillars, making quick haste back to his feet. As Zack looked, Jeris was probably half way to his body by now, but Zack started to pick up in his speed quickly.

"You don't give up do you?" Jeris asked, with antoher snap of his fingers. Zack looked at the side of the walls and the ground, expecting to see some sort of pillar to come out. But Zack's eyes widened as he heard the creaking of the pillar, and realized where it was coming from. As he looked up, a pillar about half of Zack's size came crashing down. Seeing how he couldn't avoid it in time, Zack turned around, trying to push the keep the pillar from crushing him. But it was no use as the pillar pinned Zack to the ground, pushing into his chest. Zack coughed a bit of blood as the pillar continued pushing into him. Zack tried to get the pillar off of him, but it was to no use. Zack glared back at Jeris who was smirking as he just stood there.

"Hurts, doesn't it?"

"Jeris!" Zack shouted. "Get this thing off of me, now!" Jeris just grinned as he started to walk away.

"Don't worry Zacky boy. The pillar will kill you first before the creatures around here do." Zack grunted as he continued to try to push the enormous pillar off of him, but to no use. Zack sighed as he lowered his head, with a bit of a depressed face. How can I lose? I have to get Brace back to her home, but I can't if Jeris messes everything up for me. Zack thought to himself. There has to be a way to do this. There has to. Zack lost his train of thought as he looked back at his wrist. He continued to notice that the bracelet still wasn't on his wrist. He sighed seeing how everything her worked up to at this point was about to be washed away.

The more he thought about it, the more he grew angry at it. It was his body to begin with, and he couldn't le someone else take control of it. He knew if he was going to do something that he would have to do it now. But what is it remained the question. Zack looked at the palm of his hand again as he looked up. He grew an idea at something, but didn't know if it was going to work.

"It's a gamble...no. It's something to hope for." Zack said to himself as he snapped his fingers. Jeris' eyes widened as the gravity in the area began to shift again. Jeris screamed as he suddenly began to fall from the top of the place, plunging back down. He glared back at Zack, realizing what it was he did.

"Nice try Zacky, but two can play at that game." Jeris yelled, snapping his fingers. His eyes widened though as he realized he couldn't change the gravity in the room anymore. Zack grinned as he snapped his fingers again, and the pillar finally went back into the darkness. But because it wasn't pinning him to the ground anymore , or wall in this case, Zack began to drop into the darkness like Jeris, who grinned at the idea.

"Not that smart, were ya?" Jeris commented. Zack just replied with a smirk as he looked back at Jeris who looked sternly at this. "Why you smiling for? You're about to fall just like me!" Jeris shouted. Zack just chuckled to himself.

"I finally realize it now. I always controlled what I did in this body, and I still do!" With the simple snap of his fingers, a giant pillar ascended from the seemingly bottomless pit, and pushed up against Zack, who kneeled since he was being pushed up at intense speed. Zack gave a sarcastic salute goodbye as he passed Jeris, who seemed to be dumbstruck.

"Heh, not bad Zacky boy." Jeris shouted, as Zack looked into the light that engulfed him.

Everything went blank for awhile, but Zack knew that his conscious was still alive. The question was though that whether or not he actually had lost, and Jeris was controlling his body. Even as Zack opened his eyes, he saw that darkness was all around him. But his head felt kind of funny. It felt like it was slippery, almost wet, and he knew that something was touching his face. After waiting for a few seconds, the strange item, that finally appeared to be a wash rag, was taken off of Zack's face, and he could see day light. Zack squinted his eyes a bit, seeing how it was a while before the last time he saw any light. As his vision cleared though, everything was starting to look normal. And to his surprise, Brace was looking down at him with a worried expression. Zack moaned as bit as he leaned up with his elbow, rubbing his head, which seemed to be hot for some reason.

"Where am I?" Zack asked, looking around. As he did, he saw Matsu leaning against a tree, looking at the two of them, and in the middle of the area there was a burnt out camp fire.

"Back at the camp site. We found you unconscious near a lake. You were running a large fever." Brace answered. Zack looked at her a bit confused.

"A...fever?" Zack copied, still a bit confused. Was it all a dream? Zack thought to himself. I thought I had fallen in the lake but...Zack lost his train of thought as he realized his clothes were wet. "Why are my clothes wet?" Zack asked.

"We don't really know. You were completely drenched for some reason, but you were a few feet away from the lake. Our guess was a huge fish or something splashed near you when you were unconscious." Brace answered, as she began to stand. Zack's eyes widened at this. He was completely on a break of both sides of himself. He couldn't tell if he had just dreamt the whole thing, or if it had really happened. As he looked back though, Matsu had his hand out. Zack smiled a bit as he grabbed it, and Matsu helped pull him up.

"Uhh look about before..." Matsu started, rubbing the back of his head. "I want to apol..." Before he could finish though, Zack interrupted.

"No Matsu. I'm sorry." Zack said, causing Brace and Matsu to look at him a bit curiously. "Hope is a good thing to have, even if you can't really see it. Anything an happen with hope." Zack said, as he started to walk away, planning to head to the next town. Matsu and Brace looked at each other confused, before looking back Zack.

"Where'd you learn all that?" Brace shouted.

"Jeris taught me." Zack yelled back as he continued to walk, with his arms behind his head. Matsu and Brace looked even more confused now as Zack continued walking. Brace just giggled to herself for a moment.

"Hey Zack! Did Jeris also mention your going the wrong way?" Brace shouted. Zack stopped completely as he still had his foot in the air. He felt a sweat drop behind him as he turned around again, walking as he did before.

"I knew that..." Zack replied. Matsu and Brace just chuckled as they began walking in the right direction of town. This world is so strange to me. Zack thought to himself. To be honest, I don't even know if this will work out in the end. I don't even know if I can protect Brace. Zack said to himself as he looked at Brace curiously. He smiled a bit as he shrugged off those feelings. It doesn't matter though. I now have something I didn't have for a long seven years now: hope.

As he was looking through Zack's eyes, Jeris saw how he had learned something from his race with Jeris. Jeris grinned to himself, impressed that Zack managed to reawaken something that laid dormant in him. But, the other shadows knew of what Jeris had done. He hadn't been instructed to do this, and others were even in rage because of it. The unknown entity was standing behind Jeris. Jeris knew he was behind him, but he didn't care, much less bother to look to know he was there.

"You weren't ordered to do that." The strange being said. Jeris just smirked.

"True, but then again you didn't say we couldn't have a will of our own." Jeris replied.

"Yes I did." The strange being replied, annoyed.

"Hmph, must've slipped my mind. Either way, I'm still technically following orders." The strange entity looked strangely at this.

"Oh, and how so?" It asked.

"I can't expect him to die or I might die as well. Even if I don't, you ordered me to make sure this kid gets Brace home with success. so technically, it's a two way street." The entity just chuckled to himself.

"Hmm, good point I suppose. But don't think it means you should be helping him with every little detail. Your orders are to simply make sure Brace gets back home, not make friends with the other world being." The entity replied.

"Watch your mouth. You know the lord won't want someone talking like that about a fellow shadow." The entity scuffed to himself as he turned around.

"Perhaps my choice of words weren't...acceptable. Just make sure you do what you were told, Jeris." The entity replied.

"I will, and in return I expect my reward..." Jeris commented, glaring back a bit at the entity.

"You will get what you want. You will take your place among the rightful kings of the six trigrams." The entity replied, disappearing. Jeris just chuckled to himself as he looked through Zack's eyes again.

"King of the six trigrams huh? I could live with that, just fine..." Jeris said, with a chuckling laughter that echoed through out the darkness of Zack's heart...