Here it is. Thankfully I got this one done a lot sooner than I had expected. As soon as I'm able I'll get to work on 5. It may be a bit though, cause for the next two weeks I'll be finishing up with school. Next Wednesday will be my last day so that'll leave a bunch of time to write, (at least after graduation). Until then, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy. And as always, any feedback is appreciated.

Chapter 4

Dan's POV

"Who am I?" said the stranger, repeating my question. "All I can reveal to you right now is that you are Dan." He gave a mocking smile. I didn't have the patience to be humored at the moment. I wanted answers and the others were already far ahead of us.

"Look." I said annoyed, "I know who I am as far as my name, but I don't know who I am concerning my identity. If you're just going to waste my time, then we'd be better off catching up with Garroth and Katelyn."

"Then we better keep going." he laughed. I glared angrily at him, then turned to catch the others. He stopped me with something he said. "I'll give MY name though." I turned toward him. At this point, I was filled with curiosity. "But only my name, I feel it would be best to reveal myself entirely when you find out more about who you are."

This sounded fair, sort of. It was still hard to trust him when I knew nothing about him. But then I realized something. Garroth, Katelyn, Dante and Alexis were in the same situation I was. I was a complete stranger to them, they know absolutely nothing about me, and thanks to Garroth they're giving me a chance. "Fair enough," I said. Then I hesitated on what I was going to say next, "But… Do I have your word that you tell me everything about you when I find out who I am?" I nervously waited for an answer.

"Maybe," he said, catching me off guard, "Even when you had your memory you knew most of who I am… "Most" being they key word there. There are some things I keep to myself." He said with a smile.

"Then will you tell me all that I did know?" I asked.

He paused for a moment. It was a while before he made up his mind. He was a very mysterious character. I took the time, while he thought, to observe his appearance. His face was almost a pale white, with scars around his eyes and the lower side of his face. Some were old and barely noticeable, and some were fresh that couldn't have happened not a few weeks ago. His armor was almost standard from what I've seen Dante and Alexis wear. It was worn and dented, but the material looked strong and at the same time, very light weighted. He looked more like an experienced scavenger or bounty hunter rather than a warrior. He looked up and caught my attention. "Alright, deal." He stuck out his hand. I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. "Well what are you waiting for," he said, "Shake on it."

I looked down at his hand and then met his gaze again. "What for?" I asked suspiciously.

"I'm giving you my word," he said reassuringly. His smile then disappeared. "I'm letting you know that I will fulfil this promise to you. I may be messing with you in trying to make you work for it, but you're still my brother, whether you remember it or not. And I won't break a promise to my brother… and friend." His words hit me by surprise. I looked down at his hand once more. I sighed. Giving into his story, I shook his hand. He smiled. Suddenly he jumped backwards and a large great sword appeared in his hands. I stumbled back a bit. "Come on," he said calmly, "Let's catch up with your new friends. I'm itching to see where this explosion thing came from!" He began levitating off the ground and flew in the direction where Garroth and Katelyn went. After recovering from what I had just witnessed, I ran in the same direction, trying my best to keep up with him. While I was running, he reduced his speed to match mine and spoke, "By the way, I totally forgot about my name." He said. I nearly laughed when he said that. "My name's Leo," he said. Then he picked up speed again and flew towards our destination.

*Transition*

This is getting aggravating. I thoughtas I continued running through the thick line of what seemed like an endless maze of trees. I should have seen Leo, Garroth, or Katelyn by now. Everything looks the same in this forest. I stopped for a bit to catch my breath. "Damn it," I murdered. "How the hell am I supposed to find the others when I don't even know my way around here?" I took a moment to breath again. I've been running non stop for who knows how long now. "For all I know I could be going in circles."

"Hey, Dan!" it was Garroth. Thank goodness, had finally found them.

"Garroth!" I yelled, "I'm over here!" the silhouettes of Garroth, Katelyn, and a flying Leo emerged from the shadows of the trees. They met me as I sat down on a nearby log.

"My Irene, where were you?" said Katelyn gasping for air.

"I think I could ask you guys the same thing." I said.

Leo chuckled as he descended to the ground, "Man, you must be out of shape brother. You used to be much faster than this. Did you lose all your physicality along with your memory?" he said jokingly.

I chuckled back, "You tell me mr. mystery, did I?"

Then Garroth was the one to speak up, "Oh look who's talking, mr. 'who am I'"

The three of us started laughing together. Katelyn was the only one not laughing. Eventually she broke the laughter. "Hey!" she shouted, all of us stopped laughing and looked at her, "Need I remind you all, that we do have an explosion to investigate."

"Oh lighten up, Katelyn." Garroth said smiling, "It's okay if we're have just a little fun." he paused for a moment and his smile disappeared, "But you're right. We do need to hurry." he looked over at Leo, "Is that energy spike still there?" he asked him.

Leo closed his eyes for a second. Then he looked at Garroth again. "Yeah, but it's fading."

"Then let's go!" yelled Katelyn, "We have no time to lose."

"Heh, I like this girl," said Leo. He and Katelyn ran back through the forest.

Garroth chuckled as he stood up. Then he looked at me. "Don't worry about Katelyn," He said, "She just tends to be a little more direct than the rest of us." he held out his hand, offering to help me up. "Come on, we don't want to lose 'em." I nodded as he helped me up. Then both of us ran off in Leo and Katelyn's direction.

*Transition*

The four of us continued running through the forest. None of us spoke to each other since our stop earlier. Leo suddenly broke the silence, stopping us in our tracks. "Wait!" he shouted. We all stood silently. "The energy is coming from here." he said.

"Get your weapons ready." said Garroth as he drew from his scabbard a shining, clear blue diamond sword. Katelyn had done the same, revealing two large battle claws, with long, thin blades on the end of each finger. Leo summoned his sword as he did before, raising his hand and grasping the darker, more ominous looking blade as it appeared above him.

Leo spoke quietly to the three of us, "Whatever's here, it's just beyond those trees."

Suddenly there was a small flash of light beyond the bushes. "Darn it!" there was a voice from where the flash came. It sounded like a girl.

"Wait," said Garroth suddenly, "I recognize that voice." He put away his sword and pushed through the bushes, revealing a girl with orange hair. She wore a black pointy hat and a long, white, and slightly revealing dress. She stood by a small desk with bottles of what looked like different kinds of potions. She seemed frustrated. Then she turned towards us and jumped. Apparently she hadn't know we were there. When I saw her face… I was in awe. She was beautiful. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Her eyes were red like rubies, and her long orange hair slid over her face a bit. She was unlike any woman I've ever seen.

She regained her composure when she saw who it was. She recognized Kaetlyn easily, but when she saw Garroth, she was shocked. "G-Garroth?" she stuttered. "Is… Is that really you?" She approached us slowly as she stared wide eyed at Garroth. Had she not seen him for a long time?

Garroth smiled as he emerged from the bushes. "Hey Lucinda," said Garroth, "You're looking well."

Lucinda? I thought.

Suddenly the girl ran to Garroth and embraced him, nearly suffocating him while doing so. "Oh! My! Irene! Garroth you're back!" she shouted, "How did you return? Are you alright? *Gasp* Does Aphmau know you're back?!" She spoke so fast it was hard to understand what she was saying.

Garroth somehow managed to gather enough air to respond. "Lucinda, calm down. I'm fine. Yes Aphmau know I'm back… but she's dealing with something else right now."

Lucinda let go of him puzzled, "What do you mean? You've been her top priority since she came back! Even Aaron has been doing his best to help!" Garroth lowered his head. He stood there quietly for a moment. "Garroth," She said softly, "Are you okay?"

Garroth clenched his fist and hesitated. It took him a while for him to speak. Something was bothering him. No, more than bothering him, whatever he was trying to say to her, was killing him on the inside. "Lucinda…" he quivered, "A-Aaron….. Aaron is dead."

Leo and I looked at each other. Leo shrugged, hinting that he had no idea what Garroth was talking about. I looked over at Katelyn. Her head was in downcast, her hair covering her face so no one could see the sadness in her eyes. She wasn't doing a very good job at concealing it though, I could feel the amount of despair radiating from her. Lucinda stumbled back slightly, trying to take in what she had been told. "W-what?" she muttered. She didn't seem as sad as Garroth and Katelyn, but rather more surprised. She continued, "How? What happened to him?"

Garroth then looked over at Leo and I, the both of us waiting for an explanation as well. He turned back to face her. "I'll explain everything later, but right now we have more pressing matters to deal with." I couldn't see his face, but he made a gesture with his head towards us. I could only assume that that meant there was something he didn't feel comfortable telling us yet. Lucinda looked over at Leo, then at me. She smiled and winked, and I looked off as if I hadn't noticed. She must have noticed I had been flustered and she laughed. "Anyway Lucinda," continued Garroth, "What are you doing all the way out here? And what was that explosion?"

Lucinda put her hand behind her head, "Oh yeah, that. I was hoping that that wouldn't have been too noticeable." she said giggling. "I've been experimenting with barrier spells for Phoenix Drop. I figured it be better if Zoey didn't have to spend every moment of everyday using her energy trying to protect this place. So I gathered what I could and brought it out here." She gestured towards the work bench with potions scattered all over it and the racks around it.

Garroth broke a big smile, "That's great!" he said, nearly shouting in excitement, "But why so far from Phoenix Drop?" he asked.

Lucinda laughed, "Well as you've seen, it isn't exactly easy to make these kind of spells. If not done right, you could have some unexpected consequences. Hence, the giant explosion." Garroth chuckled and nodded in agreement. Lucinda looked over at me again, "So, who's you cute new friend?" she asked. I looked down and my face felt hot. I can't remember being this flustered before, I didn't like it. I gazed over at Leo. He looked… angry. His arms were crossed and his eyes were full of rage. They were fixed on Lucinda.

Garroth turned to face Leo and I and introduced us to her. "Oh right," he motioned his hand towards me, "This is Dan. Dan, this is Lucinda." She winked and I nodded at her as normally as I could. Garroth then motioned to Leo, "And this is Leo."

She looked at Leo and gave a slight wave. Leo stood there for a few seconds. He still held that raging glare as Lucinda met his gaze. "... Pleasure." He said harshly. Lucinda's friendly look went to worry. The four of us all looked concernedly at Leo. He kept his gaze on Lucinda. None of had had seen him angry yet, so we had no idea what to expect. None of us knew what about Lucinda was angering him so much either.

Garroth broke the tension, "Well," He said rather loudly, "Let's head back to Phoenix Drop. That way we can learn more about you two and hopefully figure things out." Leo fixed his eyes away from Lucinda as he met Garroth. He nodded in agreement and began walking, his eyes still full of rage. Garroth sighed in relief, "Alright," he said to the group, "This way. Phoenix Drop isn't too far from here, so we should be there shortly."