A Guardian's Revenge

Hey there again. It's crafty-boy-FTW with another chapter. Hope you enjoy it and if you do remember to leave a review. They help me a lot. (P.S tried to fix errors)

Disclaimer: I don't own LOTG.

Chapter 2: Waking to an Echidna encounter

James slowly came to from his unconscious state. That owl really hit him hard because his vision kept fading and returning. After a few minutes of swaying in and out of conscious, he finally got his senses' together and managed to get to his feet. He cleared his mind and everything that happened the previous night came back to him. He quickly looked around and all the sights from last night were still there, only the fires had died down to only piles of ash or small flickering flames. He saw the bodies of the seagulls from the previous night and he even saw the sight of his once happy family. He still couldn't believe they were gone, how could they have been taken from him so quickly? It just wasn't fair. As tears began to build in his eyes once again he found himself about to cry at his loss yet again, but something stopped him. His mother's words from last night rang out in his head. 'Be strong, be brave for us.' Those words kept repeating themselves over and over until James finally picked himself up and wiped away his tears. He had to be strong for his family. He had to get revenge.

James suddenly got a burning feeling deep within him. It felt like a bad craving for something, but it was different than a craving for a nice big fish, no. This was a craving for blood. It seems unreal for such an ever happy chick like James to crave another bird's blood. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't even think about spilling something's blood. But the circumstances had changed drastically since last night and James eye flashed a sudden colour of red before returning to their normal pale blue as he recalled the group of owls that had caused this attack. 'Pure Ones,' he thought, 'I will find them mama, for you.'

James slowly got out of the nest leaving his family's body behind. He took one last look at the nest he called home and the family that had once loved him so much. He blinked away one last tear before turning back to his original path, away from this place.

As he walked by the many nests and bodies, he realised there were a few more birds he needed to check on before he left for good. He came across one nest that housed the sight he dreaded. A motionless female lying inside it and next to her were none other than Jake and Sam. They too had suffered the same fate that his family had.

James suddenly had the worst realisation imaginable; no one else had lived through the ordeal. He was the last one left. He was on his own in a world he knows little about. He learned a bit in the little school about different areas and predators but apart from that he knew nothing. What was he going to do? He had no plan no course of action or any idea where to go. James was brought out from his thoughts when a sudden shine from his friends nest caught his attention.

The shine was coming from underneath the twigs that made up the nest. James reached out a wing and brushed the stick apart only to uncover a small sword. 'This must have been Quake's' James thought. It was a plausible theory, Quake did always tell stories about how he and Daniel had fought of intruders with a sword he had a made by someone he called a rouge smith. This must have been it. It was a nice sword though. Its polished silver surface glimmering in the morning sun, you wouldn't even know how old it was, it looked brand new. The handle of the blade was made of tough leather that was easy to grip and was obvious that it wouldn't tear. The strange part of the sword was that it had a little slot in the bottom of the grip that looked like something was supposed to go in there. But the sword itself was not actually a sword. It was more of an extended dagger but since James was still little, it looked like a small sword. It was a little too big for James but he could carry it. He looked for something that would make it easier to carry and found it in the nest. A holster rested next to where the blade once was and was still covered by various sticks and twigs. James brushed the sticks out of the way and picked the holster up and examined the rough, black leather it was made of. It showed experience and looked like it had been used countless times. After the quick examination, he tried to put it on. It was too big for James to wear around his waist so he strapped it on his back instead.

The large dagger fitted nicely in the holster and despite the extra Waite on his back, James could still move freely. James took another look at the dead family in the nest. He knew his mission now. He had to avenge his family and friends. He had to become something he never thought he would. After all, to catch monsters you have to become one yourself. As he stepped out of the nest and walked, finally reaching the colony's edge, he took one last glance at his once proud colony. He needed to train and toughen up before he went after these monsters and what better place to do it than in some of the most dangerous places for seagulls in the kingdom. Each one would test him to the limit and beyond, which would only make him stronger. But he would start with the closest, Tyto forest. If he survived the harsh environments he would know that he would be ready to face the Pure Ones. But then he remembered some more of his mother's words. 'When you're ready find the Guardians on the island of Ga'hoole, in the sea. They will help you.'

The Guardians. Yes that's where he must go, to the guardians, but when he's ready. 'That shouldn't take too long' he thought 'besides how long can it take?' and with that he looked back at the looming forest in front of him and took a massive gulp. As he took a deep breath and gathered his courage he set of into the forest which began his journey.

(Line Here)

'It's been six years since that night. Six years since I watch everyone I knew die right before me. Six years since I entered that forest and began my journey. Six years since I swore that I would get revenge for everyone. Six years of training is now going to be put to use, but first things first, I need to reach the Guardians and I'm sure that the Echidna will know where to go.' A lone seagull thought to himself, whilst perched on a rock overlooking a small canyon in the beginning hours of dusk. The stars had begun to reveal themselves to the world and the setting sun gave a pleasant orange glow to the darkening sky. The seagull was a young looking bird that looked to be around fifteen, on the boarder of sixteen and was very muscular for his age. His well-built frame along with his smooth white feathers gave him a hansom look to him and his pale blue eyes were full of determination. He had a scar running from his left shoulder down the bottom of his right rib cage and a leather sheath around his waist housed a small sword like dagger. This seagull was James and he had come a long way since he first stepped into that forest six years. He had grown a lot since then becoming quite tall for his age. He learned many things from many different birds and now after six long and torturous years he finally felt ready.

He looked out over the canyon towards the gate looking archway on the furthest Island where, from the story's he'd heard, the Echidna was supposed to dwell. James spread his wings and, in two quick down strokes, he was up in the air and flying towards the archway. Within a couple of minutes he arrived at his destination and landed softly at the archways base. He took a quick observation of the area before a confused look found its way onto his face.

"Where's the Echidna?" he said quietly and as if on cue an old sounding voice rang out in the air causing him to jump slightly.

"I knew, knew you would come here seagull!" the mysterious voice exclaimed.

James reacted on instinct and drew the blade at his side from its sheath and scanned the small rock of an island for the source of the voice.

"Show yourself!" he shouted whilst still looking for the source of the voice.

"Twas foretold that your journey would bring you here!" the old voice sounded out again, this time coming from behind him.

Quickly spinning around, James came face to face with what he was sure was the Echidna. He knew this because of the face paint that formed strange, ancient patterns around various parts of his face and the spines on his back that were also highlighted with the light blue paint.

James only stared at the Echidna for several moments before finally speaking up.

"You are the Echidna right?" he asked suspiciously.

"Indeed I am but that is not what is important. What is important is why you are here, James."

James was surprised to say the least, "You know my name?" he asked.

"Yes, of course I know your name. Twas foretold that you would arrive here," the Echidna replied back.

"Well if my arrival was foretold and you really are the Echidna that 'knows all', then why am I here?" James questioned.

"Ah, an easy question," the Echidna said "You are here to find the guardians of Ga'hoole." The Echidna's answer defiantly proved to James that this was the really thing. After establishing that this was the real Echidna James sheathed his blade and asked the question he came here for.

"So where are they then?" he asked seriously. The Echidna sighed and began to walk towards the arch way.

"Twas foretold that you had anger deep within you and that this anger is fuelled by your need for revenge." He turned back to James after reaching his destination "do not let your anger consume you James or those you love will pay the price," he said whilst leaning on his wooden staff.

"I have no one to love, so who is there to hurt?" James said, looking him in the eye.

"And why don't you have anyone to love James?" his old voice croaked.

James opened his beak as if to say something, but shut it and looked away when he found no answer to the Echidna's question.

"I'll tell you why. It is because no one likes a monster."

James looked back at the Echidna with rage before yelling at him. "I am not a monster!"

"Then what are you?" the Echidna yelled back. James said nothing for a long time as if he was trying to find a suitable answer.

"I'm… a killer," James replied quietly whist looking down at his talons, "I'm a killer and a crazy bird, I'm a-a…"

"Monster?" the Echidna offered.

"…Yes."

"Hmm, you became this to get revenge, yes?" he asked.

"No, I became this for justice," James said with a sad tone whilst looking up once more.

The Echidna looked back at James and said "I said that you have no one to love now, I didn't say that it would always be that way."

"I've been destined to be alone."

"But that is the destiny you have chosen and only you can change," the Echidna said before picking his staff up out of the ground and pointed it to the starry sky.

"Keep between the Whale's fin and the eye of Glaux and you will find your guardians," he stated.

"Thank you for the directions," James said as he reached the arch way and spread his wings.

"James you can't fight this battle alone, you need friends that you can trust and know will stay with you and James remember this. At the end of your journey, a price must be paid in the end and when that time comes you are going to have to decide the fate of one certain bird," the Echidna said before James took off.

"When your wings are tired and you've flown as far as you can, you're halfway there!" he called out after James. 'Halfway there! This might be easier than I thought.' James smiled as he thought this and settled comfortably knowing it would be easy from now on.

(Line Here)

A fierce storm thundered down upon the rough sea of Ga'Hool. Lighting flashed and thunder filled the air as the storm seemed to get worse and worse. 'Halfway there my tail feathers! There was nothing about a massive storm in that old fool's speech!' James thought annoyed and drenched. He had been flying for what was hours now and there was still no sign of the supposed Island in the middle of sea. 'What direction was I going in again? Where're the constellations' again? Fuck which way!' was all James was thinking at the moment. At this rate he would probably die in this storm before he found the Guardians.

Another wave of lightning struck, just centimetres away from contacting with James' left wing. Though the lightning didn't strike James directly, it still was enough to make him lose his concentration for just a second. But just a second was all a strong gust of wind needed to blow James into an uncontrollable spin.

Try as he might, he couldn't level out enough to stabilise himself. The vicious sea of Ga'hoole grew closer and closer to James as he fell. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK 'were James' last thoughts before he crashed into the sea and effectively being knocked unconscious.

Hey there again readers. If you read this chapter I hope you enjoyed it and liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Just wanted to say that the description of the Echidna, when James first sees him, wasn't all that because I just didn't know how to word it. Sorry if I got it wrong. Also the fact that I left the chapter with James being knocked out again is just a coincidence, promise it won't happen all the time, and finally the fact that seagulls use human swear words. Owls have there's and other species have their own. Thanks for reading next chapter will be here soon so stay tuned. Leave a review to tell me how this was.

craft-boy-FTW. :D