Winds of Change Book II Distant Thunder

by RGZ Archer

Kai has assembled his team, and the group of seven must now race against both Cyclonia and time itself to prevent a weapon of unimaginable power from falling into the wrong hands. But just whose hands are the wrong hands? Who is their true enemy?

14. Two Choices, One Decision!

Winds of Change Book II: Distant Thunder

Chapter 14: Two Choices, One Decision!

AN: So the chapters a bit overdue, and its short compared to the others, yeah, I know. Things have been hectic, and I just couldn't figure out a way to get one part of this chapter done. I've been fighting with it since I started writing this story, but even after al this time I wasn't happy with the solution. It's kind of lame, I know, but trust me when I say the rest of the story's been planed out to the T. I hope you can forgive my lateness, I promise that next chapter will make up for any disappointment this one causes. As for last chapter, Twilight, The Day of Night, and the Darkest Day, are all different names to the same thing, it's a as of now unknown event that caused Earth to become Atmos. Sorry I didn't explain that last chapter.

Also don't forget check out Arashi21's new story: Fighting Wings! Which ties in with the Winds of Change serie, but is told through the eyes of Kestrel!

Again, I want to give a big time shout out to Miss D, Mrs J Black, and Shadow Queen for letting me play with their timeline a bit, thx girls! I've fallen in love with the back-story I've made and might write out the whole thing after finishing this story off!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will, also I do not own anything related to Legend of the Dragoon or Legend of Zelda, or Code Lyoko. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, Sony Entertainment, Nintendo and Moonscape, however I DO own Kai, Rose, the Shadow crystal, the Wasps, and this story.

Shadow,Griffy and Nagera are the property of ShadowQueen25

Tigger belongs to Mrs J Black

Marina is Star Wars Nut's

Rondana was made, and is owned by MissDedodakes

Scarlett is the creation of Love Flame

"Hey, uh, Marina, you contact Kai, I had something I wanted to ask Schaeffer…in private. You don't mind do you?" Shadow asked carefully.

Marina shrugged her shoulders before pulling out her handheld radio to update the others.

Kai stared blankly ahead, only able to blink in response to what he had just been told.

Tigger poked the back of his head while Starling reached over and pulled the radio receiver from his clinching hand.

"Uh, could you repeat that Marina? I'm afraid Kai is…" Starling searched for the word, which Tigger readily supplied.

"Broken?"

Starling shot Tigger a weak glare before turning her attention back to the radio.

"I said that we've come across a bit of a…problem. Looks like not all the Ancients are...well….dead."

Kai shook his head before snatching the radio back from Starling.

"You mean to tell me, that you found, a living, breathing, Ancient?"

There was a brief pause before Marina replied.

"By all technicality, yes, she is an Ancient. However, she's not…human."

"Then what is she?" Kai asked losing patience.

Marina cringed, knowing that what she was about to say had zero percent chance of being taken seriously. "Well…she's….an elf. She claims to have never seen another of her species, and to not only have witnessed, but actually participated in the third Great War…whatever that is."

Kai groaned before slamming his head on the back of his seat.

"Don't do…anything. We'll be arriving in a few hours. Sandstorm or not, this just doesn't feel right," Kai said exasperatedly.

"We'll be waiting for you're arrival. Glad to hear that you didn't kill each other while we were away," Marina teased.

Tigger snatched the radio from Kai, but before she could speak he shut it off.

Pouting the young blond handed it back before sitting in her chair.

"Big meenie," she said sticking out her tongue.

"Don't make me turn this ship around," Kai shot back.

Starling rolled her eyes and shook her head, however when she was sure that nobody was watching she allowed a small smile.

Shadow knocked on the metal wall around the area they had seen Schaeffer disappear into. Before her hand could strike it again she fell forward into an open hole which quickly closed behind her.

"I'm sorry, I should have warned you first," Schaeffer said holding out her hand.

Shadow accepted the help, and was surprised when the thin woman lifted her to her feet with no trouble at all.

"Geeze, your stronger than most guys," Shadow said to break the silence.

Schaeffer looked away without replying, which made Shadow sigh.

"Look, you know something, something that I need to know, or at least should be told."

The woman looked up at Shadow with a face that showed many, many years worth of grief, but was still exercising restraint over it.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault," she said turning away.

"Oh no you don't! I want you to tell me exactly what is going on. You were telling the truth back there, but the entire time I saw you shooting me glances. What happened back there with the Wasps? How did I do…that thing with the smoke? What's happening to me?!" Shadow demanded.

The woman bit her lip before walking towards the opposite end of the room.

"It would be easier to show you first, and than explain," she replied.

Shadow narrowed her eyes as she followed the woman.

Schaeffer waved her hand, which somehow caused several crystals on the wall to light up. Thinking back, Shadow remembered seeing Kai do something similar back in terra Deep, but ignored that little fact since she had more pressing matters to deal with.

Now seeing the area that had previously been pitch black for the first time, Shadow figured out to some degree what was going on.

Along the wall were several weapons, all of which she had seen when she used the 'smoke' ability earlier. The first was a pair of what looked like wrist mounted crossbows. Though they were only four inches wide, she knew they were dangerous, having seen similar weapons in the past. Under these was a single curved dagger which glowed with a dark crimson aura. She thought that it belonged to the thief, Samantha, if she wasn't mistaken, but she had only seen a single glimpse of it before.

To the right of these were a pair of crossed katana. She recognized these as the ones Schaeffer had been using earlier, and as having belonged to the yellow clad swordsman. With these, were what looked like a normal pair of fans, one above and one bellow the crossed katana. Upon closer inspection however, she could see that they had a very fine serrated edge to them, and knew that they too were dangerous.

In the center however, was what she assumed to be what Schaeffer wanted her to see. Pointed down with its handle skyward, was a large broadsword.

Or at least what used to be one.

The once normal blade now had what looked like a fleshy growth around its handle that spread to cover the lower quarter of the blade, coming to a stop at a bulge in the blades center.

"This….was how William was….controlled during the War. It took us eleven years to weaken the curse, and even then he suffered relapses from time to time," Schaeffer said sadly.

What does this have to do with me?" Shadow was cut off by the older woman.

"As I said, the sword was how William was controlled. Our enemy put a large portion of his own power into the sword when I was charging both it and William. Alone, William would have been able to break free through sheer force of will. With both he and his blade cursed however, it was like having his will doubled and then thrown back at him. The stronger his will became, the stronger the blade would push him back."

Shadow tried to piece this information together and make heads or tales of it.

"Ok, so he was cursed, then they weakened it somehow. He was able to regain his free will and helped them out in the end. After that, the curse continued though is bloodline until just last year when Tigger finally broke it once and for all. But…this isn't adding up. If the curse was broken, then why would it affect me at all? And I still don't get what that wired smoke thing I did was. I know I saw William use it in that memory flash thing, but Schaeffer said he was under the curses influence at that time…" Looking up, Shadow shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I still don't get it. What does the curse have to do with what I did back out there?" Shadow asked.

Schaeffer took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a brief second before opening them to respond.

"I know that William's blood flows through your veins. I know that his curse is inside you, and I know that you have tried to hide this fact from your comrades," she said calmly.

Shadow's eyes widened.

"The ability you used to save your friend from the Rock Fish, was a power that William received through the curse. Only someone with his blood would be able to perform it."

Gulping, Shadow readied her defense.

"But the curse was broken! Tigger broke it when she kissed Aladd! No more curse! End of story!" Shadow fired back.

Schaeffer shook her head sadly.

"That is where you are wrong. Your friend merely put the curse in a dormant state. It is still very much alive, as you demonstrated so aptly for us earlier."

Shadow shook her head slowly.

"No…no….no no no no…no! I am not a traitor! I will never betray my friends!" Shadow shouted in both anger and desperation.

At this, Schaeffer lowered her head solemnly. "You won't have a choice, not if it comes to that."

Now, choking to hold back her tears, Shadow asked the only question she could.

"Why?" She asked weakly.

Looking back up, Schaeffer reached out and wiped away Shadow's tears with her thumb.

"Because, the curse has three parts. It is true that it can go into remission and be forced dormant, but if any two parts of the curse are rejoined, then it will become active again. Shadow, I can feel it pulsate within your body every time your heart beats, I can feel the curse drawing power every passing second."

Shadow sniffed to hold back her tears, knowing that she was in a very bad situation.

"What? Why? How?" She pleaded, her arms shaking in both anger and despair.

Schaeffer reached out to her arm, and pulled up her sleeve, exposing her arm, before doing the same to Shadow.

"Remember, I told you that my power was intermingled with his during the charging process. Any part of my power that is on this terra, I can feel. Including the curse. The curse that is in your blood Shadow." Schaeffer waited for a few seconds before continuing, allowing the girl to absorb and process the information.

"But…why is it…waking up? I haven't done anything since I got here?" Shadow asked, managing to keep her shaking to a minimum.

"That, is exactly what caused it to stir. Remember how I told you there were three parts to the curse?"

Shadow nodded.

"Those three parts are the person's blood, the sword, and this terra itself. As soon as you set foot on this terra, it caused your blood to stir, and began to reawaken the curse within you. I don't know how long it will take to fully reawaken, but it won't take long, not with you this close to the sword. You need to get out of here, and soon."

Shadow looked up suddenly.

"You mean, its not…awake yet?" She asked hopefully.

Schaeffer shook her head.

"No, not yet. But I can feel the pulsations growing."

Shadow nodded before sniffling again.

"But, why the terra? I mean, why would that set it off?" Shadow asked in confusion.

This caused Schaeffer to look down shamefully.

"Because…of me," she replied.

Kai was currently trying to figure out just how they were going to be able to get out of this mess. Sure, he hoped that they could just blow up the place and transport the…elf, to another terra, but he had a lingering sense of doubt that that would work.

"Hey Kai? What are those?" Tigger asked pointing at the ships radar.

Now Tigger was very smart. She knew what a radar screen normally looked like, but Kai's was far from normal. Under the screen was a small needle that from time to time she had seen move slightly, but not often enough to figure out what it was. Only that it was not a compass, gyroscope, or flight instrument of any sort.

Added to that, she had never seen a radar screen that had red blips along the rim.

Seeing the small flashing blips, Kai groaned.

"Well, looks like the heat is on now. Thanks for the warning Tigger," Kai said as he pushed the throttle to max.

"You never answered my question Kai! Again! What is that?" She asked, not liking that she was being ignored.

"Ok kiddo, welcome to Murk Tech 101. That there is a radar sonar system. It detects anything that moves via sound wave reflection," Tigger cut him off.

"I know how radar works! And sonar! Now what are those red blips?!" Tigger demanded.

Kai looked over his shoulder to Tigger with a face devoid of any emotion.

"Those are engine echoes from Cyclonian's. Lot's of em."

Tigger looked over to Starling, who paled slightly.

"We're on the clock now. If Lark is anything like she used to be, she's caught wind of what we're doing, and has probably sent out several battle groups to reach the other sites as we speak."

"Then that means were too late?" Starling asked glumly.

Kai shook his head.

"No, it just makes things more…interesting," Kai said with a gleam in his eye.

"You? But how is that possible?" Shadow asked, now even more confused.

"Shadow, this…is going to be very difficult for me to explain, just…try, ok?" Schaeffer asked sitting down on her bed with a sigh.

Not having any other choice, Shadow sat down beside the older woman cautiously.

"Remember what I said before about the curse? About how it was made by corrupting my powers during the transfer process? Well, my powers, come from this terra, as you call it."

Shadow squinted her eyes in concentration, having heard something like this not to long ago, but unable to remember where from.

"Since my powers were used in part to make the curse, and this terra is what feeds me, the terra itself is in a way cursed, but only to people of William's blood," Schaeffer explained.

"But…it's been thousands of years? Why would that affect me?" Shadow asked, still not understanding exactly what was going on. "And I don't remember anyone from my family ever having those…powers. If he had them, I'm sure that my…" Shadow stopped short of saying 'father' but Schaeffer understood where she was going.

"Those powers are part of the curse tired to myself and this terra. Think Shadow, if my powers were originally meant to protect this terra, then those who draw power from me would be the same, correct?"

Shadow's eyes widened. "So that means they wouldn't work anywhere but this terra!"

Schaeffer winced slightly.

"Not exactly, but close enough. If we were to leave the terra together, it would still awaken. Likewise, if you took the sword with you, or if I took the sword and left you on this terra, it would have the same effect. The only way to keep the curse from coming out of its dormant state is to get you as far from me, that sword, and this terra as possible, as quickly as possible," Schaeffer said in a tight voice.

Shadow nodded her head, now getting the picture.

"Well, I don't think Kai will let us leave until he's blown upeeerrr, until he's sure the mission is complete," Shadow replied almost slipping.

"Can you tell me what it is your doing out here? Anything at all?" Schaeffer asked carefully.

Shadow shook her head sadly. "I really wish I could, believe me, I really do, but…I can't."

To her surprise, a small smile graced Schaeffer's lips.

"Trust me when I say this Shadow, I know the value of keeping something secret, even from a close friend."

Shadow bit her lip, knowing that what she was about to ask was unfair, but she had to do it, for herself.

"Can you…tell me about them? My family, that you know, knew?"

Schaeffer's smile went from small, to slightly larger with a warm touch to it, one that reminded her of how a grandmother would look at their grandchildren.

"Of course. What would you like to know?"

"Well, why is it called the Catseye curse? I mean, from what I saw, William didn't look anything like a cat."

Schaeffer laughed at the girls reasoning.

"William had only a single child by his wife, Elizabeth. A daughter. She married a young man whose name was Catseye. They, unlike her family, had several children, all boys. Since the curse flowed in their blood, and they all….fell victim to it, it was named the Catseye curse, rather than the Dunbar curse."

"Dunbar? Oh lord, he was cursed the second he was born," Shadow groaned just imagining all the jokes and jabs that could have come from his name alone.

"As for William himself, he was a very good person at heart, just not very apt at…being around people."

"Well eleven years of puppetry will do that to a person," Shadow said without thinking. Eyes wide she was about to apologize to Schaeffer when the older woman held up her hand stopping her.

"I know, but even before then, he had trouble. His mother died when he way very young, and his father shipped him here for schooling."

"Geeze, looks like family issues runs with the curse too," Shadow thought bitterly.

"He made…a unique first impression with us, but he was always there when we needed him. He came close to discovering our secret several times, but we managed to throw him off whenever he got too close."

Shadow nodded in understanding again. She was starting to wonder if Kai was somehow a long distance cousin of hers but quickly banished the idea. Kai's family was a horror in of itself. Not quite traitor grade, but between what Kai and Starling had told her, along with the one encounter she had with his mother, Shadow knew it was a whole different kind of trouble.

"What was he like?" She asked, smiling as she leaned back on her hands, relaxing on top of the bed.

"Well, I already told you that he had a strong will, but he also had a pretty quick and sharp wit about him. He might not have been the smartest guy around, but he always knew when something was up. I remember several times when he actually picked up on things all of us had completely overlooked."

"He…really does sound a lot like dad," Shadow thought as her smile weakened ever slightly.

"In combat, he had no equal. One on one he was the strongest fighter I have ever seen. Even against multiple opponents he was a threat."

Shadow noticed that Schaeffer looked back to the mounted sword and shivered slightly.

"He practiced in his free time. Claiming that it was exercise and…how did he put it? Anger management? Yes, that sounds about right. His only real weakness was that he lacked self confidence."

Seeing Shadow's eyes bug out, Schaeffer elaborated.

"He had it pretty rough. His father had unreasonably high expectations for him. It didn't matter that he played on every team our school had or that he was in the top ten of his class, because he wasn't the captain for every team and wasn't the top of his class."

Shadow snorted. "I would have loved to meet him."

Schaeffer nodded sadly.

"What about the other one? The red head?"

Schaeffer's smile grew twice as large.

"Her name was Milly, and as I told you, she was adopted, just as her sister was." Shadow cut in at the reminder.

"How did that happen? I mean, come on, a sixteen year old getting married and trying to….what did he tell everyone?" Shadow asked with raised eyebrows.

Schaeffer laughed for what seemed several minutes but could have been just a few seconds.

"That is a very interesting story my friend. You see, he found her the day he arrived here. His family had been wary of sending their son out at such a young age, but he had become close friends with another of the students, one that was a prince actually."

Shadow jumped up at attention squealing.

"Ok, the guy in the cave called you princess, and you just said he was a prince, any other royalty in this little group of yours?" Shadow asked excitedly.

Schaeffer tapped her chin in thought for several seconds before replying.

"Only one, Elizabeth was the daughter of this…terra's ruler. And to clarify, I'm not really royalty. My friends called me Princess because of…well, our group's founder treated me like one, I guess you could say."

"Let me guess, some old geezer that wanted to adopt you to replace his daughter right?" Shadow asked sarcastically.

All Shadow saw was a pink blur, and then felt a pain shoot through her backside.

Looking around she noticed that she was no longer on the bed, but rather on the floor looking up at a rather irate pinkette.

"He was fourteen when we first meet, thank you very much." She said crossing her arms with a slight puff.

Shadow got up carefully trying to hold back a snicker. "Well, in that case, I think he had a crush on you."

Schaeffer shook her head softly.

"No, he did not."

Shadow rolled her eyes. "Oh come on. It sounds like he was always worrying about you and probably spoiled you rotten, if that's not a crush, then I don't know what is."

Schaeffer smirked before slowly, and elegantly holding up her left hand towards Shadow.

It took a second for her to figure out what the older woman was trying to say, but seeing what was on her ring finger summed it up.

"HOLY BLOODLY MARRY! Where'd he find a rock like that?" Shadow shouted with bugged out eyes.

Schaeffer let out a feathery laugh.

"Ah ah ah. It would be rude to kiss and tell."

Shadow blinked a few times before the message registered.

"CRADLE ROBBER!"

Schaeffer pouted in response. "Why did the others call me that then too? I still don't get it. I never once stole from any of our children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren." The pinkette said in confusion.

"She can't be serious can she? He was fourteen when they met, so she still would have been like, two, three thousand years old?"

Giving the woman a once over, Shadow did have to admit that she was far from ugly. For someone to be several thousand years old, and to have had what sounded like several kids of her own, yet still look like she was only in her mid to late twenties and still be in Olympic grade shape was nothing to sneeze at.

"Ok, back to the others, what were there stories?"

"Well, the Oni Della, or rather, Odd as he christened himself, had become close friends to the son of his countries ruler."

"Country?" Shadow asked in confusion.

"Terra," Schaeffer corrected herself before continuing.

"Anyway, Oni…Odd's father was a portrait artist for the royal court, and so by default, he became close friends with the king's son."

"Did anyone else know about…well, you know, him being an Oni?" Shadow asked suddenly.

"Yes, two others in the city knew, well, a few others found out, but nobody believed them, and they were executed shortly later, so it didn't matter."

Shadows eyes bugged out again. "Ok, you are so much like Kai it's scary. Don't just give facts, tell the story ok?" Shadow asked slowly.

"Oh, yes, of course. You see, the two were close friends, along with the princes life guard, they were rarely seen apart."

Shadow cut in again. "Life guard? You mean like those hot guys at the beaches and pools that always run real slow?"

Schaeffer laughed again before responding. "No, not quite, that's a lifeguard, single word. Life guard, or guardian for life, is a person assigned to a member of the royal house at birth, from one of the lesser houses, or as you would call them, non royal nobles."

"Ohhh, ok…who was the prince's life guard?"

Schaeffer grinned before pointing at the wall behind them, or rather, the twin fans on the wall.

It took a second for the action to click to Shadow, but when it did she grinned. "Ooohh, I get it now. Let me guess, the two got a little too close right?"

With a grin, Schaeffer rolled her eyes. "You have no idea. At any rate, the three of them were returning from a festival one night when a group of armed men attempted to capture the prince. According to them, he fought very well, and his life guard fought valiantly, but it was ten armed adults against three kids, the oldest of which was fourteen, so it was a bit one-sided."

"What happened?" Shadow asked excitedly, wishing that she had some popcorn.

"Odd…transformed, he revealed his true form so that he could protect his friends."

"Oh boy, I bet that went over beautifully with his folks," Shadow said shaking her head.

"They…were going to leave that night, when he told them what happened," Schaeffer said sadly. "The prince, while young, was well trained and schooled in the ancient ways. He figured that they would try to sneak out, so upon arriving at the palace he rushed to his father and…reported what happened."

Shadow was starting to wonder just how many traitors this one group had produced when Schaeffer continued.

"The king summoned both Odd and his parents immediately, and….threw a banquet feast in their sons honor."

"But, I thought mythic creatures like that were hunted, that's why there were so few left?" Shadow asked.

Schaeffer grinned. "As I said, the prince was well schooled. He told his father that the three of them had been attacked, and that while he and his life guard battled with the five that tried to jump them, Odd had found some conveniently dropped knives and used them to take out the five that tried to sneak up on them, thus explaining the 'claw' wounds on the men. Since his life guard confirmed the story, even going so far as to request the boy teach her some of the moves he had used, the father had no reason to believe otherwise. Three witnesses, one of which was his son, against ten adults that tried to kidnap and or kill them? It wasn't a surprise that everyone thought they were nuts."

But, what about his parents? I mean, they would have been upset with him right?"

"Oh, they were, he was in pretty hot water for awhile, but having the future heir of your coun….terra thank you personally and bow in appreciation lessened it quite a bit."

"So, where did his…daughter and wife come in?" Shadow asked, enjoying every second of listening to the older woman's story.

"It's just like when Kai used to visit us on the Condor." Shadow thought before frowning slightly.

"Schaeffer's actually a lot like him…I wonder if he's gone through half the stuff she has? I mean, yeah, he used to tell me stories all the time, but, I thought most of them were just old legends and junk. I never actually thought they could have been…real….or been related to him in some way." Thinking back to all the times she and the older teen had been together, she couldn't help but feel a slight pain in her chest. Her last words to him so many days ago, and the hurt expression on his face, they both came back hitting her like a sledge hammer.

"Kai, I'm sorry…I..I need to talk to him when we get of this dirt ball." Shadow decided.

"Shadow, are you alright?" Schaeffer asked slightly worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just…just remembering something I need to do when we get out of here…something important."

"Where was I now? Oh yes, his daughter. Well, you see, the war had already begun, but it was actually two wars at once. A seeable war, one that everyone knew about, and a…well, I guess you could call it a shadow war. When war was declared on the royal family, they sent their son to an allied terra so that he would be safe. His life guard went as well, but…there was a problem."

Shadow didn't say anything; instead she just motioned with her hands for her to continue.

"His cover was that he was just the son of a court official, which got him into the palace and royal academe. His life guard went as herself since her father was a known noble, but…they were separated, as it turned out the royal academy had separate living quarters for male and female students."

Shadow shrugged her shoulders.

"Sounds pretty normal to me. What were they divided by? One floor?" She asked.

"They were in separate wings of the palace grounds. Also, since she was eight months older, she was put in a higher class, so, for the most part, the prince was unprotected."

"Ok, that is bad."

Schaeffer nodded. "Odd volunteered himself as a royal guard, which his parents protested to at first, but when he made it clear that he was going to help his friend with their support or not, they relented."

"Wow, he sounds like a great friend to have had," Shadow said smiling warmly.

"Well, that and he had six older sisters, so I think he might have just wanted to get away from them for a bit."

Shadow nearly fell on her butt laughing at that one.

"Anyways, when he arrived, there was an attack, and several buildings were destroyed as a result. The prince and his life guard had arrived to pick him up, so they were there when the blast went off. They thought his cover had been blown, but it turned out to just be a random terrorist attack."

"Just a random terrorist attack? You make it sound like that was normal," Shadow said gaping.

"Well, at the time, it was actually. It was a dark time in history, and many people died. Two of which were Milly's parents."

Shadow wanted to shout about how the woman could just say stuff like this with no trouble at all, but the look in her eyes told Shadow that it had affected her, just that she had plenty of practice at covering her emotions over, same as Kai, Starling, Marina, and even Aerrow.

"The three of them managed to pull her from her parent's vehicle before it…went up. She wasn't too badly injured, just some nasty scrapes and bruises, but Odd had to use his true form to get her out, so she knew, well, she knew something was up, but she was too mentally distraught to make anything of it at the time."

"That's horrible!" Shadow shouted.

Schaeffer nodded sadly.

"They brought her to the academy to treat her injuries…and…well, that's when things got…complicated."

Shadow smirked. "Oh, I like this girl already."

"She threatened to expose Odd's true nature, the others knew it was a bluff, and I'm sure he did too, but instead of calling her on it, he folded. My future husband was the son of the local magistrate, and would, on occasion help with the records. He managed to alter her file so that she was allowed into the academy permanently, and Odd, well, since she had seen his true form, and had in all essence blackmailed him, he got her back by getting her to sign a contract. It turned out that the contract was actually a modified adoption certificate, which the prince notarized, and the assistant magistrate filed, making her 'his' daughter."

Shadow laughed. "Man, that must have stung, but why would he adopt her?"

"Because, she had nowhere else to go, no family, and no home to return to. Odd had a bit of a soft spot to him, particularly for girls." Schaeffer said narrowing her eyes at several, select memories.

"Having six older sisters made him that way, I guess." Shadow said still laughing.

"True, but he was still a shameless flirt."

"Ok, how about his wife? You said their daughters already knew each other right?"

Schaeffer nodded. "Yes, Samantha had altered her daughter's records so that she was admitted that same week. She was, in some ways royalty I guess. She was called, Princess of the Night, or the Princess of Thieves. She actually lived up to that title too. She managed to steal from everyone else other than Odd and get away scot free. With him, she tried, but…well, between his superior hearing and keen sense of smell, she didn't have a prayer of getting away," Schaeffer said grinning.

"Oh, but I bet she gave him a good fight, am I right?" Shadow asked seeing the chase in her mind.

Schaeffer nodded. "You are correct. She was able to fight him in his human form as an equal. Even when he brought out his true form, she held him back until the others arrived. As good as she was though; she was no match for an Oni, a sword master, and an assassin in training all together. Though she did give them each a black eye, and Ulrich was limping for several days due to a…um…unorthodoxed attack."

"Let me guess, she kicked him in the crown jewels right?" Shadow asked grinning.

Schaeffer's eyes widened. "That's exactly what Odd said?!"

"Well, I am his great great granddaughter….even if it's through adoption." Shadow said glumly.

"Still funny though," Schaeffer offered.

Shadow nodded and smile in response.

"Well, after they managed to subdue her, they were going to turn her in, but her daughter came running to her rescue and tried to fight them. Her crying out, 'don't hurt my mommy' shocked them to say the least, but when they tried to get away, Odd…pounced them, and after a few minutes, he managed to get them to talk. Finding out that she was stealing to support herself and her adopted daughter, the others pitched in to help out as best they could. They had enough to keep her daughter in…but not her. She attended a public school about a day's travel away, but she came by every weekend to check on her."

"What…what did she do?"

Schaeffer shook her head sadly.

"She never told us about her past, even Odd, and they were married!"

Shadow frowned. "If she wouldn't tell him, even after getting married, then it must have been pretty bad."

"I…always got the impression that she was ashamed of something from her past, something she was afraid of us knowing."

"But, if she married him, she must have trusted him? I mean, what about her daughter?"

Again, Schaeffer shook her head.

"What her real name was, whoever was her original family, and what happened the first seventeen years of her life, she took with her to the grave. But, we respected her all the same."

Schaeffer paused for a moment before continuing. "I think, I think when she found out that they were a member of the royal family, his life guard, and a legendary creature, she…well, felt ashamed of herself for being a commoner, and a street rat, who was still welcomed by them like she was…well, one of them."

Shadow thought it over, and guessed that it made sense. Even if they had accepted her into their group, and accepted her as one of their own, she would probably always have felt like she was lower than them. Especially if she had made a living as a criminal, to be accepted by nobles would have been…difficult.

"Where did she get that dagger from?" Shadow asked, pointing at the wall mounted weapon.

"We don't know. She had it the night we caught her, the only other clue we had was that according to Odd, she wore it sleeping, and even took it with her when she went to shower. I don't think it was ever more than five feet from her until after the day she died."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes until Shadow got up and stretched. "I think it's time I hit the hay, thank you Schaeffer, for everything."

For the third time that night, Shadow was caught off guard. This time, when she felt two slender arms wrap around her from behind and hold her tightly.

"Thank you, Shadow, for everything. I…needed someone to talk to. It's been so long since I had a chance to speak to anyone, and…tonight I had the chance to relive some of the good times in my life. Again, thank you."

Shadow could have sworn than she heard a crack in the older woman's voice, but knew that there was no reason to bring it up.

Several short hours passed before a loud banging sound was heard echoing throughout the tower.

"What on Atmos is that?" Rondana asked sitting up straight from her 'guest' bed.

Marina groaned, having a clue, but not awake enough yet to express anything other than contempt for being woke up at such an hour.

Piper, however, just continued sleeping.

"How does she do that?" Rondana asked, surprised by how the girl was able to sleep through what seemed to be a war being waged on their front lawn.

Shadow rose with a groan.

"Lot's of practice, that's how. She's been with the guys for like, five years now. I think she could sleep through Junko getting his teeth pulled if she wanted to." The young girl said before dropping back onto her bed.

BANG

BANG

BANG

Marina's eyes narrowed. "I swear, if that's Kai, I'm going to kill him in his sleep."

The four met Schaeffer on the way to the lift, who shot them a curious look.

"Friends." Was all Shadow said to answer the unasked question.

The pinkette nodded at the explanation, having little to nothing else to go on.

Reaching the ground floor, Schaeffer touched the wall pad which caused the 'door hole' to open again.

Sure enough, Kai fell through face first behind his thrown fist.

"I told you we didn't need to knock that loud," Tigger said giggling.

Kai huffed and pulled himself up before brushing off.

"Since you are the only male present, I assume that you are this 'Kai' the others have told me so…little about?" Schaeffer asked curiously.

Looking up, Kai was about to shoot a half sarcastic reply when he froze.

"She…really…is an elf?" Wincing, Kai reached into his belt and pulled a small bag of gold which he tossed to Tigger, who in turn caught it and quickly made it disappear among her many pockets.

Hearing a foot tapping impatiently, Kai turned back to the others.

"Yes, I am Kai, now, who might you be?" He asked as he looked the 'elf' over critically.

"Perhaps it would be best if you came inside? I believe it is far more comfortable in here, than out there."

Kai looked back to Tigger and Starling, silently asking what they thought. Tigger shrugged her shoulders in response, and Starling gave a slight nod, which Kai knew meant 'Ok, but be careful'.

Once the three entered and the shock of the towers enterer passed, Schaeffer lowered the lift to the 'lower' floor they had spent yesterday in. Kai flinched and nearly reached for his weapon, but Piper slapped his wrist away and gave him a knowing glare she learned from Starling.

'Down Simba'

Kai tried to relax, but was still uneasy. He didn't like walking into an unknown, which was all that this situation was to begin with.

"Well, I know your friends, and a little about them. But, I'm afraid they didn't tell me much about you three." Schaeffer said pointing at Kai, Starling and Tigger.

"Look, Miss….?" Kai paused waiting for the woman's name.

"Schaeffer."

"Schaeffer, I wish we had more time, but I'm afraid that ours has run out."

The others looked up at this point, slightly startled.

"What do you mean our time's run out?" Piper asked.

"Piper, last night, when we got the rattle trap going again," Tigger ignored Kai's glare. "We detected several Cyclonian destroyers heading this way. We need to…well…you know. Get to work."

"No! Kai you cant, not here! She has nowhere to go!" Shadow shouted, shocking everyone.

Kai shot Shadow an odd look, since Shadow hadn't even spoken to him in what seemed like weeks, while Schaeffer merely continued to watch as things played out.

"Shadow, if the Cyclonian's get a hold of this tower, there's no telling how much damage they could do. You knew what this mission was about the day we left Deep."

"But Kai, this is her home! You can't just make her leave!"

"Excuse me, but what are you talking about?" Schaeffer asked, having enough of being left out of the loop.

"I'm sorry miss, but, we don't have but a few hours until the Cyclonian's arrive. We have to destroy this tower, and anything that might give them an advantage in the war before they do so."

Schaeffer's reply was swift and sharp.

"No."

"Look, I'm not trying to force you to do anything, but lives are at stake. I know you were here first, and if I had my way, you would be left alone. I don't take a single ounce of pleasure or joy in evicting someone from their own home, believe me. But I will do what I have to in order for this mission to succeed, and if that means deporting you, then I will." Kai said with a steel edged voice.

The others watched in awe as the pinkette walked up to Kai and narrowed her gaze like a homing laser on him.

"You are not the boss of me. You have not the power, nor the authority to make me do anything."

Kai's eyes narrowed in return.

"Look, I wish we could help you, I really do, but we don't have the time, or the resources. Even if we did, it would be putting you at greater risk," Kai replied evenly.

Not seeing any change in the older woman's countenance, Kai continued.

"If we helped you stave off this attack, they'd just regroup, resupply, and come back in greater numbers. They would continue to do this until they finally got what they wanted, and you were tied to a dissection table in Larks palace. Likewise, if we went to the Council for help, after throwing me in the deepest darkest hole they have access to, they'd help hold off the Cyclonian's, while at the same time pillage this tower for everything that its worth, then abandon the terra, and you'd still end up on a dissection table. The only thing I can offer you is to help hide you among friends. I know a few people, and more than just a few places's where they would never find you."

Piper, along with the others listened with fascination as Kai went from his normal self, to politician and then to negotiation mode.

"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. Either way, both sides would just strip this place down and leave it empty," Piper thought sadly. Just a few weeks ago, she would have fought to get the Council involved, but after learning what they put Kai through, and, even worse, what they had tried to do to Starling and several others, she felt disgusted at just their mention anymore.

"I'm not powerless. I have survived on my own for quite a while apparently; I think I can hold my own."

"You might, but that's not a risk I'm willing to take. Even if you can hold off an army on you own, you can't hold out forever. One little slip up, one little mistake, and it would be all over."

"You are not destroying my home." Schaeffer replied dangerously.

"Look, you might have had clout in your time, but here, you just a nobody. I'm trying to help you, can't you see that!" Kai shouted having finally lost his last nerve to the woman.

"By blowing up my home and shipping me off to some corner in the wall where I can live in hiding!"

Kai's hand twitched and glowed with a faint black aura, an action not lost by the others present.

"What do you want us to do? Stay here and help protect you while our families and friends are, at best, enslaved?! We don't have time! I've got six more terra's to clean out AFTER this one. I've got one, dinky, piece of trash little freighter, and a handful of allies to work with. I'm trying to out run, and out maneuver not just one, but BOTH of Atmos's ruling powers so that we don't have another Darkest Day on our hands!" Kai fumed.

"So you're telling me to just give up? Let everything I've ever known be destroyed and to not even try? My friends never would have given up as quickly as you have. You are not only a pig headed brute in your methods, you are a coward by nature." Schaeffer hissed.

Kai's hand flew forward, black glow now pulsating, at the older woman.

Like pink lightning, her arm shot out with a soft warm glow.

"Schaeffer!" Shadow screamed out.

"Kai!" Piper and Starling shouted.

Kai was thrown back against the wall behind him as though Snipe had just hit him with his club.

The black glow around his hand that had for a brief moment solidified into a claw returned to a pulsating glow before fading out completely as Kai looked up, and for the first time, in a long time, felt a twinge of guilt mingled fear.

No further than an inch from his face was a glowing orb of pink energy, crackling with what sounded like a static charge.

"You've got power, I'll give you that kid. But I'm leagues beyond even your dreams."

"Kai! Don't do anything else stupid! You've only had four years of practice, she's had four thousand!" Piper shouted.

Staring at the glowing pink colored orb of death, Kai felt his face twitch. The last few days, combined with everything that had happened since finding the logbook was starting to take its toll on Kai.

With a snarl, he rolled to the side and brought up his other hand which he had discreetly charged with the last few ounces of energy he had access to without causing Starling any trouble.

Again, his attack was deflected and he was thrown onto his back.

"I can see that you're determined. I'll give you credit for that, but I think you've lost your way, little one," Schaeffer said as she lowered her left hand, which, like her right hand, now had a glowing ball of static energy.

"What would you suggest we do? Go back in time so we have more to come up with a plan? I'm doing what is in the best interest of the people!" Kai shouted.

"Actually, that's not such a bad idea," came a female voice echoing throughout the room, seemingly out of nowhere.

Only Piper noticed Starling flinch slightly, but everyone heard Kai's groan.

"You can't bother to show up when I need you, but now you can?" He asked sarcastically.

Piper looked around for the source of the voice, as were the others. She saw Kai, Schaeffer, Starling, Rondana, Tigger, Shadow, Marina and Starling, but nobody that she hadn't seen before.

"Wait a minute! Two Starlings!" Piper's head snapped back so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash.

There, standing beside Marina was Starling, but, then standing beside Kai, was Starling, but, note quite.

Looking the newcomer over, she saw several minute differences between the two. The one standing beside Kai had slightly paler complexion, blue eyes, and most notably of all, a much darker shade of purple hair.

"Do you realize how much more difficult you just made things?" Kai asked exasperatedly.

"Not my fault you waited so long," she replied coolly.

"AH! Where did Starling's twin come from?!" Shadow shouted suddenly noticing there were two Starlings in the room instead of just one.

"She's not Starling's sister," Kai said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Rose, can't you use a different form? Just for now?"

The woman shrugged her shoulders before shifting her appearance. There was no flash, no sound, and no movement. She just, changed. One second she looked like a darker version of Starling, next she looked completely different.

Now, her hair was the same color, but much shorter, now in a twist knot, also, her eyes and skin were the same as before, but she looked like nobody they had ever seen before. Not strange or wired, just completely unfamiliar to anyone present.

"Better?" She asked with a rather annoyed tone of voice.

"Yes, though you're still going to cause me noting but trouble, you know that right?"

"Whose she?" Marina asked, face showing genuine confusion. The woman had appeared out of nowhere, yet Kai seemed to at least be acquainted with her, as did Starling she noticed.

"It's a long story, and no, we don't have time to tell it right now."

Seeing the looks everyone was giving him, Kai sighed.

"Look, I was going to tell you guys about her when we left the terra," Kai was interrupted by Tigger's scoff.

"Yeah right. You haven't told any of us jack, well, except tight lipped Piper over there," she gestured to the teen with her thumb, but was surprised to see the look on Piper's face.

It was a mix of astonishment and fear, along with just a touch of anger.

"Actually, he was," the woman replied before waving her hand towards Starling. "If you don't believe me, you can ask her, she was the one who convinced him to."

Everyone turned to Starling with huge question marks above their heads.

"Kai promised me that he would tell you after we left this terra. He might not always do what you want him to, and he can be a royal pain in the backside, but his word's solid. He hasn't broken a promise since the day I met him," she explained honestly, before adding.

"He's just very good at telling and doing what he wants to while still keeping his word."

"Rose? As in, that Rose?" Piper asked taking a small step back unconsciously.

"Yes Piper, I am, that Rose, but as Kai said, we have precious little time right now. The talons will be here in about five hours if Kai's instruments were working properly."

"Uh, excuse me, but how do you know this stuff? How did you know Piper's name? How did you know about the talons? AND WHO ARE YOU!?" She shouted.

"Look, Tigger, I know it sounds like something Kai would say, but believe me, it is very, very complicated." Starling said calmly. Though even a blind man could have seen the glare she was sending the other woman.

"I'll make it simple. She's part of me ok? Whatever I see, she see's, whatever I know, she knows, but the opposite is not true so don't even bother asking," Kai said with closed eyes before taking a few deep breaths.

"Excuse me, but, you said you had an idea?" Schaeffer asked.

"How can you be so calm?" Shadow asked the older woman, not only confused, but feeling a massive head ach approaching.

"Because, I'm actually used to this kind of thing. Believe me when I say that I've encountered far stranger things in my lifetime than a woman suddenly appearing out of nowhere," she explained shaking her head softly.

While they were talking. 'Rose' walked up to a terminal on the wall and began entering a sequence of keystrokes, alarming the others.

"Hey! What do you think your doing?!" Shadow shouted at the woman.

"I'm trying to see if this is what I think it is," she replied without turning to face the others.

"What do you mean; see if it's what you think it is? How do you even know what you're doing?" Rondana asked as she slowly approached the woman.

"I mean just what I said. I know this place, or rather, I know what it is. I've never actually been here myself, but I've been to a few that were similar in my time," she replied.

"Ok, hold the phone, Kai, who is she? How does she know about, about all this?" Tigger asked, confused, and now completely lost.

"Ok, fine. Here's the condensed version. She's Rose, otherwise known as the Black Burst Dragon, guardian of terra Ulara, and source of the Shadow crystal. Any more questions?" Kai asked with a groan.

"Dragon? She doesn't look like any dragon I've ever slaiiiiii seen," Marina said before breaking into a mysterious fit of coughs.

"Because I don't have to. This isn't my actual body. I can make it look however I please. Normally I use Starling's form since it's one that Kai knows, respects, and will listen too. This is the form of my first Scion, Senna."

"Scion? Isn't that a new skimmer model?" Shadow asked in confusion.

"Yes, but that's not the same. In this case, Scion means host, or vassal. Since she no longer has a body, she shares one with Kai. He gets access to her power in exchange, but only a small portion of it," Piper said as if reading it out of an encyclopedia.

"Host? You mean, she's a parasite?" Rondana asked, trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

"Yes"

"No"

Kai and Rose both said at the same time.

"Funny, little one. I don't seem to recall gaining anything out of this. So pray tell, how am I a parasite? You accepted me willingly if memory serves," she replied, still not looking behind her.

Kai growled slightly, but said nothing.

"That's what I thought. You should be greatful, as many times as I've saved your hide, and everything that I've given you. You don't have a rock to stand on against me, and you know it. Without me, you would have died so many times over in the last four years that it's sad."

"ENOUGH! Just do whatever. I don't care," Kai shouted, holding up his hands in the universal 'I surrender' position.

"Schaeffer, are you aware of what this base was designed for?" Rose asked, finally turning around to face the others.

"Yes, it was a relay tower for the Phase Matter Transmat System. But what does that have to do with anything?" She asked with a puzzled expression.

Rose grinned. "How would you like to see your friends again?"

Schaeffer's eyes widened, before narrowing into a glare.

"If that's a threat, then you had better be better able to back it up than he was," Schaeffer said nodded towards Kai.

Rose laughed. "Oh, I am more than capable of backing it up, however it was not a threat to begin with. I'm serious, it is possible for us to, how do you say, have our cake, and eat it?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand. What are you talking about? Time travel is impossible, that was proved long ago," Schaeffer said approaching the woman.

"From within time, yes, it is impossible to affect the time stream. However, I believe Marina knows that there are ways around this little problem, am I correct?"

Everyone turned to Marina, who gaped at the older woman.

"How could you possible know about?"

Rose chuckled. "I was there when they were made, so I know full well about Hylian sacred treasures, all of them."

"Within the time stream? So what you're suggesting is to somehow go outside the time stream?" Piper asked with a thinking expression.

Rose smiled. "You were correct in your assessment of her Kai; she is as bright as she is cute."

Kai merely groaned as Piper's cheeks flashed a light pink color for a brief second, before changing back.

"But how can you go outside the time stream? Time is everywhere?" Piper asked, trying to get back to the subject at hand.

Rondana and Tigger both looked up at the same time with matching looks of disbelief.

"Oblivion."

"What?" Kai asked turning to face them.

"Oblivion! Time doesn't exist in Oblivion, that's how, she was able to survive there for so long without aging a year," Rondana said bitterly. Though she had come to accept what had happened, she still felt a twinge of bitterness every now and then.

"Wait a minute, your suggesting that we somehow use Oblivion as a medium to send Schaeffer to the past with the Transmat System aren't you?" Tigger asked, having suddenly figured out what Rose was suggesting.

"That is correct. If we can create a tear between the two dimensions, we should be able to tear through the other side wherever, or, whenever we wish." Rose said with a small smile.

"That…makes sense actually. But how do you propose doing this? I've never heard of this, Oblivion you speak of. Also, the Transmat system has been down for years. It's a good theory, but I don't see how we could put it to practice," Schaeffer said shaking her head.

"Hey! I can fix anything! With all that Ancient junk Kai's dumped on me since I met him, I'm pretty much an expert with the stuff, so don't worry about that. Just show me where and I'll handle the rest." Tigger said cracking her knuckles with a grin.

"But we still don't have a way of getting her to Oblivion. That would require an Oblivion stone, and I don't think any of us have one of those on hand," Piper said sadly.

"That's not a problem. Just find me a crystal and I'll make it into one. I can't promise that it'll last for very long, but I should be able to pull it off." Kai said pushing off the wall he was leaning against.

"Uh, Kai, aren't you forgetting something?" Piper said with a raised eyebrow.

Seeing Kai's blank expression, she continued. "You use those powers of yours and this terra goes into the upper stratosphere."

"I said I didn't know how long I could do it, not that I couldn't. I know my limitations," Kai said, ignoring Rondana's scoff.

"This coming from the guy that's been bit by every species of snake on Atmos," she muttered.

"Hey, you weren't there during any of those times. Snake bites were the least of my worries," Kai fired back.

"Enough! Look, we have…we have a plan. Rose, what would you say our chances of success are?" Starling asked as she rubbed her temples in thought.

"One in fifty, and that's if luck is on our side," she replied quickly.

Everyone shrugged.

"That's about normal for me," Piper said.

"That's actually higher than what I'm used to," Kai said scratching the back of his head.

"Well then, let's get to work," Marina said with a sigh.

The group went their separate ways, after Schaeffer showed them how to use the lift that is. Tigger was taken to the transportation pad and shown what was broken and needed fixing, while Rose went to the top of the tower and began what she called 'reprogramming the system', whatever that meant.

The others were a different story. Starling, since she had yet to fully recuperate took the helm of Kai's freighter and kept it on standby. When the enemy arrived, Tigger and Rondana would go with her and man the turrets, while Marina, Kai and Piper would launch in their skimmers with Schaeffer to hold off the enemies as long as possible. Rose, since she was the only one aside from Schaeffer that could operate the systems, and lacked an actual body needed to remain close to the Shadow crystal, which was placed on the control floor. They each knew what they had to do, and were ready to do them, all but the last one.

"What do you mean I'm staying behind?!" Shadow shouted incredulously.

"I mean just what I said Shadow. You've been off since we landed on this terra, and we can't afford anything going wrong here. Besides, look at it this way, you've actually got the most important job out of all of us, you're the last line of defense," Marina said trying to calm the clearly crossed teen girl down.

"I can fight! Why won't you guys trust me? I'm older than Tigger for Oracles' sake!"

"But you've never manned a gun turret before. Please, Shadow, you have to understand," before Marina could continue, Kai stepped in.

"Look, Shadow, I know this really is not what you want to do, and you want us to trust you, but if you want us to trust you with more to do in the future, you have to prove that you will do what is asked now. Besides, Marina was right, you are our last line of defense. The way my powers are right now, I won't be able to move while I'm restructuring the crystal, or while holding it in that state. You are the only thing that I will have to protect me should a talon get inside here during the transfer. It might not be worth much, but I'm putting my life in your hands," Kai said in a rare moment of serious honesty.

Shadow narrowed her eyes, but upon remembering her promise both to herself, and Kai, nodded her head accepting her part in the operation.

"Kai, may I have a word with you?"

Kai jumped slightly at hearing Schaeffer call his name. After patting Shadow on the shoulder and offering a small smile, he went over to the living Ancient, unsure why she wished to speak with him.

Schaeffer was pacing from one end of the room to the other biting her thumb nail as she did so. So many thoughts were flying through her mind, how much she had missed her friends, what she would do when she saw them again and so much more, but at the moment, she had more important matters to attend to.

"You rang?" Kai asked as he leaned against the wall with crossed arms.

"Yes, Rose has told me of your…situation, and I wish to help you."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "I don't really see how you can help. You're not going to be here much longer, and I don't think you can repair my crystal in the little time we have before things get hectic."

Schaeffer bit her lip before speaking. "I can transfer some of my power to you, it won't be much, but we'll need all the edge we can get. I won't do it against your wishes, but I think you should consider it at the very least."

Though his eyes didn't show it, on the inside Kai was shocked.

"Uh, well, I guess, if you think it would help. What did Rose say?" Kai asked, still unsure if it was a good idea.

"She said that it wouldn't hurt to try. Our powers are very similar, so hopefully we can use mine to stabilize yours."

Holding out his hands, Kai grinned. "Hook me up then, just don't make my skin yellow or turn me into a skyfish and I don't have a problem."

Schaeffer nodded, before swallowing nervously. It had been several thousand years since she did anything like this after all.

Reaching out with her hands, she placed them on either side of his face, about an inch away from coming into skin contact.

"Close your eyes, and try to visualize your energy field, I need to see what I'm working with if this is going to work," she ordered calmly.

The others, having finished setting the charges had returned just in time to see what was happening. At first, the obvious thoughts ran through their minds, resulting in several eye rolls and one mysterious growl.

That lasted for about five seconds.

Taking a deep breath, Kai exhaled slowly before taking another deep breath, and again exhaling. After the third breath, they saw a flicker, like a candle light about to snuff out. Two, three, four times the flicker went before taking form.

Piper leaned one ear to the side, thinking that she heard something, something she had heard twice since this little journey had begun.

A woman singing.

Sure enough, she could hear it, but the voice was weak, as if from a far distance.

"Do you guys hear that?" Piper asked, now knowing that something was indeed up, and she was not crazy.

"Yeah, it's that song from the arena, and the Phoenix Den," New Piper said in an interested tone.

"Not you!" Piper hissed.

"Not you who? I was just saying that I didn't hear anything," Rondana replied worriedly.

"I'm not crazy, and SHUT UP YOU!" Piper yelled mentally.

"No, seriously, I think I hear something, it sounds like a woman singing, but, I can't make out the words," Piper said frustrated.

The flicker then solidified into a black and purple mist like cloud around Kai that pulsated with a rub dub sound.

"What is that?" Shadow asked having never seen anything like it before.

"It sounds like,…it sounds like a heartbeat," Rondana said with narrowed eyes.

A few seconds passed before Schaeffer closed her eyes and moved her forehead closer to Kai's.

The others watched as she took several deep breaths before flickering just the same as Kai had several seconds earlier. Only instead of a slow flickering that lasted several seconds, hers only flickered twice before forming into a pink mist like cloud that enveloped her.

At this time Shadow leaned to one side, hearing the same song as from back at the tomb the day before.

"It's her, the song is coming from her, but….why cant the others hear it?"

Like Kai's, hers pulsated at what one could describe as a heart rhythm.

Seconds later, the two energy fields began to move around their respective owners like a swarm of ants. Not leaving their skin, but at the same time moving visibly around them, almost like a living creature. Kai's forming into two ridged wings and a sharp tail, Schaeffer's only extending two soft wings.

The others watched as Schaeffer moved slightly closer, so that she and Kai were only separated by a few inches.

"Your energy is very unstable, so I'm assuming it's not natural, correct?" Schaeffer asked squinting her already closed eyes in concentration.

"I wasn't born with it, no," Kai said trying to maintain focus.

Marina elbowed Starling and shot her a small grin.

"Five gold says he tries something,"

Starling snorted before shifting her eyes back to the scene before them with a slight frown.

For several seconds, nothing seemed to happen, but then they saw part of the pink field extend to the black field, trying to match its beating rhythm. After several more seconds, the pink field formed into something like a circular saw blade, but with its teeth pointed inward, while at the same time Kai's formed into teeth pointing outward. The two connected, and the pink field gradually eased itself into the black field before both disappeared completely.

Both Schaeffer stumbled slightly backwards before catching each other to keep the other from falling.

"I'm sorry, but that was all I could do. If I had more time, I would have been able to do more for you, but your field is so chaotic it would take weeks to fully repair it temporarily."

Kai nodded, having guessed that would be the case before they even stared. "Thanks for trying," he said before hearing someone clear their throat.

"Hm, oh! Hey guys, everything ready?"

"Yes Romeo, we got everything set. It will take two hours for the gate to fully charge, and the talons will be here in an hour and a half. We just need to hold them for thirty minutes. As long as they don't have more than a handful of aces, we should be fine," Tigger said ignoring the look Kai shot her.

"Alright then, lets sattle up." Kai said grinning.

"Wait a second, how's Schaeffer going to help us? She can't fly a skimmer," Piper pointed out with a frown.

Schaeffer had a small smile on her face as she stepped forward. "Oh don't worry about me. I have my own set of wings."

The others, knowing that they wouldn't get anything else out of her went back to checking everything one last time before the operation commenced. Rose pulled Kai aside for a moment, but aside from that nothing else happened.

"Uh, guys, there here!" Piper shouted from the doorway with her binoculars.

"Let's have a look shall we?" Kai said taking them from her and looking out to the horizon.

"How bad is it?" Schaeffer asked, sensing something wrong from the youth.

Kai handed the binoculars back to Piper before turning to face the others.

"Guys, if we don't make it through this, I just want you to know, it's all Arygyn's falut."

Everyone's eyes widened.

From the bridge of the lead ship, Nagera peered through his own binoculars and frowned.

"Look like the place has a rat problem. All hands, battle stations!"

Alarm klaxons sounded throughout the battle group as talons manned the eight Cyclonian destroyer's gun turrets. At the same time, fifteen men from each boarded their skimmers and prepared to launch.

"Looks like this baby setting job just got me a bonus," Nagera said with a grin as he made his way below to his own skimmer.

End chapter 14

AN: Ok, so you know what to expect next chapter right? BIG BATTLE TIME! I'm serious; this battle is going to be HUGE! Epic sized! And now, for a commercial!

See! Starling, Tigger and Rondana take on a fleet of Cyclonian destroyers!

"Great shot Tigger, but don't get cocky!" Starling shouted over the intercom.

"Hey! Not my fault your stuck flying while we get to have all the fun! Yeeeha!"

See! Marina and Piper battle a swarm of Talons!

"Not bad kid, but I'm still three ahead!" Marina shouted with a laugh.

"Three ahead huh? I think your old age is starting to mess with your head," Piper shouted as she pointed behind them, specifically at the rear firing blasters on Kai's skimmer, and the mayhem it was causing the battle field.

See Kai and Schaeffer's power unleashed!

"Let's see what you got princess," Kai said with a grin holding out his hand.

Schaeffer shook her head softly as she pulled him up by the hand before entwining their arms together.

"Try to keep up dragon boy," Schaeffer said grinning as her wings spread out once again, and she reactivated her energy field. Light red and black merged into a single reddish purple hued sphere that engulfed the tower.

Next time, on Chapter 15,

The Shadow's Requiem! Rebirth of the Fifth Warrior!

"Now it's my turn Nagera!" The hollow voice called out from above.

Till next time, Ja Ne!