Me: Hey, you guys! Since August is coming up, I'll have to see if this story will be finished this summer or not! But I'm glad you're all liking this story though! ^_^

Butch: Quick question! What will the girls give us once we let them help us go after the Voltiacs?

Brick: Good question. Whats the surprise, girls?

Momoko: *blushes a bit* Its better to wait until after we defeat them

Miyako: R-Right! ^^;

Kaoru: I'm not gonna like this at all *sighs*

Boomer: Okay then?

Jack: Do I get a surprise?

Himeko: I can give you one, Jackie~ *hugs him*

Jack: *turns bright red*

Me: Anyways, I only own the plot while the characters belong to their respective owners. Enjoy the chapter!

Ch. 21

Kaoru's p.o.v.

"Do you remember what we said?"

"We know. Stay close to you boys and do not wander off somewhere else. We get it."

"And?"

"Do not rush in while fighting them and if they're too strong, we gotta retreat."

"Good!"

"Seriously, we're tough fighters. We're not weak."

"True but you girls are very important to us and we don't want to lose you."

"I'll be fine, you big lug."

"Hurtful!"

"Oh quit with the pout!"

"But you like the pout."

I sighed as he gave me a small pout that was supposed to look cute. Honestly, Butch. You're acting like a little kid now. You need to act your own age. I know that you're worried about me but I'm gonna be fine. The girls and I can also protect ourselves.

Right now, we're traveling again to find the Voltiacs. But this time, the boys have a theory on where they could be. They believe that they've all went to Shadow Forest. Yeah, thats the name of that place.

Its supposed to be a dark and creepy forest and anyone who goes there can get lost easily and its almost impossible to get out of it. The only way you can possibly get out is if you have some light with you like lanterns, flashlights, candles, or anything. But unless you can see well in the dark, then you don't have to worry about bringing them. For us, we need to stay close with the boys.

"Once we pass by Lake Ethereal, we'll arrive at the forest and go deep inside there to go over to the heart of it. Once we get there, we need to hide in case they already arrived there," Brick finished explaining.

"But what if they already destroyed the instruments and we were too late?" Momoko asked him.

"Its impossible to destroy them," Boomer started explaining to her. "The reason they're called the Golden Prophecies is due to how powerful they are. Its impossible to destroy them unless you're the one who created them and knows a way to destroy them."

"Didn't the clean leaders from back then created them with their powers?" Miyako asked.

"Thats right," he said. "However, we don't know if the next generation of them are with us today or not. And we don't have that much time to look for them. For now, we need to find the Golden Prophecies and stop the Voltiacs from using their power to control our world."

"And how are we gonna stop them? Last time, they actually kicked our butts and were a bit tricky to beat," I pointed out.

"Which is why we have a plan," Butch said.

"Does this include Jack Spicer?" I pointed over to him.

"Wait! What am I gonna do?" he asked.

"You still have your monkey staff and other artifacts, right?" Brick asked him.

"Duh! I never leave without them!" he opened his bag to show his staff and other stuff he had.

"We need you to stay in your monkey form and help us defeat them. We believe that your excellent skills in dodging them could help us beat them. Plus, you can use the Shen Gong Wu to help us save the instruments."

"Really? I can use all of them?"

"Yup."

"Great! I always wanted to show off!" Jack widely grinned with his eyes closed.

"But don't let them know about your abilities or they'll try to take them from you," Brick told him.

"Got it!" he exclaimed.

I noticed a lake appearing right beside as we continued walking on the path and it looked like the lake we once went to where Miyako was. However, this one looked a bit different and I can see some flowers floating on the lake. They looked pretty and I could see a bit of sparkles in them. Are they rare flowers or something?

"Be careful of those flowers. They can make anyone hallucinate especially by their beauty if you ever sniff or touch them," I heard Butch say.

"I'll make sure to remember that," I said.

After we walked passed it, we ended up at Shadow Forest and I could definitely see why its a creepy place to go into. Its literally dark in there and you get an uneasy feeling just by looking in there or if you try to enter there. The Voltiacs are either brave or psychotic for going in the forest.

"Should we all hold hands so none of us will get separated?" Boomer asked Brick.

"Thats a good idea. Everyone, hold hands with each other!"

Brick held onto Momoko's hand and she then held onto Boomer's hand who held Miyako's hand who held Butch's hand who held my hand and Jack holding onto my other hand. Looks like we're all in a chain. I saw Brick's eyes beginning to glow red and we then walked inside the forest while holding onto each other. At least he knows where to go.

I heard an owl hooting loudly and crickets chirping somewhere. It feels like nighttime even though its not. I can see the girls nearly shaking in fear but Brick and Boomer squeezed their hands to reassure them that everything was okay. I tried not to be scared but I can say that this place would definitely be the perfect setting for a horror film.

Suddenly, Brick took us to a different direction and got us to hide behind some huge bushes. He ushered us to stay quiet and when we peeked through the leaves, my eyes widened in shock as I saw why.

Robed figures were standing around in a circle while another robed figure was pouring something on the ground. I looked over to see that the figure drew some sort of symbol on the ground that represented the symbol on their cloaks. When the figure was done, he/she brought out a black book from inside the arm sleeve and placed the book in the middle.

Once they were all in position, they suddenly began to chant some weird language and I could feel myself shaking a bit. I remembered that their leader also spoke that type of language when the girls and I played the instruments. But what are they saying?

I could hear the boys growling under their breaths and Jack was nearly quivering in fear from their growls. The girls were calming them down by holding their hands which kinda worked. I looked at Butch and saw that his eyes were nearly glowing and it looked like he wanted to pounce on them. Stay calm, Butch. Don't let your anger get to you.

When they finished dancing, one of them came up holding the necklaces containing the instruments. They were placed on the book and the figure went back to his/her spot. Suddenly, the symbol began to slow including the book and so were the necklaces.

But then, it stopped and the book was then flown out of the symbol along with the necklaces. I heard one of them growl and go over to pick them up but a shield protected the necklaces from being touched. Looks like they can't destroy the necklaces at all.

"The spell didn't work!" a man's voice yelled in frustration.

"We need to try a stronger spell," another man's voice rang out.

"That won't work either," a woman's voice I recognized as Tenshi replied. "Its impossible to destroy these instruments."

"The only way to destroy them is if we had the creators of them to destroy them," a dark voice that I recognized as the leader said. "However, they're all dead and their generation doesn't know how to destroy them."

"So now what!?"

"Maybe if we destroy the goddesses of lights, the instruments will be destroyed as well!"

"That won't work either! They'll still be impossible to destroy!"

"Then what can we do!?"

"I don't know!"

As they all continued to argue with each other, I looked over and saw that Brick was using hand signals to Spicer. He nodded at him and used his staff to transform into a monkey and then vanished into the forest. A few minutes later, some loud rustling was heard from the trees and the figures stopped to hear them.

"Did you hear that?"

"I did!"

"Someone must be here!"

A loud monkey screech was heard and everyone got into a stance or nearly flinched. So Jack is gonna distract them and lead them somewhere far away while we go get the necklaces. Is that the plan Brick is using? I hope it works and it doesn't fail.

"A monkey?" I heard Tenshi say. "Why is there a monkey in the forest? Could it be a Were-Monkey?"

"It doesn't matter! Everyone! Go after that monkey right now and make it stay quiet! We need the peace and quiet to-

A banana came out of nowhere and hit the leader in the back of the head. Jack was laughing loudly in his monkey voice and I could see a verbal tick mark forming on the leader's head as his whole robe suddenly engulfed in red with steam coming out of it.

"NEW ORDERS! WE ALL GO KILL THAT MONKEY RIGHT NOW!"

The others quickly nodded and ran into the forest with their leader leading them to find Jack and possibly give him a beating of a lifetime for what he did. I looked at my friends and I saw the boys quickly ran out of the bushes with their vampire speed and came back with the necklaces in their hands.

"Got em!" they replied in unison.

"Now we need to get out of here and go back to the castle before everyone else comes back to see them gone!" Brick ordered us.

"Hold on! What about Jack?" Momoko asked him.

"He'll be fine. He'll meet us back there soon once he loses sight of the Voltiacs. I sent him out there to distract them and send them on a wild goose chase," he explained to her.

"Hopefully, it works," she said.

They then picked us up bridal style and quickly ran out of the forest and all the way back home. I actually do hope that Spicer would be alright and won't get his butt kicked. But most of all, he's got to be careful of the leader since it looks like the leader wants to literally kill him.

"Once we get back home, the girls have to play, right?" Boomer asked Brick.

"Thats right! Its the only way to save our world and defeat the Voltiacs!" Brick exclaimed.

"Luckily, we know a holy chamber near the castle that could help increase their power!" Butch replied.

"What holy chamber?" I asked him.

"You'll see once we take you all there!" he smiled at me with his pearly white teeth showing.

I nearly blushed but looked at my hands in interest as he continued to hold me while running towards the castle. Hopefully, they're right about this and I want us to play right so we could save everyone. Though I do hope the holy chamber they were talking about can actually help us. If it does, I guess I have to make Butch's gift really special. But I'm not telling you all what it is! Its embarrassing!