Chapter 7: Heirs Of Fate 3: The Changing Tide 1
Zack: I shall tell you a story of another realm that I will never forget. The boy, George, took up the Nightwing Erebus. Not far off was an American prince and what few allies he had gathered. The prince brooded on his recent defeat as his allies tended to their wounds. The injuries were deep, but not mortal. They had been inflicted by shadowy foes... for during the battle, the prince had been menaced by minions of a dragon.
After George, Lil, Phil, Wally, and Nicole left the groove of cherry blossom trees, some of the members of the invisible army, who actually turned out to be normal people, made their way onto it.
"Darn it! They got away!" the prince, a boy named Tommy, said angrily.
"Wretched fools... I'll curse them for a thousand years for causing me pain." the brown haired girl that Kimi had attacked before talking to Lil, a diviner named Rachel, said angrily.
"Are you hurt bad? Here, try my all-natural painkiller!" a girl named Kiki said.
"Maybe it's for the best that the enemy fled from us. If they had continued with a full-force assault, we might not have survived." a brown skinned pegasus rider, a girl named Susie, said.
"That's what you think. Me, I'm not going to stand for a beating like that! Lousy punks... soon as these wounds heal, I'm gonna..." Tommy started to say.
"Run away? As fast as we can?" a ninja, a black haired boy named Jesse, asked.
"Not you, too! You seriously think we're gonna let them off after they attacked us?" Tommy asked.
"I don't know if you've taken a look around, but some of us are cut up pretty bad. Is the plan to order us to die for you?" Jesse asked.
"Well... I mean..." Tommy started to reply.
"Why don't we all take a break to cool our heels here? We were lucky that we all met up after escaping our Deeprealms. But we've been fighting nonstop since then, and it's clearly taking it's toll." Susie asked.
"Can't argue with that! Besides, the more time my remedies have to work, the better!" Kiki replied.
Rachel sighed.
"Everywhere we turn, these ghostly enemies seem to be waiting. If this is a hex on us, it's a strange one." Rachel said.
"I never wanted to fight in the first place. Look at us. None of us are what you'd call trained soldiers. It was clear as day we didn't stand a chance against those guys just now. But there you go, charging right into a fight without thinking." Jesse said.
"Did you not see the dragon with them?" Tommy asked.
Jesse nodded.
"What about it?" Jesse asked.
"The second I heard that dragon's roar, I couldn't resist wading in. Here we had a mighty beast, backed up by powerful-looking allies. I had to know if I could go the distance against a force like that." Tommy replied.
Jesse scoffed.
"What is wrong with you? What do you think this is, a sport? Sure, your the prince, but you can't go off on your own half-cocked. We all agreed before your suicide run to steer clear of the enemy." Jesse asked angrily.
"It's not like I asked any of you to follow me into the fight. You came along on your own." Tommy replied.
"I give up! Your impossible!" Jesse said.
Susie walked over to them.
"Stop squabbling, both of you. This isn't the time to treat one another like enemies." Susie said.
Tommy and Jesse ignored her.
"For the record, it's not my job to keep you safe. My dad might've been your dad's retainer, but I didn't inherit the job. So don't act as reckless as you please, thinking I'm obliged to clean up afterward." Jesse said.
Tommy smirked.
"Heh. I'm actually glad your not my retainer. Who needs a coward like you working for them?" Tommy asked.
"Tommy! Jesse! Behave! Our homes have been taken from us in a coordinated ambush. We need to know more about who our enemy is and why they've done this. Until we have that, we can't be picking fights among each other. So take deep breaths. Count to 10. Whatever it takes to settle down." Susie ordered.
"Yeah, I know what I SHOULD be doing. But I'll blow my stack if I can't fight a little to get my mind off these last few days. Doesn't this frustrate you at all? We lost our only homes, our only family... you never wish you could hit back? It doesn't get your goat to have to run away all the time?" Tommy asked.
"That's not..." Susie started to reply.
"Because it gets my goat. My whole herd of them. Probably some cows, too. Father kept me alive long enough to meet up with you, even gave me Midnight Skadi. Somehow, I don't think living life on the run is what he wanted out of me. I wish I'd been better when things started happening. Maybe we'd still be together. He'd have been happier then anyone to see me wielding his sword. He'd have been proud of me." Tommy said.
"Oh, Tommy..." Susie said softly.
Kiki started sobbing softly.
"Hmm? Why are you crying?" Rachel asked.
"I'm frustrated, too. Mother isn't here because I couldn't defend myself. All I know how to do is brew medicine. If she was here, I could have patched up her wounds. But she never came back from the Deeprealm she rescued me from." Kiki replied.
"You weren't to blame, Kiki. The fault lies with those shadowy soldiers. Not even my dark magic had any effect. I hoped to make them rue the day they forced us out of our Deeprealms, but all the rue is mine for being unable to squash them like the toads they were." Rachel said.
"I feel the same way. Well... up to a point. If I had honed my skills more, I could have fought them off alongside my father. But I'm a pale shadow of his perfection. He had to stay there alone while I fled. It doesn't seem fair of him to leave such a perfect void in my life." Susie said.
"Huh... guess I'm the odd one out here. I finally feel free. It was no thanks to my dad that I made it out of my Deeprealm. I'm sure he had better places to be." Jesse said.
"Hey, watch your mouth. Dana was there at your Deeprealm." Tommy said.
"What?" Jesse asked.
"He went to help my dad, but my dad just yelled at him to go see to his son. If you didn't see him, you might've left just when he was getting there. Or maybe... I hate to say it, but he might've been defeated before reaching you." Tommy replied.
"You think so? It'd certainly explain why there was nothing stopping me from leaving the place. Is that even possible? Could my dad be..." Jesse started to ask.
"Sorry, man." Tommy replied.
"Well, how do you like that! My dad saved my life, and I never even knew. Guess that's a ninja for you." Jesse said.
Rachel smirked.
"Heh heh... your not as unique as you thought, it seems. It's a bit creepy how similar all our shared experiences are, though. Since we all have regrets over not fighting, why not try proving ourselves once more? After all, our enemy no longer has the benefit of their dragon." Rachel said.
"Wait, really?" Kiki asked.
"The dragon's signature presence is absent now. Surely you noticed." Rachel replied.
"That's weird. What could have happened to it?" Kiki asked.
"I couldn't guess. Maybe it was under a curse and someone dispelled it. Whatever the reason, it's fair to say that this changes things considerably. Without a rampaging dragon on their side, the advantage may swing back to us." Rachel replied.
"Huh, yeah. You think we have a chance at beating them if we strike now?" Tommy asked.
"I'm no tactician. Just stating the facts." Rachel replied.
"There was something strange about those enemies with the dragon, though. They acted less predictably then the troops who stormed the Deeprealms. I can't put my finger on it beyond that. Maybe if we can take them prisoner, we can question them and find out why." Susie said.
"Hmm. They might be as tired as we are from the last fight. If we can sneak up when they think they are safe, maybe we can win this time." Kiki suggested.
"I'm game. Is everyone ready?" Tommy asked.
"If you give me a little longer, I can brew up a bit more medicine. Although I want to make sure Jesse is okay with it before we go." Kiki replied.
"Hmph... if there's gonna be a fight, I'll pitch in my share. But I'm doing this for my own reasons, not any of yours. If a certain someone can't keep his head, it's not on me to reel him in." Jesse replied.
"I'll keep it in mind. Alright, everyone, if things look bad, it's okay to fall back. That said... let's go!" Tommy ordered.