Yay! New chapter! Get on with it! Okay!
Ash was slowly awoken by the clear sound of calm tune from a flute outside his room's window. It seemed the city was already wide awake, despite the sun only just peeking over the horizon, blissfully unaware of the events that occurred the night before. The teen yawned and rolled out of his bed and onto the floor with a thump, desperately trying to escape the approaching rays of the early morning sunlight. He found a comfortable spot on top of a few blankets and managed to drift back off into a slumber, that was until May came crashing through his door...
"Ash! Wakey wakey! C'mon, it's time to go!" The brunette spotted the scrunched up ball on the floor and giggled slightly when it started to shift towards the underside of the bed, she strolled over and yanked off the warm shell of cloth, much to the raven haired teen's dismay. Ash groaned, "Ugh...Five more minutes..." May lowered herself into a sitting position on her knees and poked Ash's back, "Five minutes for you is an hour for us!" She said with a frown as she carried on poking him, he sighed, "I'm tired from yesterday..." May smiled as she started poking him with both of her hands, "I didn't get much sleep..." The poking increased in speed, Ash growled and sat up finally, "Fine...Let's go..." May giggled as Ash's eyebrow twitched, "And stop poking me already!"
The two teens walked into the living room, May did at least, Ash was dragging his heels and wiping his eyes as he yawned. The raven haired teen was suddenly awake when he spotted Cynthia over by the fire, she had completely transformed. Instead of looking depressed and lost, she was now radiating an aura of joy, she stirred a few sausages around in a pan. They sizzled and crackled as the heat caused them to produce a succulent smell that filled Ash's nose and made his stomach demand sustenance. The sound was so loud that it was heard by the young woman over the sound of the food cooking, informing her that there was someone else in the room besides her.
She rotated her head and saw the two teens, one giggling and one scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. She smiled brightly, "Morning you two! Breakfast will be ready soon, take a seat at the table and I'll bring it over in a minute." The two teens obeyed and sat down at the sturdy oak dining table, Ash couldn't resist any more, he leaned forward and whispered in May's ear since she was sat next to him. "Hey...What happened to Cynthia? Does she know that Jack's back yet?" May was caught off guard by Ash suddenly appearing so close to her but regained her composition, "I think so, although I haven't seen him this morning... He probably went out to get some supplies." She replied, Ash raised a brow and looked at the door to Jack's room, it was across the room from Cynthia's, the teen noticed that there was a sign on Cynthia's bedroom door that said 'No entry'. He was brought out of his thoughts by Cynthia placing a plate of sausage, egg and beans in front of him, the sight and smell made his mouth water and he tore into the meal like a starved animal.
After breakfast had been eaten and the dishes had been washed May left the room, saying something about explaining the hundreds of maggot corpses outside to the inn keeper. Cynthia had also ran out to get some supplies, after stumbling out of her room with a scarlet coloured face, Making Ash become sightly confused. The raven haired teen had no idea where Jack was.
Ash sighed as he reclined on the wooden chair that was in front of a large window overlooking a large marketplace, many people were chatting, laughing and dancing as the hubbub of the city began to grow in size. He noticed a brown haired woman and a blonde haired man run behind one of the stalls off of the main street, suspecting them of stealing something, Ash continued to watch. The rounded the corner of the stall to where nobody could see them, or so they thought, and did the last thing Ash expected. "T-They're making out?!" He exclaimed in disbelief with a red face as he watched the man pull the woman towards him in a tight embrace. Ash felt awkward... "They're really goin' at it..." He mumbled as he watched the two people forcing themselves against each other, he couldn't watch any longer and moved away from the window, feeling thankful that he was only one who saw them. A thud from the back of the room made the teen snap from carefree to serious. There was a moment of silence, Ash started going over the possibilities for the the origin of the noise but was brought out of these thought by another thud sound. He decided to check it out, picking up his sword and pulling it out of it's scabbard, just in case...
The teen sneaked along the wooden floorboards and came to the place where the thuds were coming from...Cynthia's room. He placed his ear against the wood of the door and listened for a moment, another thud, followed by a frustrated grunt "Dammit..." A thief! The teen stepped back and kicked the door open, going against the orders of the sign that was sent flying into the corner of the room. "Stay where you are you bastard!" Ash bellowed as he strode into the room with both hands on his sword. He was surprised for the second time that day when he saw a brunette that was bound t the bed by shackles that were attached to his wrists and ankles. "Ash!" "Jack!?" The two shouted, "What the heck is going on here?! It looks kinda dodgy..." Jack sighed in relief, "Finally! You need to get me out of here!" Ash sheathed his sword and walked over to his friend with confusion written all over his face, Jack began to explain...
(Last night)
Jack pushed open the door to the group's living room with a heavy sigh, "I'm so tired..." He groaned, May crossed her arms with a sympathetic smile, "Well you have been through a lot today... You should get some rest, we all should." She said whilst looking at Ash, who was also looking very exhausted. Jack looked at the two of them with a tired smile, "I guess I'll hit the hay first then, see you in the morning you two." Ash and May both said good night and headed to bed, as did Jack.
(10 Minutes later)
Jack couldn't sleep. He was too thirsty. The brunette rolled over onto his back and sighed, after a few minutes he sat up donned his red tunic since he had been sleeping in his trousers, he didn't bother to tie up the belt. Leaving the front open, displaying his chest muscles and still healing burns. The brunette stepped out of his room and sauntered down the hallway, seeing easily through the darkness with his night vision. He entered the kitchen and noticed that there was a jug on the table, he walked over to the wooden container and looked inside, it was half full of water. The brunette shrugged and downed everything that was inside, he finished drinking and wiped his mouth. "Ah! That's better." He said quietly before heading back towards his room, taking a brief glimpse out of the window at the bright crescent moon that was filling the room with a pale light. On the way back he noticed that the door to Cynthia's room had been left ajar, he raised a brow and pushed it open slightly, it would have been pitch black inside to any normal person but Jack could see clearly. The place was a wreck, all of the blonde haired beauty's belongings were scattered around on the floor and a musty smell was hanging in the air. Jack felt a feeling of guilt swarm throughout his body, he was most likely the one who caused her to turn into the woman she was now...
The brunette stepped into the room and sneaked over to Cynthia's bedside, said person was curled up under the covers in a deep slumber, she had tracks of water running down her face. Jack gently wiped away the moisture with his thumb and lowered his mouth down to her ear, "I'm back..." The brunette whispered as he planted a light kiss on her forehead, he then stood up and walked over to the door, suddenly becoming very very tired...
(The next morning)
Jack shifted slightly, the movement produced the sound of clinking metal for some reason... He grunted slightly as his nose began to itch, he moved his hand to scratch it, only to be stopped dead and yanked back into his original position. He frowned and slowly opened his eyes, his arms were being held up above his head by something, he couldn't move his legs either...
The brunette lifted his head and looked at his legs, they were shackled to the bed! He noticed that he was wearing nothing apart from his trousers. "What the hell..." He mused as he looked up at his wrists to see that they had the same problem as his legs. Jack grunted as he began to pull on the chains, they moaned from the force but held steady, they weren't made out of normal metal that was for sure. The moon shifter tried using his trump card but the transformation failed, something was stopping him from doing so! He sighed and looked around the room, only now noticing the blondette that was sat elegantly on a chair at the side of his bed. "Cynthia?" She smiled brightly, "Hello Jacky" She chirped, using her pet name for him, "You're undoubtedly confused about your current situation?" He simply nodded, Cynthia clapped her hands together, "Well, after the events of the other day, I realised that you are way too reckless. If you carry on the way you are, you're going to get yourself killed! I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again." Jack raised a brow, "You do realise that I'm immortal?" Cynthia crossed her arms with a pissed look on her face, "Then how come those injuries are still on your chest?" Jack simply shrugged with a goofy grin. She babbled about something, taking a quick glance at his bear chest with a pink face.
Jack tried pulling on the chains again, Cynthia shook her head, "It won't work, the salesman said that these chains were built to hold back a dragon." Jack raised a brow again, "And yet they fit my wrists?" Her eyes shot open, "Y-Yeah, it's the material that they're crafted out of..." Jack growled and gave the chains a sharp jolt, making Cynthia jump slightly, "I'm not going to release you..." He looked at her but she avoided eye contact, "What about our quest? We need to get moving." Cynthia frowned, "I'll figure something out..." Jack rolled his eyes, she just as stubborn as when they were kids, he tried to remember how he always sorted it out back then. His mind suddenly clicked, he would tell her that there was something really fun that they could do but not unless she cheered up... He began to scour his mind for something he could say...Something fun...
An idea popped into Jacks head but it made his face go red and his heart rate accelerate. The brunette gulped, "I can't believe I'm about to say this... But there's no other way!" He looked at the blondette who made eye contact for a second but then darted hers away. Jack gulped again, "Cynthia..." He said, finally getting her to look at his face that was extremely red for some reason. "W-What happens...If I want...TO HAVE CHILDREN WITH YOU!" It took a few seconds for her to register the thing she had just heard from her childhood friend and crush. "W-W-What?" She said blankly, her face suddenly lit up in a bright red with a jut of steam that launched out of her head, "WHAT?!" She fell backwards off her chair, "I-I-I N-NEED SOME...A-AIR..." She stuttered in a mass of jumbled words, she then quickly scampered out of the room and slammed the door. Jack fell backwards with a face that was the same shade as Cynthia's, if not deeper...
(End of flashback)
Ash could barely suppress a laugh. Jack had become a deep shade of scarlet, "Y-Yeah yeah okay, just get me out of here..." Ash regained his composure and headed over to his very embarrassed friend, still snickering slightly. He took a look at the chain and an idea popped into his head, "Maybe I can break the chains with aura?" Jack shrugged, "They were built to hold back a dragon so they must have a lot of physical resistance... But you could still try." Ash held up his hands but instead of forming a sword, he tried something else, he started pumping aura into the metal. The shackle slowly began to glow a bright blue as it filled with energy, Ash carried on pumping aura into the metal. After a few seconds the shackle began to hum with a steady vibration as the power that it could contain went over the limit, Jack cheered, "Yeah! That's it!" The chain couldn't take any more and popped open, releasing Jack's right arm. Ash grinned, "It's good that my aura worked right?" Jack nodded with a chuckle, "I was considering biting my arms off if no one showed up." Ash cringed, "That's gross man!" Jack shrugged, "I'll heal and it's a way out so I don't mind." Ash shivered and started work on the remaining chains.
(5 minutes later)
The last shackle popped off of Jack's leg at last, much to his satisfaction. "Thanks Ash, I owe you one." He said as he placed a hand on the teens shoulder, the raven haired teen nodded with a smile but then noticed the injuries on Jack's chest. The damaged skin glistened in the sunlight, guilt took a firm hold in his mind, "Those injuries..." He mumbled, not taking his eyes off of them, Jack saw the glint disappear from his eyes. The brunette thumped his fist against his chest, the spot where his heart was located, "Souvenirs of my most entertaining battle yet." Ash smiled slightly, "You're too carefree..." Jack grinned, "You're too sad. Cheer up pal, I'm fine. I't takes more than that to kill me!" The glint slowly returned to Ash's eyes, "Yeah...Yeah! Okay!" He laughed slightly, "We're on our own at the moment but as soon as the others get back we'll leave. Jack nodded as he began to put on his new outfit he had acquired the day before.
Ash popped the question he had been wanting to ask for a while, "What's up with your new outfit by the way?" Jack looked himself over with a grin, "I survived our battle but my clothes kinda got destroyed..." Ash was beginning to sulk again, Jack waved his hands around, "Oh not to worry! These clothes are so much better, they're light and easy to move in!" Ash crossed his arms with a dissatisfied look evident on his face but eventually cracked his usual smile and nodded when he saw Jack bobbing around and throwing a few light punches.
(10 Minutes later)
Cynthia came back first, becoming disappointed when she saw that Jack had escaped but that feeling was drowned out by extreme embarrassment, Ash chuckled as he watched the two of them make awkward eye contact. The atmosphere in the room was a strange one, Cynthia was sat at one side of the room with her hands buried in her lap and her eyes on the ground, where as Jack was leaning on the window sill watching the events of the market place below, nervously tapping his foot. Ash was going through his memories using his aura, the same thing that he had done before.
The tiny pellets orbited around the teen, making him feel at ease, he tapped one, it opened up and displayed a pair of young boys wrapping a bandage around a fallen bird that was on the ground. Ash smiled as nostalgia appeared in his mind, he and Gary had always enjoyed observing the wildlife in the surrounding mountains of their village, taking it upon themselves to rescue this young fledgeling when they came across it. The sound of the door opening brought him out of his thoughts as he brought all of the pellets back together to form a single sphere and then absorbed it back into his hand.
The brunette sighed in relief as she closed the door behind her, "Well that's the problem of the maggots sorted out, the inn keeper even gave us some money!" She chirped whilst holding up a medium sized brown pouch. Ash nodded at her with a smile, the girl then spotted the third person in the room, "Oh there you are Jack! Where did you go?" Said person turned to face her with a nervous grin, "O-Oh hi May, I was-" He spotted the sideways glance from Cynthia, "J-Just out..." May decided to drop the subject, sensing the impending doom if she pried any further. "Anyhow, are we ready to go?" The group seemed to perk up at the thought of travelling again, Ash grinned, "Hell yeah, I need to get out of this crammed city."
(Outside the city, beside the road, next to a river)
Jack laid out his magical map on an ancient looking tree stump. He studied the many roads leading to the huge desert, looking for the quickest way, thanks to the warning from his newly found friend Korrina. "Looks like we'll need to cross the ocean... That'll put us as close as possible to the main kingdom. Doubt the ocean colonies will take kindly to a group of strangers showing up with out any notification...King Sethos will most likely already know of our existence, that'll make navigating the sea even more difficult..." The brunette spotted a a huge group of serpents and what looked like huge octopuses lurking in the darker parts of the water. "Oh great..." He groaned.
Ash grunted as he launched a flat stone out across the flowing water, it hopped across the surface seven times before plunging deep into the centre of the river. May clapped enthusiastically, "Wow! How do you do that?!" Ash chuckled, "Practise and a bit of skill, plus you need a flat stone." May nodded with a excited "Humph" as she began frantically searching for a stone similar to the one Ash had thrown. The raven haired teen took a look at Jack, he was staring at his map with a worried expression on his face, "Wonder what's got Jack so stressed..." May paused her hunt and looked at the moon shifter, "Maybe he... Perhaps it... Um..." She struggled to come up with a theory so instead sat down on a rock and looked around, "Hey Ash?" The raven hired teen turned to face his companion, "What's up?" The brunette pointed to the spot where a certain blonde woman had been practising water magic, "Where's Cynthia?" As if on cue, said person came sprinting down a slope towards the group, panic visible on her face. "We've got a huge problem!" She shouted.
(Up in the trees)
Ash grit his teeth, A whole human garrison were swarming out of the exit where the group had been not thirty minutes ago! "What the hell?! Are they looking for us?" Jack was squatting next to the teen, "Most likely, somebody must have been spying on us-" He suddenly cut off, Ash looked at his friend, "What is it?" The brunette simply pointed at an ornately decorated carriage that was positioned at the centre of the march, a green haired teen was emerging from its doorway. "Not that bastard..." The brunette growled, Ash raised a brow, "You've had a run in with him too?" He nodded, "I sorta slaughtered his whole patrol once, can't remember why I didn't just kill him too, ungrateful little brat." Ash nodded as he watched Drew barking orders out to the surrounding units, the all roared a confirmation to the boy and then began to comb the surrounding woods. "We need to go..." Said the teen, Jack nodded and they both began to descend to the ground. Ash was about to jumped down into the brush, but not before launching an apple at the unsuspecting prince's face.
(With the prince)
"Find those bastards! I want them alive!" Barked Drew as he thrust his hand towards the surrounding woodland, his escorts nodded, although being pissed off at having to take orders from a snotty little kid. The green haired teen turned to face his purple haired informant, "You better not be wasting my time peasant, if this information you have given us is phony I'll see your head roll" The purple haired teen shot a glare towards the prince that made him feel as if he had been frozen solid by a blizzard spell, "You'd dare speak to the one person that could possibly benefit you like that? Pathetic." Drew recovered his composure and grit his teeth, "Just watch your tongue..." He said as menacingly as possible, it didn't affect the other teen at all, he simply flicked out one of his many chains and began to windmill the weapon out of boredom.
The supervisor spoke up, who had just arrived after discussing a problem with one of the regiments, "Paul right?" He said as he leaned forward slightly whilst standing next to the teen to get a good look into his hood, Paul simply grunted in response, finding no interest in the approaching attempt at a conversation at all. "The names Harley" He said as he held out a hand, Paul did nothing, only carried on scanning the tree line. He was enjoying the struggle of the guardsmen as they tried to trudge through the undergrowth whilst being weighed down by their plate armour. Harley trotted around and stood in front of the teen, blocking his view an thus, pissing him off. Paul moved his coal coloured eyes up to meet Harley's teal coloured ones, he found his appearance both stupid and amusing. The man was wearing a green jacket with a black under shirt, green trousers imprinted with diamonds and a dumb looking green hat. On his feet were a pair of pointy green shoes.
"Why are you talking to me?" Paul said coldly, wanting to end the conversation as fast as possible, Harley put his hands on his hips. "I just wanted to get to know you a little more hon. We are going to be stuck together for a while so we should get along" He gave the teen a quick wink, making him want to puke, "Drew can be a little...Difficult at times" He said whilst looking over to the prince who was ordering the group of five elite generals to prepare themselves. "But he's only like that hen things aren't going his way. He's scared...Having just lost his daddy and all." Paul shook his head and rolled his eyes, "I don't give two shits about the bastard, keep to your own, I don't need some pushy bastard going into my busine-" The teen caught movement in the corner of his eye...
The purple haired boy sprinted towards the group of generals, "You men prepared for battle?" He asked quickly, keeping his eyes on the one figure that was still in the tree. One of the generals nodded as he slung a Battle axe over his left shoulder, "We've been ready all bloody day boy, the lack of action isn't hat we worked our asses off to get promoted for!" Paul grinned and locked his eyes on the man who had just spoken, "I just saw our targets fleeing into the forest, could be a chance to get into a fight, unless of course you want to report to drew and lose the chance of fighting them yourself..." The general's eyes widened, he took a glance towards his squad and saw that they were already stood up and were holding the reins of their horses. He laughed heartily, "Lead the way..."
Paul mounted a horse and took a glance over his shoulder, the generals had formed a solid 'V' formation with their own horses, himself and the general he had spoken to both being at the front, He laughed evilly as he pictured the upcoming battle. The teen kicked his heels into the horse's sides, "Yah!" He shouted, the generals following suit, the mounts whinnied and all took off at a fast pace. Be hind him, Paul heard a loud 'smack', followed by the sounds of the prince's name in panic from Harley. "Pathetic..." He said as his horse galloped down the sandy trail towards the river.
(With the group)
Jack and Ash both came crashing through the undergrowth, Ash hit a loose rock and was about to go flying down the slope towards their camp but was pulled back by Jack, the teen chuckled slightly "Thanks.." Jack nodded and took off town the slope, the teen close behind.
May ran up to her two companions, "Cynthia told me that there was a platoon of soldiers!" Ash nodded, "Loads of them, worst of all, they're being lead by that prince." May's face became expressionless, it quickly turned to one of hatred, she was brought out of her trance by Jack placing a hand on her shoulder. The brunette looked at her friend to see him with a stern face, "You must want revenge.." She nodded, "I get that, but we can't fight right now, he's too well protected. He's brought well armed soldiers as well as his carriage, even if we do manage to take down his forces, He'll hide inside that thing like the coward that he is." May became disappointed as she dropped her eyes to the ground. "We'll get him eventually, don't get too hung up on it." Ash said with his usual determined smirk, she smiled at that and nodded "Okay" She looked into each of their eyes, "Then we need to get out of here!" Jack grinned as he took a look at his childhood friend, she was filling flasks of water and strapping them to her waist. "I'll be right back..."
(With Cynthia)
"Idiot..." She mumbled whilst watching the bubbles low out of one of her six flasks whilst it was underwater. "So stupid...He's an absolute idiot..." She corked her flask and submerged the final empty one. "I'm an idiot..." She said with a sigh, her crush's voice made jump and almost lose her flask to the current of the flowing water, "Maybe, maybe not." She whipped around to see Jack leaning against a tree with his arms folded and a smirk on his face. She regained her composure and huffed, "You should be thankful that I'm here, without me you wouldn't be aware of those soldiers coming our way." She looked into the water and saw that her bottle was full so she corked it and strapped it to her waist, "There" she said with a small smile. The blondette looked back over to Jack was but noticed that he wasn't there, she became confused and started looking for said person, "Looking for me?" She almost had a heart attack, falling backwards with a yelp, he chuckled "You're so easy to sneak up on." She sat up and crossed her legs with puffed out cheeks, the brunette's smirk had turned into a very satisfied smile, he held out a hand. Cynthia eventually accepted the aid and was pulled to her feet but then into a hug which surprised her for the third time that day, She heard him say something that made her face heat up and her heart flutter, "I am thankful, to Ash, to May...And you." He pulled back to look into her eyes, "I won't be lost as easily as you think." The blondette finally smiled, "We'll see, I'll have to keep you in check." Jack chuckled and broke away, much to his companion's dissatisfaction, he walked away slightly but then stopped and looked over his shoulder at the young woman. "You comin' Cynthy?" She eagerly nodded and ran After her crush.
(15 minutes later)
The sun had disappeared over the horizon but the last of its rays were now being blocked out by dark storm clouds that had settled into place over the landscape. "Not good... The rain's gonna make it more difficult to travel..." Said Jack as he bounded down the tail in his wolf form, May leaned out from behind Ash, "Are you sure it's going to ra-" She was cut off by a thunder rumple and a torrent of rain drops, Ash laughed as he shouted over the sound of the rain and the wind rushing past them, "I think so May!" The brunette rolled her eyes, Cynthia took a look behind them, "Nobody is following us, maybe they postponed the search because of the weather?!" She shouted, May shook her head, "I know that asshole! As long as he himself is dry and safe he won't let up!" Ash closed his eyes and began to glow as he activated his powers, he didn't pick up any life sources, not until the last second...
"Jack look out there's a trap!" He bellowed, the wolf din't see the chain that appeared from under the mud on the road, the metal links wrapped themselves around his back left leg and yanked him to a stop, sending his companions flying off of his back and onto the ground. The chain then forcefully yanked the beast high into the air and launched him down the edge of the muddy hill into the edge of the murky water. Ash slowly pulled himself up out of the grime and saw the group of six people that had been waiting in ambush for them. A sudden flash of lightning illuminated their faces for a brief second. May, who had landed on a thick pile of leaves recognised the one holding the chains, "It's that person that was eavesdropping on us! He must've informed the prince!" She wasn't entire sure if her friend had heard her over the sound of the deafening crack of thunder. "Attack!" Shouted one of the men as he waved his battle axe in the air...
(With May)
May jumped backwards to avoid the diagonal slash from her opponents broad sword and rapidly fired three arrows in a row. One towards the man's head, one at his heart and one at his foot. The two highest arrows were blocked as he held up his sword's blade so that is blocked both of their targets, he laughed but was cut off by the final arrow piercing his foot and holding him in place, he grunted in pain when he tried to move. He looked back at his target just in time to block an incoming arrow, he brought the blade back down and searched for his target, only to notice her right in front of him. He knew he wouldn't be able to swing his sword fast enough so he tried a punch, the attack was dodged and her received a heavy smash the head from a tree branch. The blow made his vision go fuzzy, he watched figure of his attacker slide to a stop at his side a medium distance away and let fly and arrow that pierced his skull and killed him instantly.
(With Cynthia)
Cynthia spun in a circle and formed a dome of water that froze to ice, her two attackers laughed and one shouted over the sound of the rain, "You think that's going to protect you?" The both began to smash their weapons against the outside of the dome, the combination of a mace and a war hammer made quick progress through the ice. One of the generals noticed something strange, light blue circles were starting to glow all over the dome, he followed his instinct and strafed backwards. He just missed the many ice spikes that exploded out of the dome from all directions and angled, his companion wasn't so lucky, he was brutally skewered on four of the spikes. He coughed up a mouthful of blood before dying, the crimson liquid coated the pure white ice. The many ice spikes the retracted back into the dome, dropping the corpse of the general's companion to the ground and letting the blood run off into the mud.
The ice dome disintegrated into tiny crystals that began to orbit around the blondette as she rose from her one knee and spotted the remaining attacker. "Oh? You survived? We can't have that happening..." The man could feel his rage building, "RRRRRAAAAGGHHHH!" He screamed as he charged towards the woman, attempting to smash her skull with his war hammer, Cynthia thrust her hand out and sent a storm of ice shards towards the general. His body took all of the sharpened blades, coating his chest in blood, he dropped heavily to his knees. He managed one very painful wheeze before dropping onto his back in the filth, a flash of thunder being his last sight and a rumble of thunder being the last thing he heard.
(With Ash)
Several clangs and sparks flew around the area that was Ash's battle ground, He blocked an overhead downward slash from one of his enemies and then forced their weapon up into the air, striking back with a 360 degree horizontal slash that cut open both his chest plate and stomach. The general dropped to his knees and fell face first into the mud, Ash as panting from the amount of effort it took to fight three highly skilled attackers at once, now two. One of he general's laughed, "Marcus was always a reckless one, charging in without properly thinking about the consequences." Ash stood up straight and sheathed his sword, the general raised a brow as he slung his battle axe over his shoulder, "Oh? You're not surrendering are you? I was hoping for a decent fight..." His companion tapped the end of his spear against the ground, "The kid must realise that he's got no chance Arthur!" Said person laughed, "I would have thought that you would get all cocky after cutting down our buddy there!" He said whilst pointing to the partially submerged body in the mud, the human army's logo visible on the back of its chest plate.
Ash laughed coldly, "I do stand no chance, with a sword anyway..." Arthur raised a brow, "Ohhhh? You gonna pull a bow out of your ass?" His companion spun his spear like a windmill in front of him, bringing it to a stop at his side. "I'll finish him off Arthur." Arthur sighed, "Fine Rob..."
Rob launched into a sprint towards Ash, a flash of lightning illuminated the gin on his face, Ash remained motionless. The general quickly closed the distance and jumped into the air going for a downwards stab, at the last second, the teen exploded into a torrent of blue energy. He weaved his body to the side of the spear and ducked under the approaching body, sliding to a stop behind Rob. Arthur grinned as he watched the teen, his eyes were glowing aqua, his body was giving off a glow of the same colour whilst emanating a cobalt coloured mist. Ash quickly formed an aura sphere and launched in a a break neck speed towards Rob.
The general desperately dived to the left to avoid the incoming attack, he hit the muddy ground and struggled to pick himself back up, one he got to his feet he readied his spear. He was still slightly dazed from the previous attack, the impact of two aura swords against his block didn't help him to regain his composure. Ash strafed to the left and launched an upward diagonal slash with both of his swords at different speeds. The first shattered his opponents block and the second gave Rob a nasty gnash on his chest. Ash kept the momentum by spinning up into a jump after attacking, the spin brought him back around and when he hit the ground he went down into a low squat. The teen then blasted up into the air at a diagonal angle towards Rob, bringing each of his swords up from his sides in an 'X', hitting Rob whilst he was still recovering. The teen front flipped in the air and landed in a crouch a distance away behind Rob. Said person then dropped onto his back, a pattern of deep cuts on his chest that looked looked like an 'X' with a line through the middle. Lightning flashed again and thunder exploded from within the dark clouds.
Arthur let loose a hearty laugh, Ash stood back up and looked at the man with a slightly confused expression, "You don't seem too down about the deaths of two of your comrades..." He said in a voice that sounded very distant, Arthur shifted his axe, "You didn't seem like much of a fighter and yet you can use aura and slaughtered one of the most powerful generals in the great human army!" Ash glanced at the fallen Rob, "He didn't fight very well." Arthur nodded as he walked over and crouched next to his fallen friend and closed his eyes, "He was afraid, we had heard the rumours of a aura user but we didn't actually expect to see one, we thought it was just the prince's way of telling us that we weren't working hard enough." Ash's aura increased in intensity, increasing the pool of blue light around his feet, "Guess that comes as a shock for you to hear, you were stupid enough to believe that we were all dead." Arthur locked eyes with the boy, the carefree expression never leaving his face, "That's what old king fletcher told us, till he died, that was you right king slayer?" Ash didn't even try to hide that fact, "Indeed, with my sword I put an end to his corruption and foolishness." The man laughed again, "You're such a hero..."
(With Jack)
Jack slowly morphed back into his human from and groaned, he had smashed his head against a rock during his fall down the hill, his regeneration was in the process of fixing his fractured skull. After a while he was healed and began to lift himself up, he was roughly pulled back down to the ground by something that had a grip on his leg. He turned around and his eyes widened when a flash of lightening revealed a group of swamp creepers trying to drag hi further into the murky water. The brunette morphed into his werewolf form and released a chest resonating roar that made the creatures flee in blind panic. He mentally sighed in relief, he moved his gaze and caught sight of a figure at the top of the hill. His night vision helped him see the person's face in the gloom, purple hair and black eyes, he was twirling a chain...
Jack lowered down onto all fours, building up power and then exploding into a jump, sailing over Paul and landing in a slide behind him on the river bank. The teen raised a brow, "So you are a moon shifter..." Jack clenched his fist, took one step forward, lowered his body and let loose another roar that made the thunder pale in comparison. Paul backed up a bit but then he began to laugh, "Hahahah...Amazing!" Jack growled as he stood back up, looming over his opponent and glaring into his eyes with his glowing scarlet ones. Jack stayed motionless as he eyed the teen like a predator eyes its prey. "So this is what it feels like to be afraid..." He whispered, the teen looked down at his hands to see them trembling, he could feel a cold sweat under his hood. He began to cackle as he saw Jack walking towards him, he went to attack...But nothing happened...
"Wha...?" Paul said in confusion, he tried to move his body but it was like he was frozen...Frozen in fear... Jack was getting closer, his glowing eyes still locked on Paul's, "S-Stay back!" He managed to shout, his fear quickly taking over, the teen managed to break free of his trance and launch a chain at the beast that wrapped itself tightly around its bulky forearm. Paul grinned as he tightened the metal so that it would crush anything that was caught in its clutches, he was caught off guard when the werewolf simply held up it's arm and took its eyes off of his to look at the chain. He struggled as the beast gripped the chain with its massive hand, lightning struck as the monster began to pull Paul towards him, "Ugh Agh!" He grunted as he tried to put up a feeble amount of resistance, he resulted to flicking more chains in complex ways so that the wolf was now being constricted by a reel of chains around his torso. He to tighten the chains but froze when he saw the wolf's eyes on his again, it began to growl and he felt very strong vibrations coming from his chains.
The metal links couldn't take any more pressure and snapped from the force of Jack's arms as he broke free of the metal prison. "I-Impossible..." Paul uttered in disbelief, Jack was starting to grow tired so he lowered himself down and began to snarl, making Paul take a step back only to almost fall off of the edged of the overhang into the murky waters below. "S-Stay back you piece of shit!" He bellowed trying to sound intimidating, only it came out as little more than a whimper. Jack began to prowl towards the teen, causing him to panic and send a flurry of chain swings towards the moon shifter, they were all caught and ripped from his grasp leaving him defenceless. Paul cursed and went for a last ditch effort, he drew a silver dagger from his cloak, Jack snarled a little louder. "Don't like that do you? Take this you bastard!" He screamed whilst sprinting towards Jack, going straight for the heart...
Jack smashed the weapon out of the teens hand with a back hand swipe from his clenched fist, he then grabbed Paul's shoulder with his other hand and delivered a savage uppercut to the teen's stomach, fracturing at least four of his ribs. Jack the picked Paul up and roared straight into his face, making the teen go pale as a sheet whilst staring into the darkness of the werewolf's maw. The beast then dropped him onto the soaking ground, he heard on thing before he passed out, "If you help our enemies again or pursue us any more, I'll tear you limb from limb..."
(With Ash)
Arthur went for a wide swing which Ash dodged backwards to avoid, taking the chance to go in for a lunge, only having to strafe to the side to avoid the downwards slash that carried on from Arthur's spin. Both were panting, "No wonder the king wanted all of you dead..." Said the general as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his glove. Ash dispersed his swords and formed an aura sphere that he launched at Arthur, said person sliced diagonally upwards in an attempt to cut the incoming attack in two, only be hit with an explosion that sent dirt into his eyes. He grunted as he blinked a couple of times and rubbed them in search of relief, he shook his head and only barely noticed Ash in time to block his areal downwards 'X' slash. The force of the impact forced Arthur down onto his knees, it also made him slide backwards along the slippery ground. Both opponents were now staring at each other, both crouched down, both exhausted. Arthur laughed slightly, his carefree attitude fading along with his strength, "I must say kid, aura users are strong as the come, but you're a rare one. Never fought one as powerful as you before..." Ash stood up and took a battle stance, Arthur did the same, using the hilt of his battle axe to help him up. "You never told me your name." The rain had stopped, the distant sound of thunder informed everyone that the storm was moving on. The teen looked directly into Arthur's grey eyes with his glowing aqua ones. "Ash Ketchum" Arthur froze for a second but shook it off, "Let's finish this kid, I can't go back to my men looking like this..." Ash nodded and sprinted towards Arthur, the general copied the boys actions.
The human general tried to end the fight with a diagonal downward slash, the raven haired teen leaned to the side, narrowly missing the razor sharp blade. Ash seized the one opportunity, even Arthur knew it was the end so he simply accepted the sword that punctured his stomach and fell forwards past Ash onto his knees. He coughed up a large amount of blood, slowly the dying man looked up into the starry night sky. "Wait...Until...You see your boy now...Aaron..." He whispered to the darkness, before falling to the ground and lying still. Ash remained still, the small amount of trees that he and the generals had battled inside of seemed disconnected from the rest of the world. Tender beams of moonlight shined down through the leaves, reflecting off of the many puddles on the ground. As time passed, noises of the night time wildlife gradually resumed. The teen breathed in relief and deactivated his aura, feeling the strain on his body now that he was out of his adrenaline pumped run in with his enemies...
(On the path)
Cynthia sighed in relief, "I'm glad that the storm has passed, I feel sorry for who ever it's going to hit next..." May nodded whilst she checked the remaining arrows that were in her quiver as she was sat on a log. The blondette looked around for her other companions, "I hope Ash and Jack are okay..." May looked at Cynthia and smiled, "Don't worry Cynthia, Jack is immortal with great close combat skills and Ash has his aura as well as his skill with a sword. They won't go dawn that easily!" Cynthia cracked a smile, "Very observant May Maple" The brunette giggled, "Jack told me about the importance of observation and perception, especially for an archer. You need to be able to determine an enemy's weaknesses and exploit them." Cynthia's mouth dropped, May shrugged, "Or you could just bombard them with attacks until they drop and don't get back up..."
Ash stumbled out of the trees and onto the sandy path, now damp and slippery. He spotted the figures of May and Cynthia further up the trail, he felt a wave of relief and began to make his way towards his friends, becoming more and more exhausted with each step. After a few minutes of walking he couldn't take it any more and collapsed, but instead of the impact with the wet ground he had expected, the teen landed on something slightly soft and warm. He didn't need to lift his head, he was held up so he could get an easy view of Jack, "T-Thanks man..." He heard Jack chuckle in telepathy, "I see you've used up a large amount of aura, further training will help you last for longer but for now you need to rest." Ash nodded as Jack placed him on the ground and morphed into his wolf form, lowering himself down so that Ash could easily climb on.
Cynthia eagerly waved to Jack as she saw him coming towards the pair of them, May became slightly worried when she didn't see Ash but that worry was replaced with love when she saw Ash sleeping soundly the wolf's back. "Awwww, he's out cold." She said as she gently stroked Ash's forehead with a light shade of pink on her cheeks, she turned to face her friends to Cynthia with her arms around Jack's large neck. From the way his eyes were darting around she could tell he was embarrassed, he noticed May staring at him with a raised brow and a smile on her face. He looked from Ash to her then to Ash again, he perked his ears and wagged his tail sightly, she somehow understood what he meant and backed away with a deeper blush on her face. They both nodded, "I won't tell anyone if you don't." Was silently agreed.
(The next morning)
Jack awoke first, Looking at the flowing water of the river outside of the cave that he and his companions had slept in for the night. Cynthia woke up next, yawning and wiping the sleep from her eyes. Next was may who stretched and finally let go of the wolf's tail, much to his relief. Ash woke up last as usual only this time he had a reason for sleeping in. Cynthia caught fish for breakfast using her magic to catch the creatures in balls of water that she would lift out of the river. After breakfast Jack spoke up, "Okay guys, here's the plan!" Everybody gathered around the brunette as he pulled out his map. He pointed to the part of the land that seemed to be fenced off by mountains from the rest of the land, "We're gonna need to cross the sea to get to the desert kingdom, King Sethos no doubt knows of our existence by now." May folded her arms, "So he's going to be trying to kill us..." Jack nodded, "He has vast control over any boat transport routes across the ocean so it's gonna be tough to get across. We can't exactly swim that far, plus there's the monsters in water that deep..."
Ash sighed, "Well this was never going to be easy, I knew that." "Maybe we can talk to one of the traders at the coastal towns?" Said Cynthia, Jack scratched the stubble on his chin, "That's not a bad idea... There's bound to be someone who'll take us across." Ash nodded, "Looks like we're going with that plan then, which town are we going to?" Jack scanned the coast, "Probably one of the more remote towns to stop any information of us spreading as fast if we're found out." May spotted fairly large town near a headland and pointed to it, "How about that one? A bigger town means that visitors will be more numerous so we won't be noticed as easily, there's a market as well!" Jack clicked his fingers, "We go in one at a time!" The group looked at him, "One at a time?" Questioned Ash, Jack nodded, "May's idea is spot on, but we would still be travelling as a group, that's what Setho's men are probably looking for, they won't consider us a target if we're separated, then it's just a matter of hiding your appearance." Jack stood up and patted May on the back, "Good job May, you're getting good at this stuff." The teen giggled, "It's all part of the fun!"
May and Jack were currently waiting for their companions outside the cave. Cynthia walked over to the two of them, Ash followed suit and stuck up his thumb, "Let's go" He said with a confident smile. Jack nodded and morphed into his wolf form, Cynthia got on closest to the front with May behind her and Ash at the back. The beast the stood up and bolted off in the direction of Dunwitch cove.
Sorry for the massive delay guys, I've sorta been slacking on writing this story since I've been up to a lot of other stuff. Hope I'm not letting you down too much if you want to read more. Next chapter is definitely coming but I'm not sure how soon so until then!
let me know what you think of the story in a review! ;)
Will O Wisp191