Hey, here's chapter 14 of Rise of Zeo. This chapter should be fun. Enjoy.
"Another day in Bonesborough, another day of adventure" Zeo said as he strolled through town.
That's when he heard his stomach growl. He had gotten up and skipped breakfast. He would've gotten something to eat back at the house, but there wasn't anything in the kitchen that he liked. Fortunately for him, he found a place. The funny thing was, it was right where that animal daycare thing that was run by those crazy old ladies used to be.
"Applebeast's" Zeo read the name of the place out loud. Stepping inside, he saw that it was the combination of a café, bar and diner, "Huh. This place doesn't look half bad" he said while sitting down at a booth, checking out the interior.
"Mind if I join you?" a voice asked. He looked to see none other than the head of the Emperor's Coven herself.
"Oh, hey Aunt Lily. No, go ahead" Zeo greeted her, gesturing to the seat as she sat across from him at the booth.
"May I take your order?" they heard another voice.
They saw Viney except she wore an orange shirt, a black mini skirt, and black boots. Tied on top of her head was a boho bandana. Over her clothes, she wore a white apron. She held a notepad and pen in her hands.
"Viney? What're you doing here?" Zeo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, you know how this used to be a cute demon daycare thing that was run by those crazy old ladies? Yeah, when they got arrested, that place got shut down" Viney told him, "One of my aunts bought the place, expanded it and turned it into a diner-bar-café. I work here after school and on the weekends" she added.
"And she calls it Applebeast's?" Zeo asked.
"Yeah, a lot of people in my family like animals" Viney replied with a faint blush, "So… what'll you have today?"
"I'll have pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and a cup of cinnamon apple blood" Zeo ordered.
"Would you like two stacks of pancakes, four stacks, or eight stacks?" Viney asked as she wrote his order down.
"Eight stacks" Zeo replied.
"And what flavor? We have buttermilk, cinnamon, blueberry, pumpkin spice, and chocolate chip" Viney asked.
"Can I combine pumpkin spice with cinnamon?" Zeo asked.
"Sure" Viney wrote that down, "How would you like your eggs?"
"Scrambled" Zeo said.
"And would you like your bacon chewy or crispy?" Viney asked.
"Crispy" Zeo replied with a lick of his lips.
"And you, ma'am?" Viney looked to Lilith.
"I'll just have egg whites, toast, and tea" Lilith replied.
"A large pancake combo and an extremely light breakfast coming up" Viney said, getting the last details of the order, "I'll be back in a little bit" she said, affectionately scratching Zeo under his chin as she walked away.
"Well, someone has quite the reputation with the ladies" Lilith said with a playful eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, that's kind of out of my control…" Zeo sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "So, what're you doing here?" he asked Eda's sister.
"I saw you walking by and thought we could talk" Lilith replied, "Judging by the fact you're still alive and in one piece, I assume your little quest was a success?"
"Yep" Zeo nodded, "I mean, there was a rough patch with the minotaur, but other than that, it went smoothly" he told her as he pulled out his sketchpad and pencil.
"That's good to hear" Lilith smiled, "So, how are your classes going?" she asked.
"Heh. Beast Keeping is a piece of cake. You're looking at the track's top student" Zeo winked at her, making her chuckle, "As for Potions… Well, it's going at a steady pace. Not bad, but not that great either. I'm B to C student when it comes to that track" he said with a small shrug.
"And you're in the Potions track… to help Edalyn?" Lilith asked.
"Of course!" Zeo smiled, tapping the glyph on the back, thus creating yet another card, "I may be her clone, but…" there was a short pause, "She's still important to me. Even if she might not feel the same way about me that I do about her, I still consider her to be my mother. No child ever wants to see their mother in pain"
Hearing that had touched Lilith's heart a bit, a small smile appearing upon her face. Since their first encounter, Lilith had taken some interest in the boy, as well as his beasts. The fact that he was in a track simply to help her sister was awfully generous. Maybe there was more to him than just being her clone. It made her wonder just how strong he really was.
"Zeo" Lilith spoke.
"Hm?" Zeo looked at her.
"Have you given the Emperor's Coven more thought?" Lilith asked.
"Yeah, about that…" Zeo rubbed the back of his head, "I find the whole "one witch, one coven" thing to be incredibly stupid and unfair. Why would I want to be stuck doing only one type of magic for the rest of my life? Not that I can do the other types of magic…" he said, muttering the last thing under his breath, "And no, I'm not just saying that because of my mom!" he quickly added.
"Whatever you say" Lilith smirked, "That being said, are you interested in going on another quest?" she offered.
"Hmm…" Zeo rubbed his chin, "Yeah, I guess. I've got nothing better to do, so this'll kill some time" he shrugged.
"Excellent" Lilith said.
"Ok, here's your breakfast" Viney said, balancing several plates on her arms and a tray in her hand.
"Thanks, Viney" Zeo said to his fellow Beast Keeper as she set their plates and drinks down in front of them.
"See you around, Zeo" Viney placed a hand on his shoulder as she walked off once more.
"I'll go on this quest of yours after I've, ok?" Zeo looked at his aunt.
"Very well" Lilith replied as they started eating.
"I can't believe you ate all of that food. You have an even bigger appetite than Eda" Lilith said, slightly surprised and yet amazed.
"To be fair, I didn't eat much last night" Zeo replied with a single shoulder shrug, "So, what's this quest you're offering?" he asked.
"Ancient texts say there's a special amulet hidden near the base of the neck of the titan. The problem is no one has been able to find it due to the neck being deep within the sea" Lilith informed him.
"Well, no one until today, that is" Zeo replied, holding a card between his fingers, "Knight Owl…" he paused for a few seconds, "Actually, I think I'll give my owl a day off" he said, placing the card back into his deck, and then retrieving one of his more recent cards, "Daze Raven, arise!" he tossed his card.
In a quick flash of golden light, out came an enormous white raven, a few inches shorter than Knight Owl. It was a female with a black beak and gray legs, ruby-embedded golden bracelets on her ankles. On her forehead was a golden headband, also embedded with a ruby in the center. She sported blank, glowing, teal-colored eyes. This beast was a level 6 light beast. One could say she was the light equivalent to Knight Owl. The raven released a caw.
"Daze… Raven?" Lilith repeated, slightly amazed.
"You know how Knight Owl is based on Mom and her cursed form? Well, I kind of based Daze Raven off of you" Zeo said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"When did you do that?" Lilith tilted her head.
"When we were waiting for Viney to give us our food" Zeo told her, "This girl is kind of like the light version of Knight Owl. So, in a way, you could say she's kind of like Knight Owl's sister" he said.
"Oh. Well, that's sweet of you" Lilith smirked, ruffling his hair.
"Daze Raven, think you can fly me to the neck of the titan?" Zeo asked the white bird.
*Caw* "I am at your service, Lord Zeo" Daze Raven said with a bow.
"Awesome. Alright, see you later, Aunt Lilly" Zeo said as he climbed onto the raven's back.
"Hold on, I want to come with you" Lilith said, stopping them.
"Really?" Zeo looked at her.
"I want to see your potential firsthand. Plus, some time together might do us some good" Lilith replied.
"Alright. Get on" Zeo said, Lilith climbing on and placing her hands on his hips.
Daze Raven released a caw as she took off into the air.
The Neck…
Daze Raven descended, landing near the edge of the water where the bones of the neck would be, underneath.
"Alright, here we are. The neck" Zeo said, still riding upon the bird's back. Looking outward, he saw the titan's head several yards away.
"The neck should be underwater. But as I said before, it's hard to get to" Lilith said, "Don't you have a beast that will allow us to travel underwater?" she asked.
"You know, it's funny, water and wind are the two elements that I haven't made for—Hey, where did that tiny island come from?" Zeo asked.
"Island?" Lilith looked at him.
Zeo pointed out to sea where they saw a large, grassy island floating on the water's surface. Daze Raven released a caw.
"What? That's not an island?" Zeo translated, looking at the bird, and then at the floating thing. He then saw a head poking out of the water, "Oh, it's a turtle" Zeo said in realization.
"A giant turtle?" Lilith tilted her head with a raised eyebrow.
"Daze Raven, fly us closer" Zeo told the white raven.
Daze Raven flapped her wings, gently flying over to the giant, shelled reptile. Getting a better look, they saw it was indeed a giant sea turtle. Maybe they could somehow use this creature to get to the neck. They flew out to the front of the turtle's face. Maybe Daze Raven could talk to it and then translate—
"Can I help you dudes?" they heard the turtle say.
"A talking turtle?" Lilith questioned.
"Wasn't expecting that" Zeo chimed in, "Do you know a way we can get to the neck?" he asked the turtle.
"By yourselves? No. There's a strong current underneath the water that'll sweep you away like dust in the wind. Seriously" the turtle told them.
"That's certainly a problem" Lilith said.
"But if you'd like, I can get you dudes down there myself" the turtle told them.
"Really?" they both said, surprised.
"Yeah, dudes. I've got nothing better to do anyway. Seriously" the turtle said, "Hop on"
Zeo and Lilith looked at each other and shrugged. Daze Raven landed on top of the turtle's shell. Hopping off the large bird, Zeo recalled her back into her card form. Taking precautions, Lilith rotated her arms like a clock, creating a large spell circle. This then created a large barrier around them. At least now they wouldn't have to worry about air.
"Alright, take us down" Zeo told the turtle.
"You got it, dude" the turtle said.
The shelled reptile took a deep breath and held it in as he dove underwater. Through the force field, they could see a rushing current. It would probably be a while before they reached the neck.
"So…" Lilith said awkwardly.
"So…" Zeo repeated, equally awkwardly, "Who would you say is stronger between you and Mom?" he asked her.
"Hmph. Wouldn't you like to know" Lilith smirked playfully at him.
"Alright, one of those things I have to figure out on my own" Zeo muttered, "Ok then, who's older?" he asked.
"Me. I'm the older sister" Lilith told him.
"Huh. I always thought it was Mom" Zeo replied, "What was growing up with Mom like?" he asked.
"Growing up with Edalyn was…" Lilith began, smiling fondly at the memories she shared with Eda, "Well, let's just say our relationship was better than it is now" she told him vaguely.
Zeo looked at his aunt curiously. If Eda and Lilith were once on good terms as kids then what the hell happened? Something told him it was something deeper than just joining the Emperor's Coven.
"Speaking of relationships, what kind of relationship do you have with the human?" Lilith asked.
"Human? You mean Luz?" Zeo raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Luz. What's it like with her?" Lilith asked.
"Well, she's super optimistic and friendly. Sometimes a little too optimistic for her own good" Zeo told her, "Sometimes she does stupid things—although she's not nearly as bad as King in that department. That's not to say she isn't smart though. She's fun to be around. Not to mention, she's really pre—" he stopped himself when he saw the smug look that she was giving him, "A-Anyway… she's a good person with a good heart. She's kind of my best friend, more or less" he said with red cheeks.
"That's nice" Lilith said. Though in the back of her mind, she sensed there was something deeper going on.
Within seconds, they spotted something up ahead. Along the ocean floor were a few long bones, each several yards long and wide. These must've been the neck bones of the titan. On top of the bones in the middle was what appeared to be a large temple. The turtle swam through the temple's entrance, resurfacing within the temple itself. It was one of those things that somehow had air within it despite it being several feet underwater.
"The artifact should be somewhere in this temple" Lilith said while getting rid of the barrier.
Zeo and Lilith hopped off the turtle's back, landing on the floor in front of it.
"Will you be here when we get back?" Zeo asked the turtle.
"Yeah, dude. I'll be here getting some Z's. Seriously" The turtle replied before.
They turned around and, several feet away, saw a large door that was closed off by giant, golden lock. If Zeo had learned anything from hearing Luz read her Azura books, it was that lock like this required a special key. A special key that was probably hidden somewhere within the temple. Zeo looked around and saw another door to the right.
"Come on, I have a hunch about this" Zeo said as he approached the door, Lilith following close behind.
The door moved upward, allowing them to pass through. Once they were on the other side though, the door closed behind them. They soon found themselves in a narrow hallway, at the end of which there was another door. In front of them was a tiled floor. The left wall had holes running along it. Picking a nearby rock off the floor, Zeo tossed it where it landed on one of the tiles which pressed into the ground. This caused several darts to shoot out of the wall for a few seconds.
"Just as I thought" Zeo said, and then looked down at the tiled floor which depicted five different animals, "What do all of these animals have in common?" he asked while rubbing his chin.
The five animals were deer, rabbits, sheep, pigs, and wolves.
"Most of them are prey" Lilith spoke.
"Except for… the wolf!" Zeo said.
Cautiously, Zeo stepped onto the nearest wolf tile. Nothing happened, signifying it was safe. Zeo and Lilith nodded at each other. Hopping on each of the safe tiles, they each made it to the other end of the hallway, thus reaching the other door. Like the one from before, this door raised, allowing them to pass through as they entered an empty room. Unlike the previous door, however, when this one closed, several bars appeared, meaning it was locked. So was the door that was on the left wall of the room.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Lilith said.
They saw nothing until Zeo looked up.
"Uh, that feeling of yours would be right" Zeo said with wide eyes, Lilith looking in the same direction.
On the ceiling was a giant eye, surrounded by several squishy, pink orbs. The eye beast fell from the ceiling. Zeo tackled Lilith, avoiding being squashed as they skidded across the ground.
"Sorry about that. You ok?" Zeo asked.
"Yes. Thank you" Lilith replied.
"Let me handle this, Aunt Lilly. I've been meaning to test a few new cards out anyway" Zeo told his aunt as he approached the monster, a card held between his fingers, "Beast Weapon: Dragon Blade, arise!" he tossed the card.
In a flash of fiery red light, out came small-sized dragon, the color of red and gold. With a roar, it tucked its arms and legs into its body, its tail curving towards the base of its skull, the body acting as the handle. It spread its wings which acted as the guard. Finally, the dragon tilted its head back, opening its mouth as a long, double-edged blade protruded from it. The beast had transformed into a longsword. When he held it in his hands, Zeo could feel an amazing power coursing through him, made evident by the red aura coating his body.
The giant eye then launched its orbs at Zeo. Zeo countered by dodging some and slashing down others which vanished upon being struck. As more orbs were launched, Zeo slashed them down with his sword. This process repeated until all the orbs were destroyed, leaving only the giant eye itself.
"Well, now that that's taken care of, all I need to do is—oof!" Zeo was cut off by the giant eye ramming his back. It went so fast that when it slammed Zeo into the wall, he left a body-shaped hole in the wall… despite it being made of bricks, "Huh. That didn't hurt as badly as I thought it would" Zeo said as the eye zipped around the room in random directions.
Lilith looked at the boy in amazement. Normally an attack like that would result in broken bones or at least a few bruises. Yet Zeo had no injuries whatsoever.
Zeo saw the eye charge at him once more, closed, and then rolled out of the way. When the eye slammed into the wall, it turned around, now exposed. The two charged at each other, with Zeo stepping to the side as he swung his sword, the eye grunting in pain as it was hit. Again, the eye ran around wildly, closed, with Zeo dodging. When it came towards him again, Zeo once again swung his sword, the eye grunting in pain.
"Alright, enough of this!" Zeo said as the blade of his sword became engulfed in flames, as if the dragon were spewing fire. Zeo narrowed his eyes at the giant eye, the monster charging at him for the third time, "Dragon's Inferno!" Zeo cried.
As the monster approached, Zeo swung his sword, this time releasing a flaming slash. The flames transformed, taking the form into a small dragon made of fire. The fire dragon roared right before striking the giant eye straight in the pupil. They giant eye stopped in place with a prolonged grunt as parts of it started to burn up, and then…
*Boom* the monster exploded, leaving behind a circle of scorched ground.
"That was pretty cool!" Zeo as the flames on his blade extinguished. He then retracted the weapon into its card form, the aura leaving his body, as the surge of power that came with it.
"Yes, it was" Lilith smiled.
That's when a golden ring of light appeared on the ground where the monster once was. A treasure chest then rose out of the ring. Zeo looked at Lilith, who shrugged. The card wielder walked over to the chest and kicked it open. He raised an eyebrow at the item.
"A key?" Zeo looked at it questionably.
"Perhaps it opens the door at the entrance?" Lilith offered
"I doubt it, it's too small for that lock. I'll hold on to it just in case" Zeo said placing the key into one of his pockets.
Behind them, they saw the bars on the door that they came through open up. As well as the ones on the door next to it. Lilith walked over to the door furthest from them. Zeo looked at the Dragon Blade card. He had made this card sometime after the fight with the minotaur, and this was the first time he ever used it thing in combat. When he got slammed into the wall, he felt the pain, but not as bad as he would've if he didn't have the weapon in hand. Could it be that Dragon Blade increases the user's durability?
"Are you coming?" he heard Lilith call to him.
"Coming" Zeo said, catching up to his aunt.
As they went through the secondary door, they entered another room. This one had four large mirrors. At the end at the top of the room was a ledge with another door behind it. Next to the door was transparent crystal mounted on the wall. The odd thing was that there was no staircase leading up the to the ledge.
"Hm. How do we get up there?" Zeo asked while rubbing his chin, "And before you say we should use Knight Owl, Daze Raven, or Frostfire Dragon to fly up there, I want to do this on my own" he quickly added before Lilith could say anything.
There wasn't anything around to help them get to that ledge. No ladder, no handles on the walls, nothing. The only thing in this room were those four mirrors and that crystal. Wait a minute…
Zeo pulled out another Beast Weapon card. This one depicted an alicorn, a mythical horse that was the combination of a pegasus and unicorn on magical steroids, with its horn glowing. Unlike Zeo's other's card, the symbol underneath the card's name was that of a transmutation circle with a dekagram within it. He remembered Luz telling him that it was probably a symbol for arcane magic or whatever. He figured now would be a good time as any to test this thing out.
"Beast Weapon: Alicorn Crossbow, arise!" Zeo tossed the card.
In a flash of white light, out came a small, cat-sized alicorn. It was a lavender-colored alicorn with a dark blue mane and tail, along with blank, glowing, blue eyes. The alicorn tucked its front legs in towards its body, which acted as the body of the weapon. Its wings spread out to the side, acting as the bow or limb. Its back legs squeezed together and raised at a 90-degree angle, acting as the trigger. The alicorn lowered its head, its horn acting as the front of the weapon. The beast weapon then fell into Zeo's hands, his left hand under the belly while his right hand was under its back legs.
"An alicorn?" Lilith raised an eyebrow.
"It was Luz's idea. She suggested I add more stuff based on animals that are cute" Zeo replied.
"To be fair, most of the beasts I've seen you summon have been predators" Lilith said in agreement of the human girl.
"Yeah, yeah" Zeo rolled his eyes.
There was a dial on the alicorn's back, in the center between its wings. There were four settings. From left to right, it was Arcane, Fire, Ice, and Light, the dial set to the Arcane setting. Zeo set the dial to the Light setting and aimed it at the nearest mirror. He pulled the trigger, the alicorn's horn shining with a yellow light. An arrow of light was then shot from the horn, hitting the mirror. The reflective surface shined with the light, and then shot a beam of light at the mirror on the opposite end, which then reflected off that mirror, and then the third mirror, and then the four. This created an upward zigzag of light which then hit the transparent crystal, which shined brightly with the light.
That's when the floor beneath them began to rumble. A part of the floor raised, creating a staircase to the ledge.
"I'm not even going to question that" Lilith said.
Zeo and Lilith then climb the stairs to the ledge. It was just in time too, because the light faded from the crystal, making the staircase retreat back into the ground. They noticed that the door had a small lock on it. Looks like Zeo was right to hold on to the key. He pulled out the small key, put it into the hole, and undid the lock which fell to the floor. The door then raised and they walked through.
Like the doors from a couple of rooms before, when the door lowered, bars came with it. The same applied to the door on the opposite end of the room. In the center of the room, there was a large, demonic anthropomorphic frog. The frog then released a growl, which caused several balls of green slime to fall from the ceiling. Zeo turned the dial to Fire.
The frog tried hiding around the slimeballs. However, Zeo was able to lock on to it, and then pulled the trigger. This made alicorn's horn glow with an orange light before firing an arrow made of flames. This hit the frog which screamed in pain. The frog then jumped into the air with the slimeballs, which gathered into a giant slimeball on the ceiling, sealing the frog in the center.
Zeo turned the dial to Ice. He then pointed the crossbow at the slimeball and pulled the trigger. The horn of the alicorn glowed with a cyan light and fired an arrow made of ice. When the arrow made contact with the slimeball, it froze it solid which caused it to fall and shatter on the ground upon impact. This released the frog, which Zeo shot with another fire arrow.
However, this also made this ice melt back into smaller slimeballs. The frog growled and leaped into the air with the slimeballs again, creating a giant slimeball on the ceiling once more. Zeo fired another ice arrow and, like before, it froze it solid and shattered upon hitting the floor. The frog was free once more and Zeo shot it with another fire arrow, damaging it and melting the ice into small slimeballs once more.
For the third time, the frog growled and leaped up with slimeballs, the slimeballs coming together and encasing it in a giant slimeball on the ceiling. Again, Zeo shot an ice arrow that froze the giant slimeball solid. The frozen slimeball fell and shattered upon hitting the ground. When the frog was freed, Zeo shot another fire arrow at it. The frog screeched in pain before exploding in flames, the slimeballs evaporating upon its destruction.
"Ugh. That was more annoying than fighting that giant eyeball" Zeo said with slight annoyance as he recalled the Alicorn Crossbow back into its card form.
"It was also more disgusting" Lilith said, flicking off some slime that had gotten on her cheek.
That's when both doors in the room opened up. They walked through the door on the opposite end, where they saw a large, golden treasure chest. Zeo kicked it open, revealing a golden key several times larger than the one they found earlier.
"Hundred snails says this opens the door at the entrance" Zeo smirked jokingly.
To the left was a short, narrow hallway. They headed down to the other end of the hallway where there was an opening that was a top of the temple's entrance. Zeo leaped from the opening, doing a flip before landing in a squatting position. Lilith followed behind, landing beside him. They then walked up to the large, golden lock, Zeo taking out the golden key which he used to unlock it. The large door then opened, revealing an enormous room, several feet long, wide, and high. At the end of it was a staircase, at the top of which was a pedestal. On the pedestal rested a small chest. The door then closed, again having bars that left it shut.
"I would say this'll be easy, but given my history, I doubt that" Zeo said with a deadpanned expression.
Scattered across the floor were several pieces of armor, holding body parts made of stone within them. Zeo took a few steps forward, when the armor pieces levitated off the ground in a green aura.
"Aaand here we go…" Zeo muttered.
The armored limbs came together with the armored torso. Stone head then levitated onto the body, wearing a helmet. The stone head's eyes opened, revealing glowing green eyes. The rock monster roared.
"Ok, I think it's time I fight with my own strength…" Zeo pulled out a new card, "Well, more or less" he added, looking at the card.
[Flashback]
Zeo sat at kitchen table, a plate of cookies and a glass of double chocolate milk in front of him.
"Zeo?" a voice called his name. He looked up to see Luz in her sleepwear, "What're you doing up?' she asked.
"I couldn't sleep" Zeo replied, eating a cookie, "What about you?"
"I just came down to get a drink" Luz said while pouring herself a glass of double chocolate milk. She put the milk back into the fridge and sat next to Zeo, "Still thinking about what happened with Luzura?" she asked him.
"Yeah" Zeo replied.
"She has feelings you know. She may not be a regular girl, but she's still a girl" Luz said, taking a sip of milk.
"I know, don't remind me" Zeo said, "I didn't mean to hurt her feelings. I'm just unsure about my own. Now I feel like a jackass"
"Don't beat yourself up, we girls are be complicated. I'm sure she'll forgive you eventually" Luz said with a reassuring hand upon the boy's shoulder.
"I hope you're right. Luzura isn't just one of my cards, she's my friend" Zeo said.
"Speaking of cards, you know how you made Knight Owl which is based on Eda and her cursed from, and then Luzura which is based on me?" Luz asked.
"Yeah?" Zeo raised an eyebrow.
"Why not make one based on yourself? That way Luzura can have a friend and won't feel alone about being the only humanoid creature in your deck" Luz suggested before adding, "Plus, it'll give us a chance to fight side by side"
"An interesting suggestion" Zeo replied.
"You could make Zeonidas. You said he was a warrior, right? You could him a ninja. Those guys are all about stealth. I especially like this one story about a blonde knuckleheaded ninja. He wasn't that bright, but he had tons of heart and guts" Luz told him.
"Huh. That sounds pretty cool!" Zeo said with some interest, "I'll take it into consideration"
"Great" Luz said before gulping down the rest of her milk, "If you do get around to making it then I looking forward to seeing it" she said, leaning in and kissing his cheek, and hopping out of her seat, "And so will Luzura" she added, winking at him over her shoulder before walking out the kitchen, leaving Zeo alone once more.
"A ninja, huh?" Zeo repeated to himself, rubbing his chin curiously.
[End of Flashback]
The card was a level 5 dark type. It depicted a warrior that looked exactly like Zeo, crouching on one knee. His right hand was clenched in a fist touching the ground between his legs while the left clenched the handle of his sheathed sword, a katana that was strapped to his left hip, a hood covering his face. The warrior was in a dark, cloudy rainstorm, lightning striking down from above in the background. Zeo smiled.
"Zeonidas, arise!" Zeo threw the card.
In a flash of dark purple light, out came the warrior with his arms crossed. He wore a sleeveless, black ninja tunic that stopped at his hips. Around his waist was a red sash. He wore black trouser pants and brown, knee-high boots. He wore a red, hooded cowl that, like Zeo's cloak, had a beak to obscure his face. He wore black fingerless gloves. For his armor, he wore steel bracers, shin guards, and shoulder guards.
This was Zeonidas. Like Luzura was to Luz, Zeonidas was Zeo's doppelganger.
"Well, this is new" Lilith commented.
"Yeah" Zeo held up another card. Both boys looked at each other and, thinking the same thing, nodded in agreement, "Command Card: Mind Convergence!" he tossed the card between them.
Like with Luz and Luzura when they used Mind Meld, there was a crackle of energy that brought the two of them together. When the energy dissipated, there stood Zeo, wearing Zeonidas' clothing, with his own shirt underneath the sleeveless tunic, and his cloak replacing the cowl.
"Whoa! I can feel the power coursing through me, it's amazing! Now I know Luz felt when she merged with Luzura the first time" Zeo muttered to himself, "Let's see what I can do"
Zeo charged at the monster, his body leaning forward with his arms out behind him. Despite the armor being metal, he was still able to run pretty easily. He was fast enough to where there was a small trail of dust behind him. He was amazed when he leaped into the air, at least 30 feet. Zeo then unsheathed his sword, running the tips of his index and middle fingers along the flat side of the blade, encasing it in black flames.
"Shadow Slice!" Zeo swung his sword, sending two flaming slashes at the rock monster.
The slashes hit, creating a large X on the front of the monster's armor. Zeo did a flip, landing behind the creature, swinging his sword for the third time and sending another slash which hit created a horizontal cut in the back of the creature's armor. In a flash of dark purple light, Zeo summoned as two kunai, each with a paper seal attached.
"Kunai Bomb!" Zeo tossed one into the cut in the back of the monster's armor.
When the monster turned around, he tossed the second one into the cut in the armor's front. Zeo snapped his fingers, causing the kunai bombs to explode in purple flames.
"Alright, that takes care of him" Zeo said, turning around and walking towards the staircase. However, he only took a few steps before the stone monster landed in front of him, his armor only damaged with several deep cracks, "What the hell?" Zeo said with disbelief.
Zeo was smacked in the side by the monster's arm, sent flying towards a wall. Zeo did a flip in midair and quickly rebounded off the wall, launching himself several feet into the air.
"Looks like I'm going to need some backup" Zeo muttered, holding up a card, "Daze Raven, arise!" he tossed the card, summoning the white raven, "I'm going to need your help here" he told the bird as he rode on her back.
*caw* "As you wish, Lord Zeo" Daze Raven replied.
"Command Card: Dazzling Shine!" Zeo tossed the card into Daze Raven.
Daze Raven's body glowed for a brief second. When the glow faded there were five more Daze Ravens alongside the original. The six birds then flew around the rock monster, distracting it as it looked around in all directions. The rock monster roared, aiming its hands as it shot a continuous barrage of sharp rocks out of its palms. The attacks hit each of the birds which vanished like mirages, leaving only the original left. The stone monster then created a large rock in its right hand and tossed it at Daze Raven. Luckily the white bird was able to dodge it with a barrel roll. The rock monster caught a glimpse of Daze Raven's back and noticed that Zeo was gone, confusing the monster.
"Looking for me?" it heard Zeo's voice from behind. Turning around he saw the small chest from the pedestal floating in the air. Zeo then appeared, holding the chest under his left arm.
[Flashback]
The six birds flew around the rock monster. Zeo triggered Zeonidas' non-card ability and turned invisible. When Daze Raven was close enough, Zeo hopped off her back and ran along the wall until he was near the end of the room that had the pedestal. Zeo jumped off the wall, doing a corkscrew, and then landing next to the pedestal right beside the small chest that it displayed. Seeing as how the monster was distracted, Zeo snatched the chest, holding it under his left arm.
[End of Flashback]
"I think it's time to finish this" Zeo said.
He had two options. He could use Daze Raven's ultimate or use a move he heard Luz mention when she was talking about that knuckleheaded ninja. The drawback with the latter option was, from what Luz told him, it was hard to pull off. That sucked because it sounded really cool. Looks like he had no choice but to go with the first option. Zeo held up a card.
"Command Card: Solar Victory!" He tossed the card into Daze Raven's headband.
Like her brother, Daze Raven's metal parts glowed with a bright light. With Daze Raven though, the light was yellow. The light then gathered in front of Daze Raven, generating a giant ball of yellow light. With a caw and flap of her wings, she launched the energy ball at the rock monster. The energy ball hit, exploding in a pillar of blinding light which Lilith and Zeo had to shield their eyes from. When the light vanished, the stone monster still stood, but its armor had completely disintegrated, several deep cracks all over its body, face, and limbs which glowed in green light.
"Hmph" Zeo chuckled, summoning another kunai bomb.
The stone monster walked weakly towards the boy. Zeo, however, walked casually towards his aunt, tossing the kunai into a crack in the monster's abdomen. He walked around the monster and past it. The stone monster reeled its fist back, about to strike Zeo from behind, when he snapped his fingers. This caused the bomb to exploded, blasting the monster into pieces.
"Nice work, Daze Raven" Zeo said, panting a little as the bird flew down next to Lilith.
"Are you ok?" Lilith asked with some concern.
"Yeah. The command cards and beast weapons just drain my magic a bit, that's all" Zeo replied reassuringly.
He had discovered this fact sometime after the basilisk incident. The more powerful the beast and the attack, the more magic it drained. That went double for using Fusion Vortex and fusion beasts. That also applied to merging with his doppelganger.
"Now, let's see what this artifact looks like" Zeo said while opening the chest.
It was a golden amulet with silver trims. In the center was cyan-colored sapphire.
"I'm guessing you want this for the emperor?" Zeo held the item out to the leader of the coven.
"Yes" Lilith said, "But you did all of the work. You keep it" she told him while making him close his hand around the artifact.
"Cool. Thanks" Zeo smiled at her.
Several moments later, Zeo and Lilith were back on the shores of the Boiling Isles where they met the giant turtle, Daze Raven standing beside them.
"So, you're really ok with me keeping this thing? Won't the emperor be mad at you?" Zeo asked.
"To be honest, no one at the castle knows that I left. I'll be fine" Lilith replied reassuringly, "You know, my offer still stands"
"I know. Still have to turn it down though. I'll become well known without the emperor's approval, just like mom" Zeo said confidently.
"Just like Edalyn…" Lilith muttered, unable to hold back a small smile.
"Well, I better get back home" Zeo said while hopping onto Daze Raven's back, "See you later, Aunt Lilly" she winked at her before the bird took off.
She still wasn't sure about how felt about being called aunt, but she was sure about two things. That Zeo just might be worthy of their family name, and that he has an amazing amount of potential. He might even surpass her and Eda one day. Perhaps the Emperor should know of his existence.
The Owl House…
Zeo walked through the door of the house, having de-converged with his doppelganger, and retreated him and Daze Raven back into card form. He walked over to the couch.
"There you are" Zeo looked at Eda, who walked in from the kitchen, "Where have you been?" she asked, her hands on her hips.
However, instead of answering, Zeo fell over and plopped face first on the couch. Eda heard light snoring coming from him. Wow, the kid's all tuckered out. Eda sighed and started walking away. However, she stopped in her tracks and looked back at her clone's sleeping form. A small smile formed on her face. Drawing a spell circle, she summoned a blanket and draped it over Zeo's body.
"Have a nice nap, Zeo" Eda whispered, running her fingers through his hair before walking away for real.
And that's the end of this chapter. This one took a while, but I'm glad I got it done. Dragon Blade and Daze Raven were thought up by my good friend IrishKatana. Out of all of Zeo's beast weapons, Dragon Blade is my personal favorite. Zeonidas was thought up by yours truly. He's Zeo's doppelganger just like Luzura is Luz's doppelganger. So now Zeo will be able to fight without relying on his beasts all the time. As for Zeonidas, I based his look off Scorpion's default MK11 costume, but without the mask.
Speaking of beasts, the Beast Weapon, Alicorn Crossbow, was also thought up by yours truly. If you've watched My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic then you know what an alicorn is. For those that have, you probably know which alicorn I based it off of.
If you have ideas for creature cards or beast weapons, say it in a review, or feel free to message me. Also, just a heads up, the arcane type will only apply to beast weapons.
I more or less based the temple in this chapter off the water temple in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
If you have ideas for original chapters, message me and we'll discuss the details.
Remember to Read, Review and Favorite/Follow.