Chapter 10: To Be Stronger
For days, Olsen hovered next to Jenny's bed after Grendal healed the wound. He still had trouble getting the sight out of his head. The burning village, people dead or running amok, and Jenny bleeding in his arms. With the help of the Snow and Red Herb potions, her recovery was quicker but still left Olsen uneasy, making him stay by her side every chance he had. He expected that she would be all better instantly after Grendal had closed the wound with healing magic, but he was proven wrong.
"The healing magic left to us from generations ago always has this effect. The spell will nearly heal the physical wound, but the body is left to heal the last little bit."
"Then why is Helen able to heal wounds without this happening? I've even seen her heal broken fingers, and this didn't happen." Olsen demanded.
"Every healing spell has this effect. Scrapes, cuts, and even some broken bones can be cured with little to no apparent effect. But the more serious the injury, the more work is left for the body to complete. As Helen learns, however, due to her crystal's power, she may be able to completely heal any injury." It would still be some time before she was able to get out of bed, which spurred the others into a training frenzy, pushing their bodies and minds to the brink of utter exhaustion.
Helen cocooned herself in piles and piles of tomes and scrolls, practicing her spells as much as she could until one of them misfired. Instead of the small plume of flames, her spell exploded, scorching the ground and trees around her. She was able to put out the fires quickly with an ice spell, but the experience made her nervous. She held her hand forward again, making sure to recite the spell over in her head carefully word for word. As expected, a small puff of flames leaped from her palm.
"Is that what happens when I say a spell wrong?" she questioned, surveying the damage all around her from just a simple fire spell cast incorrectly. If anyone had been near her, or worse, any of the other guardians, she might have seriously injured them. And it wasn't even using her crystal's power! Cradling her shaking hand, Helen sat down and begin to study in earnest, memorizing her spells as thoroughly as she could when Jack came over to where she was.
"Hey, what'chu up to?" he asked nonchalantly, still breathing hard from his training, sweat weighing his shirt down.
"Hello. I'm just practicing my spells and making sure I get them down pat." She replied. Jack looked over the large blackened area near her, chuckling a bit.
"Look like you have them down pat pretty good to me." He said, sitting down against a nearby tree. Helen looked up just as he was motioning to the spot where her spell misfired, swallowing hard and laughing nervously.
"Heh, yeah. How's training with Hawkeye going?" she asked, hoping that it would direct their conversation away from her mishap.
"He's tough, I'll give him that. He showed me there were a couple spots where I had the wrong form. I guess it was something I hadn't picked up right when mom taught me. I feel like my arms are gonna fall off."
"What about your gun training? How's that coming?" Helen asked, closing the tome in her lap and setting it aside.
"Well, that new Rasfelt has a TON of kickback. It only made my shoulders feel worse." Helen chuckled to herself, feeling something appear in her chest that felt like an adrenaline rush, but subtler. Without really knowing what else to do, she walked behind Jack and hesitantly reached for his shoulders, Amethyst power glowing around her palms.
"Mhhmmm… that's much better." Jack muttered, adjusting his position for Helen to have a better angle. With his back fully to her, Helen swallowed hard and continued. Up close, she didn't realize how much larger Jack was compared to her. Helen could almost entirely hide behind his enormous back and shoulders. After a few minutes, she stopped and backed away, unsure what she was feeling. Was it an attraction? Infatuation? Her thoughts were interrupted when Jack tapped her on the shoulder.
"You ok? You were pretty lost in thought there." Helen jumped when she realized how close Jack was, back away slightly.
"Y-yes, I'm fine. Just… lost in thought." Jack was about to press further when Kyrin spoke up as she entered the area.
"There you are, Jack. There's someone that I want you to meet. He's a very accomplished mage, even for his young age. You too, Helen," Jack struggled to his feet, offering a hand to Helen, following Kyrin.
"Is everything alright, you two?" she asked as they walked.
"Yeah, ma. Everything's cool."
"Yes, everything is alright, Mrs. Waterman," Helen replied, lost in thought while making sure to limit her line of sight away from Jack.
Olsen blamed himself and apologized many times to Jenny for not being able to keep her safe, helping her whenever she needed to leave her cot. Jin came into the room, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Son, the Empress would like an audience with you. She wishes you to meet someone," he said low so as not to wake Jenny, who slept while her body recuperated.
"It's alright, I should really stay here." He replied sleepily, leaning forward in the chair he had brought in.
"Olsen, you did what you could, and prevented her from getting further injured."
"What about those that died? I could have helped prevent that." Olsen muttered, rubbing his face.
"Thanks to Grendal and a few of his students who had learned healing magic, we were able to save most of them. There were a couple deaths due to the initial surprise attack. But even I couldn't prevent it from happening. " Olsen didn't seem like he was really buying the story Jin was using to convince him to go. Walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder, Jin tilted his head back to the door.
"Go on, I'll keep watch." Olsen's expression seemed to lighten, allowing him to relax as he got up and walked out the door, heading for what they all had come to know as Counsel Forest. It was where most of their meetings about strategy or essential events took place. Right now, it was the epicenter of a meeting with a great hero that had been reborn. Matthew and Lillianne came running in, still breathing hard as they had stopped their training short, leaning against their weapons for support while they caught their breath.
As Cygnus and Olsen sat down, a rushing breeze blew over them, blowing out the small campfire. Form the skies descended the same sizeable black dragon Olsen had seen the night of the attack on the town. The dragon had seemed so ferocious in the dancing light of the fire. In the light of day, the dragon seemed much more docile. From its back, the young rider jumped down and jerked his head to the side, tossing his wild, windblown, champaign colored hair out of his eyes when Athena spoke.
"In the time of the Black Mage, one of the heroes that fought him was the mage Freud who made a pact with the onyx dragon, Afrien. They two aided Minerva to stop the Black Mage during his beginning stages. When the final battle against the Black Mage had come, Afrien took the Mage's curse upon herself, ensuring that Freud was left untouched. The dragon could stave off the curse for some time, but eventually, it would overpower her and end her life. Not wanting her dearest friend to endure her slow decline, she left him in Leafre, going to the outskirts of what is now Henesys and used the last of her life force to leave the world one final gift in hopes that the ancient pact she held with the human Freud would one day be restored.
The gift she left was her offspring; for hundreds of years, the egg sat dormant underground, protected by the skeleton of her since deceased mother. She would remain as such until, by complete accident, Evan found her in the overgrown valley where Afrien had come to rest. Together, they rekindled the pact of Freud and Afrien." A light surrounded the dragon for a moment while the shape of the light changed, revealing a young woman just a bit taller than Helen.
Her hair was streaked with golden blond that stood out against her pitch back hair while riveting gold eyes looked out onto the world with clarity and wisdom. She was clad in a ragged grey dress that seemed to suit her. Her soft and alluring features were offset drastically by her dragon's wings and tail, the only two indications that she wasn't human. Athena stepped to the side, allowing the young man to come forward. The dragon-lady was the first to speak.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Guardians. I have waited many a year in hopes that I would see this day come; my name is Mir, the name carved into the rock where Evan found me." She said, taking a small bow before stepping to Evan. Matthew and Olsen were stunned: sure they had read stories back in Ohio about how some dragonesses would hide in human form as a princess to find a mate, but they never imagined precisely what they would look like. Evan smiled and stepped forwards to continue his tale.
"At first, when she had hatched, I really didn't know what to make of it. That is until she learned to speak. She explained my family lineage and how I was the direct descendant of Freud, destined to re-ignite the pact as the dragon mage. My older brother Utah and my mother Anna were against it at first, but through the next few weeks, Mir and I began training together. We strengthened our bond, learning magical techniques that combined my latent Mage powers with hers making us into an unstoppable force.
"Six months after I had first discovered her, Mir was nearly full-grown. Soon after, Mir and I were invited to join the Knights of Cygnus and Aran against the rumored rise of the Black Mage." Jack looked over to Helen and noticed her long stare that lingered on Evan, shaking his head.
"Of course, I never stood a chance. He's a mage, and Helen is the Guardian Mage of Ossyria, so why not?" he thought disappointedly. Unbeknownst to him, Mir caught the gaze of Helen and intentionally took a step forwards, locking eyes with her, even going so far as to growl in her throat. Helen realized what she was doing and quickly tried to avoid looking at him. Olsen caught the attention of the young mage.
"Tell me something; you told me the red dragon rider was your enemy and your enemy alone. Is there something you're keeping from us?" Evan dropped his eyes as Mir turned and placed a hand on his arm, looking as though she too were saddened.
"That… is something for another time perhaps," He said with a great deal of difficulty as a thick, awkward silence followed. Olsen was the first to stand, stretching his arms over his head and taking a long breath. Olsen felt that he should stay at talk to this mage more, but he couldn't take his thoughts away from Jenny still in her cot. Leaning over to Kyrin, who sat next to him, he spoke low.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm going to go back and check on Jenny." Kyrin grinned and nodded, urging him on. Once the rest of the group had spoken to Evan, he turned so that none of them could see the tears rolling down his cheek. Mir wrapped her arms and wings around him.
"Master Evan, you had no fault in what happened to him. It was his decision alone."
"Mir, I could have prevented it. And yet I did nothing: what kind of mage am I if I can't even protect one person from choices made by my ignorance?" he asked, hugging Mir close as he tried to stay his tears.
"It's alright. I'm here for you, Master." Helen walked a bit away, just out of hearing range to what they said to one another. But as she watched them, she couldn't help but wonder that it was that had happened. It must have been something substantial if it affected him like this. As she watched, her thoughts turned to her and Jack. Is attraction to him what she felt? The scene before he was indeed appealing if she were to be embraced by Jack as such. But how would she even guide their relationship in such a direction? Her thoughts were interrupted again as Dances with Balrog walked past her towards Evan and Mir, speaking gently to them.
"We will be having the noon meal soon. If you were so kind as to grant us your company in joining us, it would be accepted." Evan wiped his eyes before facing him.
"I'll be there shortly, Dances." He said, continuing to compose himself. As Dances walked back past her, Helen reluctantly followed, looking back over her shoulder at the two of them just embracing each other. She was surprised to see Jenny hobbling to the table with the help of Olsen. Mir and Evan joined them soon after, joking and laughing with them as though nothing had happened. Matthew was recounting Evan's story to Jenny when Camila came running up to them and knelt down next to Evan. Mir became defensive, her eyes becoming wild and fierce until she recognized her and relaxed.
"Evan, has there been any news on Utah?" Camila asked, having a pleading look in her eyes. Evan took her hand and sadly shook his head. The girl put on a brave smile and nodded, slowly walking away back to whatever it was that she was doing before.
"What's that about?" asked Jenny, meaning only for Olsen to hear her question. Evan sighed, looking up to Camila long after she had left, make Jenny realize just how loud she had spoken.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"
"It's alright, Guardian Archer." Evan breathed, as Mir reached for his hand once more.
"It has to do with the red dragon rider, doesn't it?" Helen asked. Mir turned her angry gaze on Helen, about to reprimand her for pressing the question, but Evan grabbed her hand and stopped her. After a long silence, Evan took a breath and began.
"About 3 years after the Masters left Ossyria, my older brother Utah went missing. I've been looking for him ever since. Camila took it the hardest since she was friends with him from when they were both children. I know that the red dragon rider is somehow connected to his disappearance, I just don't know how." Mir had a cheerless look in her eyes as she placed a hand on Evan's. Olsen squinted his eyes; there was something Evan wasn't telling them, but what? Pressing the question further would only make things more awkward and so decided that he would wait for Evan to reveal the story when he was ready.
"Well, now that my stomach isn't growling anymore, I think that I'm going to go train some." He announced, pulling his arms across his chest, stretching his shoulders.
"Let me come with you," Jenny said as she struggled to get up, which Olsen quickly took her weight. He could only chuckle as dissuading her was impossible.
"Stubborn girl," He laughed as he leaned over and kissed her cheek while walking towards the training grounds.
"Are you sure having them in the same area would be wise? They are, after all, rivals." Eleanor asked as she walked up to the Mage, who only nodded. He held out his hand, where an image of the five crystals appeared, looking over to Eleanor.
"Nothing has surfaced, I'm afraid; using the time spell, I found that Francis had already located most of the husks. He planned to use them barter for his mother. He also possessed a map hidden in one of his dolls, which are now ashes." She answered. The Mage growled low in his throat, turning back to the rising sun over the Minar Mountains while angry hissing whispers filled the air, gripping the arms of his throne.
"Don't worry, Master, I've taken care of it. You won't be waiting for long." The young and vitality filled voice of Oberon said as she hovered in with Eldan Giant at her side, holding tightly to his arm. The Mage looked to her, holding out his hand as if waiting for Oberon's explanation.
"Mu Gong will soon be asking for their help in defeating a shadow of himself. It is always said that the strongest foe you will ever face is yourself, and so he will never be able to defeat himself." She explained. The Mage became agitated, standing to his full height and walking to her as the aura around his body flared, hissing whispers filling the air as he approached.
"There is no need to fret, Master. To defeat that shadow, they will at least need to match the power and skill of Mu Gong himself, and so they will be forced to train with him, advancing the crystal's power." The Mage's eyes smiled as he walked over to Oberon and rubbed her head slightly, making her smile like a small child under his touch. Eleanor stood next to The Mage showing her approval as well.
Lillianne, Mihile, and Dances with Balrog attacked Matthew from all sides. Mihile met the blade of Matthew's new katana-like sword, the Lion's Fang, backing away from Matthew's full swing. Lillianne took his place, leaping high and bringing the blade of her Halberd down hard. Ruby power flared around his body, meeting Lillianne's attack hard enough to push her back. Dances swung from the right, meeting Matthew's Mantle before avoiding the lighting fast stabs of Matthew using his small green bladed Katar sword. Light gathered around the hilt of the Katar, throwing Dances back. All three of his opponents attacked at once, only to be put into the defensive as Matthew unleashed a Solar Scythe parallel to the ground, making all of them struggle to hold it off.
While they were busy, Matthew ran to a nearby weapons rack and grabbed a Gold Mole: a giant square-faced sledgehammer. He spun around, gathering momentum to slam the hammer into the ground, using the Ruby Crystal to amplify his power swing. The slam unbalanced his attackers as the Solar Scythe flew over them, allowing Matthew to come running at them with Mole in hand. He leaped into the air, swinging as hard as he could on Dances. All three of them backed away, barely avoiding the earth caving swing.
Lillianne circled right as Mihile circled left. Matthew threw his hands out to each of them as a dark ghost rose from his back, making Mihile and Lillianne feel weak. Quickly Matthew drew his Katar and held back Lillianne's once deadly swing while he pulled his cloak up and stopped Mihile's attack. For a while, they stood still, catching their breath before backing away and sheathing their weapons.
"You've improved quite well, Matthew; I'm surprised how easily you stopped my Momentum Smash, with one hand even," Lillianne commented as she stood panting and wiped the sweat from her brow.
"I, too, am pleased with your progress; to employ your weakening ability before stopping our attack and then using your cloak to stop my sword was smart. You were able to even find time to grab another weapon and use its weight to your advantage." Mihile complimented. Matthew smiled a bit as he stood back up, rolling his shoulders a bit.
"The hammer was a bit heavier than I thought. I think I pulled something in my shoulder." Matthew groaned, reaching up and pressing his fingers into the muscle.
"I'm proud of you. You made me fear for my life for a moment." Dance's smiled.
"Now tell me again why I'm changing weapons again?" Matthew asked, motioning to the new swords he had received.
"To put it bluntly, they are stronger weapons. If you were to use the same weapons from your beginnings, they would shatter under your brute force. As your strength increases, so too do the strength of your weapons." Dances replied when one of the pandas from Mu Lung came running up to them in a great hurry.
Thunderous explosions and clouds of earth rose into the air as Helen teleported to a safe distance. She then launched a volley of violet fireballs into the dust where a bubble of poison exploded, releasing its deadly contents onto the air. Grendal and Oz appeared behind her, Oz focusing mana in her palms into a giant fireball. At the same time, Grendal gathered mana at the top of his staff, releasing a high powered bolt of lightning. Helen folded her hands, putting her index fingers up as a bright violet cross appeared, absorbing the attacks, allowing her to teleport to another location.
With a wave of her new staff, the Mystic Cane, she summoned a wall of purple flaming gears, clinking and clattering around her attackers. Once they were surrounded, Helen used multiple teleports to position herself above them, unleashing a volley of Sacred Arrows as she fell, teleporting herself to the ground. Grendal and Oz appeared, standing over her with their staffs at her neck.
"I'm sorry to say Helen, but you have lost this training session," Oz said quietly.
"Not yet I haven't," she growled as ice quickly formed on the ground all around her in a thick patch, encasing both Masters's legs and knocking them off balance. Just as they were gaining back their balance, they both were met with a bubble of poison inches from their face, ready to burst. Grendal laughed as he held up his hands and melted the ice around his feet. Helen put the poison back into the pouch on the belt of her Black Calaf. Oz quickly melted the ice and came bounding up to her.
"That was brilliant, Helen! Using your crouched position after releasing those Sacred Arrows on us to hide the fact that you were getting ready for another move. Remember that one; you may need it later on." Helen laughed as she hugged her grandpa until a panda from Mu Lung came running at them headlong, nearly out of breath, stumbling to a stop. For a long while, he rested on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
"The Empress… and Neinheart… are requesting… that you come… back to the village."
Hawkeye and Kyrin ran from the sand cloud as Jack burst from the cloud with high speed, making the air around him look as though it were creating a contrail. When he caught them, Jack struck the ground multiple times just behind their feet, making the ground cave he would hit. Kyrin dug her heels in and brought herself to a stop while gathering her mana around her body, transforming into her superior state. As she levitated, she held her hand out, firing multiple spheres of her own energy at Jack. Her son reacted by drawing his Rasfelt, firing off high caliber rounds into each sphere. Only able to fire five shots before he was empty.
He dumped out the spent shells and thumbed another live round into the air as he swung the gun, catching the bullet in the cylinder. As he flicked the cylinder closed, he compressed Ruby Crystal power mixed with mana into a grenade, pulled the pin with his teeth, and threw it into the air. He fired at the grenade and obliterate the remaining spheres, using the kickback to push himself to a safe distance.
Hawkeye came charging through the cloud of smoke with threads of lime green lightning sparking from his fists. He skidded to a stop as Jack somersaulted backward, making his boot spark off Hawkeye's gauntlets, throwing Hawkeye back. Jack careened forwards as Hawkeye corrected but was caught off guard when Kyrin came charging in, detonating the ground in a straight line to Jack. Jack pulled his Mantle around him and waited out the attack, compressing ruby power into his fist, making his forearms swell. Threads of red electricity surrounded his fists, snapping as it climbed the blades on his knucklers.
All at once, he burst from under his Mantle, meeting Hawkeye, who was sent sailing into the sky after Jack hit him with two quick uppercuts, each fist smoking from the brute force. Jack then became a blur with a trail of sand following him, streaking to Kyrin, reddish violet power flowing over his entire upper body. Even in her superior state, Kyrin felt vulnerable. She streaked away, but Jack followed, unleashing a whistling fist at her. Kyrin crossed her arms to block it but was quickly sent skyward when he somersaulted instead.
When she landed, Kyrin tried to counter with her own attack but wasn't able to gather her mana fast enough. Jack was already on her, launching into a corkscrew motion and slamming into her gut. As Kyrin reeled, Jack cracked her square on the jaw with his elbow, tripping her in the next spin, slamming her into the ground. In a blur, Jack reloaded a shot, extended the blades in his Fury, and drew back his fist as he knelt on Kyrin's chest. Hawkeye hit the ground next to them, allowing Jack to point his Rasfelt into his face and cock the hammer. As Kyrin opened her eyes, she froze as she was met with the sight of Jack's fist engulfed in ruby power.
"Ok, I give." She said as Jack let her up while she tried to stop the pounding in her own head, the same as Hawkeye.
"You know this is only training. You don't have to go all out like that." Hawkeye scolded, making Jack chuckle as he de-tensioned the hammer and holstered the Rasfelt.
"Sorry, I guess I just got caught up in the moment. Training with you guys is alright and all, but it feels like I've kinda reached a plateau. The only thing I can think to do is to go a little hard with you guys to get you to go harder on me." Kyrin rubbed her temples, pushing her thumbs into the side of heard to ease the pounding.
"Are you kidding? It nearly took all my mana and a lot of energy just to stay ahead of you. You'll soon be able to outdo me with just your pinky and one hand tied behind your back." She laughed, getting to her feet with Hawkeye's help.
"Oh, come on, ma. You're the pirate Master. I don't think I'll ever be able to outdo you." Jack scoffed, throwing his hand towards her in an agitated manner.
"Just look at yourself now. You landed three hard hits on me; no one has ever done that this early in training. But you also have the Ruby Crystal at your disposal, which is hundreds of times more potent then mana." Kyrin explained. Jack nodded, but just as he was about to continue, muffled clapping from behind him. No Gong smirked as Jack turned to face him, who then motioned to follow.
With a blur, Dark Lord and Eckhart appeared on tree branches, slowly catching their breath. Eckhart looked to Jin and made a motion with his hand. Jin shook his head and made a different motion, taking from a dagger from his belt while Eckhart pulled a few of his unique shadow shuriken from the pack on his belt. Steadily, the both of them listened for any sign of Olsen. A rustle came to the right of Eckhart, which cued him to release two throwing stars, igniting into violet flames and burying themselves into a nearby tree. Jin listened more closely but was having trouble getting a hold of where Olsen would be. Something felt off, and it was heading towards him.
"Eckhart!" he shouted as the both of then dove from the branch, six marks in the tree's trunk appearing and spraying sap all over them. Eckhart landed first, turning and throwing a star that hit nothing. He quickly drew another pair, disappearing from sight. When Jin landed, the master ninja summoned his doppelganger, throwing a spray of shuriken in a complete circle, but hitting nothing. When those stars disappeared into the distance, he performed his most infamous of techniques, the Shadow Web. Olsen was running at full speed, increasing his speed with the help of the Speed Wings, becoming entangled in the web, unable to stop or avoid it. Olsen tripped to the ground, bouncing across the dirt to a stop with sticky web-like strings all over him. Jin and Eckhart both stood over him, shaking their heads until Olsen smirked.
Quartz power shot up from him and made the shape of a giant bat. Smaller bats peeled off from the larger one, surrounding Jin and Eckhart, striking them with their wings while they flitted past. When it was over, Olsen had escaped the web, holding a dagger at their throats. Jin, however, managed to gather his mana and create a wooden double, avoiding Olsen's quick thinking. No sooner had Jin escaped Olsen's sight, then he was pinned to a tree on his sleeve by his son's Perfect Seven. Off to the side, Jenny clapped quickly, sitting in a chair off to the side.
"Just watching what you can do makes me a bit jealous." She grinned, flinching a bit when a sore stab flared in her gut.
"It makes me want to try harder to get my control of the Emerald Crystal," Jenny called. Olsen grinned and released his grip on Eckhart, striding over to Jin and pulling the Tobis throwing stars out of his sleeve, putting them back into his Blood Slain.
"I've actually felt as if I've reached my limit in training. This new China Suit, Sais, and claw have all helped, but I need a new challenge." Olsen explained. Jenny slowly stood, holding her side as it ached, and carefully walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sure that you'll get past this," Jenny reassured. In the past few hours, Jenny had begun to feel better and walk around more comfortably on her own. She still was surprised by periodic stabs of pain and soreness, but even that was steadily lessened. All four of them put up their arms as the wind from Shinsoo landing kicked up dust, and loose branches or leaves.
"I'm sorry to say this, Olsen, but I will need you to call your training here short." Call Cygnus from atop Shinsoo's shoulders.
"There is an urgent matter Mu Gong wishes to speak to you about, I'll explain on the way," she called as Olsen and Jenny climbed onto his back.
"What is the situation?" Olsen asked. Cygnus did the best she could to speak over the wind.
Mu Gong is a master of the fighting arts, but someone has made a shadow doppelganger of him, reproducing all his abilities and talents. Mu Gong has tried to overcome the shadow himself but was unable to. So he is requesting the help of you, The Guardians of Ossyria, help him in defeating this foe before it breaks free of its confines within his dojo."
"Let's go then!" Jenny said, turning around but flinching when her wound reminded her that she was still wasn't fully recovered yet.
"Are you sure that you can fight? I still see you flinch from time to time." Cygnus asked. Jenny sighed heavily: she was looking forward to being out in the open once again with her bow in hand.
"I should be. It mostly just shock recovery now. Besides, some exercise should help me at least not think about it so much." She answered, putting her arms around Olsen's waist to steady herself.
"I'll be keeping an eye on you, though; if these phantom pains slow you down, I'm going to make you stop," Olsen said, looking back over his shoulder and putting a hand on her's. Jenny chuckled and kissed him on the cheek, realizing that she forgot her bows, arrows, bolts, and armor in her mother's hut. Cygnus reassured her that she would have one of her soldiers return to Herb Town and retrieve them as soon as they landed. Once in the garden-like Mu Lung, they were greeted by pandas who lead them directly to Mu Gong's house, where the others were waiting.
"From what I understand, there are five of you. Where is the fifth?" Mu Gong asked, seeing four of the young people in armor and toting weapons.
"She is here. But due to my oversight, her armor and weapons were left back in Herb Town by accident. She also still recovering from a grave injury received during the attack." Cygnus answered, motioning to Jenny as she shifted to ease an ache. Mu Gong looked her over and huffed.
"When I was her age, I would have been on my feet and training the day after, weapon in hand. No matter. The problem at hand is the Shadow Creature that is currently locked and sealed in my dojo. I don't know how he came to be or who is responsible for this, but he is just as strong as me. As I'm sure the Empress has told you, I cannot defeat him, since he is myself. That is why I have called you here: to defeat me." Jenny shifted again, easing the dull ache in her side once more.
"Are you sure you're up to this?" Helen asked, watching her shift and wince every now and again.
"Yeah, perfectly fine. It just gets more annoying when I sit for a while." She smiled, standing up and bending to the side, stretching out her wounded area. Helen skeptically walked over to her and promptly pushed her finger right where her injury had been. As expected, Jenny shouted out in pain and held her side.
"I figured as much. Jenny, if you keep pushing yourself, you'll never heal right. Healing magic takes care of the majority of the injury, yes, but you are still healing."
"Then what good is healing magic if it doesn't treat the wound entirely?" Matthew asked, trying to wrap his mind around how differently the Heal spell worked from the game. Helen sighed, thinking back to her lessons.
"It's just like potion usage; if it healed the body all the way every time, eventually, your body would stop treating itself, and only the magic would be able to heal even the most minor of bruises." Mu Gong chuffed, standing up and folding his arms behind him, walking over to Jenny while staring both girls down.
"Come off it, girl. She should have been on her feet and training the next day." He scolded, turning to Jenny and locking eyes with her.
"If you can't learn to shake off your wounds, then you don't deserve the title of 'Guardian.'" He scoffed. Jack snarled, ruby power thundered from his shoulders. In a blur of movement, he grabbed Mu Gong by the shoulder and slammed him against the wall, drawing his Rasfelt while cocking the hammer and pushing it to Mu Gong's chin.
"Think about this before you tear her down again: since we are going to defeat this shadow problem of yours, that means we will be able to defeat you. If you don't quit with your downgrading comments by then, I will come for you with the bullets that I save." Jack growled, tightening his grip to emphasize his point. Mu Gong didn't flinch, but he understood the ferocity that Jack was alluding to, nodding his understanding. Helen quickly came up to Jack and pulled him aside, looking him straight in the eyes as if to say 'calm down,' which promptly cooled his head. Matthew turned to Olsen, who told him of his deal with Jenny. Matthew sighed in understanding as if passing on the responsibility to Olsen.
After a few hours of waiting for Jenny's armor and weapons, the small group was lead to an exclusive tower where his Mu Gong's grandson, So Gong, was expecting them. He explained the tower they were about to enter would push them to their very limits. It would expose them to an ever-increasing difficulty of foe created from mana until they faced Mu Gong himself at the top of the tower. Once they were able to defeat him, they would be unleashed on the shadow.
The first few foes that they faced were easy enough, usually being taken down with little more than a single strike from any one of them. However, as they progressed, things became more difficult as they faced off against creatures representing the different foes that they had or would face in the future. Further and further they pushed, climbing each floor and defeating their opponents. Jack, Helen, and Matthew began to run low on mana, even though they were using the power of the crystals in tandem with their mana. By the time they had reached the 'Mush Room,' they all looked as if they had been run over, standing in the hallway catching their breath.
"Jack, how much mana do you have?" Helen asked. Jack shook his head as he wrapped a cut on his arm.
"I'm almost out. I've got just enough for maybe one good punch or a couple quick shots. How about you guys?"
"I'm completely out. I've been using just brute strength the past two rooms." Matthew panted.
"I've got just enough for one good fireball, freezing spell, or Sacred Arrow," Helen commented as Jenny fell against the wall holding her side. Olsen quickly came over, finding that her wound had become an enormous bruise.
"Helen. If you were to use some crystal power, could you heal this? Are at least help her along?" Olsen asked.
"I'm not sure. Jenny's body is already at the stage the Heal spell stops. Even then, I think I would run out of mana before I could dull the pain."
"I thought you would have more control over your crystal. Can't you use your crystal without using mana?" Jack asked.
"I can, but it requires more concentration and energy than I have at the moment. I do have better control than when we started, but grandpa says I still haven't unsealed it all the way yet, which inhibits steady power." She sighed, leaning against the wall.
"With your constant studying, I am surprised that you have yet to unseal it. I expected you to have unsealed it first after we finished training," Olsen observed, checking the count of stars in his claw.
"I have come to the conclusion that Matthew and Jack were the first to unseal the Ruby Crystal, due to their fighting style, as you said, Olsen. But in recent weeks, I have compiled the information about Jenny and you releasing your crystals. It is somehow connected to an extreme emotional response. As of yet, I have not experienced said event." Helen explained, feeling that she had caught her breath enough to stand once more. Jack came over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and smirking.
"Let's just see if we can get this one. There's only two more until the next rest point. We can stop there if we need to." He encouraged, leading the way into the next room. Helen readied a fire spell, as her hand immediately began to quiver. Her thoughts turned to her spell's recitation; did she say it correctly? Was it overpowered? Underpowered? Her concentration became lost in questions as the spell sputtered out, falling to the ground in a smoldering puddle of wasted mana.
"Guys… I need you to know that…
"GET BEHIND ME!" Jack shouted, pulling his Mantle forwards as a giant orange mushroom hit the ground, shaking it hard, but because of Jack's Gaia, none of them were affected. Matthew drew his Lion's Fang and charged the giant mushroom, slashing at its fleshy body. Small spores fell from the cap to the floor, growing into smaller orange mushrooms and releasing their irritating spores. Helen tried to draw her Sacred Arrow, but due to losing her previous spell, she didn't have the mana to enact it, watching it sputter out of existence. It had been so long since she had used all her mana that she felt weak, falling to her knees.
She was so tired that she could move when a mushroom grew right in front of her, swelling up with even more spores. Before fungus exploded, Jack picked her up and jumped out of the way, setting her down against the wall then returning to the fight. Olsen unleashed what he could through using his crystal, but eventually, his body began to tire. Jenny forced herself to use the emerald crystal, but she too was becoming too tired to try. Olsen was coming around for another attack when something in his ankle gave way. Spears of pain shot up his leg, bringing him to his knees. Below him, an orange mushroom sprang up, turning the underside of its cap to him as spores gathered at its mouth. Just before it released them, Matthew swung down, cutting the mushroom in half and making it melt away in blue vapors.
Matthew's arms and back were stiff; his legs felt like jello, and the Lion's Fang felt like it weighed a hundred tons. Letting it hit the ground with a hard clatter, he drew his smaller and lighter Katar. But the heavy Ocher armor weighed him down, making it hard to move. Jenny opted to simply fire unpowered arrows in tandem with Jack, firing at the giant mushroom with little or no effect. Matthew cut away at the fleshy stalk with just as little success. The three of them stopped for a moment when the mushroom seemed to become weak, bowing the giant hat over its eyes.
"Did we get it?" Jack asked, supporting his weight with on his knees.
"Hardly." Matthew panted, trying as hard as he could to pick up his arms. The mushroom reared its head, screaming in a high pitch squeal while a cloud of spores began to fill the room. The group could only slump to the ground in exhaustion, waiting for their fate to come when the mushroom simply vanished into a cloud of mana.
"Rest up. You will need your strength in the coming days. I expect that by the end of this week, you will lay me to the floor." Mu Gong called from his cat-walk perch. Each of them was too tired to care, dropping to the ground and panting as hard as they could, feeling relief wash over them.
"Tomorrow, you will start again from the beginning." Mu Gong announced, sure that none of them heard him as he walked out of the room where he was met by his student So Gong.
"Master Mu Gong; The Shadow is becoming difficult to contain; the dojo's walls are beginning to give way under its relentless assault." He said as he walked with his Master. Mu Gong rubbed his chin and nodded his understanding, going with his student to shore up the dojo. After the group had regained some of their strength, they were lead to a table for food and then shown where they would be sleeping with baths, heated pools, and meditation rooms. With the tour complete, Jack was the first to take advantage of the hot water and relieve his sore muscles.
As he sat, his thoughts wandered to Helen. He chuckled to himself, unsure of what their relationship was. Sure he was attracted to her, but she seemed distant from him and infatuated with Evan. He then thought back to when he and Helen were caught in a rainstorm and took shelter in a cave. He had always remembered how she seemed nervous around him that day. Thoughts of his actions and of what Helen really meant to him kept swirling around in his head. As he slipped further into the warm outdoor bath, the water seeped into a cut on his arm, making him flinch. Staring at his small cut for a moment, he thought about the moment he pulled Helen away from the mushroom just before it sprayed her in spores.
"Why did I pick her up rather than just smash the Mushroom?" he asked himself as he set his arm back down and looked up into the sky.
"Just concentrate on the task at hand before worrying about that." He told himself, sinking up to his nose as the heat seeped into his aching shoulders and back.
"So, Helen! I've meant to ask, what happened between you and Jack when you got stuck in that cave? Anything good?" Jenny teased as the girls got ready for bed after a long soak in a bath of hot water and healing minerals.
"No, I don't think so," Helen replied, rather mutedly.
"Really? Nothing?" Jenny asked, her shoulders slumping as she straightened her sleeping bag. Helen shook her head in response, remaining silent. Jenny patted her shoulder and smirked.
"What about when he carried you away from danger? That must have been special." She teased, laying on her stomach and laying her chin on her hands. Helen's cheeks felt warm as she thought back to the scene.
"I…I don't know. I do find him attractive, but I don't see how he views me. In every sense that I can think of, he is a piece of the world we left behind," Helen said, untying the ribbon holding her hair and pulling the winged tiara off her head.
"Sounds like you need to stop thinking about it so much," Lillianne answered back as she slid under the covers, letting her body relax quickly falling asleep.
"It's not that easy, Lillianne. There is no other reason beyond memories of Ohio that draws me to him," Helen huffed as she dropped down onto her bed and pulled the covers over her head. Jenny sighed, blowing out the candle and pulling the covers up to her chin.
"Then use that as a base. You better at least figure it out; otherwise, Jack might get away." Jenny yawned, settling into place before quickly drifting off to the sleep. Helen's thoughts swirled; between worrying about misfiring spells and her feelings for Jack, she just couldn't relax.
"We're just friends, right?" she asked herself, thinking back to when they first met in the game of MapleStory. She was a beginning mage, and he was an undecided pirate. In the end, he decided on a brawler, soon finding they went to the same school where they met Olsen, Jenny, and Matthew.
"MapleStory. Hm. It seems like such a faraway memory now." She chuckled to herself. Once again, her thoughts turning to Jack; they were close that much she knew… or were they closer than she thought? She remembered when Jack picked her up out of the way of the mushroom earlier that day. For a split moment, his scent awakened something in her, something she thought didn't exist. In the same thought, she then told herself that Jack was just a friend before exhaustion overcame her, and she slammed to sleep.
The mornings that followed weren't kind to them. Sore muscles, bruises, and minor wounds often plagued their waking routine. But after some exercises and training by Mu Gong himself, the five of them would forge ahead up the tower once again, getting just a bit farther every time. Jenny's hair deepened its green color as she understood how to summon her crystal's power. Matthew, Jack, and Olsen's increased stamina allowed for more and more extended uses of the crystal before wearing out.
But despite the training, Helen felt as if she were falling behind. Her control of the crystal was above the rest of her friends, but because she couldn't break the seal placed on the crystal, her power began to plateau. Her frustration led her to occasionally unleash a spell without regard for where it was being launched, sometimes grazing her friends in the process. Helen often retreated to the meditation gardens of Mu Lung to steady and re-focus her mind. But each new day served to remind her of the crystal's seal.
Additionally, she couldn't bring herself to solidify what her relationship with Jack was only adding to her frustration. She needed to figure out both problems soon. Otherwise, she would be left behind, and the amethyst crystal's power would be useless.
"I don't get it! Why can't I unseal this stupid thing?!" Helen shouted, slamming her fists on the desk within the library. Jenny jerked her head up from reading over a bowmanship form manual, surprised that Helen of all people was getting so frustrated.
"Didn't you say breaking the seal happened when emotions ran high?" she asked, closing the manual.
"Yes, but if I can't unseal the crystal soon, I won't be able to keep up with you guys."
"It's not just the crystal, is it?" Jenny asked, move beside Helen and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"What are you talking about?"
"Every since I asked about you and Jack, you've been acting weird. Like, you can't concentrate with him around."
"I told you that we're just friends." Helen shot back, but Jenny chucked.
"I don't think that's it. You like him, I can tell. I've known you for a long time, Helen. You can't hide it from me." Helen refused to fully admit it to Jenny or herself that she did indeed feel some level of attraction towards the brawler. Outside, a figure watched the five steadily become more potent than anyone he had ever faced before.
"Soon, my friend, we shall exact our revenge on him and the guardians." He growled in his throat, his violet eyes glowing. A dark looming shadow rose to the level of his master. The dragon's silver eyes reflected the moonlight, making them appear to glow. Dark red light surrounded the dragon for a moment as it transformed into a man dressed head to toe in heavy, blood-red armor. His helm revealed only his chin and mouth. He said nothing, and he didn't need to: he already knew his master's thoughts and his mission. Together the two of them would surpass even the Black Mage.
"Master, surely you don't intend on letting him just do as he pleases. He is trying to undo everything you have worked so hard for," Eleanor griped as she followed The Black Mage to his sleeping quarters. The Mage reached for the doors to his room, stopping to look back at her before hauling the doors open. Whispers filled the room then entered.
"Not in control of his powers? But if he isn't, then who is?" Eleanor asked. The Mage held up his hand, revealing an image of Dragonoir's servant while more whispers, this time sounding agitated, fizzled in the air around him. He clenched his fist, making the image dissipate into a cloud of black vapors while the whispers died away.
"Overestimating one's power is a dangerous venture on any front. However, I believe that Dragonoir would need much more than a mere millennium to become as powerful as you." Eleanor complimented. The Mage remained silent, walking towards a mirror and waving his hand before it, summoning the image of the Pixie Father. The large pillowy being turned around and bowed respectfully, meeting the narrow eyes of the Black Mage, making him shrink back a bit.
"My children and I have been looking everywhere within the tower and haven't found anything yet. Do you think that she may have hidden it somewhere else?" the Pixie Father asked. The Mage hissed in his throat when the realization of his folly came to him, and a commanding whisper cut the air. With a wave of his hand, the mirror darkened, and he began quickly walking through the castle.
"Master? Where do you think she has hidden it if we are going to the West Castle?" The Mage didn't answer, but Eleanor could tell that wherever he thought it could be, it was a great deal more agitating to him than most. And there was only one place she knew of that could irritate The Mage this much: the bottom of the Sleeping Wood, where he had been sealed all those centuries ago.
The week that had preceded passed like a hurricane; each of 'The Five' gained strength and power far more quickly than they thought possible. They blazed through the floors with ease, using techniques and styles shown to them by So Gong. With their final effort, they defeated the mana creation of Papulatus and entered into Mu Gong's room atop the tower of training. Helen requested that she lead this final assault, directing all her frustration at the enemies and obliterating the first few without any effort. Now at the tower's highest level, Helen was exhausted, having spent all her energy trying to push past her limit with no result.
"You alright?" Jack asked, holding out his hand to her as she knelt on the floor, heaving for breath.
"I'm fine." She snapped, dragging herself from the floor and squaring her shoulders.
"Why've you been pushing so hard? You're just going to wear yourself out." He asked. Helen stopped and was about to answer before shaking her head and continuing on to the final room. Jack looked to Olsen, who shook his head and shrugged, unsure what could be done. Jack shrugged in return, going up to the door with the rest of his friends, pushing open the heavy wooden door with Matthew. On the far end of the room was Mu Gong, sitting comfortably on a cushion holding and small cup of steaming tea beside a low table.
"You have done well to reach this floor." He said smoothly, setting down his cup and standing to his feet silently.
"And now, comes your final test: defeat me, and you will surely be able to defeat my shadow." Mu Gong enticed. All of them slowly stepped around him with their weapons and spells at the ready. Mu Gong closed his eyes, his bushy eyebrows covering his lids, listening to each of them as they moved, breathed, and their heartbeat from the utter silence that pierced the room. Matthew took a breath and forced the air out quickly, igniting the blade of the Lion's Fang into a violet light, a thread of lightning striking at his feet, and a small whirlwind encircled him. Olsen flicked his wrist, bringing stars into his hands, surrounded by a hot pink flame.
Jenny slowly drew her bow as the arrow and bow were enveloped in a green haze, compressing a bit of power at the tip. Jack tightened the clasps of his knucklers before holding his fists at the ready. A red flame-like glow surrounded them, swaying with his movements. Helen closed her eyes, calming her mind, concentrating on the task at hand. Mana and crystal power gathered in her hands, creating a plasma bolt, hissing as it sat in her palm. Matthew inched his foot close, maneuvering his sword into position. Mu Gong looked his way when he heard Matthew foot sliding on the floor.
In a muffled bang, Helen teleported behind Mu Gong, throwing the purple flaming bolt right where the Master would have been. Mu Gong appeared beside her, ready to strike her when he had to jump back, avoiding Olsen's stars. Helen's staff blazed as she released her Double claw spell at the aging panada. Mu Gong twisted his body, barely avoiding the spell when Jack appeared behind him, throwing his fist. Mu Gong batted his fist into the boards, stepping back each time Jack swung at him or batting his fists aside. Jack growled, hurling a howling fist at the old master making Mu Gong jump into the air. Jenny released a multitude of arrows as fast as she could, each one of them deflected while Mu Gong was in the air. When he landed, Matthew swung hard, unleashing the Solar Scythe he had prepared, and lunged after the blade of light.
Mu Gong turned to the scythe and put both his hands up to block the attack with his mana covered paws when he felt a stabbing pain in his leg. Orbs of energy appeared around him, blasting him with thick threads of violet lightning and shattering the scythe. Matthew skidded to a stop, trying to avoid the painful lighting only to be thrown back when a bolt shot to him and hit his chest plate. Olsen tried his best to catch the warrior, but the massive bulk flying at him threw them both to the ground.
Helen appeared before Mu Gong, her staff ablaze with Mana and Amethyst power, drawing it into a sacred arrow, aimed for the old panda's head. Mu Gong regained his awareness in time to see Helen's arrow and ducked just as she released it. Jack pushed Jenny to the side as the arrow howled between them and punched through the wall. Spinning her staff, Helen began to unleash bolts of plasma at Mu Gong, only to have them deflected, making them detonate in all directions of the room.
"HELEN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Jack thundered, trying his best to avoid the fizzling hot orbs of energy being flung around the room. Helen momentarily lost her focus, seeing a dozen bolts headed towards him. With a gasp and a clench of her hand, she dismissed the spells before being thrown back by Mu Gong's powerful kick to her gut.
Violet light and mana flared as Helen teleported back into battle. Fire tore around her staff as she hurled a plasma bolt. Mu Gong readied to deflect it but was thrown aside when an arrow made of fire burst through the plasma and hit him in the chest. Carrying her momentum, she teleported forward, striking the panda's head with her staff. She brought her staff down again but was deflected and tossed back as the panda tripped her, then punched her.
Violet light and mana blazed around her hand as she curled her fingers and swiped. Claw marks appeared on Mu Gong's arm, as she corrected herself and teleported forward again. Mu Gong clutched at the wound, kneeling down as Helen stood over him with a smoldering arrow of violet fire drawn.
"Yield." She demanded, pulling the magical sinews tighter. The panda looked all around the room, mostly looking to her companions, the other Guardians, as they watched in awe.
"And why should I? Look at what you have become. Look to your comrades. Do you honestly think you have been operating as a team?" he thundered. Helen looked around her, seeing Olsen, Matthew, Jack, and Jenny all staring at her, seemingly unsure what they should do. The flames around her staff dissipated as she dropped her hands to her sides.
"I… I…"
"Whatever you are frustrated about, girl, you need to overcome it. You may have injured me, but I could easily overcome you in a matter of moments." He huffed, putting his paws behind him and walking off. Jack walked up to her, tapping her shoulder with the back of his hand.
"What's bugging you, Helen. You're never like this." He asked. Jenny put a hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong?" she asked as Helen collapsed to the floor on her knees.
"I can't keep up. I'm falling further and further behind you all." She whimpered, holding up her hand where a bluish-violet flame danced in her palm.
"All of you have your crystals unsealed, but mine is still sealed. If I can't unseal it soon, I won't be any better than any typical mage in Ossyria."
"Then find a way to break the seal. Combined with your knowledge, you should easily find a way to do so." Olsen commanded, crossing his arms.
"I've tried, but my grandfather told me that if I try to remove the seal any other way, it could have dire consequences. According to him, the seal as changed since he first put it on the crystals."
"Changed how? How can magic change like that?" Jenny questioned.
"He mentioned that it has something to do with the crystal's power being passed on from person to person, similar to a genetic trait." Matthew knelt down in front of her, the plates of the armor clattering as they tapped the floor, holding his hand out in her line of sight as she stared down at the floor.
"You'll figure it out. You're the smartest mage I know." He soothed. A smile began to spread across her face when No Gong as he ran into the room, unable to keep his balance in his great hurry.
"Master Mu Gong! Emergency!" No Gong stopped short when he saw only the Guardians within the room, frantically looking around for the one he sought.
"Where is master Mu Gong?!" he heaved.
"He left a while ago. Why, what's the matter?" Olsen asked, his hand dropping to his dagger's pommel.
"It's the master's shadow! It's escaped!" No Gong shouted, running down a hall while calling for his master. Matthew looked back to his comrades, taking note of the look in their eyes.
"Do we dare?" he asked.
"Mu Gong hasn't said that we are ready," Olsen stated when the thuds of footsteps came into the room, and Mu Gong sternly looked them over.
The shadow flitted from tree to tree, snickering as it listened to those pitiful Guardians chasing him. It was amusing to stay barely ahead of the ninja guardian by a few feet, then would charge ahead to lose them for a while. As he got away from the guardians again, it stopped, waiting for them to find him when another person appeared behind him. The shadow whipped around, ready to fight when he saw who it was and bowed his head low to the ground.
"Master, I cause trouble for them. They get stronger." He said to the shadowy shape standing just outside the light.
"Yes, you have done well, my little shadow." The figure said as he reached to place a hand on the shadow's head just as the five caught up.
"The Black Mage! I should have known that you were behind this shadow." Jenny huffed.
"I don't think that's The Black Mage," Jack whispered
"What makes you so sure?" Jenny asked, readying her bow as Emerald power seeped from her arms and surrounded her bow.
"Remember the last time we saw him face to face? We could hardly stop shaking. I'm not even getting a hint of that right now."
"What if he's suppressing his power?" Jenny shot back when the figure's glowing eyes smiled as black energy in his palm, obliterating the shadow from existence.
"The Black Mage?" The figure growled.
"Compared to me, he is nothing more than a man of smoke and mirrors. I wield true power. A power that will make me feared and respected." From the shadows, a man dressed in heavy blood-red armor stepped forwards and waved his hand as flames roared into existence. Olsen pulled up his Mantle as the others ducked behind him, holding back the fire.
"I can make The Mage bow before me in fear. I will ascend to the skies above Minerva. I am the true Dragon Mage, Dragonoir!" He announced in a proud voice. The armored man stopped his flames, gathering a red light around him and transforming into a dark red dragon, its black horns pointing forwards beside his pointed, dripping teeth. The dragon loosed a high pitched roar that made the trees sway as Dragonoir levitated to his dragon's neck. Glowing chain links clanked into existence from his hands and solidified around the dragon's horns. The Five drew their weapons and tried to stand firm; in the game, they had faced this foe twice as both a level 107 boss and a level 120 boss. Matthew quickly glanced around at their gear, comparing it to the game's counterpart.
"We can't win this one. If Dragonoir is anything like the game, we don't even have half the power we need. Who knows how much more powerful he is in real life," He thought.
"We can take him!" shouted Jack as he tried in vain to stop his hands from shaking.
"Is that a fact?!" Dragonoir shouted as he snapped the reigns signaling the dragon to take to the sky in a hurricane of winds that blew over The Five and some trees. Once they regained their footing, Jack slammed his hands into fists, running up a leaning tree, to meet the plummeting dragon. Jack leaped into the air and drew back his glowing fist, threads of fizzing red lightning sparking from his knuckles, only to be met with an overwhelming blast of fire from Phoenix, careening to the ground.
"JACK!" Helen shouted as she grit her teeth, teleporting from tree to tree, and using multiple teleports to throw herself high above the dragon mage. Below, Jenny readied with an emerald Wind Arrow that howled as it gathered power. Helen swung her staff hard, casting violet shards of ice at the dragon as Jenny let the humming arrow shoot into the sky, small sparks of green hanging in the air. Dragonoir wrenched on the reigns, casting a spell over Phoenix. As the dragon rolled over, its fire blast billowed a thousand times bigger towards Helen. Below, Dragonoir calling up a shield made of mana, blocking the arrow which struck the shield hard, but seconds later bent, cracked, and vanished in a burst of sparks. He then wrenched on the reigns, pulling Phoenix to aim at the ground. The dragon unleashed a beam of pure power shooting down on top of Jenny.
"JENNY NO!" Olsen screamed, putting all he had into running for her. Just before he could reach her, the beam hit, and the flames around Helen detonated, both attacks unleashing a shockwave. The beam left a smoldering crater where Jenny once stood, and empty sky where Helen had been. Jack fell to his knees, and Olsen bowed his head in rage and grief. The ninja's entire body began shaking while power from the Pink Quartz engulfed him. Slow-moving flames of hot pink smoldered around him until an explosion of energy shot to the sky, quartz power and mana mixing together in a violent stream.
With a blood-curdling scream, Olsen flashed from tree to tree, leaving scorch marks at every footstep until he launched himself into the sky and hurled star after star at the dragon, each resembling comets as they flew. Matthew dropped his sword to the ground as his body shook in rage, growling as ruby power enveloped him and permeated the air. Picking his sword up with blood-red tears falling from his eyes, the sword exploded into bright crimson light and unleashed a screaming Solar Scythe that sounded as if it cut the very air it flew through. Jack could only kneel in stunned silence. Helen was gone, engulfed by fire. He wanted revenge for the girl that he… he… he loved, but at the same time unable to find the strength to do so.
"She wasn't just a friend!" Jack thought to himself as he will himself rejoin the fight again this killer, his fists hissing and sparking with Ruby Crystal power.
Evan walked through the village, visiting old friends with Mir right at his side as though she were his bodyguard until something perked her senses, making her look sharply to the west.
"Mir? What is it?" Evan asked, looking up from the small trinket he examined.
"It's him, Master. I can sense him. And the Guardians are fighting him, and losing." A sad look came into Evan's eyes as he turned and began running for the edge of the village. Mir flew right behind, transforming into a dragon once she was past the threshold of the town.
"Hang on guys, I'm on my way."
Olsen hit the ground hard, followed by Jack and Matthew for the eighth time, struggling to get up out of the impact crater. Jack held his upper right arm where it had broken, gritting his teeth against the pain and trying not to look at the giant bruise.
"Give up, you'll never be able to defeat me like this!" Dragonoir taunted. Jack grit his teeth and charged in again, using only his weaker left arm, striking the dragon across the jaw. Phoenix turned his head back, grabbing Jack by the leg and hurling him down.
Helen and Jenny finally teleported back to the fight just as Jack slammed into the ground. Helen watched in horror as Jack bounced, coughing a fountain of blood, his leg bloody and torn.
"You see! Even you are no match for the great Dragonoir!" He roared from the skies, holding his hand above his head as though he had won a great victory. Helen knelt beside Jack and began healing his wounds, using all the power at her disposal.
"Helen… you're ok. I thought…" Helen put a finger to his lips as she continued healing his wounds, trying to treat them faster. Unfortunately, at her current level, flesh wounds healed the fastest, but bones muscle took longer and much more concentration. She tried reaching for her crystal to further increase the spell's speed, but it only increased it by a small amount.
"Incoming…" Jack whispered, pointing up at Phoenix as he spewed f a river of flames. Helen whirled around, folding her hands as a cross made of violet light appeared and absorbed the attack. But it was quickly overwhelmed as Dragonoir cast a boosting spell, braking Helen's Magic Wall and throwing her to the ground.
"Pathetic. You call yourself 'Guardians'? You aren't even a bother." he thrummed as he hauled on the reigns and flew up higher, gathering mana in his hand while Phoenix held his mouth open, drawing in streaks of blue light as he charged a power beam on his tongue.
"Jack, come on, we need to get outta here. Jenny gimmie a hand!" Helen called as she pulled Jack's hand over her shoulder.
"Helen, just go. You'll be caught up in the blast."
"Shut up, I'm not leaving you behind. I can teleport, remember?" She smirked, beginning to form the needed rift until it collapsed. Helen dropped to her knees, feeling the weight of exhaustion from overexerting herself in Mu Gong's tower.
"Helen! Come on! Let's go!" Jenny shouted as she tugged on Helen's arm.
"NO! I'm not leaving without Jack!" she screamed, leaning over Jack as though shielding him.
"Then teleport the both of you outta here!"
"I would, but I overdid it and used all my mana saving you from that blast! I only have enough mana for one person! And I can't just teleport another person without going too!" Helen pulled her arm out of Jenny's grip fighting back her tears. Matthew and Olsen appeared beside them, Matthew hoisting Helen over his shoulder while Olsen heft Jack onto his.
"Let's go! Let's Go! Let's Go!" Matthew commanded, he and Jenny sprinting for safety behind a massive fallen tree. Helen propped herself up, seeing Olsen jogging behind them as fast as he could. Not being as muscular as Jack or Matthew made it challenging to keep up.
"Matt, Olsen's not going to make it." Helen pleaded, patting on his back. Matthew said nothing, putting more effort into his running as he tried to reach the massive log a few dozen feet ahead. Once behind the trunk, he roughly handed Helen off to Jenny, dropped his weapons, and bolted back towards Olsen. Above them, Dragonoir threw his spell down in front of Phoenix, who then threw his head down as the beam first left his mouth, then split the air with an ear-piercing whistle. The heat bore down on Olsen's back, heating every metal bit and screw on Matthew's armor. In one final effort, Matthew threw his hand forward, summoning a thick iron wall behind Olsen. Helen and Jenny only saw the light hit the ground hard, obliterating the wall and enveloping the boys.
"JACK!" Helen shrieked. Jenny pulled her behind the log as the ensuing explosion ripped through the air in a swirl of clouds, fire, and light. The ground's shaking could felt as far away as El Nath. As the dust settled, the girls peeked out from behind the tree, stunned by the utter devastation that lay before them. Quickly the two of them scrambled to the crater, calling out for their friends amid the clouds of ash and charcoal. A sound caught their attention, racing over to it where they could see Matthew's gauntlet sticking out of the ground, trying to dig his way free. Jenny and Helen both frantically dug through the dirt, pulling him from it.
"Where's Olsen and Jack?" Jenny asked. Matthew heaved for breath, pointing beside him where another pile of dirt could be seen moving as Olsen pulled free. Helen instantly ran to him, first helping him up before the two of them frantically dug through the earth to find Jack. Within moments they uncovered him, but he was still. Helen reached to his neck, feeling for a pulse, but she couldn't feel any.
"How many times do I have to blast you before you die!" Dragonoir growled as Phoenix hovered in mid-air. Again he unleashed his energy blast; Helen flinched, clutching Jack. But the energy sounded as if it were tossed aside. Opening her eyes, the light pulsed strangely, as if something passed back and forth across her vision. As her vision cleared, she saw a wing pass through the light, realizing that Evan and Mir hovered between her and Dragonoir.
"It looks like I showed up just in time. That blast would have killed you all for sure." He patted Mir's neck as she thrummed in her throat with a pleased tone.
"EVAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" thundered Dragonior.
"What else? Protecting Ossyria from you!" Evan shouted in return. Dragonoir snapped the reins on Phoenix's horns while Evan patted Mir's neck, sending the two Dragon Mages into battle, filling the skies with sparks and thunderous spells. Turning back to Jack, Helen felt for a pulse more thoroughly but found none.
"Jack?" Helen called, jiggling him slightly but not getting a response.
" Jack? Come on, Jack, this isn't funny." Helen urged, shaking him firmer, then putting her ear to his chest, unable to hear a heartbeat. Tears blurred her vision as she laid him down, pushing on his chest in a rhythm, before meeting his lips and breathing into him.
"Come on, wake up!" she commanded, pressing on him for nearly five minutes, but Jack remained still. Helen put a hand to his neck once more, feeling for a pulse. Her shoulders slumped when she couldn't feel his heartbeat, and his skin felt cool to the touch. Jenny buried her face in Olsen's chest when she realized what had happened, and Matthew leaned heavily against his fist. Clenching her fists, amethyst power began to glow around her body like a flame while bending down to Jack's ear.
"Jack. I'm sorry; I never could figure out my feelings sooner. But now I know… I know… that I love you." She leaned in and kissed him, power from the Amethyst Crystal beginning to flow freely within her body, seeping into every last cell of her being and washing over Jack as it emanated from her body like smoke.
As she stood, her lengthy hair exploded into a beautiful river of violet curls floating amid the power that permeated the air around her. Her eyes lost all traces of their brown color, exploding into an intense hue of royal purple. She took up her staff once more, turning to Dragonoir. Her ice spell shot from her like a cannon, freezing Phoenix's jaw shut. Evan looked back to Helen, appearing more dangerous than Draonoir. Evan's skin itched as the amethyst crystal's power exploded from her, the seal having melted away in her grief.
Quickly he pulled on Mir's neck as Helen unleashed even more powerful spells at Dragonoir. Dragonoir did his best to avoid the spells, even trying to block the incoming attacks. But his Magic Shield instantly shattered from the sheer force of her power. Phoenix began charging his beam again, melting the ice that had formed around his muzzle when a violet seal formed behind Helen, threads of power reaching to her and snapping off the ground as more and more layers of the seal appeared, energy gathering at the center. Helen held her staff forward and pulled back as if drawing an arrow that radiated pure, sacred energy. Phoenix broke away the ice on his snout, hurling his head down as he released his beam just as Helen released her arrow. A tremendously powerful beam of light first stopped, then obliterated Phoenix's beam. Dragonoir tried casing multiple shielding spells, but the absolute power of the arrow shattered them all, hitting him with explosive force, filling the sky with fire and smoke.
Once the explosion had faded, nothing remained of Dragonoir or Phoenix. For a few moments, Helen stood proud while the violet light around her faded, and her hair drifted down into place, having lost all of its hints of brown becoming completely violet. All at once, her knees buckled, succumbing to the strain of using power far beyond what here mana could provide. Someone caught her before she hit the ground, pulling her up and wrapping his strong arms around her waist and chest. Helen slowly turned around to meet Jack's familiar eyes, all of his wounds completely healed, and all his energy restored.
"H-how…"
"It seems that in your momentary grief, you've not only unsealed the Amethyst Crystal, but you've also tapped into the power of resurrection," Evan said with an awestruck tone. Having landed further back in the forest to avoid being caught in the blast, he and Mir in her human form walked back.
With relieved tears streaming down her face, Helen pushed her lips to Jack's while she held onto him as tight as she could, not wanting to let go of him ever again. Jenny and Olsen came back as Matthew painfully stood up, brushing the small patches of dirt off his armor.
"What happened?" He asked. Olsen held his weapons out to him and sheathed them. Evan sighed heavily.
"Helen appears to have unsealed the Amethyst Crystal," Evan explained. Matthew chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. Rolling his head from side to side. Olsen walked up to Evan and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, wincing a bit as his muscle pulled on a sore spot.
"I think it's time you told us what's going on here, Evan. Ever since we first met you, something about that red dragon rider and the disappearance of your brother have been making me wonder. And when you first came, you said that he was your enemy and your enemy alone. What are you hiding from us?" Olsen prodded. Evan hung his head as Mir placed a hand on his arm.
"Master, you don't…"
"No Mir. They deserve an explanation." He sighed, squaring his shoulders.
"What I said before about my brother going missing, wasn't entirely true. When I began training with Mir, a lot of attention was given to me, which left Utah to do a lot of the chores around the farm and house by himself. For a while, everything seemed alright. What I didn't know was that he was becoming extremely jealous. He was the older brother, and I was the one chosen to be the new Dragon Mage. Secretly he began researching magic on his own, figuring out spells and casting his own magic in secret. But for him, things didn't come as quickly, and every attempt he made to be like me often ended with severe injuries and getting a lecture on how I did something better or different.
"After the Masters left this world, he became fed up with trying to be noticed in Victoria and set out on his own, traveling as far as the easternmost part of the Minar Forest. It was there that he nearly lost his life in the Ice Chasms of Minar near the Cave of Life. He was taken in by an old dragoness, kept warm, and fed for a time, which is where Utah met his dragon servant, Phoenix. The dragoness was nearing her end and was waiting for someone to look after her young one after he hatched. In her final moments, she told him that if he were to continue on his path for greatness with Phoenix at his side, he would match Mir and me. Not long after that, the old dragoness passed away, and Phoenix was hatched.
"The two of them traveled, learning how to make their connection reliable and soon, they were performing basic spells together. However, a twisted dark wyvern who was the personal pet of Eleanor told them of power beyond their wildest imaginations: Black Magic. Quickly the two of them searched out anything that had to do with the forbidden art. They were consumed by it. Phoenix turned into the beast that he is now, while Utah became cloaked in dark vapors, his body slowly withering. When he returned, he hoped that he would receive the same welcome and praise that I had. Instead, he was shunned and cursed. When Utah tried to say that he was just as powerful as I was, all he was shown were tears or hate.
"Nothing went as he thought it would. Instead, it went completely opposite of what he wanted. Due to that, something in him snapped, and he went on a rampage, destroying his farm and killing every last pig he had raised since it was a piglet. Many people died as the building they were trapped in burned to the ground. When he left, he declared that he was no longer Utah, but a powerful mage called Dragonoir.
"He left to some of the most remote parts of the Minar Forest. Few who had gone to defeat him have come back, and those that had, died before the next sunrise. If only I had seen what was happening to him, I could have prevented his turning to the dark ways."
Dragonoir picked himself off the ground, rolling his head and shoulders, listening to the cracks and clicks of his bones as they dropped back into joint. Phoenix lifted his head from the ground and nuzzled his Master gently.
"It's alright, Phoenix, I'm not injured." Dragonoir's violet eyes flashed with anger as he had been thrown to the very place where he and Phoenix met.
"To think that I, Dragonoir, was embarrassed so easily by a mere child. They will pay for defying me!" he growled to himself. Far away, The Black Mage breathed a long, agitated sigh as the crystal ball went dark, turning to the Pixie Father, giving him a small vial of a swirling, mysterious red substance.
"What will this do?" The pixie asked, holding the vial up to the light as Eleanor walked up to them and explained.
"This will allow you passage into the rock where The Mage was sealed outside of time and space to search for the one thing that has eluded him for centuries: The Rubian."