Here's the final version of chapter 6 of my fanfic.  I modified the
chapter's ending since the last draft.  I'm sorry for the delay, but my
university courses are eating my spare time.

C&C at <Phoenix@cmq.qc.ca> or <Phoenix@upc.qc.ca> if the first one doesn't
work.

Another Phoenix
********************************

Chapter 6: New Abilities
    
    It was late in the night and four young people were sitting in a room,
contemplating their choices which unfortunately, were not numerous.
    "A few _months_ at best?..." muttered Chang disbelievingly.
    "I want to see mom and dad!" moaned a teary-eyed Stephany.
    *Well, at least she's not crying hysterically anymore,* thought Donna. 
Stephany had had a severe breakdown when she had finally realized the full
extent of the problem.  Fortunately, Donna had managed to calm her down a
little, but Stephany wouldn't be okay for a while.
    Terry, on the other hand, was buried in thought.  Slowly, a smile came
to his lips.  "Hey Fanny, I think I may have good news despite what Slayn
said."  Stephany immediately homed in on him with a questioning stare. 
"Donna had a point when she said Lodoss resembles what our world used to
be like a hundreds of years ago.  If we are in the past, then when we go
back, we could ajust the portal so that it brings us back at the same
moment we left!"  Fanny brightened considerably at that point, while
Donna and Chang gave him incredulous stares.  "But right now, I think we
should all go to bed.  We'll probably start training tomorrow, so I think a
good night's rest is in order."
    Fanny fell asleep barely minutes after she hit the pillow.  Terry was
about to do the same when Donna spoke to him: "Terry, you _did_ consider
the very likely possibility that we only crossed dimensions and that time
travel is _not_ an option, didn't you?"  
    Terry glanced at Chang, who, by the look on his face, had obviously
thought of the same thing.  "Of course I considered that," he told her with a

sad sigh.  "I mainly said that to cheer Fanny up, otherwise she'd have been
depressed forever."
    The other two nodded silently and soon, they were all asleep.

    In another part of the castle, Parn, Deedlit, Etoh and Slayn were
deciding
what to do next.
    "So it's agreed," said Parn.  "Tomorrow, we'll ride ride to Karla's cave
to see if there are any useful things left, since we didn't take anything on
our first trip.  Who knows?  Maybe we'll find something that can help
these people go back to their world faster.  The only thing is, can we find
the cave again without using a portal?"
    "Do not worry," replied Slayn "On my way out of the cave, I left a
magical mark at the entrance of the cave so that we'd be easily able to find
it again if necessary.  I can even feel it from here."
    "I will stay and start giving lessons to the young travellers," said
Deedlit.  "Shiris and Orson have volunteered to stay behind too, in case
anything develops here."
    "Good.  Then we leave tomorrow after dawn" finished Parn.

* * * * * * * * * *

    The sun wasn't even up yet when Terry woke up first, as usual. 
Sleepily, he blinked and cursed under his breath.  *Aww crap!  It wasn't a
dream,* he thought.  "What did I do to deserve this?" he asked in a low
voice, while looking at the ceiling.
    Not wanting to disturb the others, Terry got out of bed silently and
started dressing up.  Bored with nothing worthwhile to do in a room full of
sleeping people, he decided to do some exploring to occupy his time.  He was
almost out when he heard a whisper behind him: "Hey, Terry!  Where are
you going?"
    Turning around, Terry saw Chang halfway out of his bed, looking at him
with eyes still heavy from his sleep.
    "Once I get up, I can't go back to sleep, so I thought I'd do a little
exploring before breakfast," answered Tery in a low voice.
    "Can I come with you?"
    Terry shrugged.  "Sure, why not?  I'll wait for outside.  Just don't wake
my sisters, okay?"
    Chang nodded silently and Terry quietly left the room.

    Terry was outside the door, staring at his now healed hands.  A multitude
of small brown crystals littered the top of his hands, his palms and
forearms, and yet, none of them hurt.  In fact, he didn't even feel them
unless he was directly touching them.  "Earth magic," he muttered under
his breath.  "Why me?  Why _us_?!" he asked a little louder.  "I just
want to get home..."  Sighing, he started tapping the wall absently and was
about to peek back into the room when Chang finally came out.
    "So... Where do we go from here?" asked the sixteen year-old.
    "I have no idea.  If we keep walking around, we'll probably find
something interesting, I guess."
    "Sounds good to me," replied Chang.
    With that, both young men started trotting down a corridor.  Terry
never noticed the many marks he had left on the wall with his hands while
he was tapping it.

    After getting stuck in a few dead ends, Chang and Terry managed to make
their way to the castle's courtyard.  The sun could now be seen getting up
as lazily as it could.
    "Looks like there aren't a lot of early risers here," said Terry, who
was now wearing gloves, sice he didn't want to attract attention.  The two
young men had not seen many people during their little trek in the castle
corridors.
    They suddenly stopped when they heard the sound of metal clashing
against metal.  "You were saying?" said Chang with a smirk.  Shrugging,
Terry made his way to a remote part of the courtyard where he and Chang
were treated to an unusual sight (at least to them): several men were
sitting in a wide circle at the center of which two men were going head to
head with swords clashing.  With the small fire that was lit besides the
circle, it was an eerie sight for the unaccustomed.
    "Wow...  Swordfighting..." said Chang under his breath, with no small
amount of awe in his voice.
    Terry was scanning the crowd, and realized that the fight was probably a
sparring session, seeing as no one was interrupting the two men.  He
quickly identified the crowd as castle guards by their uniforms.  They were
all dressed the same, save for two people: a woman who looked in her
twenties who was wearing a remarkable amount of red and a tall man with
a vacant expression who was leaning on an equally very big sword. 
Dismissing them as spectators like himself and Chang, Terry turned back
to the two fghting men. 
    After several thrusts and couterstrikes, one of the men came running at
the other and landed a strong blow on his adversary.  The soldier's sword
went flying and landed a few inches from a startled Chang.
    "Hey!  Watch it with that thing!" he said, while unearthing the sword. 
He was immediately surprised by the weight of the thing.  *Jeez!* he
thought.  *Those things didn't look so heavy when the soldiers were
wielding them.*
    "Sorry bout that," said the soldier, while retrieving his sword.  Chang
watched as he went to sit back into the circle.
    "So, anyone else wants a turn?" asked the soldier who had won the
exchange.  Seeing as no one was volunteering, he was about to leave when
the lady in red stepped forward and accepted his challenge.
    "And who might you be?" asked the soldier with a smile on his lips.
    "The name's Shiris and I'll wipe that smile off your face," the lady
replied, while wearing a smile of her own.
   "We'll see," the man replied.
    There was barely a pause and the two fighters surged forward, steel,
clashing against steel.  No one noticed a rooster's cry, signaling a new day.

    Back in the room, Donna raised an eyebrow and hoped she was
hallucinating.  When she heard the rooster once more, she gave up on that
fragile hope.  Getting up, she wiped the sleep from her eyes and glanced
around the room.  She immediately noticed that Terry and Chang were not
in their beds.  She didn't know about Chang, but knowing Terry, he was
probably already up.  She supposed Chang had followed him around.  She
roused Fanny, who was still sleeping like a brick, and started putting on
her new clothes.  She noticed there was a tray on a nearby table.  The tray
was filled with various fruits, cheese and bread.  There was a pitcher of
milk besides the tray.
    "Looks like Fanny won't be eating Fruit Loops for a while..." she
chuckled while tasting the fruits and the cheese.  It wasn't what they were
used to for breakfast, but it would have to do.
    Fanny was finally getting out of bed.  "It's not a dream, is it, Donna?"
she asked in a depressed voice.  Donna turned around and kneeled to be at
her sister's level.
    "No it's not, but we'll get home.  I promise you that.  Now why don't you
dress up and we'll try to find out where Terry and Chang have gone to." 
She gave an exasperated sigh "If only he'd waited for us.  I don't know how
hard it'll be to find him in here.  This place is pretty big."
    Almost without thinking, Fanny pointed a hand through the wall.  "He's
down there," she said.
    "How would _you_ know?"
    "Er... I don't know," replied a puzzled Fanny.
    Donna stared incredulously at her sister for a few moment before
Slayn's words floated back in her mind.  *Slayn said you had some strange
abilities, such as being able to use our magic for your own.  Maybe you
found Terry that way,* Donna thought.
    "Maybe you used your magic," she said out loud.
    Fanny perked up at that.  "Really?  Cool!"
    Donna soon found herself smiling as well.  Maybe this wouldn't be so bad
after all.

    Down in the courtyard, Terry and Chang were openly staring at Shiris,
who had deftly put several guards in their place during the sparring
session.  After dispatching the latest challenger, she turned around and
asked if anyone else was willing to try their skill against her.  The
soldiers, however, had other things to do and Shiris soon found herself
alone with Orson and the two boys.  "How about you?" she said, turning to
Terry.
    The subject of Shiris' gaze suddenly started getting nervous.  "Me?...
Ah... no, thanks."
    "What?  You think you're too good?" she asked, sounding a little miffed.
    Terry started making denial gestures.  "Me?!  Oh Nononono!  You could
probably kick my butt even without the sword!"
    "Don't tempt me... (smirking)  But still, you can't be _that_ bad!" said
Shiris, now amused at Terry's nervous face.
    "It's just that neither of us has ever used a sword before," interrupted
Chang.  "Especially nothing as heavy as those things."
    "You've never used a sword before?" asked Shiris.  Terry and Chang
nodded agreement.  "Well, then.  Let's see what you can do!" she said,
handing him a sword.
    Chang watched with no small amount of surprise as Terry wielded the
heavy sword with no apparent effort at all.
    "Don't you have something a little less lethal in case one of us makes a
mistake?" Terry asked.
    "Oh, that won't happen, trust me.  We're just going to practice basic
movements to see how good you are."  She then walked over to him and
showed him how to correctly handle a sword.
    Soon, Chang was leaning on a discarded spear, watching his friend Terry
getting his first swordfighting lesson and Orson was still watching
impassively.

    Donna and Fanny finished their breakfast, not without some grumbling
by Fanny on how little they had to offer, and decided to find out where their
brother and Chang were.  Thinking back, Donna had let Fanny choose the
paths they were taking, for she wanted to see if her sister truly did have
the ability to hone in on her brother.  They eventually made their way to
the courtyard where Donna saw her brother getting his first lesson.  She
silently pulled up besides Chang, whom she signaled to keep quiet.  When
the exercise Terry was working on was finished, Donna spoke up with a
grin on her face:
    "Way to go, brother!  We haven't been here for two days and you're
already learning to fight?" she said, with just a hint of sarcasm.
    Terry whipped around and saw his sister.  "Donna!  Fanny!  You're
awake!"
    "That was so cool, Terry!" piped in Fanny.
    "Yeah, well, it's only the basics," he replied, somewhat embarrassed. 
He then planted the sword on the ground and went to speak with his sisters,
leaving behind Chang to stare in puzzlement at the sword.
    *That's strange,* he thought, testing the sword himself.  *That thing
must weigh around twenty-five pounds and Terry was handling it as if it
was nothing.*  Little did he know he was not the only one thinking along
these lines.
    As if on cue, Shiris spoke to Terry:  "You say you've never done any
swordfighting?"  At Terry's nod, she continued.  "That's strange, because
most people who have never used a sword don't wield them as easily as you
did on the first time and frankly, you don't look strong enough to handle a
sword the way you did."
    Terry raised an eyebrow.  "Uh?  The sword isn't _that_ heavy."
    "Yes it is," countered Chang.  "I can lift it, but I can't possibly use
it
the way you have been during the last half hour." He cut off Terry's
protest.  "I know I'm younger than you, but that doesn't justify the
difference."
    "If I may make a suggestion?"  Orson was getting up and was heading
their way, sword in hand.
    "What suggestion?" was all Terry had time to say before Orson tossed
him his giant sword with a strong swing.  Terry instinctively caught the
sword and winced as he expected to fall flat on his back.  Judging by its
size, a broadsword that big would weigh fifty pounds easily.  He was the
most surprised of all when he finally realized the sword weighed no more
than a pound or two to him.
    "What's going on?" he said, while everyone else was staring wide-eyed
at him.  "Is this some sort of ultra-light metal or something?"  Terry was
starting to get really nervous.
    Even Orson was surprised: "Someone like you shouldn't be able to do
that!...  How _did_ you do that?", if only a bit supicious.
    "I don't know!" replied Terry defensively.
    "It's probably your magic."
    Heads whipped around to see Deedlit standing near the corner of a wall.
    "What are you talking about? I don't even know how to use my magic'!"
    "Follow me.  I'll try to explain while I'm giving you your first lesson,"
replied Deeddlit as she turned around.
    Having nothing else to do, the four young people followed the elf,
leaving
a puzzled Shiris and Orson behind.

    The group slowly made its way out of the castle gates and settled in a
clearing, a few hundred meters from the walls.
    Why couldn't we have done the lessons inside the castle, anyway?" asked
Chang.
    "Because this is elemental magic.  It will be much easier for you to
learn in a forest, where nature's energies are greatest," said Deedlit.
    The group looked at each other then nodded: it made sense (so far).
    "First, I'll try to explain what happened with Terry and the swords. 
What I think happened is that Terry not only gained the ability to control
Earth Magic, but he also gained other abilities related to his magic,
abilities which do not need the magic itself to be used."
    Terry stared at her.
    Deedlit sighed.  "Let's try an other approach.  Lift your twin sister,
would you?"
   Incredulous, Terry turned towards his sister and grabbed her by the
waist and lifted her.  She weighed exactly as she did before.
    "I don't understand..." said Terry.  "How come I can't lift her more
easily than before?"
    "What is the difference between your sister and a sword?" asked the elf.
    "She's not made out metal..." he asked, realization starting to dawn on
him.
   "Exactly!" The elf said triumphantly.
    "I still don't get it," said Fanny plaintively.
    Donna turned and kneeled to her sister.  "It means he has increased
strength when it come to lifting metal."
    "You're so lucky!" the youngest one said, turning back to her brother.
    Terry smiled a thin smile and looked at Deedlit.  "Metal only, or does it
also work with other things?"
    "Why don't you find out for yourself?" she said.  She immediatelay
regretted saying that when she saw him heading for a large tree.
    Before Deedlit could voice her worries, Terry tried to rip the tree out,
but was spectacularly unsuccessful.  "I guess it dosn't work on everything,
huh?"
    "So it seems," said the elf with a look of relief.
    Of course, Terry missed Deedlit's expression.  "Damn!" he said,
mindlessly slapping a rock.
    Said rock was now sporting a very clear imprint of Terry's hand.  This
time, everybody was staring, even Deedlit.
    "But I didn't even press hard..." said Terry in a strangled voice. 
Regaining a small amount of control, he wondered aloud:  "How come it
doesn't happen with people, trees or metal?"
    *Very unusual...* thought Deedlit. "I guess it has something to do with
your Magic, though I'm not sure exactly what," the elf voiced aloud.
    "What about us?" asked Donna and Chang at the same time, suddenly
eager to find out what they could do.
    "We'll see to that in time" answered the elf.  The last thing she wanted
was for them to destroy the surrounding landscape to find out their
particular talents.  "Right now, I'll instruct you on how to call the Magic
to you.  It will be easier for Chang, since I use Water and Wind Magic
myself, but it will be a bit harder for Terry as I do not practice Earth
Magic and no one I know around here uses it.  As for Donna, I use Light
Magic, which is somewhat related to Fire, but that's as far as I go."
    "What about me?" asked Fanny.
    "For now, all you have to do is observe.  We know part of your Magic is
related to theirs, be we are not sure how.  As for the other part of your
Magic, Slayn will teach you, not me.  He's much more proficient than I am
in Magics other than Elemental.
    *Water Magic?...* thought Chang.
    "Where is he?" asked Fanny.
    "He, Etoh and Parn have gone back to the cave where we first found you
to see if Karla hadn't left anything useful behind."
    "What _did_ happen to hi... her, anyway?" asked Terry in an annoyed
tone of voice.  He still nursed a grudge against the one who had hurt him and
his sisters.
    "We're not sure.  After Chang was knocked unconscious, she used a
teleportation spell.  We weren't able to trace it."
    "So she could be anywhere, right?" said Terry in a matter-of-fact tone.
    "Yes."

* * * * * * * * *