The Three Magic Knights.
Part 4
Dan, the Vengeful Sorcerer!
The four Magic Knights walked away from the forest of silence with Dan
in the lead; for once he wasn't chasing Mokona. The boy looked irritated
more than anything else, more so than usual.
"What's wrong Mr. Dan?" asked Fuu with a worried look on her face.
"It's nothing," said the boy as he glanced back at the girls.
"I bet he's angry about that Xellos character we met back there. Ferio
told us he almost got all of us killed!" said Hikaru sounding sure of
herself.
"Almost is right, damn you Xellos," the day before he had been forced to
save the girls in order to save his own life from the dark stone that had
once kept magic out of the forest. They had won and Ferio had gone off on
his own journey. "Something else I can be thankful for, I don't think I
could take Fuu flirting with him for another day."
Mokona skipped merrily on his way ahead of the group puu'ing cheerfully
as he went. The creature seemed to be in a hurry, but Dan's lazy stride
had kept the group from running blindly after the creature.
"Mr. Dan, we should hurry to the spring," said Fuu impatiently.
"Why? It will be there when we find it regardless, I'm not running
around blindly waiting for who knows what to find us," said the boy
harshly.
The girl's eyes fell and she blushed in embarrassment, "I suppose you
are right."
Umi got an enlightened look on her face and stopped suddenly. "Hey I got
it! We're out of the forest of silence now right?"
Dan frowned, this would be good. "Yea, what of it?"
"That means we can use our magic now right?" asked the girl with a
smirk.
"Hey, you're right!" agreed Hikaru cheerfully.
"So why don't we just fly away? We can fly to the Spring of Eterna!" Umi
seemed quite proud of herself.
"But you don't know any levitation spells do you?" asked Dan with a
smirk.
The girl fell face first onto the ground. "No."
"Well, that's the end of that then isn't it?" he walked past them with a
sigh and continued onward.
Mokona burst from the bushes ahead with a look of fear on its face as it
charged into Hikaru's chest in an attempt to hide.
"What is it Mokona?" said the girl in concern.
"It's probably another monster," said Dan with a heavy sigh.
Various birds flew out of the undergrowth as a creature of some kind
made it's way towards them. They stood waiting for it in the clearing
with battle ready grimaces on their faces. "No, no, you have to put more
anger into it like me!" said Dan as he pointed at the angry look on his
face. "In order to have a truly menacing grimace you must put out
absolute contempt for your enemy!"
Fuu and Umi looked at him and blinked while Hikaru smiled slightly
before trying her best to make an angry looking mug. "Like this?"
"It's a start I suppose," replied the boy with a shrug.
Suddenly it burst through the undergrowth and charged them; all that
could be seen was a swirling shadow on the ground that moved under them.
Dan jumped up immediately into a tree with Mokona as the girls where
sucked into the vortex. He had a smile on his face, no one had seen him
catch the vine that Mokona had unwittingly knocked off. The three girls
vanished into the black vortex and Dan grinned at them.
"Good bye Cephiro!" he turned and saw the rabbit creature staring at him
with huge pleading eyes. "Now, I've got you trapped. Let's see, do you
think I could find some mint? I wonder what kind of native spices this
place has?" he wondered out loud as he stared at the creature with an
evil smirk.
Mokona Puu'ed and jumped away in fear, not from Dan, but from the shadow
creature as it moved up the tree with amazing speed towards him. He
frowned and jumped away narrowly avoiding capture by the thing. "Get
away! Haven't you eaten enough?" snapped the boy as he watched the
monster charge back towards him. It was fast, too fast for him to escape
it on foot, he turned away and jumped into another tree. This time the
creature followed by turning into a small black ball and flying through
the air and charging at him. He ducked barely in time and spun with his
dagger appearing in his hand.
"Damn you!" he snarled as the thing kept him on the move with it's
erratic movements along the ground. "Levitation!" he cried as he rose
from the ground and smiled. Unfortunately the creature merely turned back
into its airborne form and slammed into him. He frowned as his legs
started to vanish into the swirling blackness.
Gritting his teeth he slammed the blade into the vortex and was blasted
away onto the ground. The creature appeared in front of him, it was a
tiny black cloud with two white eyes that glared at him angrily. Just
below it was a vortex of some kind where the three girls seemed to be
floating in the darkness. Dan could not move in time as the fall had
knocked the wind out of him; he snarled as it moved forward and raised
his hand, "Fireball!" The creature disintegrated in a massive explosion
leaving its three victims lying on the ground, all of them were still
alive and breathing heavily.
Hikaru jumped up on her feet first and ran into Dan's arms. "You saved
us! I knew you would!"
The boy blushed and frowned at them as he scratched the back of his
head. "S'not like I was tryin' to."
Fuu smiled at him while Umi stood up next to her. "Thank you Mr. Dan, I
don't know what we would have done if not for you."
"Died?" he offered with a small grin, his face fell again slightly as he
sat there with Hikaru on his neck. "Man I need a cigarette." The three
girls blinked as he finally stood up and shrugged Hikaru off, "Come on we
need to get moving."
Mokona jumped in front of him and puu'ed happily with the small crystal
on it's head glowing again. Dan looked down at his hand in shock and
gaped at the small red and white package that appeared in his hand with a
small white lighter. "N-no way!" He grabbed the creature and pulled at
its cheeks with a huge grin on his face. "Thanks pal! You're my new best
friend!"
"I hope this means you'll stop trying to eat him," said Fuu warily.
"Hey, who am I to eat a cigarette vending machine?" he dropped the
creature like a rock and started off again while lighting up.
Another roar echoed through the forest and the girls clustered together
in fear. "What was that?"
"Probably another monster," said Dan lazily.
The three girls looked frightened and ran around in confusion for a
moment before rushing past him.
"Idiots."
Xellos smiled from the shadows as the glow from the orb in his staff
died down. It was difficult to control Cepherio's monsters, but not
impossible. Especially for someone as powerful as he was. "That was too
close Dan, I'll have to watch you closely."
The group came upon a small town and Dan sighed to himself as he hung
back and took his time walking. Ahead of him the girls stopped and
glanced around at the seemingly empty village.
"I wonder..." said Hikaru to herself.
"You wonder?" asked Fuu.
"What Clef said, "Zagato has turned Cephiro into a land where monsters
roam free." The girl stepped forward into the village and stopped again a
few feet ahead of her companions.
"You're right I..." Umi stepped forward and stopped as a net appeared
from under the ground beneath them, as a trap was sprung that hung them
from a tree branch. The three girls screamed and Dan walked out of the
woods.
"I'm not certain, but it appears that we've been caught in a trap of
some sort," said Fuu with her usual air of intelligence.
"So, not certain are you?" asked Dan as he looked at them cheerfully.
"Oh, look here come the villagers to kill you. Once Fuu is sure you're
trapped I'll come back and help. Ja!" he dashed into the forest and
vanished into a thicket of bushes.
"Hey!" cried Fuu angrily.
People emerged from the seemingly empty homes armed with various weapons
as they cautiously approached the Magic Knights. "Um, we aren't criminals
or anything, we just got kind of trapped..." said Hikaru nervously, as
the villagers closed in on them.
"I don't think they believe you!" cried Umi.
One of the men pointed a spear at them and she got an angry look on her
face. "Hey! You shouldn't point sharp objects like that at people! You
could hurt somebody!"
"Where did Mr. Dan go?" asked Fuu as she glanced back into the forest
with a small hope forming in her heart.
"Hey! Help us you jerk!" screamed Umi into he brush behind them.
A nearby explosion caught everyone's attention and the villagers
hesitated for a moment, and the woods became deathly silent.
Inside the forest, Dan looked at a huge monster that was closing in on
the village. He smirked as he held a small ball of light in his hands and
stepped in front of it. "Well, we can't have you interfering now can we?"
the fireball slammed into the creature's chest causing a small explosion
that took out the creature easily. "So much for the Magic Knights."
The villagers backed away in fear as the man holding the spear fell to
his knees in pain clutching his throat in agony. "Hey! Are you all
right?" asked Hikaru with a worried look on her face.
"He's fine, well not really...he'll die if I don't release him soon,"
said a familiar voice from the forest behind the girls.
"Xellos!" cried Umi in shock as the mage walked out of the woods with
his hand held up. He was holding his hand as if he was clenching
someone's throat and a dark smile was on his lips. "Why don't you girls
just cut yourselves down? You do have swords you know."
"Hey, that's right," said Umi as a comprehending look crossed her face.
The rapier appeared in her hand and she cut the top part of the net out
over their heads sending all three of them crashing to the ground.
Xellos released the man from his hold finally and he collapsed. "You
killed him!" cried Hikaru as she kneeled down next to the man in shock.
"He's only sleeping," replied the mage casually. The other girls where
behind him rubbing on their butts from the fall.
"Where did Mr. Dan run off too?" asked Fuu with a half-angry and
half-worried look on her face.
"Oh, him. He's fine, just had a little run in with a monster back in the
forest," snorted the mage with a slightly disgusted sound in his voice.
"He just abandoned us in there," said Umi angrily.
"You aren't helpless, he knows that," said Xellos with a shrug. Umi
nodded and seemed to accept his explanation.
"Why are you helping us?" asked Fuu.
"Now that...is a secret," replied the mage as he vanished into the
forest.
Dan walked out of the woods and almost fell over in shock as the three
girls stood in front of him. "Y-you're all right?" he stammered in shock.
"Yes, Xellos saved us," replied Fuu with a pleasant smile. All three of
them took his shock as worry and immediately forgot that he had abandoned
them there.
Alcione stood on a large pillar of stone that overlooked the village and
smiled, she was dressed in a flowing black cloak that covered her body
and blew dramatically in the wind.
"Well, how are you holding up?" asked Xellos cheerfully as he appeared
behind her.
"The price you asked of me was nothing, I will have my revenge now,"
said the woman angrily.
"Remember, you can never dress in anything else, if you do you lose your
powers. I remind you that you won't get your old power back either." He
smiled at her as the woman's face fell.
"You never told me that!" she snarled.
"I told you the price would be high," he snorted at her and vanished.
They walked through the village and frowned as the people peered at them
through the windows and doors of their homes in anger.
"All right, shall we get a move on? To the Spring of Eterna!" cried Umi
cheerfully as she stepped out ahead of the group. Before anyone could
react she was enveloped in a ball of flame that exploded sending Hikaru
and Fuu to the ground. Dan simply watched in a slight daze as the girl
fell to the ground after the blast cleared and lay there unmoving staring
out into space.
"Oh shit," he said calmly as he looked up and saw Alcione standing above
the village.
"Umi!" screamed Hikaru in shock as she rushed forward and clutched her
fallen friend. "She's not breathing!"
Dan turned to face her with a hopeful look on his face. "What?"
The girl in Hikaru's arms jerked forward and sucked in a deep breath
before she coughed up a small amount of smoke. "H-Hikaru..." she managed.
Dan casually lit a cigarette and turned to face Alcione again. Her
laughter echoed through the town as she watched them. "I was growing
tired of waiting for you, little eggs that would have hatched into Magic
Knights. You can't use magic in the forest of silence, so I've been
waiting here for you, to give special thanks to what you did to me."
Dan looked at her as her cloak flew open and gasped in shock. "Wha?"
"Hikaru never took her eyes off the woman. "Listen, Fuu you take Umi,"
she handed the injured girl over to her friend and stepped forward.
Dan finally composed himself after he almost fell over in laughter.
"What the hell are you wearing?!"
Alcione frowned and blushed slightly. She was dressed in a pink and
white sleeveless shirt with long white pants; she also had on a small
white cape, on her wrist where two bracelets with small balls attached to
them with mystic stars inside of them.
"Xellos right? I'm surprised he didn't make you cut your hair too." The
boy smiled at her and stepped back while Hikaru moved forward.
"You won't get away with this," spat the girl angrily.
"You've learned a little magic, but do you really think you're any match
for me? A student of Master Mage Clef and sorceress of Princess Emerad?"
Hikaru gasped in shock, "A student of Mage Clef? Why are you doing this?
Don't you know that Cephiro is in danger? Didn't Clef tell you High
Priest Zagato has kidnapped the princess? I thought she was the pillar of
your world!" a hurt and confused look was in her eyes as she pleaded with
the woman.
"Of course I know, but what does it matter to me? I am here on behalf of
Zagato, I was able to wait here thanks to my gracious lords permission,"
Alcione smiled at her.
"Why would you work for such an awful man?" pleaded Hikaru.
"Because I love him," replied the woman simply. "Elmechia Lance!"
A blast of white light shot towards Hikaru and shattered the ground
beneath her throwing her away and sending her to the ground.
Alcione laughed, "You're a nimble one, but this time I won't go easy on
you. You'll end up dripping in blood, just like your friend over there."
Hikaru clenched her fist in anger as a deep red aura surrounded her
body. "You hurt my friend Umi. We're stuck here in Cephiro, me, Fuu, Umi,
and Mr. Dan. They're the best friends I've ever had. FLAME ARROW!" the
girl screamed in effort and set a blast of fire at the woman.
"Stop calling me that!" cried the boy in annoyance.
Alcione raised her hand and sent up a shield around herself. "Balus
Wall!" the flame attack bounced harmlessly away and she smiled at the
girl. "Well, you're no match for me."
Hikaru growled in frustration and stepped back from her opponent. Dan
merely stood by and watched as Hikaru battled the woman, he was standing
between the battle and the other two girls and Hikaru assumed he was
guarding them.
"You have to help her!" cried Fuu.
Dan merely looked back and smiled at her. "Don't worry so much." If he
had his way the three of them would be in worse condition than Umi by the
end of the battle.
Meanwhile Hikaru was desperately trying to dodge a huge amount of small
fireballs that Alcione had launched at her. The girl did her best but was
repeatedly thrown around by the blasts, her armor was a mess and she was
bleeding in several places. A few of the homes had been destroyed and
Hikaru felt her eyes burn with tears as the families inside of them had
obviously not escaped the woman's wrath. Her power increased with each
body she saw, but she was unable to penetrate the wall spell the
sorceress had used.
"Damn you!" screamed the girl angrily as she faced the woman again
during a pause in the battle.
Alcione smirked and looked over at Dan and the girls as they patiently
stood by while Hikaru fought. "Don't think I've forgotten about you!" she
said as she raised her hand and sent a white bolt of energy at the boy,
it was an obvious attempt to get Hikaru even angrier. Unfortunately the
blast impacted an invisible wall remarkably similar to hers. "What?!"
Dan frowned and looked at the impact point on the wall, his hand went
down and he checked himself just to be certain his spell was holding out.
"What the hell are you aiming at you bitch?"
Alcione ignored Hikaru's useless fire attacks and stared at the boy
angrily. He was blowing smoke out of his mouth and sucking on a
cigarette, he took half of it down in a single drag and frowned at the
woman angrily.
Xellos appeared behind Umi and Fuu with a small smile on his face.
"Well, that's the end of Alcione," he said cheerfully.
"What?" asked Fuu in shock as she held the girl in her arms. The mage
touched Umi with a white glow forming on his hands and she healed
instantly.
"I hear a voice!" she said as she woke.
"That's your magic, use it well," the mage's hand blurred for a moment
and he touched Fuu's forehead creating the same effect.
"Just a word of advice, if you ever see him smoke a cigarette like that,
it's a good idea to get clear of him," the man stood up and pat Fuu on
her shoulder as he walked away into the forest.
"Wait!" she stopped cold as Dan's words became clear to her.
Mage Clef felt something ripple in the land of Cephero. "What is this
power, it is so strong...NO! This is impossible! Such a terrible force,
no such power should exist in Cephero! How could this happen?" his image
appeared from the creature known as Mokona as it stood behind the two who
had been healed. His eyes were wide with terror as he gazed upon Dan's
lips and saw the cold smile there.
"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows..." said the
boy as he glared at Alcione with a mad insanity in his eyes.
Hikaru stopped her useless assault and watched him in confusion as a
strong wind seemed to form around his body.
"Buried in the flow of time is where your power grows..." said the boy
as the woman started to realize something was wrong. She stepped back and
held her hands up to reinforce the wall.
"No! Don't do it!" screamed Clef, but it was far too late. His image
vanished as the power emanating from the boy disrupted his communication.
"I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand, against the mighty
gift bestowed to my unworthy hand. DRAGON SLAVE!" a deep red bolt of
power blasted forward, in a solid beam, from his hands and slammed into
Alcione's protective wall shattering it as if it where merely glass. She
screamed as the power enveloped her and watched in horror as her limbs
vaporized in what seemed like slow motion. Finally she vanished as her
body was completely destroyed by the wave of energy. It spread out and
grew into a massive explosion that destroyed everything in its path.
Ascot looked out over the horizon from a balcony in Zagato's castle. A
strange light formed on the horizon and he frowned slightly. "Hey
Caldina, what do you think that is?"
"I don't know hon, it sure is big whatever it is," she said as she
turned from her game of solitaire and peered at the unusual phenomenon.
Dan smiled to himself as he looked at the huge smoking crater he had
created just outside the town. It was easily three times the size of the
small village and easily twenty feet deep at its center. "Come on, we are
leaving," he said to the girls. He turned and was only slightly surprised
to see them healed.
Fuu looked at the crater in awe, "That's the power, the heart that
believes," she gasped.
"I'm afraid not, that power comes from...somewhere else." He turned away
from the girls and started walking.
"Wait! That was amazing! We can do it I'm sure of it now! We'll become
the magic knights and save Cephero!" cried Hikaru with a huge grin.
Fuu was distracted by Dan's words and a small smile formed on her lips
after she realized what Hikaru had said. "Yes, we are in this together."
"Partners in Cephiero!" chimed Umi as she grabbed the girl's hands. They
all clenched each other's hands and smiled at one another.
Dan stopped for a moment and looked back at them with an unreadable
gaze. He stopped and stared for a long moment before turning away and
starting to walk again. Behind him the girls rushed towards him in order
to catch up.
TBC...
Next time: Dan vs. The Spring of Eterna!
What terror awaits him inside the spring, and how the hell is a guy like
him going to pass such a test? Find out next time...
C&C to: Carrotglace@juno.com