Note: The first part all takes place in the same moment...Thanks to all who helped, and also, thanks for being patient, since I have been a bit busy...

"A New Beginning"

By Toma-chan

Chapter Six - Encounter

Touma screamed as the pain grew inside him as the spell channeled the portal using his magic. He desparately looked at the others, but he could tell they couldn't help - they had been placed under a paralyzing spell by the mage. He started to lose conciousness.

Touma screamed. Ryo strained to move against the spell, but he couldn't. He gathered his strength for when the time would come to act.

Touma screamed. Shin could feel a bit of his friend's pain, so he figured there was a weak point. He extended his senses along the shield til he found it. He strained to make the hole bigger.

Touma screamed. Seiji, not standing to see his friend in pain, opened his mind, and found a power he'd never knew he'd had. His eyes started to gleam as he called upon that power.

Touma screamed. Nasti searched thru all of Rei's memories and experience, and found several options that she chose one of.

Touma screamed. Shu, getting madder as the agony of his friend continued and seemed to increase, remembered something Nasti had told him. He tried to move his hand and found that it could move. He grinned and picked up a weird statue near him, which he threw at the mage. But it glanced off a shield the mage had apparently put up. The movement made the mage lose his concentration, however, and collapse from the backlash of the portal he was trying to open as it closed. The alter stopped glowing, and Touma sagged as the spell on him wore off.

The mage staggered to his feet, and as the others found they could now move, glared at them angrily. "You know, that wasn't nice of you...". He held up a hand and a fireball burst on it. He threw it at Shin, who was still searching for the bigger hole in the block. Ryo saw Shin's blank face, and pushed him out of the way before the fire hit. The fire engulfed Ryo, and he fell to his knees in pain. He could feel the flames licking on his armor. He closed his eyes and concentrated, and felt the fire seem to enter his mind. Ryo looked up at the mage, and cupped his hands. Fire shot out of them and rushed towards the mage.

The mage disappeared as the flames touched him, only to reappear at a different point. "Very impressive," the mage sneered. "Let's see how you handle this!" He clapped his hands together, and a demon appeared. It absorbed the fire, and started towards the Troopers. Suddenly, the monster howled and disappeared. The mage looked up in surprise. He glanced towards Touma, but he was still slumped against the alter. "Who did that?" the mage shrieked.

"I did," Nasti stepped forward. She had a purple glow around her, and just for a minute, Rei's form appeared over hers. The mage stared. "I killed her! How was she able to do this!"

"That's something you'll have to find out for you rself, father!" she yelled, and concentrated before throwing a spell that caused the mage to flicker out of sight. He shouted out some words and reappeared again. "I was always better than Reirako, and I will be now!" He shouted a single word, and Nasti screamed before she collasped. Seiji unleashed the power he had been gathering and his hand illuminated the room as lightning flashed and hit the mage. He stuck out a hand to steady himself, but the Troopers could see he was hurt. "You call that lightning?"

The mage laughed, and clenched his fist. A shield appeared around Seiji and Ryo, and try as they might, they couldn't break out of the shield. Any power they displayed reflected back at them. Shu had been concentrating as well, and suddenly brought his hands together and pulled them apart. A chasm suddenly appeared under the mage, and he fell.

"That should take care of him," he panted. A red light appeared above the chasm, and the mage appeared. "What does it take to get rid of this guy?" Shu asked, amazed.

"More than you'll ever do!" the mage said slowly. He had blood spattering his chest and was limping, however. "I will take revenge upon you for disrupting my plans!" He was about to throw another spell at them, when a shield formed around the Troopers, blocking the mage from doing anything.

Touma was standing now, his eyes determined. His hands were still chained by a pair of manacles to the alter, and his clothes were torn a bit, but he was glowing the blue the others had seen before. "You won't touch them," he snarled, and held his hands up as much as he could to ready another spell.

The mage grinned mysteriously, even in the state he was in. "I still have a back-up plan!" His eyes went white as a red haze formed above the mage. Touma realized what that meant, and tried to back away, which wasn't easy because he was still chained to the alter. The cloud settled around him and Touma shook his head and began to scream again. It aburptly cut off as he pulled the chains holding his wrists apart with a metallic snap. The wrists were bleeding but he didn't seem to care. Toma's face twisted and smiled wickedly. "Now fools!" he hissed. "Prepare to die!"

Meanwhile, Shin had been making the hole wider in the mind block unnoticed, and now he was able to search through Touma's mind. He shielded himself and extended his senses to look. He found nothing but evil. Everywhere he searched, until he found a little corner that wasn't. He poured his consciousness into there. "Shin!" Ryo screamed, as Shin's body went limp.

Touma cowered inside that little part, afraid. He didn't know what to do, and he didn't know why the mage hadn't destroyed him completely. He started as a figure appeared, but relaxed as he saw it was Shin. "Are you Shin?" he asked, bracing himself in case it was something the mage was using.

Shin nodded. "Yes, I am here to help you. I know what it's like to be possessed..." He shuddered, but went on. "You can fight him. But it'll take everything we can muster up. I'll contact the others." His face went blank.

'Guys,' Shin's voice said softly in the Troopers' heads. 'We need your help. Touma's still awake, but powerless aginst the mage.'

'What do we have to do?' Seiji asked flatly.

'We have to put all our power together in order for Touma to put together enough strength to banish the mage from him.'

'How can we do it, with that shield?' Shu asked.

'I got it opened up enough for us to try it,' Shin replied and returned to Touma. 'They'll help but you have to concentrate your powers.'

'True,' Rei appeared. 'I will teach Nasti what to do, but I will aid you as well.' She placed her hand on his head.

Touma felt knowledge flowing into his mind. His eyes grew determined again. "Let's get rid of this baka!" he thought angrily. 'YEAH!' five voices answered him.

The other Troopers, meanwhile, had been on the defensive, trying to shield themselves and Shin against the mage, but not trying to hurt Touma either. He laughed, knowing that he had them. "What? Are you afraid of me?" But he grew puzzled when they abruptly put down their weapons and stared at him. Touma drew in their power that they offered, and put it together into a spell. He raised his hands, and chanted in the language Rei had planted into his mind.

The mage clasped his hands to his head, and sank to his knees. The red cloud was forced away, and Touma lay there, coughing and gasping for breath. The mage moved towards his former body but was blocked by something invisible. Shin returned to his body, and watched as the mist strained to reach Touma, then the other Troopers. "Without a body to exist inside," Shin said tiredly, "he will cease to live any longer." Shu, Seiji, and Ryo watched as what was left of the mage dispersed soundlessly.

Suddenly, the sky outside the windows grew dark, and the castle itself began to shake. Nasti looked around with a look of panic on her face. "Without the mage to keep it up, the time shield will collasp! It will mess up time, unless we break it down."

Touma got to his feet, and wearily nodded. "Otherwise, this town will never exist." His eyes had a weird look to them. but no questions were asked as everyone linked what power they had left to Nasti and Toma, who beginning to glow and chanting simultameously in that weird language they had heard before, reached downward and touched the leylines underneath the castle with their minds. Unusual feelings washed over them, and they felt about ready to faint, when Touma and Nasti quit chanting and shouted a single word. Everything went black.

*****

Touma woke up, and he was in a bed again. He opened his eyes, looked around, and smiled. There was Ryo, sleeping in the easy chair as usual. He got out of bed softly, for he knew Ryo probley had been trying to keep himself from sleeping but had failed. He opened the door and steathily tiptoed down the hall to the deck, where he stared out at the water. He remembered what Ryo had told him briefly before he had fallen asleep the night before, how they had appeared in the middle of a classroom in their armor and carrying Nasti and Toma, of the stunned silence before the Troopers teleported to Nasti's house.

He sighed as he looked at his bandaged wrists. He felt so different now. When the mage had been banished from him, he had left the magic and the experience behind in Touma, and that included the memories too. He shuddered as he thought thru some of them. 'This guy was messed up...', he thought miserably. He had known what would happen to the mage, but he had no choice. He had looked into a mirror, and had noticed his eyes were different. They seemed so old and full of knowledge more then before. And he also knew that taking down the time shield had changed them all. They would age much slower now. He didn't want to tell the others, but they had to be told. He looked up as a step broke his train of thought.

"How are you doing?" Seiji asked him. He looked out towards the water."I'm really sorry, I should have told you about the mage before. I just thought I could handle it..." His eyes closed.

"That's okay," Touma replied, rubbing his shoulder. "You couldn't have known, and besides, for all the stuff that happened, we know what we can do, well, just about..." He smiled a bit. The others joined them.

"Such a great view..." Shin muttered. His face grew blank for a minute. "Look," he smiled and pointed. The fish of the lake had suddenly started leaping out of the water.

Touma grinned. "I had a feeling you could do that," he laughed. Nasti joined them as well, and smiled at the fish. She looked at Touma, her eyes questioning. He shook his head, suddenly feeliing impulsive. "You can tell them, I'm going to try something out." Before anyone could stop him, he leapt off the deck and hovered in mid-air. "I thought so," he said, smiling.

He concentrated, and felt himself rise higher. Using the air currents, he started to fly. Opening his mind to the others, he felt their amazement and shock when they were told they would live a lot longer then before. He sent thoughts of comfort to them, and flew low over the lake, skimming the surface. He sighed, and flew back to the house, hoping that the transition in their lives wouldn't be difficult.

The End