“Fall in, troops.”
The soldiers in the army were not numerous-1,000 was about the highest estimate-but they were a band of hard, battle-bred men who lived to fight.
Ragnor fell in with the other troops, “conveniently” right next to Sophia, in the front row. There were 20 rows of  fifty, and while it seemed large, it wasn’t by far as large as any army that should have to do battle. Davias paced back and forth in front of the band, cursing.
“Is this all he gave us?” Davias muttered to his second in command, Fargo. Fargo was a loudmouthed, unintelligent fellow of Rock and Fire powers, but he knew how to fight. 
“Yes, General.” Fargo nodded to Davias. “Although our army is not large, Rapids is not a large town, nor a fighting town. Half this should suffice.”
Davias’s mouth twisted deeper into a frown. “I doubt that.”
Garath, the master’s servant, came rushing out of nowhere, onto the training grounds towards Davias. For such an unathletic fellow, Garath had an impressive speed.”
Sir!” Garath panted for a moment. “The master commands that he come along with you!”Davias eyed Garath suspiciously. “Why?”
Garath, still panting for breath, said, “He says he is fearful of his daughter.”
Fargo sighed. “Sir, no one should argue with the master. I will assign 10 of these soldiers to guard him with their lives, if you wish it.”
Davias paused for a moment, deep in thought, and sighed. “All right. Do so. Garath, tell the master that we shall wait for another hour until we depart. If he does not arrive, he shall have to catch up.”
“Yes sir.” Garath saluted and ran back to the master’s temple.
Davias sighed. “Having that old bat around will only make things more difficult.”
A few of the closer soldiers gulped at Davias’s insult to the master, but stayed silent.
“Sir?”
A lone voice peeped out from the side of the band. Davias looked up at him. “Yes, what is it, Abreu?”
Abreu was a very anti-social person, but he always spoke his mind. He was the leader of the health part of the party of soldiers, and his Refresh and Grass powers often helped him in doing so. He currently stood next to Ellis, a nurse of Refresh and Wind powers, in the doctoral wing of the army.
“Well, if you don’t mind, I think that we should give it another day so that the other healers and I could get more supplies.”
Davias grumbled. “Shut up, Abreu, and fall into line. We don’t need extra supplies-this is a tough army.”
   “Y-yes sir.” And Abreu shut up.
Minutes passed, and by the time the hour was up, the master, with two servants, one of which was Garath, slowly walked out into the field. Davias instantly greeted him. 
   “Master! How well fare you?”
The master blinked. Davias was never this courteous before.
   “Quite well, thank you.”
Davias cleared his throat. “The medical wagon is very spacious-enough to comfortably fit 7 people. Perhaps you would like to reside in there? I shall see to it that Sophia is with you most of the time.”
The master nodded. “That shall be sufficient, thank you. How many wagons of rations have you?”
Davias looked at a piece of paper he held in his hand. “10 wagons, enough to feed this army for 3 years.”
The master nodded. “And I assume you have sufficient beasts to pull them?”
   “Yes, master, we got a great pack of Chuncans to pull the wagons.”
The master blinked. “Chuncans? But, they’re so expensive..”
   “And strong, sir. One could pull half my army in 50 wagons and still be strong enough to carry more.”
Chuncans were incredible animals. Their strength lay in their magic-incredible barriers of power protected them from harm and allowed them approximately 200 times the strength of a powerful man. They were very docile, however, which was fortunate. Even when teased, they usually did not attack, and they were easier to train than a 10 year old human.
   “Amazing, quite amazing. Well, now, when shall we be off?”
Davias nodded. “Soon, sir, very soon.”
   “Sir, shall I show you to the wagon now?”
The speaker was a young, 17 year old man by the name of Jonesy. Jonesy was not a very bad person, always polite and willing to serve, but he was extremely quick, and a very fierce fighter. He had Nature and Wind magic, which increased his stealth to his advantage.
The master nodded. “Yes, sir.”
The master leaned over and whispered something into Davias’s ear. Davias looked visibly relieved.”
The master followed Jonesy, and was followed by his obedient servants, Garath and Wolfane.
Wolfane was a very annoying fellow. He was teased wherever he went, and was only respected by the master and Garath. Even as he followed the master, he was spat on and teased. His Ice and Light powers were rarely used in battle-he was much too slow to use them.
Davias watched as the master followed Jonesy, and turned to his troops.
   “Troops, I have been alerted that this trip will not take the 5 or 6 months we expected, but rather, four.” He said with a smile on his face. “The master has found a shorter route to this town.” His face suddenly turned solemn.
   “Men,” he said, though he knew Ellis and Sophia were listening, “We shall set out in 10 minutes. For the past 7 years, we have been plotting out a course, and we have estimated it should take half a year to get to Rapids and three-fourths of a year back. Accidents will happen, but when we arrive back here, I expect to see no less than 1,000 soldiers to go home to their families.”
The troops remained silent, and Davias’s mind was a confused array of thoughts. He knew many would die, most likely more than half, but that was war.
Davias sighed, and shook his head. That was war. That’s how it had been, and that’s how it would always be. It never mattered who won, because in the end, both sides suffered losses. But that was war.
That was war.


Over the next three months, Korts, Peppy, and Moses prepared a group of people, eight, including Peppy, who would be possibilities to go on the journey with Peppy to the cave of the Cross of Alida. No one, except for the three just mentioned, knew about the war, but they would.

Peppy sighed, and stretched out in his sitting position. 
   “And that’s the story.”
The room in Peppy’s house was filled with many people. Korts, Peppy, Moses, V, Cinder, and Patch where among the nine, Korts not counting because he would be unable to go.
The other two, (Korts was not a part of the ten) where RingShadow, Korts’s shipper, and a warrior named BM.
No one knew what BM stood for. To all, including himself, he was BM, and he refused to tell them what BM stood for. Most figured the B to be Brian, but no one really cared, since BM was a fine name for him anyway. He was tough, in the same warrior business as Cinder, and had Lightning and Fire powers. He was a likable fellow, but was single, and wanted to stay that way. BM and Korts always seemed to get along well, Peppy noticed.
Moses and Korts backed up Peppy. 
   “I was there,” Moses said, though Peppy had already mentioned that as he spoke, “As was Korts, here.”
   “And now,” Korts spoke up with a surprisingly loud voice, “We need a group of you to assist Peppy to this cave. I.. We don’t expect all of you to come, as many of you would rather stay and fight, and we also need some people to tell the story just as Peppy told it. Do not be afraid of people doubting you-there is a strange magic in these words that I cannot place, but Apache-may her soul rest in peace-made sure that the story would be believable. Well, now..” he rolled back his shoulders. “Who’s in?”
Moses spoke up almost immediately. “Well, though I never said anything about it, I’m sure that Korts and Peppy both knew that I’m in.”
Peppy, standing next to her, smiled. “That’s my girl.” And they hugged.
After the hug had been finished, V spoke up. “Well, I can’t very well stay here and let Moses and Peppy go alone, can I? I’ll come too.”
Cinder grinned, and also spoke up. “If V’s in, I’m in.”
BM stood up, but the reply wasn’t in Peppy’s favor. “As much as I appreciate you requesting my help, I have to decline. This is my town, and I’m not letting some outsiders take over, thinking they can get by me.”
RingShadow sighed, and spoke after BM. “BM’s right. Some of us need to stay, not only to fight, but to warn others, like Korts said. I’m a good worker-I could help the town a lot more than a lot of others I know.” and she, jokingly, glared at BM.
BM didn’t return the glare, but rather, looked at Patch, as did everyone else.
Peppy said, “Well, Patch? How about you?”
   “I..umm..” Patch hesitated. “I..kinda.. I don’t..well...”
Silence. Patch began sweating like crazy. Finally, she stood up, and sighed. “I’m in.”
Peppy smiled, and patted her on the back. “That’s... five of us. Enough, right?”
   “Enough.” Korts agreed, and began to speak. “BM, RingShadow, we need to warn the town about this. This is not a large town, as you know, but it should still take a long time to get through to everyone.”
    “Yeah,” Peppy added, “We’ll be busy preparing.”
An hour later, when RingShadow and BM got their good-byes out of the way, Korts said, “RingShadow, BM, you guys should go home, prepare a speech for tomorrow. All right?”
RingShadow nodded. “Yes sir.” And she walked out, BM following close behind.
Korts nodded, satisfied. “How long will it take for you all to get ready?”
Peppy said, “I’m ready to go whenever.”
Patch shook her head. “I can’t leave tomorrow.. I have so many people I’d have to say good-bye to.”
Cinder nodded. “Me too.”
V thought for a second, and spoke. “A month should be sufficient.”
A month was a long time, but this would be a long journey, at least four months there and back.
“A month.” They agreed.
Hours later, Peppy and Moses where alone in the house.
Peppy frowned suddenly. “Moses, I’m not sure you should go.”
Moses looked up from the book she was reading. “Why not?”
Peppy looked around his house. So beautiful.. the house he lived in for his whole life. His parents were still alive, yes, but they felt it would be easier for them to move out across the street than for Peppy to do so. “The house.” he said. “I grew up in this house, and should something happen to it.... I want someone here to guard it, Moses..”
Moses frowned. “Peppy, if I were to go, and the soldiers came, the house would be burned. If I were to stay in this house, and the soldiers came, I would be killed, and the house would still be burned. What difference would it make?”
Peppy pondered that for a moment, and sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Moses tendered up for a moment, and moved closer to her husband-to-be. “Honey, you’re not scared about me, are you?”
Peppy frowned, and looked down. “Well..yeah. I felt you’d be safer here than with me..”
  “Nonsense, Peppy. You know that if there’s anyone who needs protection, it’s you!” she said with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.
Peppy smiled. What a great girl to marry.

Slicing the seemingly billionth branch out of his way, Ragnor sighed. 
Three months, he thought. Three long months of walking, sleeping, and talking, and little more. His love for Sophia had not died down one bit, and he was even able to shower her in affection despite the environment. But they were barely even half over.
In truth, Ragnor wasn’t so angry. While on this journey, he had no cares in the world-no bills to pay, no hard training to accomplish, and, best of all, he had Sophia with him. If-no, no, when-he comes back home, he knew he’d be showered in love from his absence, worry, and a large paycheck for saving his state. He was determined to make himself a war hero.
   “Ragnor?”
Ragnor looked to his left, seeing his beloved push a weak tree out of her way.
   “Yes, what is it, honey?” Ragnor asked. General Davias was surprisingly good about Ragnor calling Sophia little pet names, like honey, sweetie, and so forth.
   “How many people did fath-the master say were in this town?”
Ragnor replied, “3,000.”
Sophia frowned. “But didn’t he also say that there was a neighbor town nearby? Like, Duko or something?”
    “Dakota,” Ragnor corrected, “And yes, but the master is using his special psychic shield around the town.”
Sophia got slightly confused. “But, why won’t he just put the shield around us, instead?”
Ragnor scratched his head. “Because, though it can expand to across a town at longest, it cannot move. We would crash into it.”
Sophia insisted on her thoughts. “But then, why won’t the master just make the shield a small strip leading to the book, so we can all walk through it, grab the book, and leave? Anyone who comes to stop us would crash into the wall.”
   “Well, it’s not really a wall-shield, that’s a Light magic. This is a Psychic magic-a shield of fear. Anyone outside it cannot come close, because a feeling of fear wells up inside their bodies, sending them back.”
Sophia nodded. “All the better.”
   “Ah,” Ragnor said, “But projectiles will pierce through it like mere air, and we would not fight back, because nothing can leave the shield from the inside.”
   “I see.” Sophia said. 
Ragnor continued, “Also, the master only knows the book is in this town. He doesn’t know precisely where.”
Sophia sighed. “All right, then.”
    “Also, the wagons wouldn’t fit.”
Sophia seemed visibly sad. “Oh,” she muttered, “But we’ll make it back, right? You’re going to fight like a true warrior, and we’ll return.. together!”
Ragnor smiled, for once in three months. “Exactly.” and he grabbed onto her side and gave her a kiss.

A month passed. The entire town was preparing for a war like they had never seen before. Peppy, V, Moses, Cinder, and Patch said good-bye to everyone they knew, for it was possible they would never see them again. Most of the town was there to wish them good-bye, and needless to say, the picnic area was very crowded. People crowded back for many yards. More than half could not even hear what Korts said, but they were still enthusiastic either way.
   “Peppy,” Korts said, seriously. “Like my poor departed wife claimed, this trip should take four months. I fear the enemy may be here by them-if that is so, our warrior’s guild will hold them off.” He nodded. “I pray the journey finds you well, and may five brave adventurers return.”
Korts hadn’t enough time to finish his sentence, because a cry rang out in the crowd, from the back. More cries came with it, and amidst a group of 3,000 crazed, Korts gasped as he saw the soldiers pour in. 
   “They..they’re early!!!!”
Peppy almost dropped the supplies he was carrying. Moses moved closer to Peppy, and V and Cinder did the same. Patch was the first to recover.
   “Why are we just standing here?” she shouted over the noise of the villagers, who had ran home to grab weapons. “Let’s GO!”
Korts shouted, “Run, guys!! You have no time to spare!!”
Peppy, grabbing Patch and Moses, practically flew into the forest, V and Cinder close behind. Looking behind him, Peppy saw a light purple bubble cover the area, and he recognized it, a Psychic user himself, as a shield. He knew he could not turn back.
   “Guys..” he gasped out, “That’s a shield. We can’t go near it, or..well, don’t go near it.” He didn’t feel like-or have the time to-explaining the fear. 
Nobody replied. Over log, under branch, the five sped over the trail, running for an hour and a half. Finally, after a while, Cinder panted out, “Wait, guys.” As they stopped to catch their breath, he groaned, “This is heavy. Can we slow it to a walking speed?”
Everybody was too hot to detest against that. With the weapons, food, etc. that they carried, running was a hard task.
 Patch sat down on a high log. “Where are we now, Peppy?”
Moses sat next to Peppy, as her fiancé checked Apache’s map.
   “According to this,” he said, “We’ve made good tracks. We got a full day’s walking through in just a few hours.”
After a ten minute break, the group began walking quickly, hands on weapons in case a rabbit or deer showed up for dinner. No luck. They walked in silence, gazing at the forest in new light. They had always thought of the forest as a beautiful place, peaceful and serene. Now, they knew, danger would lurk around every corner-beasts who lived far from town, and wouldn’t enter anyway, would attack, orcs, goblins, even a dragon, mad about trespassers crossing it’s territories. Yes, indeed, the 5 villagers would have to see everything-and everyone-differently now.


   War raged on for days, as magic and weapons clashed through the air. Deaths were surprisingly uncommon-magic was not often used for battle, and were mostly very weak, and took long to cast. Still, a good 50 soldiers had died, in exchange for about 300 villager lives-not very good.
BM had been the source of 10 deaths by the soldier’s rank, for his warrior skills where unmatched even by Cinder. He was the unannounced leader of the Rapids side of the war, shouting out orders, positions, and such over the cries and screams of battle. Everyone helped-women who felt it more necessary to take care of children than fight were cooks, and children 15 or over could shoot arrows. Children 14 or under could carry food out to battlers, polish weapons, etc.
People in this world were tougher than those in our world, thanks to the special armor made of kiff, a common, hard, and wearable item that could sling the blows of arrows time and time again. They were cheap and easy to make, so almost everyone in the village wore them, even those who did no direct battling.
Instinct and tradition took the place more than battling. Battles were held during the day, but at night, soldiers and villagers usually retreated, out of arrow’s distance, to rest up for the next day. People stood watch, of course, but after a hard day’s fighting, soldiers needed to sleep as much as villagers, and thus, not many night raids where held in the night. It was ran more by instinct than by pure fighting. That was how war was ran in their world.
RingShadow was even busier than ever, shipping water and food from the kitchen to the villagers, and even launching an arrow once in a while at the soldiers. On the seventh day of battle, as she carried a large pot of soup out to the soldiers (the bowls would come after she returned) between the bakery and the woodshop’s alley, she heard a sneeze from somewhere, but it came at too much of a surprise for her to tell where it came from..
RingShadow blinked, and called out, “Who’s there?”
She got nothing in reply but the sounds of war in the middle of the village. 
She bit her lip, confused, and continued walking, pot still in hand, to the war.
A lone shadow leapt from the rooftops down upon her, striking her to the ground, spilling the soup onto the ground.
RingShadow lay face down on the ground, when the person who jumped upon her, keeping her nailed to the ground, said, in a raspy voice, “Who are you? What is that soup?” It was a male’s voice, though not as deep as some of the other males in the village.
RingShadow’s voice was weak and tiny from fright, but she managed to squeak out,          “I..I’m RingShadow.. this soup is for the battlers... do you not know there’s a battle going on?”
The voice was hesitant for a moment, then said, “Yes, I know there’s a war going on. Where do you come from?”
She squeaked out again, “R..Right there. At the village kitchen.” she pulled her arm up and managed to point in the general direction of the kitchen.
She felt her hands being tied together by a strong rope, as she was hoisted into a standing position. The man was still behind her, with a good grip on her left shoulder.
   “You are going to take me to that kitchen, now.”
She didn’t hesitate for a moment to take him there. She was too far away from anyone to call for help, and she was sure he had a weapon with him.
As they approached the kitchen, he asked, “How many people are inside?”
RingShadow was completely blank from fear of this man, and didn’t stop to think about why he’d want to know this knowledge. She said, “Four, sir. Three cooks, and another shipper.”
   “Good. Take me insid-”
He was not able to finish his sentence, for an arrow bounced off his kiff, and landed in the soft grass.
He spun around quickly, releasing his grip, as RingShadow summoned up enough concentration to escape to the side of the kitchen house. As she tried to untie the ropes, she watched what was going on.
Light stood tall, with a grin on his face, and a bow in his hand. He was waiting for a battle to insue, and this was it. His chance to save the girl he had had a crush on since 4 years old, RingShadow. 
   “Who are you?” he called out.
The man was silent.
   “I wish to know your name,” he said, saturn wing blowing through his hair like through it was the trees. “I want to know the name of who threatened this village, and attacked this innocent girl. After I destroy you, I’ll make sure that name is never uttered again.”
Light was being overly solemn, but he still kept a grin on his face.
   “...Travis.” and he said no more.
Light put away his bow and pulled out his dagger. Travis unsheathed his sword, and the battle began.
Light had the first attack. He ran forward, and as Travis struck with the sword, broke into a roll and sliced his stomach. The kiff deflected the blow easy, but Light could tell he struck an impressive amount of threads down. Light leapt to his feet, just in time to hold up his dagger to parry another blow, and sent Travis down. He backed up, and closed his eyes.
Almost instantly, there was a small rumble in the earth. Then another, louder. And another, as the ground began to shake. RingShadow had almost gotten the ropes off before she was shaken to the ground. She gasped as she went tumbling down, and looked up just in time to see the earth part. Travis had gotten onto his feet, and was struggling to stay up, until the earth opened into a small, 6 yard wide gap. Light was closing his eyes peacefully, but completely unaffected. Travis went flying to the ground when a large shake occurred, which caused poor RingShadow’s head to bash into the wall. She was okay, but shaken. Light didn’t notice, though his eyes had just opened. 
In an instant, the rumbling stopped. Light stood on one edge of the gap, while Travis lay, panting, afraid on the side. The earth closed back together, without even the slightest rumble, dragging Travis and Light together. Light brought his dagger down upon Travis’s chest, but it hit only his blade. Travis rolled, and jumped up with incredible speed. Travis leapt forward with a jump-kick, which hit squarely in the kiff covered chest. The force of the blow sent Light sprawling to the ground. 
Instead of taking advantage, Travis quickly raised his hands into the air. Travis’s hands became blurry, as if seen in water, and a gust of wind suddenly rumpled his hair. His hands got blurrier and blurrier, and the wind got stronger and stronger before, finally, his hands seemed to disappear in the wind. Light was about to get up, but it was as if he was hypnotized by the wind. He struggled into a sitting position, staring, before something unpredictable happened. As Travis screamed something, it was unheard, as if carried off by the wind. Huge gusts of winds suddenly lifted him gently off the ground, while they slammed Light into the ground. They were so strong, Light couldn’t move, and his eyes hurt from the wind blowing in them. He had trouble blinking, and he couldn’t see Travis through his teary eyes.
RingShadow became confused. Something was knocking Light to the ground, and was rumpling his hair and clothes, but she felt absolutely no wind, unlike Light’s ground spell. She suddenly grinned as she found the knot, and within two seconds, the ropes were off. She leapt up into a standing position.
The wind stopped. Light’s eyes hurt like crazy, and he rubbed them, moaning. He was dizzy and confused, and still lying down from the wind, as Travis lifted his sword. As Travis brought it down, Light recovered, but not in time to see the sword come swinging down.
But he didn’t die.
Travis stood choking, leaning as if pulled back from Light. There was a swordmark right in front of Light’s feet, where Travis’s blade hit. RingShadow stood behind him, grunting and struggling as she held the rope around his neck. 
Travis never did die from lack of air. In an instant, Light was on his feet, and the dagger was struck with lightning speed, until, finally, the kiff snapped, and Light’s dagger went through the skin. Travis croaked, dropped down to the floor, and breathed his last breath.
   “Stand back,” Light said, as RingShadow took four or five stepped back. The earth began rumbling again, as the earth parted. Light, again, was unaffected, but his eyes were open, and he seemed fully aware of everything. As the gap opened, Light walked plainly through all the earthquake, and seemed to fly over the gasp. He bent down, and lifted Travis’s corpse from the ground, and sent it tumbling into the abyss. The ground closed, and ten seconds later, the rumbling stopped. Right after they did, RingShadow ran up to Light, sobbing with joy.
   “Light!! You did it!!!” as she hugged him.
Light smiled one of his common smiles, and hugged her back. “You helped, too. If not for you, he would have sliced me into pieces.”
RingShadow laughed with relief. “All the better! You saved me, and I saved you!! We’re a great team!!” She, still crying, put her head onto his chest. 
Light smiled, as tears poured from his own eyes. This is all he ever wanted.
   “RingShadow... I love you.”
Over the 23 years of his life, he had loved RingShadow for 19 years, but he never had the guts to say it. Now..
RingShadow didn’t stop crying, instead, she cried harder. She sniffed. “I.. I love you too. Ever since I was 5, I’ve had an interest in you.. and...I..” the rest of her words were illegible from sobbing.
Light smiled through his tears. If he was to die in this war, he would die a happy man. And he thanked God. He patted her on the back, and said, “I have to go fight now. When.. When we survive this war, we’ll see what happened.” 
RingShadow didn’t want to let go of his hand, but she forced herself to.   
  “Goodbye..Light.. thank you..”
Light didn’t reply. He walked towards the battle, pulled out his bow, and prepared to fight again. And for once, RingShadow finally realized how much would be lost if Rapids were to lose the war. With that thought, she felt angered, determined, and prepared. She turned around, and marched proudly into the kitchen to explain her story.


As the lightning struck and the rain poured, Moses huddled close to Peppy, and V was with Cinder, though not as close as Moses. Patch stood watch at the entrance of the tent, writing in her journal.

Patch Mani, 17th of saturn

   This marks the third week that we set out from Rapids, and we’re making some very good progress, as I have written in past entries. Peppy and Moses are coming closer together, but Cinder and V seem to be going farther apart. A shame-they were right for each other. I have yet to meet someone.. perhaps soon. Now is not the time to think about love. 
It’s been raining for three days, but our determination is strong. We’ve traveled a sufficient amount, even in the rain, but the mud is getting thick. We haven’t had any creature attacks, which is sparklingly comforting-we expected to be attacked at least twice in the first month, and we’ve seen a lot of tracks. But we can handle them-V’s a very powerful person. Probably stronger than all of us-including Peppy and Cinder-combined. 
We’re over halfway there, which is great, because it’s not even a month yet. I don’t-

Patch dropped the pen there, as someone came sprawling into the tent. Instantly, Cinder, V, and Peppy had their hands on their swords.
   “No!” the figure cried, “Please don’t hurt me! I am a lone traveler!”
It was a male’s voice, medium-low pitched. A black cloak covered his body, and it was wet and covered in mud. 
   “Who are you?” Peppy asked, non-threateningly.
   “My name is Q.” Q removed the hood on his head, to show a man with blondish-brown hair and a strange, plastic thing with circles in the center and two glass-like items.
   “What are those things on your face?” V rudely asked.
   “Oh, these?” Q said, pointing to his nose. “These are what I call ‘glasses’.”
Moses blinked. “We have glass, but it’s used on window.”
Q shrugged. “I’m an inventor. I had poor eyesight, so I attempted some things, and came up with these glasses.”
Peppy was still suspicious. “Why are you here?”
Q bit his lower lip. “I live in a hut, about a day’s walk from here. I heard of a special tree that’s around here-I need it’s branch for an experiment. I got it, but now I’m stuck in the mud, and frightened of monsters.”
   “You.. ‘heard’? You are not from the village.. a day’s walk?” Cinder was confused.
Q nodded. “It’s not really a village. Five houses, two stores, and a farm. We survive on berries, livestock, milk, eggs, and other stuff.”
   “Interesting!” Patch said, smiling. “We were afraid you were a monster.”
   “Yes,” Q said, wiping water off of his glasses. “I am sorry to come barging in here, but I was so cold and wet, I was afraid I would become sick.”
   “We understand.” Moses said, “We’ve got room.”
Everyone but Peppy explained the meaning of their quest. Through it all, Q kept nodded and thinking. After they were over, Q said, “A cave, huh? So this kid..” and Q looked at Peppy. “This kid is the only hope for your village?”
Peppy only gave Q a solemn nod.
In his head, Peppy had a million thoughts. A village? How coincidental was it that he came upon them? What did they do in pluto? Peppy felt he had every right to be suspicious.
   “Well,” Patch said, “I think it’s fine to allow just one more person to stay here until the rain stops.”
Everyone agreed, including Peppy, so that he wouldn’t make a scene. Later that night, only V, Peppy, and Q were awake, though Peppy trying hard to get to sleep. V and Q thought he was already fast asleep.
   V sat drinking a special tea, made of a fresh kind of leaf from the intu tree. Q was staring out into the rain, but wasn’t paying attention to it. V broke the silence.
   “So, Q..” she said, “What kinds of experiments do you do?”
Q turned away from the rain to look at V. “Not important ones, really.” he said, and shrugged. “Little things, like how to preserve food with leaves, and chemicals that are cool to the touch but can melt snow. Interesting, trivial stuff like that.”
   “I see.” V said, and off topic, added, “What does Q stand for?”
   “Quantum.”
V grinned. “Professor Quantum, I like that. V stands for Venus, but I can’t stand that name.”
Q smiled. “It’s cute. I want to name my kid Quantum. In fact, I used to be called Quantum, until at the age of 14 I decided I’d rather be called Q.”
   “14?” V stared into his eyes. “How old are you?”
Q shrugged, and chuckled. “I really don’t know. 30.. 40 something.”
   “I’m 21.”
Q chuckled. “My life’s been much too fast. I remember everything when I was 21.”
   “I’ll bet you do.”
Q and V blinked. Neither of the two had said that.
Peppy growled, his head stuffed into the pillow. “Sorry to interrupt, but could you keep it down?”
V ignored his comment. “Peppy! I didn’t know you were awake.”
    “Who could sleep with all this loud chatter??” Peppy was cranky when he was an insomniac.
V grumbled, “Okay, okay.. you shouldn’t get all worked up over it.”
Q yawned, and leaned back. “We should get some sleep anyway, V. It’s late.”
   “Not like we’re gonna do anything tomorrow in this rain.”
It never received a reply-Q was already snoring away.

 
   “Three and a half weeks..” Korts muttered to FJ. “I can’t believe it’s been going on this long.”
Korts and FJ sat with 10 other soldiers, eating a cold lunch. The battle was a little bit less intense today, so many soldiers who had fought for days without sleep could finally take a small rest. In fact, the current battle was so small, you couldn’t hear the fighting at the center of the town from the north side of the town, where FJ and Light sat talking.
   “Korts?” FJ asked, with a confused blink. “I’m expecting three and a half years, needless to say weeks.”
Korts sighed. “Don’t say that. Peppy’s gonna come back, and end the war. I’ll give ‘em two and a half more months, and then this awful war is gonna end.”
FJ laughed a bitter laugh. “You actually believe he’s going to make it? He’s 19 years old! He’s probably dead by now.”
Korts blushed a little, but it was unnoticeable. “Oh, ye of little faith.. besides, he’s going with three friends.”
    “Yeah, three of which are girls.”
Korts, slightly angered, was about to comment on FJ’s chauvenistism, but FJ butted in, “Who am I kiddin’? We probably won’t even last another 2 and a half months even if Peppy does make it back with that stupid cross.”
Korts sighed. FJ was probably right-out of the 1,000 original soldiers, only about 100 were dead. Out of the 3,000 original villagers, nearly 500 were dead or about to die from injuries, and another 500 were unable to fight, and were instead cooking, watching children, etc. making only 1,500 people available to fight. 
Before Korts could speak again, a man came rushing up to him, FJ, and the 10 soldiers, placing a helmet over his head. It was Warren, village butcher.
    “Come quick, guys!” He barked out orders to the 12, who were just finishing the meal, “They’ve launched a huge surprise attack, and we need all the soldiers we can get.”
The other 10 were up in a flash, flying for their weapons and armor before Korts and FJ could even get up.
   “Well, Korts..”
   “Yeah, FJ?”
FJ grinned like a mischievous child. “You ready to fight?”
Korts blinked. “In the war? We’re both way too old!”
FJ rubbed his gray-bearded chin. “They said we need to get all the soldiers we can round up.” he punched Korts in the shoulder playfully. “Where’s yer fighting spirit?”
Korts hesitated, and suddenly, grinned. “I guess I’m ready to be a war hero.”
   And with that, the two raced to the weapons.

At the battlefield, BM was already leading the pack, like a torpedo into the pack. Korts and FJ hadn’t used a weapon in ages, but they caught on quick as they teamed up against one soldiers, slammed him to the ground, and finished him off before he even knew what was going on.
Hours of harsh battling passed, and the villagers’s morale was surprisingly high, as 10 Californian soldiers had died at the cost of none of them. FJ and Korts moved back from the fight, tired and hundred, congratulating each other on the two soldiers who had fallen from their blades. On the way back to the kitchen to grab some bread and water before going back into battle, however, a voice from behind them called, “You two are soldiers? Boy, you guys are really desperate to fight, huh?”
Korts and FJ spun around. Wolfane and Garath, servants to the master, stood, 20 feet from the two, dressed in armor that was way too big for them and carrying weapons that hardly fit. Though their faces remained serious, FJ and Korts each knew that the other was laughing on the inside. An annoying slave and an old servant.. simply funny.
   “This is war, geezers!” Garath shouted out. “And I, Garath, shall win the war for our side! And I’ll start.. with you.”
FJ released his defense, and Korts tried not to smile. Who were they kidding?
   “You cannot break just so that you can get food while your fellow villagers are dropping like flies!” Wolfane added, “However, I, Wolfane, will make you wish you stayed back with them.”
   Dorks, Korts thought to himself as he unsheathed his weapon. FJ grinned as he did the same. 
   “The master shall be happy with our victories!”
   “Yes, quite happy!”
Wolfane and Garath were more talking to themselves than to Korts and FJ. 
Receiving no reply, the two soldiers became angered.
   “You are silent. Is your life flashing before your eyes?” Garath said with a sneer. 
Before Wolfane could add an obnoxious comment, something unpredictable happened. Garath slipped to the ground, Wolfane tumbling down a second later, as the very grass from the ground, now 7 times it’s original length, tied the two down.
   “Ack!!” Wolfane cried, “Not fair!!”
Korts blinked, looked around, and his eyesight landed on FJ, who stood, eyes closed, murmuring something. Korts had never known FJ’s special abilities-he could now place them as Grass and Nature. Without hesitating, he swept forward to attack, FJ coming a few seconds later as his spell was complete.
Korts fell into a slide into the mud, a clean slide slicing across Wolfane’s kiff and nicking his neck. He struggled to get up, but alas, could not. How Korts managed to cut Wolfane and hardly damage the grass, Wolfane was confused about. Maybe that old geezer was more skilled that he gave them credit for.
Garath finally got a hold of his dagger, and with a little loosening, cut himself out. Leaping instantly into a standing position, he glared at FJ, who was charging at him, ignoring Korts. FJ saw it coming and swept low, but Garath had a trick up his sleeve. Instead of going low, Garath leapt into the air, thrusting down into Korts’s back, through the kiff, as his body weight sunk in. FJ, unable to fight back, dropped to the ground without a sound.
Before Korts could react, Garath had already cut Wolfane free, and Korts knew it was a two-on-one. Unless..
An idea popped into Korts’s head. He had Refresh magic-he should use it! But first he needed a cover up..
As Garath and Wolfane advanced, Korts slid between the two, tripping Wolfane down, and Korts hopped up. Ideas raced through his mind quickly, and he came out with one good one.
Holding his hands above his head, dark clouds appeared above him. 10 feet to any other direction, clouds were nice and white in a blue sky, but above Korts, darkness. As he brought his hands down to in front of him, he knelt down. Before Wolfane or Garath even knew what was happening, lightning jutted out, closing a wall around them, which shrunk until they were completely fried.
Little pain was induced. Instead, something completely different was the result of the lightning.
Wolfane and Garath lay on the floor, eyes jutting out, panting, unable to move, completely paralyzed from the shock. Korts’s exact plan.
Korts stared around, and set his eyes on FJ. Stepping over the two unmoving bodies, and knelt down to FJ’s side, closed his eyes, and stretched out his right hand. A humming sound, very quiet, was heard, as his finger almost seemed to glow. As he brought the hand down to FJ, the fallen man’s body began to glow, too, and suddenly, FJ struggled into a sitting position.
Korts grinned. FJ’s back was still sliced and bleeding, but Korts had given FJ a pain killer.
   “What.. I... I can’t move my back. It’s numb.”
   “It’s a pain killer, FJ. Fight. If we can defeat these two clowns, I’ll have you rushed to the doctor’s before the pain starts again.”
FJ croaked out, “How long do we have?”
   “An hour.”
FJ got up, stretched his back out, scratched it. As he brought back his hand and looked at it, his mouth dropped in shock.
   “Korts.. my hand is completely..covered in blood..”
Korts smiled weakly. “I know. Refresh powers are indeed quite helpful.”
FJ said nothing.
   “Get revenge,” Korts said, holding FJ’s dagger. It began to glow yellow, and as Korts jumped back, it crackled.
FJ bit his lip. “My dagger.. it’s vibrating. What did you do?”
   “Lightning, FJ. You’re practically holding a bolt of lightning in your hand.”
FJ stared down at the dagger. It was infused with magic? Amazing..
   “My revenge,” FJ agreed. He walked up to the two still paralyzed bodies. Without a word, he wrung the dagger clear through Garath’s chest, followed by Wolfane. They didn’t even know it was coming, for they could not see-the tiny, barly visable pupils suggested that.
Wolfane let out a breath of air, but Garath seemed to do nothing as death took him. Maybe he’s happier this way, thought FJ. Maybe he’s happier this way..
Korts walked up to FJ, and put a hand on his shoulder.
   “Not too hard, eh, FJ?”
FJ smiled weakly. “Besides a completely torn back, yeah.”
Korts smiled more vibrantly. “C’mon, you’ll be fine. It’ll be another 50 minutes before the pain returns.”
Putting the dagger back into the sheath, FJ realized that the encounter he just experienced was not difficult at all. FJ had had much harder experences in the past-being lost in the forest and caught in a burning building being higher. Although he barely escaped alive, FJ wondered if maybe those soldiers were as overrated as Wolfane and Garath.
Maybe, he could only hope, maybe, he though, as Korts and he walked slowly towards the clinic.


Peppy brought down his axe upon the log with a grunt. This was hard work, he thought with a despised sigh. Patch had a considerably easier chore, collecting wood from the ground instead of having to chop it. As Peppy had experience as a lumberjack from FJ, he was perfect for the part to chop wood.
Peppy and Patch were alone in the forest, exiled from the tent until they brought back food for a fire. Moses and the rest of the gang were back at the tent, preparing dinner of a fresh rabbit they found along the way, and a couple fish they brought from the village.
   “So, Peppy, what’s your last name going to be when you get married?” Patch said as she bent down to pick up a piece of wood.
   “I dunno,” Peppy said, setting his axe aside for a rest, “Cater sounds pretty neat. Peppy Cater..”
In Rapids, it was tradition to chose a new last name when you married, instead of the female adopting the male’s last nime. Peppy Foxley and Moses Hime could become neither the Foxley family or the Hime family, but rather, a different name altogether.
   “Cater,” Patch repeated, in thought, “Interesting.”
They continued on in silence for about 5 minutes, when Patch asked, “When did you propose?”
   “The end of the blizzard in pluto.”
Patch went ‘blah’. “I remember that. How long ago?”
Peppy thought for a bit. “A few months before we started the trip. Since we’ve been traveling just over a month, I’d say... 5 months ago?”
Patch nodded. 
Peppy wiped sweat from his brow.
    “Are you ready to go yet?”
Patch nodded. “I think so.”
As they turned around to head back, Patch stopped abruptly.
   “What is it, Patch?”
   “I..I heard something.”
Peppy stopped breathing to listen.
   “I don’t hea-”
Grr...
Patch shrieked. “There! There it is!!”
Peppy spun around. No one was there but the trees.
   “...Peppy! Behind you!”
Peppy spun around just in time to see a huge object bash him to the ground, before he was covered in darkness.

    Source: geocities.com/timessquare/arena/2550

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