Ninjaman

*cries* I don't even have any money, so I have to wait until Christmas to get the games I want. Hmm, I want Mario & Luigi, Sword of Mana, Harvest Moon, maybe Billy Hatcher, and Final Fantasy Chronicles, but now I have to wait til February for that. Maybe I have some money somewhere. *goes off and tears apart room looking for money*

I go back on August 19th. Well, it's actually kind of the 18th, but that's the orientation. Lucky for us the first two days of school are half-days (we get out at 12:30 instead of 3:30). I can hardly wait for school to start (end sarcasm :p).

I rented this game awhile back and today I thought why didn't make a thread about this game then. Anyway, this game is the fourth installment to the Arc series. This is the first Arc game to be experienced fully in 3D. I only played this game for a while, to the beginning of the chapter: Love and Hate. In this story, a whole new race is introduced, the Deimos. The Deimos are kinda half-human and half-monster. The Deimos and the humans despise each other greatly and are constantly fighting one another. However, one human woman falls in love with a male Deimos and the two bear twin boys, one's a human and the other a Deimos. Of course, the Deimos are furious with the two falling in love. Soon enough, the Deimos and the human are separated, each bearing one of the twin. Now it's the present and the twins, Kharg the human and Darc the Deimos, have grown older, both unaware that destiny will draw them together and learn that they are brothers. The graphics to this game are just wonderful compared to the previous three games. Players will see many different types of facial expressions from the characters. Players can also expect to see cinema scenes. And the skills and magic aren't that bad either. Speaking of skills and magic, the original battle system of Arc the Lad has gotten a bit of updates. An addition too the battle system is the tension system. When your characters get attacked, their tension meter rises. When it is full that same character can team up with another to attack an enemy, as long as both characters are in range of the enemy. Unlike the other games, players will always get a chance to heal before battles because as you choose you characters for battle, you get the option to heal or equip your characters. How convenient! One thing that's a bit bothersome about the battles is that the difficulty can tend to be in question. One battle can be very easy while the next one can be hard as heck. This latest Arc the Lad is very good IMO. However, I find it only second to Arc the Lad 2. Mainly because in the fourth, it feels kind of limited because there's not many sidequests compared to 2 and 3 with the Hunter Guild. I feel that this game is mostly about the story and less about the sidequests. Not that I'm complaining, but it's always nice to have other types of adventures. But then again I haven't even beaten the game, so I don't know what's up ahead. So, anyone have any comments about this game?

I actually couldn't get past the home page to read the announcement until today so I was totally confused. I mean, yesterday it started happening and I read my profile and it didn't say I was banned so I thought it was a glitch or something, but then I saw that same message this morning. Luckily, I got past that message just now to read the announcement. I use Compuserve and believe me, I never really wanted it to begin with but we're poor so :p . Now I'm using Internet Explorer so I'm able to get in here now.

Also notice that they got rid of the part where [spoiler]Yugi tells Joey he loves him[/spoiler]. I myself was a little ticked at this. I didn't think they'd get rid of that part.

I'd play it, but my computer isn't being very cooperative right now. Although, I have seen pics to the whole trailer to Deep Dive and I must say that I was quite exilerated (which is wierd because I'm all excited over pics, so one can wonder how I'll react to the trailer o_O). Can't wait to see more info on the sequel.

I considered auditioning for one of our school's upcoming plays, but I decided not to in the end. Mainly because the plays didn't exactly sound interesting and I was kind of afraid I wouldn't make it in. And if I did make it in, I probably would've freaked about performing in front of a crowd because I was afraid that I might screw up my lines. How's that for a scaredy cat? lol. But I realized that I have performed in front of people back at my old school and back then I wasn't scared, but rather more excited, and I never once messed up my lines. Then I noticed that there really isn't anything to it. But by then, the auditions were over. Bad timing, eh? I regret not auditioning now, but there's always next year.

I'm currently living in Garland. Not much to say there since there really isn't anything special here. My friend, GhostofSalvtore, and I walk around the neighborhood sometimes and we only end up going to Blockbuster and Cici's (or some other restaurant). Good thing is that they're building a movie theater near my house. But of course, by the time they finish building, I'll be out of high school.

Okay, here's a better sketch. Comments anyone? [IMG]http://mywebpage.netscape.com/Takato%2001/grouppic3.jpg[/IMG]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by AzureWolf [/i] [B]Anyway, I know you don't like the standard RPG gameplay with people taking turns, but Final Fantasy 2 and FF3 are both 2 players. Haha, it's fun playing those RPGs with two players! [/B][/QUOTE] You're telling me. My friend and I did two player on FF3/6. Ugh, it got pretty tiring after yelling "It's your turn!" as quickly as we could before the enemy attacked. For those type of two player RPGs requires 100% attention. Although that goes for all two player games.

I'm going to be a junior in high school. I can't believe two years of high school have already passed. I'm not really looking forward to going back work-wise. I got some hard classes including Chemistry and AP US History this year. Two things I'm looking forward to going back is seeing my friends and I'm going to be [i]driving[/i] to school this year (well I'm going to have to drive with an adult until this December when I get my Driver's License, curse this driver's permit!). Well other than that, I have a feeling Junior year will be a bit exciting for me.

I used to always like being alone, but over the last year I made some pretty good friends at school. Now it's summer and I haven't seen my friends since. It's good to be alone every now and then because then you get some time to organize your thoughts, think, draw, or whatever. But I have been alone for quite some time over the summer and I really miss my friends right now. Mainly it's because of things that have been happening in my life right now. Things where I need my friends the most. But to answer the question, yeah I like to be alone, but not too long though.

Here's one of my sketches of some characters from my story. I draw a lot and this sketch is one of my favorite ones, because it's simple. Hope you like. ^^ [IMG]http://mywebpage.netscape.com/Takato%2001/grouppic1.jpg[/IMG] Maybe I'll post another one later...

I get it quite often. In fact I had one just yesterday. It feels so wierd to feel that you have done something before but you can't remember when and do it again. (Oooooookaaaay, did that make sense? o_O;; )

Sorry I'm late for posting the next chapter. ^^;; Well anyway, here it is: Chapter 7: Where the Wind Blows It was half past noon. A taxicab stopped in front of a seven-floor hotel. Scott got out of the cab followed by Davis, Lisa, and Ally. The teenagers got their bags out of the trunk while Ally entered the hotel. ?Welcome to our hotel,? greeted the young woman at the front desk. ?How may I help you?? ?Hello,? Ally replied. ?I reserved two rooms this morning under the name Mr. Ryans.? ?Ah, yes, I remember. Here are the keys to your rooms. You?ll find them on the third floor. Have a nice day.? ?Thank you. You too.? Ally turned with the keys in her hand to see the teenagers standing in front of her. ?You used my name?? Scott asked. ?Yes, I hope you don?t mind,? said Ally. ?No, not at all. Besides, when did you reserve the rooms?? ?At the airport, while you were getting your baggage.? ?Yeah, which actually took awhile because she brought so much stuff,? Davis said, looking at Lisa. ?Hey, a girl has her needs,? Lisa replied. ?Too much if you ask me.? ?Alright,? interrupted Ally, as Lisa shot Davis a nasty look. ?Come on, our rooms are on the third floor.? Scott opened the door and entered the room. The others followed in. The room had two beds and Scott was lying on the one nearest to the window. ?Dibs on this one,? Scott stated. ?Fine with me,? Davis said, sitting on the other bed. ?Guess we got the other room,? Lisa said to Ally. ?So what do we do now?? ?We rest for now,? Ally answered. ?I assume you?re all hungry.? ?Yeah,? the teenagers said together. ?Alright then. Let?s go see if there?s a restaurant in this hotel.? As it turned out, there was a restaurant in the hotel. Within time, all four of them had eaten lunch. ?So how are we going to find the guardian of this area?? Lisa asked before taking a drink from her glass. ?I am going to attempt to use telepathy to contact the guardian,? Ally answered. ?Well, shall we go?? Davis asked. ?Sure, let me pay the check first,? said Ally. ?But, where do we start?? asked Lisa. ?We?ll just have to wander around this city until I can clearly get in contact with the guardian. So, any spot will a good starting place.? ?Hey, let?s start with the Golden Gate Park!? ?Fine by me,? said Scott. ?Ready?? ?Yes,? answered Ally, placing the money she summoned on top of the bill, including tip. The four got up from the table and headed for the exit. Scott suddenly stopped. He felt someone was staring right at him. He turned around. No one suspicious was there. There were only three other tables occupied with people and not one of the people was staring at Scott. ?What?s wrong?? asked Davis. ?Nothing,? Scott answered. ?Thought someone was watching us.? ?Really? Well, come on. We?ve got some exploring to do.? Scott nodded and followed Davis through the exit. Then, a middle-aged man wearing a dark coat appeared from the restroom. He pulled out a cell phone from his coat pocket and dialed. ?They?re here,? he said. ?The ones that Lance warned us about? No, they didn?t see me, but I think one of them had suspicions, though. Yeah, they?re going to the Golden Gate Park? Okay, boss.? He hung up the phone and left the restaurant. Ally walked on the sidewalks with her eyes close and her finger on her forehead. Some people near Ally stared at her with confusing looks. ?She, uh, has a bad headache,? Davis tried to explain to the people. ?Anything yet?? Scott asked. ?Nothing,? answered Ally, not breaking from her concentration. ?You might want to-,? Lisa began, pointing to a tree Ally was about to walk into. ?I know.? Ally slowly walked in another direction to avoid walking into the tree Lisa was referring to. Davis walked behind Ally while Scott walked beside Lisa. ?Hey, I got a question,? said Scott. ?Shoot,? Lisa replied. ?Why did you come with us?? ?What do you mean?? ?Well, it?s not your school that?s been taken over by people from another world.? ?Well, that may be true, but that doesn?t mean I can?t come and help you guys. I mean you?re my friends.? ?I?m not saying that it?s not true, but is that the only reason why you came?? ?Of course not. I kind of feel, you know, like I brought this quest upon myself when I overheard two of the Infinite?s conversation. I?m not saying I didn?t have a choice of whether or not to join you, but I couldn?t just ignore all that happened yesterday and move on my life like nothing ever happened. You freed me from that cell in the tunnel when I couldn?t help you and your school from being captured by the Infinite. I mean I could?ve run and warn the police what they were planning to do, but instead I was caught by the Infinite. I?ve been given power to help you fight for your friends? freedom and I just can?t throw that away. You need all the help you can get when it comes to the Infinite. I want to repay you for saving me by helping you fight.? ?Thanks, Lisa.? ?Besides, I do have one other reason as to why I came along.? ?And what?s that?? ?I?m an adopted child. The adoption agency my foster parents got me from holds no information on my real parents. I only have two things that my real parents gave me. My first name and the earrings I?m wearing now.? Lisa pointed to an aquamarine stud on her right ear. It was in the shape of a butterfly. ?But, how do you know your name is your real birth name?? Scott asked. ?The adoption agency said they found me in a basket on their doorstep when I was a baby. Inside the basket was a piece of paper with my name and the earrings I?m wearing were in a small pouch.? ?Quite a story.? ?Yeah, I know. I just hope it comes with a happy ending, though. That?s one of the reasons I came along. In hopes of finding them along the way.? ?Don?t worry, you?ll find them. If not on this journey, then someday.? ?Aw, thank you. But why did you ask me why I came?? ?Just something that was on my mind.? Scott then noticed that Ally stopped walking and her arms were now at her sides. ?Any luck?? asked Lisa. ?No,? Ally answered. ?We should go try somewhere else.? ?Are you sure?? Davis asked. ?We didn?t go around the entire park.? ?Well, I still wouldn?t be able to get into contact with the guardian even if we did go around the entire park.? ?Then, where shall we go now?? asked Scott. Before anyone could answer, there was a scream. All four of them turned and saw people running and screaming. The source of the commotion was a monster with razor claws. It was chasing after some fleeing people, until it caught sight of Scott and his friends. It roared loudly and leaped into the air and landed in front of the four. ?Watch out!? Ally shouted. ?It could be an Infinite!? ?What do you mean ?could be??? asked Davis. ?The Infinite also have the power to transform into monsters. Now let?s go!? Before another second passed, Scott, Davis, and Lisa summoned their weapons. The monster chuckled and gave a ferocious roar. Suddenly, six more monsters emerged from the ground, surrounding the four. These monsters were smaller than the one that summoned them. ?Oh man,? Scott muttered. Scott and Davis lunged at the monsters in front of them and slashed their swords. ?Aren?t you going to join them?? Ally asked Lisa. ?Uh, not right now,? Lisa laughed nervously. Suddenly, a monster jumped towards the girls. Ally then pointed in the air her hand outlined with yellow energy. Then, a lightning bolt shot from the sky and struck the monster before it could reach the girls. The monster fell to the ground, electrocuted, and disintegrated. ?Well, one down,? Ally stated. ?Six to go,? Lisa finished. Scott swung his sword rapidly at the beast in front of him. The monster swung its arm at Scott, but he ducked Scott then slashed his sword upwards at the monster. It screamed in pain and fell to the ground, dead, to disintegrate. ?Little help here!? Davis shouted. Davis was trapped in between two of the monsters, barely blocking their attacks with his sword. Scott clenched his left fist and closed his eyes. ?I hope this works,? he muttered. Then, a red light emitted from his clenched fist. Scott then threw the light at one of the monsters surrounding Davis. The light turned into a fiery projectile and collided with the monster. The monster fell to the ground, burning to death. Davis slashed the other monster, killing it. But, as the monster fell, it scratched Davis?s right shoulder, leaving a deep cut. ?Davis!? Scott and Lisa called out, running to Davis, who was on his knees grasping his right shoulder in pain. ?Are you okay?? Scott asked. ?Yeah, a little bit,? Davis answered. ?Hold on,? said Lisa. ?If it worked for Scott, it should work for me.? Lisa placed her right hand over Davis?s wound and closed her eyes. Her hand glowed a white color. Then, her glowing hand dropped small fragments of light to Davis?s wound. The wound glowed for a moment and healed completely. ?Hey, it worked,? said Davis. ?Thanks Lisa.? ?No problem,? Lisa replied. ?Hey, where?s Ally?? Scott asked. Lisa pointed to where Ally was, who was making motions with her hands, which were glowing green. ?What is she doing?? asked Davis. ?That,? Scott answered, pointing to a small tornado near Ally. Inside the tornado were two monsters. The remaining monster was being chased by the tornado. Finally, the monster was pulled into the tornado. Ally then ceased her hand motions and so did the tornado, dropping the monsters to the ground, dead and disintegrating. ?That?s all of them,? Ally said, walking towards the others. ?Impressive,? said a voice from above. The four looked above and saw a woman landing from the sky to the ground. The woman had long blonde hair wrapped in a ponytail, dropping to her waist. She wore a white tank top with black pants and collar with her silver earrings. Two dagger were placed in her belt. ?Who are you?? asked Davis. ?The last beautiful thins you?ll ever lay your eyes on, sugar,? said the woman said with a wink. She pulled out two daggers from her belt and assumed a battle stance. Ally summoned for another lightning strike, but the woman leaped out of the way of the attack. The woman lunged at Lisa, but she was hit by an impact of water. She fell to the ground, soaked. ?Hey, that wasn?t too hard,? said Davis. ?Was that you?? Scott asked. ?Yeah,? Davis answered and then looked at the furious woman. ?Uh oh.? ?How dare you drench my clothes!? the woman screamed and lunged at Davis. ?Here let me dry you off,? said Scott, throwing a fireball. The woman then spun, creating a tornado. She then threw her tornado at Scott?s fireball. The fireball collided with the tornado and created a fiery tornado, which was coming towards Scott. ?Hang on Scott!? Ally shouted. Ally created a force field around Scott that shielded him from the fiery wind. The woman leapt behind Davis and swung one of her daggers, but Davis turned and stopped her dagger with his sword. The woman kicked Davis?s side, making him fall to the ground. She leapt in the air to finish Davis off. Suddenly, something fiery made impact with the woman, knocking her to the ground. The group turned to see a small boy, levitating in the air, pointing a wooden staff with a ruby attached on the top at the woman. He had blonde hair beneath his green hat. He wore a green robe, with its sleeves covering his hands, and cape and a gold medallion worn around his neck. ?Hang on,? he said. ?I?ll get us out.? The boy waved his staff. Then he, Scott, Davis, Lisa, and Ally vanished from the scene. The woman got on her feet cursing under her breath. She placed her daggers back in place and snapped her fingers. With the wind blowing in her hair, she vanished.

I just checked back here and read what happened and OMG. I am so sorry about what happened. It's so terrible.... I'll be praying for you.

My family's having a cookout. Can't get any more exciting than that. I wish I was going to the Anime Expo...

Wow, glad to hear they're both doing fine. I wish the baby good healthy life. ^^

Chapter 6: Departure [I]Pit-Pat[/I]. The rain softly patted against the windows. Scott was staring out his window at the falling rain. It had been raining since he came home, which was hours ago. He felt warm and calm in his room. A lot had happened that day and he was glad to be home. But something was on his mind. A few hours ago, Ally ha asked him and his friends to go on a journey with her. They all needed time to think this through, because it wasn?t exactly the easiest decision to make in the whole world. Scott, Davis, and Lisa decided that once they came to a decision, they would meet at the airport sometime early in the morning. No matter what decision Scott would make, he would still have to tell his parents about everything. Scott sighed and turned to his clock. It was half past seven. ?Better now than never,? Scott muttered to himself. He stood up and walked out of his room and into the hall of his house. He entered the room across from his. Inside was his mother lying on the bed watching television and his father sitting at the computer desk. ?Hi Scott,? his mom greeted. ?Hi mom,? Scott replied. ?There?s, uh, something I needed to tell you. It?s about what happened today.? Scott?s dad turned to him as he sat on the bed. ?What is it?? Scott?s dad asked. Scott reached his hand in front of himself and a small light glowed around his hand. When the light vanished, Scott was holding his sword. She sat in a chair while staring out the windows. People were staring at her because of her clothes, but she could care less. Ally more things to worry about. She was waiting the airport for Scott and the others to come. She feared what might happen if they didn?t come. There was silence. The television was turned off. Scott?s parents had heard his story of what had happened at the school. They couldn?t think of anything to say, so they all just sat there staring in different directions. ?And that?s not all,? Scott said finally. His parents looked up at him. ?Ally says that there are other places that have the Astral Fragments here on Earth. She knows that the scholar who learned about the crystals? mystery is in one of those areas. She?s going to look for him, hoping he?ll have an answer to getting through the shield covering the school. But, she wants Davis, Lisa, and me to come with her.? ?What?? Scott?s mom asked. ?We didn?t answer right away. We told her we needed time to think. To decide if we wanted to go.? ?And do you want to go?? Scott?s dad asked. Scott stared at the floor for a moment. ?Yes.? Scott?s mom placed her hand on her mouth and his dad stared at the floor. ?I know this isn?t great news,? Scott said. ?But I need to go, to save my friends and school. I?m leaving sometime early in the morning to leave for the airport. I?m going to walk to the bus stop nearby here and go to the airport from there.? ?You?re not going to let us drive you there?? Scott?s dad asked. ?It would probably be better if you didn?t. Wait. So you?re going to let me go?? ?Scott, your mom and I love you very much and we know we can?t force you stay. We?re afraid what might happen to you because you?re not one who goes out much, but we would still be afraid even if you did. But from what I heard from you today, you were able to take care of yourself pretty well, and for that we?re proud of you.? ?Thanks. My friends were there, too, and we look out for each other. I wish you could meet them, but we had little time.? ?Do you know if they?re coming with you?? ?Honestly, no. But I?d still go, even if they don?t come.? ?I see,? said Scott?s mom. ?Is there anything we can do to help you? I mean you?re definitely going to need money.? ?I don?t want to take your money, you guys need it more. I?m going to use my own money.? ?How much do you have?? ?Somewhat over a hundred.? ?Are you sure that?s enough?? Scott?s dad asked. ?Dad, I can manage.? Scott got up and headed for the door. ?If I do need any money, I?ll let you know. I?m going to get ready now. I have quite a trip ahead. And mom, dad, don?t worry. You?ll see me again. When it?s all over. By then, I?ll make you really proud. If I?m lucky, you might see me on TV. Love you, guys.? Scott left the room and entered his own. He shut the door behind him and took out a black and dark blue backpack from his closet. He zipped it open and took out his schoolbooks and folders that were inside it. Scott placed a few sets of clothing inside his bag. He also put a notebook and some pens and pencils. He opened a drawer and brought out a jar full of money and placed it in his bag. He also placed his wallet in his bag as well. Scott started looking around his room for one particular item. But then he remembered where it was. ?One more reason to go,? Scott whispered to himself with a small smile. ?I?m not paying for another Game Boy.? Scott was almost done packing. All he needed left was some food. Scott was going to grab some food on his way out of the house. All that was left to do was wait. Scott looked at his clock. It was almost nine. He laid down on his bed and listened to the rain. Ally picked up the receiver of a payphone and pulled out a piece of paper from her dress pocket. On the paper were three sets of numbers. They were phone numbers. She summoned some quarters to her hand. She placed two quarters in the payphone and dialed one of the phone numbers. ?Hello? Lisa?? Ally asked. ?It?s Ally. I found out the time for the flight. It?s at 8:25 AM. I?ll tell the others. Bye.? Ally hung up and picked up the receiver. She placed two more quarters in the payphone and dialed the second phone number. A few minutes past 6:30 AM. Scott was already on the bus. He was wearing blue jeans with a black belt, a short-sleeve buttoned khaki shirt, with the collar open, and a white shirt underneath. Scott was ready, or at least he though he was. He had some time before he would arrive at the airport, so he closed his eyes to get some sleep. He was walking in the rain. The sky was covered with dark clouds. ?So, you?ve decided to go?? the voice asked. ?Yeah,? Scott answered, still walking. ?Why have you decided to go?? ?To save my friends.? ?Is that all? I sense you have other reasons.? ?I do have other reasons. Most, if not all, are personal.? ?I see. But I warn you: this is not a game. Be careful of what you do, because you can?t turn back.? Scott stopped. The rain stopped and he removed his hood and looked straight above him. A small light gleamed through the dark clouds. The light shined on Scott?s face giving him a warm feeling. Scott woke up. He looked out the bus window to see that he was near his destination. Dana?s eyes opened as light shined her face. She saw that the light was coming through the blinds covering the windows. She rose from the floor and looked at her surroundings. ?So, it wasn?t a dream,? she whispered to herself. Dana looked around the room again. Her eyes widened as she couldn?t find her friend. ?Glori?? Dana called out. ?Looking for your friend?? a student asked, lying on the floor. ?Yeah. Do you know where she is?? ?Yeah. They came in half an hour ago and took her and some others to work in the mines.? ?I didn?t think they would make us work so early.? ?Well, I think it?s just going to get worse.? Ally was pacing. She was nervous. It was past seven. No one had showed up yet and she was afraid no one would. Then she saw someone walking towards her. It was Scott. ?You?re here!? Ally almost exclaimed, running up to Scott. ?Yeah,? Scott replied. ?Are the others here?? ?No, but whether they will or not, I bought their tickets. Here?s yours.? Ally handed Scott a plane ticket. ?You bought tickets? How?? ?My magic allows me to have American currency.? ?So we don?t have to worry about money?? ?Not exactly, casting that spell has limits.? ?How so?? ?Depending on how much money I summon is when the next time I can summon more.? ?So, when?s the next time?? ?No more than three hours.? ?Where are we going anyway?? Ally pointed to the ticket and Scott looked at it. ?Wow, San Francisco,? Scott said. ?San Francisco? Sounds like fun,? said a voice behind Scott. Scott turned to see Davis behind him. Davis was wearing a gray hooded jeacket with a dark blue shirt underneath and khaki pants. ?Thank you for coming,? said Ally, beaming. ?No problem,? Davis said. Ally handed Davis his ticket. ?So now we wait for Lisa,? said Scott. ?Think she?ll come?? asked Davis. ?Maybe. We don?t know her well to tell if she?ll come or not.? ?You?re right. She doesn?t have to go. It?s not her school and friends that are in danger.? ?Yeah, but you could use all the help you can get,? said another voice. Scott, Davis, and Ally turned to see Lisa walking towards them. She was wearing a black shirt with a light green short sleeved, unbuttoned shirt on top and light gray capris. ?You made it,? said Ally, smiling. ?Thank you.? Ally handed Lisa her ticket. Lisa looked at the ticket. ?Wow,? she said. ?San Francisco.? ?Well,? said Scott, ?we?re all here. We have quite some time before our flight, so what should we do?? ?Oh!? Ally responded. ?I have something for you all. You need more than your weapons to defend yourselves. I am sure Lance has some of his men searching for the rest of the Astral Fragments on Earth. And I?m sure they?ll be physically strong and are sure to possess magic abilities. So I will give you the ability to use magic so you can stand a better chance at the enemy.? ?Ability to cast magic?? asked Davis. ?How?? Ally reached into her pocket and brought out three small glowing crystals. ?Astral Fragments,? muttered Scott. ? Yes,? said Ally. ?I managed to grab come back at the mines before we teleported out of there.? ?Are we able to get magic from them or something?? ?In a way yes. One discovery we found without the scholar?s help was that the crystals could transfer some of a person?s magic to another. Normally, Earthlings cannot cast magic, but that doesn?t mean it?s impossible. Very hard, but not impossible.? ?So you?re going to transfer some of our power to us? How?? ?Just watch.? Suddenly, the three crystals levitated from Ally?s hand. Her body was outlined with a gold color. Then, each crystal levitated over the teenagers? heads and three streams of light from Ally?s body to each crystal. The crystals glowed and small glowing dust fell from the crystal onto the teenagers? bodies. The crystals returned to Ally?s hand. ?There,? Ally said. ?You are now able to use magic.? ?Really?? asked Scott. ?What kind?? ?Well, the crystals have just given you the ability to use some elements. Those elements include fire, water, electricity, healing, and so forth. You are just beginners at using magic, so learning to master your magic skills will be a difficult process.? ?What elements do we have now?? asked Lisa. ?I sense fire in you Scott. Davis, I sense water in you. And Lisa, I believe you have the power of healing.? ?Cool,? said Davis. ?Well,? said Scott, ?I guess we wait now. The wind was blowing. The rain stopped, but the dark clouds still refused to let sunlight through. Darkness was all the people of Dallas could see. Lance noticed this on the roof of the school. He saw the police, still surrounding the building, look at him. ?Your efforts are meaningless,? Lance called out to the police. ?You know you cannot enter and yet you are still. Your presence is a thorn at my side. I should kill your captured men, but they are very good workers for me. But still, your watchful eyes are an annoyance. I will see to it that nothing will pass my barrier. And that includes your sight!? Lance then threw his hands in the air. His hands glowed with a gray color. Suddenly, a gray cloud appeared above him. It grew with each passing second until it covered the entire school, including its stadium. The area was enclosed with a heavy dome of fog. The wait was over. Scott, Davis, Lisa, and Ally were on the plane to San Francisco. At any minute, the plane would take off. Scott was looking out the passenger window when he had a question on his mind. He turned to Davis, who was sitting with him. ?Davis, why are you coming?? asked Scott. ?Why am I coming?? Davis repeated. Well, to save my friends and the school. Besides, my girlfriend is in there.? ?Girlfriend? Who?? ?Becky Kay.? ?Really? So it?s like guy saves girl for you, huh?? ?Yeah, I guess. Why do you ask?? ?Just a question that?s been on my mind.? ?Well, why are you going?? ?Pretty much like you, to save my friends and school.? ?What no girlfriend, Scott?? Scott looked at Davis, his ears slightly turning red. ?Oh, shut up.? Scott looked out the window while Davis laughed. Scott slight smiled at Davis?s remark. Suddenly, the plane started to move. It was time to go. ?Oh, boy,? Scott said nervously. ?What?s wrong?? Davis asked. ?Well, it?s just that I, uh, hate flying.? ?You?re kidding. And you weren?t afraid of the two monsters from yesterday?? ?What? So sue me.? The plane then took off for San Francisco. *Oh! Before I forget. To any of those who are interested, this story is in the process of being made into a video game. If you want to help make this into a real game, please click on the third link in my sig, or PM me. Thanks!*

An hour had passed. Scott, Davis, and Lisa were waiting outside of a gas station near the school. The police recently called the teenagers? parents and told them about the recent events. The parents were on their way to pick up their children. Not only the parents were called, but some news stations as well. They were also on their way to the school. The teenagers then saw Ally walking towards them. ?Well, how?d it go?? Davis asked. ?I explained as clearly as I could,? Ally said. ?I?m not sure if they believed me, but since these types of things aren?t common around here, I can guess they believed at least some of the things I told them.? ?Speaking of the uncommon,? Lisa said. ?Can you tell us what?s going on here? Like where are you from?? ?Yes, it?s time for me to explain what?s going on here. I am from another world called Odera. I come from the great kingdom of Auria. I was chosen by my king to be the guardian of this area. It is my duty to protect the Astral Fragments.? ?Okay, what are the Astral Fragments?? Davis asked. ?The crystals you saw earlier are called Astral Fragments. In my world, there are three continents. Two of them, my world have explored. The last had once been occupied, but now it is a desolate place. Long ago, my king had sent his men to explore the continent. It was a treacherous journey because dangerous waters surround the continent. The men barely succeeded in landing and explored the land. What they found was the Astral Fragments. The men took the crystals back to Auria. ?The king had scholars research the Astral Fragments. The scholars had learned that the crystals are indestructible and have a very high level in magic. However, the scholars could not figure out what the use of the crystals was. But then the king met a great scholar and had him research the Astral Fragments. The scholar had solved the mystery and told only the king of his findings. The king was shocked of the scholar?s findings. He was afraid that the darkness would get a hold of the Astral Fragments, so he planned to hide them. He hid them in other worlds, including here on Earth. ?Several loyal followers of the king, including myself, volunteered to guard them. The king decided to place a certain amount of the crystals in the different worlds. There are, in fact, other areas on Earth with more Astral Fragments.? ?So you secretly placed these Astral Fragments here?? Lisa asked. ?Yes. Please forgive us for involving your world in this matter without a word of saying. But we had to keep it secret for safety reasons.? The teenagers stood in silence until Lisa said, ?Don?t worry. We understand.? ?Ally, could the terrorists be the darkness your king was afraid of getting a hold of the crystals?? Scott asked. ?I know for sure they are a part of the darkness my king feared of,? Ally answered. ?I have come to realize who these terrorists are. They are called the Infinite. They don?t come from Odera, but numerous of other worlds. I have heard many stories about them. They travel from one world to another causing chaos and corruption. Those with darkness in their hearts joined the Infinite. Apparently, they came to Odera and learned about the Astral Fragments and came here. I fear they found the other crystal in the other worlds my king hid them in.? ?The Infinite,? Scott muttered. ?Already I have failed my duty to protect the Astral Fragments in my area,? Ally continued. ?And I?m sorry for your school. I should?ve tried harder.? ?It?s not your fault,? Davis said. ?You couldn?t have known how strong they were.? ?Thank you. But now, I have to ask you for some explanation. Where did you get your weapons?? ?We?re not exactly sure,? Scott answered. ?We got them from a man who seemed to be a wizard. But, one of the terrorists, Perry, killed him before we could get a name.? ?I see. I ask because it is not normal for Earthlings to hold weapons such as yours and know how to use them so well.? ?What do you mean?? Davis asked. ?You just take the weapon and swing.? ?That?s not exactly what I meant. I noticed how you summoned you weapons to your hands.? ?Yeah, what was that?? Scott asked. ?Was it magic?? ?Kind of,? Ally answered. ?You were one with your weapons. And I am surprised that anyone on Earth is able to use such ability. And this is where I must ask a favor.? ?What is it?? Davis asked. ?For me to be able to get back into the school, I must look for the scholar with the knowledge of the Astral Fragments. He is one of the guardians of the areas on Earth. If I can find him, he might be able to help me find a way back into the school.? ?You mean the scholar is somewhere here on Earth?? Lisa asked. ?Exactly. He volunteered to a guardian on Earth because he was fascinated with this world.? ?How flattering, I guess,? Davis said. ?The favor I ask of you,? Ally continued, ?is to help me search for the scholar. I know that I won?t be able to find people with your abilities and I know that you would want to do something to save your friends. If you don?t want to go, I will not force you but I wish you would. Scott, Davis, and Lisa looked at each other. There was a moment of silence, but they all had the same thing on their mind. ?I can?t answer right now,? Scott answered. ?I need some time.? ?We all need time,? Lisa added. ?I understand,? Ally said. ?But I request you answer before tomorrow.? ?I see,? Scott replied. ?We will decide before sunrise tomorrow.? ?Thank you. Please use you time wisely. Your friends, your school, and both our worlds? fate depend on your answer.? (okay, that's chapter 5, folks. Sorry, but I had to do a [i]lot[/i] of editting. Once again, thanks Ruby for the support!)

?That won?t be necessary,? a voice said. All four teenagers turned to the entrance and saw a numerous amount of terrorists. One terrorist emerged from the group. He had short brown hair. He wore a white sweater underneath a black vest and black pants. ?Congratulations on making it this far, kids. But I?m afraid your attempt to rescue you school ends here,? the terrorist said. Scott, Davis, and Lisa readied their weapons. ?I wouldn?t try that if I were you,? the terrorist said, then snapped his fingers. Some terrorists emerged through the group, each holding someone?s arm. The terrorists had Jim and the other cops handcuffed. ?Unless you want your friends dead,? the same terrorist said, ?I?d suggest you surrender.? Without arguing,the teenagers dropped their weapons, admitting defeat. ?Wise decision,? the terrorist said and then turned to the group of terrorists. ?Get these workers out and get a fresh group. We are getting close.? Some of the terrorists picked up the unconscious students, grabbed Jax, and took them out of the room. ?Who are you?? Davis finally asked after a few minutes. ?Ah yes, I am forgetting my manners,? the terrorist said. ?I am Lance. I?m the leader of this group of terrorists that took over this school.? ?Why have you taken over our school anyway?? Scott asked angrily. ?I believe your friend Jax pretty much explained it. Everything else is of no concern to you.? ?Like what you really are? After one of your own died, he turned into a monster. Not only that, but he managed to cast spells and summon a monster to kill us.? ?Ah, you must mean Perry. I must say, it was quite impressive that you defeated him.? ?Just answer his question,? snapped Davis impatiently. ?Watch your mouth,boy. In case you haven?t realized, Imake the commands. But to answer your question, let me just say that we?re more than what you see.? ?Like you?re from another world?? asked Scott. Lance?s eyes grew wide at Scott?s question. But before Lance could respond, the terrorists that left with Jax and the other students came back with another group of students. The students must have cleared Lance?s requirements for being ?fresh?,as they didn?t have dirt on them or look exhausted. ?See that crystal on the wall?? Lance asked the students. ?Pick up the tools from the ground and dig in the area of the crystal. What we want is beyond that wall. Now work!? Scott, Davis, and Lisa tried their best to not fight, for they knew the consequences if they tried to fight. All they could do was wait and watch. A feeling suddenly rushed through her body. Her magical intuition told her intruders were coming. It was time to do her job. Time had passed. The wall had been broken down. Everyone in the room was astonished. There was a whole room withthe glowing crystals. But what they were more surprised at the largest crystal standing in the middle of the entire room. What surprising was the fact that there was a girl inside it. Nobody moved or spoke. ?Scott, would you count this as weirder than Perry turning into a monster?? Davis muttered. ?Yeah, definitely,? Scott muttered back. Suddenly, one terrorist slowly walked towards the large crystal. He slowly reached his hand to the crystal. ?Stop! You fool!? Lance yelled. It was too late. The terrorist touched thecrystal. Suddenly, the crystal gave off a bright light. Everyone shielded their eyes from the light and heard a painful cry. When the bright light faded, everyone noticed that the terrorist that touched the crystal was gone. ?Where?d he go?? one terrorist asked. ?The light,? Lance muttered. ?It must have consumed him.? ?Look!? Lisa yelled. The girl contained in the crystal had opened her eyes. She placed her hand in front of her, against the crystal. Her hand slowly emerged from the crystal, followed by her whole body. She then stood on the ground calmly. She had short blonde hair that came to her shoulders with a black hair band. She looked to be in her late teens. She wore a black sleeveless dress with a white sweater underneath and a white belt wrapped around her waist. She also wore brown boots. ?I am the protector of this area,? the girl said calmly. ?I am called Ally. I request that you identify yourselves.? ?He didn?t saythat there would be a guardian,? Lance muttered and then spoke to Ally. ?I am Lance and that?s all you know. Attack her, men!? The group of terrorists took out their guns and shot at Ally. However, she created a light blue shield to protect herself from the bullets. The terrorists stopped shooting and some took out knives and lunged at Ally. By the time they reached a foot away from her, Ally unleashed white electricity from her hands at them. ?Disappear, you evil monsters!? Ally yelled as her magic attacked the terrorists. The terrorists then disintegrated from Ally?s attack. Most of them turned into monsters like Perry before they disintegrated. ?Who are you?? Ally asked. ?What? Was my name not enough information for you?? Lance asked, grinning. ?Besides, you won?t remember what ever I tell you. Once you?re dead.? Lance then took out a card from his pants? pocket and held it in the air. ?Come, Blade Tank!? he yelled. ?Reveal yourself and destroy the guardian!? The card levitated from his hand and flashed. A growing figure emerged from the card. It grew to the size of the Shadow Minion that Perry summoned earlier that day. It was an armored monster with four curved silver blades for legs. Its two arms had a blade as long as its body attached. Its brown armor had strange black markings all over it. The monster stared at Ally through its thick helmet and charged at her. ?Prepare for your demise!? Lance yelled. Ally immediately cast a shield around her as the monster charged at her. When the Blade Tank slammed into Ally?s shield, the impact broke the shield, knocking her back at the large crystal. The Blade Tank was also knocked back as well, but not as much as Ally. ?Finish her!? Lance commanded. The Blade Tank swung its blade at Ally, but she quickly moved out of the way. ?We gotta help her,? Lisa said. ?How?? Davis asked. ?Our weapons are far from us. If we try to get near them, Lance will try to kill us.? Scott looked at his sword on the ground across the room. Davis was right, if they made a move toward their weapons, they were as good as dead. But Ally was in desperate need of help. Scott couldn?t imagine letting Ally die. Suddenly, Scottsword disappeared in a small light. An instant later, the sword appeared in Scott?s right hand. Then Davis? sword and Lisa?s rod appeared in their hands, also. ?I think we can help her now,? Davis said. ?Blade Tank! Forget the guardian! Get those teenagers!? Lance suddenly yelled. Lance saw the teenagers get a hold of their weapons. The Blade Tank turned and lunged at Scott and the others, leaving atired Ally behind. The Blade Tank swung its arm at Davis, but he ducked. Scotswung his sword, but the monster blocked it with its own blade. Lisa swung her rod, but the Blade Tank blocked it with its other blade. It then pushed both Scott and Lisa to the ground. ?Damn, it?s strong,? Scott said. The Blade Tank jumped and tried to land on Scott and Lisa, but they rolled out of the way. Davis jumped and swung his swordat the monster?s back. However, theBlade Tank turned and blocked the attack. Davis fell to the ground and the Blade Tank prepared to swing its blade. Then the monster felt a strike at its armor. It turned and saw Scott and Lisa standing, preparing to attack again. The monster prepared to swing both its blades then it felt something painful hit its back and was stunned. Davis turned and saw Ally standing with her hands raised in front ofher. ?Now!? she yelled. ?While it?s vulnerable!? Davis nodded and stabbed the Blade Tank?s back, breaking through the armor. The monster screamed in agony and dissolved in the air. ?You may have defeated Blade Tank, but you haven?t won anything,? Lance said. Lance then released a burst of black energy at Scott and the others. Suddenly, Ally rushed in front of the teenagers and created a shield around all four of them. Lance?s attack disappeared after it hit Ally?s shield. ?Impressive,? Lance said. ?But try and block combined attacks.? Lance let outanother burst of black energy from his hands, but was reinforced by four other terrorists. They released a burst of magical energy at Ally?s shield. However, they weren?t done. The terrorists let out a barrage of their magic attacks at Ally?s shield. Each impact at her shield weakened Ally?s focus. ?It?s too much,? Ally gasped. ?Ally, my dear,? Lance taunted as the magic raid continued. ?Is our power too much for you to handle?? Ally fell to her knees, but kept her shield up from the terrorists? attacks. The teenagers quickly rushed to her side. ?Are you okay?? Lisa asked. ?For now,? Ally muttered. ?But their attacks are too much. I can?t last long. We must flee.? ?How?? Davis asked. ?I can teleport us out.? Lance suddenly laughed. He apparently was overhearing their conversation. ?Yes, retreat,? he taunted again. ?But retreat and you shall never return here. You shall never save your friends if you should retreat.? ?What are you talking about?!? Davis shouted. ?I?m glad you asked. You see, with the crystals we found today, I can create an impenetrable shield around this school. In fact, you won?t be able to enter even you used the tunnel.? ?What?!? ?Yes, you heard me right. To die or to retreat, leaving your school and friends behind. Pick now, while you still have time.? ?I?m sorry,? Ally muttered. ?But, we must retreat. ?There has to be another way!? Davis exclaimed. ?Yeah, isn?t there anything you can do?? Scott asked. ?I?m sorry,? Ally repeated. ?Fleeing is our only choice.? Then, at that moment, Ally raised her right hand and emitted a flash of light. When the light faded, Scott, Davis, Lisa,and Ally were nowhere to be seen. ?Hurry!? Lance yelled. ?I want that shield created before they try something else!? Lance then smiled evilly and began to laugh. Outside of the school, the rest of the police waited for their comrades Aaron sent inside thebuilding. Suddenly, there was a small flash of light in front of the crowd of police. When the light disappeared, the cops saw Scott, Davis, Lisa, and Ally standing in front of them. Aaron broke through the crowd to the teenagers and their new friend, who was on her knees. ?What the hell is going on here?? Aaron asked, in total shock. ?Don?t worry,? Ally said, standing up. "I will explain." (sorry, but this a [i]really[/i] long chapter)

Chapter 5: While You Were Running Jim and the cops were standing, handcuffed, in the school office. Lance was sitting at his desk, hiding his face in the dark. ?So, the runaways succeeded in calling for help,? Lance said. ?Even if they called the army, nothing would have changed.? ?Who are you?? Jim asked. ?How is it that you can keep the police force from entering?? ?Listen, I am here on business and I plan on getting it done. One way or another.? ?What is this ?business??? ?Nothing that concerns you. But then again, you could prove quite useful to us.? Saying that,Lance turned the computer monitor on the desk to face the cops. Jim?s eyes widened. Scott, Davis, and Lisa were on the monitor looking around. ?It?s too bad they don?t know that some of the torches are our security cameras,? Lance said. ?Where are we?? Lisa asked. ?Some sort ofmine,? Davis answered. ?Look.? Davis was pointing to shovels and pickaxes on the ground. ?Did they do this while we were gone?? Lisa asked. ?The cave looks like it goes pretty far. How long were we gone?? ?About two hours,? Scott answered, looking at his wristwatch. ?Really? Time went by pretty fast.? ?Yeah, I know. Let?s check out this cave,? Davissaid. Scott and Lisa nodded and all three of them walked further. They entered another room of the cave that had tools on the ground. Since it was empty, the three continued walking. Instead of another room, theyentered a curved tunnel that led them to another room. Suddenly, they heard a yell. ?Get up!? Scott and theothers ran deeper into the cave into another room. A room that wasn?t empty. They saw a terrorist pointing his gun at four students lying on theground. ?I know you heard me! GET UP!? the terrorist yelled. Davis sneaked behind the terrorist, gripping his sword, and swung the flat side of the sword against the terrorist?s head. With a sharp pain in his head, the terrorist fell unconscious to the ground. ?That?s going to give him a headache when he gets up,? Davis said. Scott ran to one of the students on the ground and rolled him over to see the tired face. ?Jax!? Scott out to the tired student. ?Scott, you know him?? Lisa asked, standing next to Scott. ?Yeah, he?s Jax Anderson. He?s in one of my classes, ?Scott replied, then turned to Jax. ?Hey, wake up.? Jax slowly opened his eyes. When he saw Scott, he rubbedhis eyes. ?Hey, Ryans, how?d you get down here?? Jax asked. ?The hard way,? Scott said looking at the unconscious terrorist. ?That?s impressive,? said Jax, who also saw the unconscious terrorist. ?How did you manage to knock him out?? ?With the help of these,? Scott said, holding up his sword. ?Tight,? Jax said in amazement. ?How did you get thatsword?? ?Long story. All I can say is that Davis and I snuck out and called the police. Along the way someone gave us these weapons. We snuck back in here and here we are. It?s been a long day. Oh, by the way, that?s Lisa. Davis and I met her here in the tunnel.? Lisa and Jax exchanged a wave of their hand. ?But, anyway, what?s been happening here?? Scott asked. ?Those terrorists are making us work down here. All the students and teachers have to work. They?re apparently looking for something. Something that looks like a glowing crystals.? Mark then stood up. ?And I think we found one, too.? Mark pointed to a crystal on the wall of the cave emitting a white glow. Scott and Davis stepped near the crystal. ?We found it right before we collapsed out of exhaustion,? Mark explained. ?Come one,? Lisa said. ?Let?s get the rest of these guysand get out. We need to tell Aaron that Jim and the rest were caught.? ?She?s right,? Davis said. ?Let?s try to wake them up.?

Hey, you know who you really are now, and for that I have great respect for you(not that I haven't already). Congratulations on finding who you really are and accepting it! ^^

Thanks Ruby for the support, and thanks for saying happy birthday too. Anyway here's Chapter 4. ^^ Chapter 4: One Problem After Another Scott stared at the sights that the truck passed. No wonder no one answered our calls for help, he thought. How could they when they can't see who's crying for help? This day just keeps getting better and better. Plus the weather isn't really helping. The dark clouds completely covered the sky. The brisk wind was slightly blowing. Rain would fall at any minute it seemed. It certainly was perfect for this particular day. "Guess we look for a phone wherever this guy stops?" Davis asked. "Will it work?" Lisa asked. "With us being invisible and all?" "Well, we should try, at least. We made it this far." "Right. Should we tell them about our other situations?" Lisa asked, raising her rod. "If we do, they might think it's a prank call," Scott answered. "He's right," Davis nodded. "We'd better not tell them." The truck suddenly turned. It drove up to a gas station. The three spotted a pay phone and climbed out of the truck. They walked up to the pay phone, when Lisa stopped, staring at the convenient store's window, surprised. Scott and Davis stopped to look at what Lisa was staring at. What they saw was their reflections. "How-?" Davis began. "Let's not try to figure this out right now," Scott replied. "Scott then ran to the pay phone and picked up the receiver. Lance stared blankly at the desk in front of him. Perry had just reported earlier that the three runaways now have weapons. Lance wasn't too thrilled to hear who gave them the weapons, but he gave a smile when Perry reported that the giver of the weapons was terminated. Lance gave order to Perry to find and kill the runaways in any means necessary. Lance had more important business to attend to. His plan was going well, except for the runaways. He got up and left the room. Minutes had passed after Scott called the police. A police car was coming to pick them up, so they decided to wait inside the convenient store. Davis was reading a magazine, Scott was pacing around the store, and Lisa was staring out the window. They kept their weapons hidden outside so as not to have the store clerk be suspicious. "Hey, the police are here," Lisa finally called out. "Let's go." The three left the store and walked to the car. Two policemen got out of the car and walked towards them. "Hey, are you three alright?" one of the policemen asked. "Yeah, we're fine," Scott answered. "Are you sure?" the other asked. "You seem to have mud and scratches on you." "Yeah, we just tried our best not to get caught by one of the terrorists," Davis replied. "That's right, one was chasing you, right? I'm impressed you managed to get away. But why did you wait to call for help all the way over here? I mean, isn't you school a bit far to run here before someone noticed you were in trouble?" "Yeah, well," Scott began, "we really tried to hide ourselves from not only the terrorist, but other people, too. We didn't want any one else to get themselves hurt trying to help, because he had a gun. We wanted to make sure we lost him before we called for help?" Davis and Lisa were impressed on how Scott thought on his feet. "Someone did try to help us, though," Scott continued. "But, uh, the terrorist killed him." Both of the cops' eyes widened a bit. "I see," one cop said, looking at the other. "Can you describe the man that was chasing you?" "Yes," Davis said. "He has brown hair and he wears a white bandanna. He's also wearing a dark blue shirt with a white one underneath and khaki pants." "And he's down right deadly," said a voice behind the cops. Everyone looked around to find Perry pointing a gun at the policemen. In one moment, he shot both of them, but didn't kill them. Both cops fell to the ground and before they could get up to retaliate, Perry whispered some words and then both cops fell unconscious. He stared at the three teenagers, who brought out their weapons hiding behind a trash can. He then muttered some more words. Scott quickly turned to the store's window. No one's reflection was there, not even the police car. Perry then closed his eyes and began to whisper again. "Don't let him cast another spell!" Scott yelled as he picked up a rock and threw it at Perry. Perry opened his eyes to quickly catch the rock. Davis then threw a rock at Perry, who caught it with his free hand. Finally, Lisa threw a rock and hit right at Perry's forehead. "Run!" she yelled. Scott and the rest ran across the street, luckily, not getting hit by a car. Perry rubbed his forehead, which held a bruise from Lisa's rock, and cursed the teenagers. Within a second, he took off after the runaways. "Where do we go?" Davis asked. Scott quickly looked around the area and then pointed to a building in their direction. "That furniture store is empty. Let's see if we can confront him there," he said. "I hope you have a plan. Because I know I heard you say [i]'confront him'[/i]. "Not really, but let's see what we can do inside." When they reached the door to the building, they couldn't open it. "It's locked!" Davis stated the obvious. Scott sighed and took his sword and slashed the door open. "Not anymore. Come on! He's close," he said, running inside. Perry was in the parking lot when he saw the three going into the building. He took aim with his gun and fired, He nearly missed Lisa as she entered through the door. Again he cursed and ran into the building. It was a large, dark room with light coming from the window on the side of the entrance. It was empty and the teenagers were nowhere to be seen. Before he could even turn around, he felt something hard hit him in the back of the head. "That's got to leave a headache," Davis said. He swung the flat side of his sword at the back of Perry's head. "Impressive," Perry said, quickly recovering and pointed his gun at Davis. "But very foolish." "Not so fast!" Lisa yelled from behind and swung her rod against Perry's face. "This is going to hurt," Scott said before he took the flat side of his sword and hit Perry's face, making him fall to the floor. "You're fools," Perry said, climbing to his feet, "to not use your weapons right." "We may have killed a monster," Scott began, "but we don't kill humans. Now who are you?" "I suppose making it this far deserves my name. Fine. I am called Perry. But, you won't make it any further. Your lives end here!" Perry closed and whispered to himself. Before the three could respond, Perry shot a fireball from the palm of his right hand at the three teenagers. But, fortunately, they jumped out of the way. "What are you, a wizard?" Scot asked. "Quite correct," Perry answered. "Where I come from I learned to cast various magic spells. It's because of my magic that no one has heard your cries for help or seen you." "Where are you from?" "None of your business." Without hesitating, Perry shot a fireball at Scot, who rolled out of the way. Davis lunged at Perry, but he shot a fireball at him. Luckily, Davis jumped out of the way. The three took turns distracting Perry, while another lunged at him. However, not one of them got close to Perry. And, once, Lisa barely dodged a fireball and it singed her shoulder. Lisa stopped trying to hit Perry after that. "You know, we can't do this forever!" Scott yelled. "This is getting tiring!" "Heh, not for me," Perry laughed. "I'll cremate you like I did to that dead wizard earlier." "You're sick!" Lisa yelled in disgust. "It comes with the job of being evil." The three continued their strategy, but when Scott ran past Davis, he whispered to him, "Stall him and don't let him see me." Davis ran at Perry, dodging the fireballs and tried to swing the flat side of his sword at Perry. However, Perry ducked and pushed Davis to the floor. Perry moved in for the kill, but Lisa struck his back with her rod. Meanwhile, Scott went to a corner where he saw a mirror. He picked it up. "Scott!" Lisa yelled. Perry had spotted Scott and had thrown a fireball at him. Scott closed his eyes and prayed for his plan to work. Then he turned holding the mirror as a shield. The fireball collided with the mirror and was reflected back at Perry. The fireball collided with Perry and he was set a ablaze. He screamed in agony as the fire burned him. "Damn you!" he screamed. "Damn you all to hell!" Suddenly, his skin fell off and the fire stopped. Perry fell to the floor as his skin was replaced with black scales. His hands and feet became claws. Then his whole body dissolved into the air. "Was that normal?" Lisa asked. "Not to my knowledge, no," Davis answered. Within that moment, the mirror Scott was still holding shattered to the floor. "As if we didn't already have enough bad luck," Scott said. Scott looked at the broken shards of the mirror. He saw his reflection. "The spell's off," he said. "Now that the spell's caster's gone, we and the two cops are back to visible form. Speaking of which, they should be awake." "How do you know all of this?" Lisa asked. "Years of playing video games kind of rubs off on you," Scott said, smiling. "He knocked both of us unconscious?" "Yeah, after that, he chased us into that old furniture store across the street," Davis explained to the cops. "Luckily, we got there first and had enough time to hide, Don't know how long, but we managed to stay hidden the whole time. He then gave up and left through the back door. But he threatened to cremate us like he did to the guy he killed earlier today. So, apparently he cremated the buy we told you about earlier that tried to help us." "I see," one cop said. "We'd better send some men to find the terrorist. In the mean time, we'll take you with us to your school, where more of us have already surrounded the school." "If you don't mind me asking," Lisa began, "but shouldn't you worry about where the terrorist shot you first?" "Don't worry, ma'am. It's nothing serious. Besides an ambulance should be with the other police just in case. Now let's go you three." Without another word, all of them got into the police car. Scott, Davis, and Lisa hid their weapons under their seats. Glori Ashton sat on the floor of the room she was put in. She was glad she wasn't alone. She had her arms linked with her friend, Dana Mahari. Dana was a hispanic girl with short dark reddish hair. Both of them had some dirt on their faces and clothes, as did everyone else in the room. Both girls stared at the floor, wishing the nightmare would end. "I hope everyone is okay," Glori muttered. "I hope so, too," Dana replied. "Sir, we have a problem." "What is it?" Lance asked. "We have police surrounding the building." "What?! Put up the shield, quickly! Do not let anyone in!" "Yes, sir!" the man said, leaving the room. "Damn runaway. Perry should have gotten them by now." Lance picked up the headset from the desk and pressed a button as he placed it on. "Perry?" he called. "Perry, pick up now." No response. Just static. "Dana, look!" Glori was looking out the window. When Dana looked out the window, a ray of hope grew in her heart. They saw police cars surrounding the school. Soon enough the entire room saw the police and knew they were going to be saved soon. Scott and the rest got out of the car when it drove up to the school. There were numerous cars surrounding the school. One cop came up to the two cops with the teenagers. "Jim. Alec. Are you two okay?" he was talking about the bullet wounds. "Yes, we're fine Aaron," Alec replied. "It's not too serious. How's it going here? Has someone sneaked in yet?" "That's the problem. Something odd is happening. Hey, are these three that called for help?" "Yeah," Jim said. "They're Scott, Davis, and Lisa." "What happened to your shoulder, Lisa?" Aaron asked. "It got cut by a branch," Lisa said quickly. "But, uh, what's the problem, sir?" "Oh, please call me Aaron. But it's hard to explain the problem. I'll show you what I mean." Aaron walked to the school building with his hand in front of him. All of a sudden, he stopped when his hand met something in the air. Scott, his friends, and the cops ran to Aaron and placed their hands in the air, also. "Are we, uh, looking for something?" Davis asked. Aaron nodded and Jim moved his hand around in the air. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide when his hand stopped. Scott followed Jim's actions, then felt something. Something solid, but yet invisible. "This may sound impossible, but there seems to be an invisible shield around the school area," Aaron explained. "They apparently don't want us in." "But h-how?" Alec stuttered. Scott looked at Davis and Lisa. They all had the same idea. "Sir, we might know another way in," Scott said. "Follow us." Eddie fell the floor as the guard threw back into the room he was put in. Other guards grabbed three other students and took them away, locking the door behind them. Eddie knew where the terrorists were taking the students. It was the place where he just came from. The place where he got the dirt and sweat on his face from. "Where are they taking them?" one student asked Eddie. "As crazy as it sounds, some tunnel underneath the school," Eddie answered. "A tunnel?" Scott nodded at Aaron. He got on his knees to find the tunnel he, Davis, and Lisa traveled to escape the school. Finally, he found the trapdoor and opened it. "There it is," Scott said. "Where does it lead to in the school?" Aaron asked. "In the new building, next to the auditorium," Davis answered. "The terrorists must have made it themselves, because we found Lisa in a prison cell in the tunnel," Scott said. "All the more reasons to stop these terrorists," Aaron said. "Okay, Jim, I'll send some men with you to sneak through the tunnel, alright?" "Yes, sir," Jim responded. "Are you in command here, Aaron?" Lisa asked. "Yes I am," Aaron answered. "Why?" "Can we go with Jim?" "What?! No, I can't let you! Why do you want to go back somewhere dangerous?" "Well, we know the tunnel and we can guide Jim and the others inside." "And besides, our friends are in that building," Scott added. "I know how you feel about your friends, but the answer is no," Aaron said. "Please, leave it to us to rescue your friends. We don't want you to risk your lives anymore." "Alright," the teenagers muttered. Minutes had passed before Jim and a few other cops entered the tunnel. Against Aaron's wishes, Scott, Davis, and Lisa grabbed their weapons from the police car and sneaked into the tunnel. They kept their distance from the cops and followed the lights from the cops' flashlights. Nobody talked. The cops feared that if they spoke, the terrorists would hear them. Scott and the others either because they didn't want the cops to hear them. Things became familiar for Scott, Davis, and Lisa when they passed the prison cell Lisa was once in. Finally, the cops reached the trap door to the school. One by one, the cops climbed out of the tunnel. When the last cop got out of the tunnel, Scott and the others walked slowly to the door. Scott was about to climb out when something happened. "Freeze!" a voice yelled from beyond the door. The teenagers hoped that the voice belonged to a cop's. "We thought you might come from the tunnel," another voice said. Unfortunately, it wasn't the cops. It was the terrorists. "Quick," Scott whispered. "Let's go back and tell Aaron what happened." Without another word, the three turned around and walked back to the gas station. Then the came to two paths. "Were there two paths here before?" Lisa asked. "No," Davis answered. "Which one should we try?" "Let's try the right, I guess," Scott said. They followed the right path. They saw some lights at the end. When they reached the area with the light, the three had noticed they entered a cavern with torches attached to the wall. "Nope, we went the wrong way," Davis said. "But this could get interesting."

Chapter 3: Monsters and Magicians The teenagers' hearts beated faster with each step the terrorist took towards them. They stood like statues, without a sense in their heads telling them to run. They were paralyzed with fear. Time seemed endless as the terrorist approached the three. Suddenly, Scott dropped the quarter he had in his hand and when the quarter hit the ground, the following sound brought the teenagers back to their senses. "Run!" Davis yelled. Without a second thought, the three were running like madmen. The terrorist closed his eyes and whispered to himself, then he ran after the teenagers. The three called out for help but, for some reason, no one nearby paid any attention. No one paid attention to the fact that the teenagers were being chased by a terrorist. Although they weren't being heard, they ran across the streets. Luckily, there weren't any cars coming. They ran past many houses and buildings continuing their cries for help. But none were answered. They ran across one street, where luck came to their side. Before the terrorist could run across the street, some cars drove in front of him. Scott and the rest took the opportunity and ran to a small bridge over a ditch and hid underneath it. When the cars were clear, the terrorist couldn't spot the teenagers. "Dammit," he whispered to himself. He then ran across the bridge where the three teenagers were hiding under. He stopped at a corner and looked around. As he did so, he placed a finger on his right ear, where a small device was hiding, pulled the right collar of his dark blue shirt, where another small device was hiding, close to his mouth. "Lance," he said to the device. "Lance, it's Perry." Back at the school office, Lance picked up a headset on a desk and placed it on. "Did they make it, Perry?" Lance asked. "No, it's not that, sir." Perry answered. "We have some runaways." "What?! Are you positive?" "Very. Two boys wearing the school's uniforms and the girl we caught this morning. They came from behind the gas station, where the entrance to the tunnel is. They tried to call the authorities when they saw me and ran off. I tried to catch them but they managed to get away." "Dammit, Perry! Did you at least -?" "Yes sir, I did." "Good. Now find them before they reach another phone. I'll inform our incoming people to go ahead and enter the school." "Yes sir, I'm on it." Lance took off the headset. "How the hell did they find they tunnel?" he asked himself. Scott panted and had sweat all over his forehead. His heart was beating rapidly. He thought he couldn't get any more scared than when the terrorists entered the school. Davis was sneaking a look over the bridge, hoping that the coast was clear. Lisa was just standing and staring at the small stream running in front of her. After a few seconds, Davis returned under the bridge. "He ran around the corner," he said. "We'd better hurry before he comes back." Scott and Lisa nodded. Then suddenly, there was a sound. Louder than the sounds of the cars rushing over the bridge. The sound of footsteps in the mud. It was coming from the shadows under the bridge. All three of them froze and their hearts began beating rapidly again. They saw a hand touching the wall of the bridge enter the light. Then they saw a body and face that wasn't the terrorist's. It was a wounded man. The long gray-haired man wore odd clothing. A white and blue tunic with a green cape. He wore brown leather boots and wristbands. His gray pants were covered in mud, while his tunic had some rips. His youthful face had scratches. "I believe you are from the school that the terrorists have taken over," he said. "Who are you?" Lisa asked. "How do you know what happened to the school?" "Relax. I am a friend, not a foe. I came with some others in pursuit of those terrorists. We came to stop them before they caused harm. However, I got separated from my comrades and, as you can see, have met some rather unfortunate situations." "Then, we should get you to a hospital," Davis said approaching the man. "Wait," the man said raising his hand at Davis. "Before anything else happens, I must give you weapons." "Give us weapons?" Lisa asked confused. "Yes, give me a second. Please." The man stood up straight and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and raised his hands in front of him. "What is he doing?" Davis asked Scot. Scott just shrugged and watched the man curiously. The man's hands were suddenly outlined by a gold color. The teenagers' eyes widen. "Open your mind," he said as the gold color soon outlined his entire body. "Open your heart. Find the courage and strength within your soul and release it!" He opened his eyes and three thin gold beams shot from his hands to each teenager. The words the man said repeated in their heads. Their scared faces soon relaxed as the felt a sudden warmth. They closed their eyes as a small light appeared in their right hands. They clenched their hands and suddenly felt an object in their hands. Scott opened his eyes and found a long silver sword with a blue hilt in his hand. Davis also found a sword in his hand, but his was shorter and broader than Scott's. Lisa held a rod with a gleaming emerald. "That should do," the man sighed, looking at the shocked teenagers. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. The man fell to the ground dead, with blood on his back. Lisa screamed. Suddenly, Perry emerged from the shadows holding a gun in his right hand. "He was a fool to interfere with us," Perry chuckled. Perry's smile faded when he saw the teenagers holding weapons. "Your attempt to escape ends here. You have seen too much and you will die before you tell anyone else." Perry pulled a card out from his shirt and threw it on the ground. "Shadow Minion!" Perry yelled. "Destroy these pathetic runaways!" The card flashed and a growing shadow emerged from the card. It grew a head with yellow glowing eyes and a body with four arms. A spike appeared on both of its shoulders. The shadow let out a monstrous roar. "Prepare yourselves!" Perry yelled. "For you will fall victim to this creature of the darkness!" "What do we do?" Lisa asked, stepping back slowly from the monster. "Lisa, you back away," Scott replied. "Davis and I will take care of him. Right, Davis?" "You got it," Davis said gripping his sword. "Wait, I'll fight too," Lisa said, who had stopped stepping back. "Don't think a girl can't fight too." "Okay, then. Let's go!" Scott shouted. The three ran at the monster that Perry called 'Shadow Minion'. The monster lunged an arm at Davis, but he stepped out of the way and slashed the arm off with his sword. Shadow Minion screamed in agony and threw a punch at Scott, who also dodged and severed the arm. The three paused as the monster screamed in agony once more. "That was actually kind of easy," Davis said. Suddenly, the two severed arms rose up from the ground and levitated right next to the monster. "It can still control severed body parts," Scott said. Shadow Minion's severed arms lunged at Lisa, but Scott and Davis slashed the hands off. The detached hands fell to the ground but they levitated right back next to the monster. Scott lunged in and slashed at the monster's body while Davis and Lisa shielded him from the arms. Sweat was running down Scott's face when the monster's body was horizontally cut in half. Things repeated itself as the body hovered back into placed. Perry was laughing, being amused by the battle. Scott and Davis detached the two remaining arms, while Lisa swung her rod at the body. The boys even sliced the spikes off the shoulders. Every body part that was cut off floated right back into fighting position. "There's got to be a weakness somewhere," Scott said, fight off severed fingers. "The head, Scott!" Davis yelled. "We didn't cut that part off yet! Get the head, we'll cover you!" Davis took Scott's place fighting off the fingers and arms and Lisa him up. Scott jumped into the air and swung at the monster's neck. He jumped numerous times before he finally decapitated the head. However, as he landed on the ground, he slipped on the mud and fell on his behind. The dagger-like fingers ignored Davis and Lisa and immediately lunged at the vulnerable Scott. "Scott!" Davis and Lisa yelled together. Scott tried to shield himself with his sword, when Davis ran in front of him and slashed all the fingers away. "Scott, are you okay, man?" Davis asked. "Yeah, fine," Scott said with a quiver in his voice. "Thanks." Davis pulled Scott to his feet and Lisa ran to them. They at the decapitated monster that was frozen. Suddenly, the head floated back into the air and let out a roar. "Ah, come on!" Davis moaned. "Die already!" "Let's work on the head," Scott said. "It seemed pretty damaged when it was decapitated." Davis and Lisa nodded. Then all three them were jumping, taking turns to swing at the head. Each hit resulted in a scream from the monster's head. The other body parts tried to stop the three, but they were easily dodged. Finally, one small piece of the head remained and Scott got dibs on slashing it. Then, a bright light broke through the monster's remaining body. Perry shielded his eyes with his arms. When the light vanished, so had Perry's monster and the teenagers. Perry ran from under the bridge and saw cars rushing over the bridge. One of them was a dark blue truck, which secretly had Scott and the others riding in the back. "Dammit!" Perry yelled. Scott, Davis, and Lisa gasped for air. They had some mud on their clothes and had sweat all over their faces, but they could care less. If you just survived fighting a four-armed monster, would you care is you were dirty and sweaty? When the cars came to a red light, Davis tapped on the window to get the driver's attention. The driver turned and looked straight at Davis, who was waving, then at Lisa, then at Scott. The driver turned back around scratching his head. The three looked at each other in confusion. Davis tapped the window again. The driver turned around again and looked all behind him in confusion, then turned back around again. "Can't he see us?" Lisa asked. "I guess not," Davis replied confused. "Uh, guys," Scott called looking at the truck's rearview mirror. Davis and Lisa came over to Scott. "What?" Davis asked. "Am I the only one who can't see himself in a mirror?" Davis and Lisa looked at the mirror and gaped. Their reflections weren't there. "No, you're not alone," Lisa answered.