The Silver Phoenix
By: Sherry L. Carpenter, Age 15
Prologue
Sapphire and Ember ran immediately to Ember's house. Most of it was torn down, like a massive tornado swept by in the area. It was eerie quiet…not a sound in place. Ember jumped up as he suddenly sensed a source of dark magic present and quickly ran to Flare's room. The boy kicked the door down with ease; anger guiding him.
Ember gasped as he noticed Flare's soulless body, lying helplessly on the floor of his room; drenched in a pool of his own blood. Ember was speechless. A bright silver aura surrounded Ember as he transformed into his phoenix state-the one that belonged to his heart. His eyes and hair became wild as his clothes started to shred off into the wind. Silver feathers covered his body as he sprouted wings and a silver tail.
The teen cried out in pain as he blasted through the roof. Sapphire was right behind him when she sensed a strong barrier surrounding her body like metal chains and shackles. Sapphire gasped in fright as her soul was immediately taken from her body. When the cold and lifeless body fell to the ground, flames consumed it; turning her remains into ash.
Part One
Chapter One
An eight year old boy was playing peacefully in the backyard of his house on a mid-summers' day. He giggled as he dug through the dirt, getting his nice clothes dirty. Every now and then, the sun would hit the boys' hair at such an angle that at some point, his silver hair would look white. The little boy would look up in the nearest tree where his twin sister would be, sitting near the top, teaching herself how to read or write at times. The boy sighed and continued to dig.
About an hour into the day, the little boy came across a little black box with ancient writing on it. His delicate fingers gently swiped across the hand-carved markings. He got up and ran to the tree that his sister was now sleeping in. He climbed up the tree and jumped on the branch that held the girl.
The boy grinned and shook his sister awake. "Karya! Karya! Look what I found!" The girl looked at the boy; noticing a smile on his face as his eyes danced in the sunlight.
The pink-haired girl looked at her brother with sleepy eyes. She yawned and climbed down from the tree with the boy following right behind. "What did you find, Ember?" she asked in a tired yet excited voice.
Ember giggled and showed Karya the little black box. She took it and opened it, revealing a small purple crystal that could fit in the palm of your hand. It was sharply cut to look durable as a diamond. In the sunlight, the crystal turned to a pale purple. When Karya opened the box, the crystal started to glow slightly-like it had a life of its own. Karya didn't bother to take it out but instead she closed the box. In fear, Karya ran into the house. Ember ran along side of her, trying to keep up.
"Mother!" Karya called. "What is this?"
Almost instantly, a woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes came to greet the children. She smiled and said, "What's wrong?"
Karya handed the woman the black box. She looked at it strangely and opened it. The woman's eyes widened as her gaze fell upon the purple crystal. She touched it and it glowed slightly. She sighed, then her gaze went sharply towards the twins; her face serious. Ember and Karya looked at each other in curiosity.
"Where did you find this?" their mother demanded. She looked straight into Ember's golden eyes, searching for an answer when Ember was too scared to speak. Karya spoke for him.
"He found it while digging in the backyard." Karya answered.
The woman sighed. "Follow me, both of you." The twins' mother closed the box and walked towards the basement door. Ember and Karya exchanged looks, following their mother, while also keeping distance. They knew that their mother was upset but they didn't know why. Their mother unlocked the door and went inside before turning on the lights. The basement was obviously re-modeled considering that everything was colorful and bright. Old furniture was replaced with new furniture. The leaks were repaired, along with the hole filled walls that were patched and painted over. A king sized bed was in the center with two nightstands on either side and a chest at the foot of the bed.
Karya and Ember went inside and sat on the bed. They looked down at their mother while she was quickly looking for something at the foot of the bed in a hand carved wooden chest. Minutes later, the woman pulled out something rectangular and set it on the bed before Ember and Karya. The twins stared at it with caution. In the center of this item was a hard, shimmering black opaque tinted glass. The frame was gold with hand carved dragons and phoenixes on them.
"Mother," Karya began. "What's it suppose to be?"
Their mother smiled. "Look closely. It's a painting."
Ember was the first to look in the painting, then Karya. They both shook their heads. It was a signal that they couldn't see anything. "There's nothing there." Ember replied. He looked towards his mother with his innocent golden eyes. "How can we see the painting when it's black?"
The woman chuckled darkly which made Ember's skin crawl for a brief second. "You can't see the painting without the Eternal Light Crystal. It helps reveal hidden things, such as this painting. Only a hand full of people knows about the crystals' powers, but few of those people are able to wield it and they are very rare."
"Like we are with our different hair and eye color?" Karya asked in a sweet, innocent voice which made Ember smile and her mother laugh.
"Yes, like you are."
"So…where's this crystal that can reveal hidden things?" Ember asked in a shaken tone of voice. He was more afraid of his mother than what the painting had to show; their past made him afraid of her. Their mother sighed and gave them the box.
"This is the Eternal Light crystal. Guard it well, young ones, for there are many secrets waiting to be discovered. This crystal is the key to your divine future."
Ember stared at the crystal for some time, gazing at his reflection as his gold eyes shimmered in the purple tint of the crystal. The little boy couldn't resist from snatching it from the box. He glanced at the painting for a brief second, before looking at his twin.
"Ember…," Karya began. "What are you doing?" Karya looked at her brother with pleading eyes. Her brother's eyes narrowed; holding strong emotions that only Karya recognized. She sighed and rested a small, pale hand on her brother's shoulder. She looked back at their mother, who didn't say a word, but watched intently with a little smile on her face. Her blue eyes portrayed a hint of sadness and worry, which made Karya's expression just the same. Ember turned his gaze back towards the painting and so did Karya.
"Watch." He said in a whisper. Ember placed the purple crystal in the center of the black painting; watching the crystal expand and the light fade into the shape of a phoenix that had turned from red to silver. Karya and Ember's golden eyes started to glow, right before the phoenix began to disappear. The silver glow from the phoenix began to rise in a thin shimmering light that surrounded both Ember and Karya.
Their bodies were being broken down by the silver light of the Phoenix in the painting; being dragged, piece by piece, into the painting…into another world. What was left of Karya looked back at their mother who was crying with a big grin on her face. She whispered: "Goodbye my little angel. I knew I could only keep you for a short time. Farewell, be safe, follow your destiny, and fulfill the unending prophecy."
Karya's eyes grew sad as her mother said those words. She would never forget them. After the crystal, Ember and Karya were transported to the other world; all was still in the house with their mother alone. She cried silently to herself as the painting began to shake and glow. The noise that followed sounded like a thunderous roar along with rushing water.
At last, water sprouted from the painting into the room, in the shape of a dragon-phoenix hybrid. The god had the tail and scales of the dragon, but the pure feathers of the phoenix. His hair was dark blue at the roots and got lighter; descending to the bottom until the tips turned pure silver. He wore an elegant kimono that was black with red feathers on it, from the Feudal Era of the Mortal World; underneath armor that he created himself. This god was the one that started the curse and he will be the one to end it. He looked at the woman with a disappointed look.
"Pity," he said. The booming voice from the god caused the woman to flinch. "I was expecting to see the next Silver Phoenix of my lineage. Since he was not here, you will suffer!"
The woman's eyes grew wide as she felt the gods' power rise on her skin. Tears sprang from her eyes as her protesting yell screeched from her mouth. "NOOOOO!!!!!!!"
At that moment, a bright white light emerged from the house. The divine power from the god caused the house, along with the rest of the neighborhood to be destroyed in seconds. All that remains is the god, and a thin pure light that connected this world and the next.
Chapter Two
A sixteen year old boy with long silver hair was reading from an otherworldly history book, early in the morning. The sun was just over the horizon, sending rays of pink, purple, orange and dash of yellow. The beautiful colors reflected in his golden eyes and bounced off of his pale white skin. He was in the middle of his studies and needed a long break. The teen put the book down and sighed. Why am I so different? He thought while looking out at the beautiful morning scene again. He didn't like the fact that his classmates thought he was different. All he wanted in life is to fit in.
"Ember! Get up! You're going to be late for school!" yelled a demanding voice.
"I'm already up!" ember yelled back. Ember was already dressed in his black school uniform with gold button down jacket. He loves to stay in bed and study to his hearts' content. "I'll be down in a second, mother!"
"Well, hurry up!!!!!!!"
Ember sighed, got his shoes on, grabbed his school bag and rushed out of his bedroom door. There, standing patiently in the hallway, stood his twin sister, Karya. She was gorgeous while Ember was handsome. Karya loved keeping her long, light pink hair, up in a high ponytail. The siblings both kept their bangs messy in the front so they could resemble their dead mother.
The twins' do have a mother. One that they don't know about, their human mother from the Mortal World, and their father's sister who took them in. When they were little, Ember and Karya kept seeing her so often that they picked up the nerve to call her their mother rather than their aunt.
"Karya…what are you doing here? I…I thought y-you would already be at school by now. Seeing that you woke up two hours earlier than me." Ember loved his sister to heart. he vowed to protect her with his life; to die for her.
"Can I not wait for my older brother every now and than in the morning, so we could walk together?" asked Karya with a sweet yet cunning smile. She wore a purple and white school sailor uniform with a short skirt that showed too much of her thighs and a shirt that showed her stomach and her belly button ring which was a rose with a diamond in the center. Ember was so distracted by her looks, that he had no choice but to blush. Karya giggled and blushed along with him. They were twins after all---mirror images of each other---minus a few distinct differences.
"Are you two going to school or not?!" yelled their mother from downstairs.
"Coming!" yelled the twins' in unison, but as soon as they took a step, a nearby door opened up. They saw a familiar, yet tired face.
"Faking sick again, Flare?" Ember said playfully as he gave his younger cousin a weak smile. The black haired teen looked at Ember with a crazy look, yawned, stretched, and then nodded to answer his question. "Figures."
"Get down here this second!!!" yelled their mother, her intense yelling caused her to accidentally breathe fire. At that moment, Flare waved goodbye to his relatives and shut his door quickly.
Ember decided to play a quick trick on Flare, so the silver haired teen opened Flare's door quietly. He saw that Flare had his back turned towards the door and focused his hands quickly across a drawing board. Ember saw that Flare also had many sketches of himself fighting dragons and mystical creatures…sort of in the form of a comic book.
"So…this is what you do all day?" asked Ember; looking over Flare's shoulder. Flare flinched and put his pen and pencil down in anger. He balled his hands into fists and pushed himself from the table.
"I want you to leave my room…," Flare said softly; trailing off. He was trying his hardest to keep his anger under control. In the past, Flare had a reputation for being a major hot head.
"Make me." Ember said with a daring smile. All Flare did was put his index and middle finger together and waved them lightly before his face. The door flew open with a strong gust of wind. The boy released the hold of the door and it stayed in place. With the gentle wave of Flare's left hand, a light gust of wind swirled around Ember, causing him to be lifted off his feet in midair.
"I told you to leave…you disobeyed me and this is your punishment." Instantly, Flare's eyes changed from emerald green to soulless red in a matter of seconds. With the twirl of his index finger on his right hand, Flare flipped Ember upside down and pushed him into the hallway wall; causing the hole thing to break. Flare's eyes changed back to normal as he was satisfied with his brother's defeat. With a wave of his hand, the door shut quietly and was then locked.
"How exactly did you make Flare mad at you this time?" asked Karya in curiosity.
"…can't…move…" Ember struggled to say, as his back hit the wall first, his legs came next, and then his head hit the bottom of the floor with an "oof", on impact. His head hit the ground pretty hard, sending his neck in a severe case of whiplash.
"Oh! Sorry." Karya moved her hand in a circular motion, causing a bright pink whip to emerge from the tips of her fingers. She used it to free Ember from his awkward position and fixed the wall. Since Ember wasn't a human, his power of regeneration took over; healing his severe wounds quickly.
Ember dusted himself off, picked up his bags and ran to the front door with Karya following right behind. As soon as they reached the door, Ember and Karya ran into their father, who had just opened the door.
"Father!" yelled Karya in a cheerful voice.
Their father had snow white hair with twin black slashes across his cheeks with the look of an early thirty year old man. He looked at his children with curiosity. He raised an eyebrow into an arch and began to laugh.
"What's so funny?!" asked Ember.
"Don't you guys realize what day it is?" asked their father who stared intently at their school uniforms.
"No." they said in unison.
Their father sighed. "Today is Sunday. You don't have school on a Sunday. Plus, the woman that looks like my sister is an illusion spell that someone placed on the both of you." The real woman that was their aunt gave them both a friendly wave and a gentle smile.
The twins looked at each other, and then their gaze traveled towards the clone of their aunt, who just vanished in a heavy cloud of black smoke, right before their very eyes.
"How can we be so stupid?" whispered Ember to Karya, as they both had bulging veins on their foreheads. Their power levels increased by every second as their eye colors went to white with anger.
Karya and Ember held hand, to combine their powers, while screaming, "FLARE!!!!!!!"
Flare, still up in his room and focused in his drawings, smirked to himself when he heard his name being called from rage. He stopped and looked at his masterpiece. His smirk widened with satisfaction.
Chapter Three
Flare was at the top of the stairwell; hair pulled back into a ponytail, clothes neatly pressed underneath black dragons' armor. Flare was ready for any attack his siblings would throw at him. The overly confident Flare walked down the stairwell with a smirk on his pale face.
As Ember decided to not to get involve with this battle, he slowly disabled himself from the fight. The one that could fight Flare was Karya and she was good at it. The only way Ember could possibly help his sister, is by giving her half of his power to increase her own, and that's exactly what he did. He knew both of his relatives fighting patterns, so all the strength he had left was to defend his parents.
Flare stared at his siblings like they were poison. Flare's eyes were the worst to look at. They had death written deep in blood in the center of his eyes and a flame rose up to devour the letters itself. He was the first of the two who changed into his phoenix form. Flare's raven dyed hair grew to an enormous and uncontrolled length as it changed back into its original color. Seconds later, Flare's body was covered in bright red fathers and had wings sprout out from his back.
Karya sighed and changed into her true form with grace and beauty. Ember watched with amazement. What stunned the teen was that each time Karya would change into her true form, she would have more and more physical traits of that of a dragon. Sometimes, her body would just change, without warning or explanation; which would cause her great pain.
Flare's wings fluttered loudly and wild, as he was making a mess of things inside the house. His red feathered body suddenly changed to black with the slight shift of his eyes. The tip of his feathers turned red which made Flare growl low in his throat, but as a result; smirked. Karya just shook her head and began to lift herself off the ground, with the light beating of her scale covered dark blue wings. Her body, rough yet graceful, shimmered as the rays of the afternoon sun bounced off of it. The teasing smile she gave Flare cause the boy to roar in protest. It was almost seconds later, that both of them took to the skies; crashing through the roof of the house.
Ember had released his protective barrier and sighed. "I'll be back…" he went to the nearest hall closet to get the ladder again. Ember was the only one to be left to clean after his siblings. The teen grabbed the ladder and headed out the door.
Ember has already finished fixing the roof that his siblings had destroyed. He sighed as he climbed down the ladder and started looking for his sister. No matter how many times she alters the way she fights, she still somehow ends up in some other dimension or near death. "It was like…she would walk into such an obvious trap…" whispered Ember. He put away his tools and headed to the nearby park that was only a few blocks away.
Ember has tried time and again to unleash his inner phoenix, but failed miserably. It would always end up with him destroying something, opening an unwanted portal to a dimension, or causing the local townsfolk to be in serious danger. The silver haired teen kicked a can and whistled an easy tune on the way. As soon as he got to the park, Ember suddenly felt a chill within the air.
Ember! Ember! Help me…! Screamed Karya as she used her mind powers to contact Ember.
"Karya!! Where are you?" At that moment, Ember ran towards the nearest source of Dark Magic. His body shook as an irritated humming sound rang in his sensitive ears. Fire shot through the shies, followed by the sounds of high-pitched screams and evil laughter. No! No! Please, please let Karya be alive! Ember screamed in his thoughts.
Anger rose up in Ember as he yelled from sudden frustration. The teen ran at full speed, using his unlimited power and strength that he had inside of his body. The boy dodged cars on the streets, to the outskirts of the city, which instantly lead to the wooded area. Ember ran over broken trees trucks, tall grass, bushes and wild plants. Ember skidded to a stop in the middle of a clearing covered in flowers. Breathing heavily, Ember saw a pale arm lying out in the open from a bush…covered in blood. Fear rose in Ember's eyes as he ran to the sight and moved the annoying bushes out of the way. As soon as Ember saw Karya covered in blood, a bright light followed by another high pitched scream blinded Ember completely. In a matter of seconds, everything went dark.
"Ember…Ember…get up." Ember moaned from the sudden sound. His eyes opened in narrowed slits; avoiding any possible light that had any intentions of blinding him again. As his eyes grew wider, Ember's blurred vision became clearer and the disfigured images came into view. Ember saw Karya looking over him with a look of concern. Ember sighed and closed his eyes, trying to fit the scattered pieces of the puzzle together in the world of reasonable logic. It seems to him that he must have passed out from working too hard and being in too much sunlight. Karya blinked, helped Ember sit up straight without falling over, and stared at him awkwardly. Ember's unreadable expression somewhat softened and unexpectedly, he reached over and hugged his twin hardly.
Karya was speechless. After several moments of constant silence, Ember finally released her. "Why did you just hug me?" Karya asked; a little edge in her voice that caused it to sound harder that she really intended.
"Because I thought you were dead…" Ember trailed off, wrapped in his own mind, his voice becoming softer.
"Silly…I wasn't dead. Flare and I were just rough housing, as usual. He got a little carried away and I kind of…stupidly called you for help…that's all." Karya turned away from her brother, lost in the midst of her mind.
Through endless minutes of the twins both engaged in silent pondering, an idea struck Ember like a silent bullet traveling light speed, aimed for the center of his skull.
Karya jumped from a light, sensitive, cold touch that traveled down her spine and brought her out of the trance that trapped her mind in like a locked steel cage. She turned towards Ember.
He stared at her, finding words. "So, do you want to go to the mall later on today?" The teen started to sway slightly. He was still dizzy from blacking out. He sort of understood the context of what was happening, just not fully.
Karya thought about it for a second. "Yeah…I guess so."
"You want to come too, Flare?" Ember called off in the distance, knowing that Flare, with his strong, sensitive ears, that he could hear him.
Flare landed elegantly to the ground with the light flutter of his wings. Flare looked at Ember with his powerful dark gaze and shrugged. He touched the end of his red hair lightly and that seemed to grasp his attention more than reality ever did. In his kimono sleeve, Flare pulled out a bottle full of black color dye and began to color his hair. Karya and Ember just looked at each other and sighed.
Unexpectedly, pain welled up in Ember's body and aimed loosely to his brain, sending painful electric shocks. "Ugh!" Ember clinched his head in his hands as he winced in pain. As he lifted up his head, his eyes turned pure white and his powers increased out of control; forming lightning bolts that spiraled out of control. The lightning bolts that emerged out of Ember's body aimed and shocked Karya. Karya screamed from the intense pain; falling back and hitting the trees of the forest. Flare, on the other hand, dodged the lightning bolts with ease, sighed and took to the skies.
After several long minutes of pain, Ember's eyes turned back to normal and he felt like he was about to pass out. In the palm of his hand, a glowing sphere started to form, taking the silhouette of a small purple crystal. It shined brightly, growing bigger with each passing second. Ember saw the world around him starting to fade in and out and spun around him. As Ember fell to the ground, the crystal flew from his hand towards the center of the sky; causing time to freeze and rewind in a brilliant flash of light.
Ember woke up in the middle of the night, thinking of what he was going to do for the day. He reached to turn on the light. "Wait! What the-
Suddenly reality came crashing down like a ton of bricks. Ember knew that he rewound time on accident because what he wrote down in his daily planner was just a repeat of what he had already written. Ember waited until sunrise to get out of bed and walked out the bedroom door. Karya was already dressed for the day. She was walking towards Ember's bedroom; humming quietly to herself. The twins stared at each other, but Ember broke the silence when he violently grabbed Karya's arm and pulled her towards the front door.
"Ember, is something wrong?"
"N-No…Just tired. Come on. We're going to be late for school." Ember said nervously. He wanted to tell Karya about the time freezing incident, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. The purple crystal that aided Ember to rewind time had somehow ended up on a sliver chain that was hanging around his neck. It glowed slightly to the point where Ember couldn't notice.Leaning slightly against his door to listen in on the short conversation with ease; Flare had his arms crossed over his chest with a faint smile on his face. The boy sighed and went to his computer and hooked up his webcam. The man that appeared on the screen was the God of the Silver Phoenix; the one who started the curse and the one who will end it.
"Hello, Flare." He began. "Have you retrieved the crystal yet?"
"No milord. The boy just awakened his powers with the help of the crystal."
I need that crystal!" The god said, slamming his fists on a surface of some kind.
"And you will have it. But I need more time." Flare said evenly. He stared coolly into the dark screen, irritated eyes staring back at him.
"You had eight years. Time is running short, Flare. How much more time do you need that we don't have?" the man said annoyed.
"A week."
The man sighed. "Fine. I give you your week. If I do not have that crystal in my hands in the next seven days----it will be your head!" At that, the screen turned pitch black; darker than it was before.
Chapter Four
After school, Karya and Ember went to the mall for their leisure. Ember looked at Karya who sighed.
"Karya…I know you want to look fashionable, but don't you think this is a little much? I mean…you're not here to make a fashion statement." Ember was surprised to see his sister in clothes that were unknown to him. When she said something decent, what she's wearing wasn't in Ember's mind. "You said you were going to wear something decent. Karya, this is too much! If you wanted to make a fashion statement, go to Earth. They need all the help they can get!" Ember was in his sarcasm state which was really bothersome to Karya. The teen shrugged her shoulders and continued to walk through the mall, in her little short blue jean skirt with a chain belt that hung loosely around her hips and a little baby blue shirt that tied in the front just under the center lining of her breasts that had flowing kimono style sleeves with glitter towards the end. Ember was defeated.
"Hey, check this out!" Karya had her eyes gazing upon a new store that just had opened. Ember sighed and decided to go in a woman's store with his sister.
"Come out of that dressing room or I'm coming in!" yelled Ember. The teen couldn't stand how long it took women to dress. Just put something on and go. Nobody cares how a person looks anymore.
"Don't come in here! I'm not finished dressing yet!" screamed Karya from the other side of the dressing room door.
"It's not like I haven't seen you naked before!" Ember shouted in a sort of aggressive tone of voice.
"Hey! Ya hear that! That silvered haired boy wants to rape that innocent girl!" whispered a young woman's voice from the far end of the store. Another woman approached the first and said: "What a pervert! Let's kick him out of the store before he does any real damage!"
As Ember heard this, his power level was increasing once more. He seriously hated the fact that just because he was different, that people can assume what he's about to do next and that he's the bad guy in every situation.
"Calm down, Ember. Those girls didn't mean it." Karya said as she finally got out of the dressing room with her new outfit on. "So…how do I look?"
Ember's eyes grew wide in surprise. His heart was beating like a fast drum and his face turned beat red.
"Well?" Karya asked again.
Ember pretended to cough; still blushing and had a serious look on his face. "Everything's too short, Karya! Are you trying to give people a heart attack?" yelled the disturbed teen.
"Oh! That's how it's supposed to look! The style this year is to wear the most minimum amount of clothing as possible, but looking super cute. Plus," Karya leaned close to whisper in Ember's ear. "I know that you're attracted to me, Ember. Just be a man and admit it!"
"WHAT!?"
Karya giggled with delight as she kissed her older brother on the cheek and ran happily to the cashier of the store to pay for the new outfit. Ember went in the dressing room that Karya had used, to pick up her clothes that she left inside.
"Come on, Ember! Time to go." Karya said; tugging on Ember's sleeve.
"Isn't that suppose to be my line?"
As soon as Ember took a step towards his sister, he felt dizzy and in seconds everything went dark. In the process of falling, Ember had rewound time once more, this time without the aid of the crystal. The last thing Ember heard was the constant scream of his name from his twin and the soft whisper of a stranger.
When Ember came to, it took his golden eyes a while to adjust to the surrounding darkness. The teen blinked and then gasped. He hurriedly rushed out of bed and out the door.
Suddenly, Ember's crystal started glowing. The boy fell to his knees and screamed in pain. Ember finally changed into the beast of flight. It was a blue sky demon that was a phoenix but also had the scales of a dragon. Ember took flight as he crashed through the ceiling of his house and to the swirling vortex that lead to Earth, from which the voice had summoned him.
Flare watched this with enjoyment in his eyes. He smiled as he paged his lord. "My Lord," he began. "I believe it is time for Phase Two."
The inky-black room portrayed no life aside from the evidence of a voice. "Excellent" it said, bleached white teeth grinning in delight.
Chapter Five
The blue sky demon fell into Earth's atmosphere like a shooting star on a clear night. As flames engulfed the beast, Ember changed back into his human-like form. The silver haired teen fell into the ocean abyss where his fate has been sealed.
Ember was still alive, yes, but it took him a while to realize where he was. Since he wasn't mortal, Ember could breathe under water; unlike humans. The boy still struggled to get to the surface, but showed little effort as he allowed himself to wash up on shore.
As soon as the teen was on the beach, Ember used an awkward spell to dry himself, and change his outward appearance. Ember sighed and ran to the city in search for the voice.
"Los Angeles…California?" Ember looked at the visitor sign that stood on a billboard right next to him. Since Ember spent most of his life studying, it wasn't alarming to know the language the people of this world, let alone the city, practiced.
The flashing colors and signs of the city didn't distract Ember as much, but the music seemed to bother the poor boy. The teen mostly lived his life in constant silence and determination. He wanted to learn more about the world around him---or other worlds, if possible.
Ember slowly walked the streets of L.A. until his thoughts got the better of him. The concentrated teen fell deep within his mind as he stepped off the curb and into the busy street. Ember didn't even notice that an approaching car was coming his way at an incredible speed, until someone screamed and pulled his sleeve back. "Watch out!" was all that Ember heard.
"Hey…you awake?"
Ember woke up to a smiling young girl who kind of resembled his sister. She had big bright blue eyes and long brown hair that touched the small of her back. She had a strange necklace that hung on a delicate string that was around her neck. She wore a plain black tank top and a pair of blue jeans. "Karya?" The boy managed to say as he gently touched the girl's cheek.
"No…I'm not Karya, but I'm glad to see that you actually woke up. You've been knocked for several days now…from a car accident. We almost declared that you were dead…but you started breathing on your own, of course." The girl continued to smile at Ember.
"We?" he asked in amusement as he just suddenly realized where he was and what he came to do. Ember shot up from his bed, took off his bandages, changed into his regular clothing and rushed out the door.
"Wait! Come back! I want to come with you!" screamed the teenage girl as she had to run just to keep up with Ember's even stride. "I don't believe we've properly introduced. My name is Serenity. What's yours?" Serenity asked; out of breath.
"Ember." Was all that came out of the teen's mouth.
"Ember?" Serenity questioned, allowing the name to roll off her tongue. "Wow, that's a unique name. Never heard it before. I suddenly feel like I know you. Have we met before?"
Ember was starting to get annoyed by how much this human really talked.
"No." Ember said. He purposely pushed the girl out of the way to get to the front door of the hospital.
"Stop! Slow down!" yelled Serenity. Instantly, a light silver mist began to form as Serenity's eyes glowed bright blue, when she accidently summoned a magic barrier. "I said---STOP!!!"
As soon as Ember got close enough to the barrier, the boy went into complete shock from the lightening falling on his back. He was amazed but soon was able to move again once the barrier disappeared. He got up and grabbed Serenity's arm violently.
"What?" she asked.
"Who are you?"
As soon as Ember and Serenity were out of the hospital, the two of them walked casually to a nearby park that was down the street. Serenity's necklace shined so brightly all of a sudden, that it covered her body. When the light disappeared, Serenity's body changed from that of a teenager, to that of an adult. Her hair was cut to shoulder length, she had messy bangs like Ember's, her eyes were a deep blue with a sparkle of purple, and the armor that she wore, matched the color of her delicate eyes. She had two weapons that were strapped to her back; two swords that could channel energy from her body and use it against her enemies. One channels lightening, the other channels a magical fire that's unknown to the mortal world. Ember hadn't seen anyone so beautiful then again Karya looks just like this woman when she was younger.
"Ser-Serenity?" Ember asked in curiosity.
The woman just looked at the boy and sighed. "Don't you recognize your mother when you see her?"
All Ember did was raise an eyebrow to an arch and scratched his head. The silver haired teen hadn't been more confused in his life. Maybe he could finally get some answers from her.
Ember's mother sighed and said, "My name is Sapphire. Doesn't that ring any bells?"
Ember shook his head no. Sapphire sighed once more then started to pace back and forth impatiently.
"Why did you go away? Why did you leave me and Karya?" This was the only opportunity to actually speak with his mother.
Sapphire stopped and faced her son. "I went away so I could protect you from yourself…but seeing that you found me, well…how should I put this? Um…things aren't looking so good for your sister."
Ember felt like he was about to scream from all this confusion. "What are you saying? I don't understand. How do I protect me from myself?"
"Because you have to kill the mirror image of legend. In other words, you have to kill Karya." As soon as Sapphire blurted that out, she gasped and covered her mouth quickly.
Chapter Six
Ember fell to his knees as he couldn't believe what was being told to him. Kill my sister? Asked Ember in his mind as tears fell endlessly down his pale face. He wanted to strangle the woman in front of him. He didn't want to believe that this woman was ever his mother if she wanted her only son to kill her daughter. Sapphire removed her hand from her face as she walked slowly towards the shocked teen. The blue haired woman put a reassuring hand on Ember's shoulders.
"Listen to me," Sapphire began softly as she gently lifted up Ember's head and removed the bangs out of his face to reveal his soft, golden eyes. "You are not alone. I had to go through the same changes when I was your age. You have it easy. I was chosen by fate to be the next Silver Phoenix as well. In order to fulfill my destiny, I had to kill my entire family because of their bloodline. It was…impure. Your sister must've picked that up from somewhere in my family."
"If I'm the next Silver Phoenix, then what is Karya? Why do I," Ember hesitated for a few seconds. He let out a long sigh. "Why do I have to kill her?"
"Your sister is the Legendary Red Dragon, a beast that has the power to plunge an entire planet in darkness; stealing its light and fusing it with its own to become stronger so they can continue taking over the universe. Karya's mystical powers are far too powerful and they need to be stopped." Sapphire explained calmly. Ember continued to listen to his mother in awe. "Ember, if you don't do something now to stop your sister, then you at least have to accept that fact that you're the Legendary Silver Phoenix." Sapphire unsheathed one of her swords. She continuously twirled the blade up in the air, in a circular motion, causing the winds to clash against each other. As soon as Sapphire turned the blade upside down and focused her power towards the ground, the colliding winds vanished, but in its place, was a portal to their world.
Ember was in deep thought when all of this happened. He wanted to be a hero but at the same time, Ember didn't want to stomach the thought of losing his sister. Losing his mother and being lied to was hard enough to accept. Ember took a deep breath, closed his eyes and said calmly, "I accept. I'll become the next Silver Pheonix."
Ember felt a surge of power rush into his body. His silver hair grew long and straight with it getting lighter and lighter towards the ends. His bangs and side bangs were straight as well. Ember's finger nails grew into long claws and his fangs grew large and long. He had armor like his mother except it was pure silver and instead of two swords he had one that could summon all of the elements at one time. Ember smiled at Sapphire with his new image.
Sapphire felt a tear fall down her face as she looked upon her son. She smiled sweetly as she and Ember stepped through the portal gates to return to their world.
The portal which Sapphire and Ember stepped through vanished like a shooting star traveling through the night sky as they entered their domain.
Sapphire and Ember ran immediately to Ember's house. Most of it was torn down, like a massive tornado swept by in the area. It was eerie quiet…not a sound in place. Ember jumped up as he suddenly sensed a source of dark magic present. The boy quickly ran to Flare's room. The boy kicked the door down with ease; anger guiding him.
Ember gasped as he noticed Flare's soulless body, lying helplessly on the floor of his room; drenched in a dark pool of his own blood. Ember was speechless. A bright silver aura surrounded Ember as he transformed into his phoenix state---the one that belonged to his heart. His eyes and hair became wild as his clothes started to shred off into the wind. Silver feathers covered his body as he sprouted wings and a silver tail.
The teen cried out in pain as he blasted through the roof. Sapphire was right behind him when she sensed a strong barrier surrounding her body like metal chains. Sapphire gasped in fright as her soul was immediately taken from her body. When the cold and lifeless body fell to the ground, flames consumed it; turning her remains to ash instantly.
The lifeless Flare that was on the ground, vanished as the puppeteer snickered from behind the closet door. Flare emerged from the darkness with his laptop in hand and Sapphire's soul within his body.
"Sapphire," he began. "You will not interfere with milord's plans." With that, Flare spread his dragon wings and took flight, laughing bitterly.
"Karya! Karya, where are you?!" yelled Ember in frustration as he flew faster into the blackness of the sky. Ember didn't like the fact that it was eerie quiet. He and his sister were the only two people who we weren't taken by the surrounding darkness.
"I'm right behind you…" said a familiar voice. Ember's face lit up with joy as he retreated to his human-like form.
"Karya is that really you?" asked Ember, looking upon his sister's current form…a dragon.
"Of course!" she said playfully. The girl flew towards her brother and punched him in the stomach; causing Ember to fall backwards in the sky. The boy immediately changed back into his phoenix form and charged at Karya.
Karya easily dodged the attack and back handed Ember's face. Blood rushed out of Ember's mouth, almost making him sick to his stomach. He easily recovered and charged at his sister at full speed. Both of their arms were expanded to punch each other, and when their fists clashed, both Ember and Karya were pushed forcefully back by the impact.
Lightning flashed through the skies, hitting both Karya and Ember. The painful shock caused them both to have an extra power boost. They flew at top speed at one another once more.
Seconds before impact, Flare flew up behind Ember. "I'm taking this, if you don't mind." Pale fingers reached around Ember's neck as he snatched the Eternal Light Crystal.
"What? Wait Flare!" At that moment, Flare opened a portal to his time, seconds before the impact. Both Ember and Karya were swallowed up by the surrounding light that followed.
Chapter Seven
Lord Ember looked at his light blue crystal orb of his past. For years, Ember had been trying to retrieve the Eternal Light Crystal, but instead went too far into the past or too far into the future. He sighed as Flare walked in.
"What troubles you, milord?" Flare asked respectively.
Ember looked up. Flare changed into an adult in seconds with elegant armor. "The crystal."
"Fear not, Lord Ember. I have the crystal in which you seek." Flare handed the purple gem to his lord. The lord looked at it with joy as if seeing it for the first time. He handed it back to Flare.
"You deserve to keep it. Now that the crystal is in my hands again, we can finally end the Silver Phoenix curse. Guard it well, Flare."
"Yes milord." Flare said with glee. This was much unexpected from his lord. He has never before handed him something back in which he has given to his lord in the first place.
"How is my sister?" Ember asks; changing the subject.
"Karya? She's doing fine. For centuries, the girl hasn't awakened from the last battle between the two of you; considering you were just teenagers. Her body is dead but her soul is alive. She will no longer be a threat to us, milord." Flare explained. "She's now in a protective barrier that's preserving her body."
"Yes, well, make sure that she doesn't ever wake up or we will all die because of that dragon. And the curse will continue." Ember said, getting up and walking out the door of his chambers.
Flare bowed, paying his respects. An evil grin splashed across his pale face where Ember couldn't see. The boy sighed as he looked at his fire red hair. He pulled out a bottle of black hair dye from his kimono sleeve and grinned.
After the man dyed his hair back to the way he liked it, he walked to the black painting hanging on the far wall. With the help of the Eternal Light Crystal, Flare is able to reveal hidden objects. Flare placed the crystal in the center of the painting and let the crystal do all the work.
Flare was right. The Eternal Light crystal does reveal hidden things, such as Karya's real body. The man grinned as he gave Karya half of his own body's power and energy.
"Awaken, Karya." He whispered as Karya's body began to glow brightly. Karya's golden eyes opened as an evil grin spread across her face.
Part Two
Chapter Eight
Everything began to shake in the Kingdom in which Ember took residence in. Pieces of the ceiling fell at his feet, glass propped on wooden shelves shattered at the sudden movement, earsplitting screams sounded off in the distance. Ember's golden eyes fidgeted in terror from the disturbing site as his eyes reflected the image like a golden mirror. Ember stood up and walked down the long corridor with a fast, even stride. Eyes narrowing, Ember growled as light seeped from the cracks of the metal door at the end of the corridor; the place where his sister's body was kept.
Ember opened the door, only to find that Flare was using the last bit of his strength to keep another set of metal doors closed. Ember deepened his voice. "What is the meaning of this, Flare? I told you specifically not to allow this to happen. You know the results of it."
Flare looked back over his shoulder as his wobbling arms tried to close the doors. Sweat beaded from his forehead as he was panting heavily. Ember raised his head towards the ceiling in disgust. He noticed a pleading look that was sent his way.
Flare responded, panting more heavily as he spoke. "My lord, if you are accusing me of such a thing, I did not allow this to happen. For some reason, the painting cracked and the crystal turned to stone. I can't channel my powers anymore to revive it. You must believe me."
"Why?"
Flare took a silent breath, grunting loudly as he was being pushed back by the opposing force inside the metal doors. The doors opened slightly more, releasing more energy and power that caused Flare's feet to slide backwards across the tiled floor; rubble dancing awkwardly at his feet. An effort smile replaced his parted lips on his pale face.
"Because I'm the only one that you can trust and we both know that, milord." Ember sniffed the air strangely as Flare's arms gave way and the doors opened wide. The mist that emerged from the room lightly touched Flare's skin as the man dissolved completely; turning into the surrounding mist.
An outline of a woman's body was barely visible from the surrounding light.
"Hello brother," the voice said sweetly. "It's been a good five hundred years…and your life is about to end."
The light that consumed the body gradually formed a small sphere in the middle of her cupped hands, revealing Karya's ageless face. She smiled, just before she released the energy, which caused the whole kingdom to explode.
Fire shot through the endless sky as the building crumbled towards the ground. Darkness consumed the peaceful planet once more, as Karya's wicked laughter was heard off in the distance.
Two dark figures were running in the silence of the night from military personnel. The armed soldiers were scouting out the homes of innocent people and killing them for some reason.
The sound of panting was the only noise coming from the two children. Screaming and the on-and-off sound of gun shots firing were heard in the distance. The two children where covered in rags from head-to-toe and running on their bare feet through glass and rubble.
One of the children was four inches taller than the other and had the slight silhouette of a teenage boy. The other had the distinguishing features of a girl and was doing her best to keep up with her brother. The girl gasped as she stumbled and fell to the ground on her knees. The boy skidded to a stop, turned around sharply and helped the girl to her feet. He was nearly dragging her along. The girl stumbled, but regained her footing and kept up with her brother.
With running at a constant pace, the two teens were exiting the outskirts of the dark village and entering a field full of hills and dry prickly grass. As the two descended towards the bottom of the hill, an explosive set off near them; both screaming and thrown in different directions.
As soon as they recovered quickly, the boy grabbed the girl and roughly brought her to her feet; resulting in a fast paced run away from any harm. They saw a clearing in the distance, only to find that something had dropped from the sky and was closing in on them.
"Jasper! A bomb!" The girl yelled. The boy ran faster but not fast enough. The bomb hit, throwing piles of rocks and them into the tall, sturdy trees of the woods.
"Hazel! Are you alright?" Jasper managed to say, groaning as he tried to move.
"Y-Yeah." Hazel replied, looking at the scene before her. Nothing much was left. The small hills had huge dents in them, resulting in large piles of dirt to cover the ground. She looked off to her left and noticed that half the woods were gone and down in flames. Animals scurried to and fro, but most didn't make it. Tears rose up in Hazel's eyes as they turned pale blue. A blue light illuminated her body as power surged from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She extended both her arms in front of her and opened the palms of her hands. Magic water rushed out of her body as she began to form a barrier around the damaged forest; extinguishing the flames.
Jasper ran over to her. "Good job, Hazel." The girl merely nodded. "Come on, we have to get out of here."
Jasper grabbed Hazel's hand. He ran deeper into the woods, where towards the center, there was a cave. Scorched black yet dripping from the ceiling was a cool stream of water. Jasper pushed Hazel harshly in as he slammed his back against the stone wall in the process.
Hazel looked up at the smoke-filled sky as a fast moving object grasped her attention. A shining blue light soared through the smoke at light speed. As the object moved, the smoke surrounding it disappeared, like it purified it in some way. Something small and glittering purple fell off of it and crashed through the trees. Hazel's eyes went wide as the image in front of her sparked a distant memory of her childhood. When her mother and father were still alive, they used to show her to a prophet who showed her a book of the Eternal Light crystal that fell from the sky like a shooting star. When the crystal fell to the ground in front of the cave, Hazel jumped from the sound and out of her trance. She glanced at it awkwardly as the small crystal created a crater in the earth; smoke steaming off of it.
Hazel blinked at it and extended a hand to touch, only to have it pulled back towards her by her brother. She turned to him with pleading eyes, but her brother shook his head.
"What do you suppose it is?" Hazel asked in a whisper, as the sun tried to peek in through the clouds. Little rays of light taking the form of small laser beams shown on the dark trees, ground and on Hazel and Jasper. The small light jumped in Hazel's eyes, making it seem like they had a sparkle in her already glittering eyes. She looked towards her brother who lay down and stared at the ceiling.
"Don't know. All I know is that you better get your rest while you can, because those creatures are still looking for us." Jasper whispered back. He rolled over on his side and closed his eyes. Hazel sighed and curled up beside him.
Chapter Nine
Hazel shifted her position in her sleep, but soon jolted upright when another bomb was set off and the earsplitting screams resumed from the previous night. The teen gasped in fright as she was not only alone, but a gun was pointed at the center of her forehead.
A tall, muscular man with broad shoulders and dirty black shoulder length hair pushed the gun against Hazel's forehead. "You make a move I don't like and I'll blow your head clean off your shoulders." he said in a rough voice. He had scars covering his tan skin and bloodshot eyes. His eyes narrowed as Hazel's widened in terror. This man was heavily armed and obviously didn't like being messed with. He was missing a few fingers and was dressed in military attire.
Another bomb set off and Hazel's heart throbbed against her ribcage. How could they find us so quickly? Hazel looked up at the sky and shuddered. The smoke streak from the shining light led them to the whereabouts of Hazel and Jasper. The man grabbed Hazel harshly by the wrists and dragged her through the woods. The journey took twice as long than the one her and her brother took the day before. Soon enough, the abandoned city came into view, along with the re-built castle that was destroyed and abandoned nearly 1,000 years ago. Hazel gulped as she was being dragged to the very place where she and her brother escaped from days ago.
Before entering the castle, Hazel noticed several innocent villagers were brought to their knees with their hands behind their heads, with looks of terror, worry and sadness in their eyes as they looked up at her. Hazel wanted to help them but knew she couldn't do a thing to help. She lowered her gaze and continued to walk. As soon as she entered the second floor of the castle through heavy brass doors, the guards of the captivities outside locked and loaded their weapons, and gave way on the killing spree with their machine guns. Hazel froze in mid step as screams were heard more clearly. Anger, fear and sadness rose up in her eyes as tears sprang from them. Her instant sobs soon turned into shudders as she turned around slowly, frightened to death. The girl almost screamed when she was pushed to the ground and had a gun pointed to her head once more.
Tears welled up in her eyes again as she stumbled to get up and continued walking in time of the fast stride that the guards maintained; right before the guard pulled the trigger. The irritated sound of the gun firing at close range echoed through the dense and hollow structure of the building, missing Hazel's backside of her head next to her right ear, by centimeters.
The girl flinched, hunching her shoulders, and walked with a little more effort and speed. You could almost say that she skipped to the destination that the guards looked at one another and smiled; showing their crooked, dirty teeth.
They turned down two corridors of the castle and in view, saw large, heavy looking metal doors with ancient writing carved in gold on them, with recently polished wooden handles. One of the guards ran in front of Hazel, pushing a gun hard against her chest as a warning that she goes no further.
The guard whispered, "Wait here."
Hazel gulped and the other guards nodded in understanding. The man nodded back and knocked twice, opening the heavy doors with ease. Obviously, this part of the castle wasn't covered in thick layers of dust and decorated with rusty old metals that broke with the slightest touch, like the rest of the castle.
Hazel shifted from foot to foot impatiently, as she unknowingly started to whistle a sweet tune to herself. One of the guards smiled and whistled along with her, until the other guard punched him hardly on the arm and pointed the gun in the small of Hazel's back. The guard that got hit rubbed his now sore arm.
The one guard that went in the secret room came out pale faced and sweating like he'd seen a ghost. The man gulped. "Her majesty would like to s-speak wit you now." The man said in a panted voice. His eyes rolled in the back of his head as he collapsed to the ground, and burned to death. The other two guards gulped as their hearts began to race. Hazel looked at the dead man in fear.
She gulped and went inside. The two guards hesitated before entering the room.
Hazel narrowed her eyes as the heavily lit room blinded her. A chandelier hung from the sturdy ceiling, glittering elegantly like a pure diamond necklace. Innocent villagers and servants covered in rags ran towards different places, where the guards told them to go. Recently cooked foods from all around, delicates of all kinds were placed in this room, steam coming off them and intoxicating the air with their desired scents.
Just by looking at the food, Hazel realized that she hasn't eaten in days and her stomach began to growl at her. Hazel blushed from the irritated sound but was disturbed from her sudden daydreams by the continuous banging noise that originated at the front of the room. Hazel lifted her gaze to the velvet patted gold-lined throne that was underneath the painting of a girl with pink hair, a boy with white hair and a boy with black hair with red tips, all wearing formal robes of royal blues, gold's and deep purples. The girl in the painting looks exactly like the woman sitting on the throne, with a bored look on her face.
The pink haired woman lifted her head in disgust. "Why have you run away slave?" The woman spoke in a menacing voice. Hazel glared at her only to be forcefully brought down on her knees by the guards, when the woman glared at her in return with piercing gold eyes. "Well?" the woman asked in a demanding tone.
"I-I…" Hazel didn't know what to say. She was so terrified by the woman that she suddenly felt intimidated by her. Hazel growled low in her throat. A guard spoke for her.
"This little brat and her half-witted older brother escaped without our knowing. Clever, those two are. Gotta keep a close eye on them, you do. Don't want them to escape again."
The guard leaned in close behind Hazel, breathing heavily. The heat from the man's breath was hot on Hazel's pale neck, as his breath irritated her entirely, his breath stunk, and his teeth were rotten, much less his dark colored gums were bleeding and it looked like part of his black tongue was missing.
Hazel's stomach churned from the stench as she choked a cough that felt like she as going to puke on the nicely polished tiled white floors. She managed to stare at the leader of this strange pack; sweat beading down from her forehead.
The woman spoke once more; this time with a cunning smile that only her weakling brother, in her eyes, could recognize. "Hazel, isn't it?" She called out of the blue. Hazel managed to gasp out at her own name. "Jasper…your brother; a smart boy capable of winning in a war and a Master at archery, is he not?" The woman choked out a laugh, which sounded like a growl. "Do you realize who I am, Hazel?" she stood up and looked down at Hazel.
Hazel shook her head. The pink haired woman continued; walking slowly around the dead silent room; letting her dress trail effortlessly behind, keeping up with her slow pace. "My name is Karya. I have a problem and you have the solution."
Hazel stared at her with innocent eyes. She was so confused that all she cared about was finding her brother and getting the hell out of there.
Karya gracefully walked towards Hazel, bent down to her eye level and smiled boldly to the point where she saw her bleached white teeth and very sharp canines; like a vampire. The woman gently placed her delicate fingers underneath Hazel's sweating chin and lifted it up to meet her evil gaze even more.
Karya spoke in a whisper; sweetly. "Let's go to a more suitable setting, shall we? Let's discuss the Eternal Light crystal, which has been lost to this land of my past and your brother Jasper, the one you care for deeply."
Chapter Ten
With several guards following her every move; spears and guns pointed at her back, and her brother by her side; Hazel and Jasper slowly re-traced their steps through the horrific obstacles that they had to face hours ago. Hazel's feet were starting to blister; she stumbled over a rock, cutting her foot and causing her to have a hand gun pointed at her temple. Hazel gasped, cleaned her cut quickly and ran to catch up with Jasper.
She looked nervously over her shoulder to find a glare sent her way by one of the guards. She quickly turned her head back around, but closed her eyes; letting her sense of touch and hearing guide her. She continued the exercise for nearly an hour, when Jasper contacted her in her mind. 'Hazel, don't fall asleep! You know what they'll do if they catch you sleeping, especially when you're walking. My life is on the line, remember?!'
Hazel opened her eyes to narrowed slits. 'I know.' She responded back. The guards were unaware of the silent conversation between the two teens. 'So what do you want to do? Lead them off to a distant trail, fake like you know here you're going, and create an illusion so we can escape?'
Jasper smiled. 'That's exactly what I'm going to do! Run with me!'
Hazel shot awake, but didn't say a word. 'Wait! What?!'
Jasper ran at full speed to the unknown destination. With his power levels causing the tips of his finger nails to glow red, Jasper was making markings on the tree trucks as he passed, and scorched the area with his powers. Sweat dropped from his forehead as it was hard to suddenly control his powers. The result of the unstable incident made it seem like it was a bomb recently set off in the area. Jasper smiled and continued his work. Hazel skipped along the path and made it seem like she was analyzing the newly scorched bark on the trees that her brother left behind. She pointed at various directions from the markings and the guards followed her directions correctly. In no time, the group found a nearby cave in the distance.
Hazel smiled to herself. 'This is fun!' she said in her mind; contacting her brother who was still setting up the vivid illusion. 'We should do this more often. But…something doesn't feel right.'
'What do you mean?' Jasper responded. He changed the subject rather quickly. 'Are you guys close yet?'
Hazel didn't answer until a few moments later. 'Y-Yeah. We're almost there. A few more yards and we're good. You?'
'Everything's set. So what's this strange feeling that you have?' Jasper asked, coming to meet with the others shortly.
Hazel hesitated. 'I-I don't know. or some reason, I feel like we're being watched.'
Chapter Eleven
Eyes dancing in delight, Karya grinned evilly as her eyes gleamed, staring at the crystal ball when she saw everything that was happening with Hazel and jasper. She looked towards the painting on the far side of the wall. Flare disappeared as well as Ember; only she remained. She smiled to herself.
Karya adjusted her position on the black cushioned chair as she opened a locked drawer with a golden key. Inside was the small black box that once held the Eternal Light crystal, but now a mere piece of it--a shard that captured its divine light.
"All for this, huh?" Karya whispered to herself; allowing her voice to echo through the room. "Those two brats are the key to world domination, but with their unlimited power, they could easily turn against me and I can die from a mere touch."
Karya lifted the shard towards the light that was radiating from the chandelier. She looked at it in awe as the purple light slightly glowed in her golden eyes. the woman smiled and pressed the shard into her forehead.
Hazel led the guards to the dense makeshift cave with confidence. A light that only she could see shined brightly before her. It flashed in her deep ocean blue eyes and illuminated off her pale skin and blond streaked brown hair.
She curved her lips together and whistled a high pitch sound that broke the tiny bones of the guards' ears, allowing blood to slowly pour down the sides of their necks. hazel smiled to herself as she enjoyed listening to the guards' pain. The guards howled and hissed knockings into each other as the unbearable pain seems to drive them mad. Hazel's eyes danced with glee as she watched the entertainment from the guards. Some of the guards banged their heads against the wall, trying to mask one pain from another. Some of the guards even cried; tears of agony, cleansing their dirt caked faces. Hazel tried to hold her smile but just couldn't help but to laugh in the progress.
Hazel whistled another high pitched tone with a bit of a melody to it; as the cave began to crumble and break. The ceiling caved in followed by the walls of the structure, and shook like a sudden earthquake. A strong hand grabbed hold of Hazel's wrist and pulled her under the cave, just before the ceiling crashed on top of her.
Hazel looked up at her sudden captor, only to realize that it was jasper. The teen sighed in relief. "What do we do now?" she whispered to her brother.
Jasper looked down on her, only to find pure innocence. He sighed briefly and climbed out of the ground, lifting Hazel to safety. Fire rained in the sky from a nearby explosion that causes the skies to grow dark and release static discharge. Hazel gulped from the sight, but Jasper pulled her along, back into the woods.
"Come on!" he said, pulling her towards a real cave that was in the center of the woods. The object that created the crater was still intact with the scorch ground.
"Jasper! I found it! Look-" Hazel froze dead in her tracks right in front of the crystal to find something staring at her in the cave.
"Hazel! Are you-Whoa! What the hell is that?!" Jasper touched the figure only to find that the shell was freezing cold. A shiver ran through his body as he pulled back sharply.
"What's wrong?" Hazel asked; picking up the crystal and running towards jasper's side.
"What ever it is, this thing is cold." responded Jasper, staring at the cold structure with a strange look.
Hazel rolled her eyes. "The object is encased in ice. You wouldn't know, Fire Boy." Hazel smirked and playfully pushed her brother.
"Shut up." Jasper mumbled under his breath.
"How do we get the object out?" Hazel asked, touching the ice; wiping part of it off. She gasped as the image revealed a face. She stared at her brother; terrified.
"What?"
"It's a person." Hazel replied.
"So? You're the one with the water powers. You de-frost him."
"Listen, genius. Water on water isn't going to melt the ice. You need heat to melt it. Duh!"
Jasper stared down at her. "So now you're a scientist?"
Hazel blushed. "No. It's common sense. You're the one with the fire power! You de-frost him!"
"Why me?!"
"Because you're the only one with the power to control fire."
Japer sighed; defeated. He focused his powers as Hazel stepped back to watch. he extended his arms, allowing a gap between the palms of his hands and the frozen structure. His hands began to glow a slight red, as fire bursts from his sweating palms. Little by little, the figure began to melt. Soon enough a small pool of luke-warm water was under the figures' feet.
Jasper panted from the effort. Both Jasper and Hazel gasped out in fright as the person they saved looked like the boy form of the woman they were slaves to. Hazel gulped, stepping back, while pulling Jasper closer to her with each descending step.
"Maybe they're twins." Hazel whispered to Jasper as the crystal in Hazel's sweaty palms shook and began to glow. In the hands of the figure held a cracked, black, dusted painting that turned to a pile of dirt, instantly. The crystal started spinning, turning off and on with the colors of purple and black. The crystal stopped and shined its amazing light on the man; breathing life into him.
The silver haired man, dressed in elegant robes of blacks, royal blues, and gold, opened his gold eyes slowly and stared at Jasper and Hazel with a little smile on his face. In an instant, the crystal stopped spinning and the man collapsed with a slight fever.
"Well, that was odd." Jasper said, bending down to the man's side.
"JASPER!!!!"
Jasper turned his head sharply towards the directions of Hazel's screams only to find that a black magic mist, covered the ground and electricity sparked through the air; plunging the world in a darkness that not even the most powerful mage of this world could escape from.
A roar thundered through the air, as red eyes were the only things shown from the black clouds. Lightning strikes the beast, outlining the form of a dragon, as it roared again; showing its razor sharp teeth.
It flew at high speed towards Hazel and the girl was frozen in her spot. Jasper grunted and ran towards his sister. He pushed her out of the way and because she didn't have a good grip on the crystal, Hazel let go of it; letting it fly in the air on an invisible arch; allowing the beast to catch it. Hazel gasped as she met the beasts' gaze for a split second and she saw something shining on its forehead.
The girls' eyes widened in fear just before her and her brother crashed into the dirt. As soon as the beast rode into the sky, the clouds were still dark but the sun snuck its warm radiance towards the ground.
Sweat covered both Jasper and Hazel as they looked at each other and them to the black streaked sky.
Chapter Twelve
Ember woke up to darkness. Water dripped on the side of his cheek as he stared at the dark ceiling before him. Heat was felt at the base of his feet, as Ember sat up and faced the sudden flame. Two shadows cased off the warm light, tending the fire and talking amongst each other in low pitched whispers.
Ember adjusted his position and the two figures gasped and jumped in fright. The smallest one came over to his side.
"Hello." She said. "How are you feeling?"
Ember stared at her. "I'm fine," he said. "Where am I?"
"You're in a cave." The largest figure said in a mumble. "If you wan to leave, you can. My sister wanted to save you, so that's why you're here. If it was up to me, you would still be encased in ice."
The girl gasped. "Jasper! That's mean!" She met the gaze of the one she saved through Jaspers' aid. "I'm really sorry. My brother can be rude sometimes."
"That's okay." Ember responded. "What's your name? The other one, I assume, is called Jasper?"
Hazel nodded. "My name is Hazel. My brother and I revived you from a frozen death." Hazel explained.
"I am truly grateful. May I ask why you are here?"
"We're here because a woman with light pink hair that looks exactly like you is destroying our home and is trying to capture us." Hazel explained shyly. She looked over to her brother who glared at her.
"Why?" Ember asked in curiosity.
Hazel opened her mouth to speak, but Jasper's glare caused her to shut it back. He replied for her, "Because we are the only two beings that have magical powers besides her. She wants to kill us, strip us of our powers, add them to her won and take over the universe."
Ember sat and thought about what Jasper explained to him. Hazel got up and back near her brother to have a silent mind conversation that resulted in her crying. "I think I know who's behind all this." Ember said; breaking the silence. Thunder roared through the skies as rain poured from the dark clouds overhead. Hazel shivered and cuddled closer to her brother. Jasper put a comforting hand on her shoulder. As if reading Jasper's thoughts, Ember cleared his throat, saying, "A woman named Karya is causing all of this and…she is my sister." As if on cue, lightning flashed as thunder followed right behind, illuminating Ember's ageless face.
"Who are you?" Jasper questioned. Hazel was becoming fidgety and Jasper didn't like the guy already.
Ember answered with another question. "Have you heard of the Legendary Silver Phoenix?"
Jasper rolled his green eyes. "Bits and pieces. Why? That story has been passed down from generation to generation for almost one thousand years."
"After everything that has happened to you and your sister over the pass few days, do you believe that a Silver Phoenix exists?" Ember asked.
"It's hard not to." Jasper replied; obviously bored and annoyed by this guy. "Your point?"
"My point is that I'm the Silver Phoenix." Silence filled the air, as both Hazel and Jasper looked at each other, than at Ember. They blushed, clenching their teeth on their bottom lips, but couldn't help but laugh. Their laughter filled the night air as a few ravens flew past the full moon.
Karya, in her dragon state, returned to her private room at the very tip of the castle tower. A white light consumed her scaled form as she changed into her human-like form. The light disappeared, revealing her delicate skin in satin clothing with the blackish purple crystal hanging from her strong neck. She looked down to make sure it was still there and smiled; white teeth glittering in the rooms' dim light.
"With the Eternal Light crystal," Karya whispered in the night; closing the window that she had entered in. "my dream of controlling the universe will soon be a reality. But first, I must gain Hazel and Jasper's trust and steal their powers."
The morning sun tried to peek over the horizon through the still dark clouds as sparks of pink, purple and orange peeked through the treetops. Ember couldn't sleep a wink with both Hazel and Jasper's powers rising on his skin. He didn't have enough power to run on, but he didn't want to steal it from them, either. He gulped. It would be easy for him to take their powers and kill them on the spot. But Ember wasn't like that even though it was a promising idea. He shuddered from the thought afterward.
Ember sighed; refraining from stealing their powers and silently walked out of the cave, only to be attacked by the wide awake Jasper. He formed a fire spear with his index finger and aimed it at Ember's temple.
"Where do you think you're going?" Jasper whispered in Ember's ear.
"Will you get off of me!!!!!!!!?" Ember screamed, waking Hazel in the process. Jasper growled and grabbed Ember's right arm and twisted his elbow the opposite way; pulling his left arm out of its socket completely. Ember screamed in pain as Jasper released him.
"Get out of here and never come back!!!!!" Jasper demanded; eyes narrowed with a serious look in his bright green orbs.
"Please! I need your help!" ember yelled; on the verge of tears. Hazel yawned and leaned her tired head in her brother's shoulder; rubbing her head on it. Jasper sighed, "With what?"
"My powers are weakening, especially with the crystal nowhere to be found and my panting destroyed. I'm going to die soon and need to teach both you and your sister, not only to control your powers but to perform the Magic Switch."
"F.Y.I., King of the Universe, me and my sister already know how to control our powers. This Magic Switch of yours? What does it do and how do you use it?"
Ember's lips went up into a smirk. "The Magic Switch is used when you are both in extreme danger. It allows you to transfer magic to the other person if you're running low on magic, and it will defeat your enemies for you."
Hazel's blue eyes grew wide in surprise as Jasper had an evil grin on his face.
"Alright," he said, joyful. "When do we begin?"
Chapter Thirteen
The training was rigorous and difficult. We trained for many hours, but if we made a mistake, the training began from the very beginning. By the end of the day, both Jasper and I broke out in massive sweats, panting deeply, dreading the fact that the same stuff will happen the very next day until we manage to get it right.
First off, Ember gave us ten days to get used to the schedule, even though the actual training only lasted an hour. We would get up bright and early while it's nice and cool outside. We were forced to run the outskirts of the woods until we were out of breath. Because of Ember's frail form, his power was starting to weaken, so both I and Jasper had to carry him while we ran. That in of itself lasted until noon.
Hot, tired, and hungry, Jasper and I would have to increase our strengths and combine our powers. That was difficult, considering the fact that fire and water don't mix well; but Ember said that it could, so it worked better than we expected it to. That alone, took three hours of the day and by that time, we would both give up. We were never used to overworking our bodies and our powers; much less control them when we already could. But, then again, Ember said that we needed more training on controlling our powers, so we forcefully managed to strain ourselves to our limits.
That's when the real fun began. Learning how to perform the Magic Switch was time consuming, self-disciplined, must needed concentration and an excellent bond with the person that you want to switch your powers with.
"So…this Magic Switch…what exactly do we have to do?" Jasper inquired one evening, chopping madly on a few apples during break. I don't blame him. We rarely had anything to eat the past few days. I was doing the exact same thing.
Ember sighed and sat down next to us. His face serious and his eyes full of conflicting emotions that I couldn't name. "The Magic Switch is the easiest magic transfer among our kind, but for beginners-the most difficult." He stopped, looked around, and continued. "Magic in of itself, is the flow of energy that allows you to do extraordinary things that normal beings only dream of doing. In performing the Magic Switch, both beings have to be on equal terms, more or less, depending on the element of magic that was chosen for that being. This flow of magic is just the same as the flow of water. It can be transported to any place you command it to go. The magic will flow easier of it has something to let it flow into, like a circuit. Magic flows into a complete circle, sending its elements from one plate to the next. If the circle is broken or something happens where the magic cannot flow correctly, the Magic Switch will stop altogether, or worse, your enemies will use that against you."
My eyes grew wide as I stopped chewing when I heard this. I gulped loudly, almost choking; I stared at Jasper who was lost in thought. I knew what he was thinking. We messed this up, we're screwed for good. We had to get this right. There's no way that we'll be able to perfect it before another enemy attack-whenever that would be. I shuddered from the thought of losing Jasper in a deadly fight with that Karya character, and continued to eat.
The next day, we trained hard for our regular schedule, but when it came time for the Magic Switch training, things became difficult. It was easier said than done. Through the intense training and practice of the Magic Switch, some unexpected events occurred in the process.
One was that we both discovered new powers that we will probably never use. I found out that I had the power over wind and accidently blew away a few houses in the far distance. I winced as they crashed to the ground; the sound echoing in my ears. Jasper found out that he controlled the powers over the elements of the sky; mainly lightning. It was a pretty cool power, yet it kind of "sparked" out of control. Several lightning bolts hit me, Ember, the woods and even Jasper. We gave up after that.
The second was that the result of combining powers that don't go together gives you a whole 'nother look at the world. Literally. Enormous chunks of the planet's crust went up into the sky-but never came back down. Volcanoes that hadn't erupted in thousands of years shoot off into the atmosphere, sending raining chunks of ash, lava and rocks crashing to the ground. Earthquakes formed on the side of the world, causing huge cities to be swallowed up and burned into the center of the Earth. More than five hundred thousand foot walls of water rose up from the depths of the ocean and drowned cities in seconds, not to mention that instant freeze affect.
The last one is the most painful to remember, let alone, mention. But I'll do it anyway. Our powers got so out-of-hand that they formed small spheres of energy, shot through the sky like a flaming shooting star and ripped giant holes into space. These black holes consumed planets and stars, even the five moons of our planet. Eventually, after an hour of all that drama, the black hole spat out a small piece of our moon in the shape of a star. If you didn't look twice, you wouldn't be able to tell that a star was the moon. My heart was broken at how my endless hours of silent pondering through moon gazing was over. I cried silently that night as I looked up at the stars, trying my hardest to find our moon. Jasper came up on the rooftop with me and put a tender arm around my shoulder.
He whispered, "You do realize that Ember is getting weaker by the day, don't you? He soon won't be able to guide us through the Magic Switch. If he dies before we've got it down, Karya will have the upper hand and we're screwed."
I sighed. "Yeah, I know. But it's just so difficult that There's no way of mastering that, and achieving our goal. Think about it. We're just two teenagers trying to get by in the world."
Jasper's green eyes glittered brilliantly like a tiger's eye during the night, as they slowly opened wider. He leaned in and kissed my forehead. "Don't say things that will bring you down. If there's the slightest chance of killing Karya, we'll take it. I think the Magic Switch will help in the process, as well."
"You're right. What was I thinking? I'm such a- At that moment, a large gust of wind came soaring our way, knocking us both off the roof entirely.
"Hazel! Hazel?! You alright?!" I heard Jasper scream, but I was too speechless to answer and too scared to use of mind powers. I stared into the face of death.
It was Karya, dressed in white from head-to-toe. Her pink hair and gold eyes visible in the surrounding darkness. My head jerked violently from side to side, my cheeks stung. At that moment, I realized that she had slapped me.
The next blow hurt worse. She did a major round house kick into my chest, knocking the wind out of me and slamming me hard against a tree that had broke in half from the impact of the blow.
Blood appeared on my clothes as well as the ground. I tried to move but was forcefully pinned back down from the weight of Karya's body. Small, dead hands wrapped desperately around my neck and began to squeeze. My lungs strained for me to retain air. I tried to lift my hand, but it only made a few inches before falling back down. Karya's grin and gleaming golden eyes scared me to the point where I had to close my own. My mind felt sluggish, as my body felt weak. That's when it hit me! Karya was stealing my powers! My eyes opened sharply, opening to a pale blue light that had surrounded my body and was emerging into hers. I growled and managed to get a decent kick at her stomach. Karya went flying into a distant tree; grunting from the pain.
My sharp eyes captured the fast forms of two shadows that flew right past me. One kicked Karya harshly against her side-I heard a rib crack. The other sent Karya into another dimension from a simple teleportation spell. My body fell to ease as I recognized the two shadows to be Ember and my brother, Jasper.
I woke two days later with a tremendous amount of energy bursting through my veins. It felt great! To me, it was impossible to know that the magnificent amount of energy was supplied by the magic that my body contains. I breathed deeply, filling my lungs with air, getting a good jump start on the day.
I grabbed my shoes and headed out the door. I heard fast footfalls behind me and smiled. Jasper ran to my side and flashed one of his rare, brilliant, beautiful, silly grins at me. This was our day: the day to finally show Ember that we've mastered the Magic Switch!
Later on that evening, I was practically jumping up and down with excitement. Ember was about to give us our results on the Magic Switch and it was bugging me that he didn't tell us as soon as we performed it. It was so powerful, that I instantly thought our powers would suddenly be unstable. My mind raced with possibilities on how to kill Karya once and for all.
A slight movement caused to me to stop and my heart began to race. Jasper's head turned sharply to the left with fear in his green orbs. Something wasn't right. When Jasper was scared, that meant that I should be scared as well. My eyes widened in terror as gold colored eyes shot open from the dark bushes of the woods. Teeth widened in a menacing grin; sending massive amounts of fear through out my body as I thought Karya had returned to do more damage.
The beast launched forward at top speed. I flinched at first, but for some reason, I wasn't afraid. Jasper's mouth was agape when the beast was an inch away from devouring me. It was so beautiful. I've seen this creature somewhere before, but couldn't place it. My eyes opened wide in recognition. It was the Ember! He had transformed into the Silver Phoenix. Well, that was unexpected.
Jasper got the message and calmed down. Ember's mouth widened into something that could have been described as a grin. I raised an eyebrow at him. A soft silver mist surrounded Ember as the light engulfed his form and he once again became human-like. His sudden smile scared me.
"Congratulations!" He began. His gaze went from me then to Jasper. His face softened, giving him an ageless look. "You've both mastered the Magic Switch. Well done."
Tears welled up in my sensitive eyes as I couldn't believe what had just been told to me. Jasper let his gaze travel to mine and he gave me a thumb's up. I smiled, returning the gesture, and nodded in return.
Now all the fun and games came to a dead stop. It was time that we had to get serious. We're ready for you Karya!
Chapter Fourteen
Exactly one month later, ember died from strangely, the lack of magic, while Hazel and Jasper practiced continuously with the Magic Switch. They perfected it as much a possible in any given situation, with any over-the-top villain.
Hazel suddenly stopped her training exercise with Jasper and looked towards the deafening skies. Loud noises originated from various places; the clouds grew darker with each passing second; and for an instant, no sound was heard.
Lightening struck in front of the two as a bright light surrounds them in a white mist; draining their powers.
Sweat poured off Hazel's forehead as her breathing became shallow and raspy. Jasper collapsed entirely, turning paler than he already was and breaking out into a cold sweat. The light gathered in completely, forming a small sphere of energy.
The person held the sphere in the palm of her hand, smiling confidently at the fallen Jasper and Hazel. Her light pink hair was completely down, flowing over her shoulders like a small cape. Her golden eyes, shined in the scarce light like fire; reflecting everything that they see like a mirror. She stood tall and proud; completely ageless. The woman had armor in blacks and dark pinks; tailored especially for her. She turned her head slightly upward; towards her enemies in disgust. She unsheathed a sword that was neatly strapped to her back and aimed it at the fallen Jasper.
"My my," Karya began; swinging the blade to rest on her padded shoulder. "What do we have here? By now, you two should be dead and rotting in my backyard with the rest of this world."
Hazel clenched her fists as her eyes narrowed. Karya continued, "Your brother is silently suffering from the extent of my power. The only way to save him is by grabbing the Eternal Light crystal from my neck and purifying it with death. Your brother will die in the process, but why do you care?" Karya paused for effect, then laughed darkly. "I'll give you a little background information on the crystal. My brother, Ember, found it when we were eight years old and that's what started all of this mess. Anyway, I'm glad that he found it. It gave me a chance to know what I'm really capable of…and that's ruling the universe! It started with the crystal, and it will end with the crystal."
Hazel gasped as the static discharge grew rapidly through the air as Karya's unlimited power came from the cracked crystal. Jasper coughed from the smoke in the air. Hazel turned her gaze quickly towards him.
"Jasper, I don't know what to do!" Hazel screamed as Karya's eyes turned pure white.
"Hazel!" Jasper yelled. "Calm down. Now listen to me. I know I'm going to die doing this, but stay calm. Grab my hand. I'm going to send you my powers."
"What?!?!"
"Just do it!!!!!!!!"
Hazel's eyes welled up in hot, fresh tears as she grabbed her brother's cold hand. A pale red light consumed them both through the Magic Switch that they had practiced for over a month. As soon as the power transfer was complete, the white mist that emerged from Karya's body started to dissolve Jasper's body piece by piece. "Hazel!" Jasper's sweet voice rang through Hazel's ears. "Be strong for me. You can defeat her. Have faith and I will always love and protect you!" Jasper disappeared along with the mist.
"How touching," Karya said; deepening her voice. "Too bad he didn't live to see you die. Don't worry. You will be joining him shortly."
Karya swung the sword and aimed it at Hazel. She screamed as she unknowingly formed an ice barrier. Karya grunted and growled as her sword, on impact with the magic ice, turned to stone. It was just like how the crystal had turned to stone.
Karya yelled into the wind, calling the power of the crystal. It shined and shook; cracking, bits and pieces falling off the black crystal…not an ounce of purity left in it.
Hazel released her barrier and focused her magic on Karya who had just changed into her dragon state. The crystal was still hanging around her neck when she changed. Hazel's eyes grew wide in surprise, as it was the same dragon that had took the crystal from her before. Hazel's expression softened as she didn't want her enemy using her weakness as an advantage. Hazel extended both of her arms in front of her; both turning a pale light blue that bursts magic water, with the intensity of the heat of fire, from the center of her palms.
Karya spread her dragon wings and tried to escape, only to find that Hazel grabbed her by the tail with her water magic; swirling it thoroughly around her; forming a flowing sphere of water. Karya couldn't' breathe underwater in her current state but she couldn't change back either. Her massive head looked down at the crystal, only to find that it shattered but was immediately pieced together with Hazel's magic. The crystal was still black, but it reformed itself around Hazel's neck, hanging on a delicate thin sterling silver chain.
The concentration that Hazel had to perform took a lot of time and effort; which made the girl cry. She cried not tears of water, but tears that turned to fire. Hazel's right hand became hot and started to glow a creepy red color that she recognized. In an instant, her hand burst flames in the flowing sphere of water that was held intact with her left hand.
Hazel remembered the Magic Switch and it had actually worked. Karya boiled to death from extreme temperatures and the crystal that was hanging on Hazel's neck broke, releasing rays of light that reached every corner of the planet; restoring the once forgotten light.
Hazel collapsed to the ground; exhausted by the power and effort to save the plant of her home and the universe, in the process. But something wasn't right. The shards of the crystal became too great for the planet to consume. At that moment, a bright light emerged from the planet. The holy power that was housed inside the crystal caused Hazel, along with the planet, to be destroyed in seconds. All that remains is the shards of the Eternal Light crystal and a thin pure light that connected this world and the next.
The End
