The Time Watchers (TW#1)

Amelia

I pulled the tick out of my leg with a quiet snap, grimacing as the grotesque parasite began to crawl on my finger. Well, I'm holding a bug, now. I thought sarcastically, remembering Evelyn's stupid advice. I flicked the disgusting creature off of me, standing up and dusting myself off. We were all very weary after what Connor had said. Truly, he was only gone for four minutes, but for him he was gone for a week. Hard to grasp, really. Eric's men and woman were here, though. We had to be sharp. Lorita was still constantly showing me new things to learn, do, and practice, leaving me absolutely exhausted. The Time Watchers got up incredibly early to do their routine, but I had a tendency to sleep in.

Which means I had to do my routine while we were having our break. I would hide Lorita so no one could see as she wrote things for me to do, showing me pictures as an example. The animations were 2D. Andrew constantly looked up at the sky, seeming to be looking for some thing or one. I knew he was waiting for the dragons, but there wasn't a good reason to morph into them, yet. Well, until today, at least.

"What's that?" I asked, seeing in the pure darkness moving figures. A sparkling, blue river was in front of the figures, the sun hitting it because there were no trees in the wide river. It was a dazzling sight to behold, but I was distracted by the figures. Everyone else noticed them too, some looking up after refilling their water skins.

Andrew held his arm out and made his hand a fist, stopping everyone from moving forward. He squinted, and someone--an astronomer--handed him a telescope. He gratefully accepted it, then put it into focus. We all watched eagerly and fearfully.

"Everyone," he gave the telescope to the astronomer, "get your weapons. We have company."

In a panic, everyone scrambled to get their weapons and armor. The figures drew closer and closer, making everyone move faster. They still hadn't reached the river, but that didn't matter. They were coming. And fast. The Time Watchers all looked at each other, then we went into the woods, being disguised by the panic.

"Now would be a good time," said Becky once we were far enough from the army.

"Yep." Madeline agreed.

Simultaneously, we all hit the correct buttons, turning into our dragons. We took to the air, landing behind Andrew after snapping over two dozen branches.

"Need any help?" Madeline asked, shaking her furry head free of sticks that had fallen from the trees.

Andrew smiled in relief. "Thrända, God! You're all here! Séy, we need help. Desperately. Just look!" He pointed to the figures.

We all looked up, as if we had never seen them before.

"That's not good," said Evelyn blankly.

"Not good at all." He agreed.

We looked at each other, seeming to know exactly what to do. I slipped into the river, which was deep in some parts. Razz stayed by Andrew's side. Connor flew into the air and circled above. Evelyn hid in the shadows of the trees. Charitie hissed and went to the army to protect the flank. Madeline became invisible, hiding in the middle of the army. Andrew began muttering to Razz in her ear, and she leaned over to hear him better. I focused on the figures, watching them get closer to the river. I was crouched in the middle of the river, in a small ditch. My eyes had adjusted to the clean water.

A splash.

"CHARGE!" Andrew bellowed, running into the water and being followed by his army. The army roared, and the figures continued to be silent. The light showed the figures, and I saw that they weren't...

People.

Like, they were in the shape of a person, but they weren't actually people. They were dark, dark, dark marsh green, some dark, dark, dark brown, and others dark, dark, dark purple. They had a strange mist around them, and they brandished their spears, swords, shields, and daggers high. Some held bows, quivers on their backs. The archers stayed back a bit, shooting flaming arrows. Soon, the beautiful river was tinted red.

On our side, some had arrows in their bodies, but they kept going, patting out the fire. Our archers fired back, loosed arrows zipping past. The arrows that shot the 'people' dug into them, and they exploded in a puff of smoke and mist. When the armies collided, smoke and blood filled the area. It became hard to see in the water, but I waited for the perfect moment, then breached out of the water and swiped my claws across several of the creatures. Water splashed everywhere, sending a few flying. Evelyn had snuck over to the other side of the river, attacking the creatures from the back.

Razz constantly shrunk to get inbetween the creatures and grow to throw them off. Connor dive bombed, blazing and bathed in flames. He scorched the creatures, making them disappear in a puff. Charitie was holding back a bit, refusing to use her other power. Instead, she used her flames, burning the creatures away. An invisible forced picked up the creatures and burned them with green fire. The only one who could do that was Madie, obviously.

The battle was surprisingly fast, although it still did some damage. The river was now slightly red, being washed down with the current. The strange mist was on top of the water. Hundreds were injured. A few dozen were dead.

"What were they?" Asked Andrew, helping someone up out of the water.

Someone bent over and stuck their fingers into the water, looking at the misty goo that clung to them once they pulled their fingers out. "Dark magic, sire..."

Andrew nodded. Once everyone was out of the river, they began to tend to the wounded and dead. Some walked up to us, gawking in amazement and wonder. We looked down on them, some of us lowering our heads so the children could pet us. After Andrew dealt with everyone, he walked up to us.

"I can't thank you enough! If it weren't for you, we would have suffered much more. Are any of you hurt?"

"No," Madeline replied calmly, "we're all alright."

He sighed. "I am glad. Please, stay a little longer. You can eat something, if you wish. Oh! That reminds me! You have to meet my friends! They were sent here by a sorcerer. He gave them magic bracelets, allowing them to protect them and I. They must've been in the battle. Although, I didn't see them... Wait here! I'll go find them!"

Before we could say anything, he ran off. We slipped into the woods undetected, became ourselves once more, then walked out. Andrew returned several minutes later, scratching his head, then his eyes lit up when he found us.

"There you are! Where were you?"

"Looking for you." Said Madeline.

"Oh. Well, did you meet the dragons? They should be here..."

"Yeah," Connor nodded enthusiastically, "we saw them fighting, and we got to meet them. They said they had to go. Don't worry, they said they'd come back when we got into another battle."

"Oh. So that's why they weren't marching with us. That's good to know! They're magnificent, aren't they?"

We all agreed, nodding our heads and saying something with enthusiasm dripping off our tongues. Evelyn was bouncing around happily.

"Did any of you get hurt?" Andrew questioned, taking my arm and looking for wounds.

"We're okay. Those things didn't stand a chance against us!" Razz said confidently.

"I believe that." For a split second, Andrew's and my eyes met. He turned and looked away, letting go of my arm gently. "If you guys are hungry, you can go ahead and eat. The cooks are giving everyone something to relieve their hunger. Please, feel free to do so yourselves."

Evelyn and Madeline rushed to the area where the food was, Charitie right on their heels. Razz and Connor decided to stay with Andrew, simply talking to him. I went to the river and hugged myself, looking beyond the churned up waters. I just watched a battle that might go down in Zandarian history... It was mind blowing, as usual. The water began to settle, its body lapping the riverbed. The sun continued to shine the only part it could in the entire woods, the waters sparkling in a dazzling display.

The chatter in the army was the only sound--besides the annoying scraping of forks against plates--that could be heard. Not even a bird singing... I didn't think I'd miss that noise. Only a few more days, I kept telling myself, then we can go back home, and find Friday.