I forgot to mention, "Human by Danielle Bradbery", was the song for the last chapter. I thought the song fit best for the two sisters. That is all, you may continue with the chapter now :P
Aisha returned with Echo a few minutes before the funeral started. After informing Lowe about our current situation he sent several Red Knights over to give us a hand; Echo brought all the supplies we'd need for the fight in an old backpack. This gave Elsword more options for the plan of attack, we all wanted to pitch in and help him plan but he insisted we attend the funeral. None of us argued with this order, we knew it'd be the right thing to do.
As much as I hate to admit it, I stayed by Chung throughout the funeral. Watching as they placed Buch's body into a fire made me feel uncomfortable, and despite him being dead I still had the urge to jump in and save him; I guess I still can't accept the fact that he's gone now. Chung helped keep me calm and would help lift the mood slightly with his usual sarcastic remarks.
Elsword wanted us to return early from the funeral, he wanted to discuss his plan; he also told us it may be put into action tonight. To be honest I felt pretty bad for leaving, it felt like we didn't want to stay to bid Buch a proper good-bye.
On our way out I could hear the angry murmurs of the mourning villagers, most of them were angered by our early leave while others blamed us for Buch's death. How Elsword and the others can brush off these comments is beyond me; I can't help but feel guilty for his death.
Echo quietly greeted us as we walked back into Buch's house, the addition Red Knights apologized for our loss while we settled ourselves down. A huge wave of fatigue hit me once I sat myself down on the damaged couch, my eye lids struggled to keep themselves open.
If Elsword plans on attacking tonight we may be all screwed, most of us are dead tired and would do anything to get some sleep.
Elsword clears his voice loudly," I understand today has been rough." He began tiredly. "A majority of you guys are tired, and that's understandable. However, Kayak may have the key to awakening the dragon and he will not hesitate to release the beast late at night."
"If you're suggesting us to fight tonight then I'm out." Raven interrupted - he rests his head on his hands. "I can barely keep my eyes open; how can you expect me and half of the team to fight?"
Elsword opened his mouth to debate but Echo quickly cut him off," that's why I'm here"--She gestured proudly to herself--"I may be small, but I'm a pretty awesome alchemist! I can create something to take care of that fatigue of yours." She turns to Chung. "Chung, can you help me prepare the potions?"
"No problem." He replied with a loud yawn. Helping himself up he made his way over to help Echo. "Just keep talking, Elsword. I can multitask."
"Alright, man." He sends Chung a smile. Turning his attention back to us he went on," last time we did not know of Kayak's plan and that resulted in the death of our friend." He paused to let us recollect our thoughts.
"Now that we have extra team mates we can have people protect the village and fight the real culprit." Elsword went on; his eyes averted to the additional Red Knights. "Buch entrusted my team with the location of the dragon, so my party will take care of him. Everyone else is in charge of patrolling the village, you guys will need to stay alert. This Dark Mage is not someone whom you should underestimate."
"Understood." The addition members replied in unison.
"As for my team, you guys will need to be extra cautious. We all know what Kayak is capable of; knowing this fact, we should stick together throughout the fight." He stops his pacing. "If he awakens the dragon we will need to split up. One team will face the mage while the other will face the dragon."
"I will take on the mage." Eve volunteered almost instantly. "I must question him about the Nasods he used on us." She clenched her fists tightly.
"In that case I will join her." Raven piped in.
Elsword nods," Ara, I ask that you and Yang join them as well." He looked at the remaining members. "Everyone else will fight the dragon with me. This battle will be fairly dangerous, we will not know how strong the dragon will become and what our battle field will be like. Someone may not make it out alive, death is not a low possibility in this fight."
Will you be okay?
'I'll be fine, Eun.' I played with a loose strand of hair. 'This is a fight I must participate in. For Buch, the Elder, and everyone else who has suffered in this lizard's hands.'
Very well. I will take over if you cannot take the pressure.
"We've got to fight!" Aisha summoned out her staff. "We need to avenge all the families which have been broken because of this lizard."
"Grandpa is still out there." Speka added on. "We need to make sure he's okay." Aisha nodded in agreement.
Echo clapped her hands together," looks like everyone is all fired up to fight." She gestured Chung to give us the strange purple coloured drink. "These potions may not taste wonderful but they work a hundred times better than coffee."
"They'll gradually take effect, so don't be surprised if you're still a bit sleepy after taking it." Chung concluded as he hands out the remaining potions. "You probably won't feel great after they wear off, so don't drag the fight on for too long."
My stomach turned uncomfortably at the strange scent given off by the purple liquid; I shivered at the thought of its taste. Why do they always have to make potions taste bad? Why can't potions taste like juice or something sweet?
Taking a deep breath in I forced myself to drink the potion, cringing at its sour taste.
"It tastes like rotten milk." Aisha complained loudly.
"This is nothing compared to the potions I've tried before." Speka said with a shiver.
"Suck it up you guys." Echo puts her hands on her hips. "Think of it like medicine. Sure it doesn't taste that great but it's good for you."
"Good for us eh?" Raven asked as he finished off the rest of his potion. "Care to tell us what you put in here?"
Echo smiled sheepishly," some things are best to be left a mystery."
I put my hand over my mouth, trying everything I can to keep myself from vomiting the potion back out. I could see a couple of my friends mimicking the same action.
Echo rummaged through her backpack as we finished off the rest of the potion," I brought over some extra potions, flashlights, and of course a first aid kit." She began while pulling out the supplies. "Since I won't be joining you someone will have to be in charge of giving out medical care."
Elsword raised his hand," I can take on that roll. I can carry all of that in my backpack."
"Alright thanks, Elsword." Echo replied while setting the supplied aside. "If things get too crazy feel free to come back, I can deal with the more sever injuries."
Hopefully nothing gets too out of hand, I thought to myself.
My palms grow sweaty as the hour of the final battle approaches closer. I've never felt nervous about fighting before--even when I had to take on Camilla, perhaps I'm just scared to witness any more deaths, I doubt I can stay sane if I see another person's corpse.
"Everyone done drinking the potion?" Elsword asked-- his face turning a bit pale.
"Unfortunately," Aisha wiped her mouth clean.
"If that's the case"-- Elsword pulled out his dual swords--"let's get going."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Stella stepped aside from the funeral to bid us good bye, despite our failure to capture Kyak earlier she still has full faith in us. Needless to say, Lucas didn't come with her; but who can blame him? If it were me I wouldn't want to see us either; after all, we failed to break his dad free from the spell-- he had so much faith in us too.
The additional members proceeded to start their patrol as we took our leave. Just as Echo promised the potion we took earlier gradually took effect. My fatigue grew weaker as we proceeded closer to the dragon's location. Unfortunately, the potion did not protect us from the cold, the robes Buch gave us was doing nothing to shield us from the cold evening wind.
"Are we lost?" Raven asked Elsword-- probably with a glare.
Elsword shined his flashlight towards Raven," be quiet I'm trying to concentrate." He snapped back angrily.
"So we are lost."
Elsword shook his head while readjusting his backpack," no, we should be almost there." He shined his flashlight back on the map.
"I don't know about this, Elsword." Aisha piped in. "I don't remember that rock being there before."
"You're just being paranoid." Elsword replied with his eyes remaining on the map. "Don't worry, I'm the leader here I'll get us all there in one piece."
Speka face palms," we're all going to die tonight." She blurt out.
"Aisha, stop being so negative!" Elsword shined his light on Aisha.
"That was my sister, stupid!" She corrected angrily-- hitting him on the head with her staff.
"Don't blind my sister with that flashlight, idiot!" Speka slaps the back of Elsword's head.
"Shall I slap the human as well?" Eve piped in; preparing herself to slap Elsword.
Elsword opened his mouth to respond but Chung cut him off," we should beat up our leader after we complete the mission." He suggested sternly. "We should focus on finding this dragon first."
Ara, I am concerned about your safety. I do not believe these people can keep you safe.
'They're strong and smart, Eun.' I respond with a small smile. 'Even though they're always joking around I know they can protect us.'
If you say so. Eun sounded hesitant. Don't blame me when they fail to keep us safe.
'Don't worry they'll--' I paused at the sudden shock wave passing us. Although it is not very strong I could still sense the strong magic aura that came along with it. Looking around I could see the twins on high alert.
"Speka," Aisha placed a hand on her shoulder. "Did you feel that?"
Elsword and the others came to a halt once those words left Aisha's mouth.
"The shock wave." Speka said with clenched fists. "I'm concerned about the magical aura that came along with it."
I tighten my grip on Yang's saddle," I felt it too." That caught the sisters' attention. Everyone else exchanged worried glances. "W-what if Kayak has already begun awakening that dragon?" I added on shakily.
"We need to hurry there." Speka quickly snatched the map out of Elsword's hand. Ignoring his complaints she hands me the piece of paper. "You can see in the dark, correct?" I nodded. "You can move faster with that Phoru; can you lead us there?"
"I can try." I scanned the surrounding area, trying to pinpoint our location on the map. Shivers run down my spin at the familiar shock wave passing by.
"Hurry we don't have much time!" Aisha exclaimed; her voice ringing with distress.
"I'm trying!" I snapped back-- running my hand through my hair. Taking a couple more glances between the map and the area around us I finally place my finger on our location. "Okay I got it!"
"Lead the way." Speka said while hopping onto her staff. Aisha mimicked her sister's actions.
"Yang, I need some fire." I ordered. I tighten my grip as Yang raised itself on its hind legs, the Phoru slammed its front paws onto the ground causing fire to ignite around ys. "It'll be easier for you guys to see us." I briefly explain.
"We should've done this earlier! The fire would've kept us all warm and toasty." Elsword whined like a child.
I simply roll my eyes at his response. "Alright, let's move out!" Without another word Yang broe off into a fast sprint.
Multitasking between the map and guiding us along the right path brought upon a lot of stress. I nearly crashed us into a pile rocks along the journey, if it weren't for Aisha and Speka flying shortly behind me we would've ran into many rocks and walls.
"I can see it!" Speka announced loudly.
Looking up I smiled at the familiar structures just ahead of us. The following shock wave could be felt by a strong tremble; I slowed Yang down as a result," I can sense something dangerously strong just ahead!" I pointed ahead.
"We barely made it in time." Aisha said smiling. "Thank goodness we decided to attack tonight. Who knows what would've happened if we stayed back at the village?"
I held onto Yang as another Earth shaking shock wave passed by. Eun growled loudly at the immense power radiating from just ahead.
"I've never felt so much magic in one place." Speka whispered.
"I have." Aisha responded. I exchange glances with her," Ara, do you think its a shard?"
I swallowed," if it is then we're in trouble." I could feel my heart beat quickening at the potential danger we've put ourselves in. "Chung and I could barely manage Wally's Nasod, I can't even begin to imagine how we'll manage an entire dragon."
At the corner of my eyes I could see Speka sending us all sorts of confused looks. Aisha quietly promised to fill her in, in response.
"Can you guys slow down?" Elsword called out panting. Everyone else followed tiredly behind him. "We can't run as fast as your Phoru!"
"Elsword, I think we may be dealing with a shard." Aisha said bluntly. Elsword's eyes widened at the information. "You'll need to be careful with that backpack." She warned; eyeing his old backpack.
"Oh right! I forgot we had an El Shard in there." Elsword acknowledged in a hushed whisper. "We should've left it back with Echo."
"It's too late now." I averted my attention back to the structures up ahead. "Just make sure you keep that thing hidden, Kayak is already at work in there."
Thick tension surrounds the team as another shock wave shook the ground. Eun growled at the faint light shimmering from the distance.
So that is where this dragon has been sealed away in.
"Can you guys see the faint light over there?" I point towards the far end of the structures. The team gathers around me to get a better look.
"That's our target; isn't it?" Raven asked in a low voice.
"It must be where Kayak is." I drew out my spear. "We gotta hurry! He's probably reawakening the dragon by now!"
"Alright team," Elsword began in a whisper. "This is where the final battle will be. Stay alert and don't wander off by yourself. Keep your eyes on your team mates, I don't want any of us to end up as dragon food; understood?"
"Yes, sir!" We responded in unison. Each of us readying to give up our lives to avenge the ones who have fallen under this lizard's spell.
Elsword smiled proudly at our response," let's move out team!"