The stone wall in front of me explodes into shards as a brilliant white dragon crashes through it. I stumble backward and almost trip over myself, too stunned to speak. Before my eyes, the magical and majestic beast stretches to an extreme height and glorious size.
Another ear piercing roar slices the air from the opposite side of the room. A solid black dragon bursts through the far side wall and the stone and concrete breaks apart and flies through the room, smashing and destroying everything they hit. Giant holes are ripped open in the walls to expose the outside environment and rough wind. Massive boulders of what used to be the wall lay spread out across the room, thrown to the ground with the old broken glass. The room becomes a battlefield before our eyes.
The dragons' four legs are massive, long, and scaled, and each one, extended, reaches the height of the first floor itself. Their enormous legs resemble a Komodo dragon's. Their toes sprout talons as sharp as diamond blades, three on each foot. The profile of their bodies curves in a dull S. Their elongated tails make them appear to be serpentine and poisonous like Scorpions. The black dragon's wings look like upside down Vs, while the white dragon's look more like a vicious butterfly's.
They are breathtakingly beautiful and tremendously terrifying.
My blood boils and my body freezes on the grey stone floor as I watch Ezra and Kappie, back to back, move in a cautious circle waiting for the dragons to initiate a fight. Their faces hold a resolve that--I can only imagine--has been drilled into them from a lifetime of training.
While they remain calm, cool, and collected, I sit here panicking at the possibility of watching these two people die right before my eyes in an attempt to protect my life. Plus, I honestly have no idea how to fight dragons. Only seconds ago, they just lived in my imagination.
A wave of guilt creeps through my nerves, growing a flower of anxiety inside of my stomach. I'm not the kind of girl to sit back and do nothing, even when I don't know what's going on.
The fight initiates when the white dragon spews ice down at Kappie. The wind blows the frosted vapor in my direction, and it numbs my skin with its dramatically low temperature. After feeling this tingling sensation just from the chilled air alone, it's difficult to convince myself to get off my butt. I'm terrified. And if the vapor from this dragon is cold enough to numb my nerves, this ice must be colder than solid carbon dioxide. Even though the white dragon seems to have the upper hand with the incredibly destructive ice, Kappie manages to slide out of the way just in time before the frigid and deadly permafrost hits him.
The black dragon roars ferociously and spits out lightning that cracks with an electric snap. The flash of light, from the strikes that leave the mouth of the beast, only reaffirm the assumption I've made about the black dragon's power. It resembles and crackles like a shortage in a breaker box, but the damage it does is much greater. The wicked eggplant colored lightning annihilates and demolishes any solid foundation it strikes. The light that emanates from the shocks are blindingly brilliant.
Ezra jumps in the air, mirroring the moves of a springing cat, to dodge the attacks. My anxiety kicks in, sitting on the ground in awe, observing the brothers fight for their lives. Blackened purple lightning and white hyperboreal ice demolish and devastate the entire room yet avoid me altogether.
The brothers sprint from place to place as if in ultra inhuman speed. I realize in their movements that they're not only trained in self defense, they also must've sharpened and honed their fighting skills much more than I initially believed.
They slash the dragons with hasty blades the second a weak spot is seen. Their moves are practically choreographed, they dance around the attacks in perfect synch with one another. A white dragon arm swings toward Kappie, readily curling its claws to rip him apart. At the same time, the black dragon ejects electricity at Ezra in a sharp snap. The twins somersault out of the way, kick themselves off the ground, and grasp their katanas above their heads like axes.
The black lightning dragon cries out an ear piercingly loud screech as Ezra impales its foot with his blade. Both sound and electricity explode from its throat. I earnestly cover my ears to lull the sound. The dragon's claw swings at Ezra from every angle, and my nervousness dances more ferociously in fear of Ezra being ripped apart. But here I am, still sitting motionless on the ground when the dragon lashes out at Ezra.
He yanks the blade out of the dragon's foot and thrusts it at the incoming claw all in one flash of a move. I doubted his strength and abilities, but it seems as though he's just as sculpted to be a guardian as his brother. Every move he makes seems as though it's been planned from the very beginning, as if he knew what defense the dragon would take and already came up with a counter attack to combat it. He fights with anger, gritting his teeth and furrowing his brow.
I look back to Kappie who's using the ice as a means of dodging around the white dragon. He sprints and leaps along its surface; the deadly ice hardly phases his strategy. There's a new set of gashes in the white scales of the dragon he fights, dripping pools of blood onto the ground. I think he's winning.
Swords are swung in unison, teeth are gritted at the same time, and dodging is done in the exact same form by the twins. Kappie and Ezra fight as if they're one person, it's fascinating to watch this sort of raw strength take over them, forcing their bodies into the same instincts.
The long tails of the beasts lash around behind them like rattlesnake shakers. Kappie jumps into the air with his blade aimed down at the shoulder of the dragon. He strikes the ice beast in a crucial pressure point at the neck. It roars in agony and claws at the ground, sharp teeth bared and ready to snap.
Kappie slips the katana out of the scaled skin and slides the blade along the tail of the dragon. The sword slices the scales and flesh in its path. Blood drips onto the floor, forming large puddles. Once on the ground, Kappie brings the katana close to his hips and charges at the deadly dragon to finish it off. At the same moment, Ezra has already ripped apart the torso and neck of the black dragon. Red blood from Kappie, Ezra, and the dragons, paint the stone around us. It's looking like the boys might actually defeat the dragons, and we can get away before more come this way.
But after creating a deceptive assault with ice and electricity, the dragons pose identical counter attacks. Their arms swing back and lash forward, ripping Kappie and Ezra's flesh with their diamond sharp talons. They've taken the brothers completely off guard, slamming their bodies against the stone floor, spreading even more blood all around the stone.
I lose all the air in my lungs when their bodies fall limp.
"NO!" I yell as loud as my nearly empty lungs allow me. The white and black scaled monsters look at each other, and I slowly count the next few seconds carefully.
I hold onto each moment as if they'd save my life.
The boys are collapsed on the floor struggling to recoup from the vicious onslaught.
Time freezes.
My heartbeat stills.
Eyes as large as my head stare at me with darkness that consumes.
Chills run up my spine and I realize I might die now, in this room. I'm not even an adult yet and I know near to nothing about myself and about this mysterious world I stepped into. And I'm not about to let all of this go.
Before Ezra and Kappie can do anything to help me, the dragons fly up into the wide open space--that used to be a room in a building--and position their bodies to aim right for me. They ready themselves with intent to kill. Large mouths open with rows of sharp teeth, and I can see the ice building up in the throat of the white dragon and I can hear the crackles of electricity whip around in the black dragon's lungs. The imagery itself sends my heart into a spastic flutter of panic and anxiety. Lightning and icy wind spew out through those jagged teeth and aim right for me. The only thing I think to do is hold my arms in an X over my face.
The black hole inside my gut churns violently. The last time I felt its presence I could hardly regain equilibrium again. Now the darkness manifests deep inside me. Not here, I will not die here. I feel the power of something all-consuming and overpowering dominate me in the blink of an eye. I tightly shut my eyes and feel the black hole expand beyond my body, reaching through my fingers and my chest, broadening my limits and escaping my body in a black mass. It's an engulfing force that drains me of my strength and will.
My knees buckle and hit the ground with a hard thud. All I can see is a blinding darkness. A scream escapes my throat the same moment as the black hole's power escapes my hands.
A quieted sound from a burst, like a faint pop, follows the darkness. I tightly squeeze my eyes when the black hole shrinks back inside my gut to fill me with darkness from the inside out. When my eyes open again, the dragons have vanished. I glance around the room, dumbfounded at the absence of the majestic beasts. They've only left behind blood, and it overwhelms every surface, coating the walls and floor in shining scarlet. I hardly even notice Ezra and Kappie still laying lifeless on the red covered stone. They don't move, not an inch.
"Oh my god." I jump to my feet to rescue them, but when I gaze down to my white palms I notice a perfect circle around my body that has kept all the blood away. Somehow, I created a barrier to protect myself from whatever my black hole just did to those dragons. I remain completely oblivious to the events of the last few moments, but through the eyes of Ezra and Kappie, it's safe to say what happened was my doing and obviously not theirs.
I push myself off the floor and rush over to Kappie and Ezra, blood splatters my feet. I turn them over onto their backs and listen for their heartbeats. I don't even care about the blood soaking every part of me that touches them, I feel desperation trickle through my veins.
I hear the thumps, and my panicked heart calms.
"You could've obliterated them!" Haruka's voice decimates any good feeling I have left in me. I protest any instinct that tells me to meet his eyes. Instead, I look up to Steele whose facial expression remains rugged and blank.
They stride into what used to be the foyer of the torn apart building. There's no way I could say, "It's not what it looks like," because I honestly don't know what this must look like. There's blood touching everything and I'm the only one standing. So I do what any panicked girl would do, keep my mouth shut.
In guardian form, Haruka and Steele both hold weapons of mass destruction. Haruka's tall scythe births two blades that stretch as long as his legs. They curve like crescent moons in perfect parallel. Three shorter and straighter blades jut out of the top. Each edge is sharp, lights glint off their flawless surfaces. Haruka wields the terrifying tool like a lady's parasol.
"Don't think for a second that They'll treat what you just did with a grain of salt, or that we will either." He spits at me.
"Hey." Steele grabs onto Haruka's waistcoat and slams him against a wall, "That is no way to talk to our Lady." His forearm presses into Haruka's throat, his face is blank from any expression, but his words pour out of his mouth in a violent fury. Haruka indignantly scowls at Steele as if to challenge him. He then rips Steele's hand from his waistcoat and shoves himself away from the wall. This tense altercation makes me think Haruka is like the problem child of the group, always causing issues that mother Steele has to solve.
Speaking of which, Steele looks over to my direction and bows gracefully to me, "Please excuse my fellow guardian's scatologic behavior, Lady Akira." This statement derives from the man that insisted on permanently destroying my mind earlier today.
He handles a double sided axe five times the size of his head. The massive weapon's curved geometric shapes, that pattern the neck and cheek of the axe, add to the gracefulness it employs. The blade bit and edge curve just as dramatically as Haruka's scythe blades, except Steele's are shorter and thicker. He flaunts it as though it's a wooden chair leg.
"Uh...well...thank you..." I whisper uneasily. I can only imagine what kind of beasts would need to have giant weapons used against them.
My attention is yanked back to the boys as the sound of coughing. Kappie and Ezra cover their midsections with blood soaked arms. Deep gashes the length of large talons, from severe dragon slashes, have ripped open the flesh protecting their torsos. It's hard to look at, and I don't have the strongest stomach, so I attempt to force my attention elsewhere. Ezra's chest moves up and down faintly, and the coughing comes from Kappie who's sitting up to clear his throat. Haruka is right, I could've killed them.
The black hole inside me claws at the bitter part of my mind. Every word that leaves Haruka's mouth widens the darkness inside me, biting at the bit to rip open and demolish everything. It begs to take over my actions. My palms feel hot and they sting from the burst of energy that escaped earlier. A sharp pain dilates from the left side of my chest, I crush my hands to my ribs. What the hell is going on with me?
"Haruka, it's alright." Kappie pushes himself off the crimson stained stone with his right arm, blood hides the gory wound across his chest. His once-black coat is torn to shreds and painted red.
I look over at Ezra who hasn't really moved since collapsing. His bare chest is caked with blood and bruises. His face and eyes are turned away from me.
"She doesn't know how strong she is yet, and she has no knowledge of her abilities." Kappie wipes his forehead with his arm, and it doesn't really do much but wipe his hair out of his eyes. His hair still drips with blood. Kappie looks over to his brother and squats down to pick him up. His slow but jerked movements scream pain and agony. I cringe at the sight, but for some reason Kappie ignores all of it. He heaves Ezra over his shoulder and looks back to Haruka. "Please do not use such harsh words in her presence."
Haruka glares at Kappie as if what he said couldn't be more outrageous. Boy am I tired of dealing with Haruka's attitude.
"The coast is clear for now!" A light voice announces to us from the hallway. Just the sight of the blonde boy sends millions of memories back to my mind. I put a name to the handsome young face, Rayce, the new Zodiac spirit guardian, and Miyazu's replacement. The memory of his name slips into my mind. I may not remember what I am, but I do remember each of their names now, as my memories slowly return to me, and that puts a smile on my face.
Rayce skips into the battlefield room and pauses. His eyes take in the scene carefully until he spots me. His feet move faster than my eyes can keep up as he pounces and flips around the large boulders and broken up walls. I now remember why he was restrained by Steele, he's more spastic than Dessy.
He's instantly at my side, holding out his hand for me. I hesitate to take it as I did with Kappie. He smiles sweetly, "It's okay. I won't hurt you, Lady Akira."
It may be a common action, but the way Rayce performs it, it becomes the most genuinely kind gesture I've ever experienced. His large white grin is easily the sweetest smile I could ever receive from someone. He holds a sparkling light in his irises like an innocent child, even though he's clearly older than me. His features still seem childish, like a grownup with childlike mannerisms. That alone sends the darkness inside me deeper into hiding, away from the light that is Rayce.
He helps me up to my feet, "I'm so glad you're finally back, Lady Akira." His shy smile widens, and he places his hands together near his heart. More than Kappie, he reminds me of Dessy. And now that her presence has made it back into my mind, my smile vanishes. I miss her, my best friend and only person to ever make me laugh so much.
I shake my head to clear it, saving my heartache for a different time.
I don't know how long Rayce has been one of my Zodiac spirit guardians, but I know for sure that if he'd experienced what Kappie and Ezra just went through, covered and soaked in blood, his innocence and light would surely disappear. I feel the initial instinct to protect him from the evil of the world. I want him to remain innocent and kind, unstained by the blood of war and darkness.
I want to shield him from me.
"We need to get going." Steele cuts in. His voice is deeper than the others, giving him a more stern and authoritative tone when he speaks. He's also taller than the rest of them, so I can easily assume he's the leader of the group. "They're bound to come back." He states, joining Rayce by my side and leaning down to meet my eyes, "Please pardon me for the action I must perform." He grabs my hips with his hands and tosses me over his shoulder like a sack of flour. "I cannot afford for you to slow us down. My apologies, Lady Akira." His politeness sends shivers up my spine.
I'm overwhelmingly terrified of heights. Any sort of situation where my feet are no longer on the ground, and I freak out like a fish fresh out of the ocean. So being heaved onto Steele's very tall frame, has sent my blood pressure through the atmosphere.
"I can very well walk on my own, Steele!" My face deepens its red coloring as anger and embarrassment seep through my pores, "Could you please put me down?!" I attempt to fling myself off of his shoulder without any luck.
I've kicked, punched, squirmed, clawed, even pinched and nothing has happened. I'm not going anywhere. I close my eyes and think of happy things, like puppies. Anything to calm my frantic pulse.
"You never pick me up, Steele!" Rayce pouts in an adorable way. He takes the attention away from my struggle with his ever-present childish idiosyncrasies.
"Maybe because you're too much of a spastic monkey." Steele replies in a simple matter, enough to send Rayce into a childish pout.
Rayce slips over to Kappie, defeated. He bends down slightly to look at Ezra close up. He lightly touches him on the cheek and Ezra smacks his hand away, opening his eyes in a wild expression. Rayce cringes and shrinks away like a child caught playing with something he shouldn't be touching. Ezra opens his mouth to yell at the barely younger guardian when he starts a coughing fit again.
"Hang in there brother, we have to get out of here." Kappie says, showing the slightest hint of a limp in his walk.
As I uncomfortably lay here on Steele's back, I study the boys interacting with one another. Kappie glances at his limp brother hanging over his shoulder, ignoring his own suffering. His caring eyes and careful hands continuously check Ezra's vitals. Rayce skips behind us, always moving and always observing the world around him with eagerness. Steele hardly looks away from what is right in front of him, seeing only what he needs to see and doing what he needs to do. Apparently, keeping an eye on Rayce's whereabouts is a necessity. And I can definitely see why. I do the same with Dessy, always making sure she's near me, close enough to lay a hand on her and hear her soft voice. I miss her and her bright light. These boys are a family, and it's intoxicating.
Until I look at Haruka. The atmosphere alters from magnetic to menacing just with his presence. I can almost visualize an ominous aura surrounding him, a grim outline shadows his body. His downcast eyes and fisted hands send chills up my spine, wondering how he became the way he is. He follows with distance, continually putting a gap between himself and the rest of us. Sometimes I feel the urge to hug him and comfort those sad, deep clover irises. Then he opens his mouth and I want to smack his head with the nearest object.
"Hey, Steele?" I direct my words to his back, intentionally saying them quiet enough that only his ears can hear my voice.
"Yes, Lady Akira?" He says just as soft, shocking due to his baritone voice.
"It's not like I'm prying or anything, but I was wondering, how come Ezra was near death in his human form, but once he was a lion...err, Leo spirit...he didn't have a scratch on him?" I glance over to Ezra who's opening and closing his eyes. He still drifts in and out of consciousness.
"We all have three forms that come with their own bodies. Our human form, spirit guardian form, and Zodiac form. We are the weakest in human form, and can only truly hold our full strength and power once in Zodiac form." Steele says this louder than I want him to, but the others don't seem to hear it. "We don't carry our injuries from form to form, but they do remain there until healed." He moves hastily out of the building with the other Zodiac spirit guardians in tow.
Once outside, they begin pouncing and sprinting from building to tree to building like forest ninja on a mission. The wind moves between us like cold tablecloths ripped from under our bodies. Between each landing, the guardians fly in the air for long minutes at a time. Trees are green and brown blurs beside us like dark walls of color. The Linkai city buildings shrink out of sight as we nimbly sprint away. Soon, the torn apart battlefield we were caged in earlier, looks like a squashed bug on a map, blood included.
I still question where all the people who lived there went.
"So if Ezra was hurt in his human form and he switched to his spirit guardian form, then his human self would still be injured and recuperating?" I continue my inquisition as Steele travels away from the capitol. It's the only thing keeping me from drifting back to the reality of being this high off the ground. "But that doesn't explain how once he switched to a different form even the blood was gone from his body."
"We acquire three separate bodies." Steele answers, "the stronger the form, the less time and effort necessary to heal completely." I search for Ezra as a visual example to understand more clearly. "In addition, the more experienced a guardian is, the easier it becomes to transition."
Ezra's managed to wound both his human and spirit guardian forms. Although he seems to push people away without conviction, and put up a tough guy act, I know physical pain can torture anyone. It's impossible to guess what happened to him before we arrived at the scene and Kappie saved him, so there's no way for me to know what exactly he's been through in order to assist in his recovery. I don't know how to help him.
There is something I'm dying to know, now that I've been caught up to speed on what these boys are, "Where do you...put...the other bodies?" I direct my question to Steele, slipping a glance at Haruka who meets my gaze and holds it with the most animosity I've ever witnessed, fueled behind forest eyes. He neglects to look away, sending me into a horrific staring contest.
Steele continues without realizing the predicament I'm stuck in, "Due to our supernatural nature, we store them in a different dimension that only we may access at any given moment." My mouth gapes open, and I accidentally break eye contact with Haruka, losing the contest.
"Other dimensions?"
"Yes, Lady Akira."
"Your bodies are just sitting there?" The topic has sent my mind into a daze with the impossibilities. "Just chilling in another dimension...healing...waiting to be joined with its owner again," I say the second part more to myself than to Steele out of unadulterated amazement. It doesn't sound physically possible for separate bodies to share the same mind, yet these guys have all accomplished that.
Linkai, my home planet, carries a sort of magic that is in no way realistic yet achieves the impossible. Because magic can't be real, it defies the rules of physics and life. If magic exists, and dragons exist, and people with multiple bodies exist, I don't want to imagine the power held by Them, the people trying to capture us. I can obliterate magical beasts with my bare hands, we're running from Them, so what exactly can They do?