GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!!

Dragon Slayer (Part 1) is not up for download!!!!!!!

you can download it here:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/complete.php/30ar65swjryp/

ENJOY!!!

Dragon Slayer Part 2

Wow its been some time. Hey everyone, sorry for not being around much that past year. Ive just recently graduated from college and am currently studying up to become a teacher. Anyway, the main reason i put a hold on dragon slayer was because the person who was helping me had to stop and i had no one to help me keep the quality up in part 2. BUT recently i was able to get someone to help me out with it. The writing style might be a bit different, but the quality i feel is pretty good AND i also heard you guys out and managed to put my part 2 in a PDF format and you will be able to download part 2 and read it whenever you like on your computer!!!

So here is it, without further adu DRAGON SLAYER PART 2

http://www.filefactory.com/file/6uhl5hvcznnl/n/Dragon_Slayer_PT_2.pdf

Dragon Slayer Part1

Hey guys I back. It took me a lot longer to write this, but I finally finished. Part 1 of my 3rd story, entitled Dragon Slayer, is done. At this time i would like to thank my friend Jasmine for helping me write this. She helped me the entire time and i would like to give her a shout out. I hope you guys all enjoy it.

Another day had just begun in the city of Prontera and it seemed everyone was taking advantage of the sun that was shining over everything. As we walk down the crowded streets we see people of all types and ages going on whatever business they might have. Continuing to explore, we come upon the marketplace. Like every day before it, it remains a hive of activity. Stores of all sorts line the street with their owners each vying for attention.

“You won’t find a better deal elsewhere! Come to Manus’s clothing shop for all your        fashion needs!”

 “2 for 1 sale, only at Lemoore’s Emporium! We have pots for dirt cheap!”

“Is life bringing you down? Your spouse giving you a hard time? Then cry no more and    buy a love potion today!”

We soon find ourselves at the town square. As we gaze about we see a group of swordsmen crowding around one particular store. Curious we move closer to see what’s going on. A portly merchant stands in the center of the group and in his hands is one of the most exquisite swords we have ever seen.

 “COME ONE, COME ALL,” he bellows, “Take a look at what I have for all you brave adventurers today! It’s a sword yes, but not just any sword! It is in fact a sword forged by the greatest blacksmith of our time Logan Steele! The legendary Dragon Slayer of which only three were made! That’s right three! And today one of you brave adventurers can get it!”

“How do we know if it’s real!?!” shouts one swordsman.

“Excellent question my dear fellow!” boomed the merchant. “I just so happen to have next to me Steve Lovell, who is the owner of our city’s most esteemed weapon store, Prontera Anvil!” A large applause follows as a rather muscular man with silver blond hair and piecing yellow eyes enters the circle. “That’s not all folks! Also with me today is also Duval de Valles, owner our beloved auction house!” Another large applause follows as a slim black haired man bows before looking upon everyone from beneath his spectacles. “These two esteemed gentlemen will look upon this sword and prove to you all its authenticity!”

Silently everyone watches as the two men begin looking over the sword. Duval slowly goes over the workmanship of the pommel as Lovell carefully examines the scabbard. Slowly Duval works his way up to the grip whereas Lovell takes out a magnifying glass and peers at the scabbard’s locket. Satisfied Lovell puts the scabbard down and joins Duval in examining the cross guard before moving onto the blade itself. After what seems an eternity both men glance at each other before silently placing the sword down. At this point everyone around was at the point of rioting to know whether or not this sword was indeed one forged by Steele.

“Well it looks like they have come to a decision. S-so what’s the verdict gentleman?”

Once again glancing at each other Duval slowly answers, “After careful examination of the object in question…Mr. Lovell and I can say with utmost certainty…that this sword……...is indeed what our friend here implies it is. That it is a sword which was crafted by Logan Steele himself and is indeed one of the three Dragon Slayers that he had forged.” Smiling Duval turns to the merchant, “You sir are a very lucky man to have come upon this work of art.”

Laughing, the merchant claps Duval’s and Lovell’s shoulders and shouts to the group of onlookers, “THERE YA HAVE IT FOLKS! IT’S REAL!” But then suddenly the merchant falls silent. “And it is because of this, that I have decided I won’t be selling this weapon.” With a gleam in his eyes he continues, “Rather my belief is that something like this must be earned! Just like the Captain of the Prontera Guard, who too wields a Dragon Slayer, you must earn this blade!”

Stunned everyone just stares in disbelief. Slowly the merchant rises up and announces, “That is why I will be holding a Tournam-“

Suddenly a blood curdling scream rips through the air. Shocked everyone frantically looks about to see the source of the sound. A woman runs into the square, her clothing in disarray.

 “DRAGONS!!! DRAGONS ARE ATTACKING FROM THE WEST GATE!!!”

Panting the woman tries to catch her breath as the square bursts into movement. Shopkeepers race to board up their buildings as townsfolk and adventurers race for safety. Silently the merchant sheaths the Dragon Slayer in its scabbard and places it in his cart. “Well then,” he says, “this is convenient. Anyone who wishes to own the Dragon Slayer can earn it by getting rid of the dragons!” With that he slowly turns around and at a brisk walk proceeds to the west gate followed by a dozen or so swordsmen and other adventurers.

As they neared the gate, they could all see the devastation that had taken place. One lone Gold Acidus had taken out an entire squad of Pronterian Guards. As the group stopped the Acidus saw them and with a loud screech it began to charge. “Well then,” the merchant calmly said, “Who’s going to slay that dragon?” Before anyone of them could move a knight jumped in front of the charging Acidus and grabbed its head. With a grunt the newcomer stopped the Acidus in its tracks and threw it against a building as if it was a rag doll.

Shaken the Acidus growled and faced the knight. Breathing in deeply it gathered up its magic and then with a loud clap released it. A wave of fire raced out towards the knight, who just stood there and watched it come on. At the last possible second he side stepped the attack and rushed forward. Before the Acidus could do anything, the knight slammed into it and sent it reeling back. With a mighty roar the Acidus took flight and once again began to gather its magic. The knight silently unsheathed his sword and without hesitation launched it toward the dragon. It slammed into chest of the Acidus and no matter how hard the Acidus tried, it couldn’t keep flying and slowly began to fall towards the ground. With a crash it slammed into the ground and as it lay dying the knight walked over to it.

Slowly everyone who was watching this exchange crept forward with the merchant in front. They watched as the knight slowly withdrew his sword from the chest of the Acidus and then silently slam it into its head. Suddenly the sword began to shin with a fiery light and then ignited in flame. The knight then whispered “Ignition Break.” A brilliant flash lit the area, one so bright it caused everyone looking to shut their eyes. As it faded away the knight still stood but the sword and dragon were gone. Only a pile of ash remained where they once were.

The knight looked up and glanced at the people. The merchant walked up and asked, “Excuse me but, I know you killed this dragon but aren’t there others?” All the knight did was silently point towards the gate. Everyone around quickly ran toward it and the first man who reached it gasped.

“My god….they’re all dead.”

Corpses of dragons lay all over the area; it was as if the ground itself was made up of nothing but dragon bodies. Stunned everyone could only glance back and look at the knight.

“Was this all your doing?” asked the merchant.

“I don’t know why the dragons acted the way they did but they were interrupting my afternoon nap so I had to get rid of them.” Sighing he looked at the pile of ash in front of his feet. “Looks like I need a new sword now too. What a day~”

The merchant looked on and then suddenly an idea dawned on him. “You said you needed a new sword correct?”

“Why yes, as you can see my old one is nothing but a pile of ash now!” chuckled the knight.

“Well I might have a solution for you, but first…can I have your name?” asked the merchant.

“Ah so sorry,” bowed the knight, “My name is Silvermoon, Rune Knight of the guild Infinity. But you can just call me Silver. And you are?”

“Postremo, my name is Postremo. And this is your solution.” With a flourish Postremo produced the Dragon Slayer. “This is a sword of great renown. Forged by the master smith of our time, Logan Steele, this is the Dragon Slayer!”

            “A fine blade, yet I don’t get why you are showing me this.” remarks Silver.

            “Well you see if you had heard me before……bah doesn’t matter. The fact is I was going to give this sword to someone who is worthy of it and I think that person is you. Take it, it’s yours.” Placing the sword into Silver’s hands, Postremo looks at the people watching. “Now let someone speak up if they think this man here doesn’t deserve it!”

            At first nothing happens but then one man starts clapping. Slowly more and more join in and in no time at all; everyone who has watched what had happened is clapping.

            Silver looks down at the sword in his hand and after a moment clasps it to his sword belt. “Thank you Postremo; this is indeed a wonderful gift. Yet I’m sorry to say that I need to go now.” Looking around he continues, “It’s getting a little loud here as you can see and I must continue my nap so I’m afraid I’m off to find a more…secluded spot.”

            Laughing Postremo just nods and waves as Silver walks past the crowd and disappear amongst the buildings. Whispering breaks out within the crowd and Postremo looks on while smiling and said,

            “That man there will one day help us all…I just know it.”

            About an hour has passed since the dragon incident and as we walk through the streets, we come upon Silver dozing against the back wall of the Prontera Anvil. His helmet covers his face completely, and one arm is supporting the back of his head while the other clutches the newly acquired Dragon Slayer. He’s sleeping so soundly that he doesn’t notice a shadowy figure creep up toward where he lays. Just as the figure reaches for the Dragon Slayer, he awakes, unsheathes the sword and swings it at the shadow. Sparks fly and the sound of cold steel meeting each other in midair resounds clearly.

            “HOLD UP MAN?!?! Damn!” yells the shadow. Silver, recognizing the voice, flips up his visor and sees CJ standing before him with his katar out. Slightly shocked, he withdraws his sword and sheathes it.

            “Geez Silver, a little cranky from being waked up so suddenly?” laughs CJ.

             “Well CJ you should know better than to bother me while I’m sleeping. Besides what were you trying to do?”

            “C’mon Silver, don’t be like that. I saw it was new so I was trying to see it! Anyway notice anything different about how I look?”

            CJ slowly steps back and does a 360. “Well?”

            As he looks over CJ, his face turns into one of confusion. “Well um…..you changed the color of your armor?”

            “Dude seriously? That’s all you notice?!? Look at me! I’m finally a Guillotine Cross! You can only become one after proving your worth to the assassin guild and also being trusted enough to be an enforcer for the guild as well. Plus if any members give the guild trouble I can well…um…for the lack of a better word…take them out. Get what I’m saying?”

            Continuing to look over CJ he says, “I liked your other armor better. This one has too many spikes.” Shocked CJ looks back at him and replies, “Well I get what you mean. I do miss my scarf that made me look cool and all, but rules are rules and all Guillotine Crosses have to wear this armor.”

            Silver then slowly stood up silently puts his hand on CJ’s shoulder and looks him in the eye he says. “Congratulations.” Then with a quick turn starts walking off.

            “Thanks! Hey we should do a quest sometime soon!” yells CJ. Still walking, Silver raises his arm in acknowledgement.

            After walking for a bit, Silver thought to himself, “Well seems like CJ got off his lazy butt and did something noticeable enough to get that new job…now I’m curious…did he have to assassinate someone? Hmm….for some reason I can’t picture him killing someone unless they really deserved it. Ah well, I’m not going to think about it too much. I just want to find a nice quiet place to sleep.”

            Gazing about, he continues to walk up the street, occasionally greeting friends and guild members as they call out to him. Soon he finds himself in front of the inn and slowly wonders where to go from there. As he’s about to move off, the inn doors explode outward. Shocked he quickly pivots around, with sword in hand, prepared to meet the threat. As the dust slowly settles to the ground, faint footsteps can be heard, coming from within. As they get louder and louder, he tightens his grip on the sword and readies into a combat stance. Four figures finally emerge from the darkness and just as he is about to see their faces, one of them dashes out and swings at him. Too quickly to follow, he can only watch as the shadow reaches for him.

            *Flick*

            Startled he jumps back and suddenly sees who the shadow was. Laughing, he sheathes his sword and greets Iridescence as she stands up. “God Iri, you really gave me a scare there.” Chuckling, she bows elegantly just as three kids throw themselves at her. As they all collapse into a heap he asks, “So Iri, what’s with the kids there? Please don’t tell me they’re yours.” Scowling as she picks herself up, she quickly makes her way over to where he stood and flicked him again. “Ouch! Hey cut it out!” he laughs.

            “Seriously Silver, don’t tell me you are really thinking that.” Pointing over her shoulder as the three kids were getting into a line, she says, “All three of those little nightmares are my cousins. Now that little mage over there is Heaven. She’s quite a handful given how hyperactive she is!” Chuckling, she waves over the other two. “Now this little swords girl is Patricia, but everyone is told to call her Trisha so you better too! While this rascal is named Nick and he tells everyone how he’s going to be the best thief there ever was!” Shouting out Nick yells, “I will be the best thief ever though Auntie Iri, although I would love to be as cool as your friend CJ!” Then Trisha stepped forward and elbowed Nick out of the way. Looking up at silver she confidently says, “No matter what happens, I want to become a knight just like Auntie Iri.” Smiling, he pats her head saying, “With that attitude you have Trisha, I’m sure you can.” Suddenly Heaven appeared in front of him and after gesturing for Trisha and Nick to come closer whispered, “Do you think Auntie Iri likes CJ?” Nick then said,

“She tells us no, but they hang out too much not to” then Heaven whispered “What do you think? Have they kissed or something?” Silver looked up at a confused Iridescence, then looked back at the kids who were listening in with eager anticipation and he said “I don’t know all the details, but I think the same thing as you guys. Just make sure you don’t tell either one of them that I said it.” The kids all looked at each other with full smiles and giggles, while Iridescence just stood there confused. “What did you tell them Silver?” Iridescence yelled. Silver replied “Nothing, nothing at all Iri haha.” Then Silver patted the heads of all three kids and signaled them to keep the secret. The three of them giggled and began to run around Iridescence. He then looked at Iridescence waved goodbye and kept walking.

Silver then started to walk back towards the center of town. He figured the dragons might be cleared out by now so he can go back outside and sleep in his normal spot. As he walked past the statue of Odin in the middle of town he noticed another familiar face. He spotted Ciel, a Geneticist in the Infinity guild sitting in a shop. She is an average sized girl with blonde hair. She has a curvy figure, but because she wears the official Geneticist's cloths you cannot really see it. She wears small red ribbons on each side of her head and for some reason today she seemed to have dawned a bird on her head. “Hey Ciel, trying to sell some items tod-… wh-hat is that on your head?” Ciel looked at Silver and laughed “Haha, yea this is my homunculus. Her name is Harupia.” The bird like homunculus, chirped happily at Silver. Silver leaned over and pet it with one finger on its head. It seemed like the homunculus liked it. “So Ciel what are you selling today? Anything decent?” Silver asked. Ciel replied “Well most of my good stuff was sold already. All I have left are a few white potions and this Nepenthus Bow. No one has bought this bow in weeks. Hopefully someone will find a use for it soon.” Silver then said “I’m sure you will sell it eventually, just keep pushing it towards those Archers and even some of those Rogues.” “Yea I’m sure I can sell it eventually. Oh by the way I noticed you have a new sword. What kind is it?” Ciel asked. “Oh well a merchant ended up giving it to me after I lost my sword in a fight against those dragons that were attacking the town.” Silver replied. “He just said I earned it and gave it to me. I think he called it a Dragon Slayer.”

“What? A Dragon Slayer?!” Ciel yelled in awe. “There were only three of them every made. It’s said that those swords have the ability to cut through a dragon’s defense like a knife through butter.”

Silver was stunned. “Well, I guess this sword is greater than I thought it was,” he said, gaping at his newfound treasure.

“That’s one of the greatest swords ever made,” Ciel replied. “Besides you, another of the swords is owned by the Captain of the Prontera Guard. The third is supposedly owned by a Rune Knight in the Asgard guild, but no one knows who he is.”

Silver grinned, his grip on the sword’s hilt tightening with anticipation. All the things he had just heard from Ciel sent shivers of excitement up and down his spine. “I think this sword will bring some interesting times ahead,” he said confidently.

Silver bid Ciel a cheery goodbye as she finished her story, making his way once again to the west Prontera gate to finish his nap. Outside the city, birds sang in the trees, their voices no longer drowned by the shrill shrieking of the dragons that had been there only moments ago. Thief bugs scrambled to and fro, competing with mild pink porings for the treasure dropped by unsuspecting novices. Silver glanced casually around him, breathing in the fresh air and peacefulness. It was hard to believe that it had not been long ago that foreign creatures had been wreaking havoc. Beneath his feet, charred grass made crisp, crunching noises as he walked, the only evidence left behind from the entire fiasco before. Neither bone nor body remained at the scene.

“Ah well,” Silver said to himself, yawning audibly. “Now I can get back to my old spot.”

He settled down onto the ground in front of the guard post. A mild wind blew across the field, creating a soothing lullaby. The knight leaned back against the post and fell asleep almost instantly in the tranquility.

Whilst Silver lay sleeping, his guild chat phone was sounding in vain. He was so tired that he paid no attention to it, nor the conversation that was taking place.

“Hello? Anyone?” an uncertain voice said. “This is Ciel. Is anyone there?”

There was a brief pause. Then a familiar voice answered.

“Hey. It’s Iri. What do you need Ciel?” Iridescence replied.

“Well, someone just walked to the front of my shop and asked if Infinity had any time to do a treasure hunting quest.”

“Hey all, did I hear something about a quest?” another voice chimed in, enthusiastic. It was Berry, a talented warlock from the Infinity guild, with the ability to summon rocks from the sky amongst many other skills, such as freezing an entire plain with a single raise of her arms. Berry was known for her straightforwardness, but despite that, enjoyed cracking jokes every once in a while. “I’m definitely up for a little questing. By the way, I’m with Kyrena at the moment and by the look of it, she would like to come too,” she added.

Kyrena was another Guillotine Cross from the same guild. She was a master of skills, unlike CJ who had a vast knowledge of a target’s weak and critical points. Although she wasn’t as agile or nimble as CJ, she was equally as formidable with her Cross Impact skill and her ability to confuse her enemies with her Hallucination Walk. Kyrena often did not speak, but her friends knew that no matter what, she would stand by them and protect them if ever they needed her. Playful rumours circulating around the guild insinuated that Silver harboured feelings towards her.

“Kyrena, do you really want to go or is Berry making you go?” Iridescence asked, knowing Berry’s occasional tendencies.

“Y-Yes, I don’t mind,” Kyrena answered, her voice mild and quiet. “May I ask where is the quest?”

“Oh yeah! I was going to ask that!” Berry yelled deafeningly. For a few moments, the line was silent.

“The man is telling me that the quest is going to take us to Abyss Lake,” Ciel said after a while, having gotten the information she needed. “It seems that this man is some kind of researcher and he’s looking for someone to protect him while he gathers materials.”

“That sounds easy enough,” Iridescence mused. “Would you guys mind handling it at the moment? I’m kind of tied up with my cousins visiting me today. Take whoever is available and whoever would like to go.”

“Woo! This quest is going to be sweet!” Berry enthused. Even through the guild chat phone, it was obvious that she was extremely excited to begin. “HEY! Anyone out there want to come too?” she yelled by way of invitation.

An off-putting silence greeted her. A few moments later, CJ responded. “Sorry Berry,” he apologised. “I’m practicing some new moves with my job change.”

“Well, okay. But you don’t know what you’re missing, CJ,” Berry replied, not at all discouraged.

“What about Silver?” Ciel suggested. “He got a new sword that would be great for this quest! Silver, do you want to come?”

Once again, there was only silence. “Silver? HELLO?” Berry screamed into the guild chat phone. “HELLO?”

“Maybe he’s on one of his afternoon naps,” Kyrena muttered quietly before Berry managed to muster another one of her ear-splitting cries.

“That’s possible,” CJ said. “He looked uncomfortable earlier over by the buildings and he probably went off into the forest to catch some ZZZs.” He laughed to himself.

“Oh great,” Berry sighed irritably. “Just when we needed him, he’s off sleeping.”

“Why not test that new guild mate that just joined us?” Iridescence suggested, fending off the grubby hands of her cousins as she tried to carry on her conversation with the rest of the guild. “Just to see what the kid has to offer.”

The guild mulled this over, slightly confused. Finally, Ciel raised a question. “Wait… which one do you mean?” she asked uncertainly. “Didn’t we get a few recently?”

“I think she means the paladin,” Kyrena replied in her soft-spoken way.

“Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Berry protested feelingly. “You mean to say you want us to bring him along with us on a dangerous quest? He has almost no quest experience! Are you sure about this, Iri?”

“Yes. I think it’s about time we see what he has to offer,” Iridescence said firmly.

Berry sighed. The thought of dragging a green horn along with them on the quest was not particularly appealing to her, but it seemed to have been decided upon. “Fine, fine,” she muttered. “YO! Katana! You listening in?” she roared, her entire demeanour changing quite suddenly. “We’re taking you off the bench.”

Over the guild chat phone, a new, deeper voice sounded. “Katana here. And yes, I heard everything. I’m so excited to join you guys. To be honest, I’m a little nervous,” he chuckled. Katana was new to the Infinity guild and hadn’t yet managed to make as strong an impression as the veteran members of the guild. There were rumours that he had long since been practicing and receiving tips from Ralis, but they remained unconfirmed. 

                Two hours had gone by before Silver woke up from his nap outside the tall stone walls of Prontera. He sat up and rubbed sleepily at his eyes, yawning loudly. He slumped up against the guard post and stared blearily at the copse of trees in front of him, not registering their presence at all. Still half asleep, he slowly raised himself up and toddled unsteadily into the city.

            The bustling of the town was as always, with people running around buying food and their other daily needs, and adventurers purchasing items, occasionally haggling with the merchants in hopes of a better price. All in all, it was a typical Prontera day, and Silver smiled sleepily at the familiar sight. All of a sudden, a piercing wave of screams caught the knight’s ear, jolting him awake. He looked around quickly, unsure of where the screams had come from, then dashed off in their direction.

            As he ran, Prontera guards appeared alongside him, frantic and desperately trying to organize the medical supplies they had brought with them as they moved. Several of them, thinking that Silver was nothing more than a nosy bystander, tried to jostle him out of the way, eventually succeeding in pushing him to the back of the hoard. Undeterred, Silver followed them, thinking they would lead him towards the screams.

            “Did you hear what happened?” someone shouted over the rabble. It was impossible to manage a discreet whisper in the noise. Silver slowed his pace and strained to hear more.

            “No. What was going on?” someone called in reply.

            “It looks like some people are hurt,” called another, and all of a sudden, voices rose in frenzied, morbidly curious discussion.

            “I think they were some adventurers.”

            “Did you hear about the gentic and warlock that were hurt?”

            “Yeah, I did. I heard they were the most badly hurt.”

            As the gossip continued, Silver grew more and more anxious. It can’t be them, can it? he thought to himself, worried. With renewed enthusiasm, he ran after the guards to the north end of the city, following them all the way to the front of the castle.

            Hordes of people swarmed the scene for what seemed like miles. Children jumped up and down, trying to look over the shoulders of taller adults. Some whined to their parents and insisted on being carried up to see and some merely dipped under long skirts and knobby knees and fought their way to the front. There was no doubt at all that something extraordinary had happened. Silver stood on his toes, trying to look over the large crowd, but it was no use. He tried to push his way through, only to be forced back even further than he had been before.

            Frustrated, he looked around for something—anything – to climb onto. He spotted a small, dark alley in the corner of his eye and quickly made his way towards it. The alley was rank with the smell of vaguely bad flour and there were many large bags of the offending stuff piled into a brown-white mountain. Silver jumped onto the pile and slowly made his way up onto the roof of one of the many buildings. He swiftly jumped across the rooftops, occasionally having to grasp quickly at crumbling chimneys to keep his balance. Finally, he found himself overlooking the scene, watching the mob of people making way for the medical guards as they moved towards what looked like a small group of people on the ground.

            Silver began his descent, never taking his eyes off the group. “Crap!” he yelled, mortified, as he spotted the familiar purple cape that belonged to Ciel, singed and stained with blood. Her Filir was lying nearby, trying to raise itself weakly onto its feet before collapsing into a heap again, cheeping desperately.

            Silver found himself re-joined with the crowd and once again tried to push his way through. People swore at him and muttered bad temperedly. One man told him curtly to get his own space. The knight slowly began to lose his composure and let out a deafening scream of frustration. Everyone turned to look at him in shock. A child started to point and giggle before having his mouth covered by his mother. The mob watched with rapt attention, but did not move an inch.

            “MOVE!” Silver roared commandingly. “Those are my friends! I need to get in there!”

            The crowd had already begun to shuffle at the first monosyllable and made a clear path down the middle like Moses parting the Red Sea. Ignoring them, Silver rushed into the middle of the circle where the medical staff were tending to his friends.

            Upon closer inspection, Silver realised that he had not been wrong when he had assumed that Ciel had been there. She was unconscious on the ground. By this time, her Filir had made it to her and was resting its small head on her waist, breathing heavily. Berry was lying face down on her stomach, groaning wretchedly though it appeared that she was still in shock despite being conscious. There was a large burn mark on her back where her uniform had been slashed away.

            Only a little further away from her, Kyrena was down on one knee, panting heavily. Her hand was clasped tightly at her left arm which looked badly broken. Blood was running down her face and there were various burns on her neck, though they did not seem to be serious. At Kyrena’s side, Katana was also unconscious though he looked, for the most part, completely unharmed. In his hand, he still grasped tightly at the handle of his shield, though shattered metal pieces nearby suggested that it had broken completely. The grand peco he normally rode was unharmed as well, but danced anxiously in circles around its master.

            “Get this paladin’s armour off quickly before it causes more damage,” one of the medics commanded, trying to pry Katana’s fingers open so he could remove what little piece of the shield he still held onto. There was a cry of shock as one of the medics removed the paladin’s armour. The medic by Katana began to irritably tell his colleague to mind what he was doing, but he too soon gaped at the large, full-body bruise that was running from the patient’s shoulders to his waist.

            “Take the paladin and the warlock into the castle. They need to be in intensive care now!” the head doctor shouted to the team assembled. “Bring the assassin to the examination room and one of you get her arm looked at. We need to find a bed for the geneticist to sleep in, and you!” he gestured to one of the guards, “find me another damn alchemist to come and take a look at this homunculus.”

            The guard began to protest, but was quickly cut off by the doctor. “I’m a doctor, dammit, not a creator!” he shouted, his face beginning to turn a bright red. The guard hurried off towards one of the various apothecaries to find an alchemist and avoid the wrath of the doctor.

            Silver was horrified. He couldn’t believe what had happened to his friends. He pushed through to the center of the area but was stopped by one of the guards before he could go any further. “Hold it!” the guard said. “Only authorized personnel are allowed in this area.”

            Silver fought against the arm that was held out in front of him. “These are my friends!” he yelled indignantly. “What happened to him?!”

            The guard remained unwavering and set himself even more firmly against Silver’s clawing. He looked straight ahead and refused to acknowledge Silver’s presence. He felt a slight pressure on his shoulder and looked into the solemn face of the head doctor. He saluted the man with his free hand, but did not waver against the knight. The doctor nodded in the direction of Silver and the guard saluted once again before shimmering off back to his post.

            “My name is Dr. Lakare,” the doctor introduced himself. He was a tall, middle aged man with well-crafted features, though his face was careworn from his experiences. He had a fine head of silver hair that made him look even more distinguished. His face was solemn and did not betray much emotion. “I’m the head doctor here. How do you know these people?” he continued.

            “They’re my friends and guild mates!” Silver said, gesturing at them as they were slowly being carried away. “What is going on?!”

Dr. Lakare cast a disdainful eye up and down the length of the knight before him. He would have thought an experienced adventurer such as the man before him would have been able to maintain his composure. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stalked into the castle, the heels of his shoes clicking sharply on the tiles.

            Silver seethed. “Stop ignoring me!” he bellowed. “What’s going on with my friends?!” He contemplated running after the doctor but decided that to perturb the man who had the lives of his friends in his hands would be a bad idea.

            Dr. Lakare stopped and turned smoothly, staring expressionlessly at the man. He gestured to Silver to follow him, and after a moment’s hesitation, the knight did so.

            Inside the walls of the castle, Silver was surprised to see the sudden rush of activity as doctors, nurses and people who were just plain nosy and had somehow managed to sneak in bustled around. The medical staff were perspiring from the pressure and heat, looking rather put-upon. One doctor called a young male nurse to her, only to send him away again seconds later. Silver watched all this in awe and quickly side-stepped as a small woman carrying a tray of scalpels nearly went crashing into him.

            The doctor took this as a matter of course. He had been in the profession for many years and such sights ceased to be new or interesting to him. “My boy, you will be left behind if you do not keep up,” he called to Silver over his shoulder as he marched down the right staircase. As if suddenly released from a spell, Silver rushed after the doctor.

            The lower level of the castle was much quieter. Silver marvelled at tall marble ceilings which must have been at least twenty feet tall. Rich tapestries hung in even lines along them, occasionally punctuated by several large paintings. Tall, stately looking men draped in fine coats of ermine or heavy jackets of deep wine red with golden lace and embroidery carefully avoided Silver’s eyes, staring off into the distance. A handsome, regal looking young man at the end of the corridor leaned against a fine painted table, holding a long rod of painted gold, looked straightforwardly down at him, traces of a smile on his lips. The title of the painting, engraved on the large frame, proclaimed this to be King Tristan the Third in his younger days. The entire area was enough to take one’s breath away.

            Dr. Lakare stopped abruptly before a large wooden door. He placed his hand on the handle but hesitated. He turned to Silver. “This is the examination room,” he said. “Needless to say, please don’t do anything to alarm the patients. We are currently examining your assassin friend. You are free to talk to her, though it is highly unorthodox, but try not to rile her up or interfere with my medical staff in any way.”

            Silver nodded. “That’s fine with me,” he replied. “But before I go in, I have to know: What happened to all of them?”

            Dr. Lakare stared at Silver, then up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “To be completely honest, I have no idea,” he mused. “Based on the injuries of your friends, I’d imagine that they fought something very large, which is what made the giant bruise on your paladin friend. Observing the burns, it also had the power to use fire. Based on these two facts, I would say they either fought many dragons or a single, very large one. Regardless, the condition of your paladin and warlock friend is not looking good at the moment.”

            “Will they be okay?” Silver asked.

            Dr. Lakare shrugged. “It is hard to say right now,” he said. “But with me as their doctor, they should be fine.” It was not egotism. Dr. Lakare had thrown up at his first dead body, had almost resigned during his first deployment to the scene of an emergency, but he had fought his way through it all and now had the reputation as one of the best doctors in the Rune-Midgards.

            The doctor nodded to Silver and left him to attend to the two in critical condition, disappearing behind a heavy oak door that shut as though it had been skimming on oil. Silver watched him go, happy that his friends were in such capable hands, and then opened the door before him.

            Kyrena sat tensely on a long examination table made of cold metal. Her purple rust coloured armour stood out in an almost offensive way against the white of the room. Silver watched from where he was standing at the door, relief washing over him like rain after a humid dry season. The armour that had covered her left arm had been carefully removed so that the doctors could examine it closely. A severe looking doctor lightly touched the assassin’s arm, poking and feeling and pressing. As she did so, Silver noticed the faint flickers of pain appearing on Kyrena’s face, only to disappear just as quickly as they came. The door behind Silver shut quietly with a light click, but that was enough to make the doctor look up from her work.

            “Sir, you are not allowed to be in here,” she began, pushing her spectacles up. She started to march over to him to turn him out, but was stopped by her patient. Kyrena held up a firm hand to the doctor, then waved for the intruder to come to her while the doctor returned to her work, looking very disapproving.

            “This is my friend. He won’t be any trouble,” Kyrena explained to the doctor by way of apology.

            The look on the doctor’s face lightened only slightly and this made Silver slightly uncomfortable, though he did not hesitate in walking towards his guildmate. After exchanging curiously surreal pleasantries and inquiring about her condition, Silver finally brought himself to ask her what it was that had happened. Kyrena stared at him blankly for a moment and Silver couldn’t tell if she was looking at him or through him. She looked bitterly at the ground.

            Silver placed a hand on her shoulder, taking care to be as gentle as possible. “I need to know,” he told her. “Please,” he added.

            Kyrena brushed his hand off her shoulder. She lifted her face and met his eye. “Not now,” she murmured evasively. “Most of the bones in my arm are probably broken,” she explained, glancing quickly at it, then back at Silver. “And after this, she has to look at my right knee as well. I think something is wrong with it too. Once the doctor sets a cast and has finished checking my condition, I’ll come and talk to you. Meet me over by the entrance of the castle in an hour.”

 Though her voice was steady, almost casual, the knight noted the tinge of anxiety in it. He knew what she was thinking: Would she be able to ever hold a katar again? Would she ever be able to stand, let alone fight, again at the side of her comrades? There was no way of knowing and the uncertainty was maddening, much more so than the uncertainty Silver faced himself. In the face of this, how could he refuse? How could he insist on knowing now like a spoiled child? Without a word, he nodded his consent, patted Kyrena on her shoulder and forced a reassuring smile. “Alright,” he said. “One hour.”

To his relief, Kyrena returned his smile briefly. After saying goodbye, Silver walked out of the door, thoughtful. He had never seen his friend so scared or worried in his life. He meandered down the fine hallway, feeling the plush carpets underneath his shoes, and then made his way back into the main hall. There, he stopped a passing nurse, inquiring after Ciel’s room. After explaining to her in quite definite terms that he had the permission of Dr. Lakare to be wondering around, she finally pointed him in the direction of the geneticist’s room. He thanked her and then dashed down the hall in the direction before being told rather sharply by another passing doctor that this was not, as he might have thought, a playground. Slowing, Silver apologised, grinning sheepishly at the doctor who watched him with hawk’s eyes until he disappeared round the corner into the next hall.

The hall he found himself in was not as fine as the previous one. Silver put this down to the fact that visitors and courtiers were less likely to wander around this area, and he suddenly felt a bit sorry for the neglected corridor. Along the walls, there were various pictures of King Tristan in various poses: King Tristan with his children; King Tristan on his hunting horse and his hounds; King Tristan wearing his crown… The paintings carried a kind of weary formality that seemed to say “We’re only here for lack of something better to put in this place.” Besides the paintings, there was a well-crafted table of dark wood upon which was a fine vase of beautiful carnations, a flood of pink and white and a singular green carnation in the middle of it all, looking slightly out of place.

Silver opened the door of his destination, peering in carefully. Too many doctors had threatened to have him kicked out and he was growing weary of having to explain his situation over and over again. It was frightfully dull. There was a middle-aged alchemist, frowning in concentration, bent over Harupia, occasionally prodding it unceremoniously, making it cheep indignantly. As Silver entered, the alchemist looked up at him and the frown on his brow deepened. Silver noticed then that this man, although obviously very knowledgeable, ill-suited his uniform. He was tall and broad and burly. Were it not for the uniform and seal which proclaimed him to be an alchemist, Silver might have thought that he might have been a blacksmith instead. Before the alchemist could protest his presence, Silver quickly explained his situation to the man, almost underlining the fact that he had the express permission of Dr. Lakare to be here.

The alchemist shrugged uncaringly. “If Dr. Lakare is alright with this, then I suppose there’s nothing much else I can do,” he said. “My name is Farroway—Augustus Farroway. Now please stand in that corner and be quiet while I’m examining this homunculus,” he continued briefly, as though repeating part of a memorized speech.

Silver did as he was told and watched the man Farroway at his work in silence for a few moments. “How is Harupia doing? Will she be okay?” he asked after a while.

“Quiet means not talking,” Farroway said, not looking up from his work. His voice contained a drawn out drawl which made Silver unsure if the man really was offended or not. “She doesn’t have any burn marks, unlike his owner, but he does have some bruising around his wings and there is a small gash on his neck,” he said after a while.

Ignoring the knight, he turned and began to dig through a medium sized bag. For a few moments, there was silence except for the sound of irritable shuffling. Finally, Farroway produced a clear bottle which he held triumphantly in his hand. The bottle was small with a cork in the top of the neck. Around the rim of the bottle was a brightly coloured rope woven with several strands of rainbow silk. The liquid inside was the creamy colour of pearl and Silver could have sworn that it changed colour in different stages of the light. The alchemist poured a generous amount of it into the palm of his hand, the liquid as thick as honey, and rubbed it gently onto Harupia’s wings.

“There,” Farroway said, stepping back and seeming pleased with his handiwork. “She should be as good as new as long as she has a good long rest and at least a week of non-strenuous activity.”

Silver gawked at him. It all seemed so… simple. It almost felt like cheating. “Err,” he began, puzzled. The alchemist turned to look at him, seeming just as puzzled as he (Silver) was. “What about that big cut you mentioned?” the knight continued. “Shouldn’t you sew it up or something?”

Farroway smiled. No, it had too much smarminess in it to be called a smile. It was a smirk. Farroway smirked at him. He shook his head. “Are you the alchemist around here or am I? Yes, you know, I came to the same conclusion,” he drawled, and then he laughed a long rolling laugh that bore no trace of menace. “Trust me. He will be fine,” he added, hand on his heart as though giving a solemn oath. So saying, he packed his things and left the room.

Silver stared up at the ceiling, still terribly confused at what had just happened. He decided that it was not worth thinking about. The man had been an alchemist and he had known what he was doing. That was all Silver needed to know. Knights like him were not meant to think about how people did their jobs. He shrugged nonchalantly and went to sit by Ciel’s bedside. The sun shone oppressively outside, fighting to gleam through the heavy glass of the windows. Ciel was sound asleep, not at all troubled by how bright it was. From where he was sitting, Silver was reminded of an old story he had heard in his childhood of the girl Aschenputtel who had often gone around in clothes coated with the cinders from a burning fire. But unlike Aschenputtel, Ciel’s clothing was stained with weak maroon, almost black against the purple of her cloak.

Silver leaned over Ciel’s body and examined her face. He smiled at her open mouth and even breaths. Whatever had happened, at least she was peaceful for now. “At least she isn’t in any pain at the moment,” Silver murmured to himself.

He glanced out of the window to the streets across the way. The oblivion of the people was almost enviable. Silver cracked the window open and shut it hurriedly again as the noise from the watching patrons carried in, particularly that of the smooth baritone of the town crier, shouting the time and that all was well. He glanced over his shoulder at Ciel who hadn’t so much as stirred.

Forty five minutes had passed by. That’s what the crier had said. Silver took a final look around the room as the silence buzzed in his ears. Well, it was time to meet with Kyrena, he told himself. Hopefully, he would get some answers. People said ignorance was bliss, but right now, it was just plain frustrating.

Slowly, Silver tiptoed out of the room, careful not to wake either Ciel or Harupia. As he pulled the door shut, he looked up and saw a nurse coming towards him. She was likely going to check on her patients and he graciously left the door ajar for her, smiling at her and indicating that they were both alright for now. The nurse returned the smile. Her heels clicked on the floor then were heard of no more as the door closed after her.

Silver made his way back. Along his way, he poked his head around into the examination room where Kyrena had been before, ignoring the fine paintings just as they ignored him. She was absent from the room and with a nonchalant shrug, the knight made his way back to the entrance of the castle.

She was not at the entrance either. Silver was not sure what to think. At least, he told himself, he had not been late. He paced agitatedly in a circle, wondering what it was that prevented Kyrena from keeping her appointment. Had her condition really been so bad? It hadn’t seemed like it.

The sound of smooth rolling made him jump. If anything, he had expected the sound of hesitant footsteps or, at worst, the sound of clumsy wood on tile. But this was… He turned and managed a sickly smile at Kyrena as a nurse wheeled her gently towards him. She waved at him with her good arm. The other was wrapped up in heavy looking plaster which looked so hard that it might have been able to take out a school of orcs. A gritty looking brace clutched at her right knee. It looked almost as uncomfortable as the cast on her arm. Kyrena suddenly looked so small, Silver thought dejectedly. He hadn’t expected this. He hadn’t had the chance to prepare himself mentally for this.

The wheelchair rolled to a stop without so much as the slightest jerk. Silver thanked the nurse who bowed and removed himself from the scene. He watched Kyrena sadly. While quiet, she had always seemed so strong; and now, she seemed like a shadow of her previous self. Kyrena smiled up at him from her wheel chair. “Don’t look so glum,” she reprimanded gently. “You should see the others.”

Silver returned the smile. At least her spirit hadn’t been broken. “Push me outside,” the assassin continued. “I need some fresh air. We can talk out there.”

Silver nodded and took hold of the handles of the chair, manoeuvring her into the bright sunlight, the warm wind and the quiet squabbles of thief bugs. Kyrena did not volunteer any words. She seemed to revel in the peave, but Silver fretted beside her. Whatever it was his friends had fought, it had been enough to take down an entire team of able-bodied fighters. Was it even possible to avenge them on his own? He had to steel himself for what he was about to hear. Unbeknownst to him though what he was about to hear would change not only everything he knew about the world, but also his very future. 

Third Story Update/Preview

Hey everyone, CJ here. Well I have started to work on my third story again. I managed to get out of my writers block funk and wrote a few pages today. Just to let you guys know I am working on this one with a friend. What we are doing is I am still writing the story how I want it to be and then sending it off to him so he can make it more detailed so that you guys can enjoy it more. So here is a little taste of what we came up with:

“THERE YA HAVE IT FOLKS! IT’S REAL!” But then suddenly the merchant falls silent. “And it is because of this, that I have decided I won’t be selling this weapon.” With a gleam in his eyes he continues, “Rather my belief is that something like this must be earned! Just like the Captain of the Prontera Guard, who too wields a Dragon Slayer, you must earn this blade!”

Stunned everyone just stares in disbelief. Slowly the merchant rises up and announces, “That is why I will be holding a Tournam-“

Suddenly a blood curdling scream rips through the air. Shocked everyone frantically looks about to see the source of the sound. A woman runs into the square, her clothing in disarray.

 “DRAGONS!!! DRAGONS ARE ATTACKING FROM THE WEST GATE!!!”

Panting the woman tries to catch her breath as the square bursts into movement. Shopkeepers race to board up their buildings as townsfolk and adventurers race for safety. Silently the merchant sheaths the Dragon Slayer in its scabbard and places it in his cart. “Well then,” he says, “this is convenient. Anyone who wishes to own the Dragon Slayer can earn it by getting rid of the dragons!” With that he slowly turns around and at a brisk walk proceeds to the west gate followed by a dozen or so swordsmen and other adventurers.

As they neared the gate, they could all see the devastation that had taken place. One lone Gold Acidus had taken out an entire squad of Pronterian Guards. As the group stopped the Acidus saw them and with a loud screech it began to charge. “Well then,” the merchant calmly said, “Who’s going to slay that dragon?” Before anyone of them could move a knight jumped in front of the charging Acidus and grabbed its head. With a grunt the newcomer stopped the Acidus in its tracks and threw it against a building as if it was a rag doll.

Shaken the Acidus growled and faced the knight. Breathing in deeply it gathered up its magic and then with a loud clap released it. A wave of fire raced out towards the knight, who just stood there and watched it come on. At the last possible second he side stepped the attack and rushed forward. Before the Acidus could do anything, the knight slammed into it and sent it reeling back. With a mighty roar the Acidus took flight and once again began to gather its magic. The knight silently unsheathed his sword and without hesitation launched it toward the dragon. It slammed into chest of the Acidus and no matter how hard the Acidus tried, it couldn’t keep flying and slowly began to fall towards the ground. With a crash it slammed into the ground and as it lay dying the knight walked over to it.

Slowly everyone who was watching this exchange crept forward with the merchant in front. They watched as the knight slowly withdrew his sword from the chest of the Acidus and then silently slam it into its head. Suddenly the sword began to shin with a fiery light and then ignited in flame. The knight then whispered “Ignition Break.” A brilliant flash lit the area, one so bright it caused everyone looking to shut their eyes. As it faded away the knight still stood but the sword and dragon were gone. Only a pile of ash remained where they once were.

Let me know what you guys think ^_^

Third Story

               Hey hey, its me CJ again. Well, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is I'm starting to work on my third story. The bad news is I've put it on the back burner already lol. The reason is because my guild was having its annual Christmas Party! WOOT! So for the party I was asked to write a short Christmas story. Unfortunately, I ended up rushing through it. The reason was because I had finals for college later this year. So I ended up finishing on the 22nd. This game be only a day to write up a story because the party was on the 23rd. Well my friends ended up coming over and distracting the crap out of me, so I ended up having to write the story pretty much in any spare time I had on the 23rd. Eventually though I got it done. It didn't come out as well as i would have liked it to, but what are you gonna do. It definitely isn't my best work and i don't believe i corrected it for grammar and spelling, so just bare with it if there were some. Since I haven't finished my third story yet, I'll let you guys take a look at the Christmas Special I made. So, from me to all of you I would like to wish you guys a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

It was a cold crisp Christmas Eve in the city of Prontera. The city was covered in beautiful lights and decorations were hung on what seemed to be everything. The city streets were still hustling and bustling with people. Everyone in town it seemed was out and about doing last minute Christmas shopping for their friends and family. Let us see what is going on over in the center of town. There we can see a familiar face. At the moment it seems like Iridescence is looking at the shops. Let’s listen in. “Hey there I was wondering what you had toys that children would enjoy” Iridescence asked. “I am looking for toys for my ten year old niece, nephew, and cousin.” The store owner looked around at what he had in stock. He was an older gentleman so it took him awhile to look around. After a while he pulled out three gifts. “Oh my god! T-these are p-perfect!” Iridescence yelled “How much are they?” The old shop owner looked at her and said “One million zeny.” Iridescence stood there staring at him, in complete shock. “WWWWHHHATTT!? That so expensive, are you serious?! The shop owner just looked at her and nodded. “Sigh…fine, but only cause I don’t have much of a choice” Iridescence replied. She paid the man and walked away mumbling to herself, “Stupid overpriced shops.”

As, the night went on Iridescence finished her Christmas shopping, and began to walk over to the south west part of town. There she walked to the house she rented for the holiday. As she entered the house, she heard laughing and giggling coming from the inside. “Hello? I’m home.” Iridescence stated. Just then the sound of footsteps running on the wooden floor began to get louder and closer. “IRI’s HOME IRI’s HOME!!!” was being yelled throughout the house. Just then three children came up and jumped all over her. They followed that my asking all at the same time “What did you get!?!? What did you get?!?!

“Hold on Hold on, calm down. You guys will just have to wait till tonight.” Iridescence replied. Simultaneously, all the kids said in a disappointed tone “AWWW!” At that moment a voice came from the other room “You know kids, if you don’t stay good boys and girls Santa won’t come.” It was CJ who walked in from the other room. Iridescence replied “CJ is right kids, you don’t want to get coal for Christmas right?” All the kids replied at the same time “No.” Iridescence then said “CJ, thanks for taking care of Nick, Patricia, and Heaven for me while I was out.” CJ replied “Hey don’t worry about Iri me and the kids had a blast, didn’t we kids?” The kids nodded in approval. Then Patricia said “We played tag and hide and seek and CJ made us dinner too” Nick replied “He made us mac and cheese…and it has bacon in it!” Iridescence looked at CJ with stern look and said “Bacon? Really?” CJ replied “Um…yea I thought they would enjoy it haha” Iridescence just stared at him with an odd look and then shook her head with a smile.

Just then a giant knock was pounding at the door. “Who could that be at this time of night?” Iridescence asked. Heaven replied with a smile “I’ll get it.” As she skipped to the door, the front door was broken down and a giant hand reached through the doorway and grabbed Heaven. “AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!” she screamed “HELP ME!!!” At that moment everyone ran outside to save Heaven. When they got outside they saw a giant reindeer with a glowing red nose and a shield that had a face on it. “What the hell is that?” CJ yelled. The reindeer just stood there laughing and teleported away with Heaven still in his grasp. “HEAVEN! NOO” Iridescence screamed as she fell to her knees. CJ took Nick and Patricia, who were crying, back inside. Iridescence who was still outside was asking herself why over and over again in her head, when all of a sudden a jingling sound of bells filled her head. She picked up her head and looked around for the sound, but could not spot a single thing. Just then she heard a man say “HEY UP HERE!” She looked into the sky and what she saw was amazing. It was Santa flying right above her in his sleigh. “Santa?” Iridescence questioned. “That’s right it’s me. And I am assuming you just met Stormy Knight.” “Stormy Knight?” Iridescence replied “You mean that giant reindeer with the creepy shield” “Yes” Santa said “Believe it or not that was once Rudolph, and that shield that you saw him with is the reason why he got transformed.” “Well your reindeer just stole Heaven away from me! How am I supposed to get her back” Iridescence yelled. “That my dear girl is simple and yet difficult.” Santa replied “It is simple because to turn Rudolph back all you have to do is get rid of the shield, but getting that away from him while he is holding Heaven hostage is easier said than done.” Iridescence then said “If that is all I need to do then I will do it, my friend CJ is here with me and when he and I team up there is nothing that can stop us.” Santa replied “CJ? Ah you mean Cheddar Jack, I have seen what he has done this year and I know he will be a great asset on this quest.” As he said this CJ walked outside and was surprised to see Santa right before his eyes. “S-S-S-Sant-t-ta-a?” he stuttered. “What is Santa doing here? “No time to talk CJ we need to get Heaven back NOW!” Iridescence yelled. “How are we suppose to do that” CJ replied. Santa then cut into the moment by saying “Well that is easy, he is taking shelter in the deepest part of my toy factory “Iridescence replied “Great! Can you take us there?” Before Santa could reply CJ said “Wait but what about Nick and Patricia we can’t just leave them on their own.” Santa then said “I’ll keep them company in my house in Luite. They can stay with me and Mrs. Claus can make them some cookies and milk.” CJ and Iridescence both nodded and went in to get the kids. CJ walked out carrying Patricia and Iridescence came out with Nick. Both of them were still crying, but when they saw Santa they began to feel better. “Don’t you cry little ones” Santa said “We will get Heaven back no problem. In the mean time how would you two like to come with me to meet Mrs. Claus, she makes the best cookies you will ever taste.” The kids looked at Santa and smiled. But when they realized what was going on they looked at Iridescence with an expression that looked like they were saying if it was ok. Iridescence said to them “Go with Santa and don’t worry we will get her back.” CJ nodded in agreement. They handed the kids to Santa, and he said “I’ll teleport you two to the area where he is living. I will also teleport in the gears you will need for this battle. After saying this Santa touched his nose with his thumb and off went CJ and Iridescence to battle.

With a swoosh of wind and some snow following in, Iridescence and CJ were in the toy factory. Next to them was a bag. Inside the bag was a note from Santa. It read “Take this earth katar that was specially made for Cheddar Jack and this special spear, called Gelerdria, for Iridescence. Also in the bag you will find 2 white potions for each of you and a special butterfly wing that will teleport you back to my house just in case something goes wrong.” “Alright,” CJ said as he equipped the katar on his hands. “Lets get Heaven back.” Iridescence stayed silent and focused on the task at hand. The two of them walked through the factory for a half hour before noticing something. They saw a little goblin with a Christmas hat on go through the back wall. “It’s a secret door” Iridescence stated. “Lets go inside, that has got to be where he is.”

They walked over to the wall where the goblin went into. They pushed on the spot slightly so that they did not get noticed. When they peaked in they saw Stormy Knight standing over Heaven who was locked in a cage nearby. He made some odd sounds, which was followed by some evil laughter. Iridescence could not take it anymore. She jump inside the room and yelled “GIVE ME BACK HEAVEN, YOU OVERGROWN CHRISTMAS LIGHT!!!!” “Iri!” CJ yelled “look out!” Just then three goblins were surrounding Iridescence and getting ready to attack, but then in an instant they went down and CJ appeared next to Iridescence. “You gotta be more careful Iri, you’re lucky I am here to back you up” he said with a smile. He continued by saying “I’ll get his minions you get Stormy” Iridescence nodded. Just then Stormy summoned a Garm to his aid. It was a giant ice wolf looking creature that stood about half the size of Stormy. Without fear our heroes leaped into action. They were dodging Storm Gust after storm gust from both Stormy and Garm. As he was running around CJ was looked for Garm’s weak spot. “Damn I can’t find one, so it looks like ill have to make my own.” Garm began to charge up another Storm Gust when CJ threw a stone at him to break his concentration. Then he let loose a Soul Destroyer into Garms left front leg. Garm howled in pain and collapsed for a second. Then CJ sped in and went for the kill shot. He thrusted his katar into the neck of Garm and pulled it across to the other side. In an instant Garm fell to the ground and disappeared into shards of ice. CJ smiled, but when he turned around he took a shield thrust to his entire body courtesy of Stormy Knight. He went flying into the wall behind him, but he was still conscious. “CJ!” Iridescence yelled. “Don’t worry about me, get him Iri” CJ replied “I just gotta drink a While potion and I should be fine.” Iridescence nodded. When she turned around Stormy was next to Heavens cage with his sword held against it like would strike it. “NO, HEAVEN!” Iridescence screamed. He can see the tears rolling down her eyes in the cage. Stormy was laughing at the sight of Iridescence in pain. Just then a rock hit Stormy in the side of the head. It was CJ doing as much as he could to distract Stormy. “Iri do it now! He’s distracted” Using CJ’s distraction Iridescence launched her Phantom Thrust and pulled Stormy away from Heaven and close to her. Then she unleashed her Hundred Spear attack. In an instant Iridescence thrusted her spear into Stormy’s shield one hundred times. She then finished it up with one last move. She yelled “Spear Boomerang!” She threw the spear right in between the eyes of the face on the shield. The spear hit the shield and bounced back to Iridescence. Just then the shield began to crack. It then yelled and broke into thousands of shards. When this happened Stormy returned to being Rudolph. Iridescence then ran to the cage and opened it. Heaven ran right into Iridescence arms crying. She was so scared, but now she was crying tears of joy to see Iridescence. Iridescence picked her up and turned around to see if CJ was ok. “CJ are you ok to move?” she asked. He replied “Yea I’m fine one white potion and I was good to go again. Let me pick up Rudolph and we can wing back to Santa and give him the good news.” Both of them pulled out Santa’s special butterfly wings and teleported out of the factory.

In Santa’s house we see him, Patricia, Nick and Mrs. Claus all sitting around the fireplace eating cookies and drinking milk, when all of a sudden Iridescence and CJ appeared. Everyone turned around and saw them. They saw Iridescence holding Heaven and CJ placing down an unconscious Rudolph. “He’s a little beat up Santa, but with some rest and care he should be fine” CJ stated. “You two did a marvelous job. Thank you very much” Santa said has his let out a big “Ho Ho Ho.” He continued to say “How could I every repay you two?” Iridescence replied “That isn’t necessary Santa. As long as we are together for Christmas I could not want anything else” Santa smiled and then looked at CJ. “Well you know I could us-“ just then he got elbowed by both Nick and Patricia. CJ then said, “Oh come on I was joking I don’t need a thing haha” Everyone joined in on the laughter.

Santa then said “Well I could not thank you enough for helping me today, let me at least send you home.” Then he looked at the kids “Also make sure you guys go right to bed, you have had a long day, and tonight is my ride around the world to give out gifts. If you don’t go to sleep I won’t come” he said with a smile. The children nodded and gave him a big hug. Santa then touched his thumb to his nose and sent everyone back.

Back at the house we can see everyone teleport in. “Alright everyone we have had a long day. Let’s get to bed so Santa will come and bring us gifts.” Iridescence said. CJ got the kids into bed, and it seemed like they passed out almost instantly. As he walked out of the room and shut the door Iridescence walked up to CJ and gave him a hug. CJ was a little shocked at first, but then she said “Thank you for helping me get Heaven back, I don’t know what I would have done if I lost her.” CJ’s shock turned into a smile as he looked at her and said “These kids are like family to me too. I would do anything for them.” Just then they heard a jingle of bells. They both looked out the window and saw Santa flying in the sky on his sleigh. They both stuck there hands out the window and waved and Santa replied by saying “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Second Story

            Welcome back again my friends, CJ here. Well what did you guys think of my first story? Not bad for my first try right? Well if you liked that one I have a second one ready and raring to go ^_^. This one i made as a Halloween Special for the people in my guild. It has a nice twist ending. I hope you guys enjoy this one as well. It was a little longer than the last one, but it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. Also on another note my character is in this one. Another note since the first story I've realized that 100 potions and objects are a lot to carry so from now on I think 100 of an item (like potions) will be something like 5 in my story. The reason is because it is suppose to be more realistic then the game itself so there you have it. This one was called, A Night Worth Repeating:

           

            It was a dark night in Prontera. The only light around was the shining of the full moon in the sky and the glowing cross on the front of the church. In the quiet of the night we turn to the Prontera inn. The inn is a place where people from guilds are able to have a place to stay if they do not have one. Let us see who is up there. As we go up stairs there are four rooms each room hold three people. As it turns out a few friends of ours from the Infinity guild have taken residence here for the night. Let us see what is going on.

Inside the room in the first bed we see Ashley. She is a High Priest within the Infinity guild. She is a very active and independent girl, who is not afraid to speak her mind. She is also the sister of Cheddar Jack, or CJ as his is normally called, an Assassin Cross who as mastered the art of critical points within Infinity. She is widely known as either Ash or AJ. Along with her in the room is Ivy Cross. She is also a High Priest in the Infinity guild. She is very nice to everyone she meets, and everyone likes her back. Every once in a while though she lets out her evil side, which usually ends up with people doing what she asks. People usually refer to her as Ivy.

The time on the clock in the room reads 11:59am. *Beep Beep* as it changes to midnight, Ivy sits up quickly, breathing heavy, and looks around. She has a confused look on her face and her face is flushed. “W-was that real?” Ivy asked to herself as she gets out of bed. “I need some fresh air.” As she walks out the door she sees Ashley sleeping soundly in the other bed. “B-but I could have sworn she was just saved by…and I was just…*sigh* I defiantly need some fresh air.” As Ivy went down stairs, the lady at the front desk noticed her and gave her a smile and a friendly wave. Ivy noticed and gave her a nice wave back. She thought to herself “This seems somewhat familiar.”

Outside in the cool night air Ivy takes a deep breath, stretches, looks up at the moon and says “Ah that air is nice, and the moon looks so pretty tonight.”

“Isn’t it?  said a familiar voice.

“Who’s there?” Ivy said with a fright. As she turned around she saw a figure sitting in the darkness with its back leaning against the wall of the inn.

“Wanna sit down?” the voice said in a calm tone. Ivy started to walk to the person. When she got close, her worried looked turned into a big smile. The person sitting against the inn was Cheddar Jack.

“Oh, fewwww, CJ it just you, I thought you were some kind of creeper” said Ivy with a look of relief on her face.

 “Hahaha sorry for that I just couldn’t sleep tonight so I came out here for some fresh air and ended up looking at the moon” replied CJ. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?”

 “Yea it is” Ivy said as she sat down next to CJ. “Did you do anything for Halloween today?”

“Na, Halloween isn’t really my holiday” CJ stated with smirks on his face.

 “WHAT?!?” Ivy replied with a shocked look on her face. “How can you not like Halloween?! It’s like my favorite holiday! Look I still have my costume.” Ivy then reached down into her pocket and pulled out an odd head band. “It’s called a Neko Mimi.” The head band she put on was a mixture of a maid’s band and cat ears. “Isn’t it adorable darlin?” Ivy asked with a cute expression on her face.

“It looks good on you hun” CJ replied. “Maybe next year maybe you can find me a costume and we can go hang out that day.”

“Alright” Ivy said “Sounds like a plan.” At that moment they both ended up looking back up at the moon then back at each other. They stared at each other for a few seconds and then laughed and smiled.

A few minutes later CJ’s guild chat phone beeped. “Hello? Hey anyone there?” a voice said from the phone.

“*sigh*, its Iri” CJ said as he picked up the phone. “Hey Iri, CJ here. Need something?”

“CJ? Hey got a minute. We just got a last minute request for a quest, you up for it?” Iridescence said

“What kind of request?” CJ asked. Iridescence replied,

“It might be a tough one but the reward is just amazing. We have to kill the king of the undead…Dracula.” Ivy gasped in horror when she heard this.

“D-dracula?” she said with a fright “H-e is one of the toughest monsters in the world, why would   you want to try and kill him? Trust me I am kind of an expert on undead monsters and when it comes to the king of them, it’s definitely not an easy kill, especially if CJ is alone.”

“Yes, I know this Ivy that’s why I am going to send some back up. Ralis and GB are heading your way now.”

Now for all of you who don’t know Ralis and GB, whose full name is GB Wassail, are the masters of king type monsters also known as MvP’s. Ralis is a shield reflecting Royal Guard who is an expert at taking damage from strong monsters and sending it back double. GB is a Geneticist who is a professional at taking out high defense MvP’s. When both of them are together there are very few that can stand up to them.

“So Ralis and GB huh? This should get interesting” CJ said with a smirk on his face while closing his phone.

“You sure you want to go through with this hun?” Ivy asked with concern “Dracula is no joke; one bite and you become one of his minions.”

“Yea, I’ll be fine, you have nothing to worry about” CJ stated. “If something goes wrong we’ll back off and head out, alright?”

“*sigh*…you know I worry about your sometimes CJ. You head off to all these dangerous places and sometimes I get a horrible that you won’t come back.” Ivy said staring down at the ground. “I m-mean, can’t you skip this one. I have this bad feel-,” just then Ivy felt a hand on the side of her head. It was CJ; he gently grabbed it and put her ear on his chest.

“Hear that?” he said “That’s my heart beating. Whenever you hear it you will know that I am really here.” Ivy began to listen and she could hear a small *thump* *thump* in his chest. When she realized what was going on, her face became bright red and she got a little angry. She shoved CJ away slightly, her face still red and said

“W-what did you do that for?!?”

CJ laughed and said “I don’t know but it was funny, hahaha.”

“You’re such a jerk you know that CJ, you really are!” Ivy said now more angry than embarrassed. At that point she stood up and started to walk back inside the inn.

“Aw come on I was kidding don’t get mad at me” CJ said, still with a smile on his face. Just then Ivy stopped at the door; she began to take the necklace off from around her neck. “Here” she stated “Take this, it should bring you luck on your trip.” As she finished taking the necklace off she threw it to CJ and he caught it with a puzzled look on his face. Then she entered the inn and went back to bed.

CJ still outside looked at the necklace in his hands. It was a silver beaded necklace, with a cross on the end of it. “A rosary huh?” he said with a smirk “That girl is always thinking of my safety, I should thank her one day.”

About an hour later, CJ was still sitting outside the inn, when two figures approached in the darkness. “Took you guys long enough to get here” CJ said. The two figures got clearer as they got closer. It was Ralis and GB.

 “Well I would have been here sooner if the griffin rancher wasn’t already sleeping” Ralis said in a frustrated tone.

“What about you GB, what took you so long” CJ said knowing the answer he will get. “Well, you know you can just kiss my (_*_)” GB replied.

“Ha, alright alright enough with the formalities are we going to head out or no?” CJ said while standing up and putting on the necklace that Ivy gave him.

“We could just use some support, Ralis and I already got the supplies for everyone one” GB said while handing CJ a supply bag with everything he needs. CJ then read off what he saw in the bag

“Aright let’s see some awakening potions, a few poison bottles, and what is this? Cool, some condensed white potions.” After that he threw on the supply bag and said “So all we need is support now right? How about Ash she is upstairs at the inn.”

“Wont she be pissed that you are waking her up? Why not just ask Ivy? She already heard the entire conversation” asked Ralis.

“Na” CJ replied “Not if I tell Ash what’s going on, she will be happy to join us. I also don’t think Ivy is willing to go, to be honest I think she is a little mad at me at the moment haha.”

After the short laugh CJ entered the inn. He walked up to the lady at the desk and asked “What room is Ashley from the Infinity Guild staying in?” The lady replied

“She and Ivy Cross are up in room three.”

“Oh great…**sigh**” CJ said “Oh well, thanks for the info.” Following that conversation CJ walked up the stairs to the second floor. When he got there he began to mumble to himself, “Room one….two…three here it is.” CJ then gently knocked on the door *Knock* *Knock*…..No answer. He knocks on the door again *Knock* *Knock*…..No answer. “*Sigh* I didn’t want to do this, but oh well.” CJ then went into his pocket and pulled out a small lock picking kit. He pulled out two small tools and gently inserted them into the lock. *Click* the first part done. “Come on, nice and easy” CJ said with a bead of sweat on his face. *Click* he got it. “Alright, now to try and not wake up Ivy, I doubt she will be happy with me if I wake her up. Maybe I should cloak in just in case.” CJ then put his right hand up by his face, closed his hand and poof he was gone, completely invisible to the naked eye. He made sure he walked slowly into the room. When he walked in he could see Ivy in the bed across from the door. He walked farther in and saw a bed to his left. That is when he saw Ashley in it. He walked up to her and whispered into her ear “Ash…pssst Ash.” By doing this Ashley opened her eyes slowly with a somewhat confused look. “Ash it’s your brother…shhhh just be quiet and follow me to the door.” CJ then walked to the door, still invisible. Following him half asleep is Ashley. When she gets outside CJ says “Ash I know you want to sleep but we need you for a quest.” Ashley looks around confused because she does not see him. “I am right in front of you sis.” As he said that she gathered up some magic and said with a yawn

“Ruwach.” Just then a blue flame went around Ashley and as she took a step forward she uncloaked CJ. She then stood in his face eyes half closed.

“Ash we real-,” at that moment Ashley slapped him across the face. “W-what w-was that for!!?” CJ asked with an angry look.

“You woke me up stupid! You know how late it is!” Ashley said now fully awake. “Alright alright I deserved that somewhat, but look me Ralis and GB need your help. We got a late quest with a huge reward to go hunt down Dracula and we could use a priest just in case something goes wrong” CJ pleaded.

“Dracula?! Oh you guys are definitely going to need my help.” Ash emphatically stated. “Let me just get my things and ill meet you outside”

As Ashley went back inside the room to get her things, CJ went back outside to tell Ralis and GB that Ashley was going to join them. When CJ got outside, he saw Ralis and GB sitting in front waiting.

“So what did she say?” Ralis asked.

“She said she would gladly come. But I want to warn you guys now. If anything happens down there you will protect her. She is my sister and if anything were to happen to her I would never forgive myself” CJ pleaded. GB replied,

“Sure CJ, you have my word that nothing bad will happen to her.” Ralis nodded his head in approval.

“Good, I am glad we are on the same page then” CJ stated “Alright when Ash comes out we will head out to Geffen Tower. One question though…how are we getting there?”

“Oh that’s been already taken care of” said GB “I have an Acolyte friend who can give us a warp there. He told me to just meet him on the west side of Prontera.” As GB finished talking, the door of the inn opened and Ashley walked outside with her supply bag in hand.

“You jerks ready to go?” she said. CJ, Ralis, and GB all stared at each other in confusion and then looked back at her. “Yea jerks, for waking a girl up in the middle of the night. Oh well let’s just go and finish this so I can go back to bed.” After the tongue thrashing by Ashley the group all laughed and headed to the west side of Prontera to go meet the Acolyte.

As they were walking to West Prontera, Ashley looked at CJ and noticed a chain around his neck tucked under his armor. “Hey CJ, can I ask you something?” she asked in a polite tone. “What is it sis?” he replied.

“Well I know you don’t usually wear jewelry, but where did you get that necklace?” Ashley said with a puzzled look.

“Oh this well before Ralis and GB got here; Ivy and I were sitting outside the inn looking at the moon. When she heard about the quest over the Guild Chat she said she really didn’t want to join us and gave me her necklace for good luck.” CJ replied. Ashley giggled a little and said “So what I am hearing is that she is your girlfriend now right?”

“WAIT WAIT HOLD ON A SEC?!?” CJ yelled in embarrassment. “How did you get from her giving me a necklace for protection, to her being my girlfriend!!?” Ashley giggled again and said,

“You said luck not protection. So which is it? haha.” CJ still embarrassed said,

“Just drop it alright Ash, just stop I don’t want to talk about it.” Ashley then looked back at Ralis and GB, who were laughing as well.

“Hey you guys quit laughing too, it’s not funny!” CJ yelled.

“Psshh you can’t tell me what to do” GB said smugly “You can kiss my (_*_).”

After ten more minutes of laughing and walking the group finally reached the west side of Prontera. There they met a small Acolyte named Tom.

“Hey Tom” GB said with a smile “You have the warp ready for us?”

“All set boss” Tom said “And next time try to wait until morning if you need a warp.” After Tom said that he gathered up some magic and threw down a warp portal to the town of Geffen.

“Alright people, lets head out” Ralis said pointing at the warp, and at that moment everyone jumped in.

The warp ended up sending the group right in front of Geffen Tower.

“Man this building is friggen tall” Ralis said “I pass by it all the time and it never gets boring to see.”

“Yes, yes the building is tall, we get it can we finish up so I can get back to sleep” Ashley replied with a yawn. So the group went inside the tower. Inside was a well decorated hallway. There were chandeliers hanging, a fancy rug going from the entrance to the stairs, and pillars everywhere.

“Wow this place is really nice looking, why would Dracula be in a place like this?” asked CJ. “Well if you know your history this place was built on top of an ancient manor, which was created by Van Helsing. It is said that Van Helsing kept the body of the defeated Voivode Dracula, or as he was commonly known as Count Dracula. Apparently his hatred of Helsing was so great that he came back from the brink of death centuries later in the form of a vampire. When he arose this building was keeping him from causing havoc around the world.” Ralis replied. Then Ashley asked

“So then why do we have to defeat him if he is just stuck down there?” Ralis replied “Well what you guys don’t know is that the person who asked us to go on this quest believes that Dracula is beginning to gather the monsters down there to create an army. Apparently his real desire is to unlock the prison of Doppelganger to increase the strength of his army tenfold.” The group looked at each other, knowing that they have to stop Dracula from creating this army, so they all headed down into the depth of the building. As they headed lower and lower they noticed that the normal inhabitants that are on the first basement level seemed to be cowering in fear of the dark aura coming from the stairs going down into the basements second floor.

“We can’t hesitate when we get down there, if we do it could be the end of us. If you are not up to the task you can stay here” GB said with serious face. Everyone looked at each other with the same expression, one that was ready for anything. After everyone was ready they headed down the stairs into the dark aura.

As they got to the bottom of the stair case they found a Jakk and a Nightmare waiting for them. Right when the group walked into the open they two monsters noticed them and came right at the party.

“*Sigh*, Ralis you ready?” CJ asked “I’ll take the Jakk you take the Nightmare.” “Alright, no problem CJ” Ralis replied “GB stay here and protect AJ we can handle these guys easy.” GB nodded in approval.

“I am not a weak little girl you know! I can take care of myself!” Ashley said with a huff. At that moment Ralis and CJ stepped up and confronted the two monsters. Ralis was the first to charge. He and the Nightmare ran right at each other. While they were charging Ralis pulled out his shield. The Nightmare leaped into the air, trying to land on Ralis. Ralis pulled his shield over his head and parried the leaping Nightmare. Before the Nightmare was able to turn around for another attack Ralis took his shield and said “Shield Press.” He then slammed the shield on the back of the head of the Nightmare, stunning it. Seeing its friend hurt the Jakk tried to interfere with the battle. Before he could even move, a blur passed by. Just then CJ was in between Ralis and the Jakk with his katars drown and with some pumpkin flesh on them. When he stood up he wagged his finger at the Jakk and said

“No, interfearing in others battles.” Just then the Jakk’s cane fell apart causing the Jakk to fall over and hit his head on the ground. When it did the head fell apart. It looked like something so thinly cut the head in half before the head touched the ground. Ashley and GB who were watching the battle looked back at CJ, who was wiping off pumpkin flesh off his katar. He looked back and said “What? Pumpkin matter stains my blades, but his head was his only critical point so I had to.” Just as CJ finished talking we heard Ralis scream,

“Cannon Spear!!” When he yelled this, he thrust his spear through the side of the Nightmare so forcefully that on the other end it created a giant wind current that traveled for a mile. When the wind died down the Nightmare disappeared into thin air.

“Go a little over bored there Ralis” CJ said with a laugh.

“Well, at least I finished my opponent quickly and with some mercy. You friggen tortured that Jakk” Ralis stated with a smile. CJ replied,

“Hey hey, he was trying to interfere in your battle. I can’t stand cheaters. Plus like I said his head was his critical spot. With a head that big it’s like he was telling me “Hey hit here.”” “Alright, boys you‘re both pretty, can we just get a move on?” Ashley said with frustration and kept on walking forward with GB. CJ and Ralis looked at each other, shrugged and caught up with GB and Ashley

The group then began to move south through the dark graveyard like basement. As the group proceeded south they ran into a small forest area.

“Keep your guard up everyone” CJ said. Just when he said that six Ghouls came out of the ground in front of the group. Their bodies decomposing, flesh hanging, and the stench was almost unbearable. On top of that two Jakks joined them in confronting the group. Seeing the odds against them CJ and Ralis Stepped forward again, but this time was stopped by GB.

 “You guys had the fun last time. This time it is my turn” GB said with authority. “AJ back me up.” Ashley then stood next to GB. He got close to her and whispered something to her. When he was done Ashley nodded in acknowledgment. GB took five steps forward and gathered up a small amount of magic just then the Ghouls and the Jakks started to approach him. They were within 5 feet of him when he said “Demonic Fire” and threw down a special bottle grenade. A giant flame arose around him burning everything. He leaped back out of the fire, while the ghouls were left to burn to a crisp, but as he landed the Jakks leaped through the fire. It seems that they were unaffected by the fire. They went straight for GB when a holy light started to surround both of them. Just before they touched GB they just disappeared into nothingness.

“Cut it a little close there AJ?” GB said with a drop of sweat running down the side of his face.

“Meh you knew I had them” Ashley said with confidence. It seemed what GB whispered to Ashley earlier was a plan. GB being the great monster hunter that he is knew that Jakks are not affected by fire. So the leap back was so that they would not catch him in the fire, setting up Ashley to beat them down with Holy Light when they came out.

“You guys had me a little worried there for a second” CJ said with a sigh of relief. “Um…don’t get to comfortable…look behind us” Ralis said with a worried look on his face. Everyone seemed to turn around at once. It was Ghouls, lots of them this time.

“Oh well, it looks like all four of us have to get in on the fun this time around” said CJ. “No we don’t actually” stated GB. “This gives me the perfect opportunity to test my new skill.”

“Well it better work quickly because here they come” Ashley said with a worried look on her face.

“Each of you hide behind a tree back there and hang on tight” GB stated. “Also just so you know there is a four second delay.” Everyone but GB ran back and braced themselves behind a tree. GB reached into his supply bag and pulled out a mushroom.

“A mushroom is going to save us…seriously?!” Ralis said sarcastically.

“For Fucks Sake, just shut up and watch” GB said in anger. He shook the mushroom a little and got two spores. Then he put the mushroom back in the supply bag and waited for a few seconds. Then he blew the spores towards the Ghouls and sprinted back for cover. As he ran he counted “4…3…2…1.” When he said the number one a giant explosion occurred, leaving burnt flesh and bone in its wake. Ralis, CJ, and Ashley just stood there with their mouths open, just in complete and utter shock. GB walked by them and said “You guys going to stand there looking like idiots or are we going to find Dracula?” They then proceeded to follow him. After a minute of walking CJ asked,

 “What the hell was that back there?”

“Oh you mean the spores?” GB asked “They were what you would call Explosive Spores. They come from a very special mushroom. I figured it would come in handy.” Everyone nodded in approval.

Just as they finished their conversation they ended up coming upon a tall stone arc. If you were to peer through the arc you would be able to see large buildings in the background. The group walked under the arc and into the plaza like area. This part of the basement was much different than the previous area. There were three huge buildings and a few gazebos around this part.

“Wait” said Ashley “This looks familiar.”

“It should” Ralis stated “This is the famous Helsing Manor that was holding Dracula down here for centur-,” before Ralis could finish CJ cried out

“GAH!” something was lifting him into the air grabbing him from the neck.

“Who dares defile my land and destroy my minions?!” a mysterious voice said. Everyone gasped at the same time.

“I-it must be Dracula” Ralis yelled. 

“Brother!” Ashley screamed in horror. CJ was still gasping for air as Dracula’s hand kept squeezing tighter and tighter.

“We gotta do something, but we can’t aim at him well enough. If we attack now we are sure to hit CJ as well.” GB stated in a panic. Just then Ashley ran up under CJ and yelled “Ruwach!” The Ruwach aura spun around Ashley revealing Dracula. He was a tall foreboding creature, with a black almost 16^th century looking cloths on and his legs were missing while his feet were aflame. Everyone was in shock when they saw him.

“Fools!” he yelled “Let this be a lesson for interfering in my plans!” He began to squeeze harder on CJ’s throat. As he was about to finish CJ off Ashley activated her Holy Light and focused it on Dracula’s chest. The force was able to throw Dracula back into the building behind him and CJ towards the group.

“CJ are you alright? Speak to me!” Ashley yelled. She turned to look at Dracula who was trying to get up. She began to heal CJ’s neck. When Dracula saw this he flew quickly over to her and tried to attack Ashley. He yelled “Priestess you must go first!” As Dracula’s hand came down with force, Ralis rushed in and blocked it with his shield. Even with his amazing shield prowess the force of the strike forced Ralis into the ground a bit. Dracula back a way a little and then a small spark started around him. He looked around in confusion and then he got electrocuted hard. When it was over he was still standing and very angry. He bellowed,

“What is the meaning of this?” Ralis smirked and said

“That is my Shield Reflect skill. Any damage I might take gets redirected back at you double.” Dracula looked at Ralis in anger. He gathered up some magic and said,

“Silence Attack!” Just then a small cloud came up to Ralis and covered his mouth. This prevented Ralis from using anymore skills for a short period of time. Before Ralis could figure out what to do. Dracula casted another spell “Agility Up” he said. Just then he disappeared. “Where did he go?” GB yelled “Did he turn invisible again?”

 “No” Dracula’s voice echoed “I am moving at speed no mortal can possibly keep up with. Now then let me go back to taking out that priestess.” Without the party knowing Dracula sped towards Ashley. Just before he got to her something stopped his hand.

“What is the meaning of this” Dracula yelled “No mere mortal could keep up with my speed.” It was CJ. He used his katar to block Dracula’s strike.

“Big Brother! Your ok!” Ashley yelled with happiness. CJ looked back with an expression that said thank you. He then turned his attention to Dracula.

“So you like hitting people when they can’t see you, don’t you?” CJ asked “Well let’s see what you can do against my speed.” Turning back to Ashley, CJ asked “Ash, I need an agi up as well to keep up with guy.” Ashley looked at him and smiled. She put her hands together, concentrated, and cast it on CJ. “Alright now that I am agi’ed up let’s see what you got” CJ said. Dracula then pulled out a small dagger and laughed. At that moment they both sprinted at each other at amazing speeds. They kept trading blows with one another, each one being blocked by the other. All this while moving around the entire manor area without anyone able to actually see much.

“Holy crap” GB said “I’ve seen CJ move fast but this is ridiculous. I can barely keep up at all.” The echoes continued of the battle that was going on. You can hear strike upon strike. Steel hitting steel, it was an amazing fight to witness. Just then you hear echo all around

“Yea, I still need some help here.” It was CJ. “I can’t find any critical points on this old bastard and if I try a skill and miss I am done for. So feel free to step in at any time guys.” The three other party members just looked at each other. Ashley was still a little shocked, Ralis was still silenced, and GB could not keep up. That is when GB said,

“I can try a new skill that I have been saving but it will take some time to set up.” “Alright,” CJ replied “just hurry u-...gah.” The sound of steel cutting through flesh echoed in the basement. GB quickly went into his cart that he had following him and hit a button. The cart then began to transform. Wheels appeared on the bottom. A giant barrel extended out the front and the back extended out. The entire cart transformed into a cannon.

“Alright” GB said “I’m set up here, but you gotta hold him so I can fire this thing.” “Easier said than done” CJ yelled “Just give me a second.” As the speed battle continued CJ was trying to think of a plan to get Dracula held down. He still could not find any critical points to attack to slow him down or stop him. Then something hit him. He thought that maybe finding a critical point in the manor could be weak enough to hold Dracula’s dagger stopping him in his tracks. He looked around, when all of a sudden he found a small weak point in the bottom corner of the first manor. CJ sped the battle up another notch and said “Hey, betcha can’t catch me you old fart” At that moment he sped off to the first mansion. Dracula pursued quickly behind and lunged at CJ. CJ then quickly side stepped him and his dagger got stuck in the foundation of the building.

“You bastard,” Dracula yelled “I’ll get you for that.” CJ replied,

 “No I don’t think you will” and jumped backwards. Dracula confused for a moment tried to get his dagger unstuck. He then heard something and looked around, then it became clear what was going on. GB got the cannon ready. He said,

 “Cannon loaded. System online and at 100%. Ready? Aim? FIRE!!” Just then a cannon ball sped right at Dracula. It was coming so fast the he could not get out of the way in time. When the cannonball hit him, a giant explosion occurred and took out half of the manor with it. Everyone looked at it in such amazement.

“Holy crap GB, what the fuck was that?” CJ asked in shock.

“It’s called Cart Cannon.” GB replied “I upgraded my cart just three days ago.”

“Well that should defiantly have finished Dracula off” Ashley said. Ralis nodded his head in agreement since he was still silenced. CJ then said,

 “Well that was an exciting night, lets head ho-,” before CJ could finish and evil aura came up. Everyone looked over and it was coming out of the destroyed manor. Before anyone could say a word, dark auras swept the area knocking everyone back. It was Dracula’s Hell’s Judgment. Dracula was then standing on top of CJ. He grabbed him by the shoulder and lifted him up.

“This one is strong” he said with a smile “He will make an excellent addition to my army of darkness.” Everyone looked up in shock as Dracula, with fangs out bit CJ on the neck. “AHHHHHHHHH” screamed CJ in horrible pain.

“CJ, NOOOOOO!!!!” everyone yelled. With some of his last parts of sanity left CJ yelled “Run get out of here! Butterfly wing back to Prontera. Tell everyone what happened. You gotta stop him at any co-,” he then passed out because of the pain. Ashley in complete and utter shock grabbed her head and began to cry,

“This can’t be happening, he can’t be…no…No…NOOO!” Ralis now un-silenced said, “We gotta go! NOW!. GB ran over to Ashley and shook her.

“AJ we gotta leave or we’ll be next come on get up!” She then stood up still not willing to look at her fallen brother and used a butterfly wing. GB was the next to follow her. Ralis before using the butterfly wing looked one more time over at CJ who was getting up now. Ralis though there was still a sliver of hope, but then he noticed that he wasn’t the same. CJ’s face was pale. His neck covered in blood. Fangs growing from his mouth. He has become a vampire. He hissed at Ralis and drew his blades. Before he left Ralis screamed “We will save you CJ…I promise you that!” and then he teleported out of there.

We see our fallen heroes, warping into Prontera on the west side of town. When they got there, it was already morning. The sun was just rising, birds were chirping, and the town was bustling. All in all it seemed everyone was unaware of the horror that happened to our heroes this past night. Ashley was still crying and upset about what happened just moments ago. She still could not believe what just transpired.

“This can’t be happening” she said with a quiver in her voice “This has to be a dream…it can’t be real.”

“AJ, you gotta keep it together” Ralis said.

“Why?! My brother is dead. Why do I need to keep it together?!” AJ replied.

“That’s just it,” Ralis answered “He isn’t dead. Right before I left that place he stood up. He was turned into a vampire by Dracula.”

“HOW IS THAT SUPPOSE TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!!!” Ashley shouted in rage. Ralis, now with his hand on her shoulder said “Since he is not dead and is just a vampire there is a chance we could save him. But we will have to head back there. The only way I know of to save him is to slay Dracula. To do that though, we will need more help. Ashley then looked up at Ralis, tears still in her eyes. He was smiling at her, and that gave her a feeling of warmth and hope that they could save her fallen brother. While Ralis was consoling Ashley, GB was on his Guild Chat phone. He dialed a few buttons and said,

“Attention Infinity, anyone who can please meet by the Guild Spot ASAP. We have an emergency and we need as many people as possible.” When he finished his announcement, Ralis was helping Ashley off the ground. He looked over at GB and nodded his head saying to him something along the lines that they were ready to head over. The three of them walked over to the Infinity guild spot in town and waited there for a few min. The first one to show up was Masaru riding his wolf. Masaru is a Ranger. Known for his excellent accuracy, as well as his dangerous traps that can disable a monster or just as easily blow it to smithereens. Most people know him simply as Mas. The next person to show up was Ivy, who looked like she had just woken up. Following her was Altron TK. He is a Shadow Chaser known for his skill not only with a dagger, but with a bow as well. He is also very skilled in copying other skills for his use. He is usually referred to as TK. When he got there TK said

“Hey I think it’s just going to be us, if I remember correctly Iri needed most of the others who were available for another job so I don’t know where they are.” Then Masaru chimed in

“So what is going on? Why did you ask us here?” Ivy looking around asked,

“Where is CJ? Wasn’t he with you? Is he being lazy again and fall asleep?” The expression on the faces of GB, Ralis, and Ashley said it all.

“WHAT HAPPENED?!” yelled Ivy in horror “TELL ME!” Then GB and Ralis ran down the nights events. Masaru, TK, and Ivy were all in shock by the end of the recap. Masaru jumped off his wolf and hit the ground. TK fell to the ground and tried to catch his breath. Ivy with an angry look on her face walked up to GB and Ralis, and slapped the both of them in the face. She yelled,

 “Why didn’t you save him?! And for that matter why did you even go on this dangerous mission. I told Iri this was too tough.” She went to slap them again and Masaru grabbed her wrist and shook his head. She was upset, everyone understood this. They all were. TK then stood up and asked,

 “So is there anything we can do to save him?” Ivy replied,

 “Yes there is but it will not be easy. To save CJ we have to finish this quest and defeat Dracula. This is our best shot at saving him, but we have to work fast because even if we do save him there is a chance that his sanity might already be gone.”

“Alright people we leave in fifteen minutes, get yourselves ready and we will meet in West Prontera and get warped to Geffen.” GB said. Everyone then split up. GB and Ashley went to West Prontera since they already had their supplies. TK went over to the East Prontera Kafra Lady to access his storage and grab his supplies and Masaru and Ivy both went to the South Kafra Lady to do the same. Ralis headed over to the Prontera rancher to get his Griffin.

Fifteen minutes passed. We see GB, Ashley, and the Acolyte Tom over by West Prontera. “Are they going to be here soon?” asked Tom. Just then Masaru and Ivy got there riding on Masaru’s Wolf. Also TK came sprinting in from the East Side.

“Where is Ralis?” Masaru asked. Everyone looked around, when suddenly a screech was heard in the air. It was Ralis flying down to them from the sky on his Griffin. As he landed he said

“This time I will be prepared to go one on one with Dracula’s speed.”

“So what do we do about CJ? TK asked.

“What I think we will have to do is keep him busy, while Ralis, Me, and Ashley take down Dracula” said GB.

 “Ivy you keep TK and Mas backed up. TK I think it would be a good idea if you copied Mas’ Ice Trap, just in case CJ becomes a handful you guys can try to lure him and trap him.” TK nodded and looked at Masaru.

 “Alright TK here is how you do an ice trap” he said. Masaru began to fiddle with a trap and added an Ice Heart to the trap, turning it into an ice trap. “Understand?” Masaru asked. TK acknowledged that he understood, and Masaru replied while handing him materials,

“Here take these traps and a couple Ice Hearts.”

“Alright now that we are ready let’s head out” Ralis said. As he said that Tom charged up some magic and threw down a warp to Geffen.

The new group ended up right in front of Geffen Tower once again. They all walked in the front door and down the staircase inside back down into the basement. The first basement floor was still quiet because the monsters on that floor were more scared than ever now that Dracula added to his ranks. The aura coming from the second basement floor felt stronger than when the party came down earlier.

“Alright before we head down this is how we are going to move through the area. TK and Mas are going to lead the way shooting down anything in their path.” Ralis said. “Mas you have your wolf on the defense just in case something comes up close he can defend you guys. TK make sure you have a dagger ready to switch just in case you need to defend yourself or others” GB continued.

“AJ and Ivy you two will be in the middle so you have easy access to support the party and keep us safe. I will be in the back defending the rear, while Ralis will be up above us to look for Dracula and CJ, as well as any dangers that are approaching.” Everyone seemed to understand and got into formation. They then began to go down the stairs into the deadly second basement floor.

The party, once they were on the second basement floor, they got into formation. Ralis took to the sky and played scout for the group. He looked around and gave GB a sign that meant that it was safe to progress. The group made their way south. As they were walking they noticed the battle scars of when Ralis, GB, Ashley, and CJ were there earlier.

“Man you guys had some kind of party here didn’t you.” Masaru said. They passed by the area where GB set the giant fire and blew up the army of Ghouls. Just then a hand came up from the ground and grabbed TK’s leg.

“Crap!” he yelled “Get the hell off me you friggen bastard.” He put his bow on his back and pulled out the dagger attached to his leg. He spun it in his hand and grabbed it with a backhand grip and stabbed the arm. It didn’t let go of his leg so, this time he cut the thing off entirely. That is when ten ghouls came up out of the ground.

 “Ten Ghouls incoming!” Ralis yelled from the sky. TK backstepped from where the Ghoul grabbed his leg put the dagger away and drew his bow. While he took out the bow, Masaru was already locked and loaded. They both then let loose arrow after arrow and with pinpoint accuracy hitting each one right between the eyes and finished the fight in seconds. After all of the zombies were done TK went down on one knee. Where the Ghoul grabbed was all bruised. The grip was strong enough to cause his leg to swell. Ivy walked up to him and began to heal his leg. She said,

“This may take a while to heal. Even with my healing it still won’t be 100% right away” “Just get it to a point where I can run without much discomfort” TK said. Ivy did all she could do for the leg. TK moved around a bit to test it out. He had most of the movement back but he could not move at his normal speed.

“Alright, with TK’s leg like this we need to come up with a plan if we face CJ, because with his eye for critical points he will aim right for his leg if he is given the chance” Ashley said. Then Masaru got an idea. He whispered his idea to TK and a smile began to grow on his face. “Dude that is one hell of a plan” TK said.

“Isn’t it? This will defiantly give us an advantage at least for a few seconds” Masaru replied.

“Ok, ok now that we are all ready lets head to the manors and get our friend back” Ralis said while flying above the party. The party then kept walking south until they saw the stone arc again and inside the building was still smoking and in ruins from the battle they had not so long ago.

The party walked in, and when they got to the center of the mansions Ashley yelled “Dracula! You bastard give me back my brother!!” Just then, like rising out of a grave, Dracula flew from within the ruined mansion. He saw the group and said,

 “Oh? You want him back? Well let us see what he thinks.” He looked back and continued, “Why don’t you come out and say hello to your old friends.” Suddenly some rubble moved. Walking through the smoke came out a transformed CJ. He stared at the group with a blank expression.

“Well,” Dracula said “it looks like your friends here want to take you back. What do you think? Should we add them to our army?” CJ turned to Dracula and said

“YYesss Masssterrr.” Then they both looked at the party and leaped at them. Ralis with his Griffin assisting him flew and stopped Dracula, who in an instance drew his dagger and blocked Ralis’s attack. Ralis then yelled,

 “Remember the plan, keep them separate!” Everyone split off Ralis, GB, and Ashley stayed with Dracula and TK, Masaru, and Ivy would handle CJ. CJ ran around them at increased speed. While he was running around you can slightly hear him say,

 “Critical point found.” TK realizing this and said to Masaru

“Alright time for test this plan of yours.” Suddenly CJ lunged at TK’s injured leg. TK could not move out of the way quickly enough, when all of a sudden Masaru’s wolf leaped in and bit CJ’s katar stopping it right before it hit TK’s leg.

“Nice” Masaru yelled.

“Way to go wolf” TK replied. CJ was struggling to take his katar back. With his enhanced strength the wolf could not hold him there for much longer.

“Alright TK let’s do this quickly before he gets free” Masaru said. Both Masaru and TK ran up next to CJ, who noticed them coming and tried to swing his other katar to keep them away. TK and Masaru easily dodged this and both placed ice traps on both sides of CJ. Then Masaru screamed,

 “NOW!” When he said that both Masaru and TK shot arrows at the traps while at the last minute Masaru’s wolf let go of the katar, making CJ fall backwards. Right before he hit the ground the arrows activated the traps and CJ became incased in a block of ice.

“Yes!” TK yelled “It worked.”

“Hey don’t get to excited” Ivy said “We still have Dracula to deal with. While saying that she was trying to cast Holy Light and hit Dracula while he was trading blows with Ralis in mid-air. Ashley was doing the same thing. Bright lights were everywhere all just missing Dracula as he was not only dodging Ralis’s attacks but the Holy Lights as well.

“Is that all you have?” Dracula laughed. As he was laughing two arrows flew by him. “Not even in the slightest” TK and Masaru said simultaneously.

“Even with all your attacks, you humans are like insects to me!” Dracula bellowed.

“Well how about this?” GB yelled as he used a plant bottle on the ground and pulled up a Madragora. When he pulled it up the Madragora shrieked causing Dracula to lose focus and he ended up taking a Holy Light in the face. This threw him back into one of the other manors and made a small hole in the wall.

“Alright!” everyone yelled.

Then a rumble occurred.

“Is that an earthquake?” Ashley asked.

“FOOOLLSS!!! Do you honestly think something like that would finish me off?!” Dracula yelled “Behold my true power!” Just then Dracula flew high into the air, his body glowing.

“What the hell is he doing? GB asked. Ivy replied,

 “I have no idea, I’ve never heard of anything like this.” Suddenly hundreds of Familiars surrounded Dracula.

“Behold my true army!” Dracula laughed.

“We can’t take them all on” TK said.

“We should get out of here and come back with more people” Ralis yelled. Just then a dark aura came and surrounded Dracula.

“Oh crap he is going to do Hell’s Judgment again” GB yelled. The aura then hit everyone in the party and knocked them back once again.

“Now that you are all done for, how about I play a game with you. Which priestess is more important to you!” Dracula sent his army of Familiars to go attack Ashley and he himself started to fly towards Ivy.

“Crap, none of use are strong enough to take on either by themselves! We gotta chose one” GB yelled

“We can’t we have to try and save both” Ralis replied. All of a sudden everyone heard a familiar in their head.

“Listen up everyone, the only reason I can do this is because I am part vampire at the moment” it was CJ “All of you need to focus on Dracula. He is the center of all of this. Trust me!” Everyone looked at each other and went straight for Dracula.

“Haha fools!! Your friend is doomed now!!” yelled Dracula. Just then a bright aura appeared behind them. It was the Rosary around CJ’s neck that Ivy had given him. It freed him from the ice. With his enhanced speed it almost looked like he was flying towards Ashley. While he sprinted you can hear an echo saying “Sonic Blow!” In an instant all the familiars were dead on the ground.

“Now go, take him out!” he yelled. Everyone aimed everything they had in Dracula’s direction. With all the damage he took Dracula fell to the ground in front of the broken manor. He then stood up using the wall to help brace himself. Suddenly two arrows pierced his arms and stuck them to the wall. Dracula screamed in pain,

“What are these magical arrows!”

“They are silver arrows, they hold holy property” Masaru replied as he shot two more into his legs to hold him in place. Ashley still only focused on CJ began to cry,

“B-brother y-our alive!” CJ replied,

“Technically, not yet I still am vampire at the moment, but Ivy’s Rosary gave me back my sanity, but I don’t know how long it will last so I need you to do me a favor.”

“Anything” Ashley said with tears of happiness still in her eyes. “I need you to endow my katar with some holy property” CJ said.

“B-but won’t that hurt you or worse with the way you are now? Ashley asked. CJ said, “Yes, but this is the best shot we have to defeat Dracula. I’ll be fine, just trust me”

Ashley then reached into her supply bag and took out a vile of holy water. She then put her hands around it and prayed, while she was doing this CJ, went into his bag and pulled out a poison bottle. He poured the poison onto his katars, doing this increased their lethality. When he finished that, Ashley was done with her prayer and dropped the water on each of his katars stacking it with the poison. When she did this CJ yelled in pain and everyone looked in his direction,

“Big Brother!” Ashley yelled.

“I-I am o-ok…N-nothing t-to it.” CJ replied. Still in pain he leaned over and kissed Ashley on the head and whispered,

“Thank you.” He disappeared in an instant, sprinting at Dracula still pinned “Move!” he yelled. Everyone got out of his way. CJ looking straight at Dracula yelled, “Critical point found…I finally found one you BASTARD!” In an instant he stabbed Dracula once in the neck and the other in the heart. He then backstepped away leaving his katars pierced into Dracula. Everyone noticed his hands were smoking. “Hey! Quit looking at me and finish him off.” Everyone nodded and turned their attention to Dracula. GB pulled out an acid bomb from his bag. Ralis, now off his Griffin, drew his spear. TK and Masaru drew their bows, while Ivy grabbed CJ and pulled him out of the line of fire. “ATTACK!” CJ yelled and everyone let loose their strongest attacks.

“NO!! I CAN’T BE DEFEATED BY THE LIKES OF YOUUUU!” Dracula cried. When the smoke cleared there was nothing but ash left where Dracula was pinned down. Everyone then turned to CJ to check up on him. They all noticed that his skin was turning back to normal, the fangs were disappearing, and over all he was back to normal.

“Are you ok” Ivy asked “Are you back to normal?” CJ stayed silent. He then grabbed the back of her head and placed it on his chest and asked,

“What do you think?” Ivy listened and heard a faint *thump* *thump* of his heart. She looked up and said,

“CJ your ok! But your hands” looking down at CJ’s other hand that was still burnt.

“Let me heal them for you!” she said.

“Sure, but there is something I have to do first” CJ replied. He placed his hands on the side of her head leaned in and gave her a kiss. Ivy could feel her head spinning as she reciprocated her feelings as well. When….

The time on the clock reads 11:59am. *Beep Beep* as it changes to midnight, Ivy sits up quickly, breathing heavy, and looks around. She has a confused look on her face and her face is flushed. “W-was that real?” Ivy asked to herself as she gets out of bed. “I need some fresh air.” As she walks out the door she sees Ashley sleeping soundly in the other bed. “B-but I could have sworn she was just saved by…and I was just…*sigh* I defiantly need some fresh air.” As Ivy went down stairs, the lady at the front desk noticed her and gave her a smile and a friendly wave. Ivy noticed and gave her a nice wave back. She thought to herself “This seems somewhat familiar.”

Outside in the cool night air Ivy takes a deep breath, stretches, looks up at the moon and says “Ah that air is nice, and the moon looks so pretty tonight.”

“Isn’t it?  said a familiar voice.

“Who’s there?” Ivy said with a fright. As she turned around she saw a figure sitting in the darkness with its back leaning against the wall of the inn.

“Wanna sit down?” the voice said in a calm tone. Ivy started to walk to the person. When she got close, her worried looked turned into a big smile. The person sitting against the inn was CJ.

“Oh, fewwww, CJ it just you, I thought you were some kind of creeper” said Ivy with a look of relief on her face.

“Hahaha sorry for that I just couldn’t sleep tonight so I came out here for some fresh air and ended up looking at the moon” replied CJ. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?”

 “Yea it is” Ivy said as she sat down next to CJ. She noticed CJ looking down at something in his hand.

“What do you have there CJ?” she asked.

“I’m not sure, when I woke up it was around my neck” he replied “Here you want it? I don’t need it.” He handed her the necklace. It was a Rosary. Ivy looked at it with surprise and then a smile appeared on her face. She handed the Rosary back to CJ and said,

 “You keep it, maybe it will keep you safe one day.” CJ took it and laughed. He replied “Alright, I will.” So he put the Rosary around his neck and asked with a smile, “How do I look?” Ivy replied,

 “You look great CJ, you look great.” With a smile on her face she leaned over and placed her head on CJ’s shoulder, and looked up at the moon. CJ somewhat confused by this, placed his arm around her and grabbed her shoulder and looked at the moon as well.

“Life is good, don’t you think hun?” Ivy asked. CJ replied,

 “Yes it is Ivy, Yes it is.”