I don't think I'll have much time for uodating after this. Gotta start starting on final projects ><
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Reunions
Chapter 17
"Steel...?" Leo asked, talking in a lower voice.
"What?" Steel said. His voice held no kindness.
"If you're as old as you say you are, does that mean me and Ryo will live to be as old as you...?"
The three of them were still slowly making their way to the Cathedral of Fire. But their pace was slower, and more cautious as they tried their best to avoid squadrons of Camarian Users and soldiers. Steel didn't answer Leo for a minute as he slowly looked down a street they needed to go down for Camarians.
"Yes, you'll both have extended lives..." Steel finally answered.
"But what about Davis and Kaira?" Will they have extended lives too?"
"We live this long because we are descendants of Angels..." Steel explained, sounding slightly annoyed and mad. "We're partially immortal because of it...but we still have the ability to die. Your children will still experience longer lives, but not as long as you, since they're not the offspring of selective breeding."
Ryo flinched at the thought of his birth being from selective breeding. He knew it was true, but he didn't like the sound of it. It made them sound like things and not humans.
"Why do you wanna know?" Ryo asked Leo.
"I was just wondering..." Leo said. "We aged normally until we were about twenty, then it seems like we just stopped aging normally..."
"I know..." Ryo said dully. "Do you wanna live as long as Steel?"
"I don't know..." Leo said. He sounded either tired or bored. "I've never really thought about it..."
Ryo didn't say anything else. The full moon was shining bright in the sky, but random patches of clouds were gathering. Ryo remembered the voice on the intercom. It had specified two individuals, Taj and Kaira. He knew they were supposed to be outside of Camaria's capital by now, but he was beginning to wonder if it was safe even out there.
"Do you know where we are?" Ryo asked Steel.
"I know enough," Steel hissed back, still glancing around to see if they were being followed. "The Fire Gate's one of the farthest ones away..."
"No shit..." Ryo muttered.
Steel raised his metal arm and silenced them. He quickly motioned for them to become invisible. Ryo and Leo both leaned against the side of a building, blending in with the shadows. Steel leaned against the wall opposite from Ryo. He switched out his metal arm for his gun hidden in his arm.
Ryo glanced out into the wide market street at the end of the narrow alleyway they were in. Several Camarians passed by in a hurry. Ryo couldn't see why Steel had them hide; they wouldn't be a real match against the three of them. Steel motioned upward. Ryo and Leo both looked up. Camarians were jumping from rooftop to rooftop above them, as well as on the buildings around them.
"Where are they going?" Leo whispered.
"I don't know..." Ryo said quietly.
"Damn it..." Steel said under his breath to where Leo and Ryo could hear. "They might be trying to get to the Cathedral of Fire ahead of us, making a perimeter..."
"Then we can't just let them get ahead of us!" Ryo said, speaking louder. Steel didn't reply back. He was thinking the same thing. Steel sighed deeply.
"I'll lead them away," Ryo said. "Then the both of you can go on to the Fire Gate without me."
"That won't do..." Steel said. "I'll lead them off, I'm expendable."
"Whatever..." Ryo said.
Steel loaded his gun, looking pissed, then aimed for the rooftops. Before Ryo or Leo could say anything, Steel fired. The shot rang and echoed in Ryo's ears. Seconds after the shot was fired, a Camarian soldier fell to the ground in front of them.
Camarian's stopped on the buildings around them, searching in the alleys for their assaulter. Steel cocked his arm-gun.
"I'll lead them a short ways off, then you both leave!" Steel yelled. Before Ryo or Leo could say anything else, Steel had walked into the street, firing his gun a second time, shooting another Camarian Wind User in midair.
"Steel's a lot different than the way he was a long time ago..." Leo said as he and Ryo ran westward towards the Fire Gate.
"I still hate him!" Ryo replied.
"I didn't say I liked him..." Leo said.
Steel fired his gun multiple times at several Camarians, being as disruptive as he could. He heard orders shouted, and Camarians flocked to his location. Steel smiled, loading his gun once again.
"That's right...come to me..." Steel said to himself. He found a machine gun lying on the ground in front of him from one of the User's he had killed. Steel picked it up, then attached it to his arm.
"Kalon, I'm thirsty!" Dimi whined loudly. Since leaving the Cathedral of Water and hearing the voice on the intercom, Kalon had been leading Dimi to where he believed the Earth Gate was. He'd been taking a faster pace to get there quicker, but it only made Dimi more thirsty.
"You're a Water User! How the hell can you be thirsty?!" Kalon said in disbelief.
"I'm tired of drinking water! I feel like I've been drinking it forever!"
"Well suck it up! I don't have anything to drink! And even if I did, you' d be the last person I'd share it with!"
Dimi sighed in a whiney way. He was about to summon water when something caught his blue eyes. It was a small store with light on. The only building with lights on.
Kalon looked around the corner for Camarians. No one was in the street. Just a drunk hobo sleeping on the ground.
"Okay Dimi, let's go..." Kalon said. He went around the corner, then stopped. Silence. There was never silence when Dimi was in a whining mood. Kalon spun around, to see Dimi was missing. Kalon made half fists, and cursed, looking around.
"Where the hell is...?!" Kalon looked, and saw Dimi down the street, standing in front of a store.
" 'Twenty-four Hour Convinient Store'," Dimi read the store's sign out loud to himself, forgetting to tell Kalon he was going to buy a drink. "Must be my lucky day!"
Dimi approached the doors. They were made from glass, and he could see inside the bright store, but he couldn't see any door handles. Dimi looked around for some handle, but couldn't find any.
"Is this some kind of sick joke?!" Dimi yelled, feeling tricked. He took another step closer, stepping onto a black mat in front of the doors. The doors made a low pitched dinging sound, then slid open. Dimi's mouth fell open.
"No friggin' way!" he yelled, stepping back off the black mat. The doors slid closed. He stepped forward back onto the black mats, and the doors slid open once again. "This is awesome!"
"Dimi!" Kalon mouthed barely loud enough for Dimi to hear. He was standing a ways down the street, cautious of getting too close to the store. "Get your ass back here!"
Dimi ignored Kalon and continued stepping on and off the door mats, making them open and close repeatedly. A couple Camarians exited the doors when Dimi had them opened, giving him strange looks. Kalon gritted his teeth. He didn't want to get close to the store to get Dimi.
An old man walked up to the store, but stopped outside to watch Dimi open and close the doors like a child.
"You're very energetic," the man said to Dimi in an old, kind voice.
"Yep!" Dimi said happily, stopping and turning to the man. "My friend Kalon thinks it's because I'm retarded! I just think I'm high off life!" The old man laughed softly.
"You remind me of my son...he was a lot like you."
"Really?" Dimi asked. "Can I meet him?"
"Oh, he died years ago."
"That's weird, I don't have parents either!" Dimi said. He managed to say it in a way that wasn't offensive to the old man. The old man laughed again at Dimi's nature.
"What was it you came here to buy?"
"Oh yeah!" Dimi said, remembering his objective. "I'm really thirsty, and I wanted something to drink!"
The old man led Dimi into the store. Kalon stood outside down the street, mouth gaping, and watched Dimi disappear into the store with an old Camarian man.
"What is it you wanted to buy?" the old man asked Dimi, leading him to the fridged with the cold drinks. Dimi opened his mouth and stared at the wall of various drinks.
"There's all of this?!" Dimi asked. He pressed his face against the fridge closest to him and read the labels. "What's soda?!"
"You've never had soda before?" the old man said, surprised. "Pick some out, let me buy them for you, my boy."
"REALLY?!" Dimi asked loudly. He opened the case and pulled out various different colored bottles. "Cream, strawberry, orange, vanilla, lime, you have all of these flavors?!"
"Yes, grab as many as you like, I'll treat you," the old man laughed at Dimi's excitement. Dimi began grabbing as many different kinds of soda as he could find, until he came to a different section.
"Energy drinks?!" Dimi exhaled, reading their labels. "This is sorcery! They make drinks that give you energy?! Kick ass!" He grabbed several different energy drinks. His arms became full, and he ran to leave them on the counter while he went back to grab more. The cashier watched Dimi in confusion while the old man laughed softly. Dimi grabbed several pouches of different juice drinks, then was finished. On his way back to the counter, Dimi saw a shelf carrying condoms, and grabbed a pack out of curiosity. The old man removed his wallet and paid for all of Dimi's drinks.
"Parents are awesome!" Dimi said happily, taking his bag of drinks. He and the old man left the store, and Dimi thanked him.
"It was my pleasure," the old man said happily. "You reminded me of my son. And with all of this commotion with these Angels, I needed that."
Dimi laughed nervously. "Yeah...you don't say..."
"I hope you enjoy your drinks young man," the old man said. He left Dimi, and Dimi opened a bottle labeled Cream Soda. He hiccupped after drinking it.
"Retard! What were you thinking?!" Kalon said through his teeth when Dimi finally went back to him.
"Kalon! You gotta try this!" Dimi held out a soda to Kalon. He snatched the soda away angrily.
"Idiot! Think next time!" Kalon said, turning away angrily. Dimi followed close behind, still carrying his bag. Kalon glanced at the soda bottle.
"The hell is this?"
"It's soda! It's wicked awesome!" Dimi said, drinking his again, and hiccupping. Kalon sighed, and opened his.
Kyo ran swiftly down a narrow street, his mind memorizing where he'd been, and where he still had to search. It hadn't been too long since he left Ken and the others.
"How far could they have been taken?!" Kyo said to himself. He looked up at the buildings around him. He summoned enough Wind to give him flight. He flew above the buildings surrounding him. He hovered in place, and began looking around. Then a large, machine-like object caught his eye. It was a ways off in the distance, illuminated by the moonlight. It didn't appear to be moving, and hovered in the sky. Kyo watched it cautiously for a moment, wondering what it was. It was large, and circular with metal fans around the outside that rotated slowly.
Kyo turned away from it slowly, deciding it was nothing. Then two small explosions erupted in the distance. Kyo turned back, realizing it came from the large battleship. At first he saw nothing, then he saw two flying objects heading towards them. Kyo drew his sapphire sword, and waited to see what the metal objects flying at him would do. They did not change course, and continued to head towards him. Kyo lowered his eyes, then when the metal missile was just feet from him, he swung his sword. The blade collided with the metal object, veering it off course. The metal object flew past Kyo, then exploded.
Kyo flew to dodge the second metal object. To his surprise, it turned on its course, and continued to follow Kyo. He scoffed, and flew to the ground, letting the missile get close to him. At the last second, he turned, and the shell went into the ground and exploded.
Kyo landed gracefully a ways away, deciding he'd be more subtle if he didn't fly.
"The Cathedral of Ice should be just ahead..." Davis said to Kaira. Kaira nodded silently. She didn't know why they were really going there anyway. They all knew from the intercom announcement that The Angel of Ice was discovered dead. Kaira had a feeling it had been her father who had killed him. She figured she just wanted closure in knowing Janon was truly dead.
"We don't have to go if you don't want to, Kaira. We have no business there," Taj said. Kaira shook her head.
"No, I don't mind going...it is closed after all...."
They entered the plaza in front of the Cathedral and stared up at its ruined beauty in the moonlight. The Ice that made the sacred Cathedral was all cracked, and appeared to have started melting.
"What happened to it?" Kaira asked Davis.
"When Caza closed the Wind Gate, the Cathedral just collapsed. The same must have happened here," Davis said, looking at the melting, shattered Ice.
"There's no one around..." Taj said. "Does anyone wanna go see if Janon's still in there?"
Davis and Kaira said nothing, and they slowly made their way across the court to the entrance. They all peered inside the ruined Cathedral from the doorway. The entire inside of the Cathedral was completely destroyed, with random Ice stalagmites piercing from the floors and walls. On the floor, shining in the moonlight, was a bloody stain on the Ice floor, where they figured Janon's body had been.
"They just took the body and left the rest of the Cathedral to rot?" Taj said. "That doesn't seem right."
"Everyone's just probably busy trying to find us," Davis stated. "They'll most likely come back."
"We should leave then..." Kaira said. She stared at the bloody smear on the floor before leaving. They crossed the court once again in silence.
"Wait..." Davis said, stopping. Kaira and Taj both stopped and listened.
"Sounds like a car..." Kaira said. Davis instantly took a fighting stance, his fists emitted fire. Kaira held her dragon tighter and took a nervous step back.
In the distance they heard one, then a second explosion. Then a car entered the plaza. Kaira looked closer, swearing she recognized everyone in the car.
"Is that...?"
"Ken!" Davis yelled. The car came to a stop, and Ken got out, along with Roxanne, Caza and Jim.
"You guys are all right!" Roxanne said happily.
"Yeah, we're okay I guess..." Taj said. "No one's found us at least..."
Kaira saw Ken, but when she looked around she missed Kyo. "Where's Kyo?"
"We split up, he went to look for you and Taj, and I'm driving us to Roxanne's Gate..." Ken said, glaring at Taj.
"He's looking for us...?" Kaira said softly, feeling a stab of guilt.
"Yeah....well, mostly you," Ken said. Taj made a face at Ken.
"Does anyone know where my Dad's at?" Davis asked.
"No...we haven't seen them," Jim said. "They're probably trying to go to their own Gates..."
"Yeah..." Davis said lowly. Kaira was silent for a moment, trying to think of what to do. Kyo was out there alone, willingly looking for her.
"Davis, you should go with Roxanne..." Kaira said. "They're gonna need you more than us."
"'Us'? What are you gonna do?"
"Me and Taj are gonna go find Kyo."
"Me?" Taj asked, sounding annoyed. "Why am I going?"
"Maybe because Kyo's looking for both of you," Jim said.
"So...?" Taj said, defeated.
"Are you sure? You should come with us," Roxanne said, looking concerned.
"No, we should really try and find Kyo..." Kaira said. "He shouldn't be alone looking for us."
"I'll go with you anyways," Davis offered. Kaira shook her head.
"No, Roxanne might need you more, Davis. Don't worry about us, we'll be fine," Kaira said. Davis gave his cousin one last concerned look, then climbed into the back of the car with Caza and Jim. Ken drove them away, heading northwest. Taj watched them leave, feeling sad that they had to go back.
"Why do we have to go find him?" Taj asked Kaira. "He can obviously take care of himself!"
"Taj, he's out there risking his life trying to find us," Kaira said, leading Taj back the way they came. "We should at least try to find him, he's alone right now."
"It's not like he minds being alone...." Taj muttered under his breath. "The freak...with his sword, and trench coat, and silver streaked-hair and ever-changing eyes..."
Kalon gave Dimi a nervous look. Ever since Dimi had drunk a can labeled 'Energy drink', he had been going haywire. Dimi was grinning wide, and laughing at everything. Kalon was lucky there were no Camarians in the same section of the city as they were in.
"I friggin love energy drinks!!" Dimi said loudly, speaking twice as fast as normal, throwing away a can of energy drink. Kalon raised an eyebrow, and as they were walking, took a step away. Dimi was always a fast-talker, but after his energy drink, his speed of talking had over doubled, and even for Dimi, was talking insanely fast.
"Dimi, when you talk that fast, I can't understand a damn word you say!" Kalon yelled.
"I said I friggin love energy drinks! They're awesome!!" Dimi yelled loudly, his whole body jittering from the caffeine. He still had his bag of drinks in one hand.
"It wasn't that good was it?"
"YES! IT WAS!" Dimi yelled, his eyes blazing with newfound energy. "I can't believe we don't have this stuff in Hollow! I am totally gonna pay Professor Bob to make this stuff for me! I'll drink it every day! And you can drink it and Ryo and Leo and Caza and everyone! I can't believe Hollow doesn't have this shit! Then we can all just hang out when this is all over! I don't know why you don't like Professor Bob, I mean he adopted you and all! I would love to have that nutjob as a father! You know Kalon, you're really an angry person who smokes too much and--"
"SHUT UP!" Kalon yelled, cutting off Dimi's fast speech. "I can't understand a damn thing you're saying! Slow down! Talk slower!"
"I don't know why you can't understand! I'm speaking clear as day! You know I also bought a pack of condoms here somewhere! You can have one if you want! But you might wanna wait until we get back home! Because we have business to do here and we don't have time to be screwing around! HAHA! Get it Kalon?! Screwing?! Around?! Condoms! Get it?! It's a joke! You really need to learn to laugh more! Did you know my favorite food is dumplings?!"
"God as my witness, you will learn to speak..." Kalon said hopelessly.
They continued their careful way towards the Earth Gate. After awhile Dimi began to slow down until he returned to his normal hyperactivity.
"You retarded little bastard..." Kalon said when Dimi reverted back to normal.
"I was wired, wasn't I?" Dimi said, laughing at himself. He reached into his bag and pulled out the pack of condoms.
"Want one? They're Fun Fact Condoms! Four Pack!" Dimi said, offering him the small box.
"What?! I'm not accepting any condoms you give me!" Kalon shoved it back at Dimi.
Dimi opened the box and read the first one. "It says 'People who engage in sexual activities are less prone to stress and irritation'."
"The hell does that mean?!" Kalon yelled. Dimi read the second one.
"This one reads, 'Men who are married or in relationships tend to live seven years longer than single men'. I guess that means I'm gonna live longer than you Kalon! Even Ryo and Caza will get a few years for their flicks!"
"Give me those!" Kalon reached for them, but Dimi held them out of reach.
"Kalon, you're gonna be that one guy who dies by meteor! You're a living statistic!"
"Open wide and suck on my statistics!" Kalon went to punch Dimi, but he dodged. Dimi hid them back in his bag, and Kalon stalked away, grumbling under his breath about stupidity and idiots.
"Aww, come on Kalon! You know I meant it with all my blue heart!" Dimi yelled after Kalon, running to catch up.
"You're a dumbass!" Kalon said.
"Maybe, but now I'm an informed dumbass!" Dimi said proudly.
"How the hell do I always get stuck with you?!"
"Because! You need me!"
"Like a bullet to the head..." Kalon sighed, lighting a cigarette.
"Where do we go Kaira?!" Taj said through his teeth. He had no idea where they were going, or where to start looking for the person who was looking for them.
"I don't know..." Kaira confessed. "I forgot to ask Ken where he left Kyo at!"
"This is a story of success..." Taj said sarcastically.
"Then let's just go this way..." Kaira said, leading Taj down a street that she hoped looked promising. She had no idea where to start looking. She hardly knew where they were.
Several Camarian soldiers with User signs on their uniforms entered the street. Kaira and Taj both froze, unsure of what to do.
"Kids? You should get home!" yelled one of the Camarian guards, a Wind User.
"Wait...aren't they the two suspects we've been looking for? Radio it in!" said an Earth User.
As the Wind User raised his radio to his mouth, Kaira summoned Lightning, and sent a shock to the radio. The radio instantly cut out, and died after a fit of static.
"Taj, let's run now!" Kaira said, pulling on his arm. Taj didn't respond for a moment. The Camarian Users all made advancements on Taj and Kaira. Taj's eyebrows lowered, as he began to summon the force of Water. Before Taj could do anything though, there was a flash of bright white light, and the sound of a blade cutting through metal. All of the Camarians fell to the ground and lay still. Taj blinked, confused. Kyo walked towards Kaira and Taj, sheathing his sword.
"You really are incompetent Taj, you bastard..." Kyo said, not looking at Taj. Taj's face flushed when he saw Kyo, and he glared.
"Kyo!" Kaira said, sounding happier than she intended.
"Are you all right?" Kyo asked, holding her by her shoulders.
"I'm all right! We found Davis, then we saw Ken, and Roxanne! They were on their way to the Cathedral of Lightning, and Davis went with them."
"Why didn't you go with them?"
"We thought he'd come back to find you since you were alone!"
"Yeah. Great. We found him," Taj said, folding his arms. "Now what?"
"You really can't do anything without instructions, can you?" Kyo said harshly.
"We got along just fine without you!"
"Please, just stop..." Kaira said softly. "We're all back together now, and that's all that matters, isn't it? Let's just find everyone else, and find out what to do from there."
Kyo's red eyes glared at Taj with silent anger. "Fine. As long as he doesn't screw up again, we might make it in one piece."
"Yeah, like I'm the only one that ever screws up..." Taj mumbled.
"We should almost be at the Cathedral of Lightning," Jim said, remembering the map.
"Then let's ditch the car..." Roxanne said. She rubbed her arms where her gloved covered them. It wasn't cold out, but she found herself getting Goosebumps anyway.
"Good idea..." Ken said, slowing the car down to a stop. "We won't be such a small target this way..."
The car came to a halt, and the five people piled out.
"Do you think people are at the Cathedral now...?" Roxanne asked.
"Yeah..." Davis said. "They're definitely gonna do everything they can to protect the remaining Gates. All we can do is close them the fastest we can."
Caza went ahead with Jim. He peered around a street that led to the plaza of the Cathedral. He couldn't see the Cathedral yet, but he saw part of the plaza, and in it, many Camarian soldier Users. Caza untied the chakrams on his bent and held one in each hand.
"How many do you think?" Jim asked. Caza didn't answer.
"Do you think we can fight all of them?" Roxanne asked. She couldn't help but feel concerned. The four of them were helping her close her Gate, and she was feeling slightly responsible for any danger they could be in.
"I don't think they know we're here yet," Ken said. "We still have the element of surprise. If we can use that to our advantage, we should be fine..."
Roxanne smiled weakly. She played with the bracelet on her wrist gently. She wondered where Ryo was, and if he was doing well. She wished she had some way of knowing, no one she had encountered so far had seen him. She didn't even know about Leo or Steel.
"Are you ready?" Caza asked monotonously. Roxanne snapped back to reality. She drew several Needles between her fingers then flexed them.
"Yes, I'm ready..." Roxanne said slowly.
"How will we do this?" Caza said, peering around the corner again. From what he saw, the Camarians were in sections surrounding the Plaza, he couldn't see if there were any ranks, or groups of Users of one Elements. From what he saw, they were still organizing their locations around the Cathedral.
"I'll make the Earth crack...." Ken said. "I'll make it so they'll clump closer together...then Roxanne can summon Lightning, and strike down the one's affected by it...just try and take out as many as possible..."
"All right..." Roxanne said nervously. Jim gave her a small smile.
"Don't worry Miss Roxanne, we'll watch you, you're the one who needs to close the Gate."
Roxanne laughed, still nervous. "None of you need to do this for me..."
"What? Yes we do!" Davis said. "Nothing will we do will matter in the end if we let you fail..."
"Ready?" Caza interrupted.
"What? Oh, yeah!" Ken placed both hands on the ground, and began manipulating the Earth.
In the Plaza surrounding the Cathedral of Lightning, great cracks in the Earth shattered, making gorges on the ground. Non-Earth Users shuffled away from the holes, startled. Officers screamed their commands, and the Camarians looked wildly about, searching for their target. Out of nowhere in the sky, dark clouds collected, then rains of thunder and Lightning fell upon the clumped Camarians. Water and Ice Users fell immediately, while the other Element Users were either wounded or still searching for their assailant.
Roxanne focused hard to make her Lightning strike any available enemies. After nearly a minute of thunder and lightning flashes, she turned to Caza, Jim and Davis.
"Go!" she screamed over the thunder. Caza, Jim and Davis all bolted from their spot towards the Plaza full of confused and weakened Camarians.
