Chapter II: Retrieving a Weird Clock





Crazy. That's one word I'd call the white haired girl named Skye.

The moment she got a full hold of my flashlight, she yelled in triumph then happily ran towards the murky darkness, back where I came from. "I'll return it! Promise!" She yelled as her voice grew fainter. Okay, maybe she's a bit too crazy.

I stood there for a second, taking in what in the world just happened. No, not just the girl or the clock. It's about being in the dark with water rising up to your knees. That's when I sort of just realized that I'm in a sinking boat. Great. Just awesome. I have nothing but a flashing red light for luminance.

Something crashed from the room where the fish went in. I trudged through the water and placed my hands on the gap of the door, trying to open it. But to no avail, it didn't budge. Something must be stuck on it.

It's not just your average wooden door. It's your average metal boat cabin door - which is to say, very hard to open when something is stuck on it. Even only having a red flashing bulb as a source of light, I can judge that this door must weight a ton.

After awhile, I sighed and banged my head on the door. What's the use? I'm just gonna die here in this sinking boat; young, clueless and stupid.

The water had rose to my knees when there was a loud splash from the dark hallways where Skye ran to.

"Who's there?" I said, glancing left and right in the darkness, expecting something to leap at me the way horror movies do.

"Hey, Anthony," a voice cracked from behind me. It unexpectedly erupted from behind me that I instinctively leaped a feet or two forward. How did he do that without me noticing?

"Geez man," the blond guy in a suit mumbled. "I'm not that scary."

"What do you want with me?" I asked. I already asked that before, but I got a non-satisfactory answer. So I asked again.

"Well, one, my timepiece, then two, I don't want anything from you," He replied. "To be honest, we only came here to save you."

"Save me from what?" I yelled. It echoed through the dark hallways. "Tell me!"

"I can't explain to you right now, kid," he answered. "but I'm sure you'll get all the crisp details you want later. Now let's take care of that door." He dragged his feet to the door and he examined it. After a few seconds or so, he reached into something inside his suit. The flashing red light made it hard for me to make out whatever he pulled from his suit. Then I identified it: A long curved blade. It was very sharp and very...blue. A weird blade.

I stepped back a little, wondering what he's gonna do with it.

"Relax, kid." he chuckled. "I don't kill." He swiftly dug the blade in the middle of the door's crack and he pulled. In a moment, something went "crack!" and the door swung open, releasing a few pieces of cardboard from inside the room.

"Y-you pried it?" I said; dumbfounded. As far as my fourteen year old brain can process, humans need to have the power of about a machine (or elephant) to pry that metal door open. I can hardly hold it myself.

"Yeah, got a problem, sweet cake?" He went in and he started picking up objects. "Ah, here we are." He triumphantly held up the fish. How he got hold of it, I have no clue. "Nasty little bugger, eh? Open your mouth." He said, then as if the fish understood, it opened its mouth wide. The guy reached in and pulled out the golden time piece. He dropped it in his pocket and he threw the fish on a pool of water infront of me and I felt it scurry - or swim - away.

"Now, I do need to explain this next part." He scratched his head with the hilt of his blade. "Let's just say you might die an inevitable death within the next 5 minutes if you don't cooperate."

I slowly nodded; whatever it is.

"For starters, my name is Bernard-"

Then, as if on cue, a shout came from outside the room, "Bernard! Barnaaaard!"

"Oh, what now?" He grunted then he looked outside. "In here, Skye!" He yelled back. Then he mumbled to himself, "Stupid trainees. Always like to get chased by animals."

The girl, Skye, stumbled in the room and she shut the metal door behind her. Heaving heavily, she slumped on the knee-deep water. The flashlight, which is still on and hanging from her jeans, swung all over the place in the cabin. I took one big look and realized we must be in somesort of VIP cabin.

There were elegant dressers floating nearby, a large mounted king sized bed, a floating antique lamp and other stuff the queen of England consider as "normal everyday items."

Bernard clapped his hands. "Now, I'll continue. My name is Bernard Rowe, Guardian of Aquania. We were sent here to secure you and deliver you to-"

"Hold up," I cutted him. "You're a what? A Guardian? What the heck is that?"

He held his free hand up. "Don't cut me unless you want to be cut too. Literally." I glanced at the blade in his hand. "You will get answers later. As of now, we need to find a way to get out of here before the m...they do."

Something about that last part kind of shook me. I felt like he was gonna say "monsters." Actually, all of this shook me. I feel like I'm dreaming, imagining all of this.

This is way too far to be a prank too. I can't imagine myself in America's Greatest Laughs for this. For 1) this ship is actually sinking. I can feel the water rise and the boat sink, and 2) the guy and girl are seriously talking like serious people.

"They?" I said. "Who's 'they'?"

Then, something weird happened. A loud screech like a big hornet erupted from outside the room and a big dent appeared on the closed metal door.

"They're here!" Bernard announced. "Anthony, take a weapon from Skye!"

For a brief moment, I stood there. Whatever it is on the other side of that metal door is creeping the living soul out of me. There were sounds - ghoulish moaning, squishing of something fleshy, screeches, wails of agony. It's as if a band of injured, brainless soldiers had taken camp outside the door.

"Anthony!" The girl snapped me back into reality. "Take this!" She handed me a wicked dagger. I shakily took it and stared at it. Skye pointed te flashlight directly at my face and I covered my eyes.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Skye," Bernard warned. "How many times will I tell you: Newbies are always ALWAYS like this."

"Oh, right..." She looked at me in an air of pity.

"Steady," Bernard held up his dagger. "Ready. Weapons Weild!"

Skye raised her hand and something unexplainable happened. A hilt of a sword formulized at the palm of her hand, then the whole blade. It was a double-edged long sword. It was white as clouds and thin as the human hair. It looked as if it can shatter into a million pieces if touched.

But that's not what actually caught my eyes. The sword bore a message in unearthly letters and words, but somehow, I managed to read it like I was born to do it:

Eternal Metal shalt resist,

Destined to strike on mist.

A boy must be forgotten,

And the other, stolen.

Princess of Four regions,

The Sky's Heart will never be forgotten.



It didn't make sense. But it sounded important. I stopped thinking about it when the metal door exploded and bits of metal flew everywhere. Some hit my face. Some splashed against the waters.

What came next is hardly explainable in paper.

"Left! On your left!" I shouted at Skye as she danced in a succession of wild slashes, ducks, jabs, and rolls that seemed to flow with a rhythm that only she could hear. It really did look like she's dancing.

Things poured into the room like heavy rain. They looked like snails the size of a human being. Their skin were moist and sticky (I touched one of them) and they looked like a human being, not just a size of one. They had a faceless head, arms and legs. Said arms have claws on them. And it hurts really bad.

"What are these things?" I yelled as I kicked one in the face.

"Aqua Ghasts!" Skye yelled back.

"Jaguar whats?"

"Ugh, nevermind!" Easy for Skye to say. I don't have a clue how to defend myself with a dagger. Never did I imagine myself in this situation.

I got cornered, and at my back was a wall filled with picture frames. As I hacked at the Aqua Ghasts, I had continued to back up; and thus, I was cornered. Two scaly arms emerged from the wall and grabbed my hand, squeezing so hard that I lost my grip on the dagger and it went spiraling outside the large cabin, which was now full of Aqua Ghasts.

"Anthony!" Skye screamed; she wasn't doing too well, either.

Another pair of scaly arms rose out of the floor and took hold of her legs, making her trip. She landed face down, splashing water all around her. That didn't look like a good fall to me, worsened by the masses of Aqua Ghasts that came hurtling at her and pinning her down.

Bernard, on the other hand, remained motionless, and seemed to be murmuring; he was unharmed, even with all the Ghasts passing through him; if I didn't know better, I would have said they were no more substantial than mist.

But by the physical evidence of the scratches I had received from these Ghasts, I concluded that they were solid enough.

"Bernard?" I asked. "How come you're not . . . being killed?"

He just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm an Aqua Guardian; they can't hurt me."

"But they can hurt us!" I squirmed; the Ghasts' grips were extremely uncomfortable.

"Right, we have to use force then!" he smiled. Then he held out his palms, saying something that sounded like "Aqiuss! Come forth!"

Nothing happened.

For a brief moment, I thought we were surely done for. These Aqua Ghasts are now going over my body, scratching every visible skin they can scratch, which really hurt since I only wore a T-shirt (arms exposed), and some khaki shorts (legs also exposed). The Aqua Ghasts seemed to be intent on only hurting us since their claws aren't-

I felt my body go numb as a large gush of water smashed through the windows and hit my face, causing the Ghasts to lose their grip. I was wet, but what matters was that I was free. The saltwater lit my whole body on fire.

"Run!" Bernard shouted, "they're after you; I'll help Skye!"

Turning, I sprinted for the hall, where more Aqua Ghasts were entering. I found the dagger again by the doorway, picked it up, and held it like a ninja in a movie might, hoping I could give Bernard some time to save Skye.

This isn't a game, Anthony, a voice stated. This is life or death. It sounded like a voice I knew. No, not mom. Or Kyle.

I ignored it and charged at the limping monsters. The first intercepted me with a screech-like cry that hurt my ears; I stabbed it and it burst into water. So I repeated the simple action, ignoring their attacks and my wounds, which must have been long past minor by now.

After five minutes of stab-burst-repeat, only approximately a dozen of the Ghasts were left, and they quickly retreated back into the darkness, moaning and creaking.

"That was..." Skye said behind me, "how did you do that?" She trailed off, looking at me in curiosity.

Unfortunately, I was in no condition to reply, or even to remain upright. I was trembling hard, and every inch of me yelled in pain; at last, I gave up, dropping the dagger and slumping to my knees. My breath came in heavy pants, and it went without saying that I was exhausted.

Letting my head drop, I realized that my sweater was tattered and soaked in blood; Skye followed my gaze and gasped. The sweater was the least of my worries - my arms were filled with gashes and cuts.

"Oh my-!" she exclaimed as she examined my wounds, "Bernard, call back-up!" Turning to me, she said, "Don't worry, Anthony, help is coming, stay with us!"

I can only groan. "Ah are you guys okay?"

"I guess so, only a scratch or two," she replied. "What were you thinking, charging at a hundred-strong mob of Aquatic Idiots?!"

I almost laughed at her nickname for the Ghasts. Crying out, I winced in pain, holding my right arm close to me.

"Bernard, he can't last much longer!" Skye demanded, yelling. "Where's the back-up team? Call them now!"

"Right, already did when you freed me, girl," he replied. "They are almost here."

In what felt like fifteen minutes, a group of men in white uniforms (similar to those worn by a hospital worker) marched in with a stretcher and some boxes with equipment that I assumed was first-aid-related. All of them had Time pieces (hanging from their uniforms) like Bernard's, albeit slightly smaller.

"It's poison; the Ghasts are armed with poison," one of them diagnosed after examining my wounds. "We must take our chances with Phoenix Raise."

"But the pain-" began another.

"It's our only chance," sighed Bernard.

"Just...hold on, Anthony," whispered Skye as she held my hands.

They took out a syringe (have I mentioned that I hate all syringes?); in a flash, I felt a small pinch and then something was burning through my veins. My mind went black with pain and I fainted; I could not bear it while conscious.

I blacked out and fainted.

_____



I regained my awareness in a white room; I had been sleeping in a white bed as a man in white forced some sweet syrup down my throat.

The man left my sight, and I realized that I could hear and I blinked a few times. My vision was blurry, but my nose worked perfectly. A faint smell of hospital was adorned the very air around me, and I almost gagged.

I was barely able to make out the face of an old man; he seemed to be wearing spectacles. He bent closer and observed my face.

As he worked, I caught the tail end of his sentence. "-is it true that this is him?" His voice sounded like a brass bell. Creaking.

"Yes, I-I failed you sir," I heard Bernard stammer; somewhere on my right.

"Cheer up. You found someone even better than the original target," another voice boomed to my left.

"Yes, Mr. Rowe," the old man nodded, "one must always look on the bright side."

"But what we need is that child!" Bernard growled in exasperation.

"We do have a child; it's what the scrolls say anyway," said the other. "A Guardian of water will fail but prevail, a child, unknown, must be saved."

"So, you were holding back information from me!" Bernard unsheathed a dark blue blade with holes in its sides, pointing it at the man beside the old man.

It seemed that the air became of a type similar to that at a tropical beach, but with a hint of fury.

"Put down your blade, Mr. Rowe," the old man said, calmly and with an air of authority.

Bernard awkwardly lowered his blade, missing the sheath and scratching his hand instead.

He regained his composure and sheathed it properly. The wound on his hand healed unnaturally quickly.

Five seconds before, it had been bleeding; but now it was scarcely a scar; it looked as if nothing had happened to it.

"Wh-where am I?" I said. I was surprised to find that my voice sounded like I imagined a frog's would.

"Ah, Mr. Trace." The old man nodded. "You're awake; and please refrain from talking, as you still need some rest, you know."

"Just nod and smile I guess," commented the other man. "The name's Herald Yvon."

"Unfortunately, my partner," Bernard snarked.

"It is fortunate," Herald replied and shot Bernard a look.

"Whatever," he grunted.

"So, Anthony Trace?" The old man looked at me. I nodded. "Do you feel any pain or something?"

"I don't think so," I replied. "Where's Skye?"

"Ah yes, Skye Hart, she's in a room that's built exactly the same as yours. We thought she was fine until she almost blacked out right next to you."

His response did nothing to assure me, so I asked, "Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's doing fine," he answered, taking out a pad and writing something down.

"My left arm," I croaked, feeling a cast on said-appendage.

"Ah yes, it was sprained very badly when you fell face down and fell on your arm; it will be at least three weeks before you can take it off." He gestured at the cast on my left arm. "Do you know me?" the old man asked.

"No."

"My name is Nicholas Trace. You're father's elder brother."

"You're not my dead grandpa, are you?" I asked, squinting at his face. My vision was evidently still blurry.

"No, no, of course not!" He laughed. "You're talking about Jerome, are you?"

"Uncle George?" I replied. I never had a relative named Jerome.

"Yes, that's what he named himself, I see." He relocated his glasses, and jotted down some notes.

"I, uh... feeling sleepy..." I said; I didn't know what had just happened. I got an overwhelming urge to take a nap, or sleep, maybe. I think it must have been sleeping syrup that the man gave me earlier.

"Goodnight..." I heard myself murmur.

"He's tough," said Herald, "it took him a few minutes before he finally passed out; now, about that meeting..."

I heard nothing more as I slowly drifted into sleep.

_____



I dreamed of a large castle. I was standing in the middle of the Garden as two guys with interesting appearances played some kind of flute; sometimes they played, sometimes they chatted.

"Dad told me to lead the expedition tomorrow," the older looking one said.

"You will be back, right?" The younger one lowered his instrument and spoke.

"Don't worry, I'll be back with James in a just few days." he responded, "you stay here and take care of Rafael and Khael."

"Can't I come?" the other asked, pleadingly, "I can kill a field hog now!"

The older man laughed. "We need you to kill is a ten-feet tall troll." Laughing again, he continued, "I'll let you join the team if you can do that!"

"Really?" he asked, widening his eyes, "then I should be training now!" he yelled as he sprinted inside the castle.

"He's growing up fast," he sighed, then continued to play flute, eyes closed.

_____



I awoke with a tear on my cheek. Eyes closed, I brushed it away. I had no idea what just happened, but I knew one thing: the big brother wouldn't be coming back. Well, it felt like it.

I stretched my body, yawned and was soon fully awakened.

The sun filtered into the room, which, even with air conditioning, had become very hot.

I sat up and stared at two figures: Skye, with a bandage on her shoulder, a cast on her knee, and her silver white hair scattered on the sofa, peacefully sleeping. Bernard, with feet akimbo, sleeping on the floor, murmuring random words and snippets of phrases, snoring in a way that seemed staccato.

I looked at my surroundings. Glass-paned windows were covered with curtains, and sunlight adorned the head of the bed. This place looked like a private room with a wall-mounted LCD screen, a sofa, some chairs laid on my left, and unmistakably, the bathroom.

"You're awake," Nicholas whispered on my right. "You've been asleep for three days now."

"Th-three days?" I shivered.

"Yes, not only that, but also your arm has healed in remarkably little time: 48 hours, 19 minutes, and 32.8 milliseconds."

"Wha-?" I gaped in astonishment. "That's impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible here."

"Where am I?" I glanced at the glass panels.

"Where you're safe." Nicholas stood up, continuing. "Sorania, the Kingdom of Wind."

"Sounds familiar..." I scratched my head. I'm pretty sure Sorania is not a state in America. Or a country in Asia, for that matter. Where am I?

"Of course it does. It's where you are born," he chuckled.

Chapter IV: Sorania



"I was born here?" I asked with a quizzical look, "like, in this room, here?"

"Actually, yes." Nicholas stood up and picked up a couple of files and shuffled them around. "Ah yes, your mother, Katelyn," he nodded to himself. "She delivered you right here," he said. "In this room, as your father, Alfrey Trace, was--" He paused, moving to the exact spot where my father had supposedly stood, "right here."

"How did my mother and father meet?" I asked; I had asked the same question many times before, but always, the conversation was directed to another the subject; or, even more frequently, I was simply bribed with ice cream as an incentive to change my mind; nonetheless, the question was never completely gone from my thoughts.

"Hmm..." He pondered the best response to give me, at last saying, "you will know sooner or later, I suppose." He chuckled. "It started during the 21st War of Tempest and Sora."

"Tempest?" I asked curiously.

"Tempest is the deceiver of the nations; the lord of storms, earthquakes, volcanoes, even of tornadoes and tsunamis; and he once came much too close to getting the four kingdoms to kill each other." He took a breath and then continued, "The air was filled with arrows with deadly accuracy that were the most precise of their kind of weaponry; they were shot to and from earth and skies. Wielders and warriors alike battled from the skies, and many fell dead. In this time, the entire human race's destiny fell into our hands; the Guardians." He paused and sent a meaningful stare in the direction of Bernard's snoring face, then nodded to himself.

Carrying on, he said, "They have been chosen by us; the Seven Primary Keepers of the Seven Elements of the universe -we are commonly referred to as Pri-Guardians. We have chosen our best and most pure-hearted wielders and warriors." He sat down on my bed and patted my leg. "Your father was the first man to invent these." He took out from his pocket a Time Piece similar to but more intricate than Bernard's; the craftsmanship was amazing. It had edges and a chain of gold, with five slow-moving hands that pointed at numbers.

"Bernard has one of those, too, right?" I asked to confirm that Bernard's Time Piece was also of the kind my father invented.

"Yes; all Guardians and wielders have gear like this, but mine is more complex," he responded. "Now, about your parents," he continued. "Your father, Alfrey, as I said earlier, was the first man to forge the Time Piece, and also the first man to use it. Although it was all by a simple accident...but that is another story."

He tossed his Time Piece into the air with a twist and caught it, making the action seem as easy as eating pie; having tried similar feats and having held a smaller Time Piece, I knew it was not such a... painless task and must have taken a fair amount of coordination and strength.

"He randomly set the hands and spun them quickly; in a matter of minutes, he emerged somewhere outside, in Earth," he clarified, replacing the Time Piece in his pocket.

"You mean... you are from another universe? We are in another universe? Where exactly are we?" I said as I sat up wide-eyed.

"Hmm... yes, that's one way to put it; but no, not quite," he replied. "We are in the island country of Althea. Your father and mother met somewhere in Earth. Your father had travelled there, draining all his energy; exhausted, he stumbled and collapsed beneath a pine tree." He took a breath and went on. "I remember that your mother had just come back from a shopping trip when she saw your father lying there in her street, unconscious."

He paused and cleared his throat. "Your mother, in college then, tended to him until he was back to full health, letting him stay in her apartment; then, one day, he merely approached her and asked, 'Will you marry me, Katelyn?'"

Nicholas smiled. "And she agreed, despite the fact that they were too poor to hold a marriage ceremony or buy a ring; they had each other, after all."

He looked at me, pausing. "Meanwhile, I and his other brothers searched for your father. One day, I heard the wind whisper that he was in another world. I searched his laboratory and found a Time Piece. I followed him to Earth, and convinced them to return with me, for...certain reasons." Again, he looked at me strangely, as if he were hiding something.

Silently, I absorbed all of it.

"Are they still-" I stopped.

"Alive?" Nicholas finished for me. "Yes. I have confirmed it; your mother and brother are both under the protection of the Aquanian Kingdom."

He looked around. "Please excuse me; I must discuss something with the Palace." With that, he took out his Time Piece and spun it so quickly that it looked like a sign was forming in the circle; the speed of the rotations was so high that a Cloud symbol appeared, visible for but a few seconds; a blinding golden light radiated from it and I was forced to close my eyes. At the same time, a loud screeching noise began, grating upon my ears.

When I opened my eyes, Nicholas had disappeared, leaving me in bed and Skye and Bernard awakening.

Bernard was the first to reach full awareness and mumbled something about breakfast; he ceased his muttering when he saw that I was awake.

"Finally, the dreamer awakes," he said, taking the chair beside me and talking about my parents; all of which I already knew from my mostly one-sided conversation with Nicholas.

After a few minutes of him telling an account of my sleep-talk, Skye finally shook herself out of her daze and with wide, sky-blue eyes, she tackled and hugged me really tight; almost as if we were old friends, which was, what can I say, awkward.

"My back! My back!" I half-yelled under my breath, struggling.

"Oh, sorry, my bad." She pulled away quickly and hid her face from my view by turning around. I could have sworn I saw her blushing; whether she was or not, I knew I was.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Better than yesterday," she managed a half-smile. "You've been sleeping for three days now!" she added, maybe to hide the trembling in her voice.

"So I heard." I replied.

"Your arm also got healed quite rapidly," Bernard joined in, taking a paper cup and pouring hot liquor into it.

"Anything new?" I grinned.

"What?" They both simultaneously said.

"Nicholas told you all the details?" Bernard grumbled.

"Aww, he spoiled the fun!" Skye giggled.

"You see, we were supposed to tell you that you slept for three years!" She giggled. "But looks like he beat us to it." She laughed hysterically for half of a minute.

"Skye, what are you?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" She replied brushing away the tears on her eyes.

"As in, who are you?" I repeated.

"I am a wielder of wind, a Sora," she gleefully said.

"Watch this!" she exclaimed as she formed some kind of pose, with her left arm stretched out in front of her and the other bent behind her.

I curiously watched as a small orb of whirling air began to materialize on her palms, growing bigger by the second; it stopped growing, having formed a large orb of concentrated air.

In a flash, it whooshed outwards, sending waves of air streaking across my face, ruining my hair, and sending sheets of paper everywhere. Bernard, on the other hand, seemed to not be affected.

"Oops," she said as she put both her hands on her back. "Sorry 'bout that."

"It's okay." I brushed my hair with my hands, trying my best to fix it without seeming too obvious about it.

"You need more focus," was all Bernard said as he sipped his coffee, reading a newspaper of sorts. "But your concentrated ball of air is impressive." He added.

"What's a wielder, anyway?" I asked.

"Oh, it's a person who can control one of the seven elements." Skye carefully raised her gaze to meet mine.

"Which are?"

"Sora, Aqua, Terra, Fira, Heka, Deka, Nova, and... Tempora..." She enunciated 'Tempora' as if it was a holy word.

"Wait, let me get this straight; people can control the elements?" I said out of curiosity; I still had trouble believing all that I had seen or heard today, but if my memory was gone - well, that made sense.

"Well, only one element per wielder, but yes." She paced around the room gathering the scattered papers. "And no, you are not dreaming; want me to prove it to you?" She leaned forward and pinched me, which raised me a foot off my bed.

"Okay, okay; so Sora means Wind, right?" I said. Skye nodded. "And Aqua, water; Terra, earth, Heka-" I stopped. "Isn't that a polygon? And nova?"

"True, but here Heka means sound, a special attribute inheritable by any wielder; nova means lightning or electricity, which is an attribute that can be inherited by any wielder."

"What's the difference between a guardian and a wielder?" I asked again; my mind was still craving answers.

Instead of Skye, Bernard replied; apparently his coffee cup was devoid of liquid and no longer held his attention. "Guardians are expertly-trained wielders who are chosen by the Seven Pri-Guardians of elements, whilst wielders can be anyone who has devoted life to that thing; for example: I was a champion in swimming and won two gold medals, five silvers, and a bronze. Then one night, a voice just suddenly spoke in my mind and asked me what I want. And boom, I'm an Aqua wielder; then I graduated Third Cloud and became a guardian." He sighed deeply and added, "Ah, good ol' times."

"And Nicholas said something about guardians dying," I prodded.

"Ah, yes; when a guardian dies and all guardians of that element are dead, that element will vanish from this world forever." He looked sad when he said that, and I asked no more questions. I took another nap because something told me I would have need of it.

_____



I woke when Skye unexpectedly shoved warm liquid that smelled suspiciously like corn soup near my face.

Seeing my wide-eyes, she recoiled and dropped to the floor.

I gulped down the soup.

"You startled me!" Skye exclaimed rising up to her feet.

"Well, why were you spoon-feeding me?" I fixed my appearance and dabbed at the soup that had dribbled down my throat with some tissue.

"Well, you see, I thought you were going to sleep for a long, long time again, and I've been doing this for two days ago; you need to eat, you know," she shyly explained.

I might have turned red; for two days a girl spoon fed me with corn soup. I was imagining her saying "The train is coming! Open your mouth!" as she fed me, until another realization hit me.

"Why are you being so kind to me? I have only known you for four days," I questioned, calming myself.

"Oh, you see, uhm, it's because you saved my life back in the boat," she blurted out. "You bought Bernard enough time to kill the Aqua Ghasts all over my body and to free me," her voice was so quiet that I had to lean over to hear.

An awkward silence filled the room as I digested her words. "Oh," I whispered.

Chapter V: Awakening



We could have stayed there forever, frozen, staring, and speechless. I have no idea what just happened back there. A sudden silence. Skye still holding the pot of corn soup in her hands.

Luckily, Bernard barged in chattering something about rotten fish and school.

"Man, rotten fish in my stew, not a good joke for a Aqua Guardian!" he chuckled then clutched his mouth, "wow, thinking about it almost made me gag again."

He just kept chatting to himself until he saw us, just Skye standing there while I'm sitting on the bed with an intense gaze on the blank screen of the wall mounted TV.

"Are you guys okay?" Bernard whispered, twitching his gaze back and forth from me and Skye.

"Yeah, I guess." I was first to reply.

"You two look like garden gnomes just a sec ago."

Skye defrosted and hastily spoke, "We-uh... We're playing who can not blink first?"

"Y-yeah." I agreed.

"Well, whatever." Bernard slumped to the couch, "oh right, Anthony, looks like Nicholas got you a life-time scholarship at Third Cloud." he sighed then snatched up the remote and turned the TV on, and a lady screaming emerged at the screen.

"Ah! I hate horror movies." he said switching the TV off, "so yeah, you got free training on Third Cloud Academy." he repeated.

"Oh, really?" Skye's eyes widened, "that's where I train!"

"What's Third Cloud?" I asked.

"Well, actually Third Cloud is a cloud." Skye answered, "But uh, Third Cloud Academy is the school in third cloud."

"Is that even possible? A school on a cloud? when did clouds became solid?" I asked again.

"The Hospital you're in right now is on a cloud." Bernard Pointed out the window I could see that we are moving somewhat up and down, and the sun's rays are just unbearable at this place, like I just got nearer to it.

"Also, Is that really a school? you just said 'train' not too long ago, you're not saying 'study', you guys are making it sound like a bootcamp or something." I said while sheilding my eyes.

"You can say that." Skye replied as she put down the pot of corn. "well, we say 'train' cause that's what we mostly do there, but we also have classes, grades are based on your skills, we also have pegasus riding,Archery and Class Wars."

She said all of that like it was real, but still: Pegasus Riding? (That must be a joke), Archery? (Well, some schools have that), Class wars? (I don't know if you considered throwing chalk and erasers at other classmates, but I think Class wars here sounds deadly).

"Well, Kid, you'll have to prove everything what we said yourself, you gotta get ready for the next 30 minutes." Bernard chanted as he turned on the TV again as more Screaming came out, he quickly turned it off, clasping his chest like it'll fly off his body. "Oh man, I hate freaking horror movies!"

"Here's some clothes." Skye Handed me a couple of white T-shirts with the imprint: "Third Cloud Academy" and a black-outlined cloud. She handed them a little too shy - she was all energized not too long ago. "The shower's right in that white door on the left." she murmured.

I quickly got in for I was stinking like a wet sock, dumped on a bed of mud, plus an unbearable stench like fish. I stripped off my hospital clothes then flinched at the strong spray of hot water, I wonder how its already hot.

I scrubbed every visible part of me until I was satisfied then checked out my arms and chest that used to be filled with gashes, but now they look just fine. I quickly got on the white T-shirts and Jeans then busted out. I found Bernard and Herald disscussing about fried fish.

"Its delicious!" yelled Herald.

"But its a living creature!" Bernard snapped.

"How come you eat Pig cutlets?" Herald sighed.

"Its not a fish!" Bernard yelled.

"Nevermind, Tony's here." Herald turned to me. "Well, kid, looks like this is your lucky day."

"Anthony, uh... do you still have the dagger I gave you?" Skye asked out of nowhere.

"Yeah, I have it in my... oh my gosh. I think I left it on the boat." I exclaimed.

"Oh well, I'll just get it for you." She said opening the door and leaving, for a brief moment I heard a sound of Metals hitting each other then the door shutted off the noise.

"Well, first of all, off ve go to the Awakening Center I guess." Herald gestured me to follow him to the door, as also Bernard grumpily stood and followed me.

The Second the door opened the Clashing of metals began again and shouts of fury, I thought we'll emerge at a battle ground but we just came out of a somewhat hospital hall with other rooms and nurses, doctors, other people walking around. finally I got bored.

"Bernard, why do you want my brother, Kyle?" I asked.

"Well, you see kid I-" he got cutted off by Herald who kicked him in the shins "ow, I'll tell you later."

In a few minutes Herald checked me out from the hospital lobby and trudged outside to the cloudy streets (I mean litterally Streets made out of cloud). Bernard and Herald stepped onto the cloud surface and walked onto it like it was solid stone. They looked back at me and gestured me to go on.

I stepped on it hoping that I'll go through and plummet to my death, but it was perfectly solid as a rock.

We went through a place which Herald called: "Cloud-Plaza" and which Bernard preferred "The Cloud Fountain", but the place looks like both.

The Sky is being lit up by the sun, rising from behind the Hospital. The Plaza, which is infront of the Hospital, has a large fountain with angel statues blowing trumpets where water is coming from,

We passed by a bunch of teenage guys playing around, pushing each other in the water. After few attempts of scolding, Bernard finally gave up and adopted somekind of pose then the water from the fountains started shooting right at the guys faces.

In a few seconds, they're all laughing including Bernard and Herald while the guys walked to a building with the sign "A-Dorm" on the entrance, leaving puddles of water that got sucked by the clouds (I guess thats how rain happens...sometimes).

After what seems like forever, we finally hauled our aching butts in the Awakening Center which is actually called, Awakening Sanctuary.

"You got it wrong again." mumbled Bernard.

"Nevermind." whispered Herald.

At the entrance, an old guy in white robes stood.

"Ah, you must be a newcomer." he said.

"I guess, how'd you know?" I answered, frowning.

"You do not appear to have a Caster, plus you do not have an Edheros."

"What's an Edheros?" I asked.

"You'll know soon." he croaked.

Without a word, the old man led us inside the sanctuary, in the middle there is some kind floating book glowing in the dark. When we came closer it slowly descended to the pedestal and the room became illuminated by torches.

"Open the book." Gestured the old man.

I slowly opened book and Inside I saw pages covered with letters that I did not recognize, but my eyes focues on one name in the middle of the book: "Felix".

"Felix..." I mumbled without my will.

"Felix?" The old man frowned.

"Now that's a shocker." Bernard whistled.

"FELIX!!!" The old man suddenly shouted.

In seconds, an unseen door behind the pedestal creaked open and a dog padded out and spoke (Yeah I'm really this crazy).

"Yes, need sometin'?"

"Felix, did you write your name in the Book of Awakenings?" the old man glared.

"No, course not." he licked his paws, "how in the world can I even write using paws?"

"Then it is done!" the old man clapped his hands and the book of awakening glowed and a light emerged shooting to my jean pocket.

I felt my pocket and took out a Timepeice made in silver, and a chain, made also of silver, and there are five hands in it, ticking slowly. Then the book shot another beam of light to Felix's neck, after a few seconds, a silver collar emerged from the light circling around his neck.

"Bernard." The old man turned to Bernard, "do you know who this boy is?" I heard him whisper.

"I'll explain later." he whispered back.

"Hail, Anthony Trace, weilder of light and dimensions, son of Alfrey!" the old man shouted, how he knew my name I don't know.

I looked at my timepeice and my name embedded on it and also on Felix's collar embedded Felix's name.

"Uh, did I just get called?" Felix twitched his head.

The wolf didn't look realistic enough a few feet away. But now that he's right next to me, my brain went overdrive. Wolves can't talk.

"You...you talk?"

"Oh, no no no," Felix the talking wolf said. "I just ate a voice recorder."

My state must be crazier than I thought

Now I have: A guy who controls water, a girl who spoon fed me, a school on a cloud, pegasus, and a talking dog.Can my day even go crazier.