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Part 41

He looks at it with wonder and confusion, "But I thought that a guardians weapon was supposed to vanish when they let go of it?"

I nod, "Normally yes, but we can keep our weapons physical if we want, even allowing others to wield them. I have done this before and it would seem that Shadow is doing it now as well. I can't say how long he has kept this up though so it could vanish without warning, same if he were to lose consciousness, or worse. So we may only have a limited time to use it."

As I hold the sword out to him he reaches out tentatively before grasping it by the hilt. For a split second our paws touch and I feel a spark of energy as the sword glows bright red for a moment before returning to normal.

I stare at it for a moment before Haran asks, ''Is it normal for it to glow like that?"

For a moment I consider saying that it isn't but decide against it so I settle for a possible explanation, "It's probably because of the stress that Shadow is under right now. It's connection to him may be a bit unstable at the moment. But it should still serve you fine."

He gives the sword a few experimental swings before saying, "It sure fits the paw well doesn't it and the balance is better than any weapon I've ever held before. No wonder you guys fight so well with them."

I study Haran for a moment as I reply, "It's the guardian that makes the weapon not the other way around. We fight so well because of training and a lot of it."

He nods, "Of course, I know that. It's just that with something of this quality you do have a bit of an edge in any fight."

After considering for a moment I concede his point, "I will at admit that it does come in handy having them at times. Never going unarmed is also a plus."

At that moment Shadow lets out another agonizing yell drawing our attention back to the current situation. Haran and I exchange glances and with a nod begin our weird island hopping back towards Shadow and the creature.

This time when we take our first leap however it feels like we make progress for the first time. As we sail through the air Shadow and the creature both grow considerably closer.

We both land on a rock not far from where the creature is tormenting my mate. Once we have stabilized our landing I look towards the others and see that the creature has its back towards us and is talking to Shadow, "Just give in you little whelp. You know you can't win against me. I am far stronger than you could ever hope to be."

With a grunt Shadow raises his blood soaked face in defiance, "I will never join you. You have done nothing but hurt and kill others. When I get free I will make you pay for that."

The creature just laughs, "Fool, you will never get free. Haven't you figured it out yet? You are in my world. Here I make the rules and I decide who lives and who dies. You only live because I want you to."

At that another laugh mixed with coughs breaks through and Shadow says in a rough voice, "Tell yourself that all you want but it's not true. If you truly were such a powerful master here you wouldn't need me alive in the first place. If my life didn't really matter to you I would already be dead. That's why I know that you need me alive and why I will never give in to you. Because as long as I am alive there is someone who is going to stand against you and keep you from causing more harm."

I feel a swelling of pride at my mates resolve that is quickly replaced with a sinking feeling as the creature raises a claw and a shadowy scythe forms in its grasp. With a growl it replies, "I may need you alive you stupid guardian. But I don't need you in one piece, just breathing."

As soon as we realize what the creature has in mind Haran and I both take a leap with all the strength we have in our bodies. I watch in horror as the creature brings its scythe down towards Shadow. As we get closer with our weapons ready to attack the creatures scythe moves ever faster towards my mate.

Time seems to slow down as several things happen at once. Haran and I both reach the creature and try to attack it. His sword slices through its right leg while I drive my spear into its left shoulder and try to use my momentum to cause its attack to miss. Unfortunately we hit too late.

With a shower of crimson, and a blood curdling yell of pain from my mate, the creatures weapon swiftly and easily severs Shadows left arm just below the shoulder, sending the appendage spinning into the void. As Shadow howls in agony I let out a roar of fury and use my spear to launch a series of swipes at the creatures face.

Having realized that it is under attack the creature turns to face me only to get a spear point driven into its face where the nose should be. With a howl it drifts back through the empty space around us clutching its face as what looks like clouds of black ink begin to drift from its different wounds.

Not giving it a chance to try and recover Haran hits the web that is holding Shadow and leaps after the creature swinging his sword as he does. I watch as Haran's blade slides through the creatures mid section effortlessly separating its legs from its torso, sending the creature into a spin of expanding blackness. I tear my gaze from the creatures dissolving remains and look to my mate hoping he is still alive.

Shadow is slumped against the webbing holding him up panting hard his breathing ragged as blood pours down his side. Even through his fur I can see where he has gone extremely pale from the pain and blood loss. The pain he is enduring must be agony beyond belief, how he is still conscious I have no idea.

As quickly as I can I make my way to him where we are soon joined by Haran. I press my paws against the stump of what is left of my mates arm in a futile effort to stop the bleeding. Blood pours over my paws staining the gauntlets of my armor. As I try to help Shadow a ripping sound comes from my side. I turn and see Haran shredding his own shirt, revealing a crisscrossing patter of scars on his chest, as he tries to make a tourniquet and bandages.

Going as quickly as we can we try and stop Shadow from losing any more blood. After using most of Haran's shirt and his belt we manage to stop the bleeding. Slowly he starts to breathe a bit more regularly but I can still see the pain in his face as he looks at me with tears in his eyes as he says, "Seeker.... thank god.... your finally here."

I give him a quick kiss on the nose before saying, "Nothing would have kept me away my love." I glance at Haran, "Neither of us would have stopped trying to get to you."

Shadows pained gaze finds his father as he says, "Thanks..... dad."

I see a swelling of pride in Haran's eye as he says, "I'm sorry we couldn't get to you faster son. If we had just been a little faster you might not have been.... hurt so much."

Shadow shakes his head slowly, "It's been so long.... I was afraid that you may have been killed."

I look at him confused, "What do you mean? We have only been trapped here for a short time. No more than a few hours at most."

Shadow looks back at me and I see a distant haunted look in his eyes I've never seen on him before as he replies, "You have only been here that long. I watched you both fall here. But that creature has been torturing me for what has to be weeks, maybe months by now. I almost gave up hope I would ever be found. At first I didn't believe that thing when it said it had taken me where you could never follow. But as the days dragged on I realized it must be telling the truth if you weren't showing up."

Haran and I share a horrified look as we set about trying to cut Shadow free with our weapons. As the last strand is cut Shadow falls into my arms as Haran says, "But don't you remember son? That creature hit all three of us at the same time, we were all brought here together.

Shadow looks at his father with a confused look as though he is trying to remember a distant memory. Eventually he says, "But it said that it was able to get away..... and bring us here. How else could it have kept hurting me so long?"

Things begin to fall into place for me as I look around us. With a mental smack to the head I groan, "Of course. I'm so stupid. Why didn't I see it before."

I look around at the space around us as Haran and Shadow stare at me with confusion written on their faces. The floating islands defying gravity. Haran's and my inability to leap closer to our goals at first. The creatures ability to control the darkness so perfectly here.

I turn to Haran and say, "This world wasn't just made by that creature, it is an extension of its very will. In this place he isn't just the big kid in the sandbox, he built the damn thing."

Shadow looks at me with a mix of confusion and exhaustion while Haran just mutters, ".....Shit."

An echoing laugh emanates from the air surrounding us, "Ha ha ha, that's very good young one. But not quite right."

The darkness swirls in the air and begins to reshape into a physical form of constantly shifting patterns of smoke and shadows. Slowly the creatures body regrows and it towers over us eyes glowing a blazing red as it stares at us. In its outstretched claw its scythe reforms. It's overall shape resembling a vague likes to that of death.

I shift Shadow into Haran's grip for support while I place myself between my mate and this evil. Using all the courage in my body I respond to the creature, "And how am I wrong then?"

The creature opens its arms wide saying, "You see this place as another world or plain of existence. While such places do exist this is not one of those as you understand it. No you find yourself in a mental realm of my own creation. Essentially you are inside my mind now. Here I have absolute power and you are nothing."

I feel the color drain from my face as I hear Haran speak behind me, "That's why this place is so familiar to me. It's because this IS where it kept me imprisoned for so long."

The creature chuckles, "Welcome home whelp. Were you homesick so much that you wanted to return here for all eternity?"

I growl up at it, "You will never keep us in here forever. We will find a way to stop you."

With another ground shaking laugh the creature lowers its head closer to me and says in a voice so oily that it makes the very air feel dirty, "You don't get it young guardian. There is not a living mind that can hope to compete with me here. I was an ancient legend when you were born. You are less of an annoyance to me than these ants are to you."

It's insults to my friends and family sets my blood on fire as I yell, "You may be older than anything I know but that doesn't mean you can't be beaten by us!"

The creature shakes its head and laughs yet again, "You poor pitiful creature. Clinging on to any shred of hope you can find. Well let me tell you a secret, you have no hope. The last time I was stopped it took five guardians at the height of their power to hold me at bay. Even then the best they could do was seal me away into eternal conflict with the first guardian of light.

''And I will remind you that I broke free from that prison. The ones who cast me out are long gone, their bones turned to dust many times over. Now all that tries to stand in my way is you alone with no other guardians to help you."

I glance back at Shadow and Haran and see my mate barely clinging to his father, with his blood soaked right arm, as his physical strength wanes. In his eyes though is a fiery determination that is matched by the look in his father's eye. Looking at them I know that I am not alone and I never will be. I am not alone......

I look down at my right wrist and study the tattoo that is there as I speak, "You are wrong."

The creatures laughter catches as it says, "What did you say?"

I lift my head defiantly up towards the thing that has plagued us for so long, "I said I am not alone. My friends, my pack, and my family stands with me as they have my whole life. I am never alone because they are always with me in spirit."

The creature roars in laughter, "The mighty guardian of light has lost his puny mind. You think that because you have someone to fight for that you will stand a chance against me? Think again. You won't be getting any special powers just because you think your loved."

My lips curl in a bit of a smirk, "Normally you might be right there, though having someone to fight for is its own power, that's not what I'm referring to. You see in a way I owe you thanks for the help I now have. If it wasn't for you attacking Atlantis all those centuries ago I wouldn't have been given the ability to create new guardians now."

The creatures laughter stops entirely as all of its focus is directed at me and me alone though it says nothing. After total silence has fallen I continue, "Did it never cross your mind as to how I was able to give rise to new guardians? Did Aduro never tell you that in order for a new guardian to be made it took the combined power of four masters, one from each class?"

The creatures eyes widen as I speak, "You see the first time that you attacked the village, while you were still inside Haran's body, you nearly killed Shadow. But I was able to turn him into the first new guardian in over three thousand years. Do you know why?"

The creature shakes its head in disbelief, "There is no way you should have been able to. It should have been impossible."

I nod, "And so it would have been if my father and the other four masters of Atlantis had not foreseen a future where guardians would be needed to save the world from the very evil that was destroying them. So they set about devising a way to make sure there would be guardians in that distant time and place. They created a ring that had their powers sealed away inside of it and sent it out into the world hoping beyond hope that it would find its way to me when I needed it most. And find me it did."

The creature is to engrossed in my story to interrupt me as I continue, "So when you nearly killed my mate it drove me to become a water master, the first since Master Nerine fell with Atlantis. That gave me one fourth of the power needed to make a new guardian. The rest of the power was contained in the ring which merged with my body on that day."

The creature growls, "It makes no difference if you were given the strength of a hundred guardians at once. You still are only one individual and I will crush you like a bug. Here you exist at my whim. My mind controls this realm."

I give another nod, "I acknowledge that."

From behind me I hear both Shadow and Haran give a startled jump as I feel their gazes bore into my back. Rather than look at them I force myself to stare at the creature in defiance, "But I'm willing to bet that even a mind as old and powerful as yours Feels the strain when multiple wills attack it at once. Three minds, two very young and inexperienced may not pose much of a challenge. But I wonder, what would happen if three was increased to seven?"

For a moment silence falls all around us as the creature stares at me. Then it roars in laughter, "You have lost your mind after all! The only way another mind will ever enter this place is if I allowed it. You only managed to get here because you and that garbage got in the way. But I won't allow you to bring anyone else here of your choosing. No young guardian I'm afraid you will suffer here for a very, very long time before I kill you out right and use your death to break my new hosts will completely."

It's my turn to laugh, though it's more of a soft chuckle as I say, "But you don't get it do you. They are already here with me."

There is a soft intake of breath behind me as I barely hear Shadow mutter, "You don't mean...."

He is cut off by the creatures voice, "Impossible. There is no one else but me and you."

I glare up at it, "The thing about the powers of a guardian that makes us a bit more unique among other powerful beings is that our powers are earned we are not born with them. So our abilities are much more controlled by our minds and spirits. You can't talk about one without referring to the other."

The creature grows silent as I continue with a smirk, "Your starting to see it now aren't you? On the day I was given the powers of the other masters I was given something more than just the ability to make new guardians. I was given parts of their souls and minds. Those remnants live on within me and I am able to call on them at will for advice and pleasant conversations."

The creature waves a hand dismissively in front of it, "Even so they wouldn't be able to affect the real world. You would only be able to communicate in a......"

It's eyes go wide and snap to me in alarm as I just grin and finish for it, "In a mental realm. A realm much like this one in fact."

As the creature roars out its fury and makes to swipe at me with its scythe I hold up my spear and unleash my most powerful blast of light yet. The scythe is pushed back by not one but five beams of blinding light. My golden light is in the center to the left are twin shafts of light, one red one white. To the right of my beam are two more trails of blue and green.

As the creature recoils from the assault I look to either side and see my father and the other three masters standing beside me. Each of them has their weapons summoned and are clad in the new armor of the guardians. I look my father in the eyes and see pride and a look of youth I have not seen there since I was a very young pup.

With a hint of excitement in his voice he says, "About time you invited us to this little party son."