Just a few quick revisions, nothing major. Mostly fixing stupid
mistakes.
The Three Magic Knights.
Part 9
Sorcerer Dan's terrible dinner.
Ascot spread his hands and focused his energy. Two glowing balls
appeared in his hands, working quickly he created a pattern on the ground
before him. He stood before a great magical circle and screamed at the
top of his lungs. "Beast I summon thee!"
A small flame formed in the ground and instantly changed into a pillar
of light, a great beast appeared before him, it was like a great flaming
wolf. It growled and stared at its master expectantly. "Those jerks
defeated both Adalante and Hojino! I swore I would avenge them! Godiger!"
He watched as the beast changed into a ball of light and flew away.
"Just wait you magic knights!"
His laughter stopped as a new voice interrupted him. "That was unwise."
The boy spun around and saw a familiar man standing beside him. "What do
you want?"
That beast isn't enough to kill the magic knights. I told you people
time and time again, oh well." Xellos smirked and looked at the boy. "You
keep blaming the magic knights for defending themselves, and yet you keep
sending your loyal servants after them."
"What are you implying?" cried the boy angrily.
"That you are just as responsible as they are for the deaths of your
friends. Keep that in mind boy," the mage twirled his staff in his hands
and turned away from Ascot, walking deliberately slowly.
"What do you know anyway? Who are you to tell me? Those are my friends
they killed and I'll have my revenge!"
"Suit yourself, just remember what I've told you," said the Mage
cheerfully.
"Why are you telling me this?" said the boy in confusion.
Xellos stopped and smirked. "Now that... is a secret."
Dan walked down the path with the three girls following closely behind
with Umi and Fuu staying close to one another. Mokona hopped cheerfully
ahead of them keeping the pace up.
"You know, this forest really gives me the creeps!" said Umi.
"I agree, I expect a ghost to appear at any moment," agreed Fuu.
Something large and dangerous flew overhead and Umi screamed grabbing
onto her friend for protection. They relaxed after a moment and glanced
around to see Hikaru walking down the path as cheerfully as Mokona.
"Where did Mr. Dan go?" said Fuu as she noticed the absence of their
leader.
"Far away, I hope," commented Umi.
Something brushed against the shoulders of the pair and they screamed as
two gnarled looking claws appeared on their shoulders.
Both of them rushed forward into Hikaru's back and grabbed her. "Hikaru!
Help!"
She looked up and frowned. "Mr. Dan, that was mean!"
The boy in question was rolling on the ground in laughter holding a pair
of claw like sticks.. Har har! You should have seen the looks on their
faces! It was priceless!" He continued to laugh as the ground began to
shake again.
The girls began to look around with worried looks on their faces as Dan
finally calmed down. "Heh heh, you three worry too much."
"Cephiero is crumbling and you say we worry too much?" screamed Hikaru
in shock.
"We're here to stop that right? Honestly, don't you people have faith in
your own abilities? If we couldn't do it why were we brought here?" He
smiled and walked forward with another smirk on his face.
In all honesty he knew he was right, but he had no intention of saving
Cephiero. "They're too distrusting of me, if I can build back that trust
again... they'll be vulnerable too me." He didn't realize he was cackling
to himself and rubbing his hand on the blade attached to his wrist in an
evil manner.
"What is he doing?" asked Umi in confusion.
"I'm reluctant to believe there is much sincerity in those words," noted
Umi.
"Even so, he is right," said Hikaru as she sighed and turned away from
them. She didn't understand why her friends didn't trust him. He had
saved them many times before.
They stopped as another small rumble started from the forest. Mokona
puued in alarm as a stampede of small woodland creatures rushed forward
towards the group. A cloud of dust formed and Mokona was trampled in the
creature's wake.
""What's going on here? What was that?" cried Hikaru in alarm.
Dan narrowed his eyes and turned to the girls. "Wait here a minute will
you?" He dashed forward into the forest and vanished into the bushes.
"Mr. Dan!" cried Fuu as she started after him. She stopped when Hikaru
cried out in shock.
"Mokona!"
Fuu looked down to see the creature lying on the ground with various
prints on it. One of them belonged to Dan. "Oh my, it appears Mokona is
slightly dizzy."
Dan smiled as he walked into the clearing and found a hoard of dead
animals lying on the ground around him. "Wow, someone's been busy." He
walked around for a few moments and took in his surroundings. "Well, what
have we here?" He stopped in front of a rock and kicked it lightly with
his foot.
The stone emerged from the ground and growled at him. It was humanoid in
shape and had a single eye in the center of the head. He spread his arms
out and smiled at the thing dangerously. "You're no threat to those
girls. I expected better." He charged forward and extended his sword arm.
The blade impacted in the chest and he screamed. "Bakusai Tenketsu!"
In the forest nearby the girls looked around in confusion. "Which way
did Mr. Dan go?"
"I don't know, I lost track of him when I saw Mokona," muttered Hikaru
sheepishly.
"Great, we have to wait here and hope he comes back!" cried Umi angrily.
"He'll be back! I have complete faith in Mr. Dan!" countered Hikaru.
"I wish I could agree," whispered Fuu to herself.
They all stopped when an explosion ripped through the air from a few
hundred yards away.
"What was that? It must be Mr. Dan!" cried Hikaru as she started towards
the sound.
"Wait! It might be dangerous!" screeched Umi as she followed.
Dan smiled at his handy work and paused as the debris fell around him.
"Weak." He glanced around and smiled as a small helpless creature looked
up at him. It was a dog like creature, cute and very cuddly looking. It
was injured and had its foot caught in a tree root nearby. "Well, what
have we here?"
Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief as Dan emerged from the bushes with a
wide grin on his face. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you, it isn't
pretty." He almost choked when Hikaru threw her arms around his neck and
squeezed.
"I was so worried!"
"Choking-must-breathe!" gasped the boy as the other two girls followed
closely behind. They both turned around blushing and kept giving nervous
glances as Hikaru hugged the poor boy into submission.
She finally released him and he sucked in a much-needed breath. He
paused when he noticed the horrified look on her face. She was looking at
her hand, it was covered in blood.
"Mr. Dan! You're hurt!" she flung herself on him again and he put his
hand out to hold her back. He failed to notice her freeze in place or the
fact that his hand was on her breast.
"Just a minute! I'm fine! Back off will ya?" he snorted in disgust. He
threw something on the ground in front of him that was hanging over his
shoulder.
About an hour later they all sat around a fire cheerfully. In the center
of the flames was a small roasting animal, they cut pieces of meat away
and ate it greedily. Dan still had a large hand print on his face as he
cooked.
"Wow, it's been so long since I've had meat," noted Umi as she stuffed
another piece into her mouth.
"I agree, I hadn't noticed with how busy we've been," said Fuu calmly.
She was the only one attempting to be civilized at the moment.
Hikaru sulked as she poked at her food and slowly ate it. "I kind of
feel sorry for it though."
Dan looked up at her and blinked. "Then don't eat it."
She looked at him and blushed. "I don't feel that sorry for it."
"Oh well then," the boy shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat. "It
kind of tastes like rabbit."
"What was this?" asked Umi as she realized that she had no idea.
"I'm kind of curious about that myself now that you mention it," agreed
Fuu.
"It was kind of a cross between a rabbit and a cat," replied the boy as
he continued to stuff pieces of meat into his mouth.
The girls looked at their food for a moment and shrugged their shoulders
before they continued eating.
Xellos was rolling in the grass in laughter. He couldn't believe what he
had just seen occur. Beside him Ascot simply stared in horror. "They ate
him? My beautiful trap was ruined! AND THOSE MAGIC KNIGHTS ATE MY
FRIEND?"
"Don't say I didn't warn you kid," snickered the mage as he pat the boy
on his shoulder. "Think of it as a character building experience."
"Godiger! They ate my friend!" cried the boy with tears rolling down his
face.
"And how many has your friend killed before?" snorted the mage as he
suddenly became serious.
Ascot paused and stared at him for a long moment. "What?"
"Remember something boy, 'those who live by the sword, die by the
sword.' Your friend got the same death he gave countless others." Xellos
turned away from him again.
"No! He wasn't like that!" cried the boy in shock.
"Are you fool enough to believe that creature wasn't a carnivore?
Please, he's had countless masters before you. At one time he was even
wild, he's killed his fair share of men. If you are to be a true summoner
you must understand the nature of those you control. You're just a
foolish boy." Xellos gave a cruel smile and glanced back at the boy. "If
you can't do your job right, I suggest you give up. Those magic knights
are much more dangerous than you can possibly imagine."
The boy glared at him and frowned. "Who are you to tell me what to do!
These are my friends!"
"Don't be so foolish. Friends indeed, they are your slaves boy. What do
you think that summoning magic you use does? You don't just call them,
you control them. You're a fool to believe they're your friends. You've
never had a friend before, except maybe Caldina. Even she isn't much of a
friend." The mage gave a final cold laugh and vanished into the shadows
again.
Zagato frowned as a familiar sound came into the room. He turned away
from the mirror and glared at Xellos as he entered. The mage raised his
hand and Inova was blasted into the ceiling again.
"Best get him before he can be insolent," commented the man cheerfully.
"You dare appear before me after what you have done?" commented the high
priest calmly.
"If Ascot chooses to stay he will be much more reliable now. If he
leaves, well, lets just say he was useless anyway."
"How dare you say that about him!" cried Caldina from her place behind
the water.
Zagato stared at the diminutive man before him for a long moment. "He is
quite correct. Ascot would not have defeated the magic knights as he was.
We shall see what comes of this."
Xellos smiled and bowed his head placidly. "Everything is going
according to plan," he thought to himself. No one noticed the dark look
he gave Zagato's back before he vanished.
TBC...
Next time: The magic knight's greatest crisis, or Dan gets some curry.
C&C to: Carrotglace@juno.com
URL: Http://www.geocities.com/misatira/
I haven't written this in a while. This one is one of my favorites. Dan
is starting to ease up a bit, but don't think he doesn't want to kill the
girls off still. His evil is still the greatest in all Cephiero, well
almost.
You'll also note that Xellos has something big up his sleeve, but what
might it be?
"Now that... is a secret!" Bwahahahahahahaa!
Until next time!