by Luna Lais
"Perhaps you are right...perhaps the boy can shape fate." it said.
Jimmy helped Karen up, and Chrissy and Cat walked up to them.
"Does this mean this is all over?" Cat asked.
"No," Jimmy replied. "I'm afraid this is far from over." Jimmy helped Karen up, and they all walked away before a crowd could convene on the area. The evil one's plan may have been foiled, but Jimmy knew this wasn't all there was to G’riel's legacy.
Chapter 26 - Legacy
* * *
26
"Legacy"
The next day, that afternoon, Jimmy sat in a booth in a local fast food restaurant. Half of his meal sat in front of him still, while he continued to stare off into space, lost in his own thought. His trance was broken, though, when a woman in a brown t-shirt and jeans walked up to his table and sat down.
"You want to know everything," Karen said. "I can read your thoughts from a mile away."
"There is much more to this," Jimmy said. "We may have stopped the portals, but is the cycle broken? I feel we are only delaying the inevitable."
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think you had the power to shape fate," she replied. "Has the cycle remained intact? I believe so. Is the worst over? Not by a long shot."
"Then tell me what I need to know!" Jimmy shouted. People looked at him, and he slowly sat down, calming down. "I refuse to live in the dark when it comes to my own destiny."
"There are things I can't tell you," she replied. "It's not that I don't want to...I just can't. The relationship I have with the orb is complicated...as complicated at the flow of time itself.
"Then what can you tell me, Karen?" Jimmy asked
"History repeats itself," she said. "You know about the past. Long ago, a great evil challenged the kingdom, and thus the Swords of the Avatars were forged, but the evil is only truly defeated in the past. And the cycle doesn't end in the past."
"I know," Jimmy replied. "I started the cycle, and the beginning is the end. But then how is he defeated?"
"He is born," she said. "Time flows differently. This is how the cycle completes. And as odd as this sounds, this is all meant to be. You shape our fate. You merely send him to his own demise by continuing to shape fate with the power of the Avatars...a gift from the Creator. The evil met its end in the past, but the Great Cataclysm still came! It is coming, and it will come."
"Are you saying we may be facing some sort of Armageddon?" Jimmy asked.
"There is a legend," she replied, "about the power of the elements. Five elements which forged together could bring about the Great cataclysm. In the past, the Avatars seeked out this power in order to prevent the cataclysm from coming. It did not stop the Master."
"You refer to him as if he were your master," Jimmy said. "Is there something you're not telling me, Karen?"
"The orb is a corruption," she replied. "That is all I must say. I only remember what the orb lets me remember. All that I remember about the battles is that the Avatars sent him to his doom. I fear that since we are at the beginning of the cycle, he may try to obtain the power to bring back the battle. His minions are dwindling, but I feel him building a final assault. If we can stop him now, then we may prevent him from obtaining this power and corrupting the cycle."
"You think I have the power to shape fate," he said. "I do not control the hearts and minds of billions of people. But you know I will do what's right for each and every one of them. What else can you tell me?"
"The legend tells of a sword that could control the elements. This was one of many focus objects enchanted by Lady G’riel. When the Red Orb was corrupted, this sword was lost with time. The 'Queen's Sword' I carry is a mere replica of it, with very little of G’riel's power. I doubt we can find the power...the book that held its secrets has been lost for centuries. Hopefully its whereabouts are hidden from the Master as well. But when he comes...we need to stop him." Jimmy gets up from the table.
"Don't worry," he said. "As long as we remain a team, we will stop him." Jimmy walked away. Karen closed her eyes.
"The lost legacy of G’riel..." she whispered, "Mysteria..."
* * *
Chrissy just fixed a cup of coffee and was walking slowly back to her living room. In the blink of an eye she felt a presence behind her, but she was knocked out cold before she could react. She was pulled into a nearby closet, an ominous glow coming from within.
* * *
Lauren was in her dorm room, the door locked, swinging her sword around. She practiced intently, swinging it faster and faster. She quickly resheathed it and nodded her head. Then in an instant, she was attacked from behind and knocked unconscious. She was dragged through the locked door...a glowing purple portal in front of it.
* * *
Karen walked into her apartment and slowly walked into the small bathroom. She turned on the water and splashed it on her face. As she looked up into the mirror, she heard a voice calling to her.
"Behind you!" it yelled.
Karen saw a figure in the mirror and ducked. It shattered the mirror. Karen tried to scurry out of the bathroom and lunged for the Red Orb. It fell to the floor, but the cybernetic warriors grabbed her and dragged her into the next room screaming. A purple glow appeared and vanished...and they were gone. The orb lay on the floor glowing, as if calling out to someone.
* * *
Jimmy was walking back towards the dorm when he felt something behind him. He turned quickly, and saw a group of cyberwarriors. As he turned his head again, he saw that he was surrounded. He reached behind him and grabbed the hilt of his sword, and it appeared as he withdrew it from the cloaked sheath. Before he could raise his sword, they charged at him. He instinctively swung his sword and cut through two of them. He turned and kicked down another, then sliced through several more. The last few jumped on him. He struggled hard for a minute, then all at once broke free, and the remaining ones went flying backwards to the ground far away...as if he had the strength of ten men. He then heard a shriek in his mind...he raised his sword.
"Courage, be my strength!" The sword exploded with power, as his own courage fueled the energy, surrounding him. The light surrounded him, binding to his skin, forming the golden armor of the Avatar of Courage, transforming him into the Hero.
"Something's not right," he said as he took off into the air. He made a bee line strait for Karen's apartment. He crashed through the window and landed. He noticed there had been a struggle...then out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the glowing orb. He instinctively knew what he had to do.
* * *
Darkness fell over the city. A rumble was felt for miles, and people fled for their lives. From the ground, an enormous structure rose in Public Square, and a form, dressed completely in black and a hood, sat patiently on a throne. He snapped his fingers, and Chrissy, Lauren, and Karen appeared, tied to spikes in the ground, hovering over boiling cauldrons of acid. The figure looked on as his minions amassed around him, and you could feel his evil grin beneath the hood.
"He defeated Morak," he said, "and he vanquished Seravno. Indeed...it is all coming to pass as that blighted sorceress predicted. The future will happen...and I will not let this boy change the course of my destiny. The Avatar will be drawn here and destroyed in front of the others, burying the Ultimate Power once and for all. Then the cycle will be broken, and I can shape this world into whatever I want!" Just then, a sparkle appeared in the distance. It became clear that Jimmy was coming. He landed at the edge of the area, facing an entire army of cyberwarriors. The Master raised his hand, and the army marched towards him.
"Destroy him!" the Master yelled. "Let nothing remain!" Jimmy charged his sword, and dropped the warriors one by one with charged shots. He ran towards the Master, carving a path in his way. Half way there, Jimmy pulled his coin out and placed it on the hilt of his sword. When he raised it, flames engulfed everything around him, and most of the army of cyberwarriors was burned to a crisp. Jimmy glared at the Master.
"G’riel's pa
rlor tricks aren't enough to change the flow of time!" he yelled to Jimmy. "And I know you better than you know yourself! Surrender now, and I will make your deaths painless. Fight me, and rest assured...the suffering G’riel predicted for you will be far worse than you could possibly imagine."
"You can't stop the cycle!" Jimmy yelled, his sword pointed at the Master. "The future has already happened! I will make sure you never change that...even if it kills me."
"Be careful what you wish for, boy," he replied. He pulled back his hood, and the crystal in his forehead resonated, the cracks in it prominently seen. "The dreams and the nightmares of the world shall be your own destruction! And the legacy of G’riel will be lost to the end of time!" He charged his energy, the crystal glowing wildly. But Jimmy himself closed his eyes...and clasped the orb behind his back.
By the Orb of Light,
May Wisdom, Power, and Courage unite
Under the power of Triad!
Jimmy's armor glowed with a golden light as the power took hold. His courage magnified as he started down the enemy, and the grass grew near his feet, filling with the power of Life itself. He was now Ultimate Warrior. He let loose a wave of Triad energy that changed the darkness to light, and made the structures that appeared vanish. All that was left was he and the Master...and Chrissy, Cat, and Karen in peril.
"You can dispel the darkness in this place," the Master yelled, "but you cannot vanquish the darkness in your own soul!" He raised his arms. "Die, Avatars!" The bindings released on Cat, Chrissy and Karen. In a flash of light, Jimmy whipped out Chrissy and Lauren's swords and threw them. They stuck in the spike, and Chrissy and Cat were able to hang on to them. Jimmy ran at light speed at Karen and rescued her before she could fall in. As he set her down, he was struck with a blast of energy and flew to the ground.
"Your beginning is my end," the Master said, "and your end is my beginning!" He raised his arms again, and two figures appeared beside him. Chrissy and Lauren held on to their swords struggling, and yelled out the incantations.
"Wisdom, be my strength!" The silver light leaped from the sword and surrounded Chrissy’s entire body, enveloping her in an onyx armor...as the Ultimate Power took hold, transforming her into the Dark Warrior.
"Power, be my strength!" Flames leaped from Cat's sword and surrounded her, enveloping her in flaming red armor. The Ultimate Power filled her, and the heart of the Immortal Dragon beat within her...transforming her into the Dragon Warrior.
Chrissy and Cat hovered above the cauldrons. They looked at the minions, then each other.
"I'll take the vampire thing, you can have Mr. Big and Hairy," Lauren said before zooming off.
"I like werewolves better anyway," Chrissy replied, taking off in the other direction.
"Minions of the Dark Realm, destroy the Avatars!" the Master yelled. He pulled a sword from thin air that looked alot like Red's Queen's Sword. "Come, Hel Flame. Shape my fate." He and Jimmy ran at one another, and as their swords met, an explosive force hit the area. Neither of them flinched. They fought at light speed, swords sparking and clanking.
Chrissy landed in front of the beast. She looked deep into its eyes.
"Your face shows anger," she said, "but your soul shows fear!" The beast lunged at her, and she blocked its claws with her sword. She pushed the beast off her, and she blocked the swipes of its claws with her sword again. It swung hard and knocked the sword away. When it swiped with the other hand, Chrissy leaped back, backflipping out of the way. Her lance popped out of her hip and buzzed to life, and she spun it in front of her. This forced the beast to back up. Chrissy leaped over it and swung, cutting off its arms. When she landed, it went to charge, but Chrissy raised her hand, and her sword leaped from the ground and impaled him through the back. He fell to the ground dead. Chrissy walked up to him and pulled out the sword.
"Let's see what you know," she said as she held the hilt tightly and drove the sword through his skull.
* * *
Lauren landed in front of the vampire. It looked at her intently, exposing its fangs. She glared back.
"You don't scare me," she said as her sword split in two. Before she could react, however, it flew at her and knocked her back, flying into a wall. She swung, but it backed off to avoid her. She took off into the air after him. She took repeated shots at him, but he avoided it. "So, you like to play the speed game, huh?" She charged the Ice Brand and let loose a wave of energy that he couldn't escape from. He fell to the ground. She charged it one more time, and fired at him, freezing him in a solid block of ice. She then threw the Fire Brand at him, impaling his chest. She landed next to him.
"Garlic and crosses?" she said. "I choose fire." She pulled the hilt upwards, cutting up through him, splitting him in half, leaving a bloody mess.
* * *
"The power of Life fills me!" Jimmy shouted as they fought. "The Creator Himself will not let me fail!" They fight harder.
"G’riel has filled your head with her own thoughts," he replied. "Do you even know what is real anymore? Do you not see the lie you are being shaped into? You say you have destiny, but you are the fate shaper! What makes you different than me? The truth!" Their swords clanked intensely.
"My fate is none of your concern!" Jimmy yelled, their swords still clanking rapidly. "Every man shapes his own destiny! Every man has a dream in his heart he follows!"
"A dream?" the Master yelled. "Dreams are nothing but visions of the past, memories of the lost, and thoughts of what never was and what never will be! My own rage fuels my power...but the power of the crystal is infinite! I dream of the Ultimate nightmare...death as new life! You dream of 'The One'! I'll tell you of your fate and G’riel's lie! 'The One' is dead! Your own dreams betray you! You are nothing more than a delusional child who has been conned into thinking he could shape fate...made to believe dreams come true! The dreams you have of her...I will bend them into something so twisted and vile, you will wish your dreams had died with her!" As Jimmy's rage began to build, the Master summoned dark spirits.
"The Nightmares shall consume your soul," he said, "and bring forth Death where there once was Life! Fulfill your destiny, Hel Flame!" As the spirits engulfed Jimmy, they fed off his madness. But Jimmy remembered his battle with Seravno. He remembered the words G’riel said to him...but more importantly, the song from his dream...the song he wrote, with the vision of "the One" in his mind. He charged his sword, and fired one final blast of triad power, and it hit the crystal in the Master's forehead.
"No!" he yelled. "G’riel will not stop me from fulfilling my destiny! You created me, you bastard, and you will pay for this!" The energy of the crystal resonated, and the Master was drawn into it. As it shattered, it was enveloped in purple haze...the same energy of that other realm, then vanished into nothingness. The spirits disappeared, and the Ultimate Power left the triad. Jimmy helped up Karen, and Chrissy and Cat approached.
"He's gone," Chrissy said. "I don't feel him anymore."
"But for how long?" Karen asked. "I know history repeats itself. Jimmy...you know by preserving the cycle, we set into motion the events that will lead to Armageddon."
"And we'll be ready," Jimmy said. "G’riel's legacy wasn't for it not to happen. Her legacy was to stop it. And we will."
"Together," Lauren added. They all put their hands together. "We are the Avatars of the triad. As long as we stick together, we will forge destiny and stop any evil." Jimmy nodded. They all knew in their hearts that their legacy was to stop the evil, and no matter what fate had in store, they would face it as a team...as friends.
Epilogue
* * *
Epilogue
Chrissy, taking classes at Penn State on the Lehman campus, was in the library, searching for books to help her with her history research paper. She walked past the librarian's desk and into the heart of the library. She walked up to the computer catalog system and typed in her subject matter: legends. A list of books came up, and she wrote them down, one by one, on a piec
e of paper. She then proceeded to the proper shelves to retrieve these books. There were plenty of them, but she chose five. The fifth of these books was not titled in the computer, and even though she found the numbers, it was still difficult to find the book. It was supposed to be located in the M aisle, but there was no book where it should be. However, the computer said it wasn't checked out, not since it first entered the library. How odd, she thought. Then she spotted something behind the other books. A book was hidden in the back of the others. It was old and dusty, and she had to move alot of books to get to it. However, when she touched it, a strange thing occurred. It glowed, and she jumped back. It shot out of the shelf and flew around her like an angry bee. It then opened up and came to rest in front of her. She tried to read it, and even though it was written in a long-forgotten language, she could understand it. It was like the book was speaking the words in English, the words literally leaping off the page and into her ears.