Chapter 5: Faith in Jeopardy Whispers. Whispers echoed in the deep hollow of the youth's mind, muttering useless phrases, background noise to his own thoughts. "Where am I?" "You're,you're somsomeplace alalways always" Light penetrated through the darkness, rays of it swirling in a theatrical dance, reflected in some sort of mist. A pleasant sight after the atrocity that had been the fearful silence. "What's going on?" The fear was setting in now, deeply rooted and paralyzing. "Doddon't fefear us." "What the hell is going on? What's happening? Am...Am I dead?" "Yyes, butbut yyou mumustgogobackgoback." "Why? It's peaceful here." The voices echoed, sweet and inviting, letting the boy know he had nothing to fear. He relaxed now, knowing bliss was not far away. "Gobackback, finfind the ppowers powers." "I thought we were them. What's happening?" The voices whispered goodbye as the sinking feeling of falling twisted his stomach. Falling, falling.... Ash sat up with a start. Had he been dreaming? He slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the low level of light. He moved a hand to wipe the sweat dripping from his forehead but found he couldn't. His fiery arms and legs were bound securely to a low wooden bunk in some sort of cell. He pulled at the chain angrily and let it slide with a loud clatter to the floor. "Wait, the wound," he whispered to himself and placed his hand gingerly on his side. Nothing was there, no scar, no bandage, nothing, as if he had never been injured in the first place. He forgot the manacles and looked up to find himself in a cell of some sorts. It was dank and moldy, the smell of blood and a soft dripping filling the boys senses. He felt a shiver run up and down his spine and he wrapped his arms around himself for comfort. "Well well, what do we have here?" Ash's head snapped up to see the evil entity of Vinetra looming above him. "I hate coming down here, it's so...How shall I say, medieval," she mused grinning sadistically. Ash refused to answer, and turned his head away from the spiteful queen. "Oh, I hurt your feelings did I? I'm so sorry. Everything will be fine soon enough," she said examining a razor sharp, pink fingernail. The boy reacted instantly, standing swiftly and gripping the bars of the cell. Vinetra greeted the problem coolly, looking up at the youth, a smug smile painted upon her face. "What do you mean?" Ash asked harshly. The queen seemed delighted at this question turning a small pirouette on the cold cobblestone floor. She giggled like a small child and waltzed back, stepping only on the stones, her slender and agile feet never touching a crack. "You'll be one of us! Isn't that wonderful? You'll get to, oh, destroy cities that oppose my rule, kill innocent bystanders, in general, you'll be nice and evil. Just like me, and your precious friends..." Ash felt his knees weaken at the mention of his companions. His stomach turned a flip inside of him and he slowly sunk to the cold wood of the makeshift bed. "Wh...What have you done with them?" he asked quietly. "Ash!" he looked up quickly to see Thorangon haul a bedraggled James into the room. A pang of fear tore through his mind and body and a few points of light danced in the corners of his vision. "Leave him alone!" he cried standing again. James cried out sharply in pain as he was subjected to the Dragon's wrath, curling into a small defensive ball. Thorangon seemed to enjoy his pain, reveling in it as if it were sweet. James retaliated, kicking the dragon firmly in the ribs with the hard sole of his knee high leather boot. He roared in pain and swept his tail down in a wide arc, gathering James and sending him hurtling into the wall. James crumpled into a heap of blue feathers and didn't move. "That will be quite enough Thorangon dear," Vinetra said gathering the great neck into her arms. The dragon ran his tongue along her leathery plant like skin affectionately. Vinetra giggled softly and cooed to the dragon like a child. James pushed himself up with difficulty, blood dripping from his nose. He put a hand to it and slowly pulled the rumpled wings into their correct positions. He looked hurt, and innocent, like a beaten child. Seeing the blood, he scowled and assumed a furious air of nobility that would stay with him to the end. "James," Ash breathed reaching out to him sorrowfully. The blue- haired youth looked up at him, fire burning behind the emerald eyes. "Don't let her get you Ash," he whispered his stern face leaving a lasting imprint on Ash's mind. Vinetra heard his words and raised an eyebrow scornfully. "I've had just about enough of you!" she exclaimed extending her hand outwards. James' eyes widened in terror as a veritable web of vines spewed forth from her hand, summoned by her powerful magic, gathering him from the floor and pinning him to the grimy wall. He cried out in pain yet again as his back collided with tremendous force with cold hard stone and Ash was forced to close his eyes and turn away. James gasped for breath as Vinetra sauntered casually to the entangled youth and took his chin in her emerald hand gingerly. James struggled against the vines, but only succeeded in making his imprisonment worse. After a few moments, his chest stopped heaving as he gained a second wind. His emerald eyes met the fiery red ones of Vinetra and the youth glared daggers at the malevolent queen. "Now, are we ready to turn over a, new feather shall we say?" she asked softly. Her prisoner closed his eyes and turned his head away. "Just do what she wants James, please," Ash pleaded softly. The pale light from the torches strung about the wall reflected a glint from James cheek. Tears slid unabashed from beneath his closed lids. "Never," James whispered, the tears mingling with the blood from his nose. Vinetra looked disappointed, pursing her lips remorsefully. "That's too bad," Thorangon mused. "I'm sorry I have to do this to you, such a handsome boy," she whispered seductively and pressed her lips against his. James recoiled in disgust, opening his eyes wide with terror. Vinetra leaned into it, as if she'd know James for years and was truly in love with him. Ash clenched his teeth as the kiss slowly became more passionate. This was a cruel torture indeed. He knew he had deep rooted feelings for Jessie and hated to see anyone not end up with whom they truly loved. He imagined what the queen had done with his Misty and shuddered. Vinetra slowly slid her hand from James' chin to his throat and pulled away. James seemed relieved until the long slender fingers soon found themselves tightly wrapped around his throat. He opened his mouth as wide as it would go, gulping fruitlessly for air. "Stop!" Ash cried leaping to his feet. "Insolent child!" was her only response. "You'll kill him!" Vinetra only laughed and tightened her grip around the throat of her prisoner. James's eyes rolled dramatically back into his head as his body shut down without life giving air. The lids slid slowly over the glittering emerald irises and closed and he slumped forward, lifeless. "No!" Vinetra rolled her eyes at the stupidity of her next victim and raised her hand dramatically. A ball of bright orange energy gathered there. She fiddled with it a moment, took James' chin in her hand, and rammed the light down his throat. He inhaled deeply, taking the energy with the lung full of air. Vinetra backed away, smiling in pure glee. James raised his head slowly, never bothering to open his eyes, and inhaled deeply. He opened his eyes as he audibly released the air. Ash gasped, half in terror, half in amazement, James' eyes were now the same rose irised ones of Thorangon. "That...Felt good," he said in a voice that was not his own. James was no longer present in this situation, his mind, self, practically even his body had been caged inside his own mind. There was a demon in his place, one that had a black heart and soul if it had any at all. "Good boy," Vinetra said and the vines retracted allowing the demon to step down. The mere shell of what James had been stepped across the floor slowly, taking it all in, and stopped directly in front of Ash's cell. The boy looked up into his friends eyes, he could still see him there. He could have given up, he could've let James go, but he was still there, he could save him. "James! Listen to me! I know you're in there! Don't let Vinetra win! Don't! Fight it James!" He cried leaping to his feet, the chains rattling loudly. They echoed in the silence that followed. The demon stood up, looking at the boy quizzically, and its eyes flashed a brilliant green for a split second and James' body sunk to its knees, groaning in pain and holding its head. "No! Go back where you belong!" the voice of the demon scowled. "I won't!" "Leave me now!" "I'll never give up!" "GET OUT!" Ash stared on as James battled with the foreign entity in his mind, his voice prevailing sometimes, the demon's most of the time. He writhed about in shear pain on the ground, clutching at his skull as if it were about to split open. The near silence was suddenly pierced by a voice, screaming in agony and defeat. Ash smiled, he believed James had won. He shook his head to clear it and stood, holding a hand to his obviously aching skull. He smiled wryly and turned to Vinetra. She looked momentarily frightened, but sighed in relief. James took a deep breath and began brushing himself off. "Well, that was annoying," the voice was gruff and unfamiliar. Ash closed his eyes remorsefully, James had lost. The demon turned to face him and he looked away disapprovingly. "This boy has potential, he almost got this nuisance to win!" he said laughing spitefully. "Did you kill him?" Vinetra asked placing her hands on her hips triumphantly. "No!" Ash screeched rattling his chains. Vinetra shot him a foul look and he ceased. She turned back to James who shrugged in response and closed his eyes. "Let me see," he mumbled placing his index fingers gently upon his temples. The eyes twitched violently under the closed lids and after a brief second, they opened again. "He's still alive." Ash heaved a loud sigh of relief. Vinetra patted her new minion fondly on the shoulder. "Go to the labyrinth, leave me with the little boy," she instructed. The demon nodded and briskly walked off, taking a sword with him, James' sword. As if in goodbye, it caught the meager light and flashed brightly. The footsteps resounded against the bare walls getting softer and farther away. Soon, they weren't audible any longer, and the malevolent fiend turned to face her prize. When the demon had gone completely, the queen walked over to Ash, her boots clicking softly on stone. "You think James was the only one of your friends I corrupted?" she asked. Ash bit his lip and stared straight into the glittering red eyes. They danced with child like glee, hiding a sadistic mind which reveled in superiority and the pain of others. She'd enjoyed corrupting James' mind and Ash knew it. "They're all like that now," she whispered leaning down. He felt the sting of tears in the corners of his vision, but did not let them fall, god save him if he cried in front of this evil being. "Not in the mood to talk huh? I know what'll get you talking, I'll tell you a lovely story hmm?" Vinetra said, her voice dripping with syrup. Ash scowled and looked away as the tale began. "Once upon a time, there were two young people. Oh they were very happy. Very happy indeed, one boy, and a lovely young girl. The boy had deep feelings of love for this girl, but she didn't know it, nor did she love him back, she viewed him as a friend. Their names were Ash and Misty-" "Stop! Stop it now!" Vinetra looked hurt and shook a finger at Ash like you would a small child. "Didn't your mommy ever tell you it's rude to interrupt? Now, swiftly moving on. One day, Ash and Misty were walking through the forest. A kind and beautiful queen saw them and noticed they were trespassing on her royal soil! Now, this queen was much much smarter than anyone in Ash and Misty's group of friends and she already knew that they'd try to overthrow her, so, she came up with a clever plan! She sent her cute little pet dragon to capture them, and capture them he did! They thought their good friends had been killed making them angered and so very sad. But, this made them all the more easy to catch! "They're not all dead?" Ash began to understand now. Vinetra glared at him, cleared her throat and continued. "Now, first this queen wanted to kill this group of nosey little children, but she decided they were much too strong to just torture and then dispose of! So, she had some of her strongest monsters killed instead! Their souls were then fed into their minds, making them...One of us! But poor poor little Misty, she wasn't as cooperative as the rest-" "What have you done with her!? Where the hell is she?" "Oh, now now, you'll never get anywhere with that attitude! Where was I? Oh yes, poor Misty...She had such an attitude! Her mind had to be completely erased before she'd cooperate. But finally, the good queen succeeded and with Ash, the final threat, gone forever, a prisoner in his own mind, she could finally crush those troublesome little rebellions!" Ash felt dizzy as he watched swirls of bright color dash across his vision. Misty was gone. He knew James was still somewhere in the confused and black mind, but James' wasn't gone. The rest of his friends were probably the same way, he could free them. "No... Please god, no," he whispered cupping his forehead in his palms. "I think I'll let you mull that over a bit! Besides, I need to check on my other new mercenaries! Ciao for now Ashy dear!" Vinetra practically trilled her response and walked off briskly, her hips swinging in mockery and triumph. The youth collapsed to the ground, tears streaming freely now down his cheeks. "I'll kill you Vinetra! I swear I'll get my revenge for what you've done!" he hissed, his flames burning brightly with rage. The tears sizzled and turned to steam as his burning flesh heated to monstrous proportions. He clenched his fists and brought them to his face, focusing on his wrists. The flames licked at the metal shackles, turning them white with heat. Ash picked at the soft material until his wrists were freed, and immediately rubbed them tenderly, the soft vulnerable skin sore and bruised. He frowned and stood up slowly, abandoning his mild injuries and faced the next problem presented, the metal bars. He backed up as far as he could go and held his hands out in front of him. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his palms. "One more time Misty," he whispered sadly and the image of her in the white gown came to him once again. He smiled, mouthed a goodbye to the girl in his mind and opened his eyes to see a large glowing sphere collecting in his palms. He drew it in close to his body and felt the molten core with his fingers. He condensed it into a raging inferno and raised it high above his head. "We'll never give up," he breathed and with a great battle cry, hurled his weapon into the bars. The ancient steel gave away easily to the intense heat with a great crash of fire and molten metal, leaving a gaping hole in the bars. Ash smiled in victory and dashed out through the opening. He stopped in the small pathway by the cell, he heard nothing, saw nothing, sensed nothing, and smiled. He began down the hall where he'd seen James and Vinetra leave, determination with a purpose etched into his mind, and a warm red glow welcomed him. He stopped in his tracks and looked down to see his sword resting against the wall. "Oh man am I ever glad to see you!" he said to the blade and picked it up. He flung it quickly through the loops on his pants and once again, the trusty weapon was at his side. Feeling better now that he was armed again, Ash continued down the hall. It seemed to go on forever, the death-like silence settled deeply over what seemed like thousands of years. There were no doors, only stones, mold, and an odd dripping sound, the only light coming from the fire blade. Suddenly, Ash nearly broke his nose on an ornately decorated door. He unsheathed his sword and brought the jewel to the carvings. It was an odd pattern of solid lines. They wound aimlessly about until ending abruptly in the very center where and enormous bright red stone was set. "Whoa," Ash muttered. "Welcome! Come and join the party!" Ash clenched his teeth, this had all been planned, Vinetra had told James to go wait in the Labyrinth. He placed one hand cautiously against the old carvings on the door and pushed. Surprisingly, despite its size and weight, it slid open quite easily. Ash shoved it roughly to the side, sending a cloud of tiny birds scattering from a large bush of the greenest ivy Ash had ever seen in his life. The door shut with a tremendous slam behind him and he whirled around in fright. He pressed against the door to find it securely locked and banged his fist in frustration. Ash sighed and turned around to survey his new surroundings. The lighting in this place was an odd, almost misty light like that of very early morning. It was absolutely dead silent, the fog holding in any sound selfishly. Midnight black birds would occasionally jet across the pallid sky, but other than that the place was completely devoid of life. Ash took one step and it resounded loudly across the profoundly huge courtyard. He scowled at his own loudness, the stones were designed to echo like that, it made escape much less plausible. He looked up, and let his jaw drop in perplexity, before him was a vast expanse of green, small breaks in it indicating the path, and in the very center, a large square where a faint red glow emanated. The flames licked with a new lust at Ash's limbs and tail as he began down the path. It went on for only a short while before sectioning off to go four ways. "This is your choice now Ashy! Choose wisely, it may mean the difference in your bleak looking future!" The booming voice was accompanied by Vinetra's insidious laughter. Ash gritted his teeth and turned to the right. "Right? Hmmmm, is that the right way?" The laughter followed again and Ash shuddered at the sound of it. He drew his sword and turned to go right. There was a sudden flurry of ivy leaves and Ash backed away, raising his sword in defense. "Always were a wimp Ash!" The boy stopped, the voice was all too familiar. He didn't want to look up, he knew who was there. He knew the person had once been his enemy, transformed by a common future to his friend, now his mortal enemy again. He wouldn't hesitate to kill him, but Ash could never bring himself to place steal against flesh. Though he was now possessed by a demon he was still mortal, he could still be killed. "Nice to see you again James," he said somberly. The snicker that followed was pure evil. Ash closed his eyes and slowly rose to meet his opponent. To Ash's surprise, Jessie stood back to back with James, just as they had so many times as they recited their motto. "Prepare for trouble!" Jessie's voice was no longer her own just like her partner and friend. "And you can make that double." James looked like a shell of his former self, his green irises gone, his eyes looked tired, yet very much alive and abundant with evil energy, dark shadows hanging somberly below them. Jessie too had the flaming eyes and dark circles, making the pair look quite sadistic indeed. Ash readied his sword hesitantly, taking a warrior's stance. James drew his sword and let it hang loosely at his side seeming to the young hero in mockery. "He thinks he can defeat us James!" Jessie mused. The blue-haired demon next to her scowled. "He could easily beat you anyway," he said scornfully. "Yeah right," James ignored the remark and twirled the end of his blade between two cobblestones, leaning on it casually like a cane. He grinned with pure malice as his head suddenly snapped up to face the boy, and with a loud war cry, lunged for the youth. Ash caught the force of the blow with his sword, deflecting it to one side. James sailed past him, performed a lissome flip and stood silently, his back facing Ash. He closed his eyes and laughed softly, he head cocked thoughtfully to one side. "Very good boy, but not good enough!" he yelled whirling around and jabbing swiftly with deadly accuracy toward Ash's chest. The blade missed its mark and the demon skidded to a halt. "Stop playing imbecile and kill him!" Jessie screeched. James rolled the fiery red eyes and slowly brought his sword parallel to his face. He closed his eyes nobly and grinned, showing both rows of teeth. His wings snapped out to either side like switchblades and curled under slightly with anticipation. With a flurry of cerulean feathers, and only one flap of the great wings, James was airborne. He rocketed up to the ashen sky and dove back down, sword held in outstretched arms. He swooped down and Ash leapt hurriedly out of the way, landing in one of the ivy bushes. He gripped the branches to prevent himself from falling and slowly turned around, his back facing the bush. James lighted in front of him and smiled in victory. Ash could feel the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes and he raised his blade. James touched the tip of his sword to Ash's menacingly. The youth's face was serious with anger as he withdrew the blade, and slid it with a neat hiss into its sheath. The demon looked confused and as a last resort, drove the hilt of his sword into Ash's stomach roughly. He cried out in pain and dropped the ground where James promptly pinned him to his back. The first time Ash felt the cold metal of a blade against his throat scared him more than anything had so far. "Why do you not fight me child? Is it that you want to die? Or perhaps you are to cowardly even to defend yourself?" James asked. Ash had several witty responses he could have thrown at him had his life not been in danger. He gritted his teeth and let the tears fall. "Because I won't hurt a friend," he answered. "A friend? You still consider me a friend? What a joke!" James began laughing hideously at this remark. Jessie joined him from her silent vigil. "No, not you. James is still in there, he's my friend, and I won't hurt him," Ash hissed, his throat tight with tears. "Finish him off James!" Jessie said with glee. "Gladly," he replied menacingly and readied the blade. Ash closed his eyes, waiting. Waiting for the pain, the blood, death. He waited, but nothing came, and he cautiously opened his eyes. Something was holding James back, he knelt by the boy's side, the sword loosely pressed against his throat. "I...I," he stuttered. Ash smiled and sat up, the sword did not enter flesh. He saw something in his eyes, something in the very back of his mind was telling James not to kill his friend. The real James was fighting back. "Come on James, you can do it! We can help Jessie! We can help all of them! Fight it James!" Ash called. "J...Jessie," the single utterance gave Ash hope, it had been James' voice. "What are you waiting for! Kill him!" Jessie drew her sword in anticipation. "No, no!" James screamed clutching his head. "James, I know how you feel, I know you love her, she's the same as you! You've got to save her!" Ash called triumphantly. James screamed in agony and curled into a tiny protective ball onto the ground. "James no!" to Ash's surprise, Jessie's voice prevailed over the demon. He looked to his former friend, now writhing on the cold stones in pain and winced in empathy. His eyes had rolled completely into the back of his head, leaving only blank, lifeless whites. Jessie burst forward, catching Ash by the throat and curled her razor-like claws firmly around it. She hefted him swiftly from the ground and pressed his back into the unforgiving branches of the ivy. "No one defies the master and lives!" she snarled and tightened her grip around the hapless victims neck. Ash clawed at her arm, trying to free himself of the vice grip that cut off his supply of oxygen. He felt his mind give away slowly, and he let his eyelids close. "This is it, this is how it all ends, after being transported here, surviving in this new world, even being 'killed' by a dragon, I get strangled to death by one of my friends," Ash's mind was somber in its last moments. "W...What happened?" he could've sworn he had heard James' voice. Time seemed to move in slow motion for him as he felt his body give away and slip into death. "No! Ash!" Darkness reigned until with a rush of colors and light, he felt air fill his lungs once more and he coughed and sputtered as he regained consciousness. He gripped his temporarily aching head and opened his eyes. James sat atop Jessie, her arms pinned securely to the ground. Upon closer inspection, Ash's heart soared with triumph and exuberance as he saw that his eyes gleamed with a renewed emerald color. James had won, the demon was dead and he was back for good. Jessie was putting up the struggle of her life, and James was just barely able to hold her down. "Infidel! How dare you oppose the queen!" Jessie screeched. Seeing his friend's distress, Ash rushed help contain the struggling red-head. "Jessie! Please! Listen to me, you've got to come back," James said firmly, looking deeply into the crimson eyes. "I...I won't betray the queen," she answered through tightly clenched teeth. James felt the sting of tears in the corners of his vision and let them fall freely. "Please come back to me Jessie, you can't be gone," he whispered. The demon smiled. "Jessie doesn't live here anymore," she spat. James looked away and to Ash. "Help her James, please," he begged. "Jessie you can't be gone," he whispered turning back to face the body of his friend. "And why not? I don't sense her anywhere!" the demon replied coyly. The tears were falling unabashed and in large quantities, leaving dirty streaks down his face. He leaned down close to her face, and the demon looked quite disgusted at this aspect. "You can't be gone. You can't be, because I...I love you," he whispered and lightly pressed his lips against hers, his tears falling on her cheeks. Jessie's fire eyes opened widely in terror as James kissed her. Ash looked on in amazement and just barely detected a high pitched shriek and a large dark cloud rose from Jessie's skull. It exploded in a cataclysmic flash high in the air and was gone. He stared at the glittering remnants as they floated downwards and knew that Jessie was now liberated as well. He smiled and looked to his two friends. "James? What happened?" Jessie's voice and eyes were her own again. "Jessie!" he cried wrapping his arms securely around her. She smiled and laughed briefly. "You okay?" she asked him as he finally let her go. James smiled, his eyes glimmering with hope and happiness. "I'm fine now, I'm glad you're alright," he answered. Jessie grinned back and pulled him into one more hug. Ash knelt by them and put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Glad to have you guys back," he said grinning. "I heard what you said Ash, thanks for not giving up on me," James said," and thanks for being my friend." Ash patted him affectionately on the shoulder. "Anytime James, you too Jessie," he said. She winked in response and James helped her up. Ash adjusted his belt and turned to his friends. "We've got to help everyone else, with you guys, it should be much easier," he said assuming the leadership position. "Right, let's go!" Jessie said curling her fingers into a fist eagerly. Ash nodded to them and they set off to liberate the rest of their group. Jessie poked James in the ribs with her elbow. "Ow! What?" he asked. "Did you say something to me right before I came back?" she replied putting her hands on her hips. James swallowed hard. "No nothing, why?" he answered. Jessie raised one eyebrow and fingered the tip of one of her cat ears thoughtfully. "It's just...I could've sworn...Never mind," she said and they continued on their quest to find their friends, the rest of the seven powers.