The Dragon's Bounty IV:Nightmares

Chapter 5

          Andrew walked into the armory, where Micah was sitting at a desk. He held out his hand.
          "Norman, wrench." A young boy with his own fiery orange hair around the age of three waddled up to him and handed him the wrench with a smile. Micah smiled and patted Norman on the head. He used the wrench to bolt two pieces of armor together at a joint. Blake watched from a higher position, looking for Aro's staff.
          Andrew walked up behind Micah. "Is it finished?" Micah stood and turned to Andrew.
          He shook his head. "I still haven't been able to crack the last part. Come with me." He led Andrew to a darker part of the armory, leaving Norman at his desk. Blake snuck behind them, careful not to make any noise. Micah opened a large door, revealing a soft blue suit of armor with a blue visor in the helmet, plenty of dim magic crystals adorning the elbows, shoulders, and knees. An ovular hole sat in the middle of the chest plate. Blake peeked into the room. On the other side of the room was Aro's staff, the magic stone shimmering inside it. Blake smiled. Micah walked over to the staff. "I just can't get the rock out."
          Andrew looked down at him. "Why do you need it?"
          Micah smiled. "A marvel of science and magic doesn't power itself. I'll need that thing to keep it running."
          Andrew nodded. "And it will deflect all sorts of magic attacks?" Micah nodded. Andrew grabbed the staff and attempted to snap it in half. He bared his teeth as he tried to pry the stone out with his axe.
         Micah sat down at a desk. "Now you see why I'm having trouble." Andrew nodded. His hand began glowing dimly with dark energy. He grabbed the stone with an explosion of dark light. Micah lowered his brow. Blake let out a quiet gasp. Andrew turned and offered the stone to Micah, who slowly took it. He carefully inserted it into the hole in the chest plate. The magic stones around the rest of the armor began to glow a light blue color. Micah looked back at Andrew. "It is done."
Andrew smiled. He nodded. "Good. Run the necessary tests and we will move on to the next stage." Micah nodded.
Blake took off back down the hallway to escape being seen. "Not good." He said, flying back toward his house.

          Emma looked around Freyan for any more of her friends, but didn't see any of them. She sighed.
          Kai landed beside her. "Find anyone?" He asked. Emma shook her head. Kai sighed.
          "Well now what?" Aro asked as he walked up behind them. "We've looked everywhere."
         Kai put his hand to his chin. "Maybe not everywhere." He said, looking down at the ground. Kai dashed over to a seemingly random street, using his foot to pat in different places. He smiled. He went back to his blacksmith shop and grabbed a large hammer. He walked back over to the street and raised the hammer. He plunged the iron hammer into the ground, shattering the surface, revealing a small pit leading straight downward. He grinned. He turned to Emma and Aro. "Voila." He said, gesturing to the hole. "New places to look." Emma smiled.
          "But how do we get down?" Aro asked.
Kai looked down the hole. He shrugged. "Like this." He jumped straight into the hole, disappearing into the darkness. Emma snickered and walked over to the hole, jumping down behind Kai.
          Aro sighed. "What could go wrong?" He jumped down behind them.

          Aro sat down on a rock and looked down at his hands.
          "I don't feel any different." He said.
          Uel chuckled. "I wouldn't expect you to. We've been here almost a day. Our power has been growing for over almost four years now."
          Aro sighed. "We can't afford to wait any longer." He said. "We have to take the Demon King down soon, or he'll become too strong. I can feel it."
          Uel sat down beside him. "Well, whenever you take us to him, we'll fight. I know we've never met, but I completely trust you."
          Aro looked over to him. "You do?"
          Uel nodded. "All the way. And I'm sure everyone else does as well."
         Leo stepped in front of Quin, panting as he took a knee. "I think I need a rest." He said. Quin nodded. She extended her hand toward Leo, dispersing him.
          She extended her other hand. "Cancer! I need your help!" A large red creature appeared in front of her. Cancer had a massive crustacean body with spikes all over. He smacked a monster with his humongous claw and began backing away, his lifeless blue eyes looking around in fear. Quin placed her hand on his back. Cancer looked down at her. His eyes told her that he smiled, slowly walking off to fight for her.
Aro fired an arrow and rolled, standing up beside Quin. "You really do care for them, don't you?"
           Quin smiled and nodded. "For a long time, the zodiac were my only friends. I've learned all their personalities and know what they need."
           Aro smiled and nodded. "Well, we're your friends now, so don't worry."
          Quin nodded. "Thank you, Aro."
          Aro blushed. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Be careful." He said, quickly dashing away. He shook his head. "Weird." He said, going back to fighting.

          Destiny walked into the armory, following the path Blake had described to her. She looked into the dark room, where Micah was putting the armor on. She walked up behind him and placed her hand on the back of his head. Micah gasped before seeing a strange flash of color, appearing in a large room full of screens and tools, a large window on one side. He looked around in awe.
           "So this is what your world looks like?" Micah turned around and looked at Destiny. He smiled and nodded. "You know what's happening to you, right?"
           Micah sighed and nodded. "I've tried to keep it from getting to me, but I lost. He's taken me over now."
           Destiny punched him in the chest. "You'd really give up that easily?!" She shouted.
Micah looked up at her. He frowned. "There's nothing I can do. I'm not strong like everybody else."
           Destiny lowered her brow. "Is that what you think?" She asked. Micah nodded. Destiny shook her head. "You're the greatest mind in all of Tritanus, no, the whole island. Maybe even the world." Micah thought for a moment. Destiny pointed out the window. Micah followed her gaze. "Does that look like a world you want to live in?" The city outside became dark, like Tritanus currently was.
           Micah lowered his brow. "No. That's my home. And I won't let anything happen to it!"
           Destiny smiled. "That's right. Now, what do you say we free you from his grasp?" Micah smiled and nodded. Suddenly, something crashed through the window, sliding against the ground, skidding to a stop. The demon looked up at Micah and Destiny with a grin. Micah gasped as he looked into the eyes of himself, but these eyes were dead. They were cold. But most importantly, they weren't truly his.
           Micah took a step back. "How do I fight something so strong?" The demon stood, revealing his massive build and spiky tail.
          Destiny smiled. "This is your mind! Take it back!"
          Micah nodded sternly. "This is my mind! You can't have it!" He launched himself forward with a burst of blue energy and a loud battle cry.