Venturing Graces

Chapter Thirteen: Teams 3 and 9

(Fox House Arc)

"I sure hope Ren's doing better," Hex said. His team stood in front of a raging river. There were a few round scattered stones. All they had to do was jump from stone to stone. 

"Mr. Ghosty! Can you float over it?" Aki asked. They jumped to the first stone, almost falling off due to wearing high heels. 

"I guess......I mean there are legends of ghosts not being able to cross bodies of water," Hex answered. "Ren, I wonder if your team is more normal."

"Here," Kashi swung her sword over the water. "Now you should be able to cross thanks to my magic." Hex floated over the water. "Now float us over," Kashi instructed. 

"Oh uh....I can't really do that," Hex confessed. "I'm not strong enough."

"I see," Kashi said. 

"So you can't magic me over?" Aki asked. They jumped to the next stone. "This is fun!" The currents picked up. 

"Aki! Get off!" Kashi yelled. "Who knows what'll happen?" Something rose up from the waters. It was a knight in black armor. Black swirling smoke billowed from its body. "A ghost." The ghost walked over the surface of the water. "It must have died here."

"Hey you!" Hex yelled. "Ren's magic would help out," Kashi unsheathed her sword and jumped onto the first stone. Hex used his telekinesis on her sleeves to keep her from falling. "Normally I could just leave them there but I need this team to get the prize." The knight moved over the water. "Shit....He's much stronger than me," Hex thought. 

"Another ghosty! Hi!" Aki waved. They almost fell into the water again. 

"They won't be able to touch it without magic," Kashi thought. She waved her sword in a slow motion above her head. A thin blue magical barrier with small red flowers painted on it extended across the river, trapping the knight and everyone else. The knight charged and swung his sword at Aki. 

"Come on.....I need that prize!" Hex thought. He extended a hand and focused all of his energy into his hand. Everything that he is and was. "I need to do this to prove myself as a spirit!" A sound echoed across the river of chains snapping. Hex reached forwards and lifted Aki up into the air and then he dropped them in the river. Hex floated there panting. "That took everything out of me."

"Aki!" Kashi yelled. She jumped to the next stone and tried to reach out for them. The knight charged at her. Kashi turned around, barely blocking the attack. The knight pushed forwards; Kashi began to chant a spell. 

"Whee!" Aki was being spiraled around in the currents. Hex lifted Aki out of the water and dropped them on the ground next to him. "You saved me!" Aki cheered. Kashi jumped in the air as the knight charged. Chains wrapped around his body and a piece of paper slid out of his helmet. Kashi landed on the bank and Hex floated the paper over. The knight turned into a puff of smoke. 

"Why are you in this game?" Kashi read. 

"Because I wanna win a grand prize!" Aki declared. 

"I thought it would be cool to win a prize. I want a certain few people to think I'm cool," Hex answered. 

"I heard that there's a sorcerer here called the Subzero Emperor. I wanted to face him for his sins," Kashi responded. She sheathed her sword and slipped it down the back of her dress. A door in the wall opened up. "Let's go."

"Who's Subzero?" Aki asked. They ran over to Kashi. Their skirt was soaked along with their fluffy hair. 

"He's one of the strongest mages in the world, fourth to the Three Great Magic Emperors. He's a man responsible for many deaths. I just feel responsible for taking him down," Kashi explained. 

"Sounds like a scary guy," Hex thought. The group went through the door. 

At the meantime, Rose, Yuka, and Zenon had stepped into their room. The floor was covered in large spinning platforms that were all pained white. "I guess we have to jump from thing to thing," Rose said. She felt nauseous looking at it. 

"Alright," Yuka said. She jumped onto the first one and she was immediately flung into a wall. She then fell onto another platform and was flung around. 

"Oh wow," Rose commented. She took a long fuzzy red boa out of her purse. "Alright, go!" The boa extended and wrapped around Yuka. Rose pulled her back to where she stood. 

"What sort of tool is that?" Zenon asked. 

"It's magic. There are six items in my possession that are imbued with powerful magic. This is actually Ren's," Rose answered. Yuka lay face down on the ground. "Are you okay?"

"No," Yuka started spitting up clouds of ash. "How will we get across?" 

"I want a napkin that can fly us across," Rose declared. The napkin she lay on the ground grew in size. "Get on." The other two followed Rose onto the napkin. 

"This is amazing!" Zenon looked down. "How does it work?"

"I can give any sort of item a new purpose. But it's only temporary for most items. There are.....I think.....Six objects that I've given a purpose to that kept it. That boa is one of them," Rose explained. She managed to stuff the boa into her purse. 

"That's cool," Zenon commented. The napkin floated over the spinning platforms. 

"I hope Ren can get over it," Rose thought. The napkin landed on the other side. Taped to the wall was a piece of paper. "Why are you competing?" Rose read aloud. 

"I'm hoping the grand prize will be money," Zenon answered. 

"Scimmy wanted to!" Yuka answered. 

"The ghost my relative is friends with wanted to," Rose responded. The wall slid open. There was a dark room with dark red walls that appeared to be made out of some sort of stone. A small shaft of light shone from above. Rose's eyes adjusted to the dark when she noticed a narrow rickety staircase heading up towards it. 

"So it appears you got lucky with the short cut as well. Or perhaps we are the last trick," A man said. Rose looked to see another group of three standing in the darkness nearby. "This means we must take you out first." The air grew colder as he spoke. He was a towering giant of a man who wore a giant trench coat that concealed his body. Only one shining blue light could be seen emitting from his face. His head and mouth were wrapped in a cloth. "I am winning."

"This looks bad," Rose thought. She dug around in her purse. Yuka grew horns from her head and Zenon took a switchblade out of his pocket. Ratto started to bark. 

An: This arc is more experimental. So here are some facts about Zenon. 

Zenon's eye is permanently damaged, he can not see out of it. Thanks to magic it's not too big of an issue for him. 

The stitches on his face are easily agitated. 

He has a pet bird. 

He's older than Ren by a year. 

He's actually only 5'6. 

His hair color is natural.