Crystal Folly

Rush to the City

"So wait, dad sent a crystal giant to tell you all of that?" Taylor asked Johann, who had just finished explaining everything he was told to everyone in the shack. "One of that size would eat up all of his magic for years. Unless..." she trailed off, lost in thought.

"I definitely won't have enough magic to transform into a dragon myself whenever this power boost runs its course. Gonna miss the wings," Ender confided, genuinely upset about it not being permanent. "Haven't even used much dragon magic other than the flames. At least I'll be back to normal until the next time Enze tries to break the seal." He began to get up from where he was sleeping, happening to be in a corner next to Stella, and stretch shortly before he transformed into his cat form and jumped onto the table to get in Liliona's face. He started patting her hair with his paw before tapping her shoulder with his tails, which seemed to wake her up.

"Stop petting me, Ender," she groggily told him, barely opening her eyes to confirm that it was him. "It's not normal for cats to pet people," she added, hoping that would make him stop, but, as expected, he kept petting her until she grabbed his tail, freezing him in place. "I'll let go if you promise not to pet me anymore," she bargained, receiving a quick nod as the answer. Ender ran back to Stella, coiling his tails around her arm.

"So just that we're all aware, Stella and I are the only two that can cast purple flames that we know of," Arthur announced once they were outside. "They're really hot, so I can understand you not wanting to use them, but if I need help, can I count on you for it?" She nodded, aware that it could His tail touched the snow on the ground and instantly melted it, leaving a small trail of burned grass behind him as he continued towards the crater to make sure nothing new was there. By the time he got to the edge, everyone had come outside, prepared to go towards the sounds of weapons firing and the crumbling of buildings.

"Liliona, you know how to boost other's physical and magical power, right?" Ender asked as the others were preparing to follow a helicopter flying towards the destruction. "We're gonna need it if you can, it sounds about thirty miles away." After walking a bit with her on his back, Ender started to run once he heard the sound of flapping wings and two more sets of paws crunching the snow behind him, Johann and Milo in their cat and wolf forms, respectively. Before long, they had caught up to him and kept his pace while Liliona began to cast her spells to aid them in the travel.

Her eyes glowing a dim shade of pink, she yelled, "Nopeutta ja lujuutta!" Two small swirling orbs of pure magical energy appeared in her hands, and one appeared over Ender's nose. She tossed each of the orbs in her hands towards Milo and Johann before shouting, "Säteillä!" Shortly after she spoke, each of them gave off a dim blue light and were absorbed by the three, immensely speeding them up. I can see our afterimages! I didn't think we'd go THAT fast! she thought as the wind rushed past their faces. The distance between them and Xeno was closing at a rapid rate, but, unfortunately, as the remaining buildings came into view, a wall of solid crystal unearthed itself from the ground in front of them, almost completely stopping them from going forward. The wall continued to rise and curve towards the center of the city, where Xeno was currently standing and watching as both groups closed in on him.

"Just as I expected," Milo growled shortly after transitioning into his dual wolf form. "He's waiting for us in the middle. If he can do this, we should expect anything else imaginable." The blue wolf began to walk around the perimeter while the red wolf, the one Milo was talking through, began watching for everyone else before doing anything else.

"Now's probably not the best time to ask," Johann started, "but how exactly does that form work?" He then noticed that both wolves were missing an eye, letting him know that he saw and felt through both of them. However, Milo went on to explain anyway.

"Imagine yourself in your cat form, then double the senses, except for sight, technically," he told him with a sigh and a hint of tiredness, his voice coming from the blue wolf this time. The sound of wings flapping alerted them to the arrival of the others, forcing the group on the ground to find somewhere safe while they landed. Arthur and Taylor reverted seconds after touching the ground, while Stella waited for Sadie and Luna to get down from her back before flying around the crystal dome to survey the area. She saw Xeno, who didn't move at all, and saw just how big his entire body was. Had they all been inside the city before he created the dome, they would've had to find the tallest building still standing to get level with his chin.

They finally arrived! I know they won't be able to defeat me, so I'll torture them with the agony of running face first into defeat every second they're in here! Xeno began laughing maniacally, rumbling the remaining buildings and making the weakest of them crumble.

When Stella landed for the second time, everyone was deep in discussion about what their next move should be. "If I melt any of it, I'm sure he'll know exactly where we are," Arthur argued when Ender suggested burning a hole through the wall.

"Well we can't fly over it either, he'd just knock us out the sky like a bunch of bugs!" Johann yelled. He walked around the nearby trees to calm himself down. "The only choice we really have is that, Arthur. These crystals goes almost a mile underground, so it's all we can do," he told him at a normal volume. Arthur groaned and prepared himself for the giant burst of purple flames he was about to cast.

"Everyone stand back!" he shouted, making sure everyone gave him plenty of room for the fire. A few seconds later, he released the pent-up flames, which melted a hole large enough for seven dragons to fit in at the same time. "Let's go, and be ready for anything. He's got the advantage of surprise, but it doesn't last long if we're ready." He was the first to enter the city, with Ender and Johann right behind him. Soon, they all were inside, waiting for the signal to go north, towards the center of the city, where Xeno was waiting for them.