The Chosen Phoenix II

Chapter 14- A Farewell to Gunnar Lesley

Slowly opening her eyes, Jyn saw a soothing evening sky, but it wasn't so soothing to her as she was falling. 

Realising she wasn't screaming, Jyn took the chance.

' Alright now, what power do I— ' then she caught a glimpse of Axel's spirit circle the highest part of the island of the Realm.

' Axel! Wait... what powers do I— ' Jyn let out a gasp. ' Phoenix Powers! That's it! Alright, come on, now! '

Jyn closed her eyes, hoping not to reach the ground, and tried doing something, but nothing came. She opened her eyes again and sat up. She was on the exact same hill she had always ended up on whenever she entered the Realm of Good Spirits. But she felt no pain, not even a single twinge. She was stunned. Struggling back up back on her wobbly feet, Jyn looked around for any sign of Gunnar or Axel. However, her feet were so wobbly she tripped and tumbled down the slope of the hill clumsily. Picking herself up, Jyn regained her balance and looked North, South, East and West. 

Deciding to explore a bit while looking for Gunnar, Jyn saw a waterfall and wanted to start there. As she got nearer and nearer, a strange figure, or rather two strange figures started to form, it seemed like it was behind the waterfall. Then the two figures seemed a little familiar to Jyn.

One of the figures took shape of a man, and the other a bird. Jyn gasped excitedly and rushed over, and for the second time, she was clumsy and tripped over, and fell through the waterfall, landing with a thud flat on her stomach, her hood flew over onto her head, she looked up, and the amused smile of Gunnar Lesley was in sight. Jyn smiled awkwardly and let out a nervous laugh. 

Flipping her hood over, Jyn picked her self up.

Unbelievable, thought Jyn, how can I be so clumsy?

' Hello, Jyn. You've really got to learn some tap dancing, ' Gunnar teased. Jyn smiled awkwardly.

' Uh, err... hi, Gunnar... um... ' she looked at him.

' Let me guess, you found the key and you're now trying to find out what power you need. ' he said wisely.

' Wha— how did you know that? ' said Jyn, surprised.

' I've been watching you, Jyn. Listening to everything you've— '

' You mean you've been eavesdropping? ' Jyn guessed, all of a sudden embarrassed.

' Oh, no. I wasn't eavesdropping. I was listening. And it isn't going to work. '

Jyn looked surprised.

' Buh... but... I have to! It's the only way to figure the key to solve this! '

' I tried, Jyn. It didn't work. '

' But why? Why would it even exist if it didn't work for you? ' said Jyn, confusion stirring in her mind as thought it were a cauldron. Gunnar kept quiet. Jyn looked utterly confused.

' You'll have to figure that out yourself. ' Gunnar concluded, then turning and formed a portal. Jyn flinched from the strong breeze from the portal.

' You'll know how to solve the poem if you think about it. It has something to do with the 5 Values. '

Jyn was about to step in.

' Okay— wait, the 5 what? '

But she was gone, back into her own world, her face flat on the floor of the living room in House Elliot.

' Oh, hey Jyn, you're back early. ' said Ray as he waved at her. Jyn looked up and stared at him, shaking her head. 

' Jyn, what happened? ' Ben rushed to help Jyn up. Jyn let out a loud groan as she looked up at Ben's traumatised face.

' The... 5 Values... what do you know about the 5 Values... ' Jyn's shaky voice steadied itself at the last few words.

' The 5 what? ' Anthony pushed Ray aside, stumbling over a fallen table lamp. ' The 5 Values? '

' Uhh, yeah. What is it? ' Jyn asked.

' It's the key to the power! '

' Why don't you tell us what happened first... ' Ben cut through his leader. Anthony rolled his eyes, but agreeing.

After explaining everything, Ben and Anthony looked at each other. Before they could say a word, a letter appeared out of nowhere in front of Jyn, floating above a sparkling red, invisible mist. Axel chirped as Jyn wondered who it was from, then she recognised the handwriting.

' It's from Gunnar! ' she gasped. But Gunnar's name seemed to give a really, dramatic reaction to everybody around the room. Anthony let out a , ' WHAT?! ' and fell over the sofa clumsily. Ben fell backwards, landing with a thud on his back. Ray let out a gasp and hid behind the wall. The maid, who came back to listen after Jyn returned from the Realm of Good Spirits, screamed and fainted. Jyn looked around and rolled her eyes. Ben sat up, scrambled up to his feet and cleared his throat repeatedly.

' Okay, so... what does the letter say? ' he asked. Jyn looked at the letter as Anthony emerged slowly from behind the sofa, Ray revealed himself from behind the wall and the maid sat up and fell back down. Jyn cleared her throat read it aloud:

Dear Jyn Lesley,

I hope you are doing well in Elliot Village. Hopefully you have figured how to figure the note Zachary Speeder was supposed to hand me secretly. 

However, I'm afraid I am writing to say farewell. I should have told you this earlier when you were still in the Realm with me, but unfortunately I didn't. I'm terribly sorry, Jyn. 

To sum it all up, my main objective on you receiving this letter is that you have to understand that the 5 Values I mentioned to you has something to do with defeating your Uncle. I believe you know a lad called Ben Copper, don't you? He knows about the 5 Values ( Ben winced, feeling a little uncomfortable that a well- known stranger knows him ). He will tell you. But much as he will, I have written down what the 5 Values are and what they mean.

The 5 Values are very important for Elemental Keepers. Like you and I. We both have Phoenix Powers. Phoenix Powers belong to one of the 4 main elements: Fire. 

The 5 Values are:

Compassion

Respect

Bravery

Confidence

True

It is the power you need to use to unlock the puzzle.

For the next, " Then the legend, with the power, shall bond ". It means that once you have unlocked the power hidden in the Realm, you'll unlock your true potential. You should know what that is. The legend is what Zazchary Speeder had told you, " where man and phoenix last met. "  Even I couldn't solve this, but I think that you could, I think you could do better. The rest, I daresay you'll have to solve it yourself.

I'm being forced into the Darkness as I'm writing this...

Everyone gasped. Ray leaped back behind the wall. Jyn mouthed a, ' Oh no... ' before continuing.

... I hope you'll save the world and maybe, make it better as I have dreamed of.

Farewell, Jyn Lesley.

C.P.

There was a perfect silence. Jyn stared into thin air, her heart kicking vigorously against her chest. Her heavy breathing as heavy as a panting buffalo. A silent tear rolled peacefully down her cheek. Axel looked down, though he never showed any expression on his face as he was a bird, Jyn could feel his heavily emotional, depressed feeling.