A/N: *gasps for air* FINALLY. I finished!!! XD Well, actually, I was supposed to post this two or three hours ago, but... funny story; I had 6000 words and I was so close to going through the action part when it somehow closed on me when I went to get something some water. And I was like NOOOOO! And I was back to 2000 or 3000 words. So I was close to giving up but I didn't. MWAHAHAHAHA! XD Yeeeaah. Anyway, this chapter was supposed to about 3000 words longer but I cut the chapter short and all the actiony stuff will continue on next chapter. HAH I'm so happy everytime I have to make a new post in order to put up the next half of the chapter. Sheeyah, this was 6270 words and 13 pagesssss. x3
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An Unlikely Adventure
ShinoRocks127
Chapter 26
The Adventures Never End
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Emily slowly released her grip from Mark’s wrist, gesturing a hand that told him to come closer as she had gone to an area that seemed unlike from others that he been around outside. Then again, this place was within the boundary walls of DISOM- it was the expansion of it to be precise, where it had stretched a few miles further along west.
“Where are you taking me?” Mark had finally asked, staring around at his new surroundings.
“You’ll see,” She called out, placing her hands on what looked like a sort of revolving platform. Mark had gone through, walking in to where Emily had walked in.
“I don’t get it; it’s like a real empty place with nothing here except for this… stone… thing,” He said, staring at how much space was left open.
Emily placed her hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him to a direction a few inches southwest and pointing a finger at him, motioning at him to stay still. “Just wait and see, will you?” She had done the same as she had earlier, twisting the pedestal that stood on a cylindrical foot-long pole.
Once she had done so, the wide-open field was no longer empty, but out had ascended small sprinkler-like figures along with a huge circular pool of water and similar ones that were a bit littler than the other. Along with it came a huge formation of plants.
Mark took a few steps back, but was even more shocked when water started spurting out, making remarkable patterns of water flowing up and down in curves and extraordinary flows of its movement.
“Doesn’t amaze you?” Emily asked, seeing the look on his face, “I call it Moonlit Cascade, because it looks like more beautiful at night- with all of the colors that it has and everything.”
“I don’t find it uninteresting at all,” He shook his head, “In fact, this is… truly… incredible. How did you find this place?”
“Actually, I sort of… made it myself, with the help of my dad,” She said, grinning sheepishly, “Took us both around two and a half years, but… we got it done recently.”
“You… and him…? You guys built this?” Mark was left to gasp in shock, running his hands through the water, “But… how?”
Emily shrugged modestly, brushing the dirt off of her hands, “My father has been a manager of this engineering company. Ever since mom died, he always tried to, kind of, teach me how to do these kind of things over the years, so we did a little this and that; it was mostly a making that was something out of the top of my head.”
“Emily, I’m going to be completely honest with you; I don’t think I’ve met a girl that’s just this amazing as you,” He said.
“Thanks,” She grinned proudly, skipping around the place, “I didn’t think this was that wonderful.”
“Trust me when I say that it is…”
---
Florence sat on the foot of her bed, eyeing the television that stood in front of her, bored. She shortly shut it off with her remote, lying back down and groaning in boredom. Ever since she had lost her trust from the Huntsclan, her life had gone boring, despite how busy it used to be. For some reason, she now wish her life was still that way.
With a quick decision that popped in her head, she rushed downstairs, grabbing her house key, calling out, “I’m going to take a walk, mom! I’ll come back in a bit!”
And with that, she rushed out the door, strolling down the sidewalk as if she hadn’t gone outside in years. “I never thought how nice it would feel going out again.”
She crossed the street, taking a detour from the direction where she usually walked to school, eyeing Central Park. Florence had also realized how long she hadn’t been there either, thinking that maybe she’d just go over there; just to remember how it feels like visiting that place again.
Knowing Florence, she had gone through the especially deepest parts of the park, taking routes and shortcuts that lead to desolate regions of Central Park. So far, she had seen nothing that had caught her attention. She took a cut through a huge cluster of leaves, startled when she realized that she stepped on a bundle of rocks. Strange, she thought, isn’t there only grass here?
Florence jumped over to the other side, bending down to eye them closely. It was then when she realized that this was where she always used to come by; otherwise known as the so-called ‘Shade’s grave.’ Back then when Shade had drifted off to the spirit world, she always dropped by here, in remembrance of his tragic disappearance nearly months ago. It was then that she remembered how much she cared for him so much.
Now that they’ve somehow separated, breaking the promise they seemed to have made more than a year ago, it seems to still be haunting the back of her mind, considering it like it were the hugest, most regretful thing she had ever done. She thought for a minute, thinking that everything was just for the best of things. Florence had tried to forget about it, slowly walking off as she faced the direction in front of her. It was then when she thought she heard voices coming from behind the other end of the park…
“Uh, what’s that thing again?”
“It’s a plan, meathead! A plan that we can use to get revenge from them once we get this all sorted out!”
Florence pushed back on the tall grass, crawling over to overhear a conversation that was made by, who else, 88 and 89. Of course, she thought, it always had to be them that I would come across to.
88 knelt on the ground, laying out a map that looked complicated. “I call it ‘The Huntsclan Alliance.’ Now that’s the thing that the Huntsclan really needs; some powerful group that can kick some dragon butt!”
“Ummm, are you really sure Huntsdad and the others would actually approve of that?” asked 89, staring over at the scribbles and sketches on the blueprint.
“Didn’t I tell you already? They already said it could be the next best thing!” 88 cheered, “Oh yeah!”
“Alright!” 89 exclaimed as they both exchanged a quick high-five. Florence gasped, crouching down when she realized that the two had turned back around to hear that somebody might have been in their presence. After seeing nothing, they turned back around.
“And you know what the best part is?”
“Nothing can make this all go wrong, and nobody can stop us this time!”
Florence front-flipped, swiping the map from in front of them, making her grand entrance. “And what makes you think that that will work?”
“Aha! It’s you!” said 88, “You’re that one girl who was forced out of the Huntsclan!”
“Oh boy! Wait until we tell the Huntsclan that you’re out to ruin our plan!” exclaimed 89.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Florence grinned, taking out her Huntstaff, that she still happened to have kept, swishing it back and forth as she made direct hits that had left them unconscious, “And that’s why you DON’T mess with Huntslass!” She stared back, quickly remembering what she had seen from the map.
“I better warn Shade and the rest about their plan before they get back…” She said, knowing that they’d come around eventually and tell Huntsdad, possibly even Huntsmaster, about how they came across Florence again. With that, she spun her staff a few times and vanished.
---
Amanda waved her hands around a bit, then did a curtsy, holding in her laughter as best as she could, “Why, hello there, sir. Fancy meeting you here.”
“Yes, quite. May I have this dance on this very lovely evening, madam?” Kevin gestured a bow, while had been attempting the same as well, “Or shall you proceed with what you hath been doing?”
“Of course, you may,” She said, taking his hands then turning to the group of people standing in front of her, laughing real hard afterwards then maintaining her composure, leaning her head on Kevin’s shoulder as she stood, “And this, Al, is how you asked a girl out to the dance in the olden days.”
“The correct and modern type of way to tell that special somebody nowadays is by doing this,” He said, taking a few steps back. Amanda make-believed that she was just standing there, filing her nails or glancing about. Kevin had later stepped forward and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hey, Kevin! Didn’t see you there.”
“So, yeah, I heard there was this dance on Friday, and I came here to ask you if you want me to be your date?”
“Well, heck yes!” She exclaimed out of nowhere all of a sudden, grinning with please then turning her attention back to everyone, but mostly Al, again, “See how much easier it is?”
Everyone in the group bursted out laughing, with Al somehow still confused, “But… what if they say no?”
“There’s no harm in trying,” Kevin said, “It’s better you know and get rejected than never knowing at all.”
“… That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Al muttered, glancing over at Ash, who hadn’t bothered to make direct eye contact.
“Well it’s life, deal with it!” Kay said, sighing afterwards, “I swear; you two always end up like this after everytime Al does something stupid…er.”
“I said that doesn’t make me feel any better!” exclaimed Al in frustration.
Within a period of silence, nobody said a word until somebody had suddenly appeared in front of the group. The figure seemed a bit indistinct at first, but they had later found out that it had been Florence, who stopped twirling her Huntstaff and staring over at everyone who had closely watched.
“Umm, hi?” She said, shrugging sheepishly, tightly holding on to the piece of paper she had stolen from 88 and 89.
“Hey Florence!” Leah had greeted her in behalf of everyone, who had apparently, still been bemused with slight shock. Shade had been surprised by this sudden visit, especially seeing as he was sitting on the very back of the group.
I know there's something in the wake of your smile.
I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yea.Florence bit her lip, not knowing where to begin with the explanation, “Well, you guys might be wondering why I’m here, right?” After not getting a response other than nods, she just went on.
“Well, I’ll make this a bit clear. I was walking to Central Park earlier today and I was just minding my own business when I heard this plan that 88 and 89, or these two apprentices from the Huntsclan, had been discussing about this plan about… ‘The Huntsclan Alliance,’ otherwise known as the future threat to dragons and magical creatures.”
The group had started getting more convinced and interested as she laid out the blueprint-like paper that listed scribbles and sketches, “You see, these guys have been doing a lot since I’ve left the Huntsclan, and this seems like their first one.”
“The Huntsclan Alliance,” Kay repeated the title, “Gee, even the name of it scares me already.”
You've built a love but that love falls apart.
Your little piece of heaven turns too dark.“You got that right,” nodded Florence, “We’re talking about the next big war starting here, and I mean here in DISOM. This is their first target.” She pointed over at the words that printed otherwise.
“So I’m guessing we got to get something planned out before they get here?” asked Shade.
“Precisely,” She said, looking over at Shade as they met each other’s gaze, staring unsurely as if she hadn’t known what to say or do until she turned away and had gone back to the explanation, “What I would find to be the first, and best, step to begin with in this plan is that you guys tell everyone- and fast. This thing is probably going to be pretty big, as I’ve mentioned.”
“What if they don’t believe us, though?” pointed out Madisen, “It’s not like we can just say that some organization of Huntsclan members are sent to destroy all of us and the school if we don’t do something about it!”
Listen to your heart.
When he's calling for you.“She has a point,” implied Leah, “There has to be another way that we can set up things before we inform the people in this place.”
Florence nodded, glancing around at everyone, which had given her such a reason to possibly to glance at Shade, at least, she was trying not to make it seem obvious, “If that’s what you guys are sure about, then there’s always plan B: I can sneak over to the lair and spy on what they may have planned, but I’ll return the map to the park before that, then I’ll give you guys a heads-up on what they decide on making their first move. That way we can have a step ahead of them.”
“How are you going to do that?” asked Amanda, “If you barely got here, wouldn’t it mean that they would be up by now?”
“That’s just the thing; this staff can actually help me go back in time. Looks like somebody forgot to take something away from me,” She said, picking up her staff and showing the group, “So, anyway, I can do that before I head on to do the undercover work; if that still sounds pretty convincing.”
“Well, it sounds like a good plan to me,” muttered Shade, everyone else later on agreeing.
Listen to your heart.
There's nothing else you can do.“Glad you guys agree,” Florence said, closing up and folding the paper again, “I guess that’s something I can do without getting caught. If it works, then we can have them down in no time.”
“What do you think we can do in the mean time?” asked Kevin, “We really don’t want to be too rude and leave you to do all the work.”
Florence thought for a moment, “You guys don’t really have to do anything else but… well, prepare for it, I guess. I’m guessing that they’ll sound pretty serious about it, so I’m guessing this won’t be a joke. So that’s what you all can do for me… Is that okay?”
I don't know where you're going.
And I don't know why.
“Of course,” Shade replied before anyone else could.
“Thanks,” Florence murmured, managing to smile back, showing a bit of gratitude to his reply, “I guess I better get started on this then. You guys take care now; I’ll leave you guys with the information in what they have in mind once I get it.”
But listen to your heart…“Thanks for all your help, Florence,” Amanda said, “We really appreciate it.”
“It’s no problem; just looking out for you guys,” said Florence, getting to her feet and brushing the dust off from her hands, “Good luck, then.”
“You too,” Shade managed to have said as everyone waved goodbye. Florence sighed a bit as she stared back at Shade for the final time. She held her staff with both hands, spinning it around as it gradually sped up, leaving the figure of Florence to slowly disappear then fade away completely. Shade sighed, lowering his gaze…
… Before you tell him goodbye.---
Emily had eventually turned the dial again, changing the entire atmosphere from what it had been back to its own plain, wide-open field. For a while, she thought to herself about something. Mark had offered to walk her back to her dorm, and as they went, she tried to have words come out of mouth when she wouldn’t speak to him at all…
Finally, she took a deep breath, breaking the silence, “Hey, Mark?”
“Huh?” Mark asked, looking over at her, “Something bothering you?”
“Not really,” She shook her head, “I just… There’s just been something I’ve been meaning to tell you…”
“Really?”
“… Yeah, but it seems a bit… ridiculous.”
“I would seriously doubt that, now, what do you want to tell me?”
Emily scratched the back of her head, feeling like she was about to choke or say something humiliating at the second, “Well, I wouldn’t exactly know how to say this… but…”
“But what?” Mark sounded a bit impatient, “What are you trying to tell me?”
“I’m… trying to say that… umm,” She stammered a bit, fidgeting with her fingers, “… I think that… that… well,” She paused, “I think that… Geometry… is hard.”
Mark stared over at her for a moment, “Umm… I think it is too?”
“Great,” She said, “I mean… you know, at least, somebody… agrees with me.” I feel like a total idiot, she thought she they both said goodbye and turned away to their different directions.
---
“Gee, Shade, what happened back there?” asked Kevin, after what had seemed to be an hour since they sat in a circle, taking in everything that Florence had explained to the group.
“What do you mean?” Shade asked, looking up.
“No, no… Kevin’s right,” Amanda said, “Normally you and Florence would do something more than just look over at each other along with some hello and goodbyes.”
Shade shrugged, realizing that they, and the rest, had noticed their unusual behavior earlier, “I don’t know, honestly. I know there’s more to us than just that, but… it’s been a while since we realized that we… sort of, broke up.”
“Ouch, I forgot about that.” Kay said, “It’s just a bit of a shocker, you know? You guys were like inseparable.”
“I know…” Shade agreed sadly, “Now I feel stupid, not having the courage to say anything else to her before.”
“I’ve had those feelings,” said Ash, “Everyone does. Maybe you and Florence just need this time off of each other, so maybe you shouldn’t worry so much.”
“That’s just the thing, though. I didn’t really want this to happen, but it seemed like the right thing to do, so I just agreed…”
“Well, maybe you were just trying to make her happy, but there could be a possibility that she’s feeling the same way.”
“How?”
“There’s no way we can tell for sure, but you still haven’t asked her; so you wouldn’t exactly know for sure.”
“That’s just it, Ash. I wanted to tell her, but… it didn’t seem like the right time to tell her. And I don’t even know how to explain it; I’m afraid that I might mess up or say something that would upset her.”
“Just say what comes naturally,” Kevin said, “Words of love aren’t meant to planned. They should come from your heart and require no practice at all…”
“Gee, never thought of it that way,” Shade muttered.
“Find the right time to tell her,” Kay added, “And you’ll be just fine.”
“In fact, can you promise to us that you’ll her once it’s the right time?” Amanda said.
“I promise,” He replied, “Thanks, guys.”
Before anybody could say anything else, Mark had run over from the far corner, “Somebody called me?”
“Great! You’re here!” said Leah, “Now we can plan out everything and get things started.”
---
Florence had soon come back to the time when she first spotted 88 and 89 at Central Park with their discussion of the alliance. She had seen everything exactly the same- even herself standing by the grass eavesdropping through the conversation. Time was completely still and there was nothing, and nobody, moving except for her.
She grinned, noticing that the map wasn’t there until she returned it to its precise spot. With a sense of triumph in her face, she spun the staff again, making time move back once again. Before she left for the Huntslair later in the afternoon, she made sure that they never caught her then went off.
“The Huntsclan Alliance,” began Huntsdad, “This organization could be the help the Huntsclan needs to start the next big ‘Magical Creature and Huntsclan’ battle. And this will all begin at Draco Island, inside the boarding school to be precise. This is where more than half of the dragon population in the world will be, so this can be our first stop.
---
“What they plan on doing first is by breaking in through the central spot of the building,” Florence laid out the map of DISOM so that everyone can see.
“They believe the weakest point of the boarding school, which is sort of like what you might all call ‘Main Square’ in this school, is the place to begin. They will attempt a break in during hours of twilight, so some people here will have to do an overnight spying and warn us if there are any Huntsclan members making their way here. Don’t try too hard and use so much of your power; these will only be mere apprentices and recruits of the clan.”
---
“The higher office, or the Huntsclan’s chosen and most powerful members, will stay behind a bit further to make sure that they are successful. Once we reach Main Square, we can break down to the core, which contains the school’s main source of all electricity, security, and power. Students, at the time we are finished, will already be awake and realize that something has happened. If things are doing well by then, we can bring out every, that way the battle can surely begin.”
---
“The Huntsclan is assuming that it is already hours before class time by then, so it is possible that we can prevent them from breaking anything just like, as I’ve said, a back-up overnight group of three will stay after starting midnight. And once I get anything important that you guys have to know, I’ll notify Shade that he can warn the rest that they’ve arrived or if they made a change of plans— since we have an easy to keep in contact with each other.” Florence looked over at Shade for a moment, just as he had done. Later, he had just nodded as she smiled a little then continued on.
“The reason behind this is to bring out all the students outside in order to start. As for the rest of us, we can make secret hiding spots that only we know about, that way we can’t be spotted and we’ll get a head start on battling.”
“It is imperative that we all be careful, though, as there are the experts behind the front of school planning on spying to make sure the job is done. So what we can do is have them be able to break in, but once they can’t spot anything once they reach the bottom; that’s when half of us can start attacking, seeing as they’ll be twenty times easier than the other people in the Huntsclan.”