Chapter Six

Alright, I have a few things to explain here, first off, I know no one actually writes invitations in their diaries, this will be explained later. Secondly, if this chapter and last chapter seem too stuck together, it's because they are, I had to split the chapter, as the first part is putting a message across, that is differently from the second; that Jade has been there a long time, she doesn't understand that time is different, and that people are beginning to understand Jade might not be coming back.

He {Pacho} at the time, had thought there was only one hero in the world. There's not, there are many, the problem is there is only one Greatest Hero in the world, and only one Greatest Agent, and their both Chans!. I'm still working on Pacho, one day, he'll understand!

Jackie couldn't stop reading. For the past two weeks, There hadn't been much for him to do. Nothing was new in the museum, Uncle had all of the ingredients that he needed, Viper had gone home a week ago, Jade's teacher occasionally called and they chatted about how Jade should be better soon. After he read her school work, he had moved on to her room, stories she wrote, the diary she kept. Normally Jackie wouldn't invade her privacy, but Jade's ego was infectuous, and Jackie couldn't get enough of it.

She also spoke of other people, how Uncle couldn't do magic, if she and Jackie weren't there to ensure the bad guys didn't interfere; how great Torhu was, because Jackie and she had persuaded him to be a good guy.

A lot of her works referred to their training together, and how she had gone from great to the best (Yep, she still had the ego the size of Metropolis) in her division. Really Jackie felt almost inhuman -or superhuman-, he could do anything! He'd lifted buildings, moved mountains, taken down unspeakable creatures, defeated droves of dark ninja with only his niece at his side at times.

Then it all crashed. It was an hour after dawn the next morning when Jackie was brought back to earth.

"Jackie!" Torhu smashed the kitchen door open, "Come quick!"

Jackie was halfway across the kitchen by the time the words had rung the air.

"What happened?"

They ran the short distance to Uncle's study. The room was heavy with smoke, the floor around the table was littered with bowls, books, candles, and different ingredients.

Uncle on top of the table, lying over half of Jade's body. "Why are you just staandiiing arouuuund?! Get over hear, and help out!"

Before Jackie could ask what was happening, Jade began twitching, and in a few seconds, her entire body was full out thrashing, and shaking. Jackie helped Torhu hold her down, while Uncle rapidly flipped through his book to see where he had gone wrong, and how he might be able to fix this.

It took Uncle only a moment to make a decision, he picked up the dog talisman, and threw it into the wall, where it shattered into a million pieces. Jade immediately stopped moving.

Jackie released her, staying close enough to grab her if she began to do that again. Torhu backed off as well, he saw the shattered stone and instantly knew what Uncle had done.

"The Talisman?!" Torhu said shocked that his sensie would do such a thing.

Uncle nodded, panting, "Jackie-"

"You broke the talisman, why did you break the talisman?!" Jackie asked, looking at the rubble.

"Jackie, I used it to find Jade's soul. We can worry about finding the dog later. Now, check Jade," Uncle came closer to the table, but stayed a few feet away. Jackie realized he looked guilty, helpless, and a range of emotions Jackie had never seen before were pouring off him. Uncle was once again looking at the floor, ringing his hands in a helpless motion.

"What?" Jackie didn't understand what was going on, why wasn't Uncle telling Torhu to check Jade? Or checking her himself? What did he mean 'check her', Jackie couldn't tell if Jade's soul was back if she wasn't awake.

"Check her, please," Uncle asked again.

Jackie looked back to Jade, and began to check her fingers and hands first. He didn't know what Uncle was looking for. The smoke was clearing, and Jackie saw that Jade was looking worse than he had ever seen her. Her skin was deathly pale, and was sticky with sweat. Her eyes looked bruised, somehow, Jackie didn't really understand why or how, despite all he knew about the body.

Something was wrong though, her fingers, the range of motion, her elbows, all fine. Jackie instinctively felt for a pulse, there wasn't one.

Jade used to hate chores, hate doing them, and hate that they existed. Then she got a reality check, they were darned useful. No one stopped her as she came and went to get water, and she could safely think as she walked-so long as she was careful. Even this far in the woods, sometimes the King's men made it. Even a few days ago, one had nearly made it to the camp, following their trails.

As most days go, Jade is thinking today of Jackie. The whether is changing, rain (or snow) is going to be falling soon, the air smells of rain, and wet wood. There are a couple of hours yet, but If they want fire wood, Jade will have to start soon.

One of Jade's favourite thing to think about is to imagine Jackie or Uncle, or Torhu, or sometimes even the kids from school, to suddenly walk out from behind a tree, or something. Jackie would walk around that tree, that Jade passes everyday to get water from the river, and help her carry them back to camp, all the while talking about how hard they've been working to find her. How they've never given up hope, and they have worked so hard, for so long. Then he would notice how much she's changed, and Uncle would whack him on the head. Jackie would say he was proud that she had become so noble, and honourable. Uncle would comment on her wisdom. Specifically, Jade has kept that magic book from years ago, and studied it, memorizing every page, so when they do find her, she can show them she has been working hard.

The only problem is that Jackie probably wouldn't recognize her. She's changed a lot.

She used to have short hair, no one here has short hair, knives need to be kept sharp. Sharpening them wears them down, and after a while, it makes them useless. And also, cutting your hair with a knife hurts! You have to hold the hair tight, and saw back and forth with the knife in your other hand. No matter how you do it, your hair looks terrible.

Like most people here, Jade has had it ripped at, yanked, pulled, and singed. The style now is to braid some of it, when your bored, or relaxing. It's something tedious that keeps your hands busy and nimble while you talk, laugh, and drink. It calms the nerves.

Jackie would never recognize her if he could see her now. He could walk right by her, and never even notice. . . even if he was looking for the talismans, he would never find them. Jade keeps them well hidden. With so much magic, it is dangerous to let others know the source of your powers. Jade usually hides them on the inside of her belt, tucked inside her boots, tucked under her arms bands. . . . all depending on the talismans can be placed strategically for better usage. Jade found out that if she kept a talisman (such as the Horse) near her wrist, she can actually heal others and herself with a mere thought, or hand gesture. It's the same with levitation, not invisibility though, for some reason.

No one knows anything about the talismans.

And her clothes! They were ripped, torn, patched, and far too filthy to ever come clean. Her pants used to be Squire Davin's, they had been cut to fit her after her own pants had become too worn. She had a long shirt, belted to fit her, really it was more of a tunic, but the darned thing still fell to her knees! Jade had no shoes, in winter, they tied hay, grass (pffff lord forbid they could find any fur! Any animal in the forest had been killed a long time ago) or anything else warm, on their feet.

A bush moves, Jade activated the Snake. Jade never takes off the Snake, or the Rabbit. She found a way long ago, to sew them into the bottom of her belt, and to cut holes into her shirt. It's too risky to do this with them all, and it is unnecessary. With invisibility and speed, one has the time to get what ever other talisman she might need.

Jade set the buckets down gently, not because she's worried about making noise, but because she doesn't want to have to go back for another trip to get water so soon. A man steps out, untangling his sleeve, and quietly lets out a curse. He has no markings, but he's big, easily twice Jade's height and four or six times as wide. He's not a knight, but he could still be an ally, they have numerous allies, with different people. Jade waits, sitting quietly as far in the bushes as she can.

Two other men come out, one holding out the man's uniform hat. Enemies then. Jade pour the talismans out of her money pouch (which contains no money and coincidentally, never has). In no hurry, as they are far enough away from camp to safely say no one is going anywhere, Jade begins to prepare, equipping the talismans to their places.

The Dragon and the Pig are the only ones on any form of jewelery. Their powers need extra control, that can't always be found at the hands. After all, accidentally healing your enemy is far better than accidentally incinerating an ally. As had happened before, the healing part, not the incinerating part. That and the dragon is the sign of the Mage, many people where it's sign.

Just in case, it doesn't hurt to be prepared, and bounty hunters are not known for traveling in small numbers. Still Jade feels a little foolish, perhaps she's a little too prepared. Changing her mind, Jade takes the remaining talismans and jams them back in the bag.

Standing up, Jade inactivates the Snake, and comes forward, "Hey boys, did you come alone?"

. . . .

Jade can hear the people roaring from the Colosseum. Amazing, that they would feel safe enough to do so just by a few stone walls. Fires from the Northern farm line, and large raids had forced the resistance to start moving. Most had started to go South, until an ally of the King's had charged North. The resistance had been forced into the mountains, harsh terrain.

They had fought as hard as they could. Most of their people had been killed crossing the mountains, either from starvation, from falling or being cut down from behind. When they had reached the city of Tal, the first city that the king had taken in his attacks, they had nothing to lose. Talking didn't help, the people refused to even let them change their ways.

Jade can still remember the soldiers on their tall walls, sneering at them from above.

"Just let the children enter, so that they can live!" Sir Raph pleaded, his young voice rising in an almost panic.

"I'll tell you what, hand me up a child, and I'll show you what we do with scum like you!" The Man yelled back.

The woman and children were quiet, hoping that this would be the end of their suffering.

"PLEASE! See sense, they will be strong men and women!"

"I don't want any of your people strong, man or woman!" He then signaled his archers to fire, and together, Raph and she had created a wall of wind.

That night they attacked the castle. Jade still doesn't know what started it. No one was asleep, they sat, waiting for the army to come. The wind was cold. Their camp fire's didn't help as much as they would have liked. And suddenly, one by one, they realized, dying at the base of that castle wasn't any worse than dying here, on the ground.

They went to the base of the castle, and when they got there, they realized that dying on a ladder or while scaling the wall couldn't be any worse than dying here, at the base of the castle. They hadn't stood a chance, but they attacked anyways, climbing the wall, mostly with only their fingers, and their hands. They reached the top, and just continued to fight.

Later, after they had calmed down, the Resistance realized why the soldiers had been so adament about no one coming in, there were no civilians in the city. That night they had also lost a high mage, and Sir Griso, a Talisar knight. He had died most unfortunately, falling from the wall, and hitting the ground.

If she wins this tournament, she will earn the title of a servant of the Talisar. Officially, she can't be a knight, but that doesn't matter, that can come later. Right now, no one can take in the title of knight.

Jade and the other other Squires (and two knights, she suddenly remembers) have fought for the right to stand in his place. All that remained was who ever won this dual now. Jade would fight them, and take Grislo's sword, and duties. Sir Griso was a Talisar Knight in the division of the Crowned Royal's Guard. His division would take care of the Royal Highness until they ascended to the throne, through battle, training, and study.

That was before, now the divisions are held up as only a reminder, that the Talisar stands for something. Now they are the ones that take care of all the children of the resistance. If Jade wins, she can look forward to being a Talisar servant, but she'll be doing it from the sides of children, and elderly. There won't be any massive attacks anymore for her, she'll be the last defense, along with three knights, and a group of squires. She'll be teaching children to fight and watching them go off on their own to help the resistance.

Is that what I want? Jade asks, she pours the eleven talismans out on the top of her cot.

Six years. Six years and Jackie still has not come, he cannot offer me his guidance now. Jade thinks to herself, six years have been a long time, she's been training hard, fighting, losing sometimes, winning others. . . She's changed. If only Jackie could see it.

The crowd, which had fallen silent a few minutes ago, once again roars to life. The vibrations can be felt through the stone floor, and it unsettles dust from the rafters. It happens every time, but that's what you get for staying in a room that hasn't been cleaned in about 8 years. Jade shakes the dust from her hair, and carefully wipes off the talismans one by one.

No sense thinking of the past. Jackie will find me but I have to live here until he does. Mind made up, Jade begins to prepare for the battle, sliding each talisman in it's designated place. If Davin wins this battle, he'll be mostly using his water spells. He has three of them, a tidal wave, a cyclone, and a healing spell.

I'd best be prepared.

Taking a look at the Rat and the tiger, Jade safely stores them back in the pouch. It's doubtful that she'll need them in this last stretch of the tournament. After all, she's been using the others the entire tournament.

A knock on the door and McCail opens it. Sir Darel stands completely stone faced, "Davin won his match. He will take a short break, before your dual."

"Don't worry, I'll be there. I'll take 'im down Sir," Jade laughs. sir Darel remains impassive.

"I'm sure you will both do well," Sir Darel bows his head, and waves for Jade to follow him.

"And!" Jade presses.

"and I am glad that I have two squires that have made it so far-"

"Yeah, so far better than everyone else's, admit it, you love us!"

"As long as you both are true to one another and yourselves."

"What do you mean? and why are we walking so slow? if we take much longer, I'm going to explode."

"That would not be pleasant."

"Does Davin want to be a babysitter the rest of his life?" Jade asks after a moment of silence.

"He will be true to himself, I have taught you both well."

The three of them don't say another word until they reach the tournament. When they finally reach the tournament, Jade is coursing with energy, just waiting to be let out. The crowed is still excited from the last match, and great the group with a thunderous cheer.

"Good luck," Darel offers.

Davin gets up and starts heading to the starting point of the duel. Jade skips up to her mark, and readies her sword/sharp stick. Davin matches her position, and the crowed quiets down.

The platform for fighting lays low, six feet below the first row of seats. It's large, about 40 strides long, and maybe thirty wide, forming a long oval shape. On the other side of the platform, the six heads of the Talisman divisions are seated. In the middle sits Sir Rafin, the head of the Crowned division, on the furthest right, his brother Raphael nods to Jade in acknowledgment.

Sir Rafin waits a moment, then begins his speech, "Sir Griso was a good friend, and an honourable, ethical man. He cared deeply for children, and for the elderly and for . . . "

Sir Raphael was a knight of the Queen's olde, today this division gathered information. Before, they had guarded everything that the Queen stood for; The Royal Jewels, the Royal library, the Royal reputations of the Queens past and present, everything but the living Queen herself, and they answered to everyone but the living Queen herself. They had worked hand in hand with the Citizen division, the one that Sir Darel had been part of, now this division had no soul purpose, they just did what was needed, as it came up.

Sad really.

Jade waits for the signal, the wise man claps his hands once, and Jade slashes at her opponent. Davin blocks and kicks out with his foot. And so it's on, Jade waits until he uses a water spell to activate any talismans. Some time later, she levitates over the massive tidal wave. When she get's close enough, Jade activates the Ox, and punches Davin in the side of the head, easily avoiding his sword with the help of a certain serpent.

Davin crumples to the floor.

Uh oh Jade kneels by him, activating the horse, and Davin sits up still looking dazed, but none the less, awake.

"Congratulations! Squire Jade, you are about to step into the shoes of a worthy man. May his essence encourage you, and may you share his passions and excellence. Stand now, and receive his sword! Stand now and receive his place among our people!" Sir Rafen nods to his personal squire off to the side of the tournament floor. the Squire comes to him, and retrieves the polished sword. The hilt is banded with an orange glass-like stone, Jade notices. I never did like amber.

The crowd screams again, excited after all the long wait.

"Wait! Wait!" Jade yells out, until the crowed quiets down enough to hear her. "I have something to say!" The crowed roars again, and Jade waits again for them to stop.

"I am must turn down this opportunity!" The crowed takes longer to calm down. Jade has to hurry, Sir Rafen looks like he wants to say something, "I refuse because I do not believe that I am able to fulfill it! I do not believe that I have what it takes to join the Crowned division!"

Davin quickly puts in his piece, "And neither do I, I'm terrible with children!"

. . . .

Jade laughs, her eyes on a large orb of light in front of her. She pauses, in the middle of practicing her lotus technique.

"Finally," she mutters to herself, dropping form. All those long hours of practice, she has finally created an outside form of her energy. She hasn't slept in two days, but it's worth it.

She summons the light to her hand, and then quickly streaks it across the clearing. The light arches strangely, forming a long ribbon of white.

She's tired, but she needs to bind the energy to a symbol before she releases it, or she'll lose it. Jade doesn't need another dragon, horse or serpent, so instead, she has chosen a symbol that only represents this new power. A bird, a bird is a good symbol, with no attachments. There is no meaning, at least none that Jade can think of.

The light bursts into form, a beautiful raptor, before resuming itself as an orb. Jade laughs again, excited to have a new toy, er power, Jade corrects herself.

She flattens the light out, and tosses some dry grass on it, the shield hold true, and all the dirt slides off. She forms it into a long shaft, and reaches out to grab it. the light instantly flies into her hand. It's warm, Jade notices in delight, nicely warm. If only she could have two and put one in each shoe, winter is coming soon. Snow could fall any day.

The shaft stays put, and Jade practices swirling it around her head once or twice. It's perfectly balanced, and moves magnificently. A quick strike at some dry foliage shows that it's sturdy enough as a weapon.

It's a good weapon, the resistance needs good weapons. and so does Jade. Simple magic, and sword play is not enough, everyone studies it, people need an extra edge to survive, now Jade has a few to spare. She'll practice more later, maybe tomorrow. Right now, sleep would be great, and besides, Jade has to report to Sir Darel, and give him the map she had been sent out last week to get. She'll be showing up a day earlier than they would have thought, but they won't be too suspicious.

Jade releases the form, and gathers her books. Besides, Talisar Davin will be happy to see her, she brought him a message from Mage Shelah.

. . . .

Jade sits on her bed, once again, thinking of home. Ten years, she's fully grown now, and already turning away the boys.

She's an accomplished Knight now, the Queen knighted her just a few minutes ago. Her father was sadly killed, and so was her little brother. One from the sword, and the other from plague. They had escaped the monastery where they had been kept. Imagine that, no one would think of looking in the monasteries for the royal family. The Church guards had been withdrawn before the family was moved. It had been a great plan that the Tyrant had, pure ingeniousness. adding that to the rumours that they were all dead, and fears that they might still be alive, it was the perfect way to control the people. It doesn't matter now, they'll bring the Queen back now that they have her. Her mother too, and this war will start to turn around.

Jade was chosen as one of the ten great champions that were entrusted with the task of retrieving the royal family, and returning them to the safe haven of Tar. Even Talisar Davin wasn't entrusted with this right. Ten years ago, Jade would never have thought that she would be a great hero, a Knight of the Talisar. No one would have thought this is where that scrawny brat would have ended up.

Briefly Jade wonders if Jackie is even still looking for her. Probably, if he came through the portal, no one would even know it now. Especially since the opening is in the middle of no where, behind enemy lines. But if she does go back now, what would happen to her? It's been so long! What excuse could they give for her absence? If there were a way to undo all of this Jade would be happy. Simply to reach out, and grab her younger self before she went into that portal.

She turns over her sword, it has served her faithfully for two long years. It belonged to Sir Raphael, a true friend of Jade's. They had met after he specifically requested her presence. He said he had heard of her philosophies, and wanted to see them for himself.

After traveling for two days straight, on what she had thought was an important mission, Jade had been floored. After a nice, long discussion though, Jade and the knight had become good friends, that lasted until the end of his life. He was the reason Jade had lived after turning down Griso's division, he had stood up for her and Davin. And had promptly told his brother of his favor to this squire. Davin of course, had never been in trouble, what with Sir Darel and all.

Tridant, that's the sword's name, it's pretty, with amethyst and sapphire stones. The Queen's mother had it made specifically for him. He had been her favorite Knight, being so courteous and open minded. When Sir Raphael had died, Jade couldn't stand the thought that just anyone would be touching, polishing or using his sword. Tridant is an honourable weapon, and only the best person should be at the handle.

After all of these adventures, where can Jade possibly go from here? Head of her division? Possibly, Sir Handeroff (yes, Jade still lets out a giggle over THAT one) is getting older, and during the last battle, he injured his hip. With his neck injury that he already had, his clock was starting to wind down. If he had to fight in another battle . . .

But then, there were four others that could take that position too, and Jade doesn't really want to be in charge of the other knights. None of them wanted to either, each one was giving subtle hints that they really didn't want to stand up as the next head of division. They began complaining of old injuries, passing duties back and forth, avoiding the great knight, and taking long missions that would keep them away until -hopefully- Sir Handeroff was healed. Or dead, they all knew it was a possibility.

Jade herself hasn't been back in six months, Sir Handeroff would most likely be gone when she did get back. Jade would really like to continue her magic studies anyways. Maybe one day, she'll make it home. Being head would take away her time for magic studies. She couldn't spend four days on a single day mission anymore (thanks to Rabbit powers). She would have an escort follow her everywhere.

Well, she did have a squire now, but that was besides the point, he was safely back in Tar. He had wanted to come, but Jade had point blank refused it. Then she'd left him in Davin's care.

After the Royal family was back in Tar, Jade would go to study magic in earnest, these books she has now, they aren't enough. Maybe there would be more important books in the city of mages, Elsingryde. Seems likely. But it was still in the hands of the enemy. Doesn't really matter, Jade knows she'll figure it out, she always has before.

. . . .

Five years, for the past five years, they have been planning, strategizing and doing everything they could to try to get into Elsingryde. Now, they've finally done it. A month ago, they breached the walls, and a week later, they purged the last sign of Tyrancy from the city. Now, the city was theirs, and Jade has been using the numerous libraries to her advantage.

Libraries are sorted according to family scripture, so the information is spread across all the libraries. Still, Jade has been working hard. So far, it is looking more and more like only Uncle can help. Not because he is a better study of magic, (well, not only because), but also because from his side of the portal, he can ground the spell to earth.

Almost like looking at stars, it is easy to see the stars from earth, but it is hard to see earth form the stars, Jade could end up anywhere, she doesn't even know which direction to move in.

The buildings in this city are impressive, each building is topped off with beautiful architecture. The building Jade just left looks like a castle, with gargoyles, flags, statues, stained glass, marble interior and metal work on the doors and windows.

Jade heads down the road, enjoying her walk. This is one of the only cities in the world to have stone roads, although they are in vast need of repair. Some of the stones have come loose, but they can be easily put back into place. Still the entire city is wonderful.

As she walks, Jade lets her mind wander, something she is usually in the habit of doing. Almost immediately, Jade starts to go over information in her head. The last library had only one book mention dimension travel, it had an entire page on the subject. Mainly, it was about summoning monsters to come and do things for you. It mentioned a dragon that gives the summoner youth, a man who gives the summoner death, a tree that gives the summoner healing, a fountain that gives water (no duh!), and a whole lot of other summons.

Jade tried the fountain. At first, she had been worried that it might be some mischievous spirit, or what not, so she'd even equipped the talismans. It was odd when she succeeded because the fountain had been shattered, it had once been quite the sight, from what Jade could see. Spinner dolphins, crocodiles and squid chasing each other off what looked like a rock. Jade had tried to banish the rubble, but it wouldn't go away, so a servant had cleaned it up instead.

Strange, Jade thought to herself. Jade had written the page out, in case it should prove useful, but she doubts it. There is no reason she will, after all, there is no creature that can take a person home, or across dimensions. But you never know, the one for youth might be useful.

Jade chuckles to herself quietly. "Oy! Whatcha laughin' abou'?"

Jade's head snaps up, across the street, "McCail! I was just thinking of how ridiculous you look with that stupid hat on your head!"

"Ha! 'course ye were!" He adjusts his hat anyways, pulling the big feather back on his head. It's a new add to his wardrobe, he took it straight off the head of the enemy General when they took the city.

Jade goes to run to meet him, when something hits her, knocking her to the ground. Whatever it is, it has the force of a car! Jade can feel her chest burning, her back feels icy cold though, an odd sensation.

"Ja' lass? What is it?" McCail is at her side.

If she could talk Jade would have had the perfect reply for the old oaf, but something is closing around her neck, strangling her. She claws at her neck, trying to get it off. Something is ripping at her chest, and the back of her neck. It's pounding in time with her heart.

Jade was gone. Jackie didn't let go of her hand right away, her fingers were already stiff. Normally Jackie, while always worried, would know that she was coming back, that she was either nearby, or would be safe soon; this time Jackie knew different. He had the feeling, like Jade wasn't even on the planet, or in the solar system. Almost like she didn't exist at all.

Jackie placed her hand down at her side, "Uncle?"

Jackie had always followed his instincts, and this time, his instincts were telling him to just do something, get away from here. That this time, Jade had gone too far, and no one could help her now.

"We will not give up. I only placed her under a stasis charm. It will make her body last longer," Torhu says, picking up the mess.

Somehow, this didn't make Jackie feel any better. He doubts the spell worked, it doesn't feel right.

Jackie sat down at the dining room table, remembering the line Mrs. Hartman had circled in gold pen.

Jackie always tries to peacefully resolve problems. It used to get on my nerves, but now it doesn't. I think I understand it now. . .

Jackie nearly sighed, it was too bad Jade didn't tell him herself. Now it might be too late, and they never even understood each other as well as they thought. Somewhere, they had gone off track, and began making assumption about one another, ones that weren't really true.

Jade really couldn't die now, after he had just learned so much. There had to be a way to bring her back, they just had to find it.

They had time traveled enough times to try it again. That's what Jackie decided then, the only way to bring Jade back, would be time travel.

Yes, I am now making Jackie face some ethical questions himself. Really it was only matter of time, but what do you think he should do? What do you think he's going to do?

Joke of the Day: