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Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I posted something. Aside from the site going down, school started again and things were hectic for a while, and probably will be hectic for me for the rest of the year. That aside, I bring you the 20th chapter of Lord of arms. Read and enjoy!

p.s: For the record, Will and his friends are currently somewhere in Europe.

Chapter 20: Beach fun with an unexpected guest

Jake inwardly groaned as his parents marched in without even saying anything. True, the home technically was under his parent's ownership, but he expected them to at least say 'excuse us' or something like that.

"What are you doing here? I thought that you guys were at England for some conference or something." Jake spoke as he trailed after his family. Will and the rest awkwardly inched away as Jake's parents and brothers came in.

"Yes. We're here just to pay a visit and find a file that we need. We forgot to bring it back after the last visit." Martha Andelvel spoke as she sat down on a chair elegantly. Jake didn't know how that was even possible, but that was the way his mother did things. Cold, elegant, and deadly in certain situations; they were odd words to describe a mother, yet it fit perfectly on her.

As Jake watched his father climb the stairs, the friends and the family each stared at one another silently, until Martha Andelvel spoke up. "Young lady, aren't you from the Norton family?" The unexpected question caught Sara and Arthur off guard, even though the question wasn't directed at him.

"Yes, but how do you know about me?" Sara swallowed nervously and answered the female wolf sitting in front of them.

"The Nortons are also attending the meeting, and I happened to come across your father there. He was.... very enthusiastic about his daughter." Martha spoke slowly. "Also, I had Jake inform me all about you, when he asked if you all could stay here." as she spoke, she took a look at all of them, her gaze settling on Will and Arthur. Will had the uncomfortable feeling that the two of them were bothering her for some reason. Suddenly, the wolfess stood up, startling Will from his observations. "Jake, may I speak to you privately for a while?" without waiting for a response from her son, she swiftly moved up the stairs. Jake looked surprised and nervous, but followed her. As he went up the stairs, he leaned on the railings and mouthed something that looked like 'sorry'.

Jake entered the room, and found that it was Will and Arthur's room. He could see Will's necklace on the table next to the bed.

"So, that tiger was your roommate?" Jake's mother casually spoke, her eyes taking in the whole room. From the way her nose twitched, he figured that whatever she was about to say wasn't pleasant. "I don't want to criticize your choice of friends, but..... have you wondered whether they are suitable friends for someone of your...... heritage?" she spoke lightly. After a second of silence, Jake clenched his fists, his breaths becoming rather irregular with anger. "What do you mean?" Jake quietly spoke.

Either unconcerned or ignorant about Jake's feelings, the wolfess continued to speak. "Well, I've taken a look at that young tiger and his brother, and let's say that I found their records..... rather unpleasant. A tiger with no known bloodline, and possibly a mutation? A half demon lion? You shouldn't be so close to them, not when you have a promising career ahead of you."

"You.... you're saying that just because they're caught in a circumstance they can't help, I should ditch them?" before his mother can speak, Jake barreled on. "You were always like this! You don't know anything about anyone, but make choices based on who their parents were! You never look at people's hearts, nor do you ever consider people's feelings! You don't know anything about Will or Jake; you don't know how hard Jake is working, to contain the dark power! You don't know how nice and caring Will is to everyone else!" he then shot a dark look at his mother. "Screw what you said; they're my friends, and nothing you can say will change my mind." before his mother could say anything else, he left the room, slamming the door with all his might.

As he stomped down the stairs, he slammed into a smaller figure, which fell back with a yelp. Instinctively, the wolf grabbed the figure and pulled it close, only to find that the figure that was falling was Will. "Are you okay? Sorry about that." Jake apologized to Will.

"Were things okay? I heard you yelling something, and I heard a door slamming. Did something go wrong?" Will stared at Jake with the big blue eyes, the eyes that made Jake fall in love with the tiger.

"No, everything's okay; there just was a big breeze, and that made the door shut much harder than I expected." Jake spoke gently as he helped the white tiger regain his balance. He looked back only to find his father and mother standing behind him.

"Well, we won't be bothering you any longer. Have a nice time." Martha Andelvel spoke coldly as they went out. As the four wolves went out, there was a collective sigh.

"Well, no offense to you, Jake, but I definitely feel better now that they're gone. Seriously, they keep on looking at you as if you were a bug or something insignificant, and I couldn't keep a conversation going to save my life!" Jonas exclaimed as he sat down.

"I feel the same. That's why I don't like spending time with my family." Jake spoke and looked over the clock. He found that it was getting rather late. "Well, I think we should get to bed. I thought we could visit the beach tomorrow; hope you packed your swimsuits."

As Jake spoke, he let out a yawn, followed by several others. In varying degree of sleepiness, the group staggered up the stairs. Soon the mansion was quiet, except for some snoring here and there.

Next day

** ** Will stood on the edge of the beach, where the waves washed over his now bare toes. "I don't like swimming that much, to be honest." Will spoke as he stared at the water.

"Oh come one! The water's great!" Karl spoke as he splashed Jonas with Todd.

"Well, swimming is okay, especially in nice places such as this. But what I don't like is that I have to take a shower after that. And when we go to the beach, there's also the salt from the waves and all...." Will's complaints were cut off by a whirlwind that came from the ground below him. This immediately caused Will to flip. Fortunately, the whirlwind rose just high enough so that the young tiger won't slam his head on the sand dunes.

"Oh come one Will, lighten up. Usually you're the one that goes like 'This is awesome!' and all." Jake spoke as he moved the whirlwind, and it eventually came to a stop right above the ocean.

"Jake? This is a joke, right? You won't pull this on someone you love, right?" Will asked, his tone both light and a little fearful. As Jake gave a merciless grin, Will turned to his older brother, or tried to. "Come on Arthur! Stop him, please!" Will yelled as he floated in the air.

"Oh Will, you need to lighten up. Just enjoy yourself. You won't die from swimming in the ocean, you know!" Arthur spoke cheerfully, much to Will's horror.

"At least turn me around, please? I don't want to..." Will never finished his sentence, as Jake suddenly let the tiger drop. With a short scream, Will fell into the ocean. Fortunately, he twisted midair and avoided falling headfirst into the ocean. Moments later, he emerged, his fur dripping with water. The air nearby began to crackle, shimmering with a blue aura. "That WASN'T FUNNY!" Will shouted. Suddenly, the water around him erupted, forming a giant ball of water that struck Jake and Arthur. The resulting splash was so powerful that the land nearby was flooded. As the fiery aura around Will faded, the only one who was completely dry was Sara, who was sunbathing at the time and wisely put up a shield.

After a moment of silence, Jake sat up from his position, spitting out sand. "Well, remind me to never mess with you again, Will." Arthur also did the same. When Will looked around and saw the damages he caused, he looked horrified.

"Jake! Arthur! Are you both okay?" Will yelled, running toward them. "I'm so sorry! I was just mad... and I...." the young tiger trailed off, looking so apologetic that Jake couldn't stay mad at him. "Forget it. I was my fault. I shouldn't have done that when I knew you didn't like it."

"But how did that work? I wasn't drawing any magic circles, nor did I want to use magic in the first place." Will spoke, bewildered.

"Magic isn't just drawing magic circles, you know." Arthur spoke drily, catching Will's attention. "It's true that magic circles, charms, and other factors like these help us use magic, but magic comes from within ourselves. Those things are just there to make our spells more efficient. Sometimes a life-threatening situation or an intense burst of emotion can activate spells without using them. They just are less efficient than magics using magic circles in terms of energy used. Also, your primary element is water, so you had a easier time using the sea."

"So the anger I felt from Jake dunking me made that? But I didn't want something like this! I just felt mad, and..."

"Like I said, emotion is a powerful variable with magic. But to cause something this powerful just because you were mad for a while...." Arthur trailed off with a concerned look. "When we get back, We'll have to get a consultation."

"Is it bad?" Will spoke, feeling rather fearful. Did this mean he have serious anger issues? Would this happen every time he got mad?

"Well, not really. It might be a blessing disguised as a curse, or just a problem." Arthur explained to Will. "What do you mean by a blessing disguised as a curse?" Todd questioned Jake, the rest of the group having gathered to listen to the lion.

"Well, I think this happened because of Will's power. They must be immensely powerful." Arthur looked around only to find rather black looks. He sighed before giving a more detailed explanation. "So for magicians, it's not that unusual to accidentally activate magic when you're mad. But most of the time, the power fueling that magic is very weak. At best maybe a spark or two. But what Will did back there obviously is much more powerful than that. My theories are that either Will's mana supply is so big that the spell he did costs practically nothing to him, or that his body releases too much power for some reason. I can't tell which one is the correct one without an expert help though." Arthur spoke.

"Then what do I do now?" Will asked with a slight degree of fear. He did not want to go off every time he felt mad. If being that mad caused this , what would happen if he felt more angry?

"Well, We should check the town and see if they have any magic restraining items. It should make you expend more energy for each spells. If it's the first case then this won't be quiet as effective, but it's an effective solution for the time being." Arthur spoke as he looked at everyone else. "In the meantime, try to relax, and not go off."

"Okay, I'll try." Will spoke as he made a mental note to count to ten whenever he got ticked off. He then tried to coax a little bit of power out of him to see if he could handle the power. He gingerly reached for it, and when the power slowly responded, the water behind him exploded again.

"Oh come on! I didn't do anything this time!" Will yelled and turned around, and froze. Standing before him was the largest serpent he ever saw, possibly as long as a train. It was a sickly shade of blue, and the head was fringed.

"It's a..... it's a blue serpent thingie!" Todd yelled. The serpent then promptly roared, apparently not liking the name 'blue serpent thingie'.

"What the heck is it?" Will whispered now that the serpent's attention was focused on them, Will in particular. It was probably because he was closest to the beach.

"I don't know, but it definitely doesn't look friendly. Do not make any sudden movement." Karl whispered back as the serpent hissed, cocking its head. Suddenly it shot a stream of green liquid toward Will, who instinctively rolled away. As he did so, he found that the patch of sand that he was standing on was now smoking. "It can spit acid!" Will shouted, and that was the signal for everyone to move. Sara moved back and materialized her Idea, while Karl, Will, and Arthur moved forward. Jake also materialized his Idea-a lance, and Todd and Jonas stood between Sara and the frontline. Within minutes they formed a perfect battle formation.

Sara then unleashed a blast of pure mana from her cannon, but as soon as the stream of light touched the serpent, the ray of power suddenly disappeared.

"Is that common?" Will yelled, avoiding the snake's attack by a few feet and trying to stab the eyes out. However, the serpent managed to avoid the attack, although it ended up with a small gash.

"The scales must be made of some material that can nullify magic. But..." Arthur trailed off and made a gesture, and a sharp piece of metal suddenly shot out of the ground, bouncing against the scales.

"Okay, so elemental attacks that use actual physical attacks are okay. Looks like it's not very effective, but it still work. Everyone! Use magic that work with physical things, like metal or ice or earth!" Jake yelled. A split second later, the serpent slammed into the wolf, making him skid back. "Jake!" Will yelled and began to run in his direction. Fortunately, the wolf was fine, the lance Idea protecting him. However, the acid from its body continued to drip against the hasty shield from the wolf.

"Get away from him!" Will shouted as he leapt in the air. Holding a blade as high as he could, he channeled his anger and power into it. Suddenly, ice erupted over the blade, until it formed another sword over the Idea. The blade resembled a scimitar, and had a dragon etched upon it. "Blademaster techniques: Ice Avalanche Lightning!" He shouted and slammed the blade against the ground as he fell. As the blade touched the ground, gigantic icicles erupted from the ground that was touched. The icicles slammed against the serpent, throwing it on its side.

"Jake! Are you okay?" Will yelled as he came to the wolf.

"It might feel a little better if you kiss me." Jake made a feeble joke. When Will rolled his eyes and was opening his mouth, he suddenly pushed the tiger away, grabbing the lance and charging forward. Will turned around to see the serpent coming toward them, but the most startling thing was that the serpent had a sickly blue around it. Jake's green aura collided with it, throwing them back.

"It can use magic?" Karl yelled, running over. With Arthur, the husky continued to fight against the serpent, but it quickly became problematic. The elemental magic and Ideas weren't very helpful when the serpent was protected by magic, and any spells and Spirit techniques were nullified by its scale.

After nearly a half an hour, Will panted. At this point, the group wasn't trying to strike back, but to avoid its attacks. The serpent blocked their passage back by attacking them as soon as they moved back.

There has to be something we can do! The white tiger desperately thought, looking around him. His friends also looked exhausted, Karl and Arthur taking the brunt of the attack due to their close range Ideas. As he looked around him, his eyes settled on the sea, which reminded him of a lesson from Arthur.

"Will, do you know the four elements?" the lion spoke over the dining table, which was what they used for lessons.

_ "Yeah, I know. Water, fire, wind, and earth, right? People used to believe that they were made from one or all of those things." Will confidently spoke._

_ "Yep. But did you know that the ancient people were right? They were wrong that we were made of these four elements physically , but they were partially right that these elements are closely related to us. There's more than four elements like them, but for everyone, their life force is closely linked to an element. For most people, it doesn't have that much of an effect other than the fact that they feel more comfortable with their elements. But with us, our elements often dictate our specialty."_

_ "Then what's mine? And what's yours?" Will asked. He thought that these sort of things were probable from the fantasy books he read, but it was still exciting._

_ "Well, I'd say your element is water. You'd have an easier time with water or lightning magic, but a bit of a tough time with fire or wood magic. Mine is metal, by the way."_

When Will remembered this, he realized that there was a way. It was dangerous right now with his current condition, but it was the only way. Will closed his eyes, and reached into the depths of his mind, searching for a specific someone- a deity.

Dan, are you there? Will silently called for the white tiger god, who made a contract with Will a few months ago. Will waited for a second, and he felt a familiar presence again. Yep, right here. What's up? The god leisurely spoke. Will could've sworn that he heard munching. Were you eating something? Will mentally spoke.

Divine food for gods. It's not really good though. I think I might come over at some point. Anyways, what do you need?_The god spoke in Will's mind. _Power. As much as you can afford and I can handle. Will responded. After a slight interval, Will felt power flow into him. It continued until he was back to his old self, and even more. Thanks. Will spoke, and the deity grunted before disappearing. With the power, Will reached deep into himself again, but this time searching for something different. As he went deeper, he heard a roar of a wave. He then followed the sound, and grasped it. As he came close to the waves, he gasped. The source of the waves was a giant sphere of shining water, so big that Will couldn't tell how big it was. Is this my power? Will wondered and reached forward. When his paw touched it, the sphere flashed, and power began to flow into Will. As he opened his eyes, he saw everyone staring at him. He was literally glowing with power. He then calmly flicked his paws. Immediately, waves began to throw the serpent back. Then the sea around them began to boil, then splashed out of the sea and lifted the serpent. Despite the roars and the struggles of the serpent, Will calmly moved around, the graceful movements resembling a beautiful dance. As he moved, more water began to flow around the serpent until it was submerged in water once more. At the end, Will felt light headed and as if he wasn't really there. With the reserve of power weakening fast, he then thrust his paw out. "Freeze." he intoned, and the sphere froze, falling on the ground. As he stopped the spell, he felt dizzy and fell. The last thing he saw was a blurry image of his brother holding him.

When Will opened his eyes, he was in a library. He was sitting in a very comfy armchair. Sitting across him was King Arthur, who the tiger saw before. Will was also supposed to be his heir, coincidentally.

"Hello. Been a long time, eh?" the lion chuckled, slamming a book shut. Will took a brief look at the cover, which had a knight on it.

"Where am I?" Will asked and looked around. The room was wide but also very tall. Will wasn't sure if he could see the ceiling. Bookshelf upon bookshelf surrounded the walls, all the way up to presumably the top.

"Well, no worries; you're alive. I finally had some free time, so I thought that I might look for you. Fortunately, you were particularly weak at that time, and that helped me bring you here. But this might be the last time we meet face-to-face. The time in heaven is rather odd in that it sometimes moves too quick for the human world, and sometimes it moves too slowly. Really, 24 hours here can take 240 years or 24 seconds in the human world." seeing Will stand up with protest on his lips, the white lion answered the unasked question. "Don't worry; you'll return to your own timeline."

"Why didn't you tell me who you were?" Will asked, and the former king smiled. "I did tell you who I was. The wind just happened to cut me off."

"And that was unintentional. Right?" Will asked in a suspicious voice.

"Well.... I did enjoy seeing you racking your brains for a while." King Arthur admitted, leaning back. "But I thought that you would eventually figure out in the end. And I wasn't sure whether telling you this was such a good idea."

"Because of the prophecy?" Will spoke, and the king nodded. "I didn't to put you under such a heavy burden for now. You're a child; you should play, enjoy life to the fullest. And the fact would've made you a target for any evil magicians. I wanted to protect you as long as possible."

When Will considered the king's words, he knew that the lion was right. "Well, thank you." Will awkwardly spoke. "But now, can I tell it to my friends? I know that you've said no to this before, but I don't want to lie to them."

The lion pondered before nodding. "Well, I've been keeping watch, and I think they're trustworthy. Just tell them to not to tell anyone else."

A clock suddenly beeped, and the king took a brief look at it. "Well, looks like your body is okay now. Fortunately there isn't anything else to say, so I'll see you the next time." The lion flicked his paw, and a door opened. As Will stood, he was hugged by the king. "Take care of yourself." he muttered.

Will walked up to the door, beyond which was a soft white light. He looked over his shoulder, and the lion gave him a grin and a thumbs-up. As he stepped out, he looked around at the blinding whiteness around him, and suddenly color began to flow into the whiteness. As the colors cleared, Will felt a terrific shift. When the shift ended, he found himself lying on the bed with everyone watching over him.

"Well, this is getting old real quick; is this the second or third?" Will joked as he tried to sit up, and succeeded.

"You idiot." Sara spoke up. She was trying to look annoyed and angry but he could see that she was happy. "What made you try something like that? If you didn't have enough power, things would've gone worse!"

"I figured I could handle it. I have a contract with a god, remember?"

"That doesn't mean that you have unlimited power. You passed out right after you finished freezing that thing, and at that point you were in a critical condition. We had to pump mana into you to stabilize your life force." Todd spoke, concern in his eyes.

"Oh... thank you. Thank you all." Will softly spoke. As silence fell, Will remembered the conversation in his dream.

"Guys? I have something that I have to say to you. Something I kept hidden for a while." Will spoke, and everyone turned toward him. He took a deep breath, and launched into his tale.

Meanwhile

** ** A shadowed being was looking through a crystal ball, in which an image of a serpent butchered was shown.

"Hmm... I can see why my servant was defeated." the being rumbled, waving its hands over the image. The crystal ball went blank, and then showed another image.

"I'll be seeing you very soon, child. Very soon...." the being murmured, closing its eyes. The crystal ball now had an image of a certain white tiger, flickering.