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Part 22

A month later I am standing alone in a clearing in the forest near the river. The same clearing where Shadow and I spent a lazy afternoon several weeks before. Today however is a much different day. I am standing with my back to the river watching the forest before me. My trident is in my right hand ready to be used at a moment's notice.

My eyes glide from tree to tree, branch to branch looking for anything out of place. A gentle breeze moves through the clearing causing the leaves to rustle gently against each other in the summer afternoon. The breeze moves on and the leaves slowly become still again as silence settles over the area. Nothing is moving or making a sound not even the animals of the forest. All is perfectly still and silent.

For a moment nothing happens as I continue to watch the trees. Suddenly several things happen all at once. A branch snaps to my right, as leaves crunch to my left, a jet of red flames shoot out of the trees from near where the branch snapped aimed straight for my head. I manage to duck under the jet of fire and bring my trident around to deflect any incoming attack.

A second jet of fire shoots out from the trees forcing me to roll to the side to avoid it. I raise my trident in time to block a third blast of fire from striking me in the chest. As the flames part around me in swirls of heat movement in the direction of river catches my eye.

A wave of water swells out of the river and races through the air towards me. I crouch low and jump with all my strength sending me through a flip as I sail up over the water and flames which collide below me. When the two elements meet the fire turns the water into a billowing cloud of steam that hides the world from my view.

The steam has the added bonus of hiding me from view as well. I complete my flip and quickly and silently move into the shadows of some nearby bushes before the steam clears. I crouch in the foliage perfectly still as I wait for my attackers to show themselves.

For several long moments I sit there still as a statue as the moisture from the steam that collected on my fur slowly dries. Eventually movement comes from across the clearing where the jet of fire came from. A flash of silver from between the trees gets my attention.

As I watch the shadows solidify and the shape of a wolf holding a sword forms from the within them. Shadow slowly steps out of the safety of the trees holding his sword at the ready as he looks in every direction he can trying to find me.

From several feet to his left a flash of gold from light reflected off a trident signals the arrival of Rosalie. They look at each other for a moment then slowly advance on the spot where the fire and water collided.

Slowly they get to within fifteen feet of me as they are looking around. Rosalie is the first to speak up in a quiet voice as she asks Shadow, "Where did he go?" Shadow slowly looks around the clearing at one point turning his back to me as he says, "Not sure, the steam blocked him from view. Nice work on the wave by the way."

She nods as way of thanks but says nothing as she too begins to look around the clearing for me. They move in sync so that they don't both have their back to the same direction at the same time limiting my options. Slowly they begin to move away from where I am hiding back towards the center of the clearing.

At that moment I see my chance. I clear my mind and slowly reach out a hand towards the flowing water and cause a wave to swell up and move through the air straight to where Shadow and Rosalie are now standing.

They both dive to the side to avoid the water as it crashes down where they were standing. In that instant I burst from hiding spot in a leap using the confusion I caused with the wave as a distraction to get into position. I land a few feet from where they are getting back to their feet. I raise my trident and go on the attack.

I swing my trident over my head and aim a blow at Shadows head which he manages to deflect with his sword while he is still trying to get to his feet. I shift the direction of my deflected attack so that I am able to keep the momentum going as I aim for Rosalie's legs.

She has managed to get to her feet and jumps straight into the air allowing my trident to pass beneath her. She lands on her toes and brings her own trident straight down towards me. I lift mine in time to block her attack. When our weapons meet a clear ringing sound echoes around the clearing.

She looks me in the eyes as we struggle against each other in a stalemate. In her eyes I see a fierce determination to do everything in her power to win. I smile at her as I give a sudden push knocking her off balance as I roll to the side avoiding the falling blade of Shadows sword which misses us both by inches.

Getting to my feet with my trident at the ready I face both Shadow and Rosalie as step closer together and prepare for the attack. They begin to slowly circle to either side remaining just outside of my weapons reach ready for the attack. My eyes quickly dart back and forth between them as I train an ear on each one to keep myself ready for the coming assault.

When Shadow is to my left and Rosalie to my right they stop circling and freeze in position watching me. For a moment all three of us are still as statues as we watch each other. A breeze blows through the clearing sending a small whirlwind of dust and leaves past us.

When the wind settles down again they both launch their attacks at the same time. In a flurry of strikes and parries I block and dodge blows from both directions.

Shadow's sword passes less than an inch from my nose while Rosalie's trident passes below my feet as I jump in the air. Then they change positions and I am knocking her trident to the side with my own as I it heads for my chest while his sword narrowly misses shortening my tail.

For an unknown length of time we exchange attacks and parries filling the clearing with the sounds of battle. Time marches on as the blows continue to be fierce and powerful until an opening reveals itself.

Rosalie over balances herself revealing an opening and that is when I launch my attack. With a quick flurry I jab my trident in between her arms and with a twist pry her trident from her hands. With a jerk of my arms I send her trident flying across the clearing where it dissolves into a splash of water that hits a tree. I swing out a leg and knock her feet out from under her sending her down on her back knocking the breath out of her putting her out of the fight.

With Rosalie out of the way I can now focus my full attention on Shadow. I turn just in time to see his sword slicing through the air aimed at my head. I duck below the blade and swing out my trident striking Shadow in the chest with the staff. With a huff he drops his arms giving me an opening.

I kick up knocking his sword out of his grip with my foot sending it flashing through the air where it vanishes in a burst of flames. Spinning around swiftly I bring the center point up to Shadow's throat stopping it just as it begins to part the hair. For a moment we stand there frozen looking at each other as we pant from the exertion of the fight.

With a smile I lower my trident from his throat and stand up straight. I reach a paw out to Rosalie and help her to her feet before saying, "Very good, you two are doing really well working as a team. I am pleased with how quickly you are learning your powers as guardians."

Rosalie rubs her chest as she speaks, "Maybe, but your still kicking our butts in every training exercise we do." I shrug and twirl my trident once in a lazy circle while I respond, "True, but keep in mind I do have a bit more experience to call on and in time you two will have it as well."

As Shadow gets his breathing back to normal he looks at me and says, "That may be true but your still holding back on us aren't you?" I look at him with a smirk, "What makes you say that love?" He gives a half grin and says, "We are still catching our breaths but you're standing there like you have barely moved at all."

I let out a sigh as I twirl my trident again and look at him, "Yeah, I am holding back still." Rosalie lets out a huff and darkens the mood by saying, "If you're holding back so much how will we stand a chance when that creature that was in Harandoom returns? It took all you had and then some for you to stop it the first time. And now that it knows there are other guardians around you can be sure that when it comes back it will come with extra powers as well."

Her question puts voice to the dark thoughts that have clouded my mind for weeks now. How will we be able to stand up to that creature and whatever else comes back with it?

As I stand there thinking about what Rosalie has said and twirling my trident around the world slows down around me as Shadow and Rosalie stop moving. I look around and see that the whole world has come to a stop. I let out a sigh and call out, "I thought we had an agreement that you guys would only force your way out if it was really important?"

A human woman walks out from among the trees and master Nerine answers my question, "My apologies. But I felt that it was important that we talked." She walks over to Rosalie and looks her over. I had never noticed it before but Rosalie looked a great deal like master Nerine. So close in fact that had I not known better I would think that they were related in some way.

"She looks a lot like me, no wonder she is turning into a fine water guardian." Nerine turns her gaze from Rosalie and looks at me as she continues, "But that's not why I am here. You face a dilemma don't you? Even with your new master powers and ability to create more guardians you don't believe that you have the power to stand up against the evil that you are now facing do you?"

I let out a sigh, "No I don't believe that we do. When Atlantis fell there were hundreds of Guardians and four of the most powerful masters in history. If that creature is part of the evil that destroyed our home then it is more powerful than Shadow, Rosalie, and myself. I barely managed to hold one creature at bay, and that was only after becoming a master and nearly loosing complete control of my powers. Should that evil return in force..." My voice dies off as silence spreads around us.

Nerine slowly nods, "That's true, but when the other masters and I created the ring to give you the ability to create other guardians the power I put into it was not the power of a water master. You have your own power to fill that role. So instead I gave you a different power that I had been working on for years before Atlantis fell. Unfortunately I was unable to finish it in time for it to be put in use to save our home. But it is my hope that in your hands and the hands of your guardians you will be able to use it to stop the evil that threatens the world once and for all."

I look at her with a confused expression and ask, "What power are you talking about?" She smiles and steps back summoning her own sapphire trident and says, "It is easier to show you than to tell you."

She points the center point of her trident at the ground a few feet in front of her then begins to draw a circle in the ground around her. As the trident moves it leaves behind a blue line that glows with a soft sapphire light. "Each class of guardian will have this ability now though for each it will be a little different based on their class. Yours will be different from all the others as you have a merger of all four classes within you now."

She completes the circle at her feet then holds her trident out in front of her with the points aimed at the sky. In a clear voice she says, "This is the power that I give to you and all future guardians."

From the circle at her feet water begins to flow in towards her. When it reaches her feet it begins to flow up her body encasing her in a flowing shell of water that covers every inch of her. For a moment it flows around her body before it begins to glow with an inner light and solidify. The light grows brighter and brighter forcing me to shield my eyes.

The light suddenly vanishes. I lower my arms and look where Nerine was standing but she is gone and movement has returned to the world. I look at Shadow and Rosalie and they are both looking at me with confused expressions.

A grin spreads across my face as I look at them saying, "I think I have just been shown something that will give us the edge we need." Shadow raises an eyebrow as he asks, "Did you just have another visit from your father and the other masters?" I shake my head, "Just one of them, Master Nerine."

Rosalie speaks up at that, "Wasn't she the water master when you became a guardian?" I nod and respond, "She was also one of the four masters that created the ring that gave me the power to turn you and Shadow into guardians. But instead of putting the power of a water master into the ring she put something else into it. Something that will hopefully help us win our fight."

I step back from the two of them and take a deep steadying breath and place the center tip of my trident on the ground in front of me and begin to draw a circle like the one that Nerine had done.

As my trident traced a small path through the dirt a glowing blue line was left in its wake. Without changing the speed of movement with my trident I complete the circle around me and raise my trident before me. As soon as I plant the base of the pole on my trident on the ground water springs forth from the circle and moves towards me. Looks of surprise and worry cross Shadow and Rosalie's face as they watch it move towards me but I wave them back with my free paw saying, "Wait, this is supposed to happen."

The water flowing towards me reaches my feet. It is cool like water but it's not wet. It feels like water but at the same time it doesn't. The sensation is comforting and at the same time alarming as it begins to rise up my legs rapidly encasing me in its fluidic embrace.

The water reaches my chest and a shiver runs through my body as the cool fluid continues to enclose my body. When it reaches my neck I take a deep breath and hold it as it surrounds my head completely covering my whole body. I look through the water covering my face and see Shadow and Rosalie as though I am looking at them from the bottom of a pool.

Then the water begins to glow with a soft blue light and I feel it solidify around my body becoming stiff and hard but remaining light weight. I lift my left paw up in front of my face and watch as the light begins to fade revealing a metal armor in its place.

When my eyes have adjusted and I can see clearly again I get my first good look at the armor. It is a deep blue with gold designs running through it forming intricate patterns. On the back of my paw in a diamond pattern are the symbols of all four classes in raised gold. I look down from my hand to my chest where a large trident is emblazoned in gold on the chest plate.

As my gaze moves lower following the gold patterns on the blue metal I take in the full sight of my new armor when a flapping motion gets my attention. I reach behind me with my free paw and grab a cape that is attached to my armor at the shoulder. I pull it around where I can see it as much as I can. It is formed from a thin fabric that feels delicate but reveals its strength when give it an experimental tug.

The pattern on the cape is comprised of four strips of color, red, blue, green, and white. In the center of each strip embroidered in gold is the symbol of each class of guardian, the sword of fire, the hammer of earth, the trident of water, and the bow and arrow of air. I let the cape go and watch as it slides from my grip and falls back behind me flapping gently through the air.

I look towards Shadow and Rosalie and see their stunned expressions on their faces which cause me to smile under the face plate of my form fitting helmet. My voice echoes inside it as I ask them, "So, what do you think?"

Shadow walks around me slowly taking in the sight of me in my new armor with a look of awe on his face. He reaches out a paw and runs a finger along shoulder plates as he says, "This is some amazing armor." I look down at my arms again as I study the armor saying, "It's really light as well. I don't feel that encumbered by it though I'm sure that it will take some getting used to."

I feel a tugging from behind me as Rosalie tugs on my cape feeling the material. I turn so I can see her as she says to no one in particular, "I would love to know how this is made. It's the strongest fabric I have ever seen. I wouldn't be surprised if it could stop a knife." She gives another tug and studies the area where it is connected to the armor and lets out a small gasp of excitement, "It is actually part of the armor, not attached like you would normally see but actually made into the metal..."

She gives another hard pull and nearly pulls me off balance. With a bit of irritation I say, "Do you mind? I would like to stay standing." She looks up at me like she forgot I was there before saying, "Oh sorry Seeker, just got a little excited. I have never seen a cloth like this. If I am not mistaken I think it is actually a woven metal thread of some kind. I would love to know how this was made. If I could replicate it just imagine what I could make."

Shadow and I exchange looks of exasperation as Rosalie goes into full clothing mode and starts going on and on about pants, shirts, cloaks, and who knows what all else as she continues to examine just the cape on my new armor. After several minutes I pull my cape out of her hands saying, "Ok I think that's enough for now Rosalie. You will get more time later to examine it if you want."

She looks at me with a bit of a pouty look like a kid who was just told they had to put away their favorite toy. With a sigh she points a finger at me and says, "Fine, but I fully intend to hold you to that. I will figure out how that was made and I will replicate one day." I let out a small laugh as I reply, "Of that I have no doubt."

I took a few minutes to walk around the clearing and get a feeling for the new armor. I am pleasantly surprised to find out that along with being extremely light the armor is also very flexible and doesn't hinder my movement at all. I even had Shadow take a few experimental hits at me with the flat of his sword. I felt each impact but no damage was done to me or the armor.

For nearly half an hour we put my armor through its paces before a small problem comes to my mind. I stop mid step in the clearing and start looking around the armor everywhere I can think of but I can't seem to find a way to take it off.

Shadow looks at me and seems to sense my worry as he asks, "What's wrong?" I look at him and say in a slightly worried tone, "I can't figure out how to take it off." They both step up to me and begin looking all over for a buckle or snap or something. But through all our searching nothing comes up.

Just as I am about to start worrying about how I will take a shower Rosalie comes up with an idea, "What if you take it off the same way we put away our weapons?" I open my mouth to say something but can't come up with a reason for why that wouldn't work. The longer I think about it the more obvious it seems.

I hold my trident up and will it away. As my trident morphs back into water that flows into my tattoo my armor also begins to morph into water. But instead of flowing into my tattoo it flows down my body and forms a puddle around my feet that quickly soaks into the earth. My fur and clothes remain perfectly dry through the whole process.

I smile a bit sheepishly at Rosalie and Shadow and say, "Guess that should have been obvious huh?" Rosalie rolls her eyes and says, "Three thousand years old and you can still miss the obvious some times. And they say wisdom comes with age." Shadow tries to hide a small chuckle behind his paw which causes me to look at him with a raised eyebrow and say, "You think it's funny? You could have been sleeping with me wearing that armor you know."

As the full meaning of what I am saying sinks in the mirth drains from his face and is replaced with a slack jawed look of horror at the thought. I nod as I continue, "Yeah I thought that would get your attention."

Rosalie makes some comment about male wolves that I don't catch because my attention has been focused on a sound coming from the forest to my left. For a moment I stand there staring in the direction of the sound before it gets louder and I recognize it as voices. Rosalie and Shadow both hear the voices as well because their banter dies off as they also turn to see what is going on.

As the voices get closer they become more distinct and I can make out Wolfie's voice saying, "I don't care what your opinion on the matter is that is not how our pack is going to do things anymore. The ones you were so keen on one day joining are no longer in charge, most are not even alive anymore."

The other voice is one I don't recognize, "They may have been a bit rough in how they did things but you can't deny that they got things done. I can't believe you won't even consider following their example. We need a place to live and we need it now. We can't live off the charity of others forever. Nor should we."

Their voices get louder as they near the edge of the clearing and become visible for the first time. Wolfie now visible at the edge of the trees turns to the wolf walking with him and points a finger to the others chest with enough force to rock him backwards as he says in a voice filled with barely suppressed rage, "We will never even consider turning on Alpha Seeker and his pack after what they have done for us. If it wasn't for them many of us would have been killed by now. They have graciously opened their home and lands to us until we can get back on our feet. I will not tolerate any talk of betrayal against them is that understood Teagan?"

The other wolf, a six foot tall black wolf apparently named Teagan, opens his mouth to respond but then stops with his mouth hanging open as his eyes catch site of Shadow, Rosalie, and myself standing in the center of the clearing.

I cross my arms across my chest as I narrow my eyes and glare at Teagan. His eyes widen and he quickly shuts his mouth with a snap and turns and stalks back into the forest without answering Wolfie's question.

Soon as the sound of his movement through the forest dies out Wolfie turns to look at the three of us and lets out a sigh as he rubs the back of his head, "Sorry you had to hear all that Seeker. I assure you his views are not typical of my pack. In fact he is the only one who has them."

I uncross my arms and in a tone that was perhaps a bit harsher than I intended I say, "Wolfie, I have utmost respect for you and your pack. But I want you to know that I will stop any threat to my pack that I believe exists." He bristles a little at my words but calms down quickly, "I understand Seeker, and I apologize that you had to hear that. I assure you though that I won't let him cause any problems. He is my responsibility and I will take care of it."

I look at him for a moment before grinning slightly, "I knew you would make a great alpha if given the opportunity. Don't worry too much about him. There are always trouble makers when leadership changes in packs. Someone always thinks the old way was better and wants it back."

Wolfie lets out a humorless chuckle, "Yeah your right. I just hope he won't get any ideas. Teagan James was next in line to join Harandoom's inner circle. He didn't harm anyone in the attack fortunately so I had hoped he could be set back on the right path. But lately he has been restless and speaking out more and more about the way things were. I have been keeping an eye on him just in case he decided to do something stupid."

I nod saying, "You can only provide guidance by example. What others choose to do is up to them and them alone. As an alpha it's your job to remain two steps ahead of them as much as you can. Though that's not always something you can do."

My tone must have shifted a bit as all three of them look at me with raised eyebrows. Shadow asks in a curious tone, "Would those be words of experience love?" I shrug, "Well I have seen more than few packs go through regime changes over the centuries. But as long as the new regimes remain true and strong it usually works out in time."

Wolfie asks with bit of concern in his voice, "Usually?" I take a second to sort my thoughts before responding, "Well in some rare cases packs have been known to fall apart when the new leader didn't have the support of the entire pack. But from what I have seen you don't have that to worry about. If Teagan is the only one causing problem then you will be fine."

He thinks for a moment then says, "Well I do have the support of the rest of the pack and none of them want to go back to the fear we were under before. Perhaps in time Teagan will come around. Surely he isn't dumb enough to try anything knowing the rest of the pack is on my side."

He looks around at the scorch marks, areas of wet dirt, and other signs of battle and looks back at us asking in a concerned tone, "It looks like you had your own disagreements before I got here, anything serious?" I let out a chuckle and say, "No, we were just doing some training. I have been trying to get these to up to par with their guardian powers."

Just then a charred limb falls from a tree still smoking. Wolfie looks at it a moment before saying, "Well I would say that it's going well from the look of things." Rosalie huffs and walks over to the stream, "It would be nice to at least hit him once though." With that she swings her trident around and sends a surprise wave of water heading straight towards Wolfie, Shadow, and I.

Acting on instinct and reflex I summon my own trident in a fraction of a second and part the wave around me remaining perfectly dry. Unfortunately I didn't think to part the water enough for it to avoid Wolfie and Shadow as well.

I turn back to them and see them standing there soaking wet, dripping water, and glaring daggers at Rosalie. She lets out a snort of disappointment and turns walking back towards the house, "Well I have some sewing to do before dark. Still have a business to run after all." With that she vanishes in the trees following the path to the house.

Still glaring at where she vanished into the trees Shadow begins to steam as his anger triggers his fire powers causing him to heat up. I cough slightly to get his attention, "Shadow, you're starting to steam. You may want to calm down a bit before ignite your clothes again." He snorts then summons a fireball in his hand which he uses to start a fire on the ground between him and Wolfie which helps to start drying the two of them off.

While wringing water out of his fur Wolfie asks, "What was that about?" I grin mischievously as I say, "Oh Rosalie is just upset that every time she has tried to get me with her water attacks I can always dodge, deflect, or stop them. She has convinced herself that she can get me with a surprise attack with water one day. Only she forgets that I can sense water near me and know where it is at all times."

He chuckles as he takes off his shirt and holds it near the fire to dry off, "Then there is the fact you have a few more years experience than she does." That gets a round of laughter from all of us as Shadow and Wolfie continue to dry off in the heat from the fire.

A half hour later with Wolfie and Shadow dry again we are heading back to the house. I am answering some of Wolfie's questions about being an alpha when we clear the trees in front of the house as Jasper comes running up to us panting and speaking in a rushed voice, "Seeker, I was just coming to find you. We need you at the house now."

Alarmed I ask, "What's wrong? Is someone hurt?" As we pick up our pace towards the house Jasper begins telling us, "Rick and I were out hunting and we found an injured wolf. He doesn't belong to either of our packs and no one knows where he came from. When we found him he was barely conscious and injured. It looked like he had barely escaped from a fight."

We enter the house and Jasper leads us upstairs to one of the spare rooms where a crowd has formed at the door trying to see the injured wolf. With a bark I order them all back so that the four of us can enter the room. Once inside the room we close the door behind us.

Rosalie and the wolf healer from Wolfie's pack are bent over the wolf on the bed tending to his wounds. From what I can see of his bandaged arms and chest this guy has been through a serious fight and looks lucky to be alive.

While Rosalie and the healer work on his head I ask Jasper in a quiet voice, "Did he say what happened to him?" Jasper shakes his head, "No unfortunately he passed out just after we found him. Rick had to carry him back here." I nod and turn back to look at the bed where the wolf is laying unconscious.

Just then Rosalie steps back revealing the wolf's face for the first time since I entered the room. Even with half his face bandaged I instantly recognize him. With a shock of realization my jaw drops and I stumble back falling into a chair and just stare at the wolf.

Shadow is by my side in an instant waving a paw in front of my face trying to get my attention. For a moment the rest of the room is a thousand miles away as I look at the wolf laying on the bed. Eventually Shadows voice breaks through the shock and I hear him say in a worried voice, "Seeker, are you ok?"

I swallow hard and respond without taking my eyes off the bed, "I know him. But he shouldn't be alive, he can't be alive, let alone here." Shadow looks from me to the wolf on the bed and back again as he asks, "You know him?"

I nod slowly as I say, "His name is Aduro... He's my brother..."