“What is this room?” Krystal Fae asked.
Gamma Ran answered before Lord Dragon could speak. “This is a dojo. Nice.”
Lord Dragon said, “Correct, my shinobi friend. Over the centuries I had humans brought here. I would train them in combat and in wisdom. I helped guide some of the leaders of this land hoping to make it a better place. So often have they seen war here.”
Chase asked, “Why are we doing this here?”
“It is the most protected room in this palace. Ancient charms I placed here continue to guard it. Now, please sit in the center of the room. We must begin at once. Heroes, do not cross the barriers, the moment you do, they will break and Jinn will have full access through the connection to Chase.”
Chase knelt down and waited with that stone in her hands. Lord Dragon directed the other mythics around her. EB and Quetzalcoatl were closest to her, Santa and Cupid further away. Then Lord Dragon asked Krystal Fae to surround the entire group in a magical barrier. Strange Quark and Time Bender stood nearby to keep watch. Eight of the most powerful people in the world stood around Chase, ready to help her.
Lord Dragon held up his hands, as did Quetzalcoatl and EB. A golden field of power surrounded Chase. Next, Santa and Cupid held up their hands, and a weaker golden barrier formed. Finally, Krystal cast her own spell and a purple bubble of magic formed around the whole group.
“Begin,” Lord Dragon stated.
Chase held that stone and concentrated. Though she had the protection of so many powerful people, a nervous tremble filled her stomach and her heart pounded as though it would leap right out of her chest. For a moment, she struggled to get her power to work, her own trepidation fighting against her. However, she finally touched the past.
In moments, she sped backward through this stone’s timeline, going from here all the way back to BADGE and then down to Mexico. Soon she followed an energy, not the stone, as it moved back to its creator.
“I...I’m traveling east. I see the ocean. No, that’s the Mediterranean, I can see Italy. I am still moving. I am...in an arid land.” She gasped, “Eyes are watching me!”
Quetzalcoatl strained as he said, “I can feel him. He senses this. Focus, my friends, focus!”
Chase continued, “I think...yes, I’m in Turkey. In a large city. But, no, I’m not stopping there. I’m going underground. Deep below this city. Ancient tunnels, caverns of some kind. I see a room filled with books and scrolls, candles and lamps burning. Horrible, dark text. Books about demons, devils, Satan worship, and...HE’S HERE!” She gasped.
Chase trembled all over. Sweat poured down her face. “He...is changed. His skin, what I can see, is red. His eyes...they hurt when they look at me. Why do they hurt!” She screamed in agony.
“STOP THIS!” Nova yelled.
Lord Dragon and the others all groaned. Krystal Fae’s bubble exploded.
Krystal cried out, “He’s trying to infiltrate! He has them locked down. They are tied to her, they can’t hear us.”
“Help them!”
Krystal cast spells at this, but her magic dissolved as it approached. “I’m no match for whatever he’s doing.”
Chase cried out, “He’s burning in my mind. Oh, god, it hurts!”
Red lights flared out of her and hit the magical barriers. The energy spun around the room, passing through the mythics. Each yelled as the power hit them. Suddenly, Santa Claus and Cupid were both hit and thrown away. Gamma Ray caught Santa, Cupid crashed through a wall.
The ominous voice of Jinn came out of Chase’s mouth. “I CANNOT BE STOPPED! SHOW ME WHERE YOU ARE!”
She responded in her real voice, “I will die before I let you hurt anyone else.”
“SO BE IT!”
Chase lurched back and screeched as the mythics were still locked.
Time Bender called out, “Quark! I have an idea!”
“WHAT?” Quark yelled back.
“No time to explain. Just, be ready!” Without giving Quark a second to think, Time Bender held his hands together and then slowly pulled them apart. Everything in the room slowed down. Chase’s high scream lowered until it was a roar. Quark, unaffected by the elongation of time, knew what to do. He dashed right through those barriers, breaking them, but the split now moved so slowly that it was hardly noticeable. He reached Chase and grabbed the stone with one hand and shoved with the other. Using his own control over matter, he phased the stone right out of this existence and pulled it free of her hands.
All at once, time resumed. Chase fell back, as did the mythics.
Quark helped Chase to sit up again. “Are you okay?”
She held her head. “I don’t know. The pain is slowing down.”
Lord Dragon pulled himself up. “Jinn is more powerful than I could have imagined. However, we were able to keep him from fully gaining control here. Thanks to you two heroes, we survived the attempt.”
Quetzalcoatl got to his feet. “The others, are they well?” he looked back at Santa and Cupid.
Krystal held a hand over Cupid, “He is still alive, but is out cold.”
Gamma Ray said, “Same with Santa.”
Quark asked, “Was it worth it? Did we learn anything new?”
Nova answered, “Yes, I believe we did. Jinn has returned to the place where he first rose to power, Turkey. He must be hiding deep below the ancient city of Bursa, a place he called home a long time ago.”
Krystal said, “We already checked Turkey. You had Zanazola and Commander Justin there right away. They didn’t find him.”
Chase said, “He is deep, underground.”
Nova pulled out his communicator. “He lived there for four hundred years. I suspect he knows of places that no living person has seen in centuries. I think it’s time we put together a show of strength.” He punched in his command codes.
Chase stood up with the help from Quark. “Nova, there is something you need to know. Jinn, he has changed. What I saw in that cave was nothing like we have seen since we encountered him. You know that I saw his story, I lived his past through all the objects in the museum. I know what he looked like for seven hundred years. This isn’t the same person. The evil in him, the eyes...those horrible eyes, this is something we have yet to face.”
Nova gave her a silent look, studying her words for a moment in his mind. Finally he spoke into the comm device. “Nova to BADGE. I need an alert status one communication prepared,” he walked away, giving out the statement.
EB hopped over to Chase and held up an egg. “Here, it’ll make you feel better. Eat it.”
“Thanks.” She took the egg.
Lord Dragon took her arm from Quark and guided her. “Come, you and the others need rest. That was an awful strain. I am proud of you, you demonstrated incredible courage and bravery.”
“Thank you.”
They led Chase out of the room. Gamma Ray picked up Santa and Crimson Guardian retrieved the fallen Cupid. They escorted all to a peaceful place to rest and recover.
***
Leprechaun stood before the bottle that held Jinn’s original powers. He felt the magical battle that transpired in another part of this palace. Though his own powers were stolen, he still was a Vexillian, and he could sense this.
Staring at his reflection in that black obsidian, he sneered. “Revenge. That is all I ever wanted, and you promised it to me. Now, I shall have the sweetest revenge and by the time any realize what I’m doing, it will be far too late.”
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