Jet woke up in a start covered in leaves. Without thinking, he had grabbed his sword and got into a fighting position. He looked around and saw Rachael watching him with a worried look. Rachael and Relo were lying down under his cape for warmth. Next to a small fire.

"Jet, you alright?" Rachael asked him sleepily.

Jet started to hold his head. "I'll be fine." He walked off, his world beginning to spin. Then remembered Alex had been there, he reached out for her. However, she didn't answer. Alex apparently was in a deep sleep at the moment.

Walking aimlessly, Jet found a log to sit on. Clutching his head, Jet's emotions were all over the place. He wasn't sure what to feel. The memory of his parent's death burned into his mind.

A warm hand grabbed Jet's cheek wiping away a tear. Rachael crouched down and met his eyes. "You want to talk?"

"Not really."

She let go of his face and sat next to him. Rachael grabbed his hand, then leaned her head on Jet's shoulder. "Then we can just sit here."

They just sat there staring up at the stars. He didn't know how long they had sat. After a while, Jet had told Rachael everything. She had started to shiver after a bit. Jet had forgotten about the cold. The continuous fire magic around him kept him warm. So he made a warm breeze around them. He didn't want her to get a cold. After he had finished, they just sat there watching the blue sunrise.

"I don't know what to say." Rachael squeezed Jet's hand.

Jet laid his head on Rachael's. "You don't need to say anything. Thanks for listening."

"I miss her, Jet." Rachael started crying.

"I miss her too." Jet knew Rachael was thinking of Ileana.

"I do miss Ileana, but I mean my mom." She sighed heavily. "I was there the day she had been killed."

"I'm sorry." Jet thought of his parent's death. 'No kid should have to see their parents killed.' He felt he had been lucky in a way, not having to remember his parent's death until he had gotten older.

"Everyone thinks an assassin killed mom. A member of the council had actually killed her. Before she could kill me, I was saved by the head of the alchemists, Dally." Rachael stopped and just stared blankly off in the distance.

"If it was a council member, why did they need to cover it up." Jet thought aloud and didn't expect an answer.

"Because the council member was uncle Rick's wife, my aunt Judy." A tremble could be heard in Rachael's voice. "She even killed her own kids. Dally had her suspicions about a few of the council members. So when she caught Judy about to kill me, and mom dead. Something in her snapped. Dally went to each councilman she suspected of treason and killed them. Some had turned out to be innocent. She ended up getting banished from Hope.

Jet had no clue what to say. So he just sat there and said nothing. They just watched the sunrise for a few more minutes. "We should get back to Relo." Jet said, not moving.

"Just a little longer." She said, relaxing more into him.

It had turned out Relo hadn't woke up while they were gone. Not that it was a surprise considering her condition. So they spent the next day recuperating before they headed out back to Hope, which was still a two-week walk. Jet had a nagging suspicion. The Crimson Swords were a little mad about their casualties.

Jet was wrong. Just one person is after them. Lord Crimson was hot on their trail and gaining. They've pulled every trick in the book to slow the man. Jet knew they were going to run out of time. Something had to be done about Lord Crimson. So he stopped running, and both girls stopped to look back at him.

"Jet, we need to hurry." Relo grabbed Jet, pulling him forward.

Jet just stood there and smiled. "Sorry, this is where we part ways." His smile was obviously fake.

"Don't be stupid. What do you plan to take on the Burning Hand?" Relo berated him.

He looked over to Rachael, who had a tear rolling down her face. Jet walked up to Relo and reached up, grabbing her cheek. Wiping away the tear with his thumb, he gave her a genuine smile. "I'm glad I got to know you."

Jet reached into his pocket and pulled out a small book. Then handed it to Rachael. "What's this?" She asked, taking the book.

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"That is my notes on magic. I've been having you two try different spells, and I found an answer." Jet turned and started to walk away. But Rachael grabbed him, spinning him back around. Before he knew what was going on, she had him in a tight hug.

"You're not coming back, are you?" Rachael whispered in his ear. She held Jet tight, not wanting him to go.

"I asked my father once why he fought in the wars around the world. He told me to protect what I love. Until now, I didn't understand completely." Jet pulled away from Rachael, then looked at the tears rolling down her face. Reaching up, he wiped them away. "I haven't lived here long, but I found a family I want to protect."

Rachael leaned in and kissed Jet on the cheek. "This isn't goodbye." She looked at Jet and smiled. "I'll see you later." Tears rolled down her face.

Jet turned to see Relo, tears also rolling down her face. She walked forward, hugging Jet. "Please don't go."

'Alex, how close is Lord Crimson?' Jet asked, knowing the answer.

'Thirty minutes, possibly less.' Alex was currently flying high above the man.

"Times up." Jet sighed out. He let Relo go and reached up and wiped away her tears. "Like Rachael said. See you later."

Rachael grabbed Relo's arm and pulled her away. Jet watched as Relo reached for him as she got dragged away. Watching them disappear over the hill, he turned and started to walk away. There would be no point in stalling what was about to happen. "I will protect you both, even if it costs my life."

After walking a few minutes, Jet pulled out his bow and strung an arrow. Pulling the string back, the bow's runes started to glow blue. The arrow started to vibrate and hum. Once Lord Crimson was in his sights, he let the arrow fly. Even at its unnatural speed, Lord Crimson managed to dodge the arrow, leaving a small cut on his cheek.

"Well, it looks like I've caught up. Let me guess. You're here to stall me?" Crimson laughed maniacally.

Jet saw the man had a screw loose. This was not the same man Rick had fought. Something was off as if he had given up his sanity. "No, not here to stall. I'm here to put an end to this."

The temperature rose around them, and they both reached up, grabbing their swords. The runes on Jet's sword started to glow blue, and Lord Crimson's sword edge started dripping droplets of magma.

The ground started to rumble as spikes began shooting out of the ground. Lord Crimson stomped, shattering the ground leaving a crater of magma. The wind started to roar around them, and fireballs were seen flying in the air. Lord Crimson ignored them and leaped at Jet. His sword swung down at Jet. Jet swung World Breaker up to parry and stopped the magma falling from the blade using earth magic. He learned his lesson after using just water the first time.

'Ready for me to help?' Alex asked with anticipation.

'Not yet.' Jet wanted to keep his ace in the hole. Noticing magma start to seep up from the ground. He created a cover of water over the ground, then shot a fireball at Lord Crimson. The fireball didn't even phase the man. Lord Crimson lifted his sword and started to swing again. Jet prepared to block the swing but went flying through the air. The swing had been a faint, and Lord Crimson had kicked Jet hard in the side.

'Fuck that hurt.' Jet coughed. He was sure a rib had been cracked from the kick. There was a burning sensation coming from the spot. He didn't have time to sit around, so he looked up towards Lord Crimson. Who had already got half the distance from him. Fireballs from all directions slammed into the man, and Jet immediately got back up.

Noticing that he had dropped World Breaker, with a thought, the sword came back to him. He watched as Lord Crimson's sword came at him again. The problem Jet seemed to have was the magma leaking off Lord Crimson's blade. He decided a distanced fight would be best for now. However, it may be difficult to get the distance and keep the space.

'Jet, let me help. I could keep him at a distance for you.' Alex started to head down to help, then stopped.

'Not yet.' He said while dropping to the ground. While in the fall, Jet grabbed the Meat Cleaver. The blade immediately turned into a dagger. With no hesitation, he stabbed Lord Crimson in the leg. When he hit the ground, Jet rolled away. Then in one motion jumped back up on his feet. To dodge another sword swing to his neck, just to have a fist slam into his shoulder.

Jet flew back, slamming into a tree, pain shooting through his shoulder. 'I think I found out why he got the title the Burning Hand.' He looked at his shoulder, where a handprint was burned into the skin.

'Jet, move now.' Alex screamed in Jet's head.

"Shit." Jet yelled as he dodged a river of lava. Then watched as the trees in the way caught fire. That's when Jet decided fire was not going to work well on this guy, which wasn't good. That happens to be his favorite magic. Now he wished he had put more effort into his other elements. Lightning was out of the question when he tried that. Well, lightning doesn't just fly to its target. It separates and goes everywhere.

The last of Jet's fireballs shot down at Lord Crimson. To no surprise, nothing at all happened to him. Then Jet noticed a slight burn mark on his neck. 'Why hadn't I thought about that. His clothes must be highly flame resistant.'

The ground started to shake and crumble as golems formed. Three of them stood around Lord Crimson. Who had a surprised look on his face. 'Alex, think you can control them?'

'Huh, I don't know, I will try.' Alex split her consciousness to the golems. Finding that she could control two of them.

'I'll control the third.' Jet said.

The three golems attacked at once. Lord Crimson swung at the golem Jet was controlling, only to have the sword caught in its hand. Then the two behind him punched him into the ground. However, Lord Crimson never let go of his sword, cutting off all the fingers on Jet's golem. They grew back almost immediately.

"What a nuisance." Lord Crimson growled, grabbing one of the golems by a leg. Then pulled, knocking the golem down onto another golem. Then did an upswing with his sword, cutting Jet's golem in half, which was quite impressive with a great sword. The man must have quite a lot of strength to pull it off. Lord Crimson jumped up to his feet. Then he turned to Jet, grinning with so much malice it sent chills down his spine.

'Alex, switch now.' Jet had been working on another golem while they were fighting. He smirked at Lord Crimson as he walked towards him. Then out of nowhere, a huge bird made of wind slammed into Lord Crimson. The bird's claws picked him up and tossed him into a tree.