Oliver had left New Ringabell in the early morning but looking up at the position of the sun it looked like it was arleady noon. He was walking throught the remains of a town. Like most other abandoned towns the building were cracking and decaying from lack of maintenance. With how harsh the winters of Orchestralia were he doubted the ruins of city would last more than a century. It was kind of depressing to think that people in a hundred years might have forgotten what the Old World used to look like.
His thought was interupted when he heard a low growl coming from a short distance away. Rounding up the corner he saw a group of three dog-like creature with sandy-colored fur and blue stripes. ''Huh... That must be the Elestia Nick is a hybrid of, Clara can you scan them with the- Oh right.'' Realising that Clara wasn't there with her interest about learning about the different species of Elestia made him feel a lot more lonely than he had been a second prior.
''Alright then I can guess they're Water Elestia, so Bolt come out!'' The Shockrirel emerged as soon as he saw the three growling canine he immediatly went to hide behind Oliver. He sighed in exhasperation. ''Oh come on Bolt! You've fougth against way worse than this. Come on it will be a piece of cake!''
Hesitantly Bolt came out from hiding and faced off against the three dog-like creatures. ''Alright Bolt use your Volt Ricochet against them!'' He had decided to give some of the attacks names to make it easier to command them in battle without having to explain his strategy in detail and waste precious time.
Bolt did as commanded and cloaked himself into electricity before charging toward his foes at extreme speed. The first canine yelped in pain as he was zapped by the small furball but before he could attack it, Bolt was arleady gone flying in the air and bouncing off the others Elestia in quick succession.
The canine had enough and with a final yelp they ran away from the electric furball with their tails between their legs. ''Good job Bolt! Now take a rest inside your gem!'' Oliver said proudly before recalling the hyperactive squirrel inside the yellow gem.
There were other wild Elestia watching him from a distance but when they saw what he did to the trio they decided to keep their distance from the boy. Judging he wasn't worth the trouble. A particular bird however looked at him with interest. She knew the world was at a crossroad. Two Dragons had been killed in about a month. She wondered which side would win in the end the Dragons or the humans? And if the humans won... Would it be the end of Elestia? Or would it simply be the rise of a new age?
Raising her wings she took flight, she was tired of watching the world unfold by the sideline but which side would she choose? She didn't know yet, but somehow she felt like this boy held the answer.
Oliver having noticed none of that continued walking throught the ruined town. He passed close to a pet shop and resisted the urge to peek inside. He went inside one once when he was desperated for any type of food. But the sight he had seen inside had cutted any appetite he had. The stench inside had been horrific and the animals had all died of starvation and dehydration after the humans who took care of them all died.
He had taken a sack of kibble for dogs and ran out of there as soon as humanly possible. He still wasn't sure if it had been worth it, kibble really tasted terrible. But then again it probably wasn't the worse thing he had ever eaten in the four years he had been on the road.
As he continued to walk he felt like he was being watched he looked around and saw nothing. He shrugged assuming his mind was playing tricks on him. He wasn't used to be alone anymore it was probably just his nerves. But just to be sure he kept his hand close to his pocket ready to retreive his Draconid Gem at any moments.
He was slowly exiting the limits of the town, he was rounding up the corner of the last building in sight. An old abandoned factory, of what he couldn't tell from the outside. There used to be a sign but the letters had all faded away with time.
Then he felt it again it was as if something was breathing down his neck. He looked around erratically but still saw nothing. As if to spite him even more the sky start to darken as droplets of rain started falling all around him. ''Great just what I needed.'' He muttered sarcastically.
Then he felt it again but this time it was more intense than ever before. Acting by instinct he jumped out of the way just in time to see a bullet whizzing right at the spot where he had just been. Seeing that he was in danger out in the open he quickly ran toward the factory. He took his Earth Draconid Gem in his hand and putted his consciousness inside to give instruction to Sandy without wasting any time.
The Flodeera came out of her gem and produced slab of rock that she sent hurling toward the metal door blocking their way. As soon as the slab of rock made contact the door came out of it's hinge and fell sown on the floor. Oliver immediatly went inside just as another bullet missed him and hit the door frame.
As he entered inside he immediatly noticed how dark it was, there was obviously no electricity in the building after all the time it had been abandoned the only light inside came from the sunlight coming out from a few windows and holes in the ceiling. Then he saw row upon rows of steel slabs all lined up together. He decided to go hide behind them Sandy followed his example and crouched beside him silently. He closed his eyes and tried to feel a familiar power inside of him. Once he found it he made it come in full force. The feeling of the Reaper's Cry enveloped his body just in time as a figure stepped inside the factory with slow purposeful steps.
''Oliveeeeeer,'' The familiar voice said in a slow menacing tone. ''I know you're hiding in there traitor. Show me your face so I can put a bullet in it.''
Sandy growled lowly at the threat to her Chosen, but Oliver made a silencing motion toward her. He could feel his heart beating wildly in his ribcage as the footsteps of the girl came closer and closer to his hiding spot.
''You're a coward Oliver, you ran away when Mika needed you and now you're hiding to protect your worthless life. People call you a hero for killing Boreas but I know the real you. I bet you were forced to go to that mission to kill the Dragon. And when it was weak from battling the true heroes you took the final shot and claimed the honors for yourself. What a joke, you aren't fit to be a Chosen much less a Resistance member.''
Oliver looked down in shame when he realised she was partly true. He had wanted to go kill Boreas but the true hero was Justin Jones who had sacrificed his life to injure the Winter Dragon. Oliver had only been the one who delivered the final blow.
Then her footsteps rounded up the corner just beside him and he gulped in a panic. Sensing her master's fear Sandy decided to go to the action and slammed her palm to the ground. A giant venus flytrap destroyed the concrete floor and emerged from the ground.
Maikoh gasped in shock at this but she was not quick enough to react before the plant snapped it's jaw and swallow her whole.
''Maikoh!'' Oliver yelled with a pit of dread in his stomach, thinking she was dead. Before he could even think about trying to save her a burst of electricity enveloped the whole stem before the girl burst from a hole throught the plant. The venus flytap cried out in pain before it lifelessly fell on the floor.
Upon seeing her alive and well Oliver felt a weird mix of relief and dread. ''Finally I catch you alone Oliver! We won't get interupted by that ugly goat and that creepy guy with the red eyes. This time you're as good as dead!'' She said before lifting one of her pistol and firing at him.
Sandy quickly react and created a wall of stone in front of Oliver and then she yelled at the girl. ''Girl leave Sandy's Chosen alone!''
Maikoh rose an eyebrow at that. ''A talking Elestia? Her inteligence is wasted on a scum like you!'' She said before being enveloped in a thick coat of lightning and disappearing in a flash of movement.
''Sandy at my command create vines made to restrain where I'm standing!'' The Flodeera looked confused but nodded trusting in her Chosen's strategy.
Oliver heard the head-splitting banshee's scream of the Reaper's Cry and immediatly jumped out of the way just in time to see Maikoh's electrifying form tackle the air where he was just standing. ''Now Sandy!''
Dozens of vines errupted from the ground and completely covered the girl who immediatly tried to struggle against her bondage. Seeing that she wasn't coming out Oliver felt it was time to properly talk to her now that she couldn't try to kill him.
''Look Maikoh... I won't apologize for what happened with Mika, because I know no amount of 'sorry' will ever fix what I did. '' He said while clutching his chest. ''But... I want to at least try to atone for what I did. I have a mission now, I want to kill these damn Dragons and I won't stop until they're all dead. I know no matter what I do it will never fully erase what I did by abandoning you and Mika. So once my mission is done I will let you kill me if you still want to, just leave Clara and Xofamai out of it.''
He was responded with total and utter silence after his speech. Then he heard a familiar banshee scream inside his mind and he backed off as the collection of vines were engulfed into electricity who all soon wilted under the punishment. Then Maikoh bursted out of her prison with an enraged expression on her face.
''Atone for what you did?! ATONE FOR WHAT YOU DID?! Don't make me laugh Oliver you're a coward and a liar! Do you really think I'm dumb enough to believe someone like you could kill the Dragons?! I'm gonna kill you right now and the world will be a better place for it!''
She aimed both of her guns toward him but before she could press the trigger a pair of rocks knock them out of her hands. She screamed savagely as she glared at Sandy for what she did before she sprinted toward her at lightning speed and grabbed the Elestia by the neck. ''This is the last time you get in my way you animal!''
She putted ten thousands volts of electricity throught the Flodeera who screamed in pain. Oliver heard the banshee's scream once again but this time he realised with horror it wasn't directed toward him but his Elestia. In a blind panic he retreived the brown gem from his pocket. ''Sandy return!'' He yelled at the top of his lung.
Much to his immense relief she returned inside her gem and began to heal. He took another gem with a light blue color in his hand. ''Snowy come out!'' The Blizzacub materliazed in front of Oliver with a determined cry. ''Snowy use Frost Breath!''
The small bear made of snow inhale deeply before releasing a torrent of ice where the girl was standing. Much to her rage, her feet had been frozen on the ground. ''You think that's going out to stop me?!'' She yelled before lifting her hand and releasing waves of electricity toward Snowy who cried out in pain. And much to Oliver's dismay he started to hear the Banshee's screams once again.
''Snowy come back!'' He yelled before the Blizzacub was recalled inside his Draconid Gem. Oliver was getting nervous, he now realised that Maikoh was way too strong for any of Elestia, how had she become so strong so fast?! Sending Bolt would be suicide she was even better than him at controlling lightning and he was a natural born Elestia! And Oliver didn't think even Boosting would be enough, he would only make Bolt a bigger target with his bigger size and his slower movements.
His only option was to run out of here while she was still stuck in ice. He tried to do just that but Maikoh immediatly noticed what he was trying to do. ''Oh no you don't!'' She yelled before sending electricity toward him.
Oliver sensed the attack coming with the Reaper's Cry but the attack was too fast for him to evade in time. He screamed in pain as volts of electricity coursed throught his nervous system. As he laid there helplessly while Maikoh send waves upon waved of electricity at him he tought to himself that was it. That was how he was going to die.
He felt like everything was going in slow motion as he felt the numbness invading his whole body. His mind tought back of what he would leave behind after all this. Clara the first person he had ever been able to trust after the fall of Xilo and she trusted him in return despite how foolish he thought that was. Xofamai his teacher who never showed much emotions and yet despite that he had shown on many occasions throught his actions that he cared about them and the well being of Orchestralia. Willow who had trusted them enough to share her biggest secret with them. Professor Dogwood who he felt a sort of kinship to due to the fact that both of them were trying to atone for a big mistake they made in their life and Olivia Clementine the unlikely General who treated her soldier as if they were her grandchildren.
And then he tought of the current mission he had been on. A mother was probably anxiously waiting for him so she could go look for her missing son who was last seen in a place full of dangerous creatures. Without his help she might never be able to find him in time before something bad happened to him.
And then he tought of the last dream he had with Harmony 'this technique should only be used as a last resort.' He lifted his left hand and screamed as the lighting attacked his arm. Trying to ignore the pain as best as he could he took a deep shaky breath.
Maikoh eyes widened in complete disbelief as she saw that her electricity suddenly started being absorbed inside the palm of Oliver. ''What the hell is happening?!'' Oliver continued to aborb the attack inside of him while slowly rising to his feet with great difficulty.
Maikoh stopped her attack too stunned to process what was happening in front of her eyes. Oliver stopped breathing for a moment and lowered his left arm and then he lifted his right one while pointing both his index and middle finger at her.
''I'm sorry Maikoh.'' And then he exhaled. Lightning came pouring out of his fingers and hit Maikoh right in the chest. The force of the impact shattered the ice under her feet and sent her flying througth the air. She crashed throught a window shattering the glass immediatly on impact and sending her tumbling on the grassy backyard of the factory.
Oliver was left gasping for breath as the attack finally stopped and he was left kneeling on the ground still not fully believing he was still alive. Once he managed to compose himself he lifted his head and saw Maikoh still laying motionless on the ground. Then a terrible tought entered his mind and he tried to rush toward her with great difficulty. It felt like his nerves were barely listening to him after all the electricity he had received in his system.
He kneeled down beside Maikoh and putted his ear close to her mouth and sighed in relief when he heard her still breathing. Then he noticed the collar around her neck. It had a insigna of a eight-headed dragon on it. The symbol of The Cult of The Great Ones. He tried to grab the collar but immediatly yelped in pain as it started to burn his fingers.
He immediatly understood what was the purpose of the collar. They were keeping Maikoh as a slave so she could fight for them. A cold fury immediatly enveloped his whole being, it was bad enough they were worshiping the Dragons and turning people into hybrids against their will, but they were slavers too?!
He did not think for a second that Maikoh was trying to kill him against her will. After all she had tried to do it before being turned into a hybrid. But he really doubted they would be satisifed with her services once he was dead. What if they forced her to attack innocent civilians after this? He knew she would never be able to live with herself if she had to do that. She might have a thirst for his blood but he knew deep down she was still the Maikoh he had known at the orphanage all those years ago.
Furrowing his brows intensely he grabbed hold of the colar once again. Fighting against the burning sensation against his hand he took a deep breath and felt the ether enter his body. Once he wasn't able to breath in anymore he let go of it and pointed both of his fingers toward the collar and exhaled. The iron quickly turnes red as intense heat assaulted it from the outside. But it wasn't enough to do any meanginful damage to it.
With a scowl Oliver began the process again and again until the collar was so hot steam was rising all over it. ''Sandy come out!'' The Flodeera looked better arleady after her fight with Maikoh but after seeing the girl laying on the ground she took a defensive stance while growling at her. ''Sandy help me take the collar off of her with your vines.''
The Flodeera looked at him as if he had grown a second head. ''Is Oliver crazy?'' She asked curiously.
Oliver chuckled to himself, maybe he was. ''Just trust me okay? Take your vines and yank off that collar as hard as you can!''
Sandy shrugged before slamming her hoof on the ground and creating a thick vine. The vine immediatly bursted into flammes as soon as it made contact with the collar. ''Don't worry about that, just yank!'' Oliver yelled.
She did as ordered and the metallic collar started groaning in protest but she wasn't about to stop there. She fully putted her back into it and pulled as hard as she could. Finally the collar had enough and snapped in half falling on both side of the unconscious Maikoh.
Oliver sighed in relief. ''You did a really good job Sandy, go take a rest.'' He said before recalling her inside her gem. Then he turned back toward the unconscious form of Maikoh. ''I know you wouldn't believe me, but I miss Mika just as much as you do and I hate myself just as much as you do for leaving when she needed me. If I could go back in time I would punch my younger self so hard his face would be unrecognizable.'' He said with a hint of bitterness in his voice before finally walking away toward his destination leaving Maikoh alone.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Unknown to them a being had watched them since the begining of the fight. It watched as Oliver walked away and then turned toward the hybrid girl. It fluttered it's glittery wings and landed on the girl's chest. Then it began to speak with the delicate voice of a young girl. ''I finally found you, my Fated One...''
- - - - -
Despite his near-death experience the rest of the journey had been fairly straightfoward. A few wild Elestia attacked him on the way but it had been nothing his Elestia couldn't handle. Then he arrived at his destination a small fishing village in the middle of nowhere called Prah Noo.
Surprisingly while the village had a wall the gate was wide open and he was able to enter inside without any issues. Some of the resident gave him curious glances but it wasn't the wary distrustful look he was used to with other settlements.
He realised he had no idea where his client might be and so he hesitantly approached an old lady who was busy hanging off her laundry on a clothesline. ''Umm excuse me ma'am?'' He asked in an unsure tone.
The lady turned around and looked at him curiously as she noticed him. ''What does a young boy like you does in such a remote place?''
Oliver retreived the piece of paper he had putted inside his backpack. ''I'm searching for a miss Rose Leblanc she posted a request to search for her missing son.''
The old lady looked at him weirdly. ''So you're from the Resistance?''
''Um yes?'' he replied with an unsure expression.
''Brown hair, black eyes, clothes too big for his size and is always clutching a brown gem in his hand.'' He self-consciously putted the Draconid Gem back in his pocket. ''You wouldn't happen to be Oliver Wilden aren't you?''
He was getting really nervous now. ''H-how do you know that?''
Instead of answering she started yelling for everyone to hear. ''Hey everyone Oliver Wilden came to visit our village!''
''Oliver Wilden?!'' A boy exclaimed before tunning toward them.
''The Dragon Slayer is here!'' An old man exclaimed quickly advancing with his cane to support him.
''Oliver from Team Hybrid! The legendary team who managed to singlehandely destroy the evil Dark Lord of Organu!'' A young girl said excitedly.
Pretty soon the crowd had become massive and it looked like at least half of the village had come to meet Oliver much to his shock. ''W-what's going on here?!'' He asked with a baffled look.
The voice of a middle-aged man chuckled as he approached him. ''Sorry about that. There's not much to do in this village except going fishing and listen to the radio. You've been all Krazy K-9 talk about these last few weeks, you and your team kind of became heroes for everyone in the village.''
''I see, thank you for the warm welcome but I must really go mister...'' Oliver let the silent question hang in the air.
''Fisher, Mayor Fisher.'' He replied in a professional tone.
''Mayor Fisher, but I must really find miss Rose so I can help her with her request.'' Oliver said while trying to leave but the Mayor had another idea.
''Ah yes miss Leblanc, the fact that her son is still missing is very worrying. I'll guide you to her house.'' Without asking for permision he took Oliver by the hand and dragged him throught the village much to his annoyance.
They came in front of a small cozy looking house with fittingly enough a garden of roses in front of it. The house looked very well maintained to the point Oliver thought it kind of looked like a pre-Invasion house.
The Mayor knocked at the front door and waited. It didn't take too long before a middle age woman with long flowing red hair and a long white dress answered at the door. ''Hello miss Rose! Can you believe it? Oliver Wilden himself has come to our little village to help you with your missiong son!''
The woman looked surprised at the news but then she turned toward Oliver with a grateful smile. ''I'm glad the Resistance sent someone so competent to help find my son.''
Oliver shifted a bit awkwardly at that. He was starting to think his acomplishments were getting a bit overblown. He was still only a Hunter and yet these people treated him as if he was arleady one of the elites of the Resistance.
''Just give me a minutes to get ready and we'll go immediatly!'' She said before quickly slamming the door behind her. They heard quickly rummaging inside for a few minutes and then she came back out. She was dressed in a sleeveless tank and cargo pants. She also had a backpack on her filled with water bottles, a few snacks, a rope and a gun which Oliver doubted would be useful if they had to deal with Elestia.
''Well I'll leave you two with your search and I hope you find him quickly.'' Mayor Fisher said before leaving both of them alone.
''Let's go.'' Oliver said and the woman nodded following behind him as they left the village.
- - - - -
They were now in the middle of Prah Forest. Oliver had been in a lot of forests since he became a Chosen. But he had to admit this one was probably one of the most beautiful. Flowers of all kinds were blooming and the Elestia around didn't even seemed scared or hostile toward them they just looked at them with innocent curiosity.
Oliver was starting to get why a kid would think adventuring in a forest like this would be a good idea. But he knew that there must be much more dangerous Elestia further into the forest. Rose looked at all the Elestia with a very nervous expression.
He could perfectly understand her apprehension so he called out Sandy out of her gem. Rose tensed as she saw the Flodeera materialized out of thin air, but he quickly tried to reassure her. ''This is Sandy my first Elestia, she'll protect us if any wild Elestia become too aggressive.''
She nodded in response but still glanced toward the bipedal deer with some trepidation. ''So...'' Oliver started. ''How long has your son been missing? And do you have any ideas why he would wander in a dangerous forest?''
Rose lowered her head before she started explaining. ''He's been missing for about two days now... as for why he would come here, about a year ago our village was putted in danger when two Dragonlings claimed this forest as their territory, one of them was a Wind Dragonling the other was Earth. The two of them started fighting for dominance and the conflict nearly blew apart the village's wall. So we called for the Ding Dong Resistance to come here and get rid of them.''
''Do you remember who it was that came to do the job?'' Oliver asked curiously.
''It was two men, one of them was blonde and was wearing standard Resistance gears and the other had luxurious looking black hair and was wearing a pink shirt under his gears. From what I remember of them they spent a lot of time bickering with each other.'' She replied with an amused expression.
Oliver mentally facepalmed at that, he had a pretty good idea about who she was talking about. ''Okay so did they manage to kill the Dragonlings?'' He asked.
Rose frowned at that. ''Well they did managed to kill one of them, but after it saw the death of it's rival the other Dragonling fled with it's tail between it's leg. And fortunately it never came back thus far.''
''Okay but what does any of this has to do with your missing son?'' Oliver asked with a puzzled expression.
''Well you know what happen when a Dragonling die right?'' She asked but it was barely a question.
Oliver nodded. ''Yeah they explode and the explosion create dozens of Draconid Gems of their own Nature.''
She frowned as she continued. ''One of the Draconid Gems landed just at the outskirts of the forest and Joey found it. At first he only saw it as a neat object he could display in his room and I made sure to warn him that trying to tame a wild Elestia was very dangerous. But then that radio station came on with that host, Krazy K-9. After that he started talking about you and your team about how you killed Boreas. I think the tales of heroes who tamed Elestia made him start dreaming about having his own. Because two days ago I went to his room and he was nowhere to be seen and his Draconid Gem was gone too. I tried to go search for him on my own but I was nearly eaten by a wolf made out of wood and I had to leave the forest. That's when I decided to call the Resistance for help.''
Oliver looked down with a guilty expression on his face. ''I'm sorry your son went missing because of me.''
Rose shook her head vigorously. ''No, don't blame yourself. You killed Boreas and freed this country from his rule. Before that I think we were all starting to lose hope, the last ten years have been rough for everybody. Our village is lucky compared to a lot of settlements out there but it was still not always easy. I admit that even I on some bad days, often thought this was the end for all of us. But you and your team's actions gave us a much needed light at the end of the tunnel.''
Their conversation was interrupted as a scream resonated throught the entire forest. Rose's face paled as she heard it. ''That was Joey's voice!'' She said before going into a sprint. Oliver and Sandy quickly followed behind her.
They came somewhere close to a cliff and to their horror they saw Joey hanging for his life from atop of the cliff and an angry looking wooden wolf was snarling at him. The wolf created a rock from the ground ang threw it toward the boy. It hitted his arm he was hanging on and it forced him to let go.
''Joey!'' Rose screamed in complete despair as she watched her son fall from the cliff.
Oliver quickly grabbed a light blue gem from his pocket and projected his mind inside of it...
- - - - -
''Snowy!'' He yelled lously as soon as the snowy forest came into view. The Blizzacub soon came into view and looked at his Chosen with a worried expression seing the panicked expression on his face. ''Snowy! You remember the first time we fought? Sandy thew you in the air and you expertly used snow to soften the blow of your fall?''
The small bear made of snow nodded in recollection of the events. ''Well do you think you can do it again? Someone is falling toward their death in the real world and I need you to save them!''
''Maybe...'' The Blizzacub responded.
Oliver gasped. ''You finally talked to me!'' Then he shook his head. ''What do you mean maybe?''
''Creating enough snow like that in summer will drain me a lot, I could risk melting completely, unless you have some water on you I could use to recover afterward.'' He replied with a frown.
''I think the woman with me has water bottles with her. So I'll ask her for some, I'm sure she will be more than grateful after you save her son.'' Oliver said in reply.
The Blizzacub nodded. ''Alright then I'll try.''
''Alright let's go.'' Oliver said with a determined expression.
- - - - -
Oliver consciousness came back out of the gem and Snowy immediatly emerged from the gem and breated out a huge amount of snow right under the falling boy. He landed in the snow with a thud.
They quickly rushed toward the boy but much to their horror the snow had not been enough and Joey was sprawling on the ground his arms and legs bent in an awkward ways as he screamed in agony.
''Joey!'' Rose yelled tears streaming down her eyes as she knelt down beside her son.
The boy slowly stopped screaming and he looked at his mother with dazed eyes. ''Mom...'' He said simply before closing his eyes.
''Joey no! Joey!'' Rose yelled over and over again and Oliver looked down while clenching hist fist.
A shrill cry echoed in the forest at that moment, a creature that seemed completely made of fire flew in the forest and much to their shock landed beside Joey. As it landed the fire dissipated to reveal a bird with red and yellow feathers. Then without warning the bird began to glow brightly in a red light and so did the body of the boy.
''What are you doing to my son?!'' Rose screamed in rage before trying to hit the Elestia but Oliver stopped her.
''I think it's trying to help!'' And to his great relief he was right. As soon as the glow died down Joey's limbs looked completely back to normal and the boy slowly woke up to the sight of his crying mom.
''Mom? I... I should have listened to you, I'm sorry.'' He said guiltily.
Rose proceeded to hug him for dear life. ''I'm just glad you're alright!''
''Chosen... help me please.'' Said a hoarse female voice.
Oliver looked toward the sound of the voice and was shocked to see that the bird from earlier looked like it had it's wings and legs broken off in the same way as the boy had been. ''What happened to you?!''
''I healed the human boy, but it came as a cost. If you do not put me inside one of those gems I am going to die here.'' Without hesitation Oliver dug throught his backpack and retreived a red gem. As he placed it on the injured bird it looked at him gratefully. ''Thank you...'' it said before being absorbed inside the gem.
Then he heard another tired voice behind him and noticed Snowy was panting heavily on the ground and the snow that made his body was slowly melting. ''Umm miss Rose can I have one of your water bottle? My Elestia really need it.''
The woman dug thought her backpack and rudely shoved the bottle in his hands. ''Here take it and get out of here! You're lucky I'm not reporting you for your incompetence in saving my son!''
Oliver recoiled at her angry expression but then realised she was perfectly justified. If that Elestia hadn't come and miraculously healed him, her son would be dead right now. With a guilty expression he looked back at her. ''Are you sure you won't need my help to leave the forest?''
''Get out of here before I punch you in the face you so call 'hero!'' She yelled clenching her fist tightly.
Oliver winced and backed away. He walked back toward Snowy and made him drink the full bottle of water. Once he was done he returned him and Sandy inside their gem before leaving the forest with shame in his steps. Maybe Clara was right he shouldn't have done a mission on his own, he was sure she would have found a way to save Joey before he was seriously injured...
- - - - -
Oliver had spent the night in a small Inn inside of Prah Noo. As soon as the sun was up he decided to pack his bag and leave the village behind. The bitterness of a failed mission still lingering in his mind.
''Hey wait up!'' a voice said just as he crossed the gate out of the village. He turned around and to his surprise Joey was standing there with a smile on his face.
''What are you doing here?'' Oliver asked with a baffled look.
Joey crossed his arms in response. ''I know my mom hate you because you failed to save me. But I know you did your best under the circumstances and I had to meet you for myself. You're Oliver Wilden! The hero that slayed a Dragon!'' he exlaimed his eyes full of admiration.
Oliver rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. ''A hero? I don't know if I would go that far.'' Then he looked down sadly. ''The real hero was Justin Jones without him we would all be dead.''
But that statement seemed to have fallen on deaf ears because Joey putted his hand in his pocket and excitedly presented a brown Draconid Gem toward Oliver. ''Yesterday I unfortunately failed to do it, but today I'll definetly catch an Elestia and become a Chosen just like you!''
At this Oliver shook his head and gared at the boy. ''No! Haven't you learned anything from yesterday?! Elestia are dangerous creatures, you can't just walk up to them and expect to be okay!''
Joey made a dismissive gesture toward him. ''Relax I'll only approach Earth Elestia and since they lost their powers I shouldn't be in danger right?... Wait now that I think about it wasn't that wooden wolf an Earth Elestia? And yet it could still use it's power.''
Oliver eyes widened when he realised he was right. Gaia was dead wasn't it? So how was that Elestia able to summon a rock? He shook his head, he'll think about that another time. ''Look I won't tell you not to become a Chosen, because that would be hypocritical of me. But you should at least ask the help of another Chosen to catch your first Elestia. Otherwise you risk having a repeat of what happened yesterday.''
''Okay then, how about you help me catch my first Elestia?'' He asked with an excited smile.
Oliver internally groaned at that, he should have seen this coming. ''I'm pretty sure your mother don't want me anywhere close to you after what happened.''
''Oh come on! She doesn't have to know about any of this! Come on pretty please?!'' Joey begged while taking hold of Oliver's hands.
''Why do you want to have an Elestia so badly?! You know they're not just pets you know!'' Oliver exclaimed beginning to be annoyed with his antics.
At this the expression on the boy's face darkened. ''I'm sure my mother hasn't talked about this, but my father is a fisherman. He often goes missing for weeks and then come back home. But everytime he does he's completely drunk and on more than one ocassion he has beaten me and my mom... he's suppose to come back pretty soon and I can't stand it anymore! I thought maybe having an Elestia would scare him away from us. And if it doesn't then he's going to pay for everything he did.'' He said while a few tears escaped his eyes.
Oliver's expression softened at that and he sighed in resignation. ''Alright... but let's make this quick, I don't want your mother changing her mind about reporting me to the Resistance.''
Joey smiled brightly at that. ''Alright!''
- - - - -
Oliver was wary as they entered Prah Forest once again. He wasn't afraid for himself but he was really nervous that something would happen to Joey.
''So hey Oliver, how old are you exactly?'' The red hair boy asked suddenly.
''I turned fifteen last winter.'' He replied.
Joey eyes widened at that. ''Really that's so cool! I'm turning fifteen too in about two weeks! I can't believe that someone who slayed a Dragon is almost the same age as me!''
Oliver was surprised too, the way the boy acted he was sure he was way younger than that. He and Clara were about the same age but both of them acted nothing as immature as Joey. Then again after what both of them had experienced maybe it had hardened them somewhat and forced them to mature more quickly than most people. Maybe Joey was how most pre-Invasion teenagers acted? He wouldn't really know, maybe he should ask Clara.
''There!'' Joey suddenly exlaimed pointing excitedly to a creature in the distance.
Oliver squinted a little bit and his eyes widened as he recognized the creature in front of them. It was a Bunterra. Oliver turned back toward the boy with a raised eyebrow. ''Are you sure you want that one? Bunterra are not exactly powerhouses on their own. And I don't know enough about them to know if they have a second form.''
''Any Elestia can become strong if you train them properly, that's what Krazy K-9 always say!'' He exclaimed proudly.
Oliver thougth deeply and thought maybe he had a point. Sandy had not always been the rock-chucking beast she was now. Back when she was a Fawna she could mostly only summon vines to restrain her foes. He sighed and looked back at Joey. ''Alright I'll weaken it for you. When I tell you to, come in and use your Draconid Gem on it.''
''Yes sir!'' He replied with a mock salute.
''Alright Snowy come out!'' The Blizzacub appeared with a icy blue beam of light. The light alerted the Bunterra who proceeded to run away at full speed. ''Stop that Bunterra with a layer of snow!''
Snowy threw one of his own leg toward the fleeing Elestia. When it came close enough the leg exploded and completely burying the rabbit-like Elestia under. Oliver took a water bottle from his backpack and made Snowy drink it. ''I came prepared this time.'' he said with a smirk.
Once he had drank the water, Snowy quickly regrew the leg he had thrown and the group ran toward the layer of snow where the Bunterra was. They saw something move under the snow and the head of the Elestia poke out of the mound. As soon as it saw them it squeaked in fear and tried to run away again.
''Oh no you don't! Use your icy breath on it's legs Snowy!'' The Blizzacub did as ordered and let out a chilling breath toward the Bunterra. It panicked when it noticed it's leg was stuck in a layer of ice and tried to get out of the way but it couldn't.
In it's desperation it's antlers lit up preparing for an attack... but then the glow petered out and died leaving the Elestia completely defenseless. Oliver turned toward the red hair boy and pointed at the Bunterra. ''Alright Joey it's time! Capture the Elestia!''
He smiled excitedly before rushing toward the rabbit-like Elestia and gently putted the brown Draconid Gem against it's forehead. It was immediatly absorbed inside the gem and Joey's eyes glazed over and he stood there motionless for a few seconds. ''Is that what I look like when I'm inside a gem?'' Oliver asked to no one in particular.
The red haired boy suddenly recoiled as he was bought back into the real world. ''That was amazing I got to see a real strange place and I think she accepted me!''
''She?'' Oliver asked curiously.
''Say hello to Daisy!'' He said before the Bunterra came back out of the gem. The Elestia seemed a lot less nervous than earlier. She lit up her antlers once again but this time a white and yellow flower bloomed. Oliver chuckled, fittingly enough the flower she had sprouted was her namesake, a daisy.
''I finally have my own Elestia, thank you Oliver!'' He said with pure glee in his voice.
''Congratulation and always remember, you're only a Chosen because your Elestia chose you, so don't take her trust in you for granted.'' Oliver said mimicking what Xofamai had once taught him.
Joey nodded before taking the Bunterra in his arms and gently started to pet her. Daisy closed her eyes contently at the show of affection. ''Well I should probably go back to Prah Noo before mom start freaking out. I'm really glad I got to meet you Oliver and please don't beat yourself up too much about what happened yesterday. I was the one that did something dumb.''
With that both of them left the forest. They waved at each other goodbye before going their separated way. Oliver was a bit bummed out that he wouldn't be getting paid for this mission but he supposed that was to be expected. He assumed he would be pissed too if someone failed to save someone he loved.
At least Joey had managed to survive thanks to the help of his new Elestia, he hadn't technically made a pact with her yet. But he didn't want to disturb the bird Elestia so soon after she sustain serious injuries. He would wait until tomorrow to make things official.