Frequency

Frequency
Prologue
The sound of a girl's voice echoed through my ears. As I slowly opened my eyes, there was a beautiful girl with long flowing silver hair and a Large Red Ribbon that tied her hair back. She wore a white and purple outfit that seemed like something that belonged in a legendary adventurer's closet. Her Ruby Red eyes brightly shone in the light and her beaming smile could melt the heart of anyone. She quietly hummed something as she stood up and walked away from me. She turned around and waved once, then continued. I tried to stand, but couldn’t move and it seemed she was fading away. This must be a bad dream...I don't want her to go...I don't want to leave her alone like this! Wake up you idiot! Wake up already...Wake...
"....up...He's waking up!"TJ sat up and noticed a girl wearing a red and yellow waitress outfit. She had bright red hair and a red bow that tied it. "Pardon me, but who are you, and where am I?" "My name is Erin, and this is the Belos Traveler’s Bar."Erin told TJ."How do you feel? Can you stand?" He gave her a thumbs up, and as he leaned over to get out of the bed he stopped. "What’s wrong?" She asked. "Well...I'm kind of...you know..."He replied nervously.”Oh...OH! I'll get out while you change! There are clothes on the wall right there that you can borrow!" She dashed for the door and ran into the wall right beside it. Erin dropped the silver platter on her head after she fell, then got back up and left the room. TJ got up and started to put on the outfit. It seemed to be traditional clothes from Belos. A cloak with a shirt and clogs...how odd. He knew it was time to leave town to begin his journey, but he wanted to take one last look at the place he'd stayed. On the other side of his bed, he noticed a lovely blue guitar lined with pink and a golden music note beside the base of the guitar. Near the top it had a large, ruby red ribbon carefully tied around it, and from that ribbon hung a golden necklace. TJ approached it, he carefully examined the three items. He picked up the guitar, removed the necklace and upon closer inspection he noticed it was a locket shaped like a flower. He felt a bit of nostalgia come over him, and he shook it off. Then continued with his journey.

Chapter One: The Adventure almost Begins
TJ left the Bar waving to Airin and Erin, and on his way out he met the Bartender. "Hurhurhur! It's good to see you've finally awoken young man!"He said to him. "Yes...thank you for taking care of me this entire time sir."TJ said with a bright smile. "No need to be so polite! You can call me Weldin."The old man laughed and rubbed his white beard."Ahh...it seems like it was only yesterday that Iris had brought you here. Two years had gone by so quickly." TJ immediately turned to Weldin and asked, "wait a sec, who's Iris?!" Weldin smiled and replied, "Iris...she is a very well known adventurer across Jienda. Some call her a Hero because of the amazing things she’s done."

TJ calmed down and looked at his shoes for a few seconds. "So...what happened two years ago that caused me to end up here with no memory?" He asked Weldin. "Well...Iris and her party were trying to capture a long time enemy they had to put a stop to her plans. Just as they had found her, they noticed a boy carrying a guitar and a straw hat on his back. He had attempted to take her down on his own and almost died trying, but never gave up. Before she could deal the final blow, Iris captured the boy and escaped the facility. When she returned to the towns to find him a safe place to stay but was rejected after they heard the results of the battle. But there was one bar..." TJ rubbed his arm and said, "Ahh...I see now. Well then, thank you Weldin.I know what I have to do now."TJ took a deep breath and started to run through Belos."Take care of yourself!"Weldin yelled to him.

Chapter Two: Trials and Tribulations of The Past

TJ slowed down a bit as he noticed a large stone with some sort of magic that seemed to cause the top to levitate. TJ cautiously stepped towards it and slid his hand across it. As he did, a voice from nowhere whispered, "Will you activate the Iris Stone?" He jumped back and searched the area for other people, but no one was there. Reluctantly, he answered, "Y-yes..."

In a flash of light and the sound of a girl and a guy's voice, TJ saw a boy who wore a straw hat and carried a Specter Sword in his right hand. He turned around and waved to TJ."Hey man. Been a while."He said. TJ stepped back and watched as the other person approached him. "I don’t blame you for being nervous, or forgetting what happened at that time .But I don't have time to explain it. You might already know, but Jienda is in danger! Although I can't tell you the details, I'll sum up what I need you to do ok?" TJ nodded slowly. As the vision of the boy continued to continue, a loud screeching noise echoed throughout TJ's head, enough to deafen any normal person. He collapsed to his knees tightly covering his ears while trying to hear the words of his vision.
"You...kill...Iris! Don't...memories...me. Kill her!" Was all he could hear.

TJ rubbed his hand on his head as he slowly arose to his knees, back from the strange all white room to the streets of Belos. "Hello Adventurer."The voice of a girl said. TJ searched around him and noticed a vision of the same girl in his dreams. "Damn ghosts...seeing farmers wielding swords isn't enough?" He asked. "My name is Iris Livier, and you are on the Continent of Jienda." She continued. "This world is in danger, and if you were able to activate this stone, you may be able to save it. Please, find me, so we can still give the people of Jienda hope. Will you save here for future adventures?" TJ frowned and asked, "what do you mean save? I’ll do it anyway.” The ghost girl quickly faded away. TJ could hear the screeching noise quickly returning and he held his ears.

It seemed like pictures were flashing in his mind. There was a strange boy with puffy red hair, and a koala sitting on it, that same ghost girl and he himself, fighting a dragon. A feeling of courage came upon him. He nodded once and headed on to the next town, to find the next stone of Iris.

Chapter Three: What lies Beyond the Counter
TJ ran nonstop until he reached the next city. On the verge of collapsing, he grabbed onto the window of a store and yelled," What the hell?!" Then he passed out. As he awoke again, he was sitting in a very fancy restaurant which had a waiter and a waitress in it. "Mmm...That...I feel sick. I gotta go...and find Iris!" He groaned. As he stumbled towards the door, the waiter snapped his fingers and his assistant blocked it. "W-what are you doing!?" TJ angrily asked looking back and forth between them. "You’re not going anywhere young man!" The Waiter exclaimed. "You, a heartbroken traveler, out in the cold and rain, collapsed from heat stroke, and begging for a place to stay came to my humble restaurant, and so I opened my doors with open arms. Now you're in my debt." TJ frowned and replied, "Hold on a second! ONE! That didn't make any sense, and TWO! I never asked for your help! Lemme' leave already I need to find someone..." The Waiter shook his head and said, "Tsk tsk tsk. Let's talk this over like business men should. If you do me, Verun, and my lovely wife Marin a favour, I shall remove your debt to me, no strings attached!" TJ mumbled something under his breath and asked, "...what do I do?" Verun and Marin smiled slyly and replied, "Well, first you..."

It was only about ten minutes since Verun and Marin left. "That damned waiter!" TJ angrily growled. "Making me run his entire store is one thing. Going out for dinner is another thing. BUT MAKING ME WEAR A PINK WAITER OUTFIT IS GOING TOO FAR. He's gonna hear from me later...I'll make him regret it." TJ stared at the door and tapped his finger on the desk while he waited for customers. Before he knew it, someone about his age happened to walk into the store. He wore a large yellow hat with a green ribbon tied around it, and it had a gold medal with a star imprinted on it. He wore a blue kilt lined with gold and wore a top that seemed to belong to a Pharaoh or something. He had two Gulliver guns at his side. He carried a Tigris Crossbow on his back too. "Hmm...What can I get you...sir?" The man leaned on the counter using his left arm and raised his eyebrows in a masterful way. "There’s a lot you can get me." He replied casually. TJ rubbed his neck uneasily.

"Don't call me sir please." He pleaded. "Oh...ok...what would you prefer I call you?" TJ asked trying to smile. "My acquaintances call me Trinidell. But you can call me Dev, sweet cheeks." He replied in a seductive voice. "Okay...Dev. What can I get for you?" He raised his eyebrows again in a seductive way this time and answered, "You." "Excuse me?!" TJ replied with a horrified look. "That’s right. You. I want the whole package." This time he winked. TJ's hand started to tremble and his right eye began to twitch. I HATE rich people...so much! He thought. He took a deep breath and suggested, "why not order something on the menu?" Trinidell shrugged and opened the menu TJ handed him. "I'll take two orders of wild boar soup." He requested. "Two orders of...Got it. Will that be a seat for one?" TJ asked him with a bit of relief. "No, I need two." Trinidell replied. "TJ sighed with relief loudly and said, "right away sir. Who's the lucky girl?" Trinidell started to do the wave with his eyebrows which caused TJ to finally lose it. He jumped on the counter to lunge at Trinidell until Verun came back and said, "Customer satisfaction is our number one priority!"

I got kicked out, but I did get this coupon for the beauty shop for working so hard and putting up with their main regular customer. I guess that's a bonus for me, so I'll put it to use once I find the store. TJ thought. The sound of footsteps padding behind him urged him to turn around, to find Trini trailing behind him. TJ started to run but was followed. "Don't plan hard to get Hun!" Trini shouted from behind him. "Leave me alone you stalker!!!"TJ yelled back.

Chapter Four: The Remnants of The Past
TJ and Trinidell stopped as they found another stone similar to the Iris Stone in Belos. TJ calmly and slowly reached out to it.
“Will you activate the Iris Stone?”
That same voice whispered in TJ's head. "Yes." He replied immediately. A bright flash of light overtook him creating another mysterious memory.

Everything turned white once more, but TJ could see a long row of pink chairs lined up. Two rows, on the left, a gap beside them and on the right another two rows. The strange boy in the straw hat stood there and looked to the sky. Without moving a muscle, he said, "you know, most people had considered us a curse upon Jienda. But deep down, I know the sacrifices we made won’t be in vain. Someday you'll live up to the legend you were meant to be, and you'll find the girl who stole your heart, and win hers too. Don't lose hope." His memory ended quickly with another incoming screech, marking his return to Elias.

"This is the City of Elias. It is the cornerstone of the markets throughout Jienda. The Royal Family resides here. Will you save at this location?" The voice was clearly Iris'. "Yes." TJ answered cautiously. He covered his ears, eyes tightly shut, and braced himself for the screeching noise. Once again it came.

TJ could see the inside of the Palace, the Guards stood proudly nearby the Princess and the King carefully watching the traveler’s who entered. Although he heard nothing, he saw the stern looks on each of their faces, and carefully tried to read the lips of the King. It seemed like he was sending them on a mission to defeat Invoke. The dream faded out.

As TJ awoke he was in Trinidell's lap, with his hair being stroked. He got up, shook his head, and then ran to the beauty shop crying. He left with a pale prince shaggy cut, although he had black spiked hair before then.

Chapter Five: The Fight within him
TJ and Trinidell ran through the fields and headed to the base of the mountain. TJ carefully leapt over each and every Kobold whereas Trinidell ran through yelling back at him to speed up. Once they reached the first cave at the base, TJ unraveled his map and examined where they were headed next. Trinidell removed his hat and put it back in his bag. He took out a Blue Magi Hat and put it on his head. TJ wrapped up the map then put it in his pocket, as he said, "alright Trini, our next destination is-whoa what the-" TJ stopped as he was cut off by Trinidell yelling, "BEAR WRESTLING!" While he leapt off of the ledge they sat on. "Grr...We don't have time for this!" TJ yelled back leaping form platform to platform. Once they reached the end of the Mountain, which lead to Young Gyoung TJ spotted Trinidell flirting with Gumihos. In the end, he got scratched pretty badly. Bear and Gumiho claw marks all over.

TJ and Trinidell walked through the city getting angry glares from all over. "I bet it’s your outfit." TJ whispered pointing at Trinidell's plate. "Clothes are for pansies." Trinidell replied. TJ rolled his eyes and continued to walk until he bumped into someone. A small bottle of something that seemed like pills made a quiet rattle as it rolled away; she immediately followed it after getting back on her feet. “S-sorry about that!” TJ immediately said as she stood back on her feet. “By the way you and your friend are dressed…”She quietly said dusting herself off, “Would you two happen to be heading on your way to Elfa?” TJ turned to Trini and he shrugged. “Guess so!” TJ replied with a half smile. She bowed over and introduced herself. “My name is Amu; I’m a traveler from Elias. I was on my way to Elfa, but I got attacked by White Cherry Ghosts….a lot of Ghosts. Would you mind if I joined you along the way? I really could use an escort to Elfa.” TJ nodded and as he was about to reply, Trini immediately cut him off saying, “of course we’ll escort you! In fact, I’ll be your personal guardian.” TJ quietly scoffed behind him and mumbled, “Way to lay it on thick.” He walked ahead of the two until he noticed another stone of Iris. He stopped for a good moment, shuddered and reached out to the stone once more.

“Will you activate the Stone of Iris?” The voice asked him again.
“Yes.” He replied, tightly closing his eyes as a flash of light brought him to the white room. Pink chairs lined up and made a pathway in between once more, but from where he stood he could see the man in the straw hat sitting on one of the chairs. Huh…usually that guy would be in front of me talking about things I don’t understand OR remember…so…TJ thought as he noticed himself sitting down on the ground, then looked up and spotted someone in front of him. She had long silver hair, a large pair of brown cat ears and a Female Russian coat outfit. She also had a pair of pink slippers, crescent earrings and carried a bow that looked like it was made of a spider’s web. She looked down towards TJ and brushed her hair from her face, revealing a pair of golden but lazy looking eyes. “TJ…how long has it been? You got a whole new look too…It suits you.” She told him smiling brightly. “But still, I’m glad to see that you’re doing okay. I’m sure you know all about what you need to do, so all I really have to say is, you’ve really grown up! Although you’ve still got a long way to go before you can become a real Hero, I’m sure someday you’re story will make you famous. So, give it your all, you and all your friends, and when the day comes where you shine as bright as a Star, I’m sure we’ll meet again.” She held out her hand to help him up, but as he reached out to take it his vision became frizzy, allowing him to notice that the girl’s figure slowly started to shake and tremble and fade away in a large mix of grey, black, and white. The screeching noise that marked the end of the memory had returned TJ to Young Gyoung, except this time, he noticed everything and everyone around him had stopped.

Time seemed to come to a standstill. TJ looked around him with a horrified look, and only found another Iris Visual. “This is the city of Young Gyoung. Muwen was captured Agasuras, and Shaowee joined us in the rescue to get him back. We had met Kazno somewhere along the way, and he also helped in our noble cause. I think Shaowee took an interest in him. This was one of the main highlights of our adventure. I recommend saving here.” The Iris visual explained. “Yes?” TJ asked scratching his head. He got used to her asking him if he wanted to save. He covered his ears and knelt down, bracing for the noise to return. As he expected, it did.

Before he knew it, he could see Kazno being held up by a Great Monkey somewhere in Shangri-La. Nearby Iris and Shaowee aimed to take it down without hitting him, and hanging on a rope that connected the platforms was he himself. “Ugh….what am I doing?” TJ asked himself staring at the visual of him. The dream quickly faded out.

Everything returned to normal, as TJ woke up and sat up. Amu and Trini were both sitting on different sides of him staring. “How strange…” Amu commented. “How do you feel?” TJ shook his head and stood up. “I’m okay. Something like that is nothing new for me.” He replied, giving her a reassuring smile. “I’ll do my best to find out what the cause of this could be, but you’ll have to explain everything to me. I want to be able to help you and your partner in turn for helping me get to Elfa. Whatever it takes, I promise I’ll figure it out!” TJ laughed nervously and waved them towards the Red Crop Field. They set off once more to the next city. But somewhere in TJ’s heart, he could feel a deep pain; like that memory had re-opened an old scar.

Chapter Six: Amu to the Rescue
The Red Crop Field seemed to be an ongoing place scattered beautifully with flowers and wheat, with the glow of dusk lightly tinting all the plants a red colour. Grey Beetle G’s were spread across the plain along with a set of ghost’s that took the shape of pumpkins. Trini led the three of them through the Field with his rapid gun fire and acrobatic moves, that always had him shooting somewhere during them. One by one the monsters fell to Trini’s deadly accuracy, and it cleared the path right to Cherry Lake.

Cherry Lake seemed like a fortress built upon a lake. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and drifted through the air on a light breeze which was a main part that made up the true beauty of the area. The water drifted to and from the wooden beams that held up the platform they stood on, and the sound of…the sound of Trini’s gunshots and the shrieks of dogs and kappa’s made quite a horrible scene. TJ continued to explain what the Iris stones had done to him, and what he had seen, but stopped every now and then for Amu to recollect her thoughts and calm down from Trini’s horror scene. Eventually they reached the exit to Cherry Lake, and as Trini finally reloaded his guns, the group of three was surrounded by a mob of Warrior Kobolds. Trini scoffed and pointed his guns towards them. TJ looked around them and noticed Amu had no weapons on her. He looked above him and noticed a platform that had no Kobolds on it. Immediately he grabbed her by the legs and lifted her up towards it. “Nya-wha-what are you doing TJ?!” She cried out as he prepared to throw her. “Hmm…There!” He exclaimed and hurled her up onto the platform. “Safe!” He exclaimed wiping the sweat off his head. The Kobolds slowly approached them with sharpened swords, and TJ and Trini both took a defensive stance. TJ tightly gripped his Gumiho staff and held it out waiting for Trini’s mark. Trini fired his first shot, and immediately they both attacked with everything they had. Not too long after, Trini climbed up the ladder with TJ not far behind, both covered in cuts and bruises. Somehow Trini got a black eye. “Sorry I couldn’t help much there…” Amu quietly sighed. TJ waved his hand saying it was okay, and Trini shrugged it off. They continued on until they reached the City of Aoich. They eventually approached the fashion shop and the guys toppled over each other and passed out. Amu sat down nearby and reached into her bag.

By the time the two woke up, TJ’s cuts were all tended to and well bandaged, and Amu seemed to be doing the finishing touches on Trini. The two sat on a comfortable pillow that seemed to be shaped and designed after a Priring. She cut the bandages off at the final cut on Trini’s arm and packed it away along with her other medical supplies back into the bag. “Wow…I feel great. Thanks Amu!” TJ told her admiring the patchwork she had done. “It’s not like I needed it…” Trini said looking away. “That’s just his way of saying thanks.” TJ whispered to her. They both laughed a bit and finally got up. TJ started stretching while Trini tended to his guns. Amu was packing away the pillow while she quietly whispered, “I’m so glad…” TJ stopped what he was doing and turned to her with a puzzled look. She continued, “I’ve been worrying about whether or not I’d be able o be of use to you and Trinidell. But I’m so glad that the medical skills I learned were useful to you.” TJ smiled happily and Trini couldn’t help but crack a small smile.

With a new found confidence, and with the three closer than ever before they set off. But they stumbled open another Iris Stone setting their adventure to a grinding halt. TJ looked at it and shook his head. “Now would be a good chance to learn about that thing you were talking about. I know we can figure this out!” Amu told him. She seemed a bit confident, and TJ turned to her almost crying. “Did…I say something bad?!” She asked out of shock. He wiped his tears away and said,”You’re such a great person!” Trini immediately slapped TJ with the back of his hand, grabbed him by the neck and shook him up. “SUCK-IT-UP! Stop your crying!” TJ grabbed him by the neck and pushed him to the ground squeezing tighter and tighter while mumbling, “Can’t a guy have a sentimental moment around here? You do something like that again and you’ll be pulling the hilt of my guitar out of your throat! Bandages ain’t gonna heal that one up.” Without knowing Trini’s hat fell off TJ immediately noticed that his eyes flashed a bit of anger as he kicked TJ off of him up against the stone and held his right-hand gun to the side of his head. “You do something like that again, and we’ll see if you can find the bullet lodged in your brain.” Trini angrily replied. Amu pulled them apart and stood between the two. “Please! Stop, both of you! The people you should trust are your friends! Why would you want to hurt each other?!” Trini scoffed and let go, while TJ rubbed his neck and turned the opposite way. For a moment…even if it WAS just one moment…I swear that I could see a flash of loneliness in his eyes. But maybe it was just my imagination? TJ thought while shaking his head. “Well then, let’s begin.” Amu finally said. TJ nodded and reached out to the stone.

“Will you activate the Stone of Iris?”
“The question was asked again. “Yes.” He replied. In the blink of an eye a bright flash had him on the ground before he knew it. Amu placed her right hand on his forehead, and used her left hand to check his neck, his chest, and his wrist. “What are you doing?” Trini asked. “I’m checking his pulse…I want to find out what kind of changes that it can cause to his heartbeat. I might be able to find out a bit more from this.”
TJ opened his eyes and saw a boy that seemed to be sitting on the branch of a tree and playing a Mandolin. It was shocking enough that the tree branch was bigger than him, but he was only half dressed! He seemed to have a pair of shorts that were made of leather, but he worse no shoes and he had a leaf that was tied around his shoulder that seemed to be holding up a guitar strung from his back…the same guitar TJ was carrying! As TJ slowly approached the figure, he could see his facial features more clearly. Short Black Spiked Hair, dark skin, and as he opened his eyes, the same dark brown half-moon eyes he had. “Isn’t that…” TJ quietly whispered.
“His heart beat is slowing down…” Amu explained to Trini. She carefully continued to check his pulse.
“But…why am I…and where is this?” TJ continued quietly walking towards his other self. The sounds of screams and panic broke out through the entire area, causing TJ to fall over as his other self stood up and swapped the guitars. “It’s time!” He exclaimed and immediately jumped off the branch. In a panic and fear of his other self falling to his death, he dragged himself over to the end of the branch and watched his other self leap from Branch to Branch of a massive tree. All along these branches were small huts. “Holy shi-!” TJ cried holding his mouth. The place he stood on was a massive tree that seemed to be under attack by Agasuras and humans alike! Before he knew it people started to leap down towards the base, and TJ carefully followed them. As he approached the bottom, he could see that there seemed to be an all out war going on at the base of the tree, where he stood behind the people who fought up close playing a variety of songs. But one after the next, they all started to fall. They continued to approach TJ, and amongst them there was one human that stood out specifically. TJ fought back his tears and exclaimed, “Did you all think that my people would fall to you with just that?! No matter how many of us fall, die or live to fight once more, I will always be there…always!!! I’ll end this right here and now!” TJ took a deep breath and slowly started to strum his guitar. “The Evil Sound will save us all…” One by one his enemies seemed to fall, and eventually the tears he had held back slowly ran down his cheeks. As the song came to an end, TJ planted his guitar in the ground and wiped away the tears. “Princess…did I finish my goal?” He whispered to himself. Before he could even react, something had run right by him, and the sound of something being charged caught his attention. As he turned around, there was still one man standing. TJ watched in horror as the tree had set ablaze in a matter of seconds and the fire spread throughout; the final person had stood proudly by the tree and twirled his guns. He blew them off and grinned slyly. “Say goodbye to your Princess.” He laughed.
“His heart beat is increasing rapidly! Trini! There’s something seriously wrong!” Amu screamed looking back and forth between the two. She immediately let go of his forehead and shook her hand off. “He’s burning up…There’s gotta be something more we can do!” TJ started to toss and turn amongst the heavy breaths he took. Before he knew it, TJ had opened his eyes that flared with revenge as he leaped towards Trini. With one swing from his Mandolin Trini slid down the streets and hopped back onto his feet. “This should be fun.” He mumbled and ran back towards TJ. TJ prepared for another swing but was immediately shoved flat on his face as Amu used him to jump off his shoulders and tackle Trini. “Please…stop!” Amu had begged. The tears she cried dripped one after the other onto Trini’s face.TJ had lifted himself onto his hand and knees while Trini looked deep into her eyes... Guilt had over-taken the two of them and they both sat in silence for a while. TJ shook his head and tightly held onto his ears. “Ugh…Here we go again” He grumbled. His breathing rate had increased and he quietly groaned from the pain so they didn’t attract too much attention. Amu quickly removed herself from restraining Trini and walked over to TJ. She rested him down while whispering, “Stay calm, I’m with you. We’ll make it through this, I promise!” Amu rested her head against his chest to listen for his heartbeat, and amongst the decreasing sound of that, she could hear the same sound that TJ heard slowly growing louder and louder…
TJ stood before the last remaining enemy and said, “My Evil Sound had no effect…I couldn’t protect the princess, I couldn’t protect my people…what do I do now?” At this point TJ was on his knees with both hands tightly wrapped around his guitar. His face was soaked in tears, his eyes were completely bloodshot. “Heh heh heh…Now…I’ll kill you...Along with me!” He stood on his feet once more and pulled the guitar from the dirt. “Not even I’ll live to see another day after I play this note.” TJ started laughing again. “…You’re crazy. Have you not realized that you’re going out of your mind?!” His enemy replied. “It doesn’t matter anymore! I failed my task so…This will be the last thing I need to do.” He raised his hand, and with a single strum of his guitar a deafening sound emitted throughout the area. “GAH! WHAT IS THIS?! IT’S LIKE A RADIO TRYING TO TUNE INTO MY MIND!!!” He yelled trying to block out the sound. TJ laughed again and said, “This is a note called Devil’s Voice. Some called it the Song of Frequency, because the sound it emits is like a signal that will continue to emit its sound until the beacon stops working. ‘What’s this beacon you’re talking about?’ is what you might ask, and of course, I’ll answer, ‘your brain’.” “I ain’t going down like that!” He exclaimed. He dropped both his guns, ran ad tackled TJ. Tightly embracing his guitar as they fell from the heavens past the rainbow bridge, TJ whispered, “This final song will release the Agasura that’s been possessing you.”
Amu had finally woken back up and shook her head. “The song of Frequency…? If that uses the brain as a beacon, and continues until it stops working, then what did it do to TJ that allowed him to survive, and why did…the other person…not die from it either? I’m a little closer to figuring this out…It’ll be the discovery of a lifetime!” Amu whispered. TJ stood up, and watched intensely as the Iris visual spoke to him again. “This is the City of Aoich. The road branches off in two ways: One leads to Sunset Street, while the other leads towards the Harbor City of Elfa. Will you save at this location?” TJ placed his head on the stone and replied, “No…” He fell to one knee and cried, “No more…”

Chapter Seven: Yggdrasil
Things had returned to normal, and night started to fall so Amu and Trini went ahead and rented a few rooms at Aoich’s Traveler’s bar. “TJ, we’ll be staying the night in the Bar over there and leave again tomorrow. When you’re ready to come in, just use this key to unlock the door.” Amu explained as she walked towards him and dropped off a key. “Good night.” TJ hadn’t moved at all from the stone he sat in front of. His back against it, he stared up at the moon and thought. The chirping of crickets and the sound of the riverbed slowly swaying to and from filled the night air. “TJ sighed quietly and shook his head again. “I don’t remember any of it…That damn stone! I feel like I’m being mocked by my own memories!” He loudly sighed again. In the midst of his depression, quiet footsteps echoed from the sound of the rooftops and disappeared in an instant. Within seconds, a pair of shoes were in his face pushing him to the ground while the keys to the room were snatched from beside him. “Who’s there?!” TJ immediately asked leaping on his feet while rubbing his left cheek. “Like a bolt from the blue, snatching things from you! You can call me Su!” The voice answered him. “Enough with the rhymes! What is it you want from me? Show yourself!” TJ angrily called into the darkness. The sound of light footsteps approached him and he noticed someone who seemed to be dressed up as a ninja. She wore the entire costume, along with the cloak and even had a mask to go with it. She had long blonde hair bright green eyes and rosy pink cheeks. His angry frown turned into an almost shocked smile as he said, “alright listen, Halloween is still a while away. That isn’t candy either…so hand them over.” She shook her head and pulled the mask down slightly. TJ could clearly see her grin, which made him a little angry, as he requested once more. “Just…hand over the keys…okay?” She laughed and jingled the keys in his face. TJ leapt to get them but she pulled back and said, “Tell you what, I’ll give you ten minutes to catch me. If you do, I’ll return the keys to you. If you don’t, I’ll be staying in your room tonight.” TJ could feel his blood coming to a boil when she said that, but he kept his cool and replied, “It’s on.”

“Alright, you know the rules so, on the count of three we’ll start.” TJ and Su faced each other and Su started the countdown. “Three…” TJ took a stance readying himself to tackle her. “Two…” Su jingled the keys and smiled again. “One…” TJ cracked his knuckles and grinned slyly. “Go!” Su exclaimed. TJ leapt at her again in an attempt to grab her by the legs and pull her down, but she jumped straight up, jumped from his shoulders and climbed the bar. “This isn’t over!” TJ yelled immediately chasing after her. He climbed the traveler’s bar and watched Su as she jumped from building to building. TJ stood and watched in horror, then shook it off and climbed down, then followed her from the ground level. Before they knew it, they were both on the top of the Weapon shop with 15 seconds to spare. “Time’s almost up. Still think you can catch me?” Su asked smiling. TJ slowly crept towards her huffing and puffing, and then mumbled, “I’ve got no energy left. My next attack will be the last.” TJ ran jumped up, flipped once to fake her out, landed and leapt at her legs once more. She grabbed both his arms and used her legs to push his body up and over the cat hanging from the building. He silently fell face-first into the gravel. “Nighty-night!” Su exclaimed and laughed her heart out as she made way for the bar.

Morning had rolled around and TJ hadn’t moved from that place even a little. Su came out of the bar stretching while saying, “Mmm…I slept well. How about you?” She asked TJ. TJ didn’t move or reply to her question. “Maybe I killed him?” Su asked herself. She took out a dagger and poked him with the hilt of it a couple times. “Yup…He’s dead. Better run before someone see’s me-“Just as Su got up and turned to run away, Amu and Trini had both walked out and spotted TJ and Su. “What the hell?” Trini asked and walked over to examine the situation. Su pulled up her mask and carefully thought of what she can do. “Who are you? What did you do too…him?” Su‘s eyes wandered for a bit, and she searched her pockets. I need something…something to get away with…What do I have? A lemon, my dagger, and some ely. I can’t use the dagger…one death is too many. If Tamori finds out I’ll lose my job! Here goes! Trini cautiously approached her and Su pulled the lemon out of her pocket, tossed it into the air and cut it in two as it came back down. Her eyes opened wide as she screamed, “N-Ninja Arts! Lemon Squeezing Jutsu!” Trini was about to talk again but lemon juice was squirted into his eyes. “Aww that was dirty!!! What are you doing?!” He violently rubbed his eyes trying to get it out while Su lifted the body and tried to get away. “Hold it!” Amu called to her but Su blew a raspberry at her and said, “Too slow!” As she was about to make her getaway something had pulled her back to the ground. As she turned around, she noticed Tamori holding onto her cloak shaking his head. “Uh oh…busted.” She groaned. “You broke the Ninja code Trainee Suuba. I’ll have to take back your outfit and cloak.” Tamori told her. Su groaned and went to change back into her Iron armor in the bar then returned everything to Tamori. “Now then, forget everything you’ve seen and learned and be on your way.” Su walked towards TJ’s corpse and picked it up. She violently shook it and yelled, “Are you happy now?! I lost my job ‘cuz of you! Then you died!” She angrily stared into the brown eyes that blankly looked back at her. “Who said anything about me dying? I’m tired though…I still wanna sleep.” TJ replied in a sleepy tone. She threw him away and said, “You’re gonna pay for this…I lost my job, and I can’t stay in the castle anymore. I’m coming with you wherever you go until you can pay me back.” TJ sat up and wiped the blood that dripped from his nose. “Huh?!” He asked in a rut of confusion. “You heard me. I’m coming with you.” Su repeated. TJ sighed and mumbled, “I’m way in over my head…” Amu laughed and Trini placed his yellow Magi hat back on his head. With that, they finally set out for Elfa.

The boiling heat of the Desert was strongly beating down on the four. Far off in the distance they could see pyramids that had seemed to be around for ages. The wind was strong which caused violent dust storms which blurred their vision, and all the Pritings had used this as an advantage to bite at their legs. “I hate this place so- much…you wouldn’t believe it.” Trini grumbled. “Suck it up.” TJ replied holding his hands in front of his eyes to block out the sand. “I’m sure we’ll make it to Elfa soon guys. Stay positive.” Amu had told them; the only one who seemed to have a positive attitude. Su stared at TJ with angry eyes quietly whispering, “I’ll have my revenge” Every few minutes. As the four slowly made their way over the pyramids, past the desert birds they approached an area that was infested with strange cactus creatures and giants made of sand. Amongst all of this there was a single girl who carried a spear that looked like it had a mountain at the tip. She had Icy blue hair and wore a gold tiara along with a pair of yellow frameless glasses and a pair of earrings, a short gold heart and a long red heart. She wore a gold kilt along with gold boots, but it seemed the rest of her outfit was Invisible. “She’s in trouble! We should go help her!” Amu suggested. TJ and Trini started talking about it and Su had already run off to take the spotlight. But before she arrived a boy with Icy Blue Hair and a spiked windy style cut had leapt onto the scene and started shooting everything with HIS guns. He wore a leather jacket and pants, possibly an invisible hat (who knows? It’s invisible…MAYBE. Just maybe…) and carried a pair of guns with a knife on it…for some reason. “Too easy.” He said chuckling and blew the smoke away from his guns. The ‘princess in peril’ seemed to be fuming that he did it. “I didn’t say I need help from you! Or any of you!” She angrily yelled while pointing at the mystery man and TJ’s group. “I don’t think we deserved that…” TJ said. “I agree with you on that one.” Trini told him. “Ugh…I can take care of myself thank you very much!” She told them. Nobody asked! TJ thought. “Well? Introduce yourselves, peons.” She requested while she checked her nails. She didn’t seem the least bit interested. TJ started to reach for the guitar on his back with a twitchy hand until Amu held him back and said, “My name is Amu, it’s very nice to meet you.” TJ sighed and Trini shrugged. “Such a chore…” Trini groaned and continued, “You already know who I am boss.” She flicked some sand away from her hand and replied, “ah of course…Trinidell. Good to see you again.” TJ looked at Trini with a confused glance and went on to introducing himself. “TJ…that’s about all I can recall since I set off.” She stopped again and stared him in the face. She grabbed him by the cheeks and continued to closely examine him. She walked around him, glanced at the guitar, stared him in the face again and nodded. “Just as I expected…” She said. “Do you know something about me?!” TJ eagerly asked. “But of course!” TJ started to grow impatient. “So…what is it?” “You are but another peon!” TJ almost popped a blood vessel at that comment. His hands slowly crept towards her neck but Amu held him back again and said, “now for you” and turned towards Su. “My name is Suuba. Call me Su. My life goal is to kill this person.” She explained pointing her thumb towards TJ. “Didn’t need to know that thanks!” TJ told her. “I will kill you.” TJ shuddered and looked away. “I know about the Chief…but who’s he?” Trini asked. The boy grinned and said, “Name’s Yuta, fastest guns in all of Jienda. Call me Yuu.” Trini seemed to be losing his temper as he asked, “Is that a challenge?” The princess held her hand in Trini’s face and said, “Hush peon! Allow me to introduce myself, and don’t fight in my presence! *Ahem* my name is Pri- Peorth, leader of Yggdrasil. You may address me as such.” TJ hadn’t reacted whereas everyone else seemed a bit disgusted. “Yggdrasil…that sounds so familiar.” He whispered. “What is Yggdrasil?” Peorth scoffed and let out a laugh that sounded similar to Pandora’s. “It is one of the most well known guilds in all of Jienda! Where have you been? Under a rock?” TJ shook it off and continued on. “A guild you say…what do we have to do to join it?” She smiled and replied, “You must swear loyalty to me.” TJ snickered once and asked, “Excuse me?” “You must swear your undying loyalty to me.” TJ burst into laughter and fell to the ground. Everyone just watched him as he stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Sorry about that…” He apologized, “especially to you, princess.” “Hmph. You are forgiven. Now, I want to hear you say it.” TJ held back a laugh and knelt down on one knee with one arm in a fist to his chest, and the other resting on his leg, then said, “I swear my undying loyalty to you, Peorth.” She brushed a few stray hairs from her face and said, “Your oath could use some work, but here.” She opened his palm and placed a small badge there. It was a small green square with a leaf inside of it. “What does this do?”TJ asked her. She scoffed and pinned it to his Waiter outfit, then tapped it. Within seconds he could hear the voices of people welcoming him to Yggdrasil one after the next in his head. “Whoa! I’m tripping out!” TJ excitedly cried. Everyone else got to talking and decided to get one of those badges too. That day, Yggdrasil had obtained many new members…and Peorth had a lot of people swear their loyalty to her.

Chapter 8: Tears for your fears…sometimes

After the excitement was over, Peorth finally told them all, “Now then, I must be on my way. I must go to the guild room to handle guild matters. If you need to contact me just use that badge.” They all nodded in agreement, and Peorth gave them a two finger salute. She walked away after towards Aoich leaving the five behind. “Ugh…I’m so bored!” Yuu loudly groaned. “Well, there are many fun things you can do around Jienda.” TJ laughed. “Let’s move out everybody.” He pointed forward and started to walk until Yuu put one hand on his shoulder and sad, “Hold it!” TJ turned around with a glint of fear in his eyes of what Yuu would say next. “Take me with y-“Yuu said but TJ cut him off by screaming, “Never!” He tried to run but tripped over a Shotaro and fell on his face. Everyone else watched in awe. Yuu patted him on the shoulder and said, “Might as well…” TJ shook his head and lay back onto the rock.

Now a party of five, they continued to climb the stone buildings until they stumbled onto another strange stone. It was almost like an Island surrounded by water. There was a small platform with two ladders connected to it, and on the top was a yellow stone with a bright glow being released from it. “Let’s check it out.” Su suggested and immediately leaped up onto the platform. “Next time, try using the ladder like a normal person would.” Trini suggested. TJ and Amu laughed as they climbed up after Trini. In the heat of the moment, everyone stopped because they heard something…it sounded like somebody was crying. It was close by too! Everyone looked around them, under them, and into the distance but saw nothing. Amu climbed up over Trini to check the stone while he shrieked, “I DO NOT LIKE!” She checked the side of the stone they couldn’t see and found a stranger tightly hugging it and crying. “Wah!” She screamed and stepped back. “What’s wrong?” she kindly asked him. He wiped away his tears and replied, “I’m afraid of heights…” Amu looked down and looked at him sarcastically. “It’s not THAT high…” He burst into tears again while TJ and Trini rolled on the floor and laughed. “Ignore him Amu. We’ve got better things to do.” Su told her. She kicked Trini and TJ. “You two gonna work your magic on this thing anytime soon?” TJ got up rubbing his side and Trini stared at her angrily. “I’ll go first, but what would happen if Trini activated this stone?” TJ asked. They all shrugged and TJ shook his head. “Well, let’s see what happens.” He reached out towards the stone and touched it, and then it asked him:
“Will you activate the Iris Stone?”

“Yes.” TJ replied. He immediately collapsed to the floor, eyes shut tightly. TJ could see himself sitting on one of the branches of the tree again playing a song, and on a branch diagonally from where he sat was a girl who seemed to be listening to it. The way the flashback worked was like a slideshow of old photos in black and white, so nothing actually moved, but he could almost see it moving. But the girl he saw…she looked almost alike to that warrior princess TJ had met not too long ago. This one had the same Icy Blue haircut, she worse a gold circlet with a flower at the end along with a blue jacket, a white skirt and similar earrings. Same glasses and the same sandals though. “Peorth?!” He cried out, but neither reacted to him. The girl smiled and clapped, then the next frame showed TJ alone. But he was happy. A second flash of light ended his dream.

He sat back up and got on his feet. “The ancient pyramids are nearby here. Would you like to save at this-“The Iris Visual stopped and disappeared as TJ said, “nope! I’ve seen enough of Iris and my flashbacks of her. It’s too weird. Trini, you wanna save here?” Trini shook his head and replied, “Although, I WOULD like to save somewhere where you and I are alone in a room…naked.” TJ stepped back in horror and stares immediately focused on Trini from all around. Even the guy who hugged the stone while crying stopped and stared. “I don’t feel safe anymore…protect me from him!” He shouted tightly holding TJ by the collar of his outfit. “I don’t even know you! Why would I do that?” TJ asked pulling him off. “I don’t wanna be alone anymore…and with THAT guy I’m sure things can only get worse!” TJ watched as Trini performed his ‘Sexy Dance’ and winked at him. He turned away and shuddered. “I can see what you mean…but you should introduce yourself. “Moranzee…you can call me Moran if it’s easier for you.” TJ nodded and replied, “Alright Moran…we’ll be counting on you from here on in.” Moran was about start crying again (from happiness of course) until TJ put one hand on his shoulder and said, “You’re gonna have to stop crying sooner or later man….anyway, everyone ready to go?” Everyone cheered and started to jump down from the platform one after the next. “Woo!” “Let’s go!” “Ready anytime!” “Let’s go further TJ! Just me and you!” TJ stopped in his tracks and saw Trini holding out his hand. “Enough of that you sick twisted-!” TJ seemed to choke there and shook his head. “N-no…I won’t continue with that sentence.” “Is that a ‘Yes’ I hear?” Trini asked.

Chapter 9: A Bitter Memory
They quickly made way towards Elfa, not bothering to fend off the Cubes that would attack. They eventually stumbled open the Harbor town. Palace like buildings proudly stood around them, the ground littered with palm trees and small shops bearing fruits, fish and other wares. A tumbleweed would roll by every now and then. What was shocking about it was there were absolutely no people throughout the entire town. All they could hear was the sound of the wind quietly blowing the dust to and from the streets. A sickly feeling fell over the six of them. “I know this might be obvious but…this town is empty. There’s clearly something wrong.” Trini stated. “Yeah, thanks for telling us what’s obvious.” TJ sarcastically replied. Amu took the first few steps and said, “There might be danger ahead but…I’m too close to my goal to turn back now. Whatever comes next, I’ll be ready to face it.” Everyone was in awe as they watched Amu lead the way through the barren town. “She’s a goner.” TJ mumbled. “I’m gonna watch and learn.” Yuu said. “Wish I could do something, but as long as my honey won’t, I’m not moving.” Trini sighed and sat under the stairs to the bar. Moranzee hide by the left side of the bar and cried. “Ugh! The three of you are pathetic!” Su angrily shouted and joined Amu. “Oww…owww…oww. Our pride.” The three of them said together. Trini finally removed his hat and strapped it to his back. “It’s our job to protect them isn’t it? I won’t just sit around and do nothing anymore.” The remaining three watched as he chased after them. They talked it over a bit more, and followed behind after making their group six once more.
With new found courage for the evil that just could be lurking nearby, they bravely moved forward until a voice had said, “Fantastic…This cat won’t need to find her mouse today will she?” They all stopped in their tracks. “I finally found you!” Trini shouted. He pulled out both his Gulliver guns and searched around him. “This time, I promise, I WILL kill you!” Su closed her eyes and carefully focused her senses. “She’s coming from behind!” She exclaimed giving everyone enough time to take cover. There she was, a girl with snow white hair, a pair of earrings that were designed after the sun and moon, and a crossbow. Nobody could get a proper look at her because they all leaped away and hid behind barrels, the hall of the bank, trees and on top of the building that usually sold potions and other items. “I finally found you…Choen.” Trini said still standing right on the main path. She stood right in front of the potion shop punching her crossbow while grumbling, “Stupid thing…it always gets jammed…” In an instant the crossbow fired and sent a bolt right towards Trini’s head. He leaned back in time and avoided it, but his face was as serious as ever. “Oops…misfired.” She said and laughed evilly. “Next time, I’ll have your head pinned to a wall, guaranteed.” Trini watched as Su had ran out from the side of the building and took a running slide at Choen’s legs, she took a swing with her dagger and missed as Choen jumped over her while bringing down her crossbow on Su’s back. But she immediately turned to a pool of water and just sat under her. “Above.” She growled and pointed her crossbow at Su jumping from above. She fired one shot and reeled back as that Su turned to a log and fell in front of her. Trini saw Su as she snuck up on Choen once more from behind in an attempt to get her with the Masquerade dagger technique. But he knew she was in danger. “DON’T GET TOO DISTARCTED! YOUR REAL ENEMY IS HERE!” He yelled and quickly leaned forward on one knee rapidly firing shots. She leaned back out of the way and got a glimpse of Su pulling her dagger up towards her face. Within seconds a small cut was placed clearly across Choen’s cheek as Su back flipped away and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. “This childish game is growing old!” She angrily yelled. She held up both her hands and some strange black circle that seemed to be a sort of magic emitted from her hands. “TJ, Amu, Moran, run and attack now!” TJ climbed over the barrels and ran towards her with his Corola Guitar armed. Amu ran out from the potion shop and threw three daggers directly into her back. Moran climbed up the shop, hid behind the sign and cried. “Did you really think those weak attacks could hurt me? How foolish.” She released the magic in the places they were once standing causing everything within the radius of the hole she created to be pulled in. Once they closed, nothing came back out. TJ had finally reached her and aimed to get a jumping swing on her, but she had grabbed the guitar and punched him in the chest flinging him back into the side of the bank. His guitar came crashing beside Trini. “Shoot…Amu, take cover again, Su, follow my lead!” “I’ve got this!” She replied leaping from the top of the potion shop. Choen pointed the crossbow at Su as she jumped down and fired another crossbow bolt in her direction. “I’ve got you now! Earth Dragon!” She cried out unleashing a slab of rock and punching it with all her might, summoning an Earth dragon that aimed directly for Choen. She jumped back out of the way leaving an opening for Trini; he took that chance and fire two shots from both his guns, spun around and fired two from the side in an attempt to fake her out. She easily saw through the trick and avoided each and every bullet Trini fired. “Su, again!” He exclaimed. Su clasped her hands together and said, “Here’s an original trick by me!” From the ground a stone statue that took the same exact look as Su rose up as she ran off the wall and got behind Choen. “Sky Dragon!” She cried out pointing one finger to the sky. Two dragons were summoned from her call and attacked from both sides, her clone followed suit. Choen jumped out of the way and hung onto the potion sign. Trini jumped from the barrels and shot at her twice pushing himself back. Once she leapt from there back to the ground Su smiled slyly and said, “Now you’re mine!” She exclaimed. “Ice Storm!” Su called out, summoning a series of ice stones that surrounded Choen. She froze in place leaving another opening for Trini as he rolled right off the barrels and fired two shots. Both hit her dead on, and Su happily cheered. Trini was still recovering from his somersault, and amongst the storm Su didn’t notice Choen had walked out without actually being harmed. She dashed right out from the attack and grabbed Su by the neck tightly holding her. Trini was about to get up and shoot again but she used her right hand to aim another black hole in his direction. He quietly stood and watched in horror. What could he have done now? If he had attacked he could put everyone in danger…but what could he do to help Su. Trini dropped both his guns and yelled, “SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! DO SOMETHING!!!” Out from the storm a large green Mandolin was sent sailing straight for Choen’s head and made direct contact with it. “I never forgot. I never WILL forget.” TJ had whispered in her ear. “Amu! Now!” From the shadows of the store Amu came running out carrying three daggers. The first she had run right towards Choen and stabbed her in the chest. The second she slid under her arm that held Su captive and threw one into her back. With the third she stood back up on her feet and ran up from behind with a jump she came falling down with an impact that could split any normal person’s skull. She had lodged the dagger perfectly into Choen’s head, and everyone had fallen silent. Her grip finally came loose as Su fell to her knees gasping for air, while TJ tossed away his now broken Mandolin. “Is it over?” Amu asked. Choen started laughing hysterically, flung Amu right off of her back and actually GLIDED right to where she had lay. She used both her knees to hold down Amu and had her right hand to her neck while she summoned another black hole. During all that TJ managed to grab his Corola Guitar and was whispering something to Su. “I have a request for you.” He said. “Tell me about your strongest technique”. Su agreed and explained it as best as she could within a matter of seconds. “All I need you to do is hold her and make her look upwards.” On that note TJ ran and jumped over Choen and Amu. He spun around on one foot and kicked Choen with the other. He swung the guitar and hit her in the chin so he lifted her head upwards. He jumped back over the two and grabbed her by the neck, wrapping his legs around hers, then rolled onto his back and shouted to Su, “I’m in position!” Su crept over and leaned over the two. Her eyes turned completely red and her pupils turned purple. “Look into my eyes…witness the horror…the pain…the suffering you’ve caused. I will reap your memories happy and sad…it shall become mine. I will reap your soul…your everything shall belong to me.” Everything had turned black around TJ and Choen. When things had returned to normal, all he could see was a barren plain as far as the eye could see, and a sky tinted the colour of blood. TJ and Choen sat stuck together, and Choen attempted to get up and separate them but failed. They sat quietly and watched as a lone figure carrying a scythe walked towards them. It wore a black cloak that covered the entire body and the face with a hood. Bony hands slowly rose up from the sleeves of the cloak and lowered the hood. The two could see Su’s face, completely devoid of life, emotion, and colour. She reeled back the scythe and took a single swing. The Blade had stayed lodged in the two. A severe pain had run throughout both their bodies as they both groaned in pain. One by one another reaper-like creature walked out from the darkness and took a swing; within minutes there were thousands of them. TJ’s groans eventually came to a stop. His face bobbed up and down occasionally but his eyes were completely white. He felt, heard, and saw nothing. Yet the torture continued.

Trini walked up towards Su and put his hand on her shoulder. As he glanced at her face he could see blood running down from both of her eyes. Her skin complexion had turned a pale grey. He knelt over and lifted up TJ’s head. His face showed no emotion. His eyes blankly stared right into Trini’s, but Trini was still unsure whether he was looking or not. His pupils had almost faded out. All he could see was a slight outline of them. He walked over to Choen Palm and lifted up her head. A small line of blood ran from her lip and stained the cotton shirt she wore. The look on her face still seemed to have the intensity she had when she fought. He walked over and checked Amu’s pulse. It was slow, but it still continued to beat. She was okay. The sound of Moran’s crying could still be heard from the ground floor of Elfa; he was okay too. Trini walked over to the barrel and glanced over. Yuu was on the other side trembling, but still alive. He most likely barely escaped Choen’s black hole attack. Trini walked up towards TJ once more and dragged him away from Choen and Su and lifted him onto his knees. “You idiot asshole…is this really what you wanted? Was this all part of your crazy scheme to save Jienda? To save your stupid princess? To save your home? You make me sick.” He spit in his face once and threw him back on the ground. “You put everyone in danger. You may have defeated one enemy, but you just gained another. Would you say saving all those things was worth sacrificing the lives of your friends? Would you!?” The sound of a tumbleweed rolling by was the answer to Trini’s question. The sound of something sliding against the ground caught Trini’s attention as he spun around and aimed directly at TJ while he slowly moved and sat back up in an almost casual fashion. His expression hadn’t changed, but he spoke in an almost emotionless voice. “It wasn’t my plan to sacrifice anybody’s life. I would only give up my own to save the life of even one person. I never thought that I would be able to save Jienda, my princess, or my home without sacrificing something. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do it alone…and I knew it would leave behind a very bitter memory. But if one or two lives had to be sacrificed to save many, would you still spit on the person who made the choice?” TJ blinked only once, and fell back down. His eyes hadn’t closed and continued to stare Trini in the face as he slowly backed away from him. “Must you even haunt me after death?! What more do you want?!” Trini yelled and immediately ran away. Only one question remained: Is it finally over?

Chapter 10: How To Save A Life
The torture had continued. TJ and Choen Palm hadn’t moved from that place as one reaper after the next made their move. Choen finally lifted her head and scoffed. “Do you really think something like this would be enough to stop me? I still have my Trump Card! Release the sound of Frequency! On my command!” She yelled with an evil grin. TJ’s head slowly rose up and he let out a light groaning noise. One by one the reapers collapsed to one knee and would fade away into a black mist until the entire world around them shattered like glass. Once all of it was over cuts on TJ and Choen started appearing one after the next. TJ slowly picked himself up breathing heavily, as Choen stood up and shrugged. “I’m growing tired of this. I’ll be expecting you to come back to the Research Facility with me for testing, since you seem to be malfunctioning.” Choen said. By then she had her finger in her ear trying to pick something out…She looked at her finger after and flicked it off. “Utilizing that skill is pretty dangerous, for both of us. Anyway, I’m going to finish off your friends now so you don’t have anything to distract you. A soldier doesn’t need anything of the sort.” TJ was breathing heavily tightly holding his right arm around his stomach, using his left to pick himself up. “You’re crazy…” He groaned and stood on his feet. “I’m no soldier. Born like everyone else, raised like everyone else, and I’m going to live like everyone else, so get out of my face.” She laughed and replied, “That’s just it. You’re NOT like everyone else! You’re far from being human!” TJ’s eyes widened as he stepped back and asked, “Excuse me?!” She shrugged and shook her head and continued. “You haven’t been human since the day that old man found you.” “What are you getting at Choen?” “There’s only so much I can tell you, unless you want to come with me without a fight. I’ll tell you everything if so.” TJ grit his teeth and stood up straight. “I’m not joining you. Not on my life. I don’t trust you…I may have forgotten my past, but some dollar-store story like that just isn’t enough to buy my trust.” Choen stared at him with an almost amazed look. “That was…never mind that. If you won’t join me, either I destroy you or take you by force. I don’t like boys that play hard to get. Your friend…Trinidell I believe, gave in quite easily some time ago. Why don’t you do the same?” “I’m not doing it, no matter what you say. I’ll find out my past on my own.” “If that’s your choice, so be it. I’ll have to have your memory removed again.” “What you say?!” TJ angrily yelled walking towards her. She laughed again and said, “Sit! On my command!” TJ immediately collapsed to the ground on his knees and just watched as she made her move. She reached behind her. Within seconds she had tossed at least six to eight explosives in the air. “Damn…” TJ whispered. “I’m done for.” As Choen took out her machine gun to blow up the explosives Moran jumped out from behind the sign, grabbed Su and tossed her towards TJ. She had pointed the gun upwards at them and prepared to fire with her free hand. He stretched out his arm and looked from over his shoulder while saying, “Don’t wait until the last moment to show your courage. Be brave through and through, and always protect the people you care about. No matter what!” Choen finally fired one time after the next creating a massive explosion. In a flash of light and fire, Moran was gone, and TJ sat on his knees holding Su in horror. “Now watch, as I tear your wonderful world to shreds. Piece by piece, it’ll all come raining down on you!” Choen laughed insanely. Tears quickly welled up in his eyes as he leaned over screaming, “Why?! WHY MUST YOU TORTURE ME LIKE THIS?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!” She chuckled and walked past him in a casual fashion. “You have what I want, and I know what you knew. That’s all you need to know.” She whispered in his ear. TJ hadn’t moved from that position until night fell.

Yuu had already arisen from the shock he had suffered and quietly stared at the moon. A full red moon had stared back at him as he whispered, “will you carry the lost souls today?” The wind quietly blew through the streets of Elfa with a bitter chill. Amu picked herself up and shook the pain off. Yuu turned around and watched her from the barrels. TJ looked up with his face stained in tears. She examined the two carefully while TJ stood up and held Su out. “Please…help her.” He requested. Amu nodded and carried her to the weapon shop to meet Tetty. The two worked through the night, only whispering and rarely doing it. TJ stood by the entrance watching, staring blankly at the two as they searched for a solution to the problem, while Yuu slept on top of the building.

The night had progressed at a slow pace. The crickets quietly sung their song while the sound of sand blowing in the wind lightly brushed the old buildings. Tetty and Amu had finally stopped working, and turned to TJ. Tetty shook her head while Amu looked away. TJ slid down the wall until he was sitting down and hung his head low. Minutes passed by quickly but seemed to not have been moving ahead at all. TJ was the last one remaining in the shop, quietly strumming his guitar. TJ jumped as Su slowly shifted and sat up lazily staring at him while grumbling, “How am I supposed to sleep while you make noises like that?” TJ shook his head and replied, “Deep down you love my music. Now, stop haunting my dreams and go back to the way you were. I don’t want you to get my hopes up.” She laughed weakly an said, “I don’t have a reason to get your hopes up. It would be too tough to kill you if you were in a good mood. Besides, you’re not dreaming…I’m the real Su.” Tears began to run down TJ’s eyes as he said, “I still don’t believe you…Good dreams are for good people. You’re obviously here to haunt me.” “Stop being so ridiculous…You didn’t do anything wrong. But thanks for saving me…If I had beaten you like that it wouldn’t have been a fair fight. But now…I’m feeling kind of sleepy. There’s just one more thing I want to ask you before I go to bed.” TJ smiled wearily and asked, “What could that be?” Su had lay back down and whispered, “I want to know…How to save a life.” She closed her eyes and silently shifted into a sleeping position. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.” TJ said as he started to cry again. He had tightly gripped her hand the entire time. It had lost its warmth.

Chapter 11: Her Burning Spirit
TJ walked out from the shop and walked towards a nearby Iris Stone. He nodded once and reached out to it. He quietly fell to his knees in the silence of the night. Another memory of his past overtook him.

Morning rolled around again, the sun slowly rising over the dunes greeting Jienda with sweltering hot weather once more. Amu and Tetty walked from the distance towards the marketplace to meet with Yuu and TJ. From the top of the store, Yuu could be seen stretching, then he jumped off the building and said, “Morning.” “Good morning.” They replied. Tetty looked around and asked, “Where is your friend with the strange hair?” Amu peered into the shop and noticed Su, but TJ was nowhere to be seen. “We lost him!” She answered in a panic. Yuu walked towards the mailman and asked, “Any new mail for me?” The mailman nodded and handed him a letter. “Maybe this is what we want to know?” Yuu waved the letter at the two and they immediately went over to see what it said.

“Dear: everyone. Well, everyone who cares. TJ here (That’s probably a given) I am...On my way to find a certain item. Not sure if you know it, but I’m going to find a flower called the Wandering Oasis. Now would be a good time to take a break and enjoy yourselves a little. Once I find it and finish my business in Elfa, I’ll be setting out for Atlantis. On that note, thing’s will only become more dangerous and I know I don’t have what it takes to protect anyone other than myself...chances are, someone else might be hurt by me...again. Now would be a good time to pursue your own goals and find where it is and what it is you want to do with your life. Time is a priceless thing, so spend it all the way you want to. With that...take care of yourselves.”
~TJ~

“...wow. Does that mean he just blew us off?” Yuu asked slightly pissed off. “I’m not sure...but why is he looking for a flower anyway?” Amu asked. Tetty placed her hand on her chin and thought for a moment. “I believe that the Wandering Oasis is a flower that is said to bring the dead to peace. He must be looking for it for your friend.” Tetty answered. Amu nodded. “I wonder if he’ll be okay. Does he have any idea what it looks like?” “We’ll have to wait and see.” Yuu kept quiet after that.

TJ held his left arm above his face and pushed on through the sandstorms of the Desert. “Phew...I know I must be getting close. Maybe I just-“TJ stopped and coughed up a few grains of sand. That wasn’t well thought out. Besides that, I’m going to search out a flower from my memories...maybe...I should turn back? TJ stopped again and slapped himself twice. What’s wrong with me?! It was my fault! I couldn’t deal with Choen Palm on my own, Moran and Su both lost their lives to her. Finding the Wandering Oasis may be one of the only ways to make it up to them. Even when things looked grim, they never gave up. Moran sacrificed himself to save Su and I, and Su almost died to finish a fight I started...her spirit will be my strength. Even if it’s just a little...I want to be courageous like they were. I’m gonna do this! TJ’s thoughts gave him confidence as he looked up and saw an Oasis. “Stupid mirages...” He groaned and continued to look around. By this point, he was so far out the marketplace and palaces couldn’t be seen. Even the pyramids seemed small. But a little further in the distance there rested a small flower with blue petals slightly tinted green closer to the bulb. In the center rested a long white bulb that gave off an amazing smell. “Found it!” TJ happily exclaimed and walked towards it. Further from that flower he noticed another that seemed to be the exact same. “Must be my lucky day.” He continued on his trek towards the first.

Amu and Tetty were looking at Elfa’s accessories as Tetty said, “I wonder if your friend knows about the guardians of the Wandering Oasis...” A bit distracted, Amu asked, “hmm?” “The Wandering Oasis is often guarded by Agasuras called Sand worms. They are large worm-like creatures that attract prey with a flower similar to the Wandering Oasis that rests on their head. Once their prey approaches them, close enough to reach the flower, they leap from the ground and swallow them whole.” Amu dropped the anklet she was looking at and quietly groaned, but she hadn’t moved from her position. Yuu burst out laughing while he wiped his tears away and said, “What an idiot! He’ll be dead before he can take out Choen Palm!” Tetty sighed quietly. “Now even I’m a little worried.”

TJ walked towards the flower quietly humming to his favourite song, then stopped in front of it and reached out to grab it. “You’re coming with me.” He quietly whispered with a sly grin. The earth under him violently shook causing him to fall on his behind. “...I hate earthquakes.” He grumbled trying to get back on his feet. A giant yellow worm emerged from in front of him, the flower rising with it. It was a large yellow worm, with a mouth gaping wide open and massive teeth that were designed for grinding, not chewing. It loudly roared exposing its teeth while blowing spit in all over. It shook the ground as it flung itself at TJ. “HOLY-“TJ cried leaping out of the way into the sand. It submerged itself in the sand. “Aww come on! I didn’t mean to...almost rip you’re flower off! So lay off alright?” The ground shook again and the worm attempted once more to eat him by going straight up from under him. TJ took his guitar off his back and ran up to it, taking a swing at its tail. He made contact but he was shaken from the impact. They entire body was hard as rock, almost like it had scales. TJ stumbled back attempting to regain his balance while the earth shook again. He tried to run but didn’t make it in time, as the worm managed to grab his left leg and pull him through the air. It came down with a crash, sand flying everywhere. “AAAGH! Damn it!” TJ cried out. It stopped attacking and rested on the top of the sand. A long slimy green tongue slithered from its mouth and slowly wrapped around TJ pulling him towards its teeth. “Urgh...haah...I’m not going down like that!” He huffed grasping his guitar, he swung it as hard as he could at the teeth he could reach and continued to until one finally broke. The worm reeled back releasing a loud screech and flung TJ into the air. I am so~ dead. He thought. As he fell back down he tightly squeezed the hilt of his guitar and held his arms over his shoulders. Just as he was about to fall into the mouth of the beast, he smashed his guitar onto one of the upper teeth causing it to fall on its side while he grabbed the lip and jumped from there to grab the flower. Hanging by the stem of the flower, it ripped from the head of the beast and TJ fell back down. He smiled as he walked by saying, “If anyone asks about this, be sure to tell them you hit me first. I don’t wanna be falsely accused, you know?” The worm lightly growled as he walked by its face towards a real Wandering Oasis. “Good.” He continued. Shortly after that he started limping back towards Elfa.

TJ yawned quietly and scratched his chest. The pin that Peorth had given him fell off his shirt so he stopped and picked it up. Although I’ve had this for quite some time, I never really asked how it works. I wonder...If I... TJ pinned it back on his shirt and lightly tapped it with his finger. It glistened in the light and TJ could hear the voices of people talking one after the next in his head.

[Guild]Axle: Oh everyone hold up a sec’, I think he finally used it!
[Guild]Yu: He’s alive? That’s boring.
[Guild]Peorth: Shh...I think he wants to say something.
[Guild]TJ: Whoa! I’m totally tripping out!
TJ has left the conversation.
[Guild]Kooh: What did I miss?
[Guild]Peorth: Oh, nothing really.

TJ held the palm of his hand to his forehead and said, “I...need to get out of the sun for a while.” Shortly after TJ finally made it back to Elfa and limped over to the weapons and armours shop. Amu, Yuu, Tetty, and some guy that probably sold the weapons all watched TJ as he stumbled into the store. “I got the flowers!” He casually laughed dangling them through the air. Tetty led them through the streets towards a pair of fairly strong looking men carrying a casket. TJ stopped for a moment, picked up the dagger Moran had left behind and shoved it into a nearby patch of grass off the road. In front of it he placed the flower, buried deep enough that its beauty and fragrance could still be admired. “Okay, Yuu, let’s go help out those guys move the casket.” TJ suggested.

Yuu and TJ carefully lifted Su into the chest. TJ placed the Wandering Oasis between her hands after he crossed them on her chest. “That should do it.” He continued, “Let’s get this memorial started.” Amu fiercely stared at TJ and Yuu. “Hold it!” She yelled. “Do you two really plan on going to a memorial dressed like that?” TJ was in his dirt stained waiter outfit and Yuu wore a leather jacket, pants, and leather shoes. “Yeah...” Yuu replied. TJ rubbed his neck and uneasily asked, “If I said I had nothing else to wear, does that make it okay?” Amu shook her head and pointed at the two of them. “Off.” She bluntly told them. “What?!” They both asked. “Take it off. All of it.” “Not a chance.” Yuu replied. “Sorry Amu...but I don’t think this is the place and time!” TJ cried.

Within a matter of minutes TJ and Yuu were both in their boxers. TJ Had his leg rested on a chair while Tetty stitched up his wound. Yuu hid in a corner out of the public’s eyes. Amu went off to find a proper set of clothes for the two of them to wear. Shortly after she came back with a pair matching of tuxedos. TJ and Yuu watched her walk into the store with horrified faces. “I swear, I’m not gonna wear that.” TJ groaned looking away. Yuu tried to hide his face but never succeeded in convincing her. Shortly after Tetty’s work was done TJ and Yuu were out at Elfa Harbour in a crowd of people watching a preacher in a strange black gown talk. Both were in the outfit Amu chose, and she seemed fairly pleased with herself. The speech continued until the preacher finally stopped giving the signal for someone to do something. He gave a simple nod, and Peorth walked over carrying a torch. The casket was tightly held up above the water beside the harbour by ropes and on top sat a small pedestal that lit up once Peorth ignited it with the torch she carried. One of the fishermen for the harbour started to turn a crank and the casket made its slow descent into the sea. As it slowly rested on the surface of the water, it drifted off on the seas current and off into the distance. People started crying one after the next...it seemed like TJ and Yuu were one of the only few who didn’t. “Why aren’t you crying?” Yuu asked. TJ nodded and placed one hand on his hip. He looked up to the sky and watched while raindrops fell down at a rapidly increasing rate. TJ finally replied, “I’m not because the sky will do it for me.”

Chapter 12: Scattered Heart
People eventually departed to continue with their own business. TJ sat on the docks watching the casket riding the current. Peorth and Yuu were talking nearby, but just barely loud enough for TJ to pick up a few of the things they said. “I just...can’t trust him. I bet...death of all of us.” Yuu grumbled. “Give him a chance. He may be just what we need. I know he has what it takes.” Peorth replied. She didn’t seem very concerned about whether or not TJ heard them. “Ugh...we’ll see when the time comes.” Yuu walked back towards the marketplace slightly angry, while Peorth walked over and knelt by TJ. “What’s got you down?” She asked him. “Well...”TJ looked around to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation.”Do you ever feel...like you’re being watched?” Peorth lightly groaned trying not to say something rude. “Err...” She said and quickly glanced around the area. It almost seemed clear, until she spotted a white tiger tail slowly waving left and right beside a fish vendor’s stall. A pair of ruby red eyes curiously stared at the two of them. After Peorth got a good look, she recognized her on the spot. She had Icy Blue twin tails, a camellia hairpin, a pair of red heart earrings, a half-cut top and a pair of bell bottom jeans. When she realized she had been spotted she walked out with her hands behind her back quietly whistling and looking away. Peorth held out her thumb, pulled it across her neck, aimed it straight down with a nasty grin, and pointed to the marketplace. The girl stopped with a worried look, turned around and ran away. “It happens from time to time, but nobody will be listening in on you. Now, what’s the real problem you’re having?” TJ picked up a rock and tossed it towards the water; it skipped a couple of times and sunk. “Sometimes I feel like something is missing. But by that, I don’t mean my memories...but that something must’ve been a part of them. If I had that something, I feel that I would’ve had what it takes to protect Moran and Su. I feel like someone took a piece of my heart and left me with just enough to keep myself in line.” He chuckled and said, “What kind of Bard kills his friends? Maybe I should retire as a Bard and leave society.” Peorth ruffled his hair and told him, “That’s not like you at all you know? You didn’t do anything wrong, even if you couldn’t protect those two. You gave it your all, you fought you’re hardest, and besides, Choen Palm fights dirty.” The two of them laughed. “Maybe you’re right Peorth-err...Chief. (Maybe using your name like that was a bit too casual...you’re the boss of Yggdrasil anyway).” TJ muttered quietly. “You’ve probably already heard about how I have no memories of the past, next to the ones I’ve regained. But that one guy with the straw hat...Let’s say his name is Straw Hat. The most recent memory I have of him has me completely puzzled on what happened at the time. I can describe it, but can you explain to me what happened?” Peorth looked away with her fist close to her chest. She almost seemed melancholic, but she smiled and replied, “Yes...of course.” TJ nodded and closed his eyes. “It went like this...” He began.

TJ and “Straw Hat” were chasing after Choen Palm in the Kimara Research Institute until they came to a screeching halt; they had finally reached the peak of the institute after evading monster after monster. The three of them were already badly beaten up, cuts bruises, burns, and the like. Choen stopped and turned yelling, “Damn children! I don’t have time to play with you! I already have Iris on my case! Now shoo!” TJ looked back to Straw Hat and asked, “You ready man?” He nodded once and said, “Let’s do this.” TJ took a Strunal Mandolin off of his back and played a few notes and songs that made the two of them stronger than before. At that moment Iris finally approached. “We’ll be the ones to put a stop to Choen Palm...her human DNA gene splicing project has to be put to a stop. I won’t let anyone else suffer that fate!” TJ exclaimed. He readied his guitar and Choen laughed. “You’ll be the one to cause them to suffer a worse fate! Now...” She said something TJ couldn’t hear and shouted, “On my command!” She held out a small green stone that emitted a bright light, and TJ collapsed to his knees. “Ugh...what the hell...is she doing to me?! AHHH! AAAAAGH! MAKE IT STOP!” TJ tightly grasped his head violently shaking left and right screaming in pain. He finally stopped heavily breathing; his eyes flashed blood red with an evil glare as he turned to Straw Hat and Iris’ Party. His hands fell to his sides, but they seemed to have grown larger, his nails seemed to develop into massive claws. “Kill them...The boy with the straw hat first.” Choen chuckled. She put her hand on her hip and watched with a pleased look. Straw Hat slowly backed off, as TJ crept towards him, hands hanging at his sides still. Straw Hate shook his head and immediately ran away, leaping from one metal branch of the stem of the platforms to the next. TJ made large leaps and came down with a violent crash, heavily breathing and slightly drooling. The two had finally reached the first floor, Straw Hat exited the Research Facility with TJ following suit. Iris wasn’t too far behind. “I’ll have to put a stop to this before he puts himself and Jienda in any real danger.” She said to herself. She was out of the Institute within seconds. The chase continued through Atlantis as Straw Hat boarded the submarine. TJ tightly hung onto the top hammering at it and scratching it with his claws. Straw Hat ran out from the sub past Tonio and through the mass amounts of starfish. When he finally reached the platform that led to Elfa Harbour, he tightly gripped his sword and held TJ back by using every single skill he had. TJ finally found a chance to attack and jumped at him with his claws set. Straw Hat laughed and said, “I got ya.” He became invisible as TJ flew right through him and released a trap. About three ghosts surrounded TJ as Straw Hat shoved his sword into the ground to maintain the spell. TJ fell to his knees as he tightly held his throat trying to get his breath back. “This might not be enough to stop you, but I can at least buy time.” He grumbled. TJ lightly growled and fiercely roared chasing away the ghosts and stirring up all the crabs in the area. At this point his eyes turned blood red and his pupils a dark purple. All around him he emitted an evil aura. He grabbed Straw Hat by the leg and tossed him right up against the sword. He reeled his hand back and stabbed him in the chest once, again, and again, and again...TJ’s claws were covered in torn material, flesh and blood as he slowly approached the body to possibly feast. At that moment a rain of arrows fell upon him as five silver arrows surrounded him, each with a feather tied to the back. Iris landed on the sword and pointed her bow directly at TJ. “I’m sorry...but you have to be stopped.” She reached for an arrow from her quiver and placed it against her bow. “Five-pronged demon seal.” She whispered. Before TJ could even react a star was formed under him, and the placement of the arrows each had a circle that surrounded them making up the shape of that star; a bright flash of light had trapped him on that spot so he couldn’t escape or fight back. She fired one arrow in his left arm, his right arm, both his legs, and one in the center of his chest. TJ fell silently, returning to his normal self as she placed her bow on her back. She held a small gem with a small grey ball in the center of it. “I was the one who took his life. With this, could I possibly replace what I’ve just taken from him? ...I promise...from here on I’ll make things right.” She stepped down towards him and removed the arrows that had bound him. She turned towards Straw Hat and sighed.

Sometime later TJ woke up on that spot with Straw Hat beside him. He sat up and turned towards his fallen friend. TJ slowly slid his hands under his head and his back while shaking his head crying, “why did things have to be this way?! Why did you have to be the one to die by my hands?! These hands were only meant to destroy weren’t they? So why...why can’t I be the one destroyed by them...? Why does anyone else have to sacrifice themselves for my sake?” TJ’s hands tightly gripped the body as he leaned over shaking his head and crying. His heart throbbed with rage and sadness...for Choen Palm, his weakness, and himself. TJ noticed that all traces of Iris and what had happened were gone. The blood, the arrows, and the markings that the seal had left were all gone. After a couple hours of digging with his bare hands, TJ dug deep enough to bury his ally. He carefully placed the dir over the body and placed his sword to mark that this was his grave. TJ spent about three minutes trying to dig dirt out of his nails until something had shot him in the back. As he slowly and wearily reached back and grabbed it, he could feel an arrow. “It might sting a bit, but this will only temporarily put you to sleep...and give you a hint of amnesia. Please cope with it...” A familiar voice requested. TJ tried to turn but passed out on the ground.

At this point in TJ’s story he and Peorth stood right where Straw Hat’s grave is. TJ was knelt down before the grave. He stared at both his hands with a detached look that made Peorth uneasy. “Look TJ...I know it must be tough for you, but you have to let you’re bitter feelings go for now. It’s good to always remember those you care about, and want to avenge them, but for now we can’t have you lose focus and cause a repeat of what had happened to him. He was a great man, and a fantastic guild member, but he’s gone now. If you don’t want to lose control of yourself, you need to become emotionally stable! Take a deep breath and calm down...we’ll talk a bit more about him after you’re ready okay?” Peorth explained. TJ nodded and asked, “Hey Chief?” “Yes?” “What happened to your Tsundere Princess attitude?” “...Don’t push your luck peon.” They started laughing and got up and headed back to the harbour. “There’s still one thing I wanna know though Chief.” TJ stated. “What would that be?” Peorth asked him. “...Who am I, and what is my purpose?” Peorth rubbed her arm nervously and replied, “Once you find the scattered pieces of your heart, you’ll find your answers.”

Chapter 13: Storm Warning
Everyone met up at the shop along with a few other Yggdrasil members and people that attended the funeral. “Although we’ve faced another situation here, and the loss of two of our members we mustn’t give up. We must keep our heads held high and fight for the greater good!” Peorth explained and everyone cheered in agreement. “Now then, the ceremony has ended so all who have no more business here are permitted to leave.” Little by little everyone went their separate ways leaving Peorth, Amu, TJ and Yuu. “Haah...” TJ sighed. “It’s time for us to move on to the next city. We’re hot on Choen’s trail, so there’s no turning back. At least...not for me.” Amu nodded and said, “Yes of course. I guess we part ways here right? If you get hurt again be sure to stop by and see us. We’ll patch the two of you up in no time.” Tetty walked out unravelling a roll of bandages and the two guys laughed nervously. Amu walked over to TJ then said, “Poke!” and poked him in the side of his stomach. “Wha-“He cried out raising both his arms from the reaction. She hugged him and said, “Got you!” TJ looked away and said, “Jeez...if you really wanted to hug me just say so. This way is so embarrassing!” Yuu glanced over and asked, “Where’s min-“Before he finished Amu had glomped him, and had him on the ground before he knew it. “...Ouch.” He said rubbing his butt. She stood up, dusted off her dress and said, “Be careful out there you two.” TJ nodded and Yuu stood up and walked with him as they headed off to the harbour waving back to Tetty and Amu. “I feel somewhat forgotten.” Peorth said quietly from behind the girls. Amu hugged her two and she was grumbled, “He was right. This IS embarrassing.”

TJ and Yuu climbed down the ladder and finally entered Orca Beach. The sun brightly shone down on the beach. The waves gently swished across the sand and quickly returned to the sea. Red crabs crept along the beach, their beady black eyes glaring as Yuu and TJ approached. Large grey rock formations with blades of grass lightly brushing the top with crabs walking across it decorated the beach, some with ladders for people to climb up. Yuu wiped the sweat off his head and one crab had the nerve to walk over and pinch his leg. “Augh! Get off!” He yelled flailing his leg until the crab was flung through the air. He pulled out both of his guns, and rapidly fired as it came down. A carcass with bullet holes in it was all that was left. Yuu ran ahead shooting one crab after the next, reducing them to mere shells. “That’s the second gunslinger massacre I’ve seen in the past week. Hey Yuu! Are you almost done cleaning the beach?!” TJ cried out to him. Yuu said nothing and kept his back turned to him. TJ shook his head and shrugged. TJ soon caught up as they both reached a rock formation that had two platforms. It had a ladder that led to the first, and the second part of it needed to be climbed. Beside it was a straight path that led right down the beach. There seemed to be someone standing near the end of that path. TJ unfurled his map and sat against the rock. He lined the path from Orca Beach to Atlantis and pointed out the Submarine drawn on it. “Okay so...we’ll be taking this submarine down to the underwater City. Once there, we can rest at Atlantis before the final battle with Choen. Since the Abyss Ruins lead to the Kimara Research Institute, from what I can see, that has to be where she’s located. From my memories...That was where she first got me with that gem...and revealed that horrible thing...” TJ rubbed his arm looking away, expecting Yuu to ask about it, but received no questions. “Thanks for your input.” TJ groaned shaking his head. They ignored the ladder and continued down the path to another section of the beach. As they walked down the beach the sun slowly fell; the sky was dyed orange and red as was the water. Shells were littered across the beach, and trash would occasionally wash up upon the shore. There were a few couples sitting down by the water watching as the tide came in. TJ chuckled sheepishly and said, “Being single really hurts at times like these.” He glanced over at Yuu, but his expression was blank. “Okay seriously! I know the joke was bad, but I’d appreciate it if you at least faked out the laugh!” Yuu said nothing again. TJ could feel his blood coming to a boil. “I’ve had enough of this already! Will you just snap out of it?!” TJ raised his hand giving Yuu a clean slap across the face, and of course he retaliated. Yuu turned to TJ with his gun’s barrel pointed right at his face, the knife close enough to almost cut this throat. “Keep your hands off me Demon.” He replied. A cold blood lusting stare entered Yuu’s eyes from what TJ could see. TJ scoffed and placed his hands in his pockets. He walked towards the end of the beach. Normally this part of the beach had strange starfish that had faces, and a life saver attached to their backs that would leap at ongoing travellers. It seemed that a nearby Engineer was hunting them. The two walked past him, and TJ thought he saw a familiar glint of light from that person, but ignored it.

They finally approached a rock with a ladder by it, and at the top stood a man wearing a red coat lined with gold, along with a simple round hat with the same design. He stood proudly with his hands at the edge of his coat. TJ climbed up the ladder and got up on his feet, while Yuu followed behind. “Excuse me...Can you tell me what we need to do to take a submarine to Atlantis sir?” TJ asked. “Call me Tonio.” He replied. “To take the sub, all you need is the Ocean King’s Key. If you have that, I will be able to start it.” TJ searched his bag and shook his head. Yuu held out a key and handed it to Tonio. It was quite a strange item though...it was a blue key, the hilt had two sharp spikes at the back and there was a hole in the top. The front was pointed, and around the top of it was a red ribbon. It looked almost like a face...with spiky hair, a red headband, and a large pointy nose. TJ chuckled quietly and followed Tonio as he led them towards the sub. They climbed down the ladder on the other side of the rock, and parked not too far off was a large sub that looked just like a Mecha Priring. TJ shuddered and said, “It’s a nice sub, but that design...IT IS SO NOT COOL!” Tonio looked over and handed the key to TJ. He pointed towards the top of the sub and explained what to do, “First, get to the top of the sub and open the hatch. Climb down the ladder if you don’t have the will to jump.” TJ chuckled sheepishly before he continued. “Right there in the center of the controls will be a slot for the key. Place it in there, turn it clockwise until it clicks, then press the ‘Cruise’ button beside it. It will guide you the rest of the way.” TJ took a moment to process it and replied, “Got it. Thanks Tonio.” He walked towards the sub and started to climb to the top. “Hey Yuu! You gonna come too or just sulk on the surface?” TJ called out to him. Yuu scoffed and replied, “You go on ahead! I’ve got things I need to do.” TJ shrugged and said, “Suit yourself.” He turned the wheel on the hatch and it opened up. He rested on the rim for a moment, reached out and grabbed the handle, then jumped into it. He looked around him. The “Teeth” of the Priring was the window, and in front were the controls. He walked towards the key slot and jammed it in, then turned until it clicked. He pressed the Cruise button and the submarine shook violently. “I guess it must be starting up.” He stated as it slowly started to submerge under the water. TJ placed his hands against the window and looked around him. He could see all sorts of fish and other sea creatures swimming by. “Ooh...Ahh...cool.” He’d say every now and then admiring the life around him. The sound of bullets making contact and the shattering of glass startled him as he noticed that he was under attack. The submarine’s alarm loudly blared signalling that there was danger and the passengers should evacuate at once. Water slowly seeped in through the holes, and TJ was unsure of what to do. Should he try and escape through the hatch, the water will push him back and drown him. If he stayed, he was guaranteed to die. His best option was the window. He stepped back and took a run at the window using his shoulder to penetrate the glass, but only cracked it. At this point the water was up to his knees. He took another charge at it and the crack spread across the glass. He jumped onto the control panel and shattered it open with his right foot. Water came in as quickly as the glass broke pushing him back and submerging him in it, as the submarine continued to sink. The roof grew increasingly close to him while he tried to swim away, as a barrage of bullets came at him. He lowered his head for a couple seconds until they stopped and attempted to escape again but the submarine sank too quickly and caught him from the waist down. The weight of the sub and the increasing weight from the sea’s pressure brought him down and he lost his breath.

You know, at times like these I find things somewhat ironic. I’ve done some pretty stupid things in the past, I’ve taken my chances and gambled with my life...heck, I’ve even turned into a half-demon thing. There’s obviously something wrong with me...maybe I’m just unlikely? Maybe my life was meant to be cursed? Maybe there's a reason my friends want me dead? I kind of wish I knew...but I guess that’s not really important now is it? I can’t say I didn’t have this coming though. When I meet the members of Yggdrasil I killed, the people of Yggdrasil...the tree of course, and that...that...man...what man? Ugh...I’m so...tired. It hurts... TJ’s thoughts faded out as his struggling body fell limp. Just when things seemed hopeless, a hand reached out towards him and pulled him from the wreckage of the submarine and his given death.

“TJ...TJ...wake up idiot!” A voice called to him. He could feel something poking against his face. That voice...and that feeling against his face seemed so familiar. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around him. He yawned and stretched then scratched his back with his eyes closed. “If you’re gonna wake up, do it right.” The voice continued. “Yeah...THANKS MOM.” TJ angrily replied looking up. His eyes grew wide as his pupils shrunk while he said, “Why?! I know I thought some strange things when I was dying but this isn’t possible!” He shook his head and slowly crawled backwards without looking away. “Oh suck it up! You’re not dead yet...you’ve still got work to do! Now get back on your feet.” A young girl stood before him. She brushed her long blonde hair out of her face and opened her eyes, a shining jade green. “That’s right...it’s me, Su. Now listen closely, I’m gonna tell you what to do.” TJ chuckled and said, “Now I’ve done it! I’ve gone and joined the crazies! Better hurry and get someone to put me in a strait jacket before I hurt someone!” He started to laugh hysterically and Su’s shoe made a clear hit with his face. He was sent skidding across the ground into a couple rocks and before he could react Su was already in front of him with her hands on his collar shaking him. “Okay, I got it...stop...shaking...me!” TJ said until she finally released. His head bobbed back and forth before he shook it off. “So...you say I’m not dead but...I can see you, which I MURDERED, and I’m in a strange place that isn’t maybe...twenty feet under the sea?!” Su sighed and replied, “If I could tell you where you are, I would, but it could throw off the entire balance of this place. Do you remember any of this place at all?” TJ looked around him. From what he could see, they seemed to be in a cave. It was the typical cave, narrow, small, but what really caught his eye was that there was no exit. He continued to look around and spotted a flight of stairs that led all the way up to something that looked like a portal. It was a large circular gate that looked like it would lead to a magical place. The inside of it was a sky blue with clouds swirling around and around. “Any luck yet?” Su asked him. TJ thought for a moment, grinned and replied, “Not a thing!” She scoffed and exclaimed, “You have to remember! Try harder!” TJ shook his head and said, “It’s tougher than you think. Unlike when I have those flashbacks from the Iris Stones, seeing this place just makes my thoughts a little fuzzy. I feel like my mind is trying to piece together what this place meant to me, but something in there is preventing it.” Su reached out and grabbed his left arm and pulled him along. “We might have one more chance. If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what will.” The two walked up the stairs towards the portal and slowly approached it. “Go on, reach into it. But I want you to do one thing.” Su told him. He nodded once to show he was paying attention. “Think of the old you.” TJ seemed a bit surprised, but kept a stern face as he nodded again. He slowly reached towards it, reeled back his hand a little and continued until he finally touched it. The sound of a drop of water making contact with a large body of water lightly echoed through the narrow cave and the portal cleared, revealing a clear picture that seemed to be water with ripples coming from where TJ touched. He closed his eyes and thought of the old version of himself. A young boy came to mind. He re-opened his eyes and before the two was a reflection of a young boy with short black spiked hair, a long while cloth and bright blue eyes. He wore nothing but that cloth, but the most shocking part was...he had the wings of an angel. TJ stepped back in horror and rubbed his eyes. He looked back into the gate and saw a reflection of himself. He had a golden eye with a marking that was similar to the one Iris sealed him within that eye, and the other contained his eye but was half-closed and showed no pupil. TJ clutched his left eye. He tried to look through his lazy eye but saw nothing. “I...I’m blind in one eye. What have you done to me?!” He hissed at Su. “We’ve come to a breakthrough!” Su happily said. She reached over and pressed on the center of his chest, a light softly emanated from his chest and it made a light humming. TJ fell to his hands and knees and weakly groaned, “Su...I don’t understand...why?” She knelt down on one knee in front of him and said, “This was all part of returning you to the world you belong to. You’re...not like everyone else you know.” TJ chuckled and said, “So it is true...I really am a monster.” “Not a monster...but maybe you’re more of a Spirit...and possibly humanity’s saviour.”

TJ sat up tightly clutching his chest and breathing heavily. He had his right hand on his chest and his left on his eye as he groaned, “It hurts...it still hurts...” He glanced around through his right eye. Although it was blurry, he could see again so he was glad until...he saw a very disturbing sight. At the end of his bed was Trini wearing a Cute Mage outfit...it had the Cat Hoodie and everything. Trini froze in position, and it was clearly obvious he was crawling towards TJ. “Explain yourself.” TJ angrily requested. “Would you believe it if I said I was here because I can’t resist a man with a guitar?” Trini asked. “No.” “What if I said you have what I want?” “No!” “What if I said I wanted you’re whole packa-““NO!” TJ attempted to kick him off the bed but Trini leapt back and crept towards the door. “I may have failed this time, but next time I’ll get in your pants!” He stated. “Not a chance you sick twisted pervert!” TJ growled throwing the pillow he had at the escapist. In the other corner was a giant calculator that seemed to have a worried look on his face. TJ placed his hand on his forehead to check for a fever, and then mumbled, “I...need more sleep.” He closed his eyes and had lay back down. Concerned with the day’s events, he wasn’t thinking of the meaning behind what Su said...there might just be more to saving Jienda than TJ had thought...and to the death of his friends.

Alright!
Chapters 1-3 are now up. I'm currently working on Chapter 6, and I'm making pretty good time ^^. I can still fit in a few more characters,so be sure to put in a request to be in if you'd like a main role in the story.Thats all for now.

Well,heres chapters 1 and 2 and 3 for Frequency.I'll add updates along the way telling who will be included in the chapter ^^.
Chapters 4 and 5 are up ^^ (Yay me XD!). Chapter 6 is done.Took me a looooooooooooong time,but its done XD.Gonna do Chapter 7 and call it a day.Chapter 7 is up.I'll post a note and then go somewhere to sleep for the rest of my life ~^_^~
Chapter 8 and 9 are finally finished and up for all you little ankle biters XD.Hope you like what you see. Chapter 10 is complete(Finally!). Chapter 11 is up and finished, and chapter 12 will be up later.Thanks for your continued support guys ^^. Although it took a long time,Chapter 13 is now finished. Chapter 14 is up after a week!(Gonna add some Italics and whatnot once i fix it up).

Chapter 1:TJ-September 22
Chapter 2:TJ-September 22
Chapter 3:TJ,Trini-September 22
Chapter 4:TJ,Trini-September 23
Chapter 5:TJ,Trini,Amu-September 23
Chapter 6:TJ,Trini,Amu-September 23
Chapter 7:TJ,Trini,Amu,Su,Chief,Yuu-September 23
Chapter 8:TJ,Trini,Amu,Su,Yuu,Moran-September 24
Chapter 9:TJ,Trini,Amu,Su,Yuu,Moran-September 24
Chapter 10: TJ,Amu,Su,Yuu,Moran-October 3
Chapter 11: TJ,Amu,Yuu-October 8
Chapter 12: TJ,Yuu,Chief-October 8
Chapter 13: TJ,Amu,Yuu,Su,Chief,Trini-October 22
Chapter 14: TJ,Trini-October 29
Chapter 15:TJ,Yuu,Chief,Su,Curt November 29

good story so far xD. scratch what i said in the need chars thingxD -even though i wish i was part of the story- xDDDDDDD

Don't worry Suu.I've got everything planned out,so it wont be long before you make your entry ^^.
I'll upload the chapters in groups of threee as soon as i can.

k thx TJ xD. i kinda didnt get the last paragraph in ch 1.

Hmm..i don't blame you there,but as the story progresses things will be explained. The beginning is meant to be confusing, because it builds suspense ^^. I'll post Chapters 4 and 5 so you can see what happens next. Hope you look forward to the rest ^_^.

T.T Why aren't I in this? Wasn't I that mysterious Azn who always cried in the corner?

I haven't forgotten XD.I'm still doing some of the background story, and then the characters start to make their appearence.Nobody was forgotten ^^.

mm, nice story. i'd like to hear more of it

Glad you like it ^^.Things will only get more interesting from there.

Author's Note
TJ here ^^. Normally, i slack, because I can. It's a terrible habit though...since I have a lot of spare time I can get a lot of this story done in a short time. One thing I really love about it is the characters. A couple I love doing most are Su's and the Chief's. Su's personality is very alike to her, and I use things shes actually said to me in her dialouge. Makes it so much fun XD. The Chief is interesting because shes nothing like herself, but better designed to fit her "Tsundere Princess" image. Another thing I find interesting is the backstory behind the characters. Most of them might seem simple, but behind everyone they all have their own story to tell that may just play a big part in the main character's life. Now and again more people will be showing up, and the mystery characters won't be revealed, so its the reader's job to find out who they are XD!
At some point I'll take the time to add the Italics where they should be.So much work left to do O~O".
Hope everyone has as much fun reading this story as I do writing it. I'll continue to do my best to have it continuing on a steady pace ^_^.

TJ your right about my personality xDDDDDDD too bad im not a ninja anymore Dx

So far, so good. Thank god you haven't forgotten 'bout me.

Of course XD. You make your appearance in Chapter 8(which i'm working on right now, I'll have it up later).
But heck,although Su lost her job,doesn't mean she DID forget everything she learned ;3.

i know

make the story kinda more epic, like some boss or somethin is defeatin the team and one person sacrifices them self so the others can live. that would be awsome! sorta

OPINIONS FTW!

Leave it to me ^^.

you know that was my opinion right?

Of course XD. I can put one together in chapter 9.I'll add chapter 8 since I just finished it.

alrighty XD

Yay, i'm in the story now... make me sacrifice myself! I'd be probably the most annoying in the team... Say theres a door or something and a human must be the lock. hehehe.

The stroy is as good as ever, there are some minor mistakes in their too, but who cares?
And at the start, the guy with straw hat and spector sword, ain't that Heroblader? I still remember him... ey... he's a good man...


Yeh... me and my special effects text typing, Trini loves it...

TJ dont listen to moran, just pick a random person. idc if it's me lol xD

We'll see what happens to who when the time comes XD.But I'll be the only one who knows ^^.
You were right about the mistakes tho. It was taken directly from when i had written it in OGP's forums(had a few late nights those days so there were a lot of spelling mistakes) and I never really took the time to correct them. When I add the Italics and whatnot I'll be sure to cut out that version and replace it with the spell checked one XD.

I found out the reason why there were grammar failures in the story tho.The spell check thingy isn't as good as I thought ;_;. I'll be sure to look it over and find the mistakes I had made along the way. Thanks for the heads up Moran. (Don't forget to keep the character's you recognize a secret also XD!) I'll post a ton of old and new screenies for the faces of Yggdrasil for the members who don't recognize some of the characters along with a bunch of other random ones XD.

Author's Note
Septermber 24
Finally finished Chapters 8-9. Personally, I'd say Chapter 9 is one of the most intense Chapters out of all of them. I had to use OGP's site to look up what kind of moves Su and Amu would use, and I had to remember Trini's off by heart(wasn't too difficult.I probably could've added a few more for him, although it'd cause a bit of conflict between a couple characters XD!)
Some of the moves(as most people would know) were actually straight from LT, while others were ones only Su could do (that was obvious too) but the last one was something that took a lot of creativity. The kind of idea I aimed for on that one, was something that a Trainee SHOULDN'T know, but does anyway. Maybe a bit later the reason behind it will be revealed? Maybe a bit later Su will have her own story that will explain why and how she can do these things, or why she became a ninja in the first place(I'm just using Su as an example because she has a very creative character).
But heck, on that note I considered making a business out of writing stories for other characters for lots of ely XD. I'd put it in a fund for guild events and prizes. Once Frequency is done I'll put my skill to work XD.)
Anyway, back to the story, with everything that happened at the end of chapter 9, most readers might be thinking "What the hell?" when they see what happens, which also may just have something to do with a certain main charcter's "fall fom grace" (hint hint). I love suspense ^~^. Personally, I think I did a fairly decent job with the battle between the two groups though. A main part of this was focusing on expressing the emotions between characters, such as excitement, anger, revenge, hate, anger, sadness, happiness, fear, anger, teamwork, confidence, and did i mention anger?
Personally, expressing the emotions between two or more characters was something I always really sucked at. Made me trash all my past works. EXCEPT ONE. I never found that one...its gotta be somewhere tho..and when I find it I'll burn it.
Anyway~on that note, I'd like to give a special thanks to Amu for the videos she posted. It really did help me improve on one of my main works, including this one. Also thanks to Su for putting up the request XD(the fight would've been delayed and wouldn't be as epic had i not done it for chapter 9 and waited until 10. The place would differ too).
For all those who want to see Amu's work, I recommend checking it out. I admired it quite a bit...so just click that link to get to it. I'm gonna head out for the night, but I'll be sure to check the comments before I'm gone. Thanks to all my readers ^_^! Sad Love Story #2