The Dragon Guardians Part three

“Fire, what happened to Syaoran?” shrieks Sakura bursting into tears.

“In a fight with the last Nazgul rider, he got cut on the arm that turns to be very nasty cut. After getting rid of the last Nazgul and rider using a crazy stunt of his, the injury got the better of him and he fell off the saddle smashing his head into the ground. He has another gash on his forehead.” bellows Fire coming to tears.

“This kid needs medical help this instant! Get him to the medic room this instant!” shouts the rebel leader whose name is Harold. “Get all healers to the room and get them to heal him!”

“Is he going to be all right?” asks Sakura still crying.

“We can only hope. Most people don’t survive falls like the one he took.” says Harold in a sorrowful tone. “Let’s just hope those dragon scales in that robe stopped injury from being worse than it is.”

Sakura bursts into more tears falling to her knees, as she holds her hands to her face. The rebel healers bolted down the hallways of the rebel base rushing into the medic room. They push the rebels out of the room standing around Syaoran. The rebel healers clap their hands together chanting out in sync.

“Gods of Enthranx, spirits of dragon protectors, heal this boy so that he may fight to return peace to the magical world.” chant the rebel healers. “Everyday the Shogun claims more countries for his own and only the six may stop him. Heal the boy so he may fight again.”

The palms of the rebel healers glow a silvery light and they place their hands on Syaoran’s body. Magic sparks from their fingertips rushing through Syaoran’s body. The gashes on Syaoran’s arm and his forehead glow the silver light beginning to heal. The blood comes back into the gash, as the skin starts to mend. Twenty minutes later, Syaoran was healed by the magic and the rebel healers let go of each other’s hands. They allowed four rebels back into the room.

“Take this boy to the room where his father last stayed before his death. His dragon will probably be waiting for him there. Do not allow anyone expect his friends and their dragons into the room, not even Harold himself is allowed in there.” says the leader of the group, whom name is Kerry. “He needs his sleep so allow visits to be short. Unless the Thunder Dragon Guardian wishes to look after him.”

“We understand.” says one of the four rebels.

The four rebels put Syaoran onto a stretcher carrying over to his new room. They make sure nobody is following them and they walk into the room shutting the door. They place Syaoran on the bed placing his head on the softest pillow. The four rebels tiptoe out of the room and two of them stand watch at the door while the other two get rid of the stretcher. The two guarding rebels quickly see Sakura storming down the hallway. They stand in front of the door not allowing her to pass.

“LET ME THROUGH!” shouts Sakura.

“Be quiet, do you wish for everyone to know that Syaoran is in this room. Syaoran needs time to recover so he will be sleeping...” whispers one of the guarding rebels.

“I’m his girlfriend.” interrupts Sakura.

“Then you are allowed in.” says the second guarding rebel.

The two guarding rebels step out of the way of the door allowing Sakura into the room. Sakura walks into the room finding the room to be much like the room in elfin city. She chuckles inside her head, as she sees Syaoran’s weapons in the same spot they were when they were staying at the elfin city. Sakura tiptoes over to the bed quickly getting into the covers next to Syaoran. She closes her eyes sleeping right next to him. Seven hours of sleeping, Sakura feels Syaoran moves his arm across her stomach holding her tight. Then she feels his lips brush against her neck.

“Come on Syaoran, time to wake up. The leader of the rebels’ wishes to see us the moment you are finally better.” says Sakura.

“Man, my head fucking hurts.” yawns Syaoran rolling onto his side. “But that move was pretty sweet.”

“Yeah, it must have been really sweet.” speaks Sakura as she kicks Syaoran off the bed.

“Ouch, what was that for?” asks Syaoran.

“For doing something stupid, you had me worried sick. I kept thinking you were dead.” says Sakura. “Why did you leave us? Just for some glory I bet.”

“No, I left to protect you all from the Nazguls and their riders. If they caught up to us, they would have killed everyone. They needed something to distract them like the leader of the Dragon Guardians.” advises Syaoran getting back onto the bed. He crawls over to Sakura placing two arms on either side of her, being right above her. Their eyes meet each other. “I didn’t want anything bad to happen to you.” He leans in kissing her on the lips.

“Syaoran, I want you to promise me something.” speaks Sakura after Syaoran finishes kissing her.

“What would that be?” asks Syaoran.

“I want you never to leave the group to do something like that ever again. We are a team so we must take challenges as a team. I need you to promise me that and if you don’t, you lose me forever.” says Sakura. “Can you promise me that?”

“Fine, I promise that I will never do anything like that again.” promises Syaoran. “Only because I don’t want to lose you forever.”

Sakura kisses Syaoran on the lips then mockingly pushes him off the bed again. Syaoran gets onto his feet mockingly leaping at Sakura. Sakura rolls out of the way rolling off the bed. Syaoran leaps at her one more time but she sidesteps out of the way. Sakura sticks her tongue out at him running out the door. Syaoran follows her grabbing his weapons off the chair. He belts on his two pouches of daggers around his waist slinging the straps of his quiver and his sheath over his shoulder. Syaoran bolts out the door chasing Sakura down the hallway. He finally catches up to her grabbing a hold of her hand. He pulls her close to his body kissing her on the lips. After kissing each other, the both of them walk hand in hand down the hallway meeting up with their friends.

“What took you two so long? I can understand Syaoran had to sleep long but you were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.” demands Kalin in a stern voice. “What were you two doing?”

“Just fooling around.” says the both of them at the same time.

Kalin only shakes her head at the both of them walking into Harold’s office. Her friends follow her into the office finding the office to be messy. Maps of the magical world are all over the place marking where the Shogun has claimed territory. Lists of supplies needed is right on the desk and it is a very long list. Harold is at the end of the lists marking off what is needed the most.

“Sorry about the mess. I have been quite busy with running this rebel group. I suppose you want to meet your teacher who is going to teach you what you need to know if I am going to get to use against the Shogun.” admits Harold. “Yuko, your students are here.”

“Wait, our teacher is a girl?” sputters Kuro.

“Yes, the one who is going to teach you is a girl. Have any problems with that?” speaks Yuko as she appears out of nowhere. She looks young for her age, probably in her mid twenties. She wears a silk robe with a sword at her side. She has sparkling green eyes and has her brown hair in a bun.

“Not really.” says Kuro.

“Good, now follow me to our training area where your dragons are waiting for us.” commands Yuko.

The Dragon Guardians follow her out of the office following her down endless hallways. They pass through a giant wooden door with two gigantic stone dragon statues on the right and left side of the door. The door opens up to a large training area with the sun shining directly onto the surface. A small cottage sits at the other side of the training field. The Dragon Guardians rush over to their dragons stroking the dragons’ chins.

“I thought I lost you forever, young one.” says Fire. “A dragon can only live if his rider stays alive. Don’t scare me like that again or you will feel the suffering of pain.”

“Aye” speaks Syaoran.

“Now that everyone is here; we can start your training to become better Dragon Guardians. Maybe I can put some sense into your minds, at least one will be enough.” declares Yuko in a cool sexy feminine voice. “Introduce yourselves as you would in front of royalty.”

“I am Syaoran, half elf at your service. I was chosen to be the Fire Dragon Guardian, leader of the Dragon Guardians. I am the master of the throwing dagger technique and of the sword.” speaks Syaoran in a charming voice.

“Impressive.” speaks Yuko in her tone of voice.

“The name is Sakura, Thunder Dragon Guardian. I am the master of thunder shock spells and the thunder spell. I am the bold wearer of the Thunder dragon sword.” speaks Sakura in a cool feminine tone of voice.

“Very impressive.” says Yuko.

“Kuro the Snow Dragon Guardian at your service. Master of the Snow dragon sword and icy spells. Need someone to make your drinks cold, call me.” declares Kuro in a cold voice.

“Where were you yesterday when I needed some ice for my lemonade?” jokes Yuko.

“Call me anytime you want.” says Kuro with a smile.

“I am Fai the Sea Dragon Guardian. Master of the Sea dragon sword and the water spells. I can make it rain even when there is no clouds.” speaks Fai.

“The farmers are going to like you.” admits Yuko.

“I am Kalin the Earth Dragon Guardian. I can make the beautiful roses but do me wrong I’ll use my vine whip spell on your behind.” says Kalin. “I can also grow herbs for medicine and know which plant is best for which injury.”

“A healer at heart you are.” says Yuko.

“I am Yukito the Sky Dragon Guardian, master of the skies and its sword. I can make tornadoes appear all of a sudden and make it extremely windy.” boasts Yukito.

“You are a bag of wind. Oh, and the each one of you are kidding yourselves with your boasting about being masters. Nobody is a master, not even the greatest fighters. Everyone can improve.” jokes Yuko. “Now that you have introduced yourselves, hand your weapons over to your dragons. You will not need them for the rest of the training. Your training will begin with tai chi.”

Syaoran grunts softly, as he hands over his weapons to Fire. Fire and the other Guardian dragons amble over to the sidelines lying down in the shade. Yuko puts the Dragon Guardians into three lines of two teaching them some Tai chi. Tai chi will help them relax making their mind, body and spirit calm. This will help them use their powers more efficiently allowing them to use complex spell formations. The Tai chi movements are also the spell formations. Yuko teaches deep breathing motions to help them calm down their mind, body and spirit in the heat of a battle. She teaches them sweeping arm strokes, as like they were striking with a sword. Yuko teaches some footwork to dodge attacks. She teaches them these three basics to them until the Dragon Guardians can do them by instinct. The Dragon Guardians learn these for a week before moving onto complex patterns. They soon get tired of doing Tai chi finally it hard to stay focus. One day they just could not pay attention to what they were supposed to be doing messing up repeated amounts of time. The Dragon Guardians drop to the ground sitting on the ground with their legs cross and arms folded.

“Come on, get up now and try again.” says Yuko. “How can you expect to beat the Shogun and his many lords if you quit after some mistakes?”

“I don’t know especially since we know nothing about the Shogun or his lords. How do you expect to fight them if we have no knowledge about our enemy?” asks Syaoran.

“I see; I was wrong not to teach you anything about your enemy.” admits Yuko. “I thought learning these secretive spell formations and fighting moves were good enough.”

“They are good enough and we thank you for teaching us what would taken us years to learn if we stayed at the Guardian academy.” declares Kalin. “We just want some knowledge. What good is what we learned if we have no knowledge about what we are going up against?”

“You are completely right. Come on, get off your feet so I can take to the library where we hold all of our archives.” admits Yuko. “Leave your weapons behind. Don’t worry; nobody can get in here without my permission and I have only granted the six of you permission to enter past those doors.”

The Dragon Guardians stand back on their feet wiping the dirt off their silk clothes. They follow Yuko out the door returning to the rebel base. They have been in Yuko’s private training area since the day passes through those doors. Even during the nights, they would be training what Yuko had taught them earlier that day. Kyle feels something wrong in the air like the smell of a Minotaur. He does his sniffing like a dog trying to track down the smell. Syaoran bolts down the corridors making everyone fall after him. He dashes down six corridors sliding down endless stair railings until he reaches a tunnel.

“The scent comes from this tunnel. Yuko, you must alert Harold of this breach in the perimeter.” advises Syaoran. Yuko nods to him running off to warn Harold. “Come on, we got to check the seriousness of this breach is.”

His friends nod to him, as Syaoran leads the team into the tunnel. Using the right hand signal, Syaoran conjures a small flame to his hand to light the way. He only uses his sense of touch and smell to guide the team in the tunnel, as even the flame is not bright enough. The Dragon Guardians creep silently in the tunnel being aware of even the slightest movement. Syaoran could hear the breathing of his friends, as they are scared. It is hard for him to admit that he is also scared. However, Syaoran knows that he must be brave for the sake of the team. Syaoran glances over his shoulder looking into the frightened eyes of Sakura. Her face may interpret a calm personality but her blue eyes tell the truth, she is scared. Syaoran returns his attention until he decides to forgo the investigation.

“Come on, lets get out of this tunnel.” admits Syaoran turning the group around. “It was stupid to come in here without our weapons. We might get ambush in the dark.”

The eyes of his friends shine bright with an inner light gladdening at the thought of leaving the tunnel. A rock hits Syaoran in the back of the foot making him turn around. Syaoran comes face to face with a knight wearing black armour. He turns the small flame into a ball of fire throwing it into the face of the knight. The knight hollers in pain and the light for the tunnel goes out allowing the Dragon Guardians to use both things to their advantage. They run down the tunnel leaping right out of the tunnel. They slide on the smooth marble floor almost knocking over Yuko. Yuko stands beside them, relieved to find them alive.

“What did you see?” asks Yuko.

“Prepare for battle; we got a knight problem in the tunnels.” says Syaoran. “Or should we abandon the base?”

“Where is there to run? There is no way to hide but these mountains.” admits Harold. “We must show the Shogun that he cannot push us around. He will feel our wrath.”

“Return to your dragons; scout out the perimeter of the mountains to see how many troops there are.” commands Yuko. “Do not engage the enemy. This is only a recon mission.”

The Dragon Guardians nod to her quickly running off to Yuko’s private training room. Their Guardian dragons are still sleeping under the shade with some of them lying on their backs. The Dragon Guardians only grin at what they see taking their weapons from the Guardian dragons. Syaoran belts on his two pouches of daggers at his waist slinging the strap for his quiver and sheath over his shoulder. His friends do whatever they need to do finally ready for anything. They rub the sides of their dragons making them wake up.

“What’s the problem? Are we under attack?” growls a sleepy Fire Guardian dragon.

“Well, we did find a knight in a tunnel and we suspect to be more out there.” admits Syaoran. “So Yuko is sending us on a recon mission to see how many of them are outside the mountain.”

“Knights are in the tunnels! They are dragon-killers!” growls Fire swiping at a tree with his left claw. “They kill baby dragons for sport; they slay our mates and destroy our hunting grounds with their filthy horses. Get into the saddles now.”

The Dragon Guardians quickly get into the saddles not wanting to make their dragons any madder. The Guardian dragons flap their large bat-like wings flying off into the air. They fly with some much intensity that the Dragon Guardians are force to tighten the leg straps to stay in the saddles. The Guardian dragons soar over the peaks of Yuko’s private training room coming back into the free range of endless peaks of mountains. The Dragon Guardians take a deep breath of the cold mountain air soaking up the rays from the sun. They stretch out their fingers letting the sun warm them up.

“Man, it has been too long since we have felt the sun this high.” says Syaoran grinning. “It feels so relaxing.”

“Come on Syaoran, pay attention. We have a problem to worry about.” shouts Fai. “Now start acting like a leader.”

Syaoran glares at him thinking he should blast Fai with a spell. However, he knows that Fai is right. Fire dives to the ground below with the rest of the team following him. He returns his attention to what is in front of him discovering thousand troops of knights on the ground below. Syaoran gives the hand signal to his friends telling them to land on the peak. The Guardian dragons quickly land on the peak kneeling on the snow. The Dragon Guardians jump out of the saddles wielding their dragon swords.

”We don’t know how many scouts they have on the mountaintop so keep a look out.” speaks Syaoran. “Fire, stay here with the other dragons until we give the signal.”

“Okay, but if we sense one thing wrong we will pull your behinds back to the mountain and keeping you locked up.” says Fire.

The Dragon Guardians can only nod to their dragons walking down the side of the mountain. They slide down the side of the mountain using the metal soles on the bottom of their leather boots. They stop at a large boulder looking down upon the thousand troops of knights. The knights have made one big base camp with everything they need. Red tents have weapons laid right outside of the tents’ premises while the blue tents have armour outside the tents’ premises. The Dragon Guardians duck down behind the boulder, as a squire walks around the premises of the base camp. Using the blade of his sword like a mirror, Syaoran gathers some more information.

”Come on, tell us what you see.” demands Kalin.

“Well, the tents seem to make up a circle protecting a black tent in the middle. I think that is where the Knight lord is.” admits Syaoran. “Oh, there are also raiders, Nazguls, thieves, and some dark magic users. Possibly witches or wizards, my bet is on witches.”

“So basically, we have no chance of surviving this upcoming battle.” says Yukito.

“Aye” whispers Syaoran as another squire walks past the boulder. “Come on, lets’ get out of here.”

The Dragon Guardians head up to the peak getting back into the saddles. Their Guardian dragons flap their large bat-like wings secretly flying back into the mountain. Yuko is in her private training room sitting up against one of the trees. She has her eyes closed with a rapier close to her hand. She wakes up the moment the Guardian dragons land on the ground. Yuko rises to her feet happy to find the Dragon Guardians still alive. She takes a deep breath seeing their faces are not what she want to see.

“How many are there?” asks Yuko.

“Too many for us to handle if you exclude the squires and the witches or wizards. My bet is still on the magic users being witches.” answers Syaoran. “This is going to be the greatest fight ever in history.”

“I wouldn’t want that to happen. Battles only bring death which lead to destruction of the heart.” speaks Yuko. “Practice the tai chi moves of the spells you are willingly to use in the battle. I would recommend a fast rapid spell for those close encounters.”

The Dragon Guardians nod to their teacher doing as they are instructed. Yuko heads into her cottage home going through the many boxes crowding her home. She looks for a special gift to give to her students, a special gift that is the last of their piece of their dragon uniform. A dragon mask to hide their identities from the Shogun and his many lords. She spies the box at the top of a closet quickly taking down the box with much care. Yuko carries the box out the door with much difficulty without dropping the box. Fai immediately stops what he is doing helping Yuko by taking the box out of her arms.

“Let me carry that for you, teacher.” says Fai with much courtesy.

“Why thank you very much.” thanks Yuko leading him to the group. “You can place the box in the middle of the group.”

Fai does as he has been told placing the box in the middle of the group. The Dragon Guardians stand in a small circle eyeing the box with interested gazes. Yuko notices the interested gazes of her students bringing a grin to her beautiful face.

“In these boxes is the last piece of your uniform. A piece of uniform that has been used by the first dragon protectors.” says Yuko opening the boxes and taking out the special gifts. “The last piece of your uniform is the dragon masks, a mask that will keep your identities a secret from the Shogun and his many lords.” She shows them the dragon masks allowing the sunlight to shine off the polished surfaces.

“I heard of this piece of uniform. These masks are only given to Dragon Guardians. Nobody can tell who you’re when you are wearing masks.” admits Syaoran staring at the dragon masks. “What are they made of?”

“The masks are made out of fine leather with lightweight metal plates around the face and at the back of the head. A magic spell has been placed on them to keep the enemy from figuring out your identity.” speaks Yuko.

“Hmm, so the masks belong to us.” asks Kalin.

Yuko only smiles and shakes her head, as she passes out the dragon masks to her students. Each mask matches to the color of their uniforms. The Dragon Guardians strap on the straps behind their heads bringing the mask over their faces. They look through the eyeholes grinning as they could get use to wearing the dragon masks. Five short horn blasts pierces the silence and the Dragon Guardians grin as the war has begun.

Chapter Seven: The betrayal in the alliance

They bolt out of the private training room finding the knights in the corridors. The Dragon Guardians wield their swords holding them out in front of them. Two troops of knights attack them from the left and the right making it a little interesting. The Dragon Guardians parry blows moving in a calm fashion. Syaoran cleaves the head off a knight hearing the chanting of more soldiers.

“There is nothing holding them back.” shouts Syaoran blasting a knight with a fireball. “Come on, we got to stop the knights from getting into the mountain.”

“Syaoran, we have other things to worry about.” says Kalin.

“Like what? We are already outnumbered.” says Syaoran.

“Yeah, I think all the rebels, expect us, our dragons and Yuko, had been slained. I think we are the only parts of the resistance left.” speaks Kalin. “What shall we do?”

“We revenge the deaths of the innocence by taking the fight to the Shogun.” speaks Syaoran. “He shall taste the blades of our swords or we shall die trying. First, we are going to finish off the knights we are battling.”

After what seems several minutes, the Dragon Guardians have slain the knights returning into the private training room. Yuko holds her bloody rapier in her hand with the dead bodies of several knights at her feet. The Dragon Guardians glance worryingly to their dragons smiling, as they see no remains of any knights at their feet but only blood. The Guardian dragons spit out black armor making the Dragon Guardians smile even more.

“Come on, we must leave this place.” speaks Syaoran. “The rest of the rebels have been killed.”

“I am coming with you. I want to kill the Shogun for the pain he has caused in the world.” says Yuko. “We must leave now before more knights come looking for us.”

The Dragon Guardians quickly climb into the saddles; Yuko sitting herself right behind Syaoran wrapping her arms around his waist. Sakura dismisses this behaving, as Yuko is the teacher. The Guardian dragons flap their large bat-like wings.

“Fly to elfin city so we can recruit some help.” Syaoran tells to the dragons.

“Hear you loud and clear, the Shogun has a new enemy to fear.” shouts Fire.

“You also want to see what had happened when we left the elfin city when that battle between elves and the raider was going on and you want to make sure Ana and Sara are okay, right?” asks Kuro.

Syaoran only glances to the ground and Kuro takes this action as a “yes”. The Guardian dragons glide on a strong passing wind bringing them to the elfin city a lot faster than usual. They dive underneath the trees finding not much left of elfin city. Syaoran leaps down from the saddle landing in the ruins. He runs to where Ana’s shop did once stand searching through the destruction. He finds Ana underneath piles of rocks feeling her cold skin. A tear drips from his eyes then his fist pounding the ground. A weak voice fills his ears making him run in the direction. He digs under a fallen tree finding Sara under the tree. She has many bruises on her body, her clothes barely concealing anything. Being the medic of the team, Kalin rushes over to Syaoran wrapping Sara in a blanket. Syaoran follows Kalin to the dragons carrying Sara in his arms. Kalin takes out her and Syaoran’s sleeping pads from their packs placing them on top of each other. She also takes out their pillows placing them on top of each other. Syaoran lays Sara on the sleeping pads gently placing her head on the pillows.

“Fai, I need you to conjure up me lots of water if we are to wash these wounds and to soak the cloth I am going to put on her forehead to keep any fever she might get away. Sakura, stand near me with my medic kit and be ready to pass me what I need. I’ll tell you what I need.” commands Kalin taking charge of the situation. “Syaoran, hold your sisters head firmly in the middle of the pillow. You may have to use one hand, as she might want to be holding your hand in comfort. The medicine I am going to use on her wounds might sting her a little bit.”

“What should the rest of us do?” asks Yukito.

“You and Yuko shall patrol the area to keep enemies away from us while we are working,” shouts Kalin. “Kuro, I need you to keep the cloth cold but not too cold or you might give her a head cold.”

Kuro nods to her chanting out a spell. He places his hand on the wet cloth making it a little bit cold. He places the cloth on Sara’s forehead then using another cloth to wipe the sweat off Kalin’s forehead. Kalin digs through her pack grabbing the stuff she needs. She brings out a wooden bowl and a wooden rock-shape tool. Kalin instructs Sakura to give her a red herb and a green herb. Sakura quickly gives Kalin the two herbs she wants. Kalin places the two herbs into the wooden bowl using the wooden rock-shape tool to grind the two herbs together. She grinds them into a paste taking out a small brush from her pack. She dips the brush into the paste brushing little amounts onto Sara’s wound. Sara grips tightly to Syaoran’s hand, as the stings of the paste hurts some pain. After brushing some of the paste onto Sara’s wounds, Kalin dresses them with bandages bringing the blanket back over Sara’s body.

“You need to go to sleep, Sara. The medicine can only heal you if you go to sleep.” speaks Kalin. “I will try to find you some clothes to wear.”

Sara weakly nods to her thanking her with a feeble smile. Syaoran moves his hand over his sisters’ eyes making her go to sleep. He kisses her on the forehead counting his blessings, as he is happy to find her alive. Sakura kneels next to her boyfriend rubbing him on the shoulders. Syaoran gets off the ground departing from the group. He helps Yuko and Yukito patrol the area making sure no raiders ambush them. His hood to his cloak covers the features of his face allowing no one to know what kind of mood he is going through. The group sets camp in the middle of the city where it is not bad as it is in most parts of the city. There are only five of them at the camp, as the dragons have gone off hunting and Sakura is scouting the grounds for any usable items. Syaoran is at her side keeping the place secure. Sakura searches through a kitchen while her boyfriend stands guard at the door.

“Hurry up; these woods have ravenous creatures that are bigger and stronger than our dragons. That is why a wall surrounds the whole city. It was suppose to be impenetrable.” whispers Syaoran. “Well, until the raiders lay waste to it.”

“The owner of this place must have been very lucky. This whole building did not crumble under the destruction of the raiders.” speaks Sakura. “Okay, I got enough food to last us even do it is only fruits and vegetables.”

“Quiet, a pack of wolves is right outside the building.” whispers Syaoran clapping his hand over her mouth. “Don’t worry; I have a beam holding the door in place so they cannot get into the building. I use a mind link spell with Fai so he knows that the wolves are heading into the city. They are hiding at a safe place right now. However, we are going to be staying at this building for the rest of the night because the wolves have no intention of leaving until morning.”

Sakura merely nods to Syaoran, completely terrified of the wolves outside the house. She hears scratching at the door knowing that the wolves are desperately trying to get into the building. Sakura stands next to Syaoran feeling safe next to him. Syaoran drapes his arm around her waist holding her tight to his body. The scratching at the door becomes irritable but slowly something of the distant. Sakura walks out of Syaoran’s arms setting her pack full of the food she found on the table. She lifts herself onto the table ignoring the scratching sounds at the door. Syaoran leans up against the wall staring off into the distant.

“What are you staring at?” Sakura asks.

“Nothing” replies Syaoran.

“Well, maybe you should be staring at your beautiful girlfriend.” says Sakura.

“Yeah, but then I would not be worried about our safety in this house.” speaks Syaoran as he moves towards her. “I would be distracted because I would be too busy doing this.”

Syaoran stands right in front of her putting his arms around her waist. The both of them take off their dragon masks. Sakura drapes her arms around his shoulders leaning into him. They rest their forehead up against each other lingering lips close enough to lightly brush. Their eyes meet and Syaoran sees the spark in Sakura’s eyes again. He smiles a little bit kissing her on the lips. Their lips touch with wanton passion; the same passion they have for each other since the first day of their relationship. Syaoran moves his hand to her leg feeling the smoothness of her skin. He slowly moves his hand up her leg stopping at the edge of skirt. Sakura breaks apart from their kiss smiling to her boyfriend. The irritable scratching stops, as poundings start on the door. Syaoran breaks away from Sakura wielding his dragon sword. He puts his dragon mask back in front of his face.

“Sakura, wield your dragon sword. We know have to fight to stay alive.” declares Syaoran.

Sakura quickly wields her dragon sword, as she hears the wooden beam splitting in two. Unusually, she hears feet dashing across the wooden floor instead of the howls of a wolf. Sakura glances over to Syaoran finding him stricken with fear.

“Syaoran, what is wrong?” asks Sakura as she quickly puts her dragon mask in front of her face.

“I thought those attackers were a pack of wolves,” stutters Syaoran. “I didn’t think it would be them.”

“Who or what are them?” inquires Sakura.

“Wolf elves; they have the keen senses of a wolf and the strength to match. Their fury is terrifying. Nobody can survive their attacks,” admits Syaoran. “I hope they don’t want to kill us or be in a hungry state of mind.”

Sakura gulps in fear holding her dragon sword tightly in her hands. Five hooded figures enter into the room holding long curved blades in their hands. They wear dark hooded robes over their tunics and pants. Sakura looks to the blades seeing that the handles are a part of the blade. She returns her gaze to the figures keeping a keen eye out for any sudden movements. The hooded figures pull back their hoods revealing their pointy ears. However, it is not the ears Syaoran and Sakura are afraid of, but the long pointy faces almost like a dog’s snout. Even their eyes are similar in features to a dog’s eyes.

“What do you want?” Syaoran finally asks. He tries not to show any fear in his voice.

“It pains us to say this but we will say it anyways. We have come to ask for an alliance; to help each other take down the Shogun,” declares one of them. “I, Luther the commander of the Wolf elf army, plead you to make an alliance with us.” He sheathes his curved sword holding out his hand for an agreement.

“We accept your offer for an alliance. We need your every help we can get to take down the Shogun.” admits Syaoran shaking hands with Luther.

“Your decision pleases me and my comrades. Come with us, we must find your friends and leave this city,” says Luther. “The raider lord and his army of raiders still roam the forest.”

Syaoran and Sakura nod their heads sheathing their dragon swords. Sakura picks her pack off the table slinging it over her shoulder. She follows the small squad of Wolf elves out the door. The small group walks underneath the underneath the branches using the shadows to their advantage. Syaoran leads the group throughout the city with Sakura at his side. Sakura keeps glancing back to the Wolf elves being nervous about being in an alliance with them.

“What is wrong?” asks Syaoran as his eyes flicker over to her.

“It just the rumors I heard. These types of elves were to be afraid of where I came from. Well, that is what the soldiers would scare the villagers with.” says Sakura. “I just need to get over it. However, it may take a while.”

“Keep the fear; fear is a basic essential of your spirit. Fear is what makes you stronger,” whispers Syaoran draping his arm around her shoulder. “But always remember, I am always going to be there to protect you.” His eyes flicker away from her, as his eyes are fills with sorrow.

“Why are you afraid of your past?” asks Sakura.

“I’ll tell you another time. I am still trying to cope with it,” admits Syaoran.

They reach the middle of elfin city discovering the campsite to be abandon just as Syaoran commanded. All of a sudden, Syaoran gotten struck in the back of the head making him collapse to the ground. Sakura wields her dragon sword turning around to see Luther as Syaoran’s attacker.

“What was that for?” demands Sakura.

“We belong only to the Shogun. We are his most trusted troops,” declares Luther. “We only pretended to make an alliance with you so we could get close to you to eliminate you.” Luther kicks Syaoran in the chest laughing madly.

“Leave him alone!” shouts Sakura as she jumps at Luther.

However, two of Luther’s comrades grab Sakura holding her away from their leader. Luther kicks Syaoran in the chest once more making him cough up blood. He turns his attention to Sakura who has been force to the ground by her captives. Luther gazes at her sexy body bringing a smile to her lips. Sakura’s blue eyes widened with fear knowing what Luther is going to do to her. Luther takes a step towards Syaoran forgetting all about Syaoran. Syaoran opens his left eye seeing Sakura on the ground. He also sees the lustful smile on Luther’s face making him full of rage. Filled with rage, Syaoran forces himself off the ground taking a dagger out from one of the pouches. With a practiced flick of his wrist, he sends the dagger right at Luther’s head striking right in the middle. Luther collapses to the ground with the dagger sticking out in the back of his head. Two of Luther’s comrades charge at Syaoran holding their swords in their hands. Syaoran only smiles standing completely still. Just as the two Wolf elves are close to him, Syaoran blasts them with a spell sending them off their feet. They lie on the ground, faces charred to the bone. A wolf elf was just about to send his sword to Sakura’s throat but a spear strikes him right in the eye. Two more spears get the other two wolf elves in the head killing them. The rest of the team including a well healed Sara and Yuko come out of hiding holding their weapons in their hands. Yukito retrieves his spears putting them back in his quiver. Syaoran pulls his dagger out of Luther’s head wiping the blood off the dagger with Luther’s tunic. He puts the dagger back into the pouch heading out of the city. Everybody follows behind him. They are out in the open, vulnerable to any attack. Their dragons come down from the skies and the Dragon Guardians climb up into the saddles. Yuko rides with Yukito and Sara rides with Syaoran.

“Fly to the Shogun’s castle. This time we are the one to make the move.” shouts Syaoran.

The Guardian dragons roar loudly to the sky flapping their large bat-like wings. They fly into the sky soaring above the clouds. Two hours in the darkness of the night, the Guardian dragons crouch low to the ground with the Shogun’s castle in their view. The Dragon Guardians are crouching next to them watching the Shogun’s castle.

“How many do you think he has in there?” asks Syaoran.

“The Shogun probably has thousand troops in there with his many lords. Security is definitely going to be tight,” says Fire. “Do you think we should do it?”

“Yes, we only have tonight. He thinks we are dead.” speaks Syaoran. “Everybody know the plan?”

His friends nod their heads to them and Syaoran gives out the first signal. Only the Dragon Guardians start crawling towards the Shogun’s castle. The Shogun’s castle stands tall in the plains with five guard towers on each side. It covers a mass amount of distance purely made of granite with cement layers to keep it strong. Marble casings make it look nice. The Dragon Guardians lean up against the wall and Syaoran gives another signal. Yuko and Sara crawl on the ground to the wall keeping low to the ground. A guard coughs from the catwalk and everyone is silent not daring to make a move. The guard returns inside to the guard tower and the two girls quickly crawl to the wall leaning right up against the wall. Kalin presses her hand up against the wall looking for a weak spot. She finds the weak spot muttering the enchantment for an earthquake spell. Her hand glows a light greenish glow and Kalin presses hard on the week spot. The wall begins to crumble under the spell and Kalin moves her hand away from the wall so the whole castle will not fall. Everyone wields his or her sword entering into the castle through the hole. Everything is quiet, too quiet for the Dragon Guardians. Their eyes flicker to every part of the castle. They start to hear the rustling of feet, the stomping sounds of metal boots. Syaoran begins to grow testy of the waiting for an attack until he sees the Shogun staring on the catwalk.

“Welcome to my castle, Dragon Guardians. I have been expecting your arrival.” speaks the Shogun. “You may have evaded my troops in the past but now you have nowhere to run.”

“Who is running, may I ask?” shouts Syaoran. “You are the one who hides himself behind lords and armies of dark creatures. Are you too afraid to fight or are the rumors of you are false?”

“Syaoran, what are you doing?” snaps Yuko.

“Quiet, I am trying to make him make the first move.” says Syaoran. “So what is it, Shogun?”

“I am the real greatest fighter of Enthranx. Your journey around this country has become annoying especially since you subconsciously solve any problem with your skills. We will see who is really the scared one,” rages the Shogun. “Soldiers, attack the Dragon Guardians and their friends. Chop off their heads.”

Out of nowhere, soldiers come running out of their hiding spots attacking the intruders. A blast of a mighty roar pierces the night sky, as the Guardian dragons charge into the castle. Fire breathes fire on some thieves roasting them to ashes. Syaoran walks into the fire heading for the Shogun. He jumps up to the catwalk standing on the left side of the Shogun.

“Well, isn’t this interesting? I see you have returned to being a dragon protector,” declares the Shogun. “And here I thought you were going to quit after what happened to your parents.”

“Things change to people, Shogun.” mutters Syaoran as he charges at the Shogun. “I am learning to cope with my past instead of letting it haunt me.”

“Really, so I guess you have forgotten about your parents’ deaths. The reason they died.” says the Shogun as he parries blows against Syaoran making sparks fly.

“It was not my fault,” barks Syaoran leaping at the Shogun.

“You may say that but do you really believe that?” demands the Shogun kicking Syaoran in the chest. “But the question is, do they believe you?” He looks down to the rest of the team.

“Leave them out of this,” barks Syaoran. The Shogun kicks him down to the ground then jumping down next to him.

Syaoran’s friends try to help him but the Shogun mutters a spell that holds them in their tracks. He then uses the same spell on the Guardian dragons keeping them away from him.

“Should I be the one to tell them?” asks the Shogun.

“What is he talking about?” asks Sakura.

“I am responsible for my parents’ deaths.” Syaoran whispers silently under his breath. Nobody can hear him.

“Speak up child or I will tell them. Then you might lose them forever.” shouts the Shogun.

“Syaoran, tell me what he is talking about?” demands Sakura.

“I am responsible for my parents’ deaths.” Syaoran says so everyone can hear. “I am the reason my parents are dead.”

“But you told us that Minotaurs killed your parents.” speaks Yukito.

“Oh, Minotaurs are the reason his parents died, but only because they were trying to save him from death. Syaoran had carelessly gotten into a battle that he could not win. His parents would still be alive if he had listened to them,” declares the Shogun.

“It wasn’t my fault,” says Syaoran.

“But it is your fault. If you would have stayed home like your parents told you, your parents would still be alive instead of dead. You are the reason and it haunts you everyday,” shouts the Shogun. “It will always be your fault and now I am going to end your mistake and end you any more pain. But first I am going to tell you one of my secrets.”

The Shogun Kurods down next to Syaoran whispering something into Syaoran’s ear. Syaoran’s eyes fill with anger making him clench his dragon sword. He attacks the Shogun striking him with fury. The Shogun tries to block the attacks but Syaoran manages to over power him. Syaoran kicks the Shogun to the ground placing his foot on the Shogun’s neck.

“Tell them what you told me!” snaps Syaoran.

“Why in the world would I do that for?” gasps the Shogun.

“Because if you don’t, I will slit your throat,” declares Syaoran. The Shogun says something in a low whisper so nobody can hear. “Say it so they can hear you.”

“I am the true reason of the deaths of Syaoran’s and Sara’s parents’ deaths, not Syaoran. I sent the Minotaurs to engage Syaoran into a battle and kill his parents if they interfere.” shouts the Shogun. “Are you happy now?”

“Yeah pretty much.” speaks Syaoran as he slits the Shogun’s throat.

Seeing their leader dead, the Shogun’s followers make a run for it trying to escape. The Dragon Guardians allow them to escape, as the magical world starts to returns to normal. The Dragon Guardians watches as god-like magic brings normal to the land. The Enthranx castle starts to be rebuilds as if nothing had ever happened. The citizens started to return from the dead going about their daily routines. Dragonmaster Seishiro and the Dragon Sages stand outside the sacred temple with smiles on their face.

“My sons and daughters, you have done the greatest deed you could do in the magical world. You have saved it from the destruction of evil.” speaks Dragonmaster Seishiro. “Everyone in the magical world is spreading the news about you. Tonight, they will be celebrating lifting their glasses to your names.”

“Yes but our work is not done. We must find the Shogun’s lords and kill them before they learn ways of bringing their leader back to the land of the living,” declares Syaoran. “We must destroy them before they can destroy us or bring back their leader.”

“That will have to be left for later. Queen Lavender of Enthranx has honored you with an invitation to her celebration in the castle,” says Dragonmaster Seishiro. “Go wash up for the ball. Every Duke and Duchess will be there. I will send squires to your rooms with the proper attire for the ball.”

“What about I and Sara?” asks Yuko.

“Do not worry Yuko. You and Sara will be given gowns we have from your last visit,” admits Dragonmaster Seishiro. “I will send some servants to your room to help you.”

Yuko and Sara bow down to Dragonmaster Seishiro and the Dragon Sages. They disperse to their rooms with the Dragon Guardians following behind them. Syaoran and Sakura are sereparate into different rooms so the servants can work on them individually.