Astral played with his fingers as the door to the room finally swung open. "Took you long enough, Froggy." Astral sighed.
"Im a busy guy. You know this Astral." The frog laughed. Froggy wore a suit similar to that of a butler. Froggy was a light green frog, long body, with long legs,really long arms that dropped past his knees, two big-wide eyes, and had a streak of patterns going down his neck.
"You must be Annie. I'm Froggy…nice to finally meet you."
******
"I'm here…for work." The girl said. The man stood up excitedly and walked over to her. "Strip."
"Okay."
The girl removed her clothes and was standing naked in front of him. "How much again? You don't look like you're worth much."
The girl took a few steps back. "I-enough to help the others. Around 20 coins, please."
"20?! Don't you do this for a living? You're too broke to even care for yourself and those little brats. Now, get over here you little-"
The door bursted open. A young boy and two muscular polar bears entered the room. "This is a filthy place." The boy sighed. He looked at the man and the girl. "What's going on here? I'm getting some nasty magic readings. "
The man slammed his fist on the bed. "Who are you?! GET OUT!!"
"I'll pass." The boy said in a serious tone. "You…don't want to do this, do you?" He asked the girl standing across the room.
"N-no…I do it to survive."
The boy kneeled down and laughed. "I see. Don't worry. You can come with me and don't have to worry about any of that." The boy said with a smile.
"Sir, it would seem this ugly troll-man is becoming angry. Shall I handle him?" One of the polar bears said.
"Nah, I got him. I've been flying through dark magic towns in this little kingdom. Spreading like wildfire." The boy held out a finger. The troll creature blew up in his face.
"Problem solved." The boy walked over to the girl and helped her put on her clothes. "What's your name, woman?"
"Crystal. Yours?"
"Crystal. What's a beautiful name. I'm Astral. These two are my bodyguards. Oppa and Temple. You can come with us to my little but expanding kingdom. You have good in you."
"Well, I look after those who are younger. I can't just leave them. I'm 18…they're just 13 and 12. Please…please help them also."
The young Astral closed his eyes and floated in the air. "I've located them. However, I don't sense good within them. Are…you sure about this, Crystal? I'll get them if you want me to.
"What do you mean you don't sense good? They innocent. I promise!" Crystal said.
******
While Annie and the others were preparing for her training, Annie looked up at the bright moon and looked back on that day.
"I wonder why ever happened to those two. I'm sorry…you guys." Annie looked down to see Annie and everyone in the room.
"Astral saved my life. And I really don't trust Annie. They say she's supposed to be this great warrior that takes down Matrix but, I just don't see it in her. She's also very lazy it seems. I have a bad feeling." A soft breeze made her look up to see a large bird flying over the city.
"I'll do anything for you, Astral. I love you with all my heart. If my feelings don't change for Annie…I'll have to eliminate her. For the sake of our world. Crystal could hear heaven footsteps approaching from behind her.
"Who are you? And how did you get in here?" Crystal asked as Grizz slowly emerged from the shadows of the castle.
"Kind of let myself in. It's about…Annie. I could smell you thinking about her and your curiosity about her." Grizz sat a little behind Crystal and him both looked up at the sky.
"What about her?" Crystal asked.
"She…is no threat to us. I can promise you that. She is surrounded by fear. I can see and smell it all over her weak little body but, her heart and soul…are very strong." Grizz explained.
Crystal's eyes widened. "Her heart and soul, huh?" Crystal looked down to see Annie,Froggy,Spike, and Ditch all going off into the forest. "Having a strong heart and soul when using magic is rare. Fear…fear stops the users potential. She is consumed by it."
Grizz let out a little laugh. "Watch. I believe she will surpass even Astral, the strongest magic user in our lands. Praise…the gods."
******
Froggy led Annie out far away from the kingdom. They were standing in the middle of the open field. "Well….where should I start?" Froggy asked while putting his fingers on his chin.
Spike and Dirch practically fell back in confusion. "Isn't he supposed to be the mentor?"
"Annie, come here."
Annie walked towards the tall frog and looked up at him. "Rule #1: always control your emotions. Emotions are everything, Annie. Right now, you are deeper into the fearful side of magic. Not calm. I need you to stay balanced. There are three levels of emotions when it comes to magic, you'll have calm,anger, and fear. You are currently at the bottom. I need you to stop wondering about everything and relax your mind." Froggy explained.
Annie closed her eyes and sat down. "Froggy, how can I get rid of such a thing? If I'm consumed with fear, does it make my magic weaker?"
"How to get rid of fear? Hehe, child…you have much to learn in this and your world. Every living thing…has fear in it. You cannot get rid of fear…but, you can ignore it and be brave. And yes, it makes your magic weaker. Sit there and think it out."
******
Astral entered his glass castle and sat on his throne, looking outside. He pulled out a sheet of paper and stared at a young woman's picture.
"It's been years. I still…I still regret all of it. You,Raven,Spirit,and our master. I wish I would've made it on time, huh?" Astral sighed and layed back into his throne. "I keep having dreams my friend. A terrible…terrible war will come to our world. I'm just not sure how to stop it."
******
A couple hundred of animals were surrounding the castle. "He is insane for having g a walker here! We need to tell the other magic families!"
"We can't do that. It'll cause a war amongst the cities and kingdoms in our giant country."
"That is true. But, we cannot allow her to stay here. You've seen the two monsters from the dark kingdom. We don't have the power to go to war with them! We might aswell have a fight between the most powerful magic warriors and families."
"There are five clans or families, whatever you wanna call them. Astral is the only one left from his family. It's not smart. We would lose lives and the dark kingdom would be stronger than us! A war would make us weaker."
"Then we shall do it ourselves! We will kill Annie!"
"I heard that the two beast are going to the city of thunder. Maybe we can come to some sort of arrangement with the two. We have numbers. The girl will be gone for training so…we can take this opportunity!"
"Yes, yes…I agree! We should join their forces and take her out!"
All of the creatures and animals discussed among themselves. It was a good amount of creatures.
******
Turtles and Jut were now in the city of thunder. The city of thunder belongs to the kingdom of light. Where Astral and his city where located.
Turtles and Jut used a magical spell to disguise themselves. Turtles sat on the edge of the giant skyscraper. Lighting crashed down as the two waited for their fleet to arrive.
"One more day and we make our move." Turtles said. "Are you sure you'll be ready?"
"Of course, father." Jut said as he sharpened his blade. "I've heard that she is now training. Most magic warriors train for weeks before getting the hang of magic. That is when we will attack. And this little prophecy comes to an end! Tomorrow night is her death!"
******
Two hours had passed. Annie was still meditating. Froggy,Ditch, and Spike all notcied a sharp feeling in their stomachs.
(This energy…I've never felt anything like this!) Spike thought. Ditch nearly fell on his back and out of air. (Was that magic?!? That force and power is unreal!)
Froggy had a wide smile on his face. "Yes, that's the way, Annie!" He yelled. Annie opened her eyes and felt a little dizzy.
"I believe…you've mastered stage one. Right now, you have entered the calm state of mine when it comes to magic."
Annie stood up and looked around. "Woah. This…feels incredible, Froggy!" Annie laughed. She jumped up and jumped higher than usual.
"That is physical magic energy. Right now, your body is stronger and better than the normal one." Froggy explained.
"There are types of magic?" Annie asked.
"Of course. Physical,mental,energy, and the most difficult and rare…god magic. I say three because you won't reach that level..sorry."
"God magic?" Annie questioned.
Froggy rolled his eyes and smiled. "That is way out of our league. I only heard of three beings possessing such power."
Annie sat back down. Froggy did the same. "Do you have to train or something?"
"No. More than train. You must really…really discipline yourself and only focus on magic. There is a lot more. You must suffer from life…and much more." Froggy explained.
Froggy opened his mouth and shot his long tongue at Annie. Annie notcied the tongue headed towards her. It was like it was in slow-motion. (Oh?)
Annie rolled to the side and dodged Froggys' tongue. "It's like everything is slower…in a way." Annie whispered to herself. She did a back-flip and landed perfectly as Froggy sprinted towards her with insane speed.
He pushed Annie with his large hands and knocked her down. "This is just the beginning. You'll need to use your magic to avoid me at all cost. Let's say…I carry a weapon." Froggy reached behind his back and pulled out a long black sword.
Ditch and Spike gave Froggy a weird look. "Froggy, I don't think you need-"
"I was the one instructed to teach Annie! Not you! Be quiet and watch." Froggy ordered in a demanding tone.
Froggy could sense Annie's fear growing. "That's her fault. If she dies…she dies. It just means she wasn't apart of the legend after all." Froggy ran towards Annie and kicked her into the forest.
Annie used her magic and slammed her hand into the ground to force her body to stop. (What is this strength? It feels better than magic!) Annie jumped back and could see Froggy running towards her like a ninja. "You aren't ready for hand-to-hand yet, however l…I'd like to see if you're a protege!" Froggy said as he jumped feet into the air and was crashing towards Annie.
(Woah!)
Annie jumped back once again. Froggy leaped around the forest. Annie couldn't keep up with him and his speed.
Froggy appeared behind Annie with his sword. (No way a normal human can dodge this. My sword swipe is exactly 364 Mp/h. She will get cut for sure…but, I won't kill her!)
Froggy swung his sword. (Gotcha!)
Annie had time to sense the tinggling feeling on her neck and ducked down. (She dodged?!?)
The giant frog towards over her as he threw a punch at Annie. Annie jumped out of the way once again. "Impressive, Annie!" Froggy complimented as he kept running towards her.
(I don't know why…but, I feel like this is second-nature to me. I…just keep having feelings all around my body. Even…if I do this.) Annie held out her hand and raised it up at Froggy.
Froggy's eyes widened in shock. (What-she…can use…energy already-)
Annie shot a powerful blast of white energy at Froggy. Froggy leaped into the air and landed on a nearby tree.
Froggy looked back to see the devestation caused by Annie's magic. "That could've killed me. Amazing…I've never seen anything like it." Froggy chuckled.
Annie was on her back and looking up at the sky while out of breath. (My…lungs feel like they want to just jump out of my chest! My whole body is throbbing!)
Froggy slowly walked towards her and stood over her. He put his sword away and his hands behind his back. "Well done, Annie. You've shocked me. Heck, you could've even killed me." Froggy said with a smirk. "Right now, your weak little human body isn't use to using magic. It'll probably take months. Don't over do it…or your body will snap."
"You…are kidding, right?" Annie asked while taking deep breaths.
Froggy smiled…and whispered the words, "sure."
Froggy walked away from Annie and sat next to Ditch and Spike. Both of them were shocked.
"Froggy you-"
"I know I'm a genius. Thank you, Dicth!" Froggy laughed.
Spike stared at Annie with bright eyes. "That's incredible. She…she might even be better than Astral's old teacher."
"No, Spike. Not even close. No being beside Astral and Matrix can probably beat him or match him. Besides…that was some time ago." Froggy sighed as he took a sip of water.
Annie continued to lay on the ground and heard whispers surrounding her. She jolted up and looked around. (What was that?)
Annie rolled to her feet and started stretching.
"We are done, Annie. No need to overwork yourself." Froggy said as Annie gave him an annoying look.
"This is nothing. I can keep training."
(I've never seen it. Her energy magic is so powerful. Almost on the level of a level-one magic user. And, her most…dangerous potential of all is definitely her physical magic. Interesting.)
*****
Froggy finished setting up the tent. "We will sleep here tonight. When u wake up…we shall continue our training."
"I…am sorry. My time is running out and I can't even walk. Can…you…carry me….?" Annie fell foward. Ditch and Spkie caught her before her face could hit the ground.
"We've gotcha." Ditch sighed.
******
Turtles and Jut sat on the edge of thunder city. The borders were surrounded by a dark and twisted storm. Lighting striked as nine shadows were approaching the city.
"They are early!" Jut said with joy. The giant monster held in his breath and let out a powerful and loud roar.
Other roars were heard in the distance. "Excellent." Turtles said.
"It is finally time…we shall make our move tomorrow night." Jut said. "This is a time to rejoice, my son! You will be the one to save our kingdom…and take down the one who'll destroy us all and our king!" Jut yelled while waving his battle axe in the air.
Turtles gave his father a little smirk. "Yeah." Turtles whispered. Jut put down his axe and sat beside his son. "This…is for your mother. Don't forget what the magic families did to them. We owe this to that woman and the kingdom that took us in." Jut reminded Turtles.
"Father, I always get the sense that-"
"Not happy? Huh? Of course not. My son, what do you think this thing we call "life" is supposed to be? I've had many comrades and friends in my life…all of them are dead. Happiness does nothing for someone like me…or you. But, perhaps…you maybe different from the rest…of our species." Jut said as he turned his head and walked away.
Turtles looked at the ground and played with his knife. "I miss you more and more…mother."
******
Jut met the nine warriors in the middle of the city. There was a large population in the city of thunder. "Glad to finally have you all here. Before any of you talk…I'd like to personally say hello to my daughter, Florkia." Jut said with a kind glare.
Florkia removed her black robe and cape. She towered over Jut. Florkia was 8 feet tall, muscular body, red skin, sharp claws in her hands and feet, and had two medium-sized black horns sticking out from the top of her head.
"Hello, father. It's been a while. How is the runt? Turtles?"
"You'll see him soon. For now, shall we talk about a plan to kill the girl?"
"Of course." Florkia said with a wide smile.
******
Next Chapter: The Deal and The Princess