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Chapter 34: Burning

             As Koichi tapped the dull end of his blade along his shoulders as he inspected the monsters and readied himself for battle, the monsters shook and squealed from the loud screeching sound Koichi made from his claws running against the walls.  One by one each monster began acting independently and began approaching Koichi away from Titan for a slaughtering attack.  Koichi held his ground and gracefully swung his sword through each earth elemental monster that came into reach.  Earthen viper monsters burrowed through the stone and dirt ground and made their way near Koichi for an up close back attack, but the warrior was able to side step around and away from them as they came to strike and cut them all apart.  The enraged golems that came deactivated as their bodies fell apart and lost the magical energies holding them together.  In the end Koichi stood in the middle of a spread out pile of nothing but lifeless earth that was once a band of monsters.

            Koichi put down his sword, sliding it into its sheath once more, and he walked into the crystal room next to Celia and Sjef and stared down Titan as the great demon held Bulforg up against the sharp, spiky wall.  He paid no attention to anything else but Titan, intimidating it with his solid glare.  Titan soon gave into Koichi’s intimidations and let out a mad roar and charged for Koichi, causing outrageous tremors as each foot hit the floor.  As the demon came away from the wall, Bulforg dropped off down from his hold and laid there motionless and weak from his injuries.  Koichi leaped up into the air in front of Titan and threw his foot into the demon’s chest, stopping him and stunning him for a moment.  As Koichi hit Titan he kicked off from the demon’s chest and spun upside-down and slashed Titan across his chest swiftly with his claw.  He dropped down and landed on ground upon his feet in perfect balance and jumped up at Titan once more, sending his claw deep into Titan’s chest and through his demonic heart.

            Titan howled in pain, throwing his hands onto his chest and narrowly missed swatting Koichi.  His eyes glowed as he fell back in agony.  Titan extended his arms again and began charging towards Koichi again, ready to crush him in a giant bear hug, but Koichi was able to counter attack Titan before the attack came in contact by reaching into his cloak for his sword and sending the blade up into the demon’s neck.  Koichi then pulled his sword up through Titan’s head and out, causing Titan to stumble and fall over in a bloody mess while blood poured out from his sliced head.  The demon’s roar became garbled as blood flowed down his throat.  Koichi caught Titan as he fell down to ensure he did not fall onto Celia, and he tossed the demon to the side.

            “That should stop that monster for a while.” Koichi hissed as he rubbed his hands together, patting off the dirt.  Koichi reached into his cloak again and revealed two bottles and said, “Drink up, Celia.  Catch.”  He tossed one bottle to Celia and explained, “It’s a magic restorative potion that’ll return some of your magic capabilities.  Be quick about it and you might be able to save the wolf man there.”

            Celia caught the bottle at looked at it in slight confusion, but she drank it as quickly as Koichi suggested.  She then lay Sjef down on the ground and kneeled down beside his damaged body.  Her hands began to glow with healing energy again as she began infusing Sjef’s body with health again.  Sjef’s body began to pulsate with warmth again as soon as Celia cast the healing magic upon him, causing his fur to return to a shiny, smooth, and colored state.

            Koichi turned away and waved at the exit and called out, “Come on you two.  Help me out here.”

            Oxpaha and Kynak ran into the crystal room to Koichi’s side as Koichi walked towards Bulforg.  Koichi grabbed the ogre’s shoulders and dragged him away from the jagged wall.  He then lifted Bulforg’s head up from the ground and bobbed his mouth open.

            “Work on cleaning and dressing his wounds.  I’ll feed the ogre with some of this Healing Tonic to get him back to health.”

            The two workers nodded and quickly kneeled down and washed the dirt and sand from Bulforg’s back to prevent infections.  They then reached into their bags and removed medical sewing materials and slowly patched up the wounds.  As Koichi poured the Healing Tonic into Bulforg’s mouth little by little, the ogre began to shake in irritation as he felt the stings of the needles working through his back.

            “The potion worked great for me, Koichi!” Celia told her friend as she completed her healing spell.

            Sjef shook his head as if he had a headache and then felt over his body where he knew he was damaged.  He then looked up at Celia and then around the area and slapped himself on the face.

            “Damn, so it wasn’t a bad dream.”  Sjef said, “I should be dead with my men.”

            Celia shook her head and said, “I can’t let someone die who knows my boyfriend.  Our friend, Ryan, always told us stories about you and Bulforg from Joel’s memory.”

            Sjef pushed away and sat upright in front of Celia and asked, “So who are you talking about?  Ryan or Joel?”

            “Joel.” Celia responded.  She motioned her hands up over and around her and said, “About so much taller than me, and he likes to wear red clothes, and he has radical spiky blonde hair.  He has a green-hilted sword, too.”

            “Oh right, I remember him very well.” Sjef said with a nod, “He helped me get out of jail long ago along with the ogre.”

            Koichi turned around and glared sharply at Sjef and hissed, “The ogre has a name, so call him by it properly, knave!  He risked his life to see you live.  Give him some respect for that at least.”  Sjef shook at Koichi’s comments, and Koichi told him, “Yeah, that’s right.  I was right there behind everyone watching from the shadows not long after it all started.  I saved everyone I could back there and sent them back out.”

            Celia stood up and looked at Koichi and asked, “That’s right!  How did you find us, Koichi?”

            “I left tha band o diggars ta find yer camp n’supplies ta bring’em back ta camp before ye got back, an  Kynak be following me ta see tha Great Koichi.” Oxpaha explained.

            Koichi nodded and said, “Yes.  I woke up just in time to find you gone and these workers going through our things.  They told me everything and took me to this work site.”

            Sjef dropped to his hands and knees before Koichi and said, “Thank you, Koichi!  Thank you for saving all that you could and killing the demon monsters!”

            “They’re not dead.” Koichi told Sjef, “Read your story book fairy tales, wolfy.  They’ll be back sooner or later to protect this lair again.  We had better get out of here soon and get back on our way.”

            Celia nodded in agreement with Koichi, but instead of heading for the exit she turned around towards the shattered crystal and said, “There’s one thing left to do before we go.”  She approached Ro`Ten on the ground and raised her spear over him and cried, “We need to make sure this one never comes back!”

            Koichi looked at Celia in surprise and rushed towards her to stop her.  He reached out and caught the spear before it pierced through Ro`Ten’s body.  Koichi forced the spear away and out of Celia’s hand before Celia could stab anything.

            “What’s wrong, Celia?” Koichi asked, “Why is this man naked here, and why is it important to kill him?”

            Tears ran down Celia’s face as she looked at Ro`Ten in a fearful rage and stuttered, “He must die!  He must!”

            Koichi raised an eyebrow at Celia and then squinted his eyes at her and said, “You’re starting to freak me out.”

            “The boy came out from the crystal.” Sjef informed Koichi.  He walked up to the two adventurers and told Koichi, “We’re diggers.  Terasure hunters as well.  We came looking for treasures down here and came across this crystal chamber.  I tried mining some of the crystal for inspection, but we were attacked by those monsters and the crystal exploded.”

            Koichi kneeled down and looked over the young man on the ground, and Celia mumbled, “It’s Ro`Ten.  Sjef woke him up.”  She looked at Koichi and asked, “You remember Ryan’s stories don’t you?”

            “Yeah, I remember all the things he told me about Joel’s awakening.” said Koichi with several nods, “I never thought I’d get to see a crystal chamber of a Guardian, though.”  He looked over Ro`Ten again and asked, “But is this really him?  His skin is pale.  You can practically see every vein in his body.  His hair has no color.” He reached down and opened one of Ro`Ten’s eyes for a moment and said, “No eye color either.”

            “Ye mean he doth be a demon?” Oxpaha asked, “And Lady Celia?  Sir Koichi?”

            “Yeah, yeah.  Celia’s a Guardian.  Get it right.” Koichi told the worker, “But don’t worry.  I’m all human.”  Koichi closed his eyes and thought for a moment as he held Celia back until came to say, “When Joel was awakened he had no knowledge of his past or who he was or anything.  His new life was shaped around the loving humans who took him in.”  He looked at Celia and said, “We should do the same with Ro`Ten before he learns who he used to be and seeks Joel’s blood again.”

            Celia sighed and turned away from Koichi.  She retrieved her spear and began leaving the dungeon without the others with her.

            “Not going to say anything, eh girly?” Sjef asked Celia from across the room.

            “It’s a long story, wolfie.  I’ll fill you in along the way.” Koichi told Sjef, “Let’s go before it gets too late.  Help me take Ro`Ten outside.”

            Oxpaha walked towards Bulforg and called out, “Hey Bulforg, can ye help us out ‘ere?”

            Bulforg stood there and scratched his head and then rubbed his ear as he looked at Oxpaha.  The ogre did not seem to desire listening to Oxpaha like it would to Sjef.

            With this, Sjef turned towards Bulforg and called out, “Hey ogre, get yer ass over here and help carry this guy out with us!”

            Bulforg looked up as if he was startled by something and began approaching Sjef under his command.  As Bulforg made his way across the room to Koichi and Sjef, Koichi swiftly jabbed Sjef in the face and scowled at him, causing the wolf man to fall back on the ground, almost unconscious.

            “Call him by name, you idiot!” Koichi hissed.

            Koichi leaned down and put Sjef’s mask back over his head.  He then turned around and began his way towards the exit to follow Celia out, and he signaled the other two workers to follow him out.

            “Bulforg, if you can carry Sjef and the new guy out it would be very helpful.” Koichi told Bulforg.

            Bulforg looked down at Koichi as he left the room and said, “Okay, Bulforg do for Tent Cloak Man.  Bulforg carry master and new guy out.”

            Koichi stopped and looked back at Bulforg and told him, “He’s not your master.  You’re an equal like us all so call him by his name like you are one.”

            The ogre scratched his head for a moment, then reached down and lifted Sjef up over his left shoulder.  Sjef was still in a daze with stars rolling around in his eyes as he was picked up and carried.  Bulforg then reach down with his right hand and picked Ro`Ten up from around his chest and looked around his pale body curiously.

            “Bulforg call you Turnip!  Hewwo Turnip!” Bulforg said cheerfully as he turned around for the exit and followed Koichi.

            As Celia reached the exit of the dungeon, she stood just inside the cool shadow and leaned against the right wall.  She sighed in the disappointment of Koichi’s decision over what would be done with what they had discovered deep inside.  Her friends soon appeared from within the dungeon, and Koichi leaned on the left wall just opposite from Celia.  He looked up at Celia through the shadows of his cloak and awaited a first move.

            “What should we do now, Great Koichi?” Kynak asked to break the silence.

            “Get one of your blankets for Ro`Ten and cover him up.  We’ll take him to the nearest town and lay him in a bed at the local inn.” Koichi told Kynak.  Koichi looked back at Celia and heard her stamp her feet in count of veto, and Koichi told her, “Don’t worry, m’lady.  If we handle this the right way we could be doing a good favor for the world.”  He paused for a moment and then said, “Think of it as a mothering experience.”

            Celia’s eyes burned up at the comment, and she looked towards Koichi and exclaimed, “Mother!?”  She began imagining herself sitting in a rocking chair bottle feeding a dark skinned baby with long jagged flowing hair in her arm, and she said, “That’s just sickening, Koichi.  I don’t want to be like a mother to that guy!”

            Koichi popped Celia’s image and said, “That’s a little too extreme, and you know it.”  He sighed and continued, “All we’d have to do is teach him how to walk and talk and he’ll grow onto us and our peaceful traveling ways.  The thought of becoming a raging killer should never cross his mind.”

            Celia waved a hand towards Koichi and said, “I hope you have fun accomplishing that.  If I haven’t made it clear yet then I’ll have you know that I want nothing to do with him.”

            “Fine, have it your way, Princess.” Koichi said with a small grin.

            As soon as the two workers wrapped Ro`Ten with a protective blanket they all returned to the digger base.  By the time they all returned it had come to day break.  Oxpaha directed everyone into a tent where Bulforg set Ro`Ten and Sjef down on the ground, and Kynak brought in some bottles of water to treat Ro`Ten.  Ro`Ten was still unconscious, but the outside of his body was already redeveloping.  His skin had turned a golden tanned color, and his hair had taken a sharp, jagged form under the heat.

            Koichi stood in the center of the crowd of workers he was able to save, chanting out loud, “Thank you, Great Master Koichi!” and, “Three cheers for the Great Koichi!”, as loud as they could.

            Kynak reached down with an opened bottle of water and brought it towards Ro`Ten’s mouth, but Koichi pulled the worker back and said, “Don’t do that or you might drown him.  We don’t know how well he is yet or if he’s able to consume anything.”

            As Sjef woke up he scratched his head, shook about as he regained his senses, and mumbled, “I didn’t want to help you anyway.”

            The wolf man stood up and wobbled about on his feet and looked around at his men.  He then looked around the tent and slowly realized where he was.  Sjef turned around and left towards the back of the tent at that point for his office, and Celia followed him quietly from the side.

            “So how about that help you promised me for moving that statue?” Celia called out to him.

            Sjef stopped suddenly with a jerk from Celia’s call and said, “Help?  I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

            Celia marched up to Sjef, grabbed him by his suit, lifted him up, and snarled with a glare, “Don’t play dumb with me old man!  I’ll give you more than a fist in the face!”

            Sjef became limp with a look of embarrassingly failed mischief over his face as he hanged from Celia’s hands.  The wolf man’s expression almost made him out like a loser as tears streamed down his face.  He began shaking around, trying to break free from Celia’s hold, but Celia’s grip only became tighter to the point it was almost suffocating Sjef.

            Celia looked down and to the side, huffing a little steam from her mouth, and she said, “You made me move that statue just so you could get to a treasure, and now we have the worst thing I’ve ever known in my life in our hands.  If you think I’m going to let you off without helping us out then you’re sadly mistaken, mister.”

            Sjef’s face turned purple as Celia continued to choke him.  He continued to struggle, trying to break free from Celia’s grip.  Sjef brought his hands up to Celia’s and tried peeling them off from his suit, but he was still unsuccessful.  So Sjef then began to pound his fists on Celia’s head as she looked away from him with steam.

            “What?” Celia finally yelled at Sjef.

            “Air!” Sjef cried as he pointed towards his mouth.

            Celia looked at Sjef, unmoved, and continued to hold him there while Sjef’s eyes became forms of X’s and his body stopped struggling.

            “Oh, fine.” Celia said as she dropped Sjef to the ground.  She turned around and walked away while saying, “Don’t expect me to heal you this time either.”

            “Oh… Kay…” Sjef uttered on the ground.

            Koichi looked down closely around Ro`Ten, then looked at Oxpaha and said, “How far from here is the nearest town?  It might not be a good idea to keep this boy here and expect him to get better.”

            Oxpaha looked towards the south and said, “It must be about a half day by horse.  That be where we buy our supplies.”

            “Great.  That’s where we should go soon then.  Real soon.”  Koichi said.  Koichi looked at Celia as she glared at him quietly, and he said, “I just think it’d be healthier there for the guy.”

            “Please, Great Koichi, let me bring you supplies for the rest of your journey!” Kynak asked Koichi.

            Koichi looked down at Kynak for a moment and then cracked a smile and said, “Sure.  But call me only by Koichi.  We’re equals in this world and I have no true status to live by.”

            Kynak stuttered for a moment and then said, “Yes sir!”

            As Koichi watched Kynak scramble away he sighed in disappointment.

            “Simple minds lead simple lives.” Koichi said under his breath as he turned to Oxpaha again.  He asked, “Let’s get things ready for the trip right away, Ox.  Bring a horse in and we’ll load Ro`Ten on.”

            Oxpaha saluted Koichi and exclaimed, “Aye aye Koichi!”

            As Oxpaha ran outside to fetch a horse, Koichi kneeled down next to Ro`Ten and whispered, “Now what to do with you?”

            Ro`Ten began to slowly stir in his sleep as Koichi whispered to him, and the Guardian slowly mumbled back, “Muhsa keeha Zareon…”

            “Zareon doesn’t exist.” Koichi said.  He then thought, “He can’t be remembering everything yet.  It’s just like that Ryan said.  The memories in his core should be faded.”

            Soon Kynak returned with heavy bags of supplies, which included food, water, and bandages, and Oxpaha returned with Koichi’s horse and one more.  Oxpaha put saddles on the horses that were able to hold the two bags that Kynak brought for Koichi.  As Oxpaha and Kynak finished preparing the horses, Koichi climbed onto one and lifted Ro`Ten up behind him.

            “Come on Celia.  We’re going.”  Koichi told the workers.

            The crowd of workers turned their attention to Celia, who was standing around at the front of the tent.  As Celia noticed that the spotlight was on her she slowly looked around the room almost in paranoia.

            “Oh fine, I’m coming.” Celia growled as she kicked away from the sidelines and lifted herself up onto the horse’s back.

            As the two left on their journey they were seen off and cheered on by the workers.  In a small group stood Sjef, Oxpaha, and Kynak, who each shared different opinions on their guests’ departure.

            “Seeing the Great Koichi was such a pleasure.  I’m gonna miss them.” Kynak sobbed.

            “Aye, Kynak.  It was indeed ah pleasure ta see tha Princess an her protecter again afta so longa time.” Oxpaha said.  He lowered he head for a moment and said, “But ah mus say thar roles twer ah little mixed.  The Great Koichi was always ah snarlin stubborn brute, and for who ah knew Princess Celia fer she was a gentle one.”

            Kynak and Oxpaha looked to the side at Sjef, who was in the middle of wrapping himself in layers of bandages.

            “Well they don’t gain my approval!” Sjef told his workers as he momentarily paused between wraps around his chest.

            The two workers turned away from Sjef and looked between themselves, scratching their heads, and Oxpaha said, “Poor boss, he be battered’n’bashed ta bits tahday.”

            “Damn right.” Sjef said.  He turned away and walked back into his office, and as Oxpaha and Kynak followed him he said, “It’s best we let them have their way, though.  If they don’t succeed the world may fall into the deepest darkness we’ve seen in history.”

            “How do you figure that, boss?” Kynak asked.

            Sjef looked sharply at Kynak and said, “Didn’t you hear how frightened Celia was of the new kid?  If Celia and Koichi can’t tame him it might mean death for hundreds upon thousands of people.”

            Kynak panicked and exclaimed, “Then why did we let them go off with him if he’s such a threat to the world?”

            “Because they’re strong.  Very strong.” Sjef told him.

            Celia kept far behind Koichi as the two rode quickly through the desert again to the next town.  She watched Koichi closely with caution for any sign of danger.  Koichi slowed his horse in an attempt to let Celia keep up with him, but Celia adjusted her horse’s speed accordingly.

            “Come on and don’t lag behind.” Koichi called out to her.

            “I’m not lagging behind.  I’m watching for Ro`Ten!” Celia told him.

            “If you say so.” Koichi said.

            Koichi kicked his horse back into speed and raced on again ahead of Celia.

            The ground rumbled and the sands began to shift behind them.  Several giant sand centipedes emerged from the sands and jumped through the air and dived back down.  They chased the two travelers for many miles with food on their primitive minds.  One centipede leaped forward beyond Celia and closer to Koichi, narrowly missing Ro`Ten’s back.  It dropped down into the sands again and leaped up again, this time over Koichi and ahead of him.  As the monster’s shadow closed over Koichi he reached into his cloak for his sword and swung it out into the air, cutting it open from head to tail as it came down.  The centipede lost itself in deathly pain as it was sliced open and fell behind the others in a squirm.

            Celia climbed up high on her horse and leaped up into the air as another centipede jumped up over her.  She reached for her spear, twirled about rapidly as she soared through the air, and swiftly cut the monster through its segmented body.  The body segments fell down like large stones and crashed into the sandy surface.  As Celia dropped back down she kicked three of the monster’s body parts through the air and into two other monsters, hitting them off balance and down on their sides.  Celia landed on her horse’s back on the tips of her toes and hopped down back into the saddle.  She whipped the horse to go faster and continued following Koichi.

            “It isn’t enough I have to watch out for him.” Celia mumbled, “Monsters pick great times to play.”

            As the trouble cleared up, the two could see what appeared to be a town just ahead of them into the distance.  There were no walls around this city to guard and defend the people living there, but there were magical fields set up like around Sjef’s digger camp.  The people of the town were mostly dark skinned or tanned from living under the sun for so long.  They had grown used to working under the extensive heat and wore only light clothing to face the heat.  The houses and shops of the town were made of dull stone formations, which were likely because the town people gave up decorating their houses and building through the dry air and blistering sands before they set up the barriers.  To the far back of the town there were mountains to be seen as well as small patches of grass.

            Very few people paid attention to Koichi and Celia’s arrival.  Many of them had probably seen riders come in with injured and burned colleagues from the desert.  Either way it was, no one came to greet and aid the two travelers with information about the city.

            Celia dropped down from her horse and ran ahead of Koichi.

            “Wait here.  I’m going to find the nearest hotel.” She told him.

            She ran down into the streets of town to the first building and entered it.  Several minutes later she exited the building, and Koichi watched her run to the next building.  This went on for quite some time until Celia ran back with the good information.  She had jogged around six different buildings by this time.  Celia waved at Koichi to follow her into town, and so Koichi tugged on Celia’s horse and followed Celia’s command.  She directed Koichi to a large three floor stone building in the center of the small town.

            Koichi climbed down from the horse and slowly lowered Ro`Ten down and carried him into the hotel.  As the two entered into the lobby they were greeted with a cool breeze that emitted from light blue crystals that lined the side walls.  The aura that the crystals shined also provided a light source to the area outside the sunlight’s reach.  As Koichi gained an understanding about the first room’s make out he set Ro`Ten down on a resting chair before conducting business with the hotel.

            “Oh, white skins!  We haven’t had customers like you in a long time!” the hotel clerk greeted Koichi and Celia.  He squinted his eyes at Celia, focusing his sight on her for a moment, and then said, “Oh, a great fairy!  Never have I seen such beauty!”

            Celia tilted her head to the side in confusion and asked, “Great fairy?  What are you talking about?”

            The clerk gasped at Celia and asked, “Are you telling me that you aren’t a great fairy?  But your skin tells me so, yes!”

            Koichi shook his head and said, “Fairies have wings and are much smaller than Celia.”

            “Oh, you can think what you wish, but I still believe its good luck to have such company!” the clerk exclaimed.

            Koichi walked up near the clerk and looked deep into his eyes and said, “How much for a couple of rooms?”  He backed away and said, “I have someone who needs to rest as soon as we can get him a bed here.”

            The clerk danced around behind his counter and said, “For you, sir, ninety gold pieces per room!”

            “Ninety gold?” Koichi repeated with a cringe, “Each?  That’s almost all of our remaining funds!”  He sighed and said, “Fine, so be it.”

            Koichi reached down into his cloak and pulled three bags of jingling gold pieces from his belt, and as the clerk counted the money Celia looked at Koichi and said, “Well they never said traveling half way around the world would be cheap.”

            Celia glanced off to the side and noticed a sign with a list of room pricing.  The sign mentioned prices as low as thirty gold pieces per person.

            “That swindler!” Celia growled as she took a step towards the clerk with her left hand sliding up her right arm.

            Koichi pulled back at Celia’s shirt and pointed at the sign, and he told her, “Read the fine print.”

            Celia looked closer at the sign as Koichi suggested, and she found a small line of print at the bottom that read “Foreigners may be charged differently”.

            Her eyes burned then as she exclaimed, “You creep!  What kind of good luck charm do I look like to you?”

            The clerk fell back from his chair as Celia yelled at him, causing the counted gold pieces to become rescrambled with the uncounted.

            “But you said you weren’t a great fairy!” the clerk exclaimed.  He looked deep into Celia’s blazing eyes as she grew closer to him over the counter, even with Koichi trying to pull her back, and he squirmed, “Time to call for help?”

            “Celia, calm down!” Koichi yelled at her.

            Celia pushed forward still and said, “I’ll just think of you as another Sjef!  Yeah!  He’s been smacked around enough today, so why not one more time?  You… you…”

            The young Guardian’s voice began to fade and her strength rabidly subsided in a strange fashion.  Koichi pulled her back away from the clerk, but Celia had become so weak so quickly that Koichi knocked her down to the ground.  Celia’s eyes were closed tight, and her whole body looked as if it were under serious levels of pain.

            “Hot… hot…!” Celia cried as she squirmed on the floor.

            The clerk stumbled to his knees and hid behind the counter and looked just around the corner to inspect what was going on with Celia.

            “What?  What’s wrong?” Koichi asked.  His brain snapped and he exclaimed, “Her sickness!  It must be growing and attacking her!”

            He kneeled down beside Celia, held her down, and then felt her forehead with the back of his hand.  Koichi then checked the hand to his own forehead and felt no difference between the two of them.  He looked down at Celia’s body and felt a heat like the desert emitting from it.  Steam had begun rising with a burning smell from the center of her chest.  Koichi lifted the bottom of Celia’s shirt up just enough to slide his hand in, and as his fingers touched Celia’s belly he quickly snapped his hand back.  Koichi cried as his hand burned from his friend’s over heating body and blew over his fingers rapidly.

            “She’s on fire.  We need to get her something to cool her down!” Koichi exclaimed.  He ran for the door and said, “I’m going to get some water from our horses.”

            Before Koichi could make it out, the clerk yelled at him, “Wait!  Your water will be boiling hot if it’s been sitting outside!” He pulled an ice crystal from the wall and set it on the counter and told Koichi, “Use this.”

            The young warrior returned to the counter and quickly received the crystal.  He turned back to Celia and cautiously applied the ice to her body.  The freezing crystal began to freeze around Koichi’s hand as he held it longer, but on the other side it melted quickly onto Celia, releasing soothing cold water around her.  Soon Celia’s breathing slowed down to more of a normal rate, and her body ceased its burning hot state.

            “Wow, sir, you’re traveling with two very sick people.  Are you the only well one?” the clerk asked Koichi.

            Koichi looked to the clerk again and said, “Sometimes I think I’m a little insane.”  He turned to Celia again and said, “Thank you for the crystal.”

            The clerk placed a key on the counter and said, “Please take them to a room and let them rest on our beds.  I don’t want to feel responsible for holding you up any longer.”

            He exited from behind the counter and helped carry Ro`Ten up while Koichi lifted Celia and carried her down the hall.  The clerk directed Koichi to the second level and to a room with two separate beds where they laid the two resting spirits.

            “If you need anything just come see me or any of the other workers.  I’ll let them know that you’re in special need.” the clerk told Koichi.

            “Right.  Thanks again.” Koichi thanked the man.

            Koichi looked down over his company as he was left alone and waited for the first to awaken.  He placed his hand on Celia’s forehead again as he thought about her condition.

            “Damn.  What kind of sickness do you have?” Koichi thought.  He looked out the window and thought, “I hope it’s just a girl thing.  Hate to think what a whole band of Guardians like this would be like.”

            Just then he imagined Joel, Ryan, and Ro`Ten together with Celia under his watchful eye as he played nanny for them while they lay sick.  Koichi shook the images out from his head and smacked himself in the face.

            A disturbance in the peaceful silence broke out moments later, and to Koichi’s other side he heard Ro`Ten’s body moving slowly around the top of his bed.  Koichi quickly looked towards Ro`Ten only to be greeted by a stunned and silent look back from emotionless black eyes.

            “You’re finally awake?” Koichi asked him.

            Ro`Ten looked innocent, confused, and scared at the same time and tried to speak back, but he was unable to form any words with his mouth.  He tried to move away from Koichi, but his muscles were too weak and untrained to crawl yet.  Ro`Ten soon understood that all he could do was cover himself with his own arms and hope the people around him would go away.

            Could this new incarnation be just another form of the evil Koichi once new waiting to open up and kill again?  Or can Koichi tame this beast and welcome him as an equal of his party?  Will Celia ever agree to help out, or will she add more trouble and reject Ro`Ten even further?  The quest and never ending adventures continue in the next episode of Aeon Souls!

            “This is going to give me a headache.  Someone get me an ice crystal.” Koichi mumbled, holding his hand to his head and then giving out a sigh to the side.