~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ In the Fields of Elysian ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter Three- "The Mission" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Far away, in a place where time doesn't exist, a dark figure sat upon a black stone throne, as the minions below her bowed. "Soon we will be able to take over Elysian, and then the earth will bend at our will. Then, we can have the universe as soon as we break free from Elios' curse." The woman said, smiling evilly. "The Darkness can not be stopped now." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "So, what am I going to learn today?" Mamoru asked as he, the generals and Avanla all stood out in a feild by the castle. "Today, we are going to learn how to focus our energy." Avanla said as she walked over to stand by him. "You have powers Endymion, hidden powers that you've inherited. For this mission you must reach deep inside yourself and find them." "Powers? How?" "Like me, you have powers. But yours are different from mine, I'm Telekenetic. I could do things with my mind, watch." Avanla said and looked over to Jedeite. Slowly he rose off the ground and started flailing around. "Avanla, put me down this instant!!" Jedeite demanded. "As you wish." Avanla smiled and dropped him. Everyone laughed as he stood up and brushed himself off. He gave Avanla an evil glance and she laughed quietly. "Well, what are my powers?" Mamoru asked. "You have the power of the Golden Sword. Only the line of your family can activate and control this sword. I want you to concentrate and try to feel the sword's power inside of you." Avanla commanded and Mamoru complide. "Find the strength." *Father, help me.* Mamoru thought, as he started to concentrate. Inside himself, he suddenly felt a power surge through him. It filled his heart and soul and ingulfed his body in a deep golden glow. Everyone watched in awe as the power came off of him and onto the sword. It started to glow brilliantly, and pulsed with the beat of his heart. Mamoru opened his eyes and gaped at the sword. "I did it! I did it!" He yelled excited. "I knew you could." Avanla smiled. "Now, concentrate the energy and shoot it at that tree." Mamoru looked at the willow tree that stood 20 yards away, a pointed the sword at it. A beam of light came forth from the sword and went spiraling towards the tree. In a flash of light it made contact, spliting the tree in half. "Wow..." Mamoru whispered. The tree groaned deeply, before fixing itself. "Hey, did that tree just--" "Yes it did, nothing really dies here, just fixes itself." Jedeite said. "Now you cannot doubt your destiny." Nephlite said. Suddenly his smiled faded as his face became grave. "Nephlite, what's wrong?" Kunzite asked, as the second general's eyes went wide. "Everybody run back to the castle quickly!" Nephlite yelled, as he pulled Mamoru towards the castle. "It's The Darkness!" As quickly as in a blink of an eye, the sky around them became dark, and a bolt of lightening come down aimed towards Mamoru. Nephlite moved him out of the way just in time, as the bolt hit the ground with a loud clap. Avanla still stood at the bottom of the hill, and held up a bell. "Elios, protector of dreams, come to us!" She yelled. The jewel in the bell lit up, as a portal above her opened. A flying pegasus came barging out and shot a bolt of golden energy at the cloud. Kunzite turned around and calked his bow, and sent a fiery purple arrow into it as well. With one last fire from the pegasus, the cloud groaned and vanished as quickly as it had come. The pegasus dove from the sky and picked Avanla up and carried her to the group. Once Avanla was on the ground, the pegasus turned back to its true form. "Elios?" Mamoru said surprised. "Yes prince, it's me." Elios smiled. "How is the training going?" "What..what was that?" Mamoru asked, still shocked from the attack. "That, was the Darkness. Come, you must learn your mission now." Elios said as they walked back into the castle. "So, spill it. What am I supposed to do?" Mamoru asked as they entered a room with a large circular table in the middle. Elios walked down to a cabnet and pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper. He unrolled it and placed it on the table. "Your mission is to find the Elemental Stones." "The what?" "The Elemental Stones. They will awaken the powers of fire, wind, water, and earth, the symbols engraved on your sword. They are scattered throughout the land of Elysian and in order to fight The Darkness, you must find them all. Once you have collected them all, you must take them to Zion Hill, where the Elements are located. You have to put the stones in the correct place to awaken them. They are the only things that can stop the Darkness." Elios explained, while showing Mamoru the general locations of each stone. "Elios has left something out though." Zoisite said. "We must also find the Keeper of Life. He holds the power of life, and is the only true one that can awaken the Elements. Without him, our worlds will die." "Yes. The Darkness will do everything in its power to stop you and everything to find the Keeper of Life, so you must be careful. They are everywhere." Elios warned, handing the map to Avanla. "Avanla, Kunzite, Nephlite, Zoisite and Jedeite will accompany you on your journey." "So, when do we start?" Mamoru asked, taking all this in. "Tomorrow." Mamoru walked down the halls of the palace by himself, just admiring the beauty of it. He needed time to think. The whole world was revolving around his descision and he didn't know what to do. Suddenly he came upon two large doors, chained up by a golden lock. There was an outline of a hand on the lock and he slowly reached out his hand and put it into the imprint. A golden light glowed and the lock suddenly dissapeared. The doors opened by themselves slowly and he cautiously walked in. It was a large cage of some sorts, and was filled with greenery and trees. He walked through the jungle, pushing vines and leaves away. "Wow, this place is weird." He commented. He heard a growl from behind him and stopped. He turned around slowly and gulped. Suddenly from the above tree a large animal jumped down. It was a large cat, bigger than a lion. It's fur shined ebony black and it's eyes were golden spheres, that looked at him with a penetrating gaze. On it's forehead resting the symbol of earth. It growled at him again, showing off its large fangs. "Uh oh..." Mamoru's eyes became wide and he started to back away. "Nice kitty, good kitty. HELP!!!! HELP ME!!!!!" He started to run and the animal was right on his heels. "Avanla! Elios! Anybody!" He turned around just in time to see it flying in the air, ready to pounce. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!" The beast came down on him, knocking him to the ground. Its large paws rested at either side of his head as it snarled down at him. "So much for the savior of the world..." Mamoru closed his eyes, getting ready to be eaten alive. The beast's anger glare suddenly faded as it sniffed Mamoru. It growled in confusion and cocked its head to on side. Mamoru opened one eye and they looked at each other confused. Suddenly the beast licked his face, getting slober all over him. "Eww, gross, get OFF of me!!" Mamoru yelled and tried to push him off of him. Suddenly he heard laughing and they both turned to see Avanla. "Get off of him." She laughed, tugging on the beast. It complide and sat down beside her. "What, what is that?" Mamoru asked as he stood up and wiped the stuff off his face. "This is a pure black Elysian Tiger. And his name is Cairan." She replied. "That name sounds familar." Mamoru said. "It should, you named him." Avanla said, crossing her arms. "This is your pet, your father gave him to you as your 5th birthday present. Cairan's been waiting for you since you left. He won't hurt you, he's your protector." Mamoru reached out a cautious hand and the tiger came towards him. Mamoru ran his hand over the soft fur and smiled. "He's so big." Mamoru said. "Yes he is." Avanla smiled as the big cat began to purr softly. "It's good to see friends come back together." Mamoru and Avanla walked through the streets of Sandara, the capital city of Elysian, accompanied by the Generals. It was nighttime and burning torches lit the way down the cobble street. Only a few people passed them on the way, all looking like they had just completed a day of hard labor. "Why do they look so unhappy?" Mamoru asked. "Because The Darkness has affected us all." Avanla answered as the street paned out into a the city square. A fountain with a pegasus stood in the middle and a man with a violin stood in a corner playing quietly. The square looked over most of city, and with surprise Mamoru looked down the long steps to find most of the city destroyed. "The Darkness attacked us two weeks ago, and Elios couldn't get here in time to prevent the damage. Elysians have been working day and night to restore our city. Many people were lost, and many more in other cities around Elysian." "How big is Elysian?" Mamoru asked. "Elysian has no boundaries." Kunzite answered. "But little by little, its being destroyed by the Darkness." Mamoru looked over the city one more time, and anger began to fill his heart. And in that instant, he made his descision. "Well, we should probably get back to the castle now Endy--I mean Mamoru, if that's what you want." Avanla said, turning to him. "No, my name is Endymion." Mamoru answered, walking back to the castle. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*