Alone

Chapter Twenty: Surprisingly Alone

Four days passed in their journey and Ayame grew more and more anxious over what might be waiting for them at the mountain. She didn’t know what would happen once they reached there, according to Yuuki, demons had begun to gather. Demons usually did not mix well with humans. A few more hours and they would be closing in on its base. Yuuki pulled the pack into the woods, getting them off the highway and out of view from other travelers.

Yuuki stopped once the road was out of view from behind them. “We are going to camp here. Everyone get some rest. I’ll be taking the first watch. We start out again at first light.”

“Shouldn’t we be planning what we are going to do next?” Ayame asked as she dismounted from Acron.

“I’m waiting for my brother to meet us here and then we can plan our next move. For now, everyone get some rest. I’ll wake you all up then.” She sat down.

Tsubasa and Raiden went out to gather firewood while the tigers made themselves comfortable in the small clearing. Ayame took a seat with Acron, leaning against his soft fur. He wrapped his tail around her like a blanket and she snuggled into him more. Slowly, she fell asleep as he kept her safe and warm. The sun soon set and the night cooled, becoming a little nippy. The crisp night air whistled through the trees and the night animals came out.

Morning light shone on her, waking her up and leaving her wondering why Yuuki hadn’t awakened her during the night to help make plans to get to Mount. Fuji. She blinked a few times trying to get her eyes to focus. She began to panic when she realized everyone was gone except for Acron. He still snored away happily. Looking around again she tried to hold her nerves steady, but the fire had simmered down, smoking. Wherever they had gone, they had made sure there was no trail left to follow after them. “Acron! Acron, wake up!”

Yawning, he too blinked a few times before realizing they were alone in the woods. “Ayame, what’s going on?”

“I thought you would know.” She was hoping that everyone had just gone on ahead of them, but it appeared they left them both behind without explanation.

“No,” he said quietly. She could tell he was hurt that they would leave him behind.

“Maybe they were taken?” she pondered, hoping it was true since it would make her feel less left out.

“If they were taken, we should have been too.” She knew he had a point and was more than likely right.

She got up and went to where she had dropped her bag, but it was gone too. “What are we going to do? They took my things and food. They couldn’t have just left us without anything. There’s no way they would do something so thoughtless.”

“I know how you feel, but the more we talk, the less time we have to find them.” She nodded in agreement. But still, she felt like there was something going on behind the scenes. Even though she didn’t have any clues leading her to this kind of conclusion, she could just feel that something was amiss.

“Are you ready to go?”

“I assume they went to the mountain.”

Ayame nodded and mounted Acron. He started to run, but Ayame pulled on the fur at the back of his neck, halting him and bringing about his rage. “What are you doing?” he roared at her.

“Just wait a few minutes, I want to try something. But if you are moving too fast I can’t focus.”

“You could have just told me to stop,” he huffed.

“Sorry,” she said apologetically.

“It’s fine. Just try what you want to try so we can get on our way.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath, focusing the best she could. Suddenly, they began to rise into the air. Tree branches moved out of the way allowing them a clear shot to the sky. She felt Acron moving beneath her, but he remained silent until they were above the treetops. Acron began to move viciously, groaning in pain.

“Ayame, what’s going on?” he questioned panicked.

“Well I… umm…. to be honest, this isn’t what I was trying to do, if that makes you feel any better.” She hoped he wouldn’t be angry.

He looked around, feeling a gust of wind and something on his body moving, but he still didn’t know what was going on. Finally, his eyes fell on the pair of wings. He nearly spiraled back down into the woods when he saw them. “When…. How did you do this?”

“Well, I was trying to get us up in the air, because I thought it would be a faster way to get around,” she said lightly, unsure of how he was going to take this new addition to his body.

“And you thought wings would be a good idea?”

“Well, I was thinking air, but I haven’t gotten the hang of my powers yet.” She half smiled, trying to ease the tension.

“Fine.” He huffed a little, but she could tell he wasn’t as upset as he had tried to let on.

“Come on, you can fly now. It’s not the worst thing I could have done by accident.” She smiled brightly, trying to get him to lighten up and enjoy the power of flight she had given him.

“I know,” he grumbled. “But I’m used to being on the ground.”

“We should go now. I mean it might take some time for you to fly… straight.” She laughed lightly.

“Oh, ha ha. You are absolutely hilarious,” he said sarcastically. “It’ll only take me a few minutes to get this down pat,” he said proudly, so sure of his abilities.

“I’m holding you to it,” she said teasingly.

Just as Acron had promised, he was flying with ease in moments as though he had been soaring through the skies all his life. They headed toward Mount Fuji. Ayame remained at full alert, fearing all the possibilities that could happen with only the two of them heading to the demon-infested mountain. She felt a surge of adrenaline coming from the excitement in their search for the others and Diachi. As they approached the mountain her adrenaline began to disappear and fear started to take hold, gripping its claws into her heart.

“Acron, can we land as soon as possible, please.” Her voice shook as she spoke. Without responding he did as she asked and landed in a clearing just before the woods opened to the mountain.

She dismounted and stepped back, shaking. “Ayame, what’s wrong? We can’t stay here for too long. I can smell the hordes traveling in this direction.” He looked at her with an expecting gaze.

“I just lost my nerve for a few minutes.” She created a puddle a few feet from them, wandered over, and knelt down. Looking into the water she tried to calm her nerves before splashing the cool refreshing water onto her face. As soon as she wiped the liquid from her face with the bottom of her dress she stood back onto her feet. “Okay, I’m ready now.” She jumped back onto Acron. “Let’s go.” He nodded and then they were in the air before she could blink.

She peered down once they had gone far above the treetops again and there she noticed a demon horde entering the woods. “We are going to have to move faster or they’re going to see us,” he said as he pushed on harder. She gripped his fur tightly as he headed toward the mountaintop. She continued to look to the ground, hoping to find their companions wandering on foot, but to her dismay, they were nowhere to be seen.

Her eyes started to tear up when she thought there was a chance they had been captured, or worse murdered. Instead of finding them all below, her eyes caught sight of a castle built into the side of the mountain. It was a grand size, shimmering from the glow of the sun, with large windows lining the stone walls, but no entrance from the ground to be seen. She was in awe of the splendor it held, however, there was a dark mist seeping out from the mountain. If that wasn’t a sign of the evil to come then she had no idea what it would be.

“I hate to say it, but I think the castle is where we want to go.” He sighed.

“I think you’re right, unfortunately. The question still remains though, how are we going to get in?” She peered around trying to find a safe place to land, but there were demon guards posted along all the walls. “Maybe we could get in from underground,” she thought out loud.

He knew she wasn’t looking for a response, but answered anyway. “You realize if you make a mistake we’ll end up in the wrong area, which could get us killed.”

“But it could work.” She smiled slyly with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. “Land on the other side of the mountain, There may be fewer soldiers over there,” she told him with hope in her voice and a feeling inside her chest telling her their companions were within those walls.

Without a reply or complaint about the danger they could get into, they traveled around the mountain. She hoped with all her might that no one had seen them. She feared if they had been seen they would be met when they landed. But with luck on their side they landed with no greeters to meet them. She hopped off Acron and tried her hardest to focus, breathing in deeply, but nothing moved. The ground remained solid, but she continued to try.

“Ayame, what’s wrong with your powers?” he inquired.

She looked at him for a moment before turning back to the mountain and trying again. All she wanted was to dig into the ground and create a tunnel leading to the castle. Suddenly, the earth began to shake and she began to lose control of her powers. The mountain rumbled, with rocks beginning to fall. “Move!” she screamed, anger lacing her voice as tears threatened to fall.

They moved quickly away trying to escape the rubble. Without notice, the mountain lifted itself up and came crashing back down to the earth. They lost their footing and slipped suddenly onto the soil. She began to cry thinking her powers were useless. “Why won’t you listen to me?!” she screamed all the louder. Her rage grew and she began to lose control. The stress of feeling like she was losing everything took over her thoughts.

“Calm down.” Acron came to her side, gently putting his paw on her shoulder. “I do know what happens when you lose your temper and we can’t let it happen.” He tried desperately to settle her down. She began to take deep cleansing breaths, slowly bringing down her pulse and heart rate.

Before trying again she took another deep breath, trying to relax. She tried to think about what she was doing wrong, but nothing occurred to her. “What’s wrong with me?” She wondered out loud.

“Maybe it’s because you’re thinking too much,” he imputed, trying to be helpful.

She nodded, trying to clear her thoughts, and took a deep breath. She was listening to the sound of Acron’s voice but had unconsciously blocked out his words. However, she allowed the tone to soothe her. Finally, the earth began to move and a hole formed at the base of the mountain. She watched as the hole continued into the mountain and the dirt taken away vanished, leaving the hole appearing to always have been there. “I’m guessing you took my advice?” Acron broke into her concentration.

“Yes, I did,” she said, exhausted with her head spinning.

“Do you want to rest before going in?” he asked, standing up.

“Yes.” She smiled faintly, her weariness showing.

Acron pulled up in front of her, letting her collapse onto his back. She threw her leg over him and grabbed ahold. “Let’s get going.” He stepped into the tunnel and they began their journey up the mountain from the inside.

They went on silently through the tunnel until they came to the part that went straight up for some time. Luckily, it had widened itself enough for wings to be spread out. She gripped her arms more tightly around his neck, holding on for dear life as Acron climbed up the wall, or rather the ground. His wings thundered, echoing against the dirt walls. Just as she caught her breath the tunnel leveled back out and gravity became their friend again. They began to run, his paws pounding the ground. She looked up in time to see the tunnel was coming to an end.

They continued on, nearing the center of the mountain where she realized they weren’t racing through a mountain, but instead a volcano. As they came to the edge she peered down below seeing the dormant volcano lying in wait for something or someone to wake it up, releasing the rage it has kept silent all these years. With one push, off Acron flew over to where the tunnel continued and closed his wings in time before the walls could strip them from his back. He landed with the grace of an elephant and she tightened her arms out of fear of falling. They raced down the tunnel, with hope glimmering at the end. Suddenly, Acron abruptly stopped in his tracks.

“Why are you stopping? We’re almost there,” she whispered.

“Do you know where your tunnel lets out?” She shook her head. “Exactly.” He smirked, laughing a little at her thoughtlessness. “I was thinking we need to come up with a plan before just running in there.”

“Fine, you’re right.” She sighed. Being patient was never her strength. “There is one thing though.”

“What’s that?”

“I can’t just go in there like this. I still can’t control my powers without the time to focus. And I assume in a battle there’s not much time to think.” She turned to face him.

“We should step back into the tunnel a little more.” She nodded and followed his suggestion. Taking a seat on the earth she expanded the section around herself giving her powers space while Acron faced the end of the tunnel watching for intruders. She took a deep breath and focused her mind. A cool air breeze swirled around her and a blue shimmering light flew with the wind. A bow and arrow seeped up from the ground and a sword followed suit. Soon she felt the pain Acron must have felt when wings formed on his back. The searing rush of excruciating pain hit her as wings cut through her skin, bursting forth, and expanding out to appear as radiant butterfly wings. She nearly let out a scream but hushed herself. She peered over her shoulder to admire her work and to make sure of their size.

Standing up she bent down and picked up the bow and arrows, slinging them over her shoulder. Then she picked up the short sword, which lay inside a wooden sheath, and strapped it to her hip. She had her wings pulled back against her shoulder blades, allowing her to move more freely in the tunnel she had created. “Now what?” he asked.

“Well, I’m not sure. You are the one who suggested a plan.”

“I know, but all I can think of is we have no idea what we are walking into. I guess the only plan we can devise is to watch out for the others and not to act recklessly.” She nodded in agreement.

She walked over to Acron and they slowly crept to the exit. Ayame peered outside, trying to figure out exactly where they were. She had feared they would be stepping out to where the guards waited, but luckily the tunnel had opened up into an unoccupied room along the wall of the castle. The sun shone through the window toward the tunnel and there was a door on either end of the room. She stepped out and looking around found the room to be lined with wooden shelves, some falling off their hinges. In the corners were large dust bunnies waiting to be given life. She went to the door hoping with all her might no one stood on the other side, she wanted to escape the musty scent of the room as soon as possible.