The Guardians of Destiny: Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Steven's Journey

Later that night, Steven woke up and got out of bed. He got dressed quickly and walked towards the window. After checking that his roommates were still asleep, he unlatched the window and slid it open. He climbed onto the windowsill and then leaped out into the cool night air and did a flip in midair, landing softly on the front lawn. After a quick look around the darkened landscape, he ran towards the east wall of the grounds. Steven ran up to the wall and quickly ran his hand over its rough surface. His hand stopped on a small carving in the wall.
"Ah..." Steven stood back and reached out his hand towards the wall. A small orb of light appeared in his palm and illuminated the lines of the carving, which was a small symbol. The wall around the symbol began to disappear until there was a space big enough for Steven to walk through. He quickly stepped through the space just before the wall reappeared behind him. Steven looked back at the wall, then turned and started to walk into the forest. He walked for a few seconds but then abruptly stopped when he heard movement in the trees. He reached out his right arm and in a flash of light a sword appeared. He spun around and slashed with the sword, cutting through a tree. Steven heard his stalker run to escape the falling tree, but it was falling too quickly. A loud cry told Steven that his stalker had been caught under the tree.
"Why are you here?" Steven called out as he walked towards the man.
"Don't play stupid. You know what our leader wants." The man was wearing a mask and black clothes.
Steven walked up to the man and pointed his sword at him. "And you know what my Master requires of me." Steven reached down and yanked a stone off of a string around the man's neck. The man's body shattered into a million purple shards of light, and then vanished. Steven looked at the stone, which glowed purple, and then slipped it into his pocket. He looked around the dark forest, and then continued walking. He stayed alert now, listening for even the smallest sound. Moments later, Steven stepped out into a large clearing and looked up into the sky. He saw the clouds break and a winged figure descend swiftly to the ground. The figure was a large man in a red cloak who landed in front of Steven and closed his wings.
"Master, I have completed your assignment." The man lowered his hood. His long hair was as white as Steven's.
"Not well enough, Michael." Steven reached into his pocket and withdrew the purple stone. He looked at it for a moment, and then threw it to the ground. "We can't let them get to any of the students. Especially Gabriel. They must already know that he's one of the Chosen. I want you to get your best warriors and make sure that this area is secure."
"Yes, Master. I will ensure your safety." Michael crushed the purple stone under his foot.
"Thank you, Michael. I will rely on you until the destined day comes." Steven looked up into the sky, which was just starting to clear. The moonlight shone down on Steven, who then smiled. "Until the destined day comes."

*

The next morning as Gabriel and Roy were walking to their second period classes, Gabriel brought up Steven.
"The white-haired kid? You found him?" Roy didn't seem that interested.
"Yeah, he seems pretty cool. But I still didn't get any answers about what happened on the ship."
"Well, I still think that you're just losing your mind. But hey, that's just my opinion." Just as he finished his sentence, a girl walked by and Roy lost all interest in the conversation he was having with Gabriel. "Hey, I'll catch you later Gabe."
"See ya." Gabriel shook his head and continued his walk to class. It's always the same with him.
As Gabriel stepped out into the main lobby, his eyes caught on the large TV screen on the wall. There was a lady on the screen standing in front of mountains of stone rubble.
"We're live at Destiny City, the site of what is believed to be a major terrorist attack."
"What?" Gabriel ran up to the screen. "What happened?!"
Suddenly, Steven burst in through the front doors. He looked around and saw Gabriel. "Gabriel! Did you hear?"
"Yeah... what's happening?"
"Classes are cancelled today. Come on, I've got a helicopter waiting."
"What?"
"A helicopter! Your dad was in Destiny City, right? Let's go!"
Gabriel thought for a minute, and then decided to go. "Alright! Let's go." He ran outside and climbed into the helicopter. After sitting down, Gabriel clicked his safety belt closed and looked over at Steven. 
"Why are you going to Destiny City?"
"I've got business to take care of." Steven didn't seem like he was in the mood for conversation. He gazed off towards the north, towards Destiny City.
The helicopter slowly lifted into the sky and Shadow Academy became smaller by the second as they headed out over the ocean towards Destiny City. As they got out further over the ocean, Steven stopped gazing into space for a moment and said, "So, do you know where your dad was during the attack?"
"I've got a pretty good idea." Gabriel knew his dad's office building pretty well, so he was sure he could find it even if it was a pile of rubble.
"That's good, so when we land-" Steven was cut off by a violent tremor that shook the helicopter. Steven unlatched his safety belt and stood up. "Don't move, Gabriel." He turned to the pilot and said something inaudibly. Then he stepped over to the door and opened it. Gabriel looked down to the sea and saw an enormous black dragon break the surface and rise up from the ocean.
"What is that?"
"That is your worst nightmare," Steven reached down to his pocket and pulled out a single card about the size of a trading card. "And I'm about to teach it a lesson." Steven held the card out and it began to glow brightly. Then there was total silence. Gabriel looked out the window to his left and saw a white beam descend from the sky. The beam began to slowly transform into a huge, fiery phoenix.
"Whoa," Gabriel whispered in amazement.
The phoenix opened its mouth and cried out, shattering the silence.
"Kaelix!" Steven called out to the phoenix. "Destroy the leviathan!"
The phoenix circled the helicopter and then dove down towards the beast. A blast of fire from the phoenix encircled the beast, trapping him. Then the phoenix flew down and unleashed one final blast of light, destroying the beast. Steven lowered the card and the phoenix flew back up into the clouds and vanished. Then Steven closed the door and sat down. "I know you have questions, but I just need you to trust me now."
Gabriel still didn't have any idea about what had just happened, but he felt he could trust Steven. "Okay. I trust you."
"That's a very wise choice, Gabriel. Look out the window."
The helicopter was landing slowly in the wreckage that was once Destiny City. Gabriel opened his door and jumped down. He looked out across the bleak landscape towards the building where his father worked, or what was left of it. He braced himself for the worst and began walking towards the rubble.

To be continued...