22: Plans

After answering all the questions Rayrina, Clary, Lien and Raywill had, Nocturn alerted the four that Manoha wants everybody to meet in her hut. Raywill wondered WHAT exactly Nocturn was, but decided not to ask. He was far too worried at how they were going to travel such a long distance back to Manoha’s hut. Clary took the words out of his mouth as she asked first, being the one who usually asks the most questions, most which are terribly obvious, but this one wasn’t. Nocturn turned around and stared into Clary.

“I’ll teleport you,” he murmured.

Rayrina made a confused face, before noticing that Nocturn’s black hole was expanding. Rayrina, Clary, Lien and Raywill were sucked in with tremendous force, and yet they didn’t land out the other end, nor were they expecting to. There was no air inside Nocturn’s hole and no space either. Rayrina looked around desperately, but she couldn’t see anything. All she saw was the colour black everywhere. Compression hit the Elemental Guardians like brick walls falling down, squeezing them. At once, the four of them shot out of the air-tight space, flying into the air, and landing beside the door to Manoha’s hut. The entire process took three seconds. They all gasped for air, and clutched themselves. Rayrina swung to her right and saw that Nocturn was floating beside her, seemingly looking at her carefully.

“Why didn’t you tell us it was air-tight in there?” Rayrina spat out, still trying to fill her lungs with air.

“If you were any smart, you would have known that,” Nocturn sighed.

“Well if YOU were any smart, YOU would have warned us!”

“There was no time, besides; I couldn’t just stand there staring at your ugly expression all day…”

“Is that an insult to my face!?” Rayrina asked angrily.

“No, it’s an insult to that expression you were making at me, but you could take it either way,” he said calmly.

“I… hate… you…”

“I know.”

Rayrina growled and turned around. She saw that Raywill, Clary and Lien already were inside the hut, and decided that she should enter too. The small red purple hut hardly could fit ten people, and Nocturn mentioned that Manoha wanted “everyone” to come, and she didn’t know who “everyone” was. Manoha smiled gently at them and noticed that they had a new companion with them, carrying the Elemental Crystal of Cosmic Energy with him. After Nocturn made his introduction, Edman and Rayax stepped out, showing their latest discovery, the Crystal of Physics.

“Come now, we have much to talk about. Please huddle up onto this square,” Manoha ordered them, while pointing to a square on the floor, hidden by her red carpet.

Once everyone was on the square, Manoha pulled a hidden lever, having the square platform drop down underground. When the square hit the bottom, the Elemental Guardians stepped off, and stared with awe at the huge underground basement that Manoha was hiding under her hut. It almost seemed like a cave, decorated with gold, purple, and red. Torches lined the inner walls, bringing a gentle glow to the room. They weren’t alone though.

Rayrina’s face enlightened as she saw Maria, Elemental Guardian of Fire, waiting for them on a chair. Maria ran up and greeted Rayrina, and invited her to sit down with her, to discuss their adventures. Rayrina noticed that Maria’s “O” was now an orange symbol, very much looking like a flame.

Clary, Lien, Raywill, Nocturn, Rayax, and Edman all took their seats on the chairs. The square platform was once again lowered, this time carrying a blonde Rayian, a chubby blue frog and a greenbottle looking very much like Clary, minus the long black hair. They introduced themselves as Rayman, Globox, and Murfy. Rayrina had heard people speak their names before, as they were and still are considered heroes to the Land of the Rayians.

“Whoa, so that’s those Elemental Guardians…” Rayman said thoughtfully.

“Oh, Rayman, why did you have to drag me along to this place!? You know I hate fighting!” Globox exclaimed.

“We’re fighting in a serious war here Globox! We need all the help we can get! Be brave!” Rayman replied.

“Courage is for idiots, and I am a genius!” Globox exclaimed.

Rayman rolled his eyes and took a seat between Rayrina and Globox. Clary came up to Murfy and remarked how she never met another of her species. Rayrina introduced herself and started talking with Rayman, and Globox happily sat in his chair, admiring the large stack of Plum Juice barrels in the bottom left corner. Soon, everyone was discussing random things, but all the discussions were interrupted when Manoha entered the room. She took one of the Plum Juice barrels and rolled it into the middle of the basement, sat it up straight, and jumped on top of it.

“Alright everyone, settle down. You all know why you are here, don’t you? It’s been a month since Mr. Dark declared a war against the Elemental Guardians, but now the war is spreading across our world, causing our friends, relatives and even those who we never met trouble. The Heart of the World is growing blacker by the minute, which means that the land may start changing, and terrible things may happen. We need to rebel! Thanks to Rayrina, Clary, Lien, and Raywill, Gumsi and his Knaaren have joined us in the war. With the Knaaren, we have a large advantage, as they are invincible. We strike on the day of the Rainbow, which is tomorrow. You will all be sleeping down here tonight, as Mr. Dark’s troops are patrolling every street, and returning to your homes would be dangerous. Any questions?”

Clary of course, was the first to raise her hand.

“Only two of the Elemental Guardians have bonded with their powers. Shouldn’t we wait until everyone has?” she asked.

“There is no time! And besides, all of you will find that your powers will be enhanced that day,” Manoha answered. “Now, I have supplied food and drink, but you must spend your time accordingly. I have a few more errands to run, and then I will be back. Rayax, you’re in charge.”

Rayax gulped and twitched his eye, and Manoha climbed up to her hut. The room fell silent, and everyone stared at Rayax.

“Umm… do what you wish?”

The room filled with laughs and cheers and everyone rushed to get a barrel of Plum Juice. Manoha let out a small chuckle and then exited her hut. She was excited to end the war tomorrow, although she wasn’t quite sure if they would succeed.