~~~~~~~~~Gabe's POV~~~~~~~~~

From the sight of it, I could tell these people had been trained to fight for a long time; they seemed skilled with hand-to-hand combat, weapons, and dole had magic of their own.

However, it was surprising to see that we could fight them off pretty easily. It was strange, we didn't know how to fight well, and we only started learning about magic around a week ago.

It was as if we were born to fight, we already knew what to do, how to react.

Must be part of our heritage.

Jake and Cassie had a bit of trouble keeping up with us, but they were good fighters too, and could protect themselves well enough.

Jade's magic was the most peculiar; we were told dark magic, or demon magic, has less to do with elemental nature and more with the creatures themselves. She can get into their heads and turn them against each other, but was still able to cast orbs of power to attack.

Fiona's magic was much simpler to understand, being able to spawn anything related to fire and heat, though all in a magenta color, and it worked great for defenses and attacks.

I confused myself with my own.

Having the Frost Flame element was known to be a very rare element to have since the normal way would be for one element to overpower the other instead of them morphing into one.

I got the hand of it fast though, memorizing my moves and spells to repeat.

Just when I thought we had the upper hand, I was harshly thrown back into a wall by a sudden burning sensation that bit my chest, knocking the air out of my lungs. I was able to stand back on my feet fast enough, wiping the drops of blood that trailed down my forehead, and seeing the one who started all of this.

Lara.

She tightly gripped the dagger in her hand as a dark green glow surrounded it, her fangs showing as she growled in anger.

Lara was harder to fight with; she was faster, and far more agile. This time I had to be much more aware of things.

We both landed several attacks on each other, blood covered my clothes and skin, and I was getting very tired. That's when she cornered me against the bottom of the wall and swung her arm to give the final blow.

I was able to grab her wrist just before the dagger could reach me, feeling my energy coursing through my vines and gathering at my fingertips. I hadn't noticed when a layer of dark blue frost started to crawl up her arm and to her shoulder.

With a gasp, she yanked her arm away, gripping it as she groaned in pain and dropped the dagger she had.

Her eyes shifted back to me, her breathing heavy from the fight. She stared at me for a few seconds, and then ran away into a dark hallway.

But things were far from over.

I chased after her, ignoring the fact that Ryan has disappeared from the room, but we could deal with that later. She ran down several halls, trying to lose me or tire me, and although I was over my limit, I didn't stop running.

Lara stopped when we reached a wide yet empty room, turning around with completely black eyes. "You must really have a death if you're still following me..."

The doors were closed shut when she harshly stomped on the ground, cracks covering the floor at the impact, and many pieces fell down to the sudden abyss that formed underneath, some pieces of the ground still floating.

Something felt... off.

I wasn't sure what it was...

But I had to stop this, I had to.

She began to throw orbs of energy at me to try and push me off the edge, though I avoided then Well and kept getting closer, trying to talk to her. "Lara, stop this!!!"

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE ALREADY?!?" Her voice boomed all over, so strong that a single word could push me off.

That's when one of the orbs harshly crashed into my shoulder, sending waves of pain throughout my body as I tried not to fall off the edge.

But I was stronger than that.

I jumped to a different platform, making my way closer. "You have to stop this!!!"

"I don't have to listen to you!!!"

"Then don't listen, talk!!! Why to you keep doing this?!?"

"Not like you would understand!!! I've seen the way you treat your family, you're a horrible son!!!"

...

She...

Is right...

I have been a brat, even before all this started...

I've taken them for granted...

But I won't fall in that pit anymore.

"You're right, I have been a horrible son, and a horrible brother, but I'm turning a new leaf!!! And what you're doing is hurting my family, so I'm stopping you here and now, even if it costs me my life!!!"

With a leap of faith, I reached the ground she stood on, where I could finally see the heavy tears that fell down her face.

She cared her teeth, rage and sadness battling in her eyes. "I don't care what happens to anyone else, I...

I just want to have a family again...!!!"

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

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