Love And Thunder

Night Three Hundred And Seven

Age 1992

The Village Of Lillian...

Inside The Church...

Lee held the cube in her hands breathing heavily as she stared at the knocked out form of Light. "Sorry... Gram-Gram talks about you a lot. Not as much as Hero or Kitsune but... I had to do this though. Jackson will be corrupted, Hero will die. He's not some God that can save the world but he can be the doorway we need."

This was the reason she had agreed to Jackson's plan.

With Hero trapped in the cube it would be easy to simply leave the Nation. If she hurried she could still get near the White Nation before the Shadow began to spread to far. There was still hope.

With a sigh she slowly pocketed the cube placing it away.

"Sorry but where do you think you're going." Lee stepped to the side in a flash as a wave of ice slammed into the spot she had been. She stared up with narrowed eyes as Irene and Kitsund stood in the doorway now. Irene glared at her more shards of ice forming.

"How much did you hear." Lee sighed.

"Enough."

Kitsune stepped forward sparks of fire seeping out. "You don't think we're gonna just let you leave do you?"

"I didn't." Lee admitted. "I was hoping you would but I didn't. I need to get Hero to the Jester. The two will be able to take the entire White Nation into the Void away from the shadow. There is still time. We can take Light and you two can come with me as well."

"And just leave the others?" Irene hissed. "Besides... The strain that would put on Hero is..."

"It would kill him." Lee admitted. "But he would die a... Well... Hero."

"Absolutely not." Kitsune snorted his ears and tail forming out. "I'd rather take my chances. This isn't the first time we've dealt with world ending threats and it won't be the last."

"Bronze. Silver. Gold. Diamond." Lee said softly.

"Huh?"

"The ranks. A Bronze should lose to a silver, a silver should lose to a gold, and a gold should lose to a Diamond. Do you two really think that you can defeat me." She stepped forward lighting exploding out and frying the area around her.

Kitsune gave a small grin his flames spewing out like magma. "We don't have to beat you. We just have to get the cube from you!"

Like a gunshot the battle began!

Lee was fast, faster then anyone either of the two had fought before. In an instant she appeared in between them before they could even react. Her arms fired out elbows jabbing into their sides. Irene managed to block the strike with a barrier of ice but Kitsune wasn't so lucky the fox boy being blasted away and flying out into the village.

Several of the villages let out screams when they saw him as he spat out a glob of blood.

"You won't win." Lee snarled, her lightning sizzling out wildly. It burst into a ruby red color as her fist shattered through Irene's ice and she grabbed the woman by the throat.

"M... Maybe not but... We can try." Irene hissed out an explosion of ice pushing Lee back. Blades of snow flakes rose from the ground spinning like buzzsaws. They easily sliced through the church but all of them missing the lightning girl. With a roar Irene charged forward a massive hammer of ice swinging out, but Lee held her arms up, the green lightning getting faster and hotter, and in a flash she melted the ice.

Before Irene could react she was pelted with rapid light speed blows dropping her to the ground as Lee flashed behind her.

With a yell, Kitsune recovered forming a massive wave of flames which took the form of a fox. It gripped a katana of fire the size of skyscraper and brought it down. Lee barely managed to side step the attack, the sheer force of the blow pushing her into the air.

Before she could recover she felt a wave of heat slam into her, and a hand on her throat as she began to fall. Kitsune had somehow blasted himself like a bullet and now gripped her throat tightly his claws lightly digging in as they began to fall. "Let's take this outside of the village." With a sonic boom they smashed into the wall outside of the building, Lee breaking the fall by smashing Kitsune into the ground.

Before he could stand her leg fired out like a rocket the emerald lightning swirling around it as she smashed it into his skull. "Eventful Impact." Kitsune was blown back sliding and rolling across the snow blood pouring out of his head as he gasped and spat up more blood.

It wasn't a fair fight. A fight he could over come through his skills. As he stared at the woman he knew it to be true. She was around the level of a Vice Captain. Maybe even a full on Captain. Faster, stronger, more durable, older, and skilled, she had every advantage she could.

It was far from a fair fight.

Kitsune gave a wicked grin as his orange eyes ignited with the flames. "Who said I had to play fair."

The words confused Lee, but before she could react there was a wave of spinning ice blades that flew through the air, Irene having recovered at this point. The blades missed the lightning infused girl who side stepped them all easily. Kitsune used that as his time to strike smashing a flaming fist into the ground and sending a pulse of flame out.

It missed the girl, but caused the snow and ice to bubble and steam and in an instant waves of mist rose into the air blocking her sight.

Lee let out a curse realizing his plan. The fox had cut off her line of sight. Her ears twitched as she listened remaining still. Then like the trigger of a gun had been pulled she reacted spinning around as a blade of ice slashed into the ground from where she had been standing. The attack missed her as she smashed her hands up and slammed them into Irene as hard as she could.

Irene wasn't blown back though. The fist slammed into the ice girl dealing massive damage but she remained where she saw.

Her legs were coated in ice and she had frozen herself into the ground becoming one with the floor and stopping Lee from pushing her back. With a small grunt she gave a slight smile as she wrapped her arms around Lee's.

"Kitsune now!"

Lee felt her eyes go wide as she glanced up just in time for Kitsune to come rocketing down and slam a massive ball of fire directly into her. The ball spun, and twitched, the fire getting wild and hot and then like a bubble filled with lava it popped exploding and throwing them all back even shattering Irene's brace.

Lee rolled through the flaming snow crashing into the wall of the village with a soft smack as she winced. Slowly though she stood back up. "That hurt a little. I'll give you two that. You both make an amazing pair. But I've trained with a Kitsune far stronger then this one. His flames were hotter then any star. Compared to that you two are rather lack luster."

Kitsune groaned standing up as he pulled Irene up with him. "Well that maybe so but..."

"But?"

"Bye."

"Bye?"

Before Lee could ask anymore the flames exploded around Kitsune forming a massive fire fox that scooped Kitsune, and Irene up in its mouth. Then without another word it began to run away from the battlefield heading west right in the direction of the ancient City of Tacca Chantrieri... The place where they had gone on their very first mission.

The city had been near Lillian and had been the original quest they had gone on one year ago.

"Running away?" Lee questioned letting out a small snort. "I wasn't expecting that. That's not their usual..."

Slowly she stopped as a sense of dread hit her. Come to think of it in the time she had known her teacher, he had always been the prideful kind. More then that the kind that wouldn't give up so easily.

Lee reached down into her pocket filling the place she had stored the cube was now empty.

"Those clever bastards..."

Meanwhile over with Irene she gripped the cube tightly, the one she had stolen off of Lee, when the girl had hit her... "Just a little longer." She winced. "We just need to survive for a little bit longer."