Vanished smile

Aliyah sat there and looked at Winter with anger.

"Why…why did you keep kidnapping my people? Why only us?"

Winter looked at Aliyah with a blank expression on her face.

"Leo clan. You all have strong, durable bodies and decent aura limitations. That's why we chose you all." Winter explained.

Aliyah punched Winter in the face.

"Learn to control your emotions, woman. We all have lost things we loved dearly to our hearts." Winter said.

Aliyah grabbed her by the shirt and bumped their heads together. "What have you lost exactly!? Your a damn general for a king! You both terrorize your own people and use them!" Aliyah yelled.

Jerome has just climbed to the top of the tree when hearing the commotion.

"I don't starve my people. That's all him. My father is a very cruel man…but not as cruel as this wretched island." Winter said.

"What do you mean?" Aliyah asked in desperation.

Winter said nothing and kept her head down.

"You'll be in hell soon enough anyways!" Aliyah said.

"How much time is left, exactly?" Winter asked in a weakened voice.

"Sixty seconds."

"You said this tree only heals people that are good, am I right? Then how come your buddy over there isn't done healing?"

Aliyah turned around and looked at Trover. She noticed the tree had stopped healing him. She ran over and studied what the problem was.

"What's going on? Why isn't the spell broken!?" Aliyah asked.

Aliyah noticed Trover's feet covered in ice.

"I must've not been the best person. I understand that since I'm from the Kani, haha!" Trover whispered.

(He's got a point. I forgot all about that! If your a troop then that means you've killed a good amount of people or take lots of values!)

"Are those sixty seconds up?" Jerome asked.

Aliyah nodded in agreement.

Jerome pointed in the direction where Winter was hanging.

Aliyah turned around slowly to see her gone. "The tree…this must be some mistake!" Aliyah yelled.

Jerome pulled out his sword. "Keep your guard up! We're up in the sky, I doubt she jumped down."

Aliyah ripped Trover's shirt off and placed her hand on his chest. "I'm gonna give you some aura to slow the process of her spell. Just hang in there, Trover!"

(I can't kill her…it's against my code to harm good hearted people…the tree said so-) Aliyah thought to herself.

"Shit, shit! Jerome I can't harm her at all! It's against my clan's way of living!" Aliyah yelled in desperation.

"What? Why not?" Jerome asked.

"The tree is never wrong about someone being a good person. She apparently has a good heart. Such a good heart that the tree doesn't want to harm her!" Aliyah yelled over the loud wind.

Jerome stared to look around. He closed his eyes once again to find out where Winter was hiding.

"What the hell!?"

Aliyah turned to Jerome and looked confused.

"She's in a bright area. It looks as though she's freezing it. What the hell is that? A seed!?" Jerome asked.

Aliyah's heart dropped. "We need to get off the tree and fast! She's at the core and freezing it as we speak.

She grabbed Trover and started running.

Jerome quickly followed. "Are we about to jump!?" He asked.

Aliyah grabbed him without saying a word and threw him off. She quickly jumped behind him.

"I'm gonna kill you!!" He yelled.

They all were falling from the sky. Aliyah turned around to see the giant tree starting to fall apart. Giant tree branches fell from the sky with the three.

Jerome forced his body to turn in air. He turned around and could see Winter diving straight at them.

"I'm not letting you guys get off the hook that easily!" The yelled.

She landed in a branch while in the air. "Ice dragon, triple headed king!"

Jerome and the others were still falling towards the ground.

"Shit. You guys might wanna look out." Trover whispered in Aliyah's ear. Aliyah looked up in terror when seeing a giant wing come out of the clouds above them.

Three huge heads appeared in the sky and stared directly at the three.

"Quickly…five straight down until you hit the ground!" Jerome yelled.

Winter snapped her fingers and pointed at the three. The dragon dove straight down at them.

"Ice archer."

Winter shot a arrow at Trover. Hitting him in the shoulder.

Aliyah quickly spun around while trying to cover Trover.

She noticed the sky getting dark around her. The dragon opened its mouth and was getting ready to chomp them both.

Before it could close it's mouth, Aliyah noticed a foot on the nose of the beast. It was Jerome. He flew to the dragon using his aura and kicked it back.

"You both go on ahead. I'll handle the dragon! Be safe!" He yelled as Aliyah plummeted with Trover.

Jerome flew higher and higher in the sky.

(Hey…let's make one more deal, reaper. And in exchange I'll feed you part of my skin!)

A deep voice was heard in the back of Jerome's mind.

(Depends on what kind of deal you want boss man.) the voice said.

(I need you to use your own aura and put it into the scythe weapon that I'm about to summon! If you can do that then…I can defeat this creature and get to the others quickly to save them!)

(Jerome…you don't understand-)

(Just do it! Take the skin off my arm as part of the deal!)

Jerome felt a burning sensation on his arm. All that could be seen was the muscle tissue, no skin at all.

"Hidden troop technique: reaper's Scythe!"

The scythe was bigger in size and was all black.

Jerome stopped the aura from shooting out below him and began to fall towards the beast.

"Scythe attack first form: soul eating slash!"

Landed on the beast's nose and began to cut it in half with one swing from the scythe.

The weapon disappeared as he fell thousands of feet from the air and onto the ground.

Jerome looked around to see nothing but darkness.

"How much do I have left?" He asked.

(Three years…and counting.) the reaper said in his head.

Jerome got up slowly and could hear Aliyah's cries out in the distance. He crawled over to her to see Trover bleeding out on the ground and freezing.

Jerome took off his cape and wrapped it around Trover's body.

"Heal him, Aliyah!" He yelled.

"I-I can't. That's the best I can do." She wailed.

"I-it's ok, Jerome." Trover whispered.

Jerome ignored him and started to take his shirt off to wrap it around the wound.

"This will stop the bleeding! For the spell you need to hang in there just a little bit longer. Don't you dare die on me!" Jerome yelled.

"Jerome…I'm not gonna make it pal. I can feel my life slipping away. And just when I thought I'd be able to get to know you more, Aliyah."

Jerome punched the ground in anger. He stood up quickly and looked up at the sky in a panic.

"Hey, I know you can hear me. Give me I'd of spell to heal my partner!" Jerome yelled.

"Jerome…there's no one there." Aliyah whispered.

(Calm your emotions. I cannot heal such a being! Anyone who is a lesser life form…I cannot heal without taking over one's whole soul and body.)

"Then take all of mine! So why you gotta do!" Jerome yelled out.

(That is not possible at this time. You've reached your limits already. That woman put lots of strain on your powers. There for you can no longer make any deals anymore. I'm sorry, Jerome.) the reaper said.

Jerome fell to his knees and held his heart tight. "If only…I'd never been captured! Damn it, Jerome. You haven't changed at all! Your still the same kid that let his mother abuse him and let his brother die!" Jerome yelled in frustration.

Trover lifted his head up and yelled at Jerome.

"Stop calling yourself weak! It's just not true, not at all. You've come a long way from the person you once were Since I last saw you, Jerome. Keep your head high and move forward!" Trover yelled.

"You remember the dangerous mission I went on? The one where it was me and Nzinga taking on a whole army? Remember when you didn't like taking pictures or be around anybody? Your a completely different Jerome now! You be changed and that's a good thing."

Trover pulled out his phone and showed the screen to Jerome and Aliyah.

In the picture was a younger Adisa,Frost,Udo,Bella,Nzinga, Xavier, Jerome, and Trover. All smiling in the picture.

"That was the first time I've seen you smile. I did my best to make people laugh. That's always been my life. Your like a little brother to me, Jerome. Out of all the troops…you and Nzinga really understand me the most. Smiling makes you a better person because it has positive attitude in it…so keep smiling pal!" Trover said.

Jerome watched as blood was reaching the bottom of his shoes from Trover's body.

Jerome walked over to Trover and bent down. His hair covered his eyes as he showed no emotion,just nose and lips.

"You guys were my first and only family. Thank you!" Trover said as he closed his eyes.

Aliyah started to shake Trover awake but there was no response.

"Come on! Not yet, weren't finished yet!" She said.

Jerome grabbed Aliyah's hand and pulled her close to him. "Let's go. We still have to reach Nzinga." He whispered.

Aliyah grabbed Jerome by the hands. "It's ok to be upset, Jerome! I know how your-"

"You have no idea!" He said.

He lifted up his head to reveal tears in his eyes.

"He-he was the first person I could consider a friend." Jerome whispered.

Aliyah pat Jerome on the shoulder.

"You're got one right here." She said.