THE DRAGON AND THE PHOENIX

by Shoraz

  “And kill those that killed them,” Jonah then said and without hesitation, Razen chanted a spell and the vigilantes began to bleed from their eyes, ears, and mouths and they all then fell to the floor in death.

  “Now we must go Jonah, your army is waiting for you back in Zerros,” Razen said and he then held out his hand and began to mumble a spell and as Ava heard the words of evil spewing from his mouth she shouted, “No Jonah, please don’t go with him,” and as Jonah held Razen’s hand a rush of power ran through his body and he continued walking with Razen towards the door of the church.

  Upon seeing Razen and Jonah walking towards the door, Ava ran towards them and grabbed Jonah and then Dean, John and Luanne ran towards them as well and as Razen saw that he uttered some words of magic and then the angels and idols from the paintings, mosaics and statues within the church all came to life as Razen wanted to show his power and strength to everyone in the church, especially Ava.

  “I could kill you all if I so wished but I want you all to live within this dream, especially you Ava, knowing that you will never stop Jonah and me from ruling Zerros and everything in existence,” Razen boldly stated, when in truth, Razen actually did have vast powers but in the dream he did not have the powers to kill Dean, Luanne, John, Ava or even Jonah as Ava was somehow protecting them all in the dream using her otherworldly abilities.

  “Jonah, please don’t go with him and stay with us,” Luanne pleaded.

  “Son, please listen to your mother, we love and care about you very much,” Dean shouted but the words fell on deaf ears.

  “Now let us go Jonah, the Blue Dragon is waiting for you. This dream is over,” Razen said, and as both he and Jonah made their way to the door, the walls of the church began to crumble and fall to the floor and just as they were about to exit the door of the church to make their way back to Zerros, a large piece of the church wall fell right in front of the door and blocked their exit.

  And as Razen saw that he looked back at Ava and mockingly said to her, “Do you really think a piece of stone will stop me from ruling everything in existence O great and wise Phoenix?” as he devilishly grinned at Ava. And then as Razen said one word of a spell Ava screamed, “No!” as she felt the evil of his magic. And then suddenly the walls of the church were gone and was replaced by an amusement park with carnival rides such as a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, a roller coaster, a carousel and a small haunted house, and in the background Ava could hear circus music being played and as Ava looked around, the carnival was empty but the rides were moving with no one in them.

  Then in the eeriness of the dream, Ava saw a house of mirrors and something was drawing her to it, and as she walked towards it and saw herself in the mirror, to her surprise she was now a little girl no older than five years old. As she saw herself, memories of her childhood came rushing back to her and she called out to her dad but there was no answer, and she sat down and began to cry and as she cried a voice called out to her, “Ava don’t cry! It’s me, Jonah,” and as she looked up towards the sound of the voice she saw Jonah standing alone in front of the small haunted house and he looked just as he did back on earth when he was a small boy many years ago.

  Then, as Jonah was about to start walking towards Ava, a dark voice called out to him, “Jonah, wait for me, look what I have for you,” and as Ava heard the voice, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and goosebumps covered her arms, and she shivered as a cold breeze was now in the air, and as she looked towards the dark voice, it was none other than Razen who was coming out of the small haunted house and in his hand he had a red balloon.

  As Jonah saw Razen with the red balloon in his hand he quickly forgot about Ava and ran towards Razen, and Razen handed him the balloon and said to him, “Come with me my little child, there’s plenty more where this came from,” and as Razen handed him the balloon Jonah began walking with him back into the haunted house.

  Then, Ava sensing that something was terribly wrong shouted to Jonah, “Jonah don’t go with him, he’s a stranger, and he’s bad. I know he is.”

  As Jonah heard Ava’s words, he looked up to Razen and asked him, “Are you bad mister? My sister thinks you are.”

  “No my little dragon, I am not bad. I am just trying to help you get back home,” Razen said as he smiled at Jonah.

  “See Ava, he’s not bad. He’s just trying to help us,” Jonah said.

  “Very good Jonah,” Razen then said to him, and as Razen waved his hand a candy apple appeared in it, and Razen gave it to Jonah who started eating it, and as Jonah ate the candy apple, Ava looked at him and she saw the truth of what he was eating, and it was a blue orb, which was in truth an evil spell that was created by Razen.

  Then as Jonah ate it Ava could see his skin color turning blue and she then began running towards him and hit the candy apple out of his hand and it fell to the ground, and as it fell Jonah screamed at Ava, “Why did you do that?” as he got upset and began to cry.

  Then as he began to cry Ava looked towards Razen and tried to use her magic on him but it was of no use, and as she came to that realization she tried pulling Jonah away from Razen, and Razen raised his hand and hit her and she fell to the floor and as Jonah saw that he let go of the balloon and bit Razen’s hand, and as he did so, he ran towards Ava and pulled her up by her arm and began leading her away from Razen into the amusement park. Then, as Razen grabbed the balloon and held it in his hand, he slowly followed Jonah and Ava into the amusement park.

  As Jonah and Ava ran, they were both crying and in the distance they could see Razen slowly following them, and as they continued running through the amusement park and hiding anywhere they could, Razen still followed them as he knew that he had to get Jonah back to Zerros.

  Then as they continued running and hiding at the Ferris wheel, at the bumper cars, and at the carousel, Razen still followed them, and it was at that point that Razen knew what he had to do and he used his powers and summoned his magnificent beast – Zarax – and as he did so, something that was deep and was embedded within the soul of Jonah did the unthinkable and stepped out from his hiding spot in a trance–like state at the call of his creator and master – Razen.

  Then as Ava saw him do that she shouted, “No Jonah, stay with me,” but Jonah didn’t listen to her and he said to Razen, “Please mister, don’t hurt us. I’ll come with you. Just leave my sister alone,” at which point Razen nodded his head and smiled at Jonah and handed him the balloon and said to him, “Very good my little dragon, very good,” and began walking back with him towards the haunted house which was the doorway back to Zerros.

  As Ava saw them, she began crying and said to Jonah, “No Jonah, don’t go with him. Please stay with me, I’m scared to be alone,” as the tears rolled down her face, and Jonah looked back at her with his balloon in his hand and said to her, “It’s okay Ava, I love you, but you will never be able to give me what my master has promised me,” as he looked at Razen at which point he asked him, “Can I have another candy apple?”

  To which Razen replied, “Of course my child, anything for you,” and Razen chanted a spell and as the candy apple appeared in his hand, he gave it to Jonah who took a bite out of it and then as Jonah looked at Ava a sense of melancholy overcame him and he said, “Can I give her the rest of my candy apple? I don’t want her to be sad,” to which Razen nodded his head in agreement, and Ava then ran towards Razen and Jonah and took the candy apple and hugged Jonah tightly. Then as they hugged each other and cried, Razen said, “It’s time to go Jonah,” and as Razen and Jonah walked away, Ava held onto Jonah’s hand for as long as she could as tears rolled down their faces, and as their hands separated they stood in front of the small haunted house.

  Then, Jonah asked Ava, “Do you want to join us sister? And together we will rule the universes.”

  To which Ava replied, “No Jonah, I can’t.”

  “Then stay out of our way or we will destroy you,” Jonah said to her as Razen proudly looked on at his little dra
gon of evil.

  Then, Razen and Jonah looked at each other and Razen said to him, “Pledge your soul to me and we will rule the universes together,” and as Razen touched Jonah’s forehead to make sure that Jonah was fully under his control, Razen saw and felt the evil of the Blue Dragon coursing through Jonah, and he then showed Jonah what awaited him if he followed Razen, and as the evil and the hate and the greed which embodied the Blue Dragon coursed through Jonah, he said to Razen, “I pledge my soul to you O master of evil,” and as Jonah said those words Razen felt the evil within Jonah and he knew that his spell upon him was complete and there was no way that Jonah would ever give up the supreme powers that lay before him.

  Then, as Razen realized that his master plan was almost complete, he was elated as he had rescued his evil creation Zarax from being manipulated by the mind of Ava the Phoenix – his beloved sister from his past life. And as Razen and Jonah were about to enter the haunted house, Jonah morphed into Zarax the Blue Dragon and as he turned to look at Ava she sensed the absolute evil that was within him and just as she did so, he fired shards of fire and ice towards her and she jumped to get out of the way and as she continued to try and evade Zarax, he continued his attack on her, and then Razen said to him, “Enough Zarax, we have much work to do, she cannot stop us now,” and as they walked towards the haunted house it vanished and in its place stood a portal and they entered it and disappeared as if they never existed, leaving Ava alone in the amusement park as it burned to the ground, and she looked around in fright of what awaited her back in Zerros.

  And then as the flames of fire and ice engulfed her, she closed her eyes and she was now back in the church and she was no longer a small child, and also in the church were Dean, Luanne, John, Razen and Jonah; and similar to Ava, Jonah was also not a small child anymore.

  And then as she looked at Jonah he was staring at Razen, and as Razen looked at Ava they both knew what had just happened back in the amusement park and they just stared at each other as no words were needed for the hate that was flowing between them. And then as Razen used his powers to move the large piece of church wall that had fallen and was blocking the door, both he and Jonah looked at Ava, and Ava felt the pure evil that coursed within them both, and at that point she didn’t even try to stop them as she knew that Razen had finally won over the mind of Jonah and there was nothing that she could do about it.

  Razen then looked at Jonah and said to him, “Jonah, tell them who your master is?”

  To which Jonah replied, “You are my master O evil one,” as he looked at Dean, Luanne, Ava and John.

  And then as Razen looked at Dean, Luanne, Ava and John, he said to them, “We could have gone back to Zerros back in the amusement park, but I only came back here to show all four of you that love will never win against greed, hate and evil. This dream is over, but the nightmare has only begun,” and with those words, Razen showed Ava that evil had indeed taken over the soul of her beloved brother and then both Razen and Jonah walked towards the exit of the church knowing that victory surely awaited them back in Zerros.

  Then, as she looked at them, they exited the church and began their journey of the mind back to Zerros as Ava helplessly looked on.

  Then as Razen and Jonah disappeared, Ava and the others looked on as the walls of the church crumbled and the skies outside began to explode and the dream that they were in, the dream that felt so real and so lifelike and genuine had come to an end and they helplessly looked on as the world around them began to slowly disappear.

  Ava then looked at her mother and father, and with tears in her eyes she said, “I love you both very much, and thank you for helping me but there’s still so much more for me to do.”

  “We know Ava, and it will not be easy but if anyone can do it it’s you my precious baby,” Luanne said.

  “It’s time for us to go Ava, the dream is ending,” Dean said.

  Ava then looked at John and she began to cry hysterically and John looked at her and said, “I’m sorry that I died in Zerros Ava, I feel as if I have failed you.”

  “No John, never think that. I made it to Zerros and became one with the Phoenix because of you. I couldn’t have done it without you John,” Ava replied.

  “She’s right John; you did everything you could have done and more, there’s nothing for you to feel sorry about. But now the time has come for us to go,” Luanne said to John as the world around them continued to fall apart in a manner beyond imagination.

  “Please stay with me for a bit longer. I can feel your love and I can feel the power of the Phoenix growing from it,” Ava said to her mother, father, and John as she wept from the emotion of the situation.

  “It’s time to go; the dream is almost over. We love you my child,” Dean said as he slowly began to disappear and Ava held his hand as his body slowly became nothing.

  “And now I must go Ava, I love you very much,” Luanne said, and as Ava hugged her, she kissed Ava on the cheek and then slowly disappeared into nothingness as well.

  Ava then turned to John and he held out his hand and in it was the light that Luanne had given to him in his dream back on earth.

  “Take this Ava, your mother gave it to me in a dream and now I’m giving it to you, and it will guide you in times of need,” John said to Ava.

  “No John, I can’t take that from you. My mother gave that gift to you and you should keep it for your times of need,” Ava said as she cried.

  “I’ll be fine Ava, I just have to look after myself. But you have to look after Zerros and everything in existence within the Realm of Creation, and you will need it more than I ever will in your fight against Razen and Zarax, please take it as a gift from me to you,” John said as he then gave the light to Ava.

  “Thank you John, you are the most selfless and noble person that I have ever met, I love you so much,” Ava said.

  “I love you too Ava, more than words could ever say. If you ever defeat the Blue Dragon and Razen, come look for me. I’ll be in the universe of Oskola on a planet called Euclidius, and I’ll be waiting for you,” John said.

  “I don’t know if I can defeat them John, they are very powerful,” Ava said to him.

  “You have to Ava, as Zerros and everything in existence is depending on you. If Razen and Zarax defeat you their evil will overtake everything in existence, you have to find a way Ava. Only you can do it O mighty Phoenix. Now I must go, but before I do, always remember that patterns and sequences control everything in life, and without them, life as we know it would not exist. If we ever meet each other in a future life, please remind me of that as I am quite sure I will have forgotten it by then. Goodbye, my friend,” John said, and as he hugged Ava his body slowly disappeared, and Ava was now left alone, as the world around her slowly continued to fade away.

  Then, as Ava looked at the light that John gave to her she squeezed it in her hand and it melded into her skin and the light became one with her. She then began to transform into the Phoenix, and as she did so, the light that John gave to her became one with her and her outer edges, and her eyes were now a beautiful shade of silver and blue. Then, as the power of the light coursed within her, she flew into the nothingness of the dream and began her journey back to Zerros as the dream ended.

  CHAPTER TWENTY–NINE

  Back in Zerros, the army of the Blue Dragon looked at their leader – Zarax – as he lay motionless on the ground, and they were unsure of what to do next.

  Meanwhile, the army of Zerros looked at the Phoenix as she majestically hovered in a state of unconsciousness as her mind was still within the mind of the Blue Dragon.

  “What’s going on? What’s happening to her?” Max asked.

  “She’s taken over the mind of the Blue Dragon,” Mikaelos replied.

  “Can we do anything to help her?” Sarah asked.

  “We can try but if we get lost in his mind, and we do not get out of it before he awakes, our minds and souls will forever be in a state of limbo for eternity and beyond,” A
staria replied.

  “Then what do we do?” Sarah asked.

  “We wait Sarah, we wait until she returns,” Mikaelos replied and just as Mikaelos said those words the four dragons loudly roared and in the distance to the surprise of the army of Zerros, the army of the Blue Dragon began heading straight towards them.

  “Alkazar, get them ready for battle,” Qabreal shouted as he looked at the enemies heading straight for them.

  Alkazar then quickly nodded to his lieutenants, and they began to command their sentinels and royal guards to take a defensive stance in anticipation of the incoming attack, and as the sentinels and royal guards looked towards the distance at the four dragons and the diamond army coming towards them they all prepared their weapons and waited for the inevitable.

  “Alkazar, the Phoenix is defenseless. We should fall back to protect her,” Manaka said.

  “No Manaka, Jinnack and his battalion will guard the Phoenix at the Grand Castle. We will stay here and try to keep them at bay,” Alkazar said as he pointed to the army of the Blue Dragon.

  Yokelis then walked up to Manaka and embraced him and said, “Whatever happens on the battlefield Manaka, just know that Galiac would have been proud of you.”

  As Alkazar listened to Yokelis and Manaka a deep sense of regret and guilt coursed through him and he said to them, “I’m sorry my friends but I am the one who killed Galiac. If I had only known the truth and the reality of the situation I would have killed Venetia instead. I am truly sorry.”

  Manaka and Yokelis then looked at Alkazar, and Manaka said, “You still fail to understand the situation Alkazar. Galiac already knew that he was going to die when he walked into the Grand Castle, and he already knew that Venetia would destroy the Xerrolux and he played her like the fool she is. It was all a part of his plan to get the Phoenix back to Zerros. And now that plan is in jeopardy, and it is up to us to fight against the army of the Blue Dragon and save Zerros and the universes from an eternity of doom and despair.”