The Crystal 3, Jones M [fox in socks read aloud TXT] 📗

us exclaimed in shock.

"Erick, we don't know where Emery is. She could be in danger!" I stated. Erick just shook his head.

"There is no other danger that affects us. Well, except for the erboons, but that's a minor issue. Zane, I know you want to find her, and so do we. But we have to let this go."

"But--"

"We have tried everything to find her, but she cannot be found. I have a feeling that Emery is okay, and she perhaps left the hospital because we approached her and reminded her of what we did to her. We have no option but to believe she doesn't want to be found."

Erick had stunned me into silence. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I had to let it go. We all had to let Emery go. I wasn't sure that I would see her again, especially because there was so much I wanted to tell her. There was so much I wanted to apologize for, but she was not around. Maybe it was for the best. Emery had once considered me her bad luck charm, and I realized that it was true. It was best if we stayed away from her.

Third Person's P.O.V

Eva yelled out in frustration as she threw a fireball towards the magic mirror. The fireball exploded on impact, sending flames that were close enough to reach Eva's form. 

She was in one of the chambers in the new castle that Emery had created, staring at Erick and his family as they decided to stop looking for Emery.

"I don't get it," Eva spoke to herself just as an erboon crawled towards her chamber.

"Get out!" she yelled at it with a glare, sending a fireball towards it. It screeched, quickly escaping before the fireball could hit it.

Eva sighed and rubbed a hand on her face. She pinched her eyebrows, walking around as she let her thoughts wander onto the possibilities of what could have happened to Emery.

She blamed herself for sleeping on that night. Ever since Emery had been admitted in the hospital, she had gotten bored of watching her through the magic mirrors. It was the same thing that she saw repeatedly; Emery walking, Emery talking with her therapist, Emery sleeping, Emery crying... nothing useful in aiding her plan to take over Crystalia and the whole world.

Eva wished she could have rewound time to see what had happened on that night, but she could not because there was no such spell.

She could plan to attack Crystalia and its people, but she was not sure if Emery was alive or not. She could only succeed if she was certain that Emery was dead.

Eva just had to wait and see.

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Zane's P.O.V

It was morning in Crystalia. I had teleported away from the castle, walking into the new forest in front of it. Erick had finally decided to give it a name: Joshalia. I thought it was a weird name for a forest, but the people around seemed to accept it. Erick said that it was in honor of Josh, mostly because he was there for Emery when we weren't.

Over the past year, I had grown used to the sight of trees and green grass. Everything in the forest was always fresh and green, and that provided me a sense of tranquility.

My feet had stopped at a pine tree. Behind it was a clearer, less blue view of the large Crystalia mountains. The air was cold, but I did not mind it. My eyes traveled upwards, observing that some of the features of the mountains had been obscured by some of its contours.

At the moment, gray clouds had circled around the mountain peaks. It was such a beautiful sight.

A loud blast broke my reverie. I turned to the source of it, noticing some kind of large yellow portal opening up before spitting someone out of it. The person landed on the ground at the speed of a ball thrown by force.

I recognized that someone. Emery.

My eyes widened in shock. I could not believe what I was seeing. I went closer to the form to see if my eyes were playing tricks.

They weren't.

It really was Emery.

Then I noticed the bruises that had marred her form. In an instant, I knelt beside her.

"Emery! Emery!" I called out to her, gently tapping her face. She was unresponsive.

I leveled my arms under her back and knees then teleported out of the forest. Seconds later, I was in Crystalia's castle, moving quickly through the hallways with an unresponsive Emery. 

"Zane! Why are you--" Erick cut himself off once I entered the main study room.

"Emery?" he exclaimed in shock while I busied myself with placing Emery on one of the couches in the room. Erick moved with me. Sounds of footsteps had echoed before other people entered the room.

"Emery!" Selena and Elizabeth cried out, rushing towards the person who was unconscious on the couch.

"What happened?" Erick asked me.

"I don't know! I was just in the forest when a portal opened up and literally spat her out!"

Erick eyed me wearily. It kind of hurt that he was still suspicious of me with Emery, but I guess that was what I deserved after what I put Emery through.

"Trust me, Erick. That is all that happened! As soon as I saw her, I brought her back here."

Erick dropped the look of suspicion as he turned to face Emery.

"She needs to be healed," Selena said before she lay her hands on Emery's head. The bruises and cuts that were on Emery were soon disappearing.

A couple of seconds later, Emery gasped as she shot up from the couch.

"Whoa!" Erick said, almost close to butting his chin with Emery's head. Emery looked around in a scared way.

"Is he here?"

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Emery, what the hell? Where have you been? We have been worried sick and we have been searching everywhere for you!"

"Zane, now is not the time," she said with a serious look. "We can talk about that later because we have a bigger problem to deal with right now."

"What?" I asked as she got up from the couch. Emery sighed as she looked around the room.

"There is a new villain."

My eyes rose in shock. Emery looked scared, and it scared the rest of us.

"Who is it, Emery?" Erick asked.

"I don't know his name," she replied. "All I know is that after I escaped from the hospital, I stayed away for a couple of months before he got to me. He kidnapped me and held me as a captive."

Emery looked at us with frightened eyes. "Guys, this villain is more powerful than I am. What makes it worse is that he's a psychopath."

The rest of us were stunned into silence as we thought of what to do. Before anyone could speak, a sudden loud explosion was heard.

"He's already here!" Emery exclaimed with a high-pitched whisper. The rest of us did not waste time as we quickly walked out of the castle.

 

Chapter 05

 

Zane's P.O.V

"What the hell?" Selena exclaimed once we were outside the castle. I could comment the same, but I was busy observing what was happening in front of me with wide eyes.

The Joshalia forest was being rattled. A strong, thundering force was felling the trees in different directions, moving towards the castle. Then there was a loud thud that shook the ground beneath our feet. The rest and I were also shaken, and we temporarily lost our balance. 

I was curious yet scared to know who was causing such a fuss in the morning. I mean, we hadn't even had breakfast yet!

Selena, Emery, Erick, my bandmates and I walked towards the forest with quick steps. Out of the trees came out a clothed pale-skinned man, having us stop at the sight of him. He had weird orange hair and blackened eyes that resembled those of erboons. Moreover, he seemed to be in his mid-twenties.

We waited as the man continued to walk towards us. It took him a couple of seconds for him to be a few feet in front of us. He stopped and stared at someone on my right. I followed his gaze, noticing that he was looking at a frightened Emery.

"Who are you?" Erick asked the man with a glare. The man turned his eyes to the King, but he did not answer; he just smiled. Then in an instant, he had performed a kick that sent Erick flying backward.

"Erick!" the rest of us called out to him as we turned to face his flying form. Luckily, he had teleported before he could hit the ground. In an instant, he was standing beside us.

In fury, Erick hurled a fireball towards the unknown man. The creepy guy raised a hand, stopping the fireball from colliding with his form. He flicked his wrist, making the ball of fire swirl around him as it grew.

It was at that instant that I knew the man was truly dangerous. I watched in disbelief as the swirling flames from the fireball encircled him. The guys and I slowly moved back.

Then the flames were quickly coming towards us.

We all ducked, avoiding the flames that raged above us until they dissipated. Then we immediately stood up.

"That's it!" Selena yelled, pushing her hands out. The guy was pushed back by telekinesis. Selena was using a lot of her strength, but the man with ginger hair only moved a few feet. He smirked, clutching his hand to form a fist. Selena's form seemed to be instantly held in an invisible grip.

"Guys, help!" she yelled, and I sprang into action. I ran towards the man, successfully pushing him down with my weight. 

He grunted as we fell to the ground. In an instant, he was thrashing on my hold. My hands held onto his head and summoned fire from my palms. The flames, however, didn't reach close enough to touch his skin before I felt the man quickly move beneath me. He tilted us, and he had me under him.

His hands were soon on my throat as I watched his black eyes. The man was grinning as I choked on air.

I reached for his arm before summoning a small fireball. It was enough to have him release the hold he had on my throat. I moved quickly as I coughed, turning to kick the guy. However, he was faster, and he had flicked me from the ground with the use of his powers.

The view of the man and the guys seemed to shrink, and it was at that moment that I realized I was flying high into the sky. 

I was horrified.

The wind was blowing around my figure, and due to my frazzled emotions, I couldn't focus enough to use my powers. 

I thankfully didn't have to worry too much about it because Emery was flying towards me. She grabbed onto me before flying us back onto the ground. Once we landed, I spotted the rest of my bandmates trying to bring down the villain.

Logan, Ethan and Harry were trying to freeze the guy with a spell while the rest of us waited for anything unexpected to happen. The man, unfortunately, wouldn't stop moving.

"It's not working!" Ethan exclaimed in disbelief. He immediately stopped. We all stood on alert, waiting for the man to reciprocate.

He did nothing but smile. Emery told us