Hey everyone! Icy here. You may have wondered why I...disappeared, but I'm back now and it's a long story (okay, I went on vacation. But maybe I'm just saying that to fool you and I actually was off hunting the evils of this world....okay, I was on vacation in Michigan.)

~Icy

The huge council went by in a blur.

Council. Embassy. Purs. Why is everyone whispering about the crown?

Fire. The underwater ball. It exploded. Events. They always are destroyed.

We're getting ready. We're going to fight. Danger is around us.

My thoughts fly past me in a blur. I snatch at them with hands that are as effective as a breeze on a winter day. I can't make any sense of the maze that is my thoughts.

I don't think anyone can.

Bowstrings--bowstrangs, swords clashing, and gunfire are all what I hear as I scramble around the battlefield. They won't give me a weapon, and all I have is a dagger in my boot.

My boot. The dagger. Run. Smoke. Gunfire.

I've been in battles before.

Ashari. My friends. FAFA. 

With every beat of my heart comes a different thought.

Fighting. Fleeing. Peace.

But the one that confuses me the most is--

When will this end?

Will it end?

Or will I be stuck here, fighting this battle, my entire life? A gun fires, loud, clear, and horrifying, then a bowstring twangs. Someone screams another person's name. Animals chatter and scream.  

Will I be the next scream?

Blood on fingernails. Someone is bent over one of our dead--or dying? Are those the struggling movements of someone who has hope, or dying spasms? 

Push. Shove. Stab. Run.

This isn't a place for a PowerFriend. 

@Icy, You went on vacation in MI? So did I!

Anwen~

When Moonshadow sent word that he was going to a meeting of the Kyngdom Council, I knew it couldn't end well. How does every event like this manage to get crashed or turn into battle one way or another every single time? I run head-on into the battle without hesitating, and the seriousness of the situation hits me full force, like a bullet. Screaming. The clash of metal on metal. Bloodshed. I can't. Why. These thoughts run through my head as I search the crowd frantically for Moonshadow. I need to know if he's okay. Then I spot him arguing with Mina. 

And I see someone else.

Someone darting through the crowd. She looks scared as her dirty white-blond hair bounces up and down on her shoulders. My sister.

"Icy!"

This was my element.

OK, I know that sounds bad, but it's true. I was always more confident when I was fighting someone, and especially if I knew my cause was right.

The shadows that Catastrophe sent were a bit different than humans. As in normal weapons wouldn't hurt them.

I slashed and hacked with my arm, but the injuries that I inflicted on them stitched up and hardly seemed to affect them. I swung, chopping the shadow's head off, but after a few seconds it formed a new one.

The crowd of shadows was beginning to overwhelm me. I can feel my strength weaken, and my hand moves more slowly. I see a shadow raise it's sword and feebly raise my arm to block the blow.

Then I feel talons clamp onto my arms and I am whisked above the fight. Zephyr, one of my eagles, whirred in greeting.

"Hey bud!" I said, breathless. "Thanks for the help."

We circle above the fight, and I throw some pocket grenades at the center of the shadow's ranks. The fire momentarily confuses them, allowing a wave of the Resistance to move in.

"YEAH!" I scream as the rank is quickly cut apart. "TAKE THAT YOU FILTHY-"

I see the arrow just as it hits Zephyr in the chest. It explodes on impact, throwing him off-balance and critically damaging his flight system. He hovers, trying to stay afloat on the feeble thermal we were flying on, but then his left wing gives out.

We start to spiral dive, and all I can hear is the wind and creaking of breaking metal. I frantically try to free myself from Zephyr's talons, but they have frozen up. The ground rushes towards us, and I scream.

Then an awful crunching noise and blackness.

~~~~~

Just so you all know, I don't think Sprocket is dead. Just critically injured I think. Also, unconcious. 

(This was before Sprocket passed out) 

I swear I saw Icy. And Catastrophe go after her. And then Anwen come out of no where and follow them. 

I see. Catastrophe's stupid, twisted brain thought that Icy had the Crown. 

10 hours. 

Nova's words repeat in my head. Ten hours. If only we had all three artifacts. 

If only. 

The battle continues even after Catastrophe leaves. 

Before I leave to follow Anwen who follows Icy, however, I lightly touch Sprocket's arm. 

"What if we could get all three artifacts? I mean, Catastrophe has one of them, but he can't do as much as he wants to do without the other two. Do you know who has the Sheild?"

Sprocket looks uneasy and shakes her head. "No. But why would Catastrophe think Icy had the Crown if you do?"

I take the decoy "Crown" out of a small pouch. 

And then an idea strikes me. 

I nod slightly and leap onto a horse someone else is preparing. They give a small shout and groan once I take off. 

I ride faster and faster until I reach where Anwen is. 

"Icy's...right ahead," she pants, trying to catch her breath. But she continues running. After all, Icy is her sister.

I knew a thing or two about that once. 

I ride faster when I finally spot Catastrophe, who is quickly closing in on Icy. 

"YO BLONDIE!" I yell at Catastrophe. 

He whips around and narrows his eyes. "What did you just call me?"

I take a small breath. "Looking for this?"

I take out the Crown and dangle it from my fingers. 

His eyes widen, but they quickly turn cold. "Let's make this simple. If you don't give it to me, I'll kill you and all your friends. But if you do give it to me, I will kill you and all your friends faster."

"Lot of smack talk for someone who couldn't even get the Crown until a cat revealed it to you," I smirk.

He swipes his arm up, and I begin to feel myself lift off the ground. 

But he forgot.

I have power, power I didn't have before when I had my prosthetic leg. 

I blast him back with wind and I drop to the ground. 

"You underestimate your enemies, Catastrophe. You know, I don't even see how you and Ronan are related. Ronan's smarter, braver, and more virtuous than you."

"Don't speak to me of that scum," he snarls, before drawing his sword out. 

I slowly take my Elvish blade out and smile. "Shall we dance?"

He yells while charging and I dodge his blade, only to be hit in the back by a blunt force. I gasp forward and struggle for breath before I'm kicked down again. I hit the ground, hard, and turn around, only to have a hand to my throat. 

"Pitiful, cat," he cackles. His wicked smile fades. "Now die."

His grip tightens and I gasp. But I nonchalantly reach my hand onto the side of his belt where his knife is. 

I mumble something, and he narrows his eyes. "Speak louder. If you can."

"Happy birthday. Present...for...you," I sputter, and plunge the knife into his leg.

He yells, and I kick his chest with my legs, sending him flying across the ground. 

He leaps up, and runs towards me before attempting to punch me in the jaw. I block it and throw a side kick. He grabs my leg and throws me down before taking the knife from his leg and holding it above his head. I take the small explosive from my pouch and hide it in my hand. 

When Catastrophe swings down, I grab his arm and attach the explosive to his hand.

I smirk. "Joke's on you."

I use my cat instincts and leap back as it explodes. 

He's probably not dead. 

But at least Icy won't be. 

I'm so sorry for not being on in a while, guys! My birthday just passed and its the end of the summer and all that.. Anyways, here we go!

Anethia~

I scream. This battle is so terrible that it sends waves and waves of fear up my spine. I haven't been in a large battle before, but I'll fight as best I can. 

My siblings are beside me, their eyes as wide as mine, before changing their expressions completely. It's a look that says "let's fight so the civilians don't have to."

Charging into the battlefield, I ready my bow and arrow, while Zariou and Delavi have swords. I fly into the air so I can get a better view of the enemies. Suddenly, I see one and shoot. It falls to the ground and I feel victorious.

After fighting a lot of the enemies off, I fly towards my siblings. "This is fun but terrifying," Delavi says. I feel the same way. We've all got a few minor injuries. I was nicked slightly by an enemy's arrow.

Zariou looks toward us and opens his mouth as if to say something, but suddenly an arrow flies into his chest at rapid speed. He falls to the ground.

"Zariou!" Delavi and I shout. He tries to say something again, but then puts his hand over his heart weakly. "It got you in the heart?" Delavi asks. He nods slowly.

"Oh no, this can't be happening," I say, panicked. He can't die! Not now! Not when I'm around! He nods again, though. Tears begin to form in my eyes.

"Zariou, no." It hurts to speak. I have a frog in my throat. "Please, stay with us. We need you." Delavi speaks my thoughts. I can hear her voice crack. Zariou shakes his head, then smiles weakly.

"It's...o-okay," he says slowly, barely managing to speak. "I'm dying...for the good...of Kyngdom."

I then realize that this is all my fault. I convinced my siblings to come with me to the Council. My mother protested. I should have listened to her.

"It's all my fault," I mumble. He shakes his head. "No...Anethia...it's....not your fault...I wanted...to fight against....Catastrophe...anyways..."

By this time my tears are exploding. Catastrophe caused all of this.

Zariou smiles again. "I...love...you two...never...forget that...Tell mum...and dad...I love them...I'm going...to a better...place..." It's getting harder for him to speak.

"Zariou, please don't leave us! Just stay awake and it will all get better! Soon we'll be back home drinking hot cocoa and we'll all be happy! Just stay with us!"

He shakes his head again. "I'm sorry...I can't....I'll be...happier now...I love you all....good..bye." His eyes begin to close and I hear his harsh breathing stop. Delavi puts her head on his heart, then her eyes widen completely and many tears escape at once. "Anethia...he's gone."

My eyes and mouth widen as I sniffle. Then, suddenly, my fists clench tight and I whip to look back at the enemies. There is another one approaching Delavi, who is still sitting over by my dead brother. 

Suddenly, it leaps at her. As she begins to turn her head with surprise, I jump in front of her. They took my brother, they won't take my sister too. I wait for the pain...but it isn't happening. Opening my tightly closed eyes, I see a blinding light in front of me. It's holding the enemy back, like a shield of some sort. I look around me until I see the rings on my shoulders, glowing just as brightly. Wait a minute..my rings are doing this?

I have light powers? 

"Guys, get into ranks," Mina shouts. Connie ran over to where everyone was and took her place. Something was different, strange about Mina's crown, and she could only wonder what. Ugh, it was bugging her.