Chapter Twelve

Jade finds that her special gift may cause some problems for her...

    Jade watched as the others entered through their doors, noting Rose take a slightly longer time to enter. Their gaze locked, and Jade gave her a nod. Rose smiled before turning back to her door.

    She then turned back towards her door, pulling it open revealing the outside surroundings. Not of the surroundings she and the others had found themselves in earlier, but of the one she had grown accustomed to since the day she was born.

    The sky was its original baby blue color; its cotton white clouds scattered all around. The sun shined down upon her as a breeze pushed the blades of grass gently to the side. As she looked to the ground, she could see there was a dirt path leading to a circle of trees within the distance.

Jade smiled lightly to herself. "I wonder if we will be able to bring this beauty back to Katrina's realm."

    She followed the path from the door, passing rocks and trees along the way. When the path came to an end at an opening to the circle of trees, Jade took a brief look inside. Within the center of the circle was a huge oak tree.

    She walked over to the innermost tree and ran her hands over the bark. "Too bad there are no trees like this where I live." A noise then came from within the tree causing her to take a cautious step back.

    Along the sides, the tree began to form cracks within its bark until it slowly began to fall down to the ground. Jade watched wide eyed as the layers of bark and wood began to shed from the tree.

Her brows soon narrowed as she closed her eyes. She could sense something, someone, close by, watching her. "You can come out now."

    "You are very good at that, you know. But what else is to be expected from the Guardian of Earth?"

    Jade looked around, not seeing anyone there. Though it was true she could sense a presence within the forest area, she couldn't shake the idea that there was no body around to be seen. "Who are you?" she began with narrowed eyes; her brows soon raised as a thought crossed her mind. "You are here t help me, are you not?"

    The voice let out a laugh. "Certainly, you are good with that. Indeed, I am here to help you gain the rest of your powers. I am the Spirit of Earth, but you may refer to me as Flower."

    "What do you mean, help me gain?" Jade questioned the spirit choice of words. "That girl, Katrina, said all we needed were the weapons…Unless…there has to be a trick."

    "Yes." Flower agreed a smile to be hard within her voice. "As the Spirits of the Elements, we are the ones who formed these weapons. The complete knowledge in which you and your friends need, are within these weapons, sealed away from all who may use them for their own sometimes greedy purposes. Without our consent, these weapons would be nothing more than mere tools at their disposal."

    "So, that's how you help us gain this knowledge. Without you, that knowledge would be sealed forever and therefore these weapons are completely useless unless one is trained to use them." Jade looked to the side. "And as far as my friends and I go, we don't have the time for that."

    "Exactly."

    "So, where is this Weapon of Earth?"

    Jade felt another breeze blow through; however, this breeze seemed to push her only on her right side, as if someone was pushing her to look behind her. She turned to look back to the tree seeing that all of the wood had completely flaked off, revealing a wooden rod. Jade studied the rod without making a move to come any closer.

    "So, I assume this is it then?"

    "That's right."

    Jade studied the rod a few more moments before deciding to come towards it. She then pulled the rod out from the center of the tree with ease. She raised an eyebrow. "That was unexpected…" when she had pulled the rod out from the tree she found that the end was actually that of a spear.

    The blade was sharp and seemed well polished for not being touched for so many years. Just below the blade was a dark green cloth tied tightly. Etched on the center of the rod was the symbol for earth.

    She twirled it slightly within her hands. "It's a good weight." She looked down to the stump seeing a small lump off to the side.

    Jade knelt down, picking up what laid on the ground. It was a small cylinder the diameter of the spear's rod, with a hollow center. Small straps were raveled around the cylinder. She smiled as she unraveled the straps from what she figured to be some sort of sheath for her spear.

    Once the straps were full undone, she took both straps in each hand and pulled each to either side from the center. She pulled one strap around her right shoulder, the other under her left arm then pulled the tightly to either side before tying the two together so the straps were tight against her left ribs and her right shoulder near the crane of her neck. Placing her hands behind her back, she made sure the cylinder was set on a diagonal so the spear head wouldn't touch the back of her neck.

    Jade then held her spear to the right before raising her hand and pushing the end of the spear into the sheath. The spear remained still in the sheath's tight grasp. She folded her arms over her chest, a satisfied look crossing over her features as she looked back up into the baby blue sky. "Alright, with this I am all set to go back to my friends."

    "Not so fast."

    "What?" She placed her arms to her sides. "I need to get back to them-"

    "And you will." Flower's tone remained calm as she spoke. "There is something I need to discuss with you about your powers."

    "You already explained-"

    "Your mental capabilities." Jade remained silent as she began to listen to the spirit speak. "These powers of Earth will have a significant change on your already well developed psychic powers."

    "Is that so?" Jade questioned softly, looking down to the ground. She wasn't excited about this news. Every now and then, her powers would kick in, showing her how the others around her feel, sometimes what they think. If those powers become more active, she wouldn't be able to stand it.

    "You needn't worry." Flower said shortly. "It'll only become stronger in telekinesis."

    "I don't have telekinesis."

    "You do now. Or so, you will."

    "Meaning?"

    "Meaning you will not gain all of your powers at once. However," Flower paused slightly, "With these powers being advanced as they are, you may get your powers sooner."

    "Sooner? You mean someone else had powers like mine?"

    "Yes. The previous Guardian of Earth."

    Jade smiled. Even though the previous guardian had died so many years before she was even born, it still gave her some comfort to know that there was at least one other person who dealt with the same things she is dealing with now.

    "However," Jade's heart sunk at the spirit's saddened tone of voice as she continued on, "Since your powers are more advanced, there is more of a chance that you may lose control of your mental status."

    Jade swallowed slightly. "You mean I will go insane."

    "There is the possibly; yes."

    Jade remained silent for a long moment, before shrugging her shoulders at the news. "I have no choice in the matter." She stated comprehensively. "Even if I could just give up the powers of earth, I can not just give up on my friends. I can't just sit idly by when they are fighting for their lives…the lives for the whole world for that matter; this one and ours." She shook her head. "No, I won't do that; not for my own selfish reasons."

    "Well said." Flower said in a respectful tone, pausing for a short while. "And now, with everything you need to know being said, I will now send you back to your friends."

    "I would greatly appreciate it." Jade said; and she did, down to the bottom of her heart.

    "Please, close your eyes."

    Without a single thought, Jade did as she was told. She could feel her skin tingle slightly as she was surrounded by a green light. After a few seconds, Jade was gone from the tranquil outdoors.