Chapter twenty-six- Kyra

                                    

                                          
Kyra opens her eyes slowly,  and the world around her comes to focus. A brown phoenix stood above her and breathed a sigh of relief. She knew she was safe. 
"The madam is alive and breathing," he said in a deep voice. 
"Really?! Thank you... Alder... Um, what happened to your friend... er... Ember?" He asked. 
"Ember? We're still looking for him." The phoenix named Alder sighed. "Why do you ask?" 
"...No reason." 
"Huh. Well, either way, Sasha is fully healed. And, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know her?" He inhaled a deep breath and stared at Ferno in the eye. Kyra was quite confused on what was going on, but right then, Koda came barreling into her arms. 
"KODA! KODA!! YOU'RE SAFE!!!" She rubbed her cheek against his. 
"Mhmm!" Koda's eyes kept flicking over at Phantom, who was snoozing on Sasha's lap. 
In a low whisper, Kyra asked, "do you like her?" If Koda was a phoenix, Kyra swore he'd be blushing. His embarrassed face told it all. 
"S-so what if I do?! And let's listen to Ferno and his pal talk... I have a feeling something is going to happen. I feel more mana in the air." Kyra nodded and listened in once more to the conversation between Alder and Ferno. 
"I know her because, like I tried to tell you so many times before, I am Ember. Well, Ferno now, but still. If you still do not believe me, I can prove it to you by showing you as well as telling you." Alder's muscles seemed to tense, as if he were scared or nervous about something. 
"A-alright, but..." He sighed. "SHE might take over my body if you do not hurry." And so, Kyra listened in to what Ferno had to say, and, the most astonishing thing happened. 
"...And so, you took me to Sasha's house, where I met Terra, and then Hera chased us..." Ferno said. "...and then, I saw your bodies; Terra, Sasha, yourself, and Ram. I found a baby..." Ferno continued... "...and then your carriage came by, and you guys...
"...and that's where we are now," Ferno said. ...He lied to me about what really happened. He wanted to keep me from being sad. He wanted... Well, he must be really sad. And... His friends are being controlled? It was right then when it happened: A black shadow suddenly enveloped Alder, and just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. 
Alder's feathers were bright brown, caramel, even, and his eyes were more dark brown than ever, instead of the dull grey they had been. Ember's red form appeared, while his Fairy Wren form disappeared. 
"EMBER! THERE YOU ARE!" Alder yelled, practically pouncing on Ember. They hugged and laughed, while Kyra and Koda just watched. 
"I'm sorry! I was so BLIND to not know you were Ember! You know what? When you blacked out, Terra came running out to tell me, Ram, and Sasha what happened... was exactly when a black cloaked figure attacked us, and that's what I remember. Now that I'm out of Her control, I guess I remember everything that had happened. I thought you were dead... What a fool I was... Ember, I apologize..." 
...Did Alder just return to his past self? Does this mean that we now know how to cure the curse? Because if we do, we need to find Ram and Terra... And then defeat this monster that controlled Ferno and his friends. 
"It's... Ferno now..." He whispers. In that regard, he has not changed. Maybe once we find Ram that will change him... 
"...Oh," Alder sighs. "Alright, Ferno." 
Kyra, Sasha, Milo, Alder, Phantom, and Koda huddle into a small circle and discuss the plan Kyra and Ferno had made a few hours before. 
"...And so, that is why we need to find the rest of Ferno's friends, cure them, and kill the villain; we're pretty sure it's Queen Daffodil, but she's dead, so..." She mentioned Ember. "Any questions?" Kyra asks. 
Sasha puts up her hand, and so does Alder. 
"Sasha?" 
"Well, we need a map of the castle. Is there any way we can get one?" ...I gave the map to Milo, so he'd know where it is, not me. ...But I don't know if it has the layout of the CASTLE, if I remember right, it only shows how to get to the castle...
"Milo, where is the map I gave you?" 
"Oh, it doesn't show the layout of the castle, so it probably won't be of help, but we can see," Milo says, as he pulls the map out of his shirt (Kyra thought it was pretty gross, but didn't say anything, and just tried not to touch it unless she had to explain something). 
Sure enough, it didn't show the layout of the castle, which is what they needed. "First up— Alder, is Terra and Ram in this castle? That is the first thing we must know." Kyra asked. 
"Yes, I know they are; Although, Terra might be on a night mission," he said. 
"Night mission? Would you mind explaining?" 
"Our Master, Master Widow, puts us on night missions so that we stay under her control and get her the souls she needs to survive and so that she has enough power. Her son, Chestnut, does the same, and ordered me to do so earlier, and that is how I met you. I remember hearing a familiar female voice that sounded like Terra. She could be anywhere, so I suggest finding and curing her last. For now, I think we should stick with finding Ram and go from there. What do you think, Kyra? Ferno?" 
"Sounds fine to me," Ferno said, and Kyra agreed. 
"May I ask my question?" Kyra and Ferno both nodded. 
"Well, how exactly will we fight Master Widow if we only have our mana, claws, and teeth? I feel like that won't be enough. She uses Shadow Mana, meaning she'd be able to deflect them easily." Alder explained. 
Kyra remembered the hooded figure with the pitch black face and the black cloud back when she was still at Heriagon, back when everything didn't seem as bad as it actually was. 
"...Well, you have a point, but if we use a weapon, wouldn't she be able to deflect that as well?" Kyra asked. 
"Well, I hear there is a certain Mana Power that works amazing on Shadow Mana Users: Use shadow magic against her, because then you can deflect her magic as well. Do we have any Gifted in this room that can use it?" 
Phantom spoke up. "I do. I have a Shadow Mana Stone," she said. "I will try my best to aid you in a time of need." 
"And I hear there is one more... And that is the forbidden mana— Time Mana." He lowered his voice. "Now, does anyone in this room have this Mana?" 
Kyra's muscles froze. I can't use Time Mana ever again. Even if it's for my friends, it could destroy my friendship with my friends as well as destroy the world... My power destroys everything, my curse is to not be used, even if it's for my friends. 
"...No..." Kyra answered. 
"...Oh..? Okay, well, I thought I sensed Time Mana, but I guess I was wrong. Never mind me—" 
Rosie chimed in, and it wasn't something Kyra was happy about. 
"Kyra! Mana! Time! Forbidden Mana! Has!" She squawked. Kyra's blood boiled inside of her body. 
"Kyra? You mean she—!" 
"Rosie..." Kyra whispered. "Rosie... ROSIE..." She looked up from the sand and grinned in anger.