John's POV:
I was sitting in a patch of grass, next to someone I didn't recognize. Her back was turned to me. Suddenly, she turned around and I instantly recognized her.
"Oh, I didn't know it was you, Emerald." I said nervously. Then, she stood up and walked toward me. She bent down and closed her eyes. I closed mind too, and when I opened my eyes again, she was gone.
I jerked awake. Dang it! I was just about to kiss her! I thought. Then it came to me. I needed to tell her how I feel.
We had rented a car since we couldn't stay in the hotel anymore and stayed in it for the night. Emerald was sleeping soundly next to her brother. Henry was snoring, and was in the middle of Emerald and I.
I reached out, careful not to wake up Henry, and tapped her on the shoulder. "What is it?" Emerald asked, half asleep. "Emerald, it's John. I need to talk to you."
She was fully awake now that we were just outside the car. "Come on, what is it? I'm freezing!" I took a deep breath, then started.
"Emerald, the first time I saw you, it was like looking at an angel. I've kind of liked you this whole time, but I was afraid to tell you. I was afraid you weren't going to like me back, but I have to act like a man now, and face the truth."
My heart was pounding as she stared at me for what felt like hours. "I didn't know you felt this way...." She started to say. "I-I kind of feel the s-same too." She said shyly, shivering. We both smiled at each other, and as if we read each other's minds, we grabbed hands and started jumping up and down.
We looked like 5 year olds playing around. I had to admit, it was pretty fun. We stopped and looked at each other. Her smile seemed to light up the darkness. Without thinking, I leaned forward and kissed her. I felt her tense, but then relax as we did it for a while.
We walked back in the car and turned the heater on. I was glad she felt the same way I did, and that had been my first kiss. I didn't even know how I did it right. Can you even mess up a kiss? I thought.
I fell asleep moments after with her bright smile stuck in my head.
The next morning I woke up with the best attitude. "Hey, do you guys want to go get breakfast? I found an IHOP close by here!" Terra suggested. She loved IHOP and it cracked me up. I was thinking about last night when Henry yelled my name. "John, do you agree with IHOP?" He asked me. "Yea, I'm fine with whatever." I tried not to sound as happy, but I couldn't.
Kala gave me a suspicious look and smiled. "What's up? You're acting as if you just one a million bucks." Kala asked me and laughed. "Well....." I started. "It feels like it." Terra laughed. "Just tell us what happened already!"
"Alright, I'm in love."
"You're in love? Who's the girl?" Kala asked, confused. I thought it was pretty obvious, since Emerald kept quiet and was smiling.
"Well, it definitely isn't me!" Kala said and looked at Jax. Jax smiled. "It isn't me either." Terra said. "Well, the only girl left in our group is......." Terra turned and looked at Emerald. "Oh! That's awesome! When did you guys establish that?!" I laughed. "I woke up and I wanted to tell her, so we quietly went outside."
After breakfast, we got a signal from the tracker. "Is it far this time?" Henry asked. Jax looked at it and looked back up without a sigh. "He's still here, but he's up in the mountains. It's a place called Mammoth Mountains." I was confused at first, then I recalled the place.
"I went skiing there with my family when I was in elementary school. I loved it." Emerald nodded. "Well, what are we waiting for?"
Terra's POV:
I was super happy the drive wasn't long. For some people, it would have been because it was five hours away. To us, it was nothing.
Along the way we stopped in the woods where no one could see us. "Alright Jax, I know how to fly, but I don't know how to use wings." Henry told Jax as he looked at his wings. "Maybe just tilt them toward the wind and get a running start, then jump. Go stand on that rock over there." Henry pointed to a rock and Jax got on top of it. "Ok, here goes nothing!" Jax ran up the rock, his wings tilted toward the wind, and when we got to the edge, he jumped.
Jax flew through the air. "Guys, I'm flying!" He yelled. Before he even had time to land, the wings disappeared. Jax fell to the ground with a thump. I couldn't help myself, so I fell on the ground with him, laughing.
"That was pretty funny, I have to admit that." Kala said. We were all sitting on the ground while Jax was still recovering from is fall. "Come on Jax, the fall wasn't that bad. It doesn't normally take a person this long to recover from that!" I told him. "Yea, but it felt painful when the wings got torn off me and just disappeared!"
After a bit longer of driving, we heard screams, telling us that the Beast was nearby. It also started to snow, which was Kala's weakness.
As we walked closer, we could see him through the trees. "Okay guys, here's the plan....." I started.
We got in a line in front of the Beast. For a while we just stood there, but then, Kala entered our minds and told us when to use our powers. I was first. I threw a couple of big rocks at him, which made him stumble a bit.
Next, John used his power. He summoned the water on top of him to keep him distracted for a while. Then, Emerald and Henry flew up to him and started punching him while Jax and Kala used their powers together. The Beast fell and disappeared.
"Why was it that easy? We just used our powers once and he disappeared!" Henry exclaimed. "Guys, I know why he fell so easily." I started. Everyone turned to look at me.
"That was his second to last life. At his final life, he is the strongest. We still have one more battle."
"It's coming."
