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  "They were," Jimmy said. "Courage was given to me in 1369 AD by the wise man, Susira. Chrissy received Wisdom when it was found, buried since that time, destined for her. Now that Power has been found, the Triad is once again reunited, as Susira had told me. Whatever evil is behind Devastator, we now have the ability to stop it."

  "It doesn't look like it's over yet," said Chrissy. She pointed to the clouds in the distance getting bigger.

  "Take this," Jimmy said, handing Lauren another band. "This will transport you anywhere in the world with limited precision. We have to get back to the city and stop Devastator." He and Lauren replaced their helms, and in a flash of light, Chrissy had recited the incantation, transforming herself once again into the Dark Woman. They activated their TDs and transported themselves back to the heart of the city.

  * * *

  They appeared in front of a large crowd of stone warriors. The three stood poised to fight. Chrissy gave Lauren something, and her eyes glowed. Lauren then knew what to do.

  "Stand back," she said, and Jimmy and Chrissy stepped back. Lauren placed the coin to the hilt of her sword and raised it high in the air, then drove it onto the ground. The earth opened up and began to swallow up the warriors until most were gone. Lauren felt drained, and collapsed forward, but Chrissy helped her to her feet. Jimmy charged ahead.

  "Be careful!" Chrissy yelled. "I'm not entirely sure what we're dealing with yet!" Jimmy charged forward, sword behind, ready to strike. Just as he got on range, Devastator raised his hands, and a lava spurt hit Jimmy, knocking him backwards to the ground.

  "Did you really think it would be that easy, Hel Flame?" he asked. "I control the very elements that power your swords!" Just then a sword blast hit him in the back. He turned to face Chrissy, but Jimmy was able to get back to his feet and begin striking Devastator. He turned and began avoiding and blocking the shots with a sword of his own. Sparks flew as the energy around them tried to penetrate one another. Chrissy joined the fray, and the two tried to force Devastator into a corner. But he leaped up into the air and struck them down with lightning.

  "Fools!" he yelled. "Did you honestly think you could defeat the master's greatest ally?"

  Just then, Lauren leaped up to Jimmy and Chrissy.

  "We need to cross swords," she said. Chrissy's eyes once again glowed, and she understood what needed to be done.

  "WISDOM, POWER, COURAGE!" The three shouted in unison. The focused beam, a combined blast from the entire Triad, flowed from the swords and hit Devastator, passing right through his chest. The resulting gaping hole exploded in a bloody mess, and then an explosion that sent all three of them flying backwards, losing consciousness.

  * * *

  When the three came to, they were back to normal, lying in the middle of public square. People were passing by and looking at them strangely. The sky was blue and clear once again, and all evidence of a battle was gone. They each sat up, then slowly got to their feet, resheathing their swords.

  "Is everyone alright?" Jimmy asked. Chrissy and Cat nodded.

  "I think the worst is over‚for now," Chrissy replied.

  "What do you mean?" Jimmy asked.

  "We are dealing with pawns," she replied. "Minions of whatever is causing the disturbances. It's only a matter of time before whatever it is sends another minion to attack us. We have to be ready."

  "And the Triad blast is kind of a last resort," Lauren added. "I was told that the resulting force had the power to destroy evil and restore balance and order‚the power of Life itself. It drains your strength quickly, as your own energies are focused into a force capable of creation and destruction‚all in one."

  "We need to tread lightly, but be prepared," Chrissy said. "In the meantime, let's get some rest and hope we have time to recover before whatever it is attacks us again."

  Chrissy and Cat shook hands. The three of them looked on, knowing this was not only the beginning of the most powerful team of heroes this time has seen, but the beginning of a friendship that would be deeper than their souls, and one that would last beyond life and death itself.

  Chapter 4 - Day of the Zombie

  * * *

  4

  "Day of the Zombie"

  Jimmy knew things were going to change from here on out, but the events that would follow since the Triad became whole would surprise and challenge them. A week had passed, and after such a quiet period, they began to let their guard down a little. Jimmy decided to pack up and take a drive out of town to see Lauren. Now that she had been awakened to her purpose, it was only fair she return to school, if only to make it easier for them to work together should trouble arise.

  Jimmy had just arrived in West Nanticoke when he began to hear a strange noise. The noise was barely audible, but seemed to agitate his sensitive hearing. He stopped behind a line of cars, and when he looked around, he saw the reason for the commotion. A group of kids were breaking into the mini mart. There were also a few that were jumping out in front of cars. He saw people running screaming out of the restaurant across the street when a few of them walked in and got naked. Meanwhile, a bunch were destroying the place with a bulldozer. Many of them wandered into the bar. When they started a fight, the occupants pulled out their guns and began to shoot them. The bullets just bounced off. The people ran off in fear as the kids overtook the small town.

  "What in the world is happening?" Jimmy asked himself, getting out of his car. "Is it the sound I am hearing? Why isn't it affecting me? It doesn't seem to be affecting the adults." He immediately contacted Chrissy and Lauren. After a few minutes, both arrived using their TDs.

  "Whoa!" remarked Lauren. "What is going on here? And what is that buzzing sound?"

  "You hear it too?" asked Jimmy. Lauren nodded.

  "I think it might be that," Chrissy said, pointing into the distance. They all looked and saw a big machine that was making the noise. Next to it was a man in a green suit, working the levers and laughing.

  "Whatever it is, we have to stop it," Jimmy said, unsheathing his sword.

  "Power, be my strength!" The sword sparked to life with flames that engulfed Lauren's entire body. The flames melted and covered her entire body in the bronze armor of the Avatar of Power, transforming her into the Dragon Lady.

  "Wisdom, be my strength!" The sword sprung to life slowly enveloping Chrissy in a cloud of darkness. Her eyes glowed as the wisdom of the elders empowered her, and the darkness gave way to the shimmering silver armor of the Avatar of Wisdom covering her body, transforming her into the Dark Woman.

  "Courage, be my strength!" The sword exploded with golden light, and the light wrapped itself around Jimmy's body, filling him with virtue, his living courage forming the golden armor of the Avatar of Courage around him, transforming him into The Hero. Their swords slowly lowered to the ground as the transformation completed.

  They ran to where the machine was, swords at the ready.

  "Enough is enough!" yelled Jimmy. "We're stopping this right now!"

  "On the contrary, Virtue," the man cackled. "You and the Triad are the ones to be stopped!" He grabbed the top of his head and ripped off what appeared to be a green toupee, and threw it to the ground. He sneered at us.

  "Is he‚.serious?" Lauren asked. But soon after, the toupee burst apart, and the pieces grew into green colored monsters. The man himself cackled loudly as he, too, transformed into a werewolf-like creature.

  "I'd say‚yes." Chrissy replied, sliding the metal bar from her hip.

  "Lauren," Jimmy said, "Let's clear a path and you can take care of the machine." Lauren nodded, and the three of them began battling the green monsters. Chrissy's laser lance buzzed to life, and she swung it around, slicing through two of them. Jimmy ran over to Lauren, and she held her hands out. Jimmy leaped into them, and she used her strength to springboard him into the air. He came down spinning his sword around him, slicing through a group of them. Lauren then had a clear path to the machine.

  When she went for the machine, the
werewolf monster pounced on her. She kicked him off and leaped to her feet. He came at her again, leaping into the air, and she pulled out her whip, lashing his leg and pulling him to the ground. He grabbed the whip, and pulled Lauren towards him. Jimmy went to try and help, but the monster had put up some sort of forcefield. Jimmy placed his coin to the hilt of his sword and swung it above his head. Explosions of fire littered the area, and the green monsters began to burn to death, but the forcefield remained intact. After the shock, Jimmy fell to the ground exhausted.

  "You thought your fighting skills and your puny whip were a match for me?" the monster said, breathing in Lauren's face.

  "Actually, no," Lauren replied, then stabbed her sword clean through his chest. "But that was." She pulled the sword clear from his body in one clean motion, then in a powerful swing, hit him with an uppercut that sent him flying high into the sky and out of sight. An explosion followed, and the forcefield dissipated. Chrissy then made quick work of it with her lance. The humming noise they had heard suddenly stopped, and the kids that were causing the chaos fell to the ground, mostly unconscious.

  "That takes care of that," Lauren said, wiping the blade clean of blood.

  "My question is, what was it?" Jimmy asked. "And what does it all have to do with the evil Susira warned us about?"

  "In time, I'm sure it'll become clear," Chrissy said with confidence. She activated her TD and vanished from sight.

  "I better get back home," Cat said. "I need to finish packing before you arrive. You ARE still coming to get me, right?"

  "Of course," Jimmy replied. "I think it's going to be better to have you close by when things like this happen." She activated her TD, and with a wave, she too vanished. Jimmy focused on the sword, and his armor melted away, and he was back to normal. The people started to return, and the children came to. Parents found their kids in the streets and hugged them. People were relieved that the nightmare was over. Jimmy just nonchalantly got back into his car, and swerving around the traffic, drove up the road on his way to Lauren's house.

  * * *

  Chrissy sat at her coffee table and began paging through several pages of Legandria. The book continued to fascinate her in ways she couldn't imagine‚

  Upon the awakening of the Dragon Lady

  Soon comes the Day of the Zombies

  When She shall find her true power

  In love as well as death

  One as green as grass will come

  To challenge her solitude

  And it need be only love

  To give him eternal rest.

  The words practically leaped off the page at her, as if Wisdom's mind could understand it all. The words were forever twisted, and it was up to her to unravel what was, what is, and what will be. This was her destiny.

  * * *

  Jimmy arrived at Lauren's house, and there she was with all her stuff waiting. He got out of his car, opened up the back, and began packing her things.

  "You know," Jimmy said, "I'm glad you're back."

  "I'm glad I'm coming back," Cat replied.

  "No," Jimmy said, "I mean, I kinda missed you. Ever since that dance, I've had these thoughts in my head‚almost a kind of 'what if' feeling. You disappearing like that, in a way, left a hole in my heart‚the feeling like I should have said something to make you stay. I should have told you what I was feeling before it was too late."

  "It's never too late," she replied. She looked into his eyes, and without warning, kissed him softly. "Let's get back to school."

  "School," Jimmy said. "Right. Ok." They both climbed into the car and began the drive back to Bane-Barre. All that was on Jimmy's mind was that the day wasn't over‚and apparently neither were the emotions trapped within his own heart.

  Chapter 5 - Wisdom's Destiny

  * * *

  5

  "Wisdom's Destiny"

  A few nights had passed since Lauren moved back into the dorms, and Chrissy was still sitting at home puzzling over Legandria. For the past several nights, Chrissy kept having these awful dreams she just couldn't shake off. She found herself in a place surrounded by demon-like creatures. Fighting as hard as she could, she could not defeat them. It was like they knew every move she made. It was then their leader, a large beast of a monster, locked her in a cage, proclaiming that she had not the wisdom to defeat him. The dream was so vivid that she would wake up screaming. However she would try to shrug it off, and try to bury herself in school work.

  Chrissy arrived on the campus early, and began to walk from her car to the building. On the way, one of her friends stopped her.

  "Didn't you hear the news?" she asked.

  "No," Chrissy replied. "What's going on?

  "They cancelled all classes," she replied. "I was on my way to leave as well. Seems like some of the students were hearing explosions nearby, and some even reported seeing monsters on campus."

  "Monsters?" Chrissy asked. She mused in her head the thought of it, and the flashback of the dream she'd been having flipped in a flash.

  "It gets worse," she replied. "The treasury was stolen from the college last night. So until they can get to the bottom of this, they cancelled class." She looked at Chrissy closely. "You alright? You seem frazzled."

  "No," Chrissy replied. "I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind. You head on out. I think I'm going to grab a can of soda from the machine before heading home."

  "Sounds good to me," she replied. "See ya later then."

  Chrissy’s thoughts drowned it all out, but her friend walked away not realizing it. Chrissy began to think to herself as she walked to the building.

  "The only thing this all adds up to is more trouble," she whispered to herself. "It's my mind‚my dream‚I will have to wait it out and get to the bottom of this." She walked up to the machine and went to put her money in. Just then, a spark jumped from her hand into the machine. Mechanisms inside it turned and moved, and out of the machine popped the very soda she was going to choose. She shook her head and grabbed the soda.

  "There's so much I know‚.and so much I don't know yet," she whispered again to herself. She walked back to her car and got in to return home.

  * * *

  Later that night, Chrissy teleported in, sword in hand, and began to sneak around the campus, hoping to see what everyone was talking about. The place was dark, with not many lamps lit, which was odd. She seemed to adapt to the darkness well, and made her way around campus flawlessly. Within a few minutes, she heard a noise, then a band of demon-like creatures came at her from behind some bushes. She leaped out of the way and rolled to her feet. She pulled her sword and held it up.

  "Wisdom, be my strength!" The silver light stunned the demons, as the dark cloud crept downward along her body, wrapping her in it. Then with an explosion of silvery light, the armor fused to her skin, transforming her into the Dark Woman.

  She began to fight them, but they were able to block every punch‚and every kick. Chrissy instinctively reached to her hip, and the short metal rod slid into her hands, the laser lance buzzing to life. The lance spun in a furious streak of blue light, but no matter how fast she swung, they were able to dodge it. It was if they could read her mind, and know what she was going to do before she did it. Soon afterwards, they managed to subdue her, and take away her sword. They carried her kicking and screaming to their master‚.a demonic monster with bull-like horns.

  "How unexpected!" he said. "One member of the Triad finds their way here. Not only that, but thinks they have the power to stop me, the Beastmaster!" He began to laugh. "Dark Woman, even YOU haven't the wisdom needed to defeat me." He grabbed her by the arm and threw her into a cage, locking it. She repeatedly pulled and slammed against the bars, but even her massive strength could not bend or break them.

  "My friends will come for me!" she yelled.

  "I already know," he said with a grin. Chrissy sighed in desperation, because she knew he knew what was going to happen before it happened.

  * * *

&
nbsp; Jimmy was walking out of the dorm building, when the dark clouds once again rolled in. It became dark, and lightning began to strike. Jimmy ducked behind the bushes and reached for his sword. A lightning bolt struck a tree, causing it to fall and catch fire. An elderly woman walking down the street became trapped by the burning tree. Jimmy raised his sword.