Chapter 5

(Rapunzel's POV)

What were they going to do with my planet? Enslave it? Or worse, destroy it? No, I'd rather this planet die free than live as a slave to another. They're going to have to go through me to touch my world. I won't let them near it.

I helped a shaking Jack onto the sofa and went to the kitchen to grab him a glass of water. On my way back, I saw Abaddon murmuring to Jack in a low voice. Jack was nodding in understanding at something he said and my curiousity got the best of me so I ventured closer. And as soon as I did, I felt the tension and something at the beck of my mind told me they had changed the subject. What are they hiding from me?

"As I was saying, we have less than three months to train," Corwin said, leaning against the wall shirtless and clad in jeans. "We have to start tomorrow. You'll hae to recover from your shock quickly."

Abaddon nodded in agreement. "This is not the tie to be worrying about Merida and Hiccup. We'll just hae to pray Toothless will be able to protect them. And they're smart. They know they should be training before the War. They'll learn more if they learn by themselves."

I sat down slowly, my heart aching, not knowing when I'll see my dear Merida again. Then a thought occured to me.

"Why did they specifically tell us to wait three months before the War? It sounds ridiculous if you ask me," I said, frowning. "They could attack anytime they want, in fact, they'll probably most likely win if they catch us off-guard. Why three months?"

"She's got a point," Jakc murmured. "What do they plan to do exactly? what are we up against?" His white hair caught in the light from the lamp behind him and my breath caught. As his Source permeated him, so did his immortality. As each day passes by, I see his body change into that of a god's. His once skinny arms are now with bigger muscles, his voice got impossibly deeper, and his eyes, my goodness his eyes. They were once a shade of blue and brown. Now they are a startling blue. I'm not even exaggerating. The blue of his eyes is the kind of blue you do not find here on earth. Not in the sky, not in the ocean, not in any great painter's brush. Like his immortality, Jack's eyes were that of sapphire and gold. Alien. Impossible.

Mine.

I have no idea where that thought came from and I shook my head to focus on what was being discussed.

"This is why we start training tomorrow morning," Jake joined, in his kid form again. "We must be prepared for what's in store for us. We never know when they'll strike and we should be strong enough to at least defend when the times has come."

We all nodded and Jack asked another question, "What about Hiccup and Merida? Where are they? Are they safe?"

Words formed above Sandy's golden head, We don't know where they are exactly, but I do know this; If they're not safe with Toothless, they're not safe anywhere else. He is the most trusted bodyguard an immortal could ever have. Then he walked to Jack, helped him up, and carried him to his room. Oh, and one more thing, golden dust spiraled above his head. You still have to go back to school tomorrow so we won't raise any suspicions.

"But they'll notice that Hiccup and Merida aren't there," I pointed out. "I think that's suspicious enough."

"One of the perks of being a demon," Abaddon smiled a dark grin. "I get to play with their minds a bit."

"Oh ok," Jack mumbled, his arm still draped over Sandy's strong shoulders. "But why can't you just do the same for Rapunzel and I so we can train?"

"I'm embarrassed to say that I have limits," Abaddon sighed. "Erasing the memory of two immortals from the minds of thousands of high-schoolers is not an easy job."

Corwin nodded, "For every memory he takes he loses five minutes of his life span." He turned to Abaddon, "Are you sure about this brother?"

"I thought demons were immortal too?" I interjected. "You can't die!"

"No, but it does drain us. And what do you get with a demon with abosolutely nothing left in him except bones and muscles? A dead one." Abaddon replied, switching of the light from the lamp.

Oh that makes sense.

"Ok then you guys better get some sleep. We wake up early tomorrow for training and then you're going to school." Jake yanwed. "Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight," we all chorused and I trudged to my bedroom. That night, I lay in bed thinking and I fell alseep with the memory of sapphires and gold lingering in my exhausted mind.

(Jack's POV)

I slept like a baby. It's strange because I haven't slept this well in years. Usually my mom would tuck me in bed and hum me a lullaby while my dad patted my back. It was the most peaceful feeling ever. And now, years later, it's back.

I crack one eye open and I see a hint of gold. I rub both my eyes to see if I was dreaming and sure enough, I've seen heaven.

The most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life sat on the edge of the bed and she stroked my hair with her soft hands and hummed. Her green eyes were a deeper green than the most abundant forest in the world. Her golden hair shimmered in the light of sunrise and her smile... I didn't know goddesses had such perfection in their smiles.

"Rapunzel?" my voice was husky from just waking up. "What are you doing here?"

"Our rooms are right next to each other, Jack," she gently massaged my head. "I heard you cry out in the middle of the night and I came to comfort you. I think you had a nightmare."

"Wha-" Then I remembered the nightmare. The dark, a flash of light, my name being screamed, the rain washing away the blood. I sat up and looked down to see my pillow wet with my tears. And just like that, I was back to being the hard Jack.

"You should've left me alone," I said coldly. I will not let her see that I am weak; I lost someone because I was weak. "And who are you to judge if I had a nightmare? What if I cried out because of something else? How DARE you come in here and take the place of my mother after misjudging me." I know it was childish, but I was still angry with her assumption that I slept with Jake's sister.

She drew in a sharp breath, shock resonated in her features before it morphed into something else; anger. "And I told you, JACK, that I was sorry," her voice was low and harsh. "And I'm sorry again for sacrificing my own sleep to come here and give you the peace you wanted." Then she stood up and I just grinned at her. A softie Rapunzel I don't know what to do with. An angry Rapunzel, THAT I can handle.

she walked to the door, looking incredibly beautiful in a tshirt and plain brown shorts. "I won't bother you again Jack. Not until you change your selfish attitude and apologize."

With an indignant jut of her chin, she walked out and slammed the door, leaving me sitting there with one thought in my mind; I am so screwed.

We met downstairs at the gym for our training session. Abaddon was already there; the rest had errands to do.

"Your first challenge is to fight each other," he crossed his bulky arms in front of his equally muscled chest. Red tattoos adorned his arms and right then he looked like the demon he is.

"You're not going to teach us first?" Rapunzel's eyes flashed in anger as she walked up to Abaddon and got right in his face. "I don't want to breathe with him around, let alone fight him!"

Abaddon looked at her with those demonic eyes as if reading her mind, then his lips twitched in a sardonic smile. "Aah," he said. "Mad at Jack aren't we? Well why don't you take out all your anger on him and we'll see if you really do need a lesson or not."

Rapunzel made a noise at the back of her throat that resembled a growl and turned to face me. "Let's do this," she glared at me and I chuckled. Was it just me or was she adorable as heck when she was mad?

Suddenly, without warning, she launched herself at me and tackled me to the floor, banging my head on the matted floor. I recovered quickly and flipped us over so I was on top. Then she elbowed my shoulder and I winced in pain, rolling away from her. She took the opportunity to stand up and leered at me. "Who's the weak one now?"

Oh she did NOT just call me that. Calmly I stood up and kicked her foot, her legs swinging out beneath and causing her to land on the mat with a thud. "You are," I replied, jumping on the balls of my feet. This was getting fun.

She growled again and her hands glowed. Is she using her Source?

Before I could comprehend what was happening, my own fist connected with my own face.

Rapunzel tsked at me, "You couldn't even be strong enough to block my Source from controlling your brain. How strong do you really think you are?"

I clutched my nose and looked over at Abaddon. He was smiling.

"Strong enough to hit a baby girl," I smiled evilly and almost winced at the pain it caused my cheek muscles. I gathered my Source and concentrated ice on her feet. In less than a second her feet were glued to the ground with ice and she was as red as a tomato.

"Ok that's enough for now," Abaddon intercepted, holding up a hand. "Go get showered and go eat. It's time for school. You'll continue your training later."

I took off my sweaty shirt and enjoyed the blush creeping up Rapunzel's face at the sight of my chest. "See you in school mustard," I winked.

I heard a tiny scream of anger as she stomped her foot and yelled, "You'd better watch your back Jack! Because if you don't I'll bake you in my cupcakes and feed you to my grandmother!"

Oh, I can't wait for school.