So... it may or may not have been an extremely long time since I updated this. I was working on my own stuff and the inescapable pull of anime was calling to me.

Rave Mistress

Chapter 4:

Jade

Carter was sulking. He was sat on a rock, pushing dirt around with his bare foot and he was sulking. Plue seemed to pick up on his mood and pushed his head into his hand to try to cheer him up. Kōri looked at him from where she stood with Ravelt over her shoulder.

"You know... I never agreed to help you get ya Grammy-Grams' staff," she said "Our deal was that I'd break the barrier and help you take down whoever put it up and you'd tell me why you know about Rave,"

Carter mumbled and turned his back on her with Plue in his lap. He didn't understand. His grandmother had always said he'd inherit her power and the staff would be his. So why couldn't he even lift it? Kōri sighed and put her hand on his shoulder. She peered down at him and saw an utterly defeated look on his face.

"Hey... you said certain conditions had to be met for the staff to appear, right?" she asked and he nodded "Maybe certain conditions have to be met in order for you to lift it?"

"Like what?" Carter asked, bitterly as he rubbed Plue's head.

"Well... I don't know. I never really knew much about magic before Ruby turned up on my door and even now, the only magical weapon I can handle is Ravelt," Kōri explained "But you wanted to defeat whoever put that magical barrier up, right? Let's start there. Could Drakon have done that? And for what purpose?"

Carter sighed and turned back to look at her. He picked his toenails as he thought about it.

"No... Drakon wouldn't even think about doing something like that. He's a thick-headed muscle-brain who thinks the world revolves around him," he answered "But... there's been talk..."

"Talk?" Kōri questioned.

"Yeah... that Drakon's got himself a lady-friend. She's been described as tall, elegant, mysterious and exceptionally beautiful. Not exactly a meat-head like Drakon's type," Carter said "Ever since she appeared a few weeks ago, things have been... different. I'm not sure, I haven't been back here for a month and it's all just talk and speculation,"

Kōri began to think to herself and paced as she thought. If Drakon and his cronies were such idiots then this mystery lady was the most likely to have placed the magic barrier. Then again, that seemed painfully obvious to even her, a person who'd never been to Dullahan Village before. Was it so easy? Was this mystery woman the one they needed to defeat? But magic was unpredictable according to Ruby so she couldn't anticipate this person's preferred type of magic. Kōri groaned and scratched the side of her head. Too much thinking and speculation for a street rat like herself...

"Hey, Carter, you said it was your grandmother who placed the staff here... why?" she asked "Did she live here? Does she have family here?"

"No... neither," Carter complained "D**m it, Grandma! What did you know but not tell me?!"

He lay back on the rock he sat on and his ill-fitting t-shirt rode up to reveal his scarred abdomen. Kōri looked at him before looking at Plue, who sat on Carter's stomach with a sad expression. She was getting tired of this but if she grabbed Plue and left then she'd never find out what Carter knew or if he was a threat.

"Answer me this," she said, her expression serious "How does Drakon affect this village?"

"Oh, simple. He threatens and extorts the villagers. No one can disobey him or his gang would destroy them. He's an idiot but a powerful one," Carter said "I would try to defeat him, to free the villagers of his tyranny but my physical strength just isn't good enough. If I could get my grandmother's staff then I know I would be able to,"

Kōri held Ravelt out and looked at her reflection in the blade.

"Alright then, I'll defeat him," she said "C'mon, Plue, you're with me," and she gestured for the little dog to follow with her sword.

Plue hopped off of Carter and began trotting alongside Kōri as she walked away. Carter sat up and looked at her in surprise.

"You're serious? You'll get yourself killed and the world can't wait for the fourth Rave Master," he said but she kept walking "Hey, wait!"

"Sorry, Carter, but I have no interest in watching you wallow in self-pity," she said "People are in danger so I have to help them. If it turns out you know about Rave because you're with the Dark Army then I'll defeat you on a later date,"

Carter watched her as she walked away with Plue. That was definitely a Rave Master thing to say. With a sigh, he got to his feet and caught up to her. Kōri looked at him with an eyebrow raised but smiled that he decided to do something.

Within the grand estate, Drakon and his group of vicious barbarians ate to their hearts content on the food they'd stolen from the villagers. Drakon himself sat on a large stone throne draped with soft velvets as he ate mouthfuls of mutton right off the bone, his pet wildcat standing loyally at his side. The meal was interrupted by the sound of yelling from the other side of the door and the clash of metal on metal rang out like church bells.

"What the h*ll is going on out there?!" Drakon yelled, getting to his feet.

The doors swung open and a guard came stumbling in with blast marks littering his body. He fell to his knees and his helmet fell off, rolling on the ground.

"Well? Answer man!" Drakon yelled.

"She's a-a-" the guard stammered "A demon! A monster! And he... he's... not human! Such powerful attacks! No weapon!"

The doors suddenly blew off their hinges and the guard scampered off like a rat. Two figures emerged from the smoke, a girl with navy blue hair wielding a sword and a boy with silver hair and no weapon. Between them was a small white... snowman?

"N-aahh..." Plue said and began trotting forward.

For a moment, everyone was mesmerized by the little dog until it took a seat at the table and began downing an open can of soda.

"Gross, Plue! You don't know whose backwash is in there!" Kōri exclaimed and she pulled the little dog away.

"WHO! ARE! YOU?!" Drakon yelled.

Kōri lifted Explosion upwards, pointing the tip at him. Carter took Plue from her and secured the little dog to his shoulder. He then raised his foot in preparation of kicking. He looked to Kōri to see her hands shaking as they gripped Explosion's hilt.

"We are here to protect the people of Dullahan Village from you or anyone else who wishes to harm them!" Carter declared "So I recommend you give up on whoever put up that magical barrier!"

"Magical barrier? There's no such thing as magic!" Drakon yelled.

Kōri looked over at Carter, who had an angrily dark expression on his face. He lifted his foot even higher to a 180° angle and slammed it down onto the floor. In the wake of the impact, the ground shook and ice spiked up from the floor in a direct line towards Drakon. Drakon jumped from his throne and onto the back of his wildcat.

"Then explain that you thick-headed Neandenthal!" Carter yelled, cold mist radiating from his foot "I've trained myself in magic since I was 5-years-old and my grandmother was one of the most powerful mages to ever live! I will not allow you to discredit her legacy anymore!"

He jumped to his other foot and kicked outwards, sending a blast of fire out at Drakon. Drakon's wildcat jumped out of the way with its master on its back. It seemed Carter was determined to defeat Drakon on his own with Plue clinging to his shoulder for dear life. Kōri noticed Drakon's guards approaching and she moved to intercept them. The guards were blown away by Explosion.

Concealed by the shadow of an archway, the silhouetted form of a woman stood. Just by her silhouette you could tell she had long, almost floor-length hair that hung like a curtain as she leaned out of hiding to observe the battle. She knew Carter came to Dullahan Village once every month to see if his grandmother's staff had appeared. And she knew that putting up a magical barrier disguised as a fence with two Shadows guarding the gate would rile him up. But to think the Rave Mistress was here also? It was almost too perfect...

Drakon's pet leapt from one side of the hall to another with its master riding on its back. Carter angrily kicked out several different elemental blasts ranging from lightning to causing a minor earthquake. He remained firmly planted in place on the floor as his opponent dodged through the air. Kōri fended off Drakon's minions from interfering and glanced back to see how Carter was doing. His face was red and the leg he balanced on shook to support him. His silver hair fell into his eyes as he gasped for air. He was exhausted and yet all he'd done was force Drakon around the room. Kōri looked back at her own opponents and held up Explosion to block as the guards swung their swords down on her. She gritted her teeth and waited for as many guards to be as close to her as possible before blowing them all away in a single explosion. Free from opponents, Kōri turned to see Carter leaning on his knees. He was exhausted.

"Now do you see, little boy? Magic does not exist, nor will it-"

Drakon's mocking monologue was interrupted by a strange energy encasing his wildcat with him on it. He was frozen in midair with only his eyes moving from side to side. Carter looked from Drakon to where he sensed the energy was coming from. Within an archway, he spotted the silhouette of a long-haired woman. Her arm was outstretched from her hiding place to reveal a band around her lower arm featuring a black jewel. Fear froze Carter as he'd seen sketches of such gems before... Dark Brings.

"Kōri!" he yelled "Over there!"

Kōri looked past him to where he was pointing at an archway. She felt a surge of instinct at the sight of the Dark Bring and clenched her fingers around Explosion's hilt.

"You finish Drakon! I've got 'em!" she said as she ran towards the darkened archway.

The figure retreated and Drakon landed with a crash onto the floor. Carter stepped forward and seemed to tower over the barbarian. Unnoticed to him, Plue had hopped off his shoulder and had latched onto Kōri as she had passed.

Kōri ran down the dark hallways after the mysterious Dark Bring user with Plue on her shoulder and Ravelt in her hand. No matter how fast she ran, the person was always just round the corner to her. But even if she caught them and defeated them, how was she going to deal with the Dark Bring? Ruby had said that Plue had the power to destroy Dark Brings but that seemed... unrealistic. Finally, they ran out onto a balcony as the sun was starting to set. A woman with long dark brown hair was standing at the railing, her slender fingers resting against the stone.

"Hello, there," she said.

"Who the heck are you?" Kōri demanded, raising her sword to the woman.

"Who, me?" she asked as if innocent "I'm no one special..."

"Don't give me that cr*p! I know you used a Dark Bring," Kōri protested.

The woman giggled and doubled over as she muffled her laughter before turning around to face her. She was a very beautiful woman with a long, pointed nose but her eyes were completely black!

"Who - or what - are you?" Kōri asked, her hands trembling.

"You can call me Jade, Rave Mistress, we'll be spending a lot of time together very soon,"

"What the heck's that suppose to mean?" Kōri demanded.

"You'll - heehee - have to wait and see," and with that, Jade began laughing hysterically.

Kōri was put off by Jade's somewhat erratic behaviour and pulled Ravelt back to strike. She'd figure out her riddles later but for now, she had her duty as the Rave Mistress to do.

"Give me the Dark Bring!" Kōri yelled before charging forward.

Jade just watched with a satisfied smile on her thin lips as Kōri stopped right in front of her and swung Ravelt at her. The moment the sword made the slightest contact, Jade disappeared into a wisp that Ravelt passed right through. Kōri brought her swing to a stop and just stared. Jade was a Shadow? Like the guards just outside of Dullahan Village. Yes, this definitely had something to do with the Dark Army.

"Puu,"

Kōri looked down to see Plue with a nesting doll on the ground where Jade had stood. She picked up the doll and saw the exterior was painted to resemble the woman that had disappeared.

"What's this about?" Kōri asked but Plue just shrugged.

She gave the nesting doll a shake and heard something rattle inside. She stood Ravelt against the railing and used both hands to twist the doll and pop it open. Inside was the Dark Bring.