War of the Tsurekin

Skylar sighed as the game started. The worst that would happen was Elise would be her. And if Skylar had a say in that it wasn't happening. Plus, she was the one with quick feet. The game started and she moved her feet along with the music ignoring Elise next to her. The moves slowly got harder and harder as they went and she moved her feet faster and faster. The music they played wasn't half bad on the ears either.


***Thats all I have, sorry I'm in major pain from bball tryouts. Didn't realize how out of shape I was.***

(No problem.)


Skylar ended up winning with almost twice as many points as Elise. When the song ended, Elise turned to Skylar and said, "Wow, you're really good at this."

"Thanks," she said, even though there was no meaning put into the word. She turned turned around to look for the others, but they were gone. "Where is everybody?" Skylar asked.

"I guess they must have snuck off while we were playing." She grabbed onto Skylar's arm and said, "Come on, let's find something else to play!"


Meanwhile, the guys were standing outside the arcade.

"Why'd you drag us out of there?" Ty asked.

"Skylar's been acting strangely ever since Elise showed up," Kai said.

Sean looked a little surprised. "You mean, you noticed it, too?"

Kai nodded. "I have to look out for these things, that's a leader's job. I don't know what Skylar's problem is with Elise, but she needs to get over it if we're going to work as a team. This trip to the mall was the perfect chance to get them alone together. If Skylar got to know a little more about Elise, maybe she'll start acting nicer around her."

"But that means if she finds us the plan is ruined," Ceder said.

Sean suggested, "Why don't we all take my car, go somewhere else, then come back in an hour or so to check up on them?"

Kai shook his head. "No, we have to stay in the mall. Skylar's smart, if she goes to the parking lot and finds your car gone, she'll know we left her alone with Elise on purpose."

"So, what do you suggest we do?" Ceder asked.

"We're going to hide from them." Kai turned to Ceder's brother and said, "Ty, you're going to be our eyes and ears. Follow Skylar and Elise. If they start to get close to us, call one of us on our cell phone. That also reminds me, if Skylar or Elise tries to call one of us, do not answer, got it?" They all nodded. "All right, let's get moving. Remember Ty, stay out of sight."


(This is going to be fun, eh?)

((Oh ya. So I don't know if your a praying person, but if so pray for my mom she's in the hospital right now and they don't know what is wrong with her.))

Skylar followed her looking for the others. She couldn't even smell them. It was odd and it was driving her crazy.

"I'll beat you in this." Elise said as she stopped them in front of a game Skylar had never played before.

"Maybe." Skylar replied shrugging. They played three games, Elise beat her twice.

"I'm thristy." Elise sighed. "Come on."

"We should find the others." Skylar replied.

"Naw, if it was important they'd let us know." Elise replied. "Sorry, your stuck hanging out with me."

"No need to be sorry." Skylar forced herself to say as they walked towards the food court.

"I know you don't like me that much." Elise said.

"Am I that transparent?" Skylar ground out.

"No, I can just tell." Elise replied. "I don't get why."

"No reason." Skylar replied as they ordered food and a drink.

"There is always a reason and I think it involves Kai." Elise replied. "But I don't know for sure. If you have him claimed then I'll leave him be, but from what I saw you two weren't a thing."

"We're not." Skylar replied not liking this conversation.

"But you wish you were." Elise replied. "I can read people, ok, don't get to stressed."

"Listen, if you think you know me you don't!" Skylar growled getting up.

"Chill,ok. I'm sorry if I offended you." Elise sighed. "I didn't mean to."

"We need to find the guys." Skylar replied.

"I can help you get together with him." Elise replied.

"He likes you, ok, end of disscussion, we need to find the guys."

"Alright." Elise sighed.


((Sorry, my space key gives out sometimes now. :'(. Anyway, I don't know where I was going. My brain is fried.))

(I'm actually an atheist, but I do hope everything turns out all right with your mother.)


While Skylar and Elise had been talking, Ty snuck over and occupied a seat two booths away from them, not close enough to be seen, but not far away enough to not hear what they were saying either.

"So, where do you think we should start looking?" Elise asked.

"Ceder said something earlier about a new booster pack being released for a trading card game he likes. Let's try the hobby store."

Ty waited for them to l;eave before taking out his cell phone and calling Kai. He picked up on the second ring. "They're heading your way," Ty said. "Get out of there as soon as you can."

"Thanks, Ty. We'll move once Ceder has finished paying for his cards. Make sure you don't lose the girls."

"Got it." He hung up the phone and began to follow them again. The mall was packed enough that he could hide amongst the crowd. If he wanted to he could walk right next to the girls and they wouldn't even notice him. Ty didn't need to worry about being caught. The only way they would see him is if he wanted to be seen.

((Cool))

They walked into the store to see the guys were gone. She took a deep breath in, she could still smell them. "They were here." She replied looking around.

"How strong is the scent?" Elise asked.

"Pretty strong, so they left a few minutes ago. But when it goes out into the crowd it disappears. If I had a hound dog I'd be able to find it." She smiled. Elise laughed as they slipped back out of the store and started walking again.

"Where could they have gone?" Elise asked.

"Who knows. I'm just surprised Ceder left cause he seemed pretty into playing those games."

"For such a big hott guy, he is a total nerd when it comes to the games." Elise laughed.

"He likes playing, and destroying them." Skylar laughed.

"I've noticed that." They walked around a corner and she caught whiff of them again.

"They went this way." She said as they walked.

Ty called Kai on his phone again. This time he picked up on the first ring. "I've got some good news and some bad news," Ty said.

"What's the bad news?" Kai asked.

"Skylar has your scent, and she's heading your way again. The good news is she said your scent disappears when you enter a crowd."

"Then we'll have to split up until our scents have completely disappeared. Sean will go to the food court, Ceder will go back to the arcade, and I'll go to the other end of the mall. Let us know when they start to get close to one of us."

"Got it," Ty said before hanging up. He praised himself for thinking of Skylar's nose before following them. There was a perfume shop right beside the arcade and they had been handing out free samples. He had sprayed some of that perfume on himself to mask his scent. He didn't like the smell of it himself, but if it meant not blowing his cover he could take it.


Skylar and Elise walked through the mall for a few minutes in silence. Skylar tried following the guys' scent as best she could through the crowd, it was only because they were together that she could track it. But at some point the scents seem to split off in several directions before getting lost completely among the rest of the crowd.

"What's wrong?" Elise asked.

"I lost their scents," Skylar said. She decided to take a break before her frustration got the better of her. She sat down on a nearby bench situated in front of an indoor fountain. Elise sat beside her, and for a few moments there was silence.

"I remember this one guy I dated back home," Elise said, breaking the silence. "He was handsome, smart, and funny. I really liked him."

"Oh really?" Skylar said, not really paying attention.

She nodded. "But there was one problem, my best friend liked him, too." That got Skylar's attention. "The more I went out with him, the more my friend would become distant from me. At the time I didn't know why she was acting strange. I tried asking her why, but she wouldn't tell me what was wrong. A few weeks later, she stopped talking to me altogether, and even started spreading rumors about me all around school. We might have still been friends today if she had just told me what was wrong."

"I'm...sorry to hear that," Skylar said.

Elise turned to Skylar with sincere eyes. "Whether it's about Kai or not, please tell my why you act the way you do around me. I don't want what happened with me and my friend to happen again."

Skylar sighed and ran a hand over her face. "Part of it is Kai, part isn't. I don't know, I guess I've just had a crush on him for a long time. But I guess it's just that you were flirting with him, and Sean. Until just recently they're the only friends I've had. So I didn't want them getting hurt or minipulated. Not that you would, but you gotta understand. I'm not a very trusting person when it comes to girls, and most people."

"Why, if I may ask." Elise said.

"I've had a past." Skylar replied. "Leave it at that."

"Alright, I guess we all have." Elise smiled. "So, whats your family like. I've seen your Gram. What about your parents?"

"Past, remember." Skylar smiled a little. She caught whiff of something. "That's odd." She looked around.

"What?"

"Smells really strongly of....fire." She stood up and looked around.

"Where?" Elise asked.

"Outside. Come on."

***I don't know what it is, just thought I'd get them moving again, I think Skylar will accept her now, slowly, but surely.***

(I was going to have it happen on their way home, but I guess this'll work, too. Time to introduce another member of Tsurikansen.)


They both ran outside. Skylar must have lost track of the time, because it was now night. To their shock, a bus was on fire at the nearby terminal. A crowd had already gathered around it. Police were trying to clear the area, and the sound of firetruck sirens blared in the distance.

Skylar ran up to the closest person and asked, "What happened here?"

"I'm not sure what happened. All I know is no one got hurt."

"What is that thing!?" someone at the front shouted.

Skylar turned back to see a figure on top of the fiery bus. It stepped closer to the edge through the fire. She gasped when she saw that it was a metal sabertooth tiger. It let out a roar before jumping over the crowd of people and running off into the distance.


(I'd like to describe this one's master.)

(It ran off, remember? I was hoping to have them chase after it. Can you edit your post?

Oh, how's your mother doing? Have they found out what's wrong with her yet?)

(((Ooops She's back here and doing fine. They've no idea what happened)))

**Sorry Sounds good**

Skylar stepped back. "What do we do?" Elise asked.

"Go after it. Tala is around somewhere." She said.

"Someone needs to wait for the guys." Elise said.

"Then stay here." She replied as she ran towards where the creature had gone.


Elise watched her running, she could tell she was trying not to take off at full speed. Ceder and the other guys ran over and looked around.

"Where is Skylar?" Kai demanded.

"She went after it." Elise replied. Kai said something under his breath and then started in the direction Elise pointed. The rest of them followed. They reached the woods and saw Tala and Ryukin standing with Skylar waiting.

"Where'd it go?" Ceder asked.

"In the woods. Tala and Ryukin wouldn't let me go by myself." She replied arms crossed, frown on her face.

"I won't let you all go any further without the rest of the Tsurekin," Ryukin said.

"Did you see what it did to that bus!?" Skylar demanded. "We need to catch and stop it before it does any more harm!"

The dragon sighed and looked up at his master. "It's your call, Kai."

"We can't let it get away." He turned to Ceder and said, "Call Ivy and tell her to send the rest of the Tsurekin here as fast as she can. Syklar, Tala, Ryukin, and I will go after it. The rest of you, stay here until the others arrive."

"Are you sure you can handle it yourselves?" Ceder asked.

"I'm the leader of The Aushaulten, it's my job to protect you all." He turned to Skylar and said, "Let's go."

The four of them ran into the forest. They kept running until they came to a clearing. "Which way did it go?" Skylar said.

Before anyone could answer, the Tsurekin they were chasing popped out of a nearby bush and charged them. Tala and Ryukin were both suddenly in front of their masters, blocking the sabertooth's path. They all clashed, Tala biting at it and Ryukin using his claws to scratch it. They managed to fend it off enough to force it back. The tiger began to pace a circle around them. Tala and Ryukin followed it, making sure there was never a clear path between it and their masters.

"It's about time you showed up," a male voice said. "I was starting to get bored."

Kai and Skylar looked around, but couldn't see anybody. The darkness of night was hindering their sight. "Whose there?" Kai demanded.

A man around eighteen or nineteen years old walked out from one from behind one of the trees. He had short spiky blond hair with a green headband to keep it out of his eyes. He wore a camo vest over his yellow shirt and beige cargo pants that were long enough to cover the top of his shoes. The look on his face screamed pure arrogance.

"It's a shame your Tsurekin tagged along, I was hoping to take you all out without having to fight," he said.

"What do you mean? Were you watching us?" Skylar demanded.

The man nodded. From the moment you all left Ivy's mansion." He scratched his head. "Man, you guys have it good over there. I wish I was still living in that mansion."

"You made your choice when you betrayed Ivy and joined Jirran," Kai said.

"What can I say? Jirran's a scary guy." He yawned. "I'd love to hang around and play, but it's kinda late and I'm starting to get tired. So, I'm just going to have to finish you all off right now."


(Let me be in charge of when the cavalry shows up, k? )

(((Stupid internet made me waht I wrote)))

"Oh, but I love games." Skylar replied as she watched his Tsurekin and then looked at him. "Kai, I could easily run over and take him out before his Tsurekin would know what was happening." She whispered.

"WE don't know what his power is, so lets not try our luck yet." He replied quietly also.

"Fine, lets get this over with, please." The guy replied. His tiger moved to where it was right in front of him and crouched. Tala got in the same position ready to strike on command.


(((Short, I know .)))

Tala moved first. She ran with the full speed that she acquired from their training so far. She tried to pounce on top of the sabertooth, but as soon as she took off from the ground it was suddenly beside her. It struck her twice while she was still in the air. The first time it slashed up her back with its claw, sending bits of metal everywhere. It wasn't a serious wound, but it hurt Tala all the same. The next attack it slammed its other paw into her body, sending her toppling onto the ground.

"Tala, are you all right?" Skylar asked, concerned.

As the metal wolf got back to her feet, she said, "It's just a scratch."

Skylar thought for a moment, then said, "Tala, do that move we were practicing the other day."

Tala nodded and turned back to the enemy. She ran toward it again, but this time she moved to the right to strike. As soon as the enemy moved to block it, she moved to the left. She jumped onto the enemy Tsurekin and sank her teeth into its neck.

Skylar watched as the sabertooth tried to shake Tala off it's back. Tala didn't let go as she kept her teeth sunk into the metal of the sabertooth tooth. Skylar saw the sabertooth start to drop to the ground to roll and get her off.

"He's gonna roll." Skylar warned Tala. Just before the sabertooth rolled Tala lept off slamming her claws into the sabertooth as she did. She landed a few feet away standing between Skylar and the sabertooth. The sabertooth got up and Tala rushed at him again faking to the right this time and slashing her claws across the sabertooth's chest and then getting out of reach before it could get her.

"Take them out!" The guy growled. The sabertooth started towards them and Tala ran at it again before it could get to Skylar. She slashed it's chest, but before she could get out of the way it batted her off to the side. She landed on her feet, but she was no longer between it and Skylar. She ran towards it growling low as she jumped on it's back ripping into it's neck again.

The sabertooth tiger roared its annoyance and bucked its body hard, knocking Tala off its back. Tala rolled to the side to get away, but before she could get back up the enemy was suddenly on her back. She tried to get out from under the tiger, but it was putting all its weight onto her and preventing her from moving. The enemy let out another roar as it reared its head back and bared its teeth. In a blur of speed, the sabertooth tiger drove its two long fangs into the top of Tala's foreleg. Tala howled in pain.

"Tala!" Skylar started to move toward her, but Kai held his arm out in front of her.

"It's too dangerous," he said. He turned back to the fight. "Ryukin, get in there and help her!" Ryukin rushed toward the enemy and tackled it off of Tala's body.

Tala tried to get back up, but the leg the enemy had bit gave out when she tried putting weight on it. The fangs must have pierced something vital, because now she couldn't stand on that leg.