"Adalyn, now it's my turn to ask. Are you ok and how do you feel?"
"My gun! Where's my gun? What happened?"
"All I'll say is that you hit your low, but before the ground met you, Sixth Star was here to stop you from severing a bump on your head…or none at all!!"
"Shot? Sixth Star? She was here!! W..why? She is evil and no better than the rest of them. She stole your spirit and wants my head just like everybody else. Where were you when this….happened!! Wait a splinter. My memory may be faulty but it is coming back in shorts and as I can recall; you were helping Sixth Star point a gun at me while I fought to stop you both."
"Sister, we came to help and not to kill. You were so low that we weren't aiming the gun at you, oh no. We were trying to pry it out of your hands because you intended to shoot yourself and successfully did. It all happened so fast."
"Successfully? If I shot myself then why am I not dead?"
"I told you. For that you can thank…well, Sixth Star technically did most of the work and froze time so that she could save you and deflect the bullet….but I stopped you the first time."
"First time? What?"
"You don't need to worry about that. You are saved now and if anybody needs to be thanked then it's her. She's downstairs awaiting us."
"You didn't send her away? Can we even trust her?"
"Listen, if she wanted to kill you then she would've killed you already and I don't think she is aiming to backstab us either because we are too powerful. She is ten times more powerful than any of us put together. Also, I asked her to stay."
"Why?"
"Adalyn, tomorrow is the tournament and today has been hectic in and of itself. I almost lost you this morning, I lost my dad, I lost my spirit, and I almost lost you again just now….twice!! I'm not going to lose all my family in one day especially when I just found you. That is why I told her to stay. This is the longest I've gone without my dad or any adult looking over me. In case you breakout again, she will be here; but mainly she's here for me."
"How long will she stay?"
" She said she'll be here as long as we need."
"Dandellion!!"
"She's leaving in the morning."
"That's better. Now let's not keep her waiting. She is taking personal time out of her day to take care of us when she probably has more needful souls to save instead of our own so come on. Where did she say we were going again?"
"She didn't. All she said was to get changed and come back downstairs."
"Ooo!! It's a mystery. Knowing Sixth Star; I would have to say that this is gonna be no sitting back and relaxing by the beach kind of day."
"How do you know that?"
"I don't but I for some reason can feel it in my soul. It's hard to explain. It's like I can hear what it's saying."
"Say no more. Where do you keep your clothes?"
"Well when they are not on my person then I'll show you where I store them. Come with me to the basement. Why are you hesitant to follow?"
"Whenever someone says, 'follow me to the basement,' it is never good."
"Dandellion, I think you have watched too many horror films growing up. In order to be fully clothed we need to start at the bottom and work our way up."
"Sis, I know what you mean. I start with underwear then go to outer, then shorts, then the leg laces, then the…..umm. Dan, that wasn't the clothing I was referring to."
"Ps, I put a bra on last. I'm skilled like that."
"I…..nevermind. Can you turn around and close your eyes please."
"Why? We just walked into an empty room with only a grandather clock staring at us but nothing else."
"Ahh, but there is always more than meets the eye. Time is the one thing that no one can control and people have very little of, but life is like a grandfather clock. It is detailed, there are a lot of parts that are needed to make it work, and there are even 'secret' more hidden parts underneath that are needed to make the bigger parts move. So if you line the parts up just so…then…..*CLICK* You just discovered something new."
"Whoo. Please don't let me hear that clicking sound ever again. It remninds me so much of your gun click."
"Sorry. It's still a little rusty."
"I really do not know you anymore."
"Suit up cause it's gonna be a long day. We got the helmet of Salvation, the shield of Faith, the belt of Truth, the shoes fit with the Gospel of Peace, and the breastplate of righteousness."
"Wait, there are two of them and one looks just my size; but how? You know that I've been trying my hardest to steer you back, but all this time you were prepping me to stand by your side?"
"Uh, I never thought you would ever come to my side if truth be told. I just hoped. That's one of the reasons why I snuck out and didn't want you following. You might have seen this and ruined everything. I know your birthday is tomorrow so….happy early birthday present. You have no idea how long I wanted to give you this and bring you here, but God kept telling me to wait. That was the longest and hardest battle I ever fought.
I kept saying, 'God, I need a helper. I can't do all of this on my own. I'm tired, I'm weary and I'm just ready to give up."
"That must have been awful."
"Yes, it was. The hardest battle any Christian will ever face is not the battle with Satan himself, but it is knowing when to wait and when to move. How long does Jesus' patience really go and how long can I survive on my own until He fulfills His promise? The hardest battle takes place in your mind and not the spiritual or physical."
"How long did it take you to acquire all of this?"
"Ohh…it took longer than needed. I started when I was home, but then once I found out my true goal; I knew I needed to work faster. If there is a dragon living in mom then who knows how many more of them are out there. So it was my aim to bring light back to this dying world…..even if it meant doing it alone."
" Sis, you were never alone. You always had me."
"At the time; I didn't know if I did, but I had hoped. So after every successful conquest, I would come back here to my basement and build my armor. Then when God said you will have a partner; I held onto that hope and started creating your armor as well. Those few years after I ran away were made possible only by the grace of God still keeping me breathing although physically, people could've looked at me and pronounced me dead. Please. I want to be certain it was all worth it. The only times I felt calm were when I was down here touching your armor and hoping that one day…it would be filled with a person. After many fires, monsters, creatures, and people saying I would never be worthy….here we stand!!! Try it on. I want to see if I remembered you correctly."
"Can you help me put it on? Some of the pieces look too big for me to handle myself."
"Just hearing those words alone tell me that it was definitely worth every minute."
"Adalyn."
"Yes, Dandelion?"
"Have I ever told you that you sound and act just like mom?"
"Simon says touch your toes!!
Simon says touch your ears!!
Simon says wiggle your nose!!
Touch your hands to the sky. *Tickle, *Tickle* Simon didn't say."
"Stop it Stop it. You know how ticklish I am."
"Okay. So if I sound like mom then who does Sixth Star sound like?"
"Hurry up girls!! You're gonna be late for your first assignment. If you aren't up here in five minutes then I'm leaving without you. You know I will."
"Coming, dad!!!!"
"Ooo, not too tight!! Can you loosen the belt a little bit?"
"Dandellion, if I keep loosening it then your shirt and armor will just hang down."
"That's okay. I feel I can't breathe when it's always so tight. Random question; do you ever wonder if knights tucked in their shirts or not?"
"Dandellion, knights and others always tucked in their shirts. Football players on the other hand….I don't know. As far as tightening goes…it's better to have it too tight then too loose. Seat Belts were not designed to keep the passenger comfortable. They were designed to keep whoever it was fastened down instead of flying all over the place if and when they enter a collision or are attacked by a hard blow."
"That's understandable. Hey, at least girls only have to fasten their belts and not put on a cup for added….Adalyn, turn around real quick. What are those two objects hiding in the shadows at the back of your storage and why aren't they with the rest of the armor?"
"You have a good eye, sister. The armor of God is eighty percent defensive and only twenty percent attackive. Stay here and I'll go get them. These two pieces were the hardest and most difficult to obtain, but after many failed attempts and setbacks, I've done it. Now we all know about the sword of the spirit, but there is even a more powerful weapon that when used effectively and not just to grumble and complain, then it can be deadly. The enemy tries to tell us not to use this, but if we don't then we'll truly be all alone and defenseless. Knights put these on last because they are meant to go into battle and not to stay back. Once they attach their shield to their back then they grab the sword in one hand and the Spear of Prayer in the other. Wait, hold that pose. I want to take a picture and I know just the camera to use. There is a mirror over there in the third room if you want to see yourself."
"Adalyn, you know how much I LOVEEEEE to stand in front of the mirror and talk to myself."
"I know. Do you want to know how many times I had to pee outside because you would never open up no matter how hard I banged."
"Well Jesus says the body is a temple so when the Holy Spirit enters my temple; I want to make sure he enters the most beautiful and spectacular temple he has ever seen."
"Dandellion, I hate to say this but you're not gold."
"No, but I'm diamond!!"
"Just try not to break my camera with your sparkle and dazzle!!"
"Huuu….is that the camera that we…you still have….smile!!!"
"Thanks to the internet they have mini printers that hook on the backs of phones and cameras so..we just wave it around a bit and walaa. Perfecto."
"Can I get out of this now so that I can see."
"Oh yea. Hold still the thing should be right…ooo!! I don't know what you think you're doing but whatever you're looking for is not there."
"You don't even know what I'm looking for. *Boop* Just press this button and then the armor will fold down all snug like a bug…..in the form of a challenger coin. Told you there is more than meets the eye."
"You're testing my patience, girls!! This is the last time. If you're not up here in three seconds then I'm walking out the door. One....two....We're here!!! We're here!!!"
"You girls got the change to buy your own supplies?"
"Our coins are right here."
" They look legit!! Very good, girls!! Who's ready to go shopping!!!"
"WE ARE!!!