"WATER+WIND ELEMENT! DELTA COMBO JUTSU! DOUBLE-HEADED SNOWSTORM DRAGON JUTSU!!!" Michael, Nadia and Ken roared.
There was a huge outburst of energy. Tremendous winds blew the area, and then, a triangular portal appeared. Out of it flew a double headed pure white dragon. Purple manes flowed down the back of each of its heads and it was quite larger in comparison to Crystal and the other dragons.
"That's not a jutsu!" Ryu stared in shock.
"I am Torpedo, elder brother of Hurricane and protector of the Hidden Snow ryu" the mighty dragon introduced itself.
It spoke with double voices.
"SNOW ELEMENT! FLAME KILLER JUTSU!" it called.
A huge snowstorm rocked the crevasse. Atlanta took the cue and called out,
"EARTH ELEMENT! CRYSTAL DOME JUTSU!" thus creating a protective dome of crystal around everyone.
From within the dome, they could hear the cries of the dying Sun Devil.
After a while, all was silent. Atlanta allowed the Crystal dome to drop. Immediately it collapsed, the friends had to hug themselves for warmth. The Sun-Song Devil and all the flames had been turned into ice. Nadia surprisingly didn't feel cold at all. She stared around in wonder.
"Wow, you definitely know how to fire fight" she complimented Torpedo.
Torpedo examined her critically and placed an amulet around her neck with telekinesis.
"You have a talent for ice jutsu" Torpedo stated.
"No, I can only use water jutsu" Nadia said.
"That is because you haven't had someone to teach you but I'm here now and I will train you and together, we will all defeat Shekan" Torpedo said as he breathed a breath of renewal over them. "I've given your rings the power to withstand evil forces. You can now summon your dragon partners even in the most evil of places. However, I'm glad you could not summon them for a while. It has taught you to rely on one another more deeply and you have all began to realize the depths of human power. Take this Nadia, and summon me when you need me" Torpedo said as he handed a silvery white ring to Nadia.
Nadia wore the ring and felt new power enter her.
"What's the amulet for?" Nadia asked.
"You will find out soon enough" Torpedo said. "But for now, you need to see Meena".
Torpedo carried them out of the crevasse to Meena's little cottage.
"I hope you find the past. I hope you understand the future" Torpedo said and vanished in a flash of lightning and snowflakes.
"Yeah, I hope you don't plan to use him on me" Ryu said with a little jealousy.
(Wow, Flame Killer Jutsu, you'd better be careful from now on Ryu).
"Well…that depends" Nadia teased.
"It's great that you now have a dragon partner Nadia but I hope you use his powers wisely" Michael advised.
"Of course Michael, I can't believe you asked me that" Nadia said, a little hurt by Michael's words.
"I trust you Nadia" Michael quickly clarified.
"I know" Nadia said.
"Weird, I'd say you two like each other" Ryu said as he walked towards Meena's cottage.
He stopped walking suddenly and listened. He could hear water flowing. He turned and looked back at the others. They had heard it too. They ran to where the crevasse was supposed to be but instead of a crevasse, there was a beautiful river.
"Torpedo" Nadia murmured with a smile.
The darkness of the sky cleared to reveal the real sun.
"You're definitely an elemental saint" Ryu nodded in approval.
A young girl in presumably her late teen years stepped out of the cottage.
"What took you so long?" she asked. "I've been expecting you".
"You're…Meena?" Ryu asked with a surprised look on his face.
"You were expecting…someone older?" Meena said as she paced around Ryu.
She suddenly stopped in front of him and peered deeply into his eyes as though she were dreaming.
"It's unbelievable! You're so much like him!" Meena exclaimed.
"Excuse me?" Ryu scratched his head, puzzled by Meena's reaction to him.
"Come in" she invited them.
"She's weirder than you" Nadia whispered as she punched Ryu on the shoulder.
Ryu made a face and followed Meena into the cottage. The others followed close behind.
"I've studied the legends thoroughly but I never thought I'd see one so like him" Meena said when they were in the cottage.
"So like who?" Ryu asked in confusion.
"We came to you for help. The queen of the Sound ryu sent us. Is there anything you can tell us, perhaps concerning the whereabouts of the Sword Of Rai and how to defeat Shekan?" Rokkan intervened.
Meena looked at him in surprise as though she had just woken up from a dream.
"You too? This is funny, way too ironic. Two friends walking the same path, yet destined to be mortal enemies" Meena said with a slight chuckle.
Ryu and Rokkan looked at each other, and then, they looked at Meena as though she was crazy. Meena noticed this and looked at them in amusement.
"You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?" she asked.
"Of course not" Ryu sighed in boredom.
"How are we supposed to know?" Rokkan asked.
"You're on a quest to stop Nemesis from unsealing Shekan and possibly reseal Shekan yourselves if he awakens" Meena said, suddenly quite serious.
"Exactly" Michael said.
"You can't stop Nemesis" Meena said plainly.
"What is it with every girl in the Sound ryu? Do they have secret feelings for Nemesis or Shekan or what?! You're all just saying the same thing. First, queen ageless and now you too!" Ryu burst out.
"Ho ho! So apparently you do remember?" Atlanta said suspiciously.
Ryu looked frightened.
"Err, it's coming back to me now" he quickly defended himself.
"You can't stop Nemesis" Meena repeated.
"Why not?!" Ryu roared.
"That…is one of the reasons and what I meant is, you shouldn't try to defeat Nemesis" Meena said.
"That's way worse!" Ryu roared.
"Why are you saying this?" Atlanta asked.
"Are you in league with him?!" Nadia began to clench her fists tightly.
"If you defeat Nemesis, you won't be able to seal Shekan. That is the twisting path of fate" Meena said.
"Everyone creates his own destiny" Atlanta said.
"If not, the dragon of destiny would have told us what to do" Michael said.
"He did tell you that Shekan is beyond fate, didn't he?" Meena said as she walked very close to Ryu.
So close in fact that they were eye to eye. Atlanta looked at Ryu and their eyes met. Ryu cleared his throat and pretended to walk towards Michael. Meena was amused by Ryu's shyness but she stood her ground.
"He did say something like that, yes" Ryu gulped.
This girl was beginning to make him feel really awkward.
"Every human does create his own destiny through the choices he makes. In this way, it can be said that one person could have thousands of destinies but the choices he makes will eventually lead him to a fate" Meena said.
Ryu and Rokkan found themselves intrigued by Meena's wisdom.
"The dragon of destiny only weaves the paths determined by a person's choices. Even he has no knowledge of where these paths will lead until it leads to the very end. You could call him the 'Author Of Lives'" Meena explained.
"Then what should we do?" Michael asked.
"You will do what you must but in the end, what must happen, will happen. There is no stopping it" Meena said.
"Are you saying that there's no hope? That all our efforts will be in vain?" Tanya asked.
"I'm only saying that it will all depend on the ones that can create that hope" Meena said. "However, I will tell you something. Knowledge of the past gives the power to forge a better future. That is why the queen sent you to me. So that you will know once and for all what your quest is really about but I will advise you to keep no secrets from one another. The littlest lie could destroy all your chances forever and right now, I can smell a very huge lie" Meena said as she stared at Michael, Atlanta, Ken and Tanya.
She examined their faces carefully. They all had worried looks on their faces.
"Yep, there's definitely an ugly lie afoot" Meena said.
"What are you talking about? Besides you haven't even told me why I mustn't fight Nemesis" Ryu said.
"You shouldn't fight him because you hate him" Meena stated plainly.
"Wha…?! That's crazy!" Ryu roared.
"It's true" Meena said.
"Yes and that's even more the reason why I should fight him" Ryu stated.
"No Ryu. Heart and Hate. It's a code you cannot break" Meena said.
Ryu froze.
"Heart…and hate. That's exactly what Molten keeps saying. It has a deeper meaning doesn't it?" Ryu asked.
"Yes it does. However, heart and hate is a sacred code and cannot be revealed to liars so you guys better start spilling your guts before I spill them for you" Meena said seriously.
"What are you trying to say? That Atlanta, Michael, Nadia, Ken, Tanya and Rokkan are lying to me?" Ryu asked.
"Actually, the first five are lying to you and Rokkan" Meena said.
"What have I got to do with all of this?!" Rokkan asked.