The Mekai: Endgame

Chapter 8

The Third Trial

"Let's finish this, Jerry," John called. He grabbed the golden ball on the top of his staff and pulled it apart to reveal a hidden sword. Both Gaia and Jerry were taken off guard and Gaia's eyes stretched wide.

"Your staff has a sword?" Jerry gasped.

"Surprise," John said. "You know what to do!"

Jerry and John took their weapons and hacked away at the roots surrounding Gaia. NO- they figured me out! Gaia thought, creating more clones to thwart them. The two Celestials downed the clones and continued hacking, growing ever closer to Gaia. She used her roots to attack them, which got cut, and made up to a hundred Mini-Gaias.

"Get them!" she shrieked, now panicked. John set everything ablaze once more, only for Gaia to use her Fail-Safe again. As the fire cleared, John noticed a large hole in the floor near Jerry's feet.

"Jerry," he called, "prepare your shield for a wind blast and use it on that hole, there!"

John put his staff back together, pointed it at Jerry and said: "Venti!" A burst of wind hit the shield and nearly blew Jerry away. He held firm, let his shield absorb it, and placed the face of it on the hole in the floor. The intensified gust erupted like geysers from all the holes in the floor. Both Gaia and her minions were helplessly blown off the floor and into midair.

"Impossible! How can this be?" Gaia cried. A magical vine wrapped around her mouth, silencing her, as she hovered overhead.

"Alright, Jerry- it's time to stop hiding it now," John instructed. "You have to use that power- now!"

"Right!" Jerry agreed. He removed his arm from the shield and left it lying on the hole- the gust continued to blow- and dropped his hatchet. He grabbed his right wrist and pointed his open palm to Gaia. The wind finally stopped and Gaia and her clones began to plummet. Jerry took a breath and unleashed a massive firestorm from his palm with more power than Yang's. Due to Gaia's mouth being sealed, she couldn't use her Fail-Safe. So the firestorm engulfed her entire plant body and disintegrated it instantly; she was no more.

"You did it!" John cheered. The remaining Mini-Gaia's exploded into leaves as Jerry fell to his knees to catch his breath. He hadn't used his Nomekian powers in seven years, and it took a toll.

"I- never- thought the day would come when I actually had to use my powers," Jerry said, in between breaths.

"You did say only when absolutely necessary," John said, patting him on the back. "You saved our lives."

"I really did, didn't I?" Jerry blushed. "Um- John?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. You know- for helping me keep my secret."

John sat down with his back against a wall. "You're welcome," he replied. "You're going to have to tell everyone, eventually; it's not my place to do it. And when you're ready, I'll be there to support you."

Yang's voice filled the air, saying, "Hey- look at you two sitting down on the job!" He and Yin stood in the doorway, happily.

"Sorry- you missed all the action," John told him.

"That's okay," said Yang. "I just got finished kicking Yin's butt anyway!"

"Wait- what?" Jerry asked, with his face twisted up. He returned to normal the second he saw Yin's face.

"Don't worry," she said. "It's a long story." She sat beside Jerry, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Boy, the enemy sure did a number on you," Yang said, observing Jerry and John's injuries.