It was cold, foggy, and still wet from the previous night's rain storm. But Derek, Amy, Lynn and Shawn didn't notice the wetness as they ran through the woods of Acadia. They were running for their lives.
They were being chased by the evil sorceress Chandra, and her army of goons who could only be described as part man, part beast. And they never seemed to tire from running. Their endurance was amazing.
The 4 teens stopped to catch their breath as they sat on an exposed root of an old Oak tree. "We can't rest long. Chandra's men wont stop hunting us down until they find us." Shawn said. The others agreed.
However, they only rested for about 2 minutes before they heard Chandra's army approaching. The 4 teens jumped to their feet and began to run once again. "They're gaining on us!" Lynn screamed as she turned her head to see how far back the army was.
Lynn was ahead of everyone and she wasn't paying attention to where she was running. Lynn's front foot fell through a hole, followed by the rest of her body, her friends were right behind her and they too fell through the hole.
They fell about 30 feet. The 4 of them looked up at the opening of the hole and gasped when they saw that the hole was beginning to close in on itself. They were plunged into darkness.
They were scared, no, they were terrified. After 5 minutes, they were on the brink of panicking, when a small light magically appeared on the far right of the cave wall. It was a torch.
The light given off by the torch showed them a tunnel opening. They were cautious about entering, but decided to go for it. Especially since they had no other place to go. Maybe the tunnel was a way out?? Derek led the way, followed by Amy, Lynn and Shawn brought up the rear.
As they walked through the dark tunnel, torches magically appeared and lit themselves. The first few times, the teens jumped at the sudden illumination. But by 5 or 6 times, their fear was subsiding.
The teens followed the tunnel until it opened to a very large cavern. It was a dead end. "Now what do we do?" Lynn asked. The other 3 just shrugged their shoulders. They were as lost as she was. "I don't know Lynn. It seems to be a dead end." Shawn said.
As if someone were listening to them, A light began to glow on the wall again. Slowly this light gre into a doorway. "I think someone wants us to go through the doorway." Derek said. They were all reluctant, but they were trapped somewhere undeground with no visible way back to the surface. One by one, they walked towards the doorway.
The mysterious doorway led them to another chamber. This one at least 10 times larger than the first. There were 4 torches scattered throughout the chamber with a large, flat table in the center of the room. There was also a peculiar carving hanging on the wall.
Amy stepped forward to examine the carving. To Amy's surprise, it was a carving of 5 seperate images. The largest of the images was a crown. The 4 smaller images were: A sword, a shield, a trident and a stick. Amy described the carving to her friends.
"What's a trident?" Derek asked. Lynn turned to face her friend. "It's like a big pitchfork." She explained. Amy, who had been looking at her friends, turned her attention back to the carving.
"The Jewel on the crown appears to be a button." Amy said as she ran her fingers along it. "Don't touch it!" The others yelled, but it was too late. Amy pushed the button. The entire cavern began to shake furiously. Amy ran back to her friends.
"I'm sorry!" She yelled as the 4 of them huddled together. The cavern continued to shake so violently that the 4 torches tumbled over and went out. They were once again in the dark.
The 4 teens began to scream as the ground beneath them became quicksand and they started to sink through it. They sank quickly. They all expected to die, but when their heads were in the sand, the sand almost completely disappeared. They were falling once again.
They teens fell for such a long time that they had given up screaming. Lynn managed to turn herself sround so she would face the bottom of the......Whatever it was. Lynn screamed!
"Water! I can't swim!!" She screamed as she braced herself for impact. She hit the water and immediately sank to the bottom. Her friends were right behind her. Amy and Derek made their way to the shore, while Shawn went to rescue Lynn.
Shawn dove and came up almost 45 seconds later with lynn gasping for air. They swam to the shore to meet up with Amy and Derek. After making sure that Lynn was alright, they decided to continue to try and find a way out.
They walked around the shore for what had seemed like an eternity. They spotted a tunnel off to the left. They headed for it. They thought that they might have finally found a way out, but they were wrong. What they had found were Chandra's men. It was hard to tell who was more surprised. The army or the teens.
The teens jumped, but they had no place to run. "Charge them!" One her men yelled. They had no choice but to fight. The four teens were poised and ready, but when they advanced, the ground became soft and they fell again.
They didn't fall far. Just out of the reach of the army. They began to relax slightly. But it was short lived. One of Chandra's men began to thrust his sword down the hole. The teens screamed and backed up against one of the walls. As they screamed, the wall gave way and they found themselves in another cavern.
This cavern was odd. It was not like the other 2 which were made of cold earth. This cavern was made of limestone. The limestone appeared very cold, but it was just the opposite.
The 4 teens laid their hands on the rock, and were shocked that it was warm to the touch. And despite the warm rock, the air in the cavern was very cold. It was so cold, the teens could see their breath as it escaped their lips. The teens discovered 2 more tunnels.
"I don't like this. It is like one big maze and that someone is watching our reactions. We are like some laboratory rats." Shawn said. The others were beginning to think the same thing.
"Well, we can't just stay here and do nothing. We will freeze. And we can't go back the other way unless you guys want to face the army and their sharp swords." Derek stated. No one wanted to go back.
"You guys take the tunnel on the right, Lynn and I will take the one on the left." Amy said. They all nodded and headed to their respective tunnels. The guys were well into their tunnel by the time the girls had entered theirs.
The girls had gone no more than 50 feet when they heard a low screaching sound. They turned around and screamed! Their screams were loud that they brought the guys out of their tunnel.
Derek and Shawn screamed as they came face to face with a giant Phoenix. Derek looked around for a weapon. He picked up a torch and advanced towards the Phoenix. The phoenix retreated from the flames. Shawn took the opportunity to run to the girls and guide them to the safety of the other tunnel.
Once they were safely inside, derek began to retreat into the tunnel himself. Soon they were all running. Derek was taking special care not to let the torch go out. They might need it again.
"I don't believe this! I am not playing your games anymore! You hear me? I am not playing anymore!!" Lynn shouted up at the ceiling. "Who are you yelling at?" Amy asked her. But before Lynn could answer. The Phoenix reappeared out of thin air.
"I presume she was yelling at me." The bird said. The teens started in shock as the Phoenix changed it's form from the bird to a very old looking man. The startled teens jumped back about a foot.
"You have done very well." The old man said. The teens were confused. "What do you mean?" Shawn asked. The old man smiled at him. "You have proven yourselves worthy." The man stated. The teens were still confused.
"Who are you and what do you mean?" Amy asked. The old man looked at the 4 teens. "Forgive me. I am called the Keeper. I am the protector of the Mystic Knight powers. You 4 have proven yourselves worthy of becoming Mystic Knights." The Keeper replied.
"I don't believe you." Derek said. The Keeper turned to him. "Ah Derek. Always the skeptical one. I assure you I am telling you the truth. How else can you explain the Mysterious holes? The tunnels that appear out of nowhere? Running in Chandra's army all the way down here?" The Keeper asked. Derek had no answer.
"Why us?" Lynn asked. The Keeper smiled. "You 4 have been fighting for freedom and Justice. To be free from Chandra's army. Despite all of the obstacles I have put in your guys' way, you have continued. You could have stopped at anytime. But you kep on going." The Keeper explained.
The teens sat down and listened to everything the Keeper had to say to them. He told them the legend of the Mystic Knights and how they first came to be. "And after they had helped free their people from oppression, they no longer wished to be Knights anymore. So I have retained their powers until they were needed again." The Keeper explained.
"Now that Chandra is here, The Knights are needed again?" Shawn asked. The Keeper nodded. The Keeper then raised his hands and all of them were magically transported back to the first cavern with the torches and the wierd carving.
"Are you willing to accept the responsibilty and the powers of the Mystic Knights?" The Keeper asked them. One by one the teens stepped forward and nodded. "Very well. May the powers of the Mystic Knights protect us all." The Keeper said as 4 colored lights surrounded the teens.
When they lights finally subsided, the 4 teens found themselves in colorful armor. Derek was in black armour and he was wolding the sword. Amy was in green armour and she was the Keeper of the Stick, which she was told was called a staph. Shawn was in Blue armour and he had the trident. And Lynn was in purple armour and she had the shield.
The four teens took a few minutes to look over each other, while the Keeper stood there smiling at them. He told them how to call on their powers when they found themselves in a battle and how to "turn their powers off" when the battle was over. He then told them how to call on him if they needed him again.
"You 4 must now go and fulfill your destiny. May the powers of the Mystic Knights protect us all!" The Keeper said. The teens looked at him, nodded and the Keeper sent them back to the surface to battle with Chandra and her army.
When they reached the surface, the 4 teens powered down and decided to go home. They turned around and started to make their way back to Acadia, their home town.
As the Knights got closer to home, they smelled smoke. They began to run. When they reached the town limits, they saw Chandra and her army. They were torching their town. 4 teens called on their powers and rushed in to protect their families and the rest of the town.
When the Mystic Knights rushed in, Chandra saw them. She ordered her army to attack them. She had heard the legends of the Mystic Knights and even though she did not show it, she was frightened.
Chandra's army was no match for the Mystic Knights. The army was easily defeated. The one's that could, ran away in retreat, Leaving Chandra to face them herself.
Chandra was not prepared to fight them. She laughed at the Mystic Knights. "This is not over. Not by a long shot. I will be back." She growled. The Mystic Knights advanced.
"And we will be waiting." The Black Knight (Derek) stated. Chandra turned around and fled for her life. As she ran, the townspeople cheered and gathered around the Knights, expressing their thanks.
After the battle, the Knights retreated to the woods to power down. They congradulated each other on a job well done. Just then The Keeper appeared before them.
"You have done well. This was just the first battle of many to come. Never let your guard down. Chandra will be back." The Kepper warned. The Mystic Knights nodded. Then The Keeper vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
The Mystic Knights returned to Acadia as if they had no idea of what had happened. As they walked around the town, they could hear everyone talking about the Mystic Knights. The teens smiled as they made their way home to rest for the next battle with Chandra and her new army of goons.
