14 Rank 13

"When did you get up?" Yun looked bewildered to see Rank on his feet.

"Had to get up for the team leader meeting.. So.." Rank trailed off.

Myst jumped up, grabbed Rank by the arms and pulled him in for a hug. "Thank you."

"Ahh-" Rank grunted. "My ribs. Please."

"I'm sorry. So sorry." Myst loosened her grip. "It's just... You looked so bad yesterday. We didn't know if we'd get the chance to thank you. We were so worried."

Rank was awestruck. Myst continued to ramble on, but Rank could barely notice what she was saying. He'd never considered how his actions would have affected his team. He'd only ever considered their safety. How would they have reacted if he had died? Even more, what would he have done if one of them had been injured or died? He wasn't sure. He did not want to find out.

A gentle pat on the shoulder snapped him back to reality.

"Don't scare us like that again. We can help if you let us." Yun smiled at him. "Thank you."

Myst jumped back, as if she suddenly realized how long she had been holding onto Rank.

"Oh god, I can breathe." Rank chuckled. "How are the others doing?"

"Tark's asleep. He's probably still exhausted from last night." Yun gestured over at Tark who was passed out snoring.

"What happened last night?" Rank puzzled.

"He was working non-stop. He built pretty much everything here. He even upgraded your equipment." Yun looked like something in his head suddenly snapped into place. "Your dagger! Wait right here."

Yun ran over to where Tark was sleeping. He grabbed something on the ground and ran back to them.

"Me and Tark did some experimenting with these." He held his hand out to show him three spherical flower bulbs. Two of them seemed to be faintly emitting light. "These are for the dagger."

Yun handed Rank the two glowing bulbs. He gave the last to Myst.

"Slot those into the dagger." Yun advised.

Rank complied.

They fit perfectly into the two notches at the back of the dagger.

"What are these?" Rank regarded his dagger.

"Myst, show him." Yun ordered.

Myst clasped her hands around the bulb. Her hands seemed to glow for a second before she turned her palms to display the bulb. It was now emitting the same glow as the other two. She handed the bulb to Rank.

"What do I do with this?" Rank asked.

Myst smiled. "Crush it in your hand."

Rank regarded the bud for a second. He gripped it between his thumb and index finger. He tightened his grip and crushed it.

He felt his hand brimming with energy. Suddenly his palm was filled with the image of a map of the landscape. He saw a green dot where he'd guessed they were standing. Right behind him he saw a red dot. He looked back to see Kodo standing there.

"This is..."

"My skill." Myst smiled.

"But how?" Rank stared at the map in his hand.

"I found them in the forrest. We wasted quite a few experimenting last night." Yun seemed proud. "It should stop in about... Now"

The world map faded out of existence. He felt the energy drain from his hand.

"Oh, wait. The two from Kodo! The special one!" Myst seemed to be trying to remind Yun of something. "The injury one!"

"Oh!" Yun grabbed the dagger and looked it over. "This one. Crush the bulb closest to the handle."

"What's gotten into the two of you" Rank took the dagger again. He pressed his thumn over the bulb closest to his hand. A second later he felt it break. "What was that supposed to do?"

He felt a tightening around his chest and back. It felt as if his body was heating up. He felt similar as to when Abby had tried healing him earlier, but this time it was coming from within.

The heat faded. Rank regarded his body. The pain was gone. He felt healthy. The only pain that remained was a slight bit of muscle ache in his arms and legs.

"I'm... I'm fine?" Rank couldn't believe it.

"It worked.. IT WORKED!" Yun yelled loud enough to attract the attention of most of the people in the area. "Sorry." He smiled.

"What did you guys do?" Rank puzzled.

"It's one of Kodo's skills. We weren't sure whether or not it would be strong enough to help you." Yun bent down to pet the lizard. "We managed to grab his Regeneration skill onto a few bulbs. We wasted most on testing, but we ran out before we could be sure it would help you."

"And the other bulb?"

"It has his fire magic on it. Breaking it should either ignite the blade or fire a firebolt at where you're aiming." Yun answered. "Depending on how you break it."

"Thank you." Rank was overcome with gratitude. His team had worked hard to help him out. He was happy. "Really, thank you guys."

"You're welcome" Yum smirked.

Myst gave Rank another hug. "It's the least we could do."

Rank was suddenly reminded of something.

"Where is Dane?"