Okay

That night, Jewels locked herself in her training room.  She brought with her the energy crystal that Raiden gave her.  She planned on infusing the energy with hers and hopefully breakthrough to the next level.  Jewels made her way to the middle of the room and set her short sword next to her. She sat down in a lotus position and took out the energy crystal and held it in her hands.  Closing her eyes, she started to gather the outer energies that surrounded her and pushed the energy into the crystal ball, infusing her energy along with it. When she mixed enough of her energy and the surrounding energy into the crystal ball, she slowly started pulling the combined energy into her body.  She could feel it slowly pass through her veins and into her first dantian. As more and more energy flowed through, it passed through the second dantians and then to the thrid.  The swirling of all three dantians, filled with energy, swirling faster and faster until it overflowed and Jewels heard a loud thunder before feeling the usual lighting, strike her.  Her whole body filled with renewed energy as her dantians filled up once more filling it over.  This time it was too fast and a second thunder could be heard be for a second lightning struck Jewels.  The second lightning that struck her, struck her hard.and she fainted.  

---------

Jewels woke up again in the grey space.  Sighing heavily, it took a while for her to move.  As she stared into  nothingness, she cultivated the energy around her. Gathering them into her veins and dantians filling them up as much as she could before she came out of her grey space.  She knew the that she leveled up her cultivation too quickly and her 8th and 9th foundation were not stable.  She laid there until she felt strength in her limbs again and slowly sat up before standing up.  

A loud roar could be heard along with a bird's cry.  Jewels knew that roar from anywhere, turning around in circle, she tried to look for her animals to call.  From a distance, she could see two small dots coming closer towards her.  One in the sky and the other on the ground.  Jewels knew it was her animals that came to find her.  

In a matter of moments, Nemean and Fenghuang reached Jewels and tackled her to the ground. Nemean's lion form licking her face while Fenghuang's phoenix rubbed its head on her hand. 

"Alright,"  Jewels said between slobber. "I said alright, already!" 

Nemean stepped away from Jewels and looked at her once before telling her why they were acting strangely.  

"Jewels, you don't understand.  When you fell, your head hit your sword.  it cut your head and you have an injury.  You were bleeding profusely when we came out and after Nemean healed your injury you didn't wake up.  We sat by your side for the whole night and you still didn't wake up.  When the morning came, your maid came to check in on you.  When you didn't answer, she had the butler help her take down the barrier and breakdown the wall.  That's when we came back into the bracer and found you here!" 

"So this is where you guys go, when you're in my bracer? A little dull don't you think?"  Jewels said as she got up.

"You just don't know how to use it yet." Fenghuang said as she transformed into her human form.  "All you have to do is think about what you want and it'll transform the grey space into what you are thinking about.  For example, say I want to sit on a chair, all I have to do is think about it and here is the chair in front of me." 

Jewels saw that the chair appeared our of thin air and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming.  

"This is just something small, so say you want a green grass, a lake filled with water and a small house by the lake, all you have to do is imagine it and..." 

Suddenly they stood on top of green grass, and in front of them was a large lake filled with water and a small cabin next to it.

"This is too amazing."  Jewels said.  "Then why is it that I can't come into this space when ever I want to?" 

"I don't know, have you tried?" Fenghuang said. 

"No," Jewels admitted it.  "I never even thought about coming back to the grey space."  

"Well now that you know there is a possibility of coming back when ever you want to, you should try it when you go back out.  But in the mean time, we can feel how nervous you are to go to Sky Ship to face all the monsters as well as the other stronger cultivators, at your level, so lets train together here in the grey space.  The grey space can help you refine your fighting and help you improve on your flying skills." Nemean said. 

Jewels stood up and got into her fighting stance and waited for Nemean and Fenghuang to attack. 

--------------

When Jewels came to, there was a cool towel on her forehead and hushed voices speaking in her room. 

"What did the doctor say today?"  Raiden asked. 

"Doctor said we just have to wait because there was nothing that he could do.  She must have bumped her head really hard against the floor and her sword for her to lose consciousness and be in a coma for three days now."

Three days? Jewel thought.  She tried to open her eyes, but they were too heavy for her to lift.  She tried to talk, but her mouth wouldn't move.  

"Is there any way we can contact her Master and ask for his help?" Uncle Jude asked Raiden. 

"No, I tried.  I went to her Master and he had already left.  We don't know where he went."  Raiden said angrily. 

"Would you like to stay the night?"  Uncle Jude asked.

"Yes, if that doesn't impose too much on you." 

"Of course not.  I'm willing to bet that Jewels would rather have you watch over her then her old Uncle and even older grandfather!"  Uncle Jude tried to joke. 

"Did she heal you?" Raiden asked all of a sudden. 

"Yes," Uncle Jude answered truthfully. "It took several months and a lot of hard work.  The last time she saw me walk in front of her, I was still dragging my feet.  I wish she would wake up soon and see my progress." 

"She will," Raiden said. "She'll wake up soon." 

Raiden bid Uncle Jude a good night and closed the door.  After getting ready for bed, Jewels could feel Raiden slide in next to her and touch her face.  He traced every curve and dip, memorizing them to him memory before kissing her lips.  

"Wake up." Raiden said as he looked down at her.  "Come back to me." 

When Jewels did not move, Raiden stared at her longer and after awhile, he held her close to him and wrapped one leg over her bringing her closer to him.  

"Please wake up."  

-------------------

The sun was shining when Raiden opened his eyes.  He slept in for the first time in a long while.  His eyes that saw the ceiling first turned to look at Jewels.  His onyx eyes met her clear blue violet eyes.  Raiden quickly leaned towards her and hugged her tightly to him.  

"Who are you?" She asked him.  "Are you my husband?  Where am I?" 

Raiden pulled back to look at Jewels with concern.  He was about to say something when Jewels started laughing. Unable to tease him any further, the look he gave her was one of heartbreak and denial.  It was the most facial expression she has seen from him that it made it worth it to tease him.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding."  Jewels said as she hooked her arms around his shoulders bringing him closer to her.  "I remember everything."  

"You vixen!" Raiden said as their lips crushed into each other.  Soon they had to separate or one of them would forget to breath.  Breathing heavily, Raiden smooth over Jewels's hair to the side so he could see her face.  "Don't ever scare me like that again." 

"Sorry, I can't promise you that." Jewels told him. "But I'll try my best not to." 

"That's my girl." Raiden said as his forehead met with hers.  "Don't ever pretend that you don't remember me again or I'll truly be mad and you'll regret the day you tried to trick me for the second time." 

"Okay." Jewels whispered dreamily. 

They stay in each other's arm talking about the past three days.  Apparently, after she was found, she was brought to her room and a doctor was dispatched to come see her.  The doctor was waylaid for three hours before the doctor came to see her. By that time, she was still in a coma and her injury had been patched up by Zeze.  The doctor had been telling them the same thing for the past three days, that they had to wait for her to wake up.  The Rowen's came by every day and stayed with her for two hours before leaving,  her family took turns sitting by her bed talking to her and reading to her in hopes that she heard them and woke up.  The first day that she was injured, he received word that Ichi and Go were in a bind and sent the bird messenger for help.  He left to go help them and when he came back he heard about her accident and came straight away.  

"See, I knew you would wake up if I was here." Raiden said confidently.  

"It was a coincidence. Don't let it get to your head." Jewels said as she kissed him lightly.  

They stayed in her bed until noon came.  Getting up, they washed up together and got dress together which took a lot longer than they wanted to, however the feeling of their naked skin next to each other comforted their core and gave them a peace of mind.  

When Jewels walked downstairs, there were voices in the sitting room. She knew immediately it was the Rowen Clan and her Uncle talking.  

"What if she doesn't wake up?" Duchess Rowen cried. "I would have failed her again! How would I be able to face my daughter when I die?" 

Jewels could hear Aunt Nora comfort Duchess Rowen and Jewels secretly walked into the room and waited until somebody noticed her.  

"Don't think that way, Jewels is strong, she will wake up."  Aunt Nora said.  "She's been through too much to not be able to wake up and fight through this."

Duchess Rowen starts to cry on Aunt Nora's shoulder as Uncle Sam rubbed her back to comfort her.  

"Did somebody die?"  Jewels said as she walked in as if nothing happened and sat down in an empty chair.  She leaned forward to pour tea for herself and Raiden.  She put one sugar cube in the tea and stirred it.  As she gave Raiden the tea, she began talking again. "What a beautiful day to have tea with everyone.  I believe I will be going on to the Sky Ship tomorrow, I hope the weather keeps up and it's like this tomorrow." 

Duchess Rowen screams excitedly and jumps up.  She runs to Jewels and throws her arms around Jewels crying out loud. 

"My dear grandchild!  You have finally woken up!"  

Aunt Nora, Uncle Sam and Pop pop run towards her and hugs her tightly. 

"Of course I would've woken up!  As if I would die so easily."  Jewels said between bodies and arms of her loved ones.  "I'm too stubborn to die, let alone not wake up from a coma!" 

After they release her, Jewels made her way towards Uncle Jude and hugged him tightly.  She knew he worried about he the most. With raising Jewels like his own daughter, he paid attention to her upbringing and cared for her a lot.  When she let Uncle Jude go, Zeze jumped in and hugged her while she cried loudly. 

"Young Miss should not scare Zeze like you did!"  Zeze said as big drops of tears falls down her face. 

"I'll try not to." Jewels said as she patted Zeze's back.  Suddenly Jewels felt the both of them engulfed in long, strong arms.  Thomas had come forward to hug the both of them.  

After letting go of Jewels they spend the rest of the day at Brooks Manor until late into the evening.  

-----------------

The next day Jewels spent the day recuperating and packing a small bag for her to bring into Sky Ship. In the bag she brought two extra change of clothes, several various healing potions, antivenom as well as cures to heal poison.  She brought clean bandages and several pairs of socks.  She brought three days worth of dried rations for the five day trip to Sky Ship.  Not knowing what to expect, she also brought a light jacket just in case.  

That night Raiden sneaked into Jewels room and into her bed.  Not saying a single word to each other, Raiden pulls her closer to him and he holds her close.  Their limbs intertwining and hooking on to each other as if that night would be the last night they would hold each other.  

When the day broke, Raiden was still there next to her.  Kissing him awake, he helps her get ready for the day and sends her off with a quick kiss on her lips.  

"I'll see you at the ceremony." Raiden said. "You be safe and watch your back."

"Okay." 

"Don't eat anything weird and don't drink anything you don't recognize."

"Okay." 

"Don't do anything too risky and don't get into fights that you won't win."

"Okay." 

"Run and run fast if you have to."

"Okay." 

"Don't trust too easily and if it comes down to you or them, choose you." 

"Okay."  Jewel says softly. 

"Come back safely." 

"Okay." 

"Okay." Raiden whispered as he hooked a loose strand of hair around her ear.  "Okay." 

---------------

"As a reward, the top 15 men and women are given the opportunity to go into the Sky Ship that only opens to the Madewell citizens every five years.  As the strongest in their groups, it is their honor to seek treasure on Sky Ship and face untold dangers.  The possibility of death is an option.  Anyone who wishes to preserve their life, now is the time to walk away and live another day. "

When none of the 15 winners moved, Prince Ivan continued. 

"Winners of the Madewell Tournament, remember, in five days, if you do not walk to the portal entrance, you will be stuck in the Sky Ship for five years when it opens again.  I wish you well and hope to see all of you in five days time." 

The crowd cheered as the 15 of them walked in a single file line to the green portal in front of them.  One by one, they entered.  Jewels was in the middle and when she walked through the portal, darkness consumed her vision.  Jewels kept walking forward with no destination in mind.  She was hoping by walking forward she would be transported to Sky Ship.  From darkness to light, Jewels saw her surroundings.  Standing together in a group, the 15 of them looked at the over grown vegetation.  Jewels took note of the portal and its surroundings before she made her move north.  Without even talking to any of the other winners and trying to form a group and make a plan, Jewels left them behind.  She could hear some of them curse her to her death as she left, but she didn't care, she didn't trust any of them to watch her back.  Besides, she thought, she had a cat and bird as her animal to call. 

Traveling through the jungle was hot and muggy.  She tired quickly, but she wanted to make enough distance between her and the other winners, should one of them or a group of them want to kill her.  She called out Nemean when she began to tire and rode on his back as he ran through the jungle.  With no destination in sight she looked for plants and herbs she could harvest.  Several times during the trip north, Jewels had Nemean stop and she dig up precious herbs.  She found her fifth herb when she met trouble for the first time.  

A cyclone of monstrous size scorpions dropped around her.  Five black scorpions swung their tails at Jewels and Nemean as their stinger struck.  Jewels and Nemean dodged, backing up slowly, deeper into the dark Jungle.  Holding out her hand, Jewels brought out five fireballs and shot them at the scorpion closest to her.  The first fire ball that hit pushed the scorpion back a few steps while the second fireball hit its abdomen.  The scorpion curled up and pushed through the third fireball hitting it's face as the it's pincers got closer to Jewels.  The last two fireballs, hit its target, but all it did was push it back.  Fire did not hurt the scorpion.  Jewels took out her sword and swung.  Her sword hit the scorpion's pincer and sliced right through. 

To her right Nemean, fought in his lion's form and had already ripped out the right pincer and its stinger.  He was holding down the scorpion with one paw as his mouth went to grab the other pincer that was swinging towards his head.  Nemean grabbed the pincer and chomped on to it and easily ripped it off.  With his claws, he turned the scorpion belly side up and clawed through its abdomen, spilling blue blood into the ground.  

By this time, Fenghuang came out without Jewels calling her out.  Fenghuang flew over the three scorpions and breathed her phoenix fire on them, instantly burning them into ash.  Jewels heart dropped in disappointment, she could have used the venom to make antivenom, she could have used the pincers and stinger as medicine.  Jewels wondered if she could ever be strong enough to summon phoenix fire instead of regular fire.  If she had phoenix fire, she could burn through anything and turn it  into dust.  

Jewels however turn back to concentrate on the scorpion in front of her and made sure to save  the body parts she needs for make medicine.  Jewels swung her sword towards the tail striking her face and cut through the tail in one swoop.  Jewels then brought down the sword and stabbed the scorpion through it's abdomen and pinned it against the floor.  Taking out the daggers in her hands she slashes the last claw and stabs the scorpion in its eyes.  The scorpion squirmed and wiggled for a while before Jewels finally killed it. 

Looking over her team, they were uninjured.  Jewels took the soul stones, the venom, the pincers, and the stinger of the scorpion.  Wrapping them up in leaves that she found, she tied them up with vine. When she was about to put the wrapped item in her bag, Fenghuang interrupted her and said. 

"You know you can place that in the grey space.  Just close your eyes and imagine yourself there, in front of the cabin.  Once you imagine that, you will be there.  After enough practice, you don't even have to close your eyes, you could just throw it into the grey space and it'll be there." 

Jewels did as Fenghuang said and placed the item on the table in the cabin.  When she opened her eyes again, she was in the jungle and it had only been a second.  Jewels finished digging up the herb that she saw and before leaving, she gathered the four herbs from her bag and placed them on the table in the grey space.  

Instead of riding on Nemean, the three of them start walking North again.  When it started getting dark, Jewels made camp.  The foliage was too wet to build a fire so she spent the first night in her jacket, sleeping between a cat and a bird.  

When morning came, she quickly made breakfast while Nemean and Fenghuang hunted.  While in the grey space, they felt no hunger so they didn't need to eat.  The strange atmosphere fed and nurtured them.  However, every time they came out of the bracer and trained with Jewels, Jewels would have to feed them food before going back into the enchanted bracer.  

When Jewels finished her dry ration for the day, Nemean came back with a leg of a dead animal.  He then used one of Jewels's dagger and skinned it.  He then cut it into strips and from his mouth, he breath a small fire over them, cooking them.  He handed all of the cooked meat to Jewels and scrounged for more big leaves and placed the uneaten meet in the leaf then wrapped it up in vine.  Jewels placed the neatly wrapped meat in her bag and they continued on their journey.   

The thick jungle started to open up, the thinning forestation alarmed Jewels, because it mean civilization.  Slowing down her pace she looked around at her surrounding before talking to Nemean. 

"Do you smell anything? Any monsters or human?"  

Nemean put his nose in the air and sniffed the air.  After sniffing a couple of times he turns to Jewels. 

"I don't know how to describe it.  Some animal and some human scents can be found, but they are old.  A couple of days at least.  Nothing fresh." 

"Fenghuang, fly up and see if there's anyone near us or see if there is a village."  

Fenghuang flew up in her red phoenix form and flew around in circles before she flew back down.  

"To the east of us, over 3 miles, there is a village and to the west, 4 miles out, a bigger village.  No humans could be seen near us." Fenghuang reported as she changed back into her red dress.  

"Lets keep moving North and try to avoid them."  

The two animals agreed and they quickly made their way further North.  They cut through the jungle in no time and the vegetation started thinning out even more until they reached the mountain side.  Jewels got on Nemean and Nemean  trotted and jumped up the mountain. When they reached half way, Jewels stopped Nemean so he can rest.  Jewels took out the food in her bag and shared the small portion between the three of them. For a moment, they could enjoy their food and the vista in front of them before all hell broke loose.  

From behind them, the trees started swaying and the ground shook.  The three of them stood up and faced the on coming danger heading their way.  From the depth of the jungle, a troop of 12 huge black gorillas charged at them. 

"What are these animals being fed that they are this big?!"  Jewels thought as she dashed forward into the troop of gorillas.  "Hell, I might as well have fun with them." 

Jewels attacked them fast and swiftly.  Striking them with her daggers in her hands as she slashed and cut the gorilla's tendons and arteries.  She crippled the gorilla that attacked her one by one, hacking and slashing them until the floor dyed itself red and Jewels's clothes soaked in the gorilla's blood.  When Jewels killed four gorillas, the rest of the troop were being killed by Nemean and Fenghuang.  Fire flew everywhere and burnt the gorilla into crisp thanks to Fenghuang.  

With the four dead gorilla's by her feet, Jewels was able to take their soul stone and cut off their hands and feet.  She needed their nails for medicine and didn't want to take the time to slowly pull them out at the moment.  After gathering all the body parts she cut off, she wrapped them up with leaves and placed them on the table in the grey space. The grey space would be very useful to her in the future to store things that could help her survive.  

After resting for a while, the three of them made their way up the mountain.  When the day started to turn into night, they chanced upon a cave.  Jewels gathered enough fire energy to produce one fireball and balanced it on her hand as used it as torch.  Nemean insisted on leading the way as they made their way deeper and deeper into the cave. The only sound that Jewels heard were their footsteps and their breathing.  No living soul has been in the cave for a long time.  Not even animals.  If animals weren't willing to dwell in the cave, what horrible thing could possibly live in the cave, and would scare them off? 

The deeper they went, the slower they walked.  Trying to make less noise as possible, they crept into the cave bit by bit.  From the depth of the cave, the three of them could hear deep, loud, breathing.  As if who ever was the owner of the breathing could eat the three of them up in one bite. 

"Ready to check it out?" Nemean asked Jewels. 

Taking a deep breath she whispers, "Okay."