Character development huh? Well thanks. I think Guardian has alot of character development, and that's important for a series!!! ^_^

OMG!!! Very thrilling chapter of Guardian, the cliff hanger of Ken going through with the Feather process is intense. It eggs the reader on. Very intense and this was so far a great action trip. The Knife Corruption member vs. Hiro also intenses the action aswell as the mystery of the Sniper. 10/10.

Guardian Season 3: Corruption
Chapter 56: Pain

"Are you serious!? There has to be another way!!!" Ken yelled, his head down in shame. He was afraid of being in pain, and he really didn't want to go through with this. "Kate's body is beyond normal recovery. She is losing blood at a swift rate. This is the only way." Mavel responded. Ken's eyes widened in fear. His heart was beating rapidly, as the sweat fell from his forehead. Kate was still unconscious, her cuts were seeping with blood, and there were various bruises and scars on her body. Ken looked at Kate. But then he turned around, seeing his friends in a tight spot...

Novan and Hariken were surrounded by four asssasins. Each of them had strange black masks on that covered everything but their eyes. They had chain-link armor underneath their loose-fitted black shirt and pants. Hariken looked at them in much confusion. Novan held his yo-yos in his hand, readying them. A stream of spirit energy was flowing through the strings and to the center of the yo-yo, which was shaped and formed into razor-sharp blades spinning in fast rotation. Two of the assassins jumped in the air and threw a barrage of shuriken down below.

'Ninjas...' Hariken thought. He spun in place, holding out his fan, and a huge burst of wind swirled around him, blowing away the shurikens. The two landed back on the ground, but then Novan swung his two yo-yos. The blades cut one of the mysterious enemy's arm, as blood gushed out. The man suddenly poofed into a cloud of smoke. A log appeared from the smoke.

"What is this!?!" Novan yelled. Suddenly the man appeared behind Novan, holding a sword above him. He swung it down but at that moment Hariken appeared in front of Novan and blocked the ninja's sword with his fan.

"These aren't any ordinary Corruption members. These are ninjas, specially trained warriors in stealth, espionage, and killing. They possess various techniques and abilities and it takes years to fully master ninjutsu." Hariken said.

"That log technique was merely an illusion to escape, but THIS IS REAL TERROR!!!" the man said. The four assassins jumped high into the air again and a barrage of shuriken came rushing down on the two. Novan panicked. He started shivering and flailing around, trying to find a blind spot in the shurikens. Hariken looked up at them, but then gave a large grin.

"Heh..." Hariken swung his fan and a swirling, rotating wind was whipped up. It blew the shuriken away again.

"Pathethic. You should know by now that no mere projectiles can penetrate the wind!" Hariken said. He swung his fan again, and razor-sharp blades of wind were sent flying towards the ninjas. The ninjas suddenly disappeared in thin air.

"Where are they now??" Novan said. He was quivering in fear. They could strike cold at any moment. "Calm down Novan! This is war! You must be willing to sacrifice it all to defeat the enemy!" Hariken said. Novan looked up at Hariken. His confidence suddenly began to rise. 'He's right. If I could stand up to that scary Roku guy, then I can stand up to these losers!!!'

Suddenly, a hand popped from underneath the ground and clutched Novan's legs. Novan was forcibly pulled underground.

"Novan!!? NOVAN!!?" Hariken yelled. Suddenly, two more hands grabbed Hariken's legs from below, pulling him under.

* * *

Meanwhile....Van was busy dealing with two other Corruption members. Both of them were short men with black cloaks and white face masks. They both had a demon stone in their hands.

"Demon stones? I thought those were sealed away long ago. Where did you find them!?!" Van asked. The two didn't really say anything. They shattered the stones in one punch, and released from them were two vicious beasts. One was in the form of a lion, and the other was a large black bat with bared fangs.

"Demons huh? Well, I guess I fight your creatures with mine!" Van yelled. His palms suddenly began to glow with a white light. He placed both of his hands down on the ground and chanted "Spirit Summoning: Ragnas and Sephyr!" Out from the sky came a magnificent white dragon, with shining silver scales that glistened with the sun as he spread out his wings. Out of the ground came a large white snake, the same one that saved Ken. Van stood aside these two creatures, as a feriocious battle was about to begin.

"Ragnas.....Sephyr....fight with me once more, TO AVENGE THE SPIRIT SUMMONERS!!!" Van said. He had an angry look in his eyes concealed beneath his sunglasses. Rage was fueled inside of him, as he remembers that fateful day that changed his life. Ragnas flew towards the lion demon, bearing it's claws. It stabbed the lion in the chest, but the lion gave a feriocious roar that pierced through the air. Meanwhile, the bat flew high into the sky, diving down towards Van.

Van's palms were still glowing. He released spiritual energy from his hand into multiple orbs. These orbs were casually floating in the air. The bat rushed in with its fangs, hoping for a taste of blood. As the bat was about ten feet away from Van, the orbs suddenly moved, going towards the bat demon and attaching to it's wings. Van then raised his hand in the air.

"Goodbye" And he snapped his fingers. The orbs suddenly exploded, killing the bat demon along with it.

"Kyuutai no Shi (Spheres of Death) A technique passed down to Spirit Summoners by channeling the energy of spirits around you, then forming it into orbs that detonate on command." Van explained. The two men were suddenly shaking in fear.

* * *

Meanwhile, the mountain that towered over the battlefield below was being occupied by the last two Corruption members. One was named Raikotsu, and he had spiky grey hair and a monocle on his left eye.
He had only a black mask that covered his mouth. He had a beige short-sleeved tunic and ripped, tattered jeans. The other was a tall man with a camoflauge-patterned tunic and baggy bunched-up jeans. He had a large sniper gun in his arms as he looked inside of the scope. He was aiming down below at the battlefield, searching for someone.

"Searcing for the perfect aim, huh Snipe?" Raikotsu asked.

"Quiet. If anything goes wrong, I'll kill the Spirit Summoner in one shot." he said, holding close to his gun.

* * *

Ken turned around and clutched the feather in his hand.

"Kate..." Ken said. He formed a burst of spiritual energy in his palm and turned it into lightning. The feather ignited, and burned into ashes. He spread the ashes over Kate's body. Kate's body suddenly began to glow. A spiritual aura surrounded her, as the process began.

"ARRRRGGGGHH!!!" Ken cried in pain. He felt a sharp pain in his chest. Blood started to seep from it. A stab wound appeared on his back. He felt the various pains of all of Kate's wounds at once.

"AAAHHHHHH!!!! GRAAAAARRGH!! ARRGGHHHH!!" Ken couldn't move his body at all until the healing process was complete. Mavel just stood there, watching Ken. Kate's wounds were slowly fading away, and the blood was disappearing.

"Hang in there Ken..." Mavel said to herself.
________________
TO BE CONTINUED...

OMG!!! Ken is gettin tazed!!! Van's new orb technique is PWNsome!!

Kate should never ever say that Ken never did anything for her.

Guardian Season 3: Corruption
Chapter 57: Slow-Motion

Kotaro ran so fast it was like a faint blur. He appeared behind Zaraku and swung down his sword. Zaraku instantly teleported and dodged it, reappearing high above him in the air. "Chaos Break!" Zaraku chanted, discharging chaos energy from his right arm. He thrust his hand straight down to the ground, causing an explosive shockwave from the impact. Kotaro was knocked back to the ground but he quickly got back up and dashed towards Zaraku again at a blinding speed. At a split-second, Andrew appeared in front of Zaraku with his arms out. A barrier formed around them that repelled Kotaro's sword attack. Kotaro jumped back in retreat, readying another attack. He had a slight look of worry on his face.

'How are they keeping up with my speed!? Last time they couldn't even keep up with my movements...'

Kotaro dashed behind Zaraku again, who quickly ducked when Kotaro swung his sword. Kotaro slashed and hacked away with his blade, and Zaraku kept sidestepping and dodging every swing. Kotaro dashed backwards, moving away from Zaraku. Zaraku had a huge grin on his face.

"What's wrong Kotaro!? Haven't you noticed anything strange lately!?" His voice sounded deep and monotonous.

'Wh-w-what!? W-whaat's going on!?" Kotaro mumbled to himself. His eyes were wide in shock. The area around them suddenly looked dull and gloomy. Time was shifting, and everything was moving slower. The color around them was fading, and turning to a black-and-white color.

"What is this!?!" Kotaro commanded. He jumped at Zaraku, his blade in his hand. But Kotaro was moving at a very slow rate, 'What the hell!?'

"Too slow..."

Zaraku reappeared behind Kotaro and yelled "Chaos Blast!" A blast of dark energy hit Kotaro right on his back, as he quickly fell straight down to the ground. Kotaro's shirt had a hole in the back and a burn mark was visible. Blood was seeping through the wound. Kotaro held his palm against the wound. He was in deep pain.

"You're in the 'Nightmare Illusion Realm.' There's no escape!!!" Zaraku said. Kotaro's expression turned into anger, as he grabbed tight to the hilt of his blade. "Nightmare Illusion Realm!?" he asked.

"I don't feel like explaining things, so you can already tell by what's going on what the Nightmare Illusion does. Now it'll only take me ten seconds to stop your breathing!!!" Zaraku and Andrew teleported in an instant. Kotaro was breathing heavily. The gravity around him was slightly increasing. It was harder for him to move.

'Huff...huff...Stay calm.....stay calm...' Kotaro said. Zaraku appeared behind him with a dagger in his hand. He swiftly jabbed the dagger at Kotaro, aiming for his neck, but Kotaro tilted his head and dodged it. Kotaro then made a sign with his hands.

"Guardian Element: Wind! Swift Rotation!" and a huge sweeping wind began swirling around Kotaro, like a barrier. It knocked Andrew and Zaraku back. "Guardian Element: Wind! Air Assault!" and Kotaro jumped high into the air.

"Master Zaraku, stay back!!!" Andrew yelled in panic. High-speed winds began ripping through the air. The swift winds began to take form into small blades. It looked like there were a thousand of them in the air. All of them came rushing down towards Andrew and Zaraku. Andrew stood in front of Zaraku and formed a barrier of chaos energy. The blades went through the barrier, and about ten of them stabbed Andrew in various parts of his body. Andrew winced in pain, but didn't yell. He collapsed to the ground, bleeding heavily. Yamiraku looked disdainfully at Andrew.

"I thought the boy was special, but he's just worthless trash!!!" he said sternly.

"Don't get too confident...Andrew....will never die..." Zaraku yelled. "WHAT!?" Kotaro yelled, as he landed back down on the ground. Andrew got back up, pulling the blades out from his body. His wounds regenerated, and the bleeding stopped. Kotaro was in shock.

'I didn't know the Dark Volume had that kind of power...'

"Well, the boy has the will to live, to protect, and serve you. He'll even die for you. How interesting..." Yamiraku said.

"I don't care how many times you get back up, I'll just keep cutting you down to pieces!" Kotaro yelled in anger, dashing towards Andrew this time. Kotaro swung down his blade but Andrew caught it with his hand.

"..."

Kotaro struggled to force down his blade. Andrew was holding it back with great strength. "I sense...alot of anger in your mind. It's clouding your sense of judgement. And what is this other emotion I'm sensing?.......guilt!?" Andrew said. Kotaro's face suddenly went red. "Shutup!!!" he scowled, pulling away his sword. He slashed his sword at Andrew, who quickly dodged it. Andrew's palms then began to glow. Kotaro was suddenly being lifted up in the air by an unknown force.

Kotaro cooled down his anger. Andrew suddenly swung his hands down, and Kotaro fell forcibly to the ground. Kotaro felt a bone-shattering pain as he impacted to the cold concrete ground. He was struggling with the injuries that he had sustained, as he tried to get back up. His body felt numb, and he was starting to feel dizzy.

"Now, kill him! Kill him for the wrong he has done to us the Spirit Realm!!!" Yamiraku yelled. Zaraku's hands were pulsing with dark energy as he approached Kotaro.

"Now die!!!" Zaraku yelled. Kotaro blacked out.

* * *

Novan and Hariken were back on the ground. Novan had trapped two of the ninjas with his yo-yos and lifted them in the air, slamming them down to the ground and instantly killing them. Hariken cut the last two assassins to death with his air-cutting blades. Their bodies were thrown down to the deep pit that Novan and Hariken were almost trapped under. Novan suddenly gasped in shock. His heartbeat began rapidly pulsing. He had sensed something.

"KOTTAAARRRROOO!!!!" he screamed, crying out tears.

* * *

"AARRRGGGHHH!!" Ken cried in pain. Blood began seeping from his mouth. A few more cuts and bruises were appearing. He couldn't handle this stress any longer. The pain was unbareable. Ken couldn't even move his body. Kate's body was still healing, and slowly, her wounds were disappearing. "AAGGGHHHH!!" Ken coughed up blood. He fell down to his knees, wincing in pain. Trying to bear this for Kate.

'He really loves this girl...' Mavel thought to herself. She had a look of worry on her face, 'Maybe I shouldn't have done this. This girl's life isn't as important as Ken's. He's the Protector, he can't die right now. But if he's so determined to protect Kate and keep her alive, then I mustn't get in the way of that...'

* * *

Meanwhile, atop of the mountain, Raikotsu had a look of skeptism on his face.

"Say, look down there. What's going on with the Guardian!?"

Snipe turned his body around, aiming his scope at Ken, zooming in close.

"The boy is bleeding, and he looks to be in deep pain. There are two women next to him. One of them is unconscious." Snipe explained.

"The Guardian is in such a condition!? That's great! Let's kill him now! That would surely please our leader!"

Snipe held his finger tight on the trigger.

"I suppose you're right. I won't miss then..."

_____________________________
TO BE CONTINUED...

You had better not kill Mavel off!

Awesome Chapter!

lol what!? It was never implied in this chapter that Mavel might be killed. Read closely again, Show. ^_^

And don't worry, I will tell you this now, I don't even plan on Mavel getting killed at all throughout the series. She's gonna be a very important character.

That was very action packed. Nightmare Illusion Realm is a great feature to the power of Zaraku! Andrew's Mysterious regenaration trait is also quite Suspensful. Ken is suffering a grave deal, but I know he'll pull through! Snipe and Raikotsu scheming their Assasination is another great way to orbit the plot suspensefully. 10/10.

I watch Lost so I over-analyze everything.

Cant wait for some more action in the next episode! But I can wait, I know your busy. But I want a new episode when you get unbusified!!! lol. Take as much time as you need! School has been getting hard as the years increased.

You don't say! You should be glad you don't got my school. Makes Public Schools look like a cake walk.

homeschooling must really be a pain sometimes huh?

Guardian Season 3: Corruption
Chapter 58: Lock-On

The trigger was released. A bursting red laser was shot straight towards Ken. The laser was about as fast as a bullet, so only as a split-second of reaction time. Ken was shot through the chest with the beam. His eyes widened in terror as he fell cold to the ground. Mavel gasped in horror. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

"You never cease to amaze me, Snipe." Raikotsu said. Snipe reloaded his gun and got ready for the next shot, aiming carefully at Ken's head this time. He was wearing a strange orange visor over his eyes that was calculating numbers on it's front view.

"Angle, projectory, aim, timing...all of these come into play when you are hunting for your prey. You must shoot for the kill when the time is right." Snipe mumbled to himself, peering through the scope of his rifle.

Mavel suddenly looked up towards the sky, trying to figure out where the attack came from. She walked towards Ken and saw the gaping hole through his chest. He was in deep pain, groaning and coughing up blood. Ken was violently shaking, unable to move his body.

"Stop moving Ken, or the wound will only open up more!!!" Mavel yelled, "I'm sorry but, I have to stop the Pain-Splitting Feather's healing process. These wounds are too much to handle, and you'll surely die now if you-"

Suddenly, Ken grabbed Mavel's arm. His eyes quickly turned into a shifted glare.

"D-ddon't you dare stop this...I hhh-have to....s-save Kate....even if...i-it costs my life."

Mavel was in shock. Her arm was trembling with fear. She didn't want Ken to die, but she felt that she had to trust his decision.

'Alright then Ken...just don't die...' she thought to herself,

'But where did that laser come from!?'

* * *

Van had killed the second assassin. Ragnas rushed through and destroyed the other demon, and killed the man.

"That was for the Spirit Summoners..."

Meanwhile, Hiro was still in a tight spot. His opponent was still releasing knive after knive. Hiro couldn't keep blocking them forever. "Hyaaaaaaah!" Hiro found an opening and jumped high into the air and swung down his blade. The man sidestepped and dodged it. He quickly pulled a knife out of his sleeve and grasped it tightly, charging towards Hiro. He slashed it down at Hiro, who quickly jumped back to dodge it.

"You're pathetic!!! You could never dream of defeating me!!!" the assassin yelled. Hiro's eyes suddenly shifted to anger. Deep inside, he only thought about one thing, and that was protecting Ken.

'I can't die....not yet...NOT YET!!!'

He held out his blade, which began to shake. An immense aura of energy began to flow from it, and suddenly Hiro's blade began to glow. The blade suddenly was being coated in a rough, sharp steel. The metal of the blade glistened as the sunlight hit it. It was like a shiny silver color. It had completely transformed. The assassin appeared intimidated.

"Heh, I don't know what you just did, but it doesn't scare me." and he shot out twelve more knives from his sleeves. Hiro quickly jumped and dodged them. "Hyaaaaaah!!!" he cried. Hiro swung his blade straight down to the ground, which sent a shockwave rippping through the Earth.

'His sword.....it's power...has increased in magnitudes!?' the assasin suddenly froze. He couldn't move his body.

"W-whaat is this!?" he said.

'What just happened!? My blade has....transformed!?' Hiro thought to himself. His enemy still was unable to move. He felt sharp sound vibrations in his ear. Suddenly, his ears began to bleed. "ARRRRGGGGHH!!" he cried in pain.

"This is the end for you." Hiro yelled. He slashed his blade and cut the man at his chest. The man fell to the ground, in severe pain as he was bleeding. A few moments later he was unconscious. Hiro lifted up his blade over his back, getting ready to sheath it.

'Errgh...why does my blade feel...heavier!?' Hiro asked himself. The overwealming weight of the blade caused Hiro to fall to the ground. It was more difficult to hold the blade than it was before.

"Could this be...!?" Hiro said. He gathered an immense amount of spiritual energy in his arms so he could hold the blade. He sheathed it back. Hiro's thoughts were interrupted by Novan and Hariken, who were running towards him.

"Hiro!!! We have a problem! It's Kotaro!! I think he's" Novan yelled in excitement, which was interrupted by Hiro. "Calm down Novan. I know you must have sensed Kotaro's life force fading. I did too. But we can't worry about that right now. All of the assassins were destroyed, we have to find Ken."

Van ran back to join the group.

"No, there are still two of them left. They are on top of that cliff!" Van yelled, pointing towards the two shady figures above them. "I'll go up there and KILL THEM MYSELF!!!" Hariken yelled. "Let's go then! Me and Novan will go find Ken. Hariken and Van, destroy the remaining assassins." The four scattered into their groups, heading towards their destinations. Hariken gathered up a swift wind that carried him and Novan up to the cliff where Snipe and Raikotsu stood. Snipe's eyes shifted towards them.

"I wasn't expecting company so soon." he said calmly, clutching close to his trigger. "I was sure the other Elites would have taken care of Ken's friends by now, but I guess they were all just worthless!" Hariken held out his fan.

"I'll kill you both and then I'll be on my way."

"Well well, look what I found. The Spirit Summoner, walking towards the Guardian. Now I don't know who to eliminate." Snipe said. "What!?" Hariken snapped, looking down towards the ground to see Ken, Kate, and Mavel, all sitting down on the ground. Novan looked also.

'Ken!?! But he's bleeding, and he looks like he's about to-' Novan paused his sentence, suddenly charging towards the mysterious man before him. "STOOOOOOOOOPPP!!!" Novan yelled. He was suddenly forced back by a strong barrier. It gave off a discharge of electricity that shocked Novan. Novan was knocked out unconscious when he hit the ground. "What is that!!?" Hariken said, running towards Raikotsu. A barrier suddenly appeared, knocking back Hariken.

"There's no point in trying to come after us. This invisible barrier is unbreakable." Raikotsu announced. Hariken got back up, brushing the dirt off of him. "We'll just see about that." Snipe suddenly let out a huge yawn.

"Alright then. Switching targets....aiming for...the spirit summoner. Lock-on coordinates...12X by 50Y....angle...60 degrees...movement of target....stationary....timing....five seconds till impact." Snipe said loudly to himself. His scope was aiming straight for Van's head, and Van appeared to be unaware of the situation.

"VAN! LOOK OUT!!!" Hariken yelled out from above. Snipe released the trigger.
_____________________
TO BE CONTINUED...

THAT WAS AWESOME. Hiro blade pulled a willy on him and Kotaro's life is slowly fading. Hmmm.....Exciting. 10/10