Battle Heroes X: S01E02

"Engraved in Crystal" is the second episode in the Battle Heroes X series, the second episode in Battle Heroes X Season One, and the second episode overall. The episode is also the first part of the two part episode. It revolves around Zack, Julius, and Cloud having to thwart Bane when he catches wind of a set of gems that give the holder enhanced power.

 Written by
 Directed by

## The Episode

Bane traveled through the city using the shadows, his failure clear in his mind. He had watched as his final attempt at destroying Zack, Julius, and Cloud was easily defused.

"I can feel my power, getting weaker.." He muttered as he exited a shadow and flew into another one. He had been running all night across the city until dawn and was exhausted to his core.

The shadow he had just jumped into was the shadow of the city library, which was closed for the night. A thought then passed Bane's mind. On a field trip in high school, his geology class went to see some apparently mystical crystals on display, which were rumored to be able to grant unlimited power to whoever they deemed worthy. A plan hatched in Bane's mind. The library probably had some books on the crystals, which would contain the answers to where they were and how to get the power. He stepped out of the shadows and looked to see if anyone was watching him before phasing himself into the library. Once in, he began his search.

Cloud woke up in the hospital to a freezing cold reality, wet and covered in water. It seems that he'd been asleep for quite sometime, considering Zack just dumped a bucket of water on his head, while Julius was laughing his butt off.

"Gah! What the hell, man?!" Cloud exclaimed.

Zack just grinned. "Sorry about that man, just needed to make someone laugh. That, and you were sleeping like... for almost two days. And I needed to make myself laugh."

"It's all good Zack, I missed alot. Glad to see you're better. I don't even know what the hell is up with Bane, man. Why is he still targeting us?"

"Man, I don't know. All I want is to get him... and then live in peace."

"Well I know I am definitely out of shape, so I'll start up my old training regiment," He laughed softly, poking his now soft arms.

"Are you kidding? You're injured, how are you gonna train without hurting yourself even more?" Julius pointed at the bandage around Cloud's torso.

"Because of...this," Cloud got out of bed and began to unwrap his torso bandage. When he finished unwinding it, it revealed his body to be...healed. There was mostly no signs of injury except a few red bumps and a bit of dried blood.

"..Woah," Julius gaped at Cloud's miraculously healed body. "Yesterday, it was all ripped flesh and stuff. Now this?"

"You guys check out your wounds too," Cloud said, pointing to Zack's broken leg and Julius' bandaged arms. Zack summoned one of his crystals to cut open the cast and he brought out his leg and flexed it a bit, wincing a little, but moving it nonetheless. Julius unwrapped his bandages and looked at his forearms, burn and scar free.

"Ayy! We're healed! Back in business, baby," Julius smirked, rubbing his arms. "But..how?"

"You don't think it has something to do with...what happened to us when we were kids." Cloud asked, looking at Zack and Julius. Julius shrugged and Zack said nothing, thinking about that time...

**12 Years Ago...**

A young Zack, Julius, and Cloud were playing around at Julius' house outside. The three were playing tag. Julius was chasing Zack and Cloud because he was it, but he wasn't getting anywhere with it. He was too slow. Finally, Juilus got tired and sat down on the soft grassy ground of his backyard.

"I'm pooped! Let's go inside," He said, panting.

"No...way, we're still full of energy!" Cloud yelled, laughing.

"Speak for yourself, Cloud! All this running's wearing me out," Zack said, stopping his running.

"Fine, babies. We'll go inside. I wanna play some videogames anyway!" Cloud said, starting to go inside.

"Finally! Something I can cream you in!" Julius pumped his fist triumphantly as he began to follow Cloud.

Zack smiled a bit as he got up, but then something caught his eye. Something glowing in the bushes.

"Hey, uh, guys? I think I see something in the bushes," He said, pointing to the bushes.

"Huh?" Cloud and Julius said in unison. They walked over to where Zack was and looked in the bushes, seeing the glow as well.

"What...what is it?" Julius asked.

"I don't know, Julius. I didn't go in to get a closer look," Zack said.

"Let's go check it out!" Cloud began going closer to the glow.

"No, Cloud! We don't know what it is!" Zack quickly grabbed his friend by the arm and pulled him back.

"Well, we can't just leave it there! Someone else will look first!" Cloud said, crossing his arms and huffing.

"C'mon, Zack! It'll be fun!" Julius suggested.

"...Fine. Maybe it'll be something cool." Zack said, looking to his friends.

"Then it's settled! We're going to see what it is!"

"Alright. On the count of three, we open up the bushes," Julius said, edging a little closer to the bushes with the glow.

"One...two...THREE!!" The friends opened up the bushes and were flooded in a bright light.

**Present Day**

"That sounds...pretty plausible, actually," Zack said, continuing to flex his leg and stare at it.

"You guys think that it could be the cause of my devilish good looks as well?" Julius asked jokingly.

Cloud shrugged, a smile plastered on his face. "You never know, man. Anyway, I'm going out to start the regiment I said I would. Later."

Cloud began walking to the door, but Zack quickly stopped him by grabbing his arm. "Where do you think you're going, Cloud?"

"Uh..the gym, Zack. I'm fit as a fiddle and ready to check out." Cloud said, confused.

"The nurses and doctors think you have broken ribs and a ripped up, bruised body. If they see you walking around and stuff, they're gonna freak out."

"Oh...yeah. Well, I can't just sit around here! I have to do something!"

"Why not just tell them you're feeling a little better and ask if you can use the rehab gym in the hospital?" Julius asked from his bed.

"Good idea, Julius! It won't be much, I guess, but it'll be something to do. Jolis, Zacko, you guys coming?"

"Nah," Julius answered lazily.

"I've had enough training, you know?" Zack said, sighing. "With the crystal powers and all, I think I'm just gonna go head to bed."

"Yeah Zack, get some sleep so I can pay you back with some water." He chuckled slightly.

"You better not!" Zack said. "I'll have my doors locked!" He then proceeded to chuckle.

"I'll break em' down, military style. You know I'm thinking of becoming a leg man."

"Yeah, OK, well, while you train, I'm gonna crash," Zack said, yawning. "I'll see yous later." He then left the room and headed to his own bed,
 in his own room. He fell asleep almost instantly, and started to enter
 his own dream.

"Night Zack," Cloud smiled, leaving the room.

It was hazy and hot in the room in his dream. Everything was white, from the ceiling to the floors, all around. Zack vaguely remembered this room
 in his dream, remembered it enough to where the door in front of him would open by itself, which it did. He started to walk and went into the next room, which was filled
 with crystal riches. A spiral crystal staircase made  out of various colored crystals, a queen sized bed, having made out of only the red colored crystal and a refrigerator, with nothing but crystals in it.

"Get onto the crystal staircase," said a mysterious voice, which echoed in the room. Zack did as instructed, sitting down. He soon heard loud footsteps, and then heard another noise. But no one was there to make them. "You know, ever since that little incident that was had yesterday, things aren't going too well."

Zack scoffed. "What do you mean? Everything's goin' great, Cloud and Julius are-"

"It isn't about them. It's about the other one."

Zack's smile soon turned into a frown, and he started to listen to the voice. "What about him?"

"He's starting to make some other, more stranger movements. He isn't going after you, right now he's in the public library."

"Doing what? Reading books? Why did I have to be pulled into this, I don't want to hear anything about him reading books."

"Books about the crystal powers that, uh, I gave to you."

Now Zack began to listen, his ears perked up. "And so he's studying that... where's he going?"

"I don't know, but I say you should look into it."

Soon everything began to disappear within a snap that the voice made. The refrigerator disappeared, the spiral staircase disappeared (with Zack landing onto the white floor) and the queen sized bed also disappeared. Soon he would be going back into reality.

An
 ice cube was materializing in Julius' hand and slowly changing shape. Soon it was became a shield of sorts, but it melted at the last second. "Damn," he sighed.

Cloud was in the same room as Julius, doing pushups. "Julius, but I'm bored."

Seemed as though Zack wouldn't be taking too long of a nap, so he got up and headed to where Cloud and Julius was, anxious to tell them about his dream.

"Maybe we can go hang out at the mall or something..oh, hey Zack," Julius said as Zack entered. "How was the sleep?"

"Trippy," He replied. "Telling me about Bane's next plan, but I don't know if I can confirm anything."

Cloud got up. "Ooh, future foresight dream. Well, what happened in the dream?"

"The guy, the voice, who gave me the crystal powers is telling me that Bane is at the public library seeking knowledge about the powers that I have. He just doesn't know what he's gonna do next, so he left me to go
track him out."

Cloud sat up, or at least he tried to. He did every every exercise he could until failure. "Well, we could always grind, like we did in Final Fantasy. Then go beat Bane's ass."

"I say we at least check out the library to see if it's confirmed. If it's Bane, that'll be my training," Zack said.

"Alright! Cracking some books. Let's go and check out the library. You up for it, Cloud?" Julius asked.

"Yup!" He stood, but immediately fell.

"Oh boy, looks like you trained pretty hard." Julius extended a hand to help him up.

He took the hand, chuckling. "I wish we had some senzu beans, but those only exist in cartoons."

"Well, come on, man, let's go!" Julius began walking for the door and departed for the library. Zack followed in pursuit, as did Cloud.

The three arrived at the library, which was closed at the time. "Cripes, closed. How would Bane have gotten in then?" Julius said.

"The library's not supposed to be closed today, it's open until 5. It's 3." Zack said. "Maybe he did something to cause them to close."

"Well then we need to find a way in."

"Do we have to? Nobody will be inside."

"Can we use force?"

"Your dream was talking about Bane going here to find out something that has to do with your crystals. Maybe we can find out more."

"Yeah, well, I guess we're going to have to get in using force. Cloud, try breaking open the door... or windows. Julius and I will keep watch."

"Alright!" He took a few steps back, and gathered his breath. He focused on the
door. He ran, striking the door at full speed with his foot. He broke it
 off the hinges.

"Great, let's roll." Julius ran inside.

Zack looked on to see if there were any people viewing them, and thankfully, there weren't. He headed inside.

Julius
 began searching around the library for any clue Bane could have left. "You guys check out the non-fiction section for anything about crystals."

"Got it." Cloud made his way into the non-fiction section of the darkened library and began looking for books on crystals. Julius and Zack began
to look for clues.

In the non-fiction section, Cloud noticed that there were books strewn everywhere, tables overturned, and a large book shelf was knocked over. Claw marks were all over the shelf. A single book was on one of the only untouched tables.

"Hey guys, think I found something." Cloud said, motioning for the others to come over.

Once there, Julius and Zack looked at the destruction.

"Looks
 like a hurricane hit, but I recognize those claw marks." Julius pointed to the shelf.

"Bane was in a hurry to find what he wanted." Cloud added.

Zack walked over to the table silently and picked up the book. On the cover, it read "The Pawakuri: Crystals of Power."

"Looks like I found what Bane's after." Zack said, opening up the book and beginning to read.

"Hey! Lemme see! What's it say?" Julius ran to Zack's side to read as well. Cloud showed no interest in it.

Zack began to read out loud. "For ages, the Pawakuri tribe have guarded and protected mystical crystals that unlock the latent power of those who wield them. To do this, they secluded themselves from humanity around Mount Kaimon. Every 20 years, the tribe has sent out two youth to transfer the crystals to a special cave in the mountains, where once the task is completed, the youths' latent potential is unlocked."

Julius snapped his fingers. "Bingo, that's where Bane headed. Japan!"

Zack set the book down on a nearby table. "Well, if he's heading to Japan, then we gotta get there. Quick!"

Julius turned to run, but stopped at the last second. "Ah, crap."

Zack was following in pursuit. "What?" He asked.

"Flying to Japan is gonna cost hella bread and even if we did have the money,
how would we get there in time?!" Julius shook his head.

"Oh, hell no! You're right! How the hell ARE we going to get there in time?! Ain't like there's anybody here who can fly..."

"I don't know about flying, but...Cloud!" Can't you teleport places?" Julius asked.

Cloud
 closed his eyes, concentrating. A clear snap was felt in his mind,
and he opened his eyes. He was back in bed. He smirked at Julius,
nodding. "It seems that I can teleport to and fro."

"To and fro, huh? How about from Fowler City...to Japan?"

The
 smirk slowly melted from his face. He cracked his neck and stretched
his arms. "Alright, I'm game." He sat up straight in the bed, and began to concentrate again. The room had become dead silent. It was as if you
could hear Cloud's thoughts. "Japan... Japan.. Japan..." It echoes. Cloud felt the clear snap again, and he vanished. While he teleported, it was if time itself had slowed down to a halt. When he opened his eyes, he was back at his house, in his room. He could hear his aunt downstairs, cleaning. Cloud was disappointed he didn't reach Japan, but he had an idea. He teleported back to the hospital.

"Any luck making it?" Julius saw Cloud reappearing and asked.

"Nope," He said.

"Damn," A light bulb went off in his head. "I have another idea!"

Later, the three were behind the hospital. Julius and Zack stood on opposite sides of Cloud, who held a 12 volt battery.

"Julius, are you sure about this?" Zack looked at the battery, then at Cloud.

"Yeah! Remember when we did it back when we were younger and were discovering our powers?"

"...I don't remember..."

Julius threw his hands up. "Exactly!"

Cloud held the battery. This would be like the torture mini-game from Peacewalker.

"Let's hope you don't get fried." Zack said. Always the mood killer. But he didn't know if Cloud's gonna get fried or not.

"Like hell he's getting fried. He's gonna grab it by the horns and get charged up, right Cloud?"

"Yeah, you have the right idea, Julius." Cloud said, inching his hands tentatively towards the wires. "Here goes nothing," He uttered, grabbing the wires from the box. Immediately, he cried out in pain, his body shaking violently.

"Cloud!" Zack yelled. He reached for his best friend to pull him back from the wires.

"NO! D...don't worry Zack, I'm okay," Cloud protested. His voice was shaky and as soon as he said that, he screamed again as more electricity was pulsed into him. The metal box was beginning to emit sparks from its insides and finally, it released a small explosion that knocked Cloud away from it and onto the ground. He was motionless.

"CLOUD!" Both Julius and Zack yelled in unison. They ran to their fallen friend's side. Julius tried to touch his shoulder, but immediately moved his hand away. Cloud's arms had a red hue and was scorching hot to the touch.

"Cloud...Cloud...dammit, why did I even bring up this idea?! Of course it would fail and end up killing my best friend!"

Suddenly, a quiet mumbling could be heard. Zack looked around the area for the source.

"What was that?" Julius asked.

"It was...me..." Cloud groaned.

"Cloud! You're alive! I knew you wouldn't kick the bucket!" Julius said triumphantly. Cloud slowly got up.

"How do you feel?" Zack said, worry in his voice. He had just seen his best friend almost die.

"Other than the ringing in my ears, I feel...energized," Cloud said, looking at his hands. They were glowing pink. "Alright, let's try this teleporting thing again," He closed his eyes and began to concentrate as hard as he could. A circle of energy came into vision around Zack, Cloud, and Julius.

"And here...we...GO!" Cloud said before the three of them vanished from view, without a trace. A few seconds later, they reappeared near the base of a moderately large landmass. All three looked around, astounded.

"Did it work? Are we in Japan?" Julius said to break the silence.

"I don't know, Julius. Whatever happened, though, we're not in Fowler City anymore," Zack replied.

"Nah, we're definitely in Japan, bros," Cloud answered, pointing to a wooden sign nearby. The trio walked over to it, examining the sign. It was written entirely in Japanese.

"Nice, at least we know we're in Japan. New question: *where* in Japan are we?" Julius scratched his head.

"Look up ahead!" Cloud said, pointing in front of him. There were bright lights coming from that direction.

Zack turned and looked in Cloud's direction. "A town, maybe. We can go there and ask about where we are."

Cloud began struggling to keep his balance. "Sounds like a plan, guys. You mind if I take a nice nap on the ground..." He tipped over and fell down, knocked out.

## Trivia

* This is the first episode after the 7 month Battle Heroes X hiatus.